Administration Would Rather Strut Than Talk By Jennie Lusk
Albuquerque Journal Editorial, January 2004
" North Korea's allowing U.S. scientists,
including Los Alamos Laboratory's Sig Hecker, to inspect its Yongbyon
nuclear facility signifies its desire for better relations with the
United States.
The fact that the Bush administration elected to distance itself
from the offer to allow the scientists and a congressional delegation to
visit North Korea is not big news. It is further evidence that the
administration prefers to strut on the nuclear stage rather than to
engage in peaceful dialogue. "
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Sentient Times December 2003
"Amidst all the rhetoric of governments, we often forget our universality – that by nature human beings are loving and sharing. I assumed North Korea would challenge my heart, but in embarking on this journey of peace to an alleged dangerous and starving nation, I was not prepared, to have our pockets stuffed with food, our hearts filled with kindness and our pre-notions of this land utterly shattered."
This article by Eric Sirotkin addresses the delegation's 2003 trip to North Korea and disspels myths about the DPRK and addresses U.S. motivations for demonizing the country.
Sentient Times October/November 2003
"As I prepare to travel to Pyongyang, I feel afraid. It’s not because of North Korea’s alleged nuclear weapons or its massive military. Daily in Albuquerque I travel past a base housing 2000 Weapons of Mass Destruction. I feel afraid because our country’s leadership has become “the bully on the block”- marching to the mantra “The West above the Rest…at any cost.” By declaring “you’re either with us or against us,” and attacking nations it considers “evil,” our leaders have forgotten the essence of what it means to be human.- to understand on a deep level that we are not separate from those who we choose to demonize."
This article by Project member Eric Sirotkin provides an historical context for the Korean standoff and covers why North Koreans might resent the U.S. and might fee the need for nuclear weapons.
The Country America Cannot See By MUN YOL TI
New York Times Editorial
"ICHON, South Korea Today is the 50th anniversary of the cease-fire that ended the
Korean War. The division of the peninsula by two "liberation"; armies - both of which seemed to hold it in no special favor - was an unwelcome gift thrust upon the Korean people, still dazed by the emotions of liberation from Japan in 1945. The intense nuclear anxieties on the Korean Peninsula now demonstrate the lingering effects of this gift."