Search Results for: border crackdown

The new Department of State human rights report on North Korea is here. Given the paucity of information, it’s a running year-by-year tally, noting changes when they have occurred, which are seldom much for the better. One significant stat is that the State Department believes there are now no more than 30-50,000 North Koreans in China, and that this is at least partially the result of a Chinese crackdown. It could also be true that the estimate of 300,000 was...

The new Department of State human rights report on North Korea is here. Given the paucity of information, it’s a running year-by-year tally, noting changes when they have occurred, which are seldom much for the better. One significant stat is that the State Department believes there are now no more than 30-50,000 North Koreans in China, and that this is at least partially the result of a Chinese crackdown. It could also be true that the estimate of 300,000 was...

In the wake of the recent news that Japan has imposed economic sanctions in the disguise of a new insurance requirement for incoming ships, the United States is also looking for ways to amplify the shock. The New York Times reports: In the months before North Korea announced that it possessed nuclear weapons, the Bush administration began developing new strategies to choke off its few remaining sources of income, based on techniques in use against Al Qaeda, intelligence officials and...

In the wake of the recent news that Japan has imposed economic sanctions in the disguise of a new insurance requirement for incoming ships, the United States is also looking for ways to amplify the shock. The New York Times reports: In the months before North Korea announced that it possessed nuclear weapons, the Bush administration began developing new strategies to choke off its few remaining sources of income, based on techniques in use against Al Qaeda, intelligence officials and...

From today’s Times of London comes this remarkable report headlined, “Chairman Kim’s Dissolving Kingdom.” It paints a picture of rapid decay among the state’s mechanism of control, as if only inertia and an initial spark are delaying the regime’s rapid (and most likely, violent) collapse. It’s a long report and an absolute must-read, but here are the major points one distills from the piece: 1. The erosion of the fear state is equally visible to casual observers and insiders. The...

From today’s Times of London comes this remarkable report headlined, “Chairman Kim’s Dissolving Kingdom.” It paints a picture of rapid decay among the state’s mechanism of control, as if only inertia and an initial spark are delaying the regime’s rapid (and most likely, violent) collapse. It’s a long report and an absolute must-read, but here are the major points one distills from the piece: 1. The erosion of the fear state is equally visible to casual observers and insiders. The...

Maybe you’ve heard of the “Korean wave” that hit Japan recently. Apparently, so have many North Koreans, and the Dear Leader–or whoever is running things up there these days–doesn’t approve. Note that the reporter is none other than North Korean defector Kang Chol-Hwan: A former high-ranking official who recently entered South Korea as a defector said, “These days, among young North Koreans, South Korean culture is rapidly spreading. . . .” An ex-government official of the North who recently visited...

Maybe you’ve heard of the “Korean wave” that hit Japan recently. Apparently, so have many North Koreans, and the Dear Leader–or whoever is running things up there these days–doesn’t approve. Note that the reporter is none other than North Korean defector Kang Chol-Hwan: A former high-ranking official who recently entered South Korea as a defector said, “These days, among young North Koreans, South Korean culture is rapidly spreading. . . .” An ex-government official of the North who recently visited...

This week’s must-read is the Chosun‘s story about how cell phones are breaking the information blockade around North Korea. The regime’s crackdown on cell phones hasn’t overcome the strong family ties inherent in Korea’s culture, and it hasn’t stopped North and South Koreans from wanting to talk to their relatives across the DMZ: As Lee talked to his brother for the first time in 50 years over a crackling line, he couldn’t stem the flood of tears. Inter-Korean projects to...

This week’s must-read is the Chosun‘s story about how cell phones are breaking the information blockade around North Korea. The regime’s crackdown on cell phones hasn’t overcome the strong family ties inherent in Korea’s culture, and it hasn’t stopped North and South Koreans from wanting to talk to their relatives across the DMZ: As Lee talked to his brother for the first time in 50 years over a crackling line, he couldn’t stem the flood of tears. Inter-Korean projects to...