President Moon Jae-in Sunday defiantly appointed Kang Kyung-wha foreign minister over the bitter objection of opposition parties, raising the prospect of war between the Blue House and ruling Democratic Party and the opposition going forward. Following weeks of controversy over Kang’s ethical breaches, especially a fake residential registration to allow her daughter to attend a school of her choice 17 years ago, Moon officially named the former United Nations official as foreign minister, making Kang the first female and non-career diplomat ever to lead the ministry responsible for foreign affairs. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
There must have been something or someone that tipped off US officials to seize this package because it is pretty serious to take a diplomatic package like this:
North Korea has claimed that the United States recently mugged its delegation carrying a diplomatic package in New York, calling on Washington to provide an explanation on what it calls a provocation.
According to the (North) Korean Central News Agency on Sunday, which quoted its foreign ministry, a group of government officials and police officers from the U.S. took a diplomatic package from its delegation Friday at John F. Kennedy International Airport before it was about to board a flight home.
The delegation was in New York to attend the Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, it added.
“As the diplomats vigorously resisted, they grabbed the diplomatic package using physical violence and made off,” the ministry was quoted as saying. It called the incident a “planned and organized provocation.”
The ministry also asked the world to “seriously reconsider” New York as a venue for major international events and demanded Washington provide an explanation for infringing upon its sovereignty.
“If the U.S. fails to give its due response to our demand which is all too reasonable and fair enough, it will be totally responsible for all the consequences to be entailed,” the ministry said. [Yonhap]
You can read more at the link, but it was believed that the North Koreans used a diplomatic package to bring the VX nerve agent into Malaysia to assassinate Kim Jong-nam. I don’t think they would bring something like that to New York, but I would not be surprised if they were taking money out of New York from some criminal enterprise they have going on.
It looks like some of the silent majority in South Korea have decided to stand up to the currently empowered leftists trying to create a wedge in the US-ROK alliance:
Dozens of South Koreans rally outside Camp Red Cloud to show support for U.S. forces, Monday, June 19, 2017. The rally happened more than a week after several singers boycotted a concert organized by the city of Uijeongbu to celebrate the 2nd Infantry Division’s centennial.
Dozens of South Koreans waved American flags and signs with slogans like “Deploy THAAD immediately” and “Strong ROK-US alliance” during a rally Monday to support the 2nd Infantry Division after several musicians boycotted a recent concert celebrating its centennial.
The municipal government in Uijeongbu organized the June 10 concert at a sports complex in the city, which has long been home to 2ID headquarters at Camp Red Cloud. But several South Korean K-pop bands and other musicians who had been expected to perform either did not show up or declined to play their songs.
The group organizing Monday’s rally, which was held on the sidewalk in front of the U.S. Army garrison, produced a letter addressed to the division’s commander, Maj. Gen. Theodore Martin.
“We, Patriotic Koreans want to deliver our deepest apology about the disruption of the Centennial concert,” the letter read. “We also want to express our sincere appreciation for you and your soldiers’ dedication for the security of the Republic of Korea.” [Stars & Stripes]
You can read more at the link, but the boycott had to be highly embarrassing to the Uijongbu mayor Ahn Byung-yong who was sitting next to USFK Commander General Vincent Brooks when the cancellations happened. According to the article the mayor is blaming pro-North Korean leftists and media for causing the cancellation.
To properly study the effects the THAAD system has on putting greens and sand bunkers the environmental assessment has to be conducted through four seasons according to this ROK Presidential advisor:
THAAD site on former South Korean golf course outside of Seongju.
The adviser also said that the environmental assessment that South Korea plans to conduct over the U.S. THAAD missile defense system could take one year because the study should take into consideration the deployment’s impact over four seasons. [Yonhap]
Here are the questions I have which I doubt any journalist will bother tracking down. How long did the environmental assessment take to approve bulldozing the top of a mountain and installing the golf course where the THAAD site is? Also how long did the environmental assessment to install the ROK military’s Green Pine radars take?
A taekwondo athlete from France poses for a picture with the World Taekwondo Championships mascot Terri the tiger in Muju, some 240 kilometers south of Seoul, on June 17, 2017. The taekwondo championships will take place from June 24-30, with some 917 players from 183 countries scheduled to participate in the game. (Yonhap)
It looks like the Moon administration is still pushing for Sunshine Policy 2.0 and a peace treaty with North Korea:
Moon Chung-in, special presidential adviser for unification, foreign and security affairs. (Yonhap)
South Korea may consult with the United States about scaling back joint military exercises and deployment of American strategic weapons if North Korea suspends nuclear and missile activities, an adviser to President Moon Jae-in said Friday.
Moon Chung-in, a foreign affairs scholar and special presidential adviser, made the remark during a Wilson Center seminar in Washington, saying President Moon has proposed the idea.
“He proposed two things. One, if North Korea suspends its nuclear and missile activities, then we may consult with the United States to (on) scaling down ROK-US joint exercises and training. I think what he has in mind is we may scale down deployment of American strategic weapons over the Korean Peninsula,” the adviser said.
“Another one is linking North Korea’s denuclearization to creation of a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula,” he said. (……..)
During the seminar, the adviser said that President Moon pursues “incremental, comprehensive and fundamental” denuclearization with North Korea, beginning with a freeze on its nuclear and missile programs and a verifiable dismantlement of its nuclear facilities and materials. [Yonhap]
You can read more at the link, but here is my view on a freeze deal. Any freeze deal should not include a peace treaty and only include the scaling down of US-ROK military exercises. A peace treaty should only be offered in return for the complete dismantlement of their nuclear and ICBM programs which we know they will never do.
The freeze deal should then have strong language in it that any non-compliance by North Korea opens them to a kinetic strike to ensure compliance. Including language that includes the use of force to ensure compliance gives the US world opinion on its side if it needs to strike North Korea. It additionally puts pressure on China to ensure that Pyongyang is complying with the deal to avoid the use of force being used against North Korea.
Ulleung-do is one of my favorite places in South Korea, but unfortunately the last time I was there I did not get my own personal guide dog:
Oftentimes, the best way to describe directions to someone is to explain using street view technology, so you can use notable landmarks as cues for turns and stops. While Google Maps has been pretty good at covering a large part of the world, it’s certainly missing one useful component: a helpful guide dog who photobombs every shot along the way.
At least that’s one competitive advantage for Daum, a Kakao-owned web portal, for its coverage in Ulleung-gun, Gyeongbuk, South Korea. Map services often employ human photographers to capture off-road images, and it appears this very good dog has decided to accompany just about every shot along the trail on this little South Korean island.
Need help finding that lookout point over the beautiful blue ocean? Sure, follow doggo up the stairs and hang when you’ve found the area with the wooden benches. [The Verge via Reddit Korea]
You can read more at the link, but looking at the pictures this dog is actually on the neighboring island of Jukdo and not Ulleongdo.
Local residents and policemen clash near the deployment site of a U.S. anti-missile defense system in Seongju, some 300 kilometers south of Seoul, on June 15, 2017. The residents have been blocking the roads with desks and other small furniture to stop the installation of the system, known as THAAD. Scuffles erupted when police tried to remove the blockage and ended 10 minutes after the police stepped back. (Yonhap)
