I think the most disturbing news in the evidence released last week about North Korea's proliferation of nuclear weapons technology to Syria was the news that North Korea's Senior Scientist who is pictured below in Syria overseeing the project also happens to be a negotiator sitting at the six-party talks discussing North Korea's path to denuclearization. If this is not an indicator to the US (and others) that North Korea is just wasting our time, again, then I don't know what is.
If this had been the other way around, you can surely bet that the North Koreans would openly be demanding that heads rolls, in addition to demanding that the offending person be removed from the talks, never to appear again. Too bad that the North Koreans know all too well who they are dealing with. for well over a decade, the US has been pretty soft-armed when it has come to disciplining North Korea. Another very dangerous problem is that it seems that too many people want to think that the North Koreans actually want a deal. that they are negotiating either in good faith, or at least with a goal towards betterment of their people. Well perhaps a review of the 2 minute extract from the Korean War 'Pork Chop Hill' is in order:Video - Direct Link
The video makes a number of good points that are still relevant today. One of those is the answer to the question: what does North Korea lose by getting caught helping Syria? Apparently nothing by the looks of the lack of pressure on North Korea at the moment to either explain their assistance to Syria or their lack of action they agreed to as part of the six-party talks.
In the last seconds of the fight shown in the video above, the US woke up and decided to beat the North Koreans off the worthless hill instead of just giving it to them in hopes that it is the final demand that will result in a deal. The joke is, there never is a final demand, just more demands. The question now is has the US forgot what it learned the last time it had to fight them. Apparently so given the lack of pressure being placed on them to live up to this deal. Sadly, it seems that the North has gotten stronger in will, and those who we have placed in charge have gotten softer. And about that 'quiet diplomacy' in dealing with these and other thugs around the world, (as in giving them a way to 'save face') this Wall Street Journal piece sums it up:
Perhaps this is the same "quiet diplomacy" advocated by U.S. National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley a few weeks ago, when he was asked about the Chinese crackdown in Tibet. In other words, we are not going to hear this U.S. president say "I am a Tibetan" any time soon.I have had a painfully close-up view of over seven years of Western quiet diplomacy toward Russia. "Quiet diplomacy" can be roughly translated as, "we'll cut a deal no matter what." During this period we have moved from a frail new democracy to a KGB dictatorship. Based on such results, it is long past time to try something noisier. - WSJ
It is surely about time that North Korea lose face. If for no other reason than the face that nothing else seems to be working at the moment. There is still no permanent peace between the North and the South. I suspect one reason why is that it would be much harder to blackmail the South for whatever they want at any particular moment. And speaking of the war not being over, one small fact that never seems to come up are the number of US Servicemen who have died after the cease fire of 1955.
Although the shooting war officially ended on January 31, 1955, from February 1, 1955 to date, another 98 men would die in Korea as a result of "Hostile" and combat-related actions. According to researcher Tom Murray, Kingman, AZ, "…another 814 American soldiers died from non-hostile causes in Korea from 1961 to the present." They too must be remembered. - Korean War Educator
Some of the more notable incidents:
- 'Axe Murders Incident'
The Axe Murder Incident (Korean: 판문점 도끼 살인 사건) refers to the killing of two United States Army officers by North Korean soldiers on August 18, 1976 in the Joint Security Area (JSA) located in the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) which forms the de facto border between North and South Korea. The killings and the response three days later (Operation Paul Bunyan) heightened tensions between North and South Korea and as well as their respective allies, China and the United States of America. - Wikipedia
- 'Major Henderson Incident'
The Major Henderson Incident occurred on June 30, 1975. A dozen North Korean guards and reporters assaulted US Army Major W. D. Henderson, a United Nations Command (UNC) security officer in the Joint Security Area (JSA), injuring him seriously. Henderson was trampled on by the North Koreans and suffered a fractured larynx before he was rescued by United Nations Command guards. - Wikipedia
Three north Korean guards are about to attack Maj. W.D. Henderson, a UNC security officer, as another north Korean guard holds Henderson, outside the truce conference room during the 364th Military Armistice Commission meeting on June 30, 1975. - Axe-wielding Murder at Panmunjom. (PDF Document) Seoul: UN Korean War Allies Association, 1976
Hell, just last year, two North Koreans assaulted customs and police officers while on a train in Finland. Just another reason why every North Korean official should be treated as dangerous.
How many more times does the US have to be blindsided by the North Koreans while they hold their entire population hostage?
While we are at it, what about rumors that popped up last year about a city fill of North Koreans in Iran? It seems like questions need to be asked about that as well.
Be Warned About the North Koreans - Pork Chop Hill - Google Video
Click on the tab 'North Korea' below to find my other posts on Communist Korea.
