N.Korea Blames South for Train Test Cancellation

North Korea's state-run media on Monday put the blame for the Stalinist country’s unilateral cancellation of a cross-border train test run squarely on South Korea. The Workers’ Party daily or Rodong Shinmun in an editorial warned unless the maritime border between the two Koreas “is clearly delineated” -- i.e. redrawn as the North Korean military demands -- “a third or fourth clash in the West Sea could happen any time."

Alluding to the collapse of talks between top brass from the two Koreas earlier this month over their failure to agree safe passage for the cross-border trains, it said, “Who can be assured that there would be no sporadic conflicts during a test run?"

Meanwhile, Seoul has agreed to Pyongyang’s request to reschedule the 12th round of South-North economic cooperation talks in Jeju for June 3-6. South Korea had proposed June 1-4.

The government will reportedly complain about last week’s cancellation of the test run - the third in as many years -- at the meeting, but the Rodong Shinmun editorial suggests another extended war of words over the issue lies ahead. The government says it will shelve all raw materials aid projects for light industry like soap and shoes until the test runs happen.

Officially, it was N. Korean military which stopped the test run. Because of that, many idiots, some of which are so-called N. Korean "experts," believe that hardliners in N. Korean military opposed it and Kim Jong-il had to side with them in order to "appease" them. This is a ludicrous assessment. Kim Jong-il is the chairman of National Military Commission. He handpicked his top brass and, further, put multiple surveillance on them, just in case. There is no way they can form independent power bloc and challenge him like this. They can voice their opinion, but that is about it. They are in no position to force it upon Kim Jong-il.

Ministries in charge of economy and inter-Korean relation always tend to support more contact with S. Korea, while military and security agencies, by their nature, are always suspicious of it. Kim Jong-il just sit around and let these guys bicker over it for a while. At the last moment, he sides with one of the groups. He is not pressured into anything. He just pick the group whose opinion he likes. I remember that Hitler also did it. There is even name for Hitler's underlings fighting over a given issue. It is loosely translated into something like "movement to read Fuehrer's intention." If somebody knows exact word in German, please let me know.

Oh risten to the jingre
The lumble and the loar
As she grides along the woodrands
Through the hirrs and by the sholes
Hear the mighty rush of engines
Hear the ronesome hobos' carr
We're tlaverring through the jungres
On the Wabash Cannonbarr

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