Columbia University professor Su Mi Terry also pointed out that Christine Ahn has written articles that were "more sympathetic to North Korean issues and North Korean causes".
A similar abduction a year ago of Chinese fishermen by armed North Koreans caused an uproar in China when they were released – some of them stripped of everything but their underwear – saying they had been starved and beaten.
South Korean companies cause particular worry: some may be unable or unwilling to complete planned investments.
Only last March its navy torpedoed a South Korean warship, causing 46 deaths.
The Korean War caused a million battle deaths, but the border ended up where it started.
One illegal North Korean export causing social problems is crystal meth, a drug known in China as bingdu, or "ice".If China's government clamps down on official trade with the North to express its displeasure at the nuclear test, the result will only be more smuggling, says a local who has invested in North Korean minerals.
Misunderstandings, often between foreigners and Koreans, can cause friction.
Radio miscommunication and attack from nearby North Korean forces caused a miscommunication, the soldiers of the 1st Cavalry and 7th Infantry briefly engaged in a small-arms firefight with one another, unable to communicate.
In the case of Malaya, where the insurgents were an ethnic minority (mostly Chinese), the British promised Malaya independence, and during the insurgency, the Korean War caused an export boom in rubber making, which resulted in the average Malayan being better suited economically than before the campaign.
By Evan Osnos August 5, 2009 The release of two American journalists from North Korean detention is cause to celebrate.
