China is really working hard to maximize at least the perception that it is the essential promoter of peace in East Asia, posing itself again as a vital go-between for U.S.-DPRK talks. In this dispatch from Seoul, the Huanqiu Shibao breathes with excitement that an unnamed “high official” in the U.S. Defense Department has told Chosun Ilbo that Kim Jong Il has invited South Korean president Lee Myung-bak to Pyongyang.
The South Koreans deny it. And although Xinhua leaves out the fact, the Chosun Ilbo story indicates the news came out at a DOD press briefing. (Fortunately the Chosun Ilbo retains its conservative dignity by keeping North Korean hacking on the front page, not the presumptive summit rumors.) But in the meantime, we have….
D.O.D. and Xinhua, teaming up for peace. Kim and Lee together, sitting in a tree. K.i.s.s.i.n.g. Now isn’t that so sweet?
Truly we live in a harmonious society.
Adam Cathcart 