| Apologies for the delay THE NORTH KOREA REPORT: AUGUST 27, 2002 NEWS NORTH KOREAN COLLAPSE �QUITE LIKELY,� SAYS HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST TWO REFUGEES FROM NORTH LEAVE ALBANIAN EMBASSY IN BEIJING FOR FREEDOM C.K. Park, a human rights activist in South Korea, said the collapse of Stalinism in North Korea was �quite likely� (Cybercast News). His comments came as South Korea took stock of the situation after 20 refugees from the North escaped via boat. The opposition Grand National Party � currently in control of the legislature and ahead in polls for December�s presidential election � welcomed the defectors. Meanwhile, one of the defectors told the local press that political repression � not starvation � was his reason for defecting: �he wanted his children to be educated in a free country.� The twenty who left apparently tricked the engineer of the fishing boat � all of which are owned by the Stalinist regime � to go south. The BBC reported that the South sent the engineer back at his request � which he may regret. Meanwhile, two refugees from the North who entered the Albanian Embassy in Communist China (see August 14 China e-Lobby Update) flew out of Communist China to Manila on the way to freedom in Seoul, South Korea (Washington Times, fifth paragraph). MISSIONARY EXPELLED TO SEOUL FOR HELPING NK REFUGEES IN COMMUNIST CHINA Chun Ki-won, a South Korean Christian missionary who �helped around 170 North Koreans to escape to South Korea by way of China since 1999� (Cybercast News), was expelled by the Communists for his actions. Chun, arrested by Communist China at the beginning of the year, said he would not stop helping the refugees, and even boldly asserted he would return to help those in hiding. Communist China sends back any refugee it finds � North Korea has been its ally for over 50 years. Dr. Norbert Vollertsen � a long-time activist for the refugees � noted that in many cases this means death. 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. AMERICAN OFFICIAL�S SPEECH THREATEING END TO NUCLEAR DEAL MAY BE PULLED The Washington Times reported last week that a proposed speech in Seoul by Assistant Secretary of State John Bolton in which he threatens an end to North Korea�s 1994 nuclear power plant deal with the U.S. is likely to be scotched by the Administration. The speech, which would also rip the Stalinist regimes domestic repression and international support of terrorist states, is to �bellicose� for some. While opinion on the speech was not unanimous � one South Korean analyst thought it might actually be helpful � most in the American and South Korean governments were miffed by the speech. It should be noted that South Korea�s governing party, which supports a dialogue with the North under its �sunshine� policy, lost control of the legislature and is trailing badly in polls for December�s presidential election. 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. U.S. SANCTIONS NORTH KOREAN FIRM FOR SELLING MISSILE PARTS TO YEMEN The U.S. has banned NK-owned firm Changgwang Sinyong Corporation from doing business in the U.S. for two years due to its sale of scud missile parts to Yemen. The firm does no business in the U.S. An unnamed official told the Washington Post that the sanctions were meant as a reminder �that this is a crowd (others) should steer away from.� Also reporting: BBC, CNN, UPI via Washington Times SOUTH KOREA RAISES BOAT SUNK IN NAVAL CLASH South Korea salvaged the naval vessel sunk during the naval battle earlier this summer (BBC). NORTH KOREA�S �MARKET REFORMS� HAVE BEGUN, SAYS SOUTH KOREAN CENTRAL BANK South Korea�s central bank says the Stalinist North has begun what it calls �market reforms� � namely the partial replacement of rationing with a price system � has begun. Of course, even as the BBC noted, rationing will not go away, and the Stalinists still set the prices, and the price of food was increased by a factor of 50; wages only by a factor of 20. Check out the last NK Report for more on the �reform.� KIM JONG-IL VISITS RUSSIA, MEETS PRESIDENT PUTIN North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Il paid a visit to Russia this week, which started with a tour of Russian defense plants on Monday (BBC) and ended with a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Vladivostok on Friday, focusing on �inter-Korean relations and the route of a possible Asia-to-Europe rail link� (Washington Post). JAPAN AND NORTH KOREA HOLD TALKS, PLAN MORE MEETINGS Japan and North Korea held �their first high-level talks in two years� (CNN). While the talks did not resolve any disputes, particularly the Japanese demand that the Stalinists account for 11 Japanese citizens kidnapped in the North in the 1970s and 1980s, the two sides agreed to hold more talks in the future. Also reporting: BBC RAIL TALKS BETWEEN NORTH AND SOUTH North Korean officials �are in the South Korean capital Seoul for talks on the possibility of reconnecting railways and roads between the two countries� (BBC). These are �the first detailed talks in two years.� HOW REPRESSIVE IS NORTH KOREA? CHECK OUT ITS PHONE BOOK A recent defector from North Korea managed to bring with him a phone book from the Stalinist state. Among the things those poring over the book found were �informant hotlines that remain open day and night in case snitches want to rat out their neighbors or colleagues� and �18 pages in the Pyongyang section devoted to government offices� (Time Asia). Restaurants couldn�t fill two pages. COMMENTARY/ANALYSIS IS RUSSIA COZYING UP TO NORTH KOREA AGAIN? Ilan Berman, an official at the American Foreign Policy Council, examines Russia�s latest movements toward the axis of evil, including North Korea (National Review Online). 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. |