Tag: DMZ

I am sure the Kim regime is under intense pressure from China considering how North Korean soldiers have crossed the border and murdered Chinese citizens:

North Korea has been planting anti-personnel mines alongside the inter-Korean border for the past couple of months to prevent North Korean soldiers from fleeing to South Korea, a South Korean official said Sunday.

“Under the order of leader Kim Jong-un, the military has gone all-out to prevent soldiers from going AWOL across the North Korea-China border,” the official said, adding the deployment of land mines near the inter-Korean border seems to serve a similar purpose.

Last October, the two Koreas exchanged fire after troops from the communist country drew near the border. No one was hurt.

A month later, a North Korean patrol approached the land border again, prompting warning shots from South Korean troops.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link.

 

Via a reader tip comes a link to this State Department document from the minutes of the Washington Special Actions Group Meeting on August 18, 1976 after Washington policy makers became aware of the DMZ Axe Murder Incident. The document show the internal deliberations that Secretary State Henry Kissinger had with his staff, the Department of Defense, and the CIA in regards to formulating a response to the murders of two US Army officers by the North Koreans. Here is an excerpt from the document:

Secretary Kissinger: Well there are two problems as I see it. The first problem is that two American officers have been beaten to death. The second problem is to review the procedures we are following in the DMZ. Now, regarding the first issue, I agree with the CIA analysis. My impression is that it was a premeditated attack. There were some fifty other things they could have done to stop us from pruning the tree.

Now this letter Stilwell wants to send to Kim. Why should he send a letter to Kim? What standing does he have?

Mr. Habib: Well Stilwell is the Commander of the UN Forces and Kim is the Commander of the North Korean Army. Kim also signed the original peace agreement.

Secretary Kissinger: There have already been White House and State Department statements deploring these murders. Why do we now also need a Stilwell statement? Does he have the authority to make a statement?

Mr. Abramowitz: No. He needs Washington approval.

Secretary Kissinger: Well lets put that in abeyance. I have talked to the President today about this. He feels that some sort of strong action is necessary but does not know precisely what it should be. Now there are two things that come to my mind. A few weeks ago we turned off a B-52 exercise because it would be provocative to the Chinese. We might resurrect that exercise. The second possibility would be to alert all forces in Korea.

Adm. Holloway: We could go from DEFCON 4 to DEFCON 3.

Secretary Kissinger: What would that do?

Adm. Holloway: Unless we had a specific plan in mind or the North Koreans felt we had a specific plan in mind they probably would not react at all.

Secretary Kissinger: Well on that basis you could not threaten anything.

Mr. Abramowitz: Stilwell recommends that we finish pruning the tree.

Mr. Clements: I am in complete accord with that and think we should cut the God damn thing down.

Secretary Kissinger: I am in favor of that too but I don’t think we should do anything about the tree until after we do something with our forces. What is the meaning of the DEFCON alert stages?

Adm. Holloway: 5 is normal and 1 is war. Stage 2 means that war is inevitable and stage 1 is when the shooting starts.

Mrs. Colbert: If the alert were moved up to 3 how would the media and the U.S. people react to that in this campaign year.

Secretary Kissinger: That has nothing to do with it. The important thing is that they beat two Americans to death and must pay the price.

Mrs. Colbert: The North Koreans are looking for indications that they can create another Vietnam type mentality in this country. Therefore to disabuse them of this it is important to have the right kinds of expressions of support from the media and opinion makers.

Secretary Kissinger: What about resurrecting the B-52 exercise? The State Department hereby withdraws its objections to it. This is tow the best time in the world to run it.

Mr. Habib: It was a training exercise.

Mr. Abramowitz: Would it scare the Americans or the Koreans?

Mr. Gleysteen: There is another exercise planned.

Secretary Kissinger: But everybody already knows about that one.

Mr. Clements: Is it true that in the exercise we would fly the B-52s over Korea and then go back?

Adm. Holloway: Yes.

Secretary Kissinger: How long would it take?

Lt. Gen. Smith: We could get it going in 72 hours possibly less.

Secretary Kissinger: The quicker the better.  [State Department Historian]

You can read much more at the link, but all these deliberations led to Operation Paul Bunyan where the tree was cut down backed by massive US firepower in case the North Koreans tried to retaliate.  What else is interesting is that deploying B-52’s and other bombers is still something the US government does to this day to send a message to the North Koreans.

 

This month will be the 13 year anniversary of the 2002 West Sea Naval Battle that saw six South Korean sailors murdered by the North Koreans along the Northern Limit Line in the West Sea.  What was probably the most disgraceful about this attack was how the then South Korean government did everything possible to cover up the attack to maintain the illusion of the Sunshine Policy.  Even worse was that the deceased sailors were treated like they were criminals:

The father said, “My son is buried in the National Cemetery. But I’m going to take my son’s remains to my family burial site in my hometown.” Having watched the situation develop, he thought his son who was killed by North Korean soldiers was considered nothing more than a criminal.

Some parents said that they are more scared of people who consider the U.S. a bigger enemy than North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, who killed their son. We lose courage to defend the country, when we hear that a wife whose husband fell in the battle is preparing to leave this country. Reading a condolence letter from the USFK commander to mark the second anniversary, the wife said, “The Americans remember my husband and his brothers-in-arms better than Koreans… Frankly, I hate Korea.”  [Chosun Ilbo]

You can read more about this attack at the below link:

• DMZ Flashpoints: The 2002 West Sea Naval Battle

However, times have changed and now with Sunshine Policy exposed for the fraud that it was the Korean movie industry is releasing a movie this month heroically depicting the ROK sailors that fought in the 2002 West Sea Battle:

The forgotten sacrifices made by young South Korean sailors during a bloody naval clash with North Korea 13 years ago will be portrayed on the silver screen in a new film funded partly by citizens.

The movie titled “Battle of Yeonpyeong,” to be released next week, is based on the naval skirmish between the two Koreas on June 29, 2002, in waters off the South Korean border island of Yeonpyeong in the Yellow Sea.
Six sailors were killed and 18 others were injured after a fierce exchange of fire, which was sparked when two North Korean patrol boats infiltrated the maritime border.

The occasion, which is known to also have caused some 30 casualties in the North, is called the Second Battle of Yeonpyeong, with the first battle taking place in 1999.  “I’ve wanted to depict the ironic situation where the young sailors, who are someone’s beloved sons, fathers, and friends, were killed on one side, while others were overwhelmed by the 2002 World Cup,” Kim Hak-soon, director of the film, said Wednesday ahead of a press preview.  [Korea Observer]

You can read the rest of the article at the link, but I look forward to watching this movie.

This reminds me of people complaining about aircraft noise after they build a home near an airport:

South Korean officials say they will replace portions of a 16.4-mile stretch of barbed wire along the northeast coast with electronic surveillance equipment after residents complained the fence is ugly.

The barbed wire was meant to protect the coast against sea infiltration by countries such as North Korea, a Ministry of National Defense spokesman said Tuesday on customary condition of anonymity.

The fence will be removed in 41 areas in Gangwon province, which borders North Korea, in the first half of 2015, according to the ministry. North Korean subs were discovered along that stretch of coastline in the 1990s near the cities of Sokcho and Donghae.

The MND spokesman said officials are not concerned about reduced security because the unmanned surveillance equipment has already been tested. He would not comment on whether removing the fence would affect South Korean troop levels along the eastern coast.  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read the rest at the link.

Volunteers plant trees in the demilitarized zone in Cheorwon, Gangwon Province on Friday. /Newsis

I wonder if the North Koreans intentionally set this fire or not?

A fire broke out on North Korea’s side of the heavily guarded demilitarized zone (DMZ) on Monday afternoon, South Korean authorities said.

The fire spread through the barbed-wire fence separating the two Koreas at 1:15 p.m., reaching the Dora Observatory in Paju City, Gyeonggi Province.

“The fire started in North Korean territory and spread south,” an official said.

The northern region of Gyeonggi Province recently issued a drought warning.

Seven fire engines and about 50 firemen fought the blaze.  [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link.

Like I said before when this plan was first hatched if the North Koreans allow this to happen there is some kind of propaganda value for them effectively making these people useful idiots for the Kim regime:

Gloria Steinem and 30 other women including two Nobel peace laureates have announced plans for a rare walk across the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea to call for reunification.

The DMZ is the world’s most fortified border, with the two countries still technically at war. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers face off across the heavily mined zone.

Organizers of the effort called WomenCrossDMZ.org said on Wednesday they hope for 30 women to cross from North Korea to South Korea on May 24, which is International Women’s Day for Disarmament.

The walk also marks the 70th anniversary of the division of the Korean Peninsula.

The women say they are still seeking approval from both countries and the United Nations. [The Guardian]

You can read more at the link, but why is there an International Women’s Day for Disarmament?

Our Run DMZ t-shirt is back by popular demand! Get it here: http://t.co/b4NPZBdTCH pic.twitter.com/kVgVx0Dr6Q

— Liberty in NK (@LibertyinNK) February 25, 2015

Back due to popular demand is Chickenhead’s hilarious carol “Christmas on the DMZ”:

‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the DMZ,

the darkness was stirred by a lone Christmas tree.

Love gifts were hung from the balloons with care,

in hopes they’d pass north through the cold winter air.

The soldiers were nestled all snug in their bunks,

while visions of peaceful reunification gave them goose bumps.

With a ho in her hooker boots, and I in the buff,

I had just bent her over to treat her ass good and rough.

When out on the lawn arose loud banging and clicking,

I sprang from my bed to see whose ass needed kicking.

Away to the window I flew all in fear,

knocked over my soju and two bottles of beer.

The moon on the snow and the flares in the sky,

gave the luster of mid-day so I could not deny.

When, what to my wondering eyes should I see,

but a horde of Nork soldiers, tanks and artillery.

With pictures of Dear Leader and muzzle flashes aglow,

I wished for more combat training instead of briefings from EO.

They yelled threats and commands, I knew I was funked.

My Tagalog was great but my Korean skills sucked.

“Now, Kim! Now, Lee! Now, Park and Gong!

On, Choi! On Kwak! On, Nam and Song!

To the top of the hill! To the top of the wall!

Now kill the white devils, kill them all!”

And they hit the main gate the first time they tried,

where napping KATUSAs with empty guns died.

They attacked the wall of the BX and opened a chasm,

and looted the place, a black market orgasm.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard down the hall,

shooting and stabbing and harsh Han Gook Mal.

As I searched for a weapon and looked all around,

an evil Nork soldier came in with a bound.

He was dressed all in rags, from his head to his foot,

and his sockless toes could be seen through his boot.

A smoking AK he had flung on his back,

and I picked up my XBox to give him a whack.

His eyes – how they twinkled! Narrow and scarry!

But he looked like a teen who still had his cherry!

His droll little mouth was drawn up in rage,

and though I hadn’t saved my game, I had to engage.

A rusty old knife, he held in his teeth,

as with hunger abound, he’d likely eaten the sheath.

He had a big square head and lacked any belly,

while I only passed my tape test on a diet of petroleum jelly.

I put down my XBox and said, “Here’s the deal.”

“If you don’t kill me, I’ll cook you a meal.”

A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,

soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his plate,

and gobbled Hamburger Helper like a trailer park date.

To get him to leave, I thought of more ploys,

“Why don’t you take my hot juicy back to your boys?”

He sprang out the door with my juicy in tow,

and the last that I saw, they’d formed a line in the snow.

I hid under my bed with my XBox on,

And played Medal of Honor ’till the airstrike got here from Guam.

Two months ago the infamous DMZ Christmas tree was pulled down and now for whatever reason the Defense Ministry has decided to allow a Christian group to construct a new one:

A North Korean religious association slammed a South Korean Christian group’s plan to light a big Christmas tree in the Aegibong Peak Observatory in Gimpo, south of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).

It said Friday that the lighting is, “an act of madness and it is unacceptable.”

“The Christian Council of Korea (CCK) attempts to use religion as a means to spur confrontation between the people of the two sides. It should realize that the malicious plan could lead to a military action from the North,” the North’s association said.

The reaction came weeks after the CCK unveiled a plan to set up a big Christmas tree in the observatory and light it on Dec. 23. The tree will be dressed in Christmas lights for two weeks until Jan. 6, the group said.

The Ministry of National Defense approved the plan.  [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link, but the tree is used by the ROK military as a psychological warfare weapon.  The North Koreans can look across the border and see the lights of South Korea to include this Christmas tree which stands in stark contrast to the regular power outages they face in North Korea.