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2 March 2010

South Korea is still in the dark about the four alleged South Korean “trespassers” in North Korean custody:

Yet no NGOs, religious organizations or defectors’ groups operating near the North Korean border with China say any of their members have been nabbed in the North. “Even a North Korean border official I spoke with over the phone recently had heard no rumors related to the latest announcement,” one NGO worker said. [Chosun Ilbo]

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Open News explains why it may take a while for China’s bailout to arrive in North Korea.

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Our answer to the exercises is merciless and annihilating retaliation. If the United States and south Korean puppets launch the joint military exercises, ignoring our warnings, we will react to them with our powerful military counteraction to clearly show the aggressors how merciless and decisive our sacred retaliation war for justice is, the commentary concludes. [KCNA]

President Obama decided not to restore North Korea to the list of state sponsors of terrorism on February 3, 2010. Discuss among yourselves.

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Sung Yoon Lee’s article at Foreign Policy, “Life After Kim,” has provoked a debate in the comments with one “JohnM,” who really, really wants you to believe that American anti-proliferation sanctions are to blame for starvation in North Korea. I can essentially answer that charge with three words: nice yacht, man. For the record, I think I know who JohnM is — he has a distinctively Goebbelsian proficiency with half-truths — but I won’t print it until I know for certain.

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8 Responses

  1. JohnM is a douche. What’s the reason for someone to write what amounts to a defense of the regime? I understand that our Spanish friend, Cho Sunil (whom none of the North Koreans I’ve met have ever heard of incidentally, despite his extensive glamour and fame), may be receiving north korean sausages as payment for his treason, but what else does the regime have to give those who aren’t getting packed directly with its meaty offerings?

  4. Josh:

    Thanks for leaving my comment up. Perhaps I had a few too many drinks last night before posting it.

    Nevertheless, I, like yourself I believe, am a lawyer. At the young lawyer’s den of ATL (I won’t mention the link to avoid the spam trap), a comment like this would be on the classy side of the standard fare.

    In any case, I’m a little surprised at your revulsion to the use of certain epithets, given that, if my memory doesn’t fail me, you said you wanted to teach your children to punch out sandal clad hippies (or something to that effect). I don’t actually have a big problem with that, just thought it was an interesting thing to say.

    [OFK: Assuming I actually did say that — I certainly do loathe hippies and their modern wannabe analogues especially so — I fail to see the comparison. My comment was directed at the gratuitous and witless use of profanity (witty profanity that actually contributes to the point you’re making is another matter entirely). And for commenters in general, be warned that I will delete or edit out any references to Cao’s personal lifestyle. So what? It has nothing to do with the thread topic.]

  5. Joshua is being modest here, but I thought Professor Lee’s endorsement (as well as his additional remarks in the comments section, which add nicely to that Foreign Policy article) was worth quoting for those who are less prone to checking links:

    In response to JohnM, Dr. Sun Young Lee writes:

    It’s important to draw a distinction between the North Korean regime and the people. The “anti-North Korea site” you mentioned, One Free Korea, is the most informed, analytical, and compassionate “pro-North Korea” site in the world. Joshua Stanton, a brilliant North Korea observer, has done ground-breaking work on the unconscionable crimes committed by the North Korean regime oagaint its people. Stanton’s work on the political prisoner concentration camps has been featured on the Washington Post and Wall Street Journal, among others. I heartily recommend One Free Korea to all readers.

    I thanked Mr. Stanton for linking a CNN Int’l AMANPOUR podcast (Feb 22), on which I address some of the points raised in this FP article.

  6. Adam:

    Yes, I thought that was a pretty compelling endorsement for, and an accurate characterization of, this site.

    I just can’t help thinking that readership could (and should) be a lot higher-particularly in South Korea. I realize there is a google translator linked, but I wonder if it might be possible to get a student or two to make a really good Korean language counterpart site and/or try to bring more young Koreans into the English discussion. Maybe there is something of this nature and I just don’t know about it, being pretty new here. I can see many of the readers/commentators here have been active for years and the quality of the debate/discussion is phenomenal.

  8. The comparison is that making a joke at the expense of a loathesome scumbag who knowingly lies to the world in furtherance of mass murder would seem to be less overtly harmful than actually doing physically harm to someone who thinks they are actually helping people, but is gravely mistaken (i.e., the sandal clad hippie), but maybe we’ll have to agree to disagree on that one. Perhaps if Cao was open about his lifestyle I wouldn’t deride him. Just seems like a pattern of deception.

    Anyway, nice scoop with the Robert Park find. I won’t use any epithets for him, cause I still think his heart is in the right place. But how has this been a secret for the past week?