I've been and lived in Asia (albeit not as long as i'd wish I had.. heck I wish I was still there!
) ... in S. Korea and Japan plus here in the US I've met many immigrants from Vietnam and China so its as close to first-hand knowledge I can get. My intended major was international studies with focus on Asia and history has been one of my greatest interests so I've read a lot about their history. By no means im an expert but here's my view on it:
Life is valued less in Asia : Incorrect. They value life as much as we do.
-however-
there is one overriding factor which is endemic to all asian cultures: Face (call it honor, family honor, etc.. in short, what others in the society will think of you).
To save or to keep 'face' a family that can love their kids as much as we do are quite capable (and its expected of them in many cases) to do something drastic... failing a university entrance for example can result in the young adult being shunned by the family or 'relocated' far away so his dishonorable failure is not learned by others in their social circle. Girls that get pregnant when teens are forced into miscarriages or abortions or are thrown out of the house (either thrown to the streets or sent to live with a far away relative.. usually one that has significantly less social status than they do).
These are extreme examples yes, but they are quite common and the only reason you dont hear much about this is because they are kept secret. The few that do get known become scandals in the local community (which reinforces the need for such drastic measures).
As for the value of life ... down to the individual / family level its the same as us.. but when it comes to their government and society in the macro-scale, the value of life is thrown out the window. Overall in my opinion, their societies are based more on a group-consciousness ... the idea that the whole is more valuable than the one (and an idea which the ruling elite always uses to their advantage as it is with all societies). This is why you can see how in all their wars and conflicts their soldiers are practically cannon fodder (and im not talking equipment or training im talking how they are sent out to fight.. its almost a pattern of them to send a force into a suicidal attack so the following force overruns the place. this is true even in modern times...and you will not see this on western societies with the exception perhaps of the ol' USSR).
When it comes to N. Korea you need to take the above into consideration. Their leader is a very smart nutjob, underneath him are the wealthy elite and below them is the military and finally you have the starving population. All of these with the exception of the leader and the wealthy elite were born and raised knowing only that they live and die for the leader and that their country is the best at everything and the rest of the world hates them for it, etc. The higher ups of course, know their country is utter crap but since they live in luxury its in their best interest to make things stay that way.
So.. will N Korea attack? I'm certain they wont because if they do they will lose and that means losing everything they have. This is not 1950's situation nor will there be another korean war simply because they no longer have the backing of Russia or China. N. Korea stands alone and they know this.
What I think will happen is that once the 'dear leader' dies and his 20yr old son given command, we will see about 5 years of the same old saber rattling (to keep face) and then things will calm down. I do hope that the son, having been educated and lived in the west would take small steps to improving the nation and eventually bringing N. korea to the late 20th century equivalent.
