Some people may try to read more into this, but Ri Yong-gil is replacing someone 84 years old. This may just be a natural leadership transition or horse trading to appease different powerbroker within North Korea. I can remember when it was believed that Ri was executed by Kim Jong-un, now here he is as chief of the military:
Ri Yong Gil, an alternate member of the Political Bureau of the C. C., the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK), is pictured in this Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) handout photo released May 10, 2016.
North Korea’s state media confirmed on Friday that Ri Yong Gil has become the new chief of the military’s general staff, the latest in leader Kim Jong Un’s leadership change.
As Kim shifts the focus to the economy and pursues diplomacy with the United States, he has been replacing older, more conservative officers who were wedded to the country’s nuclear doctrine with loyalists who would follow any changes he may make, U.S. officials and analysts say.
The North’s official KCNA agency said Ri accompanied Kim on his visit to a war veterans’ cemetery as the army’s chief of general staff, marking the 65th anniversary of the armistice agreement that ended the 1950-53 Korean War.
Ri formerly held the four-star position before he was briefly demoted deputy chief and three stars for an unspecified reason in 2016.
His return adds the recent appointments of No Kwang Chol, first vice defense minister, as the defense chief, and Army General Kim Su Gil as director of the military’s powerful General Political Bureau.
All of the newly promoted officials are younger than their predecessors, even though they are all in their 60s. Ri is 63 years old, 21 years younger than his predecessor, Ri Myong Su. [Reuters]
According to NK Leadership Watch Ri’s prior issues that led to his supposed execution had to do with his unhappiness with what he felt was unearned authority in military affairs given to Workers Party members. Whatever issues had previously occurred between him, the Workers Party, and Kim Jong-un have been clearly ironed out.
I can only imagine what the bill the Kim regime would demand the US pay to search for war remains within North Korea:
U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis acknowledged Friday the Pentagon could send military teams into North Korea to search for the remains.
Pentagon officials previously said North Korea had already excavated about 200 sets of remains of fallen American soldiers. North Korea experts suggested that the regime would want compensation for recovering the remains, which in turn could jeopardize the U.S.-led economic sanctions on North Korea.
After vowing to continue putting ‘maximum pressure’ on the North until it is fully denuclearized, the Trump administration now faces a dilemma as it may have to make a deal with North Korea to continue the excavation work without appearing to make compromises.
Kim Bum-soo, KBS World Radio News. [KBS World Radio]
North Korea’s Korean War veterans arrive in Pyongyang on July 25, 2018, to attend an event there in this photo carried by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). (Yonhap)
Calling all surfers, if you are looking for place to surf poor waves, with no Internet access, and the threat of detention & torture, the Kim regime has a deal for you. An added benefit is that all proceeds of this assuredly outrageously overpriced tour go towards maintaining a nuclear weapons program to threaten the world with, maintaining of gulags, and expensive luxury items for regime elite:
Tourists enjoy surfing in the East Sea of North Korea. Courtesy of DPRK Today
If you love surfing, North Korea’s East Sea coast could be your next destination.
Although the waves are not very high in July and August, there are some regions where you can enjoy surfing, according to North Korean propaganda media DPRK Today’s Sunday report.
A surfing tour of North Korea’s East Sea has been hosting many tourists from around the world. The tour includes a week of surfing, plus sightseeing trips to Pyongyang, Mount Myohyang, Gaeseong and other major tourist destinations.
For those who have a high level of surfing skills, October-November is a better choice, the report said. But sea temperatures are much cooler. [Korea Times]
North Korean artists perform at an event in Pyongyang on July 25, 2018, to mark the anniversary of the signing of the Korean armistice agreement in this photo carried by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) the following day. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
Like I have been maintaining, I don’t think anyone should panic unless sanctions are dropped for little to nothing in return from North Korea. This recent announcement suggests the sanctions will remain in place:
This photo, taken July 25, 2018, shows Deputy Minister for National Defense Policy, Yeo Suk-joo (R), shaking hands with Roberta Shea, acting deputy assistant secretary of defense at the 14th Korea-U.S. Integrated Defense Dialogue in Seoul. (Yonhap)
South Korea and the United States agreed Thursday to keep enforcing sanctions against North Korea until it takes “concrete, verifiable” steps toward denuclearization, during their biannual working-level defense talks.
During the 14th Korea-U.S. Integrated Defense Dialogue (KIDD) in Seoul, the two sides also shared the view that there is a need to continuously explore ways to build trust with Pyongyang as long as the communist state maintains a “good-will” dialogue.
Seoul’s defense ministry announced the outcome of the two-day talks. Deputy Minister for National Defense Policy, Yeo Suk-joo, represented the South Korean side, while Roberta Shea, acting deputy assistant secretary of defense, led the U.S. delegation.
During the talks, the two sides mentioned “meaningful progress” following two inter-Korean summits in April and May and last month’s U.S.-North Korea summit despite concerns over a perceived lack of progress in the North’s denuclearization process. [Yonhap]
You can read more at the link, but I wonder what the Moon administration’s definition of “concrete, verifiable” steps is?
The big question is will the North Koreans likewise remove an equal number of troops and equipment? If so how far away from the DMZ are they moving?:
South Korea’s defense ministry said Tuesday that it is pushing for a plan to withdraw forces and their equipment from border guard posts “on a trial basis” in line with the April inter-Korean summit agreement to halt all hostile acts and reduce tensions.
In a policy briefing to the National Assembly’s defense committee, the ministry also said that it would consider the “full-scale pullout” in sync with a cross-border survey of historical remains and ecological features within the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas.
After their summit at the truce village of Panmunjom on April 27, South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un agreed to transform the DMZ into a “peace zone in a genuine sense.”
“To realize the transformation of the DMZ into a peace zone, as stated in the Panmunjom Declaration, (the ministry) is seeking a plan to expand the (withdrawal) program in stages after pulling out troops and equipment from the guard posts within the DMZ,” the ministry said. [Korea Times]
A Rocket has not been launched by North Korea in 9 months. Likewise, no Nuclear Tests. Japan is happy, all of Asia is happy. But the Fake News is saying, without ever asking me (always anonymous sources), that I am angry because it is not going fast enough. Wrong, very happy!
Here is the latest so called progress on the North Korea denuclearization issue:
Shown is a file photo of North Korea test firing a rocket at its Sohae Satellite Launching Station, the country’s main such location since 2012, on Feb. 7, 2016. U.S. website 38 North said on July 24, 2018, that new satellite imagery from July 20 shows key facilities are being dismantled at the station in line with a promise made by the North’s leader, Kim Jong-un, at his historic summit with U.S. President Donald Trump. (Yonhap) (END)
North Korea has started dismantling some facilities at its main satellite launch station, seen as the testing ground for its intercontinental ballistic missiles, according to expert analysis of recent satellite images.
If confirmed, the analysis by respected US-based website 38 North could signal a step forward after last month’s landmark summit between Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump, although some experts questioned the significance of the gesture.
After the summit, Trump had declared the North Korean nuclear threat was effectively over, and US media reports suggest he is privately furious at the lack of any subsequent progress on the denuclearisation issue. [AFP]
Before anyone gets excited by this news, it is important to note that the satellite launch site has nothing do with North Korea’s nuclear program. I have always believed that the Kim regime would be more willing to make concessions over their ICBM program and market it as being a step towards denuclearization in return for US concessions. That appears to be what they are doing.
Additionally this concession at their satellite launch site does not really effect their ICBM program anyway:
Melissa Hanham, senior research associate with the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in Monterey, said that while dismantling the engine test site was a “good move”, it amounted to “the bare minimum” that could be done at Sohae.
“Unless they dismantle the whole site, it will remain North Korea’s premier location for space launches,” Hanham said on Twitter.
“North Korea does not need the Sohae engine test stand anymore if it is confident in the engine design. As (Kim Jong Un) said himself, North Korea is moving from testing to mass production,” she said, adding that observers should look for signs of new sites where more missiles could be built.
So basically North Korea is dismantling something it doesn’t really need right now that they can then reconstruct when needed in a matter of days. Is this something I am supposed to be excited about?
