Another CoV entry that caught my eye was from Rightward Reasonings commenting on the fact that China has put 150,000 soldiers on its border with North Korea.
I have a personal interest in Korea, having done business in South Korea in the past. Looking out over the DMZ, I found it incredible that the nation had been divided after the war with no further contact between family members in the North and South. Imagine drawing a line through the middle of the U.S., never to be crossed again. If Mom or Dad, happened to live south of the line and you were north, you were cut off. It seems SO strange to me, but it's happened a number of times in the last century, e.g. East/West Germany, Taiwan/China.
I remember being in Taiwan soon after travel to China was possible again. There were men who had fled China with Chiang Kai Shek when the Nationalists lost to Mao, leaving families behind. In the ensuing years, they had remarried and raised another whole family. For the first time they had the opportunity to go back and see those they had left behind, more than half their lifetime ago. You would see them in airports, loaded up with TV's and other gifts.
Now our attention is focused on North Korea as a potential nuclear threat. Probably the most closed society on earth, with the most awful stories leaking out about the conditions the people are living under. Meanwhile, South Korea seems eager to prop up the North, afraid of the impact on their own nation if the regime of Kim were to suddenly collapse. You don't read much about it in the news, except for the occasional bellowing back and forth regarding negotiations. Here is a great example of the depth you can find in blogs. I won't even try to summarize all the news and opinion. If you're interested, follow these links:
Winds of Change has, Hushoor's Korea Briefing, an amazing collection of links and stories about both North and South Korea.
Steven Den Beste of the USS Clueless suggests one possible solution is to allow the Chinese to occupy North Korea in his post, Rumors of Disaster.
And of course the link that prompted me to put this all in one post, from Rightward Reasonings, in the post Interesting, reviews the various scenarios that could result from China putting its troops on the border with North Korea.
If you get through these, you might just know more than some foreign policy wonks, or maybe you will be the one to take it a step further and come up with the Grand Plan that will solve this mess. Of course, I expect you to let me know first if you do, (Heh).
DC
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