More potential evidence that the Infidel is right - perhaps North Korea is more unstable than they lead on. Courtesy CNN:
Rep. Christopher Cox, R-Calif., said that Hwang Jang-yop, an 81-year-old former secretary of North Korea’s ruling Worker’s Party and secretary of foreign affairs, told members of the House Policy Committee, “the regime, albeit it takes great pains to show us it is stable, is in fact profoundly unstable.”
Hwang, who defected to South Korea six years ago, was a mentor to Kim Jong Il, and was a close aide to his father, Kim Il Song.
“Perhaps you can say, ‘Kim Jong Il, we’ll leave you alone if you stop your nuclear program,’” Hwang told reporters after a closed door session with the House committee.
“I don’t think there is righteousness in that. On top of that, I don’t think any promise that is made by Kim Jong Il would be of any significance.”
Later, Hwang says:
“I don’t understand how we can actually guarantee the continued existence of a dictator that abuses human rights” Hwang said.
“It’s almost like you Americans telling the terrorist organizations that ‘if you promise not to terrorize people again, we will leave you alone.’ That’s not what the war on terror is about.”
We all have to keep in mind that Hwang’s been, well, out-of-the-loop for a number of years now. But that doesn’t mean that at least some of what he says isn’t true.
(Hat tip to Jim Lynch)
One Comment
I can’t help but be suspicious about this guy. I can’t help remembering all those key Iraqi defectors like Khadir Hamza, the top nuclear guy. Some of the problems with the WMD imbroglio are partially their fault. We’ve been burned before putting too much stock in their counsels.
We all sympathize with what these defectors have gone through. The Iraqi ones and Hwang and other Nork ones too - loosing their families, leaving their countries, etc. But, as you point out, they’ve all been out of the loop for several years. Plus they are generally bitter towards their former employers and prone to paint the worst possible picture. They are also trying to please their new hosts/patrons and to make themselves useful and important.
I’m happy that Hwang is hammering home the message that cutting deals a la Jimmy Carter is worse than useless. But the memory of articles about and by Iraqi nuclear scientist Hamza talking about Saddam’s plans and advanced capabilities (he left in 1996 so he was waaay out of the loop).