ROK and Inter-Korean relations
October 2018
Return to Asian Geopolitics indexpage
Return to ROK and Inter-Korean relations page
-
South and North Korea may make joint bid for UNESCO intangible cultural heritage registration
Posted on : Oct.30,2018 17:11 KST Modified on : Oct.30,2018 17:11 KST
Both sides respectively submitted applications for traditional ssireum wrestling
A wall painting of ssireum wrestling on the wall of a tomb made during the Goguryeo era; estimated to be drawn during the fifth century.
The governments of South and North Korea have submitted separate applications to UNESCO to add a traditional type of wrestling known as ssireum to the organization’s list of intangible cultural heritages, but there’s a growing likelihood that the two applications will be combined into one winning bid.
On Oct. 29, the assessment board of UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage announced it had recommended that both “ROK ssireum (traditional wrestling),” submitted by South Korea, and “DPRK ssireum (Korean-style wrestling),” submitted by North Korea, be added to the list. Since the assessment board’s recommendation for inclusion is an official decision based on the findings of a preliminary expert review, such recommendations are typically accepted as the final decision when the committee convenes, barring any unforeseen occurrences.
[Joint Korean [Detente] [UNESCO]
-
2 Koreas Complete Disarmament in Joint Security Area
By Yu Yong-weon
October 29, 2018 12:09
North and South Korea are set to open the Joint Security Area in the border village of Panmunjom to civilians and tourists as the area is now disarmed.
The Defense Ministry here said Sunday that the two Koreas and the UN Command completed the joint verification of disarmament in the JSA and confirmed faithful implementation on Saturday.
The two sides began demining operations on Oct. 1 and ended on Oct. 20. They also closed nine guard posts -- four on the South side and five on the North side -- and removed firearms through last week.
Soldiers from both sides started standing guard unarmed on Friday.
North Korean soldiers stand guard without weapons in the Joint Security Area in the border village of Panmunjom on Friday. /Yonhap
They will now have follow-up discussions on new guard posts and surveillance equipment as soldiers are unarmed. No more than 35 soldiers from each side will stay in the JSA, according to a military agreement signed during the inter-Korean summit in September.
From as early as November, civilians will also be allowed to visit the JSA and move freely between 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
But some restrictions can be imposed for the time being as the two sides need to discuss ways to prevent possible incidents where civilian visitors might defect to the other side while in the JSA.
[Detente] [DMZ]
-
N.Korean Sub Movement in East Sea Detected by Satellites
By Yu Yong-weon
October 29, 2018 12:40
North Korean submarines have been detected frequenting the East Sea recently, Voice of America reported last week.
Google Earth satellite images showed that several subs were leaving and arriving a base near Sinpo, South Hamgyong Province.
Satellite images shot on Aug. 27 by French space agency CNES and European aerospace company Airbus also showed that two 75-76 m-long subs and two 30-32 m subs were docking there.
It seems that about 20 to 30 subs were spending time in the area for drills.
[Surveillance] [Submarines]
-
Moon expresses willingness to give Kim Jong-un tour of Mt. Halla during reciprocal visit to Seoul
Posted on : Oct.29,2018 17:53 KST Modified on : Oct.29,2018 17:53 KST
S. Korean president highlights economy and peace process for final goals in 2018
On Oct. 28, South Korean President Moon Jae-in mentioned the Korean expression “from Mt. Baekdu to Mt. Halla” while saying he would be willing to give North Korean leader Kim Jong-un a tour of Mt. Halla if he wants to during his reciprocal visit to Seoul.
Moon made the remarks on the morning of Oct. 28 in response to a question about Kim’s visit while he was hiking on Mt. Bugak, behind the Blue House, with Blue House press corps.
“I received such a warm welcome on my last visit [to North Korea] that I’m not sure where I ought to take Chairman Kim when he actually pays a return visit. Since the schedule hasn’t been nailed down, we aren’t making any plans yet. We still don’t know how much time he’ll be spending here, but once the schedule is set we’ll work within those parameters,” Moon added.
[Moon Jae-in] [Detente] [Hallasan]
-
Remains of S.Korean War Dead Found in DMZ
By Yu Yong-weon
October 26, 2018 09:49
The remains of two South Korean soldiers who were killed during the Korean War have been discovered in the demilitarized zone in Cheorwon, Gangwon Province.
Demining operations are underway in the DMZ ahead of a joint-Korean excavation of remains of the war dead.
But the Defense Ministry has already discovered the remains of the two soldiers there, which was the site of fierce battles during the war, a spokesman said Thursday. It also retrieved a dog tag showing the name Pak Je-kwon, an M1 bayonet and M1 bullets.
[Korean War] [MIA]
-
Koreas agree to demolish 22 guard posts
Posted : 2018-10-26 16:49
Updated : 2018-10-26 22:21
Major Gen. Kim Do-gyun of South Korea, right, and his North Korean counterpart Lt. Gen. An Ik-san shake hands ahead of a general-level military meeting at Tongilgak, the North's side of the truce village of Panmunjeom inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), Friday. / Joint Press Corps
Koreas agree to stop all hostile activities along the border from Nov. 1
By Kim Yoo-chul, Joint Press Corps
PANMUNJEOM/SEOUL _ The two Koreas agreed late Friday to completely demolish 22 front-line guard posts (GPs) by the end of November within the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating Seoul and Pyongyang, following a broad-reaching military agreement at President Moon Jae-in's summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un last month to reduce tensions.
Military generals of both sides held talks Friday at Tongilgak in the North's side of the truce village of Panmunjeom inside the DMZ. After, they released a joint statement saying they agreed to create a joint military committee to explore further measures to disarm and cut back military threats against each other. The two Koreas, however, failed to produce a detailed timetable for when the committee will be launched.
Starting Nov. 1, all hostilities and accidental clashes will be banned on both sides, according to the statement. North Korea would close the gates for its concrete bunkers and military tunnels.
[SK NK Negotiations] [Military] [Tension reduction]
-
South Korea pushes for inter-Korean joint volcano observatory at Mount Paekdu
Posted : 2018-10-26 15:09
Updated : 2018-10-26 15:09
South Korea is pushing to set up an inter-Korean joint volcano observatory at Mount Paekdu on the North Korean-Chinese border, officials in Seoul said Friday.
The Korea Meteorological Administration has drawn up a medium- and long-term plan to establish a facility to observe volcanic activities on the mountain, together with North Korea, according to administration officials and Rep. Sol Hoon of the ruling Democratic Party.
The 2,744-meter-high mountain, the highest on the Korean Peninsula and considered a spiritual home of the Korean people, last erupted in 1903, historical records showed.
The plan calls for the two Koreas to establish a joint observation station equipped with devices to detect seismic movements around Paekdu and communications networks, as well as facilities to measure the magnetic field of the earth and analyze volcanic gas, the officials and Sol said.
"Discussions with North Korea have yet to begin, but the joint observatory project will be pushed if the conditions are met," an administration official said.
An eruption of Mount Paekdu is expected to cause immediate damage from pyroclastic flows that contain lava, gravel and stones before triggering secondary damage from the spread of volcanic ash, experts say. (Yonhap)
[Joint Korean] [Paektusan]
-
Could Hong Kong’s ‘one country, two systems’ work for Korea?
Forget the nukes: real issue taxing Korean minds is reunification. Options include: European-style union, a communist-capitalist merger a la Germany and an idea Hongkongers will find familiar
By John Power
27 Oct 2018
It’s going to take a lot more than passion to bring the two Koreas together, but there was no shortage of ardour when South Korean President Moon Jae-in made the first ever speech by a South Korean leader to the North Korean public.
“Our people are resilient,” said Moon to 150,000 Pyongyang residents at the May Day Stadium in Pyongyang last month. “Our people love peace. And our people must live together. We had lived together for five thousand years but apart for just 70 years.”
Since April, when Moon and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un held their first inter-Korean summit, the Herculean challenge of North Korean denuclearisation has dominated the world’s attention. But on the Korean peninsula, the spotlight has shone with equal intensity on the steps being taken to complete a potentially even more monumental task: reunifying North and South.
A Trump-Kim bridge: has Korean summit proved Moon is a master diplomat?
In a Gallup Korea opinion poll last month, 84 per cent of South Koreans said they supported unification, the highest proportion since 2004, with most favouring a gradual process over the next 10 years.
“We expect debate about plans for unification to kick off in earnest in the second half of next year,” said Han Sung, a spokesman for the left-leaning civic group People’s Congress for Peace Federation. “When it comes to plans for unification, the government’s job isn’t important, so much as the role of the citizens.”
[Reunification] [False analogy]
-
S. Korea's local gov'ts speed up cooperation with N. Korea
2018/10/25 15:58
BUSAN/SUWON, Oct. 25 (Yonhap) -- Local governments in South Korea are accelerating various exchange and cooperation projects with North Korea amid the improving inter-Korean relationship.
Busan's Vice Mayor for Economic Affairs Yoo Jae-soo, Gyeonggi Province's Vice Governor for Peace Lee Hwa-young and Sejong City's Vice Mayor for Political Affairs Lee Kang-jin have returned from their joint visit to North Korea from Oct. 20-23.
In Pyongyang, the South Korean officials reportedly met with Kim Yong-chol, chairman of the Asia-Pacific Peace Committee, Kim Song-hye, chief of policy at the committee, and other North Korean officials.
Busan's metropolitan government said Thursday that Vice Mayor Yoo asked for Pyongyang's support for inter-Korean cooperation in the fields of port logistics, finance, information technology and the film industry, drawing a positive response from the North's officials.
An undated file photo shows a meeting between North Korea's titular head of state Kim Yong-nam (2nd from R) and South Korean officials in Pyongyang. (Yonhap) An undated file photo shows a meeting between North Korea's titular head of state Kim Yong-nam (2nd from R) and South Korean officials in Pyongyang. (Yonhap)
In particular, Yoo explained Busan's financial hub policy and offered to provide technical assistance to the North's establishment of a financial system.
Yoo also invited Kim to visit the South Korean port city.
[Detente] [Local government] [Busan]
-
Gov't Spent W10 Billion on Inter-Korean Liaison Office
By Yoon Hyung-jun
October 25, 2018 10:55
The Unification Ministry spent a whopping W10 billion from the Inter-Korean Cooperation Fund on setting up a cross-border liaison office in the North Korean border town of Kaesong without consulting the National Assembly (US$1=W1,133).
Lawmakers were left out of the whole process and merely informed after the money had been spent. Instead, the government got the expenses rubber-stamped by a body called the Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation Promotion Council.
The Unification Ministry met with the council on July 16 and obtained permission to draw W86 million from the fund for renovations on an existing building in the shuttered Kaesong Industrial Complex. The ministry decided to settle the remaining amount later.
The liaison office had its grand opening on Sept. 14. The renovation work took less than two months, but the ministry set aside less than one percent of the cost in advance and then drew a blank check to finance the remainder of the work.
[Detente] [Pushback] [Conservatives]
-
Generals from 2 Koreas to Meet on Friday
By Yu Yong-weon
October 25, 2018 09:39
The two Koreas will hold another round of talks in the border truce village of Panmunjom on Friday to discuss the launch of a joint commission to implement an inter-Korean military agreement, the Defense Ministry said Wednesday.
President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday drew heavy flak for signing the controversial military agreement into law without submitting it to the National Assembly for ratification.
Now generals from the two Koreas will launch the joint commission to oversee implementation of the agreement, which mandates an expanded no-fly zone around the military demarcation line as well as buffer zones in the East and West Seas.
[SK NK Negotiations] [Military]
-
National Assembly in dispute over constitutionality of Moon’s ratification of Pyongyang Declaration
Posted on : Oct.25,2018 15:14 KST Modified on : Oct.25,2018 15:14 KST
Liberty Korea Party cites security issues and insists on prior ratification of Panmunjom declaration
Liberty Korea Party Floor Leader Kim Kim Sung-tae (center) opens a press conference with fellow party members at the National Assembly to declare the unconstitutionality of South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s ratification of the Pyongyang Declaration and Comprehensive Military Agreement on Oct. 24. (Yonhap News)
After South Korean President Moon Jae-in ratified the Pyongyang Joint Declaration and the Agreement on the Implementation of the Historic Panmunjom Declaration in the Military Domain (also called the Comprehensive Military Agreement, or CMA) during a Blue House cabinet meeting on Oct. 23, a dispute has erupted over the constitutionality of this action.
The Liberty Korea Party claimed that it was unconstitutional to ratify those agreements without the consent of the National Assembly and promised to take legal action, including asking the Constitutional Court to adjudicate authority on the matter and requesting an injunction suspending the ratification’s legal force. The Blue House fired back that the very act of calling this unconstitutional is unconstitutional.
[September Pyongyang Joint Declaration] [Pushback]
-
South and North Korea to hold 10th round of general-level military talks
Posted on : Oct.25,2018 15:17 KST Modified on : Oct.25,2018 15:17 KST
Meeting to focus on joint committee to implement CMA
The second round of trilateral negotiations between South and North Korea and the UN Command concerning the demilitarization of the DMZ’s Joint Security Area (JSA) take place in Panmunjom on Oct. 22. (provided by the Ministry of National Defense)
South and North Korea are holding a tenth round of general-level military talks at Panmunjom on Oct. 26 to discuss the composition and management of an Inter-Korean Joint Military Committee to implement the military agreement (Comprehensive Military Agreement, or CMA) adopted alongside the Pyongyang Joint Declaration on Sept. 19.
The CMA states that the two sides’ agreement to operate an Inter-Korean Joint Military Committee to consult on “matters including large-scale military exercises and military buildup aimed at each other, various forms of blockade, interdiction and obstruction of navigation as well as reconnaissance activities against each other,” in addition to establishing a maritime peace zone and joint fishing zone in the West (Yellow) Sea region.
[SK NK Negotiations] [Military]
-
S. Korea to provide US$8.6 mln in support to repair facilities at inter-Korean joint liaison office
Posted on : Oct.25,2018 15:19 KST Modified on : Oct.25,2018 15:19 KST
Support plan approved during inter-Korean exchange and cooperation meeting on Oct. 17-24
The inter-Korean joint liaison office inside the Kaesong Industrial Complex. (Baek So-ah, staff photographer)
The South Korean government is providing 9.78 billion won (US$8.6 million) in inter-Korean cooperation fund support to cover facility repairs and renovations carried out ahead of the opening of an inter-Korean joint liaison office in the Kaesong Industrial Complex
At a 298th Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation Promotion Council meeting on Oct. 17–24, the South Korean government approved a plan to use the inter-Korean cooperation fund to support repairs and renovations for the office’s opening, the Ministry of Unification reported on Oct. 24. As of late September, costs of 9.78 billion won (US$8.6 million) were incurred with supervision, adjustment, and other verification procedures after the majority of repair and renovation work was completed.
[Détente]
-
Moon Is Jumping the Gun by Ratifying Cross-Border Agreements
October 24, 2018 13:28
President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday signed into law a joint declaration drawn up by the leaders of the two Koreas at their third summit in September and a supplementary military agreement without submitting them for ratification to the National Assembly. But the declaration is largely a follow-up accord to the joint declaration announced at the first summit between Moon and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in April, which the National Assembly has yet to ratify. Moon is blithely jumping the gun.
[Detente] [Pushback] [Conservatives]
-
Moon Signs Inter-Korean Military Pact into Law
By Jeong Woo-sang, Choi Seung-hyun
October 24, 2018 11:07
President Moon Jae-in signed an inter-Korean military agreement into law in a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday without subjecting it to scrutiny by the National Assembly. He also signed into law a joint declaration drawn up by the leaders of the two Koreas at their summit in September.
Moon earlier stressed that the inter-Korean pacts must be adhered to even if the administration changes.
"The declaration takes effect after being published in the government gazette while the military agreement takes effect on both sides after documents are exchanged with North Korea," a Cheong Wa Dae spokesman said.
[Detente]
-
Unification Minister to Meet with N.Korean Defectors
By Yoon Hyung-jun
October 24, 2018 10:48
Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon meets four groups representing North Korean defectors on Wednesday to smooth ruffled feathers over the exclusion of a defector-turned-reporter from recent cross-border talks.
A Unification Ministry official told reporters Tuesday, "We offered to hold the meeting following proposals from civic groups in light of recent events."
The "recent events" refer to Cho's decision to bump the Chosun Ilbo reporter off the press pool covering the talks at the last minute earlier this month.
The move was widely condemned by defectors and international press bodies as discriminatory and infringing press freedom.
[Defectors]
-
N.Korea Complains About Cross-Border Forestry Talks
By Yoon Hyung-jun
October 23, 2018 09:50
South and North Korean officials on Monday agreed to cooperate in fighting tree diseases and modernizing 10 tree nurseries in the North. But North Korea expressed discontent at the results of the talks.
Kim Song-jun, a senior forestry official who led the North Korean delegation, said, "I have become confident that we must remain as firm as pine trees against external and adverse forces in order to achieve the results we want."
Expressing what he said was his personal views, Kim said, "If talks continue in this manner, we can't expect much from forestry cooperation talks the South proposes."
Forestry officials from the two Koreas shake hands at the inter-Korean liaison office in the North Korean border city of Kaesong on Monday.
But Park Chong-ho, the deputy minister of the Korea Forest Service and head of the South Korean delegation, said, "We will strive to cooperate while upholding mutual respect."
Kim's reference to "adverse forces" suggests that the two sides disagreed about sending equipment and other materials to North Korea that could violate international sanctions.
[Forestry] [Sanctions] [US dominance]
-
[Photo] South and North Korea agree on joint pest control and modernization of plant nurseries
Posted on : Oct.23,2018 18:14 KST Modified on : Oct.23,2018 18:14 KST
Talks for inter-Korean forestry cooperation were held at the inter-Korean joint liaison office in the Kaesong Industrial Complex on Oct. 22. The South Korean delegation was headed by Korea Forest Service Deputy Director Park Jong-ho, the North Korean delegation by Ministry of Land and Environmental Protection General Forestry Bureau Deputy Director Kim Song-jun. In the spirit of implementing the agreements stipulated in the September Pyongyang Joint Declaration, both sides agreed to a joint pest control project until March of next year. They also agreed to modernize ten plant nurseries in North Korea by the end of the year. (photo pool)
[Forestry] [SK NK Negotiations]
-
Moon ratifies Pyongyang Declaration
Posted : 2018-10-23 16:59
Updated : 2018-10-23 17:33
By Kim Yoo-chul
President Moon Jae-in ratified an agreement signed between him and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at their third summit in Pyongyang last month.
"Moon ratified the Pyongyang Joint Declaration. An official announcement will soon follow," a Cheong Wa Dae official said.
As a procedural step for the ratification, the Cabinet earlier approved the declaration, as well as a separate inter-Korean military agreement reached at the summit.
The move comes after the Ministry of Government Legislation concluded that obtaining the National Assembly's consent for ratification of the two agreements was not necessary as a broader inter-Korean agreement, the Panmunjom Declaration reached at the first Moon-Kim summit in April, is undergoing the Assembly ratification process.
The conservative parties sharply criticized the move, claiming Moon was backtracking on his earlier pledge to seek parliamentary consent for inter-Korean deals.
However, the presidential office said the ratification of the two agreements will boost the wider implementation of promises made in Pyongyang.
"At the Vatican, Pope Francis directly mentioned his willingness to visit North Korea. The U.K. and France, permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), clearly showed their backing in terms of denuclearization as well as the peace process. The international community is on our side. I hope to win more support from the public in the ongoing process," Moon said at the Cabinet meeting, according to press pool reports.
[September Pyongyang Declaration]
-
Voyage home from North Korea
Posted : 2018-10-23 17:38
Updated : 2018-10-23 17:38
By Jon Dunbar
Where are you if, to go home, you have to travel in the opposite direction?
This is the story of how the 195-kilometer distance from Pyongyang to Seoul became a 1,022-kilometer journey taking 27 hours, four trains, three buses, one taxi, one random Chinese couple's car, one airplane, two border crossings and six beers.
Additionally, I was dressed in North Korean clothes the whole way.
I visited the tailor at the Yanggakdo Hotel in Pyongyang, to make my "Yanggakdo leisure suit." Ever since my 2010 visit, I wanted to get a North Korean suit made. You might be thinking of a severe black high-collared "Mao suit" befitting an authoritarian look. But I had vivid memories of the leisure suit. North Korean men wearing short-sleeved suits, something I'd never seen before which struck me as humble and unpretentious.
The morning of my departure, I separated from my group. I'd chosen the four-day tour operated by the Canadian-run Paektu Cultural Exchange to see Pyongyang and Kaesong, and the others were on a 10-day trip, with visits to Wonsan and Mount Paektu.
[Bizarre]
-
Lee and Park administrations censored biography of former WHO director-general
Posted on : Oct.22,2018 17:21 KST Modified on : Oct.22,2018 17:21 KST
Deleted passages in Korean translation refer to dictatorship of Park Chung-hee
Former WHO Director-General Lee Jong-wook. (Hankyoreh archives)
The Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye administrations excised a passage referring to former President Park Chung-hee’s Yushin (“reformation”) dictatorship (1963-1979) from a biography of late former World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Lee Jong-wook.
“The Korean translation of ‘Lee Jong-wook: A Life in Health and Politics’ omits a passage about the Yushin dictatorship that is in the original English version,” Democratic Party lawmaker Shin Dong-keun told the Hankyoreh on Oct. 21.
Page 23 of the biography “Lee Jong-wook: A Life in Health and Politics.” The passage marked in yellow was omitted from the Korean translation.
While the original English text published in June 2012 includes an account of the Yushin dictatorship, the Korean translation published during the Park Geun-hye administration in Nov. 2013 was missing the eight sentences in question. Included in the missing portion was a passage describing the Yushin Constitution as having “placed severe restrictions on political activities and civil liberties, and [given] the president authority that was beyond the reach of any imaginable legal challenge.”
[Park Chung-hee] [Yushin]
-
[Interview] “North Korea also has attorneys, prosecutors and courts”
Posted on : Oct.22,2018 17:23 KST Modified on : Oct.22,2018 17:23 KST
Former Supreme Court justice details ambitions for inter-Korean legal cooperation
Former Supreme Court Justice Lee Hong-hoon during an interview with the Hankyoreh in the Yoon & Yang Public Interest Foundation’s conference room at ASEM Tower in Seoul on Oct. 1. (Park Jong-shik, staff photographer)
“Even” North Korea has lawyers. Its Socialist Constitution states that “courts cases are heard in public and the accused is guaranteed the right of defense.” In 1993, it created an Attorney Act with 30 articles. It also has a bar association, its equivalent to the South’s Korea Bar Association.
But there is a difference in terms of the attorney’s role. Article 1 of the North Korean Attorney Act states that attorneys are to “contribute to protecting the legal rights and interests of institutions, companies, groups, and citizens and guaranteeing the correct enforcement of the law.”
This stands in contrast with the South Korean Attorney-at-Law Act, which states that the “mission of an attorney-at-law shall be to defend fundamental human rights and realize [. . . ] social justice.”
“I don’t really know the situation with the legal community. I’m sure they have a legal community there. All we really have access to are the North Korean Constitution and laws; there aren’t any exchanges among legal professionals. So we have to meet.”
Former Supreme Court Justice Lee Hong-hoon, 72, welcomes recent developments in inter-Korean relations, which may be slow in coming but are not as susceptible to being pushed back as they have been in the past. After stepping down from the Supreme Court in 2011, Lee launched a public interest committee for the law firm Yoon & Yang the following year; in 2014, he became inaugural chairman of the Yoon & Yang Public Interest Foundation.
After stepping down to the position of advisory attorney for the foundation last December, he became chairman in January for the Judicial Development Committee with the People, where he has been developing a framework for judicial reforms. While this was going on, something else happened: the May launch of the Peace Community Legislation Forum, designed to provide legal support for inter-Korean exchange and cooperation. Lee, who serves as a representative for the forum, met with the Hankyoreh on Oct. 1 in the Yoon & Yang Public Interest Foundation’s conference room at ASEM Tower in Seoul’s Gangnam District.
[Inter Korean] [Law]
-
Forestry cooperation meeting held on Oct. 22 at inter-Korean joint liaison office
Posted on : Oct.22,2018 17:17 KST Modified on : Oct.22,2018 17:17 KST
Discussion expected to focus on joint pest control
The inter-Korean joint liaison office, which opened on Oct. 14, in the Kaesong Industrial Complex. (Hankyoreh archives)
Forestry cooperation subcommittee talks took place on Oct. 22 at the inter-Korean joint liaison office in the Kaesong Industrial Complex as agreed upon in high-level inter-Korean talks on Oct. 15.
The senior representatives to the talks were Korea Forest Service Deputy Director Park Jong-ho on the South Korean side and Ministry of Land and Environmental Protection General Forestry Bureau Deputy Director Kim Song-jun on the North Korean side, the South Korean Ministry of Unification announced on Oct. 21.
Priority discussions reportedly focused on joint pest control efforts in border regions including Mt. Keumgang and modernization of North Korean tree nurseries – part of an effort to “achieve substantial results in forestry cooperation” as stressed by South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in their Pyongyang Joint Declaration in September.
[Inter Korean] [Forestry]
-
Koreas to start joint inspection of western railway as early as this week
Posted : 2018-10-21 11:12
Updated : 2018-10-21 17:48
South and North Korea are likely to start their joint on-site inspection as early as this week for a project to modernize and re-link railways across their border, government officials said Sunday.
At high-level talks last week, the two Koreas agreed to begin field surveys of the western Gyeongui railway in late October and the Donghae railway along their east coast in November.
"The Koreas are known to be discussing ways to conduct the inspection (on the North section) of the Gyeongui line starting late this week," a government official said.
"The schedule is flexible, depending on consultations between the government and the United Nations Command (UNC) over the passage of the Military Demarcation Line," he added.
In August, the Koreas failed to carry out a joint railway field survey as the U.S.-led UNC did not approve the plan, citing "procedural" problems, a move widely seen as U.S. objection to the inter-Korean railway project on the basis that it might hamper sanctions.
"As far as I'm concerned, Seoul's consultations with Pyongyang as well as the UNC are smoothly under way," the official said.
If launched, the joint inspection will involve the test operation of a train on the railway linking Seoul to the North's northwestern city of Sinuiju.
After that, the Koreas will check the eastern railway on the North's side that connects Mout Kumgang to its northeastern North Hamgyong province.
South and North Korea are looking to hold a ground-breaking ceremony for work on the rail and road systems along the eastern and western regions either in late November or early December.
Meanwhile, the two Koreas plan to hold working-level talks starting this week to implement agreements of the inter-Korean summit held in Pyongyang last month.
On Monday, they will hold talks at a joint liaison office in the North's border town of Kaesong to discuss ways to promote forestry cooperation and to control pine tree pests.
Park Chong-ho, deputy minister of the state-run Korea Forest Service, will lead the South's three-member delegation, according to Seoul's unification ministry.
His North Korean counterpart is Kim Song-jun, a senior official at the North's ministry of environmental protection.
In October, the Koreas are also scheduled to have health-related talks on curbing the spread of contagious diseases and sports talks to discuss co-hosting of the 2032 Summer Olympics. (Yonhap)
[Detente] [Railways]
-
'Seoul set to apply new growth models for Pyongyang'
Posted : 2018-10-20 20:05
Updated : 2018-10-20 20:26
South Korean President Moon Jae-in speaks during the first P4G Summit at Danish Radio Concert Hall in Copenhagen, Oct. 20. Yonhap
By Kim Yoo-chul
COPENHAGEN, Denmark ? The South Korean government is prepared to help North Korea pursue new business models that could be sustained and applicable for economic growth of the world's poorest nation with their citizens suffering food shortages.
"True humanity comes after embracing differences without prejudice. I want all the participants to think about this idea because I think this mindset should be placed as a central point between countries. Within this context, South Korea will help North Korea pursue new growth models that will be both sustained and developed," President Moon Jae-in said in his keynote speech at the P4G Summit, here, late Saturday (KST).
[Bizarre] [Absorption] [Moon Jae-in]
-
S. Korean government doesn’t recognize single refugee in 2nd review of Yemeni asylum seekers
Posted on : Oct.18,2018 16:43 KST Modified on : Oct.18,2018 16:43 KST
Humanitarian sojourn granted for 399 of 481 applicants
Yemeni asylum seekers stand outside a convenience store near the Jeju Office of Immigration on Oct. 17. (Huh Ho-joon)
The South Korean government did not recognize a single refugee in its second review of hundreds of Yemeni asylum seekers who applied for status after arriving on Jeju Island.
The government did permit humanitarian stays for 339 of the asylum seekers. The decision means that humanitarian sojourn status has been granted to 362 of the 481 refugee applicants, including those allowed with the first review on Sept. 14.
The Jeju Office of Immigration (under director Kim Do-gyun) announced review findings on Oct. 17 for 458 of 481 Yemeni nationals who applied for refugee status after arriving on Jeju (including three who withdrew their applications and departed South Korea). The office granted humanitarian sojourn status to 339, denied refugee status for 34, and withheld a review judgment for 85, it said.
“While there weren’t any refugees recognized, this was the first time humanitarian sojourns have been granted to such a large number,” a Ministry of Justice official said.
Yemenis granted a humanitarian sojourn permit will be eligible to live and work in South Korea for one year with the possibility of renewing their status. They will also be allowed to leave Jeju and travel to the South Korean mainland.
“The applicants were not recognized as refugees because they did not meet the conditions for refugee status recognition according to the Refugee Convention and Refugee Act,” the Jeju Office of Immigration explained.
“But in consideration of the current civil war in Yemen, the possibility of detention, and other factors, the decision was made to grant them humanitarian stay permits according to Article 2-2 of the Refugee Act. It has been determined that their lives and physical freedom could be conspicuously infringed upon if they are deported,” the official added.
The 34 individuals who received simple refugee status denials in the review represented cases of individuals who were born and resided continuously in a third country, those with foreign spouses who are capable of traveling to a third country, and those who applied for economic purposes or were deemed as unsuitable for South Korean sojourn status due to criminal charges or other factors, the office explained.[Yemen] [Refugee] [Double standards]
-
'Father's War' gets nod to resume filming
Posted : 2018-10-17 16:59
Updated : 2018-10-17 17:01
By Kang Hyun-kyung
Director Lim Sung-chan got the green light from Seoul High Court for his ongoing film project, tentatively titled "Father's War" which revolves around the suspicious death of first lieutenant Kim Hoon two decades ago.
Kim, with a gunshot wound in his temple, was found dead on Feb. 23, 1998, in an underground bunker of the Joint Security Area near the inter-Korean border. His death has since remained a mystery as investigators failed to find the murderer, paving the way for ceaseless rumors over the past two decades about the cause of his death.
On Wednesday, the filmmaker got the nod from the higher court to resume filming as he intended. The higher court reversed a district court's ruling, siding with the filmmaker who claimed the lower court's decision to ban the shooting of 47 cuts violated his freedom of expression. The lower court also ordered the filmmaker or the producer to pay a 5 million won fine per day if they violate the ruling.
The filmmaker began shooting the film starring actor Han Seok-kyu in February this year based on Kim's death.
But he soon faced backlash from Kim's family.
Shooting of the film has been suspended over the dispute between the filmmaker and Kim's family.
Retired Lieutenant General Kim Chuk, the late Kim's father, said he rejected the filmmaker's initial request to approve his film project. Facing opposition, the filmmaker revised the scenario in vain to get his approval. The older Kim said the film defamed him and distorted the facts regarding his son's death.
The older Kim challenged the filmmaker's conclusion that his son was the victim of a corruption game inside the military and faced the tragic end of his life while investigating the corruption scandal. The film indicates that the military brass was involved in the death of the younger Kim to cover up the systematic corruption inside the military.
The older Kim insists his son could have been murdered by North Korean soldiers who were stationed near the Joint Security Area
[ROK military] [Corruption]
-
South and North Korea to resume joint excavation of Goryeo-era palace on Oct. 22
Posted on : Oct.16,2018 17:28 KST Modified on : Oct.16,2018 17:28 KST
South and North Korea have agreed to resume a joint excavation project of Manwoldae Palace near the city of Kaesong. The two Koreas completed seven rounds of joint excavation of the site of the Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392) palace between 2007 to 2015. Excavation is expected to resume as soon as Oct. 22. (Hankyoreh archives)
[Joint Korean] [History] [Koryo]
-
South Korea on threshold of “hereditary society” or “return to the Middle Ages”
Posted on : Oct.14,2018 16:43 KST Modified on : Oct.14,2018 16:43 KST
Statistics show top 1% inherited US$3.5 mln per person in 2017
1
8,139 persons.
This was the total number of homeowners aged ten and under listed in South Korea as of late 2016. In terms of the population for the corresponding age group, it amounts to around one in 600. Of the number, 350 lived in one of Seoul’s three Gangnam districts (Gangnam, Songpa and Seocho), while 25 were listed as owning five or more homes.
Contained in data received from Statistics Korea by the office of Democratic Party lawmaker Shim Ki-joon, the numbers show the current state of affairs in a South Korea on the threshold of becoming a “hereditary society” where a person’s fate is determined by bloodline and birth rather than ability or effort – the “return to the Middle Ages” warned of by Paris School of Economics professor and “Capital in the Twenty-First Century” author Thomas Piketty.
[Inequality]
-
Moon and Kim Stage an Exuberant Summit in Pyongyang
Bold proposals on demilitarization break the logjam with Washington.
By Tim Shorrock
September 20, 2018
Seoul
Over three days of diplomacy and pageantry in Pyongyang this week, the leaders of North and South Korea put on a stunning display of national unity and purpose that sent an unmistakable message that the two Koreas have moved into a new phase of reconciliation and are ready to overcome the barriers that have kept them divided since 1945.
“We have lived together for 5,000 years and been separated for 70 years,” South Korean President Moon Jae-in told some 150,000 people who had gathered in Pyongyang’s May Day Stadium to celebrate the summit in a climactic moment on Wednesday night. “We must live together as one people.”
The summit, the third between Moon and North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un, was designed to tell the world—and skeptics in Washington—that North and South are determined to end, once and for all, the danger of war and nuclear conflict on their divided peninsula and resolve years of tension over North Korea’s nuclear-weapons program.
[Kim_Moon1809] [Wishful thinking] [Scepticism]
-
[Photo] South and North Korea to hold high-level talks at Panmunjom on Oct. 15
Posted on : Oct.13,2018 14:35 KST Modified on : Oct.13,2018 14:35 KST
South and North Korea are scheduled to hold high-level talks to work out the details of measures for implementing the September Pyongyang Joint Declaration at the House of Peace in Panmunjom on Oct. 15. The date and location of the talks was announced by the Ministry of Unification in a press release on Oct. 12. Additionally, the two sides are expected to negotiate the details for further talks in various areas. The above photo shows South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader after signing the Pyongyang Declaration on Sept. 19.
[SK NK Negotiations]
-
Moon addresses residents of Gangjeong Village opposed to Jeju Naval Base
Posted on : Oct.12,2018 18:00 KST Modified on : Oct.12,2018 18:00 KST
Emphasizes that the base can serve as a stronghold of peace, not war
South Korean President Moon Jae-in speaks to the residents of Gangjeong Village, Jeju Island, on Oct. 11. (photo pool)
On Oct. 11, South Korean President Moon Jae-in offered an apology during a visit to Gangjeong Village, Jeju Island, the residents of which have been struggling with the government for more than a decade over the construction of the Jeju Naval Base.
“As president, I’d like to express my profound regret and offer words of consolation,” Moon said. This is the first time a sitting president has visited Gangjeong Village since it was confirmed as a possible site to host the naval base in 2007, during the presidency of Roh Moo-hyun.
[Jeju] [China confrontation] [Moon Jae-in] [Rhetoric]
-
Moon says “lasting peace is now coming to the Korean Peninsula”
Posted on : Oct.11,2018 16:57 KST Modified on : Oct.11,2018 16:57 KST
SK president highlights peace in memorial service for Battle of Chosin Reservoir
South Korean President Moon Jae-in presides over a meeting with his senior aides and secretaries at the Blue House on Oct. 10. (Blue House photo pool)
“If the second North Korea-US summit that will be held soon leads to a declaration of lasting peace and the achievement of a Korean Peninsula without nuclear weapons or a nuclear threat, the whole world will be shown the true value of the sacrifices made at the Battle of Chosin Reservoir,” South Korean President Moon Jae-in said on Oct. 10.
“Today, I once more would like to honor the memory of those heroes and tell their spirits that lasting peace is now coming to the Korean Peninsula,” Moon said in an address that was read on his behalf by Minister of Patriot and Veterans Affairs Pi Woo-jin during the 3rd Memorial Service for the Battle of Chosin Reservoir. The Battle of Chosin Reservoir (Nov. 27-Dec. 13, 1950) of the Korean War resulted in heavy casualties for UN forces. There is a memorial for those who gave their lives during the battle in Washington, DC.
The memorial service was held at the War Memorial in Yongsan, Seoul, on Wednesday afternoon.
Moon’s optimistic prediction that “lasting peace is now coming to the Korean Peninsula” appears to be based on US President Donald Trump’s official announcement that the second North Korea-US summit, which will have as its agenda the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the normalization of North Korea-US relations, will be held after the midterm elections on Nov. 6.
[Moon Jae-in] [Peace] [Reciprocity] [Wishful thinking]
-
Peace activists protest International Naval Review in waters off Jeju
Posted on : Oct.11,2018 17:05 KST Modified on : Oct.11,2018 17:05 KST
Demonstrators mainly from groups opposed to island’s naval base
The Republic of Korea Navy in a rehearsal of the International Naval Review off the waters of Jeju Island on Oct. 9. (provided by the ROK Navy)
As the South Korean navy’s International Naval Review kicked off at a naval base on Jeju Island on Oct. 10, peace activists launched a campaign in opposition of the review. The Jeju branch of the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union (KTU) came forward to criticize the review organizers for trying to recruit students to participate in one of the associated events.
Starting on Wednesday, a number of civic groups – including the Residents’ Association Opposing the Naval Base at Gangjeong Village, the Island Residents’ Action Committee for Blocking the Military Base on Jeju and Creating an Island of Peace, and the National Action Committee on the Jeju Naval Base – launched a number of activities under the umbrella of Joint Action to Oppose the Navy’s 2018 International Naval Review and Defend the Island of Peace. On Wednesday afternoon, activists paddled several kayaks from nearby Beophwan Village toward the Jeju Naval Base and shouted slogans opposing the hosting of the naval review.
“Hosting the International Naval Review is an attempt to bring international attention to the Jeju Naval Base, and it make the ‘island of peace’ a place of tension,” the activists said.
[Jeju] [China confrontation] [Protest] [US dominance]
-
Yongusil 95: The Korean Wave and Identity in the Land of Liberty
By Sherri Ter Molen
The mere mention of K-pop evokes images of screaming 20-year-old fangirls, but while these young female fans of South Korean (henceforth: Korean) pop music are arguably the most visible, fans of the Korean Wave, or Hallyu1) do not always conform to this stereotype. Case in point, Jeff is a 42-year-old white man who lives in the Southern United States. He was introduced to Korean culture through the Korean television drama, Princess Hours (?), which Netflix, a US entertainment streaming service, suggested after he watched other international programming. He was so enthralled by this K-drama that he canceled his cable television subscription because he was no longer interested in non-Korean content, and he branched out into other Korean cultural products such as K-pop, traveling all over the United States and Korea to attend concerts featuring his favorite idols. What is perhaps a bit more surprising, however, is that Jeff’s new entertainment diet led him to replace the forks in his home with chopsticks, prepare colorful and often plant-based Korean meals, and over the course of a decade, lose 80-to-90 pounds (36-to-41 kilograms) as a result.
[K-pop] [Hallyu]
-
South Korea's Moon optimistic about end to Korean War
2 hours ago
South Korean President Moon Jae-in has told the BBC that it is only a matter of time before the US and North Korea declare an end to their state of war on the Korean peninsula.
The war ended in 1953 with an armistice but a peace treaty was never signed.
Mr Moon, the son of North Korean refugees, also said there could be more diplomatic "bumps and bruises" as he tries to persuade Kim Jong-un to give up his nuclear weapons.
But he described Mr Kim as "candid".
In an interview with the BBC's Laura Bicker in Seoul, he also said he hoped European leaders would help him to mediate between Mr Kim and US President Donald Trump if negotiations stalled.
Mr Moon has met Mr Kim three times this year and has acted as a mediator between him and Mr Trump.
How could the state of war be ended?
Mr Moon said that he had had "ample discussions" with President Trump and other US officials about an end-of-war declaration.
"If North Korea takes certain measures, the end-of-war declaration would be a political statement that would announce that the longstanding hostile relations between Pyongyang and Washington had ended," he said.
[Moon Jae-in] [Peace Declaration] [Wishful thinking] [Agency]
Return to ROK and Inter-Korean relations page