Mutually agreed – let’s ignore each other.

FWIW, I am in Korea, so I think I have a tiny stake in matters here.

I have no illusions that readers of this Korea blog will follow the link I posted. It was more intended so that you would follow the link, because I didn’t want to have the same discussion again. Or, I didn’t want to pay for the same horse twice, if you will.

Thank you for also implying that all discussion on other matters should be thrown out the window when there is a crisis in the Middle East. Admittedly, the extent of my knowledge of Iran is whatever CNN, youtube, and Christopher Hitchens feed me. Sorry I don’t feel the need to regurgitate that info or make weak historical references.

Your other point about dealing with the average KN citizen is also dead on the money and outside of a few agitators like me (I am in the military and in Korea) there hasn’t been much movement in this area. This is quite unfortunate as we have learned by painful experience in Iraq and Afghanistan that the people are the most important ‘terrain’ in modern warfare, and NK will be no different. Can’t say more, but know that there are some of us on the ‘inside’ who are promulgating this very message.

I think the next major wave of balloon launches could be the dart that punctures the seal once and for all. Thanks for your very, very insightful comments!

The humanitarian aid is already there. (Or should I say, was already there before the North Korean belligerence made it impossible for donors to ship the 1 million ton shortfall of food North Korea suffers every year). Apart from the immediate military goals of establishing some kind of order after regime collapse, one of the things governments really need to think about is how they’re going to establish a connection with the North Korean people – whether it be in the hostile, wavering or loyal classes. From that perspective, it’s not governments that actually might not be the best actors to do this. Rather, it may be actually be Track II stuff that involves NGOs that can do this more effectively. For instance, the myriad of NGOs that assist North Korean defectors. Or the hundreds of Christian groups that are in North Korea now and have set up bakeries, orphanages, TB clinics et al. In fact, a friend of mine related an anecdotal story about how his church had help set up an orphanage in North Korea and he had to establish a relationship with his minder. Before eating a shared meal, the minder asked him “don’t you have to do something before you eat?” When the (supposedly clandestine) Christian missionary asked what he meant, the minder smiled and said:

“Only Christians come into North Korea.”

Those Christians are going to have an immediate beachhead in North Korea once the regime falls. They realize that for the time being, they need to cooperate with the regime – but when the perspective is a long term (or perhaps more correctly, a “far sighted”) approach waiting for regime change to come.

If nothing else, the Juche priests are no doubt upset that they have been upstaged again.

too bad it doesn’t seem like the ceaucescu moment won’t happen. darn it.

for those who are new to the forum due to all the media about NK, here’s a great recap. kind of like the recap before the final LOST episode of the season:

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20090619-714363.html