Part II of the third summit between Xi and KJU. Here's the same NK general who created controversy, defense minister Roh Gwang-chol, doing the same military salute at another summit. This is a big entourage: about twice the hangers-on that accompanied KJU to the 1st & 2nd summits pic.twitter.com/3O67f0f8jo
ROK Drop favorite Andrew Salmon writes in the Korea Times about if the Moon administration should pursue a trilateral security pact with the United States with the third country not being Japan, but North Korea:
But even if South Korea can defend itself against North Korea conventionally, there are broader reasons to maintain a Washington alliance.
This alliance goes beyond USFK. Its underpinning is a mutual defense treaty ― which, incidentally, does not even mention North Korea.
There is no multilateral security architecture in the region; no Northeast Asian NATO. We all know that _ for emotive rather than political reasons ― Koreans cannot ally with Japanese. This makes the U.S. South Korea’s only friend to turn to if things turn rough. It has no other ally. Period.
Speaking of the broader peninsula: What is more threatening? A superpower across the Pacific ― or a superpower next door? Could ― gulp! ― Seoul and Washington one day invite Pyongyang into a trilateral pact against external enemies?
This is not complete lunacy. After all, the late Kim Jong-il told the late Kim Dae-jung that he agreed to a long-term US presence on the peninsula to counterbalance a rising China.
I would respectfully suggest that Seoul considers these factors very carefully as it negotiates the upcoming issues of defense cost-sharing and wartime operational control with Washington.
These are big-picture issues here. There are big-boys’ rules to consider. In a situation where all possibilities are in play, there is more at stake than North-South rapprochement. [Korea Times]
You can read the rest at the link, but if this was to happen this would be a huge strategic victory for the US against Chinese hegemony in northeast Asia. Could you imagine a Foal Eagle exercise with US soldiers training with North Korean troops?
I guess we will see how the Moon administration tries to end South Korea’s human rights act since the Kim regime through their state controlled media is demanding it:
North Korea’s state media on Sunday demanded the abolishment of South Korea’s human rights act and a foundation dedicated to its enforcement, arguing they only hamper efforts to improve cross-border ties.
The call came weeks after Seoul closed the office for the state-run foundation due to a yearslong delay in its official launch, which was caused by political hurdles. The government, however, pledged continued efforts for the launch.
“The North Korean human rights act, which the cohorts of (former President) Park Geun-hye manipulated, must be abolished, while the North Korean human rights foundation, an institution designed to plot against our republic, ought to be buried away,” said Uriminzokkiri, a North Korean propaganda website. [Yonhap]
You can read more at the link, but ROK Heads may remember that last the Moon administration closed the ROK government’s office for human rights citing administrative issues.
Moon returns from Russia where he pitched his own Northern Strategy (the "Northern Silk Road") to Putin, Medvedev and the Russian lower house. SK railroad officials accompanied him to confer with Russian ones re connecting to the Trans-Siberian Railwayhttps://t.co/sio2gDj7ra
I think we can take this as a good sign that the Trump administration will not drop sanctions prior to North Korea taking irreversible denuclearization measures:
U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday extended sanctions on North Korea for a year, citing the “unusual and extraordinary” threat posed by its nuclear weapons program.
The extension comes 10 days after Trump’s historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore, during which the North committed to “complete denuclearization” of the Korean Peninsula in exchange for U.S. security guarantees.
“The existence and risk of proliferation of weapons-usable fissile material on the Korean Peninsula and the actions and policies of the Government of North Korea continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States,” Trump wrote in a routine notice to Congress.
For this reason, Trump said, six executive orders that were issued under his and past administrations to sanction North Korea for its nuclear and ballistic missile programs must continue in effect beyond June 26.
“Therefore, in accordance with section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d)), I am continuing for 1 year the national emergency with respect to North Korea declared in Executive Order 13466,” he wrote.
The action appears to underscore the Trump administration’s goal of keeping sanctions on North Korea until it takes concrete steps toward denuclearization. [Korea Times]
You can read more at the link, but the Kim regime must have been expecting this considering how muted their reaction has been so far.
What is most notable about this is that the Kim regime apparently did not demand bags of cash to make this happen. It appears to be simply a good will gesture in response to the cancelling of the UFG exercise:
North Korean soldiers hand over to United Nations troops standing at the inter-Korean border a casket containing the remains of one of seventeen U.S. servicemen who served in the Korean War during repatriation ceremonies at the treaty village of Panmunjom, North Korea, July 12, 1993. REUTERS-Yonhap
The U.S. military plans to send 215 empty caskets to North Korea via the inter-Korean border on Saturday to get back the remains of American soldiers killed during the Korean War, a South Korean military official said.About 30 U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) vehicles carrying the caskets were scheduled to depart from the Camp Humphreys base in Pyeongtaek for the border village of Panmunjom on Saturday afternoon, the official said on condition of anonymity.
“North Korea will repatriate the remains in the caskets,” the official said.
Recovering and repatriating the remains of U.S. troops killed during the 1950-53 war was one of the agreements that U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un reached during their historic summit in Singapore earlier this month. [Korea Times]
You can read more at the link, but it is right now undetermined how the remains will be repatriated, but it is expected to happen in the next few days.
What I did not see in the article was if any money was handed over to North Korea for the return of the remains. My assumption would be probably not since the sanctions are still in place. It will be interesting to see how many remains the Kim regime hands over because Korean War remains are a cottage industry for the North Koreans to make money off of:
Marines of the First Marine Division pay their respects to fallen buddies during memorial services at the division’s cemetery at Hamhung, Korea, following the break-out from Chosin Reservoir, December 13, 1950. Cpl. Uthe. (Marine Corps)
The U.N. Command in South Korea is planning for the North Koreans to turn over the remains of U.S. troops who died in the 1950-53 war, a spokeswoman said Wednesday.
It would be the first such repatriation in more than a decade.
The announcement follows an agreement by President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during their summit last week to recover the remains of thousands of war dead, “including the immediate repatriation of those already identified.”
The U.S.-led command didn’t give a number or timing for the ceremony. The agency that oversees POW/MIA issues has said North Korean officials have indicated that they have recovered as many as 200 sets of remains over the years. [Stars & Stripes]
You can read more at the link, but the North Koreans know exactly where the bulk of the remains are because the US military buried a large number of casualties in marked cemeteries before evacuating North Korea after the Chinese intervened in the war.
The JSA may be preparing for the ceremony, but President Trump has said 200 remains have already been returned:
U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that North Korea has sent back the remains of 200 American soldiers who were killed in the 1950-53 Korean War.
The repatriation is part of an agreement Trump signed with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at their historic summit in Singapore last week.
“Our great fallen heroes, the remains, in fact today already 200 have been sent back,” Trump said at a rally in Duluth, Minnesota, noting that he had “great chemistry” and “got along really well” with Kim. [Korea Times]
I could find no confirmation that this has actually happened yet; you would think this would be major news which leads me to believe it hasn’t happened. However, if Kim does hand over 200 remains that is a pretty significant amount.
