Two unrelated stories, but light enough on details to keep to one post.
Jimmy Carter returning to Pyongyang for talks with other former world leaders
A delegation formed by “The Elders”, a group of former world leaders whose mission statement is to promote peace and address human suffering will apparently be visiting Pyongyang next month. Details are sparse and are only sourced to “diplomatic sources in Seoul”. The delegation is alleged to consist of (nabbed from Wikipedia):
- Jimmy Carter, former United States President, Nobel Peace Prize laureate
- Mary Robinson, former Irish President and former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
- Gro Harlem Brundtland, former Norwegian Prime Minister
- Kofi Annan, former Secretary-General of the United Nations
Quite a team! No word on their exact objectives or itinerary. More details will follow as they become available. Jimmy Carter, of course, is known for his diplomatic efforts diffusing the North Korean nuclear crisis in the early 90s. More recently, he travelled to Pyongyang to secure the release of Aijalon Gomes, and expected to meet Kim Jong-Il who instead took an impromptu trip to China (possibly to secure Chinese backing of DPRK leadership succession to his son, announced a few weeks later).
Source: Yonhap News
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Nine North Korean refugees arrive by boat in South Korea
This is a developing story with very few details. May be several days before we hear anything new about these would-be defectors. An unnamed official is quoted as saying the following:
"The Coast Guard is investigating nine North Koreans who claimed to be refugees. They arrived late Thursday at the port of Gunsan after crossing the Yellow Sea (from China)"
All North Korean defectors are interrogated and investigated when entering South Korea. This serves as a wise precaution, as the strategy of deploying North Korean spies in the South by having them pretend to be defectors has occurred in the past. Given the heroic entry from China’s Yellow Sea, hopefully they are Koreans fleeing a bad situation for a better life in the South.
Source: Yonhap News
