Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Thoughts on North Korea

When it comes to the secretive and nefarious North Korea, intelligence is limited. We should take every opprotunity to listen to someone who might know what he is talking about.

Hwang Jang Yop is the highest-ranking North Korean government official ever to defect to South Korea. He defected in 1997 at the age of 74. He was a high level official in the North Korean government who knew it's leader, Kim Jong Il personally for years. And he does not like Kim Jong Il. He has even described him as a "Devil".

He is described thusly:
He had been close to the country's founder, Kim Il Sung, the father of Kim Jong Il, and is often described as the younger Kim's former mentor. Hwang is also widely seen as the intellectual architect of the North's "juche" philosophy of self sufficiency.

Mr Hwang has known for a long time that North Korea has nuclear ambitions. He claimed that they signed a deal with Pakistan in 1996 for Uranium technology.

Mr. Hwang has also said that North Korea "Cannot use" Nuclear Weapons because they were only "intended as a threat".

That means that the Republicans' current policy of treating North Korea as a threat is playing right into their hands and legitimizing their quest for nuclear weapons.

Mr. Hwang says that "Six Party Talks are useless" with North Korea and that "sanctions won't work" because they won't hurt Kim Jong Il.

According to Hwang, the key to ending the North Korean threat is... China.

China is the last remaining ally and main aid donor to its impoverished neighbor, but their relations have been strained by Beijing's support of the U.N. resolution. Still, Beijing succeeded in blocking an even tougher one pushed by the U.S. and Japan.

"No Chinese officials like the North Korean leader, but they keep him in power," Hwang said, adding that Kim's regime serves Beijing's interests by helping keep U.S. influence in the region at bay.

No comments:

Ten Tips For DMs To Run A Better Session

If you are a DM, here are ten tips to help you run a successful session.   1. Prepare ahead of time: Make sure you have a clear idea of the ...