Tag: Moon Jae-in

Below is the statement that President Trump and Kim Jong-un signed during their summit in Singapore with my comments below each point:

Here is the first part of the statement:

1. The United States and the DPRK commit to establish new U.S.-DPRK relations in accordance with the desire of peoples of the two countries for peace and prosperity.

There has been a lot of talk about the US opening an embassy in North Korea.  This line seems to open the door to this possibility if North Korea behaves of course.  An opening of an embassy would symbolize the normalizing of relations between the DPRK and the US which is why I don’t think this will be something happening in the near term.  Once the DPRK makes irreversible decisions to end their nuclear program than I think this will become a possibility.

2. The United States and the DPRK will join the efforts to build a lasting and stable peace regime on the Korean Peninsula.

This is something that President Moon Jae-in and the Kim regime has been actively pushing for.  Professor B.R. Myers has written extensively on this, but Moon wants to eventually establish a North-South Confederation.  This is why him and the Korean left have been attempting to amend the ROK constitution to make this happen.  One of the changes they have proposed was changing this passage in the ROK constitution:

“The Republic of Korea shall seek national unification, and shall formulate and carry out a peaceful unification policy based on the free and democratic basic order.”

In the proposed revision the word “free” would be removed which would open the door to the Kim regime maintaining power in North Korea after confederation with their own form of democracy.  President Moon and his left wing supporters will never admit to this, but that is the only rational reason why they would want this change in the ROK constitution.

Should this matter to President Trump?  It seems that from the US perspective if the DPRK ends its nuclear and ICBM programs then it should be left up to the ROK to decide their own future.  If the ROK public wants a confederation that sees billions of their taxpayer dollars going up North to support the Kim regime that will continue to maintain a massive conventional military force to threaten them with, then so be it.  Remember the Kim regime is only going to agree to a confederation on their terms.

3. Reaffirming the April 27, 2018 Panumunjom Declaration, the DPRK commits to work toward complete denuclerarization of the Korean Peninsula.

Notice that the wording of this statement is “work toward” which makes no demands of the Kim regime to actually denuclearize.  So far the North Koreans have only taken denuclearization actions that are easily reversible.  I think that in response the US will only make concessions that are easily reversible.  I don’t think the US will drop sanctions until concrete actions are taken by the Kim regime to eliminate their nuclear weapons such as shipping nuclear material to a third country.  The DPRK and the ROK have long wanted a “freeze deal” that would allow the North Koreans to keep their nukes in return for dropping sanctions.  I have so far seen no indication of an agreement of a “freeze deal” from this summit.    If the US drops sanctions against North Korea for little to nothing in return than this will be a huge win for Kim Jong-un.

4. The United States and the DPRK commit to recovering POW/MIA remains, including the immediate repatriation of those already identified.

It will be interesting to see how this is executed because in the past the US stopped the recovery work because of the ridiculous fees that North Korea demanded.  The North Koreans know exactly where the bulk of the remains are because the US military buried a large number of casualties in marked cemeteries before evacuating North Korea after the Chinese intervened in the war.

To be able to repatriate these remains to their family members the North Koreans have been demanding inflated prices which just shows how low the Kim regime is willing to go to make money.  The work to recover the remains ended in 2005 with 220 remains recovered.

As recently as 2014 the Kim regime was trying to get the US to restart recovery of the remains threatening to let them get washed away.  It looks like the Kim regime has now convinced the Trump administration to restart the remains recovery, but at what cost?

Final Analysis

My analysis on this is that the Trump administration would love to have North Korea completely denuclearize and give up their ICBMs in exchange for dropping of sanctions and being reintegrated into the world community.  However, I am confident based on the people that President Trump has around him, that he is not naive to the past history of the Kim regime.

I think this is the one final chance for the Kim regime to make peace with the United States and if they try to play their old games again, that will be the excuse the President needs to take military action against them.  This kind of reminds me of the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks during the Clinton administration.  Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) leader, Yasser Arafat was given the opportunity to make peace with the Israelis during the 2000 Camp David Summit and did not do it which led to the Second Intifada.  This gave the Israelis the excuse they needed to crush the Palestinians which they did.

Does anyone see any similarities between these two photographs? 

Kim Jong-un currently has the opportunity to seek peace with the United States just like Arafat did with the Israelis.  Arafat could not bring himself to make peace with the Israelis despite the great deal that was offered to him that gave the Palestinians nearly everything they wanted.  Arafat it was argued did not agree to the deal because it jeopardized his leadership status by being responsible for building a state along side Israel instead of a deadly, authoritarian opposition which is all he knew how to do.

Will Kim Jong-un accept denuclearization in return for building his state after the dropping of sanctions?  Time will tell, but like the Israelis I would not be surprised if President Trump isn’t ready to take military action if the North Koreans return to a provocation cycle again.  Just like with the Palestinians, I think things will end badly for the Kim regime if that is the course of action they choose to take.

Final Note: By the way did anyone else feel like Kim Jong-un looked like he was a contestant on the Celebrity Apprentice show during this summit?  If they would have let Dennis Rodman into the summit it truly would have a been a Celebrity Apprentice episode.

Here is an article in the New York Times about the image makeover that President Moon has helped Kim Jong-un achieve over the past year.  I think this below passage from the article shows the example of either mass mental illness or effective control of the ROK media by the Moon administration if 77% of South Koreans actually think the Kim regime is trustworthy:

The summit meeting mainly rehashed old inter-Korean agreements that had never been kept, producing only a vaguely worded commitment to denuclearization and peace. But the images made the event a success, providing momentum for warmed ties between the two countries and redefining Mr. Kim in the eyes of many South Koreans.

The next morning, a South Korean newspaper filled its front and back pages with a photograph showing Mr. Moon and Mr. Kim crossing the border hand in hand. Mr. Kim, formerly vilified as the region’s most dangerous leader, was considered “trustworthy” by 77 percent of South Koreans following the meeting, according to a survey by the Korea Research Center.

“Chairman Kim’s popularity has risen rapidly among South Koreans, and so have the expectations,” Mr. Moon told Mr. Kim last month when they met for the second time at Panmunjom. He said the summit meeting especially strengthened Mr. Kim’s image among younger South Koreans, who have shaped their views of North Korea through the past decade of inter-Korean tensions and have become increasingly skeptical of reconciliation, much less reunification, with the North.  [New York Times]

What this means is that when Kim Jong-un eventually renegs on getting rid of his nuclear weapons he will blame the Americans and the Moon administration will make sure that 77% of South Koreans will agree with him.

President Moon Jae-in meets with disadvantaged people at a polling station in Seoul on June 8, 2018, after casting an early vote for the June 13 local elections. They called on the government to come up with measures to facilitate the casting of ballots by the disabled. (Yonhap)

Does anyone think this will be a fair and transparent investigation or is the fix in?:

President Moon Jae-in appointed a special counsel Thursday to investigate a opinion rigging scandal that involves one of his confidants.

Moon named prosecutor-turned-lawyer Huh Ik-Bum as a special prosecutor, his office Cheong Wa Dae said.

The appointment came three days after Huh was named one of two candidates by opposition parties as required by the law on the special counsel.

“President Moon will present special counsel Huh with a certificate of appointment on Friday,” Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom told a press briefing.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link, but the special counsel has 90 days to report their findings.

Below is a video of Korean journalist Byun Hee-jae being perp walked to court for a libel arrest where he releases a statement about his unfair arrest.  ROK Heads may remember that Byun is the Korean journalist who has been disputing the origin of the tablet PC that led to the eventual impeachment of former President Park Gun-hye:

What I found ironic about the video was that the JTBC President of news, Son Suk-hee went after Byun for libel because of protests against him.

The Seoul Central Prosecutors’ Office requested the warrant as JTBC anchor Sohn Suk-hee and the reporters as well as their families felt threatened.

Byun and his readers held rallies in front of Sohn’s residence and the church Sohn’s wife attended. Byun also warned that Sohn “could be murdered by the forces trying to conceal the truth if he doesn’t reveal the truth himself.” Byun denied the libel charges, claiming he was raising reasonable suspicions.  [Korea Herald]

First of all let me state that I do not support anyone protesting in front of someone’s home or church.  With that said the Korean left used protests against board members of KBS and MBC news to get them to resign.  Labor union members followed the board members and their families to universities, workplaces, churches and other locations they went and harassed them.  The harassment became too much and the board members resigned thus allowing the Moon Jae-in administration to appoint left wing board members to seize control of MBC and KBS.

The consolidation of these networks under left wing control eliminated negative coverage of President Moon from two of the biggest media outlets in Korea.  The arrest of Byun Hee-jae can arguably be described as yet another attempt to suppress negative media coverage of the Moon administration.  By throwing him in jail it will send a message to journalists working at the two major conservative newspapers the Chosun Ilbo and Joong Ang Ilbo to not publish negative stories about the Moon administration or its allies or face being arrested.

Here is the latest development on the Trump-Kim summit in Singapore:

President Moon Jae-in will join North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump in Singapore next week to declare an end to the Korean War, which has technically been running for 68 years, according to a diplomatic source.

“Preparations are already underway for President Moon to declare a formal end to the Korean War with the two leaders on June 12, the date of the North-U.S. summit, or the next day on the 13th,” said the source, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

“Singapore has already begun preparations to host President Moon [for a trilateral meeting].”

If realized, the three leaders standing together to declare the Korean War’s end will certainly be a charged symbolic moment, but it will not have legal force.  (…………)

Expectations of a declaration to end the Korean War arose after Trump’s remarks early Saturday, when he said signing of a statement to end it would be “very important,” after a meeting with Kim Yong-chol, vice chairman of the North Korean Workers’ Party’s Central Committee, who delivered a letter from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

“We talked about ending the war,” Trump said on the south lawn after Kim Yong-chol left the White House. “And you know, this war has been going on – it’s got to be the longest war – almost 70 years, right? And there is a possibility of something like that.

“Can you believe that we’re talking about the ending of the Korean War?” he continued. “You’re talking about 70 years.”

He said the declaration will be “more of a signing of a document,” and “very important.”  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read much more at the link, but is it just me or does it seem like President Moon was very eager to once again get the spotlight on him by forcing his way into this summit?

Anyway the so called into the Korean War won’t really be an end because the United Nations Armistice Command and China will also have to agree to the end of the Korean War to make it official.  This will allow President Trump to easily back out on this declaration at a later date if the Kim regime does not live up to whatever commitments they are prepared to make.

There is a fascinating read posted over at One Free Korea by guest author Dr. Tara O that goes into detail about how the Moon Jae-in administration was able to take over the news network MBC.  During the timeframe that led to former President Park’s impeachment, MBC was the only network giving coverage to activists protesting in favor of Park Geun-hye.  Once elected the Moon administration made sure to take action against MBC using the typical playbook from the Korean left:

Controlling the narrative through the information people receive is one of the key steps in influencing people’s thoughts and behaviors. Influencing the media is important in this regard. The Moon administration in South Korea has taken over control of Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC), with help from the labor union, the National Union of Media Workers at MBC Headquarters (전국언론노동조합 MBC 본부), which is under the umbrella of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) (전국민주노동조합총연맹). Similar methods were employed to take over another network, the Korean Broadcasting System (KBS). The following examines the methods in which the hostile takeover of MBC occurred.  (…………)

– At the National Assembly, a document was discovered that stated the press labor unions will use physical measures to force the resignation of the MBC Foundation/KBS Foundation board members and the presidents of both MBC and KBS (see video starting 3:22). It also stated the use of the Inspector General and other national offices/tools to look for any politically damaging evidence on the members.

– The Seoul court issued an arrest warrant for the MBC president for not showing up to labor union’s summons to question him, to which MBC replied “The (Moon) government’s suppression to take control over the broadcaster has finally become clearer with the arrest warrant.”

– The labor union members then went to the universities, workplaces, churches where the board members go to, and harassed them, even using violence.

– Unable to withstand the harassment and threats to them and their families, some of the board members began to resign.  [One Free Korea]

I highly recommend reading the entire article at the link, this is a must read to understand how the Korean left takes control of the media in South Korea and uses it to push their agenda.   The effort to control the media narrative in South Korea is further advanced by the Moon administration using libel laws to silence their critics.

President Moon receives largely glowing coverage in the US media which makes me wonder if anyone in the American media will actually report on the Moon administration’s efforts to attack the freedom of the press and speech in South Korea?

That is what some in Washington D.C. are thinking:

When Donald Trump abruptly scrapped their planned summit, Kim Jong Un sought out someone he knew would come over for a chat: South Korean leader Moon Jae-in.  (………….)

For now, Moon has maintained an appearance as a neutral middleman who can bridge the gap between Trump and Kim, two reactive leaders who create a high risk of miscalculation. Yet over the longer term, Moon’s desire to cut a peace deal with North Korea during his single five-year term means Trump could find it harder to enforce his “maximum pressure” campaign if talks break down again.

“There is a fine line between being an honest broker and being the North’s accomplice,” said Ralph Cossa, president of Pacific Forum in Honolulu. “There are some in Washington who are seeing Moon as the latter and this builds upon the distrust that any progressive leader carries with him.”  [Bloomberg]

You can read more at the link, but if things turn out once again that North Korea gets aid and sanctions relief for little to nothing in return; the media and left will not think of Moon as an accomplice.  Instead they will award Moon the Nobel Peace Prize just like they did with former President Kim Dae-jung.

Kim Dae-jung gave the North Koreans a $500 million bribe to hold the summit and yet many in the media and the left defend his legacy to this day.  Arguably the bribe followed by nearly a decade of unconditional aid has sustained the Kim regime after the break up of the Soviet Union and allowed them to build their current nuclear arsenal.

However, maybe Moon will surprise us and he will convince Kim Jong-un to give up his nuclear weapons with his current bromance effort.  If that is the case President Moon would definitely be worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize and any other accolade people want to give him.  I am however not getting my hopes up.

According President Moon, Kim Jong-un is committed to denuclearizing:

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has reaffirmed his willingness to denuclearize and hold a summit with U.S. President Donald Trump, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Sunday.

“Chairman Kim Jong-un has once again clearly expressed his commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula following his pledge in the Panmunjom Declaration and expressed his willingness to end the history of war and confrontation through the success of the North Korea-U.S. summit,” Moon said of his latest summit with the North Korean leader held Saturday.

“We two leaders agreed the June 12 North Korea-U.S. summit must be successfully held,” he told a nationally televised press conference.

The latest inter-Korean summit was held on the North Korean side of Panmunjom, a border village that sits directly on the Military Demarcation Line that divides the two Koreas. The first Moon-Kim summit was held on the South Korean side of Panmunjom on April 27.

Trump on Thursday (Washington time) called off his scheduled summit with Kim, citing the North’s tremendous anger and open hostility, only to suggest later the meeting would go ahead as planned.

“While explaining the outcome of my summit with U.S. President Trump held last week, I relayed the message that President Trump is firmly willing to end his country’s hostile relationship with North Korea and enhance economic cooperation should Chairman Kim make a decision on complete denuclearization and implements it,” Moon said.

The South Korean president visited Washington on Monday-Wednesday. He said his surprise meeting with Kim came at a suggestion from the North Korean leader, who on Friday expressed hope to meet for candid dialogue.

“Also, as both Chairman Kim and President Trump sincerely wish for the success of the North-U.S. summit, I stressed the need for the two sides to remove any misunderstanding through direct communication and to hold enough dialogue on agenda issues that need to be addressed at their summit,” President Moon said, adding, “Chairman Kim also agreed.” (……..)

“Chairman Kim Jong-un once again clearly affirmed that his commitment to complete denuclearization remains firm yesterday. What remains uncertain to Chairman Kim Jong-un is whether he can trust the U.S. promise to end their hostile relationship and guarantee North Korea’s security once the North denuclearizes,” the president added.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link, but if Kim Jong-un wants to ensure a deal stays in place then he needs to have President Trump ratify a treaty with the Senate.  If a deal is struck that is not ratified by the Senate then the next President can come in and not follow it.  That is what President Trump did with the Iran deal.  It would be interesting though in an election year for Congress how they would approach the ratification of a treaty with North Korea.

Moon kept the White House out of the loop before making agreements with North Korea that have major alliance implications.https://t.co/BCf45NOKF9
He's also trying to undercut US policy & UN sanctions.https://t.co/mkaAiBNsOY
He's in no position to complain. https://t.co/5an3k7aEU5

— Joshua Stanton (@freekorea_us) May 25, 2018