News & commentary by Dave Maxwell. Edited and published by Duncan Moore.
1. North Korea harasses defectors with calls, texts: ‘are you having fun these days?’
2. VOA Washington talk combined training and OPCON transition
3. S. Korea, U.S. to stage joint summertime exercise this week: JCS
4. Liberation Day demonstrations take place amid sharp upturn in COVID-19 infections
5. Full text of President Moon Jae-in's speech on Korea's 75th Liberation Day
6. Thousands rally against South Korea leader despite virus warning
7. New sanctions spotlight North Korea’s harrowing Soviet-style gulags
8. North Korea's leader is tapping his own private food reserve to feed the country, and it could be a worrying sign
9. Could a President Joe Biden face a 'triple' North Korea crisis?
10. South Korea: new virus cases soar to 279
11. Seoul should not give up alliance with Washington in US-China spat: Nye
12. South Korea warns of new mass infection after church flareup
1. North Korea Harasses Defectors With Calls, Texts: ‘Are You Having Fun These Days?’
Wall Street Journal · by Andrew Jeong · August 15, 2020
This is more than troubling. South Korea has a moral responsibility to protect these brave escapees.
2. VOA Washington talk combined training and OPCON transition
YouTube · by VOA · August 15, 2020
Kim Young-gyo hosted Scott Snyder and me to talk about this week's training and OPCON transition.
Recorded Friday and released online Saturday. The target audience is the elite in Pyongyang, which I think will explain some of my specific remarks as messages.
(in English with Korean subtitles)
3. S. Korea, U.S. to stage joint summertime exercise this week: JCS
Yonhap News Agency · by graceoh@yna.co.kr · August 16, 2020
Important concluding statement from Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo.
4. Liberation Day demonstrations take place amid sharp upturn in COVID-19 infections
Yonhap News Agency · by yonngong@yna.co.kr · August 15, 2020
These are anti-government demonstrations. The photo seems to show substantial crowds.
5. Full text of President Moon Jae-in's speech on Korea's 75th Liberation Day
Yonhap News Agency · August 15, 2020
6. Thousands rally against South Korea leader despite virus warning
Stars & Stripes · by AP · August 15, 2020
7. New sanctions spotlight North Korea’s harrowing Soviet-style gulags
New York Post · by Dana Kennedy · August 15, 2020
Good interviews with former prisoners to help us understand the truly evil nature of the regime.
8. North Korea's leader is tapping his own private food reserve to feed the country, and it could be a worrying sign
Business Insider · by David Choi · August 15, 2020
We should have no doubt how severe the situation is in the North. This is a very important assessment from Thae Yong-ho
9. Could a President Joe Biden face a 'triple' North Korea crisis?
National Interest · by Peter Jennings · August 14, 2020
An Australian perspective: unsure dynastic succession, a viral outbreak, and escalating nuclear confrontation.
A bipartisan group of advisers, affirm the ROK/US alliance, and take a coalition approach. Although he says Obama and Trump have failed, he does not advocate lifting sanctions and making concessions (though I fear that might be what he wants the bipartisan advisers to recommend).
10. South Korea: New virus cases soar to 279
Yonhap News Agency · by kyonae.choi@yna.co.kr · August 16, 2020
11. Seoul should not give up alliance with Washington in US-China spat: Nye
Korea Herald · by Ahn Sung-mi · August 13, 2020
Joe Nye describes the "shrimp among whales." But I think Nye's thesis that the US and China should be "cooperative rivals" is a fantasy. I think in the past year China has revealed its true colors.
12. South Korea warns of new mass infection after church flareup
Bloomberg · by Heesu Lee · August 16, 2020
"So, let me state this clearly: From where I sit, I see US foreign policy-makers inadvertently committing political warfare against themselves in a gray zone of their own making."
- Anonymous
"My favorite is when you go to Afghanistan and you meet the special forces guys, and they look like these heavily armed surfers. These guys are the best. You see guys dressed as full Afghans, but then wearing a Yankees hat.”
- Robin Williams
German GO at the Global SOF Conference: "There is no such thing as hybrid war, just reasonably good campaign design"