News and Commentary by Dave Maxwell. Edited and Published by Riley Murray.
1.S. Korea to raise social distancing to Level 2.5 in capital area
2. Experts weigh in on aftershock from N. Korea’s full COVID-19 lockdown
3. South Korea diplomat says hard to believe North Korea has no COVID-19 cases
4. North Korean horror: Thousands of soldiers died in Kim's emergency coronavirus camps
5. North passes laws banning 'reactionary' thought
6. South to seek wholesale sanctions exemptions on aid to North
7. For North Korean Spies, Vienna Provides Key Gateway to Europe
8. North Korea-linked hackers targeted J&J, Novavax in hunt for COVID research
9. Analysis | The difference in how the pandemic has affected the U.S. and South Korea remains staggering
10. Washington names LaCamera to head USFK: sources
1. S. Korea to raise social distancing to Level 2.5 in capital area
en.yna.co.kr · by 강윤승 · December 6, 2020
Trying to get a handle on the 3d wave.
2. Experts weigh in on aftershock from N. Korea’s full COVID-19 lockdown
koreaherald.com · by Choi Si-young · December 6, 2020
Besides the widespread suffering of the Korean people in the north due to COVID and the regime's COVID mitigation measures, the greatest danger to the regime is an outbreak within the nKPA. If there is a breakdown within the military, we are very likely to see instability inside north Korea on a scale we have never seen since the beginning of the regime.
3. South Korea diplomat says hard to believe North Korea has no COVID-19 cases
I think we should all find it hard to believe. But if they do not have any cases or a widespread outbreak it will only be because of the regime's ability to implement and enforce harsh population and resources control measures. The irony is it is the brutality of the regime that prevents the people from getting COVID.
4. North Korean horror: Thousands of soldiers died in Kim's emergency coronavirus camps
Express · by James Bickerton · December 6, 2020
We have to be skeptical of these reports but if true we need to be vigilant because these conditions could lead to significant instability inside north Korea and crisis action decision making by Kim Jong-un. I am hoping Robert Collins will be sharing some of his work on Kim Jong-un's ciris decision making as it will be timely and critically important for ROK/US alliance policy makers, strategists, and planners.
This is significant if true:
Speaking to Daily NK, a South Korean news site, a source claimed 4,180 North Korean military personnel have died in these camps. The figure includes 2,800 soldiers, 920 sailors and 460 airmen.
The source claimed in total more than 50,000 North Korean military personnel have passed through the camps.
To the end of November, they said these comprised of 43,000 troops, 6,200 sailors and 5,450 airmen.
5. North passes laws banning 'reactionary' thought
A bigger threat than the ROK, US or COVID is "reactionary thought" among the Korean people in the north. And in the mind of the Kim family regime the solution to all problems in the north is more ideological training.
This is an indicator that our minimal efforts at information and influence activities (most of which are executed by brave escapee/defectors) have an effect on the Korean people living in the north. This is a threat to the existence of the regime. Consider this as we read about the ROK government passing laws to prevent information flow into north Korea.
And we should remember one of the (many) human rights abuses against the Korean people living in the north identified by the UN Commission of Inquiry in 2014 is the regime's control of information. From a human rights perspective alone the international community (and South Korea most importantly) has a responsibility to get information to the Korean people in the north.
6. South to seek wholesale sanctions exemptions on aid to North
I think the ROK government wants to prevent the Biden administration with a fait accompli that it can execute its engagement plans. Unfortunately, it won't stop with humanitarian aid (which I of course do support even if escapee/defectors disagree and believe humanitarian aid will only be exploited by and help the regime). The ROK government (and specifically the Ministry of Unification) wants to engage in widespread economic development: tourism, transportation, infrastructure, manufacturing (Kaesong industrial Complex), and trade. But if we are talking about exemptions for humanitarian aid, I would recommend disapproval unless the South commits to allowing organizations to send information into north Korea. That is a humanitarian "aid" as well.
The irony of this is that even with fast tracking or blanket exemptions it is unlikely the regime will accept such aid except with the tightest of restrictions because with aid comes engagement and with engagement comes information. Information is an existential threat to the regime.
7. For North Korean Spies, Vienna Provides Key Gateway to Europe
Bloomberg · by Alberto Nardelli · December 5, 2020
We should not forget that the Kam family regime operates around the world. We cannot consider north Korea only in its geographic location in Northeast Asia. North Korea has a global network of illicit activities, money laundering, cash transfers, espionage, cyber operations, and weapons proliferation. I seem to recall the famous words of: "it takes a network to defeat a network". What network is working on interdicting, hindering, and defeating this north Korean global network?
8.North Korea-linked hackers targeted J&J, Novavax in hunt for COVID research
north Korea's all purpose sword of cyber activities is a global threat against a wide range of targets. While the "treasured sword" of nuclear weapons remain sheathed, the regime is wielding the all purpose sword with abandon.
9. Analysis | The difference in how the pandemic has affected the U.S. and South Korea remains staggering
The Washington Post – by Philip Bump - December 4, 2020
What can we learn from our ally?
10. Washington names LaCamera to head USFK: sources
Not yet named. If true I wonder what is next for General Abrams.
Excerpts:
The U.S. Department of Defense will announce the nomination within the next few days, said one source, who added the notice given to Seoul was a courtesy call.
Washington described the expected nomination as a “traditional” procedure that would not be affected by the change in the White House administration in January, and that a U.S. Senate confirmation hearing for the post was due sometime in February and March, the source added.
It was not immediately clear whether LaCamera’s nomination by the Pentagon was coordinated with the incoming Joe Biden administration.
"The end of all political associations is the preservation of the natural and imprescriptible rights of man; and these rights are liberty, property, security, and resistance of oppression."
- Thomas Paine
"Resistance to oppression is second nature."
- Seneca the Younger
"Resistance and change often begin in art, and very often in our art - the art of words."
- Ursula K. Le Guin