The Washington Post reports that the US Government also funnels hard currency into North Korea

UNITED NATIONS — Over the past six months, the Bush administration has repeatedly criticized the U.N. Development Program for channeling millions of dollars in hard currency into North Korea to finance the agency’s programs, warning that the money might be diverted to Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program.

But the United States also has funneled dollars to Kim Jong Il’s regime over the past decade, financing travel for North Korean diplomats and paying more than $20 million in cash for the remains of 229 U.S. soldiers from the Korean War. And in a bid to advance nuclear talks, the Bush administration recently transferred back to North Korea about $25 million in cash that the Treasury Department had frozen at Banco Delta Asia, a Macao-based bank that the United States had accused of laundering counterfeit U.S. currency on behalf of North Korea.

This is consistent with the US going out of its way to get “the deal” implemented. North Korea turns recovering remains of US soldiers, a perfectly legitimate action, into racket, and yet the US follows through with it.

I have heard theories that the US are making these concessions in order to get North Korea into doing something dumb. I am not sure if the US is indeed pulling a “rope-a-dope”, but so far it does not seem the US is gaining anything.

Who knows if these charges against these individuals are trumped up or not, but if true, it is a fitting punishment

On the 22nd, a source reported that a public trial were held at a City Stadium in Hoiryeong, North Hamkyung province, on the 30th last month against 15 human traffic suspects and 4 of them were sentenced to death.

Hundreds of populations watched the trial organizing each people’s unit. The court confirmed their human traffic charge declaring “They have sold our people to China” Other two of them were sentenced to life imprisonment and one were sentenced to 7 years.

The capital sentenced have been identified to be 2 men and 2 women aged from late-thirties to early-forties. It has been reported that only 2 of them attended the trial for one was too weakened to move and the other tried suicide.

The source described “This time, the public trial was closely watched by the National Security Agency. The agents and safeguards even monitored in the crowd whether anyone was recording the process of the trail.”

The Good Friends, an organization, supports for North Korea, revealed through the report on the 13th that 2 transgressors will be executed in the public in June. Based on this report, possibly they might be the same individuals who sentenced on the 30th last month.

This organization announced “the 2 female transgressors are a woman who moved from Rasun to Hoiryeong for marriage and her cousin, who have been accused of trafficking for 4 times. The woman sold her children through her cousin as a broker at 3,000 Yuan (US$362) to China.

The Further consequences have been gaining public attentions as the source detailed “It has been informed the 2 women are sentenced to indoor execution.”

It’s one thing to get people out of the country, it is completely different thing if the sole purpose of getting them out is to sell them into possible slavery and abuse. Nonetheless, the problem stems from the lack of free movement between North Korea and China. If the North Korean regime can accuse people who help North Koreans escape of trafficking, it could potentially obscure the real problem and our ability to solve it.

But as long as there is a huge demand of people trying to leave the country, there will be criminals who are willing to exploit them.

Update: For the record, I do not think these 15 North Korean did what they are accused of. But exploitation of refugees does exist and it’s better for all of us if it did not.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide interviewed over 80 defectors on political repression in North Korea. While none is this is “news” per se in this blog, it is worth reading. The group claims that it is possible that up to a million people have died in political camps since they were first established during the 1950’s.

The report can be found here (.pdf)