Suppose hypothetically that our plan was for 2026 to "free" North Korea.

Let's not think too deeply. Let's just make a few common sense assumptions.

*In "freeing" we couldn't possibly mean ethically "make them live like us."

*The goal would need to be quite simple. For example: a strong mechanism that effectively allows every North Korean to legally immigrate out, and ensure a clear understanding of what immigration means. Each time we add more clauses to this, we muddy the waters, undermine the purity of our goal.

*Our technological superiority would always be debatable. Who knows what kind of tactics they developed even in a tight ramshackle corner. Who knows what funding they receive in what form, with all the varying motivations across politics.

*One thing we know pretty well: zero casualties? That's a joke. There would be casualties. Very unhappy ones.

*Another thing we know for sure is we sacrifice and risk resources that we potentially need for other wars.

*As much as we may want to free the North Koreans, it's still a numbers game and a motivation factor. What do we stand to gain, how do we implicate ourselves, what will they be used for if we don't?

*Our messages to them are skewed ridiculously. What is the closest thing they seem to get to the outside? Smuggled North Korean drama. Probably not a glimpse into full reality there.

*And lastly. We always to some degree call the kettle black. We may criticize their nation. Well we probably have a few corruptions of our own.

There are likely residents there who often sit at night thinking to themselves: "why do the outsiders never come?"

You can't free North Korea, because "North Korea" is an abstract term for a group that doesn't exist in reality.

See, it's North Koreans who are enslaving other North Koreans.

You can only free the slaves.

In the same way, you can't free humanity. Because it's humans who enslave other humans.