The Daily Nightly began on May 31, 2005. As Brian wrote in his first post it aims to provide a narrative of the broadcast day and a window into the editorial process at NBC Nightly News. Brian weighs in every weekday and NBC News correspondents and producers post regularly.
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Everybody has their favorite story about those wacky North Koreans. One popular tale passed among Pyongyang’s small band of intrepid diplomats is about the short-lived Australian Embassy, which was closed a few years ago soon after it opened. It was said that the North didn’t appreciate Australia’s offer to mediate with the South.
In fact, the story goes, that wasn’t the reason at all. The fledgling embassy had thrown an opening party, a toga party. There aren’t many cars on Pyongyang streets, and the sight of the tiny foreign community criss-crossing town wrapped in white sheets was too much for the grim-faced Stalinists. “They weren’t sure what it meant, but were certain of one thing - it was a conspiracy,” one diplomat told me.
I was attending a diplomatic party, one of four parties in the city that night, which the host thought was a record, there being only 200-odd westerners in North Korea, a figure further reduced by the government’s decision to throw out aid workers at the end of last year.
Word at the Random Access Club, the bar in the World Food Program building (so-called because of the distinct lack of random access enjoyed by the WFP to inspect their programs), was that the "Dear Leader" found even this number of westerners too intrusive for his liking, and if their departure meant more hardship for a country that had already seen hundreds of thousands of deaths from famine, then so be it.
It’s a pity, said another diplomat, who’d been improving his handicap on Pyongyang’s new golf course (designed, the North claims, by Dear Leader Kim Jong Il himself, who apparently got 11 hole-in-ones on his first outing). He feared he’d now struggle for partners, “and there’s little else to do at the weekends.”
That visit, in September 2005, had been my third, and was ostensibly to cover the Mass Games, the biggest propaganda exercise on the planet, involving more than 100,000 participants, including a human “wall” of children flipping cards to create giant pictures down a whole side of the stadium. The games lasted a month, and marked the 60th anniversary of the ruling communist Korean Workers party. Each night the 150,000 seat May Day stadium was packed with workers and farmers bussed in for the two-hour show, telling the story of a strong, modern and prosperous country, a country of abundant harvests, happy farmers and plenty of missiles.
That picture (with the possible exception of the missiles), of course, couldn't be further from the truth. The reality is an impoverished and brutal dictatorship, and even as the Mass Games were being organized, the government had given the notice to aid agencies to leave the country by the end of the year.
At the same time the authorities had curtailed a limited mobile phone network, which had anyway only been available to top officials and selected diplomats, and they’d closed down farmers markets that a year earlier – during another of my visits - had been hailed as the first signs of possible China-style reforms.
Diplomats were trying to figure out what it all meant. Was the Dear Leader losing his grip? Was the army calling the shots? Every diplomat seemed to have a different take on what it all meant. The Russians claimed to have an inside track – Kim was being pushed aside, they said, but others dismissed that as wishful thinking, since the Russians no longer had any real leverage.
One thing they did all agree on was that China held most cards – supplying the majority of the country’s fuel and food supplies, but they doubted Beijing would rock the boat, not wanting to destabilize the regime. That was, of course, before this week’s apparent nuclear test, and the enormous loss of face this entailed for Chinese diplomacy. And even then, diplomats were asking whether Kim would even listen to Beijing.
It is a measure of just how hard it is to get under the skin of this secretive and paranoid country, that even the most seasoned of diplomats were struggling to make sense of what was going on, and falling back on their rich armoury of stories about the mad, bad Dear Leader.
But is Kim really mad? Sure, he looks the part, but most of what he does is not irrational, given the limited number of cards he has and the paranoia, cultivated by events like the mass games, and in endless television propaganda, films and billboards about “evil” America and the brutality of the Korean War. Hardly a day goes by without the Korean people being reminded about the war and warned, not just that they are under threat, but that a nuclear attack could come at any time.
And in such a closed society – there is no public access to the Internet or media from outside the country - there is hardly any alternative sources of information for a struggling people, told that every hardship is the result of outside powers.
There is logic behind Pyongyang’s actions. Far from being simply mad or bad, they look at what has happened in Iraq and believe their very survival is at stake. That doesn’t make them any cuddlier. It’s a nasty regime, but it is a better way of understanding them.
Part of the problem for a journalist (as well as those diplomats) is simply getting access, getting to talk to ordinary North Koreans. The regime is so secretive, that it feeds all sorts of speculation – most of it well wide of the mark.
During my three visits I’ve tried to get a sense of how "real" North Koreans see the world. It is a tough exercise. I was always assigned two foreign ministry minders, who traveled everywhere with me. On the rare occasions I sneaked out of my hotel, I was followed, suddenly bumping into one of my minders in the shop were he too happened to be browsing.
Pyongyang is a grim, grey city of faceless apartment blocks, wide boulevards - and hardly any traffic, though plenty of pirouetting traffic policemen. Its also a good deal better off than elsewhere in the country. Everywhere there are large billboards praising the Dear Leader and his father, Kim IL Sung, the founder of the country, known as the Great Leader. He's been dead for more than a decade, but remains head of state.
I found plenty of curiosity from North Koreans I spoke to, but any conversations are closely monitored by the minders, though even without them, I'm not sure you'd find any critics. This is such a closed society, largely cut off from any contact from the outside world, its people bombarded with the most poisonous propaganda, especially against the United States, which is depicted in posters, and in the media as a blood-thirsty bully, intent on going to war with the North.
It’s my belief that the Dear Leader doesn’t just see nuclear weapons as a bargaining chip to trade away for aid and security guarantees, but that he really want them. Having looked at what happened to Iraq, he seemingly decided that these weapons are the ultimate guarantee of their survival. This makes them a far more dangerous adversary.
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Early Nightly is up
On the nightly news from Oct 14, 2006, there was a story on kids in California who admitted to lying and cheating. With our leaders in government and business setting the example that they are to follow, what more could you expect from them. We see elections stolen, corporations raided by executives, etc. why should they not follow the examples we set before them. When we clean up the mess that is placed before them, only then can we expect more from them.
stephen l. chappell, 1613 Lancanshire Ct, Apt E, Indpls, In 46260 (Sent Oct 15, 2006 1:09:04 PM)
Dear Ryan Bargen:
The fact that you actually believe Bush is capable of making a policy decision based on anything other than what his friends in the military industry tell him...
Well, that may mean that YOU are the one believing everything you hear in the media. And it sounds like your idea of media = FOX News.
See, here's the thing, everybody - no matter what intelligent solution you may or may not post here, our government will opt for the same idiocy is has opted for over the last 5.75 years or so.
Bush has, thus far, proven unwilling to deal with the N. Korean problem. He had a chance early on, but ignored the opportunity - obviously all those WMDs in Iraq constituted the more pertinent threat.
Obviously.
So, once again, we are at a pivotal point in the future of America - and the rest of the world. And once again, we who love our country (AND yet possess a little foresight) will be forced to stand helplessly by as the biggest crew of bunglers in our great nation's history chooses - yet again - to back the dead wrong play...and then inevitably passes the buck.
I mean, hey - everything they screw up just turns out to be Clinton's failure anyway, right?
I know I didn't really offer any ideas to help, but I'm honestly too tired of this administration's complete and total failure to even bother anymore.
I just needed the catharsis.
Matt Kahler, Chicago, IL (Sent Oct 11, 2006 2:01:00 PM)
Nukes give the PRK strategic leverage and exponentially increase the complexity of dealing with them. Talk to veterans of the "police action" (1950-53) before discounting their capacity for mayhem. Nukes would drastically alter all of our contingency plans for dealing with a military adventure undertaken by the north. Ironically it may be the insular and xenophobic nature of the regime that will keep the lid on their lust for reunification. Using force to absorb the south would create the very thing that Kim fears the most which is an uncowable populace of freeman who will accept nothing less.
Tom Campbell, ALbany, GA (Sent Oct 11, 2006 7:47:25 AM)
I appreciate your story.... I am 50 and have the same future facing me. I have saved and contributed to 401K plans plus pension plans since my divorce. Just cannot seen to save enough. I anticipate working well into my seventies. My salary is over 50% less than my brother who is 3 years younger than I. He joined the workforce 6 years after I did.
Thanks again.
Iva Humphrey
(Sent Oct 11, 2006 7:36:37 AM)
Unfortunately, the U.S. does not possess viable military or diplomatic options. Negotiations seem futile as incentives will only lead to further military buildup and punitive actions will not affect a country whose leader remains apathetic to the suffering of his people. Military options remain unfavorable due to our present engagements elsewhere in addition to the fact that war with North Korea may lead to larger complications between the U.S. and China. My guess is that we will continue to sit idly and watch North Korea hoping that the regime will oneday destabilize and collapse on its own. Meanwhile, we can only pray that their desperation won't lead to nuclear arms falling into terrorist hands...
(Sent Oct 11, 2006 4:18:03 AM)
The real issue is "IF" the North attempts or succeeds in selling a weapon to the terrorist community. Then we'll have a problem. Between Iran and Korea....are we right back into the cold war again. Waiting for some lunatic to push the button?
(Sent Oct 10, 2006 6:16:50 PM)
Since we have no viable military options here, let's cut the schoolyard nonsense and open genuine bilateral discussions with N. Korea. So what if such negotiations failed in the Clinton Administration? That was Then, this is Now. Given that the Bush policy (here as elesewhere)has obviously been an abject failure, what is there to lose by calling the "Great Leader's" bluff (if that's what it is), and engaging them? Bu in an OPEN way. By which I mean open to the view of the North Korean people. We should insist that Jong Il's state propaganda machine be compelled to show, and TELL, what is actually going on in these discussions. Either Jong Il will agree (which would be good), or he'll be afraid to let light and air into his hermit kingdom. That would at least serve the purpose of ending the understandable drumbeat for the US to enage in bilateral talks, and put the pressure where it belongs: on Jong Il and his odious regime.
Patrick J. Keane (Sent Oct 10, 2006 6:14:19 PM)
I think it is easy Kim Jong is nuts!!! I think everyone can agree with that statement. Bush and his cronnies need to do the right thing and sit doen one on one with the nut and figure out a peaceful resolve.
Daylon, Vicksburg, Mississippi (Sent Oct 10, 2006 5:38:48 PM)
I think we put leaders like Jong Il on the map by giving them too much attention. The issue can be handled more simply. The US has more nukes on one sub than North Korea can hope to build in a decade. Introduce Jong Il and his kind to the concept of assured destruction in the event their weapons are ever-- by anyone -- used. This kept the USSR "honest" throughout the Cold, and it truly had an arsenal to fear.
(Sent Oct 10, 2006 5:15:33 PM)
Why is the finger pointing @ the United States? It seems to me that none of the world powers are to happy with the nuclear testing done by North Korea. This is not just the U.S. problem, it is global and it is a pertinant danger to that region and the security of this country. Hey Jim in Chapel Hill, I would bet that if you were asked about how much inside info you have on what is really going on with world affairs you would only know what the media tells you. If you dont support our country and our leaders then I challenge you to spend a month in one of those countries and let me know if you would want to saved from the dictatorship of those "mad leaders". I believe that most americans are more concerened with the price of a gallon of gas than the security of our great nation. So the next time you sit down in your lazy boy and turn on your t.v. understand that people in other countries do not have those freedoms, and instead of being an arm chair president and criticizing Bush, try and support the decisions of somebody that actually knows what is happening and what actions need to be taken.
Ryan Bargen Columbus, NE (Sent Oct 10, 2006 4:58:44 PM)
Don't let the monolithic dogma of the North Koreans fool you one bit. The people I've met who have come out of that country all say the same thing: deep down within, the public, even these government minders they assign to tourists, are very curious about us and wonder how much of their own generated propaganda is really true. However, they will never express it to you over there for fear of their lives. Not all the information they receive about us is false though. They are aware that their system guarantees them a paying job, a place to live, with a certain level of healthcare in a crime free, debt free society. And, that none of these things are guaranteed in their words "in an imperialist aggressor economy corrupted by love of money and shameless materialism." Keeping this in mind, it is easy to understand why some of them might not really want unification unless it is on the North's terms.
Andrew Callo, Los Angeles, CA (Sent Oct 10, 2006 4:49:12 PM)
Why does the US waste its time with this impotent little gnat of a country? I am sure that N Korea cannot deliver any weapons that can hurt us, and certianly, any military intervention would be accomplished by Japan and/or China, who both have a regional interest in stabilization. Maybe its about time we worry about and solve the problems of the US and not the backward third world barkings of Iraq and N Korea. Does anyone really give a damn what happens to the people in those country's? Do you really care that the citizens of Iraq and N. Korea live under cruel dictators? I could care less.
Carl Scolamiero, Albany NY (Sent Oct 10, 2006 4:47:55 PM)
a 6 year old could see through this charade. Kim Jong Il is a megalomaniac close to being out of power due to failed economic policy creating a diversion to stay in power by his finger nails. HMMMM Monica, aspirin factory, impeachment. My god! Kim Jong Il is Bill Clinton! This is wag the dog on an immense scale people. Sanctions will take care of this. The danger is that he gets desperate at the end and sells one of these mini bombs.
(Sent Oct 10, 2006 4:39:29 PM)
Nuclear proliferation is rampant due to common technology, available to anyone witrh a computer. Ultimately, both North Korea and Iran will have their nukes, and will have to be dealt with eventually. Their leaders place their countries in the position of dying for their governments' mistakes. The problem is how to quell the mindset that nukes make one invincible. They only make a country undesirable in the World Community. These weapons would have been built no matter who is President of our country. I don't believe preemptive first strikes are the answer to this problem. I think the best bet is to train and outfit "black ops" to go in and eliminate the problem. Kill the leader and the doctrine will die. If, however, they blow one our way, light 'em up and take 'em out. The glow will make a nice night light for South Korea to sleep by.
J.R.. Prescott, Leesville, Louisiana (Sent Oct 10, 2006 4:28:19 PM)
How does the "If you attack us, we'll turn you into glass" threat that worked so well against the USSR have no weight against N. Korea or Iran? After 50 years of being toe-to-toe with the Russians, this crowd of chickenhawk cowards can't handle the AXIS OF EVIL!
! (Sent Oct 10, 2006 4:03:34 PM)
I don't think it's N. Korea having nuclear weapons that's a problem. What is, is what if N. Korea starts selling the technology to, say....religious extremists. That's a problem. The next thing you know is we have al queda or some other nut job, strolling Washington with a suitcase sized nuclear device.
Chuck, Wichita, KS (Sent Oct 10, 2006 4:02:10 PM)
It appears from the facts, that North Korea is
actually a "virtual enemy." But if one needs a
rationale for appropriating multimillion dollar
defense contracts for missile defense, then a
"virtual" enemy will do. After all its the perception,
stupid; not the reality.
Carole Shaw, Black Mountain, NC (Sent Oct 10, 2006 3:44:43 PM)
All of this talk is literally ridiculous how can so many people be so stupid. North Korea and Iran are small third world countries but if you listen to talk radio, the news cast, and our poor stupid politicians you would be expected to believe they are world powers. These countries just like Iraq have always functioned under the law of who ever has the biggest or most guns will rule. They have never entered the 21st Century and do not realize that the use of one nuclear weapon in the wrong place would mean their total destruction. Someone needs to sit down and explain "this is what you face", and there won't be no whoops or I made a mistake like President Bush has done in Iraq and Afghanistan. But to invade and literally destroy two countries killing thousands of people without provacation is a world crime and should be treated as such. The only crime they have committed is trying to protect their country and their families. Would we not do the same?
Paw Paw, NC (Sent Oct 10, 2006 2:50:19 PM)
"... United States, which is depicted in posters, and in the media as a blood-thirsty bully, intent on going to war with the North."
There may be paranoia, but that doesn't mean they're wrong in this assessment. Our own mad Leader, GWB, may well have such as that in mind.
Jim Putnam, Chapel Hill, NC (Sent Oct 10, 2006 1:48:31 PM)
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