Daily Kor for April 1, 2010

I did not know, but I guess I'm not surprised, that no South Korean president has ever visited the waters around South Korea's northwestern islands, including Paengnyŏngdo. As I've written before, North Korea does not recognize the Northern Limit Line, even as South Korea enforces the de facto maritime border, and so a national leader venturing outside North Korea's defined corridors to get to those islands (which North Korea does not dispute, insofar as it recognizes South Korean control over any part of Korea) is asking for trouble. The beaches and sea cliffs on Paengnyŏngdo are reportedly quite beautiful, but not worth the risk.

And now we're wondering if Kim Jong-il will finally head to Beijing, as was speculated early in March. I wonder what Beijing would say to the Dear Leader in regards to the sinking of the Chonan. If North Korea was behind this, it was an act of war, and if South Korea can make a convincing case, Beijing will be placed in an awkward position.

1. President Lee goes to site of Chonan sinking, making him first ROK head-of-state to visit disputed West Coast waters near North Korea (NYT)
• Poor weather conditions halt search operations (Yonhap, BBC, Xinhua, Korea Herald)
• Intelligence reportedly shows that North Korean submarine left base before Chonan sank (Chosun Ilbo)
2. Blue House says North Korean leader Kim Jong-il likely to visit Beijing soon (AFP, Yonhap, Bloomberg, Korea Times, Joongang Daily)
• US State Department hopes visit will revive six-party nuclear talks (Yonhap)
• Vice Unification Minister implores North Korea to "act rationally" to improve North-South relations and to improve investment (Yonhap)
3. Chairman for South Korea's 2022 World Cup bid offers to hold some matches in North Korea (Reuters)
4. South Korea's industrial output grows 19.1 percent in February (Yonhap)
5. Samsung Life seeks $4.5 billion in South Korea's record largest IPO (Reuters)
6. Gregorian refuseniks celebrate New Years Day (AFP)