Category: Inter-Korean Issues

With the North Koreans not launching any provocations before the U.S. presidential election and President Moon continuing to pound the drum about a peace treaty it is pretty clear they think the next U.S. President will be open to a peace treaty deal:

South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Thursday echoed an earlier call at the United Nations for a formal declaration to end the 1950-53 Korean War — despite a lack of interest in the idea by other parties like North Korea and the United States.  
   
In a filmed address to the U.S.-based Korea Society for its annual gala, Moon appealed for support for such a declaration, which he affirmed would “not only deter war” and “institutionalize peace,” but also strengthen the South Korea-U.S. alliance.  
   
The speech marked the second time in recent weeks Moon has beaten the drum for an end-of-war declaration, following his video address to the 75th UN General Assembly in New York last month. In that, he declared that such a declaration will “open the door” to complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.  (…….)

With his peace initiative toward the North now on life support, Moon has apparently put his bets on an end-of-war declaration as a means by which to end the deadlock in diplomacy with the North.  
   
“We can neither allow any backtracking on hard-earned progress nor change our destination,” Moon said in his address, according to an official English translation from Seoul’s presidential office.  
   
“Moreover, our two countries will continue the efforts to build trust with North Korea, one of the parties involved, by keeping our ears, mind and heart open toward it.” 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link, but I have long chronicled what would happen if a peace treaty was agreed to.

This news should not be surprising to anyone following the ideology of the Moon administration:

The alleged defection to South Korea of a ranking North Korean diplomat who went missing in 2018 during his tour of duty in Rome is raising concerns about its impact on inter-Korean relations, which have already hit an all-time low in recent months.

According to a local broadcaster’s report late Tuesday, Jo Song-gil, Pyongyang’s former acting ambassador to Italy, entered South Korea in July 2019 and has settled here under the protection of the authorities. Rep. Ha Tae-keung of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) who serves on the National Assembly Intelligence Committee, confirmed this in a Facebook post later in the day, while ruling Democratic Party of Korea Rep. Jeon Hae-cheol, the chief of the committee, acknowledged it Wednesday.

The National Intelligence Service and other relevant organizations have refused to confirm Jo’s entry into South Korea. However, the media here are highlighting Jo as the rare case of a high-level diplomatic official from the North defecting to the South. Jo is being compared to Rep. Tae Yong-ho of the PPP, who arrived in South Korea with his family in 2016 after serving as a minister at the North Korean Embassy in London. When Jo’s disappearance from Rome made headlines in 2018, Tae publicly called on Jo to join him in South Korea.

It is noticeable that there is a huge difference in Seoul’s reaction to the defection of the two diplomats. In August 2016, the Ministry of Unification officially announced Tae’s arrival. But if reports about Jo are correct, the Moon administration, which has prioritized engagement with North Korea, has been completely silent on him coming to the South. 

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

Sounds like the ROK government is trying to spin a narrative of progress in regards to restarting denuclearization talks with North Korea even though nothing is happening:

South Korea and the United States have formed a “better foundation” for the declaration of an official end to the Korean War, South Korea’s top nuclear envoy said Wednesday.

“Since we had very broad and meaningful discussions, I believe a better foundation that will continue to serve us better in the future has been created,” Lee Do-hoon told reporters when asked whether the countries were able to reach a mutual understanding on the need to declare a formal end to the Korean War.

Lee’s trip to the U.S. came shortly after South Korean President Moon Jae-in urged international efforts to declare an official end to the 1950-53 Korean War, which he said would provide a security guarantee the North has long sought, and thus prompting the communist state to give up its nuclear ambitions.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but in my opinion nothing is getting done with North Korea until after the election. Even Kim Jong-un realizes this and has been very quiet these past few months.

According to the ROK government the fishery official murder by North Korea had over $282,000 in gambling debts which is likely what motivated him wanting to defect:

 South Korea said Tuesday that a government official slain by North Korean sailors wanted to defect, concluding that the man, who had gambling debts, swam against unfavorable currents with the help of a life jacket and a floatation device and conveyed his intention of resettling in North Korea.

Senior coast guard officer Yoon Seong-hyun said at a televised briefing that there was a “very low possibility” that the man could have fallen from a ship or tried to kill himself because he was putting on a life jacket when he was found in North Korean waters last week.

Yoon said tidal currents at the time would also make it extremely difficult for him to drift into North Korean waters naturally.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link, but the man’s family says they believe he accidentally fell into the water and was not trying to defect.

The Chosun Ilbo oped page is letting everyone know what they think about President Moon’s handling of the murder and burning of the body of a South Korean civilian:

The president videotaped his speech on Sept. 15 and sent it to the UN on Sept. 18, so of course he could not have foreseen the murder. But why did Cheong Wa Dae allow the speech to be aired even when it was fully informed a whole day before the speech was to be broadcast? Could it not have asked the UN to cancel the speech or, if that was too much to bear for the president, to switch the order of speeches and record a fresh one? How hard is that? It is clear that Moon had no intention to do anything about it. When he presided over a ceremony promoting military officers on Wednesday morning, he acted as if nothing had happened and only reiterated his calls for “peace.” He clearly no longer has any grasp of reality.

The military also behaved appallingly. The Defense Ministry watched from the sidelines as a South Korean citizen was brutally murdered and incinerated and then lied to the press about it. Then some minor official was wheeled out to threaten dire consequences, two days after it had watched the incident through binoculars. North Korea must be laughing at these men who pose as soldiers but refuse to do anything to protect the life of their citizens. What is the point of having a military at all? 

Now the government and military are claiming that the official wanted to defect to North Korea, though the public have only the word of some officers who have proven that they cannot be trusted. But even supposing the poor man had wanted to defect, that makes no difference to their duty to protect him until they can be absolutely sure. 

After North Korea blew up the inter-Korean liaison office in the border town of Kaesong earlier this year, Moon said he felt “anger and frustration,” but he soon got over it. Now Cheong Wa Dae has warned of terrible consequences for the North, but already some people in the government are saying that the slaughter did not violate an inter-Korean military agreement to reduce tensions in the border area. There is no denying that Moon is in love with the fat Barbarian on the other side. What will he do for him next?

Chosun Ilbo

You can read more at the link, but what I have been wondering about in regards to this incident is that the North Koreans supposedly watch this guy float in the water for six hours before shooting him. Why didn’t the ROK military do anything to try and rescue him?

Not the best apology, but I guess it is something:

 North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has offered an apology to the South Korean people for the killing of a fellow citizen by its military earlier this week, Cheong Wa Dae announced Friday.

In a formal notice sent to the South, the North conveyed Kim’s message that he feels “very sorry” for greatly “disappointing” President Moon Jae-in and other South Koreans with the occurrence of the “unsavory” case in its waters, instead of helping them amid their suffering from the new coronavirus, according to Suh Hoon, director of national security at Cheong Wa Dae.

Yonhap

Notice how he still takes a shot at South Korea as being some kind of coronavirus hotbed. What makes this apology even worse is that they are apparently lying about what happened if you believe what the South Korean military is saying:

South Korean authorities have said the 47-year-old official surnamed Lee went missing at 11:30 a.m., Monday, while on duty on a patrol ship off the west coast, and was found by North Korean military personnel in the sea off Yeonpyeong Island near the maritime border at around 3:30 p.m., Tuesday. 

According to the South Korean version of the story, Lee was on an unidentified floating item and expressed his willingness to defect to the North Koreans, who questioned him from a distance while leaving him in the water. About six hours later, the North Koreans shot him to death, then doused the body with oil and burned it. 

Pyongyang’s account, however, differed in many crucial parts of the story.

In a notice it sent to the South, Friday, the North said an “unidentified man” who illegally intruded into its territorial waters on a floating item failed to properly respond to their verbal security checks when he was about 80 meters away. Approaching the man, the North Koreans shot two blanks, and he was seen as attempting to flee. They then fired more than 10 gunshots at a distance of 40 to 50 meters as allowed under the related rules of maritime border security. 

When they approached for closer inspection, they were unable to find any trace of the body other than a large pool of blood, which led them to believe he had died from bullet wounds and sunk into the water. They subsequently set the floating item ― not the body ― on fire following the quarantine rules, according to the North’s account.

According to the notice, Lee did not express his willingness to defect.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

The faces in the Unification Ministry may change but the goal remains the same, find a way to avoid sanctions to send bulk cash transfers to North Korea:

“I’ll actively look for ways to restart the Mount Kumgang tour project,” he said while visiting Jejin Station in Goseong, northeast of Seoul, near the Demilitarized Zone that separates two Koreas. “The resumption of the tour program will send a message of peace on the Korean Peninsula and revive the economy of border regions.”

The minister also said he will go ahead with plans to reconnect the rail network to North Korea in a bid to create a new economic order on the Korean Peninsula.

During his confirmation hearing earlier this month, Lee said he would look for a “creative solution” to restart the tour program to North Korea’s scenic mountains in the form of individual tours as a way to improve inter-Korean relations without violating international sanctions imposed on Pyongyang.

Started in 2003, the project was suspended after a South Korean tourist was shot dead near the mountain resort in 2008. The program’s formal resumption requires a sanctions waiver, as it involves bulk cash transfer to the North.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.