ROK and Inter-Korean relations April 2011

ROK and Inter-Korean relations

April 2011

Return to Asian Geopolitics indexpage

Return to ROK and Inter-Korean relations page

Seoul proposes volcano forum next month
By Kim Young-jin Seoul on Thursday proposed holding an expert-level forum with North Korea next month on potential volcanic activity on Mt. Baekdu in the North. The proposal, made by a South Korean geologist involved in the talks, suggested the two sides meet May 11-13 in either Pyongyang or Seoul, the Ministry of Unification said in a statement.
Greatest winner DP chairman Sohn to accelerate presidential campaign
PPP’s Rhyu Si-min loses both cause and practical interest By Lee You Ju-hyun, Staff Writer With his victory in Bundang, main opposition Democratic Party Chairman Sohn Hak-kyu entered the fast track for a run in the 2012 presidential election. Previously, he had failed to garner major popular interest with his protest of the GNP budget railroading or his “Long March of Hope," during which he napped at village centers across the country. But by showing the determination to run in the GNP heartland, he became a major story and showed ample potential as a presidential candidate. Following confirmation of his victory Wednesday, Sohn's supporters chanted, "President Sohn Hak-kyu."? [Lee Myung-bak]
North-South Korean Elements of National Power
April 27, 2011 By Peter Hayes Peter Hayes, Executive Director of the Nautilus Institute, writes, "In this Special Report, we compare and contrast six elements that constitute national power for the ROK and the DPRK. These are: Diplomacy and international relations, Military power, Economic power, Governance and internal security, Social development, Perceptions of future prospects—internal and external to the two Koreas. This comparison demonstrates that the ROK has achieved overwhelming superiority in every dimension of national power, especially in conventional military power. " [military balance]
Middle-Class Koreans Turn Their Backs on GNP
Sohn Hak-kyu, the leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, celebrates at his campaign camp on Wednesday evening after winning a key by-election in Bundang, a stronghold of the ruling Grand National Party. The leader of the main opposition Democratic Party Sohn Hak-kyu defeated former Grand National Party chairman Kang Jae-sup in key by-elections Wednesday in the ruling party's stronghold of Bundang, seen as a crucial gauge of voter support for the GNP. And Choi Moon-soon of the DP was also elected as governor of Gangwon Province over former MBC president Ohm Ki-young of the GNP. Choi won 50.1 percent of the votes compared to Ohm's 46.7 percent. [Lee Myung-bak]
N.Korean Patrol Boat Repelled at Maritime Border
What appeared to be a small North Korean patrol boat crossed the de-facto maritime border near U Island in the West Sea around 9:38 p.m. Tuesday and stayed in South Korean waters for about nine minutes, but retreated after a South Korean Navy ship fired warning shots, a spokesman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Wednesday. This was the first time this year that a North Korean patrol boat has violated the Northern Limit Line and retreated after warning shots. "A boat presumed to have been a North Korean coast guard patrol crossed the NLL 0.4 miles [about 700 m] into our waters. A naval high-speed boat navigating in nearby waters immediately responded to the violation," the JCS spokesman said. "The high-speed boat fired eight 40 mm gun shells into waters 500 m before the North Korean boat's bow." The high-speed boat first gave the North Korean boat three verbal warning messages. At the time, about 100 Chinese trawlers were catching fish north of the NLL. A military source said, "It seems highly likely the North Korean patrol boat violated the NLL while trying to crack down on Chinese trawlers fishing there illegally, but we're also investigating the possibility that it was a deliberate invasion." [Buildup] [NLL]
Unconditional Aid to N.Korea Is Poison for its People
Kang Chol-hwan An American preacher a while ago told me about the family of an alcoholic he was looking after. The man was drunk every day and terrorized his family, and his children couldn't study because they were so poor. When the preacher's congregation collected money for the family, it only got worse, aggravating the man's violence and the misery of the children. As a last resort, the police intervened to separate him from the children who, freed from the shadow of their father, were able to return to normal education. "I suspect North Korea's Kim Jong-il is just like the alcoholic I tried to help," said the preacher. It was an amazing insight from a man who had never been to the North. [Aid weapon]
Kim Jong-il's Recent Activities Hint at Trouble Ahead
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il secretly visited a building where agencies engaged in military operations against South Korea are clustered and the General Reconnaissance Bureau last month, a source said Sunday. The so-called Building No. 3 houses the United Front Department and the Workers Party's international affairs department. The General Reconnaissance Bureau, an agency in charge of armed provocations against the South, is believed to have supervised the sinking of the Navy corvette Cheonan last year. "Kim Jong-il inspected the areas and encouraged agents" on his visits, a North Korean source said. "It seems highly likely that the regime will provoke again in case its charm offensive falls on deaf ears." [Buildup] [Inversion]
Multiple Rocket Launchers Deployed on Frontline Islands
The military has deployed new Korean-made multiple rocket launchers on northwestern islands to guard against shelling or a surprise landing by North Korea. "We've recently deployed the powerful Kooryong multiple rocket launchers on Baeknyeong and Yeonpyeong islands for the first time to respond to provocations from the North," a government source said Sunday. [Buildup]
Inhabitants of DPRK Interviewed after Their Repatriation from South
Pyongyang, April 21 (KCNA) -- Inhabitants of the DPRK were interviewed at the People's Palace of Culture on Thursday after their repatriation from the south where they had been kept in custody for more than 50 days since they were abducted by the south Korean puppet group in the West Sea of Korea. Present there were media persons in the DPRK, journalists of the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan, and reporters of China, Russia and the U.S. Ok Song Hyok, a worker of the Haeju Industry Construction Office, spoke first there. He explained how they were abducted by the enemies after leaving Tongpho-ri in Kangryong County, South Hwanghae Province on February 5 to gather shellfish. He recalled that they had been put to all sorts of persecution and pressured to "defect" to south Korea for more than 50 days. [Adrift]
Prison Term Imposed upon S. Korean Inhabitant for Praising DPRK
Pyongyang, April 23 (KCNA) -- The south Korean puppet Suwon District Court on April 20 sentenced an inhabitant to one year and six months in jail on charges of the violation of the ill-famed "National Security Law". He posted on his Internet an article praising the DPRK. The court inflicted such punishment on him by invoking the fascist law, claiming that his article analyzing the Yonphyong Island shelling case amounted to praising the Songun politics of the north. [NSL] [Human rights] [Clash]
NKorean fishermen accuse South of kidnappings, beatings at rare news conference in Pyongyang
By Associated Press, Thursday, April 21, 6:47 AM PYONGYANG, North Korea — Weeping and shaking their fists, North Koreans released last month after being held by South Korea for 50 days claimed Thursday they were beaten, imprisoned and pressured to defect after the South’s coast guard raided and seized their fishing boat. Speaking publicly for the first time since their return, 10 North Koreans accused the South Korean coast guard of kidnapping their group of 31 men and women. They also said the four North Koreans who stayed in the South were being held against their will. Weeping and shaking their fists, North Koreans released last month after being held by South Korea for 50 days claimed Thursday that they were beaten, kept in prison-like barracks and pressured to defect after the South Korean coastguard raided and seized their fishing boat. .“These people who hit us and disgraced us committed inhumane acts against us,” an emotional Ok Song Hyok said, punching the air, during a rare news conference held at the People’s Palace of Culture in Pyongyang attended by The Associated Press. Ok is among 27 North Koreans who returned home through the Demilitarized Zone in late March, nearly two months after what he said was meant to be a one-day fishing expedition. His brother, ship’s captain Ok Song Gwan, is among four North Koreans who Seoul says asked to stay behind. South Korean officials denied the North Koreans’ allegations. “What North Korea has claimed is completely untrue and we feel that such allegations are not worthy of a response,” Unification Ministry spokesman Chun Hae-sung said Thursday in Seoul. The tussle over the fishing boat comes amid efforts to get the two Koreas talking again after more than a year of tensions, starting with the deadly sinking of a South Korean warship in March 2010 and followed by a North Korean artillery attack last November. International powers also are eager to restart negotiations on ending North Korea’s nuclear program, with ex-President Jimmy Carter and three other former heads of state due to travel to Pyongyang as early as next week to discuss reviving the disarmament talks and humanitarian issues. The two Koreas fought a war in the 1950s that ended in a truce, not a peace treaty, and the border between them is heavily fortified. The U.S. keeps 28,500 troops in the South to protect against aggression — a presence Pyongyang cites for its need to build nuclear bombs. The waters off Korea’s west coast are still disputed, with both Koreas claiming the rich fishing waters along the front line as their territory. Ri Un Gu, a farmer, said the group from South Hwanghae province set out early one February morning during the lunar new year holiday to catch shellfish with plans to be back with the high tide later that day. But a thick fog enveloped the boat, and huge boulders of ice hampered the journey. Within hours, three South Korean speedboats appeared suddenly in North Korean waters, prompting a high-speed chase before the speedboats cornered the fishing boat, he said. Ri said 20 troops in camouflage stormed on board, smashing doors and windows and beating and dragging the men onto the deck. The boat was forced south despite their protests of innocence, he said. “They invaded our coastal waters illegally and captured us illegally in broad daylight,” he said at the highly orchestrated news conference attended by state media, including the Korean Central News Agency and Rodong Sinmun, as well as AP, Russian and Chinese media. The 10 sat beneath portraits of late President Kim Il Sung and current leader Kim Jong Il. [Adrift] [Media]
'I'd rather go to jail than serve in military'
This is a photo captured from Kang We-suck’s mini-homepage. He wrote a note at the bottom of the photo, which reads: “This is where I will be for two years.” By Lee Hyo-sik “I would rather go to prison and do my time behind bars than serve in the military.” This is what Kang We-suck, a 26-year-old-man indicted for refusing to fulfill his military duty, said when asked about whether he would appeal to a higher court if a lower court rules in favor of the prosecution. Kang told The Korea Times Wednesday that he decided to go to jail, rather than serve in the military, stressing that regardless of a lower court’s ruling, he has no intention to appeal. Last year, he received a notice to appear for military duty from the Military Manpower Administration but refused to join the armed forces. Shortly after, he was indicted by the prosecution for rejecting to perform the mandatory military duty. All able-bodied South Korean men aged over 19 are required to serve in the military for 21-24 months. Korean courts have sentenced conscription rejecters with prison terms over the years [Human rights]
S. Korea's Inhuman Act against DPRK Inhabitants Condemned
Pyongyang, April 18 (KCNA) -- The south Korean puppet group kidnapped a boat and inhabitants of the DPRK who had gone adrift in the West Sea of Korea, unreasonably detained them, conducted an operation to force them to "defect" to the south and finally refused to repatriate some of them. The C.C., the Red Cross Society of the DPRK Monday released a statement disclosing the truth about the inhuman act perpetrated by the group. Referring to the brigandish abduction of inhabitants of the DPRK by the puppet forces, the statement said: 31 inhabitants left Tongpho-ri port in Kangryong County, South Hwanghae Province aboard a 5-ton fishing boat (27 hp) on February 5 to gather shellfish. They anchored their boat close to the Jincho lighthouse near Tak Islet and Taesuap Islet in the waters off Pupho of Kangryong County under the control of the DPRK due to bad weather. But when they found themselves in danger, they lifted anchor and made desperate efforts to get rid of the unfavorable situation. It was exactly at that time that three high speed boats of the south Korean puppet navy appeared all of a sudden and threw hooks on the fishing boat, pulling it to their boats in a twinkle of an eye. The crewmen and inhabitants of the DPRK repeatedly told the soldiers of the puppet army that they went adrift owing to the bad weather and they were in the waters under the control of the DPRK at that time. But the soldiers of the puppet army, paying no heed to their assertion, recklessly jumped over the fishing boat before breaking the gate and windows of the steering room with butts and clubs and mercilessly beating the inhabitants. They tried to pull the boat and flee away southward in a bid to forcibly transfer the inhabitants to warships of the puppet army which had been on standby. When the inhabitants made a strong protest against such act, chanting "We will stay on our boat until our death. We will go back home," the soldiers of the puppet army threatened them with arms. After pouncing upon the inhabitants in group, the soldiers of the puppet army transferred them to one of their warships before taking flight towards Inchon. More than 10 warships of the puppet navy were combat-ready in the nearby waters at that time. The truth that the fishing boat was in the waters under the control of the DPRK is clearly proved by the fact that the puppet soldiers kidnapped the fishing boat and inhabitants before taking them southward for a long while and transferring them to their warship. The inhabitants of the DPRK never crossed the "northern limit line", an illegal line. They explained in detail how they went adrift from the outset and were unanimous in demanding that they be repatriated to the DPRK, the statement said. Bringing to light the puppet group's mean operation to force the inhabitants to "defect" to the south, the statement went on: The authorities of Chongwadae, the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Unification admitted that the inhabitants and boat of the DPRK went adrift due to the bad weather and all the 31 inhabitants wished to return home. South Korean media reported as it happened. However, the puppet group kept them in custody for more than 50 days in south Korea, refusing to send them back to the north. It talked about "investigation" after forming a "joint investigation group". Then they were busy with a sinister operation to force the detainees to "defect" to the south. When the inhabitants did not comply with their demand, they threatened and blackmailed against them. They took girls to a secluded room before pressurizing them to "defect" to the south. They made no scruple of threatening them with sexual abuses and insulting them. Craftily taking advantage of family relations, they told the parents of the children that they wished to stay in the south while telling the children the same lie that their parents wanted to remain there. This was aimed to create distrust and discord between kinsmen and put them to extreme psychological and mental torture. Finally they let human scum persuade the inhabitants to "defect" to the south and plugged even agents for psychological warfare of the U.S. imperialist aggression forces into the "defection operation". The statement dismissed the "will for defection" allegedly expressed by four detainees as a fabrication. It went on: When inhabitants of the DPRK made a request to meet the four people, the puppet group told the lie that "they can meet with each other in Haeju as they would be repatriated via Panmunjom and the four people would go back aboard their boat." They even did not allow the elder brother to meet his younger brother who was among the four people. Needless to say, the puppet group behaved so for fear of the truth about the above-said operation being brought to light. The statement referred in detail to the fact that the group used the unexpected disaster the inhabitants met for its sinister purpose of confrontation. The group insisted on discussions of the issue of the confirmation of face-to-face meeting after the repatriation of 27 inhabitants and the repatriation of 27 inhabitants via Panmunjom. The DPRK side sent a notice again accusing the south side of its unreasonable attitude and demanding that it send back all the detainees aboard their boat through West Sea of Korea and allow the face-to-face meeting. But the south side's authorities were opposed to the demand. The aim sought by the puppet group through this provocation was to escalate confrontation with fellow countrymen, scuttle the north-south dialogue and chill the atmosphere of improving the inter-Korean relations. The group's operation was prompted by its sinister intention to hurt the high prestige of the DPRK and disturb the mind-set of its people. The Red Cross of south Korea had better not to allow itself to serve the purpose of the puppet group's despicable policy of confrontation with compatriots and to be reduced to a plaything.
S.Korea to Get Its Own Missile Defense System
South Korea will set up an air and missile defense system by 2015 to protect densely populated areas like Seoul and major strategic facilities such as air bases and nuclear power plants against ballistic missile attacks from North Korea. The government decided to establish the defense system "in view of the growing North Korean missile threat, including its 800 to 1,000 medium to long-range ballistic missiles," a government official said Friday. The project will cost W2-3 trillion (US$1=W1,091). [Missile defense] [Buildup]
1st Inter-Korean Nuclear Meeting 'Likely'
There is a chance that North Korea will accept a call for a meeting between the two Koreas' chief negotiators to the six-party nuclear disarmament talks as early as this week, according to a senior government official on Sunday. [Sidelined]
[Editorial] Investing in dialogue
The Ministry of National Defense has announced plans to build a Korean-model missile defense system. The reason given is the need to protect densely populated regions and major facilities from short- and mid-range missiles with a firing range of around 1,000 km, of which North Korea is known to possess between 800 and 1,000. According to the ministry's announcement a few days ago, it has signed a agreement for joint research with the United States, which possesses MD technology and experience.
Experts are also saying that it is difficult for the Korean MD to independently pinpoint the movements of North Korean missile launches and that it will receive satellite intelligence from the United States. In other words, the Korean MD will end up being just a subordinate system to U.S.-led MD. If this happens, there is a possibility of immediate objections from China, regarding it as South Korean participation in U.S. efforts to encircle it. [Missile defense] [US dominance] [Intelligence] [Buildup]
S. Korea Stages Joint Naval Military Maneuvers against DPRK
Pyongyang, April 17 (KCNA) -- The south Korean puppet warmongers on April 13 staged joint military exercises for a preemptive attack on the DPRK in the waters around Kojin, Kosong County, Kangwon Province of south Korea, according to south Korean Yonhap News. Involved in the maneuvers for preemptive strikes at warship of the Korean People's Army were huge troops including warships of the 1st Fleet of the puppet navy, aircraft of the air force, a coastal artillery unit of the ground force and maritime police. The fleet was reported to have staged such military maneuver more than once every month with a coordinated operation with forces of other services. The above-said ceaseless war maneuvers are further straining the situation on the Korean Peninsula. [Military exercises] [Buildup]
S. Korea to stage landing drill late May
Source: Xinhua [14:09 April 16 2011] Comments South Korea will conduct a large- scale landing drill in its southeastern region in late May, local media reported Friday. The drill, originally scheduled to be held in March, was put off till May due to last month's devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan, Seoul's Yonhap News Agency quoted South Korea's Marine Corps as saying. Some 3,000 marines, Navy's landing ships, support vessels and Air Force's fighter planes will be mobilized for the drill set to be staged in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province. The Army will also be involved in the drill to provide support, the Marine Corps said. The drill is aimed at baffling the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) troops infiltrating into and attacking South Korea 's border islands in waters off the west coast of the Korean peninsula, it said. The US troops and equipments will not take part in the upcoming drill, the Marine Corps added. [Buildup] [Takeover] [Spin]
[Editorial] Ineffective propaganda
The Jogye Order of Buddhism has decided not to light its border tower this year for the Buddha’s Birthday at Aegi Peak at the foremost front with North Korea in Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province. The order said that it felt compelled to respect the 2004 agreement between North Korean and South Korean authorities to halt propaganda activities in the area of the Military Demarcation Line. Concurrently, a number of North Korea groups launched flyers toward the country from Imjingak yesterday. When residents tried to stop them, they apparently carried out the effort under cover of darkness in the early morning hours.
Will Seoul engage Pyongyang?
By Sunny Lee BEIJING — The arrival of U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Seoul, Saturday, is likely to be a key moment for South Korea to decide whether it should engage with North Korea by accepting China’s new proposal to resume the stalled six-party talks. Earlier this week, Beijing made public a “three-step” proposal that places inter-Korean talks as the first step, followed by U.S.-North Korea talks as the second step, as a lead up to the eventual resumption of the six-party talks. The announcement was made after Pyongyang’s chief nuclear negotiator Kim Kye-gwan’s visit to Beijing, indicating Kim apparently agreed to the proposal. [SK NK policy]
Activists Send More Propaganda Flyers to N.Korea
Fifty helium balloons carrying propaganda leaflets and 2,000 $1 bills were floated into North Korea at 1 p.m. on Thursday, a day before regime founder Kim Il-sung's birthday. The balloons were sent by 27 activists from Jung-myeon, Yeoncheon in Gyeonggi Province. http://china.globaltimes.cn/diplomacy/2011-04/644817.html BRICS set out global agenda Source: Global Times [01:14 April 15 2011] Comments Leaders from the BRICS nations pose for photos after concluding their talks Thursday in Sanya, Hainan Province. Photo: Xinhua By Liu Linlin The heads of five fast-growing emerging economies made a joint pledge Thursday to reform the world's financial institutions so as to better reflect their rising clout, a consensus that may shun skepticism over the group's cohesion. After a summit meeting in Sanya, Hainan Province, the BRICS nations, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, formed a united front to seek a diplomatic solution to the ongoing crisis in Libya, a move indicative of the group's ambition to expand their agenda. The meeting was chaired by Chinese President Hu Jintao and attended by Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and South African President Jacob Zuma. [Realignment]
Korea Likely to Buy Apache Helicopters
The Army is poised to acquire a consignment of Apache helicopters. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration, in a report to the National Assembly's Defense Committee, said Wednesday it decided to buy large attack helicopters to replace the Army's superannuated 500MD and AH-1 attack choppers. It is to decide which model to buy and sign a contract by October next year. Although DAPA did not specify the model or numbers, sources speculate that the likeliest decision is to buy 36 of the newest Apache Block III helicopters from the U.S., enough for two battalions. Each costs somewhere between W35 billion and W40 billion (US$1=W1,088), and the entire project is expected to cost W2 trillion in total. The Army has tried to buy new Apache attack choppers since the 1990s, but budget problems and controversy over cost effectiveness put a spoke in the wheels. But after the North's shelling of Yeonpyeong Island last year, the military discussed ways of dealing with North Korean special forces who might infiltrate on hovercraft, and experts pointed out that the Air Force's KA-1 light attack aircraft and AH-1 Cobra choppers alone would not be enough to drive them off. [Buildup] [Arms sales] [Military balance]
N.Korea Must Not Skip Steps in Returning to 6-Party Talks
Before six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear program resume, inter-Korean negotiations will probably come first, followed by dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang. That is the sequence South Korea and the U.S. have been proposing since last year if the talks are to resume, but China made no response until its chief delegate to the talks Wu Dawei finally voiced approval on Monday. The decision apparently came after Wu met with North Korea's chief nuclear negotiator Kim Kye-gwan in Beijing early this month. [Sidelining]
NK accuses Seoul of blocking volcano cooperation
By Kim Young-jin North Korea Wednesday accused Seoul of blocking efforts to jointly address potential volcanic activity at Mt. Baekdu in the North, casting doubt on a new agreement to cooperate on the matter. Geologists from the sides Tuesday agreed to conduct a joint inspection of the site in June, after holding an expert-level forum next month. But the fate of the joint activities appears to hinge on whether the North will agree to provide background research information to the South.
Indonesia Opts for Korean Supersonic Trainer Jet
Korea Aerospace Industries has been selected as the preferred bidder for Indonesia's next supersonic trainer jet, raising expectations for the first ever export deal for the homegrown T-50 Golden Eagle. KAI chief Kim Hong-kyung told the Defense Ministry on Tuesday that the Indonesian government notified it of the decision and asked to start negotiations for a final contract. [Arms sales] [Military balance]
Chief Nuclear Negotiators from Both Koreas 'May Meet'
South Korea is likely to accept a proposal from China for a three-stage process to revive the stalled six-party talks that would start with an inter-Korean meeting between chief nuclear negotiators as a lead up to North Korea-U.S. talks and the resumption of six-party talks. A government official on Tuesday said Seoul is "always open to dialogue." North Korea's chief envoy to the six-party nuclear talks, Kim Kye-gwan (right) arrives at Beijing Shoudu Airport in Beijing on Tuesday on his way home after a six-day visit to China. /Yonhap Wu Dawei, China's special representative on Korean affairs, made the proposal after he met chief North Korean nuclear negotiator Kim Kye-gwan in Beijing earlier this month.
Working Contact for Joint Research into Volcano on Mt. Paektu Held
Pyongyang, April 12 (KCNA) -- The second inter-Korean working contact for the joint research into the volcano on Mt. Paektu was held in Kaesong on April 12. At the contact the north side stressed again that the working contact was aimed at discussing technical issues of pushing forward the joint researches into the volcano on Mt. Paektu and put forth a proposal concerning the timing and venue of an academic symposium on the joint research and a field study and their scope and modality and contents, etc. It proposed adopting an agreement on them. The south side talked about "mode of access", "principle" and "a phased plan", while acknowledging the necessity of the joint researches into the volcano on Mt. Paektu. It made an absurd assertion that sixth months are required for a preliminary study and more than two years for a full-dress study and it is necessary, therefore, to hold an academic symposium at the next phase.
N.Korea Imported $475 Million Worth of Arms Since 1999
North Korea imported weapons and weapons components worth US$475 million from foreign countries between 1999 and 2008, Grand National Party lawmaker Lee Cheol-woo said Friday. According to data Lee obtained from the government, the North bought helicopters and tank engines worth $90 million and aircraft parts and radars worth $110 million from China, Russia and Slovakia. It also engaged in military exchanges with Cuba, Libya, Syria, Congo, Angola, Tanzania, and Uganda on a total of 101 occasions, Lee added. [Arms sales] [Military balance] [Spin] [Media]
Chaebol asset holdings swell under Lee administration
The shocking increases have been attributed to a lowered corporate tax rate and pro-business policies By Kim Kyung-rok Data by the Fair Trade Commission revealed Sunday that the Samsung Group has ballooned its asset holdings almost 60 percent over the past three years since President Lee Myung-bak took office in 2008. Samsung is the largest and representative chaebol, family-owned conglomerate, in South Korea. Most conglomerates have expanded greatly in terms of the number of affiliates and assets under the Lee administration. [Chaebol] [Lee Myung-bak]
Lee’s approval rate falls
President Lee Myung-bak By Kang Hyun-kyung A latest public opinion survey found Sunday that President Lee Myung-bak’s approval rate hit the lowest point since August 2009, marking 36.9 percent of support. [Lee Myung-bak]
N.Korean Infrared Missiles Threaten Korean Fighters
South Korean fighter jets and helicopters are easy targets for North Korea's medium-range infrared missiles, a discovery that has apparently prompted the military to look for solutions. According to the Board of Audit and Inspection, an audit between March 2 to April 30 of last year showed that all of South Korea's airborne weapons systems, including its 500 F-15K fighter jets, transport airplanes and helicopters, are vulnerable to North Korea's newest medium-range infrared missiles. The BAI submitted a report of its findings to the Defense Ministry in December. North Korea has SA-18 Igla shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles and AA-11 Archer short-range air-to-air missiles that use 3-5 ? medium-range infrared waves and are not diverted by short-range flares launched by South Korean aircraft but continue tracking the heat signatures of the fighter planes. The South decided back in 2009 to develop medium-range infrared flares by 2016 to deal with the North Korean missiles. But the development has been brought forward to 2014 following the discovery of the latest threat. But even if the development goes as planned, South Korean aircraft will remain vulnerable for at least the next four years. [Military balance] [Buildup]
Seoul Proposes 2nd Round of Inter-Korean Volcano Talks
Seoul has proposed holding a second round of discussions with North Korea on volcanic activity at Mt. Baekdu at the border town of Kaesong next Tuesday. Seoul's Unification Ministry says it will send the same group of four volcano experts it sent to the initial meeting last week. In those talks the two sides agreed only on the urgency of a joint study of the volcanic mountain in the North. The South Korean side aims to focus first on verifying claims that the mountain is volcanically active through preliminary research and data exchanges. The North, meanwhile, suggested the two sides immediately start cooperative projects such as an academic forum and a field study.
Frontline Defense to Be Beefed Up
Frontline defenses will be beefed up in response to North Korea's mushrooming special forces, with guard outposts near the demilitarized zone strengthened with reinforced concrete and equipped with sniper rifles and sound target tracking devices. "We're enhancing the combat capabilities of frontline units," Lee Yang-koo, an official at Army Headquarters, said Tuesday. "We're going to deploy sound target tracking devices, unmanned ground monitoring sensors, and sniper rifles at guard posts within the DMZ, general outposts, the Joint Security Area at the truce village of Panmunjom, and the Customs, Immigration and Quarantine office" at the inter-Korean border. The Army will cover the roofs of guard posts with reinforced concrete and install communications lines there with a budget of about W7 billion (US$1=W1,091) to help combat structures function properly and guarantee operational units can hold out. Guard posts are currently vulnerable to shelling and bombing by North Korea since they are barely more than huts. A military source said some facilities will be reinforced with steel plates so that they can withstand shelling or bombing. The 300-to-400-strong search and rescue battalion at each frontline Army division will be streamlined and reorganized mainly with elite officers, an Army officer said. Restructuring will begin in 2015 or 2016, and by around 2020, each battalion will be an elite unit with 80 to 90 personnel. New battalions will consist of special warfare troops as well as ordinary army officers with special warfare qualifications. The plan aims to resolve the numerical inferiority of South Korea's special forces, which number less than 20,000 against North Korea's 200,000. Each battalion will comprise five teams of 12 troops each and given reinforced combat vehicles as well as state-of-the-art weapons so it can carry out operations independently. The Army also plans to boost combat capabilities by turning some special warfare regiments at frontline corps, special warfare brigades in the rear area, and mobile and military police battalions at divisions, into elite units, a spokesman said. [Buildup]
N. Korea intensifies submarine drills at border
By Kim Young-jin North Korea has cranked up the intensity of its naval drills this year by introducing a new 40-meter submarine, a government source said Wednesday. “The North is holding naval drills near its bases in the East and West Seas, and have mobilized five to six submarines including a new Songo-class submarine,” the source said on condition of anonymity. [Buildup] [Military balance]
Remains on NK torpedo not sea squirt: military
Lt. Col. Kwon Tae-seop speaks at a briefing held in the National Defense Ministry building in Seoul, Wednesday. He said marks detected on the surface of the North Korean torpedo, which sank the warship Cheonan last year, were not the remains of a sea squirt. Kwon made the remarks based on the findings of the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute. / Yonhap By Kang Hyun-kyung The National Defense Ministry said Wednesday that a reddish spot detected on the surface of the North Korean torpedo that attacked the 1,300-ton warship Cheonan last March is not the remains of a sea squirt. The defense ministry unveiled the result about a week after it requested the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute to investigate the nature of the spot on March 29. The ministry exhibited the torpedo again on March 26 to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the maritime tragedy, which took the lives of 46 sailors near the maritime border in the West Sea. A 0.8 mm-diameter reddish spot was detected on the rear of the torpedo. Some speculated that the spot was the remains of a dead sea squirt. The institute’s finding, which was made public on Wednesday, refuted this. It said no DNA was detected in the material and therefore it was safe to say that it was not a sea squirt. The institute said it knows nothing about the nature of the material. Last month, Shin Sang-chul, a former member of the investigation team, claimed that a small sea squirt, which cannot be found in the West Sea where the frigate Cheonan sank, was detected on the surface of the torpedo debris. In the wake of the first anniversary of the sinking of warship Cheonan, some skeptics still question the evidence that the Seoul-led multinational team presented to prove the frigate was sunk by a North Korean torpedo. [Cheonan] [Coverup]
Popularity of Korean rice wine on the wane
By Kim Tae-gyu The popularity of ``makgeolli,’’ the nation’s representative traditional rice wine, is showing signs of waning as its production and local sales have decreased substantially after having surged over the past couple of years. Statistics Korea said Monday that Korean makers produced 24,395 kiloliters of makgeolli in February and sold 22,753 kiloliters, down 6.8 percent and 8.1 percent from the previous month, respectively. Since midway through 2008 when the milky white drink gained public favor across the country, this marks the first time in up to 32 months that the two figures went down together on a monthly basis. The monthly production first topped the 20,000-kiloliter mark in Oct. 2009 and it took just half a year to reach the 30,000-kiloliter milestone in March 2010. It peaked last June at 33,906 kiloliters. But the amount started heading south thereafter to fluctuate in the vicinity of 25,000 kiloliters of late. Its sales also followed a similar curve although the two did not fall together month-to-month until this February. ``It seems obvious that the production and sales of makgeolli are on a downward spiral,’’ a Statistics Korea official said. As to the reason why the public has lost its taste for makgeolli, observers came up with a set of explanations including the rising demand for beer or soju. [makgeolli]
RC Chief Proposes S. Korean Counterpart to Have Working Contact
Pyongyang, March 30 (KCNA) -- The chairman of the Central Committee of the DPRK Red Cross Society Wednesday sent a notice to the president of the Red Cross of south Korea proposing to have a north-south Red Cross working contact to discuss and settle the issue of the four inhabitants of the DPRK detained in south Korea.
North Korea proposes joint volcano research with South
The Associated Press Date: Friday Mar. 18, 2011 6:19 AM ET SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea, apparently spooked by the earthquake in Japan, has proposed conducting research with rival South Korea on volcanic activity at their highest mountain, considered sacred by the North. North Korea's earthquake bureau sent a letter to South Korea's weather agency on Thursday proposing joint quake and volcano research "in the common interests of the nation" at Mount Paektu, the state-run Korean Central News Agency reported. South Korea's Unification Ministry confirmed the proposal Friday and said Seoul was considering the idea. "The South Korean government recognizes the need for inter-Korea cooperation regarding natural disasters such as volcanic activities and earthquakes," spokesman Chun Hae-sung said at a briefing in Seoul. "We will examine the North's [Inter-Korean]
Pyongyang presses Seoul to make choice between dialogue, war
Source: Global Times [08:39 April 01 2011] Comments By Jia Cheng Pyongyang told Seoul on Thursday to make a choice between dialogue and war, as South Korea insisted that no progress will be possible unless Pyongyang apologizes for last year's alleged attacks. The inspection group of North Korea's National Defense Commission published a statement yesterday, saying, "The South Korean authorities and puppet military warmongers should properly understand that they are standing at the crossroads where they should choose between dialogue and war." It also denied that North Korea was responsible for the Cheonan warship's sinking near the dispute borderline, and claimed that the South provoked the island bombardment by stating its own artillery drill, which dropped shells into waters claimed by Pyongyang, AFP said. [SK NK policy] [Pretext][NK SK policy]
Minjok 21 marks 10 years of publication on inter-Korean issues
The magazine’s goal is to increase inter-Korean press exchanges
By Kim Bo-geun, Senior Staff Writer “I am pleased that Minjok 21 is being praised for its last 10 years at a time when inter-Korean relations have grown difficult.” Minjok 21 President Chung Chang-hyun, 48, who will receive the 16th Neutbom, Late spring, Unification Award on Saturday, said the award would be an opportunity for him to take stock of the last 10 years of his publication, a journal on national unification put together by the North Korean, South Korean and overseas Koreans, and look towards the next 10 years.
Inter-Korean Contact for Joint Study of Volcano of Mt. Paektu
Pyongyang, March 29 (KCNA) -- An inter-Korean working contact for joint study of the volcano of Mt. Paektu was held in Munsan of south Korea on Tuesday. At the contact the north and the south sides shared the view that it is needed to make a joint study of the volcano activities on Mt. Paektu. They agreed to positively cooperate with each other and continue the discussion on concrete issues related to the joint study in the future. They also agreed to have the next contact in early April.
RC Chief Proposes S. Korean Counterpart to Have Working Contact
Pyongyang, March 30 (KCNA) -- The chairman of the Central Committee of the DPRK Red Cross Society Wednesday sent a notice to the president of the Red Cross of south Korea proposing to have a north-south Red Cross working contact to discuss and settle the issue of the four inhabitants of the DPRK detained in south Korea.

Return to ROK and Inter-Korean relations page