Quotes of the Day:
“The Nation, which indulges towards another an habitual hatred, or an habitual fondness, is in some degree a slave. It is a slave to its animosity or to its affection, either of which is sufficient to lead it astray from its duty and its interest. ... The Nation, prompted by ill-will and resentment, sometimes impels to war the Government, contrary to the best calculations of policy. The Government sometimes participates in the national propensity, and adopts through passion what reason would reject; at other times, it makes the animosity of the nation subservient to projects of hostility instigated by pride, ambition, and other sinister and pernicious motives. The peace often, sometimes perhaps the liberty, of Nations has been the victim.”
- George Washington, Farewell Address
“Almost any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so.”
- Robert A. Heinlein
“In the fabric of human events, one thing leads to another. Every mistake is in a sense the product of all the mistakes that have gone before it, from which fact it derives a sort of cosmic forgiveness; and at the same time every mistake is in a sense the determinant of all the mistakes of the future, from which it derives a sort of cosmic unforgiveableness.”
- George F. Kennan
1. S. Korea to keep monitoring N. Korean military's moves: ministry
2. Suspected COVID-19 cases lead to lockdown of Eighth Corps' housing district
3. Korea has a seat at Biden's first democracy summit
4. Russia looks to Korean ship industry for help in Far East, Arctic
5. Urea water shortage woes deepen as production wanes
6. Envoy says China will do its best to help solve urea water solution shortage in S. Korea
7. S. Korea to import 200 tons of urea from Vietnam amid supply shortage
8. S. Korean vice minister, U.S. envoy discuss Iran issue
9. [Us and Them] Why does Korea have such a deep political divide?
10. Yes, I’ve seen ‘Squid Game’ by Ambassador Kathleen Stephens
11. Long before ‘Squid Game,’ South Korea filmmakers elevated the underdog
12. Where the Hell Is Kim Jong Un’s Eric Clapton-Obsessed Brother?
13. Yoon says he is open to inter-Korean summit, but not 'for show'
14. Korean War mural in Washington D.C. explained in US designer's upcoming memoir
1. S. Korea to keep monitoring N. Korean military's moves: ministry
While we look at this, what are we not seingand what does the regime not want us to see?
S. Korea to keep monitoring N. Korean military's moves: ministry | Yonhap News Agency
By Chae Yun-hwan
SEOUL, Nov. 8 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean government reacted cautiously to a report of North Korea's military having staged an "artillery fire competition," saying it will keep a close watch on related situations.
"Rather than prejudging North Korea's intentions, the government will closely monitor relevant moves," the unification ministry's spokesperson Lee Jong-joo told reporters when asked about the issue.
The previous day, the North's official KCNA news agency reported the training event had been held with the participation of "artillery sub-units under mechanized troops at all levels" of the Korean People's Army (KPA).
Top military generals made an on-site inspection of the competition, the KCNA said, but the North's leader, Kim Jong-un, was not mentioned in its report, which suggested Kim was not present.
The ministry official pointed out the North has staged various types of military drills, including such artillery fire contests and special forces' strike competitions.
The North's leader had often inspected the trainings in person, but there has been no report by Pyongyang's state-controlled media this year that he did so, Lee noted.
The South's defense ministry said, separately, it has no formal statement to issue in connection with the latest report of the North's military exercise.
The unification ministry, meanwhile, said there is no problem in daily inter-Korean contact through their hotlines
The two Koreas have conducted regular phone conversations everyday at 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. since the lines were restored on Oct. 4, according to the spokesperson.
yunhwanchae@yna.co.kr
(END)
Related Articles
2. Suspected COVID-19 cases lead to lockdown of Eighth Corps' housing district
We really need to pay close attention here. If there is a breakout that spreads among the military all hell could break loose.
We cannot allow the military and intelligence community to be distracted by other issues such as OPCON transition (or politics) or even "routine" provocations (though even those could be indicators and covering up other issues). We need to make sure we have the contingency plans in place and ask when will we exercise them, at least on table tops?
Suspected COVID-19 cases lead to lockdown of Eighth Corps' housing district - Daily NK
“This is the first time in the entire military that the house of even a corps commander has been locked down,” said a source
A flood of suspected COVID-19 deaths and cases in North Korea’s Eighth Corps based in Ryongsan-ri, Yomju County, North Pyongan Province, has led to an unprecedented lockdown of a base’s entire housing district.
According to a Daily NK source in the North Korean military in North Pyongan Province on Wednesday, the incident dates back to mid-September. A staff sergeant identified by his family name of Cho was brought to the infirmary of the headquarters of the Eighth Corps; he suddenly died 10 days later.
Cho was the deputy squad leader of First Squad, Second Platoon of one of the corps’ guard companies.
The corps’ security department launched an internal investigation of the unexplained death. Matters reportedly exploded when they learned that Cho had broken state emergency quarantine rules.
The investigators learned that in early September, Cho had taken a wooden sailboat to go fishing off Yeomju’s Taege Island, despite travel being restricted at the time.
Investigators also learned that several days after returning to his unit in accordance with orders, he was hospitalized with fever and soon died. Military authorities believed it could be COVID-19 due to Cho’s contact “with the outside” and high fever.
Soldiers along the Sino-North Korea border in Namyang, North Hamgyong Province. Image: Daily NK file photo
The problems did not end there. The Eighth Corps fell into a literal state of emergency as personnel Cho had contact with also began to show symptoms of COVID-19.
The source said five Eighth Corps nurses and some army doctors who displayed symptoms were immediately put into isolation. However, when it was later learned that they walked around the base housing district, the incident grew into an even bigger deal.
Accordingly, the Eighth Corps deployed additional unit quarantine posts on all exits and roads to Ryongsan-ri. From Sept. 29, the entire base housing district reportedly went into lockdown.
Specifically, residents of the area were banned from travelling or even leaving their homes, and outsiders were banned from entering.
Military authorities plan to maintain the lockdown until Nov. 18 while keeping an eye on the progress of the other suspected cases. This means they regard the situation as a very grave matter.
“This is the first time in the entire military that the house of even a corps commander has been locked down,” said the source. “The Eighth Corps is facing considerable trouble preparing for training and the winter due to the lockdown, but they’ve decided that the situation must come to a conclusion before the start of the winter training [Dec. 1].”
Additionally, the Eighth Corps has isolated all the officers and enlisted personnel with whom Cho came into contact in separate hospital facilities designated by the corps. The corps has also begun testing soldiers by sub-battalion. Commanders also burned the sailboat Cho took, said the source.
Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
3. Korea has a seat at Biden's first democracy summit
We should remember that the north-South conflict is an ideological war conducted through subversion and political warfare. It is a question for the Korean people (in both the north and South) as to what kind of values they want to live by.
Subversion
- The undermining of the power and authority of an established system or institution.
-
As in: "the ruthless subversion of democracy"
- Ideological War – a choice between:
- Shared ROK/US Values
- Freedom and individual liberty, liberal democracy, free market economy, rule of law, and human rights
- Kim family regime (KFR) “values”
- Juche/Kimilsungism/now "KIMJONGUNISM," Socialist Workers Paradise, Songun, Songbun, Byungjin, and denial of human rights to sustain KFR power
- nK engages in political warfare and active subversion of the ROK
Political Warfare: Political warfare is the use of political means to compel an opponent to do one's will, based on hostile intent. The term political describes the calculated interaction between a government and a target audience to include another state's government, military, and/or general population. Governments use a variety of techniques to coerce certain actions, thereby gaining relative advantage over an opponent. The techniques include propaganda and psychological operations (PSYOP), which service national and military objectives respectively. Propaganda has many aspects and a hostile and coercive political purpose. Psychological operations are for strategic and tactical military objectives and may be intended for hostile military and civilian populations. Smith, Paul A., On Political War (Washington: National Defense University Press, 1989), p. 3. https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a233501.pdf
Monday
November 8, 2021
Korea has a seat at Biden's first democracy summit
President Moon Jae-in, left, chats with U.S. President Joe Biden on Oct. 30 at the La Nuvola convention center in Rome, on the sidelines of the G20 summit. [YONHAP]
U.S. President Joe Biden is scheduled to convene a Summit for Democracy next month, the first of its kind, to try to rally allies and friends against authoritarian forces.
Biden will host a virtual summit Dec. 9 and 10 for leaders of government, civil society, and the private sector to “provide a platform for leaders to make both individual and collective commitments to defend democracy and human rights at home and abroad,” according to the U.S. State Department in a summary of the meeting.
The summit is expected to include more than 100 countries, including East Asian allies South Korea and Japan, Reuters reported Monday.
The summit is a part of Biden’s campaign pledge that the United States would return to global leadership after the “America First” policies of the Donald Trump administration, and take on authoritarian forces led by China and Russia.
A tentative invite list released by Politico shows U.S. allies around the world such as Korea are invited, although other partners in Asia like Thailand and Vietnam are not. Australia, New Zealand, India, the Philippines and Taiwan were included in the tentative list, as well as many U.S. allies in NATO such as France, Germany and Sweden.
Some questioned the invitation of some countries where democracy is under threat, such as the Philippines and Poland.
Reuters reported that the December summit is just the “launch” of a longer conversation on democracy. To be invited to a follow-up summit planned for next year, countries will need to follow through on pledges made in the first.
“We will repair our alliances and engage with the world once again,” Biden said in his first foreign policy address on Feb. 4. “American leadership must meet this new moment of advancing authoritarianism, including the growing ambitions of China to rival the United States and the determination of Russia to damage and disrupt our democracy.”
He went onto pledge to host a democracy summit early in his administration to “rally the nations of the world to defend democracy globally, to push back the authoritarianism’s advance” and become a “much more credible partner.”
The first summit is expected to tackle the key themes of defending against authoritarianism; addressing and fighting corruption; and advancing respect for human rights, according to the U.S. State Department.
The summit in December will kick off a “year of action” to build a broader community of U.S. partners committed to global democratic renewal. The State Department said the summit aims to show how democracies can deliver on strengthening accountable governance, expanding economic opportunities, protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms, and enabling lives of dignity. It also plans to demonstrate how ”open, rights-respecting societies” can work together to tackle challenges such as the Covid-19 pandemic, the climate crisis and growing inequality.
Biden is expected to host the second summit approximately one year later, hopefully in person, to review the progress and “forge a common path ahead.”
Korea has often been put in an awkward situation amid the intensifying Sino-U.S. rivalry. It is unclear what role the United States will ask Korea and other allies to play. Korea has not yet confirmed an invitation to the summit.
President Moon Jae-in and Biden held a brief meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit last week in Rome on Oct. 30. Moon also took part in an event hosted by Biden on global supply chain resilience, another top priority of the U.S. administration amid the U.S.-China trade war, at the G20, attended by 14 U.S. allies on Oct. 31.
Moon was the first leader to speak after Biden's opening remarks, urging an open and fair trade order, and his seat was also directly next to that of the U.S. president.
Since taking the presidency, Biden has been rallying allies to take a tougher stance on China, including on human rights, while messaging that “America is back.”
“Democracy doesn’t happen by accident,” Biden said in a virtual Munich Security Conference last February. “We have to defend it, fight for it, strengthen it, renew it.”
He added, “We must prepare together for a long-term strategic competition with China. How the United States, Europe, and Asia work together to secure the peace and defend our shared values and advance our prosperity across the Pacific will be among the most consequential efforts we undertake.”
Biden then urged for a “global system Europe and the United States, together with our allies in the Indo-Pacific, worked so hard to build over the last 70 years.”
BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]
4. Russia looks to Korean ship industry for help in Far East, Arctic
South Korea is one of the best and largest shipbuilders in the world. There is a lot to this article/interview about Russia and its intentions in the Far East.
Monday
November 8, 2021
Russia looks to Korean ship industry for help in Far East, Arctic
Alexei Chekunkov, minister for the development of the Russian Far East and Arctic, speaks with the Korea JoongAng Daily at the Lotte Hotel Seoul on Friday. [PARK SANG-MOON]
Russia envisions that the Northern Sea Route will be fully operational before the end of the decade, and that it could get there with help from the South Korean shipping industry, said a top Russian official representing the country's Arctic interests.
“We are building a new fleet of icebreakers that are more powerful, that will be able to allow shipping through the seas all year around,” said Alexei Chekunkov, minister for the development of the Russian Far East and Arctic, speaking to the Korea JoongAng Daily at the Lotte Hotel Seoul on Friday.
“We are about to enter an era of bullet train [in terms of the speed of developing the route], and around 2027, ’28 or ’29 the Northern Sea Route will really be established as a mainstream global transport corridor,” he said. “There is a schedule of 10 years ahead [with Korea] on [liquefied natural gas] tankers that are being built in Russia with a lot of Korean input and technology.”
Chekunkov visited Korea from Nov. 1 to 5 to attend an inter-regional forum between Korea and Russia and discuss what he called uncharted paths on bilateral ties, including cooperation on renewable energy. His delegation consisted of business executives, who met with their counterparts in Korea’s energy and infrastructure sectors including Korea Gas Corporation, LH Corporation, Hyosung Heavy Industry, Samsung C&T, SK Gas and Lotte Chemical.
The minister, in wrapping up his meetings on Friday, also spoke of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s increased attention on the Asia Pacific region, including partnering with Korea on infrastructure developments in the Russian Far East and continued Russian support for an inter-Korean railway under the right circumstances.
The following are edited excerpts of the interview.
Q. How would you summarize your visit to Korea?
A. Korea is a major destination for two of the most important exports that the [Russian] Far East has: one is hydro carbons, oil and LNG, or liquefied natural gas, and another is Russian fish and seafood, which is most exclusively produced in the Russian Far East and the Arctic region.
But during this visit, we discussed mostly not what we are doing now, but what we are going to do. I was impressed by how big of a share of our discussions concerned hydrogen. I see that Korea does believe that hydrogen could be a solution in the future, given that Korea also imports a lot of energy sources. Today, I’d say the countries developing hydrogen solutions are like unconnected archipelago — that once the market emerges, we would be able to partner together on this.
In this past week you also met with Song young-gil, head of the ruling Democratic Party and previously Korea’s special envoy to Russia. Was the so-called Nine Bridges project proposed by President Moon Jae-in to Russian President Vladimir Putin part of the discussions with Song and other policymakers?
One of the important projects that makes part of the Nine Bridges program is the creation of a Korean industrial park near Vladivostok, for which several dozen Korean companies expressed interest, including LH Corporation. We are also building a new satellite city to Vladivostok, a land of 1,000 hectares [2,471 acres], next to the Russian-Korean industrial park. We call this town Sputnik, which in Russian means satellite. It will be a new town in the Russian Far East aiming at 100,000 people initially to grow to 300,000 people. The town would include projects implemented by the largest Asian countries, our friends in the Asian Pacific region, Korea, China and Japan.
The Nine Bridges program also includes a gas pipeline partnership with Russia and the two Koreas. Were there any talks with our Korean counterparts on this?
The outlook on the Hasan-Rajin railway project depends on two things: one is the end of the pandemic and isolation of the North and the second the sanctions regime. We are ready to develop trilateral cooperation, and Russia at various stages was looking into trans-Korean railway and gas pipelines and power lines, but that requires the end the of pandemic and lifting of sanctions.
Korea secured some 11.2 trillion won ($9.46 billion) worth of shipbuilding contracts with Russia since 2017, including ice-breaking LNG carriers, Where is this cooperation headed in the near future?
The Northern Sea Route is a major strategic endeavor that includes building a new ice-class fleet, in which Korean companies are already participating, including Hyundai Heavy Industries. But what we need [more from now] is to build more bulkers, container ships and other ships of ice-class. We have a clear target set by President Putin to exceed 100 million tons of cargoes transported by the route by 2030.
Is Putin focusing on developing the Far East and the Arctic more than ever?
The Far East and the Arctic regions are 56 percent of the Russian territory. More than half of our natural resources are there, and we’ve been developing the areas for at least 390 years — our first Far Eastern city was set up in 1632. The Russian Far East is where Russia connects to Korea, and I believe that President Putin believes, as I do and as many people do, that the Asia Pacific is the most important region in the world right now where all the growth is happening and the future is being built.
Russia’s interests in the Arctic are often portrayed in the international media as hostile, defensive or threatening. What are your thoughts on such assessments?
Sometimes the media tends to produce images that steal imagination. Does Russia have a strong military? Absolutely, everywhere — north, south, east and west, we are very secure and very well protected. Does Russia see the Arctic as a place for military focus? Not at all. Russia just has the largest Arctic area in the world, at least 50 percent of the area. Out of 10 cities above the Arctic circle with population of over 100,000 people, six are in Russia. People live in the Arctic, this is a fact.
The Arctic is getting politicized because a strong group of countries are Arctic countries, of which the biggest are Russia and the United States. Some Western media would like to show Russian submarines rather than how 19 indigenous Arctic communities live in Russia. They are beautiful people, some of whom still herd deer in the Arctic, live in huts made with deer skins, wear traditional clothes and cook over traditional stoves but at the same time have mobile phones and modern medicine. There is a town that is located on the 180 degrees longitude, which means that in that town, there is a point where you can move from today into yesterday. Once the pandemic is over, I would like to invite more Koreans to visit the Far East.
BY ESTHER CHUNG [chung.juhee@joongang.co.kr]
5. Urea water shortage woes deepen as production wanes
Urea water shortage woes deepen as production wanes | Yonhap News Agency
SEOUL, Nov. 8 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's biggest producer of urea water has lowered its output amid a growing shortage of urea, industry sources said Monday.
Lotte Fine Chemical Co. has stopped part of the urea water solution production line at its factory in Ulsan, about 400 kilometers southeast of Seoul, since last week, as China restricted the exports of urea last month.
Lotte Fine Chemical produces about 140,000 tons of urea water solution, also known as diesel exhaust fluid, on an annual basis, accounting for 50 percent of the domestic market share.
"It is not a complete suspension, but part of the production has stopped," a company official said. "The operating rate has dropped."
Its production line is expected to last by the end of this month with its remaining urea inventory, and its output will probably stop next month, according to company officials.
South Korea has been grappling with the shortage of urea water solution and its surging prices in recent weeks, as China tightened exports of fertilizers and related materials, including urea, in October amid a power crisis caused by a coal supply shortage. Coal is the main feedstock for urea.
South Korea heavily relies on China for its supply of urea water solution, as 97.6 percent of its imports came from China in the first nine months of this year.
To help ease the supply shortage, the government said it will import some 27,000 liters of urea water solution from Australia and seeks to import 10,000 tons of urea from Vietnam.
Authorities have also begun crackdowns on excessive hoarding and its illegal distribution to deter market manipulation attempts.
elly@yna.co.kr
(END)
6. Envoy says China will do its best to help solve urea water solution shortage in S. Korea
Envoy says China will do its best to help solve urea water solution shortage in S. Korea | Yonhap News Agency
SEOUL, Nov. 8 (Yonhap) -- The top Chinese envoy here said Monday his country will do its best to help solve the urea water solution shortage in South Korea triggered by China's curbs on exports of the material.
Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Xing Haiming made the remarks in his meeting with Rep. Yun Ho-jung, floor leader of the ruling Democratic Party (DP), and Rep. Lee Kwang-jae of the DP, who heads the National Assembly's foreign affairs committee, as Seoul struggles with a supply crunch of the product used to reduce emissions in diesel vehicles.
"Urea water solution shortage in the South Korean market is a situation that China has not expected," Xing was quoted by Rep. Shin Hyun-young, a spokesperson of the ruling Democratic Party (DP), as saying. "We will do our best to deliver good news soon."
South Korea heavily relies on China for its supply of aqueous urea solution, with 97.6 percent of its imports coming from China in the first nine months of this year.
The country has been grappling with a shortage of the diesel exhaust fluid, and its surging prices in recent weeks, as China tightened exports of fertilizers and related materials, including urea, in October amid a power crisis caused by a coal supply shortage. Coal is the main feedstock for urea.
Xing also told South Korean lawmakers that Beijing's exports curbs were not targeted for certain countries, adding that it was an inevitable measure to stabilize its domestic market, according to Shin.
Asked about "good news" that Xing had mentioned, Shin said she expects Chinese authorities to accept Seoul's request to expedite customs clearance process for contracted volume of the material.
kdon@yna.co.kr
(END)
7. S. Korea to import 200 tons of urea from Vietnam amid supply shortage
A ral crisi for South Korea that shows the necessity for having a diversified supply chain and not depending on China for so much.
(2nd LD) S. Korea to import 200 tons of urea from Vietnam amid supply shortage | Yonhap News Agency
(ATTN: ADDS more info in paras 3, 7, 9-10)
SEOUL, Nov. 8 (Yonhap) -- South Korea said Monday it plans to import 200 tons of urea from Vietnam next week in the latest move to help ease a supply shortage of urea water solution, a key material used in diesel vehicles to reduce emissions.
The amount is part of 10,000 tons of urea that South Korea hopes to import from Vietnam and other nations to make urea water solution, according to the finance ministry.
Two hundred tons of urea can produce about 650,000 liters of solution, which can meet demand for just one day based on last year's figure.
Separately, South Korea is set to import 27,000 liters of urea water solution from Australia, including 20,000 liters planned for this week.
The move came as President Moon Jae-in ordered aides to "make utmost diplomatic efforts to secure" urea water solution from foreign countries.
To help facilitate the imports, the government plans to cut import tariffs on the material to zero from the current 5-6.5 percent.
The government has also decided to speed up customs clearance on vehicle-use urea solution. Usually, the inspection process takes more than 20 days, but the customs authorities plan to cut the time to 3-5 days, according to industry minister Moon Sung-wook.
South Korea has been grappling with a shortage of urea water solution, known as diesel exhaust fluid, and its surging prices in recent weeks, as China tightened exports of fertilizers and related materials, including urea, in October amid a power crisis caused by a coal supply shortage. Coal is the main feedstock for urea.
According to the foreign ministry, imports of 18,000 tons of urea from China are currently on hold due to Beijing's export curbs, even though they have been contracted by South Korean firms.
The ministry said it has requested Chinese authorities to expedite customs process for the contracted amount of urea.
South Korea heavily relies on China for its supply of urea water solution, as 97.6 percent of its imports came from China in the first nine months of this year.
In around 2013, South Korean manufacturers of urea shut down their businesses as they lost price competitiveness over foreign rivals, such as China and Russia.
The import unit price of industrial-use urea spiked to US$483 per ton in September from around $267 in October last year, according to the Korea International Trade Association.
The number of diesel vehicles is estimated at some 10 million, about 38 percent of registered cars in South Korea.
Of them, 4 million diesel cars, including 2 million freight trucks, must install equipment that requires the use of urea solution to cut emissions under the country's tightened emission rules adopted in 2015.
A possible drawn-out shortage of the diesel exhaust fluid could disrupt logistics across the country as trucks used for transporting industrial goods and parcel delivery may have to suspend their operations.
The government said fire engines and ambulances would have no problems as such key vehicles have secured three-month stockpiles for the material.
South Korea said it will review whether to allow industrial-use urea water solution to be used for vehicles based on safety tests and will immediately take actions when needed.
To deter market manipulation attempts, the government began crackdowns on excessive hoarding of urea water solution and its illegal distribution.
Hoarders of urea or water solution could face a jail term of up to three years or a fine of up to 100 million won ($84,000).
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
(END)
8. S. Korean vice minister, U.S. envoy discuss Iran issue
Excerpts:
Although South Korea is not part of the landmark accord, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the allies have maintained communication on the matter, especially with Iranian assets here frozen under fresh U.S. sanctions.
About US$7 billion worth of Iranian assets remain locked in South Korean banks under U.S. sanctions that were put back in place following Washington's 2018 withdrawal from the multilateral nuclear pact with Tehran.
S. Korean vice minister, U.S. envoy discuss Iran issue | Yonhap News Agency
By Kim Eun-jung
SEOUL, Nov. 8 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's vice foreign minister talked over phone with the U.S. special envoy on Iran and exchanged views on the ongoing efforts to resume nuclear talks with the Middle Eastern nation, the foreign ministry said Monday.
Choi Jong-kun, first vice minister of foreign affairs, and Robert Malley discussed the issue, as world powers and Tehran are set to resume negotiations to revive the 2015 nuclear deal on Nov. 29.
Malley shared the latest development for the nuclear talks, and Choi reaffirmed Seoul's willingness to provide support for the diplomatic efforts, the ministry said without elaboration.
Although South Korea is not part of the landmark accord, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the allies have maintained communication on the matter, especially with Iranian assets here frozen under fresh U.S. sanctions.
About US$7 billion worth of Iranian assets remain locked in South Korean banks under U.S. sanctions that were put back in place following Washington's 2018 withdrawal from the multilateral nuclear pact with Tehran.
ejkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
9. [Us and Them] Why does Korea have such a deep political divide?
We can ask the same question about America.
Excerpts:
Conservative-leaning Koreans tend to consume news articles mainly on the Naver news platform while progressive-leaning ones disproportionally use Daum.
Lee Chang-keun, a professor at Yonsei University, said in a book titled “Opinion Polarization in Korea: Patterns and Mechanisms” that social media users are more active in political participation in real life.
People who used social media were more likely to participate in the 2016 candlelight demonstrations, although the protest was not carried out only by the progressive camp, Lee said. This also is the same for conservative people aged 60 and older. They tend to participate in more extreme protest activities such as taegeukgi rallies.
“The reason public opinion and politics in Korea seem to be very divided is due to the active public opinion formation activities and the political participation of people with extreme ideological tendencies rather than the actual polarization of ideological preferences,” Lee said.
The concept of “us” is a strong force in Korean culture, and to be counted as “one of us” in any group comes with privileges big and small within its boundaries. However, for those who fall outside the boundaries of “normal,” life in Korea is riddled with hurdles and sometimes open hatred. In a series of articles, we take a closer look at the biases that exist in Korea, and the lives of those branded as “them” by mainstream society. -- Ed.
[Us and Them] Why does Korea have such a deep political divide?
Historical, ideological, generational and digital factors play role in division, experts say
Published : Nov 8, 2021 - 15:18 Updated : Nov 8, 2021 - 15:19
123 rf
Political conflict in South Korea reaches sharp and sometimes violent extremes, with politicians on either side of the aisle accusing each other of “ruining” the country and bringing unrecoverable disaster.
The left-right clash often reaches down to the individual level, with families and friends divided, and branding each other naive.
Korea’s short history of democracy and how it has shaped personal experiences are a source of tension between generations. But some experts say some factors, such as the legacy of the Cold War and social media, make the conflict appear bigger than it is.
“First of all, Korea fundamentally has a short history of fully experiencing democracy and thus is still unaccustomed to coordinating opinions through conversation,” said Eom Kyeong-young, head of private research center Zeitgeist Institute.
It has been less than 35 years since the June uprising brought democracy to Korea in 1987. And local politicians are used to framing issues as all-or-nothing power struggles rather than seeking compromise, mediation or persuasion, he said.
Conservatives and progressives clash in all democracies, but it is particularly acute in Korea.
According to a Pew Research Center poll released last month, Korea -- along with the US -- ranked first in political conflict among 17 developed countries. It also topped the list in a June survey of 28 countries by King’s College London.
A local government survey in 2019 revealed that Koreans viewed political affiliation as the source of the most severe social conflict -- above class, gender, ethnicity and wealth. Another poll by the Seoul Institute in April showed Seoulites chose political friction as the most serious source of conflict.
Contrasting historical perspectives are one reason the divide is so sharp. Korea has experienced drastic changes over the past century -- from Japanese colonization and the Korean War to democratization, industrialization and digitalization. Such rapid changes led to political conflicts between people with different personal experiences.
Seniors remember the days of colonization and the Korean War, and former President Park Chung-hee, who helped rebuild the nation. Middle-aged people see Park in the context of his dictatorship, and have shared experiences of protesting against another authoritarian former president, Chun Doo-hwan, and participating in the democratization movement.
“Political conflicts usually occur between those age groups,” Eom said.
Younger Koreans are more unrestrained in their political identities. Although younger generations traditionally tend to be progressive, many voted for conservatives in last year’s by-elections.
Eom believes that as more young people participate in politics over time, political tension will gradually ease.
Surveys show the divide in a clear split across generations.
A 2020 survey by the Korea Institute of Public Administration showed that those aged 60 and above showed 33.3 percent identify as neutral and 41.95 as quite conservative. For those aged between 40 and 59, the figures are 49.9 percent neutral and 24.4 percent quite liberal.
But this also reveals that the overwhelming majority see themselves as moderates.
So why are conflicts so severe, when a third to a half of respondents in the relevant age groups identify as politically neutral?
Ryu Seok-jin, a professor at Sogang University’s Graduate School of Public Policy questioned whether fighting for progressive and conservative causes is the real agenda.
“I don’t think so,” he said.
“Under the names of progressives and conservatives, they chant to get to achieve what they want -- whether it is the privileges they are enjoying now or something they want to change.
“And politicians take advantage (of the situation) as if they are trying to realize universal values.”
In this situation, political identities become labels that denote a side of an argument, rather than ideology -- and a convenient way to attack opponents.
Some Koreans call left-wingers “ppalgaengi,” a word that began as a term for communists, while others use the term “sugukkoltong” to disparage conservatives.
“(This) can still appeal to the public because Korea still lives in the legacy of the Cold War, is at war and is a divided country (along the DMZ),” Ryu said.
Online communities and social media also play a role in making tension appear bigger than it is, according to professor Yun Seong-yi of Kyung Hee University’s political science department.
“Even though various surveys show 35-40 percent of Koreans tend to be politically neutral, the online venue makes you think that most Koreans are either extremely progressive or conservatives. This is because a few extreme people are vocal and dominant in social media or news comments,” he said.
“Online, people see only what they want to see. They seek and read the information that reinforces their belief, leading to an echo-chamber effect,” he said.
The effect refers to situations in which participants in online discussions find their opinions constantly echoed back, reinforcing their belief system due to the declining exposure to others’ views.
“This makes one excessive voice bigger and bigger,” Yun said. “The more information you get from social media, the more likely you are to have more extreme thoughts. People who read articles on Naver rarely use Daum and vice versa,” Yun said.
Conservative-leaning Koreans tend to consume news articles mainly on the Naver news platform while progressive-leaning ones disproportionally use Daum.
Lee Chang-keun, a professor at Yonsei University, said in a book titled “Opinion Polarization in Korea: Patterns and Mechanisms” that social media users are more active in political participation in real life.
People who used social media were more likely to participate in the 2016 candlelight demonstrations, although the protest was not carried out only by the progressive camp, Lee said. This also is the same for conservative people aged 60 and older. They tend to participate in more extreme protest activities such as taegeukgi rallies.
“The reason public opinion and politics in Korea seem to be very divided is due to the active public opinion formation activities and the political participation of people with extreme ideological tendencies rather than the actual polarization of ideological preferences,” Lee said.
The concept of “us” is a strong force in Korean culture, and to be counted as “one of us” in any group comes with privileges big and small within its boundaries. However, for those who fall outside the boundaries of “normal,” life in Korea is riddled with hurdles and sometimes open hatred. In a series of articles, we take a closer look at the biases that exist in Korea, and the lives of those branded as “them” by mainstream society. -- Ed.
10. Yes, I’ve seen ‘Squid Game’ by Ambassador Kathleen Stephens
Excerpts:
I get asked about things Korean all the time. Trying to respond to these questions is part of my professional — and to a large extent — my personal identity, as a former Peace Corps volunteer in Korea and a former American ambassador to Seoul, as the chair of the Korea Society board and the president of a policy institute devoted to U.S.-Korean relations.
In the last few weeks, the question I’ve gotten the most — more than prospects for North Korean denuclearization, more than how the South Korean presidential election is shaping up, more than what Korea will do at the COP on climate change in Glasgow, or on U.S.-Korea relations on a plethora of issues — is, “Have you seen ‘Squid Game’?” I admit that I have, but then in time-honored diplomatic fashion wait to see what my interlocutor has to say. What follows is a varied but always fascinating conversation, about competition, inequality, fairness, capitalism, democracy and free choice, violence, generational and cultural gaps and similarities between Korea and the U.S., language, gender roles, and much more. “Squid Game” hit a global nerve, and came just as Americans are beginning to catch up with other Asian countries in making Korean drama and pop music a mainstay of their entertainment consumption.
Monday
November 8, 2021
Yes, I’ve seen ‘Squid Game’
Kathleen Stephens
The author was U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Korea from 2008 to 2011. She is the president of the Korea Economic Institute of America located in Washington, D.C.
I am grateful to the Joongang Ilbo for the opportunity to write for Korean readers.
When it comes to writing about Korea, though, I know I too often indulge in nostalgia and enjoy recalling what Korea was like “back in the day.” I’ve even learned a Korean phrase for that, “Latte mallya.” I try, not always successfully, to avoid too much of that.
Over the past decade I’ve been asked with ever-increasing frequency what I make of Korean soft power in the form of hallyu, the Korean wave, whatever one calls it — the way Korean pop music, film, drama, food and much more has swept the world.
For a long time, my response was a variation of “latte mallya.” I was proud and even a little smug that I was lucky enough to have lived in Korea in the ‘70s and ‘80s, and knew its “cool” potential a long time before the rest of the world did, that I had seen the creative, emotional resonance of Korean music, film, and art even before democracy, prosperity and global exposure supercharged and exploded it into the world.
I remember the surprised look of Korean correspondents in Washington when I told them in 2008 as I prepared to go to Seoul as the new U.S. ambassador that “Memories of Murder” was my favorite Korean movie. But even as I was an early fan of Bong Joon-ho’s movies, and followed the arc of B-boys and girl bands as they morphed into ever more dazzling craftsmanship, I was well behind the curve in appreciating and interpreting the latest in the “K-wave.”
I have finally realized, whether I’m a true K-pop fan or not, I need to catch up and reassess. Korean-produced cultural content, spread digitally on the internet to audiences in pandemic-induced self-isolation, has become the central lens through which increasing numbers of Americans perceive Korea, at least initially. It also continues to push boundaries, and to surprise, stimulate, and delight.
I get asked about things Korean all the time. Trying to respond to these questions is part of my professional — and to a large extent — my personal identity, as a former Peace Corps volunteer in Korea and a former American ambassador to Seoul, as the chair of the Korea Society board and the president of a policy institute devoted to U.S.-Korean relations.
In the last few weeks, the question I’ve gotten the most — more than prospects for North Korean denuclearization, more than how the South Korean presidential election is shaping up, more than what Korea will do at the COP on climate change in Glasgow, or on U.S.-Korea relations on a plethora of issues — is, “Have you seen ‘Squid Game’?” I admit that I have, but then in time-honored diplomatic fashion wait to see what my interlocutor has to say. What follows is a varied but always fascinating conversation, about competition, inequality, fairness, capitalism, democracy and free choice, violence, generational and cultural gaps and similarities between Korea and the U.S., language, gender roles, and much more. “Squid Game” hit a global nerve, and came just as Americans are beginning to catch up with other Asian countries in making Korean drama and pop music a mainstay of their entertainment consumption.
Two anecdotes: A recent Washington Post article wrote that “watching Korean dramas” was an excellent antidote to stress and anxiety. Second: Recently I described to a group of foreign policy experts the tenures and fates of Korea’s modern presidents; one listener responded that he now understood why Korean dramas were so full of, well, extreme, emotional drama. In the first case, the fact that the dramas are Korean-made is incidental to their use; in the second, exposure to them creates a context for thinking about the actual Korean experience. There is both a universal and specific appeal and effect.
Over the decades, successive Korean administrations — and many Koreans — have worried that Americans did not know much about Korea, or that what they did know was unfavorable or plain wrong. I’m old enough to remember Koreans complaining that the wildly popular 1980s-era television show “M.A.S.H.” about a U.S. field hospital staff during the Korean War distorted American views of Korea. The defense was that the show really wasn’t about Korea. The sensitivity is understandable; America has always loomed much larger in the Korean consciousness than vice versa.
The Korea Society was started in 1957 by retired General James Van Fleet, who served in Korea and returned to the U.S. during a time when Americans wanted to put the Korean War behind them. General Van Fleet recognized the need to build people-to-people ties between Koreans and Americans. Last year The Korea Society at its virtual gala recognized American veterans of the Korean War and BTS with Van Fleet awards. It was not as incongruous as it might sound. The BTS members spoke movingly of the shared sacrifices made long ago, and the veterans celebrated the vitality of Korea today.
This year we were able to return to New York’s iconic Plaza Hotel for an in-person dinner, where we highlighted the need to address climate change together by recognizing the work of GM and LG to produce electric vehicles. But we also mourned the fact that for the first time we had no Korean War veterans at the gathering; their numbers are dwindling. On November 4, I will be at Arlington National Cemetery to say a final farewell to Col. John Stevens, a decorated veteran of the Chosin battle who spent the last years of his nearly final century of life leading the effort to build a Korean War memorial at San Francisco’s Presidio.
We must not forget our shared history and those who shaped it, and indeed must continue to examine and learn from it. But I, for one, am freshly aware that the lens through which Americans and Koreans view each other is transforming. That also needs deeper analysis, as it will shape the future of our relationship, and Korea’s place in the world, in ways still unfolding.
11. Long before ‘Squid Game,’ South Korea filmmakers elevated the underdog
As an aside, I was in Korea then in the 1980s and watched the democracy movement unfold as well as the preparation for the 1988 Seoul Olympics (and we were able to attend a number of Olympic events as well). Korea underwent quite a transformation in that period.
Long before ‘Squid Game,’ South Korea filmmakers elevated the underdog
TOKYO — To fully understand South Korea’s megahit “Squid Game,” a good place to start is summer 1987.
In the aftermath of mass pro-democracy protests, a group of fledgling filmmakers in Seoul published a manifesto denouncing censorship under 26 years of military-directed rule that had muzzled their creativity.
“Making movies in this country is like walking naked through a thorn bush,” they wrote in 1987. “We can no longer tolerate social contempt, economic poverty and political alienation. We must not wait for anyone to speak on our behalf.”
The sentiment still informs the work of many South Korean filmmakers who find rich veins in the internal tensions of democracy, the limbo of the perennial underdog and the struggles of those left behind in a nation made rich by global commerce and giant corporations.
Those protests in the late 1980s paved the way for a generation of directors emerging during South Korea’s liberalization through the 1990s. The themes they explored then are reflected in some recent global hits: Academy-Award winning “Parasite,” about class warfare between the poor and the privileged; “Train to Busan,” in which characters fight for survival during a zombie apocalypse caused by a dishonest biochemical company; and “Kingdom,” a series about the corruption of the rulers of a fictional realm facing a plague that turns people into zombies.
“They were the harbingers of today’s Korean cinema,” said Dal Yong Jin, South Korean film expert at Simon Fraser University in Canada, referring to the influential generation of directors that rose to fame in the 1990s. “Back then, they focused on people’s struggles. … Now, [shows like] ‘Kingdom’ and ‘Squid Game’ portray similar issues.”
The trend has given confidence to emerging Korean filmmakers that there is global interest in the themes of inequality and abuse of power that have deep roots in their industry.
“The success of ‘Squid Game’ made me realize once again that there are plenty of interesting and meaningful inspirations in our realities,” said Chan Song, an 18-year-old incoming filmmaking student at Korea National University of Arts in Seoul, “and that the problems and concerns we are grappling with daily in South Korea could resonate around the world.”
‘Hidden truths’
Under sweeping censorship laws imposed by the South Korean military decades ago, filmmakers were limited to just a handful of topics, such as anti-communist propaganda, and positive representations of family life and collective national identity.
In the 1980s, students, civic groups and labor unions pressured the government into full democratization, staging demonstrations and enduring amid harsh crackdowns in which some protesters were killed. The nationwide rallies in summer 1987, sparked by the authoritarian leader Chun Doo-hwan’s handpicking of his successor, were a turning point.
The decade that followed brought rapid change and a burst of unshackled creativity after censorship laws were lifted in the mid-1990s. These trailblazers included Bong Joon-ho, the director of “Parasite” and “Okja,” a 2017 film about corporate greed that follows the story of a girl who tries to rescue her pig from the U.S. meat industry.
They explored topics that had been banned under military rule, including the labor movement, separation of the two Koreas, gender issues and class divisions. When the Asian financial crisis hit in 1997, they tackled economic inequality, bankruptcy and poverty.
“What was formerly forbidden were now fair game,” said Aaron Han Joon Magnan-Park, a Korea and East Asia film expert at the University of Hong Kong.
South Korean cinema had always had an activist bent, but these directors pushed the boundaries of their newfound artistic freedom, Magnan-Park said.
“South Korean filmmakers always remained committed to being the moral conscious of their society,” he said. “They chose to draw attention to those who abused their positions of power … and make visible those who society wanted to relegate into the invisible.”
Park Kwang-soo’s “A Beautiful Youth Jeon Tae-il” in 1995 portrayed the labor movement through the real-life story of Jeon Tae-il, a sewing worker who set himself on fire in 1970 to protest poor working conditions under the military regime.
In Lee Chang-dong’s “Peppermint Candy” in 2000, the protagonist died by suicide after suffering being traumatized by the violence of the pro-democracy protests in the 1980s and losing his job in the 1997 financial crisis.
“An individual cannot be freed from history or social reality. … In some cases, he becomes a victim of history, and when that happens, his life is not all that beautiful,” Lee said in a 2002 interview. “Through my movie, I hope the younger generation can gain a new perspective on society’s ‘hidden truths.’”
Movies that portrayed North and South Korean relations in nuanced ways that were impossible under military rule became widely popular. They include Kang Je-kyu’s “Shiri” in 1999, which contrasted South Korean material excess and North Korean poverty, and Park Chan-wook’s “Joint Security Area” in 2000, which featured a friendship formed between South Korean and North Korean soldiers across the demilitarized zone.
‘Netflix-esque enough?’
With soaring production costs and dwindling sources of private funding to produce ambitious projects, more creators began turning to the government for financial support in the 2000s, said Jin, of Simon Fraser University.
But the South Korean government under two conservative presidents from 2008 to 2017 began cracking down on filmmakers who were deemed critical or progressive. During the 2017 impeachment trial of President Park Geun-hye, investigators found that her aides blacklisted thousands of directors and others who were critical of her leadership.
Such restrictions meant that Netflix became an increasingly attractive option for South Korean directors, who found a well-financed home on the platform, Jin said. When “Okja” made it big on Netflix, creators began flocking there.
“‘Squid Game’ is the outcome” of the trend that began with “Okja,” Jin said.
The shift to Netflix and other streaming sites comes at an opportune time for South Korean filmmakers, because the issues of inequality and economic anxieties are becoming increasingly global, making their work more relatable than ever.
“They’re asking questions about who we are as a nation, as a people,” said Chung Min Lee, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace who has studied the evolution of South Korean soft power. “This is South Korea’s storytelling journey, and as it happens, they have triggered a global audience.”
But the dependence on Netflix has created pressure on some aspiring filmmakers, who worry that “Squid Game” has set a new bar on how profitable and provocative their films should be.
Lim Si-yeon, a third-year student at Korea National University of Arts, draws inspiration from the work of Lee Chang-dong, one of the auteurs from the late 1990s. She recently debuted an independent film, “The Killing of a Hamster,” about a girl who grows up in the shadow of her twin sister. Her favorite movie is Lee’s 2007 “Milyang,” about social pressures placed on a divorced single mother. It portrayed nuanced social commentary about marginalized women in Korea, she said, adding that she isn’t sure the work would necessarily be popular in the Netflix era.
“Something we are struggling with now is, ‘Is my movie Netflix-esque enough?’” Lim, 22, said. “I want to be a director who whispers my message to my viewers, like the way ‘Milyang’ made an impact on me, by drawing out the deeply buried pains of the audience and helping them heal in a profound way.”
Grace Moon in Seoul contributed to this report.
Read more:
12. Where the Hell Is Kim Jong Un’s Eric Clapton-Obsessed Brother?
FYI. My comments that did not make it into the article.
I have not heard any recent news about Kim Yong-chul and nothing about him as part of any succession process. Most all of the writings about him describe him as not suited for leadership by his father Kim Jong-il. Dr.Jung Pak has the most recent book that is biography of Kim Jong-un and she briefly describes Young-chul but she does not prove any indication that he is in the succession process. I have not seen any indication that anyone within the Kim family regime thinks Kim Yong-chul is part of the succession. I think Kim Yo-jong is more likely to succeed Kim Jong-un despite her being a young woman. If anyone appears to be being groomed for succession it is her. However, we have seen no evidence that Kim Jong-un has made a decision on succession. I do not think the regime will telegraph anything about succession in the belief that it could contribute to a perception of divided leadership or that the regime is not unified and under the control of a single leader.
The bottom line is I just do not see anything about Kim Jong-chul. I have not seen any reports in over a year about him. And I do not think that he is a significant player.
Where the Hell Is Kim Jong Un’s Eric Clapton-Obsessed Brother?
BLACK SHEEP
The Supreme Leader’s older half-brother, who has been spotted at several Eric Clapton concerts over the years, could succeed Kim Jong Un. But he’s not exactly dictator material.
Updated Nov. 07, 2021 12:36PM ET / Published Nov. 07, 2021 4:51AM ET
PARK JI-HWAN/AFP via Getty
Where and why has North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s older half-brother, Kim Jong Chul, disappeared? Considering the persistent doubts about the health of Kim Jong Un and his own habit of vanishing for weeks at a time—that question assumes some urgency.
If 37-year-old Kim Jong Un were to die, Jong Chul, 40, never an active contender for power, would be a prime candidate to take over.
“In a succession scenario, his name would surely be on the table,” Greg Scarlatoui, executive director of the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, told The Daily Beast. The multi-tentacle Organization and Guidance Department (OGD) of the Workers’ Party—of which Kim Jong Un is chairman—would decide on a successor, leaving it to the coterie of generals and top party officials now surrounding Kim Jong Un to decide on policy.
“The Kim family are godlike figures. In North Korea the most important qualification is to be a family member.”
There would, said Scarlatoui, “be pluses being a direct descendant of the Paektu bloodline”—a reference to the Korean peninsula’s highest peak where Kim Jong Il, by North Korean mystique, was born in 1941 in a log cabin—“and minuses, his apparent ‘weakness’ compared to his brother.” That said, he observed, “There has always been a symbiosis between the Workers’ Party and the Kim family regime.”
“Jong Chul has an honorary position in the Organization and Guidance Department, but no reporting has ever demonstrated he contributed to a political action or decision,” Robert Collins, author of a book on the OGD after spending more than 30 years analyzing North Korea for the U.S. Command in Seoul, told The Daily Beast. “Kim Jong-un obviously tolerates his existence as long as he stays out of the way.
It was only after long-ruling Kim Jong Il deemed elder son Jong Chul “too effeminate,” according to Kim’s Japanese sushi chef, Kenji Fujimoto, that he designated younger brother Jong Un as successor roughly a year before dying in 2011. Ever since, it appears as though Jong Chul has been keeping his head down, playing his guitar with friends in ultra-secret surroundings in Pyongyang while Kim Jong Un makes unmistakably clear that he’s the boss and heads will roll if anyone gets out of line.
Nonetheless, the elevation of Kim Jong Chul “is a very feasible scenario,” Choi Jin-wook, president of the Center for Strategic and Cultural Studies in Seoul, told The Daily Beast. “The Kim family are godlike figures. In North Korea the most important qualification is to be a family member.”
That qualification is so vital that in February 2017, Kim Jong Un ordered the assassination of his 44-year-old oldest brother—and potential rival—Kim Jong Nam. Living in exile in Macau, a former Portuguese colony on the Chinese coast, Jong Nam had aroused Jong Un’s paranoid fears by criticizing Kim dynastic rule. After he had checked in for a flight from the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur, two young women smeared his face with what North Korean operatives had told the women, one from Vietnam, the other from Indonesia, was water, but was actually a VX chemical nerve agent concocted in Pyongyang.
Kim Jong Chul, not seen publicly in Pyongyang during Kim Jong Un’s rule, was last spotted in May 2015 attending an Eric Clapton concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London. A veritable Clapton groupie, he had also attended his concerts in Germany in 2006 and in Singapore in 2011. Thae Yong Ho, then North Korea’s deputy ambassador to the United Kingdom, who defected to South Korea in 2016, has said he personally arranged for the visit, including two nights of Clapton shows and a luxury hotel costing more than $3,000 a night.
Ko Yong Hui, Kim Jong Il’s third wife or consort and mother of Kim Jong Un, Kim Jong Chul, and younger sister Kim Yo Jong, died of breast cancer in Paris in 2004. The degree to which Jong Un is repressing Jong Chul, keeping him under wraps, watched and guarded, is not clear, but Thae has said he’s living quietly in Pyongyang.
“Kim Jong Chol remains out of the political limelight and in the shadows in Pyongyang,” Evans Revere, a former U.S. senior diplomat in Seoul, told The Daily Beast. “He is reportedly free to play his guitars and jam with friends.”
In North Korea, bloodline is what counts. “Without having any power, yes, Kim Jong Chul could take the titles. If Jong Chul does not make trouble, nobody hates him,” Kim Tae-woo, former president of the Korea Institute for National Unification, said in an interview with The Daily Beast.
But what about Kim Yo Jong, the 34-year-old younger sister? Often outspoken, she ranks second to Kim Jong Un in actual power. Yo Jong “has played the role of second man,” said Kim Tae-woo, but she’s “already notorious in South Korea for her insulting comments” against South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in for approving military exercises on computers with U.S. forces while looking for dialog with the North.
Careful to maintain total respect for Kim Jong Un, Yo Jong, in charge of the publicity and information department of the Workers’ Party, was elevated in September to the real center of power, the state affairs commission. In a thoroughly male-dominated system, however, Kim Tae-woo believes her gender counts against her. Others in North Korea’s inner circle, he said, would not want a woman holding the country’s top posts.
“Yo Jong is danger waiting to happen,” said Collins. “North Korean society tolerating a female leader? Not likely. That would factionalize the NK elite faster than billion dollar bribes.”
Revere, however, is not so sure. Never has there been “a hint of excessive ambition on her part,” he said. “She is unfailingly deferential to Kim Jong Un in their appearances together. She also frequently speaks out on her own on key policy issues—which suggests a high level of self-confidence and her assuredness that she can speak on behalf of her brother and the regime.”
In complete contrast, Kim Jong Chul has not been known to display any desire to rule anything—a record that might make him a carefully harmless choice in internecine infighting that’s inevitable after Jong Un’s departure from the scene. In an environment in which hundreds of officials have been annihilated on orders of Jong Un and, before him, Kim Jong Il and grandfather Kim Il Sung, survival depends on playing it safe.
Kim Jong Un, besides wiping out his older half-brother, ordered the public arrest in December 2018 live on state TV of his uncle, Jang Song Thaek, married to his aunt, Kim Jong Il’s younger sister.
Glasses askew after a beating, Jang was shown being dragged by guards into a small courtroom before he was summarily executed. Once North Korea’s second highest leader under Kim Jong Il, he stood accused of corruption and numerous other crimes after having made the fatal mistake of wanting to hold real authority rather than merely advising as a humble servant.
Kim Jong Un, who’s got every top title from president to party chairman to chairman of the state affairs commission to commander of the armed forces, has ruthlessly consolidated power even as his health remains a matter of concern and speculation. Judging from photographs, he’s shed about 20 kilograms, down from 140 kilograms, but that’s still far too heavy for one who’s just 5 feet 8 inches.
South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, aggressively supporting President Moon’s bid for dialog and reconciliation with North Korea, has issued statements saying that doubts about his health are “groundless.” The NIS has also dismissed speculation that a body double has been filling in for him on occasion and denounced as “not true at all,” addressing a story emblazoned last month on the front page of the American supermarket tabloid Globe that Kim Yo Jong had taken over from her brother in a coup.
“Kim Jong Chul would not make a very effective leader.”
However, the credibility of the NIS, led by Park Jie-won, accused 20 years ago for his role in payoffs to North Korea to bring about the North-South summit in June 2000 between the late South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and Kim Jong Il, is open to question. “Moon’s number one objective with regard to North Korea from the beginning of his presidency,” Bruce Bennett, long-time Korea analyst at the Rand Corporation, told The Daily Beast, “has been to establish a condition of peaceful coexistence.”
Kim Jong Un’s “tremendous weight loss,” Bennett added, “raises serious questions about whether the pictures we are seeing are of one or more of Kim’s doubles.” In fact, “We don’t even know enough to dismiss what in other circumstances might be considered ridiculous suggestions. By failing to be open and with their history of using doubles, there will almost certainly be periodic speculation about problems in the North Korean leadership.”
Yet another issue is whether Kim Jong Chul, were he to emerge as a figurehead, could win the respect befitting the titles, however empty, that might fall to him.
“Kim Jong Chul would not make a very effective leader—he certainly would not be directing the Politburo and similar meetings the way Kim Jong Un does,” said Bennett. “Of course, the North could use a body double of him to maintain appearance while Kim Yo Jong ruled.”
Kenji Fujimoto, who satiated the culinary tastes of the Kim family for years, explained in a memoir why Kim Jong Il eliminated Kim Jong Chul from the succession. The kid, Fujimoto quoted Jong Il as saying, was “like a girl.”
13. Yoon says he is open to inter-Korean summit, but not 'for show'
How much will foreign policy (and north-South policy) play into the ROK presidential elections? Probably not much.
But I can imagine if Yoon wins the liberals of the Moon administration will be arguing that it was the transition from liberal to conservative government that doomed north-South engagement in the same way the argument is made that the Bush 43 election doomed US-north Korea diplomacy. The argument goes that had Gore won, Clinton would have gone to north Korea and there would have been a significant advancement in relations and the Agreed Framework would have remained in force (and the north would have continued to cheat and advance its HEU program which it argued was not covered by the AF).
Yoon says he is open to inter-Korean summit, but not 'for show' | Yonhap News Agency
SEOUL, Nov. 8 (Yonhap) -- Yoon Seok-youl, the presidential nominee of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), has said he is open to meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un for a summit but is not interested in doing it "for show."
Yoon made the remark during an interview with Yonhap News Agency on Sunday, saying a summit should be held when it is expected to lead to concrete results.
"I will always leave it open, but I won't do it for show," Yoon said when asked about the possibility of an inter-Korean summit in the event he is elected president on March 9.
"Doing something for show ahead of local elections doesn't suit me. If you're not honest, it's bound to show soon. When you can fully expect there to be actual progress, then you can have a summit," he said.
Yoon, a former prosecutor general under President Moon Jae-in, accused the current administration of having "no commitment" to denuclearizing North Korea.
"If we, as a country directly involved, are not committed to denuclearization, how can we win international cooperation?" he said. "I will pursue a clear principle on denuclearization in cooperation with the international community."
Yoon has previously said he would ask the United States to redeploy tactical nuclear weapons or agree to a nuclear-sharing deal if South Korea's security was threatened by North Korea's nuclear and missile threats.
He made clear during the interview, however, that such a request is "unrealistic."
"The United States' firm policy is that it will not deploy nuclear forces to our country," he said. "We are able to use and share the U.S.' surveillance and reconnaissance assets for the early detection of North Korea's nuclear and missile (tests) ... these will be able to play a considerable role in keeping North Korea's nuclear (threats) in check."
Yoon still acknowledged the need to continue communication and exchanges, such as between families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War and between young people in the South and the North, that will help "slowly transform" North Korea.
"In the case of humanitarian aid, the medicine and food have to be such that they aren't diverted for military use," he said.
On the economy, Yoon pledged to launch a 100-day COVID-19 emergency rescue plan once he takes office.
The program will look at the extent of damage business owners have suffered under the government's COVID-19 restrictions and quantify the results by region, industry and type of restriction.
The new administration would then provide necessary financial assistance in the form of loans, rent and lower utility bills.
"If we do not pull the small business owners up from over the cliff, there will be a continued burden on the welfare budget," Yoon said. "We have to quickly come up with the financial resources by convincing the National Assembly, be it through an extra budget or the issuance of government bonds."
Yoon also said the government should spend the money "at once," rather than in stages, in order to achieve economic recovery.
hague@yna.co.kr
(END)
14. Korean War mural in Washington D.C. explained in US designer's upcoming memoir
This should be an interesting read for all those who observe Korean history, Korean-American relations, and the Korean War.
Korean War mural in Washington D.C. explained in US designer's upcoming memoir
Lee Joon-seok, center, chairman of the main opposition People Power Party, walks past a mural at the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., in this Sept. 23 file photo. Designed by Louis Nelson, the mural featuring the faces of 2,400 service members of the U.S. armed forces during the Korean War was dedicated July 27, 1995. Yonhap
Louis Nelson's memoir 'Mosaic: War Monument Mystery' will be released later this week
By Kang Hyun-kyung
The Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. visually illustrates how the South Korea-U.S. alliance began.
The memorial features two iconic installments: the 164-feet black granite mural showcasing the faces of 2,400 service members of the U.S. armed forces who fought in the Korean War and, adjacent, Frank Gaylord's three-dimensional stainless-steel sculptures of 19 warriors to commemorate those who fought to defend freedom in South Korea.
Since its grandiose dedication on July 27, 1995 with the participations of the then South Korean and U.S. presidents, the Korean War memorial has become a must-visit place for South Korean tourists and also a starting point for high-profile politicians' itineraries when making official trips to the U.S.
Once arriving in Washington D.C., South Korean politicians would head to the memorial located near the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, observe a moment of silence and pay tribute to the American men and women who responded to the call seven decades ago to defend South Korea from the invasion by the North, a divided country they may have never heard of at that time.
Rep. Song Young-gil, chairman of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, started his U.S. trip at the memorial in September. His main opposition counterpart, Lee Joon-seok, chairman of the People Power Party, is the latest South Korean politician to pay tribute to those who fought during the war.
The Korean War memorial is also special to American industrial designer Louis Nelson.
US industrial designer Louis Nelson / Courtesy of Louis Nelson
Although 26 years have passed, Nelson, who designed the mural, has a vivid memory of the day when the Korean War Veterans Memorial was dedicated. "With tears in my eyes as I looked at the Korean mural with Frank's soldiers mirrored in its brilliant polished finish, I also saw the reflection of the Lincoln Memorial and McKevitt's words rang in my ears," he recalled in his forthcoming book, "Mosaic: War Monument Mystery."
The late Jim McKevitt was a member of the Korean War Veterans Memorial Advisory Board who suggested Nelson look deeper into the history of the design of the Lincoln Memorial during a meeting in 1992.
In his memoir, "Mosaic: War Monument Mystery" which will be officially released later this week, Nelson described in great detail how he and his staff created the mural after he was chosen in 1990 to design the wall. His upbringing, life as an industrial designer, and extensive research on the Korean War to sharpen his understanding of it are also thoroughly described in his book.
Asked why the book was published 26 years after the dedication of the mural, Nelson said he thought it was the right time for him to do it.
"There're stories to be told and things to be resolved," the New York-based designer told The Korea Times over the phone on Oct. 29. "It's not all me about the memorial. It's also about my professional work. There are other things that had to be discussed there."
He said South Korea's dramatic rise from a war-torn country 70 years ago to one of the world's most prospering countries also inspired him to work on a book about his experiences with the mural project.
"I think there're very few places that show that kind of prosperity…. So I think there's an important story to be told and there's an audience to hear the story," he said.
Louis Nelson's memoir "Mosaic: War Monument Mystery'Comparing the Korean War Veterans Memorial with that of the Vietnam War, Nelson said the former is much more "human" than the latter in that the Vietnam War memorial simply lists the names of Americans who lost their lives in the drawn out conflict.
His memoir has a thorough account of what he meant by these remarks.
"I trust in what I have designed… Somehow, our team had brought into being a new form of memorial that is far from a man-on-a-horse or a statute on a pedestal or a portrait on a mantelpiece," it reads. "I see Korea and the other monuments designed and built by dedicated individuals brought together for a common purpose… In our time, each of us have stood for what we've believed in, for a struggle that in the end was worth every effort ― whether forgotten or remembered and for the promise of peace after a war."
The Korean War Veterans Memorial was dedicated on July 27, 1995, to commemorate the sacrifices of 5.8 million Americans who served in the U.S. armed forces during the war. Then South Korean President Kim Young-sam and U.S. President Bill Clinton attended the dedication ceremony held 42 years after the signing of the ceasefire that ended the war.
Since then, the memorial has become a symbol of the South Korea-U.S. alliance, attracting high-profile politicians and tourists to take a moment to pay tribute to the men and women who were sacrificed during the war.
Nelson said being chosen as a designer to work on the mural was an extraordinary opportunity which he still cherishes.
"The Korean War memorial is the most important work that I have ever worked on. It's the project that becomes never ending and always grows," he said. "It's just as valued today as it was when I was done."
The war memorial is the only existing place in the United States to officially commemorate the sacrifices of the U.S. servicemen and women who participated in the Korean War. With its designated goal, it serves as a place to remember the forgotten war.
"The rationale behind the establishment of the memorial is that we shouldn't forget the dedication and sacrifices of those who fought for South Korea during the war and this recognition should form the basis of the South Korea-U.S. alliance," a source familiar with the memorial said, asking not to be named as he was not authorized to speak to the media.
The Korean War Memorial will undergo another major change with the incorporation of the Wall of Remembrance on July 27 next year. The wall will have the names of 36,000 American service members and 7,100 Korean Augmentation to the U.S. Army (KATUSA) who lost their lives during the war.
Another Korean War memorial is to be set up in Los Angeles, Thursday, according to a source familiar with the matter.
A flurry of Korean War memorial projects indicates that despite the Korean War breaking out over seven decades ago its legacy still lives on, thanks to the campaign to remember the forgotten war.
The mural at the Korean War Veterans Memorial designed by Louis Nelson / Courtesy of Louis Nelson
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David Maxwell
Senior Fellow
Foundation for Defense of Democracies
Phone: 202-573-8647
Twitter: @davidmaxwell161
FDD is a Washington-based nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.
