Grumpy Editor

Will Feb. 23 North Korea nuclear talks make progress?

Look for media to play the long-running six-nation talks --- tomorrow in Beijing --- focusing on North Korea nuclear disarmament like something is finally going to break, but Grumpy Editor feels it’s likely to be ho-hum time again.

Nuclear talks regarding North Korea have been going on for years.

The only hope is the change in North Korea’s leadership since Kim Jong-il died in December.

The latest session will measure if Kim’s son and successor, Kim Jong-un, is more open to diplomacy.

The six nations --- South Korea, North Korea, Japan, Russia, China and the U.S. --- have been sitting around tables, off and on, for more than nine years trying to persuade North Korea to give up its nuclear ambitions.

Recent talks (last July in New York and three months later in Geneva) made no progress.

North Korea’s routine has been to talk, followed by pauses, then more talks, followed by no resolution. 

That’s been the Communist nation’s procedure since 1953 when the Korean War ended with a cease fire.  North and South Korea technically remain at war with no peace treaty.

One reason nuclear disarmament talks get nowhere:  North Korea, Russia and China are on the same side.

It’s been that way since the Korean War, in which Russia and China joined North Korea in fighting American and South Korean troops, among other allied forces.

After this week’s Beijing discussions, it will be interesting to see if media reports include (again) these words: deadlocked, impasse, inconclusive and recessed without agreement.

 

Stars and Stripes newspaper quietly marks its 150th year

Newspaper editors love anniversary stories.  But one they overlooked related to their own industry:  The Stars and Stripes, the newspaper primarily for the U.S. military, marked its 150th year on Nov. 9, observes Grumpy Editor.

Ten Union soldiers started it in 1861 during the Civil War.  That was 10 years after the founding of the New York Times. 

Initial editions rolled off presses in the abandoned newspaper office of the Bloomfield Herald, Bloomfield, Mo.  (Returning to its roots, The Stars and Stripes Museum/Library is located in that city at 17377 Stars and Stripes Way.)

The publication attracted increased attention during World War I. 

Printing was suspended between World War I and World War II but resumed in Europe in 1942 when editions were published in London, Italy, Sicily, France, Germany, Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia and Honolulu.

Pacific editions started in 1945.

Printing facilities and geographic regions covered changed with the movement of American troops.

The number of editions touched 35 during World War II.

The Stars and Stripes has since been a prime source of daily information for U.S. forces from the Korean War, Vietnam War and Persian Gulf War to Iraq and Afghanistan. 

The estimated 350,000 readers today equals its readership during the Korean War when the Tokyo-based daily Pacific Stars and Stripes turned out editions covering Japan, South Korea, the far Pacific plus a Tokyo street edition that competed with other newspapers --- both English and Japanese. 

Today’s online audience averages more than 3 million page views per month. 

Authorized by the Defense Department, The Stars and Stripes is editorially independent.

While in past years most staffers wore U.S. uniforms, its publisher and most of its employees today are civilians.

The newspaper currently publishes four daily editions:  Europe, Japan, Korea and the Mideast.

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Andy Rooney’s books included one on 'Stripes'

Among the many journalists who wound up as staffers on the military newspaper was Andy Rooney, CBS’ “60 Minutes” commentator who died Nov. 4.

From his three years as a World War II correspondent in Europe for The Stars and Stripes, Rooney later wrote about war experiences in his first three books, including “The Story of The Stars and Stripes.”

Although movie rights were purchased by MGM and Rooney went to Hollywood to write the script, the film was never made.

 

U.S. again seeks remains of troops from Korean War

North Korea and the U.S. today in Bangkok are set to resume one of the longest-running “talks” in efforts to recover the remains of some of the estimated 5,500 U.S. service members unaccounted for from the 1950-53 Korean War, notes Grumpy Editor.

Also unresolved, but not included in today’s talks, is putting a cap on the open-ended so-called “forgotten war” with battles that concluded with a cease fire on July 27, 1953. 

A North Korea-U.S. diplomatic meeting three months ago in New York included discussions on signing a peace treaty to end the Korean War.  But that aspect, as usual, fizzled.

What spurred the latest action?

U.K.’s The Telegraph reported a spokesman for North Korea’s Foreign Ministry said the North had accepted the U.S. proposal to meet on humanitarian grounds.  The Telegraph added, “The North's announcement came just hours after Washington said it had offered North Korea up to $900,000 in emergency flood assistance.”

Over the years, whether involving discussions on recovery efforts, peace treaty or nuclear disarmament, North Korea’s routine has been to talk, followed by pauses, then more talks, followed by no final action.

Prior recovery efforts were terminated in May 2005 when the Bush administration was worried about safety of U.S. recovery teams.

The Pentagon, in announcing today’s talks, made no mention of security improvements or any other reason for meeting with the North Koreans to negotiate a resumption of remains recovery efforts, according to Associated Press.

For the U.S., the Korean War resulted in 36,940 military deaths, 103,000 wounded, 8,142 missing in action and 3,746 prisoners of war. 

The conflict erupted when 135,000 communist North Korean troops crossed the 38th parallel into South Korea in pre-dawn hours of June 25, 1950.

The war was extended with the entries of communist Chinese soldiers battling U.S. troops on the ground and Russian pilots in Soviet-built jets fighting U.S. airmen.

Also pretty much forgotten:  Chinese troops killed or captured thousands of U.S. military personnel and managed many prisoner of war camps in North Korea. 

 

Almost forgotten: Korean War remains open-ended

News junkies, including journalists, are aware that the U.S. currently is involved in three military actions --- in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya --- but most overlook a fourth, rather silent, that remains open-ended after 58 years, reminds Grumpy Editor. 

That’s the Korean War.  Battles ended with a cease fire on July 27, 1953. 

So it’s interesting to note that North Korea this week, on the 58th anniversary of the truce, is "eager" to sign a peace treaty that puts the cap on the 1950-1953 conflict that, for the U.S., resulted in 36,940 military deaths, 103,000 wounded, 8,142 missing in action and 3,746 prisoners of war. 

The Korean War, also labeled the “forgotten war,” erupted when 135,000 communist North Korean troops crossed the 38th parallel into South Korea in pre-dawn hours of June 25, 1950. 

The conflict was extended with the entries of communist Chinese soldiers battling U.S. troops on the ground and Russian pilots in Soviet-built jets fighting U.S. airmen.

Chinese troops killed or captured thousands of U.S. military personnel and managed many prisoner of war camps in North Korea. 

North and South Korea technically remain at war with no peace treaty. 

A North Korea-U.S. diplomatic meeting that continues today in New York is slated to include discussions on signing a peace treaty that ends the Korean War. 

In addition, talks are expected to focus on a resumption of six-nation (China, Japan, Russia, South Korea, North Korea, U.S.) nuclear disarmament talks, something that has been going on for years. 

Don’t count on progress. 

Over the years, North Korea’s routine has been to talk, followed by pauses, then more talks, followed by no final action.