NEW YORK TIMES: Worried about a looming United Nations vote on human rights that could possibly lead to criminal charges — or at least acute humiliation — North Korea has countered in recent weeks with an unusually robust mix of diplomacy, denials and threats.
Over the past four weeks, the North has released all three Americans held in its penal institutions. It has shown new openness to talks with the United States, Japan and South Korea…
It has described North Korea’s citizens as the freest people and denied reports that it operates a system of prison camps. It has dangled the possibility of permitting a special United Nations investigator to visit for the first time — if the offending language in the resolution is withdrawn. It also has sent an envoy to Russia, a veto-wielding member of the Security Council, to improve relations… (more)
