Kim Hyok Chol was executed in March at Mirim Airport in Pyongyang, along with four foreign ministry officials after they were charged with spying for the United States, the Chosun Ilbo reported, citing an unidentified source with knowledge of the situation.
“He was accused of spying for the United States for poorly reporting on the negotiations without properly grasping U.S. intentions,” the source was quoted as saying.That's an odd note to strike. I get that North Korea has such a horrible government that its emperor can have some poor flack shot because he muffs it at the bargaining table, pour encourager les autres. Maybe the next guy will read the tea leaves better. But calling something like that "spying for the U.S." is kind of a stretch, except in the sense that anything that annoys a dictator can be labeled "spying" for his enemies It's not like he has to worry about people parsing his words and wondering if he's crazy.
At least the dictator in this case isn't trying to pass off the failure of the negotiations as no big deal. That's a lot of public chagrin over "not properly grasping U.S. intentions": bullets in the brain-pan at the airport.
I like that "unidentified source with knowledge of the situation."
Five people executed because they failed to deliver, and made Kim look bad. But that's not the end of it: their families will be punished, too. The DPRK believes in generational punishment, like the vengeful God portrayed in the Old Testament.
ReplyDeleteStill, how would you feel if you walked out of negotiations, only to find that your adversaries afterwards took their head negotiator and a handful of his underlings out back and shot them?
ReplyDeleteNot very bad. Maybe eventually the secondary leadership, those just behind Baby Kim, will find the stones to get rid of him. If not, cowards will continue to die many times in each life. They chose this life as much as this life chose them.
Eric Hines
My concern would be that it was done in part to test us or to weaken our negotiators by appealing to their emotions.
ReplyDeletePeter Zeihan has an interesting take on the NorK situation. Essentially the Powers Behind the Throne offed Grandpa Kim back when because he was going to negotiate some form of reunification/nuke disarmament post-Gulf War after seeing what happened to Saddam and Khaddafi. That elevated Papa Kim early, and he was offed by the PBtT because he went bug nuts crazy. Baby Kim is continuing the crazy train routine more to keep the PBtT off balance while taking out anybody who is a plausible replacement than as a way to influence outside powers.
ReplyDeleteIt's just 5 peeps. It's not like North Korea exterminated a complex like US did in Waco 1 and Waco 2.
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