From East Asia Intel, subscription.
 A group of former North Korean commandos have established an overseas dissident organization to fight for freedom in their communist homeland and topple the Kim Jong-Il regime. The "Free North Korean Solders Association," spearheaded by some 20 North Korean special forces soldiers who defected to South Korea, will focus on dismantling North Korea's concentration camps that house some 200,000 political prisoners and freeing North Korean people from oppression. The dissident group also said it would wage a frontal fight to collapse the regime led by Kim Jong-Il, vowing they are prepared to sacrifice their lives to the cause of realizing freedom for the North Korean people.
| If they're serious, I'd say it's a good bet they will... |
"Commandos or ordinary [North Korean] soldiers who defected to the South are the most competent for the solution of North Korean problems. It is our inevitable duty to dissolve North Korean system and democratize it," the group said in a press conference in Seoul. "It is our ultimate objective to establish democracy throughout the entire Korean peninsular."
| Too bad the SKors don't have the same objective. |
The group said it would form a network with maltreated North Korean military personnel to challenge Kim Jong-Il rule. "Anti-regime atmosphere is spreading in the North Korean military. Soldiers are suffering from serious human rights abuses," the group said. "Many North Korean soldiers live on food aid from South Korea. The North Korean People's Army will collapse once the aid is blocked," the group said, calling for international efforts to ensure the transparency in the use of the aid in the North.
| My guess would be that the North Korean army will collapse as soon as it's put under any kind of serious strain since the society supporting it is so fragile it can't feed itself. |
"We will also expand contacts with North Korean border guards and join hands other groups to bring about substantial changes in North Korea." Lim Chun-Young, the leader of the dissident group, said North Korean people and Kim Jong-Il are standing at a crossroads. "If Kim Jong-Il lives, North Korean people will die. On the other hand, if North Korean people live, Kim Jong-Il should die," he said at the press conference.
| And Junior Leader has to go too... |
Members of the group wore sunglasses and masks to conceal their identities. Lim defected to South Korea in 1999 from a special military unit in the North. "More than 20 former solders have joined our organization," Lim said. "But for the time being, their identity will not be disclosed for smooth operations."
| Not having assassins sneak into their houses and slaughter them at night will smooth operations enormously... |
Earlier in this month, Lim issued an open letter to the North Korean leader, declaring a life-or-death fight against the regime. "Chairman [of the North's National Defense Commission] Kim, grant your people the freedom they deserve. They are not in this world to serve you alone. Their life should be worth their living. Freedom and democracy are the tide of the time that a few key people in your system can stop. Your people are not fools any more. If you refuse to act, we will act."
| Bravo, Lim! Well said! This is probably the last we'll ever hear from you — having noted your existence as a curiosity, the press will now forget all about you. But the sentiments expressed are correct: Fearless Leader's era is over. The state exists to serve the people, not the people to serve the state. The only question still open is whether Kimmie's people are fools anymore. |
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