Author: GIKorea

This is something that very visible, but at the same time no cost to North Korea to do:

North Korea blew up the inter-Korean joint liaison office in its border town of Kaesong on Tuesday, sharply escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula after near-daily threats to punish Seoul over anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets.

The surprise explosion sparked concern that the communist nation could put other threats against the South into action, including taking military action and moving troops to border regions disarmed under inter-Korean agreements.

South Korea expressed “strong regret” and warned the North not to aggravate the situation.

“The destruction … is an act that breaches the hope of all people wishing for the development of inter-Korean relations and a lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula,” Cheong Wa Dae said in a statement after an emergency meeting of the National Security Council.

“The government makes clear that all responsibility caused by this rests totally with the North Korean side,” he said. “We sternly warn that if North Korea takes steps further aggravating the situation, we will respond strongly to it.”

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but the Kim regime has no fear that the Blue House “will respond strongly to it” and that is part of the problem. The Kim regime expects a Hans Blix style response.

The Kim regime will likely next occupy all the DMZ outposts they vacated two years ago. This will force the ROK Army to reoccupy their outposts, but they blew them up and would have to rebuild them all. By the way does anyone still think the shots fired last month by North Korea at a ROK DMZ guard post was still unintentional as the Moon administration has been claiming? This is all part of the usual provocation patterns used by the Kim regime for decades to extract the concessions they want from South Korea.

In this case it is to defy international sanctions and move forward with the cross-border projects they want the ROK to fund. It also appears they are using this provocation cycle to build up Kim’s sister, Kim Yo-jong’s standing within the regime since she has been the main spokesperson so far.

I wonder if this had more to do with budget belt tightening due to the COVID caused economic crisis than concerns from local residents about hosting the system:

The Defense Ministry is halting its plan to deploy the Aegis Ashore land-based missile defense system in Japan, Defense Minister Taro Kono said Monday, citing costs and technical problems.

The move comes a month after the government gave up on deploying the cutting-edge missile defense system to a Self-Defense Forces compound in the city of Akita, following strong opposition from local residents. Kono reported the latest plan to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe last Friday, he said.

In January 2019, the U.S. agreed to sell two Aegis Ashore missile defense systems and other military equipment to Japan at an estimated cost of $2.15 billion (about ¥231 billion).

The Defense Ministry had planned to install two Aegis Ashore systems in Akita Prefecture in eastern Japan and Yamaguchi Prefecture in western Japan sometime after the fiscal year starting April 2025 so that all of Japan was covered by the missile defense systems.

Japan Times

You can read more at the link, but North Korea and China should be happy to see this development.

North Korea is threatening military action so this is the perfect time to find something the bash the Japanese with to divert attention:

South Korea called in Japan’s top envoy in Seoul and voiced “deep regrets” Monday after Tokyo failed to honor wartime forced labor victims at an information center on industrial revolution sites registered on UNESCO’s World Heritage list.

Second Vice Foreign Minister Lee Tae-ho called in Japanese Ambassador Koji Tomita, hours after the Industrial Heritage Information Center in Tokyo opened to the public following a monthslong closure due to the new coronavirus.

Upon the 2015 World Heritage designation of 23 Meiji-era sites, Tokyo said it would establish the center to remember the victims based on its recognition of “Koreans and others who were brought against their will and forced to work under harsh conditions in the 1940s at some of the sites.”

“It is deeply regrettable that this center runs counter to Japan’s pledge and includes content that completely distorts historical facts,” Kim In-chul, spokesman for the ministry, said in a commentary. 

“Especially, South Korea cannot help but feel concern and disappointment, as we cannot find any effort to commemorate the victims in any exhibitions at the center, though the Japanese government pledged to establish the center as a measure to remember the victims,” it added.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but unless you check the Japanese media you would not know that the site does in fact include information about Korean laborers, it just doesn’t feed the narrative of the evil Imperial Japanese slave drivers that one sees in South Korea:

Although the exhibit on the sites, mostly in southwestern Japan and added to the UNESCO list in 2015, include descriptions of Korean labor, it incorporates testimonies from second-generation Korean Japanese residents claiming there was no discriminatory treatment of Korean workers there.

Much of the Korean media’s criticisms were aimed at the display for the Hashima Coal Mine in Nagasaki, known as Gunkanjima (Battleship Island) because of its shape.

Guests can learn about the experiences of former residents. Accounts of Hashima residents include the late second-generation Korean Japanese Fumio Suzuki, who spent his childhood years on the island and said he never heard of Koreans subjected to slave labor.

According to the Chosun Ilbo, a major South Korean daily, the exhibitions deny the reality of forced labor under harsh conditions and threaten to “exacerbate an already fraught” relationship between South Korea and Japan.

The liberal Hankyoreh newspaper likewise reported the exhibits as a “distortion” of history.

The exhibit consists of panels and large screens that illustrate Japan’s rapid industrialization from the middle of the 19th century to the early 20th century.

The display for the Hashima Coal Mine includes digitally archived documents indicating the existence of workers from the Korean Peninsula, who were drafted to the island during World War II, as well as records of a bonus salary paid to a Taiwanese laborer.

Japan Times

You can read more at the link.

I guess we will see how effective President Moon is appealing to North Korea to be nice:

President Moon Jae-in called Monday on North Korea to leave the door for dialogue open, emphasizing the need for the two Koreas to build mutual trust based on the spirit of the 2000 historic summit accord.

“To North Korea, I request that it not close the window of dialogue,” he said in a video message for an official event to commemorate the first-ever summit between the leaders of the two Koreas. The ceremony was held at Odusan Unification Observatory in Paju, just south of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). 

In a symbolic move, Moon appeared in the video wearing a blue tie that South Korea’s late president Kim Dae-jung wore two decades ago when he signed the June 15 Joint Declaration with then-North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, father of the current leader Kim Jong-un, after their summit talks in Pyongyang.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Hat tip to One Free Korea for providing this link to the Wilson Center Digital Archive. The link shows that Terenti Shtykov who was the first Soviet ambassador to North Korea, sent a cable back to Moscow that reported on Kim Il Sung’s military planning for an invasion of South Korea. The cable clearly shows the North Koreans were well equipped and ready for their June 25, 1950 invasion of South Korea which incredibly many South Korean leftists still think the South Koreans attacked the North Koreans first. You can read the translated text of the May 30, 1950 Russian cable below.

To VYSHINSKY (for the Politburo [instantsiya]).

I met with Kim Il Sung, at his request, on 29 May. At the beginning of the conversation, Kim Il Sung reported that the weapons and ammunition, which he had requested during [his] stay in Moscow, had mainly already arrived. The weapons had been transported to the newly formed divisions, and the delivery of weapons to the soldiers would be completed by 1 June. He then reported that he had gone to the new divisions and familiarized himself with the progress of military training and thinks that the divisions will be combat-ready by the end of June.

Kim Il Sung reported that, at his order, the chief of the general staff had finished the drafting of a decision in principle for an attack [nastuplenie]. The chief of the general staff reported the plan to him together with Soviet General Vasil’yev. He approved the decision, which had been made and the choice of the main blow during the attack. He asked me to meet with him, the chief of the general staff, and Soviet General Vasil’yev in order to look over this decision together. I declined such a joint meeting, referring to the fact that I would be familiarized with the decision by General Vasil’yev. 

Kim Il Sung then reported that they are finishing organizational issues in the army by 1 June. The navy is somewhat behind as a consequence of the fact that they had still not received one trawler and one large subchaser [okhotnik] from the USSR [Translator’s note: “one trawler” and “one large subchaser” are circled]. The crews for these ships have been chosen, but they are not being trained inasmuch as these ships are not available. He asked me to take appropriate measures to speed up the arrival of the ships. I replied that according to the information available to me the ships would be delivered to Korea at the beginning of June. Kim Il Sung then explained that their infantry troops were ready to conduct combat operations. Of the 10 infantry divisions, seven were already completely ready to conduct offensive operations. The tank brigade and the motorcycle regiment are also ready. Three new rifle divisions finish training in June. This suits them since they are designated for the second echelon.

[Translator’s note: there is a handwritten comment in the left margin next to the above paragraph which is partly off the reproduced page and with a line drawn to lines 3-5 of the text: “…mark…that…; still…to give…”]

He then explained that the southerners do not have complete information about the People’s Army and its combat readiness. However, they are undertaking a series of steps right now to strengthen their army, although there are no large changes in the South Korean army. Taking into consideration that the People’s Army is prepared to conduct combat operations, he would like to begin military operations against the South at the end of June. It is disadvantageous for the northerners to put off the start of combat operations further for two reasons. First, the southerners might discover their intentions and take steps to strengthen their army. Second, there might be heavy rains in July and then the attack would have to be put off until September, and this is extremely undesirable. Kim Il sung then explained that, according to a report of the chief of the general staff, they would need 16 days to concentrate the troops. Accordingly, they should begin to move the troops to the concentration area between 8 and 10 June. Kim Il Sung explained that this issue had still not been put to the members of the Party political council for discussion, and it was planned to raise this in the next few days, depending on the time for the start of operations. I avoided a direct answer to his question about the time to begin combat operations, referring to the fact that this is a serious issue and that he should consult with the military as to how much time they need to prepare the troops and with the political council, and then make a final decision.

Note:

After the conversation with Kim Il Sung about these issues I called in advisers Generals Vasil’yev and Postnikov in order to find out their opinion about the degree of readiness of the troops and the reality of the time to begin combat operations at the end of June. Generals Vasil’yev and Postnikov think that much time will be needed to concentrate the troops and for a detailed working out of the operation with the commanders of divisions and regiments, and consequently, it would be advisable to begin the operation in July. However, taking into consideration that there are heavy rains in July and that having detected preparations for combat operations, the southerners would begin to strengthen their army, they are inclined to [the view] that the preparations of the troops of the People’s Army might be concluded and the operation begun at the end of June.

My opinion.

Inasmuch as Kim Il Sung is disposed to begin the operation at the end of June and that the preparation of the troops might be concluded by this time, we might accordingly agree with this time. Kim Il Sung then reported that they and Pak Heon-yeong [Pak Hon Yong] discussed a plan of political measures, which envisions that a peaceful unification of the country is offered to the southerners. In the beginning, they were thinking of acting in the name of the Fatherland Front and then in the name of the government. He asked me to receive Pak Heon-yeong and help him draw up these documents. I agreed.

At the end of the conversation, Kim Il Sung addressed a request to take appropriate steps to speed up the delivery of the medicines ordered for the trade mission but not yet received and for delivery of 10-15,000 tons of oil in June and July. Kim Il Sung stressed that they had a serious situation with gasoline. I promised to take appropriate steps.

[Handwritten note in the Technical ?estimate? What else [[one word off the page]]”]

I support Kim Il Sung’s request for medicines, and they also have a great need for gasoline.

I request urgent instructions [be given] regarding the issues that were touched on.

You can read more at the link.

Good luck with trying to get these protests to stop:

The U.S. Embassy in Seoul last week asked local police if there was any way to block rallies held under the guise of press conferences in front of the embassy, according to a police source.    
   
The People’s Democracy Party, a Korean progressive group, has held anti-American rallies in front of the embassy in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul, for the past three years. The political party, established in 2016, has advocated for workers, farmers and small business owners while calling for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Korea.    
   
On June 3, about 20 members of the People’s Democracy Party held a rally in the form of a press conference in Gwanghwamun Square, protesting the death of George Floyd, who died from suffocation in Minneapolis police custody last month. Protesters held up a sign that read: “U.S. imperialism means ‘I can’t breathe.’”  
   
The next day, the protesters again gathered in Gwanghwamun and called for the expulsion of U.S. Ambassador to Seoul Harry Harris from Korea.   

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link, but the Korean government can get these protests stopped anytime they want. They have likely made a decision to keep a small undercurrent of anti-Americanism brewing that they can stoke at anytime when needed.