Tag: North Korea

It just seems to me there has to be more to this story for this North Korean soldier to kill four elderly Chinese citizens simply because he was hungry:

A North Korean believed to be a runaway soldier killed four Chinese citizens during a robbery after he crossed the border into China in search of food, media reports said Monday.

The young North Korean soldier crossed the border in late December and stole money and food at a house before killing four residents in China’s northeastern city of Helong, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency and Dong-A Ilbo newspaper said.

Both cited sources in the border areas between China and the North.

The victims were either shot dead or beaten to death, Dong-A said, adding he was later shot and captured by Chinese authorities.

“Killing several Chinese nationals… is a major crime, so there are good possibilities that China, unlike other runaway North Korean soldiers captured before, will not hand him over to the North,” said an unnamed Seoul official quoted by Yonhap.  [AFP via reader tip]

You can read more at the link, but according to the article residents in the area say that North Korean soldiers crossing the border in search of food is a common occurrence.

U.S. reiterates support for improved inter-Korean relations http://t.co/Sh58UWa43i

— Yonhap News Agency (@YonhapNews) January 1, 2015

Shown is Kim Yo-jong, the younger sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, accompanying the leader to an orphanage in Pyongyang on Jan. 1, 2015. She wears a finger ring amid speculation she recently married a son of Choe Ryong-hae, a senior secretary of the North’s ruling Workers’ Party seen as the North’s second-most powerful man. (Yonhap)

So does anyone think this latest sanctions announcement will do anything to change North Korean behavior?:

The United States is hitting North Korea with a new set of economic sanctions after determining the country was behind last month’s computer hack at Sony.

The White House said new rules would prevent leaders in North Korea’s government from accessing property and entering the United States. The isolated nuclear regime, which has denied involvement in the Sony hack, was already subject to a strict set of U.S. economic restrictions.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has maintained that North Korea was behind the broad computer breach at Sony, despite evidence from some technology experts that points instead to former employees of the studio.  [CNN]

You can read more at the link, but I doubt the leaders of North Korea do much sight seeing and the buying of vacation condos in the US, but I could be wrong.

Top ten NK stories of 2014: http://t.co/1eopYdW4aq

— NK NEWS (@nknewsorg) January 1, 2015

Via the Marmot’s Hole comes this article posted on War is Boring by Kyle Mizokami who advocates for the removal of US troops from the Korean peninsula:

Imagine you possess the 15th-largest economy in the world. You have world-class cars and consumer goods, glittering streets and a lifestyle as good as any in the industrialized world.

Now, imagine you are being threatened by a hostile country one third as wealthy as Ethiopia.

Ethiopia.

In order to protect yourself from this economic juggernaut, you require the presence of nearly 30,000 American troops, the overpowering might of the U.S. nuclear arsenal and an American general to take charge in case this mighty opponent attacks
Laughable, right? Not at all. Welcome to South Korea.

It’s time for the United States to leave the Korean peninsula. South Korea can defend itself. [War is Boring]

You can read the rest at the link, but the removal of US troops from Korea is an issue that has been discussed repeatedly and will not happen as long as keeping USFK in place is in each country’s national interest.  I have posted about this issue long ago and these points are still valid:

• Korean economic impact
• Impact on foreign investment
• Korean defense spending
• Loss of Korean political influence in Washington
• Moderating American reactions to North Korea
• Political apathy
• Power of the status quo

As far as the US military goes the North Korean threat justifies maintaining certain budget levels in the Pacific and an additional four-star command.  For the US government USFK provides political influence with South Korea which prevents China from dominating South Korea’s foreign policy which has been the case for most of Korea’s history.

Then there is the nuclear weapons question.  If the US military withdraws it suddenly becomes in the national interest of the ROK to develop nuclear weapons to counter-North Korea.  If the ROK develops nuclear weapons would Japan do so as well?  To further compound this issue is that China would have to increase the amount of nuclear weapons they currently have to counter the US to also counter the ROK and possibly Japan.  A withdrawal of USFK could lead to a large nuclear arms race in the region.

Finally and most importantly people need to remember there hasn’t been a war on the Korean peninsula in over 60 years and there is a reason for that, USFK.  The US military is the strategic balancer in the region that is preventing one of the other three great powers from seeking hegemony over the region which has historically been the case.  Keeping a few thousand US troops on the Korean peninsula to maintain this balance is worth the cost to keep stability in such an economically important area of the world.  If someone wants to argue we have too many or not the right amount of troops in Korea I am open to that argument, but to completely remove USFK I do not see the benefit to the US or South Korea.

Anyone else have any other points they want to share on why the US military should or should not stay in South Korea?

The New Year's Eve fireworks show in Pyongyang, where it's now Juche Year 104. https://t.co/UR2xjyctnL pic.twitter.com/qyzcgVQU1D

— Chico Harlan (@chicoharlan) January 1, 2015

There is a difference between open to talks and actually talking.  If the Kim regime feels they can get something for little to nothing in return then they will talk.  Kim Jong-il for the first Inter-Korean summit received $500 million for little to nothing in return.  In the mean time they can claim they are open to talks and look like the reasonable ones in the media and for their leftist supporters.  However, if the South Koreans do not give them what they want they can blame US-ROK military exercises or some other excuse to call their proposal.  In other words don’t get too excited by this announcement this is just business as usual for the North Koreans:

Could an inter-Korean summit happen soon? That’s what the South Korean government is hoping, in light of the North Korean leader’s latest speech.

“We see North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s speech as sincere and significant. Our government is looking forward to any form of inter-Korean talks in the near future.”

In Kim Jong-un’s [ ] nationally televised New Year’s speech, he said he’s open to talks with Seoul, even possibly with President Park Geun-hye.

“If the atmosphere and environment are right, there is no reason not to hold a high-level summit. We will make every effort to advance dialogue and cooperation.”

As North Koreans rang in the new year, Kim used his third annual address to speak on different issues, but spent the most time talking about improving ties with South Korea. Seoul is now urging Pyongyang to take steps to normalize relations, such as responding to its earlier proposal to hold talks this month.  The North Korean leader, however, also criticized South Korea’s military exercises with the U.S., calling them a source of tension.  [Arirang News]

ROK Drop favorite Park Sang-hak is living up to his word and has decided to drop “The Interview” over North Korea via balloon:

A South Korean activist said Wednesday that he will launch balloons carrying DVDs of Sony’s “The Interview” toward North Korea to try to break down a personality cult built around dictator Kim Jong Un.

The comedy depicting an assassination attempt on Kim is at the center of tension between North Korea and the U.S., with Washington blaming Pyongyang for crippling hacking attacks on Sony Entertainment. Pyongyang denies that and has vowed to retaliate.

Activist Park Sang-hak said he will start dropping 100,000 DVDs and USBs with the movie by balloon in North Korea as early as late January. Park, a North Korean defector, said he’s partnering with the U.S.-based non-profit Human Rights Foundation, which is financing the making of the DVDs and USB memory sticks of the movie with Korean subtitles.

Park said foundation officials plan to visit South Korea around Jan. 20 to hand over the DVDs and USBs, and that he and the officials will then try to float the first batch of the balloons if weather conditions allow.  [Associated Press]

You can read more at the link, but I guess we will see if North Korea tries to send out their leftist allies in South Korea to try and stop this balloon launch later in the month.

Via One Free Korea comes this Yonhap article that explains how missile defense is one area the US can use to pressure China to reign in North Korean provocations:

The deployment of ballistic missile defense systems around North Korea by the United States and its allies could be an effective way to change China’s strategic thinking about Pyongyang, a U.S. congressional report said.

The Congressional Research Service made the point in a recent report, “North Korea: U.S. Relations, Nuclear Diplomacy, and Internal Situation,” saying Beijing would find it not in its national interest if provocative actions by the North lead to increased military deployments in the region.

When North Korea fired a long-range rocket in April 2012, a key focus of Chinese media coverage of the case was Patriot missile deployments that were made by the U.S. and its allies in response to the North’s launch, the report noted.

A subtext of those reports was that the North’s actions are feeding military developments that are not in China’s interests, it said.

“As part of the efforts by the United States and its allies to change China’s strategic thinking about North Korea, the BMD (ballistic missile defense) deployments may have an impact,” the report said. “Many observers, particularly in the United States and Japan, argue that continued North Korean ballistic missile development increases the need to bolster regional BMD capabilities and cooperation.”  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link as well as over at One Free Korea who also believes that South Korea and Japan should also move towards developing their own nuclear arsenals to further pressure China.