This is different

SEOUL, Aug. 31 (Yonhap) — The Chinese government has agreed to hand over South Korean prisoners of war who escape from North Korea to the South despite its agreement with Pyongyang to repatriate illegal migrants from the communist state, a government official said Thursday.

“The governments of the two countries reached an agreement on sending South Korean POWs (in China) to South Korea with the Chinese government’s cooperation,” the official said.

The official, speaking anonymously, said the agreement was reached earlier in the year. Others have said such an agreement was made in April.

The agreement is to allow South Korean POWs who cross the North Korea-China border to first undergo interrogation by Chinese police, according to the official. The police would then hand them over to South Korean diplomats who would arrange possibly direct flights for the POWs to the South.

Seoul and its allies have long called on the Chinese government to uphold its obligations under the 1951 Refugee Convention and other international agreements on refugees and asylum seekers.

But Beijing regularly rounds up those who cross the North Korea-China border, including South Korean POWs, and sends them back according to a secret agreement between the North and China’s Ministry of Public Security made in 1986.

So a couple of things have changed in China in the last months. The China-North Korean border has been tightened. China allowed refugees in the US Consulate to fly out of the country directly. It released (and deported) a known North Korean refugee smuggler. And now, it’s about to hand over South Korean POW’s to the South instead of the north.

From what I see, while China does not want any more North Korean refugees coming in, it no longer wants to cover for North Korea. Keep in mind these are small changes and it does not change China’s repatriation treaty with North Korea.

Unfortunately, these recent actions have more to do with North Korea embarassing China than any activism on our part. Still, an interesting development for those who follow this issue.

Students are getting back into college, which means… events!

If you are in the east coast (Via. LiNKorea)

LiNK NYC Fashion Show!
September 9, 2006

The New York City Chapter of LiNk is planning an upcoming fundraising event highlighting the designs of pH by Phillia, an emerging talent based in New York City. The evening will also include a silent auction featuring many fantastic items, including hotel giveaways from some of the most renowned hotels in New York City, vacation getaway packages, as well as designs from the evening’s fashion show. This intimate engagement is limited and is priced at $40 in advance and $60 at the door. All attendees will enjoy an open bar as well as assorted hors d’oeuvres, sushi, and other specialties.

Date: Saturday, September 9, 2006
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Location: The Arch
66 W. 39th Street, 3rd Floor
New York, NY 10018

FOR TICKETS go to: www.linknyc.org/fashionshow2006

If you are in the west coast (Via. claremontlink)

Executive Director Adrian Hong will be speaking at the NUAC’s 5th Chasedae Conference in San Francisco this weekend, on a special panel regarding the state of the North Korean refugee crisis.

The conference theme is “The New Corea.” The NUAC, or the National Unification Advisory Council, is a constitutionally recognized organization of the Republic of Korea, created to devise and implement unification policy. The NUAC advises the President of Korea on unification policy, monitors inter-Korean relations, and counts over 17,000 opinion leaders in Korea and abroad as members.

And if you are in neither (Via. link_uiuc)

***Midwest’s Knitting Initiative
Action needed before: early Winter (in other words, ASAP¡ªspecific date TBA)

Contact: ally@linkglobal.org

Help a North Korean feel your warmth & love for only a few bucks!

The famine in the 90s resulted in starving families, allowing a number of repercussions to follow: those within North Korea, those in hiding, and those trying to resettle. Every winter, North Korea faces harsh weather, with temperatures dropping well, and typically, below -10° F. This, along with lack of food and other natural resources, many North Koreans face natural deaths¡ªand most times, in the millions.

Because of this, North Koreans are constantly in need of warmth, particularly for the children, to at least bear with the biting cold. For this reason, the United States’ Midwest Region of LiNK is starting a Knitting Initiative. We need hats, mittens/gloves and most importantly, scarves! We ask anybody and everybody to help, including asking school programs (Jr. High, University) and other individuals. For now, the following criteria are needed:

• Dark colors (black, dark navy/midnight blue, dark grey/charcoal)
• The warmest material you can find (wool, etc.)
• Different patterns are encouraged
• Sets (matching hat, gloves/mittens, scarf) encouraged

So far, these articles of clothing will be sent to the Project: Safe Haven shelters, meaning we will need about 100 pieces of each before early winter. We will announce any and all updates (change in numbers, etc.) on this Project as it continues to progress.

No task is too small for a purpose so grand! Please contact ally@linkglobal.org if you or anyone you know would like to participate or if you are would like to help mobilize this project with knitting sessions, workshops, etc. within your area or campus.

As always, I will be crawling through the sites for events throughout the year. But if you want to submit an event, shoot me an e-mail.

So North Korea thinks it should be more isolated? It seems some countries agree. In the US and in your neighborhood bank

WASHINGTON, Aug 29 (Bernama) - The United States is considering tightening economic sanctions against North Korea, US Department of the Treasury’s Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence (TFI) Stuart Levey said.

However, he declined to elaborate further details, according to a news report filed by a Russia news agency, Itar-Tass.

But, Levey said that banks in Singapore, Vietnam, China, Hong Kong and Mongolia are beginning to stop business relations with Pyongyang.

“There is sort of a voluntary coalition of financial institutions saying that they don’t want to handle this business anymore, and that is causing financial isolation for the government of North Korea,” Levey said.

Furthermore, he said: “If they are counterfeiting currency or otherwise generating illicit funds, you still need a bank to put the proceeds into the financial system.”

North Korea are losing all their access points to the international financial system because of these measures and the coalition that is building, he said.

In Japan (via. Japundit)

Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe is considering tougher measures against North Korea than those adopted by Junichiro Koizumi if he becomes prime minister next month, hoping to help settle the issue of Japanese abductions, government sources said Sunday.

As prime minister, Abe would boost the power of a government task force on the abductions and push ahead with new measures for economic sanctions in cooperation with the ruling coalition parties, the sources said.

They said these plans would represent a policy shift from Koizumi’s “dialogue and pressure” against North Korea to one stressing “pressure.”