The United States will not return North Korea to its list of state sponsors of terrorism over their role in sinking a South Korean ship:

“In our view, it was a provocative action but one taken by the military or the state against the military of another state,” U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Philip Crowley said Monday in his explanation of why the sinking didn’t constitute an act of international terrorism.

When asked if the sinking was an “act of war,” Crowley called it a “violation of the existing armistice between North and South,” adding the United States continuously evaluates information that may affect the status of nations on the terror list.

Legally, this is true: sinking a military ship does not constitute terrorism, which is defined by the deliberate targeting of civilians. For some bizarre reason, North Korea was removed from the state sponsors of terrorism list by George W. Bush in what was obviously a mistake.

The attack clearly was an act of war, however, but I can understand why Crowley, for diplomatic reasons, might not want to explicitly state this.

On this day in 1950, Communist North Korea invaded South Korea, setting off the Korean War, which would eventually involve all the great powers of the day: the United States, Great Britain, China, and the Soviet Union, making it a major Cold War battleground. Before a ceasefire was reached in 1953, nearly 4 million Korean civilians on both sides were killed or wounded (just over 5% of the population of the Korean peninsula), in addition to almost 137,000 South Korean soldiers and almost 37,000 U.S. soldiers killed. Remembered in the U.S. as the “Forgotten War,” the Korean War was one of the most brutal wars in the world history.

Since the 1953 armistice was signed, South Korea has gone from an impoverished backwater to one of the world’s leading economic powers, with a standard of living comparable to the U.S. North Korea, on the other hand, remains impoverished, oppressed, hostile, and isolated, though nuclear-armed.

It’s worth remembering that the Korean War officially never ended; an armistice was signed, but not a formal declaration ending the war. The ironically-named Demilitarized Zone separating the two countries remains the most heavily fortified in the world. Tensions continue to flare between the countries, most recently over the sinking of a South Korean ship by a North Korean submarine. Idealists dream of someday reunifying the countries, but unfortunately the prospects aren’t good, at least not in our lifetimes.

Article: Divided Koreas commemorate start of Korean War - Yahoo News

On April 18, 2009, I, along with a group of about 40 expats mostly from Mokpo, visited Wando and Hanam, about 45 minutes from Mokpo. In Wando we were attending the ‘First World Slow Walking Festival,’ which seemed like just an excuse to listen to music and hang out on the beach (not that I’m complaining). Afterwards, we drove to Hanam, where we went to the top of a tower.

Downtown Wando.

Hanam Tower.

View from Hanam Tower.

Incheon is a port city located about thirty miles west of Seoul near the border with North Korea. With a population of 2.5 million, Incheon would probably be a little known city outside of Korea if not for the Battle of Incheon, where General Douglas MacArthur made his famous landing in September, 1950. Considered quite the gamble at the time (MacArthur insisted on this approach, going against the advice of several advisers), the famous landing ultimately turned the tide of the Korean War and allowed for South Korea to be liberated.
On March 14, 2009, I visited Incheon.

The way to Incheon’s Freedom Park.

Overlooking Incheon.

The statue of MacArthur in Freedom Park.

Chinatown.

The entrance to Incheon Landing Operation Memorial Hall and Museum.

John Podhoretz attacks the journalists captured by North Korea:

That said, and now that they are out of jeopardy, Ling and Lee deserve to be held accountable, at least in the realm of public opinion, for the unthinkably bad judgment they displayed in their preposterous, vainglorious, and astoundingly naive venture. Possessing some fantasy about presenting an inside look at North Korea on an justifiably unwatched (because unwatchable) cable channel called Current TV, they thought they could sneak undetected into a Gulag state, film some footage with a DV camera, and then sneak back out to the hosannas of the Peabody Award committee. This is something they chose to do and were given license to attempt by their employers, and for which they paid a horrific, far too horrific, a price. That must be the case as well for Al Gore and Joel Hyatt, the co-owners of Current TV, who have doubtless existed in a state of terrible “what have I done” anxiety about this since the arrests.

What Laura Ling and Euna Lee were doing was documenting the plight of refugees fleeing the Stalinist regime in North Korea. They were risking their lives to show the world the truth about the horrors of Kim Jong Il’s government. Most people, myself included, would consider that heroic.

Everyone complain about the media–sometimes with justification–but we tend forget that there are journalists all over the world literally risking their lives every day to bring us the news. They deserve respect for this. It’s unfortunate that Podhoretz, whose own media career never puts him in any physical danger, can’t take a break from hackery for even a day and recognize that some things are bigger than partisan politics.

Donghwasa Temple is a Buddhist temple located near Daegu, South Korea. It is very ancient; a temple has existed on the site since 493 AD. It remains one of the most spectacular temples in Korea.

These photos were taken on February 28, 2009.

Good news from North Korea:

North Korean President Kim Jong Il has pardoned and ordered the release of two U.S. journalists, state-run news agency KCNA said Wednesday.

The announcement came after former U.S. President Bill Clinton met with top North Korean officials in Pyongyang to appeal for the release of Laura Ling and Euna Lee, who had been arrested while reporting from the border between North Korea and China.

Interesting article on Kim Jong Un, heir apparent to Kim Jong Il, who studied for a time in Switzerland.

Brad Scheffer, whose father served in the Korean War, looks back on the “Forgotten War” and concludes that, although the nutcase regime in Pyongyang remains in power, South Korea’s success at building a free, open democracy and an economic powerhouse answers the question in the affirmative. It’s a great read.

On December 13, 2008 I visited the small island of Bigeumdo, located about an hour from Mokpo by ferry.

The ferry to Bigeumdo

Sunrise over the ocean.

A lighthouse in the morning

Looking back.

Windmills on Bigeumdo

The ocean is a little choppy.

View from a mountaintop. Notice that the bay is shaped like a heart.

The village on Bigeumdo.

The road through the mountains.

Walking through a spinach patch.

Yudalsan, or Yudal Mountain, is located here in Mokpo. On November 29, 2008 I climbed to the top and took these photos.

Mokpo and Mokpo Harbor

A cannon brought to Korea during the Japanese occupation.

On October 3, 2008 I visited Naejangsan National Park, near Jeongeup, South Korea. I captured these photos:

The entrance to the park.

The Buddhist cemetery.

Entrance to the Naejangsa Temple.

Buddha.

The May 18 Memorial, located in Gwangju, South Korea, is a monument to those killed in the 1980 pro-democracy uprising against the authoritarian regime. These photos were taken on September 13, 2008.
The pro-democracy movement began across Korea following the 1979 Coup d’état of December Twelfth. When the new semester began in March 1980, professors and students who had been expelled for pro-democracy activities returned to their universities. One major event occurred at Seoul Station on May 15, 1980, when about 100,000 Koreans protested against martial law.

The government responded by placing the entire country under martial law. In Gwangju, students protested the closing of their university, leading to violent suppression by government officials. This efforts added fuel to the fire, and by May 20 more than 100,000 Koreans were protesting in Gwangju.

The situation quickly deteriorated into pandemonium, and soldiers violently assaulted and killed protesters, and protesters burned down a local television station which had misreported the situation.

Eventually the protesters were in control of Gwangju, but they would not remain so for long. On May 27, troops entered the city, defeating the protesters in 90 minutes.

No one knows the exact death toll and estimates vary. Most likely, the number falls between 166 and 207, with a large number of missing people.

Entrance to the May 18 Memorial

The graves of those killed.

Those lost.

Wonhyosa Temple is located in the Wonhyo Valley, outside Gwangju, South Korea. No one knows when it was founded, but it is believed to have been established at the end of the Silla Dynasty (57 BC-935 AD) and renovated during the fourteenth century. It has been restored many times over the years, including in 1954 after it was burned down during the Korean War. These pictures were taken during my visit on September 6, 2008.

The entrance to the temple.

The temple sits against a majestic background.

The Buddha

A tiger, hand carved from rock.

Inside the temple.

The temple grounds.

At long last, part two of my photos from Seoul, taken between July 31 and August 2, 2008 (part one here).

This is the entrance to Daejojeon, which served as the residence for the king and queen of Korea. It was here that the Joseon Dynasty held its last cabinet meeting to deliberate on the annexation of Korea by Japan in 1910. The four pictures below are also from Daejojeon.

This is Deoksugung, a compound of palaces occupied by Korean royalty from 1608 until the beginning of Japanese occupation. It was originally home to a brother of King Seongjong. The three photos below were also taken here.

King Seojong

The two photos below are of the Blue House, the home of the president of South Korea.

Kang In-duk, one of the foremost experts on North Korea, believes that Kim Jong-Il’s “one-man rule is expected to be naturally replaced by a collective leadership centered around the country’s National Defense Commission,” the Korea Herald reports. He contends that this will likely lead to North Korea adopting Chinese-style reforms: maintaining communism but opening somewhat to the outside world.

The same article points out that others aren’t so sure. A Bush Administration official states

The official told Fox News the United States is naturally engaging the Chinese about what to do if there is ensuing instability in North Korea.

He said the Chinese are reluctant to admit the discussions publicly, because of their close relationship with North Korea.

The official added that there are no signs of instability in North Korea now, but the likelihood of a smooth transition of power in that country is not high.

It does seem likely that if Kim were able, he would appear publicly and put to rest all these rumors. The fact that he doesn’t strongly suggests that he is at minimum in very bad health.

As for what happens next, well, it’s very hard to predict. Kang In-duk’s analysis seems the most likely course officials in Pyongyang will pursue, but whether or not it will go smoothly is very much in question.

Kim Jong-Il has been ill since April, according to a Japanese newspaper, via Reuters, who also reports:

Kim’s poor health was apparently behind the lack of flexibility in North Korea’s recent attitude towards the six-party dialogue over its nuclear program.

Kim, 66, had been making all decisions on the country’s nuclear policy, the source told Mainichi, and after his health worsened there was no one who could make major diplomatic moves.

This raised speculation that hard-line military figures had increased their clout in the leadership ranks.

Pyongyang officials insist there is “no problem” and that reports to the contrary are a part of a “conspiracy plot”. It’s a testament to the secrecy of North Korea that Kim might have been sick for five months, yet word has only now seeped out of the “Hermit Kingdom”.

From July 31 until August 2 (following my tour of the DMZ) I explored Seoul. Seoul, as you Kaesong probably know, is the capital of South Korea. It has been inhabited for more than 2,000 years, dating at least back to a settlement of Baekje. It served as capital of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). During the Korean War it was almost completely destroyed, but was aggressively rebuilt during the 1960s and 1970s. Today, with a population of over 10 million, it is one of the biggest cities in the world.

My tour began at the Korean War Memorial Museum, a very impressive memorial to every way Koreans have fought in for centuries.

Outside the museum.

Inside the museum.

N Seoul Tower. This tower was built in 1969 and opened to the public in 1980. At 777 feet in height, one can get a great view of the city. It is a communication tower.

Views from N Seoul Tower.

Changgyeonggung Palace. This palace was built in 1483 by King Sejong for his father. During the colonial period Japan built a zoo and museum on the site (Japan worked hard to erase Korean culture during the time). These were later removed. The photos below were also taken here.

Even in Korea we can’t escape the scourge of Kudzu!

More photos to come!

Sorry, couldn’t resist. Anyway, it seems our loving father in the North might be having some health issues:

Kim “collapsed because of a brain problem and had surgery from which he is recovering,” minister Lee was quoted by lawmakers as telling a closed-door session of the legislature’s defence committee.Officials said earlier on condition of anonymity that Kim, 66, was thought to have undergone surgery, but this was the first confirmation.

If something were to happen to Kim Jong-Il it is literally anyone’s guess as to what would happen next. This is a country, after all, that still considers Kim Jong-Il’s father, Kim Il-Sung, its leader despite that fact that he died in 1994.

Kim Jong-il has three known sons, of which South Korea believes Kim Jong-chul the most likely to succeed him. Others suggest the dynasty will die with Jong-il.

Of course, it’s entirely possible Kim Jong-Il will recover and continue to lead. In any event, it will be interesting to see how this unfolds.