Tag: North Korea

Tweet of the Day: President Trump and North Korea

| November 18, 2016

North Korea Asks Chinese Government to Stop Their Media from Calling Kim Jong-un Fat

| November 17, 2016

It is pretty ironic that North Korea is making this request at the same time they are promoting their obesity cure:

kim with cigarette

North Korea has made a state request to officials in China pleading for them to stop referring to ‘glorious leader’ Kim Jong-un as fat.

Ministers have reportedly asked their neighbours to refrain from referring to the chunky Swiss cheese fan as Jin San Pang or ‘Kim Fatty III’ in media or conversations.

Apparently ‘Kim Fatty III’ is a widely used nickname for Kim in China along with Jin Pang Pang (Kim Fat Fatty) or Jin San Fei (Kim Abundant III).

Now According to the Apple Daily in Hong Kong, terrified North Korean government officials have called on their old comrades to take action before heads roll.  [FOX News]

You can read more at the link.

North Korea Says It Has Invented an Obesity Cure and It Doesn’t Involve A State Sponsored Famine

| November 16, 2016

North Korea’s researchers have obviously not tested their obesity cure on Kim Jong-un:

nk defector image

North Korean scientists have announced that they have invented a pill that cures obesity, in an article published by the country’s state media on Monday.

The article, entitled “Researchers in Metabolic Diseases,” outlines the ten-year research project which resulted in what’s described as “the Golden Pill Against Obesity.”

The new pill is supposedly superior to other treatments and allegedly works without lifestyle or diet changes.

“As it decreases the body-weight and the thickness of subcutaneous fat without applying any diet or exercise cure, the pill is believed to be superior to existing remedies of obesity or foreign pills or other means of treatment,” the article reads.  [NK News]

You can read more at the link.

Tweet of the Day: North Korean Media Features Anti-Park Rally

| November 15, 2016

Tweet of the Day: Q&A With Jueun Baek

| November 13, 2016

Experts Call On Trump to Try Engagement Option with North Korea

| November 13, 2016

Trump has done pretty well for himself by not listening to the experts.  I guess we will see if he wants to the listen to the so called experts about North Korea and decide to cut a deal with the Kim regime:

north korea nuke

“Engagement” will be the most viable option for the new U.S. government to make North Korea give up its nuclear and missile programs, three experts said Friday.

A forum in Seoul called on the Donald Trump administration that begins in January to seek dialogue-based engagement policies toward a nuclear-armed North Korea.

Ken E. Gause, director of the International Affairs Group at the Center for Naval Analyses, outlined possible policy options for the incoming Trump administration — pre-emption, intensified sanctions and engagement — as President Obama’s “strategic patience” approach is widely received as a failure.

He proposed the new government give priority to engagement involving both dialogue and pressure, citing the potentially catastrophic downsides of pre-emptive attacks and the ineffectiveness of stronger sanctions heavily reliant on China.

“It is an option, however, that will require many years, if not decades, to achieve,” Gause said.

“The (engagement) option is the least appealing to the U.S. and South Korean policymakers. It is tainted by the history of past policies of appeasement. It smacks of rewarding bad behavior and giving Pyongyang de facto recognition as a nuclear state, something the United States and South Korea have said they will never do,” Gause said.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link.

Tweet of the Day: Rodong Sinmun’s Feature Story

| November 12, 2016

Picture of the Day: Kim Jong-il Watches Guys Break Tiles

| November 11, 2016

N. Korean leader visits military unit

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (background, 2nd from L) watches a tile-breaking training session during a visit to a special operation battalion under the Unit 525 of the Korean People’s Army, in this photo released by the North’s Korean Central TV Broadcasting Station on Nov. 4, 2016. As is customary, the station didn’t mention the timing of his visit or the unit’s location. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

Tweet of the Day: Kim’s Speech Shows He Is Emotionally Unstable?

| November 11, 2016

What the Election of Donald Trump Means for South Korea

| November 10, 2016

It was an amazing US election to see Donald Trump defy expectations and win the US Presidency over Hillary Clinton.  Congratulations to him and his campaign team.  His election will definitely be something that political scientists will be talking about for decades to come.  By the way I thought his acceptance speech was really good:

“Now it’s time for America to bind the wounds of division, have to get together. To all Republicans and Democrats and independents across this nation, I say it is time for us to come together as one united people. I pledge to every citizen of our land that I will be president for all Americans,” he said.

To countries around the world, Trump said, “While we will always put America’s interests first, we will deal fairly with everyone, with everyone.”

“All people and all other nations. We will seek common ground, not hostility, partnership, not conflict,” he said.  [Yonhap]

Here is what South Korean President Park Geun-hye had to say about the election of Donald Trump:

The commander-in-chief made the remarks during a briefing on the outcome of the National Security Council (NSC) session after Republican Donald Trump won the White House in a hard-fought race against Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.

“Given the United States is our ally and that the South Korea-U.S. relationship has a great impact on our diplomacy, security and economy, I think we need to extensively explore ways to develop close relations with the incoming Trump administration,” she said.

“In light of the grave situation in which North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats are growing day by day, I call on you to establish cooperative ties with the incoming U.S. administration early in the stage of the government transition,” she added.  [Yonhap]

So what does Donald Trump’s victory mean for the people of South Korea who were deeply against the election of Trump?  Here are my quick thoughts on the biggest areas that the ROK should expect possible impacts on:

  • US-ROK Free Trade Agreement: Due to Trump’s election victory the Korean stock market has tanked.  The market tanked because of fears that Trump will want to renegotiate the US-Korea Free Trade Agreement:A key concern is Trump’s “America first” position that includes a preference for trade protectionism.“The market will inevitably face a short-term adjustment if Trump wins,” said Kim Ji-na, a fixed income analyst at IBK Securities. “There’s even a possibility that the 1,900 barrier could fall as Trump’s victory will only raise instability and bring about policy risks.”The bigger concern is that Korea’s economy, which has been facing tough times due to shrinking exports, will suffer heavily.“The Trump victory will not only act as a potential risk for the Korean market but also the global economy,” said Hwang Na-young, a Woori Finance Research Institute researcher. “Once Trump and the Republicans take over, most of the major policies of the Barack Obama years will be reversed: repealing Obamacare, huge tax cuts, easing of financial regulations and a preference for fossil fuel.

    “Major changes are likely in regards to trade policies as protectionism deepens on top of an isolationist approach to diplomatic polices.”  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

    Here are some facts and figures about Korea-US trade from the Joong Ang Ilbo article:

  • I would be surprised if Trump makes it a priority to go after the US-ROK FTA.  Considering the amount of manufacturing jobs brought to the US from Korean car manufacturers it seems the US-ROK FTA is a deal he would want to keep in place.  I think his immediate focus will be on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the North American Free Trade Agreements (NAFTA) which he has been highly critical of.
  • North Korea Nuclear Issue: I don’t see Trump wanting to make any nuclear agreement with Kim Jong-un considering the country’s past track record of violating the agreements.  What I do think he will do is push for more sanctions against Chinese banks and businesses in an effort to pressure the Chinese government to reign in North Korea:

    Trump also identified North Korea as a problem for China, not the U.S.

    “I would get China to make that guy disappear, in one form or another, very quickly,” Trump said in February on the CBS TV program “This Morning.”

    “China has absolute control of North Korea. They won’t say it, but they do. And they should make that problem disappear.” [Korea Times]

  • Immigration: Any Koreans living illegally in the US and hoping for amnesty should probably forget about that idea happening anytime soon.  With that said I do think ironically that with a President Trump an immigration reform deal is more likely because he will try and cut a deal that is not blanket amnesty, but at the same time provides a process for foreign workers to be sponsored to work in the US.  This would reduce illegal immigration across the US-Mexico border and possibly allow him to say he does not need to fully build his famous wall.

Conclusion: So those are my quick thoughts on what the election of Donald Trump means for South Korea.  I think the biggest impact is that the ROK should expect to pay more for the upkeep of USFK.  If not then Trump may begin relooking the US-ROK FTA which South Korea has much more to lose.  Does anyone else have any other areas that they foresee that a President Trump will have a significant impact on in South Korea over the next four years?  If so please share your opinions in the comments section.