ROK and Inter-Korean relations
January 2020
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Leaders of S. Korea’s 7 largest Protestant denominations to apply for tourism visits to N. Korea
Posted on : Jan.24,2020 18:50 KST Modified on : Jan.24,2020 18:50 KST
Reverend Lee Hong-jung, secretary-general of the National Council of Churches in Korea
“The leaders of South Korea’s seven largest denominations will be the first to apply for individual tourist visits to North Korea,” said Reverend Lee Hong-jung, the 64-year-old secretary-general of the National Council of Churches in Korea (NCCK), an association of the nine Protestant denominations in South Korea.
[Detente] [Religion]
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Unification Ministry calls for mutual respect in inter-Korean relations
Posted on : Jan.14,2020 17:25 KST Modified on : Jan.14,2020 17:25 KST
Ministry spokesperson comments on N. Korean Foreign Ministry adviser’s public statement
Blue House National Security Office Director Chung Eui-yong talks to reporters after arriving at Incheon International Airport from Washington, DC, on Jan. 10. (Yonhap News)
“If South and North Korea wish to develop inter-Korean relations and establish peace on the Korean Peninsula, they’ll need to make an effort to respect each other and abide by the necessary rules,” South Korea’s Ministry of Unification (MOU) said.
Lee Sang-min, the MOU’s spokesperson, made this remark during the daily press briefing on Jan. 13. When asked about the MOU’s position in regard to a recently released statement by Kim Kye-gwan, advisor of North Korea’s Foreign Ministry, Lee said he had “no other comments” to make.
In a Jan. 11 statement, Kim mocked South Korea for announcing its transmission of a message from US President Donald Trump, remarking that the South Korean authorities “seem not to know that there is a special liaison channel between the top leaders of the DPRK [North Korea] and the US.” Kim added that the South Koreans had been “too busy” and “presumptuous” and advised them to “behave prudently.”
[SK NK relations] [US NK Negotiations] []Sidelined] [US dominance]
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Japanese Like Chinese Better Than Koreans
By Lee Ha-won
January 01, 2020 08:30
Japanese people prefer Chinese to Koreans even though the island country's relations with both neighbors have historically been chilly, a poll suggests.
Koreans scored 1.9 points out of five but Chinese 2.1 points in a recent poll of 2,400 Japanese people about their views of China, Korea, Russia and the U.S., the Mainichi Shimbun reported Monday.
Koreans saw their score fall 0.2 points and the Chinese score rose by the same amount from a year earlier. Korea was the only country whose score dropped, and the 1.9 points were the lowest score Koreans have earned since the poll was first conducted in 2014.
Americans were the best liked with 3.4 points, followed by Chinese. Koreans and Russians were tied.
Japanese people also think that their country's relations with Korea will get worse 10 years down the line, while those with the other nations will improve.
A similar poll by the Japanese Cabinet office also showed that fewer Japanese like Koreans, plunging from 39.4 percent in 2018 to 26.7 percent in 2019. The percentage who dislike Koreans jumped from 58 percent to 71.5 percent.
Koreans' Affection for Japan at Historic Low
Most Japanese Support Export Restrictions Against Korea
[Japan SK] [Sidelined; [China] [Public opinion]
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Disaster Strikes Diplomacy and Economy in 2019
December 31, 2019 08:40
The year 2019 brought huge new insecurities for South Korea as it found itself trapped between an erratic and demanding U.S. and an increasingly assertive China, each leaning on the small Northeast Asian country to jump this way or that in their tug-of-war over regional dominance. Amid a sputtering economy, relations with neighbor Japan also plummeted to an all-time low and put more pressure on South Korea's already strained business sector.
◆ Hopes Fade for N.Korean Denuclearization
U.S.-North Korea relations, which warmed significantly in 2018, were dealt a severe blow in February after a summit in Hanoi, Vietnam collapsed. In April, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un set a year-end deadline for the U.S. to ease sanctions and broke off contact with South Korea, telling President Moon Jae-in to mind his own business and stop trying to mediate. The North even refused to accept aid shipments from the South and to cooperate in dealing with an epidemic of deadly swine fever.
Instead, Pyongyang conducted 13 missile and long-range artillery tests since May and threatened in October to tear down facilities built by the South in the scenic Mt. Kumgang resort. After working-level talks with Washington broke down in October, Pyongyang hinted at ending its nuclear and missile test moratorium, and U.S. President Donald Trump cast about elsewhere for foreign-policy point-scoring.
◆ S.Korea-Japan Relations Sour
Diplomatic relations between Seoul and Tokyo chilled to freezing point after the Supreme Court here ruled that South Korean victims of forced labor during World War II can sue their Japanese employers for compensation. Lower courts authorized the seizure of assets these Japanese businesses hold here when they refused to comply with compensation orders
[Dilemma] [Japan SK] [US dominance]
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