No, it has been a private event for Kim Jong-il who was well known admirer of arts including FS.
That is exactly what N-Korea has claimed for more than 30 years; blaming US for the poor condition of N. Korea. US government, S. Korean government and even Chinese government all requst the same thing to N. Korea; open the country and follow the road China has taken. But, Kim and the people around him refused it because they are so afraid that once the country is opned they will lose the power.
Do you think the current US or the current S Korean administration has actively sought to bring N Korea to table? I see a totally different thing: N Korean leaders and the people WANT TO OPEN a la China, desperately. The prerequisite for them to open is a better relations with the US, and a peace treaty.
You know, I have mixed feelings about this sort of thing. If it's true Lepisto is being singled out for this, and the other skaters who went are getting a free pass, then that's probably not really fair to her. Then again, as a higher-profile skater, she should be aware that this could happen.
I think this incident stained her good reputation at least among some people in Finland.
The situations aren't even close. The New York Philharmonics's visit to North Korea was publicised, well-explained, and thoroughly justified by the United States government and heralded as a step of better relations.
Huh? The orchestra concert was a step toward better relations because it was "justified" by the United States government. But a skating show is a step backward because it was not ballyhooed by government propaganda?
big deal a lot of other international skaters have skated in NC
I don't see how they will single out Laura, and isn't Finland suppose to be a neutral country
It's because the Czech republic with Tomas and Finland with Laura are easier targets for bullying than those French, not saying abour Russian. I still don't get how P/B could enter NK last year and this year under French passports if these two countries don't have diplomatic relationships. And you see, nobody dare to punch them for that. Not in media, not in the net.
Kim Jong-il's doctors were always French. Also his wife's. They must have some kind of a strange pact.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...eurosurgeon-secretly-treated-Kim-Jong-il.html
Okay, I'll take your word for that. Then why Japanese media didn't bully Japan-born Yuka for skating in NK last year? Or a bunch of performers who went there with shows? Oh, wait. I think I have answered my question myself. Japan and NK also don't have diplomatic relationships. But Japanese nationals more than once entered the country either for shows or sport events. So, it's not French only. Still neither French nor Japanese get bullied. Why Czech, why Finnish? They are just too small and easy targets I think.
I think it's because Finnish media and people in general are very aware of what goes on in the world and politics. Human rights and things like that are very important here. I think if a Swedish skater had gone, same would have happened in Sweden. Plus Laura is very famous here.Why Czech, why Finnish? They are just too small and easy targets I think.
I assume it's Yuko Kawaguchi (of Kawaguchi/Smirnov).Re: the 'Japan-born Yuka' you mention, what's her full name?
Yuko Kawaguchi, 川口悠子, a Japan-born fskater. Became Kavaguti after she obtained a Russian passport to skate with Smirnov in Vancouver.Re: the 'Japan-born Yuka' you mention, what's her full name?
Aahh.. Japanese, French and Russian media and people are not aware. That helps.I think it's because Finnish media and people in general are very aware of what goes on in the world and politics.
I assume it's Yuko Kawaguchi (of Kawaguchi/Smirnov).
Nobody made a secret about her appearance in NK in Japan. Are you Japanese? If you are, you are the first J-person in my experience who is badmouthing about Yuko and her career choices. I could tell you more but I lost the interest.No, I never heard about it in Japan and no one made a fuss. If they heard about it, I guess they might react in the same way I do, which is to say that Yuko Kawaguchi is a pretty wild girl for moving to Russia just to figure skate in the first place, and if she went as part of the Russian envoy, well, the Russian Federation is pretty nuts.