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Kimmie steals Carter's thunder by leaving town with his son to China
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter is probably more embarrassed than anyone to learn of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il’s unexpected visit to China Thursday.
Nah. The man has no shame.
The North’s official news media said Carter did not have the chance to meet Kim Jong Il. The North Korean leader went to China on an exclusive train that crossed the Chinese border on his previous China visits, and will probably return in about a week.
They have a tour of North Korea out of Beijing, and Americans can go. It's by train, and I'll get to use this exact bridge if I go. I wanna go!
Because of this, it was deemed virtually impossible for Carter to meet Kim Jong Il.

The main purpose of the former U.S. president’s visit was to gain the release of the detained American Aijalon Mahli Gomes. Carter, however, also spoke of a “grand vision” of bringing Pyongyang back to the negotiating table and tackling the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and regional peace through a meeting with Kim Jong Il.
I'm sure Kimmie would give up his power of life and death over an entire nation if Carter just explained how it would hurt bunnies and duckies.
Given the situation, Carter might very well feel embarrassed and disappointed.

Gomes’ release was virtually a done deal even before Carter’s visit. As such, Carter could be seen as returning home empty handed.

Park Han-sik, an international affairs professor at the University of Georgia who arranged Carter’s visit, said Wednesday, “Former President Carter has sought a North Korea visit since tension heightened on the Korean Peninsula due to the Cheonan sinking, and flew to Pyongyang under the condition of holding a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il,” indicating that such an encounter was assured.
People from shame cultures really know how to make others lose face. People from Western cultures often have no idea that they are made to look like fools. Seen it a million times in my years in Asia.
If no meeting is held, this will probably perplex the Obama administration since it has repeatedly stressed that Carter made the visit for humanitarian purposes in his capacity as a private citizen. Since Washington permitted the trip despite the scheduled announcement of additional financial sanctions on Pyongyang, the U.S. probably feels dumbfounded over Kim’s unexpected trip.
Posted by: gromky 2010-08-28
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=304352