News & commentary by Dave Maxwell. Edited and published by Duncan Moore.
1. Kim Jong Un’s military parade seen as potential North Korean weapons showcase
2. North Korean businessman in Malaysia loses appeal against extradition to US
3. N.K. likely to unveil new ICBM during parade: sources
4. Senior N.K. officials visit mausoleum for late leaders ahead of party anniversary
5. Why President Moon keeps pushing for end-of-war declaration
6. North Korea claims new military milestone ahead of anniversary
7. US Forces Korea reports first local coronavirus transmissions in six months
8. Better protection for defectors: question raised over disclosure of envoy's defection
9. North Korea ‘to show strength and defiance’ with military parade
10. What we can expect to see at North Korea's 'biggest military parade'
11. Kim's get-well message to Trump a "good sign" for progress: Knapper
12. Unification minister orders probe into information leak on ex-N.K. diplomat's defection
13. N. Korea used word meaning 'defection' while handling drifting S. Korean official: JSC chairman
14. S. Korea initially saw slim chance of missing official crossing into N.K.: defense chief
15. JCS chief says conditions for OPCON transfer could be revised if transition delayed too much
16. North Korea's October 10 military parade: what 12 experts think we will see
17. Column: North Korea’s apology and South Korea’s vital leadership
18. Fears for senior diplomat’s family in North Korea after South Korean lawmakers reveal his defection
19. N. Koreans are forced to drink water containing ashes of dead inmates
20. 'Peace hospital' should be built in Korean DMZ, South's doctors say
1. Kim Jong Un’s military parade seen as potential North Korean weapons showcase
Wall Street Journal · Timothy Martin & Andrew Jeong · October 8, 2020
Soon we will know what Kim wants to show us.
2. North Korean Businessman in Malaysia Loses Appeal Against Extradition to US
Radio Free Asia · BenarNews · October 8, 2020
It will be interesting to see the trial of this north Korean businessman in the US.
3. N.K. likely to unveil new ICBM during parade: sources
Yonhap News Agency · graceoh@yna.co.kr · October 9, 2020
If we do not see a new ICBM, I wonder if the North Korea Propaganda and Agitation Department will chastise all the pundits who predicted we would see a new one. We should know in a few hours.
4. Senior N.K. officials visit mausoleum for late leaders ahead of party anniversary
Yonhap News Agency · October 9, 2020
Hmmm.... Here is the first interesting indicator. Kim Jong-Un did not make the visit.
5. Why President Moon keeps pushing for end-of-war declaration
Korea Times · Kang Seung-woo · October 9, 2020
Okay, so this is a message to a potential Biden administration. But this article, like all the rest, does not answer the questions of what substantive effects will be achieved by an end of war declarations, what behavior will be changed in North Korea, and how will this enhance the security of South Korea?
The vague "opening the door for peace" and " trust building" are based on the assumption that Kim Jong-Un wants peace and shares Moon Jae-In's vision for North Korean engagement. I think this is an erroneous assumption, because Kim has shown no signs of giving up his strategy to dominate the peninsula under Northern rule.
6. North Korea claims new military milestone ahead of anniversary
UPI · Elizabeth Shim · October 8, 2020
The Propaganda and Agitation Department is reading us. What is the new "military milestone?"
7. US Forces Korea reports first local coronavirus transmissions in six months
Stars & Stripes · Kim Gamel · October 8, 2020
8. Better protection for defectors: question raised over disclosure of envoy’s defection
Korea Times · Editorial · October 8, 2020
Again, it is the height of irresponsibility to make these kinds of disclosures. Escapees must be respected and protected. But, of course, politics drives everything.
9. North Korea ‘to show strength and defiance’ with military parade
Al Jazeera · Zaheena Rasheed · October 9, 2020
Defiance is probably one of the most important words to use in describing North Korea.
10. What we can expect to see at North Korea's 'biggest military parade'
BBC · Laura Bicker · October 9, 2020
11. Kim's get-well message to Trump a "good sign" for progress: Knapper
Yonhap News Agency · Byun Duk-kun · October 9, 2020
I think the title is a little misleading about Mr. Knapper's remarks. His "I suppose" seems to be an appropriate caveat to his statement - something like on the surface it seems like a good sign. But we need
12. Unification minister orders probe into information leak on ex-N.K. diplomat's defection
Yonhap News Agency · Yi Wonju · October 8, 2020
Necessary. But the MOU has not seemed to be supportive of escapees/defectors.
13. N. Korea used word meaning 'defection' while handling drifting S. Korean official: JSC chairman
Yonhap News Agency · scaaet@yna.co.kr · October 8, 2020
There should have been strong caveats in South Korea statements - such as "the North Korean military said that the civil servant intended to defect; however, we have no indication that was true." Also, this article shows the challenges of signal intelligence. And we should also consider that the North knows that the South and US collects signals intelligence, so it is possible they may be using deception techniques and sending messages they want us to hear.
14. S. Korea initially saw slim chance of missing official crossing into N.K.: defense chief
Yonhap News Agency · Oh Seok-min · October 8, 2020
More information is coming out about this tragic event.
15. JCS chief says conditions for OPCON transfer could be revised if transition delayed too much
Yonhap News Agency · Choi Soo-hyang · October 8, 2020
We should ask if the OPCON transition process is a political action or the natural evolution of the alliance that will enhance the security of the ROK and serve ROK and US national security interests? If it is about the security of the ROK, then all the conditions for transition must be met. You do to revise the conditions to meet a timeline unless you put politics ahead of national security. The Chairman is walking a tightrope between his professional military experience (and knowing what is right from a military and national security perspective) and the political desires of his President.
And, as I beat the dead horse, Seoul is not "retaking" OPCON from the US. The ROK/US Combined Forces Command is equally owned by both the ROK and US. When the change of command occurs and a ROK general officer is in command of the ROK/US CFC, he will still answer directly to the Military Committee, which consists of representatives of the national command and military authorities of both countries. He should also make the same statement that every US commander has made since 1978: as the
16. North Korea's October 10 military parade: what 12 experts think we will see
National Interest · Harry J. Kazianis · October 8, 2020
A handy scorecard for when we see the parade. Choose your "expert."
17. Column: North Korea’s apology and South Korea’s vital leadership
Chicago Tribune · Arthur I. Cyr · October 8, 2020
This article has the most positive spin that I have seen concerning the NK apology, Moon's leadership, and the ROK/US military relationship.
18. Fears for senior diplomat’s family in North Korea after South Korean lawmakers reveal his defection
Radio Free Asia · Eugene Whong · October 7, 2020
My comments below have apparently upset the national assemblyman, Ha Tae-keung. He wants RFA to retract this allegation. But we are reading multiple reports that he did, in fact, confirm the information about Jo's defection.
19. N. Koreans are forced to drink water containing ashes of dead inmates
Daily Mail · Michael Havis · October 8, 2020
Just so not one forgets the evil nature of the Kim family regime. Kim's human rights abuses are crimes against humanity, and we must expose and address them.
20. 'Peace hospital' should be built in Korean DMZ, South's doctors say
UPI · Elizabeth Shim · October 8, 2020
This is another symbolic gesture that would never come to fruition and effective use as long as the Kim family regime rules the North.
"You didn't wait six months for a feasibility study to prove that an idea could work. You gambled that it might work. You didn't tie up the organization with red tape designed mostly to cover somebody's ass. You took the initiative and the responsibility. You went around end, you went over somebody's head if you had to. But you acted. That's what drove the regular military and the State Department chair-warmers crazy about the OSS.”
- William Casey on the OSS
“False words are not only evil themselves, but they infect the soul with evil.”
- Socrates
“Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws.”
- Plato