|
Quotes of the Day:
"Trust is the foundation of society. Where there is no truth there can be no trust, and where there is no trust, there can be no society."
- Frederick Douglas. Social reformer, abolitionist, orator, and writer, (1818-1895)
"A little knowledge that acts is worth infinitely more than much knowledge that is idle."
- Kahlil Gibran
The most terrible fight is not when there is one opinion against another, the most terrible is when two men say the same thing -- and fight about the interpretation, and this interpretation involves a difference of quality.
- Soren Kierkegaard
1. S. Korea, U.S. set to launch joint military drills this week amid N. Korean threats
2. Trilateral summit helps bolster response to N. Korea's threats: presidential office
3. Thorough preparations are needed for emergency in N. Korea
4. The U.S. Is Beefing Up Alliances in Asia. But Don’t Expect an ‘Asian NATO’
5. U.S., China Try to Draw Nations to Their Side as Divisions Harden
6. Remarks by Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield at a UN Security Council Briefing on the Situation of Human Rights in the DPRK
7. The Camp David summit
8. NK slams UN human rights meeting as US 'scheme'
9. Statement from Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III on United States Trilateral Summit with Japan and the Republic of Korea
10. Joe Biden Wants a Summit with North Korea's Kim Jong-un
11. The Camp David summit signals a new chapter for U.S. alliances in Asia
12. Trilateral summit opens new chapter in security, economic partnership
13. US trilateral summit with Japan, South Korea focused on accelerating 'Anti-China Policy': Report
14. [ANALYSIS] Trilateral ties strengthen deterrence against Pyongyang, but with greater risk
1. S. Korea, U.S. set to launch joint military drills this week amid N. Korean threats
And the UNC will be the force provider of international (sending state) forces to the ROK/US CFC in time of war.
Excerpts:
The U.S. military launched the U.S. Space Forces Korea, a USFK component, in December last year.
Aside from South Korean and U.S. participants, personnel from nine member countries of the U.N. Command (UNC) will join the exercise. The countries are Australia, Canada, France, Britain, Greece, Italy, New Zealand, the Philippines and Thailand, according to the USFK.
The UNC is a key enforcer of the armistice that halted the fighting in the 1950-53 Korean War.
S. Korea, U.S. set to launch joint military drills this week amid N. Korean threats | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Chae Yun-hwan · August 20, 2023
SEOUL, Aug. 20 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and the United States were set to kick off major combined military drills this week as the allies seek to bolster joint readiness against evolving military threats from North Korea.
The annual Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) exercise, based on an all-out war scenario, is set to take place from Monday to Aug. 31, featuring various contingency drills, such as the computer simulation-based command post exercise, concurrent field training and Ulchi civil defense drills.
Some 30 allied field training events are scheduled to take place during the exercise period, compared with 25 during this year's springtime Freedom Shield exercise and 13 in last year's UFS, according to a Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) official.
U.S. Apache helicopters are seen at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, 60 kilometers south of Seoul, on Aug. 14, 2023, ahead of the combined Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise set to take place from Aug. 21 to 31. (Yonhap)
This year's UFS is known to include scenarios to train troops to swiftly transition into wartime as well as to respond to false information possibly spread by Pyongyang during wartime or a contingency.
In addition to the allies' Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine personnel, U.S. space forces will also partake in the drills, according to the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK).
The U.S. military launched the U.S. Space Forces Korea, a USFK component, in December last year.
Aside from South Korean and U.S. participants, personnel from nine member countries of the U.N. Command (UNC) will join the exercise. The countries are Australia, Canada, France, Britain, Greece, Italy, New Zealand, the Philippines and Thailand, according to the USFK.
The UNC is a key enforcer of the armistice that halted the fighting in the 1950-53 Korean War.
The Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission, an observer of the armistice, will also attend the drills. The commission has representatives from Sweden and Switzerland.
Meanwhile, the South Korean military is strengthening its readiness posture against possible military activities by Pyongyang during the exercise period, such as ballistic missile launches.
The North has long accused the allies' military drills of being rehearsals for an invasion against it, with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un recently calling for a "drastic boost" in the country's missile production capability and for war contingency preparations in an "offensive" manner.
Seoul's spy agency told lawmakers Thursday during a closed-door briefing that the North is preparing various provocations in time for the combined drills, such as an intercontinental ballistic missile launch.
U.S. armored vehicles are seen at a U.S. military base in Dongducheon, 41 kilometers north of Seoul, on Aug. 18, 2023, ahead of the combined Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise set to take place from Aug. 21 to 31. (Yonhap)
yunhwanchae@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by Chae Yun-hwan · August 20, 2023
2. Trilateral summit helps bolster response to N. Korea's threats: presidential office
Think about the combined military AND economic power of the three countries.
Excerpt;
"The combined economic size of the three nations accounts for about 31 percent of global gross domestic product. This means an overwhelming economic power that cannot be compared to any other economic blocs or forces," he added.
Trilateral summit helps bolster response to N. Korea's threats: presidential office | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Soo-yeon · August 20, 2023
SEOUL, Aug. 20 (Yonhap) -- The latest trilateral summit among the leaders of South Korea, the United States and Japan at Camp David has helped establish a "basic framework" for coping with North Korea's nuclear and missile threats, Seoul's presidential office said Sunday.
President Yoon Suk Yeol, U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida agreed Friday to significantly expand trilateral security cooperation, pledging to immediately consult one another in the event of common threats, hold annual joint military exercises and closely cooperate to deal with North Korea's threats.
"(With the trilateral summit), a basic framework to tackle North Korea's nuclear and missile threats has been set up," presidential spokesperson Lee Do-woon said in a briefing.
Lee highly appraised the meaning of three key documents adopted by the leaders at the first standalone trilateral summit among the three nations.
"It is very meaningful that it was the first time that the three countries publicly stated the status of their mutual relations to the international community by adopting the documents," Lee said.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol (L), U.S. President Joe Biden (C) and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida hold a joint press conference after their trilateral summit at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland on Aug. 18, 2023. (Yonhap)
The three leaders agreed to consult one another in the event of common threats, dubbed the "Commitment to Consult." In a joint statement titled "The Spirit of Camp David," they agreed to hold annual trilateral summits, conduct three-way defense exercises on an annual basis and operationalize the real-time sharing of missile warning data on North Korea by the end of the year.
A third document outlining the guiding principles for trilateral cooperation, called "Camp David Principles," was also adopted at the summit.
Touching on the economy, Lee said the leaders agreed to expand technological and personnel exchanges in advanced areas, such as artificial intelligence and space, which will pave the way for securing engines of new growth and creating jobs.
"The combined economic size of the three nations accounts for about 31 percent of global gross domestic product. This means an overwhelming economic power that cannot be compared to any other economic blocs or forces," he added.
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Soo-yeon · August 20, 2023
3. Thorough preparations are needed for emergency in N. Korea
Although there are reports debunking this incident, the point of the article is to be prepared for the fallout from such incidents. These incidents could lead to the execution of contingency plans. The question we should be asking is whether our contingency plans are up to date and if we are prepared to execute them in the face of a crisis?
Thorough preparations are needed for emergency in N. Korea
donga.com
Posted August. 19, 2023 08:24,
Updated August. 19, 2023 08:24
Thorough preparations are needed for emergency in N. Korea. August. 19, 2023 08:24. .
The Dong-A Ilbo, referencing an insider versed in North Korean affairs, reported a situation unfolded roughly a month or two ago involving an explosive bomb incident on the fringes of Pyongyang in North Korea. Several local inhabitants attested to hearing a resounding blast accompanied by cries of distress, indicating the occurrence of casualties. The informant did not dismiss the potential of this being a deliberate act of terrorism aimed at a prominent military figure. In response, security measures around Chairman Kim Jong Un are being fortified; noteworthy among these steps is the importation of items believed to be specialized equipment for detecting explosives.
While a conclusive verification remains requisite, the context enveloping the bombing incident in the proximity of tightly monitored and controlled Pyongyang hints at a potentially critical juncture of internal discontent. A parallel sentiment is discernible in the procurement of equipment designed for the detection of explosives. When coupled with the visual account captured in April, portraying Chairman Kim encircled by a retinue of bulletproof-clad bodyguards, it collectively portrays an undercurrent of disquiet within the heart of Pyongyang. Two days ago, the National Intelligence Service reported to the National Assembly that “The Labor Party has taken initiatives to establish region-specific squads tasked with the identification of dissatisfied individuals.”
The primary sources of discontent appear to revolve around the scarcity of sustenance and the stringent oversight of the younger population. Since the commencement of this year, North Korea has implemented restrictions on individual food trade within the jangmadang, channeling efforts towards prioritizing rice procurement for the military. Statistics underline the severity of the situation, with approximately 240 fatalities attributed to starvation recorded between January and July. This figure is double the average of the past five years, and per capita GDP has declined by 12 percent in comparison to figures from six years ago, as reported by the NIS. Although the present circumstances exhibit a relative improvement over the challenging era of the Arduous March during the 1990s, it is plausible that discontent has burgeoned among the younger demographic. The NIS's has detected the “unstoppable criticism and collective protest against the Kim Jong Un family among the younger generation.”
The direct involvement of Kim in military threats adds further impetus to closely monitor the evolving dynamics within North Korea. In August alone, there were two instances where he issued directives to intensify war preparedness. Historically, the North has tended to provoke in times of crisis, often attributing its challenges to external hostile forces as a means of quelling internal discontent. North Korea can deploy ballistic missiles across vast maritime expanses and employ unpredictable strategies to target neighboring regions by sea and air directly. Additionally, internal turmoil could lead to a sudden upheaval, such as a coup d'état. Confirmation of the recent explosion near Pyongyang as a terrorist act would signify an unprecedented form of dissident action. In light of this, it is prudent to revalidate operational plans established through South Korea-U.S. collaboration and execute pragmatic combat drills, concretizing situational scenarios into actionable reality.
한국어
donga.com
4. The U.S. Is Beefing Up Alliances in Asia. But Don’t Expect an ‘Asian NATO’
True, do not expect an Asian NATO. But our hub and spoke alliance system now has a number of larger hubs (AUKUS, QUAD, NATO+AP4, and now JAROKUS) that create more connectivity among the many spokes.
The U.S. Is Beefing Up Alliances in Asia. But Don’t Expect an ‘Asian NATO’
TIME · by Chad de Guzman · August 18, 2023
U.S. President Joe Biden will meet at Camp David in Maryland on Friday with his Japanese and South Korean counterparts for a first-of-its-kind trilateral summit aimed at bolstering security partnerships amid increasing tensions in the Asia-Pacific.
The White House said in July that, aside from addressing the “continued threat” of North Korea’s nuclearization, the leaders will use the meeting to focus on how they can fortify relationships with Southeast Asian and Pacific nations to counter China’s increasing exertion and expansion of its influence in the region. The summit is also expected to touch on maintaining peace in the Taiwan Strait. Two senior Biden officials told Reuters earlier this week that the trilateral alliance will launch “joint initiatives on technology and defense,” and a three-way crisis hotline during the meeting.
The summit is a monumental coming-together for two parties, Japan and South Korea, whose historically strained relationship has been on the mend only in recent months. Some observers have claimed the three-way partnership represents a sort of “mini-NATO,” while others have suggested it could pave the way for a “de facto Asian NATO”—referencing the mutual defense pact formed in 1949 between the U.S., Canada, the U.K., and several European states (since expanding to include almost all of Europe) in response to the security threat posed by the former Soviet Union.
Today, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is most known for its Article 5, which defines an armed attack on any member state as an attack on the entire coalition—and requires a collective response. It’s an appealing concept for some worried about military aggression from Beijing and Pyongyang. But experts tell TIME that a multilateral, U.S.-led Asian defense alliance like NATO “is not feasible,” nor necessary.
The Asia-Pacific is “too diverse politically and economically” to host the formation of a NATO-like construct, Nicholas Szechenyi, deputy director for Asia at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, tells TIME.
For one, Asian nations are certainly not unified in their opinions on the U.S. and China. The U.S. has found democratic allies in some countries in the Indo-Pacific. But many Southeast Asian states, such as Myanmar and Cambodia, are led by authoritarian regimes, which the U.S. has criticized and China has embraced. Meanwhile, other countries are pursuing strategic non-alignment: India, just behind China in military size with 1.4 million active personnel, has vowed not to side with either the U.S. or China.
But at the core of most states’ expected hesitancy to fully commit to a regional defense pact is economic reliance on China. Analysis by the Economist Intelligence Unit shows China dominates trade in Asia, with every major economy in the region having a bigger two-way goods trade relationship with China than with the U.S. “U.S. allies in the region want to maintain economic interdependence with China but are also uncertain about China’s military ambitions,” says Szechenyi. “This is the dilemma for frontline states.”
Riley Walters, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute specializing in international economics and national security, says a NATO-like construct would be redundant given the existence of other, more specific bilateral and multilateral collective defense arrangements. There’s already the Quad (a security dialogue between Australia, India, Japan, and the U.S.), the ANZUS (Australia-New Zealand-U.S.) Treaty, individual alliances with the Philippines and others, and now the trilateral partnership of the U.S., Japan, and South Korea. “I believe the efforts between the U.S., its allies, and with Taiwan, are already working to deter against [North Korea’s] aggression on the Korean Peninsula and conflict in the Taiwan Strait,” Walters tells TIME.
Walters points to the aid sent by the U.S. and other NATO members to Ukraine, a non-member, as evidence that existing alliances can deter and respond to attacks on third parties. Even the actual NATO, which has stated it sees China as a threat to its interests, is already stepping up its presence in the Asia-Pacific region, with Japan and South Korea having been invited to formal talks with the transatlantic congregation earlier this year. “You don’t need to be a member of NATO to get NATO-like support,” Walters says.
More Must-Reads From TIME
Contact us at letters@time.com.
TIME · by Chad de Guzman · August 18, 2023
5. U.S., China Try to Draw Nations to Their Side as Divisions Harden
The two scorecards look very different - one team has a lot more world class members than the other.
U.S., China Try to Draw Nations to Their Side as Divisions Harden
After Biden’s meeting with Japanese and South Korean leaders, Xi Jinping looks for friends at a summit in South Africa
By Peter Landers
Follow and Dasl Yoon
Follow
Aug. 20, 2023 6:53 am ET
https://www.wsj.com/world/asia/u-s-china-try-to-draw-nations-to-their-side-as-divisions-harden-43f1ffd3?mod=hp_lead_pos10
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, President Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida committed to moves to shield their economies from Chinese threats. PHOTO: ADAM SCHULTZ/WHITE HOUSE/ZUMA PRESS
If this isn’t another Cold War, it certainly resembles one.
On the one side, leaders of the U.S., Japan and South Korea, touting their shared democratic values, pledged cooperation in confronting China’s “dangerous and aggressive behavior.”
On the other, Chinese leader Xi Jinping was traveling to South Africa for a summit with developing nations open to Beijing’s wooing. China’s state news agency denounced America as “driven by a desperate bid to salvage its hegemonic power.”
Cold War I, for the U.S., was about assembling allies and friends to counteract the Soviet Union. Two of the most important were Japan, facing Soviet power on its northern edge, and South Korea in its standoff with communist North Korea.
Now those two countries, putting aside longstanding feuds with each other, are teaming up with the U.S. to present a united front against Beijing. At a summit hosted by President Biden on Friday at his Camp David retreat, the three nations committed to annual military exercises and moves to shield their economies from Chinese threats.
They said they would cooperate in areas such as batteries and semiconductors, strengths for both South Korea and Japan, and tighten export controls on technology with military applications. They restated as a group previous U.S. admonitions to Beijing against a Chinese invasion of Taiwan.
“The bargaining positions of all three parties improved vis-à-vis China as a result of the meeting because it is harder for China to drive a wedge in the trilateral relations,” said Tongfi Kim, a professor of Asian geopolitics at the Brussels School of Governance.
The pictures of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol smiling and strolling side by side with Biden would have been hard to imagine as recently as early last year, when Tokyo and Seoul had a long list of disputes over historical issues and were hardly speaking with each other. Since taking office in May 2022, Yoon has systematically shaved down the list, most importantly by proposing a plan to settle World War II-era Korean forced laborers’ claims against Japan without Japanese money.
Japan and South Korea, which both have extensive trade with China, have shifted to a tougher stance toward Beijing this year because of U.S. pressure and concern about Chinese moves. Tokyo has criticized joint China-Russia exercises that included a flotilla navigating around the Japanese archipelago.
Russia’s Vladimir Putin and China’s Xi Jinping are expected to participate in a summit of developing nations in South Africa. PHOTO: SERGEI BOBYLEV/POOL SPUTNIK KREMLIN/ASSOCIATED PRESS
In response to the Camp David meeting, China’s official Xinhua News Agency issued a commentary bristling with anti-American language that could have come from a Brezhnev-era Tass dispatch. Xinhua called the U.S. a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” whose “evil intent is self-evident.”
Xinhua said Japan and South Korea would become the sacrificial lambs of America’s hunger for dominance and be shunned as U.S. lackeys. “By sowing seeds of division and intensifying opposition, the meeting represents a perilous gambit that might resurrect the specter of the Cold War,” Xinhua said.
Beijing is looking to shore up its own friendships among nations in Africa, Latin America and parts of Asia that are traditionally suspicious of U.S. power.
That is the backdrop to the summit of Brics nations—Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa—scheduled to begin Tuesday in Johannesburg, where they will be joined by other African leaders. China’s Xi will attend in person, with Russian President Vladimir Putin expected to join by video link.
A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said the group would “inject stability and positive energy into today’s world.”
The original Cold War likewise featured Soviet attempts to attract developing nations with promises of economic aid mixed with warnings about what the Soviets described as an overbearing and colonialist America.
India, then as now, is a wild card. It has worked in the past few years with the U.S., Japan and Australia in the grouping known as the Quad, including military exercises, and is enmeshed in a sometimes-bloody border dispute with China, but it also relies on Russian military equipment.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is attending the South Africa summit in person alongside Xi, and analysts say India is likely to work to prevent the Brics group from becoming a vehicle for expanding China’s influence.
“It is not at all clear how this world will resolve into a predictable set of coalitions,” said Sheila Smith, a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. She forecast an era of fluidity in which major powers “play in multiple coalitions simultaneously, and try to influence others to align—and stay aligned—with them.”
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
3:08
Paused
0:00
/
5:05
TAP FOR SOUND
China sees NATO expansion as a threat, but concerns over Beijing’s intentions have prompted the alliance to boost ties in the Pacific. WSJ’s Shelby Holliday takes a look at what NATO partnerships could mean in the event of a conflict over Taiwan. Illustration: David Fang
Even South Korea and Japan aren’t sure bets to stick with the framework they agreed upon at Camp David. That is why Biden, himself facing a re-election fight next year, tried hard to lock the three-way alliance into place with commitments to annual meetings and exercises. Seoul and Tokyo are worried about economic retaliation from China, and Japan fears getting dragged into a conflict over Taiwan.
In South Korea, Yoon’s rapprochement with Japan has faced sharp criticism from the opposition, which already outnumbers the president’s forces in the national legislature and wants to improve its position in April 2024 legislative elections.
“The summit resulted in a positive security platform, but things could change quickly in Seoul and Tokyo depending on public opinion on historical disputes or an administration change in Washington,” said Yang Kee-ho, a professor of Japanese studies at Sungkonghoe University in Seoul.
Write to Peter Landers at Peter.Landers@wsj.com and Dasl Yoon at dasl.yoon@wsj.com
6. Remarks by Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield at a UN Security Council Briefing on the Situation of Human Rights in the DPRK
The ten defectors (escapees) -– or better described, activists – the Ambassador is referring to are part of the North Korean Young Leaders Assembly which was organized by escapees from the north with the full support of the Global Peace Foundation and I was honored to be able to participate in it. I fully concur with the Ambassador's statement: we must follow their example.
Excerpts:
I recently met with ten young defectors from the DPRK who risked everything for freedom. And I was brought to tears as they told me about their dangerous escapes. Sometimes twice as they were returned after their first attempts. They told me about harrowing conditions from which they fled. About what it’s like to be separated from their loved ones. One defector said he wants nothing more than to see his dad again. He told me how much it pains him to not be able to wish his dad a happy birthday.
But while the defectors I met are cut off from their country, they have never – never – stopped dreaming of a brighter future for the DPRK. They have never stopped fighting for those who still live under tyranny. We must follow the example of these young activists, like Mr. Kim.
Remarks by Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield at a UN Security Council Briefing on the Situation of Human Rights in the DPRK
https://usun.usmission.gov/remarks-by-ambassador-linda-thomas-greenfield-at-a-un-security-council-briefing-on-the-situation-of-human-rights-in-the-dprk/?fbclid=IwAR1np8k7C-LBSgnEdUlnSDVcNUiDEQEh_JLcM_wEayA1xdBqMnr4ddftQhE&utm
Home | | Remarks by Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield at a UN Security Council Briefing on the Situation of Human Rights in the DPRK
Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield Chairs the United Nations Security Council meeting: The situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield
U.S. Representative to the United Nations
New York, New York
August 17, 2023
AS DELIVERED
Let me start by thanking High Commissioner Türk and Special Rapporteur Salmón for your sobering briefings and your recommendations to this Council. The human rights violations and abuses you detailed are so horrific they are almost unfathomable.
But today, we heard from someone who lived these horrors – and who shared his story with the world. Mr. Kim, I am inspired by you. I am inspired by your bravery. By your speaking out, you have helped advance the dignity and the rights of people in the DPRK. And I thank you profusely for your presence today. And I hope all members of this Council heard your appeal directly to all of us.
Colleagues, this year, we mark the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which recognizes that: “the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice, and peace.” The vast majority of the world, and every Security Council member, has signed on to this foundational document. And this Council has repeatedly affirmed its responsibility to protect human rights – given its inherent connection to conflict and stability.
Now, this Council has not always lived up to that responsibility. But there have been recent flashes of progress. In April, for example, we unanimously adopted a resolution condemning the Taliban’s restrictions on women and girls. And last December, we adopted a resolution on Myanmar that called on all parties to respect human rights.
Still, this Council has been silent on a host of other human rights abuses, including abuses carried out by one of the most repressive and totalitarian states in the world: the DPRK. You all just heard, from all three of our briefers, who describe the situation that we are faced with from the DPRK.
Inaction is unacceptable, which is why the United States joined Albania and Japan in requesting this long-overdue meeting. This is an undeniable matter of international peace and security – one that demands the Council’s attention. Especially because the human rights situation in the DPRK has not improved since the UN Commission of Inquiry issued its landmark report almost a decade ago – which found the DPRK government had committed: “systematic, widespread, and gross human rights violations.” And that “in many instances, the violations entailed crimes against humanity.”
Reports indicate the DPRK continues to hold more than 80,000 individuals in political prison camps – where, according to reports, they are widely subjected to arbitrary or summary executions, torture, starvation, gender-based violence, forced abortions, and forced labor.
The DPRK government has also engaged in acts of transnational repression against its own citizens and foreign nationals. The DPRK’s activities abroad have included assassination, surveillance, intimidation, abduction, and forced repatriation. Sometimes with the assistance of other governments. And sometimes without the consent of other governments, which shows the DPRK’s lack of respect for state sovereignty.
Colleagues, we cannot have peace without human rights. And the DPRK is a case in point. Kim Jong Un’s repressive, totalitarian control of society – and the systemic, widespread denial of human rights and fundamental freedoms – ensures the regime can expend inordinate public resources developing its unlawful WMD and ballistic missile programs, without public objection. This war machine – which stands in violation of multiple Security Council resolutions – is powered by repression and cruelty.
But make no mistake: the regime neglects the well-being of people in the DPRK. Its food distribution policies favors the military, and lead to chronic malnourishment among its citizens. Pyongyang also relies on forced labor and the exploitation of workers – domestically and overseas – to power its unlawful weapons programs.
Security Council Resolution 2397 required all Member States to repatriate DPRK nationals earning income in their jurisdiction no later than December 2019. Unfortunately, instead of repatriating some individuals and fulfilling their Security Council obligations, some Council members have repatriated people who have fled the DPRK. People seeking a better life, people seeking freedom. People in need of protection, like Mr. Kim.
I recently met with ten young defectors from the DPRK who risked everything for freedom. And I was brought to tears as they told me about their dangerous escapes. Sometimes twice as they were returned after their first attempts. They told me about harrowing conditions from which they fled. About what it’s like to be separated from their loved ones. One defector said he wants nothing more than to see his dad again. He told me how much it pains him to not be able to wish his dad a happy birthday.
But while the defectors I met are cut off from their country, they have never – never – stopped dreaming of a brighter future for the DPRK. They have never stopped fighting for those who still live under tyranny. We must follow the example of these young activists, like Mr. Kim.
The modern world has no place for the DPRK government’s brutality. And the international community, and this Council – this Council – must continue to speak out against this injustice and its destabilizing impact on regional and international peace and security.
The United States has made human rights a key focus of our presidency of the Security Council this month. And we will continue to promote human rights and fundamental freedoms at home and around the world.
No country has a perfect human rights record. We all have our flaws. But in open societies, people can protest, they can drive progress forward. In the DPRK – a closed, hermetically sealed country – everything is shrouded in secrecy. People are under constant surveillance. And those who speak out can be thrown in prison, or worse, even executed. So we must give voice to the voiceless. And we must take up their cause.
I suspect some in this Chamber will shrug off Mr. Kim’s brave testimony or call this meeting another demonstration of U.S. hostility. That is deeply cynical and it’s absurd. This meeting has always had a singular objective: to fight for the rights of the people in the DPRK. To fight for international peace and security.
And it is unfortunate that some continue to try to protect the DPRK government from international accountability. But courageous defectors, UN experts, reporters will continue to expose further abuses. They will continue to demand accountability. And this Council – this Council – must continue to call out the DPRK regime’s human rights violations and abuses.
So Colleagues, let us work together. In the words of Mr. Kim, for world peace and for a better future for humanity.
Thank you.
7. The Camp David summit
Another punit misses the trilateral statement of support for Korean unification in both the Camp David Principles and the Spirit of Camp David communiques.
But my criticism aside, Mr. Bremmer provides a useful perspective on one of the most worrisome issues with the summit and the agreements, i.e., can and will they be sustained in the future? I think his comments are insightful and I share in his cautious optimism.
Excerpts:
Clearly this is all of a piece with growing US-led security architecture in Asia. We see it with AUKUS and the submarine deal with the Australians. We see it with the Quad and India becoming much closer with the United States and its allies, especially on national security related issues. We also see it with the routine and regular participation of Japan and South Korea in NATO summits. And indeed, going forward, I expect that there will be more willingness on the basis of Japan's working with South Korea now through these Camp David principles to open the Quad to South Korea participation. Canada may well be very interested in that too. All of which bodes well for America's reach and alignment of its standards and values with other countries. And something that I believe would also last beyond the Biden administration. I don't expect that Trump is going to have anything nice to say about Biden here.
It's not his style, but I do think that he would uphold if he were to become president these regular trilateral meetings. In other words, something as opposed to the Iranian nuclear deal as opposed to the failed effort to get the transpacific partnership, the Paris Climate Accord that is bounced around from one administration to the next. This is a piece of foundational architecture that can be built upon over time, in large part because the Japanese and South Koreans are themselves so deeply committed to it. The problem of course, is China. So much of the reason why you have the willingness to form this architecture around Asia is because of greater concerns that China is a national security threat. Some of that is driven by greater decoupling of national security related elements of the global economy away from China. When you're talking about the US and its allies, some of that is greater military confrontation over Taiwan in the South China Sea, in the East China Sea.
The Camp David summit
gzeromedia.com · by Ian Bremmer · August 18, 2023
Ian Bremmer's Quick Take: Hi everybody. Ian Bremmer here and a Quick Take on the Camp David Principles, the historic meeting taking place in Camp David today between President Biden, the Japanese Prime Minister Kishida, and South Korean President Yoon. It's historic. It's a big deal. It's worth talking about. And frankly, I consider this to be the most significant successful piece of diplomacy of the Biden administration to date. It is roughly equivalent in my mind to the Abraham Accords of the Trump administration. In that case, this was leading to direct diplomatic engagement, opening relations between Israel, America's top ally in the region and the UAE, Bahrain and Morocco, other American allies in the region. With the Saudis, not signing, but certainly getting closer. It's important in part because it stabilized a region that matters to the United States. It also allows for better strategic coordination long-term, and it is broadly speaking, supported by both sides.
Biden had only positive things to say about the Abraham Accords, and in indeed, if we see a Saudi breakthrough that would happen in the context of those accords. Democrats, Republicans can all agree that this was a positive move for the United States in the region. So too, that is true of this breakthrough, the Camp David principles with the most important US ally in Asia, Japan, and South Korea. Another very important ally of the United States, probably the second most important, certainly when you look at the troops that the Americans have positioned there. The level of regular engagement of certainly of the exercises that occur, the level of economic, of military aid and technology transfer that occurs, all of that is pretty significant. Here you have a relationship that really should have been much better between Japan and South Korea, and hasn't been for a long time, improved in part because the South Korea-China relationship got so much worse when the South Koreans decided they needed their THAAD missile defense system from the United States to defend them against North Korea.
The Chinese took vigorous exception and put sanctions against the South Koreans and there was economic damage. The Communist Party supported major demonstrations against South Korea and that really changed the view on the ground. And since then, we now have an election with a South Korean president that is much more oriented towards the west, much more hawkish towards North Korea and China. And a Japanese prime minister that is much more willing to take risks internationally that may not play as well at home. A much softer and willingness to engage with the South Koreans than, for example, Prime Minister Abe had been. Put all of that together and Biden takes advantage of an opportunity in front of him. And what we now see will be annual summits going forward, a commitment to consult on any security threat, which is not the same as a commitment to defend, but a recognition that there will be coordination stepping up regular military exercises as well as the first ever trilateral security hotline being created.
Clearly this is all of a piece with growing US-led security architecture in Asia. We see it with AUKUS and the submarine deal with the Australians. We see it with the Quad and India becoming much closer with the United States and its allies, especially on national security related issues. We also see it with the routine and regular participation of Japan and South Korea in NATO summits. And indeed, going forward, I expect that there will be more willingness on the basis of Japan's working with South Korea now through these Camp David principles to open the Quad to South Korea participation. Canada may well be very interested in that too. All of which bodes well for America's reach and alignment of its standards and values with other countries. And something that I believe would also last beyond the Biden administration. I don't expect that Trump is going to have anything nice to say about Biden here.
It's not his style, but I do think that he would uphold if he were to become president these regular trilateral meetings. In other words, something as opposed to the Iranian nuclear deal as opposed to the failed effort to get the transpacific partnership, the Paris Climate Accord that is bounced around from one administration to the next. This is a piece of foundational architecture that can be built upon over time, in large part because the Japanese and South Koreans are themselves so deeply committed to it. The problem of course, is China. So much of the reason why you have the willingness to form this architecture around Asia is because of greater concerns that China is a national security threat. Some of that is driven by greater decoupling of national security related elements of the global economy away from China. When you're talking about the US and its allies, some of that is greater military confrontation over Taiwan in the South China Sea, in the East China Sea.
And that's happening at a time when the Chinese economy is performing very badly. Now, there's a big question in how Xi Jinping is going to react to all of this. It's a bad time economically for him to be getting into a bigger fight with the Americans and others. He needs as much economic stability and growth as he can get, but that doesn't mean that he's going to sit and take it. There are political stability issues. He doesn't want to be seen as weak. He and his advisors all believe that the Americans are trying to contain Chinese growth and they see all sorts of policies that are being put in place, particularly by the Americans that lend support to that belief. And as a consequence of that, I think we are likely to see at least some level of Chinese response and reaction. We'll see how much of that plays out at the BRICS summit up coming in South Africa.
We'll watch the Chinese statements very carefully there. But certainly all of this puts a very big focus on what is expected to be a Biden-Xi Jinping summit at APEC in San Francisco in November. I'm certainly planning on spending the week out there, assuming it happens. And at this point I do believe it's very likely. It is the one chance to see if you can try to stabilize a relationship that continues to deteriorate, despite all stated efforts by Biden and Xi Jinping otherwise. And the fact is that Xi Jinping has different expectations of that meeting than Biden does. I think the Chinese expect this is all but a state visit. Biden expects a very important working level meeting with none of the pomp and circumstance. Can that circle be squared? And if it can't, does that mean that the meeting is off? We'll see. We'll see. I'm still optimistic, but all of the news that we're seeing is only making it both more important and more challenging to pull that summit meeting off.
Anyway, that's it for me and I'll talk to you all real soon.
gzeromedia.com · by Ian Bremmer · August 18, 2023
8. NK slams UN human rights meeting as US 'scheme'
This Is one reason why we need to sustain a human rights upfront approach. It puts pressure on the regime that it cannot handle.
It is not only a moral imperative but a national security issue too. Kim must deny human rights to remain in power. Kim prioritizes the development of nuclear weapons and missiles over the welfare and human rights of the Korean people living in the north.
Lastly the Korean people in the north need to know they are entitled to universal or inalienable human frights like all human beings.
As an aside I would like to point out that the Defense Forum Foundation and the North Korean Freedom Coalition send the Universal declaration of Human Rights into the north.
You can see the list of all the items they send into the north on this flyer. If you cannot see the flyer please go to this link: https://defenseforumfoundation.org/operation-truth/read-the-truth-flyer.html?
Anyone can make a contribution to send various types of information into the north. Please do contribute.
Here is a message I sent to the Korea people in the north:
Dear Korean friends in the north,
I am a retired American soldier who has spent more than 30 years living and working on the Korean peninsula to help prevent war and preserve freedom for all Koreans. I admire and respect the Korean people with their long proud history. The division of the peninsula pains me as I see two starkly different sides of the DMZ. The Republic of Korea is a Global Pivotal State that chooses to be a peaceful nuclear power, a partner in the arsenal of democracy, a champion for human rights, and a nation that supports the rules based international order. In the north I see the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) that is a failed state and a pariah that is universally despised due to the inept and corrupt Workers Party of Korea that causes the unbearable suffering of the Korean people in the north because it prioritizes dangerous but poor quality nuclear weapons and missiles that often fail over the welfare of people. The ROK uses its superior nuclear power to provide light to the free Koreans in the South and to other countries around the world while the Kim family regime sacrifices the health and welfare of the captive Korean people in the north simply to try to blackmail the world with nuclear threats. We know that the reason the Korean people in the north survive is because of their sheer will to live, their ingenuity, and the markets they have developed. The DPRK name itself is a lie: it is not democratic; it is not a republic, and it certainly does not belong to the Korean people. This is the contradiction that is north Korea – it is not a country of any world stature – it is merely the prison run by an evil that holds captive 25 million Koreans. I long for the day when all Koreans will be free and live on a unified peninsula that has a liberal constitutional form of government based on freedom and individual liberty, free market economic principles, universal human rights, and the rule of law as determined by the Korean people. It should be called a United Republic of Korea – UROK.
NK slams UN human rights meeting as US 'scheme'
The Korea Times · August 19, 2023
Kim Il-hyeok, a North Korean defector, speaks during a meeting of the United Nations Security Council to discuss the situation in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, at United Nations headquarters, Aug. 17. AP-Yonhap
North Korea slammed a recent United Nations meeting about its human rights record, asserting the United States used the international organization for a "scheme" against Pyongyang, state media KCNA reported Saturday.
The U.N. Security Council discussed human rights abuses in North Korea, Thursday, with the U.S. ambassador criticizing leader Kim Jong Un for using "repression and cruelty" to develop nuclear weapons and missiles.
U.S. President Joe Biden and the leaders of South Korea and Japan agreed at Camp David, Friday, to deepen military and economic cooperation in facing China's growing power and nuclear threats from North Korea. They also agreed to hold military training exercises annually and share real-time information on North Korean missile launches by the end of the year.
China, North Korea's major ally, opposed the meeting of the 15-member council on abuses in North Korea but it did not attempt to block it.
"We will never tolerate the U.S. and its followers' anti-(North Korea) 'human rights' slander scheme, and will defend the sovereignty of the state, the socialist system and security interests," North Korea's KCNA quoted as an unnamed spokesperson from the country's human rights think tank as saying.
For decades Pyongyang has highlighted racial discrimination in the United States as what it calls an example of Washington's hypocrisy.
North Korea said Wednesday that an American soldier, Travis King who crossed into North Korea last month, had fled racism and abuse in America. (Reuters)
The Korea Times · August 19, 2023
9. Statement from Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III on United States Trilateral Summit with Japan and the Republic of Korea
I missed this in my rollup of statements from the Summit.
Statement from Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III on United States Trilateral Summit with Japan and the Republic of Korea
defense.gov
Release
Immediate Release
Aug. 18, 2023 |×
Share
Today is a historic day for the United States and two of our closest allies. Under the leadership of President Biden, Prime Minister Kishida, and President Yoon, we have advanced a new era of trilateral partnership with Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK). Today's summit reaffirmed that cooperation among our three countries delivers security and prosperity for our people, the Indo-Pacific region, and the world.
We are working more closely than ever with the ROK and Japan in support of a common vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific region. The agreements our three countries made today will further our shared commitments to meeting the challenges we face together, including through committing to a multi-year trilateral framework that includes annual, multi-domain trilateral exercises, activating a data-sharing mechanism to exchange real-time missile warning data that will improve mutual detection and assessment of DPRK missile launches, and leveraging existing secure lines of communications while continuing to build and institutionalize our respective communication channels.
Our leaders have charted an ambitious course for our mutual defense and for the security of our people, and I look forward to continued cooperation with Minister Hamada and Minister Lee as our teams work to implement these initiatives moving forward.
Austin Defense Secretary Japan South Korea Indo-Pacific
defense.gov
10. Joe Biden Wants a Summit with North Korea's Kim Jong-un
I think the author may be misunderstanding US administration statements. I do not think anyone in the current administration has been calling for a summit with Kim Jong Un. I think they have made general statements about negotiating anywhere, anytime, without preconditions. But that is not the same as calling for a summit between the leaders.
Of course the author is from the UK and it could be a "translation" issue because, afterall, "England and America are two countries separated by the same language."
Joe Biden Wants a Summit with North Korea's Kim Jong-un
19fortyfive.com · by Georgia Gilholy · August 19, 2023
US President Joe Biden is ready to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in direct talks about the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula, bypassing any preconditions, according to a senior White House official.
“They have not responded positively to that offer, but it’s still on the table. We are willing to sit down and negotiate without preconditions,” White House national security spokesman John Kirby told Japanese media.
This announcement came just ahead of Friday’s trilateral summit, where Biden will meet the leaders of Japan and South Korea.
One of the central issues on the agenda will be North Korea’s rapid advancement in nuclear and missile capabilities.
The revelation of the potential high-level meeting, shared by Kirby without specifying the exact timing of the offer, signals a renewed effort by the Biden administration to establish communication with North Korea.
Mira Rapp-Hooper, the National Security Council’s senior director for East Asia, disclosed that recent weeks have intensified attempts to bring North Korea to the negotiating table.
This effort has been further motivated by an incident involving a US soldier stationed in South Korea who crossed into North Korea without authorization a month ago.
Regarding North Korea’s lack of response, Kirby explained, “But absent that, and thus far he has shown no interest in that, we’ve got to make sure that we are ready in every other respect to defend our national security interests and those of our Korean and Japanese allies.”
Kirby also mentioned the possibility of increased regional capability: “That means putting more capability in the region which we have, and we will certainly consider doing that again in the future if we have to.”
However, Kirby emphasized that while there could be unpredictable actions, speculating too much on the matter wouldn’t be productive.
He stated, “there could be some sort of provocative action, but we just don’t know what that’s going to look like and it wouldn’t be a good use of our time in worrying too much about that.”
Poor Relations with North Korea
Diplomatic relations between the United States and North Korea remain absent, although Kim’s government maintains a UN mission in New York.
Despite attempts by the Biden administration to establish direct communication earlier this year, the Kim regime made clear it was not keen.
Markus Garlauskas, who heads the Indo-Pacific Security Initiative at the Atlantic Council, told USA Today that North Korea is currently adopting a confrontational stance and intensifying its efforts in developing nuclear and missile technologies.
North Korea’s demands include the cessation of U.S. military exercises in the region and the removal of sanctions linked to its nuclear and missile programs.
However, even if the U.S. were to comply with these demands, Garlauskas believes that North Korea would persist in expanding its weapons programs.
This contradicts the narrative presented by North Korea in 2018, when they suggested the potential for denuclearization and a more receptive attitude towards dialogue.
US Citizens Detained in North Korea
Biden also faces challenges in securing the release of detained Americans from hostile nations, particularly focusing on the case of Pvt. 2nd Class Travis King who crossed into North Korea and was taken into custody in July.
This incident highlights the difficulties Biden’s administration faces in negotiating for the release of detainees due to North Korea’s history of leveraging detainees for concessions.
Trump secured the release of American detainees from North Korea through diplomatic engagement.
At the same time, Biden has also relied on prisoner swaps to bring detained Americans home.
WRITTEN BY
Georgia Gilholy
Georgia Gilholy is a journalist based in the United Kingdom who has been published in Newsweek, The Times of Israel, and the Spectator. Gilholy writes about international politics, culture, and education.
From the Vault
‘You Really Oughta Go Home’: F-22 Raptor Stealth Fighter Flew Under F-4 From Iran
A Second American Civil War?
Something Is Terribly Wrong With Former President Trump
19fortyfive.com · by Georgia Gilholy · August 19, 2023
11. The Camp David summit signals a new chapter for U.S. alliances in Asia
Our hub and spoke system is now with big hubs and losts of interconnected spokes.
The Camp David summit signals a new chapter for U.S. alliances in Asia
NPR · by By · August 19, 2023
Leaders in South Korea, Japan and the United States are celebrating new security agreements announced Friday. The plans, which are not treaties, come as the countries' Asian rivals also grow closer.
SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
And we now turn to the regional view of what the Camp David summit looks like. Leaders of the U.S., South Korea and Japan ended an unprecedented three-way meeting yesterday there. The U.S. and its allies describe their partnership as a new force in the region. NPR's Anthony Kuhn is in Seoul. Anthony, thanks for being with us.
ANTHONY KUHN, BYLINE: Nice to join you, Scott.
SIMON: And what does reaction been there to the summit?
KUHN: The main reaction in Asia seems to be that the summit is unprecedented, but it's also largely symbolic. And the symbolism the three countries want to convey is that they are united, and countries such as North Korea, China and Russia will not be able to exploit the differences between them. Now, one of the outcomes is what the U.S. is calling a commitment to consult among the three nations about potential threats. So in the event of, for example, a North Korean nuclear test or a disruption to supply chains, the three will consult and coordinate their responses. There will also be an annual three-way leadership summits and military drills. I think everyone is clear that this is not a three-way alliance under discussion. It's still two bilateral alliances between the U.S. and Japan and between the U.S. and Korea, and that's because there is still not enough trust between Japan and Korea to support a bilateral alliance with each other or a three-way alliance with the US.
SIMON: With that lack of trust, how did the summit come about?
KUHN: Well, the mistrust is left over from Japan's colonial occupation of Korea from 1910 to 1945. During World War II, for example, Japan's military forced Korean and other women into sexual slavery. Thousands of Koreans were conscripted as forced laborers. And South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol essentially said that if Japan is not going to compensate these forced laborers, then South Korea will. Japan insisted, laid the matter to rest when the two countries normalized relations in the 1960s. But this remains a major sticking point between the two. And most South Koreans want Japan, not South Korea, to compensate Koreans. Despite this, the two countries held their first summit meetings in 12 years in March, and Washington, which had been nudging them to do it, is delighted.
SIMON: Deals reached at Camp David are supposed to survive any subsequent changes in political administrations and public opinion that occur in democracies. Can they really do that?
KUHN: Anything could happen. But the Biden administration is trying to lock in the progress that's been made by institutionalizing it. And here's how national security adviser Jake Sullivan put it to reporters.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
JAKE SULLIVAN: Every leader's going to have to make decisions. But the architecture, the framework, the structure that's being put in place now, from our perspective, has a tailwind behind it that will propel it forward and be very difficult to knock off course.
KUHN: Now, of course, there is concern in Japan and South Korea about another Trump administration, or someone like him, who has questioned the value of alliances. And it's also rare that you get this alignment of leaders in Japan and South Korea that are so friendly to each other.
SIMON: Anthony, how might this agreement affect ties among North Korea, China and Russia?
KUHN: Yes. Well, the Camp David summit documents call out Russia over its war on Ukraine, North Korea for its nuclear weapons and China for its activities around Taiwan in the South China Sea. Pyongyang, Beijing and Moscow are, of course, not happy about the summit. They're tightening their cooperation. The U.S. claims that North Korea's already supplying Russia with arms for use in Ukraine. Russia and China, meanwhile, occasionally stage joint military drills around South Korea and Japan probing the allies defenses, so the summit could strengthen these rival blocs.
SIMON: NPR's Anthony Kuhn in Seoul. Thanks so much for being with us.
KUHN: Thank you.
NPR · by By · August 19, 2023
12. Trilateral summit opens new chapter in security, economic partnership
Trilateral summit opens new chapter in security, economic partnership
koreaherald.com · by Choi Si-young · August 20, 2023
By Choi Si-young
Published : 2023-08-20 15:45:29
President Yoon Suk Yeol (far left) with US President Joe Biden (center) and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at Camp David in Maryland, the US, Friday. (Yonhap)
South Korea, the US and Japan agreed to bolster security and economic cooperation at a Camp David summit Friday that sought a stronger coalition on China and North Korea, signing for the first time a pledge to jointly respond to common security threats.
The summit US President Joe Biden held with President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at his presidential retreat condemned China’s “dangerous and aggressive behavior” in the South China Sea, reaffirming peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.
In a statement, the three leaders said they “strongly oppose any unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the Indo-Pacific,” a reference to China’s claims that, if necessary, it could take over Taiwan, a self-ruled democratic island America supports.
The three leaders said they would share real-time data on North Korea’s missile launches by setting up a hot line for crisis communications. Joint military exercises will take place annually to prepare the US-led coalition for provocations from the North, a country that defies United Nations sanctions placed over its nuclear weapons programs.
Yoon stressed that the three nations had rolled out concrete steps to enhance joint response capabilities as North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats become more sophisticated than ever. They, Yoon added, will establish a working-level group to curb Pyongyang’s cyber activities meant to expand its nuclear arsenal. The steps to be taken make up a framework on dealing with North Korea, according to Yoon’s office.
The highlight of the summit was a “Commitment to Consult,” a three-way agreement to coordinate responses to “regional challenges, provocations and threats” affecting common interests. The commitment is not a pact binding each other to defend each other in the event of an attack, as it does not “give rise to rights or obligations under international or domestic law.”
But the commitment represents a bold step for both Seoul and Tokyo, which have only recently put behind their acrimony stemming from Japan’s 1910-45 occupation of the Korean Peninsula.
“It is the most of what they could come up with right now given what they just went through,” said Park Won-gon, a professor of North Korean studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, referring to the thaw in May when the two leaders revived “shuttle diplomacy” or their visits to each other’s countries after a 12-year hiatus.
Choi Eun-mi, a research fellow at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul, said the two neighbors need “trust big enough to take their security ties to the next level,” a condition they have yet to see, Choi noted, citing public opinion.
Some Koreans consider resuming shuttle diplomacy coming at the expense of Seoul being overly soft on Tokyo for its colonial wrongs.
“The Korean and Japanese governments should do more to convince their people that this pledge is a good deal,” said Lim Eul-chul, a professor at Kyungnam University’s Institute for Far Eastern Studies in Seoul.
China’s potential economic blowback also concerns South Korea. China’s state-run Global Times newspaper accused the US-led coalition of forming a “mini-NATO” group that harms regional security, referring to the Western military alliance. Beijing retaliated against Seoul in 2017 over its decision to host a US-made anti-missile battery.
“We need to double down on closer Seoul-Tokyo ties to fight off North Korea. We will have to make room for China as well but that shouldn’t mean we don’t do what we are supposed to do in the face of escalating nuclear threats,” Shin Kak-soo, former South Korean ambassador to Japan, said.
South Korea could use the latest pact to communicate its North Korean concerns better to China, according to Kang Jun-young, a professor of Chinese studies at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul.
“The security arrangement bringing Seoul, Washington and Tokyo sends a message to Beijing,” Kang said. “That is China too needs to adjust policy on South Korea,” Kang added, referring to Beijing’s public warning early this year that Seoul’s pro-US policies could bring it harm.
Meanwhile, the Camp David summit discussed launching early warnings for supply chain shortages, a system meant to de-risk from China, the top trade partner for both Seoul and Tokyo. The South has been reluctant to take part in Biden administration trade curbs aimed at preventing China from accessing cutting-edge technologies.
The US-led coalition will hold a second trilateral summit next year, having decided to have their foreign, defense and trade ministers as well as national security chiefs meet together at least once a year. Yoon suggested that South Korea host the next meeting.
koreaherald.com · by Choi Si-young · August 20, 2023
13. US trilateral summit with Japan, South Korea focused on accelerating 'Anti-China Policy': Report
Anti-China without hardly mentioning China.
US trilateral summit with Japan, South Korea focused on accelerating 'Anti-China Policy': Report
theprint.in · by ANI · August 19, 2023
The move comes after nearly a year of increased testing by North Korea of new types of ballistic, cruise, and hypersonic missiles, which it says are intended to counter the threat posed by US forces, and which the US calls provocative.
On Friday, the United States, Japan, and South Korea, in a joint statement, condemned the “dangerous and aggressive behaviour” of China and expressed stern opposition against any attempt to change the status quo in the Indo-Pacific.
After the first-ever trilateral summit between the three countries held in the US, a joint statement was released titled ‘The Spirit of Camp David’ expressing support for their collective alliance.
The three nations expressed commitment to expanding cooperation trilaterally and raising shared ambition to a new horizon across domains and across the Indo-Pacific and beyond.
Additionally, the joint declaration by US, Japan and South Korea expressed shared concerns over Chinese actions in supporting unlawful maritime claims in the South China Sea, as well as their strong opposition to any unilateral actions by Beijing aimed at changing the existing situation in the Indo-Pacific waters.
They also opposed the militarization of reclaimed features; the dangerous use of coast guard and maritime militia vessels and coercive activities, and further expressed concern about illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing.
The three countries also reiterated their commitment to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, emphasizing that the basic positions on Taiwan remain unchanged, and they called for peaceful resolutions to cross-Strait matters.
They also announced holding the first trilateral meeting between the finance ministers and launching a new commerce and industry ministers track that will meet annually. An annual Trilateral Indo-Pacific Dialogue will also be launched to coordinate the implementation of Indo-Pacific approaches and to continually identify new areas for common action.
Expressing support for the ASEAN-led regional architecture, the three countries affirmed commitment to working closely with ASEAN partners to support robust implementation and mainstreaming of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific.
US, Japan and South Korea also reaffirmed the commitment towards “complete denuclearization” by North Korea in accordance with relevant UNSC resolutions and urged Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
The three countries added that in addition to the security partnership, they will also maintain focus on building robust cooperation in the economic security and technology spheres.
“We are fully committed to continuing to eliminate barriers to economic participation and build diverse, accessible, and inclusive economies in which all our people—including women and marginalized groups—can succeed. We will work to further strengthen our people-to-people ties, including among our young people and students,” the joint statement further read.
They also stated that the trilateral summit marks a “new chapter” in their relationship and the three countries depart from Camp David with a “shared resolve and optimism for the future”. (ANI)
This report is auto-generated from ANI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
theprint.in · by ANI · August 19, 2023
14. [ANALYSIS] Trilateral ties strengthen deterrence against Pyongyang, but with greater risk
[ANALYSIS] Trilateral ties strengthen deterrence against Pyongyang, but with greater risk
The Korea Times · by 2023-08-19 05:51 | Foreign Affairs · August 20, 2023
President Yoon Suk Yeol and his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida shake hands during their trilateral summit with U.S. President Joe Biden at Camp David, the presidential retreat, near Thurmont, Md., Friday (local time). Reuters-Yonhap
Experts' views differ on sustainability of Seoul-Washington-Tokyo security partnership
By Jung Min-ho
The leaders of South Korea, the United States and Japan said their trilateral partnership entered a new era after the summit at Camp David, Friday (local time), vowing to redouble their joint efforts in handling security challenges in the Indo-Pacific region.
In a joint statement in which they directly mentioned China, Russia and North Korea, President Yoon Suk Yeol, U.S. President Joe Biden and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida committed themselves to united actions against their common threats, saying the partnership is "stronger than ever."
Speaking to The Korea Times on Sunday, experts said the summit hosted by Washington was a truly historic one, which offers many opportunities and promises to South Korea. One of the most obvious and significant benefits will be stronger deterrence against a nuclear-armed North Korea. But they also warned of greater geopolitical risks that the country now has to face, along with all the diplomatic gains.
"What's more important than winning a war against North Korea is preventing it in the first place, with overwhelming military forces. In this regard, the meeting was a success for South Korea, which cannot handle the threats alone at this point," said Kim Yeoul-soo, an analyst at the Korea Institute for Military Affairs, a think tank.
What was agreed at the summit is expected to be maintained even if Donald Trump returns to the White House ― one of the biggest risk factors to the partnership ― given that it includes the core interests of all three parties and a system in place for regular, deep-level exchanges, he said.
"The agreements include strengthened deterrence against North Korea for the South, joint efforts against Chinese threats to the Senkaku Islands for Japan, and the U.S.' global agenda including countering Beijing's clout in Asia," Kim said.
"Given their plans for regular trilateral meetings between not just leaders but also other top officials and bipartisan support for anti-Beijing measures in the U.S. Congress, a potential Trump win won't be overturned immediately."
U.S. President Joe Biden stands with President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during a joint news conference at Camp David, the presidential retreat, near Thurmont, Md., Friday (local time). AP-Yonhap
The pact, led by the U.S. and joined by its Asian allies, underlines security challenges posed by China and their united responses, such as technology protection measures, which Korean companies worry would hurt their business operations in the vast market, which they cannot afford to leave.
Chung Jae-hung, a researcher at the Sejong Institute, is worried that South Korea's big bet on the U.S. and Japan could backfire.
"The security benefits South Korea seeks to gain from the pact are not free. Ironically, South Korea is now exposed to greater geopolitical risks involving not just the North but also China and Russia," he said.
"As the THAAD revenge showed, South Korea could be left alone taking all the diplomatic damage in the end with little or no support from the U.S. or Japan … The government insists it can have good relations with China and Russia while doing this. But it's not possible, and the consequences could be serious."
Throughout their joint statements, Yoon, Biden and Kishida emphasized their strong unity. Paradoxically, this hints at the vulnerability of the partnership, according to Cho Han-bum, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification.
"I think what the U.S. ultimately wants is a military alliance between South Korea and Japan. Given that it is politically impossible at this point (because of deep, historic grievances between the two countries), the three allies, it seems, found things they could agree on," he said.
Cho believes the biggest risk to the trilateral security partnership is the Seoul-Tokyo relationship.
"Many diplomatic issues between the two countries remain unresolved and will likely remain so. Japan still makes territorial claims to Dokdo and its politicians have not stopped sending offerings to the Yasukuni Shrine," he said.
"The partnership will soon be tested when Japan begins to release water from its Fukushima nuclear plant."
Presidential officials said Yoon expressed his intention to host the second trilateral summit in Seoul early next year.
The Korea Times · by 2023-08-19 05:51 | Foreign Affairs · August 20, 2023
De Oppresso Liber,
David Maxwell
Vice President, Center for Asia Pacific Strategy
Senior Fellow, Global Peace Foundation
Editor, Small Wars Journal
Twitter: @davidmaxwell161
Phone: 202-573-8647
email: david.maxwell161@gmail.com
| 
