It looks like Ambassador Harris is being consistent in the messaging coming from the White House towards Pyongyang that major concessions will not happen until real steps towards denuclearization occur:
Ambassador Harry Harris
New U.S. Ambassador to Seoul Harry Harris said there must be “demonstrable moves” from North Korea toward denuclearization before any declaration of the end of the 1950-53 Korean War is made between the two sides.
Harris, who held a news conference for local media on Thursday at the U.S. ambassador’s residence, is making his views known only a few weeks after arriving in South Korea.
“One of the things that hasn’t happened is the demonstrable moves toward denuclearization before we can entertain something like the end-of-war declaration,” Harris said, according to Yonhap.
“I think for the denuclearization to happen, we need to see the move and I haven’t seen that yet.” [UPI]
This photo, released by the KCNA on Aug. 3, 2018, shows the pleasure boat Daedonggang floating on the Daedong River in Pyongyang. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
I wonder if major corporations in the US even consider the espionage risk of hiring Chinese nationals for sensitive positions?:
The FBI said they arrested Xiaoqing Zheng, a General Electric engineer, and found a handbook explaining ‘resources’ China would people who provided it with technology (AFP Photo/VINCENT KESSLER)
A Chinese-American engineer faces charges of stealing valuable technology from General Electric, sneaking it out hidden in a picture of the sunset to take to China, the US Justice Department said.
Xiaoqing Zheng, 56, a US citizen also believed to have Chinese nationality, was due to appear before a judge in Albany, New York on Thursday, a day after his arrest, according to federal prosecutors.
Following a four-year investigation, the FBI arrested Xiaoqing Zheng after searching his home and finding, among other things, a handbook detailing “resources” Beijing would grant to individuals providing certain technologies.
Zheng’s arrest comes as President Donald Trump intensifies the trade war with Beijing, largely over complaints the country steals US technology or obliges American companies to share know-how in exchange for doing business in China. [AFP]
As I have been saying, the South Korean leftists want to get rid of the Defense Security Command and then claim they are conducting “reforms”:
A committee studying how to reform the military’s Defense Security Command (DSC) recommended on Thursday to abolish all legal underpinnings for the 70-year-old intelligence unit and substituting it with something new.
The committee also called for cutting the DSC’s workforce by at least 30 percent and shutting down all its regional units.
It was revealed last month that the DSC drew up contingency plans for martial law last year in case the Constitutional Court rejected the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye and chaos ensued.
Chang Young-dal, head of the committee, said at a press conference that after two months of deliberation, it recommended abolishing the legal foundation for the current DSC and setting up a new intelligence unit with a new name.
“We assess that if we achieve all reform measures, there will not be illegal meddling in political affairs or illegal surveillance of civilians,” said Chang, adding that a reformed DNC would not conduct activities that would negatively “affect the morale” of military officials by exerting a sense of “privilege.” [Joong Ang Ilbo]
You can read more at the link, but is there anyone that does think that whatever the reformed DSC becomes it won’t be stocked with leftists? Maybe Moon can have Im Jong-seok chair the “reformed” DSC?
U.S. President Donald Trump received a letter from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as the two continue to discuss Pyongyang’s commitment at a recent Singapore summit to rid itself of nuclear weapons, but no second meeting is currently planned, the White House said on Thursday.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said Trump had received a letter from Kim on Wednesday and had responded with a note that should be delivered shortly. Trump also posted a note on Twitter on Thursday thanking Kim for returning the remains of U.S. soldiers and saying he looked forward to seeing Kim again.
“He did receive a letter,” Sanders told a White House briefing. “There is not a second meeting that is currently locked in or finalized. (We’re) certainly open to that discussion, but there isn’t a meeting planned.” [Reuters]
Unlike the last hostage crisis the ROK was involved in, the Moon administration cannot blame this one on the United States:
A screen grab from a video footage on the Facebook account of a Libyan media outlet, 218 News, Wednesday shows a Korean hostage drinking water in Jabal Hasouna, western Libya. [YONHAP]President Moon Jae-in ordered the use of Korea’s “utmost abilities” and resources to rescue a Korean citizen who has been held by unidentified armed militants in Libya for nearly a month, according to the Blue House Thursday. Three Philippine nationals are also being held.
An anti-piracy unit operating in the Gulf of Aden, which is on a 4,400-ton Korean Navy destroyer, has been deployed to North African waters to lend support.
On July 6, an unidentified armed group entered lodgings for foreign workers at a local water management plant in Jabal Hasouna, western Libya, and abducted the Korean and three Filipinos. They took off with goods as well. A video clip of the hostages was circulated on Facebook on Wednesday, and the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs officially confirmed later that day that a Korean national was among the four men held in Libya. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
You can read more at the link, but really long time ROK Heads may remember when the Korean missionaries were taken hostage by the Taliban in Afghanistan back in 2007, South Korea’s leftists blamed the US for the incident. The Chief of Staff of the left wing Roh Moo-hyun administration in power during this time was current ROK President Moon Jae-in.
Lee Seok-gi urged his followers to help #NorthKorea in case of war by blowing up bridges, oil facilities, bases, etc. in #SouthKorea & overthrow #SK government. Caught on video in 2012. He was jailed for that. He's no Mandela. https://t.co/XIcGL9kylW
Some wacky American woman caused a ruckus recently on a Korean Air flight before take off from Incheon International Airport:
An American woman was forcibly removed from a business-class seat on a Korean Air flight bound for San Francisco International Airport this week, according to various sources. A video of the incident has been posted on the Korea JoongAng Daily YouTube page.
Korean website AllKPop.com reports: “The woman, who originally booked an economy seat, sat down in the business class seating instead. The woman refused to move and caused a disturbance when the flight attendant told her, ‘You have to sit in your designated seat.'”
In the video, you can see the woman seated in the last row of business class in an aisle seat in which she reportedly upgraded herself to, then refused to move. A cadre of female security officers began the removal process as the video begins. She’s chanting something about U.S. marshals, then dragged down the aisle, David Dao style, screaming that Korean Air has stolen her passport. [SF Gate]
You can read more at the link, but the woman appears to have mental problems.
