An employee watches an electronic board to monitor the expected fall to Earth of China’s out-of-control space lab Tiangong 1 at Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute in the central city of Daejeon on March 30, 2018. The Science and ICT Ministry expects that Tiangong 1 will fall to Earth between 6:03 p.m. on April 1 and 2:03 p.m. on April 2, putting the alarm system against outer space risks at “alert.” The ministry will raise the alarm level to “serious” if the Chinese satellite is confirmed to pose a real threat to the country. (Yonhap)

This may be a blueprint that we may see played again by North Korea in upcoming talks to meet their goal of separating the ROK from the US:

In the late 1980s, North Korea proposed creating a neutral state on the Korean Peninsula that could serve as a buffer zone in the region, declassified diplomatic documents showed Friday.

Then Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev delivered the North’s secret proposal to then U.S. President Ronald Reagan during their summit in Washington on Dec. 9, 1987, according to the documents disclosed by the foreign ministry.

Under the plan, the North wanted to create a federation-style republic consisting of two different governments representing the two Koreas and declare it as a neutral state that could serve as a regional buffer zone, the documents said.

The North also called for the two Koreas to sign a nonaggression treaty and replace the current armistice with a peace treaty, while suggesting the new entity would join the United Nations under a single name.

In addition, Pyongyang sought to scrap all agreements or treaties reached with third parties deemed to be running counter to their pursuit of reunification, a demand interpreted as a way to put pressure on Seoul to walk away from its mutual defense treaty with the U.S.

The North suggested the two Koreas reduce the number of their respective troops to fewer than 100,000 as a step toward building a peace mood and called for the withdrawal of any nuclear weapons and foreign troops from the peninsula, apparently targeting U.S. troops stationed in the South.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link, but this shows the Kim regime has long tried to separate the ROK from the US.  Their nuclear weapons program is just the latest attempt to make this happen.  Their nuclear weapons program that can threaten the US is being used as a bargaining chip to separate the US from South Korea and then seek a confederation on North Korean terms.

The Blue House is now letting it be known that North Korea is not serious about denuclearization:

Libya’s process of denuclearization, in which rewards were provided after the regime made an instantaneous decision and completely dismantled its nuclear program, cannot be applied to resolving the North Korea nuclear issue, a Cheong Wa Dae official said Friday.

He hinted at solutions through phrased disarmament and verification, which is somewhat different from hard-line U.S. officials’ preference for a package settlement similar to the Libya disarmament process

Libya gave up its nuclear and other destructive weapons in 2003, in return for normalization of relations with the U.S. and easing of economic sanctions. Attention has grown over the Libyan case as the White House’s newly appointed national security adviser, John Bolton, has backed this model as a means to address North Korea.

“I believe it is impossible to apply the Libyan process to North Korea,” the senior official told reporters on condition of anonymity.  [Korea Times]

This based off of Kim Jong-un’s comments during his trip to China that North Korea would only denuclearize on a step-by-step basis.  In other words nothing has changed from past nuclear negotiations where the Kim regime seeks major concessions for little to nothing in return and then tear up the agreement at a time of their choosing.  Some how I do not see the Trump administration signing up for any deal like that.

On April Fool’s Day if you are a foreigner or if you are a Korean that can pretend to be a foreigner you can get a discounted movie ticket:

Speak a foreign language and you can get a discount on movie tickets on April Fools’ Day.

Even if you are not a foreigner, you will get a discount if you pretend to be one.

The event will be hosted by CJ CGV, the largest operator of multiplex cinemas, at its outlets.

Discounted tickets will be 8,000 won ($7).  [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link, but unsurprisingly the promotion is being met with claims of racism.

Let’s Party pic.twitter.com/PTghGSmoV5

— DPRK News Service (@DPRK_News) March 28, 2018

South Korean President Moon Jae-in aims a rifle at a target as he visits a contingent of the Akh unit, a South Korean unit stationed in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), in Abu Dhabi on March 27, 2018. Moon is on a four-day visit to the UAE from March 24. (Yonhap)

That is what the Korea Times is speculating about:

With North Korean leader Kim Jong-un making a surprise visit to China, chances are that the dictator will also hold dialogue with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

The possibility has risen after Kim ended his four-day state visit to Beijing on Wednesday. Kim, accompanied by his wife, Ri Sol-ju, met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

The meeting between the two leaders came at a time when the North Korean leader plans to hold dialogue with President Moon Jae-in and United States President Donald Trump in April and May, respectively.

Kim’s unprecedented active determination for dialogue also raises hopes for a possible meeting with the Russian leader.

The Kremlin dismissed the possibility for a potential summit between Kim and Vladimir Putin. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Wednesday that no schedule for the summit has been arranged and is not under review at the moment.

But chances are that Pyongyang and Moscow could join hands, as Russia also apparently hopes to play a part in the ongoing North Korea nuclear issues.  [Korea Times]

I guess we will see over the next month if Putin wants to insert himself into the current negotiations going on over the future of the Korean peninsula.

Here is what Chinese expert on North Korea, Yang Xiyu thinks about the possibility of Kim Jong-un denuclearizing:

Yang Xiyu, one of China’s leading experts on North Korea, said that Mr. Kim was clearly trying to repair the North’s deeply strained relations with Beijing, its traditional ally and benefactor, while opening new ties with its enemy South Korea.

Even so, Mr. Yang said, that did not signal that Mr. Kim was willing to give up his nuclear arsenal, though he has told South Korean envoys that he was prepared to discuss the possibility.

“He is starting a new game where he could make concessions on denuclearization,” Mr. Yang said. “At most, he will cut the grass, but he will not pull out the roots.”  [New York Times]

If Kim Jong-un meets with President Trump and does not make any serious offer to denuclearize than Kim better be ready for if the Trump administration decides to come back with a bottle of Roundup to kill the roots.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out:

President Donald Trump, who repeatedly insisted during the 2016 campaign that Mexico would pay for a wall along the southern border, is privately pushing the U.S. military to fund construction of his signature project.

Trump has told advisers that he was spurned in a large spending bill last week when lawmakers appropriated only $1.6 billion for the border wall. He has suggested to Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and congressional leaders that the Pentagon could fund the sprawling project, citing a “national security” risk.

After floating the notion to several advisers last week, Trump told House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., that the military should pay for the wall, according to three people familiar with the meeting last Wednesday in the White House residence. Ryan offered little reaction to the idea, these people said, but senior Capitol Hill officials later said it was an unlikely prospect.

Trump’s pursuit of defense dollars to finance the U.S.-Mexico border wall underscores his determination to fulfill a campaign promise and build the barrier despite resistance in the Republican-led Congress. The administration’s last-minute negotiations with lawmakers to secure billions more for the wall failed, and Trump grudgingly signed the spending bill Friday after a short-lived veto threat.  [Chicago Tribune]

You can read more at the link.

This argument would be just as (if not more) valid if it advised POTUS to confront Im Jong-seok's history of pro-Pyongyang extremism & ask what choosing him says about Moon Jae-in. Of course, Bolton is a media bête noire; Moon is a media darling.https://t.co/POffMdQidz

— Joshua Stanton (@freekorea_us) March 26, 2018