Japan: Iron Fist, Velvet Glove

We have a test case for North Korea’s bellicosity about counterfeiting sanctions. KCNA has confirmed a meeting with Japan in Beijing on Saturday, reference normalization of relations. Presumably, abductions will be an issue, as they have always been. Meanwhile, Japan has just announced its own sanctions against banks that launder Kim Jong Il’s money, starting with Banco Delta Asia, but not stopping there, either . . . .

The majority Liberal Democratic Party on Wednesday set up a working group to
look into money transfers from Japan to the North. The measures seem intended to
turn up the heat on Pyongyang ahead of the weekend talks.

These are the so-called “remittances” by Japanese-Koreans who remain loyal to the Pyongyang regime. Although those remittances had once been a major source of Pyongyang’s income, they fell dramatically during the 1990’s as a younger generation rejected the brainwashing of the world’s most demonstrably awful system of government. Japanese government tax investigations of North Korea’s political organization, Chosen Soren, have also taken a toll. Then again, Japan has been making noises about these remittances for a long time. Excellent background on all of the above here.

Will North Korea actually meet with Japan? Is this just a case of news traveling slowly in North Korea? I predict a noisy statement from KNCA abandoning the Beijing talks.