Upping the Ante

It is indeed good news to hear of the safe return of Laura Ling and Euna Lee after months of imprisonment in North Korea, but does this really signal an improvement in U.S.-DPRK relations? North Korea did, after all, use these journalists to get what it wanted (Bill Clinton in North Korea), and the U.S. did honor the regime’s request, although under the label of a “private” mission.

While the rescue is being hailed as a “success,” it’s too early to call this a victory or a thawing in bilateral relations. The real test will come the next time the U.S. finds itself at odds with North Korea. Only then, can we comment with certainty whether or not relations between the two countries have really improved and if this incident was the starting point for real change. For example, can we expect to see North Korea back at the negotiating table in relation to its nuclear weapons program? I doubt it, although here are a few possible scenarios that may unfold.

Let’s make no mistake about what happened this time around: Kim Jong Il used the two journalists to get what he wanted. By getting Bill Clinton to North Korea, Kim secured his legacy in the eyes of the North Korean people. As one American newspaper editorial said (sorry I can’t remember which one it was, I thought I bookmarked it but it turns out I didn’t), Clinton’s visit added to Kim Jong Il’s legacy in the eyes of North Koreans, maybe even helping him surpass that of his father’s.

So was it worth aiding in a little pro-KJI propaganda for the safe return of these two reporters? (I’m not sure if it’d be even possible to do something like this quietly.) And what will happen next time North Korea detains two of our citizens? As one OpEd I read said, in the past we’d just send off someone like Bill Richardson to negotiate their release. This time, however, we gave North Korea a former U.S. President and lots of media attention. Next time will they up the ante and ask for more?

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14 Responses

  1. Why doesn’t Obama just get it over with and go bow down to the North Koreans and beg their forgiveness? That’s his ultimate plan, right? Blame America for North Korea’s belligerence or something like that.

  2. I am tuning out for a month or so. I can’t take the talking heads discussing “what this means for future relations.”

    –sigh–

    The high ups in NK who are able to watch what goes on in the Western world —- have every reason to think we are a bunch of idiots…who they can manipulate pretty much at will…

  3. By getting Bill Clinton to North Korea, Kim secured his legacy in the eyes of the North Korean people. As one American newspaper editorial said (sorry I can’t remember which one it was, I thought I bookmarked it but it turns out I didn’t), Clinton’s visit added to Kim Jong Il’s legacy in the eyes of North Koreans, maybe even helping him surpass that of his father’s.

    How the heck do Western commentators know how North Koreans watching TV or reading the Rodong Shinmun perceived the visit? A grim-faced former president comes to fetch two journalists and this somehow secures the legacy of a man who’s firmly held power for fifteen years? Not seeing it. If seeing two sitting South Korean presidents come to Pyongyang to embrace Kim Jong-il didn’t secure his legitimacy, then nothing will, except, perhaps, a visit by an incumbent US president. Despite the two summits, KJI’s legacy doesn’t approach that of his father, embellished anti-Japanese war hero, founder of the regime, god-king ruler for more than forty years while he was alive and eternal president after his death.

  4. I am tuning out for a month or so. I can’t take the talking heads discussing “what this means for future relations.”

    Hear, hear. I think Joshua needs to write up some dos and don’ts for the media and analysts in reporting and commenting on the release.

  5. I’m glad you mentioned “…next time North Korea detains two of our citizens? ”

    Such a thought might seem funny now, but it wasn’t very long after Roxana Saberi was released that 3 American hikers thought it was necessary for United States citizens to complete the worldwide Axis of Evil tour by going through Iraq to cross the Iran border.

    I made a bold prophetic statement at ROK Drop soon after my other prediction back in June when I said Laura and Euna’s release date would be Aug. 10. Here it is again:
    Before Obama’s presidency is finished, there will be another American who gets caught crossing the North Korea border from China.

  6. “So was it worth aiding in a little pro-KJI propaganda for the safe return of these two reporters? (I’m not sure if it’d be even possible to do something like this quietly.)”

    Yes lives should always come before politics.

  7. If this wasn’t pathetically wierd enough as it is, the fact that his WIFE is the US Secretary of State makes this entire escapade even more bizarre, and feeds into the Juche narrative about the immorality of the Americans.

    WIFE: You will not bully us.

    HUSBAND: We were wrong. Please forgive us.

    EVIL GENUIS: (snickering) I told ya they would buckle.

  8. Lisa Ling is acknowledging that her sister DID cross in violation of North Korean law. That’s why the US ‘buckled.’

  9. “Yes lives should always come before politics. ”

    But what if saving these two lives ultimately costs many more lives?

    Lives before politics is a wonderful statement for a world with no consequences…

  10. Why doesn’t Obama just get it over with and go bow down to the North Koreans and beg their forgiveness? That’s his ultimate plan, right? Blame America for North Korea’s belligerence or something like that.

    Are you from free republic or something? It’s good that he can see faults in america. Just because we are the most powerful nation, doesn’t mean we have been responsible for some pretty nasty stuff. Besides that, you need allies to succeed. How did we win World War 2? With allies. How did we lost the Vietnam War? Poor coordination and lack of allies. How did we kinda win the Korean War? With allies. Why are we doing bad in Iraq? See Vietnam.

    If you think we do not need allies, then you’re being ignorant and stubborn. You can’t do things easily on your own.

    But what if saving these two lives ultimately costs many more lives?

    Lives before politics is a wonderful statement for a world with no consequences…

    I never said it should cost many more lives 0_0. And what do we exactly benefit from bringing down bad people instead of lives? There will always be terrorism. You can’t gid rid of that. The best thing you can do is save more lives needed to combat it.

    I hate Kim Jung Il has much as anyone here on this blog, but killing him would be more of a gift to him.

  11. Let’s not be too harsh on the ladies, who are apparently in the advanced stage of the Helsinki Syndrome. Helsinki, as in Sweden. Right?

    What’s getting lost in all this and talks of North Korea’s “propaganda triumph” is that Kim Jong Il will use the latest drama to placate China. In turn, the Chinese will tell the Americans, “Look, they are changing, even ready to be engaged. Let’s be patient and and ease off on the financial sanctions.”

    In the meantime, South Korea and Japan now face the pressure to strike a conciliatory posture toward Pyongyang. South Koreans and Japanese will say to their own government, “If the Americans can send a high-profile figure to Pyongyang and liberate their own citizens, why can’t our own government do the same?” All in all, it was a good day for the ailing dictator–the world’s richest national leader, presiding over one of the world’s poorest countries.

  12. SYL,
    That is exactly what many bloggers and private citizens are saying here in SK. They are angry indeed, but in a strange way are turning their rage against their own listless government that does little or nothing to recover SK citizens kidnapped by the Juche regime.

  13. I can understand why some South Koreans are angry at their own government for not doing enough to retreive their many abductees. But the reality is that the South Korean government has little leverage over Kim Jong Il, especially with Lee Myung Bak as president of ROK.

    In response to the critics of Bill Clinton’s trip, Hillary gave a very simple but effective answer: “My husband was on a humanitarian mission. When it was possible to get the two women out, we did.”

    In regards to speculations about possible future hostages, it’s important to recognize that Laura and Euna are totally unique. If they were not employees of Al Gore, I seriously doubt Bill Clinton would have gone to North Korea. It’s obvious that Bill Clinton made the trip as a favor to Al Gore’s request, in addition to his concern for the two women.

    Ordinary American hostages should not expect a former president to come rescue them. Their only recourse would be to get help from the State Department.