Kim Jong-Il’s Coming Out Day? The mystery surrounding his loss of position appeared at first to have been solved when it was reported that Kim had met with a Chinese envoy in mid-February, until Doug Shin noticed that the photographs released to the press appeared to be old. Now comes word that Kim may visit Russia in May. That would certainly settle the question of whether Kim lives and retains some of his power, but in my mind, it would...

Thank you for visiting. Traffic at this blog continues to rise ever higher. Thank you. Sure, triumph and disaster and all that, and no, they’re not Instapundit numbers, but they represent steady growth among what appears to be a select, influential, and intelligent readership. The most gratifying part of this to me is reading my Statcounter and seeing that you’re coming here to read topical information, inform yourselves, inform me, and identify trends on the peninsula. Nor do the numbers...

U.N. Stirrings? What’s this? A U.N.-sponsored tribunal that seeks to deter an ongoing genocide–in this case, Darfur? Is it vaguely possible that all of the criticism of the U.N.’s fecklessness is finally shaming it into action? If they’re not careful, they’re going to help make the case for John Bolton actually strengthening the institution. Still, if the U.N. does something of substance, I’ll be prepared to give credit where it’s due.

Outbreak Update: The BBC has this interesting report about North Korea’s apparently unique strain of Bird Flu.

The Chosun Ilbo gives cautious coverage to North Korea Freedom Week, and also appears to have confused Senator Sam Brownback with this guy. Still, any attention is welcome. More on North Korea Freedom Week here.

Cheers for the BBC for broadcasting the videotape of the recent public executions in North Korea. For all of its embarassments over Iraq, the Beeb has covered the North Korea human rights story far better than any of its American counterparts. Although it appears that some South Korean news programs did initially show the tape, the Christian Science Monitor subsequently reported that the South Korean government had moved to squelch further broadcasts out of a desire to avoid giving offense...

Stretch out your hand over Egypt so that locusts will swarm over the land . . . . –Exodus 10:12 The New York Times has a fascinating article about how the military is using UAV’s for counterinsurgency patrolling. I’ve long wondered how insurgents could roam with impunity if they were watched from the skies, or how a mechanized force could ever preserve itself under the withering attack of swarms of small UAVs carrying anti-tank bomblets. This probably leads to a...

Thank you for visiting. Traffic at this blog continues to rise ever higher. Thank you. Sure, triumph and disaster and all that, and no, they’re not Instapundit numbers, but they represent steady growth among what appears to be a select, influential, and intelligent readership. The most gratifying part of this to me is reading my Statcounter and seeing that you’re coming here to read topical information, inform yourselves, inform me, and identify trends on the peninsula. Nor do the numbers...

U.N. Stirrings? What’s this? A U.N.-sponsored tribunal that seeks to deter an ongoing genocide–in this case, Darfur? Is it vaguely possible that all of the criticism of the U.N.’s fecklessness is finally shaming it into action? If they’re not careful, they’re going to help make the case for John Bolton actually strengthening the institution. Still, if the U.N. does something of substance, I’ll be prepared to give credit where it’s due.

Outbreak Update: The BBC has this interesting report about North Korea’s apparently unique strain of Bird Flu.

The Chosun Ilbo gives cautious coverage to North Korea Freedom Week, and also appears to have confused Senator Sam Brownback with this guy. Still, any attention is welcome. More on North Korea Freedom Week here.

Cheers for the BBC for broadcasting the videotape of the recent public executions in North Korea. For all of its embarassments over Iraq, the Beeb has covered the North Korea human rights story far better than any of its American counterparts. Although it appears that some South Korean news programs did initially show the tape, the Christian Science Monitor subsequently reported that the South Korean government had moved to squelch further broadcasts out of a desire to avoid giving offense...

Stretch out your hand over Egypt so that locusts will swarm over the land . . . . –Exodus 10:12 The New York Times has a fascinating article about how the military is using UAV’s for counterinsurgency patrolling. I’ve long wondered how insurgents could roam with impunity if they were watched from the skies, or how a mechanized force could ever preserve itself under the withering attack of swarms of small UAVs carrying anti-tank bomblets. This probably leads to a...

Credit Where It’s Due: Roh moves to curb police abuse of suspects. Just ask your friendly neighborhood CID agent how the police conducted their questioning in the recent past.

China is stepping up its opposition to giving Japan a seat on the U.N. Security Council. Rest assured that their concerns are more strategic and long-term than a fit of pique over two uninhabited, guano-encrusted rocks. Meanwhile, another one for the “you heard it here first” file. Last fall, I attended a meeting at the Senate office buildings where Rep. Ed Royce was one of the luminaries present. Royce, a Republican from California, first hinted that this spring, we were...

Credit Where It’s Due: Roh moves to curb police abuse of suspects. Just ask your friendly neighborhood CID agent how the police conducted their questioning in the recent past.

China is stepping up its opposition to giving Japan a seat on the U.N. Security Council. Rest assured that their concerns are more strategic and long-term than a fit of pique over two uninhabited, guano-encrusted rocks. Meanwhile, another one for the “you heard it here first” file. Last fall, I attended a meeting at the Senate office buildings where Rep. Ed Royce was one of the luminaries present. Royce, a Republican from California, first hinted that this spring, we were...

Human Rights Updates: A British Junior Foreign Minister who recently visited North Korea has told the BBC that conditions there appear to be getting worse. The report, which quotes Yodok survivors on the conditions they survived there, is somewhat at odds with the new report of the U.N. Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in North Korea. The U.N. report goes out of its way to note recent improvements, despite the fact that North Korea barred the Rapporteur from entering the...