ROK and Inter-Korean relations
July 2017
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N.Korea Snubs Old Partner Hyundai Group
By Kim Myong-song
July 28, 2017 12:53
North Korea on Thursday declined a request from its old South Korean business partner Hyundai Group to visit and commemorate the late company chairman Chung Mong-hun.
The North's Asia-Pacific Peace Committee, an agency dealing with contacts with South Korea, notified Hyundai of the decision by fax. This is the first time the North has rejected Hyundai's request for a memorial service for Chung, who killed himself by jumping out of a window in 2003.
Hyundai executives led by his widow have held a memorial service at the North's Mt. Kumgang resort, which used to be run by subsidiary Hyundai Asan, almost every year since. But last year Hyundai did not make a request because inter-Korean relations were in the freezer after the North's latest nuclear test and the closure of the joint Korean Kaesong Industrial Complex.
Hyundai Group is a separate offshoot of the original conglomerate than the more famous Hyundai Motor.
Hyundai Asan applied for permission to visit the North to the Unification Ministry here on July 19. Two days later, it called and e-mailed the Beijing office of the North Korean committee to say it wants to hold the memorial service at Mt. Kumgang on Aug. 4. The North acknowledged receipt and promised to convey the request to the authorities.
Pyongyang has also snubbed other overtures from the new administration in Seoul and South Korean civic groups in recent weeks.
Hyundai Asan has traditionally served as a bellwether and messenger in contacts with the North, but this time there is clearly no appetite for renewed exchanges.
"Pyongyang is currently in hardline mode against Washington over the nuclear and missile issue and only interested in pressuring Seoul into suspending joint military drills with the U.S.," said Prof. Nam Sung-wook of Korea University.
[NK SK policy] [Response] [Hyundai] [Kumgangsan]
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North Korea with no missile test and still no response on military talks proposal
Posted on : Jul.28,2017 17:12 KST Modified on : Jul.28,2017 17:12 KST
North Korean soldiers watch representatives of countries who fought on the South’s side in the Korean War, during a ceremony to mark the 64th anniversary of the signing of the Armistice Agreement, at Panmunjeom, July 27. (pool photo)
Seoul still urging Pyongyang to respond positively to efforts to improve inter-Korean relations
Even on July 27, the date that South Korean President Moon Jae-in had proposed as the timing for suspending mutual hostilities along the military demarcation line, North Korea had not made any reaction to Seoul’s offer for military talks. Neither did the North test launch a ballistic missile, as some had feared. Faced with Pyongyang’s silence, Seoul must keep waiting indefinitely.
When asked by a reporter during the regular press briefing on July 27 whether the government’s proposal for inter-Korean military talks would still be valid even after the anniversary of the armistice agreement, which fell on that day, Defense Ministry spokesperson Moon Sang-gyun only gave a generic response, remarking that “the government’s sincerity and commitment to dialogue remain unchanged.” While this was not a definite answer, the Defense Ministry could still engage in dialogue whenever it may receive an affirmative response from the North.
“We haven’t stopped urging North Korea to respond positively to our proposal for inter-Korean military talks and to the Berlin Declaration, which is designed to bring peace to the Korean Peninsula and to relieve military tensions,” Moon added. “The government will not get hung up on North Korea’s response but will keep working toward establishing inter-Korean peace and relaxing military tensions.”
North Korea did not test launch a ballistic missile on July 27. “There are no signs of an imminent [ballistic missile] launch,” said Noh Jae-cheon, public relations officer for South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff. When asked about US media reports claiming that North Korea had carried out a missile ejection test near Sinpo in South Hamgyong Province, Noh said he “cannot confirm those details.” The forecast for the day by the World Meteorological Organization shows that North Pyongyan Province, where North Korea launched the Hwasung-14 ICBM, will be facing monsoon rains through the weekend. Since ballistic missile launches are sensitive to weather conditions, this suggests that the launch will not happen through this weekend at least.
[Missile test] [SK NK relations] [Response]
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NIS to abolish office for domestic intelligence collection as part of its reform
Posted on : Jul.27,2017 18:19 KST Modified on : Jul.27,2017 18:19 KST
Intelligence agency has misused these offices to monitor members of the public, will now focus on original area of espionage
On July 26, the commission for reforming and improving the National Intelligence Service (NIS) decided to abolish the agency‘s bureaus of collection and analysis, which are the departments responsible for intelligence on trends inside South Korea. This decision is significant in that it brings an end to intelligence collection that exceeded the bounds of the responsibilities detailed in the National Intelligence Service Act.
The NIS has used domestic “information officers” assigned to government agencies, major institutions and organizations and the media to collect intelligence about domestic trends. While this overstepped the bounds of security information that the National Intelligence Service Act authorizes the agency to collect (namely, information that is designed to counter North Korean agents, efforts to overthrow the government, espionage, terrorism and international crime rings), the NIS relied on its bylaws to justify this legally dubious collection of intelligence about domestic trends. The intelligence about domestic trends that was collected on such a broad basis could be exploited at any time to monitor politicians and members of the private sector.
[NIS]
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Moon meets business leaders over beers
Posted : 2017-07-27 18:01
Updated : 2017-07-27 22:18
President Moon Jae-in discusses business issues with leaders of the country's top companies among others over beer at Cheong Wa Dae, Thursday. From left are Doosan Chairman Park Jung-won, Hanwha Vice Chairman Keum Chun-soo, Hyundai Motor Vice Chairman Chung Eui-sun, Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chairman Park Yong-maan, Moon, LG Vice Chairman Koo Bon-joon, CJ Chairman Sohn Kyung-shik, POSCO Chairman Kwon Oh-joon, Ottogi Chairman Ham Young-joon, Shinsegae Vice Chairman Chung Yong-jin and Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon. / Yonhap
By Kim Rahn
President Moon Jae-in discussed job creation and other key business issues with leaders of top conglomerates over beers at Cheong Wa Dae, Thursday ? the first gathering between Moon and the chaebol heads since his inauguration in May.
The rare event involving alcohol came at the President's suggestion to create a casual atmosphere where the participants, wearing no ties, could talk candidly, free from formalities.
This was the first round of meetings with eight company heads, with the second round due today with another seven.
The participants in the Thursday meeting were Hyundai Motor Vice Chairman Chung Eui-sun, LG Vice Chairman Koo Bon-joon, POSCO Chairman Kwon Oh-joon, Hanwha Vice Chairman Keum Chun-soo, Shinsegae Vice Chairman Chung Yong-jin, Doosan Chairman Park Jung-won, CJ Chairman Sohn Kyung-shik and Ottogi Chairman Ham Young-joon. Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chairman Park Yong-maan also joined the gathering.
[Moon Jae-in] [Chaebol]
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When Will S.Koreans Wake up to the N.Korean Nuclear Threat?
July 26, 2017 13:06
The U.S. state of Hawaii has decided to resume evacuation drills every month starting in November in case of a North Korean missile attack. The drills are based on the assumption that a 15 kt nuclear weapon detonates 300 m above Honolulu. They could put a dampener on the state's crucial tourism revenues, but authorities said they are necessary all the same.
Although state authorities said an attack is "a low probability," they added, "We have to keep a lookout for that. That's why we're talking about updating the plan. It's an awakening." The U.S. is taking the threat of a North Korean intercontinental ballistic missile extremely seriously.
But South Korea remains blasé. There was a news report that Seoul opposed labeling the North Korean missile an ICBM in a joint letter penned by the leaders of South Korea, the U.S. and Japan condemning the launch.
[Hysteria] [Conservatives] [Threat]
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Revealed text messages Samsung seeking favors from the NIS
Posted on : Jul.26,2017 18:00 KST Modified on : Jul.26,2017 18:00 KST
It would be illegal for a state intelligence agency to share information with a private enterprise
On July 25, the investigative team of Special Prosecutor Park Young-soo made public a large number of text messages found on the mobile phone of Jang Choong-gi, former head of Samsung’s Future Strategy Office. The messages were released in the trial of Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, which is being held by the 27th criminal division of the Seoul Central District Court. Jang was the person in charge of government lobbying for the Samsung Group. These text messages illustrate the overall way that Samsung handled the National Assembly, the National Intelligence Service (NIS) and other parts of the government.
[NIS] [Samsung]
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Loudspeaker broadcasts to continue with no North Korean response to military talks offer
Posted on : Jul.26,2017 17:28 KST Modified on : Jul.26,2017 17:28 KST
Propaganda loudspeakers installed in the Demilitarized Zone
The proposal for talks will remain valid until July 27, and ‘hostile activity’ will continue if North Korea doesn’t accept
With North Korea ignoring a South Korean proposal for inter-Korean military talks, South Korea’s Defense Ministry announced on July 25 that it did not intend to halt hostile activity, including loudspeakers that blare propaganda into North Korea.
When asked during the press briefing whether the South Korean military was willing to preemptively suspend hostile activity if North Korea did not respond to the proposal for military talks, Defense Ministry spokesperson Moon Sang-gyun flatly said that “there are no such plans.” The Defense Ministry proposed holding inter-Korean military talks on July 21 in line with President Moon Jae-in’s Berlin Declaration, in which he proposed halting hostile activity on the demilitarized zone (DMZ) by July 27, the anniversary of the signing of the armistice agreement. After North Korea failed to make any response to this proposal, the Defense Ministry stated once again that the proposal for inter-Korean military talks would remain valid until July 27.
[Moon Jae-in] [SK NK policy] [Talks]
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N. Koreans seeking to return home pin hopes on Moon government
Posted : 2017-07-26 17:19
Updated : 2017-07-26 21:37
Kim Ryen-hui speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at its office in Seoul, Friday. Kim, who claims she was deceived into coming to South Korea, is calling to be sent back to her hometown of Pyongyang. / Korea Times photo Shim Hyun-chul
By Kim Bo-eun
Kim Ryen-hui, 48, has never been more hopeful that she will finally have her wish to return "home" to North Korea granted than now, since she first set foot in South Korea in 2011.
"I am living day by day with the hope of good news," Kim said in a recent interview with The Korea Times.
The "title" on her name card is "Pyongyang resident," and together with her Seoul address it also bears her home address in Pyongyang where her husband and daughter live.
"President Moon Jae-in was a human rights lawyer. I believe he is pushing for the resumption of separated family reunions to grant people their basic rights," she said. "If he considers the pain of separated families, he would not let situations like mine continue."
[Divided families] [Return] Moon Jae-in]
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Egypt interested in buying K-9 howitzer
Posted : 2017-07-26 17:06
Updated : 2017-07-26 18:03
By Jun Ji-hye
Korea's K-9 self-propelled howitzers will go through performance evaluation tests in Egypt later this month, sources said Wednesday, indicating negotiations over their possible export are ongoing.
"A K-9 Thunder howitzer has arrived in Egypt," a source told Yonhap News Agency. "Test-firing will take place at the end of the month at a range located west of Cairo."
In June 2016, defense officials here told reporters that Hanwha Techwin, the manufacturer of the K-9 howitzer, was in talks with at least seven countries in Asia, Europe and Africa over exporting the artillery piece. At the time, they did not reveal the names of the countries, citing confidentiality obligations.
[Arms sales]
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'Im Ji-hyun voluntarily returned to N. Korea'
Posted : 2017-07-26 15:54
Updated : 2017-07-26 19:00
Im Ji-hyun, a former defector who re-entered the North, testifies against South Korea in a video released by Pyongyang's propaganda website Uriminzokkiri on July 9. The video introduced her as Jeon Hye-sung, who returned to North Korea after suffering in the South. / Yonhap
By Choi Ha-young
Former North Korean defector Im Ji-hyun, who bewildered South Koreans by appearing recently in a Pyongyang propaganda video blasting Seoul, returned home on her own, an ex-boyfriend said, dismissing rumors of an abduction.
South Korean media outlet No Cut News reported Wednesday that Im told her boyfriend, who requested to be identified as "K," that she would like to return to the North.
"When dating me, she used to tell me that she will go back home to reunite with her family members there if we broke up," K said. Two days after they broke up in late March, Im messaged him: "I will go back to the North. Take care."
Along with the text message, she sent a picture of her short haircut, which implied her determination to leave the South. Some netizens speculated that her hairstyle was evidence of torture in the totalitarian state after being kidnapped in China, but this may be untrue.
[Defector] [Return]
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New transcripts reveal the extent of NIS’s meddling in elections
Posted on : Jul.25,2017 17:01 KST Modified on : Jul.25,2017 17:01 KST
Prosecutors seeking four years in prison for former director, who acted as previous government’s lackey
After many twists and turns, transcripts clearly showing that the National Intelligence Service (NIS), South Korea’s main intelligence agency, blatantly meddled in elections and engaged in psychological operations, both online and offline during the tenure of former NIS Director Won Sei-hoon, were abruptly made public on the final day of Won’s retrial. The transcripts had played a crucial role in convicting Won of meddling in the election, but the Supreme Court under President Park Geun-hye did not admit them as evidence. It remains to be seen whether the transcripts will now serve as key evidence for proving the charges against Won.
In the final hearing of Won‘s retrial, held on July 24 at the 7th criminal division of Seoul High Court (with Justice Kim Dae-woong presiding), prosecutors released the transcripts of meetings with all NIS department heads chaired by Won. The transcripts of the meetings that Won chaired from his appointment in Feb. 2009 until 2012 were submitted to the court after Won was indicted in 2013, but at the time the NIS redacted key passages from those transcripts for security reasons. The transcripts released on July 24 were submitted to prosecutors after being restored by a task force for uprooting chronic problems at the NIS, which was set up by the new Moon Jae-in administration.
[NIS] [Election] [Moon Jae-in]
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Will ex-President Lee Myung-bak face investigation?
Posted : 2017-07-25 16:34
Updated : 2017-07-25 18:45
By Kim Rahn
Former President Lee Myung-bak
Former President Lee Myung-bak may face investigation for possible involvement in the spy agency's election-meddling scandal in 2012.
New evidence submitted Monday at the trial of former National Intelligence Service (NIS) chief Won Sei-hoon pointed to the spy agency's active attempts to intervene in politics and elections and to control the media. Critics say such activity would have been impossible without orders from former President Lee.
Rep. Hong Ihk-pyo of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) called for an investigation into Lee, saying that the evidence indicated that the NIS carried out political maneuvering under his administration. He said that such activities were a clear violation of the Election Law and the law on the NIS which requires the agency to stay politically neutral.
"The NIS is a key organization that receives and follows the president's orders," Hong said. "The prosecution should investigate what secret directions and agreements were made between Lee and Won, whether Lee was aware of the spy agency's political meddling, and exactly what role Lee played in the scandal. It is not an issue that should end by accusing only Won."
[NIS] [Lee-Myung-bak] [Election]
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[Roundtable] N. Korea crosses red line, now into red zone
Posted : 2017-07-25 17:33
Updated : 2017-07-25 18:38
What President needs for foreign policy
The latest Korea Times Roundtable last week was planned to deal with the aftermath of President Moon Jae-in's whirlwind diplomacy but ended up diverging into why Korea is not assertive enough on the international stage. The reasons are obvious ? a middle power sandwiched by big powers with competing interests. We tried to go beneath and beyond those obvious ones and came up with four columns ? real reasons for China's fears, encouragement for Korea to take the lead, the U.S. vis-à-vis North Korea relationship and why Korea needs to be fainthearted for its own sake. ? ED.
Participants pose before the start of The Korea Times Roundtable on the subject of the aftermath of President Moon Jae-in's recent whirlwind diplomacy at the Times' conference room last week. From left
are peace movement leader Lakhvinder Singh; Emanuel Yi Pastreich, critic on a wide range of issues; Chung Ji-woo, a Korean-Canadian NGO representative who participated as observer; North Korean
refugee-assistance NGO leader Casey Lartigue Jr.; China expert Lee Seong-hyon; and Oh Young-jin, the Times' chief editorial writer. / By Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul
By Lee Seong-hyon
For the first time, there is a real danger with North Korea. It is no longer a game. South Korea should not be complacent. On the surface, the most important outcome of the summit between President Moon Jae-in and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump was that the U.S. offered its support for South Korea to "take the lead" in dealing with North Korea; the unspoken real meaning was that the U.S. must not carry out preemptive military operations on North Korea without the prior full consultation and full consent from South Korea.
[SK US] [SK NK policy]
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For South Koreans, THAAD isn’t about the United States, China, or even North Korea…it’s about Park Geun-hye
by Jenna Gibson
Jenna Gibson (jg@keia.org) is director of communications at the Korea Economic Institute of America (KEI). Follow her on Twitter at @jennargibson.
On June 7, South Korean President Moon Jae-in announced that he was pausing deployment of the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile system in the southeastern city of Seongju until a full environmental review of the system was concluded. At the time, two THAAD launchers were in place and operational in Korea. Moon’s announcement suspended deployment of four more launchers that would complete the system.
[THAAD] [Park Geun-hye]
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Police track 900 defectors from N.Korea
Posted : 2017-07-24 17:04
Updated : 2017-07-24 20:31
By Kim Se-jeong
In the wake of a famous North Korean defector's return home, police are tracking down 900 defectors whose whereabouts in Korea are unclear.
The National Policy Agency said it instructed intelligence officers to step up their efforts to prevent defectors from going back.
[Refugee reception] [Return]
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Why North Korea is rejecting talks with South Korea
There is no reason for the North to hold talks with the South since Pyongyang has no need for what Seoul is offering at this time
By Robert E. McCoy July 24, 2017 12:10 PM (UTC+8)
The news that North Korea has asked Seoul for US$6 million to fund a census might be viewed as a thaw in Pyongyang’s freeze on holding discussions with the South. That would be wrong.
It is the South that has been actively seeking talks with the North, offering to hold discussions with Pyongyang’s military and to negotiate over families separated by the Korean War.
That Pyongyang has declined to engage can be understood by considering what benefits would accrue to North Korea from such discussions.
A starting point might be the need for food relief because of the current drought. But since aid is forthcoming from Russia, and NGOs along with other relief agencies sure to jump in with additional no-strings-attached aid, no talks on that subject are needed.
Then there is the need for petroleum products, but China has that covered — Beijing is not about to let Pyongyang collapse.
It could be argued that talks may lead to relief from sanctions, but there is no likelihood the sanctions will end any time soon, and they don’t seem to be having much of an effect anyway, according to recent reports that the North’s economy actually grew last year.
From Pyongyang’s perspective, it’s in a tolerable position with very little need to seek anything from Seoul.
[NK SK policy] [Negotiations]
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[Editorial] Hope that North Korea takes a broad-minded approach to South’s dialogue overture
Posted on : Jul.22,2017 16:42 KST Modified on : Jul.22,2017 16:42 KST
Vice Defense Minister Suh Choo-suk proposes military talks with North Korea, at the Ministry of National Defense in Seoul’s Yongsan District, July 17. (Yonhap News)
As of July 21, the date when South Korea’s new government had proposed holding military talks with North Korea, the North had not made any response. On July 6, South Korean President Moon Jae-in suggested in Berlin that the two sides halt all hostile activity that increases military tensions on the military demarcation line by July 27, which marks the 64th anniversary of the armistice agreement. And then as a follow-up measure on July 17, Seoul proposed holding inter-Korean military talks on July 21 and Red Cross talks on Aug. 1 to arrange reunions for families divided by the Korean War.
It is really unfortunate that North Korea has not made any response to the proposals for the military talks and for the Red Cross talks. Even if only in the interest of relaxing tensions on the Korean Peninsula and out of respect for the divided families’ fervent appeal, we hope that North Korea will adopt a broad-minded stance.
[SK NK Negotiations] [Divided families]
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Gov't begins internal talks on peace treaty
Posted : 2017-07-23 16:48
Updated : 2017-07-23 17:26
By Yi Whan-woo
The Moon Jae-in administration has begun internal discussions on whether it is possible to replace the 1950-53 Korean War armistice with a peace treaty, sources said Sunday.
The talks follow a proposal from a presidential advisory panel -- the administration's de-facto transition committee -- that Moon lay the groundwork for peace on the Korean Peninsula.
Sources said the Office of the Korean Peninsula and Security Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will lead the discussions.
As part of a five-year policy roadmap, the committee said it was necessary to forge an agreement with North Korea on its complete denuclearization by 2020, President Moon's fourth year in office.
The committee also advised offering help to the North in freezing its nuclear program in advance; while signing a peace treaty when the program enters "the final phase for complete denuclearization."
"The government should work closely with the United States and maintain international cooperation to reach its joint goals of denuclearization and peace," a source said.
The formal ending of the war will be impossible should North Korea keep its nuclear program.
However, critics say the Moon government is taking an unrealistic approach to resolve the nuclear issue when the North is refusing all proposals for dialogue from the South, and the U.S. is strengthening sanctions against it.
They said Pyongyang appears to be unwilling to engage in dialogue and Washington seems to be against accelerating inter-Korean dialogue without its consent.
[Peace treaty] [Self delusion]
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South Korea reiterates proposal for military talks with North Korea
Posted on : Jul.22,2017 17:03 KST Modified on : Jul.22,2017 17:03 KST
Ministry of National Defense spokesperson Moon Sang-kyun announce the ministry’s position on North Korea’s lack of response to proposed military talks, during a briefing at the Ministry in Seoul’s Yongsan District, July 21. (Yonhap News)
Pyongyang has yet to respond to offer; current proposal will be valid until July 27
The South Korean government sent a message on July 21 reiterating its calls for Pyongyang to agree to inter-Korean military talks, after previously proposed talks fell through amid North Korea’s failure to respond.
In a “Ministry of National Defense position on the inter-Korean military authority talks proposal” issued on July 21, ministry spokesperson Moon Sang-kyun said, “As the North has presently not stated its position, the holding of talks today is effectively impossible.”
Moon went on to stress that “reducing military tensions between South and North and restoring dialogue channels in the military area is an extremely urgent matter for the stability of the Korean Peninsula.”
“The Ministry of National Defense once again urges the North to quickly agree to our proposal and come out [for talks],” he said.
[SK NK Negotiations] [Wishful thinking]
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N.Korea Ignores Proposal of Military Talks
By Lee Yong-soo, Kim Myong-song
July 21, 2017 10:35
North Korea has simply ignored South Korea's offer to hold military talks on Friday. The government here said on Thursday that it has not yet received any answer from the North but will keep waiting for it.
Asked how long, a Unification Ministry official said, "There is no deadline in our intention to resolve problems through dialogue. Once we agree to hold talks, we can always adjust the timing."
Seoul is preparing for a belated response from Pyongyang, which has often been surprisingly coy for such a militant nation and likes to keep its suitors on tenterhooks.
A government official said, "The offer to hold talks on Friday was made because July 27 marks the 64th anniversary of the armistice" that ended fighting in the 1950-53 Korean War, "so there would be no problem if the talks can be held before July 27."
Speaking in Berlin earlier this month, President Moon Jae-in laid out an action plan he described as a "bold journey" for the two Koreas. Based on the Sunshine Policy of rapprochement pursued by the Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun administrations, it includes the resumption of inter-Korean dialogue and the immediate and complete suspension of all hostile activities along the heavily armed border.
Some pundits said North Korea has no interest in Moon’s overtures, while others said Pyongyang may be using delay tactics to exact more concessions from Seoul when negotiations do take place.
[SK NK Negotiations]
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North Korea still with no official response to South’s dialogue offer
Posted on : Jul.21,2017 15:15 KST Modified on : Jul.21,2017 15:15 KST
A North Korean soldier looks across the DMZ to Panmunjeom Peace Village on July 19 in Paju, Gyeonggi Province. (Yonhap News)
Commentary in North Korea’s official newspaper pushes for a change in Seoul’s approach to inter-Korean relations
As of the evening of July 20, one day before the deadline for the inter-Korean military talks that the South Korean government proposed on July 17, North Korea had not made any response. Seoul announced that it had unsuccessfully attempted to make contact with the North through its liaison officers at Panmunjeom peace village, on the South side of the DMZ, on the same day.
“In regard to the military talks, we haven’t gotten a response from North Korea yet. We’re waiting for a positive response from the North,” said Defense Ministry spokesperson Moon Sang-gyun during the press briefing on the afternoon of July 20. Moon also said that South Korea “is always ready to take a call” in case North Korea responds via the military communication lines on the West (Yellow) Sea. If the North chooses not to respond, the South Korean military plans to discuss its course of action with the Unification Ministry.
On the fourth day with no official response from North Korea, the Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of North Korea’s Workers’ Party, ran a political commentary written by one individual in its July 20 edition that criticized the attempts by the South Korean government under President Moon Jae-in to improve inter-Korean relations. “The South Korean government’s talk about improving relations even as it makes clear its attempts to confront its counterparts [North Korea] with open hostility are illogical and can only be seen as an attempt to manipulate public opinion,” said the column, which was titled, “The great unity of the whole Korean nation involves reunification.” This is at odds with another commentary in the July 15 issue of the paper, which picked apart Moon’s Berlin Declaration while praising the new government’s willingness to implement the June 15 Joint Statement and the Oct. 4 Statement. While the previous commentary led analysts to speculate that North Korea was open to the idea of dialogue, this commentary appears to be strongly pushing for change in the Moon administration’s attitude.
[NK SK policy]
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'Koreas should not politicize issue of NK restaurant workers'
By Kim Bo-eun
A United Nations human rights envoy called for the two Koreas to focus on the needs of 12 North Korean restaurant workers who defected to the South from China last year, instead of politicizing the human rights issue.
North Korea, which accused the South of abducting the workers, has demanded their return as a condition for the resumption of separated family reunions.
"I urge the two Koreas to avoid politicizing the situation of these women, and strictly focus on their interests, protection needs and the needs of their families," Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in North Korea said at the Seoul Global Center, Friday.
He made the remarks at a press conference held on the final day of a five-day visit to Seoul, marking the launch of the Moon Jae-in administration in May.
[Election defection] [Abductees] [UNUS] [False balance]
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South Korea Has Pride, the People’s Party Has a Scandal: #Shigak no. 49
By Sino-NK | July 21, 2017 | No Comments This installment of #Shigak explores the two most popular political stories from the conservative and progressive Twittersphere between 7/15 and 7/20. 1) An investigation into illegal election activities carried out by members of the center-left People’s Party. And 2) interviews with prominent religious figures who support LGBT rights in Korea.
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Police Investigate Celebrity Defector Who Returned to N.Korea
July 20, 2017 09:27
South Korean authorities are investigating how a famous North Korean defector returned to the North.
Jeon Hye-sung, or Lim Ji-hyun as she was known by in South Korea, appeared on a North Korean propaganda video online over the weekend where she denounced life in the South.
She defected to South Korea in 2014 and quickly became a minor celebrity, making regular appearances on TV shows about defectors.
Amid rumors that she was abducted by the regime while visiting China in April, police said they are looking into the details of how she returned to North Korea, and whether she did anything that might have violated national security laws.
[Defector] [Return]
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Pres. Moon’s governance plan lays out implementation of chaebol reform
Posted on : Jul.20,2017 17:39 KST Modified on : Jul.20,2017 17:39 KST
Fair Trade Commission Chairman Kim Sang-jo speaks at a ceremony marking his appointment, at the Blue House in Seoul, May 17. (Yonhap News)
FTC committed to reining in improper transfer of management rights and chaebol families funneling work to affiliates
The chaebol reform policies listed in the administration’s “100 governance tasks” are focused on concrete implementation of the pledges Moon Jae-in has been emphasizing since his he ran for president. Particularly evident are its commitment to having the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) under Chairman Kim Sang-jo closely monitor the use of improper means to transfer management rights and the practice of funneling (defrauding private interest) by the families of chaebol owners.
In its five-year governance plan for the Moon administration announced on July 19, the Planning and Advisory Committee said it would be “introducing a multiple representative litigation system by 2018 allowing parent company shareholders to file suit against affiliate officials involved in illegal acts to prevent chaebol-owning families from exerting influence however they see fit” and “mandating the use of electronic voting systems that allow the exercising of voting rights online or through other means without attending shareholder meetings.” The administration also plans to require a “concentrated voting system” to protect the rights of small shareholders, allowing votes to be concentrated on a single candidate or spread out across several candidate once voting rights equivalent to the number of directors to be appointed at a shareholder meeting have been acquired.
[Moon Jae-in] [Chaebol]
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[Editorial] Moon administration moving toward realizing the candlelight revolution’s spirit
Posted on : Jul.20,2017 17:37 KST Modified on : Jul.20,2017 17:37 KST
President Moon Jae-in makes a speech at a national governance tasks reporting meeting at the Blue House in Seoul, July 19. (Blue House photo pool)
The Moon Jae-in administration’s blueprint for governance has been released. The Planning and Advisory Committee, which is Moon’s equivalent of a transitional committee, announced a five-year governance plan on July 19 with President Moon in attendance. It also presented a national vision, five governance goals, and 100 governance tasks, along with the financial resources measures and legislative plans needed to bring them to fruition. It’s laudable to see how actively the candle-holding public‘s historical demands for the administration were incorporated into its governance roadmap, despite the short election campaign period and lack of adequate preparations before taking power.
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ASEAN urged to curb N. Korea's illicit trade
Posted : 2017-07-20 17:08
Updated : 2017-07-20 17:59
????
Pyongyang relies on Southeast Asian nations to evade sanctions
By Kim Jae-kyoung
SINGAPORE ? ASEAN should play a bigger role in reining in North Korea by cracking down on its illicit trade and activities in their countries, experts said Thursday.
They said beyond China and Russia, some ASEAN nations provide a lifeline to North Korea as they are becoming a source for the isolated state to evade sanctions and earn hard currency.
"All ASEAN countries, except for Malaysia after the Kim Jong-nam assassination, still maintain friendly relations with North Korea to varying degrees," Hoang Thi Ha, lead researcher at the ASEAN Studies Center at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore, told The Korea Time
[Sanctions]
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N.Korea remains silent over proposal for military talks
Posted : 2017-07-20 16:39
Updated : 2017-07-20 22:02
By Yi Whan-woo
North Korea remained silent as of 10 p.m. Thursday on South Korea's offer to hold joint military talks at the border today, according to government officials.
"We have not heard from the North yet concerning the military talks. We're still waiting (for its reply)," Ministry of National Defense spokesman Moon Sang-gyun told reporters.
This suggests that North Korean decision-makers may be in a heated debate over whether to accept the South's proposal.
Some officials here said Seoul should be patient in resuming dialogue with Pyongyang in a follow-up to President Moon Jae-in's peace overture made in his speech in Berlin early in July.
The government offered to hold a military dialogue Monday, as a first step to lay the groundwork for Moon's peace initiative.
Seoul is also awaiting Pyongyang's response on its proposal to hold joint Red Cross talks Aug. 1 for a possible reunion of family members separated by the 1950-53 Korean War.
Spokesman Moon said the defense ministry has been consulting with relevant ministries on whether the military talks can be rescheduled if the North gives a response.
"We're making sure to prepare for the talks without any setbacks at the working-level," he said. "The military communication line on our side is open and we're ready to respond at any time."
[SK NK Negotiations]
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Where are the bodies buried in North Korea? Investigators try to prepare for future trials.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, right, arrives at an opening ceremony for a new housing development in Pyongyang on April 13. (Ed Jones/AFP/Getty Images)
By Anna Fifield July 18 at 9:29 PM
SEOUL — Efforts to hold the Kim regime accountable for decades of brutality against the North Korean people have so far amounted to little, but that isn’t stopping human rights activists from trying to document the abuses.
The latest effort is an ambitious project by the Seoul-based Transitional Justice Working Group that aims to map sites of mass killings and mass burials in North Korea so that — one day — evidence can be collected and the regime can be held responsible.
“Victim testimony was often given a limited place in previous hearings, like those on the former Yugoslavia and on the Holocaust,” said Sarah Son, one of the authors of the mapping report, which will be published Wednesday. “But location-based data provides a bigger picture on patterns of abuse within a country.”
[Criminalisation] [Takeover]
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Experts say Seoul should be patient and proactive in restoring inter-Korean relations
Posted on : Jul.19,2017 16:31 KST Modified on : Jul.19,2017 16:31 KST
President Moon Jae-in makes introductory remarks at a luncheon with Song Young-moo and Han Min-koo, current and former Minister of National Defense, respectively, at the Blue House on July 18. Moon said, “The new government is seeking dialogue with North Korea, but that is meaningless if it is not based on overwhelming national defense strength.” He added that he plans to increase defense spending from its current 2.4% of GDP to 2.9%. (Blue House photo pool)
North Korea has not yet responded to offer for military and Red Cross talks, and South Korea now must wait calmly
In regard to Seoul’s simultaneous proposals for military talks and Red Cross talks with North Korea on July 17, experts on July 18 said that this was not a time to rush but to calmly wait and prepare. In particular, it’s only when the government demonstrates its willingness to restore inter-Korean relations not only through words but also through actions that the North is likely to engage in inter-Korean dialogue on friendly terms, these experts said.
Wait calmly for now
[SK NK negotiations]
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Moon unveils five-year policy roadmap
Posted : 2017-07-19 17:02
Updated : 2017-07-19 19:01
Planning committee presents 100 tasks for construction of new Korea
By Kim Rahn
The Moon Jae-in administration unveiled its policy roadmap for his five-year presidency Wednesday.
With a state management philosophy of "The People's country, just the Republic of Korea," the new government's policies will be carried out based on the principles of reflecting citizens' opinions in state affairs, and providing a just and fair economic and social system, according to the presidential advisory committee.
The State Affairs Planning Advisory Committee, the de facto transition team for the Moon administration which was inaugurated without a transition period, presented 100 tasks under five main policy goals, each dedicated to political reform, a fair economic system, expanded welfare, balanced regional development and peace on the Korean Peninsula.
Moon said the new government will succeed the spirit of the candlelit protests that removed former President Park Geun-hye from power over a massive corruption scandal.
"We'll make a people's country where citizens are treated as owners, and make a just Republic of Korea where all privileges, unfairness, discrimination and disparity are eradicated," the President said at the committee's presentation of the agenda.
[Moon Jae-in]
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[News analysis] Pres. Moon setting his N. Korea policy with proposal for talks
Posted on : Jul.18,2017 17:06 KST Modified on : Jul.18,2017 17:06 KST
Vice Defense Minister Suh Choo-suk proposes military talks with North Korea, at the Ministry of National Defense in Seoul’s Yongsan District, July 17. (Yonhap News)
Military and Red Cross talks would be a step toward reestablishing inter-Korean communication, and building trust
On July 17, the government of President Moon Jae-in proposed holding inter-Korean military talks to halt hostile activity on the military demarcation line, and Red Cross talks to organize a reunion of families divided by the Korean War. Significantly, Seoul proposed talks to Pyongyang without making any of the stipulations that Moon had previously made, such as waiting for the right conditions or insisting that North Korea halt its provocations and show its willingness to denuclearize. Coming 11 days after Moon unveiled his “Berlin Declaration” in Germany on July 6 as a blueprint for his North Korean policy, the proposals appear to reflect the government‘s resolve to simultaneously resolve the North Korean nuclear issue and restore inter-Korean relations in an attempt to relax tensions and bring peace to the Korean Peninsula.
The government also paid a great deal of attention to the format of the announcement of its proposal to North Korea. At 9 am on July 17, Vice Defense Minister Suh Choo-suk sent a statement (“A Proposal to Hold Inter-Korean Military Talks to Halt All Hostile Activity at the Military Demarcation Line”) to North Korea that proposed holding inter-Korean military talks at Tongilgak (the Unification Building), located on the North Korean side of Panmunjeom, on July 21. At the same time, Kim Seon-hyang, acting president of the Korean Red Cross, proposed holding Red Cross talks at the Peace House on the South Korean side of Panmunjeom on Aug. 1. The goal of the talks would be to organize reunions for divided families and visits to their ancestral graves on Oct. 4, which is not only Chuseok (the Korean harvest festival) but also the 10th anniversary of the Oct. 4 Summit Declaration.
[Moon Jae-in] [SK NK policy]
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Seoul Seems Hell-Bent on Being Duped Again by N.Korea
July 18, 2017 13:14
The government on Monday asked North Korea for talks between military and Red Cross officials. The Defense Ministry proposed talks on Friday to discuss halting provocations to mark the 64th anniversary of the armistice that ended the Korean War, and the Red Cross wants to discuss the resumption of reunions between family members separated by the war.
Contact between the two Koreas has been suspended since December 2015, and of course some kind of cross-border communication needs to resume. But is this the right time, and is begging the way to go about it? Since North Korea announced it succeeded in launching an intercontinental ballistic missile earlier this month, the UN has been discussing tougher sanctions. The U.S plans a secondary boycott that imposes tough sanctions on companies in third countries that do business with the North. Hasty inter-Korean talks could undermine efforts by the international community to bring the renegade regime to heel. President Moon Jae-in promised his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump to cooperate closely, but it seems unlikely that the U.S. is suddenly behind South Korea's latest peace overtures.
If military talks do take place, Pyongyang will undoubtedly be demanding a halt to U.S.-South Korean military drills, and it will also ask for an end to propaganda broadcasts across the border that seem to be effective in damaging morale among North Korean soldiers. These are precisely the kinds of demands that foment divisions in South Korea between hawks and doves, and they are bound to work their evil magic again.
[SK NK policy] [Hawk] [Conservative]
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Neighborhood Ajummas, Fabricated Smears: #Shigak no. 48
by Sino-NK
This edition of #Shigak, the last under the existing format that has served Sino-NK so well since February 2014, covers the decline and decline of the People's Party, the apparent solidity of the "blood relationship" between China and North Korea, and Moon Jae-in's hopes for inter-Korean relations. Oh, and a hint of what is to come in future editions of #Shigak. Watch this space!
Analysis of leading conservative and progressive dailies since 07.01 shows top issues: US-DPRK-ROK relations; domestic scandal; labor. #??
— Steven Denney (@StevenDenney86) July 15, 2017
Analysis of tweets since July 1, 2017 from the right-leaning Chosun Ilbo (@Chosun) and the left-leaning Hankyoreh (@hanitweet) shows that inter-state relations between the US, ROK, and DPRK remains salient, not surprising given North Korea's successful test of an ICBM last week. Other salient issues include the scandal rocking Ahn Cheol-soo's people party. There is currently an investigation ongoing into the use of "fabricated evidence" (?? ??) used to smear Moon Jae-in in the run-up to the most recent presidential election.
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Seoul Willing to Pay N.Korea $6 Million for Census
By Kim Myong-song
July 17, 2017 13:16
North Korea has asked the South Korean government for US$6 million through the UN Population Fund to pay for a census next year (US$1=W1,136).
Seoul said it is willing to pay the money, the first time any such request is being considered since the North's last nuclear test carried in January last year. An Unification Ministry official said Friday, "We received a proposal from the UNFPA that asked for US$6 million for the North Korean census. We are reviewing it how and how much to pay."
The request was made by North Korea Vice Foreign Minister Han Song-ryol, who visited the UNFPA office in New York last month.
Seoul believes that the request does not weaken international sanctions and could help increase engagement with the reclusive regime. It believes the fresh census data could be useful in future cooperation between the two Koreas and help it better grasp what life in North Korea is like.
The government also sees it as a good indirect contact at a time when Pyongyang is refusing all official dialogue. The South Korean government has already approved requests from NGOs to visit Pyongyang, but North Korea refused all of them.
An official at a state-funded think tank said, "The Moon Jae-in administration has a firm belief that humanitarian aid through international organizations should continue even at the height of political tensions in the Korean Peninsula."
North Korea plans to run a pilot survey for the census this October. The last census was carried out in 2008 with US$4 million in assistance from the South Korean government that came out of the Inter-Korean Cooperation Fund. The Unification Ministry also provided US$1.3 million from the fund in October 2015 to collect health data, though only US$800,000 was actually spent.
According to the UNFPA, the North Korean population grew from 22.35 million in 2008 to 24.21 million in 2014.
[Census] [UNFPA] [SK NK]
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New Radar to Detect N.Korean Drones
By Lee Yong-soo
July 17, 2017 09:17
South Korea has completed development of a new perimeter or localized air-defense radar that can detect small North Korean drones.
The radar is designed to defend a specific area, military unit or facility from air strikes.
The Defense Acquisition Program Administration said Friday the radar has been in development since 2011 and recently passed combat suitability tests.
Mass production will start next year, and it will first be deployed at Army and Marine units on the northwesternmost islands off the North Korean coast.
The three-dimensional "active electronically scanned array" radar detects drones by radiating beams with hundreds or thousands of transmit/receive modules on a flat panel.
Unlike older mechanical scanning radars, AESA radars are capable of detecting and tracking multiple objects simultaneously. They can be mounted on a vehicle or the nose of a plane.
Several North Korean drones have been found crashed in South Korea recently after spying on military installations.
[Radar] [Drone]
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N.Korean Drone Took Hundreds of Photos of THAAD
June 16, 2017 09:39
The National Intelligence Service said Thursday that a North Korean drone that crashed in South Korea took 551 photos of the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense battery in the southwest as well as military bases in Gangwon Province.
Lee Cheol-woo, the head of the National Assembly's Intelligence Committee, quoted NIS chief Suh Hoon as telling lawmakers in a closed-door meeting that the drone was "a mix of Japanese, Chinese and American" components. "An accurate assessment will be available once computer analysis has been completed," Lee added.
[Drone] [THAAD]
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N.Korean Drone 'Too Small' for S.Korean Radars to Detect
By Lee Yong-soo
June 15, 2017 10:16
Defense Minister Han Min-koo on Wednesday said that a North Korean drone that was found to have spied on the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense battery could have been mounted with "bombs or chemical and biological weapons."
Han made the comments before the Defense Committee at the National Assembly.
"I believe North Korea's aerial surveillance of the THAAD battery shows that it wants to bomb the installation in an emergency situation," Han added.
Crashed North Korean drones are displayed at the Agency for Defense Development in Daejeon on Sunday.
Asked why the drone evaded detection, Han said, "It measures around 2 m, which is the smallest among North Korea's drones and it is too small to be detected by our equipment."
He added, "I believe that is why North Korea used it to spy on our rear defense areas."
[Drone] [Military balance] [Surveillance] [Asymmetry]
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N.Korea Responds Warily to Moon's Peace Overtures
By Kim Myong-song
July 17, 2017 12:47
North Korea on Saturday gave its first official response to President Moon Jae-in's attempts at rapprochement, and it was largely scathing.
The official Rodong Sinmun daily in an editorial said an initiative Moon laid out in Berlin two weeks ago "is riddled with sophistries like sleep talking, which only pose hurdles rather than helping improve North-South relations."
But the daily added, "It is a relief [Moon] takes a different stance from his predecessors and vows to honor the previous inter-Korean declarations," in 2000 and 2007.
Moon's roadmap includes security guarantees as well as economic and diplomatic incentives if the North scraps its nuclear and missile programs, and it rules out the prospect of forced unification.
President Moon Jae-in gives a speech at the Old Town Hall in Berlin on July 6. /Yonhap
But the paper accused South Korea of contradicting itself by pursuing peace while tightening sanctions and called on Seoul to implement "a fundamental shift in policy and stance."
Still, the response was not quite as vociferous as in the recent past. "The level of criticism was weaker than what we feared," a government official here said. "If North Korea was completely uninterested in the Berlin initiative, it would have summed up its response in one word, but it didn't."
Meanwhile, the government on Monday proposed military talks with North Korea this week to discuss halting military provocations along the heavily armed border to mark the 64th anniversary of the armistice on July 27 that ended the Korea War.
If the North agrees to a meeting, it would mark the first official contact between the two sides in a year and seven months.
The Rodong Sinmun editorial said the "first step" the two Koreas need to take is to resolve the political and military standoff. A Unification Ministry official said, "It looks like North Korea has sent us a message opening the doors for military talks."
The Red Cross also proposed an inter-Korean meeting to discuss a reunion of families separated by the Korean War on Chusoek or Korean Thanksgiving Day on Oct. 4.
[NK SK policy] [Moon Jae-in] [Berlin]
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N. Korean defector returns home; lambasts Seoul on propaganda video
Posted : 2017-07-17 16:32
Updated : 2017-07-17 19:02
By Yi Whan-woo
A former North Korean defector who starred on South Korean television shows appeared in a North Korean propaganda video, Sunday, fueling speculation she was kidnapped by the repressive state.
The video, titled "The truth revealed by Jeon Hye-sung who was used for anti-DPRK propaganda," shows the woman depicting a "painful" life in the South after defecting from the North in January 2014 and returning home this June.
Jeon claimed she was forced to criticize the Kim Jong-un regime against her will on South Korean cable TV.
The video was released by the Pyongyang-run Uriminzokkiri propaganda website.
"I viciously slandered and spoke ill of the DPRK as I was told to," Jeon said.
She went by the name Im Ji-hyun here but claimed that was an alias.
"I went to the South, led by fantasy that I could eat well and make a lot of money. But in the country where everything is judged by money, I was haunted by physical and psychological pain although I worked my butt off at bars and other places," she said. "Now I'm in the motherland, staying with my parents in Anju, South Pyongan Province."
Jeon appeared as a guest on "Moranbong Club," a kitsch talk show produced by cable network TV Chosun, from December 2016 to April this year.
She also starred in a reality show, "South Korean Men and North Korean Women," produced by TV Chosun as well.
Intelligence authorities said they are investigating how she re-entered North Korea.
Some North Korean defectors speculated she was abducted by North Korean agents on the China-North Korean border while attempting to help her family members flee their country.
The Uriminzokkiri video features another former North Korean defector, Kim Man-bok, who returned to the North two years ago.
He joined Jeon in criticizing the South, saying "The anti-DPRK TV programs are filled with lies from beginning to end."
[Defector] [Refugee reception] [Returnees]
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Military, Red Cross talks offered to North Korea
Posted : 2017-07-17 15:51
Updated : 2017-07-17 22:15
Moon sets peace initiatives in motion
By Kim Rahn
The Moon Jae-in government has made an official offer for dialogue to North Korea, including inter-Korean military talks and resuming reunions of separated families, as a follow-up measure to the peace overture he proposed in his recent speech in Berlin.
The Ministry of National Defense said Monday the government proposed that the two Koreas hold military talks on reducing tension along the border, July 21, at Tongilgak, a North Korean building in the truce village of Panmunjeom.
"We are requesting Pyongyang to respond to the offer through the disabled inter-Korean military communication line in the western region after restoring it," said Vice Defense Minister Suh Choo-suk.
"In the July 6 speech, the President proposed the two Koreas halt all acts of hostility near the Military Demarcation Line starting July 27, the 64th anniversary of the armistice. This offer is a follow-up measure to his proposal," Suh said.
Regarding the scope of the "acts of hostility," Suh said the government is not specifying this for now but will do so after reviewing Pyongyang's response. "We'll have a comprehensive discussion on the acts," he noted.
If held, this will be the first dialogue between the military authorities of the two Koreas in 33 months since Oct. 15, 2014, when the two sides failed to reach an agreement on reducing military tension, with Pyongyang blaming Seoul for the failure.
The chances of the North accepting the offer seem relatively high, as Pyongyang has also made similar proposals for dialogue to reduce military tension along the border.
In a commentary in its official mouthpiece, the Rodong Sinmun, North Korea said Saturday the first step for the two Koreas to take is to address military confrontation. Pyongyang offered military talks in May last year, but the Park Geun-hye administration turned these down and called for Pyongyang's denuclearization first.
[SK NK Negotiations]
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N. Korea issues guarded response to Moon's peace initiative
North Korea on Saturday issued a guarded response to President Moon Jae-in's latest proposal for cross-border rapprochement, calling it "sophistry" while voicing relief over Seoul's pledge to respect past joint declarations.
In its first reaction to the initiative that Moon announced in Berlin last Thursday, the Rodong Sinmun, the North's main newspaper, made a lengthy point-by-point rebuttal -- rather than a terse rejection -- which a Seoul official said may signal Pyongyang's interest in the proposal.
The newspaper issued its statement in a commentary attributed to the pen name of a private writer, which observers say hints at the reclusive state's efforts to be cautious not to blunt the potential momentum of better inter-Korean ties.
"The overall content, enumerated under the name of peace, carries confrontational intentions to quash its neighbor while relying on foreign forces," the paper said.
"(The initiative) is riddled with sophistries like sleep talking, which only pose hurdles rather than helping improve North-South relations," it added.
[NS SK policy] [Berlin]
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No Evidence N.Korea Used Kaesong Revenues to Build Nukes, Official Claims
By Kim Myong-song
July 14, 2017 12:14
A high-ranking South Korean government official on Thursday claimed there is no evidence that money from the inter-Korean industrial complex in Kaesong was used to finance North Korea's nuclear and missile programs.
South Korea shut down the Kaesong Industrial Complex in February 2016 after a series of North Korean missile tests, but there have been noises from within the new Moon Jae-in administration proposing to reopen it despite the North’s increasing belligerence.
The senior official, who spoke on the customary condition of anonymity for civil servants, told reporters, "I was curious myself and looked into the matter but was unable to confirm these suspicions."
The recently ousted Park Geun-hye administration took the view that the hard currency North Korea earned from skimming off staff wages and rents from the Kaesong complex went straight into nuclear and missile development.
Then-Unification Minister Hong Yong-pyo said in in February of last year, "We've decided to completely suspend operations at the Kaesong Industrial Complex to prevent our investment there from being used to develop nuclear warheads and missiles."
But the official on Thursday said, "I believe there was no evidence to back those comments," though he admitted "some undesirable effects” from "some parts of doing business with North Korea."
He explained that the payment of wages -- which instead of going to the workers went straight into the regime's coffers, often without staff seeing a penny of it -- should be "reconsidered."
[Kaesong] [Deterrence] [Canard]
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Foreign Minister’s straightforward response causes some confusion
Posted on : Jul.12,2017 17:09 KST Modified on : Jul.12,2017 17:09 KST
Ministry officials now trying to pour water on fire caused by Kang’s remarks on Moon administration’s North Korea policy
There are concerns that Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha’s mixed messages regarding the Moon Jae-in administration’s response to the North Korean nuclear missile problem are causing confusion. This is likely because the situation has already been complicated by the fact that the international community’s push for stronger sanctions on North Korea following its test launch of the Hwasong-14 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on July 4 became entangled with the plan President Moon announced in Berlin for restoring inter-Korean relations.
On July 10, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs addressed reporters, explaining Kang’s remarks at a hearing of the National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification of Committee. There were two statements from Kang that the Foreign Ministry provided further explanation for. In response to Liberty Korea Party lawmaker Yoon Sang-hyun’s question on plans for sanctions against North Korea, Kang responded that the government was “currently negotiating a secondary [boycott] option with the US.”
The “secondary boycott” is a US approach to sanctions wherein the sanctions target businesses and banks of third party countries that trade with North Korea. Because it’s likely that such an approach will damage Chinese companies directly, the US cannot afford to be careless in adopting such an approach. Not only is backlash from China inevitable, as a unilateral US policy it’s also an intrinsically sensitive topic for the South Korean government to discuss.
[Kang Kyung-wha] [SK NK policy] [Secondary sanctions]
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[INTERVIEW] Presidential adviser calls for N. Korea to accept dialogue overture
Posted : 2017-07-13 16:44
Updated : 2017-07-13 21:10
Yonsei University professor Moon Chung-in, who is also President Moon Jae-in's special adviser for unification and national security affairs, speaks during a recent interview with The Korea Times in his office at the East Asia Foundation in Seoul. / Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk
By Kim Rahn
North Korea should show flexibility regarding President Moon Jae-in's forward-looking proposals aimed at resuming inter-Korean ties and finding solutions to the nuclear standoff, according to his special security adviser.
"The ball is in Pyongyang's court. Pyongyang needs to make a wise choice," Moon Chung-in, a distinguished professor at Yonsei University, said in an interview, Monday.
The professor, who helped create inter-Korean rapprochement policies under the previous liberal governments, is now serving as a special adviser for unification and national security affairs to President Moon.
"This is a critical time for the two Koreas. President Moon has made an offer to turn the situation around. Pyongyang should grab this opportunity. It has to reciprocate," Moon Chung-in said.
[SK NK policy] [Moon Chung-in] [Self delusion]
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S. Korean, US and Japanese leaders agree to peaceful resolution of N. Korea nuclear issue
Posted on : Jul.8,2017 15:39 KST Modified on : Jul.8,2017 15:39 KST
President Moon Jae-in, US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe move to the banquet hall after taking a commemorative photo at the US consulate general in Hamburg, where they are attending the G-20 Summit, July 6. (Yonhap News)
The three countries sign joint statement calling on China to play a more active role on North Korea, possibly interrupting supplies of crude oil
The leaders of South Korea, the US, and Japan agreed upon a “peaceful resolution without military options” on the North Korean nuclear and missile issues during a dinner at the US Consulate General in Hamburg on the evening of July 6.
The approach includes ruling out military measures such as preemptive strikes on nuclear facilities or the source of missile provocations and stepping up economic sanctions to bring North Korea to the negotiation table.
The “peaceful resolution without military options” was a continuation from the agreement reached at a South Korea-US summit in Washington last month. It’s also a reflection of South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s repeated insistence that the response to North Korea’s nuclear and missile provocations should not have the effect of raising the risk of war on the Korean Peninsula. A joint statement by the three leaders said the solution would involve “working together to . . . achieve the complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in a peaceful manner” and the leaders “stand ready to offer a brighter future for the DPRK if it chooses the right path.”
At the core of the “peaceful manner” is an approach of even tougher economic sanctions and pressure to engage North Korea to change its attitude. The statement explicitly called on the international community to “take measures to reduce economic relations with the DPRK.”
[Wishful thinking]
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South Korea now taking steps to implement Pres. Moon’s vision for inter-Korean exchange
Posted on : Jul.8,2017 15:40 KST Modified on : Jul.8,2017 15:40 KST
President Moon Jae-in gives a speech on the Korean peninsula at old city hall in Berlin, at an event organized by the Körber Foundation, July 6. (Yonhap News)
Preparation could begin for divided family reunions in October, and ceasing of hostile military actions
The South Korean government began work on follow-up measures to implement the vision shared by President Moon Jae-in Berlin on July 6.
“We are working on follow-up measures to implement the various tasks for South and North Korea that the president proposed,” Ministry of Unification deputy spokesperson Lee Yoo-jin said at a regular briefing on July 7.
“My understanding is that working-level Red Cross talks for reunions among divided South and North Korean family members and working-level military talks to halt hostile actions are also under consideration,” Lee said.
Lee also said the sending a special envoy to North Korea “may be pursued if it is deemed necessary to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue and inter-Korean relations.”
[SK NK policy] [Wishful thinking]
http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_editorial/801904.html
[Editorial] The hope that Moon’s Berlin Declaration can spur inter-Korean rapprochement
Posted on : Jul.7,2017 15:54 KST Modified on : Jul.7,2017 15:54 KST
President Moon Jae-in gives a speech on the Korean peninsula at old city hall in Berlin, at an event organized by the Körber Foundation, July 6. (Yonhap News)
On July 6, President Moon revealed the new administration's vision for peace on the Korean Peninsula during a speech he delivered at the Körber Foundation in Berlin. He laid out five policy directions for achieving permanent peace: a return to observing the stipulations of the June 15 Joint Declaration and the October 4 Declaration, denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula that guarantees the security of the North Korean regime, establishment of a system for maintaining permanent peace, drawing a new economic map of the Korean Peninsula, and the pursuit of exchange and cooperation in nonpolitical areas. He also sought to reassure the North Korean regime that the South does not wish for the collapse of North Korea and would not pursue any form of unification by absorption or attempt to achieve reunification by force.
[Moon Jae-in] [SK NK policy] [Self delusion]
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Is there any possibility of an inter-Korean summit?
Posted on : Jul.7,2017 15:58 KST Modified on : Jul.7,2017 15:58 KST
President Moon Jae-in gives a speech on the Korean peninsula at old city hall in Berlin, at an event organized by the Körber Foundation, July 6. (Yonhap News)
In Berlin declaration, President Moon alluded to summit with North Korean leader ‘when conditions are right’
President Moon Jae-in’s suggestion yesterday of a summit between North and South Korea appears to stem from his belief that it is necessary for both leaders to engage in direct dialogue.
In an address in Berlin, President Moon stated that a summit could be held with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ‘when the conditions were right’ and only if it provided an opportunity to put an end to tensions and confrontation on the Korean Peninsula. Moon did not place any limitations on possible topics for a summit, simply stating that all matters of interest to both countries were on the table including the nuclear issue and the signing of a peace treaty. He also hinted at the possibility of a series of meetings, stating that there would be “more than one.” This stands in contrast to the lone inter-Korean summits held during the Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun presidencies (1998-2003 and 2003-08, respectively). “I look forward to hearing North Korea’s decision,” Moon added.
[Moon Jae-in] [Summit] [Wishful thinking]
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'Experts say North Korea unlikely to respond to Pres. Moon’s family reunions offer right away
Posted on : Jul.7,2017 16:00 KST Modified on : Jul.7,2017 16:00 KST
President Moon Jae-in gives a speech on the Korean peninsula at old city hall in Berlin, at an event organized by the Körber Foundation, July 6. (Yonhap News)
North Korea’s aim is still negotiation with the US and recognition as a nuclear power
President Moon Jae-in proposed four tasks for practice in Berlin on July 6, including the holding of divided family reunions on Oct. 4, and the next question is how Pyongyang will respond.
In the past, North Korea has responded to the Moon administration’s attempts to begin improving inter-Korean relations with the resumption of humanitarian aid and other forms of private exchange by stressing that political and military issues need to be resolved first. Moon’s speech is being seen as an attempt to give the North something of an answer to those calls.
“He is talking about stating the Moon Jae-in administration’s political and military vision and beginning with social and cultural exchange,” explained Inje University professor Kim Yeon-chul.
“North Korea may feel it would be justified in answering,” he said.
[Moon Jae-in] [Divided families]
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Ex-People's Party official faces arrest
Posted : 2017-07-09 16:36
Updated : 2017-07-09 21:08
By Lee Kyung-min
The prosecution sought an arrest warrant for former senior People's Party official Lee Jun-seo, Sunday, over his alleged involvement in a smear campaign against then presidential candidate Moon Jae-in in the lead up to the May 9 election.
The Seoul Southern Prosecutors' Office alleged Lee handed over a fabricated voice recording to the party, which it publicly disclosed May 5, just three days before the election.
In the recording, made by People's Party member Lee You-mi and her brother, President Moon's son Joon-yong is alleged to have used his father's influence to land a job at a public agency, the Korea Employment Information Service, in 2006.
The prosecution also filed for a separate arrest warrant for Lee You-mi's brother.
Lee You-mi had been a student of the party's former presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo, when he taught at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology (KAIST).
The prosecution initially concluded that Lee You-mi acted alone, but determined Lee Jun-seo willfully neglected his duty to verify the authenticity of the recording.
[Moon Jae-in] [Nepotism] [Ahn Cheol-soo]
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N.Korean 'Boat People' Are Elite Scientist and Family
By Kim Myong-song
July 06, 2017 12:02
Five North Koreans who crossed the maritime border in a small fishing boat last Saturday have turned out to be a scientist from Pyongyang and his family.
A government source said Wednesday the defector is a graduate of the prestigious Pyongsong Institute of Science and fled with his son, his son's girlfriend and two members of his brother's family. The son and son's girlfriend are also graduates of the same university and lived in Pyongyang.
[Defector]
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Moon Sends Mixed Signals Over N.Korea
By Jeong Woo-sang
July 06, 2017 12:05
President Moon Jae-in continues to send mixed signals over the North Korean nuclear and missile crisis.
After the North launched an intercontinental ballistic missile on Tuesday, Moon ordered troops to conduct a drill with the U.S. for a preemptive strike against the North. But no sooner had he arrived for a state visit in Germany than he told reporters a "peaceful resolution through dialogue" is needed.
And yet it was Moon who proposed the joint drill to U.S. President Donald Trump as a show of force.
[Moon Jae-in] [Pre-emptive] []Strategic incoherence]
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Moon hopes N. Korea will not cross 'point of no return'
Posted : 2017-07-04 17:00
Updated : 2017-07-04 17:08
South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday warned North Korea not to cross a "red line" after it claimed a successful test of its first intercontinental ballistic missile.
Moon urged the North to immediately halt its provocations, saying he is not sure what kind of consequence the communist state will have to face if it crosses the "red line."
"I hope North Korea will not cross the point of no return," the South Korean leader said in a meeting with former British Prime Minister David Cameron.
Earlier in the day, North Korea launched what initially appeared to be an intermediate range missile.
The communist state later claimed it marked a successful launch of its new intercontinental ballistic missile, Hwasong-14. (Yonhap)
[Moon Jae-in] [ICBM]
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IS’ Probe into Abduction of DPRK Women Citizens Urged in S. Korea
Posted on July 3, 2017
Pyongyang, July 3 (KCNA) — An organization of south Korea urged the Intelligence Service to probe the truth behind the group abduction of DPRK women citizens on June 30, according to the south Korean internet newspaper Tongil News.
In a letter requesting probe into the truth presented to the IS, the organization noted that more than one year has passed since the case but nothing about their whereabouts was made public.
It stressed that the “government” should carry out an investigation into the IS over the case, regarding it as a human rights issue.
[Election defection] [Abduction] [NIS]
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From DC to Dandong: #Shigak no. 47
By Sino-NK | June 30, 2017
This installment of #Shigak covers the much anticipated ROK-US summit and a notification issued by the US Department of the Treasury of its intention to sanction the Bank of Dandong (PRC) for its alleged role in laundering money for North Korea via US Banks. We also report the most frequently tweeted words by South Korea’s most read conservative and progressive dailies in what will become a regular feature in #Shigak.
President Moon will be in the US for ROK-US Summit and discuss North Korea, US-ROK alliance, FTA and THAAD. https://t.co/7DK1UNtSJM #??
— Yongmin Lee (@YongminLee1) June 28, 2017
As reported by Yonhap, President Moon Jae-in embarks on a five-day visit to the US that includes his and President Donald Trump’s first ROK-US summit. He met President Trump on June 29 for the first time and had a great handshake. On June 30, the two will have a one-on one meeting. It is not surprising that North Korea, THAAD, and the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement will be among the pending issues up for discussion.
[Secondary sanctions]
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Moon Says Talks with N.Korea Depend on Nuclear Freeze
By Jeong Woo-sang
June 30, 2017 09:19
President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday said North Korea must at least freeze its nuclear weapons and missile programs if any talks are to take place, while the complete scrapping of its nuclear weapons and production facilities is the final goal.
"I believe (the North) must at least promise to a nuclear freeze for us to start taking serious (discussions) for its denuclearization. In that sense, its nuclear freeze will be the entrance and nuclear dismantlement the exit," Moon told reporters aboard his official aircraft en route to Washington.
"Each step in the process must be completely verified before we will be able to move onto the next," he added. "South Korea and the U.S. should discuss whether we should provide something in accordance with the freeze and what we can provide if we do; and if Pyongyang takes the next steps, then what else we can provide; and if it carries out the final stage of denuclearization such as destroying its nuclear weapons and these are all verified, what we can do finally."
[Moon Jae-in] [Trump-Moon17] [Preconditions] [Ingratiation]
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