Quotes of the Day:
"Character, in the long run, is the decisive factor in the life of an individual and of nations alike."
- Theodore Roosevelt
"A boxer derives the greatest advantage from his sparring partner – and my accuser is my sparring partner. He trains me in patience, civility and even temper."
- Marcus Aurelius
"The primary purpose of the Rolex is not as a timepiece but rather as a life insurance policy. When the situation goes pear-shaped and you've somehow made it to the airport, the Rolex buys you a seat on the last flight out of Heart of Darkness International Airport. As your aircraft circles the city, you look down at the rising columns of black smoke and imagine the scene downtown in the city square where they're chopping the few remaining Westerners up into monkey meat, you look at your wrist where your treasured timepiece used to be and you think 2 things: A) 'Well I guess the Rolex finally paid for itself,' and B) 'I can always buy another watch . . .'"
- Unknown
1. North Korea talks ‘deterrence,’ but it’s not what it means to the West
2. S. Korean, U.S. officials mark 2nd anniv. of Gen. Paik's death
3. Korean-Japanese Animator Sheds Light on Suffering in N.Korea
4. FM Park advocates 'rules-based multilateralism' at G-20 meeting
5. Yoon offers condolences over death of former Japanese PM Abe
6. N.K. leader visits mausoleum to mark late grandfather's death anniversary
7. Seoul‘s foreign minister underscores values of freedom, human rights in talks with China
8. N. Korea's new suspected COVID-19 cases under 2,000 for 2nd day: state media
9. Korea Is Rocked by Ghastly Scandal Over Defectors Sent Back To Be Beheaded in the North
10. Battalion Commander at DMZ Reported Directly to the Blue House when Sending the Two Escapee Fishermen back to North Korea in 2019, Chain of Command Problems
11. S. Korea to introduce new anti-epidemic measures amid COVID-19 resurgence
12. What's behind S. Korea's deployment of largest-ever Navy fleet to RIMPAC?
13. North’s nukes to be discussed with China: top envoy
14. Former NIS chief dismisses the allegation of deleting intelligence
15. S. Korea's resettlement center for N.K. defectors marks 23rd founding anniversary
16. A highly infectious disease is killing North Korea's apple and pear trees
17. N. Korea marks death of Kim Il Sung by emphasizing protection of Kim's portraits, statues
1. North Korea talks ‘deterrence,’ but it’s not what it means to the West
Comments from LTG Chun In Bum, Bruce Bennett, General Mattis, and me.
North Korea talks ‘deterrence,’ but it’s not what it means to the West
BY DONALD KIRK, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR - 07/07/22 12:30 PM ET
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY CONTRIBUTORS ARE THEIR OWN AND NOT THE VIEW OF THE HILL
North Korean rhetoric of late is so kinetic that it’s spreading concerns that North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un is about to move missiles capable of firing tactical nuclear warheads at critical American and South Korean bases into positions close to the North-South line.
As America’s 28,500 troops in South Korea were enjoying the long Fourth of July weekend, North Korea raised the decibel level by claiming “nuclear war might break out simultaneously in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.” Mention of the N word — “n” for nuclear — had analysts with long experience in Korea discussing what Kim might be planning for his next big surprise.
“The North Koreans have the ability to target specific military facilities such as a command center in a large base,” retired South Korean Lt. Gen. Chun In-bum told me. “Also, South Korean and U.S. bases would be certainly a target of attack.”
Kim’s threats to build up “deterrence” fuel the fears of tactical nukes exploding in a North-South showdown.
Andrei Lankov, a Russian scholar who studied in North Korea’s Kim Il Sung University in the 1980s and now teaches at Kookmin University in Seoul, believes tactical warheads “would bring Pyongyang one step closer to realizing its old dream of subjugating the South.” The nuclear devices that North Korea has tested so far, he wrote on NK News, a website in Seoul, “are far too powerful and destructive for use in actual combat.”
Bruce Bennett, longtime Korea watcher at Rand Corporation, believes, however, that Kim still may be thinking big. For the North’s seventh nuclear test, he said, he may choose a warhead as big or bigger than the hydrogen bomb that reportedly blew up half a mountain in the North’s sixth, most recent nuclear test in September 2017.
“The North has already had a number of nuclear weapon tests of tactical size,” said Bennett. “I suspect that in order to catch global news, which is so diverted to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and even internal news, Kim may actually try to test a weapon of yield larger than its sixth nuclear weapon test.”
Major U.S. bases would be the most vulnerable. “A weapon that size would be about right for targeting large U.S. facilities,” said Bennett.
David Maxwell, a retired U.S. Army Special Forces colonel who served five tours in South Korea, cited “three key sets of targets” for the North Koreans, beginning with U.S. and South Korean air bases and major seaports. He thinks the North will pick targets where the South Koreans are mobilizing their forces.
“The priority targets are the ROK (Republic of Korea) and U.S. air bases,” Maxwell, senior scholar at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington, told me. By focusing on these targets, he said, the North Koreans would have “the best chance of accomplishing the critical objective of any North Korean attack plan” — that is, “the rapid occupation of the entire peninsula before the ROK can fully mobilize and the U.S. can reinforce the peninsula.”
Among tempting targets would be sprawling Camp Humphreys, America’s largest overseas base, headquarters for U.S. Forces Korea and the U.N. Command, located 65 miles south of the Demilitarized Zone dividing the North from South Korea. Other top targets would be nearby Osan Air Base, headquarters of the U.S. Seventh Air Force; the South Korean air base at Cheongju in the central region, where the ROK keeps its new F35s; and the U.S. air base at Kunsan on the southwest coast.
North Korea’s desire to deliver a quick knockout blow evokes memories of its invasion of South Korea in June 1950 when Kim Jong Un’s grandfather, Kim Il Sung, was convinced he could wipe out ill-equipped South Korean forces within weeks. The great difference this time would be that North Korea could attack with nuclear-tipped, short-range missiles before the U.S. and South Korea could respond.
The North Koreans would have to strike fast, said Maxwell, to keep the U.S. and South Korea from “inflicting damage throughout North Korea” and stop them from wiping out “North Korean leadership and command-and-control targets.”
The enormous port complex of Busan on the southeastern coast also would be in danger of a nuclear strike.
“It is very likely,” said Maxwell, that the North would “simultaneously target Busan to deny its use for U.S. reinforcements” pouring in from U.S. bases in Japan and the United States. “If they wanted to destroy the port, they could employ nuclear weapons.” Ditto the major South Korean ports at Pohang, site of South Korea’s biggest steel plant on the East Coast, and at Pyeongtaek outside Camp Humphreys on the West Coast.
Moreover, said Maxwell, “They could use chemical weapons to terrorize the Korean workforce, which is essential to port operations.”
But would Kim prioritize South Korean over U.S. targets? Bruce Bennett at Rand recalled that more than two decades ago, defectors from North Korea testified before Congress that Kim’s father, Kim Jong Il, believed “if North Korea creates more than 20,000 American casualties in the region, the U.S. will roll back and North Korea will win the war.”
Bennett said Kim “might hope that by rapidly killing enough Americans he can decouple the alliance between the U.S. and ROK. Targeting Camp Humphreys with a weapon the size of the sixth nuclear weapon or larger could cause that many U.S. casualties and even more,” he said.
For Kim, however, the blowback would be catastrophic. “Think of Pearl Harbor,” Bennett suggested, conjuring memories of the Japanese attack on the huge U.S. naval base in Honolulu in December 1941 that precipitated America’s entry into World War II. “I think an American president could be impeached,” said Bennett, “if he failed to devastate North Korea in the aftermath of such an attack.”
James Mattis, a retired Marine general and former Secretary of Defense, said at a security forum in Seoul that the logical response would be not be for the Americans and South Koreans to arm themselves with nukes, which the U.S. already has in Japan, but instead they need “a sufficient deterrent to ensure those horrible weapons are never employed.”
But what about America’s will to fight? Some North Korea strategists hope eventually the U.S. will shrink from “a direct fight with a nuclear-armed enemy,” said Andrei Lankov, and “skip its treaty obligations.”
Donald Kirk has been a journalist for more than 60 years, focusing much of his career on conflict in Asia and the Middle East, including as a correspondent for the Washington Star and Chicago Tribune. He currently is a freelance correspondent covering North and South Korea. He is the author of several books about Asian affairs.
The Hill · by Rebecca Beitsch · July 7, 2022
2. S. Korean, U.S. officials mark 2nd anniv. of Gen. Paik's death
A hero who deserves to be honored. Everyone who studies Korea should read his book, From Pusan to Panmunjom to get a uniquely Korean perspective of the Korean War.
S. Korean, U.S. officials mark 2nd anniv. of Gen. Paik's death | Yonhap News Agency
SEOUL, July 8 (Yonhap) -- Senior officials from South Korea and U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) on Friday attended a ceremony marking the second anniversary of the death of Korean War hero Gen. Paik Sun-yup.
Some 160 people, including Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup, Veterans Affairs Minister Park Min-shik and USFK Commander Gen. Paul LaCamera, joined the event at a war memorial in the southern county of Chilgok, the site of a major battle during the 1950-53 conflict.
The late general, who died on July 10, 2020, was credited with leading key battles during the war.
"The noble will of Gen. Paik, the national hero and symbol of the South Korea-U.S. alliance, still lives on deep in the hearts of citizens," Lee said. "In remembrance of the general's lesson on national security, we will further solidify the alliance."
Noting the North's missile launches earlier this year and its preparations for a nuclear test, Lee stressed, "Based on the firm combined defense posture, our military will safeguard the freedom, peace and prosperity of the Republic of Korea."
Veterans Affairs Minister Park highlighted the ministry's commitment to remembering Paik's dedication to national defense.
"We will cherish his fighting spirit for good and do our best to preserve the values of freedom and peace," he said.
The commemoration event was co-hosted by the Korea-U.S. Alliance Foundation, the USFK and the Association of the Republic of Korea Army. The participants also included Paik Nam-hui, the eldest daughter of the late general.
sshluck@yna.co.kr
(END)
3. Korean-Japanese Animator Sheds Light on Suffering in N.Korea
Very interesting project. He made this in English rather than Korean or Japanese.
Excerpts:
He interviewed some 40 North Korean defectors through Human Rights Watch in 2010 while he was a documentary and cartoon producer. "The reality I discovered was far more brutal than I had imagined," he said. "I was always in a dilemma about whether to tone down the examples of rape, torture and forced labor in my films."
Why are the characters in the film speaking English? "I first thought about having them speak Korean or Japanese, but I felt my top priority was to spread the news around the world instead of focusing on Korea and Japan, which are to some extent familiar with the situation," he explained.
Korean-Japanese Animator Sheds Light on Suffering in N.Korea
July 07, 2022 12:29
Eiji Han Shimizu's animated feature "True North" focuses on the human rights abuses in North Korea. Shimizu (52), who is Korean Japanese, alighted on the subject more than a decade ago.
"I was looking for examples of human rights violations around the world, because I was interested in the rights of people and the pursuit of happiness," he said in an interview with the Chosun Ilbo to coincide with the film's release here last week. "But North Korea's political prison camps will be remembered as the worst examples of human rights violations in the 21st century" and deserve to be studied by themselves.
Eiji Han Shimizu
He interviewed some 40 North Korean defectors through Human Rights Watch in 2010 while he was a documentary and cartoon producer. "The reality I discovered was far more brutal than I had imagined," he said. "I was always in a dilemma about whether to tone down the examples of rape, torture and forced labor in my films."
Why are the characters in the film speaking English? "I first thought about having them speak Korean or Japanese, but I felt my top priority was to spread the news around the world instead of focusing on Korea and Japan, which are to some extent familiar with the situation," he explained.
"True North," is set during the famine of the mid-1990s known as the "arduous march" and focuses on a Japanese family who are duped into moving to the North, which advertises itself as a workers' paradise, only to end up in a political prison camp.
After earning an MBA from the University of Miami, Shimizu worked for Sun Microsystems and Japanese headhunters Recruit. "But despite the high salary I felt empty," he said. He quit work and spent two-and-a-half years traveling around the world to make a documentary on the conditions of happiness.
"True North" is his first animated feature and was invited to the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in 2020. His next animated feature will cover the subject of global warming. "Instead of creating commercial works, I want to focus on subjects that are important to me and people around me," he said.
- Copyright © Chosunilbo & Chosun.com
4. FM Park advocates 'rules-based multilateralism' at G-20 meeting
South Korea foreign policy vision is coming into clear focus.
(LEAD) FM Park advocates 'rules-based multilateralism' at G-20 meeting | Yonhap News Agency
(ATTN: CHANGES headline, dateline; UPDATES throughout with latest details; ADDS photos)
BALI/SEOUL, July 8 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's top diplomat called for efforts to strengthen "rules-based multilateralism" and ensure resumption of food exports from Ukraine during a Group of 20 meeting in Indonesia on Friday, his office said.
Foreign Minister Park Jin underscored the importance of reinvigorating multilateral cooperation during the G-20 foreign ministerial meeting, which was largely overshadowed by geopolitical division over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
On his debut on the multilateral diplomatic stage since taking office in May, Park shared South Korea's vision to play a greater role, as the world's 10th largest economy, for global freedom, peace and prosperity, his ministry said in a statement.
He also noted the global food and energy crises were exacerbated by the Ukraine conflict and called for the G-20 members to cooperate to ensure Ukraine can resume agricultural exports, it added.
On the sidelines of the two-day conference, Park held back-to-back bilateral talks with his counterparts from China, Spain, Germany, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Australia and the European Union to discuss regional and global issues.
Later Friday, Park had his first trilateral session with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa, in another show of the regional powers' efforts to bolster their cooperation amid North Korea's saber-rattling.
ejkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
5. Yoon offers condolences over death of former Japanese PM Abe
Abe's assassination is quite a shock.
(LEAD) Yoon offers condolences over death of former Japanese PM Abe | Yonhap News Agency
(ATTN: UPDATES with the foreign ministry's statement in last two paras)
SEOUL, July 8 (Yonhap) -- President Yoon Suk-yeol on Friday expressed condolences over the death of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was fatally shot by a gunman during a campaign event.
"I express condolences and consolation to the bereaved family and the Japanese people over the death of the longest-serving prime minister in Japan's constitutional history who was a respected politician," Yoon said in a message to Abe's wife Akie Abe.
Abe was pronounced dead in the afternoon, hours after he was shot while making a campaign speech on a street in Nara, western Japan.
Yoon condemned the shooting as an "unpardonable act of crime" and expressed deep sorrow and shock, according to the presidential office.
The foreign ministry also voiced grief and delivered condolences to Abe's bereaved family and the Japanese people.
"Our government strongly condemns the shooting as a violent criminal act that is unacceptable in any case," ministry spokesperson Choi Young-sam said in a statement.
(END)
6. N.K. leader visits mausoleum to mark late grandfather's death anniversary
But he has retained his leadership position/titles even in death.
N.K. leader visits mausoleum to mark late grandfather's death anniversary | Yonhap News Agency
SEOUL, July 8 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has visited a mausoleum for his late grandfather and national founder Kim Il-sung to mark the 28th anniversary of his death, according to state media Friday.
Kim paid tribute at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, where the bodies of Kim Il-sung and the current leader's late father Kim Jong-il lie in state, on the occasion of the memorial day, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported, without specifying when the visit was made.
Kim Il-sung, who founded North Korea in 1948, ruled the country until his death in 1994.
The North's leader was accompanied by participants of a special workshop of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) that ended Wednesday in Pyongyang, as well as Jo Yong-won, secretary for organizational affairs of the WPK's Central Committee, and Ri Il-hwan, secretary of the WPK Central Committee.
"He paid homage to the President and the Chairman as a token of his best wishes for immortality to the great leaders who built the WPK into a powerful Juche-type revolutionary party," the KCNA said in an English-language article, referring to Kim's late grandfather and father, respectively. Juche means self-reliance.
The latest visit marked the first time that Kim was accompanied by participants of a particular gathering for the occasion, highlighting the recent workshop's importance.
The five-day workshop, which was attended by Kim Jong-un, was held to establish the "monolithic leadership system" of the party's central committee in an apparent move to tighten internal discipline.
Kim has paid tribute at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun on his late grandfather's death anniversary every year since he took power in 2012, with the exception of 2018.
yunhwanchae@yna.co.kr
(END)
7. Seoul‘s foreign minister underscores values of freedom, human rights in talks with China
Excerpts:
“We should build respect and trust and cooperate on an equal footing to develop healthy and mature Korea-China relations for the next 30 years,” Park said in his opening remarks.
“We will actively participate in global efforts to protect the values of freedom and peace, human rights and law.”
Wang said the Chinese government puts great importance on working with Korea’s new administration to improve China-Korea relations.
“We have an opportunity for an important development (of bilateral ties), but we also have some challenges to deal with,” Wang said.
“So we are ready to cooperate with South Korea for a sustainable development of ideal and friendly relations as neighbors.”
Seoul‘s foreign minister underscores values of freedom, human rights in talks with China
Seoul‘s Foreign Minister urges Beijing to lead Pyongyang to dialogue and stop its nuclear provocations
Published : Jul 8, 2022 - 17:55 Updated : Jul 8, 2022 - 17:55
South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin (right) and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi shake hands during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of a G-20 foreign ministers‘ meeting in Bali, Indonesia, on Thursday. (South Korea’s Foreign Ministry)
South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi agreed to regularly communicate in their first in-person bilateral meeting, Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said on Friday.
During their bilateral meeting held on the sidelines of the G-20 foreign ministers‘ meeting on Thursday, Park and Wang exchanged their views on the active exchanges of the two countries after Korea inaugurated a new administration in May, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The meeting, held in Bali, Indonesia, lasted for about 50 minutes.
“We should build respect and trust and cooperate on an equal footing to develop healthy and mature Korea-China relations for the next 30 years,” Park said in his opening remarks.
“We will actively participate in global efforts to protect the values of freedom and peace, human rights and law.”
Wang said the Chinese government puts great importance on working with Korea’s new administration to improve China-Korea relations.
“We have an opportunity for an important development (of bilateral ties), but we also have some challenges to deal with,” Wang said.
“So we are ready to cooperate with South Korea for a sustainable development of ideal and friendly relations as neighbors.”
The bilateral talks come amid intensifying rivalry between China and the United States. China‘s top diplomat noted how China is prepared to work with South Korea to expand its strategic partnership and maintain stable foreign policies.
Their first bilateral talk was via video call, on May 16, six days after the Yoon Suk-yeol administration was inaugurated.
The conservative Yoon administration has been making clear its intention to bolster its alliance with the US in a series of moves, including joining the US-led economic initiative, the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework as a founding member.
Seoul’s Foreign Ministry also said the two sides agreed to have regular ministerial talks and to hold a strategic dialogue with vice ministers in the second half of this year.
As the two countries mark the 30th anniversary of establishing their diplomatic ties on Aug. 24, 1992, the ministers agreed to work closely for smooth economic exchanges of their free trade agreement and the stabilization of supply chains.
Park expressed hopes that the relations between South Korea and China would develop based on shared values and rules and suggested that the two countries cooperate to resolve global tasks and contribute to peace and prosperity of the region and the world.
The Korean foreign minister also asked for China to play a “constructive role” in leading North Korea to dialogue and stop its nuclear provocations that raise tension on the Korean Peninsula.
They also agreed to deepen ties on the economy, culture and environment to establish “healthy and mature” bilateral ties while discussing resuming flights and expanding air routes, with Wang adding that Korea is an “inseparable” neighbor.
8. N. Korea's new suspected COVID-19 cases under 2,000 for 2nd day: state media
Excerpts:
The KCNA said health authorities are taking more measures against the spread of seasonal diseases, including an "enteric epidemic" reported in its southwestern region last month.
"Now that various diseases may break out to disturb the anti-epidemic work, due to lingering downpour across the country, they draw up and execute detailed plans to reinforce the anti-epidemic and treatment capacity while keeping themselves highly alerted and mobilized," it said in an English-language article.
(LEAD) N. Korea's new suspected COVID-19 cases under 2,000 for 2nd day: state media | Yonhap News Agency
(ATTN: UPDATES with details)
SEOUL, July 8 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's new suspected COVID-19 cases remained below 2,000 for the second consecutive day, according to its state media Friday.
More than 1,630 people showed symptoms of fever over a 24-hour period until 6 p.m. the previous day, the official Korean Central News Agency said, citing data from the state emergency epidemic prevention headquarters.
It did not provide information on whether additional deaths have been reported. As of Tuesday, the death toll had stood at 74, with the fatality rate at 0.002 percent.
The total number of fever cases since late April came to over 4.76 million as of 6 p.m. Thursday, of which 99.93 percent have recovered, and at least 3,110 others are being treated, it added.
The North's daily fever tally has been on a downward trend after peaking at over 392,920 on May 15.
The KCNA said health authorities are taking more measures against the spread of seasonal diseases, including an "enteric epidemic" reported in its southwestern region last month.
"Now that various diseases may break out to disturb the anti-epidemic work, due to lingering downpour across the country, they draw up and execute detailed plans to reinforce the anti-epidemic and treatment capacity while keeping themselves highly alerted and mobilized," it said in an English-language article.
Medical workers have been put on high alert to immediately respond to a potential emergency from flooding, it added.
"The land and environment protection and urban management sectors take measures in advance to prevent damage at the spots vulnerable to flood and get rid of the infection routes of various epidemic diseases," it said.
North Korea disclosed its first COVID-19 case on May 12 after claiming to be coronavirus-free for over two years, and implemented nationwide lockdowns.
yunhwanchae@yna.co.kr
(END)
9. Korea Is Rocked by Ghastly Scandal Over Defectors Sent Back To Be Beheaded in the North
I am afraid this is going to get ugly.
Korea Is Rocked by Ghastly Scandal Over Defectors Sent Back To Be Beheaded in the North
A bigger question involves the efforts of the former president, left-winger Moon Jae-in, to appease the North.
The former South Korean president, Moon Jae-in, March 24, 2022. South Korea Presidential Blue House/Yonhap via AP
Thursday, July 7, 2022
11:04:28 am
SEOUL — The scandal exploding today in South Korea over the decision of the previous president to return two defectors to certain death in North Korea is illuminating a bigger question — the efforts of the former president, left-winger Moon Jae-in, to appease the North.
The powerful National Intelligence Service charges that a previous NIS director, Suh Hoon, halted the investigation into the case of the two defectors, who were forcibly handed over to the North Koreans at the truce village of Panmunjom in November 2019.
The North alleges that the two defectors had killed 16 others on their fishing boat before it was captured by South Korean commandos. South Korea at the time described the two as “heinous criminals” who could not be accepted in the South as defectors.
Critics of the appeasement policy of Mr. Moon say that he skipped due process, denied them counsel, and sent them to die at the hands of the North Koreans. A central question is how those two could have killed so many others on their boat without a fight.
There’s no record of any bodies having been found, even though the South Koreans captured the boat. Mr. Suh, who became Mr. Moon’s national security adviser, “ordered an early end to an internal investigation,” according to the South Korean news agency, Yonhap.
Human rights activists protested that it was entirely against longstanding South Korean policy to return defectors, even if charged with criminal offenses. South Korean officials insisted the men’s accounts of what happened on their boat were conflicting and not convincing.
The North said they had tossed the bodies of everyone else on the boat overboard after mutinying against the captain. The two were tortured and beheaded two months after they were handed over to North Korea, according to Daily NK, a website in Seoul with cellphone contacts inside the North.
The National Intelligence Service under the current South Korean president, Yoon Suk-yeol, a conservative, wants the records of the surrender of the two fishermen to the North plus those of the case of a fisheries official who was killed by the North Koreans after his patrol boat wound up off the North’s southwestern coast.
Unlike Mr. Moon, Mr. Yoon has promised to deal strongly with North Korean threats of all kinds. The NIS charges that Park Jie-won, a veteran leftist politico who succeeded Mr. Suh as NIS director, deleted reports of the death of the fisheries official, Lee Dae-jun, in September 2020.
Mr. Park, known for his pro-North proclivities, was a highly controversial choice for NIS director under President Moon. He played a role in the first inter-Korean summit in June 2000 between a late president, Kim Dae-jung, and a late North Korean leader, Kim Jong-il, father of the current strongman, Kim Jong-un.
The South Korean Coast Guard has now debunked the Moon government’s claim that Mr. Lee was trying to defect before the North Koreans shot and killed him and then burned his patrol boat, which had strayed into North Korean waters.
The coast guard’s initial report appears to have been fabricated to avoid offending Kim Jong-un while Mr. Moon was pleading unsuccessfully for North-South dialogue. A coast guard official said three weeks ago that it “failed to find any evidence to believe that the official had intended to defect to North Korea.”
Mr. Park, however, said the NIS charge that he had deleted “intelligence-related reports without authorization,” reported by Yonhap, was “completely groundless.”
In Seoul last week, the UN special rapporteur on human rights, Tomas Ojea Quintana, said North Korea was “responsible for violating the right and killing this fishery official.” The reason, he said, may have been to enforce the North’s “draconian laws” under “Covid-19 restrictions.” He called on North Korea “to punish those who shot him in the sea and to provide reparations to the family."
A member of South Korea’s national assembly, Ha Tae-keung, charged that the government’s initial claim that Mr. Lee had been trying to defect was “all about defamation and lying.” At a press conference that this reporter attended, he said that officials of Mr. Moon’s government “had hidden facts” in “a rush to judgment.”
Mr. Ha added that Mr. Moon, before stepping down as president on May 10, had sealed the records in archives, hiding the facts from investigators.
Mr. Lee’s brother, Lee Rae-jin, sitting beside Mr. Ha, said his brother “was dragged to the North Korean vessel without any reason.” Their “brutality was awful,” he said. “The international community and our government have to investigate thoroughly.”
DONALD KIRK
Mr. Kirk, based in Seoul and Washington, has been covering Asia for decades for newspapers and magazines and is the author of books on Korea, the Vietnam War and the Philippines.
10. Battalion Commander at DMZ Reported Directly to the Blue House when Sending the Two Escapee Fishermen back to North Korea in 2019, Chain of Command Problems
The national security council staff is not in the chain of command.
This incident also has implications for the United Nations Command.
Battalion Commander at DMZ Reported Directly to the Blue House when Sending the Two Escapee Fishermen back to North Korea in 2019, Chain of Command Problems
JULY 6, 2022 LAST MODIFIED DATEJULY 7, 2022 AUTHOR_ 2022-7-6, Tara O
In 2019, a South Korean Lieutenant Colonel who was a battalion commander working at the Joint Security Area (JSA) in the demilitarized Zone (DMZ) reported directly to the Blue House of the plan to send the two defector fishermen to North Korea, skipping the military chain of command. The Lieutenant Colonel sent a text message to Kim Yu-geun (김유근), who was the 1st Deputy to the National Security Advisor (국가안보실 1차장) at the Blue House, about sending the two young defectors to North Korea at 3 p.m. that day.
At the time the text message was checked, Kim Yu-geun was attending a meeting at the National Assembly’s Budget Committee. When Kim was checking his phone message, a photographer captured his phone screen with the message, which is how this issue became known to the public in 2019. Until it was revealed unintentionally through the screen shot photo, which then became known through the media, it had been kept secret by the Moon government. In fact, the Minister of National Defense was reportedly not even aware of it at that time and found out about the two defectors when the issue was reported in the media.
The text message showed:
“At 15:00 (3 p.m.) today, there’s a plan to repatriate two North Koreans to the north side. These North Koreans were the ones who came down to Samcheok (a coastal city in Gangwon Province) this past November 2nd, and there’s a plan to have the police, rather than the Red Cross, escort them due to the danger of self-harm. Additionally, related to the repatriation, the positions of the National Intelligence Service and the Ministry of Unification are not settled well, so an additional review is expected during the morning. That is all.”
An illustration of the two defectors forcibly returned to North Korea on November 7, 2019
In November 2019, the Moon Jae-in administration sent two defector fishermen back to North Korea. On November 2, 2019, two fishermen escaped North Korea on a fishing boat into South Korean waters and made it clear that they were defecting from North Korea and seeking asylum. On November 5, the Moon Jae-in administration in South Korea sent a message to North Korea via the Liaison Office in Gaesong expressing its decision to forcibly send the two defectors, who were technically South Korean citizens per the South Korean constitution, back to North Korea. On November 6, North Korea responded it will accept the Moon government’s offer.
On November 7, the two fishermen were blindfolded and hands bound and taken to the JSA, where their blindfolds were removed and were handed over to North Korea. Upon seeing the North Koreans at the JSA, the fishermen collapsed, knowing they were being sent to their deaths in North Korea. The Moon administration accused the two fishermen of being murderers, but Dr. Lee Ae-ran, a prominent defector in South Korea, refuted the accusation, saying no one in Kimchaek City (in North Korea) hear of any mass murder of 16 people that the Moon government is alleging, and North Korean authorities also never mentioned murders occurring in Kimchaek nor have they accused the two fishermen.
That the military at that level would report directly to the Blue House, and skip the chain of command, is a serious problem. By skipping organizations in the chain of command between his battalion and the Blue House, including the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Minister of Defense, it kept those who are responsible for military activities, in the dark. As a basic military concept, the reporting should have gone up the proper chain of command, through the successive leadership echelons up to reach the president at the Blue House. Any military personnel know the basic concept of the chain of command. A broken chain of command leads to disorder and disunity, because military commanders cannot effectively control and direct their forces when those forces no longer take direction from and report back to their superior organizations.
After becoming aware of the issue through the media news and recognizing that such jumping of chain of command is a serious breach, the Inspector General (IG) at the Ministry of National Defense (MND) conducted an investigation of the situation upon orders from the MND Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo (정경두). Minister Jeong discovered about the plan to repatriate the two defectors through news. The IG assessed that the front-line battalion commander ignoring the chain of command and reporting the sensitive matter directly to the Blue House National Security Adviser’s Office was a serious matter of “harming discipline.” The IG recommended the soldier be disciplined after it concluded that skipping the chain of command was “a matter of (poor) discipline that has undermined the duty of a soldier who must have a thorough command relationship.”
The Army Ground Operations Command’s disciplinary committee, however closed the case by voting “no charges,” clearing the Lieutenant Colonel of the charge. This conclusion upset the rank and file in the military, prompting comments, such as “Directly reporting (to the Blue House) something that the Minister of Defense did not know is an act of breaking down the command system” and “It is true that there was a lot of talk at the time about whether” the Blue House National Security Adviser’s Office unduly influenced clearing the soldier. Such incidents also impact morale.
Kim Yu-geun, former 1st Deputy to the National Security Adviser in the Moon Jae-in Blue House
Kim Yu-geun
Kim Yu-geun’s function, as the 1st Deputy, a vice minister-equivalent position, was that of a chief of staff at the National Security Adviser’s office at the Blue House. Kim was not in the military chain of command, and he had no authority to give orders to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). Working at the Blue House does not automatically grant him such a command authority, but Kim Yu-geun instructed General Park Han-ki (박한기), then the JCS Chairman, to not seize the North Korean ship that crossed the Northern Limit Line (NLL) (another incident). When the North Korean ship was seized, Kim instructed that the JCS Chairman be investigated for “not following (Kim’s) orders.” Cho Kuk’s office, the Office of Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs, then conducted an intense interrogation of General Park for at least four hours in early August 2019 at the Blue House. The interrogators asked why he did not follow Kim’s instructions, to which General Park replied, “As the military assistant to the Minister of National Defense, I follow the orders that came down through the Minister. I think it is inappropriate for me to follow the direct instructions from the 1st Deputy of the Office of the National Security Adviser.” That is indeed the correct answer.
Kim Yu-geun retired as a Lieutenant General (3-star) of the Republic of Korea (ROK) Army in 2015. As such, he should understand exactly what the military chain of command means. Since February 2021, Kim went onto a plum job that is funded by the government and the members of the organization. Kim has taken the position as the chief director of the Military Mutual Aid Association (군인공제회), one of numerous government-funded organizations, where Moon Jae-in had placed many of his supporters. The Military Mutual Aid Association was created when the ROK government passed the Military Personnel Mutual Aid Association Law to provide financial and other assistance to military personnel in need.
The officials at the Blue House have routinely tried to insert themselves in the military chain of command, despite not having that authority. Kim Yu-geun is an example. So was Im Jong-seok, the former Chief of Staff under Moon Jae-in, who behaved as if he were the Commander-in-Chief in sunglasses. The Office of Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs also made blacklists of military personnel. These issues should be investigated and the trust, discipline, and morale should be restored to the military of the Republic of Korea.
11. S. Korea to introduce new anti-epidemic measures amid COVID-19 resurgence
S. Korea to introduce new anti-epidemic measures amid COVID-19 resurgence
Published : Jul 8, 2022 - 14:21 Updated : Jul 8, 2022 - 14:21
Lee Ki-il, the second vice minister of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, speaks during a COVID-19 response meeting, Friday. (Yonhap)
The South Korean government announced Friday that it would introduce anti-epidemic measures for the inter-seasonal resurgence of COVID-19 next week.
During a COVID-19 response meeting on Friday, Lee Ki-il, the second vice minister of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, officially confirmed that the country is going through a new wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lee added the government is currently consulting with medical experts for anti-epidemic measures to counter the resurgence that has recently started across the country.
According to government data, the average number of daily COVID-19 infections during this week -- from Saturday to Thursday -- reached 15,277, up 86.5 percent from 8,183 a week prior.
The reproduction rate of COVID-19 in South Korea also rose to 1.05, Lee added. An RT reading over 1 shows the virus will continue its reproduction, while a reading below 1 means the virus is to fade.
Lee quoted experts saying that the new COVID-19 wave in the country is largely due to the BA.5 variant of omicron. Lee added increased activities during the summer season and waning vaccine immunity have also contributed to the resurgence. Lee noted use of air conditioners in closed indoor settings would have fueled the resurgence.
The BA.5 version of omicron is spreading fast, Lee addressed, while referring to the similar BA.5 propagations in Germany, France and the UK. According to Lee, the proportion of COVID-19 cases infected with BA.5 initially remained low at 1.4 percent during the second week of June. However, the proportion of BA. 5 patients increased to 28.2 percent in the fifth week of June.
12. What's behind S. Korea's deployment of largest-ever Navy fleet to RIMPAC?
While China is surely upset about this, I am not sure China feels "threatened" by South Korea, alone. I am sure CHina feels threatened by all the security partners and alliances that have emerged to counter Chinese malign influence and activities.
Excerpts:
South Korean experts said it is true that there has been a policy shift amid the power transition from the previous liberal Moon Jae-in administration to the current conservative Yoon Suk-yeol administration, which takes more firm positions when it comes to the Korea-U.S. military alliance, while the former took a more "low-key" position on the matter to push its peace diplomacy with North Korea.
...
Park Yong-han, an associate research fellow at the state-run Korea Institute for Defense Analyses' Center for Security and Strategy, said participating in this year's RIMPAC is a great opportunity for the ROK Navy which has been seeking to secure its own light aircraft carrier.
"When the ROK Navy's plan to secure a light aircraft carrier is in progress, the ability to actually operate it is required," Park said. "Its participation in RIMPAC means that it will gain indirect experience operating a light aircraft-led combat fleet by conducting joint exercises with various ships from other countries."
Park said the ROK Navy's role in RIMPAC has grown over time and will grow further in the future, and that its main intention is to cultivate its capabilities through such large-scale combined exercises.
But South Korean experts said they believe China could feel threatened by South Korea's participation, regardless of its intention.
[ANALYSIS] What's behind S. Korea's deployment of largest-ever Navy fleet to RIMPAC?
The ROKS Marado, left, and the USS Abraham Lincoln, right, at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, June 30. Korea Times photo by Jung Da-min
Through mouthpiece, Global Times, Beijing expresses discontent over Seoul's participation
By Jung Da-min
The Republic of Korea Navy is participating in this year's international Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) maritime exercise, sending its largest military force ever since joining the U.S.-led biennial exercise in 1990.
ROK Navy forces participating in RIMPAC 2022 include the 14,500-ton ROKS Marado amphibious assault ship with helicopter landing platform, 7,600-ton destroyer ROKS Sejong the Great, 4,400-ton destroyer ROKS Munmu the Great, 1,800-ton submarine ROKS Shin Dol-seok, a ROK Marine Corps amphibious assault company, the 59th Naval Mobile Construction Battalion, four ROK Navy UDT/SEAL teams, nine KAAV7A1 amphibious assault vehicles, two Lynx helicopters and 1,000 total personnel.
The ROKS Marado arrives at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, June 20, to participate in the U.S.-led international Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) maritime exercise that kicked off on June 30. From RIMPAC official Twitter accountThe ROK Navy sending its largest-ever fleet to RIMPAC is natural considering that its role in the exercise has been growing along with its force improvement and based upon the Korea-U.S. alliance. However, growing tensions between the U.S. and China, including maritime tensions in the South China Sea, have emerged as diplomatic challenges for South Korea.
On July 2, China's state-run Global Times cited Chinese experts who said South Korea's deployment of its largest-ever contingent to the ongoing RIMPAC 2022 sends "a dangerous signal that the Yoon Suk-yeol administration is deviating from a neutral line amid China-U.S. competition and losing diplomatic autonomy to serve the U.S.'s Asia-Pacific strategy, which also faced concerns in South Korea over relations and cooperation with China."
South Korean experts said it is true that there has been a policy shift amid the power transition from the previous liberal Moon Jae-in administration to the current conservative Yoon Suk-yeol administration, which takes more firm positions when it comes to the Korea-U.S. military alliance, while the former took a more "low-key" position on the matter to push its peace diplomacy with North Korea.
The ROKS Marado is docked at Jeju Naval Base, May 31, before its departure to Hawaii to participate in the U.S.-led international Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) maritime exercise. / Courtesy of Republic of Korea Navy
Republic of Korea Navy personnel participating in the U.S.-led international Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) maritime exercise pose on the flight deck of the ROKS Marado, May 31, before departing for Hawaii. Courtesy of Republic of Korea NavyBut South Korean experts also said that the difference between the Moon Jae-in administration and the Yoon Suk-yeol administration lies in how openly it talks about South Korea's military alliance with the U.S., while the South Korean government has consistently sought to strengthen its military forces and keep a firm military alliance with the U.S.
Park Yong-han, an associate research fellow at the state-run Korea Institute for Defense Analyses' Center for Security and Strategy, said participating in this year's RIMPAC is a great opportunity for the ROK Navy which has been seeking to secure its own light aircraft carrier.
"When the ROK Navy's plan to secure a light aircraft carrier is in progress, the ability to actually operate it is required," Park said. "Its participation in RIMPAC means that it will gain indirect experience operating a light aircraft-led combat fleet by conducting joint exercises with various ships from other countries."
Park said the ROK Navy's role in RIMPAC has grown over time and will grow further in the future, and that its main intention is to cultivate its capabilities through such large-scale combined exercises.
But South Korean experts said they believe China could feel threatened by South Korea's participation, regardless of its intention.
"From China's point of view, South Korea's participation in RIMPAC is an extension of the Korea-U.S.-Japan alliance or the so-called siege strategy against China, when trade and maritime disputes between China and the U.S. are growing in the region," Park said.
A Republic of Korea Navy crew of a P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft participating in the U.S.-led international Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) maritime exercise poses on the flight deck of the ROKS Marado, May 31, before departing for Hawaii. Courtesy of Republic of Korea Navy
Republic of Korea Navy personnel participating in the U.S.-led international Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) maritime exercise pose on the vehicle deck of the ROKS Marado, May 31, before departing for Hawaii. Courtesy of Republic of Korea NavyPark Won-gon, a professor of North Korean studies at Ewha Womans University, said the Yoon Suk-yeol administration's contrasting position from the Moon Jae-in administration when it comes to South Korea's military alliance with the U.S. has been evident in several events such as this year's RIMPAC as well as the NATO Summit Yoon also attended last month.
"The difference is evident. The Moon Jae-in administration also participated in various multinational maritime exercises just as the Yoon Suk-yeol administration is doing, but the former did not publicize or announce them. The Moon government sent an evident message that it will minimize its participation in the U.S.'s alliance strategy," he said.
The professor said the U.S., by holding multinational joint military exercises like RIMPAC, seems to be seeking a new security strategy of establishing a NATO-like collective security system in the Indo-Pacific region, although it cannot be the same level of collective security as NATO.
"Although establishing a collective security system exactly like NATO in the Indo-Pacific region is simply not possible, the U.S. is still seeking to establish multiple small multinational cooperative bodies in the region by holding various multinational joint military exercises including RIMPAC," he said.
The professor said China's backlash is natural, but he believes it is hard for the Chinese government to explicitly pressure the Yoon Suk-yeol government.
"The Yoon Suk-yeol government has not made any explicit comments condemning or targeting China, nor has it announced any hostile policy against China. Although the state-run Global Times has 'warned' Seoul against standing closer to the U.S., the Chinese government itself seems to be refraining from making explicit comments," he said.
"Furthermore, the Chinese government believes that South Korea is a weak link among other allies of the U.S. If the Chinese government pushes the South Korean government too hard, then it is likely Korea would make a similar choice as Australia did, stepping even closer to the U.S. side."
The ROKS Shin Dol-seok arrives at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, June 20, to participate in the U.S.-led international Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) maritime exercise that kicked off on June 30. From RIMPAC official Twitter account
The ROKS Sejong The Great arrives at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, June 20, to participate in the U.S.-led international Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) maritime exercise that kicked off on June 30. From RIMPAC official Twitter account
The ROKS Munmu The Great arrives at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, June 20, to participate in the U.S.-led international Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) maritime exercise that kicked off on June 30. From RIMPAC official Twitter accountThe professor added that the Chinese government also does not want anti-China sentiment among South Koreans to grow even bigger, when a recent survey conducted by the Pew Research Center, a Washington, D.C.-based nonpartisan fact tank, showed that a historic high of 80 percent of South Koreans hold negative views of China.
"In particular, many young South Koreans are expressing anti-China sentiments citing China's intervention in South Korea's domestic affairs. The Chinese government is also aware that the public opinion in South Korea toward China could worsen further," he said.
13. North’s nukes to be discussed with China: top envoy
Excerpt:
Korea and China are celebrating their 30th anniversary of diplomatic ties this year.
Relations soured in recent years over Seoul’s decision to deploy a U.S.-led antimissile Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (Thaad) system in Korea in 2016, and China’s subsequent economic retaliations. Beijing asserted Thaad was an American scheme to spy on China.
China recently bristled at members of NATO for putting out a statement after their summit that characterized it as a challenge to world peace and security. When the IPEF launched in May, with Korea as one of its 13 members, the Chinese Foreign Ministry slammed it as an attempt by the United States to “decouple” some countries form the Chinese economy.
The former administration in Korea led by Moon Jae-in emphasized a policy called “strategic ambiguity” when it came to anything involving the U.S.-China rivalry.
The Yoon Suk-yeol government said it will depart from that policy and base its diplomatic overtures on a stronger alliance with the United States, while seeking open communications and cooperation with China where necessary, branding itself as a “global pivotal state.”
Thursday
July 7, 2022
North’s nukes to be discussed with China: top envoy
Foreign Minister Park Jin responds to questions from reporters at the Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali, Indonesia, on Thursday. [YONHAP]
Foreign Minister Park Jin said he will bring up North Korea’s nuclear weapons with Chinese top envoy Wang Yi if they meet on the sidelines of a G20 foreign ministerial summit in Indonesia this week.
“I intend to emphasize the importance of China's role in resolving the North Korean nuclear issue,” Park told a group of reporters upon his arrival at Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali on Thursday, according to Yonhap.
Park is in Bali through Friday to attend the G20 foreign ministerial summit.
His team was said to be scheduling a dozen sideline meetings with top envoys of the G20 members, which include China, Japan, the United States, Indonesia, Britain, France, Mexico, India and Saudi Arabia.
A meeting with China's top envoy was not confirmed as of press time Thursday.
Park is scheduled to meet with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Japan’s Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi on Friday.
In response to a question on whether he expected Wang to bring up Korea’s attendance of a NATO summit and its membership in the U.S.-led economic coalition Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF), Park said he expects to discuss “various issues, in an open manner.”
Should a meeting between Park and Wang take place on the sidelines of the G20 ministerial summit, it would be their first in-person meeting since Park was sworn in two months ago.
“Since continuous strategic communication between Korea and China is beneficial to the national interests of both countries, we expect to continue to discuss ways to cooperate based on common interests between the two countries,” said Ahn Eun-ju, a deputy spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry in a press briefing Thursday.
Korea and China are celebrating their 30th anniversary of diplomatic ties this year.
Relations soured in recent years over Seoul’s decision to deploy a U.S.-led antimissile Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (Thaad) system in Korea in 2016, and China’s subsequent economic retaliations. Beijing asserted Thaad was an American scheme to spy on China.
China recently bristled at members of NATO for putting out a statement after their summit that characterized it as a challenge to world peace and security. When the IPEF launched in May, with Korea as one of its 13 members, the Chinese Foreign Ministry slammed it as an attempt by the United States to “decouple” some countries form the Chinese economy.
The former administration in Korea led by Moon Jae-in emphasized a policy called “strategic ambiguity” when it came to anything involving the U.S.-China rivalry.
The Yoon Suk-yeol government said it will depart from that policy and base its diplomatic overtures on a stronger alliance with the United States, while seeking open communications and cooperation with China where necessary, branding itself as a “global pivotal state.”
Park stopped in Singapore on Wednesday on his way to Bali and met with its prime minister, foreign minister and trade minister, discussing cooperation on digitalization and IPEF, according to the Foreign Ministry.
Park said that there are no plans to meet with the Russian top envoy, Sergei Lavrov, on the sidelines of the G20 ministerial summit.
“I am sure there will be opportunities to speak spontaneously, but no, there is no specific meeting scheduled,” Park told reporters at the airport in Bali.
BY ESTHER CHUNG [chung.juhee@joongang.co.kr]
14. Former NIS chief dismisses the allegation of deleting intelligence
Former NIS chief dismisses the allegation of deleting intelligence
Posted July. 08, 2022 07:53,
Updated July. 08, 2022 07:53
Former NIS chief dismisses the allegation of deleting intelligence. July. 08, 2022 07:53. eunji@donga.com.
“Even if I redact something, it will still be traced back on the NIS servers. Why would I make such a stupid mistake?” said Park Jie-won, former director of the National Intelligence Service. He has been accused by the agency of illegally deleting the data on the fisheries official killed in the Yellow Sea.
“The NIS does not generate all the information or the Special Intelligence documents. They only share them,” said Mr. Park during an interview with CBS radio on Thursday morning. “Even if I delete something, the other (generators of intelligence) still has it. Why would do something so stupid?” “And even if I deleted data, the record of redaction would have been left in the servers of shard document,” he added, claiming that any use of personal computers at the NIS means an instant connection to the server. Regarding the possibility of reacting the source data in the shared document servers, Park said, “Even if documents are deleted in the shared servers, they will remain in the main server.”
About the allegation that the former NIS chief silenced the staff members who were ordered to make the redactions, Park summarily denied, labeling it as “the old-fashioned NIS political scheme.” “The NIS has been now reformed, and our staff will never do such things,” Park claimed. “I have been told that some of the old NIS employees have come back. They must have made such a silly accusation because they are still caught up in the old habits.” He also argued that the new NIS director, who was appointed only a month ago, is turning the NIS into the center of controversies.
“The NIS faces thorough inspections and investigations, and former directors or employees cannot be an exception for such scrutiny,” said Park. “It is a misstep of legality that they reported this case to the prosecution without telling me first, and it is also a mistake of courtesy towards a former director of the agency.”
15. S. Korea's resettlement center for N.K. defectors marks 23rd founding anniversary
People escaped from the northern half of the peninsula that is occupied by the most horrible corrupt dictatorship in the modern era. They did not "defect." They are heroes for escaping. They are not traitors to their country who defected. Just saying.
S. Korea's resettlement center for N.K. defectors marks 23rd founding anniversary | Yonhap News Agency
SEOUL, July 8 (Yonhap) -- South Korean Unification Minister Kwon Young-se on Friday called for more public attention to North Korean defectors as he attended an event marking the 23rd anniversary of a state-run resettlement center.
It marked the first time in five years that a unification minister attended the anniversary ceremony at Hanawon center in Anseong, some 77 kilometers south of Seoul.
He stressed the need for increased support for North Korean defectors to help them better settle into South Korean society.
"North Korean defectors were often referred to as a precursor to reunification of the two Koreas ... we need to take good care of them to prepare for the unification that will come in the future," he said.
He noted improvement of their lives shown in statistics on life satisfaction, employment and wages.
"We need to examine more carefully whether there are any difficulties concealed behind such statistics and numbers and whether we are listening to the voices of the marginalized," Kwon said.
Over 33,000 North Korean defectors had resettled in South Korea as of last year, according to the ministry.
Established in 1999, Hanawon offers a three-month resettlement education program for defectors.
julesyi@yna.co.kr
(END)
16. A highly infectious disease is killing North Korea's apple and pear trees
Can it get any worse for the Korean people in the north?
I would not be surprised if the Propaganda and Agitation Department blamed outside actors for bringing this blight to the north.
Excerpts:
With North Korea’s currently wet and warm conditions, infected trees could secrete the fire blight bacteria in the form of mucus. When rain falls, the bacteria could hitch a ride on the rain water to spread to other trees. Bacteria on clippers, saws, gloves and other farming tools could spread to other trees, too.
This is why pest control and other disease prevention measures are important. Fruit farmers must take care to thoroughly disinfect all their machinery and work tools with alcohol.
However, with pesticides, antibiotics and alcohol in short supply in North Korea, orchards face difficulties in implementing pest control and disinfection practices. In short, farmers appear to be sitting by helplessly as they lose their trees to the disease.
A highly infectious disease is killing North Korea's apple and pear trees - Daily NK
Fire blight spread from a previously affected region that borders China, and farms are just “waiting around to get hit” with no disinfectants on hand
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on a visit to a fruit orchard in Gwail County, South Hwanghae Province, in 2017. (KCNA)
Some of North Korea’s fruit producing regions have fallen victim to “fire blight,” a highly contagious disease that can shrivel and kill an entire fruit tree with a single infection.
A source in South Pyongan Province told Daily NK on July 6 that fire blight had recently hit several orchards in Sukchon County and Pyongwon County, major fruit producing regions. According to him, the disease is withering and killing apple and pear trees “as if they were burned in a fire.”
“The losses are enormous, and there’s a crisis because there’s no way of treating the disease yet,” he added.
Fire blight, a form of bacterial blight, is a dangerous plant disease that withers leaves, stems and fruits, turning them black as if they were burned. Highly infectious with no real treatments available, the disease forces farmers to uproot all the trees within a 100 meter radius of an infected tree, burning them and burying the remains in the ground. Otherwise, they could lose their entire orchards.
The source said the disease spreads so fast that if symptoms appear, farmers have no choice but to burn and bury the entire orchard.
“To prevent further outbreaks, affected orchards cannot cultivate host plants for three years,” he added.
A host plant refers to plants that herbivore insects or caterpillars eat. Since bacteria could survive inside host plants and infect fruit trees, affected orchards cannot cultivate them for a set period of time after an infection. Practically speaking, this renders orchards unable to plant anything for several years.
In South Korea, orchards stricken by fire blight are banned from cultivating host plants such as apple or pear trees for three years. Farmers who fail to comply face up to three years in prison or up to KRW 30 million in fines under Article 47 of the country’s Plant Protection Act.
The source said that North Korea’s fire blight spread from a region that borders China, and that farms are just “waiting around to get hit” because they have no disinfectants to fight it off.
According to South Korea’s Rural Development Administration, fire blight spreads through bacterial mucus secreted by infected trees that mixes with rain and wind, or by insects such as honey bees. It enters infected trees through lenticels and stomata in warm, wet conditions.
The blight could spread widely to nearby areas due to the monsoon rains.
With North Korea’s currently wet and warm conditions, infected trees could secrete the fire blight bacteria in the form of mucus. When rain falls, the bacteria could hitch a ride on the rain water to spread to other trees. Bacteria on clippers, saws, gloves and other farming tools could spread to other trees, too.
This is why pest control and other disease prevention measures are important. Fruit farmers must take care to thoroughly disinfect all their machinery and work tools with alcohol.
However, with pesticides, antibiotics and alcohol in short supply in North Korea, orchards face difficulties in implementing pest control and disinfection practices. In short, farmers appear to be sitting by helplessly as they lose their trees to the disease.
Translated by David Black. Edited by Robert Lauler.
Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
17. N. Korea marks death of Kim Il Sung by emphasizing protection of Kim's portraits, statues
Indicators of resistance potential or just natural paranoia and fear of resistance by the regime?
N. Korea marks death of Kim Il Sung by emphasizing protection of Kim's portraits, statues - Daily NK
North Koreans visit Mansudae Hill, where bronze statues of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il stand. (KCNA)
North Korea is marking the July 8 anniversary of the death of national founder Kim Il Sung by emphasizing careful maintenance of Kim’s portraits, statues and other imagery to prevent damage.
A Daily NK source in South Pyongan Province said Wednesday that the government demanded that officials “take care” of Kim’s images, warning of possible “enemy mischief” around the anniversary of his death. It also called on them to protect images of the Kim family from flood damage.
According to the source, the South Pyongan Province party committee convened an emergency meeting on July 1, during which it designated July a month for gaining a “firm grip” on “political-security activities.” It ordered all public safety and security bodies in the province to “thoroughly defend No. 1 images with their lives.”
“No. 1” refers to the nation’s supreme leaders, past and present.
In particular, the provincial party committee called on the management offices of statues, revolutionary battle sites and revolutionary historical sites to remain constantly vigilant, bolster their efforts to protect their sites and uncover and smash enemy plans for mischief in a timely fashion.
It also called on government bodies, enterprises and schools to mobilize the Worker-Peasant Red Guards and Red Youth Guard to protect the “gains of the revolution,” and on neighborhood watch units to form five-person teams to prevent “even the slightest problems” in efforts to protect images of the Kim family.
Above all, the committee called on people to craft plans to evacuate statues and images of Kim from historical sites and portraits of Kim from private homes when floods from summer rains strike, and for people to stay alert given that reactionaries inside the country could use the time to engage in mischief.
That is to say, the committee told people to keep alert because malcontents could intentionally damage images by, for instance, throwing stones at them and then pretending as if monsoon rains did the damage.
Moreover, the committee told all workplaces to keep detailed daily records of activities to protect images of the Kim family, warning them that it would collect and review all their ledgers on July 10, two days after the anniversary of Kim Il Sung’s death.
The committee also said it would review how well workplace leaders and workplace security officials carried out patrols of statues, historic sites and other imagery through Aug. 24.
“We’re getting more politically priggish orders than usual this year. People say the order for neighborhood watch units to form five-man teams is unprecedented, and for the authorities to suffocate people this way when it has already been hard enough to survive horrifies them,” the source said.
“People don’t know why they are being strangled like this, and are saying that unless they support one another and remain on guard, nobody knows what will happen,” he added.
Translated by David Black. Edited by Robert Lauler.
Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
De Oppresso Liber,
David Maxwell
Senior Fellow, Foundation for Defense of Democracies
Senior Fellow, Global Peace Foundation
Senior Advisor, Center for Asia Pacific Strategy
Editor, Small Wars Journal
Twitter: @davidmaxwell161
Phone: 202-573-8647
