10/25/2020 News & Commentary – Korea
News and Commentary by Dave Maxwell. Edited and Published by Riley Murray.
1. South Korea warns North Korea invasion triggering war is ‘undeniable historical fact’
2. Iran, China and North Korea have the most to gain from a Biden presidency
3. China honors ‘human wave’ heroes of Korean War
4. South Korea offers alternative to conscription
5. Korean netizens rage over Chinese K-Pop idols celebrating China’s military involvement in the Korean War
6. Korea’s BTS Defeats China’s PC Warriors
7. Ethereum researcher Virgil Griffith files motion to dismiss North Korea conspiracy charge
8. Lee Kun-hee, who made South Korea’s Samsung a global powerhouse, dies at 78
9. North Korea Hits Bottom- Decision Time for the Young Chairman
10. S. Korea finds no evidence of flu vaccine’s role in reported deaths
11. Political community split over legacies of late Samsung chief
12. FDD | One Term of ‘Maximum Pressure’ on North Korea
13. U.N. rights official slams N. Korea over killing of S. Korean at sea
14. N. Korea-China to enrich friendship, advance ‘socialist achievement’: N.K. paper
15. North Korea says China dust could spread COVID-19, warns people to stay inside
16. Did Kim Il-sung imagine his ‘martyred’ Chinese best friend Zhang Weihua?
17. S. Korea’s public sphere plagued by English and confusing wording
1. South Korea warns North Korea invasion triggering war is ‘undeniable historical fact’
Express · by Steven Brown · October 24, 2020
I am glad to see the South Korean government counter the Chinese and north Korean propaganda. While the historical fact seems so obvious to many (and most) of us there are many (perhaps most) in China and north Korea who do believe this. And then there are a number of sympathizers around the world who do believe this. I wish there would be more reporting on this than in the UK Express. I have not seen strong reporting on this in the South Korean press.
Excerpts:
The Seoul government said: “Debates on the outbreak of the Korean War and related matters have already ended internationally, and such clear historical facts cannot change.
“Our government is paying keen attention to related developments and is having necessary communication with the Chinese side on matters of our interest.
“That the Korean War broke out due to North Korea’s invasion is an undeniable historical fact.”
2. Iran, China and North Korea have the most to gain from a Biden presidency
washingtontimes.com – by Jed Babbin – 24 October 2020
Interesting analysis. Very strange subtitle: “U.S. allies must not be allowed to control U.S. foreign policy with hostile countries.”
I do not mean to highlight this excerpt as a partisan position (though the author expresses his view in the article) but it illustrates the two competing world views we have in the US. Do alliances enhance US national security or not. The answer to that question is critical to the way ahead for US foreign policy and national security. And the focus of the Administration on the Quad and Quad Plus would seem to be counter to Mr. Babbin’s analysis. I hope that whether Trump is re-elected or Biden is elected the US will continue to pursue an Asian security structure that is built on strong relationships with friends, partners, and allies.
3. China honors ‘human wave’ heroes of Korean War
asiatimes.com · by Andrew Salmon · October 24, 2020
When I think about this aspect of the war I find it incredible that soldiers would fight using these tactics (of course they had no choice because to turn around meant certain death as well – and we should think hard about a country and a mindset that would make these demands on its volunteers and be so willing to expend human lives in this way). BUt I also think about what it must have been like to face this kind of onslaught from the enemy.
Photos and Chinese movies Trailer, “Sacrifice” at the link: https://asiatimes.com/2020/10/china-honors-human-wave-heroes-of-korean-war/
4. South Korea offers alternative to conscription
asiatimes.com · by Kang Jin-kyu · October 25, 2020
If the South Korean government does not develop a comprehensive and robust reserve military structure the declining demographics of the military age male in South Korea is going to have severe national security effects. See the demographic analysis conducted by Dr. Bruce Bennett at RAND on what may very well be the future (negative) effects.
5. Korean netizens rage over Chinese K-Pop idols celebrating China’s military involvement in the Korean War
Interesting graphics comparing the “coalitions” supporting the South and the north. It is good to see the UN Command represented on this youth website. The youth in Korea should know the UN and the world came to the defense of the South’s freedom.
6. Korea’s BTS Defeats China’s PC Warriors
spectator.org · by Doug Bandow · October 24, 2020
Seemingly not the usual piece from Doug Bandow but he does use this controversy to reinforce his critical views of US foreign policy and national security, past and present.
7. Ethereum researcher Virgil Griffith files motion to dismiss North Korea conspiracy charge
cointelegraph.com · by Andrew Thurman
We need to prosecute all those who provide support to north Korea and who violate US law.
8. Lee Kun-hee, who made South Korea’s Samsung a global powerhouse, dies at 78
Reuters · by Joyce Lee, Hyunjoo Jin, Cynthia Kim · October 25, 2020
This is a big deal in Korea and will be the subject of some controversy.
9. North Korea Hits Bottom- Decision Time for the Young Chairman
https://naeia.com/links/f/north-korea-hits-bottom–decision-time-for-the-young-chairman – by Bill Brown – 23 October 2020
There are very few people who know and understand (and can explain) the north Korean economy. Bill Brown is one of the very best. There is a lot to parse in this excellent analysis.
10. S. Korea finds no evidence of flu vaccine’s role in reported deaths
koreaherald.com · by The Korea Herald · October 25, 2020
But there is a lack of confidence in the flu vaccines and this can have long term consequences.
11. Political community split over legacies of late Samsung chief
en.yna.co.kr · by 장동우 · October 25, 2020
This is another indicator of the political divide that exists in South Korea.
12. FDD | One Term of ‘Maximum Pressure’ on North Korea
fdd.org · by Thomas Joscelyn · October 22, 2020
A key excerpt:
Too often, policy wonks and officials pretend that they have all the answers, and that their preferred policies are necessarily superior to alternatives. But the world is a messy, complex place. Sometimes there are no good or easy answers, and events have to dictate one’s actions. With refreshing candor, McMaster recognizes that “maximum pressure” was a test-and hardly a sure thing.
“We were testing a thesis that the United States and other nations could force Kim Jong-un to envision a future in which he continued to rule in an increasingly prosperous North, and thus conclude that he and his regime were safer without nuclear weapons than they were with them,” McMaster writes.
We do not claim to have all the answers but we do offer a proposed strategy here that applies to either a Trump or Biden administration: https://www.fdd.org/analysis/2019/12/3/maximum-pressure-2/
13. U.N. rights official slams N. Korea over killing of S. Korean at sea
en.yna.co.kr · by 황장진 · October 24, 2020
There is no question this was a fundamental human rights violation. COVID defense or not this is not the way you treat a human being.
14. N. Korea-China to enrich friendship, advance ‘socialist achievement’: N.K. paper
en.yna.co.kr · by 장동우 · October 25, 2020
Unfortunately, the only socialist achievement of the north (other than continuing to allow the Kim family regime to survive) has been the development of nuclear weapons and missiles. The economic numbers, according to the analysis by Bill Brown are abysmal.
15. North Korea says China dust could spread COVID-19, warns people to stay inside
The Korea Times · October 25, 2020
Way to bite the hand that could feed you. Of course, the regime M.O. is to blame anything and anyone except the regime.
16. Did Kim Il-sung imagine his ‘martyred’ Chinese best friend Zhang Weihua?
scmp.com – by Maria Siow
Some interesting “history.” The key phrase from the article is a subheading: “political expediency.”
17. S. Korea’s public sphere plagued by English and confusing wording
Of course, language and cultures are inextricably linked. But I question what the author and the Hankyoreh Ilbo thinks is true democratization. I do not think the hard-left progressives in South want “true” democratization as much as impose their hard course socialists views on the South. But the blame on the elites and the use of foreign words to prevent “true” democracy is typical of lefts (and north Korean) propaganda.
“Unconventional warfare needs to remain the heart and soul of U.S. Special Operations Command and component commands.”
– Brandon Webb
“Yesterday’s the past, tomorrow’s the future, but today is a gift. That’s why it’s called the present.”
– Bill Keane
“Sixty years ago, at dawn on June 25, the Korean War broke out when Communist North Korea invaded the Republic of Korea. In response, 16 member countries of the United Nations, including the United States, joined with the Republic of Korea to defend freedom. Over the next three years of fighting, about 37,000 Americans lost their lives. They fought for the freedom of Koreans they did not even know, and thanks to their sacrifices, the peace and democracy of the republic were protected… On the 60th anniversary of the Korean War, I remain grateful to America for having participated in the war. At that time, the Republic of Korea was one of the most impoverished countries, with an annual per capita income of less than $40. In 2009, my country became a member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Development Assistance Committee, the first aid recipient to become a donor and in only one generation.” – Myung-bak Lee, “A Note of Thanks” in The Los Angeles Times (25 June 2010)