Summary of known Intelligence

As taken from the written assignment:

Scenario: The Carr administration confronts a dangerous new crisis on the Korea peninsula. Only weeks after Kim Jong Il's sudden (and still publicly unacknowledged) death in North Korea, visible strife has broken out in Pyongyang and elsewhere in the country, provoked by an apparent internal struggle for power. The Dear Leader's youngest son and heir apparent, Kim Jong Eun has made an attempt to consolidate his rule around a new and younger cohort of North Korean leaders representing the "rising generation". However, their attempts to begin setting the agenda of the country have been blocked by members of teh Dear Leader's remaining inner circle, led by Jang Song Thaek and his wife, Kim Kyong Hui (Him Jong Il's sister). Speculation swirls that O Kuk Ryol, Vice-Chair on the National Defense Commission in North Korea and Ti Yong Ho, Chief of the General Staff of the Korean People's Army have sided with Kim John Eun and the "rising generation, thus increasing his clout. With splits in the military leadership emerging, it is increasingly unclear to western analysts who currently controls North Korea's nuclear weapons. Concern has also grown dramatically in the past three days, after a North Korean warship attacked an unarmed Japanese fishing vessel and took the crew into cutody, alleging violation of territorial waters. China's leadership has vigorously defended the North Korean military action, citing the right for the regime in Pyongyang to protect its sovereignty at a delicate moment in its history. This has drawn vociferous and strident criticism from Tokyo and Seoul, where leaders of both countries have denounced the North Korean moves and condemned China for again failing to support international law, as it did months earlier when it refused to support the findings of an international investigation of North Korea's sinking of a South Korean naval warship in interntaional waters. Now, in the aftermath of floods that wiped out crops earlier this year, new signs of deepening famine have appeared from intercepted communications and satellite images are detecting large scale movements of people toward the boarders with China and smaller movements of people towards the Demilitarized Zone. In the last 24 hours, reports of troop movements on the northern side of the DMZ have raised additional fears of what may be happening inside North Korea and there is a heightened state of alert on the DMZ itself. An official in South Korea's Ministry of Unification has been quoted in the western media speculating that the North Korean regime is on the verge of collapse. However, the Korean Central News Agency continues to report that the Dear Leader is consulting with his son and top aides to deal with the Japanese crisis and that rumors of famine and internal strife among the people of North Korea are nothing more than "imperialist rumors".

Purpose and Posting Information

The intended purpose of this blog is as a forum and outlet for policy prescriptions by non-governmental parties in Dr. Creed's Foreign Policy simulation.

It is critical that there be accessible information for policy makers and this blog will attempt to provide access to current policy review and proposals by the non-governmental actors in the simulation. If you would like author access to this blog to post your organizations assessments or perspective simply contact me at robblackmore@gmail.com