Comments on: We must be smoking what they’re growing

By: DPRK Forum » More hints on terror list dropping

DPRK Forum » More hints on terror list dropping — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 04:09:45 +0000

[...] The carrots are there alright, and yes, some care has to be taken in this very delicate, yet difficult game. Of course, there is no confirmation of getting North Korea off the terror list just yet, the taking them off the narcotics trade seemed a stepping stone in my opinion. As Richardson pointed out (Also see One Free Korea), there has been no solid evidence of trade since around 2003 (something I did not know before): [...]

By: Joshua

Joshua — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 10:21:48 +0000

OK, now I understand your point. But what has changed about North Korean drug trafficking from last year to this? Nothing. Lie.

By: slim

slim — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 04:29:32 +0000

Again, we’re not talking here about a compendium of world drug producers as determined by the State Dept — in contrast to State’s annual survey of worldwide human rights. This (arguably too) narrow survey looks at “big league” drug-producers and traffickers that affect the United States and which receive drug eradication aid from the U.S. The U.S. Congress requires a report card on how they are doing, with those that fail facing a cutoff in non-humanitarian aid (in theory; in practice, the Bush has waived this in the case of Venezuela because it wants to continue programs to support civil society in the face of Chavezation.)

There is no way to determine North Korea’s counternarcotic performance, or State’s evaluation of that performance, based on this brief State Department report because, essentially, North Korea has no counternarcotic performance to evaluate, under the Congressionally set parameters of this report.

This situation by no means makes incorrect Joshua’s suspicions (about North Korea and about State), which I wholeheartedly share. However, and I hate to be clinical, it represents a complete misrepresentation by Bloomberg’s Bomi Lim of what’s being measured here.

By: Joshua

Joshua — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 00:31:21 +0000

I checked and also linked the State Department transcript of the press conference above, and it seemed to confirm the basic facts of the report, but I’ll check again.

By: Sonagi

Sonagi — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 22:43:02 +0000

“North Korea is not affecting the United States as much as the requirements on the list”

I’ve heard more clearly worded English from Miss USA pageant contestants.

By: North Korea Blog » We must be smoking what they?re growing

North Korea Blog » We must be smoking what they?re growing — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 15:38:37 +0000

[...] Read more of this story… [...]

By: slim

slim — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 14:28:08 +0000

Bloomberg made a complete mistake with that story. I was there when the question that yielded the quote they used was asked and Bloomberg, writing from Seoul, misinterpreted the answer.

The 20 countries on that list are countries defined by statute as producing more than 1,000 hectares of coca or opium or 5,000 hectares of cannibas. It was unchanged from the previous year and includes a few countries, such as India (which has a legal opium industry for medicine) that are not trouble makers but that prompt concerns. Another criteria is that the drug flows impact the United States as a DRUG problem. So, for example, Morocco, a major source of Europe’s hashish, is not on the list, nor is Holland. Canada, a source of (WICKED, I’m told ;-D) hydroponic weed for the US, is mentioned as a concern in the text, but is not on the list. Other new trends (like Guinea Bissau becoming a transit point for trans-Atlantic cocaine) are given brief mention. But in no way does failure to mention a country mentioned in the past imply a change of suspicions.

I think Bloomberg’s mistake, which might have stemmed from trying to match a sloppy report in the Korean media, was assuming this drug report is a catalog of the whole world like STATE’s annual human rights report.

I am the last one to cut North Korea — or any Stockhom Syndrome-afflicted US diplomats — any slack. And whether State pulled punches to grease diplomatic wheels with North Korea (they didn’t with their religious repression or human rights reports) is a very legitimate angle to pursue. But Bloomberg discredits the effort here.

By: Jack

Jack — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 14:00:35 +0000

The report floored me as well. It is like put the head in the sand and pretend nothing is going on. Common sense tells me North Korea needs all the money it can get, and that has to include drugs. Time and time again I read about defectors making the stuff. For it to just stop seems downright silly to me.

Is this to set up the upcoming taking North Korea off the sponsors of terror list? I sure hope not considering the possibility of the Syrian connection. I hope they look into that a little closer.

In other words, the whole thing stinks to high heaven.

By: North Korea Removed from U.S. List of Drug-Traffickers at DPRK Studies

North Korea Removed from U.S. List of Drug-Traffickers at DPRK Studies — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 13:55:56 +0000

[...] We must be smoking what they’re growing [...]

By: DPRK Forum » Kim Dae-jung speech drinking game (Update 2)

DPRK Forum » Kim Dae-jung speech drinking game (Update 2) — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 13:50:41 +0000

[...] On second thought, do not do it. You might get alcohol poisoning. Update: In case you have not read it yet, looks like North Korea has been taken off the drug trafficking list. last I heard, the opium business is doing just fine with people smuggling the stuff across the river. I guess that all stopped now.Â Update: See One Free Korea’s in-depth report. [?] Share This [...]