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Defining Genocide Down: For a moment, leave aside discussions of gas chambers, infanticides, and concentration camps. In terms of the numbers of dead, all probably pale in comparison to the death toll from North Korea’s famine in the 1990’s. While there is substantial evidence that the famine was a crime against humanity that killed millions, neither it nor any of the regime’s worst crimes meet the legal definition of “genocide.” We all have Stalin to thank for that, and his murderous legacy brings the question of defining genocide back into today’s headlines. My analysis here.