UP Ibalon Bicol: Kim Jong-il

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Bill Clinton’s success in securing the release of two US journalists

8/06/2009 | Posted by mesiamd | Edit Post

In a happy note, former president Bill Clinton was able to negotiate the release of two US journalists who had been held prisoners in North Korea for 4 months on charges of “hostile acts” against the reclusive communist nation.

The two women of Asian descent Laura Ling and Euna Lee served as reporters for former Vice President Al Gore's California-based Current TV media venture. They were sentenced to 12 years of hard labor after they were picked up by North Korean soldiers near the China border.

Upon their return to the United States, the former detainees had an emotional reunion with their families. Appearing in a tearful news conference in Burbank, California on Wednesday, August 5, 2009, Ling and Lee thanked Bill Clinton and the entire American nation for the effort which gained their freedom.

“The trip and its diplomatic theatrics represent a sudden moment of goodwill and compromise between two countries with nearly 60 years of fractious relations that grew even more antagonistic over the past year.”---Fox News/ AP (08.05/09)

The negotiations to secure freedom for the American journalists had been going on for months. Controversy surrounded the deal with Kim Jong Il who snatched undetermined number and put them in prison. Bill Clinton came to meet with the dictator at a time when tensions between North Korea and the West over the former’s nuclear arms. Attempts to bring back the repressive communist regime to the 5-country disarmament negotiation table had so far been unsuccessful.

It appears the 67 year-old Kim Jong Il wanted to improve relations with the United States as he prepared his son as a successor-dictator after he suffered a stroke last year. The journalists’ walk away to freedom was a chance to project a “kinder” image of the imporverished government which had been encountering resistance within and outside the country. It would also help set a platform for renewed talks to deter nuclear arms proliferation by the North Koreans. =0=(Photo Credit: Reuters; AFP/ KCNA via KNS) =0=

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Labels: diplomacy, Euna Lee, Kim Jong-il, Laura Ling, North Korea, politics, Pres. Bill Clinton, prisoners, Totie Mesia

North Korea's nuclear threats

5/28/2009 | Posted by mesiamd | Edit Post

Living in a delusion that dictatorships and rogue countries can be effectively handled with talks and negotiations, the United States and the United Nations are finding it increasingly hard to deal with the rising military posturing of North Korea.

The destitute communist country in Asia has detonated a 20 kiloton underground nuclear bomb in a display of belligerence against the will of the civilized world. The United States and its allies have still to find a way to curtail the provocations of Kim Jong Il which find it easy to ignore the lame warnings of the United Nations.

Unafraid of sanctions, North Korea is unimpressed by the 6-party disarmament talks aimed to diffuse tension and stop the dangerous proliferation of nuclear arms in the region. The puppet government of Kim Jong Il has come to the realization that rogue governments can have ways to brush aside UN resolutions, survive punitive sanctions, and earn dividends from wild stubborness. Seeing the weakness of Pres. Barack Obama and UN’s inability to effectively punish violators of covenants, the North Koreans are on a free rein to show their propagandistic power and terrorist capabilities.

“It is a laughable delusion for the United States to think that it can get us to kneel with sanctions… We've been living under U.S. sanctions for decades, but have firmly safeguarded our ideology and system while moving our achievements forward. The U.S. sanctions policy toward North Korea is like striking a rock with a rotten egg."---said an editorial in a North Korean newspaper. AP (05/27/09, Hyung-Jin Kim, Gutman, S; Ledere EM)

With this show of defiance, the United States and its allies must be ready to stop Pyongyang by considering strikes to destroy its nuclear facilities. Short of this, the world needs an effective deterrent and defense against the rising threat of nuclear proliferation. In the past, sanctions and resolutions have helped in some measure but aren't as effective as people want them to be.(Photo credit: Lucliu) =0=

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Labels: diplomacy, Kim Jong-il, North Korea, nuclear hazard, nuclear weapons, peace, Pyongyang, Security Council, Totie Mesia, United Nations, war

North Korea detonates an underground nuclear bomb

5/26/2009 | Posted by mesiamd | Edit Post

As if to tell the world, that countries can defy the United Nations (UN,) North Korea exploded an underground atomic weapon which was as powerful as the one that leveled Nagasaki, Japan in 1945. The 10 to 20 kiloton bomb generated an earthquake of about 4.5 in the northeastern part of North Korea. It was picked up by seismologists worldwide as Pyongyang officials affirmed the successful nuclear test on May 25, 2009.

Kim Jong Il’s nuclear bomb test, the second since 2006 is in defiance to the United Nation’s resolutions forbidding his country to develop nuclear weapon. A danger to world peace, the nuclear detonation followed last month’s launching of a ballistic missile which has the capacity to reach the US territory.

The UN expressed disapproval against the test-launch and North Korea was punished with greater sanctions. In retaliation, the communist regime of Kim Jong Il asked that the international nuclear inspectors leave the country. The North Koreans threatened to resume operation of Yongbyon nuclear reactor and refused participation in the six-party nuclear talks. Ignoring global condemnation,
Pyongyang insisted its nuclear activities serve to beef up its self-defense and are intended for “peaceful” purposes.

In a reaction to the recent bomb test, Pres. Barack Obama lamely speaks of the recklessness of North Korea whose growing belligerence he hopes to manage with diplomacy. He plans to seek help from allies and friendly nations to stop the North Koreans from producing weapons of mass destruction (WMD).

But as the leaders of the communist dictatorship have learned, they have the power to ignore the world community. Having a nuclear arsenal is their bargaining chip----an effective tool to gain leverage, a way of catching the attention of the world.

The reclusive impoverished regime of Kim Jong Il has shown that it cannot be dictated by civilized countries in spite of attempts to isolate the country for violating international law and endangering the planet. The same message is what other nations with nuclear ambitions are learning. It appears provoking a crisis brings dividends because UN and its member nations aren’t ready to impose international covenants on errant governments like North Korea. A significant number of UN resolutions, no matter how well they are worded don't work. This may well be with the unanimous UN condemnation of North Korea for exploding the atomic weapon.

It is said that majority of nations approve of the international treaty to stop nuclear weapons testing. However, there are countries like North Korea, India, and Pakistan with nuclear capabilities which oppose the ban.(Photo Credit: cbv.ns.ca) =0=

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Labels: atomic bomb, explosion, hazard, Kim Jong-il, North Korea, nuclear detonation, nuclear hazard, nuclear weapons, Pyongyang, Totie Mesia, United Nations, weapons of mass destruction, WMD

North Korea’s failed missile test sparks worldwide condemnation

4/06/2009 | Posted by mesiamd | Edit Post

Against the resolutions of the United Nations (UN,) the North Korean government went ahead of the launching of a missile test that fizzled out in the Pacific Ocean. According to Pyongyang, the missile was supposed to be a satellite, but the outside world believed it was an experiment of a weapon technology that can threaten US territories like Alaska and Hawaii.

The United States Command which observed the launch from the Pacific said the “satellite” was a failure, but the rogue government of Kim Jong II was celebratory---insisting that the launch went well.

“Given the volatility in the region, as well as a stalemate in interaction among the concerned parties, such a launch is not conducive to efforts to promote dialogue, regional peace and stability,"--- Ban Ki-moon, the UN Secretary General Ban. Telegraph.co.uk (04/05/09, Foster, P)

The criticism and disappointment of Ban with North Korea is shared by US President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown who asserted North Korea’s action was “completely unacceptable.” Gordon said Pyongyang's communist regime, a threat to world peace and security, must stop the testing and proliferation of nuclear weapons. Japan's ambassador to the U.N., Yukio Takasu condemned the launch "a clear crime" versus U.N. Security Council demands that posed a grave threat to Japan.

The rocket launch was a violation of international agreements. The United Nations in New York went for an emergency meeting to thresh out ways (other than condemnation) to respond to the provocative action. However, it is doubtful if the world’s body of nations has the effective teeth to discipline a dangerous nation like North Korea. Since December last year, diplomatic talks on nuclear control with North Korea, Japan, China, South Korea, Russia and the US (Six Party talks) have been not pushed through. (Photo Credit: Eric Lafforgue x 2 )=0=

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Labels: ballistic missle, Kim Jong-il, missile, North Korea, nuclear weapons, Pyongyang, Totie Mesia, United Nations

Enigmatic Kim Jong-il & the future of North Korea's nuclear arms

9/10/2008 | Posted by mesiamd | Edit Post

The news is abuzz with speculations that Kim Jong-il, the strong communist leader of North Korea, one of the most secretive and reclusive communist regimes in the world with strong military power is incapacitated.

Short, pudgy, and known for his platform shoes and liking for Hollywood movies, the bouffant-haired strongman (believe to be 67 years old,) is suspected to be ill, possibly downed by a stroke sometime in the middle of last month. Since then he has not been visible in the government functions. Some theorize his death. Others believe he has been replaced by a double.

Amidst denial from the North Korean government, this brings a new uncertainty on the future of a repressive dictatorship in an impoverished nation which brings chills to the world for its possession of nuclear weapons. Jong-il's alleged illness since August can stall the little gains of nuclear arms control brokered by the United States in the region. (Photo Credit: Nick Papniconstainou)=0=

Update:
On September 11, 2008, North and South Korean officials affirmed that Kim Jong-il had a stroke which required brain surgical intervention. It remains to be seen if full recovery is in the offing.=0=

Labels: Kim Jong-il, North Korea, nuclear weapons, USA

UP Ibalon Bicol

Bill Clinton’s success in securing the release of two US journalists

North Korea's nuclear threats

North Korea detonates an underground nuclear bomb

North Korea’s failed missile test sparks worldwide condemnation

Enigmatic Kim Jong-il & the future of North Korea's nuclear arms

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