North Korea is once again threatening Japan. North Korea is threatening to not allow Japan to participate in the six party talks regarding their on going nuclear program if the Japanese government continues to persue economic sanctions and a bill promoting North Korean human rights.

This diplomatic issue began when the remains of a kidnapped Japanese citizen were returned to Japan and the DNA test of the remains proved they were not of that person. North Korea denies the allegations.

The North’s Central Television Broadcasting Station blamed Japan in a Thursday report for its alleged manipulation of DNA tests on the remains of Megumi Yokota, a Japanese national kidnapped by North Korean agents in 1977.

“It has become difficult for us to sit down with Japan at the six-party talks because Japan has little faith and few morals,” the North’s official mouthpiece said.

Calls for sanctions against North Korea have risen in Japan ever since the remains that Pyongyang returned to Tokyo in November turned out to be inconsistent with Megumi’s DNA type.

The Pyongyang regime swiftly declared that it would consider any sanctions a declaration of war.

Obviously Japan is not to concerned about war because they are moving forward with the sanctions. So in response North Korea is just trying to play what little cards they have left to influence Japan’s decision making. I doubt it is going to work. If I was Japan I would state that if I was left out of the negotiations, I would feel obligated then to build my own nuclear deterent. That would really call North Korea’s bluff and get China greatly involved in solving the nuclear issue.

What I find really amazing but not really suprised by is the stance of the South Korean government.

Paik and other North Korea experts in Seoul said they believe the current diplomatic row between Pyongyang and Tokyo was caused by the North’s mistake, not an intentional move to anger Japan.

“(North Korea’s leader) Kim Jong-il is in a position to court financial aid from Japan,” Paik said. “It’s unlikely Pyongyang has sent false remains to Tokyo intentionally, given that Kim Jong-il has tried to improve the North’s relations with Japan.”

Lee Jae-joung, senior vice president of the constitutional Advisory Council on Democratic and Peaceful Unification, also believes the North has nothing to gain by irritating Japan.

“I think it’s wrong to interpret the mistake as something conducted on purpose,” Lee said in a telephone interview. “There could be some mistakes during or after the cremation of her in Pyongyang. I think it’s more proper for Japan to officially ask North Korea to remedy the situation.”

The Seoul government is keeping a low profile over the alleged “false remains” issue. Vice Unification Minister Rhee Bong-jo told reporters on Thursday that it is not appropriate for Seoul to express its stance on this bilateral issue between North Korea and Japan.

Has nothing to gain from sending false remains? These Japanese citizens trained spies. Some of these spies are probably still operating in Japan. The Norks have everything to lose if they sent the correct remains. Also, how do you call sending the wrong remains a mistake? A mix up at the crematory? Some how I don’t by that. Well, if the Korean government can ignore thousands of North Korean defectors, ignoring this issue is really easy.

As always make sure you check out this month’s Ulsan Pear. This is their best of Ulsan 2004 issue. Even if you are not from the Ulsan area this paper is still a good read. Makes me want to visit Ulsan sometime. Check it out.

Yesterday Uri Party law makers took their show on the road to Camp Casey to meet with USFK commanding general Leon LaPorte. When asked about anti-Americanism in Korea the general responded:

General Leon LaPorte, commander of the U.S. Forces Korea, said yesterday in a meeting with Lee Bu-young, chairman of the governing Uri Party, and 10 Uri Party lawmakers that anti-U.S. sentiment in Korea did not bother him because he was proud defending a democracy where such freedom of expression is possible.

Here is something that really infuriates me by these pin head Uri politicians.

Addressing the causes of anti-Americanism in Korea, the Uri Party chairman claimed that an accident in June 2002, in which two girls were killed by a U.S.-armored vehicle participating in a training exercise in Uijeongbu City, could have been prevented with more caution.

First of all the accident didn’t even happen in Uijeongbu, it actually happened in the country side of the city of Yangju. So if you are going to make accusations at least get the location right. Secondly the army does bare some responsibility for the accident but not any more than the Korean government. The accident happened because two convoys of oversized armored vehicles were approaching each other on a very narrow country road. The convoy with what is called a AVLB which is a large tracked vehicle with a bridge on the top of it had to manuever to the shoulder of the road to avoid the on coming convoy. The driver of the AVLB cannot see to the right of his track due to his view being blocked by the armor of the track. So the driver is dependent on the track commander who sits on top to warn him of any hazards on the right side of the track. Due to some communications problems in the vehicle, the driver was not warned in time about the two girls who were walking on the side of the road. Why were they walking on the side of the road you ask. Well there are no sidewalks out there for pedestrians to walk on.

Many soldiers including myself have complained about the lack of sidewalks before the accident because there are so many civilians who walk on the roads that are in or near or training areas. Plus the civilians have grown so used to seeing large military equipment that they do not move out of the way of them.

So if the Uri politicians want to assign blame well let’s look at this. Guess who approves all convoy movements for 2ID? The ROK Army does. Guess who makes the roads in Korea? Yes, you guessed right the Korean government does not the US Army. Who makes side walks in Korea? Yes again the Korean government. Imagine that. What blame can be placed on the army? The communication problem was definitely an army issue, but with military equipment you are going to have communication problems no matter what you do. Sensitive electronic equipment riding around in tactical vehicles means commo problems. Happens all the time. That is why other safety measures like wider roads and sidewalks are needed. If these measures were in place this accident would have never happened. The fact that no accident happened before this one is a tribute to how seriously 2ID takes convoy safety. I challenge anyone to find an organization that takes convoy safety as seriously as 2ID.

Quietly now the Korean government in the area the accident, is now widening the roads and making sidewalks. I just wish someone would challenge these pin heads when they are so quick to jump on the US military for this accident when there is an equal amount of blame that should be placed on the Korean government. Then again why should we expect any Korean politician to be held responsible for anything. It is easier just to blame America for everything. The life of a global scapegoat.

If I was talking to these guys I would of asked the politician if he knew how narrow the roads were and why there was a lack of sidewalks to begin with. They probably didn’t even know about these facts because nobody in media has put that information out there. I then would ask him what measures the Korean government is taking to ensure US soldiers are not kidnapped or stabbed and murdered by Korean civilians in the future. What you haven’t heard about these incidents in the fair and balanced Korean media!? Click Here to find out more. I would love to see their faces when challenged.

The army is to much of a punching bag here, sometimes we just need to punch back in an effort to inform and influence public opinion. The US chain of command has taken responsibility for the incident and apologized all the way up to the President of the United States. What has Korea done to accept in responsibility in this? Nothing, it easier to play the role of the small, weak country. It is easier to avoid any responsibility this way.

Yongsan Garrison may be closing down by 2008 but at least soldiers will still have the Dragon Hill Lodge to take advantage of.

For those who have never stayed in the Dragon Hill, it is a 4 star hotel that serves exclusively US military personnel. The rooms are very nice and the hotel has many good restaurants and shops for its guests. Room rates at the hotel are determined by a soldier’s rank thus making the hotel affordable for the lowest ranking soldiers. Often the military gives reward hotel stays for soldiers who have done an outstanding job. Needless to say this reward is very popular and highly coveted. Good to see that they are keeping the Dragon Hill around.

I am going to start doing reviews of movies I saw recently here in Korea. I’m going to concentrate on Korean cinema but I am also going to slip in some Japanese and Chinese movies also. With that a great movie I saw last night was Hero. This movie was actually released in China two years ago but was released this year stateside because the publisher did not want to release the movie to soon after 2001 hit movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

Well I’m glad the movie has finally been released. The movie has a great story line based on actual historical events. However, some fast, furious, and artistic fighting sequences are thrown in to add a fantasy element to the movie. The movie takes place 2000 years ago during the warring states period in acient China. Ying Zheng (played by Cheng Daoming), King of the state of Qin, brutal and ruthless, was the target of many assassination attempts by his rivals. Among them, Broken Sword, (played by Tony Leung Chiu-Wai), Flying Snow, (played by Maggie Cheung) and Sky (played by Donnie Yen) play the top assassins trying to kill the King of Qin. However, their plan was challenged by No-name (played by Jet Li)who is a minor Qin official. He spoke little and no one really knew what he was up to. No-name told the king that the assassins had been wiped out by his hand and he explained his story, but the king wisely did not trust him. The events after this would lead the divided country into unification for the first time under one emperor and the building of the Great Wall of China.

The movie is a thinking mans action movie. Just like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon you really need to pay attention to the plot line. This is just not mindless action. However, as great as this movie is I do have to say I liked Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon better. Crouching Tiger had better all around characters with Chow Yun Fat, Michelle Yeo, and Zhang Ziyi all playing well developed characters with distinct personalities. While in Hero, Jet Li’s character is the only one with any substance. Zhang Ziyi also plays a part in this movie but it is only a minor part. But the action and storyline help make up for the unexplored characters and I highly recommend this movie. I give it a 8 out of 10.