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Category: Foreigners in N. Korea

August 11, 2009

Claudia Rosett’s Modest Proposal

Over at Pajamas Media, investigative reporting legend Claudia Rosett — she broke the oil-for-food scandal — has a proposal for Laura Ling and Euna Lee’s book/movie rights, which I heartily endorse: Though in light of the talk now circulating about a payola of book and movie deals, I have another suggestion. It would be entirely fitting for Laura Ling and Euna Lee to donate whatever money they make from their  story to some of the private charitable organizations whose staff...

Categories Ling/Lee Incident
August 9, 2009

Whoa. That’s just cold.

I’d have to say that this is the nastiest thing I’ve read yet about Laura Ling and Euna Lee.  And that said, it contains much interesting information that may or may not be at all true.  This, for example: Kim Jong Il has ruled it with absolute authority since 1994. He was born in the Forties, but his exact birthday is asecret. He wears platform shoes and a teased hairdo and is reputed to have had a string of lovers,...

Categories Ling/Lee Incident/U.S. Politics
August 7, 2009

Almighty God, Please Spare Us the Retch-Inducing Stockholm Syndrome Speeches (Updated, Bumped)

[Updated below] Now that Laura Ling and Euna Lee are on their way home, I have a short list of things I do and do not want to hear from them, starting with any retch-inducing drivel about how well they were treated while they shouldn’t have been in captivity at all. Let’s make that the first thing on our list: 1.  Please spare us the Stockholm Syndrome at LAX.  Try to remember that you weren’t in North Korea to rob...

Categories Ling/Lee Incident
August 6, 2009

Upping the Ante

It is indeed good news to hear of the safe return of Laura Ling and Euna Lee after months of imprisonment in North Korea, but does this really signal an improvement in U.S.-DPRK relations? North Korea did, after all, use these journalists to get what it wanted (Bill Clinton in North Korea), and the U.S. did honor the regime’s request, although under the label of a “private” mission. While the rescue is being hailed as a “success,” it’s too early...

Categories Ling/Lee Incident/Propaganda
August 6, 2009

Jackass Mails Hash to Self in South Korea, Does Time, Compares Self to Laura Ling and Euna Lee

When the news of Laura Ling and Euna Lee’s release broke, I warned you that you were going to read a lot of really stupid things, and you are.  But a reader also forwards a link to something completely unexpected from Cullen Thomas, writing at The Daily Beast. What could be more useful in making sense of an isolated and unpredictable rogue state’s holding of journalists as hostages than the unique perspective of a hash-smoking ex-con who did time in...

Categories Fiskings/Ling/Lee Incident/The Camps
August 4, 2009

The Bag Man: Bill Clinton in Pyongyang

[Update:  More here, at The New Ledger.  I suspect we’ve come to a fork in the road.  One way brings us to Agreed Framework III, and the other clears a major obstacle toward intensifying sanctions, and an adult response to a crisis that talks without clear benchmarks and objectives have only exacerbated.  Place your own bets.] Former President Clinton is in Pyongyang to ask for the freedom of Laura Ling and Euna Lee. As I’ve said before, it hardly matters...

Categories Abductions/Diplomacy/Ling/Lee Incident/Terrorism (NK)
July 31, 2009

Ban Ki-moon to Save the Day?

Last night the Facebook page for Laura Ling and Euna Lee posted an an Agence France-Presse article stating that U.N. head Ban Ki-moon has “launched an initiative to secure the release of two US journalists detained in North Korea but would not disclose details.” Call me cynical, but if he can actually free these two reporters, it will somewhat restore my lost faith in the ability of Ban – and the U.N. for that matter. Although I must admit, crazier...

Categories "United" Nations/Ling/Lee Incident
July 24, 2009

WTF? Michael Jackson Wanted to Ask Kim Jong Il to Free Laura Ling and Euna Lee?

If this doesn’t win “WTF of the Decade,” it’s an honorable mention: The last time I spoke to my friend Michael Jackson was about a month ago, 3 weeks before his shocking death. He had called me late one night to ask about another of my close friends who he had read about in the news. Laura Ling, a former colleague and friend, was detained originally by North Korean border guards along with her colleague Euna Lee on March 17th....

Categories Ling/Lee Incident/WTF?
July 22, 2009

John Kerry Tries, Fails to Stop Amendment Calling for N. Korea to be Re-Listed as Terror Sponsor (Update: Dems Defeat Amendment, 54-43)

Progress on ending North Korea’s nuclear weapons program is always tenuous and remains incomplete. But the regime’s nuclear declaration is the latest reminder that, despite President Bush’s once bellicose rhetoric, engaging our enemies can pay dividends…. Now the president must not prematurely close the books on North Korea’s alleged uranium enrichment activities and nuclear exports. We must ensure there are credible verification and monitoring procedures to ensure North Korea is out of the nuclear business for the long term. —...

Categories Appeasement/Ling/Lee Incident/Sanctions/Terrorism (NK)/U.S. Politics
July 10, 2009

Brownback Introduces Sanctions Bill in the Senate

Thomas still doesn’t have the text for S.1416, though it summarizes the bill as follows: Title: A bill require [sic] the redesignation of North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism, to impose sanctions with respect to North Korea, to require reports on the status of North Korea’s nuclear weapons program and counterproliferation efforts, and for other purposes. The bill has two co-sponsors, Kyl and Gregg, both Republicans, although it’s not clear how Democrats will react, given the administration’s mood:...

Categories Ling/Lee Incident/Sanctions/U.S. Politics
July 8, 2009

An Update on the Ling-Lee Situation

While there isn’t a lot of new news to report, there are a few things worth mentioning. First of all, after weeks of silence, Laura Ling again contacted her sister Lisa, most recently last night, with a specific message including a confession that she and Lee broke North Korean law: “I know that our government has been working behind the scenes very hard trying to bring the girls back home,” she said. But she added, “Our countries don’t talk, and...

Categories Ling/Lee Incident/Uncategorized
July 6, 2009

Chosun Ilbo: Ling and Lee Likely to Be Sent to “Special” Labor Camp

The Chosun Ilbo speculates — and that’s pretty much all there is to this — that Laura Ling and Euna Lee will miss the opportunity to report on the conditions in a real North Korean labor camp. Lucky for them. Instead, they will probably be sent to a special camp originally built to accommodate ranking members of the Workers Party and other figures thought to merit special treatment. Special camps are better furnished than general camps, and inmates reportedly do...

Categories Ling/Lee Incident/The Camps
July 2, 2009

This Means World War III for Sure

Contrary to previous reports suggesting that he was out of the running, Bill Stanton has been named head of the American Institute on Taiwan, making him the de-facto U.S. Ambassador to Taiwan.  The post does not require confirmation by the Senate.  Recall that Stanton (no relation) had called Laura Ling and Euna Lee “stupid” and a distraction from “bigger issues” while leading a delegation of young congressional staffers through the U.S. Embassy in Seoul in March. Later, North Korea claimed...

Categories China/Ling/Lee Incident/Taiwan
June 25, 2009

Ling and Lee Families Hold Vigil in San Francisco

The husband of an American journalist jailed in North Korea says his wife sounded scared during a recent phone call and described her confinement as “bearable.” Iain Clayton, the husband of Laura Ling, said Wednesday his wife called him on Sunday night. He said although she tried to be strong on the phone, he could tell she was worried. [….] Clayton also says Ling’s medical condition has deteriorated and Lee has developed a medical problem. Ling reportedly suffers from an...

Categories Kremlinology/Ling/Lee Incident
June 24, 2009

In the Absence of Facts, Rumor Overtakes the Injustice of Laura Ling and Euna Lee’s Captivity

I guess I wasn’t the only one who thought of Laura Ling and Euna Lee when I heard about the escape of David Rhode from the Taliban.  An unpleasant quirk of human nature occurred to me:  by virtue of his escape, Rohde had instantly transformed himself from “stupid” to intrepid.  I’m glad Rohde lived to bring the story home.  Oddly enough, the minute I heard the report on the radio, I remembered Rohde’s name, because being captured isn’t a new...

Categories Ling/Lee Incident
June 17, 2009

KCNA: Ling and Lee Filmed Themselves Entering North Korea (Updated, Bumped)

[Original post, 16 Jun 09] I’ll certainly reserve judgment until we see the videotape and until Ms. Ling and Ms. Lee can freely authenticate it, but if that’s true, it would be, well, stupid, even if it were done with the purpose of informing us about an important issue: “We’ve just entered a North Korean courtyard without permission,” the Korean translation of their narration on the videotape said, according to KCNA. One of them picked up and pocketed a stone...

Categories Ling/Lee Incident