Unsurprisingly the Moon administration is claiming they can’t blame the North Koreans for sinking the Cheonan while the Kim regime rubs this sinking in their faces by sending the mastermind of the attack to the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympics:
Kim Yong-chol
The South Korean government said Friday that it is difficult to pinpoint who led North Korea’s deadly sinking of the warship Cheonan in 2010, amid controversy surrounding a planned visit by a senior Pyongyang official widely suspected of masterminding the attack.
Kim Yong-chol, a top North Korean official, will come to the South for a three-day visit on Sunday as the head of the North’s high-level delegation to PyeongChang Winter Olympics closing ceremony later in the day. Conservatives and families of the 46 victims are strongly opposing his visit.
“It is clear that North Korea was blamed for the warship sinking and Kim was leading North Korea’s reconnaissance bureau at that time,” Baik Tae-hyun, spokesman at Seoul’s unification ministry, told a press briefing.
“But it is also the fact that there is a limitation in pinpointing who was responsible for the incident.” [Yonhap]
The radical leftists in South Korea probably think that former Presidents Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye swam out and sunk the Cheonan before pinning the blame on North Korea. This reminds me just like what happened in 2002 after the West Sea Naval Battle where six ROK sailors were killed by a North Korean attack. The left wing Roh Moo-hyun administration deflected blame for the attack and actually blamed the sailors:
In commemoration of the second anniversary of the West Sea naval battle, memorial services were held at the headquarters of the Navy’s 2nd Fleet in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province on Tuesday. Hwang Eun-tae, father of the late Petty Officer First Class Hwang Do-hyun, weeps while reading a letter in front of his son’s portrait.
The father said, “My son is buried in the National Cemetery. But I’m going to take my son’s remains to my family burial site in my hometown.” Having watched the situation develop, he thought his son who was killed by North Korean soldiers was considered nothing more than a criminal.
Some parents said that they are more scared of people who consider the U.S. a bigger enemy than North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, who killed their son. We lose courage to defend the country, when we hear that a wife whose husband fell in the battle is preparing to leave this country. Reading a condolence letter from the USFK commander to mark the second anniversary, the wife said, “The Americans remember my husband and his brothers-in-arms better than Koreans… Frankly, I hate Korea.”
I can only imagine the frustration the surviving family members of the 46 sailors who died on the Cheonan will experience when they see the red carpet laid out by the ROK government for a murderer like Kim Yong-chol.
As I expected Ivanka Trump continued to communicate the US’s position of maximum pressure on North Korea to President Moon:
Ivanka Trump, daughter of the U.S. President Donald Trump / Yonhap
Ivanka Trump, daughter and adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump, reiterated a maximum pressure campaign against North Korea, in a meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, Friday.
She said Washington and Seoul “reaffirmed commitment to a maximum pressure campaign to ensure that the Korean Peninsula is denuclearized,” ahead of a dinner hosted by Moon at Cheong Wa Dae.
“We continue to reaffirm our joint values and strategic cooperation as partners and allies,” she said.
Ivanka leads the U.S. delegation which arrived in Seoul earlier in the day, to attend the Games’ closing ceremony on Sunday. The delegation includes Senator James Risch, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Allison Hooker, a National Security Council (NSC) official specializing in Korean affairs. [Korea Times]
You can read more at the link, but the article also says she is not expected to meet with the North Korean delegation either. Outside of the North Korean delegation suddenly saying they are open to denuclearization and ending their ICBM program I don’t see why the US delegation should meet with them?
I guess we will see what happens, but I don’t expect Ivanka Trump will stray from the White House’s current maximum pressure position in regards to North Korea if they do meet:
Kim Yong-chol
The chances of Washington-Pyongyang talks over the latter’s nuclear program seem to be growing, with high-level officials from the two countries coming to South Korea for the closing ceremony of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.
Attention to any possible contact is high, especially after it belatedly became known the two sides had planned a meeting when U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s sister Kim Yo-jong participated in the opening ceremony.
Cheong Wa Dae and the Ministry of Unification said Thursday Kim Yong-chol, head of the Workers’ Party of Korea’s United Front Department, would visit the South from Sunday to Tuesday, along with seven other delegates including Ri Son-gwon, chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland.
They will attend the closing ceremony that will take place on Sunday. Cheong Wa Dae said the rest of their itinerary has not been confirmed, although it is expected they will have a separate meeting with President Moon Jae-in at Cheong Wa Dae.
The high-profile North Korean delegation’s visit was announced hours after the White House and Cheong Wa Dae confirmed Ivanka Trump, daughter and adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump, would make a four-day visit here from Friday to Monday.
She is scheduled to have talks with Moon over dinner at the presidential office on the first day of her visit. Ivanka Trump will also have a separate event with first lady Kim Jung-sook, as well as attending the closing ceremony.
As the periods of the two delegations’ stays overlap, expectations are growing over a possible meeting. [Korea Times]
You can read more at the link, but I am willing to bet the Moon administration intentionally created this scheduling overlap in an effort to try and get a meeting to happen.
Former Financial Times journalist John Burton thinks the Trump administration is to paternalistic with South Korea and should let them settle their own differences with North Korea:
John Burton
The U.S. has been doing itself no favors in its rather paternalistic response to the thawing relations between the two Koreas at the Winter Olympics.
The bottom line message emerging from Washington is that South Koreans cannot be trusted in handling Pyongyang. The U.S. is worried that North Korea is trying to drive a wedge in relations between Seoul and Washington. But the Trump administration’s own behavior is contributing to the possibility of any split.
And if the South Koreans can’t be trusted with their own security, then why should the U.S. be so concerned about defending them unless it is for some ulterior motive such as maintaining a military presence on the Asian mainland to counter China?
The fact is that the Koreans have reached out to each other because of fears that Trump might launch a “bloody nose” preventive attack that could result in appalling destruction across the Korean Peninsula. No wonder why Koreans want to give peace a chance.
But the U.S. has not reacted well to what is happening in PyeongChang. The American media has reported about South Koreans having been seduced by the wily charms of Kim Yo-jong, described as North Korea’s Ivanka Trump, and her accompanying “army of beauties.”
Many predict that her siren song is likely to result in President Moon Jae-in accepting her invitation to travel to Pyongyang and meet her brother, Kim Jong-un, who will trick the South Koreans into undermining the international sanctions regime against North Korea over its nuclear program. [Korea Times]
You can read more at the link, but Mr. Burton is also upset with Vice President Pence not standing and showing respect to the North Korean delegation at the Winter Olympics. I have to wonder if Mr. Burton thinks the then Apartheid South Africa should have been allowed in the Olympics and shown proper respect as well?
Mr. Burton then goes on to say the South and North should be allowed to resolve their issues themselves without US interference. That boat has long ago sailed when North Korea decided to begin launching ICBMs and testing nuclear weapons capable of mass destruction in the United States. If North Korea was not conducting such activities threats of “bloody nose” strikes and “maximum pressure” campaigns by the Trump administration would not be happening.
Until North Korea gives up on these programs the United States will continue to have a vested interest in any negotiations between North and South Korea. Especially after the original Sunshine Policy that sent billions of dollars to North Korea is arguably the reason why the Kim regime now has nuclear and ICBM weapons to threaten the US with. Because of this the Trump administration rightfully should be advocating against any give aways by the Moon administration to the Kim regime for little or nothing in return.
I have been saying for years that the ROK government should only agree to another Inter-Korean Summit if it is held in Seoul. Mr. William Brown an adjunct professor at Georgetown University shares this assessment:
Will President Moon Jae-in accept North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s invitation to Pyongyang?
It must be a very tricky decision for Moon. If he raises the issue of denuclearization, North Korea might revert to its belligerent stance.
But if Moon opts to go to Pyongyang for talks for the sake of talks it could jeopardize the alliance between South Korea and the United States, or other allies.
William Brown, adjunct professor at Georgetown School of Foreign Service, suggests Moon make a counteroffer by inviting Kim to Seoul to avoid the same old mistakes his liberal predecessors have made.
“We have seen far too many VIP trips to Pyongyang over the past decades, and every time, Pyongyang has hoodwinked the visitors into giving it something, even billions of dollars,” Brown said in an interview, citing former President Kim Dae-jung.
“I’m sure Kim Jong-un is well aware of that and in need of big money. So, Kim wants an improvement in inter-Korean ties but only to help him pursue his new ‘unification’ dream.”
He pointed out the North has “engagement” down to a fine art, knowing how to cater to foreign and South Korean egos. [Korea Times]
You can read more at the link, but after the first Inter-Korean Summit in Pyongyang with ROK President Kim Dae-jung, the then North Korean leader Kim Jong-il promised to visit Seoul at the next Inter-Korean Summit. During the administration of ROK President Roh Moo-hyun a second Inter-Korean Summit was held in Pyongyang. Kim Jong-il said that he could not hold the summit in Seoul due to “security concerns”.
This is of course nonsense, the real reason he did not want to come to Seoul is because of the propaganda value it gives to the ROK government. The Kim regime has long held that the ROK government is an illegitimate puppet regime of the evil American Imperialists™. Kim Jong-un traveling to Seoul for talks gives legitimacy to the ROK government and eliminates the propaganda value to North Korea of ROK government leaders making kowtowing tribute visits to Pyongyang.
Considering the North Korean sympathizers within the Moon administration it is unlikely they would demand that the next Inter-Korean Summit be held in Seoul. Instead if the Trump administration says they would participate in a Inter-Korean Summit if it is held in Seoul this may force the ROK government’s hand to ask that the summit be held in Seoul. This would then put the onus on the Kim regime to see how serious they are about peace. If Kim Jong-un refuses to attend an Inter-Korean Summit in Seoul it shows he is not serious about peace and instead just looking for another payday.
It truly is amazing how South Korean politicians want to reward the Kim regime’s crimes against humanity and threat to world peace by letting them co-host a major sporting event:
A South Korean province is considering a proposal to co-host the 2021 Asian Winter Games with North Korea in a bid to strengthen inter-Korean ties, South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency said on Saturday, quoting provincial governor Choi Moon-soon.
Gangwon province, host for the current 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, is considering the idea also as a way of making further use of Olympics venues, Choi was quoted as saying.
North Korea is participating in the Pyeongchang Games at the invitation of the South, which is using them to help ease tensions between the two countries, still technically at war.
The host city for the 2021 event has not been decided yet.
A spokesman for South Korea’s sports ministry said it “hopes to continue sports exchanges with North Korea after the Winter Games” but it had not yet discussed any bid for the 2021 Games. [Reuters]
I hope Gangwon is not chosen for the host site for the 2021 Asian Winter Games simply because of this idea. Plus how many missile and nuclear tests will there be between now and 2021?
Also, how can anyone describe an admirer of Kim Il-sung as a "democracy activist?" https://t.co/YWy2IWpUKS It would be accurate to say he sought to replace an authoritarian system with a totalitarian one. Left unsaid is whether he still supports the totalitarian system.
The upcoming decision to me is pretty clear, what does the Moon administration value more, continued appeasement of the Kim regime or maintaining the readiness of US and ROK military forces?:
President Moon Jae-in is facing a growing dilemma over South Korea’s planned military exercises with the United States, with North Korea offering a rare gesture for warmer inter-Korean relations.
On Monday, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, in a meeting with its highest-ranking delegation which returned to Pyongyang Sunday after ending their three-day trip to the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, ordered the regime to elevate the ongoing peaceful bilateral relationship with the South,.
The uncommon sign for reconciliation is raising the likelihood for a possible inter-Korean summit this year.
This is in line with President Moon’s North Korean policy under which he has underlined the need for holding enough dialogue to stop Pyongyang’s provocative military threats.
However, the South Korean government is likely to face a bumpy road ahead on the matter, as Seoul and Washington plan to resume their annual joint military exercise sometime in April. They delayed the drills – which normally take place around late February to early March – until after the Winter Olympics.
The South Korea-U.S. drills have for years drawn a strong backlash from North Korea. The Pentagon has in recent weeks reaffirmed its willingness to stage the drills right after the closing of the PyeongChang Paralympics in mid-March. [Korea Times]
You can read more at the link, but either way Kim Jong-un has set him self up to win because if the joint exercise is cancelled he advances his agenda of separating the US from the ROK. If the joint exercise is executed he then uses that as an excuse to continue missile and maybe even nuclear testing.
Regardless of the decision I would expect that Pyongyang will still push for the inter-Korea summit with the South just likely on different timetables. The Kim regime needs the inter-Korean summit in order to get their payday of reopening the Kaesong Industrial Park and the joint tourism ventures in North Korea. These ventures will help them skirt international sanctions to maintain revenue flowing into the regime.
Below is an excerpt from ROK Drop favorite B.R. Myers who takes on Kim regime apologizers in regards to their recent military parade right before the start of the Olympic Games:
We have also been hearing that the parade of February 8 has nothing to do with the Olympics because a) the restoration of this day for commemorating the KPA’s founding took place in 2015, after a 37-year interval, and b) 2018 marks a “round” year in special need of a big splash. The obvious retort is to ask why the Kim Jong Il regime, for all its militarism, saw no reason to restore the holiday in time for the much “rounder” anniversary in 1998. Besides, in 2015 everyone already knew when and where the 2018 Winter Olympics would take place.
In line with an older tradition of South Korean apologism is the effort of the Unification Minister and other Pyongyang watchers to argue that the parade is no cause for alarm because these displays of resolve and might are merely for “domestic propaganda use,” for “unifying the North Korean people,” or for “maintaining the system.”
This recalls the wishful approach to propaganda with which many foreigners and even German Jews deceived themselves in the first years of the Third Reich. “Anti-Semitism,” they argued, “is too central to the legitimacy and popularity of Nazism for the regime not to profess it constantly in the strongest terms. Were Hitler to give the Judenhetze a rest even for a month or two, the public backlash would be swift and harsh. Yet we aren’t to worry too much, because he can’t possibly intend to act on that nonsense.”
If anything, the South Korean variant is even more irrational. After all, what the Nazis were planning was without precedent, whereas that same North Korean military whose founding is to be celebrated on February 8 once came very close to destroying the Republic of Korea. [B.R. Myers]
You can read the rest at the link, but it is pretty convincing that this parade was organized specifically as a response to the Winter Olympics being hosted in South Korea since it wasn’t celebrated as a holiday until 2015. The regime knew when the Winter Olympics were going to occur and this holiday fit nicely with the timeline. If Park Geun-hye was still president I am sure the parade and rhetoric would have been more threatening to an external audience, however with President Moon in power they toned it down by North Korean standards.
Myers in his article goes on to explain how the regime must continue with bellicose rhetoric and threats domestically especially during a charm offensive like they are doing now with the Olympics. The rhetoric and threats like this parade are used to remind North Koreans that final victory will only come through military strength that will defeat the evil American imperialists and their ROK lackeys.
It is this mentality which after the Olympics is over I suspect at some point the Kim regime will return to provocative behavior. However, instead of blaming the ROK government they will likely try to blame the US in an effort to inflame anti-Americanism in South Korea. The narrative will likely be that the Kim regime has tried to be peaceful and work towards unification during the Winter Olympics timeframe, but the evil American Imperialists continue with their aggressive behavior. This will justify them conducting more nuclear and missile tests.
The earliest flashpoint to promote this narrative will be the Key Resolve military exercise coming up reportedly a month after the Winter Olympics are over. This is assuming the exercise happens with reports that it may be cancelled. Either way the Kim regime wins because both scenarios advance their effort to separate the ROK from the US.
