Category: Inter-Korean Issues

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.

It appears there is momentum moving towards reopening the Kaesong Industrial Park:

Nuclear negotiators of South Korea and the United States are set to discuss the possible reopening of now-shuttered Gaeseong Industrial Complex in North Korea through the upcoming working-level talks on North Korea’s denuclearization, officials at the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), said Sunday.

“South Korea unofficially sent a message about the normalization of the Gaeseong joint border industrial park to North Korea. The North has yet to respond. However, Seoul will be working on how to come to an agreement on conditions, terms and other differentiations with the United States about reopening the complex,” a DPK lawmaker who is involved with the matter said by telephone.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but this report comes on the heels of another recent report that the Trump administration is now looking at making a “Small Deal”. It appears the small deal could be reopening Kaesong for little to nothing in return which what has been tried before and failed to lead to any North Korean denuclearization.

If it reopens, the Kim regime will be able to use the estimated $110 million a year from the Kaesong Industrial Complex to help maintain the lifestyle of the regime elite and further develop their nuclear and missile capabilities. In return they may give the Trump administration a “cooling tower moment“. I guess we will see if this is what the Trump administration decides to sign up before.

It seems a bit premature from President Moon to declaring peace in our time:

 President Moon Jae-in said Tuesday that North Korea and the United States have effectively declared an end to their hostile relations with the symbolic weekend meeting between their leaders at the inter-Korean border.

Although they did not sign any document, their action was tantamount to a “de facto declaration of an end to hostile relations and the beginning of a full-fledged peace era,” Moon stressed, speaking at a Cabinet meeting.

He was referring to a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the truce village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on Sunday.

Yonhap

President Moon might want to wait until next year to see if this is still the case because Kim Jong-un has previously said the regime is giving until next year for sanctions to be dropped. The Trump administration does not seem like it is going to drop sanctions without real denuclearization. I guess we will see what happens.

I would think such a visit would only happen after a major denuclearization deal is struck. Though I am extremely skeptical of Kim ever fully denuclearizing, if he does commit to a real denuclearization deal he should be hosted at the White House:

U.S. President Donald Trump invited North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un to Washington, D.C., when the two leaders met at the Panmunjom truce village on Sunday. 

“I did,” Trump said when asked if he extended the invitation for Kim to come to the White House. “Actually, at some point it will all happen. When it all works out, at some point it will all happen.” 

Earlier he said, “I would invite him right now to the White House,” as the two leaders headed to Freedom House, on the southern side of the village, before holding private talks.

It was not clear if Kim accepted the offer. 

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

This meeting makes me wonder why it was hastily announced at the last minute? It seems likely that with the letters the two leaders sent each other that they knew this meeting was a possibility. The only reason I can think of to delay announcing the meeting is either for security concerns or to prevent the U.S. news media from having time to create a negative narrative before the meeting. Since this happened so quick all the U.S. news media had time to do is report the news which is something they are not used to:

U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un agreed at a brief, hurriedly arranged meeting on the inter-Korean border Sunday that deadlocked denuclearization talks will resume. 

“We’ve agreed that we’re each going to designate a team. The teams will try to work out some details,” Trump said after talks with Kim behind closed doors in the truce village of Panmunjom. Trump and Kim sat down for nearly an hour, their first face-to-face meeting since a second summit in Hanoi, Vietnam, in February ended prematurely and without a deal. 

U.S. negotiators will be led by Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun, according to Trump. He said the United States and North would start working over the next two to three weeks for a comprehensive deal – but that he does not want a rushed agreement. “We’re not looking for speed,” he said. “We’re looking to get it right.” 

Trump repeatedly stressed that tensions were rapidly reduced since he took office, and that the North is not conducting nuclear or long-range ballistic missile tests. 

“We are in a very good path,” Trump said. Asked if the United States will lift sanctions on the North, Trump said they will remain for now, but he looks forward to taking them off when progress is made. 

Before sitting down for the 50-minute private talks, Trump and Kim met each other at the military demarcation line, the de facto land border between the two Koreas that bisects the Joint Security Area of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). After a handshake, Trump crossed the line to join Kim on the northern side, becoming the first U.S. president to step on North Korean soil while in office. U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un agreed at a brief, hurriedly arranged meeting on the inter-Korean border Sunday that deadlocked denuclearization talks will resume.  (……..)

“You are the first U.S. president in history to set foot on our soil,” Kim told Trump before the meeting. “It is an extraordinary decision to settle the unfortunate past and pioneer a great future.” 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link, but here is a CBS News video of the historic meeting:

I have to believe that during the 50 minute meeting that ROK President Moon Jae-in and Kim Jong-un did the best sales job they could to get President Trump on board with allowing the Kaesong Industrial Park and Mt. Kumgang Tours to reopen in return for “Pretend Denuclearization“.

It will be interesting to see where this meeting leads to.

Via a reader tip comes news that the North Koreans that arrived undetected by the ROK authorities in Samcheok may not have been fishermen as claimed:

Mystery continues to shroud the defection of two North Korean sailors earlier this month after their wooden boat entered a South Korean harbor completely undetected, which set off a scandal over the lack of alertness by the South’s military. 

Jeon Dong-jin, a South Korean fisherman who saw the North Korean boat enter Samcheok Harbor in Gangwon on June 15 told the JoongAng Ilbo on Wednesday that he was first filled with curiosity at seeing North Koreans for the first time, but soon became afraid.  

“It reminded me of the time an armed North Korean squad infiltrated Gangneung in 1996,” he said, in reference to an incident in which 26 North Korean reconnaissance agents covertly landed near Gangneung, Gangwon, on a submarine but were hunted down by the South Korean army after being spotted. In the ensuing series of firefights that lasted from September to November that year, 12 South Korean soldiers and four civilians were killed, as well as 24 of the North’s agents. 

“If the North Koreans on the wooden dinghy had been armed agents, we would have all been killed,” said Jeon. 

Four North Koreans were on the boat at sea for six days – four in South Korean waters – until it moored at Samcheok. The first person to report the North Koreans did not belong to the military, but was instead a resident of the harbor city. After questioning, two of the crew defected to the South, while the other two returned to the North through the border village of Panmunjom on June 18. 

Many residents of the city are upset with the military’s inability to detect the boat’s infiltration. 

“In their words, [the military] said they were closely monitoring the [maritime border] with cutting edge technology, but in reality they did nothing while the dinghy entered the harbor,” said one resident, Jang Hyung-baek. “I can’t help but think we were tricked.” 

According to Captain Jeon, Samcheok residents remain particularly dubious about the claim that the North Korean sailors had been marooned on their vessel for almost a week. 

“Except for one of them, who looked like he was deliberately growing a beard, the North Koreans were clean-shaven,” he said. “I’ve never heard of a case where people set adrift at sea shave themselves.” 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link, but just looking at how they are dressed in the picture indicates to me that this was a failed spy operation. They are clearly dressed to try and blend in with the ROK population, not as fishermen. The Moon administration will definitely want to continue to claim these are fishermen in order not to spoil the so called reconciliation mood that is going on right now.

I do find it interesting that the ROK repatriated two of the North Koreans right away while the other two stayed. If they were on a spy mission and were compromised and it is interesting that two of the spies took the chance to defect instead of going back to North Korea.

#MoonJaein admin sends ~$100 million to #KimJongUn regime. How? By sending 1.3 M sacks (40 kg each, total 50,000 tons) of #SouthKorean rice to NK via WFP. Its on top of $8 million already given to nK via WFP recently.
Moon is persistent.https://t.co/nINGdccBXb

— Tara O (@DrTaraO) June 20, 2019

Does anyone really think the North Koreans are going to allow ROK military personnel to see any sensitive training events much less dismantle their artillery and missile systems targeting South Korea?:

President Moon Jae-in expressed anticipation Wednesday that the two Koreas will exchange military information and observe each other’s exercises if their existing accords on building mutual confidence are fully implemented.

He put forward a two-track approach to reducing border tensions on the peninsula: through denuclearization as well as via the disarmament of conventional weapons. He was taking part in a joint written interview with Yonhap News Agency and six major foreign news agencies, days ahead of the Group of 20 summit in Japan and U.S. President Donald Trump’s visit here.

The two Koreas signed a comprehensive military agreement last September during Moon’s visit to Pyongyang for his third summit with the North’s leader, Kim Jong-un.

They have “completely” halted hostile acts along their border, pulled out guard posts from the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), agreed on the joint excavation of war remains and endeavored to establish joint use of the Han River estuary.

The liberal president described the measures as “rudimentary.”

“If the inter-Korean agreement in the military domain is properly implemented, it will allow us to proceed to the stage of further enhancing transparency concerning military postures by exchanging pertinent information through the inter-Korean joint military committee and observing military drills and training,” Moon said, revealing his mid-term vision for the Korea peace process.

What’s also possible in tandem with progress in denuclearization is to “advance to the point of disarming threatening weapons such as the long-range North Korean artillery targeting our capital, Seoul, and the short-range missiles that both Koreas possess,” he added.

Yonhap

Dismantling their artillery and missile systems would take away the North’s ability to extort South Korea. This is like asking mobsters extorting neighborhood businesses to give up their guns. If they did what business owners would be afraid of them anymore?

I think what President Moon is really saying is that the ROK military will allow North Korea to see their training, dismantle their artillery and missiles first and then hope the North Koreans respond in kind.

This is concerning that a North Korean boat is able to pull right into the harbor at Samcheok and the crew able to get out, walk around, and ask to use phone with no authorities there to detain them:

The South Korean military failed to detect a North Korean boat that freely sailed in its waters for four days – even after its crew moored in an eastern harbor and asked to use a phone, the JoongAng Ilbo learned Wednesday. 

The military also faced fire for an obviously false initial announcement about how the wooden boat and its four crews were discovered in Samcheok Harbor in Gangwon on Saturday. After questioning, two of the crew defected to the South, while the other two returned to the North through the border village of Panmunjom on Tuesday. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link, but also keep in mind that Samcheok is not a South Korean community adjacent to the DMZ. It is pretty far south from the maritime border between the two countries.

Moon Jae-in gave a speech in Swedish parliament. He denied #NorthKorea invaded #SouthKorea by saying "South&North never invaded another country in 5000- year history..only a sad history of pointing guns at each other." NKorea invaded SKorea on 1950-6-25.https://t.co/NKuOCzsfHK

— Tara O (@DrTaraO) June 15, 2019