My name is Daniel. I was an English teacher in Seoul, South Korea, and am now a writer who has

published three books including South Korea: Our Story by Daniel Nardini.

                     It has become the talk among so many politicians in the United States---punish North

Korea for the virtual murder of Otto Warmbier, the American student who was tortured and sent back to

America in a coma. I am sure that there will be some sort of travel ban for Americans going to North

Korea by the U.S. government. Yes, it is easy to make North Korea into a bad guy---the North Korean

government IS a bad guy. But it is not the only bad guy. What many Americans do not know is that China

at present is holding an American hostage over what it claims is "espionage." The American, name Li Kai,

has been accused of "stealing state secrets" in China. There is no evidence that this person, born and 

raised in China but who became a U.S. citizen, did anything like this. But there is no question that the

Chinese government is doing this to get concessions from the United States. We also have to keep in mind

that the Chinese government watches and at times detains and imprisons American and South Korean 

Christian missionaries trying to help North Korean refugees in China (as well as "look the other way" in

regards to enforcing sanctions against North Korea). Russia is not interested in forcing any sanctions on

North Korea at all. Quite to the contrary; it is doing as much trade and providing North Korea as much 

in the way of valuable oil and food and whatever North Korea needs as possible. The two countries that

border North Korea, China and Russia, in truth have no problem keeping North Korea alive if may be only

barely. They are keeping North Korea alive for their own reasons, and their behavior is no better in many

instances than North Korea's. But the sad truth is that the U.S. news media can and does say bad

things about North Korea but not China and Russia because American business has extensive 

economic interests in China and Russia. Saying anything bad about these countries and how  they

help North Korea is not acceptable, and therefore in so many ways America itself says nothing about

what is done in these countries and how they help North Korea. They help North Korea because it is

in their economic, political and military interests to do so. So in too many ways it is about more than

North Korea.