Informal Institute for National Security Thinkers and Practitioners

Quotes of the Day:

“Oh would someone the giftie gie us, to see ourselves as others see us.”
- Robert Burns

"We have to finish this war and have a peaceful life."
- Captured Afghan Warlord Ismail Khan

 “The fundamental cause of the trouble is that in the modern world the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt.” - Bertrand Russell 1935

1. S. Korea, US begin joint military drills without notice to N. Korea
2. Final four Koreans flew out of Kabul on Tuesday morning
3. U.S. surveillance of North intensifies during military exercise
4.  Seoul may have paid part of Hanoi summit bill
5. [Correspondent’s column] Americans are sitting on vaccines (Korea perspective)
6. Tragedy of Afghanistan abandoned by the US (Korea Concerns)
7. Unification ministry, think tank launch English online journal on N.K. issues
8. Lessons from Afghanistan (for Korea)
9. N. Korea sees ties with China as 'fundamentally distrustful': think tank
10. Unification ministry will keep close watch on N.K. response to joint exercise: official
11. U.S. Should Prove it Has No Hostile Intent Toward Pyongyang
12. South Korea Offers to Work With North Korea on Coronavirus Relief
13. South Korea required troops to be vaccinated against COVID-19 before exercise with US military
14. DAY6's Young K Is The First Idol To Enlist In Highly Desired KATUSA — Here's What It Takes To Get In



1. S. Korea, US begin joint military drills without notice to N. Korea

Hard to notify them if they do not pick up the phone but in years past when the north would not pick up the phone the Joint duty officer would pass messages every day via bull horn while standing at the military demarcation line in Panmunjom/JSA.

However, this is more detail than I recall ever seeing in a news report:

The computer simulated training preparing for a potential war on the Korean Peninsula includes a defense scenario, scheduled for Aug. 16 to 20, and a counterattack scenario, scheduled for Aug. 23 to 26. Prior to the drills, South Korea and the U.S. agreed to strictly observe the toughened COVID-19 guidelines announced by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, allowing one person per 6 square meters in a bunker and keeping a safe distance of 2 meters from each other. Due to the toughened social distancing measures, the B-1 bunker controlled by Army Capital Defense Command and the command post of the South Korean and U.S. armed forces for CP Tango were further subdivided into two.


S. Korea, US begin joint military drills without notice to N. Korea
Posted August. 17, 2021 07:39,
Updated August. 17, 2021 07:39
S. Korea, US begin joint military drills without notice to N. Korea. August. 17, 2021 07:39. by Ji-Sun Choi aurinko@donga.com.

South Korea and the United States began their nine-day joint military exercises on Monday. South Korea used to notify North Korea of their training schedule through the direct line between the UN Command and North Korea, but did not give prior notice this time. South Korean military authorities said on Monday that no unusual movements have been detected in North Korea but they are closely monitoring its military movements. Eyes are on what message Sung Kim, the U.S. special representative for North Korea, will deliver during his visit to South Korea on Saturday. Kim is in charge of working-level nuclear talks with North Korea

A South Korean military official said on Monday that they did not notify North Korea of the schedule and the characteristics of the drills, adding they have not done so since North Korea blew up a joint liaison office in Kaesong in June last year. Some point out that the military might have decided not to notify North Korea of the drills as the North strongly denounced the joint military drills with the U.S.

The computer simulated training preparing for a potential war on the Korean Peninsula includes a defense scenario, scheduled for Aug. 16 to 20, and a counterattack scenario, scheduled for Aug. 23 to 26. Prior to the drills, South Korea and the U.S. agreed to strictly observe the toughened COVID-19 guidelines announced by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, allowing one person per 6 square meters in a bunker and keeping a safe distance of 2 meters from each other. Due to the toughened social distancing measures, the B-1 bunker controlled by Army Capital Defense Command and the command post of the South Korean and U.S. armed forces for CP Tango were further subdivided into two.

In an official announcement on Sunday, the Joint Chiefs of Staff exceptionally stressed that there will be no live training. Considering that the Ulchi Freedom Guardian drill, the predecessor of the August joint military drills, was computer-simulated training, people in and outside the military say the announcement by the Joint Chiefs of Staff is a message to North Korea, being mindful of the North’s protest.

North Korea did not make any public statements or reports about the joint military drills on Monday. However, a North Korean propaganda media outlet on Sunday denounced the joint military drills as a practice for invasion of North Korea.

2. Final four Koreans flew out of Kabul on Tuesday morning


Excerpts:

 
The Korean national, who ran a type of business in Afghanistan for years, Ambassador Choi and two other Korean diplomats were reported to have stayed either at the airport or in its vicinity for a number of hours from Monday evening to early Tuesday morning, waiting to get out on a flight.
 
Though Choi did not confirm whether they flew out on an American plane – U.S. forces have secured a part of Hamid Karzai airport – it is likely that they did given that Korea and the United States signed an agreement earlier in the year granting Korea access to American military assets for emergency evacuations of its nationals. 
 
“There were obviously some complications in trying to fly out of Kabul because the situation at the airport was constantly changing,” said a ministry official. “We understand that they were waiting for the flight for hours amid changing situations.” 
 
Photos of some 640 Afghans crammed onto a U.S. Air Force jet designed to carry a sixth of that number were published by international media Tuesday. Videos from the moment the jet took off from the Kabul airport showed people trying to hold onto the plane’s exterior, surrounded by crowds running on foot.
 
Tuesday
August 17, 2021
Final four Koreans flew out of Kabul on Tuesday morning

Evacuees are seen inside a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III transport aircraft, which carried some 640 Afghans to Qatar from Kabul, Afghanistan on Aug.15. [REUTERS/YONHAP]
The last Korean citizen in Afghanistan left Kabul Tuesday morning on a plane to a country in the Middle East, with the final group of diplomats from the Korean Embassy in Kabul.
 
Korea’s Foreign Ministry confirmed Tuesday that the flight carrying the one Korean national, a businessperson, and three diplomats, including Korean Ambassador Choi Tae-ho, took off around 4:30 a.m. from Hamid Karzai airport in Kabul.
 
“We have confirmed that they have landed safely in a third country,” said Choi Young-sam, spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry, in a press briefing on Tuesday. 
 
Since Sunday, much of the Hamid Karzai airport, especially the civilian side, was overrun with crowds trying to leave the country after the Taliban swept through Kabul. 
 
The Korean national, who ran a type of business in Afghanistan for years, Ambassador Choi and two other Korean diplomats were reported to have stayed either at the airport or in its vicinity for a number of hours from Monday evening to early Tuesday morning, waiting to get out on a flight.
 
Though Choi did not confirm whether they flew out on an American plane – U.S. forces have secured a part of Hamid Karzai airport – it is likely that they did given that Korea and the United States signed an agreement earlier in the year granting Korea access to American military assets for emergency evacuations of its nationals. 
 
“There were obviously some complications in trying to fly out of Kabul because the situation at the airport was constantly changing,” said a ministry official. “We understand that they were waiting for the flight for hours amid changing situations.” 
 
Photos of some 640 Afghans crammed onto a U.S. Air Force jet designed to carry a sixth of that number were published by international media Tuesday. Videos from the moment the jet took off from the Kabul airport showed people trying to hold onto the plane’s exterior, surrounded by crowds running on foot.
 
It wasn’t immediately clear if the Korean businessperson would return to Korea or not. The Korean was the last person registered with the Korean government remaining in Afghanistan. No Korean citizen can travel to Afghanistan without government approval. Travel to the nation has been banned since 2007.
 
As for the diplomats, including Ambassador Choi, they are to continue their work in a Middle Eastern country for now, according to the Foreign Ministry. 
 
“We have no knowledge of any plans by the ministry to call them in right now,” said a ministry official. “They will stay on in a third country and continue to work there.”
 
The work of the Korean mission to Afghanistan has been assumed by the Korean Embassy in Qatar since the embassy decided to shut down temporarily Sunday.
 
The Korean government has not made an official announcement on how it will communicate with the Afghan government in the future. 
 
“The Korean government has adhered to the principle of always cooperating with countries that respect human rights and abide by universal international norms,” said an official when asked about the Korean government’s position toward the future government in Afghanistan. “While closely monitoring the current trends in Afghanistan, and the policies of our allies, our position is that once a level of security on the ground can be secured, we may re-open our diplomatic mission in Kabul.”
 
The Korean government, with the U.S. and other foreign governments and international organizations, had committed to rebuilding Afghanistan's physical and governance infrastructure and systems. 
 
"The efforts to support reconstruction in Afghanistan were efforts made not only by the Korean government alone but also with many others in the international community," said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Choi. "We will continue to assess the situation in Afghanistan."

BY ESTHER CHUNG [chung.juhee@joongang.co.kr]


3. U.S. surveillance of North intensifies during military exercise

As I told a journalist, this is prudent and makes sense since the regime has been veiled threats. Our ISR platforms will be observing for any unusual and potentially hostile activity. No one should be surprised by this.


Tuesday
August 17, 2021
U.S. surveillance of North intensifies during military exercise

An image of the E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (Joint Stars) aircraft. The aircraft is the only airborne platform in operation that can maintain realtime surveillance over a corps-sized area of the battlefield. [U.S. AIR FORCE]
 
U.S. military surveillance activities on North Korea have begun in earnest as the joint U.S.-South Korean military exercise began on Monday.
 
According to an aircraft tracking website called Radar Box on Tuesday, the U.S. Air Force's ground surveillance reconnaissance aircraft, the Northrop Grumman E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (Joint Stars), appeared over the Yellow Sea off Taean, South Chungcheong, on Monday and Tuesday at beginning of the joint exercise.
 
Joint Stars is equipped with a 7.2-meter (23.6-foot)-long high performance surveillance radar at the front of its fuselage. Using this radar, the plane can track and monitor 600 ground targets simultaneously that are up to 250 kilometers (155 miles) away. It can fly for up to 10 hours and has a surveillance area of 1 million square kilometers, about five times the area of the Korean Peninsula.
 
The U.S. Air Force's Boeing RC-135S reconnaissance plane, also known as the Cobra Ball, made similar maneuvers. The aircraft took off from Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan, on Monday according to the aircraft tracking website, making its way to the East China Sea, south of the Korean Peninsula. 
 
The Cobra Ball, equipped with advanced optical equipment, can observe and track potential launches of North Korea's intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) from a long distance.
 
Regarding the flurry of reconnaissance flights in the airspace surrounding the Korean Peninsula, David Maxwell, a senior researcher at the U.S.-South Korea Combined Forces Command's operational staff, told Voice of America (VOA) that the U.S. military was looking out for unusual movements from the North Korean military in response to the joint drills.
 
“It is a prudent and wise measure to conduct intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance, to observe the military activity so that the combined military force can be ready to defend South Korea,” Maxwell said.
 
Regarding the possibility of an armed provocation by North Korea during the drills, he said, “Well it's very possible. You know this is their typical playbook that they've been using for 70 years.
 
“It's part of their blackmail diplomacy in which they use increased tensions, threat and provocations to try to gain political and economic concessions.”
 
Earlier on Aug. 10, North Korea protested the drills by issuing two consecutive statements under name of Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and deputy information department director of the Workers' Party, and Kim Young-chol, head of the party’s Unification Front Department.
 
South Korea will “realize by the minute what a dangerous choice they made and what a serious security crisis they will face because of their wrong choice," said Kim Yong-chol in the second statement on Aug. 11.
 
According to the South Korean and U.S. military authorities, the drill will be conducted over nine days (excluding weekends) until Aug. 26 as a computer-simulated training directed by the command center. The number of participants in this month's drills was further reduced from the drills which took place in the first half of March.

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]


4 Seoul may have paid part of Hanoi summit bill
.
This would not surprise me. The Moon Administration will go to great lengths to try to make diplomacy work.


Note this:

 
After the first inter-Korean summit of 2000, it was revealed that Hyundai Group paid $450 million to Pyongyang to arrange the summit. Eight government officials, including NIS head Park Jie-won, who was a special envoy of President Kim Dae-jung to arrange the summit, were convicted of helping the Hyundai Group pay for the summit. He was pardoned in 2007 by President Roh Moo-hyun.


Monday
August 16, 2021

Seoul may have paid part of Hanoi summit bill

U.S. President Donald J. Trump, right, and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, left, at the start of their second meeting at the U.S.-North Korea summit in the Sofitel Legend Metropole hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Feb. 28, 2019. [EPA/YONHAP]
Seoul may have helped Pyongyang cover the costs of its summit with Washington in Hanoi in 2019, according to multiple sources in the Korean government.  
 
“There is talk within some political circles that the South Korean government paid a part of the Hanoi summit expenses of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his delegation,” a source told the JoongAng Ilbo on Sunday. “They allege that the funds were procured through the National Intelligence Service [NIS].”
 
The South may have paid $40,000 to $50,000, according to another source, a senior-ranking official who took part in the preparation for the summit in Vietnam.
 
“A significant portion of the cost of the meeting was borne by the Vietnamese government, but some had to be borne by North Korea, and the South Korean government may have paid it,” the source said.
 
“Given the North’s previous track record of demanding some form of monetary return for taking part in an international summit, such rumors are not surprising,” said another source. 
 
North Korean leader Kim held two summits with U.S. President Donald Trump – the first in Singapore in June 2018 and the second in Hanoi, Vietnam, in February 2019.
 
For the first, Singapore made an official invitation to Kim to visit the country, and paid for the expenses of his visit. Before the summit took place, Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced the expected costs to be around $20 million and said the country was “willing to pay” it to contribute to an international event. Afterward, Singapore's government announced that it spent $16.3 million on the summit.
 
For the second summit, Kim was again invited as a guest of the Vietnamese government, but Hanoi never announced how much Kim’s visit cost or how much it covered. 
 
When the JoongAng Ilbo got in touch with the NIS regarding the allegation that the South Korean government helped the North cover some costs of that summit, an official denied knowledge of it.
 
But another source, known to be close to the Moon administration, said that the NIS has a designated fund it can use “without keeping tabs on where the money was used,” and that this could have been used “to encourage the North to come forth to join the summit in Hanoi.”
 
National Security Advisor Suh Hoon, who was NIS chief at the time of the summit, could not be reached for comment as of press time Monday.
 
If the allegation is true, the South Korean government may have to answer questions on whether such a payment was in violation of international sanctions against North Korea.
 
Officials in the Moon administration denied the allegation.
 
“It doesn’t make sense that the South Korean government would cover the costs of the North Korean government,” said Youn Kun-young, a ruling Democratic Party legislator who was a presidential secretary during the Hanoi summit. “It’s just out of the question.” 
 
Some sources argued that even if the allegation were true, the payment wouldn’t be illegal.
 
“This would be a cost that the government bore legally, as part of its diplomatic efforts with the North,” an official known to be close to the Moon administration told the JoongAng Ilbo. “This is a completely different case from the $400 million cash-for-summit scandal.”
 
After the first inter-Korean summit of 2000, it was revealed that Hyundai Group paid $450 million to Pyongyang to arrange the summit. Eight government officials, including NIS head Park Jie-won, who was a special envoy of President Kim Dae-jung to arrange the summit, were convicted of helping the Hyundai Group pay for the summit. He was pardoned in 2007 by President Roh Moo-hyun.

BY KANG TAE-HWA, ESTHER CHUNG [chung.juhee@joongang.co.kr]


5. [Correspondent’s column] Americans are sitting on vaccines (Korea perspective)

From the very progressive newspaper that has a decidedly anti-American stance.

It is interesting; however, to see the views of some Koreans toward the U.S and they compare the U.S. and South Korean cultures and political environments.

In South Korea, it’s seen as natural for people to think about both themselves and the community and cooperate with vaccinations and mask-wearing, even without the state legally requiring it.


But it’s a different situation in the US, where personal freedom is regarded as the paramount value inscribed in the Declaration of Independence and Constitution.


Moreover, attitudes about COVID-19 and disease control measures in the US have become politicized into extremes since early in the pandemic last year, with former President Donald Trump at the center of it all. The stakes of this political battle among adults are the health of the children preparing to return to classes.

[Correspondent’s column] Americans are sitting on vaccines
Posted on : Aug.13,2021 16:58 KST Modified on : Aug.13,2021 16:58 KST

The reasons have to do with questions about the vaccines’ safety and effectiveness, distrust of the government and health experts, and a lack of access to accurate information
Hwang Joon-bum
By Hwang Joon-bum, Washington correspondent
With preparations underway for the fall semester in schools a little over a week from now, the Fairfax County School Board in the Virginia suburbs of Washington, where I currently live, advised that all students and teachers will be required to wear masks indoors.It also recommended that they get vaccinated for COVID-19 as soon as they are eligible, adding that vaccine clinics would be provided at some schools. It’s sad to think that those children will have to stay in masks all day long, but this is a necessary and justifiable measure to allow them to return safely to in-person classes after more than a year of online courses at home.Yet, in other parts of the US, controversy has been raging. Republican governors in states like Florida and Texas have issued executive orders prohibiting mask mandates.This has drawn protests from school districts within those states, which have moved to require masks on their own. The controversy has been compounded as teachers have filed lawsuits objecting to this.Vaccinations have been the focus of endless debate. Despite facing international criticism for its “vaccine selfishness,” the US has been stockpiling vaccines and using all sorts of incentives to encourage people to get inoculated. In the capital city of Washington, iPods and iPads have been offered as gifts to students who get the jab ahead of the new semester.Yet nationally, only 50% of the US population has been fully vaccinated. It’s infuriating to watch from the standpoint of South Korea, which has a full vaccination rate of just 15.7%, according to Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency figures as of Wednesday, amid a shortage of vaccines.Some Americans are dead set against vaccines. Opinion survey results published by the AP in mid-July showed that 80% of those who had not received a jab did not intend to get one in the future.The past two weeks have seen new daily COVID-19 confirmed cases and deaths double in the US, with 99% of fatalities among the unvaccinated — yet it doesn’t seem to register at all with this group.The reasons have to do with questions about the vaccines’ safety and effectiveness, distrust of the government and health experts, and a lack of access to accurate information. The biggest reason of all is the belief that both vaccines and masks are matters of personal freedom that the state and other third parties should not intrude in.Of course, masks and vaccines are also about considering and protecting others besides ourselves. Communities can only be sustained when everyone is pitching in with disease control effects to build our immunity. When it comes to personal freedoms and the public good, the mask and vaccine deniers in the US are only concerned about the former.Some have expressed anger toward these people, insisting that the government needs to make masks and vaccines mandatory. But it’s unclear whether the federal government has the authority to issue such a mandate for all Americans, and the administration of President Joe Biden has so far been only making recommendations, while leaving the decisions about “mandates” up to state governments. Some state governments, such as the one in California, have been requiring vaccinations only for government employees or employees of schools and healthcare facilities.In South Korea, it’s seen as natural for people to think about both themselves and the community and cooperate with vaccinations and mask-wearing, even without the state legally requiring it.But it’s a different situation in the US, where personal freedom is regarded as the paramount value inscribed in the Declaration of Independence and Constitution.Moreover, attitudes about COVID-19 and disease control measures in the US have become politicized into extremes since early in the pandemic last year, with former President Donald Trump at the center of it all. The stakes of this political battle among adults are the health of the children preparing to return to classes.Michael Sandel, a Harvard University professor renowned for his book “Justice,” referred in an interview with the school’s college newspaper last year to issues such as divisive politics, incompetent leadership, and weakened social cohesion.“The pandemic caught us unprepared,” he said.His message is that it’s impossible to respond cohesively to COVID-19 at a time when inequality has worsened and antipathy toward ruling elites has deepened. The US is showing right now how difficult it is to overcome COVID-19 through vaccines and money alone.Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]


6. Tragedy of Afghanistan abandoned by the US (Korea Concerns)

Our allies are worried. But as I wrote, Korea is not Afghanistan.

On the surface it is going to undermine the focus on allies. Allies will and already are questioning our strategic reassurance and strategic resolve. However, although this is a harsh statement, Afghanistan is not Korea or Japan or NATO. The truth is the GOIRA ruled a failed state and only survived because it was being propped up by the US and the international community and the political leaders squandered all the resources for their own profit - the underlying rot of Afghan cultural corruption guaranteed failure once the resources were cut off.

Already we are seeing China exploit this in its propaganda. However, I do not believe Biden has any intention of applying this to our allies and organizations like NATO and the Quad. And we have to keep in mind the real threat to the international community remains the revisionist (China and Russia) and rogue (north Korea and Iran) powers. We are not going to shy away from those threats and the only way to deal with them is as part of bilateral alliances and international organizations and arrangements (e,g,, UN, NATO, and the Quad).

In terms of US Korea policy, I think China and north Korea will seek to exploit this from a propaganda perspective. They will certainly try to use this as a way to continue to try to drive a wedge in the alliance. But I think Biden is committed to executing his policy toward north Korea and this will not impact that.

Tragedy of Afghanistan abandoned by the US
Posted August. 17, 2021 08:38,
Updated August. 17, 2021 08:38
Tragedy of Afghanistan abandoned by the US. August. 17, 2021 08:38. .
The Taliban took over the presidential palace in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, on Sunday. It was after President Ashraf Ghani sought asylum in Uzbekistan. The Afghan government announced its surrender to the Taliban on Saturday as the rebel group put pressure just 11 kilometers away from Kabul after occupying several major cities of the country. This came three months after the U.S. forces began their final withdrawal and only 10 days after the Taliban started to seize major cities.

The Afghan government, which was armed with the latest equipment provided by the U.S. government, was powerless to the rebel troops, whose fighting power is far worse than Viet Minh during the Vietnam War according to U.S. President Joe Biden. While over 300,000 servicemen are registered on paper, the actual number was less than one-sixth of it as many had been falsely enlisted to receive salaries. The active servicemen who lack a sense of duty and were demoralized by the U.S. troops’ withdrawal were helpless.

Unlike the Vietnam War from which the U.S. suddenly pulled out in the middle of the war, the country has been forewarning its withdrawal from Afghanistan since 2011. The U.S.’s May announcement of complete withdrawal meant that about 10,000 U.S. soldiers who had remained in Afghanistan to train the Afghan military and police since 2014 when the control of Afghan security was transferred to the Afghan country will be completely pulled out. Despite a long time given to them, Afghan leaders, including the president, experienced repeated division and failed to eradicate corruption to rebuild the country.

 

In 2001, then-president George W. Bush pursued military intervention in Afghanistan to put Al-Qaeda led by Osama bin Laden under control since the September 11 attacks. That was when the Taliban regime collapsed. At the time, the Taliban regime was subject to international criticism as it provided hiding places to terrorist groups and engaged in actions against humanity by oppressing and punishing women according to extreme Islamic fundamentalism. The Taliban took over power again in 20 years. The international community is expressing concerns about the country’s regression to an oppressive regime.

The U.S. expected the collapse of the Afghan government after its withdrawal. However, how soon it happened came as a surprise. The U.S. troops were pulled out expecting a collapse as there were no more national interests for the country to stay in Afghanistan. The situation in Afghanistan reveals that the U.S. does not have the power nor will to station its own troops unlimitedly for the freedom of other country or human rights. It should be clearly understood that there are limits to how much the international community can help a country that does not try to its own people and their freedom.

7. Unification ministry, think tank launch English online journal on N.K. issues

I hope they focus on unification planning and getting at all the real issues of unification and how to solve the "Korea question" and establish a United Republic of Korea (UROK).

But I applaud this initiative as long as it does prevent diverse perspectives to include those that are not popular with certain political factions in South Korea. Will there be academic freedom and freedom of expression?

I think the Korea watcher community has a good appreciation for the South Korean perspectives as we get them at all the conferences and in the journals from Korean scholars. But those views usually remain in the Korea watcher community among specialists. So hopefully South Korean scholars' views will reach a broader audience.


Unification ministry, think tank launch English online journal on N.K. issues | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 이원주 · August 17, 2021
SEOUL, Aug. 17 (Yonhap) -- The unification ministry on Tuesday said it has launched an online journal in English to reach out to global audiences on issues regarding North Korea and the Korean Peninsula.
The journal "Global NK Zoom & Connect," run by the East Asia Institute with the ministry's financial support, provides scholarly reviews and analyses on current issues on the peninsula.
The ministry said that the journal was launched to provide the diverse perspectives of experts in South Korea and better reflect their voices in international society.
Unification Minister Lee In-young expressed support for the journal in his congratulatory message to a seminar held Tuesday to celebrate its launch, saying that the journal has significance as a new channel that effectively delivers issues on the peninsula.
"The government will continue to make efforts to maintain stability and peace on the Korean Peninsula under any circumstances," he said.
The journal is available on its website (www.globalnk.org).

julesyi@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 이원주 · August 17, 2021


8. Lessons from Afghanistan (for Korea)
Again, Koreans are worried. But the Joongang Ilbo editorial board offers criticism of South Korea and advice:


America had to withdraw its forces after its belated realization that its enormous aid, financial and military, was useless. That resembles the U.S. pullout from Vietnam in 1974. At that time, South Vietnam was as corrupt and politically divided as Afghanistan.

The situation in Afghanistan shows how important it is to maintain a strong military. And yet the repeatedly down-scaled South Korea-U.S. joint drills and the South Korean military’s lax discipline, as evidenced by continuous sexual harassment cases in the barracks, ring alarms. If the military’s discipline collapses, the military cannot function. Moreover, North Korea continues ratcheting up its nuclear capabilities.

Under such circumstances, the decades-old Korea-U.S. alliance cannot be overemphasized. Kim Yo-jong, North Korean leader Kim Jong-il’s sister and vice director of the Workers’ Party, has brazenly demanded the withdrawal of U.S. forces from South Korea. The alliance is the pillar of our security. The government and military must learn lessons from both Vietnam and Afghanistan before it’s too late.

Monday
August 16, 2021

Lessons from Afghanistan
 The tragic developments in Afghanistan originate with the Afghan government’s unfathomable incompetence, corruption and political division. The pullout of U.S. forces from the war-torn country revealed those stark realities to the world. The unexpected pandemonium at Kabul’s airport was a sad reminder of similar scenes from Saigon at the end of the Vietnam War.

The Taliban regime, which took power in 1996, attracted keen international attention due to its close connection with Al Qaeda, a militant Islamist organization founded by Osama bin Laden in the late 1980s. After America’s Operation Enduring Freedom led to the fall of the Taliban regime in November 2001, South Korea took part in the reconstruction of the war-devastated country. Our troops, including the Dasan unit, helped in the rebuilding of the nation for over a decade. South Korea provided $725 million in aid to help strengthen the Afghan Army and police from 2011 to 2020.

The U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan resulted from distrust and disappointment about its government. America has spent more than $2 trillion in Afghanistan since 2001 to help its military defend itself against the Taliban. Since 2014, the United States covered 75 percent of the Afghan government’s annual defense budget of $5 billion to $6 billion to help train the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (Andsf).

Washington thought the Andsf was more powerful than the Taliban forces. That was a serious miscalcuation. Troops of the Afghan Army only existed in numbers. All the U.S. aid went to Afghan’s bureaucrats and top brass. After the U.S. pullout, they had no will to fight the Taliban. They surrendered to the rebel forces without resistance.

America had to withdraw its forces after its belated realization that its enormous aid, financial and military, was useless. That resembles the U.S. pullout from Vietnam in 1974. At that time, South Vietnam was as corrupt and politically divided as Afghanistan.

The situation in Afghanistan shows how important it is to maintain a strong military. And yet the repeatedly down-scaled South Korea-U.S. joint drills and the South Korean military’s lax discipline, as evidenced by continuous sexual harassment cases in the barracks, ring alarms. If the military’s discipline collapses, the military cannot function. Moreover, North Korea continues ratcheting up its nuclear capabilities.

Under such circumstances, the decades-old Korea-U.S. alliance cannot be overemphasized. Kim Yo-jong, North Korean leader Kim Jong-il’s sister and vice director of the Workers’ Party, has brazenly demanded the withdrawal of U.S. forces from South Korea. The alliance is the pillar of our security. The government and military must learn lessons from both Vietnam and Afghanistan before it’s too late.



9. N. Korea sees ties with China as 'fundamentally distrustful': think tank
The PRC-nK alliance may be closer than lips and teeth but it is probably better characterized as worn dentures and rotten gums.


N. Korea sees ties with China as 'fundamentally distrustful': think tank | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 이원주 · August 17, 2021
SEOUL, Aug. 17 (Yonhap) -- North Korea is economically dependent on China but views their relationship as fundamentally based on distrust, a U.S. think tank said Tuesday.
The Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, D.C. also said that China is unwilling to solve the North Korean issue as it views Pyongyang through the lens of competition with the United States.
"Therefore, real practical cooperation between the U.S. and China on denuclearization is limited," the think tank's office of congressional relations said in a report, titled "Wilson Memo: The Unique Relationship Between China & North Korea."
"On one hand, there is a chance that North Korea may be willing to denuclearize if it feels comfortable with China expanding its nuclear umbrella over North Korea. However, any agreement in this realm would clash with the ideology of juche, therefore making it unlikely," it added.
The think tank attributed such deep distrust between Pyongyang and Beijing to the North's "juche," or self-reliance ideology, and more specifically to historical events, such as the Minsaengdan Incident in the 1930s, a massacre of ethnic Koreans carried out by the Communist Party of China in the name of purging pro-Japanese spies.
It also pointed out that Beijing, unlike Washington, does not want to see regime change in the North as it could promote stronger U.S. influence over the Korean Peninsula.
"Ultimately, it is likely that China would prefer the deAmericanization of the peninsula rather than its denuclearization," it said.

julesyi@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 이원주 · August 17, 2021



10. Unification ministry will keep close watch on N.K. response to joint exercise: official
What about the NIS. MND, and MOFA? Aren't these the agencies that should be keeping a close watch on north Korea? Why can't the MOU focus on planning for unification rather than trying to conduct intelligence and diplomatic activities?


Unification ministry will keep close watch on N.K. response to joint exercise: official | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 이원주 · August 17, 2021
SEOUL, Aug. 17 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will keep a close eye on how North Korea will respond to a major joint military exercise under way with the United States, the unification ministry said Tuesday, as Pyongyang remains silent in contrast to angry reactions to last week's preliminary exercise.
The nine-day computer-simulated Combined Command Post Training, which kicked off Monday, is based largely on a computer simulation with no field training, in consideration of the virus situation, according to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).
"We believe it is necessary to keep a closer watch on North Korea's response and actions as the South Korea-U.S. military drills are ongoing. So, we will keep a further eye on the North," the official said.
Earlier this month, Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, released two statements, warning that the drills would dampen the conciliatory mood created in the wake of the restoration of the communication lines and vowing to strengthen the country's defense and preemptive strike capabilities.
Kim Yong-chol, head of the North's United Front Department, also slammed the allies for going ahead with their joint military exercise and warned that the North will make them feel a "serious security crisis" every minute.
North Korean state media, however, has kept mum on the joint drills since it kicked off Monday. Pyongyang has not yet released any additional statements.
North Korea has long denounced Seoul and Washington's military drills as a rehearsal for an invasion of the North. The allies say that the exercises are defensive in nature.

julesyi@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 이원주 · August 17, 2021


11.  U.S. Should Prove it Has No Hostile Intent Toward Pyongyang

This is so wrong on so many levels. First, when was the last time the US attacked north Korea and how many times has the north attacked the South (as well as US military assets and personnel) since 1953? Why do American pundits think it is the US that has hostile intent? Why don't people recognize the regime's hostile intent. They clearly express it and act on it. Why don't we demand the regime prove it has no hostile intent toward Seoul.

But most importantly we need to ask what is the "proof" the regime demands to show the US has ended its hostile intent? Unfortunately the only proof the regime will accept is an end to the ROK/US alliance, removal of US troops from the peninsula, and abandoning the nuclear umbrella and extended deterrence over the ROK and Japan.

Unfortunately, if we were to provide this proof it would surely lead to conflict on the Korean peninsula.

This argument is dangerous to the alliance and to the security of the ROK.



U.S. Should Prove it Has No Hostile Intent Toward Pyongyang
Instead of responding to threats from Pyongyang, the Biden administration should look beyond and propose actions to counteract claims of American antagonism.
The National Interest · by Doug Bandow · August 16, 2021
After a relative calm period of U.S.-North Korea relations, the rhetoric again is flying. Kim Jong-un’s sister, Kim Yo-jong, denounced “the ever-increasingly hateful U.S military threats.” The North would act, she said: “We are spurred to further strengthen our national defense and strong preemptive strike abilities to swiftly respond to any military action that is aimed at us.”
Then the United States would have only itself to blame for the consequences. Speaking for an isolated and starving nation, she warned: “The U.S. and South Korea, after ignoring our repeated warnings and pushing ahead with the dangerous war practices, have certainly brought severe national security threats upon themselves.”
The rhetoric is typically excessive, and could be followed with some form of provocation. However, the odds are that the North, uniquely vulnerable after cutting itself off from the world in response to COVID-19, will have to temper its reaction to retain Chinese assistance thought to be keeping Pyongyang afloat. Hence nuclear or Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) tests are unlikely.
Although the performance of Kim soeur was theater, the Biden administration responded seriously. State Department spokesman Ned Price insisted: “First, let me reiterate that the joint military exercises are purely defensive in nature. We have made that point repeatedly and it’s a very important one.” He added that “the United States harbors no hostile intent toward the” Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).

Which is complete nonsense, as he surely knows. Seventy years ago Washington intervened in war and almost extinguished the DPRK’s ruling dynasty before it began. Only the entry of hundreds of thousands of Chinese “volunteers” saved the North Korean regime. Since then abundant American men and materiel have been arrayed against Pyongyang’s forces, protecting the South in case fighting resumes. In recent years Washington has become actively revisionist around the world, overthrowing recalcitrant regimes and engaging in nation-building (though with less than stellar success, as is evident in Afghanistan).
Presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump seriously considered taking military action against the North. The missions were called off not out of consideration for the inevitable death and destruction that would result in North Korea, but fear of the harm that would likely occur to the United States and South Korea. Presidents Barack Obama and Trump greatly strengthened economic sanctions, which were certainly unfriendly acts. Although Trump ended up sending Kim Jong-un “love letters,” the former retained sanctions on North Korea and U.S. troops in the South. If Price genuinely has no animosity toward the South, he is about the only Washington policymaker thus inclined.
Of course, the DPRK is responsible for the fear that it inspires. However, moral responsibility does not change practical reality. It would be foolish for Kim to trust the word of Price or anyone else in the administration. After all, the United States has embarked upon a spate of regime change operations dating back to Ronald Reagan and Grenada. They have grown more common since the end of the Cold War. Most ominous for Pyongyang was the support offered rebels against the same Libyan government which gave up its missile and nuclear programs. Muammar el-Qaddafi met a gruesome fate, which serves as a warning to any future dictator naïve or foolish enough to yield his potentially regime-saving weapons.
To reach an agreement requires a North Korean willingness to denuclearize, or at least limit its nuclear ambitions. For good reason, most analysts doubt the regime will ever abandon its nuclear capability entirely. Even if it is theoretically willing to do so, agreement would require that Pyongyang also trust that doing so will not lead to a Libyan-style outcome. And that would necessitate more than Price’s verbal assurance that America bears no animus toward Kim & Co.
If the Biden administration is serious about pushing for denuclearization, it should focus on actions rather than promises. In the Singapore summit declaration the two governments agreed to improve bilateral relations and the regional security environment. The United States should move ahead unilaterally in ways that demonstrate the possibility of a less “hostile” relationship even if there is little practical impact at the moment.
For instance, the administration should drop the ban on travel to North Korea. Thousands of Americans went to the North before the Trump prohibition without incident, despite a score of cases over the years when visitors got into trouble, some knowingly (by, for instance, evangelizing). And the relationship established between Kim and Donald Trump make future incidents less likely. In any case, Washington does not ban travel to other more dangerous places—Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Nigeria, Libya, Haiti, and more.
The United States. should widen and make permanent humanitarian exemptions from both bilateral and international sanctions. Most work by Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs) is at a standstill because of Pyongyang’s closure to the outside world, but Washington could prepare for a better future. Then humanitarian operations could immediately resume when the borders eventually open.
Moreover, the Biden administration should suggest establishing formal diplomatic ties. The two governments could begin with a DPRK office in Washington if the former didn’t want to allow Americans entry because of COVID-19. Or proxy offices could be established in another country—Singapore or Vietnam, perhaps, or Mongolia, which long has had good relations with both Koreas. Even if little direct contact occurred, the offer would help rebut North Korean complaints about America’s “hostile policy.” And would allow the quick establishment of more regular contact when Pyongyang chooses to reenter the world.
Finally, the United States. should propose a joint declaration of peace with Seoul which the North would be invited to join. After which Washington should indicate that a peace treaty would be one of many subjects to be negotiated when relations are formalized. Such an agreement would offer another symbolic argument against North Korean claims of America’s “hostile policy.”
The objections to such a step are curious. The peninsula is at peace, despite occasional DPRK provocations. If there is an impetus for removing U.S. troops, it would be the lack of ongoing combat, not a generic statement recognizing this geopolitical reality, as well as the South’s dramatic move past North Korea on most measures of national power. Why shouldn’t Seoul defend itself? Add to that America’s perilous overstretch, sure to be worsened by ongoing fiscal irresponsibility in Washington.
U.S.-North Korean relations appear stuck. Kim Yo-jong’s latest tirade deserves to be ignored. Instead of responding to her threats, the Biden administration should look beyond and propose actions to counteract claims of American antagonism. Then Washington would be ready if the North decides to again seriously engage the United States.
Doug Bandow is a Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute. A former Special Assistant to President Ronald Reagan, he is author of several books, including Tripwire: Korea and U.S. Foreign Policy in a Changed World and co-author of The Korean Conundrum: America’s Troubled Relations with North and South Korea.
Image: Reuters
The National Interest · by Doug Bandow · August 16, 2021



12. South Korea Offers to Work With North Korea on Coronavirus Relief

I applaud the Moon admsintration;s humanitarian efforts and altruistic views and actions. But the problem remains Kim Jong-un and his willingness to accept help. It is just not in his nature to accept help unless he personally can benefit politically and economically and that it can be exploited in such ways as to not undermine his legitimacy with the Korean people in the north (and in fact it needs to be exploited in a way that enhances his legitimacy).

South Korea Offers to Work With North Korea on Coronavirus Relief
Moon Jae-in wants to combat the coronavirus threat alongside Kim Jong-un.
The National Interest · by Stephen Silver · August 16, 2021
Ever since the coronavirus pandemic began, North Korean officials have claimed that its citizens have not been infected by the virus. But at the same time, the nation has taken mitigation members, sometimes stringent ones. Meanwhile, North Korea is facing a known starvation crisis.
Recently published analysis indicates that North Korea does not have a coronavirus mitigation strategy, with Pratik Jakhar of BBC Monitoring noting in an op-ed published by Foreign Policy that Kim Jong-un’s regime appears in no hurry to vaccinate its population.
“News of countries vaccinating their people or life returning to normal is rarely, if ever, transmitted within North Korea, perhaps over fears that it might trigger resentment against the regime for its failure to secure shots,” Jakhar wrote in his op-ed. “In contrast, the propaganda apparatus has been unusually quick to report on cases rising abroad and the spread of COVID-19 variants.”
Now, there’s a new report that South Korea is offering to cooperate with North Korea on cooperation.
According to NK News, South Korean president Moon Jae-in has made another pitch to cooperate with the North on coronavirus mitigation. The pitch from Moon came in his speech on the occasion of the seventy-sixth anniversary of Korea’s independence from Japan. It involves inviting North Korea into the Northeast Asia Cooperation Initiative for Infectious Disease Control and Public Health. That initiative currently consists of South Korea, Japan, China, Russia, Mongolia, and the United States.
Per NK News, the objectives of the Cooperation Initiative include “information sharing, shared stockpiling of medical supplies and joint training of COVID-19 response personnel.”
Moon formally proposed the initiative last year.
“The Initiative proposed by President Moon Jae-in in his keynote speech at the UN General Assembly in September is a regional cooperation initiative aimed at strengthening joint response capacity among regional countries that are geographically close to each other and carrying out robust people-to-people and material exchanges, in response to transboundary health security crises including COVID-19 and the emergence of other new infectious diseases,” according to a South Korean government document from last December.
“It is clear that the COVID-19 threat is not temporary, which makes [the initiative] even more important,” Moon said in the speech. Moon had proposed welcoming North Korea into the initiative back in March.
Moon, who is set to leave office next May, also called for reunification between the two Koreas.
“For us, division is the greatest obstacle to our growth and prosperity and a tenacious barrier that obstructs permanent peace,” Moon said in the speech. “We can also remove this barrier.”
Stephen Silver, a technology writer for the National Interest, is a journalist, essayist and film critic, who is also a contributor to The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philly Voice, Philadelphia Weekly, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Living Life Fearless, Backstage magazine, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. Follow him on Twitter at @StephenSilver.
Image: Reuters
The National Interest · by Stephen Silver · August 16, 2021


13. South Korea required troops to be vaccinated against COVID-19 before exercise with US military


South Korea required troops to be vaccinated against COVID-19 before exercise with US military
Stars and Stripes · by David Choi · August 16, 2021
South Korean army Capt. Yeon Ju Oh administers a Moderna coronavirus vaccine to a Korean Augmentation to the U.S. Army soldier at Yongsan Garrison, South Korea, on Feb. 25, 2021. (Inkyeong Yun/U.S. Army)

CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea — South Korean troops conducting a joint, computer-simulated exercise with their American counterparts were all vaccinated and tested for COVID-19 before training began, a military official said Monday.
A South Korean Ministry of National Defense official speaking on the customary condition of anonymity told Stars and Stripes that due to service members being in close proximity with each other, “it was very important for all of them to get vaccinated.”
The two countries are conducting a combined command-post training Aug. 16 to 26. Rather than a large-scale field exercise involving thousands of combat troops, this exercise will primarily focus on computer simulations.
U.S. Forces Korea spokesman Col. Lee Peters, citing the command’s policy, did not comment on whether American forces participating in the joint training were all vaccinated.
However, Peters said USFK “can reassure you that we remain aligned with [the defense ministry] on aggressive COVID mitigation measures including conducting training with minimal essential personnel and in distributed locations.”
Less than 1% of USFK’s force is currently confirmed to be infected with COVID-19 and it “remains at a high level of readiness,” according to a command statement Monday. Over 80% of its community, including military spouses and civilian employees, are vaccinated.
Last year’s exercise was canceled out of concern for the coronavirus’ spread. During the Trump administration, the allies reduced the scale of the exercises as part of diplomatic efforts to convince North Korea to curb its development of nuclear weapons and missiles.
North Korea regularly rails against the joint military exercises and views them as a rehearsal of a military invasion of its country. Senior North Korean official Kim Yong Chol on Tuesday described the announcement of this year’s exercise as an “unfavorable prelude further beclouding the future of the inter-Korean relations.”
Over 93% of South Korea’s 550,000 active-duty force had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, a government spokesperson said Aug. 6. The vaccine is voluntary for South Korean troops; however, many of them are pressured by leaders to get inoculated.
Seven U.S. service members tested positive for the coronavirus on Wednesday and Thursday and were relocated to isolation facilities, according to a USFK statement Friday. Five of the troops were stationed in Osan Air Base, one from Camp Hovey, and one from Camp Humphreys.
Ten USFK-affiliated individuals who recently arrived on the peninsula also tested positive between July 31 and Aug. 13, the command announced Monday.
David Choi
Stars and Stripes · by David Choi · August 16, 2021


14. DAY6's Young K Is The First Idol To Enlist In Highly Desired KATUSA — Here's What It Takes To Get In

The intersection of entertainment, K-Pop, the Korean wave and the military. I am sure most are not familiar with the program started by MacArthur to provide replacements to the US Army in the Korean War. Korean Augmentees to the US Army (KATUSA) which continues to this day. I will bet most Americans do not know there are Korne soldiers assigned to US Army units throughout Korea.

I have served with many great KATUSAs over the years. My last driver SGT Han is now doing his postDoc at Yale after getting his PhD at MIT. While serving as my driver he studied for and passed the bar for his patent law license because as he told me wanted to be able to patent the biomedical devices and techniques he planned to invent.

DAY6's Young K Is The First Idol To Enlist In Highly Desired KATUSA — Here's What It Takes To Get In
koreaboo.com · August 16, 2021
DAY6‘s Young K announced that he will enlist on October 12 into the KATUSA branch of the Republic Of Korea (ROK) Army, becoming the first K-Pop idol to be accepted into the program. Here’s what it takes to get into this highly sought-after, low-acceptance branch.
Young K of DAY6. | @from_youngk/Instagram
KATUSA, which stands for Korean Augmentation To the United States Army, started in 1950 following the beginning of the Korean war. Its purpose was support the US forces during the war, and since the 1953 armistice, it functions to the benefit of both the US Army and ROK Army.
| The Korea Times
KATUSA members serve as support to the US Army forces as well as translators between Americans and the Korean public. Beyond the military, however, many KATUSA and US Army soldiers have shared that the cultural exchange and learning opportunities make the experience unique.
| 8th Army, ROKA Support Group
Those who wish to join are required to take and pass one of eight standardized English tests. Two of the most common tests are TOEFL, with a passing score of 83, and TOEIC, with a passing score of 780. For Young K, he received a TOEFL score of 116 and a TOEIC score of 970.
| @from_youngk/Instagram
But even once they receive their passing score, their acceptance is not guaranteed; KATUSA relies on a lottery system to choose from the pool of qualified volunteers. According to The Korea Times, out of 16,760 applicants in 2020, only 1,600 were accepted. Their acceptance rate will continue to decline in future years as more US Army forces move out of South Korea.
| 8th Army, ROKA Support Group
However, despite the highly competitive process to get into KATUSA, it remains “the most enviable” post for Koreans entering the military. This is due to the comparatively better treatment soldiers can receive through working with US Army units.
The popularity of joining KATUSA derives from the fact that they can receive better treatment, including meals, compared to regular South Korean military units. These perks include the freedom to leave military posts on weekdays with relative ease, and a comparably less hierarchical relationship with supervisors.
— Bak Se Hwan, The Korea Herald
Young K is the first idol to be accepted into the highly desired KATUSA branch thanks to both his impressive fluency in English and just a touch of good luck. He’ll begin his military service in October following the release of a solo album. We wish him all the best!
koreaboo.com · August 16, 2021







V/R
David Maxwell
Senior Fellow
Foundation for Defense of Democracies
Phone: 202-573-8647
Personal Email: david.maxwell161@gmail.com
Web Site: www.fdd.org
Twitter: @davidmaxwell161
Subscribe to FDD’s new podcastForeign Podicy
FDD is a Washington-based nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.

V/R
David Maxwell
Senior Fellow
Foundation for Defense of Democracies
Phone: 202-573-8647
Personal Email: david.maxwell161@gmail.com
Web Site: www.fdd.org
Twitter: @davidmaxwell161
Subscribe to FDD’s new podcastForeign Podicy
FDD is a Washington-based nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.

If you do not read anything else in the 2017 National Security Strategy read this on page 14:

"A democracy is only as resilient as its people. An informed and engaged citizenry is the fundamental requirement for a free and resilient nation. For generations, our society has protected free press, free speech, and free thought. Today, actors such as Russia are using information tools in an attempt to undermine the legitimacy of democracies. Adversaries target media, political processes, financial networks, and personal data. The American public and private sectors must recognize this and work together to defend our way of life. No external threat can be allowed to shake our shared commitment to our values, undermine our system of government, or divide our Nation."

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