Quotes of the Day:
"I am convinced an information program can contribute to our security just as can an army, a navy, and an air force; and that it can make its contribution in a manner that is vastly preferable to the threat or the use of force, and at infinitely less expense."
- SecState Feb 1946
“Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.”
-Thomas Huxley
“Optimists study English; pessimists study Chinese; and realists learn to use a Kalashnikov.”
-Russian Proverb
1. N. Korea officially recognizes independence of 2 separatist regions in Ukraine
2. N. Korea's new suspected COVID-19 cases fall below 600: state media
3. S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases more than double in week to near 40,000
4. Unification, justice ministries deny there was legal basis to repatriate N.K. fishermen: lawmaker
5. N. Korea trade sinks 17.3 pct in 2021 on sanctions, pandemic
6. Senior presidential aide asks for ruling party's help in launching N.K. human rights foundation
7. WFP chief meets S. Korean ministers to discuss N. Korea food situation
8. Korea must wean off China and find diverse trade partners
9. Korea, U.S. F-35As fly together for first time
10. Amnesty International blasts 2019 repatriations (Korea)
11. Ukraine cuts N Korea ties over recognition of separatist regions
12. Repatriated N.Korean Fishermen 'Executed for Treason'
13. Clear the suspicion (Korea forced repatriation issue)
14. A perennial division in local newspapers (Korea)
15. [INTERVIEW] 'NK's nuclear tests to inspire unity among West'
16. New US ambassador takes aim
17. Japan and South Korea Can No Longer Let History Thwart Cooperation
18. Mike Pompeo says China derailed Trump's efforts to help denuclearize North Korea
19. The Time Is Right: Why Japan and South Korea Should Get the Bomb
1. N. Korea officially recognizes independence of 2 separatist regions in Ukraine
Kim is supporting Putin's War: a revolutionary/rogue power supporting a revisionist power.
N. Korea officially recognizes independence of 2 separatist regions in Ukraine | Yonhap News Agency
SEOUL, July 14 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has formally recognized the independence of two pro-Russian separatist "people's republics" in eastern Ukraine, becoming the world's third nation to do so, according to the North's state media Thursday.
The North's Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui sent letters to her counterparts in the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic the previous day and recognized the entities, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. Russia and Syria have already backed their independence.
"In the letters, she informed them that the DPRK government decided to recognize the independence of the People's Republic of Donetsk and the People's Republic of Lugansk and expressed the will to develop the state-to-state relations with those countries in the idea of independence, peace and friendship," it said in an English-language article. DPRK stands for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Earlier, Ukraine announced it severed diplomatic ties with North Korea over the move to recognize the separatist regions.
The North has recently stressed its close ties with Russia despite international condemnation of its invasion of Ukraine. Pyongyang has previously blamed the Ukraine crisis on the "hegemonic policy" of the United States and the West.
(END)
Related Articles
2. N. Korea's new suspected COVID-19 cases fall below 600: state media
The north Korean COVID narrative continues.
(LEAD) N. Korea's new suspected COVID-19 cases fall below 600: state media | Yonhap News Agency
(ATTN: UPDATES with more details; CHANGES headline)
By Chae Yun--hwan
SEOUL, July 14 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's new suspected COVID-19 cases dropped below 600, according to its state media Thursday.
More than 560 people showed symptoms of fever over a 24-hour period until 6 p.m. the previous day, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said, citing data from the state emergency epidemic prevention headquarters. It marked the third consecutive day for the count to stay under 1,000.
It did not provide information on whether additional deaths have been reported. As of July 5, the death toll had stood at 74, with the fatality rate at 0.002 percent.
The total number of fever cases since late April came to over 4.76 million as of 6 p.m. Wednesday, of which 99.97 percent had recovered and at least 1,310 others are being treated, it added.
The North's daily fever tally has been on a downward trend after peaking at over 392,920 on May 15.
The KCNA said the North has stepped up antivirus measures to cope with seasonal heavy rain and "disastrous abnormal weather" that could lead to crises in their efforts.
"The state emergency epidemic prevention headquarters and relevant sectors accurately detect all forms of crises that can take place due to disastrous abnormal weather immediately after receiving warning alerts and promptly prepare and issue orders and assignments to cope with them," it said in an English-language article.
It also said regional authorities, including those near border areas, are strengthening the monitoring and reporting system for "alien" objects that could enter the country by strong winds or floods.
Earlier this month, the North claimed its coronavirus outbreak originated from "alien things" found near the inter-Korean border, alluding to balloon-carried materials sent at times by North Korean defector groups in South Korea, such as anti-Pyongyang leaflets and some aid items for ordinary people in need on the other side of the heavily fortified border.
Pyongyang disclosed its first COVID-19 case on May 12 after claiming to be coronavirus-free for over two years and implemented nationwide lockdowns.
(END)
3. S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases more than double in week to near 40,000
Transparent, truthful reporting on COVID in the South. Unlike the reporting from the north's Propaganda and Agitation Department.
I am heading to Korea on Sunday for a week so I am worried (and again in August and September). I wish I could get another booster (We had our second booster shot in April).
(3rd LD) S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases more than double in week to near 40,000 | Yonhap News Agency
(ATTN: UPDATES paras 10-11 as KDCA confirms 1st BA.2.75 case)
SEOUL, July 14 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's new coronavirus cases more than doubled in a week to near 40,000 on Thursday, as the country has experienced a resurgence of infections amid the fast spread of a highly contagious new omicron subvariant.
The country added 39,196 new COVID-19 infections, including 338 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 18,641,278, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.
Thursday's figure also more than doubled from 18,511 cases logged a week earlier, as the country has seen an upturn in infections from end-June due to the highly contagious omicron subvariant BA.5.
The daily count hit over 10,000 on June 29 for the first time in about three weeks, and rose to over 20,000 on Saturday and further to 40,000 on Wednesday.
The KDCA reported 16 deaths from the virus Thursday, putting the death toll at 24,696. The fatality rate stood at 0.13 percent.
The number of critically ill patients came to 69, up from the previous day's 67. Despite the surge in new infections, the figure has stayed below 100 since last month.
The KDCA has said the country entered a new virus wave, ending a downward trend from the peak of more than 620,000 in mid-March, and that the daily infections could surge to as high as 200,000 next month.
The BA.5 subvariant is expected to become a dominant variant in South Korea soon, as its proportion out of total infections has grown to reach 35 percent last week from 28.2 percent a week earlier, according to the KDCA.
The BA.5 is known to be more contagious and better able to escape immunity compared with earlier versions.
Adding to woes is that South Korea confirmed its first case of a new highly-mutated omicron variant, BA.2.75, Thursday.
A man in his 60s residing in the western city of Incheon was found to have been infected with the subvariant, and contact tracing is now under way, the KDCA said, adding he has not traveled overseas recently.
BA.2.75, dubbed "Centaurus," was first sequenced in India in May, and the cases have been found in around 10 nations, including the United States, Australia, Germany and India.
Some scientists say it could be the most contagious variant seen yet and better evade any immunity from previous infections and vaccines.
In response to the resurgence, the government decided to expand eligibility for the fourth COVID-19 vaccine shot to people aged 50 and older, as well as people aged 18 and older who have underlying health conditions.
Currently, the fourth dose is reserved for those in their 60s and older, and those with an immune disorder.
The government also decided to maintain seven-day mandatory isolation for people who are infected with the virus and to keep in place the indoor mask-wearing mandate.
It also vowed to designate a total of 10,000 "one-stop" COVID-19 treatment centers, where people can take virus tests, get in-person medical care services and receive antiviral drugs, compared with the current 6,338 such facilities, and to secure more hospital beds for COVID-19 patients.
Despite the new wave, the government said it will not reimpose strict social distancing rules, stressing "autonomy and responsibilities" by individuals.
"We seek to focus on managing high-risk groups and serious cases, rather than preventing overall infections," KDCA Commissioner Peck Kyong-ran told a press briefing Wednesday.
"Rather than a universal scheme, we advise individuals and communities to voluntarily implement social distancing rules," she added.
(END)
4. Unification, justice ministries deny there was legal basis to repatriate N.K. fishermen: lawmaker
Look, this is a terrible tragedy and a major stain on South Korea. However, we should keep in mind that South Korea is a democracy. And one of the many great things about democracies is that they can correct mistakes. The current Yoon administration is now investigating the incident and admitting that the ROK government made a terrible mistake. It did not live up to the principles of a democracy, rule of law and due process and made a political decision based on its erroneous assumptions about the nature of the Kim family regime and its fantasy hope of engagement with north Korea.
But as a democracy South Korea is taking corrective action and we should compare that to the Kim family regime in the north. Governments change in the South and the people can demand change and accountability. Not so with the mafia-like crime family cult in the north that is led by a single man who cannot change because to do so would mean admitting that he is fallible.
Unification, justice ministries deny there was legal basis to repatriate N.K. fishermen: lawmaker | Yonhap News Agency
SEOUL, July 14 (Yonhap) -- The unification and justice ministries have denied that there was any legal basis for the previous administration's repatriation of two North Korean fishermen in 2019, according to a lawmaker's office on Thursday.
In 2019, the North Koreans confessed to killing 16 fellow crew members and expressed a desire to defect to South Korea. But the then Moon Jae-in government deemed their intentions to be insincere and sent them back to the North where they could have faced harsh punishment.
The repatriation is one of the suspicious cases involving the former administration that President Yoon Suk-yeol's government is revisiting, along with the North's killing of a South Korean fisheries official near the western sea border in 2020.
The Moon administration argued that the repatriation was similar to deportation under the Immigration Act.
But in response to queries from Rep. Yoo Sang-bum of the ruling People Power Party (PPP), the unification and justice ministries said that North Koreans are not subject to the act because they are considered citizens by law.
According to the lawmaker, the unification ministry said that the Immigration Act does not apply to the North Koreans who expressed a desire to defect to South Korea. It also said there are no deportation-related clauses in the North Korean Defectors Protection And Settlement Support Act.
The justice ministry also said that those who can be deported under the Immigration Act are foreigners, and North Koreans are not subject to the law because under the Constitution, they are considered South Korean nationals, the lawmaker said.
Deportation requires an order from the justice minister but no such order was issued, it said.
The unification ministry also said the presidential National Security Office practically led the repatriation and the ministry was later informed of the matter, according to Yoo.
"The Moon Jae-in government's repatriation of North Korean fishermen against their desire to defect is an act that clearly violates the Constitution and laws and is a serious abetting of North Korea's human rights abuses," the PPP lawmaker said.
Criticism of the repatriation escalated this week after the unification ministry released 10 photos of the North Koreans being dragged across the inter-Korean border and handed over to the North, apparently against their will.
Critics have accused the Moon administration of sending them back to their homeland where they could have faced harsh punishment in an effort to curry favor with Pyongyang so as to help move the stalled inter-Korean peace process forward.
The office of President Yoon Suk-yeol has said the forceful repatriation could constitute a "crime against humanity" and vowed to uncover the truth behind the case. Earlier Thursday, the PPP said it will consider launching a parliamentary investigation or an independent counsel probe into the case.
(END)
5. N. Korea trade sinks 17.3 pct in 2021 on sanctions, pandemic
Yet the north spent $650 million dollars (per KIDA) on some 19 missile launch events this year. What I would like to see is the data on the regime's global illicit activities and how much money is being funneled to the regime.
N. Korea trade sinks 17.3 pct in 2021 on sanctions, pandemic | Yonhap News Agency
SEOUL, July 14 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's foreign trade dipped 17.3 percent on-year to US$713 million in 2021 due to international sanctions over its nuclear weapons program and border closures to stem the spread of COVID-19, a report showed Thursday.
The reclusive country's exports fell 8.2 percent to some $82 million last year, and imports plunged 18.4 percent to around $631 million, resulting in a trade deficit of $549.4 million, according to the report from the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA).
Last year's trade deficit narrowed from the $684.4 million red ink recorded a year earlier.
The tumble in trade was blamed on international sanctions over Pyongyang's nuclear program coupled with the closure of its border with China, a key ally.
Beijing was North Korea's largest trading partner, with bilateral trade reaching $681.7 million in 2021, which was down 10.4 percent from the previous year. The amount accounted for 95.6 percent of North Korea's total foreign trade last year, up from 88.2 percent a year earlier.
Other major trading partners included Vietnam, India, Thailand and Hong Kong.
Steel was North Korea's top export item last year with its overseas shipments more than doubling to 28.93 million. Crude and other oil products were the No. 1 import good with some $379 million, which was also nearly double the amount posted a year earlier.
A KOTRA official expected North Korea's trade volume to edge up this year on an uptrend in international raw materials prices, saying a deciding factor will likely be whether Pyongyang may close its border with China due to the coronavirus pandemic.
(END)
6. Senior presidential aide asks for ruling party's help in launching N.K. human rights foundation
A good step forward (long time coming).
Senior presidential aide asks for ruling party's help in launching N.K. human rights foundation | Yonhap News Agency
SEOUL, July 14 (Yonhap) -- The senior presidential secretary for political affairs met with the ruling People Power Party's (PPP) acting chief Thursday and asked for the party's help with the long-delayed establishment of a foundation charged with promoting human rights in North Korea.
The North Korean Human Rights Foundation is supposed to be established under the North Korean Human Rights Act that passed through the National Assembly in 2016, but its establishment has been delayed as the main opposition Democratic Party has not recommended its share of board members.
The ruling and main opposition parties should recommend five board members each.
On Thursday, Lee Jin-bok, senior political affairs secretary to President Yoon Suk-yeol, met with the PPP's acting leader, Rep. Kweon Seong-dong, and called for help in launching the foundation, officials said.
"Five board members, whose recommendations should be submitted by the opposition party, have yet to be decided ... they haven't been for five years," Lee told reporters after a meeting with Kweon at the National Assembly.
Lee is also said to have asked Kweon to recommend a special envoy to sent to the inauguration ceremony of Colombia's President-elect Gustavo Petro.
(END)
7. WFP chief meets S. Korean ministers to discuss N. Korea food situation
What can and will the world do about the north's food shortage given the nature of the Kim family regime and the fact that Kim will not allow aid unless they meet his conditions? I also hope they will remind everyone of the fact that the Korean people in the north are suffering primarily because of Kim's deliberate policy decisions to prioritize the development of nuclear weapons and missiles over the welfare of the people. Kim's global illicit activities could be used to feed the people but they only go to Kim, the elite, the military, and nuclear and missile programs.
(2nd LD) WFP chief meets S. Korean ministers to discuss N. Korea food situation | Yonhap News Agency
(ATTN: ADDS WFP chief's meeting with S. Korean agriculture minister in last 3 paras)
By Yi Wonju
SEOUL, July 14 (Yonhap) -- The head of the World Food Programme (WFP) had discussions with South Korea's foreign and unification ministers Thursday on the North Korean food shortage issue.
Talking here with WFP Executive Director David Beasley, Foreign Minister Park Jin and Unification Minister Kwon Young-se shared concerns about the problem especially amid the impoverished North's fight against COVID-19 and lingering uncertainties attributable to the drawn-out Ukraine-Russia war, according to the ministers' offices.
Park was quoted as stressing that his government will continue to pursue humanitarian aid to the North regardless of the political circumstances.
Beasley also met and voiced concerns over the impact of global climate change and the Ukrainian situation on the food situation in North Korea.
"With conflict, droughts, flooding, climate shocks, COVID-19 economic deterioration, and now the Ukrainian crisis, it truly is impacting everyone. And the fertilizer issue is definitely impacting the world, and DPRK will be no exception to that," he said. DPRK stands for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
He also expressed hopes that the coronavirus restrictions in the North will be eased to allow "operations to scale back up and reach the children and families in need."
Kwon, Seoul's top point man on Pyongyang, emphasized that his ministry will continue to cooperate closely with the WFP to address humanitarian issues irrespective of the political situation.
"I would like to clarify once again that the government will continue to actively seek humanitarian cooperation related to North Korea's food issue regardless of the political and military situation," he said.
Kwon expressed appreciation for WFP's efforts in improving North Korea's food security and called for continued interest in Pyongyang amid a global food crisis worsening due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ukrainian crisis.
North Korea is known for chronic food shortages that have been apparently aggravated in recent years due to typhoons, flooding and the coronavirus pandemic.
Later in the day, Beasley met with South Korea's Agriculture Minister Chung Hwang-keun in Seoul and discussed how to boost cooperation on global food assistance, Chung's office said.
The WFP chief expressed appreciation for Seoul's 50,000 tons of rice aid to his agency last year, saying it was distributed to six nations, including Yemen, Ethiopia and Kenya.
South Korea also donated 50,000 tons of rice to the WFP this year, which is expected to be delivered to five nations in need, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.
(END)
8. Korea must wean off China and find diverse trade partners
Korea must wean off China and find diverse trade partners
Posted July. 13, 2022 08:03,
Updated July. 13, 2022 08:03
Korea must wean off China and find diverse trade partners. July. 13, 2022 08:03. .
The Korea Customs Service said on Monday that the country’s trade deficit from China has reached 800 million U.S. dollars, based on provisional data on the imports and exports with China between July 1 and 11. This will likely mark the third consecutive month of trade deficits against China, following May and June, which incurred 1.1 billion and 1.2 billion dollars in red, respectively. The trade surplus with China sustained from August 1994 for 28 years is showing signs of cracks.
The trade deficits are not a temporary phenomenon but the ramification of structural problems. In the past, China was stuck in a labor-intensive industrial structure characterized by a vertical form of division of labor, which imports intermediary goods from South Korea and exports complete products to third countries. However, China is morphing into a high-tech manufacturer that can procure parts and materials on its own thanks to technological advancement. South Korea has long witnessed the disturbing fall in the share of Korean exports in China including memory chips and cellphone parts. By contrast, Korea is importing an increasing amount of Chinese second batteries, petrochemical products and textile goods.
If prolonged, Korea’s trade deficits from China might translate into a permanent red in the entire trade balance, nudging the tumbling growth into a freefall. As of Sunday, the trade deficit stands at 15.9 billion dollars, already an all-time high. Facing chronic trade deficits with Japan, Korea is also witnessing a shift in America to build a self-sufficient system from design to manufacturing.
China used to be the last resort for South Korea to offset the deficits from other markets, but now it is barely making any profits from trading with China. What is more, many local manufacturers are relying on Chinese imports for essential materials and products for wide use. Deficits from China are growing, and so is the dependency on Chinese imports. A disruption in the supply chains can lead to another acute shortage of essential resources as seen in the case of urea solution.
The landscape of trade is shifting as China is witnessing a dramatic industrial transition and the world is getting divided into West and non-West against the backdrop of a new cold war. Supply failures of major raw materials or parts are also becoming more frequent owing to the pandemic-induced logistical disruptions. No country can survive in the current global market with the old playbook. Korea must create a technological gap with China by focusing resources on value-added industries including material, parts, and equipment, while making inroads into new market territories. Revamping the current trade structure that is partially weighted towards certain products and countries is a make-or-break deal for us.
9. Korea, U.S. F-35As fly together for first time
Kim Jong Un should be very afraid of this capability. He cannot hide from it and he cannot shoot it down.
Thursday
July 14, 2022
Korea, U.S. F-35As fly together for first time
Fifth-generation F-35A fighter jets from the South Korean and U.S. air forces fly in formation during the two militaries' joint exercise this week. [REPUBLIC OF KOREA AIR FORCE]
South Korean and U.S. air forces conducted their first joint exercises with F-35A fighter jets from both countries in a symbolic show of combined strength.
The South Korean Air Force said Thursday that the two countries had conducted joint flying exercises over four days involving a number of warplanes, including fifth-generation F-35A fighter jets, starting Monday.
The arrival of U.S. F-35A fighter jets from Alaska was announced by the allies’ military authorities last week, their first public deployment to South Korea in five years.
The drills are designed to enhance the allies’ ability to carry out joint operations and enhance the interoperability of their F-35A jets, according to military authorities from both countries.
“The training session is an important exercise symbolizing the strength of the South Korea-U.S. alliance and their combined defense posture,” said Air Force Major Kwon Hae-bin from the 152nd fighter squadron of the 17th Fighter Wing.
“The pilots from both countries were able to share tactical and operational knowledge of the fifth-generation fighter jets through the exercises,” Kwon said.
Lt. Col. Ryan Worrell, a U.S. F-35A pilot from Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, noted that the purpose of the exercise “is to safely execute tactics between us and ROKAF F-35s to show our ironclad alliance,” referring to the South Korean Air Force by the acronym for its official name, Republic of Korea Air force.
The exercises involved various maneuvers, including strike package and defensive operations, as well as airborne alert interdiction (XINT) drills, according to the South Korean Air Force.
This week’s joint exercises are the first to feature F-35A fighter jets from both countries. South Korea completed a deal to purchase 40 F-35A fighter jets in 2013 under the F-X III program and completed their deployment in January.
A total of 30 fighter jets, including F-35A, F-15K, KF-16 and FA-50 jets from the South Korean Air Force and F-35A and F-16 jets from the U.S. Air Force have participated in over four days of exercises.
The joint air force exercises came as North Korea started its annual summer exercises.
Military authorities in Seoul belatedly informed the media Wednesday that North Korea fired artillery rounds from its western coast into the Yellow Sea on Monday.
The JCS told reporters Wednesday that it detected “trajectories” believed to be artillery shots on Monday, adding that the mortars fired by the North were between 122mm and 240mm in diameter.
Defense officials said they were working to determine if the shots were tests of new weapons systems, or part of the usual North’s summer exercises.
Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said earlier this week that it would no longer provide immediate updates to the media on North Korean artillery shots, saying they distracted from the military’s readiness and focus on major weapons tests, such as ballistic missile launches.
The artillery rounds from the North come amid rising tensions on the peninsula over the regime’s preparations for a nuclear test, which have been noted in several warnings issued by South Korean and U.S. intelligence officials.
The regime has blamed the deployment of U.S. strategic assets to South Korea for escalating tensions on the peninsula.
North Korea’s foreign ministry appeared to acknowledge the presence of U.S. F-35A fighter jets in South Korea on Wednesday, when it noted that “U.S. reconnaissance planes and strategic assets have flown frequently over the Korean Peninsula in extraordinary military movements.”
The North’s foreign ministry described current tensions as “an extremely dangerous situation on the Korean Peninsula where war can occur at any moment.”
10. Amnesty International blasts 2019 repatriations (Korea)
No surprise. But democratic South Korea is taking corrective action. Let's also make sure we condemn the Kim family regime for its torture and murder of the sailors who were forcibly repatriated. It is north Korea's actions that makes this tragic incident so much more terrible.
Thursday
July 14, 2022
Amnesty International blasts 2019 repatriations
A participant in a North Korean human rights group's demonstration in front of the National Assembly on Wednesday holds up a photo of one of the two fishermen being repatriated to the North at Panmunjom in November 2019. [YONHAP]
Amnesty International blasted the 2019 repatriation of two North Korean fishermen as a violation of international law and called on the Seoul to prevent a recurrence.
Photos of the two fishermen dragging their feet and resisting their return to the North at the truce village of Panmunjom on the inter-Korean border in Nov. 2019 were released by Seoul’s unification ministry on Tuesday afternoon, sparking outrage from North Korean human rights and defectors’ groups.
Amnesty said Thursday that the North Korean fishermen “were denied the right to a fair trial,” and that “the decision to send them back to North Korea violated the principle of non-refoulement,” according to Voice of America (VOA).
According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the principle of non-refoulement “guarantees that no one should be returned to a country where they would face torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and other irreparable harm.”
Amnesty also said that “a guarantee of non-reoccurrence should be ensured by the South Korean government.”
The fishermen were captured by the South Korean Navy after crossing the inter-Korean maritime border in the East Sea on Nov. 2, 2019, and returned via Panmunjom five days later.
The Moon administration said the pair was not entitled to South Korean protection because they did not express a desire to defect and had murdered 16 fellow crew members aboard their fishing vessel, including the captain, before crossing south.
The ruling People Power Party (PPP) said it will pursue an investigation into the Moon Jae-in administration’s handling of the case by pushing for a special counsel probe in the National Assembly.
The opposition Democratic Party (DP) has defended the Moon administration’s decision to repatriate the fishermen, calling them “vicious criminals” who “were captured in the process of fleeing the North Korean authorities” after murdering their crew.
The DP cited Article 9 of the North Korean Defectors’ Act, which stipulates that escapees “who commit murder and other non-political crimes may be excluded from protection,” as justification for the Moon administration’s decision.
The PPP and human rights groups have criticized the DP’s interpretation of the law, saying such a reading violates the South Korean constitution, which considers North Koreans who escape to be South Korean citizens, as well as the legal principle of “innocent until proven guilty.”
Speaking to reporters at the National Assembly on Wednesday, Unification Minister Kwon Young-se said, “Even if one is suspected of committing murder or a felony, there is a principle of presumption of innocence until guilt is confirmed through judicial system.
“It was a clear mistake to deport [the fishermen] to the North after only a brief administrative investigation,” he added.
11. Ukraine cuts N Korea ties over recognition of separatist regions
Sadly, former Ukrainian nuclear and missile scientists provided aid to the north's nuclear and missile programs.
Ukraine cuts N Korea ties over recognition of separatist regions
Ukraine has severed relations with North Korea over Pyongyang’s recognition of two pro-Russian breakaway “people’s republics” in Ukraine’s east.
Kyiv’s decision to cut ties with North Korea on Wednesday followed shortly after it emerged that Pyongyang had recognised the independence of two self-proclaimed republics in eastern Ukraine.
“We consider this decision as an attempt by Pyongyang to undermine the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine,” Ukraine’s foreign ministry said in a statement on its website.
North Korea’s move to officially recognise the two breakaway territories – the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR) in Ukraine’s Donbas region – makes it only the third country in the world, after Russia and Syria, to do so.
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the North’s state-run news agency, said foreign minister Choe Son-hui had sent letters to “her counterparts” in the two regions recognising the rebel-held areas.
Choe “expressed the will to develop state-to-state relations with those countries in the idea of independence, peace and friendship,” KCNA reported on Thursday morning.
Earlier, the DPR’s embassy in Moscow posted a photo on its Telegram channel of a ceremony in which North Korea’s ambassador to Moscow, Sin Hong-chol, handed a certificate of recognition to DPR envoy Olga Makeyeva.
In a post on his Telegram channel, DPR leader Denis Pushilin said he hoped for “fruitful cooperation” and increased trade with North Korea, an isolated, nuclear-armed state more than 6,500km (4,000 miles) away.
Russia, which has backed the two separatist regions since 2014, recognised their independence on the eve of its February 24 invasion of Ukraine in a move condemned by Kyiv and the West as illegal.
The Kremlin justified its decision to launch the war, which it calls a “special military operation”, by saying it was protecting Russian speakers who live in the Donbas region from “genocide”.
Kyiv and the West have dismissed these assertions as a pretext for waging war and seizing swathes of Ukraine’s territory.
North Korea previously expressed support for Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014. It has also stressed its close ties with Russia, blaming the Ukraine crisis on the “hegemonic policy” of the US and other western nations.
12. Repatriated N.Korean Fishermen 'Executed for Treason'
Just in case there is anyone who is unclear about what happened to the fisherman.
Repatriated N.Korean Fishermen 'Executed for Treason'
Two North Korean fishermen who were forcibly repatriated by South Korea in 2019 were executed on return on charges of treason, a well-informed source said Wednesday.
The Moon Jae-in administration claimed that the two, whom it accused of murdering 16 fellow crewmembers, had no intention to defect, but the North Korean regime seems to have believed otherwise.
News of their forcible repatriation caused fear among other defectors from the brutal dictatorship, who are considered South Korean citizens under the Constitution and entitled to protection once they decide to defect.
One defector who used to be a high-ranking official in the North and was hiding in Thailand in November 2019 told the Chosun Ilbo, "I was shocked when I saw the news reports of the forced repatriation and could not sleep for several days. I was worried that I might end up getting sent back blindfolded."
Another defector who was hiding in China at the time said, "I had second thoughts about going to South Korea because I was afraid of being sent back. It makes me shudder to see the photos of those fishermen."
The Unification Ministry here on Tuesday released a dozen photos of the two men being blindfolded and desperately resisting being handed over to North Korean soldiers at the border.
A South Korean activist who helps North Korean defectors said, "The forced repatriation had a huge psychological impact on North Koreans. Many gave up plans to defect and many others who were hiding in China chose to flee to the U.S. or Canada instead."
According to the source, the two fishermen were executed by state security in North Hamgyong Province, where they lived, on charges of murder and treason.
North Korean law stipulates that it is treason to escape to another country, betray communism or hand over state secrets to the enemy, which entails a punishment of more than five years of hard labor or death. "The fact that they were found guilty of treason means they confessed to attempting to defect," the source said.
People Power Party lawmaker Ha Tae-keung told the Chosun Ilbo, "I learned that the North Korean regime used the repatriation incident as an example to tell North Koreans that it is useless to defect."
The two had in fact expressed their intention to defect in handwritten statements during a hasty investigation here by the National Intelligence Service.
"As soon as the fishermen signed a document professing their will to defect, they become a South Korean nationals," Ha said. "The Moon administration pushed its own citizens, to their deaths in order to curry favor with North Korea. After that, North Korean defectors avoided South Korean soldiers and government officials for fear of being sent back to the North."
13. Clear the suspicion (Korea forced repatriation issue)
As I said democratic South Korea is taking corrective action as good and strong democracies do. I think the Yoon administration is tryingto live up to the Korean constitution, rule of law, and due process.
Excerpts:
As our Constitution defines North Korean defectors as South Korean citizens, the authorities cannot send them back.
And yet, Chung Eui-yong, former National Security Advisor, called them “felons who committed a heinous crime” in the North. He must have been aware of a Supreme Court ruling in 1996 against deportation of North Korean defectors.
Even if defectors are suspected of committing a grave crime, they should be punished by our law. If they are proven innocent, they become South Korean citizens after going through a reeducation program. If North Korean defectors are not allowed to live in South Korea, they can raise a complaint with the unification minister within 90 days. But the two defectors were sent back home in six days without exercising such rights.
Thursday
July 14, 2022
Clear the suspicion
The facts about the forced repatriation of two North Korean fishermen are being revealed one after another. The lead-up to their return on November 7, 2019 is shocking. The Moon Jae-in administration not only sent them back to North Korea illegally but also repeatedly lied about the episode. A South Korean government has never returned North Korean defectors home after they expressed an intention to defect. North Korea reportedly executed the two fishermen for treason.
Our military authorities give a warning to North Korean vessels if they cross the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the Yellow Sea and East Sea. But the Moon administration set a guideline ordering the military to send them back instead of capturing them. Even if a spy ship is disguised as a fishing boat, our navy must send it back. As a result, Gen. Park Han-ki, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was investigated by the Blue House after he ordered the Navy to capture the boat on the East Sea.
After North Koreans defect to South Korea, they are supposed to undergo a joint interrogation by security authorities, including the National Intelligence Service (NIS), the military and the Ministry of Unification. But the NIS hurriedly ended the interrogation of the two defectors. Suh Hoon, the NIS chief at the time, was accused of abuse of power by the Yoon Suk-yeol administration.
As our Constitution defines North Korean defectors as South Korean citizens, the authorities cannot send them back.
And yet, Chung Eui-yong, former National Security Advisor, called them “felons who committed a heinous crime” in the North. He must have been aware of a Supreme Court ruling in 1996 against deportation of North Korean defectors.
Even if defectors are suspected of committing a grave crime, they should be punished by our law. If they are proven innocent, they become South Korean citizens after going through a reeducation program. If North Korean defectors are not allowed to live in South Korea, they can raise a complaint with the unification minister within 90 days. But the two defectors were sent back home in six days without exercising such rights.
Appearing to the National Assembly, then unification minister Kim Yeon-chul blamed the repatriation for their “lack of sincerity to defect.” But the photos released by the ministry vividly show their vehement resistance to the repatriation. Rep. Chris Smith, a Republican from New Jersey, said he was shocked by the Moon administration’s collusion with North Korea over the repatriation.
The case constitutes a clear violation of our Constitution and a shameful act against humanity. The Yoon Suk-yeol administration must get to the bottom of the suspicions.
14. A perennial division in local newspapers (Korea)
An analysis of the Korean press using the forced repatriation issue.
Thursday
July 14, 2022
A perennial division in local newspapers
Lee Sang-eon
The author is an editorial writer at the JoongAng Ilbo.
I combed through the morning papers several times. I could not believe my eyes. Of six newspapers on Wednesday, three did not carry a single photo of two North Korean fishermen being unwillingly repatriated to the North in 2019. The JoongAng Ilbo and another paper carried several photos on the front page and others, including an editorial. One carried pictures and related articles inside. The other three made no mention.
When I first saw the pictures online the previous day, I could not contain my shock. I have repeatedly advised junior reporters not to use the word “shock,” as it is a cliché. But there was no other word than “shocking” to describe the feeling. The two “liberal” newspapers turned a blind eye to the scene where a state had thrown two lives to the mercy of the hands on the other side of the border. A paper claiming to be “rational centrist” also chose to ignore the news. It was hard to understand or explain how six major newspapers in South Korea could be equally divided three-three.
The pictures were disclosed through the Ministry of Unification and People Power Party (PPP) Rep. Jun Joo-hyae. As those photos were not exclusively obtained by particular media outlets, it was up to each newspaper whether to run them or not.
Of course, judgment can differ. Media organizations edit based on their values. Gone are the days when newspapers carry the same headlines and stories. Reporters today don’t try to match the stories that ran in their rivalling papers.
Still, the utter division over the involuntary repatriation of the North Korean defectors reflects a sharp division in our society. Many still believe that the revisit to human rights issues related to North Korea could be a part of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration’s attacks on the past administration. Some even suspect the new conservative government is digging up dirt about the previous government to make up for its sinking approval rating.
They don’t attach great significance to the repatriation of the two North Koreans against their will, as it would represent their surrendering to the tactics of the conservative administration. Some find no problem with a government sending back the defectors who had fled after killing fellow crew members on the boat as North Korea and the Moon administration claimed.
South Korea is a diverse society. Convictions and political views can differ. But community members under one nation must achieve a minimum consensus, as specified in our Constitution. In short, it is the guarantee on basic freedom and rights. Life to a human being is the foundation of freedom and rights. All civilizations respect the life of a person even without referring to the law and Constitution. That cannot change depending on whether he or she is a national, foreigner, or a North Korean.
One of the two North Korean fishermen who expressed their intention to defect are forcibly sent back to North Korea by South Korean security officials in November 2019. The two defectors vehemently resisted the South Korean government’s repatriation. [Ministry of Unification]
It seems that key officials under the Moon Jae-in administration thought that a few sacrifices could be made to sustain its engagement policy towards North Korea, materialize North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s return visit to Seoul, and achieve victories in the upcoming parliamentary elections — and the presidential election three years later.
Philosopher Immanuel Kant said that human beings must be treated as an end in themselves, and not as a means to something else. Sadly, such a common sense has to be recited in South Korea today. As I wrote in November 2019, whether the fishermen are still alive cannot be known. But South Korea has committed a crime against humanity that should be investigated and explained in the future.
The forced repatriation raises serious questions about what role a state has to play and how brutal the power can be. The role the media also should be added to the questions. Two of the three newspapers that didn’t run the repatriation photos at all carried the images of “stellar nursery” and a “cosmic dance” — transmitted by the new space telescope of NASA — on their front pages, instead.
Buddhism teaches each and every one is a small universe. We may be looking far into the sky while neglecting the universes around us.
15. [INTERVIEW] 'NK's nuclear tests to inspire unity among West'
That which does not kill us makes us stronger. - apologies to Nietsczhe
[INTERVIEW] 'NK's nuclear tests to inspire unity among West'
Japan wants to engage N. Korea's denuclearization process
By Kim Yoo-chul
A key question on the minds of political analysts following Russia's invasion of Ukraine is how North Korea views the incursion.
Russian President Vladimir Putin's war raised a lot of concerns and debates from a security standpoint not only for Europe but also in Asia. The Biden administration is further strengthening its commitment to the Indo-Pacific region, and China's dissatisfaction over NATO's recent description of Beijing as a "challenge" to its security and values is also raising the probability of conflict escalation in Northeast Asia.
Under this kind of new geopolitical situation, North Korea is in the process of recalibrating its core foreign policy priorities in a way to position itself mostly between Washington, Beijing, Seoul and Tokyo, according to political analysts.
According to them, the ongoing Ukraine crisis is being emphasized by the North Korean regime to reawaken the necessity of having more nuclear weapons to possibly break U.S. military actions, providing justification for Pyongyang to hold on to its nuclear capabilities at any cost.
South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin believes North Korea has "completed its preparations to conduct a nuclear test," a view that is also shared by the United States. "North Korea has yet to make any political decisions," the minister said during a recent regular briefing with reporters.
North Korea hasn't carried out a nuclear test in five years during the former Moon Jae-in administration, although Pyongyang has launched 18 missiles this year alone. The latest updates by 38 North, a North Korea information provider, show that a reactor inside North Korea's nuclear research center in Yongbyon was continuing to produce plutonium for the country's nuclear weapons program despite heavy rain over the past several weeks.
Korea Society, a leading New York-based think tank, claimed it is unjustifiable for the North to develop nuclear weapons to defend against military attacks by the United States.
"Because the U.S.-ROK alliance since 1953 has been defensive, to deter another invasion by North Korea, the North's justification for developing nuclear weapons to 'possibly break U.S. military attacks' is not justified," Thomas J. Byrne, CEO and president of Korea Society, said in a recent written interview with The Korea Times.
As seen in NATO's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and by previously neutral Finland and Sweden seeking NATO membership, Byrne said any "grave actions" that could threaten the global order "will meet great military unity among Western countries and democracies." Byrne didn't elaborate, but stressed that North Korea may take a lesson from the 1954 Budapest Memorandum that it is better to have one's own nuclear weapons than security assurances from world powers.
Korea Society CEO and President Thomas J. Byrne smiles at the start of a recent forum held at its New York headquarters. Courtesy of Korea Society
Jonathan Corrado, policy director at the Society, added, "Pyongyang often complains about America's attempts to build an 'Asian NATO,' a reference to security cooperation among the United States, South Korea, Japan and other allies such as Quad members. From this episode, however, North Korea should also learn the lesson that provocations, nuclear tests and invasions will only inspire further integration and unity among this group of partners."
Russia reacted very angrily to NATO's offer of membership to Finland and Sweden, calling it as a "destabilizing" effort that will increase the level of tensions in the Baltic region.
However, the offer followed after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, which immediately prompted countries neighboring Russia to appeal to NATO for extra security guarantees. The accession of the two Scandinavian countries into NATO means the closure of a decades-long status quo that had put Finland into a neutral position during the Cold War to avoid any direct threats with the Soviet Union.
Corrado put some emphasis on this development. "Just as Russia's invasion inspired Finland and Sweden to join NATO, so too would further North Korean destabilizing actions lead to enhanced cooperation between the United States, South Korea and their regional allies and partners," he said.
He claimed North Korea's decision to develop nuclear weapons stretches back to the 1950s, while the program started to make real strides in the 1970s. "It is also true that Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a country which briefly possessed and then surrendered nuclear weapons, is further vindication of the logic that first convinced and now sustains North Korea's commitment to maintaining and developing nuclear weapons," Corrado said.
Maintaining deterrence until NK engages in diplomacy
Former President Moon Jae-in, who described himself as a mediator, tried harder to keep up the communications between the United States and North Korea. The core reason behind Moon's "mediating role" is the basis of his firm belief that the leaders of Washington and Pyongyang hold the keys in actually advancing the inter-Korean peace process.
People watch a TV screen showing a file image of North Korea's firing of projectiles, at Seoul Station, March 2, 2020. AP-YonhapEarlier summits between Moon and his North Korean counterpart Kim Jong-un and between then U.S. President Donald Trump and Kim produced several declarations to lower inter-Korean tensions. But the limits of his mediating role and shuttle diplomacy regarding North Korea's denuclearization became clear after the collapse of the summit in Hanoi, Vietnam, in February 2019, when Trump refused to accept the North's Kim's requests for partial sanctions relief as a precondition to the start of its denuclearization steps.
Regarding questions over the key lessons from the "limits of former President Moon's shuttle diplomacy" as Moon had no say in terms of the direction for the peace process, Byrne said, "Unfortunately, what is most limited is North Korea's interest in opening up and engaging constructively the international community. (Former) President Moon Jae-in ran into the same obstinacy as did all other administrations, ultimately."
The Korea Society chief advised President Yoon Suk-yeol and his team handling inter-Korean affairs to seek ways to further strengthen the Washington-Seoul alliance and focus on deterrence until North Korea is ready to engage in diplomacy.
US President Donald Trump, center, meets South Korea's President Moon Jae-in and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ahead of the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, July 6, 2017. Reuters-Yonhap"I think North Korea will need to open up and engage the international community if it is serious in achieving sustainable economic development, as has been the case with every other country in the post-World War II era ― including China, the former Soviet states and even Russia until its invasion of Ukraine," Byrne said.
"North Korea's possession of any number of nuclear weapons will block its access to economic aid and finance from the West, and its historical suspicion of China will limit its dependence on its economically powerful neighbor. To the contrary, North Korea has so far been willing to subject its citizens to great economic deprivation rather than to forego its military objectives," according to the CEO.
Corrado responded, "The international community should nonetheless consistently, persistently and insistently strive to persuade North Korea's leadership that these weapons are more of a liability than an asset, and that entering into negotiations leading to denuclearization could significantly improve not only North Korea's economic prospects, but also its security position as well."
Because North Korea's denuclearization process is primarily being negotiated between Washington, Beijing and Pyongyang and Seoul, Tokyo's position is quite vague and its role in this process is limited, although Japan could be the most affected by the results of the denuclearization process, which has been stalled since the fallout in Hanoi, because Japan would possibly be the target of North Korea's nuclear and even conventional short- to medium-range missiles.
Byrne said Japan is part of an axis in the denuclearization process.
"I believe Japan feels threatened by North Korea's missile and nuclear weapons program, and would like to see denuclearization. An optimal response by the U.S.' two great allies in East Asia would be for close coordination between Japan, South Korea and the United States."
16. New US ambassador takes aim
New US ambassador takes aim
By Donald Kirk
The United States has a new ambassador to South Korea at a pivotal moment in U.S.-Korean relations and the confrontation between North and South Korea. Philip Goldberg has arrived in Seoul just as the U.S. and the ROK are beginning to see eye to eye and South Korea's President Yoon Suk-yeol promises to repair the damage done during the presidency of his predecessor, Moon Jae-in.
Luckily, Goldberg will not have to persuade Yoon of the dangers of scaling down joint military exercises or appeasing Kim Jong-un in hopes of another meeting filled with promises that will never be fulfilled. As Goldberg gets over jetlag from his flight from Washington and looks at his schedule, he has the luxury of knowing that the Yoon administration has changed course from the previous five years of liberal if not leftist governance.
Goldberg won't have to edge his way around contentious issues as did the previous ambassador, Harry Harris, a retired admiral who once commanded all U.S. forces in the Pacific. Perhaps unavoidably, Harris, with no previous experience as a diplomat, had a way of upsetting Koreans by showing his annoyance with the left-leaning tendencies of the Moon administration.
Now Goldberg has the delicate task of not appearing overly eager to see Yoon get along smoothly with the U.S. against North Korean threats and China's obvious interest in undermining the U.S. role in the region. A career ambassador who once was responsible for tracking compliance with sanctions imposed against North Korea for its nuclear and missile tests, Goldberg comes to Korea with the label of "hardliner."
No need for him to act really hardline, though, while the Yoon administration refuses to buckle under North Korean intimidation. At this stage, he just has to watch approvingly, offering American support where needed. Presumably, with his years as ambassador elsewhere, he'll know what to do and how to react.
An early sign of the degree of cooperation between the U.S. and South Korea will be South Korea's willingness to renew full-scale joint military exercises, which Trump stupidly canceled after getting along so well with Kim Jong-un in their first summit in Singapore in June 2018. President Yoon has indicated he's all for exercises involving U.S. and ROK forces on the ground, in the air and at sea as conducted for the last time in 2017.
The resumption of exercises is sure to outrage North Korea, which will come out with blasts of rhetoric, missile shots and possibly another nuclear test. The U.S. and South Korea should be on alert for some surprise that Kim may stage for maximum effect, the purpose of which will be to drive American and South Korean diplomats into a frenzy in which they plead for negotiations and offer a halt to everything. Goldberg should see through all such nonsense, sticking to a tough U.S. policy and calling Kim's bluff.
Goldberg's job, though, will involve considerably more than standing fast with the South Koreans on policy toward North Korea. He will also face serious problems in trade between the U.S. and South Korea as he attempts to make sure the South Koreans abide by the terms of the agreement on the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement. And he will face the usual problems surrounding American bases and the conduct of America's 28,500 troops mixing and mingling in a society where a significant number of people resent their presence.
Those are everyday problems that often don't make headlines while everyone worries about what Kim Jong-un is going to do next. As Goldberg manipulates among voices and forces with quite different views, we will get an idea of his skill as an ambassador.
The U.S. over the years has had a wide range of ambassadors to Korea, some better than others. All of them had to get along with presidents who were sensitive to hints that the Americans were trying to push them around. In the interests of preserving the historic American alliance with South Korea, they have had to appear on the side of the South Korean government whether they wanted to or not.
If the former ambassador, Harry Harris, was not especially suited to the role, Goldberg appears to have all the right qualifications and has arrived at a time when U.S.-Korean relations are on the upswing. With his years of diplomatic experience, he should be able to build on the relationship as the South enters another phase of its difficult relationship with the North. For Goldberg, the challenge is to encourage Yoon to stick to his guns while not appearing too eager or pushy about it.
17. N. Korean enforcers of anti-reactionary thought law earn public ire due to excessive fines
Resistance potential? Corruption could destroy the regime.
I would like someone to write and direct a music video like the Ukrainian cover of "London Calling" - "KyivCall - We Live For Resistance." We need a "Pyongyang Calling "version. We need a Pyongyang Resistance Channel like this one for Ukraine on YouTube - see the music video here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOGXCOzxvPX461WqbWnOtxw
N. Korean enforcers of anti-reactionary thought law earn public ire due to excessive fines - Daily NK
Officers are supposed to levy fines as the law stipulates, but instead they hand them out so indiscriminately that people say the fines are whatever the officers say they are
FILE PHOTO: An elderly North Korean man is seen sitting in Pyongyang. (Daily NK)
North Korea law enforcement agencies are earning public ire by punishing individuals or groups that violate the nation’s law to eradicate “reactionary thought and culture” with fines in excess of the legally specified amount. In short, many North Koreans are criticizing law enforcement agencies for robbing people under the pretext of stopping the spread of foreign culture.
Multiple sources in North Korea told Daily NK on Monday that operators of private photo studios in Pyongyang, Hamhung, Sariwon and Wonsan were recently fined for violating the law on reactionary thought and culture by producing recordings, publications, photos, drawings or backgrounds for congratulatory messages that ran afoul of the law. When they protested the excessive fines, however, they were arrested and their studios temporarily or permanently closed.
“This news was reported nationwide when it was included in cadre training materials,” one of the source said.
Daily NK’s sources said that Unified Command 82 is paying particular attention to the growing number of photo studios that take money for producing “exotic” photos or pictures, or videos or photos with congratulatory messages tailored for young people in their 20s.
Believing that certain photo studios are helping get young people hooked on foreign photos, images and text, Unified Command 82 appears intent on strongly punishing such behavior, designating it a violation of the law to eradicate reactionary culture.
To encourage awareness, the authorities distributed cadre training materials that included accounts of violations of the law.
In fact, materials dated July 2 provided by sources to Daily NK recounted how the head of a photo studio in Hamhung, South Hamgyong Province was fined in late June for producing wedding photos for people in the 20s and 30s using an exotic, palm tree-lined beach as a background image.
The materials said particularly problematic studio owners in Pyongyang, Sariwon and Wonsan were subject to exemplary punishments. What they reportedly had in common was that they protested that the summary fines exceeded what the law called for.
However, the materials did not specify the fine ceiling stipulated in the law, or how much law enforcement agents tried to fine the protesting studios.
Daily NK’s sources say that while officers are supposed to levy fines as the law stipulates, in reality, they hand them out so indiscriminately that people say the fines are whatever the officers say they are.
A source in Gangwon Province said everyone who studied the materials agreed that there is a divide between what the law says and reality.
“The fine you have to pay when they nitpick differs from region to region and from enforcer to enforcer, so people are complaining, asking what kind of ‘people’s law’ or nation this is, and demanding that officers enforce the law,” he said.
The law to eradicate reactionary thought and culture levies fines of KPW 1 million to KPW 1.5 million on organizations that violate the legislation. However, the sources say that, in reality, violators sometimes pay 10 times that amount.
Public anger is rising at the merciless, arbitrary fines leveled for violations of the law; however, the state is simply standing by as officials issue irrational, excessive fines in excess of legal provisions.
A source in Pyongyang said protests against the fines have taken place in places other than the four cities mentioned in the cadre training materials.
“People only earn respect for the country’s laws if they are punished in accordance with them, but officers are sucking the people dry like vampire bats, sparking intense anger,” he claimed.
The source added that if private photo studios are busted for using computer printers and other equipment in violation of the law, the shops are immediately closed and all their equipment confiscated by the government.
Translated by David Black. Edited by Robert Lauler.
17. Japan and South Korea Can No Longer Let History Thwart Cooperation
In my opinion as I have written many times, Yoon and Kishida must face their domestic constituents and forcefully tell them they must prioritize national security and national prosperity while managing the historical issues but not allowing those issues to harm security or prosperity.
Excerpts:
Improving Japanese-South Korean relations will ultimately require dealing with political sensitivities related to history, including those stemming from Japan’s occupation of the Korean Peninsula before and during World War II. In particular, many South Koreans claim that Japan has not paid adequate recompense for its use of forced labor and the Japanese military’s exploitation of Korean women who were pressed into sexual servitude during the war. The South Korean Supreme Court in 2018 ruled that several Japanese companies must compensate Korean workers who performed forced labor during the war; the disposition of this and other cases is still being considered in the South Korean court system. Japan asserts these cases are inconsistent with the 1965 peace treaty between the two countries, which states, “claims . . . between the Parties and their peoples . . . have been settled completely and finally.” Tokyo is pressing Yoon to get these cases dismissed.
The political sensitivities in both countries surrounding issues of history are real and should not be dismissed. Kishida will be under pressure from conservatives in his party, who will insist that the onus is on Yoon to repair frayed relations, given the widespread view in Tokyo that Moon, the former South Korean president, was responsible for rekindling the history disputes. Although Yoon has come out strongly in favor of improving relations with Tokyo, his party’s lack of control over the legislature and Yoon’s lack of any early “wins” with Japan—such as Japanese action to restore South Korea to the “white list” of countries exempt from licensing requirements on sensitive technology exports—will restrict his ability to reach out to Tokyo. The resolution of issues related to history is likely to take time. And any solutions will not necessarily be fully satisfying to either side.
Nevertheless, a mutually satisfactory resolution of these issues should not be a condition for improved trilateral cooperation. Both efforts should proceed in parallel. The challenges all three countries face demand focusing on the future and moving forward. In the past, the three allies could absorb the strategic costs of weak trilateral ties and a weak Japanese-South Korean relationship. Those days are gone.
Japan and South Korea Can No Longer Let History Thwart Cooperation
How Washington Can Strengthen Relations Between Its East Asian Allies
July 14, 2022
Last month, U.S. President Joe Biden met with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Madrid. The brief tête-à-tête may have seemed like little more than a photo op. Despite North Korean claims about the formation of an “Asian NATO,” no major agreements were reached, and no joint statement was issued. Indeed, the White House readout of the meeting was barely a paragraph long.
But this heavily choreographed encounter was far from a waste of time. In fact, it represented an important breakthrough in U.S.-East Asian diplomacy, ending a protracted period of dysfunctional relations dating back to 2017. A weak U.S.-Japanese-Korean trilateral relationship and poor Japanese and Korean bilateral relations have hurt each ally. That is especially true given the mounting challenges all three countries face that demand a cooperative response. Biden’s meeting with Kishida and Yoon was a good start, but there is much more to be done militarily and economically to strengthen this vital trilateral relationship.
Common Challenges
Japan, South Korea, and the United States share common security threats. Chief among them is North Korea, which has made great strides in its military capabilities in the past five years. Under Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un, North Korea has conducted dozens of weapons tests intended to threaten Seoul and launched medium-range ballistic missiles that can strike targets in Japan. And it is not just North Korea’s neighbors that are under threat: Kim has tested intercontinental ballistic missiles that could reach the United States and beyond.
At the same time, China has accelerated the largest and most comprehensive military modernization effort in history. The People’s Liberation Army has upgraded its strategic rocket forces and its space and cyber-capabilities. Beijing has married these advances with increasing assertiveness and coercive behavior across the region. Since 2017, it has sought to use economic tools to punish Australia for speaking out on the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic. It has also dialed up political and military pressure on Japan and other countries with whom it has disputes over territory and maritime claims in the East China and South China Seas, precipitated a low-grade border war with India in the Himalayas, increased military tensions in Taiwan, and essentially quashed Hong Kong’s remaining autonomy.
These developments alone should have been enough to bring Seoul, Tokyo, and Washington closer together. But then came Russia’s February invasion of Ukraine, just days after Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “no limits” partnership. Since then, China appears to be carefully calibrating its political support for Moscow so as not to trigger sanctions from the West. Nevertheless, the Russian-Chinese partnership poses a clear threat to the existing international order and the framework of international laws, rules, and norms that underpins it. As Kishida has repeatedly warned, “Ukraine today may be East Asia tomorrow.”
Closer collaboration would advance the foreign policy goals of Japan, South Korea, and the United States.
Closer collaboration would advance the foreign policy goals of all three counties. For Biden, the United States’ five treaty alliances with Australia, Japan, the Philippines, South Korea, and Thailand are at the heart of the government’s Indo-Pacific strategy. Militarily, Japan and South Korea are critical to deterring conflicts on the Korean Peninsula and in the Taiwan Strait; that deterrence is stronger when the allies speak as one and act together. As democracies and as the world’s third- and tenth-largest economies, Japan and South Korea are vital to advancing the Biden administration’s overarching goal for the region: “an Indo-Pacific that is free and open, connected, prosperous, secure, and resilient.”
In short, although the United States remains the most powerful actor in Asia, it needs the support of key partners such as Japan and South Korea to buttress the rules-based international order. From the beginning, the Biden administration has worked to rebuild the trilateralism that former U.S. President Donald Trump largely discounted. Trump was indifferent to the bickering between Seoul and Tokyo, reportedly deflecting requests to intervene by saying, “Why do I have to get involved in everything?”
For Yoon, improving trilateral relations with the United States and Japan would provide the strongest possible foundation for dealing with China. Seoul’s voice with Beijing is stronger in concert with Washington’s and Tokyo’s than it is solo. Moreover, the belief held by some South Koreans that there is no cost to bad relations with Tokyo is wrong. Two major new initiatives in East Asia—the Quad (Quadrilateral Security Dialogue) an alliance that unites Australia, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and Japan’s “Free and Open Indo-Pacific” strategy—moved forward without South Korea in no small part because of its poor relations with Japan. Joining together with Tokyo and Washington would not just bolster South Korea’s policies to deter North Korea but also serve Yoon’s aspiration for South Korea to play a pivotal role in everything from supply chains to development assistance—areas in which Seoul’s two allies are key players.
For Kishida, trilateral cooperation would be good for “realism diplomacy,” as he described his foreign policy approach in a speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue in June. No country in Asia has been more affected by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine than Japan, which for years under the late prime minister Shinzo Abe assiduously sought to build a cooperative relationship with Putin in a vain attempt to secure the return of the Northern Territories, four islands off Japan’s northernmost prefecture that Russia occupied in the waning days of World War II.
Japan faces a regional security environment more challenging than at any time since World War II.
Kishida’s bold response to the war in Ukraine—imposing sweeping financial sanctions and export controls on Moscow and offering robust assistance to Kyiv—effectively flipped the table on years of Japanese foreign policy. But Japan now faces a regional security environment more challenging than at any time since World War II. In his speech in June, Kishida called for “strengthening the rules-based free and open international order” and closer cooperation on economic issues, such as supply chain and infrastructure resilience. All these goals would benefit from trilateral cooperation and closer ties with South Korea.
Biden, Kishida, and Yoon deserve credit for being forward-leaning in their support of trilateralism. Even in the absence of clear deliverables, the mere fact that the meeting in Madrid took place sends a powerful message to the citizens and bureaucracies in Japan and South Korea that trilateral cooperation is a priority. But the meeting must be followed by action.
A Plan of Action
First, the three allies should reinvigorate the Trilateral Consultation and Oversight Group that was created during U.S. President Bill Clinton’s administration to coordinate policy and manage contingencies regarding North Korea. The three countries should also revitalize and expand defense cooperation. During the administration of former South Korean President Park Geun-hye, the three allies had begun to execute a regular program of trilateral military exercises. But the exercises ended five years ago, when disputes over World War II history returned to the forefront of Japanese-Korean relations under former South Korean President Moon Jae-in. In addition to resuming missile warning and tracking exercises—in which the three navies practice data sharing on a simulated launch utilizing a common ballistic missile defense radar system— the three countries should conduct exercises and training in areas such as maritime surveillance, interdiction, and antisubmarine warfare. They should begin sending observers to bilateral exercises in Japan and South Korea and establish liaison offices with uniformed personnel at Republic of Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command in Seoul and U.S. Forces Japan headquarters west of Tokyo to facilitate regular information exchange. And they should consider establishing a trilateral dialogue on strengthening extended deterrence in the region to supplement the bilateral dialogues that are underway.
Seoul, Tokyo, and Washington should also collaborate on economic issues, including efforts to shore up critical supply chains. The newly established U.S.-Japan Economic Policy Consultative Committee, chaired by the State and Commerce Departments with Japanese counterparts at the Foreign and Trade Ministries, could serve as a model. Each member has a great deal to offer on everything from global health to advanced technologies, such as semiconductors. The recent participation of Japan and South Korea in the U.S.-led Minerals Security Partnership was a useful step in this direction.
Finally, the three allies should engage in a high-level trilateral defense policy dialogue to increase transparency related to defense modernization. The annual defense ministers’ trilateral meeting at the Shangri-La Dialogue is important but should be supplemented by additional regular engagement at the deputy secretary or undersecretary level. As its plans take shape, Japan should use these venues to brief South Korea on its new national security strategy, which is planned for release in late 2022. South Korea, in turn, should share information about its “Kill Chain” program—Seoul’s strategy for detecting and preempting a North Korean attack—and its cruise and ballistic missile development.
Given China’s increased threats against Taiwan and the impact a conflict in the Taiwan Strait would likely have on Japanese and South Korean security, it is time for the three allies to engage in trilateral discussions regarding Taiwan contingencies. As an initial step, the three countries could consider a tabletop exercise to begin exploring coordinated responses in the event of a crisis in the Taiwan Strait.
Distant Neighbors
Improving Japanese-South Korean relations will ultimately require dealing with political sensitivities related to history, including those stemming from Japan’s occupation of the Korean Peninsula before and during World War II. In particular, many South Koreans claim that Japan has not paid adequate recompense for its use of forced labor and the Japanese military’s exploitation of Korean women who were pressed into sexual servitude during the war. The South Korean Supreme Court in 2018 ruled that several Japanese companies must compensate Korean workers who performed forced labor during the war; the disposition of this and other cases is still being considered in the South Korean court system. Japan asserts these cases are inconsistent with the 1965 peace treaty between the two countries, which states, “claims . . . between the Parties and their peoples . . . have been settled completely and finally.” Tokyo is pressing Yoon to get these cases dismissed.
The political sensitivities in both countries surrounding issues of history are real and should not be dismissed. Kishida will be under pressure from conservatives in his party, who will insist that the onus is on Yoon to repair frayed relations, given the widespread view in Tokyo that Moon, the former South Korean president, was responsible for rekindling the history disputes. Although Yoon has come out strongly in favor of improving relations with Tokyo, his party’s lack of control over the legislature and Yoon’s lack of any early “wins” with Japan—such as Japanese action to restore South Korea to the “white list” of countries exempt from licensing requirements on sensitive technology exports—will restrict his ability to reach out to Tokyo. The resolution of issues related to history is likely to take time. And any solutions will not necessarily be fully satisfying to either side.
Nevertheless, a mutually satisfactory resolution of these issues should not be a condition for improved trilateral cooperation. Both efforts should proceed in parallel. The challenges all three countries face demand focusing on the future and moving forward. In the past, the three allies could absorb the strategic costs of weak trilateral ties and a weak Japanese-South Korean relationship. Those days are gone.
18. Mike Pompeo says China derailed Trump's efforts to help denuclearize North Korea
We should not be surprised by this.
Mike Pompeo says China derailed Trump's efforts to help denuclearize North Korea
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Former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday that China interfered with nuclear negotiations between Washington and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Photo by KCNA/UPI | License Photo
July 13 (UPI) -- Former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday that China wields heavy influence over North Korea and blamed Chinese President Xi Jinping for standing in the way of Washington's efforts at making progress on denuclearization.
"The Chinese Communist Party is controlling what Chairman Kim [Jong Un] does," Pompeo said. "His degrees of freedom are deeply limited."
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The former top diplomat claimed that Beijing doesn't want Pyongyang to denuclearize because it "benefits from Chairman Kim continuing to hold his nuclear weapons."
"The Chinese Communist Party understands that North Korea is an important buffer state for them," Pompeo said. "It distracts the United States of America and they know that we have to spend resources to defend against North Korean nuclear weapons systems."
Pompeo made the comments during a video interview presented at the Asian Leadership Conference in Seoul, an annual summit hosted by the Chosun Ilbo newspaper.
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The 58-year-old was deeply involved in diplomatic engagement between Washington and Pyongyang under the administration of former President Donald Trump. As CIA director and then Secretary of State, Pompeo met personally with Kim Jong Un on several occasions and helped coordinate a trio of Trump-Kim summits in 2018 and 2019.
Pompeo described Kim as "savvy" and said that he believed the North Korean leader was genuinely interested in giving up his weapons in exchange for greater economic engagement, but claimed that China's Xi interfered directly in the diplomatic process.
"Not a single one of the meetings that I had with Chairman Kim, nor any meeting that President Trump had with Chairman Kim was not preceded by [Kim] meeting with Xi Jinping," Pompeo said.
"There were times I had serious conversations with Chairman Kim only to find that right after my departure, a call from Xi Jinping came in and said: 'Don't you dare head down that path with that Secretary of State.'"
Pompeo did not indicate the source of the intelligence about the calls from Xi.
For its part, Beijing has publicly spoken out in favor of denuclearization and has participated in past U.N. Security Council sanctions against North Korea after its nuclear and long-range missile tests.
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Last month, China's ambassador to the United Nations, Ambassador Zhang Jun, said in remarks to the General Assembly that Beijing "has always insisted on maintaining peace and stability on the Peninsula [and on] achieving a denuclearized Peninsula."
At the same time, China remains North Korea's primary ally and trading partner and in May joined Russia in vetoing a U.S.-led Security Council resolution to impose additional sanctions on Pyongyang over a spate of ballistic missile launches.
"There were many times that I was convinced that Chairman Kim himself believed that the right path forward was the one that we were offering, but that it was in fact Xi Jinping that was operating him," Pompeo said. "In some ways, you can look at the North Korean nuclear weapons as simply an extension of the Chinese nuclear weapons program."
Negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang stalled after a 2019 summit in Hanoi ended without an agreement. North Korea has conducted a flurry of missile launches in 2022 and appears poised to conduct its seventh nuclear test, according to officials in the United States and South Korea.
Pompeo on Wednesday called for increased enforcement of sanctions against North Korea in order to force Kim Jong Un's hand in denuclearization. He praised recently inaugurated South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol for staking out a harder line against Pyongyang than his predecessor Moon Jae-in.
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"The right answer is to continue to impose as many costs as you can on North Korea in a way that convinces Chairman Kim to make this historic change that would be better for him and better for his own people," Pompeo said. "It was the model that we used. I think the new leadership in South Korea understands that as well. And I hope they can urge the U.S. leadership to begin to engage in this as well."
The former congressman has traveled extensively this year campaigning for Republicans in November's midterm elections and has hinted at running for president in 2024. On Wednesday Pompeo said that he is still weighing his options and would make an announcement in the next several months.
"My wife and I haven't made the decision yet," he said. "By the beginning of next year, we will make that decision."
19. The Time Is Right: Why Japan and South Korea Should Get the Bomb
We are going to be reading these arguments more and more.
Excerpts:
China and North Korea’s behavior has become increasingly provocative and assertive just as the United States’ once omnipotent military is faltering with an economy beset by economic challenges. This newly competitive security environment calls for an alternative to current U.S. grand strategy—the inhibition of nuclear proliferation, which is ineffective in countering the two growing security challenges in East Asia.
To contend with these threats, the United States should stop thwarting the independent nuclear weapons programs of its two key allies in East Asia. Buck-passing to a wealthy Asian country is an effective strategy to defend the westernmost front line of the Pacific. In an era of relative decline, the United States would do well to think about this approach on a global basis.
The Time Is Right: Why Japan and South Korea Should Get the Bomb
Buck-passing to a wealthy Asian country is an effective strategy to defend the westernmost front line of the Pacific.
For more than half a century, one of the United States’ grand strategic missions has been to inhibit the proliferation of nuclear weapons. This strategic mission has been successful to the extent that the United States prevented the global spread of the most destructive, indiscriminate, and inhumane weapons. Since almost all U.S. allies believe in the efficacy of the U.S. nuclear umbrella, nuclearization is a pursuit of those beyond its reach.
However, the international security environment has changed dramatically in recent years. Above all, China and North Korea have expanded their capabilities to project military power globally, emerging as the biggest security threats to East Asian countries and the United States. As global hegemonic power is slipping through Washington’s fingers, the United States faces increased difficulties balancing the two new military aggressors alone.
It is time to pass the buck: the United States should allow South Korea or Japan to go nuclear. This buck-passing strategy could encourage one of the two countries to bear the burden of deterring or possibly fighting China and North Korea in East Asia before they cross the Pacific Ocean. Thus, the United States could share world policing with a wealthy Asian ally rather than allowing it to free ride.
Buck-passing is transferring the responsibility to act on an emerging bully, but it is one of the most well-conceived security strategies for a great power to check an aggressor while remaining on the sidelines. In a way, England and France assume buck-catching, as they take responsibility for thwarting military aggression of European and U.S. rivals in Western Europe; Israel plays the role of a buck catcher in the Middle East; and India and Pakistan catch the buck in South Asia. These buck catchers minimize America’s direct military involvement with potential aggressors. Regrettably, no country in East Asia, one of the most volatile regions in the world, is buck-catching. This is almost certainly a by-product of confusion over the rapid ascent of China.
I see four potential reasons the United States might prefer Japan as a strategic buck catcher over South Korea.
First, while developing its failed nuclear weapons program in the 1970s, South Korea “displayed a pattern of deception, manipulation, evasion, or even obstruction of the expressed [geopolitical] interests of” the United States. In contrast, Japan, whose national security is also at stake due to the threats from China and North Korea, has not shown such disrespect to the United States though it has retained the technical capability to go nuclear on short notice if necessary. Since Washington understands that “once a cheater, always a cheater,” it might perceive Seoul to be less reliable than Tokyo when push comes to shove.
Second, South Korea is politically less reliable than Japan since its fixed presidential term of five years often leads to policy inconsistency. When a conservative president is in office for five years, foreign policy tends to be in sync with U.S. interests so that Washington rarely has trouble addressing its security concerns in South Korea. But if a power transition occurs and a progressive president comes to power for the next five years, this tends to drastically change foreign policy, emphasizing the importance of national sovereignty and rejecting nuclear weapons as a viable security option. When a conservative president loses power, the United States must deal with a progressive president who is less compromising and even sometimes recalcitrant.
In contrast, Japan has been largely dominated by a conservative party, which has been in power almost continuously since its foundation in 1955. Japanese prime ministers are exceptionally cooperative, so they are more willing to accommodate any U.S. security needs in East Asia.
Third, since South Korea has greater economic interests in China in comparison to Japan, it might be more reluctant to balance the rising power of China on behalf of its American friends. In 2021, South Korea’s trade balance with China amounted to a surplus of about $24 billion. In contrast, Japan incurred a trade deficit of about $18 billion with China.
Fourth, when it comes to deterring or fighting China and North Korea, public opinion in South Korea might turn against the United States more strongly than in Japan. For example, since South Koreans view China to be much less threatening as a nation than the Japanese, they might be less willing to support a president entertaining America’s security agenda. This perspective can be inferred from March and April 2021 surveys by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.
At the time of polling, 28 percent of South Koreans believed that China seeks to replace the United States as the dominant player in the Asia-Pacific, compared to 40 percent of Japanese. Furthermore, 24 percent of South Koreans viewed the alliance with the United States as purely based on the security interests of both countries, in contrast with 35 percent of Japanese. (In contrast, a majority of Koreans, 54 percent, feel that their alliance with the United States is based on a mixture of security interests and shared values; only 26 percent of Japanese share this opinion.) These survey results suggest that the geopolitical goals of the United States and South Korea might overlap not as much as those of the United States and Japan.
China and North Korea’s behavior has become increasingly provocative and assertive just as the United States’ once omnipotent military is faltering with an economy beset by economic challenges. This newly competitive security environment calls for an alternative to current U.S. grand strategy—the inhibition of nuclear proliferation, which is ineffective in countering the two growing security challenges in East Asia.
To contend with these threats, the United States should stop thwarting the independent nuclear weapons programs of its two key allies in East Asia. Buck-passing to a wealthy Asian country is an effective strategy to defend the westernmost front line of the Pacific. In an era of relative decline, the United States would do well to think about this approach on a global basis.
Seung-Whan Choi teaches International Relations and Korean politics at the University of Illinois at Chicago. A retired Army officer, he is the author of several books, including Emerging Security Challenges: American Jihad, Terrorism, Civil War, and Human Rights (Santa Barbara: Praeger).
Image: Reuters.
De Oppresso Liber,
David Maxwell
Senior Fellow, Foundation for Defense of Democracies
Senior Fellow, Global Peace Foundation
Senior Advisor, Center for Asia Pacific Strategy
Editor, Small Wars Journal
Twitter: @davidmaxwell161
Phone: 202-573-8647
