Tag: North Korea

Look who turned up in Pyongyang, the guy who just few weeks ago fled Moscow in fear of an overweight caterer turned mercenary boss:

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu (R) shakes hands with North Korean Defense Minister Kang Sun-nam after arriving in Pyongyang on July 25, 2023, in this photo released by the North’s Korean Central News Agency. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu held talks with his North Korean counterpart, Kang Sun-nam, in Pyongyang on Wednesday and expressed his determination to boost bilateral ties, Russian media reported.

Shoigu arrived in the North Korean capital Tuesday for a three-day visit to attend commemorative events to mark the 70th anniversary of the 1950-53 Korean War armistice.

“I am confident that today’s talks will help strengthen cooperation between our defense ministries,” TASS quoted Shoigu as saying.

The North is set to hold commemorative events for the landmark anniversary of the signing of the armistice on July 27, 1953, which is celebrated in the country as Victory Day.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

I wonder if Private King now wishes he got on the aircraft last week?:

State Department Press Secretary Matthew Miller is seen answering questions during a daily press briefing at the department in Washington on July 24, 2023 in this captured image. (Yonhap)

The United States has not had any substantive response from North Korea about the safety of a U.S. service member who crossed the inter-Korean border into the reclusive state last week, a state department spokesperson said Monday.

Matthew Miller also said the North has not responded to any requests, including those from United Nations Command (UNC), to confirm the whereabouts or well-being of the U.S. soldier.

“It is my understanding that there have been no new communication since last week. communications that happened in the early days,” the department spokesperson told a daily press briefing when asked if there has been any communication with North Korea.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but King will be used as a bargaining chip at some point when North Korea needs to use him. They just don’t need to play that card yet.

North Korea appears to be launching an offensive on the fish of the East Sea as they fire two more ballistic missiles:

North Korea fired two ballistic missiles into the East Sea late Monday, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.

“Our military detected two ballistic missiles North Korea fired from areas near Pyongyang into the East Sea at 11:55 p.m. on the 24th and at midnight of the 25th,” it said.

Both missiles flew about 400 kilometers before falling into the sea, it added.

The military is still analyzing the North’s latest missile launch to determine the exact type of the missiles fired, according to the JCS.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

The Messenger got access to the Serious Incident Report (SIR) that was filed for the defection of PV2 Travis King. It shows that how the United Nations Command vets people taking the DMZ tours is clearly broken:

When King arrived for his tour of the demilitarized zone the following day, he checked in with a U.S. government identification card. The tour company submitted the list of participants in the tour to the United Nations Command Military Armistice Commission, the international body which supervises the armistice between the two Koreas. King had been placed on an international hold by U.S. and South Korean authorities owing to his disciplinary exhibits, and it’s not clear why he was not flagged prior to taking the tour. 

United Nations Command approved the manifest submitted to them by Hana Tours ITC.

The Messenger

What is most interesting from this report is apparently the North Koreans had a van waiting for King that he ran into after he crossed the border:

The tour began around 2:30 p.m. at Camp Boniface, a military post of the United Nations Command, just south of the southern boundary of the Korean Demilitarized Zone, the report details. Roughly an hour later at 3:30 p.m., King walked away from his group and sprinted through a space between U.S. and South Korean troops. 

Security Forces chased King as he ran to the far end of what’s known as conference row, the bright blue buildings in the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea. The Army private then ran north to Panmungak. 

The report says King ran to the back of a Korean People’s Army building where he entered a van and was driven out of the area by North Korean troops. (……..)

A U.S. military official familiar with the investigation told The Messenger the U.S. military is looking into the possibility that the North Koreans had prior knowledge of his intention to cross the border. The U.S. military official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss ongoing investigations. 

You can read more at the link, but King likely had this defection planned out. However, I don’t think he was smart enough to find a way to contact the North Koreans to actually coordinate his defection. It will be interesting to see what the investigation determines.

It looks like either PV2 King is a bad drunk or has some serious anger management issues. Considering he deliberately planned his defection to North Korea I think he has some mental and anger management issues:

Seoul police arrested King just before 4 a.m. on Oct. 8 in Mapo and placed him in the backseat of a squad car, according to records from Seoul Western District Court. He refused to answer questions, kicked the car’s doors and ranted: “F— Korean, f— Korean Army, f— Korean police.”

The court records redact the names of victims and the defendant; however, a court official on Tuesday confirmed by phone that King was the defendant in the case.

He was also fined about $3,950 and paid roughly $790 for damage to the police car, the records state. 

King joined the Army in January 2021 and was a cavalry scout administratively assigned to the 4th Infantry Division in South Korea, according to Pentagon spokesman Bryce Dubee.

King was also accused of assault on Sept. 25, according to court records. Seoul police say he pushed and punched a fellow customer at a Mapo bar who refused to buy King a drink, records state.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.