07/07/2020 News & Commentary – Korea
News & commentary by Dave Maxwell. Edited and published by Ahyoung Shin
1. N.K. again rejects possibility of talks with U.S. as Biegun set to arrive in Seoul
2. Seoul doubles down on North Korea gambit with National Security reshuffle
3. Biegun expected to focus on reviving talks with North
4. S. Korea poised to push through inter-Korean cooperation – regardless of US position
5. N. Korean propaganda lectures focus on anti-South Korean rhetoric
6. N. Korea orders hospitals to manufacture their own medicines
7. Former POWs win damage suit against N. Korea and its leader
8. New virus infections below 50 for 2nd day, imported cases on higher plateau
9. N. Korea’s paper says border control tightened to fight virus
10. North Korea defectors face wrath of both Seoul and Pyongyang
11. Balloon man defector angers both Koreas
12. North Korea’s Lazarus group diversifies into card skimming
13. Opinion: Otto Warmbier won’t be forgotten in our hearts
14. Thoughts on North Korean issue
15. Pompeo welcomes Britain’s sanctions on N. Korea, others
16. Russian Amb. Kulik calls for economic engagement with N.K. toward peace, trust
17. Why the chances for future Korean peace are low
18. The Korean War as Allegory
19. Perpetual Struggle: Why the Korean War did not end for North Korea
1. N.K. again rejects possibility of talks with U.S. as Biegun set to arrive in Seoul
en.yna.co.kr · by 고병준 · July 7, 2020
Kwon Jong-gun says, What part of “no” don’t you understand. But note he is a MOFA official, Director General in charge of US affairs so like Kim Yo-jong, he can be overruled by Kim Jong-un if it suits him and his strategy and tactics.
2. Seoul doubles down on North Korea gambit with National Security reshuffle
thediplomat.com · by Tae-jun Kang · July 6, 2020
I had hoped the Moon administration would have reassessed its assumptions, policies, and strategy but this is a clear indication that Moon is all in on his “peace strategy.” Remember this new security really is responsible for North Korea no collapsing after the great famine when the transferred hundreds of millions of dollars to the north during the Sunshine and peace and Prosperity Policy period (1997-2007) and they are also responsible for North Korea’s first nuclear test in 2006 which was funded with the help of the aid from the South. They never heard The Who play the song, “Won’t get fooled again…”
A damning comment in the analysis below about how Korean presidents use the heads of their National Intelligence Service.
3. Biegun expected to focus on reviving talks with North
koreaherald.com · by Ahn Sung-mi · July 7, 2020
I know we are committed to working level negotiations and have been since June of 2018 in Singapore and I am sure Mr. Biegun will reiterate that. But it is Kim Jong-un who has prevented them. But I seriously doubt either the US or north Korea will push for a summit. It is only president Moon who is doing so.
4. S. Korea poised to push through inter-Korean cooperation – regardless of US position
The Korea Times · by Kang Seung-woo · July 6, 2020
This is the near ambush that Mr. Biegun is running into in Seoul (please remember the rules of an ambush and assault through it – and I hope Minister Kang and Lee Do-hoon can provide covering fire)). This is a hostile environment with the new security team. It does not bode well for the alliance with these kinds of statements. Note the comments on the strategy working group. That has become a lightning rod for blame for the failure of intra-Korean relations when in fact the US is not blocking engagement by the South (though sanctions and the law might) and the single cause for failure is Kim Jong-un and his failure to engage with the South. He is not aligned with the South’s peace strategy. He only wants to con the South out of more money but fortunately sanctions do prevent doing so.
5. N. Korean propaganda lectures focus on anti-South Korean rhetoric
dailynk.com · July 7, 2020
The regime’s true colors. It needs a hostile relationship with the South and the US to sustain its legitimacy. It is interesting to consider the propaganda because it is telling the people the exact opposite of South Korea’s position and making it seem like it is the regime that wants peace and reconciliation when in fact it has no such intention. I really wish the Moon administration would pay attention to the north’s actions and understand its strategy and objectives. The will never align with the South’s. Note also the effort to prevent information from getting out of the North.
6. N. Korea orders hospitals to manufacture their own medicines
dailynk.com · July 7, 2020
The message is the party cannot provide. You are on your own.
7. Former POWs win damage suit against N. Korea and its leader
en.yna.co.kr · by 심선아 · July 7, 2020
There are still so many unaccounted for South Korea, US, and allied personnel. I fear they are tilting at windmills in terms of actually receiving compensation. But it is good to keep this issue alive so people can understand the truly evil nature of the Kim family regime going all the way back to its establishment.
8. New virus infections below 50 for 2nd day, imported cases on higher plateau
en.yna.co.kr · by 김한주 · July 7, 2020
Some slightly good news. And the fact that they are catching imported cases must be an indication of effective screening at ports of entry.
9. N. Korea’s paper says border control tightened to fight virus
en.yna.co.kr · by 고병준 · July 7, 2020
The tighter the border the more difficult for the Korean people in the North to conduct economic activity and the suffering will continue to increase. I think the regime may be trying to take full advantage of the virus to implement great control over the population.
10. North Korea defectors face wrath of both Seoul and Pyongyang
Bloomberg · by Jeong-Ho Lee · July 6, 2020
These Korean patriots are caught between a rock and a hard place. This should not be happening. They should be protected, and their work should be supported. I expect the North to be hostile toward them but the South Korean government and people should not be hostile to their fellow citizens just because they happened to have lived in the North, escaped, and are not trying to help their fellow Koreans in the North.
11. Balloon man defector angers both Koreas
asiatimes.com · by Andrew Salmon · July 6, 2020
Mr. Park has an interesting thesis on why the Koreans in the South are hostile to his important work: They have a “reverse-Stockholm syndrome.” I do not know if it is “reverse” because Koreans in the South are “hostage” under the threat of north Korean action.
And note his denials of sending the alleged photos of Kim Jong-un’s wife. I have it on good authority that such leaflets were not made in the South and were not sent from the South I think that is Russian disinformation and active measures to support the regime (the reports of the leaflets came from Russia originally and of course no one has shown us the actual leaflets. That should be an indicator.
12. North Korea’s Lazarus group diversifies into card skimming
More on the activities of the north’s “all-purpose sword.”
13. Opinion: Otto Warmbier won’t be forgotten in our hearts
cincinnati.com · by Jung Min Noh and Dunkin Han
A very nice essay from two of my favourite (among many) journalists from Radio Free Asia (note their bios below). Remember the special report they describe in this essay is for broadcast into North Korea. The Korean people in the North must be informed about human rights and about the wrongs the regime is committing. This is an important mission. Humans rights is a moral imperative and a national security issue. The focus on human rights also helps to prepare the Korean people in the north for unification.
14. Thoughts on North Korean issue
The Korea Times · by Chang Se-moon · July 5, 2020
This essay has two parts. One is a focus on Otto Warmbier and human rights. The second is the author’s advice for restarting negotiations “based on clearly stated step-by-step procedures of country-specific obligations.” But he clearly has a strong information and influence component to his proposal.
15. Pompeo welcomes Britain’s sanctions on N. Korea, others
en.yna.co.kr · by 이해아 · July 7, 2020
Welcome supporting fires from the UK.
16. Russian Amb. Kulik calls for economic engagement with N.K. toward peace, trust
en.yna.co.kr · by 송상호 · July 7, 2020
Of course Russia wants sanctions relief for the north and for the South and the US to provide concessions. And yes, I believe the Ambassador when he says, “that his country has “sincerely and consistently” fulfilled all of its obligations” when it comes to sanctions and slave labor from North Korea. (note my sarcasm)
17. Why the chances for future Korean peace are low
The National Interest · by Malcolm Davis · July 6, 2020
It is because Kim Jong-un won’t “give peace a chance.” Peace is a threat to his survival as counterintuitive as that may seem. He needs the threat to maintain the justification for the sacrifices of the Korean people living in the North.
18. The Korean War as Allegory
The National Interest · by Spencer D. Bakich · July 6, 2020
We should remember that at the heart of the situation the war between the North and South is now an Ideological War – the Korean people on the peninsula must make a choice between:
* Shared ROK/US Values :Freedom and individual liberty, liberal democracy, free market economy, rule of law, and human rights
* Kim family regime (KFR) “values:” Juche/Kimilsungism, Socialist Workers Paradise, Songun, Songbun, Byungjin, and denial of human rights to sustain KFR power
The question is how do you fight and win this ideological war?
19. Perpetual Struggle: Why the Korean War did not end for North Korea
The National Interest · by Eric Ballbach · July 7, 2020
Simply put, North Korean “politics” is zero sum with the South. The only way the North desires to have “peace” is through the elimination of the ROK to allow the North to rule the entire Korean peninsula under the domination of the Guerrilla Dynasty and Gulag State.
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“An optimist is a person who sees a green light everywhere, while a pessimist sees only the red stoplight… the truly wise person is colorblind.”
– Albert Schweitzer
To be a philosopher is not merely to have subtle thoughts, nor even to found a school, but so to love wisdom as to live according to its dictates, “a life of simplicity, independence, magnanimity and trust.”
– Henry David Thoreau
“A wise man makes his own decisions, an ignorant man follows the public opinion.”
– Grantland Rice