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Article: The Last Fortress; Our Futile Search For North Korea
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- August 1, 1999
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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North Korea is at the center of one of the most sophisticated
surveillance stakeouts in the history of the world. U2 spy planes
photograph it daily. Electronic equipment on planes and ships and
bases across Asia monitor its radio and telephone communications.
Satellites orbiting in space can pinpoint a broken-down North Korean
military truck and count the number of soldiers working on it.
But in the end, one of the world's most menacing little empires is
still unknown. It might have a nuclear bomb or two, it might not.
It might be crazy enough to use them, it might not. Despite all the
high-tech clues and relentless scrutiny, nobody knows why President
Kim Jong Il runs his country like Evel ...