The ROK probably should have never stopped clearing shrubbery around the DMZ in the first place considering North Korea’s long history of border incursions and provocations:
Han’s remarks came as the South’s military is preparing to take preliminary steps to pave the way for offensive operations within the 250-kilometer stretch of the four-kilometer-wide buffer zone.
It is considering forest burning in some areas, an operational practice the South decided to stop in 2001 following inter-Korean working-level military talks.
An official explained that burning shrubs will help the military secure a view of North Korea’s guard posts and reconnaissance activities ahead of launching offensive operations within the area. The official said if it is conducted, the burning operation would be carried out in the fall to avoid southerly wind.
Amid such considerations, a South Korea-U.S. joint artillery live fire drill began on Wednesday.
Running through the end of this month, the drill will see the participation of cutting-edge weapons, including South Korea’s K-2 tanks and FA-50 fighter jets as well as the U.S.’ Paladin self-propelled howitzers, Apache helicopters and A-10 attack aircraft. [KBS World Radio]
It looks like the Kim regime’s propaganda department got what they wanted out of approving Aram Pan’s photography project inside North Korea:
Aram Pan in North Korea
This is the true story of North Korea through the eyes of Aram, a Singaporean photographer who has been using existing and the bleeding edge technologies to visually document North Korea.
Aram first applied to the North Korean government for permission to do a photography project in the “Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea” back in 2013.
“I figured the world has more images of the deep ocean depths than we have of North Korea. One day I just decided to try contacting them to see if I could do some kind of photography project in their country.”
He was surprised when his project got approved.
“The impression I originally had was that it would be tough to gain access with so many stories about undercover reporters allege they are risking their lives with hidden cameras.”
The latest addition to Aram’s kit is his modified go-pro hero 4 black that shoots 360 degree video footage. [Korea Observer]
Here is where Mr. Pan shows he is nothing more than a useful propaganda piece for the Kim regime:
Aram said he wants to exchange culture with North Koreans when practicable and also give interested viewers accurate insight into North Korea and its people.
“There are humans there. People with lives. Every life is precious,” he said.
“With this knowledge, I want the world to restrain their resentment against the country and consider first peaceful and friendly options to engage them. If we can create an environment and atmosphere of love, it will be felt on all sides.”
In a lot of Aram’s work there is vast space and few people.
“North Koreans have the strange habit of wanting places to look clear and clean. That results in them clearing out the locals when I do some of my shoots.”
Aram attempts to capture the everyday nature of the average North Korean.
“In the new north eastern areas, [guides] wonder why I want to photograph farmers at work. ‘They are all dirty. Not make good photos’ the guides will say.
There are also some areas in North Korea where tourists are told they are not allowed to have their cameras out or do not get access to.
Aram said that so far he has not seen evidence of labor camps or persecution.
“We already have some of the most high tech satellites in space that can photograph galaxies light-years away in ultra high resolution. I’m sure if they really wanted to, they could simply snap a few shots of the labor camps and publish them anytime. So I’m just focusing on the humans going about their daily lives.”
First of all Mr. Pan needs to take a lesson in what the size of the aperture for an imagery satellite that can take pictures of North Korean concentration camps where you can make out in detail what is going on. The Hubble Space Telescope is very different from an imagery satellite. Secondly the imagery satellites that are available have taken pictures of the suspected camps. If the Kim regime is so great why doesn’t Mr. Pan put into to do a photo project of these suspected prison camps. He would be doing the world a far greater service doing a 360 photo shoot of a suspected concentration camp than the selected Kim regime propaganda sites.
So basically what you have here is another naive individual with undoubtedly good intentions being played by the Kim regime propaganda department. Not only is he allowing himself to be played, but he is even paying the regime an expensive sum of money to do so.
According to the below article there is not much that the South Koreans can do in regards to the recent mine attack that wounded two South Korean troops. I disagree, just for starters the ROK government should have Park Sang-hak and his team on speed dial to go launch some of their propaganda balloons with DVDs of “The Interview” on them. Announcing government funding for defector radio stations is another option. The biggest trump card the ROK government has is to end the near-slave labor operation going on at Kaesong that is a major Kim regime cash cow:
South Korea announced a series of measures this week aimed at deterring another North Korean land mine attack, from broadcasting anti-Pyongyang messages across the Demilitarized Zone to changing patrol times for its soldiers.
But in a climate where military officials fear that even the smallest exchange of fire could escalate into a full-blown conflict, there might be little Seoul will do to punish the North or discourage further provocations, some experts say.
Two South Korean soldiers were maimed Aug. 4 after triggering several recently planted land mines during a routine morning patrol at the DMZ, near Paju. The blasts happened about 1,440 feet south of the Military Demarcation Line, which marks the actual border between the two Koreas. One of the soldiers lost his legs, and the other lost a foot.
The land mine attack, while tragic, is a relatively minor incident in the larger picture of inter-Korean relations, and the appropriate response for Seoul is unclear, said Daniel Pinkston of the International Crisis Group, a nonprofit committed to preventing and resolving deadly conflict.
“It’s this real kind of gray area that doesn’t rise to the level of triggering some kind of military counter attack,” he said.
South Korean forces will vary patrol times so they cannot be tracked by North Korea, and will increase the number of search and reconnaissance missions along the DMZ. Troops will also conduct a sweep for additional land mines this month, and will toughen engagement rules for North Korean troops who cross into the South’s territory, according to South Korean media reports Tuesday. [Stars & Stripes]
This photo, released on Aug. 11, 2015, by the Defense Ministry, shows loudspeakers that South Korea has installed at a unidentified site on the western front-line bordering North Korea to resume its anti-Pyongyang propaganda broadcasting. The resumption of the loudspeaker campaign is in retaliation of a the North’s bloody mine detonation on South Korean soldiers on the South Korean side of the demilitarized zone in Paju, north of Seoul, on Aug. 4. (Yonhap)
I have for many years advocated for fighting an information war within North Korea since the early days of financing defector radio stations to broadcast into North Korea. Challenging the Kim regime’s domestic propaganda should be a primary part of any strategy to counter North Korea. Challenging the propaganda directly challenges the Kim regime’s legitimacy. That is why the Kim regime has been so violently outspoken against the activities of defector groups that have launched balloons into North Korea to include even trying to assassinate the group’s primary leader, Park Sang-hak. Recently when I read about Facebook’s new effort to use drones to give Internet access to remote areas of the world the first thing I thought of was North Korea:
Facebook started teasing its internet-beaming planes last year, but now we’re seeing one that it actually built. Pictured above is Aquila, a solar-powered, 140-foot unmanned plane that’s designed to deliver internet connectivity from altitudes of 60,000 to 90,000 feet. The UAV, which has the wingspan of a Boeing 737 and weighs roughly 880 pounds, will be able to circle a specific area for up to 90 days when deployed — a feat possible thanks to its dependence on nothing but solar energy.
The Kim regime has been very active in doing everything possible to stem the tide of outside information entering North Korea. Excluding the border areas where most of the defectors come from, the Kim regime has been very effective with controlling information entering North Korea while expanding access to technology. The Kim regime has expanded computer and smartphone use while simultaneously creating an its own cell phone network and Intranet to control the flow of information. The fact that border areas can use cell phone towers in China contributes to the fact more defectors come from these areas.
Imagine if everyone in North Korea was able to access an outside information network like the border areas can do using Chinese cell phone towers? That is what Facebook’s drones may be able to do. Facebook is not the only ones pursuing this technology; Google has their own program to provide Internet to remote areas using balloons. The drones and balloons fly at altitudes greater than any aircraft North Korea has can intercept, however right now it is unclear whether they can fly at a standoff distance greater than North Korea’s anti-aircraft missiles can target the drone or balloon with. If the technology advances to where a drone or balloon could hover over the center of the Sea of Japan and beam Internet access into North Korea, the Kim regime would not be able to target it. What effect over the long term would that have in North Korea if citizens could secretly access the Internet without the Kim regime knowing?
Vigorously going after companies doing business with North Korea should be the centerpiece of any policy seeking to put pressure on the Kim regime, however small punishments like this are not going to dissuade companies from continuing to business with the regime:
The U.S. Department of Treasury fined a New York based company $271,000 on Thursday for insuring North Korean ships between 2008 and 2011.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said the company, called Navigation, was responsible for 48 sanctions violations involving vessels from Iran, Cuba and North Korea.
“Between May 8, 2008 and April 1, 2011, Navigators and its London, U.K. branch (“Navigators U.K.”) issued global protection and indemnity (“P&I”) insurance policies that provided coverage to North Korean-flagged vessels,” the OFAC press release reads.
Representatives from Navigator’s Chinese and London offices declined to comment on the news.
According to the OFAC statement, over the course of three years North Korea paid Navigator more than $1 million for 24 insurance policies. The company also paid out over $12,000 for seven claims during the same period.
Navigation cooperated with OFAC and took action quickly, which in part mitigated the fine.
Exactly who insures North Korean ships has been the cause of much speculation, with a minimum level of coverage mandatory in order to make use of foreign ports and international waterways. [North Korea News]
Only in Korean — this skit during an interlude of the Pyongyang Circus left little to the imagination. Militaristic in its entirety, the locals loved it. From what I heard, it was better than the last performance that depicted a drunk American soldier dressed as a clown and treated as a laughing stock. [Business Insider]
North Korea has a long history of terrorism with the 1968 Blue House Raid when 31 North Korean operatives tried to assassinate South Korean President Park Chung-hee as the most audacious example. Once the commandos were detected the ensuing gunfights killed dozens of civilians and soldiers. A year later on December 12, 1969 the North Koreans would conduct a more conventional terrorist act by hijacking a civilian airliner flying from Gangneung to Gimpo carrying 46 passengers and 4 crew members. Here is an article about the hijacking in the December 13, 1969 edition of the Stars & Stripes:
The plane was hijacked by two North Korean agents posing as South Korean civilians that boarded the YS-11 aircraft in Kangneung and proceeded to hijack it shortly after takeoff. The hijackers forced the pilots to fly the plane across the DMZ to Wonsan, North Korea.
Japanese built YS-11 aircraft, image via Wikipedia.
Two days after the hijacking the North Koreans tried to blame it on the two pilots by claiming they wanted to defect. Here is an article from the December 14, 1969 Stars & Stripes that discusses this claim:
The North Koreans even put the two pilots, Yu Byong-ha and Choe Sok-man on radio where they confirmed this claim. However, these claims were dismissed by the ROK authorities because the two pilots were both decorated ROK Air Force veterans who the investigation determined had no reason to defect. In fact the ROK authorities investigated the backgrounds of all 46 passengers on board the plane and cleared everyone except for two men, Han Chang-gi and Paek In-yong. The ROK authorities could not find any background information on these two men leading them to believe they were the hijackers. The pilots’ so called confession on the radio was likely due to the threats made against them by the North Koreans. This hijacking ended up causing a huge uproar within South Korean society because this provocation was directed solely at civilians unlike past provocations that were primarily directed at military and government targets:
What is really amazing about this hijacking is that there was supposed to be an American on the flight. It must have been Mr. Duane R. Kinas’ lucky day because for some reason he missed the flight and avoided being held hostage in North Korea. Who knows how different that man’s life would have been today if he boarded that plane? For most of the the passengers and crew that did get on the plane that day they were eventually released by the North Koreans. Two months later on February 14th, 1970 the North Koreans released 39 of the passengers through the peace village at Panmunjom. Here is an article from the February 16, 1970 Stars & Stripes about the release:
Considering how North Korean dictator Kim Il-sung was trying to create an insurgency within South Korea in concert with his series of military provocations, this hijacking seems like a miscalculation. Maybe he realized this miscalculation and that is why he returned most of the hostages. The North Koreans however continued to hold on to 6 passengers and the 4 crew members. Considering the radio confession that the pilots made I can understand why the North Koreans would not want them to return, but the holding on to the other passengers and crew is still a mystery to this day. The North Koreans also never returned the YS-11 aircraft which makes me wonder what did they do with it?
Today this hijacking is largely forgotten except by the family members of those still held hostage in North Korea who have tried for decades to get their loved ones released with little help from the ROK government. The only thing known about the hostages is that the two flight attendants are alive and well in North Korea:
On Dec. 12, 1969, a Korean Air Lines YS-11 aircraft flying from Gangneung, Gangwon, to Gimpo International Airport was hijacked by a North Korean spy at 12:36 p.m. and forced to fly to Pyongyang. The flight was carrying 46 South Korean passengers and four crew members, including Hwang Won, a 32-year-old producer for Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation, who was on a business trip.
Hwang left behind his wife, a three-month-old daughter and a two-year-old son. They haven’t seen or heard from him since.
After 42 years, most Koreans have forgotten the hijacking and many young people have never heard about it at all. But Hwang’s son, Hwang In-cheol, 44, has never given up his search for the father he can’t even remember.
And he’s bitter about the scant assistance he’s received through the decades.
“For me, the biggest hardship in searching for my father is people’s indifference and the government’s negligence,” Hwang said. “The South Korean government has done nothing for me, except the formality of asking for help from the International Red Cross.”
Two days after the hijacking, North Korea broadcast a press conference through state-run radio station Pyongyang Broadcasting System. At the conference, the plane’s captain, Yu Byeong-ha, and its first officer, Choe Seok-man, said they had defected to the communist country, shocking South Korea.
But those claims were doubted, and after condemnation from the international community, North Korea said on Feb. 3, 1970, that it would repatriate all of the passengers and crew members and would return the aircraft to the South.
It reneged on parts of that promise. The aircraft was never returned. And on Feb. 14, 39 passengers were sent back to the South through Panmunjom, a village on the inter-Korean border. Eleven people – the captain, first officer, two female flight attendants and seven passengers – were held in North Korea.
“The 39 people who returned told the truth to the public at a press conference on Feb. 15 – it was a hijacking,” Hwang said. “A North Korean agent, Cho Chang-hee, disguised himself as a South Korean passenger and forced the captain to fly to the North after the plane took off.”
According to media reports at the time, the 39 released passengers said they were indoctrinated with North Korean ideology at a series of lectures. They reported that Hwang’s father got into a quarrel with a North Korean official, telling him, “All of the things you are saying are wrong.”
After that, Hwang’s father was dragged outside the classroom and separated from the other South Koreans for the next two weeks.
Another apparent transgression came, according to the passengers who returned, when the group was drinking with North Korean officials and Hwang’s father sang a song, “I want to go back to my hometown.”
“The people who were allowed to return to South Korea said they never saw him again after he sang that song,” Hwang said.
Since her husband disappeared, Hwang’s mother has suffered from poverty and mental illness. Afraid for her son’s safety, she rarely allowed him to enjoy outdoor activities or have normal social interactions.
For the past decade, Hwang has waged a one-man struggle to find his father. (His younger sister lives in Britain.)
He staged a solo rally in front of the National Assembly, sent a letter to North Korea through the Ministry of Unification and issued numerous statements.
The families of the missing passengers and crew formed a lobbying committee in the early days. “The North refused any demand from the committee, saying it was none of their business,” Hwang said.
“The committee was disbanded in 1979 when the group’s president died. Since then, I am the only one who fighting for the truth. And with no solutions, this tragedy has started to disappear from people’s memories.”
One breakthrough came on June 26, 2001, when a reunion for families separated by the Korean War was held in Pyongyang.
Seong Gyeong-hui, a flight attendant on the hijacked plane, met her mother and said she was married to a North Korean man and had a son and a daughter.
She said that the other flight attendant, Jeong Gyeong-suk, was fine, living in her neighborhood.
Except for those two, there has been no word of the others held in North Korea.
“In 2006, North Korea sent me a letter through the Red Cross that said they couldn’t confirm whether my father was alive or not,” Hwang said.
A special law enacted in 2007 says it is the South Korean government’s “duty” to make efforts to confirm the fate of abductees in North Korea and make efforts to bring them home.
Hwang said he once talked to a vice minister of unification at a meeting with families of abductees in North Korea in November 2010.
“The vice minister told me, ‘Currently, [improving] inter-Korean relations is the top priority for the ministry and it is difficult to talk about the matter at this moment.’”
“I know working-level officials in the ministry are doing their best with this issue,” Hwang said.
“However, I was really disappointed with the ministry at the time and thought that humanitarian issues should be separated from the issue of inter-Korean relations. I constantly asked the government for help, but they didn’t listen to me.”
Now Hwang is pinning his hopes on help from the international community. In June 2010, he registered his father as an abductee with the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances.
He was the first family member to do so and two other families followed his lead in the next few months.
Last month, the council officially requested that the North confirm whether the 11 abductees are still alive.
According to the UN’s rule, North Korea should reply to the demand within six months. If it refuses, North Korea will be listed by the UN as a country where forced disappearance happens.
“Hijacking is definitely an international crime, which has no statute of limitations,” Hwang said. “Unlike other abductions, North Korea can’t deny this case, because there is so much clear evidence.”
Hwang said that the first thing he wants to know about his father is whether he’s alive.
“If my father died, I want the North to send his remains and tell me everything that happened to him for the past 42 years, according to the international standard,” he said. “If he’s alive, I want to see him regularly, not like reunions in the past, which were one-shot affairs.
“If I could meet him,” Hwang said, “I want to wash his body from head to foot. That’s my dream.” [Joong Ang Ilbo]
This is clearly an act of terrorism and yet according to the US State Department North Korea is not a state sponsor of terrorism . They were removed from the State Sponsor of Terrorism list in 2008 for denuclearization promises which they have never kept. The State Department has refused to add them back to the list ever since despite them never answering for terrorist incidents against South Korea to include this hijacking where ROK citizens are still held hostage in North Korea. The 1969 YS-11 hijacking is just one of many examples of ROK citizens being held hostage by the North Koreans which past deals with the Kim regime have never forced them to come clean on. I have always believed that any future deals struck with North Korea should include them coming clean on the fate of these ROK citizens; unfortunately it seems politicians would rather have these hostages remain in the dustbins of history and forgotten. They are not forgotten here on the ROK Drop.
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