Tag: North Korea

A North Korean spy ring has been uncovered in South Korea and it’s members are really not surprising:

Authorities are holding a U.S. citizen, Michael Chang (44), who they say was trained as a spy in North Korea between 1989 and 1993, became a member of the ruling Korean Workers Party, pledged allegiance to the party, and spied for the North for 10 years. The National Intelligence Service and prosecutors on Thursday also alleged that a former member of the minor opposition Democratic Labor Party’s central committee, Lee Jung-hun (42), and businessman Sohn Jung-mok (42) were persuaded by Chang to join him in spying for the North and until recently provided classified information to North Korean agents.

The Seoul Central District Court issued arrest warrants for the three former student activists on Thursday. The NIS is expanding its investigation and also arrested the vice DLP secretary general Choi Ki-young and another former student activist identified as Lee (42) the same day.

By using the DLP’s political organization and cover, the spy ring’s tentacles stretched throughout just about every anti-US movement in Korea including the Camp Humphreys protests:

The DPL vice secretary general has reportedly taken a leading role in pro-North Korean activities. He played a key part in organizing protests against the move of U.S. Forces Korea headquarters to Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province and was also involved in demonstrations condemning the government’s support for the UN resolution sanctioning North Korea in the wake of its nuclear test. Party sources said Choi showed more interest in issues like the abolition of the National Security Law and anti-American protests in Pyeongtaek than questions of public welfare. He also participated in candle light vigils over the killing of two middle school girls by a U.S. Army vehicle some years ago.

Lee Jung-hun also leaned toward a pro-North Korean ideology of national liberation when he was a member of the DLP’s central committee. National liberation, along with proletarian democracy, was one of the two major ideological strands among student activists in the 1980s. Since former student activists of the national liberation faction reportedly took a more active part in protests against free trade talks with the U.S. and the move of the USFK base, there is speculation linking the espionage scandal to the organized anti-American movement.

The spy ring has also been linked to the USFK environmental issue and even to trying to influence the election for the mayor of Seoul. Here is a report from One Free Korea:

A new report, not yet available in English, claims that North Korea used the Fifth Columnists of the “Il Shim Hue” to help the ruling leftist Uri Party in local elections last May. The report, based on leaks from South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, claims that North Korea used Il Shim Hue (rough translation: The One-Minded Hundred) to direct the Democratic Labor Party throw its votes and support to the Uri Party to prevent the GNP candidate, Oh Se Hoon, from winning. Oh won, defeating Uri Justice Minister Kang Kum-Sil.

North Korea also directed Il Shim Hue to assemble detailed dossiers on South Korean politics: politicians, civic groups, issues, parties, you name it. One particular issue that concerned them was how South Koreans reacted to North Korea’s recent nuke test. The NIS claims that Il Shim Hue members canvassed popular sentiment about the test throughout South Korean society. Recent polls show a substantial minority (but thankfully, still a minority) blamed America for North Korea’s nuke test, something the ruling party eagerly latched onto.

Another huge shocker: North Korea had plans to infiltrate environmental groups to use them to inspire more anti-American sentiment. You may recall the recent South Korean film, The Host, a monster flick loosely based on a 2000 incident in which a civilian mortician on a U.S. Army post dumped a small amount of highly dilute formaldeyde into the Han River. The incident became a huge story in the South, and The Host inspired some icky and unhinged anti-American comments from one ruling party legislator, which neither the legislator nor his party have retracted, to my knowledge.

I and other K-bloggers have long chronicled the anti-US hate groups activities in Korea so really none of this is surprising to me. You can read more about my postings on the Camp Humphreys relocation issue here and the USFK pollution issue here.

The anti-US hate groups have been doing everything possible to stop the USFK relocation because the North Korean puppet masters did not want the US forces along the DMZ and in Seoul to be relocated further south on the peninsula and outside of North Korean artillery range. So they turned to their “activist” groups in the south to stop the relocation by playing towards Korean pride and trying to portray USFK as bullies because of the relocating of farmers to expand the base. The vast majority of the farmers took the compensation money and moved but the anti-US hate groups latched on to a handful of farmers as cover to launch their violent attacks on Camp Humphreys and have delayed the relocation. Here are the “activists” in action:

The pollution issue is the second front in stopping the USFK relocation. These “activists” claimed that the vacated Second Infantry Division bases were heavily polluted and were a danger to the civilian population if USFK did not pay to clean the bases up. The estimated costs to clean the bases by the “activists” was a completely unrealistic number they knew USFK would never pay. For those who have never served in Korea, the USFK camps are literally an oasis of green in the middle of dense urban cities. The camps after the Korean war were located on the outskirts of Korean cities but the camps have now been swallowed up by the growing cities which are a sign of Korea’s amazing development since the war. It is partly because of this development that USFK wants to relocate the camps to the sparsely populated Camp Humphreys area. If anything the USFK camps are the cleanest piece of land in the surrounding communities and some have been designated to become parks when handed over; yet the anti-US hate groups have successfully used this issue to further delay the USFK relocation.
However, none of this is anything new. Even before the USFK relocation issue surfaced the anti-US hate groups jumped on other anti-US issues in order to create a wedge between the US and the general South Korean population to great success. In fact this spy scandal has to be the worst kept secret in South Korea. The real scandal is why didn’t the ruling government do anything about it a long time ago? How high up the political ladder does this spy ring extend? The police do allegedly have a list of more possible spies that they intend to investigate:

However, the progressive party cannot but concern the aftermath, as its several leaders are scheduled to visit Pyongyang next Tuesday. DLP spokesman Park Yong-jin said the visit plan would not change, but some political watchers say they wouldn’t rule out the possibility that the visit would be cancelled.

Politicians of the 386 generation are also keeping a close eye on the case, as the prosecution secured a list of some 386 generation figure names at Chang’s house.

The 386 generation refers to those who were born in the 1960s and participated in pro-democracy struggles in the 1980s, and many of them are regarded as core members of the Roh administration.

Chang’s list had six figures names, including Choi. Four figures among the five arrested are also in the 386 generation, all except Chang. Because he is acquainted with many other members of the 386 generation, the case may develop into the largest spy scandal since 1997.

How far is the Korean government going to allow investigators to dig? This may just be the tip of the iceberg.

More from One Free Korea here.

First the news agencies were reporting from anonymous souces that the initial intelligence results from the North Korean nuclear test indicated it was not a nuclear test:

U.S. intelligence agencies say, based on preliminary indications, that North Korea did not produce its first nuclear blast yesterday.
U.S. officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that seismic readings show that the conventional high explosives used to create a chain reaction in a plutonium-based device went off, but that the blast’s readings were shy of a typical nuclear detonation.
“We’re still evaluating the data, and as more data comes in, we hope to develop a clearer picture,” said one official familiar with intelligence reports.

Now the news agencies are reporting once again through unnamed sources that it was a successful nuclear test:

A preliminary analysis of air samples from North Korea shows “radioactive debris consistent with a North Korea nuclear test,” according to a statement from the office of the top U.S. intelligence official.

The statement, from the office of Director of National Intelligence John Negroponte, was sent to Capitol Hill but not released publicly. CNN obtained it from a congressional source.

I have a word of advice for the news agencies, how about they wait for official word from the US government agencies involved with the data analysis instead of publishing incomplete analysis based on unnamed souces as fact. My second concern is all these leaks from sensitive government agencies. If a journalist can get sensitive information from government agencies why couldn’t foreign intelligence agencies just as easily do so as well. Why aren’t these leakers found and prosecuted?

In the US military we constantly receive briefings on the importance of OPSEC and milbloggers even have to register their blogs with their chain of command when deployed because of this. Yet the most damaging OPSEC violations I continue to see are from the same people who started the crack down on milblogs, the Pentagon and other government agencies. This is a classic do as I say, don’t do as I do.

I guess it was only a matter of time before these guys made an appearance:

A small group of anti-American activists rallied in central Seoul on Monday, voicing their objection to a U.N. resolution sanctioning North Korea for its claimed nuclear weapons test.

Last week, the 15-member U.N. Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution imposing stringent non-military sanctions on North Korea which claimed to have conducted a nuclear test in defiance of international warnings.

The U.N. resolution calls on its members not to make any weapons-related dealings with North Korea and orders all countries to freeze funds linked to the North’s weapons mass destruction programs.

Chanting anti-American slogans near the U.S. Embassy, about 30 protesters accused the U.N. of collaborating with Washington trying to smother the North’s communist regime.

“The U.S. sanctions and pressure on North Korea are the fundamental cause of North Korea’s nuclear test, and the U.N. resolution failed to mention even a bit of that truth,” Han Sang-ryeol, a representative of the group, said.

The protesters claims are groundless because the US financial sanctions are because of North Korean counterfeiting and money laundering of US currency and are not related to the nuclear issue.  It is easy to criticize the US over the financial sanctions if it isn’t your currency being counterfeited. All the people that criticize the US for the financial sanctions act as if the US should just let the North Koreans counterfeit US currency so the Norks will play nice and be quiet. Screw them and I’m glad the US is standing up to the North Koreans and not letting them counterfeit US currency or blackmail the US with their antiquated nuclear program.

John Bolton continues to do great work at the UN by nearly getting the United Nations Security Council to approve sanctions against North Korea that actually has some teeth in them:

  Article 8 of the draft resolution says all UN member nations are to prevent all goods, equipment, products and technology related to North Korea’s nuclear development from going into the country, and that such materials are banned from direct or indirect transfer to the North via land and sea. It also covers luxury goods.

Member nations will be obliged to freeze financial assets owned and managed by individuals and organizations proven to have helped the North develop weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear arms and missiles. When it comes to the contentious issue of inspections of North Korean vessels, UN members are called on to take “cooperative action” as necessary under their own domestic law and in a way that does not violate international law.

Basically what I’m getting out of reading this resolution is that anything related to the NK nuclear program will be hit with sanctions including even luxury items for the regime.  So Kim Jong-il may have some less cognac in stock this winter.  The sanctions also hit North Korean leaders with a travel ban.  It will be interesting to see how the travel ban is implemented.  Does it mean Kim Jong-il can’t take train journeys to Russia and China anymore?  Or Kim’s son can’t take family holidays at Tokyo Disneyland as well?

The big item in the sanctions is the cargo inspections of North Korean ships.  The way I interpret the sanctions is that the US and it’s allies can conduct cargo inspections.  If cargo inspections of North Korean ships is implemented expect some kind of incident to happen, because these inspections would shut down the North Koreans drug trade activities.  To move their drugs the North Koreans would have to ship them over land through China which could be potentially embarrassing for the Chinese.  Plus if the US does implement  the sanctions they should be very careful about having the Japanese help with the inspections because a fire fight for example between the North Koreans and the Japanese may bring up old imperial Japan sentiments in South Korea and China no matter how outrageous they may seem.

The US media is playing it that the sanctions are weak because it does not hit North Korea with full sanctions on all their economic activities.  My response to that is what other economic activity does North Korea have?  Drug running and counterfeiting?   Now the big question for South Korea will be the Kaesong and Kumgangsan economic projects with North Korea:

The draft resolution is still ambiguous in determining the kinds of transactions UN members are prohibited from conducting with North Korea. When it is put into action, however, such inter-Korean business projects as the Kaesong Industrial Complex and package tours to Mt. Kumgang, which are cash cows for the North, will come under the scrutiny of a committee to be established in the UN to monitor whether member countries are adhering to their obligations. The UN will put more pressure on Seoul to inspect North Korean vessels in the East and West Sea.

The US would have to prove that these projects provide money for the North Korean weapons programs.  Though it is obvious that they are, it would be difficult to prove.  Expect these programs to continue under the Roh Administration but once a new South Korean president is elected next year expect them to end.

The final vote and approval of these sanction should happen in the next 24 hours.

More sanctions coverage at One Free Korea (particularly good) and the Marmot.

UPDATE #2: It sounds like at least somebody in the South Korean government has been reading Kaplan:

China is pursuing the so-called Northeast Project to co-opt Korean history with an eye on claiming North Korean territory when the regime there collapses, a senior lawmaker quoted a Chinese leader as saying. Former National Assembly speaker Kim Won-ki quoted the remarks in the Unification, Foreign Affairs and Trade Committee on Thursday, saying they were made in a frank meeting with the high-ranking Chinese official.

The Chinese leader also reportedly said Beijing finds the Kim Jong-il regime and the political situation in North Korea very unstable. In any emergency, the U.S and allied army would move to North Korea?s border with China and face the Chinese People’s Liberation Army there, a situation Beijing would not tolerate, he said.

Meanwhile, Chinese attempts to distort ancient Korean history have this time taken it to the point of trademarking as their own the spot of the birth of the Korean people according to the Dangun mythology, Mt. Baekdu, by attaching the Chinese name, “Changbai shan.”

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UPDATE #1: Richardson has more analysis of the Kaplan article over at TKL.

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It seems like every six months somebody writes an article about what should happen in the event of a North Korean collapse. The latest person to take his shot at providing a theory of what to do in the event of a North Korean collapse is Robert Kaplan. Well now we know what Mr. Kaplan was up to two months ago at the DMZ. Coming Anarchy first reported on this, but you had to have an Atlantic Magazine subscription to read the complete article, however Robert was nice enough to actually cut and paste the whole article.

Basically Kaplan provides a good summary of the Korean situation and provides his recommendations about how to handle a post-Kim Jong-il North Korea. Kaplan believes that the Chinese are making a power play to control a post-Kim Jong-il North Korea by either militarily occupying the country or installing a puppet regime subservient to China. This really shouldn’t be a surprise to those following things here on the peninsula. I would actually be more surprised if China wasn’t making plans to exert some kind of authority over North Korea after a collapse. After all the Chinese are fearful of the masses of refugees that could pour across their borders not to mention the regional economic and military threat a united Korean peninsula could become a few decades after reunification to China. I’m also sure the Chinese wouldn’t appreciate a united Korea with US troops in it as well. So it is totally in their interest to establish conditions to where they will exert some kind of authority over a post-Kim Jong-il North Korea and prevent a unified Korean peninsula. However, don’t expect a collapsed North Korea any time soon. China will not allow that country to collapse until after the Beijing Olympics. The 2008 Olympics is going to be China’s coming out party and they don’t’ want anything like a massive refugee crisis or war on the Korean peninsula to ruin it. The scenario of China taking authority over North Korea is a very real one. China is already trying to claim ancient Korean history as their own so if they ever do occupy North Korea they can use their shared history as part of the reasoning for doing so. It worked in Tibet, why not North Korea too?

Kaplan also provides scenarios of a collapsed North Korea being occupied by US, Chinese, Russian, and South Korean troops. I have long advocated that the US should not send in any troops into a collapsed North Korea and that the ROK Army should overwhelmingly fill the country with soldiers to exert authority over the north before the Chinese or Russians can move in. If the US moves into North Korea that would give the Chinese and the Russians the green light to move in as well. In the interest of a unified democratic Korean peninsula the US and South Korea cannot have these two country’s occupy any portion of North Korea. That is why it is critical that South Korea quickly deploys it’s forces throughout North Korea and implement martial law and immediately begin humanitarian assistance to exert a sense of authority. North Koreans have been brought up since the day they were born to hate the United States and if the ROK Army is seen working side by side with the United States in North Korea this may give many North Koreans the impression that the South Koreans are the pawns of the United States and may be more inclined to wanting a Chinese occupation instead. It is critical that the South Koreans have to be viewed early on as the legitimate occupiers of North Korea by the North Korean population. The US military could be best used in South Korea to help the ROK Army establish camps and give humanitarian aid to North Korean refugees that may poor into South Korea. Even this has to appear to be South Korean led. Everything done in the early days of a collapse has to be viewed in the context of building the legitimacy of the South Korean government in the eyes of the North Korean population. Also the US Navy would be critical to blockade the country to ensure no weapons or WMD are being smuggled out of the country.

Another recommendation that Kaplan advocates is that the US should not conduct a military strike on North Korea in response to a missile test, which he is absolutely correct about. This is something I have long believed in though for slightly different reasons than Kaplan’s. Kaplan believes North Korea would retaliate with a limited artillery attack on Seoul and Yongsan Garrison. I don’t think he would do that because that would provoke a war because the automatic counter battery fire back at North Korea would just be tremendous which would ultimately escalate into full scale war. What I think is more likely is that North Korea would retaliate in more unconventional ways like terrorist attacks on subways, bombing bridges, shooting down civilian airliners, or small scale DMZ shootouts for example that would not precipitate a full scale war, but still inflict heavy damage on the South Koreans which the regime could in turn blame the US for and then use the attack on his country as an excuse for a complete nuclear arms build up. Kim Jong-il is desperately praying for a US air attack that the Clinton era history revisionists want George W. Bush to give to him. The Clinton era policy advice on Korea is as incompetent now as it was back when they were in power. Fortunately President Bush is not taking their advice and sticking to economic sanctions to wear down the Kim regime.

Overall, the Kaplan article is a good read for those who haven’t been following the situation on the Korean peninsula to closely and I think it is great he debunks the Clinton era policy makers recommendations to bomb North Korea. Ultimately reading the article I think it is increasingly clear that South Korea’s greatest national interest should be in maintaining a strong US-ROK relationship because South Korea has no chance of a reunified, democratic Korean peninsula without the United States to counter balance the territorial and hegemonic ambitions of China and Russia.

It looks like Kim Jong-il may have crossed China one too many times::

The Bank of China has frozen North Korea’s accounts at a branch in Macau due to Pyongyang’s counterfeiting and money laundering activities, it emerged Monday. It is the very BOC branch where South Korea’s National Intelligence Service transferred US$200 million to the North to guarantee the success of the first North-South summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il and then-president Kim Dae-jung in 2000. U.S. pressure on the Macau-based bank Banco Delta Asia last year to freeze North Korean accounts reignited conflict between the U.S and the North.

Grand National Party lawmaker Park Jin said a former high-ranking U.S. official told him about the Chinese bank¿s decision when Park visited Washington last week. A South Korean government official later confirmed the account, saying Beijing could not turn down Washington¿s demand to clean up dubious accounts since it is well aware of the importance of improving financial transparency for the sake of trade. Analysts say that is one reason behind the recent rift between North Korea and its long-term ally over the North¿s missile tests.

US diplomats have been saying that China has been very helpful during the North Korean nuclear crisis and it appears behind the scenes they have if this latest crackdown is any indication.

This resolution is actually quite impressive that US Ambassador John Bolton was able to get both the Russians and the Chinese to back this resolution against North Korea:

The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously on Saturday to impose weapons-related sanctions on North Korea in response to its flurry of missile tests earlier this month.

The resolution demands that North Korea suspend “all activities” on its ballistic missile programs.

It requires all U.N. members to prevent imports from or exports to North Korea of missiles and missile-related items as well as materials that could be used in weapons of mass destruction.

To avert a veto from China, the resolution does not mention Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter, which is used on a legally binding document. But Security Council members say the resolution is mandatory because of the way it is worded.

China and Russia had originally proposed weaker language, but agreed to a tough resolution. They expressed fears that Chapter 7 would lead to military action as in Iraq.

The real judge of this resolution is going to be how well it is enforced.  Remember Saddam Hussein had sanctions leveled against him by the UN and from first hand experience I can tell you that the sanctions did not stop him from buying lots of weapons for his war machine from the usual sources such as the Russians and even so called US allies like France.  So quite possibly the Chinese and Russians signed on to this resolution knowing full well it will only be enforced by the US and the Japanese only.

Here is what the North Koreans think of the sanctions:

North Korea’s envoy to the United Nations warned Saturday his country would be forced to take “strong physical action” should it be pressured on its “self-defensive” missile launches, protesting a resolution passed unanimously by the U.N. Security Council condemning his government.

Amb. Pak Gil-yon, addressing the council, said North Korea “totally rejects” the resolution and vowed Pyongyang will “go on with missile launch exercises as part of its efforts to bolster deterrent for self-defense in the future.”
He said the United States has “totally hamstrung efforts” for sincere dialogue on North Korean issues by applying financial sanctions.  He also accused the U.S. of threatening the North with military exercises targeting it.

At least these sanctions are something against North Korea, but don’t expect this resolution to solve the North Korea problem.  This resolution just makes it a little bit more difficult for North Korea to import parts for their missiles and in turning selling them internationally.  This just tightens the noose a little bit more on North Korea’s sources of hard currency and hopefully will ultimately make them more likely to return to six party talks seeking to make a deal over their nuclear program.  At least that is the hope, but I remain skeptical.

UPDATE #7:  Sitting here checking out the news sites before going to work and no new missiles have been fired yet.  However, the White House is saying that the North Koreans may fire more today:

White House spokesman Tony Snow said Wednesday that North Korea has additional missiles that could be launched in the next day.

Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer also said more launches could be coming, the AP reported.

“We think they probably do intend to launch more missiles in the next day or two,” the AP quoted Downer as saying after he phoned North Korea’s ambassador to protest the launches.

Looking at the news sites cooler heads are prevaling in Washington however the news networks are continuing to hype military action over these missile tests.  War is good for TV ratings.

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UPDATE #6:  This is great, I come back from work and there is still missiles being launched and talking heads on TV demanding military action against North Korea.  Reportedly a seventh missile was launched just a few minutes ago and it lasted for six minutes.  I’m watching Larry King and he has Clinton era officials Sandy Berger and Madelline Albright trying to rewrite their failed history with dealing with North Korea.  They are complaining that President Bush isn’t using diplomacy and engagement with North Korea like they did.

Let me see the Clinton era government used diplomacy and gave the North Koreans massive amounts of aid and what did they get for it?  North Korea went ahead and secretly continued their nuclear program and fired a missile over Japan in 1998 not to mention the mini-sub incidents in South Korea that led to the deaths of numerous Korean soldiers and civilians.  This is what the Democrats consider successful diplomacy?  The North Koreans have actually been much better behaved during the Bush administration than during the Clinton era, thus the need by these people to rewrite history.

Now Bill Richardson is on the TV saying the US needs to continue the momentum of the six party talks.  Momentum?  What Momentum?  I think the US government will probably set up some further six party talks but I really think the government shouldn’t do anything that makes it appear they are giving into North Korean demands.  That just encourages them to be more belligerent.  Ignoring them and being cool about the missile test is the best way to go.  If anything this missile test weakened Kim’s hand because his big bad missile failed.

Oh God, Albright is now saying we need to request the UN to do something about North Korea.  Yeah that will scare the Norks, the big bad UN.  I must change the channel I cannot take anymore of these Clinton era people.

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UPDATE #5:  Here is my favorite international response so far:

Asked about the missiles, Han Song Ryol, deputy chief of North Korea’s mission to the United Nations in New York, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview: “We diplomats do not know what the military is doing.”

Fox News is now reporting that NORAD is saying that a fourth, fifth, and sixth missiles were just fired..

I just saw some guy on Fox News advocating a military strike on North Korea because of this “in your face” provocation.  The news anchor asked what if the North Koreans in response nuked Seoul and the guy just said that we need to bomb all their military capacity in order to prevent them from being able to strike Seoul.  This is a perfect example of how little the American media understands about the military situation in Korea.  To take out every missile, rocket, and artillery piece that could strike Seoul would require a full scale war, which no one wants.  An attack on North Korea would not be like a bombing campaign of Kosovo.  If you attack North Korea you best be ready to fight a bloody second Korean War.

The CNN guy was just talking to the Seoul correspondent and was surprised by the shoulder shrugging reaction of the South Koreans.  When you have lived within artillery range for the last 50 years who would care about a missile.

Here is a BBC graphic of missile ranges if anyone cares:

Alright I have to go to work but this was enough early morning comedy for me watching the American media.  I’m sure other K-bloggers will keep everyone up to date on  this “threat to world peace” as quoted by CNN.  I think the greater threat to world peace was Italy advancing to the World Cup finals but that is a whole other story.

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UPDATE #4:  Here is what the BBC is reporting::

After news of the missile launch Mr Bolton said: “We are urgently consulting with members of the Security Council.”

Japan “strongly protested” North Korea’s move, Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said.

The BBC’s Charles Scanlon says North Korea has been feeling under pressure in recent months with the US refusing to negotiate on its demands over its nuclear plans.

This may be a way for North Korea to get attention and break the diplomatic log jam, our correspondent adds.

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UPDATE #3:  Yonhap News is reporting the South Korean reaction:

Th South Korean government confirmed Wednesday that North Korea test-fired at least three missiles.
But the government said it was still trying to confirm details of the missiles..
South Korea immediately called an emergency meeting of security-related ministers.

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UPDATE #2:  I’m watching CNN right now and they had some guy on there blaming Bush for not giving enough carrots to the North Koreans and not preventing the launch.  The CNN is questioning some guy about if North Korea can still nuke the US with a missile.  The “expert” says they cannot nuke the US yet. Isn’t that a stupid question to ask after their ICBM failed miserably just an hour ago?  The expert did say we need to see what the trajectory of the missile was to see if it was aimed at the US and react accordingly.

I think it is safe to say that North Korea is getting exactly what they wanted from this launch.  Attention and scaremongering from the US media in order to pressure the US government into taking them seriously.

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UPDATE #1:  Coming Anarchy has a post on the launch up and here is the Fox News report on the launch:

North Korea may have tried to fire a long-range missile, but it failed in flight, two U.S. officials told FOX News on Tuesday. Two non-guided, medium-range Scud-style missiles were also fired, North American Aerospace Defense Command confirmed.

Japanese public broadcasting channel NHK first reported the missile launches. The two Scud missiles landed in the Sea of Japan, the first about 360 miles from mainland Japan, NHK said. Japan’s Kyodo news agency said the missiles were believed to be mid-range Rodong missiles, and landed about 300 miles off the western coast of Japan’s Hokkaido Island.

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North Korea has finally test fired their stupid missiles and guess what, like I have been saying all along the long range Taepodong-2 missile failed:

North Korea launched a long-range Taepodong-2 missile early Wednesday in an apparently unsuccessful test that failed in flight, a senior State Department official said.

North Korea also tested at least two smaller missiles, U.S. sources told CNN.

Both missiles were launched from a site other than the one intelligence officials have watched for weeks ahead of the long-range missile test, a senior State Department official said.

I’m watching Fox News right now and they are saying the Taepodong-2 missile failed after 35 seconds of flight and of course the news programs are repeating over and over again that the US is not under attack.  Boy, what a relief (sarcasm).  What a joke, I still can’t believe people mostly Democrats have been advocating starting a war over this stupid missile.  I’m curious to what these people are going to be saying over the coming days.

I will post more as developments happen.

At least someone besides USFK remembers the sacrifice of Major Yun Yeong-ha and his men during the West Sea naval clash between North and South Korea back in 2002. The naval battle was a pre-meditated ambush and murder of these sailors by the North Koreans that was alledgedly order by Pyongyang in order to draw attention away from the World Cup that was happening in South Korea at the time.

The South Korean government has done everything possible to cover up this ambush and make excuses for the North Koreans in order to keep the Sunshine Policy going. In fact the government has boycotted memorial services held by the navy to remember the six murdered sailors:

A remembrance celebration to mark the second anniversary of the battle was held yesterday at the headquarters of the Naval 2nd Fleet in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, with 150 people including victims¿ families participating. However, the event was dismally lonely, and more distressing, the bereaved families despairingly poured out questions in full cry to this society and the government.

Did the Board of Audit and Inspection of Korea launched an investigation to find out facts as it does now when the West Sea naval battle broke out? Who apologized for the death of our boys? People, irrespective of rank, have been successively rushing to deliver condolence for a man who went to a foreign country to earn money and died there. But who went to the funeral services of the six sailors who sacrificed their lives for the nation? Even the Defense Minister and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff as well as government officials did not attend the services.

Here is a sample of how angered the families of these sailors have been towards the Korean government:

Kim Jong-seon, the widow of Petty Officer Han Sang-guk, who was killed in a June 2002 naval battle with North Korea in the West Sea, turned her back on her homeland Sunday and boarded a flight bound for the United States. Before getting on her flight, she said, ¿If the indifference and inhospitality shown to those soldiers who were killed or wounded protecting the nation continue, what soldier will lay down his life in the battlefield?¿

In the battle on June 29, 2002 — one day prior to the closing ceremony of the Korea-Japan World Cup — six sailors were killed and 18 wounded when a North Korean patrol boat that had crossed over the northern line of control ambushed a South Korean naval vessel. The bereaved have spent the last three years in an atmosphere where it was difficult to even grieve. Nervous government officials, worrying that the incident might cast a pall over the Sunshine Policy, even warned the families to please be quiet.

(…..)

The father said, ¿My son is buried in the National Cemetery. But I¿m going to take my son¿s remains to my family burial site in my hometown.¿ Having watched the situation develop, he thought his son who was killed by North Korean soldiers was considered nothing more than a criminal. Some parents said that they are more scared of people who consider the U.S. a bigger enemy than North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, who killed their son. We lose courage to defend the country, when we hear that a wife whose husband fell in the battle is preparing to leave this country. Reading a condolence letter from the USFK commander to mark the second anniversary, the wife said, “The Americans remember my husband and his brothers-in-arms better than Koreans… Frankly, I hate Korea.”

The treatment of the families and the appeasement of North Korea after the murder of these sailors was the first indications of how poor a government the Roh Moo-hyun administration was going to be. Plus this incident is a perfect example of the hypocrisy of the Korean leftists. They have been protesting for years over the USFK tactical vehicle traffic accident that tragically killed two Korean girls despite compensation to the families and apologies up and down the chain of command to include President Bush himself over the accident. Yet not one word muttered against North Korea by these people when they murder six South Korean sailors.

At least the ROK Navy has the intestinal fortitude to remember the sacrifices of these sailors. The ROK Navy has been the ones holding the annual ceremony marking the anniversary of the attack plus they have recently named one of their newest destroyers after the senior officer killed in the clash, Major Yun Yeong-ha.

The ROK naval destroyers are only named after great Korean patriots (Hat tip: reader):

All Ahn Yong-Bok class destroyers are named after Korean patriots. The first vessel destroyer was recently named Ahn Yong-Bok (Hangul:¿¿¿) after a Korean patriot who protested over Tokugawa Shogunate‘s repeated claim over Liancourt Rocks (Dokdo/Takeshima) and made Tokugawa Shogunate confirm in writing that Liancourt Rocks were Korean possessions. The second destroyer is to be named Ji Deok-Chil (Hangul:¿¿¿), after Staff Sergeant Ji Deok-Chil, who sacrificed his life to save his comrades during the Vietnam war. The third unit is to be named Yun Yeong-Ha (Hangul:¿¿¿), after Major Yun Yeong-Ha who fell in line of duty during a skirmish between the Republic of Korea Navy force and North Korean Navy. The fourth destroyer is to be named for General Yi Sabu of Silla dynasty of Korea, who subjugated Usan-Guk (present-day Ulleung-do) by employing brilliant naval tactics. The fifth and sixth destroyers are yet to be named.

I wonder how this got by the Blue House? To bad all six destroyers weren’t named after all six of the deceased sailors.

The first group ever of North Korean refugees allowed asylum status in the United States has arrived:

Six refugees from North Korea, including four women who say they were victims of sexual slavery or forced marriages, have fled to the United States, a senator said Saturday.

The group is the first from North Korea to be given official refugee status since passage of a 2004 law that makes it easier for North Koreans to apply for such status.

Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kansas, said the six refugees arrived at an undisclosed U.S. location Friday night from a Southeast Asian nation. He would not identify from which nation they came because of worries about security for their families and to avoid diplomatic complications with the country that sent them.

“This is a great act of compassion by the United States and the other countries involved,” said Brownback, a co-sponsor of the law. He said that the refugees’ arrival in the United States showed “the act is working” by making the refugees’ human rights a part of U.S. policy toward the North.

It is very common for North Korean women who are hiding secretly in northern China to become victims of sexual slavery and forced marriages because if they don’t agree to such practices than they can be turned over to the Chinese authorities which means deportation back to North Korea and from there the gulag.

Hopefully this will be more than just a one time event because this will give refugees hiding in China and other Asian countries another outlet to seek asylum besides South Korea.  This news is not going to make South Korea to happy though.  South Korea is actively trying to prevent North Koreans from defecting in order to appease the Kim Jong Il government in North Korea.  Appeasing the North Koreans is of more interest to the current South Korean government than human rights of refugees.