Family members of U.S. service members stationed in South Korea learn how to make kimchi, the Korean traditional dish made of cabbage and chili pepper paste, at a community center in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province, on Nov. 14, 2015. (Yonhap)
Considering that the North Koreans will never fully denuclearize this is why they will never back away from demanding a peace treaty with the US first:
North Korea criticized the top U.S. nuclear envoy Friday for urging it again to denuclearize first for a peace treaty.
The North’s foreign ministry reiterated a call for immediate talks on replacing the 1953 Armistice Agreement with a peace treaty.
It was countering remarks by Sung Kim, special representative for North Korea policy, earlier this week at a Washington forum.
Speaking on the North’s demand for a peace treaty, Kim accused Pyongyang of having “the order wrong.”
“Before we can get to a peace mechanism to replace the armistice, I think we need to make significant progress on the central issue of denuclearization,” he said. [Yonhap]
The photo dated 1966 shows then home minister, Uhm Min-young, awarding guards of Dokdo, South Korea’s eastern islets. Despite South Korea effectively controlling Dokdo, Japan repeatedly claims the outcroppings as its territory. The National Archives of Korea on Nov. 11, 2015 released a series of old photos to show South Korea’s past 70 years. (Yonhap)
The pro-Kim regime lackeysin the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions were able to mobilize a pretty impressive number of people to protest the decision to implement state approved history textbooks and passing regulations allowing companies to more easily lay off older workers to help younger workers find jobs. The protest was the largest since the anti-US beef protests in 2008. These history books have not even been written yet, but I would not be surprised if like the anti-US beef craziness of 2008 that these textbooks end up being much to do about nothing. However, it gives the leftists in the KCTU reason to mobilize and bash the Park government:
Tens of thousands of anti-government demonstrators marched in Seoul on Saturday in what police believed was the largest protest in the South Korean capital in nearly a decade.
About 80,000 people were expected to turn up for the downtown rallies that were to stretch into the evening, according to an official at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, who didn’t want to be named, citing office rules.
The marches, organized by an umbrella labor union and civic groups, brought together protesters with a diverse set of grievances against the government of conservative President Park Geun-hye, including her business-friendly labor policies and a decision to require middle and high schools to use only state-issued history textbooks in classes from 2017.
Members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions briefly clashed with police who unsuccessfully tried to detain KCTU President Han Sang-goon during a news conference, but there were no immediate reports of injuries. A Seoul court had issued an arrest warrant for Han over a failed court appearance, after he was indicted for his involvement in organizing a May protest that turned violent.
Demonstrators, many of them wearing masks and carrying banners, occupied a major downtown street and began marching between tight perimeters created by police buses, intended to block them from entering large roads leading to the presidential Blue House. A large number of police, many wearing helmets and body armor, move swiftly to flank the demonstrators.
This was probably the largest crowd seen in a demonstration in Seoul since 2008, when people poured onto the streets to protest the government’s decision to resume U.S. beef imports amid lingering mad cow fears, said the Seoul police official. [Korea Times]
I am not sure how much effect these sanctions will have on an individual or company from the Kim regime who is unlikely to own any assets in the US. However, it should create a chilling effect on banks wanting to do business with these individuals and companies if the Treasury Department threatens these banks with losing access to the US banking system:
The United States imposed sanctions on North Korea’s ambassador to Myanmar on Friday for involvement in Pyongyang’s weapons proliferation efforts, the first time a sitting North Korean ambassador has been sanctioned.
The Treasury Department said it has added Amb. Kim Sok-chol to its Specially Designated Nationals List (SDN), along with three other North Koreans, Hwang Su-man, Kim Kwang-hyok and Ri Chong-chol, all of them linked to Korea Mining Development Trading Corp.(KOMID), accused of weapons proliferation.
The envoy operates as a KOMID facilitator, the department said.
“Today’s action is designed to counter North Korea’s attempts to circumvent U.S. and United Nations (UN) sanctions, as well as maintain the effectiveness of U.S. sanctions on individuals and entities that are linked to the North Korean Government’s weapons of mass destruction procurement network,” the department said.
Under the sanctions, any property or interest in property of the designated persons in the possession of U.S. persons or within U.S. jurisdiction must be frozen and transactions by U.S. persons involving the designated persons are generally prohibited, the department said.
“North Korea’s continued violation of international law and its commitment to the proliferation of ballistic missiles and weapons of mass destruction pose a serious threat to the United States and to global peace and security,” Acting Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Adam J. Szubin said in the statement.
“Today’s designations underscore our ongoing efforts to obstruct the flow of funds used to augment North Korea’s nuclear capabilities,” he said.
In addition to the four individuals, the U.S. also sanctioned EKO Development and Investment Co., a North Korean government entity located in Egypt, for helping KOMID market North Korean weapons systems to foreign countries, the department said. [Yonhap]
Family members of the victims of the sunken ferry Sewol embrace in tears outside the Supreme Court in Seoul on Nov. 12, 2015, after the top court upheld the life sentence for the ferry’s captain Lee Jun-seok for murder. The Sewol sank off the southwestern coast on April 16, 2014, killing 304 passengers aboard, mostly high school students on an excursion. The court said Lee willfully neglected to evacuate the passengers. (Yonhap)
The South Korean government has taken measures to increase security of French sites in South Korea after the deadly ISIS terror attack in Paris:
The South Korean police increase security of the French embassy to Seoul on Nov. 14, 2015. (Yonhap)
The South Korean government went on full alert on Saturday to stem any possible terrorist aggressions in the country following the deadly attacks in Paris that killed around 120 people.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs held an emergency inter-governmental meeting to check the security of Korean nationals in France after the shootings, bombings and a hostage situation at a popular concert venue in the French capital on Friday (local time) reverberated around the world.
“We have to tighten border controls and security in key public facilities in case of an emergency in the country,” said Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn during the meeting.
The police increased police patrols around French facilities in South Korea, including its embassy and schools, in a way to prevent any possibilities of additional terrorist attacks in the country, with other foreign missions also on strict guard. [Yonhap]
