U.S. Squeezes North Korea's Money Flow(envisions more actions to anger North Korea)

NYT ^ | 03/10/06 | JOEL BRINKLEY

[TigerLikesRooster]

March 10, 2006

U.S. Squeezes North Korea's Money Flow

By JOEL BRINKLEY

WASHINGTON, March 9 — Six months after the Bush administration blacklisted a bank in Macao accused of laundering money for the North Korean government, senior administration officials say the action has proved to be far more effective than anyone had dreamed.

Banks around the world are limiting their dealings with North Korea, and the nation's leadership is complaining with a vigor unusual even for that government.

"It really struck a nerve," a senior administration official said with a smile. It also has given new energy to those in the administration who have argued for years that the six-nation nuclear disarmament talks were a waste of time and that direct action was the only tactic that might force North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons program.

Since the Treasury Department ordered American banks to cut off relations with the Macao bank, Banco Delta Asia, on Sept. 15, the administration has repeatedly insisted that the law enforcement action was unrelated to the nuclear negotiations. Only now are officials saying that further law enforcement actions are planned, and their use has coalesced into a strategy.

In interviews, several present and former administration officials said the Bush administration had concluded that the six-nation talks intended to persuade North Korea to give up its nuclear arms were unlikely to succeed unless they were accompanied by these direct, punitive actions.

[TigerLikesRooster]

There weill be more pain for Kim Jong-il. For Kim Dae-jung, and Roh Moo-hyun, as well.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Ping!

[mkjessup]

From the article

This policy is not uniformly popular in the State Department, where officials are managing the six-nations talks that include the United States, Russia, South Korea, China and Japan. One senior official complained that the policy would turn the talks into nothing more than "a surrender mechanism."

Memo to State Department:

Could someone please explain why a North Korean surrender is something you would NOT like to see?

(sigh) Once again, I am reminded of the story of a U.S. Naval Officer walking down the sidewalk near the State Department building one day in Washington, when a little old lady walks up and says "Excuse me Sir? I'm just visiting, and I seem to have lost my way, could you tell me which side the State Department is on?"

And the Naval Officer replies without skipping a beat, "Well Mam, they're SUPPOSED to be on OUR side!"

[TXBSAFH]

Anything that hurts sawed off, four eyed, psychotic chia pet they use for a glorious leader is fine by me.

[mkjessup]

LMAO! What a perfect description of that genocidal freakazoid.

[starbase]

Anything that hurts sawed off, four eyed, psychotic chia pet they use for a glorious leader is fine by me.

Did you know he once hit 18 holes-in-one on an 18 hole course? /wacky North Korean propaganda claims

[JustDoItAlways]

The biggest problem with this bank was that it was laundering North Korea's counterfeit money (at least 20% of the US$100 bills in circulation are North Korean counterfeits) and laundering North Korea's drug money.

You'd almost think the NYTimes is in favor of these activites now.

[bkepley]

If they really want to succeed they'll keep their mouths shut rather than brag to the NYT. North Korea like all communist dictatorships would rather self-destruct than admit defeat to capitalists.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Re #8

You need to publicize something to keep Demo's mouth shut. Otherwise, they would keep yapping, "Nothing is done. N. Korea policy is a failure ...."

[Joe Boucher]

Better chance of pigs flying out his backsides.

[starbase]

Here's a funny article about all the ridiculously impossible things North Korea claims Kim can do.

Like he knows all the phone numbers and computer access codes for everyone in the country. I got the golf claim wrong, he supposedly only hit 11 holes in one.

And he can go to the cemetery and remember everyone there, what they did in life and what they accomplished and liked and disliked.

Pretty funny stuff. At least Soviet propaganda was remotely reasonable, but this N. Korean stuff is truly wacky.

[Joe Boucher]

Not too hard to remember all three private phone numbers in N. Korea.
Man I was in Pyongyong in 1973 for about an hour. Worked at the command center in Seoul Korea. U.N. observers were flown by helicopters from the south every month and exchanged for those already done with their month. Place was devoid of private vehicles as well as electrical anything. Poor isn't the word.
Clean as can be but noooooo fun.

[ThirstyMan]

"The memory of a person gets better when a person uses their brain often," he was quoted as saying.

Sounds like we should be using our brain often then.

[DancesWithBolsheviks]

hit 11 holes in one
Big deal, I could do that....If I had an army of people who had to rapidly dig a hole beneath where my ball landed or face execution.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

(at least 20% of the US$100 bills in circulation are North Korean counterfeits)

The 1996 series. It is so bad that you can not exchange these bills overseas.

[CowboyJay]

Good news. Good post.

[EGPWS]

"It really struck a nerve,"

Kim Jong-il has met his worst enemy for his whole being is "nerve"!

[BeHoldAPaleHorse]

There weill be more pain for Kim Jong-il

"I'm so ronery...and so bloke..."

[hinckley buzzard]

This policy is not uniformly popular in the State Department, where officials are managing the six-nations talks

Whadduhsupprise. Why take action when we can advance our careers by holding interminable and unproductive "negotiations" ad nauseam?

This is a very good sign in that it suggests a renewed focus away from the fruitless and useless "negotiations" on the nuclear issue to the larger issue of fighting the WoT by undermining the axis of evil altogether.

Weakening the regime will yield more results than trudging slowly toward some meaningless clintonoid "arms agreement."

[Flash Bazbeaux]

Well Mam, they're SUPPOSED to be on OUR side!"

Since when? Did we sign some kind of treaty?