Sunday, March 02, 2008

Follow-Up to March 1 Post on North Korea

Sam Jameson is the go-to guy for everything you need to know about Japan and its environs but don't know enough to ask about. With regard to this post, Mr. Jameson has kindly checked his notes and confirms that there is nothing there to contradict my version of the gist of his exchange with Mr. Takesada, although my memory appears to have substantially paraphrased the actual wording of their comments. Robert Dujarric, the foreign relations and security expert who hosted the events at TUJ, has also confirmed my recollections.

The following is an excerpt from Mr. Jameson’s message that I am posting here with his permission:

[Mr. Takesada] is the third expert to admit to me in public settings that reliable inspections of North Korean nuclear facilities are impossible. The other two were Satoshi Morimoto*, who affirmed my statement about the extensive underground digging [North Korea] has done over the years and then added, “That's why the 6-party talks are a chaban-geki (a farcical play).” Ken Quinones**, in another press conference, replied by saying full inspections were impossible because “North Korea is like a big chunk of Swiss cheese. It's full of holes.”

* Mr. Morimoto (森本敏) is a diplomat turned academic and a highly sought-after authority on national security and international relations.

** Ken Quinones is a retired State Department expert on North Korea.

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