SUNSHINE IS THE BEST INFECTANT:

South Korean Leader Assailed on Funds Transfer to North (DON KIRK, January 31, 2003, NY Times)

President Kim Dae Jung faced mounting pressure today to provide a detailed account of why nearly $200 million was moved to North Korea shortly before he flew to Pyongyang for his summit meeting with the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Il, in June 2000.

The opposition Grand National Party, which controls a majority of seats in the National Assembly, said Mr. Kim "must reveal all details of secret-room deals with North Korea" and called on him to "apologize for lying to the people."

Opposition politicians, as well as some news organizations, asserted that government officials had denied the money transfer until government auditors verified that the funds had moved through a large corporation involved in an elaborate tourism project with North Korea. Prosecutors are now weighing whether to bring charges against some of the major figures involved in the transfer and are also investigating reports that other funds also wound up in North Korea.

Henry Kissinger, Yasar Arafat, Nelson Mandela, Kim Dae Jung, Jimmy Carter.... No matter how much money they give Laureates, would you let the Nobel Committee add your name to that list? Posted by Orrin Judd at January 31, 2003 4:28 PM