On July 11, 2008 Pak Wang-Ja, a 53 yr-old wife/mom/tourist from SK, while out on a walk, was shot in the back & killed by NK guards at Mt. Geumgang resort in #NorthKorea, funded by SK's Hyundai, allegedly for having walked into a no-entry zone. NK never apologized. #Engagement
— Sung-Yoon Lee (@SungYoonLee1) July 10, 2019
The nominee for the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has been accused of sexual misconduct, but an investigation could find nothing to corroborate the allegation:
The Air Force has found no evidence to corroborate allegations of sexual misconduct by the four-star nominated to be the military’s No. 2 officer, but that investigation may not be enough to satisfy Senate lawmakers considering his nomination.
On April 12, a service member came forward with allegations that U.S. Strategic Command head Gen. John Hyten, currently the head of U.S. Strategic Command, initiated “abusive sexual contact” and “an inappropriate relationship” with her, a senior military official familiar with the investigation told reporters Wednesday.
Hyten, announced in April as the nominee to become vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is awaiting confirmation by the Senate Armed Services Committee, whose members were briefed Wednesday on the investigation carried out by the Air Force Office of Special Investigation.
“After a comprehensive investigation by the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, there was insufficient evidence to support any finding of misconduct on the part of Gen. Hyten,” said Pentagon spokeswoman Col. DeDe Halfhill. “Gen. Hyten cooperated with the investigation. With more than 38 years of service to our nation, Gen. Hyten has proven himself to be a principled and dedicated patriot.”
Defense News
You can read more at the link, but essentially one of General Hyten’s aides who was probably the rank of Colonel accused him of unwanted kissing and hugging after he was nominated for the Vice Chairman job. What complicates this though is that she was given a letter of reprimand from investigators for toxic leadership behavior. She was also given a negative officer evaluation report from General Hyten which she was appealing when he was nominated for the Vice Chairman job.
This turns this into a he said, she said situation and it will be interesting to see what happens because in this #metoo environment those accused of sexual misconduct are guilty until proven innocent. The investigation could not prove anything either way.
Here is USFK’s response to South Korean media reports that the U.S. was trying to add Japan as a member of the UNC:
United Nations Command continues to work closely with members of the Republic of Korea government on all aspects of the UNC organizational structure.
News reports alleging Japan being considered as a potential Sending State are flagrantly false. UNC has not offered, nor has Japan requested Sending State designation.
UNC is focused on maintaining peace and security on the peninsula as it has successfully done for more than 69 years to the great benefit of the region. Furthermore, as a top priority, UNC endeavors to support diplomatic efforts to find a lasting peace.
“UNC strives to work transparently and effectively with our participating member states and the Republic of Korea.,” said Gen. Robert B. “Abe” Abrams, UNC commander.
UNC is the home for international commitments which provides a ready-made coalition of longstanding friends and support, including in times of crisis. UNC is committed to a stable transition to a new combined defense system following the transfer of wartime operational control to a ROK four-star led Combined Forces Command. There is no plan to make UNC an operational command. Any suggestions otherwise are patently false.
USFK.mil
Yonhap is reporting that this issue may have been caused by a mistranslation:
Japan is already home to a number of UNC rear bases that would be mobilized in the event of a crisis in Korea.
Speaking of the U.S.’ references to Japan’s role within the UNC in a recently issued annual publication, the Seoul ministry also said there seems to have been a “mistranslation” of the English text into Korean.
In the English version of the 2019 Strategic Digest, the U.S. said the UNC “continues to ensure the support and force flow through Japan that would be necessary in times of crisis.” But the Korean version says it continues to ensure the support and force flow “with” Japan.
Yonhap
I don’t buy the mistranslation causing such a huge false report like this to be published. I think this is probably domestic politics with the Moon administration trying to lift its approval ratings by appearing to stand up to the Americans to stop the Japanese from joining the UNC.
Notice the Kim regime is not making threats against President Trump, but continuously make attacks against the Moon administration:
North Korea slammed South Korea over its ongoing deployment of high-tech U.S. fighter jets, warning Thursday that it will respond by developing and testing unspecified special weapons of its own to “destroy” the aircraft.
The statement, which also urged South Korea to abandon its “preposterous illusions” for improved ties, comes as Seoul has expressed hopes that a recent summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will help revive dialogue between the Koreas.
Under its biggest-ever weapons purchase, South Korea is to buy 40 F-35 fighter jets from Lockheed Martin by 2021. The first two arrived in March and two others are to be delivered in coming weeks, according to Seoul officials.
The project was announced in 2014 to cope with then rising military threats from North Korea, which was conducting an unusually large number of weapons tests. Animosities have gradually eased since last year when Pyongyang and Washington launched nuclear negotiations, but Seoul has been moving ahead with its already-approved F-35 procurement.
Associated Press
You can read more at the link, but it is arguable that the disrespect towards the Moon administration by the Kim regime is because they know they can get away with it. It is easy domestic propaganda for them with no risk of retaliation from the Moon administration.
I thought it was reported that North Korea has a price on this man's head. If true, wouldn't he be safer in jail than out free where he could be killed? https://t.co/P1xqexyzcx
— NorthKoreaRealTime (@BuckTurgidson79) July 9, 2019
The question becomes what is the Trump administration going to give up in return for a freeze deal?:
The United States would hope to see a freeze in the North Korean nuclear program as the start of a process of denuclearization, the State Department said on Tuesday, ahead of fresh talks with Pyongyang supposed to take place this month.
U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had a surprise meeting at the end of June in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between the two Koreas and agreed to resume a working-level dialogue, stalled since a failed summit in Vietnam in February.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said the talks would likely happen “sometime in July … probably in the next two or three weeks.”
The Trump administration has dismissed a New York Times report that said an idea was taking shape among U.S. officials to seek to negotiate a nuclear freeze by North Korea, rather than its complete denuclearization, thereby tacitly accepting it as a nuclear state.
“(A) freeze, you know, that would never be the resolution of a process. That would never be the end of a process,” State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus told a regular news briefing. “That would (be) something that we would certainly hope to see at the beginning. But I don’t think that the administration has ever characterized a freeze as being the end goal. That would be at the beginning of the process.”
Reuters
You can read more at the link, but if the Trump administration allows the reopening of the Kaesong Industrial Complex and Kumgang Tours this would be a similar deal to what the Bush administration signed that the Kim regime later broke. However, that deal did cause North Korea to behave while the Bush administration was focused on the surge strategy in Iraq. The Trump administration could be thinking the same thing to get the Kim regime to behave during the upcoming reelection campaign and then get tough later on by pushing for real denuclearization.
This would seem to be in line with President Trump’s call for Japan to do more militarily in support of the US. However, this is not going to go over well in South Korea:
The defense ministry on Thursday voiced strong opposition to an alleged push by the U.S.-led United Nations Command (UNC) to include Japan as an official member, saying that, according to U.N. Security Council resolutions, Tokyo is not entitled to such status.
According to sources, the UNC is seeking to include Japan as one of the UNC’s “sending states,” a move likely to inflame public sentiment in South Korea amid renewed historical tensions with Tokyo.
Should Japan obtain the membership, it would pave the way for its military involvement in the event of an armed conflict on the peninsula — a scenario unthinkable for many Koreans who harbor grievances stemming from Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule.
Except for South Korea and the United States, the UNC currently has 16 sending states that are to provide combat troops, equipment and other forms of support in case of a contingency on the peninsula.
The sending states include Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Italy and New Zealand. They have posted contingents at the UNC to support its operations centering on the observance and enforcement of the armistice that halted the 1950-53 Korean War.
“Japan did not participate in the Korean War, so it cannot serve a role as a sending state,” Col. Roh Jae-cheon, the deputy ministry spokesman told a regular briefing, citing U.N. Resolutions 83 and 84.
Yonhap
You can read more at the link.
This is the affect that I think the Trump administration’s tariffs on China is trying to cause, the movement of manufacturing out of China. Vietnam could end up being a big winner of this tariff war between the U.S. and China:
Nintendo Co. plans to start making its Switch video game console in Vietnam this year, transferring some of its production from China, a company spokesman said Tuesday.
The official, who spoke on customary condition of anonymity, said the change has been in the works for some time, to reduce risks that come from having production in one nation. He denied it was a direct response to the growing trade friction between the U.S. and China.
He declined to give details on manufacturers or production sites in Vietnam, citing company policy. He said production was set to start this summer but declined to give a date.
Japan’s major business daily Nikkei reported Tuesday that the move was driven by worries that U.S. tariffs on goods produced in China may affect game device sales.
Japan Times
You can read more at the link.
