Korea: The One Thing That Works

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April 6, 2007: North Korean officials have been telling their people that, because North Korea is now a nuclear power, foreign countries are sending food and other "gifts", this month. The food shortage is getting worse throughout North Korea, and everyone knows it. But the one thing the North Koreans are good at is running a police state. So, despite an increase in grumbling, no one is talking, or even thinking, of challenging the government.

April 5, 2007: South Korea and China will set up a military hot line, so that any South Korean actions against Chinese fishing boats operating illegally in the Yellow Sea (a growing problem), will not lead any fatal misunderstanding by Chinese and South Korean military forces. The hot line also provides a channel for dealing with any crises involving North Korea. China and South Korea are now major trading partners, and are building more military relationships.

April 4, 2007: U.S. government analysts have concluded that the North Korean nuclear test last Fall was, well, not exactly a failure, but not a success, either. The detonation was only a fraction of what it should have been (less than a kiloton equivalent in high explosives), and is called in the trade, a "fizzle." Thus North Korea needs more tests to perfect their bomb design and is years away from a useful nuclear weapon.

April 3, 2007: South Korea has been shutting down pro-North Korean web sites, believing them to be major sources of fund raising and recruiting for North Korea. Such has been the case in Japan for decades, where millions of dollars a year in donations is raised for North Korea. Such propaganda also recruits hundreds of idealistic leftists to become agents for North Korea.

April 2, 2007: The nuclear fuel facility that North Korea has a greed to decommission is obsolete and in poor repair. It turns out that the North Koreans are simply offering to close a plant that is on its last legs, in return for food and energy aid.

March 30, 2007: Japan has moved Patriot anti-missile missiles into its capital, and will put these missiles in over a dozen other locations.

 

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