Category: Inter-Korean Issues

It appears the Kim regime wants the Moon administration just to bust international sanctions without the approval of the US:

 A North Korean propaganda outlet accused South Korea of what it claims to be stalled inter-Korean cooperation on Friday, saying that Seoul cannot make a single step it wants to due to pressure from Washington.
The criticism comes as Seoul and Washington held their second “working group” meeting in Seoul to discuss coordination on how to deal with North Korea and its nuclear weapons program.
“South Korean authorities should feel responsible for depressing the inter-Korean relations on the back of the U.S.’ maneuver for sanctions and pressure before talking about its ‘driver theory,'” the website Uriminzokkiri said, referring to President Moon Jae-in’s pledge to take the initiative by sitting in the “driver’s seat” when handling North Korean affairs.
“Nothing would be resolved as long as (Seoul) continues to curry favor with the U.S., tied by its dependence on outside powers and blind following of the U.S.,” it added.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It looks like the Trump administration may be giving into ROK demands to provide humanitarian assistance to South Korea. I wish someone would ask President Moon why a country with a massive military, a nuclear weapons program, and the regime elite living lavish lifestyles needs humanitarian aid?:

Hopes are growing for a possible breakthrough in the stalemate in denuclearization talks between Pyongyang and Washington, after a key U.S. official visiting South Korea referred to possible resumption of humanitarian aid to the North.

U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun said the U.S. is reviewing possible exemptions to the ban on U.S. citizens traveling to North Korea regarding humanitarian aid. He also referred to improving 70 years of hostile relations after arriving at Incheon International Airport. 

“We will also review American citizens’ travel to North Korea for the purpose of facilitating the delivery of aid and ensure that monitoring in line with international standards can occur,” he said.

Improving bilateral relations is among the agreements North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump reached at their historic summit in June.

The U.S. official had refrained from making any public remarks on his previous visits. His statement this time is seen as a message from Washington to Pyongyang. Biegun stated the review on the travel ban for humanitarian aid purposes was a direction from U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

#MoonJaein, just because he was elected #SouthKorea's president, obviously thinks he has a mandate to end the existence of the South Korean state. I suspect most voters don't want to surrender their freedoms to him or his buddy, #KimJongUn. https://t.co/ywVEVJuxl6

— Gordon G. Chang (@GordonGChang) December 15, 2018

A few immutable conditions of the confederation model NK wants: 1) a co-equal governing body (which will actually favor NK’s preferences); 2) a neutral state (i.e., no US alliance/footprint); 3) reduced military on both sides (of course, NK has nukes, so they enjoy supremacy). https://t.co/hnCt3vryC7

— Edward Oh 🇺🇸 (@EdwardHBOh) December 14, 2018

Found on my doorstep this morning, this flier calls for creating a new unified flag to greet Kim Jong Un when the "noble guest of unification" comes to Seoul. The zeal of nationalism is indeed palpable, and pervasive these days. pic.twitter.com/eYTE0MaTEH

— Sam Kim (@samkimasia) December 1, 2018

Symbolic? You want “something symbolic”? How about a US-NK summit for the first time in history? And with no conditions? https://t.co/odS5aMv5QN

— the oranckay (@oranckay) December 12, 2018

Via a reader tip comes the below video of a conference held recently by the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) think tank.  The conference featured a number of ROK Drop favorites such as Dr. Tara O, Joshua Stanton from One Free Korea, David Maxwell, and Dr. Nicholas Eberstadt.  

A lot of great points were made by the speakers during the conference.  For example Dr. O points out the jailing of conservative media figures and how the ROK media is suppressing coverage of anti-Moon administration protests.  For example below is a picture of a protest that was not covered by the media.  She even discussed an example of how Kim Jong-un could become the President of South Korea if a confederation is created. 

Joshua Stanton also provided a lot of great examples of how Korean politicians have suppressed the media though it is in overdrive now.

I recommend watching the whole thing at the link. 

The Moon administration in South Korea has decided to increase funding for North Korea spending next year: 

The government has allocated 1.1 trillion won ($977 million) for inter-Korean affairs for next year, according to the unification ministry, Monday.

This is up 15 percent from the 959 billion won fund this year, reflecting the reconciliatory mood that developed between the Koreas, as the leaders held three summits and reached agreements to promote peace.

“The budget was drawn up to give an impetus to carrying out agreements reached between the South and North and develop sustainable inter-Korean ties,” a unification ministry official said.

The budget includes 5.9 billion won that was set up to enable video meetings between family members separated by the 1950-53 Korean War.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but what is interesting about this announcement of $977 million set aside for Kim Jong-un is that the cost sharing talks between the US and the ROK restart again this week.  The US has been asking South Korea to increase their funding for USFK from the $850 million a year it currently pays.  South Korean negotiators say that crossing the one trillion won mark is “psychologically important” to not cross.  However it was clearly not important when they decided to budget over one trillion won for North Korea spending next year. 

So as it stands now the ROK government is willing to pay Kim Jong-un more than USFK.  

This shouldn’t come as any surprise because the former Roh Moo-hyun administration that current President Moon Jae-in was the Chief of Staff for also paid then North Korean leader Kim Jong-il more money than they were willing to fund the US-ROK alliance.  I would hope US negotiators at the cost sharing talks this week would at least bring this fact up.  

Why would a president, who's responsible for providing security & protect people/way of life, get rid of defenses & its surveillance (ability to monitor the adversary's threats & verify its adherence to military agreement)? Give up its border NLL? https://t.co/vIGMX8x1ga

— Tara O (@DrTaraO) December 7, 2018

I am sure that this is something that enough cash sent up North can make happen.  His dad needed $500 million to host a summit in Pyongyang, so I am sure Kim Jong-un’s price to go to Seoul will be much higher:

Anchor:  North Korea continues to remain silent about a prospective visit to South Korea by leader Kim Jong-un.  If the visit is to take place before the end of the year, as the South Korean government hopes, there may only be a matter of days left to confirm a date and make arrangements.  Kim Bum-soo has more.

Report: It was at September’s inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang about three months ago when leaders of the two Koreas first held out the possibility of meeting again in Seoul.

[Sound bite: N. Korean leader Kim Jong-un (Korean)]
“I promised to President Moon Jae-in that I will visit Seoul in the near future. We will put an end to the tragedy of division as soon as possible and hold our hands together to embark on a sacred journey to peace and prosperity.”

[Sound bite: President Moon Jae-in (Korean)]
“I requested Chairman Kim Jong-un to visit Seoul and he decided to come to Seoul in the near future. ‘Near future’ means ‘within this year’ unless there is a special circumstances. Chairman Kim’s visit to Seoul would be the first by a North Korean leader and it will provide a breakthrough to the inter-Korean relations.”

Now, in December, with just a few weeks remaining in the year, the South still hasn’t heard any confirmation date from the North.  That’s according to Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon, who told lawmakers Friday the South and North have been in talks to try to make the visit happen.  [KBS World Radio]

You can read more at the link, but it is not surprising at all to me the hypocrisy of how the Moon administration wants to champion someone with a visit to Seoul who has killed many Koreans in recent years, launched a nerve agent attack in an international airport just two years ago, has active gulags, still has kidnapped South Koreans, among a host of other provocations while at the same time regularly bashing the Japanese for things that happened 75-100 years ago.

Is anyone in the Moon administration going to demand apologies from Kim Jong-un for his regime’s transgressions against South Korea like they regularly demand from Japan?  Better yet what about demands for compensation for the victims of the Kim regime’s attacks?