Open Sources, August 26, 2012
ON THURSDAY, I HAD DINNER WITH ANDREI LANKOV, which gave me the opportunity to rib him personally about his statement that Mickey Mouse shows “are by no means trivial.” We don’t agree about that, but as usual, we found plenty of other things to agree about. For one, we agreed that the food supply is a significant tool of control, so significant agricultural reforms would be meaningful to the North Korean people (we agreed to wait until spring to see what evidence there really is of significant reforms). We also agreed that the regime probably isn’t interested in political reform, or such radical measures as ceasing to put hundreds of thousands of people and their kids in gulags, or ceasing to build its nuclear weapons capability, as it continues to do as aggressively as ever.
Those latter points should be deal-breakers for our willingness to relax economic, financial, or diplomatic pressure on North Korea; after all, Adolf Hitler and Saddam Hussein welcomed foreign investment, and they were still genocidal despots and mortal threats to their neighbors. We’re still very much at the stage of asking whether North Korea will make any significant reforms to its system, but the question that lies beyond that one is whether those reforms will be of more than academic interest to us … unless the reforms trigger the regime’s downfall.
Andrei continues to work hard toward developing ways to get more information into North Korea, including digital libraries on thumb drives, inexpensive Korean-language documentaries using stock footage, and even a Korean version of Wikipedia (he handed me a CD loaded with the entire thing). I wish him success, because it looks like the North Koreans and Chinese are achieving some success at re-sealing North Korea’s borders, even as cross-border broadcasting seems to be reaching larger audiences in the North.
In 1995, Mr. Kim began publicly criticizing North Korea in interviews. Zeitgeist, a bimonthly he founded, published a book likening Kim Jong-Il, the late North Korean leader, to Pol Pot and Hitler. By the time the South Korean authorities uncovered and broke up his party in 1999, Mr. Kim and some of his associates were ready to renounce their old politics and avoid indictment under South Korea’s anti-espionage law.
In a statement of “ideological conversion” in 1999, he said: “By spreading misinformation about North Korea, I helped delay South Korean and international attention to the human rights of North Koreans. When I see emaciated North Korean children, I feel too ashamed to say ‘Please forgive me.”’
Interesting that Kim Dae Jung was President when the state broke up Kim Young Hwan’s party. Maybe the government isn’t so incompetent after all….
Article that chimes with the view that agriculture is central to NK s future direction
http://eng.nksis.com/bbs/board.php?bo_table=f01&wr_id=6
Were you AGREEING with Dr. Andrei Lankov or just listening to what he said and nodding? Did he have nothing better to do? Did you? I wonder.
I heard Dr. Lankov is very handsome. Did you spend the night with him ? I would have ! I bet you weren’t just nodding at what he was saying, I bet you were thinking “God, I was to kiss you right here !!” You go, girl !!
Carl,
This is a SERIOUS website, about serious issues — North Korea, South Korea, Manchuria, Mao, Jesus Christ, Lenin-Stalin-FDR !!. Stop making a mockery of it. Really. That said, I’d really like your phone number.
Best,
Eric
Eric,
I know, I know. I am in a goofy mood because of what Kim John Un is doing to the people of North Korea. I get angry about it and I can’t see straight, then I have to take my meds and those make me loopy. No disrespect intended to you or this blog. I really believe what is written and fervently support it. I think that if Josh’s ideas were accepted by the global community, there wouldn’t be war and strife and poverty and North Korea would truly be free !! What would happen then I don’t know, but I do know that Josh’s ideas can’t be kept down, not by the Government, by the UN and most certainly not by you and I resent you trying to quash his opinions and ideas if that was your intention. If that was not your intention, then again I apologize because I can’t think clearly and I probably shouldn’t be typing and driving at the same time anyway but that cough syrup I drank is starting to kick in too. I just think that the ideas expressed in this blog are awesome. I whack off to some of the articles. There, I said I. I put it out there. So what are you going to do about it ? huh ! Criticize me ! This is freedom man and North Korea doesn’t have it and that’s what this is all about. Get on board or get left behind, Eric. Come on, man, what do you have to say to thaaaaat !
As much as the NY Times piece on Kim Young Hwan was a must read, the rebuttal is, too:
“The way they describe Kim, it seems he is not the same man I thought I knew.
The Kim Young Hwan I know is a quiet, unassuming, serious, scholarly advocate with a far reaching vision for improving the quality of life for North Koreans, and as such I sincerely doubt that he would have agreed to 007 characterization.”
from: http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk03600&num=9729
Mr. Kim will be speaking at the Yonsei GSIS Sept. 12:
http://en.nknet.org/events-programs/nkhr-supporters/kim-young-hwan-juche-evangelist-north-korean-human-rights-activist/
If you don’t live in Seoul, we’ll also post it on Youtube in due time.
Dan B.,
This is a serious site, my friend. Eric made that pretty clear to me and I am making it clear to you right now. You shouldn’t be posting things like this. Those are horrible and inappropriate. Consider your audience before you post in the future. If I have offended you, I am sorry, I just want to keep this site pure and the dialogue open and fair.