Tag: North Korea

Malaysia Cuts Deal to Return Body of Kim Jong-nam to North Korea

| March 31, 2017

Even in death Kim Jong-nam could not escape North Korea:

Malaysia put the body of the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on a plane to Pyongyang on Thursday, in a deal that secured the release of its citizens there and ended a drawnout diplomatic spat.

U.S. and South Korean intelligence sources say North Korea masterminded the deadly attack on Kim Jong Nam last month using VX nerve agent, a chemical so toxic that it is on a U.N. list of weapons of mass destruction.

The attack outraged Malaysia and sparked a diplomatic row with North Korea, resulting in travel bans on both sides and a collapse in their long-standing friendly ties.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said the nine Malaysians barred from leaving North Korea had been allowed to board a plane out, adding on Twitter that they were expected to reach Kuala Lumpur at 5 a.m. local time on Friday (2100 GMT Thursday).

The Malaysians left Pyongyang in a Royal Malaysian Air Force business jet, which headed immediately west out of North Korean airspace before turning south toward Malaysia, according to flight tracking website planefinder.net.  [Reuters]

You can read more at the link, but it appears the hostage taking of the Malaysian diplomatic personnel in Pyongyang worked.

ROK Defense Minister Orders Troops to Immediately Retaliate Against Any North Korean Provocation

| March 31, 2017

I wonder if this will still be the direction given to the ROK military after the Korean left likely wins the Presidency in May:

South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo speaks during a visit to an Army command post in this file photo provided by his ministry. (Yonhap)

South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo on Wednesday instructed troops not to hesitate to take retaliatory actions in the event of a North Korea attack.

Inspecting a coastline guard post of the Army’s 32nd Infantry Division, Han stressed the need for “perfect” combat posture both on the front lines and in the rear.

“There shouldn’t be any disorder even by an inch in the military,” he said. “Any provocation from the North should not be tolerated.”

The minister urged the military to be fully ready for the completion of operations “on-the-spot” at a “decisive” time, citing the grim security conditions on the peninsula.  [Yonhap]

Long time Korea watchers may remember that the last time the Korean left held the presidency, ROK servicemembers who defended the nation against North Korean aggression were treated like criminals.  Hopefully these same policies are not enacted when the Korean left likely takes over this time.

Tweet of the Day: Listen to North Korea

| March 30, 2017

Former NK Negotiator Advocates for Increasing Defenses In South Korea and Working with China

| March 30, 2017

What Christopher Hill is advocating for has been tried before and does not work.  Increasing defenses in South Korea is common sense and has long been going on, working with China has also been tried and it has not stopped the North Korean nuclear or missile threats:

Christopher Hill

No good military options exist on North Korea and the best way to deal with the provocative regime is to increase cooperation with China, former U.S. nuclear negotiator with North Korea Christopher Hill said Sunday.

Talk of pre-emptive strikes against the North have gained traction after U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said earlier this month that diplomacy failed to disarm the North and the United States is considering a new range of options, including military ones.

“We say ‘everything is on the table’ is because basically none of the options are particularly good options,” the former negotiator said on New York’s AM 970 radio, according to the newspaper Hill. “There are no good military options.

“We’ve done a lot on sanctions. It’s the most sanctioned country in the world. That hasn’t worked. We tried to have negotiations with them. That hasn’t worked. But I think what could work is a much better understanding between the U.S. and China,” Hill said.

He expressed concerns about the rapidly worsening threats from the North.

“In the last few years, North Korea’s threat has really grown … now we are seeing them modernize their missile arsenal, such that it’s quite likely in the near future … North Korea will have a deliverable nuclear weapon. And then the question is, what are we all going to do about that?” Hill said.

“I wouldn’t want to be Donald Trump in 2020 and have to say … we couldn’t do anything,” he said.  [Yonhap]

It seems to me that Mr. Hill should not be calling out President Trump when he could not stop the North Korean threat when he was in government.

North Korea May Conduct Sixth Nuclear Test Before US-China Presidential Summit

| March 30, 2017

If the North Koreans conduct this nuclear test it seems they must be pretty confident that no matter what they do before the upcoming ROK presidential election that a Korean left wing candidate is going to win. Typically North Korean provocations cause voters to rally behind a Korean right wing candidate, but this may be an indication of how discredited the Korean right is after the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye:

Another North Korean nuclear test is imminent, with preparations likely to wrap up this week, intelligence authorities in Seoul said Wednesday.

The test, North Korea’s sixth, could be conducted as early as next week

“We have intelligence that North Korea may conduct its sixth nuclear test in the first week of April and are in the process of confirming this,” said a South Korean military intelligence source who requested anonymity. “We have determined that North Korea is expected to finish all preparations for a nuclear test by March 31.”

There were expectations that the North could conduct a nuclear test ahead of the upcoming meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump expected to be held on April 6 and 7 at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida.

“We are analyzing that there is a high possibility that North Korea will conduct a nuclear test ahead of U.S. President Trump and Chinese President Xi’s summit in the United States,” another intelligence official said.   [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read more at the link.

Tweet of the Day: Tumen’s Bridge to No Where

| March 28, 2017

Tweet of the Day: Kim Jong-nam’s Body Moved to Crematorium

| March 27, 2017

Tweet of the Day: Reopening Kaesong Industrial Complex Is Illegal

| March 26, 2017

Tweet of the Day: Harrowing Story

| March 25, 2017

Tweet of the Day: Why North Korea is Aiming Missiles At Japan

| March 24, 2017