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Germany, 1945. Again, the Korean government will abstain from a U.N. Resolution “expressing concern about “human rights abuses in the Stalinist country [of North Korea] such as concentration camps for political prisoners. It calls on Pyongyang to ratify the Convention Against Torture and guarantee that the UN special rapporteur on human rights in North Korea is allowed to operate freely. The special rapporteur was created by last year’s resolution.” Just consider the sheer dumfounding illogic of it. Half of this...

Here is today’s list of unsubstantiated rumors and CIA disinformation about North Korea. Always happy to pass those along, in addition to chucking a little more gasoline onto the stove burners. First entry: In a sign of investor concern about North Korea, rumors swirled in financial markets in Tokyo and Seoul that leader Kim Jong-il had been shot dead. But a diplomat in Pyongyang said nothing out of the ordinary seemed to be happening, a view shared by a Japanese...

The Chosun Ilbo is reporting that Congress will vote on the North Korean Human Rights Act this week. No, this bill is not as strong as the original North Korean Freedom Act, but great things have small beginnings, and a strong response from voters can help build toward better things later. In brief, this bill does the following: 1. Increases funds to broadcast to North Korea for more hours every day, and to find ways to get tunable radios to...

The Chosun Ilbo is reporting that Congress will vote on the North Korean Human Rights Act this week. No, this bill is not as strong as the original North Korean Freedom Act, but great things have small beginnings, and a strong response from voters can help build toward better things later. In brief, this bill does the following: 1. Increases funds to broadcast to North Korea for more hours every day, and to find ways to get tunable radios to...

The Beeb is reporting more about the official North Korean response to the Ryongchon disaster. Nothing shocking. 1. As thousands of children lie suffering–many of them blind–on metal file cabinets for lack of hospital beds, the North Koreans are refusing to allow international medical aid that might put the victims in contact with sympathetic foreigners. A disproportionate number of them are children. One must conclude that their suffering means nothing to their leaders; even South Korean aid–much of it raised...

The Beeb is reporting more about the official North Korean response to the Ryongchon disaster. Nothing shocking. 1. As thousands of children lie suffering–many of them blind–on metal file cabinets for lack of hospital beds, the North Koreans are refusing to allow international medical aid that might put the victims in contact with sympathetic foreigners. A disproportionate number of them are children. One must conclude that their suffering means nothing to their leaders; even South Korean aid–much of it raised...

Owen Rathbone has been on a roll this week, which may explain why he’s been getting hate mail from at least one reader. You couldn’t inspire this kind of blind vitriol without having struck the nerve that only unpleasant truths can reach. The correspondent didn’t identify himself, but you don’t need to go far out on a limb to figure that he’s an angry young Korean, dancing to the nong-ak drums of Roh Moo-Hyun’s Red Guards. The muddled thought behind...

This is a story that should start with a description of how it ended. Other than a few well-connected activists, most of those in the room had been a select group–congressional staffers, think-tankers, diplomats, attaches from embassies . . . even Nelson Mandela’s nephew, a pleasant enough man, now wearing the uniform of a general. Before the event had even begun, one bored staffer had whined to another, “I’m sooooooo ready for the weekend. When the two men we had...

This is a story that should start with a description of how it ended. Other than a few well-connected activists, most of those in the room had been a select group–congressional staffers, think-tankers, diplomats, attaches from embassies . . . even Nelson Mandela’s nephew, a pleasant enough man, now wearing the uniform of a general. Before the event had even begun, one bored staffer had whined to another, “I’m sooooooo ready for the weekend. When the two men we had...

Dave at No Illusions wants to know more about Christine Ahn, the North Korean apologist (and American, as it turns out) whose views OhMyNews found worthy of the extensive interview I linked and fisked below. Even a cursory exploration of Christine Ahn’s views immediately raises questions about the honesty of OhMyNews’s coverage of her, given its failure to disclose that she is an active member in a pro-Pyongyang organization based in Oakland, California. Who Is Christine Ahn? North Korea is...

Dave at No Illusions wants to know more about Christine Ahn, the North Korean apologist (and American, as it turns out) whose views OhMyNews found worthy of the extensive interview I linked and fisked below. Even a cursory exploration of Christine Ahn’s views immediately raises questions about the honesty of OhMyNews’s coverage of her, given its failure to disclose that she is an active member in a pro-Pyongyang organization based in Oakland, California. Who Is Christine Ahn? North Korea is...