| THE NORTH KOREA REPORT: OCTOBER 7, 2002 NEWS JAPANESE GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS MEET KIDNAP SURVIVORS STALINISTS NOW CLAIM ON ABDUCTEE KILLED SELF, MOST GRAVES �WASHED AWAY� A Japanese government mission has met with the five surviving kidnap victims in North Korea (BBC). Meanwhile, the North revealed that its claim of �natural causes� for the deaths of eight others it admitted to seizing was false. The Stalinist regime now says that one of the victims � Megumi Yokota � killed herself �whilst receiving treatment for depression at a Pyongyang mental hospital� (CNN 10/2/02). Given the history of Communist regimes sending dissident to mental hospitals, that statement was unnerving enough. Then the Stalinists claimed that seven of the eight graves �were washed away by flood.� Moreover, the five abductees the North admits are still living told the Japanese mission they are reluctant to come home. Naturally, the families of those kidnapped aren�t buying any of this. After all, the North is to be believed, is 13 Japanese kidnapped: one of whom killed herself due to depression, five survivors who want to stay, and seven who died without a trace. Of those seven, two supposedly died on the same day due to a �car crash,� while two others, along with their infant child, died �when a coal heater malfunctioned, giving off toxic fumes as they slept� (Washington Post 10/3/02). One relative � told his sister died of heart disease, at age 27 � called the North�s version of events �laughable.� A Japanese Parliament member called the Stalinist tales �lies pasted on lies.� Many relatives, left with a lack of evidence and these ridiculous explanations from North Korea, believe their loved ones are, in fact, still alive. In fact, the mother of Megumi Yokota adamantly insists her daughter lives on and vowed to �continue our efforts to rescue her.� As for the admitted survivors, the best commentary on them came from a mother of one of those who �died.� Her response to the reports the survivors wish to stay: �Maybe they couldn�t speak freely.� The brother of one survivor agreed: �she was told what to say� (CNN 10/3/02). Mrs. Yokota also has the words of former North Korean agent Ahn Myong Jin � who defected to South Korea in 1993. Ahn disputes the Stalinist claim that Megumi was married, although did seem to confirm the �depression� part of the story (Washington Post 10/4/02). Ahn also said the Kim Jong-Il �was in charge of espionage,� the area that handled the abductions about which he claims to have not known. The North also revealed that one of the abductees it�s acknowledging is alive is now �married� to an American military deserter. Meanwhile, upward of 70 other families are insisting that the Stalinist North kidnapped their loved ones, too. What stories will the Stalinists have to explain their disappearances? JAPAN TO CONTINUE �NORMALIZATION� TALKS WITH THE NORTH DESPITE ABDUCTIONS The families have demanded that any talks on �normalization,� i.e., reestablishing diplomatic relations, between Japan and North Korea be out on hold until the Stalinists come clean on the fate of their loved ones. The Japanese government, while pledging to �stand firm� (CNN) on the issue, rejected the demand and said the talks would continue. ASSISTANT SECRETARY KELLY IN NORTH KOREA Seemingly oblivious to all of the above, Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly visited North Korea last week for talks with Stalinist leaders, and called the talks �useful� (BBC). In response, the North was kind enough to call Kelly �arrogant and high-handed.� How nice! No new talks are planned. THREE REFUGEES ENTER GERMAN EMBASSY SCHOOL IN BEIJING Three more refugees from North Korea entered the German Embassy School in Beijing by which a previous group of refugees were allowed to fly to freedom in South Korea (BBC). Refugees fleeing the repressive, famine-wracked North are forced to hide in the People�s Republic due to the Communist policy of sending back any refugee they find (see 9/3/02, 9/9/02, and 9/16/02 NK Reports). Nearly 100 refugees have used diplomatic compounds of democratic nations to escape. Stop the Nuclear Power Deal: The United States is still building two nuclear power plants in North Korea, which refuses to allow inspections of its nuclear weapons program, one of the conditions to which it agreed to get those plants. Use this China e-Lobby fact sheet and tell the President to cancel the deal. JAPAN SAYS �FISHING VESSEL� WAS A NORTH KOREAN SPY SHIP; NK WEAPONS FOUND After raising a �fishing vessel� sunk last year, Japan found numerous weapons on board with �North Korean markings� (BBC). This led them to the obvious conclusion that it was indeed a North Korean spy ship (see 09/16/02 NK Report, 1/2/02 China e-Lobby Update). NEW HEAD OF NK SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONE ARRESTED BY PRC FOR TAX EVASION Oh, this is good. Communist China arrested Yang Bin for �tax evasion, stock dealings and illegal real estate development� (BBC). The arrest comes less than a month after North Korea put him in charge of the Sinuiju Special Administrative Region (see 9/23/02 NK Report) � ostensibly for the purpose of establishing a special economic zone modeled on Communist China. Also reporting: Washington Post Time Asia had this report on Sinuiju, and how the North intends to use �China as a role model.� They certainly got the corruption part of the model right. In addition to his current troubles, his operations are headquartered in triad-tainted Shenyang, and he was close to the corrupt ex-Mayor Mu Suixin and ex-Vice Mayor Ma Xiangdong (CNN, see 10/17/01 China e-Lobby update for more on Mu and Ma). SHOTS FIRED AT UNITED NATIONS, NO ONE HURT; SHOOTER PROTESTS NORTH KOREA Steve Kim fired several shots into the air at the United Nations before tossing flyers condemning North Korea�s human rights abuses (CNN). While the Stalinist brutalization of the people of North Korea certainly deserves the world�s attention, firing shots at the UN � two bullets hit the main building � is not the way to get that attention; this quarter condemns it. Also reporting: New York Post COMMENTARY/ANALYSIS IS NORTH KOREA REACHING OUT TO OTHERS BECAUSE IT �MIGHT BE THE NEXT IRAQ�? Damian Grammaticus (BBC) examines the Stalinists� clumsy attempts at negotiations with Japan and the U.S., and tries to connect it to �its nightly dose of parades and propaganda.� His conclusion: �It must persuade Washington it is serious about changing its ways or risk being the next regime the US targets.� Sign the Boycott Petition: In reaction to the 2008 Olympic Games being awarded to Beijing, the China e-Lobby has begun a petition for an American boycott of those games. Miss an Update, Weekly Links, or a North Korea Report? Find it on our web site. Check out the latest on Communist China and the Terrorist War. Feel free to forward this to anyone you think might be interested in receiving it. Anyone who wishes to join can send his/her name and e-mail address to [email protected]. Please feel free to send any news on Communist China or North Korea you happen to find to the same address. |