Open Sources

Former chief U.S. nuclear negotiator Christopher Hill was quoted by VOA as saying that the North’s disclosure of the uranium enrichment plant proves that the regime lied in the six-party talks.

May these words be engraved on a tablet as the epitaph of all agreed frameworks. Still, it’s a bit hard to take Christopher Hill’s outrage that he was lied to at face value, given how much he helped them lie to the rest of us.

South Korean-based broadcasters to North Korea are obviously making a big push for the South Korean government to at least stop obstructing their activities, if not support them. Four of those broadcasters held a joint event in downtown Seoul this week. The Daily NK has photographs and testimonials from defectors whose minds were opened by what they heard:

A defector said, “I listened to radio in secret in North Korea. At first, I was so scared of it, but later I figured out there were many who were listening to it just like me. Broadcasting is a big hope for the North Korean people, as it can deliver outside information to them.

It’s time for the South Korean government to realize that what these broadcasters are doing serves the national interest of Korea. The broadcasters all appear to be trying to appeal to different audiences, and I’m glad to see that at least one is trying to sway the minds of the Pyongyang elite, too. I doubt that the same message would work equally well in all segments of North Korean society. Anti-Chinese nationalism might have the greatest appeal in Sinuiju or Chongjin, news of the country’s economic inequality would no doubt play well in Hamhung and Wonsan, and discussion of the philosophical contradictions between North Korea’s ideology and practice might play best in Pyongyang.

South Korea’s chief nuclear envoy said Wednesday that dialogue with North Korea is not an option right now, calling for greater international pressure on Pyongyang to stop provocations after its deadly shelling of a South Korean island. [Yonhap]

Yes, and with all due respect, exactly how can South Korea really expect anyone to take this call seriously while the Kaesong Industrial Park is still dumping millions of won into funding Kim Jong Il’s bling, and his threats against South Korea? If all of the news reports I’ve read about the mood in South Korea are accurate, then the South Korean people are ready to shut Kaesong down.

The chickens come home to roost:

Zhang Yong-an, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institute, a think-tank based in Washington, D.C., wrote in the paper published Dec. 3 that “made-in-North Korea” drugs in China were becoming out of control. Zhang wrote, “In July 2010, the Yanbian border patrol agency arrested six suspects from North Korea, including a drug kingpin “˜Sister Kim,’ and several ethnic Korean Chinese. They seized 1.5 kg of ice.

If it’s possible to smuggle dope across that border, then it’s also possible to smuggle food, medicine, money, cell phones, flash drives, explosives, and weapons across that border. In approximately that order, too.

The Gypsy Scholar remembers a hero and friend.