Tag: North Korea

1969 began as a particularly deadly year for U.S. troops in South Korea. In January an EC-121 intelligence gathering plane was shot down over international airspace by a North Korean MIG jet that killed 31 American servicemembers. The deadly attack was just one of many from this time period has been called “DMZ War“. North Korea continued its DMZ War when in on October 18, 1969 it ambushed a U.S. Army truck traveling near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) killing 4 U.S. Soldiers.

The four U.S. Soldiers from the 7th Infantry Division were traveling in a truck marked with a white flag and labeled with a sign that said “DMZ Police” when they were ambushed by a North Korean patrol with rifle fire and grenades. The North Koreans then went up to the truck and shot each soldier in the head at close range to ensure they were dead. The ambush killed Staff Sergeant James R. Grissinger, Specialist Charles E. Taylor, Specialist Jack L. Morris, and Private First Class William E. Grimes.

Following the attack U.S. and ROK troops patrolled the area in an attempt to locate the intruders. Four North Korean commandoes were spotted and engaged by a U.S. patrol. However, the commandoes successfully escaped back across the DMZ into North Korea with no casualties. Three days later the four soldiers were remembered during a ceremony prior to their honor flight back home.

Few know or remember this period of increased North Korean attacks that killed and wounded hundreds of U.S. soldiers who served on the DMZ.  The U.S. and ROK military’s success in the DMZ War had important strategic consequences that unfortunately the four 7th Infantry Division soldiers killed in the truck ambush would never live to see.

For more DMZ Flashpoints articles please click the below link:

Submarine launched ballistic missiles would be a strategic game changer for North Korea, but fortunately they have a lot more work to do before they can effectively field this technology:

Recent satellite imagery revealed a hidden submarine capable of launching ballistic missiles at North Korea’s Sinpo shipyard, a U.S. monitoring website said, amid concerns that Pyongyang could test a submarine-launched ballistic missile as a threatened “new strategic weapon.”

Satellite imagery taken Jan. 1 “revealed the presence of the North Korean SINPO-class experimental ballistic missile submarine (SSBA) and its submersible test stand barge positioned beneath a recently constructed, dockside awning designed to conceal and environmentally protect these vessels,” the website 38 North said.

The submarine had been difficult to detect since the North set up the awning in an apparent effort to protect it from prying eyes, but Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery technology was used to determine what’s under the shelter, 38 North said.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

What Generation Z wants doesn’t matter because the Korean left currently in power in South Korea is pushing the country towards a confederation with North Korea:

South Koreans born after 1995 are less supportive of unification and feel less affinity for North Koreans despite a common ethnic identity, according to a recent survey.

The poll from newspaper Hankook Ilbo and Hankook Research taken in early December interviewed a pool of 500 Generation Z respondents and compared their answers to those of 500 South Korean members of Generation X, or people born after 1968 and before 1980.

The Hankook Ilbo reported Friday Gen Z respondents were relatively apathetic about the notion of a unitary Korean people that binds Koreans of North and South.

When asked about their sense of “belonging” to transnational Koreans as an ethnic group, fewer Gen Z respondents responded positively than their Gen X counterparts, or about 13 percentage points lower, according to the report. Lack of identification with North Koreans was also greater among Gen Z respondents; only about 12 percent of them said they view North Korea in a positive light.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

Kim Jong-un has not targeted and killed U.S. troops or citizens thus he has nothing to worry about, for now:

In the wake of the drone-led killing of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani, it remains to be seen how the airstrike will affect North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s actions.

Some believe Pyongyang will use the assassination to justify its nuclear program as a necessary form of defense and take its own path toward a nuclear power. But there is also speculation that the North Korean leader may disappear from the public eye ― like his predecessors ― out of fear of a possible U.S. attempt to assassinate him. 

On Monday, three days after the death of the Iranian general in Iraq, the North’s official media outlets carried their first reports on the incident, hinting that the country may chart a new course. 

“There is nothing to hesitate about in the face of growing hostile acts, nuclear threats and blackmail,” the Rodong Sinmun, the mouthpiece newspaper of the ruling Workers’ Party, said in an article. 

“We should continue to strengthen our impregnable military power quantitatively to ensure no one ever considers using armed forces against us until the U.S. withdraws its hostile policy.” 

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but North Korea doesn’t need to use the Soleimani killing to justify their nuclear program when they have for years said they are not going to get rid of it, it just that no one bothers to listen to them.

I would suspect that North Korea is going to play a wait and see approach after the Soleimani killing. The next thing I think people should be watchful for is if the U.S. restarts the Key Resolve exercise that usually begins in March. If so then the North Koreans will assuredly respond with a provocation of their own.

If North Korea responds with a provocation before March the U.S. will likely respond with restarting the Key Resolve exercise. This will all play out in the February-March timeframe which gives North Korea time to see what happens with the current U.S.-Iran tensions.

I hope no one is surprised by this news because the Kim regime is publicly stating what they have been hinting at doing for months:

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un proclaimed Pyongyang will no longer be bound to a self-imposed moratorium on nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) and would unveil a “new strategic weapon” soon.  

In a long-anticipated address delivered on the last day of the 5th plenary meeting of the 7th ruling Workers’ Party Central Committee, Kim unleashed a bitter condemnation of the United States for throttling the North Korean economy with sanctions, a posture that he said reflected a “hostile policy” that failed to respect its suspension of nuclear and ICBM tests in 2018.

“Under such condition, there is no ground for us to get unilaterally bound to the commitment any longer, the commitment to which there is no opposite party, and this is chilling our efforts for worldwide nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation,” Kim said.  

Kim vowed to bolster his country’s military muscle and build a “powerful nuclear deterrent capable of containing the nuclear threats from the United States and guaranteeing our long-term security,” though the “scope and depth” of that buildup “will be coordinated depending on the U.S. future attitude.

“The world will witness a new strategic weapon to be possessed by the DPRK in the near future,” Kim added, noting that Washington’s “impudent” stance vis-a-vis their negotiations has impelled the regime to “shift to a shocking action to make [the United States] pay for the pains sustained” by its people. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link, but the only unexpected about this that probably should have been expected is that Iran is acting up at the same time. In other words nothing has changed with these two countries.

Here is what one anonymous source is claiming:

North Korea has reasons to keep up nuclear talks with the United States, but it may consider their timing based on its assessment of the political fortunes of U.S. President Donald Trump, who faces an impeachment trial, a source said Thursday.

Though the Senate trial is expected to result in Trump’s acquittal on charges of obstruction of congress and abuse of power, the North could wait until the political footing of the Trump administration becomes firmer, the source said on condition of anonymity.

Pyongyang has been concerned that the submission of a list of its nuclear weapons, materials and related sites — a key denuclearization step demanded by the U.S. — could be tantamount to making them potential targets for attack absent clear security assurances.

Taking such a step when the fate of the incumbent U.S. government remains uncertain would be a key concern for the communist regime, a reason why it may now be “taking a breather,” the source pointed out.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

I guess we will see if North Korea follows through with its Christmas gift threat:

Few signs of unusual military moves have been detected in North Korea so far, officials said Tuesday, amid concern Pyongyang could test-fire an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) as a “Christmas gift” to the United States.

Officials noted, however, that the North could undertake a surprise provocation at any time and that the South’s military is maintaining readiness for a worst-case scenario while keeping a close watch over the communist neighbor.

“There have not been specific moves in the North as of now that indicate high-profile military actions,” a military officer said. “We have been fully prepared for any incidents, and we always keep in mind a worst-case scenario.”

As denuclearization negotiations with the U.S. have made little progress, North Korea warned that it is entirely up to the U.S. to decide what Christmas gift it gets, sparking concerns that Pyongyang could carry out highly provocative acts such as an ICBM launch.

When firing its Hwasong-14 ICBM on July 4, 2017, the North labeled it as “a gift” for the U.S.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.