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Nuclear envoys vow to sever North Korea funds
Quotes of the Day:
“You can avoid reality, but you cannot avoid the consequences of avoiding reality.”
- Ayn Rand
“Never do anything against conscience even if the state demands it.”
- Albert Einstein
This is timely insight from a 1959 interview with the philosopher Bertrand Russell about what he would say to a distant future generation of humans:
“I should like to say two things, one intellectual and one moral. The intellectual thing I should want to say is this: When you are studying any matter, or considering any philosophy, ask yourself only what are the facts and what is the truth that the facts bear out. Never let yourself be diverted either by what you wish to believe, or by what you think would have beneficent social effects if it were believed. But look only, and solely, at what are the facts. That is the intellectual thing that I should wish to say.
The moral thing I should wish to say… I should say love is wise, hatred is foolish. In this world which is getting more closely and closely interconnected we have to learn to tolerate each other, we have to learn to put up with the fact that some people say things that we don’t like. We can only live together in that way and if we are to live together and not die together we must learn a kind of charity and a kind of tolerance which is absolutely vital to the continuation of human life on this planet.”
“The good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge.”
- Bertrand Russell
1. North Korean Refugees and the Imminent Danger of Forced Repatriation from China | Congressional-Executive Commission on China
2. S. Korea, U.S. agree to additional efforts to cut off funds to N. Korea's weapons programs: nuclear envoy
3. N. Korea's FM reaffirms stronger cooperation with Russia
4. Korea has right to make any foreign policy decision it sees appropriate: White House
5. Chinese ambassador's conduct irks Koreans: Yoon
6. N. Korean smuggling of S. Korean goods never stopped during the pandemic
7. US concerned North Korea plans to deliver more weapons to Russia
8. Watchdog: Nuclear States Modernize Their Weapons, Chinese Arsenal Is Growing
9. America Should Destroy North Korean ICBMs Fired Into the Pacific Ocean
10. The case against a nuclear South KoreaNuclear envoys vow to sever North Korea funds
11. Where Does Japan Fit Into South Korea’s New Indo-Pacific Strategy?
12. Russia resumes oil shipments to North, possibly for weapons
13. Diplomacy 101 the Chinese ambassador missed
14. Reports of cannibalism in North Korea amid extreme hunger
15. China envoy remarks inaccurate: ministry
16. Japan, US, South Korea to hold security advisers meeting in Tokyo - Jiji
17. Nuclear envoys vow to sever North Korea funds
1. North Korean Refugees and the Imminent Danger of Forced Repatriation from China | Congressional-Executive Commission on China
It is good to see the House Commission on China take on the issue of refugees from north Korea in China. China is complicit in north Korean human rights abuses and crimes against humanity.
Today at 10am.
North Korean Refugees and the Imminent Danger of Forced Repatriation from China | Congressional-Executive Commission on China
cecc.gov
You are here
North Korean Refugees and the Imminent Danger of Forced Repatriation from China
2360 Rayburn House Office Building | Tuesday, June 13, 2023 - 10:00am
Close to 2000 North Korean refugees are reportedly held in detention centers near the China-North Korea border. Once North Korea lifts its COVID-19 imposed border closure policy, these refugees will likely face forced repatriation, despite the Chinese government’s international obligation to protect asylum-seekers. Any large-scale repatriation is a humanitarian and human rights crisis, particularly considering that previously repatriated North Korean refugees experienced torture, sexual assault, forced abortion, forced labor, and, in some cases, execution. According to experts, North Korea will reportedly begin reopening the borders as early as this summer, highlighting both the urgency of this issue and the need for action by the United States and its allies.
The hearing will examine the current situation on the ground in China and how COVID-19 has changed the landscape of North Korean defection. Experts on North Korean refugees and former United States and South Korean diplomats will provide testimony about the experiences of asylum-seekers in China and what can be done by the international community to curtail a massive repatriation effort and resulting humanitarian crisis.
The hearing will be livestreamed on the CECC’s YouTube Channel.
Witnesses:
Robert R. King, Former Special Envoy for North Korean Human Rights Issues, U.S. Department of State
Jung Hoon Lee, Dean, Graduate School of International Studies, Yonsei University & Former South Korean Ambassador-at-Large for North Korean Human Rights
Ethan Hee-Seok Shin, Legal Analyst, Transitional Justice Working Group
Hanna Song, Director of International Cooperation, Database Center for North Korean Human Rights
Hearings & Roundtables
Live Hearings and Archived Video
cecc.gov
2. S. Korea, U.S. agree to additional efforts to cut off funds to N. Korea's weapons programs: nuclear envoy
Strategic strangulation.
(LEAD) S. Korea, U.S. agree to additional efforts to cut off funds to N. Korea's weapons programs: nuclear envoy | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Duk-Kun Byun · June 13, 2023
(ATTN: UPDATES with additional remarks, more details, information throughout; ADDS photo)
By Byun Duk-kun
WASHINGTON, June 12 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and the United States agreed on Monday to further strengthen their joint efforts to prevent funds from flowing into North Korea's illegal weapons development programs, South Korea's top nuclear negotiator said.
Kim Gunn said he and U.S. special representative for North Korea Sung Kim also highlighted the importance of making North Korea realize that its provocations will lead to consequences.
"(We) have agreed to strengthen our efforts to more definitely cut off funds to North Korea's nuclear and missile development programs," Kim said of his meeting with the U.S. special representative in Washington.
To this end, Seoul has imposed unilateral sanctions on North Korean entities and individuals in eight different accounts in less than a year, according to the South Korean diplomat.
South Korea's top nuclear negotiator, Kim Gunn (R), and U.S. Special Representative for the DPRK Sung Kim hold a joint press conference after their meeting in Washington on June 12, 2023. (Yonhap)
The nuclear envoys' meeting comes after North Korea's botched attempt to launch what it claimed was a military reconnaissance satellite.
"In a current condition when North Korea has announced plans for an additional launch of a so-called satellite, (we) reviewed and coordinated our countries' countermeasures against potential North Korean provocations," the South Korean nuclear envoy said while meeting with reporters in Washington.
"We must make North Korea realize that there is nothing it can gain through provocation," he added.
Sung Kim echoed the South Korean envoy's remarks, saying, "It is important to make clear to the DPRK that its escalatory behavior has consequences."
DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, North Korea's official name.
The U.S. envoy also reiterated U.S. commitment to engaging with Pyongyang.
"At the same time, we have been very clear that we seek dialogue with Pyongyang, and we are willing to meet them without preconditions," he told the joint press conference with his South Korean counterpart.
"We have also been clear that we support humanitarian aid to the DPRK regardless of progress on denuclearization," added Kim.
The U.S. envoy highlighted the strength of the U.S.-South Korea alliance, "particularly on DPRK issues."
"The fact that two of us are doing this event together today is yet another testament to that coordination," he said.
Kim Gunn said bilateral cooperation between the allies, as well as their trilateral cooperation with Japan, will continue to advance, noting all three countries will sit on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) next year.
"I expect the South Korea-Japan-U.S. cooperation, which has become closer than ever before through three South Korea-Japan-U.S. summit meetings over the past year will continue in the UNSC setting as well," he said.
"South Korea, Japan and the U.S. will together make utmost efforts to make sure that the UNSC will no longer go silent on North Korean provocations," added Kim.
This file photo, taken April 6, 2023, shows South Korea's chief nuclear negotiator, Kim Gunn (R), and his U.S. counterpart, Sung Kim, posing for a photo prior to their talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons at the foreign ministry in Seoul. (Yonhap)
bdk@yna.co.kr
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en.yna.co.kr · by Duk-Kun Byun · June 13, 2023
3. N. Korea's FM reaffirms stronger cooperation with Russia
(LEAD) N. Korea's FM reaffirms stronger cooperation with Russia | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Minji · June 13, 2023
(ATTN: UPDATES with more details in last 5 paras; ADDS photo)
SEOUL, June 13 (Yonhap) -- North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui has sent a congratulatory message to her Russian counterpart over Moscow's key national holiday and vowed stronger cooperation between the two nations, state media reported Tuesday.
In the message sent to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Monday on the occasion of Russia Day, Choe said Pyongyang and Moscow have ushered in a new "heyday" in their friendly relationship, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
"Mutual cooperation and support in terms of bilateral and international affairs have become stronger than at any time," Choe was quoted as saying by the KCNA.
She also voiced confidence that the two nations will build stronger "strategic and tactical cooperation" in the diplomacy field for the development of the bilateral ties, according to the KCNA.
North Korea has expressed its support of Russia despite international condemnation over Moscow's war with Ukraine, amid allegations that Pyongyang has provided arms to Moscow for use in the war.
This undated image, provided by Yonhap New TV, shows North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
In North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's congratulatory message to Russian President Vladimir Putin over the holiday, he voiced his willingness to build closer ties with Russia by "holding hands firmly with the Russian President."
Russia Day is celebrated on June 12 to mark the adoption of the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic in 1990.
In what appeared to be a sign of their cooperation, Russia has resumed provision of refined petroleum to the secretive state for the first time in more than two years, according to data from the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) sanctions committee on the North.
Moscow's supply of refined petroleum to the North totaled 67,300 barrels between December last year and April, according to the data uploaded on the website of the committee.
It marked the first time since August 2020 that Russia officially supplied refined oil to the North.
Under the UNSC Resolution 2397 adopted in 2017, member countries' shipments of refined petroleum to North Korea were capped at 500,000 barrels per year. Member states providing such items to the North should report their monthly supply to the U.N.
While the North closed its border as part of rigid restrictions during the pandemic, it is believed to have procured oil through illegal ship-to-ship transfers.
This photo, provided by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on Feb. 24, 2023, shows members of the Russian Embassy in North Korea visiting the Liberation Monument and the grave of Russian soldiers in Pyongyang to mark Russia's key anniversary the previous day. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Minji · June 13, 2023
4. Korea has right to make any foreign policy decision it sees appropriate: White House
We are wise to remember that that also applies to when the ROK does something in its interests that we might not like.
Excerpts:
"South Korea is a sovereign, independent nation, a terrific ally and a great friend not just in the region but around the world, and they have every right to make the kinds of foreign policy decisions they deem are appropriate," added Kirby.
Korea has right to make any foreign policy decision it sees appropriate: White House
The Korea Times · by 2023-06-12 17:00 | Foreign Affairs · June 13, 2023
John Kirby, National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, is seen taking questions during a daily White House press briefing in Washington on June 12 in this captured image. Yonhap
Korea is a sovereign nation that has the right to make its own foreign policy decisions, a ranking White House official said Monday.
John Kirby, National Security Council (NSC) coordinator for strategic
communications, made the remark about the Chinese Ambassador to Korea, Xing Haiming, who argued that it would be wrong to bet on China's loss in its competition with the U.S., apparently accusing Korea of siding with the U.S.
Kirby noted that the Chinese diplomat may have been seeking to put pressure on Seoul.
"It certainly appears as if there was some sort of pressure tactic here used," he told a daily press briefing.
Envoy's remarks cast further chill over Korea-China relations
Seoul has expressed its discontent, with a presidential official underscoring that inappropriate remarks by an ambassador could undermine the national interests of both the home and host countries.
Kirby said the U.S. continues to be grateful for the support Korea provides, "particularly with respect to Ukraine." (Yonhap)
The Korea Times · by 2023-06-12 17:00 | Foreign Affairs · June 13, 2023
5. Chinese ambassador's conduct irks Koreans: Yoon
Wolf diplomacy backfires.
Chinese ambassador's conduct irks Koreans: Yoon
The Korea Times · by 2023-06-13 16:57 | Politics · June 13, 2023
President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the presidential office in Yongsan District, Seoul, Tuesday. Joint Press Corps
Yoon's office awaits 'China's appropriate measures on Xing' over remarks on Seoul's foreign policy
By Nam Hyun-woo
President Yoon Suk Yeol slammed Chinese Ambassador to Seoul Xing Haiming's open criticism of Korea's foreign policy, saying he is doubtful of the envoy's "attitude of mutual respect and reciprocity as a diplomat."
According to officials at the presidential office, Yoon made the comments during a closed-door session of a Cabinet meeting, Tuesday, referring to Xing's recent remarks.
One official quoted Yoon as saying he is doubtful whether Xing is aware of "mutual respect or reciprocity as a diplomat" and that "Xing's inappropriate conduct is making the Korean public feel uncomfortable."
Another official at the office said Yoon stressed that relations between the two countries are "based on the great principle of mutual respect and shared benefits."
The controversy surrounding the envoy was ignited during his dinner with main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) Chairman Lee Jae-myung last Thursday. Xing read a prepared statement in front of reporters that evening, expressing discontent over Korea's increasing alignment with the United States.
"With the U.S. exercising full-fledged pressure on China, some people seem to bet that the U.S. will prevail and China will be defeated. That is a wrong bet … Those who bet on China's loss will surely regret their decision in the future," Xing said.
Debate on foreigners' voting rights rekindled following Chinese envoy's remarks
The remarks drew strong criticism from the Korean government, with First Vice Foreign Minister Chang Ho-jin summoning Xing to the ministry to lodge a strong protest against the envoy's "irrational and provocative" rhetoric. In response, Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Nong Rong called in Korea's Ambassador to Beijing Chung Jae-ho, Saturday, to protest the Korean foreign ministry's "unfair response."
Chinese Ambassador to Korea Xing Haiming, right, drinks tea during a meeting with main opposition Democratic Party of Korea Chairman Lee Jae-myung at the diplomat's residence in Seoul, June 8. Joint Press Corps
A senior official at the presidential office said Seoul is waiting for Beijing to take "proper measures on Xing."
"Xing's logic of explaining Korea-China relations does not reflect the facts," the official said.
"We have announced that we are cooperating with free democratic allies based on our constitutional spirit as well as pursuing healthy relations with China based on reciprocal and mutual respect, but Xing's comments were misleading, as if we are sidelining a certain country," the official said.
"As a top envoy to Korea, (Xing) has to pursue neighborly relations. Even if there is a problem, a diplomat should solve it behind closed doors and put the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations into practice before the public to promote friendly relations … We are now waiting for China to ponder upon this (Xing's comments) and take appropriate measures."
In response to the official's comments, China's foreign ministry indirectly dismissed Seoul's call for appropriate measures.
"Along with Seoul's position (that Beijing should take measures against Xing), we are paying attention to a news outlet reporting mud-slinging speculations, which have nothing to do with facts," Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin said, Tuesday. "And we express our regret."
On Monday, a Korean newspaper reported that Xing stayed at a luxurious resort on Ulleung Island for free last month. The resort is known to have a private cottage which costs more than $7,800 (9.93 million won) per night and is run by a company that operates businesses in China.
"It is part of Ambassador Xing Haiming's job to engage extensively with people from various walks of life in Korea with an aim of increasing understanding, promoting cooperation and advancing bilateral relations and I want to stress again that this should not be overly sensationalized as a major topic of discussion," the spokesperson added.
The ruling People Power Party also escalated its rhetoric against Xing, with Rep. Kim Seok-ki calling on Seoul to declare the envoy as "persona non grata" or a foreign diplomat who is asked by the host government to be recalled to his or her home country.
The Korea Times · by 2023-06-13 16:57 | Politics · June 13, 2023
6. N. Korean smuggling of S. Korean goods never stopped during the pandemic
The only safety or relief valve for the people. The Korean Workers' Party and the Kim family regime cannot take care of the 25 million Koreans in the north.
N. Korean smuggling of S. Korean goods never stopped during the pandemic
Goods ordered by high-ranking officials were delivered to their doorsteps, just like delivery services do in South Korea
dailynk.com
A ship docked at Nampo Port.(Wikimedia Commons)
This article is part of a series written by Daily NK journalist Kim Jeong Yoon entitled “North Korea’s Secret Stories.”
One day in November 2020, as North Korea’s borders remained closed due to COVID-19, a ship was slowly entering Port Daean, letting out a long blast from its horn.
Since the DPRK’s largest port in Nampo had shut down, most North Korean ships were docked at port. That this ship was entering Port Daean made it clear that it had been assigned a special mission, yet it was unclear why it was entering one of North Korea’s most important exit points for coal and minerals.
Reports by Daily NK suggest that this ship carried various products high-ranking North Korean officials had ordered from China. To survive the lockdown, the officials had come up with a plan to import products from abroad through routes they had used in the past.
North Korea’s embassy in China enthusiastically assisted in bringing this plan to fruition. After receiving requests from officials inside North Korea, the embassy quietly obtained the products through its staff, who passed the goods to the ship’s captain. Essentially, all of them acted as brokers for high-ranking officials in North Korea.
Embassy staff saw this time of zero foreign trade as a perfect opportunity to gather as much foreign currency as possible. As the embassy received numerous orders from other North Koreans dispatched abroad, staff began to advertise their services in earnest. They assured their customers that they would transfer everything onto ships coming out of North Korea, deliver it safely to their families, and even make calls to confirm deliveries.
Ordinary North Korean laborers in China also began to make use of this route to deliver money or letters into the DPRK, increasing the number of valuable customers for the embassy.
With its zealous business strategy, the embassy practically transformed itself into something akin to a North Korean marketplace where anything could be bought or sold. One employee of the North Korean embassy even said that South Korean electronics and cosmetics, normally difficult to import into the DPRK, were “OK as long as we get the money.”
The goods imported included not only electronics like Samsung TVs but also South Korean manufactured goods like shoes and clothing, and even memory devices (USB drives and SD cards), strictly prohibited by the anti-reactionary thought law enacted at the end of 2020. Of course, the imports were only possible if one had the money.
One embassy staff member who managed the transfer of goods charged USD 100 for a small bag and USD 400 for a Samsung TV, market prices that accounted for the risk involved in transporting them.
Ban on regional travel didn’t serve as a roadblock
The ship entering the Port of Daean was carrying many of these kinds of goods. But given that North Korea had strict bans on regional movement in place, how were the goods transported inside the country?
It turns out that the captain of the ship had already hired drivers of container trucks and delivery vehicles from each region to deal with that contingency.
Most goods had to be delivered to large cities where high-ranking officials reside, such as Pyongyang, Pyongsung, Nampo, and Sinuiju. Everything was delivered without incident to people’s doorstep, just like delivery services do in South Korea. Of course, all of this was only made possible by the power of money.
Everyone involved in the transport of the goods moved with such quick efficiency that they were faster than those instructed to urgently gather to prepare for war, according to people who took part in the process.
All of this shows that despite the North Korean government’s loud emphasis on “nationwide quarantine” and “the elimination of actions that undermine the state’s centralized control,” people inside and outside the country were actively engaging in operations to bring in products from abroad during the COVID-19 era.
Translated by Annie Eun Jung Kim. Edited by Robert Lauler.
Daily NK works with a network of sources who live inside North Korea, China and elsewhere. Their identities remain anonymous due to security concerns. More information about Daily NK’s reporting partner network and information gathering activities can be found on our FAQ page here.
Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
Read in Korean
dailynk.com
7. US concerned North Korea plans to deliver more weapons to Russia
As Dr. Bruce Bechtol discussed with me today: How is Russia paying the regime for north Korea's weapons and equipment? Train loads of rubles across the 17KM Russia-north Korea border? Oil? (which the regime desperately needs). Modern conventional weapons? (rockets and missile technology that the regime can reverse engineer or adapt for their systems?) It would be interesting to know what the regime is getting in return.
US concerned North Korea plans to deliver more weapons to Russia
Reuters · by Reuters
WASHINGTON, June 12 (Reuters) - The United States is concerned that North Korea is planning to deliver more weapons to Russia, a U.S. State Department spokesperson said on Monday after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed to bolster strategic cooperation with Moscow.
Earlier on Monday, North Korea's KCNA state news agency said Kim made the pledge in a message to Russian President Vladimir Putin marking Russia's National Day.
Kim called for "closer strategic cooperation" with Moscow, "holding hands firmly with the Russian president, in conformity with the common desire of the peoples of the two countries to fulfil the grand goal of building a powerful country," KCNA said.
The State Department spokesperson said that despite Pyongyang's denials that it had sold weapons to Russia for its war in Ukraine, the United States had confirmed North Korea had completed an arms delivery, including infantry rockets and missiles, to the Kremlin-backed Wagner mercenary group in November 2022.
"We are concerned that the DPRK is planning to deliver more military equipment to Russia," the spokesperson added, using the initials of North Korea's official name.
North Korea has sought to forge closer ties with the Kremlin and backed Moscow after it invaded Ukraine last year, blaming the "hegemonic policy" and "high-handedness" of the United States and the West.
The United States said in March it had new information that Russia was actively seeking to acquire additional weapons from North Korea in exchange for food aid.
In March, Washington imposed sanctions on a Slovakian man it said had tried to arrange the sale of over two dozen types of North Korean weapons and munitions to Russia to help Moscow replace military equipment lost in its war with Ukraine.
Reporting by Hyonhee Shin; Editing by Stephen Coates
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Reuters · by Reuters
8. Watchdog: Nuclear States Modernize Their Weapons, Chinese Arsenal Is Growing
Watchdog: Nuclear States Modernize Their Weapons, Chinese Arsenal Is Growing
https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2023/06/13/watchdog_nuclear_states_modernize_their_weapons_chinese_arsenal_is_growing_940343.html?
STOCKHOLM (AP) — The nine nuclear-armed states continue to modernize their arsenals and several deployed new nuclear-armed or nuclear-capable weapon systems in 2022, a Swedish think tank said Monday.
“We are drifting into one of the most dangerous periods in human history,” said Dan Smith, director of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, or SIPRI.
“It is imperative that the world’s governments find ways to cooperate in order to calm geopolitical tensions, slow arms races and deal with the worsening consequences of environmental breakdown and rising world hunger,” he said in a statement.
SIPRI estimated that of the total global inventory of 12,512 warheads in January 2023, some 9,576 were in military stockpiles for potential use which was 86 more than in January 2022.
The independent institute listed the nuclear-armed states as the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China, India, Pakistan, North Korea and Israel.
In its yearbook, the Swedish watchdog wrote that the United States and Russia each hold more than 1,000 warheads previously retired from military service, which they are gradually dismantling.
As for China, SIPRI said the size of country’s nuclear arsenal had increased from 350 warheads in January 2022 to 410 in January 2023 and it is expected to keep growing.
“Depending on how it decides to structure its forces, China could potentially have at least as many intercontinental ballistic missiles as either the USA or Russia by the turn of the decade,” SIPRI wrote.
The institute said that nuclear arms control and disarmament diplomacy had suffered major setbacks following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Washington suspended its bilateral strategic stability dialogue with Russia, and Moscow announced in February that it was suspending its participation in the New START nuclear treaty.
Allowing inspections of weapons sites and providing information on the placement of intercontinental and submarine-based ballistic missiles and their test launches are critical components of New START, which U.S. President Barack Obama and Russia’s Dmitry Medvedev signed in 2010.
Nevertheless, by SIPRI’s assessment, both countries’ deployed strategic nuclear forces remained within the New START limits as of January 2023.
9. America Should Destroy North Korean ICBMs Fired Into the Pacific Ocean
I am just not sure the cost is really worth the benefit. So what if we shoot down a missile? How will that really affect KJU's decision making calculus? He might say - so they had perfect conditions with the right systems in the right place for a long time waiting for me to fire. They shot down one missile. So what? I am not going to only fire one missile. I am going to fire many and overwhelm their defenses.
I am just not sure shooting down one missile is going to increase our deterrence. And as Dr.. Bennett notes, some of us wonder what if we miss and do not shoot it down? And I am not sure we could spin a miss as an "operational test."
America Should Destroy North Korean ICBMs Fired Into the Pacific Ocean
19fortyfive.com · by Bruce Bennett · June 12, 2023
Months back, the U.S. Indo-Pacific commander, Adm. John Aquilino, reportedly said that the U.S. would “immediately” shoot down any intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) fired over the U.S. territory of Guam or into the Pacific region.
On March 7, Kim Yo-jong is reported to have responded, “It will be regarded as a clear declaration of war against the DPRK, in case such military response as interception takes place against our tests of strategic weapons that are conducted without being detrimental to the security of neighboring countries in the open waters and air which do not belong to the U.S. jurisdiction.”
North Korea: Translation Needed On New Threat
First, let’s be clear about what she’s saying: If North Korea lobs an ICBM in the direction of the U.S. and its territories, and the U.S. military shoots it down, that will be regarded as a U.S. act of war. Even in the realm of North Korean rhetoric, this is extreme.
Next, let’s parse her justification: North Korean missile tests into the Pacific are open game and no threat to anyone. That is patently not true. All of North Korea’s ballistic missile tests are prohibited by multiple UN Security Council Resolutions because its development of missiles does pose serious threats to its neighbors.
All this might lead one to ask why Kim Yo-jong is being so extreme?
Realistic or not, Kim Yo-jong is trying to create a situation in which North Korea can show off an ICBM without U.S. interference.
Korea Needs This Cover
But were the U.S. to intercept and destroy it, that would seriously undermine the Kim family’s efforts to demonstrate its power to both internal and external audiences. Internally, the regime likely wants to divert attention from its looming food crisis, which could approach the severity of the North’s famine in the late-1990s, when mass starvation killed perhaps as much as 10-15 percent of its population. The extreme nature of her threat suggests how badly the Kim family needs a successful distraction for its populace.
The Kim family has, however, backed itself into a corner. It has created conditions under which the United States may have little choice but to do exactly what Aquilino has promised.
The U.S. Might Cut Through Distraction
Consider a case where North Korea launches an ICBM out over the Pacific, which appears to be headed in the general direction of Hawaii. With its shorter-range missiles, North Korea has demonstrated that it has the technology to maneuver missiles in flight to hit a target. So even if that North Korean missile appears not to be headed directly towards Hawaii, it might have the maneuver capability to strike Hawaii at the last moment.
What kind of warhead, if any, does that missile carry? Could it be a nuclear weapon? The U.S. is unlikely to know for sure. If Aquilino fails to intercept and destroy that warhead, hundreds of thousands of Americans could be killed or seriously injured.
Surprise is an ingrained element of North Korean strategy, so can the United States really take that chance? Especially given the level of hostility and threats expressed by the Kim family?
Even if a North Korean ICBM appeared to be falling well short of U.S. territory, what would happen if it were carrying a nuclear warhead designed to execute an electromagnetic pulse attack on the western part of the United States? The EMP from a nuclear weapon could burn out parts of the U.S. electricity distribution system. Americans on the west coast might find themselves without electrical power for months to years.
North Korea has been carrying out missile tests, which Kim Jong-un has said simulate attacks on South Korea and beyond, one of which may well have been a simulation of an EMP attack. Electromagnetic pulses can travel many hundreds of miles such that even a missile on a trajectory to land far out to sea could potentially cause tremendous damage to U.S. territory. Can the United States just let that happen? The Kim family’s rhetoric and demonstrated capabilities appear to force a U.S. interception.
Aquilino’s comment reportedly came in response to Kim Yo-jong’s threat to use the Pacific Ocean as its “shooting range” for North Korean weapons. But even a single surprise nuclear attack could cause so much damage that the United States cannot allow it. The UN has also prohibited such North Korean missile launches, so the U.S. would only be enforcing the UN Security Council Resolutions.
Some may fear that a failed interception could undermine confidence in U.S. missile defense systems. Thus it would be important for the United States to depict these intercepts as real operational tests against real adversary targets. While successful intercepts are likely, any failures would allow the United States to improve the reliability and performance of its missile defenses.
Bruce W. Bennett is an adjunct international/defense researcher at the nonprofit, nonpartisan RAND Corporation. He works primarily on research topics such as strategy, force planning, and counterproliferation within the RAND International Security and Defense Policy Center.
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19fortyfive.com · by Bruce Bennett · June 12, 2023
10. The case against a nuclear South Korea
In addition to reputational loss, abandonment of Seoul would not enhance the national security of the US whatsoever. It would not stop north Korea from attacking the US in Japan, Guam, or Hawaii or even the mainland. Kim might likely interpret Seoul's abandonment as the gimmick that it is and would still attack the US because he would expect the US to return to assist in defending the South.
Conclusion:
Even if Pyongyang spirals as a response to South Korea’s attempts at balancing, the considerable US presence in South Korea would compel Washington to respond.
In the face of an adverse reaction from North Korea, any kind of US abandonment of Seoul will cost the United States its reputation as Seoul’s security guarantor and wreck its alliances in the region, diluting its efforts to counter China.
The existing US-South Korea alliance arrangement is optimally set. South Korean attempts to secure itself with nuclear weapons would engender instability. Seoul’s security lies instead in incremental steps to enhance its defensive capability.
The case against a nuclear South Korea
US-South Korea alliance arrangement is currently optimally set while any bid to pursue nuclear weapons would stoke instability
asiatimes.com · by Rahul Jaybhay · June 13, 2023
Stranded in the deteriorating East Asian security environment, South Korea is witnessing unprecedented turbulence. The nuclear build-up in North Korea has baffled the South Korean security elite.
While policy options have been floated to reduce South Korea’s insecurity, measures to change the status quo could potentially intensify Seoul’s vulnerability and expose it to strong reactions from adversaries.
A premature declaration to pursue the nuclear option would stoke “incentives for aggression” from regional actors, potentially propelling China and North Korea to retaliate. China has previously responded to South Korean attempts to shore up its defenses by imposing economic sanctions.
If South Korean elites decide to pursue nuclear weapons, it could lead to more stringent measures from Beijing – one possibility being coercion and blackmail aimed at knocking South Korea off course from its nuclear endeavor.
Beijing’s expansion of its nuclear arsenal is a manifestation of its coercive ploy to repress Washington’s allies like South Korea. It is attempting to drive a wedge in the alliance, potentially “decoupling” them. If Seoul’s desire for a bomb manifests, it will only accelerate Beijing’s aggressive steps.
Though South Korea seldom aims to balance China, its attempt to neutralize the North Korean threat is misperceived in Beijing due to paranoia about US intentions. North Korea’s unabated spree to develop delivery systems and nuclear-capable missiles has been complicating South Korea’s security environment.
If Seoul declares itself a nuclear weapons state, Pyongyang’s warning to retaliate by using nuclear weapons may get traction — something South Korea is not equipped to counter.
A THAAD interceptor is test-launched in Kodiak, Alaska, on July 11, 2017. Photo: Leah Garton / Missile Defense Agency / Handout
The much-anticipated US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, deployed in the far south of South Korea against North Korean medium and intermediate-range ballistic missiles, is not potent enough to save Seoul. The indigenously built Cheolmae-2 medium-range surface-to-air missile (KM-SAM) is riddled with technical loopholes.
Unless Seoul hastens the deployment of its “strategic command” to bolster its defenses against cruise and ballistic missile attacks under its “Three Axis” system, the call for nuclearization would only make Seoul more vulnerable.
Recourse to alternatives like “nuclear-sharing” with Washington does not serve many purposes either. While “loaning” a tactical nuclear weapon may signal alliance commitment, stationed nukes in South Korea would be more vulnerable to pre-emptive attacks.
For Washington, this might merely signify an attempt to sate Seoul. But unless Washington demonstrates its intent to defend Seoul, these weapons will lack deterrent utility for South Korea.
In the 1970s, former president Park Chung-hee’s government failed to assuage its insecurity even when the US tactical nuclear weapons were on South Korean soil. As former US president Richard Nixon’s administration reduced US troops in South Korea, US abandonment became apparent.
Seoul realized the futility of “extra-territorial nuclear deployment”, leading to calls for indigenous nuclear armament. Apprehension about the credibility and resolve of the US alliance nosedived since former US president Donald Trump’s administration.
The Washington Declaration of 2023 – set to redeem US reliability – never explicitly stipulated establishing deterrence through nuclear retaliation, a crucial point that South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol misinterpreted.
The declaration was meant to enhance “intra-alliance consultation on nuclear matters.” But it ended up being more of a consolatory gesture from Washington, highlighting Washington’s desire to reassure Seoul.
Even symbolic appearances of US strategic assets on the Korean peninsula, rather than discouraging North Korea, would further inflate its insecurity. The expectations around the sailing of the US Ohio Class SSBN are misplaced, as nuclear assets deployed in proximity will make Pyongyang take them seriously, prompting it to respond more aggressively.
None of the notable policy options available at Seoul’s disposal works in its favor. Going nuclear would dampen its alliance with Washington while hosting US tactical nuclear weapons would increase the probability of pre-emptive strikes. Promises of US extended deterrence do not obligate the US to reciprocate its rhetoric.
The solution lies in strictly maintaining the status quo and avoiding any deep US engagements like the employment of US strategic assets.
Symbolic assurances through the Washington Declaration serve such a purpose. While it makes sense to reassure allies by promising better outcomes for regional security through deeper engagements, which Seoul also prefers, such a choice is an imprudent one as it would conjure adverse provocations from North Korea and China.
Washington’s role as an off-shore balancer is optimal. Strengthening Seoul’s relations with Japan can boost South Korea’s conventional defensive capacities without instigating North Korea and China and conserve the status quo.
People in Seoul on January 1, 2020, watch a television news program showing file footage of a North Korean missile test. Photo: Asia Times files / AFP / Jung Yeon-je
Even if Pyongyang spirals as a response to South Korea’s attempts at balancing, the considerable US presence in South Korea would compel Washington to respond.
In the face of an adverse reaction from North Korea, any kind of US abandonment of Seoul will cost the United States its reputation as Seoul’s security guarantor and wreck its alliances in the region, diluting its efforts to counter China.
The existing US-South Korea alliance arrangement is optimally set. South Korean attempts to secure itself with nuclear weapons would engender instability. Seoul’s security lies instead in incremental steps to enhance its defensive capability.
Rahul Jaybhay is a PhD Student at the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and associated with the Asia Society Policy Institute, New Delhi.
Anondeeta Chakraborty is a postgraduate student at the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.
This article was originally published by East Asia Forum and is republished under a Creative Commons license.
asiatimes.com · by Rahul Jaybhay · June 13, 2023
11. Where Does Japan Fit Into South Korea’s New Indo-Pacific Strategy?
A good question.
Conclusion:
South Korea’s pursuit of an Indo-Pacific strategy faces not only the China-U.S. rivalry but also challenging issues such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the longstanding North Korean nuclear missile problem. In that sense, it is reasonable for South Korea to strategically cooperate with countries like Japan that share the same aspirations. Additionally, if South Korea truly aims to become a global pivotal state, it must deeply and actively engage in shaping the order in the Indo-Pacific region with a long-term perspective.
This does not mean that South Korea needs to form its own regional framework, but rather, it can be achieved by pursuing a sustainable middle diplomacy that goes beyond the Korean Peninsula, a challenge that successive South Korean administrations have faced, in order to expand common interests in the Indo-Pacific region. This aligns with Yoon’s three principles of inclusiveness, trust, and reciprocity, and it underscores the steady implementation of an Indo-Pacific strategy.
Where Does Japan Fit Into South Korea’s New Indo-Pacific Strategy?
Establishing a strategic relationship has become an urgent task to address threats to the stability of the Indo-Pacific region, but significant obstacles remain.
thediplomat.com · by Shu Fukuya · June 12, 2023
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The relationship between South Korea and Japan is of significant importance and closely observed due to their geographical proximity and historical connections. Moreover, in recent times, the need for both countries to establish a strategic relationship has become an urgent task to address threats endangering the stability of the Indo-Pacific region, such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, North Korea’s nuclear development, and the Taiwan Strait confrontation.
However, there are various constraints and limitations that hinder the full realization of the potential of both countries and their ability to effectively manage their relationship in the Indo-Pacific region. It is indeed a commonly recognized issue that strategic cooperation between South Korea and Japan is challenging due to the historical tensions between the two countries.
While South Korea maintains some strategic cooperation with Japan against the common threat of North Korea, pursuing cooperation beyond the Korean Peninsula is extremely difficult due to the domestic situation in South Korea. In fact, changes in South Korea’s leadership had previously led to diplomatic confusion between the two countries. Japan is concerned that agreements with South Korea may be overturned, making it difficult to establish sustainable cooperation.
Thus, historical tensions between South Korea and Japan have made strategic cooperation challenging. Differences in interpretations of past events, the lack of immediate dialogue on colonial rule, and changes in leadership contribute to the difficulties in building a sustainable cooperative framework.
South Korea’s Regional Vision
South Korea’s participation in the Indo-Pacific strategy is welcomed by Japan, as it aligns with Japan’s own foreign policy stance. However, there are concerns regarding the consistent track record of strategic initiatives from South Korea, which poses a potential risk.
During the Kim Dae-jung administration, South Korea aimed to build multilateralism in Asia to allow Asian countries to have a greater strategic space apart from the United States. Specifically, South Korea actively cooperated with Japan, while taking into consideration China, promoting the East Asia Vision Group within the framework of ASEAN+3. However, after the second North Korean nuclear crisis in 2006, South Korea’s interest in East Asia gradually diminished, and the focus became restricted to the Korean Peninsula. Ultimately, the strategic efforts of progressive presidents in South Korea did not last long, and in the 2000s, they were unable to fulfill their role as a balancer.
In the 2010s, the conservative Park Geun-hye administration also emphasized Northeast Asia cooperation but as China asserted its “new type of great power relations“ and the United States pursued a rebalance to Asia, South Korea’s own strategic space narrowed, and it could not achieve concrete results. Most recently, former President Moon Jae-in introduced the New Southern Policy (NSP) to engage with ASEAN and promote economic connectivity in Southeast Asia, aligning with the Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) concept. However, South Korea hesitated to establish strategic links with Japan’s FOIP, which the Moon administration viewed as defense and security measures against China.
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The announcement of South Korea’s Indo-Pacific strategy under the current administration of Yoon Suk-yeol marked a departure from the past, addressing concerns about the lack of a comprehensive South Korean strategy in the region. President Yoon himself appears to be leading a resilient administration that is not swayed by public sentiment or public opinion, displaying strong determination and proactive actions. This presents an opportunity to strengthen the cooperation between the Yoon administration, Japan, and the United States in the Indo-Pacific region.
However, considering that Yoon is limited to a single five-year term according to the South Korean Constitution, with no possibility of re-election, the same old concerns about consistency remain.
South Korea’s China Policy
When discussing the factors that influence the bilateral relationship, it is essential to mention South Korea’s stance toward China, which differs from that of Japan. In its Indo-Pacific strategy, South Korea considers China as a “key partner for achieving prosperity and peace in the region,” emphasizing inclusiveness and stating that the strategy does not target or exclude any specific nation. South Korea supports an Indo-Pacific where countries with diverse political systems can advance peacefully through rule-based competition and cooperation. This approach aims to apply a rules-based international order and establish a relationship of mutual respect with China.
Unlike Japan and the United States, South Korea has rarely expressed overt concerns about the increasing influence of Beijing and, instead, seeks to incorporate China into a cooperative framework. This background is closely related to South Korea’s awareness of its economic and diplomatic vulnerability to China. A significant example is South Korea’s response to China’s social and economic coercion in response to the U.S. THAAD missile battery deployment in 2016. China imposed unofficial economic sanctions, causing turmoil in the South Korean economy. In response, South Korea adopted a “three noes” policy to alleviate pressure from China and did not hide its stance of clearly considering China’s interests.
This perspective has not significantly changed under the current Yoon administration. For instance, Yoon avoided direct talks with U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi during her visit, leading to criticism that he was attempting to pacify China as Pelosi was fresh off her controversial visit to Taiwan. Yoon’s foreign policy is still in a semi-mature state, and it remains unclear how Seoul will balance economic vulnerabilities to China while sharing strategic security interests with like-minded countries.
Becoming a “Global Pivotal State”
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South Korea, particularly in the previous administration, had aimed to play the role of a balancer in the region, avoiding involvement in the minilateral frameworks advocated by the United States and Japan. Instead Seoul focused on seeking synergistic effects in bilateral regional strategies while utilizing its limited strategic space, resulting in a limited regional presence.
In contrast, the foreign policy of the Yoon administration can be appreciated for its goal of positioning South Korea as a global pivotal state, which strives to accomplish two main objectives. First, it aims to promote global cooperation rooted in the values of liberal democracy and work toward achieving peace on the Korean Peninsula. Second, it seeks to implement a value-driven diplomacy that prioritizes the rule of law and human rights issues, in collaboration with liberal democratic nations. This approach suggests that South Korea intends to enhance its influence by expanding its network.
However, considering the past pattern of emerging and disappearing global strategies, it would be more realistic for South Korea to aim to become a global pivotal state after working in collaboration with other countries striving to shape the order in the Indo-Pacific region and gradually establishing recognition as a “global player.” In this sense, it is necessary to establish a cooperative framework with Japan, which shares similar aspirations in the Indo-Pacific region, within a multilateral framework.
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First, South Korea should utilize the U.S.-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) as a means of strategic cooperation with Japan to overcome the historical tensions that have destabilized bilateral cooperation. Addressing shared economic and security interests with Japan via IPEF would greatly contribute to strengthening the vulnerable security situation in the region.
It is true that there is criticism that the United States has not provided sufficient concrete benefits to IPEF member countries, and if it continues to be unable to offer tangible rewards to member countries, the realization of a new regional order will become extremely challenging. However, IPEF has the potential to function as a platform that goes beyond historical recognition and differences in foreign policies between countries like South Korea and Japan, promoting common strategic interests and shaping the regional order in the Indo-Pacific.
At the same time, on the economic front, it is indeed a fact that the South Korean economy relies on countries like China. Therefore, the Yoon administration needs to concretize its own strategy involving South Korea, China, and Japan, based on common understanding with various frameworks beyond the Japan-South Korea relationship, such as ASEAN+3, while leveraging South Korea’s strengths in science and technology. As the 10th largest economy in the world, South Korea can effectively engage in the international order of the Indo-Pacific region and gain diplomatic support from regional countries, including China and ASEAN, by utilizing the ASEAN+3 framework.
In Yoon’s opening speech at the Asian Development Bank Annual Meeting held in Incheon, South Korea, in May 2023, the president stated that the South Korean government is going to actively contribute to the economic development cooperation in the Indo-Pacific based on the three principles of inclusiveness, trust, and reciprocity. Furthermore, Yoon mentioned South Korea’s world-class production technology and manufacturing capacity in new industries such as semiconductors, secondary batteries, and bio-medicine, demonstrating a proactive attitude toward development cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region. This view of the South Korean government aligns with Seoul’s Indo-Pacific strategy, aiming to contribute to regional stability and prosperity through multilateral regional trade and investment routes using the ASEAN+3 framework.
Such a globally oriented approach contributes to the effective management of development cooperation and financial cooperation within ASEAN+3 and enhances mutual respect. ASEAN+3 has functioned as an organic framework for supporting and coordinating regional cooperation in the development and financial sectors between South Korea and Japan, even during periods of strained relations. Discussions on regional cooperation under ASEAN+3 are a common area of interest for the two countries, and it also serves as a platform that contributes to strengthening bilateral cooperation – such as the upcoming Korea-Japan Financial Dialogue scheduled for June 29, after a hiatus of approximately seven years.
South Korea’s pursuit of an Indo-Pacific strategy faces not only the China-U.S. rivalry but also challenging issues such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the longstanding North Korean nuclear missile problem. In that sense, it is reasonable for South Korea to strategically cooperate with countries like Japan that share the same aspirations. Additionally, if South Korea truly aims to become a global pivotal state, it must deeply and actively engage in shaping the order in the Indo-Pacific region with a long-term perspective.
This does not mean that South Korea needs to form its own regional framework, but rather, it can be achieved by pursuing a sustainable middle diplomacy that goes beyond the Korean Peninsula, a challenge that successive South Korean administrations have faced, in order to expand common interests in the Indo-Pacific region. This aligns with Yoon’s three principles of inclusiveness, trust, and reciprocity, and it underscores the steady implementation of an Indo-Pacific strategy.
Shu Fukuya
Shu Fukuya is a doctorate of International Affairs candidate at Johns Hopkins University. His areas of focus include international political economy, global financial markets, and development finance. He holds a Master's degree in International Development Economics from Yale University and the Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies at Waseda University, and a Bachelor's degree from Waseda University.
thediplomat.com · by Shu Fukuya · June 12, 2023
12. Russia resumes oil shipments to North, possibly for weapons
An answer to our questions on previous reports of weapons transfers. Looks like oil for the regime is the currency of the trade.
Tuesday
June 13, 2023
dictionary + A - A
Russia resumes oil shipments to North, possibly for weapons
https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2023/06/13/national/northKorea/Korea-North-Korea-Russia/20230613185016540.html
North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un, left and Russia's President Vladimir Putin toast each other at a reception following Russian-North Korean talks at the Far Eastern Federal University on Russky Island on April 25, 2019. [YONHAP]
Russia officially resumed shipments of refined oil to North Korea in December last year according to the United Nations Security Council website on Tuesday, highlighting growing cooperation between the two countries as they both face international isolation.
Data posted on the council website shows that Russia exported a total of 67,300 barrels of refined oil to the North from December to April.
The majority of that amount — 44,655 barrels — was shipped to the North in January.
Russia had not reported shipments of refined oil to the North for 28 months after shipping 255 barrels in August 2020.
Experts interviewed by Radio Free Asia (RFA) said they believe Russia shipped oil to the North in return for weapons it received to support its invasion of Ukraine.
Michael O’Hanlon, a senior fellow at the U.S.-based think tank Brookings Institute, told RFA that it was possible that Moscow was paying Pyongyang in refined oil in exchange for weapons.
Oil-for-weapons exchanges would be mutually beneficial for Russia and North Korea, which both face challenges in fulfilling their present military and economic needs due to multilateral and international sanctions.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 2397, which was adopted in 2017 after the North’s sixth nuclear weapons test, requires all United Nations member states to report supplies, sales and transfers of all refined petroleum products to North Korea.
The resolution also set a cap of 500,000 barrels on the total amount of refined oil that can be exported to North Korea each year, which is far below Pyongyang’s energy needs.
Russia’s reported shipments from December to April make up approximately 19 percent of the total amount of oil that the North can import under the current international sanctions regime.
Russia for its part has been subject to a $60 price cap on its oil and petroleum products since September as part of multilateral sanctions intended to limit its ability to bankroll its war machine in Ukraine.
Russia could sidestep such constraints by supplying oil-starved North Korea with fuel in exchange for weapons.
Refined oil shipments reported by Russia to the United Nations are also likely an underestimate of the actual amount making its way to the North.
Pyongyang is known to have previously evaded sanctions on its oil supplies through various means, including ship-to-ship transfers on open seas.
Unreported oil transfers constitute a violation of international sanctions.
On June 6, a Singaporean court sentenced a 40-year-old man to six months imprisonment for attempting to cover up a vessel’s involvement in transferring marine gas oil to a North Korean vessel.
Jeremy Koh Renfeng, who was a former cargo officer of the Singapore-flagged MT Sea Tanker II, was found guilty of obstructing justice by providing false information in the ship’s official log book and dumping a computer’s central processing unit into the sea in order to hide the vessel’s gas oil transfers to North Korean-flagged vessels in 2018.
In January, the South Korean Coast Guard arrested a Chinese oil broker on suspicion of organizing illegal transfers of diesel from South Korea to the North.
The broker, a naturalized South Korean citizen, allegedly supplied 19,000 tons of diesel to the North on a total of 35 occasions from October 2021 to January 2022.
Coast Guard officials said the suspect used a Russian oil tanker operated by a South Korean oil company to conduct ship-to-ship fuel transfers with a Chinese vessel in the South China Sea.
The Chinese ship then conducted ship-to-ship transfers with a North Korean ship.
Officials from the Chinese shipper received payment from North Korea and transferred it to the Chinese oil broker’s bank account, the Coast Guard said.
BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]
13. Diplomacy 101 the Chinese ambassador missed
Excerpts:
If the government acts resolutely based on the people’s anti-Chinese sentiment, we may feel relieved for a while, but it can cause unnecessary friction. Pragmatic diplomacy that puts national interests first is the key. While unwaveringly maintaining the strategy of strengthening the Korea-U.S. alliance and cooperation among Korea, Japan and the United States, we should pay attention to China and Russia. We need to continue pragmatic cooperation with China through behind-the-scenes contacts to find common interests.
Last month, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Choo Kyung-ho met with Xing at the government complex in Seoul. When Korea requested support for consultations to hold the Korea-China economic ministers’ meeting in Seoul within the year, China requested respect and consideration from Seoul for its core values. There were no harsh words, and the two sides amicably exchanged their hope.
The two countries have many things to cooperate on through various channels. For instance, what benefits Korean semiconductor factories in China also benefits China. They must build up concrete experiences of cooperation one after another. The “respect and consideration” Xing requested from Choo should be reciprocal. We no longer want to see the “wolf warrior” who abandons respect and consideration for the other country.
Tuesday
June 13, 2023
dictionary + A - A
Diplomacy 101 the Chinese ambassador missed
https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2023/06/13/opinion/columns/China-ambassdor-Xing-Haiming/20230613202327292.html
Suh Kyoung-ho
The author is an editorial writer of the JoongAng Ilbo.
“I hope you don’t go to Taiwan. Aren’t you supposed to visit China in the future?”
In 2004, diplomats of the Chinese embassy in Korea telephoned former and incumbent lawmakers of the National Assembly to discourage their plan to attend the inauguration ceremony of the reelected Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian. The wording — “Aren’t you supposed to visit China in the future?” — was a subtle threat to the politicians that they must not expect cooperation from Beijing in the future if they choose to attend the event.
Chinese Ambassador to Korea Xing Haiming, right, listens to Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung speak before their dinner at the Chinese Embassy in Seoul on Thursday. [KIM HYUN-DONG]
Chen was the first president from the Democratic Progressive Party, which advocated Taiwan’s independence. For China upholding the “One China” principle, he was a thorn in the eye. Former Rep. Jang Sung-min of the Millennium Democratic Party, who disclosed the incident on the internet at the time, criticized the phone calls as a “violation of the sovereignty of Korea and an act of interference in internal affairs.” Xing Haiming, the current Chinese ambassador to Korea, was then the political affairs counselor at the Chinese embassy in Seoul.
Xing, who studied at the Sariwon University of Agriculture in North Korea, served twice at the Chinese embassy in Pyongyang and three times at the Chinese embassy in Seoul before becoming the ambassador to South Korea in 2020. Because of his rough language, Xing stirred several controversies. Working as a counselor during his third service in Seoul in 2010, he faced criticism for his harsh response to then-Unification Minister Hyun In-taek. After the minister urged Beijing to take a responsible attitude, Xing responded, “Don’t you think you are going too far?”
Xing did the same in a meeting with Democratic Party (DP) leader Lee Jae-myung last week. “Those who bet on China’s defeat [in a hegemony war with the U.S.] will surely regret it later,” he said. “China is not responsible [for the deterioration of diplomatic relations between Korea and China].” The remarks stirred a controversy. The DP relayed the ambassador’s condescending rhetoric live on YouTube. That fueled South Koreans’ anti-Chinese sentiment triggered by Beijing’s economic and cultural retaliation in 2016 against Seoul’s decision to deploy the Thaad missile defense system to defend against North Korean missiles. The basic duty of diplomats is to protect their home country’s interest, but an ambassador is also responsible for maintaining good relations with the host country. Xing’s words and actions show that he completely gave up diplomatic efforts to open the hearts of the people in the host country and broaden the horizon of diplomacy. We can only feel his over-the-top loyalty to Beijing.
“If Japan is an enemy of 100 years, China is an enemy of 1,000 years,” North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was quoted as saying habitually to his aides, according to the book, “The China Shock, Korea’s Choice: Why Is China a Problem Right Now?”, published last year. Author Han Cheong-hwon wrote, “The anti-Chinese sentiment has become the spirit of the times to the extent that the description of China as the enemy of 1,000 years has become more convincing to Koreans.” The younger generation, who grew up enjoying liberal democracy, reacts more sensitively to the authoritarian behaviors of the Chinese Communist Party, symbolized by the one-man rule and regulation of popular culture.
After the Foreign Ministry summoned Xing to complain and the presidential office directly criticized Xing, the Chinese Foreign Ministry summoned the Korean ambassador to China to complain about Seoul’s action. Xing’s non-diplomatic rhetoric must be addressed, and we must say what we have to. But at the same time, we need to manage relations with China coolly so that the situation would not grow worse.
If the government acts resolutely based on the people’s anti-Chinese sentiment, we may feel relieved for a while, but it can cause unnecessary friction. Pragmatic diplomacy that puts national interests first is the key. While unwaveringly maintaining the strategy of strengthening the Korea-U.S. alliance and cooperation among Korea, Japan and the United States, we should pay attention to China and Russia. We need to continue pragmatic cooperation with China through behind-the-scenes contacts to find common interests.
Last month, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Choo Kyung-ho met with Xing at the government complex in Seoul. When Korea requested support for consultations to hold the Korea-China economic ministers’ meeting in Seoul within the year, China requested respect and consideration from Seoul for its core values. There were no harsh words, and the two sides amicably exchanged their hope.
The two countries have many things to cooperate on through various channels. For instance, what benefits Korean semiconductor factories in China also benefits China. They must build up concrete experiences of cooperation one after another. The “respect and consideration” Xing requested from Choo should be reciprocal. We no longer want to see the “wolf warrior” who abandons respect and consideration for the other country.
14. Reports of cannibalism in North Korea amid extreme hunger
Could be sensational reporting or it could be an indicator that there are bad things ahead for the Korean people and the regime. There is evidence this has happened in the past.
Reports of cannibalism in North Korea amid extreme hunger
koreaherald.com · by Kim Arin · June 13, 2023
By Kim Arin
Published : Jun 13, 2023 - 18:37 Updated : Jun 13, 2023 - 18:37
This picture shows the wooden boat a North Korean family used to cross the sea to get to South Korea. (photo courtesy of anonymous source at the National Assembly)
The hunger and economic hardships driven by COVID-19 are forcing North Koreans to resort to extreme means of survival, such as cannibalism, recent defectors were quoted as telling South Korean authorities.
This is one of the first accounts of the level of hunger in North Korea since COVID-19, given by North Korean family who came to South Korea by boat early last month.
The family consisting of a mother and two brothers, their wives and young children were found by South Korean authorities crossing the sea border off the western coast of the peninsula at night, and have been referred for screening interviews since.
They said the surge in COVID-19 outbreaks last year put neighborhoods in lockdown, leading many, even those with regular jobs, to make a living selling goods or services at marketplaces. In coastal areas, residents picked up South Korean trash or other items washed up along beaches to sell or send to factories for re-manufacturing.
As prices of rice and other essential grains spiked, access to food was severely curtailed, according to the family's accounts, which added that they had heard some had resorted to cannibalism.
They also said that in summer last year, a man in his early 20s was executed for watching and distributing South Korean films and music.
The two brothers, who initiated the family’s trip across the border, told authorities here that they began planning their defection after watching South Korean TV. They cited the talk show “Now on My Way to Meet You,” featuring North Korean defectors living in Seoul, as having had a major influence in their decision to leave the country.
One of the brothers had worked as a boat captain, which was one of the factors that made the family choose to flee by sea. They had been bribing sea guards for a few months prior to fleeing to ensure they could get away.
By Kim Arin (arin@heraldcorp.com)
15. China envoy remarks inaccurate: ministry
Admit nothing, deny everything, and make counter accusations.
China envoy remarks inaccurate: ministry
Beijing expresses regrets over Seoul's stance, saying envoy was doing his job
koreaherald.com · by Choi Si-young · June 13, 2023
China's top envoy in South Korea "intentionally" criticized South Korea's policy with "inaccurate information," Seoul's Foreign Ministry said Tuesday, in an open criticism of the diplomat on his remarks that came at the center of growing tension between Seoul and Beijing.
"We are not faulting the ambassador for meeting with our opposition leader," South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lim Soo-suk said at a briefing Tuesday.
"The problem lies in intentionally criticizing our government's policy with inaccurate information in a situation where it was clear they would be made public in the media."
Shortly after the Foreign Ministry's briefing, the Chinese Foreign Ministry expressed "regret" over Seoul's stance on Xing Haiming, Chinese ambassador to South Korea. The Chinese ministry claimed he was simply engaging with various figures from different circles.
Xing's duty is to "enhance understanding, promote cooperation, and sustain and advance the relationship," the Chinese Foreign Ministry said, in a remark seen as rejecting Seoul's expectation for Beijing to smooth out the two countries' differences.
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, came under fire for potentially giving China’s chief envoy in Seoul a chance to openly criticize Korea’s foreign policy at a meeting last week.
Xing warned Seoul against making “wrong bets” on China losing out to the US in the two countries' intensifying rivalry -- a reference to Seoul’s push for closer ties with Washington. The envoy's comments drew ire from Seoul.
Rep. Jung Sung-ho of the Democratic Party, a four-term lawmaker close to Lee, said that Lee should have "fine-tuned his preparations more" for the meeting, adding that the Chinese envoy speaking to Lee was “something he should not have done” in the first place.
Jung’s remarks are a rare intervention within Lee's support base, prompted by growing criticism that Lee had unfairly taken advantage of a meeting with the envoy to advance his own political agenda.
President Yoon Suk Yeol's ruling People Power Party slammed the envoy’s remarks. Yoon’s office said that the ambassador should not meddle in internal affairs as per protocol, while Seoul's Foreign Ministry labeled the remarks as “hampering friendly ties.”
In a tit-for-tat spat, the two countries called in each other’s chief envoys to lodge a complaint.
Xing set off a wave of anti-China sentiment in Korea which quickly gained momentum, with the ruling party openly suggesting that measures should be taken to stop Chinese nationals in Korea from voting in the country's general elections.
The measure is in response to the fact that China is not reciprocating any such privileges to Koreans living in China, the party says.
Meanwhile, the US' White House spokesperson John Kirby said the latest remarks by the Chinese top envoy was part of a “pressure tactic.” South Korea is an independent sovereign nation that can dictate its own policy, he added.
By Choi Si-young (siyoungchoi@heraldcorp.com)
koreaherald.com · by Choi Si-young · June 13, 2023
16. Japan, US, South Korea to hold security advisers meeting in Tokyo - Jiji
Japan, US, South Korea to hold security advisers meeting in Tokyo - Jiji
koreaherald.com · by Reuters · June 13, 2023
By Reuters
Published : Jun 13, 2023 - 21:20 Updated : Jun 13, 2023 - 21:20
Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup (right) and his US and Japanese counterparts, Lloyd Austin and Yasukazu Hamada, respectively, pose for a photo as they meet trilaterally on the margins of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on June 3, 2023. (Yonhap)
Japan will host a meeting of security advisers with the United States and South Korea in Tokyo on June 15, and with the United States and the Philippines on June 16, Jiji news agency reported on Tuesday. (Reuters)
17. Nuclear envoys vow to sever North Korea funds
Nuclear envoys vow to sever North Korea funds
koreaherald.com · by Choi Si-young · June 13, 2023
South Korea’s chief nuclear envoy, Kim Gunn, and his US counterpart, Sung Kim, reaffirmed their commitment to respond sternly to North Korea’s aggression, including blocking illicit funds from aiding North Korea's weapons development programs.
"(We) have agreed to strengthen our efforts to more definitely cut off funds to North Korea's nuclear and missile development programs," Kim Gunn said of his meeting with the US special representative in Washington.
The North is refusing to comply with international sanctions meant to curb its nuclear and weapons development programs, having conducted a string of weapons tests. Two weeks ago, Pyongyang launched what it claimed was a military reconnaissance satellite amid suspicion that it was testing a ballistic missile, as the same technology is required. UN sanctions ban the country from using such technology.
“We will be prepared to deal with the North,” South Korean envoy Kim said, referring to a second launch North Korea suggested could take place shortly after the failed launch. Pyongyang contends any launch of a satellite is part of its self-defense, saying a spy satellite, in particular, would allow it to closely monitor US military activities.
According to Sung Kim, a second launch will prompt not only sanctions but military responses from South Korea, Washington and Japan, a three-way coalition focused on North Korea’s denuclearization.
“It’s important to make North Korea pay for any attempts to escalate tension,” Kim said, stressing the coalition “has always been open to dialogue.” Pyongyang refuses to return to talks, citing sanctions relief as a precondition Washington should meet. The US and the North last came to the negotiating table in October 2019, a meeting that fell short of reaching any agreement.
The chief nuclear envoys from Seoul and Washington added that their efforts towards disarmament are not designed to wait on North Korea’s responses.
“What we’re trying here is to lead the regime to disarm itself,” South Korean envoy Kim said, calling the joint policy on North Korea a comprehensive blueprint built on both deterrence and diplomacy. South Korea and the US have resumed their annual military drills, a move which North Korea has dubbed a “rehearsal for invasion." The two allies label the drills a “test for readiness.”
South Korea and the US signed a pact in April giving South Korea a bigger say in any potential US nuclear response to North Korea’s nuclear attacks. Following the agreement, the allies are expected to double down on deterring the isolated country from aggression for some time.
The two envoys added they will step up the monitoring of rights abuses in North Korea, a task they said will gain more spotlight on the international stage. South Korea will start its two-year term on the UN Security Council in January next year, marking a return to the UN’s most powerful body after a 11-year hiatus.
By Choi Si-young (siyoungchoi@heraldcorp.com)
koreaherald.com · by Choi Si-young · June 13, 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
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