NK news
01.02.2003Recent news on Korea is fascinating. North Korea has restarted its nuclear weapons program and may soon develop nuclear weapons. It already has long-range missiles that can hit Japan and any target in South Korea. Considering that North Korea is a totalitarian regime w/ little regard for its own people (they're starving to death), this is a dangerous prospect.
The reaction from South Korea is ironic. Massive protests against the US military presence, condemnation for American calls for sanctions against North Korea, and appeals for a "diplomatic" solution. Isn't this the same South Korea we saved from obliteration by its northern "brothers" in the 1950s? The recent refusal of our allies to let us defend them is baffling.
In the spirit of equity, you can read about how wonderful the "Dear Leader" (Kim Jong Il) is from North Korean propaganda.
BTW, here are two really good political punditry weblogs, both maintained by college law professors:
» instapundit.com
» patiopundit.com
Posted by Miguel at 03:03 PM
Comments
These are my thought from reading articles from the NY times:
North Korea will never bomb South Korea. It would be suicide and stupidity, cos of their proximity. Most people just want to earn money and get some sex in peace. Not every country wants to pick a fight or start a war. Why whould N and S Korea want to start a war with each other again? The Korean war's more than 50 years ago, the cold war is over and at the end of the day why should know it's stupid for just when there's a glimmer of hope that N and S could somehow reconcile, by making pathways for trade. Countries can have all the feuds they want, but money is the one motivating factor everyone can agree on. Why would anybosy want to hurt their business? Any preemptive strike against N Korea would definitely hurt S Korea's business and tourism. This is true too with China and Russia. Why should they get drawn into the conflict, when firstly they don't agree with US values and intentions?? (And secondly when they're harboring nuclear weapons themselves?? "If u scratch my back, then I'll scratch your back too")
The rebuilding plans might have been prevented if Bush administration had not dawdled on continuing diplomatic talks with N Korea before. It got worse only after Bush ranted "if u're not with us, then u're against us" speech and included N Korea in the "axis of evil". Any trust that was just starting to establish was broken.
The last error Bush admin made is to call their latest "diplomatic" strategy the "bold approach" - to change the political and economic system of N Korea. It's really an insult to the sovereignty. And it's a mistake to be outspoken when approaching a conservative regime. US should look closely at the situation with the regional countries, to realise who's making the confrontational moves... and who's making people more disgruntled.
Oh, and lastly, with that bold plan, what is US willing to do for N Korea to reciprocate N Korea stopping nuclear buildup? What is US willing to give up? Just unconfirmed economic investments ... not saying it's totally a bad deal for the N Koreans, but then there's the side effect of N Korean economy be tied up and dependent on US help afterward, right?
Posted by: Stephanie at January 14, 2003 02:09 AM