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Very interesting developments here on the border with North Korea that we should all be aware of. You can see it plainly enough if you read recent news between the lines. And not long from now it will be declared in the news media, more or less ... But intelligent persons can see it coming, can't you? All I do is report - for I am based here near the northern border of North Korea these last 10 years. US influence is on the wane in the entire East Asian area. Though the US maintains bases within the region, increasingly they are falling back to Guam, a policy that has been public for 5 years now. By declaring that North Korea was part of the Axis of Evil (number 3 on the USA's hit list) regional US diplomacy went into a tailspin. The usual strong arm tactics including aircraft carrier diplomacy and assasinations are still employed, but even those are no longer enough. So deep is the groundswell of popular discontent, a veritable earthquake. US military presence in Japan and South Korea is unpopular, increasingly so, and with stronger regional cooperation between the major ecomomies of the zone (China, Japan, South Korea, Russian Federation) there seems very little to be gained by perpetuating instability through a hair-trigger for regional calamity, which is what a renewed Korean conflict surely must be. North Korea is nuclear armed. And they certainly would use them. The refugee crisis alone would buckle the Chinese economy and potentially ruin South Korea. There are no winners in such a scenario - except the USA, which gains by keeping 4 competitor economies on the back foot for at least another 10 or twenty years. Perhaps longer, for so destructive would a conflict in the region be. Consider the environmental impact! So, in Beijing, Tokyo, Seoul, Moscow there is understanding. The USA is being given good face and basically ordered to retreat. The sinking of the Cheonan was a signal event that has been waited for - quite naturally the crisis is coming to a head, but will not be permitted to escalate. See even now how China claims rights of naval jurisdiction! The geopolitical landscape is changing in a way that even Texans can understand. This groundshift in regional opinion was prepared for several years ago through a not-so-high-profile United Nations agency that helped to set up a North East Asian regional economic cooperation zone that includes North Korea. [SEE LINKS: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_Economic_Zone http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2013551942_chinaborder30.html ]. It was re-activated last year, is based in Tumen (which borders North Korea, China and Russia), and has as logistal centres Jilin City and Changchun City (where I am based). The North Korean economy is to be bolstered (and so her people will be fed) by much much closer cooperation in the region. For one example of "blockade running" cooperation with North Korea please see here [LINK http://aliennews.teambridge.net ] , a trade cooperation based in the film industry. North Korean produce is promoted through the film industry. Strategic partners in this international cooperative enterprise include Pogues Armoury (British Army), who do the special effects in 007 films. Intelligent comment is welcome! Regards, paul ________________________________________________ Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
