By Unsurprisingly the North Koreans are using the detained American English teacher in North Korea as a bargaining chip:
North Korea may consider a tougher punishment for a jailed American citizen if the United States “persists in its hostile approach” toward Pyongyang, North Korea’s official news agency said Thursday.
North Korea said the United States is “persistently antagonizing” the country over the sinking of a South Korea warship in March, an act Seoul blames on North Korea, the Korean Central News Agency reported.
“Such moves have gone beyond the tolerance limit,” said North Korea, which vehemently denies the charge that it fired a torpedo at the ship, the Cheonan, sinking it and killing 46 members of its crew.
The United States is ramping up international pressure against North Korea, KCNA said.
“The DPRK had already solemnly declared that it would consider the prevailing situation as a war phase and handle all relevant issues according to a wartime law,” the news agency said. DPRK is an acronym for North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
North Korea said it is examining what “additional” steps it will take against Aijalon Mahli Gomes, an American man who has been sentenced to eight years hard labor for illegally entering North Korea. He was arrested after crossing the North Korea-China border on January 25. [CNN]
You can read more at the link, but the North Koreans are threatening to use special war time laws against him in order to imprison him longer. You can read more about who Aijalon Gomes is at my prior posting on him. He was originally sentenced to 8 years in prison by the North Koreans for illegally crossing the border and are now increasing the rhetoric to see what concessions they can get out of the Obama Administration to get him released like they did for the two reporters detained in North Korea who Bill Clinton flew into Pyongyang to get released.
Gomes is more valuable to the North Koreans for his propaganda value like they got out of the Bill Clinton visit then simply rotting in jail. That is why they will continue to try and get some kind of concession out of the US government that delivers them maximum propaganda value. However, if they think they will get anyone of the stature of Bill Clinton to fly out there again to pick up Gomes, they are sourly mistaken considering Gomes is not a good looking and politically well connected reporter like Laura Ling was.
8:45 am on June 24th, 2010 1
The link highlighting is long overdue.
8:51 am on June 24th, 2010 2
Why is anyone concerned about Gomes? He is just where he wants to be. He is doing his penance or whatever these religious types call the suffering they are required to do on earth.
11:05 am on June 24th, 2010 3
Aijalon Mahli Gomes used as a bargaining chip? Oh, who could have seen that coming?! (CLEARLY, I’m being sarcastic.)
This should be a lesson for anyone else who wishes to follow in the footsteps of Robert Park or Aijalon Mahli Gomes: you are aiding the enemy [see here].
11:06 am on June 24th, 2010 4
Ooh, I like the new highlighting for the hotlinks. I can stop writing “see here” when I want to link to some other site.
3:55 pm on June 24th, 2010 5
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by GIKorea, Ius Vox. Ius Vox said: RT @GIKorea: New blog post: Why Detained American Aijalon Mahli Gomes Being Used As North Korean Bargaining Chip http://bit.ly/9Cb3ge [...]
6:04 pm on June 24th, 2010 6
Obviously Kim Jong Il is desperate. He has nothing else to threaten with. Gomes is a pawn in a game, wether he understands that or even knows of it.
Yeah, I feel sorry for the guy. No one should be tortured for crossing a border. On the other hand, he may find himself converting to the North Korean view of the world. I suppose it depends on if he wants to live or be a martyr
7:03 pm on June 24th, 2010 7
The problem for poor Mr. Gomes is that he is being used as a bargaining chip…
…but he isn’t one.
Unlike Hollywood-connected Ling and Lee, nobody cares.
Even Robert Park had some vocal supporters keeping the memory alive…
…although it seems North Korea broke him quickly, converted him to their cause and released him back to the West as their mentally-conflicted agent… at least based on all the “THE DPRK ARE MY FRIENDS AND THEY WILL INVITE ME BACK AND HELP ME AND THE WORLD WILL KNOW THEY ARE MY FRIENDS” talk.
In a way, Mr. Gomes is doing good work… as he is going to save some people a lot of misery, heartbreak or even death.
His situation might encourage the next unhinged Christian into a moment of reflection before considering a border crossing.
8:20 pm on June 24th, 2010 8
Plus he's not white.
11:48 pm on June 24th, 2010 9
"Plus he’s not white."
Good observation Tom!
Let's play a game. You name a white person that has been "rescued" from North Korea at great expense and effort and I'll name a non-white.
You go first.
12:42 am on June 25th, 2010 10
ChickenHead wrote:
Even Robert Park had some vocal supporters keeping the memory alive…
Well, Aijalon Mahli Gomes has Robert Park to keep the memory alive, seriously.
And then there are blogs such as this one, my own, and One Free Korea, which manage to post about nearly all stories that come out about Mr Gomes, even if done with a critical word.
12:46 am on June 25th, 2010 11
ChickenHead wrote:
Let’s play a game. You name a white person that has been “rescued” from North Korea at great expense and effort and I’ll name a non-white.
Evan Hunziker.
Sure, the great expense was mostly in political capital, but it was still there.
Nevertheless, I appreciate the point you were making to Tom. My reaction to Tom's "plus he's not white" comment, when I saw it in my email queue, was to point out that Laura Ling, Euna Lee, and Robert Park are not White.
You know who is White? Charles Jenkins.
3:33 am on June 25th, 2010 12
Kushibo
"Evan Hunziker"
Uh-huh.
"Hunziker's father Edwin Hunziker was a veteran of the Korean War; he spent 12 years stationed in South Korea with the United States Forces Korea, and met Hunziker's mother Jong-Nye, a citizen of the country, while living there."
Evan Hunziker was as white as Obama is black.
Next.
3:36 am on June 25th, 2010 13
"Even Robert Park had some vocal supporters keeping the memory alive…"
And, until North Korea brought it up, the high-profile news story that featured Mr. Gomes was…
…uh…
squat.
Compare and contrast with Ling and Lee which was continually vomited about about from Oprah to the View.
3:50 am on June 25th, 2010 14
BTW…
"Charles Jenkins"
Didn't they give him back? I don't recall Clinton making any effort to "rescue" him.
If anybody can be credited for "rescuing" Jenkins, it would be the Japanese.
3:57 am on June 25th, 2010 15
Sorry, ChickenHead, my points can be oblique and opaque at times. I'll try to explain what I meant…
Tom suggested that Mr Gomes wasn't being rescued because he isn't White. You and I both pointed out that Laura Ling, Robert Park, and Euna Lee are all non-Whites who were rescued, which contradicts his claim.
I chose to further contradict it by the complicated example of Charles Jenkins who is White and for whom Washington did precious little to "rescue."
4:12 am on June 25th, 2010 16
Kushibo,
I wish we could sit down and shoot the shyt over beer… sometimes smacking fists in agreement and sometimes slamming mugs on tabletops in heated debate.
Conversation with intelligent-yet-not-always-on-the-same-page people is what makes life interesting… and there are plenty of people here like that… people who I will stomp on as complete fools one day and then champion their brilliant insight the next.
This applies to others more than you… whom I generally agree with.
Anyway, I got ya.
…but, I might add… Jenkins went to North Korea with little intention to return. Presumably, Ling/Lee didn't intend to get caught and Park/Gomes intended for the Lord to provide. Hunziker was just a crazy mutherfunker.
4:20 am on June 25th, 2010 17
BTW…
I don't think Tom exists.
I think he is a literary artifact created by GI Korea to encourage postings.
Have you noticed that a stupid one-line generalized factually-incorrect statement by Tom generates several long well-thought-out intelligent postings?
This drives up hits and ad revenue.
I think GI Korea is playing us.
Let's beat his azz.
9:57 am on June 25th, 2010 18
Tom exists, don't you disbelieve it. Your logical mind wants to shut down in its presence, and your emotional mind wants to believe in butterflies and puppy dogs BUT, stupid and hate of that magnitude is why North Korea exits.
As I said before, an American could do CPR on Tom and save his life, as he woke up his first act would be to press charges for assault and rape. Oceania has always been at war with Eurasia.
8:44 pm on June 25th, 2010 19
Dump AFFES and bring in Walmart