See, the DoD and I, we think alike (sort of) (Via. The Marmot)

WASHINGTON, May 23 (Yonhap) — China is not using all its influence to rid North Korea of nuclear weapons, a report from the Department of Defense said Tuesday.

The annual report, titled “The Military Power of the People’s Republic of China,” also said Beijing must weigh its response to a conceivable North Korean collapse.

As in previous versions, the report reaffirms that China publicly supports a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula.

Beijing is the host of six-party talks, bringing together South and North Korea, the U.S., Russia and Japan to talk about removing all nuclear weapons and programs from the peninsula.

“China has unique potential, due to historical ties and geographical proximity, to convince North Korea to give up its nuclear ambitions,” said the report.

But this year, the report adds, “China has not fully leveraged its close ties with Pyongyang to stem North Korean nuclear ambitions.”
The six-party talks reopened in summer last year after more than a year in hiatus, and in September reached an agreement for North Korea to abandon its nuclear ambitions in return for diplomatic recognition and economic aid.

But the negotiations have stalled again, with Pyongyang demanding Washington lift punitive steps against a Macau bank the U.S. accused of laundering money for North Korea.

China, an ideological ally and a main aid donor to North Korea, puts priority in keeping its neighbor regime stable, afraid that a sudden collapse would jeopardize its own border security and economy.

The report, issued since 2002, talks for the first time about contingencies in North Korea and China’s possible reaction to it.

“A failure to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue, combined with that country’s increasingly perilous economic conditions, could produce instability on the Korean Peninsula or a collapse of the North Korean regime,” the report said.

“In such a contingency, China could face a choice between a unilateral and multilateral response,” it said, suggesting Beijing could try to take control of the situation on its own.

A diplomatic observer, declining to be named, said he sees the addition as an expression of hope on the U.S. part.

“It reflects U.S. expectations that China will make a positive decision in case of such a contingency on the Korean Peninsula,” he said.

The difference is that I argued that North Koreans will voluntarily join China in the event of a regime collapse, while this report suggests that China may take control regardless. I’m sure this is relief for the average South Korean who does not want to bear the costs of reunification.

Finally, a western news service will broadcast the real North Korea. Well, maybe

PYONGYANG, North Korea May 22, 2006 (AP)— AP Television News opened a full-time office in North Korea on Monday, becoming the first Western news organization to provide regular coverage of that nation.

Under the arrangement, international staff from APTN, which is headquartered in Britain, will work with local staff recruited from Korean Radio and Television.

The announcement followed four years of negotiations with the state broadcaster, Korean Radio and Television, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“Once again, The Associated Press opens a window with authoritative and impartial coverage from all parts of the world,” said Tom Curley, president and CEO of The Associated Press. APTN is the international video division of the AP.

APTN Executive Director Nigel Baker, in Pyongyang for the opening of the bureau, called it “a groundbreaking opportunity.”

“APTN has secured frequent and prolonged access to North Korea over the past four years,” Baker said. “The agreement for a full-time bureau now means we’ll be the only Western news organization with regular coverage.”

APTN delivers breaking global news, sport, entertainment, technology and human interest video content to broadcasters, online and mobile platforms around the world. APTN also provides broadcast customers with broadcast facilities and technical expertise via its global network of strategically located bureaus.

So the country with the highest rate of censorship in the world gives a news service “access”. So does that mean they are going to get the same access to Yodok as to Guantanamo Bay? Not a chance. After all, if your news service has to negotiate with a government agency for four years and you have to hire staff from the same government agency, your content mights be a bit limited (and by a bit I mean you can count with your fingers on thing you can broadcast). So it leaves this question, is it better for the AP to have very narrow coverage in North Korea or none at all? Well, if CNN’s adventures in Saddam-era Iraq is any indication, I’d say APTN made a purely business decision and do not expect a product superior to the KCNA anytime soon.

I’ve made it on the JoongAng Daily’s around the blogosphere feature. Apparently someone over there like’s my definitions of “peace”.

Are You Nkay, defining peace for 3rd world dictators and international bureaucrats since last February.