S. Korea to test launch space rocket engineA rocket is loaded to an upright position on the launch pad at the Naro Space Center in Goheung on South Korea’s south coast on Nov. 27, 2018, one day before South Korea conducts the first test flight of its locally developed booster engine as part of a long-term effort to produce the Korea Space Launch Vehicle-2. (Yonhap)
Considering this poll was done by the Blue House I would not give it much creditability until an outside agency does polling on this issue:
A majority of South Koreans think it is necessary to ease sanctions on North Korea to accelerate denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, a survey showed Tuesday.
According to the survey of 1,000 adults here by the National Unification Advisory Council, a presidential consultative body mainly on long-term inter-Korean ties, 64 percent expressed support for easing sanctions on the North as denuclearization talks are underway.
Of the total, 20.4 percent said that they do not support sanctions relief much, while 11.6 percent said they do not support such a move at all, the survey showed. [Yonhap]
You can read more at the link, but how would respondents have answered if asked if they support dropping sanctions for little to nothing in return from the Kim regime? That is essentially what is going on right now.
Here is the latest diplomatic spat between Japan and the Moon administration:
South Korea voiced strong regret Tuesday about the Japanese foreign minister’s reported comments on soured bilateral relations in another sign of a deepening rift over history issues.
South Korea’s top diplomat, Kang Kyung-wha, earlier said she’s considering a visit to Japan, although no schedule has been set, in a bid to mend fences.
Her counterpart, Taro Kono, however, said in a meeting with Japanese lawmakers that Kang does not need to come to Japan without a “proper” response to his government’s demands, according to NHK.
Late last month, South Korea’s Supreme Court ordered a Japanese steelmaker to compensate four Korean men for their wartime forced labor.
Seoul also announced a decision to disband a Tokyo-funded foundation on Korean women forced into sexual slavery by Japanese troops during World War II. (……)
A senior South Korean official expressed concern about Kono’s reported remark on Kang’s possible trip there.
“If it’s true, I think it’s undiplomatic and inappropriate as a foreign minister in charge of diplomatic relations,” the official told reporters, saying his statement reflects Seoul’s formal view on the matter.
He added the government is very concerned that Japan’s leaders continue provocative rhetoric with regard to the Seoul court’s ruling in ignorance of the fundamental problem. [Yonhap]
Here is an update on the North Korean soldier defector who was shot while fleeing across the JSA to defect to the South. His story is very similar to other defectors who are surprised how hard one has to work in South Korea to earn money:
North Korean defector Oh Chong-song, whose bold dash across the heavily armed border in November last year made global headlines, has been struggling in South Korea since he was released from hospital.
“I took a job as a construction worker to feed myself,” Oh (not his real name) told the Chosun Ilbo Wednesday. “I experienced how hard it is to make money in the South.” Oh left Hanawon, a halfway house that helps North Korean defectors adjust to life in South Korea, in June after a long hospital stay to treat his many gunshot wounds and clear him of a mass of parasites in his stomach.
He now lives in Seoul. “I couldn’t work too long on the construction site due to my bad back, and I now work part-time at a social enterprise,” he said.
Oh denied a media report that he bought two cars and ended up selling them after running out of money. “That’s not true,” he said. “What I was given when I left Hanawon was W4 million in settlement support money and am entitled to live in public rental housing,” he said. “I didn’t have much money left after I bought furniture and a refrigerator (US$1=W1,130).”
Oh now looks no different than many young South Korean men in their 20s. He is slender and around 177 cm tall. Dressed in a navy-blue suit and white shirt, he had also dyed his hair light brown. Because he was born and raised in Kaesong close to the inter-Korean border, he does not have a distinct North Korean accent.
Oh insisted he had been misquoted in an interview with Japan’s Sankei Shimbun last weekend. The right-wing Japanese newspaper stirred up controversy by quoting Oh as saying that the South Korean military is a joke.
“I was misquoted and what I said was lost in translation,” he claimed Wednesday. “I watched video footage of South Korean soldiers crawling to save me,” he added, raising his voice as his emotions ran high. “I served in the North Korean military and do not know much about South Korean military life. You serve 10 years in the North Korean military and two years in the South Korean military, and all I said was it must be easier in the South.”
“But what I was quoted as saying made it sound like I laughed at the South Korean military.” Oh claimed the Sankei sent him a message apologizing for mistakes by the interpreter. [Chosun Ilbo]
You can read more at the link, but apparently there is a lot of disinformation being put out about him. I would not be surprised if the disinformation campaign against him is a coordinated effort by ROK leftists to discredit him as much as possible.
NK's military went across the border to SK waters to kidnap SK citizens. Isn't it more appropriate for the Defense Min/prez to say/do something, rather than the Unification Min? And also something a tad bit stronger than "regret?" How about stop breaking down SK's defenses? https://t.co/k4bGVS4oH0
I don’t think anyone will be surprised to find out that former President Jimmy Carter tried to hold a peace conference with the North Koreans back in 1979:
The United States pushed for high-level talks with South and North Korea on reducing military tensions in the late 1970s amid a controversy over a troop pullout or reduction plan, declassified diplomatic documents showed Sunday.
The rift between the presidents of the allies at that time — Park Chung-hee and Jimmy Carter — about the size of the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) was highlighted in a transcript of their talks in Seoul on June 30, 1979.
“I can’t promise that we will freeze forces levels,” Carter told Park, according to a White House document on their hourlong conversation.
Carter questioned South Korea’s commitment to a hike in defense budgets to counter North Korea’s rapid military buildup.
Park stressed his military was making efforts to beef up combat power but needed more time.
Cater asked, “My understanding is that you are particularly concerned about the presence of the Second (Infantry) Division and the Combined Forces Command. Do you also want the U.S. to maintain its protective nuclear umbrella as well?”
Park said yes. And Carter asked again, “If we decide to modify or reduce other force levels, you would like adequate notification and consultations?”
Park also said yes.
In the summit, Carter confirmed South Korea’s clear opposition to either the withdrawal of the USFK or a scale-down, with the North’s military threats growing. The 1950-53 Korean War ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty.
Carter soon accelerated a drive for dialogue with North Korea on easing tensions. [Yonhap]
You can read more at the link, but Carter tried to hold a summit with the ROK and North Korea in Jakarta, Indonesia. It never happened because the Kim Il-sung regime blew him off.
Dr. Taro O has an update on the prosecution of South Korean journalist Byun Hee-jae who was jailed for writing something true. The crux of the matter really comes to the authenticity of the PC Tablet that led to the impeachment of former President Park:
It turned out, according to the prosecutor’s own forensic report, that the tablet PC was not legitimate evidence of the alleged activity. There were no edited files in the tablet, despite JTBC’s claims, which said Choi carried the tablet PC around and edited documents, including the Dresden speech. Incidentally, Park gave the Dresden speech on March 18, 2014. The Dresden speech file found in the tablet was loaded onto the tablet on March 27, 2018, which is after the fact, and it was a .gif file. Additionally, the tablet did not even have editing software (HWP software), so there was no capability to edit the Korean language document. (17:11) The records show that there was software for viewing only, which was loaded in November 2012 and was used to view documents until January 2013, and nothing after that, until 8 a.m., October 18, 2016–8 hours before JTBC “found” the tablet. (17:11)
The forensic report was 700 pages long and difficult to understand. (Byun, 119) The report findings were inconclusive as to who owned the tablet. In fact, the tablet was set up by Kim Han-soo (김한수),former Blue House executive officer. Kim Han-soo went to SK Telecom on June 22, 2012 and opened an account for the tablet under his company’s name “Malay Company.” (1:23) This was around the time of the presidential elections. On October 8, 2017, Shin Hye-won (신혜원) came forward to say the tablet is hers–that she was the primary user. Shin worked on then-candidate Park Geun-hye’s campaign in 2012. She saw in the media various photos, documents, and phone numbers found in the tablet and recognized them. Even Ko Young-tae (고영태), a key witness who helped the special prosecutor during the impeachment trial, stated “I understand that she [Choi] is not the type of person who can use a tablet PC,” placing doubt on the claim that the tablet belongs to Choi or that she used it. Choi has also said the tablet does not belong to her, that she does not even know how to use it, that she has never even seen the tablet in question, and asked to see the tablet. (1:40) The court never showed her the tablet. (1:54)
Despite these and other facts that raise serious questions about the integrity of JTBC’s claim that the tablet is Choi’s and that Choi edited the documents, thereby “having the monopoly of the state affairs”–Gukjeong Nongdan–the National Assembly used the tablet as the “evidence” to impeach Park. Thus Park was impeached based on an absurd, illogical accusation incited by JTBC and the media that stirred up the Korean people’s passions. [East Asia Research Center]
Byun Hee-jai has asked judge Park Joo-young for further examination of the tablet to try to determine who it belongs to. Of seven witnesses Byun asked for, the judge allowed only two journalists from JTBC–Seo Bokyun (서복현) and Cho Taek-soo (조택수), and rejected Choi Seo-won, Shin Hye-won, Ko Young-tae, Kim Hans-soo, and No Seung-gwon (노승권) (former prosecutor who lied that the file was in the tablet when it was not) as witnesses. (1:15) It seems pretty clear that the tablet does not belong to Choi. At minimum, there are serious questions whether the tablet is Choi’s or not. As stated above, the prosecutor’s report is inconclusive. Yet prosecutor Hong Seong-joon maintains that the tablet belongs to Choi Seo-won.
If the verdict is not reached by the expiration date of the trial, which is early December, Byun must be released from jail. (1:45) There are signs that the trial is being rushed in order to reach a decision prior to that date–the judge rejected other requests from the accused, including putting the key witnesses on the stand, as stated above, and not allowing an examination to try to determine who owns the tablet. The judge seems set to make a decision without hard evidence.
I recommend reading the whole article at the link, but the Moon administration has been able to silence the Druking investigation into online opinion tampering, so I would not be surprised if they are able to silence Byun Hee-jae and other conservative journalists reporting on the Tablet PC as well through the libel laws. I hope I am pleasantly surprised and the judge drops the charges against Byun, but I guess we will see what happens in the coming weeks.
Another UN sanctions exemption for little to nothing in return from North Korea:
The United Nations Security Council has granted a sanctions exemption that will allow North and South Korea to move forward with a joint railway project, according to a report.
Seoul had requested an exemption for the delivery of fuel and other material needed to conduct a survey in North Korea focused on reconnecting cross-border railways.
The request was approved Friday by the security council’s North Korea sanctions committee, a foreign ministry official said according to the Yonhap News Agency.
The decision comes days after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told the South that it should not improve ties with the North without marked progress in nuclear talks. [Stars & Stripes]
To be fair this is nothing new in modern societies with politicians using welfare handouts to get votes:
The government’s cash handouts as part of welfare benefits will reach a record W33 trillion next year (US$1=W1,130). The cash handouts for people in need have increased by W10 trillion in the two years since President Moon Jae-in came into office, with the total number of recipients reaching 10 million or one out of five citizens.
There are no fewer than 50 different types of welfare benefits ranging from basic pension payments for the 5.39 million elderly people to child benefits for 2.3 million people, living cost subsidies for 1.58 million low-income households and financial support for some 100,000 young jobseekers. Of course the government should provide for the needy, but the current administration’s cash welfare programs are like showering gifts of money on all comers.
In reality they are money for votes. Opposition parties do not want to sit idle and take the blows, and the Liberty Korea Party has already promised to boost next year’s proposed budget by W7 trillion to expand childcare support and others to keep up. [Chosun Ilbo]
