A U.S. military aircraft carrying CIA and National Security Council officials entered North Korean airspace along
the West Sea route from Guam at 10:03 a.m. on Aug. 17 and returned to South Korean airspace on the same
route at 10:17 a.m. on Aug. 19, two days later, according to South Korean government officials.
They included Daniel Russel, the White House senior director for Asian affairs, and Sydney Seiler, a former CIA
officer and Korea policy chief at the NSC, pundits believe.
A diplomatic source in Seoul said apparently President Barack Obama, who was then bidding for a second term
in office, secretly sent the officials to North Korea to minimize disruptions to the U.S. presidential election.
Although foreign policy issues rarely sway voters, there was talk at the time that North Korea could be preparing
another nuclear or missile test, which Republican challenger Mitt Romney could have seized on to portray Obama
as soft on America's enemies.
Now the U.S. election is over, North Korea appears to have made swift progress in preparations for another
rocket launch. Pundits speculate that the deal reached in Pyongyang was that it would wait until Obama was
safely re-elected.
This could explain why there has been no strong condemnation of the North's preparations from Washington.
the West Sea route from Guam at 10:03 a.m. on Aug. 17 and returned to South Korean airspace on the same
route at 10:17 a.m. on Aug. 19, two days later, according to South Korean government officials.
They included Daniel Russel, the White House senior director for Asian affairs, and Sydney Seiler, a former CIA
officer and Korea policy chief at the NSC, pundits believe.
A diplomatic source in Seoul said apparently President Barack Obama, who was then bidding for a second term
in office, secretly sent the officials to North Korea to minimize disruptions to the U.S. presidential election.
Although foreign policy issues rarely sway voters, there was talk at the time that North Korea could be preparing
another nuclear or missile test, which Republican challenger Mitt Romney could have seized on to portray Obama
as soft on America's enemies.
Now the U.S. election is over, North Korea appears to have made swift progress in preparations for another
rocket launch. Pundits speculate that the deal reached in Pyongyang was that it would wait until Obama was
safely re-elected.
This could explain why there has been no strong condemnation of the North's preparations from Washington.