Monthly Archive: May, 2005

Hangchonryon, the violent anti-American and pro-North Korean group whose rhetoric and actions caused a spate of violent assaults on American soldiers, has just received permission to book a group tour to North Korea, along with a few hundred, umm, fellow travelers. And of course, I mean that term in the strictly literal sense. Presumably, the visit will include filing past North Korea’s largest stockpile of preserved meat, formerly known as “Kim Il Sung.” Don’t laugh. Some slightly more substantial food...

Roh Will Visit the White House on June 1oth to discuss North Korea. Details.

The L.A. Times’s Barbara Demick, who was fiercely criticized for some of her past coverage of North Korea, has a new piece out about the North Korean dissent video that emerged in January. She even located an interviewed the person who made the tape. Links, partial translation, and some more interesting info here, at my original post. Translation of a longer excerpt here. For new viewers who are interested in some of the videos that have emerged from North Korea...

Hangchonryon, the violent anti-American and pro-North Korean group whose rhetoric and actions caused a spate of violent assaults on American soldiers, has just received permission to book a group tour to North Korea, along with a few hundred, umm, fellow travelers. And of course, I mean that term in the strictly literal sense. Presumably, the visit will include filing past North Korea’s largest stockpile of preserved meat, formerly known as “Kim Il Sung.” Don’t laugh. Some slightly more substantial food...

Oops. That absence you may have noted for several hours was a crash, caused by pilot error. My apologies.

The Russian delegate on North Korea’s stance in the six-party talks: In Tokyo on Monday, Russia’s ambassador said the negotiations would be unlikely to yield progress even if Pyongyang returns to the table as demanded. “One can hardly expect noticeable progress at the six-way talks even if they are resumed,” Alexander Losyukov told a forum in Tokyo, as quoted by Kyodo News. North Korea’s “latest behavior is clearly showing that there is no respect for the partners, no willingness to...

Newsweek has discovered another desecration outrage. This one is intentional, premeditated, and confirmed, and will result in no riots, bans, or arrests . . . nor should it. Predictably, however, some will denounce us for censorship for making public note of our decision not to hand our money over to the people who produce this dreck.

Presenting . . . The Parade of Unfortunate Star Wars Costumes. About time.

Daniel Okrent, the Public Editor at the New York Times, has some parting comments that are astonishingly direct. You can probably smell the bridges burning in Vermont.

Oops. That absence you may have noted for several hours was a crash, caused by pilot error. My apologies.

The Russian delegate on North Korea’s stance in the six-party talks: In Tokyo on Monday, Russia’s ambassador said the negotiations would be unlikely to yield progress even if Pyongyang returns to the table as demanded. “One can hardly expect noticeable progress at the six-way talks even if they are resumed,” Alexander Losyukov told a forum in Tokyo, as quoted by Kyodo News. North Korea’s “latest behavior is clearly showing that there is no respect for the partners, no willingness to...

Newsweek has discovered another desecration outrage. This one is intentional, premeditated, and confirmed, and will result in no riots, bans, or arrests . . . nor should it. Predictably, however, some will denounce us for censorship for making public note of our decision not to hand our money over to the people who produce this dreck.

Presenting . . . The Parade of Unfortunate Star Wars Costumes. About time.

Daniel Okrent, the Public Editor at the New York Times, has some parting comments that are astonishingly direct. You can probably smell the bridges burning in Vermont.

The Joongang Ilbo reports that discussion OPLAN 5029 contingency plans is on again, but it could just as well be that it’s back to Square One: No firm policy decisions were reached at the closed-door sessions, which took place May 10 to 12 at Yongsan Garrison, according to a participant in the meeting, who characterized it as essentially a brainstorming session. The meeting was titled the United Nations Command Special Operation Force Component Conference. The U.S.-led UN Command invited military...

As I said before, “mercurial.”

Laura Bush in Jerusalem: I realize how unfashionable it has become to question the patriotism of people–even those who openly sympathize with our enemies or spy for other nations–but I question the patriotism of Americans who want Jonathan Pollard to be released from prison simply because he was spying for Israel. Ditto those who wanted Robert Kim released because he was spying for Korea. These men are traitors who were duly tried, convicted, and sentenced in competent courts of law....

From the N.Y. Times: The Roman Catholic Church and the Chinese government are actively exploring the re-establishment of diplomatic relations, with contacts between the sides warming to the point that the ailing John Paul II quietly received a quasi-official Chinese delegation in the Vatican late last year.