Women collect wild tea at a field in Hwagae Village in the southeastern town of Hadong on May 15, 2018. The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization has designated the region, which was certified in 2008 as the first to grow tea on the Korean Peninsula, as one of its world agricultural heritage systems in recognition of the site’s traditional tea-growing methods that maintain biodiversity. (Yonhap)
If this report is true this is an interesting location for a summit considering that Singapore is a friendly US ally. I would have thought Beijing would have been a better third nation location from the North Korean perspective:
Singapore has emerged as the most likely venue for the planned summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, according to multiple diplomatic sources, Monday.
The sources said the historic summit will likely take place between June 9 and 15, after Trump attends the G-7 Summit slated for June 8 to 9 in Quebec, Canada.
This suggests the White House is losing interest in the truce village of Panmunjeom, although Trump proposed both the Peace House and Freedom House as possible venues for the summit. (……)
The sources said the White House is leaning toward Singapore over Panmunjeom for “practical reasons.”
A source pointed out that officials of the U.S. and North Korea have held talks several times in Singapore and it is an excellent neutral location for both sides.
A different source said Singapore has a history of hosting summits for leaders of third countries, including that of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou in 2015.
Both the U.S. and North Korea have embassies in Singapore, making it easier for their officials to prepare for the summit. [Korea Times]
Australian Ambassador to South Korea James Choi (L) poses for a photo during a publicity event at a department store in Seongnam, south of Seoul, on March 23, 2018, to promote Australian grapes. (Yonhap)
This seems pretty outrageous to me that former President Park is looking at 30 years in jail when murderers and rapists in South Korea get far less time than that:
The prosecution demanded a 30-year prison term for former President Park Geun-hye, Tuesday, at the latest hearing in a corruption trial stemming from an influence-peddling scandal that removed her from office. It also called for the court to fine her 118.5 billion won ($110 million). The Seoul Central District Court held the final hearing for Park, who again refused to appear citing health problems. If she is found guilty, the sentencing for Park, who was indicted for receiving 59.2 billion won in bribes among 18 charges, will be held April 6.
The harsh sentence demand was widely expected as taking 100 million won ($97,000) or over in bribes is punishable by a minimum prison term of ten years. The Supreme Court sentencing guideline stipulates that a minimum of an 11-year prison term be imposed for those who received 500 million won or over in bribes. Choi Soon-sil, Park’s longtime friend and the central figure in the scandal, who faced 13 out of the 18 charges Park did, was sentenced to 20 years.
Prosecutors said Park deserved harsh punishment for the influence-peddling scandal that undermined constitutional values and the public trust in the judicial system. The charges against her were substantiated by evidence including witness statements and meeting minutes made by the presidential chief of staff and presidential secretaries, they added. “Park is the central figure in the influence-peddling scandal. She was head of state and a political figure with ultimate power, and had full authority in managing administrative affairs,” the prosecution said. “She gave powerful discretion to a private individual, Choi, thereby subjecting the public to the unprecedented trauma stemming from the scandal, from which we can never easily recover.”
Such an act, the prosecution added, violated the public’s expectation that the country would be governed by socially agreed-upon principles, and that individuals would be respected for their own merit not for their connections. “It also violated the public expectation that people should be guaranteed a fair opportunity regardless of their occupation or status and lead a life in a free and just country,” it said. [Korea Times]
You can read more at the link, but I have yet to see the prosecutors show evidence that President Park ordered someone to pay a bribe.
I do agree that the above statement “She gave powerful discretion to a private individual, Choi, thereby subjecting the public to the unprecedented trauma stemming from the scandal” is a valid point. Choi Soon-shil definitely used her position as a close friend of Park Geun-hye to benefit herself and President Park gave her that platform. However, does a politician have criminal liability because one of their friends are corrupt? If so there should be a whole lot more Korean politicians heading to jail than just Park Geun-hye.
The ROK government intends to give Ivanka Trump the same red carpet treatment that gave Kim Yo-jong in hopes of apparently convincing President Trump to go along with President Moon attending an Inter-Korean Summit in Pyongyang:
Ivanka Trump
The government is preparing a VIP welcome for U.S. President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka, who comes to Korea for the closing ceremony of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics on Feb. 25. The government apparently wants to soften her up so Trump agrees to a mooted visit to Pyongyang by President Moon Jae-in.
One key ruling-party lawmaker said, “You can say that Ivanka Trump holds the key to convincing the U.S. government. We will provide all the support we can in terms of diplomatic protocol.”
Trump runs the White House like a private fiefdom and has levered both Ivanka and her husband Jarred Kushner into ill-defined foreign-policy roles.
Technically, Seoul has no diplomatic obligation to roll out the red carpet for the child of a U.S. leader, and even the head of a U.S. presidential delegation does not receive the treatment given to a head of state.
But a government official here said, “We are considering exceptional measures by having a high-ranking official greet Ivanka and accompany her during her visit.” The Cheong Wae Dae security team rather than the police handle her safety during her visit. (…….)
“Since President Trump cannot make it to Pyeongchang, Ivanka is his proxy and envoy,” a ruling-party official said. “It’s important to win her support to realize the inter-Korean summit.” [Chosun Ilbo]
I also find it interesting that the Chosun Ilbo took a shot at Melania Trump:
First lady Kim Jung-sook may also show Ivanka around, on the assumption that she is to all intents and purposes the first lady of the U.S. rather than Trump’s reluctant wife Melania.
Admiral Harris seems to understand what the Kim regime’s ultimate goal of their nuclear weapon’s program is:
This file photo shows U.S. Pacific Command chief Adm. Harry Harris. (Yonhap)
A top U.S. military commander said Wednesday he believes North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is intent on reunifying the Korean Peninsula under a single, communist system.
Adm. Harry Harris, chief of the U.S. Pacific Command, told a congressional hearing he does not agree with the predominant view that Kim is pursuing nuclear-tipped missiles to safeguard his regime only.
Kim is “after reunification under a single, communist system,” Harris told the House Armed Services Committee, adding that is the “long view.”
The North Korean leader’s nuclear ambitions contribute to that view and help him blackmail countries such as South Korea and the U.S., the commander said. And Washington should continue to increase economic and diplomatic sanctions on Pyongyang under its “maximum pressure” campaign to persuade Kim to abandon his nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs. [Yonhap]
None of these attacks led to a retaliatory strike because of their conventional capabilities were an effective deterrent. So clearly there is more to why they want to develop nuclear weapons so aggressively. The theory that makes the most sense is that the true intention of their nuclear program is to separate the US from South Korea and then seek a confederation on North Korean terms.
An ambulance company operator and eight drivers are accused of profiting from the transportation of singers who were running late, police said Thursday.
They are suspected of having carried — with sirens and lights on — two unidentified trot singers to concert venues and airports in Ulsan and surrounding areas dozens of times between June 2015 and November 2017
It is illegal for ambulance drivers to turn on emergency alarms and transport healthy people.They are also suspected of driving the ambulances beyond the designated business area of Ulsan without permission. [Korea Times]
This is one of the most powerful moments from a State of the Union speech that I can remember, a North Korean refugee holding up his crutches:
Indeed, President Trump’s State of the Union speech showcased how the simple image of one man, standing up for freedom – in this case, the powerful symbol of a North Korean defector named Ji Seong-ho, hoisting his old crutches in the most compelling act of defiance I have ever seen against the Kim regime – can signal why North Korea’s fate is sealed. Kim Jong Un’s band of bad guys will be swept into the ash heap of history. It is a question of when, not if.
While the tired talking heads on the left will spend the next day or so trashing President Trump on his immigration policies or attacking his tax plan, what they need to pay attention to is the moral smackdown he delivered to the hermit kingdom.
For if it wasn’t clear by now, Team Trump is clearly laying down a marker: North Korea will be the foreign policy issue for this administration for the months and likely years to come. Forget ISIS, Iran or Russia—taking on the Kim regime and its growing nuclear arsenal is Trump’s greatest challenge, bar none. And now, we have a powerful symbol that can only serve as a rallying cry to inspire the imagination of the American people that such a policy is the right one. [Fox News]
This makes me wonder if anywhere else would charge an ambulance driver for running a red light while trying to get an infant to the hospital?:
An ambulance carrying an infant suffering a possible medical emergency and an SUV collided at an intersection in Songpa-gu, Seoul, early Jan. 1. / Yonhap
The driver of an ambulance carrying an infant suffering a possible medical emergency faces prosecution for ignoring traffic lights after the vehicle and an SUV collided.
The incident happened about 2 a.m. on January 1 at an intersection south of Olympic Bridge in Songpa-gu, Seoul. The ambulance, with its siren sounding, was coming from North Chungcheong Province and heading to Seoul Asan Hospital. It was also carrying the three-month-old child’s parents and a nurse. The infant was in a critical condition with fluid on the lungs.
The ambulance ran a red light before the collision with the SUV. Police said the SUV driver’s blood-alcohol level was 0.12 percent, enough for license revocation. No one was seriously injured in the crash.
Songpa police booked both drivers without arrest ― the ambulance driver for ignoring the traffic light and the SUV driver for driving under the influence of alcohol. [Korea Times]
You can read more at the link, but long time residents in Korea are probably used to seeing how few cars bother to get out of the way of ambulances with their warning sirens and lights on as well.
