Quotes of the Day:
"Under democracy one party always devotes its chief energies to trying to prove that the other party is unfit to rule — and both commonly succeed, and are right."
- H.L. Mencken
"Before a war military science seems a real science, like astronomy; but after a war it seems more like astrology."
- Rebecca West
"The warning message we sent the Russians was a calculated ambiguity that would be clearly understood. "
- Alexander Haig
1. China, Russia veto new UN sanctions on North Korea
2. Widespread disbelief over N. Korea's tiny COVID death rate
3. Japan, US fly fighters after China drill, N. Korean missiles
4. Top nuclear envoys of S. Korea, U.S., Japan to meet in Seoul next Friday
5. Defense minister orders 'stern' response to any direct N. Korean provocations
6. S. Korea voices 'deep regret' over failed bid for new U.N. sanctions on N. Korea
7. China supplied over 2,800 tons of refined oil to N. Korea in March, April: U.N. report
8. NGOs protest North Korean chairmanship of Conference on Disarmament
9. S. Korean Air Force to join Australia-led multilateral exercise in August
10. North Korea gives Chinese vaccines to soldiers working as construction labor
11. S. Korean volunteer fighter in Ukraine returns home with injuries
12. Joe Biden vows to deepen America’s ties with South Korea
13. BTS To Appear With Joe Biden At White House To Discuss Anti-Asian Hate Crimes
14. How did BTS become beacon of diversity and inclusion?
15. Two Presidents, One Agenda: A Blueprint for South Korea and the United States to Address the Challenges of the 2020s and Beyond
16. U.S., S. Korea working to find right strategy for dealing with N. Korea: U.S. official
17. U.S., China must work together on N. Korea, other global issues: Blinken
18. Deputy CFC chief Gen. Kim tapped to lead Joint Chiefs of Staff
1. China, Russia veto new UN sanctions on North Korea
We can no longer count on UN sanctions. China and Russia are overtly complicit in north Korean malign behavior.
We can enforce US sanctions and we should implement secondary sanctions on China and Russian financial institutions and other businesses that are enabling sanctions evasion. But we need to stop being dependent on sanctions as the primary tool for dealing with north Korea. We need to execute a comprehensive campaign plan. We need to make the foundation a strategic influence campaign because Kim fears information more than sanctions. We need aggressive enforcement of the proliferation security initiative. We need aggressive enforcement of international law and local laws around the world where the regime is conducting illicit activities. We need to deny areas in international waters where ship to ship transfers occur.
The three pillars of the National Defense Strategy are alliances, integrated deterrence, and campaigning. We are correctly prioritizing and enhancing our alliances. We are improving our military deterrence capabilities. But what is our campaign plan to address the Kim family regime's political warfare strategy? and what is the alliance campaign plan to achieve the long term objective of a free and unified Korea?
Friday
May 27, 2022
China, Russia veto new UN sanctions on North Korea
Members of the United Nations Security Council vote on a resolution to tighten sanctions on North Korea Thursday at the UN headquarters in New York. [UN]
China and Russia on Thursday vetoed a U.S.-drafted UN Security Council resolution to strengthen sanctions on North Korea over a spate of missile launches this year, the first time that the five permanent members of the Council have been divided on the issue since they began punishing Pyongyang in 2006.
The resolution would have cut exports of crude oil to the North from 4 million barrels a year to 3 million barrels and slashed refined petroleum exports from 500,000 barrels to 375,000 barrels. It would have also banned the sale of all tobacco products.
The vote, held Thursday at the UN headquarters in New York, came in response to nearly two dozen missile launches by Pyongyang this year and amid speculation that a nuclear test is underway, all of which violate previous UN resolutions.
Pyongyang has launched 23 ballistic missiles this year alone, including intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).
“For the first time in 15 years, a UN Security Council member has used a veto to stop the Council from fulfilling its responsibility to hold the DPRK accountable for its unlawful proliferation and tests,” U.S. Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said in a joint statement on behalf of Washington, Seoul and Tokyo.
“The vetoes today are dangerous. Those members have taken a stance that not only undermines the Security Council’s previous actions to which they’ve committed, but also undermines our collective security.”
DPRK is short for North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
In a separate statement delivered solely on the behalf of the United States, Thomas-Greenfield said she was “beyond disappointed” with the absence of unity, stressing that the “failure rests on China and Russia alone.”
China’s ambassador to the UN blamed the U.S. for failing to build on peace talks with North Korea held in the former Donald Trump administration, claiming that today’s rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula were “undeniably” caused by the “flip flop of the U.S. policies.”
“In the current situation, additional sanctions against the DPRK will not help resolve the problem,” said Chinese Ambassador to the UN Zhang Jun, “but only lead to more negative effects and escalation of confrontation. Additional sanctions will also have a greater humanitarian impact, especially against the backdrop of emerging Covid-19 in the DPRK.”
Zhang called for a “political solution” to the North Korean denuclearization issue.
Russian Ambassador to the UN Vassily Nebenzia said adding new sanctions on the North would be going down a “dead-end road,” adding that the world must use political and diplomatic tools to resolve the issue.
“Our Western colleagues are accustomed to blaming North Korean authorities,” said Nebenzia. “Yet they ignore the fact that Pyongyang’s repeated calls to the U.S. to stop its hostile activities, which would unlock dialogue opportunities, were never taken seriously, whereas U.S. colleagues only kept saying over and over again that more sanctions were needed.”
BY LEE SUNG-EUN [lee.sungeun@joongang.co.kr]
2. Widespread disbelief over N. Korea's tiny COVID death rate
The north Korean COVID paradox continues. The regime has been deathly afraid of COVID breaking out in the north but it has also exploited COVID to further oppress the people through draconian population and resources control measures. Now it seems to be using COVID reporting to try to pressure the international community to lift sanctions but also it is reporting success in dealing with the outbreak to make the regime look good.
Widespread disbelief over N. Korea's tiny COVID death rate
AP · by HYUNG-JIN KIM · May 27, 2022
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — According to North Korea, its fight against COVID-19 has been impressive: About 3.3 million people have been reported sick with fevers, but only 69 have died.
If all are coronavirus cases, that’s a fatality rate of 0.002%, something no other country, including the world’s richest, has achieved against a disease that has killed more than 6 million people.
The North’s claims, however, are being met with widespread doubt about two weeks after it acknowledged its first domestic COVID-19 outbreak. Experts say the impoverished North should have suffered far greater deaths than reported because there are very few vaccines, a sizable number of undernourished people and a lack of critical care facilities and test kits to detect virus cases in large numbers.
North Korea’s secretiveness makes it unlikely outsiders can confirm the true scale of the outbreak. Some observers say North Korea is underreporting fatalities to protect leader Kim Jong Un at all costs. There’s also a possibility it might have exaggerated the outbreak in a bid to bolster control of its 26 million people.
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“Scientifically, their figures can’t be accepted,” said Lee Yo Han, a professor at Ajou University Graduate School of Public Health in South Korea, adding that the public data “were likely all controlled (by the authorities) and embedded with their political intentions.”
The most likely course is that North Korea soon proclaims victory over COVID-19, maybe during a June political meeting, with all credit given to Kim’s leadership. The 38-year-old ruler is desperate, observers say, to win bigger public support as he deals with severe economic difficulties caused by border shutdowns, U.N. sanctions and his own mismanagement.
“Diverse public complaints have accumulated, so it’s time to (strengthen) internal control,” said Choi Kang, president of Seoul’s Asan Institute for Policy Studies. “Kim Jong Un has been taking the lead in the anti-epidemic efforts to show that his campaign is very successful and to reinforce his grip on power.”
Before North Korea on May 12 admitted to an omicron outbreak, it had maintained a widely disputed claim that it had zero domestic infections for more than two years. When the North at last publicized the outbreak, many wondered why now.
It was initially seen as an attempt to exploit the outbreak to get foreign humanitarian assistance. There were hopes that possible aid by Seoul and Washington could help resume long-stalled diplomacy on Pyongyang’s nuclear program.
Kim has called the outbreak a “great upheaval” and launched what his propaganda teams call an all-out effort to suppress it.
He’s held several Politburo meetings to criticize officials, inspected pharmacies at dawn and mobilized troops to support medicine delivery. A health official explained pandemic responses on state TV, while state newspapers have churned out articles on how to deal with fever, including gargling with saltwater and drinking honey or willow leaf tea.
“Honey is a rarity for ordinary North Koreans. They likely felt bad when their government asked them to drink honey tea,” said Seo Jae-pyong, a North Korean defector-turned-activist in Seoul. “I have an elder brother left in North Korea and have big worries about him.”
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Every morning, North Korea releases details about the number of new patients with fever symptoms, but not with COVID-19. Experts believe most cases should be counted as COVID-19 because while North Korean health authorities lack diagnostic kits, they still know how to distinguish the symptoms from fevers caused by the other prevalent infectious diseases.
North Korea’s daily fever tally peaked at nearly 400,000 early last week; it has nosedived to around 100,000 in the past few days. On Friday, it added one more death after claiming no fatalities for three consecutive days.
“Our country set a world record for having no single (COVID-19) infection for the longest period ... and we’ve now made an achievement of reversing the tide of the abrupt outbreak in a short period,” the main Rodong Sinmun newspaper said Thursday. “This evidently proves the scientific nature of our country’s emergency anti-epidemic steps.”
Medical experts question the validity of North Korea’s stated fatality rate of 0.002%. Given that South Korea’s mortality rate of unvaccinated people for the omicron variant was 0.6%, North Korea must have similar or higher death rates because of its low capacity to treat patients and its people’s poor nutrition, said Shin Young-jeon, a professor of preventive medicine at Seoul’s Hanyang University.
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In a study published by the Johns Hopkins University last year, North Korean ranked 193 out of 195 countries for its ability to deal with an epidemic. U.N. reports in recent years said about 40% of its people were undernourished. North Korea’s free socialist public health care system has been in shambles for decades, and defectors testify that while in the North, they bought medicines at markets or somewhere else.
“North Korea wouldn’t really care about fatalities at all,” said Choi Jung Hun, a defector who worked as a doctor in North Korea in the 2000s. “Many North Koreans have already died of malaria, measles, chickenpox and typhoid. There are all kind of infectious diseases there.”
Choi, now a researcher at a Korea University-affiliated institute in South Korea, said North Korea likely decided to admit to the omicron outbreak because it sees it as less lethal and more manageable. He suspected North Korea set up a scenario to raise up and then bring down fever cases so as to boost Kim’s leadership.
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Lee, the Ajou professor, said North Korea may have overstated its earlier fever cases to give “a powerful shock” to the public to rally support for the government, but avoided releasing details of too many deaths to stave off public unrest.
The outbreak could eventually kill more than 100,000, if people remain unvaccinated and die at the same death rate as in South Korea, Shin, the Hanyang professor, warned.
The North Korean outbreak will likely last several months, Moon Jin Soo, director of the Institute for Health and Unification Studies at Seoul National University, said. It’s urgent to ship anti-viral pills and other essential medications to North Korea, rather than vaccines whose roll out would take at least a couple of months, he said.
“North Korea could spend a couple more months massaging the statistics, but they could also abruptly announce their victory this weekend,” said Ahn Kyung-su, head of DPRKHEALTH.ORG, a website focusing on health issues in North Korea. “North Korea always operates beyond your imagination. It’s hard to predict what they’ll do, but they do have a plan.”
AP · by HYUNG-JIN KIM · May 27, 2022
3. Japan, US fly fighters after China drill, N. Korean missiles
Northeast Asia is a dangerous neighborhood. The Korean peninsula and Taiwan and territorial conflict up to the Kuril islands create complex security conditions. Perhaps there should be a combatant command (Northeast Asia Command or Far East Command) to provide a holistics approach to address these threats. The Asia Pacific and Indo Pacific may be too large for one combatant command.
Japan, US fly fighters after China drill, N. Korean missiles
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese and U.S. forces have conducted a joint fighter jet flight over the Sea of Japan, Japan’s military said Thursday, in an apparent response to a Russia-China joint bomber flight while U.S. President Joe Biden was in Tokyo.
The Japan-U.S. joint flight on Wednesday involved eight warplanes based in Japan, including four U.S. F-16 fighters and four Japanese F-15s, the Joint Staff of the Japan Self-Defense Forces said.
The joint flight was meant to confirm the combined capabilities of the two militaries and further strengthen the Japan-U.S. alliance, it said in a statement.
The flight occurred hours after North Korea fired three missiles, including an intercontinental ballistic missile, toward the sea between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, amid concerns about another nuclear test by the North. The missiles fell in waters outside of Japan’s exclusive economic zone.
Chinese and Russian strategic bombers conducted joint flights near Japan on Tuesday, Japan’s Defense Ministry said. Biden was meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and their counterparts from India and Australia for the Quad, an Indo-Pacific security and economic coalition meant as a counterweight to China’s growing influence in the region.
Chinese H-6 bombers joined Russian TU-95s over the Sea of Japan and flew to areas over the East China Sea, but did not violate Japanese airspace, Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said. Separately, a Russian IL-20 reconnaissance plane was spotted flying off the northern Japanese coast.
The Chinese-Russian joint flight represented an “increased level of provocation” and a threat to the Quad, Kishi said.
China said the flights were over the the Sea of Japan, the East China Sea and the western Pacific. Defense Ministry spokesperson Wu Qian said it was a “routine joint strategic air patrol” that has been carried out four times since 2019.
“This operation is not aimed at a third party and has nothing to do with the current international and regional situation,” he said in a video statement posted Wednesday on the Defense Ministry website.
4. Top nuclear envoys of S. Korea, U.S., Japan to meet in Seoul next Friday
Trilateral cooperation. Good.
Top nuclear envoys of S. Korea, U.S., Japan to meet in Seoul next Friday | Yonhap News Agency
SEOUL, May 27 (Yonhap) -- The chief nuclear envoys of South Korea, the United States and Japan will meet in Seoul next week to discuss North Korea's provocations, Seoul's foreign ministry said Friday.
Kim Gunn, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, will have back-to-back bilateral and trilateral meetings with his American and Japanese counterparts, Sung Kim and Takehiro Funakoshi, respectively, on Friday, according to the ministry.
The officials are expected to share their assessments on North Korea's recent missile tests, and the possibility of its nuclear test and a joint strategy to deal with the recalcitrant nation.
ejkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
5. Defense minister orders 'stern' response to any direct N. Korean provocations
Now is the time for the military to talk softly and carry a big stick. We need to get on with comprehensive and sustained training to enhance readiness. No need to try to hide it but no need to overly publicize it. We need to follow the Nike model for training: Just do it.
Defense minister orders 'stern' response to any direct N. Korean provocations | Yonhap News Agency
SEOUL, May 27 (Yonhap) -- South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup called on new top military officers Friday to respond "sternly" to any direct North Korean provocations amid tensions caused by the recalcitrant regime's recent missile launches.
Lee made the remarks during separate inauguration ceremonies for new Army Chief of Staff Gen. Park Jeong-hwan, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Jung Sang-hwa and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lee Jong-ho.
Their inaugurations came as Seoul is seeking to sharpen deterrence in the wake of Pyongyang's recent provocations, including an apparent intercontinental ballistic missile launch on Wednesday, and amid concerns about its possible nuclear test.
"When it comes to our current operations, there shouldn't be any cracks, and if North Korea launches a direct provocation, we should respond sternly in light of self-defense," Lee said during Park's inauguration at the Gyeryongdae military headquarters, 160 kilometers south of Seoul.
Touching on the North's ICBM launch this week and its preparations for a nuclear test, the minister said that the North is "seriously" threatening security on the Korean Peninsula and beyond.
At the event for the new Navy chief, Lee also ordered a stern response to any direct provocations near the Northern Limit Line, a de facto inter-Korean sea border. At Jung's ceremony, he called for an "immediate" response to "all air threats."
Taking the Army's helm, Gen. Park stressed the need to secure capabilities and posture to fight and win in any future conflict based on the "solid South Korea-U.S. alliance."
Adm. Lee vowed to cultivate "elite" naval forces based on cutting-edge technologies, and lead the armed service in a "transparent and efficient" way.
Gen. Jung pledged to build the "strongest Air Force" that will be trusted by citizens.
sshluck@yna.co.kr
(END)
6. S. Korea voices 'deep regret' over failed bid for new U.N. sanctions on N. Korea
China and Russia are no friends of South Korea. They are supporting the threats against the South. South Korea should keep that in mind when dealing with them diplomatically and economically.
(LEAD) S. Korea voices 'deep regret' over failed bid for new U.N. sanctions on N. Korea | Yonhap News Agency
(ATTN: UPDATES lead paras with S. Korea's statement; RECASTS last paras; CHANGES headline, dateline)
SEOUL/ WASHINGTON, May 27 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean government expressed "deep regret" Friday about an unprecedented rejection of a proposed U.N. Security Council (UNSC) resolution imposing sanctions on North Korea for its provocation.
In a statement, Seoul's foreign ministry took a thinly veiled swipe at China and Russia, two permanent members of the 15-state panel, for opposing the U.S.-led push. The two exercised their veto power in the 13-2 vote during a session held in New York on Thursday (local time).
"(The government) expresses deep regret that the new Security Council resolution has not been adopted despite the approval of most members," its spokesperson Choi Young-sam said.
He pointed out that North Korea has continued the provocations of ballistic missile launches even amid the possibility of another nuclear test.
It marked the first time that a UNSC resolution on North Korea sanctions has been voted down, he noted and added that it "undermined the international community's confidence" in the U.N. council.
He urged members of the powerful panel to play a "responsible role" in responding to North Korea's violation of U.N. resolutions in place and supporting efforts for its denuclearization.
Pyongyang fired three ballistic missiles, including an apparent intercontinental ballistic missile, earlier this week, marking its 17th show of force of the year.
"With the adoption of this resolution, we can send a message to all proliferators that we will not stand for their actions that seek to undermine international peace and security," U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield said, ahead of the vote.
But China's U.N. Ambassador Zhang Jun reportedly made clear Beijing's opposition to any attempt to create confrontation or tension in Northeast Asia.
"We do not think additional sanctions will be helpful in responding to the current situation," he told reporters in New York earlier in the day, according to an AP report.
Thomas-Greenfield earlier said China and Russia, which traditionally have close ties with North Korea, have blocked "every attempt to enforce and to update DPRK sanctions" over the past four years, allowing the recalcitrant country to continue its "unlawful" activities.
DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the North's official name.
"These countries' attempt to defend the DPRK should not go unnoticed by this council or the world," Thomas-Greenfield has said.
bdk@yna.co.kr
(END)
7. China supplied over 2,800 tons of refined oil to N. Korea in March, April: U.N. report
Seems like good news. These are reported numbers.
The total figure represents about 5 percent of the volume of refined oil it can supply to the North in a year.
Russia reported it had not exported any barrels of refined oil to the North as of March this year since it last supplied its ally with 32 tons in August 2020.
China supplied over 2,800 tons of refined oil to N. Korea in March, April: U.N. report | Yonhap News Agency
SEOUL, May 27 (Yonhap) -- China exported around 2,838 tons of refined oil to North Korea in March and April this year, according to data that the country provided to the U.N. Security Council (UNSC).
Beijing supplied Pyongyang with 15,947 barrels, equivalent to 1,914 tons, in March and exported another 7,695 barrels, or 923.8 tons, last month, showed a related update posted on the UNSC's sanctions committee on North Korea.
The total figure represents about 5 percent of the volume of refined oil it can supply to the North in a year.
Russia reported it had not exported any barrels of refined oil to the North as of March this year since it last supplied its ally with 32 tons in August 2020.
Adopted in 2017 following the North's launch of a long-range ballistic missile, the UNSC Resolution 2397 puts a ceiling on the annual amount of refined oil that can be offered or sold to Pyongyang at 500,000 barrels.
In New York, meanwhile, the UNSC failed Thursday (local time) to adopt a resolution on imposing additional sanctions on North Korea, including limiting exports of refined oil to 375,000 barrels a year, for its recent ballistic missile launches, as China and Russia exercised their veto power.
julesyi@yna.co.kr
(END)
8. NGOs protest North Korean chairmanship of Conference on Disarmament
Another example of what is wrong with UN organizations.
Friday
May 27, 2022
NGOs protest North Korean chairmanship of Conference on Disarmament
United Nations Secretary General António Guterres addresses the Conference on Disarmament’s High-Level Segment 2019 on Feb. 25, 2019 in Geneva. [UN]
Thirty UN-accredited nongovernmental organizations called on world democracies to protest North Korea’s upcoming chairmanship of the Conference on Disarmament (CD), comparing it to a “serial rapist in charge of a women’s shelter.”
The joint statement on Thursday came days before Pyongyang is expected to lead the world disarmament forum in a rotational one-month presidency that lasts four weeks from May 30 to June 24.
Established in 1979, the 65-member UN-backed CD reports to the UN General Assembly and is billed by the UN as “the single multilateral disarmament negotiating forum of the international community.” In the past, the conference negotiated several major disarmament agreements such as the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.
North Korea’s ambassador to the forum, Han Tae-song, will be in charge of organizing the work of the conference, assisting in settling the agenda and representing the body in its relations with member countries, as well as with the UN General Assembly.
In a statement, the UN-backed NGOs called on UN Secretary General António Guterres, the United States, Canada, Britain, EU countries and other democracies “to strongly protest, and for their ambassadors to walk out of the conference” during the four weeks of the North Korean presidency.
“This is a country that threatens to attack other UN member states with missiles, and that commits atrocities against its own people,” said Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch, a Geneva-based NGO that monitors the UN, and who is spearheading the joint protest.
“Torture and starvation are routine in North Korean political prison camps, where an estimated 100,000 people are held in what is one of the world’s most dire human-rights situations,” said Neuer.
Neuer continued that any country that flagrantly disregards UN Security Council resolutions explicitly prohibiting its ballistic missile launches should be banned from any formal positions in UN bodies dealing with nuclear weapons disarmament.
BY LEE SUNG-EUN [lee.sungeun@joongang.co.kr]
9. S. Korean Air Force to join Australia-led multilateral exercise in August
The words President Yoon campaigned on: South Korea is stepping up.
S. Korean Air Force to join Australia-led multilateral exercise in August | Yonhap News Agency
SEOUL, May 26 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's Air Force will participate in an Australia-led multinational military exercise set to begin in August, its officials said Thursday, as Seoul seeks to sharpen deterrence against evolving North Korean threats.
The armed service plans to send six KF-16 fighters, one KC-330 tanker plane and some 130 personnel to join the biennial Exercise Pitch Black slated to take place in two Australian Air Force bases from mid-August through mid-September, the officials said.
"The Air Force plans to enhance capabilities for combined operations and military cooperation with participating nations," the Air Force said in a statement.
The exercise will bring together some 2,500 personnel and up to 100 aircraft from the United States, Australia, Canada, Germany, France, Indonesia, Singapore, Japan and other countries, according to the Australian Air Force website.
sshluck@yna.co.kr
(END)
10. North Korea gives Chinese vaccines to soldiers working as construction labor
Some things just make you wonder and go .....hmmmm......
"Immortal potion of love?" I wonder why Pfizer and Moderna did to turn to the regime's Propaganda and Agitation Department for vaccine marketing ideas?
North Korea gives Chinese vaccines to soldiers working as construction labor
Mobile broadcast units promote the ‘Immortal Potion of Love’ and praise leader Kim Jong Un
By Jieun Kim for RFA Korean
2022.05.26
North Korea has begun promoting a vaccination campaign for soldiers working on a high-priority construction project in the capital Pyongyang, marking the first time the government has administered vaccines in large numbers, sources in the country told RFA.
The country’s leader, Kim Jong Un, promised to build 50,000 new homes for the residents of Pyongyang by the end of 2025, and tens of thousands of soldiers have been mobilized to help with the project.
“They play loud political propaganda messages as the soldiers get injected with the vaccines from China,” a city government official told RFA on condition of anonymity for security reasons.
“They are calling it a ‘vaccination of love from the Highest Dignity,’” he said, using an honorific term for Kim Jong Un.
Each brigade of soldiers has set up a field sanitation center. On the morning of May 18th, broadcast vehicles began documenting army doctors dressed in protective gear inoculating the soldiers, according to the source.
“It was like it was a national political event. All of the officials of the construction command came out to the site, and the atmosphere was all serious,” he said.
“The broadcasting car played loudspeaker messages saying, ‘The general secretary has decided to import COVID-19 vaccines in the midst of our nation’s difficult situation. It was repeatedly emphasizing that the vaccines were a gracious gift given to the people from Kim Jong Un,” he said.
North Korea is in a state of “maximum emergency” after acknowledging this month that the virus had begun to spread among participants of a large-scale military parade in late April.
Prior to that, Pyongyang had denied that anyone in the country had contracted COVID-19, even rejecting 3 million doses of China’s Sinovac vaccine last September, saying that other countries needed them more.
‘Long live Kim Jong Un’
Sources have told RFA that doses for elite members of society have made their way to Pyongyang in small amounts, and that a limited number of soldiers stationed at the Chinese border had also been inoculated.
The soldiers in Pyongyang were relieved to learn they would be receiving the vaccine after they heard news that COVID-19 was spreading rapidly in the capital, the source said.
“Some of the soldiers were seen raising their hands and giving praise to Kim Jong Un, shedding tears and shouting ‘Manse!,’” said the source, using a Korean phrase usually said during times of overwhelming emotion that directly translates into English as “10,000 years” but effectively means “long live Kim Jong Un” in this context.
“The vaccination campaign conducted that day was only for the soldiers, even though others are helping with the 10,000 homes project. Members of the Korean Socialist Women’s League or local residents who ‘volunteered’ for construction were excluded,” he said.
The original plan called for the completion of 10,000 homes in 2021, but the home-building project in the capital fell behind schedule. The government now hopes to meet the target sometime this year and construct an additional 10,000 by the end of the year.
The rapid spread of the coronavirus could upend those plans. Over the past month the virus’s spread has forced the government to shut down entire cities, including the capital. But for now projects like the one in Pyongyang continue.
Soldiers mobilized for construction in other parts of the country are also in the government’s vaccination plans, a resident of South Hamgyong province, north of Pyongyang, told RFA on condition of anonymity to speak freely.
“Last week I heard from a friend who works in the medical field that the soldiers who are working on the Ryonpho Greenhouse Farm in Hamju County have received COVID-19 vaccines,” she told RFA Tuesday. “The government is prioritizing soldiers working on national construction projects.
“The greenhouse farm is a national construction project which Kim Jong Un ordered to be completed by Oct. 10… The general secretary attended a groundbreaking ceremony there on February 18th. The soldiers who are fighting the construction battle night and day were prioritized for vaccination against COVID-19 with vaccines imported from China,” she said, using militaristic language that North Korea uses to describe communal work projects and public campaigns.
‘Immortal Potion of Love.’
People are angry that the government is not rolling out the vaccine for them, however.
“They are saying that the government’s behavior is ridiculous. They are only vaccinating soldiers, and they are using images of these soldiers, saying how thrilled they are that the Highest Dignity is giving them a special consideration, as propaganda,” said the second source.
“A broadcast vehicle that appeared at the vaccination site loudly proclaimed the greatness of the general secretary, who prepared for them the ‘Immortal Potion of Love.’ People saw the scenes of the emotional soldiers, singing, weeping and shouting ‘Manse!’ but they looked on emotionless.”
Though North Korea has acknowledged that the virus is spreading inside the country, it has only reported a handful of confirmed COVID-19 cases, which 38 North, a site that provides analysis on the country and is run by the U.S.-based Stimson Center think tank, attributed to insufficient testing capabilities. Data published on the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center showed North Korea with only one confirmed COVID-19 case and six deaths as of Thursday evening.
The country is, however, keeping track of numbers of people who exhibit symptoms of COVID-19.
About 3.1 million people have been hit by outbreaks of fever, 68 of whom have died, according to data based on the most recent reports from North Korean state media published by 38 North. Around 2.7 million are reported to have made recoveries, while 323,300 are undergoing treatment.
Washington has offered to give vaccines to North Korea and China, U.S. President Joe Biden announced during a recent visit to Seoul. Neither country has responded to the offer.
North Korea has also ignored a South Korean proposal to cooperate in efforts to combat the pandemic.
Observers say Pyongyang is unlikely to accept humanitarian aid from the international community because it would be an admission of Kim Jong Un’s failure to protect the country from the virus.
Translated by Claire Lee and Leejin J. Chung. Written in English by Eugene Whong.
11. S. Korean volunteer fighter in Ukraine returns home with injuries
I hope the guy is not charged.
S. Korean volunteer fighter in Ukraine returns home with injuries | Yonhap News Agency
SEOUL, May 27 (Yonhap) -- Rhee Keun, a South Korean volunteer fighter in Ukraine, returned home Friday after sustaining injuries while in action.
The Navy SEAL-turned-YouTuber arrived at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, at around 7:30 a.m., about three months after he left for Ukraine to join the Russia-Ukraine war as a volunteer fighter.
Rhee has said via his YouTube channel that he recently sustained injuries during combat in Ukraine. He did not specify what the injuries were but said they are not serious and months of rehabilitation treatment is required.
Police plan to investigate him over passport law violation charges after his health improves as he traveled to the war-stricken country in defiance of the country's travel ban to Ukraine.
In a Twitter post a week earlier, Ukraine's International Legion of Territorial Defense said Ken Rhee who "sustained injuries on the battlefield ... will return home for rehabilitation," calling him by his English name.
pbr@yna.co.kr
(END)
12. Joe Biden vows to deepen America’s ties with South Korea
Excerpts:
Yet when it came to South Korea’s relationship with China, Mr Biden trod more carefully. The joint statement he and Mr Yoon issued at the end of his visit ran to nearly 3,000 words but did not mention China. That reflects South Korea’s wariness of antagonising its largest trading partner. Memories are still fresh of China’s economic boycott of South Korea following the deployment of an American missile-defence system there in 2017.
For South Korea, diversifying supply chains by building trade links with other Asian countries might reduce China’s ability to hold it to ransom. So might an American commitment to step in with economic assistance should a situation like that in 2017 repeat itself. Mr Biden is right that the best way to counter China is to reassure allies in the region of America’s reliability. But in certain places, if not others, such assurances may be best uttered quietly.
Joe Biden vows to deepen America’s ties with South Korea
That works better when no mention is made of China
May 26th 2022 | SEOUL
When president joe biden paid a visit to South Korea on May 20th, the first stop on a five-day tour of East Asia, he brought a special present for his South Korean counterpart. Yoon Suk-yeol, who took over as South Korea’s president on May 10th, now owns a replica of the sign that adorned the desk of Harry Truman, the president who sent American soldiers to fight in the Korean war in 1950. It reads, “The buck stops here.”
Beyond the congratulatory gesture, the gift alluded to America’s responsibilities as South Korea’s oldest ally and defender against the nuclear-armed dictatorship to the north. It set the tone for Mr Biden’s visit, during which he and Mr Yoon vowed to expand their countries’ military co-operation, strengthen deterrence against North Korea and work together on a host of other issues from supply-chain resilience to space exploration.
The commitment to more deterrence was put to the test soon after Mr Biden left Japan, the second stop on his trip. On May 25th North Korea launched three missiles off its east coast. South Korea’s armed forces said one of them was likely to have been an intercontinental ballistic missile, which America regards as particularly provocative. Such weapons may be capable of hitting its own shores. On the same day the South Korean intelligence service said it had evidence that the North had been trying a nuclear detonator over the past few weeks, probably in preparation for a nuclear test. America and South Korea responded by affirming the commitment Messrs Yoon and Biden had made just days before, conducting their first publicly declared joint missile launch in five years.
The show of strength echoed the general tone of Mr Biden’s visit. Earlier in the week the president had made headlines with an offhand remark, quickly walked back, about how America might get involved militarily should Taiwan be invaded. Big items on the agenda aimed to assure allies of America’s commitment to countering China’s increasing heft in the region. These included a meeting with leaders from the Quad, a loose grouping of America, Australia, India and Japan, and the launch of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, a plan to strengthen America’s economic presence in Asia. In a joint statement with Kishida Fumio, Japan’s prime minister, in Tokyo on May 23rd Mr Biden admonished China for its failure to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and for its coercive actions in the South China Sea.
Yet when it came to South Korea’s relationship with China, Mr Biden trod more carefully. The joint statement he and Mr Yoon issued at the end of his visit ran to nearly 3,000 words but did not mention China. That reflects South Korea’s wariness of antagonising its largest trading partner. Memories are still fresh of China’s economic boycott of South Korea following the deployment of an American missile-defence system there in 2017.
For South Korea, diversifying supply chains by building trade links with other Asian countries might reduce China’s ability to hold it to ransom. So might an American commitment to step in with economic assistance should a situation like that in 2017 repeat itself. Mr Biden is right that the best way to counter China is to reassure allies in the region of America’s reliability. But in certain places, if not others, such assurances may be best uttered quietly. ■
This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline "Quiet comfort"
From the May 28th 2022 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
13. BTS To Appear With Joe Biden At White House To Discuss Anti-Asian Hate Crimes
I do not normally report on K-pop but BTS is going to the White House.
BTS To Appear With Joe Biden At White House To Discuss Anti-Asian Hate Crimes
The K-pop group BTS is headed to the White House, with plans to visit President Joe Biden to discuss anti-Asian hate crimes and celebrate AANHPI Heritage Month.
Details have not been announced, but the visit of the South Korean pop sensations will take place on Tuesday, the White House said.
“President Biden has previously spoken about his commitment to combating the surge of anti-Asian hate crimes and signed into law the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act in May 2021 to provide law enforcement with resources to identify, investigate, and report hate crimes and ensure that hate crimes information is more accessible to AA and NHPI communities,” the White House said. “President Biden and BTS will also discuss the importance of diversity and inclusion and BTS’ platform as youth ambassadors who spread a message of hope and positivity across the world.”
BTS partnered with UNICEF to launch Love Myself, an anti-violence campaign. They also have performed at the United Nations General Assembly.
The White House has tapped pop culture figures to highlight different social issues. Last week, Selena Gomez appeared with First Lady Jill Biden at an event to bring awareness to mental health. Paris Hilton visited the White House earlier in the month to talk to administration officials about her advocacy for protection of youth in residential programs.
14. How did BTS become beacon of diversity and inclusion?
How did BTS become beacon of diversity and inclusion?
K-pop boy band BTS spoke at the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September of last year. Courtesy of Big Hit Music
K-pop icons to meet US President Joe Biden to discuss Asian inclusion
By Dong Sun-hwa
"All sorts of things are happening in my life," said RM of K-pop phenomenon BTS, Thursday, a few hours after reports that BTS would meet U.S. President Joe Biden next week to discuss Asian inclusion and representation.
The Grammy-nominated septet and Biden will also address anti-Asian hate crimes and discrimination, as well as BTS' platform as youth ambassador, spreading a message of hope and positivity, on May 31 (local time), according to the White House.
BTS' management company, Big Hit Music, revealed Friday that Biden invited the group in celebration of Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month, which was started in 1977 to "pay tribute to the generations of Asian and Pacific Islanders who have enriched America's history."
"It is a great honor to receive an invitation from Biden," Big Hit said in a statement. "We expect to see BTS talking about diverse topics ranging from inclusion to hate crimes with Biden as the representative of Korea."
The invitation is a testament that BTS has become a beacon of diversity and inclusion, experts say.
"As far as I know, it is unprecedented for a U.S. president to invite singers from another country to discuss social issues in the U.S.," Lee Gyu-tag, an associate professor of cultural studies at George Mason University Korea, told The Korea Times, Friday. "Contrary to most other K-pop acts, BTS has frequently exercised a social voice over a range of issues, including the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement in 2020 and spoke on behalf of future generations during the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York last year. These factors have led the group to become a symbol of diversity and inclusion."
The seven-piece act openly supported the BLM movement ― galvanized by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis ― on Twitter, saying, "We stand against racial discrimination. We condemn violence. You, I and we all have the right to be respected. We will stand together." BTS members and Big Hit donated 1.2 billion won ($1 million) to the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, Inc., too.
U.S. President Joe Biden / AP-YonhapThe fact that BTS and K-pop have amplified minority voices should also be noted, Lee added.
"Being a non-western and non-English-based genre, K-pop itself is an emblem of inclusion in the U.S. and BTS is undoubtedly a poster child for K-pop," he pointed out. "This seems to be another reason that BTS members, who have massive global clout, have been invited to the White House this time. Given that a large portion of their followers are members of Generation Z born between 1997 and 2012, they are the voices for the young generation as well."
The U.S. has recently seen a spike in hate crimes against Asians following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2021, shootings in Atlanta took the lives of eight people including four women of Korean descent and two women of Chinese descent. In May that year, Biden signed the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act into law.
BTS also released a statement on Twitter: "We recall moments when we faced discrimination as Asians. Our own experiences are inconsequential compared to the events that have occurred over the past few weeks. But these experiences were enough to make us feel powerless and chip away at our self-esteem. What our voice must convey is clear. We stand against racial discrimination. We condemn violence."
The group itself fell victim to racism last April, when five comedians in Chile, who dressed up like BTS members, introduced themselves as "Kim Jong Uno" ― a play on the name of North Korea's leader ― and mocked Korean accents. Two months before this controversial incident, a German radio host stirred controversy for ridiculing BTS' cover of Coldplay's "Fix You" (2005) and equating the group with COVID-19 for no clear reason.
The invitation, however, fueled concerns among some fans, who fear that BTS might be misunderstood for being "politically active."
"Some people are anxious that having a meeting with the Democratic president can be misunderstood as supporting Democratic Party," Lee said. "But in my eyes, for BTS, the focus of this meeting is to talk about things they believe are right."
RM also reassured his followers on fan community platform Weverse, saying, "Please do not worry about us too much. I look forward to seeing you all with a smile in June."
15. Two Presidents, One Agenda: A Blueprint for South Korea and the United States to Address the Challenges of the 2020s and Beyond
I listened to the report launch yesterday and Edgar Kagan, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for East Asia and Oceania, was the keynote speaker. He mentioned that this report is very much in line with the issues discussed at the summit and provides a lot of detail in support of the Joint Statement.
My one criticism of this is that there is no decision of a free and unified Korea and how the alliance is going to support the unification process. Despite that this is a useful report for Korea watchers to use as a reference.
Two Presidents, One Agenda: A Blueprint for South Korea and the United States to Address the Challenges of the 2020s and Beyond
An agenda for the U.S.-South Korea alliance in the 2020s and beyond.
President Biden and South Korea’s new president, Yoon Suk-yeol, have a historic opportunity to forge a closer U.S.-R.O.K. alliance. Two Presidents, One Agenda: A Blueprint for South Korea and the United States to Address the Challenges of the 2020s and Beyond is a series of articles that present the two presidents with specific policy recommendations addressing the most significant security and economic challenges and opportunities the two allies face in the years ahead. The articles are divided into two major categories: the shifting geopolitics of Northeast Asia, and economic and trade issues. There are 12 topics total under these two major areas.
For each of the bigger geostrategic and economic issues, prominent experts – one from the United States, the other from the ROK—present recommendations on how each of their countries can deal with these challenges. For more narrow issues, a single expert, either American or Korean, offers recommendations. All of the writers are leading experts in their field with significant scholarly credentials. In addition, many have extensive government experience as well.
Given all the shifts transforming the international environment, the United States and South Korea cannot afford a “business as usual” approach to their relations. This essay collection will chart a way forward for both administrations.
For Korean language (국문) version of Two Presidents One Agenda(두 대통령, 하나의 길),
Foreword
Richard L. Armitage, Former Deputy Secretary of State
Introduction
Sue Mi Terry, Director of the Asia Program and the Hyundai Motor-Korea Foundation Center for Korean History and Public Policy, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
PART I Geostrategic and Security Issues
1. Dual Imperatives: How Seoul and Washington Can Update Their Alliance to Address the China Challenge
Abraham M. Denmark, Vice President of Programs and Director of Studies, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
2. Korea in US–China Relations: Bridging the Gap as the Priority
Jae Ho Chung, Professor of International Relations, Seoul National University
3. The Land of Lousy Options: Dealing with North Korea
Victor Cha, Senior Vice President and Korea Chair, Center for Strategic and International Studies; Vice Dean and Professor, Georgetown University
4. How to Deal with North Korea’s Nuclear Program: A South Korean Perspective
Won Gon Park, Professor, Ewha Womans University
5. The US–Japan–ROK Trilateral: Rebuilding Confidence, Deepening Cooperation
Sheila A. Smith, John E. Merow Senior Fellow for Asia-Pacific Studies, Council on Foreign Relations
6. Rebuilding the US–South Korea–Japan Trilateral Relations in the Indo-Pacific Region
Sook Jong Lee, Professor, Sungkyunkwan University
7. Implications of the Ukraine War for South Korean Foreign Policy and Northeast Asian Security
Andrew Yeo, Senior Fellow and the SK-Korea Foundation Chair in Korea Studies, Center for East Asia Policy Studies, Brookings Institution
8. The Ukraine Crisis: Implications for Asia and South Korea
Young-kwan Yoon, Professor Emeritus, Department of Political Science and International Relations, Seoul National University
9. A Comprehensive US–South Korea Alliance in an Era of Geostrategic Uncertainty
Scott A. Snyder, Senior Fellow for Korea Studies and Director of the Program on US–Korea Policy, Council on Foreign Relations
10. Defending the Free and Open Indo-Pacific: The ROK–US Alliance Under Biden and Yoon
Chaesung Chun, Professor of Political Science and International Relations, Seoul National University
PART II Trade, Technology, and “New Frontier” Issues
11. US–Korea Trade: Shifting from a Bilateral to a Regional/Multilateral Focus
Wendy Cutler, Vice President, Asia Society Policy Institute
12. Beyond the WTO: How to Strengthen International and Regional Trade Architecture
Taeho Bark, President, Global Commerce Institute of Lee & Ko; Former Minister of Trade, Republic of Korea
13. Promoting US–Korea Technology Cooperation: Opportunities and Challenges Ahead Under New Leadership
Matthew P. Goodman, Senior Vice President for Economics, Center for Strategic and International Studies
14. Technology and Supply Chain Resilience: Opportunities for US–Korea Cooperation
Hyung-Gon Jeong, Former Vice President and current Senior Research Fellow, Korea Institute for International Economics Policy
15. Enhancing Economic Security in the Indo-Pacific: The Next Chapter of the US–ROK Economic Partnership
Miyeon Oh, Director and Senior Fellow, Asia Security Initiative, Atlantic Council; Director, Korea Studies, School of Advanced and International Studies, Johns Hopkins University
16. ROK–US Nuclear Cooperation: Challenges and Opportunities
Sang Hyun Lee, President, Sejong Institute; President, Korea Nuclear Policy Society
17. Charting a Course for the Future of US–ROK Energy Cooperation: Elevating Attention to Climate Action while Maintaining a Focus on Energy Security
Clara Gillispie, Senior Advisor, National Bureau of Asian Research
18. Raising US–South Korean Cybersecurity Cooperation to the Next Level
Adam Segal, Director of the Digital and Cyberspace Policy Program, Council on Foreign Relations
19. Public Health in US-South Korean Relations: US-South Korean Cooperation for Health Security
Soonman Kwon, Professor, Seoul National University
16. U.S., S. Korea working to find right strategy for dealing with N. Korea: U.S. official
I have some ideas.
Maximum Pressure 2.0
A Plan for North Korea
https://www.fdd.org/analysis/2019/12/3/maximum-pressure-2/
Start with determining that the acceptable durable political arrangement that will serve, protect, and advance alliance interests on the Korean peninsula is a free and unified Korea. Start with that objective and let's backward plan the strategy.
Beyond the Nuclear Crisis: A Strategy for the Korean Peninsula
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B513_sp6wSItQldmdVZ4cWFudWM/view?usp=sharing&resourcekey=0-KR5LR-AJfuIC8qPAHnPNGw
(LEAD) U.S., S. Korea working to find right strategy for dealing with N. Korea: U.S. official | Yonhap News Agency
(ATTN: UPDATES with additional remarks from the NSC official in paras 10-12)
By Byun Duk-kun
WASHINGTON, May 26 (Yonhap) -- The United States and South Korea are working to find the "right mix" of tools to address the North Korean issue, a senior White House official said Thursday.
Edgard Kagan, special assistant to President Joe Biden and senior director for East Asia and Oceania at the National Security Council, also said the countries have no illusions that there is a magic solution to the challenges posed by North Korea.
"We have no illusions that there is a magic sort of solution to any of this," Kagan said in a seminar hosted by the Wilson Center, a Washington-based think tank.
"These are long standing issues, but I think that we remain committed and I think I saw a great deal of sort of shared vision between President Yoon and President Biden on the need for making sure that we are able to do what we need to do, and at same time making sure that we send clear signals that we seek serious and sustained diplomacy," he added, referring to Biden's recent trip to Seoul for a bilateral summit with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol.
Biden made a three-day visit to South Korea from Friday (Seoul time) to become the first foreign leader to hold a summit with Yoon less than a fortnight since the new South Korean leader took office.
Biden's first trip to Asia, that also took him to Japan, followed a series of missile tests by North Korea. Pyongyang again fired three ballistic missiles, including an apparent intercontinental ballistic missile, on the heels of the U.S. president's departure from Tokyo.
"I think that there is an awareness of the fact that we have certain tools and we are trying to change the mix of tools," Kagan said when asked what the U.S. and South Korea planned to do to change North Korea's behavior.
"I think you saw very clearly a desire to both strengthen security cooperation, an emphasis on extended deterrence, which I think reflects a real discussion that's happening in the ROK," he added, referring to South Korea by its official name, the Republic of Korea.
Biden reaffirmed the U.S.' commitment to provide a strong extended deterrence to South Korea in the summit with his South Korean counterpart.
Kagan noted the extended deterrence itself may not change the direction of North Korea's ongoing provocations.
"It is not clear to me that extended deterrence by itself is the key tool for changing the trajectory of the DPRK," he said, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
"I would like to think that there have not been a lot of doubts about U.S. extended deterrence commitments to the ROK over the years, and that that isn't what has driven the DPRK's programs, which, as we all know, are extremely destabilizing and violate multiple (U.N.) Security Council resolutions," he added.
North Korea has conducted 17 rounds of missile tests so far this year. It is now widely expected to conduct a nuclear test in the near future, which would mark its seventh nuclear test, and also the first since September 2017.
Kagan said the U.S. will work to make sure that it has "the right security mechanisms and coordination in place to be able to live up to our alliance obligations."
He also reiterated that the U.S. remains open to dialogue.
"I think you saw the president reiterate ... our absolute commitment to our security commitments to the ROK and to Japan. The president was also clear, I think you see in the statement, that we remain very committed to serious and sustained diplomacy with the DPRK if they choose to do so, and we encourage them to do that," said Kagan.
bdk@yna.co.kr
(END)
17. U.S., China must work together on N. Korea, other global issues: Blinken
Unfortunately I do not think China has the same view particularly on north Korea.
U.S., China must work together on N. Korea, other global issues: Blinken | Yonhap News Agency
By Byun Duk-kun
WASHINGTON, May 26 (Yonhap) -- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday urged Beijing to work with the U.S. on global issues, including North Korea, as he laid out U.S. policy toward China and its intensifying power competition.
The top U.S. diplomat insisted the two powers must cooperate on vital global issues including North Korea despite their differences.
"On non-proliferation and arms control, it's in all of our interests to uphold the rules, the norms, the treaties that help reduce the spread of weapons of mass destruction," Blinken said in an address delivered at George Washington University.
"China and the United States must keep working together and with other countries to address Iran and North Korea's nuclear programs, and we remain ready to discuss directly with Beijing our respective responsibilities as nuclear powers," he added.
Blinken's remarks come as North Korea is widely anticipated to conduct a nuclear test as part of its ongoing saber-rattling.
Pyongyang has staged 17 rounds of missile tests this year, including at least four suspected launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).
Officials in Seoul have said the country appears to have completed "all preparations" for a nuclear test, which would mark North Korea's seventh nuclear test if conducted.
Pyongyang last conducted a nuclear test in September 2017.
"We remain committed to intense diplomacy, alongside intense competition," said Blinken.
"Even as we invest, align and compete, or work together with Beijing where our interests come together, we can't let the disagreements that divide us stop us from moving forward on the priorities that demand that we work together for the good of our people and for the good of the world," he added.
bdk@yna.co.kr
(END)
18. Deputy CFC chief Gen. Kim tapped to lead Joint Chiefs of Staff
I think this makes an important statement on the importance of the ROK/US Combined Forces Command. During the previous administration officers serving in CFC were underrepresented on promotion lists. It is also possible General Kim could go on to be the Minister of Defense in a few years.
Deputy CFC chief Gen. Kim tapped to lead Joint Chiefs of Staff
Army Gen. Kim Seung-kyum, the deputy commander of the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command (CFC), was named to lead the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), the defense ministry said Wednesday, in the first reshuffle of top military officers since the launch of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration.
The shake-up was announced hours after North Korea's launches of three ballistic missiles into the East Sea.
Lt. Gen. Park Jeong-hwan, the vice JCS chief, was named the new Army chief of staff while Lt. Gen. Ahn Byung-seok, the vice Army chief of staff, was picked for the deputy CFC commander post.
Vice Adm. Lee Jong-ho, the JCS military support division chief, was named the new chief of naval operations. Lt. Gen. Jung Sang-hwa, the JCS strategic planning division chief, was selected as the Air Force chief of staff.
Lt. Gen. Jeon Dong-jin, the JCS operations division chief, was tapped as the new Ground Operations Command chief, while Lt. Gen. Shin Hee-hyun, the head of the Army's 3rd Corps, was picked for the 2nd Operations Command chief.
V/R
David Maxwell
Senior Fellow
Foundation for Defense of Democracies
Phone: 202-573-8647
Twitter: @davidmaxwell161
FDD is a Washington-based nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.
