Next month Kim Jong-un will have ruled North Korea for 10 years. Yonhap has a look back at how he has increased his grip on power in North Korea:

One of the first things Kim did upon taking the throne was to restore the party system to keep the military — which had developed immense power under his father’s military-first policy — in check and give authority to the relatively young leader’s decision-making process.

In 2016, North Korea held a four-day party congress, the first of its kind in 36 years, and announced the “byongjin” policy of simultaneously pursuing nuclear weapons and economic development.

In January this year, the North held another party congress and endorsed Kim as the “general secretary,” a title previously held by his father.

Having secured a political system to back his reign, Kim had no hesitation in eliminating those who were considered obstacles to his absolute power.

One of the most high-profile incidents that contributed to Kim’s reputation on the global stage was the 2013 execution of his once-powerful uncle Jang Song-thaek on charges of treason.

In 2017, Kim’s estranged half brother, Kim Jong-nam, was poisoned to death at a Kuala Lumpur airport, an assassination also blamed on Pyongyang.

Despite the brutality, Kim used tightly-controlled state propaganda outlets to position himself as a leader devoted to improving the lives of ordinary people across the nation while seeking to makeover the North’s image into that of a “normal state.”

Kim has put his wife, Ri Sol-ju, in the public eye, unlike his father, and released images of him drinking beer and smoking with party officials.

On the diplomatic front, Kim held a historic first summit with then U.S. President Donald Trump and met with South Korean President Moon Jae-in three times in 2018.

Though the nuclear talks and inter-Korean exchanges are both at a standstill, such a meeting with a U.S. leader was touted as a major achievement of the young leader inside North Korea.

“After achieving a certain level of diplomatic accomplishments, Kim no longer had to depend on the shadows of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il to legitimize his leadership,” Cheong Seong-chang, the director of the Center for North Korean Studies at the Sejong Institute, said. “He made that clear in the 2019 constitution revision by redacting all phrases related to his father’s military-first policy.”

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but it is pretty clear that Kim Jong-un was able to increase his grip on power by neutering military leaders that could rival him and then killing anyone, even family members that could replace him.

General Abrams and Admiral Harris are both in line with what I have been saying for years about North Korea and the Moon administration’s attempts to push through a Korean War peace treaty:

The former U.S. ambassador to South Korea and the retired top commander for U.S. forces in the region said they are cautious about a formal declaration to end the Korean War, a plan championed by the South Korean president as his tenure nears its end.

Former ambassador Harry Harris, a retired admiral who once led U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and the Pacific Fleet, and retired Army Gen. Robert Abrams, the former commander of U.S. Forces Korea, delivered their remarks Wednesday at a panel discussion hosted by The Korea Society in New York.

Harris expressed skepticism over a formal end-of-war declaration and suggested the results may fall short. He urged listeners to ask themselves “what will change the day after that declaration is signed?” (………)

“We must not relax sanctions or reduce joint military exercises just to get North Korea to come to the negotiating table,” he said. “This is a tried and true road to failure.” (…………)

Abrams warned that an end-of-war declaration would be followed by calls to abolish the U.N. Command, the U.S.-led international body that defends South Korea. Such a move, he said, would prompt the dissolution of “the only internationally recognized legal instrument that has prevented the resumption of hostilities.”

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link, but Admiral Harris and General Abrams both understands that the North Koreans and the Korean left want this peace treaty in order to question the legitimacy of U.S. troops stationed in South Korea. If there is peace why are U.S. troops and by extension the UN Command needed? If the Kim regimes wants a peace treaty they should agree to actions that actually makes it look like they want peace. For example removing all their artillery off of the DMZ would show the seriousness of their peace overtures. If they want peace why do they need artillery to target Seoul and other metropolitan areas?

Please leave anything you want to discuss in the comments section.

South Korea’s new “Living with COVID” strategy is now being fully put to the test as daily cases have reached a record high:

 South Korea’s new coronavirus cases hit an all-time high on Thursday since the start of the pandemic amid eased social distancing rules, putting health authorities on alert over further upticks.

The country reported a record high of 3,292 new daily cases, including 3,272 local infections, raising the total caseload to 406,065, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). 

Thursday’s daily caseload marks the highest since the country reported its first COVID-19 case in January last year and exceeds the previous record of 3,270 reported on Sept. 25.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but what is unusual about the spread of the virus in South Korea is that nearby Japan is experiencing near disappearance of the virus with a seven day average of only 163 daily COVID cases as of today despite having a population more than double that of South Korea.

If it was going to take this long to get someone approved to fill South Korea’s ambassador position the Biden administration should have just kept Admiral Harris in place. He is a retired military officer that has served in a bipartisan fashion under Democrat and Republican administrations:

The former U.S. ambassador to South Korea on Wednesday said he was “disappointed” that his position remains unfilled since he stepped down in January.

Speaking at a panel hosted by The Korea Society in New York, Harry Harris, a retired admiral who once led U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and Pacific Fleet, said he received “calls or emails from our friends in Seoul regularly” about the lack of a U.S. ambassador to South Korea.

“We still don’t have an ambassador nominated to replace me yet,” Harris said during the panel discussion that also included retired Army Gen. Robert Abrams, the former commander of U.S. Forces Korea; retired Adm. Scott Swift, the former commander of U.S. Pacific Fleet; and retired Army Gen. Walter Sharp, a former USFK commander.

Harris served as the ambassador from July 2018 to January 2021. President Donald Trump nominated him to fill a 16-month vacancy, and the Senate confirmed him by voice vote.

President Joe Biden has not named a new ambassador to South Korea since his inauguration Jan. 20. Christopher Del Corso, a career diplomat and a former U.S. Marine, serves as chargé d’affaires ad interim.

Harris – the first Asian American to achieve four-star rank in the Navy – said he offered to remain as ambassador for six months until his replacement was nominated.

“It’s been over a year since our election,” he told the panel. “I tell my friends this is emblematic of the divided political landscape in America in the 2020s.” Harris described the absence of a nomination as “legislative malpractice” but added that the blame ought not to be directed at the Senate “since the White House hasn’t even nominated someone.”

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

The UAE is looking to upgrade their missile defenses with the newest system the ROK is developing:

 The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has said it plans to purchase South Korean-made mid-range surface-to-air missiles in a deal likely to reach US$3.5 billion. 

The UAE’s Ministry of Defense tweeted Tuesday that it plans to acquire the missile, known as M-SAM. It did not elaborate further.

An official at South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) called the UAE’s announcement “positive” but noted negotiations have yet to be finalized.

“We still need to see how negotiations on the details will proceed,” a DAPA official said on condition of anonymity.

The M-SAM system, called “Cheongung II,” is a core element of South Korea’s multi-layered anti-missile program. Cheongung, means heaven’s bow in Korean.

Employing the “hit-to-kill” technology, the missile is designed to intercept hostile missiles coming in at altitudes below 40 kilometers.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.