North Korean leader Kim Jong-un watches a congratulatory performance by the Moranbong Band and the Merited State Chorus of the Korean People’s Army along with Cuban delegate Miguel Mario Diaz-Canel Bermudez, in this image from the Sep. 7 edition of the Rodong Sinmun newspaper. To Kim’s right is his wife, Ri Sol-ju. (Yonhap picture from the Hankyoreh)
On July 31, Yonhap News came into possession of the North Korean monthly pictorial publication “Joseon” September edition, featuring five female flight attendant models on the cover.
The flight attendants are walking with their luggage, attired in navy blue uniforms, a change from the red uniforms worn in 2013, and wearing a badge on the left side of the chest featuring Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il. An aircraft from Koryo Air can be seen in the background.
With their beautiful smiles, and wearing short skirts, black shoes, sophisticated makeup, necklaces, and other accessories, the flight attendants do not look any different from attendants of other airlines.
The change in the eye-catching and elegant appearance of the flight attendants is an effort by Kim Jong-un’s regime to stimulate tourism by improving the quality of airline service. [Korea Bang]
This article by Professor Hong Sung Ki of Ajou University further demonstrates the failure of the Sunshine Policy and how giving economic aid to the Kim regime does nothing to help the North Korean people or reform their economy. I have said for years that the Kim regime will never give up their nuclear weapons or commit to Chinese style economic reforms because it would threaten the stability of the regime and Professor Hong also agrees with this assessment. I highly recommend reading the whole thing, but here are Professor Hong’s key points:
President Park’s July 1st, 2015 suggestion that steps towards nuclear disarmament be traded for infra development in North Korea’s SEZs certainly fits within the conservative party’s mold. But these tactics have continually failed in the past and we have no expectation that things will change for the better in the future. Once the North gets rid of their nuclear capabilities, they know that the South and the world at large will be able to simply ignore them.
In this light, North Korea really does not need our economic assistance at the moment. As we have seen from Jang Hyeong Soo’s paper, the North is skilled at bringing in and retaining foreign currency, which it can use to put out any economic fires should they arise. The real explanation for their economic depravity is hidden within the nature of the regime itself. The upper elite feed off the misery and suffering of the common citizens. Without this oppression, they would not long be able to retain their positions of authority. For these reasons, North Korea has an incentive to continue antagonistic behaviors on the world stage in order to get attention. South Korean presidents have a one term (five year) limit, which gives them little time to make progress in the face of such antagonism. North Korea is the only winner in this game of chicken, of provocation and aid solicitation. That’s why South Korea’s policies have been so inept at dealing with the Kim Dynasty up to this point.
South Korea should respond in kind to the North’s antagonistic behaviors. South Korea needs to continue the legal and large scale introduction of foreign ideas and information into North Korea while simultaneously pressuring the regime to disarm their nukes. It’s time to stop looking at the North as a little brother in need of economic assistance. Now is the time to look for the regime’s breaking point in order to stop the horrors that they regularly commit on their people in order to retain their authority. The time has come for a fundamental shift in policies regarding North Korea. Considering the fact that the North will never willingly throw away their nuclear capabilities, the South needs to develop a system of political and military counter measures in tandem with a new diplomatic approach. [Daily NK]
As the statistics in the below article show, Kim Jong-un’s tightening of border security has worked in regards to stemming the tide of defections across the DMZ:
A total of 65 North Koreans have crossed the tightly-patrolled land and sea borders with South Korea to defect to the capitalist country since 2010 with 15 of them breaking the borders undetected, a military report showed Tuesday.
The North Korean conscript who made it to a South Korean guard post near the eastern part of the military demarcation line (MDL) in June was among those who have crossed over, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff’s report submitted to Rep. Shon In-choon of the ruling Saenuri Party.
The soldier was not detected until after he had crossed the heavily-fortified border, spent one night near the South Korean military outpost and turned himself in the next day.
The episode sharply stoked skepticism over the South Korean military’s border guarding after a similar case was reported in the eastern section of the border in 2012.
Fifteen of the total 65 defectors have crossed the borders without being caught by border guards before the defectors turned themselves in or civilians reported them, according to the report.
The number of defections through borders reached 10 in 2010 and increased to 39 in 2011 before sinking to 5 the next year.
The number plunged to 1 in 2013 before edging up to 6 last year, a downward trend attributable to tightened border security under North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who took office in 2012. [Korea Times]
Considering that the North Korean leader did not attend the parade I think that his delegate deserved to get the second class status he received from the Chinese:
North Korean Vice Marshal Choe Ryong-hae watches a military parade in Beijing, marking the seventieth anniversary of China’s war victory over Japan, Sep. 3. Choe was seated far away from President Park Geun-hye, who was seated near the center. (Yonhap News)
The North Korean delegation that attended China’s military parade was headed by Vice Marshal Choe Ryong-hae.On Sep. 3, Choe was present at the military parade on the parapet of Tiananmen – the Gate of Heavenly Peace – in Beijing. Choe was standing almost at the end of the line of dignitaries, to the right side of Chinese President Xi Jinping. This was a sharp contrast with Park Geun-hye, who was only one person away from Xi.There is speculation that China‘s decision to position the North Korean envoy toward the end of the line of dignitaries reflects China’s relations with North Korea, which have been chilly in recent years.Another interpretation is that China placed Choe at some distance from Park out of consideration for the South Korean president.But it‘s also possible that, considering that Choe was just an envoy, and not the leader of North Korea, his position on the parapet should not necessarily be seen as a snub. When China announced on Aug. 25 the figures who would be attending its ceremony commemorating the victory over Japan in World War II, its inclusion of Choe in a list of 30 national leaders including Park and Russian President Vladimir Putin was regarded as a sign of respect. [Hankyoreh]
Also unsurprisingly is that the North Korean state media did not report President Park Geun-hye’s attendance at the military parade where she received the VIP treatment.
