Freedom House Update

The Joongang Ilbo seems to expect Freedom House to have moved or cancelled its North Korea conference, scheduled months ago, on account of the fact that Kim Jong-Il waited thirteen months and then decided to come back and parlay. Depressingly, someone appears to have had some success at dulling the message:

Measures are being taken to avoid unncessarily riling North Korea. An exhibition titled “Kim Jong-il’s crimes against humanity” that planned to show how the leader abuses its people along with photos of North Korean refugees has been nixed.

Also, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who has praised the event, will not attend.

A list of suspects comes to mind, but I do know definitively that the South Korean embassy has an interest in the content of this conference and will send representatives there to observe.

The embassy’s view is unsurprising, but it’s depressing that the “conservative” Korean press, can’t seem to wrap itself around the fact that the talks haven’t produced anything and probably never will unless Kim Jong Il feels that his interlocutors can threaten his survival.

Governments come and go. Talks starts and end, and usually produce nothing for anyone but Kim himself. When Kim Jong Il’s remains go their unmarked rest, the people will long remember who reached out and gave them hope.