Month: December 2014

Here is an interesting report that says that North Korea was training agents to conduct terrorist attacks within the United States according to Bill Gertz in the Washington Free Beacon:

 

North Korea dispatched covert commando teams to the United States in the 1990s to attack nuclear power plants and major cities in a conflict, according to a declassified Defense Intelligence Agency report.

The DIA report, dated Sept. 13, 2004, reveals that five units of covert commandos were trained for the attacks inside the country.

According to the report, the “Reconnaissance Bureau, North Korea, had agents in place to attack American nuclear power plants.”

The document states that the North Korean Ministry of People’s Armed Forces, the ministry in charge of the military, “established five liaison offices in the early 1990s, to train and infiltrate operatives into the United States to attack nuclear power plants and major cities in case of hostilities.”

“One of the driving forces behind the establishment of the units and infiltration of operatives was the slow progress in developing a multi-stage ballistic missile.”  [Washington Free Beacon]

You can read more at the link, to include the comments from a ROK Drop favorite and Korean War historian Mark Sauter on this issue.  Gertz’s information is based on heavily redacted documents that Mark Sauter was able to uncover through Freedom of Information Act requests.  Here is probably the most interesting passage from these documents:

North Korea’s interest in training its agents about Americans is supported by many other reports, including the one below about an alleged U.S. citizen known as “Jackson” who instructed North Korean special forces operatives in “U.S. Special Forces tactics, American English, and interrogation techniques” from before 1983 to at least 1993. The American, called “Comrade Ch’ang-sik” in Korean and said to be a U.S. Air Force POW, trained members of the 52^nd Seaborne Sniper Battalion. He was reported to be the chief of psychological operations study at the Reconnaissance Bureau’s Madonghui College.*  [DMZ War]

Here is a copy of the redacted report about this American:

What is really interesting about this is that the EC-121 shootdown occurred over the Sea of Japan.  Some wreckage from the crash along with two bodies were recovered on the Sea of Japan.

• DMZ Flashpoints: The 1969 EC-121 Shootdown

So the picture the source saw could not have been the EC-121.  Maybe it was just a picture from the Korean War years that people mistook for the EC-121?  Looking at his estimated age of “Jackson” he would be too young to be a Korean War POW and I have never heard of an Air Force officer being taken hostage or defecting across the DMZ.  So who is this guy?  Mark Sauter believes it may be US Army defector Jerry Parrish:

However, if the “Jackson report” above is accurate, it may be even more likely that “Jackson” was one of the five U.S. Army defectors to North Korea during the Cold War. These men were sometimes described as “POWs” by escapees from North Korea and some of “Jackson’s” characteristics match defector Jerry Wayne Parrish, now dead. [DMZ War]

Specialist Jerry Parrish defected to North Korea in 1963 while on patrol along the DMZ.  Here is a picture of Parrish while in North Korea:

If the mysterious “Jackson” is Parrish it seems what US Special Forces knowledge he was teaching was not from personal experience.  This leads me to believe his main job was teaching English like the other US defectors did.  Anyway this is just another interesting chapter of the ongoing conflict with North Korea that these declassified documents are slowly shining a light on.

I did not realize that in Korea that it is actually illegal to give a veteran hiring preference, but this governmental committee is trying to change this in an effort to reform ROK military culture:

A committee meant to reform the military culture recommended that the government give extra points to job applicants who complete military service, a move that could reignite the controversy over the divide between men and women.

The committee recommended that such applicants be given a bonus 2 percent on company examinations, but that only 10 percent of successful applicants at a single company can receive the benefit.

It also said an individual can only receive the benefit five times in his lifetime while those who received heavy punishment for serious wrongdoings will be excluded from the proposed benefits, according to the committee.

“To help encourage draftees to successfully carry out their military duty, the ministry will review the recommendation that calls for giving extra credits to enlistees when they apply for a job,” the defense ministry said.

The move, however, could draw opposition from women, who are not obligated to serve in the military, at a time when the job market remains tight.

In 1999, the Constitutional Court ruled as unconstitutional the law giving males who served in the military an advantage in applying for public service positions, saying it was unfair to women and the disabled.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link, but if the ROK is serious about changing the military culture then spend the money to professionalize more of the military.

Considering how many more US and Japanese F-35s will be located in Japan it makes sense that the deep maintenance facility would be located there.  Of course the ROKs have to show their displeasure with this:

South Korea said on Thursday it will not send its F-35 fleet to Japan for heavy airframe maintenance, one of the two Asian hubs chosen by the United States to service the Lockheed Martin Corp stealth fighter.

Instead, it is likely to fly the jets to Australia for maintenance, about eight times further away than Japan and well beyond their operating range. The three nations, all key U.S. allies, are the only countries in the region to have ordered the F-35s.

The F-35 program has been lauded as an example of the United States and its allies working together to bolster inter-operability, but in Asia the maintenance plan is bringing traditional rivalry between Seoul and Tokyo to the fore.

The three-star air force general who runs the F-35 program for the United States, Chris Bogdan, told reporters on Wednesday that Japan would handle heavy maintenance for the jets in the northern Pacific from early 2018, with Australia to handle maintenance in the southern Pacific.

“There will never be a case where our fighter jets will be taken to Japan for maintenance,” said an official at South Korea’s arms procurement agency, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration.

“South Korea has the right to decide where to conduct maintenance for its F-35 jets, and it will decide whenever the need arises.”

The plan at the moment is for the 40 F-35s to be acquired by South Korea to be serviced in Australia, an Australian defense ministry source told Reuters on condition he wasn’t identified.

South Korea will receive the first of the stealth planes in 2018.

A source familiar with the F-35 program said South Korea could, at a later stage, negotiate with Washington on the possibility of handling the heavy maintenance of its own F-35 jets.

Such a deal would require a significant investment by Seoul, including specialized equipment used to test the jets’ stealth. [Reuters]

You can read more at the link, but when the ROKs decided to pursue the F-35 you would think that this was something that was discussed as part of the contract talks; so this should not be too surprising. I would not be surprised that this is just a big media show for domestic consumption now.  2023 is the earliest that the ROK’s F-35 need servicing so a lot can change by then.   So it makes sense that Korean politicians now do not want the headache of being accused of compromising defense of the nation to Japan needlessly and let politicians down the road work something out where these planes are quietly serviced in Japan.

Photo: Andong Church (left) and old KCIA surveillance house, Bukchon http://t.co/ZPaKxoegCI

— The Marmot's Feed (@rjkoehler) December 16, 2014

An artillery firing drill is underway at a South Korean military unit near the border with North Korea in Goseong County, Gangwon Province, on Dec. 16, 2014. (Yonhap)

Sony Pictures has decided to cancel the release of “The Interview” due to the fact many movie theaters decided not to show the film due to the various threats made online against anyone showing it.  This decision has upset celebrities because it appears North Korea who the US government has supposedly linked to the hack has been able to silence free speech in the US:

Celebrities expressed their outrage at Sony Picture’s decision to cancel plans to release “The Interview” on Christmas Day on Twitter.

The news comes after many major theater owners canceled next week’s screenings of the controversial film, which depicts the assassination of North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un.

U.S. investigators appeared ready to blame North Korea for the crippling hack attack at Sony Pictures, which saw the leak of internal emails and personal information that escalated to a threat that people should avoid going to theaters where “The Interview” is playing.

When the film was pulled, celebrities vented their disappointment and raised concerns about the precedent it would set for controversial films in the future.

Actor Judd Apatow, a friend of one of the film’s lead actors Seth Rogen, tweeted: “I think it is disgraceful that these theaters are not showing The Interview. Will they pull any movie that gets an anonymous threat now?

West Wing actor Rob Lowe, who also makes a cameo appearance in the film said: “Wow. Everyone caved. The hackers won. An utter and complete victory for them.  [CNN]

You can read much more celebrity feedback at the link. However, I cannot blame the theaters because I think they are less worried about a bomb attack, but instead more worried about being hacked like Sony was.  I’m sure all these movie companies are probably now doing huge reviews of their network security right now.  Yes if North Korea was behind this attack they have effectively been able to silence Hollywood and even silence future movies about North Korea:

The shockwaves from the Sony hack have finally reached Hollywood’s development community, as New Regency has pulled the plug on its Steve Carell movie “Pyongyang,” which Gore Verbinski had been prepping for a March start date, an individual familiar with the project has told TheWrap.

Based on the graphic novel by Guy Delisle, “Pyongyang” is a paranoid thriller about a Westerner’s experiences working in North Korea for a year.  [The Wrap]

A plus for all of this out this hack is that the Kim regime has saved us from watching what reviewers are calling not a great movie. On a downside it looks like there will never be a Team America Part 2.

This just goes to show that anyone that had anything remotely to do with what went wrong with the Sewol tragedy is coming under fire:

The state auditor will request the Ministry of National Defense to take disciplinary action against Navy Chief of Staff Adm. Hwang Ki-chul and hold him responsible for a case of defense industry corruption involving a faulty Navy ship, insiders said Tuesday.

The Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) concluded that Hwang was deeply engaged in the process of selecting a supplier of an outdated sonar system for the first domestic-made rescue and salvage ship, the 3,500-ton Tongyeong, in January 2009. At that time he was serving as head of the department in charge of the vessel project at the military procurement agency.

Launched in September 2012, the ship failed to take part in the rescue operation after the Sewol ferry sank in April because of the malfunctioning sonar system. It sparked a huge controversy over deep-rooted corruption in the nation’s defense industry.

According to the BAI, Hwang pushed for a purchase agreement with the supplier even before the Defense Acquisition Program Administration secured the proper evaluation data. He also gave the company preference by postponing the deadline twice for submitting a plan for the project.  [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link.

It will be interesting to see if South Korea goes the way of the US with affirmative action laws:

With a soaring number of migrants in society, Korea should push for affirmative action measures to help curb discrimination, promote coexistence with those from various backgrounds and bring about inclusive growth, Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon said.

The city government has been working with the International Organization for Migration for the first International Migrants Day campaign in Seoul to kick off Thursday, aimed at promoting awareness about migrants by highlighting their contributions to Korea.

Given rampant bias that often turns into hate speech, affirmative action plans similar to those in the U.S. will play a significant role in boosting public understanding about migrants and building a social safety net for the minorities, Park said.

“It will take a long time to practically achieve equal rights in society as far as (discrimination) remains embedded in the people’s subconscious, which is why I think we need affirmative action,” he said in a recent interview with The Korea Herald.  [Korea Herald]

You can read more at the link.

Potato shortage forces Japanese McDonald's to downsize sizes even more http://t.co/FdZ8HvsNCU pic.twitter.com/eBioUhgMIo

— DramaFever (@dramafever) December 16, 2014

Actress Clara attends an event in Seoul on Dec. 16, 2014, to promote LG Household & Care’s cosmetics brand “VOV Span Mascara G.” (Yonhap)