In an earlier blog, I talked about one of the smaller autonomous regions in China, the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture. Yanbian, as I pointed out, took up the southern and northeastern part of Manchuria, a sizable area, but not anywhere as large as Xinjiang, China's largest autonomous region known as Uighur Autonomous Region. It is huge. It is almost three times the size of the state of Texas at 642,820 square miles, but smaller than the state of Alaska which is 663,268 square miles! So, it is a giant chunk of land, rich in mineral resources. It is located in the northwestern corner of China and shares borders with Mongolia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India! For its size, it has a relatively small population at somewhere between 21 and 23 million souls, the census data is not all that accurate because so many of the residents of the area still lead a nomadic life or just don't cooperate with official Chinese census takers. It appears that the Beijing government is not all that popular in the region.
Every year a bit of news leaks out of the area, lately it has mostly been about terrorist activities. China has kept a tight lid on the area, and although foreigners are not banned from visiting this isolated region, few actually go there. Xinjiang is China's Islamic region. Its population is predominantly Muslim, whether they are Uighurs, the majority population, or Tajiks, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, or other minority members. Supposedly, the Han Chinese now make up about 40% of the population in the region, at least that is the official claim, while Uighurs make up about 45% and the remaining population is made up of Tajiks, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Hui, Mongols, and Russians! Just as China did in Manchuria and Inner Mongolia, "volunteer" Han Chinese immigrants were used to try to settle the area and displace the native population. At this point there are without a doubt quite a few Han Chinese in the region, but 40% seems a bit too optimistic.
By rights, the region should be an independent country like its neighbors. Unfortunately, China, has historically always tried to control the area. It was an important piece of real estate through which the ancient "Silk Road" passed, an extremely vital highway for trade going back centuries. Essentially, whoever controlled the "Silk Road" in the past controlled a vast portion of world's economy! It was always a region which was predominantly settled by Uighurs, nomadic Turkic people closely related to the Kazakhs, the Kyrgyz, and Tajiks. They are ethnically related to Afghans as well as some of the tribes in bordering Pakistan. They are not by any means, racially, ethnically, or culturally Chinese. Yet, today they are part of China. In many ways, their plight is very similar to that of the Kurds, who desperately want their own independent state. The Kurds have their autonomous region in Iraq and Turkey, but they are considered a part of those countries, not on their own, just like the Uighurs!
It is, therefore, not surprising that there is an independent movement afoot, East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) which is considered a terror group by the Chinese government. ETIM has not allied itself with ISIS or any other known Islamic terror group as of yet, at least there is no solid link as of this time. It appears to be loosely allied with Al Qaeda and has supplied men to ISIS for the war in Syria. The region, incidentally, is sometimes unofficially referred to as Chinese Turkestan. ISIS, on the other hand, has released some videos lately, urging ETIM to shed the Chinese yoke and gave the impression that they are allied. However, there is no official word on this.
The Xinjiang, as mentioned earlier, is rich in mineral resources and China is eager to exploit the region. Han Chinese have moved into the region to help its government to "develop" the underdeveloped land. Compared to the rest of China, Xinjiang is indeed very much underdeveloped. In recent years, as China raced into the 21st Century trying to become the world's leading economy, Chinese cities have undergone an almost miraculous change, literally jumping from early 20th Century into the 21st. But the cities in Xinjiang are still far behind, more like Chinese cities were in mid 20th Century! Obviously, not all regions in China receive equal treatment. The way Beijing government treats Xinjiang literally smacks of racism. Of course the majority of the population in the region is different, racially, ethnically, and culturally different! China's treatment of Xinjiang is very similar to the way Tibet is treated, definitely not as equal!
Recently there has been a spate of violence, terror activities involving killings, bombings, etc. The Beijing government responded like they did in Tibet. They sent in thousands of People's Liberation Army and Police. All of the major population centers in the region were swarming with police and camouflage uniformed PLA. You can be sure that they responded to any threat or perceived threat with full force! Those Western journalists who managed to witness the Chinese recent "invasion" of the region described it as "killing an ant with a sledge hammer!" The Chinese response has been very heavy handed. It seems that the Beijing government doesn't really know how to respond to these situations other than with full force! Beijing's latest actions have done nothing but stoke the fires of ETIM and any other anti Chinese group in the area. It has also caused ISIS to become more vocal and become an instigator for more terror attacks.
Like I said earlier, news of terror activity in Xinjiang seems to leak out only once in a while. Most of the time what happens in that remote region is really unknown to the rest of the world. China would like to keep it that way. However, I don't think that in this day and age China will be able to keep such a tight lid on the region. Despite the fact that Xinjiang may lack in some of the infrastructure and other advancements of the modern world, people do have cell phones and computers and can or will reach the outside world through internet and social media. Unless China comes up with a more agreeable way of settling differences and meeting the demands or requirements of Uighurs in the region, they may face a protracted insurgency that will ultimately break their hold on the region. This business of sending in thousands of PLA and violently subduing any protests is only going to work temporarily. There is open hostility in the region between the Han Chinese and the "native" population. No doubt the Han Chinese discriminate against the Uighurs and others, since the government definitely shows a somewhat racist streak! If ETIM or any other such organization starts to receive some serious outside support, China will have a major problem on their hands!
Saturday, March 18, 2017
Monday, March 6, 2017
"SNAFU, FUBAR" - Still Taking Place!
Back in June 2014, I wrote a two part blog about American combat troops in Manchuria, a relatively little known military action that took place between 1918 and 1920. I described how ill prepared our troops were, having been shipped directly from tropical Philippines where they were stationed, to sub-Arctic Siberia in the winter! No doubt the troops were sent from Philippines because that was the closest place where we had troops stationed. I imagine the War Department (Pentagon of old) felt that it was more cost effective to send the G.I.s from Philippines rather than from our West Coast. But ultimately the War Department ended up spending more money because our troops from the tropics were ill prepared to handle the brutal Siberian winter! We bought everything from heavy winter overcoats to rifles and ammunition from the Japanese! It cost us dearly and gained us nothing. The Japanese, on the other hand, made a bundle of money from our purchases of winter clothing and arms and ammunition, and also ended up with the large territory of island of Sakhalin as their booty at the end of this operation!
That military operation, one of our earliest large scale military operations in Asia (other than during Spanish American War and the Philippine Insurrection that followed) could have been easily called a SNAFU or a FUBAR, had those terms been in use by the G.I.s at that time. However, both SNAFU and FUBAR supposedly didn't come about until World War Two. The earliest definition of SNAFU appeared in the Yank magazine in January of 1944. The definition for SNAFU was given in very polite language as "Situation Normal: All Fouled Up." As you know, G.I.s would not have used such mild language, it wasn't "fouled up" in common G.I. usage! FUBAR was also defined in polite terms as "Fouled Up Beyond All Recognition/Repair/Reason." Anyone who has served in the military is no doubt well aware of these terms and have heard them used often in the military.
It is sometimes a mystery as to why such simple things as proper clothing can be forgotten or ignored. The Germans paid a heavy price for not having proper winter clothing in Russia during World War Two, especially during the Battle of Stalingrad. But that was because they didn't expect to get stuck in Stalingrad during winter! Hitler and his generals thought that Stalingrad would be in their hands by the end of the summer at the latest!
In the early 1960s, before the escalation of Vietnam War and expansion of the Army Special Forces took place, there were just three Special Forces units with one in the making. There was the 10th Group in Germany with Europe as its area of responsibility, and the 1st Group on Okinawa with Asia as its area. The 5th Group was in the process of being formed and trained for deployment to Vietnam. The 7th Group which had been the 77th Group until 1960, had the dual responsibility of not only providing cadre members for newly forming groups like the 5th and the future 3rd, 6th, and 8th, but its area of responsibility was the entire globe! In other words, anyplace, just as the unit motto declared: "Anytime, Anyplace, Anything." The older 77th Group motto had an additional fourth word added, "anyhow." As such, the 7th Group provided "teams" for Vietnam along with the 1st Group on Okinawa. The 5th Group didn't really start in Vietnam until late 1964 and early 1965. The 7th Group also had teams in other parts of the world, Latin America, Africa, and Middle East, although it seemed at that Asia took up most of its time!
In order to maintain its status as a unit with global responsibilities, those members that were not deployed were constantly in training for various environments. The members of the 7th Group spent time in Alaska for cold weather training, Panama for jungle, Mojave for desert, etc. In February 1964 my detachment, A-17, along with several other "A Teams" were sent on a long, exhausting cross Pacific flight in C-130s to Philippines for training exercise. We knew we were going to tropical climate since we were told to take only our jungle fatigues and no winter gear. After an exhausting three days in the air, from Pope Air Force Base in North Carolina with numerous stops for refueling and whatnot, we finally landed in Philippines. The hot, humid air that hit our faces upon lowering of the tailgate was a shock to our system. Anyone who was sent to Vietnam during the winter in the States, knows the feeling upon landing at Tan Son Nhut! The hot humid air hit you in the face like a shock wave! Well, at least we were properly dressed in jungle fatigues and jungle boots!
After a week of running around and playing war games with Philippine Army Special Forces, we were loaded up in C-130s again. But this time we were all 'chuted-up, ready to make a parachute drop. We thought we were going to be making a jump somewhere in Philippines. But when the planes climbed to a higher altitude, we realized we were going for a long haul. Several very uncomfortable hours later (if you have flown long distances all 'chuted-up, you know how uncomfortable that can be!), the plane lost altitude and we began flying at around 2000 feet. When the jumpmaster gave us the command to stand up and the tail gate was lowered, the cold air hit us like a ton of bricks! After going through the pre-jump routine and hooking-up, we finally made the jump. By that time we were pretty cold! Imagine our surprise landing on the ground that was partially covered with snow! As we learned later, we had flown to, and made a jump in South Korea in February, wearing jungle fatigues! We survived that ordeal, but you can rest assured that the acronyms SNAFU and FUBAR were used liberally by everyone involved, and not with the polite language terms!
That military operation, one of our earliest large scale military operations in Asia (other than during Spanish American War and the Philippine Insurrection that followed) could have been easily called a SNAFU or a FUBAR, had those terms been in use by the G.I.s at that time. However, both SNAFU and FUBAR supposedly didn't come about until World War Two. The earliest definition of SNAFU appeared in the Yank magazine in January of 1944. The definition for SNAFU was given in very polite language as "Situation Normal: All Fouled Up." As you know, G.I.s would not have used such mild language, it wasn't "fouled up" in common G.I. usage! FUBAR was also defined in polite terms as "Fouled Up Beyond All Recognition/Repair/Reason." Anyone who has served in the military is no doubt well aware of these terms and have heard them used often in the military.
It is sometimes a mystery as to why such simple things as proper clothing can be forgotten or ignored. The Germans paid a heavy price for not having proper winter clothing in Russia during World War Two, especially during the Battle of Stalingrad. But that was because they didn't expect to get stuck in Stalingrad during winter! Hitler and his generals thought that Stalingrad would be in their hands by the end of the summer at the latest!
In the early 1960s, before the escalation of Vietnam War and expansion of the Army Special Forces took place, there were just three Special Forces units with one in the making. There was the 10th Group in Germany with Europe as its area of responsibility, and the 1st Group on Okinawa with Asia as its area. The 5th Group was in the process of being formed and trained for deployment to Vietnam. The 7th Group which had been the 77th Group until 1960, had the dual responsibility of not only providing cadre members for newly forming groups like the 5th and the future 3rd, 6th, and 8th, but its area of responsibility was the entire globe! In other words, anyplace, just as the unit motto declared: "Anytime, Anyplace, Anything." The older 77th Group motto had an additional fourth word added, "anyhow." As such, the 7th Group provided "teams" for Vietnam along with the 1st Group on Okinawa. The 5th Group didn't really start in Vietnam until late 1964 and early 1965. The 7th Group also had teams in other parts of the world, Latin America, Africa, and Middle East, although it seemed at that Asia took up most of its time!
In order to maintain its status as a unit with global responsibilities, those members that were not deployed were constantly in training for various environments. The members of the 7th Group spent time in Alaska for cold weather training, Panama for jungle, Mojave for desert, etc. In February 1964 my detachment, A-17, along with several other "A Teams" were sent on a long, exhausting cross Pacific flight in C-130s to Philippines for training exercise. We knew we were going to tropical climate since we were told to take only our jungle fatigues and no winter gear. After an exhausting three days in the air, from Pope Air Force Base in North Carolina with numerous stops for refueling and whatnot, we finally landed in Philippines. The hot, humid air that hit our faces upon lowering of the tailgate was a shock to our system. Anyone who was sent to Vietnam during the winter in the States, knows the feeling upon landing at Tan Son Nhut! The hot humid air hit you in the face like a shock wave! Well, at least we were properly dressed in jungle fatigues and jungle boots!
After a week of running around and playing war games with Philippine Army Special Forces, we were loaded up in C-130s again. But this time we were all 'chuted-up, ready to make a parachute drop. We thought we were going to be making a jump somewhere in Philippines. But when the planes climbed to a higher altitude, we realized we were going for a long haul. Several very uncomfortable hours later (if you have flown long distances all 'chuted-up, you know how uncomfortable that can be!), the plane lost altitude and we began flying at around 2000 feet. When the jumpmaster gave us the command to stand up and the tail gate was lowered, the cold air hit us like a ton of bricks! After going through the pre-jump routine and hooking-up, we finally made the jump. By that time we were pretty cold! Imagine our surprise landing on the ground that was partially covered with snow! As we learned later, we had flown to, and made a jump in South Korea in February, wearing jungle fatigues! We survived that ordeal, but you can rest assured that the acronyms SNAFU and FUBAR were used liberally by everyone involved, and not with the polite language terms!
Saturday, March 4, 2017
Yanbian - Korean Autonomous Prefecture
China, as most people probably know, has several autonomous regions. These are regions that are populated with people of different ethnic origin than the Han Chinese. Some of these regions have been heavily populated by the Han Chinese, an attempt by the Chinese government to displace local ethnic groups. This practice had been taking place since ancient times. Such is the case with Inner Mongolia, which used to be predominantly populated with Mongols but today has a higher ratio of Han Chinese. Other regions, such as Tibet or the huge Xinjiang Autonomous Region (which is about the size of 1/4 of the rest of China) is heavily populated with distinct ethnic groups. In Tibet, the majority population is Tibetan and in Xinjiang it is Kazaks and Turks who are the majority. In all, China identifies five major autonomous regions, from Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, Guangxi, Ningxia, to Tibet. However, there is a fifth region that the Chinese do not like to talk about. It is the Yanbian Autonomous Region which is located just across the border from North Korea and is about the size of half of South Korea or our state of Maine! It takes up about a third of the region called Manchuria!
Autonomous regions, by their very nature, consist of regions where a distinct native language is spoken and the general life style and customs differ from the mainstream official language and culture of the country. All schools in the region are bilingual and generally speaking, customs and lifestyle of the region adhere closer to their ethnic origin rather than the mainstream. Russia and the old Soviet Union had autonomous regions, although they didn't call them by that name. The Southwestern part of the United States that is heavily populated with Hispanics could have been called autonomous regions, however, they are not! The official language is English and although there are heavy influences of Hispanic culture in these regions, they are still a part of the United States culturally, and not only the language, but the lifestyle of its population is very much like the rest of the population in the U.S. Of course, there are families and neighborhoods that are heavily Hispanic, but still, the kids from these areas attend standard U.S. school systems where English is the official language. I suppose Indian reservations can be considered autonomous regions, since they do have their own government, etc. In China's autonomous regions, they do have certain amount of independence, but not quite as much as one might think.
The Yanbian Autonomous Region is heavily populated with ethnic Koreans. Although there are some Koreans who are recent escapees or immigrants from North Korea, the vast majority can trace their roots to at least the 19th Century, when a large influx of Koreans came to Manchuria. However, Koreans have lived in that region for centuries. The earliest known Korean kingdom, the Gochosun that was founded in 2333 BC, consisted of the entire Korean peninsula as well as the region that is called Manchuria. When Gochosun finally fell to a combination of Puyo and Koguryo kingdoms, Koguryo took over and established an empire that ruled the entire region for 700 years, from 37 BC until 688 AD, when it fell to the combined forces of Silla from the south and Tang Dynasty of China from the west.
The Korean population did not go anywhere, but it did mix with existing Manchu and Mongol tribes that lived in the area as well. Of course, the Chinese that came to the region also got into the mix. So, today's inhabitants of Manchuria, although identified as Chinese, would show Korean DNA if a DNA test was conducted with its population. Additionally, despite China's attempt through the ages to submerse Korean language and culture in the area, to make Manchuria more "Chinese,"it has not succeeded completely. Korean is still spoken widely and Korean culture (somewhat different from that of in South Korea!) survives. It is not all that difficult to understand when one realizes how the area had been populated with Koreans going back to Gochosun era, some 4,000 years ago!
There are currently about two million people residing in Manchuria who identify themselves as Koreans. There is an additional half a million or so scattered in various parts of China, but the largest "Korean" population is in Manchuria, in the region called the Yanbian Autonomous Prefecture. Now, there are many more Koreans in China that have taken up Chinese names, intermarried, and have taken on Chinese identity completely. Short of a DNA test, there is no way to find out if they are indeed of Korean descent. But of those who identify themselves as Koreans, speak Korean, and practice Korean culture, there are about two million in Manchuria.
As unlikely and strange as it may seem to us, the Chinese are apparently concerned (at least some members in their government) that should unification take place on the Korean peninsula, united Korea, after it recovers from the initial setback and economic hit, will regain and increase its strength and might make incursions into Manchuria, laying claim to those areas heavily populated with ethnic Koreans! Despite the presence of ethnic Koreans in Manchuria, the last time Korea legitimately had ownership of that land was under Koguryo Empire, some 1400 years ago! To us, laying claim to something that was owned 1400 years ago would seem completely ridiculous. After all, we took a good portion of Mexican territory (our entire Southwest and California!) some measly (by Chinese standards) 160 years ago after the Mexican-American War of 1846-1848. It would be unthinkable to us that Mexico would demand the territory today! But the Chinese obviously have a different clock and calendar in their heads, and I don't mean the lunar calendar. They just seem to count time differently. While we may be concerned with months or possibly years, they seem to think in terms of centuries!
I have read various accounts of China's concern about ethnic Korean population and possible effect it may have on Chinese - Korean relations in the future. Most of these studies or articles did not even mention the issue of Korea's previous, ancient ownership of the territory and simply focussed on the population and not the land. However, a recent book published by a respected Chinese scholar revealed, at least in the author's views, this whole issue. The book was about the unification of the two Koreas and what possible effect it might have on the region. The author listed various reasons why China does not want unification to take place. Most of the reasons had to do with economic issues as well as fear that China would lose a "buffer" (North Korea) against possible U.S. military aggression in the region. But he added also that a united Korea, after recovery from initial economic set backs, would become even more powerful and might cause problems for China demanding its ancient territory that was part of Gochosun and Koguryo. That was a long, long, time ago! But it just goes to show, time seems to have a different meaning in China, or at least to some people in China!
Autonomous regions, by their very nature, consist of regions where a distinct native language is spoken and the general life style and customs differ from the mainstream official language and culture of the country. All schools in the region are bilingual and generally speaking, customs and lifestyle of the region adhere closer to their ethnic origin rather than the mainstream. Russia and the old Soviet Union had autonomous regions, although they didn't call them by that name. The Southwestern part of the United States that is heavily populated with Hispanics could have been called autonomous regions, however, they are not! The official language is English and although there are heavy influences of Hispanic culture in these regions, they are still a part of the United States culturally, and not only the language, but the lifestyle of its population is very much like the rest of the population in the U.S. Of course, there are families and neighborhoods that are heavily Hispanic, but still, the kids from these areas attend standard U.S. school systems where English is the official language. I suppose Indian reservations can be considered autonomous regions, since they do have their own government, etc. In China's autonomous regions, they do have certain amount of independence, but not quite as much as one might think.
The Yanbian Autonomous Region is heavily populated with ethnic Koreans. Although there are some Koreans who are recent escapees or immigrants from North Korea, the vast majority can trace their roots to at least the 19th Century, when a large influx of Koreans came to Manchuria. However, Koreans have lived in that region for centuries. The earliest known Korean kingdom, the Gochosun that was founded in 2333 BC, consisted of the entire Korean peninsula as well as the region that is called Manchuria. When Gochosun finally fell to a combination of Puyo and Koguryo kingdoms, Koguryo took over and established an empire that ruled the entire region for 700 years, from 37 BC until 688 AD, when it fell to the combined forces of Silla from the south and Tang Dynasty of China from the west.
The Korean population did not go anywhere, but it did mix with existing Manchu and Mongol tribes that lived in the area as well. Of course, the Chinese that came to the region also got into the mix. So, today's inhabitants of Manchuria, although identified as Chinese, would show Korean DNA if a DNA test was conducted with its population. Additionally, despite China's attempt through the ages to submerse Korean language and culture in the area, to make Manchuria more "Chinese,"it has not succeeded completely. Korean is still spoken widely and Korean culture (somewhat different from that of in South Korea!) survives. It is not all that difficult to understand when one realizes how the area had been populated with Koreans going back to Gochosun era, some 4,000 years ago!
There are currently about two million people residing in Manchuria who identify themselves as Koreans. There is an additional half a million or so scattered in various parts of China, but the largest "Korean" population is in Manchuria, in the region called the Yanbian Autonomous Prefecture. Now, there are many more Koreans in China that have taken up Chinese names, intermarried, and have taken on Chinese identity completely. Short of a DNA test, there is no way to find out if they are indeed of Korean descent. But of those who identify themselves as Koreans, speak Korean, and practice Korean culture, there are about two million in Manchuria.
As unlikely and strange as it may seem to us, the Chinese are apparently concerned (at least some members in their government) that should unification take place on the Korean peninsula, united Korea, after it recovers from the initial setback and economic hit, will regain and increase its strength and might make incursions into Manchuria, laying claim to those areas heavily populated with ethnic Koreans! Despite the presence of ethnic Koreans in Manchuria, the last time Korea legitimately had ownership of that land was under Koguryo Empire, some 1400 years ago! To us, laying claim to something that was owned 1400 years ago would seem completely ridiculous. After all, we took a good portion of Mexican territory (our entire Southwest and California!) some measly (by Chinese standards) 160 years ago after the Mexican-American War of 1846-1848. It would be unthinkable to us that Mexico would demand the territory today! But the Chinese obviously have a different clock and calendar in their heads, and I don't mean the lunar calendar. They just seem to count time differently. While we may be concerned with months or possibly years, they seem to think in terms of centuries!
I have read various accounts of China's concern about ethnic Korean population and possible effect it may have on Chinese - Korean relations in the future. Most of these studies or articles did not even mention the issue of Korea's previous, ancient ownership of the territory and simply focussed on the population and not the land. However, a recent book published by a respected Chinese scholar revealed, at least in the author's views, this whole issue. The book was about the unification of the two Koreas and what possible effect it might have on the region. The author listed various reasons why China does not want unification to take place. Most of the reasons had to do with economic issues as well as fear that China would lose a "buffer" (North Korea) against possible U.S. military aggression in the region. But he added also that a united Korea, after recovery from initial economic set backs, would become even more powerful and might cause problems for China demanding its ancient territory that was part of Gochosun and Koguryo. That was a long, long, time ago! But it just goes to show, time seems to have a different meaning in China, or at least to some people in China!
Tuesday, February 28, 2017
Finally....Some Answers....Not All, But Some!
Its been two weeks since the rather bizarre incident of the assassination of Kim Jong Nam took place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Initially, reports of the assassination were confusing with conflicting versions, everything from how it was executed to who was involved. But now, it seems, after two weeks we are finally hearing some things that appear to be more or less solid information.
There appears to be no doubt now that the two women, the Indonesian Siti Aisyah and the Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong were the assassins. There is also no doubt at this point that they were fully aware of what they were doing, despite their claim that they were "duped" into believing it was all a reality prank TV show. They had practiced the act several times prior to the actual killing, so they knew what they were doing! They are to be sentenced tomorrow, and at this point it is moot as to whether they will receive a long term sentence or a death sentence. In either case, they are going to be severely punished. It is also apparent at this point that most of the intelligence on the case emerged from the South Korean National Intelligence Service, the NIS. It is the NIS (formerly known as KCIA or Korean Central Intelligence Agency) that has been releasing the more important details and no doubt providing information to the Malaysian authorities.
According to NIS, this act was completely sponsored and carried out by North Korean government. All of the North Korean participants were either members of the North Korean Ministry of State Security (their version of the Soviet KGB), or members of their diplomatic corps in Malaysia! The poison that was used, the VX nerve agent is something that North Korea is reputed to have in vast quantities, stored in secret locations all over North Korea. It is possibly the deadliest chemical agent that there is, and North Korea has thousands of tons of it! In fact, they have been secretly supplying (selling) some of the Middle Eastern countries with this WMD. Saddam Hussein used the same VX nerve agent when he launched a chemical attack against the Kurds and wiped out a whole town! Saddam Hussein was a big fan of North Korean weapons. He purchased not only the VX nerve agent but SCUD missiles from North Korea. Assad of Syria has used the very same VX agent in his war against the opposition, also acquired from North Korea! So it is not difficult to see the danger of North Korea possessing such large quantities of this WMD.
North Korea is not only perfectly capable of using it themselves, but they are willing to sell it to anyone willing to pay! The world has been somewhat blinded by all the talk about North Korea's nuclear capability. But their possession of such large quantity of chemical weapons is even more dangerous than the nuclear devices that they are producing. It takes but a tiny bit of the VX agent to wipe out a whole population in a town or a city, as Saddam Hussein had demonstrated. With their new missile capabilities, they don't have to launch nuclear devices to cause horrible deaths, just a bit of the VX agent would do as much harm! What happened to Kim Jong Nam is a perfect illustration of what North Koreans are capable of doing with their chemical weapons!
The assassination of Kim Jong Nam was no doubt triggered by the fact that his half brother Kim Jong Un feared that he would team up with the Chinese to replace him. In 2013, Kim Jong Un had his uncle Jang Song Thaek executed, followed by his entire family going back three generations on that side! Jang Song Thaek was considered to be number two power in North Korea at that time, and he was very pro Chinese. The Chinese viewed him as a sort of a moderate, compared to his unpredictable nephew, and Jang always sided with the Chinese practically on all issues. Kim Jong Un used that as an excuse or claim that his uncle had "betrayed" North Korea and had him executed. Kim Jong Nam was also pro Chinese, and after the death of Jang, the Chinese saw Kim Jong Nam as their only possibility for a replacement of the crazy Kim Jong Un. Kim Jong Un knew this, and despite the fact that Kim Jong Nam had no interest in taking his place, he had him assassinated after two prior failed attempts.
If you go back in history, to 1940, you will find that Stalin had Leon Trotsky assassinated in Mexico. Trotsky had been a key figure in the establishment of the Soviet Union. He was Lenin's right hand man and responsible for many things, like the creation of OGPU which became KGB in later years. Trotsky was responsible for setting up just about all of the major agencies of the Soviet government and wielded tremendous power and influence. But after the death of Lenin and Stalin's rise to power, Trotsky knew that his time was very limited, so he fled and hid out in Mexico. He was no longer any threat to Stalin, there was no way that he could have returned to Russia to reclaim his power. But Stalin, like Kim Jong Un today, would not even consider looking the other way. He had his agents track Trotsky down to a flea-bag hotel in Coyoacan, Mexico where he was brutally murdered with a hatchet! So, Kim Jong Un carrying out his vendetta against his half brother is nothing new nor surprising, it is Stalin-Trotsky all over again, except now it is with a more sophisticated weapon, a VX nerve agent rather than a common hatchet bought from a Mexican hardware store!
I don't know about you, but the thought of that crazy Kim Jong Un in possession of all those chemical weapons scares me even more than the fact that he has nuclear devices! Like everyone else, I had forgotten about his huge stockpile of chemical weapons. This whole business with nuclear weapons had completely drawn my attention away. But now, with this latest assassination, I am once again reminded of North Korea's stockpile of "other" WMD, the chemical weapons! North Korea and Kim Jong Un are a far bigger problem than most of us realize. In many ways, Kim Jong Un and North Korea are the biggest problem to world security today. All those Islamic terror groups pale in comparison!
There appears to be no doubt now that the two women, the Indonesian Siti Aisyah and the Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong were the assassins. There is also no doubt at this point that they were fully aware of what they were doing, despite their claim that they were "duped" into believing it was all a reality prank TV show. They had practiced the act several times prior to the actual killing, so they knew what they were doing! They are to be sentenced tomorrow, and at this point it is moot as to whether they will receive a long term sentence or a death sentence. In either case, they are going to be severely punished. It is also apparent at this point that most of the intelligence on the case emerged from the South Korean National Intelligence Service, the NIS. It is the NIS (formerly known as KCIA or Korean Central Intelligence Agency) that has been releasing the more important details and no doubt providing information to the Malaysian authorities.
According to NIS, this act was completely sponsored and carried out by North Korean government. All of the North Korean participants were either members of the North Korean Ministry of State Security (their version of the Soviet KGB), or members of their diplomatic corps in Malaysia! The poison that was used, the VX nerve agent is something that North Korea is reputed to have in vast quantities, stored in secret locations all over North Korea. It is possibly the deadliest chemical agent that there is, and North Korea has thousands of tons of it! In fact, they have been secretly supplying (selling) some of the Middle Eastern countries with this WMD. Saddam Hussein used the same VX nerve agent when he launched a chemical attack against the Kurds and wiped out a whole town! Saddam Hussein was a big fan of North Korean weapons. He purchased not only the VX nerve agent but SCUD missiles from North Korea. Assad of Syria has used the very same VX agent in his war against the opposition, also acquired from North Korea! So it is not difficult to see the danger of North Korea possessing such large quantities of this WMD.
North Korea is not only perfectly capable of using it themselves, but they are willing to sell it to anyone willing to pay! The world has been somewhat blinded by all the talk about North Korea's nuclear capability. But their possession of such large quantity of chemical weapons is even more dangerous than the nuclear devices that they are producing. It takes but a tiny bit of the VX agent to wipe out a whole population in a town or a city, as Saddam Hussein had demonstrated. With their new missile capabilities, they don't have to launch nuclear devices to cause horrible deaths, just a bit of the VX agent would do as much harm! What happened to Kim Jong Nam is a perfect illustration of what North Koreans are capable of doing with their chemical weapons!
The assassination of Kim Jong Nam was no doubt triggered by the fact that his half brother Kim Jong Un feared that he would team up with the Chinese to replace him. In 2013, Kim Jong Un had his uncle Jang Song Thaek executed, followed by his entire family going back three generations on that side! Jang Song Thaek was considered to be number two power in North Korea at that time, and he was very pro Chinese. The Chinese viewed him as a sort of a moderate, compared to his unpredictable nephew, and Jang always sided with the Chinese practically on all issues. Kim Jong Un used that as an excuse or claim that his uncle had "betrayed" North Korea and had him executed. Kim Jong Nam was also pro Chinese, and after the death of Jang, the Chinese saw Kim Jong Nam as their only possibility for a replacement of the crazy Kim Jong Un. Kim Jong Un knew this, and despite the fact that Kim Jong Nam had no interest in taking his place, he had him assassinated after two prior failed attempts.
If you go back in history, to 1940, you will find that Stalin had Leon Trotsky assassinated in Mexico. Trotsky had been a key figure in the establishment of the Soviet Union. He was Lenin's right hand man and responsible for many things, like the creation of OGPU which became KGB in later years. Trotsky was responsible for setting up just about all of the major agencies of the Soviet government and wielded tremendous power and influence. But after the death of Lenin and Stalin's rise to power, Trotsky knew that his time was very limited, so he fled and hid out in Mexico. He was no longer any threat to Stalin, there was no way that he could have returned to Russia to reclaim his power. But Stalin, like Kim Jong Un today, would not even consider looking the other way. He had his agents track Trotsky down to a flea-bag hotel in Coyoacan, Mexico where he was brutally murdered with a hatchet! So, Kim Jong Un carrying out his vendetta against his half brother is nothing new nor surprising, it is Stalin-Trotsky all over again, except now it is with a more sophisticated weapon, a VX nerve agent rather than a common hatchet bought from a Mexican hardware store!
I don't know about you, but the thought of that crazy Kim Jong Un in possession of all those chemical weapons scares me even more than the fact that he has nuclear devices! Like everyone else, I had forgotten about his huge stockpile of chemical weapons. This whole business with nuclear weapons had completely drawn my attention away. But now, with this latest assassination, I am once again reminded of North Korea's stockpile of "other" WMD, the chemical weapons! North Korea and Kim Jong Un are a far bigger problem than most of us realize. In many ways, Kim Jong Un and North Korea are the biggest problem to world security today. All those Islamic terror groups pale in comparison!
Thursday, February 23, 2017
Alien Abductions....or North Korean?
Most people in America are aware how looney North Korean government can be. Their leaders, beginning with Kim Il Song, the so-called founder of the North Korean state, have done some crazy things, past and present. Kim Il Song himself was not quite as crazy as his progeny, although he did launch the attack that started the Korean War which cost him dearly. He has also carried out some horrible purges, killing and imprisoning thousands of "enemies of the state!" But his actions seem rather tame compared to his son's, Kim Jong Ill, and grandson's Kim Jong Un. The latest bizarre saga of the assassination of Kim Jong Nam is but an example of the tradition carried on by the Kim family.
Kim Jong Il, the father of Kim Jong Un and the assassinated Kim Jong Nam, was as crazy as his youngest son. He showed a wild and unpredictable, violent streak early on. As I have mentioned in other blogs, he is the prime suspect in the death of his younger brother back in 1948, who presumably drowned in the family pool. From that point on, there were series of bizarre and unexplained violent incidents that took place that were either hushed up or simply ignored. Kim Jong Il first came to the attention of the outside world when he engineered some incredibly reckless attacks on U.S. and South Korean forces. As the head of the Special Operations of North Korea, one of the titles that he held, he launched several attacks along the DMZ. He then ordered a commando raid on South Korean Blue House, the presidential palace. This was followed by the ax murder of two U.S. officers at the Panmunjom neutral site. It seemed like there was no end to his wild and crazy activities. His father, Kim Il Song, was very much disturbed by this and ordered a stop to it, forbid him to carry out any more military actions. So, at this point he switched to more clandestine activity. North Korea developed a special section in their government that specialized in one activity, kidnapping.
Being a closed society, a true "hermit kingdom," the only way that they could acquire what they needed was by force or illegal means. North Korea at that time decided to go on a campaign to develop better Japanese linguists. They are firm believers in native speakers as being the best teachers, so a rash of kidnappings of Japanese citizens took place in 1977. A total of known 13 Japanese were kidnapped by North Koreans ranging anywhere from a 13 year old girl to men and women in their 20s and 30s. These people just disappeared, as if they were abducted by aliens from outer space! The abduction of Japanese from a remote town is one thing, but the abduction of South Korea's most famous movie director and his movie star wife is another thing.
Kim Jong Il was a great movie fan and was reputed to have had one of the largest private movie libraries found anywhere. He had somewhat of an eclectic taste in films, but he primarily enjoyed Hollywood Westerns and action films as well as Japanese Godzilla movies. He was very upset over the fact that North Korea could not produce decent movies, while South Korean movies were receiving international attention, especially those made by the director Shin Sang Ok and his movie star wife Choi Eun Hee. They were the power couple of the South Korean movie industry. So, what better way to upgrade North Korean movie industry than having the best South Korean director make the movies and the top South Korean actress to act and to teach North Korean actors and actresses. In 1978, mysteriously the couple disappeared, only to reappear sometime later in photos showing them with Kim Jong Il in Pyonyang! Kim did not mistreat them, but he did keep them confined and ordered them to upgrade North Korea's movie industry. The couple did improve North Korea's movie making considerably, and Kim began to allow them more and more freedom. Finally, he allowed them to attend a film festival in Vienna, to represent North Korea, which they did. But they also managed to slip away and seek asylum at the U.S. Embassy in Vienna.
After over a decade in North Korean captivity, they managed to get away and lived out the rest of their lives in the U.S. While in the U.S., Shin managed to get back into filmmaking under a different name. He was first given credit for making a kids movie called 3 Ninjas in 1992 under the name of Kenny Kim. He proceeded to make 3 sequals in collaboration (co-directed) with John Turtletaub the movies Cool Runnings, While You Were Sleeping, and National Treasure. For those three movies, he used the name Simon Sheen.
Although we don't like to think about it, but there were some turncoats both during Korean War and Vietnam that ended up in North Korea. One misguided Marine in Vietnam crossed over to the other side and eventually ended up in North Korea. Another Army soldier voluntarily crossed the DMZ in Korea because, at the time (1970s) he believed in socialism! They both ended up making their living in North Korea teaching English. But as you may have guessed, those turncoats, particularly those of Korean War are pretty old! So, fresh blood is needed in North Korea. The most recent known American kidnap victim appears to be David Sneddon who was abducted by North Koreans while he was hiking in China close to Burmese (Myanmar) border.
David Sneddon was a Brigham Young student who went on a two year Mormon mission in South Korea. After completing his Mormon mission, he decided to travel around Asia and wanted to study Chinese. Having been in South Korea for two years, he already spoke Korean. Then in 2004 he disappeared in China. Recently, an organization that traces North Korean kidnap victims found him in Pyongyang. He is 36 years old and goes by the Korean name of Yoon Bong Soo. He is married to a Kim Eun Hae and they have two kids, a boy and a girl.... and yes, he makes his living teaching English! So far nothing has been done to try to get him back, mainly because North Korea denies of his existence in their country.
Japan has vigorously campaigned to get their kidnapped victims back and has negotiated with North Korea for years. They managed to get five of the kidnapped victim back in 2002, but eight are still in North Korea. It is really not known just how many North Korea kidnapped. There may be more Americans that we don't know about. After all, people disappear all the time! North Koreans are perfectly capable of coming to the U.S. and kidnapping some people, it is just easier for them to do that when the American victim is in Asia, closer to North Korea. There is no doubt that they kidnapped other nationalities, European and Asian, for their use. Language teaching is main objective, but they would just as easily kidnap people with other skills, as they have done with the South Korean movie director and his actress wife! Their most common targets are South Koreans, usually specialists in some field. But they are open to any nationality! They are equal opportunity kidnappers!
Kim Jong Il, the father of Kim Jong Un and the assassinated Kim Jong Nam, was as crazy as his youngest son. He showed a wild and unpredictable, violent streak early on. As I have mentioned in other blogs, he is the prime suspect in the death of his younger brother back in 1948, who presumably drowned in the family pool. From that point on, there were series of bizarre and unexplained violent incidents that took place that were either hushed up or simply ignored. Kim Jong Il first came to the attention of the outside world when he engineered some incredibly reckless attacks on U.S. and South Korean forces. As the head of the Special Operations of North Korea, one of the titles that he held, he launched several attacks along the DMZ. He then ordered a commando raid on South Korean Blue House, the presidential palace. This was followed by the ax murder of two U.S. officers at the Panmunjom neutral site. It seemed like there was no end to his wild and crazy activities. His father, Kim Il Song, was very much disturbed by this and ordered a stop to it, forbid him to carry out any more military actions. So, at this point he switched to more clandestine activity. North Korea developed a special section in their government that specialized in one activity, kidnapping.
Being a closed society, a true "hermit kingdom," the only way that they could acquire what they needed was by force or illegal means. North Korea at that time decided to go on a campaign to develop better Japanese linguists. They are firm believers in native speakers as being the best teachers, so a rash of kidnappings of Japanese citizens took place in 1977. A total of known 13 Japanese were kidnapped by North Koreans ranging anywhere from a 13 year old girl to men and women in their 20s and 30s. These people just disappeared, as if they were abducted by aliens from outer space! The abduction of Japanese from a remote town is one thing, but the abduction of South Korea's most famous movie director and his movie star wife is another thing.
Kim Jong Il was a great movie fan and was reputed to have had one of the largest private movie libraries found anywhere. He had somewhat of an eclectic taste in films, but he primarily enjoyed Hollywood Westerns and action films as well as Japanese Godzilla movies. He was very upset over the fact that North Korea could not produce decent movies, while South Korean movies were receiving international attention, especially those made by the director Shin Sang Ok and his movie star wife Choi Eun Hee. They were the power couple of the South Korean movie industry. So, what better way to upgrade North Korean movie industry than having the best South Korean director make the movies and the top South Korean actress to act and to teach North Korean actors and actresses. In 1978, mysteriously the couple disappeared, only to reappear sometime later in photos showing them with Kim Jong Il in Pyonyang! Kim did not mistreat them, but he did keep them confined and ordered them to upgrade North Korea's movie industry. The couple did improve North Korea's movie making considerably, and Kim began to allow them more and more freedom. Finally, he allowed them to attend a film festival in Vienna, to represent North Korea, which they did. But they also managed to slip away and seek asylum at the U.S. Embassy in Vienna.
After over a decade in North Korean captivity, they managed to get away and lived out the rest of their lives in the U.S. While in the U.S., Shin managed to get back into filmmaking under a different name. He was first given credit for making a kids movie called 3 Ninjas in 1992 under the name of Kenny Kim. He proceeded to make 3 sequals in collaboration (co-directed) with John Turtletaub the movies Cool Runnings, While You Were Sleeping, and National Treasure. For those three movies, he used the name Simon Sheen.
Although we don't like to think about it, but there were some turncoats both during Korean War and Vietnam that ended up in North Korea. One misguided Marine in Vietnam crossed over to the other side and eventually ended up in North Korea. Another Army soldier voluntarily crossed the DMZ in Korea because, at the time (1970s) he believed in socialism! They both ended up making their living in North Korea teaching English. But as you may have guessed, those turncoats, particularly those of Korean War are pretty old! So, fresh blood is needed in North Korea. The most recent known American kidnap victim appears to be David Sneddon who was abducted by North Koreans while he was hiking in China close to Burmese (Myanmar) border.
David Sneddon was a Brigham Young student who went on a two year Mormon mission in South Korea. After completing his Mormon mission, he decided to travel around Asia and wanted to study Chinese. Having been in South Korea for two years, he already spoke Korean. Then in 2004 he disappeared in China. Recently, an organization that traces North Korean kidnap victims found him in Pyongyang. He is 36 years old and goes by the Korean name of Yoon Bong Soo. He is married to a Kim Eun Hae and they have two kids, a boy and a girl.... and yes, he makes his living teaching English! So far nothing has been done to try to get him back, mainly because North Korea denies of his existence in their country.
Japan has vigorously campaigned to get their kidnapped victims back and has negotiated with North Korea for years. They managed to get five of the kidnapped victim back in 2002, but eight are still in North Korea. It is really not known just how many North Korea kidnapped. There may be more Americans that we don't know about. After all, people disappear all the time! North Koreans are perfectly capable of coming to the U.S. and kidnapping some people, it is just easier for them to do that when the American victim is in Asia, closer to North Korea. There is no doubt that they kidnapped other nationalities, European and Asian, for their use. Language teaching is main objective, but they would just as easily kidnap people with other skills, as they have done with the South Korean movie director and his actress wife! Their most common targets are South Koreans, usually specialists in some field. But they are open to any nationality! They are equal opportunity kidnappers!
Wednesday, February 22, 2017
More Confusion, More Theories on Kim Jong Nam Assassination
The latest bit of information coming out of Malaysia concerning the Kim Jong Nam assassination just throws more confusion, with no definite answers in sight! Seeing as how the cause of the Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 crash of three years ago is still shrouded in mystery, I have no confidence that the Malaysian authorities will ever truly solve the Kim Jong Nam assassination, at least not without some serious outside help!
As of yet, they have not been able to determine what toxin was used to poison Kim, and this, after two autopsies! The list of suspects have grown to something like eight people, including members of the North Korean Embassy in Kuala Lumpur as well as several employees of the North Korean official airlines, Air Koryo. However, nothing appears to be for certain. The theories on the method of poison application has varied wildly, from spraying with a bottle to injection with a needle, and what appeared on the video, covering the face with a cloth soaked in poison. The latest claim is that both women had their hands soaked in toxic substance and they smeared Kim Jong Nam's face with their hands. The video that is being shown indicates otherwise. Additionally, if their hands were indeed soaked in toxic substance, why didn't they succumb to the poison? The Malaysian authorities claim that the women immediately went to the rest room and washed their hands. But if the poison was as fast acting as it seemed to have been, killing Kim within minutes of application, those women should be dead as well, since they had the poison on their hands even before they supposedly rubbed it on Kim's face!
Nothing seems to make sense in Malaysian authorities explanation! The latest claim is that the women were true assassins and knew all along what they were doing. They had practice runs with other people (without using actual poison!) pretending that they were shooting a reality prank show. At least that is what the Malaysian investigators are now saying. So, if we are to believe what the authorities are saying, aside from several possible versions of poison application, the assassination was carried out by a large group of collaborators, including the two women who were the actual assassins.
South Korean intelligence was the first to officially announce that it was plain and simple North Korean assassination. North Korea has denied involvement, claiming it is all a plot by South Korea and Malaysia to smear the innocent reputation of North Korea. Interestingly, there has been absolutely no news coverage of this in North Korea! As far as North Korean citizens are concerned, Kim Jong Nam is alive and well, somewhere. Like with so many things, the population in North Korea is kept completely in the dark.
China has been mysteriously silent, at least in the official sector. The Chinese government has not made a statement concerning this incident that is of any significance. But as is typical of Chinese politics, much of what the government may actually think has been expressed by so-called "private sector" media, which in fact is the "unofficial," official mouthpiece for the Chinese government. The "unofficial"- official media has begun to speculate that perhaps this was done by North Korea to disrupt any chances by China to replace Kim Jong Un. Kim Jong Nam, during his lifetime, openly said that he was not interested in taking the reigns of the country. But, China would have used him as a puppet. Kim Jong Nam was pro-Chinese and frequently stated that North Korea should adopt China's policy for economic development and allow free enterprise system. This, of course, did not sit well with his half brother Kim Jong Un, who had a standing "contract" or order to assassinate his older half brother.
There are some in the politburo of Beijing government who think that North Korea would prefer to align with South Korea and the U.S. rather than become a Chinese "vassal" state as Korea used to be in the historical past. That is not far-fetched. North Korea came within a "whisker" of becoming a Chinese "colony" during the Korean War after they were routed by the UN forces in the fall of 1950. It was only because of Stalin, who would not allow Mao to take over North Korea, that the Chinese refrained from occupying North Korea making it into another Tibet or Inner Mongolia!
Today, North Korea is almost totally dependent on China for economic support. Many North Koreans in the leadership positions don't like it a bit. Since the 19th Century, Korea has preferred to align with Russia, but Russia is in no position to support North Korea at this time. Besides, Russia may be ruled by a dictator, but it is no longer a communist state. So, some North Koreans actually see alignment with South Korea and the U.S. as lesser of the two evils. Naturally, they see the prospect of eventually taking over the South, that is part of their motivation. But still, they would prefer to play "footsie" with South Korea and the U.S. rather than remain dependent on China for economic support.
Will we be able to do something? Will we be able to start negotiating with North Korea? Who knows, they are so unpredictable and so out of sync with the rest of the world that it is impossible to predict what will happen. Besides, when it comes to negotiations, we have always taken a beating. I can't figure out why it is so. The U.S. is no longer the same country that it was back in the day, during World War Two when there was a definite shortage of "Asia Experts." Today there are plenty of scholars, businessmen, and government official who are very knowledgeable about Asia. But for some reason, when it comes to negotiations, we seem to always take a beating. But then, that has been the case not only with Asia, but with Middle East, Europe, and whoever else we deal with!
As of yet, they have not been able to determine what toxin was used to poison Kim, and this, after two autopsies! The list of suspects have grown to something like eight people, including members of the North Korean Embassy in Kuala Lumpur as well as several employees of the North Korean official airlines, Air Koryo. However, nothing appears to be for certain. The theories on the method of poison application has varied wildly, from spraying with a bottle to injection with a needle, and what appeared on the video, covering the face with a cloth soaked in poison. The latest claim is that both women had their hands soaked in toxic substance and they smeared Kim Jong Nam's face with their hands. The video that is being shown indicates otherwise. Additionally, if their hands were indeed soaked in toxic substance, why didn't they succumb to the poison? The Malaysian authorities claim that the women immediately went to the rest room and washed their hands. But if the poison was as fast acting as it seemed to have been, killing Kim within minutes of application, those women should be dead as well, since they had the poison on their hands even before they supposedly rubbed it on Kim's face!
Nothing seems to make sense in Malaysian authorities explanation! The latest claim is that the women were true assassins and knew all along what they were doing. They had practice runs with other people (without using actual poison!) pretending that they were shooting a reality prank show. At least that is what the Malaysian investigators are now saying. So, if we are to believe what the authorities are saying, aside from several possible versions of poison application, the assassination was carried out by a large group of collaborators, including the two women who were the actual assassins.
South Korean intelligence was the first to officially announce that it was plain and simple North Korean assassination. North Korea has denied involvement, claiming it is all a plot by South Korea and Malaysia to smear the innocent reputation of North Korea. Interestingly, there has been absolutely no news coverage of this in North Korea! As far as North Korean citizens are concerned, Kim Jong Nam is alive and well, somewhere. Like with so many things, the population in North Korea is kept completely in the dark.
China has been mysteriously silent, at least in the official sector. The Chinese government has not made a statement concerning this incident that is of any significance. But as is typical of Chinese politics, much of what the government may actually think has been expressed by so-called "private sector" media, which in fact is the "unofficial," official mouthpiece for the Chinese government. The "unofficial"- official media has begun to speculate that perhaps this was done by North Korea to disrupt any chances by China to replace Kim Jong Un. Kim Jong Nam, during his lifetime, openly said that he was not interested in taking the reigns of the country. But, China would have used him as a puppet. Kim Jong Nam was pro-Chinese and frequently stated that North Korea should adopt China's policy for economic development and allow free enterprise system. This, of course, did not sit well with his half brother Kim Jong Un, who had a standing "contract" or order to assassinate his older half brother.
There are some in the politburo of Beijing government who think that North Korea would prefer to align with South Korea and the U.S. rather than become a Chinese "vassal" state as Korea used to be in the historical past. That is not far-fetched. North Korea came within a "whisker" of becoming a Chinese "colony" during the Korean War after they were routed by the UN forces in the fall of 1950. It was only because of Stalin, who would not allow Mao to take over North Korea, that the Chinese refrained from occupying North Korea making it into another Tibet or Inner Mongolia!
Today, North Korea is almost totally dependent on China for economic support. Many North Koreans in the leadership positions don't like it a bit. Since the 19th Century, Korea has preferred to align with Russia, but Russia is in no position to support North Korea at this time. Besides, Russia may be ruled by a dictator, but it is no longer a communist state. So, some North Koreans actually see alignment with South Korea and the U.S. as lesser of the two evils. Naturally, they see the prospect of eventually taking over the South, that is part of their motivation. But still, they would prefer to play "footsie" with South Korea and the U.S. rather than remain dependent on China for economic support.
Will we be able to do something? Will we be able to start negotiating with North Korea? Who knows, they are so unpredictable and so out of sync with the rest of the world that it is impossible to predict what will happen. Besides, when it comes to negotiations, we have always taken a beating. I can't figure out why it is so. The U.S. is no longer the same country that it was back in the day, during World War Two when there was a definite shortage of "Asia Experts." Today there are plenty of scholars, businessmen, and government official who are very knowledgeable about Asia. But for some reason, when it comes to negotiations, we seem to always take a beating. But then, that has been the case not only with Asia, but with Middle East, Europe, and whoever else we deal with!
Saturday, February 18, 2017
The Continuing Saga of Kim Jong Nam Assassination
Its been almost a week now, since Kim Jong Nam was assassinated in a Hollywood spy movie fashion, at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. As can be expected in such cases, initial reports coming out of Malaysia were somewhat sketchy. All that was for certain was that Kim Jong Nam, or at least someone purported to be him, was killed somewhat mysteriously at the Kuala Lumpur Airport. Within few short hours, a 28 year old woman suspect, allegedly a Vietnamese national (she was carrying a Vietnamese passport), was arrested for questioning. This woman, identified as Doan Thi Huong on her Vietnamese passport, was seen near the scene of the crime and her image was captured on the grainy CCTV image. Shortly a second woman, an Indonesian national, 25 year old Siti Aishah, was arrested. A few hours later, her Malaysian boy friend was detained for questioning, but released. Now, some five days later, a 46 year old North Korean Ri Jong Chol has been arrested. Ri is supposedly in Malaysia with a worker's permit but is suspected of being part of the North Korean hit squad that used the two women to carry out the killing.
The two women have been claiming that they were unaware that they were carrying out an assassination. According to their story, they were hired by a TV crew that supposedly was shooting a realty prank show in which one would approach an unsuspecting man and ask him to close his eyes, and the other would spray him with water. They were paid a small amount and had already performed several such pranks at various locations. However, in the final prank, that of killing Kim Jong Nam, apparently some sort of poison was used instead of harmless water. Now the women claim they did not know that they were using any kind of a harmful liquid. Yet, the alleged Vietnamese woman who handled the liquid wore gloves on her hands. Why would anyone wear gloves in a hot, humid, tropical climate? It is hard to believe that she or her partner did not realize that there was something strange.
The women were acquainted and had recently both worked briefly in China as escorts. They had also traveled to South Korea and other locations, working as hostesses in bars or as escorts. It is not clear if they had been recruited earlier or upon their arrival in Malaysia. The North Korean who was most recently arrested is no doubt part of the assassination crew that North Korea had dispatched for this killing. He may have been, along with the other reported three TV "crew" members, "sleepers" who had established themselves in Malaysia working in various jobs. Malaysia is one of the few remaining countries in the world that has friendly relations with North Korea with official diplomatic ties. Usually, in countries where North Korea is able to establish official ties with embassies, like in Malaysia or Egypt, those countries are infiltrated with their intelligence personnel as "sleepers" or "diplomats," and they use those countries as bases for their intelligence operations for the region. Malaysia is known to harbor many North Koreans.
It is somewhat confusing that there are so many versions given for the way Kim Jong Nam was assassinated. The initial report from Malaysian police was that a handkerchief, no doubt containing poison, was used to cover the victim's face briefly, long enough for the poison to go to work. That story was supposedly based on Kim Jong Nam's own description of how he was assaulted, before he died. There were, of course, other versions circulated that he was stabbed with a needle that injected the poison, and the version about having the liquid sprayed in his face. Now, it seems that the two women that were responsible claim that they used a spray, which along with the gloves worn by one, were discarded after the act. What is surprising is that neither the gloves that were worn nor the spray bottle containing poison had been recovered. Additionally, although the autopsy had been completed several days ago, the result of the autopsy has not yet been released.
I hate to say this, but the whole thing smacks of inefficiency and mishandling by the Malaysian authorities. It is not surprising, one only has to look back a couple of years to March of 2014 and the disappearance of Malaysian flight MH370, and remember the bungling and mishandling of the situation by not only the airlines officials, but by the police and Malaysian government handling the investigation. Perhaps because of the MH370 incident and the black eye that the Malaysian officials received for mishandling, this time the authorities appear to be almost excessively reticent in releasing any kind of new information. Meanwhile, the North Korean Ambassador to Malaysia has announced that North Korea rejects any autopsy findings, claiming that it is all a plot against North Korea by its enemies. In doing so, North Korea is literally admitting that they are responsible for the assassination!
There are all sorts of theories being floated about as to why Kim Jong Nam was assassinated. He was certainly no threat to Kim Jong Un, his younger half brother. Kim Jong Nam did express dissatisfaction with the North Korean regime and predicted that it would fall unless reforms were made and strict rule eased. But no one really took him seriously. The Chinese provided protection and there was talk that he would be their choice to replace Kim Jong Un. Other rumors were that there is a faction in North Korea that would like to break from China, and as far fetched as it may seem, actually draw closer to Japan, South Korea, and the U.S.
Historically, for thousands of years China or various Chinese Dynasties have dominated the Korean peninsula and its kingdoms. Both the Yi and the earlier Koryo Dynasties were tributary states of China! It was only the much earlier great Koguryo Empire that China feared, that was not subject to a Chinese Dynasty. So there is very long history of Chinese subjugation and mistrust. In comparison, hostilities against Japan is fairly recent, and against South Korea and the U.S., very recent. In a culture where centuries are counted at about the same rate as we count years here in America, the mistrust of China is much deeper than most outsiders realize. Many older North Koreans still remember how close they came to being dominated by China during Korean War!
So, despite the fact that North Korea is almost totally dependent on China for economic support, it still does not quite trust China. You can bet that although there may be Sino-philes among the North Korean top brass, majority are still mistrustful. So, given an opportunity, a break from China would not be something that many North Koreans would resist. From that standpoint, there is a chance, although a very slim one, of establishing some sort of an opening for negotiations. So, in a very twisted sort of way, perhaps some of the North Korean leadership saw an opportunity to severe some of the ties with China by assassinating Kim Jong Nam, who was known to be pro Chinese and was protected by the Chinese. The Beijing leadership, on the otherhand, has remained surprisingly quiet about the situation. Many journalists in China, both foreign and domestic, speculate that the Chinese leadership feels insulted by what North Korea pulled. Whether that is true or not we really won't know, unless the Chinese admit to it, which is unlikely. At any rate, this whole saga of the assassination appears to have much more to it than just a mere act of a psychopath fearing for his position as head of North Korea. Hopefully, we will learn more in time, whether it was indeed just an assassination typical of Kim Jong Un, or if there was another motive behind it.
The two women have been claiming that they were unaware that they were carrying out an assassination. According to their story, they were hired by a TV crew that supposedly was shooting a realty prank show in which one would approach an unsuspecting man and ask him to close his eyes, and the other would spray him with water. They were paid a small amount and had already performed several such pranks at various locations. However, in the final prank, that of killing Kim Jong Nam, apparently some sort of poison was used instead of harmless water. Now the women claim they did not know that they were using any kind of a harmful liquid. Yet, the alleged Vietnamese woman who handled the liquid wore gloves on her hands. Why would anyone wear gloves in a hot, humid, tropical climate? It is hard to believe that she or her partner did not realize that there was something strange.
The women were acquainted and had recently both worked briefly in China as escorts. They had also traveled to South Korea and other locations, working as hostesses in bars or as escorts. It is not clear if they had been recruited earlier or upon their arrival in Malaysia. The North Korean who was most recently arrested is no doubt part of the assassination crew that North Korea had dispatched for this killing. He may have been, along with the other reported three TV "crew" members, "sleepers" who had established themselves in Malaysia working in various jobs. Malaysia is one of the few remaining countries in the world that has friendly relations with North Korea with official diplomatic ties. Usually, in countries where North Korea is able to establish official ties with embassies, like in Malaysia or Egypt, those countries are infiltrated with their intelligence personnel as "sleepers" or "diplomats," and they use those countries as bases for their intelligence operations for the region. Malaysia is known to harbor many North Koreans.
It is somewhat confusing that there are so many versions given for the way Kim Jong Nam was assassinated. The initial report from Malaysian police was that a handkerchief, no doubt containing poison, was used to cover the victim's face briefly, long enough for the poison to go to work. That story was supposedly based on Kim Jong Nam's own description of how he was assaulted, before he died. There were, of course, other versions circulated that he was stabbed with a needle that injected the poison, and the version about having the liquid sprayed in his face. Now, it seems that the two women that were responsible claim that they used a spray, which along with the gloves worn by one, were discarded after the act. What is surprising is that neither the gloves that were worn nor the spray bottle containing poison had been recovered. Additionally, although the autopsy had been completed several days ago, the result of the autopsy has not yet been released.
I hate to say this, but the whole thing smacks of inefficiency and mishandling by the Malaysian authorities. It is not surprising, one only has to look back a couple of years to March of 2014 and the disappearance of Malaysian flight MH370, and remember the bungling and mishandling of the situation by not only the airlines officials, but by the police and Malaysian government handling the investigation. Perhaps because of the MH370 incident and the black eye that the Malaysian officials received for mishandling, this time the authorities appear to be almost excessively reticent in releasing any kind of new information. Meanwhile, the North Korean Ambassador to Malaysia has announced that North Korea rejects any autopsy findings, claiming that it is all a plot against North Korea by its enemies. In doing so, North Korea is literally admitting that they are responsible for the assassination!
There are all sorts of theories being floated about as to why Kim Jong Nam was assassinated. He was certainly no threat to Kim Jong Un, his younger half brother. Kim Jong Nam did express dissatisfaction with the North Korean regime and predicted that it would fall unless reforms were made and strict rule eased. But no one really took him seriously. The Chinese provided protection and there was talk that he would be their choice to replace Kim Jong Un. Other rumors were that there is a faction in North Korea that would like to break from China, and as far fetched as it may seem, actually draw closer to Japan, South Korea, and the U.S.
Historically, for thousands of years China or various Chinese Dynasties have dominated the Korean peninsula and its kingdoms. Both the Yi and the earlier Koryo Dynasties were tributary states of China! It was only the much earlier great Koguryo Empire that China feared, that was not subject to a Chinese Dynasty. So there is very long history of Chinese subjugation and mistrust. In comparison, hostilities against Japan is fairly recent, and against South Korea and the U.S., very recent. In a culture where centuries are counted at about the same rate as we count years here in America, the mistrust of China is much deeper than most outsiders realize. Many older North Koreans still remember how close they came to being dominated by China during Korean War!
So, despite the fact that North Korea is almost totally dependent on China for economic support, it still does not quite trust China. You can bet that although there may be Sino-philes among the North Korean top brass, majority are still mistrustful. So, given an opportunity, a break from China would not be something that many North Koreans would resist. From that standpoint, there is a chance, although a very slim one, of establishing some sort of an opening for negotiations. So, in a very twisted sort of way, perhaps some of the North Korean leadership saw an opportunity to severe some of the ties with China by assassinating Kim Jong Nam, who was known to be pro Chinese and was protected by the Chinese. The Beijing leadership, on the otherhand, has remained surprisingly quiet about the situation. Many journalists in China, both foreign and domestic, speculate that the Chinese leadership feels insulted by what North Korea pulled. Whether that is true or not we really won't know, unless the Chinese admit to it, which is unlikely. At any rate, this whole saga of the assassination appears to have much more to it than just a mere act of a psychopath fearing for his position as head of North Korea. Hopefully, we will learn more in time, whether it was indeed just an assassination typical of Kim Jong Un, or if there was another motive behind it.
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