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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 22-Apr-07
South Korea gives in to North Korea demands, and supplies rice unconditionally

Web Log - April, 2007

South Korea gives in to North Korea demands, and supplies rice unconditionally

So far, North Korea seems to be reneging on its promises to dismantle its nuclear program.

So Seoul's announcement on Sunday to provide 400,000 tons of rice to the North in late May represents a complete diplomatic victory by the North Koreans.

The South Korean politicians were "euphoric" in February, when the six-party talks reached an accord that would give aid to North Korea and North Korea would dismantle its nuclear program. South Korean president Roh Moo-hyun, said he's expecting a "very easy implementation" of this accord.

Well, that hasn't happened. As each day goes by, it becomes increasingly apparent that the North Koreans snookered everyone (again), and they have no intention whatsoever of dismantling their nuclear program. This will be no surprise to regular readers of this web log, since I've said as much many times, but it apparently will be a surprise to the South Koreans.

Now, to be fair, there's been a hitch. For reasons that I never really figured out, $25 million in frozen North Korean funds remained stuck in a Macau bank because of some mixup between the State Dept. and the Dept. of Commerce. But that mixup has been fixed, the money was released to North Korea two weeks ago, and the North Koreans have no more excuses.

The South Koreans are, understandably, extremely anxious about the North Korean situation, and are afraid of an invasion either by North Korean missiles or by North Korea's one-million man army. Thus, the North Koreans effectively have the ability to extort whatever they want from their southern neighbors.

That's what happened on Thursday, when the South called for the North to fulfill the terms of their denuclearization agreement. The North Korean delegation stormed out of the conference room to protest, and the South caved in and agreed to the North's demands.

As I wrote in my article about the South Korean euphoria over the agreement, the South's leaders are all from the 386 Generation -- corresponding to our Generation X -- and they're too young to know how to handle the nuances of the negotiations with the North. In the hand's of the North's president Kim Jong-il, the South's leaders are simply lambs being led to slaughter. (22-Apr-07) Permanent Link
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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 22-Apr-07 South Korea gives in to North Korea demands, and supplies rice unconditionally

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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 22-Apr-07
South Korea gives in to North Korea demands, and supplies rice unconditionally