By this yardstick, not displaying ICBMs in public or not testing nukes for a full year, India, Pakistan, Israel must have denuclearized decades ago. https://t.co/lgf7a1ben4
This undated file photo, released by the Cultural Heritage Administration on Sept. 11, 2018, shows the site of Manwoldae, which was the palace of the 918-1392 Goryeo Dynasty, in the North Korean city of Kaesong. The administration said that it has agreed during a working-level meeting with the North’s National Reconciliation Council in Kaesong on Sept. 6 to conduct a joint survey and preservation of the Manwoldae site for three months from Sept. 27 to Dec. 27. (Yonhap)
The Moon administration is trying to get South Korean conservatives to attend the Inter-Korean Summit later this month in Pyongyang:
The presidential office Cheong Wa Dae on Monday asked the parliamentary speaker and heads of all five political parties in South Korea to accompany President Moon Jae-in on his upcoming trip to the North.
The invitation came from Moon’s chief of staff Im Jong-seok, who currently heads a summit preparation committee.
The Moon-Kim summit is set to be held in Pyongyang from Sept. 18-20.
“The preparation committee for the 2018 Pyongyang summit seeks to invite National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang and vice speakers … as special parliamentary delegates,” Im told a press briefing.
The heads of all five major political parties, including Lee Hae-chan of the ruling Democratic Party and Kim Byong-jun of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP), have also been invited.
Those invited also include Rep. Kang Seok-ho of the main opposition party, who currently serves as the chairman of the parliamentary committee on foreign affairs and unification. [Yonhap]
You can read more at the link, but the South Korean conservatives have declined the invitation calling it a political stunt:
The LKP criticized the government’s proposal as a “political tactic.” The party’s interim chief Kim Byung-joon refused to accept the invitation. The National Assembly speaker’s office said the speaker would also not be part of the delegation.
Only the minor liberal party for Democracy and Peace and the most-progressive Justice Party accepted the invitation, alongside the DPK. [Korea Times]
This is all part of the effort to get the Trump administration to believe that Kim Jong-un is serious about denuclearization by not displaying his ballistic missiles especially ones capable of reaching the US:
This photo provided by the Associated Press shows a military parade underway at Kim Il-sung Square in central Pyongyang on Sept. 9, 2018, staged to celebrate the 70th anniversary of North Korea’s founding. (Yonhap)
North Korea did not showcase intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of striking the United States during a military parade staged Sunday to celebrate the 70th anniversary of its founding, media reports showed.
North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un presided over the event at Kim Il-sung Square in central Pyongyang but did not give an address, according to the reports.
The North appeared to tone down the parade, which was previously used to show its latest military might, amid stalled nuclear talks with the United States.
“The largest missiles shown in the parade were short-range battlefield devices,” the AFP reported from Pyongyang. [Yonhap]
It is pretty clear that President Moon and Kim Jong-un are going to be putting a full court press on President Trump to declare an end to the Korean War this year:
South Korean President Moon Jae-in said his goal is to make “irreversible progress by the end of the year” toward denuclearization and a permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula in an interview on Friday.
A tangible step in that direction would be a formal declaration to end the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended with an armistice agreement, not a peace treaty, Moon told Indonesia’s Kompas newspaper in a written interview published two days after his special envoy returned from a trip to Pyongyang and met with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
The interview came ahead of Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s three-day state visit to Seoul kicking off Monday. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
You can read more at the link, but I expect a lot of flattery and pretend denuclearization concessions from the North Koreans to get him to agree to end the Korean War. Kim is probably hoping that Trump will go along with the pretend denuclearization strategy as way to boost poll numbers prior to the mid-term elections in the US. We should see over the next couple of months if pretend denuclearization will be what Trump decides to do.
So why are President Moon and Kim Jong-un so intent on end the Korean War? That is because once the war is officially ended this then challenges the legitimacy of the US-ROK alliance. If there is no longer hostilities between the two Koreas then why does the US military need to be there?
I believe that President Moon is too smart to advocate against keeping USFK in Korea post-peace treaty because that will mobilize the conservative opposition against him. However, Moon can use his surrogates to make life difficult for USFK to where the Trump administration could decide to withdraw on its own. This gets Moon and his left wing base in South Korea what they ultimately want, USFK withdrawal without getting blamed for it.
Remember the happy news the S. Korean NSA brought us a mere two days ago, that Kim Jong Un purportedly did not object to the presence of USFK. So, does this mean KCNA = independent media? Or that Kim, perish the thought, was lying? https://t.co/VPnriRKVqB
#NorthKorea keeps using "denuclearization of KOREAN PENINSULA" because it means–>"..of #SouthKorea, which has no nukes–>no nuclear umbrella, no U.S. military capab–>US mil w/drawal, end alliance. So NK's "denuke of Korean Pen"=US military withdrawal, end alliance. A word play. https://t.co/i2gwg6uurD
It appears that the North Koreans are still trying to use flattery with President Trump to get sanctions removed instead of denuclearizing:
U.S. President Donald Trump thanked North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and pledged to work together with him on Thursday after Kim said via a South Korean envoy that his faith in Trump remains unchanged.
“Kim Jong Un of North Korea proclaims ‘unwavering faith in President Trump.’ Thank you to Chairman Kim. We will get it done together!” Trump tweeted.
South Korea’s chief presidential security adviser, Chung Eui-yong, made a one-day trip to Pyongyang on Wednesday and held talks with the North’s leader amid a deadlock in denuclearization negotiations between the United States and the North.
During the talks, Kim told Chung’s delegation that he remains firmly committed to denuclearization and that his faith in Trump remains unchanged, even though nuclear negotiations with the U.S. encountered difficulties, according to Chung.
Kim was also quoted as saying he’s never spoken ill of Trump to anybody. [Yonhap]
Kim Jong-un best be careful, Bob Woodward will probably claim he found an anonymous source that he talked bad about President Trump.
