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Daily Archive: February 20, 2008

February 20, 2008

Anju Links for 20 Feb 08

I’LL BELIEVE IT WHEN THEY SEE IT: The New York Times reports that the N.Y. Phil’s concert in Pyongyang will be broadcast live on North Korean TV. I doubt it. North Korea has perfected pulling away the football an instant before Charlie Brown kicks it. That would be as easy as letting the power go out. Then there’s this question: how will anyone really know? Does the fact that something shows on TV in the Koryo Hotel means that North...

Categories Anju Links
February 20, 2008

Hill Denies Nukes Talks Stalemated, Larry Craig Still Not Gay

One day, I must cease picking on poor Larry Craig. Maybe tomorrow. Though Hill denies the obvious, at least for now, he’s sticking to his guns on the North Korean declaration: But Hill said that is not good enough for the “complete and correct declaration” that was promised at the arms talks. “We cannot pretend that activities don’t exist when we know that the activities have existed,” he said, without giving specifics. [IHT] North Korea also continues to deny any...

Categories Six-Party Talks
February 20, 2008

Updates on the 22 Executed North Koreans

Original post here. – Via the Joongang Ilbo, the South Korean NIS claims that they found oysters in the two boats, and that they notified President-Elect Lee’s transition team of the impending repatriation. (Note that various descriptions of the boats continue to be wildly inconsistent — fishing boats? rubber rafts? powered or unpowered?). – Via the Chosun Ilbo, outraged North Korean refugees are finding their voice, and giving us some factual context: The [Committee for Democratization of North Korea] slammed...

Categories Appeasement/Human Rights/Refugees
February 20, 2008

The Restoration: More on Lee M.B.’s Cabinet Picks

Lee Myung Bak has announced some more cabinet picks. I’ve already given my strong approval to his pick for Unification, and I like his pick for National Defense, too: Lee Sang-hee, former chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, will be the defense minister, sources also said. Lee is known for his hard-line stance toward the North. After the North fired seven missiles on July 5, 2006, the Blue House called it “high level political pressure.” Lee openly criticized the...

Categories Korean Politics