| THE NORTH KOREA REPORT: AUGUST 19, 2002 NEWS TWENTY-ONE REFUGEES FROM THE NORTH REACH SOUTH KOREA BY BOAT Twenty-one North Korean refugees, including 10 children, reached South Korea over the weekend after leaving the Stalinist regime by boat. It was the largest group to escape the North in several years (CNN). One of the defectors, Soon Jong-sik aged 70, was apparently born in the South, and said, among other things, �My lifetime dream was to see my hometown again before I die� (BBC). South Korean media reported starvation as the reason the group fled the North. Nearly 2 million have died from famine caused in large part by widespread incompetent management by the Stalinists, who have now exacerbated the problem by stealing international food aid to feed themselves and their army. AS NORTH AND SOUTH KOREA TALK INSIDE, ANTI-STALINISTS PROTEST OUTSIDE North and South Korea will resume reunions for families separated by the Korean War as part of a deal reach during three days of talks last week (BBC). Dates were established for talks on a range of other issues � except for talks between military officials. Meanwhile, protestors outside demanded to know the fate of �hundreds of South Koreans kidnapped by the North� (CNN). NORTH KOREA-JAPAN TALKS YIELD �PROGRESS,� BUT NOT ON KINDAPPED JAPANESE Officials from the Red Cross organizations in Japan and North Korea reported �progress� (BBC) on some issues during talks that were to be a prelude to official governmental meetings. However, there was �no breakthrough� on the issue of greatest concern to Japan: �the fate of at least 11 missing Japanese citizens Tokyo says were abducted by North Korean agents in the 1970s and 1980s.� SOUTH KOREAN PRESIDENT SAYS �SUNSHINE� POLICY TO STAY DESPITE OPPOSITON WINS Outgoing South Korean President Kim Dae-jung insisted he would continue his �sunshine� policy � i.e., extending an olive branch to North Korea � until he leaves office early next year. Kim did say that his government had �strengthened its security posture� (BBC) in light of the June 29 naval battle with the North that left four dead (see July 1 NK Report) and stunned the democratic South. It should be noted that Kim�s Millenium Democratic Party has lost control of the legislature to the opposition Grand National Party, and that the GNP candidate for President � �sunshine� critic Lee Hoi-chang � has a substantial lead in the latest polls. South Korea will elect Kim�s successor in December. NORTH KOREA CURRENCY NOW 1/75 OF ITS PREVIOUS VALUE As part of its �reform,� North Korea devalued its currency by over 98% last week. The currency had been pegged at 2.15 to the dollar � it is now pegged at 150 (BBC). KIM JONG-IL HEADED FOR RUSSIA North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Il will visit the Russian Far East �later this month� (BBC), possibly to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who will also be in the area is late August. Kim gave no specific dates for his visit. COMMENTARY/ANALYSIS COLUMNIST THUMPS U.S. SOFTNESS ON NORTH KOREA Toronto Sun columnist Eric Margolis is a persistent � and often, in the opinion of yours truly, incorrect � critic of U.S. foreign policy. In this column, however, he raises an excellent point in questioning American appeasement of Stalinist North Korea. NORTH KOREA � BUSINESS VENTURE? Here comes the latest sucker, named Richard Savage. He�s decided North Korea is a nice place to invest. A few others have also fallen for Kim Jong-Il�s latest �head fake� (Time Asia: Donald Macintyre). Stop the Nuclear Power Deal: The United States is still building two nuclear power plants in North Korea. Meanwhile, the Stalinist regime refuses to let us inspect their nuclear weapons program to verify that it has been stopped, as the agreement demands. Use this China e-Lobby fact sheet and tell the President to cancel the deal. 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. There�s still time to contact the President and tell him not to appoint pro-PRC Doug Paal as de facto ambassador to Taiwan. See Follow-Up for more on Paal. 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]m. Please feel free to send any news on Communist China or North Korea you happen to find to the same address. |