I hope no one is shocked by this news that the North Koreans sent undercover agents into the Kaesong Industrial complex to monitor workers and steal technology. I would be more surprised if they did not. It will be interesting to see how much the North Koreans have learned over the past ten years to see if they can run this industrial park by themselves:
Internal North Korean documents exclusively obtained by KBS have revealed that the communist state may have prepared for freezing assets of South Korean businesses at the inter-Korean Gaeseong Industrial Complex from the early stages of the cross-border project.
Papers from organizations of North Korea’s Workers’ Party in 2006 show directives to Pyongyang officials to learn and acquire the South’s “advanced” technologies at the Gaeseong industrial park.
While calling South Korea the “enemy,” the orders also stress that the North’s officials must be able to manage and run the factory facilities without the South’s help.
Another exclusively obtained document suggests that the North Korean regime also set up a surveillance unit to monitor workers at the factory park. Circumstantial evidence has also been revealed to suggest that North Korean soldiers could have been employed at the industrial complex as undercover agents.
Papers from North Korea’s Sixth Infantry Division also show authorities there had aimed to minimize the consumption and intake of South Korean products and “capitalist” culture. [KBS World]
It looks like the ruling Saenuri party in South Korea is trying to get out ahead of the Korean left by addressing any environmental concerns with THAAD early in the deployment decision making cycle. This is actually a good play by the ruling party because like I predicted before environmental and safety concerns is a typical left wing tactic in Korea to attack the US military with and the THAAD issue is a perfect time to use it again:
Lee Cheol-woo, also a Saenuri lawmaker, agreed with Kim Jae-won although he underscored a need to settle public concerns on health and security risks associated with THAAD.
“The villagers living in the neighborhoods cited as the sites for THAAD deployment are worried about possible exposure to strong electromagnetic radiation emitted from THAAD radar as well as environmental pollution,” Lee said. “It will be important to settle such concerns before setting up a THAAD battery.” [Korea Times]
South Koreans are asking their citizens to not eat at North Korean sponsored restaurants overseas to cut hard currency going to the Kim regime. Should the US government takes this mentality a step forward and ban travel to North Korea by its citizens to also cut hard currency going to the regime, not to mention stopping the constant trickle of American detainee issues that have to be dealt with:
South Koreans’ stomachs are the latest front in the standoff with North Korea.
South Koreans have been told not to eat at North Korea’s restaurants around the world, although such visits aren’t illegal, the South’s Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.
Most of the restaurants are in China, and Chinese and other nationalities frequent them more than South Koreans do, so analysts see little impact. But the move is symbolic of a tougher stance from the South since North Korea’s nuclear test last month and its recent rocket launch, which many outsiders see as a banned test of ballistic missile technology. [Associated Press]
North Korean synchronized swimmers put on a show in Pyongyang on Feb. 15, 2016, to mark the birthday a day later of the country’s former leader Kim Jong-il in this photo released by the North’s state media, the Korean Central News Agency. Kim is the son of North Korea’s founder Kim Il-sung and the father of the current leader, Kim Jong-un. (For use in S. Korea only. No redistribution) (Yonhap)
It seems racist to me to have an anchor baby system for one race of migrant workers to South Korea, but not others. It would be interesting to see if other migrant workers could challenge such a system in court if it ever was implemented:
The tragedy reminded me of a controversial remark made by Kim Moo-sung, leader of the ruling Saenuri Party. At the seventh meeting of the party’s Special Committee on Low Birth on Jan. 29, Kim mentioned Germany’s acceptance of four million immigrants from Turkey. He said, “Korea has a great way to minimize culture shock. We can bring in ethnic Koreans from China.” He proposed that Chinese nationals of Korean descent could raise our plunging birth rate.
His remark was met with revulsion. Seongnam Mayor Lee Jae-myung criticized Kim, saying, “The Korean-Chinese are not machines for giving birth.” The National Women’s Committee of the opposition Minjoo Party of Korea pointed out that “Kim’s comment is disparaging to the Korean-Chinese people and Korean citizens, and that shows his wrong view on women.” [Joong Ang Ilbo]
I am sure a lot of due diligence will be done by USFK to ensure the proper military location for the THAAD system is chosen, but I would have to think political concerns have to weigh into the deployment location as well. If land has to acquired to deploy the system we could see a repeat of what happened in 2005 when land had to be acquired for the Camp Humphreys expansion. The Korean left would love to start another movement like that to stop the THAAD deployment. If the deployment can happen with no land needing to be acquired I would expect the Korean left to next claim the THAAD hurts the environment in some way. So hopefully USFK has all their environmental impact studies dusted off and ready to go to counter such claims:
A heated dispute is underway regarding possible sites to locate a U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery with South Korea and the United States scheduled to begin talks as early as this week on whether the missile-defense system is to be deployed.
Where the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) will locate the THAAD unit involves a variety of conflicting matters ranging from reactions from neighboring countries including China, along with possible safety and environmental threats to nearby residents.
Locations cited as possible sites for THAAD include Pyeongtaek in Gyeonggi Province, Daegu, and Waegwan in North Gyeongsang Province. The USFK’s Camp Humphreys is located at Pyeongtaek, Camp Walker in Daegu and Camp Carroll at Waegwan, outside of Daegu.
Other candidate sites include Wonju in Gangwon Province and Gunsan in North Jeolla Province.
Defense Ministry spokesman Moon Sang-gyun said during a media briefing, Monday, that an allies’ joint working-level group will conduct their review of candidate areas before deciding on a site after consideration of all related matters.
“The military utility of the USFK will be considered as the most important aspect because the THAAD will be operated by the USFK,” he said. “Allies will choose an optimal location from which the military can shoot down North Korean missiles.” [Korea Times]
You can read the rest at the link, but the Daegu area is the district for ruling party member Rep. Yoo Seong-min who has been a strong supporter for the deployment of THAAD to Korea. Having strong political support in the region should help counter any Korean left wing attempt to stop the deployment. It will be interesting to see how this turns out.
