Adrian Hong, Executive Director of Liberty in North Korea (LiNK), has a great op-ed and criticism of former South Korean President, Kim Dae-Jung:
Recently, former President Kim Dae-Jung's ``Peace Center'' sponsored a special event in Seoul calling for democratization and freedom in Burma.
Kim made laudable demands on the Myanmarese (Burmese) junta: access by the U.N. and NGO representatives, credible aid distribution, freedom of political dissent and the basic protection of human rights and liberties.
And while Kim's voice for such ideals in Myanmar, formerly Burma, is certainly noteworthy, it reeks of grehttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifat hypocrisy that a man who was in a position of tremendous influence over the future of North Korea and did nothing now purports to stand for freedom and justice elsewhere in the world.
From 1998 to 2003, Kim could have called for transparency of aid to North Korea. He could have called for reforms by North Korean officials in return for South Korean motions and gifts ― gifts that ranged from political concessions to outright cash.
He could have pressed to allow humanitarian organizations access to any of the nearly 50 counties North Korea has marked off-limits. Instead, under his leadership, South Korea transferred hundreds of millions of dollars in cash to the North Korean government for use as they saw fit, on top of regular shipments of aid... (full article)
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