It looks like there is once again a path towards deescalation with North Korea:
(President Donald Trump speaks at a “Make America Great Again,” rally at the Phoenix Convention Center, Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2017, in Phoenix, Arizona.Alex Brandon/AP)
North Korea has made no provocations since its July 28 test-firing of what it claimed was an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), though it has more recently threatened to fire missiles toward Guam.
President Trump said Tuesday that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has begun to “respect” Washington, suggesting his administration is taking a positive view on a possible thaw in U.S.-North Korea relations.
“I respect the fact that I believe he (Kim) is starting to respect us,” Trump said at a rally in Phoenix, Arizona, according to Bloomberg. “Maybe, probably not, something positive will come out of it.”
Earlier in the day, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said dialogue between the United States and North Korea could be possible in the “near future,” welcoming what he called the “restraint” the Kim regime had shown recently with its nuclear and missile programs.
“I think it is worth noting, we have had no missile launches or provocative acts on the part of, or provocative actions, on the part of North Korea since the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) resolution,” Tillerson said at the State Department.
“I am pleased to see that the regime in Pyongyang has demonstrated restraint. We hope this is the signal we have been looking for, that they are ready to restrain provocative acts. And perhaps we are seeing a pathway in the near future to having some dialogue.” [Korea Times]
You can read more at the link, but I would be some what surprised if they don’t fire at least a short range test missile into the Sea of Japan in response to the ongoing UFG military exercise.
I did not realize that oil theft was such a common crime in South Korea that the police regularly monitor the pipelines:
This photo, released by the Iksan Police Station in South Korea`s southwestern province of North Jeolla on Aug. 23, 2017, shows a tunnel that a gang of oil pilferers dug in Okcheon, central South Korea. (Yonhap)
Police said Wednesday they have arrested two members of a six-man theft ring accused of having dug a 40-meter tunnel in South Korea’s central province of North Chungcheong for more than one month to pilfer oil from an underground pipeline.
The Iksan Police Station in southwestern South Korea also booked an accomplice and the owner of a gas station involved in the alleged distribution of stolen oil without physical detention.
The gang, including its leader surnamed Lee, met at a warehouse in the town of Okcheon in the province in March and began to dig the tunnel with shovels and hoes to access the supply pipeline of the state-run Daehan Oil Pipeline Corp.
After 45 days of digging, the thieves reached an underground oil pipeline and started to steal oil through a rubber hose they linked to the pipeline, according to the police. They loaded 10,000 to 20,000 liters of the stolen oil a day onto a truck remodeled into a tanker.
According to the police, the oil pilferers installed a CCTV near the tunnel to monitor for police crackdowns. In the last three months, they managed to steal 370,000 liters of oil worth 480 million won (about $423,300) from the pipeline. [Korea Herald]
A group of people stage a rally in front of the U.S. Embassy in Seoul on Aug. 22, 2017, to oppose the annual Ulchi Freedom Guardian (UFG) joint military drill with the United States. (Yonhap)
Is this something the United States should consider doing considering how many of the mega-churches seem like multi-national corporations now with the amount of revenue they bring in:
The government will press ahead with the plan to impose taxes on clergy members beginning next year. Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon told lawmakers that the government will implement a revision to tax code that will enable it to levy income taxes of between 6 percent and 38 percent on churches, temples and other religious organizations beginning next year.
Kim said he will meet with leaders of religious groups to minimize confusion and ensure fair taxation.
“The government will take all preparatory steps before implementing taxation on religious groups,” Kim said. [Korea Times]
Just another example of the lucrative weapons trade the North Koreans continue to have Syria:
North Korea has twice been caught attempting to ship material to Syria’s chemical weapons agency in the past six months, according to a confidential UN report prepared by a panel of experts. (……)
The shipments were sent by KOMID, the Korea Mining Development Trading Corporation – an organisation blacklisted by the UN security council in 2009, and described as Pyongyang’s key arms dealer and exporter of equipment related to ballistic missiles and conventional weapons. (…….)
“Two member states interdicted shipments destined for Syria.
“Another Member state informed the panel that it had reasons to believe that the goods were part of a KOMID contract with Syria.”
The UN experts said activities between Syria and North Korea they were investigating included cooperation on Syrian Scud missile programmes and maintenance and repair of Syrian surface-to-air missiles air defence systems. [The Telegraph]
You can read more at the link, but long time readers may also remember North Korea’s attempt to build a nuclear reactor in Syria that the Israelis bombed back in 2007:
I can’t remember anytime that USFK has hosted two combatant commanders as well as the commander of an extremely important Pentagon organization like the Missile Defense Agency:
Three top U.S. military commanders plan to issue a strong warning message to North Korea in a rare joint press availability here later Tuesday, officials said.
Pacific Command chief Adm. Harry Harris, Strategic Command head Gen. John Hyten and Missile Defense Agency Director Lt. Gen. Samuel Greaves are scheduled to hold a press conference at a local U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) base.
It’s quite unusual for the U.S. commanding generals serving abroad to gather in South Korea and release public statements together.
It apparently reflects Washington’s alertness against North Korea’s rapid development of nuclear bombs and missiles.
In July, the North successfully test-launched two intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).
The U.S. intelligence community also believes the secretive communist nation has made significant progress in miniaturizing nuclear warheads.
The U.S. commanders are expected to stressed that a military option will be on the table as the last means to use in case of an eventual failure in efforts to resolve the North Korea issue via diplomacy, a defense source said. [Yonhap]
Anyone else remember anytime this many senior leaders have visited South Korea together?
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) Chairman Jeong Kyeong-doo (L), talks with visiting U.S. Strategic Command head Gen. John Hyten at the JCS headquarters in Seoul on Aug. 21, 2017, the first day of the Ulchi Freedom Guardian (UFG) exercise against North Korean provocations, a Korea-U.S. combined command-post drill that runs from Aug. 21-31. Hyten and two other top U.S. military leaders visited South Korea in an unusual move to observe the UFG exercises against North Korean provocations, a Korea-U.S. combined command post drill that runs from Aug. 21-31. The JCS provided this photo. (Yonhap)
This is sad news for his family, but if what has been written about him is true I can’t say I am sad to see him go:
James Dresnok in 2006. The former US soldier, who defected to North Korea in 1962, died last year, his sons said. Photograph: Alamy
The only US soldier known to still be living in North Korea after defecting more than five decades ago died last year, pledging his loyalty to the “great leader Kim Jong-un”, his sons have said.
James Joseph Dresnok was among a handful of American servicemen to desert following the Korean war, crossing the heavily fortified demilitarised zone in 1962.
He went on to appear in North Korean propaganda films and was believed to be the last US defector in the country, the others all having died or been allowed to leave. [The Guardian]
You can read much more at the link, but include a video of his two sons giving an interview about his death wearing North Korean uniforms.
