9/25/2020 News & Commentary – Korea

News & commentary by Dave Maxwell. Edited and published by Daniel Riggs

1. N. Korea shoots S. Korean official to death at sea, burns his body: defense ministry

2. Moon calls N. Korea's killing of S. Korean official 'shocking,' not tolerable for any reason

3. Inter-Korean ties thrown into abyss following N. Korea's killing of S. Korean citizen

4. New virus cases over 100 for 2nd day, sporadic cluster infections still worrisome

5. Unification ministry strongly condemns N. Korea's killing of S. Korean as 'inhumane act'

6. Unification Ministry suspends investigations into human rights in N. Korea

7. North Korean Provocations Likely Around U.S. Presidential Election

8. Missiles, Submarines and More: How North Korea Supplies Iran With Weapons

9. Kim Jong-un 'narrowly avoided assassination attempt' by North Korean foes

10. Moon pleads for UN to end the Korean War

11. Donald Trump’s Second-Term North Korea Strategy: A Deal or Ignore Kim?

12. There Isn’t A Military Solution to North Korea (And The American Public Agrees)

13. Pompeo to visit S. Korea next month

14. How Coronavirus Impacts North Korea's Nuclear Program

15. How Extreme Flooding in the DPRK Affects Daily Life

16. Japan PM tells South Korea it’s time to fix strained ties

17. Warner Bros. to Cut Operations in South Korea (Report)

 

1. N. Korea shoots S. Korean official to death at sea, burns his body: defense ministry

en.yna.co.kr · by 오석민 · September 24, 2020

This is quite a response to President Moon’s call for an end of war declaration and a peace process for the Korean peninsula.

 

2. Moon calls N. Korea's killing of S. Korean official 'shocking,' not tolerable for any reason

en.yna.co.kr · by 이치동 · September 24, 2020

President Moon please reassess your assumption that Kim Jong-un desires your vision of peace on the Korean peninsula.  This is an indication of the true nature of the Kim family regime though I am sure the regime will blame this on "rogue elements."  While that may be so in this case but they were acting in accordance with their training indoctrination. Would South Korean military personnel have done this?  It is time to assess the Kim family regime as it really is and not as we would wish it to be.

 

3. Inter-Korean ties thrown into abyss following N. Korea's killing of S. Korean citizen

en.yna.co.kr · by 고병준 · September 24, 2020

north-South relations have been in an abyss for 7 decades or at least since the Pyongyang Declaration in 2018.  Kim Jong-un has no intention of pursuing peace in accordance with President Moon's vision. Regardless of the olive branches the South offers the regime will always be the Scorpion - "because it is my nature."

 

4. New virus cases over 100 for 2nd day, sporadic cluster infections still worrisome

en.yna.co.kr · by 주경돈 · September 24, 2020

Cope, contain, and manage.  The coronavirus is a virus like the Kim family regime.  One that just will not go away and cannot yet be cured or eradicated. 

 

5. Unification ministry strongly condemns N. Korea's killing of S. Korean as 'inhumane act'

en.yna.co.kr · by 이원주 · September 24, 2020

Pro forma from the MOU.  But is this a human rights abuse?

 

6. Unification Ministry suspends investigations into human rights in N. Korea

donga.com· September 16, 2020

I want to reprise this article to emphasize how the Ministry of Unification views human rights in north Korea.  Human rights in north Korea is a moral imperative and a national security issue and cannot be overlooked, sidelined, minimized, or neglected.

 

7. North Korean Provocations Likely Around U.S. Presidential Election

CSIS  · by Victor Cha

I am not so sure this time due to what is happening inside north Korea, but this is some excellent background on provocations.

 

8. Missiles, Submarines and More: How North Korea Supplies Iran With Weapons

The National Interest · by Mark Episkopos · September 23, 2020

It is good the author is linking to Dr. Bruce Becthol's work.

 

9. Kim Jong-un 'narrowly avoided assassination attempt' by North Korean foes

dailystar.co.uk · by Robin Cottle · September 23, 2020

A sensational report from the UK Daily Star that should be taken with a big grain of salt.  This is also being reported by the Japanese Self Defense Forces.

If we are going to think about possible assassination of Kim Jong-un I would call attention to the research and analysis of Dr. Sungmin Cho.  This is a less likely scenario.

 

10. Moon pleads for UN to end the Korean War

asiatimes.com · by Andrew Salmon · September 23, 2020

I doubt the UN will move on this.  And I think the only way to bring an end to the Korean War is for the north and South to negotiate an end to the war.  Perhaps the UN could offer to facilitate negotiations but we should keep in mind the UN Security Council Resolutions 82-85 which are still in effect.  The UN identified north Korea as the aggressor who attacked the sovereignty of the South and the UN called on members states to come to the defense of the Republic of Korea's freedom.  The two belligerents are the north and South.  The UN provided a UN Command and member states to help defend the South under UN authority and the UN flag.  The PRC provided the Chinese People's Volunteers to support the north.  The US did not declare war on north Korea.  So an end of war declaration should be concluded between the north and South.  And the only effective way for that to occur should be through a peace treaty properly negotiated and approved by the north and South, which of course poses constitutional problems for both north and South since they do not recognize the existence of the other and both claim sovereignty over the entire peninsula and all Korean people.

 

11. Donald Trump’s Second-Term North Korea Strategy: A Deal or Ignore Kim?

The National Interest · by Robert E. Kelly · September 23, 2020

A pessimistic view from Professor Kelly.  Either broad possibility is problematic and I hope we will find a more effective way forward (whomever wins the election).

 

12. There Isn’t A Military Solution to North Korea (And The American Public Agrees)

The National Interest · by Jessica Lee · September 23, 2020

First of all there is always a military solution.  There are multiple military solutions to north Korea; however, it is unlikely we want to expend the blood and treasure to implement them unless the north forces our hand.  

But it is this kind of analysis that undermines diplomacy and peaceful solutions because it undermines deterrence.  Kim Jong-un must know that we are always preparing military options and depending on the conditions that we have the capability and the will to execute them.

There are pundits who claim the north wants security guarantees and to be left alone which is why it has built the 4th largest army in the world and developed nuclear and ICBM capabilities.  That is only half right.  While it claims deterrence and the desire for its own security, it wants to be left alone so that it can have its way with South Korea and dominate the entire peninsula. 

One of the basic traits of the Kim family regime is that it exploits weakness and respects strength.  And strength deters the regime.  It is arguments such as this that undermines that strength and shows weakness that will be exploited by the regime.

But let me be clear as to my personal beliefs:

• I support peace on the Korean peninsula
• I support a diplomatic solution to the north Korean nuclear threat
• I support ROK engagement with the north
• I do not support a weakening of the ROK and ROK/US defensive capabilities
• I believe there cannot be success for US, ROK, and Japanese interests without strong ROK/US and Japan/US alliances
• Despite the above I think we have to accept that north Korea may have a continued hostile strategy and therefore while we prioritize diplomacy we have to remain prepared for the worst cases.  I hope I am wrong here and that Kim Jong-un will dismantle his nuclear weapons and seek peaceful co-existence.
• There are no ”experts” on north Korea – it is the most difficult intelligence target – the proverbial “hard target”
• At best we are students trying to understand the nature of the regime and the security problem on the Korean peninsula
• Anything I say can and should be challenged
• However, now that I am retired I am no longer constrained by doctrine, funding, or a chain of command so I can tell you how I really feel

 

13. Pompeo to visit S. Korea next month

en.yna.co.kr · by 김보람 · September 23, 2020

What is on the agenda? China? Quad Plus? Special Measures Agreement?  north Korea?

 

14. How Coronavirus Impacts North Korea's Nuclear Program

The National Interest · by Yong-Chool Ha · September 23, 2020

 

15. How Extreme Flooding in the DPRK Affects Daily Life

38north.org · by 38 North · September 23, 2020

 

16. Japan PM tells South Korea it’s time to fix strained ties

apnews.com · by Mari Yamaguchi

It takes two to solve this problem.  Are Moon and Suga willing to pledge that they place national security and national prosperity first priorities while pledging to manage the historical issues.

 

17. Warner Bros. to Cut Operations in South Korea (Report)

Variety · by Patrick Frater · September 23, 2020

 

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"Perhaps the most central characteristic of authentic leadership is the relinquishing of the impulse to dominate others."

- David Cooper

 

"The young always have the same problem - how to rebel and conform at the same time. They have solved this by defying their parents and copying one another."

- Quentin Crisp

 

"Read, observe, listen intensely. As if your life depended upon it."

- Joyce Carol Oates