An Eventful Spring in NE Asia

well lets start with the biggest news, Kim III is planning a "satellite" launch to coincide with Kim I 100th birthday. After making a deal with the U.S for food they have already broken the deal by planning a launch around April 15th, or Kim I birthday. Now I'm usually calling the U.S the great colonialists, having an army 7 times bigger than anyone else's while their people lack proper education and healthcare, but in this case I'm on board with them, and really everyone else. The Japanese have threatened to shoot it down if it enters Japanese territory and the South Koreans are saber rattling (though to what effect I don't know). The topic dominated the Nuclear Summit held in Seoul last week and even though Kim III has agreed to allow IAEA inspectors back in to the DPRK it doesn't seem like enough for most people. Even China has expressed concern (read: launch it and we'll smack you down SOOOOO hard) over the launch. The Chinese have been supporting the DPRK as a buffer to U.S, South Korean and Japanese forces for decades but as those three countries are now China's largest three trading partners that buffer seems less and less necessary. On a side note China has also claimed that an ancient Korean kingdom, Goguryo, was actually a Chinese kingdom. It seems silly to argue about events that happened 1500 years ago except that the mainland Chinese have also vowed to hold all territory that is (or ever was) Chinese (this has thrilled the Vietnamese). Many see this as a flimsy excuse to occupy the DPRK should it fall or get too rowdy. Anyway, I'll write more when/if the north launches, but it's a north Korean event that is dominating politics here.


Elsewhere Hong Kong has a new Chief Executive, Leung Chun-ying. Pro-business and pro-Beijing (shockingly :P) he is seem as a gap to full democracy in the city-state, something that is was promised in 2017. He's already been met with fierce protests but it looks like he's in to stay. With Beijing leadership transitioning next year it seem unlikely that they will allow a reformer in Hong Kong. Hard to say much else here, Hong Kong's strange place as a centre for business, revenue and modernity will continue to be at odds with Beijing and the mainland's decidedly Marxist and conservative agenda.