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August 12, 2008

If Jay Lefkowitz Falls in the Forest ….

A week after we learned that the North Koreans  disinvited him from  visiting Kaesong — something about which our State Department offered no adverse reaction — Lefkowitz has canceled a scheduled visit to Seoul as well.  These events belie the sincerity of President Bush  and even Chris Hill sporadically talking the talk on human rights again: They “shared the view that in the process of normalizing relations, meaningful progress should be made on improving North Korea’s human rights record.” This...

Categories U.S. Politics
August 3, 2008

State Dep’t: De-Listing N. Korea as a Terror Sponsor Depends on Verification

I take some comfort in the fact that while I can’t believe a damned thing they say, neither can the North Koreans: Nuclear-armed North Korea cannot be removed from a list of state sponsors of terrorism unless it agrees to a comprehensive protocol verifying its atomic program, US officials say. There appeared to be a perception that Pyongyang would be automatically de-listed on August 11 after President George W. Bush announced on June 26 that he had notified Congress of...

Categories Appeasement/Diplomacy/Six-Party Talks/Terrorism (NK)/U.S. Politics
August 2, 2008

Senate Confirms Kathleen Stephens as Ambassador to Korea

[Updates below and in the text.] A couple of days ago, while traveling on business, I was informed that Sen. Brownback would lift his hold on the nomination of Kathleen Stephens to become Ambassador to the Republic of Korea. She was confirmed in a voice vote later that day. This is the first time I’ve had a chance to post about it. The Senate confirmed a new American ambassador to South Korea on Friday, after a senator dropped his objections...

Categories Appeasement/Diplomacy/Six-Party Talks/U.S. & Korea/U.S. Politics/Washington Views
July 30, 2008

Must-Read: Dan Blumenthal and Aaron Friedberg on Agreed Framework 2.0

What is interesting, though not stated in the article, is that Blumenthal is one of John McCain’s senior advisors on Asia policy.  The article certainly doesn’t purport to speak for McCain, though it doesn’t seem far afield of his views.  If McCain were elected, it suggests that both he and his advisors would want The piece begins with plenty of substantive criticism of where the Bush Administration has brought us, all of which is on the mark, but which you’ve...

Categories Appeasement/Diplomacy/Six-Party Talks/U.S. Politics
July 25, 2008

Is State Backing Away from N. Korea’s Terror De-Listing?

If you want to know what I think, no.  I think it’s posturing.  But Yonhap catches some significance in these remarks that I had missed: “It’s a 45-day minimum notification, but we certainly expect, and we’re watching very carefully, to see20whether or not North Korea is going to come through on the essential issue, which is verification, and to act accordingly,” Rice said. “I just wanted to clarify it’s a 45-day minimum notification, not maximum.” Rice reiterated her skepticism about...

Categories Appeasement/Diplomacy/Six-Party Talks/U.S. Politics
July 9, 2008

Obama ‘Pivots’ Positions on N. Korea Terror De-Listing

The New York Sun picks up the story of Kim Dong Shik and Barack Obama’s first broken promise: In an interview yesterday, the executive director of the Korean Church Coalition for North Korean Freedom, Sam Kim, said he traveled to Congress in early June to remind Illinois legislators of a 2005 letter signed by Senator Obama, among others, that called on the North Korean regime to provide details about the case of the Reverend Kim Dong-Shik. Rev. Kim, who helped...

Categories Abductions/Appeasement/Six-Party Talks/U.S. Politics
July 2, 2008

Mission Accomplished!

There are more bad reviews for the Bush Administration’s decision to pay full price not for North Korea’s nuclear disarmament, but for  a “declaration” that omits its nuclear weapons, its nuclear proliferation, and a good share of its nuclear programs. *   National Review thinks Kim Jong Il must be smiling:  “The deal that emerged from the six-party talks is indeed making for dramatic headlines and good television. What cannot be said is that it is making us safe.”  *...

Categories Appeasement/Diplomacy/Six-Party Talks/U.S. Politics
June 28, 2008

Chris Hill Busted Again

[Update 1 Jul 08:   According to a reader tip,  the day after I published this post and the photos below, a State Department desk officer contacted Mrs. Kim through supporters to talk about her letter.  So Chris Hill can’t tell this particular lie again, but  he’s still going to do what  he wants to do.  The next lie, I suspect, will be delivered directly to Mrs. Kim.  It will consist of unenforceable promises to account, eventually,  for the fate...

Categories Appeasement/Six-Party Talks/U.S. Politics
June 27, 2008

George W. Bush: A Uniter at Last!

For all the failings of his accord with Kim Jong Il, Bush has made remarkable progress in unwittingly brokering an accord between a liberal Democratic presidential nominee, the House’s most conservative Republicans, and the Republican presidential nominee. To various degrees, all have noted the inadequacy of Kim’s declaration and declared their opposition to de-listing North Korea as a state sponsor of terror unless it permits verfication. (Which it won’t, of course): This is a step forward, and there will be...

Categories Appeasement/Six-Party Talks/U.S. Politics
June 22, 2008

Obama Gets Another Unwanted Endorsement

[Update: Well, that didn’t take long. Welcome from Little Green Footballs, Michelle Maklin, the Jawa Report, the unlinkable Memeorandum, and my good friend at Gateway Pundit. Regulars here know that I’m completely disgusted with Bush’s own appeasement of Kim Jong Il, but while you’re here, don’t miss the story of Esther Kim, an Obama constituent whose husband was kidnapped and killed by the North Koreans. Obama inspired her Hope, then crushed it with Change.] The Chosun Sinbo, the mouthpiece of...

Categories Appeasement/U.S. Politics
June 20, 2008

Why Should We Believe Chris Hill?

Chris Hill is the man in whom Congress will have to invest its trust if it decides to throw away America’s leverage and let the State Department de-list North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism this summer.  The terms of Hill’s deal with Kim Jong Il are  so  hopelessly vague  and endlessly flexible  that the viability of this whole process rests on two  thin  and brittle reeds: Kim Jong Il’s good faith and  Chris Hill’s veracity.   Enough said?  If not,...

Categories Abductions/Appeasement/Diplomacy/Refugees/Six-Party Talks/U.S. Politics/Washington Views
June 20, 2008

Brain, Trust

The other day, commenter Sonagi asked, “Now who do you think is more likely to excise the vestigal organ that is USFK – McCain or Obama?”  Judging by this, the answer is “neither one.”  McCain’s choice of a brain trust is generally disappointing, at least as depicted here, although McCain’s own statements on North Korea have been spot-on, and sounded as though they came from  his own  mind and heart (Obama, not so much).   Gordon Flake,  a very bright and...

Categories U.S. Politics
June 19, 2008

Who Remembers Kim Dong Shik? Answer: The Washington Post, Barack Obama, and Condoleezza Rice

Regular readers know that I’ve been a persistent critic of politicians of both parties who would  politicize and trivialize two  essential and  long-standing principles of American national security policy:  the intolerance of state terrorism, and the intolerance of proliferation.  North Korea’s refusal to be bound by any norms of  human civilization tempts a certain  class of politician to simply exempt North Korea from those principles.  Notwithstanding President Bush’s hawkish and mostly empty  words, his administration is about to  do exactly...

Categories Abductions/Appeasement/Six-Party Talks/U.S. Politics
June 18, 2008

Kathleen Stephens Nomination Update

The Chosun Ilbo that the White House may not be interested in expending scarce capital on this one: There is only a slim chance of the U.S. Senate approving the nomination of Kathleen Stephens as ambassador to Seoul, Radio Free Asia reported Tuesday.  Her nomination bill was passed by the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations in April and sent to a plenary session for a vote. But according to the RFA, Republican Senator George Voinovich has delayed his approval,...

Categories Human Rights/U.S. Politics
June 12, 2008

Great Moments in Congressional Relations: ChiComs Caught Hacking into Congress’s Computers

A staffer  for Rep. Frank Wolf, a Virginia Republican and stalwart opponent of China’s human rights abuses (pictured here at a Darfur rally), e-mailed me the texts of  a statement, a speech to have been given yesterday,  and a resolution to be introduced in the House.  Here’s the gist of it: Madam Speaker, in August 2006, four of the computers in my personal office were compromised by an outside source.  In subsequent meetings with House Information Resources and officials from...

Categories China/U.S. Politics
June 9, 2008

Leaked to OFK: Lugar Will Go to Pyongyang

Or intends to, anyway (the road to Pyongyang is paved with unrealized intentions).  Maybe when he’s there he can clarify Kim Jong Il’s intention not to disarm, or he can help  the State Department boys write Kim Jong Il’s nuclear declaration for  him (which should make it easy to disavow). Sen. Lugar, one the the Senate’s most liberal Republicans, is memorable for his failure to get John Bolton’s confirmation through the committee he formerly chaired.  Lugar is advised by staffer...

Categories Appeasement/Six-Party Talks/U.S. Politics
June 7, 2008

North Korean Human Rights Reauthorization Act Passes in House

So I dropped by Open Congress and was pleased to see: Passed by voice vote in the House on May 15, 2008. On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR 5/13/2008 H3747-3748) Here’s more on the House bill.  Here’s the full  text (opens in pdf).  The list of co-sponsors is impressive for its bipartisanship:  Rep Ackerman, Gary L. [NY-5] – 4/17/2008  [Democrat] Rep Berman, Howard L. [CA-28] – 4/17/2008...

Categories Human Rights/U.S. Politics
June 2, 2008

Chris Hill Resignation Watch

[Update:   Here, at Channel News Asia, Kim Sook seems to be saying that the North Koreans are refusing to hand over their declaration until the Americans de-list North Korea first.  Remember — State’s best chance of successfully de-listing North Korea means giving Congress notice of its decision in late June and taking advantage of the August recess to wrong-foot its congressional opponents.  As a practical matter,  that means North Korea won’t be de-listed  until August, but of course, that’s...

Categories Appeasement/Six-Party Talks/U.S. Politics