In his September 9, 2006, address to the 4th Global Strategic Review of the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies, Mitchell Reiss offered a remarkable observation:
"Perhaps the least-noted and most astonishing aspect of the entire diplomatic process involving North Korea during the past few years has been the almost complete inability of four of the world's strongest military and economic powers, including three nuclear weapons states and three members of the UN Security Council - the United States, China and Russia and Japan - to shape the strategic environment in Northeast Asia.
"They have proven thoroughly incapable of preventing an impoverished, dysfunctional country of only 23 million people from consistently endangering the peace and stability of the world's most economically dynamic region. This has been nothing less than a collective failure."
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Nuclear blackmail and other regional fears
North Korea has repeatedly agreed to junk its nuclear weapons provided the US does three things:
1. deal directly with Pyongyang, which Washington refuses to do;
2. provide security guarantees that the US will not attack North Korea;
3. provide economic aid. The Bush Administration’s hard-line neoconservatives refuse to ‘validate’ North Korea’s totalitarian regime through direct talks.
South Korea’s biggest fears are a US-North Korean war that would devastate it; and an economic implosion of North Korea sending millions of starving refugees to south. So Seoul keeps North Korea on life support, while trying to calm American militancy.
Japan wants to deter a united Korea as long as possible, rightly fearing it would one day constitute a major economic and military threat.
One thing is clear: money, lots of it, not war, is the most effective way of making North Korea behave.
Bribery is always far, far cheaper than war.
[Excerpt of an article by Eric S Margolis, a veteran US journalist and contributing foreign editor of the Toronto Sun]
1. deal directly with Pyongyang, which Washington refuses to do;
2. provide security guarantees that the US will not attack North Korea;
3. provide economic aid. The Bush Administration’s hard-line neoconservatives refuse to ‘validate’ North Korea’s totalitarian regime through direct talks.
South Korea’s biggest fears are a US-North Korean war that would devastate it; and an economic implosion of North Korea sending millions of starving refugees to south. So Seoul keeps North Korea on life support, while trying to calm American militancy.
Japan wants to deter a united Korea as long as possible, rightly fearing it would one day constitute a major economic and military threat.
One thing is clear: money, lots of it, not war, is the most effective way of making North Korea behave.
Bribery is always far, far cheaper than war.
[Excerpt of an article by Eric S Margolis, a veteran US journalist and contributing foreign editor of the Toronto Sun]
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Realities of going to war with North Korea
A senior US State Department official warned, "we are not going to accept a nuclear North Korea." But that, of course, is just what Washington has been doing ever since CIA disclosed in 2003 that North Korea had up to five operational nuclear weapons, and more in development.
In 2005, CIA’s then director, George Tenet, confirmed North Korea’s Taepo-dong ICBM was theoretically able to deliver a nuclear warhead to North America.
The Pentagon estimates that a US invasion of North Korea would cost 500,000 American casualties. Since North Korea has buried many vital industries and military facilities deep underground, US air strikes would have limited success.
Moreover, any attacks on North Korea would quickly make South Korea and Japan targets of North Korea’s medium-ranged missiles. Seoul’s ten million people are within range of North Korean long-ranged artillery and missiles batteries behind the DMZ.
Amid all the international hysteria over North Korea, it’s important to understand that the ‘Dear Leader’s’ nuclear programs are primarily defensive. Their goal is to protect North Korea from a long-feared US attack, not to attack the US or Japan. Kim Jong-il and his Politburo are not anxious to commit suicide or see their nation vaporised.
[Excerpt of article by Eric S Margolis, a veteran US journalist and contributing foreign editor of the Toronto Sun.]
In 2005, CIA’s then director, George Tenet, confirmed North Korea’s Taepo-dong ICBM was theoretically able to deliver a nuclear warhead to North America.
The Pentagon estimates that a US invasion of North Korea would cost 500,000 American casualties. Since North Korea has buried many vital industries and military facilities deep underground, US air strikes would have limited success.
Moreover, any attacks on North Korea would quickly make South Korea and Japan targets of North Korea’s medium-ranged missiles. Seoul’s ten million people are within range of North Korean long-ranged artillery and missiles batteries behind the DMZ.
Amid all the international hysteria over North Korea, it’s important to understand that the ‘Dear Leader’s’ nuclear programs are primarily defensive. Their goal is to protect North Korea from a long-feared US attack, not to attack the US or Japan. Kim Jong-il and his Politburo are not anxious to commit suicide or see their nation vaporised.
[Excerpt of article by Eric S Margolis, a veteran US journalist and contributing foreign editor of the Toronto Sun.]
North Korean thinking on nuclear arms
The point is not whether one agrees or not, but the insight that can be gained as to the reasoning and "rationale" presented by Kim Myong Chol, the “unofficial” spokesman of Kim Jong-il and North Korea, writing in the Asia Times, a condensation of which appears below:
The North Korean nuclear test … carries five messages.
1. Kim Jong-il is the first to equip Korea with sufficient military capability to take the war all the way to the continental US.
2. The sole reason for the development of nuclear weapons is more than 50 years of direct exposure to naked nuclear threats and sanctions from the US. The Kim administration seeks to commit nuclear weapons to actual use against the US in case of war, never to use them as a tool of negotiations. The US, Russia, China, the United Kingdom, France, India, Pakistan and Israel conduct numerous nuclear detonation experiments in legitimate exercise of their sovereignty.It is sheer illusion to think that sanctions and isolation will stop North Korea from the planned nuclear test. US hostility, threats and sanctions are the very engines that have propelled the development of nuclear weapons.
3. Nuclear-armed North Korea will be a major boon to China and Russia. The two countries are friendless in case of war with the US.
4. The main enemy to North Korea is the US, the sole surviving superpower in the world. North Korea does not care at all whether Japan goes nuclear, or that South Korea and Australia follow suit. Their becoming nuclear powers will signal that the US is no longer a reliable cop. At long last de-Americanization of the US allies and neutralization of the US in the rest of the world will be set into motion.
5. Had the Americans been steadfast in upholding the nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty by reducing their nuclear weapons and respecting the sovereignty and independence of the non-nuclear states, North Korea would not have felt any need to defend itself with nuclear weapons. A nuclear test by North Korea will go a long way toward emboldening anti-American states around the world to acquire nuclear weapons. There is a long line of candidate states.
The North Korean nuclear test … carries five messages.
1. Kim Jong-il is the first to equip Korea with sufficient military capability to take the war all the way to the continental US.
2. The sole reason for the development of nuclear weapons is more than 50 years of direct exposure to naked nuclear threats and sanctions from the US. The Kim administration seeks to commit nuclear weapons to actual use against the US in case of war, never to use them as a tool of negotiations. The US, Russia, China, the United Kingdom, France, India, Pakistan and Israel conduct numerous nuclear detonation experiments in legitimate exercise of their sovereignty.It is sheer illusion to think that sanctions and isolation will stop North Korea from the planned nuclear test. US hostility, threats and sanctions are the very engines that have propelled the development of nuclear weapons.
3. Nuclear-armed North Korea will be a major boon to China and Russia. The two countries are friendless in case of war with the US.
4. The main enemy to North Korea is the US, the sole surviving superpower in the world. North Korea does not care at all whether Japan goes nuclear, or that South Korea and Australia follow suit. Their becoming nuclear powers will signal that the US is no longer a reliable cop. At long last de-Americanization of the US allies and neutralization of the US in the rest of the world will be set into motion.
5. Had the Americans been steadfast in upholding the nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty by reducing their nuclear weapons and respecting the sovereignty and independence of the non-nuclear states, North Korea would not have felt any need to defend itself with nuclear weapons. A nuclear test by North Korea will go a long way toward emboldening anti-American states around the world to acquire nuclear weapons. There is a long line of candidate states.
Monday, October 09, 2006
North Korea's nuclear program through two Administrations
North Korea's nuclear program has been a problem for US presidents going back to Reagan, and the conflict between North and South has been a key issue for US presidents going back to Truman. As recently as 1994, the US came far closer to war with North Korea than most Americans realize.
President Clinton eventually concluded a complicated and multipart agreement in which the North Koreans would suspend their production of plutonium in exchange for fuel oil, help building light water nuclear reactors (the kind that don't help making bombs) and a vague promise of diplomatic normalization.
President Bush came to office believing that Clinton's policy amounted to appeasement. Force and strength were the way to deal with North Korea, not a mix of force, diplomacy and aide. And with that premise, President Bush went about scuttling the 1994 agreement, using evidence that the North Koreans were pursuing uranium enrichment (another path to the bomb) as the final straw.
All diplomatic niceties aside, President Bush's idea was that the North Koreans would respond better to threats than Clinton's mix of carrots and sticks.
Then in the winter of 2002-3, as the US was preparing to invade Iraq, North Korea called Bush's bluff. And the president folded.
Threats are a potent force if you're willing to follow through on them. But he wasn't. The plutonium production plant, which had been shuttered since 1994, got unshuttered. And the bomb that exploded [this past weekend] was, if I understand this correctly, almost certainly the product of that plutonium uncorked almost four years ago.
Hawks and Bush sycophants will claim that North Korea is an outlaw regime. And no one should romanticize or ignore the fact that it is one of the most repressive regimes in the world with a history of belligerence, terrorist bombing, missile proliferation and a lot else.
But facts are stubborn things. The bomb-grade plutonium that was on ice from 1994 to 2002 is now actual bombs.
[Excerpts of an article by Josh Marshall]
President Clinton eventually concluded a complicated and multipart agreement in which the North Koreans would suspend their production of plutonium in exchange for fuel oil, help building light water nuclear reactors (the kind that don't help making bombs) and a vague promise of diplomatic normalization.
President Bush came to office believing that Clinton's policy amounted to appeasement. Force and strength were the way to deal with North Korea, not a mix of force, diplomacy and aide. And with that premise, President Bush went about scuttling the 1994 agreement, using evidence that the North Koreans were pursuing uranium enrichment (another path to the bomb) as the final straw.
All diplomatic niceties aside, President Bush's idea was that the North Koreans would respond better to threats than Clinton's mix of carrots and sticks.
Then in the winter of 2002-3, as the US was preparing to invade Iraq, North Korea called Bush's bluff. And the president folded.
Threats are a potent force if you're willing to follow through on them. But he wasn't. The plutonium production plant, which had been shuttered since 1994, got unshuttered. And the bomb that exploded [this past weekend] was, if I understand this correctly, almost certainly the product of that plutonium uncorked almost four years ago.
Hawks and Bush sycophants will claim that North Korea is an outlaw regime. And no one should romanticize or ignore the fact that it is one of the most repressive regimes in the world with a history of belligerence, terrorist bombing, missile proliferation and a lot else.
But facts are stubborn things. The bomb-grade plutonium that was on ice from 1994 to 2002 is now actual bombs.
[Excerpts of an article by Josh Marshall]
North Korea says nuclear test successful
North Korea said Monday it had performed its first-ever nuclear weapons test, setting off an underground blast in defiance of international warnings and intense diplomatic activity aimed at heading off such a move.
An official at South Korea's seismic monitoring center confirmed a magnitude-3.6 tremor felt at the time North Korea said it conducted the test was not a natural occurrence. Australia also said there was seismic confirmation that North Korea conducted a nuclear test.
The North's official Korean Central News Agency said the underground test was performed successfully. "It marks a historic event as it greatly encouraged and pleased the ... people that have wished to have powerful self-reliant defense capability," the KCNA statement said.
The U.N. Security Council is expected to discuss the reported North Korean test on Monday, and the United States and Japan are likely to press for a resolution imposing additional sanctions on Pyongyang.
[Associated Press]
An official at South Korea's seismic monitoring center confirmed a magnitude-3.6 tremor felt at the time North Korea said it conducted the test was not a natural occurrence. Australia also said there was seismic confirmation that North Korea conducted a nuclear test.
The North's official Korean Central News Agency said the underground test was performed successfully. "It marks a historic event as it greatly encouraged and pleased the ... people that have wished to have powerful self-reliant defense capability," the KCNA statement said.
The U.N. Security Council is expected to discuss the reported North Korean test on Monday, and the United States and Japan are likely to press for a resolution imposing additional sanctions on Pyongyang.
[Associated Press]
Sunday, October 08, 2006
Patriotic, loyal North Koreans no longer so
Until the 70-year-old North Korean woman was stripped, beaten, and charged with dissent, Park and her family were patriotic, loyal, ordinary. They were true believers in the ruling Kim family's "juche" ideology, which holds that Korea must be separate from all nations and that total obedience is owed to the Kim family. Mrs. Park's eight kids worshiped Kim Il Sung, the "father of their minds."
Yet today Mrs. Park (not her real name) is in South Korea, an escapee. Her family is broken. So are her ideals. She's been captured in China - sent home to the North, made to endure camps, and witness horrific acts.
The Park family left North Korea for China in 1999, when they got too weak to work. "I had the feeling if we didn't leave North Korea right away, we would die. I didn't leave out of disloyalty to [North Korean leader] Kim [Jong Il]. I left for the family."
Back in the North, Park expected only a rebuke. Instead, the family went to an interrogation center for 18 days, then 22 days at a police camp. The camp separated "political" from "ordinary" criminals. At every step the Parks were beaten and suffered torture designed to "break" them.
Park was told to strip her clothes in a large yard. She thought the police were looking for weapons or contraband. But it was money they wanted. Along the border Koreans hide money in body cavities. Prisoners had five rules: Work from 7:30 to 7:30. When not working, sit on your knees. Keep your head down. Never move, not a finger, or you will be hit. Finally, confess your mistakes constantly. "We were told to say over and over, 'I am sorry, I am sorry for what I have done.' "
Park eventually escaped to Seoul via an underground Christian group. Today she leads a refugee group for women. She is implacably opposed to the Kim regime. "I complain when Kim tests these useless missiles while we in the millions are poor, having nothing. This is something unforgivable."
[Christian Science Monitor]
Yet today Mrs. Park (not her real name) is in South Korea, an escapee. Her family is broken. So are her ideals. She's been captured in China - sent home to the North, made to endure camps, and witness horrific acts.
The Park family left North Korea for China in 1999, when they got too weak to work. "I had the feeling if we didn't leave North Korea right away, we would die. I didn't leave out of disloyalty to [North Korean leader] Kim [Jong Il]. I left for the family."
Back in the North, Park expected only a rebuke. Instead, the family went to an interrogation center for 18 days, then 22 days at a police camp. The camp separated "political" from "ordinary" criminals. At every step the Parks were beaten and suffered torture designed to "break" them.
Park was told to strip her clothes in a large yard. She thought the police were looking for weapons or contraband. But it was money they wanted. Along the border Koreans hide money in body cavities. Prisoners had five rules: Work from 7:30 to 7:30. When not working, sit on your knees. Keep your head down. Never move, not a finger, or you will be hit. Finally, confess your mistakes constantly. "We were told to say over and over, 'I am sorry, I am sorry for what I have done.' "
Park eventually escaped to Seoul via an underground Christian group. Today she leads a refugee group for women. She is implacably opposed to the Kim regime. "I complain when Kim tests these useless missiles while we in the millions are poor, having nothing. This is something unforgivable."
[Christian Science Monitor]
Saturday, October 07, 2006
Insights to the North Korean Military
With reports of 60 shots being fired Saturday along the heavily armed no man's land separating the divided Koreas, this seems like a fitting time to touch on the North Korean military.
Following are highlights of a testimony by Han Young Jin, who defected from North Korea:
The combined North Korean military numbers 1.2 million, army, naval and air force, though some estimate the number as being closer to 1.7 million.
Military duty is compulsory: For men, it’s 10 years, and for women, it is 6~8 years.
Men used to be required to be taller than 148cm (4’10”) and heavier than 48kg (106 lbs). Nowadays they only have to be 145cm (4’9”) and 40kg (88 lbs).
This is because in the 1990s, many were stunted from lack of food. Many soldiers were at one time “kotjebi” (child beggars)”, wandering around in search of food.
Malnutrition is still a problem for those in the military. Before the food shortage, 800g of rice, and 200g of meat was the official amount provided for one day. For over ten years now, this has not been the case.
However, when it is announced that a military base will be receiving a visit from Kim Jong Il, vegetables and meat are borrowed from nearby villages for "food inspection", and later returned.
Following are highlights of a testimony by Han Young Jin, who defected from North Korea:
The combined North Korean military numbers 1.2 million, army, naval and air force, though some estimate the number as being closer to 1.7 million.Military duty is compulsory: For men, it’s 10 years, and for women, it is 6~8 years.
Men used to be required to be taller than 148cm (4’10”) and heavier than 48kg (106 lbs). Nowadays they only have to be 145cm (4’9”) and 40kg (88 lbs).
This is because in the 1990s, many were stunted from lack of food. Many soldiers were at one time “kotjebi” (child beggars)”, wandering around in search of food.
Malnutrition is still a problem for those in the military. Before the food shortage, 800g of rice, and 200g of meat was the official amount provided for one day. For over ten years now, this has not been the case.
However, when it is announced that a military base will be receiving a visit from Kim Jong Il, vegetables and meat are borrowed from nearby villages for "food inspection", and later returned.
Kim Jong Il meets with his military commanders
This weekend is the anniversary of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il's appointment as head of the Korean Workers' Party in 1997.
With tensions rising, Kim met hundreds of his top military commanders and urged them to bolster the nation's defenses, the North's official Korean Central News Agency reported earlier Friday. Officers greeted him with rousing cheers of "Fight at the cost of our lives!"
North Korean state television showed still photos of the bouffant-haired leader waving to an assembled crowd of about 500 olive-suited officers in dress caps. Kim later posed for a group photo with his commanders in front of Pyongyang's sprawling mausoleum for his father and national founder, Kim Il Sung.
The meeting was the reclusive leader's first reported appearance in three weeks and the first since Tuesday, when his government shocked the world by announcing plans to test a nuclear device on its way to building an atomic arsenal.
It was unclear when the rally took place, or how many attended, but it could show that Kim is trying to polish his credentials with the military at a time when international pressure is mounting on Pyongyang.
[Associated Press]
With tensions rising, Kim met hundreds of his top military commanders and urged them to bolster the nation's defenses, the North's official Korean Central News Agency reported earlier Friday. Officers greeted him with rousing cheers of "Fight at the cost of our lives!"
North Korean state television showed still photos of the bouffant-haired leader waving to an assembled crowd of about 500 olive-suited officers in dress caps. Kim later posed for a group photo with his commanders in front of Pyongyang's sprawling mausoleum for his father and national founder, Kim Il Sung.
The meeting was the reclusive leader's first reported appearance in three weeks and the first since Tuesday, when his government shocked the world by announcing plans to test a nuclear device on its way to building an atomic arsenal.
It was unclear when the rally took place, or how many attended, but it could show that Kim is trying to polish his credentials with the military at a time when international pressure is mounting on Pyongyang.
[Associated Press]
Friday, October 06, 2006
North Korea believes bomb will deter US attack
While the rest of the world looks to Beijing to stop North Korea from exploding a nuclear bomb, a leading Chinese analyst says it is too late - China cannot act without doing worse harm to its own interests.
[North Korea] "considers its national interests to be greater than its relations with China," says highly regarded Shen Dingli, of Shanghai's Fudan University, in his remarkably frank commentary, circulated yesterday by a North Korea-focused think tank, the Nautilus Institute.
South Korea and China redoubled their efforts to persuade Washington to agree to separate, bilateral talks with the Kim regime, in order to secure its agreement to return to the six-party discussions it has boycotted since November.
An economic and security chaos accompanying a regime collapse is the most feared scenario in Beijing and Seoul.
In the UN Security Council, China resisted a condemnatory statement against Pyongyang's test threat because, Chinese ambassador Wang Guangya said, "if the six-party talks cannot do anything about it, I don't think the council is in a position (to do anything)".
In Mr Shen's analysis, North Korea now believes it needs to test a bomb because that will unmistakably demonstrate its nuclear capability which, in turn, will deter the US from any attack.
Mr Shen argues that the North Koreans are prepared to weather deeper trade and financial sanctions from the US, Japan and other Western countries because they believe that ultimately, the Americans will have to accept their nuclear-state status, as happened with India and Pakistan.
[The Australian]
[North Korea] "considers its national interests to be greater than its relations with China," says highly regarded Shen Dingli, of Shanghai's Fudan University, in his remarkably frank commentary, circulated yesterday by a North Korea-focused think tank, the Nautilus Institute.
South Korea and China redoubled their efforts to persuade Washington to agree to separate, bilateral talks with the Kim regime, in order to secure its agreement to return to the six-party discussions it has boycotted since November.
An economic and security chaos accompanying a regime collapse is the most feared scenario in Beijing and Seoul.
In the UN Security Council, China resisted a condemnatory statement against Pyongyang's test threat because, Chinese ambassador Wang Guangya said, "if the six-party talks cannot do anything about it, I don't think the council is in a position (to do anything)".
In Mr Shen's analysis, North Korea now believes it needs to test a bomb because that will unmistakably demonstrate its nuclear capability which, in turn, will deter the US from any attack.
Mr Shen argues that the North Koreans are prepared to weather deeper trade and financial sanctions from the US, Japan and other Western countries because they believe that ultimately, the Americans will have to accept their nuclear-state status, as happened with India and Pakistan.
[The Australian]
North Korea Warned on Weapon Testing
The Bush administration delivered a secret message to North Korea warning it to back down from a promised nuclear test, and it said publicly that the United States would not live with a nuclear-armed Pyongyang government.
North Korea "can have a future or it can have these weapons. It cannot have both," Assistant Secretary of State Christopher R. Hill said in remarks at Johns Hopkins University's U.S.-Korea Institute. It was the toughest response yet from the Bush administration, coming two days after Pyongyang announced plans to conduct its first nuclear test.
Hill did not explain how the administration would respond to a test, but he said it is willing to sit with North Korean officials and diplomats from the region to discuss the crisis. "We will do all we can to dissuade [North Korea] from this test," he said. State Department officials said Hill is considering a trip to Asia to discuss options with key allies.
He said the United States had passed along a private warning through North Korea's diplomatic mission to the United Nations in New York.
North Korea is believed to have enough plutonium for as many as 11 nuclear bombs. It announced in February that it had succeeded in building a weapon, although intelligence analysts believe it is still years away from being able to deliver one.
[Excerpt of an article by Dafna Linzer, Washington Post]
North Korea "can have a future or it can have these weapons. It cannot have both," Assistant Secretary of State Christopher R. Hill said in remarks at Johns Hopkins University's U.S.-Korea Institute. It was the toughest response yet from the Bush administration, coming two days after Pyongyang announced plans to conduct its first nuclear test.
Hill did not explain how the administration would respond to a test, but he said it is willing to sit with North Korean officials and diplomats from the region to discuss the crisis. "We will do all we can to dissuade [North Korea] from this test," he said. State Department officials said Hill is considering a trip to Asia to discuss options with key allies.
He said the United States had passed along a private warning through North Korea's diplomatic mission to the United Nations in New York.
North Korea is believed to have enough plutonium for as many as 11 nuclear bombs. It announced in February that it had succeeded in building a weapon, although intelligence analysts believe it is still years away from being able to deliver one.
[Excerpt of an article by Dafna Linzer, Washington Post]
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Thought on North Korea Vowed Nuclear Test
An interesting post from Donald Gregg, a CIA official since 1951, and a liaison to President Carter's National Security Council and National Security Advisor to Vice President George H.W. Bush, as well as U.S. ambassador to South Korea from 1989 to 1993. Mr Gregg is now chairman of the board of the Korea Society. In response to a Korea Liberator post on Washington Post's PostGlobal site, Mr Gregg writes:
My impression of the North Korea statement was how carefully it was was worded, and how free of bombast it was. It sounds as though North Korea is trying to establish its credentials as a responsible nuclear power.
It may hope that this statement will put pressure on the US to start talking with them bilaterally. This will not work with the Bush administration, and the gulf of suspicion and mutual hostility will only widen. I still believe that North Korea would rather talk seriously with the US than to conduct a nuclear test, but this latest move is another step away from dialogue toward greater estrangement.
Is there anything that could be done to stop a test from occuring? I think there is.
If the Bush administration would appoint a senior policy director for North Korean issues, as Congress wants it to, I believe that talks could be re-started. I fear that there is very little chance of this happening. I hope I am wrong, but I do not think I am.
My impression of the North Korea statement was how carefully it was was worded, and how free of bombast it was. It sounds as though North Korea is trying to establish its credentials as a responsible nuclear power.
It may hope that this statement will put pressure on the US to start talking with them bilaterally. This will not work with the Bush administration, and the gulf of suspicion and mutual hostility will only widen. I still believe that North Korea would rather talk seriously with the US than to conduct a nuclear test, but this latest move is another step away from dialogue toward greater estrangement.
Is there anything that could be done to stop a test from occuring? I think there is.
If the Bush administration would appoint a senior policy director for North Korean issues, as Congress wants it to, I believe that talks could be re-started. I fear that there is very little chance of this happening. I hope I am wrong, but I do not think I am.
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
North Korea Vows First Nuclear Test
North Korea announced today that it plans to conduct its first nuclear test, sharply escalating its standoff with the United States and setting off ripples of alarm in Japan and South Korea.
A statement released by the North Korean state-run news agency declared that “the U.S. extreme threat of a nuclear war and sanctions and pressure” compel the country “to conduct a nuclear test, an essential process for bolstering nuclear deterrent, as a corresponding measure for defense.”
Until now, North Korea has never acknowledged having nuclear weapons, although intelligence officials have assumed for several years that it had produced enough plutonium to build a bomb. Analysts have said in the past that a test could destabilize the balance of power in the region, perhaps pushing Japan to develop its own nuclear weapons, and could raise the risk of a military clash between North Korea and the United States.
The statement gave no indication of when such a test might occur. Last month, Kim Seung Kyu, director of South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, told his country’s parliament that North Korea is capable of conducting an underground nuclear test at any time.
American officials have said that if North Korea were to conduct nuclear tests, the United States would seek Security Council sanctions through a procedure that carries the threat of military action.
[Excerpt of an article by Choe Sang-Hun (Seoul) and John O’Neil (New York), The New York Times]
A statement released by the North Korean state-run news agency declared that “the U.S. extreme threat of a nuclear war and sanctions and pressure” compel the country “to conduct a nuclear test, an essential process for bolstering nuclear deterrent, as a corresponding measure for defense.”
Until now, North Korea has never acknowledged having nuclear weapons, although intelligence officials have assumed for several years that it had produced enough plutonium to build a bomb. Analysts have said in the past that a test could destabilize the balance of power in the region, perhaps pushing Japan to develop its own nuclear weapons, and could raise the risk of a military clash between North Korea and the United States.
The statement gave no indication of when such a test might occur. Last month, Kim Seung Kyu, director of South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, told his country’s parliament that North Korea is capable of conducting an underground nuclear test at any time.
American officials have said that if North Korea were to conduct nuclear tests, the United States would seek Security Council sanctions through a procedure that carries the threat of military action.
[Excerpt of an article by Choe Sang-Hun (Seoul) and John O’Neil (New York), The New York Times]
US Aid to North Korea if "transparent distribution"
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is reportedly willing to provide food aid to North Korea if it guarantees transparent distribution.
Buddhist Priest Beobryun who chairs the domestic North Korean aid agency Join Together Society met with senior U.S. intelligence official Joseph DeTrani in the U.S. last week to brief him on flood damage in the communist state.
Calling the damage the worst in North Korean history, Beobryun said that recovery is impossible without outside help.
He quoted State Department officials as expressing willingness to offer large-scale food aid to Pyongyang if it's distributed transparently in line with American law.
The Agency for International Development is an independent U.S. agency that serves as the focal point for U.S. overseas assistance efforts, with guidance from the State Department.
[KBS Global]
Buddhist Priest Beobryun who chairs the domestic North Korean aid agency Join Together Society met with senior U.S. intelligence official Joseph DeTrani in the U.S. last week to brief him on flood damage in the communist state.Calling the damage the worst in North Korean history, Beobryun said that recovery is impossible without outside help.
He quoted State Department officials as expressing willingness to offer large-scale food aid to Pyongyang if it's distributed transparently in line with American law.
The Agency for International Development is an independent U.S. agency that serves as the focal point for U.S. overseas assistance efforts, with guidance from the State Department.
[KBS Global]
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
North Korean refugee children
During the past four or five years, I have met probably one hundred people who have escaped from North Korea. Some of them … are children repeatedly crossing the border.
These children repeatedly crossing the border are in tragic condition. For example, a 20-year-old boy looks like he is only 15 years old, or a 17-year-old boy looks only 11. A 16-year-old girl who looked 11 didn't even know about menstruation. Her classmates and seniors looked like they had completely stopped growing.
One 10-year-old girl had crossed the border fifteen times. … If they are arrested, they are beaten and threatened, even tortured. One boy was attacked by a thief who left a sword scar on his face.
We clothed those children, who had neither underwear nor socks, and who had no alternative but sleep in open fields in temperatures of -30 degrees centigrade (-22 degrees Fahrenheit). We also bathed them (most looked like they had not bathed for five years, judging from the thickness of their grime). They had never seen shampoo. We fed them, and interviewed them to find out how their parents had died or been killed.
We found how limited our options were for helping those children; we could do nothing but shed helpless tears for the tragic circumstances of these children.
[Source: northkoreanrefugees.com]
These children repeatedly crossing the border are in tragic condition. For example, a 20-year-old boy looks like he is only 15 years old, or a 17-year-old boy looks only 11. A 16-year-old girl who looked 11 didn't even know about menstruation. Her classmates and seniors looked like they had completely stopped growing.
One 10-year-old girl had crossed the border fifteen times. … If they are arrested, they are beaten and threatened, even tortured. One boy was attacked by a thief who left a sword scar on his face.
We clothed those children, who had neither underwear nor socks, and who had no alternative but sleep in open fields in temperatures of -30 degrees centigrade (-22 degrees Fahrenheit). We also bathed them (most looked like they had not bathed for five years, judging from the thickness of their grime). They had never seen shampoo. We fed them, and interviewed them to find out how their parents had died or been killed.
We found how limited our options were for helping those children; we could do nothing but shed helpless tears for the tragic circumstances of these children.
[Source: northkoreanrefugees.com]
Monday, October 02, 2006
An increase of wandering vagabonds in North Korea
[Beginning September 6th, I] traveled throughout the Sino-North Korean border area and met several North Korean residents who came to China.
In interviewing them, I [became aware of the] North Korean people’s complete loss of confidence on Kim Jong Il, especially since the missile launch incident, recent floods, and weakened Sino-North Korean relationship.
Most North Korean residents are despairing from a decade long famine and hopeless lives. … Interviewees agreed that North Korean society was doomed to collapse because of widespread corruption and starvation.
According to them, after the huge floods in July and August, the number of vagabond childrens increased. And adult wanderers volunteer to collect foodstuff on the street since it is even harder to work and earn money.
In interviewing them, I [became aware of the] North Korean people’s complete loss of confidence on Kim Jong Il, especially since the missile launch incident, recent floods, and weakened Sino-North Korean relationship.
Most North Korean residents are despairing from a decade long famine and hopeless lives. … Interviewees agreed that North Korean society was doomed to collapse because of widespread corruption and starvation.
According to them, after the huge floods in July and August, the number of vagabond childrens increased. And adult wanderers volunteer to collect foodstuff on the street since it is even harder to work and earn money.[Excerpt of an article by Choi Jeon Ho, Defector from North Pyongan province, writing in Daily NK]
More North Korean adults and children on the move
I met Choi, a 45-year-old North Korean resident in my recent trip to northeast China, in a border area in Changbai County.
Choi said that not only the number of beggar children [spiked after the July and August floods in North Korea] but also adult vagabonds increased, as it did in 1997 at the peak of the Great Famine.
The number of young wanderers, called ‘kotjebi’ (begging children), had been anticipated [but] it was the unprecedented that adult wanders appeared in such a large scale.
Choi concluded that being a wanderer is better, if not only the only way to survive, abandoning homes and occupations [in the trade-off].
Choi stated, “Although the state has never declared that it will not provide food rationing, people no longer believe in state rationing. Workers don’t expect salaries from their companies. Nobody asks for overdue payment. They just gave up any hope on that. Since there is no ration and no salary, there is no need to keep homes and jobs.”
[Excerpt of article by Choi Jeon Ho, Defector from North Pyongan province, writing in Daily NK]
Choi said that not only the number of beggar children [spiked after the July and August floods in North Korea] but also adult vagabonds increased, as it did in 1997 at the peak of the Great Famine.
The number of young wanderers, called ‘kotjebi’ (begging children), had been anticipated [but] it was the unprecedented that adult wanders appeared in such a large scale.
Choi concluded that being a wanderer is better, if not only the only way to survive, abandoning homes and occupations [in the trade-off].Choi stated, “Although the state has never declared that it will not provide food rationing, people no longer believe in state rationing. Workers don’t expect salaries from their companies. Nobody asks for overdue payment. They just gave up any hope on that. Since there is no ration and no salary, there is no need to keep homes and jobs.”
[Excerpt of article by Choi Jeon Ho, Defector from North Pyongan province, writing in Daily NK]
Sunday, October 01, 2006
More on Rick Warren going to North Korea
Interesting insights into Pastor Rick Warren, who expects to be preaching in North Korea next year:
Interviewer: You've been criticized for your plan to preach in North Korea next year. The concern is that the Koreans will use you for their own purposes. How do you respond?
I'm not a politician. I'm a pastor. I don't make decisions based on politics.
If I'm not limited [by the North Koreans] in what I can say, I'll preach the good news of the Gospel. Next year is the 100th anniversary of the Pyongyang revival, and for some reason the leader [Kim Jong Il] decided to allow the first public preaching of the Gospel in 60 years. So when they invited me, I said, "Sure!"
Here are people who have been told for 60 years that there is no God, there is no purpose for your life.
Hey, I'm happy to go in there. There's risk, but I'm willing to take it.
Interviewer: But not everyone in the evangelical world seems happy about your choices, particularly your involvement in combating AIDS.
I'm kind of in a no-man's land, where I take heat from every side.
If I go to the International AIDS Conference, there are those there who want to validate their lifestyle, and I'm not going to do that. And there are others who want me to condemn everyone and not show up.
So, yes, you get misunderstood sometimes. That's just par for the course.
[Excerpt from Dallas Morning News interview]
Interviewer: You've been criticized for your plan to preach in North Korea next year. The concern is that the Koreans will use you for their own purposes. How do you respond?
I'm not a politician. I'm a pastor. I don't make decisions based on politics.
If I'm not limited [by the North Koreans] in what I can say, I'll preach the good news of the Gospel. Next year is the 100th anniversary of the Pyongyang revival, and for some reason the leader [Kim Jong Il] decided to allow the first public preaching of the Gospel in 60 years. So when they invited me, I said, "Sure!"
Here are people who have been told for 60 years that there is no God, there is no purpose for your life.
Hey, I'm happy to go in there. There's risk, but I'm willing to take it.
Interviewer: But not everyone in the evangelical world seems happy about your choices, particularly your involvement in combating AIDS.
I'm kind of in a no-man's land, where I take heat from every side.
If I go to the International AIDS Conference, there are those there who want to validate their lifestyle, and I'm not going to do that. And there are others who want me to condemn everyone and not show up.
So, yes, you get misunderstood sometimes. That's just par for the course.
[Excerpt from Dallas Morning News interview]
Saturday, September 30, 2006
Korean Bar Association on North Korea human rights
The Korean Bar Association yesterday released a report on the human rights situation in North Korea, after two years of data collection and interviews with 100 North Korean defectors who came to the South after 2000.
According to the report, 90 percent of those surveyed said the North Korean law enforcement authorities do not abide by legal processes in arresting suspects or detaining them in jails.
About 22 percent of them experienced or heard from others that the authorities do not allow suspects to sleep during investigation, while 21.1 percent said torture was widespread. Some 17 percent directly or indirectly experienced abusive language and sexual harassment during investigation, and 17.5 percent underwent investigation for more than two months without an arrest warrant.
Prison inmates also usually suffer from torture and maltreatment, including abusive language, sexual harassment and beatings. Political offenders face compulsory labor 12-15 hours a day, according to the report.
In the case of female inmates, 57.7 percent of the defectors said they saw or heard that pregnant women were forced to have abortions.
Some of the surveyed also testified about illegal public executions.
The association has published reports on South Korea’s human rights every year since 1989, but this is the first time that it has released one on the North.
[Excerpt of a article by Kim Rahn, The Korea Times]
According to the report, 90 percent of those surveyed said the North Korean law enforcement authorities do not abide by legal processes in arresting suspects or detaining them in jails.
About 22 percent of them experienced or heard from others that the authorities do not allow suspects to sleep during investigation, while 21.1 percent said torture was widespread. Some 17 percent directly or indirectly experienced abusive language and sexual harassment during investigation, and 17.5 percent underwent investigation for more than two months without an arrest warrant.
Prison inmates also usually suffer from torture and maltreatment, including abusive language, sexual harassment and beatings. Political offenders face compulsory labor 12-15 hours a day, according to the report.
In the case of female inmates, 57.7 percent of the defectors said they saw or heard that pregnant women were forced to have abortions.
Some of the surveyed also testified about illegal public executions.
The association has published reports on South Korea’s human rights every year since 1989, but this is the first time that it has released one on the North.
[Excerpt of a article by Kim Rahn, The Korea Times]
Friday, September 29, 2006
China Cracks Down
The five-year filmmaking ban imposed by Chinese authorities on director Lou Ye [for a love story set during the 1989 Tiananmen demonstrations] is just the latest signal from Beijing that its tolerance for even minor signs of dissent has shrunk dramatically. The last 18 months have seen a growing number of arrests, detentions, prison sentences and other measures apparently aimed at heading off greater freedom of expression, not just in the arts, but in religion, the Internet and both the foreign and state-run media.
Blind public interest lawyer Chen Guangcheng found himself on the receiving end of a four-year, three-month sentence last week. He was charged with obstructing traffic and damaging property. Chen, who is best known for his work on behalf of women forced to undergo abortions or sterilizations. Chen has repeatedly angered local party officials in Linyi, particularly through his revelations about the forced sterilization program.
Recent months have also seen a tightening of control over religious affairs. In early July, respected preacher and religious activist Zhang Rongliang was jailed for seven and a half years on a pointedly non-religious charge: forging a passport. Later the same month, 82-year-old underground Catholic bishop Yao Liang was arrested along with another priest, according to Catholic activists. And on July 29 the resort city of Hangzhou was the site of what some witnesses call the biggest confrontation between security forces and Christians, a bloody clash over the demolition of a church involving thousands of protesters and police.
China watchers remain divided about just how centrally coordinated such actions are. Some speculate that China's President Hu Jintao is putting on a show of strength to bolster his relatively weak grip on the reins of power; the crackdown is seen as clearing the decks of potentially embarrassing dissenters before Beijing hosts the Olympic Games in the summer of 2008. The Chinese authorities are particularly sensitive to media coverage in periods leading up to major events like the Games.
Whatever the reasons behind them, though, there is little doubt that the jailings and other measures are having a chilling impact. "Of course it makes us scared," says one Christian who witnessed the clash at Hangzhou. "We call it killing the chicken to scare the monkey. They are using us as an example so that other Christians in the rest of the country are obedient."
[Excerpted from TIME Asia]
Blind public interest lawyer Chen Guangcheng found himself on the receiving end of a four-year, three-month sentence last week. He was charged with obstructing traffic and damaging property. Chen, who is best known for his work on behalf of women forced to undergo abortions or sterilizations. Chen has repeatedly angered local party officials in Linyi, particularly through his revelations about the forced sterilization program.
Recent months have also seen a tightening of control over religious affairs. In early July, respected preacher and religious activist Zhang Rongliang was jailed for seven and a half years on a pointedly non-religious charge: forging a passport. Later the same month, 82-year-old underground Catholic bishop Yao Liang was arrested along with another priest, according to Catholic activists. And on July 29 the resort city of Hangzhou was the site of what some witnesses call the biggest confrontation between security forces and Christians, a bloody clash over the demolition of a church involving thousands of protesters and police.
China watchers remain divided about just how centrally coordinated such actions are. Some speculate that China's President Hu Jintao is putting on a show of strength to bolster his relatively weak grip on the reins of power; the crackdown is seen as clearing the decks of potentially embarrassing dissenters before Beijing hosts the Olympic Games in the summer of 2008. The Chinese authorities are particularly sensitive to media coverage in periods leading up to major events like the Games.
Whatever the reasons behind them, though, there is little doubt that the jailings and other measures are having a chilling impact. "Of course it makes us scared," says one Christian who witnessed the clash at Hangzhou. "We call it killing the chicken to scare the monkey. They are using us as an example so that other Christians in the rest of the country are obedient."
[Excerpted from TIME Asia]
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Personal note from Tim Peters re: North Korean Underground Railroad
We just wrapped up a summit meeting of Underground Railroad activists, gathering folks from a number of countries.
So Japanese and Korean leaders, as well as a top underground Chinese church leader, etc. were able to brainstorm new strategies as the Chinese continue to crackdown with the runup to the Olympics approaching.
General consensus was that our meetings were fruitful. and that by the grace of God!
A rep from DC attended several hours of our meetings and gave a speech to us, and then had to listen to us (courteously-ha!) lambast the US diplomatic missions abroad for their over-caution in implementing the NKHR Act on the ground in tougher environments, e.g. Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, and of course, China.
On other fronts, I just returned from the Lao-Thai border a week back, assisting in the successful rescue of 7 North Korean refugees. [See BBC television coverage on this, "Escaping from North Korea", at the following URL: http://search.bbc.co.uk/cgi-bin/search/results.pl?tab=all&go=homepage&q=North+Korean+refugees&scope=all&Search.x=26&Search.y=9 ]
So Japanese and Korean leaders, as well as a top underground Chinese church leader, etc. were able to brainstorm new strategies as the Chinese continue to crackdown with the runup to the Olympics approaching.
General consensus was that our meetings were fruitful. and that by the grace of God!
A rep from DC attended several hours of our meetings and gave a speech to us, and then had to listen to us (courteously-ha!) lambast the US diplomatic missions abroad for their over-caution in implementing the NKHR Act on the ground in tougher environments, e.g. Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, and of course, China.
On other fronts, I just returned from the Lao-Thai border a week back, assisting in the successful rescue of 7 North Korean refugees. [See BBC television coverage on this, "Escaping from North Korea", at the following URL: http://search.bbc.co.uk/cgi-bin/search/results.pl?tab=all&go=homepage&q=North+Korean+refugees&scope=all&Search.x=26&Search.y=9 ]
North Korea says U.S. is not world's "religion judge"
North Korea hit back on Wednesday to U.S. charges that it suppresses religion by telling Washington to stop acting as the world's "religious judge."
The U.S. State Department, in its annual International Religious Freedom Report released this month, quoted defectors and others as saying North Korea imprisoned and executed people who tried to practice religion.
An article on Wednesday in Pyongyang's official Rodong Sinmun daily said: "The U.S., after the September 11 incident, has murdered many Muslims in cold blood in its mainland, Afghanistan and Iraq and made no bones about insulting and overriding Islam and Islamic culture.
"The United States is not a 'religious judge' but a chief culprit in the repression and extermination of religion which should be put in the dock of a religious trial," Rodong Sinmun said, according to an authorized translation.
Reclusive North Korea, which governments and human rights groups say has one of the worst rights record in the world, bristles at any criticism of how it treats its citizens.
"They (U.S. leaders) hold heretical a religious view and religion which criticize or disapprove of the American way of life," said the article carried by the official KCNA news agency.
This is the latest in a long string of mutual recriminations between the two countries which remain technically at war half a century after the 1950-53 Korean conflict ended in an inconclusive truce.
[Reuters]
The U.S. State Department, in its annual International Religious Freedom Report released this month, quoted defectors and others as saying North Korea imprisoned and executed people who tried to practice religion.
An article on Wednesday in Pyongyang's official Rodong Sinmun daily said: "The U.S., after the September 11 incident, has murdered many Muslims in cold blood in its mainland, Afghanistan and Iraq and made no bones about insulting and overriding Islam and Islamic culture.
"The United States is not a 'religious judge' but a chief culprit in the repression and extermination of religion which should be put in the dock of a religious trial," Rodong Sinmun said, according to an authorized translation.
Reclusive North Korea, which governments and human rights groups say has one of the worst rights record in the world, bristles at any criticism of how it treats its citizens.
"They (U.S. leaders) hold heretical a religious view and religion which criticize or disapprove of the American way of life," said the article carried by the official KCNA news agency.
This is the latest in a long string of mutual recriminations between the two countries which remain technically at war half a century after the 1950-53 Korean conflict ended in an inconclusive truce.
[Reuters]
California minister wants to preach in North Korea
The California pastor who authored the best-selling book, "The Purpose Driven Life," wants to take his ministry to North Korea.
The Reverend Rick Warren leaves for Korea this week, with stops first in South Korea to meet with government and church leaders. Then he plans to speak to U-S troops stationed near the D-M-Z, before crossing the border to meet with North Korean officials.
A spokesman says Warren is hoping to preach next spring at a stadium in North Korea's capital to commemorate the 100th anniversary of an earlier Christian revival in Pyongyang.
The State Department estimates that out of North Korea's population of 23 million, only about 14 thousand are Christian. The department also cautions that people involved in unsanctioned religious activities in the communist nation risk arrest.
[AP]
The Reverend Rick Warren leaves for Korea this week, with stops first in South Korea to meet with government and church leaders. Then he plans to speak to U-S troops stationed near the D-M-Z, before crossing the border to meet with North Korean officials.
A spokesman says Warren is hoping to preach next spring at a stadium in North Korea's capital to commemorate the 100th anniversary of an earlier Christian revival in Pyongyang.
The State Department estimates that out of North Korea's population of 23 million, only about 14 thousand are Christian. The department also cautions that people involved in unsanctioned religious activities in the communist nation risk arrest.
[AP]
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
98% of North Korean defectors observed public executions
A defector-based movement Free North Korea Broadcasting (FreeNK) conducted a telephone survey [of North Korean] defectors over the age of 20 years. The broadcast revealed that 98% of participants in the survey had witnessed public executions.
According to FreeNK, 49% of participants had witnessed public executions 6~10 times, 27% of participants 10~20 times and 6% of participants had witnessed public executions on more than 20 occasions. Taking the results of the survey into consideration, it can be deduced that on the greater part, that the majority of North Korean citizens have witnessed public executions.
Survey respondents revealed that murder and theft was the major crime committed by offenders, particularly during the food crisis in the mid-90’s where theft of daily necessities was most high. FreeNK further revealed responses by participants that “Stealing rice or corn, cross-handling electricity lines and slaughtering of cows served as the greater examples of crime.”
Kim a female defector from Pyongyang revealed “Even if crimes are petty, the government still sentences people to public execution as an example to those who commit crime."
[The Daily NK]
According to FreeNK, 49% of participants had witnessed public executions 6~10 times, 27% of participants 10~20 times and 6% of participants had witnessed public executions on more than 20 occasions. Taking the results of the survey into consideration, it can be deduced that on the greater part, that the majority of North Korean citizens have witnessed public executions.
Survey respondents revealed that murder and theft was the major crime committed by offenders, particularly during the food crisis in the mid-90’s where theft of daily necessities was most high. FreeNK further revealed responses by participants that “Stealing rice or corn, cross-handling electricity lines and slaughtering of cows served as the greater examples of crime.”
Kim a female defector from Pyongyang revealed “Even if crimes are petty, the government still sentences people to public execution as an example to those who commit crime."
[The Daily NK]
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
North Koreans in S. Korea protest over forces plan
A group of 30 former North Korean soldiers who defected to South Korea have staged a protest against Seoul's plan to revise its military alliance with the United States. The defectors said President Roh Moo-Hyun was underestimating Pyongyang's military threat in his drive to regain wartime control over his country's military.
Seoul is in talks with the United States to regain wartime operational control over South Korean troops by 2012, a major change in their alliance which dates back to the 1950-1953 Korean War.
The protesters warned against North Korea's military, which they said possessed the nuclear and chemical warfare capability to annihilate South Koreans.
"What the North Korean forces most fear is the 'South Korea-US combined forces command' troops, especially the US firepower. As long as the US forces exist, Kim Jong-Il cannot even dream of a provocation," it said.
Some 29,500 US soldiers are now deployed to help 650,000 South Korean troops face up to the North's 1.2 million-strong army.
[AFP]
Seoul is in talks with the United States to regain wartime operational control over South Korean troops by 2012, a major change in their alliance which dates back to the 1950-1953 Korean War.
The protesters warned against North Korea's military, which they said possessed the nuclear and chemical warfare capability to annihilate South Koreans.
"What the North Korean forces most fear is the 'South Korea-US combined forces command' troops, especially the US firepower. As long as the US forces exist, Kim Jong-Il cannot even dream of a provocation," it said.
Some 29,500 US soldiers are now deployed to help 650,000 South Korean troops face up to the North's 1.2 million-strong army.
[AFP]
Monday, September 25, 2006
Helsinki Process for North Korea Human Rights
An international conference on North Korean human rights, to look for solution through the Helsinki Process, will be held on September 26 in Washington D.C. by Freedom House, a U.S. based human rights organization.
In 1975, the United States, along with the Western European countries, and the Soviet bloc signed on an agreement in Helsinki Finland, and the western world urged the communist countries to improve democracy according to the agreement. Helsinki Process means such multilateral pressure toward democracy and human rights.
In the conference, 23 scholars from the U.S., Japan, South Korea, and China will join to discuss various solutions, especially through security, economy and human rights that are the core of Helsinki Process, of the North Korean issue. Senator Sam Brownback (R-Kansas), who led legislation of North Korean Human Rights Acts, is scheduled to have an opening speech. Sen. Brownback has been arguing for the change of course in American policy on North Korean toward Helsinki Process.
Jae H. Ku, director of the Human Rights in North Korea Project in the Freedom House, said in an interview with Radio Free Asia that there was an increase of opinion in the U.S., particularly on Capitol Hill, to apply the Helsinki Process-type solution in North Korea.
[The Daily NK]
In 1975, the United States, along with the Western European countries, and the Soviet bloc signed on an agreement in Helsinki Finland, and the western world urged the communist countries to improve democracy according to the agreement. Helsinki Process means such multilateral pressure toward democracy and human rights.
In the conference, 23 scholars from the U.S., Japan, South Korea, and China will join to discuss various solutions, especially through security, economy and human rights that are the core of Helsinki Process, of the North Korean issue. Senator Sam Brownback (R-Kansas), who led legislation of North Korean Human Rights Acts, is scheduled to have an opening speech. Sen. Brownback has been arguing for the change of course in American policy on North Korean toward Helsinki Process.
Jae H. Ku, director of the Human Rights in North Korea Project in the Freedom House, said in an interview with Radio Free Asia that there was an increase of opinion in the U.S., particularly on Capitol Hill, to apply the Helsinki Process-type solution in North Korea.
[The Daily NK]
Sunday, September 24, 2006
Seoul sets condition for resumption of aid to North Korea
South Korea's Unification Minister Lee Jong-seok said his country would resume humanitarian assistance for North Korea as soon as it returns to international negotiations over its nuclear ambitions. This is the first time the minister has explicitly offered to resume the assistance in return for Pyongyang's return to the stalled talks.
Seoul suspended shipments of its regular humanitarian aid, which included rice and fertilizer, to the North shortly after the communist state test-fired seven ballistic missiles in early July.
Pyongyang has been refusing to return to the nuclear talks, also attended by South Korea, Japan, China, Russia and the United States, since November, citing what it claims to be U.S. hostility toward its regime.
Washington wants to maintain or increase pressure on the communist state so the North has no other option but to return to the negotiating table, while Seoul wishes to lure it back to the talks through carrots.
"The United States cannot feel the same about North Korea as South Korea does because South Korea faces 1.1 million North Korean troops only 40 kilometers (from its capital) while the United States is thousands of kilometers away," Lee said.
[Yonhap News]
Seoul suspended shipments of its regular humanitarian aid, which included rice and fertilizer, to the North shortly after the communist state test-fired seven ballistic missiles in early July.
Pyongyang has been refusing to return to the nuclear talks, also attended by South Korea, Japan, China, Russia and the United States, since November, citing what it claims to be U.S. hostility toward its regime.
Washington wants to maintain or increase pressure on the communist state so the North has no other option but to return to the negotiating table, while Seoul wishes to lure it back to the talks through carrots.
"The United States cannot feel the same about North Korea as South Korea does because South Korea faces 1.1 million North Korean troops only 40 kilometers (from its capital) while the United States is thousands of kilometers away," Lee said.
[Yonhap News]
Saturday, September 23, 2006
North Korean refugees released in Thailand
A group of 159 North Korean defectors who fled oppression from the communist country, and were detained in Thailand a month ago, have been freed and will soon be allowed to leave the country, a U.N. official said.
According to Kitty Mckinsey, a spokesman for the Bangkok office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the North Korean defectors, who were arrested in Thailand late last month for illegal entry into the Southeast Asian country, are taking necessary procedures to leave for a third country.
The spokesman did not elaborate on whether the third country was South Korea but noted that he hopes that they could leave for a third country as soon as possible.
A South Korea official, declining to be named, said that the Seoul government is willing to help those defectors come to South Korea if they want, adding that its basic stance is to respect their opinions.
According to Seoul's Unification Ministry, a growing number of North Koreans are defecting to South Korea. A total of 1,054 North Koreans have found their residence in the South in the first seven months of this year, up 60 percent from the same period of last year.
[Yonhap News]
According to Kitty Mckinsey, a spokesman for the Bangkok office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the North Korean defectors, who were arrested in Thailand late last month for illegal entry into the Southeast Asian country, are taking necessary procedures to leave for a third country.
The spokesman did not elaborate on whether the third country was South Korea but noted that he hopes that they could leave for a third country as soon as possible.
A South Korea official, declining to be named, said that the Seoul government is willing to help those defectors come to South Korea if they want, adding that its basic stance is to respect their opinions.
According to Seoul's Unification Ministry, a growing number of North Koreans are defecting to South Korea. A total of 1,054 North Koreans have found their residence in the South in the first seven months of this year, up 60 percent from the same period of last year.
[Yonhap News]
Friday, September 22, 2006
Thai town on path to freedom for North Koreans
Last Monday, seven North Korean refugee women in their 20s and 30s turned themselves in to Thai police in the northeastern province of Nong Khai on the border of Laos.
Fleeing from hunger and repression, North Koreans started coming to Chiang Saen in Thailand's northernmost region three years ago, via China and Laos. The influx of North Koreans in the town, some 800 kilometers (500 miles) north of Bangkok, shows that Thailand has become a popular transit country for defectors.
"North Koreans defect to China first. But if they are caught, the risk of being deported back to North Korea is 100 percent," says Lee Yong-Hwa, who heads an NGO for North Korean defectors in Japan.
After deportation from China --- North Korea's closest ally --- those who tried to flee face imprisonment, forced labor and even execution, Lee says. "Even if they are caught in Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, these governments will also send them back to China," from where they will eventually be shipped back to North Korea, he says.
"But Thailand is the only country in Southeast Asia that does not do so," he adds.
[AFP]
North Korean family gets U.S. work permits
The U.S. government issued work permits for a family of North Korean refugees. Ma Young-ae’s family had settled down in South Korea after escaping from the North and asked for asylum in the U.S., claiming she was “oppressed by the South Korean government.”Earlier this year, a court in California granted asylum to Seo Jae-seok who had also initially settled in South Korea. However, Ma’s case is the first for the U.S. administration to officially give asylum to refugees with South Korean nationality.
Ma said in a telephone interview on Sunday, “My husband and I received work permits by mail on last Thursday. When we asked for asylum, the U.S. authorities advised us to apply for work permits, so we did. I believe we were given asylum because we acted on the advice.” She added, “We will be qualified to apply for green cards in a year, so we will do so then.” Ma is staying near New York with her husband and 16-year-old son.
[donga.com]
Two North Korean defectors enter U.S. consulate in China
Two North Korean defectors, who were staying at a South Korean consulate in China, climbed into a nearby U.S. diplomatic mission in the northeastern Chinese city of Shenyang to apparently seek asylum, diplomatic sources said Tuesday.
South Korean and U.S. officials have been discussing how to handle the case, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The two defectors, if sent to the U.S., would be the third group of North Korean asylum seekers accepted by Washington, since U.S. President George W. Bush signed the North Korean Human Rights Act in 2004.
In May, 3 North Korean defectors were allowed to go to the U.S. from China, shortly after 6 North Koreans staying in Southeast Asian countries were admitted to the U.S. with refugee status.
[Yonhap News]
South Korean and U.S. officials have been discussing how to handle the case, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The two defectors, if sent to the U.S., would be the third group of North Korean asylum seekers accepted by Washington, since U.S. President George W. Bush signed the North Korean Human Rights Act in 2004.
In May, 3 North Korean defectors were allowed to go to the U.S. from China, shortly after 6 North Koreans staying in Southeast Asian countries were admitted to the U.S. with refugee status.
[Yonhap News]
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Bangkok detains 7 North Koreans demanding refugee status
Thai police took seven North Korean defectors into custody for 30 days, denying their demands to be granted refugee status, informed sources said.
The North Koreans turned themselves in to Thai authorities early Monday to demand refugee status after arriving in the southeast Asian country, according to a Tokyo-based civic activist group working with the alleged defectors.
"A group of seven North Korean refugees, all women, arrived in the Nongkai Province of Thailand from Laos and presented themselves without delay to the authorities at 9:00 a.m. (local time) Monday," said a statement released by the Life Funds for North Korean Refugees.
North Korean defectors who appeal to authorities in Thailand usually end up being fined or detained on charges of illegal entry as Thailand is not affiliated with United Nation's Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. According to the humanitarian organization, the North Koreans were seeking asylum "in accordance with Article 31 of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, which prohibits, among other things, imposing penalties on refugees on account of their illegal entry."
[Excerpt of an article by Byun Duk-kun, Yonhap News]
The North Koreans turned themselves in to Thai authorities early Monday to demand refugee status after arriving in the southeast Asian country, according to a Tokyo-based civic activist group working with the alleged defectors.
"A group of seven North Korean refugees, all women, arrived in the Nongkai Province of Thailand from Laos and presented themselves without delay to the authorities at 9:00 a.m. (local time) Monday," said a statement released by the Life Funds for North Korean Refugees.
North Korean defectors who appeal to authorities in Thailand usually end up being fined or detained on charges of illegal entry as Thailand is not affiliated with United Nation's Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. According to the humanitarian organization, the North Koreans were seeking asylum "in accordance with Article 31 of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, which prohibits, among other things, imposing penalties on refugees on account of their illegal entry."
[Excerpt of an article by Byun Duk-kun, Yonhap News]
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Japan imposes North Korea sanctions
Japan's Cabinet approved a new set of financial sanctions against North Korea on Tuesday in response to the communist nation's missile tests in July, the government's top spokesman said.
Communist North Korea's moribund economy is heavily dependent on cash infusions from a large community of sympathetic ethnic Koreans in Japan.
Australia also imposed similar restrictions Tuesday.
The sanctions -- called for in a U.N. Security Council resolution that denounced the July launches -- ban fund transfers and overseas remittances by groups and individuals suspected of links to North Korean weapons programs.
Japan also urged China to follow suit with sanctions as allowed under the U.N. resolution.
The United States, China, Japan, Russia and South Korea have tried to persuade the North to abandon its nuclear program at six-party negotiations that have been on hold since November 2005 because North Korea refuses to attend until Washington lifts financial restrictions.
[Associated Press]
Communist North Korea's moribund economy is heavily dependent on cash infusions from a large community of sympathetic ethnic Koreans in Japan.
Australia also imposed similar restrictions Tuesday.
The sanctions -- called for in a U.N. Security Council resolution that denounced the July launches -- ban fund transfers and overseas remittances by groups and individuals suspected of links to North Korean weapons programs.
Japan also urged China to follow suit with sanctions as allowed under the U.N. resolution.
The United States, China, Japan, Russia and South Korea have tried to persuade the North to abandon its nuclear program at six-party negotiations that have been on hold since November 2005 because North Korea refuses to attend until Washington lifts financial restrictions.
[Associated Press]
Monday, September 18, 2006
World Food Programme appeal for North Koreans
The World Food Programme has launched an urgent appeal for funds to feed North Korea, saying more than one third of its children are badly malnourished.
The UN relief agency said that so far it had received just eight percent of the 102 million dollars it needs to provide 150,000 tons of food over the next two years.
"We expect to be running out of commodities within the next two months," WFP deputy executive director John M. Powell told a news conference. Only three countries -- Australia, Cuba and Russia -- have made donations so far in response to the appeal, the WFP said.
The isolated Stalinist state has pressed on with its nuclear and missile programs despite severe food shortages dating back to the mid-1990s which forced it to accept international aid.
Floods this summer, partly blamed on deforestation by residents desperate for firewood, caused further hardship. The WFP has already offered 150 tons of food aid to the flood victims.
The WFP said last month that an estimated 60,000 North Koreans were left homeless and 30,000 hectares (74,100 acres) of farmland destroyed in the recent flooding. The agency said flooding of farmland caused the loss of 100,000 tons of food supplies, adding to the chronic food crisis.
[AFP]
The UN relief agency said that so far it had received just eight percent of the 102 million dollars it needs to provide 150,000 tons of food over the next two years.
"We expect to be running out of commodities within the next two months," WFP deputy executive director John M. Powell told a news conference. Only three countries -- Australia, Cuba and Russia -- have made donations so far in response to the appeal, the WFP said.
The isolated Stalinist state has pressed on with its nuclear and missile programs despite severe food shortages dating back to the mid-1990s which forced it to accept international aid.
Floods this summer, partly blamed on deforestation by residents desperate for firewood, caused further hardship. The WFP has already offered 150 tons of food aid to the flood victims.
The WFP said last month that an estimated 60,000 North Koreans were left homeless and 30,000 hectares (74,100 acres) of farmland destroyed in the recent flooding. The agency said flooding of farmland caused the loss of 100,000 tons of food supplies, adding to the chronic food crisis.
[AFP]
Sunday, September 17, 2006
North Korea's No. 2 Leader Blasts U.S.
North Korea's No. 2 leader blamed the lack of world peace on the United States Saturday at the Nonaligned Summit, saying that because of its failure to respect the sovereignty of other nations, “the international order is destroyed.”
Parliament leader Kim Yong Nam said desires for peace by the 118 countries in the Nonaligned Movement were “confronted with grave challenges owing to the high-handed acts and unilateralism of the superpower, which denies countries and nations the independent choice of development.” The resulting imbalance in global politics constitutes “rave threats to world peace and security,” he said.
The United States declined an invitation to attend the Nonaligned summit and said it would have no comment on any of the proceedings. The Nonaligned Movement was formed during the Cold War to establish a neutral third path in a world divided by the United States and the Soviet Union.
Kim also defended the North's nuclear program amid concerns the communist country may be preparing to carry out an atomic weapons test. North Korea “has been left with no other option but to possess nuclear weapons as a self-defensive deterrent," he said. 'The DPRK would not need even a single nuclear weapon if there no longer existed a U.S. threat.”
Recently, the United States has moved to sever North Korea's connections to outside banks, alleging any transactions conducted by the Pyongyang regime are suspect and could be connected to illegal activity - including money laundering and counterfeiting U.S. dollars. “The DPRK will never go back to the talks under U.S. sanctions,” Kim said.
[Excerpt of an article by Vanessa Arrington, Associated Press]
Parliament leader Kim Yong Nam said desires for peace by the 118 countries in the Nonaligned Movement were “confronted with grave challenges owing to the high-handed acts and unilateralism of the superpower, which denies countries and nations the independent choice of development.” The resulting imbalance in global politics constitutes “rave threats to world peace and security,” he said.
The United States declined an invitation to attend the Nonaligned summit and said it would have no comment on any of the proceedings. The Nonaligned Movement was formed during the Cold War to establish a neutral third path in a world divided by the United States and the Soviet Union.
Kim also defended the North's nuclear program amid concerns the communist country may be preparing to carry out an atomic weapons test. North Korea “has been left with no other option but to possess nuclear weapons as a self-defensive deterrent," he said. 'The DPRK would not need even a single nuclear weapon if there no longer existed a U.S. threat.”
Recently, the United States has moved to sever North Korea's connections to outside banks, alleging any transactions conducted by the Pyongyang regime are suspect and could be connected to illegal activity - including money laundering and counterfeiting U.S. dollars. “The DPRK will never go back to the talks under U.S. sanctions,” Kim said.
[Excerpt of an article by Vanessa Arrington, Associated Press]
North Korea's State indoctrination against religion
Two reports based on testimony from North Korean refugees – one by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom - have confirmed earlier findings that religious freedom does not exist in North Korea, that local people are aware of state-sponsored acts of religious persecution and that the only state-approved religion is Juche, or self-reliance, which is closely allied to the cult of the deceased leader Kim Il-Sung.
Some interviewees claimed they had witnessed or heard of extreme punishments, even death, meted out to religious believers. The Christian organisation Open Doors has noted that North Koreans arriving in China are usually very opposed to religion in general and Christianity in particular, as a result of the long-term and regular state indoctrination to which they had been subjected.
Given the draconian restrictions on individual freedoms in North Korea, the most reliable knowledge available on religious freedom and other human rights in the country has to be based on insights garnered from North Korean nationals outside the country, interviews with refugees from North Korea and informed foreigners who have visited the country.
[Excerpt of an article by Magda Hornemann, Forum 18 News Service]
Some interviewees claimed they had witnessed or heard of extreme punishments, even death, meted out to religious believers. The Christian organisation Open Doors has noted that North Koreans arriving in China are usually very opposed to religion in general and Christianity in particular, as a result of the long-term and regular state indoctrination to which they had been subjected.
Given the draconian restrictions on individual freedoms in North Korea, the most reliable knowledge available on religious freedom and other human rights in the country has to be based on insights garnered from North Korean nationals outside the country, interviews with refugees from North Korea and informed foreigners who have visited the country.
[Excerpt of an article by Magda Hornemann, Forum 18 News Service]
Saturday, September 16, 2006
U.S. report: Religious freedom 'poor' in North Korea
The United States released its eighth annual Report on International Religious Freedom, and included China, North Korea, Vietnam, Myanmar (Burma) and Laos on a list of countries "where religious freedom is of significant interest."
The report says that China's "respect for the freedom of religion and freedom of conscience remained poor," adding "there was little evidence that new regulations on religious affairs, which took effect in 2005, improved the situation of religious freedom."
"In the last two or three years, we've seen a number of setbacks, and sometimes very harsh treatment, surprisingly so, for minority faiths or for faiths that are not accepted by the government," said Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom John V. Hanford III.
Concerning North Korea, the report said, "genuine religious freedom does not exist, and there was no change in the extremely poor level of respect for religious freedom."
"In the communist world in general, we see a gradual easing of religious persecution. There are serious exceptions to this, North Korea being the most blatant, where things are horribly restrictive and oppressive," Hanford also said.
[Kyodo News]
The report says that China's "respect for the freedom of religion and freedom of conscience remained poor," adding "there was little evidence that new regulations on religious affairs, which took effect in 2005, improved the situation of religious freedom."
"In the last two or three years, we've seen a number of setbacks, and sometimes very harsh treatment, surprisingly so, for minority faiths or for faiths that are not accepted by the government," said Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom John V. Hanford III.
Concerning North Korea, the report said, "genuine religious freedom does not exist, and there was no change in the extremely poor level of respect for religious freedom."
"In the communist world in general, we see a gradual easing of religious persecution. There are serious exceptions to this, North Korea being the most blatant, where things are horribly restrictive and oppressive," Hanford also said.
[Kyodo News]
Friday, September 15, 2006
South Korea on accepting refugees, North Korean and otherwise
Under South Korea's constitution, North Koreans are regarded as citizens of the South, and Seoul has welcomed some 8,500 North Korean defectors. For defectors from the North, the government provides support for career education, housing and some $10,500 in settlement aid per person along with three months of assimilation training.
But the situation for other refugees is drastically different. It wasn't until 2001 that South Korea even granted asylum to its first non-Korean refugee, and it has denied 229 asylum applications. Still awaiting a decision are 445 refugees, while 94 have withdrawn their requests and 35 were allowed three-month stays on humanitarian grounds but not granted refugee status.
So refugees from [countries other than North Korea get little] help, and they are banned from working until they are granted asylum, forcing them to struggle for their survival. "There are no other ways for refugee-seekers to support themselves except to steal or work illegally," said Hwang Pil-gyu, a lawyer who helps refugees seek asylum.
[Associated Press]
Thursday, September 14, 2006
North Korea on US-South Korea Presidential agenda
President George W Bush hosts South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun at the White House today in a summit that's likely to be the most difficult and potentially most tendentious meeting ever held between the leaders of the two countries. The two presidents are so far apart on the most basic issues that no amount of diplomatic double-talk appears likely to paper over the chasm.
It's hard to say which of these two areas of discussion is more controversial. The topic of North Korea grabs the headlines while that country's leader, Kim Jong-il, wields the threat of an underground nuclear test that would proclaim it a full-fledged nuclear power, but US efforts to penetrate South Korea's largely closed agricultural markets arouse much greater concern to well-organized South Korean farmers.
The US and South Korea, moreover, are at odds on the basic future of their alliance. The United States has persuaded South Korea to go along with a grand design for scaling down the number of US troops while building a huge new base 80 kilometers south of Seoul. The plan confronts South Koreans with the question of whether their country is really prepared to face the North militarily.
The solution, in the official South Korean view, would be for the US to talk directly with North Korea rather than insist that it return to six-party talks as a prerequisite for any form of dialogue.
Roh may also try to convince Bush on what he sees as the folly of the US drive for stiffening economic measures against North Korea if it continues to refuse to return to six-party talks.
[Excerpt of an article by Donald Kirk, Asia Times]
It's hard to say which of these two areas of discussion is more controversial. The topic of North Korea grabs the headlines while that country's leader, Kim Jong-il, wields the threat of an underground nuclear test that would proclaim it a full-fledged nuclear power, but US efforts to penetrate South Korea's largely closed agricultural markets arouse much greater concern to well-organized South Korean farmers.
The US and South Korea, moreover, are at odds on the basic future of their alliance. The United States has persuaded South Korea to go along with a grand design for scaling down the number of US troops while building a huge new base 80 kilometers south of Seoul. The plan confronts South Koreans with the question of whether their country is really prepared to face the North militarily.
The solution, in the official South Korean view, would be for the US to talk directly with North Korea rather than insist that it return to six-party talks as a prerequisite for any form of dialogue.
Roh may also try to convince Bush on what he sees as the folly of the US drive for stiffening economic measures against North Korea if it continues to refuse to return to six-party talks.
[Excerpt of an article by Donald Kirk, Asia Times]
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
North Korean Human Rights Act not for those already in South Korea
The United States adopted a human rights law [the North Korean Human Rights Act] in 2004 aimed at facilitating the defection of North Koreans from their Stalinist country. The law opened the way for North Korean escapees to seek asylum in the U.S. But it does not apply to those who have already settled in South Korea.
Confusion has risen after a U.S. court reportedly approved recently asylum for two North Koreans who have acquired South Korean citizenship. The latest case involved a 33-year-old woman who settled in South Korea in 2001. In April, a former North Korean army officer, Seo Jae-seok, who obtained South Korean citizenship in 1998, was granted asylum in the U.S.
The Seoul government has made inquires with the U.S. government about the two cases, according to government sources.
[Yonhap News]
Confusion has risen after a U.S. court reportedly approved recently asylum for two North Koreans who have acquired South Korean citizenship. The latest case involved a 33-year-old woman who settled in South Korea in 2001. In April, a former North Korean army officer, Seo Jae-seok, who obtained South Korean citizenship in 1998, was granted asylum in the U.S.
The Seoul government has made inquires with the U.S. government about the two cases, according to government sources.
[Yonhap News]
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