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Politics : American Presidential Politics and foreign affairs -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Peter Dierks who wrote (24759)	1/25/2008 6:49:46 PM
From: Peter Dierks	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 71588

Foggy Bottom Apostate January 25, 2008 Jay Lefkowitz, President Bush's special envoy for human rights in North Korea, has recently pointed out that our current approach to Pyongyang is failing. Lord help a diplomat who tells the truth. Mr. Lefkowitz, growled Condoleezza Rice at a Tuesday press conference in Europe, "doesn't work on the six-party talks [on North Korea], he doesn't know what's going on in the six-party talks and he certainly has no say in what American policy will be in the six-party talks." For good measure, the Secretary added that she "would doubt very seriously that [the Chinese and Russians] would recognize" Mr. Lefkowitz's name. In this Foggy Bottom version of the vanishing commissar, Mr. Lefkowitz is being written out of the Administration's North Korea policy for a speech he gave last week at the American Enterprise Institute. Noting that it has been more than two years since Pyongyang pledged to abandon its nuclear weapons program, and more than two weeks since it violated the latest deadline to disclose the full extent of that program, Mr. Lefkowitz observed that "it is increasingly clear that North Korea will remain in its present nuclear status when the Administration leaves office in one year." Mr. Lefkowitz also noted that the rationale for the six-party talks (which include China, Japan, Russia and South Korea in addition to the U.S. and North Korea) has largely evaporated since it's become clear that neither China nor South Korea were prepared to exert any meaningful leverage on Pyongyang to abandon its weapons. "What we had hoped would be a process in which Beijing and Seoul would simultaneously withhold carrots and use their considerable influence over Pyongyang to end its nuclear activities has evolved into a process that provides new carrots without a corresponding cost to Pyongyang." Instead, he added all too accurately, the talks have deteriorated into the North Korean-U.S. bilateral negotiation that Kim Jong Il always wanted. It wasn't long ago that Mr. Lefkowitz's comments, which also recommended linking human-rights to security issues with the North, would have been a fair reflection of President Bush's own views. But apparently not any more, as Mr. Bush has accepted Ms. Rice's judgment that one more "Dear Mr. Chairman" letter, or one more aid shipment, or one more diplomatic concession will cause Kim to change his ways. State is even claiming that North Korea has fulfilled the requirements necessary to get itself off the list of state sponsors of terrorism, one of Pyongyang's key demands. A contrary assessment is provided by the Congressional Research Service, which recently noted "reports from reputable sources that North Korea has provided arms and possibly training to Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka." State also seems to be ignoring, or suppressing, evidence of Pyongyang's nuclear proliferation, which was brought to light after Israel destroyed an apparent North Korean nuclear facility in September. We understand why Ms. Rice would be unhappy to hear her policy contradicted by Mr. Lefkowitz. We would be more understanding if that policy had any record of success. Kim Jong Il has now had nearly a year and two deadlines to fulfill his nuclear promises and shows no intention of doing so. Chances are he now figures he can wait out this Administration and hope for better terms from President Clinton. On present course, Ms. Rice is setting President Bush up to spend his final year begging Kim to cooperate by offering an ever growing and more embarrassing list of carrots. Mr. Bush would do better to listen to Mr. Lefkowitz, while ordering Ms. Rice to introduce him to the Chinese and Russians. online.wsj.com

To: Peter Dierks who wrote (24759)	1/29/2008 9:11:33 PM
From: TimF	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 71588

The leader rises, but the country falls Janes reports that North Korea is in a bad way -- in a really bad way -- bad even by its own abysmal standards. "Kim Jong-Il's regime could collapse within six months, bringing chaos to North Korea, observers and intelligence sources in Asia have told Jane's. ... The centrally controlled economy has also now ceased to function and the food distribution system is near breaking point. With loyalty to the regime at an all-time low, another sign of trouble is the regime's diminishing ability to prevent people from leaving the country." But the most alarming sign involves Kim Jong-Il himself. "Tellingly, the 'Dear Leader' is in the process of moving financial resources to ensure that his assets are portable should he have to go into exile, according to some sources." Kim, who amended the North Korean constitution in 1996 to declare himself "president for eternity" is estimated by the CIA to have "$5 billion in Swiss bank accounts, six villas in Europe, one in Russia and one in China". He should be near the top of the league of billionaire progressive socialist leaders, fearlessly leading their masses to the worker's parodies. By comparison, Robert Mugabe has an unspecified amount of money in "the British Virgin Islands and the Isle of Man. He also owns large properties in Britain" according to Robert Rotberg of the Harvard Kennedy School. Fidel Castro may in fact be bringing up the rear of this august group, with an estimated worth of $900 million, according to a Forbes magazine report, which only puts him on par with the Queen of England. posted by Wretchard at 1/24/2008 08:18:00 PM fallbackbelmont.blogspot.com North of the border Neil Gadling gives a virtual tour of North Korea. It starts in just that way that would be familiar to those who gone to places, here unnamed, with a similar reputation. "I had flown in on a Russian Tupolev jet from Shenyang, China on a very low trajectory that never took us above the cloud layer. The countryside below was gray, misty, and depressing--just as I had always imagined it would be--and occasionally intersected by random dirt roads with hardly any vehicles on them." And later ... There is no such thing as the internet in North Korea or cell phones. Anyone entering the country had to leave their cell phones with customs officials who kept them locked up and inaccessible for the entirety of our stay. And I certainly didn't get a copy of USA Today under my hotel room door. Surprisingly, being cut off from the outside world was actually somewhat enjoyable for the five days I spent in North Korea. I quite liked the freedom of not being tied to my cell phone and email and relished in the ignorant bliss of not being exposed to troubling international news. This isolationist cocoon where the state controls everything you hear and see, however, would not have been fun for too long. Living an entire life under such conditions would be hell. Read the whole thing. fallbackbelmont.blogspot.com gadling.com

To: Peter Dierks who wrote (24759)	3/6/2008 1:49:44 PM
From: Peter Dierks	Respond to of 71588

When Will North Korea Return Our Abductees? By KYOKO NAKAYAMA March 6, 2008 TOKYO, Japan The six-party talks have stalled, and so, too, has the issue dear to Japanese people's hearts: the rescue of our country's abductees in North Korea. To date, the Japanese government has recognized 17 Japanese nationals as victims of abduction by North Korea from the late 1970s through the early 1980s. Among these abductees, five were returned to Japan in 2002 after the summit meeting between then-Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and North Korea's Chairman Kim Jong Il. Of the remaining 12, however, North Korea claims that eight have died and four have never entered its territory. But the North Korean government has never provided sufficient evidence to back up such claims. This issue is a serious transgression of our citizens' human rights. The abductees were taken from their homeland by force or deception, and remain deprived of every freedom under the surveillance of North Korean authorities. The international community understands the urgency of resolving this situation. Last December, the United Nations General Assembly, in its resolution calling for the protection of human rights in North Korea, included a clause calling for the immediate return of abductees. Meanwhile, family members of North Korean abductees and their supporters in Japan, South Korea, the United States, Thailand and Romania have strengthened their solidarity, and launched an international coalition group last December. Japanese nationals remain very concerned about the abduction issue. According to a recent government public opinion poll 89% of the Japanese public believe the abduction issue is the primary concern governing our country's overall relations with North Korea. Given this, it's clear that the abduction issue is a national challenge -- one that the Japanese government cannot leave unresolved. Last December, our Parliament passed a resolution which asked the U.S. to exercise prudence when considering the removal of North Korea from its list of state sponsors of terrorism, with the aim of maintaining the incentive for North Korea to release the abductees. Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda's government, appointed last September, sincerely wishes to break the impasse over the abduction issue and improve Japan-North Korea relations. Despite the thirst for dialogue, we managed to hold only two bilateral meetings on the abduction issue last year (in March and September) and have failed to produce concrete progress. The Japanese government is hoping in earnest to expand opportunities for direct talks, to deepen mutual trust and understanding, and to make a breakthrough in the current deadlock. Resolving the abduction issue and other humanitarian concerns appropriately will be a touchstone for North Korea in building normal relations with the international community. At the same time, finding a solution to the abduction issue is an essential step in opening the frozen door between Japan and North Korea and bringing new opportunities and mutual benefits. It is our sincere hope that North Korea shares these views, reopens direct dialogues with Japan, and takes concrete and prompt actions to resolve the abduction issue. Ms. Nakayama is special advisor to the Japanese prime minister for the abduction issue. online.wsj.com