We don't have to try to wreck #China's economy. What we do to stop its theft of our intellectual property and end its violations of #trade commitments will cripple its economy and perhaps topple the Communist Party. Regardless of its effect on China, we must defend ourselves. https://t.co/myKucSsJnk
— Gordon G. Chang (@GordonGChang) May 18, 2019
You can always count on the Chinese to bust international sanctions:
China has provided rice and fertilizer to North Korea, Chinese data showed Sunday, amid U.N. Security Council (UNSC) sanctions against the North that prohibit any large-scale economic assistance.
According to data from China’s customs office, Beijing provided 1,000 tons of rice, worth about US$1 million, to the impoverished North between May and October of 2018.
The data showed Beijing also provided 162,000 tons of fertilizer, worth more than $55 million, to the North.The shipments of what appears to have been free assistance followed North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s visit to China in March 2018, when he held his first summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Yonhap
You can read more at the link, but China is providing this free aid to a country that purchased $640 million in luxury goods from them.
What a horrible deal this would have been if President Trump would have agreed to it:
U.S. President Donald Trump has said that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un wanted to remove only one or two of the five nuclear sites in his country during their summit in Hanoi in February.
Yonhap
Trump made remarks in an interview with Fox News on Sunday (Washington time), reiterating his vow not to allow Iran to have nuclear arms amid heightened military tensions with the Islamic republic.
“When I left Vietnam where we had the summit, I said to Chairman Kim … And I think very importantly I said, look, you are not ready for a deal because he wanted to get rid of one or two sites,” Trump said.
“But he has five sites … I said what about the other three sites. That is no good,” he added.
The Hanoi summit collapsed as Trump and Kim failed to bridge their gaps over the scope of Pyongyang’s denuclearization and Washington’s sanctions relief. Since then, the bilateral negotiations have hit an impasse.
Trump, however, highlighted that there have not been nuclear and long-range tests amid his administration’s diplomatic efforts.
“They haven’t had any tests over the last two years. It is zero,” he said.
You can read more at the link, but I think President Trump should not be bragging too much about the missile and nuclear test moratorium. The self imposed moratorium Kim Jong-un has already said will end next year if a deal is not struck, just in time for the Presidential election season.
The North Koreans unsurprisingly are unhappy about the seizure of one of their ships by the United States:
North Korea’s top envoy to the United Nations (UN) has sent a letter to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to criticize the United States’ recent seizure of its cargo ship suspected of violating international sanctions, Pyongyang’s state media said Saturday.
Joong Ang Ilbo
In the letter sent Friday, Kim Song called the seizure an “unlawful, outrageous and sovereignty-infringing” act, which, he said, indicated the United States is “indeed a gangster country,” according to the North’s official Korean Central News Agency.
The U.S. Justice Department said on May 9 that it has seized the 17,061-ton Wise Honest suspected of transferring coal and machinery in violation of the sanctions regime, in the first such direct seizure by U.S. authorities.
You can read more at the link, but something I have been saying for a long time is these sanctions busting ships should be seized and then auctioned off with the money going to the victims of their terrorism attacks over the years. It is time to catch more ships to further put pressure on the Kim regime.
Unfortunately it looks like some foreign students in Seoul had to deal with a creepy ajushi:
A building superintendent has been booked for allegedly sexually harassing foreign residents in Seodaemun, northwestern Seoul, Seodaemun police said.
Korea Times
The suspect, in his 40s, allegedly verbally and physically harassed foreign women, most of whom are studying or on a temporary stay in Korea. The building is used as a dormitory for foreign students of a nearby university.
Police began their investigation after one of the alleged victims complained.
Police allege the suspect has been harassing foreign residents for a long time. The victims said they did not know how to deal with it.
“He tried to kiss me twice and grab my butt,” one victim told a local news outlet. “He would also ask me to sleep with him.”
You can read more at the link.
Journalist Byun Hee-jai is released from jail on bail in #SouthKorea. Actually he protested the very restrictive bail conditions, which would've prevented him from prepping to defend himself & refused to leave, so they forced him out of jail.https://t.co/aE6Q7wZMlx
— Tara O (@DrTaraO) May 17, 2019
This incident definitely does not put female police officers in a good light:
The government’s move to increase the number of female police officers has been called into question, after a short video of a female officer struggling to contain a violent drunk went viral.
Korea Times
Frustrated by her “inability,” a petition was posted on the presidential office’s website, calling for an end to the recruitment of female law enforcement officers.
The Moon Jae-in administration aims to increase the proportion of women on the police force to 15 percent by 2022.
“We don’t need a police officer that requests help from citizens when they are making an arrest,” the petitioner said. “There should not be sexual discrimination, but there is a physical difference. The female officers should take the same physical tests as men or be placed in a safer and more comfortable position.”
The video which was posted Friday, shows one policeman and a policewoman confronted by two drunken men, but as the conversation heats up, one of the drunks slaps the male officer. The man was immediately knocked to the ground by the policeman but the female officer failed to restrain the other man, who even tried to push the male officer off his friend.
The policewoman radioed for back up as soon as the male officer was assaulted, which raised criticisms that the officer was unable to control the situation.
You can read more at the link, but I don’t think this is necessarily a female criticism issue, but really more about putting the most effective officers on a patrol like this. The officer is question was clearly not very effective at handling this situation.
President Moon has found time to attend an anniversary event for the Gwangju uprising, I wonder if he will find time to attend a memorial event next month for the 13 ROK Sailors killed in the 2002 West Sea Naval Battle by North Korea?:
President Moon Jae-in called for an end to wasteful political strife over the 1980 pro-democracy uprising in Gwangju, Saturday, saying the country still owes a huge debt to the residents of the city.
Korea Times
Attending the 39th anniversary of the movement against the then military junta led by Chun Doo-hwan, he offered an apology, as the country’s sitting president, for the many deaths that resulted in the brutal crackdown that followed.
He lamented continued reckless remarks by some politicians and scholars to distort or play down the truth behind the historic event, officially named the Gwangju Democratization Movement.
“As a Korean, I feel tremendous shame when facing the reality of preposterous remarks denying and insulting the May 18 Democratization Movement still being uttered out loud without any hesitation,” he said in a speech at the ceremony held in the city, 268 kilometers south of Seoul.
You can read more at the link, but I wonder if President Moon will say he feels “tremendous shame” about the “preposterous remarks” by those that deny that North Korea sunk the ROK naval ship the Cheonan killing 46 sailors back in 2010. The memorial service was in March and President Moon did not attend.
As far as the Gwangju Uprising, I always recommend people read Linda Lewis’, Laying Claim to the Memory of May: A Look Back at the 1980 Kwangju Uprising for a good analysis of what happened back in 1980.
