Tuesday, January 17, 2006

Always Stranger Than You Think

It has been a whirlwind week and many of these stories are still in the midst of fully unfolding.

Death of KEDO
The development program that was the product of Clinton's agreed framework has finally met its brought suit against the US for intentionally ending the program. But a recent article points out that there were major flaws in the way that the framework was written up and that it had little hope for success from the beginning.
What the international community, namely the U.N. Security Council, should do is strengthen the IAEA's inspection authority, he argued.

The 1994 agreement with North Korea "sowed the seeds of the present potentially dangerous stalemate" because it allowed limits to IAEA inspections, according to Goldschmidt.
Needless to say, this is beating the horse we all can see is dead everytime S. Korea, N. Korea, Russia, China, Japan, and the US get together and produce their quota of hot air.

Follow the Traveling Dictator
Reports have been flying all over the place about Kim Jong-il's current trip to China. This has brought out a flurry of speculation as to the reason for the trip. As I mentioned in the last post, there is the possibility that the trip might have something to do with President Hu's comments about reforming NK in the "China Way." That this may be China's hope (or at least they are going through the motions like they care) can be seen by the plethora of economic/development/market sites that KJI has visited during his stay. But of course, the trip is likely also meant to jump start the stalled six way talks. The primary cause for the stall has been the US sanctions against NK because of a dirty little money laundering scheme. NK has denied any wrong doing, but the thin ice they may be treading in regards to China's patience can be seen in the Chinese support of the US's conclusions about the money laundering ring. That prolly was sufficient incentive for KJI to come all the way down to Beijing.

Getting Down to Business
I hope that this is not a lot of rhetoric to throw us off for the next few months. Lefkowitz, and Ambassador Vershbow for that matter, have been rather upfront about seeking the improvement of human rights in NK, so I am hopeful. Till the present date, S. Korea can easily claim to be the main recipient of NK refugees, though they had tried to slow the process down under Chung Dong Young. Norway recently allowed in a pair of refugees, calling on the US to live up to their laws (enumerated in the NK Human Rights Act). Insiders will point to internal struggles about exactly which road to take on the issue of refugees as the reason for the delay in allowing NK refugees into the states, but it seems that this may no longer be the case. I had heard from reliable sources that the excuse up til now had been a product of a lack of definition as to who NK refugees are and how they will be admitted and that the other reason was that the US didn't want to take in refugees who would otherwise go to S. Korea where they have a better chance of adapting, given that none speak English. If Lefkowitz can tackle this issue successfully, it will create a swell of confidence concerning not only his ability, but his resolve as well.

Other News

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