Daily Archive for September 7th, 2007

Floods understated by the KCNA?

Published
by
Jack
on September 7, 2007
in Economy, Humanitarian Topic, News, North Korea and The region
. 0 Comments

Here is something you do not see everyday. There are reports North Korea understated the flood damage:

The floods that struck North Korea last month have had a much more devastating effect than Pyongyang’s state media have reported, with livestock deaths and a disrupted ration system adding to widespread food shortages, according to the United Nations’ World Food Programme.

North Korea has a history of exaggerating damage from natural disasters in order to win more aid from the outside world – which many analysts suspect is then diverted to the military – but this does not appear to be the case this time.

I am sure the WFP has no reason to lie because they are the boots on the ground within the reclusive nation. I was one of those people who suspected those very things. If I am wrong and North Korea is really scrambling to try to fix this damage, that could mean the situation is a lot worse than I expected. I also thought because it hit Pyongyang was the reason the KCNA reported it in the first place.

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Peace treaties, Iran and other news (Update 2 with link to video)

Published
by
Jack
on September 7, 2007
in Diplomacy, Economy, Korean War, News, North Korea, Other Regimes, ROK, The region and United States
. 3 Comments

Looks like President Bush is offering a formal peace treaty with North Korea if it disarms:

“We’re looking forward to the day when we can end the Korean War. That will happen when Kim Jong-il verifiably dismantles his weapons programme,” Bush told reporters after meeting South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun as Asia-Pacific leaders gathered for a summit in Australia.

“If you could be a little clearer,” Roh urged the president after his initial comment.

Bush said he thought he had been as clear as he could be, then said more directly that he was referring to a formal peace agreement. Fighting in the 1950-53 Korean War was halted with an inclusive truce.

Bush said he was “optimistic” about the progress of the effort to get North Korea to give up its weapons, but said there was still more work to be done.

There’s news of the century. Now will North Korea accept it? There may be, if we pay up. North Korea likes money. It makes Kim happy. We shall see what comes of that little offer. Developing…

Update: Looks like there was a lot of tension at the meeting which cleared the “If you could be a little clearer,” part. I only read this article, and it seems more of the meeting was a tad more unfiltered in others. Thanks to DPRK Studies, ROK Drop, and One Free Korea for clearing that mystery for me.

Here is a video. I cannot directly embed it here, but once I find it, I will do it.

See DPRK Studies as well.

Continue reading ‘Peace treaties, Iran and other news (Update 2 with link to video)’

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