Filed under: North Korea | Tags: Bill Clinton, euna lee, Kim Jong Il, laura ling, North Korea
Today Laura Ling and Euna Lee were pardoned by Kim Jong Il. Bill Clinton was sent to negotiate the release of the two women.
Filed under: North Korea | Tags: BBC, Bill Clinton, euna lee, journalist, Kim Jong Il, laura ling, Madeleine Albright, missile, North Korea, nuclear, president, United States
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8182716.stm
Bill Clinton is reported to have met with Kim Jong Il recently in an unannounced trip to North Korea. He was involved in the freeze on nuclear activity during his Presidency, so maybe he still has influence now? Who knows. Maybe he is there for the two journalists? Either way, he is the highest profile American to visit since Madeleine Albright in 2000.
Filed under: North Korea | Tags: government, human rights, Kim Jong Il, missile, money, North Korea, nuclear, United States
North Korea is being more provoking and belligerent than ever recently. They’ve threatened:
“If the US and its followers infringe upon our republic’s sovereignty even a bit, our military and people will launch a one hundred or one thousandfold retaliation with [a] merciless military strike,”
Pretty intense! Their current missiles have the theoretical capability of reaching Alaska. According to an interview in the article below, it would be a couple of years before North Korea could be a real threat to the West Coast of America.
Filed under: North Korea | Tags: dictator, father, God, intelligence, Kim Jong Il, Kim Jong Un, pray, son, United States
United States Intelligence has confirmed that Kim Jong Un, Kim Jong Il’s third son, will succeed Kim Jong Il as dictator of North Korea. It remains to be seen how similar to his father Kim Jong Un will prove to be. Remember to pray for this man, as he will soon inherit the most volatile state in the world. If he is anything like his father, then the future is anyone’s guess. So let’s pray that God softens his heart before he even begins the process of taking over.
Filed under: North Korea | Tags: Concentration Camp, English, espionage, euna lee, government, human rights, hunger, Kim Jong Il, labor, laura ling, missile, North Korea, nuclear, police, prison, starvation, torture, treatment, trial, TV
Some speculators are claiming that Laura Ling and Euna Lee, the two American journalists captured by North Korean guards back in March, and who recently went on trial for espionage, will not actually go to a typical “hard labor camp”. Their sentence, handed out early this week, put a 12-year incarceration in front of their eyes. As scary and ominous as that may sound, I’ve been hearing a lot of talk of them actually not having to serve the full sentence, or the sentence as we imagine it. As these girls are journalists, North Korea might have several options. First, they might consider treating them well, knowing that upon any release in the future, they will tell their story to the world. That, of course, will only be the case if they are ever released. This Asia Times article claims that they might even be sent to a state guest house where their “hard labor” will consist of using their training and skills to help the North Korean government, TV stations, or English training.
So who really knows? Time will tell. And time will also tell how far America is willing to go in protecting these girls. I hate to imagine the day when a decision must be made as we’re staring at a scale with two American girls on one side, and a potential global nuclear threat on the other. At the moment it seems all the United States is trying to do is keep these two issues as separate as possible.
Filed under: North Korea | Tags: Concentration Camp, death, euna lee, Hitler, journalists, Kim Jong Il, labor camp, laura ling, North Korea, prison, torture, trial
Yesterday the North Korean government sentenced Laura Ling and Euna Lee to 12 years in a hard labor camp. If this sentence is carried out to its full extent…this means a really bad future for these two girls. Keep them in your prayers. These labor camps, as told in “Eyes of the Tailless Animals” are some of the worst places on earth. Torture, lack of food, lack of medicine, and many accounts of mistreatment and death are just some of the things that happen at these “camps”. They have been likened, and in some cases seen as worse, than Hitler’s concentration camps.
Read the LA Times article here
Keep these two girls in your prayers. Euna is a mother of a 4 year old, and both girls have families back home in America.
Filed under: North Korea | Tags: Kim Jong Il, launch, missile, nuclear, security, test, underground
Scary stuff. It seems North Korea could be preparing for another missile test soon. According to this article, a launch pad they’ve been working on for a few years now appears to be operational. With the test of the nuclear weapon underground in May, this could turn out to be an interesting year for global security. Let’s hope things don’t go the way I’m sure Kim Jong Il would like them to go.
Filed under: North Korea | Tags: ICBM, intercontinental ballistic missile, Kim Jong Il, missile, North Korea, nuclear, Security Council, United Nations
There are reports of North Korea very “active” around a nuclear test site in North Korea. Apparently they have threatened that unless the United Nations Security Council apologizes for the criticism for the launch in April, they will test their nuclear capabilities a second time, and test-fire intercontinental ballistic missiles. Sounds to me like they’re holding all the chips. They’re not trying to salvage relationships, it sounds like they’re just whining. But unfortunately the retaliation from an irritated dictator might not be what the rest of the world wants.
My guess? The apology will happen. Until the rest of the world figures out what to do, Kim Jong Il is playing a really big hand, knowing that nobody will call his bluff. People call him insane…but it seems like a pretty good strategy to get what you want if you ask me. In the long run I don’t think it’s exactly going to enhance friendly relations or mutual respect. Yet, somehow I don’t think that fact bothers Kim Jong Il.
So until somebody figures out something else, or until enough more influential countries band together in opposition, it seems he’s pretty much got us wrapped around his finger. Which I’m guessing is right where he wants us. Where is China in all of this? I think they are
New York Times Article on the nuclear activity in North Korea
Filed under: North Korea | Tags: Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Il, military, North Korea, power, president
As scary as North Korea is now…I wonder what will happen once Kim Jong Il is dead. Who will take over? Some say it is his third son. Some say the military would take over. Who knows. Kim Jong Il is 67 now, but his health seems to be rapidly decreasing. I saw a video the other day where he looked extremely frail. When his father Kim Il Sung died, the transfer of power was very interesting.
Kim Jong Il was the de facto president after his father’s death for a three-year time period. He didn’t actually succeed to a new position right away. By doing this, it further deified Kim Il Sung, and helped to solidify the rule of the Kim family. After the three-year period, Kim Jong Il took power. Although now it is less of a one-man rule system even than when his father was in control.
Should be interesting!
Photo from Eric Lafforgue on Flickr
