Monthly Archive: February, 2011

And by the way, he’s a full-time envoy! Two years into the Obama Administration, just look at the empty gobbledygook his Special Envoy on human rights is telling South Korea’s nuclear negotiator: “We’ve had very good, very serious, very thoughtful discussions,” King told reporters after talks with Wi Sung-lac, Seoul’s main nuclear envoy who oversees North Korea issues at the foreign ministry. “It’s extremely important for the United States, as we pursue our policies towards North Korea, to coordinate with...

Is it still Groundhog Day? John Everard, who served as British ambassador to Pyongyang for two and half years from February 2006 […] told a seminar hosted by Korea Economic Institute of America in Washington that rice in sacks with labels marked “Republic of (South) Korea” or “World Food Program” was traded openly at black markets in North Korea. Food that South Korea and international aid organizations gave to the North are traded in black markets after being embezzled by...

Gee, but won’t that upset them? “During the Key Resolve joint drill to be held in March, the two nations’ forces will jointly conduct exercises to remove North Korea’s nuclear weapons and WMDs,” a military source said, asking not to be identified. “Although this exercise first began in 2009, (the military) will strengthen the program this year.” ______________________________________ Writing at the Shadow Government blog, Michael Green worries that President Obama is about to “go wobbly” on North Korea. I’m worried...

I’ve said that an uprising along the lines of what’s going on in Egypt is implausible in North Korea. In the case of China, however, it’s unlikely (for now) but not implausible. And apparently, the Chinese government agrees: Newspapers can only publish accounts of the protests from the official Xinhua News Service, a policy often invoked on stories the government considers sensitive. Censors have blocked the ability to search the term “Egypt” on microblogging sites, and user comments that draw...

The State Department gets one right on food aid: “One of the sticking points in the past discussions we have with North Korea have always been confidence in the ability to ensure that humanitarian assistance provided get to those in need,” he said. “Our policy regarding the provision of humanitarian assistance is based on the level of the need of given countries, and competing needs of other countries and our ability to ensure that the aid is reliably reaching the...