Bad Behavior at No Man’s Blog

In his article revealing (not for the first time) Kim Chong Il’s apparent practice of eugenics in North Korea, Andrew Sullivan only touches on one example of bad behavior by the Hermit Kingdom.

I was a Korean linguist with the Air Force between 1976 and 1997. As a result, I’ve been following the exploits of the Democratic People’s Republic for more than thirty years. It’s about the most fascinating topic I can think of, especially since Kim Chong Il and his father Kim Il Song have been pulling bad-boy stunts for decades and nobody does anything about it.

For those of you who aren’t old enough to remember some of these things, I’d like to provide a brief synopsis of some of their “exploits” and provide links for more in-depth reading.

Captured the USS Pueblo (AGER-2) in January of 1968, killing one crewmember and wounding several others. North Korea held the survivors captive for 11 months.
Shot down a US Navy EC-121 intelligence aircraft in April of 1969, killing all aboard.
Wielding axes and axe handles, North Korean soldiers attacked the members of a tree-trimming detail that had been sent into the demilitarized zone at Panmunjom on August 18, 1976. Two US army officers and four Korean soldiers were killed. Four US servicemen were wounded.
On 9 October, 1983, attempted to assassinate President Chun Doo Hwan of South Korea by detonating a bomb at a wreath-laying ceremony at the Martyr’s Mausoleum in Rangoon, Burma. President Chun arrived late because of a traffic snarl and was spared, but the explosion killed the South Korean foreign minister, the economic planning minister and deputy prime minister, and the minister for commerce and industry. 18 others were killed and 46 were wounded. The assassination attempt was eventually attributed to three North Korean agents sent to Burma on the orders of Kim Chong Il. (Two were captured, but the third succeeded in killing himself with a grenade.)
North Korean agents planted a bomb on Korean Air flight 858, which was flying from Abu Dhabi to Seoul via Bangkok on November 29, 1987. The aircraft disappeared from radar while flying over the Andaman Sea. There were 115 people on board.

And then, of course, is the most reprehensible thing of all. I’m referring to Kim’s terrible treatment of his own people. As an example, we can point to the eugenic-type activities as outlined in Mr. Sullivan’s post. Another example are the 100,000-200,000 “political detainees” held in North Korean prison camps.

When it comes to North Korea and bad behavior, you could go on and on. (Fortunately, I have neither the space nor the patience to try it here).

Technorati Tags: North Korea, Hermit Kingdom, Korean linguist, Kim Il Song, USS Pueblo, EC-121, demilitarized zone, Panmunjom, Chun Doo Hwan, Martyr’s Mausoleum, Kim Chong Il, Korean Air flight 858, prison camps