Quotes of the Day:
"Let me tell you the secret that has led me to my goal. My strength lies solely in my tenacity."
- Louis Pasteur
"The most shocking fact about war is that its victims and its instruments are individual human beings, and that these individual beings are condemned by the monstrous conventions of politics to murder or be murdered in quarrels not their own."
- Aldous Huxley
"Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost."
-John Quincy Adams
1. Yoon and Biden agree to increase security and economic cooperation
2. Hyundai to invest US$5 bln in U.S. for robotics, autonomous driving development
3. US, Korean leaders brandish extended deterrence
4. ‘Doomsday Plane’ flies to Japan along with Biden’s trip to S. Korea
5. Biden says 'hello' to N.Korea's Kim amid tensions over weapons tests
6. N. Korea reports 186,000 new suspected COVID-19 cases, one more death
7. First steps to success (President Yoon)
8. North, confident in battle with Covid-19, mum on vaccine offer
9. North Korean COVID-19/Fever Data Tracker
10. Biden Says U.S. Is Prepared if North Korea Conducts Missile Test
11. U.S. not considering adding S. Korea to Quad: official
12. Chinese people purchase nearly 7,000 buildings in S. Korea in 2021
13. Yoon-Biden summit tips Korea's economic axis toward US
14. It is time to privatize unification policy
15. Broadening alliance
16. S. Korea aligns with US Indo-Pacific strategy
17. Biden departs after full show of alliance
18. Biden says he's "not concerned" about potential North Korea weapons tests
1. Yoon and Biden agree to increase security and economic cooperation
My initial assessment of the Yoon-Biden Summit:
I think the summit definitely reaffirmed the importance of the alliance for both countries. There should be no doubt about the commitment of both countries to mutual defense. I think there was a good balance between security and economic issues. The alliance is more than a security arrangement.
I was especially pleased about the recommitment to combined exercises and extended deterrence. Most importantly I think there is a common assumption about the nature, objectives and strategy of the Kim family regime. This is most important for alliance policy and strategy going forward.
I was disappointed that there was no specific mention about seeking peaceful unification: a free and unified Korea. This is the second summit since 2009 that the joint statement did not state peaceful unification as a mutual objective. Last May’s summit did not mention it either. However, there was a strong statement of shared values of democracy, freedom, and human rights that it is clear that between the lines and behind closed doors a free and unified Korea was likely an important objective that they chose not to emphasize publicly due to political considerations.
Excerpts;
The KAOC at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi, situated in an underground bunker, is a key strategic command post for directing aerospace operations within the Korean Peninsula. Yoon is the first Korean commander-in-chief to visit the KAOC in some 13 years.
"I believe that the KAOC is the critical center to together respond to the DPRK's increasing nuclear and missile threat and also a symbol of the robust ROK-U.S. alliance," Yoon said to Korean and American service members. "I would like to note with appreciation the KAOC as the center of Korea's three-axis system to defend against the North Korean missile threat, and I would like to mention the importance of your role and responsibility to defend the security of this peninsula."
He referred to the North by the acronym for its official name, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
The South Korean three-axis system refers to defenses against North Korean nuclear and missile threats: a Kill Chain pre-emptive strike system, Korean Air and Missile Defense system and Korea Massive Punishment and Retaliation plan.
"You are the frontline of everything we are concerned about," said Biden alongside Yoon to the troops. "You represent the commitment of our two countries made each other and the strength of the U.S.-Republic of Korea (ROK) alliance. Our alliance was formed through shared sacrifice of the Korean War, and now seven decades later, thanks to you, the Republic of Korea is a strong, thriving and innovating democracy and our alliance grows stronger every single day."
Sunday
May 22, 2022
Yoon and Biden agree to increase security and economic cooperation
President Yoon Suk-yeol, center left, and U.S. President Joe Biden, center right, speak to troops during a visit to the Korean Air and Space Operations Center (KAOC) at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi, Sunday afternoon. Biden later concluded his three-day visit to Seoul and departed for Tokyo. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]
U.S. President Joe Biden wrapped up a three-day trip to Seoul with a visit to the Korean Air and Space Operations Center (KAOC) alongside President Yoon Suk-yeol Sunday afternoon in a show of security coordination amid North Korea's missile threats.
This marks the first visit to the center by a U.S. president and comes after the two leaders in their first summit talks Saturday agreed to expand the "scope and scale" of combined military exercises and training. They also committed to the deployment of U.S. strategic military assets "in a timely and coordinated manner as necessary" to reinforce deterrence in the face of North Korea's "destabilizing activities," according to their joint statement.
The KAOC at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi, situated in an underground bunker, is a key strategic command post for directing aerospace operations within the Korean Peninsula. Yoon is the first Korean commander-in-chief to visit the KAOC in some 13 years.
"I believe that the KAOC is the critical center to together respond to the DPRK's increasing nuclear and missile threat and also a symbol of the robust ROK-U.S. alliance," Yoon said to Korean and American service members. "I would like to note with appreciation the KAOC as the center of Korea's three-axis system to defend against the North Korean missile threat, and I would like to mention the importance of your role and responsibility to defend the security of this peninsula."
He referred to the North by the acronym for its official name, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
The South Korean three-axis system refers to defenses against North Korean nuclear and missile threats: a Kill Chain pre-emptive strike system, Korean Air and Missile Defense system and Korea Massive Punishment and Retaliation plan.
"You are the frontline of everything we are concerned about," said Biden alongside Yoon to the troops. "You represent the commitment of our two countries made each other and the strength of the U.S.-Republic of Korea (ROK) alliance. Our alliance was formed through shared sacrifice of the Korean War, and now seven decades later, thanks to you, the Republic of Korea is a strong, thriving and innovating democracy and our alliance grows stronger every single day."
President Yoon Suk-yeol, right, looks at U.S. President Joe Biden at a joint press conference after their first bilateral summit at the presidential office in Yongsan, central Seoul, Saturday. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]
The two presidents, through their meetings since Friday, coordinated responses to North Korea's nuclear and missiles threats, expanded the strategic economic and technological partnership and strengthened the alliance.
On Friday afternoon, Biden arrived for a three-day official visit on Air Force One at Osan Air Base and was welcomed by Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin.
Biden immediately made a trip to the Samsung Electronics chip complex in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi, the first by an American president. Yoon joined him at the semiconductor plant, and they were guided by Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong. The two leaders vowed to work together to strengthen supply chains for critical components, such as semiconductors.
On Saturday, Biden paid a visit to Seoul National Cemetery in Dongjak District, southern Seoul, to pay tribute to casualties of the 1950-53 Korean War.
Later in the afternoon, Biden arrived at the new Korean presidential office in Yongsan, central Seoul, and was welcomed by Yoon at the entrance.
The two entered the building on a red carpet, and Biden wrote in the guest book, "Thank you for the hospitality and the Alliance."
Their first summit talks began with a small group meeting that focused on North Korea issues and alliance matters. The two leaders held brief one-on-one talks, flanked only by interpreters, and then were joined by their aides for an expanded meeting to discuss economic security and supply chain risks.
The talks lasted 110 minutes, slightly longer than expected. The two leaders especially focused on ways to expand relations to a "global comprehensive strategic alliance," broadening coordination in military and security affairs, shared values and economic and technological cooperation.
At the beginning of their talks on the fifth floor of the presidential office, Yoon said to Biden, "Today we're living in the era of economic security, where economy is security and vice versa. The transformation of the international trade order and the disruption of global supply chains are having a direct impact on the livelihood of our people."
He called for continued cooperation in strategic industries, such as chips and electric vehicle (EV) batteries, "in order to expand mutual investment and to attain our common goal, which is building a resilient supply chain."
"For decades, our alliance has been a linchpin for regional peace and growth and prosperity," Biden said. "And it's been vital to deterring attacks from the DPRK. And, today, our cooperation is essential to preserve the stability on the global stage as well. With this visit, we're taking the cooperation between our two countries to new heights."
Immediately after their talks, they then held a press conference.
"At this summit, we shared the goal of developing the ROK-U.S. alliance into a global, comprehensive, strategic alliance, and we discussed relevant actions to that end," Yoon said during the press conference. "Moreover, we engaged in a candid conversation, building friendship and trust," adding he and Biden saw "eye-to-eye on so many fronts."
Biden said, "President Yoon and I committed to strengthening our close engagement and work together to take on challenges of regional security, including addressing the threat posed by the DPRK by further strengthening our deterrence posture and working toward a complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," he added, referring to the official name of North Korea.
The two had a united message on North Korea.
"A sustainable peace on the Korean Peninsula is underpinned by a principled and consistent policy towards North Korea," said Yoon. "In lockstep coordination with the Biden administration, I commit to resolutely safeguard peace on the Korean Peninsula and encourage North Korea to come forward for dialogue and engage in practical cooperation."
He stressed the "common goal of the complete denuclearization of the DPRK," and said that there is "no compromise for security," adding that "strong deterrence against North Korea is paramount."
Yoon outlined his vision to normalize inter-Korean relations through an "audacious plan" aimed at a denuclearized and prosperous Korean Peninsula, and Biden in turn expressed his support for inter-Korean cooperation.
Biden stressed the advantages of an economic partnership with the United States and said an independent analysis this week "projected that the American economy is poised to grow at a faster rate than the Chinese economy for the first time in 45 years, since 1976."
Pointing to the U.S. relationship with South Korea being "closer than they've ever been," Biden said, "Our businesses are blazing new trails together. And it all goes to my core belief, something I've said for a long time: It's never a good bet to bet against the United States of America."
The leaders called to step up "practical cooperation" in semiconductors, batteries, civil nuclear power, space development, cyberspace and other emerging industries, said Yoon.
The presidents agreed to establish an economic security dialogue for timely communication and cooperation on supply chains, advanced science and technology and other areas of economic security.
The leaders further committed to cooperation on critical technologies, energy security, global health and climate change.
Biden thanked Korea for its strong support for Ukraine and added that Russian President Vladimir Putin's war against Ukraine "isn't just a matter for Europe" but "an attack on democracy and the core international principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity."
He said that Seoul and Washington are "standing together" as a part of a global response "to condemn Russia's flagrant violations of international law, and to hold Russia accountable."
On Saturday evening, Yoon hosted an official dinner banquet at the National Museum of Korea, near the presidential office, attended by some 80 government officials, business leaders and other dignitaries.
The meal included bibimbap, a Korean rice dish with vegetables, to represent harmony between the two countries, and a wine produced by the Dana Estates winery, owned by a Korean in Napa Valley, California.
Yoon's wife, first lady Kim Keon-hee, briefly greeted Biden ahead of the official dinner at the museum. She did not attend the dinner as her U.S. counterpart, first lady Jill Biden, didn't visit.
On Sunday morning, Biden met with Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Euisun Chung at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in central Seoul.
After Yoon and Biden's visit to the KAOC, the U.S. leader greeted American troops and their family members at the Osan base. Yoon separately met Korean troops at the Master Control and Reporting Center (MCRC) at Osan, which monitors activities of North Korean aircraft and missiles and operates guided weapons to intercept them.
Later Sunday afternoon, Biden departed from the Osan Air Base to Tokyo, where he was set to attend a Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or Quad, meeting. This U.S.-led cooperative forum with Japan, India and Australia is a regional grouping seen as countering China's assertiveness.
Biden notably didn't visit the demilitarized zone (DMZ) at the inter-Korean border, a site he has visited twice before, including as vice president in 2013.
However, on Saturday evening, Biden had a short phone conversation with former President Moon Jae-in and called him a "good friend," according to an aide to Moon.
President Yoon Suk-yeol, right, and U.S. President Joe Biden toast each other at the official dinner banquet at the National Museum of Korea in Yongsan District, central Seoul, Saturday, attended by some 80 dignitaries including government officials and leaders of major conglomerates. [YONHAP]
The summit comes just 11 days after Yoon's inauguration, the quickest ever for a new Korean president to meet with an American leader. It was a first test for Yoon, a former prosecutor general, in the diplomatic arena and also important for setting the tone of his administration's relations with the United States for the next five years.
The leaders agreed to "initiate discussions to expand the scope and scale of combined military exercises and training on and around the Korean Peninsula," according to the joint statement.
In recent years, military exercises between the United States and South Korea have been scaled down amid diplomatic overtures toward North Korea by the Moon Jae-in and Donald Trump governments and because of the Covid-19 pandemic. North Korea calls such drills rehearsals for an invasion.
In the statement, Biden committed to deterrence "using the full range of U.S. defense capabilities, including nuclear, conventional and missile defense capabilities."
They agreed to reactivate the Extended Deterrence Strategy and Consultation Group (EDSCG), a high-level consultative mechanism which has not met since early January 2018.
"In the past, when it came to extended deterrence, we just talked about a nuclear umbrella," Yoon said during the press conference. "But beyond that, there could be many other aspects, including fighters, bombers and missiles. So, we engaged in discussions regarding the timely deployment of such strategic assets."
Addressing North Korea's nuclear threat, he said "combined military exercises, I believe, should be stepped up in many aspects."
Yoon and Biden further discussed South Korea's participation in the U.S.-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), set to be formally established during Biden's visit to Japan next Monday.
"Both leaders agree to work together to develop a comprehensive IPEF that will deepen economic engagement on priority issues, including the digital economy, resilient supply chains, clean energy, and other priorities geared toward promoting sustainable economic growth," the statement said.
The IPEF, a comprehensive economic framework for the region proposed by the United States last October, is viewed as a means for members to "decouple" from the Chinese market by finding alternative supply chains.
Seoul officials stress that the IPEF is not meant to exclude any particular country.
Yoon and Biden agreed to direct their National Security Councils to launch an economic security dialogue "aimed to align the bureaucratic and policy approaches between the two governments."
The two further recognized the potential for cooperation in the defense industry and agreed to strengthen partnerships in the defense sector supply chains, joint development and manufacturing.
They also discussed the "importance of preserving peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait as an essential element in security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region," according to their statement.
Biden said in the press conference Saturday said that he and Yoon committed to "promoting stability across the Taiwan Straits” and “ensuring freedom of navigation, including in the South China Sea and beyond."
Their joint statement also underscored the importance of trilateral cooperation between South Korea, the United States and Japan for responding to North Korea challenges, and "protecting shared security and prosperity, upholding common values, and bolstering the rules-based international order."
The United States is not considering adding South Korea to the U.S.-led Quad security forum, a senior U.S. official told Reuters Sunday, who was quoted as saying, "The goal right now is to develop and build out what has already been laid out."
Yoon previously expressed interest in working more closely with the Quad grouping.
"The key achievement was firstly affirming our vision for a global comprehensive strategic alliance," said Kim Sung-han, director of the presidential National Security Office (NSO), told reporters Saturday after the talks. "The South Korea-U.S. alliance contributes not only to the Indo-Pacific region but to global security and prosperity based on universal values such as freedom and human rights."
The leaders called for an "alliance in action," said Kim. In response to the North Korean nuclear and missile threats, he said they "will specify the U.S. extended deterrence measures in detail and restart the EDSCG consultative body as soon as possible."
As a present to Biden for visiting Seoul, Yoon gave him a wooden table decorated with traditional Korean mother-of-pearl patterns of butterflies and chrysanthemums, said his presidential office Sunday. A persimmon orange peony vanity was also presented, along with an exhibition book of American painter Mark Rothko, prepared by the first lady for Jill Biden.
2. Hyundai to invest US$5 bln in U.S. for robotics, autonomous driving development
IIt seems there is and will be a significant amount of investment by South Korean companies in the US.
(2nd LD) Hyundai to invest US$5 bln in U.S. for robotics, autonomous driving development | Yonhap News Agency
(ATTN: UPDATES with Biden's comment in 7th para; ADDS background in last 5 paras and 2nd photo)
SEOUL, May 22 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's Hyundai Motor Group said Sunday it will invest an additional US$5 billion in the United States for robotics and autonomous driving software development, just a day after announcing a similar size investment to build an electric vehicle plant in the U.S.
Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Euisun Chung made the latest announcement in his meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden, who was in Seoul for his three-day visit.
"Hyundai Motor Group plans to invest an additional $5 billion through 2025, which will strengthen our collaboration with American enterprises in diverse technologies, such as robotics, urban air mobility, autonomous driving and artificial intelligence," the chairman said. "This will enable us to grow into a company that offers better convenience and safety to our customers."
Through the investments, the group will provide U.S. customers with innovative products and solutions, and contribute to global carbon neutrality efforts, Chung said.
"We also stand ready to work towards achieving the Biden administration's goal of achieving 40 to 50 percent zero (emission) EV sales in the United States by 2030," he said.
Biden said auto companies, the American United Auto Workers and federal governors all understand the same basic thing that "Electric vehicles are good for our climate goals, but they're also good for jobs, and they're good for business."
"Investing aggressively in electric vehicles and battery production now, not tomorrow, is also important in strengthening our long-term economic security and accelerating progress towards a clean energy future," Biden said.
Global carmakers have been racing to go eco-friendly amid tightened regulations on emissions of greenhouse gases, which scientists say are to blame for global warming.
As for details of the planned investments, Hyundai said the company has yet to decide on whether to invest in robotics through Boston Dynamics, Inc. or M&As.
The group acquired the U.S.-based robotics firm Boston Dynamics for $880 million in June last year to strengthen its competitiveness in future mobility solutions.
It didn't provide detailed plans either for investments in other sectors.
The announcement came a day after the South Korean auto giant said it will invest $5.54 billion to build a dedicated electric vehicle and car battery manufacturing plant in the U.S. state of Georgia to further solidify its electrification push in the world's most important automobile market.
Hyundai Motor Group plans to start construction on the 300,000-unit-a-year EV facility in January 2023 and begin production in the first half of 2025.
The group's nonaffiliated suppliers will invest an additional $1 billion in the plant, generating at least 8,100 new jobs in Georgia, Hyundai said.
Last month, Hyundai Motor Co. announced it will invest $300 million in its Alabama plant that will begin production of the Santa Fe gasoline hybrid model and the all-electric GV70 SUV under its luxury Genesis brand later this year.
Hyundai Motor plans to roll out 17 EV models by 2030, including six Genesis models, with its smaller affiliate Kia scheduled to release 14 EVs by 2027.
Hyundai and Kia, which together form the world's fifth-biggest carmaker, aim to sell 3.23 million EVs, including 840,000 units in the U.S., in 2030 to account for 12 percent of the global EV market.
(END)
3. US, Korean leaders brandish extended deterrence
Brandish? No. Strategic reassurance and strategic resolve, yes.
A pretty good run down on the security aspects of the visit.
Give me a break on the second "faux pas." Hell, I keep saying Moon when I mean Yoon and I know others have the same problem.
Excerpts:
In Seoul, North Korea took center stage.
In the lead section of their joint statement, the two leaders agreed to “initiate discussions to expand the scope and scale of combined military exercises and training on and around the Korean Peninsula.”
US, Korean leaders brandish extended deterrence
Their lead agenda item, and a joint visit to an aircraft/missile tracking facility, aim at North Korea
SEOUL – The leaders of South Korea and the United States agreed on a wide range of measures in their summit on Saturday, but their top action item was the reincarnation of an extended deterrence body, and on Sunday they visit a missile-tracking command post.
Newly inaugurated South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and US President Joe Biden held extensive talks in Seoul on the second day of Biden’s visit to South Korea. Biden flies to Japan on Sunday afternoon on the second leg of the first Asia trip of his presidency.
These included: commitments to deepening cooperation on economic and energy security; enhancing protection and promotion of emerging technologies, including semiconductors, eco-friendly EV batteries, artificial intelligence, quantum technology, biotechnology, bio-manufacturing, and autonomous robotics; securing supply-chain resilience; and upgrading nuclear energy cooperation.
However, Biden’s Japan visit, which begins late on Sunday, is expected to focus in more detail on regional economic initiatives and China pushback. There, Biden will unveil the long-awaited Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, and will convene a meeting of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue.
In Seoul, North Korea took center stage.
In the lead section of their joint statement, the two leaders agreed to “initiate discussions to expand the scope and scale of combined military exercises and training on and around the Korean Peninsula.”
Exercises were cut back in 2018, in order to provide space for nascent Pyongyang-Washington diplomacy, and were subsequently impacted by the Covid pandemic. North Korea customarily responds angrily to the drills, calling them invasion preparation.
Moreover, the leaders agreed to promote partnerships in areas such as defense sector supply chain and joint development and manufacturing – including beginning discussions on a Reciprocal Defense Procurement agreement. That is a nod to South Korea’s rising profile as an arms exporter.
But the key action item in their statement was a commitment to reincarnate the Extended Deterrence Strategy and Consultation Group (EDSCG), while the two leaders’ site visit on Sunday will be to the Korean Air and Space Operations Center (KAOC).
Reviving EDSCG
Compared with such potent military abbreviations as CSG (carrier strike group) ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile) or SOF (special operations force), neither EDSCG nor KAOC is is very widely known.
And unlike references to prominent hardware or glamorous units, they hardly grip the imagination.
But the EDSCG is a critical body when it comes to the US erecting its nuclear umbrella in Korean skies; the KAOC is a critical military headquarters that tracks not only aircraft, but also North Korean missiles.
According to the US Department of Defense, the EDSCG was convened in 2016 after agreements between the South Korean and US foreign and defense ministers. Working-level meetings were held at the vice-ministerial level. Discussions were aimed at “extended deterrence against North Korea, including how to better leverage the full breadth of national power – using diplomacy, information, military, and economic elements.”
But military matters were to the fore. Under the body, the US committed “to draw on the full range of its military capabilities, including the nuclear umbrella, conventional strike, and missile defense to provide extended deterrence” to defend South Korea.
In an under-reported development, the EDSCG halted consultations in 2018 – the same year US president Donald Trump, after his summit with Kim Jong Un in Singapore, unilaterally halted joint South Korean-US exercises.
That stance was welcomed by Seoul, where the Moon Jae-in administration had made engaging North Korea is key policy focus. However, Trump’s subsequent moves to monetize the presence of US troops in Korea and Japan, and his ambivalent attitude toward alliances, raised questions globally about America’s commitment to its allies.
Those questions were further amplified by the fall of the Western-supported Kabul government, on Biden’s watch, in 2021.
Though Seoul and Washington maintain a mutual defense treaty, and some 27,000 US troops remain on the peninsula, there have been wobbles over these issues in conservative circles in Seoul.
Yoon has talked up the importance of joint defense against North Korea, and of promoting the values of freedom, democracy and human rights across the region. The resumption of the high-level EDSCG looks like a win for Yoon and those voices in South Korea that have favored strengthening the US alliance, particularly when it comes to Washington’s nuclear umbrella.
In 1991, the George W Bush administration committed to withdrawing all tactical nuclear weapons back to US territory. That put non-nuclear South Korea on the back foot in 2006, when North Korean detonated its first nuclear device.
The EDSCG provides a formalized channel for South Korea to raise its voice when it comes to the deployment of nuclear-capable US assets – such as bombers and submarines – to the peninsula in times of tension with North Korea.
A retired US Army lieutenant-colonel with extensive experience in South Korea recalled to Asia Times the ad hoc nature of prior deployments of strategic assets.
“When I was involved in requesting these assets I don’t think we distinguished whether it was nuclear-capable or not,” Steve Tharp told Asia Times. “We had different packages we would offer as options for the commander, who would talk it over with the [South Koreans] and the guys back in Washington.”
Visiting KAOC
Sunday’s visit to the KAOC, situated at Osan Air Base 70 kilometers south of Seoul, is closely linked to security against North Korea. It mirrors Biden’s and Yoon’s first engagement on Friday.
The two presidents met at a futuristic semiconductor fabrication plant run by Samsung in the town of Pyeongtaek, close to Osan, where they talked up bilateral cooperation in technological component and innovation spheres – that is, economic security. Their commitment to old-fashioned kinetic defense will be reinforced on Sunday at KAOC, a secure command facility inside Osan Air Base.
Osan is home to the US 7th Air Force, the key air component of US Forces Korea. The ground component, the US 8th Army, is based at nearby Pyeongtaek.
KAOC “is a very secure facility where they track all aircraft in the skies over the Korean Peninsula,” said Tharp, who has toured the facility’s predecessor. “And with missiles being shot, there is the added value of seeing that bunker, as it tracks everything in the airspace.”
Biden was expected to make the customary tour made by visiting US presidents to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on Sunday, but he had already made that trip when he was a vice-president.
The visit to KAOC appears to have been substituted for that; it is being reported as the first-ever US presidential visit to the facility.
North Korea has, so far this year, conducted 16 missile tests, including both long-range ICBMs and short-range hypersonic missiles. According to widespread military analyses, neither South Korean nor US forces currently possess the capabilities to shoot down hypersonics.
Some pundits fear that North Korea – currently racked by a possibly disastrous Covid pandemic – might test a missile, or even a nuclear device, during Biden’s South Korea/Japan tour.
4. ‘Doomsday Plane’ flies to Japan along with Biden’s trip to S. Korea
I wonder if Kim Jong-un conducts a nuclear or ICBM test if we will see POTUS board the plane.
‘Doomsday Plane’ flies to Japan along with Biden’s trip to S. Korea
Posted May. 21, 2022 07:34,
Updated May. 21, 2022 07:34
‘Doomsday Plane’ flies to Japan along with Biden’s trip to S. Korea. May. 21, 2022 07:34. by Sang-Ho Yun ysh1005@donga.com.
With U.S. President Joe Biden headed to South Korea, the E-4B, dubbed the Nuclear National Airborne Operations Center, was deployed to the Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan.
When the U.S. president travels overseas, an E-4B aircraft is customarily deployed on standby in a visiting country or a nearby region. However, it is a rare occasion where its flight route and destination are openly released, which seemingly intends to issue a warning against North Korea as it has arguably prepared to launch an ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile) and test nuclear weapons with President Biden’s visit to South Korea and his summit talk with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol scheduled on Saturday in mind.
An E-4B run by the U.S. Air Force left the Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Thursday night (KST) to get the Kadena Base on Thursday afternoon, reported a military aircraft tracking website on Friday. It was deployed to Japan around the same time as the arrival of Air Force One at the Osan Air Base in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, with President Biden onboard. The “nightwatch” aircraft takes charge of operations concerning all nuclear forces including ICBMs, nuclear bombers and nuclear submarines as well as forces on the ground, at sea and in the air in case of any nuclear war. That explains why it is dubbed “Doomsday Plane.”
The E-4B is equipped inside and outside with innovative defense systems that protect electronic devices against a nuclear electromagnetic pulse arising out of nuclear explosion. President Biden is onboard during wartime but it is used in peace time for the U.S. defense secretary and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff to travel overseas. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin draw attention when he visited South Korea on an E-4B in March last year. “Exceptionally, the U.S. government makes an E-4B itinerary publicly open on a presidential trip outside the nation,” said a military insider, interpreting it as a warning against North Korea’s nuclear and ICBM provocations that may happen on President Biden’s trip to South Korea and Japan.
5. Biden says 'hello' to N.Korea's Kim amid tensions over weapons tests
I would have added the words of a song from Roger Waters and Pink Floyd: Hello... "is there anybody out there."
But we should not forget that despite what is happening inside north Korea, it is still Kim Jong-un who is the one executing the real hostile policy.
Excerpts:
Neither president’s approach has led to a major breakthrough, however, and North Korea has resumed testing its largest intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), while intelligence reports suggest it is preparing for a new nuclear test.
“We are prepared for anything North Korea does,” Biden said.
A day earlier, Biden and his new South Korean counterpart, President Yoon Suk-yeol, agreed to consider bigger military exercises and potentially deploying more nuclear-capable American weapons to the region in response to the North’s weapons tests.
North Korea has not responded to U.S. overtures, including offers of COVID-19 vaccines, Biden said on Saturday, noting that he was willing to sit down with Kim if he thought it would lead to a serious breakthrough.
COVID-19 restrictions may be playing a role in North Korea’s lack of response, a senior U.S. administration official said.
North Korea has said the U.S. overtures are insincere because Washington maintains “hostile policies” such as military drills and sanctions.
Biden says 'hello' to N.Korea's Kim amid tensions over weapons tests
Reuters · by Trevor Hunnicutt, Josh Smith · May 22, 2022
5 Min Read
SEOUL (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden, in Seoul before heading to Japan as part of his first Asia trip as president, had a simple message for North Korea’s Kim Jong Un: “Hello... period,” he told reporters on the last day of his visit to South Korea on Sunday.
U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks with Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Euisun Chung (not pictured) on the automaker’s decision to build a new electric vehicle and battery manufacturing facility in Savannah, Georgia, as Biden ends his visit to Seoul, South Korea, May 22, 2022. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
Biden said he was “not concerned” about new North Korean nuclear tests, which would be the first in nearly five years.
But his wry response when asked what message he had for Kim underscored the administration’s low-key approach to the unresolved tensions with North Korea. It is a stark contrast with former President Donald Trump’s showy threats, summits, and “love letters” with Kim.
Neither president’s approach has led to a major breakthrough, however, and North Korea has resumed testing its largest intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), while intelligence reports suggest it is preparing for a new nuclear test.
“We are prepared for anything North Korea does,” Biden said.
A day earlier, Biden and his new South Korean counterpart, President Yoon Suk-yeol, agreed to consider bigger military exercises and potentially deploying more nuclear-capable American weapons to the region in response to the North’s weapons tests.
North Korea has not responded to U.S. overtures, including offers of COVID-19 vaccines, Biden said on Saturday, noting that he was willing to sit down with Kim if he thought it would lead to a serious breakthrough.
COVID-19 restrictions may be playing a role in North Korea’s lack of response, a senior U.S. administration official said.
North Korea has said the U.S. overtures are insincere because Washington maintains “hostile policies” such as military drills and sanctions.
Slideshow ( 2 images )
When asked whether Biden was willing to take concrete steps to break the stalemate, the official said that the administration was looking for serious engagement, not grand gestures.
“This is a decision that only the DPRK can make,” the official said, using the initials of North Korea’s official name.
At a U.S. air base south of Seoul, Biden and Yoon toured an air operations centre. American and South Korean troops, behind large computer projectors showing maps of the border separating North and South Korea, are tasked with defending against any missiles the North might launch.
Yoon said such facilities are important given “increasing” threats from North Korea.
Biden later ate ice cream and greeted American troops and their families at a bowling alley on the base, before departing for Japan.
REGIONAL TEAM-BUILDING
Biden’s focus during the trip has been on rallying “like-minded” democracies to cooperate more, part of broader efforts to counter China’s rising influence and exert pressure on Russia over its war in Ukraine.
On the second leg of the trip, Biden will meet with leaders of Japan, India and Australia, a grouping known as the Quad, another cornerstone of his strategy to push back against China’s expanding influence.
Yoon has shown interest in working more closely with the Quad, but the U.S. official said there was no consideration of adding Seoul to the group.
“It’s natural... to think about ways in which you can work with other like-minded democracies, but I think it’s also important to recognise that the goal right now is to develop and build out what has already been laid out,” the official said.
Tokyo will also see the launch on Monday of Biden’s long-awaited Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF), a programme intended to bind regional countries more closely via common standards in areas including supply-chain resilience, clean energy, infrastructure and digital trade.
The U.S. official declined to identify which countries might sign on to the IPEF, but said they were satisfied with “very strong interest” throughout the region in participating.
Biden also met with the chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, which announced on Sunday it would invest $5 billion in the United States through 2025 to strengthen its collaboration with U.S. firms in diverse technologies, such as robotics, urban air mobility, autonomous driving and artificial intelligence.
ANALYSIS-COVID crisis could deepen N.Korea food shortages amid drought warningsBiden, S.Korea’s Yoon vow to deter N.Korea while offering COVID-19 aidN.Korea reports over 200,000 fever cases for 5th day amid COVID waveN.Korea reports first COVID outbreak, orders lockdown in “gravest emergency”N.Korea mobilises office workers to fight drought amid food shortages
Reporting by Josh Smith and Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Nick Zieminski and Gerry Doyle
Reuters · by Trevor Hunnicutt, Josh Smith · May 22, 2022
6. N. Korea reports 186,000 new suspected COVID-19 cases, one more death
Suspect or suspicious statistics.
(LEAD) N. Korea reports 186,000 new suspected COVID-19 cases, one more death | Yonhap News Agency
10:52 May 22, 2022
(ATTN: UPDATES with KCNA report, U.S. official's view, Biden's remarks from 5th para)
SEOUL, May 22 (Yonhap) -- North Korea said Sunday around 186,000 new cases of fever and another death have been reported, as it announced a COVID-19 outbreak on its soil earlier this month.
More than 186,090 people showed symptoms of fever, with one additional death reported, over a 24-hour period until 6 p.m. the previous day, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported, citing data from the state emergency epidemic prevention headquarters.
It raised the death toll to 67, with the fatality rate standing at 0.003 percent, the KCNA added.
The fever caseload reported since late April in the nation, with a population of 24 million, had come to more than 2.64 million as of 6 p.m. Saturday, of which more than 2.06 million have recovered and at least 579,390 are being treated, according to the KCNA.
The North has continued to claim accomplishments in its ongoing antivirus fight amid a widespread view in the outside world that it might be underreporting the number of patients showing symptoms and related deaths. Many North Korea observers have raised concerns about the impoverished country's heath care system, including its coronavirus testing capabilities, and a question mark over the credibility of its coronavirus statistics.
"The current situation of the epidemic spread in the DPRK shows a positive trend away from a rapid growth in the beginning to a decline after being stably controlled and managed," the KCNA reported in an English-language article. DPRK stands for the North's official name, Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
It highlighted the "patriotic devotion" of military personnel dispatched to pharmacies in Pyongyang to steer the "epidemic" prevention campaign.
The all-out nationwide initiative also involves professional workers, teachers and medical students that have been involved in medical checkups, treatment and hygienic information service, according to the KCNA.
"From May 17 to 19 alone, large amounts of over 70 types of medicine were supplied to more than 4,900 medicine management offices, curative and preventive organs, and at least 4,300 pharmacies and medicine stands nationwide," it said.
Meanwhile, a senior U.S. official reportedly said COVID-19 restrictions may be a factor affecting the North's lack of response to Washington's stated overtures for dialogue.
Reuters cited the unnamed official as making the remark Sunday, the last day of President Joe Biden's three-day schedule here, which included summit talks with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol the previous day.
During a post-summit joint press conference, Biden said, "We've offered vaccines, not only to North Korea but to China as well, and we're prepared to do that immediately."
The Biden administration has stated its willingness to talk with Pyongyang "anywhere, anytime without preconditions," stressing it has no hostile intent toward the regime.
On May 12, the reclusive North made public its first confirmed case of the omicron variant.
(END)
Keyword
7. First steps to success (President Yoon)
Sunday
May 22, 2022
First steps to success
President Yoon Suk-yeol debuted on the diplomatic stage through a summit with U.S. President Joe Biden. The summit has elevated the bilateral relationship to a “global comprehensive strategic” partnership. The new conservative government clearly manifested its commitment to sa trong alliance with the U.S. to differentiate its foreign affairs path from the previous government. Yoon drew a generally positive score on his first diplomatic test, but the new government still has to ensure its outright turn to the U.S. does not stoke conflict with China and expanded deterrence measures do not escalate tensions with North Korea.
The summit redefined the Korea-U.S. alliance, going beyond security to cover technology and global partnership. Although Seoul has tried to push bilateral ties to a new level, an economic and comprehensive alliance has been proclaimed for the first time. Korea, which mostly relied on U.S. for security, is on a more equal footing through technology backing. Biden devoted his first and last day in Korea to Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor. He would have been happy to return home with a $10-billion investment package from Hyundai, but a U.S. president seeking out Korean businesses is also something for the Korean people to be proud of.
The security alliance has also been enhanced. The high-level Extended Deterrence Strategy and Consultation Group which was briefly operated during the Park Geun-hye administration was revived. The platform enabling the two allies to coordinate closely on the deployment of U.S. strategic assets could be a protection against the North Korean nuclear threat. Although dialogue must stay open, it is necessary to ensure practical and effective protection.
The new government has shifted away from the policy of ambiguity as the country is sandwiched between the U.S. and China by joining the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework designed to contain Chinese influence in the region. Still, maintaining a relationship with Beijing, given Korea’s reliance on economic cooperation and trade with China, is a challenge.
Yoon, just two weeks in office, has pulled off a productive summit by differentiating his stance from the previous government. But the precarious external environment remains unchanged with North Korea upping military provocations, the U.S. and China mired in a hegemonic contest and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The new government has just taken the first step. The economic agenda can no longer be separated from security. The government must steer domestic and foreign affairs by keeping the correlation in mind.
8. North, confident in battle with Covid-19, mum on vaccine offer
While I believe there is a significant outbreak in the north (that is a tragedy for the Korean people in the north), I am becoming more and more convinced that the regime is using the statistics as part of its "maximum pressure" and strategic influence campaign on the international community. But Kim is trying to send two messages. One is the outbreak is serious and he needs sanctions relief to deal with it but the second message is the regime is strong and is handling the outbreak very well and better than most (note the low death rate that is reported by the Propaganda and Agitation Department).
Sunday
May 22, 2022
North, confident in battle with Covid-19, mum on vaccine offer
A photo released by state-run Rodong Sinmun newspaper on Sunday shows a convoy of North Korean army trucks delivering medical supplies in Pyongyang. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ordered the deployment of the country's military to ensure a stable distribution of necessary medicines and other materials through pharmacies in response to hoarding, black market medicine sales and other illegal activities. [NEWS1]
U.S. President Joe Biden said Saturday in Seoul that North Korea has not responded to a U.S. offer of Covid-19 vaccines as Pyongyang's state media claimed the country is turning the corner in its first acknowledged outbreak.
Biden announced the offer at a press conference in South Korea, where he is undertaking a three-day visit, the first since President Yoon Suk-yeol took office.
"We've offered vaccines, not only to North Korea but to China as well, and we're prepared to do that immediately," Biden said in an appearance with Yoon following summit talks.
"We've got no response," he added.
North Korea previously turned down offers of vaccines from Covax, the global vaccine-sharing scheme. The secretive regime also failed to respond to a formal overture from South Korea that included offers of protective gear and testing equipment.
The North's anti-disease headquarters reported that approximately 180,000 individuals exhibited fevers and other Covid-19 symptoms in the 24 hours through Saturday at 6 p.m.
One additional fatality was reported, bringing the total death toll to 67.
The North has reported 2,646,730 cases of people with fevers since it acknowledged a suspected Covid-19 outbreak that it said began at the end of last month.
Because of its limited testing capacity, the North is reporting people with symptoms rather than confirmed infections.
The state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said that approximately 78 percent of those with fevers, or 2,067,270 people, have recovered since developing symptoms.
The suspected Covid-19 outbreak in North Korea — the first to be acknowledged by state authorities since the pandemic began in January 2020 — has led to travel restrictions between regions.
Case numbers in the North exploded over the past week, with reports of 296,180 people with fever symptoms in the 24 hours through May 15 at 6 p.m.
Daily cases appeared to plateau mid-week, as the North Korea reported 260,000 new cases of people with fever symptoms on Wednesday and 220,000 new cases on Friday.
The stabilizing daily number of cases appeared to give confidence to the isolated regime that it could weather the unexpected mass outbreak.
At a meeting of the ruling Workers' Party Politburo on Saturday, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said that the work of the state anti-disease headquarters was yielding a "a positive trend," according to the Rodong Sinmun party newspaper.
"As the nationwide anti-disease struggle unfolds, transmission nationwide is gradually being suppressed, with the number of recovered patients increasing day by day, while the number of deaths appears to be declining continuously," the Politburo said in a statement carried by the newspaper.
As the state media published reassuring reports on the Covid-19 situation, Kim spoke about the economy.
According to the Rodong Sinmun, he ordered measures "to revitalize the economy as a whole."
His comments carried by the newspaper also suggested a sense of triumph.
"The achievements in the current anti-disease war are the fruits of our party's accurate leadership, the political and ideological superiority of our socialist system, and its unique organizational power and unity," the North Korean leader was reported as saying.
The statements by the North's political leadership nevertheless belie the fragile state of the country's current healthcare system and the ability of its population to withstand a wide-ranging outbreak within its borders.
The North Korean populace is not vaccinated against Covid-19, while most of the country's hospitals and clinics are deprived of basic medicines and equipment.
9. North Korean COVID-19/Fever Data Tracker
North Korean COVID-19/Fever Data Tracker
Article last updated on May 21, 2022.
After two years of claiming no confirmed COVID-19 cases, North Korea disclosed a nationwide outbreak on May 13 and launched emergency epidemic prevention measures. The epidemic began in late April.
Officially, only been a handful of cases have been confirmed as COVID-19 with the rest attributed to an unidentified “fever”. This is likely due to insufficient testing capabilities and many are assumed to be COVID-19 related, however that might not be the entire picture. On Thursday, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service told lawmakers that waterborne diseases, like measles and typhoid, had already been spreading and that the fever totals include those outbreaks. That hasn’t been confirmed by North Korea.
North Korean state media has been publishing daily data on the outbreak, which is featured below. 38 North will update these numbers daily as new information becomes available.
Current Situation
For the first time since North Korea began providing outbreak data a week ago, the total number of active cases fell on May 20. State media reports 692,480 people were under treatment as of 6pm on Friday down more than 60,000 on the day. The government reported 219,030 new cases of fever on Friday and a single new death. In total, 2.5 million North Korean have been sickened by the outbreak, which is about 9.5 percent of the population.
On Saturday, state television broadcast video of Kim Jong Un attending a late night politburo meeting to discuss the current situation and the bier of Hyon Chol Hae, a North Korean Army marshall who died earlier this week. In contrast to earlier in the week, Kim was not wearing a mask in the TV images but others were.
Kim Jong Un is seen at a politburo meeting in in footage broadcast on Korean Central Television on May 21, 2022.
Kim Jong Un and senior North Korean officials pay their respects to Hyon Chol Hae in footage broadcast on Korean Central Television on May 21, 2022.
Provincial Data
Cases continued to fall in Pyongyang, but the outbreaks in the country's central provinces showed no sign of slowing down, according to provincial level data. The local data lags the national figures by a day so doesn't reflect the drop seen on Friday.
In North Hwanghae province, which is to the south of Pyongyang, 3.1 percent of the population were under treatment on Thursday. The rate was 2.8 percent in neighboring Kangwon and 2.5 percent in South Pyongan province, which borders Pyongyang to the north. Rates continue to be high in Kaesong and Rason but nowhere is as bad as Nampho, were 9 percent of people are currently under treatment, according to the government figures.
Previous Updates
May 20, 2022
North Korea saw 263,370 new cases of fever in the 24 hours to 6pm on Thursday, state media reported Friday morning. That’s equivalent to the number of new cases the previous day. Two people died and 248,720 recovered, according to the government figures. Across the nation, just over three quarters of a million people are being treated and 65 deaths have been attributed to the outbreak. North Korea is only believed to have tested a small fraction for COVID-19.
On Thursday, state media reported more on the medical response to the epidemic and provided an insight into what the sick can expect. Regional treatment centers have been formed and more isolation wards created but the technological response appears to extend to more thermometers, unspecified injections and traditional medicine. State media also reported thousands of tons of salt were transported to Pyongyang to make antiseptic solution.
It also said work was underway to identify failings in the epidemic prevention measures so far. Consultations had begun to “immediately rectify” the “vulnerable points, vacuums, evils and defects revealed in epidemic prevention work.”
Cases continue to fall in Pyongyang, likely as a result of strict curbs on movement, but they did increase in neighboring Nampo.
Around 38,000 people are currently being treated in province, which accounts for about 9 percent of its population. The general rise in fever cases in the provinces at the center of the country continued on Wednesday, according to government provincial-level data, which runs a day behind the national data. In South Pyongan province, which is to the north of Pyongyang, cases have surged from 43,736 on Monday to 80,920 on Wednesday, but as a percentage of the provincial population it remains relatively low at 2 percent.
Cases are also rising fast in South Hamgyong, which has seen a jump from 21,477 on Monday to 53,814 on Wednesday. The latter represents 1.5 percent of the provincial population. The sole death announced on Wednesday was in North Pyongan province.
May 19, 2022
The number of new fever cases has registered its first rise in three days, North Korean state media reported on Thursday. The country saw 262,270 new cases in the 24 hours to 6pm KST on May 18 but only 1 death, according to the Rodong Sinmun newspaper. In total, just under 2 million North Koreans or nearly 8 percent of the population have been hit by the fever outbreak with 741,000 still being treated. Total deaths stand at 63.
Current cases are falling in Pyongyang but starting to rise across the country, according to the latest provincial data released by the North Korean government. In the 24 hours to 6pm on May 17, Pyongyang was overtaken by neighboring Nampho as the area with the greatest number of active cases at 7.7 percent of the population versus 6.8 percent in the capital. Cases also fell in Rason in the northeast of the country from 5.2 to 4.7 pecent of the population
Elsewhere, most provinces saw infection rates rise. The largest increases were seen in South Pyongan and South Hamgyong provinces, although with only four days of provincial data having been released by the government, it’s unclear whether any of these changes are down to reporting problems and delays or the underlying epidemic.
Korean Central Television broadcast more images of quarantine and health workers in Pyongyang.
Quarantine workers in Pyongyang's Moranbong District shown on Korean Central Television on May 19, 2022.
Health workers in Pyongyang's Rakrang District shown on Korean Central Television on May 19, 2022.
May 18, 2022
North Korean state media reported 232,880 new cases of fever diagnosed in the 24 hours to 6pm KST on May 17. That’s the second day in a row that new cases have dropped, although with only six days of data is it too early to draw conclusions about what this means. An additional 6 deaths were reported taking the nationwide total to 62 since the outbreak began. There are currently 691,170 active cases nationwide and just over 1 million people have recovered. In total, 1.7 million people, or 6.7 percent of the population, have experienced symptoms to-date.
Pyongyang remains the hotspot of the outbreak with 269,000 active cases, which is about 7.5 percent of the city’s population. On Wednesday, North Korean state television broadcast images of empty streets and parts of the city cordoned off with “No Entry” signs and guards.
Video broadcast by Korean Central Television on May 18, 2022, appeared to show parts of Pyongyang cordoned off during an ongoing fever outbreak.
It also showed images of health workers visiting people in their homes and workers in full protective equipment carrying bags of gochujang paste, presumably to deliver to homes.
Workers in protective equipment carry bags of shopping in an image broadcast on Korean Central Television on May 18, 2022.
Nearby Nampho has the second highest level of cases, at 6.7 percent of the population, followed by Rason and Kaesong.
The death toll rose by 6 people on Tuesday to 62 with an additional death in each age group except the over 60s, which remained the same. Deaths among the under 20s now equal those among the over 60s in this outbreak.
On 38 North's affiliated blog, North Korean Economy Watch, Benjamin Katzeff Silberstein looks at the government's numbers and argues they might tell us more about how the government perceives the outbreak, than how many North Koreans have actually been infected with Covid-19.
May 17, 2022
North Korean state media reported 269,510 new cases of fever diagnosed in the 24 hours to 6pm KST on May 16 to 6pm KST on May 16. An additional 8 deaths were reported taking the nationwide total to 50 since the outbreak began. The country currently has 663,910 active cases and 819,090 people have recovered. Together, that means 1.5 million people, or 5.7 percent of the population, have experienced symptoms.
Provincial data reported on Korean Central Television indicates the fever outbreak is hitting North Korea’s main cities the hardest. In Pyongyang there were 240,459 people being treated as of May 15, accounting for roughly 7 percent of the city’s population. Cases in Nampho were equally high at 7 percent and in Rason and Kaesong active cases accounted for about 4.5 percent of the populations.
Of the 50 deaths reported to date, about a third have been among North Koreans aged 61 or older. By age group, infants and children up to 10 years old have been second hardest hit with 8 deaths, according to state data.
10. Biden Says U.S. Is Prepared if North Korea Conducts Missile Test
Biden Says U.S. Is Prepared if North Korea Conducts Missile Test
U.S. and South Korea say they will begin discussions to expand joint military exercises
Updated May 22, 2022 12:43 am ET
SEOUL—President Biden said Sunday the U.S. is prepared for the possibility that North Korea will conduct a missile test soon.
“We are prepared for anything North Korea does. We’ve thought through how we would respond to whatever they do,” Mr. Biden told reporters here. “I am not concerned, if that’s what you’re suggesting.”
White House officials have said North Korea could conduct a missile test or a seventh nuclear test during Mr. Biden’s first trip to Asia as president. Other analysts say a test could come shortly after he leaves the region.
Mr. Biden was meeting with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol later Sunday to address U.S. and South Korean troops serving together at Osan Air Base.
The two leaders held their first bilateral meeting during Mr. Biden’s trip to South Korea. The two nations said they would begin discussions to expand joint military exercises as North Korea steps up missile launches and satellite images suggest preparations for a seventh nuclear test.
Jake Sullivan, Mr. Biden’s national security adviser, said a test by North Korea would prompt the U.S. to increase efforts to defend its allies and “cause adjustments to the way that our military is postured in the region.”
Analysts who study satellite images of North Korea’s nuclear test site near the Chinese border have said that activity there suggests Pyongyang is preparing for its seventh nuclear test. The indications include piles of earth and rock near tunnel entrances that suggest recent event excavation work to prepare for a detonation inside.
By comparing the activity with similar work before North Korea’s previous tests, some analysts say a nuclear test might come later this week, after Mr. Biden has left Asia. North Korea detonated a nuclear bomb at the site in 2016 shortly after President Barack Obama finished a trip to Asia.
11. U.S. not considering adding S. Korea to Quad: official
It is just not a US decision. I think the US is walking the tightrope between South Korea and Japan and the Quad meeting this week.
Of course you "cannot " add South Korea to the Quad because with five countries it would no longer be a "Quad." (note sarcasm).
U.S. not considering adding S. Korea to Quad: official | Yonhap News Agency
SEOUL, May 22 (Yonhap) -- The United States is not considering adding South Korea to the Washington-led Quad security forum seen by many as a partnership to counter an assertive China, a senior U.S. official reportedly said Sunday.
The official made the remarks while accompanying U.S. President Joe Biden on his three-day trip in Seoul, which will be followed by a visit to Tokyo for the summit of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) slated for Tuesday. The Quad consists of the U.S., Australia, India and Japan. Biden had summit talks with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol on Saturday, during which they presented a shared vision for a "Global Comprehensive Strategic Alliance" between the two sides.
"Not currently under consideration to add South Korea to Quad," the official was quoted by Reuters as saying.
His remarks indicated that at the moment, Washington is not looking for the expansion of the dialogue platform into the "Quad plus" to include additional members like South Korea.
Such a U.S. stance has already been stated in the lead-up to Biden's first Asia swing since his inauguration early last year.
"I think that we have to recognize that the Quad is still developing, and so we're looking for ways in which we can reinforce and strengthen what we've done so far," another U.S. official told reporters via teleconference Friday. "But at the same time, I think that we welcome any support for the Quad."
During his election campaign, Yoon has pledged to take part in the Quad's various working groups like those on climate change and technologies in order to gradually expand cooperation between South Korea and the Quad.
sshluck@yna.co.kr
(END)
12. Chinese people purchase nearly 7,000 buildings in S. Korea in 2021
Chinese subversion of democratic countries is a whole of society effort.
Just a wild bit of speculation, I wonder how many of these 7,000 buildings have an impact on ROK security or the ROK/US alliance, either directly or indirectly. It may not be many but it may not be zero. This would be a good project for some aspiring PhD in Korean security studies.
Chinese people purchase nearly 7,000 buildings in S. Korea in 2021 | Yonhap News Agency
SEOUL, May 22 (Yonhap) -- Chinese people purchased nearly 7,000 buildings in South Korea last year, with more than half of the properties being from the Greater Seoul area, a ruling party lawmaker said Sunday.
A total of 6,640 buildings, including apartments, were purchased by Chinese nationals last year, and 2,659 of them are located in Gyeonggi Province, which surrounds the capital city of Seoul, Chung Woo-taik, a lawmaker of the ruling People Power Party, said in a report, citing the National Assembly Research Service.
The Chinese-owned properties accounted for 78.1 percent of total foreign buying in Gyeonggi Province last year, followed by 408 buildings purchased by Americans.
Chinese people also bought 1,220 buildings in Incheon, west of Seoul, and 736 buildings in Seoul last year, according to the report.
brk@yna.co.kr
(END)
13. Yoon-Biden summit tips Korea's economic axis toward US
Excerpts:
Korea formally expressed its intent to join the IPEF on the occasion of the summit between President Yoon Suk-yeol and Biden, Saturday, in the lead-up to the framework's launch in Tokyo, during the U.S. president's second leg of his Asia trip after Seoul.
Japan is among the countries ― also including Australia, New Zealand and Singapore ― that are likely to be founding members of the IPEF.
"The framework is not bad at all for Korean businesses because it assures a secure, resilient network of supply chains backed by the U.S., which have been disrupted in recent years," said Park Won-gon, a professor of international relations and North Korean studies at Ewha Womans University.
In semiconductors, a win-win situation between Korea and the U.S. is expected, with Samsung and SK Hynix from the Korean side boasting of manufacturing capabilities and the American businesses being global leaders in design.
On secondary batteries, enhanced cooperation is foreseeable between Korean battery manufacturers and American auto makers.
For instance, cooperation has been underway between LG Energy Solution and GM on the one hand and SK Innovation and Ford on the other.
A win-win situation is drawing attention as well in the automotive sectors, with Hyundai Motor announcing, Saturday, that it will invest $5.5 billion in building electric vehicles and batteries in the U.S. state of Georgia. Such investment is likely to result in the creation of massive jobs.
Yoon-Biden summit tips Korea's economic axis toward US
Conglomerate leaders attend a banquet hosted by the presidential office on the occasion of the summit between President Yoon Suk-yeol and U.S. President Biden, at the National Museum of Korea in Yongsan District in central Seoul, Saturday. From left in the back are Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin, CJ Group Chairman Sohn Kyung-shik and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won. Yonhap
Seoul's moves expected to draw backlash from China
By Yi Whan-woo
The bilateral summit between leaders of Korea and the United States, Saturday, shows Seoul's tilt toward the U.S. concerning the economy, which accordingly is anticipated to benefit from the Washington-led alliance in global supply chain networks and trade.
But because such a move could mean an end to Seoul's double allegiance to Washington and Beijing, they have the risk of provoking China, which has increasingly been weaponizing trade against U.S. allies in its continued trade war with the U.S.
"The summit will support Korea Inc. gain a foothold in markets in the U.S. and allies at a time when economic security is increasingly being underlined," Joo Won, the deputy director of the Hyundai Research Institute told The Korea Times, Sunday.
He was referring to the growing interconnection of economic and security interests worldwide, which the U.S. has been pushing harder to decouple from China and to rebuild American ties in supply chains for strategic items, such as semiconductors and secondary batteries.
The latest example can be seen in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), proposed by the Joe Biden government to promote regional cooperation in four major areas: supply chains, the digital economy, clean energy transformation and investments in infrastructure.
Korea formally expressed its intent to join the IPEF on the occasion of the summit between President Yoon Suk-yeol and Biden, Saturday, in the lead-up to the framework's launch in Tokyo, during the U.S. president's second leg of his Asia trip after Seoul.
Japan is among the countries ― also including Australia, New Zealand and Singapore ― that are likely to be founding members of the IPEF.
"The framework is not bad at all for Korean businesses because it assures a secure, resilient network of supply chains backed by the U.S., which have been disrupted in recent years," said Park Won-gon, a professor of international relations and North Korean studies at Ewha Womans University.
In semiconductors, a win-win situation between Korea and the U.S. is expected, with Samsung and SK Hynix from the Korean side boasting of manufacturing capabilities and the American businesses being global leaders in design.
On secondary batteries, enhanced cooperation is foreseeable between Korean battery manufacturers and American auto makers.
For instance, cooperation has been underway between LG Energy Solution and GM on the one hand and SK Innovation and Ford on the other.
A win-win situation is drawing attention as well in the automotive sectors, with Hyundai Motor announcing, Saturday, that it will invest $5.5 billion in building electric vehicles and batteries in the U.S. state of Georgia. Such investment is likely to result in the creation of massive jobs.
In relation to possible risks of the Korea-U.S. economic alliance, analysts have pointed out that China accounts for more than one-fourth of Korea's exports and that Beijing can exploit trade dependence to retaliate as in the case of deployment of U.S. THAAD missile shield in Korea in the late 2010s.
Additionally, Korea heavily relies on China for supplies of raw materials for manufacturing goods, and such reliance could led to supply shortages amid Seoul's transition to U.S.-led network supply chains.
The latest case of such a shortage was in 2021 when Korea's shipping industry experienced a shortage of diesel exhaust fluid, also known as "urea water," used on diesel trucks.
"And China is already reacting sensitively toward Korea's decision to join the IPEF," Park said, referring to a series of criticisms from state-controlled media outlets in Beijing.
Korea's presidential office said that the IPEF is not aimed at isolating China in the region.
But the online edition the state media outlet, The People's Daily, claimed that Biden's Asia trip is intended to pressure China and that Korea could be inflicted with serious damage if it sides with the U.S. in terms of its national interests.
The English-language version of The Global Times, which is under The People's Daily, said that the IPEF is intended to force countries in the region to decouple from China, not to facilitate economic prosperity in the region.
14. It is time to privatize unification policy
There does need to be a very large civil society component to achieving a free and unified Korea.
If you privatize "government policy" it is no longer a policy of the government. There needs to be a government policy but the government must encourage, enable, and empower civil society to contribute to the development and execution of that policy.
But unfortunately, this article is not really about unification policy. It is about policies of engagement executed through the Ministry of Unification under the name of unification but there is nowhere in this letter that talks about the processes necessary for achieving actual unification of a free and unified Korea.
It illustrates the problem of politicization of the Ministry of Unification that hinders civil society engagement with the north and the most important problem with unification and that is the MOU is focusing on too much that should be outside of its purview. There is no organization (that I am aware of ) that is solely focused on the comprehensive planning for unification. The MOU should jettison all of the work that is not directly related to planning for unification and make its sole focus on developing unification plans, policies, and strategy for unification.
It is time to privatize unification policy
This is the eighth in a "Letters to President Yoon" series The Korea Times has organized to convey policy recommendations in open letters from politicians, scholars and experts to President Yoon Suk-yeol following his May 10 inauguration. ― ED.
By Bernhard J. Seliger
Dear Mr. President, congratulations on your election as 13th President of the Republic of Korea. Just in office, you face a mounting number of challenges: high inflation and uneven recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, and at the same time persistent military provocations from North Korea, most likely culminating in renewed nuclear testing, the rise of China and the Korean posture in a wider world arena, such as the Ukraine conflict and much more.
And all that, while another important election for all local and regional representatives is looming and a majority in the National Assembly lacking. No real honeymoon period for your presidency. The recent news from North Korea is particularly worrisome. In a country without any basic immunization, neither by vaccination nor by previous infection, the fast-spreading omicron variant, now already having affected five percent of the population, might have devastating consequences.
Some aid goods have obviously been shipped from China but given the size of the outbreak it is not more than a drop in the ocean. And there are no signs for a North Korean acceptance of aid to set up a long-term solution for the COVID-19 problem by vaccinating the population. Fortunately, your government did immediately and unconditionally offer aid to North Korea; but, not surprisingly, this answer was completely ignored by Pyongyang.
While still it is a strong signal for your new policy that you offered the aid, the result could resemble that of the last government: South Korea makes offer after offer, and North Korea snubs it. And once another ― surely looming ― military provocation occurs, and South Korea protests it, all kind of communication soon breaks down.
What makes inter-Korean negotiations, even about so benign a topic as offering aid for helping to combat the coronavirus, so difficult? For one, North Korea is always careful, even paranoid, about the potential destabilizing effects of anything coming from South Korea. North Korea studied the downfall of communist regimes in Central and Eastern Europe very closely and one lesson it has learned is not to trust even peaceful opening up processes vis-a-vis the Southern neighbor.
However, there is another, though related issue: North-South relations have always been handled by both sides on the highest political level. There is no realm in North-South relations not governed by the state. Even so-called "civilian exchanges" are in reality carefully staged, and politically strongly orchestrated by governments.
In North Korea, where there is no civil society, this is not surprising. But also in South Korea, every move ― for example, aid to North Korea granted by civilian organizations, visits by South Koreans to the North or even chance encounters at international events ― has to be approved by the government, or at least promptly being reported and judged by the government. Failure of which leads to severe punishment.
Yet, can there be another way to handle non-governmental exchanges? Take the example of divided Germany. Certainly, the situation of Cold War Germany was different from that of the Korean Peninsula today, but one of the most striking differences is that during all the time of division, but in particular after the new Ostpolitik of the 1970s, there was an ever-widening realm of private, genuinely non-government-controlled exchanges between East and West.
When I as a child and later teenager visited my relatives in Karl-Marx-Stadt (today fortunately called Chemnitz again) in East Germany, we needed neither prior approval nor later reporting to the West German government. Day trips from West Berlin to East Berlin in the 1980s were no problem and visa free. The important thing is that the West German government from the 1950s tried to encourage private exchanges like sending letters, care packages etc. to the East, but never wanted to control it.
In South Korea, a mistrust from the government regarding its own citizens prevented the people from reaching out privately to the North. The mistrust is fixed in particular in the infamous National Security Law. While the goal, national security, is absolutely legitimate, it is highly questionable if this law in practice still helps to achieve it or rather works to prevent meaningful private exchanges while not adding to national security.
Some provisions, e.g. on blocking North Korean websites, are technically obsolete for everyone with a virtual private network (VPN), and politically counter-act their own purposes (by making North Korean news, being illicit and usually quite boring propaganda, more attractive). Others are seeing citizens not as people with rights (within legal limits), but rather as subjects of government control.
So, President Yoon, my proposal to you: free unification policy from all the ballast of the previous decades ― privatize it! This does not at all mean condoning illegal behavior, which further should remain illegal, like circumventing sanctions, spying etc. But it would mean to get rid of unnecessary inhibitions for genuine private contacts. And these private contacts then would be the hotbed for the growth of the one resource lacking most between North and South: trust.
One might think that given the aggressive posture of North Korea there are more important policy initiatives, like bolstering defense etc. But the last two decades clearly showed that neither conservative nor liberal governments under the current framework were able to prevent North Korea's military from growing. Freeing North Korea policy from total government control would not immediately change this and does not need to be the only policy toward the North (bolstering defense is not such a bad idea, either!).
Nevertheless, it would be a way to achieve long-term building of trust and of new, civilian actors in policy which could sensibly add to governmental-led policies. Then, for example, the acceptance of South Korean knowledge and material aid to combat the pandemic would be much more likely to be accepted. And, since it involves one of the strongest taboos in South Korean politics, the National Security Law, only your government, Mr. President, could enact such a policy, because no one would accuse you of being a secret admirer of North Korea's regime.
When your new Minister of Unification Kwon Young-se, in the nomination hearings in the National Assembly, said that unification policy is a relay race rather than a policy changing completely every four years according to government's whim, he said something very important, and with direct reference to the German experience.
Great to hear that! But the second step now would be to go further, and to let the government do, what it can do best (defense, national security, large-scale humanitarian aid) and the civilian sector that, which only civilians can do (people-to-people exchanges). Thus, trust building can start, and the relay race unification policy can grow stronger year by year. Good luck for you and the Republic of Korea and the Korean Peninsula for such an endeavor.
Sincerely,
Bernhard J. Seliger
Dr. Bernhard J. Seliger is resident representative of Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF) in Korea, based in Seoul. Before the COVID-19 outbreak, he frequently traveled to North Korea, where he implemented projects on forestry, environment and renewable energy as well as medical cooperation. He is honorary citizen of Seoul and Gangwon Province.
15. Broadening alliance
Excerpt:
In this sense, the two leaders' first summit, held in Seoul on Saturday, was considered to have produced successful results. They deserve credit for going beyond the security alliance to cover everything from strategic goods ― such as semiconductors and batteries ― to a united front to respond to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as well as climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Biden started his three-day visit to South Korea by visiting Samsung Electronics' semiconductor factory in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul. It is unusual for any U.S. president to go to such a factory first before visiting major U.S. military bases here. He also wrapped up his stay by meeting with Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun.
Broadening alliance
Allies vie for economic, technology partnership
President Yoon Suk-yeol and his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden have committed to expanding the two countries' military alliance into a "global comprehensive strategic alliance" to deepen their cooperation in economy and technology. This new meaning of an alliance is set to open a new horizon in bilateral relations to ensure peace, stability and prosperity not only on the Korean Peninsula and in East Asia, but also across the globe.
In this sense, the two leaders' first summit, held in Seoul on Saturday, was considered to have produced successful results. They deserve credit for going beyond the security alliance to cover everything from strategic goods ― such as semiconductors and batteries ― to a united front to respond to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as well as climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Biden started his three-day visit to South Korea by visiting Samsung Electronics' semiconductor factory in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul. It is unusual for any U.S. president to go to such a factory first before visiting major U.S. military bases here. He also wrapped up his stay by meeting with Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun.
All these show how important it is for him to attract investments from Korean firms and step up technology cooperation with Asia's fourth-largest economy. He thanked Samsung for investing $17 billion in building a chip-making plant in Texas. He also received a promise from Hyundai to invest $5 billion in the U.S. for robotics and autonomous driving software development, in addition to a $5.54-billion investment to build an electric vehicle and car battery factory in Georgia.
The Yoon-Biden summit reflected the two allies' growing need for upgrading their traditional security alliance into an all-encompassing partnership aimed at forging an economic and technological alliance. It also meant that Seoul has decided to join Washington's drive to set up its own global supply chains as part of efforts to contain a more assertive China. That's why the Yoon administration needs to work out measures to deal with a possible backlash from China.
It is also worth noting Yoon's formal announcement of Seoul's participation in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), an initiative proposed by Biden to enhance supply chain resilience, set the rules of the digital economy and increase investments in clean energy and infrastructure. Biden is expected to formerly launch the IPEF during the summit meeting of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) to be held early this week in Japan.
South Korea is certain to benefit from its membership in the IPEF greatly. However, the problem is how to avoid any potential retaliation from China, which is strongly against the creation of the U.S.-led IPEF. Beijing has already expressed concerns about Biden's new economic initiative, arguing that it is aimed at excluding China from global supply chains amid the escalating great power rivalry between the two countries.
Korea's participation in the IPEF also implies that the country's policy of relying on the U.S. for security and depending on China for economic growth can no longer hold water. Yoon and Biden stressed in their joint statement that the IPEF is being pushed based on openness, transparency and inclusiveness. But, the Chinese government sees the IPEF as a U.S. bid to counter the China-led Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), a free trade agreement among Asia-Pacific nations including Korea, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia and Singapore.
The Yoon government, for its part, must try to ease China's concerns, because the world's second-largest economy is our largest trading partner which accounts for one-fourth of Korea's exports. This is easier said than done. It is getting more difficult to strike a balance between the U.S. and China. Yet, it is necessary to do our best to avoid any fallout from the mounting Sino-U.S. strategic competition and maximize our national interests.
Yoon and Biden also agreed to begin discussions on expanding joint military exercises between Seoul and Washington, reaffirming extended deterrence against North Korea's increasing military threats, including its possible nuclear attacks. It is important for the allies to improve their joint preparedness, while opening the door to dialogue with Pyongyang. Both sides should make concerted efforts to achieve their goal of realizing a global comprehensive strategic alliance.
16. S. Korea aligns with US Indo-Pacific strategy
S. Korea aligns with US Indo-Pacific strategy
Yoon formalizes Korea’s participation in US-led IPEF, affirms strong cooperation with ASEAN, Indo-Pacific countries in summit with Biden
Published : May 22, 2022 - 15:51 Updated : May 22, 2022 - 18:12
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol (left) and US President Joe Biden visits the Korean Air and Space Operations Center located at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of the capital, on Sunday. (Yonhap)
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol formalized the country’s participation in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, a US-led regional initiative, during his first summit with US President Joe Biden.
As the two leaders have announced plans to elevate their strategic cooperation in economic and security areas, experts here say the South Korean administration is making an official shift in policy by supporting Washington’s Indo-Pacific strategy, for its bigger role in the region.
In their first bilateral summit on Saturday, Yoon and Biden expressed commitment to cooperate closely through the IPEF on the principles of openness, transparency, and inclusiveness.
In a joint statement with Yoon, Biden said he shares his support for “Yoon’s initiative to formulate the ROK’s own Indo-Pacific strategy framework,” recognizing the South Korean government’s desires to expand its presence in the region. ROK refers to Korea’s official name, the Republic of Korea.
While welcoming the US’ Indo-Pacific strategy in the joint statement, Yoon also expressed a commitment to increasing cooperation with Southeast Asian and Pacific Island countries to promote sustainable development, energy security and high-quality transparent investment, as well as high-quality infrastructure.
“The world maintained a principle of common and free trade norms under the supervision of the World Trade Organization. But many blocs were created amid the COVID-19 crisis, and risks in the supply chain linger nowadays,” Yoon said in a press conference after his summit with Biden on Saturday, providing the reason behind the decision to join the US-led economic framework.
The US maintains that the economic initiative is aimed at setting up common regional standards for sectors including supply-chain resilience, clean energy, infrastructure, digital trade and cybersecurity.
But it is widely viewed as the US’ attempt to form a regional coalition to exclude China from the global supply chain amid an intensifying US-China rivalry.
With their shared values in the backdrop, Yoon and Biden also decided to launch a strategic consultation channel called the Economic Security Dialogue under their respective presidential offices to discuss cooperation on the key economic areas.
Meanwhile, Yoon has shown an interest in working more closely with the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad), a US-led security grouping which includes India, Japan and Australia.
But the US said it is not considering Seoul’s participation in the group for now.
“It’s natural... to think about ways in which you can work with other like-minded democracies, but I think it’s also important to recognize that the goal right now is to develop and build out what has already been laid out,” a senior US administration official was quoted as saying by Reuters on Sunday.
The leaders of the Quad’s member countries are set to hold their second face-to-face meeting in Tokyo on Tuesday. It will be the group’s fourth meeting since Biden was inaugurated.
Korea’s policy shift for Indo-Pacific region
South Korea’s joining the US-led economic framework and its intentions to play a bigger role in the Indo-Pacific region shows that the Yoon administration is clearly taking the US’ side in the US-China rivalry, experts here said.
“By declaring its participation in the IPEF, the Yoon administration has made clearer its intention to take part in the US’ efforts to reorganize the world order, as in its Indo-Pacific strategies,” Chung Jae-hung, a research fellow at the Sejong Institute told The Korea Herald.
The previous Moon Jae-in administration pursued a “New Southern Policy,” which symbolized their cautious stance in navigating relations between Washington and Beijing.
But Yoon’s statements in the latest summit signals a reorientation of Korea’s foreign policy to move away from his predecessor.
“The previous government had distanced itself from taking similar demands from the US, while the Yoon administration seems to clearly stand on the US’ side,” Chung said.
Park Won-gon, a professor of North Korea studies at Ewha Womans University, said Saturday’s summit demonstrates the Korean government’s attempt to redirect its foreign policy. This is actually the starting point for the Yoon administration establishment of its “grand strategy” for foreign policy, Park said.
“While the Yoon administration has announced its desires to expand its role in the region, it needs to bring a more concrete plan for promoting values, like how the US has its rule-based order strategy,” Park told The Korea Herald.
According to Park, the slight differences in wording between the US’ and South Korea’s joint statements indicate that the Yoon administration is also cautious about fully absorbing the regional strategy of the US.
“The Yoon administration agreed to go along with Biden on many things. But it has put its core principle as ‘free, transparent and inclusive,’ keeping a distance from the US’ ‘free and open’ strategy,” Park said, underscoring how the words in a presidential joint statement mirror the intentions of the participating governments.
Taking US’ side against China?
Concerns are looming that Korea’s shift in approach would elicit reactions from China. The Chinese Foreign Ministry has also warned South Korea against its “decoupling” and possibly “cutting off (supply) chains” with China.
But experts here said the neighboring country would not be able to take unfavorable actions against Korea for now, as China also has its own difficulties to handle, including the COVID-19 pandemic.
While South Korea is a member to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership -- a China-led economic partnership -- it would also not have much impact in Korea’s foreign policy, as many countries are members, including Japan, Chung of Sejong Institute said.
In addition, the grouping has not been so active since it was first launched in November 2020, Chung added.
Park of Ewha University also said there are some eight to 10 countries joining IPEF, and it would be “irrational” for China to impose any de facto sanctions solely against South Korea.
After the summit on Saturday, a National Security Adviser explained under a condition of anonymity that South Korea’s membership in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and its plan to join the IPEF do not clash in terms of national interest.
“(Korea’s participation in) the RCEP is also the country’s effort to expand and promote economic cooperation in the region, just like the IPEF and the Trans-Pacific Partnership,” the official said.
“Being a member of the RCEP does not mean that we cannot join the IPEF and the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership. I think we should refrain from thinking that China will be happy if we are in RCEP, and get cross with us if we join IPEF,” the official added.
17. Biden departs after full show of alliance
Biden departs after full show of alliance
Two leaders agree to step up deterrence against North Korea
Published : May 22, 2022 - 15:57 Updated : May 22, 2022 - 20:53
President Yoon Suk-yeol (left) and President Joe Biden at the Korean Air and Space Operations Center at the US Air Force Base in Osan on Sunday (Yonhap)
US President Joe Biden concluded his trip to South Korea after visiting a joint airspace control center on Sunday before leaving for Japan. During his three-day stay here, the two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to military and economic alliances and agreed to step up deterrence against North Korea.
Before ending his trip, Biden visited the Korean Air and Space Operations Center at the US Air Force Base in Osan, where the two nations’ militaries work to direct and control aerospace operations on the Korean Peninsula.
Yoon and Biden encouraged their soldiers who conduct joint Korea-US operations here at the base. The two leaders, who confirmed their commitment to a strong defense and practical extended deterrence principle in a joint statement the day before, also stressed a readiness posture against North Korea’s nuclear and missile tests.
Biden said, “All the American troops that are here and your families, thank you for what you do for our country and our allies.”
“Our alliance is formed through shared sacrifices of the Korean War. And several decades later, thanks to you, the Republic of Korea is a strong thriving democracy,” the US president said, adding the stability of the Korean Peninsula is not only for Korea but also for the world.
Yoon’s visit to the control center with Biden reflects the will of the two nations to respond strongly to North Korea’s increasingly sophisticated nuclear and missile provocations, the presidential office said in a written statement. The visit by the two leaders to the organization, which operates a Korean-style three-axis system of kill chain, Korean missile defense and massive punishment and retaliation, is “a symbolic scene” of a strong Korea-US security alliance.
Earlier in the day, Biden met with Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun. The Korean automaker announced on Sunday that it would build an electric vehicle production base, including a 6.3 trillion won ($4.9 billion) electric vehicle-only plant and battery cell plant in Georgia, in line with Biden’s visit to Korea.
Marking the end of his three-day journey with his visit to the airspace control center, Biden departed for Tokyo later in the day.
During his stay in Japan until Tuesday, the US president will attend the Quad Summit, a consultative group of four countries which include the US, Japan, Australia and India. Biden will also hold a US-Japan summit with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
President Yoon will declare the inauguration of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework on Tuesday virtually and announce his intention to take a leading role in regional cooperation.
Stepping up NK deterrence
The main agenda of the three-day summit of the two allies was to strengthen their military and economic alliance, and step up deterrence against North Korea.
In a joint statement issued after the Korea-US summit on Saturday, the two leaders specified “nuclear, conventional and missile defense” as a means of “extended deterrence” that the US will provide to South Korea in case of emergencies.
This means that the two leaders have come up with a robust method of using nuclear capabilities as one of the extended deterrence measures the US provides to South Korea to deter the North. North Korea has recently rapidly raised the possibility of a preemptive nuclear attack.
North Korea has conducted 16 rounds of test-firing its missiles this year alone, and is reportedly preparing for a seventh underground nuclear test.
The two presidents also agreed to reactivate the high-level Extended Deterrence Strategy and Consultation Group at the earliest date. Both leaders committed to further strengthening deterrence by reinforcing a combined defense posture and reiterating their commitment to a conditions-based transition of wartime operational control.
When asked by a reporter whether there would be any preconditions for Biden’s meeting with North Korea’s Kim Jong-un at a press conference on Saturday, the US president said: “With regard to whether I would meet with the leader of North Korea, that’ll be depending on whether he is sincere and he is serious.”
He also offered a brief message to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on the way out after meeting with Hyundai chief Chung on Sunday. When asked about his message for Kim by US reporters, Biden said, “Hello. Period.”
Reaffirm stronger alliance
“We go together,” Biden told Yoon during a toast at the start of a state dinner on Saturday evening in response to Yoon’s statement that their relationship will deepen and their cooperation will be strengthened.
“(Our relationship) will develop into a high-tech alliance and a global comprehensive strategic alliance beyond a security alliance based on the universal values of liberal democracy, human rights and the rule of law,” Yoon said.
Yoon told Biden he would draw up a future vision of the Korea-US alliance with Biden.
During the summit, the two sides formalized South Korea’s participation in the IPEF, a US-led economic alliance.
At a joint press conference after the summit, Yoon said the two leaders decided to strengthen practical cooperation in new industries such as semiconductors and batteries, nuclear power, space development and cybersecurity.
Regarding the US’ IPEF, Yoon said the Indo-Pacific region is an essential region for Korea and the US. Korea and the US will work together to establish a norm-based order in the region, and “the first step is to participate in the IPEF,” he stated.
The two nations plan to elevate their strategic cooperation in economic and security fields to a higher level through cooperation in high-tech fields such as semiconductors, batteries, artificial intelligence and biotech.
The Korean presidential office kept its distance from some concerns that it might be used to contain China.
“There is not a single line in the full statement by the leaders of the two countries that excludes China from the supply chain,” said Wang Yun-jong, South Korea’s secretary of economic security, at a local press briefing after the joint press conference.
Regarding the IPEF, he said: “Rather than excluding specific countries, we are focusing on bringing supply chain stability among complementary countries.” He added that “there has not been a single discussion of excluding China from the supply chain at this summit.”
18. Biden says he's "not concerned" about potential North Korea weapons tests
Biden says he's "not concerned" about potential North Korea weapons tests
Axios · by Ivana Saric · May 22, 2022
President Biden told reporters in South Korea on Sunday that he is "not concerned" about potential weapons tests from North Korea, according to a White House pool report.
- White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan last week warned that North Korea could conduct a long-range missile or nuclear weapon test during Biden's visit to South Korea, part of the president's multi-day trip around Asia.
What they're saying: “We are prepared for anything North Korea does,” Biden told reporters.
- Asked if he had a message for North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Biden replied, "hello....period."
The big picture: Sullivan addressed the potential threat from North Korea while briefing reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday as the delegation traveled from South Korea to Tokyo.
- Sullivan declined to speculate as to why a test hadn't occurred during Biden's time in South Korea, but added, "we were prepared for any contingency while we were in Korea, we’re prepared for any contingency while we’re in Japan."
- "And if North Korea acts, we’ll be prepared to respond. If North Korea doesn’t act, North Korea has the opportunity, as we’ve said repeatedly, to come to the table and start negotiating," he added.
- Sullivan emphasized that a nuclear weapons test from North Korea could still be imminent.
Axios · by Ivana Saric · May 22, 2022
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.
