ROK and Inter-Korean relations
September 2016
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Less Than Half of Enlisted Soldiers Consider N.Korea the Enemy
September 28, 2016 12:07
A majority of professional military officers staunchly think of North Korea as the enemy, but among their conscripted men the proportion is less than half.
According to figures from the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses published by Saenuri lawmaker Kim Hack-yong on Tuesday, 64.6 percent of officers regard North Korea as the enemy but only 47.4 percent of enlisted servicemen.
Hankook Research polled 1,620 officers and 1,928 enlisted servicemen for the institute last year.
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[ROK military]
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[Reporter’s notebook] Less than 1.5 years left, more corruption bombs expected in Park government
Posted on : Sep.24,2016 17:02 KST
For Pres. Park, scandal may go beyond allegations about a shadowy power broker and turn into a serious episode of corruption
In regard to the recent allegations about Choi Sun-sil, a public figure tells the following anecdote from 10 years ago: “One time I was supposed to meet the advisors of President Park Geun-hye, who was a lawmaker at the time. This one woman showed up in a [Ssangyong] Chairman car. This was when Park was also riding around the same kind of car. This woman was with Chief of Staff Jeong Yun-hoe and the other people who are the ‘doorknob power brokers’ in the Blue House today, but she had the most insolent attitude of all. Later I learned that she was Choi Sun-sil.”
“Choi Sun-sil had immense power. She made the current triumvirate in the Blue House look like mere retainers. And since she’s backed up by Park, who became the leader of the party and then the president, imagine how much greater Choi’s power has grown,” the figure said.
While it remains to be seen exactly how far Choi’s influence extends, it’s possible to guess how close she is to Park. Park met Choi, who is four years younger than her, while Park was in her early 20s, after losing her mother. During the four decades that have passed since then, Park and Choi have shared their hardships and triumphs.
Furthermore, Choi is the daughter of the late Choi Tae-min, a pastor whom Park regarded as a mentor. Since Park would rather not buy clothing or even do her hair on her own, Choi has always been at Park’s side, at her beck and call. For Park – who lost her parents, became estranged from her younger siblings and never married - Choi is closer than her own flesh and blood.
[Corruption] [Park Geun-hye]
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Setback for Korea as Homegrown Chopper Fails Safety Test
By Lee Yong-soo
September 23, 2016 09:35
The military has stopped taking delivery of Korean-made helicopters once touted as the crown jewels of the domestic arms industry after they failed a safety test in the U.S.
About 50 of the KAI KUH-1 Surion helicopters have already been deployed warfare-ready.
The Surion failed flight safety tests in cold, wet conditions in Michigan between last October and March, according to data from the Defense Acquisition Program Administration published by Saenuri Party lawmaker Lee Chul-gyu.
The flight test was carried out at 5 to -30 degrees Celsius and found that more than the permissible level of 100 g of ice built up at the air inlet of the engine. If ice is sucked into the engine, the airfoil can break down and stall the engine, according to GE, the maker of the engine.
The Defense Ministry and the DAPA recently told Korea Aerospace Industries, the developer and maker of the chopper, to halt supply.
A KAI spokesman claimed the tests were conducted in extremely cold and wet conditions, which do not reflect Korea's dry and far less cold winters. "In Korea, ice normally forms in helicopters at an altitude of 600-900 m in early foggy winter in November and December and in early spring in February and March," an official with the Aviation Meteorological Office said.
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Some 50 Surion helicopters already deployed at various military units will probably not be fully maneuverable in winter until the problem is addressed, and potential overseas buyers may think twice whether the chopper is right for them.
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[MISCOM] [Arms sales]
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In Vietnam, a rare discussion of South Korean soldiers’ wartime civilian massacres
Posted on : Sep.23,2016 18:11 KST
Reports that appeared from Sep. 11-15 about Vietnam War massacres of civilians by South Korean soldiers, in Tuoi Tre, a Vietnamese daily newspaper. (provided by the Korean-Vietnamese Peace Foundation)
Extensive media reporting suggests a changing mood in Vietnam, and more efforts to address wartime atrocities
Between Sept. 11 and 17, Vietnamese daily newspaper Tuoi Tre ran seven stories about the testimony and activity of survivors of civilian massacres carried out by South Korean soldiers during the Vietnam War. It is unusual for an influential Vietnamese daily newspaper to cover the stories of survivors of the massacres.
Tuoi Tre, which has the widest circulation in Vietnam, was the first newspaper in the country to cover the issue of civilian massacres after the story broke in the Hankyoreh 21, a South Korean weekly news magazine, in 1999.
Starting on Sep. 11 with an article titled “Life After the Massacre, Part 1: So Agonizing I Thought It Would Kill Me,” Tuoi Tre ran five stories that chiefly dealt with the testimony of the survivors of the massacres. The sixth installment in the series, called “My Last Mission: Living to Tell the Story,” related the experience of Nguyen Tan Lan, a 65-year-old survivor of the massacre at Binh An, who in Apr. 2015 became the first massacre survivor to visit South Korea.
[Vietnam] [War crimes]
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Can Korea Save the Global Economy?
The Korean economy has hit the skids. Could this be a moment for a radical rethink?
By John Feffer, September 20, 2016. Originally published in Hankyoreh.
Over the last five years, South Koreans have worried that their economy has slipped deeper into stagnation. Growth rates have hovered between 2 and 3 percent. Consumer spending is weak, and household debt has risen to record levels. Because global demand has fallen, the world is not buying Korean exports as eagerly as before.
This is not just an economic crisis. It is an identity crisis.
South Korea has long been identified with rapid economic growth and a corresponding ppali ppali spirit. Koreans can take a lot of pride in their country’s amazing trajectory from the devastation of the Korean War to a place among the top industrialized nations of the world in the space of a single generation.
It’s no surprise, then, that Korean politicians are searching for a magic formula that can restore economic health to the country in the same way that those small bottles you can buy at a Korean store promise to “boost vitality.”
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Parties clash over scandal involving Cheong Wa Dae
Suspicions grow over K-Sports, Mir foundations
By Kang Seung-woo
Suspicious deals surrounding a 60-year-old woman who has reportedly "served" President Park Geun-hye for a long time are emerging as a hot-button political issue with opposition parties demanding a thorough investigation.
During a parliamentary interpellation session at the National Assembly, rival parties clashed over the scandal as the opposition ramped up their offensive, calling it power-related corruption; while the ruling party disregarded it, claiming that the opposition were launching a groundless political offensive.
The woman, Choi Seo-won, who is better known as Soon-sil _ her birth name _ was reportedly involved in the creation of two foundations _ the Mir Foundation and the K-Sports Foundation _ over the past year.
Conglomerates allegedly "donated" some 80 billion won ($71.8 million) to the foundations, but some media reports say Park's aides at Cheong Wa Dae might have used their influence to coerce the donations.
[Corruption]
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'S. Korea has plan to assassinate Kim Jong-un,' says defense minister
Defense Minister Han Min-koo said there is a special task force ready to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in case of attack, during interpellation at South Korea's National Assembly on Wednesday. / Yonhap
By Hong Dam-young
Korea is "considering launching a special forces unit to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-un," Defense Minister Han Min-koo said Wednesday.
He made the comment during a parliamentary meeting in Seoul after Rep. Kim Sung-chan of the ruling Saenuri Party asked him about rumors of the plan.
Han said the unit will "take action" if the North shows clear signs of attacking South Korea. This is part of the "Korea Massive Punishment and Retaliation" plan (KMPR), a military response announced after North Korea's fifth nuclear test on Sept. 9, Han said.
The KMPR targets North Korean leadership, including its military headquarters, with a preemptive strike that includes teams of highly trained commandos and simultaneous missile attacks capable of precision strikes, in case of the North's nuclear attack on the South.
"If it becomes clear the enemy is moving to attack the South with nuclear missiles, in order to suppress its aims, the concept [of the special forces] is to destroy key figures and areas that include the North Korean leadership," Han told lawmakers.
Meanwhile, KMPR has been described as a part of a "three-axis system" of South Korea's military in response to North Korea's provocations, with Korean Air and Missile Defense (KAMD) ? Seoul's homegrown anti-missile systems ? and Kill Chain, a pre-emptive strike system by the South Korea-U.S. Joint Command.
"The ministry also plans a supplementary budget to bring the three-axis system to completion by 2020," Han said.
[Assassination]
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Foreign minister calls N. Korea leadership shameless
By Jun Ji-hye
Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se criticized North Korea, Wednesday, for conducting its fifth nuclear test at a time when the country is suffering from severe flooding that has reportedly caused the loss of many lives.
During a high-level human rights meeting held on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York, Yun said Pyongyang conducted the nuclear test early this month even when people were suffering from the worst flooding in decades, and this attests to the shamelessness of the North Korean leadership that totally disregards the lives of ordinary citizens.
[Floods] [Hypocrisy] [Test]
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[News analysis] Who really are the anonymous sources connected to North Korea?
Posted on : Sep.21,2016 16:21 KST
Anonymously-sourced news reports are another unfortunate outcome of antagonistic state of inter-Korean relations
At 6 am on Aug. 18, Yonhap, South Korea’s main news agency released an “exclusive” article that stated, “A source familiar with the North Korean situation said the father of Thae Yong-ho, a minister-level diplomat at the North Korean embassy in London, appears to have been first-generation anti-Japanese partisan Thae Byong-ryol, who served as a dispatch rider to Kim Il-sung.”
The article’s content was reported in turn by several other news outlets.
At 7 pm the previous day, South Korean Ministry of Unification spokesperson Jeong Joon-hee announced at an emergency press conference that Thae - whom he called the “highest-ranking North Korean diplomat who has defected to date” - had arrived in South Korea with his family. All eyes were on the Yonhap News report. An anti-Japanese partisan bloodline was seen as the highest possible in North Korea apart from the so-called “Baekdu bloodline” connecting Kim Il-sung to son Kim Jong-il and grandson and current leader Kim Jong-un. Thae Byong-ryol was also a key presence in the North Korean elite who served as a general in the People’s Army before his death in 1997.
One problem: the report wasn’t true. On Aug. 23, the National Intelligence Service (NIS) reported to the National Assembly Intelligence Committee that Thae Yong-ho was not the son of Thae Byong-ryol.
[Canard] [Media]
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Drug-related crimes biggest reason behind N. Korean defectors' incarceration in S. Korea
Drug-associated crime has been the most frequent reason for the imprisonment of North Korea defectors in South Korea so far this year, a parliamentary report showed Wednesday.
A total of 129 North Korean defectors were behind bars in South Korea as of Aug. 26, compared with 51 recorded in 2011, the report released by Rep. Kang Chang-il of the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea showed.
Of the 129 imprisoned, 38 were convicted of drug-related crimes while 15 others were guilty of violence, according to the report.
Other main offenses included fraud and murder, the report also showed.
A majority of 111 prisoners out of the total 129 defector convicts behind bars were male, a growth of 136 percent from 2011.
Only 18 prisoners were women, but the number marks an increase of 350 percent from 2011 when only 4 female North Korean defectors were in prison, it said.
"Under the burden of livelihood difficulties and homesickness, more defectors tend to get involved in crimes with the number of defector prisoners on the rise," Kang said. "There's pressing need for a system that consistently provides crime prevention education and job consulting to defectors, especially as the population of North Korean defectors in South Korea is nearing 30,000." (Yonhap)
[Refugee reception] [Prisoners]
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Boon to Saenuri Party, Ban Ki-moon again rumbles about possible presidential run
Posted on : Sep.19,2016 17:50 KST
Saenuri Party floor leader Chung Jin-suk (left) and Minjoo Party floor leader Woo Sang-ho (right) give media interviews at Incheon International Airport after returning from the US, Sep. 18. (Yonhap News)
A return home after term ends for UN Secretary General would lift currently ailing ruling party’s fortunes
A gift basket arrived at the ruling Saenuri Party’s previously barren service table this Chuseok season: United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The holiday was filled with political messages that could be interpreted as signaling Ban’s intent to run for South Korea’s presidency, including his announcement of plans to “return home before mid-January next year” and his desire to “have an opportunity” to report to the South Korean public. For the party’s other presidential prospects - none of whom has cleared the 5% bar in support according to Gallup Korea - it’s a replay of a nasty situation: tasting the bitter pleasure of seeing their names being bandied about, while remaining helpless in the face of the Ban juggernaut.
On the last day of the long holiday week on Sept. 18, the political world once again found itself forced to tackle the issue of Ban in the US. The talk had begun with a New York meeting with Ban on Sept. 15 by National Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun and floor leaders for three parties, who were in US for parliamentarian diplomacy. The leader of the table setting was Saenuri Party floor leader Chung Jin-suk, who like Ban hails from the Chungcheong Province area. After asking Ban to “apply the experience, expertise, and wisdom you‘ve gained over the past ten years on the international stage to domestic issues and future generations,” Chung inquired as to whether Ban “should report something big to the public after returning home.”
“I’d like to have the opportunity,” Ban replied.
Chung also convey to Ban a message from former Prime Minister Kim Jong-pil.
“Do what you make up your mind to do, but grit your teeth while you do it,” the quote said. Chung reportedly received the message while visiting Kim‘s home in Seoul just before the US visit.
When asked by opposition Minjoo Party floor leader Woo Sang-ho when he would be returning to South Korea, Ban answered, “Before mid-January.” With his term as Secretary-General ending on Dec. 31 of this year, the message suggests he plans to return home immediately after wrapping up his ten years at the UN.
[Ban Ki-moon] [Election]
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In the hurt of the sea
Gloom of migrant seafarers on Korean vessels in the spotlight
By Ko Dong-hwan
For months they were forced by their Korean superiors to haul in fish during shifts lasting up to 20 hours. The Koreans provided little in the way of daily necessities to help them endure another hard day on the high seas.
These migrant workers had to make do with filtered sea water to drink and to wash with. Their food was limited to kimchi and fish they caught. They had to share a single washroom while the Koreans had their own that was nominally reserved for senior staff.
Physical and verbal abuse occurred so often the workers considered it the norm on a Korean-operated vessel. Some say the Koreans even raped them.
Fed up with the inhumane working conditions, some escaped the vessel on a ship that periodically came to deliver supplies. They got onboard behind their superiors' backs or told the "gangmasters" they wanted to disembark ? leaving behind the wages the Koreans were illegally holding until their contract finished.
An Indonesian sailor, known as "Arif," detailed his misery in New Zealand waters on the Dong Won 522, a fishing vessel owned by Korea's Dong Won Fisheries, to The Korea Times in August 2014. Recalling six years on the company's three vessels until 2012 as a "one long nightmare," he spoke about severely injuring his ankle after stepping on a conveyer belt at a warehouse and falling unconscious while unloading fish. The accident occurred because of fatigue and pressure from his boss, he said.
[Labour]
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Court throws out habeas corpus suit related to N. Korean restaurant defectors
Posted on : Sep.17,2016 08:08 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)
Not possible to verify family links in photographs provided by MINBYUN, a lawyers group, court finds
A lawsuit by an attorneys’ group to determine whether 12 staff from a North Korean restaurant in China were forcibly detained after defecting to South Korea in Apr. 4 was thrown out on Sept. 12.
Judge Lee Yeong-je of the 32nd criminal division of Seoul Central District Court ruled to dismiss the habeas corpus suit filed by the group MINBYUN-Lawyers for a Democratic Society against the National Intelligence Service (NIS) on the grounds that the habeas corpus request had been made by a party without authority to do so.
“From the photographs presented by MINBYUN, it is impossible to confirm that the ‘parents’ in the North and the waitresses who fled the North Korean restaurant are family relations,” Lee gave as grounds for the dismissal.
[Election Defection] [Abduction] [NIS]
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3,400 men relinquish S. Korean citizenship annually to evade military duties
South Korea's ruling Saenuri Party said Monday around 3,400 men are giving up their citizenship annually to evade the mandatory military duty, adding the government should take steps to restrict their economic activities in the country.
Currently, all able-bodied South Korean men between the ages of 18 and 35 must serve in the military for about two years.
According to the data compiled by Rep. Kim Joong-ro of Saenuri, however, 17,222 South Korean men subject to conscription gave up their nationality from 2012 through July of this year.
Most of those that opted not to serve became either U.S., Japanese or Canadian citizens.
Kim said of those that decided to surrender their nationality, 31 were family members of high-ranking civil servants, adding the government should impose stronger regulations on such ethnic Koreans holding foreign citizenships. (Yonhap)
[Anchor babies] [Military service]
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S. Korea’s income distribution out of balance and worsening: analysis
Posted on : Sep.16,2016 19:43 KST
Nearly 45% of S. Korean wage earners receive 20m won or less in annual pay; middle class losing ground
Inceraese in merdian income among low, middle, and high wage earners
The distribution of South Korean wage earners is lopsided, with the majority falling in the lower bracket, an analysis has shown.
One out of every four wage earners reported annual income below the minimum wage, while nearly half had annual earnings of 20 million won (US$18,270) or lower. Analysts are noting the declining average in the “backbone segment,” with the highest amount of stagnation in income growth rate found in the middle-income bracket.
[Inequality]
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[Editorial] After fifth nuke test, Park administration needs more than just denunciations of North Korea
Posted on : Sep.13,2016 15:00 KST
On Sep. 9, the day she returned from a trip to Russia, Laos and China that started on Sep. 2, President Park Geun-hye presides over a security situation review meeting held after the North’s fifth nuclear test. Park had been scheduled to return to South Korea at 11 pm that night, but due to North Korea’s fifth nuclear test, moved her return up to 3:30 pm. (provided by the Blue House)
President Park Geun-hye described North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s mental state as “out of control” at a security situation review meeting held after the North’s fifth nuclear test. She also called on opposition parties objecting to the deployment of a THAAD missile defense system to “move beyond political attacks without alternatives,” while demanding that the relevant government bodies “thoroughly monitor subversive domestic forces and those fomenting societal anxieties.” Confronted with the serious situation of a nuclear test, the only things Park seems capable of showing are blunt denunciations of the North, attacks on the opposition, and lectures to the public.
[Test] [Park Geun-hye]
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South Korea announces “Massive Punishment and Retaliation” in response to fifth nuke test
Posted on : Sep.13,2016 15:17 KST
Experts point out contradictions in nominally large-scale plan that ostensibly targets the North’s leadership
The South Korean military has announced the “Korea Massive Punishment and Retaliation” plan, or KMPR, as a military response to North Korea’s fifth nuclear test. There are doubts about how effective a deterrent this would be against North Korea’s nuclear program, however.
“The concept envisions responding to damage caused by a North Korean nuclear weapon by targeting the North Korean leadership, including its military headquarters, in a punitive and retaliatory strike,” said Lim Ho-yeong, chief of strategy and planning for South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff. Lim made the comments on Sep. 9 while he was explaining the plan to reporters. The plan would involve teams of highly trained commandos and simultaneous attacks with large numbers of missiles capable of precision strikes.
Since the attack outlined by this plan would be carried out if “signs” of a North Korean nuclear attack are detected, it represents a preemptive strike. The retaliation plan was described as being part of a three-pronged system of deterrence against North Korea along with the kill chain (a defensive system involving a preemptive strike by the US-ROK Joint Command) and the Korea Air and Missile Defense (KAMD).
According to the plan, South Korea would respond to indications that North Korea was going to use a nuclear weapon by dispatching units of special forces and simultaneously firing weapons including the Hyunmoo-2 ballistic missile and the Hyunmoo-3 cruise missile to obliterate areas where Kim Jong-un and the rest of North Korea’s leaders are located.
“This is the first time that the military has officially mentioned a ‘massive punishment and retaliation’ plan. Previous operational concepts have been largely defensive, but this one can be regarded as having some aggressive elements,” said Yang-uk, a senior analyst for the Korea Defense and Security Forum, on Sep. 11.
[Preemptive] [Missile] [Special forces]
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Not so holier than thou: religious leader crimes top 5,000 a year
Updated : 2016-09-09 15:17
Religious leaders have been in the top three since 2010 among professionals who committed crimes in Korea. / Courtesy of Twitter
By Lee Han-soo
Religious leaders commit over 5,000 crimes a year in Korea, according to Supreme Prosecutors' Office figures.
There were 4,868 cases reported in 2010, increasing to more than 5,000 in 2012 and over 5,100 in 2014.
The crimes range from sexual harassment and scams, to assault, drunk driving and hit-runs.
Compared with other professionals – including doctors, lawyers, professors, journalists and artists -- religious leaders have ranked in the top three for crimes over the past five years.
Experts believe the high crime rate derives from the religious leaders' use of their superior position to exploit followers. They also point out loopholes in the judiciary system that prevents law enforcers from handling such cases.
There have been discussions to strengthen ethic education for religious leaders and introduce laws that will expel or punish them if they commit crimes.
"A religious leader who commits a crime can simply change the name of the religious institute, be it a church or any religious entity, if it was operated like his or her private foundation," Lee Su-jung, a professor in the faculty of Liberal Arts at Kyonggi University, said in an interview with Yonhap news agency.
"Official procedure is needed to punish religious leaders who commit crimes."
[Religion] [Crime]
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Radical New Approach Needed to Dealing with N.Korea
North Korea conducted its fifth nuclear test on Friday in spite of intensifying international sanctions and just eight months after the last one.
The blast is estimated at 12.2 kt of TNT, rivaling the intensity of the atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima at the end of World War II.
North Korean state media said the test aimed to "check the capacity of a new nuclear warhead," which may be bluster or may mean that the North really has made strides toward developing a nuclear warhead small enough to be mounted on a missile. State media boasted that the warhead was "standardized" enabling mass production.
If that is true, South Korea would have no way of dealing with an attack. Seoul has spent the last 20 years looking for ways to stop North Korea from developing nuclear weapons. The so-called Sunshine Policy of rapprochement merely helped the North accelerate its nuclear development thanks to oodles of free cash, but even tough international sanctions have not deterred it.
President Park Geun-hye's attempts to pressuring North Korea by forging closer ties with China have also not worked out.
[Sanctions] [Destabilisation] [Invasion] [Test]
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N. Korea could pose war risk: Park
President Park Geun-hye poses with the leaders of the three major parties ahead of talks at Cheong Wa Dae, Monday. From left are People's Party floor leader Park Jie-won, Minjoo Party of Korea Chairwoman Choo Mi-ae, Park and Saenuri Party Chairman Lee Jung-hyun. Park called on the political circle to have a united front against growing North Korean threats. / Korea Times photo by Koh Young-kwon
President, opposition wide apart over THAAD
By Kim Hyo-jin
President Park Geun-hye warned Monday that North Korea could continue its provocations and ignite the risk of a war on the Korean Peninsula, calling for bipartisan cooperation to deter threats from Pyongyang.
She said the nation needs to enhance all military capabilities, including getting guarantees concerning the U.S. nuclear umbrella, to cope with the hostile country.
Her remarks came during a meeting with the leaders of the three major parties at Cheong Wa Dae to discuss countermeasures to the Kim Jong-un regime's fifth nuclear test, Friday _ less than a day after the East Asia Summit (EAS) adopted a statement urging the country to give up its nuclear and missile programs.
"North Korea's nuclear and missile programs are not a simple warning for negotiations but a realistic and imminent threat targeting us. It has warned of additional provocations, raising the risk of a war on the Korean Peninsula, terrorist attacks or localized confrontation," Park said.
[Test] [Park Geun-hye] [THAAD]
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[Editorial] THAAD deployment complicating vital Korean Peninsula issues
Posted on : Sep.6,2016 17:06 KST
The THAAD issue is growing more complicated by the day. Chinese President Xi Jinping made his opposition to the antimissile defense system clear at a South Korea-China summit on Sept. 5, the first since the decision to deploy it in North Gyeongsang Province’s Seongju County. The situation is reaching the point where we need to resolve the THAAD issue to be able to solve the North Korean nuclear dilemma. The THAAD issue is now closely tied to efforts to find a solution to the nuclear problem, in which China’s cooperation is essential.
In his remarks that failure to handle the THAAD issue appropriately would “be unhelpful for the region’s strategic stability” and could “intensify conflict among the countries involved,” Xi showed there is almost no chance China’s position on the matter will change. He also expressed opposition to the deployment somewhat more bluntly in a summit with the US on Sept. 3.
Beijing’s stated reason for opposing it is that it “compromises strategic security interests.” Until there are some major changes in the antagonistic relationship between the US and China, it is beyond anything South Korea can apply its powers of persuasion or mediation to.
[THAAD] [China SK]
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THAAD Critics at Home Are a Bigger Threat Than Chinese Opposition
A summit between the leaders of South Korea and China on the sidelines of the G20 meeting in Hangzhou, China ended with both sides merely acknowledging their differences. President Park Geun-hye stressed that the U.S.' Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense battery is being deployed here purely for South Korea's defense and explained it will become unnecessary the moment North Korea scraps its nuclear weapons and missile development.
But Chinese President Xi Jinping reiterated Beijing's opposition to the deployment. China believes the battery is intended to keep its military might in check.
But he also called for a "future-oriented" relationship between South Korea and China and urged Park to overcome this problem.
[THAAD] [Protest] [[China SK]
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3-way THAAD talks draws skepticism
Beijing likely to reject Park's proposal
By Yi Whan-woo
President Park Geun-hye is seeking trilateral talks to settle a dispute between South Korea, the United States and China over the planned deployment of a U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery in South Korea.
On Monday, she proposed "a comprehensive discussion" involving the United States during bilateral talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 Summit.
Analysts said Tuesday that Park's offer was an attempt to make Seoul a mediator amid China's opposition toward the joint decision made by South Korea and the U.S. concerning THAAD.
They also said China may appreciate Park's gesture amid escalating military tension between the two superpowers.
However, China is likely to be skeptical about a three-way conversation, considering it remained lukewarm toward a 2015 proposal jointly made by Park and U.S. President Barack Obama for a three-way consultation on North Korea's denuclearization.
"Park's offer is noteworthy because she sent clear signs to China that South Korea will try to maintain good relations," said Kim Yeol-su, an international politics professor at Sungshin Women's University. "Beijing is likely to take Park's gesture into account in future relations between the two countries."
[THAAD] [China SK]
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Public grows more critical of Park’s policies on unification, N. Korea
Posted on : Sep.5,2016 16:26 KST
More respondents of poll have negative view than positive view of North policies for first time since inter-Korean talks
The number of people who are critical of South Korean President Park Geun-hye’s unification and North Korea policies has exceeded the number who approve, according to a public opinion poll commissioned by the Unification Ministry. This was the first time since Aug. 2015 that criticism exceeded support in the quarterly poll.
Respondents selected “improving inter-Korean relations” as the most important task for preparing for unification. The percentage of respondents who think that North Korea needs help increased, while the percentage who view North Korea with hostility decreased.
The opinion poll on unification and North Korea policy for the second quarter of 2016, which Korea Research conducted on 1,000 adult men and women around South Korea, found that more respondents had a negative view (46.9%) of the Park administration’s North Korea policy than a positive view (45.9%). Park Byeong-seok, a lawmaker with the Minjoo Party of Korea, released the findings of the poll on Sept. 4 after receiving them from the Unification Ministry.
[Unification] [SK NK policies] [Public opinion]
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[Editorial] No headway on Korean issues at Russia, China summits
Posted on : Sep.5,2016 16:34 KST
President Park Geun-hye presents President Vladimir Putin with a piece of calligraphy written by her father, former President Park Chung-hee, after the South Korea-Russia summit at Vladivostok, Russia, on Sept. 3. According to the Blue House, Putin said, “Receiving the last thing written by President Park Chung-hee before he passed away in 1979 is like finding an original masterpiece at an art market." (Yonhap News)
Despite South Korea-Russia and US-China summits in Vladivostok and Hangzhou this week, no progress was made on either the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) antimissile system or North Korean nuclear issues. It is worrisome to see how entrenched the conflicts are becoming among the countries involved in Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia issues.
In terms of efforts to reduce greenhouse gases, it was encouraging to see the US and China submitting ratification documents for the Paris agreement – the new climate regime under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change – to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon ahead of their summit. With the ratifications of two countries that account for around 40% of global greenhouse gas emissions, the agreement looks more likely to enter effect within the year. South Korea should also be an active participant. Also positive were the discussions on expanding economic cooperation between South Korean and Russian businesses at the South Korea-Russia summit.
But as far as other key issues involving the peninsula were concerned, differences of opinion remained. Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a clear message of opposition to the THAAD deployment in South Korea, while US President Barack Obama avoided the issue entirely, referring instead to a more general “protection of the security of the US’s allies.”
[THAAD] [Russia SK] [China SK]
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N. Korea condemns S. Korean law on Pyongyang's human rights
North Korea's propaganda websites on Monday condemned South Korea for implementing a new law aimed at improving Pyongyang's dismal human rights record.
The North's propaganda website Uriminjokkiri said that South Korea is not entitled to take issue with North Korea's human rights situation, saying that the implementation of the law is a "sinister" move to undermine Pyongyang's dignity.
[Human rights] [Softwar]
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Human rights law targets N. Korean leader
By Yi Whan-woo
South Korea's new law aimed at documenting human rights abuses in North Korea went into effect, Sunday — the latest in a series of efforts to put pressure on the Kim Jong-un regime.
Analysts say North Korea may react furiously because the body responsible will collect, record and preserve details of crimes against humanity committed by Kim and his aides.
[Human rights] [Kim Jong Un] [Softwar] [Escalation]
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Spy agency arranged N. Korea workers' defection: report
By Kim Bo-eun
South Korea's spy agency reportedly arranged the defection of 13 North Korean restaurant workers in China to the South in April.
Citing an "unidentified source familiar with the matter," the Hankyoreh local daily reported "A National Intelligence Service (NIS) employee provided 60,000 yuan (10 million won) for the workers' defection."
The defectors bought flight tickets to Malaysia with the money, because the NIS official advised them to enter South Korea "via a third country," the report said.
The defectors became familiar with the NIS employee through a Chinese Korean based there, who they became acquainted with while they were working for another restaurant.
The Ministry of Unification did not confirm the report, while the NIS was not available for comment.
"This will need to be confirmed by the NIS," Unification Ministry spokesman Jeong Joon-hee said Sunday.
[Election defection] [NIS]
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Lee Young-ae Donates W100 Million to Military Academy
Actress Lee Young-ae has donated W100 million to the Korea Military Academy (US$1=W1,123).
Lee wants the money to be spent on the descendants of Korean War veterans, the KMA said Thursday.
Lee is the daughter of a Korean War veteran, and her father-in-law was an Army brigadier general.
She also donated W50 million in July to a middle school in Yangpyeong, Gyeonggi Province, where she lives.
[ROK military]
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[Interview] N. Korean restaurant manager speaks of mysterious defection from China
Posted on : Sep.3,2016 22:37 KST
In interview, defector voices confusion about politicization of case, fears for parents in North
A restaurant manager surnamed Heo, 36, who defected together with 12 female employees from a North Korean restaurant in China in early April repeated the message “Time will bring everything to light” several times in a recent telephone interview with the Hankyoreh.
This was his response every time he was asked for specifics about the reasons for the defection and the process by which it was carried out. In his first conversation, Heo said, “I have nothing to say.” But after a few instant messaging exchanges, this Hankyoreh reporter received a call late last month. Heo sounded tired and nervous.
[Election defection]
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N. Korean defectors told not to meet with MINBYUN during reeducation
Posted on : Sep.3,2016 22:35 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)
Protection Center warned 13 defectors that MINBYUN lawyers are N. Korean sympathizers
Between Aug. 8 and 11, the 13 defectors from a North Korean restaurant – including a manager and 12 female employees – were released successively from the North Korean Defector Protection Center (formerly the Joint Interrogation Center) run by South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS).
For about five months after the defectors entered South Korea in early April, they received resettlement education at the Protection Center instead of being sent to the Settlement Support Center for North Korean Refugees (Hanawon), which is run by the Unification Ministry.
[Election defection]
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Group defection of North Koreans to South aided by NIS: source
Posted on : Sep.3,2016 22:33 KST
13 North Korean workers (one man and 12 women) at an overseas restaurants who entered South Korea on Apr. 7, wearing masks to prevent their identities. This picture was provided by the Ministry of Unification, which did not specify when or where it was taken. (provided by the Ministry of Unification)
S. Korean intelligence agent provided money for airplane tickets, advised them and assisted with defection
The group of 13 North Koreans who defected from a North Korean restaurant and reached South Korea with unusual speed in early April had purchased tickets to Malaysia using 60,000 RMB (US$8,980) they had received from an agent of South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS), according to a source who spoke with the Hankyoreh.
[Election defection] [NIS]
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[Editorial] Pres. Park needs to kick-start int’l cooperation at upcoming forum and summits
Posted on : Sep.2,2016 17:12 KST
South Korean President Park Geun-hye (second from the right), Chinese President Xi Jinping (far right) and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (back, left) gather for a commemorative photo at the APEC Summit in Manila, Nov. 2015. (Blue House photo pool)
President Park Geun-hye will be in Russia, China and Laos between Sept. 2 and 8 to attend the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF), a G20 summit and an ASEAN summit. Apart from North Korea, these meetings will be attended by the main countries involved in the issues on the Korean Peninsula. In addition to the multilateral meetings, there will also be several sets of bilateral talks, which are expected to focus on peninsular issues like the North Korean nuclear program and the deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) antimissile system.
South Korea’s diplomatic conditions at the moment are quite poor. Most crucially, the North Korean nuclear issue is being placed on the back burner, with objections from China and Russia drawing attention in the wake of Seoul’s announcement of plans to deploy THAAD in Seongju County, North Gyeongsang Province.
China’s conflict with the US and Japan in the South and East China Seas are growing more intense by the day. As the spat take clearer shape between Washington and Beijing, Seoul finds its choices more limited. Meanwhile, Pyongyang continues beefing up its nuclear and missile capabilities. With the US presidential election not far away, the Barack Obama administration is losing some of its diplomatic grip.
[Park Geun-hye] [SK foreign policy] [THAAD]
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[Editorial] The Chosun Ilbo should now shed its unreasonable power-player mindset
Posted on : Sep.1,2016 16:29 KST
The apology editorial printed on the front page the Chosun Ilbo newspaper on Aug. 31. The headline translates as “Apology to Readers”
The Chosun Ilbo newspaper has accepted executive editor Song Hee-young’s resignation and apologized to its readers. Song is now set to be questioned by prosecutors as a suspect. To be sure, this whole episode is tied up with the corruption allegations around Blue House Senior Secretary to the President for Civil Affairs Woo Byung-woo. But the Chosun Ilbo bears much of the blame for the situation reaching this point.
Over the years, the right-wing Chosun Ilbo has been all but omnipotent as a media force. Many times, it has been denounced for abusing its vast authority as a medium to get the presidential candidates it likes elected. More recently, it played a critical role in driving out prosecutor-general Chae Dong-wook in 2013, using information that appeared to have come from the heart of the administration. Given this behavior, it has reason to feel blindsided when its confrontations with the same Blue House it had gotten in bed with resulted in its executive editor being forced out and called before the prosecutors. But it’s a state of affairs the Chosun Ilbo brought on itself. For decades, its history has been one of reigning above the law and leaving proper media practices far behind. A good illustration of its behavior as a media force came when Song invited a key Blue House official to the company’s offices to request the reappointment of former Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering CEO Ko Jae-ho.
[Chosun Ilbo] [Media] [Corruption]
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Pres. Park embodies the “Hell Joseon” corruption she claims doesn’t exist
Posted on : Sep.1,2016 16:14 KST
All the unfairness and malfeasance South Koreans are fed up with run rampant in Park’s closest associates
During her Liberation Day address on Aug. 15, President Park Geun-hye confidently insisted that critics should not “disparage” South Korea, saying, “There is no such thing as ‘Hell Joseon.’ There is only a Republic of Korea that is the envy of the world.”
But all the symbolic terms associated with “Hell Joseon” - corruption, special treatment, rich people behaving badly, “silver spoons,” and so-called “parachute appointments” of unqualified people to top jobs - have been directed at her very own associates and the Cabinet candidates she has selected. Critics blasted Park’s address for devolving into an amalgam of her ‘out-of-body-experience’ speaking style.
In the same address, Park talked about the “growing societal costs of a widespread culture of ignorance and contempt for the law.” She also accused everyone of “trying to hold on to their own vested interests while assigning blame to others.” Yet it’s the behavior of Park and her Blue House - which have gone all in on shielding Senior Secretary to the President for Civil Affairs Woo Byung-woo after various allegations of improprieties and illegalities - that politicians have accused of representing the height of contempt for the law, blaming others, and protecting vested interests.
Even after a special inspector’s investigation was commissioned and prosecutors conducted a search and seizure on Woo, the Blue House has held out, insisting that “corrupt vested interests” at the Chosun Ilbo newspaper are trying to “undermine the administration.” Even after allegations that Woo used a borrowed name to acquire land in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, raising strong suspicions of a false property registration, the Blue House has consistently played dumb.
[Park Geun-hye] [Hell Joseon] [Corruption]
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S. Korea says high-ranking North Korean officials were executed or disciplined
Posted on : Sep.1,2016 16:41 KST
Rare announcement is an apparent attempt by Seoul to tie defections to Kim Jong-un’s politics of terror and caused by discontent with Kim’s regime
Kim Yong-jin, North Korea’s vice premier of education
The South Korean government announced on Aug. 31 that Kim Yong-jin, 63, North Korea’s vice premier of education, had been executed, and that Kim Yong-chol, 71, director of the United Front Department of the Korean Workers’ Party (KWP), had been sent to a reeducation camp. Choe Hwi, 61, a vice department director of the Propaganda and Agitation Department, is currently at such a reeducation camp, Seoul reported.
“These are facts that the government has confirmed through a number of channels,” Unification Ministry spokesperson Jeong Joon-hee said during the regular press briefing on Wednesday morning.
When asked about the reasons for and timing of the execution, Jeong declined to comment. “I am unable to go on the record here about detailed intelligence matters,” he said.
[Execution] [Canard]
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N. Korea human rights law disputed
By Yi Whan-woo
A new law aimed at protecting human rights in North Korea is embroiled in a dispute over excluding North Koreans who have defected to third countries as its beneficiaries.
Critics said Wednesday that the law, which will take effect on Monday, should be revised and the scope of beneficiaries should be broadened at the earliest date.
They cited Article 3 of the law that defined its targeted beneficiaries as "Those who live on the northern side of the Military Demarcation Line and have families, spouses, jobs and other basis for living there."
[Human rights] [Softwar]
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