Korea’s “Private diplomats?” Hypersensitive cyber-punks would be more like it. Since we’ve already discussed the pitfalls of private diplomacy this week, might I instead suggest these people grow up and find some more productive way to enhance their nation’s image?

Well, in retrospect, it may have been a mistake for China to piss these guys off. The folks at Reporters Without Borders are journalists who advocate for other journalists, which means that if you mess with them, they’re going to smear you with a lot of very black ink. That’s exactly what’s happening: Washington Post L.A. Times Washington Times New York Times I especially recommend the WaPo story. The lesson? If you really want to give someone a royal P.R....

Here’s the latest message from Norbert with the Korean Medical Association volunteers in Aceh, Indonesia. Scroll down for previous entries and information about Dr. Vollertsen’s sometimes controversial (and in my view, effective) activism for human rights in North Korea. You can see more on the Korean team’s activities here and here. The second KEMAT left Jakarta on a Garuda Indonesia flight at 7:30 this morning and arrived at Banda Aceh airport at 11 AM. It looks like the air-transportation bottleneck...

Kumgang Update: Up on felony charges? That’s no reason to deny you a ticket to the worker’s paradise. On the positive side of the ledger, prison might not seem all that bad after you’ve been to North Korea.

The presses are cranking out more han for China. Grammar aside, here is the week’s best headline . . . “Passive Korean Diplomacy Responsible of Chinese Arrogance” It also goes nicely with what must be the Chosun Ilbo’s best graphic ever–a cynical, nationalistic, manipulative bit of propaganda, to which I hasten to give my enthusiastic approval. Just as paranoid people have real enemies, good propaganda needs a basis in something that at least appears to be true. In this case,...

The Envelope Please: And the award for “most repressive” goes to . . . I have to tell you these things because the U.S. media appear not to have heard. Apparently, the word “Guantanamo” was uttered somewhere.

Kumgang Update: Up on felony charges? That’s no reason to deny you a ticket to the worker’s paradise. On the positive side of the ledger, prison might not seem all that bad after you’ve been to North Korea.

The presses are cranking out more han for China. Grammar aside, here is the week’s best headline . . . “Passive Korean Diplomacy Responsible of Chinese Arrogance” It also goes nicely with what must be the Chosun Ilbo’s best graphic ever–a cynical, nationalistic, manipulative bit of propaganda, to which I hasten to give my enthusiastic approval. Just as paranoid people have real enemies, good propaganda needs a basis in something that at least appears to be true. In this case,...

The Envelope Please: And the award for “most repressive” goes to . . . I have to tell you these things because the U.S. media appear not to have heard. Apparently, the word “Guantanamo” was uttered somewhere.

Here is what happened to the “Chinese Gorby,” in case you’re interested.

Dear Mr. President, It’s damned hard to concentrate when your helicopter is constantly buzzing outside my window. I voted for you, so I think you owe me this one. Thank you in advance for your consideration. Respectfully, O.F.K.

This just in: China won’t apologize. No, seriously. But give credit where it’s due. At least the South Korean government isn’t kowtowing before the emperor’s throne.

South Korea is already paying for the cost of reunification.

Even Jack Pritchard thinks the South Koreans’ support for the North has gone too far, and that they’re isolating themselves. He also thinks China is more likely to absorb North Korea than South Korea. Test your Washington think-tank trivia by guessing who else has suggested the same result (subscription required, but you’ll see the answer). It’s a horrible idea, no matter who’s discussing it, even if Pritchard doesn’t actually support idea. To publicly discuss such an idea risks legitimizing the...

Update on Congressional Delegations to P’yang: So Lantos and Weldon weren’t actually traveling together. That’s interesting. I wonder if the White House sent Lantos to show the regime a bipartisan hard line. I also wonder if Weldon will actually see Kim Jong Il. If not, it’s time to dust off this theory again.

The Chosun Ilbo‘s columnist Kim Dae Joong is worried, and he should be. The South Korean government has had it in for the “conservative” newspapers for years, using the state’s power to drive them either to acquiesence or bankruptcy. Once again, the Grand National Party is AWOL when a principled stand is essential. Where is there still a constituency for free speech in South Korea–even speech that goes against one’s own beliefs? I’m not a Korean, but I oppose the...

Yes, I still think it was a stunt. But why, specifically, does that make it wrong? For one thing, there’s the false drama of feigned outrage, but there’s plenty of reason for real outrage at China’s treatment of the North Koreans, its arrogance toward its neighbors, and its dictatorial quashing of free speech (but not for shock that the Chinese cops blundered in the way they did). There’s the Grand National Party’s own hypocrisy on the North Korea issue, but...

Dr. Norbert Vollertsen writes to report yesteday’s events as part of the Korean Medical Association medical relief team in Aceh, Indonesia: Having completed our tour, we (the first KEMAT) left Banda-Aceh and arrived at Hanlim(?) military airport near Jakarta at around 6 PM today on an Indonesian military plane, fatigued but thankful. The return trip from Banda Aceh was equally dramatic as the trip to it. We were scheduled to leave at 8 AM, but when we actually took off...