Here is what President Moon had to say during his Liberation Day speech:
President Moon Jae-in delivers a speech at a ceremony held in Yongsan, Seoul on Aug. 15, 2018 to mark the 73rd anniversary of Korea’s liberation from the 1910-45 Japanese colonial rule. (Yonhap)
President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday used his Liberation Day address to pitch his Korea peace drive, calling for railway, energy and economic cooperation with the North as a cornerstone for Northeast Asian peace and prosperity.
Speaking at a ceremony marking Korea’s independence from the 1910-45 Japanese colonial rule 73 years ago on the day, he renewed his commitment to end the division of the Koreas, saying “true liberation” can only be achieved when the two countries establish a lasting peace and economic community.
“We must overcome such a division for our survival and development. Even though a political unification may be a long way from here, establishing peace between the South and the North and freely visiting each other, and forming a joint economic community is true liberation to us,” Moon added in a nationally televised speech that also marked the foundation of the South Korean government 70 years ago on Wednesday.
Moon insisted the two Koreas were already moving toward peace, noting the countries have halted their hostile acts under an agreement reached at his first-ever summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un held April 27. (………)
To this end, South Korea will seek to physically connect its roads and railways with those of North Korea before the year’s end, the president said.
Noting the European Union began with a simple bloc for coal and steel, the South Korean president proposed the two Koreas, together with the United States and four other Asian countries, form what he called a “Northeast Asian railroad community.”
The presidential office Cheong Wa Dae later explained the four Asian countries were China, Japan, Russia and Mongolia. [Yonhap]
Former Governor and liberal political rival of Moon Jae-in, An Hee-jung has avoided jail time for rape but his political career is probably finished:
A Seoul court has found former South Chungcheong Province Governor An Hee-jung not guilty of raping his former secretary.
In one of the highest-profile #MeToo cases here, the Seoul Western District Court said Tuesday there was insufficient evidence that An used his authority to have sexual relations with the plaintiff, Kim Ji-eun, against her will.
“The suspect was an influential politician, was touted as a potential presidential candidate, and, as governor, An had the power to dismiss and hire the victim, which can be seen that he had authority,” the court said. “However, there was no evidence he used that authority to have sexual relations with Kim.”
It said both are adults with intellect and sound judgment, there were no evidence An infringed on the victim’s sexual freedom, and the only evidence was the victim’s testimony.
In April, the 52-year-old politician was indicted for allegedly forcing sexual intercourse on his former secretary four times as well as molesting her on several occasions from mid-2017 to early this year in Seoul and during overseas business trips.
The court also pointed out that there was a lack of evidence of psychological damage which she claimed to have suffered.
“The following morning after the first sexual contact in Russia, Kim searched for a Korean restaurant that An would like. And after returning to Korea, she went to a beauty parlor, which An often visited, to get her hair done,” the court said. “The victim also continuously expressed admiration toward An not only in work-related situations but also when meeting acquaintances unrelated to work, which makes it difficult to accept the victim’s testimony.” [Korea Times]
"In a 2015 study, women were 5.9 times more likely than men to not be fully dressed in Hong Kong ads, 22.89 times more likely in Japanese ads, and 56.83 times more likely in South Korean ads." https://t.co/Csu6Vr8k0Lpic.twitter.com/eXrooYYzYr
This photo provided by the local police station in Pyeongchang, some 180 km east of Seoul, shows red peppers and other crops being dried in its parking lot. The station has opened the space to farmers since 2004. (Yonhap)
I wonder if this proposed ban to save children from so called “harmful” information will include websites that push anti-Japanese viewpoints?:
The government is seeking to prevent children’s access to online communities that advocate hate and discriminatory speech against selective groups of people. The move aims to counter a social rift triggered and widened by extremist, gender-divided online communities _ the far-right troll website Ilbe, frequented almost exclusively by men, and the extreme feminist website WOMAD.
According to a report submitted by the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) to Rep. Noh Woong-rae of the Democratic Party of Korea, the commission seeks to revise relevant laws to designate such websites that foster hatred and discrimination as “harmful” to children. [Korea Times]
It looks like the elderly people of South Korea might be the ones making the sacrifice to pay off Kim Jong-un:
Anchor: The government is reportedly mulling a set of reform measures to ensure the sustainable operation of the National Pension Fund, which is expected to run out of money around three years earlier than predicted. The reported measures are, however, drawing strong public criticism as they’re likely to increase the burden for subscribers.
Our Lee Bo-kyung has more.
Report: The Moon Jae-in administration is floating the idea of pension reform as the pension fund for salaried workers and the self-employed is expected to bottom out in 2057, about three years earlier than previously estimated.
An advisory panel on the national pension is set to release its reform proposals on Friday. The proposals reportedly include a move to extend the subscription period to the age of 65 from the current 60.
The committee also recommends the government increase premiums gradually from the current nine percent of a subscriber’s monthly income. Another step could be pushing back the payout age to 68.
After the plans were leaked in media reports last Friday, people began voicing outrage about the possible changes, posting over one thousand online petitions on the Web site of the presidential office. [KBS World Radio]
As I and many have been saying for years, the Kim regime is not going to denuclearize:
Anchor: A U.S. news Web site says the Trump administration has presented North Korea with a formal timeline for starting the process of denuclearization. The report comes as the U.S. and North Korea are witnessing a stalemate in their nuclear negotiations and Washington seems to have adopted a carrot-and-stick approach towards Pyongyang.
Our Bae Joo-yon has more.
Report: U.S. news Web site Vox reported on Wednesday that Washington had proposed Pyongyang hand over 60 to 70 percent of its nuclear weapons within six to eight months, after which the U.S. or a third party would take possession of the warheads and remove them from the North.
According to the report, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo presented the plan to North Korean negotiators multiple times over the past two months, but the North’s delegation, led by senior official Kim Yong-chol, has turned down Pompeo’s proposal each time.
Vox said that “it’s unclear what concessions, if any, the U.S. would offer in exchange beyond sanctions relief or removing North Korea from the state sponsors of terrorism list.”
Given that Pyongyang has yet to disclose to Washington just how many nuclear bombs it has, it would be difficult to verify the North’s arsenal volume even if it did agree to hand over what it claims to be 60 to 70 percent of its arsenal.
One source told Vox that Pompeo’s main goal in this stage of the negotiations is solely to get Pyongyang to officially reveal how many nuclear weapons it has. [KBS World Radio]
You can read more at the link, but I really hope I am wrong one day about this and the Kim regime decides to give up all their nuclear weapons, but judging from past history and current statements it appears to be unlikely.
What the Kim regime is willing to do is pretend to denuclearize like they did during past US presidential administrations. They will do this to create the myth that “progress” is happening to denuclearize North Korea. In return for pretending to denuclearize the Kim regime would want the sanctions dropped. In such a scenario President Trump would probably get his Nobel Peace Prize for signing a pretend denuclearization agreement, the Moon Jae-in administration in South Korea could then start pumping cash into North Korea, and the Kim regime can then use the funds to hand out cash to the regime elite and further modernize the military.
Signing up to such an agreement may sound ridiculous, but remember the US has signed up for pretend denuclearization deals not once, but twice! The first was the Agreed Framework during the Clinton administration and then the Six Party Talks deal during the Bush administration. Will there be a third one? Time will tell.
The date? Likely early Sept, so Moon can celebrate #NorthKorea's 70th anniversary on 9/9 in Pyongyang, but he has denied #SouthKorea's birthdate of 1948/8/15. Why does SK's own prez deny SK's birthdate, but want to celebrate north's, helping north's claim over the peninsula? https://t.co/sdLqVbtDXO
This photo provided by the Korean Central News Agency on Aug. 13, 2018, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visiting a ranch, north of Pyongyang. As is customary, the agency didn’t provide the date of his visit. (Yonhap)
Here we go again, another year and yet more claims of a food crisis in North Korea. When are people going to learn that the only reason there is a food crisis in North Korea is because of the Kim regime which many governments and organizations continue to enable?:
A heat wave in North Korea has led to rice, maize and other crops withering in the fields, “with potentially catastrophic effects,” the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said on Friday.
The world’s largest disaster relief network warned of a risk of a “full-blown food security crisis” in the isolated country, where a famine in the mid-1990s killed up to 3 million people. It said the worrying situation had been exacerbated by international sanctions imposed due to North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs. [Japan Times]
You can read more at the link, but I wonder if the Moon administration will try and claim that the “food security crisis” is why sanctions should be dropped on North Korea?
