News & commentary by Dave Maxwell. Edited and published by Daniel Riggs.
1. N.K. stresses self-reliance undeterred by triple whammy of challenges
2. New virus cases at more than 1-month low, nationwide virus curbs tipped to be extended
3. Bishop found innocent in posthumous retrial for resistance to 'Yushin dictatorship'
4. Proportion of women in high-ranking gov't posts reaches record high
5. S. Korea's Yoo advances to second round in race for top post at WTO
6. Russia Has no information on N.Korea preparing submarine missile launch - Foreign Ministry
7. Defector caught trying to cross back into N. Korea
8. Korea's plan to sell India 3 trillion won worth of weapons on the rocks
9. Xinhua Headlines: Memorial hall commemorating Korean War reopens in China
10. Will Anything Change with North Korea Under a President Biden?
11. Could Donald Trump Achieve Peace with North Korea In a Second Term?
12. A new book offers a rare glimpse inside North Korea's frozen-in-time tourist hotels
13. N.K. premier visits industrial sites, urges increased production for typhoon recovery
1. N.K. stresses self-reliance undeterred by triple whammy of challenges
en.yna.co.kr · by 고병준 · September 20, 2020
How does the propaganda poster below look to you? Does it motivate you? The solution to all problems in north Korea is more emphasis on ideology.
Long live Juche.
2. New virus cases at more than 1-month low, nationwide virus curbs tipped to be extended
en.yna.co.kr · by 강윤승 · September 20, 2020
We have to cope with, contain, and manage the evil to the north. And we have to cope with, contain, and manage the scourge that is the coronavirus in the South and around the world.
3. Bishop found innocent in posthumous retrial for resistance to 'Yushin dictatorship'
en.yna.co.kr · by 우재연 · September 20, 2020
Some interesting history here. I hope the Moon administration and the South Korean courts will apply at least this level of human rights to the north and the Kim family regime who has committed far worse abuses than this.
But it is interesting to follow the narrative the Moon administration is creating that denigrates all history before Kwangju in 1980, celebrates the Kwangju uprising, and excoriates any person, organization, or political entity not affiliated with the uprising and the so-called democracy movement.
4.Proportion of women in high-ranking gov't posts reaches record high
en.yna.co.kr · by 유청모 · September 20, 2020
Some good news but still a long way to go.
5. S. Korea's Yoo advances to second round in race for top post at WTO
koreaherald.com · by Ahn Sung-mi · September 18, 2020
We should be aggressively supporting our allies in leadership and senior roles in international organizations (when our own diplomats are not in contention for positions).
This is one of the "battlegrounds" of competition between the community of democracies and the revisionist and rogue powers.
I hope South Korean Trade Minister Yoo is elected.
6. Russia Has no information on N.Korea preparing submarine missile launch - Foreign Ministry
Of course the Russian Sputnik news agency has no information about north Korean missile launches. And it would not tell us if it did!
7. Defector caught trying to cross back into N. Korea
en.yna.co.kr · by 고병준 · September 20, 2020
Obviously not a defector. Probably works for the 225th Bureau. He must have completed his mission and gathered all the intel he was supposed to or conducted the subversive activities ordered by the regime.
Who needs four cell phones? Then again, maybe he thought he could bring them back to the north and sell them on the black market.
We should keep in mind these north Korean organizations:
“North Korean intelligence and security services collect political, military, economic, and technical information through open sources, human intelligence, cyber intrusions, and signals intelligence capabilities. North Korea's primary intelligence collection targets remain the ROK, the United States, and Japan. They likely operate anywhere North Korea has a diplomatic or sizable economic overseas presence.
- The Reconnaissance General Bureau (RGB) is North Korea's primary foreign intelligence service, responsible for collection and clandestine operations. The RGB comprises six bureaus with compartmented functions, including operations, reconnaissance, technology and cyber capabilities, overseas intelligence, inter-Korean talks, and service support.
- The Ministry of State Security (MSS) is North Korea's primary counterintelligence service and is an autonomous agency of the North Korean Government reporting directly to Kim Jong Un. The MSS is responsible for operating North Korean prison camps, investigating cases of domestic espionage, repatriating defectors, and conducting overseas counterespionage activities in North Korea's foreign missions.
- The United Front Department (UFD) overtly attempts to establish pro-North Korean groups in the ROK, such as the Korean Asia-Pacific Committee and the Ethnic Reconciliation Council. The UFD is also the primary department involved in managing inter-Korean dialogue and North Korea's policy toward the ROK.
- The 225th Bureau is responsible for training agents to infiltrate the ROK and establish underground political parties focused on fomenting unrest and revolution.”
8. Korea's plan to sell India 3 trillion won worth of weapons on the rocks
koreajoongangdaily.joins.com· by Lee Keun-Pyung and Shim Kyu-Seok
9. Xinhua Headlines: Memorial hall commemorating Korean War reopens in China
xinhuanet.com · by Wu Ziyu, Lyu Qiuping, Xu Yang, Yu Li and Gao Shuang
A Chinese view of the history of the Korean War AKA "War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea (1950-1953)"
Excerpt:
"Despite the backward weapons, we made an ultimate victory, because we were not afraid of shedding blood or dying while bearing in mind the fighting spirit of defending our motherland," said Guo Guolian, 87, a CPV veteran who visited the memorial hall on Saturday morning.
10. Will Anything Change with North Korea Under a President Biden?
The National Interest · by Daniel R. DePetris · September 19, 2020
At least Mr. DePetris is an equal opportunity critic. There is no one he will not criticize.
11. Could Donald Trump Achieve Peace with North Korea In a Second Term?
The National Interest · by Timo Kivimäki · September 19, 2020
We are always asking the wrong questions. For both the Moon and Trump administrations the question is are you going to continue to assume that Kim Jong-un wants peace and denuclearization and that he will somehow change his spots and allow negotiations for both peace and denuclearization to take place?
We need to re-examine our assumptions about Kim, the regime, peace, and denuclearization.
12. A new book offers a rare glimpse inside North Korea's frozen-in-time tourist hotels
Something most of us will never see.
businessinsider.com · by Melissa Wiley
13. N.K. premier visits industrial sites, urges increased production for typhoon recovery
en.yna.co.kr · by 고병준 · September 20, 2020
A return to a "happy life?" Display their spirit and mettle as the working class? You do have to appreciate the regime's rhetoric. Or you do not. I wonder how the Korean people in the north really feel about these visits and the words they hear?
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"Broadly speaking, the short words are the best, and the old words best of all."
- Sir Winston Churchill
"If it takes a lot of words to say what you have in mind, give it more thought."
- Dennis Roth
"I like living. I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable, racked with sorrow, but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing."
- Agatha Christie