ROK and Inter-Korean relations May 2009

ROK and Inter-Korean relations

May 2009

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Farewell to Roh Moo-hyun
Koreans on Friday sent off former President Roh Moo-hyun, who died last Saturday, in a funeral ceremony at Gyeongbok Palace in Seoul. The 63 years of Roh's life were marked by trials and tribulations. Born as the youngest of five children in a poor farming household, Roh had to give up his dreams of going to university. But even after he became a lawyer and entered politics, he lived a maverick life, his poor background and lack of prestigious college education putting him at odds with the establishment and prompting a committed struggle against dictatorial governments and entrenched privileges. He rose to become president, but his unexpected death makes the ups and downs of his life seem transitory. [RMH suicide]
New Blueprint Is Needed for Dealing with N.Korea
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Wednesday strongly criticized North Korea, saying the communist country continued to behave in a provocative and belligerent manner toward its neighboring countries, and warned that such behavior would lead to consequences, reminding Pyongyang of the sanctions the United Nations Security Council is discussing. Clinton said the intention of the U.S. government was to get North Korea to live up to its responsibilities and return to a framework of denuclearization. In that case, Clinton said, North Korea would be rewarded. [Sequencing]
Over 500 thousand gather at Seoul Plaza to mourn Roh
S. Korea’s 16th president passes on amid people's shouts of “Our apologies to Roh Moo-hyun, Resurrect Roh Moo-hyun” » Approximately 500 thousand people gather for the public funeral service held for the late former President Roh Moo-hyun at Seoul’s City Hall Plaza, May 29. Korean people flew an abundance of yellow paper planes carrying rage, sorrow and hope on May 29, the day “Roh Moo-hyun, the Fool's”funeral ceremony was held. “Roh Moo-hyun, the Fool” is a term of endearment for the late former President Roh Moo-hyun. Citizens coined the phrase when they found that the late former president had devoted himself with great sacrifice and sincerity to the goal of breaking regionalism during his election campaign. His body left his hometown Bongwha Village located in South Gyungsang Province at dawn and arrived at Kyungbok Palace where his funeral service was held. When reading the memorial address, former Prime Minister Han Myung-suk’s voice trembled. She and others who spoke during the memorial service expressed their grief and sorrow. Approximately 500 thousand Korean people gathered at Seoul’s City Hall Plaza carrying yellow balloons to send Roh off. Several citizens started to wail when Roh’s body was hearsed at City Hall Plaza. People shouted, “Our apologies to Roh Moo-hyun, Resurrect Roh Moo-hyun.” [RMH suicide]
Crowd jeers President Lee Myung-bak as he pays his respects to Roh
DP Lawmaker Baek Won-woo asks Lee to apologize while others shout, “You are a murderer”and“Don’t touch him!” » In the right picture, Cheong Wa Dae guards restrain Lawmaker Baek Won-woo’s for shouting “President Lee Myung-bak should apologize” at the public funeral service held for the late former President Roh Moo-hyun, May 29. “President Lee Myung-bak! Apologize!” A resentful shout erupted during the public funeral service held for the former South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun at Kyungbok Palace in Seoul on May 29. The opposition Democratic Party Lawmaker Baek Won-woo rushed out from the row of front chairs and yelled at President Lee and his wife when they tried to place flowers on the altar. The President and First Lady appeared embarrassed as they looked around. Baek continued to yell for Lee to apologize while being dragged away by Presidential Security Service guards. Kim Hyun, a former Cheong Wa Dae (the presidential office in South Korea or Blue House) spokesperson during Roh’s administration and other mourners also shouted, “Apologize!”and “Don’t touch him!” Some of the guests cried out,“You are a murderer”to President Lee. Roh’s associates, including Kang Geum-won, a longtime Roh supporter, burst into a rage of tears. The Master of Ceremonies had to ask the guests to calm down. After the disturbance had settled, President Lee looked around to find a chrysanthemum to place on the altar and was handed a flower by a bodyguard. [RMH suicide]
A nation cries for Roh
People see the late president off on his last journey from Bongwha to Seoul » The funeral bier of late President Roh Moo-hyun arrives at Seoul’s City Hall Plaza, May 29. The entire nation cried. Throughout a wave of yellow, endless tears and grief-filled lamentations flowed. The people saw the late President Roh Moo-hyun off as he made his 800 km roundtrip from his hometown of Bongwha Village in Gimhae, Gyeongsangnam-do to Kyungbok Palace in Seoul. [RMH suicide]
Roh Moo-hyun’s final exit was not lonely
An outpouring of yellow, song, and people accompanied Roh’s funeral procession » Citizens who participated in the funeral ceremony confront police with candlelight in front of the Seoul Press Center, May 29. The former President Roh Moo-hyun’s final exit was not a lonely one because he could hear his favorite songs being sung amidst a wave of yellow balloons and hats of countless people wearing the color of his presidential campaign. Roh had the people, the color yellow and songs watching over him during his last trip [RMH suicide]
Protecting Roh's dream
[Editorial] Now he is gone. Just as he wrote that life and death are both a part of nature, he has turned into ashes and scattered. His voice, sometimes a whisper, sometimes a roar, is now silent, and his innocent smile and vivid tears are no longer to be seen. For the citizens who beat their breasts and blame themselves for being unable to protect him, there is now nothing more than memories and mourning amid deep wounds. However, even if he has left us in body, his dreams have not disappeared. [RMH suicide]
Roh Moo-hyun vs. Lee Myung-bak
Oh Tae-gyu, Editorial writer Column] » Oh Tae-gyu. The late President Moo-hyun, the “Politician of Passion” leaves us forever today. His 63 years of glory and shame will all be burned up and become a handful of ash to return to his hometown of Bongwha Village. In so doing, he will also escape from the tension and discord with President Lee Myung-bak, which had weighed down on him for the last year of his life. It will be the end of the “Roh Moo-hyun vs. Lee Myung-bak confrontation” in this world. [RMH suicide]
With hints of military action, Chinese boats leave Yellow Sea
May 30, 2009 As inter-Korean military tensions intensify near the Northern Limit Line in the Yellow Sea, special commandos of South Korea’s Navy patrol on speed boats around Yeonpyeong Island. [YONHAP] Chinese fishing boats pulled out of the Yellow Sea on the west coast of the Korean Peninsula yesterday as suspicions grew that North Korea had asked them to do so to prepare for military action there. According to a defense source in Seoul, the number of Chinese vessels fishing for crabs fell from around 280 this week to around 120. [NLL]
Koreans Bid Emotional Farewell to Roh
The funeral cortege containing the body of the deceased former President Roh Moo-hyun passes the Gwanghwamun street in central Seoul, Friday, after a public funeral was held at Gyeongbok Palace. / Yonhap By Kim Rahn Staff Reporter Countless mourners bade farewell to the former President Roh Moo-hyun at his funeral service in Seoul and in his rural hometown in South Gyeongsang Province, Friday. Roh's coffin, covered with the national flag, ``taegeukgi,'' was carried out of the community center in his hometown of Bongha Village at 5 a.m. His son offered food and alcohol to the deceased and bowed, with other family members following suit[RMH suicide]
Death of Roh Leads to Unity of Opposition Camp
By Kang Hyun-kyung Staff Reporter Opposition parties are planning to join together to take action against the governing Grand National Party (GNP) as well as President Lee Myung-bak after the funeral of former President Roh Moo-hyun, political observers said Friday. Hundreds of thousands mourners participated in the funeral, which took place in Seoul, Friday. Chung Sye-kyun, chairman of the opposition Democratic Party (DP), told reporters Thursday that his party would ensure that those who were ``responsible for the death of Roh" will take due responsibility after the funeral. [RMH suicide]
South Koreans Mourn a Former President and Rebuke the Current One
Lee Jae-Won/Reuters Crowds gathered for the funeral procession of deceased former South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun in Seoul on Friday. More Photos > By CHOE SANG-HUN Published: May 29, 2009 SEOUL, South Korea — Hundreds of thousands of South Koreans turned out Friday to bid a somber farewell to former President Roh Moo-hyun as anger against the current president, Lee Myung-bak, whom many blame for Mr. Roh’s suicide, continued to grow. “Goodbye, President!” people shouted as Mr. Roh’s hearse moved slowly along the main boulevard in central Seoul. Many of the mourners wore yellow hats or threw yellow paper airplanes — Mr. Roh’s campaign color was yellow — while others followed the hearse, carrying traditional funeral streamers and chanting his name. Some also yelled slogans against Mr. Lee, and yellow leaflets carried by many mourners read, “Lee Myung-bak, apologize!” The crowd in Seoul was the largest since huge antigovernment protests that grew out of Mr. Lee’s decision to lift a ban on American beef hobbled his administration last spring. [RMH suicide]
Nation bids farewell to President Roh
More than a million people gathered yesterday in central Seoul to pay their last tributes to former President Roh Moo-hyun with waves of yellow, the color that represented Roh since his presidential campaign in 2002, flowing across the nation. [RMH suicide]
Mourners Gather for Roh's Last Farewell
The public funeral service for former President Roh Moo-hyun, who died Saturday, began at 5 a.m. Friday, when his coffin was carried out of his home at Bongha Village in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province. His ashes will temporarily be placed at Jeongtowon, a Buddhist temple in the hills behind his home at 9 p.m. after a funeral service in the front yard of Gyeongbok Palace, a brief roadside memorial at Seoul Plaza and cremation at Yeonhwajang Crematorium in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province. Police will restrict traffic in the Gwanghwamun area in downtown Seoul to ensure a smooth procession. [RMH suicide]
Kim Dae-jung says, “I would make the same decision”
Former President Kim pays his respects to Roh and criticizes the retreat from democracy and worsening inter-Korean relations under President Lee » Former President Kim Dae-jung places a chrysanthemum in front of former President Roh Moo-hyun’s picture at an incense burning place in Seoul Station on May 28. Former President Kim Dae-jung walked with a cane to place a chrysanthemum in front of former President Roh Moo-hyun’s picture at the memorial site that had been set up at Seoul Station on May 28. Former President Kim chose to visit the Seoul Station incense burning place where citizens have been paying their respects to the late president rather than the Seoul Museum of History incense burning place that has been visited by high-ranking politicians and business people. The former president said, “After thinking about the disgrace, frustration, and sorrow the late president endured, I think that I also would have made the same decision.” He revealed his feelings of heartbreak and said, “Faced with former President Roh’s death, I have been feeling that half of me has collapsed.” After paying his respects to the late president, former President Kim held an informal gathering with the leaders of the opposition Democratic Party who have served as chief mourners. A close aide of Kim’s described the atmosphere by saying, “He seemed to lose his temper.” According to the aide, former president Kim said, “The government has banned the use of Seoul’s City Hall Plaza as a public mourning and memorial site. Furthermore, the government objected to my delivery of a memorial address at the (May 29) public funeral service.”
Former President Kim criticized the current administration’s method of governance, saying, ”This administration has retreated so far from democracy that the gulf between the rich and poor has widened and inter-Koreans relation have escalated.“ He added, ”Amid this, the people are expressing their sorrow regarding the death of former President Roh who had been a figure the people could count on.“ [RMH suicide]
Unreasonableness in hardline responses to N. Korea
[Editorial] Military tensions between the two Koreas are higher than ever following North Korea’s second nuclear test. In this situation, irresponsible arguments have been pouring forth for taking a hard line against North Korea. Even government authorities that should be working towards stable management of the crisis have been contributing to the problem, generating further uneasiness.
Kim Dae-jung’s Memorial Speech Not Allowed
Former President Kim Dae-jung lays a white chrysanthemum for the late former President Roh Moo-hyun at an altar set up at Seoul Station in downtown Seoul, Thursday. Roh’s funeral will be held at Gyeongbok Palace at 11 a.m. / Yonhap By Na Jeong-ju Staff Reporter Former President Kim Dae-jung was asked by the family of the late former President Roh Moo-hyun to deliver an address during Roh's funeral Friday, but it was blocked by the government, a Roh aide claimed Thursday. ``Former President Kim accepted an offer from Roh's family to give a memorial speech at the funeral, but it wasn't allowed by the government,'' Cheon Ho-seon, Roh's former spokesman, told reporters. ``Former Presidents Kim Young-sam, Chun Doo-hwan and Kim Dae-jung are expected to attend the funeral. The government said it was not fair to give only Kim Dae-jung a chance to deliver a speech.'' [human rights] [RMH suicide]
Weeping South Koreans Pack Streets For Roh Funeral
By REUTERS Published: May 29, 2009 Filed at 3:55 a.m. ET SEOUL (Reuters) - Sobbing South Koreans jammed Seoul's streets on Friday for the funeral of former President Roh-hyun, whose suicide last week has turned him from failed leader to lightning rod for criticism of his successor. The death has underscored the deep political divisions in South Korea's young democracy and there were reports of clashes with riot police in the center of the capital, where an estimated 150,000 people had gathered to watch Roh's funeral procession. Downtown Seoul was a sea of yellow, a color associated with Roh, as tearful supporters tied thousands of balloons to police barriers along the funeral route and waved placards reading: "Today condolences, tomorrow anger."
His troubles have been compounded by Monday's nuclear test by an increasingly belligerent North Korea, which has all but severed ties with Lee who has reversed Roh's accommodating dealings with the communist neighbor and withheld aid until it rows back on efforts to build an atomic arsenal. [RMH suicide]
Military on Alert After N.Korean Threats
The South Korean military is on alert after North Korea on Wednesday warned it cannot guarantee safe passage for South Korean and U.S. ships in the West Sea and will no longer respect the armistice agreement. The saber rattling apparently (sic) comes in protest against South Korea's decision to join the Proliferation Security Initiative, a U.S.-led anti-proliferation regime. The most likely place where North Korea could carry out provocations is in waters near the Northern Limit Line, the de facto maritime border in the West Sea. The Panmunjom mission of the North Korean Army also hinted in a statement Wednesday at the possibility of provocations along the NLL near the five islands. [Inversion] [NLL] [PSI]
1,383-Strong Committee Prepares for Roh's Funeral
A 1,383-man committee will organize the official funeral service of former president Roh Moo-hyun, who died Saturday morning. This is the largest committee ever, over twice more than the 680 people for the funeral of former presidents Choi Kyu-ha in 2006 and 691 for Park Chung-hee in 1979. Compared to the 738-man committee for the funeral service of former first lady Yuk Young-soo, Park's wife, in 1974, it is nearly 1.9 times larger. The Ministry of Public Administration and Security on Wednesday said the reason for the larger size was "participation from Roh's side."
N. Korea announces it cannot guarantee safe passage of ships in the West Sea
While N. Korea blames S. Korea’s participation in PSI, S. Korea moves into a state of preparedness along the NLL » This undated picture released August 15, 2007 by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) via the Korean News Service shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Il acknowledging applause from soldiers as he inspects the Korean People’s Army Unit 1286. The KCNA announced that North Korea says it is no longer bound to the 1953 Armistice Agreement, May 27, 2009. In response to the South Korean government’s decision to fully participate in the U.S.-led Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), North Korea says it cannot guarantee the safe passage of U.S. and South Korean naval ships or civilian shipping vessels in neighboring waters. [PSI]
S. Korea worries that N. Korea’s military actions enters into reality
As N. Korea increases its military exercises, S. Korean navy expresses concerns of an unintended military clash around the Northern Limit Line » North Korean soldiers, officials and people participate in the Pyongyang People’s Rally to celebrate what North Korea says is a successful second nuclear test at the Pyongyang Gym on May 26, 2009 in this picture released by North Korea’s official news agency KCNA early May 27, 2009. The Korean characters on a red propaganda sign (top) read: “Let’s arm ourselves more thoroughly with the revolutionary ideology of the great leader Kim Il-sung comrade!” (REUTERS/KCNA) The Panmunjom Mission of the Korean People’s Army issued an announcement on Wednesday saying that the governments of the U.S. and South Korea have created a “state of war” on the Korean Peninsula. It said North Korea would respond to any interception and searching of North Korean vessels as a military strike and that the armistice agreement between South Korea and North Korea has lost binding force. It added it could not guarantee the legal status of the five islands in waters northeast of their maritime borders (Baengnyeong-do, Daecheong-do, Socheong-do, Yeonpyeong-do and U-do), or the safe passage of U.S. and South Korean naval ships or civilian shipping vessels in neighboring waters. [PSI]
Suspicions regarding Roh’s death
Editorial] It has come to light that details initially reported by police regarding the circumstances of former President Roh Moo-hyun’s death are inaccurate. The Cheong Wa Dae (the presidential office in South Korea or Blue House) Presidential Security Service (PSS) officer who was serving as the former President‘s bodyguard had left his post and had not been with Roh just before he fell to his death at Owl Rock, as he had claimed. Since Roh was alone for more than 30 minutes before his body was found, it is impossible to know exactly what happened in those final moments. This confusion is said to have originated from the false account given by the former President’s bodyguard, but the greater fault lies with the police for conducting a sloppy investigation. They merely depended on the word of the bodyguard and neglected to carry out any supplementary investigation. Some hikers had come forward with claims that they saw the bodyguard alone at around 6:20 a.m., the time the bodyguard had claimed to have been with Roh, and yet no investigation took place to confirm either of these accounts. Nor did one take place even after it was communicated to police that the bodyguard was attempting to cover up the fact that he had gone on an errand to Jeongtowon Temple, a Buddhist temple located in Bongwha behind Roh’s home. Content included in the initial police report said that Roh and the bodyguard were seen standing together at Owl Rock by another bodyguard who remained at the guard post. This information cannot be true. As if the shoddy investigation were not enough, now the police are suspected of fabricating data.
S. Koreans Express Fatigue With a Recalcitrant North
By MARTIN FACKLER Published: May 27, 2009 PAJU, South Korea — Peering at North Korea in the hazy distance from the demilitarized zone, standing under an upbeat mural trumpeting improved relations between the separated countries, a visitor from South Korea struck a skeptical note. “We sent them food, fertilizer, factories, more than we give our own poor people,” said the South Korean, Lee Soon-hwan, a 30-year-old office worker. “And all they pay us back with is this nuclear test.” After years of hope that relations with the North would thaw if the South tried to coax it into engagement, regional experts and others speak of growing disenchantment. Many South Koreans reacted with exasperation and even anger to North Korea’s nuclear test on Monday, uncharacteristically harsh responses in a country that has long been more tolerant of its unruly northern neighbor than have its allies in Washington and Tokyo. Partly, the reaction reflects the outrage here at the timing of the test, coming as South Korea was in mourning over the suicide of a former president on Saturday. But there are also signs of fatigue with a recalcitrant North that has responded to the South’s largess by continuing to build up its nuclear arsenal. “There has been a paradigm shift in how South Koreans view North Korea,” said Jeung Young-tai, a North Korea expert at the Korea Institute for National Unification. “The nuclear test has made people feel that North Korea has gone too far, and it’s high time for us to be tough on North Korea.” [Public opinion]
Traffic across inter-Korean border remains as usual
SEOUL, May 27 (Yonhap) -- Inter-Korean traffic across the sea and land borders continued as usual, a Seoul spokesman said Wednesday, in the wake of the North's nuclear test that has sharply raised regional tension. More than 400 South Korean workers crossed the military demarcation line in the morning to visit a joint industrial complex in the North's border town of Kaesong, said Chun Hae-sung of the Unification Ministry. About 400 people were expected to return in the afternoon, he said.
North Korea Threatens Military Strikes on South
By CHOE SANG-HUN Published: May 27, 2009 SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea on Wednesday threatened to launch military strikes against South Korea if any of its ships were stopped or searched as part of an American-led operation to intercept vessels suspected of carrying weapons of mass destruction. [PSI] [Media] [Inversion]
North Korea Issues Heated Warning to South
By Blaine Harden Washington Post Foreign Service Wednesday, May 27, 2009 TOKYO, May 27 -- North Korea announced Wednesday that it is no longer bound by the 1953 armistice that halted the Korean War, the latest and most profound diplomatic aftershock from the country's latest nuclear test two days earlier. North Korea also warned that it would respond "with a powerful military strike" should its ships be stopped by international forces trying to stop the export of missiles and weapons of mass destruction. The twin declarations, delivered by the country's state news agency, followed South Korea's announcement Tuesday that it would join the navies that will stop and inspect suspicious ships at sea. North Korea has repeatedly said that such participation would be a "declaration of war." They followed other developments in North Korea that have added to the sense of jangled nerves across northeast Asia since Monday's underground nuclear test. The North fired three more short-range missiles off its east coast on Tuesday, said Yonhap, the South Korean news agency. North Korea had fired two missiles into the same waters on Monday. [Media]
S. Koreans mourn death of former President Roh
By Shin Hae-in SEOUL, May 26 (Yonhap) -- Cigarettes sent thick columns of smoke skywards in front of former President Roh Moo-hyun's smiling portrait at mourning sites across the nation Tuesday, as tens of thousands of South Koreans continued to bid farewells to their deceased leader. Roh, 62, had reportedly started smoking recently under the pressure of an intensive bribery investigation. The former president leapt to his death from a from a rock while hiking near his regional hometown on Saturday morning. Shortly prior to leaping, he had asked his bodyguard for a cigarette but the man had none. They have now become a poignant symbol of his death. "Had he smoked a cigarette at the top of the mountain, he might have changed his mind and still be with us," a tearful middle-aged-looking man said, lighting a cigarette and placing it on an ashtray placed in front of an altar set up in Seoul Station. "Foolish man, didn't you know how much we loved you?"
Roh Moo-hyun Combative president of South Korea who became mired in a corruption scandal
* Aidan Foster-Carter * guardian.co.uk, Sunday 24 May 2009 23.19 BST Roh Moo-hyun, who has died aged 62, was a South Korean president who broke the mould – though in the end the mould broke him. His tenure of the Blue House (2003-08) antagonised the Seoul elite and Washington while disappointing his fans, many of whom shared his poor origins. Dismay grew as a corruption scandal enveloped him, finally driving him to jump from a clifftop near his home early on Saturday morning after leaving a suicide note in his computer. [RMH suicide]
9th anniversary of publication of June 15 [2000] North-South Joint Declaration
Dear Friends in the Asia Pacific, On the occasion of the 9th anniversary of publication of June 15 North-South Joint Declaration for reunification of Korea, we'd like to send 2 articles on fundamental principles for settlement of Korea’s reunification issue and current reunification activities. [Summit00]
Roh's death mourned nationwide amid political conflicts
By Byun Duk-kun SEOUL, May 25 (Yonhap) -- Tens of thousands of people made their way Monday to mourning altars set up throughout the country for the late former President Roh Moo-hyun, while several government and ruling party officials who tried to pay their respects were turned away angrily by Roh's supporters. A group of lawmakers from the ruling Grand National Party who went to the former president's retirement home in Bongha Village, some 450 kilometers southeast of Seoul, were forced to turn back after Roh's supporters blocked their way to an alter set up in his memory. Some had thrown eggs and hurled water at those considered opponents of Roh, including Prime Minister Han Seung-soo and National Assembly Speaker Kim Hyong-o. The prime minister was forced to pay his respects Monday at an altar set up in Seoul. He is a co-chair of a government committee to organize and oversee the funeral for the former president, to be held Friday. Some 200,000 people, from everyday citizens to ranking politicians, have paid visits to the altar set up at Roh's residence since the former president died Saturday morning. Officials at the presidential office have said President Lee Myung-bak plans to make a personal voyage to Roh's rural hometown to pay his due respects, but the continued conflict in Bongha Village has prompted concerns over possible mishaps. [RMH suicide]
Public Funeral for Former President Roh on Friday
A public funeral service will be held on Friday following a seven-day mourning period for former president Roh Moo-hyun, who died Saturday aged 63. Prime Minister Han Seung-soo and his predecessor Han Myung-sook will likely head a committee preparing the event. Ceremonies will be held at Jinyeong Public Stadium in Gimhae and at Bongha Village, where Roh's private home is situated, both in South Gyeongsang Province. Roh's family have agreed to the public funeral, to which former presidents are entitled by law. [RMH suicide]
Roh Moo-hyun: A Life of Challenges
Former president Roh Moo-hyun's life was characterized by challenges. The challenges were poverty, lack of academic association, dictatorship and regionalism. A string of dramatic successes and failures peaked with his inauguration as the 16th president of Korea in 2003. But his performance as president received mixed evaluations. And just 15 months after he returned to Bongha Village, seeking to set a new precedent in the lifestyle of an ex-president, he became mired in a bribery scandal involving a wealthy businessman named Park Yeon-cha. Death was his answer to that challenge. [RMH suicide]
N.Korea Quick to Report Roh's Death
North Korea's official KCNA news agency on Sunday published a terse notice of the death of former South Korean president Roh Moo-hyun, only a day after he killed himself. "According to a news report, former South Korean president Roh Moo-hyun died on the morning of May 23," it said, adding that domestic and foreign media outlets linked the "motive of his death with the mental burden caused by the intensive investigation of the prosecution" concerning a corruption scandal. It did not mention how he died. A South Korean government official commented, "Though brief, they carried a report on Roh's death just a day after he died. That is unprecedentedly fast. They must have taken into account that the late president held a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in 2007 and they signed the October 4, 2007 Summit Declaration." [RMH suicide]
Many say tragedy began with Blue House’s intention to stop Roh’s political revival
While Blue House denies directly targeting Roh, a GNP official acknowledges investigation as part of a plan to curb Roh‘s political activities » National Assembly Speaker Kim hyung-o is turned away from Roh’s funeral service by citizens in Bongwha Village located in South Gyeongsang Province, May 24. “They tortured him, dragging it on for so long.” This is from the fulminations of a ruling Grand National Party (GNP) figure over the suicide of former President Roh Moo-hyun on Saturday. These words demonstrate a sense of shame regarding Roh’s subjection to uncalled-for pressure as the “audit situation” dragged on for some ten months from the time the National Tax Service had started its audit of Taekwang Industrial Chairman Park Yeon-cha in late July 2008 through the prosecutors‘ investigation that began in November. Cheong Wa Dae (the presidential office in South Korea or Blue House) officials are doing their utmost to avoid any reference to analyses connecting Roh’s death with the tax audit or the prosecutors’ investigation. But the general view among observers is that the National Tax Service’s audit of Park Yeon-cha, which set in motion a sequence of events that have shaken ruling and opposition party figures, including former President Roh, is unlikely to have taken place without some Cheong Wa Dae involvement. “In some respects, the National Tax Service’s audit of Park Yeon-cha began out of a determination to prevent any possible resumption of former President Roh Moo-hyun’s political activity,” said one pro-Lee Myung-bak Grand National Party lawmaker. [RMH suicide]
On the political murder of Roh
[Editorial] “Many people have suffered because of me. I cannot imagine the suffering they and I will go through in the future, too.” In these two lines in the suicide note left by the late President Roh Moo-hyun, we can fathom how great the pressure and suffering was that he had to endure since leaving office. The core of this was caused by suspicions of corruption related to Taekwang Industrial Chairman Park Yeon-cha. As a result of this scandal, Roh‘s family members were virtually ruined, and people that had formerly stood by Roh were hurt, also. It is customary that punishment follows if corruption is discovered, but one cannot erase the impression that in the Park Yeon-cha case, it proceeded in exactly the opposite way. This case unfolded with a set objective to get Roh and various public organs began engaging in crossfire. For many observers, this includes the “strange” behavior of the tax authorities and prosecutors in relation to the Park case that they say resulted in a “political murder.” [RMH suicide]
[Column] The end of an era passes with Roh
Kim Sang-bong, Professor of Philosophy, Chonnam National University When I first heard the news that he had thrown himself off a cliff in the mountains behind the village, I knew that an era had come to end. Former President Roh represented our era. No one else but him could have thrown himself so fiercely into an era and lived a life that was one with it. Were the nobility he demonstrated and the limitations he could never overcome not also the nobility and limitations of our era? And was his tragic end not also an era losing its way and falling from a cliff? [RMH suicide]
Sign of Political Tension Emerging
By Kang Seung-woo Staff Reporter The death of former President Roh Moo-hyun is expected to cause the postponement of a scheduled National Assembly session, as analysts worry over a possible ratcheting up of political tension. The extra session, planned for June 1, is likely to be delayed as both floor leaders of the governing Grand National Party (GNP) and opposition Democratic Party (DP) cancelled a meeting slated for today to discuss its schedule. [RMH suicide]
People in State of Collective Shock, Grief
People wait to pay respect to the late former President Roh Moo-hyun at an alter in front of Deoksu Palace, central Seoul, Sunday. / Yonhap By Kang Shin-who Staff Reporter Reactions from citizens on the suicide of former President Roh Moo-hyun appeared to revolve around the same few words ? ``shocked and hard to believe.'' Many hoped that Roh's death would be a turning point to ease the acute social conflict between liberals and conservatives. ``I can't believe Roh left us. He must have been suffering from huge pressure. I hope he rests in peace now,'' said Lee Su-jin, a 32-year-old office worker in Seoul. Park Jong-deok, a collegian said, ``I pray for his happiness there. I feel guilty that Korean people could not protect him. I have to say I am sorry as a Korean citizen.'' Some blamed the prosecution for pressuring Roh to end his own life. ``It's political murder. The Lee Myung-bak government and prosecutors as well as conservative newspapers should be held responsible for Roh's death,'' said Baek Ji-hye, a female office worker. Others say Roh's alleged corruption was relatively minor compared to that of former Presidents Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo, who were imprisoned in the 1990s for amassing hundreds of millions of dollars and harming many innocent people. [RMH suicide]
N. Korean Leader Sends His Condolences After Suicide
By CHOE SANG-HUN Published: May 25, 2009 SEOUL — The North Korean leader Kim Jong-il on Monday sent a message of condolence over the suicide of former President Roh Moo-hyun of South Korea, whose summit agreements with him have unraveled under Mr. Roh’s conservative successor. In his message addressed to Mr. Roh’s family, Mr. Kim expressed "profound condolences to widow Kwon Ryang-suk and his bereaved family,” said the one-sentence message carried by the North’s state-run news agency, KCNA. It remained unclear whether Mr. Kim will send a delegation to Mr. Roh’s funeral, which is scheduled for Friday. [RMH suicide]
Recriminations and Regrets Follow Suicide of South Korean
By MARTIN FACKLER Published: May 24, 2009 SEOUL, South Korea — As South Koreans laid white chrysanthemums at makeshift memorials for their former president, Roh Moo-hyun, many said Sunday that the once-popular champion of clean government had been driven to suicide by more than humiliating bribery allegations. They directed much of their ire at the prosecutors and conservative media who relentlessly pursued the accusations of corruption against Mr. Roh and his family. Many accused the current president, Lee Myung-bak, of orchestrating the investigation, a move that could become a political liability for him. Others expressed deeper misgivings that Mr. Roh was a victim of the legacies of South Korea’s authoritarian past — most notably the near ritual of incumbent presidents presiding over investigations of their predecessors. Tens of thousands of mourners have flocked to a makeshift altar in downtown Seoul to pay their respects, which has kept police on alert. They have deployed 90 companies to the capital, including 30 around Seoul and Cheonggye Plazas, where candlelit vigils took place last year. However, police are not trying to provoke the mourners aware that this coup spark demonstrations against President Lee. [Insurgency] [RMH suicide]
Kim Jong Il Sends Message of Condolences to Bereaved Family of Roh Moo Hyun
Pyongyang, May 25 (KCNA) -- General Secretary Kim Jong Il Monday sent a message of condolences to the bereaved family of former President Roh Moo Hyun. The message said: On hearing the news that former President Roh Moo Hyun died in an accident, I express profound condolences to widow Kwon Ryang Suk and his bereaved family. http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2009/200905/news24/20090524-10ee.html Roh Moo Hyun Dies Pyongyang, May 24 (KCNA) -- Roh Moo Hyun, former president of south Korea, died on Saturday morning, according to a report. Media at home and abroad are linking the motive of his death with the mental burden caused by the intensive investigation of the prosecution. [RMH suicide]
Recriminations and Regrets Follow Suicide of South Korean
By MARTIN FACKLER Published: May 24, 2009 SEOUL, South Korea — As South Koreans laid white chrysanthemums at makeshift memorials for their former president, Roh Moo-hyun, many said Sunday that the once-popular champion of clean government had been driven to suicide by more than humiliating bribery allegations.
They directed much of their ire at the prosecutors and conservative media who relentlessly pursued the accusations of corruption against Mr. Roh and his family. Many accused the current president, Lee Myung-bak, of orchestrating the investigation, a move that could become a political liability for him. Others expressed deeper misgivings that Mr. Roh was a victim of the legacies of South Korea’s authoritarian past — most notably the near ritual of incumbent presidents presiding over investigations of their predecessors. [RMH suicide]
What caused Roh’s suicide : Feeling victimized or feeling burdened?
[Analysis] According to his last remarks, antipathy against prosecutors could have played a part, however, he also expressed a concern about being a burden to democratic movements There are many interpretations circulating of former President Roh Moo-hyun’s intentions of suicide on May 23, including Roh’s feelings that prosecutors had made the investigation political, and feelings of remorse to his support base. Nobody knows the real reason why he took such an extreme measure, however, several are attempting to deduct former President Roh’s intentions from remarks delivered by his close aide. Some observers are suggesting antipathy against prosecutors could have played a big part motivating intentions of suicide. When his elder brother Roh gun-pyong was arrested on charges of bribery late last year, former President Roh had responded by keeping silent or with short comments. However, he largely protested against prosecutators’ investigations when the investigation of Taekwang Industrial Chairman Park Yeon-cha’s tax evasion case turned into a bribery and illegal government lobbying investigation spanning two administrations. During the investigation, Roh’s relatives and his close aides began being questioned, one after another. [RMH suicide]
An embarrassed GNP and an enraged DP anticipate a controversy of political retaliation
GNP members express concern for possibilities of “public opinion turning against the current government,” while DP members say, “everyone knows what caused this tragedy” Political parties are in shock about the news of former President Roh Moo-hyun’s suicide on May 23. The ruling Grand National Party (GNP), the main opposition Democratic Party (DP), and other minor opposition parties, all convened meetings of high ranking members yesterday, but have been reserved in their public responses out of concern for political backlash. The GNP has expressed both shock and embarrassment. Cho Yun-sun, the GNP spokesperson issued a statement, saying, “We feel so sad about the fact of the former President’s sudden death.” GNP Chairperson Park Hee-tae cut short his visit to Australia and returned to South Korea by dawn on May 24. Chairperson Park reportedly said, "The news is so sad and shocking." The GNP convened a Supreme Council meeting to discuss how to handle the current situation, and asked the government to pay respects at Roh’s funeral. Some Supreme Council members, including lawmaker Jung Mong-jun, went to Busan University Hospital personally in order to attend the funeral service.
The GNP has also taken note of the political ripple effects Roh’s death has created. It is worried that people may see the death of former president as a form of political retaliation. [RMH suicide]
Obvious fault of prosecutors in Roh’s suicide
[Editorial] Critical comments toward prosecutors have gone a raft following former President Roh Moo-hyun’s suicide. Numerous citizens have posted comments on the online bulletin board of the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office’s to censure prosecutors for their part in the former president’s suicide. The website has been nearly paralyzed by the rush of citizens who want to post and read comments. This phenomenon has clearly shown us the fact that the prosecutor has lost the public’s trust. [RMH suicide]
Despair Overwhelms a Former Leader
By CHOE SANG-HUN Published: May 23, 2009 SEOUL, South Korea — Before dawn on Saturday, former President Roh Moo-hyun of South Korea switched on his computer and typed a suicide note — his last comment on a corruption scandal that threatened to undo his proudest, and last remaining, legacy: his record as an upstanding political leader. [RMH suicide]
(Roh death) (5th LD) Former S. Korean President Roh dies in apparent suicide
SEOUL, May 23 (Yonhap) -- Former President Roh Moo-hyun leapt to his death while hiking in mountains above his hometown Saturday, police said, amid an investigation into a bribery scandal that has sent several of his relatives and confidants to jail. Roh, 62, jumped from a cliff about 30 meters high while hiking in Bongha Village early Saturday morning. He was rushed to a hospital in the southern port city of Busan around 8:13 a.m. and died around 9:30 a.m. from external head injuries, the hospital and the Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency confirmed in official briefings. In a suicide note left on his personal computer just over an hour before he left home, Roh spoke of emotional suffering and asked to be cremated, police said. A special investigative team has been organized to examine Roh's death. "The pain that I caused to so many people are too great. The pain in the coming days is unfathomable," Roh's note, released by the police, said. "Don't be sorry. Don't blame anyone. It's fate," the note said. It also conveyed his desire to be cremated and that a small headstone be set up near his home. [RMH suicide]
Former President Roh Dead
Former President Roh Moo-hyun died after falling down a mountain early this morning, according to police. Roh had severe head injuries and died after being moved to a hospital in Busan from his hometown of Bongha Village in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province. He appears to have committed suicide. He reportedly left a suicide note. Police are investigating the cause of his death. Earlier this month, he was questioned over allegations that he took more than 6 million in bribes from a businessman while in office. [RMH suicide]
Former S. Korea President Roh commits suicide
A close aide of Roh says, “Roh had appeared to be exhausted from the prosecutor’s investigation,” while the Cheong Wa Dae scrambles to put together a statement It has been confirmed that former President Roh Moo-hyun committed suicide on May 23. According to a briefing from the South Gyungsang Police Agency, former President Roh Moo-hyun fell from a hill in the mountain near his home between 6:30 a.m and 6:40 a.m. while hiking with his secretary. He was rushed to a hospital and was declared dead at 9:30 a.m. A fracture of his skull was cited as the medical cause of his death. A close aide of late president Roh said, “There is a note he left in relation to this death. We will offer our opinions once we assess the situation.” Another aide said, “The late President Roh had appeared to be exhausted from the prosecutors’ investigation.” [RMH suicide]
Ex-president leaps to his death
Former South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun.[JOINS] Scandal plagued former South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun leapt from a mountain’s rocky outcropping yesterday, ending his life but not the questions left behind. He was 62. “Roh appeared to have jumped off a mountain around 6:40 a.m.,” said Moon Jae-in, who served as Roh’s presidential chief of staff. “He left a short note to his family.” Roh’s note was left on his computer, and one of his aides discovered it after the incident, police said. The note was created at 5:21 a.m., shortly before Roh left home for the last time, police said. "I was a burden to too many people. So many people have suffered greatly because of me. I cannot even imagine how much more sufferings will come,” Roh wrote. “The rest of my life will only be a burden to others. Because my health has worsened, I can’t do anything. I can’t even read a book. “Don’t be too sad. Life and death are all a part of nature,” Roh wrote. “Don’t be sorry. Don’t blame anyone. This is fate.” [RMH suicide]
Ex-President Falls to Death in Mountain
Roh Moo-hyun Roh Hopes for Cremation in Suicide Note By Kim Rahn, Park Si-soo Staff Reporters Former President Roh Moo-hyun, standing at the center of a widening corruption scandal, committed suicide Saturday morning after leaving a suicide note, police confirmed. He was 62. Police said Roh jumped off a 40-meter-high cliff at the back of his retirement residence in Bongha Village, Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province, around 6:40 a.m. while hiking with a security guard. ``It was so abrupt that the guard had no time to block him,'' police said. [RMH suicide]
Local Pop Culture Facing New Challenges
Clockwise from top left, Korean blockbuster film“, Shiri”directed by Kang Je-gyu; BoA of SM Entertainment; Korean TV drama “Jewel in the Palace”starring Lee Young-ae / Korea Times File Photos By Chung Ah-young Staff Reporter Is hallyu, or Korean Wave, waning or still booming? There has been lots of talk about the sustainability of hallyu among industry insiders as the overseas success of some of Korea's TV dramas and movies seemed to have declined in recent years. Freelance writer Mark James Russell, however, dismisses the term, hallyu. He once jokingly called it ``Zombie Wave'' for these worriers, arguing that there never was a Korean Wave in the first place, so it couldn't really be said to be dying or anything. [Hallyu]
Roh’s Death Creates Far-Reaching Repercussions
By Kang Hyun-kyung Staff Reporter The death of former President Roh Moo-hyun will have a sizable impact not only to the political arena but also to ongoing prosecutors' investigation on the bribe scandal allegedly involving the late president, said political observers Saturday. Before passing away, Roh and his wife were under investigation for taking $6 million from a businessman and prosecutors were scheduled to announce whether they will seek a arrest warrant for the former president or not sometime early next month. Political observers, Roh's supporters and experts speculated that the late president, who described himself as a clean leader, would have felt considerable pressure because of the investigation, and that this might have led him to seek ``the last resort.''
They forecast that President Lee Myung-bak, the ruling Grand National Party (GNP) and the prosecution would suffer the grave consequences of the death of the former president, who has had many supporters even after retirement. The late president's Web site and the home page of his fan club, dubbed Nosamo, were inaccessible as a swarm of bloggers and Internet users tried to log on to them after his death was reported. A backlash against President Lee already came from Roh supporters. [RMH suicide]
South Korean Ex-President Kills Himself
By CHOE SANG-HUN Published: May 22, 2009 SEOUL, South Korea — Former President Roh Moo-hyun of South Korea, whose reputation as an upstanding political leader had been tarnished recently by a corruption scandal, committed suicide on Saturday by jumping off a cliff near his retirement home, according to his aides and the police. [RMH suicide]
Former S. Korean President Roh Dies in Apparent Suicide
By Blaine Harden and Stella Kim Washington Post Foreign Service Saturday, May 23, 2009; 3:38 AM TOKYO, May 23 -- Former South Korean president Roh Moo-hyun, a suspect in a corruption scandal that implicated his wife and family, apparently committed suicide Saturday by leaping from a mountain cliff near his rural home. [RMH suicide]
Violent rallies to be preempted in city centers
The government yesterday banned all massive outdoor rallies likely to turn violent in urban downtown areas and said anyone who instigates violence during demonstrations would be arrested. The decision was made at a meeting of Prime Minister Han Seung-soo and other related ministers convened to discuss follow-up measures to the violent clash between labor unionists and riot police in Daejeon on Saturday. "In order to establish an order in our society, we will not tolerate illegal walkouts and violent demonstrations holding the nation's economy hostage," said Han. "Violence should not be a method for communication and we cannot accept it for any reasons. We have to create a social atmosphere where such an illegal protest is severely criticized." [Human rights] [Media]
Government announces a ban on assemblies in Seoul
Civic organizations form a countermeasure network for maintaining constitutional rights and plan to hold a large-scale demonstration in Seoul » Members of the umbrella Network of Civic Organizations for Keeping Democracy Alive and Stopping Suppression that consists of social organization and political parties, including Jinbo Corea and the Democratic Labor Party, hold a press conference in front of the Seodaemun Police Station in Seoul to protest excessive police violence, May 20. The government announcement on Wednesday that large-scale assemblies held in Seoul cannot be permitted has led to criticism. In response on the same day, more than eighty social and civic organizations, including the People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, formed the Network of Civic Organizations for Keeping Democracy Alive and Stopping Suppression to serve as an umbrella organization to protect the right of assembly and protest. Meanwhile, there are concerns of an expansion of conflict between labor and government, as unions are planning to move ahead with the launching of a general strike set for later this month
Koreans' Body Shape Is Changing
Koreans are changing in shape from the stocky, heavy-headed warriors of yore, according to research by the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards. Compared to 1979, the length of men's faces decreased from 24.6 cm to 23.6 cm, and from 23.3 cm to 22.3 cm for women. The width also shrank, with 15 percent lower chin capacity for Koreans born after the 1970s. The shape of the head also changed, the forehead morphing from flat and narrow to more convex and wider. Overall, heads have become rounder, chins narrower, the mid-facial area longer, and cheekbones less prominent.
Report: North advocate of South ties ‘executed’
May 20, 2009 A former North Korean official who advocated rapprochement with the South has been executed, according to as yet unconfirmed media reports. The Yonhap News Agency, citing anonymous sources, reported that Choe Sung-chol, a point man on South Korea, was put to death last September. While the National Intelligence Service in Seoul and the Unification Ministry said they couldn’t confirm the execution, sources said the fact that the execution was reported shows North Korea is serious about overhauling its policy line.
Koreans Drink 110 bottles of Beer and 74 Bottles of Soju Annually
A survey has found that Korean adults drink an average of 110 bottles of beer and 74 bottles of soju annually. The survey also reveled that the export of Korean alcoholic beverages rose 23 percent from last year.
NK’s Pointman on South Executed
By Kim Jae-kyoung Staff Reporter North Korea executed its point-man on South Korea last year, holding him accountable for instituting ``wrong'' South Korean policies during previous liberal governments, Yonhap News Agency, and MBC, the nation's second largest broadcaster, reported Monday. The news agency said that Choe Sung-chol, former vice chairman of the North's Asia-Pacific Peace Committee, who disappeared from public sight early last year, was reportedly executed last year for his ``wrong judgments'' on Seoul. The execution is widely seen as a sign that North Korea has moved toward a hard-line policy after South Korea seemingly halted a decade-long engagement policy toward Pyeongyang. The news agency quoted informed sources as saying, ``Choe has become a scapegoat of what were believed to be wrong South Korean policies. Officially, the North accused him of corruption in handling inter-Korean matters.''
Should We Continue Cooperation with N.Korea?
Inter-Korean relations have been strained by the prolonged detention of South Korean worker at the joint Kaesong Industrial Complex. The detention has not only harmed the industrial park project but also stopped South Korea from participating in the Proliferation Security Initiative. In these circumstances, should we continue to implement inter-Korean cooperation projects and agreements? Inter-Korean economic cooperation is not merely aimed at helping small and medium-sized businesses regain competitiveness. It is also intended to help North Korea reform and open up. But any change in the North remains elusive. Instead, economic cooperation generates dollars that prop up the regime.
N.Korea 'Stirring Sedition in the South'
The North Korean regime recently ordered officials and organizations dealing with South Korea to stir up conflict in the South over the June 15, 2000 Joint Declaration and the October 4, 2007 Summit Declaration, a well-connected diplomatic source in Beijing said Sunday. According to the source, a senior member of the North Korean Workers' Party who recently escaped the North told him that he was told by the regime to give support to revolutionary groups in the South that support the joint declarations, so that improving inter-Korean relations becomes a common goal of the people in South Korea.
[Analysis] S. Korea should change N. Korean policy keynote to save Kaesong Complex
Experts criticize S. Korea’s hardline posture while urging the government to maintain contacts with N. Korea and go beyond a working level response Despite North Korea’s notification Friday warning that a second round of Kaesong (Gaeseong) meetings between North Korean and South Korean officials was on the verge of rupture, the South Korean government is refusing to change the tenor of its “principled response” based on hopes that North Korea will not actually close the Kaesong Industrial Complex down. Analysts point out, however, because of this attitude towards North Korea’s wave of attacks raising the idea of closing the Kaesong Industrial Complex South Korea now faces a situation in which the survival of the complex is difficult to guarantee.
Seoul Rules Out Shutdown of Gaeseong Complex
South Korea is not considering closing a joint industrial venture in North Korea despite the "crisis" it faces after Pyongyang's unilateral decision to scrap business contracts, Seoul's unification minister said Monday.
Opposition Slams Gov’t for Gaeseong Crisis
The hardline Lee Myung-bak administration is to blame for the crisis of the inter-Korean industrial complex, South Korea's main opposition party said Saturday, calling for it to take steps to save the inter-Korean industrial park, run by South Koreans inside the North Korean territory, Yonhap reported. "The Gaeseong industrial complex is in peril due to the government's North Korea policy that lacks principles and philosophy," the Democratic Party's spokesperson Kim Yoo-jung said. "The government and the ruling party should map out measures to maintain the complex, which is the last bastion of inter-Korean reconciliation, instead of focusing on criticizing North Korea's step." [Kaesong] [SK NK policy]
A profile of one May 18 Gwangju Democratic Uprising suicide victim and his family
Having survived interrogation and torture for participating in the May 18 movement, several victims continue to cope with the aftermath Monday marks the 29th anniversary of the Gwangju Democratization Movement. What have become of the vegetable sellers, truck drivers, high school students and tea room employees who stood up against the guns of the military dictatorship on that day in 1980? Many of them ended up taking their own lives unable to escape the shackles of torture and brutality. At the request of the May 18 Memorial Foundation, the research team headed by psychologist Dr. Cho Yong-beom from the Life Rights Action Center has conducted a psychological analysis and profile of 10 suicide victims.– Editor
Police arrest another Internet writer
Arrest of poet for National Security Law violations causes concern for the freedom of expression
A famous Internet writer and poet Yang Hyung-ku, age 46, was arrested on charges of violating the National Security Law. The security department of Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency announced on Friday the arrest of Yang who had written approximately 1900 articles, including 50 articles praising a federation model for unification and the Chuch'e ideology of North Korea on both the Internet media outlet “Daily Seoprise” and his blog from September 2007 to April 2009. [Human rights] [NSS]
N. K disappointment in fight against chemical weapons: world body
The top world body on the use of chemical weapons expressed disappointment Friday at North Korea, which remains one of only two Asian countries that refuse to join an international treaty banning such arms, according to Yonhap News. The Hague-based Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) also appealed to Pyongyang to sign the 1997 treaty "as a matter of urgency and without preconditions."
The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) is implemented by the OPCW and remains to be signed by just eight countries, including North Korea, Israel, Syria and Egypt.[cbw]
'Strategic naval forces needed to deter N.K.'
The Navy was yesterday advised to promote the establishment of a strategic team of naval forces under the direct command of the president in order to effectively deter North Korea's nuclear threat. "Our military needs to formulate special strategic forces of up to 10,000 troops, also consisting of Aegis warships and F-15 fighter jets, to secure a certain level of retaliation combat ability," said Kim Tae-woo, vice president of the Korean Institute for Defense Analyses. [military balance] [Threat]
Samsung Thales May Win Deal on Submarine Combat System
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter Samsung Thales Corp. (STC) is set to win a $120 million contract to supply cutting-edge automated combat systems for the nation's first 3,000-ton KSS-III attack submarine to be deployed after 2020, officials of the Agency for Defense Development (ADD)and the Defense Acquisitio Program Administration (DAPA) said Wednesday. [Military balance]
Kim Dae-jung says “President Lee is surrounded by Cold War thinkers”
While speaking on North Korea, and media freedom, former S. Korean president adds it’s time for Obama to actualize the September 19 Joint Statement
Interview] In a special interview granted Tuesday at his home in Seoul’s Donggyo-dong to commemorate the 21st anniversary of the founding of the Hankyoreh, Former President Kim Dae-jung said he wondered if President Lee was surrounded by people who either participated in the Cold War or have an overly Cold War way of thinking. Kim says the fundamental cause of the worsening of inter-Korean ties was mutual distrust, and that President Lee Myung-bak must explain what he will do with the June 15 and October 4 declarations. He also said South Korea needed to reopen tourism to Mt. Geumgangsan, which South Korea had unilaterally closed, and build a dormitory at the Kaesong (Gaeseong) Industrial Complex, as was promised to North Korea. He stressed it was time for President Lee to make to make these decisions. Regarding North Korea’s recent hardline tone, Kim said that he believed North Korea’s real intention was to improve its relationship with the U.S. if only to have it guarantee its security and allows North Korea to enter and be active in the international community. He added that it was time for President Obama to resolve to actualize the September 19 Joint Statement. [NK US policy] [Renege]
N.Korea Says Talks with the South 'Pointless'
North Korea on Saturday continued its rhetorical assault on the rest of the world, saying talks with the South would be pointless. "There simply is no need to even consider holding talks between the North and the South while the Lee Myung-bak group is publicly trying to smear the name of our republic and bluntly denying it," the North Korean Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland said in a statement.
N. Korea denounces need for dialogue due to S. Korea’s “human rights” remarks
While the CPRF criticizes S. Korean officials’ remarks as “anti-Republic agitation,” S. Korea worries about the effects on Kaesong talks » North Korean soldiers smile while on duty at the Truce Village of Panmunjeom, May 10. Amid efforts to fine-tune the schedule and agenda for the follow-up to the April 21 Kaesong meeting between South Korea and North Korea, North Korea’s Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland (CPRF) declared Saturday, “There is simply no need to even consider holding talks between the North and the South while South Korea is publicly smearing the name of our republic and bluntly denying the dignity of the Republic.” In a spokesperson’s talk on Saturday, the CPRF cited a statement by Ambassador Jhe Seong-ho, South Korea’s ambassador at large for human rights, about constructing settlement villages for North Korean refugees in regions on the border with North Korea, and discussions by Korean Peninsula Peace Regime Bureau director-general Huh Chul about the status of North Korean refugees and North Korean humans rights issues during a visit to the U.S. as “anti-Republic human rights agitation.” The CPRK described these as “a full-on denial of and challenge to North Korea’s dignity and system.”
Military Delays Heavy Submarine Program
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter The Ministry of National Defense plans to deploy 3,000-ton attack submarines after 2020, a two-year delay from the original Defense Reform 2020 initiative, a report said Sunday. A revision of the military modernization program unveiled in 2005 will be finalized by next month and sent to President Lee Myung-bak for approval, according to sources. The revised plan has been criticized for being too focused on the Army over the Navy and Air Force. [Military balance]
Credibility of Prosecutors Suffers a Crushing
Blow National Intelligence Service Director Won Sei-hoon has sent one of his officials to meet Lee In-kyu, the chief prosecutor in charge of the bribery case involving former president Roh Moo-hyun, and recommended that Roh be indicted without arrest. [NIS]
KU Courts Renewed Controversy Over Kim Yu-na
By Kang Shin-who Staff Reporter Korea University has been hit with renewed criticism after its latest claim of having helped propel figure skater Kim Yu-na to world championship glory. Eyebrows were raised after Lee Ki-su, university president, said on Wednesday that the institution ``delivered" the 18-year-old, repeating a statement from late March that drew widespread criticism at the time. Reacting, KU students and graduates spoke of their embarrassment at the latest claim.
KU admitted Kim last October after interviewing her over the Internet from Toronto. Since officially starting her course in April she has seldom attended class ? despite being registered as a student of the sports department.
How to boost Korea's brand
According to a new book, Korea's national brand is in dire need of a boost. Professor Keith Dinnie of the Japan campus at Temple University recently gave a seminar at Yonsei University in Seoul to promote the Korean translation of his book "Nation Branding: Concepts, Issues, Practice (2008)." In the book, the professor of business administration analyses the unique nature of Korea's weak national brand among other developed nations despite a strong economy boasting several internationally lauded corporations such as Samsung, LG, and Hyundai. The translation of the book into Korean was organized by the Korea Foundation. Dinnie believes the lack of interest in nation branding by the preceding administrations were the key cause of Korea's dismal visibility on the global stage. [Brand]
N.Korea Wants Answer to Demands Soon
North Korea has written to South Korea urging a second meeting at the Kaesong Industrial Complex. The North Korean body that manages the complex on Monday sent a three-page document about the second meeting that warns if the South does not respond promptly, "it will only complicate the problem," a South Korean government official said Wednesday.
NIS raids 19 places related to the unification movement
PKAR calls the arrest of 6 senior members suppression against the unification movement Detectives from the National Intelligence Service (NIS) and the Security Investigative Team of the National Policy Agency (NPA) raided nineteen places, including the South Korea branch office of the Pan-Korean Alliance for Reunification (PKAR), on charges of violating the National Security Law on Thursday. [NSL] [Human rights] [Unification] [NIS]
N. Korea Increases Military Trainings on Western Border
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter North Korea has bolstered its live artillery fire exercises and fighter jet training near the western sea border with South Korea since it declared an ``all-out confrontational posture'' against the South in January, a report said Friday. ``The North appears to have doubled its live-fire artillery training exercise near the North Korean western coastline from the same period a year earlier,'' a Marine official was quoted by Yonhap News agency as saying, adding that gun positions have frequently been seen. This year, the North is believed to have conducted 19 live-fire exercises at an island near the Northern Limit Line (NLL), the sea borderline between the two Koreas in the West Sea. [Military balance] [Spin]
Uncovering the hidden history of the Korean War: The work of South Korea's Truth and Reconciliation Commission
In 2005, the South Korean National Assembly established the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, South Korea (TRCK) to "reveal the truth behind civilian massacres during the Korean War and human rights abuses during the [South Korean] authoritarian period and the anti-Japanese independence movement"--histories actively suppressed during three decades of U.S.-supported military dictatorships in South Korea. Please join us to learn of recent evidence of U.S. and South Korean responsibility for the massacre of civilians before and during the Korean War as well as the urgent struggle to write truth into Korea's modern history.
Associated Press on Korea War massacres
This interactive link includes testimony by Lee Joon-young who was the chief prison guard at Daejon [Taejon] when the Korean War broke out. He witnessed / participated in the execution of approximately 1,800 political prisoners over a three day period. This link also includes a report by Charles Hanley on U.S. involvement in those mass killings, and official reports (U.S. Army Intelligence reports, CIA Director situation report, etc.) that provide a glimpse of the extent of that involvement. Charles Hanley of the Associated Press was the Discussant at the March 25 [TRC] Colloquium at NYU, and one of the presenters on the panel organized by ASCK at the AAS in Chicago.
Experts say N. Korea issues need “sophisticated management”
They recommend re-examining lessons learned from 2006 inter-Korea train link failure
Following the April 21 inter-Korean meeting in Kaesong (Gaeseong) and in advance of any future contact, experts are pointing out that a sophisticated level of management is required and are recommending a re-examination of the lessons learned from the sudden cancellation of inter-Korean train service in 2006. Experts believe today’s situation is similar to that of 2006, when North Korea unilaterally informed South Korea it was canceling a trial run of the train service on the Gyeongui (Seoul-Sinuiju) and Donghae (East Sea) lines just one day prior to their scheduled May 25 launch. At the time, North Korea-US tensions were building and the six-party talks had been stalled for six months due to the U.S. dollar counterfeiting controversy and U.S. financial sanctions [Sovereignty]
S. Korean navy rescues N. Korea cargo ship from pirates
Off the coast of Somalia, S. Korea’s Cheonghae Unit moves swiftly to help N. Korean ship in distress The North Korean cargo ship named “DABAKSOL” sent a rescue request to the Cheonghae unit at 11:30 a.m. (Korean time). The South Korean Cheonghae unit that was deployed to the sea near Somalia to protect cargo ships from pirates came to DABAKSOL’s rescue. The 4,500-ton level destroyer MUNMUDAEWANG in the Chenghae unit received the request through an international commercial vessel communication network, and sent a LYNX helicopter. The LYNX helicopter arrived at 12:20 p.m. after flying 96km, and positioned itself to open fire on the pirates. After ten minutes, the pirates retreated from the North Korean ship. After returning to safety, the sailors of the North Korean cargo ship offered their thanks to the South Korean crew and continued on their way to their destination in India. An official of the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said, “This is the first time that the South Korean navy has rescued a North Korean cargo ship from a pirate’s attack. According to the international law of the sea, we should help all vessel regardless of their nationality.” [military balance]
N. Korea comments on the serious nature of S. Korean Kaesong worker's violations
Yu’s violations and detention test inter-Korean relations as N. Korea declares it is not an international matter Speaking in connection with the detention and investigation of an employee at Hyundai Asan's Kaesong (Gaeseong) company site, currently being identified only by his last name of Yu, a North Korean spokesperson for the Central Special Zone Development Guidance General Bureau said Friday, “Our government authority in charge of that matter is currently proceeding deeper in its investigation.” The bureau is the North Korean body in charge of the Kaesong Industrial Complex project.
S. Korea to Upgrade KF-16 Fighter Jets
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter The South Korean Air Force is looking to upgrade the radar and armament systems of its KF-16 fleet in an effort to boost the country's air defense capability, a military source said Friday. The plan, part of the 2010-2014 arms acquisition and management package, will be reported to President Lee Myung-bak soon for final approval, the source told The Korea Times.
The service is now considering installing the Israel-made EL/M-2032 radar on the aircraft, the source said. The advanced mechanically scanned array radar, developed by Israel's Elta Systems, is credited with a look-up tracking range of 65 to 100 kilometers and believed to have better simultaneous detection capability than those of the current APG-68(v)5/7 radars. The Air Force actually wanted the more advanced U.S. active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar but modified the plan due to the U.S. law forbidding the export of state-of-the-art and sensitive weapons systems, he said. [Military balance] [Tribute]
Military reforms in need of revision, says think tank
Plans to downsize the military to 500,000 personnel from the current 680,000 need to be revised because the military would be unable to cope with instabilities in North Korea, a state-run think tank said in a recent report. "Military plans led by the South Korean troops would be a huge driving force to spearheading reunification with North Korea should the situation arise. But to fulfill that goal, the troop reductions stipulated in the defense reform plans must be revised," said the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses. The comments were included in a translation of a January report by the United States-based Council on Foreign Relations, entitled "Preparing for Sudden Change in North Korea." KIDA said more troops would be needed to cope with a possible regime change in the North since its special military forces may try to resist external intervention. [Collapse] [Takeover]
Walking Directions Will Be Switched to Right
By Kim Rahn Staff Reporter ``People keep to the left, and cars keep to the right.'' So goes the song Koreans learn about traffic rules in kindergarten. The childhood lesson means Koreans recognize they should walk on the left side of roads, sidewalks and public facilities. In reality, many people find the rule uncomfortable. Now the traffic authorities are moving to change people's decades-old walking custom to bring it in line with international practices. The National Police Agency said it will seek to revise related traffic law to switch the walkers' direction to the right side. The current law stipulates that people should walk on the left side of a road without sidewalks. The plan came after experts have pointed out that keeping to the left goes against natural instinct. The authorities launched a study on walking culture in 2007. They found that 73 percent of people preferred keeping to the right, as 88 percent of Koreans are right-handed. They felt uncomfortable by being guided to keep to the left against their natural preference.(sic) [Bizarre]

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