News & commentary by Dave Maxwell. Edited and published by Daniel Riggs
1. 'Goodwill' gestures, suspension of joint military drills needed to bring N. Korea to dialogue: experts
2. New U.S. special envoy for N.K. to visit S. Korea later this week: official
3. LaCamera to take office as new USFK commander next month
4. North Korea Might Have Up to 50 Nuclear Weapons: Report
5. Note to President Biden: Talk to Kim Jong Un
6. Moon’s Last Chance on North Korea
7. A growing number of South Pyongan Province households are suffering from food shortages
8. Debates arise over call to cancel joint military drills
9. Korea's nuke envoy to hold bilateral, trilateral talks with US, Japanese counterparts
10. N.K. holds key party meeting for second day with focus on economy
11. U.N. discloses thousands of files related to North Korea human rights abuses
12. 'The way to survive': North Korea ramps up recycling amid sanctions and pandemic
13. North Korea Isn't Planning Any Nuclear Weapons Tests Anytime Soon
14. South Korea citizenship law change proposal sparks anti-China backlash
15. North Korea Cracks Down on Illegal Phone Calls to China and South Korea
1. 'Goodwill' gestures, suspension of joint military drills needed to bring N. Korea to dialogue: experts
en.yna.co.kr · by 변덕근 · June 17, 2021
Appeasement. Moon Chung-in and other such experts are providing dangerous advice.
And oh by the way, we will not be conducting Ulchi Freedom Guardian in August. We have not conducted it for a couple of years now. We will conduct a Combined Command Post Training event called Dong Maeng 21-2.
If we suspend this training then we may as well start withdrawing US forces because if we cannot train the ROK/US CFC and the subordinate component HQ then we cannot sustain a military alliance. We have been degrading our training exercises since President Trump unilaterally cancelled Ulchi Freedom Guardian in 2018. Why haven't the previous cancellations, postponements, and scaling back of training over the past 3 years resulted in any change in regime behavior? Because Kim does not really care about exercises except that they can be exploited as part of his political warfare strategy and blackmail diplomacy. He wants combined training halted for specific reasons: weaken the combined military force responsible for deterrence and defense and to drive a wedge in the ROK/US alliance.
My thoughts on the importance of combined training:
The U.S. Military And South Korea Must Train To Deter North Korea
The North Korea Threat Is Growing. U.S.-South Korea Military Training Must Press Forward.
2. New U.S. special envoy for N.K. to visit S. Korea later this week: official
en.yna.co.kr · by 김승연 · June 16, 2021
A 7 hour flight from Jakarta is better than the 14 hour one from DC and the time zone change is minimal! :-)
I think Ambassador Kim has been to Panmunjom enough times over the years so I am not sure why the press or Korean officials mention that he is not expected to visit there. I do not see how a visit to Panmunjom will advance the denuclearization issue.
3. LaCamera to take office as new USFK commander next month
en.yna.co.kr · by 최수향 · June 17, 2021
July 2d.
I note in General LaCamera's bio that he was the battalion S3 for 1-506th Infantry at Camp Greaves. A good unit! :-)
4. North Korea Might Have Up to 50 Nuclear Weapons: Report
19fortyfive.com · by Eli Fuhrman · June 16, 2021
According to SIPRI's new annual report.
5. Note to President Biden: Talk to Kim Jong Un
38north.org · by Kenneth B. Dekleva · June 15, 2021
Note the author's bio in the article.
Very interesting analysis and perspective. Given the author's knowledge and experience we need to pay attention to him.
Here are some of his past writings (and a briefing) on Kim Jong-un;
The Past, Present and Future of Leadership Analysis: Xi, Kim and Putin
The Psychology of North Korea’s Kim Jong-un: The Measure of a Man: Insight from Kenneth Dekleva.
ALL IN THE FAMILY: THE LEADERSHIP STYLES OF KIM IL - SUNG, KIM JONG - I L , AND KIM JONG - U N
Excerpts: “...why can’t he do the same with Chairman Kim, in the search for a durable peace on the Korean Peninsula? Surely President Biden can utilize the 2018 Singapore joint statement and former Special Representative Steve Biegun’s January 2019 speech at Stanford as useful starting points. But this requires that Biden see the world through Chairman Kim’s eyes and psyche. And given his vast foreign policy experience, Biden knows that in negotiations, personal relationships, rapport and empathy truly matter. This requires his meeting with Kim, and taking his measure, and vice-versa.
President Biden’s age—perceived by some as a hindrance, or even a risk—may also offer an opportunity for novel diplomacy. But time is not on his side, as other diplomatic and US domestic political pressures will likely intercede as the year wears on. But by taking a first step, President Biden can earn—as did President Trump during the 2018 Singapore Summit and 2019 visit to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ)—Kim’s respect. And respect matters! It can lead to bolder initiatives and the hope of a lasting, durable peace on the Korean Peninsula. This is a key moment for President Biden, and our Asian allies, as well as adversaries such as Russia and China. All are watching closely, and the time to act boldly is now.
6. Moon’s Last Chance on North Korea
thediplomat.com · by Mitch Shin · June 15, 2021
It will be this impatience of the Moon administration that will cause significant friction in the ROK/US alliance. And unfortunately, Kim Jong-un's political warfare strategy will attempt to exploit this impatience and the alliance friction it will cause.
7. A growing number of South Pyongan Province households are suffering from food shortages
dailynk.com · by Seulkee Jang · June 17, 2021
Indicators that bear watching. There is potential for instability, though as long as the military and security services remain coherent and function and support Kim Jong-un they will be able to suppress any resistance.
8. Debates arise over call to cancel joint military drills
The Korea Times · by Jung Da-min · June 17, 2021
This is getting out of hand. This is a danger not only to combined military readiness and deterrence but to the alliance writ large. We need voices stronger than Moon Chung-in to counter his dangerous advice. All past appeasement has not worked. What evidence is there that continued consolation, postponing, and scaling back exercises will change north Korean behavior?
9. Korea's nuke envoy to hold bilateral, trilateral talks with US, Japanese counterparts
The Korea Times · June 17, 2021
I hope they can resolve the exercise issue. The insanity of Moon chiung-in's advice must be shut down.
10. N.K. holds key party meeting for second day with focus on economy
en.yna.co.kr · by 이원주 · June 17, 2021
It is like deja vu all over again. How many times have we read that party meetings in north Korea are focused on the economy? How many times has the regime and the party solved its economic problems?
11. U.N. discloses thousands of files related to North Korea human rights abuses
UPI · by Elizabeth Shim · June 16, 2021
This should be helpful to researchers and eventually for the necessary truth and reconciliation commission that will be established during the unification process.
12. 'The way to survive': North Korea ramps up recycling amid sanctions and pandemic
Reuters · by Minwoo Park
The Korean people in the north do not waste anything. They are probably the most efficient recyclers in the world at the personal or family level. But will a national level recycling campaign have any effect? Or is this simply cosmetic?
Excerpt: "Residents are complaining about the government trying to control everything, even rubbish: 'How can we recycle waste, when we don't even have waste?'"
13. North Korea Isn't Planning Any Nuclear Weapons Tests Anytime Soon
The National Interest · by Eli Fuhrman · June 16, 2021
Absence of evidence - ?
north Korea is masterful at denial and deception.
What if they are planning an atmospheric test, say over the Pacific Ocean?
14. South Korea citizenship law change proposal sparks anti-China backlash
The Chinese know how to conduct subversion and this would provide the Chinese an easy pathway to subvert Korean society in the coming decades.
15. North Korea Cracks Down on Illegal Phone Calls to China and South Korea
rfa.org · by Myungchul Lee and Jeong Yon Park
Again, this illustrates that Kim Jong-un is afraid, he is very afraid. And of course cell phones are not only useful for transmitting information they are an excellent conduit for funds.
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"The tyrant dies and his rule is over, the martyr dies and his rule begins."
- Soren Kierkegaard
“If one wanted to crush and destroy a man entirely, to mete out to him the most terrible punishment ... all one would have to do would be to make him do work that was completely and utterly devoid of usefulness and meaning.”
- Fyodor Dostoyevsky
"We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light. "
- Plato