It is pretty clear that President Moon and Kim Jong-un are going to be putting a full court press on President Trump to declare an end to the Korean War this year:
South Korean President Moon Jae-in said his goal is to make “irreversible progress by the end of the year” toward denuclearization and a permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula in an interview on Friday.
A tangible step in that direction would be a formal declaration to end the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended with an armistice agreement, not a peace treaty, Moon told Indonesia’s Kompas newspaper in a written interview published two days after his special envoy returned from a trip to Pyongyang and met with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
The interview came ahead of Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s three-day state visit to Seoul kicking off Monday. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
You can read more at the link, but I expect a lot of flattery and pretend denuclearization concessions from the North Koreans to get him to agree to end the Korean War. Kim is probably hoping that Trump will go along with the pretend denuclearization strategy as way to boost poll numbers prior to the mid-term elections in the US. We should see over the next couple of months if pretend denuclearization will be what Trump decides to do.
So why are President Moon and Kim Jong-un so intent on end the Korean War? That is because once the war is officially ended this then challenges the legitimacy of the US-ROK alliance. If there is no longer hostilities between the two Koreas then why does the US military need to be there?
I believe that President Moon is too smart to advocate against keeping USFK in Korea post-peace treaty because that will mobilize the conservative opposition against him. However, Moon can use his surrogates to make life difficult for USFK to where the Trump administration could decide to withdraw on its own. This gets Moon and his left wing base in South Korea what they ultimately want, USFK withdrawal without getting blamed for it.
Remember the happy news the S. Korean NSA brought us a mere two days ago, that Kim Jong Un purportedly did not object to the presence of USFK. So, does this mean KCNA = independent media? Or that Kim, perish the thought, was lying? https://t.co/VPnriRKVqB
Lt. Gen. Jun Jin-goo, commander of South Korea’s Marine Corps, is conferred the U.S. Legion of Merit by his American counterpart Robert B. Neller in Washington on Sept. 6, 2018, in this photo from Jun’s office. The Legion of Merit is the highest medal the U.S. armed forces awards to foreign military officials to recognize their contributions to strengthening the alliance with the U.S. (Yonhap)
Kim Jong-un and President Trump are continuing their pen pal relationship:
U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday he expects to receive a “positive letter” from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said that he knows a personal letter from Kim is going to be delivered to him, adding that it was handed over at the border the day before.
This border Trump refers to is suspected to be the inter-Korean border, but a detailed route of the letter’s delivery was not provided.
Trump said the letter will likely be delivered to him by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and added that “It’s an elegant way, the way it used to be many years ago before we had all of the new contraptions that we all use.”
Trump also said he thinks it’s going to be a positive letter. [KBS World Radio]
I have to wonder what flattery and empty denuclearization promise will be in the letter that Kim is going to try and use to sway President Trump to make a major concession? My guess would be the major concession Kim will ask for is a treaty to end the Korean War.
President Moon needs to have his third Inter-Korean Summit hurry up and happen this month so he can get some more smiling pictures with Kim Jong-un to improve his rapidly dropping approval rating. It dropped another six points this week because of economic woes:
A new survey finds President Moon Jae-in’s job approval rating has slipped below 50 percent for the first time.
Gallup Korea surveyed one-thousand adults nationwide, out of which 49 percent of respondents said the president is doing a good job. That’s down four percentage points from last week when the figure posted a new low.
It marked the first time for the president’s approval rating surveyed by Gallup Korea to stand in the 40 percent range.
Among those who had positive opinions about Moon’s performance, 16 percent picked improved relations with North Korea as the reason for giving a positive evaluation. Some eleven percent cited Moon’s North Korea and security policies while ten percent said they think the president gives his best and works hard.
Meanwhile, 41 percent of those who had a negative view about the president’s job cited lack of progress in addressing economic and livelihood issues as the reason for their evaluation. Some eight percent pointed at inter-Korean ties and seven percent at the minimum wage hike. [KBS World Radio]
#NorthKorea keeps using "denuclearization of KOREAN PENINSULA" because it means–>"..of #SouthKorea, which has no nukes–>no nuclear umbrella, no U.S. military capab–>US mil w/drawal, end alliance. So NK's "denuke of Korean Pen"=US military withdrawal, end alliance. A word play. https://t.co/i2gwg6uurD
President Moon Jae-in’s special envoy and National Security Office chief Chung Eui-yong, left, whispers to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Courtesy of Cheong Wa Dae [Korea Times]
I find it interesting Viktor Ahn is being criticized for returning to South Korea after skating for Russia when South Korea has a number of foreign born athletes playing on their teams:
Viktor Ahn during the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. Yonhap
Korean-born Russian short-track speed skater Viktor Ahn has been branded an opportunist for returning to Korea.
Many Koreans do not approve of his move and have urged him to go back to Russia.
The skater, 33, whose Korean name is Ahn Hyun-soo, has reportedly come back to raise his daughter in Korea, according to Russia’s Interfax News Wednesday.
Korean media outlet Sports Kyunghyang reported Thursday that Ahn made the decision for his wife, who is said to be homesick. Ahn tied the knot with Woo Na-ri in 2014 and has one daughter.
“He was the one who received preferential treatment ― Ahn was singled out as a member of the national team thanks to his ‘faction,’ not his skating ability,” one netizen wrote. “But he began playing the victim as his faction lost power and left for Russia.” [Korea Times]
Fortunately this happened when no kids where in school:
A kindergarten building in southern Seoul has tilted after a retaining wall at a nearby construction site collapsed. No casualties were reported but the incident led to the evacuation of some 50 people at one point.
Our Bae Joo-yon has more.
Report: According to local authorities, the three-story Sangdo Kindergarten in the southern district of Dongjak tilted about ten degrees after the wall designed to prevent subsidence caved in at around 11:20 p.m. Thursday.
There were no casualties as the building was empty at the time but some 50 local residents had to evacuate and take shelter at a community center and hotel on Thursday night before returning home on Friday morning. [KBS World Radio]
