Redstate

Posted at 11:55pm on Jun. 26, 2008 A Significant Change In North Korea Policy

By Pejman Yousefzadeh

In response to the North Korean decision to release to the Chinese information concerning its nuclear program, the Bush Administration has taken the dramatic step of removing the designation of "state sponsor of terrorism" from North Korea and lifting American sanctions against the country (UN sanctions will remain in place). I'd like to think that this was a good and welcome step on the part of the Administration, but the following paragraph gives me great pause:

Bush called the declaration a positive step along a long road to get the nation to give up its nuclear weapons. Yet, he remained wary of the regime, which has lied about its nuclear work before. And North Korea's declaration, received six months late, falls short of what the administration once sought, leaving it open to criticism from those who want the U.S. to take an even tougher stance against the regime.

So the North Koreans can be half a year late with their declaration and its content can be deficient and yet, they will still get the benefit of having the designation of "state sponsor of terrorism" removed, in addition to having American sanctions removed? Does. Not. Compute. I can understand a partial response to the North Korean declaration that gives them some carrots but this appears to go way too far.

I guess we will wait and see whether my pessimism is founded. But the larger message to North Korea after today's announcement by the President has to be something along the lines of "obfuscation and non-compliance pays in the end."

Posted in Foreign Affairs | North Korea — Comments (1)/ Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 9:06pm on Apr. 27, 2008 North Korean state news accuses ROK President of 'Anti-DPRK Smear Campaign over "Human Rights"'

Yes, the word "Human Rights" was in "quotes" in the headline

By Jeff Emanuel

The North Korean state news has lashed out at Lee Myung-Bak, President of their southern counterpart, accusing him of deliberately provoking his northern neighbor and "deteriorating the inter-Korean relations."

Read on.

Posted in Contra Tyrannum | Human Rights doesn't belong in quotes | North Korea | standing up to totalitarianism — Comments (3)/ Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 6:01pm on Apr. 22, 2008 North Korea Helped Syria's Nuclear Program

The Headlines Were Too Good To Be True

By California Yankee

At the Wall Street Journal, Jay Solomon reports North Korea was helping Syria build a plutonium-based nuclear reactor.

Speculation about North Korea's alleged role was sparked by a September Israeli strike inside Syria, which targeted what many U.S. government and private analysts believe was a nascent nuclear reactor.

[. . .]

This week, the Central Intelligence Agency is expected to begin briefing members of the Senate and House Intelligence Committees on the Israeli strike, according to Congressional and administration officials, based in part on intelligence provided by the Israeli government.

The information is expected to confirm that North Korea was helping Syria develop a plutonium-based nuclear reactor similar to the Yongbyon facility North Korea built north of Pyongyang, said an official familiar with the deliberations. The briefings are also expected to confirm that North Korean workers were active at the Syrian site at the time of the Israeli attack.

Less conclusive, however, is any firm evidence that Syria was attempting to develop nuclear weapons, according to the U.S. official.

This would seem to confirm what I posted last September -- about Israel attacking Syrian nuclear material and the North Korean involvement.

This also justifies my long held skepticism about North Korea's so-called agreement to give up its nukes.

Posted in Foreign Affairs | Israel | North Korea | Nuclear Proliferation | Syria — Comments (3)/ Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 12:45pm on Jan. 24, 2008 An Honest Man at State

The Truth Gets in the Way of a Legacy Project

By Mark I

Jay Lefkowitz is President Bush’s Special Envoy to North Korea on human rights issues. As such, he has had a chance to study the way the North Korean regime operates, often from the inside, and has formulated some conclusions about the six-party talks on North Korea’s nuclear weapons programs. He is not optimistic.

In a speech at the American Enterprise Institute last week, Mr. Lefkowitz called for a new strategy in dealing with North Korea’s intransigence on both the human rights and nuclear front. But before that can happen, there must be an understanding that the current negotiating framework is failing. Mr. Lefkowitz delivered a sober, rational, and convincing speech that examined the history of negotiations with Pyongyang and looked at the underlying reasons why North Korea, and indeed all dictatorial regimes, behaves the way it does.

His reward for his insights and his calm and reasoned look at U.S. policy toward North Korea was a public rebuke from none other than Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Secretary Rice, it seems, is increasingly becoming a creature of the establishment at the State Department, unwilling to sacrifice talking for the sake of concrete actions.

Read on…

Posted in Condoleezza Rice | Foreign Affairs | North Korea | six-party talks — Comments (10)/ Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 12:03am on Dec. 23, 2007 The New York Philharmonic Goes to Pyongyang

Reprising a traditional role as Cultural Ambassadors

By blackhedd

You've heard that the New York Philharmonic is going on tour to the hermit kingdom of North Korea. I'll admit when the definitive news came out a couple of weeks ago, I was darned surprised. I'd heard various things about this through the grapevine since August or so, and I'd have bet a lot of money that it wouldn't happen.

Needless to say, the politics of this are fraught, and subject to a range of interpretations. Here's some additional background and context, for those of you who have never been involved in planning and executing a tour by a major performing-arts organization. (As it turns out, I have.)

Read on...

Posted in Culture | New York Philharmonic | North Korea — Comments (39)/ Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 5:17pm on Dec. 10, 2007 Please, tell me you're kidding. You're not, are you?

By blackhedd

Of all the things. The months-long rumors that the New York Philharmonic will go on tour to North Korea next February have been confirmed. I have many acquaintances among the orchestra's musicians and staff and I'm sure they'll have a unique experience. But still, what an egregious breach of taste! I'm going to see if there's any inside dope on who's backing this and why Philharmonic management decided to do the deal. If I find anything out, I'll let you know.

Posted at 10:49pm on Nov. 27, 2007 In The Unlikely Event You Forgot

By Pejman Yousefzadeh

North Korea is not a nice place to live.

Posted at 2:28am on Oct. 30, 2007 There Is Something More Futile Than Hitting Your Head Against A Brick Wall

By Pejman Yousefzadeh

Terry Teachout explains. Why anyone thinks that sending the New York Philharmonic to North Korea will somehow create a thaw in relations between the North and the rest of the world--especially the West--is beyond me. If Kim Jong Il was so receptive to Western art and culture that a little dose would change his totalitarian ways, the vast collection of American DVD's he possesses would have turned him into a latter day Churchill long ago.

Posted in Foreign Affairs | North Korea — Comments (2)/ Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 4:04pm on Apr. 9, 2007 Yeah, but don't expect them to take the advice.

By Jeff Emanuel

Here's my quote of the day:

Frankly, the North Koreans would find the international financial system much more hospitable if they weren’t manufacturing weapons of mass destruction.

— U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill.