ROK and Inter-Korean relations
July 2009
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Remembering the Unfinished Conflict: Museums and the Contested Memory of the Korean War
Tessa Morris-Suzuki
Forgotten by Whom?
On 27 May 2009, the government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK, North Korea) provoked worldwide alarm and protest by announcing that it no longer considered itself bound by the 1953 armistice ending the Korean War. Amongst the mass of western media reports deploring this announcement, however, only a few noted the fact that the armistice has never been signed by the Republic of Korea (ROK, South Korea), because its then President Yi Seungman [Syngman Rhee] did not accept that the war was over, and wanted to go on fighting. The armistice was therefore signed only by some of the belligerents, and, since negotiations on the Korean Peninsula in the UN framework proved abortive and the US and North Korea have not pursued bilateral peace negotiations, there has never been a peace treaty. [1] More than half a century after the ceasefire, Korea remains uneasily divided along the 38th Parallel, one of the world’s most dangerous military flashpoints. Of all the conflicts over history and memory which trouble the Northeast Asian region, this is surely the one most directly linked to contemporary politics: for rival understandings of the unfinished war lie at the heart of continuing political tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
[Korean War]
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[Exclusive] Navy to Create Strategic Mobile Fleet in Feb.
By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
The Navy plans to establish a strategic mobile fleet of two Aegis destroyer-led squadrons by next February in a bid to develop blue-water operational capability beyond coastal defense against a North Korean invasion, a Navy source said Monday.
The fleet will participate in combined or multinational maritime exercises, including the annual Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC) to be held in waters off Hawaii, from next year, the source told The Korea Times.
[Military balance] [Tribute]
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S. Korea must clear the way beyond UNSC sanctions
The day before yesterday, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) confirmed a plan for sanctions against North Korea in connection with its second nuclear test. The UNSC's decision, which serves as the core element of multilateral sanctions, is essentially settled 34 days after the adoption of a resolution. Now is the time to come up with a basic solution for the nuclear problem that goes beyond sanctions.
These UNSC sanctions target five North Korean individuals, five companies and institutions, and two types of goods, including high-tech materials. This represents a considerably smaller range of targets from those initially presented by the U.S. and other Western countries, but it does appear likely to apply some pressure on North Korea, as the decision was adopted unanimously with China and Russia also voting in favor.
[SK NK policy] [Sanctions] [NK China]
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Discourse on fascism in South Korea spreads
Global economic crisis and the disappearance of the state’s public character causes alarm for academics who call for a people’s front against fascism
Discourse on fascism is spreading, and not of the micro-level cultural “fascism within us,” but of the social and political “fascism outside of us.” This marks the first time since the end of the authoritarian government led by Roh Tae-woo in 1993 that “fascism as a system” has become a topic of controversy.
The debate began in May during the National Association of Professors for Democracy meeting where there was an outpouring of concern from the participants, including Sogang University Professor Sonn Ho-chul, who said, “’Fascism as a tendency‘ already exists.” Keimyung University Professor Im Un-taek, contributed by saying, “Unrest in life as a result of the economic crisis meeting up with political distrust could summon neo-fascism.”
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'Korea, Sparkling' Slogan May Be Dropped
By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter
Korea is likely to stop using "Korea, Sparkling," as its official tourism slogan in the near future as many specialists question its effectiveness as a motto representing the nation's identity.
"The vast majority of experts expressed consistently negative views about the slogan. They said it sounded like a brand name for carbonated or sparkling water, not a catchy tourism slogan," said Euh Yoon-dae, chairman of Presidential Council on Nation Branding, Wednesday.
[Brand] [Country image]
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Universal Ballet Supports North Korean Dancer
For nine-year-old Kim, dancing again was a dream come true, as she had never imagined she would stand on stage again.
The young girl, who wanted to be identified by only her last name, will start training to become a ballerina, thanks to a scholarship arranged by the Universal Ballet Company in Seoul.
Kim and her family are from North Korea. They arrived in Seoul eight months ago to escape poverty, and have been busy adjusting to life in the South.
Ku explained that in the North, training to be polished enough to appear on television was a great challenge.
[Refugee reception]
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South Korean Court to Hear Suit From North
By SU-HYUN LEE
Published: July 15, 2009
SEOUL, South Korea — A South Korean court has for the first time accepted a lawsuit brought by North Korean citizens trying to establish their rights to property in the South. Legal experts say it is a harbinger of what reunification might bring and are urging a study of what policies and legislation should govern North-South civil disputes.
Four North Korean brothers and sisters have sued their late father’s second wife and that couple’s four children in South Korea for a share of an inheritance from the estate of the father, a doctor.
[Takeover]
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Prospect of Working Contact and KIZ Entirely Depends on Future Attitude of South Side
Pyongyang, July 10 (KCNA) -- A spokesman for the General Bureau for Central Guidance to the Development of the Special Zone issued a statement on Friday in connection with the fact that the working contact on the Kaesong Industrial Zone (KIZ) has been pushed to the phase of breakdown due to the insincere attitude on the part of the south Korean authorities.
[Kaesong]
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'Korea on Verge of Becoming Shameful Nation'
By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter
The outgoing human rights agency's chief said South Korea is on the verge of being degraded to a ``shameful nation'' because of the government's backpedaling on human rights and democracy.
Outgoing National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Chairman Ahn Kyong-whan urged President Lee Myung-bak to scrap a downsizing plan for the commission and to pay attention to the backlash from international communities.
[Human rights]
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President Lee criticizes former administrations for aid to North Korea
Analysts suggest President Lee’s comments to foreign press reveals intention to discontinue inter-Korean cooperation projects
President Lee Myung-bak issued what observers are considering his most forceful hardline statement to North Korea to date in an interview with a foreign journalist on Tuesday. Some are criticizing it as a virtual declaration of abandoning relations with North Korea, revealing he will no longer concern himself with his duty as the top manager of inter-Korean relations.
[Aid weapon]
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Suppression of the progressive pro-reunification organizations and personalities
We are sending this letter on the current south Korean authorities’ increasing suppression of the progressive pro-reunification organizations and personalities in their struggle for the national reconciliation and unity as well as the reunification of the homeland.
[NSL]
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Seoul may deploy wartime reserves in North Korea
The Defense Ministry is considering deploying 100,000 reserve forces in North Korea in wartime on a noncombatant basis to control and protect residents, sources said yesterday.
The plan is to compensate for the reduction in regular troop strength as envisioned by the Defense Reform Master Plan announced Friday.
The ministry will cut the armed forces in phases from the current 657,000 to 517,000 through 2020, while modernizing weapons, intelligence and operational systems.
These cuts will mean insufficient operations personnel to stabilize rear areas of the North during a potential war.
The master plan includes the creation of 10 special wartime divisions which would be filled with paramilitary forces, officials said.
They would be in charge of maintaining order, safeguarding civilians and deterring them from organizing militia against South Korea, the sources said.
The contingency forces would be mobilized within two months of a war breaking out, they added. A reserve brigadier general would likely be in command.
They will be modeled after Zaytun, the Korean unit dispatched to northern Iraq between 2004 and 2008 for post-war rehabilitation, job training and medical service, the officials said.
The ministry plans to enhance the training of reserves and to arm them with higher-capacity weapons.
It also decided to maintain their number at 1.85 million from 2020, readjusting the previous plan to reduce it from the current 3 million to 1.5 million.
Full-day training will be increased incrementally from the current 2-3 days, to 4-5 days, the ministry said.
North Korea currently maintains about 1.2 million regular and 7.7 million reserve troops, according to the ministry.
(jjhwang@heraldm.com)
By Hwang Jang-jin
[Takeover] [Military balance]
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Kim Dae-jung blasts Korea’s current levels of democracy
July 04, 2009
Former President Kim Dae-jung said he was “mortified and angry” with the crisis that democracy in Korea faces today, taking another verbal shot at the current conservative administration.
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Open sex club raises decency debate
A new type of sex club in the Gangnam area is heating up debate on sexual freedom in open spaces. A theme club which opened in a Gangnam street last month is gaining popularity by allowing members to openly have sex on the premises, said police officials yesterday.
The entrance is strictly restricted to couples who have received in advance their adult age certification through the club's website.
Under the club's motto that "all sexual taboos are taboos," visitors freely have sexual relationships with their partners or involve themselves in partner swapping or group sex, according to officials. The rest of the crowd is free to watch any other couple.
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Seoul to increase defense R&D spending
South Korea said Friday it will raise its funding for defense research programs by nearly one third over the next half decade to help counter North Korea's nuclear and missile threats, according to Yonhap News.
The share of research and development investment in the annual defense budget will rise from 5.6 percent this year to 7.4 percent in 2014, the Ministry of National Defense said in a statement.
The mid-term National Defense Plan for fiscal 2010-2014 "prioritizes the procurement of defense capabilities against the nuclear and missile threat of North Korea," it said.
Last week, South Korea unveiled a 599.3 trillion won ($469 billion) program aimed at obtaining the ability to monitor every North Korean nuclear and missile base independently by 2020 and bomb it if necessary.
[Military balance] [Threat]
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S. Korea to Craft Defenses Against NK Nukes
South Korea will spend tens of millions of dollars to build up defenses against any North Korean nuclear attack, AFP reported Friday, quoting the Defense Ministry.
North Korea has vowed to build more nuclear bombs in response to a U.N. resolution which imposed sanctions for its May 25 nuclear test, the second since 2006.
The South will spend up to 100 billion won ($78 million) over the next five years to protect key facilities against electromagnetic pulse (EMP) waves from high-altitude nuclear explosions, according to AFP.
[Military balance] [Threat]
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Korean Banks Turn to Malaysia to Raise Funds
A growing number of Korean banks have been raising funds in Malaysia since early last year when the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis began to shake the world. The Korean government-backed Hana Bank issued US$284 million worth of bonds in Malaysia on June 22, and in February the Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM) issued $60 million worth of three-year maturity bonds in the Southeast Asian nation.
Some $1.3 billion worth of funds have been issued in the Malaysian market by Korean banks, including KEXIM, Woori Bank, National Agricultural Cooperative Federation, Industrial Bank of Korea, and Hyundai Capital Services. Last year Malaysia saw "an influx of foreign ringgit bond issuers," the Wall Street Journal wrote on June 22, "dominated by Korean banks."
What makes Malaysia so attractive to Korean financial institutions? The country offers advantages over not only the U.S. and European markets but also the Asian financial hubs of Hong Kong and Singapore. One such advantage is that Malaysia has become the first stop for Middle Eastern oil money interested in Asian markets. Thus, while Hong Kong and Singapore have been hit by the global financial crisis, Malaysia is enjoying a relative abundance of financial assets. With a view to becoming a financial hub for the Islamic world, Malaysia began issuing "Sukuk" Islamic bonds in 2001. As of late 2008, Malaysia's Islamic financial assets had grown to $51.83 billion, up 23 percent from the previous year.
[Halal]
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