Oh, the humanity!The US has banned exports of iPods, fine wines and fast cars to North Korea as part of the punishment for the country's nuclear bomb test last year.
"That'll show 'em!", said angered American negotiator, Christopher Hill. "We mean business ... er, lack of business. Boy howdy, this negotiatin' thingie is trickier than it seems."
The sanctions are said to be targeted at North Korea's elite, who reportedly enjoy luxuries despite the country's desperate poverty.
Fear not, their flinty hearts can deflect any blade we thrust at them.
Meanwhile the US set talks with North Korea on lifting financial penalties. The moves come amid efforts to restart multilateral talks aimed at persuading North Korea to halt nuclear activities. US envoy Christopher Hill said, after meeting his North Korean counterpart in Berlin, that he hoped the six-nation talks would resume by mid-February. The talks ended inconclusively in December, having resumed after a break of more than a year.
As always, the State Department's measure of "timely progress" wildly differs from reality as we know it. While Kim may have sold missile technology to Iran, he certainly appears to have bought into how they negotiate.
The sanctions on luxury goods were "carefully considered and carefully targeted" to affect only the country's elite, said US commerce department spokesman Richard Mills.
"Aaagony, aaagony!!!" [/Bugs Bunny]
"It does not prohibit exports of food and medicine and other humanitarian goods."
Which have all proven quite useful in maintaining sufficient troop levels to man the artillery batteries aimed at Seoul. Go figure.
The banned list includes cognac - said to be the favourite tipple of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il - as well as jet skis, jewellery and designer clothes.
No booze, bling or Burberry for the bad boys. You just know itÂ’s gotta hurt real bad. Especially the jets skis. Can't get those jet skis anywhere else, No siree, Bob.
The United Nations banned the sale of luxury goods to North Korea in response to its nuclear test on 9 October, but left individual countries to define those items.
No word from the French about shutting down the transcontinental Hennessey pipeline.
However, the US appeared to be moving towards compromise on another front, by announcing talks next week in Beijing on US financial restrictions, which the North has blamed for its reluctance to rejoin multi-party talks.
Methinks our threat to unilaterally boycott Macau-based Banco Delta Asia has had more influence in this current round of "talks". At least upon sugar daddy China, that is.