Author: GIKorea

It seems to me people are getting way ahead of themselves in regards to the upcoming Inter-Korean Summit ending the Korean War:

South and North Korea are discussing plans to announce an official end to the military conflict between the two countries that are still technically at war, the Munhwa Ilbo newspaper reported, citing an unidentified South Korean official.

At next week’s summit between South Korea President Moon Jae-in and North Korea leader Kim Jong Un, the two neighbors may release a joint statement saying they will seek to ease military tension and to end confrontation, according to the report.  [Bloomberg]

Before people get all euphoric about the end of the Korean War it is important to realize South Korea cannot negotiate an end to the Korean War because they are not a signatory to the Armistice Agreement.  They will need China, the United States, and United Nations to agree to it as well.  So what exactly is being negotiated?:

“We are devising and discussing various ways to develop the security situation surrounding the peninsula into a permanent peace regime,” the official said on condition of anonymity. “One such way may be changing the armistice agreement to a peace treaty, and we are reviewing the possibility of it.”

But he said South Korea alone cannot decide on ending the war as the issue requires close discussion with countries directly involved, including North Korea.

Although the armistice was signed by North Korea, China and the United Nations Command, without South Korea, the official said it is undeniable South Korea is one of the countries directly involved.

“But the two Koreas alone cannot decide on signing a peace treaty, so we may have to seek a three-party or four-party agreement if necessary.”

He noted that when Moon’s special envoys visited Pyongyang in March, Kim himself said his country would not take military action against the South.

“In the joint declaration to be announced by Moon and Kim after the summit, we want to include an agreement to ban hostilities, although it is not known yet whether we can use the term ‘end of the war,'” the official said. “However, we expect to include such an agreement in some form of expression.”  [Korea Times]

That is the key term being negotiated, “a ban on hostilities”.   I would be surprised if President Trump signs up for a peace treaty ending the war without verifiable denuclearization by North Korea.  The Kim regime probably understands this as well.  I think what the Kim regime may be trying to do is at least get an agreement to ban hostilities in order to make it more difficult for President Trump to launch a strike when they inevitably break whatever agreement they sign up for.

If the past is any indication of the future, they will break the agreement after receiving the aid they want and blame the US or ROK for its failure for some imaginary reason.  The ban on hostilities could then possibly constrain the US President from responding militarily while the Kim regime continues to break the agreement.  If the US does strike anyway the Kim regime can then claim that the US broke the hostility agreement and thus justify them expanding their nuclear program and taking whatever hostilities they want.  In the minds of the Kim regime, they win either way.

Must-read: Could North Korea Use Nuclear Weapons as a Shield for Aggression? https://t.co/ICxYe8hsf0

— (((Joshua))) Stanton (@freekorea_us) April 16, 2018

A meeting to brief foreign military attaches on the country’s defense policies takes place at the defense ministry in Seoul on April 13, 2018. (Yonhap)

I would be surprised if Kim Jong-un agrees to this unless the questions are all pre-screened:

Seoul is seeking to broadcast the upcoming inter-Korean summit as well as a joint press conference between President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un live, a top presidential aide said Tuesday.

A hotline between the two leaders is likely to be set up around Friday, and they may be able to have their first phone call early next week, he said.

Presidential chief of staff Im Jong-seok, who is leading the government’s inter-Korean summit preparation committee, said officials from the North and the South would discuss the broadcasting issue at a working-level meeting on protocol, security and media coverage, today.

“We want to broadcast the historic moment live,” Im said in a media briefing 10 days before the summit scheduled for April 27.   [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link, but could you imagine if questions were not pre-screened and journalists actually did their jobs and asked Kim Jong-un about the gulags or if he was going to apologize to the family members killed by his regime’s conventional and terrorist attacks?

Pretty interesting profile below from Yonhap about a man in Seoul fighting to keep his home after his neighborhood was selected for redevelopment:

In the morning of Jan. 20, 2009, six people — five protesters and one police officer — were killed in a blaze atop a gutted building in Yongsan, central Seoul. The five civilian victims were protesting against a forceful eviction by the authorities for a mega urban renewal project.

Nine years has passed. And one man has risked his life for a similar reason: to protect the house that he built in 1986 in Jangwi-dong, northern Seoul. On November 7, he stabbed himself in the abdomen when officials came to forcibly remove him and his wife from the two-story brick house.  (…….)

The redevelopment project divided Jangwi-dong into 15 zones and Cho’s house belongs to the seventh zone. On March 20, 2009, the zone’s redevelopment union was established after 76.61 percent — slightly over the minimum requirement of 75 percent — of the land owners approved the plan. Those opposed had to sell the house according to real estate values determined by certified public appraisers.

In Cho’s case, along with those of many others, the value failed to properly reflect market prices. Having injured his back while serving in the military, he doesn’t have a regular income. His family lives on the rent from the tenants of four small shops on the first floor and one in the basement.

With the cash compensation, it is impossible to find a house that can provide him with similar monthly income, as the redevelopment project has pushed up real estate prices in nearby areas.  [Yonhap]

You can read much more at the link, but Mr. Cho’s house now has become a hardened fortress complete with activists protecting it to stop people from trying to evict him.

Korean TV channel asks: why are you stupid foreigners (Benedict Cumberbatch, Anne Hathaway, Keanu Reeves) coming here and doing a namaste to us? Is this your standard “oriental” greeting? https://t.co/6gHOTXMPGf

— Anna Fifield (@annafifield) April 16, 2018

A ceremony is under way at a stadium in Pyongyang on April 14, 2018, to mark the 106th birthday of late North Korean leader Kim Il-sung. North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported it on the following day.  (Yonhap)

Cho Hyun-min admits to doing more more than throw water at an advertising agent, she even shoved the person:

Korean Air Lines Co., said Monday that it has temporarily suspended one of its executives — the daughter of the company’s chairman — for her alleged misbehavior toward an advertising agency employee.

South Korea’s national flagship carrier Senior Vice President Cho Hyun-min has been relieved from her current post until the ongoing police probe into the matter is concluded. It did not elaborate on what further action will be taken.

On Friday, law enforcement authorities launched a preliminary inquiry into Cho after local media reported that she yelled and threw water at a manager of an advertising agency during a meeting in Seoul last month.

She is the younger sister of Cho Hyun-ah, who was jailed in 2014 in the so-called nut rage scandal. Cho Hyun-ah ordered a plane full of passengers back to the boarding gate in New York because she was upset about the way her nuts were served.

The younger Cho was reportedly upset because the advertising employee did not properly answer her questions.

“I was foolish. I am sorry,” the heiress told reporters after arriving at Incheon International Airport on Sunday. Cho denied, however, that she threw water, although she admitted giving the person a shove. [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link.

Here is the new bus schedule between Yongsan Garrison and Camp Humphreys that began on April 16th:

Korean tourism numbers may be up on Guam, but they are not spending nearly as much as Japanese tourists:

Visitor arrivals from Korea are making up for a decline in arrivals from Japan, but since last summer, Guam Visitors Bureau officials have noted the average Korean tourist spends much less on island than the average Japanese tourist.

Lately, they’ve been spending about one-third of what the average Japanese visitor spends here, according to the tourism agency.

As of January, the average Japanese traveler spent about $578 per day on island, compared to only $187.40 per day for a Korean traveler. The figures are similar for February, according to GVB, although that spending report hasn’t been released.

“We’re seeing a lot more cost-conscious visitors,” Nico Fujikawa, GVB tourism research director, said about visitors from Korea. “They’re looking for a deal. They’re kind of like locals.”  [Guam PDN]

You can read more at the link.