In a bit of bad timing, North Korea last week announced it wants the UN to reduce the number of international staff in-country just as Typhoon Lingling set its sights on the peninsula.

The North Koreans, it seems, are angry about international sanctions, which limit their economic growth and squeeze humanitarian programs.

So, like Jean Valjean in “Les Miserables,” who burned his own hand to show his enemies that he didn’t fear them, the North Koreans are inflicting further pain upon themselves in order to protest the sanctions.

Meanwhile, the powerful Lingling storm is reported to have caused major