This page includes materials on the stationing of US forces in ROK, MD, ROK reaction to US DPRK policy, etc. but does not attempt to go into wider US-ROK relations.
Nuclear reactors issue, KEDO, IAEA, etc. are currently on the nuclear programme page

2016

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• NK-US relations 2000

• Trump 'Snubs Outgoing UN Chief'
  By Cho Yi-jun December 29, 2016 12:02 U.S. president-elect Donald Trump has snubbed outgoing UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who had hoped for a meeting to boost his presidential ambitions in Korea. Foreign Policy magazine cited UN officials as saying Trump "backtracked on a post-election pledge to hold face-to-face talks" with Ban. The revelation comes amid dismissive bluster about the world body by Trump, who hopes to appeal to American exceptionalists and right-wingers. . © This is copyrighted material owned by Digital Chosun Inc. No part of it may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission. [Trump] [Ban Ki-moon]
• Do You Want Fries with That? Donald Trump Probably Won’t Be Inviting Kim Jong Un Over for Cheeseburgers
  By Jeffrey Lewis 27 December 2016 This is the second installment of a four-part series on what a Trump presidency could mean for US policy toward North Korea. (See Part 1 here.) Reading between the buns: what Trump likely meant by his burgers with Kim Jong Un commentWith Donald Trump’s election as President of the United States, millions of despondent voters began looking for some silver lining to what seems like the end of the Republic. A few optimistic souls have pointed to a bizarre comment by Donald Trump suggesting that he would be willing to meet with Kim Jong Un in the United States, provided that the Marshal was willing to forego a state dinner. And with that, the possibility of Donald Trump’s Hamburger Diplomacy was born. “Donald Trump stated his willingness to talk nukes with Kim Jong-un ‘over a burger’ if the North Korean leader visits the US,” the Hankyoreh intoned. [US NK policy] [Trump]
• At Yongsan US military base, ground pollutants 500 times normal levels
  Posted on : Dec.26,2016 16:32 KST Members of civic groups hold a press conference in front of the Yongsan US military base in Seoul, calling on South Korea’s Ministry of Environment to make public the results of an investigation into environmental contamination on the base, and for the US military to take responsibility for cleaning up any contamination, Aug. 17. The participants claimed that there is contaminated groundwater on the Yongsan base, and a smell of gasoline. Grounds still contaminated despite cleanup efforts, and results of three environmental surveys have not been made public Levels of benzene, total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH), and other contaminants were detected at over 500 times the standard in underground water around Yongsan Garrison. Despite Seoul Metropolitan Government spending over 500 million won (US$419,800) a year since 2004 to clean it up, contaminated underground water continues to be found each year as the inability to investigate inside the base prevents elimination of the source. The city and environment groups are now demanding that the Ministry of Environment make public the results of its three surveys of the base’s interior. [USFK] [Pollution]
• Trump overshadows N. Korean nuclear issue
  By Kang Seung-woo U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's recent remarks about a buildup of nuclear weapons are sparking concerns that the new U.S. government may not keep North Korea's nuclear program on a short leash, analysts said, Monday. They also said possible nonchalance from the U.S. on Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions may bring about the reclusive state modernizing its nuclear arsenal and ratcheting up tension on the Korean Peninsula. Trump tweeted, Friday, that the United States "must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes" ? a response to Russian President Vladimir Putin's call for bolstering "strategic nuclear forces." One day later, Trump doubled down on the renewed arms race, saying, "Let it be an arms race. We will outmatch them at every pass and outlast them all." "The United States seems ready to re-launch an arms race with Russia, so it may divert Washington's attention from the North Korean nuclear issue," said Cheong Seong-chang, a senior researcher at the Sejong Institute. [Trump] [US Korea]
• Relocation of US Army bases to Pyeongtaek delayed to 2018
  The complete relocation of U.S. Army bases to Pyeongtaek has been pushed back by two years to the end of 2018, Gyeonggi Province and Pyeongtaek City said Sunday. The original plan, which started on Jan. 24, 2005, was to finish the relocation at the end of this year. The U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) headquarters and the Eighth United States Army, both in Yongsan, central Seoul, and the 2nd Infantry Division in northern Gyeonggi Province, are subject to move to Camp Humphreys, a U.S. military garrison in the town of Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul. "The construction has reached 93 percent of completion as of last month and the USFK headquarters and the Eighth Army are scheduled to move in around June-August as planned. But we've decided to extend the project by two more years to transfer all the facilities more smoothly," a Defense Ministry official said. [USFK] [Drawback] [Pyeongtaek]
• N. Korea ranks No. 1 for military spending relative to GDP: State Department report
  2016/12/23 07:46 WASHINGTON, Dec. 22 (Yonhap) -- North Korea ranked No. 1 in the world for military expenditures relative to its gross domestic product between 2004-2014, spending nearly a quarter of its GDP on the armed forces, an annual State Department report showed Thursday. According to the State Department's World Military Expenditures and Arms Transfers 2016 report, the North's military expenditures averaged about US$3.5 billion a year. That accounts for 23.3 percent of the country's average GDP of $15 billion during the period. Oman was a distant second on the list, spending 11.4 percent of its GDP on the military, followed by Saudi Arabia with 8.6 percent, South Sudan with 8.4 percent and the African nation of Eritrea with 6.9 percent, according to the report. [Military expenditure] [Context] [Statistics]
• Why do US forces recruit 'part-time assistants' for drill?
  The U.S. soldiers from the Stryker unit have lined up in front of an armored car at the Seungjin Training Camp, Yeongbuk-myeon, Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, after carrying out a fire exercise in the Key Resolve drill on March 7, 2011. / Korea Times file By Lee Jin-a, Park Si-soo A military drill and part-time assistants. It is hard to imagine a correlation of the two words under any circumstances. But U.S. forces in Korea have made it — and it has left many people scratching their heads over an "unthinkable" matchup. According to a post on the recruiting information website of a Korean university, United Sates Forces Korea is recruiting part-time assistants for the Key Resolve drill in February, an annual joint military exercise conducted by U.S. troops and Korean armed forces. It plans to hire 39 temporary assistants among Korean university students — 30 will be assigned to PC maintenance services, eight to help desk support services and one to audio-visual fabrication engineering. [USFK] [Key Resolve]
• Assessing the Risk of Regime Change in North Korea
  By 38 North 16 December 2016 North Korea watchers are going to be scrutinizing the country very closely in the coming months for any sign that the ruling Kim Jong Un regime is feeling the effects of new and tougher financial sanctions and trade restrictions. The hope is that this pressure will chasten the North Korean leadership and force it to curb its provocative behavior and return to the negotiating table to discuss meaningful limits on its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. The likelihood of this happening is hard to gauge. What does seem certain, however, is that if North Korea maintains its belligerent posture and continues to not only menace America’s regional allies but also pose a direct threat to US national security, pressure will grow for even more punitive action, including measures designed to actively undermine the Kim regime. In anticipation that policy toward North Korea will become a topic for growing debate in the United States, especially as the next administration begins to review US options, this paper explores important questions about the prospects for regime change and its putative benefits. How might it occur, and what seems to be the most likely scenario? Can external pressure and other actions promote such change? What are the potential consequences and results? Can we assume that the preferred outcomes will be realized? [US NK policy] [Regime change]
• U.S. Curbs Financial Transactions of N.Korean Diplomats
  By Kim Jin-myung December 22, 2016 09:29 The U.S. has imposed curbs on all financial transactions by staff of the North Korean mission to the UN and their families. The aim is to strangle the flow of hard currency into the North Korean regime’s nuclear and missile programs. In an online notice Tuesday, the U.S. Treasury Department said American banks now need special permission from the Office of Foreign Assets Control before opening accounts or giving loans to North Korean diplomats at the UN and their families. They can only use these special accounts to remit or receive money. That will make it easier to monitor suspicious financial transactions and money laundering. In March, Washington froze all U.S. assets linked to the North Korean regime and Workers Party but exempted routine financial transactions for the operation of the North Korean mission and the daily lives of its staff and families. [Legality] [UN] [UNUS]
• S. Korea, US agree to regularly deploy strategic military assets to Korean Peninsula
  The United States will regularly deploy its strategic military assets to South Korea to better defend the Northeast Asian ally from North Korea's nuclear and missile threats, Seoul and Washington said Wednesday following joint defense cooperation talks. The commitment was reaffirmed at the inaugural meeting of the Extended Deterrence Strategy and Consultation Group (EDSCS) in Washington on Tuesday (U.S. time). In a bid to step up deterrence against Pyongyang, the allies launched the dialogue process dedicated to exploring extended measures during the meeting of the two countries' foreign and defense ministers in Washington in October. [Escalation] [Tactical nuclear weapons] [Escalation]
• [Column] Trump’s unpredictability and the coming diplomatic turbulence
  Posted on : Dec.16,2016 12:50 KST US Vice-President elect Mike Pence and President-elect Donald Trump shake hands at an event in West Allis, Wisconsin, Dec. 13. (EPA/Yonhap News) South Korea will need a concerted strategy to navigate uncertain situation between US and China “We’re going to have mutual respect, and we’re going to benefit and China’s going to benefit, and [US ambassador to China nominee] Terry [Branstad] is going to lead the way.” “I fully understand the ‘one China’ policy, but I don’t know why we have to be bound by a ‘one China’ policy unless we make a deal with China having to do with other things, including trade.” The two statements are incompatible. The US can’t form a relationship of mutual respect with China while at the same time ignoring its “one China” policy. It’s an attempt to square the circle. Yet both statements were made by the same man: US President-elect Donald Trump. The first came in a Dec. 8 speech in Ohio to express thanks for his win there, the second in a Dec. 11 interview with Fox News. If there’s a theme running through Trump’s statements on foreign policy and national security, it’s unpredictability - the kind he boasts about. It carries the implicit message that he will do whatever it takes to “make America great again.” In the past, the basic framework of great powers diplomacy was focused on consistency and stability; with the Trump age, that is going out the window. Trump’s unpredictability stems chiefly from his temperament. In terms of the aforementioned statements on China, the one on “mutual respect” came in the context of introducing Branstad to supporters. His aim may have been to boast of his selection. [Trump] [China confrontation] [Dilemma]
• Cops of the Pacific? The U.S. Military’s Role in Asia in the Age of Trump
  Dec 14, 2016
  By Tim Shorrock This article was originally published on Tom Engelhardt’s TomDispatch.com — “a regular antidote to the mainstream media.” Despite the attention being given to America’s roiling wars and conflicts in the Greater Middle East, crucial decisions about the global role of U.S. military power may be made in a region where, as yet, there are no hot wars: Asia. Donald Trump will arrive in the Oval Office in January at a moment when Pentagon preparations for a future U.S.-Japan-South Korean triangular military alliance, long in the planning stages, may have reached a crucial make-or-break moment. Whether those plans go forward and how the president-elect responds to them could help shape our world in crucial ways into the distant future. On November 18th, Shinzo Abe, Japan’s most conservative prime minister since the Cold War, became the first foreign head of state to meet with Donald Trump after his surprise election victory. The stakes for Abe were high. His rightist Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which has run Japan for much of the last 70 years, has been one of America’s most reliable, consistent, and subservient allies. Yet during the campaign, Trump humiliated him, as well as the leaders of nearby South Korea, with bombastic threats to withdraw U.S. forces from both countries if they didn’t take further steps to defend themselves. [Trump] [US Asia]
• [Editorial] Trump’s America and S. Korea’s chance for a foreign policy reset
  Posted on : Dec.15,2016 15:30 KST US Vice-President elect Mike Pence and President-elect Donald Trump shake hands at an event in West Allis, Wisconsin, Dec. 13. (EPA/Yonhap News) US President-elect Donald Trump has nearly finished appointing his Cabinet. His choices have been combative to say the least, mostly hard-liners and extremely wealthy people. The Barack Obama administration’s major policies appear likely to be overturned, and major changes look to be in store for foreign policy. Some are even predicting the Trump administration itself could become a major source of instability in the global community. The nominee for Secretary of State, ExxonMobil chairman and CEO Rex Tillerson, is a businessman with no experience in public service. He’s also a perfect example of a Moscow-friendly appointee, [Trump] [US SK]
• The Way Ahead: North Korea Policy Recommendations for the Trump Administration
  By 38 North 14 December 2016 The Way Ahead: North Korea Recommendations for the Trump Administration North Korea conducted its fifth nuclear test in September 2016 and over 20 ballistic missile tests this past year, highlighting the failure of US policy to stop the growing security threat posed by a hostile Pyongyang. As current US policy toward North Korea has reached a dead end, the incoming administration must recognize that maintaining the status quo will only worsen conditions on the Korean peninsula and in Northeast Asia. This paper evaluates three new options the next administration might consider: an Iran-style sanctions campaign, preventive military strikes and coercive diplomacy. US strategy toward North Korea has previously emphasized either diplomacy or confrontation, but has yet to integrate the two tracks with significant incentives to secure US objectives and significant disincentives to punish the DPRK if it rejects a serious and credible offer of negotiations. While it is uncertain if the United States can achieve its preferred outcomes with North Korea by adhering to this hybrid approach, Washington can no longer afford to ignore Pyongyang. US NK policy] [Coercive diplomacy] [Trump]
• Wisconsin univ. professor under fire for sexist, racist remarks in Korea
  By Lee Jin-a Prof. Park Jae-kwang from the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison / Courtesy of University of Wisconsin-Madison A Korea-born professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is under fire in his homeland for his sexist and racist remarks in a lecture at Ewha Womans University last week. Prof. Park Jae-kwang gave the lecture as a guest speaker on Dec. 8. According to students, the professor criticized massive anti-government rallies held across Korea for weeks with racist comments. He allegedly said: "The people, who are apt to protest, are the problem. Asians are too emotional. They cry and protest easily." [Diaspora] [Protest]
• Instability and Regime Change: Why and How Are Regimes Ruined?
  By 38 North 13 December 2016 Despite expectations from many observers that the North Korean regime would collapse after the Cold War, it has survived two leadership changes, decades of international sanctions and economic crises. Even as other authoritarian regimes have collapsed or are struggling with political and social upheaval—seen most recently in the wave of protests and popular revolutions that brought down long-standing dictators in the Middle East and North Africa—Pyongyang continues to remain relatively stable. This paper explores the various factors influencing state instability and regime change as well as the typical outcomes of political upheaval in order to draw conclusions about the future of North Korea and how, despite its current durability, a regime change scenario might play out. Download the report “Instability and Regime Change: Why and How Are Regimes Ruined?” by CHA Du-hyeogn. [Instability] [Collapse] [False analogy] [US NK policy]
• Military seeks to deploy THAAD battery by May
  Acting President Hwang Kyo-ahn walks with Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Lee Sun-jin, left, during a visit to Joint Chiefs of Staff headquarters in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, Sunday. Hwang ordered the military to strengthen readiness against possible North Korean attacks amid political turmoil following President Park Geun-hye's impeachment. / Yonhap By Rachel Lee The Ministry of National Defense plans to speed up the procedure of deploying a U.S. advanced anti-missile system here, aiming for completion by May, defense officials said Sunday. However, this may trigger a backlash from opposition parties, which have vowed to push for abandonment of disputed projects undertaken by the Park Geun-hye administration, including the one about the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery. [THAAD]
• Trump and Kim Jong Un
  Posted on : Dec.11,2016 11:46 KST John Feffer They both have a reputation for unpredictability. They both like to surround themselves with generals. They both enjoy tweaking China even though their countries are economically dependent on Bejing. Coming into office, Donald Trump has a lot more in common with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un than he would care to admit. They’re too different in age and ethnic background to be doppelgangers. They’re more like soul brothers. Like the North Korean leader, the president-elect is a wealthy insider who has zero experience in politics and a certain preference for the autocratic. Both men have a taste for the finer things in life and a weakness for big, flashy construction projects. They are also both quick to anger and big on revenge. It’s no surprise, then, that so many people around the world are as uncomfortable with Trump’s proximity to nuclear weapons as they are with Kim Jong Un’s. [Trump] [US NK policy] [False balance]
• N.Korea Pledges to Refrain from Provocations - for Now
  By Lee Kil-seong December 09, 2016 11:00 North Korea's top official in charge of dealing with the U.S. told prominent American figures in informal talks in Geneva last month that Pyongyang will "refrain from taking measures that could harm bilateral relations" until the Donald Trump administration's policies can be assessed. But Choe Son-hui, the director of North American affairs at the North Korean Foreign Ministry, warned annual joint military exercises between the U.S. and South Korea in February will be an exception. . [NK US policy] [Overture] [Trump] [Joint US military]
• The North Korea Instability Project: The Arab Spring and North Korea
  By 38 North 08 December 2016 The North Korea Instability Project, conducted by the US-Korea Institute at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, was established in 2016 to examine the issues that could arise from potential instability and collapse of the North Korean regime. This project, through a series of three workshops in 2016-2017, will explore the “worst case scenarios” for a post-collapse North Korea—such as an insurgency against stabilizing forces, theft and diversion of nuclear and missile technology or a regional civil war—and explore possible measures for avoiding these outcomes. The first of three workshops, held in June 2016 was attended by a diverse group of experts familiar with insurgency and counter-insurgency operations, US military strategy on the Korean peninsula, nuclear and ballistic missile technology, North Korean politics and Pyongyang’s WMD and conventional military capabilities. This first report of The North Korea Instability Project examines the causes and consequences of the Arab Spring popular revolutions and discusses their relevance to and implications for North Korea. [Collapse] [Araba Spring] [False analogy]
• It’s time to stop trying to predict North Korea’s collapse
  Choi Sun-sil's collapse theory was rooted in Shamanism, many analyst's predictions are just as shaky
  Tim Beal
  December 7th, 2016 Everyone is interested in the notion that North Korea is on the verge of collapse. The idea has been around a long time, certainly since the early 1990s, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, if not before. Peter Hayes and David F. von Hippel, writing in 2011 commented: “‘Collapsists” have been arguing since the end of the Cold War that the DPRK ‘is about to collapse.’ Indeed, one notable expert and colleague, Aidan Foster-Carter, reissued his latest prediction in this vein on November 15, 2009, saying that the DPRK could “fall at any moment,”—a claim no more persuasive than that made by Foster-Carter in 1992.“ Aidan Foster-Carter, in fact, found that with age comes wisdom and in 2015 bravely and disarmingly wrote: “Enough of this nonsense. “When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?” Sound advice, whether or not Keynes actually said it. I resisted right up until 2009, but finally had to admit the force of Bruce Cumings’ jibe at all of us who thought this way: “When does the statute of limitations run out on being systematically wrong?'” The title of Foster-Carter’s essay (on 38 North) was entitled “Obama Comes Out as an NK Collapsist” and he was lamenting that the illusion of Collapsism was informing US policy and specifically that of ‘Strategic Patience.’ If North Korea was about to collapse, the reasoning ran, there was no reason to negotiations. There is still no shortage of predictions of imminent collapse. [Choi Sun-sil] [Shaman] [Collapse] [Strategic patience] [US NK policy]
• U.S. General Warns of N.Korean Provocations 'to Test Trump'
  By Kim Jin-myung December 07, 2016 12:19 A senior U.S. military commander on Tuesday warned that North Korea could launch provocations in the next couple of months to test the incoming Donald Trump administration. Lt. Gen. Thomas Vandal, the commander of the Eighth U.S. Army, was talking to South Korean journalists. He said although no specific warning signs have been detected, Pyongyang has habitually provoked South Korea during periods of transition in South Korea and the U.S. Trump will be sworn in as U.S. president on Jan. 20. He said Pyongyang could attempt to launch provocations just to figure out what Trump's North Korea policy is going to be. The North could also be tempted to provoke South Korea amid the current political chaos. He said scenarios include the firing of ballistic missiles. The U.S. and South Korea are closely watching the North's movements, he added. Vandal said if the North attempts to use a nuclear weapon, the U.S. has the capability to remove threats by preemptive strike. [USFK] [Provocation]
• US nuclear negotiator calls for continued pressure on N. Korea
  The United States and its partners should intensify sanctions and pressure on North Korea to force the communist regime to come back to the denuclearization negotiating table, the U.S. pointman on Pyongyang said Monday. Joseph Yoon, special representative for North Korea policy, made the case during a security forum, stressing that denulearization is the No. 1 goal of the U.S., but the North has shown no willingness to resume negotiations on its nuclear program. [US NK policy] [Sanctions]
• Nurse linked to 'seven missing hours' under US military protection: lawmaker
  Rep. Park Young-sun of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, second from left, compares two photos of President Park Geun-hye taken before and after the sinking of the Sewol ferry on April 16, 2014, during a session of the parliamentary investigation into the scandal involving the President, Monday. The lawmaker alleged that Park may have been receiving wrinkle treatment for hours while the ship was sinking. / Yonhap By Jun Ji-hye Rep. An Min-suk of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea shows a message from a Korean resident living in Texas during a National Assembly investigation session Monday into the scandal involving President Park Geun-hye. / Yonhap The U.S. military is protecting a Korean Army nurse who may know what President Park Geun-hye was doing for seven hours while the Sewol ferry was sinking on April 16, 2014, an opposition lawmaker alleged Monday. This may be because the Seoul's defense ministry requested protection for the nurse, identified only as Capt. Cho, according to Rep. An Min-suk of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea. [Sewol] [USFK] [Canard]
• Did US Embassy 'support' Park's resignation?
  One of the floors of the U.S. Embassy Seoul went dark at 7 p.m. during a "light-out" event of the Saturday's sixth anti-president rally in downtown Seoul. / Screencaptured from the Internet The lights lit up again at 7:01 p.m. / Screencaptured from the Internet By Hong Dam-young The U.S. Embassy in Seoul may have expressed its unity with and support for the ongoing anti-President Geun-hye rally by joining part of the event. Streets in Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul on Saturday were jam-packed with protesters holding candles and chanting "Park Geun-hye OUT," in the sixth anti-president rally since the national protests began in late October. Similar rallies were held in cities across the nation, including Busan, Gwangju, Daegu, and Jeju, marking the biggest turnout so far of the six rallies, with a record 2.3 million people nationwide. Part of the peaceful rally was a "light-out," in which protesters put out candles all at once for a minute from 7 p.m. and then lit them again. The gesture aimed to send a message that the darkness cannot beat the light. People in offices or apartments also turned off lights. While the streets plunged into darkness, lights were also turned off in the U.S. embassy overlooking the protesters at the square. One of the building's floors went dark and lit up after a minute. [Park Geun-hye] [Protest] [US embassy] [Client]
• U.S. Blacklists N.Korean Airline
  By Kim Jin-myung December 05, 2016 09:18 The U.S. Treasury Department on Friday blacklisted North Korean flag carrier Air Koryo in response to the North's latest nuclear test in September. It also blacklisted 15 other agencies and seven officials including the president of Second Academy of Natural Sciences Chang Chang-ha, who is directly linked to the nuclear program. The blacklist covers organizations and individuals involved in the supply of overseas labor, coal exports and oil imports in addition to those involved in nuclear and missile development. . Air Koryo was blacklisted because one of its planes took part in a fly-over in a military parade in July 2013 and its aircraft transported spare parts for Scud missiles. Sixteen planes were specifically identified in the sanctions. One of them was ostensibly piloted by leader Kim Jong-un during a photo op in 2014 and currently flies between Pyongyang, Shanghai and Shenyang. "U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions involving the designated persons and listed aircraft,” the Treasury said in a statement. A Foreign Ministry spokesman here said that makes more difficult for people to visit and do business in North Korea.
  The ban would also make it more difficult for American tourists to go on package tours to North Korea that rely on Air Koryo. [Sanctions] [Treasury] [Human rights] [Tourism]
• Dealing with the DPRK: exploring the Trump administration’s options
  December 1, 2016 One of the major challenges for the incoming Trump administration will be the growing nuclear weapons capability of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK or North Korea). Pyongyang has made it clear that it will not even begin to discuss denuclearization until and unless Washington agrees to a bilateral peace treaty, which DPRK interlocutors insist must include an end to the ROK-US alliance and a withdrawal of US forces from, and its nuclear umbrella over, the Korean Peninsula. Washington has steadfastly (and rightly) refused this condition, insisting that normalization of relations and Pyongyang’s acceptance into the community of nations requires denuclearization. Pyongyang, under its “byungjin” or “simultaneous pursuit” policy, has proclaimed the dual goals of economic development and nuclear weapons. The US – indeed the international community, including the DPRK’s primary benefactor, China – has said the North can’t have both. UN Security Council sanctions aim, in part, at leading Pyongyang to make the right choice. As US Deputy Secretary of State Anthony "Tony" Blinkin observed, Washington is “working every single day to build a comprehensive and sustained pressure campaign on North Korea. Not to bring Kim Jong-un to his knees, but to bring him to his senses [emphasis added] and back to the table to engage meaningfully on denuclearization.” But US Director of National Intelligence James Clapper recently opined what most Korea watchers have believed for years: “the notion of getting the North Koreans to denuclearize is probably a lost cause.” So where does this leave soon-to-be President Trump? While an incoming administration may wish to put the North Korean challenge on a back-burner, Pyongyang has a habit of forcing the issue; recall it greeted the incoming Obama administration with a long-range missile test, followed by a nuclear weapon test. Pyongyang doesn’t mind being despised, but it hates being ignored; some test of the new administration’s mettle should be anticipated. [US NK policy] [Trump]
• THAAD Deployment 'to Go Ahead Despite Park's Ouster'
  By Kim Deok-han December 01, 2016 12:50 The U.S. government has made it clear that it will deploy a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense battery in Korea as scheduled no matter what happens to President Park Geun-hye in the wake of a massive corruption scandal. Asked whether Park's impeachment or resignation would affect the deployment, Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said Tuesday, "Our THAAD deployment continues. The effort to do that as quickly as possible continues forward, and I'm not aware of any plans to alter that at this point." "Those remain ongoing, and the alliance continues to move forward with that plan," he added. The White House also stressed the importance of the alliance. Commenting on the "complicated political situation," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said, "That is a situation that the [Korean] people will grapple with, but the ongoing alliance between our two countries is as strong and durable as ever." . [THAAD] [Park Geun-hye] [US dominance]
• THAAD deployment will move forward despite scandal: Pentagon
  By Jun Ji-hye The U.S. Defense Department said Tuesday that the planned deployment of a U.S. advanced anti-missile system to South Korea will move forward regardless of President Park Geun-hye's possible resignation or impeachment over the corruption scandal. "Our Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) deployment continues," said Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook at a briefing. "Those remain ongoing, and the alliance continues to move forward with that plan." The remark was a response to a question whether Park's impeachment or resignation would affect the deployment. While opposition parties are speeding up their efforts to pass a motion to impeach Park, possibly this week, over the high profile political scandal involving Park and her longtime friend Choi Soon-sil, the President said Tuesday that she will leave the decision on the timing and method of her resignation up to the National Assembly. In July, Seoul and Washington announced a decision to deploy a THAAD battery here by next year to better deter evolving threats from North Korea's nuclear and missile programs. But since the scandal erupted in late October, which has considerably diluted Park's power as a top decision maker, concerns have been raised that the deployment may be derailed. The concerns come as opposition lawmakers have called into question the government's bungled management of the decision-making process as well as its official announcement, which caused severe criticism from local residents living in the area selected as the location for THAAD. Rep. An Min-suk of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea has recently raised suspicions that Choi may have intervened in the government decision to allow the U.S. Forces Korea to deploy THAAD. China has called for scrapping the decision, seeing THAAD, especially its powerful radar, as a threat to its nuclear deterrent and other security interests, despite repeated assurances from Washington that the system is designed only to defend against the North. [THAAD] [US dominance]
• Satellite Imagery Analysis of Pyongyang: What is Missing in this Analysis?
  By Robert Carlin 29 November 2016 CNN recently posted a video from the Canadian company Urthecast with the headline “Space photos show something’s missing in North Korea.” It was hard to tell if this was supposed to be a news story or an infomercial. As it turned out, this could have been filed under “fake news.” The pleasantly-toned audio attached to the piece observed that despite the nice infrastructure in Pyongyang, there are “very few cars on the highway” and “very few people out and about” visible from the satellite 400 km above the earth. This, the announcer says, “raises new ideas and new understandings, and certainly a lot of questions about life in Pyongyang.” Indeed, it raised one particular question. What were they talking about? Experts on North Korea who have been visiting Pyongyang for years, including very recently have noted that there is a lot of traffic – a lot of cars, a lot of trucks, and a lot of taxis. Leaving aside the cartoonish notion that the regime gathered all available vehicles and staged them to pile up at intersections or speed past in a ballet to impress us, what could the Urthecast announcer have meant? Charitably, it could be that this is a case of “very few” being in the eye of the beholder. “Very few” compared to what? No, Pyongyang doesn’t have the road-clogging traffic of Beijing, or the gridlock in mid-day New York. Yet over the past few years, veteran observers have noted a steady increase in traffic in Pyongyang. According to one observer, “when I was first there in 1996, I could count the number of cars going past the hotel over the stretch of 15 or 20 minutes on the fingers of one hand. On my last visit, in 2010, that had changed dramatically, and in 2016, the increase was more dramatic still. Even more interesting than cars were the numbers of trucks and taxis – evidence of increased commercial activity and economic life not apparent twenty or even ten years ago.” [Media] [Traffic] [Growth]

• Lockheed denies Choi Soon-sil link
  Lockheed Martin CEO Marillyn Hewson By Jun Ji-hye U.S. defense corporation Lockheed Martin has denied allegations it has been helped by the scandal-ridden confidant of President Park Geun-hye, Choi Soon-sil, in receiving business favors from the Park government. In a statement sent to The Korea Times, Tuesday, the company said recent reports claiming Lockheed has had engagements with Choi or Linda Kim with regards to the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) or F-35 fighter jets are "false." Linda Kim was an influential arms lobbyist until the early 2000s, and is suspected of having a relationship with Choi. [Choi Sun-sil] [Lockheed Martin] [THAAD]
• How the Radio Free Asia released the whole set of baloney
  Konstantin Asmolov 1It could be noted that recently, such an organization as Radio Free Asia has masterfully come out on top on the author’s ranking of baloney sources. This non-profit entity has its headquarters in the United States that, in theory, occupy the same place as Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty did during the ‘Cold War’. However, as the author lived at the time when Radio Liberty broadcasting was to be listened to more as ‘forbidden or banned voices’, the author has the opportunity to compare the quality and reliability of the information broadcast by the two radio stations. Although, after the news about obligatory hairstyles like Kim Jong-un, or about the distribution of drugs among the builders of important national economic assets, someone may think it is difficult to come up with something more odious, the other day, Radio Free Asia managed to surpass itself. Here is another sensation: on August 28, sarcasm was banned in North Korea. During mass meetings starving and repressed workers are told that satire or sarcasm while discussing matters concerning North Korean authorities would be regarded as an “act of hostility”, similar to slander. For example, wording like “It’s all American tricks”, which the Koreans use only to make fun of their government’s trend of blaming the US State Department for all their problems, was also banned. In addition, the phrase “idiot, not seeing the world around” was banned as it may refer the country’s leadership. This has been largely been due to the fact that graffiti on walls in Pyongyang and other major cities are full of such expressions. This is how the public is manifesting its growing discontent with the authorities, despite the fact that the authorities always paint the graffiti over to prevent any slogan from being disseminated. As usual, an anonymous source from North Korean provinces of Ryanggangdo and Chagangdo, being the poor and inaccessible hinterland, was the source of the sensation. This is incidentally very convenient, as the verifying the existence of the source is associated with a lot of obstacles. [Media] [Canard] [Propaganda]
• S. Korea will have to pay up if US demands more defense-cost sharing
  South Korea will have to embrace an increase in its share of the cost of American troops stationed in the country if the incoming U.S. administration makes such a demand, Seoul's arms procurement chief said Monday. Chang Myoung-jin, head of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, made the remark during a discussion at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington amid keen attention as to whether President-elect Donald Trump would put into action his campaign pledge to have allies pay up. "My basic thought about that is just that if, and this may be a big if, President-elect Trump and his administration, when it comes to the alliance with ROK, of course the campaign's rhetoric has been toward that direction, and if there is a huge demand for more burden on the part of the ROK, I think Korea will inevitably have to embrace that," Chang said. Chang also called for more spending to upgrade South Korea's weapons systems to cope better with the ever-growing threats from North Korea's nuclear and missile programs. [Tribute] [Trump] [Military expenditure] [MISCOM]
• N.Korea Urges Trump to 'Drop Hostile Policies'
  By Kim Myong-song November 22, 2016 09:52 North Korea's Foreign Ministry in a nine-page statement on Monday called on the U.S. to drop its "hostile" policies toward Pyongyang. The North has "chosen the path to nuclear armament as a way of self-defense... from constant nuclear threats from the U.S.," the statement said. This seems to be a thinly veiled appeal to U.S. president-elect Donald Trump to overhaul North Korea policy. The statement lists what it calls the U.S.' "political, military, and economic hostilities since 2012." "Five years have passed" since the North began a full-scale confrontation with the U.S. to counter "the U.S.' hostile maneuvers and nuclear threats" after former leader Kim Jong-il's death. Washington should look squarely at the North's "changed strategic status" and show with deeds that it will "stop anachronistic hostile policies toward the North and nuclear threats," it continued. "This alone will be a starting point for a solution to all problems." . © This is copyrighted material owned by Digital Chosun Inc. No part of it may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission. [US NK policy] [Trump] [Overture]
• Troop presence in Korea serves US national interest
  The United States has kept troops in South Korea for decades because it's in the country's own national interest, not just to help the Asian ally, the head of a major U.S. think tank said Monday. John Hamre, a top security expert and president of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, made the point during a discussion on Korea-U.S. defense cooperation, rejecting President-elect Donald Trump's rhetoric that the U.S. gains little from maintaining troops in allied nations. "We've just elected a new president-elect, who has said rather curious things about our allies, implying that we're only in Korea to help Korea, we're not there for ourselves, we're there to help Korea. You know that's just completely wrong," Hamre said. [Military Presence] [US global strategy]
• Trump's security adviser is reportedly planning to make tackling North Korea's nuclear program a high priority
  SEOUL (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's national security adviser says North Korea's nuclear program would be given a high priority under the new administration, a South Korean official who held talks with him said on Saturday. Michael Flynn, one of Trump's closest advisers, also said he would work to strengthen the U.S. alliance with South Korea, calling the relationship "vital," the South's deputy presidential national security adviser Cho Tae-yong was quoted as saying by Yonhap news agency. [US NK policy] [Trump]
• US experts: In short term, Pres. Trump likely to strengthen sanctions on North Korea
  Posted on : Nov.20,2016 11:48 KST Respondents to Hankyoreh survey agree that China and IS will be Trump’s main foreign policy priorities Predictions of Donald Trump’s Korean peninsula policies (1) American experts on Korean affairs mostly agree that, in the short term, the US administration of president-elect Donald Trump will continue the policy of putting pressure on North Korea, which could include imposing tougher sanctions. But there is considerable disagreement about what policies Trump might adopt toward North Korea six months or a year into his term. This shows just how much uncertainty there is about a Trump administration. From Nov. 9 to 13, following Trump’s election as US president, the Hankyoreh carried out a survey of American experts on Korean affairs. When asked for their predictions about what North Korean policies the Trump administration would adopt in the short term, during his first six months to one year in office, 10 out of 12 experts who responded said that he would increase pressure on the North. Interestingly, both hardliners and pragmatists made the same prediction. [US NK policy] [Trump]
• Majority of US experts support negotiations to freeze N. Korea’s nuclear program
  Posted on : Nov.20,2016 11:50 KST In survey, most experts give Obama administration mediocre grades on North Korea policy Predictions of Donald Trump’s Korean peninsula policies (2) Amid a sharp public debate over the North Korean policy of the next administration that has taken place between hardliners and pragmatists in Washington since before the US presidential election, it turns out that a significant number of pragmatists support the idea of entering negotiations with North Korea with the short-term goal of freezing the North’s nuclear program. In a survey of American experts on Korean affairs that the Hankyoreh carried out after Trump’s election as US president, from Nov. 9 to 13, the Hankyoreh asked experts for their personal view on adjusting the short-term goal of negotiations with North Korea from denuclearization to freezing the North’s current nuclear program. Of the 14 experts who responded to the survey, 11 expressed their support for this position, while just three were opposed. “We need to remember the Korean proverb that talks about fixing the barn after the cattle are gone. Since Kim Jong-un is never going to give up his nuclear weapons, it’s much more practical and achievable for us to pursue negotiations aimed at putting a freeze on the North’s nuclear tests and missile launches,” said Dennis Halpin, a researcher at Johns Hopkins University and a former advisor for the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. Significantly, middle-of-the-road experts were joined by several well-known hawks in expressing their conditional support for a freeze on the North’s nuclear program, though they spoke on condition of anonymity. [US NK policy] [Pundit]
• Think Tank Corrects Trump's View of USFK Cost
  By Cho Yi-jun November 18, 2016 13:42 The rightwing Heritage Foundation, which backs U.S. president-elect Donald Trump, in a report Wednesday pointed out that Korea provides "substantial resources" for the upkeep of U.S. soldiers here. The think tank's former president Edwin Feulner as well as staff back the surprise winner of the U.S. election, who on the stump portrayed Korea as a freeloader on American security spending. . But the Heritage Foundation in the report says the Korean government "provides substantial resources to defray the costs of U.S. Forces Korea. It provides some US$900 million annually in either direct funding or in-kind support, covering cost-sharing for labor, logistics, and improvements in facilities." It added Japan also provides "some $2 billion annually to support the cost of USFJ." Trump, whose grip on the facts is not always secure, has accused to two countries of contributing "peanuts." . [USFK] [Tribute]
• North Korean officials and US experts have first informal meeting since Trump’s election
  Posted on : Nov.17,2016 16:19 KST Trump’s North Korea policy direction is still unclear; US government stressing that meeting was unofficial Choe Son-hui, director-general of the American affairs bureau in the North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, affairs at Bejing International Airport on Nov. 15. (Kyodo/Yonhap News) North Korean officials had their first informal meeting with US Korea experts in Geneva on Nov. 15 following Donald Trump’s election as US President. According to accounts from US sources on Nov. 15, the meeting was attended by Choe Son-hui, director-general of the American affairs bureau in the North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as representative on the North Korean side and researcher Joel Wit, co-founder of the Johns Hopkins University US-Korea Institute’s North Korea affairs website 38 North, on the US side. Choe and Wit met in Singapore in Aug. 2012, while Choe was deputy director general for American affairs. Wit, a former official in charge of North Korea affairs at the US State Department, worked as a senior aide to then-Assistant Secretary of State Robert Gallucci - a special envoy on the North Korean nuclear program during the first North Korean nuclear crisis in the early 1990s - before going on to spearhead establishment of the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO). [US NK negotiations] [Track2]
• US's preemptive strike on N. Korea 'zero': Trump's aide
  John Bolton, considered a top candidate for secretary of state under the incoming administration of Donald Trump, said Wednesday the U.S. won't launch a preemptive strike against North Korea, according to a South Korean lawmaker. Bolton, who served as a top nonproliferation official under George W. Bush and is known for hawkish views on North Korea and other security threats, made the remark when he met with a group of South Korean lawmakers, according to Rep. Na Kyung-won of the ruling Saenuri Party. Bolton even said there is "zero" chance of a U.S. preemptive attack on the North, according to Na. "He said he's well aware of how much price South Korea should pay in that case," the lawmaker said. "He said the North Korean nuclear issue is being considered a top issue of concern due to the North's nuclear tests and missile launches." Bolton also stressed the need for thorough preparedness against attacks from the North, she said. "He said he understands the seriousness of the North Korean nuclear issue, and there should be more discussions with China," Na said. Bolton also reacted negatively to holding talks with the North, she said. "He said he has no intention of sitting there (at the negotiating table). He said he's not interested in holding talks," Na said. [Bolton] [Preemptive] [Continuity] [China hope] [Military option] [[US NK Negotiations]
• US troop withdrawal would raise war possibility on Korean Peninsula
  Withdrawal of U.S. troops from South Korea would raise the possibility of war breaking out on the Korean Peninsula as it could lead to North Korea making a misjudgment, a U.S. think tank said Tuesday. The Asia Foundation report came as concerns have been running high about how the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president would affect U.S. alliances as he has expressed deeply negative views of U.S. security commitments and a willingness to end them unless allies pay more for American troops. "From time to time during the 2016 campaign, there have been comments in the United States about ending the nation's security commitments in Asia. In our view, this would gravely harm both U.S. interests and the region, and would force Asian nations to seek other ways to guarantee their own security," the foundation said in a report, titled "Asian Views on America's Role in Asia." [Military presence]
• Korea may decouple from US in Trump era
  By Park Hyong-ki President-elect Donald Trump's expected fiscal and trade policies promoting the foremost interests of American businesses and workers are further boosting investor sentiment in the world's largest economy with stocks rallying toward record highs. Analysts forecast that further gains on the Dow Jones Industrial Average are likely and will soon break the 19,000 mark buoyed by expectations of greater benefits for American manufacturers, financials and taxpayers through tax cuts, deregulations and massive infrastructure spending at home. While Trump's America-first policy has led to gains in the United States, his campaign rhetoric for trade protectionism has drawn criticism from the economies of China, Mexico and Europe, with the Korean market showing signs of decoupling from the U.S. economy, its second-largest trading partner. [Trump] [US SK] [Protectionism]
• USA – China: Who Is Responsible for North Korean Nuclear Weapons Programme Development?
  Konstantin Asmolov North Korea’s announcements of the completion of its Nuclear Weapons Development Programme have caused an outburst of discussion on “who is to blame”. More accurately, it concerns who is primarily responsible for the escalation of the situation to its current level. Against the backdrop of growing USA-China opposition, now Beijing has even been accused this, with accusations varying from “did nothing, although it could” to “actively assisted”. Let’s start with statements made by US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. On October 13, 2016 the Associated Press, referring to WikiLeaks, reported that in June, 2013, during a lecture to Goldman Sachs officials, Hillary Clinton pointed out that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army is the main sponsor of North Korea. It was at that time when she stated her position – if Beijing is not able to keep North Korea from creating an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of carrying nuclear weapons, the USA may encircle China with a ring of missile defence systems and naval bases. [US NK policy] [China]
• S. Korean delegation, Trump team to discuss N. Korea's denuclearization, alliance
  South Korean security and trade officials will discuss the importance of the bilateral alliance with the United States and North Korea's growing nuclear threats with the U.S. government transition team, the government said Wednesday. Amid concerns that a high-profile political scandal gripping the country could undermine the efforts to build close ties with the incoming Donald Trump administration, the delegation embarked on a four-day trip to Washington. "We will first make clear that the South Korea-U.S. alliance is a crucial partnership for both countries and serves the interests of all parties," Cho Tae-yong, the deputy chief of the National Security Office under the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae, told reporters before departing for Washington. "Based on the shared understanding of the seriousness and urgency of the North's nuclear issue, we will discuss the need to find solutions (to the issue) while maintaining our pressure-centric stance through close bilateral cooperation." The delegation will also discuss the "win-win" nature of the bilateral trade relations, Cho added. Cho did not elaborate on whom his delegation will meet. [US NK policy]
• S. Korea's nuclear armament to lead China to tighten pressure on N. Korea: ex-CIA chief
  Bringing U.S. tactical nuclear weapons back to South Korea or relaxing restrictions on Seoul's civilian nuclear industry could be considered as a means to put pressure on China to work harder to get North Korea to give up its nuclear program, a former CIA director said Tuesday. Michael Hayden, who served as CIA chief from 2006-2009, made the suggestion in an article to The Hill newspaper, expressing concern that the North will likely be able to "reach the Pacific Northwest with a nuclear-armed missile within a few years." "By the end of Donald Trump's first term, we could be facing an isolated, pathological little gangster state able to obliterate Seattle," he said. China should put a lot more pressure on Pyongyang, but Beijing is unwilling to do so because "it believes that current circumstances are tolerable, or at least more tolerable than potential instability, refugee flows or a unified Korea integrated with the West," he said. "Beijing would rather live with today's painful toothache than chance the root canal or oral surgery. So we might want to allow the tooth to hurt more ?- not maliciously, but as a byproduct of steps logically taken because of North Korea's actions," Hayden said. Hayden said the decision to put the THAAD missile defense system in South Korea was one of such measures. [Tactical nuclear weapons] [THAAD] China hope]
• 'Trump may meet N. Korean leader soon'
  By Jane Han Dr. Han Park, director and professor at University of Georgia. DALLAS — Amid anticipation that America's next commander-in-chief will introduce a sharp and significant foreign policy shift, a prominent North Korean expert predicts that a meeting between Donald Trump and Pyongyang's despot Kim Jong-un may happen soon. "Such a meeting could take place relatively soon," Dr. Han Park, director and professor emeritus of public and international affairs at the University of Georgia, said in an interview with The Korea Times. "It is because Trump may wish to show the world that he is in charge of creating new policy initiatives and meeting with Kim is a low-hanging fruit that is definitely attractive." Park, who has visited Pyongyang about 50 times, has worked with numerous U.S. administrations and served as an unofficial negotiator between the U.S. and North Korea to mediate tensions. One of the more well-known involvements was when Park visited Pyongyang in 2009 to help the release of Laura Ling and Euna Lee, two American journalists who had been detained by the communist state while filming a documentary along the China-North Korea border. As far as the possible meeting between Trump and Kim goes, Russia may play a role. [Trump] [US NK negotiations]
• Trump win to strengthen ties in Northeast Asia
  ‘Kim Jung-un will get a taste of unpredictability from Trump' By Kim Jae-kyoung Katharine H.S. Moon Donald Trump's victory in the U.S. presidential election may prod South Korea into building stronger ties with Japan and China, according to Katharine H.S.Moon, a senior fellow at the Center for East Asia Policy Studies at the Brookings Institute. She called for South Korea to seek "balanced and pragmatic" diplomacy with its neighboring countries to deal with political pressure from the unpredictable Trump administration. "What South Korea should do is strengthen its relationships with both Japan and China," said Moon in an interview. She is an expert in inter-Korea and U.S.-Korea relations. On the issue of U.S. military bases, she pointed out that Korea and Japan are inter-connected. "The U.S. cannot consider significant changes in one country without considering the strategic and tactical impact on the other," she said. "China might also want to seek stronger relations with Korea and Japan in order to balance political pressure from the U.S." Moon, who also serves as chairwoman of the SK-Korea Foundation in Korea Studies, ruled out the possibility that U.S. troops will withdraw from South Korea. [Trump] [Unpredictable]
• The Korean Peninsula within the Framework of US Global Hegemony
  Tim Beal
  November 13, 2016 Volume 14 | Issue 22 | Number 3 On 8 July 2016 it was announced in Seoul that the US would, as had long been anticipated, deploy an initial unit of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in South Korea.1 The announcement was made at a press conference hosted by the South Korean Deputy Minister of Defense Ryu Je-seung and the Chief of Staff of US Forces in Korea (USFK) who has the significant, if unfortunate, name of General Vandal. The decision did not attract much attention in the international media being overshadowed by the Brexit drama in Europe, shootings and electioneering in the US, and Obama’s last NATO summit in Warsaw. The limited coverage however was definitely ‘on message’: •US and South Korea agree THAAD missile defence deployment (BBC)2 •South Korea and US agree to deploy THAAD missile defence system (Guardian)3 •Pentagon to deploy anti-missile system in South Korea (Washington Post)4 •South Korea and US Agree to Deploy Missile Defense System (New York Times)5 It was Reuters which delivered the whole message in the headline: South Korea, US Agree to Deploy THAAD Missile Defense to Counter North Korea Threat6 So, the message goes, we have two equal allies--South Korea and the US (and that is often the order in which they are given) --who after much deliberation are stationing this segment of Missile Defense precisely to defend South Korea against a belligerent North Korea. [THAAD] [US global strategy] [China confrontation]
• What should President-elect Trump do about North Korea?
  Americans surveyed overwhelmingly support maintenance of status quo
  NK News November 14th, 2016 Following the U.S. election on November 8, NK News issued a Google survey asking Americans what they believe President-elect Donald J. Trump should do about North Korea. In 2016, North Korea continued to develop both its nuclear and ballistic missile programs despite international condemnation as well new unilateral and multilateral sanctions. President Barack Obama was unable to intervene or negotiate a stop to these activities and his so-called policy of “strategic patience” is widely seen as a failure. Donald J. Trump’s election could mean a significant shift in American policy, though it’s unclear what shape exactly this will take. Trump has suggested he would sit down with Kim Jong Un and “eat hamburgers” with the North Korean leader, but has also suggested that China should intervene against the DPRK, suggested that U.S. troops could be withdrawn from South Korea, and expressed support for the nuclearization of Japan and South Korea. [US NK policy] [Trump] [Public opinion]
• Trump Flip-Flops on Nukes for S.Korea, Japan
  By Kim Deok-han November 15, 2016 09:59 U.S. president-elect Donald Trump flip-flopped on Sunday on his earlier statement on the campaign trail that countries like South Korea and Japan should acquire their own nuclear arsenals to protect themselves. Through his favored medium of Twitter, Trump denied ever making the suggestion. The real-estate mogul was responding to a New York Times article that summed up his often bizarre pronouncements on foreign policy, including that he "suggested that more countries should acquire nuclear weapons." . But when asked on March 25 about the possibility of South Korea and Japan acquiring their own nuclear arsenals, Trump told the New York Times. "If the United States keeps on its path, its current path of weakness, they're going to want to have that anyway. Because I don't think they feel very secure in what's going on with our country." And at a CNN town hall meeting on March 29, Trump said that North Korea, Pakistan, and China have their own nuclear arsenals, and that Iran is going to have its own within 10 years. "At some point we have to say, you know what, we're better off if Japan protects itself against this maniac in North Korea, we're better off, frankly, if South Korea is going to start to protect itself," he added. The remarks sparked criticism from both the Democratic and Republican parties for flying in the face of the U.S.' non-proliferation regime. Trump's latest tweets seem aimed at preventing his stump braggadocio from causing further controversy. "On Thursday, Mr. Trump spoke to South Korean President Park Geun-hye and, according to her office, reaffirmed his intention '100 percent' to uphold the alliance and strengthen it," the Washington Post said Sunday. "Following the election, he has seemed to step away from one of his most disruptive ideas." [Trump] [Nuclearisation] [Media] [Conditionality] [Non-proliferation]
• [Editorial] Now is the time to ease foreign policy and security reliance on the US
  Posted on : Nov.14,2016 16:46 KST The election of Donald Trump as US president constitutes a challenge to South Korea’s foreign policy and security. If Seoul manages to make the right response to Trump’s foreign policy approach of “America First,” this could even be a good opportunity for South Korea. While the greatest adjustments to American foreign policy will occur regarding Europe, Russia and the Middle East, considerable change is also expected in East Asia. In some form or another, the policy of rebalancing to Asia and the Pacific backed by the Obama administration will be adjusted as well. What is most certain is that Trump is very likely to reduce American involvement when the direct benefit to the US is not obvious. This coincides with his position that regional problems should be dealt with by the countries in those regions. This position has some degree of historical merit, since it corresponds to the movement toward a multipolar world. South Korea has been too dependent on the US in its foreign policy and security. This dependence has become even worse under the current administration of President Park Geun-hye. In recent years, it is fair to say that Seoul has looked solely to the US and has blindly adhered to American policy. One of the best examples of this has been South Korea‘s policy toward North Korea, which has consisted entirely of making shows of force and cranking up pressure and sanctions while cutting off all contact. The US has gotten its way in growing trilateral security cooperation with South Korea and Japan as well as on the issue of the comfort women for the imperial Japanese army. The same holds true for Seoul’s decision to allow the THAAD missile defense system to be deployed on the Korean Peninsula and its plan to purchase a huge amount of American weaponry. The delay of the transfer of wartime operational control of South Korean troops is also a consequence of this dependence upon the US. [Autonomy] [SK US]
• Trump could help resolve nuclear standoff with N. Korea: presidential adviser
  The election of Donald Trump as the next U.S. president could offer a chance to resolve the standoff over North Korea's nuclear program, a senior South Korean presidential advisory panel official said Monday. Yoo Ho-yeol, executive vice chairman of the National Unification Advisory Council, made the case during a visit to Washington, saying the potential improvement in U.S. relations with Russia under Trump would have positive effects on the North Korean issue. Should Russia work harder toward denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula as its relations with the U.S. improve, it could then prod China to make greater efforts toward the goal, leaving the North under greater pressure from the two countries, Yoo said. Yoo, an expert on North Korea, said that the Trump administration isn't expected to be conciliatory toward the communist nation because he's basically from the Republican Party. Yoo said his council plans to raise $200,000 to help fund the planned establishment of a "Wall of Remembrance" in Washington that lists the names of all American soldiers killed during the 1950-53 Korean War. In October, U.S. President Barack Obama signed a bill authorizing the wall's establishment. The proposed wall would also list American prisoners of war and those missing in action. "Based on activities like this, we could say to the Trump government that we're not a free rider," Yoo said. (Yonhap) [Trump] [US NK policy] [Russia]
• Inspector O and the Politics Lesson (Part 2)
  By James Church 15 November 2016 “Church, you scoundrel!” The voice boomed across the bar. Each of the patrons had looked up and was staring at me, some annoyed, some bemused at the interruption to the normal solitary quiet of the place. I looked around. In a dark corner, standing and waving, was Inspector O. “My friend!” He beamed. As I walked up, he threw his arms around me and gave me a big hug. “Sit, sit,” O said, still too loud. “Drinks, darling,” he beckoned a waitress. “Drinks for my dear friend.” My first thought had been that he was as drunk as a skunk, but as I got a better look, I could tell, no, he was rock steady sober. “What is this, Inspector? This boisterous welcome? And don’t call the waitress ‘darling.’ You’ll get in trouble.” “No, no I won’t,” he said. “No one will get in trouble. A new day has dawned, has it not?” “What might this be about?” I decided to get to the point, if tentatively. “I thought you would be furious with me.” “Why should I be furious?” He patted the waitress on the backside and winked at me. “Well, for one thing,” I said, “I told you he would never win.” “And you were wrong. That’s fine. Don’t worry about it. We all make mistakes.” [US_election16] [Trump]
• Is Korea Ready to Fend for Itself?
  November 10, 2016 13:32 Foreign-policy pledges of U.S. president-elect Donald Trump have been characterized by two major themes -- isolationism and self-interest. Both could have a deep impact on the Korea-U.S. alliance, which is the sole foundation of this country's security. Trump hopes above all to avoid getting involved in international issues that do not benefit U.S. interests, a clean break from the doctrine America has pursued since the end of World War II and the Obama administration's "pivot to Asia" over the last eight years. It could weaken the Korea-U.S. alliance tremendously if Trump believes there is no benefit for America in it. Trump is applying a purely business logic to the 60-year-old Korea-U.S. alliance. He only visited Korea twice back in the 1990s on business and has only painted a negative picture of the alliance during his campaign. He has called the stationing of 28,000 U.S. troops on the Korean Peninsula as an "unbearable cost" for America and claimed that Korea pays for none of it. In fact Korea shoulders around W1 trillion of the costs each year (US$1=W1,150). If Seoul refuses to pay more, Trump may threaten to reduce the troop presence here. Still, if money is the only problem, the two sides can work things out. But if the problem is Trump's lack of understanding of the risks the peninsula faces, a slapdash attitude to complex regional security matters and contempt for Seoul's stance, the prospects could be catastrophic. Trump has referred to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as a lunatic and even threatened to eliminate him, but recently he offered to meet him if Kim comes to the U.S. Experts say Trump is open to both the ideas of attacking North Korea's nuclear facilities and holding talks with Pyongyang to strike a bilateral deal. Either scenario is a serious risk for Seoul. [US NK policy] [Trump] [US SK alliance
• [Analysis] Trump’s election amplifies uncertainties in S. Korea-US alliance
  Posted on : Nov.10,2016 15:52 KST Donald Trump gives a victory speech to supporters after being elected the 45th President of the United States, at the Hilton Midtown Hotel in New York City, in the early hours of Nov. 9. (AP/Yonhap News) President-elect Trump has alluded to making S. Korea cover more USFK stationing costs, and could alter THAAD deployment plans Republican candidate Donald Trump’s expectation-defying election as the 45th President of the United States on Nov. 8 amplifies uncertainties surrounding the diplomatic and security relationship between Seoul and Washington. The restructuring of relations that takes place when his administration takes office early next year is likely to be more tumultuous than other incoming administration. Speaking in a government conference with the Saenuri Party at the National Assembly that day, Minister of Foreign Affairs Yun Byung-se offered a somewhat hopeful forecast. “As a candidate, Trump stressed the importance of the South Korea-US alliance. This policy approach emphasizing the South Korea-US alliance will continue under the new administration,” he said. But with Trump making a number of claims during his campaign that deviated from the traditional approach to Washington-Seoul ties, many analysts are predicting relations will not be so simple going forward. “Trump will not be a ‘world president’ - he‘ll be a US President, adopting an ’American first‘ approach,” said Yonsei University emeritus distinguished professor Moon Chung-in. “South Koreans also really need to let go of our mind-set of depending too much on the US and make an objective assessment of the changing security environment and recalibrate our relations with the US and North Korea,” Moon suggested. Indeed, Trump also hinted in the past that US Forces Korea could be pulled out if South Korea does not pay more to station them. [Trump] [US SK alliance]
• Trump vs. Kim Jong-un: the unpredictable
  US president-elect may seek engagement with NK after initial hike in tensions By Kim Jae-kyoung Prof. William Brown U.S. President-elect Donald Trump may jeopardize stability on the Korean Peninsula if his North Korean counterpart continues to rely on nuclear brinkmanship, according to a North Korea expert based in Washington, D.C. William Brown, a professor at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, said Trump may take immediate countermeasures against any military provocations by North Korea and its unpredictable leader Kim Jong-un. "Pyongyang has a history of provocations in order to make it feel noticed, and I expect that may happen again," Brown said. "If so, Trump would respond and might create some kind of crisis. "Our government would give very clear notice to Pyongyang that any nuclear or conventional provocations will be immediately countered and that better relations can quickly develop if Kim wants to move in that direction and is willing to make some important reforms and changes." [Trump] [US NK policy]
• Korean-Americans behind Trump's election
  Some Korean-Americans supported Donald Trump's surprise election as U.S. president and are expected to be given roles in the incoming government. Most representative of them are Lisa Shin, an eye doctor living in New Mexico; Michelle Park Steel, vice chair of California's Orange County Board of Supervisors; RNC Asian and Pacific Islander Communications Director Jason Chung; and Marcia Lee Kelly, director of operations for the Republican National Convention. Shin was the only Korean-American to deliver a speech at July's Republican national convention where Trump won the presidential nomination. During the speech, Shin said Trump is the only candidate "who will preserve the American dream that our parents and our grandparents envisioned for us." "I am Korean-American. And I am very proud to be a supporter of the next president of the United States, Donald J. Trump!" Shin said during the speech. [Trump] [Diaspora]
• Trump Changes Tune Over Alliance with Korea
  By Jung Nok-yong November 11, 2016 09:30 U.S. president-elect Donald Trump on Thursday told President Park Geun-hye the U.S. stands by Korea "100 percent," Cheong Wa Dae said. "We are going to be with you 100 percent," Trump said when Park called him in the morning. “We will be steadfast and strong with respect to working with you to protect against the instability in North Korea." On the campaign trail Trump repeatedly singled out the alliance with Korea as an expensive commitment the U.S. can do without, and described the free trade agreement with Korea as a "disaster." . But now the reality of his election win sinks in he appears to have changed his tune. "We are with you all the way and we will not waver," he told Park. Park told Trump the two countries "have built mutual trust while advancing their alliance over the past six decades." "We're looking forward to working closely with you to bolster and develop the alliance in more diverse areas for the sake of common interests." Park added the most serious challenge facing the alliance "is the North Korean nuclear and missile threats." Trump said he agrees 100 percent. The real estate tycoon also claimed to have bought many Korean home appliances and thought they were very good. Park expressed hope that Trump will visit Korea at an early date, saying, "I'm looking forward to meeting you to have more in-depth discussions in the near future." [Trump] [US NK policy] [US SK alliance]
• [Analysis] Trump’s election amplifies uncertainties in S. Korea-US alliance
  Posted on : Nov.10,2016 15:52 KST Donald Trump gives a victory speech to supporters after being elected the 45th President of the United States, at the Hilton Midtown Hotel in New York City, in the early hours of Nov. 9. (AP/Yonhap News) President-elect Trump has alluded to making S. Korea cover more USFK stationing costs, and could alter THAAD deployment plans Republican candidate Donald Trump’s expectation-defying election as the 45th President of the United States on Nov. 8 amplifies uncertainties surrounding the diplomatic and security relationship between Seoul and Washington. The restructuring of relations that takes place when his administration takes office early next year is likely to be more tumultuous than other incoming administration. Speaking in a government conference with the Saenuri Party at the National Assembly that day, Minister of Foreign Affairs Yun Byung-se offered a somewhat hopeful forecast. “As a candidate, Trump stressed the importance of the South Korea-US alliance. This policy approach emphasizing the South Korea-US alliance will continue under the new administration,” he said. But with Trump making a number of claims during his campaign that deviated from the traditional approach to Washington-Seoul ties, many analysts are predicting relations will not be so simple going forward. “Trump will not be a ‘world president’ - he‘ll be a US President, adopting an ’American first‘ approach,” said Yonsei University emeritus distinguished professor Moon Chung-in. [Trump] [US Korea]
• [Editorial] The shock of Trump’s victory means upheaval for East Asia and the world
  Posted on : Nov.10,2016 15:11 KST Donald Trump points during his victory speech after being elected the 45th President of the United States, at the Hilton Midtown Hotel in New York City, Nov. 9. In his speech, Trump said, “Now it’s time for America to bind the wounds of division. We have to get together.” (AP/Yonhap News) Real estate magnate and political outsider Donald Trump defied expectations to achieve victory as the Republican Party candidate in the US presidential election on Nov. 8. This is expected to cause a much greater shock to the world order than BREXIT this past June, when Great Britain decided in a popular referendum to leave the European Union. The international trend for countries to overtly prioritize the national interest is likely to become even stronger. Trump has attacked the US’s basic foreign policy stance and espoused the position of “America First.” This represents an outright rejection of traditional internationalism, under which the US takes on the responsibility that is commensurate to its status as a superpower. It‘s highly likely that Trump’s course will lead to a degree of isolationism and unilateralism with little historical precedent. If the US puts the priority on angling for short-term gains, there will inevitably be a huge impact on the world at large. Even if Trump chooses the practical course of moderating some of his goals, international conflict will still break out in various places. [Trump]
• [Trump Aftershock] Uncertainties weigh on S. Korea
  Security, diplomacy, N. Korea policy put to test By Yi Whan-woo It was a double whammy for South Korea as unpredictable populist Donald Trump's stunning victory in the U.S. election and President Park Geun-hye's slip into a deeper leadership crisis amid the Choi Soon-sil scandal amplify uncertainties on the Korean Peninsula. With hard-line opposition lawmakers calling for her resignation or impeachment, concerns are growing that political administration may grind to a halt and the country's efforts to build ties with the incoming U.S. government will lose momentum. The combination of chaotic domestic politics and the Trump factor will provide enormous challenges to the country down the road, analysts say. Trump, who will take office on Jan. 20 as the 45th U.S. president, vowed to upend globalization and other conventional foreign policies embraced by all of his predecessors since World War II. For Park, instead of resignation or impeachment, some opposition and ruling Saenuri Party lawmakers are offering a more viable choice — empower a prime minister recommended by the National Assembly to run the country while nominally remaining in office until the scheduled end of her presidency. Such an option, however, still leaves the question of whether Trump, who has displayed a lack of knowledge and courtesy toward other countries, will accept Park or the opposition-chosen prime minister as his real counterpart. Park's term will end in February 2018. Moreover, the National Assembly has not determined who to recommend as its new prime minister after opposing Park's nomination of Kookmin University Professor Kim Byeong-joon for the post to replace Hwang Kyo-ahn, Nov. 3. According to some diplomatic sources, a South Korean leader usually holds a summit with the new U.S. president around April or May of the same year the latter enters the White House. "We should immediately contact relevant officials from the Trump side and begin scheduling face-to-face talks between the two heads of state," a source said. "The thing is, we don't even know whether Park will pull out of state affairs fully or partially." The Assembly is debating whether the new prime minister should take control of domestic or foreign affairs or both, or allow Park to handle foreign affairs. [Trump]
• Trump expected to take tougher stance on N. Korea, China
  U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is expected to seek a tougher stance not only on North Korea, but also on China and other nations that support the communist nation, a U.S. expert said Thursday. "We know he believes China should be playing a larger role. I would expect him to be much tougher on China than the Obama administration. I would expect him to utilize new financial sanctions to a greater extent," said Troy Stangarone, a senior expert at the Korea Economic Institute. "In the campaign, he suggested Iran needs to cut off its ties with North Korea. So I expect him to be tougher on other states that are believed to support the North Korean regime as well," he said during a discussion on Trump's policy on the Korean Peninsula. Still, Trump would be more flexible toward new ideas, using his businessman skills to seek solutions, he said. "I think the challenges he's going to face is that there are very limited options in terms of dealing with North Korea and he will find that," Stangarone said. In his 2000 book, "The America We Deserve," Trump advocated a surgical strike against the North's nuclear facility before it's too late. In this year's campaign, he said the North is China's problem to fix, though he also expressed a willingness to hold nuclear negotiations with the North's leader while eating hamburgers. Trump has also called the North's leader a "madman," a "maniac" and a "total nut job," but he's also praised the young dictator, saying it is "amazing" for him to keep control of the country. Donald Manzullo, KEI president, said that the U.S-Korea alliance will remain strong under Trump. "It's a very unusual relationship with a very, very close ally. And nobody wants to see the quality of their relationship impaired. Regardless of who controls Congress and regardless of who sits in the White House, that relationship will always be maintained," Manzullo said. "The Korean people do not have to be worried about the alliance between the Americans and themselves," he said. Trump's election cast uncertainly over the fate of the alliance between the U.S. and South Korea because the real-estate tycoon has expressed deeply negative views of U.S. security commitments overseas as well as a willingness to withdraw 28,500 American troops from the South unless Seoul pays more for the troops. His victory also threw into doubt the fate of the free trade agreement between the two countries, a pact that Trump has denounced as a "job-killing" deal and a "disaster." Widespread views are that he could seek a renegotiation of the agreement that has been in effect since 2012. A day after his election, however, Trump made a series of remarks reaffirming the alliance as he held his first phone call with South Korean President Park Geun-hye, according to Seoul's presidential office. "We are with you all the way and will not waver," Trump was quoted as saying during his 10-minute call with Park Wednesday evening (Eastern Time). "We will be steadfast and strong with respect to working with you to protect against the instability in North Korea." Trump said, "We are going to be with you 100 percent" and "I am with you ... We will all be safe together." (Yonhap) [Trump] [US NK policy] [China confrontation]
• [Trump Aftershock] OPCON transfer may come earlier
  Saenuri Party lawmaker Kim Young-woo, center, head of the National Assembly Defense Committee, discusses security issues with Defense Minister Han Min-koo, right, and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Lee Sun-jin at Lee's office in Yongsan, Seoul, Thursday. / Yonhap Park, Trump hold phone conversation By Kang Seung-woo The election of Donald Trump as the next Anerican president is expected to hasten the transfer of the U.S. wartime operational control (OPCON) of South Korean forces to Seoul in an effort to save defense costs, analysts here said Thursday. Conservative governments of South Korea have repeatedly delayed taking over the OPCON transfer to the mid-2020s, citing growing North Korean nuclear threats and South Korea's "unpreparedness" for a North Korean attack. However, given the president-elect's negative stance on the U.S. security commitment to the Korean Peninsula on his country's defense budget, he is expected to call for more South Korean burden-sharing, or he may seek to complete the transfer much earlier than planned. South Korea handed over both wartime and peacetime operational control of its armed forces to the United States in July 1950, a month after North Korea started the Korean War. Seoul regained peacetime operational control in late 1994. "It is a feasible scenario under the Trump administration due to his unpredictable and variable foreign policy," said Park Won-gon, an international relations professor at Handong Global University. "Trump may first urge South Korea to pay more for the presence of the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), but if it does not turn out as he wishes, he may push to hasten the OPCON transfer as well as reduce the number of American troops stationed here in order to lower costs." [Trump] [OPCON]
• In disbelief, Koreans in US brace for uncertainty
  By Jane Han DALLAS ? Americans woke up Wednesday morning to a country where Donald Trump, the billionaire reality show star, has become the president-elect in one of the biggest upsets in U.S. political history. In disbelief and denial, people fear how their lives may or may not be impacted under a leader who has constantly been labeled a racist and sexist throughout a divisive and ugly campaign. But for many Korean-Americans, the uncertainty runs even deeper. ''We're talking about a man who has been hating on immigrants, not to mention criticizing South Korea as 'free-riders,''' says Michael Kim, 26, one of many younger generation Korean-Americans who have teamed up to campaign for Trump's defeated Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton in California, a liberal stronghold. ''These two factors alone can't be good for all of us Koreans who live in the U.S.'' Korean-American political observers say never in recent history have so many Koreans been unified against one single candidate. According to a recent poll, 63 percent of eligible Korean-American voters said they would vote for Clinton, while only 10 percent backed Trump. ''The reason is simple,'' says Lisa Kim, 42, a member of the Korean American Coalition in New York, a non-partisan community advocacy organization. ''People are feeling threatened by this new and emerging political force who has awaken a movement of white nationalists.'' Life in America under Trump's leadership, Kim says, is likely to be tougher for Asians and other minorities. ''Racism is one of the biggest concerns we're facing,'' she said, stressing that this election has exposed a surprising depth of underlying racism deeply planted in the American society. In fact, this is exactly what Korean-American families with children are particularly worried about. [Trump] [Diaspora]
• Trump may reduce US commitment to S. Korea's security
  U.S. President-elect Donald Trump could try to complete the postponed transfer of the wartime operational control of South Korean forces from Washington to Seoul in an effort to reduce American security burdens, a top expert on Korea said Wednesday. South Korea handed over control of its forces to the U.S. during the 1950-53 Korean War to defend against invading troops from North Korea. Peacetime control of its forces was returned in 1994, but the wartime control, known as OPCON, still rests with the U.S. The two countries agreed in 2007 to transfer OPCON to Seoul by 2012. But the planned transfer was postponed twice amid growing threats from North Korea, first until 2015 and then indefinitely until the South becomes more capable of coping with the North's threats. "Trump's guiding principle has been to put American interests first. In this regard, it is entirely plausible that a Trump presidency may seek to complete OPCON transfer and put these responsibilities in the hands of Koreans," said Victor Cha, Korea chairman at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). [Trump] [US SK alliance] [OPCON]
• Trump says S. Korea-US military ties will remain 'firm, strong'
  U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday reaffirmed Washington's security commitment to South Korea during his telephone conversation with South Korean President Park Geun-hye, an official source said. During the talks that lasted some 10 minutes, Trump was quoted as saying that the United States will maintain a "firm, strong" defense posture to defend its Asian ally South Korea. The talks took place at around 10:00 a.m. (Korea time). Trump added that Washington will work together with Seoul "until the end" for the security of the United States and South Korea, according to the official. In response, Park congratulated him on his electoral win, stressing that South Korea and the U.S. have built trust based on the alliance while weathering a series of challenges together over the past six decades. She also pointed out that the alliance has served as a "cornerstone" of peace and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific. [Trump] [US SK alliance]
• North Korea is an Pentagon Vassal State
  F. William Engdahl If it weren’t for the fact that he is absolute dictator of a country with a formidable army and nuclear missile technology, North Korean President Kim Jong Un, the 290 pound, 32 year-old ruler would be a clown figure. Unfortunately for world peace, Kim Jong Un, while he is playing games with his rockets and threats of war, is serving the long-term interests of the USA, especially the military industrial complex, the Pentagon and State Department, whose priority increasingly is to make an Asia Pivot of military power projection to contain and isolate the Peoples’ Republic of China as well as Russia. In the end of the 1990’s I had the chance occasion to have a chat with the late James R. Lilley. Lilley was at the Davos World Economic Forum and by chance had sat at my dinner table together with a delegation from the China Peoples’ Liberation Army. As I was the only westerner at the table he struck up a conversation, and as he saw I was more than conversant in global politics, he began talking, perhaps more than he should have with one he did not know. [US NK policy] [Agency] [Bizarre] [MISCOM]
• Transition 2016; North Korea Issue Summary
  North Korea’s pursuit of nuclear weapons and ballistic missile technology, as well as its destructive activities in cyberspace, are a leading security concern of the United States and its treaty allies in the Asia-Pacific region, South Korea and Japan. (The United States stations roughly twenty-eight thousand troops in Korea and about fifty thousand in Japan.) A series of North Korean atomic weapons tests, the most recent in January 2016, seem to indicate that years of international sanctions have done little to halt the development of its military nuclear program. Researchers estimate that the country has enough fissile material for somewhere between ten to twenty-two nuclear weapons. [US NK policy]
• White House comments hint subtly at distancing from Pres. Park
  Posted on : Nov.7,2016 15:51 KST Press Secretary says bilateral alliance, “remains durable, even when different people and different personalities are leading the countries” White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest created a stir by hinting at the possibility of South Korean President Park Geun-hye stepping down. On Nov. 4, Earnest spoke with reporters onboard Air Force One, which was flying to Fayetteville, North Carolina, so that US President Barack Obama could campaign on behalf of Hillary Clinton. During the meeting, one reporter asked a blunt question about the Choi Sun-sil scandal in which President Park is implicated: “Has the President spoken with President Park of South Korea [about the scandal]? I mean, they seem[ed] to be pretty close in the past. Is he hoping [she will be] able to hang onto her position? Or is he kind of trying to keep his distance right now?” “The alliance between the United States and South Korea is a close alliance, it’s a strong alliance, and it’s one that is strong today as it’s been. And one of the hallmarks of a strong alliance is that it remains durable, even when different people and different personalities are leading the countries. It’s because the government and people of both countries are committed to that alliance,” Earnest said. [US SK Alliance] [Park Geun-hye] [Individual]
• [Trump Era] Will Trump meet N. Korean leader?
  By Ko Dong-hwan Will U.S. president-elect Donald Trump meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un? The question has become one of the most urgent reality check factors in Korea because the Republican candidate repeatedly mentioned how he will deal with the nuclear-armed communist state during his presidential campaign and before that. In 2000, when Trump first ran for the presidency, he said in his book "The America We Deserve" that he backed a surgical strike against North Korea's nuclear facilities. "What would I do in North Korea? Fair question. It's easy to point out the problem, but what should be done to solve it? Am I ready to bomb this reactor? You're damned right," Trump said. As he began his 2016 presidential campaign, he showed his animosity to Kim with vulgar expressions. "ISIS is a big problem, Russia's a problem, China's a problem. We've got a lot of problems. By the way, the maniac in North Korea is a problem. He actually has nuclear weapons, right? That's a problem," Trump said, referring to Kim, during a campaign speech in South Carolina in December 2015. In January, Trump also referred to Kim as a "total nut job" and a "madman playing around with the nukes." (But he also said it was "amazing" for the young leader to keep control of the country.) [Trump] [US NK policy] [US NK Negotiations]
• [Trump Era] S. Korea hopes US policy toward N. Korea will remain unchanged: minister
  Updated : 2016-11-09 16:45 South Korea's top diplomat expressed hopes on Wednesday that the U.S. will keep its current policy direction in dealing with North Korea no matter who wins the presidency. Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se made the remark as Republic candidate Donald Trump was highly likely to be elected the next U.S. president, possibly ushering in a significant change in diverse areas ranging from its North Korea policy to trade and others that could have ramifications on South Korea. "No matter who wins the race, we share the same view with regard to the alliance between South Korea and the U.S. and the North's nuclear issue," Yun told a meeting with ruling party lawmakers in Seoul. Yun said that Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton have not been different much in understanding the severity of the threat from the North citing the remarks both candidates have made during their campaigns. "In particular, candidate Trump has mentioned the importance of South Korea-U.S. alliance and his campaign has done so, while candidate Hillary Clinton visited our country more than five times when she served as secretary of state," he said. "Given that, whoever wins the election, our alliance with the new administration will continue." The minister said that the government will work hard to analyze what has been said during the campaign since it could provide clues as to the policy direction of whoever gets in the White House. (Yonhap) [Trump] [US NK policy] [Individual]
• Americans puzzled by Choi Soon-sil scandal
  By Jane Han DALLAS ? Whenever the Korean peninsula makes headlines here in the U.S., it usually has to do with North Korea and its provocations that often draws the same stale public reaction at best. This time, it's all about South Korea's first female president and a spiraling soap opera-style scandal that's gotten people puzzled, appalled and amused at the same time. ''It's so weird that it's almost intriguing,'' says Julie Horton, 35, a preschool teacher who lives in the suburbs of Dallas. ''I usually don't get to read much international news, but this one I saw repeatedly on my Facebook feed so I had to look.'' Since the damaging scandal surrounding President Park Geun-hye surfaced late last month, mainstream media in the U.S. were quick to tell the story with catchy headlines sprinkled with words like ''cult'' and ''shamans.'' For ordinary Americans, it may be an unusual story worth checking out. ''I perceived Korea as a country with an advanced economy and politics, so the series of news articles I came across seemed a bit off. It definitely got me curious,'' said Mary Eckert, an online news editor based in Los Angeles. The swirling scandal, in a nutshell, involves the president handing over classified information to her 40-year-long friend, Choi Soon-sil, who has no official post, almost on a daily basis, and mysteriously allowing her to make decisions on critical government affairs and enabling her to rake in millions. Here's where the scandal takes a quirky turn. Choi is the daughter of the late quasi religious cult leader, Choi Tae-min, who not only claimed to have the power to speak to the ghost of the president's late mother, but is also rumored to have been involved in a spiritual and improper relationship with Park. [Choi Sun-sil] [Choi Tae-min]
• USFK Practices Evacuating American Civilians
  By Yu Yong-weon November 08, 2016 09:51 The U.S. Forces Korea recently conducted a drill to practice evacuating American civilians from South Korea to a military base in Japan in case of an attack from North Korea. The drills have been going on for years and are euphemistically dubbed "Courageous Channel." . Families of U.S. Forces Korea personnel board an aircraft on Nov. 1 as part of an evacuation drill at an airport in Gimhae. /Courtesy of the USFK Eighth Army According to the Eighth U.S. Army website on Monday, the 19th Expeditionary Sustainment Command in Daegu conducted the drill to practice evacuating American noncombatants, including military families with children, from Oct. 31 until Nov. 3. The exercise began by taking scores of military families from Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province to Daegu in two CH-47 Chinook helicopters. They spent the night at Camp Walker in Daegu before being taken to Gimhae, from where they flew to a U.S. military base in Japan on a C-130 transport aircraft. . When the USFK conducted the exercise in 1994, some people took it as a sign that Washington was actually about to bomb North Korea's nuclear facility in Yongbyon, a plan that had been floating around the Clinton administration. Meanwhile, Michael Rogers, the director of the U.S. National Security Agency, recently made a top secret visit to Seoul, where he met with officials from the Defense Ministry and the National Intelligence Service. . © This is copyrighted material owned by Digital Chosun Inc. No part of it may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission. [USFK] [Invasion]
• US hopes to deploy THAAD to S. Korea as quickly as possible
  The United States hopes to deploy the THAAD missile defense system to South Korea as quickly as possible, the Pentagon said Monday, after the U.S. military commander in South Korea said it would take about eight to 10 months to place the system. Gen. Vincent Brooks, commander of U.S. Forces Korea, said in a seminar last week that THAAD will "come in the next eight to 10 months" and the unit will be "a larger configuration than the one in Guam." At a regular Pentagon briefing, press secretary Peter Cook said, "This is something we continue to work closely with the South Korean government. We want to do this as quickly as possible. General Brooks, I know, referenced a time period. We'd like to do it as soon as possible." He declined to discuss the size of the unit and other details. "We believe that the THAAD system that will be deployed will be capable of helping to defend South Korea ? our ally, South Korea, as part of a significant number of defensive steps that we can take to help protect South Korea, of course, and also protect the United States at the same time," Cook said. (Yonhap) [THAAD]
• Military on high alert against N. Korea threats around US election
  South Korea's military said Monday it will stay on high alert as North Korea may fire an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) around the U.S. presidential election scheduled for Tuesday. Military officials said Pyongyang may want to send a strong message to the new U.S. president that it will not give up its nuclear and missile development programs despite international condemnations and sanctions. "We are closely watching every move by the North Korean military at its Punggye-ri nuclear test site and other possible missile-launching sites. The military is fully prepared to respond to any provocative acts by the North," an official from Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff told reporters in a briefing. [Provocation]
• Harvard Koreans join anti-president rally
  A small group of Koreans from the Harvard College Korean International Students' Association read a statement in front of the Widener Library on the campus Friday morning, holding national flags. / Screen capture from YouTube By Hong Dam-young Korean students at Harvard University in Boston held a protest rally to denounce President Park Geun-hye for not taking responsibility of the political scandal with her confidant Choi Soon-sil. A small group of Koreans from the Harvard College Korean International Students' Association read a statement in front of the Widener Library on the campus Friday morning, holding national flags. The statement they read in Korean and English said: "At home or abroad, the Republic of Korea has always been, and always will be our country. "Choi Soon-sil gate has left us unable to hold our heads high. Finding ourselves having to explain the situation to our incredulous peers, we came to the realization that we must step up to our obligation as adherers of the democratic ideal." [Park Geun-hye] [Choi Sun-sil] [Diaspora]
• N. Korea says US' collapse is 'historical destiny'
  North Korea said Sunday the United States' collapse is "historical destiny," pointing to what it calls the "most sordid" presidential election debate and a rise in gun violence in the States. Pyongyang made the hostile remarks in a white paper, just a couple of days before the crucial U.S. election that pits Democratic Party standard-bearer Hillary Clinton against her Republican rival Donald Trump. "In history, there is no path forward when there are confrontations or wars," the white paper read. "(History) has proved that when people, society and even politics decay, the country would fail," it added. Touching on the set of the election debates between Clinton and Trump, the communist state said that they were the "dirtiest" debate, in its typical mockery of the U.S., which it has constantly cited as its national security threat. In the white paper, Pyongyang also denounced Washington's policy refocus on the Asia-Pacific and its stance of "strategic patience" towards Pyongyang, arguing that America's foreign policy strategy is not working at all. "The Obama administration's various external policy strategies have suffered bitter blows, and are leading the world's strategic landscape, which has already been menacing to itself, into a situation that is more unfavorable to the U.S.," it said. The policy document also claimed that during Obama's presidential term since 2009, the U.S. has become the world's "greatest anti-human rights, criminal" state. (Yonhap) [Decline] [Collapse]
• US to withdraw Kiowa choppers from S. Korea, deploys Apaches
  United States Army will withdraw its light Kiowa Warrior choppers from the Korean Peninsula and replace them with heavy-hitting Apaches, official sources said Sunday. South Korean military and United States Forces Korea (USFK) sources said the OH-53D armed reconnaissance helicopters will be pulled out gradually. The 30 choppers of an aviation squadron were deployed in the country in 2013 as part of a rotational force. The single-engine, single-rotor Kiowa is based on the Bell Model 206 copter and can be armed with 70 mm rockets, 12.7 mm heavy machine gun and Hellfire and Stinger missiles. They usually operate with the USFK and South Korean Army attack helicopters like the AH-1S Cobras and have been an integral part on local exercises like the Ulchi Freedom Guardian. "The AH-64s, considered as the best attack helicopters in the world, will take the place of the Kiowa Warriors that will greatly enhance the fighting capability of the allies against North Korean forces," an insider who declined to be identified said. He said some 20 AH-64Ds or the more potent AH-64Es are expected to arrive in the country. [Military balance] [USFK] [Invasion]
• USFK Commander says THAAD to be deployed within 8-10 months
  Posted on : Nov.5,2016 12:17 KST US may be rushing to move ahead with the deployment amid uncertain political situation in South Korea The commander of the Republic of Korea-US Combined Forces Command and US Forces Korea predicted on Nov. 4 that the South Korean deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) antimissile battery would come within the next eight to ten months. Speaking at a breakfast talk organized that morning by the Association of the Republic of Korea Army at Seoul’s Koreana Hotel, Gen. Vincent Brooks said the THAAD battery deployment was “an alliance decision” and would be pursued with a firm commitment. Brooks’s remarks echoed US Secretary of State John Kerry’s promise at a 2+2 bilateral foreign and defense ministers’ meeting in Washington on Oct. 19 that the THAAD battery would be “deploy[ed] as soon as possible . . . to our Korean ally.” [THAAD]
• Roughly 160,000 South Koreans staying in US illegally: data
  About 160,000 South Koreans were believed to be staying illegally in the United States as of 2014, down 10,000 from a year earlier, a U.S. survey firm said Friday. The Pew Research Center made the estimate as part of a report on the size of the unauthorized immigrant workforce since the global economic crisis of the late 2000s. The number of illegal Korean immigrants in the U.S. has steadily risen since 1990 to a peak of some 200,000 in 2010 before declining moderately to 190,000 in 2011 and 180,000 in 2012, according to the report. The total number of illegal immigrants in the U.S. was estimated at 11.1 million as of 2014, down from the peak of 12.2 million in 2007, it said. (Yonhap) [Defectors] [Diaspora]
• US portal indicates Ulleung Island as territory of Japan
  A map of U.S. educational portal site Facts on File indicates Korea's Ulleung Island as Japanese territory. By Kim Tae-gyu An authoritative educational United States portal site indicated Korea's Ulleung Island on the East Sea as Japanese territory. Infobase Publishing recorded the rocky steep-sided island as Japanese soil while omitting Korea's easternmost islands Dokdo in a map on its educational website, Facts on File. This raised the ire of Koreans, as even Japan does not claim sovereignty over Ulleung Island although it has done so over Dokdo. "I have hardly found any books or internet sites that show Ulleung Island as belonging to Japan. It is regrettable that a popular educational portal does so," Voluntary Agency Network of Korea (VANK) founder Park Gi-tae said on Friday. "We requested Infobase Publishing to correct the evident mistake. We also asked it to identify the waters between Korea and Japan as the East Sea, not just Sea of Japan. The blunders should be rectified as soon as possible because so many refer to the data." More than 10,000 Korean citizens currently live on the 72.9-square-kilometer Ulleung, the country's ninth-largest island. The body of water surrounding the island is dubbed the East Sea in Korean while it is known in English as the Sea of Japan. [SK Japan] [Territorial disputes] [Sidelined]
• Marines Practice Marshaling Influx of N.Korean Refugees
  By Yu Yong-weon November 04, 2016 13:38 South Korean and U.S. marines are for the first time practicing how to marshal a big influx of North Korean refugees in an emergency. The drill takes place until Sunday in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province. Military authorities said the drill aims to prepare for an all-out war, but some suspect that it also envisages regime collapse or other instability in the North. Over 130 U.S. military experts who were involved in helping refugees in Afghanistan are taking part in the drill. . An official here said U.S. marines based in Okinawa are capable of dealing with any situation that requires cooperative relations with the local community and are sharing their experience with their Korean counterparts. The two countries have formulated an operation plan for abrupt political changes in the North based on six scenarios including a mass exodus. The scenario envisages up to 100,000 North Koreans seeking refuge here over a short period. To cope with it, the government here is reportedly working on a plan to build a town to accommodate them. Some 2,600 marines from the landing force and logistics battalion are taking part with over 300 military vehicles and equipment including wheeled armored vehicles and self-propelled guns. [Invasion] [Refugees]
• White House Deflects Questions About Korean Crony Scandal
  By Cho Yi-jun November 04, 2016 11:22 The White House on Wednesday batted away questions about the unfolding crony scandal in Korea that is threatening to bring down President Park Geun-hye. Asked in a press briefing whether U.S. President Barack Obama is aware of the scandal, White House press secretary Josh Earnest only said that the alliance between the two countries remains "strong and durable." Earnest said he learned of the scandal from news reports but has not spoken to Obama about it. . [Park Geun-hye] [Choi Sun-sil] [Client]
• USFK chief says THAAD to be deployed in next 8-10 months
  An advanced U.S. missile defense system will be deployed to South Korea in the next eight to 10 months to better counter growing threats from North Korea, the chief of U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) said Friday. Gen. Vincent K. Brooks made the remarks in a seminar hosted by the Association of the Republic of Korea Army in Seoul. [THAAD]
• US-Korea alliance to function effectively despite political scandal
  Despite the massive political scandal rocking South Korea, the U.S. alliance with the Asian ally will "continue to function effectively" and deter threats from North Korea, the top U.S. diplomat handling East Asian affairs said Thursday. Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Russel said he hasn't seen any change in South Korea's national security line-up in the wake of the scandal surrounding allegations that a long-time confidante of President Park Geun-hye exercised huge influence over Park and state affairs. [US-ROK alliance] [Client]
• Flame of anti-president rally ignited in US
  By Hong Dam-young Koreans living in major U.S. states are calling on President Park Geun-hye to step down over the political scandal involving her confidant Choi Soon-sil. A small group of Koreans from Koreatown in Los Angeles have been holding a protest in front of the Korean consulate general since Monday. Led by a Los Angeles-based civic group called "Political solidarity for the Korea issue," about seven people are taking turns to participate in the daily one-person protest during lunch hours, as most are office workers. The group initially started with four members, but more have volunteered after the group posted the protest on social media. [Park Geun-hye] [Protest] [Diaspora]
• Hillary’s Hawks Are Threatening Escalation Against North Korea
  November 1, 2016 By Tim Shorrock | November 1, 2016 Originally published in the Nation.com Over the past two weeks, South Korea has been obsessed with a huge scandal involving its president, Park Geun-hye. Highly unpopular, she faces fierce criticism and protests over her mysterious relationship with a religious cultist without any position in government who apparently edited Park’s speeches and may have made critical decisions concerning North Korea. But in Washington, where foreign-policy elites generally ignore the politics of South Korea, the obsession was over North Korea’s dictator, Kim Jong-un. He has built a small arsenal of nuclear weapons and—claiming that his country’s survival is at stake—is moving relentlessly to develop missiles capable of reaching not only South Korea and Japan but even the United States. On October 24, James Clapper Jr., the director of national intelligence, essentially threw up his hands over Kim, expressing exasperation over the failure of economic sanctions to slow his weapons program. ““I think the notion of getting the North Koreans to denuclearize is probably a lost cause,” he said in a speech in New York. That same week, John Hamre, a former Pentagon official and the president of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, admitted in a conference on Korea at the conservative Heritage Foundation that many in Washington are embracing a more militaristic approach. “I’ve been at meetings with senior US officials who say we need to change policy to formally embrace regime change,” he said. Hamre argued that such a policy would be counterproductive because it would lose China’s support for denuclearization. [US NK policy]
• North Korea’s Nuclear Ticket to Survival
  Washington is starting to change its mind about why North Korea has developed nuclear weapons. By Edward Hunt, October 31, 2016. In recent months, a number of U.S. officials have begun to reassess their understanding of why the North Korean government wants nuclear weapons. Rather than repeating the standard claim that the North Korean government is taking extreme measures to intimidate its enemies into making concessions, some officials have begun to suggest that the North Korean government desires nuclear weapons for defensive purposes. [Deterrence] [US NK policy]
• North Korea: Ten Years After the First Nuclear Test
  by Scott A. Snyder October 7, 2016 A decade has passed since North Korea first tested a nuclear weapon, on October 9, 2006. It conducted its fifth nuclear test last September, and there are rumors that a sixth will come within weeks or months. The United States has tried to both negotiate with and sanction North Korea while strengthening deterrence with South Korea and conducting shows of force to underscore the U.S. commitment to South Korean defense, but these measures have not halted, much less reversed, North Korea’s nuclear program. Instead, following the leadership transition from Kim Jong-il to Kim Jong-un, North Korea has elevated its nuclear program to a primary strategic commitment, reigniting debates among U.S. experts over whether the U.S. goal of “complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization” is feasible. North Korea has conducted four tests during the Obama administration, and the president reiterated after the latest one that the United States “does not, and never will, accept North Korea as a nuclear state.” Yet the longer that North Korea is able to expand its nuclear delivery capability, the more empty U.S. condemnations may become and the closer North Korea will edge toward winning de facto acceptance of its nuclear status. [US NK policy]
• 'Surgical' U.S. strike on N. Korea would lead to 'bloodbath,' war with China: expert warns
  WASHINGTON, Oct. 31 (Yonhap) -- A "surgical" U.S. strike aimed at preventing North Korea from perfecting its nuclear capabilities will lead to a "bloodbath" and a full-scale war as China would view such an action as unwarranted and send forces to help the communist neighbor under a defense treaty, an expert said Monday. John Delury, an assistant professor at Seoul's Yonsei University with expertise on China, made the remark in an article carried by the website 38 North, noting that talk of a military option against the North has gained traction since Pyongyang's fifth nuclear test. "How might Beijing react to a U.S. pre-emptive or surgical strike on the North? ... North Korea is, after all, China's only defense treaty ally in the world, and is obligated to 'immediately render military and other assistance by all means at its disposal' to defend Pyongyang if attacked," Delury said. [Military option] [China NK]
• USFK Chief 'Ready for War if Necessary'
  By Yu Yong-weon November 02, 2016 13:10 U.S. Forces Korea Commander Gen. Vincent Brooks on Tuesday said South Korea and the U.S. are ready for war if necessary. Speaking at a press conference at Naval Base Guam with Lee Sun-Jin, South Korea's chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Brooks said, "We seek… alternatives other than war, but it is our mission to remain ready for war if we have to." The two heads visited Guam to show off the range of weapons at their disposal in the event of a provocation by North Korea and arranged themselves photogenically in front of the USS Pennsylvania, a nuclear-powered submarine. . [USFK]

• [Hankyoreh-Busan International Symposium] For N. Korean denuclearization, “quickly resume dialogue”
  Posted on : Oct.29,2016 11:27 KST Former US ambassador to South Korea says North Korea-US impasse the result of “mutual demonization” After former US Ambassador to South Korea Donald Gregg delivered the keynote address at the Hankyoreh-Busan International Symposium on Oct. 27, he was joined on the stage by Lim Dong-won, director of the board of the Hankyoreh Foundation for Reunification and Culture. Before the two began their talk, Lim read a passage from Gregg’s memoirs (called “Pot Shards: Fragments of a Life Lived in CIA, the White House, and the Two Koreas”): “Americans have a tendency of demonizing foreign leaders or groups that we don’t like or can’t understand, and it’s a tendency that constantly gets us into trouble. The traditional American approach of eliminating or overthrowing regimes only causes confusion and strife.” This passage provided support to the argument made by the participants in the talk that the North Korean nuclear issue is rooted in the North’s hostile relationship with the US. [US NK policy] [Gregg] [Engagement]
• Seeking way forward on North Korea, Hankyoreh Symposium opens in Busan
  Posted on : Oct.29,2016 11:21 KST Eminent scholars from around the world have gathered to discuss the situation around the US presidential election, North Korea’s nuclear tests Former US ambassador to South Korea Donald Gregg sent a message that the present moment, with the Korean Peninsula facing political uncertainty, in the wake of North Korea’s nuclear tests and the death of the Thai king, is a good time begin dialogue and negotiation with the regime in Pyongyang. Gregg was delivering a keynote speech on “international cooperation and conflict toward peace on the Korean Peninsula” at the 12th Hankyoreh-Busan International Symposium, which began on Oct. 27. In particular, he praised a closed-door meeting in Kuala Lumpur on Oct. 21-22 between Robert Gallucci, a former US State Department special envoy on the North Korean nuclear issue, and North Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Han Song-ryol as a “positive and tremendous” development. [US NK policy] [Engagement]
• S.Korean, U.S. Commandos Train to Infiltrate Inland N.Korea
  By Cho Yi-jun October 28, 2016 09:42 South Korean and U.S. special forces have staged a joint infiltration exercise to strike North Korea's nuclear and missile facilities. "Troops of South Korean Air Force's combat control team, an infiltration commando unit, and the U.S. Air Force's 353rd Special Operations Group staged a joint exercise at Gunsan Air Base recently," a military spokesman here said on Thursday. The exercise, dubbed "Teak Knife," saw military transport aircraft of the two countries focused on flying low to practice infiltrating the North. The exercise has been carried out regularly since the 1990s but rarely announced publicly. The purpose was to transport a group of Army special forces who are tasked with destroying the North's nuclear and missile facilities, as well as munitions, to a target region with pinpoint accuracy. The 353rd Special Operations Group headquartered at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan, has missions to send commandos into enemy territory and supply them with munitions. The group consists of about 800 personnel. "The latest Teak Knife exercise focused on infiltrating an inland area in the North to destroy key facilities," the spokesman added. "It's different from a decapitation strike operation targeting the North Korean leadership." Meanwhile, during the "Red Flag-Alaska" exercise, a multinational aerial combat exercise conducted in Alaska on Oct. 10-21, South Korean Air Force's transport aircraft practiced airlifting U.S. Army special forces troops. There have been some calls in the U.S. recently for a pre-emptive strike in case North Korea's nuclear and missile programs get out of hand. [Invasion] [Special forces] [Pretend equality]
• Adoptees from Korea left ‘stateless’, and searching for their roots
  Posted on : Oct.28,2016 18:38 KST Unaccountable adoption process has left many Koreans in the US being shocked to learn they aren’t US citizens “There are a lot of adoptees like me who were adopted and grew up in the US but who haven’t gotten US citizenship. We desperately need attention and support from our home country’s government.” This was the urgent plea from adoptee Joy Alessi, 50, who arrived in South Korea early this October. Alessi was entrusted to the Yeongsaengwon orphanage in Munsan, Paju, on July 20, 1966, just a day or two after her birth. The following March, she was adopted in the US through the Holt Children’s Welfare Association at the age of seven months. Her visit was her first time in her homeland in 49 years. Don’t children automatically obtain citizenship when adopted in the US? According to Alessi, they do not. Over 160,000 South Korean children have been adopted to the US since the Korean War, but an estimated 15,000 to 18,000 do not have US citizenship. [Diaspora] [Human rights]
• Does US envoy violate anti-graft law?
  By Choi Ha-young A meeting between Culture Minister Cho Yoon-sun and U.S. Ambassador to Korea Mark Lippert faced an unexpected snag following an inconsistent interpretation of the anti-graft law. According to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Friday, Lippert, a huge fan of the local baseball team the Doosan Bears, suggested he and Cho watch the Korean Series opening game together at Jamsil Stadium in southeastern Seoul on Saturday for a casual meeting to talk about sports policy and future cooperation. The ministry then asked the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC) whether the ministry's reserving of game tickets through the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) would be in violation of the recently initiated anti-graft law. The law, the so-called Kim Young-ran Act, prohibits government officials from misusing their authority for their convenience. [Diversion]
• Americans adopted this South Korean man when he was 3. Now 41, he’s being deported.
  By Travis M. Andrews October 28 Adam Crapser was born in South Korea, but, when he was 3 years old, an American couple adopted him. Until recently, he lived in Vancouver, Wash., with his daughters and his pregnant wife. He has a son by an ex-girlfriend. He used to own a barbershop, but decided to become a stay-at-home dad, sometimes playing guitar and ukulele and watching a rescue dog. But that will all soon change — Crapser is being deported back to South Korea, away from his family, away from the place he’s spent 37 of his 41 years of life. [Human rights]
• It’s Time to Drop Preconditions and Re-Open Talks with North Korea
  Negotiating between the United States and North Korea can't wait. By Frederick Carriere, Louis Kriesberg and Stuart Thorson, October 21, 2016. North Korea’s demonstrations of the ever-improving effectiveness of its nuclear weapons capabilities—including its fifth and most powerful nuclear test last month—pose a grave danger. Too readily, they can result in devastating military actions. Although both candidates for U.S. president have rightly denounced such a show of force, neither has offered a plan to steer us off the current course toward escalation. Now is the time, during the presidential campaigns, to propose and discuss more effective policies. [Engagement] [Liberal]
• Recent unofficial meeting between US and N. Korea included exploratory talks
  Posted on : Oct.26,2016 16:10 KST US State Department says meetings went ahead independent of the US government A recent meeting between the US and North Korea included exploratory talks intended to sound out whether North Korea is willing to return to the September 19 Joint Statement reached during the Six-Party Talks in 2005, said Joseph DeTrani, former senior advisor to the National Counterproliferation Center under the US Director of National Intelligence. DeTrani participated in an unofficial, off-the-record meeting with North Korean officials, including Deputy Foreign Minister Han Song-ryol, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Oct. 21 and 22. In an Oct. 25 report, VOA quoted DeTrani as saying that the North Koreans had expressed their concerns about the joint US-ROK military exercises and reiterated their position that North Korea’s nuclear development is intended to be a deterrent against the US and South Korean threat. [US NK Negotiations] [Track 2]
• N. Korea may not join official talks with US
  By Kim Jae-kyoung SINGAPORE ? North Korea is not likely to enter into official talks with the United States anytime soon, according to Joseph DeTrani, a former U.S. government official who had the behind-the-scene meetings with North Korean diplomats in Malaysia last week. DeTrani, a former U.S. special envoy for the long-stalled six party talks aimed at denuclearizing the Korean peninsula, is said to have considered the informal meetings as "friendly" but really broke no new ground. He believes that the two-day talks might help in longer run get official talks going again but certainly nothing in the near future. "It appears that North Korea is unlikely to enter into official talks with the U.S. in the near term," DeTrani was quoted as saying by William Brown, a professor at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in their conversation after the talks. "In the longer term, however, they may be willing to enter into exploratory denuclearization and security assurances talks." [US NK Negotiations] [Track 2] [Inversion]
• The USA and its Allies in Search for New Pressure Measures against the DPRK
  Konstantin Asmolov While the discussion of the Syrian problems in the UN is delaying the adoption of the next resolution on the North-Korean nuclear program, the USA and its allies are taking a series of measures to bring pressure on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Although the sixth nuclear test, widely announced by the US and Korean intelligence services, did not take place on August 10, the day the Workers’ Party of Korea was established, this fact does not impede increasing power, making forceful statements and preparing sanctions. Let us begin with the sanctions preparation, which might be more rigorous than the previous ones. This was announced by the Assistant US Secretary of State Daniel Russel on October 12 during a meeting with the journalists. Answering the question about China’s position on the sanctions, he announced that it was important to achieve progress in this matter (in the author’s opinion, this demonstrates a lack of progress). Russel also expressed confidence that the new draft resolution of the UN Security Council in respect of the sanctions would ensure significant progress in tightening pressure on the North: it was important that all the UN members would take additional measures to protect their interests against the North Korean threat. Thus, America relies on unilateral measures, not on the UN Security Council. [Sanctions] [US NK policy]
• Countries Around the World to Shut Down N.Korean Banks
  By Lee Jin-seok October 25, 2016 10:08 The Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering has decided to shut down North Korea's bank branches, corporations, and offices of financial representatives in the 35 member countries. The FATF adopted a statement to that effect at a congress in Paris on Oct. 15-21, according to the Financial Services Commission here Monday. The statement, which according to the commission is effectively binding, calls on member states to shut down all financial transactions with the North. . © This is copyrighted material owned by Digital Chosun Inc. No part of it may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission. [Financial sanctions] [UNUS]
• [Editorial] South Korea risks getting left out of dialogue on North Korea
  Posted on : Oct.24,2016 16:01 KST The dialogue between North Korean officials and US experts on North Korea in Kuala Lumpur on Oct. 21 and 22 is drawing attention. While it is unlikely any meetings will be held between North Korean and US officials during the rest of President Barack Obama’s term, this does appear helpful in setting the stage for dialogue once the new administration comes into office early next year [US NK Negotiations] [Sidelined]
• 'Paranoid' North Korea won't stop building nuclear weapons – US spy chief
  James Clapper says best hope is to try and cap regime’s capabilities, but Obama administration insists it still wants ‘verifiable denuclearisation of peninsula’ Wednesday 26 October 2016 02.49 BST Persuading “paranoid” North Korea to stop building nuclear weapons is probably a lost cause and efforts to cap its capability are the best hope, according to the US director of national intelligence. James Clapper’s comments on Tuesday come amid mounting concern that the North is moving closer toward having a nuclear-tipped missile that could reach the American mainland. It has conducted two atomic test explosions in 2016 and more than 20 ballistic missile tests. The US has long insisted that it will not accept North Korea as a nuclear-armed state and the state department said on Tuesday there had been no change in policy. Clapper said that while North Korea has yet to test its KN-08 intercontinental ballistic missile, the US already operated on the assumption that Pyongyang potentially had the capability to launch a missile that could reach parts of the United States, particularly Alaska and Hawaii. “I think the notion of getting the North Koreans to denuclearise is probably a lost cause,” Clapper said at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. He added that the best the US could probably get is some kind of a cap on North Korea’s nuclear capabilities. “They are under siege and they are very paranoid, so the notion of giving up their nuclear capability, whatever it is, is a nonstarter with them,” he said. [Paranoid] [US NK policy]
• Top U.S. Diplomat to Discuss N.Korea Sanctions in Seoul
  By Cho Yi-jun October 24, 2016 10:09 U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Tony Blinken will visit Seoul for Friday and Saturday to discuss North Korea policies. Blinken will meet with Cho Tae-yong, the first deputy director of the Office of National Security, to discuss international efforts to hold North Korea accountable for its "destabilizing behavior," the U.S. State Department said Friday. The visit comes about a week after the defense and foreign ministers of the two countries met in Washington. . [US NK policy]
• North Korea and the US conclude informal meetings in Malaysia
  Posted on : Oct.24,2016 15:56 KST South Korea has only testy response to “exploratory” talks on North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs North Korean deputy foreign minister Han Song-ryol headed home after behind-the-scene meetings in Kuala Lumpur on Oct. 21-22 with Robert Gallucci, the US State Department’s special envoy on the North Korean nuclear issue. Han strongly hinted the dialogue was of an “exploratory” nature ahead of the arrival of a new US administration following the Nov. 8 presidential election. “We are exchanging views on issues of interest,” he said. Leon Sigal, director of the Social Science Research Council‘s Northeast Asia Cooperative Security Project, told Yonhap News the two sides focused on the North Korean nuclear and missile issues, adding that he felt some progress had been made. [US NK Negotiations] [Track 2] [Gallucci]
• In cities across the US, protests against THAAD deployment
  Posted on : Oct.24,2016 16:13 KST Participants march in Los Angeles after a rally opposing the deployment of the THAAD missile defense system in South Korea, Oct. 21. Civic and veterans groups in the US organize simultaneous protests in solidarity with residents in planned deployment site Demonstrations in Seongju County against the deployment of the THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) antimissile system in South Korea have now been continuing for more than 100 days. As demonstrations held in support take place around South Korea, sympathetic demonstrations were also held in the US on Oct. 21, in cities such as Washington D.C., New York, Los Angeles and Brunswick, Maine The demonstrations on Oct. 21 were organized by the Task Force to Stop THAAD in Korea and Militarism in Asia and the Pacific, which is composed of antiwar civic groups in the US, with progressive and Korean-American organizations participating as well. The demonstration that was held in front of the White House in Washington, D.C., brought together members of antiwar and Korean-American groups such as ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) and Veterans for Peace. “Deploying THAAD in South Korea would hamper peace in Northeast Asia,” said Ray McGovern during the demonstration. McGovern worked for the CIA for 30 years until 1990 and has been an antiwar activist since then. [THAAD] [Protest] [Diaspora]
• N. Korea deputy foreign minister to meet with Americans in Malaysia
  Posted on : Oct.19,2016 16:44 KST Han Song-ryol, North Korean deputy foreign minister Unofficial visit appears to be part of what is known as 1.5 track dialogue between the government and the private sector North Korean deputy foreign minister Han Song-ryol is reportedly headed to Malaysia for an unofficial meeting with former officials and academics from the US. Japan’s Kyodo News reported on Oct. 18 that Han had been spotted arriving at the Beijing Capital International Airport and mentioned that he might be headed to Malaysia for off-the-record dialogue with Americans. The Japanese wire service quoted sources as saying that Han might meet former American government officials or experts on North Korean issues. Han was reportedly supposed to leave Beijing on Oct. 19. “Han’s destination is reportedly Malaysia. He’s in China for a stopover and not because he’s trying to do anything with the Chinese. He’s supposed to be meeting Americans in Malaysia,” said a senior official at the South Korean Foreign Ministry. [Han Song Ryol] [US NK Negotiations] [Track 1.5]
• US exploring new options for N. Korean policy
  Joseph DeTrani, left, and Jang Il-hun Pyongyang's delegates meet with former US government officials By Jun Ji-hye A two-day informal meeting between the United States and North Korea over the weekend is sparking speculation that the two sides might have been exploring options before resuming their long-suspended government-to-government dialogue, analysts said Sunday. The behind-the-scenes meeting between Pyongyang's incumbent and Washington's former government officials took place Friday and Saturday in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, just a day after the North's failed launch of what was presumed to be a Musudan intermediate-range ballistic missile. [US NK Negotiations] [Track 1.5]
• US remains firm on N. Korea's nukes, dismisses speculation on talks with Pyongyang
  The United States remains firm on its commitment to denuclearize North Korea, and Washington and Seoul will cooperate with the international community to keep strong pressure and sanctions on Pyongyang to make it give up its nuclear ambitions, the foreign ministry here said Sunday. Speculation lingers that the U.S. might be seeking dialogue with the North as seen by a meeting between senior North Korean foreign ministry officials and former U.S. government officials, including Robert Gallucci, who negotiated a landmark nuclear freeze deal with Pyongyang in 1994. [US NK policy] [US NK Negotiations] [Track 2] [Preconditions]
• Do We Need Another Korea-U.S. Consultative Body?
  October 21, 2016 13:21 The foreign and defense ministers of South Korea and the U.S. met in Washington on Wednesday and agreed to create an "extended deterrence strategy and consultation group" to deal with the nuclear menace from North. The aim of the group is to show Pyongyang that Washington's resolve to deal firmly with provocations is not just short-lived, as brief visits to the South by U.S. nuclear-powered submarines and strategic bombers might suggest, but that it is in it for the long haul -- hence presumably the word "extended." . [US-ROK alliance]
• [News analysis] Why did the US turn down S. Korea’s request for permanent deployment of strategic weapons?
  Posted on : Oct.22,2016 15:02 KST US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter and South Korean Minister of National Defense Han Min-koo hold a joint press conference at the Pentagon in Washington DC, Oct. 20. (AFP/Yonhap News) Such deployments of strategic assets are typically only made during times of high tensions, and would change security order in northeast Asia The reason South Korea and the US are not seeing eye to eye on the issue of US strategic weapons, as seen with their recent failure to reach an agreement on their permanent deployment on the Korean Peninsula, appears to be rooted in a clash in views between Seoul, which has been making insistent demands, and Washington, which sees them as burdensome. Numerous signs point to Seoul having attempted to push for an agreement on permanent deployment of US strategic weapons on the Korean Peninsula ahead of the two sides’ 2+2 meeting of Foreign and Defense Ministers and Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) in Washington on Oct. 19-20. At a press conference following the 2+2 meeting on Oct. 19, South Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs Yun Byung-se made an unusual “warm-up” move, describing the deployment issue as not being his own area but predicting it would be “discussed at the Security Consultative Meeting.” A Ministry of National Defense official later explained Seoul’s plan for the issue in a separate meeting with reporters in Washington. Indeed, the South Korean government appeared to treat the permanent rotational deployment of US strategic assets as more or less a done deal. [Strategic military assets] [Friction] [China confrontation] [Control]
• [Editorial] S. Korea- US SCM shows what’s wrong with their approach to North Korea
  Posted on : Oct.22,2016 14:57 KST As the UN Security Council delays its adoption of a resolution placing additional sanctions on North Korea, the US and South Korea held the Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) and the “two plus two” meeting of the countries’ top diplomats and defense officials in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 19 and Oct. 20. But the two sides only reiterated their basic position of putting more pressure on North Korea and increasing military cooperation without offering any realistic plans for resolving the nuclear issue. The mixed signals about the deployment of American strategic weapons on the Korean Peninsula effectively shows what is wrong with the two countries’ approach to North Korea. The outcome of the two meetings can be summarized as tightening the screws on North Korea in an attempt to force the North to submit and strengthening American extended deterrence for South Korea. [Strategic military assets] [Friction] [China confrontation] [Control]
• S. Korea and the US don’t reach deal on permanent deployment of strategic US weapons
  Posted on : Oct.21,2016 17:08 KST US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter and South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo hold a joint press conference at the Pentagon in Washington DC, after their 40th Security Consultative Meeting at the Pentagon in Washington on Oct. 20. (EPA/Yonhap News) Permanent rotational deployment of high-powered weapons was sought by South Korean government after North Korea’s nuclear and missile tests A plan by the South Korean government for the permanent rotational deployment of strategic US weapons on the Korean Peninsula, intended to strengthen its deterrent against the North Korean nuclear and missile programs, has been shelved. The South Korean Minister of National Defense and US Secretary of Defense discussed the plan at their 40th Security Consultative Meeting at the Pentagon in Washington on Oct. 20, but failed to reach an agreement. At a joint press conference with US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter after the meeting, Defense Minister Han Min-koo said only that additional measures “such as the deployment of strategic assets permanently on the Korean Peninsula on a rotational basis” would be examined at a later date. [Strategic military assets]
• Why US military's strategic weapons matter
  By Jun Ji-hye Eyes are now on which U.S. strategic military assets could be allocated to South Korea after defense chiefs from the two countries agreed to conduct a review of the weapons' deployment on a rotational basis. Defense Minister Han Min-koo and U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter reached the agreement during the annual Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) in Washington D.C. Defense officials said Friday that the two sides shared the need for the deployment, though they did not make any decision during the talks. The U.S. strategic weapons include B-52, B-1B and B-2 strategic bombers, F-22 stealth fighter jets, nuclear-powered attack submarines and aircraft carriers, and Aegis destroyers. A military source said the F-22 Raptor could be deployed to the Korean Peninsula, noting that it requires less manpower and costs to be operated compared to bombers. "It would be comparatively easier for Washington to deploy the Raptor," he said. The source cited the possibility that some F-22s stationed in Kadena Air Base, Japan, could be moved to South Korea. [Strategic military assets]
• US strategic assets deployment looming
  Defense Minister Han Min-koo, left, speaks as Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se, second from left, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, third from left, and Defense Secretary Ash Carter listen during a meeting at the State Department in Washington, Wednesday. / AP-Yonhap Seoul, Washington to discuss permanent allocation of nuclear-capable bombers By Jun Ji-hye South Korea and the United States have officially begun discussions on the permanent deployment of strategic weapons such as nuclear-capable bombers on the Korean Peninsula. This was at the top of the agenda in the "two plus two" high-level security talks among Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and Defense Minister Han Min-koo, and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Defense Secretary Ash Carter in Washington, Thursday. Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se told reporters after the meeting that the two defense chiefs will discuss details about how to deploy U.S. strategic assets in South Korea during the annual Security Consultative Meeting (SCM). "The permanent deployment of U.S. strategic assets will be discussed at the defense chiefs' talks," he said. [Escalation] [Tactical nuclear weapons] [China confrontation]
• Byungjin vs the Sanctions Regime: Which Works Better?
  By Georgy Toloraya 20 October 2016 While the North Korean nuclear problem has long been at the center of discourse concerning the Korean peninsula, the recent growth of its nuclear and missile programs has prompted a new concern: North Korea could soon directly threaten US territory, giving it a deterrent capability it had never had before. This looming threat underscores an uncomfortable truth: Kim Jong Un has outmaneuvered the international sanctions regime with his “byungjin” policy of simultaneous nuclear and economic development, and the world must now find a strategy to curtail the country’s nuclear program. [Byungjin] [US NK policy] [Deterrence] [Growth] [Sanctions]
• White House Defends THAAD Deployment in S.Korea
  By Kim Deok-han October 19, 2016 09:58 The White House on Monday defended the decision to station a U.S. Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense battery in South Korea, citing North Korea's latest launch of medium-range ballistic missile and its threat to conduct another nuclear test. The U.S. "has worked with our partners and allies in the region to isolate North Korea and to apply pressure to them to try to persuade them not to engage in this kind of destabilizing behavior," White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said. "And the United States is prepared and has mobilized the appropriate military resources to defend our allies and ourselves." . [THAAD]
• She fled North Korea and turned to online sex work. Then she escaped again.
  By Anna Fifield October 18 at 2:40 PM ? Suh, a 30-year-old woman who fled North Korea in 2008, cradles her 18-month-old daughter Ji-yeon as they make the difficult journey from Laos to Thailand. “I fell several times and the baby woke up and started crying,” Suh said after they arrived in Vientiane, the capital of Laos. “I was so scared but I kept on going, I just kept on going.” (Sin Huh ) VIENTIANE, Laos — Sometimes the men just wanted to talk with the North Korean women. “Face cam,” it’s called. But most of the time, they wanted the other option: “body cam.” Watching through a smartphone app, the men would ask the women, some of the unknown thousands of North Koreans sold to Chinese husbands and living secretly in northern China, to show their breasts or their backsides, to touch themselves or perform sex acts on one another. [Refugee reception] [Agency] [Media] [Sanctions effect]
• Hillary’s campaign team signals hardline stance on North Korea
  Posted on : Oct.17,2016 16:13 KST If Hillary is elected president, she would likely push for sanctions, and tensions in northeast Asia could continue Michele Flournoy, co-founder and CEO of the Center for a New American Security Hillary Clinton’s campaign team has been making a number of hawkish comments on the North Korean issue and other aspects of American policy toward North Korea. Some analysts predict that the tension under the Obama administration would continue, at least in the short term, if Clinton is elected president. “I don’t think we should go back to the table without some very clear signals from North Korea that they are reducing their provocations and they are willing to at least implement their previous promises on constraining their nuclear arsenal,” said Michele Flournoy, co-founder and CEO of the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), during an interview with Yonhap News on Oct. 13. Flournoy is regarded as a likely Defense Secretary in a Clinton administration. Flournoy served as Under Secretary of Defense for Policy during Obama’s first term in office, and she founded CNAS along with Kurt Campbell, former Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs. “I think the only way you‘re going to get them to consider [genuine denuclearization] is through additional sanctions, particularly [. . .] sanctions that involve pressure from China,” Flournoy said. She said that the US would negotiate when North Korea was ready to engage in serious negotiations, but that the North could only be prompted to do so through sanctions. She doubts that North Korea will be willing to negotiate without much stronger sanctions. [US NK policy] [Hillary Clinton] [Michele Flournoy] [Sanctions] [Escalation]
• Invincible Spirit 2016 Exercises: US, South Korean Navies In Long-Range Strike Drills To Counter Nuclear North Korea
  By Vishakha On 10/11/16 AT 6:23 AM South Korean and U.S. navies carried out long-range strike drills aimed at countering North Korea’s nuclear facilities, Seoul officials said Tuesday. The exercises were part of the ongoing Invincible Spirit 2016 drills by the two countries to show military force against the isolated nation’s likely provocations concerning nuclear and missile tests. “The ‘Invincible Spirit’ exercise has put a bigger focus on striking North Korea’s key nuclear and missile facilities. The change comes after the North’s fifth nuclear test last month,” a South Korean defense ministry official told Yonhap News Agency. Washington and Seoul applied the concept of “Korea Massive Punishment & Retaliation” to boost striking capabilities of ship-to-ground missiles, the official told the South Korean news agency. The concept aims to destroy parts of Pyongyang and anticipate pre-emptive bombing attacks on North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un and top leadership of the country in case of imminent nuclear threat to South Korea are detected, the report added, citing the official. Invincible Spirit 2016 will conclude Saturday. [Joint US military] [Preemptive]
  • U.S., South Korea naval forces conduct joint drill 'Invincible Spirit 2016'
    By Elizabeth Shim Oct. 10, 2016 at 10:00 AM SEOUL, Oct. 10 (UPI) -- U.S. and South Korean naval forces conducted an unprecedented joint exercise in waters on both sides of the Korean peninsula to warn North Korea. The exercise held on Monday, the 71st anniversary of the founding of Pyongyang's Workers' Party, included the deployment of more than 50 naval vessels, South Korean news service Edaily reported. The Nimitz-class nuclear-powered supercarrier, the USS Ronald Reagan, took part in the drills, alongside the South Korean Aegis destroyer King Sejong, several submarines and warships including Ticonderoga-class Aegis missile cruisers, P-3, P-8 maritime patrol aircraft, Apache helicopters and FA-18 Hornet fighter jets. The "Invincible Spirit 2016" drills are to be held until Saturday to demonstrate preparedness for possible North Korea provocations, including nuclear and missile tests that could occur in the coming weeks. [Joint US military] [Preemptive]
  • S. Korea, US Begin Invincible Spirit 2016 Joint Exercise
    Anchor: South Korea and the U.S. kicked off a six-day joint military exercise to demonstrate the alliance's resolve amid growing threats from an increasingly defiant North Korea. The Invincible Spirit exercise, held in the three seas surrounding the South, will mobilize warships and aircraft from the two sides including the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier the USS Ronald Reagan and the Aegis-equipped Sejong the Great destroyer. Military officials confirmed that the joint exercise, which runs through Saturday, will see the participation of seven U.S. naval vessels, including the Nimitz-class nuclear-powered supercarrier USS Ronald Reagan and some 40 South Korean warships, such as the Aegis destroyer Sejong the Great. Aircraft from both sides will also be mobilized including P-3 and P-8 maritime patrol planes, F/A-18 Super Hornet fighters and Apache helicopters, among others. [Joint US military] [Preemptive]
  • S. Korea, US Begin Invincible Spirit 2016 Joint Exercise
    The drills are intended to prepare for defense against North Korean nuclear aggression, Seoul officials reported.The exercises are part of the six-day Invincible Spirit 2016 drill, which will run through October 16, and which involves the US Navy's Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group and its nuclear-powered USS Ronald Reagan supercarrier, as well as 50 other naval vessels, according to UPI. © AP Photo/ Ahn Young-joonSouth Korea Planning Preemptive Strike on Kim Jong-Un Regime Over Nuclear Threat A precision-guided missile-strike exercise was carried out October 10 using ship-to-ground and submarine-to-ground missiles with an average flight range of 1,000 kilometers, South Korean media reported. The navies are applying the concept of "Korea Massive Punishment and Retaliation (KMPR)," the Yonhap News Agency reported, citing representatives from South Korea’s defense ministry. The KMPR concept includes pre-emptive bomb attacks against North Korean ruler Kim Jong-un, as well as the country’s military leaders and parts of Pyongyang, in the event of an imminent nuclear attack, they explained. [Joint US military] [Preemptive] [Russia media]
  • US, ROK Navies Conduct Exercise Ensuring Alliance Remains Ready to "Fight Tonight"
    Story Number: NNS161011-05Release Date: 10/11/2016 9:25:00 AM From Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Korea Public Affairs WATERS EAST AND WEST OF THE KOREAN PENINSULA (NNS) -- The Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group (CSG) began a series of exercises with the Republic of Korea (ROK) navy Oct. 10-15 to strengthen maritime interoperability and tactics, techniques and procedures. The U.S. routinely conducts CSG operations in the waters around the Republic of Korea to exercise maritime maneuvers, strengthen the U.S.-ROK alliance, and improve regional security. "This exercise is yet another example of the strength and resolve of the combined U.S. and the ROK naval force," said Rear Adm. Charles Williams, commander, Ronald Reagan CSG. "The U.S. and the Republic of Korea share one of the strongest alliances in the world, and we grow stronger as an alliance because of our routine exercises here in South Korea and the close relationship and ties that we forge from operating at sea together." The exercises will consist of a routine bilateral training, subject matter expert exchanges, anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare drills, communication drills, air defense exercises, counter-mine planning and distinguished visitor embarkations. [Joint US military] [Preemptive]
• Clinton vowed to ‘ring China with missile defence’ if North Korea not stopped, leaked emails say
  Either control them or we’re going to have to defend against them, former secretary of state told Goldman Sachs audience in 2013, according to hacked documents PUBLISHED : Friday, 14 October, 2016, 7:34am Diplomacy & Defence If Beijing can claim South China Sea, US can call Pacific ‘American Sea’, says Clinton in leaked speech 14 Oct 2016 US Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said at a private speech three years ago the Chinese military was “the biggest supporters of a provocative North Korea” and that Washington had vowed to Beijing it would “ring China with missile defence” if Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons programme was not stopped, according to hacked emails. “So China, come on. You either control them or we’re going to have to defend against them,” the former secretary of state was quoted as saying when addressing a Goldman Sachs conference in June 2013. China and Russia criticise THAAD missile defence system as destabilising region The comments were included in hacked emails belonging to her campaign manager John Podesta. Their release last week comes amid a row between China and South Korea over the deployment of the US-built Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) missile system. [Hillary Clinton] [China confrontation] [Missile defense] [China hope]
• North Korea is scarier than ever
  By David Ignatius Opinion writer October 13 at 6:54 PM ? SEOUL When South Korean officials talk about the growing nuclear challenge from North Korea, they use red-alert phrases such as “existential threat,” “imminent danger” and “dagger at the throat.” They want Americans to understand that this long-running story of brinkmanship has entered a new phase. One senior South Korean official told me starkly: “A nuclear missile from the North can land on this office in four to five minutes. We don’t have the luxury of thinking twice. .?.?. This is no longer a dark cloud on the horizon. It’s a threat at our doorstep.” [US NK policy] [Hysteria] [Threat]
• U.S. Diplomat Warns N.Korea of Tougher Consequences
  By Lee Kil-seong October 14, 2016 10:04 A top U.S. diplomat has warned North Korea of dire consequences if it continues to arm itself with nuclear weapons. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia Daniel Russel told reporters in Washington D.C. on Wednesday that Kim will "immediately die" if he decides to equip his country with weapons advanced enough to launch a nuclear strike. "Perhaps he's got an enhanced capacity to conduct a nuclear attack and then immediately die. But that can't be plan A," Russel said. The warning comes amid calls from several senior U.S. figures for a preemptive strike on North Korea's nuclear and missile facilities. . Russel said North Korea's argument that it needs nuclear weapons to deter a U.S. invasion is "absurd." Instead, developing nuclear weapons only reduces the safety sought by the North Korean leader while isolating his country even further within the international community. Russel a day earlier said he is confident the UN will make "significant" progress on tougher sanctions against North Korea over its nuclear program. "We won't know how far we will get... but we know there will be a new Security Council resolution and I have great confidence that it will represent a significant ratcheting forward of the sanctions and the constraints on North Korea," he said. . © This is copyrighted material owned by Digital Chosun Inc. No part of it may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission. [Preemptive]
• [Correspondent’s column] Will the next US president negotiate with North Korea?
  Posted on : Oct.14,2016 18:47 KST What’s needed now is a rational approach to formulating policy in both the US and South Korea A war of discourse is raging in Washington diplomatic circles. The focus of the battle is on what will become of US policies on the North Korean nuclear program under the next administration, especially if Democratic Party candidate Hillary Clinton is elected. A recent Washington Post opinion piece by Woodrow Wilson Center director Jane Harman and researcher James Person was significant in this regard. Breaking a long silence among mainstream think tanks, its message - arguing that the US should begin negotiations toward freezing Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programs - took direct aim at the Barack Obama administration’s North Korea policy. Already, it has prompted its share of counterattacks. The battle for public opinion looks poised to intensify. Both the North Korea hardliners and proponents of negotiation have clear aims. Once the election finishes on Nov. 8, the next administration will spend the next three to six months considering and formulating new policies. By February to April of next year, the new administration’s foreign affairs and national security control tower and its policy approach will have roughly taken shape. The goal on either side right now is to make sure their North Korea policy views are reflected as much as possible beforehand. [US NK policy] [US NK Negotiations]
• Details, Details: History Lessons from Negotiating with North Korea
  By Robert Carlin 14 October 2016 It’s not easy to predict the future. It shouldn’t be so difficult to understand the past, certainly not the past within living memory. There are inevitable differences in memory and perspective, of course, which is what makes history lively, or boring, or irritating. Arguments over history rely on detail, whereas predicting the future is unencumbered, even liberating. Think of the future, and the mind soars ahead. Looking back means entering an alligator-filled swamp of facts. A recent example is “What’s Wrong with Both Sides of the North Korea Debate,” a good article by Bob Manning and Jim Przystup in the National Interest. The article strikes a decent balance in assessing the debate over North Korea policy. (Spoiler alert: if you see the words “good” and “decent” so close to the beginning of an essay, you might guess what is coming.) [US NK Negotiations] [Renege]
• Analyst says US shouldn’t “roll the dice” on removing troops from South Korea
  Posted on : Oct.13,2016 18:01 KST A column by military analyst Michael O’Hanlon, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, from the Oct. 11 edition of the Wall Street Journal In op-ed column, Michael O’Hanlon says if Trump is elected, a variety of problematic scenarios could play out Donald Trump’s pledge to remove American troops from South Korea is very dangerous and could lead to war on the Korean Peninsula, one American analyst has said. In a column in the Oct. 11 edition of the Wall Street Journal, military analyst Michael O’Hanlon, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, predicted that US forces would be withdrawn from South Korea in a Trump presidency. In this event, North Korea would attempt to force South Korea to surrender using its nuclear weapons, which would ultimately lead to war, the analyst said. In the column, titled “Trump’s Dangerous Korean Gamble,” O’Hanlon noted that Trump intends to make US allies pay more of their defense cost, but that the situation on the Korean Peninsula reveals the flaws in that plan. O‘Hanlon outlined three scenarios that might play out if Trump were elected president. First, Trump might pull out of the US defense treaty with South Korea and remove US troops from the peninsula. Second, he might remove the troops over the course of his term in office and hand the North Korean nuclear problem over to South Korea. Third, he could threaten to remove the troops unless South Korea increases its share of the defense burden. All three of these scenarios are problematic, and in the worst-case scenario, they could trigger a conflict on the Korean Peninsula, the analyst warned. [US Korea policy] [Trump] [MISCOM] [USFK]
• Both Trump and Clinton say that with North Korea, all options are on the table
  Posted on : Oct.13,2016 17:52 KST While not ruling out a preemptive strike on nuclear weapons, neither side likely to be seriously considering such a move The campaigns of both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have declared that they are not ruling out any options in their North Korean policy, including a preemptive strike. But these remarks do not mean that either candidate is seriously considering such an attack, experts say. During a discussion organized by the Korea Economic Institute in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 11, Kurt Campbell, former Assistant Secretary of State and a foreign policy advisor for the Clinton campaign, was asked about Clinton’s position on a preemptive strike against North Korea. Campbell responded by saying that Clinton was “not going to take any options off the table at this time,” pointing out that former Under Secretary of State Wendy Sherman had said the same thing during her visit to South Korea, as had vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine during the vice presidential debate. “The secretary and her team have made clear that North Korea is an urgent matter that requires focused American attention working closely with allies and partners,” Campbell said. When the same question was posed to Peter Hoekstra, former chairman of the US House Intelligence Committee and a member of Trump’s campaign, he offered a similar response. “When it comes to our national security, whether it‘s throughout the Middle East or whether it’s in Korea, or whether it‘s [. . .] Russia [. . . Trump] won’t take options off the table and he won‘t release a lot of clear signals to people about at least short- and medium-term objectives,” Hoekstra said. [US NK policy] [Trump] [Hillary Clinton]
• On the Attempts to Return North Korea to the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism
  Konstantin Asmolov On September 29, 2016, the US Congress passed an act on Justice against Sponsors of Terrorism, overcoming the veto of Barack Obama. Although the act is mainly highlighted in the context of a possible cooling of relations between the US and Saudi Arabia, this story is also connected with yet another attempt to return North Korea to the list of countries supporting terrorism. [US NK policy] [Terrorism List]
• US Forces Korea possesses depleted uranium ammunition
  Posted on : Oct.12,2016 16:51 KST South Korean Air Force says that soldiers are managing the depleted uranium and no health issues have been reported Depleted uranium ammunition US Forces Korea is currently in possession of depleted uranium ammunition, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Jeong Kyung-doo said on Oct. 11. The revelation about the weapon, which prompted fears of radiation contamination in the 1990s, is expected to generate controversy. “We [the South Korean military] do not have any depleted uranium ammunition, but USFK does possess it,” Jeong said in a parliamentary audit of Air Force headquarters by the National Assembly National Defense Committee held at Gyeryongdae in South Chungcheong Province that day. “Depleted uranium” refers to uranium waste left over after enrichment of the element for use as fuel in nuclear power generation. The US military developed depleted uranium in the 1980s after noting its outstanding penetration capabilities, with proportions 2.4 higher than iron and 1.7 higher than lead. USFK‘s possession of depleted uranium ammunition was also confirmed in Mar. 1997 following a report in Hankyoreh 21, a weekly newsmagazine. Depleted uranium ammunition became a source of serious global controversy after its use by US troop during the Gulf War in 1991. Some suggested at the time that the ammunition was responsible for the “Gulf War Syndrome” that emerged among some veterans, with symptoms such as chronic fatigue and headaches. The claim was that radioactive dust produced from the ammunition’s impact entered the body through the respiratory organs, resulting in cancer and other diseases. In response to the controversy, USFK told the Hankyoreh 21 in 1997 that the production, transportation, and storage of depleted uranium ammunition was controlled by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, that related work was only permitted to people with a lawful permit recognized by that commission, and that those permits could only be used in situations where actual hostile acts had occurred. [USFK] [DU] [cbw]
• Ex-USFK commanders support pre-emptive strikes against N. Korea
  By Jun Ji-hye The former commanders of the United States Forces Korea (USFK) have expressed their support for possible pre-emptive strikes against North Korea if a nuclear attack is deemed imminent. Burwell Bell, who commanded U.S. armed forces stationed in South Korea from 2006 to 2008, said that pre-emptive strikes are necessary if information that the North is making the final touches on a nuclear attack is detected, according to Voice of America (VOA), Wednesday. "Their sovereign right to defend themselves against a catastrophic surprise attack demands that they reserve the right and have the capability (of pre-emptive strikes)," Bell told the VOA. The former commander noted that it is improper to wait until an actual attack takes place even if an imminent attack has been detected. [Preemptive] [USFK]
• U.S. Surveillance Aircraft Buzzes Korean Skies
  By Yu Yong-weon October 10, 2016 12:34 The U.S. sent an E-8C ground surveillance aircraft over the Korean Peninsula in a continuing show of force as North Korea appears bent on a fresh provocation. The South Korean and U.S. militaries have stepped up surveillance as Monday's anniversary of the North Korean Workers Party approached. The surveillance plane, dubbed Joint STARS, is tasked with spotting any mobile missile launchers. . The plane focuses mainly on detecting ground targets like vehicles, bases, or missiles within a radius of 200 to 500 km, while early warning systems are designed to track aerial targets such as enemy aircraft. It is capable of identifying vehicles hundreds of kilometers away and can tell whether they are wheeled or have caterpillar tracks. Meanwhile, North Korean propaganda outlet Pyongyang Broadcasting on Saturday claimed that a U.S. strategic B-1B Lancer bomber simulated dropping nuclear bombs while flying over the Korean Peninsula last Thursday and Friday. South Korean military authorities declined to comment on the claim. Two B-1B bombers flew over the peninsula on Sept. 13 and 21 in a show of force after the North's fifth nuclear test.
• North Korea: The Wild Card
  An underground explosion in rural North Korea in early September rattled seismographs in South Korea and homes fifty miles away in China. It was North Korea's most powerful nuclear test to date, the latest escalation in one of the world's most dangerous guessing games. This year alone, the erratic regime of leader Kim Jong-Un has test-fired more than 30 ballistic missiles, sent a rocket into space in what was widely seen as another missile test, and detonated two nuclear bombs. Those tests show that the North is determined to advance its weapons programs and the threat they pose, even in the face of ever-tightening international sanctions, senior defense analyst Bruce W. Bennett wrote. North Korea's nuclear tests call into question the long-standing U.S. approach of “strategic patience.” The tests also call into question the United States' long-standing approach of “strategic patience” with North Korea, Bennett wrote. The U.S. sent two B-1 bombers over South Korea in a display of resolve after the September nuclear test, and has moved to deploy an advanced missile-defense system there. The quickening pace of provocations from the North this year suggests a weak leader feeling more and more internal pressure, Bennett wrote—and seeking to divert attention through displays of force. That raises another troubling question for the international community: What would happen if the North Korean regime collapses? That could plunge parts of the North into anarchy, leave its weapons of mass destruction exposed, and threaten civil war in a country with more than one million military and security personnel, Bennett said. At the same time, it would likely cut off food distribution, provoking a humanitarian disaster “even more serious than is normally the case in North Korea,” he said. [US NK policy]
• US Ambassador to UN says “all tools” being used to put pressure on North Korea
  Posted on : Oct.10,2016 17:10 KST Visits to South Korea by US officials are evidence that Washington is looking to close “loopholes” in sanctions On Oct. 9, Samantha Power, the US ambassador to the UN, visited Panmunjeom and Hanawon, a facility where North Korean defectors receive education and assistance for resettlement, and met South Korean Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn. Power is the ranking American official participating in UN Security Council deliberations about a sanctions resolution against North Korea. On Oct. 10, Power will hold a series of meetings with senior officials in the administration of South Korean President Park Geun-hye, including top diplomats, the Minister of Unification and officials from the Blue House National Security Office. Furthermore, the US State Department announced on Oct. 8 that Robert King, Special Envoy for North Korean Human Rights Issues, will be visiting South Korea from Oct. 10 to Oct. 13 to discuss North Korean human rights with South Korean government officials. Wendy Sherman, former Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs and one of Hillary Clinton’s key foreign policy advisors, is also visiting South Korea on Oct. 10 to meet with South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se. [US NK policy] [Samantha Power]
• Joint naval exercise kicks off with US super carrier
  Nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan / Korea Times file By Jun Ji-hye South Korea and the United States began a large-scale joint naval exercise, Monday, in all seas off the Korean Peninsula in a show of force against possible provocations from North Korea. It is very rare for the two countries to conduct joint drills in the East, West and South Seas, officials said, adding that this reflects the seriousness the two allies attach to the military tension caused by the North's continuous provocative actions. Washington dispatched the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the USS Ronald Reagan, for the six-day exercise, Invincible Spirit 2016, which focuses on training the allies' naval forces on joint precision attacks on the North's military installations and the regime's leadership that would be launched in the event of a war with the reclusive state. [Joint US military]
• US envoy vows to use all tools to pressure N. Korea
  Samantha Power, the U.S. envoy to the United Nations, visits the truce village of Panmunjeom on the inter-Korean border, Sunday. / Joint press corps By Jun Ji-hye Washington will use every possible means to pressure North Korea to give up its pursuit of weapons of mass destruction, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations (U.N.) said Sunday. During a news conference at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, Amb. Samantha Power said sanctions imposed by the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) were one tool to force the North to abandon its nuclear ambitions, but the United States was willing to use all the tools it has, including diplomatic pressure, to deal with the North. Power arrived in South Korea, Saturday, for a four-day stay after visiting Japan amid the possibility of more provocative actions by Pyongyang to mark the anniversary of the founding of its ruling Workers' Party that falls today. [Samantha Power] [US NK policy]
• Betrayal of USFK
  Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province is accused of interfering with local business owners' independence and hurting their livelihoods with "off-limit" action. / Yonhap By Hong Dam-young Pyeongtaek is a small factory-crammed city with 500,000 people. Its contribution to the nation's economy is small. But the city's importance in national security is immense, especially when it comes to the military alliance between South Korea and the United States. Pyeongtaek has embraced U.S. Army Garrison Camp Humphreys on its soil for many years. And under a relocation plan, more U.S. troops ? the 8th Army headquarters and the 2nd Infantry Division ? will move into the city by 2017, making Pyeongtaek a centerpiece of Seoul-Washington military ties. All appears to be peaceful and harmonious there. But just beneath the surface of the relationship is growing anger toward the United States Forces Korea (USFK). While massive construction work for the relocation is under way, the U.S. military in the region has been blamed for prejudicing local business owners' sovereignty and hurting their livelihoods with what they call "off-limits" action. [USFK] [Friction]
• N.Korean defector plan to establish government in exile “delayed”
  Many have raised doubts about legitimacy, effectiveness of shadow government Dagyum Ji October 7th, 2016 A group of North Korean defectors has temporarily put on hold plans to establish a DPRK government-in-exile in the United States, a leading figure in the organization told NK News on Friday. South Korean newspaper DongA Ilbo reported on Friday that the plans were to go ahead, and that heads of defector organizations in South Korea and defectors formerly of North Korea’s elite class would launch the refugee government early next year in Washington D.C. North Korean defector Dr. An Chan-il, who was described as a leader of the movement in DongA’s report, confirmed to NK News that the report was true and that plans were in motion, but later said that “the plan has been delayed”. An, head of the World Institute for North Korean Studies based in Seoul, said the government-in-exile would use liberal democracy as its political system, and planned to adopt Chinese-style reforms and an open-door policy to outside investment in the economy once it took power. [Defector] [Legitimacy] [SK NK policy] [Escalation] [US SK friction]
• High-ranking Blue House officials makes surprise visit to the US
  Posted on : Oct.8,2016 11:46 KST Cho Tae-yong’s undisclosed trip appears related to discussions between China and US over North Korea sanctions A Blue House official made an undisclosed surprise visit to the US on Oct. 4-7, it was recently learned. The visit by Blue House National Security Office (NSO) first deputy director and National Security Council secretary general Cho Tae-yong came amid a failure to make headway on discussions between Washington and Beijing over an additional United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution sanctioning North Korea. Cho is seen as likely to have suggested the Barack Obama administration take a hard line in its North Korea policy as it decides between intensive sanctions that risk generating frictions with Beijing or softer pressure tactics that would involve some compromise. “The deputy secretary [Tony Blinken] did meet with the Republic of Korea Deputy National Security Advisor Cho Tae-yong,” US State Department spokesperson John Kirby confirmed during a regular press briefing on Oct. 6. [Sanctions] [US NK policy]
• 60% of Americans Feel Threatened by N.Korean Nukes
  By Yoon Jung-ho, Cho Yi-jun October 07, 2016 09:44 Sixty percent of Americans think of North Korea's nuclear development as a "critical threat" to the U.S., a poll suggests. "With concern rising about North Korea's nuclear test... a majority of the American public -- 60 percent -- continue to cite North Korea's nuclear program as a critical threat to the United States," the Chicago Council on Global Affairs said. This figure is up five percentage points on-year. The poll reflects recent calls among some senior American figures for a preemptive strike on the North's nuclear facilities. Song Dae-sung, former head of the Sejong Institute, said, "Since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the U.S. has honed its war doctrine around preemptive or preventive strikes, determined not to wait till disaster strikes. It already identified 6,000 to 7,000 targets of preemptive strikes a decade ago." "Nobody should make light of the recent opinion trend in the U.S.," he added. . © This is copyrighted material owned by Digital Chosun Inc. No part of it may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission.
  With the support of the Korea Foundation, the poll was conducted online by GfK among 2,061 adults. [Threat] [Preemptive] [Public opinion]
• Trump accuses S. Korea of 'laughing' at U.S. over free trade deal
  U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has accused South Korea of "laughing at how stupid we are," as he renewed the wrong-headed claims that the free trade pact with the Asian ally ended up hurting the U.S. Trump has long blamed free trade deals as a key cause of American economic problems in an attempt to rally support from voters struggling with economic woes and criticize his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, for backing such agreements. He has denounced the pact with Korea as a "job killing" deal and a "disaster." "Hillary's Korea deal, South Korea, cost us another 100,000 jobs. Remember that? It was supposed to be a good deal. It cost us jobs, tremendous numbers of jobs. And South Korea, like almost every other country, is laughing at how stupid we are," Trump said at a campaign rally in Nevada on Wednesday. [Trump] [FTA]
• How North Korea is not like Pluto
  Posted on : Oct.7,2016 16:45 KST “From Pluto to Pyongyang, and Back”, an article by James Church published on Oct. 5 on the North Korean affairs website 38 North Writing on 38 North, analyst compares North Korea to isolated Pluto, saying “isolation is a two-way street” On Oct. 6, North Korean-affairs website 38 North published an article under the curious title “From Pluto to Pyongyang, and Back.” The article was attributed to James Church, the pseudonym of a former intelligence analyst about North Korea and Northeast Asia for the CIA and the US State Department. In the article, Church makes the intriguing claim that there are people today who want to treat North Korea like Pluto. [US NK policy]
• The Coming Confrontation with North Korea
  KYIV – Imagine it is 2020. The director of the CIA requests an urgent meeting with the US president. The reason: North Korea has succeeded in making a nuclear bomb small enough to fit inside the tip of an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the continental United States. The news soon leaks to the public. High-level meetings to devise a response are held not just in Washington, but in Seoul, Tokyo, Beijing, and Moscow as well. This scenario may seem unreal today, but it is more political science than science fiction. North Korea just carried out its fifth (and apparently successful) test of a nuclear explosive device, doing so just days after testing several ballistic missiles. Absent a major intervention, it is only a matter of time before North Korea increases its nuclear arsenal (now estimated at 8-12 devices) and figures out how to miniaturize its weapons for delivery by missiles of increasing range and accuracy. From Aleppo and North Korea to the European Commission and the Federal Reserve, the global order’s fracture points continue to deepen. Nina Khrushcheva, Stephen Roach, Nasser Saidi, and others assess the most important risks. It is difficult to overstate the risks were North Korea, the world’s most militarized and closed society, to cross this threshold. A North Korea with the ability to threaten the US homeland might conclude it had little to fear from the US military, a judgment that could lead it to launch a conventional, non-nuclear attack on South Korea. Even if such a war ended in North Korea’s defeat, it would be extraordinarily costly by any measure. [US NK policy] [Logic]
• Ex-Negotiator Warns Against Solo U.S. Concessions to N.Korea
  By O Youn-hee October 06, 2016 11:39 A former U.S. chief negotiator in nuclear talks with North Korea on Tuesday warned Washington should never go it alone when offering incentives to North Korea. Robert Gallucci, who negotiated an abortive nuclear freeze deal in 1994, said, "Whatever we decide to do, we the U.S. ought to be... in consultation with Seoul. If we do that then we preserve the alliance at the same time as we try to be creative about what might be on the table in negotiations with the North." Gallucci was speaking at a seminar at Johns Hopkins University in Washington. The North's long-running demand is an end to joint military exercises between South Korea and the U.S., he said. "This is advice to the next American administration, not that they're asking for it, but be very, very careful not to put on the table elements, carrots for the North that go to in their essence the U.S.-[South Korea] alliance." "They always find the exercises aggressive, they always find them provocative," he said. "Well, those are joint military exercises and they are part of the alliance. So I would be very, very careful... that we not put those at risk without consultation." He stressed the need for a proper environment for negotiations with Pyongyang. "The first thing I would worry about, as an American concerned about the alliance, is that we not enter serious, hopefully durable negotiations unless both sides agree that the objective of successful negotiations would be a North Korea that could re-enter the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty." The international community, as well as Seoul, Washington, and Tokyo, should not recognize the North as a nuclear state as a way to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, he added. . © This is copyrighted material owned by Digital Chosun Inc. No part of it may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission. [US NK negotiations] [Gallucci]
• Robert Gallucci says “the North Korean case is not like fine wine”
  Posted on : Oct.6,2016 16:59 KST Robert Gallucci, a former US State Department special envoy on the North Korean nuclear issue A growing number of US experts are calling for dialogue with North Korea, instead of single-minded focus on sanctions Calls are growing louder in the US for Washington abandon its focus on sanctions in North Korea policy and negotiate with Pyongyang. With the situation growing increasingly pronounced since North Korea‘s fifth nuclear test, many are now watching to see if the next administration will bring a shift in North Korea policy. Speaking at a discussion on Northeast Asia issues organized jointly in Washington on Oct. 4 by the Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and South Korea’s Presidential Committee for Unification Preparation (PCUP), Robert Gallucci, a former US State Department special envoy on the North Korean nuclear issue, stressed the importance of negotiations as the first means of resolving the currently deadlock in North Korea issues. [US NK Negotiations] [Gallucci] [Engagement]
• N. Korea vows retaliatory nuke strikes against U.S. threat
  North Korea is ready to mercilessly make retaliatory nuclear strikes against the United States if it seeks to stage preemptive attacks on the North, the country's state media said Wednesday. The North's latest threat came in response to Seoul and Washington's joint naval drills which were conducted last week in the East Sea as a show of force against Pyongyang's fifth nuclear test. The exercises involved training for precision strikes on key land-based targets. [Retaliation] [Conditionality]
• Clinton's running mate supports preemptive action on N. Korea in event of impending nuclear attack
  U.S. Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine said Tuesday he supports taking preemptive action against North Korea if the communist nation shows signs of launching a nuclear-armed missile capable of reaching the United States. Kaine made the remark during the first and only vice presidential TV debate with his Republican rival, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, in response to a question about if he would take preemptive action if intelligence shows the North is about to launch a nuclear missile that can reach the U.S. "Look, a president should take action to defend the United States against imminent threat. You have to. A president has to do that. Now, exactly what action, you would have to determine what the intelligence was. How certain you are of the intelligence. But you would have to take action," Kaine said. The debate, especially the question, underscored the serious concerns sparked in the U.S. by the North's fifth nuclear test that Pyongyang is making real headway in its nuclear and missile programs, and could soon perfect capabilities to threaten the U.S. mainland with nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles. [Preemptive] [Hillary Clinton]
• Who is Driving Tensions on the Korean Peninsula?
  Joseph Thomas With North Korea’s recent nuclear weapon test, it appears the East Asian state is transitioning from possessing a demonstration capability toward hosting a functional nuclear arsenal. While analysts believe North Korea has yet to miniaturise its nuclear weapons to fit in rocket-launched warheads, the frequency and size of the nation’s nuclear tests indicate expanding capabilities in both research and development as well as in fabrication and deployment. BBC’s article, “North Korea’s nuclear programme: How advanced is it?,” would claim: North Korea has conducted several tests with nuclear bombs. However, in order to launch a nuclear attack on its neighbours, it needs to be able to make a nuclear warhead small enough to fit on to a missile. North Korea claims it has successfully “miniaturised” nuclear warheads – but this has never been independently verified, and some experts have cast doubt on the claims. And despite Western commentators and their counterparts in South Korea and Japan’s claims that North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme is a proactive, provocative policy, closer scrutiny reveals that Pyongyang’s defence policy may be instead predicated on legitimate fears reflecting and reacting to American and South Korean foreign policy. [Response] [US NK policy] [Agency]
• From Pluto to Pyongyang, and Back
  By James Church 05 October 2016 In 2006, Pluto was downgraded from a planet to a dwarf planet, failing to meet all the criteria of a (then) newly established definition of planet. These days, some should like to do the same with North Korea, another strange, cold and distant place. Like Pluto, North Korea easily exhausts the quotient for weirdness in our national psyche. Yet here the parallel ends. We were sure, after all, that Pluto was harmless, but our laughter in response to jokes about North Korea comes tinged with nervousness. Elaborate illustrations in news magazines show the ‘arc of destruction’ covered by North Korean ballistic missiles. A river of reports flows forth from newspapers and think tanks, citing estimates of the numbers of nuclear weapons the North might have, their destructive power, and the likelihood they will end up exploding on our shores. All of this ignores the fact that the North’s strongest card is not nuclear. Its strength does not come from chemical weapons, arrays of artillery or brigades of mobile missiles. This small, sad country’s best weapon is not something stashed deep in a granite mountain or smuggled to a rusting port in the hold of a tramp freighter. To find it, no spies need be recruited, no costly, esoteric intelligence collection systems deployed. The basis of the North’s greatest strength is deceptively simple. People who are irritated pay attention. Whatever its shortages of raw materials or food or electricity, Pyongyang has a limitless capacity to vex and confuse anyone not North Korean. Friends and allies, doctors and candlestick-makers alike—all are eventually flummoxed in their dealings with the North. Most of us crave validation, positive reinforcement, stroking. So, undoubtedly, do North Koreans in their fitful dreams. But awake and perpetually on guard, the regime in Pyongyang knows that as good as love and brotherhood may be, for a poor, weak piece of mountainous real estate like the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, nothing is better than keeping everyone else off balance and royally annoyed. [US NK policy] [Inversion]
• 12 Countries Downgrade Ties with N.Korea
  By Kim Jin-myung October 04, 2016 11:21 At least 12 countries have reduced ties with North Korea this year, Voice of America reported last Friday. They include Mongolia, Vietnam and Uganda, who had been part of a ragtag band of allies of the repressive regime. Mongolia has canceled the registration of 14 North Korean ships that flew the Mongolian flag of convenience since the UN Security Council adopted a fresh resolution against the North in March. Vietnam, which marks the 66th anniversary of diplomatic relations with the North this year, in April expelled the chief and deputy chief of North Korea's Tanchon Commercial Bank, which was blacklisted by the UNSC. Uganda used to receive military and police training from the North but has now severed military ties with Pyongyang after a summit with South Korea in May. In a report on its implementation of the sanctions on July 25, Angola said it was keeping a close eye on two North Koreans, including a diplomat. In a similar report to the UN on June 8, South Africa said it stopped weapons deals and severed ties of military cooperation with the North. . © This is copyrighted material owned by Digital Chosun Inc. No part of it may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission. [US NK policy] [Legitimacy] [Hybrid war]
• US needs to talk with N. Korea
  By Tong Kim WASHINGTON ? The United States should enter into direct talks with North Korea to negotiate a freeze of its nuclear and missile tests and a return of IAEA inspectors to achieve the eventual goal of denuclearization, according to experts. In an op-ed in The Washington, Sept. 30, Jane Harman, president of the Woodrow Wilson International Center of Scholars, and James Person, the center's coordinator for Korean history and public policy, made these remarks. The authors believe such a nuclear freeze can only be achieved through direct U.S. talks with the North, not a return to the six-party process. The United States should show some flexibility and utilize "an underappreciated ace in its deck," which is North Korea's cognizance that "Only the United States ? the supposed existential threat that justifies its nuclear and ballistic missile programs ? can fully address Pyongyang's security concerns." Harmon and Person suggest that the U.S. acknowledge the North's security concerns, even if it considers those concerns are unfounded, in order to make progress in negotiations. [Engagement] [US NK Negotiations] [Academic]
• US experts on N. Korea call for direct dialogue, reciprocity
  By Choi Sung-jin As North Korea speeds up its nuclear weapons development program, some U.S. experts have called for direct dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang, stressing sanctions without negotiations will not work. "Watching North Korea push ahead with nuclear tests, missile launches and the production of nuclear materials recently, it clearly shows, as in the past, the policy of sanctions without negotiations will never work," said Leon V. Sigal, director of the Northeast Asia Cooperative Security Project at the Social Science Research Council in New York. [Engagement] [US NK Negotiations]
• Between Wishful Thinking and Realism: Hopes for a Pyongyang Spring
  By Ruediger Frank 29 September 2016 On September 20, 2016, the US Department of State’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL) issued a call worth an estimated 1.6 million USD for projects to “foster the free flow of information into, out of, and within the DPRK.” In particular, applicants are encouraged to submit proposals for producing and transmitting radio broadcasts into North Korea; producing content and/or acquiring existing content of interest to North Korean audiences; exploring new mechanisms or expanding existing mechanisms for sharing or consuming information and content; raising awareness of legal rights under existing DPRK domestic laws and its international human rights obligations; raising awareness of international best-practices and norms; promoting fundamental freedoms, including expression, movement, association, and peaceful assembly. [Subversion] [Wishful thinking]
• How Nuclear Deterrence in North Korea Became 'A Game of Chicken'
  September 20th, 2016 by Michelle FlorCruz Chung-in Moon, the former ambassador for international security affairs and professor emeritus at Yonsei University, discusses the grim situation South Korea faces with North Korea. On Tuesday, North Korean state media announced that the country had successfully completed a ground test of a new rocket engine to launch satellites, the latest development in what many experts see as a preface to a long-range rocket launch. The rocket engine test — which comes just weeks after Pyongyang’s fifth “nuclear explosion test” — is an indication that threats from the isolated state are increasingly credible and need to be addressed with renewed urgency. “It's unrealistic that we expect the collapse of the North Korean regime soon,” Kim Sung-hwan, the former South Korean ambassador to Austria and Uzbekistan and professor at Hanyang University’s College of International Studies in Seoul, said on Tuesday during a high-level discussion at Asia Society in New York. Kim explained that sanctions and the risk of famine do not pose a sufficient threat to Pyongyang to be a solution to the nuclear problem. “The [North Koreans] have their own know-how, [and] they [have] known how to govern that country for already three generations.” According to Christopher Hill, former U.S. ambassador to South Korea and current dean of the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver, denuclearizing North Korea requires leveraging China’s influence on the country. “We have a tremendous challenge," he said. "There was more sort of rhythm to [America's] relationship with China in the past than there is now. Right now, the U.S. and China have just not found those kinds of patterns of cooperation that I think we need. We’ve got a lot of diplomacy to do. But really I think time is running out and we should stop thinking in terms of time being on our side.” However, Yun Sun, senior associate with the East Asia program at the Henry L. Stimson Center and a fellow at the Brookings Institution, says that Beijing does not consider a nuclear North Korea any more of a threat than the presence of the American military on China's northeastern border. [US NK policy] [China hope] [Chris Hill]
• Carrots or Sticks? Addressing North Korea’s Fifth Nuclear Test
  September 20, 2016 ?Mel Gurtov As many experts predicted, North Korea (DPRK) followed another ballistic missile test with its fifth nuclear-weapon test on September 9. The event continues a pattern of testing increasingly sophisticated weapons and delivery systems (see my Post #116) designed as much to thumb noses at the international community’s sanctions as to demonstrate that North Korea, unlike Saddam Hussein’s Iraq and Muammar Gaddafi’s Libya, has the ability to defend itself. Once again the community of North Korea watchers is divided as to Pyongyang’s motives and what to do to rein in its military program. Among these observers is a substantial number who believe that sanctions alone will not move Pyongyang from its current course. They believe the North, and for some China as well, needs to be provided with incentives to return to the bargaining table, with nuclear disarmament of North Korea the goal. But they also believe North Korea must be punished if it rejects the bargain the US would offer, lest it become an unmanageable threat to its neighbors and eventually to the US homeland. [US NK Negotiations] [Liberal]
• Pyongyang’s ‘weapons first, negotiations later’ strategy
  23 September 2016 Author: Sangsoo Lee, ISDP On 9 September 2016, the US Geological Survey detected a 5.3-magnitude earthquake in the area of North Korea’s Punggye-ri underground test site. Four hours later, North Korean state television announced that it had successfully detonated a nuclear warhead. Based on the seismic waveforms, the blast is estimated to have been about 10 kilotons — more than twice as large as the recent test in January and is the most powerful test conducted so far by North Korea.
  The Obama administration stated that the latest nuclear test will not lead it to a change of its assessment of North Korea’s overall ‘nuclear and military capabilities’. But, North Korea will eventually reach nuclear capacity, in which case, the United States must take real action through either negotiation or a military intervention. In light of North Korea’s updated strategy, the incoming US president should re-think and reassess ‘strategic patience’. Sangsoo Lee is a senior research fellow at the Institute for Security and Development Policy in Stockholm. [Nuclear capability] [US NK policy] [NK US policy]
• Unpalatable Choices: Facing North Korea's Nuclear Reality
  North Korea has alarmed the international community by detonating another nuclear weapon, its fifth, along with other missile tests. The United States and other nations must develop new military and diplomatic strategies as Pyongyang positions itself as a credible nuclear-armed state, urges author and security analyst Bennett Ramberg. Unfortunately, North Korea cannot be trusted and the regime has violated every nonproliferation commitment it has entered, from the nuclear nonproliferation treaty to the 2012 “leap year agreement” to freeze nuclear and missile tests. North Korea lacks connections with other nations that could help minimize the threat. South Korea, Japan and other nations ponder whether their own pursuit of nuclear and other weapons might deter the Kim regime. One diplomatic strategy might include liaison offices in Washington and Pyongyang even as the international community continues with firm refusals to demands from the North unless there is reciprocation. Ramberg concludes, “Surely the alternative – an isolated, paranoid, insecure, poorly informed nuclear Pyongyang on hair trigger is not good for anyone.” – YaleGlobal [US NK negotiations] [Test]
• Former US Secretary of Defense favors “three Nos” on North Korean nukes
  Posted on : Oct.3,2016 15:41 KST William Perry says Bush administration’s cutting off of negotiations allowed North Korea to develop nukes William Perry served as US Secretary of Defense from 1994-1997, under President Bill Clinton and was coordinator of North Korea policy. In 1999 he published "Review of United States Policy Toward North Korea: Findings and Recommendations". He recently conducted a telephone interview with the Hankyoreh’s Washington correspondent, discussing the failure of North Korea policy of President Barack Obama, with its insistence that North Korea take steps toward denuclearization before any dialogue can take place. [US NK policy] [Three Noes] [Preconditions] [Perry]
• US introduces legislation to block North Korea from international payment network
  Posted on : Oct.2,2016 17:13 KST The website of Arizona Congressman Matt Salmon, chairman of the US House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, who submitted a bill to cut North Korea off from the international payment network. Sanctions may not be very effective, as North Korea doesn’t make many SWIFT financial transactions After the US government announced that it was deliberating with other countries to block North Korea from accessing the international payment network, members of the US House of Representatives submitted a bill (HR6281) to prevent North Korea’s Central Bank and other financial organizations implicated in North Korea’s nuclear development and proliferation from accessing that network. [Financial sanctions] [Banking] [Extraterritoriality]
• North Korea seeks 'bargaining power': S&P
  By Kim Jae-kyoung SINGAPORE ? North Korea is seeking to improve its competitive edge in negotiations with the U.S. and other countries through continuous military provocations, according to a senior analyst of S&P Global Ratings. "The nuclear tests being pursued by North Korea are actions to strengthen their bargaining power with other countries," Kim Eng Tan, senior director of Sovereign and International Public Finance Ratings, Asia-Pacific, at S&P Global Ratings, in a recent interview. "There is little advantage for North Korea to trigger a military conflict that has the potential to bring down the current regime." [Provocation] [US NK Negotiations] [Spin]
• Is US preparing preemptive strike on North Korea?
  South Korea has had no discussions whatsoever with the United States about a preemptive strike on North Korea, Seoul's ambassador to Washington said. Amb. Ahn Ho-young made the remark during a parliamentary audit of his embassy on Saturday as talk of removing North Korea's nuclear facilities through a military strike has surfaced in the U.S. in the wake of Pyongyang's fifth nuclear test. "We've had no such discussions at least here in Washington," Ahn said during the audit held at the embassy. "We've never received a request from the U.S. government for discussions about a preemptive strike." Last month, an independent task force report from the Council on Foreign Relations suggested that the U.S., South Korea and Japan should send a strong message to the North that future aggression will be met with a strong response, including "strikes against military targets inside North Korea." [Preemptive]
• Calls for countries to cut off ties with North Korea may infringe on sovereignty
  Posted on : Oct.1,2016 17:53 KST US instructed embassies around the world to ask host governments to “downgrade or sever diplomatic and economic ties Remarks from the US State Department this week suggested it may be an infringement of sovereignty and international principle for Washington to call on other countries to downgrade or break off diplomatic ties with North Korea. When asked during a regular briefing on Sep. 29 whether he could confirm that the US government had asked other countries to break off diplomatic relations with Pyongyang, department spokesperson John Kirby said he was “not aware of any such effort to do that.” [Legitimacy] [Recognition]

• Time to Prepare for the Worst-Case Scenario
  September 23, 2016 13:44 U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter's comments at the Hoover Institute on Monday clearly demonstrate the shift in Washington's perception of the North Korean nuclear threat. Carter said the U.S. Forces Korea must be prepared to "fight tonight" not because they want to but because the "diplomatic picture is bleak." Carter said the U.S. will not accept a situation where it is under threat of a North Korean nuclear attack. . Calls for a preemptive strike against North Korean nuclear facilities have gained increasing traction in Washington after Pyongyang conducted its fifth nuclear test earlier this month. Michael Mullen, a former chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said a preemptive strike was possible as a form of self-defense if the North actually threatens the U.S. . © This is copyrighted material owned by Digital Chosun Inc. No part of it may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission. [War] [Preemptive] [Invasion]
• US stepping up pressure in cutting of North Korea from international finance
  Posted on : Sep.29,2016 15:48 KST Daniel Russel also says that US and South Korea are looking to deploy THAAD “as soon as possible” The US executive branch of government has begun applying heavy pressure on Beijing and Pyongyang ahead of its discussions with China on a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution sanctioning North Korea for its recent fifth nuclear test. Washington‘s tactics have involved speeding up the deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system in South Korea, cutting off Pyongyang’s access to international financial networks, coal exports and overseas workers. While attending a hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific on trilateral cooperation with South Korea and Japan on Sep. 27, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Russel responded to a question on whether THAAD would be deployed in South Korea by next year. [Financial sanctions] [THAAD] [Overseas labour]
• In debate, Clinton and Trump show different colors on Korean peninsula issues
  Posted on : Sep.28,2016 15:50 KST Trump continues talk of making US allies cover more troop stationing costs; Clinton talks of “reassuring allies” Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump showed their opposing positions on Korean Peninsula issues in their first televised debate as the US Democratic and Republican Party presidential candidates on Sep. 26. While their positions were the same that they have argued since the primaries, the debate provided one more opportunity to see the difference. While discussing the military Commander-in-Chief‘s authority to decide on the use of nuclear weapons, Clinton said Trump had “repeatedly said that he didn’t care if other nations got nuclear weapons - Japan, South Korea, even Saudi Arabia.” “It has been the policy of the United States, Democrats and Republicans, to do everything we could to reduce the proliferation of nuclear weapons,” she added. In response, Trump said, “We defend Japan, we defend Germany, we defend South Korea, we defend Saudi Arabia, we defend countries. They do not pay us.” [US_Election16] [Nuclearisation]
• [Reporter’s notebook] The truth behind the fuss over preemptive strike on North Korea
  Posted on : Sep.26,2016 16:27 KST As the S. Korean government drops verbal bombs to gloss over N. Korea policy failure, the media blindly follows along Recently, a series of reports have appeared in the South Korean media suggesting that the US is considering a preemptive strike on North Korea as one of several solutions to the North Korean nuclear issue. I even got a worried call from a friend in South Korea asking whether the US is really considering a preemptive strike. If true, it would be a serious problem. But I can say categorically that this is not true. One thing that the South Korean media has used to support the talk about a preemptive strike on North Korea is a remark made by White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest on Sept. 22. During the regular press briefing at the White House, an American reporter asked, “Does the President have any particular plans for the [sic] North Korea, such as preemptive strikes?” Earnest’s initial response was, “Well, I don’t have any.” [US NK policy] [Preemptive]
• Top US diplomat calls for 'determined' reaction to N. Korean nuclear test
  U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called Friday for a "determined and effective" response to North Korea's fifth nuclear test, denouncing it a "dangerous and reckless act of provocation" and a "direct challenge" to international stability and peace. Kerry made the remark during a U.N. Security Council meeting on the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), stressing that Pyongyang's nuclear test is a clear reminder of the "absolute necessity" to put the 1996 treaty into force. "Two decades after this process began, there may be some who question the value of pursuing this treaty or investing in its adoption, because the world has changed dramatically," Kerry said, according to a State Department transcript. "Yet we have been reminded in recent weeks of the absolute necessity of supporting the CTBT. North Korea's latest nuclear test is a challenge to this council's leadership," he said. "It is a challenge and a direct threat to international stability and peace. It is a dangerous and reckless act of provocation which we have to summon a determined and effective answer to." The CTBT was opened for signature in 1996 and then-President Bill Clinton was the first world leader to sign the treaty, but Congress has yet to ratify it. Currently, 183 nations have signed the treaty and 166 have finished ratification. But the treaty has not taken effect yet because eight countries have yet to ratify it. North Korea, India and Pakistan didn't even sign the treaty while the U.S., China, Egypt, Iran and Israel signed the pact, but have not ratified it yet. [Test] [CTBT] [Double standards]
• Tension escalates over N. Korea nuclear test
  Obama warns Pyongyang of 'consequences' By Kang Seung-woo U.S. President Barack Obama warned North Korea that it "must face consequences" for its latest nuclear test in an address at the United Nations (U.N.) General Assembly in New York, Tuesday. However, there were fresh reports suggesting that Pyongyang is preparing for another nuclear test, Wednesday. "When Iran agrees to accept constraints on its nuclear program that enhances global security and enhances Iran's ability to work with other nations. On the other hand, when North Korea tests a bomb, that endangers all of us," said Obama. "Any country that breaks this basic bargain must face consequences." In South Korea, the National Assembly passed a new resolution urging the Kim Jong-un regime to dismantle its nuclear weapons program. [Test] [US NK policy]
• B-1B bombers fly over S. Korea
  A B-1B strategic bomber of the U.S. Air Force lands at Osan Air Base in Gyeonggi Province, Wednesday. Washington flew two bombers over South Korea in a show of force against North Korea. One landed here, while the other returned to Andersen Air Force Base on Guam. / Korea Times Photo by Hong In-kee One makes unusual landing at Osan Base By Jun Ji-hye Two B-1B strategic bombers of the U.S. Air Force (USAF) flew over South Korea, Wednesday, in a show of force against North Korea as tension remains high after its fifth and most powerful nuclear test, Sept. 9. They conducted a low-altitude flight over a firing range near the inter-Korean border, and then over Osan Air Base, 70 kilometers south of Seoul. One landed at the base, while the other returned to Andersen Air Force Base on Guam. It is unknown how long the bomber will stay here. It is very rare for a U.S. bomber to land in South Korea, defense officials said, adding that it was a strong warning from the United States to North Korea. The move is also aimed at reaffirming Washington's commitment to providing Seoul with extended deterrence amid growing threats from Pyongyang, officials added. The latest sortie of the U.S. bombers came eight days after two conducted a low-altitude flight over Osan for several minutes, Sept. 13. At that time, they both returned to Guam without landing. [Provocation] [B-1]
• S.Korea, U.S. to conduct airstrike training on DPRK's nuke facilities
  Xinhua, September 19, 2016 South Korea and the United States plan to conduct an airstrike training on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s nuclear facilities through a U.S.-led multinational air defense exercise scheduled for next month, Seoul's Yonhap news agency reported on Monday. The Red Flag exercise, which was launched by the United States in 1975, would be carried out from Oct. 3 to 21 at the Eielson air base in Alaska, according to South Korea's air force quoted by Yonhap. This year's exercise would involve the precision airstrike training on the DPRK's nuclear facilities following the DPRK's fifth nuclear test on Sept. 9. South Korea, which began to participate in the drill in 2013, would send six F-15K fighter jets and two C-130H transport planes. The United States would mobilize about 50 combat aircrafts such as F-16 and F-15C. New Zealand and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) will join the exercise by sending only transport planes and aerial tankers. [Joint US military] [Preemptive]
• Korea to Join U.S.-led Bombing Drill in Alaska
  A U.S.-led multinational air drill next month will practice bombing North Korean nuclear facilities, the South Korean Air Force said Monday. Exercise Red Flag will be held at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska on Oct. 3-21. Forces from the U.S., South Korea, New Zealand and NATO will be taking part, but only the U.S. and South Korea will mobilize fighter jets. "The drill comes in response to the nuclear and missile threats from the North, which have emerged as the biggest security challenge in the wake of two nuclear tests and about 20 ballistic missile launches by the North this year," a military officer here said. Some 50 South Korean and U.S. fighter jets will practice recision bombing of a North Korean nuclear facility. South Korea's F-15Ks are expected to practice bombing the North's nuclear and missile facilities by dropping so-called JDAM bombs. A Cheong Wa Dae official said Seoul and Washington have recently agreed to work out out a fresh deterrence strategy to counter the threat of the North's use of nuclear weapons. [Joint US military] [Preemptive]
• [Analysis] S. Korea, US and Japan sign joint statement, but differences remain
  Posted on : Sep.20,2016 16:18 KST From left to right, South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se, Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida and US Secretary of State John Kerry met on the afternoon of Sep. 18 in New York, where they had gathered to attend the 71st session of the UN General Assembly. (Yonhap News) Seoul emphasizes sanctions on N. Korea, Washington extended deterrence and Tokyo closer trilateral cooperation The top diplomats of South Korea, the US and Japan said that they “explored ways to work together to ensure that all countries fully and effectively implement all their obligations and commitments under UN Security Council Resolution 2270, which imposed the strongest sanctions ever placed upon North Korea, in response to the DPRK‘s accelerated, systematic, and unprecedented campaign to develop an operational nuclear capability.” This was part of the joint statement released after a meeting among South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se, US Secretary of State John Kerry and Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida on the afternoon of Sep. 18 in New York, where they had gathered to attend the 71st session of the UN General Assembly. [US dominance]
• John Kerry says he’s “prepared to sit down” for dialogue with North Korea
  Posted on : Sep.20,2016 16:27 KST US Secretary of State says North Korea must “freeze and not engage in any more provocative actions” John Kerry, US Secretary of State US Secretary of State John Kerry stressed on Sept. 18 that Washington is “prepared to sit down with [North Korea] to deal with the issues of nonaggression, of peace on the Korean Peninsula, of [North Korea] joining the international community, of attracting [humanitarian] assistance and economic development, providing North Korea is prepared to talk with the rest of the world about responsible approaches to the question of nuclear weaponry and a nuclear program.” Kerry’s message of willingness to have dialogue with Pyongyang came during a joint press conference that afternoon following a trilateral meeting with South Korean and Japanese counterparts Yun Byung-se and Fumio Kishida at the 71st UN general assembly in New York. “[The North Koreans] must engage in a discussion about denuclearization,” Kerry said. “And the immediate need is for them . . . to agree to freeze and not engage in any more provocative actions, not engage in more testing particularly,” he continued. [US NK policy] [US NK Negotiations] [Preconditions] [Kerry]
• Opposition lawmakers seeking ban on imports of anthrax and other deadly materials
  Posted on : Sep.20,2016 16:33 KST If legislation passes the National Assembly, US Forces Korea would no longer be allowed to import dangerous biological agents Site of a planned USFK biochemical testing facility, near Busan Port‘s Pier 8 Legislation has been submitted to the National Assembly to ban the import of anthrax bacteria and other organisms used in deadly weapons. Park Jae-ho, a Minjoo Party of Korea lawmaker for Busan’s Nam-B district, announced on Sep. 19 that he and 43 other lawmakers had “presented two legislative amendments to the National Assembly that would ban imports of anthrax and other biological agents that are lethal to the human body, live or dead.” The laws proposed for amendment are the Act on the Control of the Manufacture, Export and Import, etc. of Specific Chemicals and Chemical Agents for the Prohibition of Chemical and Biological Weapons (the Biological and Chemical Weapons Prohibition Act) and the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act. [cbw] [USFK]
• CFR declares failure of Obama admin’s “strategic patience” North Korea policy
  Posted on : Sep.19,2016 18:04 KST A report released last week titled “A Sharper Choice on North Korea: Engaging China for a Stable Northeast Asia,” by the US Council on Foreign Relations In report, think tank urges next US administration to adopt a firmer and more aggressive “carrot and stick” policy The US Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) has declared the failure of “strategic patience,” as the North Korean policy of the Obama administration is called, and called on the next administration to adopt a firmer and more aggressive “carrot and stick” policy. The main components of such a policy would involve working with China to find a solution to the North Korean nuclear issue and putting more political and military pressure on the North. “The current policy of strategic patience will not halt the recurrent and dangerous cycle of provocation or ensure a stable regional security order into the future,” the CFR said in a report that it released last week titled “A Sharper Choice on North Korea: Engaging China for a Stable Northeast Asia.” “The [North Korean] regime’s development of new conventional, missile, and nuclear capabilities puts civilians of allied countries, US military personnel, and the American people in real danger. [. . .] Without a shift in US strategy toward North Korea, the next US president will likely be sitting in the Oval Office when the regime finally acquires the ability to strike the continental United States with a nuclear weapon,” warned the report, which serves as a foreign policy paper. [US NK policy] [Strategic patience]
• N. Korea emerges as US election issue
  By Yi Whan-woo North Korea's nuclear threat is emerging as a key issue for the U.S. presidential election, after its latest nuclear test showed that it is making advances faster than expected to achieve the capability of striking the U.S. mainland. Both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have condemned Pyongyang for carrying out its fifth nuclear test on Sept. 9. The candidates have also attempted to discredit each other's ability to prevent North Korean leader Kim Jong-un from continuing to pursue weapons of mass destruction. Previously, North Korea did not receive much attention in U.S. presidential elections, compared to wars and terrorist attacks linked to ISIS in the Middle East and Europe. However, the next U.S. administration will have to put more emphasis on Pyongyang's nuclear program in handling international security threats, as Barack Obama's policy of "strategic patience" for North Korea is fading, analysts said. "This administration is handing over what's shaping up to be the top national security problem for the next administration, whether it's Clinton or Trump," said Victor Cha, Korea chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). [US NK policy] [US_Election16]
• Ex-U.S. Military Chief Suggests Preemptive Strike on N.Korea
  A former U.S. military leader has called for a preemptive strike on North Korea to prevent further provocations after its fifth nuclear test earlier this month. Mike Mullen, a former chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, was speaking at a seminar hosted by the U.S. Council on Foreign Relations on Friday. Mullen said it would be possible to launch a preemptive strike on the North if it comes "very close" to being capable of attacking the U.S. The strike could in theory destroy North Korean missile launch pads, he said. He claimed the North has miniaturized nuclear warheads to the point that it could attack the U.S. and a preemptive strike was one of several options to respond to its provocations. But a diplomatic source warned that a preemptive strike "could lead to a military intervention by China and Russia." During the first North Korean nuclear crisis in 1994, the Clinton administration in the U.S. considered precision bombing of the North's nuclear facility in Yongbyon, but the idea was dropped in the face of opposition from then President Kim Young-sam, who feared a full-scale war. [Preemptive] [Military option]
• China Vital to Countering a More Dangerous North Korea
  Interviewer: Eleanor Albert, Online Writer/Editor Interviewee: Mike Mullen, President and Chief Executive Officer, MGM Consulting LLC September 16, 2016 September 2016 The United States, Japan, and South Korea should forge stronger diplomatic and military ties to motivate China to take a larger role in mitigating the North Korean nuclear threat, says retired Admiral Mike Mullen, co-chair of a new CFR-sponsored Independent Task Force report. North Korea carried out its fifth nuclear test in early September and represents “an incredible danger” to the United States and its allies in Northeast Asia, says Mullen, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. “The combination of Kim’s inexperience and his family’s legacy should heighten the worry that he will somehow get to a point where he will use a nuclear weapon,” he says. Amid the diplomatic jostling, adds Mullen, leaders in Washington must be careful to maintain a level of trust with Beijing. “The U.S.-China relationship at the top is pivotal to making peace in the region, especially as North Korea becomes more of an instigator.” [US NK policy] [China Hope]
• Report launch of CFR-Sponsored Independent Task Force on U.S. Policy Toward North Korea
  September 16, 2016 Speakers: Mike Mullen President and Chief Executive Officer, MGM Consulting LLC; Task Force Co-Chair Sam Nunn Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Nuclear Threat Initiative; Task Force Co-Chair Adam Mount Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress; Task Force Project Director Presider: Judy Woodruff Co-Anchor and Managing Editor, PBS NewsHour Read transcript Description For over forty years, the Korean Peninsula has been trapped in a dangerous cycle of provocation. A Sharper Choice on North Korea: Engaging China for a Stable Northeast Asia, the report of a CFR-sponsored Independent Task Force, offers guidance to U.S. leaders in the face of the uniquely challenging threat posed by North Korea. The Task Force finds that current trends will progressively threaten the United States and its allies, and proposes new ideas to expand regional dialogue, restructure negotiations, protect the human rights of North Korea’s citizens, strictly enforce new sanctions authority, and deter and defend against a regime that seems determined to aggress in new and dangerous ways. Chaired by retired Admiral Mike Mullen, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and former U.S. Senator Sam Nunn, co-chairman and chief executive officer of the Nuclear Threat Initiative, this bipartisan Task Force is composed of a diverse and distinguished group of experts that includes former government officials, scholars, and others. The project is directed by Adam Mount, senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and a former CFR Stanton Nuclear Security fellow. Independent Task Force reports are consensus documents that offer analysis and policy prescriptions for major U.S. foreign policy issues facing the United States, developed through private and nonpartisan deliberations among a diverse and distinguished group of experts. North Korea Defense and Security Transcript WOODRUFF: Good morning, everyone. I’m Judy Woodruff with the PBS “NewsHour.” I’m really pleased to be here seeing all these bright, shining faces on this Friday morning. [US NK policy] [China hope]
• [Interview] US arms control expert says “Time is on the side of the regime in Pyongyang”
  Posted on : Sep.15,2016 19:52 KST Daryl Kimball argues that negotiations must be part of US’s North Korea strategy, as “strategic patience” has failed Daryl Kimball, Executive Director of the Arms Control Association Daryl Kimball has been Executive Director of the Arms Control Association since September 2001. The non-profit organization works to increase public awareness and understanding of nuclear, chemical, biological and conventional weapons, and supports arms control measures. He recently conducted an email interview with the Hankyoreh’s Washington correspondent after North Korea conducted its fifth nuclear test on Sep. 9. [Test] [US NK policy] [Strategic patience]
• [Editorial] Another North Korean nuke test shows that ‘strategic patience’ has failed
  Posted on : Sep.14,2016 21:04 KST Through analyzing this satellite photo, the North Korean affairs website 38 North detected new activity at a nuclear testing site near Punggye Village, North Hamgyong Province, on Sept. 8. The website explained that it was uncertain whether preparations for a nuclear test were being made at the site. (provided by 38 North/Yonhap News) Following North Korea’s fifth nuclear test, skepticism is growing about the current approach to the North Korean nuclear issue. Both the hardliners and the moderates can agree that a reassessment of the current approach is needed. First of all, the idea that sanctions on North Korea are limited in their effectiveness is being voiced by various figures in the US. Immediately after the nuclear test, the UN Security Council announced that it would take additional grave measures, and there are indications that several countries will enact their own additional sanctions. But it remains true that, without action from China, such sanctions will always be limited in their impact. The policy of “strategic patience” toward North Korea that the administration of US President Barack Obama has adopted for the past seven years has clearly failed. The alternative is returning to negotiations. “Beyond sanctions, any lasting solution will almost certainly require some kind of negotiations,” the New York Times said in a typical expression of this idea. In the past, North Korea has made few provocations when it was in the middle of negotiations. [Test] [Engagement] [Strategic patience]
• Warning: The Korean Peninsula is Falling into Disequilibrium
  By William R. McKinney 16 September 2016 For centuries, the Korean peninsula has been the fulcrum in Northeast Asia’s balance of power equation. It sits at the nexus of Chinese, Japanese, American, and Russian vital national interests. To this end, international relations scholars describe the peninsula as an arena of conflict and competition; or as a tinderbox, a flashpoint for great-power confrontation. disbalance (high resolution 3D image)Today, the fundamental balance of power that has endured on the peninsula since World War II seems to be wobbling. The region’s strategic geopolitics is under great stress from China’s meteoric rise compared to the relative decline of American, Russian and Japanese leverage over the peninsula. Add to that situation the massive conventional arsenals in both Koreas, which enable these rivals to engage in high-intensity warfare. However, the most crucial source of disequilibrium within the traditional balance stems not from the historical “great power competition,” but from North Korea’s domestic development of an asymmetrical strategic nuclear capability. North Korea’s strategic nuclear and missile programs, coupled with its provocative testing, present a clear and present danger to peace and stability in Northeast Asia, and are the primary reasons why the Korean peninsula is falling into disequilibrium. [US NK policy]
• Rooting Out the North Korean Nuclear Crisis: The Past and Present U.S. Role
  September 15, 2016 By Paul Liem and Christine Hong | September 15, 2016 Copublished in Counterpunch. North Korea’s nuclear test of September 9, 2016, the fifth and largest measuring twice the force of previous blasts, prompted a predictable round of condemnations by the United States and its allies along with calls for China to step up its enforcement of sanctions on North Korea. Yet few “expert” analyses suggest that China will risk destabilizing North Korea or that further United Nations resolutions and international sanctions will succeed in deterring North Korea from pursuing its nuclear weapons and missile programs. The Obama administration’s reliance on China to rein in North Korea is at odds with its efforts to contain China’s influence in Asia, a quixotic goal in itself. [US NK policy] [Test] [China hope]
• Mike Mullen and Sam Nunn: How to deal with North Korea
  By Mike Mullen and Sam Nunn September 15 Mike Mullen, a retired U.S. Navy admiral and former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Sam Nunn, a former Democratic senator from Georgia, are co-chairs of the Independent Task Force on U.S. Policy Toward North Korea, which was sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations. North Korea’s accelerating nuclear and missile programs, including its recent nuclear test, pose a grave and expanding threat to security, stability and peace in Asia and the rest of the world. This threat affects close U.S. allies — South Korea and Japan — and U.S. personnel and facilities in the region. In the coming months and years, it will create increasing danger for the United States. It is likely that the next president will face a North Korea that has gained the capability to strike the United States with nuclear weapons. The Obama administration has succeeded in strengthening U.S. alliances in Asia and deterring a war, but, like its predecessors, has failed to change Pyongyang’s assessment that defiance is preferable to conciliation. It is clear that the next president will have to sharpen Pyongyang’s choice: offer greater benefits for cooperation and promise greater costs for continued defiance. For the past several months, we have led a task force to assess the state of U.S. policy toward North Korea and to propose a new comprehensive strategy for the region. Our goal — and most of the world’s goal — is a stable and nuclear-free Korean Peninsula, at peace in the region and with the world. To achieve that, the world’s leading nations must come together as never before to address North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, prevent it from spreading nuclear and missile technology to dangerous actors, and address its unconscionable human rights record. We do not seek to promote conflict — we seek to promote peace. [US NK policy] [US NK Negotiations]
• U.S. Strategic Bombers Held Up by 'Bad Weather'
  Two B-1B supersonic strategic bombers belatedly arrived in skies over the U.S. air base in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul on Thursday morning. U.S. Forces Korea Commander Vincent Brooks said their flight from Guam demonstrates the U.S.' "steadfast and unshakable" commitment to its key ally in the wake of North Korea's nuclear test. But the flight had been postponed on Monday morning. The cancellation raised fears that the much-vaunted U.S. nuclear umbrella might not open if it rains in an emergency. A USFK spokesman said Monday the flight was postponed due to "inclement weather." However, civilian aircraft took off and landed at Guam as usual that day, which prompted speculation that there might be some other reason for the cancellation. [Nuclear umbrella]
• N. Korea bristles at US supersonic bomber flyover
  North Korea on Wednesday protested the United States' flyover of two B-1B nuclear-capable strategic bombers over South Korea, saying such "reckless provocations" should stop. The U.S. Air Force on Tuesday flew the B-1B Lancers over Osan Air Base, south of Seoul, as a warning to North Korea following its fifth nuclear test last week. The North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) blasted the exercise as a "military provocation" revealing Washington's intentions to mount a pre-emptive nuclear attack. "They are blustering this is a 'demonstration of fulfillment of their strong commitment to protecting' south Korea and 'strong warning' to the DPRK, in particular," the KCNA said in an English dispatch, monitored in Seoul. DPRK is the acronym for North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. It also claimed the U.S. will continue to bring nuclear carriers and other nuclear strategic means to the region in a bid to prepare for a nuclear attack. [Provocations] [Military balance]
• Obama Submits Plans for Getting Info to N.Koreans
  The Obama administration has submitted a report to U.S. lawmakers on how it plans to help North Koreans get better access to outside information. Republican Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said on Wednesday the State Department submitted the report but declined to say what was in it. It is billed as a "detailed plan for making unrestricted, unmonitored and inexpensive electronic mass communications available to the people of North Korea." From 2017, the U.S. government plans to spend US$8 million a year for the next five years to get information to North Koreans. The U.S. currently broadcasts programs to North Korea 11 hours a day via Voice of America and Radio Free Asia. The State Department seems to be looking into various plans for getting USB sticks, memory cards or small shortwave radios into North Korea. [Softwar] [Propaganda] [Subversion]
• U.S. Puts THAAD on the Negotiating Table with N.Korea
  The U.S. on Tuesday signaled it could reconsider deploying a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense battery in South Korea if North Korea abandons its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs. Asked under what circumstances the U.S. would scrap the deployment, Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes said, "In terms of what could lead us to change our minds, North Korea could abandon its ballistic missile program and nuclear programs." He was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Laos, where he was accompanying U.S. President Barack Obama. [THAAD] [Ploy]
• Clinton: Time for 'rethinking' of US approach to North Korea
  3:00 PM Saturday Sep 10, 2016 PENSCACOLA, Fla. (AP) " Hillary Clinton said Friday it was time for a "rethinking" of America's strategy for North Korea following the regime's latest test of a nuclear weapon. Donald Trump and his campaign chief, meanwhile, refused to outline the Republican presidential candidate's plans for defusing tensions on the Korean Peninsula. The New York billionaire, however, vowed to deploy military muscle to attack America's enemies if provoked. Largely ignoring North Korea, he noted a recent incident in which he said Iranian ships were "toying with" an American destroyer near the Strait of Hormuz. During a Trump presidency, he promised at a Friday night rally in Pensacola, Florida, ships trying to provoke the U.S. "will be shot out of the water." In New York, Clinton was focused on the North Korean threat after meeting with a bipartisan group of national security experts. The former secretary of state said she would seek to impose tougher sanctions on the communist nation, arguing the latest test provides an opening to pressure China, which has been tepid in its response to North Korea's nuclear ambitions. "I think we have an opening here that we haven't had for the last several years that I intend to do everything I can to take advantage of," Clinton said. [Hillary Clinton] [US NK policy] [Test] [Sanctions] [China hope]
• The U.S. Military’s Toxic Legacy in Korea
  By Gregory Elich
  Sep 9, 2016 By this time next year, the Yongsan Army Garrison in Seoul will be in the final stage of closing down, as U.S forces shift farther south and consolidate around Pyeongtaek. South Korea intends to convert the site into a series of six parks, but there are unresolved concerns regarding alarming levels of toxic contamination. In the decade after an oil leak became known in 2001, cleanup efforts by the Seoul Metropolitan Government removed nearly 2,000 tons of oil-contaminated underground water from areas outside of Yongsan.[1] U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) claimed that it rectified the problem at its source in 2006, yet the level of petroleum hydrocarbon pollution in nearby groundwater continued to grow, multiplying by a factor of nearly thirteen times over the last four years.[2] The measured level of contamination outside Yongsan now stands at well over eight thousand times the Korean government safety standard. It can only be presumed that the situation inside the base is substantially worse. [USFK] [Tribute] [Pollution] [Bases]
• After nuclear test, a new push to stop North Korea from sending workers abroad
  By Anna Fifield September 11 at 4:30 PM SEOUL — As the international community looks for new ways to punish North Korea for its latest nuclear test, one area is emerging as the next front to apply pressure: North Korea’s practice of sending workers overseas to earn money for the regime. The United States and South Korea had already started quietly trying to persuade host countries to stop allowing in North Korean guest workers, according to people who work in both governments. That drive is likely to accelerate now that North Korea has shown that new sanctions imposed this year have failed to dissuade it from pursuing nuclear weapons. “There’s going to be a global shaming campaign,” said Andrei Lankov, an expert on North Korea at Kookmin University in Seoul, citing conversations with officials. In the five years since Kim Jong Un took over, North Korea has dramatically stepped up the number of people it sends abroad to earn hard currency. At least 50,000 North Koreans — and by some estimates, double that — are working in more than two dozen foreign countries. The vast majority, about 80 percent, are in China and Russia, toiling in garment factories and on construction sites, or felling trees in Siberian forests. [Sanctions] [US NK policy] [Overseas labour] [Remittances]
• Kim Jong-un’s growing nuclear arsenal could force US back to negotiating table
  Experts say North Korea’s military ambition more far-reaching than had been assumed and Washington may have no option but to bargain with him Julian Borger in Washington Friday 9 September 2016 07.09 BST Last modified on Friday 9 September 2016 22.01 BST North Korea’s fifth nuclear test confirms growing fears in the international community that the regime’s nuclear aspirations reach much further than once assumed and that Kim Jong-un is building a sizeable arsenal designed to be used if his rule comes under serious threat. Until two years ago the conventional wisdom on the North’s nuclear programme was that it was largely a political symbol of the country’s potency and a bargaining chip for economic and diplomatic benefits. Since 2014 however the pace of nuclear and missile testing has accelerated, to the point where some experts now believe the country’s scientists have developed a nuclear warhead small enough to put on a missile. “It is likely now that North Korea could at this point put a nuclear warhead on a short- or medium-range missile which could reach South Korea, Japan and US military installations in the region,” said Kelsey Davenport, the director for non-proliferation policy at the Arms Control Association. However she thought it would be up to another decade before Pyongyang developed a reliable intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the US. Friday’s test comes soon after a series of missile breakthroughs, with the launch of a two-stage, solid-fuelled and submarine-launched missile in August and the test on Monday of three new aluminium-bodied versions of Scud missiles with a 1,000km range. “All this activity is aimed at expanding the size of North Korea’s nuclear arsenal and expanding its delivery options,” Davenport said. “It is taking steps to quality-improve its missiles, using solid fuel so they can be deployed more quickly, and extending their range. The trajectory points to a growing North Korean nuclear threat and the next US administration will have to prioritise that threat.” [Test] [US NK Negotiations]
• Park, Obama reaffirm THAAD deployment
  President Park Geun-hye shakes hands with U.S. President Barack Obama after speaking to the media at the conclusion of a bilateral meeting in Vientiane, Laos, Tuesday. / AP-Yonhap By Kang Seung-woo VIENTIANE, Laos ? President Park Geun-hye and U.S. President Barack Obama agreed Tuesday that the allies will maintain a strong deterrence against North Korea's growing threats. For this, they agreed to utilize all means, including an advanced U.S. missile defense system, to respond to the North's hostilities. The agreement was reached during a summit in the Laotian capital of Vientiane, where they arrived to attend ASEAN-related meetings that will begin today. Laos is the last leg of Park's three-nation trip that included Russia and China. The bilateral talks took place one day after the Kim Jong-un regime conducted a test of three ballistic missiles Monday ? the latest show of force as President Park and Chinese President Xi Jinping reaffirmed their commitment to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula at the G20 summit in Hangzhou, China. "Since the beginning of the year, North Korea has carried out a nuclear test and launched a series of ballistic missiles, fundamentally threatening the security of the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia," Park said in a press statement following the summit. "So, I would like to make it clear that South Korea and the United States will respond resolutely to any provocations by North Korea by utilizing all means." [THAAD] [US dominance]
• More nuke tests likely after US election
  By Kim Jae-kyoung North Korea is expected to perform more nuclear and missile tests after the U.S. presidential election in November to gain an edge in negotiations, according to a North Korea expert. "As we course through the next U.S. president's first term, we will likely see more nuclear and missile tests as Pyongyang tries to scare us into believing it is impervious to military action on our part," William Brown, professor at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, told The Korea Times. "And it will continue to demand our acknowledgment of its new powers," he added. "We have to look tactically at what North Korea is up to and how our leaders will respond to its provocations and potentially more constructive initiatives." [Test] [US_Election16] [US NK policy]
• Unexpected victim of US sanctions on N. Korea: Kim Jong-un in S. Korea
  By Kim Se-jeong The U.S. government's sanctions on North Korean leader Kim Jong-un have found an unexpected victim in Seoul, as a woman with the same name as Kim was prevented from overseas money transactions. On Aug. 10, a 45-year-old woman in Seoul transferred 30 million won ($27,000) to her sister living in South Africa via Shinhan Bank, as her sister was about to purchase a house there and needed the money to complete the payment, according to the bank and Yonhap News Agency, Monday. [Financial sanctions] [Bizarre]
• U.S. rejects report missing American student seen in N. Korea
  The U.S. State Department has discredited reports that David Sneddon, 24, is working in North Korea as an English teacher. / Courtesy of YouTube By Hong Dam-young An American student presumed dead in China 12 years ago is said to be working as an English teacher in North Korea. But the U.S. State Department has rejected the report. David Sneddon, 24, vanished in Yunnan Province in western China on Aug. 14, 2004, in what Chinese police said was a hiking accident. His body was never found. After attempts over the years to explain his disappearance, media reports this week said Sneddon was working as an English teacher in North Korea and living with his wife and two children. North Korea allegedly kidnapped him to serve as an English tutor for state leader Kim Jong-un, according to Yahoo News Japan, Wednesday. But the U.S. rejected the reports, saying it has seen "no verifiable evidence." [Abduction] [Canard]
• South Korea under fire for missile defence plan
  BY Hyung-A Kim South Korea’s decision to deploy an advanced US antimissile system is increasing domestic and regional tensions South Korea has been in turmoil since President Park Geun-Hye’s sudden announcement in July to deploy the advanced US antimissile Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery at an artillery base in Seongju, North Gyeongsang Province, allegedly to protect the South against North Korea’s ballistic missile threats. THAAD is a key element of the US Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS) designed to shoot down short, medium, and intermediate range ballistic missiles in their terminal phase using a hit-to-kill approach. The missile carries no warhead but relies on the kinetic energy of the impact to destroy the incoming missile. THAAD was designed to hit Scuds and similar weapons. [THAAD] [Pretend equality]
• Seoul told to prepare for US change in N. Korea policy
  By Choi Sung-jin The United States, which is stepping up sanctions against North Korea, may switch to dialogue with the North before long, and South Korea should be ready for it, an expert said Tuesday. "Inferring from a recent series of circumferential changes, we cannot rule out the possibility that Washington positively responds to Pyongyang's calls for talk and speeds up discussion for concluding a peace treaty," said Professor Chung Han-beom of the Korea National Defense University at a seminar on national security. "Seoul should be able to preemptively respond to the possibility of such a policy shift." Professor Chung quoted the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs as saying in May: "The U.S. is focusing on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, and the only way to attain it is negotiation." Chung noted that although Washington is focusing on tightening sanctions against North Korea, such a hard-line policy cannot last forever, as seen in the cases of Iran and Cuba. "Rather, such a strong-arm tactic often opens the way for dialogue," he said. [US NK policy] [Sidelined]

• Yun Byung-se says China and Russia oppose THAAD as part of US global missile defense
  Posted on : Aug.29,2016 16:36 KST South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, while waiting for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, at the Prime Minister‘s Residence in Tokyo on Aug. 24. (Reuters/Yonhap News) Foreign Minister also pledges to uphold Dec. 28 agreement with Japan over comfort women South Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs Yun Byung-se said on Aug. 28 that China and Russia oppose the South Korean and US governments‘ decision to deploy a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system with US Forces Korea because they “see it as part of the US’s global missile defense plan.” [THAAD] [Missile defense] [China SK]
• Sanctions alone can't change North Korea
  A traffic police officer directs vehicles at a street junction during sunset in Pyongyang, North Korea, Aug. 25. / AP-Yonhap By Kim Jae-kyoung North Korea test-fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) off its east coast last week, which flew 500 kilometers. The world, including South Korea, Japan and the U.S., rushed to condemn the latest provocation. The U.N. is threatening harsher sanctions against the North. This vicious cycle continues despite the world's strengthened efforts to curb Pyongyang's pursuit of its development of nuclear weapons and the rising number of defections by the members of the North Korean elite following a series of sanctions. Instead, its provocations have become more frequent and audacious. It appears that Kim Jong-un and his regime won't budge an inch because nuclear armament is the only lifeline of the repressive regime. Experts said that international sanctions alone won't bring any meaningful changes to North Korea's brinkmanship and the future course of its policy directions. [SLBM] [Sanctions] [Sanctions effect]
• THAAD seen through eyes of China, Russia, US
  By Oh Young-jin Why is China so upset at South Korea's decision to allow the advanced U.S. anti-missile battery on its soil as to threaten all-out retaliation? Is Beijing's position identical to that of Russia, its former Cold War ally and rival, now being on the same side once again against the U.S.? Are the interests of Seoul and Washington as coincidental as they appear? These questions are pivotal to understanding the changing the dynamic triggered by the Seoul-Washington decision to deploy the terminal high-altitude area defense (THAAD) system. [THAAD] [Pretend equality]
• U.S. Strategic Bombers in Provocative Show of Force
  Aug 19, 2016 On August 10, in an unprecedented show of force in the Pacific region, the U.S. military deployed B-2 Spirit stealth bombers to Guam to join B-52 and B-1 bombers for an integrated bomber operation in the Asia Pacific region. The B-1 bombers were deployed just days before on August 6 in order to be stationed in Guam temporarily “to carry out USPACOM’s (U.S. Pacific Command) Continuous Bomber Presence mission.” The B-2 Spirit bombers were reported to have been sent as a part of the “bomber assurance and deterrence deployment” or BAAD. On August 17, the three bombers were flown over the East Asian region for a joint drill. In a statement released shortly after the joint bomber operation, the U.S. Pacific Command stated, “[T]his was the first time all three bombers flew a formation pass over Andersen Air Force Base [in Guam], dispersed and then simultaneously conducted operations in the South China Sea and Northeast Asia.” [US military] [Airpower] [Escalation]
• 'South Korea, China, US need to coordinate on N. Korea'
  Stephan Haggard, professor at the University of California, San Diego and an expert on the North Korean economy, poses before an interview held in Seoul, Monday. / Korea Times photo by Park Jae-hyuk By Kim Ji-soo Stephan Haggard, a noted expert on the North Korean economy, said he believes the recent defection of the London-based North Korean diplomat Thae Yong-ho means that sanctions on the repressive state are working "very directly." "Embassy staff of North Korea around the world are called upon to engage in a variety of money-making activities, and because of the unilateral sanctions that have been imposed by the Europeans and also just closer vigilance and due diligence with respect to North Korean activities ... the embassy personnel are under tremendous strain to make money out of nothing," he said. He does not see, however, the defections as part of a wider dissatisfaction among the North's military, security apparatus, Workers' Party, government officials and other powerful actors. "I wouldn't assume that this reflects some coming political crisis within the system," the professor at the University of California, San Diego, said. He was in Seoul to give a speech at the East Asia Foundation, where he said if the diplomats carry money out of the country, they can heavily influence the North's financial vulnerability, which is worsened by the closure of the Gaeseong Industrial Complex and international sanctions. [China hope] [Collapse] [Defection] [Thae Yong Ho]
• NZ participation in US-led war games in Korea is foolish and dangerous
  The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) is again participating in US-led military exercises in the Korean peninsula. The US claims these are necessary to protect South Korea against an invasion from the North, but this has absolutely no credibility. The military budget of the US and its allies is some US$1000 billion, between 100 and 1000 times that of North Korea. The idea of North Korea starting a war against those odds is preposterous. More plausibly the exercises are to practise a potential invasion of North Korea and a subsequent war with China. [Joint US military] [Allegiance]
• Seoul Must Strengthen Its Missile Defense at All Cost
  North Korea test-fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile in waters off its east coast on Wednesday, which flew about 500 km before landing in Japan's air identification zone, the longest flight yet by a North Korean SLBM. Fired at a lower angle the missile could have flown more than 1,000 km, according to South Korean military officials. South Korean and U.S. military officials estimated it would take considerable time before the North can actually deploy such missiles, but now they believe they could be ready by the end of this year. [Missile defense] [THAAD]
• US Forces Japan aviation power moves to counter China and North Korea
  Posted on : Aug.24,2016 18:01 KST Starting next year, high-powered jet fighters including F-35A to be moved to Japan‘s west coast Reorganization of Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni Next year, US Forces Japan (USFJ) is expected to wrap up a plan that will concentrate cutting-edge aviation assets with the Marine Corps and the Navy in western Japan, closer to China and North Korea. Once the plan is complete, Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, which is located in Yamaguchi Prefecture, is expected to become the front-line base on the Japanese mainland tasked with countering China and North Korea. On Aug. 23, Japanese media reported that Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Shunsuke Takei and Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Defense Hiroyuki Miyazawa had informed Yoshihiko Fukuda, mayor of Iwakuni, of plans to deploy the US army’s top-of-the-line F-35B stealth fighter at the USFJ base in Iwakuni by January of next year. According to the plan, 10 F-35B fighters will be deployed at the Iwakuni base by Jan. 2016 and six more by August. Unlike the F-35A, which is intended for ordinary air force operations, and the F-35C, which is launched from aircraft carriers, the F-35B is capable of vertical take-off and landing [US Japan Alliance] [F-35] [Build-up] [China confrontation]
• [Column] Europe’s missile defense debate has lessons for S. Korea and THAAD
  Posted on : Aug.22,2016 17:50 KST Seoul needs to channel confrontation into cooperation, and find lasting solution to North Korea nuclear issue This is not how we ought to be deciding whether to deploy the THAAD missile defense system in South Korea. The government has ignored the National Assembly, and the main opposition party has shirked its responsibility. Since state institutions are not fulfilling their role, ideological mud-slinging is taking the place of rational discussion. There has been no national debate, and all we have seen is an intensifying partisan showdown. We should not be using 19th-century methods to determine 21st-century issues. This is not the first time missile defense has been debated, and South Korea is not the only country that has dealt with it. We should take a look at the Czech Republic and Poland, which had similar experiences between 2006 and 2009. A decade ago, the US was arguing (just like today) that the missile defense program in the Czech Republic and Poland was intended to defend against Iranian nuclear missiles. The Czech Republic’s center-right government described the radar base as “an oasis of security.” [Missile defense] [Protest]
• NZDF Takes Part in World's Largest Command-and-Control Exercise
  22 August 2016 Six New Zealand Defence Force personnel are taking part in the world’s largest simulated command-and-control exercise, which features about 500,000 South Korean and United States troops on the Korean Peninsula. Exercise Ulchi Freedom Guardian (UFG), which runs from 15 August to 2 September, is an annual exercise that allows troops from the Republic of Korea and the United States to train together to ensure they are ready to respond to potential threats in the region. Military personnel from New Zealand and other United Nations member nations contribute to the readiness of the South Korea-US alliance by participating in the exercise as “sending states”. Their participation is coordinated through the UN Command Multi-National Coordination Centre in South Korea. [Joint US military] [UFG] [China Confrontation] [UNUS]
• South Korea and US begin Ulchi-Freedom Guardian joint exercises
  Posted on : Aug.23,2016 17:19 KST Exercises involve more than 50,000 South Korean troops and 25,000 US service members The Ulchi-Freedom Guardian joint exercises conducted by South Korean and US forces began on Aug. 22. Ending on Sep. 2, the exercises reportedly apply Operations Plan (OPLAN) 5015 to a wartime countermeasures scenario that involves launching a preemptive strike on a North Korean nuclear or missile base during a crisis. “The UN Command’s Military Armistice Commission informed the North Korean military at Panmunjeom of the schedule of this year’s Ulchi-Freedom Guardian exercises and of the fact that the exercises are not intended to be a provocation,” the ROK-US Joint Command said on Aug. 22. On the morning of Aug. 22, the officer on duty at the UN Command verbally informed the North Korean military about the facts in question at the military demarcation line at Panmunjeom. The exercises will consist of simulations held at command posts, involving 25,000 US service members, including 2,500 reinforcements from overseas. More than 50,000 South Korean troops will be taking part as well, which is similar to previous years. To coincide with the Ulchi-Freedom Guardian exercises, the South Korean air force has been conducting the Soaring Eagle large-scale comprehensive combat exercises, which last from Aug. 19 to Aug. 26. These exercises include an operation to preemptively take out North Korean missile threats. [Joint US military] [UFG] [Preemptive] [Invasion] [Pretend equality]
• Once again the beat of the US Military War Drums can be heard on the Korean peninsula
  Australia - DPRK Friendship and Cultural Society Press Release 24th August 2016
  Once again the beat of the US Military War Drums can be heard on the Korean peninsula. The beat of these war drums are a result of US military forces and its allies including Australia launching their annual war game known as Uiji Freedom Guardian. Thousands of US and South Korean puppet troops supported by thousands of ally troops and other military personnel have assembled on the Korean peninsula with their weapons of death and mass destruction causing high tensions and threatening world peace. [Joint US military] [UFG]
• Occupation at the Local Level: Kim Dong-choon on Korean War Atrocities
  By Adam Cathcart | August 23, 2016 In the Republic of Korea, history is never far from the present. It hides in the family tree of President Park Geun-hye, in amongst the pages of textbook debates over her father’s ties to Japanese imperialism and dictatorship. For the country’s opposition parties, contemporary power struggles center on differing approaches to national security that result in a continuous referendum on the long-dead Sunshine Policy. For South Korea’s scholars, a research agenda that challenges the state’s dominant narrative of the 1950-1953 “June 25th War” can prove extremely controversial. For the critical left, pushing back against “the law of the state” and bringing to the fore past instances of persecution of ordinary Koreans by South Korea is a paramount concern. For some, such acts of persecution are enough to undermine, or at least call into question, the state’s foundational legitimacy. Kim Dong-choon has not shied away from this task, or from any of the controversy that follows when history is interrogated in this manner. A professor of sociology at Sungkonghoe University in Seoul and former Standing Commissioner of the [South Korean, deceased] Truth and Reconciliation Commission (?? ??? ?? ??? ?? ???), Kim has long sought to lay bare the excesses of state power in the uncertain political environment of the liberation and Korean War eras, criticizing what was then the nascent South Korean state. [Korean War] [Massacre]
• Current Ambassador to Malaysia tapped as US Special Rep. for North Korea Policy
  Posted on : Aug.22,2016 17:55 KST South Korea-born Joseph Yun has background as an economist and extensive experience in Asia Sources say that the US government is strongly considering current US Ambassador to Malaysia Joseph Yun, a 61-year-old Korean-American, to replace Special Representative for North Korea Policy and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Sung Kim, who has been nominated to be Ambassador to the Philippines. On Aug. 20, multiple sources told the Hankyoreh that Yun is very likely to take Kim’s place if the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and the general session of the US Senate approve Kim’s nomination as Ambassador to the Philippines next month Born in South Korea, Yun moved to the US with his father, who was working for the World Health Organization, when Yun was in elementary school in 1963. After graduating from Cardiff University in Wales and the London School of Economics and Political Science, Yun served as a senior economist for an economic research institute called Data Resources. Yun began working as a diplomat for the US State Department in 1985.
• N. Korea threatens pre-emptive nuke strike over Seoul's military drill
  North Korea on Monday threatened to mount a "preemptive nuclear strike" on South Korea and the United States as the allies kicked off their annual military exercise aimed at countering Pyongyang's potential aggression. The command and control exercise Ulchi Freedom Guardian, began its two-week run on Monday, involving tens of thousands of South Korean and U.S. forces. This year's drill came amid unusually heightened inter-Korean tensions following the defection of a London-based North Korean senior diplomat to South Korea. South Korea and the U.S. "should bear in mind that if they show the slightest sign of aggression on (DPRK's) inviolable land, seas and air ..., it would turn the stronghold of provocation into a heap of ashes through Korean-style preemptive nuclear strike," an English-language statement by the country's General Staff of the Korean People's Army (KPA), carried by the state-run Korean Central News agency, said. [Joint US military] [UFG] [Pretend equality]
• Allies begin drill amid N. Korea threats
  Fighter jets participate in a Soaring Eagle war simulation exercise at an air base in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, Monday. South Korea and the United States also began a separate war drill, Ulchi Freedom Guardian, the same day. / Courtesy of the Air Force By Jun Ji-hye South Korea and the United States began their annual joint exercise Ulchi Freedom Guardian (UFG), Monday, prompting North Korea to threaten to launch a nuclear attack. Pyongyang said it will launch a preemptive nuclear strike on Seoul and Washington "if they show the slightest sign of aggression." According to the allies' Combined Forces Command (CFC), the computer-assisted drill will run until Sept. 2, with 75,000 troops mobilized, including 25,000 from the U.S. The United Nations Command Military Armistice Commission (UNCMAC) informed North Korea's Korean People's Army (KPA) through its Panmunjom mission of the exercise dates and the non-provocative nature of the training, the CFC noted. "UFG is designed to enhance alliance readiness, protect the region and maintain stability on the Korean Peninsula," the CFC said in a release. "Approximately 25,000 U.S. service members will participate in the exercise, with about 2,500 coming from outside the peninsula." For this year's exercise, nine member countries of the United Nations Command based in South Korea will join the computerized military exercise, the CFC said, noting that they are from Australia, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, France, Italy, the Philippines, the United Kingdom and New Zealand. [Joint US military] [UFG] [Media] [Inversion] [Pretend equality]
• DPRK FM Spokesman Lashes at Ulji Freedom Guardian
  Pyongyang, August 22 (KCNA) -- A spokesman for the DPRK Foreign Ministry made public the following statement Monday: The U.S. is again bringing the grave danger of a nuclear war to the Korean peninsula. On August 22 it started Ulji Freedom Guardian joint military drill targeting the DPRK with many forces deployed in south Korean, Japanese and other overseas bases, south Korean puppet forces and huge war means involved. [Joint US military] [UFG]
• Spokesman for KPA General Staff Clarifies Principled Stand on Nuclear War Drill against DPRK
  Pyongyang, August 22 (KCNA) -- The U.S. imperialists and the south Korean puppet forces started the largest-ever joint military drill Ulji Freedom Guardian on August 22. The drill which will last till early in September is aimed to acquire the capability for making a surprise preemptive nuclear attack on the DPRK by "combined forces" in contingency on the Korean peninsula and carry out multi-phased scenario for invading the DPRK. A spokesman for the General Staff of the Korean People's Army (KPA) in a statement Monday said that the saber-rattling is a clear manifestation of a vicious plot to deprive the service personnel and people of the DPRK of their cradle by force of arms and inflict a miserable fate of colonial slavery upon them. [Joint US military] [UFG]
• DPRK slams US for nuclear arms buildup in Asia Pacific
  Xinhua, August 17, 2016 The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Wednesday slammed the United States for causing a nuclear arms buildup in the Asia Pacific. A spokesman for the DPRK Foreign Ministry denounced the United States in a statement for dispatching strategic bombers like the B-1B and B-2A in early August to the Anderson Air Force Base in Guam for the first time in ten years, according to the state news agency KCNA. Sending more strategic nuclear bombers to Guam right after the joint decision by Washington and Seoul to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) in South Korea proves that the "U.S. plan for a preemptive nuclear strike at the DPRK has entered a reckless phase of implementation," the statement said. "Such military moves of the United States are part of its sinister strategy to contain Russia and China in the Asia Pacific and maintain its military hegemony in the region, not just aiming at a surprise preemptive nuclear strike at the DPRK," the statement added. [THAAD] [Escalation]
• North Korea Offering ‘No-Strings’ Nuclear Talks: US Expert
  by Alastair Wanklyn Japan Times July 27, 2016 North Korea may be offering nuclear talks pretty much without preconditions, a U.S. expert who took part in negotiations with Pyongyang has said. Former U.S. State Department North Korea specialist Robert Carlin said Pyongyang this month set out five preconditions that demand little of Washington but appear to be a serious offer to place its arsenal on the table. Writing on the Pyongyang-watching website 38 North, Carlin said the announcement was met with silence on the U.S. side, perhaps because Washington was preoccupied at the time with trumpeting new sanctions against North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The North’s official Korean Central New Agency on July 6 listed the preconditions, including a guarantee that the U.S. would not use nuclear weapons against it. “If such security guarantees come true,” KCNA quoted a government spokesman as saying, “the DPRK will also take steps in response to it, and a decisive breakthrough will be made in realizing the denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula.” [US NK Negotiations] [Overture] [Rebuff]
• Ruling finds South Korean soldiers along DMZ suffered Agent Orange exposure
  Posted on : Aug.17,2016 17:43 KST For decades the South Korean government has claimed that Agent Orange was used only in two divisions After fifty years of mystery, cases of Agent Orange exposure among South Korean soldiers working near the armistice line have been confirmed. Oh Dong-ju, a 69-year-old reserve sergeant major, won an administrative lawsuit in Daejeon District Court on July 7. The case had been filed against the Army Chief of Staff to demand the overturning of a decision declaring his duties not to have been in a region where Agent Orange had been used. It was the first ruling to dispute the military’s official claim that Agent Orange was only used in US 2nd Infantry Division and ROK Army 21st Infantry Division regions in 1967 and acknowledge that exposure may have occurred in other units. An estimated 150,000 troops in ten infantry divisions would have been exposed to Agent Orange while working at the armistice line in late 1967 like Oh. [Agent Orange] [cbw]
• After THAAD decision, unusual number of S. Korea visits by high-ranking US military figures
  Posted on : Aug.17,2016 17:59 KST Visits may be related to hastening THAAD deployment amid domestic and international controversy High-ranking US military figures have been lining up to visit South Korea since the decision was made to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system on the peninsula. The visits may amount to an attempt to hasten the US Forces Korea deployment amid a heated controversy in South Korea and overseas. Speaking at a regular Ministry of National Defense briefing on Aug. 16, a senior Army officer said US Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley “will be arriving in South Korea on Aug. 17 for a three-day visit, during which time he will be meeting on Aug. 19 with [South Korean] Army Chief of Staff Jang Jun-kyu.” Milley’s visit is drawing attention as another in a series of recent visits by senior US military officials. In late July, US Army Secretary Eric Fanning visited to inspect a 35th Air Defense Artillery Brigade missile defense system. On Aug. 10 and 11, Pentagon Missile Defense Agency director James Syring, who oversees US missile defense strategy, visited South Korea to meet with senior Joint Chiefs of Staff officials and USFK Commander Gen. Vincent Brooks. On Aug. 9 and 10, US Army Pacific Commander Lt. Gen. Robert Brown toured a number of USFK units, including the 35th Air Defense Artillery Brigade. This is an unusually large number of visits by high-ranking US military figures over a short time. [THAAD] [US Military]
• U.S. State Department to release report on N. Korea's labor exports this week
  2016/08/15 02:27 By Chang Jae-soon WASHINGTON, Aug. 14 (Yonhap) -- The U.S. State Department is expected to submit a report to Congress this week that details North Korea's abuse of its people with overseas labor, including the list of countries and individuals that accept or use such labor, sources said. The planned report is the latest in a series of measures by Washington to increase pressure on Pyongyang over its human rights records. Last month, the U.S. imposed its first-ever sanctions on North Korean leader Kim Jong-un for his roles in the country's human rights violations. The department is required to submit the report by Aug. 17 or within 180 days of the enactment of the North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act of 2016, which went into effect February in the wake of the North's fourth nuclear test and a long-range rocket launch. As required by the law, the report is expected to include a list of countries that forcibly repatriate refugees from the North, a list of countries where North Korean laborers work, including countries that have formal arrangements with the North or any person acting for or on behalf of the North to employ North Korean workers. The report is also expected to include a plan for bilateral and multilateral outreach, including sustained engagement with the governments of partners and allies to brief them on North Korea human rights issues, as well as public affairs and public diplomacy strategies. About 50,000-60,000 North Koreans are believed to be toiling overseas, mostly in China and Russia and mainly in the mining, logging, textile and construction industries. The average wage was stated as $120 to $150 per month, but in most cases employing firms paid salaries directly to the North's government. [Overseas labour] [US NK policy] [Softwar] [Remittances] [Sanctions]
• Anti-THAAD mood peaks in S. Korea
  By Wu Jin China.org.cn, August 15, 2016 Overwhelmed by the slogans of "For Peace, No THAAD", the square of Seoul City Hall was crowded yesterday by nearly 5,000 South Koreans protesting against the government's latest attempt to collaborate with the United States and launch the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile system in the country's southeastern Seongju County. Nearly 5,000 South Koreans protest against the government's attempt to collaborate with the United States and launch the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile system in the country's southeastern Seongju County. [Photo/Xinhua] Nearly 5,000 South Koreans protest against the government's attempt to collaborate with the United States and launch the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile system in the country's southeastern Seongju County. [Photo/Xinhua] The demonstrators, consisting of local residents, students and, more importantly, delegates from Seongju County, pledged that they will fight against the deployment of THAAD to the very end, even at the cost of their lives. [THAAD] [Protest]
• A rose garden to blossom on the site of wartime tragedy
  Posted on : Aug.15,2016 14:46 KST Lifelong flower lover to establish rose garden to bring peaceful presence in the place of US army Korean War massacre The No Gun Ri Peace Park, a symbol of suffering during the Korean War, is becoming a rose garden. Rose farmer and researcher Ahn Dae-seong, 67, announced on Aug. 14 that he plans to create a rose garden in an around the park in Yeongdong, North Chungcheong Province. “I want to elevate that history of suffering and sadness into love, peace, and beauty,” he said. Ahn, who grows roses in Sancheong County, South Gyeongsang Province, donated 1,500 blossoms to the No Gun Ri Peace Foundation on Aug. 10. His plan now is to create a rose garden in and outside the Peace Park by 2018. “I wanted to use roses to soothe the souls of the victims who may still be there on the outskirts of Nogeun Village,” he explained. The Peace Park was created in Oct. 2011 to commemorate the victims and their family members in US army attacks by plane and machine gun around the Gyeongbu Line’s iron Ssanggul Bridge in the village, part of Hwanggan Township in Yeongdong County, on the dates July 25-29, 1950, early in the Korean War. 135 died during the massacre and 45 were injured, but victims’ families estimate around 400 casualties. [No Gun Ri] [Korean War] [Massacre]
• South Korea’s Guided Bomb to be equipped with US military GPS
  Posted on : Aug.15,2016 14:37 KST US approves sale of technology that could prevent signal jamming by North Korea South Korea’s domestically produced Korea GPS Guided Bomb (KGGB) will now be equipped with US military global positioning system (GPS) technology. The upgrade is expected to compensate for the bomb’s vulnerability to signal jamming. “The US government recently approved the sale of military GPS for the Korea GPS Guided Bomb. Next month, we will start deploying Korea GPS Guided Bombs that are equipped with US military GPS,” a South Korean military officer said on Aug. 14. The Korea GPS Guided Bomb, which was developed by the Agency for Defense Development (ADD) and LIG Nex1 is an air-to-surface smart bomb that the South Korean air force has been using since 2014. Conventional munition is attached to a chassis shaped like a model airplane and equipped with a GPS device that directs the bomb to the target. While the bomb lacks the independent propulsion of a missile, it can use the inertia of the aircraft that delivers it and the wings attached to its chassis to glide for a comparatively long distance. And since it is equipped with guidance equipment – unlike conventional bombs -- it can also be used for precision strikes. [Military balance] [Arms sales]
• US MDA Director says THAAD not linked to US missile defense network
  Posted on : Aug.12,2016 13:30 KST Modified on : Aug.12,2016 13:30 KST Vice Admiral James D. Syring, head of the US Missile Defense Agency, enters a press conference at the Joint Chiefs of Staff headquarters in Seoul’s Yongsan district, Aug. 11. (pool photo) Vice Admiral James D. Syring says THAAD’s interception of Scud and Rodong missiles proved, Musudan to be tested next year The director of the US Missile Defense Agency (MDA), which oversees missile defense strategy, said on Aug. 11 that intelligence from Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) radar on the Korean Peninsula would be shared only within the South Korea-US alliance and not with the larger US missile defense system. Vice Admiral James D. Syring delivered the comments during a press conference at the Joint Chiefs of Staff headquarters in Seoul’s Yongsan district. In his remarks, Syring said it was “just not the case” that the THAAD system to be deployed in Seongju, North Gyeongsang Province, would be linked to the US missile defense system’s key Command, Control, Battle Management, and Communication (C2BMC) system for wider use. “It will not be part of the wider missile defense network that MDA has developed and commanders around the world utilize,” he said. [THAAD] [China confrontation]
• [Interview] How White House petition seeking cancellation of THAAD decision met 100,000 signature goal
  Posted on : Aug.12,2016 13:35 KST Hyuk-kyo Suh, National Association of Korean Americans (NAKA) vice president Koreans living in the US and South Korea mobilized against THAAD system that undermines efforts for peace “I was actually shocked myself. Back when I was starting the White House signature campaign to demand the rescinding of the decision to deploy THAAD, I thought it would be tough to reach 100,000 signatures.” This was the response shared in a telephone interview on Aug. 10 by National Association of Korean Americans (NAKA) vice president Hyuk-kyo Suh, 56, after launching a signature campaign on the US White House petition site We the People on July 15 to demand cancellation of the decision to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system on the Korean Peninsula. The site is designed so that if a particular petition earns over 100,000 signatures within a month, the US government must give an official response within 60 days. The deadline for Suh’s campaign was on Aug. 14 - but the number of signatures has already passed 100,000 on Aug. 10. [THAAD] [Public opinion]
• THAAD. To be continued.
  Konstantin Asmolov
  The installation of the THAAD anti-ballistic missile (ABM) systems in South Korea continues to be a source of domestic and regional tension. First of all, there’s China’s reaction, which is not only expressed in diplomatic statements. On August 3, 2016 China’s central newspaper, the People’s Daily, published a commentary that indicated that the installation of the THAAD ABM system on the Korean Peninsula poses a serious threat to China’s strategic security. Although Washington and Seoul agreed to deploy the THAAD ABM system to counter Pyongyang’s missile program, their actions undermine security in Northeast Asia. The deployment of the US ABM system is obviously risky especially because South Korea and the USA had previously promised to hold talks with China but eventually made a decision without consulting Beijing at all. As a result, the deployment of the THAAD ABM system will not only cause South Korea trouble but may also drag it into a military confrontation between the United States, China and Russia. Comments in Xinhua on July 30 bear the same tone: “The United States are deploying the THAAD ABM complex in South Korea with the argument that a new “shield” will allow them to respond to the threat posed by North Korea. However, this step is not in the interests of South Korea and will only serve the United States.” [THAAD] [China SK]
• Moving toward war
  By Donald Kirk On the chessboard of Northeast, East and Southeast Asia, the players are inexorably arranging their pieces. A naval exercise, a warplane flyover, a flotilla of fishing boats, a missile launch ? all such gestures, bloodless today, evoke the image of great powers maneuvering for bloody moves tomorrow. It's as though we're in a "phony war," not enough to send civilians scurrying for cover or for armies to go on full alert but worrisome nonetheless. The tensions build slowly. It's possible for most of us to ignore them. What does it mean, exactly, if Chinese warships prowl the South China Sea, from the Spratly Islands in the south to the Scarborough Shoal off the Philippines to the Paracels, claimed by Vietnam? How concerned should we be if the U.S. sends a destroyer within striking distance of any of these morsels of land and rocks or if Chinese and U.S. warplanes dart through the skies? It may be dangerous to exaggerate the significance of each individual display of force, but two factors seem to be driving the region to the edge of conflict. First, China is obviously restoring close ties to North Korea. As the U.S. prepares to send the super-counter-missile batteries known as Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) to South Korea, the Chinese are not likely to enforce U.N.-imposed sanctions on the North. It's even possible they won't object if North Korean leader Kim Jong-un orders a fifth nuclear test, and they don't mind at all if he persists in firing mid-range missiles of the sort that might carry warheads to just about anywhere in Northeast Asia. [THAAD] [China confrontation] [China NK] [Conflict]
• The Struggle Against THAAD Deployment
  Korea Policy Institute with Zoom in Korea | August 7, 2016 The United States and South Korea announced an agreement in July to deploy the THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) in Korea, framing it as a response to threats posed by North Korea. In fact, defense experts note that THAAD would be ineffective against missiles launched from the north, but conceivably useful (though not fully tested) against China, Russia, and potential North Korean actions against U.S. bases in the Pacific region, including the U.S. mainland. Its X-band radar component might be useful to U.S. monitoring capabilities throughout the region. What remains certain is that its threatened deployment has contributed to increased military tensions in the Asia-Pacific region. North Korea, China, and Russia have strongly objected to the deployment of THAAD on the Korean peninsula, but the strongest objections have come from South Koreans—especially the residents of Seongju County, where the missile defense system is scheduled to be deployed. Without any consultation or notice, this farming community with a population of 45,000 people, situated southeast of Seoul, has been suddenly confronted with the prospect of a huge military installation, the loss of property, and the potential environmental and health impacts from the radiation emitted by THAAD’s powerful radar technology. Seongju residents accordingly formed the Anti-THAAD Struggle Committee to mobilize against the deployment, and international solidarity groups have begun to mobilize as well. Two groups, the U.S.-based Veterans for Peace and the Solidarity Committee for Democracy and Peace in Korea, recently sent a peace delegation to Korea in solidarity. Two of the delegates were blocked from entering South Korea and a transcription of their web interview with Zoom in Korea upon their deportation follows. [THAAD] [Protest] [Repression]
• Statement of the Solidarity Committee for Democracy and Peace in Korea on the Park Geun-hye Government’s Deportation of Its Members
  July 27, 2016 Deported Peace Activists J. Rhee and H. Lee at South Korea airport. (credit Min Plus) Solidarity Committee for Democracy and Peace in Korea | July 27, 2016 Originally published in ZoomInKorea Two Korean American peace activists – Juyeon Rhee and Hyun Lee – had planned to be part of a peace tour as representatives of the U.S.-based Solidarity Committee for Democracy and Peace in Korea but were denied entry into South Korea by its government on July 25. The following is a statement released by the Solidarity Committee: On July 26, 2016, the South Korean government blocked the entry of two Korean American peace activists, Juyeon Rhee and Hyun Lee, into South Korea. [THAAD] [Protest] [Repression]
• Korea: And Who is the Provoker?
  Konstantin Asmolov In an earlier article, we have already quoted paragraph 49 of resolution No. 2270, in which the UN Security Council acknowledges the importance of maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and welcomes any efforts to avoid any actions that might lead to increased tension. We are referring to it now, because very often, the mass media talks about “DPRK provocations”, representing the actions of the South as a mere response to them. But let us see which side contributes more to the increasing tensions. Let’s start with the North. As examples of provocations, South Korean media often uses propaganda videos showing attacks on the US base in Guam by Musudan missiles, which should indicate that the North possesses real capabilities of launching missiles against the enemy, wherever it might be. Other videos show the testing of anti-ship and anti-tank missiles, the destruction of an American aircraft carrier, a B-2 strategic bomber and a MV-22 Osprey convertiplane, as well as the launch of a ballistic missile from a submarine. On June 24, a video showing a computer-simulated nuclear attack on the US emerged. [Provocations] [Inversion] [Joint US military]
• What would a Trump presidency mean for the US–South Korea alliance?
  4 August 2016 Author: Darcie Draudt, Johns Hopkins University The Republican and Democratic National Conventions have confirmed that each presidential candidate has very different foreign policy outlooks. At the heart of each platform are different fears, threat perceptions and understandings of the United States’ place in the world — including its commitment to its treaty allies. [Trump] [US SK]
• [News analysis] Could THAAD deployment site really be changed?
  Posted on : Aug.5,2016 16:15 KST President Park Geun-hye shakes hands with Saenuri Party lawmaker Lee Wan-young during a meeting with lawmakers from the Daegu/North Gyeongsang area to address the controversy surrounding the deployment of the THAAD missile defense system, at the Blue House in Seoul, Aug. 4. (by Kim Kyung-ho, staff photographer) President Park’s comments about possible relocation indicate the hastiness of the initial deployment decision President Park Geun-hye’s remarks on Aug. 4 suggesting a planned Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system could be relocated from its initially chosen site at Seongsan artillery base in Seongju, North Gyeongsang Province, to an artillery unit post elsewhere in Seongju County is raising questions about the reason for the change - and whether Park will actually go through with it. According to the Blue House, Park’s comments were meant less to suggest the actual possibility of relocation and more as a generic response emphasizing better communication with local residents. But they are nonetheless having repercussions, with the President’s remarks conflicting with the Ministry of National Defense’s repeated position that THAAD deployment outside the Seongsan artillery base is “out of the question.” Meanwhile, the opposition attacked Park as essentially admitting the original deployment decision was made hastily. [THAAD]
• It’s time to dump Donald Trump
  Posted on : Aug.5,2016 16:22 KST Regardless of what he says while campaigning, Trump couldn’t be trusted to carry out his deeds if he became president In all honesty, the first time that Donald Trump said he was willing to sit down with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during the Republican Party’s presidential primary, I was a little excited. So when Chicago University professor Bruce Cumings said during an interview last month (in which he described Trump as potentially the “most dangerous president probably in American history”) that one of the only interesting things about Trump was the remarks he had made about North Korea, I found myself agreeing with him. Over the past eight years, the administration of Barack Obama has been something of a broken record, constantly harping on about “strategic patience” and “tougher sanctions against North Korea.” It has lost the plot when it comes to addressing the North Korean nuclear issue and to bringing peace to the Korean Peninsula. [Trump] [US NK policy]
• US and China’s responses to N. Korea missile illustrate split over THAAD
  Posted on : Aug.5,2016 16:21 KST UN Security Council also held an emergency meeting but due to THAAD tensions, but released no specific statement As if reflecting the strain in China-US relations over the planned deployment of the THAAD missile defense system on the Korean Peninsula, there was a considerable difference in how the two countries responded to North Korea’s launch of what is presumed to be a Rodong ballistic missile. [Missile test] [THAAD]
• North Korea's nuclear weapons: What now?
  The international standoff over North Korea's nuclear weapons program has now dragged on for decades, and six-party talks among the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia, and the United States have been suspended since 2009. Meanwhile, hopes that Pyongyang might curtail its weapons programs due to direct pressure from Beijing have been disappointed so far—already in 2016, the North has conducted its fourth nuclear weapon test and launched a long-range ballistic missile. Against this backdrop, how can nations in the region reinvigorate a diplomatic process toward a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula—or, failing that, how can they best handle the security challenges that a nuclear North Korea poses? . 1 June 2016 Acknowledging reality: A pragmatic approach to Pyongyang Shen Dingli . 1 June 2016 North Korea: A negotiated settlement remains the best hope Chung-in Moon . 2 June 2016 North Korea: Don't dream the impossible Andrei Lankov . Round 2 10 June 2016 Pragmatism, principle, and the North Korean dilemma Shen Dingli . 7 July 2016 The grave nuclear risk of North Korean instability Andrei Lankov . 14 July 2016 Basis for a breakthrough in Pyongyang statement? Chung-in Moon . 1 June 2016 Acknowledging reality: A pragmatic approach to Pyongyang Shen Dingli With North Korea having conducted its fourth nuclear test in January, the Korean Peninsula seems more distant than ever from denuclearization. Given this reality, what's the most effective way to approach the nuclear problem? The obstacles to progress are enormous. Pyongyang's inclinations are strongly realist, and the country's leadership sees nuclear deterrence as the ultimate guarantee of security. It will likely continue to see things that way for some time. The North perceives Washington's attitude as essentially realist as well—so Pyongyang is likely betting that US policy toward North Korea will eventually change direction. This is especially true considering that Washington experiences regime change every four or eight years. [US NK policy] [Nuclear weapons]

• [Statement] Veterans For Peace Opposes THAAD Deployment in South Korea
  Jul 27, 2016 The following is an official statement released by Veterans For Peace (VFP): VFP Board statement Opposing U.S. THAAD ‘missile defense’ system deployment in South Korea Veterans for Peace, a global organization of military veterans and allies, opposes the recent decision of the U.S. and South Korean governments to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system in South Korea. We stand in solidarity with the people of Seongju in North Gyeongsang Province in their courageous fight to oppose the deployment of the THAAD system in their hometown. The U.S. and South Korean governments justify their decision by pointing to the so-called North Korean missile threat. But THAAD is not for the defense of South Korea. Its aim is to neutralize Chinese missile capability and protect U.S. military assets in the region. The U.S. Congressional Research Service stated, as early as in 2013, that THAAD, if deployed in South Korea, would be ineffective in intercepting North Korean incoming missiles flying on a low trajectory. And as Theodore Postol (MIT), former advisor to the U.S. Chief of Naval Operations has noted, THAAD is designed to track Chinese intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM). [THAAD] [Protest]
• THAAD and the Politicization of Missile Defense in South Korea
  By Darcie Draudt | July 29, 2016 | No Comments Debate over Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) deployment has reached boiling point in South Korea. The decision to site the system in rural Seongju County in the southeastern quadrant of the peninsula has incited protest in both Seongju itself and in Seoul, with some branding President Park Geun-hye and the Saenuri Party “traitors” to the countryside. The protests focus mostly on concerns over the health effects of THAAD radar emissions and the general safety and security of local residents, who were not given a voice in the selection process. Across the nation, many South Koreans see the decision as a reflection of larger concerns about the geostrategic corner South Korea may have backed itself into as well as a sense of derision at what citizens see as a unilateral move by the central government under pressure from its security patron, the United States. The US wants to deploy THAAD to South Korea in order to detect North Korean attacks, even offering to fully pay for and command the radar site. Indeed, following North Korea’s nuclear weapons test in January 2016 and missile testing throughout the spring and summer of 2016, THAAD deployment actually received strong public support from South Koreans across all political affiliations. [THAAD] [Public opinion]
• Police State South Korea Clamps Down on Peace Movement. Deployment of US THAAD Missile System in South Korea
  Statement of the Solidarity Committee for Democracy and Peace in Korea on the Park Geun-hye Government's Deportation of its Members
  By Gregory Elich
  Global Research, July 28, 2016 On July 26, 2016, the South Korean government blocked the entry of two Korean American peace activists – Juyeon Rhee and Hyun Lee – into its country. The two are representatives of the U.S.-based Solidarity Committee for Democracy and Peace in Korea. They had traveled to South Korea to participate in the annual Jeju Peace March as well as join protests against the recent U.S.-South Korean decision to deploy the controversial Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system in South Korea. After being detained by immigration officers at Incheon International Airport, the two were deported pursuant to Articles 11 and 12 of the Korea Immigration Law, which prohibits the entry of foreigners who, among other things, are “deemed likely to commit any act detrimental to national interests of the Republic of Korea or public safety.” The two activists had traveled to South Korea numerous times in the past with no problems. They have never broken any laws in South Korea and had never been denied entry nor deported in the past. The denial of their entry can only be seen as an attempt by the Park Geun-hye administration to block peace activists from internationalizing the growing opposition in South Korea against THAAD deployment. [THAAD] [Protest] [Repression]
• Peace Activists Blocked from Entering South Korea
  July 26, 2016 Korea Peace · THAAD · Veterans for Peace Bruce Gagnon | July 26, 2016 Originally posted on Organizing Notes Blog Arrived in South Korea – Two Delegation Members Denied Entry It was a time of conflicted feelings last night when Ken Jones (North Carolina) and I made it into South Korea and were met by Will Griffin (San Diego) who had arrived here in May. Sadly our two Korean-American friends Hyun Lee and Juyeon Rhee were denied entry into South Korea. They were put on a plane and sent back to the US. Hyun and Juyeon, both who live in the New York City area, were to be our guides and translators during our three-week trip to Korea. They help coordinate the Solidarity Committee for Democracy and Peace in Korea in the US. gagnon VFP members Will Griffin (left) and Ken Jones (right) and I celebrate our successful entry into South Korea late last night We believe the reason they were denied entry into the nation of their birth is because they are very active critics of the South Korean government’s corporate policies that slavishly follow directions from Washington. In particular they have helped create the organizational effort in the US to have Korean-Americans support progressive people here who have long been organizing to take their country back from the right-wing forces that now control South Korea. Hyun and Juyeon have also helped launch Zoom Korea, an Independent news blog that provides critical and undistorted news and analysis of the fight for democracy, peace, and reunification on the Korean peninsula. You can see the blog here. In particular Hyun and Juyeon have been supporting the growing movement in South Korea to oppose the recently announced US plan to deploy the THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) ‘missile defense’ (MD) system in the center of the country. If anyone had any doubt this issue is huge here just take a look at the headline in the Korea Times newspaper that we were handed on our airplane ride last night from Tokyo to Seoul. [THAAD] [Protest] [Repression]
• On the 63rd Anniversary of the Korean War Armistice: Reflections on the Urgency of Peace
  July 27, 2016 Korea Policy Institute | July 27, 2016 July 27th marks the 63rd anniversary of the United States’ temporary armistice with North Korea. In 1953, the armistice halted the combat, but was meant to be a temporary measure until a peace treaty was negotiated. That has yet to happen The Korean War continues. During the three year Korean War, four million died – 3 million Korean civilians, a million Chinese volunteers and 37,000 U.S. troops, and the peninsula was devastated. Almost 97% of the northern portion was destroyed. Ten million families remain separated by the division of the two Koreas, including many in the United States. Billions have been spent as North and South Korea maintain huge military forces, and build weapon systems, including nuclear ones. The U.S. still maintains some 28,000 troops on bases throughout South Korea, while carrying out massive “war games” aimed at the North, and now is deploying the controversial THAAD anti-ballistic missile system in Seongju, South Korea. During his Presidential campaign, Barack Obama promised to sit down and talk with Kim Jong Il. Instead, during his presidency, tensions have continued, and militarization increases. [US NK policy] [Obama]
• North Korea is Not Waiting for The Next President
  Jul 28, 2016 | DPRK, Updates from D.C. By Daniel Jasper As the U.S. prepares for general elections in November and with national conventions set for the remainder of July, the focus in DC is on speculation about what the next Administration could look like and how each candidates’ platform would manifest in office. This tendency to look ahead along with the short (but packed) Congressional calendar and the legacy considerations of those in their last terms in office have created an environment of paralysis in Washington. In no other area of foreign policy is this more apparent than in Washington’s dealing with North Korea and rising tensions on the Peninsula. While numerous sanction and regulatory actions have been taken recently against North Korea, these actions have amounted to a ‘policy auto-pilot’ with little attention or response to a rapidly changing political environment. [US NK policy] [Engagement] [People-to-people]
• Two US activists denied entry to S. Korea for THAAD protest
  Posted on : Jul.27,2016 18:53 KST Ministry’s decision is raising question of whether refusal was politically motivated
  US peace activists Hyun Lee and Juyeon Rhee in the transfer area at Incheon International Airport, where they were stuck for 27 hours, on July 25. The Ministry of Justice’s decision to deny two foreign nationals entry to South Korea to protest the deployment of the THAAD missile defense system is creating controversy. The Ministry said that Immigration Control Act states that “Persons deemed highly likely to commit any act detrimental to the interest of the Republic of Korea or public safety” can be prevented from entering, but the move is being criticized as an act of political suppression. The Ministry of Justice’s Korea Immigration Service said on July 26 that US nationals Juyeon Rhee and Hyun Lee were denied entry at Incheon International Airport on July 25. Hyun Lee is director of a group called Solidarity Committee for Democracy and Peace in Korea and Juyeon Rhee is a peace activist. The two were scheduled to participate in the annual Jeju Peace March on Aug. 15, where they planned to make a presentation opposing the US and South Korea’s decision to deploy THAAD. After being denied entry, they stay for some time in a transfer area at Incheon Airport for 27 hours before their scheduled forced departure. [Repression] [THAAD]
• [Editorial] Urgent need for proactive response to changes in US politics
  Posted on : Jul.25,2016 17:21 KST Donald Trump gives thumbs up while on his way to the podium before his acceptance address for the Republican nomination for President, at the party’s national convention in Cleveland, July 21. (EPA/Yonhap News) The world is watching nervously as the US prepares for its presidential election in November. With all the massive influence it wields in international politics, economics, and security, it is looking very likely that the election will result in a shift toward self-centered isolationism. Republican Party candidate Donald Trump is leading the charge, using “America First” as his key campaign slogan, while his Democratic Party opponent Hillary Clinton has been offering a similar argument in areas such as trade. [US_Election16] [Protectionism]
• The Dangerous Year, 2017 – Part 2
  Jul 28, 2016 With the U.S. Democratic National Convention taking place this week, Tim Beal examines what U.S. policy vis a vis Korea may look like in the first year of the next administration. The following is an expanded version of his previous article published in NK News and is part 2 of a 2-part series.
  A look ahead at US Korea policy after the election By Tim Beal – for part 1 of this article, click Here.
  It seems certain that Wendy Sherman will play an important role in Clinton’s foreign policy team, especially in respect to Korea, and may even become Secretary of State. That makes her speech to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington on May 3, 2016 something worth careful scrutiny. Scrutiny is the appropriate word. It must be assumed that officials (past and future) in a public forum seldom wholly mean what they say or say what they mean. Speeches need to be decoded and interpreted. In addition, what is left out can be highly significant. [US NK Policy] [Hillary Clinton] [Wendy Sherman]
• USFK to Deploy New Patriot Missiles Next Year
  The U.S. Forces Korea will deploy new PAC-3 missiles with intercept altitude about twice as high as the current ones here next year, a source said Monday. The move aims to quell criticism that the controversial Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense battery to be deployed here will only defend U.S. equipment and personnel but do little to keep Seoul safe. The source said the USFK will deploy PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement interceptors "in response to the mounting nuclear and missile threats from North Korea." The USFK currently has 64 PAC-2 and PAC-3 missiles at its bases in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, Gunsan, North Jeolla Province, and Waegwan, North Gyeongsang Province. [Missile defense]
• North Korea–US diplomacy needs Seoul
  20 July 2016 Author: Stephen Costello, Asia East US and North Korean diplomats attended the Northeast Asia Cooperation Dialogue (NEACD) in Beijing on 22 June. Despite having talked at dinner, the US State Department insisted they did not ‘meet’ with North Korean officials. Also in June, Han Song-ryol, Director-General of the department of US affairs at North Korea’s Foreign Ministry, reportedly met with retired US ambassador Thomas Pickering in Sweden. So do these diplomatic movements mean we should expect some change on the Korean peninsula? Unfortunately, they do not. Members of the pro-Pyongyang General Association of Korean Residents in Japan move portraits of North Korea's late founder Kim Il Sung and late leader Kim Jong Il from the stage during a celebration ceremony to mark the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the association in Tokyo, 31 May 2015. (Photo: Reuters). To see why, the political atmosphere surrounding Northeast Asia issues and US policy needs to be more central to understanding policy. There is a profound deficit of consequential leaders with a vision and a realistic plan for progress in Northeast Asia, just when tensions are growing. Much discussion — even among government and policy experts — is dominated by assumptions and policy alternatives that are fundamentally political and short term. Any breakthrough before the US presidential election seems unlikely. After the US election there may be a short window for a policy re-think, but the most important window will open 13 months later, when South Korea elects a new president. At that time, the country’s next leader could decisively change policy, signalling the beginning of a realignment of players that would see strategy more closely match power and interests. Only South Koreans can lead this. [US NK policy] [SK Pivot]
• Donald Trump against alludes to possibility of withdrawing US troops from South Korea
  Posted on : Jul.23,2016 15:09 KST Donald Trump gives thumbs up while on his way to the podium before his acceptance address for the Republican nomination for President, at the party’s national convention in Cleveland, July 21. (EPA/Yonhap News) Remark comes at Republican National Convention in Cleveland, alongside claim that missile defense systems are “practically obsolete” Donald Trump, the presidential candidate for the US Republican Party, has once again mentioned the possibility of withdrawing US troops from South Korea while arguing that a missile defense system is useless for blocking North Korean missiles. “We’ve had [missile defenses in Japan] for a long time, and now they’re practically obsolete, in all fairness,” Trump said in an interview with the New York Times. “We’re losing a tremendous amount of money.” The interview took place on July 20 in Cleveland during the Republican national convention. Trump was responding to a remark by a New York Times reporter that “those missile defenses help prevent the day when North Korea can reach the United States with one of its missiles” and that North Korean missiles would be “easier to shoot down from [Japan].” Trump’s remarks came in the middle of an argument with New York Times reporters about the effectiveness of stationing US troops in South Korea. This suggests that a Trump administration might reconsider the Obama administration’s efforts to deploy the THAAD missile defense system in South Korea and to set up a trilateral missile defense pact with South Korea and Japan. [Trump] [US Korea]
• In acceptance speech, Donald Trump heaps scorn on KORUS FTA
  Posted on : Jul.23,2016 15:07 KST Donald Trump applaud supporters upon accepting the Republican nomination for President, with running mate Mike Pence, at the party’s national convention in Cleveland, July 21. (AP/Yonhap News) Trump says that if he is elected, he would renegotiate trade deals that he says are “job killing” During his acceptance speech as presidential candidate for the Republican Party on July 21, Donald Trump sharply criticized the US’s free trade agreement with South Korea – known as the KORUS FTA - as a “job killing trade deal.” Trump also made clear that he intends to renegotiate every free trade agreement that the US has signed with other countries. In the event of a Trump presidency, there would likely be more pressure to renegotiate the KORUS FTA. “My opponent [Hillary Clinton], on the other hand, has supported virtually every trade agreement that has been destroying our middle class,” Trump said during the speech, which he delivered in the Quicken Loans Arena basketball venue in Cleveland, on the final day of the Republican National Convention. “She supported the job killing trade deal with South Korea. She has supported the Trans-Pacific Partnership.” “The TPP will not only destroy our manufacturing, but it will make America subject to the rulings of foreign governments. I pledge to never sign any trade agreement that hurts our workers, or that diminishes our freedom and independence,” Trump said. “Our horrible trade agreements with China and many others, will be totally renegotiated [. . .] and we’ll walk away if we don’t get the deal that we want.” [Trump] [FTA]
• New Sanctions Against Kim Jong-un
  Konstantin Asmolov On July 7, 2016, the United States included the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in the sanctions list for human rights violations. The statement made by the U.S. Treasury lists a total of 15 individuals, including Kim Jong-un, and 8 organizations directly involved in human rights violations, tracking down defectors and carrying out censorship. The list includes the former Vice Chairmen of the National Defence Commission Ri Yong-mu and O Kuk-ryol, Vice Chairman of the State Affairs Commission Hwang Pyong-so, Minister of People’s Security Choe Pu-il, and others. The organizations subject to sanctions include the National Defence Commission, Ministry of State Security, the Propaganda and Agitation Department of the Central Committee of the WPK, and the Reconnaissance General Bureau. The sanctions entail the freezing of all accounts of the aforementioned individuals in the U.S. banks. The property and investments of those on the “black list” that are under the U.S. jurisdiction will also be frozen. U.S. citizens are prohibited from entering into financial transactions with an individual or organization specified on the list. http://journal-neo.org/2016/07/22/new-sanctions-against-kim-jong-un/ [US NK policy] [Sanctions]
• US brings PAC-3 unit to Korea
  By Jun Ji-hye A U.S. Patriot missile battery in Japan has been brought to South Korea for a joint exercise amid growing concerns about additional provocations from North Korea, an official of the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) said, Friday. The Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC)-3 interceptor unit of the U.S. Forces Japan (USFJ), stationed at the Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, arrived in Busan on July 13 and is now participating in a drill with South Korean military in Gunsan, North Jeolla Province. The Patriot unit is made up of 120 troops, with a launch vehicle and radar. It is the first time a Japan-based U.S. Patriot battery has been sent to South Korea. "The PAC-3 unit is currently training with South Korean troops," the USFK official told reporters. "The unit will return to Japan after completing the training scheduled to last two weeks." The training was to exercise dispatching the USFJ's air defense weapons as quickly as possible in the event of an incident on the Korean Peninsula. [Joint US military] [Missile defense]
• Inspector O and the South China Sea
  By James Church 22 July 2016 “I imagine your knuckles would be dead white at this point, Church.” Inspector O had messaged me in the usual way to meet him in Malta. He’d given the address of a hotel restaurant atop a hill overlooking Mdina. I arrived late—bad connections in London—but O didn’t seem to notice. He was gazing contemplatively out the window at the lights below, sipping something clear. As I sat down, he turned and glanced at my hands. “Yes, as I thought, they are white, Church.” His smile had a touch too much contentment. “Nervous?” [South China Sea] [UNCLOS] [NLL} [Trump]
• N.Korea Is Hell-Bent on Using Its Nukes
  North Korea's official Rodong Sinmun on Wednesday published eight photos related to the launch of three ballistic missiles on Tuesday. They show North Korean leader Kim Jong-un sitting behind a desk with a map of the Korean Peninsula draped over it showing the trajectories of Scud C and Rodong missiles and their intended targets in the East Sea along with curved lines encompassing Busan and Ulsan. The daily said the latest launch aimed to practice pre-emptive nuclear strikes on South Korean ports and airports. North Korean state TV claimed the launch was also designed to test detonators of nuclear warheads mounted on ballistic missiles "at the designated altitude over the target area." Nuclear weapons deliver the biggest impact when detonated at a height of 30 to 120 km. In other words, North Korea was practicing nuclear attack on Busan, where U.S. military supplies would be being brought in during a war. A major aim was probably to stoke anxieties here over the U.S. deployment of a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense battery here. Wild rumors of harmful electromagnetic waves emitted by the THAAD battery have already shaken the public, and once they were shown to be groundless the North is now trying to sow terror of other attacks and repercussions. Some opponents of the THAAD deployment continue to claim that North Korea's nuclear weapons are just a way of getting concessions out of the U.S. or a purely defensive project. Thursday's pictures prove otherwise. [THAAD] [Deterrence] [Inversion] [Media]
• N.Korean Missile Launch 'Practiced Pre-emptive Nuke Strike'
  North Korea's launch of three ballistic missiles on Tuesday was a drill to practice a preemptive nuclear strike on U.S. reinforcements in South Korea, North Korea claimed Wednesday. The launch came after South Korea and the U.S. decided on the deployment of a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense battery here A missile blasts off on Wednesday in this photo from the Rodong Sinmun on Thursday. A missile blasts off on Wednesday in this photo from the Rodong Sinmun on Thursday. The official [North] Korean Central News Agency said the drill "was conducted by limiting the firing range under the simulated conditions of making preemptive strikes at ports and airfields in the operational theater in South Korea, where the U.S. imperialists' nuclear war hardware is to be hurled," it said. In other words the North is claiming that the missiles' actual range is much longer. KCNA said leader Kim Jong-un "expressed great satisfaction over the successful drill" after watching it live. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un looks at a monitor which shows a missile blasting off into the sky on Wednesday in this photo from the Rodong Sinmun daily. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un looks at a monitor which shows a missile blasting off into the sky on Wednesday in this photo from the Rodong Sinmun daily. An accompanying photo shows Kim poring over a map with curved lines indicating that Busan and Ulsan are within the range of the missiles. North Korea once again tested detonators of nuclear warheads mounted on ballistic missiles "at the designated altitude over the target area," it added. [Deterrence]
• North Korean missile launches apparent practice for striking major South Korean ports
  Posted on : Jul.21,2016 16:00 KST State newspaper says North Korea was preparing to hit locations with US nuclear equipment North Korean leader Kim Jong-un observes a missile launch, in this photo from the July 20 edition of the Rodong Sinmun newspaper. (Yonhap News) North Korea announced on July 20 that the firing of three suspected Scud and Rodong ballistic missiles the day before had been an exercise based on field guidance by leader Kim Jong-un to prepare to strike “South Korean ports and airfields where the US empire’s nuclear war equipment would be brought in.” It also unveiled a map showing the Busan/Ulsan area as an impact zone in an apparent attempt to stress the uselessness of a US Forces Korea Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system to be deployed in Seongju, North Gyeongsang Province. “For the ballistic rocket launch exercise by the Korean People’s Army Strategic Rocket Forces Hwasong artillery unit, the firing range was restricted to simulate a preemptive strike on ports and airfields within South Korean operation regions where the US empire‘s nuclear war equipment would be brought in,” the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on July 20. The report suggests that the firing of two Hwasong-6 (Scud-C) and one Hwasong-7 (Rodong) missiles was training for an attack on US reinforcements arriving at Pohang, Busan Port, and Gimpo Airport in the event of an emergency. [THAAD] [Retaliation]
• Lawmaker says THAAD deployment “inevitably” part of US missile defense
  Posted on : Jul.20,2016 17:54 KST Government denying that deploying THAAD means joining South Korea to US missile defense in northeast Asia A lawmaker is claiming that despite Seoul’s official position to the contrary, the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system to be deployed to North Gyeongsang Province’s Seongju County will inevitably function as part of the US missile defense system targeting China and Russia. Citing a 2015 missile defense report published by the US Congress‘s Government Accountability Office (GAO) and 2017 US government budget data, Justice Party lawmaker Kim Jong-dae said at an emergency Q&A session on the THAAD issue at the National Assembly on July 19 that the US Forces Korea THAAD system in Seongju would be “the 1.0 version.” “Upgrading into the 2.0 version linked to all [US] missile defense assets is scheduled to be complete by 2025,” Kim claimed. “Once this happens, the USFK THAAD on the Korean Peninsula will be just a terminal [in the US-run missile defense system],” he added. [THAAD] [Missile defense] [China confrontation] [Russia confrontation]
• In platform, Republican Party announces more hardline policy on North Korea
  Posted on : Jul.20,2016 18:00 KST Regardless of who wins the presidency, relations between US and North Korea unlikely to improve
  On July 18 - the first day of the Republican Party’s national convention in Cleveland - the party declared that it would be taking a hardline stance against North Korea. The Democratic Party has already adopted a hawkish policy position toward Pyongyang, describing the North as “the most repressive regime on the planet” in a draft of its own platform. This suggests that, whether Republican Party candidate Donald Trump or Democratic Party candidate Hillary Clinton becomes president, US-North Korea relations are unlikely to improve for the time being. In the platform that the Republican Party announced on Tuesday, it voiced its hope for “the establishment of human rights for the people of North Korea.” “We urge the government of China to recognize the inevitability of change in the Kim family’s slave state [North Korea] and, for everyone’s safety against nuclear disaster, to hasten positive change on the Korean peninsula,” the party said. This last phrase - which did not appear in the party’s 2012 platform - seems to be an official endorsement of the idea that China should do more to control North Korea. [US NK policy] [Republicans]
• The Dangerous Year, 2017 – Part 1
  Jul 20, 2016 With the U.S. Republican and Democratic national conventions taking place this week and next week, Tim Beal examines what U.S. policy vis a vis Korea may look like in the first year of the next administration. The following is an expanded version of his previous article published in NK News and is part 1 of a 2-part series. A look ahead at US Korea policy after the election By Tim Beal A huge amount has been written, and will continue to be written, about US foreign policy under the next president, and a fair amount of that focuses on Korea. At the time of writing, mid-2016, there are two candidates, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, with Clinton leading in the polls. This essay will focus on Clinton for three reasons. [US_election16] [Hillary Clinton] [Trump] [US NK policy]
• Can the Government Calm Fears About THAAD?
  A group of Korean reporters were given rare access to a U.S. Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense battery in Guam to ease mounting jitters about the safety of the weapons system. A Korean Air Force major measured electromagnetic waves for six minutes 1.6 km away from the radar while it was operating. The result showed the average level was just 0.0003 watts per sq.m, much lower than the permissible level of 10 watts per sq.m under Korean law. [THAAD] [Health] [PR]
• U.S. Opens THAAD Base to Korean Press
  A U.S. military spokesman speaks in front of Korean officers and reporters at a THAAD base in Guam on Monday. A U.S. military spokesman speaks in front of Korean officers and reporters at a THAAD base in Guam on Monday. The U.S. opened a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense battery in Guam to Korean journalists on Monday to allay fears here over the harmful effects of the weapons system to be stationed in southern Korea. A Korean military officer demonstrated that the electromagnetic waves emitted by the radar at Site Armadillo in northwestern Guam, 1.6 km away from the battery reached a maximum of 0.0007 watt per sq.m, just 0.007 percent of the 10 watts per sq.m permitted under Korean law. "This is a level that you encounter everywhere in your daily life," the officer said. The move came at the request of the Korean government, which is battling growing protests from locals. [THAAD] [Health] [PR]
• Amid controversial deployment, US shows S. Korean reporters a THAAD battery on Guam
  Posted on : Jul.19,2016 17:52 KST Officials from South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense and reporters assigned to the ministry measure electromagnetic waves from a THAAD radar, in Guam, July 18. (provided by the US Air Force 36th Contingency Response Group) While on tour, US officers say THAAD is safe, but don’t get into specifics about the system’s efficacy On July 18, an American officer with Task Force Talon was emphasizing to visiting South Korean reporters the safety of the US missile defense system known as THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense). The task force is responsible for operating the THAAD battery located on Site Armadillo, on the Pacific island of Guam. “The angle at which the THAAD radar emits beams is higher than ground level. Anywhere beyond the off-limits area of 100 meters is safe,” the official said. [THAAD] [PR] [Health]
• [News analysis] How THAAD in South Korea is different from Guam and Japan
  Posted on : Jul.19,2016 18:04 KST Deployment site Seongju is located inland, meaning that electromagnetic waves are more of a concern Reporters covering the Ministry of National Defense observe the test of a Patriot missile radar at an airbase in the Seoul area, July 14. (Yonhap News) Since the South Korean and US governments announced plans to deploy a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system with US Forces Korea in North Gyeongsang Province’s Seongju County, both supporters and opponents have used the US THAAD battery on the Pacific island of Guam and the AN/TYP-2 X-band radar in Japan’s Aomori Prefecture and at the US military’s Kyogamisaki Sub-Base in Kyotango as comparisons in judging the decision’s suitability. The reason is that the Guam battery is the only one outside the US mainland, while the radar at the two Japanese sites is similar to the kind that will be deployed in Seongju to serve as the core of the THAAD system. Proponents of the THAAD deployment have used the radar sites and operational conditions in Guam and Japan in an effort to play up the safety of the Seongju system, while opponents have cited reports from villages near the Japanese radar sites to stress the hazards from electromagnetic waves and noise. [THAAD]
• North Koreans try to trump China—and the United States
  July 5, 2016 Bruce Cumings | July 5, 2016 Originally published in the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists In recent weeks, North Korea has been engaged in a flurry of diplomacy and a flurry of missile tests. What does it all mean, and what is the significance of the timing? And how would such activity likely be dealt with by a President Trump—and how would people on the Korean peninsula react to the idea of his sitting in the Oval Office? No one can predict the future, of course, but we can make some guesses. [China NK] [Trump]
• North Korea: testing the major powers
  Author: Ron Huisken, ANU 12 July 2016 The 26th meeting of the North East Asia Cooperation Dialogue (NEACD), a one and a half track forum whose membership mirrors the Six-Party Talks, was held in Beijing late last month. North Korea began to attend the NEACD in 2002, but failed to show up in 2014 and 2015. Although senior officials from the US and North Korea participated in the NEACD 2016, sadly it appears that it too has passed without puncturing the near total absence of open communication with Pyongyang. This has now been the case for some seven years, four of them under North Korea’s new young leader, Kim Jong-un. [US NK negotiations]
• [Reportage] Japanese community with THAAD radar glumly says ‘it’s ok’
  Posted on : Jul.18,2016 17:42 KST Kyogamisaki Communications Site, a US military base in the Japanese city of Kyotango, in Kyoto Prefecture, which is home to an AN/TPY-2 X-band radar (in the blue building). The electric fence was added over the past year. (by Gil Yun-hyung, Tokyo correspondent) Installation of radar has gone ahead in Japan despite concerns over noise and electromagnetic waves I was at Kyogamisaki Communications Site, a US military base in the Japanese city of Kyotango, in Kyoto Prefecture, which is home to an AN/TPY-2 X-band radar. This radar is the linchpin of the US missile defense system called THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense). The area around the base looked much the same as when I visited a year ago. As I drove east along Highway 178, leading to the base, the waters of the East Sea stretched out to the north. Suddenly I was driving past barbed wire fence that cradled the US military’s communications antenna, which looked much like a giant soccer ball. Beyond the green building on the northernmost point of the base was the X-band radar, whose very presence has wide-ranging ramifications for affairs in East Asia. [THAAD] [Japan] [PR]
• S. Korean officials and reporters to tour THAAD battery on Guam
  Posted on : Jul.18,2016 17:37 KST Visit apparently intended to assuage concerns over safety, which have been growing in S. Korea since THAAD announcement On July 18, the US military is planning to open up a THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) battery at a base on the Pacific island of Guam to officials from South Korea’s Defense Ministry and to South Korean reporters, a South Korean military officer said on July 17. The US military has never before given civilians or foreign reporters access to a THAAD battery. This unusual measure is apparently an attempt to assuage safety concerns and opposition that have been intensifying in South Korea since the South Korean and US governments announced that they had decided to deploy THAAD with US forces in South Korea and after South Korea’s Defense Ministry announced that the missile defense system would be deployed in Seongju County, North Gyeongsang Province. [THAAD]
• US military shows journalists THAAD battery in Guam
  A South Korean officer, second from right, measures electromagnetic waves emitted from the AN/TPY-2 radar of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam, Monday, while South Korean journalists and a U.S. officer look on. The inset photo shows the levels of the electromagnetic waves at 0.001 watts per square meter, which is much lower than the 10 watts per square meter permissible level in daily life set by the Korea Communications Commission. / Courtesy of U.S. Air Force Electromagnetic wave levels found safe By Jun Ji-hye, Joint press corps South Korean journalists and military officials hear explanations from a U.S. officer about the THAAD system during their visit to "Site Armadillo," the location of a THAAD battery inside Andersen Air Force Base on Guam, Monday. / Courtesy of U.S. Air Force The U.S. military showed its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery stationed in Guam to a group of South Korean journalists, Monday, as part of efforts to calm mounting safety concerns over its radar. During the tour to "Site Armadillo," the location of the THAAD unit inside Andersen Air Force Base, the journalists and officials from the Ministry of National Defense received explanations from U.S. soldiers about how the unit was operated, the system's AN/TPY-2 radar and the noise level of generators, the ministry said. [THAAD] [Health] [PR]
• NK is winner
  Re: Who does THAAD protect?
  Updated : 2016-07-18 18:31 Sometimes the way a question is not answered gives you the true answer. And I think your question to the defense minister about the THAAD was very spot-on and important and unfortunately, you got the real answer by his evasion. The real victor in all of the THAAD issue is North Korea. I have this feeling that Kim Jung-Un is sitting in Pyongyang laughing at the whole process. Launching an occasional defective missile goes a lot longer in sowing seeds of discontent among allies than anything else he could do. South Korea wants protection from North Korean aggression even as weak, unpredictable and misguided as it is. The United States is more than willing to offer such protection but like you said, it is more for defense of their soldiers than for the average Korean. Such defense upsets China which has been getting too cozy with South Korea of late and widens the distrust between the U.S. and China. [THAAD] [MISCOM]
• US journal criticizes Park's regression into dictatorship
  By Choi Sung-jin Political freedom has been retrogressing in Korea since President Park Geun-hye took office, Foreign Policy, a U.S. diplomatic journal, said recently. The Park administration is squelching protests, suing journalists and jailing opposition politicians, said the bimonthly journal in an article headlined "Is South Korea regressing into a dictatorship" in its Internet edition last Thursday. Citing that Han Sang-gyun, leader of the Korea Confederation of Trade Unions, was recently sentenced to five years in prison for organizing a massive anti-government protest last November, the journal quoted Amnesty International, which described it as part of the "shrinking right to freedom of peaceful assembly in South Korea." [Park Geun-hye] [Repression]
• Who does THAAD protect?
  By Oh Young-jin On July 8, hours after the announcement of the deployment of an advanced U.S. missile interceptor, Defense Minister Han Min-koo called editors and editorial writers in for a briefing. I dramatized a situation ? there is only one Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile left against two incoming North Korean missiles ? one toward the U.S. military in Pyeongtaek and the other homing in on downtown Seoul. "Which target would be a priority?" I asked Minister Han. Han first talked about the ROK-U.S. joint operation at the U.S. air base in Osan to detect and coordinate against any unusual North Korean activities. Then, he moved on to one THAAD unit ? six launchers with 48-plus projectiles and a radar system ? not being enough to cover the entire nation. He denied any plan to deploy a second unit to cover the entire country. [THAAD] [US dominance]
• THAAD anarchy
  Residents should stop protests for protests' sake
  Updated : 2016-07-17 17:14 Seongju, North Gyeongsang Province, where advanced U.S. missile interceptors will be deployed, has turned into a land of lawlessness. Protesting residents pelted visiting Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn and his entourage with eggs and water bottles Friday. Hwang tried to deliver an apology for not informing the residents of the deployment in advance, and was forced to escape into the county office in the face of angry protestors, where he was holed up for six-and-half hours before he escaped. In the melee, a police commissioner got a cut above his eyebrow from a thrown water bottle. The residents have made it clear that they will not stop protesting until the government backs down on the deployment plan for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery in their town. [THAAD] [Protest]
• Seongju emerging as likely candidate for THAAD deployment
  Posted on : Jul.12,2016 17:05 KST Seongju County Mayor Kim Hang-gon and representatives of civic groups release a statement opposing the THAAD missile defense system being deployed to Seongju missile site, July 11. (provided by Seongju County) City in North Gyeongsang Province, which already has Hawk missile air defense system, is being mentioned Seongju, North Gyeongsang Province, has become a strong candidate for the deployment of the THAAD missile defense system. “The Yeongnam [southeast] area came up in talks between South Korea and the US as a potential location for THAAD deployment,” said one government official. “But focus has shifted to Seongju, where the Hawk missile air defense system is currently stationed.” While placing THAAD in Seongju would position it out of the firing range of North Korea‘s long-range artillery, it would still be able to protect military facilities like Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, which is within the 200 km strike range.
  On the other hand, if THAAD is placed in Seongju, there could be controversy over the idea that defense against North Korean missiles for the country’s capital area, which is home to half the population, is being abandoned. Some have mentioned Yangsan, in South Gyeongsang Province, and Chilgok, in North Gyeongsang Province, as other candidates for THAAD’s placement. [THAAD] [US dominance]
• North Korea issues first “grave warning” on THAAD deployment
  Posted on : Jul.12,2016 17:02 KST On July 9, the day after South Korea and the US announced the decision to deploy the THAAD missile defense system, North Korea test launched a submarine launched ballistic missile in the East Sea off of South Hamgyong Province. In apparent response to sanctions, North Korea cuts off New York channel dialogue with the US On July 11, three days after the South Korean and American governments announced their decision to deploy the THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) missile defense system with US forces in South Korea, North Korea offered its first public and official response in the form of a “grave warning from the artillery bureau of the Joint Chiefs of the Staff of the Korean People’s Army.” By mentioning opposition from “countries around the Korean Peninsula” and the development of “an Asian version of NATO” organized around the US-ROK alliance, North Korea obliquely emphasized the quasi-alliance between South Korea, the US and Japan and resistance from North Korea, China and Russia, who stand in opposition to that alliance. “The THAAD weapon system is a method of US aggression aimed at world domination. From the moment that its location in South Korea is decided, we will respond with force in order to crush it,” North Korea said. [THAAD] [Response]
• Park urges end to THAAD row
  By Yi Whan-woo President Park Geun-hye urged the nation, Thursday, to stop what she called unnecessary debates over a decision to deploy a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery in Seongju County, North Gyeongsang Province. During a meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) at Cheong Wa Dae, Park warned that conflicts and clashes among vested interests will lead the nation to "fail to safeguard itself and the people." "The country's national security faces a grand challenge," Park said, referring to North Korea's evolving nuclear and missile threats. "The decision concerning THAAD was made after we judged that there's nothing more important than protecting our people's lives and safety. And we had a sense of urgency to bolster missile defense capabilities of alliance military forces of South Korea and the United States." [THAAD] [Park Geun-hye]
• Locals Protest as THAAD Battery Location Confirmed
  Korea and the U.S. on Wednesday confirmed that they have chosen Seongju in southern Korea as the site for a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense battery. Defense Ministry official Yoo Jeh-seung told reporters the largely rural county in North Gyeongsang Province is "the optimal place" for the deployment. The ministry pushed the announcement forward due to mounting opposition from local residents after the location was leaked to the press. Seongju is just west of Daegu some 296 km southeast of Seoul, and stationing the THAAD battery there will allow the military to "more firmly secure the safety of people living in two thirds of the country while dramatically increasing the capacity to defend key facilities like nuclear power plants and oil storage areas as well as Korea-U.S. alliance forces," Yoo said. The battery is to be up and running by the end of 2017. [THAAD] [US dominance]
• Source: Foreign Minister was opposed to THAAD deployment
  Posted on : Jul.13,2016 18:09 KST Yun Byung-se had reportedly felt that THAAD would make it more difficult to coordinate on N. Korean sanctions South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se - one of the ministers in charge of responding to North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs - was steadfastly opposed to the South Korean government’s early decision to deploy the THAAD missile defense system, a source said on July 12. South Korea’s neighbors China and Russia, South Korean opposition parties, and a large number of experts had already expressed their disapproval of the announcement made by Seoul and Washington on July 8 to deploy THAAD with US forces in South Korea. Now it turns out that South Korea’s own Foreign Minister, the main person responsible for dealing with North Korea’s nuclear program and the fallout from the THAAD deployment, is in the ranks of the opposition as well. This is likely to raise serious questions about why President Park Geun-hye decided to deploy THAAD earlier than expected despite the strong opposition of the responsible Minister. [THAAD] [Dilemma] [China SK]
• Experts divided over THAAD's effectiveness in countering N.K. missiles
  South Korea and the United States have confirmed the site for deploying an advanced U.S. missile defense system, but disagreement still lingers over its capability to effectively deter North Korea's missile threats, experts here said Thursday. The allies said Wednesday that they have picked the southern county of Seongju, about 219 kilometers southeast of Seoul, to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system by the end of 2017, a move aimed at countering North Korea's growing nuclear and missile threats. Seoul's defense ministry said that the location is optimal, given that the site is suitable for military operations and is sparsely populated. "The placement of the THAAD system in Seongju would help more firmly secure the safety of our people living in two thirds of South Korea's territory while dramatically increasing our ability to defend key state assets ... and the South Korea-U.S. alliance forces," Yoo Jeh-seung, deputy defense minister for policy, told a press conference. As an integral part of the U.S.-led missile-defense system, THAAD is designed to shoot down a ballistic missile at altitudes of 40 to 150 km in its terminal phase of flight using a hit-to-kill method. The government said that as THAAD missiles have a maximum range of 200 km, the system, if deployed, is capable of protecting up to southern Gyeonggi Province, which surrounds Seoul. It said THAAD missiles are capable of intercepting incoming North Korean missiles targeting a U.S. base in Pyeongtaek, some 160 km northwest of Seongju county, home to U.S. Forces Korea (USFK)'s new headquarters. But experts are divided over whether the THAAD battery could effectively shoot down North Korean missiles with critics arguing that the system's capability has not been fully confirmed. [THAAD] [Efficacy]
• THAAD: THE DEAL HAS BEEN STRUCK!
  Konstantin Asmolov There was not a single author’s publication dedicated to the pending installation of an American ABM system in South Korea, but, alas, the decision has been made. Seoul and Washington commenced negotiations regarding the installation of THAAD ABM systems on the Korean Peninsula on March 4 by establishing a special working group. This decision led to the protests from China and Russia and resulted in a mixed reaction in Korea itself, not to mention the opinion expressed by experts who questioned the feasibility and effectiveness of THAAD in deterring North Korea. To recap: THAAD (Theater High Altitude Area Defense) is a ground-based mobile ABM defense system for the high-altitude extra-atmospheric interception of medium-range missiles and intercontinental ballistic missiles. The THAAD ABM battery includes AN/TPY-2 ABM radar, six missile launchers, 48 interceptor missiles, remote control and power generator. The ABM radar has a 120 degree visual range and is able to track any flying object at a distance of 250 km. Its intercept range is 200 kilometers, while its intercept height ranges from 40 to 150 kilometers. http://journal-neo.org/2016/07/14/thaad-the-deal-has-been-struck/ [THAAD] [Efficacy]
• DPRK threatens to cut official contact with US
  Xinhua, July 11, 2016 The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Monday threatened to cut off one of its official contact channels with the United States, the first of its countermeasures against new sanctions imposed on the country's senior officials. The DPRK on Sunday sent a message to the United States denouncing recent U.S. sanctions against Pyongyang, which "impaired the dignity of the supreme leadership" of the country, the state-run news agency KCNA reported. Currently, the DPRK Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York acts as one of the few communication channels between Pyongyang and Washington, which the DPRK is threatening to close down. On Wednesday, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on DPRK top leader Kim Jong Un and other senior officials over alleged human rights abuses. It also slapped sanctions on 10 other individuals and five entities for their ties to the DPRK's alleged abuse. The DPRK Foreign Ministry on Thursday urged the United States to withdraw the newly announced sanctions, saying they were an "open declaration of war against the DPRK." The ministry also warned that the DPRK will eventually cut off all channels of diplomatic contact with the United States if the latter fails to withdraw the sanctions. [Sanctions] [Kim Jong Un] [Treasury] [Response]
• N.Korea Threatens 'Merciless' Attack Over THAAD Deployment
  North Korea on Monday threatened to turn South Korea into a "sea of flames and debris" following the decision last Friday to station U.S. Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense missile batteries here. The North threatened to carry out military strikes from the moment the two countries decide on the location of the THAAD batteries in the South. Pyongyang "will make a physical counteraction to disturb the deployment from the moment its location and site have been confirmed in South Korea," the North Korean military said in a statement. The North claimed that THAAD batteries are an "unverified" weapons system that could harm civilians with "high-powered electric waves" -- a rumor that has been making the rounds on South Korean social media. It also accused the South of "deception" in claiming that the range of the batteries is relatively short and that their purpose is to defend the South against North Korean missile attacks. The threat seems chiefly aimed at fanning the flames of protest in the South, where there is resistance near the candidate sites. The Defense Ministry here issued a prompt rebuttal. "North Korea needs to see who is responsible for putting the Korean Peninsula's peace and security at risk before criticizing the THAAD deployment decision," ministry spokesman Moon Sang-gyun said. [THAAD] [Response]
• North Korea Said it is Willing to Talk about Denuclearization…But No One Noticed
  By Robert Carlin 12 July 2016 Railroad track pointsThere was a train wreck last week, but not a lot of people noticed, swooning as they were over the July 6 announcement that the US Department of Treasury had designated Kim Jong Un by name on a new list of individuals sanctioned for human rights violations. In the dance of jubilation, few had the time or inclination (to borrow a line from Irma La Duce) to pay attention to a DPRK government spokesman’s statement released earlier the same day. That statement made clear what the North Koreans have been hinting at for some time—yes, they were willing to talk about denuclearization. [US NK Negotiations]
• S.Korea, U.S. Agree THAAD Deployment
  South Korea and the U.S. on Friday agreed to station Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense missile batteries on the Korean Peninsula. The agreement came five months after Seoul and Washington finally admitted they are in talks over the deployment of the THAAD batteries and two years after former U.S. Forces Korea commander Curtis Scaparrotti first raised the issue. The location of the THAAD battery deployment will be announced later this month, and they will be stationed here some time next year. Deputy Defense Minister Yoo Jeh-seung and USFK Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Thomas Vandal made the announcement in a press conference. [THAAD]
• N.Korea Fires Missile from Submarine
  North Korea on Saturday fired a ballistic missile from a submarine off the coast of Sinpo in South Hamgyong Province, the Joint Chiefs of Staff here said. The launch came 24 hours after South Korea and the U.S. announced the deployment of Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense batteries on the Korean peninsula. The JCS in a statement said the missile "was ejected from the submarine normally, but the initial flight was unsuccessful." Military officials said the missile traveled several kilometers but then exploded 10 km above ground. The launch was probably a sign of protest against the U.S. blacklisting last week of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and other individuals and entities for human rights abuses. "It takes several days to prepare a submarine-launched ballistic missile because a submarine has to head out to sea first, so the North must have decided on the launch before South Korea and the U.S. announced the THAAD deployment." North Korea already on Thursday ordered fishing boats on the East Sea to evacuate the area. But a government official said, "The provocation supports the need to deploy the THAAD battery." The SLBM flew far short of the 30 km achieved in a previous launch. But North Korea watchers said it was unnerving to see it pull off another so-called cold launch, whereby the engines ignite after the missile is out of the water. A military source said, "North Korea will be able to deploy an SLBM within two or three years." The maximum range of the SLBMs currently under development is estimated at 2,400 km. [SLBM] [Pretext] [THAAD]
• Can THAAD Batteries Protect Seoul?
  If the U.S. Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense missile batteries are deployed in the southern part of South Korea, as sources say, they would not protect Seoul and the metropolitan area from North Korean missile attacks. The Defense Ministry claims that the purpose of the THAAD batteries would be to protect not only U.S. troops and equipment but South Koreans from a North Korean missile attack. But if the capital region and Pyeongtaek and Osan to the south are excluded from their protective umbrella, that would be a misleading claim. Military sources explained that the THAAD would require U.S. money and therefore needs to protect American troops rather than the residents of Seoul and Gyeonggi Province. [THAAD] [US dominance] [Dilemma]
• [Interview] Expert says THAAD needlessly raises tension, hurts security
  Posted on : Jul.11,2016 15:30 KST MIT emeritus professor Theodore Postol says THAAD deployment will result in the worst of all the possible worlds Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) emeritus professor Theodore Postol After South Korea announced on July 8 the decision to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Air Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system, the Hankyoreh’s Washington correspondent conducted an email exchange with Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) emeritus professor Theodore Postol. Postol shared his thoughts on the decision, THAAD’s efficacy, and the potential ramifications in the Northeast Asian political and security climate. Theodore Postol (Postol): I am truly sorry for this decision, as it hurts the security of South Korea, the other states in East Asia, and the United States as well. The THAAD defense can be expected to provide South Korea with essentially no useful defense capacity, but it will infuriate the Chinese who are worried about THAAD being used by the US against them to aim the US National Missile Defense at China. [THAAD] [China confrontation] [Efficacy]
• NK threatens to attack over anti-missile system
  Park says THAAD is to counter only N. Korea
  By Kang Seung-woo North Korea threatened Monday to make "merciless" retaliatory strikes against South Korea and the United States for the decision to deploy a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery on the Korean Peninsula. "North Korea will make a physical counteraction to thoroughly control THAAD from the moment its location and place have been confirmed in South Korea," the North's military said in a statement. This was Pyongyang's first reaction to the announcement by Seoul and Washington Friday on the deployment of the anti-missile unit. "The Korean People's Army (KPA) has long put not only all the aggressive war means of the enemies but even their attack and logistic bases against North Korea in precision sighting strike range," the statement carried by the North's Korean Central News Agency said. [THAAD] [Response]
• THAAD in S. Korea not conducive to peninsula peace
  Xinhua, July 10, 2016 The deployment of the THAAD missile system on the South Korean soil by the United States is not conducive to peace on the Korean Peninsula, a former Albanian deputy minister said Sunday. "Whatever security concerns that South Korea has due to the increased activity of missile tests of North Korea, it does not justify these recent approval," said Dorian Ducka, former deputy minister of energy and industry of Albania. South Korea and the United States on Friday announced their final decision to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) in the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) despite continued opposition from neighboring countries. They announced the advanced U.S. missile defense system is aimed at tackling the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s nuclear and missile threats. "Diplomacy and dialogue have been sidelined from the politics of fear and lack of vision and leadership throughout some of advanced and powerful countries, combined with the irrationality of certain leaders and regimes," said Ducka in a written interview with Xinhua. [THAAD]
• UNC allows heavy weapons in DMZ
  By Rachel Lee The United Nations Command (UNC) has revised rules to allow South Korean and U.S. military forces to carry heavy weapons in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), officials here said Sunday. The measure came in response to the North Korean military's placement of heavy weapons in the DMZ, a 257-kilometer-long, 4-kilometer-wide buffer zone that has remained since the armistice ending the Korean War was signed in 1953, they said. The existence of heavy weapons in the DMZ increases the possibility of military conflict between the two sides and weakens the primary purpose of setting up the buffer zone after the 1950-53 war. According to UNC Regulation 551-4, which outlines and implements responsibilities required to comply with the armistice, the U.S.-led UNC approved the deployment of heavy weapons at the buffer area, including medium and heavy machine guns, recoilless rifles, mortars and automatic grenade launchers. The changes went into effect on Sept. 5, 2014. Only individual arms were originally allowed in the DMZ. The UNC said in the revised regulation that it made such updates to "take action against weapon systems placed by the North Korean military within the DMZ." "North Korea has long deployed mortars and large-caliber anti-aircraft machine guns as well as anti-personnel and anti-tank land mines in the DMZ in violation of the armistice agreement. We had to take countermeasures," a South Korean military official said. The DMZ is the most fortified area in the world with 70 percent of troops from both Koreas stationed nearby. The southern part of the DMZ is under the control of the UNC and North Korea manages the northern part. The Korean Peninsula has technically remained in a state of war since the 1950-53 war ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. [DMZ] [UNC] [UNUS] [Armistice] [Escalation]
• US to Deploy BMD System in South Korea
  Alex Gorka | 10.07.2016 The United States and South Korea have decided together to deploy the US Army’s Terminal High Altitude Area Defense System (THAAD) to the Korean Peninsula, the South's Defence Ministry and the US Defense Department said in a joint statement. The battery operated by US forces will be deployed «as soon as possible» in response to North Korea’s recent missile testing, which has grown more complex and more concerning. A joint US-South Korea working group is determining the best location for deploying the system. It has been discussing the feasibility of deployment and potential locations for the THAAD unit since February, after a North Korean rocket launch put an object into space orbit. The launch was condemned by the UN Security Council (UNSC) as a test of a long-range missile in disguise, which North Korea is prohibited from doing under several Security Council resolutions. North Korea rejects the ban, saying it is an infringement on its sovereignty and its right to space exploration. Last month, Pyongyang had launched two missiles over the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea, the latest in a series of UN violations. North Korea says it succeeded on June 22 in test-firing a surface-to-surface strategic ballistic missile Hwaseong-10, known internationally as Musudan intermediate-range ballistic missile. The Musudan, which is known to be capable of hitting part of the US territory such as Guam and the outer reaches of Alaska, is considered especially threatening as it is fired from a mobile launcher, making it hard to detect and track in times of military conflicts. It can also carry a nuclear warhead. The June 22 tests have angered all of the world powers, including Russia and China. The North Korean nuclear policy undermines stability in the region but not only. It also provides a pretext for the US to boost its military presence in the Asia-Pacific. [THAAD] [Russian IR] [Naiveté]
• DPRK warns of retaliation against THAAD deployment by US, S. Korea
  Xinhua, July 11, 2016 The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) warned Monday that it will take "physical measures" to cope with the U.S. deployment of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) in South Korea. The countermeasures will be taken once the location of the deployment is decided, said the Korean People's Army in the warning carried by the official KCNA news agency. Pyongyang stressed that the United States and South Korea, which claim the DPRK's self-defense is a "severe threat" and their aggressive means of warfare is "defensive," were just confusing black with white. The two countries' joint THAAD deployment decision results from the U.S. ambition to dominate the world and South Korea's confrontation with the DPRK, Pyongyang said, warning that the DPRK army will "make merciless retaliatory strikes to reduce South Korea to a sea of flames, debris once an order is issued." In a joint statement Friday, Seoul and Washington said the two allies decided to deploy THAAD in South Korea to protect the country and its people from the DPRK's nuclear threats, weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles. Regional countries including China and Russia have repeatedly voiced their serious concern over the move due to its far-reaching negative impact. [THAAD] [Response]
• Experts Caution on THAAD Deployment
  By 38 North 08 July 2016 South Korea and the United States have reached an agreement to deploy an advanced missile defense system in South Korea to protect the country from North Korean missile attacks. The decision to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), announced on July 8 in Seoul, follows five months of negotiations between Seoul and Washington, which sparked questions about its capabilities, along with how it would function in a live, operational setting. A South Korean Defense Ministry official said the system could be operational by the end of 2017. “When combined with the lower-tier Patriot defenses, THAAD, which intercepts ballistic missiles above the atmosphere, greatly enhances South Korea’s capacity to block a substantial fraction of missiles emanating from North Korea,” said Michael Elleman, a Consulting Senior Fellow for Missile Defense at the International Institute for Strategic Studies and a regular contributor to 38 North, a project of the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins SAIS. “But it cannot provide absolute protection against a nuclear attack from the North. Moreover, Pyongyang will almost certainly begin to devise countermeasures to help limit the impact of this deployment, including launching missiles in large salvos to overwhelm the defenses.” Joel Wit, a Senior Fellow at the US-Korea Institute, commented, “While the deployment of THAAD is a necessary measure given the growth of North Korea’s nuclear and missile inventories, this step is only likely to widen the gap between the United States and China over a strategy to deal with the dangers posed by North Korea. It is essential that Washington and Beijing find cooperative paths forward, or else regional tensions are only likely to increase.” [THAAD]
• U.S. to Crack Down on Abuse of N.Koreans Abroad
  The U.S. is preparing a series of reports on the abuse of North Koreans who toil for the regime overseas or have fled abroad, as well as abuses within the isolated country. The reports will be submitted to Congress for action under the North Korea Sanctions Enforcement Act by mid-August. A Foreign Ministry official here said one report will contain a list of countries that have forcefully repatriated North Korean defectors, countries that accept North Korean laborers and plans to disseminate information about the outside world into the North. "We expect the U.S. to take a more comprehensive look at human rights violations involving North Koreans working abroad," the official said. A source in Washington said the U.S. government is also gathering information on political prison camps through accounts from high-ranking defectors, non-governmental agencies and satellites. Washington plans to provide US$8 million to ensure that people in the isolated country receive information about the outside world. [US NK policy] [Sanctions]
• [Editorial] THAAD deployment on the Korean Peninsula opens Pandora's box
  Posted on : Jul.9,2016 16:42 KST Modified on : Jul.9,2016 16:42 KST General Thomas Vandal, the Chief of Staff for the U.S. Forces in Korea and South Korea’s Deputy Minister Of Defense Ryu Je-seung announce the decision to deploy the THAAD missile defense system in South Korea, at the Ministry of National Defense in Seoul, July 8. (Yonhap News) South Korea and the United States announced on July 8 that they had decided to deploy the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system with United States Forces Korea (USFK). This constitutes a series of strong-arm tactics, as the announcement came only a day after the US government imposed sanctions on Kim Jong-un personally for human rights abuses. Though the blacklisting of Kim Jong-un is directed only at North Korea, the THAAD deployment is a broader measure that threatens to generate political and military discord and destabilize the balance of security throughout Northeast Asia, including China and Russia. This puts inter-Korean dialogue and negotiations on the back burner, bringing on a dangerously stressful state of affairs that we can expect to last for some time. [THAAD] [Dilemma]
• [Editorial] More sanctions just put real solution to North Korea issue further out of grasp
  Posted on : Jul.8,2016 15:39 KST Modified on : Jul.8,2016 15:39 KST On July 6, the US government placed sanctions on North Korean leader Kim Jong-un because of alleged human rights violations. The sanctions ban Kim from entering the US while freezing his assets in the US and suspending any transactions with him. The US government’s action is a rare example of placing sanctions directly on the leader of another country. It is all the more troubling since it could have a serious impact on the US’s relations with North Korea and on the situation on the Korean Peninsula. This past March, the US blacklisted five North Korean organizations and 11 individuals in response to North Korea’s provocations involving nuclear weapons and long-range rocket launches. Then on June 1, it designated North Korea as a “primary money laundering concern” in accordance with sanctions against North Korea that had been passed by Congress. But these sanctions carry a different symbolic weight, since they directly target Kim Jong-un, North Korea’s “supreme dignity” and a figure who is handled with extreme care in the North. Given the major ramifications of the sanctions against North Korea, they must have been personally approved by US President Barack Obama. North Korea’s successful launch of a Musudan missile last month likely influenced Obama’s decision. The US presumably concluded that it had no choice but to put pressure on North Korea because of its continuing misbehavior. [US NK policy] [Sanctions] [Personalisation] [Kim Jong Un] [Musudan]
• US announces sanctions on Kim Jong-un, then THAAD a day later
  Posted on : Jul.9,2016 16:50 KST North Korea issued a statement about “denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula”, which Washington ignored Just one day after the US government placed its first sanctions on North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, the US and South Korean governments abruptly announced that they had officially decided to deploy THAAD in South Korea. The sanctions against Kim Jong-un have the effect of legitimizing the deployment of THAAD, which is itself supposed to be a response to North Korean provocations. There is something curious about the order of events surrounding the US announcement of the THAAD deployment. First, North Korea released a statement by a government spokesperson on the night of July 6, just before the US government announced its sanctions against Kim Jong-un. “Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula was the dying wish of our Great Leader, Father and General [Kim Il-sung], and it is the indubitable resolution of the Party, the Army and the People moving forward under the leadership of our beloved comrade Kim Jong-un,” the North said in the statement. [US NK policy] [Escalation] [Personalisation] [Kim Jong Un]
• What was behind the rushed announcement of THAAD deployment?
  Posted on : Jul.9,2016 16:46 KST Defense Ministry may have been pressured by the Blue House to make uncharacteristically hurried announcement During the preparations for announcing the decision to deploy the THAAD missile defense system in South Korea, the Ministry of Defense dramatically changed its stance in the space of a few days. This is leading to speculation that the Blue House pressured the Ministry to make a rushed decision. Until a few days ago, the Ministry of Defense had consistently maintained that no decisions had been made about deploying THAAD. When asked about news reports that mentioned possible locations of a THAAD base during a hearing at the National Assembly on July 5, Defense Minister Han Min-goo said, “The US-ROK joint task force is still deliberating, and I have yet to be briefed on the results. Those reports are inaccurate and contrary to the facts.” When Han appeared before the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee on June 28, he hinted that the deliberations about THAAD might go on a long time. “A conclusion will be reached within the year,” he said. But this stance was completely reversed in the space of three days. There are also plenty of signs that the announcement was rushed. It was not until the afternoon of July 7, one day in advance, that the Defense Ministry notified the media it would be releasing a statement about THAAD on July 8. And it was not until late in the evening on July 7 that the Ministry said that it would be holding forums to explain THAAD for newspaper editors-in-chief and newsroom chiefs on July 8 and July 11. [THAAD]
• Pentagon remains in contact with China, Russia at 'highest levels' amid THAAD tension
  The United States remains in contact with Chinese and Russian leaders "at the highest levels," the Pentagon said Friday, as Beijing and Moscow protest strongly the planned deployment of the U.S. THAAD missile defense system to South Korea. South Korea and the U.S. announced earlier that they have officially decided to deploy a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense battery to South Korea to cope with ever-growing nuclear and missile threats from North Korea. [THAAD]
• Biochemical weapons experiments in the middle of a city of 3.5 million?
  Posted on : Jul.6,2016 16:24 KST Civic groups in Busan organizing to oppose a chemical and biological weapons testing laboratory Site of a planned USFK biochemical testing facility, near Busan Port‘s Pier 8 Busan Port’s Pier 8, which has been in operation since 1980, is located in the Gamman neighborhood of the city’s Nam District. Within just three kilometers of the pier there are many important public institutions and community facilities, including more than 20 schools, 20 to 30 apartment complexes, the United Nations Memorial Cemetery, and Busan Station. The North Port Redevelopment Project is also underway nearby. As part of its JUPITR project, the US military is planning to set up a Chemical and Biological Weapons Laboratory, where experiments with such highly lethal agents as anthrax will be conducted. Equipment and personnel needed for the laboratory will arrive at the port by November of this year, and the lab is scheduled to begin operations next year. Last December the Ministry of Defense and the US military revealed that, at bases in Seoul’s Yongsan district and Osan, Gyeonggi Province, US Forces Korea (USFK) have carried out at least 16 training experiments involving dead anthrax samples and one experiment with dead bubonic plague bacteria. Civic groups in Busan are opposing the establishment of the Chemical and Biological Weapons Laboratory on Pier 8, voicing concerns about harmful effects on human life due to exposure to anthrax or other lethal biological agents that might accidentally be released to the outside in the course of experiments. [bcw] [USFK]
• Targeting NK leader
  Tension to rise; Seoul to seek moderating role
  Finally, the United States has played its trump card on North Korea. Washington has put the North's young dictator, Kim Jong-un, on a black list together with 14 of his subordinates and eight state organizations for human rights violations. No doubt, Kim deserves this naming and shaming for, as Washington cited, "intolerable cruelty such as extrajudicial killings, forced labor and torture." True, this step is symbolic as the existing penalty, reinforced by the toughest-ever U.N. sanctions, has already frozen assets, if there are any in the U.S., and bars its firms from doing business with the North. However, the latest one could be different for several reasons. First, it aims at affecting middle and low-ranking officials, the Wall Street Journal said, quoting a U.S. official as saying, "… more and more people in North Korea … are conscious that the political situation on the Korean Peninsula may change … in their lifetimes." The statement may lead one to conclude that the U.S. may seek a change in the North or has already detected such signs. [US NK policy] [Sanctions] [Kim Jong Un] [Self delusion]
• US sanctions North Korea's Kim Jong-un for the first time
  Mr Kim has never personally been subject to US sanctions before The US has sanctioned North Korean leader Kim Jong-un for the first time, accusing him of human rights abuses. A statement from the US Treasury named Mr Kim as directly responsible for violations in his country. Ten other top North Korean officials have also been blacklisted. There has been no response yet from the North Korean government. The measures freeze any property the individuals have in the US and prevent US citizens doing business with them. [US NK policy] [Sanctions] [Prisoners] [Media]
• Kim Jong-un 'exceptionally stubborn, not a good listener': CIA
  By Park Si-soo North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is "exceptionally stubborn and not a very good listener," the chief of U.S. intelligence agency the CIA says. CIA Director John Brennan made the remark at an event at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington on Wednesday (local time). He said the greatest threat of nuclear proliferation comes from North Korea, adding Kim seems mistakenly to believe the international community will not be able to stay united in keeping North Korea from being a nuclear state. "North Korea remains my top concern in terms of nuclear proliferation, as the country leader Kim Jong-un fails to recognize that the rest of the world won't accept his pursuit of nuclear weapons," Brennan said. Last month, the CIA chief called the North's nuclear program one of the top "blinking-red" problems that should be highlighted at an intelligence briefing for the next U.S. president. [CIA] [Kim Jong Un]
• U.S. Officials Ratchet Up Warnings Against Pulling Out of Asia
  A senior U.S. State Department official on Wednesday reiterated warnings from the Obama administration that Seoul and Tokyo would develop their own nuclear weapons if the U.S. pulls out of the region. Deputy Secretary of State Tony Blinken was speaking about the importance of U.S. alliances and security commitments overseas at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington on Wednesday. "Without our security guarantees, advanced nations like Japan and South Korea would seek to develop their own nuclear arsenals, plunging the world into regional nuclear arms races, something the administrations of both parties have worked so hard to prevent for decades," Blinken said. The warnings come as Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump is turning toward a new isolationism and protesting against the "waste" of keeping troops in Korea and elsewhere. Trump has claimed without much corroboration that Seoul enjoys a "free security ride." But Blinken was keen to point out that Korea and Japan pay their share. "In the Asia Pacific, in the last three years, we have updated the guidelines for our defense cooperation with Japan to expand its contributions to international security [and] concluded new host nation support agreements with both Japan and [South Korea] to help support our military presence," he said. [Trump] [Nuclearisation] [Tribute]
• Engaging North Korea
  Communication between the United States and North Korea (or Democratic People’s Republic of Korea—DPRK) has almost entirely ceased in recent years. The administration’s current policy of “strategic patience” has failed to produce diplomatic progress and tensions reached historic heights in the first few months of 2016. As the Obama administration prepares to leave office and tensions continue to rise, careful consideration should be given to creating the conditions for meaningful dialogue and laying the groundwork for the next administration to stabilize the situation and make significant diplomatic progress in Korea [Engagement] [US NK policy] [Naiveté]
• KCNA Commentary Refutes Korean American Bae Jun Ho's False Propaganda
  Submitted by KCNA on Tue, 06/21/2016 - 09:17 Pyongyang, June 21 (KCNA) -- Korean American Bae Jun Ho (Kenneth Bae) is now cursed and censured by public for renewing his false propaganda about the DPRK. As already reported, Bae was arrested in the DPRK for spreading subversive religion and working hard to build "a religious state" hostile to the DPRK. For his hostile activities he was sentenced to hard labor. But thanks to the humanitarian measure taken by the DPRK out of magnanimity and good faith he was deported to the U.S. after spending nearly two years in jail. Recently Bae released an anti-DPRK book peppered with "stories" about what happened during his hard labor. At a meet-the press with U.S. congressmen he unhesitatingly spouted sheer sophism that he witnessed how could a country be a huge prison and that north Korea is a "huge prison." In fact, the DPRK provided everything to Bae during his prison life from humanitarian point of view. There is a saying one's kindness should be repaid. But upon returning to the U.S., he made a U turn, going busy hatching plots with the group of Satan falsifying facts. He is none other than Judas. What matters is the double-dealing nature of the U.S. government as it promised to prevent the recurrence of such behavior while conducting "rescuing operation" of American criminals under the signboard of "humanitarianism" but it gives a shot in the arm of those guys as soon as its representatives went back. It is the American society where different anti-DPRK organizations are strutting about, prodding such human scum and half wits as Bae Jun Ho into taking the lead in the false propaganda to mislead public opinion. It is a hard fact that the U.S. government is behind these organizations. The U.S. government should bear in mind that if it resorts to the anti-DPRK propaganda under the signboard of "human rights", the fate of the U.S. citizens now serving jail terms in the DPRK will become more miserable. The DPRK will neither make any compromise nor conduct negotiations with the U.S. over the issue of American criminals nor take any humanitarian measure as long as Bae Jun Ho keeps spouting invectives against the DPRK. Then American criminals now in custody in the DPRK will never be able to go back to the U.S. The DPRK's clarification of this stand is not just a warning. [Bae jun Ho] [Propaganda] [Renege]
• Eumseong residents on edge over THAAD
  By Jun Ji-hye Residents in Eumseong, North Chungcheong Province, and politicians there are reacting angrily to rumors that their hometown has been selected as the site for a U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) unit. Adding fuel are news reports that the Army's missile command, stationed in the town, is seeking to purchase land there. The residents believe that the land purchase is a prior step toward the deployment of the THAAD unit, though the command explained that the purchased land will be used as a training ground for its troops. When Korea and the United States agreed in February to launch official talks on whether to allow the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) to deploy a THAAD battery on the Korean Peninsula, they said Seoul would provide the site and relevant facilities for the deployment, while Washington would bear expenses of operating the battery. [THAAD]

• U.S. Drones to Play Bigger Role in Missile Defense
  State-of-the-art U.S. drones will practice detecting North Korean missiles in a South Korea-U.S.-Japan drill in waters near Hawaii late this month. Drones are likely to play an increasing role in missile defense as the U.S. is set on developing one that can also shoot missiles down. The drill takes place on Tuesday, a source said Sunday. The U.S. drone will be used to practice tracking a hypothetical North Korean ballistic missile. The drone is an improved version of the MQ-9 Reaper. Equipped with a special camera, it is said to be capable of detecting a missile immediately after it is fired. [Missile defense] [UAV]
• N.Korea Ratchets Up Threats to U.S.
  North Korea has ratcheted up belligerent rhetoric against the U.S. since the successful launch of a midrange ballistic missile last Thursday. In an interview with AP last Friday, Han Song-ryol, who is in charge of U.S. affairs at North Korea's Foreign Ministry, claimed North Korea can now threaten the U.S. with its nuclear weapons. He vowed the regime will keep reinforcing its "self-defensive nuclear deterrent" with nuclear tests and missile launches in response to mounting "aggression" from the U.S. and its allies. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visits the launch site of a mid-range ballistic missile last Thursday in this photo released by the [North] Korean Central TV on Saturday. /Yonhap North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visits the launch site of a mid-range ballistic missile last Thursday in this photo released by the [North] Korean Central TV on Saturday. /Yonhap A North Korean propaganda media outlet aired an animation the same day of a nuclear missile aiming at the U.S. Meanwhile, the regime has declared July 3 as a holiday to mark the anniversary of the strategic forces unit in charge of the missile tests. {Deterrence] [Media]
• US firmly denies any meeting with North Korean representative at dialogue in Beijing
  Posted on : Jun.25,2016 14:51 KST Choe Son-hui, North Korea’s vice negotiator for the Six-Party Talks and deputy director for US affairs at its Foreign Ministry, takes her seat at the Northeast Asia Cooperation Dialogue in Beijing, June 22. On the left is Sung Kim, the US’s chief negotiator and special envoy for North Korea policy. North Korea’s Choe Son-hui didn’t make definitive statement on whether a meeting took place; Washington says “no” The US strenuously denied any meeting between its senior representative for the Six-Party Talks and the head of the North Korean Foreign Ministry’s American affairs bureau during their recent visits to Beijing. During a regular briefing on June 23, US State Department spokesperson John Kirby responded to questions from reporters asking for confirmation after North Korean envoy Choe Son-hui’s curiously remarked that she might have met with the department’s special representative for North Korea policy Sung Kim. “[Kim] did not meet with [Choe]. I can confirm that,” Kirby replied. When asked why the two had not met, Kirby said, “There was no planning to have that meeting.” [US NK policy] [[US NK negotiations]
• N. Korea missile test spurring THAAD talks
  By Jun Ji-hye North Korea's purported successful test of an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) is expected to accelerate ongoing talks between South Korea and the United States on deploying an advanced U.S. missile defense system here. Following the missile launch on Wednesday, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said the North's latest IRBM test underscored the need for Washington and its allies to build strong missile defenses. [THAAD] [Pretext]
• Visiting China, N. Korean official says no plans to discuss denuclearization
  Posted on : Jun.24,2016 13:45 KST Choe Son-hui, deputy director-general of the American affairs bureau in the North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, speaks during a meeting with reporters before the North Korean embassy in Beijing on June 23. (by Kim Oi-hyun, Beijing correspondent) At 1.5 Track dialogue in Beijing, Choe Son-hui touts recent missile launch, apparently had no meeting with US A senior North Korean official visiting China for the 1.5 Track Northeast Asia Cooperation Dialogue (NEACD) stressed that Pyongyang presently has no plans to pursue denuclearization dialogue. Choe Son-hui, deputy director-general of the American affairs bureau in the North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, delivered the remarks during a meeting with reporters before the North Korean embassy in Beijing on June 23. “Under the current circumstances with the US’s policies of antagonism, it is not a situation where North Korea can discuss the issue of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” Choe said. “We have developed nuclear weapons because of the nuclear threat posed by the US, and we now believe we have perfected a means of delivery,” she added. “For that reason, we have no intention right now of having the sort of talks where we would be discussing North Korea’s denuclearization.” The “means of delivery” in question is the Hwasong-10, a medium- to long-range ballistic missile that North Korea claimed to have successfully test-launched the day before. [US NK Negotiations]
• Bernstein hopes to perform in Pyongyang
  World-renowned pianist and Korean War veteran Seymour Bernstein holds the diary he kept during the war, at a press conference at Hotel Grand Ambassador Seoul, Friday. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul By Kim Jae-heun World-renowned pianist and veteran of the Korean War (1950-53) Seymour Bernstein is willing to visit Pyongyang in North Korea to perform there. The pianist also hopes for an opportunity to give music lessons to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. "If North Korea invites me to their country, I would be very happy to go," said Bernstein during a press conference at Hotel Grand Ambassador Seoul, Friday. "And I would like to meet the president and tell him that he ought to study music and he ought to take piano lessons. I would give him his first piano lesson to civilize him, because it seems to be the only thing that interests him is basketball players. [Arrogance]
• Recordings surface, shedding light on Korean War-era massacres
  Posted on : Jun.22,2016 16:33 KST Evidence shows that police and military slaughtered innocent people who were suspected of being communists Recordings have surfaced with testimony by anti-Communist prosecutor Sunwoo Jong-won (1918-2014), who reportedly organized and orchestrated the Bodo League, thousands of whose members were slaughtered during the Korean War. As a prosecutor at the Seoul District Prosecutors’ Office, inaugural prosecution department director for the Justice Ministry, and head of the Bureau of National Security intelligence and investigation division, Sunwoo was a central figure in forming and managing the Bodo League, which was composed of left-wing converts in 1949. The Korean War Bereaved Family Members’ Association of North Chungcheong Province and North Chungcheong History and Culture Alliance, respectively headed by Lee Se-chan and Park Man-sun, released video footage of testimony by Sunwoo during an annual joint memorial for civilian victims of the war in North Chungcheong Province, which was held on June 21 at the North Chungcheong NGO Center. Five minutes and four seconds long, the video shows Sunwoo’s responses during a visit to his office on Oct. 18, 2007, by an investigator with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. “A lot of them weren’t ‘ideological elements’ - they were people without ideology. Did they know what the Communist Party is? A lot of them went in without knowing,” Sunwoo says in the recording. Park called the footage “the first example of testimony straight from a senior official responsible for organizing and managing the Bodo League.” [Korean War] [Massacre]
• N.Korea Slams Stratfor Scenario for Precision Strikes
  North Korea has denounced a U.S. intelligence company's scenario for precision strikes on its nuclear facilities as an "expression of the American ambition for a war of aggression." In late May, Stratfor published a report titled "Removing the Nuclear Threat" that elaborates on major targets to neutralize the North's nuclear development capabilities and weapons and the means to strike them with. North Korea said Wednesday that this could be seen as "a surprise preemptive attack and armed invasion" and warned it will further bolster its nuclear capabilities. According to the scenario, two to four U.S. Ohio-class nuclear-powered submarines could fire some 300 Tomahawk missiles from the East Sea to destroy the North's missile and air bases, while the U.S. Air Force focuses on striking nuclear facilities. [US NK policy] [Military option] [Preemptive]
• How the U.S. would destroy North Korea’s nuclear weapons
  Published: May 26, 2016 6:17 a.m. ET America has the firepower, but there are complications that could prevent a successful mission No other country can match the United States when it comes to projection of power. Should Washington decide to carry out a military strike against North Korea, even a limited one, the immediate impact would be devastating for Pyongyang. When considering military action, however, it is important to acknowledge the variables and intelligence gaps that inevitably complicate political and military decision-making. Even with the U.S.’s advantage in training, coordination and equipment, complicating factors and uncertainty about the exact locations and dispositions of North Korean assets make complete mission success far from assured. [US NK policy] [Military option] [Preemptive]
• US think tank presents NK attack plan
  A private U.S. intelligence firm has released a report looking into a military strike scenario against North Korea's nuclear facilities, inviting angry reaction from the communist nation. In a five-part report titled, "Removing the Nuclear Threat," the information firm Stratfor detailed possible military means for a strike and possible responses from the North. Pyongyang has bristled at the report, saying Wednesday that it shows a surprise preemptive attack and armed invasion are in "the full-dress process of examination and preparation." The North also warned it will further bolster its nuclear capabilities. [Military option] [Preemptive]
• Trump up for 'hamburger talk' with Kim Jong-un
  By Ko Dong-hwan Kim Jong-un Presumptive Republican U.S. presidential nominee Donald Trump is prepared to talk with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un "over a hamburger" about giving up his nuclear weapons program. At a rally in Atlanta on Wednesday, Trump said he would negotiate directly with Kim. "Who the hell cares? I'll speak to anybody. Who knows?" Trump said, according to United Press International. He said the negotiation would not include formal state relations. [Trump] [US NK Negotiations]
• N.Korean media tones down bombast in Orlando ‘terror’ report
  Most state-run media stay objective, though internet outlet calls U.S. gun access 'corrupt' JH Ahn June 14th, 2016 North Korean state-run media on Monday reported on Sunday’s tragic mass shooting in Orlando, providing a remarkably toned down report on what it called an “act of terror.” Written in dry and objective sentences, the state-run Rodong Sinmun and Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) stated that the gay nightclub was attacked by a gunman who is claimed to have ties with the Islamic State. “The U.S. President Obama condemned this mass shooting as an act of terror,” KCNA wrote Monday, which was shared by Rodong Sinmun’s Tuesday edition. “Meanwhile, (the) international terror organization Islamic State claimed that ‘the attack on Orlando’s gay nightclub which resulted in 100 dead or injured’ was carried out by their fighter.” [Terrorism] [Media]
• THAAD not effective in countering N. Korea nuclear attack: expert
  The U.S. THAAD system is a powerful anti-missile tool, but wouldn't be effective in defending against a North Korean nuclear attack coming as part of a barrage of conventional warheads, a U.S. analyst said Monday. Garth McLennan, who has closely followed American foreign and security policy, made the point in an article contributed to the website 38 North, forecasting that THAAD's deployment to South Korea would lead to the North stepping up its production of ballistic missiles. [THAAD]
• Bruce Cumings on the next US president’s foreign policy
  Posted on : Jun.13,2016 16:42 KST Professor isn’t thrilled with prospect of Hillary Clinton, but says Trump would be “most dangerous president probably in American history” Bruce Cumings, a chair professor at the University of Chicago With Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump all but assured the Democratic and Republican nominations for the US presidential election on Nov. 8, interest is growing in their possible policies for foreign affairs and the Korean Peninsula. Bruce Cumings, a chair professor at the University of Chicago, described Clinton as “definitely hawkish” in an email interview with the Hankyoreh’s Washington correspondent on June 12. “I worry about the decisions she might take in the Oval Office,” said Cumings, 73. “I'm sure if Clinton becomes president she will continue the policy of isolation,” he added. Cumings also expressed concerns about Trump, saying that the presumptive Republican candidate’s statement that he was willing to have dialogue with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was “about the only one of his comments about foreign policy that I liked.” “[H]e would be the most dangerous president probably in American history,” Cumings said of Trump. [US NK policy] [Hillary Clinton] [Trump]
• Clinton favored over Trump for Korea
  By Yi Whan-woo South Korea will be better off with Hillary Clinton as president rather than Donald Trump, considering their foreign and economic platforms, according to analysts Sunday. Clinton, a former Secretary of State, is expected to maintain the mainstream American approach concerning Seoul-Washington ties if she is elected. However, what concerns Korea experts most about Trump is that he is unpredictable and ill-informed about the state of affairs on the Korean Peninsula. Their differing views on South Korea will affect many security and economic issues the two allies are facing ? including North Korea's nuclear ambitions, China's leverage on Pyongyang, sharing defense costs regarding the presence of U.S. forces in South Korea, the trilateral security alliance involving Japan, the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA) and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). [Trump] [Hillary Clinton]
• Sense and nonsense with NK
  By Donald Kirk
  Donald Trump may be running neck and neck with Hillary Clinton in the U.S. presidential sweepstakes if the polls are at all credible, but there's one constituency in which he appears to be well ahead. That's within the ruling circles in Pyongyang. He's winning popularity there for two reasons. The first is that he has said, sure, he'd be glad to talk with Kim Jong-un, and the second is that he has said U.S. troops are no longer needed in South Korea and Japan. Isn't that more or less what Pyongyang wants to hear? Don't be fooled by the casual remark of a certain North Korean ambassador, back from the Workers' Party Congress in Pyongyang, that he doubts the newly "elected" party chairman wants to meet the Trumpster. The ambassador carefully qualified the remark by saying he did not have first-hand knowledge but was only speculating that Trump was talking for political effect in the American presidential campaigns. While the media was reporting that comment as if it were a formal rejection of a request by Trump, a pro-North blogger said for sure the chairman would like to get going with negotiations. Hasn't that long been the North's position? The blogger's derisive words about the foreign media suggest that his response had the official blessing of Pyongyang, indeed may have been dictated from there. Certainly North Korea might find Trump preferable to Hillary Clinton. As a former secretary of state who visited the region a number of times, she gives every impression of being vastly more knowledgeable than the Trumpster about North Korea. [US NK policy] [Trump] [Hillary Clinton]
• N. Korea calls for US to stop hostile policy
  By Choi Sung-jin North Korea sent an open letter to the United States Friday, calling for Washington to cease its hostile policy toward Pyongyang and stop the annual U.S.-South Korea joint military drills. "The participants in the joint conference of the DPRK (North Korea's official name), its political parties and organizations sent an open letter to the United States of America on Friday," said the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in an English dispatch monitored in Seoul. "The U.S. is blocking the historical flow toward peace and unification with unreasonable assertions and hostile behavior," stated the open letter. Calling for Washington to make a bold political decision of repealing its anti-North Korea policy, the letter continued, "The U.S. would be well advised to choose a new way of thinking and opt for a new practice, away from the old framework of its anachronistic hostile policy toward the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, has shackled its thinking and practices for a long time." Pyongyang also urged the U.S. to stop all military exercises with Seoul on the Korean Peninsula, citing these as the root causes of escalating tensions. "The U.S. should offer a solution in dealing with those which have nuclear weapons," it said. "America ought to accept frankly our rightful initiatives and proposals for peace." Amid the tightened international sanctions on North Korea in the aftermath of its nuclear and missile provocations, Pyongyang has also made a series of dialogue proposals to Seoul, which flatly rejected them as political offensives. [Overture] [Hostility]
• Trapped in No-Man’s-Land: The Future of US Policy Toward North Korea
  Joel Wit By 38 North 10 June 2016 US policy toward North Korea has reached a dead end. Built upon a foundation of dubious assumptions, the Obama administration’s approach—whether called “strategic patience” or by some other name—has failed to achieve any progress toward US objectives in the region and no longer serves US foreign policy and national security interests. During the administration’s time in office, the North’s nuclear and missile threat has expanded, the danger of periodic tensions and unintended escalation on the peninsula has grown and little or nothing has been accomplished in terms of effectively dealing with non-security challenges such as Pyongyang’s human rights violations. Moreover, the North has managed to improve its economy while at the same time moving forward with its nuclear and missile programs. In fact, by adopting a policy that in effect stands back from the fray, the United States has diminished its status as the arbiter of peace and security issues on the peninsula. [US NK policy]
• The Obama administration is right on N.Korea, the critics are wrong
  North Korea’s refusal to accept administration’s outstretched hand led to current impasse David Straub June 9th, 2016 The following is an edited and condensed version of a speech offered at the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center at Stanford University on May 13. The full text of the speech and a video of it can be viewed here. It has become increasingly clear that North Korea aims to be able to credibly threaten the American homeland with nuclear attack, and has made considerable progress in that direction. The next American president will thus come into office in January concerned that Pyongyang may achieve its goal during his or her tenure. So, early on, he or she will conduct a policy review to take a fresh look at Pyongyang’s capabilities and intentions to decide his or her own policy toward the regime. An important aspect of that review will be an assessment of President Obama’s policy and the criticism of it. With North Korea having conducted a fourth nuclear test in January and demonstrated that its rockets can put satellites into orbit – if not yet missiles onto the lower 48 United States – many experts, academics and journalists have flatly characterized the Obama administration’s policy as a “failure.” Is such criticism well-founded? And are the policies proposed by critics likely to be more successful than the existing policy in meeting U.S. interests? [US NK policy] [Threat]
• [Editorial] Presidential election will signal a new phase of S. Korea-US relations
  Posted on : Jun.8,2016 17:23 KST Hillary Clinton has secured a majority of delegates in the Democratic Party primary, making her the party’s presumptive candidate for this year’s US presidential election. Thus, barring any black swan events, Clinton will be going head to head with Republican candidate Donald Trump in the election this November. This election will be a unique one, since it pits the US’s first female presidential candidate, who represents the political mainstream, against an outsider with no experience in public office. There are major differences between Clinton and Trump’s campaign platforms. In terms of domestic politics, Clinton holds traditional liberal stances, and she is adamantly opposed to Trump in terms of her embrace of immigrants and her support for raising taxes on the rich and gun control. In regard to trade policy, Clinton supports existing free trade agreements, in contrast with Trump, who is strongly opposed to all such agreements. At the same time, Clinton has given in to pressure from Trump by talking about “fair deals” and reversing her position on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Regardless of which candidate becomes president, the US is likely to put more trade pressure on other countries. In the areas of foreign policy and security, Clinton also represents the political mainstream. Here, she contrasts sharply with Trump, who is not only isolationist but also overtly espouses American interests with his slogan of “America first.” But despite the differences in the course they have set, the two candidates are similar in respect to the hard line that they take. On the North Korean nuclear issue, Clinton goes beyond the Obama administration in wanting tougher sanctions and more pressure against North Korea and demanding that China play a bigger role. [US NK policy] [Hillary Clinton] [Trump]
• Ben Rhodes touts Iran approach as model for North Korea nuke issue
  Posted on : Jun.8,2016 17:31 KST Even tighter sanctions may be on the way, as a means to force North Korea to give up nuke program A White House deputy national security advisor and foreign policy “confidant” of US President Barack Obama suggested the same approach used to strike a deal on the Iran nuclear issue could be used effectively in addressing North Korea’s nuclear program. The comments by Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes, which suggest Washington succeeded in bringing Tehran to the table through intense pressure tactics, appear to herald increased sanctions from the US going ahead. “[John Kerry and Ernie Moniz’s] personal efforts set an example that I think we can draw from in similar efforts [including a resolution to the North Korea nuclear issue] going forward,” Rhodes said in a speech and Q&A session at an annual Arms Control Association meeting in Washington on June 6. Rhodes also noted that Washington is working with other countries to intensify its North Korea sanctions. [Iran deal] [Sanctions] [US NK policy]
• New Financial Sanctions on North Korea: What Will They Mean In Practice
  Posted on 07 June 2016 By Troy Stangarone The United States has utilized financial measures to go after hard to reach targets engaged in illicit activities at least since tax evasion was used to bring down Al Capone. Now modern day financial methods are being utilized to inhibit North Korea’s efforts to advance its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs. As part of the new sanctions measures passed by Congress after North Korea’s nuclear test earlier this year the Department of Treasury was directed to determine whether there was reasonable evidence to classify North Korea as a “primary money laundering concern.” Having made an initial finding that there was, the United States has begun the process of formalizing a new rule that would further limit North Korea’s access to U.S. financial markets. While Treasury’s action is significant in that it prohibits both direct and indirect contact by North Korean financial institutions with the U.S. financial system, what are the practical implications of the change? Limiting North Korea’s access to U.S. financial markets is significant step as a substantial amount of global financial transactions take place in U.S. dollars due to the dollar’s status as a global reserve currency. This means that dollar denominated transactions flow through U.S. correspondent accounts in the United States even if the transaction is between two parties not in the United States. By limiting North Korea’s ability to undertake financial transactions the United States can make Pyongyang’s efforts to develop its nuclear program and develop its economy increasingly difficult. The new measures, which will require additional due diligence on the part of financial institutions, including third country institutions, are designed to inhibit North Korea’s direct and indirect access to the U.S. financial system. Treasury has determined that North Korea has used that system to move millions of dollars through a series of front companies, joint ventures, and other opaque methods. Should financial institutions fail to deny North Korea access to the U.S. financial system, they themselves would run the risk of being cut off from the U.S. financial system. [Financial sanctions]
• And Then There Were Two: What Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have said about Korea
  Posted on 07 June 2016. With the Democratic and Republican presumptive nominees now identified, here is our comprehensive list of what the two candidates have said about the Korean peninsula since the beginning of the race. Hillary Clinton ?June 2, 2016 – “Take the threat posed by North Korea – perhaps the most repressive regime on the planet, run by a sadistic dictator who wants to develop long-range missiles that could carry a nuclear weapon to the United States. When I was Secretary of State, we worked closely with our allies Japan and South Korea to respond to this threat, including by creating a missile defense system that stands ready to shoot down a North Korean warhead, should its leaders ever be reckless enough to launch one at us. The technology is ours. Key parts of it are located on Japanese ships. All three countries contributed to it. And this month, all three of our militaries will run a joint drill to test it. That’s the power of allies.” [Hillary Clinton] [Trump]
• Hillary Clinton’s ‘Major Foreign Policy Address’ Was Anything But
  Clinton is right: Trump would be a disaster on foreign policy. But her refusal to engage with the alternative offered by Sanders says more about her own war-driven approach than anything else. By Phyllis Bennis, June 3, 2016. In the last days before the California primary, where Democratic primary polls showed her neck-and-neck with Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton delivered a campaign speech in San Diego. Though her campaign billed it as a “major foreign policy address,” it looked more like a last-ditch attempt to position herself as the Democratic nominee ahead of a potentially embarrassing loss or close finish with Sanders in the nation’s most populous state. Indeed, most of the address was directed squarely at Donald Trump. It wasn’t a speech on Clinton’s own foreign policy so much as a takedown of the presumptive GOP nominee’s. Throughout, Clinton contrasted Trump’s often wild and crazy (and not to mention wildly inconsistent) positions with her own claims of having an experienced hand on the tiller (and not to mention on the button). Clinton’s overall point was that Trump is “temperamentally unfit to be president,” and that he’d be incompetent and dangerous as commander in chief. Much of the critique was a rehash of the GOP candidate’s bizarre and often contradictory statements on the subject. After all, Clinton found, it’s easy to critique Trump’s calls for providing nuclear weapons to Saudi Arabia, South Korea, and other countries. It’s a sure laugh-line to mention Trump’s claim that climate change is a hoax invented by the Chinese, and a guaranteed applause line (especially in a military town like the carefully chosen San Diego) to remind the audience that Trump said that POWs were not necessarily heroes. [Hillary Clinton] [Trump]
• THAAD talks may accelerate
  Korea, US reviewing candidate locations despite China protest By Jun Ji-hye South Korea and the United States are expected to accelerate talks on the deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery here despite growing opposition from China, officials said Tuesday. The issue drew keen attention at the three-day Asia Security Summit (ASS), which wrapped up Sunday in Singapore, as South Korea and the United States once again stressed the need for deployment. [THAAD] [China confrontation]
• U.S. and China Must Not Force Allies to Take Sides
  The U.S. and China held two days of talks in Beijing earlier this week and did not try to conceal that they disagreed on almost everything. The talks were designed for the two sides to throw everything on the table, but never have they resulted in both sides criticizing each other so blatantly. Tensions between the U.S. and China will not explode any time soon. But it is clear that the security and economic order in Northeast Asia is in for a rollercoaster ride. And the North Korean nuclear standoff is being directly impacted by the calculating moves of the U.S. and China. Representatives from the two countries in a joint press conference on Tuesday merely reiterated the formula that they will comprehensively implement UN Security Council sanctions against the North Korea. [Allegiance] [Dilemma] [China confrontation]
• Poland Halts Import of N.Korean Labor
  Poland has suspended labor imports from North Korea, the Voice of America reported Tuesday. The measure came amid international sanctions against the North after its latest nuclear test in January and allegations that overseas workers toil in near-slavery. The Polish Foreign Ministry has not issued any visas for North Korean workers since the nuclear test in January, a ministry spokesman was quoted as saying on Sunday. Last year Poland issued a total of 156 visas for North Korean workers. Vice News recently reported on the miserable human rights conditions of North Korean workers in Polish shipyards and the suspected outflow of EU subsidies through their salaries, most of which are confiscated by the regime. The shipbuilders receive a 70 million euro subsidy for their contribution to economic development. It remains to be seen whether other EU countries will follow suit. Bulgaria, Romania and the Czech Republic have already sent North Korean workers home. More than 50,000 North Korean workers are earning hard currency for their regime in about 40 countries, according to the UN. The money they earn for the regime amounts to US$1.2-2.3 billion a year. [Overseas labour] [Poland] [US dominance] [Sanctions] [Remittances]
• Inspector O and the River of Death
  By James Church 08 June 2016 mysterious dark forest with mystic light at night“I’m surprised.” Inspector O looked up from his newspaper. “Your hair isn’t even mussed.” He made it sound like an indictment. I stood in for a moment wondering what this might portend before sitting down on the bench. The park was deserted. “It says here,” O pointed to an article on an inside page, “that you have been engaged in an orgy of speculation.” “A reference to younger analysts, I suppose. I do not partake. Too old.” O nodded. “Old age hath yet his honour and his toil.” I stared at him. He put down the newspaper and met my gaze. “Tennyson,” I said. “I know,” he replied. “You want the part about smiting the sounding furrows?” I shook my head. “No, instead why don’t you tell me why you called a meeting in such a desolate place on such a shrouded morning. God only knows.”
  “OK, I admit it. So what could be worrying you more than Trump?” “Your Patriot Act. The Treasury boys can’t reel it back in. There was some room to maneuver before. Now? Nothing.” “Well, that’s the point, isn’t it? That’s what they want. They want you to think there’s no exit; that you can’t wriggle away. This time it is the river of death, and it’s your problem if it carries you away.” “That’s what you think?” He put his hand on my shoulder. The gesture startled me. He hadn’t done anything like that before. “No,” he said, “it’s your problem.” He looked me square in the eye and spoke slowly. “You don’t know how bad things will get.” “I guess next you’re going to tell me.” He took a breath. “Listen to me. There is a feeling you have pushed things over the edge, you and that crazy woman. All you had to do was pay attention to the speech at the party congress last month. Would that have been so difficult? To wait until you had looked at the speech?” “Tell me when we have ever bothered to pay attention to what you say.” [US NK Negotiations] [Patriot Act] [Financial sanctions]
• The United States Can't Afford Trump's Policies Toward Northeast Asia
  America can’t be made great again by abandoning long-standing allies like South Korea and Japan. By Woo Jung-Yeop April 12, 2016 One hopes that Park Geun-hye and Shinzo Abe enjoyed their meeting last week with Barack Obama, because the show of unity that the South Korean, Japanese, and U.S. leaders displayed in opposition to North Korea’s nuclear defiance would simply not be possible in a hypothetical Trump administration. Instead, Donald Trump, the front-runner to serve as the Republican candidate in this fall’s presidential election, asserts that U.S. alliances with Japan and South Korea will end if the country continues on “its current path of weakness.” He then doubles down on U.S. weakness by pledging to dismantle those alliances, which have provided an essential post-World War II foundation upon which the United States has been able to project its strength. [Trump] [US Asia strategy]
• Trump reaffirms intention to talk with Kim Jong-un
  By Choi Sung-jin Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican candidate for U.S. presidential election, has reiterated his intention to negotiate with North Korea if elected. While campaigning in Redding, Calif., on Friday (EST), the GOP politician targeted at foreign policy experts criticizing him, saying, "They say if I have qualms about bargaining with North Korea. No problems at all. Who in the world cares about it?" Trump's stance toward North Korea comes in stark contrast to that of President Barack Obama, and de facto Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, who stick to sanctions until the recalcitrant regime begins to denuclearize itself. "I may not go to North Korea but will negotiate with it," he said. "They (the critical experts) say ‘we would never, ever, talk (with the North).' How foolish they are!" [Trump] [US NK Negotiations]
• The Death of a Diplomat: Kang Sok Ju
  By Michael Madden 03 June 2016 On October 5, 2002, Kang Sok Ju participated in a historically ambiguous but relatively significant official interaction between the US and DPRK governments. At the DPRK Foreign Ministry building in Pyongyang, a delegation led by Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly confronted Kang, who was then North Korea’s First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, with evidence that the DPRK had launched a uranium enrichment program in violation of the 1994 Agreed Framework. Allowed by his American counterparts to begin that day’s meeting,[1] Kang denounced President George W. Bush’s doctrine of preemption and his rhetoric that placed the DPRK in an “Axis of Evil.” Kang then said that his country was “entitled” to develop and possess nuclear weapons, a statement that US officials considered to be an acknowledgement that the DPRK was enriching uranium for nuclear arms.[2] The Bush administration announced this interpretation to the world and the DPRK promptly denied making it, placing the country on footing to frame its nuclear reboot as a defense against US treachery. [Kang Sok Ju] [US NK Negotiations] [Admission]
• S. Korea and US continue to strike different tones on THAAD deployment
  Posted on : Jun.4,2016 14:33 KST Defense ministers from the two countries are set to discuss possible deployment at Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore The South Korean Minister of Defense is about to meet his US counterpart, but defense officials from the two countries are not on the same page about deploying the THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Air Defense) missile defense system with US forces in South Korea. US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter said that he will discuss the possible deployment of THAAD when he meets South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo in Singapore during the Asia Security Summit (Shangri-La Dialogue), news website Breaking Defense reported on June 2. The Shangri-La Dialogue, which is taking place from June 3 to 5, is a multilateral security forum held in Singapore every year. Carter and Han are planning to meet on their own on June 4. “It’s not something we need to discuss much [. . .] because the plans are moving forward,” Carter said in regard to deploying THAAD. A senior official in the US Defense Department was also quoted as saying that there will be “a public announcement soon” about THAAD. But the senior official in South Korea’s Defense Ministry who is responsible for preparing for the meeting between Carter and Han told reporters in Singapore on June 4 that the two officials would not be discussing THAAD during the meeting. [THAAD] [Dilemma]
• Hillary Clinton claims she built a missile defense system for South Korea, the US and Japan
  Posted on : Jun.4,2016 14:29 KST Remarks conflict with South Korea’s claims that it isn’t participating in trilateral missile defense framework During an event at which Hillary Clinton unveiled her plan for foreign policy and security policy, she announced that she had built a missile defense system for South Korea, the US and Japan while serving as US Secretary of State. These remarks are likely to provoke controversy since they not only suggest that Clinton will accelerate efforts to set up a US-led trilateral missile defense system if she becomes president but also contradict claims by South Korea’s Defense Ministry that it is not participating in a US-led missile defense system. “When I was Secretary of State, we worked closely with our allies Japan and South Korea to respond to [the North Korean] threat, including by creating a missile defense system that stands ready to shoot down a North Korean warhead, should its leaders ever be reckless enough to launch one at us,” said Clinton, who delivered the address in San Diego on June 2. “The technology is ours. Key parts of it are located on Japanese ships. All three countries contributed to it,” she added. The technology she said is located on Japanese ships appears to be a reference to the Aegis system and the SM-3 interceptor. While Hillary did not specifically mention South Korea’s contribution to this system, she likely had in mind South Korean cooperation based on its information-sharing agreement with Japan and the US. [Hillary Clinton] [Missile Defense] [Spin]
• [Analysis] Speech by Hillary Clinton previews her foreign policy vision
  Posted on : Jun.4,2016 14:27 KST Hillary Clinton makes a speech on her vision for foreign policy and national security in San Diego, June 2. (AP/Yonhap News) Apparently to distinguish herself from Trump, Clinton offers hard line take on North Korea A recent speech in San Diego by Hillary Clinton drew major attention as offering a first look at the former Secretary of State’s vision for foreign policy and national security. But the real focus of the June 2 speech was on attacking Donald Trump, without offering an overall perspective or specific policies on issues related to North Korea, China, and the Middle East. What Clinton did communicate, at any rate, is that Washington’s diplomatic hard line and pressure tactics against North Korea are likely to continue if she becomes President. In her speech, Clinton offered no solutions of her own for the North Korean nuclear issue, which has emerged as one of the US’s biggest foreign policy and national security concerns. Instead, she denounced Pyongyang in provocative terms - all with the aim of attacking Trump. Clinton described North Korea as “perhaps the most repressive regime on the planet, run by a sadistic dictator,” while saying Kim Jong-un had become North Korean leader “by murdering everyone he saw as a threat, including his own uncle.” [Hilary Clinton] [US NK policy]
• Englishman jailed 15 years over N. Korea drugs
  A British man was sentenced to 15 years in a U.S. prison on Friday for conspiring to import 100 kilograms of North Korean methamphetamines into the United States, according to AFP. Scott Stammers was one of five defendants arrested in Thailand in September 2013 on suspicion of preparing to ship the drugs by boat, said the news agency. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy in August 2015 and was sentenced in New York on Friday by U.S. Federal Judge Andrew Carter to 181 months in prison, following which he will be deported. U.S. prosecutors had sought a sentence of up to 30 years, but the judge cited mitigating factors that included the fact that Stammers has two children and was held in harsh conditions in Thailand before being extradited to America. [Drugs] [Extraterritoriality]
• U.S. Tightens Financial Curbs on N.Korea
  The U.S. Treasury on Wednesday put North Korea back on a blacklist of "primary money laundering concerns," which places third-country banks at risk of sanctions if they do business with Pyongyang. Banks in the U.S. and several other countries are already banned from dealing with North Korea. But due to the blacklisting, banks in third countries that deal with North Korea would now be barred from dealing with U.S. banks, which would be a much greater loss. It effectively blocks North Korea's access to SWIFT, the global financial network that banks use to transfer billions of dollars every day. The only other option is clandestine cash transports, but they are also subject to U.S. restrictions. The move is aimed at closing loopholes in countries like China and Middle Eastern nations where North Korean laborers toil under slavery-like conditions. It affects some 60,000 North Korean laborers overseas whose valuta remittances to the regime may no longer go through. The Financial Times said the move will put added pressure on Chinese banks to sever ties with North Korea. Chinese banks are already barred from certain transactions with North Korea, but the move ups the pressure. One diplomatic source said, "There were some small banks operating in China's three northeastern provinces that handled remittances by North Korea using accounts opened by Chinese citizens, but they will now have to tread carefully." China slammed the announcement. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters, "China opposes any country's unilateral sanctions." Beijing has cut banking ties with the North except in certain areas it considers legitimate, like payment for imports not affected by recent UN sanctions. [Financial sanctions] [Banking]
• Civic groups in Busan opposing installation of US military biochem lab
  Posted on : Jun.3,2016 16:41 KST Local activists concerned that laboratory could bring dangerous chemicals to the area for testing Activist groups in Busan have banded together to block the efforts of the US military to install a laboratory in the city as part of a biological and chemical countermeasures program called JUPITR. The Busan Campaign to Implement the June 15th North–South Joint Declaration and other civic groups from the area held a press conference on June 2 in front of Busan Port’s Pier 8, a US military facility located in the Gamman neighborhood of the Nam District of Busan, to announce the creation of a group called the Busan Citizens’ Action Committee Against Establishing a US Military Chemical and Biological Weapons Laboratory in Busan. “In order to protect the lives and safety of the people of Busan, local civic groups are joining in solidarity to halt work on the JUPITR program,” the groups said during the press conference. [cbw]
• US in rush to strike THAAD deal
  Korea remains hesitant about early negotiations By Yi Whan-woo The United States is apparently increasing pressure on South Korea to accelerate the ongoing talks on deploying a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery here. The allies are offering different stories about whether their defense ministers will discuss the missile system during a meeting in Singapore, Saturday. On Friday, South Korea's defense ministry denied U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter's claim a day earlier that he will discuss the THAAD issue when he meets Defense Minister Han Min-koo on the sidelines of the 15th Asia Security Summit in Singapore. [THAAD] [Dilemma]
• US leaves out N. Korea from terrorism sponsors list
  The United States left out North Korea from its latest list of states sponsoring terrorism Thursday, despite persistent calls for putting Pyongyang back on the list. The State Department's Country Reports on Terrorism 2015 said the North "is not known to have sponsored any terrorist acts since the bombing of a Korean Airlines flight in 1987." [Terrorism List]
• New sanctions target slave funds of NK leader
  By Yi Whan-woo Washington's latest financial sanctions against North Korea will be effective in preventing Pyongyang from pocketing money from "slave workers" abroad, officials and experts said Thursday. The U.S. Treasury Department designated North Korea as a "primary money laundering concern," Wednesday, to force international banks to stop wiring money and offering other financial transactions to Pyongyang. "Almost all financial institutions around the world have connections with the U.S. banking system and Washington's measure will work fast," a South Korean government official said on condition of anonymity. "It will be effective everywhere, including China as well as countries in Southeast Asia and the Middle East." Kim Hyun-wook, a U.S. expert at Korea National Diplomatic Academy, said, "Branding North Korea as a primary money launder will heighten pressure on the Kim Jong-un regime following its fourth nuclear test." The latest sanctions will prevent foreign banks engaged in financial activities with the North Korean government and its companies from accessing the U.S.-dollar based financial system. Banks in the U.S. are already prohibited from doing business with financial institutions in the repressive state. Washington moved to choke off Pyongyang's remaining access to the global financial system following North Korea's continued nuclear weapons development despite the U.N. Security Council (UNSC)'s harshest sanctions imposed on Pyongyang, March 2 [Financial sanctions] [Slave labour] [Remittances]
• US Designates North Korea 'Primary Money Laundering Concern'
  By matthew pennington, associated press ·WASHINGTON — Jun 1, 2016, 12:53 PM ET The United States on Wednesday proposed new restrictions to close off North Korea's access to the international financial system and to prevent the reclusive communist country from using banks to launder money that could be used for its nuclear weapons program. The Treasury Department declared North Korea a "primary money laundering concern," the latest step toward severing U.S. banking relationships with North Korea and deepening its economic isolation. U.S. banks are generally prohibited now from dealing with North Korea. [Financial sanctions]
• N.Korea Endorses Donald Trump
  A North Korean propaganda mouthpiece called U.S. Republican Party's presumptive candidate Donald Trump a "wise politician" and "farsighted presidential candidate." The assessment of the bizarrely coiffed property developer was apparently based on his ill-informed remarks that the U.S. should stop paying for South Korea’s defense. But the DPRK Today website dismissed the Democratic Party's likely candidate Hillary Clinton, who is a more traditional hawk, as "dull." The assessment came in a column by self-described Korean-Chinese academic Han Yong-mook on the DPRK Today website on Wednesday. [Trump] [Media]
• S.Korea, U.S., Japan Opt Against Fresh N.Korea Nuke Talks
  The South Korean, U.S. and Japanese negotiators in stalled six-party talks with North Korea on Wednesday agreed that pressure rather than negotiations are necessary in dealing with the Kim Jong-un regime. The three envoys met in Tokyo. "Firm international pressure needs to continue" to get North Korea to scrap its nuclear weapons and missile programs, South Korea's chief negotiator Kim Hong-kyun told reporters. Kim added that the three countries will "further encourage" the implementation of UN Security Council sanctions against the North and bolster their roles in implementing them. The envoys met on the 90th day since UNSC Resolution 2270 against North Korea was passed to assess its effectiveness and discuss their future moves. The meeting was overshadowed by an unexpected visit to China by senior North Korean official Ri Su-yong, who told his hosts that his country's nuclear program is "permanent." [Six Party Talks]
• US all but designates North Korea as a “primary money laundering concern”
  Posted on : Jun.2,2016 15:39 KST Measures would implicate third parties, and are intended to further cut North Korea off from international financial system The US Treasury Department has all but officially designated North Korea a “primary money laundering concern.” Washington may be attempting to achieve a similarly powerful effect with its sanctions to those imposed against the bank Banco Delta Asia (BDA) in 2005. In a June 1 statement, the department announced that investigation findings showed North Korea to be “a jurisdiction of ‘primary money laundering concern.’” As a basis for its measures, the department cited Section 311 of the USA PATRIOT Act. A bill for North Korea sanctions passed by the US Congress in February included terms requiring the department to hold discussions with other agencies and determine if North Korea should be designated a money laundering concern within 180 days of the legislation’s passage. While the announcement on June 1 only indicated the findings of its investigation, the actual designation following declarative procedures appears almost certain. [Financial sanctions] [Banking] [Money laundering]
• Are we still allies?
  By Oh Young-jin Often, understanding the United States proves to outsiders ? allies included ? as frustrating as a blind man relying only on his tactile sense to imagine what an elephant looks like. Such a comment came Monday when visiting U.S. Republican Senator Dan Sullivan of Arkansas was quoted by Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam as saying that the Korea-U.S. alliance serves as a "linchpin" for peace and stability. "Really?" with an incredulous question mark would and should be the first response from most Koreans. Give Sen. Sullivan the benefit of the doubt and it would be apparent that he doesn't understand the feelings of Koreans about the ally it believes is a blood-sealed brother, having come to its rescue during the 1950-1953 Korean War and keeping the unpredictable and bellicose North Korea at bay. [US-SK alliance]

• Kim Jong-un's Exiled Aunt Breaks Silence
  North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's aunt has come out of hiding in the U.S. to speak about her famous nephew for the first time. Ko Yong-suk spoke to the Washington Post for 20 hours in total, revealing she looked after Kim as a child in Switzerland before defecting to the U.S. with her husband. Ko is the younger sister of Kim's mother Ko Yong-hui, who died of breast cancer in 2004. When her sister became ill in 1998 and it became clear that their position in the North Korean elite was threatened, Ko, her husband Ri Gang and their three children defected to the U.S. They now run a dry-cleaning business in upstate New York under different names. Ko recalls that Kim Jong-un was given a general's uniform decorated with stars on his eighth birthday and real generals with real stars bowed to him from that moment on. "It was impossible for him to grow up as a normal person when the people around him were treating him like that," Ko said. She added, "He wasn't a troublemaker, but he was short-tempered and had a lack of tolerance. When his mother tried to tell him off for playing with these things too much and not studying enough, he wouldn't talk back, but he would protest in other ways, like going on a hunger strike."
  Ko and her husband bought a two-story house using US$200,000 the CIA gave them on arrival in the U.S. but harbor dreams of getting back into Kim's good graces and returning to North Korea.
  "I think we have achieved the American Dream," Ri told the newspaper. Two years ago they went to South Korea, "where Ko enjoyed visiting the palaces she had seen in TV dramas," according to the Washington Post. "They look like a normal family." But Ri said his "ultimate goal is to go back to North Korea. I understand America and I understand North Korea, so I think I can be a negotiator between the two. If Kim Jong-un is how I remembered he used to be, I would be able to meet him and talk to him." [Kim Jong Il] [CIA]
• Sanctions working? Not yet...
  Updated : 2016-05-29 17:34 By Lankov Andrei On the March 5, the U.N. Security Council introduced new sanctions targeting North Korea. Although they have some loopholes, they are much tougher than any previous sanctions. They might be the first sanctions to create real economic trouble in North Korea. The question is, will they? Sanctions are manifold, but the single most important item is the ban on exporting North Korean mineral resources that all U.N. member states are expected to abide by. Resolution 2270 unconditionally bans exports of titanium and vanadium ores, as well as rare earth minerals and gold. Importing North Korean coal and iron ore is also theoretically banned, but with some caveats that leave the issue essentially at the discretion of the buyer. [Sanctions]
• South Korea left sitting on the sidelines during Obama’s visit to Hiroshima
  Posted on : May.28,2016 15:00 KST Pres. Park is on a trip to Africa, as Obama’s trip appeared to be about shoring up alliance with Japan US President Barack Obama visited Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park on May 27, but he did not pay his respects at the nearby memorial stone for Korean victims of the atomic bomb. While this was mostly the fault of the contradictory interests and positions of the US, Japan and South Korea, the South Korean government is also being criticized for not having acted soon enough. Look no further than the fact that South Korean President Park Geun-hye planned her African tour around the time of the G7 summit. “Basically, the detailed direction of movement for foreign leaders at an event is determined by the country in question,” said an official with South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The official did not comment on the fact that Obama visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and met Japanese atomic bomb survivors without paying his respects at the memorial stone for Korean victims. Since March, there were a number of reports in the Japanese press that the Japanese government was planning to invite President Park to the G7 summit, which was scheduled to take place in Ise-Shima in May. “There is a custom of inviting the leaders of multiple countries in addition to the G7 members. The Japanese government is looking into the idea of inviting South Korean President Park Geun-hye. The object would be to further strengthen ties with South Korea, since relations have been improving since the comfort women agreement was reached last December,” TV Asahi reported at the time, quoting a Japanese government official. Recently, Japanese media also reported that the South Korean government turned down the invitation because of Park’s trip to Africa. In the end, President Park’s absence from the summit meant that there was less diplomatic pressure on the US and Japan for Obama to pay his respects at the memorial stone for Koreans. [Sidelined] [Obama] [Hiroshima]
• Ex-USFK Chief Flags Early Regime Collapse in N.Korea
  A former U.S. Forces Korea chief has said that instability in North Korea will lead to its collapse "sooner than many of us think." Gen. Walter Sharp, who led the USFK from 2008 to 2011, was speaking at a forum in Hawaii, according to the Stars and Stripes army daily on Wednesday. "There would be major changes" on the Korean Peninsula before the tenure of the current USFK chief ends in three years' time. "I believe there will be strong provocations, strong attacks by North Korea that could quickly escalate into a much bigger conflict," Sharp added. He pointed out that China, the North's sole ally, joined the most recent round of UN sanctions. "North Korea's economy is clearly not meeting the needs of the people of North Korea," he said. "Planning for what happens after the North's collapse must begin now," Sharp said, stressing the "need to work very hard to plan and exercise" for regime collapse and "to provide stability and security in a collapse scenario within North Korea." "I could see a role for the United Nations along the border between what is now North Korea and China, doing border control there, perhaps with China as the lead of that UN command up there," he said. [Collapse] [Approval] [UNUS] [USFK]
• A Year Ago, I Crossed the DMZ in Korea. Here’s Why.
  Until women get a place in the peace process, we'll take our calls for an end to the Korean War to public streets all over the globe — and even across the DMZ. By Christine Ahn, May 24, 2016. One year ago, I led a group of 30 women from 15 countries on a journey across the De-Militarized Zone (DMZ) from North to South Korea. On May 24, International Women’s Day for Peace and Disarmament, we crossed the world’s most militarized border calling for the reunification of Korean families divided by conflict and a peace treaty to end the Korean War. Our delegation included two Nobel Peace Prize laureates, a retired U.S. army colonel, and America’s most revered feminist, Gloria Steinem. Together, we shined a light on the urgent need for a peaceful solution to the Korean conflict that’s separated three generations of families and threatens nuclear war today. While we received support from world leaders such as U.S. President Jimmy Carter and UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, others called us “naïve handmaidens” of the Kim Jong-Un regime and accused us of seeking to advance North Korea’s agenda. As South Korean women plan another peace walk this May along the DMZ’s southern border, detractors now allege that the idea came from the North Korean government. In fact, the idea of the women’s peace walk emerged from a dream I had in 2009 after reading about the flooding of the Imjin River, which killed six South Koreans. To avert a catastrophe in North Korea, Pyongyang lifted the floodgates of the dam, but apparently didn’t communicate with Seoul, as the inter-Korean hotline had been shut down. In 2013, my idea crystallized into action when five New Zealanders rode their motorbikes across the DMZ. {WomenCrossDMZ]
• Assistant Secretary of State, Russel, Addresses the North Korean Threat
  By Daniel R. Russel Assistant Secretary, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs | WASHINGTON, DC | May 04, 2016 Thank you, Victor, for the introduction. I’m delighted to be here at CSIS with so many great Korea hands and old friends. Honored to be the warm-up act for Rich Armitage and Wendy Sherman later in the day! There’s always a lot to discuss when it comes to North Korea, but this conference is particularly timely given the Party Congress later this week and the tempo of DPRK provocations. It’s a great time to be a North Korea analyst or policy maker – it’s also a lousy time to be a North Korean Musudan project manager! Today you’ll be wrestling with questions about the Korean paradigm – the framework for dealing with the challenges of the Korean Peninsula. So what might be helpful is for me to lay out the elements of our Korea policy: what have been the constants; what we’re doing now; and what we’re working towards. I want to begin by stressing two points: first, dealing with North Korea is only a fraction of our important, flourishing relationship with the ROK. You will hear more about that from Ambassador Lippert, I’m sure. And second, we are addressing the challenges posed by North Korea’s bad choices in the context of important shifts in regional dynamics. [US NK policy]
• The US in Korea: Lessons Lost, Lessons Learned
  Friday, 13 May 2016 00:00 By Jon Letman, Truthout | News Analysis With the American public’s limited attention span for international affairs tied up by fears of ISIS (also known as Daesh), intractable wars in the Middle East and unease about Putin’s Russia, Obama’s much-touted Asia-Pacific pivot frequently gets third or fourth billing on the foreign policy marquee. The “pivot” (also called the “Indo-Asia-Pacific Rebalance”) is centered on exerting a greater US economic, diplomatic and military influence in the world’s most populous and economically vibrant region. But on the Korean peninsula, even as the United States bolsters its military posture with more troops, training and weapons, US politicians and the public view the standoff with North Korea without fully knowing or considering important historical realities and potential opportunities. First, a few facts. [US NK policy] [Liberal]
• An American GI defected to North Korea. Now his sons are propaganda stars.
  By Anna Fifield May 25 at 12:56 PM ? Their names are Ted and James, and they look like the kinds of men you might bump into on the streets of Richmond, Va., where their father was born. But they’re speaking perfect North Korean and wearing badges of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, the first two leaders of North Korea, over their hearts. Oh, and the younger one, James, is a captain in the North Korean army. They’re the Pyongyang-born sons of James Joseph Dresnok, the former American GI who defected to North Korea in 1962 when he was stationed in South Korea after the war. [Media] [Defectors] [Racism] [Logic]
• N. Korean envoy downplays Trump's willingness to talk: report
  North Korea's ambassador to Geneva reportedly downplayed U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump's willingness to hold talks with the North's leader, Kim Jong-un, as a gesture for campaign purposes. "It is up to the decision of my supreme leader whether he decides to meet or not, but I think his idea of talk is nonsense," Reuters quoted Amb. So Se-pyong as saying in Geneva. "It's for utilization of the presidential election, that's all. A kind of a propaganda or advertisement ... This is useless, just a gesture for the presidential election." [Trump] [US NK Negotiations]
• Advisor voices hints of Hillary Clinton’s North Korea policy
  Posted on : May.20,2016 17:58 KST Jake Sullivan, the chief foreign policy advisor for Hillary’s campaign At an event in New York, Jake Sullivan describes North Korea as a “paramount security challenge” Under the foreign policy plan being prepared by former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who is all but certain to be the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate, the US would treat the North Korean nuclear issue as a top foreign policy priority and apply much more pressure and tougher sanctions than it does now in order to force North Korea to negotiate. Since Clinton is likely to ask China to put even more pressure on North Korea than it currently does, it is conceivable that US relations with China and North Korea could bring turbulence to the Korean Peninsula under a Clinton presidency. [US NK policy] [Hillary Clinton]
• Sanctions halt N. Korea's transactions abroad
  By Rachel Lee North Korea can no longer make financial transactions abroad as more countries are freezing the accounts of its agencies and individuals in accordance with U.N. sanctions. Russia's central bank announced Thursday that transactions with the North's financial institutions were no longer allowed without United Nations' approval. Russian banks must now close their accounts deemed to be related to Pyongyang's nuclear and missile development programs. [Financial sanctions] [Banking]
• Provocative 'Decapitation Strike' Drills Designed to Threaten Pyongyang
  As tens of thousands of US and South Korean military conduct massive war games which deliberately simulate an invasion of North Korea, Gregory Elich speaks with Radio Sputnik’s Loud & Clear to discuss what Washington hopes to accomplish with its provocative drills. "[The United States] portrays itself as seeking peace," Gregory Elich, member of the advisory board of the Korea Policy Institute, tells Loud & Clear host Brian Becker. "North Korea, on the other hand, has not attacked anyone, and it’s portrayed as being belligerent and threatening. [Joint US military]
• Wendy Sherman hints at Hillary Clinton’s Korea policy
  Sherman may be the next secretary of state and her speech suggests 2017 may be a dangerous year Tim Beal
  May 19th, 2016 It is now becoming clear that Hillary Clinton will probably be the next president of the United States. Nothing is guaranteed – a week is a long time in politics, as British Prime Minister Harold Wilson said – and the Trump candidacy has the pundits hedging their bets. If she does become president then it seems certain that Wendy Sherman will play an important role in her foreign policy, especially in respect of Korea, and may even become Secretary of State. That makes her speech to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington on May 3, 2016 something worth careful scrutiny. Scrutiny is the appropriate word. It must be assumed that officials (past and future) in a public forum seldom wholly mean what they say or say what they mean. Speeches need to be decoded and interpreted. In addition, what is left out can be highly significant. On the face of it, Wendy Sherman is the consummate global official. According to CSIS, at her last official role as Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs she oversaw the bureaus for Africa, East Asia and the Pacific, Europe and Eurasia, the Near East, South and Central Asia, the Western Hemisphere and International Organizations. It is difficult to think what is left; Antarctica perhaps? She has also flipped between government service, in the State Department, where power is exercised and contacts made, and the private sector, where presumably money is made. In this case the private sector being the Albright Stonebridge Group. The “Albright” being Madelaine Albright, former Secretary of State and Sherman’s former boss. Sherman has had an unusual career trajectory. “… Wendy Sherman’s resume is diverse even by D.C. standards. Trained in social work, devoted early in life to helping battered women and the urban poor, the 50-year-old Baltimore native finds herself talking with North Korean Communists …” enthused the Baltimore Sun in 1999. The connection between the two was Democratic Party politics, where she had long been an activist and through this her relationship with Madelaine Albright whose protégé and confidante she became. [Sherman] [US NK policy] [Hillary Clinton] [OPLAN 5029]
• Joint military exercises draw S. Korea closer to US and Japan
  Posted on : May.17,2016 16:09 KST S. Korea, US Japan missile defense military exercises Seoul saying exercises are not a step toward full integration on missile defense with the US Joint military exercises planned for next month by South Korea, the US, and Japan are an expected move after the three sides concluded an agreement on sharing North Korea nuclear and missile intelligence in Dec. 2014, analysts said. With the agreement clearing the last legal and institutional obstacles to trilateral military defense cooperation, Washington‘s vision for missile defense in Northeast Asia is now taking clear shape - a situation that could lead to US-led missile defense cooperation gaining further momentum going ahead. For the exercises, Aegis-level destroyers from all three sides will be sharing real-time intelligence online via the US in accordance with their military information sharing agreement. The agreement does not recognize direct sharing between South Korea and Japan, making it a different format from typical trilateral intelligence sharing. But the real-time transmission of missile detection and tracking information online, through an early warning system, is expected to produce the same effect as real-time trilateral intelligence sharing. The exercises also appear to be a preparatory step for linking of the three sides’ missile defense networks. South Korea and the US have already made plans to complete interlinkage of US Forces Korea‘s missile defense system with Korean Air and Missile Defense (KAMD) system within the year [Joint US military] [Japanese remilitarisation]
• [Editorial] The danger of military exercises with the US and Japan
  Posted on : May.17,2016 15:50 KST S. Korea, US Japan missile defense military exercises Joint exercises for ballistic missile defense by South Korea, the US and Japan will reportedly be held for the first time in Hawaii at the end of June. One Aegis-level destroyer from each country will be dispatched for the missile defense exercises, in which US aircraft will stand in for actual ballistic missiles. This is obviously a joint military exercise between the three countries, and it can be regarded as another step in a gradual transition to a trilateral military alliance. While the exercises are ostensibly designed to prevent North Korea from committing a provocation with its missiles, they are likely to give the impression that South Korea is joining the efforts by the US and Japan to counter China’s rise as a military power. When we further consider the possible deployment of the THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Air Defense) missile defense system on the Korean Peninsula - which has been jointly supported by the US and South Korea and opposed by China and Russia - this could easily escalate from a simple military issue into an issue of international relations and security. This implies the serious ramifications that this could have not only for South Korea’s national security but on the balance of power in Northeast Asia. [Joint US military] [Japanese remilitarisation]
• A Second Look: Media Coverage of the 7th Workers’ Party of Korea Congress
  By Robert Carlin 17 May 2016 With a few exceptions, the Western press and broadcast corps that trooped into Pyongyang to cover the recent 7th Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) deserves praise and our thanks. It was not an easy assignment. But let’s face it, we don’t just hand out bouquets here. There were gaps and shortfalls, and even some forays into the supercilious. In some cases, it is hard to decide who deserves the lower grade: the North Korean authorities in charge of handling the press, or the international media (by which I mean more than just the reporters on the scene). [Media]
• S. Korea, US, Japan to conduct joint military exercise against N. Korea
  South Korea, the United States and Japan will carry out their first joint anti-missile exercise in Hawaii in June to deal more effectively with North Korea's ever-growing nuclear and missile threats, the defense ministry here said Monday. The trilateral missile defense exercise will take place on the sidelines of the Rim of the Pacific Exercise, or RIMPAC, the world's largest U.S.-led international maritime warfare exercise, to be held from June to August around the U.S. island. "South Korea, the U.S. and Japan are working out the details of the exercise after agreeing to jointly conduct the missile alert exercise designed to better defend South Korea from North Korea's advancing nuclear and missile intimidations," an official at the Ministry of National Defense told reporters. The scope of the exercise will be limited to the framework of the three countries' intelligence-sharing pact on North Korea's nuclear and missile capabilities reached in December 2014, the official said. The forthcoming exercise will focus on the intelligence dealings required to detect and track North Korea's potential missile launches, and will not involve the interception phase, he said. (Yonhap) [Joint US military] [Japanese remilitarisation]
• What makes Trump truly scary
  Posted on : May.13,2016 15:11 KST The presumptive republican candidate has shown himself willing to change positions if it might get him more votes As I spend day after day wrestling with the remarks about foreign policy made by Donald Trump, the Republican Party’s presumptive candidate for president, I frequently feel as if I’m trapped in a labyrinth. I sometimes even wonder whether there’s any point in analyzing his remarks. North Korea analysts in the US often compare North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to a rugby ball – you never know which direction it will go – but Trump seems to be several steps ahead of Kim. This is not to say that there is no consistency running through Trump’s remarks. Trump exhibits a strong isolationism and opposition to American military intervention in areas of international conflict. Aside from the rebalance to Asia, President Barack Obama’s foreign policies have also been largely grounded in non-interventionism. In that sense, Trump’s foreign policy stance does not come entirely out of left field. [Trump] [US global strategy] [Unpredictable]
• Comparative Connections summaries May 2016
  The May 2016 issue of Comparative Connections will be available on our new site http://csis.org/program/comparative-connections on Tuesday, May 17. Regional Overview: Déjà Vu All Over Again … Only Worse! by Ralph A. Cossa and Brad Glosserman US-Japan Relations: 2016 Opens with a Bang by Sheila Smith and Charles McClean US-China Relations: Navigating Friction, Forging Cooperation by Bonnie Glaser and Alexandra Viers US-Korea Relations: Fire, Ire, and Exercises by Stephen Noerper US-Southeast Asia Relations: ASEAN Centrality? by Sheldon Simon China-Southeast Asia Relations: South China Sea, More Tension and Challenges by Robert Sutter and Chin-Hao Huang China-Taiwan Relations: Taiwan Sets a New Direction by David G. Brown and Kevin Scott North Korea-South Korea Relations: Sunshine’s Final Sunset? Maybe Not by Aidan Foster-Carter China-Korea Relations: New Sanctions, Old Dilemmas by Scott Snyder and See-won Byun Japan-China Relations: Staying on a Test Course by James Przystup Japan-Korea Relations: Mostly Sanctions, Some Commerce, and Elections by David Kang and Jiun Bang China-Russia Relations: H-Bomb Plus THAAD Equals Sino-Russian Alliance? by Yu Bin Japan-Southeast Asia Relations: Incremental, But Groundbreaking Steps by Catharin Dalpino
• Women’s Walk for Peace in Korea Continues
  Wednesday, 11 May 2016, 12:20 pm Press Release: NZ DPRK Society Women’s Walk for Peace in Korea Continues May 8, 2016. In three weeks, the women’s walk for peace will continue along the southern border of the De--Militarized Zone (DMZ) separating North and South Korea. Organized by 30 major South Korean civil society organizations, it is a call for a peaceful resolution to the unresolved Korean War. “I am so heartened that the Korean people will carry on the walk for peace,” says Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Maguire, whose nonviolent movement ended decades of violent conflict in Northern Ireland. Earlier this month at a press conference sponsored by right--wing conservative organizations, a lobbyist from the United States alleged that the 2015 women’s peace walk was conceived by a diplomat at the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) Mission to the United Nations. This is wholly inaccurate.
  The idea for the May 2015 women’s peace walk was inspired by five New Zealanders who in 2013 rode their motorbikes across the Korean DMZ, one of the world’s most fortified borders. [WomenCrossDMZ]
• Women peace activists won’t cross inter-Korean border this year
  Organizing committee announces plans for event on South Korean side of border this year Ha-young Choi May 10th, 2016 The successors to last year’s WomenCross DMZ event will walk along the Southern side of the border on May 28, organizers said at the press conference on Tuesday in Seoul. Last year the international team of the organizing committee held a border-crossing event with renowned female activists that received international attention. This year the group, calling itself the 2016 Women Peace Walk, will involve 32 women’s organizations based in South Korea who are leading the event in cooperation with the international team. At a press event on Tuesday to discuss their plans for this year, the organizing committee emphasized a mission of peace, including the resumption of inter-Korean dialogue, a peace treaty to end the possibility of war, and the leadership of women in the peace-building process on the Korean Peninsula. [WomenCrossDMZ]
• Will US attack N. Korea if Trump wins presidency?
  By Lee Jin-a It is said that the United States has not destroyed North Korea's nuclear facilities on fears it could lead to a full-scale war on the Korean Peninsula that would take a huge toll on its close ally, South Korea. But what will happen if the U.S. comes under the control of Donald Trump? His book published in 2000 hints at a "radical and destructive" change under his leadership to the country's dialogue-first position toward the North's nuclear program. "What would I do in North Korea?" the U.S. Republican presidential candidate wrote in his book "The America We Deserve." "Fair question. It's easy to point out the problem, but what should be done to solve it? Am I ready to bomb this reactor? You're damned right." In the book, Trump said he does not advocate a nuclear war, but if negotiations between the North and the U.S. fail, he would support a "surgical strike" against the North, before the state poses a real threat. "I am not trigger-happy, but as president I would be prepared to order a strike - using conventional weapons - against North Korean targets, if it prevented nuclear blackmail or the nuclear destruction of the U.S. population," he wrote. Trump threw his hat into the ring as a Reform Party presidential candidate in 2000 but later opted out. After he entered the presidential race again last year, the Republican front-runner has not said a word directly advocating a surgical strike on North Korea. But he continues to express negative views of the North, calling Kim Jong-un a "mad man" and "maniac," and pledging to intensify sanctions on the communist nation. [Trump] [Military option]
• [Analysis] No specific measures to mend fences with US at North Korean congress
  Posted on : May.9,2016 18:07 KST An image from Korean Central Television showing Jo Yong-won, deputy director of the Organization and Guidance Department, kneeling as he reports to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the May 6-7 Workers‘ Party Congress at the April 25 House of Culture in Pyongyang. (Yonhap News) Without singling out Washington, Kim Jong-un indirectly calls out countries with “antagonistic” policies North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s business summation report at the Korean Workers’ Party (KWP) congress on May 6-7 included a pledge to “improve and normalize relations” with “countries that respect [North Korea’s] autonomy and treat us favorably, even if they have been in hostile relations with us in the past.” Kim did not actually single out the US by name as a country that has been “in hostile relations.” But given Pyongyang’s past vociferous calls for Washington to abandon its “antagonistic” policies, the message‘s target appears clear. Also noteworthy is the report’s reference to “autonomy” as a condition for improving relations, which reads as a call to acknowledge the legitimacy of Kim‘s regime in a narrow sense without attempting to trigger its collapse. It’s a message that could be seen as the key prerequisite for improving ties with Washington. [KWP] [NK US policy]
• Are peace treaty talks under way?
  Delegates from the U.S. and North Korea sign a ceasefire agreement for the Korean War at the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom in this photo taken July 27, 1953. With the war halted for 63 years by the agreement, rumors erupted recently that China is pushing the U.S. to sign a peace treaty with the North in return for removing its chronic headache -- the North's nuclear program. / Korea Times file By Yi Whan-woo Rumors are circulating that China has proposed signing a peace treaty with North Korea to the United States in return for Pyongyang's freezing of its nuclear weapons program and re-entry to the Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT). Citing diplomatic sources, the Korean daily JoongAng Ilbo reported Monday that China has brought up peace talks between the U.S. and North Korea to formally end the 1950-53 Korean War. "It's my understanding that China asked the U.S. view on striking a peace deal with North Korea as a precondition for Pyongyang to freeze its nuclear program and return to the NPT," a source was quoted as saying by the Seoul-based daily. [Peace treaty] [Media]
• A Roundtable Review of Il Hyun Cho’s Global Rogues and Regional Orders: The Multidimensional Challenge of North Korea and Iran
  By Sino-NK | May 05, 2016 Mass Games in Pyongyang | Image: Stephan via Flickr >A still of the Mass Games in Pyongyang | Image: Stephan/Flickr Il Hyun Cho’s Global Rogues and Regional Orders: The Multidimensional Challenge of North Korea and Iran seeks to test the “global” narrative of the two as “rogue states” that flout the international nuclear weapons taboo. Dr. Cho argues that this narrative is not wholly global; instead, it is largely a creation of U.S. foreign policy and security concerns in tandem with the role conceptions of regional actors in a fluctuating security environment. Importantly for security studies, Dr. Cho focuses on regional understandings and consequences of security challenges purported to come from North Korea and Iran. Objection to the “rogue state” narrative vis-à-vis North Korea isn’t new. Alexandra Homolar, for example, argues that the “rogue state” security narrative grew out of elite political contestation in Washington at the end of the Cold War. In Homolor’s assessment, “[S]ecurity narratives help to establish a discursive connection between the articulation of a country’s national interests, the identification of specific security threats to these interests and how potential risks to the broader international environment are understood.” Mining governmental and scholarly sources, Cho seeks to problematize the US-led campaign to name, shame, and cajole these two states into giving up their nuclear pursuits by focusing on regional role conceptions (à la K. J. Holsti) of neighboring states. As the reviewers below suggest, Cho’s challenge to the dominant narrative is an important reminder to policymakers of their role in the complex construction of adversarial states, but as a work of social science the narrow focus on regional role identity risks shortchanging the power relations involved in dealing practically with the nuclear threat. – Darcie Draudt, Director of Research [US NK policy] [Iran] [Academic]
• Obama spurns North Korea, says US will not stop military drills with South
  PUBLISHED : Monday, 25 April, 2016, 2:09pm Bloomberg . President Barack Obama said the US won’t back down from strengthening its military alliances and defences against North Korea until the country “shows seriousness” toward eliminating nuclear weapons from the Korean peninsula. “If North Korea shows seriousness in denuclearising the Korean peninsula, then we will be ready to engage in serious conversations with them to reduce tensions,” Obama said on Sunday at a news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Hannover, Germany, the final stop of a three-nation international tour. North Korea would “have to do better” than announcing “via press release” that it intends to step back from nuclear weapons development, he said. [Overture] [Rebuff]
• N. Korea vows to strengthen nuclear deterrence in the face of hostile US
  North Korea warned Friday that it will strengthen its nuclear deterrence capability as long as the United States maintains its current policy of hostility towards the communist country. In a statement released by the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea (CPRK), which handles inter-Korean relations, Pyongyang claimed that Washington provided the cause for triggering the nuclear standoff on the Korean Peninsula. It is perfectly rational to counter nuclear weapons with nuclear weapons, the committee said in the statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) as the North's capital city kicks off a rare congress of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK). [Deterrence]
• Whoever becomes US leader, trade war seems inevitable
  By Choi Sung-jin As Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are all but certain to clash in the U.S. presidential election in November, attention also is on their policies' effect on the world economy. Major pledges of the two contenders are poles apart, but whoever becomes U.S. president, they will likely strengthen protectionism in trade and foreign exchange policies compared with the Obama administration, experts here said Thursday. Both candidates, for instance, oppose the U.S.-led 12-nation free trade accord, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), threatening its successful launch, they said. If Trump slaps import duties of 45 percent on products made by major trading partners, including China and Mexico, it will be catastrophic for global trade, touching off trade and currency wars between the United States and the rest of the world. Korea, a major exporter enjoying a sizable trade surplus with the U.S., will be one of the biggest victims. [Friction]
• Trump: Seoul must pay all USFK costs
  Seoul urged to pay all for US defense support By Kim Hyo-jin Donald Trump said Wednesday that U.S. allies should bear the full cost needed to station American troops on their soil. His blatant disavowal of security guarantees to Seoul is stoking concerns that the security environment here might deteriorate, and the defense budget could surge. Trump has long claimed that allies should pay more for U.S. defense support, or they will have to face a withdrawal of troops. This time, he demanded that host countries pay the entire cost it takes to retain an American military presence. [Trump] [Tribute] [Friction]
• [Analysis] Donald Trump says “America First” and more stationing burden for South Korea
  Posted on : May.5,2016 13:51 KST Likely Republican president candidate has made reducing America’s presence abroad part of his platform Donald Trump’s vision for Korean Peninsula and foreign policy is becoming the focus of attention - and fears - with the real estate mogul apparently a lock for the nomination at the upcoming US Republican Party presidential primary. Trump’s foreign policy framework was encapsulated in an Apr. 27 speech titled “America First.” It contained a mixture of isolationism through less US military involvement and commercial reciprocity through “fair” transactions with other countries - principles that would also apply largely to Korean Peninsula policy. [Trump]
• Wendy Sherman: must prepare for possible North Korean “coup or collapse”
  Posted on : May.5,2016 14:02 KST Potential Secretary of State under a Hillary presidency makes surprisingly hawkish remarks on North Korea Wendy Sherman, former US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, served as coordinator for North Korean policy during the administration of former US President Bill Clinton. Her record as one of the "doves" who were closely involved when the US and North Korea nearly normalized diplomatic relations in 2000 also created complications for her confirmation as Under Secretary of State because of opposition from the Republican Party. But during a speech during a luncheon in a seminar about the Korean Peninsula that was jointly organized by the US Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and South Korean newspaper the Joongang Ilbo on May 3, Sherman made clear that she is more aligned with the hawks, arguing that key countries need to be thinking about "unexpected scenarios like a sudden regime collapse or coup.” [OPLAN5029] [Wendy Sherman] [Collapse]
• US welcomes 197 N. Korean defectors in decade
  By Lee Jin-a A total of 197 North Korean defectors have arrived in the U.S. as refugees in the past 10 years, the Voice of America (VOA) reported, citing government data Wednesday. Nearly 60 percent, or 118, were female and 79 male, according to U.S. State Department data. Many have settled in California and Kentucky, while others are now calling New York and Colorado home. Of them, 56 were in their 30s, the largest group by age, followed by those in their 20s (49) and 40s (33). More than 70 percent had a qualification equivalent to a secondary school diploma or higher. "I'm really grateful (for living in the U.S.) and I feel responsible to return the favor through helping those in need," a North Korean defector who arrived in the U.S. in 2008 told the VOA. The U.S. started granting refugee status to North Korean defectors after its Congress approved the North Korean Human Rights Act in 2004. [Defector]
• Missionary's Memoir Recalls Hard Labor in N.Korea
  Korean-American missionary Kenneth Bae on Monday published a memoir about his grueling two-year detention in North Korea. "Not Forgotten: The True Story of My Imprisonment in North Korea" details a backbreaking regime of hard labor, verbal abuse and death threats he endured. Bae went to the North on Nov. 3, 2012, where he was caught proselytizing and sentenced to 15 years of hard labor on charges of crimes against the state in April 2013. [Detainee]
• 'We need to brace for NK regime collapse or coup'
  Updated : 2016-05-04 11:19 The United States, South Korea and other regional powers should launch discussions about how to handle potential contingencies in the North, such as a regime collapse or a coup, former U.S. Under Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said Tuesday. Sherman, considered a key foreign policy brain for Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton, made the remark during a discussion at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, stressing that China's preferred status quo on the Korean Peninsula is "not sustainable." "There has been little discussion with China about how all of the parties will respond in the event of a sudden collapse of the regime or coup in Pyongyang, a military confrontation resulting from a necessary response to a North Korean attack, or some other scenario," Sherman said. [Collapse] [Approval] [OPLAN5029]
• North Korea Sentences Korean-American To 10 Years Of Hard Labor
  Kim Dong Chul allegedly admitted to committing “unpardonable espionage.” 04/29/2016 03:10 am ET Kim Dong Chul was arrested in North Korea in October. SEOUL, April 29 (Reuters) - North Korea’s Supreme Court on Friday sentenced a Korean American man to 10 years of hard labor for subversion, North Korean media reported, in the latest conviction of a foreigner for crimes against the isolated state. Kim Dong Chul, 62, was arrested in North Korea in October and had admitted to committing “unpardonable espionage” including stealing military secrets, the North’s official KCNA news agency reported earlier. [Espionage]
• Let’s Talk About Korea: The Dangerous Tone of US Media
  Caleb Maupin Often, when people are first becoming personally acquainted with me and my political views, I will be asked point-blank: “Do you support North Korea?” I always respond, “No, I don’t support North Korea. I support all of Korea.” Among average Americans and even many who consider themselves activists and leftists, there is a great deal of confusion about issues involving the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and its history. Each time there is an escalation of tensions on the Korean Peninsula, the level of confusion seems to get worse. The US media makes no effort to educate the public about why Korea is divided — and often blatantly distorts and lies about it. [US NK policy]
• Why North Korean threat is a more urgent issue for next U.S. President
  Scott Snyder, Special for CNN ?Updated 0242 GMT (1042 HKT) April 27, 2016 Story highlights Pyongyang's insecurity has intensified even more under Kim Jong Un The isolated regime has intensified efforts to develop a nuclear strike capability The campaign is aimed to shore up Kim's position at home and win bargaining power abroad Editor's Note: Scott Snyder is Senior Fellow for Korea Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. The opinions here are his own. Seoul (CNN) — Kim Jong Un has been intensifying his efforts to develop a long-range nuclear strike capability since the beginning of 2016. The more vulnerable he feels atop a weakening North Korea, the more he seeks a silver bullet to ensure the regime's long-term survival. This dynamic has been in play for decades, especially as North Korea pursued nuclear weapons to compensate for the loss of its powerful patrons in Moscow and Beijing and fell further behind a far more prosperous South Korea. But Pyongyang's insecurity has intensified even more under Kim, who, since coming to power in 2012, declared his father's bequest of a nuclear program as a crowning achievement, changed the constitution to declare North Korea a nuclear state, and declared nuclear and economic development as his twin priorities. [US NK policy] [MISCOM] [Threat]
• Most Korean-Americans think unification is necessary
  By Lee Jin-a More than 80 percent of Korean-Americans think North and South Korea should reunite, according to the Overseas Koreans Foundation, a non-profit organization affiliated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. At the foundation's request, the North and South Korea Economy Research Institute conducted a survey of Korean-Americans about the issue in July and August last year. While 81.2 percent of the 676 participants said unification was necessary, 15 percent said it was not and 2.7 percent said they did not care. Forty percent said the North and South should unite because they were one family. Twenty six percent said unification would allow Korea to become an advanced country, and 10.8 percent said unification was necessary for North Koreans' human rights. Many Korean-Americans said it was difficult to explain the unification issue to Americans because they did not understand the situation on the Korean peninsula (30%), or were not interested (27.9%), or because Koreans had a different perspective on unification" (24.3%). [Unification] [Diaspora]
• New USFK chief takes command
  Gen. Vincent Brooks at the U.S. Forces Korea's Yongsan garrison in Seoul, Saturday / Yonhap The new chief commander of the 28,000-strong U.S. soldiers stationed in South Korea took command on Saturday with a pledge to continue to be "ready to fight today" as he assumed the position amid unrelenting tension on the Korean Peninsula. "It is my great honor to stand before you as the successor of the great lineage of commanders who defeated external threats, set examples of committed alliance, preserved an armistice and secured a course of peaceful development in progress for nearly seven decades," the incoming commander, Gen. Vincent Brooks, said during a change of command ceremony held in the U.S. Forces Korea's Yongsan garrison in central Seoul. In the ceremony, Brooks took over from Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, who had been the USFK commanding general since October 2013. Scaparrotti will assume his new position as the commander of the U.S. European Command (EUCOM). [USFK]
• Sanctions and Defiance in North Korea
  by Mel Gurtov Sanctions on North Korea have failed.
  North Korea has now been sanctioned five times by the United Nations Security Council for its nuclear and missile tests: resolutions 1718 (2006), 1874 (2009), 2087 (2013), 2094 (2013) and 2270 (2016). UNSC Resolution 2270 is the strongest one yet, spelling out in great detail the proscribed goods and requiring that all parties neither import them from nor export them to North Korea. Each resolution obliges the members to carry out the terms of the sanctions and (as the April 15 press statement of the UNSC says) “facilitate a peaceful and comprehensive solution through dialogue.” This is a case of mission impossible for two fundamental reasons: the sanctions will not work, and the fact of them impedes any chance for a “peaceful and comprehensive solution.” Foremost among the obstacles to an effective North Korea sanctions regime is smuggling along the China-DPRK (North Korea) border. Military items disguised as ordinary goods seem easily able to evade detection thanks to inconsistent inspection by border guards, bribery, false declarations, and North Korean firms based in China that actually belong to military-run trading companies. Since these practices are surely well known to the Chinese authorities, it seems fair to assume they have no strong interest in preventing or at least substantially reducing it—something they could accomplish with a more intensive border inspection process. That China is not doing so no doubt reflects its oft-stated position that the North Korean nuclear issue is the result of other countries’ policies, not China’s, hence that resolving it is others’ responsibility, mainly the US. [False balance] [China NK] [China hope] [Liberal]

• Obama: US could 'destroy N. Korea'
  U.S. President Barack Obama said the U.S. could "destroy North Korea with our arsenals," but its proximity to ally South Korea should be considered in addition to humanitarian costs associated with such action. Obama made the remark in an interview with CBS that aired Tuesday, talking about difficulties handling the communist regime that he described as "a massive challenge." Obama also called the North "erratic enough" and the country's leader, Kim Jong-un, "irresponsible enough that we don't want them getting close." "But it's not something that lends itself to an easy solution," Obama told the interviewer, according to CBS. "We could, obviously, destroy North Korea with our arsenals. But aside from the humanitarian costs of that, they are right next door to our vital ally, Republic of Korea." Obama also said that the top U.S. priority is to protect the American people and allies South Korea and Japan, countries he said "are vulnerable to the provocative actions that North Korea is engaging in." "One of the things that we have been doing is spending a lot more time positioning our missile defense systems so that even as we try to resolve the underlying problem of nuclear development inside of North Korea, we're also setting up a shield that can at least block the relatively low-level threats that they're posing right now," Obama said. [US NK policy] [Military balance] [Military option]
• Obama on Why U.S. Won't Destroy N.Korea
  U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday said his country has the military means to destroy North Korea but it will not do so due to the humanitarian cost and the impact on neighbor South Korea. Obama was interviewed by CBS presenter Charlie Rose during a trip to Germany. Obama said North Korea is "erratic enough" and the country's leader, Kim Jong-un, is "irresponsible enough that we don't want them getting close." "We could, obviously, destroy North Korea with our arsenals… But aside from the humanitarian costs of that, they are right next door to our vital ally," South Korea, he added. Asked if the U.S. is willing to take a more aggressive approach if China crosses the line in attempts to exert more control over the South China Sea, Obama said, "I've been consistent, since I've been president, in believing that a productive, candid relationship between the United States and China is vital, not just to our two countries, but to world peace and security." But he said their views differ over territorial issues in the South China Sea. "What is true, though, is that they have a tendency to view some of the immediate regional issues or disputes as a zero-sum game," he said. "We just want them to be partners with us. And where they break out of international rules and norms, we're going to hold them to account." [Military option] [US NK policy]
• Careless Talk Could Harm the S.Korea-U.S. Alliance
  Gen. Vincent Brooks, nominated to succeed Curtis Scaparrotti as U.S. Forces Korea chief, told a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Tuesday that if Washington removes its nuclear umbrella, South Korea "would have to contemplate [nuclear armament] to maintain their own security. That question would likely come up." Brooks' comments were apparently a response to blather by Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump, who has claimed the U.S.' allies overseas are paying practically nothing for their defense and should be getting their own nuclear arms. [Trump]
• Obama Dismisses N.Korean Tit-for-Tat Offer
  U.S. President Barack Obama on Sunday dismissed North Korea's proposal to stop nuclear tests if the U.S. suspends annual military exercises with South Korea. Speaking in Hannover, Germany, Obama said, "If North Korea shows seriousness in denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula, then we will be prepared to enter into some serious conversations with them about reducing tensions and our approach to protecting our allies in the region." "But that's not something that happens based on a press release in the wake of a series of provocative behaviors. They're going to have to do better than that," he added. [Overture] [Rebuff]
• Obama says he doesn’t take North Korean offer “seriously”
  Posted on : Apr.26,2016 16:14 KST North Korean foreign minister had suggested a halt to nuclear tests in exchange for calling of joint military exercises US President Barack Obama said on Apr. 24 that he did not “take seriously” North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Su-yong’s proposal to halt nuclear testing in exchange for a suspension of joint South Korea-US military exercises. Obama’s response came while fielding questions about the North’s recent submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) test on Apr. 23 and Ri’s proposal in a joint press conference after a summit with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Hannover. “We don’t take seriously a promise to simply halt [nuclear tests] until the next time they decide to do a test these kinds of activities [ballistic missile launches],” Obama said. “Although more often than not they fail in many of these tests, they gain knowledge each time they engage in these tests,” he added. “We take it very seriously.” [Overture] [Rebuff] [Obama]
• N Korea sets rules for halt to nuke tests
  5:00 AM Monday Apr 25, 2016 North Korea is ready to halt its nuclear tests if the United States suspends its annual military exercises with South Korea, Pyongyang's Foreign Minister said in an interview in which he also warned that his country won't be cowed by international sanctions. Foreign Minister Ri Su Yong defended the country's right to maintain a nuclear deterrent. And for those waiting for the North's regime to collapse, he had this to say: Don't hold your breath. "Stop the nuclear war exercises in the Korean Peninsula, then we should also cease our nuclear tests," he said in his first interview with a Western news organisation. Ri's comments came just hours after North Korea test-fired a ballistic missile from a submarine in its latest show of defiance as the US-South Korea exercises wind down. [NK US policy] [Overture]
• Obama Dismisses NKorea Proposal on Halting Nuke Tests
  By eric talmadge, associated press · NEW YORK — Apr 24, 2016, 2:15 PM ET A day after North Korea's foreign minister told The Associated Press that his country is ready to halt its nuclear tests if the United States suspends its annual military exercises with South Korea, President Barack Obama said Sunday that Washington isn't taking the proposal seriously and Pyongyang would "have to do better than that." North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Su Yong, interviewed Saturday by the AP, also defended his country's right to maintain a nuclear deterrent and warned that Pyongyang won't be cowed by international sanctions. And for those waiting for the North's regime to collapse, he had this to say: Don't hold your breath. [NK US policy] [Overture] [Rebuff] [US NK policy]
• North Korea's 10 messages for the West
  12:19 PM Sunday Apr 24, 2016 North Korea's Foreign Minister Ri Su Yong answers questions during an interview at the country's Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York. Photo / AP North Korea's Foreign Minister Ri Su Yong answers questions during an interview at the country's Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York. Photo / AP North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Su Yong sat down with the Associated Press for an interview in New York. Here are the highlights.
  1 PROPOSAL TO THE UNITED STATES Stop the nuclear war exercises in the Korean Peninsula, then we should also cease our nuclear tests.
  2 NUCLEAR DANGERS If we continue on this path of confrontation, this will lead to very catastrophic results, not only for the two countries but for the whole entire world as well.
  3 EFFECT OF SANCTIONS If they believe that they can actually frustrate us with sanctions they are totally mistaken. ... The more pressure you put on to something, the more emotionally you react to stand up against it. And this is important for the American policymakers to be aware of.
  4 INTERNATIONAL PRESSURE These big countries alone or together are telling us that we should calm down. For us this is like a sentence ... that we should accept our death and refuse our right to sovereignty.
  5 MESSAGE TO THE AMERICAN GOVERNMENT AND PEOPLE One last message, if I may, I could bring to the American Government and to the American people. It is really crucial for the United States Government to withdraw its hostile policy against the DPRK. And as an expression of this, stop the military exercises, war exercises, in the Korean Peninsula. Then we will respond likewise.
  6 US-SOUTH KOREAN MILITARY EXERCISES If the US stops carrying out military exercises for some years, the US is not going to do much harm to the American military, corporations and firms. And by doing so, just probably new opportunities may arise for the two countries and for the whole entire world as well.
  7 HUMAN RIGHTS CRITICISMS The DPRK is completely misinterpreted to the whole entire world. I can for sure tell you that the country that has the best human rights would be the DPRK ... Let me tell you, in our country there is no single person that does not have a job or who does not have any job opportunities. Everyone enjoys 12-year compulsory education, free education system and free health care system. In addition to that, if you come to the DPRK you will see there is no prostitution, no drug addicts, or anybody who's jobless or who's just laying down on the street being homeless. You will not find anyone like that. Then why did we become the worst country in terms of human rights?
  8 ON OTTO WARMBIER, THE US STUDENT IMPRISONED IN NORTH KOREA The Virginia student, I will let the corresponding authorities know when I go back to Pyongyang that you are, also the American people, very much interested in how he is doing currently. What can be done as the next steps, it's beyond my jurisdiction.
  9 IRAN'S AND CUBA'S RECENT DIALOGUE WITH WASHINGTON We're happy for the Cuban people and the Iranian people that they have reached successes on their path to pursuing their own goals and interests ... (But) it's impossible that we can reach the same form and context as those cases. As I reiterate myself, we did not have any other choice but to possess nuclear weapons because of the pressure and the ... actual existing threat by the United States against the DPRK.
  10 GOALS OF NEXT MONTH'S PARTY CONGRESS, THE FIRST UNDER LEADER KIM JONG UN The first thing is to advance the pace of economic building for a powerful nation. ... The second is to improve the people's living standards and to find best optimum ways to improve people's living standards. ... The third is to strengthen our national defense capabilities. ... I'm sure our country will be even more vibrant after the party congress. -AP [NK US policy] [NK US policy]
• Looking in the right direction: Establishing a framework for analysing the situation on the Korean Peninsula (and much more besides)
  By Tim Beal | April 23, 2016
  Paper prepared for KPI March 2016 webinar on “The Crisis in Korea” Hysteria, hypocrisy and self-harm amongst a shower of satellites In the first half of February 2016 a number of satellites were launched; two by Japan, three by the United States, one each by Russia and China and one by North Korea. The other launches went unremarked outside the scientific community but the North Korean satellite was another matter; a very curious matter. It was, we were told, really a missile, an ICBM. ‘North Korea is committed to striking the U.S. with a nuclear-armed missile’ the Pentagon told Congress. This satellite launch was taken as indication of North Korea’s wicked intention. No matter that a satellite carrier rocket is a rather different beast to a missile. Satellites are designed to stay up in space and missiles to come down to deliver a warhead on a target – this missile was, in fact, a satellite launcher, no matter that the intention was clear. In the background, though, there is North Korea’s KN-08 ICBM. It has not been tested, although it has been displayed, either the real thing or a mock-up, on parade in Pyongyang. The KN-08 “likely would be capable” of striking the continental U.S. if successfully designed and developed, said the Pentagon. A couple of assumptions there, lodged in a tautology – the KN-08 ICBM, if successfully designed and developed, would be a successful ICBM. The North Korean satellite was roundly condemned by that fine institution ‘the international community’ because it had been launched by a ballistic rocket, and North Korea had been expressly forbidden to use ballistic rockets. No matter that all satellites are launched by ballistic rockets; that’s the physics of it. No matter that there must be tens of thousands of ballistic rockets, of all sizes, military and civil, around the world. This prohibition only applied to North Korea.
  How do we try to explain the hypocrisy, the hysteria and the war-mongering; and in the case of South Korea, self-harm?
  In order to make sense of this and, lay the foundation for activism, as appropriate, we must contextualise and establish a framework for analysis. The starting point for this framework is that we must look in the right direction. Most writing and discussion on Korean peninsula issues focuses almost exclusively on North Korea. We are told of the North Korean problem, the North Korea threat, how North Korea, or the Kim family, is mad, bad, unpredictable, and so forth. The clue is to look at phrases such as the “Vietnam War,” the “Korean War,” “ invasion of Afghanistan,” “ invasion of Iraq,” and work out what they have in common; or rather what is left out that they have in common. The answer of course is the United States. The U.S. is the common denominator. [US NK policy] [China confrontation] [US global strategy]
• N. Korean envoy vows 'nukes for nukes' against US
  By Rachel Lee North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Su-yong protested U.N. sanctions against Pyongyang, saying his country developed nuclear weapons only to cope with nuclear threats from the United States. Ri made the claim during his keynote speech at a high-level meeting of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at U.N. headquarters in New York, Thursday. "We tried to hold a dialogue and make efforts through international law to remove nuclear threats, but we were left with only one choice, which is to respond to nukes with nukes," Ri said. [Deterrence] [Nuclear weapons]
• Next USFK Chief Warns of Nuclear Arms Race Between Koreas
  The U.S. military believes South Korea would develop its own nuclear weapons if Washington removes its nuclear umbrella for its Asian ally, the putative next commander of the U.S. Forces Korea said. Vincent Brooks Vincent Brooks Gen. Vincent Brooks, nominated to succeed Curtis Scaparrotti as USFK chief, told the Senate Armed Services Committee in a confirmation hearing, "I think they would have to contemplate [nuclear armament] to maintain their own security. That question would likely come up." Brooks was indirectly responding to Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump's comments that South Korea and Japan should build their own nuclear weapons if they want to defend themselves. [Nuclearisation]
• US points to Iran deal as model for N. Korean nuclear issue
  Posted on : Apr.20,2016 17:08 KST S. Korea, US and Japan outline steps to increased cooperation at trilateral deputy ministers meeting in Seoul South Korea, the US, and Japan sent a stern message warning of “serious additional measures” against North Korea if it carries out a fifth nuclear test or ballistic missile launch. While the message, which came during a third round of trilateral deputy foreign minister meetings on Apr. 19, was one of coordination on the North Korea issue, the three sides differed in subtle ways on the particulars. Responding to the nuclear issue While speaking at a joint press conference after the meetings at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Seoul, South Korean First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Lim Sung-nam stressed the terms set by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). “In its Resolution 2270 and statements to the press, the UNSC made it clear that it would be adopting serious additional measures if North Korea engages in further provocations such as nuclear tests,” Lim said. [Iran deal] [US NK Negotiations]
• USFK commander confirms nuclear umbrella for Seoul
  Brooks stresses need for THAAD against North Korea missiles
  By Jun Ji-hye Gen. Vincent Brooks, the incoming commander of the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), said Tuesday that it was very important for his country to provide "nuclear umbrella" protection, or extended deterrence, to South Korea in order to counter nuclear and missile threats from North Korea. Brooks, who will replace Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti as USFK commander, also said Washington is looking for a non-nuclear Korean Peninsula, apparently refuting earlier claims made by Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump that he will support South Korea developing nuclear weapons if he becomes the next U.S. president. When asked whether Washington's withdrawal of a nuclear umbrella could motivate Seoul to develop its own nuclear arsenal, Brooks said under that scenario, the South would have to think about developing its own nuclear weapons for self-defense. "I think they would have to contemplate that to maintain their own security," he said. "That question would likely come up." [Nuclearisation] [Nuclear umbrella] [THAAD]
• NK nuke test to bring more US military assets
  By Yi Whan-woo The United States will consider deploying more high-profile military assets on the Korean Peninsula in the event of a fifth North Korean nuclear test, analysts said Wednesday. South Korea and the U.S. may also include Japan in their regular joint military exercises in line with three-way "defense-related measures" suggested by U.S. Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Danny Russel to deter North Korea's nuclear ambitions, the experts added. [Joint US military] [Japanese remilitarisation] [US NK policy] [Escalation]
• North Korea blasts Trump's double standards on nuclear weapons
  By Lee Han-soo A high-ranking North Korean official has slammed U.S. Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump for suggesting nuclear armament for South Korea and Japan after the U.S. military withdraws. In an interview with CNN on Sunday, Ri Jong-ryul, deputy-director general of the Institute of International Studies in Pyongyang, called Trump's remarks "totally absurd and illogical." He pointed out the hostility and double standards of American policies toward North Korea. "The U.S. tells us to give up our nuclear program, is preparing a nuclear attack against us, and on the other hand would tell its allies to have nuclear weapons. Isn't this a double standard?" Ri said. [Trump] [Nuclearisation]
• Nobel Prize winners to lecture in North Korea
  By Lee Han-soo Three Nobel Prize winners will hold lectures in North Korea, according to U.S. media outlet, Voice of America on Monday. The lecturers for "Bridges: Dialogues Towards a Culture of Peace," are Richard Roberts, winner of the 1993 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine; Finn Kydland, winner of 2004 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences; and Aaron Ciechanover, winner of 2004 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. They will visit Pyongyang via Beijing on Apr 29 and stay until May 1. During their four-day visit they are expected to lecture about economic policies and development and the revolution of medical science. The lectures will be at Kim Il-sung University, Kim Chaek University of Technology and Pyongyang University of Science and Technology. On May 6, they will hold a press conference in Beijing to talk about their visit to North Korea. However, with North Korea under tough international sanctions after its nuclear and long-range missile tests, the Nobel Prize winners' visit is drawing global attention.
  But Uwe Morawetz, chairman of the International Peace Foundation board that is overseeing the visit, said, "The visit of the three Nobel Prize winners has nothing to do with political or diplomatic issues. "The lecture is based on policies and development and the revolution of medical science. It is in no way related to making a political statement of any kind." [People-to-People] [Peace effort]
• Fifteen Year’s Sentence for a Motto Torn Off
  Konstantin Asmolov The list of American citizens who suffered at the hands of the North Korean regime has just become a bit longer. On March 16, 2016, the Supreme Court of North Korea sentenced a U.S. student to 15 years in a labor camp for “committing an act of hostility against the state’s unity.” The arrested person, an American student from the University of Virginia, the 21-year-old Otto Frederick Warmbier, studied economics and ranked among the best 7% of students by academic performance. He had spent the last year in classrooms of the London School of Economics. His profile in social media says that he is a director of an “alternative investment fund.” Over the last several years, he visited Cuba, Ireland, and Israel, and came to the DPRK with a tourist visa on December 29 from Beijing for a New Year’s tour; at the end of the tour he was detained, when already being at the airport, on January 22, 2016. [Detainee]
• Talk of beheading strike option fans Koreas tension
  By Eric Talmadge Associated Press – updated Tuesday, March 8, 2016 - TOKYO | Massive joint U.S.-South Korea military exercises are a spring ritual on the Korean Peninsula guaranteed to draw a lot of threat-laced venom from Pyongyang. This time, not only are the war games the biggest ever, but the troops now massed south of the Demilitarized Zone have reportedly incorporated a new hypothetical into their training: a "beheading mission" against Kim Jong Un himself. It's the kind of option military planners tend to consider but almost never use. Neither the U.S. military nor South Korea's defense ministry has actually said it is part of the Key Resolve-Foal Eagle exercises that began this week and will go on for about two months. But Pyongyang, already feeling the squeeze of new sanctions over its recent nuclear test and rocket launch, is taking a plethora of "beheading mission" reports from the South Korean media very seriously. That goes a long way toward explaining why its own rhetoric has ratcheted up a decibel — even by its own standards of bellicosity. It could also explain some subtle rejiggering afoot in the North's military strategy. [Decapitation] [Media] [Victim] [Inversion] [Joint US military]
• Looking in the right direction: Establishing a framework for analysing the situation on the Korean Peninsula (and much more besides)
  April 12, 2016, KPI Webinar with Tim Beal
  presentation at a webinar organised by the Korea Policy Institute held 20 March 2016
  Korea Policy Institute periodically presents educational webinars on topics impacting the Korean Peninsula and US-Korea relations. In this excerpt from a March 2016 webinar, Tim Beal discusses the geopolitical factors leading to the current tensions in northeast Asia, in particularly in relation to North Korea’s recent testings of its nuclear weapons. This is an excerpt from a March 2016 webinar featuring, among other speakers, Tim Beal, author of Crisis in Korea: America, China and the Risk of War (PlutoPress, 2011) and a retired professor at Victoria University in New Zealand, where he taught on Asia and international marketing for many years. His website is focused on Asian geopolitics. [US NK policy] [Audio]
• U.S. Rights Report Slams Korea's Official History Textbooks
  The U.S. State Department in an annual human rights report Wednesday slammed Seoul's plan to force government-authored history textbooks on schools. "A government plan to end middle and high schools' right to choose Korean history textbook raised concerns about academic freedom," the 2015 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices note. "This would end the right of schools, since 2010, to choose from a range of textbooks approved by the ministry." [Textbook]
• Sanctioned N.Korean Ships Marooned at Sea
  None of the 27 North Korean ships that are on a UN Security Council blacklist have been able to dock at foreign ports, the Voice of America reported Wednesday. They are either stuck in North Korean ports or marooned on the high seas. A diplomatic source said, "The UNSC sanctions are now biting, and North Korean ships are port-bound or stuck at sea." As of March 3, when the UNSC adopted the fresh sanctions, 15 of the North Korean ships on the blacklist were moored at foreign ports or traveling the open seas, according to VOA's analysis of data from the private website Marine Traffic showing the real-time vessel positions. Four days later seven were still in foreign ports, and last month they had dwindled to two. The others returned to North Korea this month after they were denied entry to ports in China, Hong Kong, and Russia. [Sanctions]
• Trump’s Remarks Reveal Fears About U.S. Troops in Harm’s Way From North Korea
  Donald Trump's calls for arming Seoul and Tokyo with nuclear weapons seems to be his way of keeping American troops out of the line of nuclear fire. By Keith K C Hui, April 7, 2016. Using federal debts as an excuse, Trump would withdraw American troops from the Far East, where they would be exposed to a North Korean nuclear attack. Pictured: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. (Photo: Huffington Post) Using federal debts as an excuse, Trump would withdraw American troops from the Far East, where they would be exposed to a North Korean nuclear attack. Pictured: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. (Photo: Huffington Post) All U.S. troops — 54,000 in Japan and 28,500 in South Korea — will be withdrawn by the time the Pentagon has been certain North Korea is in possession of nuclear warheads. It is the message implicitly conveyed by Donald Trump when saying repeatedly since late March that Japan and South Korea should have nuclear armament. Although what Trump mainly referred to explicitly was about money — “to withdraw U.S. forces from both Japan and South Korea if they did not substantially increase their contributions to the costs of housing and feeding those troops” [Note 1], his remarks have revealed a well justified genuine under-the-table fear for the flesh and blood American soldiers in this region. Using the swelling federal debts as an excuse, Trump is speaking for each individual foot soldier’s concern of personal safety and his/her family’s worry. When any one of the missiles from North Korea could not be intercepted, many American GIs would die without mercy immediately. Trump’s words are out of lips after careful calculations. [Trump]
• Rare Footage from the Korean War
  englishnews@chosun.com / Jun. 22, 2010 12:15 KST [Korea War] [Film footage with no commentary]
• US official reiterates conditions for resuming Six Party Talks
  Posted on : Apr.6,2016 16:38 KST The sticking point is still denuclearization, which N. Korea says is off the table, but the US insists on Daniel Russel A US government official said that the conditions for resuming the Six Party Talks are for North Korea to freeze all of its nuclear activity and allow inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The remarks appear to come in response to a statement by the spokesperson of North Korea’s National Defense Commission on Apr. 3 that “the fundamental solution is not rash military pressure but rather setting up negotiations.” “That way forward isn’t hard to imagine. It starts with North Korea freezing all its nuclear activities, like Iran did while it negotiated. And it starts with a credible declaration of the North’s past activities and IAEA inspection of its nuclear sites as a first step,” said Daniel Russel, US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs. Russel made the remarks on Apr. 4 during a debate organized by the Institute for Corean-American Studies (ICAS). “Meeting basic international obligations is not a lot to ask. Then we’d resume work where the Six-Party talks left off,” Russel continued. “All of North Korea’s stated concerns can be dealt with on the basis of that agreement.” [Preconditions] [Six Party Talks]
• Philip Morris sues over KT&G's military supply
  By Lee Hyo-sik Philip Morris International (PMI) Korea, headed by CEO Chong Il-woo, has filed a lawsuit against the government, demanding it nullify its decision last year to only allow the sale of KT&G brand cigarettes to soldiers. The unprecedented move comes days before the Ministry of National Defense is set to select a cigarette supplier for the nation's armed forces this year. It reflects PMI's attempt to press the ministry to make its cigarettes available for soldiers on bases.
• Pulling the Rabbit Out of the Hat: Kim Jong Un’s Path Out of the Nuclear Crisis
  By Robert Carlin 04 April 2016 Everyone has a pet thesis about what is going on and what will happen on the North Korean issue over the next several months. In mid-January, I laid out what seemed to be six likely possibilities to keep in mind. Ten weeks later, I think we can winnow the choices down to two. The first possibility is that we are in the middle of a giant North Korean deception operation, and that the Korean People’s Army (KPA) will attack at 4 a.m. on Tuesday, April 28, but doesn’t want anyone to figure that out. That’s only a guess, and not even a good one, but it is pretty much as good as most of the speculation that is going around about sanctions, their effect and how the North is responding. The second possibility, essentially one of the original six, is that Pyongyang knew where it was going from the point at which it decided on the fourth nuclear test—probably by late November last year; it signaled the goal immediately after the test in a Choson Sinbo article on January 7; and it has continued along that path with remarkable consistently ever since. What are those signals, and what is the endpoint? Stripped of most of the qualifiers and weasel words, there is now reason to conclude that at some point—and the upcoming seventh party congress would be as good a venue as any—Kim Jong Un plans to declare the success of his byungjin policy and that, having achieved what Pyongyang is portraying as an overwhelmingly strong nuclear deterrent force, to claim that it is now possible for the regime to begin to shift its focus from the military to the civilian economy. [Byungjin] [Agency]
• N.Korea's Envoy to Burma Replaced Over Sanctions
  North Korean Ambassador to Burma Kim Sok-chol has been sent packing after being blacklisted by South Korea and the U.S. over his involvement in the North's illicit arms trade. Kim left Burma on March 17 and his successor Jong Ho-bom arrived there last week, a government source here said on Thursday. [Extraterritoriality] [Global reach] [UNUS]
• PacNet #32 - How China sees THAAD
  By Sungtae “Jacky” Park Mar 30, 2016 On Feb. 7, the United States and South Korea decided to begin official discussions on deploying the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system on the Korean Peninsula. In response, Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Qiu Guohong said that deployment of the system could destroy the Beijing-Seoul relationship “in an instant.” The floor leader of South Korea’s ruling Saenuri party, Won Yoo-cheol, calling Qiu’s remarks “rude,” saying that they “disregarded the sovereignty and the security of the Republic of Korea.” While some analysts see China’s blunt position on this issue as a way to drive a wedge in the US-ROK alliance, Beijing’s motivations are defensive. China’s leadership is concerned about THAAD at the strategic level and sees the system as part of a broader US strategy to contain China. THAAD in South Korea does not pose a direct threat to China. [THAAD] [China confrontation]

• Narrative, Identity and Citizenship: How North Korean Defectors Shape Politics at “Home” and Abroad
  By Sino-NK | March 28, 2016 North Koreans who escape from their country of origin tend to be regarded with a mixture of fascination and pity afterward. But despite the trauma that many of them have experienced on the journey from North Korea, these individuals are rarely simply passive victims. Instead, they play an active and important — but often overlooked — role in the politics of the Korean peninsula, and the effects of their activity echo around the region and the world. Both Koreas pay significant attention to the experiences, activities, and narratives put forward by these individuals, as does the international community. In a panel at the Association for Asian Studies annual conference on the morning of Sunday, April 3, a small group of scholars will come together in an interdisciplinary conversation that seeks to elucidate the politics around North Korean defectors, examining their activities and the reception of their experiences on the Korean peninsula and globally. The panel will be chaired by Andrew Yeo (Associate Professor, Catholic University of America, Politics), who is doubling up as discussant. (See panel information below.) [Defector] [Academic] [Asian Studies]
• US presidential poll to decide fate of THAAD talks
  From left are Democratic presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton, and Republican candidates Donald Trump and Ted Cruz. Experts say the result of the U.S. presidential election is expected to be another variable in Seoul and Washington's ongoing talks on the deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense battery on the Korean Peninsula due to slightly different positions between the parties on the issue. / Graphic by Cho Sang-won By Jun Ji-hye The U.S. presidential election slated for November is expected to affect ongoing talks between Seoul and Washington on the deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery on the Korean Peninsula, according to experts. Korean and U.S. experts say Washington apparently believes the THAAD battery deployment is necessary to expand American influence in Northeast Asia, and this belief will remain regardless of which party is elected. However, they say a Republican administration is more likely to pressure South Korea to buy the batteries and to conduct further missile defense deployments. Experts added that the republican administration could provoke protests against THAAD deployment here, and consequently, hamper the allies' discussion on the deployment. [THAAD] [US_election16] [Bizarre]
• The Peace Treaty Offer and Response
  March 14, 2016 The DPRK Foreign Ministry’s Institute for American Studies has recently released an essay calling for the replacement of the Armistice Agreement with a peace agreement between North Korea and the United States. The North Korean call for a peace treaty is not new, and was re-emphasized last fall. However, this essay provides some additional detail on the North Korean stance on proposed peace talks. Jong Nam Hyok, the essay’s author, indicates that proposed peace talks would be mostly bilateral between the U.S. and DPRK, arguing that the United Nations Command (which signed the 1953 Armistice Agreement) was a veil for the United States, and did not represent the United Nations, the 15 “satellite countries” that also fought under the UNC banner, or the “south Korean puppet army.” On South Korean involvement in peace talks, the author writes that while South Korea is not “totally irrelevant” to peace talks, it would be “meaningless” to hold inter-Korean peace negotiations while U.S. forces remain in South Korea. Similarly, while the essay acknowledges China’s position (via the People’s Volunteer Army) as a signatory to the Armistice Agreement, it argues that “the U.S. should be the first to come out to sign a peace agreement,” with China playing a minimal role. [Peace treaty] [US NK Negotiations] [Overture]
• What North Korea doesn't understand
  By Ranjit Kumar Dhawan Recently the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) passed Resolution 2270 which puts severe economic sanctions on North Korea. There was a rare unanimity in the UNSC against the nuclear and missile development by the North Korean regime and these sanctions if put into action have the potential to shake the reclusive regime in Pyongyang. However it is quite interesting to note that no such sanctions were ever imposed on the five permanent members of the UNSC for developing nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction (WMD). They continue to develop more sophisticated weaponry and use them against weaker nations as it has happened in Ukraine, Syria and Iraq in the recent years. Since the five permanent members also have the veto powers in the UNSC so any sanction against them would never pass. The biggest mistake the North Korean regime has done is to challenge the sole superpower in the world ? the United States (U.S.). [Agency] [UNUS]
• [Reporter’s notebook] The facts about THAAD missile defense system
  Posted on : Mar.24,2016 17:30 KST A Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptor is launched from a battery during a flight operational test. The South Korean government is pushing deployment of the system while understating its flaws In spring 2015, I met with a missile defense expert at a Washington think tank. While we were discussing the possible deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system on the Korean Peninsula, he told me he didn’t really know if it would be helpful. Then he showed me a memo. It had been circulated quietly among experts, he said, and the US Defense Department and defense companies were in an uproar over it. It had been drafted by the Army and Navy Chiefs of Staff for then-Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel. It was called the “eight-star memo,” since it bore the signatures of two four-star generals. [Missile defense] [THAAD] [Efficacy]
• Freed American Missionary Recalls Detention in N.Korea
  Korean-American missionary Kenneth Bae, recently freed from two years in jail in North Korea, is publishing a memoir about his ordeal, VOA reported on Wednesday. Bae was arrested in 2012. Titled "Not Forgotten: The True Story of My Imprisonment in North Korea," the book is out on May 3, according to publisher HarperCollins. In a promo video for the book, Bae says he received some 450 letters from around the world while he was in prison, which told him that he was not forgotten. He went to North Korea in November 2012 and was arrested and sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for "hostile acts" against the state -- code for proselytizing. He was freed in November 2014 as a result of secret U.S. negotiations with Pyongyang. [Detainee]
• N. Korean ambassador to Egypt faces deportation
  By Yi Whan-woo North Korean Ambassador to Egypt Pak Chun-il could face deportation from the Middle-Eastern country after his name was included on a blacklist issued as part of the United Nations Security Council's (UNSC) recent sanctions on Pyongyang, according to Radio Free Asia (RFA), Tuesday. Citing sources in Egypt, the RFA's Korean-language online edition reported that the issue is being raised at the local media level to deport those who are subject to the U.N.'s punishments against North Korea. Pak is on a roster of 16 new blacklisted individuals and 12 entities in UNSC Resolution 2270, which was adopted on March 2 in response to Pyongyang's nuclear test in January and subsequent rocket launch the following month. Those on the roster are theoretically banned from travelling and trading overseas. Sources said that Pak has been "actively involved" in violations of UNSC resolutions since he was appointed to his post in December 2013. He played a key role in role in establishing an Egyptian branch of Pyongyang's Korea Mining Development Trading Corp. (KOMID), which is included in Resolution 2270. [UNUS] [Extraterritoriality] [Legality] [Egypt]
• N.Korea Fires Missiles Again
  North Korea on Monday lobbed five short-range missiles into the East Sea, three days after it fired a medium-range Rodong missile into the same area. The Joint Chiefs of Staff here said the missiles were fired from 20 km south of Hamhung, South Hamgyong Province in the afternoon and flew about 200 km. Military authorities here speculate that they either came from new 300-mm multiple rocket launchers or were a new improved version of the KN-02 missile. The North also fired six MRL rockets into the East Sea on March 3 and two Scud missiles on March 10, bringing the total to 15 this month. [Joint US military] [Warning]
• UNSCR 2270: The Good, the Bad and the Perhaps Surprising Opportunity for the North Korean Economy
  By Bradley O. Babson 21 March 2016 The new sanctions established on March 2, by UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 2270[1] bring to mind the hardships that North Korea endured after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The economic disruption from the end of the Cold War led to a contraction of production in the DPRK and hobbled its Public Distribution System (PDS), contributing significantly to the North Korean famine of the mid-1990s. As UN Member States begin implementing this new resolution, observers should consider whether North Korea can absorb the coming economic shock without major domestic repercussions. There are several important questions regarding the potential impact of UNSCR 2270: ?How resilient will the North Korean economy be when subjected to these new pressures? ?What potential loopholes and opportunities could North Korea exploit to continue mobilizing revenue from abroad for military purposes? ?How might North Korea seek to mitigate the economic impact of sanctions by expanding trade and investment in non-sanctioned activities? ?How do these sanctions affect North Korea’s internal political economy, and its ability to pursue economic development and improvements to its economic management system? [Sanctions] [Resolution 2270] [US NK policy] [Marketisation]
• [Breaking] N. Korea fires missiles into East Sea
  By Park Si-soo, Lee Han-soo North Korea fired several short-range missiles into the East Sea at 3:19 p.m. on Monday in the latest in a series of provocations in reaction to new U.S. sanctions and the ongoing Seoul-Washington joint military drills. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said the missiles were launched from the northeastern city of Hamhung at around 3:19 p.m., and flew some 200 kilometers. "Our military is keeping close tabs on the situation and standing by with a heightened defense posture," the JCS said. This provocation came three days after the North fired two mid-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea, one of which blew up in mid-air. Early this month, the North also fired two short-range missiles into the same direction. [Missile] [Provocation] [Joint US military] [Warning]
• North Korea Punished for Helping to Liberate Africa
  Andre Vltchek Soon, most likely, there will be new brutal sanctions imposed against North Korea. And there will be massive provocative military exercises held, involving the US and South Korean (ROK). In brief, it is all ‘business as usual’: the West continues to torture DPRK; it is provoking it, isolating, demonizing and dehumanizing it, making sure that it wouldn’t function normally, let alone thrive. The submissive Western public keeps obediently swallowing all the shameless lies it is being served by its mainstream media. It is not really surprising; people of Europe and North America already stopped questioning official dogmas long time ago. North Korea (DPRK) is depicted as some insane, starving, subnormal and underdeveloped hermit state, whose leaders are constantly boozing and whoring, murdering each other, and building some primitive but lethal nukes, in order to destroy the world. Those of us who are familiar with DPRK know that all this is one bundle of fat, shameless lies. Pyongyang is an elegant, well functioning city with great public housing, excellent public transportation, public places and recreational facilities, theatres, sport facilities and green areas. And despite those monstrous sanctions, the countryside is much more prosperous than what one sees in the desperate Western ‘client’ states like Indonesia and Philippines. At least there is something; there have at least been a few decent reports that have been written about those grotesque lies and the Western propaganda. But the essential question remains: ‘Why is the West so obsessed with demonizing North Korea?’ And the answer is simple: Like Cuba, North Korea dared to step on the toes of Western colonialism and imperialism http://journal-neo.org/2016/03/18/north-korea-punished-for-helping-to-liberate-africa/ [US NK policy] [Imperialism] [Africa]
• Time to rethink North Korea strategy
  17 March 2016 Authors: Sangsoo Lee and Alec Forss, ISDP North Korea’s recent nuclear test and ostensible satellite launch puts the spotlight on the failure of the international community to tame Pyongyang. Led by the United States, the international community has reacted strongly to the recent tests, pushing additional punitive sanctions against Pyongyang and raising the prospect of additional military deterrence measures. The UN Security Council has passed a resolution imposing tougher sanctions on North Korea, including banning imports of coal, iron and other mineral imports. The United Nations Security Council votes on a resolution that would impose the toughest sanctions on North Korea in two decades, during a meeting at UN Headquarters, 2 March 2016. (Photo: AAP). But it remains to be seen how effective any augmented sanctions regime will be. Pyongyang’s track record of circumventing sanctions, the regime’s seeming durability, and the unwillingness of China to squeeze North Korea too hard for fear of instability all call into question the likely efficacy of sanctions. If sanctions may not be effective, would engagement be a more productive alternative? In recent years, the idea of resuming negotiations has been discredited due to increasing mistrust after North Korea’s failure to abandon its nuclear program. The Six-Party Talks have been moribund since the end of 2008, while the breakdown of the 2012 Leap Day Agreement signalled the end of Washington’s patience in dialogue [Engagement] [US NK policy]
• DPRK top leader watches landing, anti-landing drills
  Xinhua, March 20, 2016 Kim Jong Un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), watched recent military maneuvers involving landing and anti-landing, the KCNA news agency reported on Sunday. Taking part in the drills were surface ships of the East Sea fleet of the navy, aircraft from the Second Air Division of the air and anti-air force, and artillery sub-units of the 7th Corps and the 108th Motorized Infantry Division, according to the KCNA. Satisfied with the exercises, the DPRK leader ordered to intensify training of the Korean People's Army (KPA) with DPRK-style idea and tactics to strengthen coastal defense, said the KCNA, without disclosing the exact dates and venue of the military drills. On March 12, South Korea and the United States carried out the Sangyong amphibious assault drill as a major part of OPLAN 5015 which reportedly aims at removing the DPRK headquarters and destroying the DPRK's "weapons of mass destruction." In response, the KPA General Staff ordered that the first combined task units in the eastern, central and western sectors of the front be ready for "preemptive retaliatory strikes" at the enemies. On March 7, South Korea and the United States kicked off joint military exercises code-named "Key Resolve" and "Foal Eagle," which runs through April 30. The U.S. and South Korean military drills, which are reported to be the largest-ever in scale and with the most advanced weapons, have been strongly condemned by the DPRK, which claims that the drills are rehearsals for northward invasion. [Joint US Military] [SSang Yong]
• Korean-Americans 'will not vote for Donald Trump'
  By Park Si-soo The U.S. presidential race is becoming a one on one showdown between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton after the two scored decisive wins in make-or-break nomination contests in "Super Tuesday 2,"last week. In this climate, Trump is under increasing pressure from conservative mainstreamers to drop ? or modify ? his aggressive attitude that has stirred controversy even within the conservative bloc and adopt a more generous approach to encourage millions of swinging voters and ethnic minorities. Korean-Americans are one of these groups, comprising about 0.6 percent of the U.S. population, or around 1.7 million people. It remains uncertain how Trump will appeal to them in the lead-up to the Nov. 8 presidential election. No matter what he does, however, it seems that it will not be easy for the real estate developer-turned-politician to win the hearts of Korean-Americans. "I really don't give s**t about him. I'm not voting for him," said a voter with ethnic roots in Korea in an email interview with The Korea Times. Living in Los Angeles, she wanted to remain anonymous. "I still can't believe that there are so many ignorant U.S. citizens out here who support him … It makes me sad." Another Korean-American living in San Francisco echoed her view. "I think any reasonable person with an ability to sustain basic life functions would be against Trump," he said. "He is a bold, smart man, exploiting the secret, unspoken, politically incorrect views that Europeans must harbor against minorities. Otherwise, Trump would not have come this far." [Trump] [Racism] [Diaspora]
• U.S. Slaps Stringent Sanctions on N.Korea
  U.S. President Barack Obama signed an executive order Wednesday targeting North Korean officials who work in mining, energy, transportation or banking or are involved in procuring supplies for its nuclear and missile programs. The order implements recent UN Security Council sanctions and also bans ships that have recently done business with North Korea from U.S. ports. It prohibits North Korea from exporting "slave labor," which could deal a blow to the North's foreign-currency income from some 50,000-60,000 workers abroad who are often kept virtual prisoners in squalid conditions. "These actions are consistent with our longstanding commitment to apply sustained pressure on the North Korean regime," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said. [Sanctions] [US NK policy]
• US sanctions N. Korea’s propaganda department for the first time
  Posted on : Mar.18,2016 16:41 KST North Korean leader Kim Jong-un with his younger sister Kim Yo-jong during field guidance on the east coast, Mar. 2015. It was Yo-jong‘s first time accompanying her brother on field guidance. (Yonhap News) Contrary to some predictions, Kim Jong-un’s younger sister not among individuals added to sanctions list Based on an executive order issued by US President Barack Obama on Mar. 16, the US Treasury Department added the Propaganda and Agitation Department of the North Korean Workers Party (KWP) to its sanctions list for the first time. The department is directed by Kim Yo-jong, younger sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Considering that the KWP Propaganda and Agitation Department is not directly connected with developing nuclear weapons or earning foreign currency but rather plays a key role in developing and spreading propaganda aimed at legitimizing the North Korean regime, the Treasury Department’s move appears to be aimed at the regime itself, according to multiple South Korean government officials and experts who spoke with the Hankyoreh. [US NK policy] [Sanctions]
• [Analysis] US sanctions on North Korea act to pressure China and Russia
  Posted on : Mar.18,2016 16:44 KST Obama signs executive order targeting the sending of North Koreans overseas for work In a number of respects, the executive order issued by US President Barack Obama on Mar. 16 is tougher than the UN Security Council sanctions resolution against North Korea (Resolution No. 2270) or a sanctions bill that passed the US Congress in February. That said, further administrative steps are needed to specify the targets of the sanctions before they can be implemented, and it will likely take some time before it becomes clear whether or not they will be effective. The most striking feature of the executive order is that it enables the US to place sanctions on individuals, companies and organizations from other countries that are involved in dispatching North Korea workers overseas. [Sanctions] [Extraterritoriality] [Migrant Labour] [China confrontation]
• DPRK Government, Political Parties and Organizations Issue Special Statement
  Submitted by KCNA on Thu, 03/17/2016 - 08:20 Pyongyang, March 17 (KCNA) -- The DPRK government, political parties and organizations Wednesday issued a special statement denouncing the U.S. imperialists and the south Korean puppet group of traitors for pushing the situation to the point of explosion through hideous provocations. The statement said: While frantically staging the largest-ever joint military drills Key Resolve and Foal Eagle 16 against the DPRK throughout south Korea, the enemies are pushing ahead with "scenario for attack drill part 2" the keynote of which is the "operation for advance into the northern inland area" targeting the strategic key area of the DPRK. This is the unprecedented and hideous provocation to the dignity of the supreme leadership of the DPRK and an open declaration of a war against it. The DPRK government, political parties and organizations clarify the following stand in view of the prevailing grave situation:
  Once there is a slight sign of the start of their foolish special operation, the Korean People's Army will promptly launch the battle for preemptive attack without hesitation and our people will courageously turn out in an all-people action to annihilate them to the last man in the sky, land and seas, keeping pace with the start of the operation by the infuriated revolutionary armed forces.
  The world will clearly see what a miserable end the aggressors and provocateurs will meet while going reckless to hurt the dignity of the supreme leadership of the DPRK and "bring down its social system" in the eyes of the service personnel and people all out in the battle to devotedly protect their leader. -0- [Decapitation] [Conditionality] [Joint US Military] [Preemptive]
• When Sanctions Fail, Will the US Concede it Cannot Roll Back North Korea’s Nuclear Program?
  by Nile Bowie Inter-Korean relations have reached their nadir. Following the North’s fourth nuclear test in January and subsequent long-range rocket launch that placed a satellite in orbit, Seoul has closed the Kaesong Industrial Complex. Pyongyang has cut military communication lines with the South and shut down the liaison office at Panmunjeom. This means that all inter-Korean cooperation and exchange, as well as the channels for emergency communication between North and South Korea have been suspended. Meanwhile, the Security Council has passed Resolution 2270, noted for the introduction of severe sectoral sanctions against Pyongyang. US and South Korean soldiers are currently taking part in annual large-scale military exercises, which reportedly feature training and simulations of preemptive strikes on Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile sites, amphibious landings on North Korean shores, and a “beheading operation” aimed at assassinating Kim Jong-un and toppling his government in the event of war. [US NK policy] [Sanctions] [NWS]
• North Korean leader begging for US attention
  By Jun Ji-hye North Korea is continuing to advertize its nuclear capabilities after the United Nations Security Council imposed harsher sanctions, March 2, following the North's fourth nuclear test and the launch of a long-range rocket. Government officials and defense analysts say that the Kim Jong-un regime is apparently trying to attract additional attention from the international community with exaggerated claims of its nuclear power. This is a desperate effort to be accepted as a nuclear state and treated equally with the United States at the negotiation table, while sending out the message that international sanctions will not work to make the regime abandon its nuclear program, they say. On March 9, the North Korean leader claimed through the regime's state media that the North had miniaturized and standardized nuclear warheads to fit on its ballistic missiles, and therefore had a "true" nuclear deterrence. At the time, the North's media published photos of a silver round-shaped object and several KN-08 intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM). South Korean officials presumed the object to be a mockup of a miniaturized nuclear warhead, but the North later claimed that it was a real warhead. [ICBM] [Reentry] [NK US policy]
• American Student Sentenced to 15 Years of Hard Labor in DPRK
  Submitted by KCNA on Wed, 03/16/2016 - 09:52 Pyongyang, March 16 (KCNA) -- The Supreme Court of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea on Wednesday held a trial on Otto Frederick Warmbier, a student at the University of Virginia, the United States who was arrested on the charge of anti-DPRK hostile acts. Attending the trial as observers were citizens from different walks of life. The trial examined the case of Otto Frederick Warmbier, accused of violation of Article 60 of the DPRK Criminal Code (State Subversion Charge). A written indictment confirming his crimes was submitted and there were inquiries into the facts of the case. In the course of the inquiry, the accused confessed to the serious offense against the DPRK he had committed, pursuant to the U.S. government's hostile policy toward it, in a bid to impair the unity of its people after entering it as a tourist. The court sentenced him to fifteen years of hard labor. -0-
• A Revolution in Strategy: US Shifts to Pre-emptive Posture for Asia
  I have a piece up at Asia Times—only at Asia Times! Exclusive!—‘Beheading’ Kim: Pre-emptive Strikes are Back and Headed for China, on the implications of the leaked US decapitation strategy for North Korea. In my opinion a) the US is testdriving an eventual pre-emption posture for the PRC in North Korea and b) it locks the US and its adversaries into an escalating threat dynamic that, for the United States is more feature than bug. [China confrontation] [Decapitation] [NKforChina]
• N. Korea sentences detained US student to 15 years of hard labor
  North Korea's highest court has sentenced an detained U.S. student to a 15-year hard labor on crimes against the communist state, foreign newswire services reported Wednesday. Otto Warmbier, a 21-year-old U.S. student was arrested and detained by the North in January this year for allegedly conducting hostile acts against the regime. The North's media claimed that the student entered North Korea nominally for tourism, though the real intention was to undermine North Korea's unity under the U.S. government's acquiescence and control. In 2014, Pyongyang released three detained Americans -- Kenneth Bae, Matthew Todd Miller and Jeffrey Fowle. Lim Hyeon-soo, a Korean-Canadian pastor, has also been held in captivity in the North since he entered the country via China on a humanitarian mission in January 2015. In December, the North's highest court sentenced Lim to life in prison, citing his "subversive plots" against the North's regime. (Yonhap)
• Lippert: US priority on North Korea is denuclearization
  By Kang Seung-woo Mark Lippert U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Mark Lippert rejected speculation Friday that his country has changed its position about signing a peace treaty with North Korea, claiming that Pyongyang's denuclearization is its No. 1 priority. His statement is the latest by a series of U.S. government officials denying that the United States would hold talks with North Korea about a peace treaty simultaneous with denuclearization negotiations. "As many of you have seen from our press statement as well as (Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs) Daniel Russel's statement when he was here in Seoul as well as Sung Kim's interview, our policy especially with respect to the peace regime with North Korea, remains unchanged," Lippert said in a press briefing in Seoul. "Denuclearization is our no. 1 priority." [US NK policy]
• Will the DPRK be Recognised as a Nuclear State?
  Nile Bowie Inter-Korean relations have reached their nadir. Following the North’s fourth nuclear test in January and subsequent long-range rocket launch that placed a satellite in orbit, Seoul has closed the Kaesong Industrial Complex. Pyongyang has cut military communication lines with the South and shut down the liaison office at Panmunjeom. This means that all inter-Korean cooperation and exchange, as well as the channels for emergency communication between North and South Korea have been suspended. Meanwhile, the Security Council has passed Resolution 2270, noted for the introduction of severe sectoral sanctions against Pyongyang. http://journal-neo.org/2016/03/14/will-the-dprk-be-recognised-as-a-nuclear-state/ [US NK policy] [NWS]
• Pyongyang Tension up as U.S., South Korea Talk of ‘Decapitation Strikes’
  By Eric Talmadge AP – japan times MAR 9, 2016 Massive joint U.S.-South Korea military exercises are a spring ritual on the Korean Peninsula guaranteed to draw a lot of threat-laced venom from Pyongyang. This time, not only are the war games the biggest ever, but the troops now massed south of the Demilitarized Zone have reportedly incorporated a new hypothetical into their training: a “beheading mission” against Kim Jong Un himself. It’s the kind of option military planners tend to consider but almost never use. Neither the U.S. military nor South Korea’s defense ministry has actually said it is part of the Key Resolve-Foal Eagle exercises that began this week and will go on for about two months. [Joint US military] [Decapitation]
• US-South Korean militaries rehearse pre-emptive strikes on North Korea
  By Peter Symonds 8 March 2016 Massive joint US-South Korean military exercises began yesterday under conditions of high tension on the Korean Peninsula following North Korea’s fourth nuclear test in January and rocket launch last month. Under pressure from Washington, the UN Security Council last week imposed the most far-reaching sanctions to date on Pyongyang that will limit its mineral exports and compound the economic crisis wracking the unstable regime. The annual war games—Key Resolve and Foal Eagle—have always been extremely provocative, mobilising the substantial resources of the South Korean military and US forces based in the country in a dress rehearsal for war with North Korea. The drills underway will be the largest-ever, involving 300,000 South Korean troops and 17,000 US personnel, backed by sophisticated armour and artillery, as well as air and sea power. More significantly, however, this year’s exercises are based on a new joint operational plan—OPLAN 5015—which shifts the focus of a war against North Korea from a nominally defensive stance to an offensive one. According to details leaked in the media, the plan includes pre-emptive strikes on North Korea’s nuclear and missile sites, and “decapitation” raids by special forces units to assassinate North Korean figures, including leader Kim Jong Un, as the prelude to the seizure of the entire Korean Peninsula. [Joint US military] [OPLAN 5015] [Invasion] [Preemptive]
• US seeking to cool speculation about peace agreement with Pyongyang
  Posted on : Mar.10,2016 16:11 KST Sung Kim, US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Allusion to peace agreement with the North touched off a spirited response by the S. Korean government Seoul and Washington are moving to counter speculation about possible US discussions of a peace agreement with North Korea and differences with South Korea on North Korea policy in the wake of a meeting in Washington late last month between US Secretary of State John Kerry and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Speaking at a Feb. 23 press conference after the meeting, Kerry responded to Wang‘s idea for pursuing denuclearization together with discussions toward a peace agreement by saying, “What we need is for the DPRK to understand that it can . . . actually ultimately have a peace agreement with the United States of America that resolves the unresolved issues of the Korean Peninsula, if it will come to the table and negotiate the denuclearization.” [US NK policy] [Peace Treaty] [Sidelined]
• [Correspondent’s column] The butterfly effect of failed N. Korea-US talks
  Posted on : Mar.11,2016 18:06 KST Sputtered attempts at holding dialogue may have spurred recent cascade of thorny developments on the peninsula The situation on the Korean Peninsula just keeps going from bad to worse. Whatever signs of improvement are faint to the point of invisibility. Where did it all go wrong? A clue may be found in a Wall Street Journal article from Feb. 21 titled “U.S. Agreed to North Korea Peace Talks Before Latest Nuclear Test.” Apart from its references to exploratory dialogue between Pyongyang and Washington, the article offers little in terms of specific facts or interpretation. Nevertheless, its publication made it clear that bilateral discussions on a peace agreement did take place sometime around Nov. 2015, and that those discussions failed to produce any substantive results. [US NK policy] [US NK Negotiations]
• Russia, China reaffirm opposition to THAAD deployment in S. Korea
  By Park Si-soo The foreign ministers of China and Russia reaffiemd their countries' oppositon to the possible deployment of an advanced American missile-defense system in South Korea. Amid escalating tensions over North Korea's nuclear arsenal, South Korea and the United States last week began formal talks on deploying the missile-defense system, named Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD). Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told a news conference in Moscow on Friday after meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov that the THAAD system would "inflict direct harm to the strategic security interests of China and Russia." Lavrov said deploying the system would be an overreaction. "The plans, which the U.S. has been nursing together with the Republic of Korea, exceed any conceivable threats that may come from North Korea, even taking Pyongyang's current actions into account," he said. [THAAD] [China confrontation] [Russia confrontation]
• KPA Will Go over to Preemptive Retaliatory Strike: Its General Staff
  Submitted by KCNA on Sat, 03/12/2016 - 09:40 Pyongyang, March 12 (KCNA) -- Key Resolve and Foal Eagle 16 joint military exercises kicked off by the U.S. imperialists and the south Korean puppet forces are becoming more reckless as the days go by. The enemies are opening to public without hesitation that the largest-ever Ssangyong drill being staged in the Phohang area of south Korea is the climax of OPLAN 5015 to "bring down the social system" by striking the supreme headquarters and major core facilities in the DPRK through the "operation to advance into Pyongyang" accompanied by a sudden surprise landing on the DPRK. The General Staff of the Korean People's Army (KPA) in a statement Saturday said that the prevailing grave situation makes all the service personnel of the KPA discard the patience which they have long exercised. The KPA General Staff in charge of all operations of the revolutionary armed forces of the DPRK, upon the authorization of the dignified Supreme Command, formally declares the following military counteractions: From this moment, the first combined task units stationed in the eastern, central and western sectors of the front will go over to carrying out the operation for preemptive retaliatory strike at the enemy groups involved in the Ssangyong drill. The KPA will counter the enemies' landing drill aiming at "advance into Pyongyang" with the operation to liberate the whole of south Korea including Seoul and the enemies' tactics of "high-density strike" with an ultra-precision blitzkrieg strike of the Korean style. The revolutionary armed forces of the DPRK holding tightly the arms to annihilate the enemies with towering hatred for them are waiting for the dignified Supreme Command to issue an order to launch a preemptive strike of justice on the aggressors. [Joint US military] [OPLAN 5015] [Ssang Yong] [Conditionality] [Preemptive]
• KPA Statement on Ssang Yong exercises
  Despite of the DPRK’s serious warning, “Key Resolve” & “Foal Eagle 16”, the aggressive joint military war games staged by the US and south Korea, are becoming more frantic and reckless day after day. Aggressive military exercise codenamed “Ssangryong” (Double Dragon), a simulation landing operation against the northern half of Korea, can be taken as an example. This landing exercise, being staged in and around the Phohang, south Korea, similar to the coastal conditions of the DPRK, involves tens of thousands of the special task forces including the marine corps of the US aggression forces and the south Korean puppet troops, together with a huge number of landing crafts and means of attack. The US and south Korea made public openly without reserve that “Ssangryong” exercise is to attack the supreme leadership and major core facilities with a surprise landing on the seashore of the DPRK and “Advance-into-Pyongyang Operation,” and thus realize the “system overthrow” and that is the climax of OPLAN 5015. [Ssang Yong] [Conditionality]
• Replacing Armistice Agreement with Peace Agreement is the best way for ensuring peace on the Korean Peninsula and the rest of the northeast Asian region
  by Jong Nam Hyok Jong Nam Hyok is a researcher at the Institute for American Studies under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, DPRK. This article provides a DPRK perspective. While readers may find fault with many of its arguments and points of view (as do we), it is published to provide our readership with insights into how the DPRK sees the current situation. The online version of the article is available here. [Peace Treaty] [NK US policy]
• THAAD: What It Can and Can’t Do
  By Michael Elleman and Michael J. Zagurek Jr. 10 March 2016 A North Korean ballistic missile launched from a submarine off the South Korean coastline would not be detected by missile defense radars pointed north to detect, acquire and track missiles fired from North Korean territory. The THAAD’s three-dimensional radar envelope is shown in red, the submarine-launched missile trajectory is shown in white. North Korea’s recent nuclear test and satellite launch have provoked a strong response from the United States, the Republic of Korea and the international community. One result has been a greater willingness on the part of South Korea to undertake negotiations with the United States on deploying the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system on the peninsula to protect it from North Korean ballistic missile attacks. Adding THAAD to missile-defense deployments that already include Patriot systems would likely substantially enhance South Korea’s capacity to minimize the damage caused by a large North Korean missile attack. However, it is important to note that a layered defense will not be able to completely block such an attack. As a result, missiles armed with nuclear weapons could cause significant casualties as well as damage in the South. [THAAD] [MISCOM] [Missile defense]
• Korea, U.S. to Stage Drills with Commonwealth Countries
  South Korea and the U.S. will stage special forces drills with Australia and New Zealand and the U.K. this year to boost deterrence against North Korea. The drills will push the strategic boundaries in response to asymmetric threats from the North, the U.S. Forces Korea said Thursday. Australia and New Zealand have sent more troops to the joint South Korea-U.S. drills every year, rising to 190 this year.
  The underlying aim is to bring South Korea, Australia, Japan and the U.S. closer together to thwart China's military expansion in the Pacific. [Joint US military] [China confrontation] [Pretext]
• THAAD was old issue between Seoul, Washington
  Ex-U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta By Kang Seung-woo An interview with former U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta broadcast on Voice of America has triggered controversy here. According to the VOA, Wednesday, Panetta said in an interview that the U.S. discussed with South Korea, the possibility of deploying the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system on Korean soil, while he was in office. He served as the Pentagon chief from July 2011 to February 2013. Before that he was Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from February 2009 to June 2011. Until recently, the South Korean defense ministry had maintained that no decision was made about THAAD; there were no consultations with the U.S.; and there was no request from Washington. Panetta's remarks, if true, mean that the defense ministry had secret talks with the U.S. about THAAD deployment even before it emerged as a hot-button issue last year. This also means that the ministry lied about the talks. [THAAD] [Missile defense] [Disinformation] [Panetta]
• SANCTIONING KEROSENE AND JET FUEL IN NORTH KOREA
  NAPSNet Policy Forum Peter Hayes, David von Hippel, Roger Cavazos March 10, 2016 I. Introduction Paragraph 31 of the UN Security Council’s sanction resolution 2270 passed on March 2, 2016 specifically takes aim at jet fuel and kerosene-type rocket fuel by the North Korean military. As the DPRK likely makes its own rocket fuel, these sanctions are unlikely to restrain its rocket launching activity. As domestically produced kerosene suffices to meet annual military demand for kerosene, we conclude that the main impact of cutting of imported kerosene-jet fuel will be on households using kerosene for lighting, a small amount of cooking, and a directly proportional amount of space heating in winter time resulting from the lighting and cooking usages, that is, by ordinary North Koreans. [Sanctions] [Efficacy] [Sanctions cost]
• Why UN Sanctions Against North Korea Are Wrong
  “What the U.S. really wants is not the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula but the Americanization of the Korean peninsula.” [1] March 7, 2016 By Stephen Gowans After successfully concluding negotiations with China to craft a new raft of international sanctions against North Korea, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power stepped in front of reporters to declare that the northeast Asian country, “one of the most brutal regimes the world has ever known,” would not be allowed to achieve “its declared goal of developing nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles. The international community cannot allow” this to happen, she said. “The United States will not allow this to happen.” [2] A week later, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) issued a resolution imposing the new tranche of sanctions on “the most sanctioned nation in the world,” as George W. Bush had once called North Korea. [3] “The resolution,” noted the Wall Street Journal, “mandates countries to inspect all cargo to and from North Korea, cut off shipments of aircraft and rocket fuel, ban all weapons sales and restrict all revenues to the government unless for humanitarian purposes.” [4] Bush had promised that “the most sanctioned nation in the world” would “remain the most sanctioned nation in the world.” [5] The Security Council agreed. Since 1998, North Korea has conducted four nuclear tests, the latest on January 6, and has launched six rockets capable of carrying satellites into orbit (which the United States has called disguised ballistic missile tests.) But over the same period, the United States has developed new precision-guided “dial-a-yield” nuclear weapons to make their use more thinkable, built new non-nuclear weapons of mass destruction, and spent $8 billion annually to maintain and modernize its nuclear arsenal. At the same time, numerous countries have launched satellites into orbit and some have tested long range ballistic missiles. So why is North Korea singled out, while the United States and a number of its allies continue to test rocket technology and bolster their nuclear arsenals? There are no legitimate grounds which justify the March 2, 2016 round of sanctions the Security Council imposed on North Korea. The beleaguered country’s nuclear weapons testing and satellite launch violate no international law and present no realistic threat to the United States or its allies, a reality acknowledge by its own generals and the country’s newspaper of record [Test] [Satellite] [UNUS] [US NK policy]
• “Decapitation strike” and N. Korea’s objections to ROK-US military drills
  Posted on : Mar.8,2016 16:00 KST Seoul has declined to give clear answer on possibility of drills practicing to take out Kim Jong-un The key issue behind North Korea’s objections to the Key Resolve/Foal Eagle joint military exercises launched by South Korea and the US on Mar. 7 is the matter of the “decapitation strike” exercises. The heated response from Pyongyang appears to be a reaction to recent reports in the Japanese press that such a strike would be included in the exercises. A decapitation strike or strategy is, quite literally, an operation to eliminate an enemy leader. In the past, the US military used state-of-the-art weaponry in operations to intended to take out leaders of anti-US administrations such as Saddam Hussein in Iraq or Muammar Gaddafi in Libya. [Decapitation] [Joint US military]
• S. Korea, US kick off largest-ever war games
  Xinhua, March 8, 2016 South Korean amphibious assault landing vehicles move to a landing ship at the sea near Pohang, South Korea, on March 7, 2016. South Korea and the United States on Monday kicked off their largest-ever annual war games. (Xinhua/Newsis) [Joint US military] [Photos]
• Tensions grow as joint drills begin
  By Jun Ji-hye Tension is escalating after North Korea threatened to launch an all-out offensive in response to the largest-ever joint exercises by South Korea and the U.S., which started Monday. The largely computer-simulated Key Resolve drill will run until March 18, and the Foal Eagle combined field training exercise will take place until April 30. The National Intelligence Service said North Korea has attempted to hack into the smartphones of key South Korean officials and launched cyber attacks against a rail operator, without elaborating. The agency plans to hold an emergency meeting on cyber security today to discuss how to deal with the increasing threats of the North's hacking attacks. Pyongyang vowed an all-out offensive Monday, further heightening tension on the peninsula, where a new form of Cold War is looming after the North's fourth nuclear test on Jan. 6 and the launch of a long-range rocket on Feb. 7. [Joint US military] [Inversion]
• Will US shift to peace treaty talks with NK?
  U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi attend a joint press conference at the State Department in Washington, D.C., Feb. 23. China has been promoting simultaneous talks for denuclearizing North Korea and a peace treaty to formally end the 1950-53 Korean War. / AFP-Yonhap
  Seoul's role in talks uncertain
  By Kang Seung-woo American diplomatic experts believe their country has changed its longstanding position about signing a peace treaty with North Korea — despite their government's repeated denials. The Korean War started in 1950 and ended in 1953 with an armistice, not a peace treaty, so the Korean Peninsula is still technically at war. Talks for a peace treaty, which would formally end the war, are expected to remain a hot potato, along with North Korea's denuclearization. For decades, the North Korean regime has called for a peace treaty with the United States, claiming that the treaty would reduce the tensions on the peninsula and end the nuclear arms race, but the U.S. government had given short shrift to the call. [Peace Treaty]
• In drills, U.S., South Korea practice striking North’s nuclear plants, leaders
  A South Korean amphibious assault vehicle, left, moves to a landing ship as a South Korean submarine, center, is seen from the southeastern port of Pohang on March 7. (AFP via Getty Images) By Anna Fifield March 7 at 3:17 AM ? TOKYO — The United States and South Korea kicked off major military exercises on Monday, including rehearsals of surgical strikes on North Korea’s main nuclear and missile facilities and “decapitation raids” by special forces targeting the North’s leadership. The drills always elicit an angry response from Pyongyang, but Monday’s statement was particularly ferocious, accusing the United States and South Korea of planning a “beheading operation” aimed at removing Kim Jong Un’s regime. The North Korean army and people “will take military counteraction for preemptive attack so that they may deal merciless deadly blows at the enemies,” the North’s powerful National Defense Commission said in a statement. [Joint US military]
• How Serious are North Korea’s Pre-emptive Attack Threats?
  By Victor Cha Mar 7, 2016 ?Annual Key Resolve and Foal Eagle joint military exercises commenced today on March 7. Their scale is larger than previous exercises and will run until April 30. ?Over the weekend, North Korea threatened to launch a “preemptive nuclear strike of justice” in response to the military exercises. ?How serious are these threats? Rhetoric out of North Korea is always fiery preceding and during these annual exercises. They could amount to no more than a rhetorical response to South Korean press reports that the US-ROK exercises may practice strikes against North Korean targets including leadership and military installations. ?Our data on annual U.S. – ROK military exercises looked at the correlation between Key Resolve/Foal Eagle (and their antecedents) and North Korean belligerence. The dataset dating back to 2005 shows that: ?U.S.-ROK military exercises do not provoke North Korean belligerence (Refer to Graph A). [Joint US military]
• NDC Statement on Key Resolve and Foal Eagle 16
  The DPRK National Defence Commission issued a statement on March 7 to condemn the US and puppet south Korea for having decided to start the largest ever Key Resolve and Foal Eagle 16 joint military exercises. It said: The worst ever situation has been created in the Korean peninsula at present, which will lead to the outbreak of a nuclear war at any moment. The US imperialist robbers and south Korean puppets have decided to start Key Resolve and Foal Eagle 16 joint military drills today on the largest scale in their history despite the DPRK’s sharp warning. The war gamble will involve some 27 000-strong US aggression forces, over 300 000 south Korean puppet troops, huge armed forces including those from satellite countries and the task force of the nuclear carrier USS Stenis, the landing preparation group of the USS Bonhomie Richard, B-52 and B-2 nuclear strategic bombers, F-22A stealth fighter jets, a flotilla of pre-equipment loading warships and all American lethal weapons for nuclear war. They assert that the current war drills constitute a “crucial pressure” following the UN “sanctions resolution” which was forged unreasonably picking a quarrel with the country’s self-defensive first H-bomb test and the legitimate launch of Kwangmyongsong 4 earth observation satellite. [Joint US military] [Satellite] [Test]
• S. Korea, US begin largest-ever military drills on striking N. Korea leadership
  South Korea and the United States kicked off their largest-ever annual joint military exercises on Monday with a special focus on bolstering the allies' wartime capability to launch precision strikes on North Korea's top leadership, officials said Monday. The Key Resolve and Foal Eagle exercises, each a command post-based and field training war game, began their weeks-long schedules amid escalating military tensions between South and North Korea following Pyongyang's nuclear and long-range missile tests earlier this year. North Korea threatened to launch an "all-out offensive" against Seoul and Washington as the allies kicked off the joint exercises earlier in the day. This year's exercises mobilize some 17,000 U.S. troops, the largest number of American forces in about 40 years and about twice the size of a year earlier, according to military officials here. [Joint US military] [OPLAN 5015] [Decapitation]
• Drills to feature Stennis carrier, B-2 bombers
  By Jun Ji-hye Many U.S. strategic assets including the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis will participate in the Seoul-Washington joint drills Key Resolve and Foal Eagle, which started Monday, according to the ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command (CFC). The USS John C. Stennis Strike Group (JCSSG) is scheduled to enter a naval base at the port city of Busan on March 13. The JCSSG consists of the Stennis (CVN 74) with Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 9 and Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 21, guided-missile destroyers USS Stockdale (DDG 106), USS Chung-Hoon (DDG 93) and USS William P. Lawrence (DDG 110) and guided-missile cruiser USS Mobile Bay (CG 53). [Joint US military]
• US amphibious ships, troops enter S. Korea for joint exercise
  Three American amphibious vessels and their troops arrived in South Korea on Thursday to join a combined landing exercise with South Korean forces, United States Forces Korea (USFK) said. The Japan-based Expeditionary Strike Group Seven brought its flagship, the amphibious assault vessel USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) and two other dock landing ships to South Korea, along with more than 4,000 sailors and marines, according to USFK's statement. The 41,000-ton flagship and one of the landing vessels, the USS Ashland (LSD 48), entered the southern port city of Busan while the other, the USS Germantown (LSD 42), docked in Jinhae, the southeastern port town where a large South Korean naval base is situated. [Joint US military] [Amphibious]
• S. Korea, US begin largest-ever annual war games
  China.org.cn, March 7, 2016 South Korea and the United States on Monday kicked off their largest-ever annual joint military exercises, weeks after the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s nuclear test and long-range rocket launch, Combined Forces Command (CFC) said in a statement. The drills, code-named Key Resolve and Foal Eagle, are scheduled to run until the end of next month. The Key Resolve command post exercise based on computer simulation will be carried out through March 18, with the Foal Eagle field training exercise lasting until April 30. The United States will mobilize some 17,000 troops, more than double the number of previous years, and deploy a combat aviation brigade and an expeditionary Marine brigade. About 300,000 South Korean personnel will be involved, some 1.5 times more than its average deployment for the annual drills. [Joint US military] [Chinese IR]
• N. Korea could react to sanctions with military clashes, cyberattacks, suspension of UN membership: expert
  North Korea could respond to the new U.N. sanctions with military clashes with South Korea, cyberattacks, expulsion of diplomats of sanctions-supporting countries and even suspension of its own U.N. membership, a Russian expert said Sunday. Georgy Toloraya, director of Korean Programs at the Institute of Economy at the Russian Academy of Science, made the prediction, saying Pyongyang's reaction to the sanctions resolution could be "harsh" as it came just a few months before the North holds a congress of the ruling Workers' Party in May. "High-ranking North Koreans recently told this author that North Korean authorities may respond with 'benign neglect' -- essentially ignoring the new sanctions under the pretext that the DPRK has been surviving under such measures for years -- but Kim Jong-un may react forcefully to avoid the risk of backlash from conservative forces in Pyongyang," Toloraya said in an article carried by the website 38 North. [UNUS] [Sanctions]
• S.Korea, U.S. Start Biggest-Ever Joint Exercises
  South Korea and the U.S. on Monday start joint exercises on a scale not seen since North Korea sank the Navy corvette Cheonan in 2010. More than 17,000 American troops from the U.S. Forces Korea and other overseas bases and some 300,000 South Korean soldiers are taking part. The two allies will practice so-called "decapitation operations" against the North Korean regime and pre-emptive strikes on North Korean nuclear and missile facilities. A U.S. combat airborne brigade and a Marine mobile brigade will take part using state-of-the-art equipment like the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis, aerial refueling aircraft, and marine patrol aircraft. The Stennis is a super-size aircraft carrier with a displacement of more than 90,000 tons. It carries some 80 aircraft, including FA-18 E/F Super Hornet fighter jets. Its fleet consists of three to four Aegis destroyers and cruisers and one to two attack nuclear-powered submarines. The drills have been ramped up following the North's recent nuclear test and rocket launch. The part dubbed "Key Resolve" is a computer-simulation command post exercise, while the "Foal Eagle" part is a field maneuver mobilizing massive troops and equipment. The decapitation exercise will be carried out on the assumption that troops from the U.S. Navy SEAL and Delta Force and soldiers from the South Korean Army Special Warfare Command and Navy UDT/SEAL clandestinely infiltrate North Korea on nuclear-powered submarines and special aircraft like the MC-130 and MH-47. A Marine landing exercise is scheduled between Monday and March 18, bringing together 12,000 Marines from the two countries, five U.S. maritime prepositioning ship squadrons, and the USS Bonhomme Richard landing vessel with a displacement of more than 40,000 tons. The Richard can provide supplies for a single brigade to continue combat for a month. [US Joint military] [Decapitation] [Invasion]
• Largest ever Korea-US military drill kicks off today
  Allies to focus on ‘surgical strikes' on NK nuke facilities
  By Yi Whan-woo South Korea and the United States will begin their largest-ever joint military exercises, Monday, with a focus on the swift deployment of U.S. strategic assets and "surgical strikes" against North Korea's key nuclear, missile, and other military facilities. The annual spring exercises on the Korean Peninsula will include two parallel drills ? Key Resolve and Foal Eagle ? involving over 300,000 South Korean troops and 15,000 U.S. personnel, according to South Korean military officials, Sunday. They said this is almost double the number of personnel in previous years. "This will be the biggest Seoul-Washington military exercises since 2010 when Pyongyang launched a deadly torpedo attack on South Korean naval frigate Cheonan," an official said. Seoul and Washington have claimed that the previous drills were purely defensive and non-provocative in their nature. Triggered by North Korea's latest nuclear test and long-range rocket launch, the allies have abruptly included preparations for preemptive strikes against the military state in their war games this year [Joint US military] [Decapitation] [OPLAN 5015] [Invasion]
• US amphibious assault ship
  USS Bonhomme Richard, a Wasp-class amphibious assault ship, arrives at a naval base in Busan,Thursday. The 41,000-ton ship can carry a crew of 100 officers, 1,000 sailors and 1,900 Marines, along with CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters, AV-8B Harrier attack planes and other aircraft. The vessel is scheduled to participate in the annual Ssang Yong (double dragon) amphibious landing training for marines and navy personnel conducted jointly by South Korea and the United States, slated for next week. / Yonhap
  [Photo] [Joint US military] [Amphibious]
• US urges N. Korea to refrain from provocative statements after nuclear threats
  The United States urged North Korea to refrain from "provocative actions and statements" after Kim Jong-un ordered the military to get ready to use nuclear weapons at a "moment's notice," on Friday Pyongyang's young leader issued the order while attending the North's test-firing Thursday of a new multiple launch rocket system, stressing that the current situation has become "very precarious," according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Yonhap reported. "The kind of comments and provocative actions that we've seen out of Pyongyang in the last 36 hours or so are not new," White House press secretary Josh Earnest was quoted as saying at a regular briefing, referring to the North's testing of the new rocket system and Kim's nuclear threats. "We continue to urge the North Korean regime to refrain from provocative actions and statements that tend to aggravate tensions. Instead, we believe that they should focus on fulfilling their international obligations and commitments, particularly when it relates to their nuclear program," he said. The North's nuclear strike threats and the test-firing of the new multiple launch rocket system came after the U.N. Security Council unanimously adopted the harshest-ever sanctions on Pyongyang for its nuclear and missile tests. They are believed to be a message to the outside world that the rogue nation remains unfazed by the new sanctions and will forge ahead with its nuclear and missile programs. Earnest said the U.S. has taken a series of steps to bolster its defenses and those of its allies "in the face of threats that emanate from North Korea," such as deploying ballistic missile defense systems to the Asia-Pacific region and to Alaska. "We certainly take very seriously the responsibilities that we have to protect the security of our allies Japan and South Korea," he said. "We're going to continue to monitor the situation closely and we're going to continue to call upon the North Korean government to avoid destabilizing actions and other provocations that tend to rattle an already jittery region of the world." [Provocation] [Inversion]
• Planning for post-unification alliance
  By David F. Helvey North Korea's fourth nuclear test this past January and long-range missile launch in February underscore the fact that the reclusive regime remains, in the words of U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter, an "up close, dangerous, and continuing threat to the security of the Peninsula and the region." Pyongyang's actions highlight the role of the U.S.-ROK Alliance in deterring North Korean aggression and contributing to stability and security on the Korean Peninsula, in Northeast Asia, and the world. While focusing on deterrence and responding to the immediate threat from Pyongyang, we should also recognize that the ultimate source of the threat lies in the regime itself and that the path to long-term security and stability on the Korean Peninsula lies in reunification. The U.S.-ROK alliance can play an important role in support of Korean reunification. Retaining the alliance after reunification would also serve the interests of both nations and the region by reinforcing the existing international order, assisting a unified Korea to meet its security needs, and facilitating regional stability. However, for the alliance to endure, it must be considered as part of advance planning for Korean unification today. [Unification] [US ROK alliance] [Bizarre] [China confrontation]
• Seized N. Korean ship registered in Sierra Leone
  A North Korean ship impounded in the Philippines last week was registered as being from Sierra Leone via a practice called flag of convenience, South Korea said Sunday. Flag of convenience is a business practice of registering a merchant ship to a country other than its origin for the purposes of avoiding taxes and other regulations. The Philippines seized the North Korean ship Jin Teng on Saturday, becoming the first country to enforce sanctions on the reclusive country since the United Nations Security Council passed a more comprehensive resolution last week. Resolution 2270 subjects 31 ships belonging to North Korea's Wonyang Shipping Corp. to an asset freeze and sanctions. Despite being Sierra Leone-flagged, the Jin Teng was seized because the sanctions are imposed via the ship's International Maritime Organization (IMO) number, not its country of origin, a South Korean official said. Nine other ships on the list are registered as being from countries other than North Korea, including Tanzania and Cambodia, the official added. (Yonhap) [Sanctions] [UNUS] [Philippines]
• Additional Sanctions on North Korea
  By Sharon Squassoni, Amelia Armitage Mar 2, 2016 On March 2, 2016, the United Nations Security Council voted 15-0 to adopt Resolution 2270, which imposes new sanctions against North Korea for its nuclear and ballistic missile activities. This is the fifth resolution on the DPRK the Security Council has passed since 2006 and is the culmination of nearly two months of negotiations. In the immediate aftermath of the most recent North Korean nuclear and missile tests, several countries also imposed unilateral sanctions on Pyongyang. Q1: What are the goals of these sanctions against North Korea now? A1: In the nearly two months since North Korea tested what it called a “hydrogen bomb,” UN Security Council members have debated imposing new sanctions. The big question is whether additional sanctions will bring North Korea back to the negotiating table, a stated objective of key parties. For example, both China and Russia emphasized in their Security Council statements that isolating Pyongyang was not a long-term solution. U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power also underscored that the “ultimate goal” is bringing North Korea to the negotiating table. This new round of sanctions, however, is more likely to isolate North Korea as it seeks to cut off funding and supply avenues, as well as degrade North Korea’s military operational readiness. For example, Resolution 2270 seeks to restrict any and all ways in which North Korea can earn hard currency, for example through exports of natural resources (including gold) and small arms. Requirements for cargo inspections and the expansion of “black lists” of individuals and entities seek to restrict avenues of supply for military-related goods, while the transfers of fuel, including rocket fuel, or any other military-related items to Pyongyang are also banned. Some observers have questioned whether North Korea may be prompted to respond militarily. Q2: What is new about this round of U.N. sanctions? A2: For the first time, according to reports, the United States and China worked closely to negotiate the sanctions provisions. Diplomatically, this is a significant signal to North Korea and one that may have made Russia a little nervous. China’s willingness to impose more stringent sanctions may signal waning tolerance of North Korea’s provocations, but only active compliance with the new measures will demonstrate real resolve. Russia’s last-minute delay of the vote and several modifications (including exempting from the blacklist a North Korean mining representative in Russia and allowing shipments of Russian coal through a North Korean port) did not prevent its support of the final text. Q3: How effective will this new round of sanctions be? A3: The effectiveness depends in large part on the cooperation of all countries in implementing the agreed-upon measures. In the past, North Korea has ignored U.N. resolutions and managed to find alternative ways to build their nuclear and missile programs despite significant sanctions. They have found partners (including Angola, Myanmar, Syria, Libya, and Cuba) willing to risk international ire by purchasing DPRK munitions—and subsequently providing Pyongyang with much needed cash—or by selling banned items to North Korea and allowing the country to circumvent existing sanctions. The complicated routes the equipment and payments traveled, involving shell companies and unscheduled port stops, illustrate the difficulty of identifying and intercepting illicit trade. Resolution 2270 specifically mentioned North Korea’s use of gold to circumvent banking restrictions. By making the prohibitions more explicit and by increasing states’ authority to implement them, the new resolution could make it more difficult for other states to hide behind diplomatic vagaries to circumvent the restrictions. China’s demonstrated support and cooperation in tightening trade with North Korea could significantly tip the balance in the effectiveness of sanctions. Sharon Squassoni is a senior fellow and director of the Proliferation Prevention Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C. Amelia Armitage is an intern with the Proliferation Prevention Program at CSIS. [Sanctions] [UNUS] [US NK policy] [China hope]
• The Off-Ramp with North Korea
  NAPSNet Policy Forum By Leon V. Sigal March 3, 2016 I. Introduction Leon Sigal analyzes the recent steps toward negotiations with North Korea. He quotes an interview with U.S. Ambassador Sung Kim, “when we conveyed to Pyongyang that we are open to dialogue to discuss how we can resume credible and meaningful negotiations, of course we meant it.” Meanwhile, the issue of denuclearization remains central. Sigal also points out that “news reports focused on China’s willingness to endorse sanctions without paying much attention to the U.S. commitment to negotiations.” Leon V. Sigal is director of the Northeast Asia Cooperative Security Project at the Social Science Research Council in New York. II. Policy Forum by Leon v. Sigal THE OFF-RAMP WITH NORTH KOREA The State Department disclosed on February 21 that in talks this fall in New York, the United States had rejected a North Korean proposal to begin negotiations on a peace treaty. “?To be clear, it was the North Koreans who proposed discussing a peace treaty,” department spokesman John Kirby said in an emailed statement, “We carefully considered their proposal, and made clear that denuclearization had to be part of any such discussion. The North rejected our response.”[1] He was reacting to a fallacious story in the Wall Street Journal that alleged, “Days before North Korea’s latest nuclear-bomb test, the Obama administration secretly agreed to talks to try to formally end the Korean War, dropping a longstanding condition that Pyongyang first take steps to curtail its nuclear arsenal.”[2] The revelation came on the eve of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s visit to Washington. Intriguingly, four days earlier, Wang had made a more negotiable proposal of his own: “As chair country for the six-party talks [on the nuclear issue], China proposes talks toward both achieving denuclearization [of the Korean Peninsula] and replacing the [existing North Korea-US] armistice agreement with a peace treaty.” The proposal, Wang said, was intended to “find a way back to dialogue quickly.”[3] Wang’s proposal was consistent with the September 19, 2005 six-party joint statement, which called for “the directly related parties” to “negotiate a permanent peace regime on the Korean Peninsula at an appropriate separate forum” in parallel with negotiations on denuclearization and political and economic normalization. It was also a way to bridge the gap between Washington and Pyongyang. North Korea had long sought a peace treaty. Its position had hardened, however, after Washington, backed by Seoul and Tokyo, began insisting that it had to take “pre-steps” to denuclearize before talks could begin. Pyongyang in response began insisting a peace treaty had to precede denuclearization. [US NK Negotiations] [Preconditions] [Six Party Talks]
• U.S. Implements Separate Sanctions Against N.Korea
  The U.S. government on Wednesday began implementing its own sanctions against North Korea, with targets including the powerful National Defense Commission and other agencies. The move came as soon as the UN Security Council passed a resolution mandating tougher sanctions against the North. The U.S. Treasury and State departments said the separate sanctions target five North Korean agencies and 11 senior officials. Among them are North Korea's army politburo chief Hwang Pyong-so, now considered the North's No. 2 behind leader Kim Jong-un. The North Korean individuals and agencies included on the U.S. sanctions list will have their assets in U.S. banks frozen and be banned from entering U.S. territories. [Financial Sanctions]
• S. Korea, US launch formal talks on deploying THAAD in Korea
  South Korea and the United States officially launched a joint working group Friday to discuss the idea of deploying the advanced missile defense shield in the Northeast Asian country, the Defense Ministry here said. The joint group is scheduled to hold its inaugural meeting later in the day at the Ministry of National Defense. The sides are co-headed by the South Korean ministry's Director General Maj. Gen. Jang Kyung-soo and U.S. Forces Korea's Maj. Gen. Robert Hedelund. After years of speculation over the local deployment of the U.S.-built Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, the allies announced last month that they will start discussing the U.S.-proposed deployment of the defense system in South Korea to better counter North Korea's growing missile threats. Friday's official talks were launched after the two sides signed terms of reference in forming the joint working group earlier in the day. The working level body will discuss an array of issues, including the military effectiveness of THAAD, appropriate sites for the deployment, timeline, cost-sharing, and the impact on safety and the environment, the ministry said. (Yonhap) [THAAD] Sanctions]
• THAAD to become major election issue
  Activists stage a rally in front of the Cheongun-dong district office, close to Cheong Wa Dae, on Feb. 11, calling on South Korea and the United States to halt discussions on deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense battery on the Korean Peninsula. / Korea Times photo by Shin Sang-soon By Jun Ji-hye With the militaries of South Korea and the United States preparing working-level talks on the deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery here, it is highly likely to become a major issue in the scheduled April 13 general election. Military officials say the advanced missile defense system is necessary to detect and destroy North Korean missiles amid growing signs that the country has upgraded its nuclear capabilities. However, residents living in the candidate sites for the THAAD battery strongly oppose it because of, among other things, possible health and safety risks due to electromagnetic waves emitted by the AN/TPY-2 radar. [THAAD] [Public opinion]
• Sanctions against North Korea: a hammer with no nails
  24 February 2016 Author: Joseph M. DeThomas, Pennsylvania State University North Korea’s recent nuclear and long-range rocket tests appear to have created a policy tipping point. Opinion in the United States, South Korea and Japan has shifted away from a policy of ‘strategic patience’ towards one that employs additional sanctions to compel North Korea to reverse its nuclear weapons and missile programs. But we shouldn’t expect too much in terms of concrete results. Korean People's Army Lt. Col. Nam Dong Ho points to a map showing the line which separates the two Koreas in Panmunjom at the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on 22 February 2016, in Panmunjom, North Korea. (Photo: AAP). In the United States, Congress passed almost unanimously (with 96–0 in the Senate and 418–2 in the House of Representatives) a bill mandating new economic and financial sanctions on North Korea as well as on third-country entities that support Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programs. US Secretary of State John Kerry initiated a high profile campaign to convince China to support muscular sanctions against the North Korea in a UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR). [Sanctions] [US NK Policy] [China hope]
• N.Korean Spy Chief Says Pyongyang Not Scared of Sanctions
  The head of North Korea's General Bureau of Reconnaissance has said that the regime will survive regardless of international sanctions. Kim Yong-chol, who has headed the bureau since 2009, also serves as head of the United Front Department, which deals with South Korea. The former CEO of North Korean carmaker Pyeonghwa Motors told the Chosun Ilbo on Sunday that Kim Yong-chol told him North Korea "has not lived a single day without sanctions and will not die from them." Pyeonghwa is a joint venture car company between the two Koreas. Park Sang-kwon related the same comments on TV on Saturday. Park also said that Kim is unhappy that he is constantly being identified in the South Korean media as the mastermind of the sinking of the Navy corvette Cheonan, shelling of Yeonpyeong Island, cyber attacks and box mine attack in the demilitarized zone. "I monitor all South Korean media reports about me and they accuse me of all of the bad things. But I’m not capable of doing those things," he quoted Kim as saying. Kim also insisted that the North's latest nuclear test was only aimed at defending the isolated state against a U.S. threat, while North Korean leader Kim Jong-un intends to continue testing long-range rockets until the international community is convinced of their peaceful purpose. [Sanctions]
• (3rd LD) THAAD is not 'bargaining chip' with China: Russel
  2016/02/26 21:21 (ATTN: RECASTS headline; ADDS comments in penultimate para) SEOUL, Feb. 26 (Yonhap) -- Whether the United States would deploy its advance anti-missile shield in South Korea is not a matter of "bargaining" with China in the run-up to the United Nations' adoption of fresh sanctions on North Korea, a senior U.S. diplomat said Friday. "There's no connection between what is going on in the diplomatic track in the U.N. Security Council and the question of the deployment of THAAD," Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Russel told reporters in Seoul. "THAAD is not a diplomatic bargaining chip." [THAAD] [China confrontation]
• Clinton called N. Korea's disclosure of uranium enrichment plant 'very disturbing'
  2016/02/29 08:01 WASHINGTON, Feb. 28 (Yonhap) -- Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressed serious concern while in office in 2010 after learning that North Korea showed an American nuclear scientist a uranium enrichment plant in operation, according to newly released Clinton emails. Clinton called the development "very disturbing," according to a Nov. 13, 2010, email sent to her deputy chief of staff after he forwarded to her a report that Stanford University professor Siegfried Hecker wrote about his trip to the North that included a visit to the North's Yongbyon nuclear complex. Hecker said in an email report to Ambassador Sung Kim, special envoy to the six-party talks on the North's nuclear program, as well as to then-special representative for North Korea policy Stephen Bosworth that the visit was a "shocker." "They took us to Yongbyon and showed us a functioning 2,000 centrifuge uranium enrichment plant in operation and a small (light water reactor) under construction. The technical implications are significant and you understand the political implications better than I do," Hecker said. Hecker's trip marked the first time that the North had publicly acknowledged the existence of the program and a facility for it, even though the communist nation had long been suspected of seeking a uranium-based nuclear weapons program. The North has since bolstered its nuclear capabilities and conducted its fourth nuclear test last month, claiming that it successfully conducted its first hydrogen bomb test. Some experts have warned that the communist nation's nuclear arsenal could expand to as many as 100 bombs by 2020. [Hillary Clinton] [LEU]

• Chinese Envoy Warns THAAD Deployment Would 'Destroy' Ties
  Chinese Ambassador Chu Guo Hong on Tuesday warned that the deployment of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense batteries in South Korea could "destroy" bilateral relations. "Much effort has been made to develop bilateral ties to today's level, but these efforts could be destroyed in an instant with a single problem," Chu said. Chu made the comments in a meeting with Kim Chong-in, the interim chairman of the main opposition Minjoo Party. The comments were quoted by party spokesman Kim Sung-soo, who was also present at the meeting. Kim quoted Chu as saying bilateral relations "could take a long time to recover." Chu called on Seoul "to reconsider if its safety is guaranteed" in case the THAAD deployment triggers a regional arms race. [THAAD] [Dilemma]
• Korea, U.S. Postpone Official THAAD Talks
  The U.S. and Korea have postponed negotiations on the stationing of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense batteries here. The likely reason is that they need to get China on board for a UN resolution against North Korea, and Beijing is nervous about the anti-missile batteries, especially the attached long-range radar. The Defense Ministry had scheduled a press conference at 11 a.m. Tuesday to announce the launch of formal talks but canceled it with about an hour to go saying the final details must be ironed out. Lt. Gen. Thomas Vandal, commander of the U.S. Eighth Army, visited the Defense Ministry at around 5 p.m. and said talks between the U.S. Force Korea and Washington have not been completed yet and that the launch of negotiations with Seoul could be delayed by more than a day. The U.S. may have decided that it could be a bad move to alienate Beijing just as Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi was meeting U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in Washington. Critics say the delay dents Seoul's claim that the deployment of the missile batteries is designed solely to defend South Korea against a North Korean attack. After formally announcing the start of THAAD talks on Feb. 7, when the North launched its space rocket, the Defense Ministry said Seoul will not be swayed by neighboring countries. Park Won-gon at Handong Global University said, "The postponement of the negotiations may have been designed to allow Beijing to save face, but this could lead to criticism that the weapons system is targeting China." [THAAD] [Dilemma]
• U.S., N.Korea 'Secretly Agreed' to Talks in New York
  The U.S. and North Korea in unofficial exchanges in New York last year discussed the possibility of concluding a peace treaty between the two Koreas, according to a source on Sunday. The North proposed talks through its permanent mission to the UN headquarters, the source in Washington said. But the talks came to nothing because the U.S. gave priority to denuclearization. The North has long called for a peace treaty ending the Korean War that was halted by a ceasefire. It claims it is only developing nuclear weapons because of the U.S.' "hostile policy." Seoul and Washington believe that Pyongyang's ulterior motive is to get U.S. troops to withdraw and take over the entire peninsula. They therefore insist that the North must first give up its nuclear weapons program. [US NK Negotiations] [Peace Treaty]
• Did North Korea and the US really discuss “exploratory dialogue”?
  Posted on : Feb.23,2016 17:11 KST North Korean leader Kim Jong-un signed his approval for the country to launch its long-range Kwangmyongsong 4 rocket, North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency reported on Feb. 7. (Korean Central News Agency, Yonhap News) US newspaper report claims denuclearization was the stumbling block, as US position remains unchanged At the end of last year, the US and North Korea secretly discussed a North Korean proposal for a peace treaty, the Wall Street Journal reported. These “exploratory talks,” as this discussion might be called, reportedly broke down when the two sides refused to budge on the issue of denuclearization. “To be clear, it was the North Koreans who proposed discussing a peace treaty,” said US State Department John Kirby on Feb. 21 in response to a request by the Hankyoreh for confirmation on the Wall Street Journal’s report about the secret peace talks between North Korea and the US. “We carefully considered their proposal, and made clear that denuclearization had to be part of any such discussion,” Kirby said. “Our response to the North Korean proposal was consistent with our longstanding focus on denuclearization,” Kirby said, adding that North Korea had rejected the counterproposal. Earlier on Monday, the Wall Street Journal had reported that the US and North Korea had agreed to discuss a peace treaty on the Korea Peninsula several days before North Korea carried out its fourth nuclear test on Jan. 6. According to the Wall Street Journal, the fact that the US had held the discussions meant that it had dropped its requirement for North Korea to first move toward denuclearization. But while the Wall Street Journal’s report states that the secret discussion between North Korea and the US took place a few days before the nuclear test, it is more likely that it occurred in Nov. 2015. A diplomatic source in Washington, D.C said that it happened before December. [US NK Negotiations]
• Crucial Statement of KPA Supreme Command
  Submitted by KCNA on Wed, 02/24/2016 - 09:58 Pyongyang, February 24 (KCNA) -- The Supreme Command of the Korean People's Army (KPA) issued the following crucial statement on Tuesday: The U.S. imperialists and the south Korean puppet forces are making desperate efforts after being taken aback by the first successful H-bomb test of Juche Korea and its successful launch of earth observation satellite Kwangmyongsong-4. As the hysteric farce for adopting resolutions on "sanctions" at the UN, madcap military moves for stifling the DPRK with all type nuclear weapons and all unprecedented "options" against the DPRK could not break the will of the DPRK, the U.S. and the south Korean puppet forces have now turned to their last gambling. That is the "collapse of social system" through "beheading operation" targeting the supreme headquarters of the DPRK. The Supreme Command of the Korean People's Army clarifies the following principled stand reflecting the will of all the angry service personnel and people of the DPRK to take a thousand-fold revenge upon the enemies in view of the situation that has reached the dangerous phase which can never be overlooked any longer: From this moment all the powerful strategic and tactical strike means of our revolutionary armed forces will go into preemptive and just operation to beat back the enemy forces to the last man if there is a slight sign of their special operation forces and equipment moving to carry out the so-called "beheading operation" and "high-density strike." Our primary target is the Chongwadae, the centre for hatching plots for confrontation with the fellow countrymen in the north, and reactionary ruling machines. The U.S. imperialist aggressor forces' bases for invading the DPRK in the Asia-Pacific region and the U.S. mainland are its second striking target. The U.S. and south Korean puppet forces would be well advised to make the final choice: Whether they are to face merciless punishment or opt for making apology, though belatedly, and putting the situation under control [Decapitation] [Response] [Conditionality]
• [Analysis] How effective will the “strongest sanctions” on North Korea really be?
  Posted on : Feb.27,2016 16:32 KST Implementation and impact of key measures regarding trade and shipping will depend largely on China “The strongest set of sanctions imposed by the Security Council in more than two decades,” said US United Nations Ambassador Samantha Power. “The strongest UNSC [United Nations Security Council] economic sanctions short of punishment through war and invasion. There has never been this kind of intensity and comprehensive content in any UNSC sanctions in the past,” said a South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs official. Both Seoul and Washington are stressing the unprecedented strength of a recently proposed UNSC resolution sanctioning North Korea for its recent fourth nuclear test and rocket launch. A Ministry of Foreign Affairs official who previously called for “conclusive sanctions” described it on Feb. 26 as “much stronger in intensity that what we were anticipating or expecting.” [Sanctions] [US NK policy] [China NK]
• Another war in Korea “would be more akin to the Korean War and World War II”
  Posted on : Feb.27,2016 16:25 KST Commander of US Forces in Korea makes comments while arguing for THAAD missile defense deployment Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, the commander of US forces stationed in South Korea (USFK), warned that a clash on the South Korean peninsula could be comparable in scale to World War II. "Given the size of the forces and the weaponry involved, this would be more akin to the Korean War and World War II -- very complex, probably high casualty,” Scaparrotti was reported as saying by CNN on Feb. 25. Scaparrotti made the comments during a hearing at the US House Armed Services Committee on Feb. 24. [War]
• THAAD is not 'bargaining chip'
  By Yi Whan-woo A senior U.S. diplomat said Friday that the proposed deployment of an American missile system in South Korea is not "a bargaining chip" with China over tougher U.N. sanctions on North Korea for its nuclear test and long-range missile launch. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Russel dismissed allegations that the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile system is a diplomatic bargaining chip in Washington's negotiations with Beijing over the North Korean issue and other security agendas in the region. "There's no connection between what is going on in the diplomatic track in the U.N. Security Council and the question of the deployment of THAAD," Russel told reporters in Seoul. "THAAD is not a diplomatic bargaining chip." Russel made the remarks after a meeting with Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se, Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam and Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun. [THAAD] [Pretext] [China confrontation]
• N. Korea faces blockade on all sides
  Samantha Power, left, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., and China's Ambassador to the U.N. Liu Jieyi, center, talk to the media during a break in U.N. Security Council consultations at the United Nations, Thursday. The United States introduced a draft resolution that it said will significantly increase pressure on North Korea in response to its latest nuclear test and rocket launch. / AP-Yonhap Draft bill to authorize inspection of all cargo to and from North By Yi Whan-woo U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Russel speaks to reporters upon arrival at Incheon International Airport, Friday. He later held discussions with Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam and Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun. / Yonhap North Korea faces an unprecedented trade blockade in a package of harsher sanctions that awaits the U.N. Security Council's approval. The draft bill authorizes mandatory inspection of all cargo to and from North Korea for the first time. It also bans exports of coal, iron, gold, titanium and rare earth minerals from North Korea while prohibiting the international supply of aviation fuel, including rocket fuel from entering the country. This means North Korea will be virtually blocked from the outside world, if the new penalties take effect, analysts said. The South Korean government said Friday that the proposed resolution will restrain the Kim Jong-un regime effectively from pursuing nuclear and ballistic missile technology. [Sanctions] [Satellite]
• Critic of THAAD wins prestigious award for scientific contribution
  Posted on : Feb.24,2016 17:24 KST Theodore Postol says he is “stunned and pleased” to win Richard Garwin award by unanimous vote Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) emeritus professor Theodore Postol Theodore Postol, an emeritus professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) who has raised serious questions about scientific and technical problems with the deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system on the Korean Peninsula and other US government missile defense systems, was presented with the Richard Garwin Award by the Federation of American Scientists (FAS). The FAS was founded in 1945 by scientists who had been part of the Manhattan Project to develop an atomic bomb for the US during World War II and hoped to prevent the tragedy of a nuclear war. Today, it is considered one of the longest-standing non-profit organizations using scientific analysis to fight nuclear weapons and the catastrophic threat they pose. “On behalf on the Board of Trustees and the Board of Experts of the Federation of American Scientists, I am very pleased that you have been voted unanimously by the Boards to receive the Richard L. Garwin Award.,” FAS president Charles Ferguson wrote in a letter to Postol. The Garwin Award was created in 2011 in honor of its namesake, a US physicist who contributed many years of service as chairman of the group‘s board and head of its committee. It is given to “an individual who, through exceptional achievement in science and technology, has made an outstanding contribution toward the benefit of mankind.” The award ceremony is set to take place in Washington on Sept. 28. In a response to the Hankyoreh, Postol said he had “mixed feelings” about the honor. “A joke I have made to friends over the many years of my career is ‘if you have the temerity to speak the truth about something that is accepted as conventional and sacred wisdom, you should not be surprised when you are severely punished for it.’ This has certainly been my experience throughout my career. When friends sometime tell me they think I am courageous, I also sometimes joke by saying ‘you should not confuse stupidity for courage,’” Postol said. “I am simply stunned and pleased to have received such recognition, particularly from an American institution. I am even more stunned and pleased to find out that the award was given by a unanimous vote,” he added. By Yi Yong-in, Washington correspondent [THAAD]
• U.S. general: Conflict with North Korea would be akin to World War II
  By Ryan Browne, CNN Updated 2333 GMT (0733 HKT) February 24, 2016 | Video Source: CNN Story highlights Commander of U.S. Forces in Korea says a war with North Korea would be akin to WWII and the Korean War General thinks North Korean leader would use WMDs to save regime Top commander in Pacific believes China seeks "hegemony" in East Asia Washington (CNN)—The commander of American forces in South Korea warned Wednesday that a conflict with North Korea could resemble the scale of World War II. Describing what the confrontation might look like, Gen. Curtis Scaparrrotti said that, "Given the size of the forces and the the weaponry involved, this would be more akin to the Korean War and World War II -- very complex, probably high casualty." [US NK policy] [War]
• Australian soldiers head for South Korea
  February 16, 201612:40pm AAP Australian soldiers will head to South Korea next month for large scale amphibious landing exercises alongside Korean and US troops. Around 150 Australian soldiers, including infantry, a joint fire team, combat engineers and medics will participate in the Exercise Ssang Yong, the largest training activity involving the Australian army and the Republic of Korea. This annual event generally sparks a bellicose response from North Korea which regards this as a rehearsal for an invasion. About 60 New Zealand defence force personnel will also participate in the exercise for the first time. It will be the 16th annual Exercise Ssang Yong - meaning twin dragons - which in past years has involved more than 10,000 US Marines, US Navy personnel and ROK troops. It is important training for the Australian Defence Force, which is now developing its capability to conduct amphibious operations from its two new large landing ships. Defence said an army combat team would join members of the US Marine Corps. "Operating from USMC landing ships, the combat team will take part in a series of amphibious exercises on the Korean Peninsula," it said. Originally published as Australian soldiers head for South Korea [Joint US military] [Amphibious] [Invasion] [Media]
• NK rejects demand to return USS Pueblo
  By Rachel Lee North Korea will not return the USS Pueblo, an American spy ship seized off the North's east coast in the late 1960s, its state-run newspaper reported Saturday. The North's state-run newspaper Rodong Sinmun said that the country is determined to keep the U.S. vessel, which they said "intruded their territorial waters to spy" on movements in the North. Colorado's House of Representatives and Senate put together a joint resolution last month to send a letter to Pyongyang asking for their naval intelligence ship to be returned. The Pueblo is listed as the only U.S. Navy vessel currently held captive by a foreign country. The newspaper said that the North is "the winner that has the right to dispose the war trophy," and the U.S. will "gain nothing even if they make a great disturbance about the return." The North's possession of the ship is regarded by the country as a potent symbol of how it has stood up to the power of the United States. The USS Pueblo "tells all the future generations and the whole world with pride that North Korea captured the U.S. spy ship" and the country will "pulverize" anyone who violates the national sovereignty in the future, it said. The navy ship is on display as a tourist attraction in Pyongyang, moored on the Taedong River near the site of the General Sherman incident of 1866, in which locals destroyed a U.S. merchant vessel sent to open up the country to trade. The Pueblo was attacked and captured on Jan. 23, 1968, while on an intelligence-gathering mission. Out of the ship's crew of 83, one was killed when the ship was strafed by machine gun fire and the remaining sailors were taken prisoner. Maj. Gen. Gilbert H Woodward, the chief U.S. negotiator, admitted that the ship illegally entered the North's territorial waters and apologized for the acts, assuring it would not happen again, in a statement in December 1968 in order to secure the release of the hostages. They were released after 11 months of captivity in North Korea, at which point the U.S. verbally retracted its apology. [Pueblo]
• IKS Lecture: Mike Chinoy, "Going Critical: North Korea's Bomb and Asian Security"
  Thursday, February 18, 2016 - 12:00pm to 1:30pm Mershon Center for International Security Studies, Room 120 (1501 Neil Avenue) Abstract: The recent North Korean nuclear test has added a new element of tension to an already complex security landscape in Asia. South Korea, Japan, and the U.S. are already pushing for tough new sanctions against Pyongyang, and the South has resumed propaganda broadcasts targeting the North across the Demilitarized Zone- a step that last summer almost led to clashes between the two Koreas. China, meanwhile is under intense pressure from Washington to toughen its approach to Pyongyang, although China is as fearful of provoking instability in the North as it is of Kim Jong Un's moves to enhance his nuclear arsenal, and the differences over how to handle the North are exacerbating already serious tensions between Beijing and Washington. For his part, Kim Jong Un shows no sign of moderating his behavior. And with the North Korean ruling party planning a rare congress in May- the first one in 36 years- where Kim will be looking to highlight his "achievements" to a domestic and international audience, the stage appears to be set for a winter and spring of growing tension and heightened danger of confrontation on the Korean peninsula. This talk will examine the current and future issues that threaten to further destabilize this critical region. [Chinoy] [US NK policy] [Test]
• THAAD more useful as stick against China than North Korean missiles
  Tensions are once more running high on the Korean Peninsula. Yet again, North Korean provocations have triggered an action-reaction cycle that is bringing into sharp relief the competing interests of each of the major players on the Peninsula. In the latest case, a fourth North Korean nuclear test in January, followed by the launch last week of a satellite aboard what is effectively an intercontinental range ballistic missile, has provided the impetus for Seoul to enter immediately into discussions with Washington about expediting the deployment of a sophisticated ballistic missile defence (BMD) system known as Terminal High-Altitude Area Defence (THAAD). China, for its part, strongly opposes the deployment. Politically, such a development is an affront to China's prestige and its increasing sense of its role as the principal arbiter of security on the Korean Peninsula. More practically, Beijing is concerned that the placement of THAAD on the Peninsula, in particular the system's sophisticated X-Band radar, would provide radar coverage over much of China itself. This could be used by the US to complicate China's own strategic planning, especially when integrated with other BMD systems across the region. Such misgivings are not altogether unfounded. [THAAD] [Pretext] [China confrontation]
• Obama signs bill to slap tougher sanctions on DPRK
  China.org.cn, February 19, 2016 U.S. President Barack Obama has signed legislation to impose more stringent sanctions on Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) for refusing to stop its nuclear weapons program, the White House said Thursday. U.S. House of Representatives on Friday overwhelmingly passed the bill with a 408-2 vote. The legislation was approved by the Senate earlier last week. The legislation requires the Obama administration to sanction anyone involved with DPRK's nuclear program, luxury goods, money laundering and human rights abuses. The measure also authorizes 10 million U.S. dollars annually over the course of five years for expanding DPRK people's access to media and providing humanitarian assistance to refugees. The move takes place after the DPRK said it had launched on Feb. 7 a Kwangmyongsong-4 Earth observation satellite into orbit earlier this month and tested what it claimed was a hydrogen bomb last month. The U.S. has condemned the DPRK's "destabilizing and provocative" actions and vowed to "take all necessary steps to defend ourselves and our allies." The UN Security Council had strongly condemned DPRK's latest launch using ballistic missile technology, calling it a serious violation of Security Council resolutions. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, at a meeting with South Korea's foreign minister on Feb. 9, had expressed his deep concern about the negative impact of the DPRK's recent acts on regional stability and wider disarmament and non-proliferation objectives. Under UN Security Council resolutions, the DPRK is banned from firing any kind of ballistic missile. [Chinese IR] [Sanctions] [US NK policy]
• Expert rebuts Defense Ministry’s claims about THAAD missile interception
  Posted on : Feb.17,2016 16:44 KST MIT professor says that for N. Korea’s Nodong missiles, precise interception is effectively impossible THAAD interceptor about to be launched. Provided by Prof. Postol A US missile defense expert fired back at claims by the South Korean Ministry of National Defense disputing his contention on that propellant explosion technology seen in North Korea’s Feb. 7 long-range rocket launch could render a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system useless. In several recent emails and telephone interviews with the Hankyoreh’s Washington correspondent, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) emeritus professor Theodore Postol delivered a point-by-point rebuttal to what he claimed were erroneous claims by the ministry. Previously, Postol claimed that North Korea could make it impossible to distinguish between an actual warhead and other fragments for THAAD interception if propellant explosion technology were used with the Nodong missile. [THAAD] [Efficacy]
• Expert says S. Korean government has overstated THAAD’s efficacy
  Posted on : Feb.17,2016 16:39 KST Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) emeritus professor Theodore Postol If missile defense system can’t intercept a missile, it loses all efficacy, MIT professor suggests In addition to his claims about the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system being effectively useless in intercepting North Korean missiles with explosive devices attached, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) emeritus professor Theodore Postol also cited a number of problems with South Korean Ministry of National Defense claims overstating the system’s efficacy since North Korea’s recent long-range rocket launch. First, Postol responded to the claim that a single THAAD battery would be capable of shielding half or two-thirds of South Korean territory from a North Korean SCUD or Nodong missile. “The THAAD is theoretically [emphasis in original] capable of defending against SCUD and Nodong ballistic missiles,” he conceded. But he added that it would be “very easy to make it nearly impossible for the THAAD interceptor to hit the warhead on an attacking missile.” “All that would need to be done is to intentionally cause an incoming SCUD or Nodong to tumble end over end.” In other words, no matter how broad the THAAD radar‘s detection range is, the system would lose any efficacy if it could not successfully intercept a missile. [THAAD] [Efficacy]
• Korea-U.S. Drills to Be Biggest in History
  The annual Korea-U.S. joint exercises will be the largest ever in terms of both "quality and quantity," Defense Minister Han Min-goo told Saenuri Party officials at the National Assembly on Thursday. Twice as many U.S. troops and double the equipment as before, or about 15,000 U.S. troops and hardware like a combat aviation brigade, a Marine mobile brigade, an aircraft carrier fleet, a nuclear-powered submarine fleet, and aerial refueling tankers, will be participating in the drills dubbed "Key Resolve/Foal Eagle." On the Korean side, the troop numbers will be greater by half than usual at 290,000 personnel, including special operations forces, Army corps in the front-line areas, and Army divisions in the rear areas. The exercises are aimed at ensuring that troop reinforcements from the mainland U.S. are integrated smoothly on the Korean Peninsula in an emergency. Meanwhile, Han said the location for a U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense battery will be decided once a joint taskforce makes a suggestion and the governments of Korea and the U.S. approve. "It's regrettable that a brawl over its deployment based on speculation has caused conflict and friction in some regions," Han said, coyly alluding to protests from China and the U.S. as well as resistance from Korean politicians. Han also sought to debunk allegations on the internet that electromagnetic waves from THAAD batteries are harmful to locals in the areas where they are stationed. "We'll make sure that its deployment won't cause any worry," he added. [Joint US military] [Escalation]
• U.S. Stealth Fighters Land in Korea
  Four powerful F-22 stealth jets arrived in South Korea on Wednesday, and two of them will be stationed at the U.S. Forces Korea's Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province "for the time being," a U.S. military spokesman said. The F-22 Raptors took off from Kadena Air Base in Okinawa earlier that day. The U.S. keeps about 10 Raptors at Kadena in the event of crises in Northeast Asia including provocations from North Korea. The F-22s were deployed warfare-ready for the first time in 2005. They have internal weapons bays carrying missiles and bombs. Their stealth paint coating helps avoid enemy radar detection. Their APG-77 active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar can supposedly detect enemy aircraft 250 km away. [F-22] [China confrontation] [Pretext]
• US Plans for North Korea Threaten International Security
  by Gregory Elich February 17, 2016 Relations with North Korea are once again in crisis mode. North Korea, we are told, inexplicably launched dual provocations with its nuclear and ballistic missile tests, threatening the security of the United States. It is a simple story, with North Korean irrationality and belligerence on one side, and Washington’s customary desire for peace and stability on the other. Omitted from the standard narrative is anything that would make sense of recent events. [Test] [Double standards] [US NK policy] [OPLAN 5015]
• Korea-US drills shifting to offensive
  Lt. Gen. Terrence J. O'Shaughnessy, left, commander of U.S. Seventh Air Force and deputy commander of U.S. Forces Korea, announces a joint statement with ROK Air Force Operations Command Commander Lt. Gen. Lee Wang-keon in front of an F-22 Raptor stealth fighter at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, Wednesday. Four F-22s performed a flyover to demonstrate the power of the Seoul-Washington alliance. O'Shaughnessy said the U.S. maintains an ironclad commitment to the defense of the Republic of Korea. / Joint press corps 4 F-22 Raptor stealth fighters dispatched here By Jun Ji-hye Joint military drills by South Korea and the United States are becoming more offensive-oriented, shifting the focus toward infiltration and preemptive strikes away from defense against North Korean attacks. The changing objective of the joint exercises reflects worries that North Korea will never give up its nuclear ambitions. Recently, the allies displayed their strike power in response to the North's fourth nuclear test on Jan. 6 and launch of a long-range rocket on Feb. 7. On Wednesday, four F-22 Raptor stealth fighters performed a flyover at Osan Air Base, 55 kilometers south of Seoul, becoming the third U.S. strategic asset dispatched to the Korean Peninsula since January. The allies are planning to apply their new joint wartime operational plan, dubbed Operation Plan (OPLAN) 5015, which reportedly includes a contingency for preemptive strikes against the North's key facilities, during the annual war game Key Resolve and the field training drill Foal Eagle, military sources said. [OPLAN 5015] [Invasion] [Joint US military]
• F-22 Stealth Fighter Jets Arriving in Korea
  The U.S. Forces Korea are sending four F-22 stealth fighter jets to their air base in Osan, Gyeonggi Province Wednesday, a military source said Tuesday. The dispatch is part of a buildup of weaponry in response to North Korea's recent nuclear test and rocket launch. It also includes a nuclear-powered submarine, the USS North Carolina, taking part in joint drills and the deployment of another Patriot missile battery. F-22 fighter jets stand at an air base in Osan, Gyeonggi Province on Feb. 3. F-22 fighter jets stand at an air base in Osan, Gyeonggi Province on Feb. 3. The F-22 can fly at well over Mach 2.5 and its radius of operations is 2,177 km. It is armed with advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles and joint direct attack munitions. The fighters are normally based in Okinawa and can reach the Korean Peninsula in just two hours. The U.S. is also expected to send the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis to participate in the joint exercises next month. [F-22] [Pretext] [China confrontation]
• In Thinking About Steve Bosworth
  By Lucy Reed 17 February 2016 I had the privilege of working with Steve in 1995-1997 when he was executive director and I was general counsel of KEDO. In the 20 years since then, I doubt a day has gone by without my being influenced, consciously or not, by what I learned from Steve about leadership, negotiation and friendship. Steve was an extremely modest man and I am quite confident he never wanted or expected to be emulated—which is all the more reason why so many of us who worked side-by-side with him do aspire to emulate him. [Bosworth] [KEDO]
• N.Korea Maps Attack on Mainland U.S.
  North Korea raised the stakes in belligerent posturing over the weekend by revealing a map that apparently details its plans to strike the U.S. mainland. The North's official KCNA news agency on Friday carried photos of leader Kim Jong-un at an emergency meeting of a strategic missile unit with a strategic map on the wall behind titled "The Strategic Forces' Plan to Strike the U.S. Mainland." In this snapshot released by North Korean Central News Agency on Friday, the countrys leader Kim Jong-un is briefed by senior military officers. A map of Seoul is seen on the right and an Apple iMac on the left. In this snapshot released by North Korean Central News Agency on Friday, the country's leader Kim Jong-un is briefed by senior military officers. A map of Seoul is seen on the right and an Apple iMac on the left. Four arrows link North Korean regions with four targets presumed to be Washington in the eastern U.S., a military base in Colorado in the central U.S., a military base in California, and Hawaii. Kim was reported to have put forces on standby. A South Korean government official said the snapshot was clearly intentional. [Media] [Deterrence]
• [Interview] Missile defense systems expert says THAAD could prove useless
  Posted on : Feb.14,2016 07:37 KST The propellant explosion technology seen in N. Korea’s latest rocket launch can render the interceptor unable to identify a potential warhead Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) emeritus professor Theodore Postol A expert in missile defense systems said the propellant explosion technology seen in North Korea’s recent long-range rocket launch on Feb. 7 could render useless the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system South Korea and the US have all but officially decided to deploy on the Korean Peninsula. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) emeritus professor Theodore Postol explained the situation in a series of email and telephone interviews with the Hankyoreh in the wake of the launch and the announcement that South Korea and the US have begun official discussions on THAAD deployment. Postol, who earned a doctorate in physics from MIT and previously served as senior adviser to the US chief of naval operations, is a noted expert in missile defense systems who has explored the area for over 30 years academically and for the US Department of Defense, Argonne National Laboratory, and Congress. One point Postol particularly noted about North Korea’s recent launch was the first stage’s explosion and separation into hundreds of scattered fragments. Indeed, the South Korean Ministry of National Defense noted on Feb. 9 that Aegis radar showed tracks from some 270 exploded fragments from the first stage. “The explosion is believed to have been carried out through a self-destruct mechanism to prevent South Korea from collecting the propellant,” the ministry said at the time. [Satellite] [THAAD]
• Defense Ministry will “not consider the positions of other countries” in THAAD decision
  Posted on : Feb.14,2016 07:33 KST The statement is sure to cause friction with China as the ministry prepares to form a joint working group with the US on THAAD deployment as early as next week A Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptor is launched from a battery during a flight operational test. The Ministry of National Defense announced plans to form a joint working group (JWG) with the US as early as next week to discuss the deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system with United States Forces Korea (USFK). The JWG’s establishment will mean the beginning of full-scale discussions on the timeline and site for deployment. Attention is now focusing on the ministry’s reasons for saying it would “not consider the positions of other countries” - including China - on the controversial issue of site selection. “South Korea and the US are currently at the final agreement stage in the signing of an agreement to serve as a standard for joint working group management,” a senior Ministry of National Defense source said on Feb. 12. “We expect the JWG will be able to start discussing issues related to THAAD deployment as early as next week,” the source added. The predictions suggest the agreement currently under discussion will be signed early next week, with the JWG beginning official discussions simultaneously with the signing. [THAAD] [US dominance] [Dilemma]
• [Analysis] South Korea, US announce beginning of consultations on THAAD deployment
  Posted on : Feb.11,2016 18:10 KST The talks are scheduled to “explore the feasibility” of the missile defense system, but with its arrival a near foregone conclusion, focus turns to its location and costs The surprise announcement of South Korea and the US’s decision to deploy a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system after North Korea’s rocket launch on Feb. 7 is now expected to generate serious controversy over procedural issues in the decision-making process, the selection of its site, and the sharing of costs. “In response to the evolving threat posed by North Korea, the United States and the Republic of Korea have made an Alliance decision to begin formal consultations regarding . . . the viability of a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system operated by US Forces Korea [USFK],” the two countries announced in a joint statement on Feb. 7. According to the statement, the aim of the consultations is “to bilaterally explore the feasibility of THAAD deploying to and operating on the Korean Peninsula at the earliest possible date.” While the statement only acknowledged consultations on its “feasibility,” the actual deployment is widely seen as a foregone conclusion. As a gesture to possible objections from Beijing, the two countries stressed that the system “would be focused solely on North Korea” if deployed. But China’s immediate response was one of stern objections, including a decision to summon the South Korean ambassador to China, Kim Jang-soo, to protest. In the past, Seoul has adhered to the so-called “three no’s principle” regarding THAAD: no request had been made by Washington, no discussions had taken place, and no decision had been made. In that sense, the Feb. 7 decisions comes as a major surprise. As recently as Jan. 28, Seoul had denied a Wall Street Journal report on its alleged negotiations with the US on THAAD as “not true.” “The announcement on Feb. 7 came after internal government discussions following a Feb. 2 request by the US,” explained a senior Ministry of National Defense official. [THAAD] [China confrontation]
• Following N. Korea provocations, S. Korea, US, Japan defense cooperation speeding up
  Posted on : Feb.11,2016 18:05 KST Defense Minister Han Min-koo announces that Seoul is “thinking about reviewing” the idea of sharing military information with Japan From the left, Joseph Dunford, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Lee Sun-Jin, South Korea’s chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Adm. Kawano Katsutoshi, chief of staff of the Japanese Self-Defense Force Following a series of provocations by North Korea - including a nuclear weapon test and the launch of a long-range rocket - cooperation between South Korea, the US, and Japan in the area of national security and defense is speeding up. While the three countries are presenting this cooperation as being designed to counter the North Korean threat, it also has the potential to be used to check China. As a result, concerns are being expressed that this trilateral security cooperation is accelerating without anyone to put on the brakes. “The Chairs of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of South Korea, the US, and Japan agreed to hold a meeting tomorrow to discuss ways to cooperate on North Korea’s long-range rocket launch,” South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff announced on Feb. 10. The initial plan was for the meeting to be hosted in Hawaii by Joseph Dunford, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff. But since South Korea’s chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Lee Sun-Jin, was unable to leave South Korea because of the North Korean nuclear situation, the meeting took the form of videoconferencing instead. [Test] [Satellite] [Japanese remilitarisation] [Pretext]
• Rush to deploy THAAD presents risks to public opinion and international relations
  Posted on : Feb.11,2016 18:07 KST Japan’s experience installing the missile defense system shows the need to consider the views of local residents and the environmental impact An AN/TPY-2 radar The US government voiced hopes to have a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system deployed on the Korean Peninsula “at the earliest possible date,” following Seoul and Washington’s Feb. 7 announcement that they were initiating formal consultations on the matter. Many are now worried the South Korean government could bow to US pressure to have the system deployed hastily without careful consideration of the effect on relations with China or of the opinions of resident in sites that are candidates for the system’s deployment. “[W]e’re beginning the consultations now in the coming days with the South Koreans and we expect that this [THAAD deployment on the Korean Peninsula] will move in an expeditious fashion,” said Pentagon spokesperson Peter Cook in a regular briefing on Feb. 8. An unnamed US Department of Defense source was further quoted by France’s AFP news agency as saying the system could be deployed within one to two weeks once the decision is made. But Japan’s experience with installation of AN/TPY-2 X-band radar - a necessary component for THAAD operation - suggests the trickiness of the issue and the need to carefully consider the views of local residents. In addition to anticipated negative effects on the environment and nearby residents’ health from the X-band radar’s powerful electromagnetic waves, low-frequency generator noise also stands to have a direct impact on lives in the area. [THAAD] [US dominance] [Dilemma] [Public opinion]
• US Congress approves North Korea sanctions bill
  House Speaker Paul Ryan (Rebublican - Wisconsin), left, signs the North Korea Sanctions Enforcement Act of 2016 Friday (U.S. time), as Rep. Ed Royce (Republican - California) looks on. / Yonhap Moving swiftly, the U.S. House of Representatives gave final approval to a tough package of sanctions against North Korea on Friday in a countermeasure to the North's long-range rocket launch on Feb. 7 and the nuclear test on Jan. 6. The House approved the North Korea Sanctions Enforcement Act of 2016 in a 408-2 vote, only two days after the Senate passed the legislation unanimously, Yonhap and various other news agencies reported. The legislation is expected to go into effect if and when President Barack Obama signs it. President Obama is expected to sign it sometime early next week. This is the first bipartisan legislation the U.S. Congress has passed exclusively targeting North Korea and entails tougher sanctions against the North's financial and economic activities to deny North Korea the money it needs to develop its nuclear and missile programs, to heighten cyber attacks, or to import or purchase luxury goods. [Sanctions]
• 'South Korea is not toothless beast'
  Frozen period expected after shutdown By Kim Jae-kyoung Updated : 2016-02-13 10:56 Kongdan Oh South Korea's shutdown of the joint industrial complex in North Korea is a step in the right direction to deter further provocations, and it sends a clear message to all neighbors, according to a noted North Korea expert. "South Korea is not a toothless beast," Kongdan Oh, an Asian studies specialist at the Institute for Defense Analyses in the U.S., said. "Sometimes it can bite, a nice change to all its neighbors. "Gaeseong income is a slush fund source for the Kim Jong-un regime, so its closure is good, and gradually small and mid-sized companies invested in Gaeseong should find alternative places to conduct business, such as in Vietnam or Laos. They will bleed, but this initial bleeding is better than slow death." Late Wednesday, the South Korean government said it had decided to shut down the Gaeseong Industrial Complex in North Korea, in response to the North's fourth nuclear test and long-range missile launch. She said discussions on the placement of the terminal high altitude area defense (THAAD) system with the U.S. can provide leverage for Seoul in talks with China over Pyongyang. "THAAD will tell China that South Korea can make strategic choices in the interests of its national security," she said. [MISCOM] [Kaesong] [THAAD] [Inversion] [US dominance]
• North Korea’s Expanding Foreign Press Corps
  By Jean H. Lee 12 February 2016 Four years after the Associated Press (AP) mounted its signboard on a wooden door inside an armed compound in Pyongyang, Agence France-Presse (AFP) announced that it would become the second global news agency to open a bureau in North Korea. JHL_AFP“Good luck to @AFP on the wild ride ahead,” I tweeted after their announcement. I should know about the rollercoaster that awaits AFP; I opened the AP’s Pyongyang bureau in 2012. While working for the AP, I was under orders to view AFP and Reuters as our main wire service competition. My colleagues and I lived to get the news out before them, even if only by seconds. Naturally, we gloated over being the first to open a bureau in North Korea, and during my tenure as AP’s Pyongyang bureau chief, I did my best to keep our North Korean counterparts so busy that they had no time to embark on similar negotiations with our competitors. But in truth, as a champion of press freedom, I’m heartened to learn that the small foreign press corps in Pyongyang will expand later this year with AFP’s arrival. After all, the more foreign journalists get on the ground in North Korea, the more competitive and competent the coverage will be overall. However, building a news operation that adheres to Western standards of journalism won’t be easy—hence my good luck tidings—and the AFP agreement is neither a sign that North Korea is opening up nor a guarantee that foreign media access will improve. If anything, by allowing AFP to open a Pyongyang bureau, North Korea is demonstrating increased confidence in its ability to keep foreign journalists under control. [Media]
• Congressional Sanctions against North Korea: An Iran Re-do?
  By Richard Nephew 11 February 2016 For much of the past decade since North Korea first tested a nuclear device, there has been a debate over whether and how much to apply sanctions pressure on North Korea and those who do business with it. This debate has centered on views arrayed along two axes: 1) the degree to which North Korea can be influenced via sanctions; and 2) the degree to which painful sanctions pressure can even be applied to it. There is widespread acknowledgment now, from the halls of Congress to the State Department to the United Nations, that existing pressure has not yielded the right result. [Sanctions] [Satellite]
• US Senate votes for expanded sanctions on DPRK
  Xinhua, February 11, 2016 The U.S. Senate on Wednesday unanimously passed the legislation to widen harsher sanctions on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in response to its recent nuclear test and missile launch. The Senate legislation expands and tightens enforcement of sanctions against DPRK's nuclear and ballistic missile development and other destructive activities, said Democratic Senator Robert Menendez, a co-sponsor of the bill. The bill would require U.S. President Barack Obama to sanction anyone involved with DPRK's nuclear weapons program, arms-related materials, luxury goods, human rights abuses, activities that negatively impact cybersecurity and the use of coal or metals in any of the activities. [Satellite] [Sanctions]
• Deployment of US Missile Defense Systems in South Korea
  Konstantin Asmolov
  The launch of a North Korean carrier rocket, which certain agenda-driven groups equate with combat missile testing, has significantly boosted the development of the US and KR “defense” programs. We have already covered the way this “fright” came about, paying particular attention to the possibility of deployment of the US missile defense complexes THAAD (which stands for Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense) on the Korean peninsula. And so, a few hours after the announcement of the launch, the South Korean news agency Yonhap informed that the United States and South Korea have decided to start formal negotiations on the possibility of “the deployment of US THAAD systems in Korea to improve the effectiveness of missile defense of the US-Korean alliance in response to the growing threat from North Korea”. Informal talks on the deployment of THAAD missile defense system have also been reported by the Wall Street Journal. Since the talks about it have been going on for a long time, North Korean actions are not even a pretext or a justification of what has long been discussed [THAAD] [Pretext]
• US experts say 'strategic patience is over'
  By Choi Sung-jin After North Korea launched its sixth satellite (sic), or long-range missile, on Saturday, U.S. experts of international politics seem to have given up all hope for changing Pyongyang's policy, according to media reports Tuesday. [Satellite] [Misconstruction] [US NK policy] [Strategic patience]
• S.Korea, US to stage annual war games in March
  Xinhua, February 8, 2016 Combined forces of South Korea and the United States plan to stage their largest-ever joint annual war games that are scheduled to kick off in early March, mobilizing a nuclear-powered U.S. aircraft carrier. A senior South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff official told senior members of the ruling Saenuri Party on Sunday that this year's Key Resolve and Foal Eagle exercises will be carried out in the largest-ever scale, mobilizing the highest-tech weapons. The joint annual military exercises are scheduled to kick off on March 7 that will run through April 30. The Key Resolve command post exercise and the Foal Eagle field training exercise have been denounced by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) as a rehearsal for northward invasion. [Joint US military] [Invasion]
• [Kim Jong-un’s Hypothetical Letter 5-3] “I don’t want to be a Gaddafi or Hussein”
  Posted on : Feb.7,2016 16:41 KST Why my father visited China three times in a single year We’ve gotten a little sidetracked here, so let’s get back to the point. Even after George W. Bush scrapped the Agreed Framework, my father did his best to improve our hostile relationship with the US. The outcome was the Joint Statement of the Six-Party Talks on September 19, 2015. The South Korean government under President Roh Moo-hyun and the Chinese government went to great effort to bridge the gap between the US and North Korea. My father really appreciated that, and I do, too. [NK US negotiations]
• [Kim Jong-un’s Hypothetical Letter 5-4] “I don’t want to be a Gaddafi or Hussein”
  Posted on : Feb.7,2016 17:20 KST The Economic Development Zone plan and the May 30 Measures Rason Special Economic Zone development plan Under my grandfather’s leadership, the WPK held the fifth plenary session of its fourth Central Committee on Dec. 10-14, 1962, which is when the parallel development approach to building the economy and national defense was decided on. Faced with a million troops from the US and South Korea, they opted to establish a deterrent against the US, since North Korea’s defense had been left unstable by a conflict between fellow socialist countries China and the Soviet Union. Under pressure from then Soviet Communist Party Secretary Nikita Khrushchev and US President John F. Kennedy, my grandfather seems to have felt a kind of fear of abandonment when the plans for building a nuclear missile base in Cuba were dropped. The US invaded Vietnam around the same time, and it also put pressure on South Korea and Japan to establish diplomatic ties for the sake of trilateral security cooperation, while getting South Korea to send troops to Vietnam. [US NK Negotiations] [Byungjin]
• [Kim Jong-un’s Hypothetical Letter 5-5] “I don’t want to be a Gaddafi or Hussein”
  Posted on : Feb.7,2016 17:24 KST Ever seen me in a picture with my grandfather? I’m going to talk about myself for a moment here. It’s not something I’m particularly eager to mention, but if you don’t know, you’re not going to get the Kim Jong-un approach to leadership. The moment I was declared successor to my father came during the third WPK representatives’ meeting on Sept. 28, 2010. I was named general of the Korean People’s Army, vice chairman of the WPK Central Military Commission, and a member of the WPK Central Committee. They showed pictures of me the next day in the Rodong Sinmun and on Korean Central Television. It was the first time my face and name were announced to the outside world. [US NK Negotiations]
• [Kim Jong-un’s Hypothetical Letter 5-1] “I don’t want to be a Gaddafi or Hussein”
  Posted on : Feb.6,2016 22:40 KST North Korean leader Kim Jong-un signs the order to conduct the North’s fourth nuclear test, Jan. 3, in an image broadcast by the North’s official Korean Central Television, Jan. 6. Nuclear weapons are the get out of jail free card that Kim Jong-il left to his son Kim Jong-un. (Korean Central Television) The reasons for the “parallel development” policy of the economic and nuclear capacity: if we listened to what he says about negotiations As described in our editorial on Jan. 7, the Hankyoreh is opposed to North Korea’s development of nuclear weapons and to its possession of a nuclear arsenal, and we believe that the North’s fourth nuclear weapons test was a provocation that threatens peace. But opposition is merely an opinion; it does not serve as an alternative or a solution. We must pave the way to realize the dream of a peaceful Korean peninsula that is free of nuclear weapons, as outlined in the Joint Declaration on the Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in 1992 and the Joint Statement of the Six-Party Talks on Sep. 19, 2015. We must start again – but where and how? Every conflict and strife in the world is a product of history. In every conflict and strife, there is another side. If we are to resolve conflict and strife, it is critical that we make an effort to review history from the point of view of the other side. That is why the golden rule for negotiators from all times and places has been listening closely. Listening is the first step in finding mutual understanding, engaging in dialogue and negotiations, and reaching a solution. As the first step of listening, the Hankyoreh has attempted to reconstruct the rationale behind North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s pursuit of the “parallel development” policy of strengthening the economy and building up a nuclear arsenal by putting ourselves in Kim’s shoes. Since it is impossible to talk to the man himself, we have written this article based on written sources, including North Korean government documents, news reports (some about Kim’s speeches), and the records of past negotiations that sought to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue along with Pyongyang and Washington’s hostile relationship. Some recurring themes are the US’s blockade of the North over the past 70 years, the North’s sense of being surrounded, Iraq and Libya, the stark gap in economic power and international prestige between North and South Korea, and Kim’s need for stability during the early phase of his rule. This letter’s Korean version was originally published on Jan. 30, a few days before North Korea announced its plans to conduct a long-range rocket launch. The Hankyoreh has translated the letter in the hopes that it will give international readers a better understanding of the situation on the Korean Peninsula. [Deterrence] [US NK policy]
• [Kim Jong-un’s Hypothetical Letter 5-2] “I don’t want to be a Gaddafi or Hussein”
  Posted on : Feb.7,2016 08:25 KST If Clinton had come to Pyongyang in 2000 While the US is frustrated that it can’t gobble up North Korea, not all American presidents are the same. Bill Clinton in particular was quite different from George W. Bush. In Oct. 2000, the late Vice Marshal Jo Myong-rok traveled to Washington, D.C., on a visit that resulted in the US-DPRK Joint Communique. Here’s its key passage: “In this regard, the two sides agreed there are a variety of available means, including Four Party talks, to reduce tension on the Korean Peninsula and formally end the Korean War by replacing the 1953 Armistice Agreement with permanent peace arrangements. [. . .] As a crucial first step, the two sides stated that neither government would have hostile intent toward the other and confirmed the commitment of both governments to make every effort in the future to build a new relationship free from past enmity.” North Korea did not want complete isolation. The country made efforts to escape isolation for the sake of normalized relations with the US and Japan. Here, North Korean leader Kim Jong-il shakes hands with then-US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright during her visit to Pyongyang to prepare for an Oct. 2000 North Korea-US summit. (Yonhap News) So Madeleine Albright, who was the US Secretary of State at the time, came to Pyongyang to prepare for a summit between North Korea and the US. The South Korean government, under President Kim Dae-jung, made a great effort to bring us to that point. Experts believe that the Perry Process, a plan devised by the US and South Korea to bring peace to the Korean Peninsula, was a stepping stone on the way to achieving the first ever inter-Korean summit meeting and pushing for a summit meeting between North Korea and the US. [Deterrence] [US NK policy]
• Preemptive attack
  North Korea's 33-year-old dictator Kim Jong-un is waging his war against the rest of the world by conducting what his impoverished nation claims an H-bomb test and threatening to follow it up with a rocket launch that is seen as an excuse for long-range missile test. Some must feel regret for not destroying the North's nuclear development in its early stage but others may feel it may not be too late. Still, handicapping a preemptive strike is a risk that it develops into a full-fledged conflict that entails casualties to the tune of several millions. / Yonhap By Oh Young-jin Would a preemptive strike work on North Korea? A drone could be sent to the rocket launch site in Tongchang-ri, on the North's west coast, and bomb it or drop a bunker-buster to wipe out the communist leadership hunkered down underground. So far, neither South Korea nor the United States has dared make one because of the risk of millions of people killed in the ensuing fully fledged war. But the North has now detonated what it claims is an H-bomb, although experts believe it was a boosted fission bomb, midway between an atomic bomb and a thermonuclear device. Throw in its largest-ever rocket launch, poised to happen in a matter of days, and the North could present its case as a nuclear state that is also capable of firing an inter-continental ballistic missile to the U.S. mainland. Of course, there is a large gap between the nuclear state of the North and those of the U.S. or the now defunct Soviet Union but, for the limited scale of the Korean Peninsula, the North can be as devastating as it can get. The idea of a preemptive strike has occasionally occurred to Korea and the U.S., as well as the North. For instance, the new OPLAN 5015, a joint ROK-U.S. war plan, was formulated last year to contain elements of a preemptive strike, an update from the previous OPLAN 5027, reportedly to accommodate the contingency of the North's use of nuclear weapons. The Defense Ministry did not even skip a briefing for members of the National Assembly Defense Committee. [Preemptive] [Oplan5015] [Invasion]
• The threat to China’s security isn’t THAAD, it’s North Korea
  By Nathan Beauchamp-Mustafaga and Denise Der Feb 3, 2016 With North Korea’s Jan. 6 nuclear test and yesterday’s notification of an impending satellite launch, long understood to be a cover for testing its long-range ballistic missile technology, Northeast Asia is descending into a familiar pattern of dangerous uncertainty as North Korea initiates another round of destabilizing actions. While Pyongyang’s claims to have tested a hydrogen bomb are likely spurious, the test nevertheless demonstrates the North’s continued march toward an advanced nuclear arsenal that makes the North’s missile capabilities more destabilizing. In response to this growing threat, South Korea has begun considering requesting US deployment of THAAD (terminal high altitude area defense) to the Korean Peninsula. A week after the North’s nuclear test, South Korean President Park Geun-hye said she “will review the issue of deploying THAAD here based on security and national interests,” and this past Monday, ruling Saenuri Party Chairman Kim Moo-sung said, “It is high time for South Korea to have a forward-looking and aggressive stance about the deployment of a THAAD battery.” While the Chinese Foreign Ministry “firmly opposed” the North’s nuclear test, Beijing has failed to exert its full influence on Pyongyang to change its recent negative behavior – which now includes four nuclear tests, a March 2010 attack on a South Korean naval vessel that killed 46 South Koreans, and the placement of a land mine along the demilitarized zone that maimed two South Koreans in August 2015. Instead, China has given disproportionate attention to Seoul’s consideration of THAAD, including criticizing Park’s statement. Beijing’s decision to focus on THAAD as a challenge to Chinese security interests, in violation of China’s own principle of non-interference, overlooks the serious threats emanating from the Kim regime. China is uniquely positioned to influence North Korea’s strategic decisions, including missile policy, to not only increase security on the Peninsula but also reduce the likelihood of THAAD deployment to South Korea. Since coming to power in 2012, Chinese President Xi Jinping has adjusted China’s relations with the North, leading the two allies to distance themselves from each other. Yet China still accounts for the vast majority of the North’s trade and investment: it provides food and oil to Pyongyang through a large foreign assistance program; it facilitates most of North Korea’s access to the international financial system; and it offers diplomatic support for North Korea in the UN, including watering down sanctions and buffering international pressure to investigate the North’s human rights abuses. China therefore has a unique ability to affect the North’s economic stability and internal security, but Beijing’s unwillingness to exercise this leverage in the past reduces its practical impact in the eyes of Kim Jong-un, as the young leader knows Xi’s threats of stronger action largely ring hollow. [THAAD] [Missile defense] [Bizarre] [MISCOM] [China Hope]
• U.S. Special Troops Arrive in S.Korea
  U.S. special troops and rangers have recently arrived in South Korea to participate in upcoming joint drills, the U.S. Forces Korea said Wednesday. The 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) and the 75th Ranger Regiment were previously involved in controversial assassinations in Iraq and Afghanistan. They are also trained to eliminate weapons of mass destruction. It is unusual for the USFK to announce the arrival of special forces, and the move was probably prompted by North Korea's recent nuclear test and announcement of an imminent rocket launch. The troops will join South Korea's Special Warfare Command and use a special operations aircraft that is capable of stealth infiltration, the MC-130J Commando Solo II, the USFK said. The U.S. Marine Corps and Navy SEAL special operations forces are reportedly already in South Korea and will also joint the drills in March. [Joint US military] [Special forces] [Seizure]
• Response to PacNet #13 “Here we go again!”
  By Ralph A. Cossa, Winston Lord, Robert A. Manning, and Joseph A. Bosco Feb 1, 2016 Winston Lord served as president of the Council on Foreign relations, US ambassador to China, and assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs. He responded via the Nelson Report, which had kindly reprinted PacNet #13. I fully share your frustration along Yogi Berra lines and your view that the past cycle must be broken with meaningful consequences. Your advance notice idea is intriguing in theory, but I have problems with your specific proposal: I don’t think China would agree to tough sanctions in advance, and, even if it did, you would give North Korea a free pass for this round of provocation in any event. Thus, why not impose the allied-agreed sanctions now, without China and Russia, including bank steps (I hope they are included) that hurt China? Why wait? Moving now is the only way to get China's attention, and maybe even North Korea's attention a la Banco Delta Asia (BDA). Ralph A. Cossa responds to Winston Lord: I don’t disagree with anything you are saying. It’s not either-or. I was addressing the UNSC sanctions. I think we (including the ROK and Japan) should implement our own tough sanctions, including financial ones, as the Congress is doing. But we are three weeks into the UNSC debate and I think we have a greater chance of getting China and Russia to go along with “next steps if” rather than arguing over just how watered down the current sanctions will be. [US NK policy] [Test]
• Japan offers clues for predicting the future of missile defense in Korea
  Posted on : Feb.2,2016 17:30 KST A 2015 white paper from the Japanese Ministry of Defense shows the locations of radar sites in the country’s missile defense network, including both the domestically developed FPS-3 radars and enhanced FPS-5 radars. (Japanese Ministry of Defense) Should Korea join the US and Japan’s integrated missile defense system, it would gain a boost in capability, but also face budget strains and tension with China At 8:30 in the evening on Jan. 28, as Tokyo lay shrouded in darkness, a convoy of big drab-colored trucks was seen rolling into the Ichigaya base of Japan’s Ministry of Defense. The trucks were loaded with the launch apparatus for the Japan Self-Defense Force’s (JSDF) Patriot (PAC-3) interceptors, which are designed to shoot down enemy ballistic missiles in the final stage, between 15 and 40 km above the ground. During the 9 o’clock news that night, Japanese TV station NHK broadcast to the nation footage of Japanese soldiers setting up the launch equipment on the sports field of the Ministry of Defense. Japan’s missile defense capability is believed to be the second strongest in the world, after the US. Significantly, for the past two decades, the US has taken steps to strengthen Japan’s missile defense capability, based on the two countries’ shared interest in countering China. [Missile defense] [China confrontation]
• Osan Air Base the site of 1959 nuclear weapon-related accident, Japanese paper reports
  Posted on : Feb.2,2016 17:34 KST US documents and testimony confirm the accident, but also that no explosion or leaking of radioactive material occurred A screen capture from the Asahi Shimbun’s website showing the location of Osan Air Base in South Korea, where a nuclear weapon-related accident occurred in 1959, and Itazuke Air Base in Fukuoka Prefecture, headquarters of the US Air Force’s 8th Tactical Fighter Wing, which was involved in the accident. The Asahi reported on Feb. 1 that US documents and testimony confirm that Osan was the site of the accident. (Asahi Shimbun) A serious nuclear weapon-related accident occurred at a US Air Force base in Osan at the height of the Cold War in 1959, a recent report reveals. Japan’s Asahi Shimbun newspaper reported on Feb. 1 that official US documents and testimony from US personnel confirmed Osan Air Base to be the site of an accident on Jan. 18, 1959 - one of 32 nuclear weapon-related accidents officially reported by the US in 1980. At the time of its report, the US stated that an explosion and fire had occurred after a fighter plane fuel tank ignited at a base in the Pacific region, but it did not specify the actual location.
• East Asia Is Invisible
  Posted on : Feb.3,2016 14:31 KST John Feffer Americans don’t care about East Asia. That’s a strong statement. So, let me make a few qualifications. First, Americans love Chinese, Japanese, and (increasingly) Korean food. They like to visit East Asia. They will, on occasion, watch a Hong Kong action film or the latest from Park Chan-Wook. But when it comes to the pressing issues of the day, most Americans simply don’t follow what’s going on in East Asia. I’m not talking here about Asia experts, who are essentially paid to follow the news. I’m also not talking about diaspora communities interested in what’s going on in their home countries. I’m talking about average Americans. And I’m talking about what they see on network news. According to the latest Tyndall Report, which annually tracks coverage of the news by the three major television networks, East Asia is invisible to the American viewer. No stories from the region cracked the top 20 news items. When it comes to foreign policy, the network news focused in 2015 on the Islamic State, the wars in Syria and Iraq, the refugee crisis in Europe, the terrorism attacks in Paris, and the nuclear negotiations with Iran. The top stories did not include China, Japan, or Korea. Foreign policy stories made up only 6.5 percent of the network news coverage overall. So, Americans are not paying much attention to foreign policy in general. But even within that narrow share of the news, East Asia rarely appears. When you look at an expanded list of stories from 2015, coverage of the region doesn’t even make it into the top 150 stories. Let’s choose one of the less covered topics of 2015. Hurricane Patricia, which hit in October, was the most intense cyclone to hit the Western hemisphere. But because it hit rural areas in Mexico, it didn’t cause as much damage as anticipated and only led to a few deaths. It also barely touched the United States, only affecting the southern part of Texas. In total, Hurricane Patricia received approximately 20 minutes of combined coverage from the three networks in 2015. That’s a pretty low bar. And yet, East Asia was unable to clear it. Hurricane Patricia received more coverage than U.S.-Chinese relations, what’s going in North Korea, or Japanese Prime Minister Abe’s overturning of the Peace Constitution. So, the next time you wonder why Americans are not outraged at Japanese textbooks or worried about the Chinese economy or following the latest twist in relations between North and South Korea, it’s probably because they simply don’t know what’s going on. [Parochialism] [Media] [Asia literacy]
• The Logic of North Korea’s Nuclear Ambitions
  Interviewee: Amy J. Nelson, Stanton Nuclear Security Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations Interviewer: CFR.org Editors January 12, 2016 North Korea claims to have successfully tested a hydrogen bomb with its fourth nuclear test in early January. Regardless of whether Pyongyang’s claims are valid, global powers must step up efforts to halt its advancing nuclear capabilities, says CFR Stanton Nuclear Security Fellow Amy J. Nelson in a written interview. “If recognition of its might and significance is what North Korea craves, the international community might do well to give it—or at least a taste of it,” writes Nelson. The North Korean regime’s undemocratic practices and human rights violations are clear reasons to condemn its leaders, but Nelson says “there is every reason to pursue diplomatic means to curb their nuclear program.” [Test] [US NK policy] [US NK Negotiations] [Engagement]
• THAAD deployment in Korea would likely lead to increased tensions in NE Asia
  Posted on : Feb.1,2016 18:31 KST The US missile defense system, proposed in response to N. Korea’s fourth nuclear test, could damage S. Korea-China relations and push China and N. Korea closer together THAAD TPY-2 radar range The controversy over deploying a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system on the Korean Peninsula, which recently resurfaced in the wake of North Korea’s fourth nuclear test, is poised to make major waves in Northeast Asia. At first glance, the controversy over THAAD, a US missile defense system, is similar to the kind of pot-stirring by the US and belated scrambling by South Korea seen in the past. This time, it has been the US press taking the lead, with the Wall Street Journal reporting on Jan. 28 that Washington and Seoul might hold final negotiations on THAAD deployment as early as next week or the week after. The report prompted an official denial from Ministry of National Defense Spokesperson Kim Min-seok - albeit with the proviso that “it would help South Korea’s security if THAAD were deployed with USFK [US Forces Korea].” The situation this time is different from the past, particularly in its timing. The THAAD issue resurfaced at a delicate moment when frictions were becoming increasingly visible between South Korea and the US on one side, and China - which has objected to their single-minded focus on sanctions after the nuclear test - on the other. Analysts suggested the recent leaking of intelligence from the US and Japan about an imminent North Korean long-range rocket test may be their way of lending support for a possible THAAD deployment. It has also been argued that one aim of the US bringing the issue up again is to pressure China into going along with sanctions. Another focus of the THAAD issue is on recent calls in South Korea for independent nuclear armament in response to the nuclear test. In addition to reaffirming its commitment to extended deterrence - the nuclear umbrella - the US may also have sensed the need for some alternative to appease South Korean proponents of nuclear armament, with THAAD offered up as an acceptable substitute. [THAAD] [China confrontation] [Dilemma]
• Unending U.S. War is Driving North Korea’s Nuclear Program
  Unending U.S. War is Driving North Korea’s Nuclear Program –Ending the Korean War is Our Best Response– Press Press Release from Veterans For Peace, 1/13/2016 1404 North Broadway St. Louis, MO 63102 (314) 725-6005 St. Louis, MO. As a major U.S. peace organization of veterans, including members who served in the Korean War, Veterans For Peace (VFP) is deeply concerned about the underground test of a “smaller hydrogen bomb” in North Korea on January 6 (Korean Time), as well as the rising military tensions on the Korean Peninsula at this time, including the resumption of the loud anti-North propaganda broadcasts across the DMZ by the U.S.-ROK military. U.S. also sent a B-52 bomber, which can drop nuclear bombs, over the Korean sky on January 10. It is easy to jump to hasty conclusions or put all the blame on North Korean officials, which the media portrays as crazy cartoon characters. We believe it is vitally important for the American people to have a more sophisticated understanding of what is driving the North Koreans into a dangerous and expensive nuclear program. Are they really just “crazy” or “reckless,” as some pundits maintain? A close examination of U.S.-North Korea (DPRK) relations from 1948 shows that North Korea’s military steps were often taken in response to hostile actions by South Korea and/or the U.S. government. So, what new provocations from the U.S. and/or ROK (South Korea) may have pushed North Korea into another nuclear test? There were at least three recent U.S. government actions that probably made them react. [US NK policy] [Test] [Peace Treaty]
• Wall Street Journal: US could announce THAAD talks with South Korea next week
  Posted on : Jan.30,2016 18:56 KST The US paper reported that informal talks to bring the missile defense system to South Korea have increased, although officials from both countries deny the claims The US may announce sometime in the next week that it is in talks with South Korea about deploying the THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) missile defense system on the Korean Peninsula, the Wall Street Journal reported on Jan. 28, quoting US government officials. With a number of South Korean government officials making positive remarks on the record about deploying THAAD following North Korea’s fourth nuclear test, there is speculation that talks about THAAD are moving forward rapidly. [THAAD]
• Why our diplomacy is failing - mitigation letter
  By Oh Young-jin What frustrates South Koreans most is the ongoing standoff triggered by North Korea's nuclear test conducted on Jan. 6, as it is further confirmation that they cannot choose their own fate. They feel ignored by their estranged and impoverished brothers in the north, who insist on talking with the United States, arguing that their nuclear deterrence is aimed at protecting themselves from Americans. Adding insult to injury is the fact that Pyongyang is pressing the U.S. to discuss the possibility of peace talks with it, while excluding the South. This North Korean peace gesture is a thinly veiled attempt to get the American military to leave the South in hope of isolating the South and unifying it by force, according to their old doctrine. [Sidelined]

• Singaporean firm fined for aiding NK's arms trade
  By Kim Jae-kyoung SINGAPORE ? A Singapore-registered shipping company has been fined a total of $130,000 for wiring money used to facilitate a shipment of arms from Cuba to North Korea in 2013. At the State Courts, Friday, District Judge Jasvender Kaur ruled that Chinpo Shipping must pay $56,300 for supporting a shipment of arms-related materials bound for North Korea, which could have been used to contribute to the isolated state's nuclear program. The prosecution there sought a maximum fine of $70,400. This is the first-ever case in which a Singaporean firm has been fined for supporting North Korea's arms shipments. Singapore is one of the biggest trading partners for North Korea in Southeast Asia. The court found that Chinpo, without conducting due diligence, transferred $72,016 to Panama shipping agent C.B. Fenton in July 2013 on behalf of the North Korean entity Ocean Maritime Management (OMM) for the vessel Chong Chon Gang carrying weapons from Cuba to North Korea. In delivering the sentence, the judge said that the fine had to play a role in restraining any violation of UN sanctions. "It conducted no due diligence. Such irresponsible actions must be deterred," she said [Sanctions] [Double standards] [UNUS] [Singapore]
• NK nuclear deal: Does format of multilateral talks matter?
  By Kang Hyun-kyung Updated : 2016-01-29 17:34 German lawmaker Hartmut Koschyk during an interview with three media outlets at Westin Chosun Hotel in Seoul on Jan.20 / Korea Foundation photo A post-sanctions Iran has stirred a debate in South Korea, which has been dealing with nuclear and other threats from its northern neighbor for decades. The Iran deal, which involved freezing the country's nuclear facilities in return for the removal of certain sanctions, initially raised hopes that North Korea may follow in Iran's footsteps if certain conditions are met. A popular debate has followed about whether the Iran model could be replicated by the North, but naysayers have so far dominated the debate. According to them, Iran is different from North Korea, therefore the Iran deal is not something that can be applied to the North to end the Stalinist's nuclear ambitions. [Iran deal] [US NK Negotiations]
• THAAD deployment 'helpful for national defense'
  Deployment of the United States' advanced missile defense system, the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), in South Korea will help protect the country from North Korean provocation, the defense ministry says. "We have not received any request for consultation from the United States on deployment of THAAD," Ministry of National Defense spokesman Kim Min-seok said. "But we are aware that there are discussions within the U.S. government in deploying THAAD for the American forces in Korea." [THAAD] [Dilemma]
• Here we go again!
  by Ralph A. Cossa Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. The North Koreans do something provocative (nuclear test, missile launch, etc.); the world rises as one to soundly and firmly condemn this grave violation of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions, a demonstration of solidarity that lasts, if we’re lucky, 24 hours; then the squabbling begins anew over how severe the consequences will be. This results in a watered-down UNSC resolution with some new (unlikely to be completely enforced) sanctions, an expression of outrage by Pyongyang, and then another act of provocation. To quote my childhood hero the late Yogi Berra, it’s deja vu all over again. The only difference this time is that the North Koreans started with the nuclear test rather than a missile launch. We already are seeing preparations for the missile test (thinly disguised as a satellite launch) which is sure to follow; I would also not be surprised to see another (fifth) nuclear test as part of this current string of events. Meanwhile the debate goes on at the UNSC over just how strong the sanctions will be. At three weeks and running, it’s the most prolonged nuclear test debate ever, with Washington, Seoul, and Tokyo promising “painful” sanctions to demonstrate it is no longer “business as usual” and Beijing, not always but this time joined by Moscow, calling on “all sides” to refrain from destabilizing actions, as if “all sides” were at fault for the latest crisis. Meanwhile Pyongyang, convinced that such actions ultimately do more to divide than to unite the international community, sits back and dreams up new ways of threatening all-out war. Isn’t it time to disabuse North Korea of this notion? I don’t expect the UNSC to endorse the tough line proposed by the US and its allies. Even though the Chinese should feel disrespected, if not humiliated, by this latest act of defiance from its client state, it still refuses to use even the limited leverage it has to send Kim Jong Un and company a firm, credible message. Instead, Beijing warns of severe consequences – not if Pyongyang continues to violate international norms, but against Seoul if it should try to defend itself by introducing the US Terminal High-Altitude Air Defense (THAAD) system in the South. In what universe do you protect the aggressive while warning the potential victim to not defend itself? And they call Pyongyang “irrational”! [US NK policy] [MISCOM] [Test] [UNUS] [Satellite]
• U.S. to Send Attack Drones to S.Korea
  The U.S. wants to deploy cutting-edge attack drones in South Korea this year to improve defenses against North Korea. A source on Tuesday said Washington is pushing for the deployment of the MQ-1C Gray Eagle with the U.S. Forces Korea this year and already conducted tests of the drone at its Gunsan airbase here last year. Currently the USFK has only the Shadow 200 unmanned aerial vehicle, whose capabilities are far inferior to the Gray Eagle. The Gray Eagle is an improved version of the Predator UAV that was widely used in Iraq and Afghanistan to try and kill al-Qaeda leaders. It has more powerful attack, flight, and reconnaissance capabilities than its predecessor. Equipped with all-weather night surveillance equipment including an infrared camera, the Gray Eagle is capable of flying for about 30 hours non-stop and would play a leading role in watching the North Korean military if threats mount along the demilitarized zone or near the Northern Limit Line, the de facto sea border. The drone can carry four GBU-44/B Viper Strike precision-guided munitions, as well as four Hellfire anti-tank missiles that can allegedly hit a tank about 8 km away. The Viper Strike is said to be accurate within just a meter because it is GPS- and laser-guided. It weighs only 20 kg. It can also attack helicopters with Stinger air-to-air missiles. It was deployed for warfare-ready for the first time in 2009 and used in Afghanistan. It costs more than W20 billion (US$1=W1,206). [UAV]
• Seoul pressures China with THAAD
  By Jun Ji-hye South Korea's changing stance on the THAAD missile defense system reflects growing worries here about China's two-faced approach toward North Korea and its nuclear program, analysts said Tuesday. President Park Geun-hye and key defense officials have indicated that Seoul can allow the U.S. to deploy the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system that can detect and destroy North Korean missiles loaded with nuclear warheads, since the Northfourth nuclear test conducted on Jan. 6. Their comments triggered speculation that Seoul is leaning toward the deployment of the missile defense system because China is refraining from joining international efforts to toughen sanctions against the North. Korean officials had until recently been reluctant in expressing opinions about THAAD, only sticking to the stance of the so-called "three Nos," which means there has been no request from the U.S., no negotiations with the U.S. and no decision made about it. That was largely because of China. However, the Korean government, by hinting at THAAD deployment, is apparently trying to add pressure on Beijing to play a much-needed role in discouraging the repressive state's nuclear ambitions. Experts say that the government is well aware that Beijing is strongly opposed to having THAAD on Korean soil, out of concerns that its radar system could snoop on Beijing's military activities and missile capabilities. [THAAD] [China confrontation] [Pretend equality]
• Defense Minister Favors THAAD Deployment in Korea
  Defense Minister Han Min-goo on Monday came out cautiously in favor of the U.S. stationing Terminal High Altitude Area Defense batteries on the Korean Peninsula. The THAAD batteries are designed to intercept ballistic missiles in mid-air and form a core part of the U.S.' missile defense shield. "The deployment of a THAAD battery clearly needs to be seen from defense and security points of view," Han said in a press interview. Seoul still maintains a flimsy fiction that there has been no discussion with the U.S. about the plan because Beijing believes that their deployment here would be chiefly aimed at containing China's rising military might. [THAAD] [China confrontation]
• Sending GIs home or military strike on NK
  By Oh Young-jin Is there no way of resolving North Korea's nuclear challenge? To state the obvious conclusion first, there is one and it is not something new. After its fourth nuclear test on Jan. 6, everybody is pretending there is none. South Korea, the United States and Japan blame China for not doing its share of thwarting Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions; while Beijing claims that it has few options of its own. President Park Geun-hye has been so frustrated that she suggested launching a five-party dialogue excluding North Korea. China and Russia said an immediate no to Park's off-base idea. U.S. President Barack Obama appears up to his neck with the Iran nuclear deal, while Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe may be using the North as an excuse for its own nuclear program. China's President Xi Jin-ping is obviously satisfied with the North serving in its traditional buffer role against the U.S. Russia's President Vladmir Putin is still obsessed with getting in the way of the U.S. and showing Moscow still has global influence. And the North's 33-year-old dictator Kim Jong-un must be happy to see he can play the same game his father and grandfather did by getting away with another nuclear test. In short, all parties want no drastic change in the status quo. For the South, it has acted as if it wanted to bring about change but hasn't been audacious enough to stomach overtures needed to disrupt the inter-Korean stalemate. So what are the two game changers that all concerned parties pretend do not exist _ because they prefer to keep the situation as it is _ but can be doable by the South. They are the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the South and a military option on the North. [Test] [Military presence] [Bizarre]
• How to stop North Korea’s bomb The Hermit Kingdom won’t be coerced, but could be convinced
  Joe Cirincione 26 January 2016 Could North Korea be convinced to give up its nuclear weapons capability? Yes, writes Joe Cirincione, and here’s how. No country in history has ever been coerced into giving up nuclear weapons or weapons programs. But many countries have been convinced to do so. In fact, more countries have given up nuclear capabilities in the past 30 years than have tried to acquire them. None of these were easy cases. They include Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan, Libya and Iraq, South Africa, Argentina and Brazil. And most recently, Iran, who voluntarily surrendered their nascent nuclear weapons capability and allowed inspectors access to what little remains of the country’s once threatening complex. Can we add North Korea to the list? It will not be easy; it may be the toughest case so far. But there is a way. We will need a comprehensive plan. Nuclear crises manifest regionally but nuclear weapons are a global problem requiring a global solution. Nuclear whack-a-mole is a loser’s game. Any solution must tie the particular problem to universal norms and standards. In the case of North Korea, this means pursuing three main avenues to strengthen the barriers to getting nuclear weapons, increasing the penalties for violating global norms and increasing the incentives for giving up weapons and capabilities. [Test] [US NK policy]
• North Korea: Virginia student arrested for ‘hostile acts’ while on tour
  North Korea says it arrested a Va. student A North Korean news agency said on Jan. 22 that the country has detained a U.S. college student for committing a "hostile act" and wanting to "destroy the country's unity." (Reuters) By Anna Fifield, Sarah Larimer and Susan Svrluga January 22 at 2:33 PM ? TOKYO — A University of Virginia student honored as an “intellectual risk-taker” has been arrested in North Korea, its state-run media said Friday, accusing the American of an unspecified “hostile act” against the state. Otto Frederick Warmbier, 21, was detained Jan. 2 at Pyongyang airport as he prepared to leave after a five-day trip over the New Year’s holiday, said Gareth Johnson of Young Pioneer Tours, the agency that organized the trip. This was four days before North Korea conducted its latest nuclear test, and makes Warmbier the third Westerner known to be held in North Korea — a move that is certain to elevate already-high tensions with Washington. But Warmbier’s detention was not made public until Friday, when the official Korean Central News Agency said it was questioning him about taking part in “anti-state activity.” The brief statement gave no further information about the accusations or the current status of the student. [Detainee]
• American student detained in N.Korea: KCNA
  State media says student from University of Virginia under investigation for 'anti-DPRK activities' Ha-young Choi January 22nd, 2016 A U.S. student has been detained in North Korea, the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said on Friday, making him the third American to be arrested there this year. “According to information available from a relevant institution, Warmbier Otto Frederick, student of Virginia University of the U.S., was arrested while perpetrating a hostile act against the DPRK,” the KCNA report said. The student, who had entered North Korea “under the guise” of tourism, had the “purpose of bringing down the foundation of (the DPRK’s) single-minded unity at the tacit connivance of the U.S. government and under its manipulation,” the KCNA said.
  “Among the recent dozen or so detainees, virtually all took risks,” said Stephan Haggard, professor of international relations at UC San Diego. “I sympathize with the pain they have caused their families, but most seem to have brought their troubles on themselves.” [Detainee]
• US think tank CSIS recommends THAAD deployment on the Korean Peninsula
  Posted on : Jan.22,2016 18:23 KST Major US military bases within US Pacific Command The proposal is stressed as a way to strengthen regional missile defense under the US’s Asia-Pacific “rebalancing” strategy A prominent US think tank recently published a report explicitly recommending the deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system on the Korean Peninsula to Washington. The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) also claimed a strong likelihood that the current regime in North Korea will collapse. While the CSIS is widely recognized as a cradle for conservative security experts in the US - with a number of its Asia specialists having strong backgrounds on and sympathies toward Japan - the report’s recommendations are expected to generate some controversy because of their potentially large impact on the policy decisions of the US and other governments. Titled “Asia-Pacific Rebalance 2025,” the report was published on Jan. 20 and commissioned by the US Department of Defense. In it, the importance of a THAAD deployment on the Korean Peninsula is stressed as a means of strengthening regional missile defense capabilities under the Asia-Pacific “rebalancing” strategy. [Missile defense] [Collapse] [Pivot] [China confrontation]
• [Column] The essence of the North Korean nuclear problem
  Posted on : Jan.21,2016 16:13 KST Why is North Korea so dead set on developing nuclear weapons? To attack the South and force a Communist reunification? To send a nuclear missile into the heart of the US and flatten the country? Both are impossible scenarios. No matter how state-of-the-art North Korea manages to make its nuclear weapons, Pyongyang would be wiped off the map and the country leveled the second it used one. In the end, North Korea’s nukes are children’s toys compared to the US arsenal. It’s only when we have a real answer to the question of why North Korea wants nuclear weapons that we can begin to solve the problem posed by its nuclear program. All sorts of carrot-and-stick tactics have been used since it first declared in April 2003 that it had a nuclear weapon, and none of them has worked. Instead, its nuclear development capabilities have only grown. Early this year, it carried out a fourth test with what it claimed to be a hydrogen bomb. It’s the result of leaders misunderstanding - or deliberately ignoring - the root of the issue. First of all, let’s look at when it was that North Korea first began developing nuclear weapons. Professor Lee Jae-bong of Wonkwang University traces the decisive factor back to the US’s decision to keep nuclear weapons in South Korea. From his analysis of a collection of diplomatic documents from the late 1950s that were declassified and released by the US State Department in the 1990s, he concluded that the US had positioned nuclear weapons in the South by “January 1958 at the latest,” prompting a threatened North Korea to pursue its own ongoing nuclear program from the 1960s onward. [Nuclear weapons] [US NK Negotiations] [Deterrence]
• SK government took six months to announce US military brought plague, anthrax into SK
  Posted on : Jan.22,2016 18:05 KST Government knew of the delivery in June, but did not make the information public until a US-SK joint investigation was released in December Despite learning that the US military had brought bubonic plague into the country, the South Korean government sat on this information for six months, newly released documents show. The information appears in US military documents released on Jan. 21 by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) following a freedom of information petition by MINBYUN-Lawyers for a Democratic Society. Shipping and customs clearance documents that the US military submitted to the KCDC on June 1, 2015 include an import notice listing items that were shipped on Apr. 24, 2015 and that passed through Incheon Airport on Apr. 26, 2015. On this list are anthrax and bubonic plague, which are described as “medical supplies” bound for Osan Air Base. On May 28, 2015, the US Department of Defense announced that supposedly deactivated anthrax that had been sent to Osan Air Base and other areas might still be alive, and US Forces Korea (USFK) notified the South Korean government of this fact on the same day. As the controversy grew, the US military was accused of shipping other disease agents into the country in addition to anthrax. Not only USFK but also the South Korean government remained silent about these accusations for six months, until they finally admitted them when a joint investigation by the two countries released its findings in Dec. 2015. [cbw]
• Why South Korea has to say no to THAAD
  Introducing missile interceptors to limit options By Oh Young-jin The Center for Strategic and International Studies, a U.S. think tank, recently called for the early deployment of advanced missile interceptors in South Korea, giving a boost to supporters for Terminal High Altitude Areas Defense (THAAD) as an option against an ever-provocative North Korea. President Park Geun-hye broke a long-held "strategic silence" on this controversial issue after the North's Jan.6 nuclear test, dropping a hint at a willingness to embrace it. Her move was seen as a pressure tactic targeting China for its refusal to go along for tougher sanctions against its client state. At least for now, she shouldn't make her commitment and, rather it is time for her to restore her ambiguous status on the THAAD, although Washington tries to "persuade" Seoul to accommodate it just for the defense of its 28,000 troops stationed in the South.
  There are three reasons that Seoul would be better off without THAAD on its soil. First, it is for the future of its partnership with Beijing and alliance with the U.S. From the South, it can't afford to choose one over the other. [THAAD] [Dilemma]
• Korean Jurists Committee Accuses U.S. of Sidestepping Conclusion of Peace Treaty with DPRK
  Pyongyang, January 14 (KCNA) -- The Korean Jurists Committee released a white paper on January 14, disclosing the U.S. criminal acts of persistently sidestepping the conclusion of a peace treaty with the DPRK, an international legal guarantee for defending peace and security in the Korean Peninsula and the rest of the world, and laying bare the U.S. sinister aim lurking behind it before the international community and the world progressives. A peace treaty is an international one which should be concluded in order to put a definite end to the state of war from a legal point of view and establish the relations of lasting peace, the white paper noted, and went on: How to approach the peace treaty is a touchstone to distinguish the peace-loving forces and trigger-happy forces. [Peace Treaty]
• Reality Check on North Korean Sanctions
  By Joseph DeThomas 21 January 2016 A recent op-ed by Sung-Yoon Lee and Joshua Stanton highlights what should happen in dealing with North Korea. Unfortunately, for this long-time practitioner in the field of nonproliferation sanctions, it also highlights what cannot happen—or at least what cannot happen at an acceptable level of risk with the limited knowledge and the complex agendas that policymakers face. At the highest level of analysis, Lee and Stanton get some key points right. The effort of multiple US administrations to negotiate away the threat of North Korean nuclear weapons has been a truly bipartisan failure. Four US presidents—two of each party—have tried and yet it seems the story of failure repeats itself in very familiar ways. However, the authors certainly over-simplify the story of those efforts. It is worthy of note that the four administrations came at the problem from very different perspectives and initially tried tactics that ranged from highly confrontational to being predisposed to engagement. Yet, all ended up more or less in the same policy dead-end. This might lead one to suspect that the problem with North Korean policy might not rest primarily with naiveté in Washington but rather with a single-minded Pyongyang that has a very limited diplomatic repertoire. Lee and Stanton are correct that it is extremely unlikely that any set of negotiated incentives will ever induce the DPRK to give up its nuclear weapons. They are probably also correct that—if North Korea were to be coerced into giving up its weapons—it would require regime-threatening measures to be put into play. But, that does not mean that such measures can be created at this time. Moreover, it does not mean they should be implemented unless a careful calculation of the costs and benefits can be made. [US NK negotiations] [Sanctions]
• What Went Right with Iran and Wrong with N.Korea?
  The U.S. and EU on Saturday lifted sanctions against Iran that were imposed when the country aroused international suspicions of pursuing a secret nuclear weapons program. The sanctions were lifted after Iran complied with an international deal limiting its nuclear program, and now the country is emerging from economic isolation for the first time since 2002. Cuba, another country that had been the target of decades of vindictive U.S.-led sanctions, is also in the process of rejoining the international community after normalizing diplomatic ties with Washington. That leaves North Korea the only isolated country under international sanctions. [Iran deal]
• US ambassador’s protests over pending change to Foreign Legal Consultant Act stir debate
  Posted on : Jan.19,2016 17:06 KST Korean Bar Association and attorney groups object to foreign diplomatic missions’ arguments for revisions The US ambassador to South Korea visited the head of the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee on Jan. 18 to argue for revisions to a pending amendment to the Foreign Legal Consultant Act. Ambassador Mark Lippert was also among several foreign diplomatic officials in South Korea who visited committee chair Lee Sang-min on Jan. 7 after the amendment passed the committee’s legislative subcommittee earlier that day. Lippert’s second meeting with Lee, which comes amid a delay in the legislation’s presentation before the National Assembly’s plenary session, was blasted by attorney groups as “interference in internal affairs and a violation of sovereignty.” [Sovereignty] [KORUS FTA]
• The North Korean threat – the myth and its makers
  Stories of Pyongyang’s relative military capability are much exaggerated – for a variety of reasons
  Tim Beal
  January 21st, 2016 The available evidence shows that North Korea is in most respects much weaker militarily than the South, and the balance between the two shifts hugely in the South’s favor in the crucial aspect of advanced technology equipment. But a limited comparison of North and South is really meaningless because this is essentially a question of North Korea versus the United States – an attack by North Korea on the South would inevitably be a declaration of war against the United States. The U.S. has “operational command” of the South Korean military in the event of war, there are 28,500 U.S. military personnel (and considerably more civilians) stationed there and there is the over-riding geopolitical imperative – the U.S. would not tolerate the establishment of an independent Korea by force. The Korean Peninsula is where China, Japan, Russia and the United States meet and contest and as such is the most strategically valuable place on earth. [Threat] [MISCOM] [Deterrence] [Military balance]
• S.Korea, U.S., Japan to Support Searches of N.Korean Ships
  South Korea, the U.S. and Japan have agreed to provide technology to ASEAN member nations to search North Korean ships on the high seas, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported Tuesday. ASEAN officials are meeting in Tokyo on Wednesday to discuss the technology sharing plan, and South Korean and Chinese officials are also to attend. North Korea engages in trade not only with China but Burma and Thailand, and ports in Vietnam and Malaysia often serve as stop-over points for North Korean ships. South Korea, the U.S. and Japan hope to provide the necessary funding and technology so that those countries can stop materials involved in the production of weapons of mass destruction passing through en route to the North. Japan is considering tapping into its Overseas Development Assistance funds to buy high-tech scanning equipment for ASEAN countries and supply training personnel. The vice foreign ministers of South Korea, the U.S. and Japan met in Tokyo on Saturday and agreed to create an environment maximizing the effectiveness of sanctions against North Korea. [Interdiction] [Legality] [Pretend equality]
• The North Korea that can say no
  Bruce Cumings 11 January 2016 Some years ago, I spoke with a former Soviet official who had worked in North Korea. He said that you could try to direct, cajole, or nudge the leadership to do something that, to a foreigner, looked to be in their best interests. They would smile, seem to nod assent, or might even say yes, then do the opposite?even when it directly contradicted their presumed interests. You can call it bloody-minded, self-centered, even pig-headed; they don?t care. But this dogged insistence on going their own way is as much a part of North Korea?s historic behavior pattern as it is a palpable obstacle to international cooperation?even with North Korea?s close allies. [Test] [NK Foreign policy]
• Never Say Never
  By Robert Carlin 19 January 2016 North Korea?s fourth nuclear test surprised a lot of people. That surprise unleashed, among other things, the notion that Kim Jong Un is erratic, an especially loose cannon with no advisers who might counsel restraint because they have all been kicked aside or died. If that were true, one might wonder about the North?s first two nuclear tests, which took place under Kim Jong Il. Presumably, if we accept the ?erratic Kim Jong Un? thesis, the earlier tests took place because the old advisers thought nuclear tests were a good idea, and not because they feared contradicting the leader. But how would we know the difference? Consider for a moment: What if, as things seem to be headed, Beijing (although furious with the North for the test) is still not prepared to go along with seriously tough UN Security Council sanctions? How will Kim Jong Un look then? Like someone who reviewed the odds, looked at the history of Chinese reaction to the North?s first three tests, and decided the risk was worth taking? [NK foreign policy] [Test] [US NK policy]
• The US Tiger and the North Korean Mouse
  by John Laforge January 15, 2016 North Korea?s claim to have conducted a hydrogen bomb test January 5 has been both ridiculed as completely implausible and condemned from all sides as provocative and a violation of UN Security Council Resolutions. Without any hard evidence that North Korea has a single H-bomb, official ?concern? needs to be manufactured if our weapons contractors are to stay in business. We could expect to hear Senator Bob Corker, R-Tenn., chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, chant that he wants the US ?to take a more assertive role in addressing North Korea?s provocation.? But Anna Fifield, the Washington Post Bureau Chief in Tokyo who should be an impartial observer, wrote Jan. 6 that the underground test was a ?brazen provocation and a clear defiance of international treaties.? She later told National Public Radio that she wouldn?t want to speculate about what motivated the North?s President Kim Jong Un, because the inside of his head ?is a scary place.? The interviewer let this assertion go unchallenged. [Test] [Military balance]
• [Analysis] South Korea, US continue pressuring China over North Korea sanctions
  Posted on : Jan.15,2016 17:54 KST A THAAD missile interceptor is tested. (US Missile Defense Agency) Critics warn that discussions over deploying missile defense system to Korean Peninsula could have the opposite effect, however South Korea and the US continue ratcheting up pressure on China to impose stiffer sanctions on North Korea after its recent nuclear test. Deliberations have focused in particular on whether a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) or missile defense system should be introduced on the Korean Peninsula - both highly sensitive issues for Beijing. Now the matters appear poised to cross the line and hurt Seoul?s and Washington?s ties with Beijing, potentially ushering in an additional threat to Northeast Asian political stability beyond the nuclear test. [THAAD] [Missile defense]
• US in deliberations with South Korea, Japan to strengthen missile defense
  Posted on : Jan.15,2016 17:43 KST Ben Rhodes, Deputy National Security Advisor The move could include THAAD interceptors and is intended to demonstrate a joint response to North Korea?s nuclear test The US government openly admitted that it is in deliberations with South Korea and Japan about strengthening their missile defense ability. In the view of China, US-led cooperation on missile defense is the first step toward a military alliance among the three countries. As such, this declaration, along with remarks made the previous day by South Korean President Park Geun-hye about reviewing the possibility of deploying the THAAD missile defense system in South Korea, are likely to spark controversy. When asked about the roles of South Korea and Japan in tackling the issue of North Korea?s nuclear program, Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes said that the US is deliberating with the two countries about strengthening their missile defense ability, which he said is directly connected with protecting Americans from the threat posed by North Korea. Rhodes made the remarks at an event in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 13 at which he explained the significance of US President Barack Obama?s State of the Union address to foreign correspondents. [Missile defense]
• N. Korea blasts US for ignoring calls for peace treaty
  By Choi Sung-jin North Korea said Thursday that the U.S. refusal to conclude a peace treaty is an act of "international crime" based on Washington's policy of antagonizing Pyongyang. A white paper issued by the North's committee of legal experts said, "The U.S. scheme to oppose a bilateral peace treaty and choke us off militarily is a treacherous international crime, and an illegal act that violates international norms and practices." [Peace treaty]
• Sanctions? Role in Dealing with the North Korean Problem
  By 38 North 13 January 2016 Sanctions' Role in Dealing with the North Korean ProblemFor almost a decade, sanctions have been the principal coercive instrument available to the United States and the international community in trying to deal with North Korea?s nuclear weapons and long-range ballistic missile programs. As bilateral and multilateral negotiating tracks with the DPRK have withered, sanctions that were initially crafted to slow North Korean proliferation programs and steer Pyongyang toward a negotiated reversal of those programs now seem untethered from overall policy. Given the evolution of North Korean policy and the status of its proliferation programs, the current sanctions are inappropriate and overmatched. This is not to say sanctions have no role in dealing with the issue, but rather they must be put into the service of an overall strategy relevant to the realities of the region, particularly since, given the steady increase in the DPRK?s nuclear capabilities, the next decade could lead to severe effects on vital US interests. This paper explores the many pitfalls of the current sanctions levied against the DPRK and offers a new approach the United States might take to better integrate sanctions with evolving strategic objectives. [Sanctions] [US NK policy]
• Comparative Connections September-December 2015
  Comparative Connections provides a timely, concise, and comprehensive source of information and analysis on key East Asian bilateral relationships. .... . The Pacific Forum established Comparative Connections in April 1999. Recognized specialists provide a brief article triannually on the key developments in 12 selected bilateral relationships, highlighting the impact on U.S. interests. Articles include a chronology of key events. A regional overview puts the events of the trimester into a broader context, while also discussing multilateral developments.
• Challenges for the US in Northeast Asia
  By Brad Glosserman Jan 13, 2016 Northeast Asia invariably poses tricky problems for US policymakers: 2016 will prove no exception. Longstanding issues will continue to fester, and even recent successes may prove problematic. The overlay of a US election campaign will provide its usual complications. While the landscape may look familiar, rarely have the uncertainties consumed all the countries of the region at the same time. Who?s in charge? Looking to South Korea, the overarching concern is Seoul?s policy toward North Korea and the prospect of widening rifts in the two allies? approach to the DPRK. Pyongyang?s Jan. 6 nuclear test will inject a new sense of urgency into South Korean demands for signs of progress ? on any front. In his new year?s speech (before the test), DPRK Leader Kim Jong Un pledged to make inter-Korean relations a priority and Seoul should be eager to test him. The US is unlikely to have any interest in moving away from its policy of ?strategic patience,? especially during an election year; the test will only harden that resolve. At the same time, the nuclear test reminds South Koreans of the gap in their indigenous capabilities viz North Korea and increases demands for a response that strengthens deterrence and reassurance: expect new calls for the reintroduction of US tactical nuclear weapons on the peninsula and the renewed demands for the South to develop its own nuclear weapons. [US NK policy]
• The U.S. Response to North Korea's Nuclear Provocations
  Wednesday, January 13, 2016 CSIS experts Victor Cha and Bonnie Glaser testify before the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific on ?The U.S. Response to North Korea?s Nuclear Provocations.? [Test] [H-bomb] [US NK policy] [China NK]
• North Korea?s Fourth Nuclear Test: How to Respond?
  by Scott A. Snyder January 6, 2016 North Korea announced that it has conducted its fourth nuclear test on January 6, 2016, following reports of a 5.1 magnitude artificial earthquake near the site of North Korea?s past nuclear tests. Regardless of whether or not the North?s claims to have conducted a test of a ?hydrogen bomb? are true, the test occurs in defiance of UN Security Council resolutions sanctioning North Korea for conducting three previous tests and despite repeated warnings by the leaders of the United States, South Korea, and China not to do so. South Korea?s foreign minister stated in April of 2014 that North Korea?s fourth nuclear test would be a ?game changer,? but this will only be the case if the United States, South Korea, and China can lead a response that imposes real costs on Pyongyang. Moreover, the test comes two weeks following an apparent North Korean success in launching a potentially nuclear-capable missile from a submarine. By pursuing such a course of action, Kim Jong-un has issued a challenge to the international community and has underscored the magnitude of the danger posed by North Korea?s increasing nuclear and missile capabilities despite past UN Security Council resolutions. Therefore, North Korea?s fourth nuclear test could become a true test of the collective will of the global community to deal with a common security challenge. However, the complex challenge facing the United States and the global community is how to impose costs on the reclusive state without opening a new front in a seeming contagion of global hot spots and instability. Escalation of a crisis with North Korea would likely open a Pandora?s Box of difficult geopolitical, humanitarian, and potentially military challenges. Yet, efforts to defer these challenges will only guarantee that the problems on the Korean peninsula will grow more complex and costly in the future. One wrinkle in the North Korean announcement is the seemingly desperate reach for prestige represented by the claim that the country had mastered the technology necessary to detonate a hydrogen bomb. Such a claim in the absence of conclusive corroborating evidence conveys desperation and weakness from a regime that has increasingly stood on claims to North Korea?s nuclear status as a source of domestic legitimacy. North Korea?s latest test suggests evidence of weakness rather than strength, but such a conclusion could also complicate an effective response, given that the main differences among North Korea?s neighbors have to do with the risks of inducing North Korean instability despite unity in opposition to North Korea?s nuclear development. [H-bomb] [Test] [US NK policy]
• Time for a New Approach in U.S.-North Korea Relations
  December 31, 2015 Jongsoo Lee As the United States has normalized relations with Cuba and signed the Iran nuclear deal and as Myanmar successfully held elections leading to a peaceful transfer of power, only North Korea remains a pariah state isolated from the outside world. Yet, the current U.S. policy of insisting on North Korea to take concrete steps toward denuclearization as a precondition for talks has been a failure. While talks with Pyongyang have been frozen, the Kim Jong-un regime has made significant progress in its nuclear and missile programs. It is high time for U.S. President Barack Obama, now in his last year in office, to try a new approach and reach out to Pyongyang, which, likewise, needs to adopt a new approach. Some may claim the futility of negotiating with North Korea, arguing that the Obama administration already reached out to Pyongyang more than once, including with the 2012 ?leap day? agreement, only to be ?burned? by the Kim regime?s failure to honor its part of the bargain. [US NK policy] [Engagement]
• US House passes harsher sanctions against DPRK
  Xinhua, January 13, 2016 U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday easily passed legislation to impose harsher sanctions against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) in response to its nuclear test. The measure, passed by a vote of 418 to 2, would require the president to sanction those engaging in transactions with DPRK related to weapons of mass destruction, arms, luxury goods, money laundering, counterfeiting and human rights abuses, The Washington Post reported. It also gives the president authority to sanction anyone engaging in financial transactions to support DPRK's banned activities and the country's developing cyber threat industry. The DPRK announced Wednesday that it had successfully carried out its first hydrogen bomb test. But the White House disputed the claim, saying that initial analysis indicates that the nuclear test is "not consistent" with a hydrogen bomb. "The latest test demands a response," said House Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Eliot Engel, a co-sponsor of the House bill, according to The Washington Post. "We need to act unilaterally to make clear to the North Koreans (DPRK) that their actions have consequences." The Senate is expected to consider similar legislation in the coming weeks. [US NK policy] [Sanctions]
• S.Korea, U.S. Consider Anti-Nuke Element in Joint Drills
  Seoul and Washington are considering adding a drill that would practice a preemptive strike on North Korean nuclear weapons to regular annual exercises in March. This type of drill is dubbed "4D" or "detect, disrupt, destroy, and defend." The two countries already approved the 4D operation concept in principle at their annual Security Consultative Meeting in November last year and are now working out a detailed plan, spurred by the North?s nuclear test last week. "The two countries are discussing ways to reflect parts of the 4D concept during the joint annual exercises in March and then develop it as a full-scale operational system," a Defense Ministry official said. Reuters quoted an American official on Monday as saying that Seoul and Washington are not considering redeploying tactical American nuclear weapons that were withdrawn from South Korea in 1991. Meanwhile, meetings of chief nuclear negotiators from Seoul, Washington and Tokyo take place Wednesday, while the South Korean envoy also meets his Chinese counterpart on Thursday and his Russian counterpart next Tuesday, according to the Foreign Ministry. Seoul will try to persuade Beijing and Moscow to take strong sanctions against Pyongyang. "Unless Beijing and Moscow join strong sanctions against the North, we could end up with a new cold-war situation pitting Seoul, Washington, and Tokyo against Pyongyang, Beijing, and Moscow," a researcher with a government-funded think tank speculated. [Preemptive] [Invasion] [Joint US military]
• Stephen Bosworth: A Master Diplomat
  By Thomas Hubbard 13 January 2016 Seven former US ambassadors to the Republic of Korea gather for the inauguration of the US-Korea Institute at SAIS in 2006. (From left to right: Alexander Vershbow, Thomas C. Hubbard, Stephen W. Bosworth, Christopher R. Hill, James T. Laney, Donald Gregg, and James R. Lilley. Photo: Kaveh Sardari/US-Korea Institute at SAIS) Seven former US ambassadors to the Republic of Korea gather for the inauguration of the US-Korea Institute at SAIS in 2006. (From left to right: Alexander Vershbow, Thomas C. Hubbard, Stephen W. Bosworth, Christopher R. Hill, James T. Laney, Donald Gregg, and James R. Lilley. Photo: Kaveh Sardari/US-Korea Institute at SAIS) America lost a master diplomat and a wise foreign policy leader when Steve Bosworth died on January 3, 2016, at the age of 76. Most 38 North readers know Steve best for his role with regard to the Korean peninsula, where he has been a towering figure for two decades. But even before that, Steve had left an enormous impact on American foreign policy. I followed in Steve?s footsteps at many stages of my own career and tried hard to emulate his wisdom and success. The two of us share the unique distinction of having been Ambassador to both the Philippines and South Korea, two treaty allies. We also both were intimately involved in relations with another important Asia ally, Japan. We were working together on a project relating to Korea and China up to his final days. [Bosworth]
• Obama makes no mention of North Korea in State of Union address, despite nuclear test
  U.S. President Barack Obama made no mention of North Korea in his final State of the Union address on Tuesday, a snub seen as intended to show that Washington remains unfazed by Pyongyang's nuclear test. Obama had widely been expected to mention North Korea in the annual address for the first time in three years as the speech comes just a week after the North's fourth nuclear test, but the speech text unveiled by the White House included no mention of the communist nation. Obama last mentioned the North in his State of the Union address in 2013. In Tuesday's speech, Obama stressed that the U.S. is the most powerful nation on Earth, with an annual defense budget greater than the next eight nations combined, and he said "no nation dares to attack us or our allies because they know that's the path to ruin." [Obama]
• Korea, US plan exercise targeting NK nuke facilities
  By Kang Seung-woo South Korea and the United States will for the first time carry out a joint exercise aimed at destroying nuclear and missile facilities in North Korea as early as March, defense officials here said Tuesday. For the joint training, the allies will apply the "4D Operational Concept," which is to "detect, defend, disrupt and destroy" Pyongyang's missile inventory, including nuclear, chemical and biological warheads. Last November, Defense Minister Han Min-koo and U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter approved the implementation guidance on the concept as part of efforts to strengthen tailored deterrence against North Korea's nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). [Preemptive] [invasion] [Joint US military]
• In response to NK nuclear test, US Air Force flies B-52 bomber over Korean Peninsula
  Posted on : Jan.11,2016 17:25 KST A US Air Force B-52 strategic bomber (center) is escorted by three South Korean Air Force F-15Ks (left) and two USAF F-16s (right) in the sky near Osan Air Base in Gyeonggi Province, Jan. 10. The B-52, making a sortie from Andersen Air Force Base on the Pacific island of Guam, is a long-distance bomber capable of delivering nuclear weapons and can carry 31-ton bombs on runs of over 6,400 kilometers. (provided by ROK Air Force) The flight was likely intended to put pressure on North Korea and emphasize the US?s commitment to protecting the South under its nuclear umbrella The US military flew a B-52 over the Korean Peninsula on Dec. 10 in an apparent attempt to gain the upper hand in the confrontation unfolding in the wake of North Korea?s fourth nuclear test just four days earlier. The strategic bomber?s flight was opened to the press within a period of just 30 seconds. The aircraft approached the runway at Osan Air Base in Gyeonggi Province from the east around noon and flew at a low altitude of around 100 meters before quickly vanishing off to the west. As it buzzed the runway with a tremendous roar, the massive bomber was escorted at a distance of around ten meters to its left and right by fighter planes: the South Korean Air Force?s F-15K and the US Air Force?s F-16C. Other F-15K and F-16C aircrafts also flew around 100 meters ahead of the B-52. The bomber had arrived after taking off at around 6 am from Andersen Air Force Base on the Pacific island of Guam, a route it later retraced just after the display. It passed through the Korean Air Defense Identification Zone (KADIZ) south of Jeju Island at around 10:30 am, traveling northward past Busan and Daegu and reaching as far as the East Sea coast in Gangwon Province before turning its nose for the ?air show? at Osan and heading back toward the south coast, sources reported. [H-bomb] [Test] [B-52]
• US: Show of Military Muscle against North Korea
  Andrei Akulov | 10.01.2016 | 19:21 Just days after the North Korea?s nuclear (allegedly hydrogen) bomb test, the US and South Korea conducted a show of force by flying a US B-52 bomber over Osan Air Base, South Korea, some 70 kilometers (45 miles) south of the inter-Korean border. The test angered all of the world powers, including Russia and China. The UN Security Council was unanimous as it agreed to roll out new measures to punish the country that challenged the United Nations.
  There is an indirect evidence to support the view that a military action is an option on the table. In the wake of North Korea?s latest test, the US Air Force Times reports, the Defense Department has a standing plan to get troops? families and DoD civilians to safety. [[Test] [Military option] [US NK policy]
• PacNet #4 - North Korea vexes US presidential candidates
  By Denny Roy Jan 11, 2016 North Korea?s claim of a successful H-bomb test provided an opportunity for the US presidential candidates to demonstrate their expertise on a major policy issue about which they all should have been well-briefed by their handlers. Unfortunately for the country they aspire to lead, their initial comments were less than impressive. Two points were common to many of the Republican Party candidates. The first was the familiar characterization of the North Korean government as irrational. Billionaire reality show star Donald Trump called DPRK paramount leader Kim Jong-un a ?madman.? Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said Kim is a ?megalomanic.? To Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, Kim is a ?lunatic.? Perhaps former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee wins the prize for the strongest personal epithet against Kim, referring to him as ?North Korea?s mega-maniac dictator with the funny haircut.? Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul was relatively restrained, noting that ?There doesn?t seem to be the same rationality in North Korea? as in other nuclear states such as China and Russia. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Democrat, had a more nuanced view, describing the DPRK as ?a paranoid, isolated nation.? [Irrationality] [US_Election16]
• U.S. Scrambles B-52 Bomber to Fly Over Korean Peninsula
  The U.S. on Sunday deployed a B-52 long-range bomber over the Korean Peninsula as a show of force after the North?s nuclear test last week. B-52s are sturdy old machines familiar to many from the Vietnam War but now capable of striking targets with modern precision-guided munitions. Their flight for some reason holds a particular terror for the regime, which has reacted sensitively whenever any of the huge lumbering machines came near the peninsula during annual military exercises. It follows South Korea's resumption of propaganda broadcasts across the demilitarized zone on Friday. [B-52] [Media]
• U.S. flies B-52 over South Korea after North's nuclear test
  SEOUL | By Tony Munroe and Jack Kim The United States deployed a B-52 bomber on a low-level flight over its ally South Korea on Sunday, a show of force following North Korea's nuclear test last week. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un maintained that Wednesday's test was of a hydrogen bomb and said it was a self-defensive step against a U.S. threat of nuclear war. North Korea's fourth nuclear test angered both China, its main ally, and the United States, although the U.S. government and weapons experts doubt the North's claim that the device was a hydrogen bomb. The massive B-52, based in Guam and capable of carrying nuclear weapons, could be seen in a low flight over Osan Air Base at around noon (0300 GMT). It was flanked by two fighter planes, a U.S. F-16 and a South Korean F-15, before returning to Guam, the U.S. military said in a statement. [H-bomb] [Test] [US NK policy] [B-52]
• Korea is a joke. And that?s the problem.
  By Jeffrey Lewis January 8 Jeffrey Lewis is the director of the East Asia nonproliferation program at the Center for Nonproliferation Studies. North Korea sometimes seems less of a place than an idea or an absurdist fantasy. The latest New Yorker depicts Kim Jong Un on its cover as a child playing with toy missiles. What other world leader gets this treatment? What other country is so alien, so downright weird, that it celebrates the anniversary of its independence by creating its own time zone? What other country could prompt U.S. intelligence officials to seriously speculate that a nuclear test was retaliation for disrespecting a state-run all-female pop group? What other country has a state-run all-female pop group? [US NK policy] [Bizarre] [Media]
• Editor?s Note [Bosworth obituaries]
  By 38 North 08 January 2016 This has been an eventful week with Pyongyang?s alleged H-bomb test on Tuesday. But all of us at 38 North and the US-Korea Institute at SAIS also want to make sure that the passing of Ambassador Stephen Bosworth, who died Sunday at his home in Boston, gets its due attention. A valued colleague, friend and mentor for myself over 20 years, Steve was always the voice of reason, a reflection of decades of experience working effectively in the service of his country. The serious developments this week with North Korea only make his absence even more keenly felt. Starting today and over the next few weeks, 38 North will publish a series of tributes to Steve by his friends recalling their experiences with this extraordinary person. We will miss him. ~ Joel Wit [Bosworth] [US NK Negotiations]
• Ex-U.S. Ambassador Bosworth Dies
  Former U.S. ambassador to Seoul Stephen Bosworth has died at home in Boston, Massachusetts, Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies said Monday. He was 76. Bosworth was a Korea expert who also served a stint as Washington's special representative for North Korea policy. Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1939, Bosworth graduated from Dartmouth College and became a diplomat in 1961. From 1995-1997 he served as executive director of the doomed Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization, which was set up to implement a 1994 deal whereby North Korea was to get a light-water reactor from the West if it dismantled its own nuclear program. The South Korean government expressed its condolences. Foreign Ministry spokesman Cho Joon-hyuk said Seoul has a high regard for the efforts and contributions Bosworth made in developing the Seoul-Washington alliance and resolving the North Korean nuclear crisis. [Bosworth]
• Ex-US Amb. Stephen Bosworth dies
  Stephen Bosworth, a long-time Korea expert who served as U.S. ambassador to South Korea and as Washington's special representative for North Korea policy, has died. He was 76. Bosworth died at his home in Boston on Sunday, according to Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). Bosworth had served as chairman of the U.S.-Korea Institute at SAIS until recently. SAIS did not give the exact cause of his death, but the former diplomat suffered from prostate cancer. Bosworth served as Washington's top envoy to South Korea from 1997-2001 and special representative for North Korea policy from 2009-2011. He also served as executive director of the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO) from 1995-1997. KEDO was set up to implement a 1994 deal with North Korea under which the communist nation promised to freeze and then ultimately dismantle its nuclear program in exchange for energy-producing light water reactors and other concessions from the U.S. and other partners. That deal later fell apart as the North was found to have run a clandestine uranium-enrichment program in violation of the agreement. Bosworth was considered pro-engagement toward the North. In an interview with Yonhap News Agency last March, Bosworth expressed concerns about the lack of dialogue with Pyongyang, stressing that there is nothing constraining the North's nuclear development. "What is important is the fact that North Korea continues to develop nuclear weapons. They are unconstrained. At least in the past, when we've been talking to them they had not been conducting tests, and they had frozen the programs that we knew about, at least. Now, they have no constraints at all," Bosworth said at the time. "I think all the experts agree that in five years they could have many more nuclear weapons then they might have now. To deny that is to simply deny reality," he said. In January last year, Bosworth also participated in "Track 2" meetings with North Korea's chief nuclear envoy and other diplomats in Singapore, together with former U.S. nuclear negotiator Joseph DeTrani and some American scholars. His other diplomatic assignments included ambassador to the Philippines from 1984-1987 and ambassador to Tunisia from 1979-1981. After retiring from foreign service, he also served as dean of The Fletcher School at Tufts University. (Yonhap) [Bosworth]
• The Unending Korean War
  December 21, 2015 The Korea Policy Institute is pleased to share an issue of positions: asia critique (volume 23, issue 4) titled, ?The Unending Korean War,? edited by Christine Hong and Henry Em. This special issue assembles critical perspectives on the unending Korean War from scholars and creative practitioners working within and across the fields of Korean studies, Asian American studies, and American studies. KPI Board members, past fellows and advisors are represented in much of this collection. Examining the war beyond its standard 1950-1953 periodization and assumed status as a past event, this issue draws upon an innovative archive of Korean War-era American comic books, declassified prisoner-of-war (POW) political documents, Chicano war narratives, photos of North Korean reconstruction, recent North Korean defector memoirs, South Korean Manchurian action films of the 1960s, a South Korean novel about North Korean war memories, and Korean adoptee documentaries in order to shed light less on the war?s known contours than on its unexamined recesses, forgotten potentialities, and undertheorized afterlives. positions 23:4 has been posted by permission of Duke University Press. Any reuse requires permission from the publisher. www.dukeupress.edu
  Table of Contents Christine Hong: Guest editor?s introduction: The Unending Korean War
  Leonard Rifas: Korean War Comic Books and the Militarization of American Masculinity
  Youngju Ryu: Truth or Reconciliation? The Guest and the Massacre That Never Ends
  Daniel Kim: The Borderlands of the Korean War and the Fiction of Rolando Hinojosa
  Monica Kim: The Intelligence of Fools: Reading the U.S. Military Archive of the Korean War
  Bruce Cumings: Violet Ashes: A Tribute to Chris Marker
  Christine Hong: Manufacturing Dissidence: Arts and Letters of North Korea?s ?Second Culture?
  Jinsoo An:War as Business in South Korea?s Manchurian Action Films
  Jodi Kim: ?The Ending is Not and Ending At All? : On the Militarized and Gendered Diasporas of Korean Transnational Adoption and the Korean War
  Heny Em, Christine Hong, Kim Dong-Choon: A Coda: A Conversation With Kim Dong-Choon
  [Korea War] [US Korea]
• The Anthrax Files: US Forces Conducted Multiple Secret Anthrax Experiments in South Korea
  Janet Phelan The initial admission by the Department of Defense that one sample of live anthrax was inadvertently sent to Osan Air Base in South Korea has now been revealed to be grossly inaccurate. According to a recent report by a US/South Korea joint working group, a US military defense laboratory at Dugway Proving Grounds mailed anthrax to South Korea at least fifteen times prior to the previously acknowledged March, 2015 delivery. These other anthrax samples were delivered to Yongsan Garrison, in central South Korea, between 2009 and 2014. In addition, a 1-milliliter sample of the Yersinia pestis bacterium (which can cause the bubonic plague) was sent along with the anthrax to Osan. First appeared: http://journal-neo.org/2015/12/26/the-anthrax-files-us-forces-conducted-multiple-secret-anthrax-experiments-in-south-korea/ [cbw]

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