Interesting:
The rapid ascent of Kim Jong Eun and the building of a new ruling cast in Pyongyang is causing ripples to be felt in North Korea’s foreign currency earning apparatus. In Beijing, it is clear that anyone considered a supporter of Kim Jong Nam or Oh Keuk Ryul faces a rough ride. [Daily NK]
The purge of those linked to Kim Jong-Nam isn’t a surprise at all. Jong-Nam has publicly criticized North Korea’s dynastic succession and predicted the collapse of the regime. There are even rumors that Jong-Eun tried to have him whacked. The purge of Oh Kuk-Ryol’s supporters is a surprise to me. Oh, one of Kim Jong-Il’s closest long-term confidants, is thought to be the man who runs North Korea’s counterfeiting operations. The broader implication of this purge may be its impact on North Korea’s potential to recoup foreign currency.
I couldn’t resist tacking on this juicy gossip about one innocuous employee of a North Korean trading company in Beijing:
The North Korean Liaison Office is an organization said to be responsible for maneuvers against South Korea, and is thought to have pulled the strings in the South Korean Chosun Workers”Ëœ Party incident of 1992, in which the largest spy ring since the liberation was uncovered, that of Kim Dong Sik, an armed espionage agent arrested in 1995, Choi Jung Nam and Kang Yeon Jung, an agent couple who committed suicide in 1997, the assassination of Lee Han Young, Kim Jong Il’s nephew, in 1997, and the 2006 Ilsimheo spy ring incident.
But of course (shoulders shrugging) there’s really nothing China can do to reign in North Korea.
The White House still wants North Korea to apologize for sinking the Cheonan and “show a commitment to nuclear disarmament” before six-party talks resume. The fact that they’re letting principle and good diplomacy get in the way of talks for talks’ sake probably reflects the new consensus that North Korea won’t disarm anyway. Plus, President Obama doesn’t have to worry about the press hounding him to talk at any cost.
Still, I continue to hear worrisome rumors from my spies that Hillary Clinton is running low on patience with “strategic patience.”
The Chosun Ilbo, picking up a report from the Daily NK, reports that North Korea’s Public Security Ministry is ordering its officers to crack down on prostitution:
“There have been serious concerns over the un-socialist engagement of young women and college students in prostitution,” it reads and urges law enforcement officers to be “pitiless” in dealing with them.
Sources say it is common to see young women soliciting at bus stops and railway stations during rush hour in the wake of a disastrous currency reform last year that left many jobless, according to the Daily NK.
The L.A. Times has this interesting profile of GNP lawmaker Song Young-sun. I’m not usually one to take media hype at face value, but any friend of Kyonggi Province Governor Kim Moon Soo who has been burned in effigy by South Korean leftists can’t be all bad.
More dumb censorship in South Korea.
So far I give Obama a tenative B/B+ in North Korea policy. There is still much to be desired, but it’s a big step up from Bush and Clinton (both of whom I give Fs—well maybe a F/D- for Bush since he did start off strong). Overall though, Obama gets a D on his handling of international affairs. His foreign policy is too fragmented and contradictory, too many mixed messages are being sent both to our allies and our enemies, and I get the impression that Obama isn’t exercising any leadership in this area. I applaud Obama for not detouring Air Force 1 to Pyongyang to sing Kumbaya with criminals and human rights abusers while sipping cognac paid for by “Let’s Earn Dollars for Comrade Kim Jong Il” slave labor campaigns, but I fear that, due to overall policy incompetence, things could change—for the worse.
I urge anyone interested in peace to write a letter to Obama and urge serious talks with North Korea. The evidence that the Cheonan was actually even sunk by North Korea is quite weak and regardless, even if it was sunk, the actions of one officer should not hold back serious talks.
I urge anyone interested in peace to write a letter to Neville Chamberlain and urge serious talks with Germany. Even if Germany is breaking some of its armistice pledges, these were not really fair to Germany in the first place. An agreement regarding the Sudetenland will help to assure that we have peace in our time.
No, urge Obama to strangle the regime with tough financial sanctions and give ample money to groups dedicated to bringing down the incidious Pyongyang regime. Better yet, just urge Obama to invite Joshua Stanton to the White House to advise him on North Korea policy.
I’m not opposed to engagement in general, but North Korea has proven time and time again that it is not a trustworthy partner for peace. North Korea has a very proven track record of never negotiating in good faith with the United States and South Korea. Need I remind you of the 1994 Agreed Framework? The 2005 Joint Statement? The 2007 Joint Statement? Any of those ring a bell? All of them collapsed not becuase the US was negotiating in bad faith but because Pyongyang refused to live up to its end of the agreement.
If North Korea wants engagement then North Korea should be the one to make the first move by fulfilling the obligations it made in 2007. But it won’t because North Korea isn’t interested in peace. They need the US/South Korean bogeyman to bolster the regime’s legitimacy. In Pyongyang’s calculus, the US is far more useful as an enemy than as a friend.
No it’s not. It’s quite strong actually.
Well, it was sunk, there’s not two-ways about that. It’s interesting that even though you think the “evidence is quite weak” you seem pretty confident that it was the result of “the actions of one officer.” And yes, if that one officer happens to be the Dear Leader or his son, then that’s grounds for holding back “serious talks.”