N. Korea next target for Bush?

[Comrade Marcel]

N. Korea has nuclear program, U.S. official says
Last Updated Thu, 17 Oct 2002 1:17:21
http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2002/10/16/korea...a_nuclear021016 (http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2002/10/16/korea_nuclear021016)

WASHINGTON - North Korea has revealed that it has a secret nuclear weapons program, a U.S. official said Wednesday.

Under a 1994 agreement, North Korea was supposed to have given up its nuclear program and allowed inspectors to ensure it wasn't developing nuclear weapons.

But it has never allowed an inspection, and now has told the U.S. that the agreement no longer applies.

North Korea is enriching uranium, which the U.S. believes can only be used to make nuclear weapons.

The program puts North Korea in "material breach" of the 1994 agreement not to develop a bomb, said White House spokesman Sean McCormack.

Earlier this year, U.S. President George Bush said North Korea was one of three countries – with Iran and Iraq – which made up an "axis of evil."

The disclosure is expected to send shockwaves through diplomatic circles and cause a "nightmare" for Bush, said Janice Stein, a University of Toronto political science professor.

Bush is threatening to attack Iraq for its weapons programs, yet North Korea is much closer to having a bomb, she said.

That raises the question about how Bush will react.

North Korea told the U.S. about the nuclear program during high-level security talks that resumed two weeks ago after a two-year break.

South Korea urged its northern neighbour to live up to the anti-nuclear agreements.

North Korea has recently been opening its doors a bit, taking steps to establish better relationships with the U.S., South Korea and Japan.

Written by CBC News Online staff (http://cbc.ca/bios.html)

[Comrade Marcel]

North Korea: A Rare Glimpse

http://cbc.ca/news/viewpoint/correspondents/gfx/stpierre_small.jpg
By Raymond Saint-Pierre (http://cbc.ca/onair/personalities/national/Saint-Pierre.html)
CBC News, Beijing
http://cbc.ca/news/viewpoint/correspondent...rre_nkorea.html (http://cbc.ca/news/viewpoint/correspondents/stpierre_nkorea.html)

PYONGYANG, NORTH KOREA - North Korea remains one of the most bizarre places to visit on this planet. It also remains one of the most difficult places on Earth for foreign journalists to get into and to report on.

The regime of the late Great Leader, Kim Il Sung, and of his son, the Dear Leader, still lives in splendid isolation. The masses can listen to only one radio station, watch only one television channel and read only one newspaper: the regime's.

I was surprised when I was granted a visa to accompany a Canadian delegation on its way to the capital, Pyongyang, to establish diplomatic relations with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

The first time I travelled to North Korea, in July 1997, relations with our unavoidable government "minders" – those are the people assigned to follow us everywhere – had been very tense. The country was in the midst of a terrible drought after three years of bad crops and bad weather.

Everywhere, we could see people suffering from the shortage of food – in the fields, in orphanages, in the streets – emaciated babies and children, workers weakened by a very poor diet. The problem was that every time we tried to take pictures of these tragedies, a hand would cover our camera lens. "No pictures," we were told.

North Korea was eager to welcome foreign delegations because they need outside help – we were accompanying a Canadian Non-Governmental Organization – but, at the same time, the hermit country couldn't bear the humiliation of having pictures of the human despair broadcast around the world, pictures that would draw attention to the regime's failures. This was the same regime that was preaching self-sufficiency to its people, that wanted to remain independent from the rest of the world.

So relations with our "supervisors" had been very difficult. We had managed to mellow them a little, with beer and pool games at the hotel, but they remained bitter. They couldn't understand why we wanted to film all of these negative images.

At the time, it was practically impossible to go out of the hotel, even for a short walk. When I tried to do a stand-up in front of the hotel, security guards, some policemen and our minders descended upon us. We had to negotiate for quite a time, and finally we were allowed to stand in front of the hotel – as long as we didn't videotape any people.

When we left the country, our "shadows" told us they had never met any western journalists before. They said they felt as if they had worked with people from another planet. I told them I also felt as if I'd spent a few days on another planet!

That's why I was surprised to learn I would be allowed to visit Pyongyang a second time. It's already quite difficult for western journalists to get to North Korea once; it's even more difficult to get a return visit.

Today, this regime is still isolated from the rest of the world, the population is still bombarded by the same messages of adoration of the Great Leader and of his son, the Dear Leader. Thousands of people still visit Kim Il Sung's mausoleum every day. They can still see his body, preserved forever. Masses still bring flowers to his huge statue, which dominates the centre of Pyongyang.

People are still hungry, and the country must still rely on foreign aid to feed at least part of the population, but this time, relations with our "minders" were much more relaxed. One still has to follow a strict program of activities, prepared by North Korean authorities. We still felt "listened to" and followed. But the tone had changed.

We could do our stand-ups without alarming the police. Our "shadows" and the hotel security were just a tad nervous, but they let us do our work. It's now possible for foreigners to take a walk downtown (without the TV camera). People in the streets are now used to seeing foreigners.

Until now, the population had been taught to stay away from foreigners. The last time, many North Koreans would simply turn their backs to us because they thought we were dangerous. This time, it was possible to get near people and videotape them. We even managed to interview some North Koreans!

It goes without saying that the fact that we were in Pyongyang to cover the establishment of diplomatic relations with Canada contributed to the fact that average north Koreans and our "shadows" were more forthcoming. But I also had the impression that the population now understands that it's these same dangerous foreigners who have been bringing essential food aid to North Korea. I also dream that people now understand that the foreign media can help their country, by showing its problems, by drawing attention to its tragedy.

But don't get me wrong. It's sill difficult to do television reports in North Korea. It's still forbidden to show anything military, even though thousands of soldiers swarm the city!

We were often stopped from videotaping some streets, without explanation. Diplomats tell us it may be because many buildings are not what they appear to be, and might hide a strategic installation. Some places we visited had an "unreal" feel to them. In a showcase hospital, for instance, we could see workers studying non-existent samples through the microscope and feeding data to printers without paper. There's always that tendency to hide problems, while at the same time, trying to draw foreign aid.

I don't know if I'll ever return to North Korea, but there would undoubtedly be many good reasons to do so if North Korean authorities finally decide to show to the foreign press the enormous tragedy the country is still facing. Solutions can't and won't be found in a few months; it's more a matter of years. The country is in ruins and its people are hungry.

[Comrade Marcel]

Two Koreas work to connect border
Last Updated Wed, 18 Sep 2002 16:39:14

http://cbc.ca/storyview/CBC/2002/09/18/koreas_020918

KYONGGI, SOUTH KOREA - North and South Korea began work to bridge their heavily fortified border Wednesday.

Soldiers cut through barbed wire while workers cleared away mines in preparation for railway lines and roads that will be built through the buffer zone between the two states.

The project is a historic step. North and South Korea have been separated since 1945 and many attempts at reconciliation have failed.

South Korea marked the event with a special ceremony, in which a girl from the North walked from behind a fence to hug a boy from the South. A two-car train then moved toward the open gate as a symbolic gesture.

Fireworks and floating balloons added to the celebration.

Plans include reconnecting an old cross-border road in the east by November. A railway in the west should be up and running by year's end.

Written by CBC News Online staff

[Revolution Hero]

Russia will not let usa to start a war with N. Korea, as it has a good partnership relations with NK. " Get your hands out of Iraq and don't even dare to start a war with North Korea!" -Putin has to say it directly to Dubya.

[Comrade Marcel]

Starting a war with N. Korea over the fact that they have nuclear weapons, or near nuclear capabilities is hypocritical of the Imperialists. It's hypocritical to start a war with any country on that bases!

Whatever happend to sovereignty? Why is it ok for some countries to bare nuclear capabilities but not others?

In todays world nuclear capability is really the only line of reliable self defense. If it was not for global nuclear weapons the cold war would have probably been the 3rd world war. I think nuclear weapons hold on to a degree of peace, it will make most leaders think twice before starting an armed conflict. The Imperialists obviously see it as an obstacle to world domination.

(Edited by Comrade Marcel at 10:13 am on Oct. 17, 2002)

[ComradeJunichi]

Better not come anywhere near my country. There's like 30 thousand US troops stationed in South Korea. I live like 30 minutes to an hour away from the border.

[Exploited Class]

I bet Iraq wishes it had some nuclear weapons, perhaps it wouldn't be getting invaded for its resources if it did. If I was N. Korea and I saw what happned to Afghanistan and Iraq by the United States in the last year, you bet I would be making some Nuclear Weapons; because none of the wars in the last 60 years or so have taken place in a country with Nuclear Capability. If I was Cuba I would get them as well.
Sure America says, "We don't want Nukes 30 minutes from us", I would say as Cuba, "and we don't either but seeing how you aren't removing yours and you have attacked me, I think we will be getting some."

Then I would say something mumbling as they try to overthrow my country, AGAIN, "can't have your cake and eat too - unless you have a country stupid enough to go ahead with 400billion military vs. healthcare."

[KickMcCann]

I guess most people just don't see it. N. Korea admitted to the US that it has nuclear weapons. If the DPRK wanted to harm the US, it would not admit it has weapons. This is similar to the admittance that N. Korea kidnapped Japanese people to educate their spies. Sure, it pissed off all of Japan, but it is an act meant to warm relations and communication. Sure, now a lot of Americans are either pissed off or terrified, but it is a step in the right direction. I believe that in the long-term, this will help in the process of reunifying the penninsula, even if it causes tension in the short-term.

[MCCommunist]

It seems to me that America Is only trying to dived the pinesula to gain prostiege

[MCCommunist]

Bur not Invade the north for south

[Jaha]

the US: guardians of justice!

but who decides what justice is??

[Libertarius]

I hope that was sarcasm! I'd like to know how many UN resolutions the United States ITSELF has broken. They are fucking fascist hypocrites. They are authoritarian capitalists disguised as a humble democracy, but democracy is quickly dying in North America.

I can see a resistance to US oppression even now. Iraq, North Korea, Russia, even Iran might speak out against US foreign policy. No, the US military isn't as powerful as it is made out to be. They attack ill-equipped countries with everything they have, and leave them to crumble economically and socially. It is cowardly, but in the near future, I predict they will cross the final line, and they will get a taste of the tension felt in countries who know they are going to be invaded.