North Korea Has No Right To Exist

The Daily NK is a Korean/English news magazine whose primary focus is, as its name would indicate, North Korea. It features news that reminds us why the North Korean state hasn't the right to exist amongst sovereign nations. Posted without out further comment is this introduction to a story from today's edition:

Hearts Beat Faster for the Reunion of Kim Young Nam and His Mother after 28 Years

A 17-year-old boy who went to play at the beach one summer day wasn't heard from again for almost 28 years. After such a long time, the boy, over 40 years old now, is still looking for his mother.

The dramatic reunion of Kim Young Nam (45), abducted by a North Korean spy at Gunsan beach in 1978 and his mother, Choi Gye Wol is only a day away.

Ms.Choi and her daughter, Young Ja, shed tears of joy when the reunion was announced. The family said, "We have been thinking that Young Nam was dead for a long time. It’s like a dream."

Ms. Choi and the family are preparing for the reunion. It is hard for Ms. Choi to get around due to physical ailments, but she is waiting for the reunion, and shopping for gifts with her daughter.

Ms. Choi said, "I can’t sleep at night at the thought of meeting my son. Days seem to be too long for me to bear."

Young Ja said, "I didn’t expect to see my brother again. I am so glad that I get to see him so soon."

She also added, "I can finally understand how my mother feels, as I have become a mother as well. I hope the sorrow of other families of the abducted can also be resolved this way."

Read it all.

Meanwhile, the primary North Korean news on Tuesday were the comments of Virginia Senator John Warner, a Republican:

Citing intelligence gathered by "overhead systems" photographing the missile, Senator Warner said, "We are not certain if it's fueled."

He also said the surveillance images indicated that "certain infrastructure" remained around the missile and would have to be removed in advance of a launching.

"They could be launching a satellite, a weather satellite or any type of satellite that might be launched by this system," Mr. Warner said. But he said the United States must "prepare for the possibility of a hostile strike," though he termed it a "probably remote possibility."

Sen. Warner's comments provided the only new details about the status of the North Korean missile launch.

UPDATE: The Washington Post has additional background on the abduction case mentioned above. Conscientiously, they refer to the kidnapped as "allegedly abdcuted." How kind of them to offer so much consideration to North Korean propaganda. If only the U.S. Marines were so well treated.

This excerpt from the Post story sheds some light on the references to Japan in the Daily NK article:

Kim's reunion with his mother, proposed by North Korea, is drawing intense attention in South Korea and Japan because it could shed light on whether a Japanese abductee whom Kim is believed to have married is dead, as claimed by the North.

Kim was accompanied by his daughter, Kim Hae Kyong, whom he is believed to have fathered with the Japanese abductee, Megumi Yokota. Also present were another woman and a boy, identified by South Korean television channel YTN as Kim's new wife and 7-year-old son.

Technorati tags: North Korea | United States