-
The Perils of Intervention in Syria
May 7, 2013 | 37 comments
-
America on Welfare
April 25, 2013 | 46 comments
-
Thursday Is Tax Freedom Day
April 17, 2013 | 5 comments
-
Time for Real Federalism
April 8, 2013 | 23 comments
-
Stalin Died 60 Years Too Late
March 29, 2013 | 73 comments
At Large
Kidnappers Incorporated
Kidnapping of foreign nationals is yet another of many crimes yet to be repudiated by the North Korean regime.
(Page 3 of 3)
Unfortunately, Kim Jong-il’s limited confession did not end North Korean kidnappings. Operations such as snatching hapless Japanese off of the beach or street may have ceased but, noted Yamamoto, “Recent abductions have been carried out inside China by North Korean military personnel — border guards — and have focused on those persons helping North Koreans to defect.” Moreover, “North Korean foreign intelligence operations since 2000 include a more militarily aggressive strategy involving clandestine military operations in neighboring countries.”
There are other criminal regimes in the world. But the DPRK stands in a category of its own. Once reform does come to the North — hopefully sooner rather than later — Pyongyang must take responsibility for the mass kidnappings. The regime must end abductions as policy, make an accounting of the past, and allow families to be reunited.
That might seem to be a long-shot, but Yamamoto argued that such a shift would be a good test of “the bona fides” of any purported reformers: “It would be difficult to expect a new group of leaders to make decisions that would be politically charged and immediately destabilizing, such as a decision to halt the nuclear program, open nuclear facilities for unannounced inspections, or forswear Kim Il-sungism. New leaders could be expected, however, to account for the captive citizens of foreign nations. There should be little domestic opposition to such a move, yet it could be a very reassuring signal for concerned nationals around the world.”
So far “Cute Leader” Kim Jong-un gives no evidence of being such a reformer. The regime’s planned rocket launch demonstrates continuity in the family dictatorship. Since his wife likes designer handbags, perhaps the Kims will offer designer hand-cuffs in North Korea’s prisons. Still, some day the North’s desperate need for outside cash and expertise may lead to real change. If so, the rest of the world should expect the North Korean regime to firmly repudiate kidnapping as policy.
About the Author
Doug Bandow is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute. A former Special Assistant to President Ronald Reagan, he is the author and editor of several books, including The Politics of Plunder: Misgovernment in Washington (Transaction).
Letter to the Editor View all comments (8) | Leave a comment
More Articles by Doug Bandow
More Articles From At Large
http://spectator.org/archives/2012/12/03/kidnapping-incorporated
Follow us:
ADVERTISEMENT
SPONSORED LINKS
FLASHBACK TO: 1995
-
Pope Culture
A man of faith in a godless age is hitting Americans where it hurts.
-
Why the GOP Does Not, Like, Totally Suck
Mr. and Mrs. American Spectator Reader, let P.J. O’Rourke talk sense to your kids.
-
Dames at Sea
-
In the Absence of Guns
In Britain, defending your property can get you life.
-
The Metaphysical Martini
-
Counting the Costs of Clintonism
The debacle of this president’s administration is both a cause and a symptom of the decline of American values. Unless Congress impeaches him, that decline will go on unchecked. An eminent jurist surveys the damage and assesses the chances for the recovery of our culture.
-
Chuck McHagel
It won’t take long for conservatives to scratch this presidential wannabe off their 2008 scorecard.
-
The Legacy of Old John and Mother Fresh-Roasted
-
It’s the Best Time of the Year
The American Christmas, like the songs that celebrate it, makes room for everybody under the rainbow. Is that why so many people seem to be hostile to it?
-
The Bush Crack-Up
Was the President done in by the economy, or by the politics of the economy?
Clip of the Day
ADVERTISEMENT
Albert Constantine Jr.| 12.3.12 @ 7:11AM
"Yasushi Chimura and his fiancée, Fukie Hamamoto, both 23, were abducted from rocky shores of Wakasa Bay in Obama, Japan, on the evening of July 7, 1978"
This is one reason 64 million people voted four weeks ago for our own Dear Leader, as his list of accomplishments was so impressive that even as he sat in the back of a van in Hawaii smoking weed with The Choom Gang, prescient Japanese were naming towns after him.
MelvinNC| 12.3.12 @ 8:05AM
Whew, for a second there I thought the story was about Homeland Security and Big Janet.
Doctor Right| 12.3.12 @ 2:42PM
Q: What's the difference between Janet Napolitano and Kim Jong Un?
A: Kim Jong Un is a chubby pussy with too much power who likes the Bulls...
Janet Napolitano is a chubby bull with too much power who likes...well, you know.
Occam's Tool| 12.3.12 @ 6:05PM
Yup. Painful but true, Dr. R.
Petronius| 12.3.12 @ 11:57AM
Who do you think will soon be thrown into those FEMA camps at Our military posts Mel? Look in a mirror.
TLP| 12.3.12 @ 12:47PM
I don't understand the Story, unless your intention is to Compare their Dear Leader to Ours.
Their's doesn't have a Constitution, and neither does ours.
Their people eat from the Garbage, and so do ours. (If they happen to live in Staten Island, Detriot, or parts of California.)
Their's is All Knowing. So is Ours.
Their Leader keeps his people Captive, as does Ours. Their's does it with his Secret Police. Ours does it with Welfare, Unemployment Checks, Food Kitchens, and Soup Lines.
Their's keeps his people in the Dark, at night, much like Ours is attempting to do the same, by Eliminating the Power Generating Fascilities, powered by Coal.
Their's can do Anything, better than anyone else. Ours knows more about Intelligence Matters than anyone else, and has no need for Daily Intelligence Briefings, which frees him up to Lower the Sea Level.
Their's has his people living in one of the Poorest Countries on the Planet. Ours is working toward that goal.
The only Difference that I can see, is that Their Dear Leader LOVES his Military, while Ours HATES his.
Doctor Right| 12.3.12 @ 2:39PM
Don't hold your breath.
North Koreans have been so thoroughly brainwashed that if the gates were suddenly opened, most of them would stay right where they are.
This isn't East Germany, or even Russia, where recent memories and a shared western culture enabled the eventual downfall of the iron curtain. This isn't even Communism; it's an Orwellian cult-of-personality with quasi-religious overtones. Most North Koreans don't even know that there is much of an "outside world" beyond their borders, so the idea of "freedom" as we know it in the West is, for them, non-existent.
That's double-plus ungood for us.
Occam's Tool| 12.3.12 @ 6:05PM
Look up North Korean Insult Machine for amusement, and to follow the NK press.