We could all see this coming, the leftists in the Moon administration want to get special exceptions to the international sanctions on North Korea:
South Korea’s Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha (R) shakes hands with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo before their talks in New York on July 20, 2018, in this photo provided by the Joint Press Corps. (Yonhap)
South Korea’s Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha on Monday rejected concerns about Seoul’s alleged move to ease international sanctions on Pyongyang, saying it is seeking an “exception” to facilitate cross-border exchanges.
Kang made the remarks upon arrival from her visit to the United States, amid media speculation that she stressed the need for an easing of the sanctions during her meetings with the U.N. Security Council member states.
“Now is not a phase when sanctions are being eased. … It is not an easing of sanctions,” the minister said. “(What I stressed) was to get exceptions from the sanctions, which are needed for inter-Korean projects.”
Since early this year, concerns have persisted that Seoul’s push for an increase in cross-border exchanges could contribute to an unraveling of the sanctions regime, which analysts said has helped Pyongyang change its calculus on its nuclear program.
Asked about whether her visit to the U.S. this time was aimed at playing a role as an intermediary between Washington and Pyongyang, Kang stressed the importance of communication between the allies. [Yonhap]
If the Trump administration allows the easing of sanctions that would allow the reopening of the Kaesong Industrial Complex and the joint-tourism projects in North Korea they might as well scrap the sanctions all together. These former joint-projects were major generators of foreign revenue for the Kim regime that gave them the resources necessary to develop their nuclear program in the first place.
Wouldn’t it be great if when Secretary of State Pompeo meets with Kang Kyung-wha he instead briefs her on a plan to introduce new sanctions due to nothing significant having been reaching on North Korea’s denuclearization?
Some people may try to read more into this, but Ri Yong-gil is replacing someone 84 years old. This may just be a natural leadership transition or horse trading to appease different powerbroker within North Korea. I can remember when it was believed that Ri was executed by Kim Jong-un, now here he is as chief of the military:
Ri Yong Gil, an alternate member of the Political Bureau of the C. C., the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK), is pictured in this Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) handout photo released May 10, 2016.
North Korea’s state media confirmed on Friday that Ri Yong Gil has become the new chief of the military’s general staff, the latest in leader Kim Jong Un’s leadership change.
As Kim shifts the focus to the economy and pursues diplomacy with the United States, he has been replacing older, more conservative officers who were wedded to the country’s nuclear doctrine with loyalists who would follow any changes he may make, U.S. officials and analysts say.
The North’s official KCNA agency said Ri accompanied Kim on his visit to a war veterans’ cemetery as the army’s chief of general staff, marking the 65th anniversary of the armistice agreement that ended the 1950-53 Korean War.
Ri formerly held the four-star position before he was briefly demoted deputy chief and three stars for an unspecified reason in 2016.
His return adds the recent appointments of No Kwang Chol, first vice defense minister, as the defense chief, and Army General Kim Su Gil as director of the military’s powerful General Political Bureau.
All of the newly promoted officials are younger than their predecessors, even though they are all in their 60s. Ri is 63 years old, 21 years younger than his predecessor, Ri Myong Su. [Reuters]
According to NK Leadership Watch Ri’s prior issues that led to his supposed execution had to do with his unhappiness with what he felt was unearned authority in military affairs given to Workers Party members. Whatever issues had previously occurred between him, the Workers Party, and Kim Jong-un have been clearly ironed out.
Calling all surfers, if you are looking for place to surf poor waves, with no Internet access, and the threat of detention & torture, the Kim regime has a deal for you. An added benefit is that all proceeds of this assuredly outrageously overpriced tour go towards maintaining a nuclear weapons program to threaten the world with, maintaining of gulags, and expensive luxury items for regime elite:
Tourists enjoy surfing in the East Sea of North Korea. Courtesy of DPRK Today
If you love surfing, North Korea’s East Sea coast could be your next destination.
Although the waves are not very high in July and August, there are some regions where you can enjoy surfing, according to North Korean propaganda media DPRK Today’s Sunday report.
A surfing tour of North Korea’s East Sea has been hosting many tourists from around the world. The tour includes a week of surfing, plus sightseeing trips to Pyongyang, Mount Myohyang, Gaeseong and other major tourist destinations.
For those who have a high level of surfing skills, October-November is a better choice, the report said. But sea temperatures are much cooler. [Korea Times]
Here is the latest so called progress on the North Korea denuclearization issue:
Shown is a file photo of North Korea test firing a rocket at its Sohae Satellite Launching Station, the country’s main such location since 2012, on Feb. 7, 2016. U.S. website 38 North said on July 24, 2018, that new satellite imagery from July 20 shows key facilities are being dismantled at the station in line with a promise made by the North’s leader, Kim Jong-un, at his historic summit with U.S. President Donald Trump. (Yonhap) (END)
North Korea has started dismantling some facilities at its main satellite launch station, seen as the testing ground for its intercontinental ballistic missiles, according to expert analysis of recent satellite images.
If confirmed, the analysis by respected US-based website 38 North could signal a step forward after last month’s landmark summit between Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump, although some experts questioned the significance of the gesture.
After the summit, Trump had declared the North Korean nuclear threat was effectively over, and US media reports suggest he is privately furious at the lack of any subsequent progress on the denuclearisation issue. [AFP]
Before anyone gets excited by this news, it is important to note that the satellite launch site has nothing do with North Korea’s nuclear program. I have always believed that the Kim regime would be more willing to make concessions over their ICBM program and market it as being a step towards denuclearization in return for US concessions. That appears to be what they are doing.
Additionally this concession at their satellite launch site does not really effect their ICBM program anyway:
Melissa Hanham, senior research associate with the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in Monterey, said that while dismantling the engine test site was a “good move”, it amounted to “the bare minimum” that could be done at Sohae.
“Unless they dismantle the whole site, it will remain North Korea’s premier location for space launches,” Hanham said on Twitter.
“North Korea does not need the Sohae engine test stand anymore if it is confident in the engine design. As (Kim Jong Un) said himself, North Korea is moving from testing to mass production,” she said, adding that observers should look for signs of new sites where more missiles could be built.
So basically North Korea is dismantling something it doesn’t really need right now that they can then reconstruct when needed in a matter of days. Is this something I am supposed to be excited about?
I would love to know what the Kim regime’s internal timeline is for when they expect sanctions to be dropped?:
North Korean state media urged the country’s people to be ready for “belt-tightening” Monday amid signs of stalled denuclearization talks with the United States.
The Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea, reminded them of the harsh period of Arduous March in the 1990s, when the country suffered from extreme poverty and massive starvation in the wake of the collapse of socialism in Russia and Eastern Europe.
“Even if (we) have to travel a long distance through snowstorms with our belts tightened, we will go straight to the people’s road which was proved as immortal in the process of the 70-years-long struggle and to the road of socialism,” the newspaper said.
The call comes as concerns are growing about the denuclearization talks between the North and the U.S. The slower-than-expected progress clouds the prospects for any immediate sanctions relief, which Pyongyang might be pursuing to bolster its anemic economy in return for giving up its nuclear weapons.
The call for belt-tightening might be intended to tamp down expectations among its people that have been high since North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s summits with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, followed by his meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, observers said. [Yonhap]
The United States on Friday welcomed the U.N. Security Council’s united support for the fully verified denuclearization of North Korea and pressed China and Russia to strictly enforce U.N. sanctions to get Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused North Korea of violating an array of tough sanctions imposed by the council. He warned that ”when sanctions are not enforced, the prospects for the successful denuclearization of North Korea are diminished.”
Nonetheless, Pompeo told reporters after meeting behind closed doors with the 15 council members that President Donald Trump ”remains upbeat about the prospects for denuclearization” following his historic summit in Singapore with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. ”So do I, as progress is happening,” he added without elaborating.
The Trump administration hopes that one day North Korea will be at the United Nations ”not as a pariah but as a friend,” Pompeo said. But ”it will take full enforcement of sanctions for us to get there” as well as Kim following through ”on his personal commitments” to Trump. [Korea Times]
You can read more at the link, but I have to hand it to Secretary Pompeo, he is doing everything possible to not be seen as the belligerent whenever the breaking point with North Korea’s foot dragging on denuclearization happens.
There are probably going to be many people surprised slavery exists in North Korea after reading this, but the gulags and forced labor of its citizens for regime projects has been going on for decades:
North Korea has the highest prevalence of modern slavery in the world, with 1 out of every 10 citizens victims under the practice, according to estimates included in a new report.
More than 2.6 million people live under modern slavery in the country, the 2018 Global Slavery Index found, with the vast majority forced to work by the state. The report also argued that the North Korean government had the weakest response to slavery out of all the countries surveyed, as the North Korean state itself is involved in forced labor both inside and outside of the country.
The report defines modern slavery as slavery itself, as well as human trafficking, forced labor, debt bondage, forced or servile marriage, and the sale and exploitation of children. [Washington Post]
You can read more at the link, but remember this number does not include the near slave labor that were once employed at the Kaesong Industrial Complex. Restarting the near slave labor project at Kaesong is one of the South Korean governments top priorities and why they want the US to drop sanctions against North Korea.
Because nothing bad has ever happened to tourists who visited North Korea, and it's absolutely guaranteed that nothing bad will ever happen to those who visit in the future. https://t.co/cKBrbnTAnU
— John Lee (The Korean Foreigner) (@koreanforeigner) July 18, 2018
Now there is supposedly not a time limit on North Korean dencuclearization:
U.S. President Donald Trump says that there is “no time limit” on North Korea’s denuclearization, reiterating that negotiations with Pyongyang are a process.
Trump made the remarks to reporters on Tuesday at a meeting with members of Congress at the White House, explaining the outcome of his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki.
Trump said that discussions on dismantling North Korea’s nuclear weapons program are ongoing and progressing well, but stressed that there is “no rush for speed” to achieve the goal.
He added that the sanctions against Pyongyang are still in place and referenced the improving U.S.-North Korea relations as the North has refrained from missile tests for nine months and released three U.S. detainees in May. [KBS World Radio]
You can read more at the link, but it may seem like more of the same in regards to North Korea negotiations. However, I would not hit the panic button on this as long as the sanctions remain in place. The big question though is what is Kim Jong-un’s time limit? At some point the regime is going to want the sanctions dropped for little to nothing in return.
A possibility is that the Trump administration’s new strategy may be to wait out the Kim regime. Maybe the Trump administration understands now that the Kim regime will not denuclearize and instead just play along with negotiations while keeping the sanctions in place. If North Korea eventually returns to making provocations this could be the excuse the Trump administration needs to take other actions against the regime.
