Editorials
Friday, October 10, 1997ALTHOUGH developments in North Korea are still shrouded in secrecy, there is hope that the elevation of Kim Jong-il could lead to an opening of the reclusive nation. Three years after the death of President Kim Il-sung, his son, Kim Jong-il, at 55 has assumed one of his key titles -- general secretary of the (Communist) Workers Party of Korea. Kim Jong-il is expected to assume the presidency later this year or in 1998, completing the first dynastic transfer of power in the history of communism. North Korean leader
acquires a key titleKim Jong-il's election as general secretary of the ruling -- and only legal -- party was announced Wednesday in a communique by the party's Central Committee and the Central Military Commission. It confirmed Kim's status as his father's successor, which was initially in doubt after the elder Kim's death in July 1994. With the appointment went the title of "great leader." Until now he had been known as "dear leader."
Some observers saw Kim's election as general secretary as a hopeful sign that North Korea might move to end its isolation. Certainly it needs help to combat famine and rebuild its failed economy.
Pyongyang has taken a few steps toward openness. It has created a free trade zone in its far northeastern corner, sought membership in the Asian Development Bank and the International Monetary Fund, frozen its nuclear program under a 1994 accord with the United States and entered into talks with Washington on anti-ballistic missile proliferation.
It has agreed, with reservations, to try to negotiate a permanent peace treaty with South Korea, while maintaining a propaganda barrage against the Seoul government. And it has been forced to request international aid to combat the famine.
With the titles of party general secretary and at some future point president, Kim Jong-il may feel more confident about making further conciliatory steps. The United States should signal they would be welcome -- while emphasizing that it agree to nothing that would harm South Korea.
BARBERS Point Harbor was expanded to become the dream port for the "second city" of Kapolei. It was designed to accept shiploads of containers to relieve foreseen congestion at Honolulu Harbor. But those expectations have gone unrealized and shippers have become frustrated at facing the equivalent of putting a square block into a round hole. Barbers Point Harbor
Because central Honolulu has remained the focus of Oahu's population, shippers of container cargo prefer to dock at Honolulu Harbor. Shippers of heavier bulk cargo have been directed to Barbers Point. Since the port opened in 1991, incoming and outgoing cargo has grown to 3 million short tons so far this year. That is second in the state to Honolulu Harbor, disproving the claims that the port would go unused.
The problem is that Barbers Point Harbor is only 38 feet deep, which is fine for handling container ships but would cause ships fully loaded with heavier cargo to scrape bottom.
The harbor also lacks adequate pier space, docks and other port facilities that bulk cargo shippers say they need to fully utilize it. The shippers say even a 15-acre, $14 million expansion by the state Department of Transportation that is now under way will fail to meet their needs. Meanwhile, ships carrying bulk cargo are forced to enter the harbor with less than full loads, adding to shipping costs. Ships must wait offshore for pier space to become available -- or for daybreak, since the harbor lacks adequate lighting for night operation.
The state is proposing to deepen the harbor to 45 feet to accommodate bulk cargo. The proposal, being studied by the Army Corps of Engineers, should be implemented as soon as possible along with other needed improvements.
FIDEL Ramos says he hopes to recover the hundreds of millions of dollars hidden in Swiss banks by Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos before Ramos' term as president of the Philippines ends next June. That seems unlikely. The Marcos fortune
It's been 11 years since the Marcos regime was overthrown and eight since Marcos' death in Honolulu. The effort to recover the money the Marcoses obtained through theft and extortion began shortly after the new government took over, but the results thus far have been meager. In particular, there has been no success in recovering the money in the Swiss banks.
The effort has been complicated by the award by a U.S. court in Honolulu of nearly $2 billion to 10,000 victims of human rights violations by the Marcos regime. In addition, there was a staggering $22 billion award against the Marcos estate in a case also heard here concerning the so-called Golden Buddha.
The victims' lawyers say Marcos also stashed tons of gold in Switzerland worth $13 billion but the Ramos administration said it had found no evidence of this.
The president says a negotiated settlement with the Marcos family is the only solution. In fact, negotiations have been conducted but collapsed when the family refused to provide a full accounting of their assets. Ramos promised "just restitution" to the human rights victims, but said any agreement must be based on the principle that "the money, being taxpayers' money, belongs to the Filipino people and must be used for the benefit of the majority of the people." That position isn't new. It conflicts with the judgment handed down by the federal district court here and provides no hint of a solution.
Ramos' desire to unravel this morass of conflicting claims before leaving office is commendable. But recovering the Marcos fortune and reaching agreement on its distribution in the remaining months would be little short of miraculous.
Rupert E. Phillips, CEO
John M. Flanagan, Editor & Publisher
David Shapiro, Managing Editor
Diane Yukihiro Chang, Senior Editor & Editorial Page Editor
Frank Bridgewater & Michael Rovner, Assistant Managing Editors
A.A. Smyser, Contributing Editor
