Open Sources, June 16, 2014
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Congressional Hearing, June 18th: “Human Rights Abuses and Crimes Against Humanity in North Korea.” The briefer will be Ambassador Lee Jung-Hoon, South Korea’s Ambassador for Human Rights. I’m rather interested in Lee’s answers, because I see no evidence that either the U.S. or South Korea intends to offer a credible policy response to the Commission of Inquiry’s report. If you wonder just how much the South Korean government is embracing and acting on the COI’s findings, consider that as of six weeks ago, it had yet to offer an official translation of the report. I don’t believe that has changed yet.
The witnesses will be Shin Dong Hyok, Andrew Natsios (an HRNK Board member), and Shin Chang-Hoon of the Asan Institute, a South Korean think tank that sometimes reflects the views of, and serves the interests of, the South Korean government. (Update: I retract and apologize for this characterization.)
The hearing is being held by the Foreign Affairs Committee, Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations.
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Event at the Heritage Foundation, June 19th: “Confronting the Human Rights Challenge in North Korea.” The premise of the event is that human rights conditions for most North Koreans are actually deteriorating under Kim Jong Un, and will focus on how governments will or should respond to that. Bruce Klingner will host, and the guest will be Ambassador Lee again.
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North Korea to Earth: Our nukes aren’t subject to negotiation. And yet, five years into the Obama Administration, it hasn’t offered a credible policy response to this, either. I was relatively complimentary of the Obama Administration during its first term, when it declined to compound some of the errors of its predecessors, but at this point, I’m beginning to wonder if this administration has any foreign policy at all.
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Yonhap: Glyn Davies to be replaced this year: The report doesn’t specify exactly why, or whether this is because Davies would rather be Ambassador to Thailand, but replacing him with fellow Chris Hill crony Sung Kim does not signal a significant policy change.
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At The Weekly Standard, Ethan Epstein makes the case for a North Korea travel ban.
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A group of female North Korean workers has been forcefully repatriated from China after it was learned that they had been asked to work as prostitutes on the sly by their overseer while officially hired at a food factory, according to a local source.
North Korea’s foreign embassies have long been expected to self-finance by any means necessary, no questions asked, and to provide tribute to their masters in Pyongyang. This is resulted in a wide range of illicit activities, but this is the first report I’ve seen of international sex trafficking.
Christine Ahn and Christine Hong were unavailable for comment.
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Singapore has charged the unfortunately named Chinpo Shipping Company with wiring $72,000 to Panama to facilitate an illegal arms shipment from North Korea to Cuba, and one of its executives with destroying electronic evidence of the transaction. Singapore has traditionally had good trading relations with North Korea. This action could cause Singaporean nationals to perform more due diligence in their transactions with the North.
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North Korea cuts rations below subsistence level:
North Korea doled out 410 grams of food for each person per day in May, compared with 420 grams on average in February, the Washington-based Radio Free Asia (RFA) said, citing the U.N. World Food Programme.
The North’s daily food ration is lower than the WFP’s minimum recommended amount of 600 grams and the North Korean regime’s target amount of 573 grams, the radio said.
A friendly reminder: Kim Jong Un has enough cash in his Chinese in European bank accounts to feed every single North Korean for years.