Search Results for: border

At this moment, as you read this, young children in Ryongchon and Sinuiju are dying prolonged, agonized deaths. Their parents sit beside their kids in helplessness and despair, watching them die. And what are their government’s leaders doing to respond to the crisis and ease their suffering? They’re all at the theater, watching creepy mass games. Meanwhile, truckloads of aid and busloads of doctors and nurses are blocked at the border. The risk of political infection is apparently a greater...

Norbert Vollertsen, who has personal knowledge of the state of North Korean medical facilities near Ryongchon, and who knows first-hand of North Korea�s lack of facilities and expertise for treating burn victims, has written in with his comments on the rail disaster there. Dr. Vollertsen, as some may know, once received a friendship medal from the North Korean government for donating a skin graft for a young North Korean girl who was severely burned. �The nearby hospitals in Sinuiju and...

Norbert Vollertsen, who has personal knowledge of the state of North Korean medical facilities near Ryongchon, and who knows first-hand of North Korea�s lack of facilities and expertise for treating burn victims, has written in with his comments on the rail disaster there. Dr. Vollertsen, as some may know, once received a friendship medal from the North Korean government for donating a skin graft for a young North Korean girl who was severely burned. �The nearby hospitals in Sinuiju and...

When you can’t get real news, you can only speculate. We can choose to ignore the grainiest theories about why Kim didn’t get his picture taken with Hu, but the North Koreans don’t have that choice. But it’s not enough that they were victims of this terrible accident; soon, heads will roll. Coup or not, the Dear Leader will see one, and so will many common citizens. He will also try to blame the outside world . . . in...

When you can’t get real news, you can only speculate. We can choose to ignore the grainiest theories about why Kim didn’t get his picture taken with Hu, but the North Koreans don’t have that choice. But it’s not enough that they were victims of this terrible accident; soon, heads will roll. Coup or not, the Dear Leader will see one, and so will many common citizens. He will also try to blame the outside world . . . in...

Hundreds of thousands of enraged South Koreans did not turn out for a politically charged cande light vigil in front of the Chinese Embassy in Seoul today. The non-rally did not follow a report that Chinese border guards shot a North Korean refugee dead while trying to cross into Mongolia and seek asylum. Twelve other refugees were arrested and are expected to be deported to North Korea, where they face almost certain death in concentration camps. The non-protesters also did...

Hundreds of thousands of enraged South Koreans did not turn out for a politically charged cande light vigil in front of the Chinese Embassy in Seoul today. The non-rally did not follow a report that Chinese border guards shot a North Korean refugee dead while trying to cross into Mongolia and seek asylum. Twelve other refugees were arrested and are expected to be deported to North Korea, where they face almost certain death in concentration camps. The non-protesters also did...

Today comes the sad news that Kang Byong-sop, one of the courageous defectors who told the world about North Korea’s gas chambers, was seen on Pyongyang TV, reading a forced recantation of his charges. Undoubtedly, his days are numbered; one can only hope that his family will somehow manage to survive. China sent him back, of course, in clear violation of international law and the most fundamental principles of morality . . . both of which are clearly meaningless to...

Today comes the sad news that Kang Byong-sop, one of the courageous defectors who told the world about North Korea’s gas chambers, was seen on Pyongyang TV, reading a forced recantation of his charges. Undoubtedly, his days are numbered; one can only hope that his family will somehow manage to survive. China sent him back, of course, in clear violation of international law and the most fundamental principles of morality . . . both of which are clearly meaningless to...

We started a fascinating discussion today at freenorthkorea.net, in which I responded to arguments against firm action in North Korea because of Iraq. Just as North Korea had once been an excuse for inaction in Iraq, Iraq is now an excuse for inaction in North Korea. The true agenda is thus revealed as inaction in both. I edited my comments for coherence and organization and post them here, in the hope that they will provoke more thought. How Should We...

We started a fascinating discussion today at freenorthkorea.net, in which I responded to arguments against firm action in North Korea because of Iraq. Just as North Korea had once been an excuse for inaction in Iraq, Iraq is now an excuse for inaction in North Korea. The true agenda is thus revealed as inaction in both. I edited my comments for coherence and organization and post them here, in the hope that they will provoke more thought. How Should We...

Nigeria is the latest nation to buy missiles from North Korea. According to the WFP Web site, Nigeria is not a food aid recipient, but every country bordering it is. So what missile gap does Nigeria need to close?

Nigeria is the latest nation to buy missiles from North Korea. According to the WFP Web site, Nigeria is not a food aid recipient, but every country bordering it is. So what missile gap does Nigeria need to close?

No, not really, but it fits nicely into an exchange I’ve had with The Marmot over which of us has the goofier conspiracy theory (his, mine) or links to the more dubious stories about what’s going on in North Korea these days. I say we both lose, but I think I’m having more fun. Me, I’m not worthy of journalistic angst. I don’t link stuff I think is crap, I just link stuff I think will interest the readers and...

I’d like to thank my friend Suzanne Scholte for forwarding the full text of her keynote address at Freedom House’s North Korean Human Rights Conference in Seoul. Keynote Speech for Seoul Summit: Promoting Human Rights in North Korea Remarks by Suzanne Scholte . . . December 8, 2005 I am deeply honored to be a part of this Seoul Summit: Promoting Human Rights in North Korea and thank the Organizing Committee and Freedom House for asking me to be one...

The president of the Ukraine, Viktor Yushchenko, is calling for a historical reappraisal of one of the last century’s darkest events: Yushchenko was addressing a candlelight ceremony marking the 1932-33 famine induced by Soviet dictator Josef Stalin’s orders to requisition grain and break the spirit of Ukraine’s “kurkuly” farmers who resisted his drive to collectivise agriculture. The day had been chosen as the official commemoration day for the famine that was never recognised by the Soviet Union. The president told...

Excerpts from The American Enterprise, July/August 2005 To read the articles in full, buy your own here. Just seven bucks. If you found this article interesting, consider that it caused South Korea to pull its funding for AEI (scroll down). I’m renewing my AEI membership as a small token of my disapproval of any foreign government trying to control what I read, especially this one, and also because the magazine is always interesting reading and well worth a hundred bucks...

Dear Friends and Colleagues: Freedom House is pleased to announce our first international event in a year-long advocacy campaign on North Korean Human Rights, to be held on TUESDAY, JULY 19th, 2005 at The Renaissance Mayflower Hotel in downtown Washington, D.C. This day-long conference will highlight the work of many dedicated individuals who have championed the cause of North Korean human rights. The event will feature distinguished speakers (including a bi-partisan Congressional delegation), exhibits, documentaries, panel discussions, breakout sessions, cultural...