Open Sources, May 6, 2014

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EVENT AT THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION, TOMORROW AT 10: “With China characteristically blocking UN action, what can be done to address human rights violations and improve conditions for the North Korean people? Join us as distinguished panel of human rights experts discuss potential follow-on actions.” The panel will include Greg Scarlatoiu of HRNK and John Sifton of Human Rights Watch. Jared Genser, unfortunately, can’t appear because of a scheduling conflict. Bruce Klingner will host and moderate. RSVP at the link.

Speaking of Bruce Klingner, don’t miss his must-read article, “Time to Go Beyond Incremental North Korean Sanctions,” at 38North, of all places. (I sense the presence of a heretic in the temple.)

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FREEDOM HOUSE EVENT, MAY 19 AT 9 A.M.: “The International Human Rights System: A Missed Opportunity? A Freedom House and Freedom Rights Project Conference.” Schedule and RSVP at the link.

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OUT, CHOE RYONG-HAE; IN, HWANG PYONG-SO as North Korea’s top military commander and number two official, or so say KCNA and Yonhap. The Joongang Ilbo reports that Hwang comes from the Organization and Guidance Department, in line with New Focus’s analysis with holds that the OGD is the real power in North Korea today. The Diplomat reviews the tangled history of Choe Ryong-Hae’s appointments and appearances since Jang Song Thaek’s purge in early December, and speculates that Choe may have fallen victim to another purge, although a Unification Ministry spokesman calls that “unlikely.”

Still, the announcement was sudden, unexpected, and (so far) unexplained. So many changes of personnel at the top ranks in such a short period of time can’t be a sign of stability, and leadership turnover carries many hidden consequences for any organization. I look forward to Choe’s lengthy denunciation in KCNA.

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SKY NEWS INTERVIEWS NORTH KOREAN DEFECTORS:

From her Seoul apartment, Cheon Young Suk sobbed uncontrollably as she recalled the torture. “With that plank, they hit me until it split into two or they won’t stop hitting me. It must split into two. Then the beating stops. They hit me like that, they starved me, kicked me,” she said.

My apologies to readers in Britain that I didn’t post this before air time, but hopefully, Sky will show it again.

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U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL MEETS IN GENEVA: “Western powers called on North Korea on Thursday to dismantle its political prison camps and a caste system that ranks citizens based on family loyalty to the ruling dynasty.”

You can read Ambassador Bob King’s statement, which begins with a welcome for the North Korean delegation, here. It shouldn’t take you more than 45 seconds to get through the rest of it.

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MEET OUR NEW MAN IN SEOUL, Mark Lippert. I hadn’t even heard Mr. Lippert’s name before his nomination was announced, and his background, in the Pentagon, is an interesting change from recent history (the State Department’s Korea Desk has been our ambassadorial farm team for most of the last decade).

To be effective as U.S. Ambassador in Seoul, you need a lot of juice in the White House, which is why I’ve heard it suggested that the job should be reserved for political appointees. In any event, I wish Mr. Lippert the best of luck in his efforts to dig us out of the holes left by Don Gregg and Chris Hill.

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LAOS NINE UPDATE:

Daily NK has received news that a group of North Korean youths forcibly repatriated from Laos last May have been sent back to their points of origin and placed under special surveillance.

A source in Yangkang Province told Daily NK on the 30th, “The kkotjebi who returned after being found [in Laos] on their way to South Chosun came from Yangkang Province. Most of them have been sent to their home counties, while the ones from Hyesan are now under the management of the Hyesan bureau of the State Security Department.”

If this report is true, it means that publicity saves lives. Interesting that we heard this from The Daily NK, but not the Associated Press. I wonder if the AP so much as asked to speak to these kids.

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THE FIGHTERS FOR A FREE NORTH KOREA launched more leaflet balloons into North Korea last weekend, undeterred by threats from North Korea or the risk of arrest by the South Korean police. In recent years, North Korea has shelled South Korean territory and targeted activists who oppose its oligarchy for assassination, including Park Sang-Hak, who leads the FFNK. My friend Suzanne Scholte, now a candidate for the U.S. Congress, was there with them, standing on the right side of history, as she has been for years.

In tense times like these, going to a balloon launch is an act of physical courage, one whose risk probably exceeds that of the Freedom Riders in the segregated South or the demonstrations of 1989. I’m glad to know that Suzanne and all of the brave souls who faced the enemy at her side are safe. May God keep them safe.

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THE CHONG CHONG GANG has left Panama at last, after North Korea paid a fine of just $1 million.

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NORTH KOREA carries out tests of long-range rocket engines, as it rapidly expands its Seohae missile complex.

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ROBERT KAPLAN ARGUES THAT ASIA is defying the global humanist trend, and North Korea is defying the Asian trend toward modernization. Personally, I see evidence of a humanist trend in Europe and the Anglosphere, but not in the rest of the world. Still, everything Kaplan writes is interesting and worth reading.