News & commentary by Dave Maxwell. Edited and published by Daniel Riggs.
1. Fixing Distorted History, a Prerequisite to Democratizing North Korea
2. New satellite images reveal North Korea took recent steps to conceal nuclear weapons site
3. Russian Diplomats' Joyride out of N.Korea Unmasks Dire Reality
4. IAEA chief expresses concerns over North’s nuclear activities
5. 'Consistency needed in North Korea policy'
6. N. Korea's cyber kleptomania threat to capitalism
7. Top security advisors of Seoul, Washington share views on COVID-19, North Korea
8. S. Korea, China agree to establish two more military hotlines
9. State Department says strong trilateral relationships among S. Korea, U.S., Japan enhance regional peace
10. Japanese media: Moon’s speech lacks concrete proposals for bilateral cooperation
11. China conducts COVID-19 stool tests on S. Koreans instead of anal swab tests: foreign ministry
12. Blame North Korea's Horrible Economy on North Korea, Not Sanctions
13. New Kim Jong Un biography spotlights Singapore Summit with Trump
14. New Kim Jong-un 'Biography' Aims to Polish Leader's Halo
15. Ahn Chang-ho's grandson rejects Harvard's call for reconsidering his withdrawal of donation offer
16. Solving the nuclear conundrum (Korea)
17. Not all defectors want the same thing
18. Re-imagining safety, belonging, and justice in the wake of anti-Asian violence
1. Fixing Distorted History, a Prerequisite to Democratizing North Korea
HRNK Insider by Kim Myong
Graphics and photos at the link if they do not come through in this message.
This is one reason (of many) why we need a comprehensive and sophisticated alliance information and influence activities campaign.
Excerpts:
“The reason why the North Korean authorities hide the true facts about Kim Il-sung’s and Kim Jong-il's births is because, once known to the people, they may become an obstacle to deifying and idolizing their “great leaders.”
Like anyone else in the world, North Korean people have the right to access information. This right is an integral part of the fundamental right of freedom of expression, as recognized by Resolution 59 of the United Nations General Assembly adopted in 1946,[17] as well as by Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.[18] It has also been enshrined as a corollary of the basic human right of freedom of expression in other major international instruments, including the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.[19]
If any government takes measures to block, for any reason, the free access to information by the North Korean people, they will be blamed by the entire Free World for forsaking 25 million North Koreans and enabling the Kim dynasty to continue to enslave them. As a result of such actions, the prospects for democratization of North Korea and for the peaceful reunification of the Korean Peninsula will remain uncertain.”
2. New satellite images reveal North Korea took recent steps to conceal nuclear weapons site
CNN · by Zachary Cohen and Kylie Atwood
Note the comments on sanctions from my colleague, Anthony Ruggerio.
3. Russian Diplomats' Joyride out of N.Korea Unmasks Dire Reality
english.chosun.com · March 02, 2021
Somehow I don't think the Russians characterized this as a joyride.
4. IAEA chief expresses concerns over North’s nuclear activities
koreajoongangdaily.joins.com · Sarah Kim
Concern. Yes we should be concerned.
Kim Jong-un has no intention of giving up his nuclear weapons. And if we think appeasing him with sanctions relief or cancelling exercises will lead to talks and denuclearization then we are clearly not understanding the nature of the Kim family regime and Kim Jong-un's strategic objectives.
5. 'Consistency needed in North Korea policy'
The Korea Times · by Jung Da-min · March 2, 2021
Consistency in assumptions. Consistency in actions, Consistency in understanding the nature and objectives of the Kim family regime. And consistency in not engaging in wishful or delusional thinking.
6. N. Korea's cyber kleptomania threat to capitalism
The Korea Times · March 2, 2021
I like the use of kleptomania for north Korea's all-purpose sword.
7. Top security advisors of Seoul, Washington share views on COVID-19, North Korea
koreaherald.com · by Lee Ji-yoon · March 2, 2021
I have not assessed the data, but anecdotally it seems like our national security officials are engaging more often than might be considered routine. I think that is a good thing.
8. S. Korea, China agree to establish two more military hotlines
en.yna.co.kr · by 오석민 · March 2, 2021
It will be interesting to see how this will work the next time China (and Russia as they have done at least twice together in the past) penetrates the KADIZ.
9. State Department says strong trilateral relationships among S. Korea, U.S., Japan enhance regional peace
en.yna.co.kr · by 송상호 · March 2, 2021
We cannot overstate or over emphasize the importance of trilateral cooperation.
10. Japanese media: Moon’s speech lacks concrete proposals for bilateral cooperation
donga.com · March 2, 2021
Excerpt:
“President Moon said he is always ready to have a talk with the Japanese government regarding the estranged relations between the two countries,” NHK said on Monday. “However, he did not directly mention the issues surrounding sexual slavery and forced labor during the Pacific War and only repeated his previous stance of resolving the current issues with diplomacy.”
11. China conducts COVID-19 stool tests on S. Koreans instead of anal swab tests: foreign ministry
en.yna.co.kr · by 송상호 · March 2, 2021
Unlike the Americans and Japanese it seems like the South Koreans are getting "special" treatment from China. Or is there some spin involved in this reporting.
12. Blame North Korea's Horrible Economy on North Korea, Not Sanctions
The National Interest · by Robert E. Kelly · March 1, 2021
Thank you Professor Kelly. We cannot be influenced by those who think it is sanctions that are hurting the Korean economy and causing the horrendous suffering of the Korean people in the north.
13. New Kim Jong Un biography spotlights Singapore Summit with Trump
upi.com· by Elizabeth Shim · March 1, 2021
But this is an interesting data point: "The book, which includes no photographs, made no mention of Moon. The South Korean president has been credited with persuading Trump to meet with Kim in 2018, and met with Kim at Panmunjom in April 2018 before Trump had committed to a summit."
Excerpt:
"The book, first published Dec. 30, cited Kim's summit with former President Donald Trump as the greatest achievement, with 15 pages devoted exclusively to the 2018 Singapore Summit and the informal summit with Trump at Panmunjom in 2019, according to South Korean paper Herald Business."
14. New Kim Jong-un 'Biography' Aims to Polish Leader's Halo
english.chosun.com· March 2, 2021
I think the proper term is not biography but hagiography.
Again, anyone think the regime is going to give up nuclear weapons?
Excerpts:
“A chapter titled "A Nuclear Weapon for a Nuclear Weapon" elaborates on an alleged hydrogen bomb test in 2016 and another test to mount a hydrogen bomb on an intercontinental ballistic missile the following year. Separately, it also dwells on tests of two ICBMs.
"Only strength can suppress hostile forces and nuclear deterrence can overpower tyrannical nuclear forces," it rhapsodizes. "We need to put an end to the history about the U.S.' one-sided nuclear blackmail with our own powerful nuclear weapons."
15. Ahn Chang-ho's grandson rejects Harvard's call for reconsidering his withdrawal of donation offer
en.yna.co.kr · by 송상호 · March 2, 2021
I see no way that he could make this donation as long as this paper is published.
16. Solving the nuclear conundrum (Korea)
koreajoongangdaily.joins.com · by Song Min-soon
Some good analysis here though I disagree that South Korea should develop an incident nuclear capability. It does not need one.
17. Not all defectors want the same thing
dailynk.com · March 2, 2021
Yes, there is no one size fits all for escapees (defectors).
Excerpts:
“In his book, Cho distinguishes defectors in three different categories: those working in China who intend to return to North Korea after earning enough money; those living in China long-term who regularly send money back to their family members in North Korea; and those wanting to defect to the South. According to Cho, the vast majority of North Koreans who leave their country belong the the first two categories.”
...
Then there’s the third category, those who the two former groups see as the real “defectors.” Cho puts forth various reasons for why some North Koreans choose to ultimately go to South Korea. Among them are women who want to provide a better education for their children; those who want the security and benefits that come with South Korean citizenship; and those who committed crimes in either North Korea or China and have no safe place to settle besides South Korea.
But one factor that Cho repeatedly emphasizes is the role that brokers, NGOs, and religious groups play in convincing North Koreans to come to the South. According to many defectors Cho spoke to in Chinese border towns, brokers—who often worked hand-in-hand with NGOs and religious groups—would sell South Korea as a gleaming image of hope, a wonderful utopia where these North Koreans struggling to make a living in China would be accepted, given housing, money, education, legal documents, and treated equally as South Korean citizens.
Enamored by what they saw in Korean dramas and the convincing sales pitch made by brokers, many did indeed make the move. But the after-effects of such defections left those North Koreans in China in an even more vulnerable position than they were before. As a result of these brokers and their “recruitment” of North Koreans to either defect or work as brokers themselves, Chinese authorities soon caught up with what was going on and increased crackdowns in border towns.
18. Re-imagining safety, belonging, and justice in the wake of anti-Asian violence
The Brookings Institution · by Jennifer Lee and Tiffany Huang · March 1, 2021
This is another sad stain on America.
----------------
"The death of democracy is not likely to be an assassination from ambush. It will be a slow extinction from apathy, indifference, and undernourishment."
- Robert M. Hutchins
"The President may indeed in one respect resemble the commander of an army in peace, but in another and more essential sense he resembles the commander of a ship at sea. He must have a helm to grasp, a course to steer, a port to seek."
- Henry Brooks Adams
"Extremism in defense of liberty is not a vice, but I denounce political extremism, of the left or the right, based on duplicity, falsehood, fear, violence and threats when they endanger liberty."
- George W. Romney