South Korean peace activists hold a rally in downtown Seoul on Oct. 18, 2017, to call for a halt to South Korea-U.S. joint military exercises and North Korea’s suspension of its nuclear tests. (Yonhap)
Here is the latest call for President Trump to not visit the DMZ:
Sue Mi Terry
North Korea could feel threatened if U.S. President Donald Trump visits the demilitarized zone on the inter-Korean border next month, a U.S. expert said Friday.
Trump could include a trip to the buffer zone dividing South and North Korea when he visits Seoul from Nov. 7-8, according to news reports. There are concerns it could provoke Pyongyang amid high tensions over its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.
“They’re seeing almost everything as a threat,” Sue Mi Terry, a former Korea analyst at the Central Intelligence Agency, said during a discussion on North Korea.
She noted that Trump has called North Korean leader Kim Jong-un a “Rocket Man” on a suicide mission and threatened to “totally destroy” the country if necessary.
“They already see him as a very provocative person,” she said. “Anything that he does will be continually seen that way.”
Terry voiced strong opposition to the use of military action against North Korea, saying it could have “catastrophic consequences” for the 20 million people living in Seoul.
“I think North Korea will retaliate if there’s a military strike,” she said. “In this ‘track 2’ meeting I had with North Koreans, they emphasized that they didn’t go through this level of pain that they had gone through to acquire nuclear weapons — spending millions of dollars — just to be able to, to paraphrase their own words: ‘We’re not just going to perish without being able to use them if we think the attack for regime change is coming.'” [Yonhap]
Ms. Terry is a smart person, but I don’t understand her perspective on this. If President Trump is going to say something provocative during his trip that is going to upset the Kim regime it doesn’t matter if it happens at Panmunjom or during his planned speech to the National Assembly.
As far as her view of being against military action I disagree with. First of all, I have not heard Trump calling for regime change. President Trump’s comments about totaling destroying North Korea were made in the context of the US or its allies having to defend itself from a North Korean attack.
Secondly there is this drum beat that any military action against North Korea will lead to the destruction of Seoul which I believe is not accurate. In my opinion if the US conducted a limited strike against for example their missile manufacturing facilities, this would not lead to the destruction of Seoul that would potentially kill millions of people. The Kim regime knows destroying Seoul means a regime change war they don’t want.
I believe the Kim regime will respond, but in a more limited fashion that doesn’t lead to full scale war. Some examples are a limited artillery barrage or ballistic missile attack against US military targets. A terrorism attack within South Korea or against USFK personnel. There are many other things the North Koreans could do in response that does not trigger a full war. After their response the Kim regime can turn to the Chinese and the Russians to help them justify their response to the limited US strike to stop a full scale war from happening.
Considering how misinformed Americans are by watching the 24 hour news networks, can you imagine how misinformed the North Korean leadership would be by watching those channels?:
NBC News correspondent Kier Simmons landed a rare interview with a North Korean military official on Thursday and learned that officials in the communist country watch “Morning Joe” specifically for reports and discussions about their country.
Simmons appeared on the MSNBC show Thursday from the border of North and South Korea to share his recent conversation with a North Korean lieutenant colonel that included his belief that President Trump is “mentally ill” and that his country could prevail over the U.S. in war.
“He quite plainly said he believes President Trump is mentally ill,” Simmons told “Morning Joe” co-hosts Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough. “And he was unequivocal in saying he believes North Korea could win a war with America.”
“Be it no doubt that the senior officials here pay attention to what is being said in the U.S.,” Simmons added. “One telling me that he watches ‘Morning Joe’ every day specifically for the segments about North Korea.” [The Hill]
If the ROK government and the State Department have their way, the answer is no:
It has become the ultimate symbol of American resolve against the threat of North Korea: a visit by the U.S. commander in chief to “freedom’s frontier,” the heavily guarded Demilitarized Zone that has separated the North and South for 64 years.
Wearing bomber-style jackets, surrounded by military officers, peering through binoculars, all but one president since Ronald Reagan has gazed across the barren strip of land at the 38th parallel from an observation post — and been moved to talk tough. In April, Vice President Mike Pence, undertaking the same solemn ritual, said he toured the DMZ so the North Koreans could “see our resolve in my face.”
But as President Donald Trump prepares for a 12-day swing next month through five Asian nations to bolster international pressure on Pyongyang, the administration is divided over whether he should make the pilgrimage, an issue that remains unresolved. Some aides worry a visit could further inflame already heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula, while others have expressed concern over Trump’s personal safety, according to people who have spoken to administration officials.
Asian foreign policy veterans of both the Obama and George W. Bush administrations said it would be foolish for Trump not to go. But the White House is facing opposition from South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s administration and the U.S. State Department over fears that a visit would ratchet up Trump’s war of words with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. [Stars & Stripes]
You can read more at the link, but if people are worried about President Trump saying something provocative about North Korea during his visit does the location really matter? As far as his personal safety does anyone really think the North Koreans will assassinate President Trump while visiting Panmunjom and start a war that will end the regime? I guess we will see how this plays out.
The North Koreans have been getting technical assistance on their weapons programs from somewhere and writer Gordon Chang believes it is China:
China has helped build North Korea’s ballistic missile program by providing important military equipment and technology, a U.S. expert claimed Wednesday.
In an interview on Fox Business, Gordon Chang, an East Asia security expert, said Chinese President Xi Jinping has been “fueling” the regime in Pyongyang with transfers of “very important” weapons, equipment and technology.
“They’re weaponizing the North,” he said, citing the ballistic missile program in particular.
The intercontinental ballistic missiles North Korea fired on July 4 and 28 were transported to their launch sites on Chinese mobile launchers, according to Chang, author of “The Coming Collapse of China.”
“Those mobile launchers make North Korea a real threat because their missiles can now hide,” he said.
Other North Korean missiles launched in August last year and February and May this year also appeared to be variants of China’s JL-1 submarine launched missiles, according to the expert. [Yonhap]
I would not be surprised if these North Korean propaganda leaflets being found in the Seoul area are not being distributed by the North Koreans, but instead South Korean leftist sympathizers:
This photo shows a propaganda leaflet, allegedly from North Korea, that was found on a street near South Korea’s presidential office Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul on Oct. 16, 2017. (Yonhap)
– A number of what appear to be North Korean propaganda leaflets have been spotted inside South Korea’s presidential office Cheong Wa Dae and in nearby areas, the office confirmed Monday, prompting suspicions over how they found their way into the highly secured area.
The small propaganda bills were seen scattered on streets near the presidential office, while some were even found in the yard of Chunchugwan, the Cheong Wa Dae press center that sits on the eastern side of the presidential office, according to Cheong Wa Dae security officials.
North Korean leaflets are not hard to find in South Korea while the communist state is said to periodically send leaflets using balloons and unmanned aerial vehicles, but it marked a rare incident for such bills to be found near the presidential office. [Yonhap]
The architect behind the failed 1994 Agreed Framework, Robert Gallucci has joined the chorus to restart talks with North Korea though they have repeatedly said they don’t want to:
Robert Gallucci
Former U.S. nuclear negotiator Robert Gallucci said Monday that North Korea might not be interested in talks on its nuclear and missile programs until it secures an intercontinental ballistic missile capability that levels the playing field with the U.S.
“Maybe it’s true that the North has no interest at this moment in having the negotiations that involve its nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles,” Gallucci said in a lecture at Seoul’s Yonsei University.
“Some suspect in the U.S that they don’t want to enter through negotiations with the U.S… until they have demonstrated an ICMB capability that makes the U.S. vulnerable to them… so that they have leveled the playing field,” he added. “That’s possible.” [Yonhap]
You can read the rest at the link, but Gallucci in the article tries to blame the Trump administration for not restarting talks though he even states in the article the North Koreans are likely waiting to perfect their ICBM before wanting to pursue talks.
