Category: North Korea

Here is an interesting article that speculates on whether North Korea would have invaded South Korea back in 1983 if the assassination attempt on President Chun Doo-hwan was successful?:

On October 9, 1983, a bomb exploded at the Martyr’s Mausoleum in Rangoon, the capital of Burma. As part of an official visit to the country, then-Republic of Korea President Chun Doo-hwan had been scheduled to visit the mausoleum to pay respects to Aung San, one of the founders of Burma. The results were devastating – 21 dead, 46 injured. Among the dead were prominent members of the South Korean government, including the deputy prime minister and foreign minister. Fortunately, the South Korean president survived.

Chun Doo-hwan was a career Republic of Korea Army officer who came to power under contentious circumstances. His predecessor was Park Chung-hee, another Army officer and father of the current South Korean President Park Geun-hye. Chung-hee was assassinated on October 26, 1979. During an unclear political situation, Chun and military forces loyal to him executed a successful coup on December 12, 1979. Afterwards, Chun established martial law, squashed dissent, and ruled South Korea through 1987 as a military dictatorship, until the democracy movement brought the country its first truly free elections.

In part, President Chun owed his life to his American advisers. Assassination attempts and terrorism on the part of North Korea was a real threat at the time and concern for the president’s safety prompted the Americans to suggest Chun’s flight route be placed further away from the coasts of China and Vietnam. This caused a delay in his schedule, forcing him to arrive later than the rest of his entourage. North Korean agents confused the arrival of the South Korean ambassador with that of the president, resulting in a premature detonation. Had President Chun ignored the advice of his foreign advisers and maintained the original schedule, it is very likely he would have been present at the time of the explosion and would have been killed or maimed.

The possible implications of Chun’s assassination attempt in Rangoon would not be fully known, however, until over a decade later. Kang Myung-do, son-in-law of then-North Korean Premier Kang Song-san, defected to the South in 1994. As he changed allegiances, he brought with him stories. What a story he had to share about the Rangoon bombing.

Kang told the late professor and writer Don Oberdorfer, who was conducting research for a book, that North Korea had been anticipating civil unrest on the scale of the 1980 Gwangju Uprising, which was pacified through the brute force of the South Korean military. The “massacre,” as it has been described, was a day of infamy for South Korea, and resulted in well over a hundred dead and thousands injured. Kang specifically noted that discharges from the North Korean military had been “slowed or stopped” in preparation for what might occur.

It does not take much knowledge or imagination to reasonably assume that North Korea may very well have intended to invade the South in the event of mass civil unrest. With a nation reeling from its second presidential assassination in four years, the South Korean government in crisis, and the military with its hands full in bringing order to chaos, there would probably be few scenarios better for Pyongyang to exploit in its eternal quest to reunite the peninsula.   [National Interest]

You can read the rest at the link, but I think even if Chun was killed that the North Koreans would not have invaded unless they were given support by China.  The US has the nuclear trump card that can be played to defeat any North Korean invasion.  Without the support of the Chinese nuclear deterrent I don’t see how they could have won a conflict on the peninsula.  It seems the assassination was more for trying to create massive internal unrest within South Korea that could eventually lead to a more Pyongyang friendly government.  Maybe one day when the Kim regime finally falls their national archives will shed light on what their true intentions were.

Here is the status of the unofficial talks between the US and North Korea going on in Malaysia:

A North Korean delegation led by its deputy foreign minister held talks with former government officials of the United States here for a second day on Saturday to discuss pending issues such as the North’s nuclear and missile tests.

The U.S.-North Korea contact, although it is informal or unofficial, came after North Korea conducted its fifth and most powerful nuclear test in September, just eight months after its previous nuke test.

“I came here through Beijing,” the North’s deputy ambassador to the United Nations Jang Il-hun told Yonhap News Agency. As for topics discussed during the dialogue, he said the two sides talked about several “pending issues and each other’s thoughts on them.”

Asked whether there was an offer from the U.S. to stop its nuclear and missile tests, he fell short of clarifying, but said, “hopely moving forward.”

North Korea’s vice foreign minister Han Song-ryol was also among the five-member delegation. The four-member U.S. delegation included Robert Gallucci, who negotiated a landmark 1994 nuclear freeze deal with Pyongyang; former U.S. deputy nuclear negotiator Joseph R. DeTrani; and Leon Sigal, director of the Northeast Asia Cooperative Security Project at the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) in New York.

Sigal told Yonhap News that the two parties mainly discussed the North’s nuclear and missile issues during the informal dialogue.

The North stuck to its stance that it wants to sign a peace treaty with the U.S. before it stops its nuclear and missile programs. But the U.S. reiterated its position that scrapping nuclear programs should be put before anything else, Sigal said.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link.

US remains firm on North Korea nukes, dismisses speculation on talks with Pyongyang: official https://t.co/jVRt6eoAMm

— NorthKoreaRealTime (@BuckTurgidson79) October 23, 2016

Why human rights play second fiddle to North Korea’s nukes | NK News – Fyodor Tertitskiy https://t.co/qGLc8MAzZY

— Sokeel Park (@Sokeel) October 22, 2016

It looks like the North Koreans are preparing for their next provocation:

North Korea said Thursday it will continue to launch satellites into space despite South Korea’s condemnation, which analysts said points toward Pyongyang testing a long-range rocket soon.

North Korean satellites will continue going up even as South Korea condemns Pyongyang’s move, an unidentified spokesman at North Korea’s bureau on space development was quoted as saying by the country’s media.

“We will march toward the goal of conquering space by firing off more satellites in accordance with our five-year space development program,” the spokesman said.

The report came amid growing speculation that North Korea is likely to launch a long-range rocket in the not-too-distant future after its last launch in February.

Pyongyang has claimed it has the right to develop its space program by putting satellites into orbit, but Seoul and Washington have viewed Pyongyang’s move as a disguised test for its ballistic missile technology.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link, but I wonder if they will time it to coincide with the US Presidential election?

Could you imagine the uproar if an American zoo had a chimp doing this?  Also so much for the anti-smoking campaign that was launched in North Korea:

 Pyongyang’s newly opened zoo has a new star: Azalea, the smoking chimpanzee.

According to officials at the newly renovated zoo, which has become a favorite leisure spot in the North Korean capital since it re-opened in July, the 19-year-old female chimpanzee, whose name in Korean is “Dallae,” smokes about a pack a day. Dallae is short for azalea.

They insist, however, she doesn’t inhale.

Thrown a lighter by a zoo trainer, the chimpanzee lights her own cigarettes. If a lighter isn’t available, she can light up from lit cigarette if one is tossed her way.

Though such a sight would draw outrage in many other locales, it seemed to delight visitors who roared with laughter on Wednesday as the chimpanzee, one of two at the zoo, sat puffing away as her trainer egged her on. The trainer also prompted her to touch her nose, bow thank you and do a simple dance.

The zoo is pulling in thousands of visitors a day with a slew of attractions ranging from such typical fare as elephants, giraffes, penguins and monkeys to a high-tech natural history museum with displays showing the origins of the solar system and the evolution of life on Earth.  [Associated Press via a reader tip]

You can read more at the link, but I wonder if according to North Korea the evolution of life on Earth all began in North Korea?

So far the North Korean’s are 1 for 8 when it comes to the successful testing of their Musudan missile:

North Korea launched what was presumed to be a Musudan intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM), Thursday, which exploded soon after liftoff, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

The launch took place at 7 a.m. near an airbase in Kusong, North Pyongan Province, soon after top defense and foreign affairs officials from South Korea and the United States wrapped up their high-level talks in Washington.

Experts say that the North was apparently attempting to show off its capability of striking U.S. military bases in Guam, though this failed, in response to the allies’ agreement to strengthen the U.S. “extended deterrence” protection of South Korea.

“The latest launch was seen as the North’s armed protest to show its willingness not to lose out to the allies’ plan to enhance extended deterrence,” said Kim Yong-hyun, a professor of North Korean Studies at Dongguk University.

Extended deterrence refers to Washington’s stated commitment to defend its ally by mobilizing all military capabilities ― nuclear and conventional ― to cope with the North’s aggression and provocations.

The Musudan, which can be fired from a mobile launcher, is believed to have a range of 3,000 to 4,000 kilometers and is in theory capable of reaching U.S. naval and air bases in Guam.

The U.S. Strategic Command also confirmed that it detected what it assessed was a failed North Korean missile launch, noting that the missile was presumed to be a Musudan.

It was the North’s eighth launch of an IRBM ― the seventh took place on Oct. 17 near the airbase as well, while six previous launches were conducted near the eastern port city of Wonsan.

Among them, only the sixth launch conducted on June 22 was considered successful. The Korean Central News Agency at the time claimed that the missile reached a maximum altitude of 1,413.6 kilometers and fell precisely onto a designated target 400 kilometers away at sea. [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link, but it is interesting that the North Koreans are not able to replicate the success they had with their sixth Musudan test.

North Korea hosts a sports contest for foreign diplomats in the country at the Rungna People’s Sports Park in Pyongyang in this photo released by the North’s Korean Central News Agency on Oct. 16, 2016. Seen on the table are soft drinks, including Coca-Cola that appear to have come from China. The event, held from Oct. 11-16, was the fourth of its kind. (Yonhap)

It looks like the Kim regime is probing to see what free goodies it can get from the US for little to nothing in return:

A ranking North Korean official arrived in Beijing on Tuesday before possibly traveling to Malaysia for informal talks with former U.S. officials or experts, a Japanese news report said.

North Korea’s deputy foreign minister Han Song-ryol was seen at Beijing’s international airport, according to Kyodo News.

“He could be set to meet former U.S. officials or experts on North Korean issues, and the discussions will most likely be held completely behind-the-scenes under the informal, unofficial track II format,” Kyodo reported, citing the source.

An official at Seoul’s foreign ministry said he cannot confirm anything at the moment.

Han’s possible trip to Malaysia, if confirmed, comes after North Korea conducted its fifth and most powerful nuclear test in September, just eight months after its previous nuke test.

The U.N. Security Council (UNSC) is working on a fresh sanctions resolution to punish Pyongyang for its latest nuclear provocation. In March, the UNSC slapped tougher sanctions on the North for its nuclear and long-range rocket launches early in the year.

Until recently, Han served as director-general handling U.S. affairs at North Korea’s foreign ministry, the report said.

Han met with a private U.S. delegation, which made a rare visit to North Korea in late September, the New York Times reported on Oct. 9.

During the Sept. 24-27 visit, the delegation discussed a U.S. student detained in the communist nation, recovering the remains of American soldiers killed in the 1950-53 Korean War and possible flood assistance for the North, it said.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link, but I would be surprised if anything comes out of this considering the upcoming change in the Presidency.  Would President Obama want his legacy to be a last minute deal with the North Koreans that they would inevitably violate?

If I was the Prime Minister of the UK, I would send more forces to participate in the exercise with the ROK in response to such threats:

North Korea has said it is “close to the brink of war” with its southern neighbor – and Britain has been warned to stay out of the fight.

The regime’s foreign affairs representative for northern Europe, Pak Yun Sik, was speaking after the UK announced it would take part in joint military drills with South Korea and the US.

The war games will be played out in November as a training exercise in case there is ever a need for real thing in the region.

Mr Pak said angrily: “The situation on the Korean peninsula is close to the brink of war because of endless military exercises by American and South Korean forces targeting us.

“Now, Britain has decided to send its Typhoon fighter jets to take part in joint US-South Korean military drills, in the south of Korea, from 4 to 10 November.

“This is a hostile act, openly joining the US and South Korean forces in moves for a new war against us.

“Britain claims that this military exercise is not targeting us, but the US and South Korea openly say that these military exercises are aimed at launching a strike against our military facilities and our command structure.”  [Fox News]

Further Reading:

https://www.rokdrop.net/2016/10/united-kingdom-to-take-part-in-invincible-shield-exercise-with-us-and-rok/