ROK and Inter-Korean relations
July 2010
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Doubts surface on North Korea's role in ship sinking
Some in South Korea dispute the official version of events: that a North Korean torpedo ripped apart the Cheonan.
July 23, 2010|By Barbara Demick and John M. Glionna, Los Angeles Times Reporting from Seoul —
The way U.S. officials see it, there's little mystery behind the most notorious shipwreck in recent Korean history.
[Cheonan] [Coverup] [Media]
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Controversy over South Korea's sunken ship
Physicists' research casts doubt on idea that North Korean torpedo downed vessel.
David Cyranoski
New research suggests North Korea may not have been responsible for the sinking of the Cheonan.
In May, two months after the sinking of a South Korean warship, the country released a report blaming its northern neighbour. That report soon came under fire from South Korean opposition politicians and an influential South Korean civil liberties group. Now some scientists are lending their weight to the critique.
[Cheonan] [Coverup
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Prospects for an Inter-Korean summit in the post-Cheonan era
Kim Sung Bae July 2010 - Vol. 2, No. 7
After the sinking of the ROK Navy corvette Cheonan on March 26, 2010, the situation on the Korean Peninsula has rapidly deteriorated, worsening already high tensions and heightening the prospect for accidental military clashes. Prospects for the Six-Party Talks are also very negative, as new moves to initiate additional sanctions against North Korea have replaced diplomatic efforts for the resumption of talks. Given the current situation, is there any possibility for an inter-Korean summit? A summit might, paradoxically, be the only means of exit from the crisis. Interestingly, in 1993, during heightened military tensions stemming from the first North Korean nuclear crisis, a proposal for an inter-Korean summit was accepted. The meeting was only canceled because of Kim Il-Sung's sudden death on July 8, 1994.
[SK NK relations]
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Korean alcohol consumption hits decade high
2010-07-06 16:02
Koreans have consumed an increasing amount of alcohol over the past decade, in particular beer, wine and whiskey, a report shows.
According to an analysis by the National Tax Services released Tuesday, the amount of beer consumed in 2009 exceeded 2 billion liters, up from about 1.6 billion liters in 1999. Over the course of a year, this translates as a 500-milliliter beer at least once every three days for every adult in the country.
The biggest increases were seen in the consumption of wine and whiskey. The amount of wine consumption last year reached nearly 46 million liters, more than six times 1999’s figure of 6.4 million liters. Since 2006, imports of wine have surpassed those of whiskey.
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Kim Mi-hwa claims to be on 'KBS blacklist'
Kim Mi-hwa
By Bae Ji-sook
Staff reporter
Comedienne-turned-TV hostess Kim Mi-hwa claimed Tuesday that she has been “blacklisted” by the state-run broadcaster KBS which has tacitly banned certain entertainers from appearing in its programs
This is not the first time KBS has been accused of blacklisting entertainers from its programs for political ideas or participation in social events. Singer Yoon Do-hyun, who used to host a nighttime talk show dubbed “Love Letter” and Kim Je-dong, who had led several highly-rated programs such as “Star Golden Bell,” were both dismissed from their programs after they paid tribute to the late former President Roh Moo-hyun and expressed opposition to recent governmental policies.
[Lee Myung-bak] [Human rights]
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Seoul Must Beware of U.S.-China Naval Competition
The U.S. nuclear-powered submarines Michigan, Ohio, and Florida recently surfaced almost simultaneously at ports in Busan, Subic Bay in the Philippines and Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. International press reports said it is "rare" for three U.S. nuclear submarines to surface at the same time and detected a form of "armed protest" against China, an apparent show of force to indicate that the U.S. will not relinquish its control of the Pacific Ocean.
China has criticized plans by the U.S. and South Korea to hold anti-submarine drills in the West Sea in response to North Korea's torpedo attack on the Navy corvette Cheonan, saying the maneuvers will create "new tension" on the Korean Peninsula. China then held a live-fire exercise in the East China Sea from June 30 until Monday.
[China confrontation]
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Conscription 'Should Be Phased Out Slowly'
Experts are calling for a gradual phasing out of mandatory military service rather than complete abolition. The Roh Moo-hyun administration anticipated that military tension on the Korean Peninsula will ease after 2020 and pointed to the large number of countries who have abolished or are abolishing conscription.
France replaced the draft with a volunteer military in the 1990s and Italy in 2003. Taiwan has introduced a substitute military service system which reduces the overall service period to deal with surplus manpower. Germany stuck to conscription after unification but reduced the service period to nine months while raising the proportion of volunteers.
Most countries have adopted either a volunteer system or a mixed system due to reduced security threats or reduced numbers of soldiers as a result of military reform plans.
But experts here say Korea should not abolish conscription completely after 2020 given the security situation, manpower, people's perception of military service, and available funds.
[Militarisation] [ROK military]
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Exit of a general
2010-07-06 16:35
[Editorial]
Voiceware Text Ronaldo 'paid surrogate mom' to have his son: reports Samsung, LG, Hyundai team up for flexible display: report 2nd malaria victim dies after World Cup tour to Africa Korea, New Zealand seek to expand ties Lee plans to reshuffle senior aides this week P.M. office staff accused of abusing investigative power Labor Ministry to focus on jobs LG faces critical test with Optimus series New Seoul education chief to take on corrupt officials KEPCO and POSCO acquire Australian coal mines
Upon retiring from his 40-year military service, former Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Lee Sang-eui expressed concerns about the way the principle of civilian control of the military is practiced in this country.
In a change of command ceremony Monday, Lee remarked: “When civilian control is not practiced properly, the morale of the armed forces declines and their green uniforms turn gray.”
He further opined that as much as the military is barred from intervening in politics, the military should be protected against influences from “outside logic.”
We feel sorry that the general, who reached the pinnacle of the uniformed career in October 2009, had to cut short his service after nine months because of the tragic sinking of the Navy patrol craft Cheonan in March. He resigned after the Board of Audit and Inspection announced the result of its month-long inquiry into the Cheonan incident, which exposed a number of shortcomings in the military operational system and structures.
The BAI report described Lee as a top commander who was drunk on the night of the incident, who was kept uninformed of the naval incident for 52 minutes, and who failed to stay in his command/control position through the night of the emergency. He complained that he and his subordinates were not given opportunities to explain the “one-sided findings by a group of non-experts in military affairs.”
The general may find it hard to accept all the criticisms against him and the military in general. But it would have been better and more soldier-like if he made an exit silently or with a sincere apology to the nation. He is not being forced out simply as a scapegoat but because of his clear responsibility for the many unforgivable mistakes the military made before and after the North Korean torpedo attack on the warship. His preaching about the principle of civilian control is thoroughly regrettable.
[Role ROK military]
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President Kim Il Sung and the cause of Korea’s reunification.
Dear friends,
Warm greetings from the Korean Committee for Solidarity with the World People!
As you know well, it can be said that the lifetime of President Kim Il Sung (1912-1994) is devoted to the cause of Korea’s reunification.
Immediately after its liberation from Japanese military occupation (August 15, 1954) Korea was partitioned into north and south by the U.S.
From then, on the President held fast to the line of one Korea consistently and led the people dynamically to the accomplishment of the reunification cause.
[Unification]
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Seoul Deploys Armed Robot in DMZ
South Korea is trialing a remote-controlled sentry robot capable of carrying out surveillance and combat functions along the military demarcation line.
A military officer on Tuesday said one was deployed last month at a guard post within the demilitarized zone on the central frontline in Gangwon Province. It is a remote-controlled armed robot with state-of-the-art surveillance equipment.
[Military balance]
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Inter-Korean Relations Must Change First
South Korea and the U.S. apparently plan to stage a joint naval exercise in the East and West Seas at the end of July. The main theater of operation is likely to be the East Sea, and that is where the U.S. aircraft carrier George Washington is to be deployed. Originally, the two allies planned to hold the drill in the West Sea either at the end of June or in early July as a show of force in response to North Korea's attack on the Navy corvette Cheonan. But China vehemently protested against a massive U.S. presence on its doorstep and conducted live-fire drills in the East China Sea.
China also prevented any wording that unambiguously identified North Korea as the culprit in the Cheonan sinking from a UN Security Council presidential statement issued last Friday and even inserted a North Korean denial in the document. This is strong evidence that China wants to remain North Korea's patron and a warning to the North not to stray too far from the parameters China has set.
[SK NK policy] [China NK] [Joint US military] [Roh Moo-hyun]
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Dialogue with N.Korea Is the Only Option
The UN Security Council on Thursday unanimously adopted a presidential statement condemning the March 26 torpedo attack on the South Korean warship Cheonan. "The Security Council deplores the attack on 26 March 2010 which led to the sinking... resulting in the tragic loss of 46 lives," it said. "In view of the findings of the Joint Civilian-Military Investigation Group led by the [South Korea] with the participation of five nations, which concluded that [North Korea] was responsible for sinking the Cheonan, the Security Council expresses its deep concern."
The statement stopped short of directly accusing North Korea. "The Security Council takes note of the responses from other relevant parties, including from [North Korea], which has stated that it had nothing to do with the incident," it said.
The presidential statement was no diplomatic success for South Korea and the U.S. given the validity of the evidence that was gathered. But considering that China and Russia both protected North Korea, it was not a total failure. The wording reflected the extent to which South Korea and the U.S. can achieve anything by global diplomacy alone.
[SK NK policy] [UNUS] [Cheonan]
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[Editorial] A return to resolving the N.Korea nuclear issue
The UN Security Council’s adoption of a Presidential Statement on the sinking of the Cheonan has heightened the need for a change in the situation on the Korean peninsula. Now is the time to work hard to move beyond the shadow of the naval incident and resolve the fundamental structure of conflict, starting with the nuclear issue.
Under the current circumstances, it is extremely difficult to prove whether the sinking of the Cheonan was an unexpected accident or a planned attack. Moreover, the incident is becoming a source of conflict in Northeast Asian international politics. An example of this is China’s vocal opposition to the imminent joint military exercises in the Yellow Sea by South Korea and the United States. Maintaining the status quo helps no country. We must therefore step beyond the Cheonan incident and build a new framework. Provoking China through the participation of a U.S. aircraft carrier in the Yellow Sea in joint military exercises is not desirable. Strong measures against North Korea such as loudspeaker broadcasts across the Demilitarized Zone must also be abandoned.
[SK NK policy] [Cheonan] [Coverup] [China confrontation]
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KCNA on Tricksters' Selfish Sophism about "Cheonan" Case
Pyongyang, July 13 (KCNA) -- The U.S. and the south Korean puppet authorities tried to save their lost faces even a bit, uttering that they feel disappointment with the presidential statement of the UN Security Council concerning the "Cheonan" case but there was what they called "success" at least.
World media, however, consider the presidential statement as a total fiasco for them.
No wonder, media put it that the south Korean authorities' original plan to wrest "apology and compensation" from the DPRK by prodding the UNSC into adopting a "resolution" of legal binding force went up in smoke, terming the presidential statement an absurd and toothless one.
A particular mention should be made of the fact that media are jeering at the U.S. and south Korea, saying: The fact that the presidential statement took note of the DPRK's stand that it has nothing to do with the case of "Cheonan's" sinking now that the "chief culprit" of the case has not yet been probed means, in the final analysis, that the UNSC does not view the case as "something done by north Korea", and the U.S. and south Korea raised a hue and cry over the case but it ended in the publication of a very ambiguous presidential statement that seems to defend north Korea.
This is a natural outcome based on the objective reality in which the international community terms the U.S. and the south Korean authorities' "Cheonan" diplomacy a fiasco.
A scrutiny into the presidential statement proved that the DPRK was right when it asserted that the case is an issue to be settled between the north and the south, not an issue to be referred to the UNSC in view of its nature.
By nature the UNSC has to perform the function of handling any incident posing "threat to international peace and stability" and finding out its culprit and "punishing" him.
However, the presidential statement not only took a deformed attitude of condemning the recent case itself without singling out the author of it but also called upon the parties concerned to settle the case peacefully through their direct dialogue after considering it as a regional affair.
This amounted to the UNSC's affirmation of the DPRK’s stand that the "Cheonan" case is not a matter to be dealt with at the UN forum as asserted by the United States and the south Korean authorities, but a matter to be settled by the north and the south of Korea.
Such being the case, the U.S. and the south Korean authorities are misinterpreting the presidential statement in favor of them, adding something to it as they please in a bid to save their face even a bit. But such behavior will only reveal how poor their position is.
Every sin brings its punishment with it and one bereft of any reason would talk much.
Though the U.S. and the south Korean authorities are talking a lot like a thief afraid of his own shadow, they can neither cover up the truth behind the "Cheonan" case nor hide up their despicable true colors.
In keeping with the presidential statement saying that "the Security Council encourages the settlement of outstanding issues on the Korean Peninsula by peaceful means to resume direct dialogue and negotiation through appropriate channels," the DPRK will do its utmost to probe the truth about the case to the last and achieve peace, stability and denuclearization of the peninsula.
[Cheonan] [UNUS]
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Prospects for an Inter-Korean summit in the post-Cheonan era
July 2010 - Vol. 2, No. 7
Kim Sung Bae
After the sinking of the ROK Navy corvette Cheonan on March 26, 2010, the situation on the Korean Peninsula has rapidly deteriorated, worsening already high tensions and heightening the prospect for accidental military clashes. Prospects for the Six-Party Talks are also very negative, as new moves to initiate additional sanctions against North Korea have replaced diplomatic efforts for the resumption of talks. Given the current situation, is there any possibility for an inter-Korean summit? A summit might, paradoxically, be the only means of exit from the crisis. Interestingly, in 1993, during heightened military tensions stemming from the first North Korean nuclear crisis, a proposal for an inter-Korean summit was accepted. The meeting was only canceled because of Kim Il-Sung's sudden death on July 8, 1994.
[SK NK relations]
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Rush to Judgment: Inconsistencies in South Korea’s Cheonan Report
Seunghun Lee (Department of Physics, University of Virginia)
J.J. Suh (SAIS, Johns Hopkins University)
On the night of March 26, 2010, the 1,200 ton Republic of Korea (ROK) Navy corvette Cheonan was severed in the middle and sank off Baengnyeong Island in the West Sea (or Yellow Sea). Forty-six crew members died in the incident. After almost two months of investigation, the ROK government released an interim report that traced the cause of the Cheonan’s sinking to the explosion of a North Korean (DPRK) torpedo.1 The report, however, contains a number of inconsistencies that call into question the government’s conclusion and the integrity of its investigation. In order to address these inconsistencies and to restore public confidence in the investigation, the ROK government must form a new team to restart the investigation from the beginning. We recommend that the international community continue its insistence on an objective and thorough investigation while reiterating its commitment to peace and stability on the Korean peninsula.
In conclusion, the JIG had the burden of demonstrating beyond reasonable doubt all three of its findings in order to substantiate its conclusion that the DPRK’s torpedo destroyed and sank the Cheonan, but each of the three findings contain serious inconsistencies. Given that all three key claims have serious flaws, the JIG conclusion based on these claims is at least as seriously marred. While we emphatically note that our findings do not prove that North Korean did not do it, we conclude that the JIG has failed to prove that it did. The seriousness of the inconsistencies in fact casts doubt not only on the validity of the JIG conclusions but also on the integrity of its investigation. We suspect that at least some of the EDS data was fabricated, and recommend that an impartial board be formed to verify the integrity of the JIG data.
Given the seriousness of the inconsistencies, we recommend that the ROK government reopen the investigation and form a new, and more objective, team of investigators.20 We call on the Korean Parliament to open a separate investigation into the JIG investigation itself in order to critically assess the integrity of the investigation, tests, and data. In the United States the Obama administration should support and assist an objective and thorough investigation while making clear U.S. commitment to helping maintain peace and stability in the Korean peninsula. Given the problematic nature of the JIG conclusions, the UN Security Council should urge the ROK to produce a more convincing and objective report before the council starts its deliberations. An investigation that is as thorough, objective, and scientific as humanly possible is needed to get to the bottom of the Cheonan incident to discover the cause and perpetrator. After all, forty six lives have been lost, and peace and security of Korea and Northeast Asia is at stake. The dead sailors deserve such a report. So does the international community.
[Cheonan] [Coverup] [Diaspora]
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North Korean Submarine Helmsman Breaks 14-Year Silence
By Shin Joo Hyun
[2010-06-01 14:53 ]
Lee Kwang Soo is now 46. He is also the sole captured crew member from a Sango class submarine which ran aground on a South Korean beach during an espionage mission in September, 1996, triggering a lengthy manhunt in which a large number of people, both South and North Korean, died. After his arrest, Lee settled down in South Korea, receiving a Master’s degree from Kyungnam University in 2005. He has not made a single appearance in the South Korean domestic or international media for almost 14 years.
[Cheonan] [Defector report]
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[Editorial] Rising tensions in Northeast Asia from the short-sighted Cheonan response
Tensions have mounted in Northeast Asia over plans for joint military exercises in the West Sea by South Korea and the United States. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has decided to hold its own live round training in the East China Sea in a sort of “fight fire with fire” strategy, and announced a few days ago that it was opposed to the joint training exercise in the West Sea. The exercises, pursued by the Lee Myung-bak administration as a measure in response to the sinking of the Cheonan, have now begun to breed unnecessary friction and conflict.
This type of situation was in the cards from the time the Lee administration began to hastily push countermeasures for the Cheonan incident.
[Cheonan] [Buildup]
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Defectors coming by barge since Cheonan sinking
Five cases so far and government checking to ensure they’re not spies
July 05, 2010
The defection of North Koreans via sea barges is on the rise since the Cheonan sinking in March, according to the military. Seoul is concerned that the defections could be part of a spying scheme by Pyongyang.
Government sources in foreign affairs and defense told the JoongAng Ilbo yesterday that two North Koreans were spotted by the South Korean Navy on an unpowered barge in the East Sea, 40 kilometers (25 miles) away from Sokcho, Gangwon, at 9 a.m. June 26.
“On the spot, they said their motive was to defect from the military,” one source said, “and were led to the appropriate government organizations.”
The source said intelligence agents are interrogating the defectors, in particular over their backgrounds and their defection route.
The defections come as the government is suspecting that the North may be changing its ways of sending spies to the South. Recently, spies disguised as defectors have been arrested by the military.
[Espionage]
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Questions linger 100 days after the Cheonan sinking
Experts say the Lee Myung-bak administration’s rush to meet the local elections deadline left insufficient time to conduct a thorough investigation
» A military official explains the reason why the screw of the Navy vessel Cheonan was crooked, June 29.
By Lee Yong-inn
Saturday marked one hundred days since the sinking of the Cheonan on March 26, but the debate over the truth behind the sinking shows no signs of cooling. Despite the official announcement by a joint civilian-military investigation on May 20 stating that the Cheonan sank due to a North Korean torpedo attack, there are still certain aspects of the government and team accounts where the stories have changed or no clear explanation has been given. For this reason, some observers are expressing serious concern that misgivings that began in the “tail” are now wagging the “body,” or the truth about the incident.
[Cheonan] [Coverup]
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S. Korea Make Excuses for Wrong "Investigation Results"
Pyongyang, July 2 (KCNA) -- With the daily disclosure of the scientific inaccuracy of the "investigation results" into the "Cheonan" sinking case, the puppet joint investigation team is busy reeling off a spate of poor excuses for it, according to KBS of south Korea.
The team backtracked from its original stand at a June 29 "briefing" attended by three media organizations including the Journalist Association.
It clarified that a very small amount of crystalline aluminum oxides were detected, too, quite contrary to its May 20 announcement of the "investigation results" that only non-crystalline aluminum oxides were found during underwater explosion test.
It let loose a string of poor excuses, saying that "a very small amount of crystalline aluminum oxides was confirmed to be present when closely looked into the previous analysis to check if crystalline aluminum oxides were present or not."
[Cheonan] [Coverup]
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Surveillance of civilians draws fire
Democratic Party intensifies attack on gov’t, forms fact-finding committee
By Kang Shin-who
Staff reporter
The Office of the Prime Minister has come under fire over allegations that it has conducted surveillance of a citizen, who posted an anti-government video, made by a student living in the United States, on a website in 2008.
The opposition Democratic Party is intensifying its attack on the government, demanding the National Assembly hold hearings and a parliamentary investigation into charges that the government had conducted unlawful surveillance. It also established a fact-finding committee, Friday.
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Scientific debate around Cheonan findings heats up
Two experts say the explosive aluminum oxide discovered was really Gibbsite, a clay substance
A senior-level researcher with a civilian research facility that handles sample analysis said Thursday that a spectroscopy test measures the frequency of electrons as they collide and are emitted after a sample has been zapped with an electron gun. He explained that only if the sample is in a vacuum could electrons reach it. The researcher said the sample is dried beforehand, and even if it is not, all the moisture would leave during the process of creating a vacuum.
[Cheonan] [Coverup] [Evidence] [Diaspora]
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Prospects for an Inter-Korean Summit in the post- Cheonan Incident Era
Sung Bae Kim is currently the Senior Research Fellow for the Institute for National Security Strategy, Seoul, Korea.
Only a few months ago, a third inter-Korean summit and the resumption of the Six-Party Talks both seemed likely. With contacts for an inter-Korean summit under way since last year and the Chinese proposals for the Six-Party Talks having been warmly accepted by the United States and North Korea, the prospects were positive.
The sinking of the ROK Navy corvette Cheonan on March 26, 2010, however, destroyed this optimism. A two-month multinational investigation, led by South Korea, uncovered clear evidence of North Korea’s involvement, and the South Korean government imposed strong and comprehensive sanctions against the North on May 24
[SK NK policy] [Cheonan] [Military balance]
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South Korean military wants sharp budget increase
By HYUNG-JIN KIM
The Associated Press
Wednesday, June 30, 2010; 6:57 AM
SEOUL, South Korea -- South Korea's Defense Ministry requested a sharp increase Wednesday in its budget for next year to improve its fighting capability amid tensions over the sinking of a warship blamed on North Korea.
The ministry said it asked for about 31.6 trillion won ($25.8 billion) next year to introduce new weapons and improve military hardware and welfare for troops.
The amount would be a 6.9 percent increase from the 29.5 trillion won budgeted this year, which was a 3.6 percent increase from the year before, a ministry official said on condition of anonymity, citing policy.
[Cheonan] [Buildup] [ROK military]
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NKorea wants both Koreas to probe ship sinking
By EDITH M. LEDERER
The Associated Press
Wednesday, June 30, 2010; 9:52 PM
UNITED NATIONS -- North Korea, which has vehemently denied accusations that it sank a South Korean warship, is calling for a new joint investigation by both Koreas "to verify objectively the truth of the incident."
In a letter to the Security Council dated Tuesday and obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press, North Korea's U.N. Ambassador Sin Son Ho called for "high-level military talks" between the two Koreas. He also reiterated the North's call for its own inspection team to be sent to the site of the sinking near the tense Korean sea border.
[Cheonan] [Evidence]
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National Assembly Condemns Cheonan Sinking
The National Assembly finally adopted a resolution condemning North Korea for sinking the Navy corvette Cheonan, 95 days after the ship sank in the West Sea on March 26.
A full session on Tuesday passed the resolution with 163 votes for, 70 against and four abstentions. The resolution slams the North for a "military provocation" and urges the government to take "appropriate action."
The main opposition Democratic Party voted against the resolution introduced by the ruling Grand National Party. The Democratic Labor Party walked out without participating in the vote.
The resolution expresses confidence in the findings of "a scientific and objective inquiry by a joint civilian-military team proving that the Cheonan sank as a result of a torpedo attack by North Korea." It condemns the North for still calling the incident "fabricated."
It calls the sinking a "blatant act of aggression," which violates the armistice, the basic inter-Korean agreement, and the UN Charter, and a "grave military provocation" against South Korea. It strongly urges the North to apologize, punish those responsible, make reparations, and promise to prevent a recurrence of similar incidents. It also urges the government to take firm steps against all provocations by the North.
Earlier on, the DP had submitted a competing draft resolution that did not point to the North as the perpetrator but claimed that the official findings are insufficient to remove "nationwide doubts." In its own draft resolution, the DP also used the vaguer expression "the sinking of the Cheonan," instead of "North Korea's attack on the Cheonan." It was rejected in a vote of 77 to 165 with one abstention.
In the debate, DP lawmaker Kim Hyo-seok attracted vocal protest from GNP lawmakers when he called for compliance with the North's request to send its own investigative team to the South.
[Cheonan] [Buildup] [Coverup]
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Ceremony Honors Fallen of Yeonpyeong Naval Skirmish
A government ceremony honored fallen sailors on the eighth anniversary of the Yeonpyeong naval skirmish at the War Memorial in Yongsan, Seoul on Tuesday.
On June 29, 2002, during the World Cup in South Korea and Japan, six South Korean sailors were killed and 18 others wounded in a surprise attack by a North Korean patrol boat.
The memorial ceremony was held at the Second Naval Fleet Command in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province until last year but has now moved to the War Memorial.
Organized by the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs, Tuesday's ceremony was attended by some 2,500 people, including Prime Minister Chung Un-chan, Defense Minister Kim Tae-young, Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs Kim Yang, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Army, Navy and Air Force chiefs of staff, families of the fallen sailors, wounded sailors, military officers and ordinary citizens.
[NLL] [Buildup] [Inversion]
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SKorea's military wants budget increased sharply
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by HYUNG-JIN KIM Associated Press Writer
updated 6/30/2010 1:28:40 AM ET
SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea's Defense Ministry is seeking a sharp increase in next year's budget to improve its fighting capability due to tensions over the deadly sinking of a warship blamed on North Korea, an official said Wednesday.
Defense Ministry officials have agreed to request about 31.6 trillion won ($25.8 billion) next year to introduce new weapons and improve military hardware and welfare facilities for troops, a ministry official said on condition of anonymity, citing department policy.
The amount would represent a 6.9 percent increase from the 29.5 trillion won budgeted this year, which was a 3.6 percent increase from the year before, he added.
"The Cheonan incident was reflected" in the ministry's request for a higher budget, the official said.
An international investigation concluded last month that North Korea torpedoed the South Korean warship Cheonan near the tense Korean sea border in late March, killing 46 sailors. North Korea flatly denies it launched an attack and has warned any punishment would trigger war.
The official declined to elaborate on what kinds of new weapons the ministry wants to introduce with the proposed budget because it still needs final approval from the defense minister and the Ministry of Strategy and Finance.
Yonhap news agency, citing an unidentified military official, reported that the ministry is pushing to bolster its defense capability to cope with limited warfare with North Korea.
[Threat] [ROK military] [Military balance]
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Cheonan Clown College, Part II
"There's a difference between restraint and willful blindness to consistent problems."
President Obama, on Chinese reticence on accepting the results of the international investigation of the Cheonan and supporting condemnation of North Korea at the UN Security Council.
Hmmm. Problems like using the wrong clipart to illustrate your slide show on North Korean perfidy.
[Cheonan] [Coverup]
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Korean People’s Army estimated to number 700 thousand troops
The census figures indicate the size of the army is much lower than S. Korea’s estimates of 1.19 million troops
According to the final report on North Korea’s 2008 census, the population of the country listed under the category of ‘sex’ is 11,721,838 men and 12,330,393 women, for a total population of 24,052,231. However, under the category of ‘region,’ the totals are 11,059,489 men and 12,290,370 women, for a total population of 23,349,859. In other words, some 702,372 people are missing from the second total.
What accounts for the difference? One clue is the fact that the total population by region omits the population residing in military camps, which is included in the population under the category of sex
Thus, while a precise determination is impossible, it can be estimated that the scale of the Korean People’s Army is 702,372 troops plus some additional, unspecified number. This differs markedly from South Korean Ministry of National Defense estimates, which put the size of North Korea’s regular army at 1.19 million people as of December 2008. In view of the fact that 27 percent of enlisted men in the South Korean military as of 2008 were noncommisioned and commissioned officers with addresses outside their bases, analysts say there are grounds for viewing the Defense Ministry’s estimates on the scale of the North Korean army as inflated.
{military balance]
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