As soon as I go on a vacation, things go badly! Market crash in Asia, Bush 43 folds on Iran…
But first, here is a strange coincidence. I crossed paths with Ambassador John Bolton at the men’s room (!) of the United Airlines Red Carpet Lounge at Dulles on my way out of […]

GI Korea exposes the media’s agenda concerning the group, “Appeal for Redress”: “Just when I think the American media couldn’t get any worse it does. I’m not sure if there has been a bigger piece of propaganda under the cover of investigative journalism than this week’s 60 Minutes piece on the Appeal for […]

South Korean President Roh Moo-Hyun is probably making Kim Myong-chol, the “unofficial spokesman of Kim Jong-il and North Korea,” nervous about his position. First he defends North Korea’s decision to go nuclear:
President Roh had a press conference with members of the Internet media to celebrate the fourth anniversary of his inauguration. This day he […]

VoA: US, North Korean Nuclear Negotiators to Meet in New York
Kyodo: S. Korea arrives in N. Korea to attend 20th ministerial talks
RIAN: Russia, N. Korea to discuss debt payment, other issues in Moscow
FT: Seoul likely to resume N Korea aid shipments
VoA: US Treasury Officials Discuss Frozen North Korean Accounts in Macau
Kyodo: S. Korea allocates […]

Per the 1994 Agreed Framework, North Korea received 500,000 tons of heavy fuel oil annually, and the recent deal calls for one million tons to be delivered, although the first shipment will be only 50,000 tons, which South Korea is funding (the rest likely will never follow, but that’s another story).
So what exactly is […]

I think some will make more of this than it is; reference to nuclear weapons and uranium is implicit (reference to the 2005 Joint Statement (DOC)), but it is still there. That is what will be dealt with in the second stage of negotiations that must be accomplished for North Korea to obtain the […]

Just kidding:
Iran has no brake and no reverse gear in its nuclear program, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Sunday, while a deputy foreign minister vowed Tehran was prepared for any eventuality, “even for war.”
[. . .]
“Iran has obtained the technology to produce nuclear fuel and Iran’s move is like a train … which has […]

Kim Jong-il turned 65 on 16 February, which served as a reminder that he’s not yet names a successor, at least publicly. Rumors in 2005 and 2006 speculated that Kim’s second son, Kim Jong-chol (김정철), had replaced Kim Jong-nam (김정남) in the running (analysis from several years ago often said that Kim’s third son, […]

AFP: North Korea’s Kim preparing collective leadership, says report
Reuters: N.Korea’s Kim might not transfer power to son - Yonhap
AP: NK demands investigation into treatment of diplomats in Finland [h/t Antti]
EA Intel: North Korean forces increasingly manned by women soldiers [h/t Mark]
WaPo: VOA Says Goodbye to Uzbek, Other Tongues [expands in NK]
CBNews: Rebuilding [Bongsoo] Church […]

From the Dong-a Ilbo: “The founding of Korea’s ancient kingdom of Gojoseon will be officially written as part of national history in high school history textbooks. . . Academic and political circles have demanded that the founding of Korea’s first kingdom, currently depicted as a myth, should be rewritten as official history to counter […]