Category: Uncategorized

One word: Ewwwwwwwwwwwww.

Congratulations to my fellow NKZone bloggers on our nomination for Reporters San Frontieres’s Freedom Blog Award. NKZone and The Command Post have become the depositories for more refined compilations of my posts at this blog (this one swelled my head, too, considering the competition). Vote here, if you’re so inclined, and thank you in advance. My congratulations to Chris Beaumont at FreeNorthKorea, as well. I’m certainly glad he took my advice and didn’t quit blogging. Chris, if you’re reading this,...

Germany, 1945. Again, the Korean government will abstain from a U.N. Resolution “expressing concern about “human rights abuses in the Stalinist country [of North Korea] such as concentration camps for political prisoners. It calls on Pyongyang to ratify the Convention Against Torture and guarantee that the UN special rapporteur on human rights in North Korea is allowed to operate freely. The special rapporteur was created by last year’s resolution.” Just consider the sheer dumfounding illogic of it. Half of this...

Germany, 1945. Again, the Korean government will abstain from a U.N. Resolution “expressing concern about “human rights abuses in the Stalinist country [of North Korea] such as concentration camps for political prisoners. It calls on Pyongyang to ratify the Convention Against Torture and guarantee that the UN special rapporteur on human rights in North Korea is allowed to operate freely. The special rapporteur was created by last year’s resolution.” Just consider the sheer dumfounding illogic of it. Half of this...

The first item in today’s installment has to do with an alleged “stealth” reduction in the Korean military presence in Iraq from 3,700 to 3,200. I’m not sure how strong my reaction is here– first, because I was under the impression that there were only 3,000 Korean troops there, so 3,200 represents a net gain of one company over my own expectations. Second and more importantly, the military value of the Korean contingent was already negligible, at least according to...

The first item in today’s installment has to do with an alleged “stealth” reduction in the Korean military presence in Iraq from 3,700 to 3,200. I’m not sure how strong my reaction is here– first, because I was under the impression that there were only 3,000 Korean troops there, so 3,200 represents a net gain of one company over my own expectations. Second and more importantly, the military value of the Korean contingent was already negligible, at least according to...

Famine Update: Despite the world’s best efforts to feed hungry North Koreans, the regime seems to be winning its class struggle against full stomachs. Incredible. The AP story doesn’t even get into the regime’s plan to expel U.N. food aid workers it says it “doesn’t need.” Well, I’m sure the regime doesn’t exactly need them.

Kim Jong-Il’s Coming Out Day? The mystery surrounding his loss of position appeared at first to have been solved when it was reported that Kim had met with a Chinese envoy in mid-February, until Doug Shin noticed that the photographs released to the press appeared to be old. Now comes word that Kim may visit Russia in May. That would certainly settle the question of whether Kim lives and retains some of his power, but in my mind, it would...

Famine Update: Despite the world’s best efforts to feed hungry North Koreans, the regime seems to be winning its class struggle against full stomachs. Incredible. The AP story doesn’t even get into the regime’s plan to expel U.N. food aid workers it says it “doesn’t need.” Well, I’m sure the regime doesn’t exactly need them.

Kim Jong-Il’s Coming Out Day? The mystery surrounding his loss of position appeared at first to have been solved when it was reported that Kim had met with a Chinese envoy in mid-February, until Doug Shin noticed that the photographs released to the press appeared to be old. Now comes word that Kim may visit Russia in May. That would certainly settle the question of whether Kim lives and retains some of his power, but in my mind, it would...

Thank you for visiting. Traffic at this blog continues to rise ever higher. Thank you. Sure, triumph and disaster and all that, and no, they’re not Instapundit numbers, but they represent steady growth among what appears to be a select, influential, and intelligent readership. The most gratifying part of this to me is reading my Statcounter and seeing that you’re coming here to read topical information, inform yourselves, inform me, and identify trends on the peninsula. Nor do the numbers...

U.N. Stirrings? What’s this? A U.N.-sponsored tribunal that seeks to deter an ongoing genocide–in this case, Darfur? Is it vaguely possible that all of the criticism of the U.N.’s fecklessness is finally shaming it into action? If they’re not careful, they’re going to help make the case for John Bolton actually strengthening the institution. Still, if the U.N. does something of substance, I’ll be prepared to give credit where it’s due.

Outbreak Update: The BBC has this interesting report about North Korea’s apparently unique strain of Bird Flu.

The Chosun Ilbo gives cautious coverage to North Korea Freedom Week, and also appears to have confused Senator Sam Brownback with this guy. Still, any attention is welcome. More on North Korea Freedom Week here.

Cheers for the BBC for broadcasting the videotape of the recent public executions in North Korea. For all of its embarassments over Iraq, the Beeb has covered the North Korea human rights story far better than any of its American counterparts. Although it appears that some South Korean news programs did initially show the tape, the Christian Science Monitor subsequently reported that the South Korean government had moved to squelch further broadcasts out of a desire to avoid giving offense...

Stretch out your hand over Egypt so that locusts will swarm over the land . . . . –Exodus 10:12 The New York Times has a fascinating article about how the military is using UAV’s for counterinsurgency patrolling. I’ve long wondered how insurgents could roam with impunity if they were watched from the skies, or how a mechanized force could ever preserve itself under the withering attack of swarms of small UAVs carrying anti-tank bomblets. This probably leads to a...

Thank you for visiting. Traffic at this blog continues to rise ever higher. Thank you. Sure, triumph and disaster and all that, and no, they’re not Instapundit numbers, but they represent steady growth among what appears to be a select, influential, and intelligent readership. The most gratifying part of this to me is reading my Statcounter and seeing that you’re coming here to read topical information, inform yourselves, inform me, and identify trends on the peninsula. Nor do the numbers...

U.N. Stirrings? What’s this? A U.N.-sponsored tribunal that seeks to deter an ongoing genocide–in this case, Darfur? Is it vaguely possible that all of the criticism of the U.N.’s fecklessness is finally shaming it into action? If they’re not careful, they’re going to help make the case for John Bolton actually strengthening the institution. Still, if the U.N. does something of substance, I’ll be prepared to give credit where it’s due.