Still waiting to discover North Korea evading sanctions on items its apologists claim cause profound human suffering for lack thereof. But, priorities. https://t.co/KroAHgqAj7
It looks like the capitulation to Kim Jong-un’s demands is being considered by the Trump administration:
The U.S. government is willing to lift some economic sanctions on North Korea if the regime demonstrates “sincere measures” toward denuclearization, a source with knowledge of Pyongyang-Washington talks exclusively told the JoongAng Ilbo on Tuesday.
The source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said he wasn’t specifically told whether that meant the United States was willing to ease its own unilateral sanctions on the North or give sanctions exemptions to third countries, including South Korea, to carry out joint projects with Pyongyang.
The United States, one of five veto-wielding members in the United Nations Security Council, has a crucial say in UN sanctions on the North. Unanimous approval from a UN North Korean sanctions committee composed of the five countries – the United States, Britain, Russia, China and France – and 10 nonpermanent members on the UN Security Council is normally required for a sanctions waiver.
If the former hypothesis is true, it would mean Washington is willing to ease sanctions even before North Korean carries out total denuclearization, which goes against the long-held mantra of the White House that sanctions will not be eased before the North’s final, fully verified denuclearization, or FFVD.
The source told the paper that Washington’s definition of “sincere measures” from the North included a partial inventory of its nuclear weapons and facilities or allowing outside experts to inspect the Yongbyon nuclear plant. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
This is a perfect example of “pretend denuclearization” if this does in fact happen. The Kim regime will have once again received a huge influx of cash for doing little to nothing in return and they get to keep their nukes.
Everyone needs to remember that Moon Chung-in is the trial balloon specialist for the Moon Jae-in administration. Because the US will not drop sanctions until North Korea denuclearizes it appears that the South Koreans are instead going to try and get around sanctions by throwing around the term “humanitarian assistance” and even more strangely “humanitarian businesses”:
In this file photo taken on Nov. 29, 2018, Moon Chung-in, a special presidential adviser for unification, foreign and security affairs, speaks during a seminar in Seoul. (Yonhap)
The United States can help break the impasse in denuclearization talks with North Korea without sanctions relief if it allows humanitarian businesses in the communist nation to go forward, a special adviser to President Moon Jae-in said Monday.
Moon Chung-in, a special presidential adviser for unification, foreign and security affairs, made the remark during a lecture in Seoul, reiterating President Moon’s earlier remark that rewards for the North’s denuclearization steps do not necessarily have to be a relaxation of sanctions.
“Many American citizens wish to conduct humanitarian businesses in North Korea, but cannot due to government restrictions,” the adviser said. “Relieving those restrictions could send a fairly positive message to North Korea.”
President Moon told reporters earlier that rewards for North Korea’s denuclearization steps could include a delay or reduction of a South Korea-U.S. military exercise, humanitarian assistance or even non-political exchanges, such as sports and cultural exchanges. [Yonhap]
You can read more at the link, but of course Moon Chung-in did not specify what “humanitarian businesses” he was talking about. So is Samsung, who the Moon administration has been pressuring to invest in North Korea, suddenly going to become a “humanitarian business” to get around sanctions? Will the big railway improvement project in North Korea the Moon administration has been pushing become “humanitarian assistance” to avoid sanctions?
Hopefully the Trump administration squashes this latest sanctions busting trial balloon from the ROK government.
When asked which country poses the most serious threat, China, Russia, Iran or North Korea, Mattis says: "in terms of URGENCY, North Korea is the problem." #RNDF2018
The only problem with this is that Kim Jong-un’s wish is to keep his nukes and have sanctions dropped:
US President Donald Trump will grant North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un his wishes if he delivers on denuclearisation, the South Korean president said Sunday, following talks on the sidelines of the G20 summit.
As officials work to arrange a second meeting between Trump and Kim, South Korea’s Moon Jae-in relayed a message to reporters given to him by the US president to pass on to the North’s leader.
“And the message was that President Trump has a very friendly view of Chairman Kim and that he likes him, and so he wishes Chairman Kim would implement the rest of their agreement and that he would make what Chairman Kim wants come true,” Moon told the Yonhap news agency while en route to New Zealand. [AFP]
I doubt this will become a major trend because the North Koreans will likely increase security on their side of the DMZ to prevent more defections:
A North Korean soldier defected to South Korea across the eastern land border on Saturday, Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.
With its surveillance equipment, the South Korean military detected the soldier crossing the military demarcation line at 7:56 a.m., the JCS said.
“Related agencies plan to investigate him regarding the details of how he came to the South,” the JCS said in a text message sent to reporters, adding that there were no “special activities” from the North Korean army on the front line.
“Following demolition of guard posts between the South and the North, our security operations on the front line have had no problem,” a JCS official said. “The soldier is safely in our custody.”
This is the first defection case after the two Koreas completely destroyed 10 front-line guard posts each and since the demining of a ridge in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on Friday. [Yonhap]
After the ROK completes this railway inspection they will know how much cash they will need to handover to Kim Jong-un to upgrade his railway lines while he does little to nothing in return. The artillery along the DMZ is still there pointed at Seoul and the ballistic missiles and rockets are still there pointed at other cities in South Korea:
A South Korean train departed for North Korea on Friday for an 18-day joint railway inspection that the Koreas are conducting as part of efforts to modernize, and eventually reconnect, rail lines across their border.
The train, made up of six cars and carrying dozens of South Korean officials and experts, left Dorasan Station, just south of the inter-Korean border, around 9:05 a.m. for Panmun Station, near the North’s border city of Kaesong.
The train will be used to inspect 1,200 kilometers of rail track in the North through Dec. 17.
The inspection is part of a summit agreement between the leaders of the Koreas, signed in April, to modernize and eventually reconnect rail systems across their border in a bid to foster reconciliation on the Korean Peninsula.
“The inter-Korean railway connection project is intended to overcome division and open a new future of the Korean Peninsula,” Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon told a ceremony at Dorasan Station to mark the launch of the inspection. [Yonhap]
You can read more at the link, but I wonder if the South Korean officials on this train will get to see the North Korean child slave labor in action maintaining the rails?
The ‘chain gang’ of children works along a stretch of railway (Image: Daily Mirror)
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has expressed a willingness to allow inspectors into the country’s main nuclear complex, a senior diplomatic source said Tuesday, citing a message sent to U.S. President Donald Trump.
Kim earlier expressed a willingness to permanently shut down the site in Yongbyon if the U.S. took “corresponding” measures, but his apparent offer to allow verification has not been reported.
If true, Kim’s offer would mark a significant step toward meeting U.S. demands for full and verified denuclearization, a position Washington has stuck to since a historic Trump-Kim summit in June.
“I understand that Chairman Kim told (South Korean) President Moon (Jae-in) during their summit in September that if the U.S. took corresponding steps he would not only be willing to shut down the Yongbyon nuclear facilities but also allow verification,” the source with knowledge of U.S.-North Korea negotiations told Yonhap. [Yonhap]
You can read more at the link, but if the sanctions are dropped the North Koreans will simply drag out closing down Yongbyon as long as possible until they can kick out the inspectors. By the time they manufacture a reason to kick out the inspectors they will have received their cash infusion from the dropping of sanctions.
It is pretty clear this is a standard North Korean playbook move here, will the Trump administration fall for it?
Considering this poll was done by the Blue House I would not give it much creditability until an outside agency does polling on this issue:
A majority of South Koreans think it is necessary to ease sanctions on North Korea to accelerate denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, a survey showed Tuesday.
According to the survey of 1,000 adults here by the National Unification Advisory Council, a presidential consultative body mainly on long-term inter-Korean ties, 64 percent expressed support for easing sanctions on the North as denuclearization talks are underway.
Of the total, 20.4 percent said that they do not support sanctions relief much, while 11.6 percent said they do not support such a move at all, the survey showed. [Yonhap]
You can read more at the link, but how would respondents have answered if asked if they support dropping sanctions for little to nothing in return from the Kim regime? That is essentially what is going on right now.
NK's military went across the border to SK waters to kidnap SK citizens. Isn't it more appropriate for the Defense Min/prez to say/do something, rather than the Unification Min? And also something a tad bit stronger than "regret?" How about stop breaking down SK's defenses? https://t.co/k4bGVS4oH0
