News & commentary by Dave Maxwell. Edited and published by Duncan Moore.
1. Balloon-drop porn smears Kim's wife: Russian envoy
2. Kim Jong-Un was infuriated by 'dirty' depiction of his wife
3. Trump-Kim summit unlikely before U.S. presidential election: U.S. envoy
4. U.S. to leave door open to diplomacy with N.Korea
5. U.S. nat'l security adviser calls on N. Korea to stop provocations, return to dialogue
6. South Korea's Moon calls for U.S.-North Korea summit before U.S. election
7. Moon's adviser urges N.K. to explain demolition of Kaesong liaison office
8. Only Korean unification can end the Korean War for good
9. Kim Yo Jong threats delayed food aid to North Korea, reports say
10. S. Korea reaffirms commitment to peace on 1st anniversary of Trump-Kim DMZ meeting
11. N. Korea's planned leaflet drop is a no-go, for now
12. Number of incoming N. Korean defectors hits all-time low in Q2: unification ministry
13. N. Korea's grain imports soar in April amid chronic food shortages: data
14, Kim Jong-Un goes missing for weeks again as rumours over 'death' return
15. Kim Jong-Un and the persistence of North Korea
16. Korea-Japan ties get even worse
17. North Korea, Bolton, and a prosecutor make life hard for Moon Jae-In
1. Balloon-drop porn smears Kim's wife: Russian envoy
Asia Times · by Bradley K. Martin · July 1, 2020
Pot, meet kettle. South Korean propaganda is no match for the ugliness of North Korean propaganda. Here are some North Korean leaflets from 2016.
That said, we can do better than this. We do not have to stoop to the regime’s level.
2. Kim Jong Un was infuriated by 'dirty' depiction of his wife
Daily Mail · by AFP · June 30, 2020
Hmmm.... I do wonder what the pictures looked like. They are not below. But the previous ones shown below are no match for the ugliness of North Korean propaganda. Nobody does it "better" than the party's Propaganda and Agitation Department.
3. Trump-Kim summit unlikely before U.S. presidential election: U.S. envoy
Yonhap News Agency · by Lee Haye-Ah · June 30, 2020
I concur. To what end? For either the North or the US? I will keep beating this drum. There should be no meeting until working level negotiations conclude a substantive agreement that can be brought to a summit for approval by the leaders. Summits are not the time for detailed or working level negotiations. But Kim has refused to allow this. And from Kim's perspective he has received nothing from the two summits and the one meeting in Panmunjom a year ago, so it is unlikely he will agree to a summit unless he has a guarantee of subnational sanctions relief.
4. U.S. to leave door open to diplomacy with N.Korea
The Chosun Ilbo · by Kim Eun-Joong · July 01, 2020
Everyone should understand we have never closed the door to diplomacy. We have always been willing to talk. It is Kim Jong-Un who has refused to do so and to allow substantive working level negotiations which is where the hard work has to be done. Kim thinks he can play Moon and Trump but must soon realize that we are not going to provide sanctions relief as a concession merely to bring the regime to the negotiating table. It is time for Kim to put on his big boy pants and grow up and have the courage to conduct real diplomacy rather than hide behind his nuclear weapons and soldiers. A real leader would conduct real diplomacy.
5. U.S. nat'l security adviser calls on N. Korea to stop provocations, return to dialogue
Yonhap News Agency · by Lee Haye-Ah · July 01, 2020
The NSA is right. It does not get any clearer than this: "we are committed to engagement." Kim is not. He is committed to blackmail diplomacy and his long con in support of his long-term political warfare strategy based on subversion, coercion/extortion, and use of force. Kim should have the courage to allow talks. He is the root of all problems. But we in the US will always get the blame.
6. South Korea's Moon calls for U.S.-North Korea summit before U.S. election
Reuters · by Hyonhee Shin · July 1, 2020
Again, to what end? What is the objective and what might another summit accomplish? I am sure Moon hopes it would pave the way for intra-Korean engagement and support his peace vision. But Kim does not accept his peace strategy and he has made that clear over the past couple of weeks (and Kim Yo-Jong has as well).
7. Moon's adviser urges N.K. to explain demolition of Kaesong liaison office
Yonhap News Agency · by Kim Seung-Yeon · June 30, 2020
Yes, inquiring minds want to know. Please tell us why.
8. Only Korean unification can end the Korean War for good
The National Interest · by Andrew Yeo · June 30, 2020
Yes, we must solve the Korea question (Para 60 of the Armistice and the unnatural division of the peninsula and the people).
The only way we are going to see an end of the war, and an end to the nuclear program, and an end to the threat to South Korea and the region and the world, and an end to the human rights abuses and crimes against humanity being committed against the Korean people in the North, is to achieve the only acceptable durable political arrangement: a secure, stable, economically vibrant, non-nuclear Korean peninsula unified under a liberal constitutional form of government with respect for freedom and individual liberty, the rule of law, and human rights, determined by the Korean people. In short, a United Republic of Korea (UROK)
Some of my thoughts on unification are here.
9. Kim Yo Jong threats delayed food aid to North Korea, reports say
UPI · by Elizabeth Shim · June 30, 2020
The Kim family regime – and the Kim family regime alone – is responsible for the suffering of the Korean people in the North.
10. S. Korea reaffirms commitment to peace on 1st anniversary of Trump-Kim DMZ meeting
Yonhap News Agency · by julesyi@yna.co.kr · June 30, 2020
President Moon is fully committed to his peace vision despite Kim showing him his assumptions are all false. Strategy based on false assumptions leads to failed strategy.
11. N. Korea's planned leaflet drop is a no-go, for now
Daily NK · by Ha Yoon Ah · June 30, 2020
But maybe the real issue is the United Front Department could not actually produce 12 million leaflets (despite the report below that says they produce some 50 different kinds) and maybe it does not have 3000 balloons to launch to the South.
12. Number of incoming N. Korean defectors hits all-time low in Q2: unification ministry
Yonhap News Agency · by julesyi@yna.co.kr · July 01, 2020
The regime is taking full advantage of the draconian population and resources control measures it has implemented in response to the coronavirus. It probably has not had this good control of its borders since before the Arduous March of the famine of 1994-1996. Of course, given the recent treatment of defectors in the South, I wonder if they are not trying to escape or if they are they are trying to remain in a third country.
13. N. Korea's grain imports soar in April amid chronic food shortages: data
Yonhap News Agency · by kokobj@yna.co.kr · July 01, 2020
Go figure. Remember that Kim Jong-Un has sufficient funds to pay for food for the entire 25 million Koreans in the North. But he chooses not to. He could certainly solve the shortage stated below.
14. Kim Jong-Un goes missing for weeks again as rumours over 'death' return
Mirror · by Kelly-Ann Mills · June 30, 2020
Kim remains on his 1 day of work with about a 3 week holiday work schedule.
15. Kim Jong-un and the persistence of North Korea
The National Interest · by Robert E. Kelly · June 30, 2020
The regime and the Korean people in the North have proven to be quite resilient. Professor Kelly outlines a number of reasons why the regime will persist through 2025.
16. Korea-Japan ties get even worse
The Chosun Ilbo · by Lee Ha-Won & Roh Suk-Jo · June 30, 2020
Unfortunately, I think this is the case. The only way to stop this is for both leaders (Moon and Abe) to exercise personal and decisive leadership.
17. North Korea, Bolton, and a prosecutor make life hard for Moon Jae-In
The National Interest · by Mitchell Blatt · June 30, 2020
Moon is stuck between multiple rocks and hard places.
"Do not compromise on national security for purely budgetary reasons. The world is dangerous, and we must always be prepared for anything that might threaten our national interests and security."
- Sanford Bishop
"National security is the first duty of government but we are also committed to reversing the substantial erosion of civil liberties."
- Theresa May
"Talking nonsense is the sole privilege mankind possesses over the other organisms. It's by talking nonsense that one gets to the truth! I talk nonsense, therefore I'm human"
- Fyodor Dostoevsky, Notes from Underground, White Nights, The Dream of a Ridiculous Man, and Selections from The House of the Dead