Engagement, Music, NK nuclear program, U.S. NK policy by Timothy Savage
The Chosun Ilbo quoted Radio Free Asia as saying that Kim Jong-il will attend the concert by the New York Philharmonic in Pyonyang on Feb. 26. The RFA also quoted a US official as saying that the DPRK asked for a "corresponding official" to come from the US. RFA speculates that Condoleeza Rice could change her itinerary and swing over there after she attends Lee Myung-bak's inauguration.
Madeleine Albright's attendance of a performance of the "mass games" with the Dear Leader was roundly panned for giving credence to North Korea's dictatorial spectacle, but it did result in a missile test moratorium. Rice sitting next to KJI at the philharmonic concert could accomplish the same thing for kick-starting the six-party talks, but without the attendant controversy -- unless of course there are people out there who think that Mozart was a commie.