Maurice Strong Update: Kofi Annan’s resigned-and-disgraced Special Envoy for North Korea hired his own stepdaughter, in violation of U.N. rules.

Coincidence? Having remained fairly silent on the North Korea Human Rights issue, President Bush had some direct words for the North, on this of all weeks:

U.S. President George W. Bush on Thursday poured oil on the flames by again calling North Korean leader Kim Jong-il a “tyrant”. He also said Kim was a “dangerous person” with “huge concentration camps” who “starves his people” and “threatens and brags.”

Saying that George W. Bush “poured oil on the flames” is a lot like saying that Ken Starr disgraced the presidency. No doubt the North’s intransigence on disarmament talks cleared the way for these comments. It’s another sign that Bush appears to have had it with North Korea.

Coincidence? Having remained fairly silent on the North Korea Human Rights issue, President Bush had some direct words for the North, on this of all weeks:

U.S. President George W. Bush on Thursday poured oil on the flames by again calling North Korean leader Kim Jong-il a “tyrant”. He also said Kim was a “dangerous person” with “huge concentration camps” who “starves his people” and “threatens and brags.”

Saying that George W. Bush “poured oil on the flames” is a lot like saying that Ken Starr disgraced the presidency. No doubt the North’s intransigence on disarmament talks cleared the way for these comments. It’s another sign that Bush appears to have had it with North Korea.

Soccer Riot Update: To no one’s astonishment, the North Korea-Japan game won’t take place in Pyongyang after all. It will be held in a third country with no fans present. The North Koreans were fined 20,000 Swiss francs, which is probably enough to buy you nice, hot cup of cocoa or a shiny new cowbell. Here’s a first-hand report.

The Iranians got written up, too:

FIFA also fined the Iranian football federation 30,000 francs ($31,665 Cdn) for crowd disturbances after its March 26 match against Japan. Five people were crushed to death and 40 others injured in a stampede.

Those Iranian soccer riots, by the way, are the subject of intense interest outside Iran. Some reports from inside Iran suggest that they weren’t just an apolitical episode of sports violence. Regime Change Iran has more.

Maybe FIFA should join forces with the IAEA and fine them each one reactor.

Update: Heh. Blame those “wicked” referees.

Kristof: You’re e-mailing me and wondering where the fisking is. The answer is, “it’s on the way.” I’m fighting above my weight, and the man reads and links NKZone (and I can thank him for that without agreeing with a thing he says).

Thanks for the comments, and please keep them coming. I will make use of them and give due credit. There’s very little time this week.

Update: I’m not sure how much work I need to do now that James Chen’s devastation is wrought. This, you must read. Now, you must read it.

Kristof: You’re e-mailing me and wondering where the fisking is. The answer is, “it’s on the way.” I’m fighting above my weight, and the man reads and links NKZone (and I can thank him for that without agreeing with a thing he says).

Thanks for the comments, and please keep them coming. I will make use of them and give due credit. There’s very little time this week.

Update: I’m not sure how much work I need to do now that James Chen’s devastation is wrought. This, you must read. Now, you must read it.

“Washington needs to forget its obsession that South Korea has to take sides if the U.S and China are involved in a conflict.”

I’ll just let you digest that one.

Now, Korea may well reasonably draw that conclusion and make it known to Washington through diplomatic channels that that “Mutual Defense Pact” stuff shouldn’t be taken at face value. In fact, I’ve advocated us informing the South Koreans of the same thing and drastically downsizing our military commitment to South Korea. But do “allies” really say that sort of thing in a press conference?

In the same story, another installment of “NSC Amateur Hour:”

Responding to criticism from the U.S. that Korea lacks the weight to play a decisive role, he said a country could play a balancing role despite lacking economic, political and military strength. He added a stabilizing role was the most realistic security strategy for Korea to survive on the global stage.

Predictably, China is pouring cold water on a leaked U.S. strategy to bring North Korea before the U.N.

Wang Guangya told reporters a U.S. attempt at a Security Council resolution “would destroy the whole process” to resolve the North Korean nuclear dispute and “push a solution to this issue even farther away.” China is working with the other parties to get the talks back on track as soon as possible, he said.

Of course it is. What China really wants is for these talks and the crisis they’ll never resolve to go on for as long as possible. China will use the time to spread its influence in both Koreas, build its military, and extract concessions from Taiwan. A smart(er?) administration would draw the obvious conclusion: going to the U.N. would be just as counterproductive this time as it was the last. Perhaps even for the same reasons.

It may be time to extend the argument to the whole U.N. experiment. Until and unless the U.N. reforms itself into a body that has worthy objective values, something it distinctly lacks when it comes to North Korean human rights and refugees, the best way to treat it may be to ignore it. That could be the best argument for sending John Danforth 2.0 there instead of John Bolton, who will undoubtedly raise plenty of unpleasantness about corruption, waste, and the easy tolerance of mass murder in its member states. But another answer might be, “Why bother?” Why not just continue to say nice things, cease the unpleasant questions, and let the entire enterprise sink into well-earned irrelevance. I’m honestly not sure of the answer here, but China and the U.N. itself are proving to be persuasive.

“Washington needs to forget its obsession that South Korea has to take sides if the U.S and China are involved in a conflict.”

I’ll just let you digest that one.

Now, Korea may well reasonably draw that conclusion and make it known to Washington through diplomatic channels that that “Mutual Defense Pact” stuff shouldn’t be taken at face value. In fact, I’ve advocated us informing the South Koreans of the same thing and drastically downsizing our military commitment to South Korea. But do “allies” really say that sort of thing in a press conference?

In the same story, another installment of “NSC Amateur Hour:”

Responding to criticism from the U.S. that Korea lacks the weight to play a decisive role, he said a country could play a balancing role despite lacking economic, political and military strength. He added a stabilizing role was the most realistic security strategy for Korea to survive on the global stage.

Predictably, China is pouring cold water on a leaked U.S. strategy to bring North Korea before the U.N.

Wang Guangya told reporters a U.S. attempt at a Security Council resolution “would destroy the whole process” to resolve the North Korean nuclear dispute and “push a solution to this issue even farther away.” China is working with the other parties to get the talks back on track as soon as possible, he said.

Of course it is. What China really wants is for these talks and the crisis they’ll never resolve to go on for as long as possible. China will use the time to spread its influence in both Koreas, build its military, and extract concessions from Taiwan. A smart(er?) administration would draw the obvious conclusion: going to the U.N. would be just as counterproductive this time as it was the last. Perhaps even for the same reasons.

It may be time to extend the argument to the whole U.N. experiment. Until and unless the U.N. reforms itself into a body that has worthy objective values, something it distinctly lacks when it comes to North Korean human rights and refugees, the best way to treat it may be to ignore it. That could be the best argument for sending John Danforth 2.0 there instead of John Bolton, who will undoubtedly raise plenty of unpleasantness about corruption, waste, and the easy tolerance of mass murder in its member states. But another answer might be, “Why bother?” Why not just continue to say nice things, cease the unpleasant questions, and let the entire enterprise sink into well-earned irrelevance. I’m honestly not sure of the answer here, but China and the U.N. itself are proving to be persuasive.