Kim Jong Illin'

For those of you who care (aka just my ma and pa) here is an update about the recent naval skirmish between the North and South.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/14/world/asia/14korea.html?_r=1

To summarize, the North is accusing the South of being the aggressor. From what the article states that seems to be the truth. With Obama visiting Seoul on Wednesday this should be a hotter topic in the next 3 days. Sadly, as of right now, no one here seems to care. It's like I said before, news about the North and South goes widely ignored like white noise.

Here is what I think about the situation. I think the next few days will probably be the same old South versus North even with Obama visiting. I don't know how Obama will affect peace talks.

But I did find it interesting in the article that N. Korea wants to include peace talks with the nuke negotiations. The article illustrates North Korea as being more timid. From the S. Korean boat shooting off thousands of rounds to the mention of peace talks it sounds as if N. Korea is very weak right now. With Kim Jong Il reaching his terminal point in life the North Korean government is going to have a transfer of power. This is something they want to do on their own without any outside influences (i.e. espionage, assassination, etc). Right now, I think they are in a very weakened state. Peace talks will help them cede control to one of Kim Jong Il's sons. And it will help them improve their international relations, economy, and whatever else is going on in that country. Who knows what could be going on in North Korea right now?!

I don't want to be wrong about this because the opposite is something I do not want to be here for.

Most likely, everything will return to normal. And the Koreans will continue to ignore it all.


Notes:

A serious switch up is nice every once in a while.


This was the first weekend I didn't feel homesick at all. That doesn't bode well for those of you wishing for my return. I will not be back in Seattle for the holidays, sadly. You can expect me back next summer for a wedding. Actually, that might be in Northern California. (I would love to be back to enjoy Seafair)