Comments on: Ill-Gotten Gains: Who Still Remembers Resolution 1718? http://freekorea.us/2007/03/18/ill-gotten-gains-who-still-remembers-resolution-1718/ Tue, 22 May 2012 21:47:26 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: OneFreeKorea » One Man’s Diplomacy Is Another Man’s Conspiracy (or Chris Hill, Call Your Lawyer) http://freekorea.us/2007/03/18/ill-gotten-gains-who-still-remembers-resolution-1718/comment-page-1/#comment-43759 OneFreeKorea » One Man’s Diplomacy Is Another Man’s Conspiracy (or Chris Hill, Call Your Lawyer) Mon, 14 May 2007 11:41:27 +0000 http://freekorea.us/2007/03/18/ill-gotten-gains-who-still-remembers-resolution-1718/#comment-43759 [...] Last year, Treasury engaged in a highly effective campaign of shuttle diplomacy (second subheading) to put financial pressure on North Korea and send a message to other banks that might be tempted to handle criminal proceeds (knowingly or intentionally “handling criminal proceeds” turns out to be a reasonably good working definition of “money laundering”).  After all we’ve yielded on UNSCR 1718, weapons sales, and now this astonishing act, it’s hard to see other nations taking such efforts seriously in the future.  We’ve sacrificed plenty of important principles since February.  To those, you can now add this retreat in our efforts to clean up the international financial system, efforts that are integral to our efforts to shut down terrorist financing. [...] [...] Last year, Treasury engaged in a highly effective campaign of shuttle diplomacy (second subheading) to put financial pressure on North Korea and send a message to other banks that might be tempted to handle criminal proceeds (knowingly or intentionally “handling criminal proceeds” turns out to be a reasonably good working definition of “money laundering”).  After all we’ve yielded on UNSCR 1718, weapons sales, and now this astonishing act, it’s hard to see other nations taking such efforts seriously in the future.  We’ve sacrificed plenty of important principles since February.  To those, you can now add this retreat in our efforts to clean up the international financial system, efforts that are integral to our efforts to shut down terrorist financing. [...]

]]> By: OneFreeKorea » Agreed Framework 2.0: A Day 60 Scorecard http://freekorea.us/2007/03/18/ill-gotten-gains-who-still-remembers-resolution-1718/comment-page-1/#comment-35718 OneFreeKorea » Agreed Framework 2.0: A Day 60 Scorecard Sun, 15 Apr 2007 01:18:04 +0000 http://freekorea.us/2007/03/18/ill-gotten-gains-who-still-remembers-resolution-1718/#comment-35718 [...] By doing so, he also weakened UNSCR 1718, which he made us violate to give him back that money.  UNSCR 1718 requires us to “ensure” that any money transferred to the regime won’t be used for arms, luxury goods, or WMD programs.  We’ve admitted that we’ll have no real knowledge or control of how this money will be spent.  As a result, we’ve lost the ability to tell other countries like South Korea and China not to freely transfer funds to North Korea.  We’ve also lost many important leads [Claudia Rosett] in understanding North Korea’s international money laundering web, the same web they may be using to traffic in weapons of mass destruction.  [...] [...] By doing so, he also weakened UNSCR 1718, which he made us violate to give him back that money.  UNSCR 1718 requires us to “ensure” that any money transferred to the regime won’t be used for arms, luxury goods, or WMD programs.  We’ve admitted that we’ll have no real knowledge or control of how this money will be spent.  As a result, we’ve lost the ability to tell other countries like South Korea and China not to freely transfer funds to North Korea.  We’ve also lost many important leads [Claudia Rosett] in understanding North Korea’s international money laundering web, the same web they may be using to traffic in weapons of mass destruction.  [...]

]]> By: OneFreeKorea » Colin McAskill Threatens to Sue Banco Delta Over Release of Funds to DPRK http://freekorea.us/2007/03/18/ill-gotten-gains-who-still-remembers-resolution-1718/comment-page-1/#comment-32998 OneFreeKorea » Colin McAskill Threatens to Sue Banco Delta Over Release of Funds to DPRK Tue, 27 Mar 2007 22:58:45 +0000 http://freekorea.us/2007/03/18/ill-gotten-gains-who-still-remembers-resolution-1718/#comment-32998 [...] What’s so ironic about this is that the intended destination for the unblocked funds is the North Korean government, which is has promised us all that it will use the money for strictly humanitarian and educational purposes (updates).  No one really believes that the North Koreans will keep that promise, but it’s a necessary fiction to preserve the pretense that we’re not flouting UNSCR 1718, which we’ll need later, when the North Koreans stomp home for good.  So apparently, Treasury invests greater confidence in the North Korean regime to spend the money than it does in McAskill’s bank. A representative of the Daedong Credit Bank, which has about $7 million frozen in Banco Delta Asia, has told the authorities in Macao, though, that it will not accept its funds being placed under the control of North Korea or moved to the Bank of China. [...] [...] What’s so ironic about this is that the intended destination for the unblocked funds is the North Korean government, which is has promised us all that it will use the money for strictly humanitarian and educational purposes (updates).  No one really believes that the North Koreans will keep that promise, but it’s a necessary fiction to preserve the pretense that we’re not flouting UNSCR 1718, which we’ll need later, when the North Koreans stomp home for good.  So apparently, Treasury invests greater confidence in the North Korean regime to spend the money than it does in McAskill’s bank. A representative of the Daedong Credit Bank, which has about $7 million frozen in Banco Delta Asia, has told the authorities in Macao, though, that it will not accept its funds being placed under the control of North Korea or moved to the Bank of China. [...]

]]> By: OneFreeKorea » As N. Korea Reverts to Form, Hill Warns Kim Jong Il http://freekorea.us/2007/03/18/ill-gotten-gains-who-still-remembers-resolution-1718/comment-page-1/#comment-32994 OneFreeKorea » As N. Korea Reverts to Form, Hill Warns Kim Jong Il Tue, 27 Mar 2007 22:44:20 +0000 http://freekorea.us/2007/03/18/ill-gotten-gains-who-still-remembers-resolution-1718/#comment-32994 [...] In other words, Hill says, we’re prepared to reapply pressure (I’m not a fan of Hill, but he’s no fool; he understands the connection between pressure and successful diplomacy, at least to a degree).  And in fact, there is a lot more we can do to pressure Kim Jong Il.  We could apply PATRIOT 311 or Executive Order 13,382 to North Korea’s sources of South Korean and Chinese support, or to, say, Bureau 39 of the Korean Workers’ Party, an entity swimming in the proceeds of crime.  We could begin increasingly aggressive inspections of North Korean ships under UNSCR 1695 and 1718.  We could probe for political vulnerabilities within the North Korean population by increasing broadcasts, accepting more refugees, and training them in the skills needed to reconstruct North Korea after Kim Jong Il’s departure from our world.  We could craft new legal tools to allow North Korean forced laborers to sue investors in the North for compensation, or apply civil RICO statutes to the regime’s criminal activities, or promulgate an executive order similar to 13,382, but which would freeze assets of entities that use forced labor.  We could attach significant financial consequences to China by linking its trade benefits to its support for Kim Jong Il and its repatriation of North Korean refugees to his gulag.  Finally, we could reimpose the trade sanctions President Clinton lifted in 1999, to reward North Korea for the missile moratorium it violated last July.  All the while, we should be saying, in very clear terms, that we’re prepared to provide generous but carefully monitored humanitarian assistance whenever the regime accepts it.  And we should tell the North Korean people that, too. [...] [...] In other words, Hill says, we’re prepared to reapply pressure (I’m not a fan of Hill, but he’s no fool; he understands the connection between pressure and successful diplomacy, at least to a degree).  And in fact, there is a lot more we can do to pressure Kim Jong Il.  We could apply PATRIOT 311 or Executive Order 13,382 to North Korea’s sources of South Korean and Chinese support, or to, say, Bureau 39 of the Korean Workers’ Party, an entity swimming in the proceeds of crime.  We could begin increasingly aggressive inspections of North Korean ships under UNSCR 1695 and 1718.  We could probe for political vulnerabilities within the North Korean population by increasing broadcasts, accepting more refugees, and training them in the skills needed to reconstruct North Korea after Kim Jong Il’s departure from our world.  We could craft new legal tools to allow North Korean forced laborers to sue investors in the North for compensation, or apply civil RICO statutes to the regime’s criminal activities, or promulgate an executive order similar to 13,382, but which would freeze assets of entities that use forced labor.  We could attach significant financial consequences to China by linking its trade benefits to its support for Kim Jong Il and its repatriation of North Korean refugees to his gulag.  Finally, we could reimpose the trade sanctions President Clinton lifted in 1999, to reward North Korea for the missile moratorium it violated last July.  All the while, we should be saying, in very clear terms, that we’re prepared to provide generous but carefully monitored humanitarian assistance whenever the regime accepts it.  And we should tell the North Korean people that, too. [...]

]]> By: OneFreeKorea » Anju Links for 3/24: Another Stolen Life, More Measles in N. Korea, Cowardly Capital, and the Diplomacy of Blame http://freekorea.us/2007/03/18/ill-gotten-gains-who-still-remembers-resolution-1718/comment-page-1/#comment-31182 OneFreeKorea » Anju Links for 3/24: Another Stolen Life, More Measles in N. Korea, Cowardly Capital, and the Diplomacy of Blame Sun, 25 Mar 2007 03:16:20 +0000 http://freekorea.us/2007/03/18/ill-gotten-gains-who-still-remembers-resolution-1718/#comment-31182 [...] Like I said, it’s not about the $25 million, it’s about the money the $25 million dams up behind it.  If we could give them the $25 million without compromising our positions on (1) counterfeiting and money laundering in general, and (2) enforcing UNSCR 1718 and 1695, I’d call $25 a small price to pay for enabling North Korea’s own self-demonization.  The fact that even the Bank of China doesn’t want to touch North Korean money, even under these extraordinarily political circumstances, is a very good sign.  “Any bank will think that there could be problems with its credit rating when dealing with money stamped illicit by Washington,” the official said. “Finding a bank to receive the money will be a difficult task.” [...] [...] Like I said, it’s not about the $25 million, it’s about the money the $25 million dams up behind it.  If we could give them the $25 million without compromising our positions on (1) counterfeiting and money laundering in general, and (2) enforcing UNSCR 1718 and 1695, I’d call $25 a small price to pay for enabling North Korea’s own self-demonization.  The fact that even the Bank of China doesn’t want to touch North Korean money, even under these extraordinarily political circumstances, is a very good sign.  “Any bank will think that there could be problems with its credit rating when dealing with money stamped illicit by Washington,” the official said. “Finding a bank to receive the money will be a difficult task.” [...]

]]> By: OneFreeKorea » ‘Peace in Our Time!’ Updates http://freekorea.us/2007/03/18/ill-gotten-gains-who-still-remembers-resolution-1718/comment-page-1/#comment-29977 OneFreeKorea » ‘Peace in Our Time!’ Updates Wed, 21 Mar 2007 23:12:54 +0000 http://freekorea.us/2007/03/18/ill-gotten-gains-who-still-remembers-resolution-1718/#comment-29977 [...] The holdup — which U.S. negotiator Chris Hill and the New York Times had said was resolved — was the release of $25 million in North Korean accounts that in large measure contain the proceeds of illegal activity.  In a thinly veiled bow to UNSCR 1718, we insisted on putting this money into a special account for “humanitarian” and “educational” purposes, though everyone knows Kim Jong Il will divert the money, perhaps for a new batch of those nifty Omega watches he likes to give his prune-faced generals every Hannukah. [...] [...] The holdup — which U.S. negotiator Chris Hill and the New York Times had said was resolved — was the release of $25 million in North Korean accounts that in large measure contain the proceeds of illegal activity.  In a thinly veiled bow to UNSCR 1718, we insisted on putting this money into a special account for “humanitarian” and “educational” purposes, though everyone knows Kim Jong Il will divert the money, perhaps for a new batch of those nifty Omega watches he likes to give his prune-faced generals every Hannukah. [...]

]]> By: The Conjecturer » News Brief, Hunting Witches Edition http://freekorea.us/2007/03/18/ill-gotten-gains-who-still-remembers-resolution-1718/comment-page-1/#comment-28753 The Conjecturer » News Brief, Hunting Witches Edition Mon, 19 Mar 2007 21:33:59 +0000 http://freekorea.us/2007/03/18/ill-gotten-gains-who-still-remembers-resolution-1718/#comment-28753 [...] Using the re-opened funds in North Korea for humanitarian relief? A good wish. I’m just not optimistic it will actually help anyone. [...] [...] Using the re-opened funds in North Korea for humanitarian relief? A good wish. I’m just not optimistic it will actually help anyone. [...]

]]> By: snow http://freekorea.us/2007/03/18/ill-gotten-gains-who-still-remembers-resolution-1718/comment-page-1/#comment-28731 snow Mon, 19 Mar 2007 10:07:58 +0000 http://freekorea.us/2007/03/18/ill-gotten-gains-who-still-remembers-resolution-1718/#comment-28731 I sure hope you're right Richardson. This seeming caving by the Bush admin bodes ill. I sure hope you’re right Richardson. This seeming caving by the Bush admin bodes ill.

]]> By: Richardson http://freekorea.us/2007/03/18/ill-gotten-gains-who-still-remembers-resolution-1718/comment-page-1/#comment-28681 Richardson Sun, 18 Mar 2007 23:58:08 +0000 http://freekorea.us/2007/03/18/ill-gotten-gains-who-still-remembers-resolution-1718/#comment-28681 Pronouncements of violating 1718 <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/18/world/asia/18cnd-korea.html?_r=1&oref=slogin" rel="nofollow">are premature</a>; <blockquote><strong>. . .funds connected to illegal activities, like money laundering, counterfeiting, and narcotics and weapons trafficking, are not supposed to be returned.</strong> [. . .] North Korean officials have sent mixed signals about whether the Treasury Department action satisfies their demands to end the dispute. Senior officials in Pyongyang have not yet indicated that they consider the Macao matter to be resolved.</blockquote> I’ve not seen anyone say they’re getting it all back. And I am still counting on the administration reaping political capital after North Korea reneges, and that can be used to reapply strangulation. Frankly, the administration is lacking sufficient influence to pursue such a policy at present. Play-by-play it doesn’t look so good, but <em>the only chance succeed in strangulation is long-term</em>. Chris Hill is, so far, doing a good job with what he’s got. If North Korea reneges and Hill still pursues engagement over strangulation, I’ll change my position on him, but as stated above on many occasions before, I see this as only one move of the larger game. Pronouncements of violating 1718 are premature;

. . .funds connected to illegal activities, like money laundering, counterfeiting, and narcotics and weapons trafficking, are not supposed to be returned.

[. . .]

North Korean officials have sent mixed signals about whether the Treasury Department action satisfies their demands to end the dispute. Senior officials in Pyongyang have not yet indicated that they consider the Macao matter to be resolved.

I’ve not seen anyone say they’re getting it all back.

And I am still counting on the administration reaping political capital after North Korea reneges, and that can be used to reapply strangulation. Frankly, the administration is lacking sufficient influence to pursue such a policy at present. Play-by-play it doesn’t look so good, but the only chance succeed in strangulation is long-term.

Chris Hill is, so far, doing a good job with what he’s got. If North Korea reneges and Hill still pursues engagement over strangulation, I’ll change my position on him, but as stated above on many occasions before, I see this as only one move of the larger game.

]]> By: StKY http://freekorea.us/2007/03/18/ill-gotten-gains-who-still-remembers-resolution-1718/comment-page-1/#comment-28680 StKY Sun, 18 Mar 2007 20:55:42 +0000 http://freekorea.us/2007/03/18/ill-gotten-gains-who-still-remembers-resolution-1718/#comment-28680 This (6-party "talks") has all been (especially the latest rounds) diplomacy for motion's sake. Ignoring the NORKs after resolution 1718 was, and would still be, the best thing we could have done. A little more "suffering" by Senior NORK officials might have actually had them coming to "the table" with genuine interest in bailing their own tails out of possible collapse. But who knows. We abandoned a strategy that looked sound far faster than I imagined and with the almost inevitable "love fest" being prepared by the S Koreans this year, the United States is set up to look like the bad guys from this point on. I will not add my two cents to the "UN is uselss" debate (is it even a debate anymore?), but C. Hill is doing everything his bosses are telling him to do in order to "get the deal done". I can't be too upset about Mr Hill's "capitulation" because the NORKs are playing the media/international community like the Al-Quaeda fiddles they are. This then makes us look worse if we come back with the "that wasn't part of the deal" response to anything the NORKs say first. Just like in the middle-east, the US is losing the media war on this subject and let's face it, that's the real diplomatic forum that counts. This (6-party “talks”) has all been (especially the latest rounds) diplomacy for motion’s sake. Ignoring the NORKs after resolution 1718 was, and would still be, the best thing we could have done. A little more “suffering” by Senior NORK officials might have actually had them coming to “the table” with genuine interest in bailing their own tails out of possible collapse. But who knows. We abandoned a strategy that looked sound far faster than I imagined and with the almost inevitable “love fest” being prepared by the S Koreans this year, the United States is set up to look like the bad guys from this point on.
I will not add my two cents to the “UN is uselss” debate (is it even a debate anymore?), but C. Hill is doing everything his bosses are telling him to do in order to “get the deal done”. I can’t be too upset about Mr Hill’s “capitulation” because the NORKs are playing the media/international community like the Al-Quaeda fiddles they are. This then makes us look worse if we come back with the “that wasn’t part of the deal” response to anything the NORKs say first. Just like in the middle-east, the US is losing the media war on this subject and let’s face it, that’s the real diplomatic forum that counts.

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