China Leans on North Korea?

I am not making any bets, or holding my breath if this signifies positive news.

Now that's said.

To me it is apparent that when China sighs,  an ill wind engulfs the city of Pyongyang, capital of an ill governed impoverish country.

China calls on N Korea to admit inspectors

Beijing, Pyongyang’s only ally, has refused to criticise it publicly despite being pressed since a North Korean attack on the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong in November. “We support North Korea to make peaceful use of nu-clear energy, but it should also respect inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency under the framework of the six-party talks,” said Jiang Yu, a foreign ministry spokeswoman.

 FT.COM  (FINICIAL TIMES UK)

North Korean Assassin Assimilates

This is an interesting story. A classic if any from the Cold War.

Failed North Korean Assassin Assimilates in the South

HIS fatal mistake, the North Korean commando soon came to realize, was not killing the South Korean villagers when he had the chance. The orders were clear, if he and his fellow assassins came upon any civilians: kill them immediately, bury them and get on with the mission to slip into Seoul and kill the president.


But this was late January, the high-mountain ground was frozen, and Kim Shin-jo, a 27-year-old special forces lieutenant, did not want to go to the effort of digging graves. Instead he warned the villagers, encountered one night during the journey from the North, not to go to the authorities, after which he and his men continued on toward the Blue House, the presidential residence.

What a lazy malingerer. Don't get me wrong, but he is not the kind of guy I would want to count on.

But the villagers ignored the warning and went straight to the police, who then alerted the military. “That was when it all began to unravel,” Mr. Kim said.

The rest of the story ends well, for Mr. Kim and one other assassin, but not after,

A ferocious gun battle broke out, and dozens of South Korean troops and civilians were killed. A school bus reportedly was caught in the cross-fire, and three American soldiers also were killed.

As the North Korean raiding party scattered and retreated northward, hunted for more than a week, all but two of the attackers committed suicide or were killed. One survivor was a commando who got back safely to the North and later became a general. The other was Mr. Kim.

You can read the rest of the story

HERE

I am to far away in time and space to forgive or forget, so I leave that to those he attempted to destroy.

At the same time, I find it regrettable that the New York Times in its front pages takes an editorial position that this murderous assassin is somehow a decent guy after all.

All things considered, has anything really changed in the last 50 years?

'North Korean torpedo' sank South's navy ship


North Korea Threatens More Attacks .

North Korea, Go Figure

This is insane.

North Korea bombs South Korea's Yeonpyeong island; 2 dead, 13 wounded in attack: report

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Tensions between North and South Korea have boiled over, with shots being fired by both sides leaving at least two marines dead and wounding more than 13 others.


The conflict came to a head on Tuesday when the North fired artillery at an island belonging to the South in the Yellow Sea, according to military officials.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/2010/11/23/2010-11-23_north_korea_bombs_south_korea_report.htm%20l

Of course my nations answer to this is resolute.

U.S. Struggles With Mystery: Pyongyang's Game

WASHINGTON—North Korea's attack on South Korea is further complicating U.S. efforts to contain Pyongyang, as the White House increasingly struggles to comprehend what is driving leader Kim Jong Il's regime.


U.S. Defense and State Department officials increasingly believe Mr. Kim's recent military adventures are motivated by a desire to guarantee the transfer of power to his third son, Kim Jong Eun. The rationale they cite is that conflict with the South will galvanize nationalist support around the 26-year-old, particularly among potential competitors in the military and Communist Party.

Still, recent actions taken by the North in recent days are undercutting other long-held U.S. assumptions about Mr. Kim's strategies.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704369304575632602516046166.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTTopSto ries

For what its worth.