Category: North Korea

The U.S. has made it clear once again it will not recognize North Korea as nuclear weapons state:

The United States does not and will not recognize North Korea as a nuclear weapons state as it seeks to completely denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, a state department spokesperson said Monday.

“That is not our policy. I do not foresee that ever becoming a policy,” Ned Price told a press briefing when asked about the possibility of the U.S. ever recognizing North Korea as a nuclear state.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

If anyone knows about quality ice cream, it is probably Kim Jong-un:

 North Korea has completed building an ice cream factory in Pyongyang as instructed by leader Kim Jong-un, its state media reported Thursday, amid an economy faltering under global sanctions.

A ceremony was held the previous day to celebrate the construction of a “modern” ice cream production base in the center of Taesongsan, according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

Jon Hyon-chol, chairman of the budget committee of the Supreme People’s Assembly, delivered a speech at the ceremony, stressing that the “project for improving the welfare of the people cannot be delayed regardless of how severe the hardships are.”

He added that the construction was completed within a short period of time thanks to “special measures” taken by leader Kim to speed up the project.

Taesongsan is a mountain at the edge of Pyongyang with major attraction sites, including amusement parks, swimming pools and a zoo.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It is good to see that someone is listening to what the Kim regime has been saying for years, they have no interest in denuclearizing:

Along with massive economic assistance, the normalization of diplomatic relations with the West ― particularly with the United States ― has long been viewed by countries outside of North Korea as one of the carrots that could persuade the reclusive state from seeking nuclear weapons. 

But a former U.S. diplomat said that North Korea has no intention to get rid of its nuclear weapons in exchange for economic incentives or the normalization of diplomatic relations. Joe DeTrani said the reclusive state wants both: to normalize diplomatic relations with the West while keeping its nuclear arsenal intact. 

“The North Koreans have been telling us, and certainly they’ve been telling me from 2003 to 2016, when I’ve been meeting them officially or track 1.5 meetings with a deputy foreign minister, that North Korea wants to be accepted as a nuclear weapons state and they want normal relations with the United States ― they want both,” DeTrani, a former U.S. special envoy for negotiations with North Korea, said during a session of the Korea Times Forum on the theme “New Challenges for Korea-U.S. Alliance,” at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Seoul, Wednesday. DeTrani, now in Albuquerque, New Mexico, joined the discussion remotely.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

I see no way any politician would be able to flip the Kim regime away from China and Russia and to suddenly denuclearize. North Korea has made it clear repeatedly they have no intention of denuclearizing and want to be recognized as a nuclear weapons state:

South Korea should prepare for a United States controlled by more isolationists and skeptics regarding American intervention in foreign affairs as Washington braces for a major Republican win in the upcoming midterm elections, according to a security expert on Northeast Asia.

The projected results of the Nov. 8 elections are about to bring new challenges to Northeast Asia, where the U.S.-China rivalry is intensifying and North Korea is speeding up the development of its nuclear weapons despite international outcry. Recent polls show that the conservative U.S. party will take control of the House and possibly win the Senate as well. 

“Many of the Republicans today are more isolationists and less internationalists than they used to be. That’s reflected most recently in signs that, if the Republicans retake the House, they are not going be so open to continue aid to Ukraine. No one is saying anything about our South Korea alliance, but it is certainly a trend in the wrong direction,” Joel Wit, founder of 38 North, a website devoted to analysis about North Korea, said at Wednesday’s forum hosted by The Korea Times. “If you look forward to the next presidential election, there is always a possibility that [former President] Donald Trump will come back and he’s not a big fan of our alliances overseas … Other Republican candidates may not as be as enthusiastic about American ties with overseas countries.” (…….)

Wit believes the denuclearization of North Korea is still possible through diplomacy, but only if the U.S. tries to achieve it from a long-term perspective.

“To put it simply, diplomacy with Pyongyang only has a chance of working with North Korea trying to move away from those countries (China and Russia). That’s been the case over the past 25 years. The problem is there is no sign of any interest on the part of North Korea,” he said. 

The only way to encourage North Korea to move away from the two nations is to transform its relationship with the U.S. fundamentally so that North Korea sees it as more valuable and beneficial. 

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

That is one of the theories being bounced around on why North Korea is conducting so many missile tests and other drills in recent weeks:

“Rather, the recent moves are assumed to be aimed at gaining international attention for its seventh nuclear test with missile launches and other provocations, and showing its force to the world,” Go said. “Bragging about its nuclear forces seems to be the ultimate purpose of the recent moves.” 

Korea Times

Another theory is that North Korea is trying to test President Yoon and see if he will actually cancel the Inter-Korean military agreement as he has threatened to do:

Hong Min, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification, said Friday’s provocations should be seen as its reaction against South Korea’s strengthened military posture and Seoul’s debates over discarding the military agreement so as to contain Pyongyang’s nuclear test.

“It was unusual that the North announced that it was reacting to a 10-hour long artillery drill,” Hong said. “It seems like the shelling was aimed at testing whether Seoul really thinks about breaking the military agreement. If the North dared to ignore the agreement, it can simply arm its soldiers in the Demilitarized Zone.”

You can read more at the link.