| Home page To receive this publication via e-mail, click here. THE NORTH KOREA REPORT: MAY 12, 2003 Our statement on why North Korea must be liberated can be found here. TOP STORY: U.S. PLANNING TO TARGET NK�S DRUG AND MISSILE TRADE MAY IMPOSE BLOCKADE; TALKS WOULD CONTINUE Now we�re approaching a real policy. In light of North Korea�s boast of nuclear weapons, and threats to sell them (see 4/28 and last North Korea Reports), the U.S. is �is considering multiple avenues to convince North Korea to put down its nukes� (Fox News). This includes everything �from establishing an economic embargo to interdicting North Korean ships,� i.e., imposing a blockade on the North. The U.S. is also considering plans �targeting its illegal drug and counterfeiting trade and possibly its missile sales� (Washington Post). Meanwhile, talks with the Stalinist regime would continue, in large part to keep the doves in the Administration happy. Still, the tough approach is one of the most refreshing things heard from the White House on North Korea. Sadly, liberation was once again not mentioned. The Post also reports that the North really has begun the plutonium reprocessing they said they almost completed (see 4/28 North Korea Report). Stop the North Korean Nuclear Power Plants: Despite North Korea�s new boast of nuclear weapons, a brazen violation of the 1994 agreement to freeze its nuclear ambitions, the two nuclear power plants that were part of the deal have still not been canceled. Use this China e-Lobby fact sheet and tell the President to stand firm against the Stalinist regime, and not to build the power plants. OTHER DRUGS NEWS NORTH SAYS AUSTRALIAN DRUG BUST �ORCHESTRATED� North Korea denied reality, again, last week. The Stalinist regime denied any role in drug trafficking, particularly the dramatic, multi-million dollar drug bust by Australian authorities (see 4/28 and last North Korea Reports) on one of its vessels. The Stalinists called the bust �orchestrated� (BBC) and �part of Washington's moves to increase the international pressure on the DPRK.� Australia�s find is just part of North Korea�s �crime syndicate, smuggling drugs and counterfeit money around the world to generate income to keep itself alive� (Washington Post). Taiwan and Japan �have long alleged that North Korean ships smuggle amphetamines to their citizens.� SOUTH KOREA NEWS ROH MOO-HYUN VISITS U.S., WILLMEET PRESIDENT BUSH Roh Moo-hyun, South Korea�s recently elected president, is in the United States today to begin a visit will last a week and include a summit meeting with President Bush. North Korea is almost certain to e a major topic for discussion at the meeting. The strains between the U.S. and South Korea are also sure to be discussed. Reports: CNN, BBC, Cybercast News, Washington Times Roh is a member of the dovish Millennium Democratic Party, and is a strong supporter of a soft policy toward North Korea, a policy called �sunshine� by his predecessor, Kim Dae-jung. SOUTH KOREAN ARMED FORCES WATCHING FOR �PROVOCATIONS� South Korean Defense Minister Cho Young-kil told the heads of the South�s military to be on the alert against the North �launching various provocations by surprise to boost its negotiating power� (BBC). SOUTH KOREAN FM: NORTH MUST TAKE FIRST STEP South Korean Foreign Minister Yoon Young-kwan told North Korea that it would have to �make the first move� (BBC) and give up its nuclear arsenal and ambitions if it wanted talks with the U.S. to succeed. NUCLEAR NEWS KELLY WANTED BILATERAL TALKS WITH NORTH KOREA Bill Gertz, Washington Times, reported that North Korea �attempted to initiate bilateral talks with the United States� during the Beijing debacle last month, and that Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly, who represented the U.S. in Beijing, backed the idea. The rest of Gertz�s story involved statements from North Korea during the talks that we had already reported in the 4/28 North Korea Report. COMMENTARY/ANALYSIS ON NORTH KOREA�S PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS AND REFUGEES Uwe Siemon-Netto, UPI religion editor, examines the sickening torture by North Korea of Christians and those caught in Communist China, which sends back any refugee it finds to its Stalinist ally, in Newsmax. ON KIM JONG-IL Peter Carlson, Washington Post, details the cruelty, horror, and nuttiness that is North Korea under the Stalinist father and son: the late Kim Il-Sung and his son Kim Jong-Il. ON NORTH KOREA�S DRUG TRADE Charles R. Smith, Newsmax, examines the Stalinist regime�s involvement in illegal drugs, and who else might be helping them. ON NORTH KOREA AND THE UNITED STATES Joel Mowbray, National Review Online, profiles a leading State Department North Korean dove, Policy Planning Director Richard Haass. Jamie McIntyre, CNN, examines the latest regarding the most current, and declassified, U.S. war contingency plans against North Korea. ON SOUTH KOREAN PRESIDENT ROH MOO-HYUN Willis Witter, Washington Times, says visiting South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun is mainly looking �to clear up misconceptions about himself� in his first trip to the U.S. The Times also interviewed in Roh, during which he again revealed his stunning naivet� about North Korea and what he calls �the fact that North Korea wants change.� ON COMMUNIST CHINA�S ROLE Peter Brookes, of the Heritage Foundation, is optimistic about an eventual resolution of North Korea�s nuclear weapons issue. In his National Review piece, he, like others, is more willing than he should be to see Communist China as a helpful force. Check out the latest stories on the Communist China and the Terrorist War page. Sign the petition for an American boycott of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Miss an Update, Week's Links, or a North Korea Report? Find it on our web site. 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 that you happen to find to the same address. |