Posted on 03/25/2006 2:24:03 AM PST by TigerLikesRooster
2006/03/25 04:43 KST
U.S. may seek criminal charges against Kim Jong-il: CRS report
By Lee Dong-min
WASHINGTON, March 24 (Yonhap) -- The United States may seek criminal charges against North Korea's top leader Kim Jong-il, which may explain why U.S. officials have become more sensitive about supporting allegations against Pyongyang with legal evidence, senior congressional researchers said in a report Friday.
The report also questions the credibility of information South Korea provides to the U.S. about North Korea's illicit financial activities, saying Seoul may be influenced by its conciliatory policy toward Pyongyang.
A couple of more news items on N. Korea:
http://english.yna.co.kr/Engnews/20060323/430100000020060323233116E7.html
(LEAD) N.K. lodges protest over Russian assault of its diplomat MOSCOW, March 23 (Yonhap) -- The North Korean Embassy in Moscow sent a letter to the Russian foreign ministry Thursday to protest the assault of a North Korean consul by Russian youth, Russia's Ria-Novosti news agency reported.
It did not give details of the letter, however.
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200603/200603240023.html
Experts say there are signs that Pyongyang is determined to sit out U.S. President George W. Bush’s tenure by maintaining the status quo rather than hurry to improve its relations with Washington. But some warn the strategy could prove fatal. The policy could be one reason, experts say, why North Korea is again boycotting six-party talks on its nuclear program citing U.S. financial sanctions. Prof. Kim Geun-sik of Kyungnam University said it appears the North has decided to dig in and hibernate, preparing for a long winter in its relations with Washington. “They seem convinced that the U.S. is trying to overthrow the regime by pressuring them with issues including financial sanctions, which have nothing to do with their nuclear program,” Kim said.
The speculation is given some substance by the fact that Pyongyang has just announced a new three-year plan for its key engineering and agricultural industries, 10 years after designating the three years after 1994 as a “bumper period for building the socialist economy.” President Bush has nearly three years left in office.
Prof. Ko Yu-hwan of Dongguk University said the North was earlier actively trying to improve relations with the U.S., which it regarded as central. “But now it thinks the bilateral relationship is unlikely to improve while Bush is in office and doesn’t regard the matter as all that important any more,” Ko said. But he added the North is likely to continue negotiating with the U.S.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, in his meeting with then-unification minister Chung Dong-young on June 17 last year reportedly said it was “pointless” trying to negotiate on the nuclear question during Bush's tenure, adding he decided to sit out the next three years. Experts say even though the North relented and returned to the six-way talks, agreeing in September to dismantle its nuclear program, it changed its mind again under renewed U.S. pressure over Pyongyang’s alleged counterfeiting of U.S. dollars. That means a long standoff lies ahead.
Instead, the North is strengthening its relationship with China and South Korea. Kim visited China’s special economic zones this January and at long last agreed to meetings of top brass in the two Korean militaries after more than a year of stalling. “The North believes it can survive to a certain degree by cozying up to China and getting support from the South through inter-Korean exchanges,” Ko said.
But a researcher with the Korea Institute for National Unification said North Korea is too fragile to hold out, despite the big talk. “Internal political issues delayed decision-making in the North,” he says. “But the country is at a critical juncture and must make important decisions now because the U.S. financial sanctions have dealt it a severe blow.”
Ping!
he won't be so ronery if they actually follow through with it
Great. Let's indict him, extradite him, and let a Clinton judge and the MSM turn it into a trial of the Bush Administration. /sarc
Bomb the printing presses!
If Kim Jong Il is toppled, I don't want him tried in the US because he won't get the punishment he deserves for his crimes.
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