The North Korean Reaction to Kang Chol-Hwan’s White House Visit
And how are ordinary North Koreans reacting? Brendan Brown comes through again with the views of his refugee students in Seoul. As before, not scientific. As before, Brendan is no fan of W., which only adds credibility to this:
My students couldn’t hide their glee and admiration for Bush after meeting Kang Chol-hwan. I was tempted to bring them down to earth by reminding them of a few of the less honourable aspects of his presidency, but decided not to be like the older kid telling the younger kids that Santa isn’t real and lessen their geniune euphoria. I’ll get a few quotes for you. The ones I heard on Friday were along the line of the “greatest living person”and interestingly “hero to the Korean people.”
Yun Min-Seok could not be reached for comment; Christine Ahn was overcome by the vapors.
As for the North Koreans who are inside North Korea, one suspects that most of them don’t know, but will (quietly) react similarly when they do. They’re voting nonetheless, with the only ballots they currently possess: their feet.
[T]he Navy and police were alerted at 8:24 a.m. that a 5 m x 3 m dinghy was floating in the waters 2.5 miles off Baengnyeon Island. Its passengers were a 43-year-old man identified by his family name of Choi and his wife, who reportedly told maritime police, “We will not go back to North Korea.” Police took the Chois and their boat to Baengnyeong Island, where the couple are being questioned.
The other was a soldier who was discovered hiding in a truckload of Moon Pies. Somewhere in there is something deeply symbolic, but I have yet to perceive exactly what it might be. However he got through, no one found a trace of his passage:
Another defector, identified as Lee Yong-su, 20, was discovered in Daema village, Gangwon province 5:50 a.m. yesterday by a local resident. Mr. Lee was wearing a tattered North Korean military uniform and a Kim Il Sung badge.
According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff investigating Mr. Lee, the defector said he was a soldier in an artillery battalion of the North Korean army in Pyeonggang county. He told the investigators that he made the decision after watching on television how developed South Korea was. Mr. Lee claimed he reached the fences in the DMZ early Monday morning and crossed over the next day.
This is the kind of engagement that really does have the power to change North Korea. A few hundred thousand copies of Desperate Housewives might have as much impact on North Korea as Aquariums could have on the White House.