The Chinese are blocking U.N. action against their North Korean clients for sinking the Cheonan, and the Russians are playing dumb and stalling, but I’m sure that President Lee takes comfort that he has the full moral backing of the European Parliament and Central America. The Europarl resolution also “expressed disappointment with China and Russia for failing to take a clear position on the issue.” ___________________ South Korea will expand its role in the Proliferation Security Initiative: “We have decided...

You know, it’s as if Michael Gerson reads this blog or something: There are limits to the policy of isolation. Given that North Koreans did not revolt when millions were dying of starvation in the mid-1990s, it is difficult to imagine that economic pressure alone will bring down a committed, completely ruthless regime that cares nothing for the opinion of the world or the lives of its own people. The most fragile thing about the North Korean regime is the...

Here’s more on that report of a ration cut in North Korea, which is sourced to Good Friends: The chairman of the Good Friends organization, based in South Korea, Pomnyun Sunim, says this is taking place because the North Korean government can no longer keep its citizens from starving. The Buddhist monk says the ruling communist party issued a directive May 26th that work units and individuals should fend for themselves. He says this can be understood as either a...