Mongolia Seeks Democracy in N. Korea; Admits to Sheltering Refugees

Several other sites have blogged this story since I first noticed it, so I’ll mostly recommend the entire article and post just a few choice grafs, plus an observation or two.

Nongovernmental organizations from Mongolia are working quietly with North Korea’s totalitarians to help bring democracy to the Stalinist state, said Mongolian President Nambaryn Enkhbayar.
. . . .

On efforts to bring democracy to North Korea, Mr. Enkhbayar said the message that Mongolian organizations are sending Pyongyang is: “Please look here and see our model, our achievements and maybe mistakes, and don’t do these mistakes but look at the achievements and successes we’ve had for all these 15 years.”

The Mongolian leader said he is optimistic that his message of democracy and market-oriented economy is getting through to North Korea. “We have seen some indications that they are interested in seeing what is happening here,” he said.

North Korea briefly closed its embassy here, then decided to reopen it, he said. “This is a very good signal that they are trying to keep the door open,” Mr. Enkhbayar said.
. . . .

Mongolia also has been helping North Korean refugees who manage to reach the country by crossing through China. After initially returning some refugees to China, which in turn sent them back to North Korea, Mongolia’s government now helps Korean refugees reach South Korea.

“We have been trying to deal with this question from a humanitarian point of view, respecting the view and desire and wish of these people,” he said. “And whatever direction they want to go, we just send these people toward it.”

Asked whether Mongolia’s support for refugees had angered the governments in North Korea or China, Mr. Enkhbayar said: “I think they understand also that it’s not Mongolia deliberately doing all the things, but it’s just from a very humanitarian point of view, trying to assist people who decided to make their own choice.”

It’s commendable of Mongolia to take this kind of risk, and Mongolia will need American support for that risk to pay off. It’s also a big change from the extreme reticence the Mongolian Ambassador had previously expressed about calling the North Koreans refugees, or discussing any Mongolian support or asylum for them.

Mongolia is clearly interested in breaking up the recent pattern under which it’s been passed back and forth between Russia and China. The change on North Korea seems connected. The North Korean Freedom Coalition had two meetings with the Mongolian Ambassador last summer; I was present for the second of the two meetings, and the tone was both positive and productive–far more, I’m told, than that of the first meeting.

Clearly, someone more important than ourselves talked to the Mongolians in the meantime and persuaded them that sheltering refugees was an issue that matters to the United States.

President Bush is due to arrive for a visit next month. Interestingly, I’d asked out loud about a free trade agreement in my post on meeting the ambassador. Obviously someone else had the same idea.