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North Korea is on Twitter … unless you happen to be a North Korean, of course.

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The Washington Post looks at Jang Song Thaek’s emerging role as svengali to Kim Jong Eun.

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“I have a sneaking suspicion that Kim Jong-il’s son, who wants to take over, has to earn his stripes with the North Korean military,” Gates said at the U.S. Marines’ Memorial Club in San Francisco. “My worry is that that is behind the provocation like the sinking of the Cheonan, and so I think we are very concerned that this might not be the only provocation from the North Koreans,” he added in response to a question over the threat posed by Pyongyang. [Reuters]

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In an Orwellian world, “war is peace, freedom is slavery, and ignorance is strength”. In the strange, fictitious world of North Korean historiography, the past 57 years of de facto peace is war, a life of servitude to the state is freedom, and national strength is rooted in ignorance of the outside world. [Sung Yoon-Lee, Asia Times]

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“The military counteraction of the DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) will be the severest punishment no one has ever met in the world,” a spokesman for the General Staff of the Korean People’s Army said in a statement carried by North Korea’s official news agency. [CNN]

President Bush removed North Korea from the list of state sponsors of terrorism on October 11, 2008 to reward it for its complete, verifiable, and irreversible dismantling of its nuclear arsenal. Thus far, President Obama has seen no cause to disturb that decision.

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North Korean leader Kim Jong-il asked China for $10 billion worth of direct investment and one million tons of food during his visit to Beijing last May, according to the Tokyo Shimbun newspaper, Friday.

Quoting an anonymous diplomatic source based in Seoul, the Japanese daily said that “apart from the direct investment, Kim asked Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao to offer one million tons of food and 800,000 tons of oil. But China refused to make any promises, it said. [Korea Times]

The price of a Peking Duck dinner says this report was leaked by the Chinese. They can see how even their old friends are snarling at them now. Other reports have said that China has been pushing major investments in North Korea.

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It certainly does seem that China perceives a moment of opportunity to expand its territorial waters to include the Yellow and South China Seas. China’s perception of President Obama’s weakness may or may not be a miscalculation, but the Pentagon does seem to understand that such a miscalculation could prove extremely dangerous to the peace in East Asia and the Pacific. The Pentagon is now saying (though it does not say when) that it will send a supercarrier into the Yellow Sea — a symbolic gesture, given that such small bodies of water are hardly ideal places for carriers to maneuver. For symbolic reasons, that’s probably the best decision, but as Mark Helprin argues, challenging China credibly requires us to retain our qualitative edge over China’s military, and to avoid the asymmetric traps it is so adept at setting for our ground forces in Asia.

11 Responses

  2. “I have a sneaking suspicion that Kim Jong-il’s son, who wants to take over, has to earn his stripes with the North Korean military,” Gates said…

    Unfortunately, a similar claim can be made for a US leader who has never been a CEO of anything, never served in the military, subscribes to a radical ideology, and has fired 2-four star Generals over a 9 month period.

    As of this posting, no stripes are forthcoming…

  4. The Pentagon is now saying (though it does not say when) that it will send a supercarrier into the Yellow Sea

    The ship in question – the USS George Washington – has recently finished joint naval exercises with the Vietnamese navy.

    I hope this ain’t going to be a repeat of King Carlos’ intemperate remarks.

  5. Is it official?

    Jang Song-taek Named as Caretaker for N.Korean HeirNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-il named his brother-in-law as the caretaker to ensure a smooth power transfer to his youngest son, Jong-un, the Washington Post said Monday.

    Jang Song-taek, who was recently promoted as vice-chairman of the National Defence Commission, the regime’s highest military body, has been Kim senior’s most trusted ally for several decades. Jang is also a holiday companion and a drinking partner to the ailing leader, accompanying him on 40 out of 77 trips to military and industrial sites this year alone.

    But experts say that the decision might be a gamble since Jang could try to seize power himself as he is the second most powerful man in the communist state while the most powerful man is too sick and the next in line is seen as too young.

    Kim suffered from a stroke in August 2008 and is receiving kidney dialysis and treatment for diabetes.

    The scenario for the next few years would be that Jang acts as a behind-the-scenes kingmaker assisting Kim junior, but once Kim Jong-il dies the situation becomes difficult to predict. Experts say that in case of a peaceful power transition Jang is likely to take control over international relations, especially since he has a solid relationship with China, while the young leader would deal with domestic issues.

    The paper also said the younger Kim could grow into an unpredictable figure even more aggressive toward South Korea and the outside world than previous leaders. It said some American officials have expressed hopes for Kim Jong-il to remain in power as long as possible.

  6. I remember reading that Jang is a really interesting character. Apparently, Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il both disapproved of his marriage to Kim Jong Il’s sister but Jang persisted. Standing up to both Kims has to be pretty dangerous and audacious in North Korea! That is what impressed both Kims and won their trust.

    The Kims have a bizarre way of testing their friends. They seem to like people who are willing to stand their ground, use dirty tricks including assassination attempts. Kim Jong Il became Crown Prince by exiling his half-brother Kim Pyong Il who was actually Kim Il Sung’s favorite son. Now Kim Jong Eun is about to be throned by attempting to assassinate his brother Kim Jong Nam.

  7. I was puzzled by the way the Kim’s treated of South Korean politicians. Kim Il Sung welcomed Lee Hoo Rak who was the head of the notorious KCIA under Pres. Park Chung Hee in the 1970’s when they opened negotiations for the first time with us. Kim Jong Il seemed to have a very nice chat with Park Geun Hye (Pres. Park’s daughter and leader of South Korea’s conservative party at the time). They even let some separated families see each other and pretended to care about Red Cross talks and such. Lee or Park were the last people to ever help them out and about as anti-Communist as one could get.

    On the other hand, they did give Kim Dae Jung a party but Kim Dae Jung had to practically buy it from them with the biggest aid package ever. But they really gave Kim Dae Jung very little in terms of humanitarian cooperation or other consideration. And the attack on our patrol boat during the 2002 World Cup was quite a slap in the face. Roh Moo Hyun is said to have suffered even worse insults in private than Kim Dae Jung. Apparently, Kim Jong Il ignored Roh and the defense minister when they tried to discuss issues of substance.

    DJ and Roh were probably the most accommodating South Korean leaders the Kims could hope for and yet they treated them pretty bad.

    When I read about Jang Song Taek and the way that Kim Jong Il and Kim Jong Eun won the crown the pattern seemed to be that the Kim’s respect people who they see as ruthless and courageous as themselves. It makes sense since the Kim’s think of themselves as brave guerrilla leaders.

    Lee Hoo Rak’s KCIA did some pretty awful things to people it suspected as communists. I do not think Park Geun Hye ever ordered a hit on anyone, but she is known to have quite a bit of personal courage – she did not bat an eye when she was injured in the face by a crazy guy with a knife a few years ago and she posted videos of herself doing marital arts on cyworld.

    Perhaps the next envoy we send to North Korea to meet with Jang or Kim Jong Il should be a Vietnam vet, preferably who served with the Blue Dragon ROK Marines!

  8. Unfortunately, a similar claim can be made for a US leader who has never been a CEO of anything, never served in the military, subscribes to a radical ideology, and has fired 2-four star Generals over a 9 month period.

    @KCJ: So according to you, a leader has to have served in the army, been a head of a corporation, and when President, must listen like a little boy to his ‘betters’ (Generals Chrystal and the other guy.) Well, guess what: he’s the POUTUS, and if you don’t like that, find another country to live in…assuming that your teabagger sentiments will even countenance letting you live someplace else. Oh crap, I forgot; you can’t even countenance that you might be wrong about Korea, and let the Koreans handle their own problems their way instead of having the USA solve them all of the time.

    Just another racist blasting of Obama done under cover of commenting on another subject.

  9. Sky Cap:

    You’re right. It’s clearly racist to say that someone should have qualifications for positions of leadership, and I’m sure KCJ’s active support for Aijalon Gomes and Robert Park on this site was some kind of subtle racist tactic on his part, since KCJ is clearly a white supremicist. He shaves his head just like all those other soldiers!

    You’re also right that we should let the Koreans solve their own problems, even though China is actively intervening to prop up the North. We should have done this the first time by staying out of the Korean War. Then we could have had united rule under the benevolence of the Great Leader and his protegy.

    Does “POUTUS” have something to do with poultry?

    You are qualified to make comments since you are the captain of the sky, but you might only be qualified to be vice president of the U.S. Just saying. (there I go being racist again)

  11. ha ha, I couldn’t decide between “progeny” and “protégé” I guess.

    I actually googled “POUTUS” to see if it meant anything before writing, though.

    I accept the punishment (except for the part about keeping track of Kims and Paks, which is above my pay grade).