News and Commentary by Dave Maxwell. Edited and Published by Riley Murray.
1. N.K. propaganda outlet claims U.S. imperialists started Korean War
2. Pyonghattanite [평해트나이트] - New Videos about north Korea
3. North Korea’s Yongbyon Complex: Activity Picks Up
4. FDD | U.S. Issues Timely Alert on Another North Korean Hacking Group
5. U.S. Amb. Harris says S. Korea, U.S. fought 'side by side against invasion from the north'
6. 'US President Trump may go for summit with Kim Jong-un right after re-election'
7. Russia and China Undermine U.N. Reporting on North Korea Sanction Dodging, Analysis Finds
8. North Korean Community Leaders Granted Right to Sell Sewage as Fertilizer for Farms
9. Where do Biden and Trump Voters Stand on U.S.-Korea relations?
10. A Korean news agency publishes an op-ed from Biden.
11. ICAS Strategy poll - Korean Issues
12. VOA: Washington Talk - Korean Peninsula Issues
13. U.N. panel says N. Korean mortar apparently used in terrorist attack in Somalia
14. Pompeo skips stop in South Korea yet again
15. N. Korea criticizes S. Korea for its killing of S. Korean official
16. U.S. bucks consensus and backs Yoo for WTO top spot
17. Nigeria reaches out to US, Korea to back WTO candidate
1. N.K. propaganda outlet claims U.S. imperialists started Korean War
en.yna.co.kr · by 고병준 · October 30, 2020
One of my soldiers who went on a remains recovery mission in north Korea brought me a book from the war museum in Pyongyang in english by the same title as this article: "U.S. imperialists started Korean War"
2. Pyonghattanite [평해트나이트] - New Videos about north Korea
Below are three videos from my friends Lee Hyun-Seung and Lee Seo-Hyun. They are escapees from north Korea. They provide some very unique and important insights in their 10 minute videos.
I recommend subscribing to their YouTube channel to receive their new videos.
[한글자막] Undisclosed Facts from the Historic Trump-Kim Negotiation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJ2H_E24ohU&feature=youtu.be
[한글자막] Shocking Campus Life At The Most Prestigious University In North Korea
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0VAw2rr1VE&feature=youtu.be
[한글자막] Undeniable Proof : North Korea Builds TEL With Chinese Help.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kU7NTE2BjI4&feature=youtu.be
3. North Korea’s Yongbyon Complex: Activity Picks Up
38north.org · by Frank Pabian, Peter Makowsky, and Jack Liu · October 30, 2020
I will leave it to the nuclear experts to assess. What is the smoke or gas come from the site?
4. FDD | U.S. Issues Timely Alert on Another North Korean Hacking Group
fdd.org · by Mathew Ha · October 30, 2020
Important analysis from my colleague Mathew Ha.
5. U.S. Amb. Harris says S. Korea, U.S. fought 'side by side against invasion from the north'
en.yna.co.kr · by 송상호 · October 30, 2020
6. 'US President Trump may go for summit with Kim Jong-un right after re-election'
The Korea Times · October 30, 2020
Interesting speculation (and there is more to this article than the headline). But I would counsel that the President should not ever again meet with Kim until substantive working level negotiations have taken place and the negotiators can bring an agreement to Kim and the President for approval. I also do not think Kim will come to a summit unless he receives some guarantees that there will be some level of sanctions relief.
7. Russia and China Undermine U.N. Reporting on North Korea Sanction Dodging, Analysis Finds
freebeacon.com · by Jack Beyrer · October 30, 2020
As my colleague Andrea Stricker has written Russia and China are not only complicit in north Korean sanctions evasion, but they are also working to prevent accurate reporting by the UN Panel of Experts.
8. North Korean Community Leaders Granted Right to Sell Sewage as Fertilizer for Farms
rfa.org – 30 October 2020
Do what you must to survive.
Excerpts:
The inminban, or neighborhood watch units, are small, regimented community organizations that serve as the eyes and ears of the state to ensure the people stay in line. Membership and participation in the inminban are mandatory.
“Giving the inminban leaders the privilege to sell human manure from the apartments is like an implicit instruction to further strengthen control over residents,” said the source, who requested anonymity for security reasons.
“Human manure is sold in sealed 500-kilogram sealed barrels brought by ox cart by the private farmers [1 kilogram = 2.2 pounds]. A barrel can go for about as much as 50 kilograms of napa cabbage,” the source said, referring to the vegetable most commonly used to make kimchi.
North Korean Community Leaders Granted Right to Sell Sewage as Fertilizer for Farms
9. Where do Biden and Trump Voters Stand on U.S.-Korea relations?
blog.keia.org – by Juni Kim - October 29, 2020
Some interesting data. What is interesting is the similar levels of agreement among voters from across the spectrum on certain Korea issues (4 out of the 5 questions).
10. A Korean news agency publishes an op-ed from Biden.
The New York Times · by Neil Vigdor and Choe Sang-Hun · October 30, 2020
I think his OpEd was unprecedented. Perhaps it has something to do with the data from KEI (http://blog.keia.org/2020/10/biden-trump-voters-stand-u-s-korea-relations/) that shows most voters across the political spectrum support Korean alliance issues.
11. ICAS Strategy poll - Korean Issues
icasinc.org – 26 October 2020
Some interesting data covering issues that are not in the mainstream news.
12. VOA: Washington Talk - Korean Peninsula Issues
Thanks to Kim Young Gyo and VOA for hosting Mark Fitzpatrick and me to discuss Korean issues. The target audience for this show is the elite in Pyongyang. I hope they are paying attention to our themes and messages in this broadcast. (note this is in English with Korean subtitles)
https://www.youtube.com/
13. U.N. panel says N. Korean mortar apparently used in terrorist attack in Somalia
en.yna.co.kr · by 김광태 · October 31, 2020
No surprise to anyone who follows Dr. Bruce Bechtol's research on north Korean proliferation.
I recommend his book: https://www.amazon.com/Korean-Military-Proliferation-Middle-Africa/dp/0813175887
But this foreign Affairs article provides a good summary: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/north-korea/2018-06-06/north-koreas-illegal-weapons-trade
14. Pompeo skips stop in South Korea yet again
donga.com – 30 October 2020
The Koreans are sensitive to these types of apparent slights even though I am sure this was not intentional on SECSTATE's part.
15. N. Korea criticizes S. Korea for its killing of S. Korean official
donga.com – 31 October 2020
They may as well just say "you should not have made me kill your citizen." north Korea is the theater of the absurd.
16. U.S. bucks consensus and backs Yoo for WTO top spot
I believe the US rationale is that she is more qualified.
17. Nigeria reaches out to US, Korea to back WTO candidate
The Korea Times · October 31, 2020
And Nigeria just supported a US hostage rescue operation overnight. Any politics involved?
“Keep constant guard over your perceptions, for it is no small thing you are protecting, but your respect, trustworthiness and steadiness, peace of mind, freedom from pain and fear, in a word your freedom. For what would you sell these things?”
- Epictetus, Discourses, 4.3.6b–8
"Whenever men in their arrogance and pride set themselves up as absolute, they will be beaten to the ground."
- Benjamin E. Mays
“Fight for the things that you care about but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.”
- Ruth Bader Ginsberg