....two countries that would greatly benefit from a Kerry presidency. You
dems sure do keep strange bed-fellows. What a terrible message it would
send to our enemies, if this nation were stupid enough to vote Bush out of
office.


North Korea warms to Kerry presidency bid
By Andrew Ward in Seoul and James Harding in Washington
Published: March 4 2004 20:24 | Last Updated: March 4 2004 20:24


North Korea's state-controlled media are well known for reverential
reporting about Kim Jong-il, the country's dictatorial leader.


But the Dear Leader is not the only one getting deferential treatment
from the communist state's propaganda machine: John Kerry, the presumptive
Democratic candidate, is also getting good play in Pyongyang.

In the past few weeks, speeches by the Massachusetts senator have been
broadcast on Radio Pyongyang and reported in glowing terms by the Korea
Central News Agency (KCNA), the official mouthpiece of Mr Kim's communist
regime.

The apparent enthusiasm for Mr Kerry may reflect little more than a
"better the devil you don't know" mentality among the North Korean
apparatchiks. Rather than dealing with President George W. Bush and hawkish
officials in his administration, Pyongyang seems to hope victory for the
Democratic candidate on November 2 would lead to a softening in US policy
towards the country's nuclear weapons programme.

But both Mr Kerry and Mr Bush are committed to North Korean
disarmament. Mr Kerry, however, would renew bilateral negotiations between
Washington and Pyongyang, while Mr Bush has sought to manage the
conversation with North Korea through multilateral talks. Mr Kerry has also
been more forthright about setting out the economic rewards for North Korea
if it disarms.

The Bush administration appears in no hurry to tackle the North Korea
issue before the election, aware that a US compromise with Pyongyang would
represent an embarrassing climbdown, while confrontation would risk a
bloody - and electorally disastrous - war.

If North Korea is hoping that a Democratic victory would herald a
return to Bill Clinton's policy of engagement with Pyongyang, then Gordon
Flake, head of the Mansfield Centre for Pacific Affairs in Washington,
cautions Mr Kim against expecting too much from Mr Kerry. "It would be
harder for a Democratic president to do a deal because there would be a lot
of pressure on him not to be a soft touch," he says.

Either way, the North Korean media is a constituency Mr Kerry could do
without. Second only to the warm words Mr Kerry has enjoyed from Jane Fonda,
the actress and antiwar liberal who is still a bugbear of the American
right, a signal of support from the Dear Leader will delight conservative
talk-show hosts and Republicans eager to paint Mr Kerry as soft on national
security.

A small group of Vietnam veterans has already branded Mr Kerry as
"Hanoi John" - a reference to his antiwar activities in 1971 after he
returned from serving in Vietnam.

Mr Kerry was first introduced to North Korea's information-starved
people in early February, when Radio Pyongyang reported that opinion polls
indicated he was likely to defeat Mr Bush.

A few days later, the station broadcast comments by Mr Kerry
criticising Mr Bush for deceiving the world about Iraq's elusive weapons of
mass destruction. Later in February, KCNA welcomed Mr Kerry's pledge to
adopt a more "sincere attitude" towards North Korea if elected.

"Senator Kerry, who is seeking the presidential candidacy of the
Democratic Party, sharply criticised President Bush, saying it was an
ill-considered act to deny direct dialogue with North Korea," said the news
agency.

Pyongyang's friendly attitude towards Mr Kerry contrasts with its
strong anti-Bush rhetoric.

"NOYB" wrote in message
hlink.net...
...two countries that would greatly benefit from a Kerry presidency. You
dems sure do keep strange bed-fellows. What a terrible message it would
send to our enemies, if this nation were stupid enough to vote Bush out of
office.



Kerry first got the backing of Pravda for his presidential run, now North
Korea.

Unbelievable. Wake up people!
North Korea warms to Kerry presidency bid
By Andrew Ward in Seoul and James Harding in Washington
Published: March 4 2004 20:24 | Last Updated: March 4 2004 20:24


North Korea's state-controlled media are well known for reverential
reporting about Kim Jong-il, the country's dictatorial leader.


But the Dear Leader is not the only one getting deferential
treatment
from the communist state's propaganda machine: John Kerry, the presumptive
Democratic candidate, is also getting good play in Pyongyang.

In the past few weeks, speeches by the Massachusetts senator have
been
broadcast on Radio Pyongyang and reported in glowing terms by the Korea
Central News Agency (KCNA), the official mouthpiece of Mr Kim's communist
regime.

The apparent enthusiasm for Mr Kerry may reflect little more than a
"better the devil you don't know" mentality among the North Korean
apparatchiks. Rather than dealing with President George W. Bush and
hawkish
officials in his administration, Pyongyang seems to hope victory for the
Democratic candidate on November 2 would lead to a softening in US policy
towards the country's nuclear weapons programme.

But both Mr Kerry and Mr Bush are committed to North Korean
disarmament. Mr Kerry, however, would renew bilateral negotiations between
Washington and Pyongyang, while Mr Bush has sought to manage the
conversation with North Korea through multilateral talks. Mr Kerry has
also
been more forthright about setting out the economic rewards for North
Korea
if it disarms.

The Bush administration appears in no hurry to tackle the North
Korea
issue before the election, aware that a US compromise with Pyongyang would
represent an embarrassing climbdown, while confrontation would risk a
bloody - and electorally disastrous - war.

If North Korea is hoping that a Democratic victory would herald a
return to Bill Clinton's policy of engagement with Pyongyang, then Gordon
Flake, head of the Mansfield Centre for Pacific Affairs in Washington,
cautions Mr Kim against expecting too much from Mr Kerry. "It would be
harder for a Democratic president to do a deal because there would be a
lot
of pressure on him not to be a soft touch," he says.

Either way, the North Korean media is a constituency Mr Kerry could
do
without. Second only to the warm words Mr Kerry has enjoyed from Jane
Fonda,
the actress and antiwar liberal who is still a bugbear of the American
right, a signal of support from the Dear Leader will delight conservative
talk-show hosts and Republicans eager to paint Mr Kerry as soft on
national
security.

A small group of Vietnam veterans has already branded Mr Kerry as
"Hanoi John" - a reference to his antiwar activities in 1971 after he
returned from serving in Vietnam.

Mr Kerry was first introduced to North Korea's information-starved
people in early February, when Radio Pyongyang reported that opinion polls
indicated he was likely to defeat Mr Bush.

A few days later, the station broadcast comments by Mr Kerry
criticising Mr Bush for deceiving the world about Iraq's elusive weapons
of
mass destruction. Later in February, KCNA welcomed Mr Kerry's pledge to
adopt a more "sincere attitude" towards North Korea if elected.

"Senator Kerry, who is seeking the presidential candidacy of the
Democratic Party, sharply criticised President Bush, saying it was an
ill-considered act to deny direct dialogue with North Korea," said the
news
agency.

Pyongyang's friendly attitude towards Mr Kerry contrasts with its
strong anti-Bush rhetoric.

Silly monkey. :-)