ROK and Inter-Korean relations
May 2016
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[Jeffrey Robertson] South Korea’s diplomatic style on the world stage
Published : 2016-05-22 17:32
Updated : 2016-05-22 17:32
At the end of this year, Ban Ki-moon will leave the office of United Nations secretary-general.
Since January 2007, he has crossed the globe building support to address the challenges of development, climate change, conflict, and humanitarian crises. Despite early criticisms, he has dutifully fulfilled a role that the Second Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld labeled “the most impossible job on earth”. As a career diplomat and former foreign minister, he has also broadcast to the world South Korea’s diplomatic style.
Diplomatic style consists of the unique behavioral characteristics which distinguish the diplomats of one state from those of another state. It’s both an explicit and tacit means to categorize and communicate the behavioral characteristics of a state’s diplomacy. For a long time, South Korea’s diplomatic style remained hidden -- recognized only by those who regularly interact with South Korean diplomats on a day to day basis. Ban Ki-Moon changed this. He brought the South Korean diplomatic style to the world stage.
[Ban Ki-moon]
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Uganda to Stop Military Cooperation with N.Korea
President Park Geun-hye and her Ugandan counterpart Yoweri Museveni on Sunday agreed that Korean companies will take part in an oil refinery plant project worth US$1.5 billion in Uganda.
The two met in the Ugandan capital of Kampala.
They also agreed to join hands in imposing sanctions against North Korea to end the North Korean nuclear program.
Museveni pledged to stop security and military cooperation with North Korea. Uganda has been a military ally of North Korea's since 1963.
Museveni said his country will faithfully implement UN Security Council sanctions against Pyongyang, which are supported by the international community.
Defense Ministry officials from the two countries also signed a memorandum of understanding on defense and military technology cooperation.
[Africa] [Museveni]
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Daughter of Top N.Korean Actress Among Defectors
The daughter of decorated North Korean actress Choe Sam-suk is among 13 North Korean restaurant workers who recently defected from China, Radio Free Asia reported Saturday.
The revelation came after the parents of the defectors in a statement demanded their "rescue," apparently under pressure from the North Korean regime.
The North Korean propaganda website Uriminzokkiri on May 25 said the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland has written to the leftwing South Korean group Lawyers for a Democratic Society seeking its help in "rescuing" the 13, who fled a North Korean restaurant in China.
Among the parents was Choe, whose daughter Ri Eun-kyong is believed to be among the defectors.
[Election defection]
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UN chief 'baffled' by presidential speculation
Updated : 2016-05-30 14:02
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon dismissed speculation Monday that he may run for South Korea's presidency next year, saying he plans to concentrate on his duties as U.N. chief.
Ban, who is on a six-day visit to his native South Korea, made headlines last week after making remarks that were interpreted as an indication of his interest in the election slated for December 2017.
[Ban Ki-moon]
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Decade of conservative rule has ruined economy, experts say
Posted : 2016-05-30 14:04
By Choi Sung-jin
President Park Geun-hye's economic goal was 4-7-4 -- 4 percent potential growth rate, 70 percent employment rate and $40,000 per capita income. It was a modified version of her predecessor Lee Myung-bak's 7-4-7 -- 7 percent growth rate, $40,000 income and making Korea a G7 member.
Lee attained none of the three and Park is unlikely to be any different, either.
The two conservative administrations took power by stimulating older Koreans' nostalgia for the high-growth era, an economic pledge their liberal opponents called "anachronistic."
By most appearances, the critics' accusations have proved true so far, and the debate on economic failure under two right-wing governments will likely emerge as the biggest election issue next year, political and economic experts say.
[Park Geun-hye] [Economy]
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N. Korean overseas restaurant workers may arrive in Seoul this week
Three North Korean women, who fled from a restaurant where they worked in China, may arrive in South Korea as early as this week, a source familiar with North Korean affairs said Monday.
The North Korean women in their late 20s and known to be seeking to defect, are staying in Thailand, awaiting to board a flight to Seoul, after escaping a North Korean-run restaurant in the Chinese northwestern province of Shanxi, according to the source.
[Defector] [Overseas restaurants]
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North and South Korea: Can be solved if…!
By Johan Galtung
May 30th, 2016
Jeju Peace Forum, Kwangju National University, Seoul; South Korea
Like the Israel-Palestine conflict, the world has gotten tired of it, “what, the two Koreas still unable to sort it out”? Also, like Israel-Palestine, the USA is in it; making the situation complicated.
Never has the situation been so tense after the end of the war in Korea more than 60 years ago. Not only because of the nuclear bomb with missiles in North Korea, and the hawkish pro-nuke reaction in South Korea and Japan, but because of no moves forward to solve the underlying conflict. And where is that conflict? Not between North and South Korea, but between North Korea and USA that after 140+ years of victorious warfare had to accept armistice, not victory, in Korea.
[Peace effort]
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To the Anniversary of the 1980 Gwangju Uprising
Konstantin Asmolov
At the National Cemetery in Gwangju, an official ceremony was held to commemorate the 36th anniversary of the May 18 democratic uprising, which played an important role in the democratization of the Republic of Korea (RK). In order to express their condolences to the families of the victims, RK Prime Minister, Hwang Kyo-ahn, and representatives of the ruling and opposition parties arrived in Gwangju. In his speech, the Prime Minister said that the establishment of the democratic society of the Republic of Korea is continuing on the basis of the principles laid down 36 years ago. The leader of the ruling party Saenuri, Chung Jin-suk said that the spirit of the democratic movement should promote national unity.
Is that the case or not? Let us recall the events of that time.
After the assassination of General Park Chung-hee on October 26, 1979 the new government tried to carry out democratization measures, but only 6 days later, there was a coup d’état organized by the head of military intelligence, General Chun Doo-hwan.
http://journal-neo.org/2016/05/28/to-the-anniversary-of-the-1980-gwangju-uprising/
[Kwangju]
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'We will fire at any ship inching into our sea,' N. Korea says
By Ko Dong-hwan
After the South Korean Navy fired warning shots at two North Korean vessels that intruded beyond the de facto western maritime border into South Korean waters on Friday morning, the North warned that it will not hesitate to fire upon any ship that trespasses into their territorial waters.
The General Staff of the North's Army said in a statement carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency on Saturday that the South Korean navy fired the warning shots according to their "premeditated plot" to heighten inter-Korean tension.
"The reckless military provocation was evidently prompted by a premeditated sinister plot to bedevil North-South relations and further aggravate the tensions on the Korean Peninsula," the statement said.
[NLL] [Provocation] [Response] [Inversion]
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Just how suited for the presidency might Ban Ki-moon be?
Posted on : May.27,2016 14:44 KST
Ban has a wealth of diplomatic experience but has been out of S. Korea for ten years and lacks actual political experience
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s strengths and weaknesses are coming under the microscope after his recent hints at the possibility of running for the South Korean presidency in next year’s election. In many cases, his strong and weak points are linked like the two sides of a single coin.
Strengths: Diplomatic connections and Chungcheong prospects
Ban’s biggest asset is that he is the first South Korean ever to serve as Secretary-General of the United Nations.
“A lot of people view the position of UN Secretary-General as being like ‘president of the world.’ It’s a powerful image,” said Myongji University professor Shin Yul.
Ban’s specialization in diplomacy is another strength that has been lacking in past presidential contenders - experience that Saenuri Party lawmaker Kim Jung-hoon called “invaluable at a time when the political situation in Northeast Asia and North Korea is intensifying by the day.”
The fact that Ban hails from the Chungcheong region is also expected to help him win votes if he runs. North and South Chungcheong are key swing provinces in South Korean elections.
“In elections, the political framework is crucial. There’s a good chance we’ll see voters voicing the desire to break with the established regional framework in next year’s election,” said Joo Kwang-deok, another Saenuri lawmaker.
Recent efforts by the Saenuri’s pro-Park Geun-hye faction to rally forces in the Daegu/North Gyeongsang Province and Chungcheong regions also appear to stem from this analysis.
Ban also benefits by default from being unassociated with the actual political sphere in South Korea and its atmosphere of intense confrontation.
[Ban Ki-moon]
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Ban Ki-moon’s hint at a presidential run causing a stir in South Korea
Posted on : May.27,2016 14:46 KST
Under UN regulations, Ban must not become involved in the politics of any member state, until his term ends late this year
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s hints at a run for the presidency on May 25 are stirring up controversy among South Korea’s politicians and media. How should it be interpreted when a sitting Secretary-General with seven months left in his term begins openly flirting with a political career at home? Ban’s term ends on Dec. 31.
Soon after its establishment, the United Nations added provisions to its Charter and General Assembly resolutions to judge the appropriateness of just such a situation.
[Ban Ki-moon]
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Sanctions are 'best recipe' for N.K. nuclear issue: unification minister
Updated : 2016-05-27 15:58
South Korea's unification minister dismissed calls for conversation with the North on Friday, saying sanctions are the "best recipe" to get Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons program.
On a local radio program, Hong Young-pyo also said that the government is not considering an inter-Korean summit.
[Rebuff]
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3 N.Koreans Fled from Restaurant in Weinan
Three North Koreans who recently defected from China worked in a joint-venture shabu-shabu restaurant in Weinan, Shaanxi Province, defectors' magazine News Focus International said Wednesday.
The three had earlier worked in a North Korean restaurant in Shenyang, Liaoning Province but moved to Weinan a few months ago with other North Korean workers because business was bad, according to Kim Yong-hwa of North Korea Refugees Human Rights Association of Korea.
All three are women in their 20s. They are in a Southeast Asian country waiting to fly to South Korea.
[Defector] [Overseas restaurants]
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Ban Ki-moon Hints at Presidential Ambitions
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon waves on arrival on Jeju Island on Wednesday. /Yonhap UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon waves on arrival on Jeju Island on Wednesday. /Yonhap
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday inched a little closer to admitting his ambitions for the presidency.
"When I return on Jan. 1 next year, I'll be a Korean, whereas until now I've held a UN passport," Ban told reporters on Jeju Island, where he is attending a forum. "I'll contemplate and decide then what I should do as a Korean citizen."
[Ban Ki-moon]
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UN Resolution mandates that Ban Ki-moon from running for president
Posted on : May.25,2016 17:24 KST
Ban’s term as secretary-general ends late this year, and there is speculation he could run in next year’s presidential election
The United Nations officially adopted a resolution restricting secretaries-general from taking government positions immediately after stepping down, it was confirmed recently.
The discovery comes amid widespread speculation that current Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon may run in the 2017 South Korean presidential election. If Ban does decide to throw his hat in the ring after finishing his tenure in late 2016, the move could generate controversy at home and overseas over its appropriateness.
The Hankyoreh confirmed on May 24 that the UN adopted a resolution to this effect at its first general meeting on Jan. 24, 1946, immediately after its establishment.
[Ban Ki-moon]
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UN chief calls for resuming dialogue with N. Korea
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday called for engaging North Korea in talks, saying he stands ready to contribute in any way he can.
Ban made the call at the opening of a forum on the southern resort island of Jeju, saying tensions on the Korean Peninsula are one of the greatest challenges to global action and regional cooperation.
[Ban Ki-moon]
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Why German Unification Is Not a Model for Korean Unification
By Chang-Seok Yang
25 May 2016
For decades, many Koreans have viewed German unification as a model for the future of a divided Korean peninsula. However, there are differences between the two that need to be understood, both to inform current policy and provide valuable lessons for the future.
German unification has been a success story that Koreans interested in unification often aspire to emulate. The process was peaceful and democratic—reflecting the wishes of the East German people—and it resulted in the establishment of a free state based on a market economy. Today’s united Germany is a leading economic, security and humanitarian player in Europe. But South Korea is not West Germany and North Korea is not East Germany. That reality may mean that Korean unification under the German model would be nearly impossible to achieve given the current circumstances.
[Unification] [Germany]
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More N.Korean Restaurant Staff Escape from China
Another group of North Koreans who worked in a restaurant in China have defected and are waiting in a third country to come to South Korea, it emerged on Monday.
Their decision seems to have been triggered by the earlier defection of 12 waitresses and their manager from a North Korean restaurant in Ningbo.
"The North Korean restaurant workers arrived safely in a third country and should be able to arrive in Seoul this week," a source said.
A source in China said Chinese security forces are investigating the incident. There are conflicting reports on when and where the workers escaped, as well as their exact number.
[Defector] [Overseas restaurants] [Canard]
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Gov't Explains Rebuff of N.Korean Overtures
The Defense Ministry on Monday formally declined a request for military talks from North Korea that arrived via a supposedly severed hotline Friday.
"We pointed out that the current tensions on the Korean Peninsula were caused by the North's provocative acts like nuclear tests and missiles launches. We regret that the North offered military talks without any mention on the North Korean nuclear issue," ministry spokesman Moon Sang-gyun said.
A government official here said, "Whenever it's driven into a corner, the North habitually pulls out the dialogue card, but once the talks take place they sabotage them with absurd demands. They're more interested in causing discord in the South than in having a sensible conversation."
[Overture] [Rebuff]
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Seoul’s stubborn refusals on inter-Korean talks
Posted on : May.24,2016 17:06 KST
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is applauded by participants after being named chairman of the Korean Workers‘ Party (KWP) during its seventh congress on May 9. (Kyodo/Yonhap News)
The Park administration seems to have forgotten the importance of dialogue in seeking peace
The Park Geun-hye administration’s biggest slogan in dealing with the North Korean nuclear issue since Pyongyang’s fourth nuclear test on Jan. 6 and rocket launch on Feb. 7 has been that “denuclearization measures must be a priority.” There has been a stubborn consistency, a refusal to allow even a hint of change no matter how the situation changes.
Speaking at a regular briefing on May 23, Ministry of National Defense spokesperson Moon Sang-gyun said a response had been issued at around 9:30 that morning to a telephone call made over the West [Yellow] Sea District military communication line in the name of the North Korean Ministry of People’s Armed Forces (MPAF).
“We expressed dismay at the proposal of military talks without any mention of the nuclear issue, and we demanded that the North state its position on denuclearization,” Moon said.
The message was effectively a “no” to a proposal made by the MPAF over the military communication line on May 21. In it, the ministry had suggested holding working-level talks “at a convenient date and location” in late May or early June toward the staging of inter-Korean talks between militaries “to relieve military tensions on the Korean Peninsula
[Rebuff] [Overture] [SK NK policy]
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NK offer for talks is exit strategy
By Jun Ji-hye
North Korea's repeated proposals to hold inter-Korean talks are apparently aimed at creating a rift in South Korea as well as within the international community to help Pyongyang extract itself from powerful economic sanctions, according to experts, Sunday.
The North suggested, Saturday, holding a working-level meeting with the South in late May or early June to prepare for military talks to ease tension on the Korean Peninsula.
The latest in a series of offers for talks came a day after Pyongyang called on Seoul to immediately accept its earlier proposal for inter-Korean military dialogue made by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during the four-day-long ruling Workers' Party Congress that wrapped up May 9.
[Overture]
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N. Korea proposes military talks to Seoul
By Park Si-soo
North Korea has proposed holding a working-level meeting with South Korea in late May or early June in preparation for high-level military talks, Pyongyang's state media said Saturday.
The North's National Defense Commission made the proposal, said the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
"We propose to hold working-level contact for opening (the two Koreas') military authorities talks at the date and place both sides deem convenient in late May or early June in a bid to defuse military tension and create confidence-building atmosphere between the military authorities of North and South Korea," KCNA said in an English dispatch.
The U.N.-sanctioned state has recently ratcheted up effort to resume inter-Korean dialogue following the country's recently concluded ruling party congress, during which its leader Kim Jong-un tightened his grip on power.
During the congress, Kim said there is a "need to fundamentally improve North-South relations," adding the North won't use nuclear weapons unless the country's sovereignty is violated.
Early this week, Kim Ki-nam, vice chairman of the Workers' Party, called on South Korea to come forward to have sincere talks.
South Korea on Friday rejected the North's offer for military talks, saying Pyongyang should first take concrete steps toward denuclearization.
"The Seoul government maintains a firm stance that denuclearization steps should be a top priority when it comes to dialogue with North Korea," South Korea's defense ministry said.
The South called the North's proposal a "propaganda ploy" that lacks sincerity at a time when North Korea claims it is a nuclear state.
[Overture]
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NIS human rights official has individuals meetings with 12 North Korean restaurant staff defectors
Posted on : May.20,2016 17:49 KST
Lawyers from MINBYUN-Lawyers for a Democratic Society hold a press conference in front of the North Korean Defector Protection Center in Siheung, Gyeonggi Province, asking to interview staff from a North Korean restaurant in China who recently defected to South Korea, May 16. (by Kim Bong-kyu, staff photographer)
Attorney Park Yeong-sik says all 12 are in good health, but questions remain whether defection was their own decision
A human rights protection official with the National Intelligence Service (NIS) center for protection of North Korean defectors confirmed meeting with 12 women who are undergoing questioning there after defecting en masse from a North Korean restaurant in China where they worked.
The individual meetings on May 14 took place the day after the group MINBYUN-Lawyers for a Democratic Society filed a related request with the NIS.
“All 13 of the defectors [including one male manager] are healthy and showed no problems,” attorney Park Yeong-sik told the Hankyoreh in an exclusive interview on May 19. Park has working as a human rights officer for the protection center - formerly the joint questioning center - since Apr. 2015.
According to Park, reports of hunger strikes, including one leading to an employee’s death by starvation, are false.
“I had one-on-one meetings with the 12 employees all day on May 14 at the NIS’s request immediately after MINBYUN’s request, and all of them said they did not wish to contact MINBYUN,” Park added.
[NIS] [Election defection]
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The bereaved mothers who were painted as North Korean spies
Posted on : May.19,2016 17:08 KST
Since 1980 Gwangju movement, right-wing figures have delegitimized people affected with unfounded allegations
On May 6 in Haenam County, South Jeolla Province, and Sim Bok-rye was dressed in boots and work pants as she placed her spade next to a crock stand and wiped the sweat away. It has been 36 years now since she began hiring help to farm the rented 19,874 square meters of reclaimed land.
Sim, 73, explained that hers has been a life of sowing rice and watering paddies. “I did all the plowing and farming [after my husband died], and just got by - sadly, bitterly, without thinking,” she said. “I was just dogged.”
In the black-and-white photograph hanging in the main room, her husband still looks the same. Kim In-tae was 47 when his secretly buried body was found by a citizen militia at a hill near the former Gwangju Detention Center on May 21, 1980. That month, he had visited a boarding house in Gwangju where their oldest son had stayed since graduating high school. It was on his way to the public terminal after paying for the room that Kim was killed by a paratrooper.
[Repression]
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Army officer jailed for leaking NK missile intelligence
By Lee Han-soo
An army captain has been sentenced to 18 months' jail for leaking confidential information about North Korea's submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) test to the media last year.
A military court ordered the sentence and the defense ministry on Friday confirmed the conviction.
The army captain, who specialized in intelligence gathering, was indicted in February for leaking confidential information to a reporter about the SLBM test. He is also known to have leaked other military secrets related to the North Korean military.
[Whistleblower] [SLBM]
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Kim Jong-un death rumor floods social media
loading
By Lee Han-soo
Rumors claiming North Korean leader Kim Jong-un had died suddenly spread through Twitter Tuesday.
The tweet read: "URGENT. Unconfirmed report from Korean military sources. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has been killed or seriously injured. No details."
It came through a fake Twitter account using the same name as South Korea's Defense Minister, Han Min-koo. The account has been suspended.
The unknown Twitter user has also been suspected of targeting Myanmar President Htin Kyaw.
Although many were skeptical about Kim's death, some media sites published the rumor that he may have been killed by "military intervention."
[Canard]
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13 N.Korean Defectors 'Want to Stay in South'
Thirteen North Korean workers who defected to South Korea from a restaurant in China want to stay here, a lawyer who spoke to them told the Chosun Ilbo on Thursday.
"None of the 13 want to return to North Korea," said Park Young-shik.
Pyongyang has claimed that they were brought to South Korea against their will.
Park is an attorney recommended by the Korean Bar Association and serves as a human rights advocate to the National Intelligence Service.
She met the 13 several times at a halfway house for defectors.
"The workers don't want their identities to be revealed due to concerns for the safety of their families left behind in the North," Park said. "I can't go into details about what we discussed."
Asked about a report in a pro-Pyongyang media outlet that one of the women had died while on hunger strike demanding to be returned to the North, Park said, "Do you really believe that? I can definitely tell you that all 13 of are in good health. They watch South Korean news and are going on outside trips as part of their acclimation process."
She said they are understandably reluctant to face the media here because they fear reprisal against their families in North Korea if they make a public statement.
The left-leaning group Lawyers for a Democratic Society had demanded interviews with them, but the NIS declined, saying the North Koreans are neither criminals nor refugees.
"I met each of the 13 North Koreans last weekend and asked them if they wanted speak with the LDS attorneys, but all 13 refused," Park said.
The 12 waitresses and their male manager arrived in South Korea on April 7 and have stayed at the halfway house since then.
An NIS official said, "They are legally entitled to remain at the halfway house for up to 180 days while the NIS investigates whether they came here as bona fide defectors and they can get some peace of mind."
[Election defection] [NIS]
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Gwangju anniversary: the final interview of a martyr for democracy
Posted on : May.18,2016 17:00 KST
Foreign correspondent Bradley Martin says citizen spokesperson died knowing that “resistance meant death”
On the night of May 26, 1980 - the night before the South Korean army marched into Gwangju to enforce martial law - Bradley Martin, at the time a reporter for the Baltimore Sun, conducted his last interview with Yun Sang-won (1950-1980), spokesperson for the Gwangju citizen army. Bradley said of Yun, “He didn’t run away, and he died knowing full well that resistance meant death.”
Martin is back in South Korea this week for the anniversary of the Gwangju Democratization Movement, and was interviewed by a Hankyoreh reporter on the evening of May 16.
“He looked me in the eyes, and he chose me for the interview. It was like he was giving me his last will. His determination to die has stuck with me,” Martin said.
[Kwangju]
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Questions swirling over the conditions of defected North Korean restaurant staff
Posted on : May.18,2016 17:07 KST
Lawyers from MINBYUN-Lawyers for a Democratic Society hold a press conference in front of the North Korean Defector Protection Center in Siheung, Gyeonggi Province, asking to interview staff from a North Korean restaurant in China who recently defected to South Korea, May 16. (by Kim Bong-kyu, staff photographer)
The NIS is denying the defectors legal assistance, and keeping the in isolation
The current circumstances of 13 staff who entered South Korea on Apr. 7 after fleeing a North Korean restaurant in China are the focus of growing attention.
Amid reports in the North Korean media about the death of one of them - a 22-year-old surnamed Seo - the National Intelligence Service (NIS) has moved to prevent attorneys from the group MINBYUN-Lawyers for a Democratic Society from meeting with them. Both the Ministry of Unification and the NIS have officially stated that all staff are “healthy and undergoing questioning.”
[Election defection]
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Park losing grip on state affairs on factional feud
By Kang Seung-woo
President Park Geun-hye appears to be entering an early lame duck phase as she shows no signs of changing her uncompromising governing style, party officials and analysts said Thursday.
Her loyalists are losing ground since the ruling Saenuri Party lost its majority in the general election last month, while opposition parties are increasingly showing displeasure over the way she governs.
Some analysts warn of a challenging path for Park during the remainder of her term, which is slated to end in early 2018. If she fails to address this situation, she could lose her grip on state affairs early, they said
[Park Geun-hye]
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'Kim Donald-un' memes flood Internet
By Lee Han-soo
North Korean President Kim Jong-un is rising as the new "meme" online after the country released the first unedited picture of their supreme leader and his comrades.
Netizens were quick to grab the photo of Kim, who was appointed chairman of the state's ruling Workers' Party of Korea at the party's congress earlier this month. The picture, released on May 11, sparked a Photoshop frenzy.
The memes included images of Kim digitally combined with popular figures such as Hollywood socialite Kim Kardashian, cartoon character SpongeBob SquarePants and Canadian singer Justin Bieber.
[Bizarre] [Propaganda]
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Judgment Collects More of Disgraced Ex-President's Fine
The Seoul Central District Court on Wednesday ordered a company owned by Chun Doo-hwan's son to pay part of the disgraced ex-president's fine for corruption in office.
Libro, a bookstore chain owned by Chun's eldest son Jae-kook, is to pay W2.46 billion to the state over the next seven years at a rate of W360 million a year (US$1=W1,186).
Libro took out a loan from a bank using collateral owned by Chun's sons Jae-kook and Jae-yong. The property was confiscated by prosecutors and sold for W8.1 billion last year, and Libro had to return W2.56 billion to the Chun brothers.
Prosecutors had sought to collect the money directly from Libro as part of Chun's unpaid fine of more than W200 billion.
englishnews@chosun.com / May 19, 2016 11:09 KST
[Chun Doo-hwan] [Corruption]
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Lawyers group seeking interview with North Korean restaurant defectors
Posted on : May.16,2016 17:05 KST
MINBYUN arguing that in accordance with human rights standards, defectors should have access to a lawyer
As debate continues about the circumstances surrounding the defection of a group of employees at a North Korean restaurant in China that the South Korean government abruptly announced just before the Apr. 13 general elections, MINBYUN-Lawyers for a Democratic Society has asked South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) for an “emergency interview” with the employees.
With North and South Korea offering conflicting explanations about the waitresses’ entry to South Korea - the North says they were lured and kidnapped by the NIS, while the South says they defected voluntarily - MINBYUN contends that the women should be allowed to freely express their viewpoint with the aid of an attorney in accordance with international human rights standards.
“On May 13, we submitted a request to the NIS for interviews with the women in order to clear up a number of allegations about the group defection and in the interest of transparent and open review,” MINBYUN’s unification committee said on May 15.
MINBYUN intends to hold an emergency interview and press conference with Lee Eun-gyeong and 11 other employees of the North Korean restaurant overseas on the afternoon of May 16 in front of the center for North Korean defectors where the employees are being questioned by the NIS.
[Election defection]
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[Editorial] Government needs to release the truth about group defection
Posted on : May.17,2016 15:52 KST
Lawyers from MINBYUN-Lawyers for a Democratic Society hold a press conference in front of the North Korean Defector Protection Center in Siheung, Gyeonggi Province, asking to interview staff from a North Korean restaurant in China who recently defected to South Korea, May 16. (by Kim Bong-kyu, staff photographer)
Serious questions remain about the group defection of staff from a North Korean restaurant overseas. With North Korea continuing to protest forcefully, civic groups are asking the South Korean government to disclose related information and to allow the women to meet with attorneys, but the government is refusing to do even this. This is only fueling suspicions.
From the moment the defection was announced, it has been dubious in quite a few respects. The government’s story itself was extremely unusual, including the claim that no fewer than 13 staffs from a North Korean restaurant in China attempted to defect at the same time and reached Incheon Airport via a Southeast Asian country in just two days.
It is also bizarre that the South Korean government made the announcement abruptly on Apr. 8, the day after the defectors arrived. Since this was just five days before the general elections, it prompted major suspicions that the defection had been planned and orchestrated by South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS). But even after this, the government only repeated that the defection had been voluntary without releasing any of the information necessary to determine the truth.
[Election defection]
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Conflict deepens over Gwangju song
By Yi Whan-woo
The nation has been thrown into political turmoil again following the government's refusal to accept a symbolic song as the official anthem for the memorial service for May 18, 1980 pro-democracy uprising in Gwangju, a traditional opposition stronghold.
With the ceremony scheduled for Wednesday, opposition parties vowed an all-out struggle to have their demands met, while the government said the decision is final.
The dispute over the song is expected to deal a blow to President Park Geun-hye and her conservative government.
The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs refused, Monday, to designate "Imeul Wihan Haengjingok" (March for the Beloved) as the official anthem for the pro-democracy movement.
The opposition parties collectively will outnumber the ruling Saenuri Party in the upcoming 20th National Assembly and the President inevitably needs to seek support from the opposition in order to pass bills for economic reform.
[Kwangju]
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South Korea’s dark history still unresolved
10 May 2016
Author: Benjamin Katzeff Silberstein, University of Pennsylvania
Next to North Korea, most countries look like havens of human rights. Perhaps this is why South Korea’s dark history of abuses and massacres attracts relatively little interest, both internationally and within the country itself. To be fair, some events, such as the Kwangju Massacre, are commemorated regularly. But the official memory is selective.
This undated photo shows the Brothers Home compound in Busan, South Korea. (Photo: AAP).
A story recently broke by the Associated Press (AP) showed a remarkable example. It revealed horrific cases of killings, rapes and abuse of thousands of people at the ‘Brothers Home’ detention centre in Busan, in south-eastern South Korea, between 1975 and 1988. This was one of 36 facilities where the government placed those deemed as ‘vagrants’ — petty thieves, political criminals, homeless, street children and the disabled — in an effort rid its cities from undesirable elements. Some were taken away as South Korea was preparing for the 1988 Seoul Olympic games.
[Human rights] [Kwangju] [Disclaimer]
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Korean-German denied entry for Gwangju massacre anniversary conference
Posted on : May.14,2016 19:06 KST
A German national of Korean descent who was planning to attend an academic conference on the 36th anniversary of the Gwangju Democratization Movement was refused entry to South Korea and forced to return to Germany.
According to multiple sources at the May 18 Memorial Foundation, Lee Jong-hyeon (80, a resident of Duisburg, Germany), a permanent advisor for the German branch of Korean European Solidarity was not allowed to enter South Korea at Incheon International Airport at 12:30 pm on May 12. At 12:30 pm on May 13, Lee was sent back to Germany.
[Kwangju] [Repression]
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Civic activists demand truths behind mass defection
By Choi Sung-jin
Civic organizations have called for the government to actively dispel suspicions about the defection of 13 North Korean workers at a restaurant in China.
The representatives of 67 civic groups, at a joint news conference in front of the Government Integrated Office in Kwanghwamun Friday, called for the government to allow the defectors to hold news conferences and interviews as well as guarantee them meetings with their families and lawyers.
"The mass defection is a very exceptional incident full of incomprehensible suspicions," leaders of the civic groups said. "We can't help but worry about the catastrophic effects this incident will have on inter-Korean relations."
[Election defection] [North wind]
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Why did the military make a late announcement of a $683 million tank purchase?
Posted on : May.13,2016 15:20 KST
Huge expenditure seems out of sync with changes in modern warfare, and likely to lead to criticism
The belated announcement that the South Korean military wants to order 100 more K2 Black Panther tanks is prompting allegations that the military tried to make a closed-door deal without giving details to the press – even though the project is an enormously expensive one that would cost 800 billion won (US$683 million).
Critics also say that the extra tanks are part of a poorly conceived plan to bolster military power that is out of sync with the modern battlefield’s dependence on precision strikes.
“The Joint Chiefs of Staff proposed the need for 100 more K2 tanks in October of last year, and the Ministry is currently carrying out an assessment of this need,” a Defense Ministry official said on May 12. “When we complete the feasibility study at the end of the year, we are planning to reflect this in the budget through deliberation with budget planners.”
[MISCOM] [Military balance]
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Fears NK military may intensify provocations against South
By Choi Sung-jin
As North Korea enhanced the role of the Workers' Party during its congress last week, the relatively alienated military group may intensify provocations against South Korea, experts here said Thursday.
At a workshop discussing the North's future strategy after the rare congress of the ruling party, organized by the Institute for National Security Strategy (INSS), most participants said there is a high likelihood of military provocations by the reclusive regime and consequent aggravation of the inter-Korean relationship.
As part of his "leadership-enhancing" strategy, Kim Jong-un might also try to strengthen North Korea's nuclear and missile capabilities more eagerly.
[Provocations] [Pretext]
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100 More Battle Tanks to Be Stationed Along DMZ
The government plans to produce 100 more state-of-the-art K-2 Black Panther tanks and station them along the border with North Korea, it emerged Wednesday.
The original plan was to build 200 K-2 tanks, but the military says it decided on the additional lot to counter North Korea's deployment of new tanks.
The K-2s are South Korea's next-generation main battle tanks and cost W8 billion apiece.
A military source said, "There is a need to bolster armored combat capabilities on the frontline as the North is deploying new tanks. Another factor in the decision is that defects in the K-2's power pack have now been fixed."
Military officials have been re-evaluating the armored threat after North Korea showcased newly developed tanks during military parades in 2012 and 2013.
North Korea has around 4,300 tanks to South Korea's 2,400, but before the North unveiled new tanks, the South believed that it could offset the numerical imbalance because the North's tanks were ancient Soviet models.
Critics have questioned the need to produce another 100 K-2 tanks and accuse the government of merely trying to give struggling arms manufacturers a shot in the arm.
[Military balance] [Escalation]
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[News analysis] Why does the NIS have so many intelligence failures?
Posted on : May.12,2016 15:55 KST
With Ri Yong-gil alive, it appears the Park administration announced purge to build support for unilateral complex shutdown
Three months have passed since the Kaesong Industrial Complex was shut down. That same day saw the “execution” of former Korean People’s Army Chief of General Staff Ri Yong-gil.
Yet Ri recently came back from the dead to appear at the seventh Korean Workers’ Party (KWP) congress, which ended this past May 9. It was an embarrassment for the Park Geun-hye administration, which had previously leaked the false intelligence to the media. The big problem, though, is that it was the result of a structural issue: the misuse and abuse of North Korea intelligence by the Blue House, National Intelligence Service, and other state agencies to suit Park’s policies and perceptions, which are rooted in predictions of an imminent collapse in Pyongyang.
At 11:48 am on Feb. 10, the South Korean government made its final decision to shut down the complex and told the press of an upcoming announcement. At around 3 pm that same day, the Unification Ministry, which was in a commotion over the decision, provided reporters with an “off the record” PDF file titled “North Korea unexpectedly purges Chief of General Staff Ri Yong-gil in early February.” It asked to be cited anonymously as a “North Korea source.”
In addition to stating that North Korea had “executed Chief of General Staff Gen. Ri Yong-gil in early February on charges of ‘factionalism’ and ‘abuse of power and corruption,’” it also described Ri as an “avid drinker” who was “in poor health because of a deteriorating liver.”
But the intelligence ended up proven false when North Korea’s Rodong Sinmun newspaper reported on May 10 that Ri had been named as a KWP Central Military Commission member and politburo candidate member at the first plenary session of the party‘s seventh Central Committee.
[NIS] [Canard] [Intelligence]
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It's time to talk about dialogue with N. Korea
Two Koreas urged to come to table for turnaround
By Yi Whan-woo
South Korea needs to resume talks with North Korea to make a turnaround in inter-Korean relations despite lingering concerns over Pyongyang's possible fifth nuclear test, analysts said Wednesday.
Citing a lack of sincerity, President Park Geun-hye and the Ministry of National Defense rebuffed North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's overture for inter-Korean military talks, made in a speech at the ruling Workers' Party Congress last week.
Some analysts agreed with the Park administration, claiming Pyongyang is using "sheer rhetoric" as part of its repeated cycle of peace overtures following military provocations.
However, some other former government officials, politicians and scholars in South Korea and the U.S. said it is time for Seoul to reconsider its hostile policy toward North Korea and engage in talks with Pyongyang.
[Overture] [Rebuff] [Engagement]
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Ruling party lawmakers call for talks with N. Korea
By Kang Seung-woo
President Park Geun-hye's administration shows no signs of changing its hard-line stance on North Korea, but now even some ruling party lawmakers are cautiously voicing the need for inter-Korean dialogue to defuse tension.
Their calls came after Seoul rejected North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's proposal for military talks, made at the North's rare Workers' Party Congress, citing a lack of sincerity.
"If the government wants to improve inter-Korean ties, there needs to be informal dialogue with North Korea at least," said Saenuri Party Rep. Kim Young-woo at a meeting of the National Assembly Foreign Affairs Committee with Unification Minister Hong Yong-pyo, Wednesday.
[Engagement] [SK NK Negotiations] [Overture] [Rebuff]
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Korea’s Next Generation
Young people have been pushed to the margins in South Korea — can they transform the country's political system?
By John Feffer, May 9, 2016
The street protests of the Arab Spring happened largely because of disgruntled youth. The unemployment rate for young people in the Middle East and North Africa verged on the catastrophic in 2012: 42 percent for Tunisia and 38 percent for Egypt. Moreover, the rates had shot up significantly since 2010, so it seemed as though the already intolerable conditions were only getting worse. Young people came together through social media and took over the public spaces, demanding change.
Street protests throughout the southern tier of Europe – in Greece, in Spain – were also fueled by unemployed youth. In Greece, the unemployment rate for young people peaked at 60 percent in 2013, a time of huge popular unrest. The Spanish rate hit a high of 55 percent in July 2013, also a time of mass protests.
In the United States, the unemployment rate has been steadily falling for the last eight years. For young people, the rate has recently hovered around 10 percent. But young Americans face other problems. Many of the entry-level jobs they get barely provide enough to cover food and rent – much less the enormous college loans they have to pay back.
These dismal prospects are why so many young people are supporting Democrat Bernie Sanders in the race for president. More people under the age of 30 are supporting Sanders than Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump combined. Sanders envisions a new economic order in the United States that provides opportunities to all young people (and not just rich bankers and CEOs).
In South Korea, the youth unemployment rate is nowhere near the levels of the Middle East or southern Europe. But at approximately 12 percent, the jobless rate has Korean millennials deeply worried. One reason is that the official rate obscures how few young Koreans actually have jobs: less than half.
One of the social media memes, “Hell Chosun,” reflects the despair of the younger generation. It’s hard to get a job. The jobs they can get are not very good ones. And those not-very-good jobs are not even secure.
[Unemployment] [Hell Chosun] [Demographics]
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South Korean military announces response to North Korea’s two-track approach
Posted on : May.10,2016 16:15 KST
After North Korea’s party congress, South Korea moving ahead with “kill chain” and Korean Air and Missile Defense
After North Korea confirmed at the 7th Congress of the Korean Workers’ Party (KWP) that it would be sticking to its two-track policy of building the economy and developing nuclear weapons, the South Korean military announced that it would accelerate efforts to prepare military countermeasures including the “kill chain” and the Korean Air and Missile Defense (KAMD).
“Considering that we need to place the highest priority on preparing a response to the threat of North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missiles, we are planning to acquire these abilities by securing funding for the kill chain and the Korean Air and Missile Defense before anything else,” a South Korean military officer said on May 9.
The kill chain is a weapons system designed to detect signs of an imminent North Korean missile launch and to take out the missile before it could be launched, while the KAMD is designed to detect a North Korean missile launch and intercept the missile in midair.
First of all, the South Korean military is planning to enhance the methods of surveillance and detection that are needed to build these weapons systems.
[Kill Chain] [Preemptive]
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[Editorial] Seoul must respond to North Korea’s calls for dialogue
Posted on : May.9,2016 18:05 KST
During his summation report to the 7th Congress of the Korean Workers’ Party (KWP), North Korean leader Kim Jong-un proposed holding military talks between North and South Korean to dispel the risk of a military clash and to relax the heightened tensions. With inter-Korean relations in disarray because of North Korea’s repeated nuclear tests and the South Korean government’s shutdown of the Kaesong Industrial Complex, it is noteworthy that North Korea’s leader has personally come forward to suggest holding talks.
Another noticeable aspect of Kim’s report was his reference to North and South Korea as “partners in unification” and his call for the implementation of the June 15th North-South Joint Declaration and the October 4 Declaration. By emphasizing the significance of these declarations, North Korea could be sending a positive signal about repairing its strained relationship with South Korea.
Considering that North Korea has maintained a barrage of hardline remarks aimed at the South Korean government, the fact that Kim refrained from criticizing South Korea in the report and spoke of dialogue and negotiations in a softer tone could be taken as implying willingness to restore inter-Korean relations
[KWP] [Overture] [Rebuff]
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Questions hovering over Blue House’s claimed deals with Iran
Posted on : May.10,2016 16:08 KST
On Pres. Park’s recent trip, Blue House touted US$37.1 billion in deals, but they might not all materialize
The initial story that President Park Geun-hye told about construction projects she claimed as the accomplishments of her summit with Iran is being called into question following the news that MOUs (memoranda of understanding) have not been signed for some of them and that others may ultimately be awarded to Iranian companies. This is likely to lead to further criticism that the Blue House inflated its claims of economic deals worth US$37.1 billion.
According to various figures in the construction industry on May 9, South Korean construction companies have still not managed to sign MOUs for the Chabahar-Zahedan railroad project (US$1.7 billion) and the Mianeh-Tabriz railroad project (US$600 million). A statement released by the Blue House on May 2 while Park was in Iran detailing the economic deals she had made during the summit claimed that South Korean companies had signed MOUs with Iran for these two projects.
[Iran]
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[Analysis] Seeking dialogue as a way out of inter-Korean morass
Posted on : May.9,2016 18:10 KST
Kim Jong-un’s recent address included mentions of past inter-Korean agreements and trust-building measures
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s message to South Korea in a Central Committee business summation report at the seventh Korean Workers‘ Party (KWP) congress on May 6-7 was more specific and forward-thinking that experts had predicted. One part in particular stressed the need for dialogue and negotiations between the North and South Korean militaries - a passage that amounts to a public proposal of inter-Korean intergovernmental talks by the North’s leader.
Indeed, Kim went as far as to say that “the current disaster can be overcome to some extent through dialogue and negotiation” and to propose that Seoul “join us in mutual respect as a partner in reunification.” The proposal for intergovernmental talks comes amid a steep slide in inter-Korean relations since the North’s fourth nuclear test on Jan. 6, with the complete shutdown of the Kaesong Industrial Complex - considered by many to be the last “safety valve” between the two sides - and statements from Pyongyang singling President Park Geun-hye by name with abusive language.
The proposal itself came in the context of a message by Kim stressing the need to “relax military tensions.”
[Overture]
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Seoul says N. Korea’s call for talks is “insincere propaganda”
Posted on : May.9,2016 18:03 KST
With no moves toward denuclearization, South Korean officials say there is no point in holding talks
While North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called for military talks between North and South Korean and emphasized “denuclearization of the world” during the 7th Congress of the Korean Workers’ Party (KWP), on May 8 the Blue House and related ministries mostly disparaged the party congress as representing neither progress nor sincerity.
On Sunday, the Blue House did not take an official position in regard to the business summation report that Kim delivered during the party congress. Off the record, though, senior officials dismiss the report as “North Korea’s typical ‘good cop, bad cop’ strategy.”
[Overture] [Rebuff]
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Dream of economic jackpot in Iran may be premature
By Choi Sung-jin
It is less than a week since Cheong Wa Dae's big media hype over President Park Geun-hye's "sales diplomacy" with Iran, saying it hit a 52 trillion-won ($45 billion) economic jackpot.
But some media reports from the Middle East country show things may not be as rosy as they appeared.
Ali Noorzad, CEO of CDTIC, an Iranian public corporation that builds transport infrastructure, told Tasnim News Agency on Sunday: "According to a memorandum of understanding signed with a Korean consortium, the latter should fulfill its duty to implement the MOU within four months. Otherwise, we are ready to sign a contract with Iran's Khatam-al Anbiya."
[Iran]
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The Future of South Korean Domestic Policy: If You Look a Little Closer
Konstantin Asmolov
Column: Politics
Our previous text analyzed the results of the parliamentary elections in the Republic of Korea in hot pursuit. However, a closer look, especially the analysis of the origin of those deputies who were elected, allowed us to make a series of additional findings.
Among the articles devoted to the election results, the author was repeatedly faced with statements to the effect that “the ruling party has lost popularity in favor of the People’s Party, with its central views.” This is a typical example of a non-professional analysis.
Yes, this appears to be the case on the surface. The Democratic Party has maintained its number of seats and Saenuri lost about the same amount of seats as Ahn Cheol-soo’s party gained. Given that Ahn used centrist rhetoric, it is easy to imagine that sympathies moved towards him, but in reality, the picture is more complex, and if you look closely at the results of the election, it becomes clear that each of the three former party leaders, including Ahn Cheol-soo, suffered defeat, and his chances in the presidential race have decreased substantially.
[Election]
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Seoul rejects Pyongyang's proposal for inter-Korea talks
Xinhua, May 8, 2016
There would be little chance for the two countries on the Korean Peninsula to improve their stressed relations via bilateral talks as Seoul has turned down a rare olive branch from Pyongyang.
While delivering the work report of the central committee of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea on Sunday, Kim Jong Un, the top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), proposed the two sides on the Korean Peninsula hold talks at all levels so as to remove misunderstanding and distrust.
Direct communication between the two sides came to a complete halt after the DPRK conducted its fourth nuclear test in January.
In early April, Pyongyang mentioned the need for "negotiations" with Seoul for the first time since the UN Security Council adopted tougher sanctions in response to the DPRK's alleged H-bomb test and a long-range missile launch in February.
In the three-hour speech aired by the state TV on Sunday, the DPRK leader, aside from mapping out an economic development plan for the country, also called for dialog and negotiations with the South for the sake of national reunification.
The two sides should respect each other and join hands to open up a new chapter for improving inter-Korean ties and the campaign for national reunification, he said.
Kim urged South Korea to drop the mentality of confrontation and legal and institutional barriers, and to take practical steps to facilitate the development of bilateral relations.
Seoul appeared resolute in turning down the offer, like what it did in April.
[Overture] [Rebuff]
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Blue House may be overselling economic benefits of trip to Iran
Posted on : May.4,2016 16:28 KST
This cartoon depicts former President Lee Myung-bak (2008-2013) watching President Park Geun-hye announcing business deals during her visit to Iran. While he was president, Lee made many deals that he called “resource diplomacy”, most of which have been wasteful or never happened. (By Kwon Beom-chul)
A slew of MOUs were signed, but it’s unclear how many of them will lead to actual projects
While the Blue House announced that President Park Geun-hye’s trip to Iran had brought in more than US$37 billion in economic deals, which would be the largest such amount in history, critics are noting that most of the deals are MOUs (memoranda of understanding), which are not legally binding. Thus, there is still a long way to go before they lead to actual contracts. The Blue House may have been deliberately exaggerating when it published a tally that includes the tentative figures in these MOUs.
Reviewing the progress on 30 construction projects (worth US$37.1 billion) that the Blue House claimed on May 2 were economic accomplishments of the South Korea-Iran summit, the greatest number, 13, were MOUs. There were also four MOAs (memoranda of agreement), three term sheets, three HOAs (heads of agreement), two provisional contracts and four others.
[Iran] [Spin]
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[Analysis] Park’s summit in Iran yields no specific action on North Korean nukes
Posted on : May.3,2016 17:11 KST
President Park Geun-hye, accompanied by her ministers, during her summit with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in Tehran, May 2. (by Lee Jeong-yong, staff photographer)
In summit, Iranian President makes only general statement of support for denuclearization
The message about the North Korean nuclear issue delivered by South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani following their summit in Tehran, Iran on May 2 was abstract, theoretical and symbolic. The message did not contain any points of agreement about the North Korean nuclear issue, nor did it list any specific kinds of joint action that the two countries would take in response to North Korea’s nuclear program.
This is attributed to the passive stance of Iran, which has long been a close ally of North Korea in a number of areas, including military cooperation.
However, the Iranian government has publicly denied military cooperation with North Korea, including on missiles. On Apr. 21, Hassan Teherian, Iran‘s ambassador to South Korea, said, “We are certainly not cooperating with North Korea in the area of missiles.”
“We want peace on the Korean Peninsula. We are opposed in principle to any nuclear development,” Rouhani said during the joint press conference after his summit with Park.
“Our fundamental position is the elimination of nuclear weapons, which are dangerous whether on the Korean Peninsula or in the Middle East,” he said.
Rouhani’s remarks have some significance in the sense that they represent the Iranian government‘s public support for the principle of denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula.
However, it is noteworthy that his comments went no further than expressing a theoretical commitment to peace, denuclearization and nuclear disarmament without specifying North Korea.
[Iran]
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Negative views double on stability of Kim Jong-un's regime
By Choi Sung-jin
The number of experts who view North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's regime as unstable has doubled, a survey shows.
Hyundai Research Institute, which recently surveyed 100 experts, said 32 percent of them regarded the North under the young leader as unstable. The negative views more than doubled the 14.4 percent in a similar opinion poll last year, the institute said.
Expectations for reform and openness declined.
Six out of 10 experts believed the Kim Jong-un regime's will for reform and opening up the communist state is similar to that of his father's. Those who said the regime's intention is stronger than the previous one accounted for 28 percent of respondents, sharply lower than the 49.6 percent in a 2014 survey.
Those who thought the trend toward reform and openness would expand stood at 29 percent, compared with 42.7 percent in the 2014 survey.
[Pundit] [Collapse]
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Iran Urges WMD-Free Korean Peninsula
News ID: 1064678 Service: Nuclear
May, 02, 2016 - 15:37
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani voiced the country’s support for peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula with elimination of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs).
“Iran favors peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula, and we are basically opposed to production of any weapons of mass destruction,” the Iranian president said at a high-profile ceremony in Tehran on Monday, attended by his South Korean counterpart.
“It is our demand that the world be free from weapons of mass destruction and nukes, particularly in the Korean Peninsula and the Middle East region,” he said, adding that security in both regions is necessary for the expansion of bilateral relations.
[Iran]
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Iranian President Slams N.Korean Nuke Program
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Monday distanced his country from North Korea and its nuclear program.
"We want changes on the Korean Peninsula and we are, in principle, opposed to any nuclear development,” Rouhani told reporters in Tehran. "Our basic principle is that there should be no nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula or in the Middle East."
Rouhani did not name North Korea or Israel, but it was clear he had them in mind.
He was speaking in a press conference with President Park Geun-hye, who arrived earlier in the day as the first Korean president to set foot in the country and the first female leader of a non-Muslim nation to visit Tehran.
[Iran] [Media]
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Park-Khamenei meeting adds pressure on NK
By Yi Whan-woo
President Park Geun-hye and Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei have agreed to bolster bilateral relations for regional peace and security in a much-touted meeting before Park wrapped up her three-day visit to Tehran, Tuesday.
The meeting, held Monday, is expected to deal another blow to North Korea's nuclear program in addition to the first-ever South Korea-Iran summit hours earlier.
The meeting is significant as Iran's ruling system combines theocracy with republicanism, and Khamenei, who is also a spiritual leader, wields far more power than Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and the country's parliament.
In North Korea, the late Kim Il-sung was the country's only leader to meet Khamenei in May 1989 when the latter visited Pyongyang as the Iranian president.
In a meeting with Park, Khamenei did not mention North Korea and its nuclear program.
But he called on resolving issues on terrorism and insecurity around the globe, saying: "I hope South Korea and Iran can cooperate to bring peace and stability."
[Iran] [Media] [Heading]
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