Hostile Policy Update: State Terrorism Meets Priceline Diplomacy

As used in this chapter – (1) the term “international terrorism” means activities that “¦ (B) appear to be intended – (i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population; (ii) to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or (iii) to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping; and (C) occur primarily outside the territorial jurisdiction of the United States, or transcend national boundaries in terms of the means by which they are accomplished, the persons they appear intended to intimidate or coerce, or the locale in which their perpetrators operate or seek asylum. [United States Code, Title 18, Section 2331(1)]

Although I’m not completely familiar with the North Korean dialect, “pay us or we’ll bomb you” seems to be a fair translation of North Korea’s latest:

North Korea issued yet another warning of military action against South Korea on Sunday. The official Rodong Shinmun newspaper in a commentary said war is a possible scenario if Seoul continues to ignore all the recent threats it has been making. [Chosun Ilbo]

The tension may lead to “an unavoidable military conflict and a war,” North Korea’s main Rodong Sinmun newspaper said in a commentary carried Sunday by the country’s official Korean Central News Agency. “The policy of confrontation” by the South Korean government is “the very source of military conflicts and war” between the Koreas, it said. [AP]

Someone please tell us what North Korea really means by “hostile policy.” Finally, someone actually does:

Mr. Lee ended a decade of unconditional outreach to North Korea by tying economic assistance to the reduction of Pyongyang’s nuclear-weapons program. The move cost North Korea about $300 million last year, a sizable sum to the North, which produces just a few billion dollars in economic output annually. [Wall Street Journal, Evan Ramstad]

The Bush Administration removed North Korea from the list of state sponsors of terrorism on June 26, 2008. Discuss among yourselves. By the way, I can’t resist quoting this choice of words by Ramstad, in reference to the North’s earlier cancellation of its previous agreements with the South:

The small industry of professors, military and intelligence officials who monitor North Korea scrambled to parse the statement for a deeper meaning.

I also see that I’m not the only one who sees this as a realization of the Biden Prophecy. As for State Department’s reaction … did I not peg this when I predicted that we would soon “send some special envoy off to Pyongyang to find out the asking price of a few more months of quiet time for appointments, confirmations, and policy reviews?” So who among you doubts that that’s exactly what’s happening here?

Leading American experts on North Korea are expected to arrive in the reclusive state next week. Former U.S. ambassador to Seoul Stephen Bosworth and former U.S. assistant secretary of state Morton Abramowitz are set to be among the group of experts meeting with high-level North Korean officials this coming Tuesday.

This visit will be the first civilian exchange between the two countries under the new U.S. administration, and some of those making the trip have significant influence on American policy toward the North. Washington is considering appointing Bosworth as a special envoy to Pyongyang. [Chosun Ilbo]

Let us call it Priceline Diplomacy. But it could be worse. We could be sending Kim Jong Bill. Even so, the new administration can’t just turn a faucet and make the money flow, which means we’ll get to hear “sea of fire” a few more times.

So what have we learned today, kids? If you said “terrorism works,” give yourself a little gold star.