Rodong Sinmun's Comments about Secretary Hillary Clinton

Rodong Sinmun, in a signed commentary published on 22 June, said, “Not many words worth paying attention to come out of the mouths of meddlesome and garrulous women. Women of this type often insist that black is white. US Secretary of State Hillary [Clinton] can be said to be precisely this type of woman.” It also said Secretary Clinton’s remarks made during her recent junket through the Central and South American countries, where she stated North Korea is a threat to global peace, are “brigandish sophism” reminiscent of a thief crying “Stop the thief!”

While it is common practice for the Rodong Sinmun to mention foreign leaders and their administrations by name and criticize them for their policy practices or positions, it is uncommon for it to directly insult a foreign/international official.

Following are examples of common Rodong Sinmun criticisms:

• On 02 June 2009, Rodong Sinmun criticized the US President Obama for practicing “double standard” in his nuclear policy. In its criticism, Rodong Sinmun cited an article entitled “Speaking of the Matter of Israel’s Nuclear Weapons” to reinforce its position that President Obama and the US government practices “double standard” when it comes to global nuclear weapons reduction.

• On 28 July 2006, Rodong Sinmun charged that the US President George W. Bush and his administration is the true “culprits” responsible for bringing about the “danger of nuclear war” and heightened tension on the Korean Peninsula.

Personal insults on foreign/international officials, while more uncommon, is not unprecedented:

• On 14 June 2010, Rodong Sinmun denounced IAEA Director General Amano Yukiya for his remarks at the meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors held on 07 June where he stressed North Korea should fulfill all of its obligations related to the nuclear non-proliferation and comply with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Rodong Sinmun remarked Amano Yukiya is an ignorant man who is a Japanese with strong pro-US tendency who initially failed to be elected as the director general of the agency due to the opposition of the developing countries, but later barely managed to have himself elected through money diplomacy.

• On 19 June 2009, Rodong Sinmun decried the South Korean President Lee Myung-bak is “a wicked sycophant and traitor and confrontation-minded maniac, to realize his ambition to invade the north in league with foreign forces” in response to President Lee’s statement made during his visit to a South Korean Air Force base where he said “cooperation” with the United States would help “deter” a war.

• On 13 May 2009, Rodong Sinmun remarked the South Korean Foreign Minister Ryu Myong Hwan is a “a sycophant and traitor bereft of even an iota of the consciousness of being a member of the Korean nation and its soul” in response to Foreign Minister Ryu’s support for the UNSC’s decision to tighten sanctions on North Korea.

While the 22 June commentary was the first Rodong Sinmun’s personal insult on Secretary Clinton, this was not the first time North Korea has mocked her.

• On 23 July 2009, the spokesman for the North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs blasted the “anti-North Korean vituperation” made by the US Secretary Clinton and said that Secretary Clinton has made a spate of “vulgar” remarks unbecoming of her position everywhere she went since she was sworn in.

• In the same statement, the spokesman also stated, “We cannot but regard Mrs. Clinton as a funny lady as she likes to utter such rhetoric, unaware of the elementary etiquette in the international community. Sometimes she looks like a primary schoolgirl and sometimes a pensioner going shopping. Anyone making misstatements has to pay for them. It is our view that she can make even a little contribution to the implementation of the U.S. administration's foreign policy as secretary of State only when she has understanding of the world, to begin with.”

A compilation of the North Korean Central Television Station's broadcast of former President Clinton's visit to North Korea

Found this good compilation of the (North) Korean Central Television Station (KCTV) broadcast of the former President Clinton's visit to North Korea from 04 - 05 August. The video clip gives a good rundown of which high-ranking North Korean officials former President Clinton and his delegation met with during the visit.

Unfortunately, the clip is in Korean (with no subtitle).

The video clip mentions the following names of the high-ranking North Korean officials:

1. Delegation met with: Kim Jong-il

Delegation also visited: Kim Yong Nam - President of the Supreme People's Assembly

2. At the Airport:

Yang Hyong Sop - 1st Vice President of Supreme People's Assembly

Kim Kye-Gwan - Vice Foreign Minister

3. At the Meeting:

Kim Jong-il

Kang Sok Ju - First Vice Foreign Minister

Kim Yang Gon - Director of Unification Front Department

4. Banquet:

Kim Jong-il

Choe Thae Bok - Workers Party of Korea International Secretary

Kim Ki Nam - Workers Party of Korea Secretary

Kang Sok Ju - First Vice Foreign Minister

Kim Yang Gon - Director of Unification Front Department

U Tong Chuk - National Defense Committee Member

Kim Kye Gwan - Vice Foreign Minister

an analysis of international media coverage of former President Clinton's visit to Pyongyang

A reader of our blog pointed us to this nice piece put together by LinkTV.

So...what do you think - what's your opinion?

Korean Peninsula Today, 06 August 2009

Today’s highlights:
1) The two US journalists who were held in North Korea for 141 days arrived in the US and reunited with their families
and 2) Secretary of State Clinton reiterated the call for North Korea to return to the negotiating table and stated that the release of the two US journalists is a totally separate from the nuclear issue

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Journalists Arrive in U.S. Following Imprisonment (Bloomberg)

Accompanied by former President Bill Clinton, two U.S. journalists who had been imprisoned in North Korea since March arrived today in California for a tearful reunion with their families.

Euna Lee and Laura Ling met family members in a hangar at Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, California. Addressing a crowd of journalists and well-wishers, Ling said the moment that she saw Clinton, “We knew that the nightmare of our lives was finally coming to an end.”

In Washington, President Barack Obama thanked Clinton and former Vice President Al Gore for their roles in winning the release of the two women.

“We are obviously extraordinarily relieved,” Obama told reporters. “The reunion that we’ve all seen on television is a source of happiness, not only for the families, but for the entire country.”

In a written statement, Clinton said he was glad to have helped. “When their families, Vice President Gore and the White House asked that I undertake this humanitarian mission, I agreed. I share a deep sense of relief with Laura and Euna and their families that they are safely home,” Clinton said.

Ling and Lee were detained while reporting for San Francisco-based Current TV, co-founded by Gore.

Family members at the airport included Ling’s husband, Iain Clayton; her parents, Mary and Doug Ling; her sister, Lisa Ling; Lee’s husband Michael Saldate; and Lee’s daughter, Hana Saldate.

Companies Help

The journalists returned from North Korea on a plane owned by longtime Clinton friend and supporter Steve Bing, according to Federal Aviation Administration records and Sallie Olmsted, a spokeswoman for Bing’s Shangri-La Industries. Bing’s company also owns the hangar used for the press conference, Olmstead said. Los Angeles-based Shangri-La Industries is involved in real estate development and film production.

Among those that Ling thanked in her remarks were Dow Chemical Co. and its chief executive officer, Andrew Liveris. Dow provided a plane “that was used in different parts of the mission in recent days,” the company said in a statement. “We were honored to contribute to President Clinton’s humanitarian mission to obtain their release,” Dow said in the statement.

The release of Lee and Ling followed a meeting between Clinton and North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. The two men “had an exhaustive conversation” and a “wide-ranging exchange of views on the matters of common concern,” the state-run Korean Central News Agency said without giving details.

Rising Tension

The journalists had been sentenced in June to 12 years of “reform through labor” for charges including illegally crossing the border from China.

The imprisonment coincided with increased tension with the U.S. as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pushed through United Nations sanctions against North Korea after the regime detonated a nuclear device in May. The secretary of state has been gathering allies for her attempts to isolate North Korea, winning over China’s support for the UN sanctions.

North Korea fired more than a dozen missiles this year in defiance of international pressure. North Korea in April said it would never return to six-party talks. Last week, Pyongyang said it may be open to negotiations outside that forum.

Bill Clinton was met at Pyongyang airport yesterday by Kim Kye Gwan, North Korea’s chief negotiator at talks to dismantle North Korea’s nuclear capability, the Korean Central News Agency said.

Request for Clinton

The two freed reporters requested through their families in mid-July that Clinton be sent to gain their release, an Obama administration official said. Communication with representatives of the North Korean government was needed to “manage the logistics,” Hillary Clinton said in an interview with the NBC News “Today” show this morning.

“When the message came to us from the young women themselves to their families, to former Vice President Gore, and then to the administration, that sending my husband would be the best way to ensure their release, of course we took that very seriously, discussed it,” she said.

Clinton said her husband’s trip was separate from the Obama administration’s policy on North Korea.

Private Mission

“I want to be sure people don’t confuse what Bill did, which was a private humanitarian mission to bring these young women home, with our policy, which continues to be one that gives choices to North Korea,” Hillary Clinton said. “They can continue on the path they are on, or perhaps they will now be willing to start talking to us within the context of the six- party talks about the international desire to see them denuclearized.”

Bill Clinton talked with the reporters’ families and Gore before the trip and received two face-to-face briefings from administration officials before departing, the most recent one last week at Clinton’s home in Washington, the administration official said.

The administration told the North Korean government that Clinton’s visit would be a private, humanitarian mission unconnected to other issues between the two countries. Clinton met with Kim Jong Il for about an hour and 15 minutes yesterday, and then had dinner with him for just over two hours, the official said.

The Swedish ambassador was able to transmit mail and medicine to the reporters, and the State Department was in daily contact with the families.

Obama and Clinton spoke for a “few minutes” right before Obama’s press briefing this morning, spokesman Robert Gibbs said this morning.

“The president thanked him for a great job,” Gibbs said, adding that the two men plan “to get together soon.” No meeting has been scheduled, he said. Gibbs said Clinton didn’t brief Obama on Clinton’s talks with Kim Jong Il. A national- security official will sit down with Clinton soon to receive a full briefing, Gibbs said.

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North Korea Asked for Bill Clinton (Wall Street Journal)

The road to freedom for two American journalists held captive by North Korea came into view last month when Pyongyang made a special request of the Obama administration: Send Bill Clinton.

Euna Lee and Laura Ling, held by Pyongyang since March, told their parents by telephone last month that the former president was the best person to broker their release.

The message, said a person briefed on the matter, was passed on to the administration, which assumed it represented the will of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il.

"Pyongyang clearly injected their position through the girls," said a person who has talked to the women's families about the phone call.

That unusual outreach paid off early Wednesday in North Korea, during a surprise visit by Mr. Clinton, with the announcement that Mr. Kim would release Ms. Lee and Ms. Ling.

U.S. officials and aides to Mr. Clinton declined to discuss their preparations for his trip to Pyongyang. A number of former U.S. diplomats said they believed much of the meeting's logistics was nailed down through the so-called New York channel at North Korea's United Nations mission. It is one of the rare avenues through which current and former American diplomats can communicate with North Korean officials and gauge the political winds in Pyongyang.

Mr. Clinton's involvement could smooth over a public spat in recent weeks between his wife, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and North Korea's leadership. He also did a favor for his former vice president, Al Gore: The detained journalists were arrested while working on a report for Current TV LLC, a San Francisco-based cable and Web network co-founded by Mr. Gore.

In the phone call, the reporters also suggested another former U.S. leader, Jimmy Carter, could broker their release.

Current and former U.S. officials said Tuesday they believed Kim Jong Il was seeking to turn back the clock and resurrect a relationship with Mr. Clinton that came close to formally ending the Korean War in late 2000.

Former U.S. officials said Mr. Clinton was seriously contemplating a trip to Pyongyang during his final weeks in office to explore agreements to end North Korea's missile program and get Washington and Pyongyang off the war footing they had held ever since an armistice ended fighting in the 1950-53 Korean War. A formal peace accord was never signed and the U.S. has maintained tens of thousands of troops on South Korean soil.

Mr. Clinton's trip would have followed the October 2000 visit to the White House by North Korea's then second-highest military officer, Vice Marshall Jo Myong Rok. The North Korean commander and the Clinton administration signed a memorandum of understanding calling for the official end of hostilities on the Korean Peninsula.

Former U.S. and South Korean officials said Kim Jong Il's government viewed the agreement as a precursor to a formal peace accord that could have been signed during a Clinton visit to Pyongyang in late 2000 or early 2001. The president ultimately used his final weeks in office to try to secure an Arab-Israeli peace agreement.

One year later, his successor, George W. Bush, had changed the tone of relations, describing North Korea as part of an "axis of evil."

"This is North Korea looking for a new start," said a former U.S. official. "Pyongyang is seeking to sweep away the debris of the past eight years and return to January 2001."

Evans Revere, president of the Korea Society, was among the former U.S. officials who held discussions with North Korean diplomats through the New York channel in recent weeks. Mr. Revere says he stressed to the North Koreans the importance of resolving the issue of the two journalists in order to resume a dialogue with Washington, though he stressed Mr. Clinton wasn't identified in his discussions. He said North Korean diplomats had been casting around a list of possible envoys.

"I came away believing the North Koreans understood they needed to remove this obstacle," said Mr. Revere. "The Clinton visit could be the easy part when compared to the issue of Pyongyang's nuclear weapons."

Senior Obama administration officials said Tuesday that Mr. Clinton's mission was purely humanitarian.

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Hillary Clinton reiterates call for North Korea talks (Reuters)

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday North Korea's release of two American journalists was separate from nuclear non-proliferation talks and reiterated a U.S. appeal for it to return to negotiations.

At a news conference in Nairobi with Kenyan Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula, she denied that her husband, former U.S. President Bill Clinton, had apologized during a visit to Pyongyang that secured the release of the two women.

"That's not true. That did not occur," she said.

The journalists work for Current TV, an American TV outlet co-founded by Bill Clinton's vice president, Al Gore. They were arrested for illegally entering North Korea from China.

They were each sentenced to 12 years' hard labor in June.

"We have always considered that a totally separate issue from our efforts to re-engage the North Koreans and have them return to the six-party talks and work for a commitment for the full, verifiable denuclearization of the Korean peninsula," Clinton said.

Analysts say Washington faces a tricky task trying to convince North Korea to give up ambitions of becoming a nuclear weapons power without being seen to reward it for repeated military acts or ignoring regional demands.

"The future of our relationships with the North Koreans is really up to them. They have a choice," Clinton said.

Pyongyang could either pursue a path filled with provocative actions, or decide to return to the negotiating table, she said.

"We have always said that there would be a chance to discuss bilateral matters with the North Koreans within that regional context. That is still the offer today, so it is up to them."

Clinton had earlier said she was "very happy and relieved" that the two journalists were flying back to California with the former president to be reunited with their families.

"I spoke to my husband on the airplane and everything went well. We are extremely excited," she said. "It's just a good day to be able to see this happen.”

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Former President Clinton on his way back to the US

Having secured the release of the two American journalists, former President Clinton has left Pyongyang and is on his way back to the US. Accompanying him on his trip back are Laura Ling and Euna Lee, the two journalists who had been detained in North Korea since March.

Although the White House stated the former President Clinton's trip was not conducted on official basis, it cannot be denied that his visit to North Korea had a far more strategic implication than simply resolving a five month-old human drama.

What this trip has in effect done is to provide a way out for Kim Jong-il to tone down the rhetoric and release the two journalists without losing face. Yes, the visit did provide a great media blitz that Kim can (and did) use both domestically and internationally to show that he is healthy and still in complete control of the country; however, it seems for now that this visit brought more gains than losses on both strategic and humanitarian level.

Korean Peninsula Today, 05 August 2009

Today’s highlights:

1) Kim Jong-il ordered the release of the two American journalists who had been held since March after Kim met with the former US President Clinton in Pyongyang. The former President Clinton reportedly offered an apology to Kim Jong-il for the two journalists’ “hostile acts against North Korea”
and 2) a senior South Korean official stated that North Korean economy is on the brink of collapse due to the ongoing 150-day battle and this is one of the reasons why North Korea has recently wanted to engage in bilateral talks with the US.

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KCNA Carries Report Summing Up Clinton's Visit; DPRK Pardons Detained US Journalists (KCNA)

Pyongyang – A report on Former U.S. President Bill Clinton's visit to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea is as follows: Former U.S. President Bill Clinton and his party visited the Democratic People's Republic of Korea from August 4 to 5.

Kim Jong Il, general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and chairman of the National Defence Commission of the DPRK, met with Bill Clinton and his party.

During their stay Clinton and his party paid a courtesy call on Kim Yong Nam, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly.

Clinton expressed words of sincere apology to Kim Jong Il for the hostile acts committed by the two American journalists against the DPRK after illegally intruding into it. Clinton courteously conveyed to Kim Jong Il an earnest request of the U.S. government to leniently pardon them and send them back home from a humanitarian point of view.

The meetings had candid and in-depth discussions on the pending issues between the DPRK and the U.S. in a sincere atmosphere and reached a consensus of views on seeking a negotiated settlement of them.

Kim Jong Il issued an order of the Chairman of the DPRK National Defense Commission on granting a special pardon to the two American journalists who had been sentenced to hard labor in accordance with Article 103 of the Socialist Constitution and releasing them.

Clinton courteously conveyed a verbal message of U.S. President Barack Obama expressing profound thanks for this and reflecting views on ways of improving the relations between the two countries.

The measure taken to release the American journalists is a manifestation of the DPRK's humanitarian and peace-loving policy.

The DPRK visit of Clinton and his party will contribute to deepening the understanding between the DPRK and the U.S. and building the bilateral confidence.

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Kim Jong Il Meets With Bill Clinton on 4 Aug (Korean Central Broadcasting Station in Korean)

Great leader Comrade Kim Jong Il received former US President Bill Clinton.

Comrade Kim Jong Il, Workers Party of Korea [WPK] general secretary and DPRK National Defense Commission [NDC] chairman, who is the great leader of our party and people, received former US President Bill Clinton and his party, who are visiting our country, on 4 August.

First Vice Foreign Minister Kang So'k-chu and Kim Yang Gon, WPK Central Committee department director, attended.

At the meeting, Bill Clinton respectfully conveyed to Comrade Kim Jong Il a verbal message from Barack Obama, president of the United States of America.

Great leader Comrade Kim Jong Il expressed his gratitude for this and welcomed Bill Clinton's visit to our country. He then had a sincere talk with him.

During the reception, there were broad exchanges of opinion on issues of mutual interest.

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N. Korean leader receives Obama's message from Clinton: state media (Yonhap)

SEOUL – North Korean leader Kim Jong Il met with visiting former U.S. President Bill Clinton in Pyongyang on Tuesday and received a "verbal message" from the U.S. president, the North's state media said.

Clinton arrived in North Korea earlier Tuesday in a trip apparently aimed at winning the release of two detained American journalists.

"Bill Clinton courteously conveyed a verbal message of U.S. President Barack Obama to Kim Jong Il," the official Korean Central News Agency said.

"Kim Jong Il expressed thanks for this. He welcomed Clinton's visit to the DPRK (North Korea) and had an exhaustive conversation with him," it said.

The White House, however, denied sending a message through Clinton. "That's not true," its spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters.

North Korea's media report said there was "a wide-ranging exchange of views on the matters of common concern" between Kim and Clinton.

North Korean Foreign Minister Kang Sok-ju and a Workers' Party department director, Kim Yang-gon, attended the meeting, it said.

The National Defense Commission, which oversees the country's military and is chaired by Kim Jong Il, later hosted a dinner for Clinton and his entourage at the state guest house, according to the media report.

Laura Ling and Euna Lee, female reporters from the San Francisco-based media group Current TV, were arrested March 17 near the North Korea-China border while reporting on North Korean defectors. They were sentenced to 12 years of hard labor by the North on charges of illegal entry and hostile acts.

Current TV was co-founded by Al Gore, who was Clinton's vice president.

Clinton's surprise visit raised hopes for renewed momentum for dialogue and a breakthrough in the long-stalled nuclear disarmament talks.

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N. Korean Economy 'on Brink of Collapse' (Chosun Ilbo)

North Korea has press-ganged people into a "150-day struggle" of farm or factory work since April to produce results for leader Kim Jong-il's heir apparent Jong-un, but the project has backfired and brought North Korea's fragile economy to the brink of collapse, experts said Monday.

The official Rodong Sinmun daily wrote that on the occasion of the struggle's 100th day on July 29, "phenomenal events are occurring and miraculous results are being produced to signify the building of a powerful nation" across North Korea. But the actual conditions of the 150-day struggle are reportedly quite the reverse.

A North Korea expert in China said that day police guards round up anyone the moment they see them on streets and send them to the countryside, "but there they loaf about or lie on the bare ground."

Since the early 2000s, North Korea has effectively turned into a barter society where people can survive if they have anything to peddle or till a vegetable garden on their own. The forced collective farm or factory work is spreading a sense of crisis among North Koreans that they could starve to death.

Kim Jong-il waged a "70-day struggle" after he was chosen as the heir apparent in 1974. In 1980 when he became the official successor, he supervised a "100-day struggle." Then, too, the North claimed the economy was making a leap forward. But Prof. Cho Young-ki of Korea University said, "This paved the way for the North Korean economy to collapse completely by distorting the distribution of resources."

There are fears that the effects of the current 150-day struggle will be more disastrous than in the 1970s and 80s. Since 1990, when the Soviet communism collapsed, North Korea has relied more on the nascent market and South Korean aid and trade with China than on the planned economy, but now South Korea has suspended aid, and China has been wary of the North since its second nuclear test.

Trade volume between the North and China between January and May this year stood at US$833.3 million, down 5.7 percent on-year. "If the North attacks the market with a retrogressive 150-day struggle, the North Korean economy will plunge into a deeper abyss," said Prof. Nam Joo-hong of Kyonggi University.

Besides, international economic sanctions enforced after the nuclear test are tightening.

A senior South Korean government official said, "In a sense, one of the reasons why North Korea has recently wanted to engage in dialogue with the U.S. is that the North Korean consumer economy is collapsing."

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North Korean coal exports to China hint at barter (Reuters)

BEIJING/SEOUL – North Korean coal shipments to China have risen steadily this year, hinting at a deepening barter trade that makes it more difficult for the international community to pressure the reclusive state.

North Korea's neighbors, and the United States, have been tightening sanctions to bring the country back to the negotiating table and contain its nuclear ambitions. Former U.S. president Bill Clinton arrived in Pyongyang on Tuesday to seek the release of two American journalists.

Chinese trade data for June showed no cut-off in normal trade shipments to and from North Korea after a series of missile and nuclear tests in May. Chinese experts argue that too strong a stance by China would lose it what leverage it has with its ally.

On the contrary, rising coal exports could reflect increasing investments by Chinese firms in North Korea, in which supply of equipment and capital is repaid in kind.

"There are mines there, under production by big Chinese companies. We give them oil, equipment, everything, they give us ore," said a Chinese trade official. "It's a kind of barter."

In the first half of this year, North Korea more than doubled its exports of anthracite exports to China to 2.36 million tons (111 percent increase). That far outpaced the 45 percent rise in China's overall anthracite imports, as importers bought cheap international coal.

Coal shipments from North Korea have leapt each month this year, with the exception of a slight retreat in May.

China imported 646,078 tons of coal from North Korea in June, the highest in recent years, a more than threefold (244 percent) increase from June 2008.

Coal made up 68 percent of North Korean exports to China in the first half of 2009, according to Chinese customs data.

Crude oil shipments to North Korea, steady since December at about 50,000 tons a month, slipped 6.7 percent year-on-year to 46,673 tons. Crude shipments in the first half were down 3 percent, at 294,084 tons.

None of those goods is covered by the sanctions, meant to cut off North Korean access to luxury goods and weapons components.

"I think sanctions have been effective to some extent, but I doubt they have done enough to change North Korea's attitude," said Masao Okonogi, a Korea expert at Keio University in Tokyo.

JOINT VENTURES

North Korea does allow foreign joint ventures the right to mine, and pointed to mining earlier this year as a key area of development.

Chinese companies are usually the partners in such ventures, although other foreigners have also invested.

They might take payment in ore, including coal, for building a "joint venture" factory in the North and the roads and bridges leading to it, said Park Byung-kwang of the Institute for National Security Strategy (INSS) in Seoul, affiliated with spy agency National Intelligence Service.

Even Chinese state-owned investors have complained of the murkiness of North Korean regulations and of North Korean requirements that they invest in local industry rather than simply investing to obtain raw materials.

Such investments could still be used to pressure North Korea, should Beijing so choose, but the involvement of state-owned partners means there are vested interests, and sunk capital -- harder to cut off than trading shipments.

South Korean media said last week that Beijing had suspended at least one joint mining project with a North Korean firm blacklisted under a U.N. Security Council resolution.

"It could mean either Beijing is making a strategic move to pressure the North by putting a stop to it as part of participating in sanctions. This would be an easy move to reverse," said Park, from the INSS.

"On the other hand, it is entirely possible the Chinese firm decided it made little economic sense to continue doing business."

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