I guess we will see what happens, but I don’t expect Ivanka Trump will stray from the White House’s current maximum pressure position in regards to North Korea if they do meet:
Kim Yong-chol
The chances of Washington-Pyongyang talks over the latter’s nuclear program seem to be growing, with high-level officials from the two countries coming to South Korea for the closing ceremony of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.
Attention to any possible contact is high, especially after it belatedly became known the two sides had planned a meeting when U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s sister Kim Yo-jong participated in the opening ceremony.
Cheong Wa Dae and the Ministry of Unification said Thursday Kim Yong-chol, head of the Workers’ Party of Korea’s United Front Department, would visit the South from Sunday to Tuesday, along with seven other delegates including Ri Son-gwon, chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland.
They will attend the closing ceremony that will take place on Sunday. Cheong Wa Dae said the rest of their itinerary has not been confirmed, although it is expected they will have a separate meeting with President Moon Jae-in at Cheong Wa Dae.
The high-profile North Korean delegation’s visit was announced hours after the White House and Cheong Wa Dae confirmed Ivanka Trump, daughter and adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump, would make a four-day visit here from Friday to Monday.
She is scheduled to have talks with Moon over dinner at the presidential office on the first day of her visit. Ivanka Trump will also have a separate event with first lady Kim Jung-sook, as well as attending the closing ceremony.
As the periods of the two delegations’ stays overlap, expectations are growing over a possible meeting. [Korea Times]
You can read more at the link, but I am willing to bet the Moon administration intentionally created this scheduling overlap in an effort to try and get a meeting to happen.
Former Financial Times journalist John Burton thinks the Trump administration is to paternalistic with South Korea and should let them settle their own differences with North Korea:
John Burton
The U.S. has been doing itself no favors in its rather paternalistic response to the thawing relations between the two Koreas at the Winter Olympics.
The bottom line message emerging from Washington is that South Koreans cannot be trusted in handling Pyongyang. The U.S. is worried that North Korea is trying to drive a wedge in relations between Seoul and Washington. But the Trump administration’s own behavior is contributing to the possibility of any split.
And if the South Koreans can’t be trusted with their own security, then why should the U.S. be so concerned about defending them unless it is for some ulterior motive such as maintaining a military presence on the Asian mainland to counter China?
The fact is that the Koreans have reached out to each other because of fears that Trump might launch a “bloody nose” preventive attack that could result in appalling destruction across the Korean Peninsula. No wonder why Koreans want to give peace a chance.
But the U.S. has not reacted well to what is happening in PyeongChang. The American media has reported about South Koreans having been seduced by the wily charms of Kim Yo-jong, described as North Korea’s Ivanka Trump, and her accompanying “army of beauties.”
Many predict that her siren song is likely to result in President Moon Jae-in accepting her invitation to travel to Pyongyang and meet her brother, Kim Jong-un, who will trick the South Koreans into undermining the international sanctions regime against North Korea over its nuclear program. [Korea Times]
You can read more at the link, but Mr. Burton is also upset with Vice President Pence not standing and showing respect to the North Korean delegation at the Winter Olympics. I have to wonder if Mr. Burton thinks the then Apartheid South Africa should have been allowed in the Olympics and shown proper respect as well?
Mr. Burton then goes on to say the South and North should be allowed to resolve their issues themselves without US interference. That boat has long ago sailed when North Korea decided to begin launching ICBMs and testing nuclear weapons capable of mass destruction in the United States. If North Korea was not conducting such activities threats of “bloody nose” strikes and “maximum pressure” campaigns by the Trump administration would not be happening.
Until North Korea gives up on these programs the United States will continue to have a vested interest in any negotiations between North and South Korea. Especially after the original Sunshine Policy that sent billions of dollars to North Korea is arguably the reason why the Kim regime now has nuclear and ICBM weapons to threaten the US with. Because of this the Trump administration rightfully should be advocating against any give aways by the Moon administration to the Kim regime for little or nothing in return.
You would think the Kim regime would at least send someone to the Winter Olympics that at least knows how to skate:
He came, he saw, he fell—twice. But what made North Korean athlete Jong Kwang Bom’s abysmal performance at the men’s short track speed skating 500m heat particularly memorable was his attempt to take down his Japanese rival by grabbing his blade.
The seventh and last of Tuesday’s heats featured athletes from South Korea, Japan, the U.S. and North Korea—oddly representative of the four main players involved in the current geopolitical tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
Jong, who at 16 was the youngest skater in the heat, fell flat on his chest within a few seconds of the start of the race. While lying on the ice, he extended his arm and grabbed the Japanese speed skater Keita Watanabe’s blade, in what was either a willful attempt to trip the athlete or to force a restart. [Newsweek]
You can read more at the link, but the North Korean was awarded a restart for his efforts and then proceeded to fall again and try to take out the American and Japanese skaters. Oddly this race is a great metaphor for North Korea; a country with little to no talent, instead of trying to compete on the world stage decides to use thug behavior to threaten to take everyone else down with them.
Apparently there was a meeting after all with the North Koreans that Vice President Pence was scheduled to attend last week with the North Koreans:
Vice President Mike Pence was all set to hold a history-making meeting with North Korean officials during the Winter Olympics in South Korea, but Kim Jong Un’s government canceled at the last minute, the Trump administration said Tuesday.
A potential meeting between Pence and the North Koreans had been the most highly anticipated moment of the vice president’s visit to Pyeongchang, South Korea, where he led the U.S delegation to the opening ceremonies. Ahead of Pence’s visit, Trump officials had insisted they’d requested no meeting with North Korea, but notably left open the possibility one could occur.
There was no indication that a meeting had indeed been planned — and then canceled on short notice — until Tuesday, more than a week after Pence returned to the United States. The State Department said that Pence had been “ready to take this opportunity” but would have used it to insist Pyongyang abandon its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs. [Associated Press]
You can read more at the link, but here is why the meeting was likely called off:
“North Korea dangled a meeting in hopes of the Vice President softening his message, which would have ceded the world stage for their propaganda during the Olympics,” Pence’s chief of staff, Nick Ayers, said in a statement.
But after Pence condemned North Korean human rights abuses and announced plans for new economic sanctions, “they walked away from a meeting or perhaps they were never sincere about sitting down,” Ayers said. [Korea Times]
It is pretty clear the North Koreans are not serious about denuclearization or ending their ICBM program.
I have been saying for years that the ROK government should only agree to another Inter-Korean Summit if it is held in Seoul. Mr. William Brown an adjunct professor at Georgetown University shares this assessment:
Will President Moon Jae-in accept North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s invitation to Pyongyang?
It must be a very tricky decision for Moon. If he raises the issue of denuclearization, North Korea might revert to its belligerent stance.
But if Moon opts to go to Pyongyang for talks for the sake of talks it could jeopardize the alliance between South Korea and the United States, or other allies.
William Brown, adjunct professor at Georgetown School of Foreign Service, suggests Moon make a counteroffer by inviting Kim to Seoul to avoid the same old mistakes his liberal predecessors have made.
“We have seen far too many VIP trips to Pyongyang over the past decades, and every time, Pyongyang has hoodwinked the visitors into giving it something, even billions of dollars,” Brown said in an interview, citing former President Kim Dae-jung.
“I’m sure Kim Jong-un is well aware of that and in need of big money. So, Kim wants an improvement in inter-Korean ties but only to help him pursue his new ‘unification’ dream.”
He pointed out the North has “engagement” down to a fine art, knowing how to cater to foreign and South Korean egos. [Korea Times]
You can read more at the link, but after the first Inter-Korean Summit in Pyongyang with ROK President Kim Dae-jung, the then North Korean leader Kim Jong-il promised to visit Seoul at the next Inter-Korean Summit. During the administration of ROK President Roh Moo-hyun a second Inter-Korean Summit was held in Pyongyang. Kim Jong-il said that he could not hold the summit in Seoul due to “security concerns”.
This is of course nonsense, the real reason he did not want to come to Seoul is because of the propaganda value it gives to the ROK government. The Kim regime has long held that the ROK government is an illegitimate puppet regime of the evil American Imperialists™. Kim Jong-un traveling to Seoul for talks gives legitimacy to the ROK government and eliminates the propaganda value to North Korea of ROK government leaders making kowtowing tribute visits to Pyongyang.
Considering the North Korean sympathizers within the Moon administration it is unlikely they would demand that the next Inter-Korean Summit be held in Seoul. Instead if the Trump administration says they would participate in a Inter-Korean Summit if it is held in Seoul this may force the ROK government’s hand to ask that the summit be held in Seoul. This would then put the onus on the Kim regime to see how serious they are about peace. If Kim Jong-un refuses to attend an Inter-Korean Summit in Seoul it shows he is not serious about peace and instead just looking for another payday.
How come I get the feeling there is more to this story?:
A North Korean defector has been arrested and indicted on charges of supporting the North and preparing to defect back to Pyongyang in violation of the National Security Law, prosecutors here said Sunday.
The defector identified only as a 49-year-old woman is accused of sending 130 tons of rice worth about 105 million won (US$97,000) to North Korea’s State Security Ministry, according to the Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office.
The rice was sent via a broker in China on two occasions last year, the prosecutors said.
Prior to her arrest, the defector again attempted to send additional rice to the North by remitting 80 million won to the broker, they noted.
The former North Korean woman is also suspected of having attempted to return to the North, as she has sold her house in the South and disposed of other personal belongings.
It is rare for a North Korean defector to voluntarily send rice to a North Korean government organ.
The woman came to the South in 2011 and began contacting the North’s government early last year, prosecutors said, adding she told investigators she wanted to return to the North to be reunited with her son. [Yonhap]
I would not be surprised if this woman was being blackmailed with threats by Kim regime agents against her son if she did not send the payments.
People in North Korea dance on the streets in this photo from the North’s Korean Central News Agency on Feb. 16, 2018, to mark the birth anniversary of the country’s late former leader Kim Jong-il, which is named “the Day of the Shining Star.” (Yonhap)
Keep the name Im Jong-seok and his background in mind over the next year as South Korea likely moves forward with appeasement Sunshine 2.0 with the Kim regime:
President Moon Jae-in’s chief of staff, Im Jong-seok, left, fires back at opposition lawmaker Jun Hee-kyung, who raised questions about his ideological background. [YONHAP]I knew very little about Im Jong-seok until he became President Moon Jae-in’s chief of staff in May. All I knew was that as president of the National Council of Student Representatives, he served a prison term for orchestrating his fellow student Lim Su-kyung’s unauthorized trip to North Korea in 1989.
The council had been influenced by Kim Il Sung’s Juche idea of self-reliance and supported North Korean ideas like the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Korea, abolishing the National Security Law and achieving unification with North Korea based on a federal system. Therefore, it might be natural that some people consider the president’s chief of staff as a former Juche activist since he had been the head of a pro-North group. I thought so, too. If the public is wrong, it is up to Im, as a public official and politician, to set the record straight.
It was a surprise to me that Im responded fiercely when Juche was debated during the National Assembly’s audit of the Blue House on Nov. 6. Jun Hee-kyung, a lawmaker from the opposition Liberty Korea Party lawmaker, brought up the issue and said she saw the Blue House being dominated by Juche supporters and National Council of Student Representatives alumni.
The opposition party’s attack might have been expected, but Im questioned Jun’s motivations in the inquiry. “I don’t know how you lived during the Fifth and Sixth Republic juntas when soldiers-turned-politicians infringed democracy,” Im fired back.
But that was it. I wonder why Im let go of such a great opportunity. If he had said, “I never supported Juche and believe in liberal democracy; how can you say I support Kim Il Sung’s philosophy?,” all doubts could be cleared. But he did not.
So I traced his past and found many aspects of an emotional North Korea sympathizer. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
It truly is amazing how South Korean politicians want to reward the Kim regime’s crimes against humanity and threat to world peace by letting them co-host a major sporting event:
A South Korean province is considering a proposal to co-host the 2021 Asian Winter Games with North Korea in a bid to strengthen inter-Korean ties, South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency said on Saturday, quoting provincial governor Choi Moon-soon.
Gangwon province, host for the current 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, is considering the idea also as a way of making further use of Olympics venues, Choi was quoted as saying.
North Korea is participating in the Pyeongchang Games at the invitation of the South, which is using them to help ease tensions between the two countries, still technically at war.
The host city for the 2021 event has not been decided yet.
A spokesman for South Korea’s sports ministry said it “hopes to continue sports exchanges with North Korea after the Winter Games” but it had not yet discussed any bid for the 2021 Games. [Reuters]
I hope Gangwon is not chosen for the host site for the 2021 Asian Winter Games simply because of this idea. Plus how many missile and nuclear tests will there be between now and 2021?
