Flying Yangban

Links to Syria-NK nuke connection

I might do a piece on the alleged Syria-NK nuke connection for the Korea Times.  Here are some links I am looking at (in no particular order).

Skepticism on a connection from Gideon Lichfield, Jerusalem correspondent for the Economist.

Pajamas media reports (among other things) that Turkey's military aided in the attack, without tell the prime minister!

Marmot's Hole piece

One Free Korea post

Clicking through Korean papers:

Just the headline you would expect from the Hanky:  N. Korea-Syria Nuke transfer questioned

The JoongAng

GlobalSecurity links to Syrian nuke programs and Israeli air strike

Shocking:  The Roh administration tells everyone there is nothing to see here.

Times Online

NYT piece from Sept. 18

Good WSJ piece that, among other things, might explain why Israel has been so silent.

Cuba-NK axis

This pic is for a post I did at the Marmot's Hole.

The not-so-crazy Norks and their missiles

The always insightful Bruce Klingner has a piece on the latests Nork missile provocations:

Aware of Washington's recent overture to Iran, Kim Jong-il may believe that provocative actions will induce the US to offer better negotiating terms to North Korea. Regardless of whether a test occurs, Pyongyang has accomplished its objective of regaining international attention...

But North Korea will be careful not to overplay its hand. The current US administration would see a launch of a Taepodong 2 missile as vindication of its hardline policy and press Beijing and Seoul for stronger measures against Pyongyang. Washington has already reduced Pyongyang's legal and illicit economic transactions by targeting North Korean firms and foreign banks, but could seek to freeze Kim's personal assets in overseas accounts.

Go read the rest.

Can you say "non-starter" boys and girls?

I'm sure this idea will go over well (Chosun):

The Chinese chief negotiator in six-way talks on North Korea's nuclear program, Wu Dawei, has unveiled plans to travel to the U.S. and ask Washington to relax financial sanctions on North Korea, the Japanese press reported Thursday.

Apparently nobody has clued Wu in that this is a law enforcement issue and is unrelated to the six-party talks.

Earth to Wu:  If the Norks want to resolve the nuclear problem and feed at Uncle Sam's trough, the first step is for them to return to the nuclear talks.  If they want the sanctions lifted, they have to show that they are no longer counterfeiting American money. 

So, if Wu wants the sanctions lifted and the six party talks to start again, he needs to skip the trip to DC and get a ticket to Pyongyang.

While I am on the subject, I do not want to hear anything about helping the North Koreans save face.  They busted their own chemyeon long ago.  Their face is already so low they should feel lucky that they don't have to do a funny walk whenever they enter a conference room.

Think tank director: Seoul shouldn't be a sucker to the Norks

Peter Beck, Northeast Asia project director at the International Crisis Group, had a nice little chat with Yonhap recently.  Beck sees relations between the US and Korea becoming strained over the (anti-unification) Gaeseong Industrial complex.  Here is the interview:

"Finding a common approach (between Seoul and Washington) to dealing with North Korea is increasingly difficult. Kaesong is a perfect example," Beck said in an interview with Yonhap News Agency.

He said it would be impossible for South Korea to achieve its goal of including goods made in Kaesong in its free trade agreement with any U.S. government.

There is across-the-board concern even among American labor unions about the transparency of North Koreans' working conditions in the complex, which also damages Washington's campaign to put financial shackles on Pyongyang, he said.

"Kaesong is not just an area for the best hope for North-South cooperation but it is also one of biggest potential points of conflict between Washington and Seoul," he said.

Given North Korea's propensity for trying to drive wedges between the US and Korea, Beck thinks they will eventually (I'd say once again) play the 'we are one race' card (read on):

Norks threaten to stop letting ROK give them money

This is rich (KTimes):

North Korea Tuesday warned the South of the possibility of stopping the vivists [sic] of Southern tourists to the North.

According to the North’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Rodong Shimmun said in an editorial that the South Korean government will not benefit from souring relations between the two Koreas, which it attributed to the annual joint military drills of South Korea and its ally United States that started last Saturday.

I'm sure the boys down at the Ministry of Anti-Unification must be pulling their hair out right now, worrying about the Norks refusing to take their money.  Perhaps a statement of 'regret' will calm them down.

Now the real "threat:"

`When the relations between the North and the South are exacerbated and the roads to Mt. Kumgang and Pyongyang are blocked, (the South Korean government) cannot but face the condemnation from the South Korean public,’ the editorial said, according to KCNA.

I have news for Kim Jong-il's boys .  You are the ones with the begging bowl in hand.  Sooner rather than later (but probably not until after comrade Roh is out of office) the Seoul gravy train to Pyongyang is going to stop running. 

Take the money while you can.

Sometimes the demagogues are right: Gaeseong and the USA-ROK Free Trade Agreement

AFL-CIO may use the Gaeseong Industrial Complex to fight against a free trade agreement with Korea:  The Korean government is seeking to justify their fears.

Thea Lee, assistant director of the AFL-CIO had this to say at a congressional hearing yesterday (Yonhap):

(T)he working conditions of the North Korean workers "seem to us a little bit worrisome," especially in terms of protection and the conditions that they work under.

"Certainly, the wages are extremely low by South Korean standards, and we expect that the workers there have very few rights to organize independent unions, to exercise any rights at all."

Does the AFL-CIO plan to organize workers in Gaeseong?  Not really.  This is just a bit of positioning ahead of organized labor's latest fight against free trade.  Lee let the committee know the organization's real concern:

"We have a lot of concerns about what the impact of that would be, if we were to enter into an FTA with South Korea," she said.

I can promise you that you will hear this 'concern' again in the months ahead as the AFL-CIO and other anti-FTA groups use the restrictive labor conditions at Gaeseong to make it look like Americans workers would have to compete with (let's not use a loaded term like "slave") unfree labor.

At first, I thought that the AFL-CIO is putting up a red herring.  After all, most (all?) products made in North Korea are banned from the United States.  But it seems that their fears might be justified if the Korean government has its way (Bloomberg):

"The free-trade agreement must be expanded to include Gaeseong products," said Kim Dong Keun, chairman of the park's management committee, in Gaeseong. "The matter is still up for negotiation."

It might be up for negotiation but that doesn't mean its going to happen, as a US Trade representative spokesman said:

"This is a negotiation between the United States and the Republic of Korea," Christin Baker, Portman's spokeswoman, said Thursday. "Its provisions will apply to goods originating within the territories of the two parties."

I would think that the logic is pretty simple.  Gaeseong is North Korean territory.  The free trade agreement would be between the United States and South Korea.  Therefore, goods made in Gaeseong would not be included.  Would products made by American-owned companies in China be included?

Of course, if the Korean government wants to have products made by North Korean workers included in the FTA, they can always let them work in the south.

Nork news site unblocked

(UPDATE:  Alas, it seems to be blocked again.)

I used to  read News From KOREAN CENTRAL NEWS AGENCY of DPRK (Yes, that is a cut 'n paste job) from time to time for a laugh, but the Korean Ministry of Information and Communication blocked it in 2004.

I stilled clicked on it from time to time.  I did so today and... BAM the link works!

Now we can once again enjoy gems like this (March 26, 2006):

Kim Jong-il is 64

Happy birthday Kim Jong-il. 

May you not have many more and may your kingdom not last much longer.

Where's the dear leader?

He apparently in southern China:

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il arrived at a five-star hotel in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou on Friday morning, as Beijing keeps up a news blackout on the whereabouts of the reclusive leader, Japanese media outlets reported.

If the report is true (and it might not be), it kind of makes you wonder what the little guy is up to.

Could this be the first step in a voluntary exile?  Unlikely, but one can dream.