Author: GIKorea

I am sure the irony is not lost on the Kim regime that they are bashing the Japanese Navy for an arms build up when it simply tested an SM-3 missile used for missile defense of their country.  An SM-3 missile is not used for offensive operations against North Korea:

North Korea on Saturday blasted Japan for trying to create tension on the Korean Peninsula, while also accusing the country of trying to rebuild its military.

“The maritime ‘Self-Defense Force’ (MSDF) of Japan recently conducted a test-fire of the interceptor missile SM-3 Block 1B on an Aegis destroyer in waters off Hawaii of the U.S. It is reportedly the first time that the MSDF conducted an interceptor missile test-fire,” the Rodong Sinmun, a newspaper published by the North’s Workers’ Party, reported.

In a commentary carried by the North’s Korean Central News Agency, the newspaper insisted Japan was trying to build a military capable of waging war against others.

“The present reactionary regime of Japan seeks to put the Asia-Pacific region under control by turning Japan into a country capable of going to war,” it said.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link.

Trump just said in his W Virginia speech that he “loves” Kim Jong Un, & his audience clapped. Seriously. WTH has happened to the GOP? It’s just unrecognizable. This is why I’m so resistant to T’s diplomacy w/ NK. He’s doing it for all the wrong reasons – flattery, admiration, /1

— Robert E Kelly (@Robert_E_Kelly) September 30, 2018

President Moon Jae-in (R), alongside his wife Kim Jung-sook, visits his ancestors’ tombs at a Catholic graveyard in the southeastern city of Yangsan on Sept. 28, 2018, as he took the day off after returning from a trip to New York the previous day, in this photo released by the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae. In New York, he held talks with U.S. President Donald Trump and attended the U.N. General Assembly. (Yonhap)

How about the Kim regime takes steps towards real denuclearization instead of “pretend denuclearization” first:

North Korea’s foreign minister said Saturday that his country won’t dismantle its nuclear weapons program first without seeing corresponding measures from the United States.

Speaking to the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Ri Yong-ho said his country’s commitment to denuclearization is firm but that it needs to see trust-building measures from the U.S.

“Without any trust in the U.S., there will be no confidence in our national security, and under such circumstances, there is no way we will unilaterally disarm ourselves first,” the minister said.

The North has taken “goodwill measures” by stopping its ballistic missile tests and dismantling a nuclear test site, among other things, Ri said. The U.S., on the other hand, has increased sanctions on the North and rejected Pyongyang’s calls for a declaration to formally end the 1950-53 Korean War, he claimed.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link, but the North Koreans are continuing their line of attack of getting sanctions dropped for little to nothing in return.  They have yet to commit themselves to any real denuclearization.  They have stopped testing which can restart at anytime they have shuttered facilities that either no longer needed or easily rebuilt.  When nuclear material is flown out of the country and international inspectors are supervising the decommissioning of the Yongbyon nuclear plant then we know they are serious about denuclearization.

Courtesy of the Japanese Navy, the Moon administration has a nice distraction to rally all Koreans around:

The Navy said Sunday it remains in opposition to a Japanese warship carrying a controversial imperialistic flag to an international naval event in South Korea next month.

The southern island of Jeju will stage the International Fleet Review from Oct. 10-14, and the Navy said warships from 15 nations, including Japan, the United States and China, will participate in the first such event in South Korea since 2008.

The Japanese vessel is expected to display the Rising Sun Flag, viewed as an emblem of the country’s wartime aggression in South Korea, where historical animosity over the wrongdoings of the country’s former colonizer still runs deep. Japan colonized the peninsula from 1910-45.

South Korea earlier informed participating nations that they should raise their national flag and the flag of the host country. One South Korean Navy official said the stance hasn’t changed.

“We’ll continue to speak with Japan regarding this matter,” the official said. “Our Navy has a separate communication channel with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, and we’ll continue to let them know where we stand.”

Another South Korean military source said he expected Japan to carry the flag into Jeju waters and then take it down during the actual review.  [Yonhap]

You can discuss anything you would like in the comments section.

B.R. Myers does relatively few radio interviews, so it was a pleasure to speak with him at length this week while I hosted a KBS radio program. #korea #dprk https://t.co/1B4JTqL1Us

— Kurt Achin (@KurtAchin) September 26, 2018

Tourists view a field of blooming buckwheat flowers in the city of Jeju on South Korea’s southern island of the same name on Sept. 28, 2018. (Yonhap)

It looks like the Moon administration continues to work around the sanctions on the North Koreans:

South Korea will seek to launch joint on-site inspections of cross-border railways with North Korea next month as part of efforts to reconnect the railways, as called for in last week’s inter-Korean summit agreement, the presidential spokesman said Friday.

The decision was made at a meeting of the committee formed to discuss measures to carry out the Pyongyang Declaration reached in the third summit between President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang last week.

The agreement calls for breaking ground before the end of the year toward reconnecting two sets of cross-border roads and railways. One of them, called the Seohae Line, runs through the western section of the border and the other, called the Donghae Line, runs through the eastern section. [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link, but I wonder if the United Nations Command has blessed off on this yet?  Despite all the concessions the Moon administration has made to the Kim regime, I have yet to read or see any report that the North Koreans have removed one piece of artillery or troop formation away from the DMZ.

I think it is arguable that USFK’s part in the US’s overall North Korea strategy is to do everything possible to not be the ones’ to blame if the current peace process falls apart because North Korea does not denuclearize.  The Kim regime would need an excuse for reneging on giving up their nukes and claiming that USFK is training to destroy them is a good excuse.  With that said they can just claim the US military presence in South Korea is enough to justify keeping their nukes as well:

Robert B. Abrams, a four-star US Army general who is nominated to become the next US Forces Korea (USFK) commander, stated that the suspension of joint military exercises between the US and South Korea has undermined combat readiness, and that an “atmosphere of detente” is being created on the Korean Peninsula.During a hearing to vet him for his new position at the Senate Armed Service Committee on Sept. 25, Abrams talked about the suspension of the Ulchi-Freedom Guardian joint military exercises in the wake of the US-North Korea summit meeting on June 12. According to an AFP report, he said “I think the suspension of the exercise this past August and September, I would say was a prudent risk if we’re willing to make the effort to change the relationship with [North Korea].”  [Hankyoreh]

You can read more at the link.