The Jangmadang Generation, our doc about North Korean millennials and their role in NK’s social change, was a privilege to work on and is one of my favourite projects.
And it’s now available in TEN languages! Watch here (and please RT😊)👇https://t.co/ckWCHt45e2
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visits the Taegwan Glass Factory in North Pyongan Province, in the country’s northwest, in these photos published by the Rodong Sinmun on Nov. 18, 2018. The plant was put on South Korea’s sanctions list in 2016 for producing lenses for military use. (Yonhap)
This report shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that regularly reads the ROK Drop:
China isn’t as committed to North Korea’s denuclearization as Washington or Seoul and aims to weaken the South Korea-U.S. alliance, according to an annual report on the U.S.-China economic and security relationship submitted to the U.S. Congress on Wednesday.
Beijing also appears to have already relaxed its enforcement of sanctions on North Korea, “undermining the U.S. ‘maximum pressure’ campaign,” according to the extensive report by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission.
The report, which also outlined China’s North Korea strategy, stressed that the “timeline for cutting sanctions is perhaps the most prominent process issue.” It added that “harmonizing the timeline and sequencing for implementing a comprehensive agreement” will be a priority for negotiators.
U.S. officials prefer “speedy steps toward ending North Korea’s nuclear and long-range missile programs, with the bulk of actions from Pyongyang coming up front before sanctions relief” and have some “potential for flexibility,” according to the report. In turn, China has pushed for a “phased and synchronous” approach, with reciprocal actions from each side. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
You can read more at the link, but what this report has wrong is that I believe it is arguable whether South Korea is committed to North Korea’s denuclearization as well. The fact that the Moon administration has been pushing for the dropping of sanctions for little to nothing in return from North Korea is evidence of this.
When in history has "the right side of history" denied overwhelming evidence of concentration camps that hold 80,000 to 120,000 men, women & children? Or defended, in the name of feminism, a state that gives impunity to its officials who rape? This profanes history and peace. https://t.co/2ig4hR5Rrm
How can the ROK defend NK’s undisclosed operational missile bases? For the sake of “fake diplomacy”? Just read the UN Security Council resolutions —which ban ALL ballistic missiles from NK. Seriously, how contorted can these rationalizations for NK weapons possession get?? https://t.co/qif9Ogwfzq
Any bets on the mental state of this guy just deported from North Korea?:
North Korea will deport a U.S. citizen detained since October after he entered illegally from China and told his captors he was manipulated by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the North Korean state news agency reported on Friday.
The KCNA news agency identified the American as Bruce Byron Lowrance and said he was detained on Oct. 16 as he crossed the border.
An American man of the same name was deported from South Korea in November 2017 after being found wandering near the heavily fortified border with North Korea, but there was no immediate confirmation of the identity of the man held by North Korea. [Reuters]
North Korea seems to be sending a message that they are growing impatient waiting for the sanctions to be dropped:
In this undated photo released Friday, Nov. 16, 2018, by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, listens to a military official as he inspects a weapon testing at the Academy of National Defense Science, North Korea. Kim observed the successful test of a newly developed high-tech tactical weapon.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un observed the successful test of an unspecified “newly developed ultramodern tactical weapon,” state media reported Friday, in an apparent bid to apply pressure on the United States and South Korea.
It didn’t appear to be a test of a nuclear device or a long-range missile with the potential to target the U.S. A string of such tests last year had many fearing war before the North turned to engagement and diplomacy. Still, any mention of weapons testing could influence the direction of stalled diplomatic efforts spearheaded by Washington and aimed at ridding the North of its nuclear weapons.
The North hasn’t publicly tested any weapons since November 2017, but in recent days Pyongyang reportedly expressed anger at U.S.-led international sanctions and ongoing small-scale military drills between South Korea and the United States.
Earlier this month, North Korea’s Foreign Ministry warned it could bring back its policy of bolstering its nuclear arsenal if it doesn’t receive sanctions relief.
“It’s North Korea-style coercive diplomacy. North Korea is saying ‘If you don’t listen to us, you will face political burdens,'” said analyst Shin Beomchul of Seoul’s Asan Institute for Policy Studies. [Reuters]
You can read more at the link, but of course the Moon administration in South Korea is playing down this weapons test:
North Korea’s test of an unspecified high-tech weapon should not be interpreted as a sign that the regime is abandoning denuclearization talks with the United States, a senior South Korean official said Thursday.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspected the “successful” test of a “high-tech tactical weapon” at a national defense institute, state media reported early Friday (local time).
It marked the first such inspection by the leader following his viewing of an intercontinental ballistic missile launch in November 2017.
“It’s clearly something that we should watch carefully,” the senior government official who was visiting Washington told reporters on condition of anonymity. “But it’s still early to view this as a change of heart in terms of the North Koreans’ intention to have denuclearization talks or its intention to resolve the issue of regime security and improve ties with the U.S. through talks.” [Yonhap]
The big question remains what was tested? My guess would be is that they tested their multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) called the KN-09.
This photo from the North Korean daily Rodong Sinmun on March 4, 2016, shows a test fire of the country’s new multiple rocket launcher.
They last test fired their MLRS in 2016 and it reportedly has a range out to 200 kilometers. Maybe their new “ultramodern” weapon is an MLRS with greater range? Regardless a 200 kilometer range already threatens Osan Airbase and Camp Humphreys, the two major US military installations in South Korea.
South Korea has blown up some of its own guard posts within the Demilitarized Zone as part of efforts to implement an inter-Korean military agreement.
The Ministry of National Defense said on Thursday that although it is using excavators to destroy many of the DMZ guard posts, considering concerns about safety and environmental protection, some posts located on hillsides had to be destroyed using explosives.
The ministry also unveiled photos that were taken last Sunday showing how the North Koreans were destroying their own guard posts.
The photos featured North Korean soldiers demolishing the military structure using large-sized hammers. [KBS Global]
President Moon said KJU is not deceiving anyone because he never agreed to close SRBM bases, and they aren't related to ICBMs or IRBMs. Which means he's ok with NK pointing SRBMs at SKorea.
I love this feeling of schadenfreude watching Moon make a total ass of himself. https://t.co/niYIL7VHhE
— John Lee (The Korean Foreigner) (@koreanforeigner) November 13, 2018
If Putin wants reciprocal measures how about he tell Kim Jong-un to start shipping out nuclear material from North Korea? Whenever the apologists talk about reciprocal measures they always demand that the US drop sanctions for little to nothing in return from North Korea:
South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, hold talks in Singapore on Nov. 14, 2018. (Yonhap)
South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, talked about easing sanctions on North Korea in their talks Wednesday on the sidelines of a regional summit in Singapore, Moon’s office said.
Moon requested Moscow’s active role in efforts to persuade Pyongyang to take denuclearization steps in a “bolder manner,” according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom.
They had “comprehensive” discussions on the terms and conditions of easing sanctions on the North, he added.
In the 58-minute meeting, Putin was quoted as telling Moon that there should be reciprocal measures if there is progress in denuclearization.
The meeting, their fourth since Moon took office last year, came days after high-level denuclearization negotiations between the United States and the North were abruptly called off last week.
In Wednesday’s meeting, Moon and Putin were expected to discuss ways to get the denuclearization talks restarted at an early date, as well as measures to further strengthen relations between the two countries. [Yonhap]
