RSS Feed

Calendar

March 2024
M T W T F S S
« Feb    
 123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031

Search

Tag Cloud

Archives

Time (August 13)

2010/ 08/ 16 by jd in Global News

Was the sinking of the Cheonan staged by South Korea? Opposition politicians have speculated that the Cheonan simply ran ashore or hit an old mine. Then the government planted evidence to make the sinking look like a North Korean torpedo attack. This would have boosted the ruling party’s popularity in an upcoming election. Time, however, has seen the still secret government report and finds it convincing. The report addresses the likelihood of other scenarios (nil) and makes a conclusive case that nothing other than a torpedo could have been the cause. To silence the conspiracy claims, the government of President Lee Myung Bak now promises to release the full report to the public.

 

Time—Asian Edition (June 7)

2010/ 06/ 08 by jd in Global News

Despite the tragic sinking of the Cheonan, “the resumption of hostilities is too terrible to contemplate.” The South can only posture and resort to diplomacy and sanctions. “The simple fact is that while the North’s ground forces are no match for those of South Korea or the U.S., Pyongyang has an armory of long-range missiles and artillery that could easily target the South’s largest population centers to cataclysmic effect.”

 

Wall Street Journal (June 3)

2010/ 06/ 06 by jd in Global News

An opinion piece declares the sinking of the South Korean naval warship Cheonan qualifies as a war crime and should be prosecuted. “Kim may have exposed himself for the first time to international justice” and deserves to be tried by the International Criminal Court. In 1953, North Korea signed an armistice promising to cease hostilities with South Korea. Since the North did not first warn the South that it would break the peace agreement, the deadly torpedo strike against the Cheonan qualifies as treacherous act meeting the war crime definition.

 

The Times (May 21)

2010/ 05/ 21 by jd in Global News

North Korea is “evil.” The Times condemns the “gangster regime” for sinking the South Korean navy ship, the Cheonan, and the deaths of 46 sailors. “The unprovoked firing of a torpedo in South Korean waters was an act of aggression that fits a pattern of state terrorism and fanatical xenophobia.” The Times calls for “strong, wide and unified” international condemnation. Moreover, there should be no negotiating with North Korea as “the violence and duplicity of the North Korean regime are notorious,” making negotiation “worse than useless.”

North Korea is “evil.” The Times condemns the “gangster regime” for sinking the South Korean navy ship, the Cheonan, and the deaths of 46 sailors. “The unprovoked firing of a torpedo in South Korean waters was an act of aggression that fits a pattern of state terrorism and fanatical xenophobia.” The Times calls for “strong, wide and unified” international condemnation. Moreover, there should be no negotiating with North Korea as “the violence and duplicity of the North Korean regime are notorious,” making negotiation “worse than useless.”

 

Forbes (May 17) Forbes (May 17)

2010/ 05/ 18 by jd in Global News

The sinking of South Korea’s Cheonan naval vessel killing 46 sailors was “the entirely predictable outcome of an abrupt shift in North-South relations.” Since election, South Korean President Lee has reversed agreements reached by his predecessor Roh Moo-hyun and North Korean leader Kim Jong II. A cycle of claims and counterclaims ensued, with each country blaming the other for violating its maritime zone. On November 10, Kim Jong-II visited a naval base and called for heroes “for do-or-die squads at sea.” The editorial suggests that “the only way to fix things is to try negotiating.” Threats and punishments are unlikely to work. North Korea will simply take bigger risks.

The sinking of South Korea’s Cheonan naval vessel killing 46 sailors was “the entirely predictable outcome of an abrupt shift in North-South relations.” Since election, South Korean President Lee has reversed agreements reached by his predecessor Roh Moo-hyun and North Korean leader Kim Jong II. A cycle of claims and counterclaims ensued, with each country blaming the other for violating its maritime zone. On November 10, Kim Jong-II visited a naval base and called for heroes “for do-or-die squads at sea.” The editorial suggests that “the only way to fix things is to try negotiating.” Threats and punishments are unlikely to work. North Korea will simply take bigger risks.

 

Financial Times (April 23)

2010/ 04/ 23 by jd in Global News

North Korea is “a dangerously unpredictable state.” Signs of this arose again with a plot to assassinate a North Korean defector and suspicions over North Korea’s involvement in the sinking of South Korea’s Cheonan warship. The problem: “the world is clueless about how to deal with a regime that responds to neither sticks nor carrots.” The Financial Times warns, however, that we can’t ignore North Korea: otherwise we will wake up one day “to find that a desperate, volatile state can fit a ballistic missile with a nuclear warhead.”

North Korea is “a dangerously unpredictable state.” Signs of this arose again with a plot to assassinate a North Korean defector and suspicions over North Korea’s involvement in the sinking of South Korea’s Cheonan warship. The problem: “the world is clueless about how to deal with a regime that responds to neither sticks nor carrots.” The Financial Times warns, however, that we can’t ignore North Korea: otherwise we will wake up one day “to find that a desperate, volatile state can fit a ballistic missile with a nuclear warhead.”

 

[archive]