--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The North Korean capital, Pyongyang, is a…" description: "\"“The North Korean capital, Pyongyang, is a city consecrated to the worship of a father-son dynasty. (I came to think of them, with their nuclear-family..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc6/christopher-hitchens-117_1968_the-north-korean-capital-pyongyang-is-a_694683.jpg" --- # The North Korean capital, Pyongyang, is a city consecrated… ![“The North Korean capital, Pyongyang, is a city consecrated to the worship of a father-son dynasty. (I came to think of them, with their nuclear-family implications, as 'Fat Man and Little Boy.') And a river runs through it. And on this river, the Taedong River, is moored the only American naval…” quote by Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc6/christopher-hitchens-117_1968_the-north-korean-capital-pyongyang-is-a_694683.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc6/christopher-hitchens-117_1968_the-north-korean-capital-pyongyang-is-a_694683.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc6/christopher-hitchens-117_1968_the-north-korean-capital-pyongyang-is-a_694683.jpg) > ““The North Korean capital, Pyongyang, is a city consecrated to the worship of a father-son dynasty. (I came to think of them, with their nuclear-family implications, as 'Fat Man and Little Boy.') And a river runs through it. And on this river, the Taedong River, is moored the only American naval vessel in captivity. It was in January 1968 that the U.S.S. Pueblo strayed into North Korean waters, and was boarded and captured. One sailor was killed; the rest were held for nearly a year before being released. I looked over the spy ship, its radio antennae and surveillance equipment still intact, and found photographs of the captain and crew with their hands on their heads in gestures of abject surrender. Copies of their groveling 'confessions,' written in tremulous script, were also on show. So was a humiliating document from the United States government, admitting wrongdoing in the penetration of North Korean waters and petitioning the 'D.P.R.K.' (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) for 'lenience.' Kim Il Sung ('Fat Man') was eventually lenient about the men, but not about the ship. Madeleine Albright didn't ask to see the vessel on her visit last October, during which she described the gruesome, depopulated vistas of Pyongyang as 'beautiful.' As I got back onto the wharf, I noticed a refreshment cart, staffed by two women under a frayed umbrella. It didn't look like much—one of its three wheels was missing and a piece of brick was propping it up—but it was the only such cart I'd see. What toothsome local snacks might the ladies be offering? The choices turned out to be slices of dry bread and cups of warm water. Nor did Madeleine Albright visit the absurdly misnamed 'Demilitarized Zone,' one of the most heavily militarized strips of land on earth. Across the waist of the Korean peninsula lies a wasteland, roughly following the 38th parallel, and packed with a titanic concentration of potential violence. It is four kilometers wide (I have now looked apprehensively at it from both sides) and very near to the capital cities of both North and South. On the day I spent on the northern side, I met a group of aging Chinese veterans, all from Szechuan, touring the old battlefields and reliving a war they helped North Korea nearly win (China sacrificed perhaps a million soldiers in that campaign, including Mao Anying, son of Mao himself). Across the frontier are 37,000 United States soldiers. Their arsenal, which has included undeclared nuclear weapons, is the reason given by Washington for its refusal to sign the land-mines treaty. In August 1976, U.S. officers entered the neutral zone to trim a tree that was obscuring the view of an observation post. A posse of North Koreans came after them, and one, seizing the ax with which the trimming was to be done, hacked two U.S. servicemen to death with it. I visited the ax also; it's proudly displayed in a glass case on the North Korean side.”” [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage critiques North Korea’s authoritarian regime, its cult of personality, and the symbolic humiliation of captured American assets, contrasting starkly with superficial diplomatic gestures. **In simple terms:** It highlights the stark reality of oppression versus diplomatic politeness. Key Takeaway Recognize the gap between rhetoric and reality. Themes authoritarianism cult of personality military tension human rights diplomacy Mood cynical critical reflective Type political historical observational When to use this quote - journalistic observation - foreign policy analysis - human rights advocacy Key Concepts totalitarianism symbolism propaganda power dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How does symbolism shape public perception of regimes? - What responsibilities do diplomats have when confronting oppression? A Different Perspective The narrative may overgeneralize or lack North Korean perspectives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [China](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/china/) [Chinese people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chinese-people/) [Kim il sung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kim-il-sung/) [Korea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/korea/) [Korean war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/korean-war/) [North korea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/north-korea/) [North korean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/north-korean/) [Nuclear weapons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nuclear-weapons/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Pyongyang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pyongyang/) [South korea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/south-korea/) [Totalitarianism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/totalitarianism/) [United states](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/united-states/) [United states army](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/united-states-army/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [Washington dc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/washington-dc/) ## Related quotes > [“Even in former days, Korea was known as the 'hermit kingdom' for its stubborn resistance to outsiders. 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Religion says that we would not know right from wrong, we… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/religion-attacks-us-in-our-deepest-integrity-the-core-of-our-self/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“In the very recent past, we have seen the Church of Rome befouled by its complicity with the unpardonable sin of child rape, or,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/in-the-very-recent-past-we-have-seen-the-church-of-rome-befouled-by/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [It's surprising to me how many of my friends send Christmas cards, or holiday cards, including my atheist and secular friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-surprising-to-me-how-many-of-my-friends-send-christmas-cards-or/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Suppose there were groups of secularists at hospitals who went round the terminally ill and urged them to adopt atheism: 'Don't be a mug…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/suppose-there-were-groups-of-secularists-at-hospitals-who-went-round/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [There are, after all, atheists who say they wish the fable were true but are unable to suspend the requisite disbelief, or who have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/there-are-after-all-atheists-who-say-they-wish-the-fable-were-true/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“It isn’t so long since a test of Anglican orthodoxy was applied to anyone seeking to study or teach at Oxford and Cambridge universities.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-isn-t-so-long-since-a-test-of-anglican-orthodoxy-was-applied-to/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Gullibility and credulity are considered undesireable qualities in every department of human life - except religion ... 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Don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-much-worse-to-see-a-woman-drunk-than-a-man-i-don-t-know-quite/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [It's true that obscenity is a matter of taste and in the eye of the beholder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-true-that-obscenity-is-a-matter-of-taste-and-in-the-eye-of-the/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [I worked out early on to give up things I couldn't do well at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/i-worked-out-early-on-to-give-up-things-i-couldn-t-do-well-at-all/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Writing is what's important to me, and anything that helps me do that - or enhances and prolongs and deepens and sometimes intensifies argument…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/writing-is-what-s-important-to-me-and-anything-that-helps-me-do-that/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) [Explore all 1,241 Christopher Hitchens quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) ## More 1968 quotes > [“...you are strong only as long as you don't deprive people of everything . For a person you've taken everything from is no longer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/you-are-strong-only-as-long-as-you-don-t-deprive-people-of-everything/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [“Nationalism always preserved this initial intimate loyalty to the government and never quite lost its function of preserving a precarious balance between nation and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/nationalism-always-preserved-this-initial-intimate-loyalty-to-the/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [“What imperialists actually wanted was expansion of political power without the foundation of the body politic. 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So, too, must the striving count more than the gain.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lloyd-alexander/once-he-added-you-told-me-that-the-seeking-counts-more-than-the/) [Lloyd Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lloyd-alexander/) > [“It is a human characteristic, which has been richly exploited in every era, that while hope of survival is still alive in a man,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/it-is-a-human-characteristic-which-has-been-richly-exploited-in-every/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [“Very often the test of one's allegiance to a cause or to a people is precisely the willingness to stay the course when things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/very-often-the-test-of-one-s-allegiance-to-a-cause-or-to-a-people-is/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“No one, even as a joke, could call a member of the all-Union Communist Party a Neo-Hegelian, a Neo-Kantian, a Subjectivist, an Agnostic, or,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/no-one-even-as-a-joke-could-call-a-member-of-the-all-union-communist/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [“As far as the Jews were concerned, the transformation of the "crime" of Judaism into the fashionable "vice" of Jewishness was dangerous in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/as-far-as-the-jews-were-concerned-the-transformation-of-the-crime-of/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [“It is beyond any man's wisdom to judge the secret heart of another... for in it are good and evil mixed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lloyd-alexander/it-is-beyond-any-man-s-wisdom-to-judge-the-secret-heart-of-another/) [Lloyd Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lloyd-alexander/) > [“… the Nazis, without admitting it, learned as much from American gangster organizations as their propaganda, admittedly, learned from American business publicity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/the-nazis-without-admitting-it-learned-as-much-from-american-gangster/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [“Between 1882 and 1968, more black people were lynched in MIssissippi than in any other state.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/between-1882-and-1968-more-black-people-were-lynched-in-mississippi-2/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [“The fall of the protecting class walls transformed the slumbering majorities behind all parties into one great unorganized, structureless mass of furious individuals who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/the-fall-of-the-protecting-class-walls-transformed-the-slumbering/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [“The temporary alliance between the elite and the mob rested largely on this genuine delight with which the former watched the latter destroy respectability.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/the-temporary-alliance-between-the-elite-and-the-mob-rested-largely/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [“The fact that no one made demands on her knowledge in her special field was lucky for Simochka. Not only she but many of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/the-fact-that-no-one-made-demands-on-her-knowledge-in-her-special/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [“The absolute monarch was supposed to serve the interests of the nation as a whole, to be the visible exponent and proof of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/the-absolute-monarch-was-supposed-to-serve-the-interests-of-the/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) Browse all 27 1968 quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The North Korean capital, Pyongyang, is a city consecrated to the worship of a father-son dynasty. (I came to think of them, with their nuclear-family implications, as 'Fat Man and Little Boy.') And a river runs through it. And on this river, the Taedong River, is moored the only American naval vessel in captivity. It was in January 1968 that the U.S.S. Pueblo strayed into North Korean waters, and was boarded and captured. One sailor was killed; the rest were held for nearly a year before being released. I looked over the spy ship, its radio antennae and surveillance equipment still intact, and found photographs of the captain and crew with their hands on their heads in gestures of abject surrender. Copies of their groveling 'confessions,' written in tremulous script, were also on show. So was a humiliating document from the United States government, admitting wrongdoing in the penetration of North Korean waters and petitioning the 'D.P.R.K.' (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) for 'lenience.' Kim Il Sung ('Fat Man') was eventually lenient about the men, but not about the ship. Madeleine Albright didn't ask to see the vessel on her visit last October, during which she described the gruesome, depopulated vistas of Pyongyang as 'beautiful.' As I got back onto the wharf, I noticed a refreshment cart, staffed by two women under a frayed umbrella. It didn't look like much—one of its three wheels was missing and a piece of brick was propping it up—but it was the only such cart I'd see. What toothsome local snacks might the ladies be offering? The choices turned out to be slices of dry bread and cups of warm water. Nor did Madeleine Albright visit the absurdly misnamed 'Demilitarized Zone,' one of the most heavily militarized strips of land on earth. Across the waist of the Korean peninsula lies a wasteland, roughly following the 38th parallel, and packed with a titanic concentration of potential violence. It is four kilometers wide (I have now looked apprehensively at it from both sides) and very near to the capital cities of both North and South. On the day I spent on the northern side, I met a group of aging Chinese veterans, all from Szechuan, touring the old battlefields and reliving a war they helped North Korea nearly win (China sacrificed perhaps a million soldiers in that campaign, including Mao Anying, son of Mao himself). Across the frontier are 37,000 United States soldiers. Their arsenal, which has included undeclared nuclear weapons, is the reason given by Washington for its refusal to sign the land-mines treaty. In August 1976, U.S. officers entered the neutral zone to trim a tree that was obscuring the view of an observation post. A posse of North Koreans came after them, and one, seizing the ax with which the trimming was to be done, hacked two U.S. servicemen to death with it. I visited the ax also; it's proudly displayed in a glass case on the North Korean side.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Christopher Hitchens" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/the-north-korean-capital-pyongyang-is-a-city-consecrated-to-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "1968" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/the-north-korean-capital-pyongyang-is-a-city-consecrated-to-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc6/christopher-hitchens-117_1968_the-north-korean-capital-pyongyang-is-a_694683.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc6/christopher-hitchens-117_1968_the-north-korean-capital-pyongyang-is-a_694683.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc6/christopher-hitchens-117_1968_the-north-korean-capital-pyongyang-is-a_694683.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The North Korean capital, Pyongyang, is a city consecrated to the worship of a father-son dynasty. 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