Google in the DPRK

Yesterday Google Chairman Eric Schmidt and former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson began a vist to the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) more commonly known as North Korea. As this visit is ongoing I am severely restricted in what I can say. However It's common knowledge that on December 12th 2012 (12/12/12) North Korea carried out a successful rocket launch to put a satellite into orbit. Although there is an almost consensus that this was in fact  a long range missile test in disguise and therefore violated multiple UN resolutions this represented a marked improvement in the way North Korea normally behaves. Along with North Korean leader Kim Jung-Un's New Years day message this was seen of evidence of a nation keen to reform and mend it's ways.

However what the US would like you to believe that the positive way in which North Korea's rocket launch was carried out was entirely due to pressure they put on the nation through negotiations about the Google visit going ahead. The visit itself was supposed to be a reward for good behaviour by giving North Korea a front row seat to negotiations between the US and China over the issue of Internet freedom. The US State Department's rather unconvincing outrage at the visit was supposed to be viewed by people within the industry as the US claiming full responsibility for the visit and the positive impact it had on the rocket launch. To a domestic US audience it was supposed to cast Google as a villain who enjoys a generous tax relationship with the US but still thinks nothing of going against US diplomatic interests. This would feed into Chris Browns miraculous lack of imprisonment and the wider G8 argument over tax and multinational corporations.

My concern is that with the US clearly intent on discussing far more then Internet censorship with the Chinese this visit could become more of a punishment for North Korea by seeing the small nation squashed between two superpowers. That will obviously weaken the position of North Korean reformers and slow down the pace of change. Mind you with a love of authoritarianism seeming to unite a vast range of people on both sides of the US political divide I wouldn't be at all surprise to learn that the US is in fact trying to punish North Korea for attempting to become a more free society.


10:30 on 8/1/13.