As I go through these old posts, I have noticed glaring errors of all sorts, and most of it resides in the spelling and grammar. It is so severe, I am going to have to go thorugh them all and re-check them with somebody that has a better grasp at English than I. In that time, posts may be slow to appear, but this needs to be fixed. Thank you for your patience in this matter.
Sphere: Related ContentMonthly Archive for October, 2007
The news has been pretty slow the last few days, Kim does not look like he is slowing down his wheeling and dealing to keep his regime intact. As we all know, regime survival is the main thing Kim wants, and while not all deals have been set in stone yet it seems to me he is well on is way to getting what he wants; for a while anyway.
Before we begin on that, Bush is warning Kim on disengagement a key tactic in his survival arsenal. If you have not read Ricahardson’s theory of disengagement, I suggest you go and read it on DPRK Studies.
North Korea agreed Oct. 3 with the U.S., South Korea, China, Japan and Russia to fully disclose all of its nuclear operations and disable its Yongbyon complex under U.S. supervision by Dec. 31, in return for economic assistance, security guarantees and normalized ties with the U.S.
That much is known, and the engagement is the goal for the talks, and while that is under heavy debate, so far, the talks seem to be working. Unfortunately, since the DPRK is so secret, there is really no way to know for certain what is going on behind closed doors. That’s what bothers me about the whole thing. North Korea is not called an intelligence black hole for nothing, and top that with an unpredictable leader, this is a very dangerous and complex game. In my mind, Kim has the upper hand because others have to rely on a “trust me” story as I said many times before. So what can one do to make Kim keep good on his promises? The agreements made the first time around made both parties wary of each other because the deals fell apart, both sides are wanting results before conceding to further action. The only thing is, North Korea can claim to be keeping the end of the bargain, but the only problem is, there is really no way to know if Kim is keeping those promises. Thus, Bush issued a warning:
“If they don’t fulfill that which they’ve said, we are now in a position to make sure that they understand that there will be consequences,” Bush told reporters in Washington yesterday.
What are the consequences? We already sent all that aid (and plan to send more). I do not think there is any way for a repo agency to go into North Korea and take it all back. So what are the alternatives? I can only think of two, and that is either going back to sanctions or if serious enough the military option (The latter is unlikely). Maybe there are other options, but what those options could be, I have no idea. Whatever the case, this is a waiting game, and the disclosure issue is really bothering me. I personally think Kim is going to keep an ace up his sleeve.
My biggest complaint is not the possible ace up Kim’s sleeve, but the very dicey terror list removal. One that is done, if it is done, in my opinion will be taking a huge risk. From what I am seeing, this is te one thing Kim is lusting for because this means the cloud will be lifted from his head. Granted, his acts of terror have not happened for many years, what scares me is what he can do after that cloud is lifted. Again, we have to rely on the trust me story once again, all the while the acts of terror against his own people continue.
As part of the six-nation agreement, North Korea will receive security guarantees and work toward establishing normal relations with the U.S. that would include its removal from the State Department’s list of sponsors of terrorism.
Designation as a state sponsor of terrorism results in U.S. sanctions, including curbs on economic aid and a ban on arms- related sales. North Korea was put on the list in 1988 after its agents were implicated a year earlier in the bombing of a South Korean passenger jet, an attack that killed 155 people.
1988 is almost 20 years ago, but I doubt those that lost loved ones are not very happy about the idea. I guess all things cannot last forever, but in my mind, once a terrorist always a terrorist. The whole thing does not sit right with me, but I suppose to keep the peace, deals with the devil have to be made. All the same, I have to agree with this statement:
Bush’s statement is probably designed to appease critics within his party and administration who oppose the agreement, said Bruce Cummings, professor of history at the University of Chicago.
“He wants to perhaps appear tough vis-? -vis North Korea with a statement like this,” Cummings, author of “North Korea: Another Country” and “The Two Koreas,” said in Seoul today.
There is not much else he or others can do, and Kim must know this very well. As I said before, the deals are not set in stone yet, and until that time, all we can do is wait.
Sphere: Related Content(North Korean Oddity series): For those of you who have seen pictures of North Korea, the thing that always appears is the Pyongyang Metro. The link provides all the information you will ever need to see about this, including history, links and even music. Since this has been covered so well, there is really no reason for me to do a post about it. Just click the link and enjoy.
Sphere: Related ContentKim Jong Il needs to work harder because he is #2 as the worst for press freedom. Eritrea came in first. Honestly, I do not know how that country could be any worse, but it must be pretty bad to be ranked #1.
WASHINGTON, Oct. 16 (Yonhap) — North Korea narrowly escaped being branded the country with the least press freedom in the world, coming in second to last after Eritrea, an annual index released by the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders said Tuesday.
North Korea came in 168th among 169 nations that were judged on the level of media freedom in the country. Turkmenistan was just one notch above North Korea.
I? know? Turkmenistan? was pretty bad, but did not think it was that bad. So maybe Kim can celebrate. His placement on the most repressive of regimes is improving somewhat. Perhaps another mass game or a public execution. Who knows?
If you are interested in the report, here it is. Reporters? Without? Borders? gives? the? reason? why? Eritrea? came? in? dead? last:
“There is nothing surprising about this,” Reporters Without Borders said. “Even if we are not aware of all the press freedom violations in North Korea and Turkmenistan, which are second and third from last, Eritrea deserves to be at the bottom. The privately-owned press has been banished by the authoritarian President Issaias Afeworki and the few journalists who dare to criticise the regime are thrown in prison. We know that four of them have died in detention and we have every reason to fear that others will suffer the same fate.”
Hm, North Korea does the same thing, but I guess it makes some sense considering it is a little difficult to go into the gulags and ask around. In any case, those are the winners of the losers in freedom of the press. I am pretty sad to read about the state of the United States:
There were slightly fewer press freedom violations in the United States (48th) and blogger Josh Wolf was freed after 224 days in prison. But the detention of Al-Jazeera’s Sudanese cameraman, Sami Al-Haj, since 13 June 2002 at the military base of Guantanamo and the murder of Chauncey Bailey in Oakland in August mean the United States is still unable to join the lead group.
Those inceidents of the blogger I had no idea about, and as for the Gitmo detainees is a very, very controversial issue, and the United States is very divided on that. I personally do not know what to think of it because a lot of the things going on down there has not all been brought to light other than the propaganda blaring from both sides of the issue. I personally do not care for the idea, but when I say that, I am labled a terrorist sympathizer. I do not support terrorism, but I wonder what is really going on down there. Anyway, this is not a Gitmo debate, this is about freedom of the press.
It? seems? China? is? not? too? friendly? to? bloggers:
Government repression no longer ignores bloggers
The Internet is occupying more and more space in the breakdown of press freedom violations. Several countries fell in the ranking this year because of serious, repeated violations of the free flow of online news and information.
In Malaysia (124th), Thailand (135th), Vietnam (162nd) and Egypt (146th), for example, bloggers were arrested and news websites were closed or made inaccessible. “We are concerned about the increase in cases of online censorship,” Reporters Without Borders said. “More and more governments have realised that the Internet can play a key role in the fight for democracy and they are establishing new methods of censoring it. The governments of repressive countries are now targeting bloggers and online journalists as forcefully as journalists in the traditional media.”
At least 64 persons are currently imprisoned worldwide because of what they posted on the Internet. China? [rank? 163] maintains its leadership in this form of repression, with a total of 50 cyber-dissidents in prison. Eight are being held in Vietnam. A young man known as Kareem Amer was sentenced to four years in prison in Egypt for blog posts criticising the president and Islamist control of the country’s universities.
Pretty scary.? I am all for the freedom of the press without the fear of beatings, prison or repression. As North Korea sits near the very bottom of the barrel, it makes me pretty sad to see the United States at #48. It should be a shining example of freedom, but alas, it is not. Is the report biased? Do they not understand? I am not too sure, but it still makes me sad all the same.
South Korea and Chile are tied at #39, which is not all that great either.
All the same, Reporters Wihtout Boreders is not free from controversy either and is accused of bias. I do not know who runs Counterpunch, but it seems conservative circles do not care for them while the Wikipedia article tends to paint the American left as praising it. Since I do not depend on Wikipedia for accuracy, I am not going to hang my hat on the article. All I know Reporters Without Borders is not free from controversy is all I am trying to get at here.
Here is how Reporters Without Borders compiles this index. I’ll leave it up to the readers to decide if the list is fair or not.
Update:? see? ROK? Drop’s? take? on
this.? I? would? also? love? to? see? a? list? of? the? abuses? of? freedom? given? to? others.
See? NK? EconWatch?
Sphere: Related ContentOne Free Korea has an interesting take on the nuclear test site fence. Apparently, it has been reported the security has been beefed up around the area, and then Joshua points out what others may have missed: It may not be about the test site. It is near camp 16.
Sphere: Related ContentThat’s right, it is that time once again, and yes, it is from our good friends from Songunblogspot. The leaders are elected over and over again because they are so lovable.
Sphere: Related ContentI am sure a lot of Korea watchers know about the ROK village of Daeseong-dong. However, I just learned about it today, and is pretty interesting. While it seems nobody been to the North’s Kijong-Dong with video/picture footage to see what really goes on there, I found a short video clip about the other side and the propaganda war with North that continues to this day:
Click to see the Youtube video. Embedding has been disabled by the author
This to me is another oddity only from the other side of the divide. According to the video, a good face has to be shown to the North as the North shows its best face to the South. Anyway, if anybody does not know a lot about the village like I do, this is an interesting clip to see. Enjoy!
P.S.- As usual, I would like to hear feedback from those that may have been to the village or know more information regarding it. I would be most grateful.
Sphere: Related ContentStories like this warms my heart. I had no idea a Christian group went to North Korea, a land where the only religion is the state sponsored Juche where two men are worshiped in one of the most pervasive cults of personality ever. People are sent to gulags for life for not following along. Therefore, I am pretty surprised they were allowed to perform when the ideologies are polar opposites.
Imagine an American Christian rock band going to North Korea, a country accused of being one of the most oppressed in terms of religious freedom, and not only performing a Christian hymn but winning an award for it at an international festival.
That’s what a Grammy Award-winning group, the Casting Crowns, did in April this year.
In fact, the band members learned and sang a North Korean song in Pyongyang, brought a recording of it back to the U.S., and added it as a bonus track to their latest album, released in August. They are on a national tour now, and showing video clips of their performance in North Korea at each concert.
No, I am not posting the video to imply Christianity is superior to another religion or to promote Christianity per se. This is to show people have the right to worship or not worship as they please without somebody telling them otherwise. Freedom of religion should be a fundamental human right, and North Korea is not part of that program. Could this be a step in the right direction? I do not know, but all the same, it choked me up. I still do not know how they got the permission to do this, but I am glad it was done.
Enjoy the video:
Also, you may have heard about an orchestra considering to perform in North Korea as well. I would like to see that performance as well, and will keep you folks updated as things transpire.
New York Philharmonic officials were returning yesterday from an exploratory trip to North Korea with glowing reports of concert possibilities in the capital, Pyongyang, but they faced the potentially difficult task of selling the idea to the players.
The orchestra has traveled to the Soviet Union and China but perhaps never to a place as isolated or tightly controlled as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Philharmonic officials said that a decision on whether to accept a North Korean invitation was still at least a month away. If the orchestra goes, it will probably be on the tail end of a February trip to China.
Zarin Mehta, the orchestra’s president, and Eric Latzky, its spokesman, flew home yesterday. Before leaving from a stopover in Beijing, Mr. Latzky said Mr. Mehta would make a “special effort” to ensure that the orchestra was comfortable with the trip. “Zarin will consult closely with the orchestra,” he said.
I wish them the best of luck in the process.
Sphere: Related ContentRichardson found an interesting North Korea/Syria Nuclear Scenario: A reactor. Also make sure to see the hat tip at Marmot’s Hole. There is really no use for me to make a post when this is being covered very well. Also, One Free Korea’s Summit Perceptions.
Sphere: Related Content(Hat tip: Hapo) I got some interesting links regarding the IT sector of North Korea, and this information is not really easy to find, I thought readers would like to take a look at these links as well:? Link 1 - Link 2 - Link 3 - link 4 Now there have been reports of cafe shutdowns, and I do not know if the Intranet will be connected to the Internet anytime soon, but as with anything North Korea, it is a lot of wait and see.
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