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This isn’t exactly news, but it’s newsworthy. Natsios, a courageous and forthright man who recently announced his resignation as head of USAID, discussed this in his book, The Great North Korean Famine. He also suggested that he had videotape. After I read the passage, I made inquiries with some of Natsios’s aides to try to get and publish a copy, but to no avail. Well, Natsios is now talking about it to the Korea Times: “Famine relief means, if you...

Kim Jong Il needs to chill and take a homocil.

Alexander Vershbow on Economic Aid to North Korea U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Alexander Vershbow is not backing down: Ignoring North Korean growls over the weekend that earlier remarks had jeopardized nuclear weapons negotiations, Alexander Vershbow, the U.S. ambassador to Korea, said yesterday that if those nuclear talks failed, Pyongyang would be to blame. He also asked that Seoul’s economic projects in the North should be “coordinated” with those negotiations. “The signals from North Korea in recent days have not...

This would be a good time to hawk your unfinished copy of The Pentagon’s New Map on e-Bay. Have a look at the new blocs shaping Asia’s new Cold War: ASEAN, Korea, Japan and China on Monday reiterated their commitment in principle to forming an East Asian Community on Monday, the first day of the ASEAN + 3 Summit. Heads of government from the 10-member Southeast Asian bloc met with the three affiliates in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. . . ....

I’d allow myself to feel some sense that China is making a serious inquiry into these events if it weren’t for the preposterous claim that only three people were killed. The commander of paramilitary forces who opened fire on villagers protesting land seizures has been detained by the authorities in connection with the shootings, an extraordinary response that suggested high-level concern over whether the crackdown was justified. Yes, that’s the minimum requirement when a government’s forces kill citizens. But an...

Blogger and friend James Na has a thoughtful piece on being Asian in America in the Seattle Times: So if I was an Asian once, who am I now? I am left with this: I am an American, because I choose to be one. I revel in its liberties, its excesses, its ideals, its flaws. That is the identity I constructed for myself. That’s funny. You can be a white guy from South Dakota and feel exactly the same way....

I’ve been expecting to hear of the formation of armed anti-government resistance groups in North Korea for some time, so it doesn’t come as a great surprise to me that some of North Korea’s vaunted Special Forces troops are now threatening to turn their guns against their former masters: Nine former North Korean special forces soldiers who defected to the South vowed Wednesday to push for regime change in their communist homeland unless it abolishes political prison camps and improves...

A number of papers are covering the story of an apparent massacre in a Chinese village. The New York Times is among them: SHANWEI, China, Dec. 10 — Four days after a lethal assault on protesters by paramilitary forces, a village in southern China remained under heavy police lockdown on Saturday. Residents of the village, Dongzhou, interviewed by telephone from this nearby city, said the police continued to make arrests and bar outsiders from their hamlet. The authorities have still...

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(by guest blogger Andy Jackson) This a part of a series of posts on the Seoul Summit: Promoting Human Rights in North Korea and related events. The portions in the blockquote were taken from my notes. I apologize for any inaccuracies. Chung Eui-young is the Chairman of the Our Open (Uri) party’s Foreign Relations committee. He is serving his first term as a proportional representative member of the National Assembly (which means that he doesn’t have any constituents). He is...

It is now settled law that nothing good escapes the mouth of Chung Dong-Young, South Korea’s most consistent appeaser of Kim Jong Il (described here as the North’s Minister for Southern Affairs). On Monday, December 5th, Chung addressed the question of North Korea’s counterfeiting of U.S. currency, and had this to say: Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said Monday, “Non-nuclear complaints by the United States against North Korea should be solved by bilateral talks between the two parties. As the six-party...

Then again, it seems unfair to blame Chung when his stupidity, however unintentionally, creates opportunities for the Bush Administration to move in a more decisive direction. The Washington Times thinks that the comments of Vershbow and Lefkowitz are a calculated series of comments that signal a tougher U.S. line. I’m not so sure of that, given the provocation of Chung’s comments, and those of North Korea, before Vershbow spoke up. Either way, Chung’s two cents didn’t buy much love. The...

Every person who genuinely cares about the suffering of others–for whom a passion for human rights is really about the victims themselves–should see Seoul Train: SEOUL TRAIN is a gripping documentary exposé into the life-and-death struggle faced by North Korean refugees as they flee their homeland through China, which does not recognize their legal status as refugees. Combining verité and hidden camera footage with personal stories and interviews, the film brings to light this humanitarian tragedy of a neglected people...

A Stunted Nation: That’s the funny thing about a famine–even the survival of it is only partial. Read more about how LiNK is helping the latest victims of Kim Jong-Il’s policies.

Many, many thanks to Andy Jackson for his fascinating posts while I was out of town for important work responsibilities that precluded any blogging.

Does this girl look familiar to you?

(by guest blogger Andy Jackson) This a part of a series of posts on the Seoul Summit: Promoting Human Rights in North Korea and related events. Yoo Se-hee, the president of Citizens United for a Better Society, gave an overview of the status and work of North Korean Human Rights NGOs in Korea. What follows is a summery of his report during the first session of the Seoul Summit on December 9, 2005: There are about 15,000 registered NGOs in...

(by guest blogger Andy Jackson) This a part of a series of posts on the Seoul Summit: Promoting Human Rights in North Korea and related events. The opening session of the Seoul Summit started about about 9:40 with about 400 people in the room. Within an hour, that numbe had grown to about 700. The early part of the session had a very American feel to it, with speeches by US Ambassador Alexander Vershbow and special envoy for North Korean...