The above image, taken by a satellite from the defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP), starkly illustrates the difference between North Korea and South Korea.
At night, the southern half of the Korean peninsula is lit up like the proverbial Christmas Holiday tree. Japan is lit up like the Las Vegas Strip. Even rural China has enough light to read by. By contrast, it’s easy for Western spy satellites to find Kim’s bedroom, because there only seems to be one bright nightlight in the entire country.
But hey, if you want a nuclear arsenal, you have to sacrifice a few little necessities, like light bulbs and food (not Kim’s food, mind you, but other people’s food).
Hat tip to Matt Yglesias at Slate
