Category: Inter-Korean Issues

The fish in the waters around Korea were under extra attack yesterday from both North and South Korean missile launches:

The Korean Peninsula was the site of dueling launches on Wednesday as North Korea fired two tactical ballistic missiles around mid-day, followed by South Korea testing a new submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) later in the afternoon.  
   
The North fired first on Wednesday, sending two ballistic missiles into the waters east of the Korean Peninsula around 12:38 p.m. and 12:43 p.m., according to the South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).  
   
The JCS said the missiles flew a distance of approximately 800 kilometers (500 miles) while reaching an altitude of 60 kilometers (37 miles).  
   
Less than three hours later, in the afternoon, South Korea followed with a scheduled submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) test, according to the Defense Ministry.  
   
In addition to the SLBM, the South tested two different types of missiles on Wednesday: a long-range air-to-surface missile and a supersonic anti-ship missile, according to military authorities. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link, but I think it is likely the North Koreans are just making a statement that if the ROK’s are allowed to fire ballistic missiles then we are going to as well. Additionally the Kim regime is probably trying to take away headlines from the ROK for successfully testing their SLBM which is a feat the North Koreans have not been able to master yet.

I think what the Kim regime is signaling with these statements against the upcoming CCPT military exercise between the US and the ROK is that they are running out of patience with the Moon administration:

South Korea and the U.S. began a four-day preliminary drill, Tuesday, in the run-up to the main combined exercise set to kick off next week. 

“They must be made to clearly understand how dearly they have to pay for answering our good faith with hostile acts after letting go the opportunity for improved inter-Korean relations,” Kim said in a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency.

His statement came one day after Kim Yo-jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, also denounced South Korea and the U.S., Tuesday, for pushing ahead with the exercises despite her earlier warning that they would “cloud inter-Korean relations.” Following her announcement, the North stopped answering the South’s telephone calls via liaison and military hotlines. The two Koreas had made calls twice a day since the lines were restored July 27. (………)

“As Kim Yo-jong clarified its plans in the denunciation of the combined exercises in a statement on March 15, the North Korean regime is highly anticipated to ditch the inter-Korean military agreement, while disbanding the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country and the Mount Geumgang International Tourism Bureau.”

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but the Kim regime has likely long been told by the Moon administration that a deal with the U.S. is near and has yet to deliver. With Moon’s time in office rapidly coming to end the Kim regime is likely seeing they need to push the Moon administration harder to get a deal done.

Kim Yo-jong is so upset she won’t let anyone answer the phone now:

North Korea did not answer daily phone calls from South Korea via liaison and military hotlines on Tuesday afternoon, hours after the sister of the North’s leader Kim Jong-un blasted Seoul and Washington for going ahead with combined military exercises.

The inter-Korean communication lines — the liaison hotline and the military channels in the eastern and western border regions — were in normal operation until the morning but the afternoon calls went unanswered, officials said.

“The daily call via the inter-Korean liaison office at 5 p.m. did not take place,” a unification ministry official said, adding that they are closely monitoring the situation.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Is anyone surprised by this news?:

The Moon Jae-in administration and the liberal ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) are facing a new political threat, after a group of activists accused of espionage was found to have contacted Moon and the party before he was elected as President. 

The conservative opposition bloc is already labeling this incident an “espionage scandal,” demanding an explanation from the Moon government and suggesting that the issue could cause a stir in the upcoming presidential election slated for next march. 

On Monday, the Cheongju District Court issued arrest warrants for three of the four activists who are based in the city, on charges of violating the National Security Act. 

The activists were turned into the prosecution while protesting South Korea’s deployment of F-35A stealth fighters. The National Intelligence Service (NIS) and prosecutors allege that they have been organizing the protests after receiving orders from North Korean spies in China and Cambodia.

Korea Times via a reader tip

You can read more at the link, but the alleged spies were part of President Moon’s campaign and had contact with prominent members of the ruling party before being busted.

The North Koreans have been much quieter then I was expecting them to be this summer. This leads me to believe there must be a lot of back channel communication happening that we don’t know about:

South and North Korea have restored their communication lines, Cheong Wa Dae said Tuesday, with leaders of the two countries agreeing to rebuild mutual trust for better inter-Korean relations. 

This latest development has raised hopes for another reconciliatory mood on the Korean Peninsula and a resumption of the stalled nuclear talks between the United States and North Korea. 

“South and North Korea have agreed to restore their communication lines, which had been severed, as of 10 a.m., Tuesday,” presidential senior secretary for public communication Park Soo-hyun said during a press conference.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

Someone must have told KEPCO to keep the lights on, the question is who:

South Korea’s state-run electric company supplied power to Kaesong in North Korea for several months after all South Korean personnel withdrew from an industrial complex in January 2020, according to documents obtained by the JoongAng Ilbo on Monday.  
   
The documents from the Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco), which were given to the newspaper by People Power Party (PPP) lawmaker Yoon Young-seok’s office, show that electricity to the city was not cut off after the withdrawal — raising questions as to whether power was supplied even after North Korea blew up the Inter-Korean Liaison Office last June. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.