Some more companies have been hit with sanctions after violating United Nations sanctions on North Korea:

The United States on Friday sanctioned three shipping firms for allegedly engaging in illicit ship-to-ship transfers of refined petroleum goods to North Korea.

The U.S. Treasury Department announced the measures on its website, adding that the companies are based in Taiwan and Hong Kong.

The department also sanctioned two Taiwanese individuals and designated a Panama-flagged vessel as blocked property for engaging in related activity.

“Treasury will implement and enforce existing U.S. and U.N. sanctions on individuals, entities and vessels involved in illicit ship-to-ship transfers with North Korean flagged vessels,” she added.

The United States on Friday sanctioned three shipping firms for allegedly engaging in illicit ship-to-ship transfers of refined petroleum goods to North Korea.

The U.S. Treasury Department announced the measures on its website, adding that the companies are based in Taiwan and Hong Kong.

The department also sanctioned two Taiwanese individuals and designated a Panama-flagged vessel as blocked property for engaging in related activity.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but I wonder at some point if ships will start being seized to more forcibly enforce sanctions on North Korea?

The Moon administration is continuing to try and push Cho Kuk into the powerful Justice Minister position despite the corruption allegations:

Cheong Wa Dae on Friday ratcheted up pressure on the National Assembly to hold a confirmation hearing for the justice minister nominee, frustrated by a political dogfight over the issue.

Cho Kuk, a law professor who served as senior presidential secretary for civil affairs, is at the center of intensifying bickering between ruling and major opposition parties.

Three weeks earlier, President Moon Jae-in nominated Cho to be the new justice minister amid his drive to reform the state prosecution.

Cho, however, has faced harsh political attacks and public condemnation over a host of scandals, including suspicions about his daughter’s entry into coveted schools in South Korea and dubious investment in a private equity fund (PEF) by Cho and his family members.

Political parties have agreed to open a two-day hearing next Monday but failed to reach a deal on details, including the list of witnesses.

The main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) says the nominee’s wife and other family members should testify in parliament as well.

The ruling Democratic Party is opposed to the call, stressing that it’s enough to give Cho an opportunity to explain the scandals.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but obviously the ruling party does not want Cho Kuk’s family members to testify because there is no way to explain away the alleged corruption involving his daughter.

This whole Cho Kuk nomination shows how committed the Moon administration is towards changing the ROK Constitution to make it easier to form a confederation with North Korea and allow President Moon to run for a second term. Moon’s close friend Cho Kuk becoming the Justice Minister is part of this strategy.

After his confirmation the next part of their strategy will be increasing their hold in the National Assembly in the 2020 elections to facilitate changing the ROK Constitution. This is why the Moon administration needs to continue to play the anti-Japan card and depending how things go with North Korea, we may even see the anti-US card played as well leading up to the election.

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

Just your usual lesson in contrasts.

Someone in the Chosun called the photo department. "Hey send us your worst shot of Cho Kuk ASAP."

Meanwhile having KJU at the next ASEAN summit might be kinda fun. pic.twitter.com/yLkyDvqNgV

— the oranckay (@oranckay) August 30, 2019

Here is the latest on the return of closed out U.S. military bases in South Korea:

Cheong Wa Dae said Friday it will redouble efforts for the early return of more than two dozen U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) bases.

It was briefing media on the results of a weekly meeting of the National Security Council’s (NSC) standing committee.

The USFK has been moving its bases nationwide mainly to a refurbished garrison in Pyeongtaek, some 70 kilometers south of Seoul. It’s named Camp Humphreys.

The process of South Korea regaining the sites of the affected bases has been going slowly, however, partly due to handling of polluted soil.

In the session, presided over by Chung Eui-yong, director of Cheong Wa Dae’s national security office, the NSC panel members agreed to “push actively for an early return” of the sites of 26 USFK bases, which will be vacant or have already been, according to Cheong Wa Dae.

“In particular, (they) agreed to begin the return process on the Yongsan base (in central Seoul) within this year,” it said.

Top security officials, including the defense minister, especially decided to seek the return of four bases at the earliest possible date, it added.

They are Camp Long and Camp Eagle in Wonju, Gangwon Province, as well as Camp Market in Incheon and Camp Hovey in Dongducheon, Gyeonggi Province.

Those who reside in nearby areas have suffered economic troubles because of a long delay in the return of the bases, the NSC officials noted.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Here is what President Moon had to say about Japan’s trade restrictions that were implemented this week on South Korea:

President Moon Jae-in slammed Japan’s removal of Korea from its “white list” of trusted trading partners, urging Tokyo to become more “honest” about its reason and to acknowledge its historical wrongdoings on Thursday.  

Moon said that the Japanese government’s recent action was “very regrettable” as he held a cabinet meeting on next year’s budget in the Blue House, noting that Tokyo has “linked historical issues to economic matters,” calling its attitude “very disingenuous.”

Japan on Wednesday removed Korea from its white list of countries given preferential treatment in exports, implementing a decision reached by its cabinet at the beginning of this month.  

The Japanese government has yet to “state an honest reason for its economic retaliation,” Moon said, noting that it has shifted its rhetoric “as frequently as necessary.”

Tokyo’s export regulations implemented since the beginning of July are widely seen as retaliation for Korean Supreme Court rulings last year ordering Japanese companies to compensate Korean victims of forced labor during World War II. The top court acknowledged the illegality of Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule over Korea and recognized that the victims’ rights to individual compensation have not expired.  

Japan has yet to officially acknowledge that its economic retaliations are a result of the forced labor rulings and instead has been citing national security concerns and a breach of “trust” as reasons for exports controls on Korea.  

Joong Ang Ilbo

Japan says the trade restrictions were put in place to help prevent illegal exports from South Korea to North Korea. There has been illegal exports to North Korea, but I think everyone knows the real reason for the trade restrictions is because of the threat to seize assets from Japanese companies over past historical issues. That is why Moon is calling the restrictions dishonest.

Moon goes on:

Moon further said that Tokyo “has been never honest” on historical issues, noting that Japan “was the perpetrator behind unfortunate chapters of history” in Korea and many other Asian countries.

The president said that Tokyo claiming the Dokdo islets in the East Sea, which Japan calls Takeshima, is “preposterous” as the islets are considered the first territory “to fall victim to imperial Japan’s aggression.”  

South Korea clearly owns Dokdo, but the Japanese government continues to make claims to it mainly because of the Kuril Islands occupied by Russia. If Japan drops their claim to Dokdo the Russian government could say that since Japan has recognized the ROK occupation of the Dokdo Islets as legitimizing the ownership of that islet, than the Russian occupation of the Kuril Islands after World War II should be legitimized as well.

Moon continues:

He pointed out that this “attitude” of the Japanese government, which distorts history and “neither acknowledges nor repents its past wrongdoings,” only “aggravates the wounds and anguish of the victims.”

Moon said it “is never shameful to remember and reflect on the past,” noting every country has such moments.  

“Recollection and self-reflection about the past can never be completed,” he said, and cannot be “brought to conclusion just by saying that repentance is over because it was uttered once, or that the past is completely over because an agreement was reached once.”

Tokyo claims that a 1965 treaty normalizing bilateral relations with Korea, which provided an economic cooperation fund, settled all compensation matters.

Japan has made multiple apologies and have clearly hit apology fatigue over their historical issues with South Korea. I am still waiting for the Moon administration to demand China and North Korea “repent on its past wrong doings” like he is saying Japan should continue to do. The destruction caused by North Korea and China during the Korean War was far worse than what Japan did during their colonial occupation of the Korean peninsula. Plus China continues to have their economic retaliation in place against South Korea over the THAAD issue.

Also it is interesting that Moon says that since an agreement was reached once doesn’t mean that matter is really settled which how he is likely justifying the withdrawing out of the comfort women agreement reached during the Park Geun-hye administration and demanding more compensation for Japan.

Most people probably felt the relationship with Japan was likely to go poorly once President Moon was elected after much progress during the Park administration was made to normalize the relationship. I don’t think anyone thought the relationship would get this bad though.

Many complain about Prez #Trump‘s tactics in the #trade war. Let’s remember #China started undermining the US economy decades ago and is driving events now. Trump is merely reacting to Beijing’s increasingly malicious attacks on us. Let’s remember who the villain is here.

— Gordon G. Chang (@GordonGChang) August 25, 2019