It’s one thing for polisci experts to discuss unification and denuclearization. But another pressing assignment, for sociologists esp, is to rly start thinking about what the post-unification national discourse should look like. And it shouldn’t be like this: misogyny and racism https://t.co/UYTMmpgYBW
I always figured that the Trump administration would try and keep the perception of progress going with North Korea up to the mid-term elections. Limiting damaging information leaks seems to be part of this strategy:
The Trump administration is drastically cutting back on who on Capitol Hill gets to see intelligence reports on North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, according to multiple congressional sources.
Under the new rules, only each party’s House and Senate leaders, along with chairs and ranking members of foreign relations and intelligence committees, get direct access to the reports. It is a drastic change from previous distribution of North Korea related intelligence reports which, for the most part, gave access to the entire committees and the staffers on those committees.
The fear on Capitol Hill is that the limited distribution, which has been implemented over the past few weeks, will leave Congress largely in the dark when it comes to what U.S. intelligence has collected about North Korea’s motivations and nuclear developments. Some on the Hill, citing President Trump’s outreach to North Korea, worry that the White House is limiting the flow of information because the reports might indicate Pyongyang is accelerating its nuclear program. [CBS News]
KCNA: "Australia is seeking to destroy the hard-won peaceful atmosphere of the Korean peninsula and the region. It has become clear that Australia is displeased with the trend of peace in the Korean peninsula and the region."
North Korean football teams arrive in South Korea on Oct. 25, 2018, to compete in an international youth tournament. The North sent three teams to the 5th Ari Sports Cup, organized by the South-North Inter Korean Sports Association, that this year drew eight teams from six countries. (Yonhap)
This map shows the West Sea peace-cooperation special zones proposed by South Korea at the 2007 inter-Korean summit. (Yonhap)
Pyongyang’s version of a military pact signed by both Koreas last month mentions the northern limit line (NLL) in angle quotes, which may mean it doesn’t acknowledge the maritime border between the two Koreas in the Yellow Sea.
Seoul’s version doesn’t place any punctuation marks around the same words.
A lawmaker from the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) exclusively revealed the North’s version of the agreement to the JoongAng Ilbo on Thursday. Former South Korean National Defense Minister Song Young-moo signed the military pact with his North Korean counterpart, No Kwang-chol, on Sept. 19 during the third inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang.
If the North had indeed refused to acknowledge the NLL in September, it would contradict remarks made by South Korean President Moon Jae-in earlier this month.
The Blue House chief said on Oct. 11 that the North acknowledged the NLL in the latest summit. Both Koreas agreed to create a so-called peace zone around the area to prevent possible military clashes and establish a joint fishing zone, he said. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
You can read more at the link, but Moon’s maritime peace zone that the Kim regime is so happy to sign an agreement on will surrender sovereignty of the NLL to the North Koreans by allowing joint fishing along the maritime border. This plan actually dates back an entire decade to the Roh Moo-hyun administration when Moon Jae-in was President Roh’s Chief of Staff. This map shows why the North Koreans are happy with the is arrangement:
The current NLL is depicted with the Blue line and North Korea’s claimed NLL is depicted with the Red line.
Moon’s peace zone would allow the North Korean boats to pass the current NLL to nearly the red line the North Koreans claim. The giving up of sovereignty of this maritime territory will make it harder to defend the South Korean islands along the NLL. Such an agreement would also set a precedent that the Kim regime’s claim against the legitimacy of the NLL is valid. The last time a South Korean leftist government tried to give away the NLL the ROK Defense Ministry was furious. That is likely why the Moon administration cleaned house at the Ministry of Defense before moving forward with this plan.
South Korea has made all these concessions to weaken their defenses against a North Korean attack and the Kim regime has yet to move one artillery battery away from the DMZ in return.
I hope the US pushes back hard on this proposal because this is a total concession to North Korea which has few aircraft to fly along the DMZ compared to the US and ROK. USFK should be respond by saying that North Korea should withdraw all of their artillery 80 miles away from the DMZ if they want this no fly zone. Now that would be a more equitable agreement:
The Freedom bridge cross the Imjin river. It is a former railroad bridge which was used by repatriated POWs/soldiers returning from the north. The only bridge connecting South and North Korea at the Demilitarized Zone.
Last month, North and South Korea signed an agreement that is designed to de-escalate tension at the demilitarized zone between the two nations, which have technically been at war since the 1950s. One major feature: a no-fly zone over the border.
At the time, some South Korean government officials called the agreement the “equivalent to declaring an end to the Korean War.” But the call for a no-fly zone over the Korean demilitarized zone (DMZ) is facing pushback from the South’s biggest backer, the United States.
Last week, South Korea’s Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha told reporters that U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo expressed “discontent” with the agreement during a phone call. This week the pushback seemed to escalate as unnamed officials told Reuters that U.S. military commanders are specifically unhappy with the no fly zone, which is to begin on November 1.
You can read the rest at the link, but the reason for the displeasure is because US helicopters and fixed wing aircraft routinely train in the border areas. The proposed no fly zone would extend any where from 25-50 miles from the DMZ making this training impossible and further eroding the readiness of US forces.
This proposal gets back to what I have been saying for months, the Moon administration will not openly say they want US forces to leave, but will create conditions that will make US forces withdraw on its own accord. If this agreement is implemented this is just another example of this strategy
The important thing to remember is that this concession is easily reversible:
The two Koreas are looking to withdraw 11 guard posts within a 1-km radius of the Military Demarcation Line on their border by the end of 2018.PHOTO: REUTERS
North and South Korea and the UN Command agreed on Monday (Oct 22) to withdraw firearms and guard posts in an area within the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) this week, Seoul’s defence ministry said, the latest move in a fast-improving relationship.
The three sides held their second round of talks at the village of Panmunjom to discuss ways to demilitarise the border in line with a recent inter-Korean pact reached at last month’s summit in Pyongyang.
The US-led UNC, which has overseen affairs in the DMZ since the end of hostilities in the 1950-53 Korean War, was not immediately available for comment, but it said on Friday it supports the two Koreas’ efforts to implement their military deal.
The announcement comes amid US concerns that the inter-Korean military initiative could undermine defence readiness and comes without substantial progress on North Korea’s promised denuclearisation.
The neighbours are looking to withdraw 11 guard posts within a 1km radius of the Military Demarcation Line on their border by the end of the year.
They also plan to pull out all firearms from the Joint Security Area (JSA) at Panmunjom and cut to 35 each the numbers of personnel stationed there and share information on surveillance equipment. [Strait Times]
You can read more at the link, but I would think the American JSA battalion commander will have a well rehearsed battle drill ready to issue weapons at a moments notice in response to this. Does anyone really think the North Koreans will not have weapons stashed on their side of the border? Will the UNC be allowed to conduct no notice inspections to verify? I doubt it.
States (here #SouthKorea) shall prevent (banks) from opening branches in North Korea–that's pretty clearly stated. Secondary #sanctions affect not only the banks, but their client firms as well. Moon Jae-in should not gamble with #SouthKorea's economy. https://t.co/daaRczIXUL
Retired General David Stilwell speaks Korean and has very close ties to US Ambassador Harry Harris because of their prior work together at US Indo-Pacific Command:
David Stilwell
U.S. President Donald Trump has nominated Air Force veteran David Stilwell as assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, according to the White House on Wednesday.
The position covers diplomacy with the Korean Peninsula, China, and Japan. His predecessor Susan Thornton stepped down in July amid rumors that she was too moderate, whereas Stilwell is thought to be a hardliner.
It can be hard to tell why people come and go in the frantically revolving doors of the Trump administration, but Stilwell’s appointment may reflect the fact that hardliners are increasingly gaining the upper hand. Trump only recently described Defense Secretary James Mattis, who is thought to have been a steadying force, as “sort of a Democrat.”
The White House described Stilwell as “an Air Force veteran with more than 35 years of experience as a pilot, commander, and Korean linguist.”
He retired in 2015 with the rank of brigadier general and is currently the director of the China Strategic Focus Group at the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command Headquarters in Hawaii.
He learned Korean in a military language school in California and served as a fighter pilot in Gunsan, North Jeolla Province, from 1993 to 1995. He also speaks Chinese and some Japanese. [Chosun Ilbo]
