May 31, 2009

Unsung Misery

From the London Telegraph comes the story of Hyok Kang, a resident of Onsong, quite possibly the most miserable quarter of North Korea that isn’t a concentration camp, in its extreme northeast.             Kang speaks of a hellish everyday life in which people were publicly executed for stealing copper wire to sell: When the time came, the condemned man was displayed in the streets before being led to the place of execution, where he was...

Categories Google Earth/Human Rights/Refugees
May 30, 2009

A Point of Order on ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’

G.I. Korea’s latest posting on the renewed “don’t ask, don’t tell” controversy causes me to note a point that this entire debate is missing:  I saw very few cases in which soldiers were discharged involuntarily solely because of homosexual conduct.  In my experience as a former Army JAG, at least 80% of the Chapter 15 (homosexual conduct) discharges I saw were self-reports by soldiers who may or may not have been gay, but who just wanted out of the Army. ...

Categories U.S. Military/UCMJ & SOFA
May 30, 2009

Korean War 2, Day 4: Gates Hints at Military Action if North Korea Proliferates Nuclear Material

Three days after North Korea repudiated the Armistice agreement it had never complied with anyway, and as North Korea was seen preparing for yet another long-range missile test, Defense Secretary Robert Gates used the occasion of a security conference in Singapore to issue a veiled threat to Kim Jong Il: “The transfer of nuclear weapons or material by North Korea to states or non-state entities would be considered a grave threat to the United States and our allies,” Gates told...

Categories Proliferation/U.S. Military/WMD
May 30, 2009

Korean War 2, Day 4: Everyone, Take a Deep Breath

I’m the last one to downplay the danger that North Korea really represents.  I’ve said all along that there is no purely diplomatic solution to that danger, and I’ve spent the last five years arguing for a combination of economic strangulation, political subversion, and strong conventional deterrence with the specific purpose of overthrowing Kim Jong Il.  By showing you Kim Jong Il’s death camps and the vast fields of graves that surround North Korea’s cities, I hope I’ve helped to...

Categories Regime Change/U.S. Military
May 29, 2009

Laura Ling’s letter to her family, dated May 15

Picked up by the media from the page of Laura Ling and Euna Lee’s Facebook group is news of a letter Laura Ling sent her family, dated May 15. Directly from the Facebook page: Journalist Lisa Ling, Laura’s sister received one letter from Laura, dated May 15, 2009. Below are excerpts from Laura’s letter, read by her cousin Angie Wang, at the vigil. When I first got here, I cried so much. Now, I cry less. I try very hard...

Categories Human Rights
May 29, 2009

Photoblog: Seoul’s Farewell to the “Babo President”

[It’s been almost six months since I last submitted something to OFK, but I’m hoping to be able to write a bit more frequently from now on.  We’ll see.] In addition to the title “People’s President,” which is being used a lot this week, I learned today that Noh Moo-hyun was called “바보 대통령.”   I’m not so knowledgeable about the man, so that was a bit of a surprise for me to hear at the ceremony for him at...

Categories Korean Politics/Korean Society
May 29, 2009

What leverage does Russia have?

Interesting news and analysis focusing on Russia within the past 24 hours. In the past, the Kremlin has relied on China to make the leading decision on how to react to North Korean aggression since the latter appears to have more influence on the DPRK when dealing with the Kim regime. However, in light of the most recent North Korean nuclear test, it seems we are seeing a more aggressive Russia than before, with some suggesting the country is looking...

Categories Diplomacy/Russia
May 29, 2009

Lisa Ling to Go Public, Demand the Release of Her Sister

This just in from the Facebook page for Laura Ling and Euna Lee, the two U.S. journalists whom North Korea seized along its border with China back in March, shortly before its long-range missile test: Subject: Going public Hi everyone, it’s Lisa Ling. Firstly, our families are deeply grateful for your support and efforts to try to secure the release of Laura and Euna. To say that this has been stressful would be to grossly understate how hard this has...

Categories Abductions/Terrorism (NK)
May 28, 2009

Vigils Called for June 3 in Support of Ling and Lee

The Facebook page for Laura Ling and Euna Lee (which Lisa Ling has now taken over as administrator) is calling for vigils to take place everywhere on June 3, U.S. time, which is June 4 in North Korea – the date of the scheduled trials for Ling and Lee. So far, vigil locations include Washington, D.C.; New York, NY; Birmingham, AL; Portland, OR; San Francisco and L.A., CA. Organizers are also asking for help from willing volunteers. Contact information is...

Categories Activism/Human Rights
May 28, 2009

Draft Text of New U.N. Resolution on North Korea

Fred Fry gets a big hat tip for sending this, via the Inner City Press.  And what an predictable disappointment it is — it “deplores” the North Korean tests and calls on U.N. member states to finally enforce the same resolutions they’ve been failing to enforce since 2006.  But to be fair, this is still a draft. Feel free to insert your own Hans Brix/Team America clip link in the comments. Update 1: We’d all love to know what’s going...

Categories "United" Nations
May 28, 2009

Memories of an African Student Forced to Study in North Korea During the 1980s

Aliou Niane was born in Guinea West Africa, but due to decisions he had no control over, he found himself in North Korea from 1982-87. He is currently writing his memoir in French about the years he spent there and generously agreed to an email interview. Niane’s story is interesting, if not for the insider’s look he can give into what life was like for a foreigner living in North Korea during the 1980s, but also for the information he...

Categories Africa/Inside NK
May 28, 2009

Selected North Korea Commentary

The most depressing thing about North Korea’s April missile test wasn’t the test itself; it was the vacuousness of most of the reactions to it.  Many of the writers seemed poorly read on the facts, and conservatives and liberals had both stretched their credibility to defend the Bush and Clinton administrations, respectively, despite the general consistency of the policy through both administrations.  Recent events prove that both policies failed. This time around, the commentary seems smarter and better informed.  Part...

Categories Proliferation/Washington Views/WMD
May 28, 2009

Anonymous Prankster Steals North Korea’s Identity on Twitter

Forbes reports that the real North Koreans are not amused: Those 140-character news flashes have ranged from announcements of the recent underground nuclear explosions that are currently testing the rogue nation’s relations with the West, to accusations of Japanese war crimes, to the invention of a new type of North Korean toothpaste with “high medical properties.” (In addition to preventing cavities, it also aids in digestion and can be used to treat insect bites, eczema and colds.)   [Forbes]

Categories Humor/Satire
May 27, 2009

What? That Is Your Day Job? (Part 2)

David Albright, who has spent the last several years discounting the evidence of North Korea’s nuclear cheating and cheerleading for diplomatic giveaways to Kim Jong Il, has joined the coalition of the willing.  Sort of: “North Korea’s thrown something in our face that we have to deal with now and it could have tremendous ramifications for the ability to stop proliferation in the future,” said David Albright, president of the Institute for Science and International Security, a nuclear disarmament think...

Categories Washington Views/WTF?
May 27, 2009

What? That Is Your Day Job? (Part 1)

I never was a fan of Lawrence Eagleburger, and I see no reason to become one now: VARNEY: Would you — do you believe that the U.S. and/or China should now seriously consider and plan for a military attack? EAGLEBURGER: I have believed that for some time. So, you’re — you’re call — you are asking the wrong person, I guess, because I have felt, as I say, for the better part of 10 years, that we could see this...

Categories Washington Views/WTF?
May 27, 2009

So Long and Thanks for All the Cash

I’ve seen a number of different estimates of how many South Korean taxpayer dollars Roh Moo Hyun sent to Kim Jong Il and his regime during Roh’s term in office.  Starting from this 2006 estimate of approximately $3 billion (based on an approximate average exchange ratio of 1,000 won per dollar) and extrapolating about subsequent transfers, a rough estimate of $4 billion seems fair. Now consider: Kim Jong Il, who never actually bothered to visit Roh and granted him just...

Categories North-South/Sunshine