News & commentary by Dave Maxwell. Edited and published by Daniel Riggs.
1. Xi, Kim share messages reaffirming China-N. Korea alliance
2. Cost-sharing deal to bolster alliance
3. ‘Seoul’s nuclear pursuit would harden NK’s atomic ambitions’
4. Quad not on table for Korea-India defense ministerial talks: Seoul
5. Is US pressure on China, North Korea leading to new cold war?
6. S. Korea, U.S. closely watching N. Korea amid signs rocket launchers being deployed to border islet
7. Spotlight on us (South Korea, human rights, and corruption)
8. Lavrov raps U.S.' Indo-Pacific strategy, 'bloc' building, ahead of Seoul visit
9. S. Korea not to co-sponsor this year's U.N. resolution on N.K. human rights
10. North Korea’s Missiles and Nuclear Weapons: Everything You Need to Know
11. Unification ministry reviewing ways to send food, fertilizer assistance to N. Korea
12. Harvard institute calls on journal to address ‘comfort women’ paper issues
13. EU Sanctions N.Korean Officials over Human Rights Abuses
14. For the first time, the Justice Department extradites a North Korean to stand trial in the U.S.
15. CSIS Commission on the Korean Peninsula: Recommendations for the U.S.-Korea Alliance
16. The South Korea-US 2+2 Talks: Who Came Out Ahead?
1. Xi, Kim share messages reaffirming China-N. Korea alliance
AP · by Kim Tong-Hyung · March 23, 2021
And they remain closer than lips and teeth. And they have a common objective - both want unification of their countries! (the irony is north Korea prevented Chinese unification in 1950 when it first attempted to unify the Korean peninsula).
This is the only alliance these two countries have.
2. Cost-sharing deal to bolster alliance
The Korea Times · by Alex Soohoon Lee · March 23, 2021
Excerpts: “All in all, the 11th SMA, whether it is considered a success or a half-measure in terms of negotiations, is expected to restore the damaged alliance, putting it back on the right track. The two allies show one caveat after smoothly closing the SMA. The Biden administration may ask its allies, including South Korea, to join the U.S.' efforts to maintain peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region.
There have been growing calls for Korea to join the informal Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, an anti-China coalition better known as the Quad comprising the U.S., Japan, Australia and India. However, Korea is reluctant to accept such calls.
At this critical juncture, Seoul and Washington will have to work together closely to iron out their differences to find a way forward.”
3. ‘Seoul’s nuclear pursuit would harden NK’s atomic ambitions’
koreaherald.com · by Choi Si-young · March 23, 2021
Of course it would. But the purpose of Seoul acquiring nuclear weapons would not be with the intent to denuclearize. It would be because the regime has no intention of denuclearizing. That said I still believe as long as we sustain the alliance the ROK should not attempt to acquire nuclear weapons. I think it
4. Quad not on table for Korea-India defense ministerial talks: Seoul
The Korea Times · March 23, 2021
That answers my question from yesterday about the Quad on the agenda at the ROK-India defense meeting.
5. Is US pressure on China, North Korea leading to new cold war?
The Korea Times · by Kang Seung-woo · March 23, 2021
Why are we always to blame? What about the actions of China and north Korea (and Russia) leading to a new "cold war?"
6. S. Korea, U.S. closely watching N. Korea amid signs rocket launchers being deployed to border islet
en.yna.co.kr · by 오석민 · March 23, 2021
Again we have to ask if the masters of deception are showing something they want us to see? What are we not seeing? What are they trying to hide from us?
7. Spotlight on us (South Korea, human rights, and corruption)
An Oped responding to the US State Department's report on human rights.
Conclusion: “Corruption and human rights restrictions in our society are more serious than thought. The recent inside-information real estate scandal shows the level of corruption among our civil servants — even as the country is led by a human rights-lawyer-turned-president. The government’s arrogance and self-satisfaction have played a big part in the degradation of the country. We hope the government turns the country into an advanced one in human rights.”
8. Lavrov raps U.S.' Indo-Pacific strategy, 'bloc' building, ahead of Seoul visit
en.yna.co.kr · by 송상호 · March 23, 2021
Neither Russia nor China like our Indo-Pacific strategy. And both would like to drive a wedge in the ROK/US alliance (and others).
9. S. Korea not to co-sponsor this year's U.N. resolution on N.K. human rights
en.yna.co.kr · by 송상호 · March 23, 2021
Not a good look President Moon. You must stand up for the human rights of the Korean people in the north (and then South).
10. North Korea’s Missiles and Nuclear Weapons: Everything You Need to Know
WSJ · by Timothy W. Martin
Well, maybe not everything. But this is a useful summary.
But not to worry. Many pundits say Kim has no intention of using them against the United States.
Excerpt: “What is President Biden’s stance on North Korea?
Mr. Biden has advocated mixing pressure with what he calls principled diplomacy. He has declared an end to holding summits without preconditions, which he said amounts to embracing a thug. Mr. Biden said he would sit down with Mr. Kim only if Pyongyang were sincere and pledged to reduce its nuclear arsenal.
In January, Mr. Kim called the U.S. his country’s biggest enemy. North Korean state media last mentioned Mr. Biden by name in 2019, when it called him a “fool of low I.Q.” and compared him to a rabid dog that “must be beaten to death.”
11. Unification ministry reviewing ways to send food, fertilizer assistance to N. Korea
en.yna.co.kr · by 이원주 · March 23, 2021
north Korea should want to receive assistance more than the South wants to provide it. Why is it so hard for the South to provide it? Because the north is not receptive. Think about that. Why have the rejected offers to help the Korean people in the north? The South may end up having to "bribe" the regime for it to accept aid. Think about the irony of that but that is of course part of Kim's long con and political warfare strategy.
Excerpt:
“The North has repeatedly rejected offers for help from South Korea to ease its food shortage amid chilled inter-Korean relations. Leader Kim Jong-un has also urged his officials not to receive outside aid, citing concerns over the spread of the coronavirus into the country.
Unification Minister Lee has told lawmakers that the North appears to be faced with a food shortage of about 1.2 million to 1.3 million tons this year mainly due to damage from last year's heavy downpours. South Korea has been exploring various ways to provide food and fertilizer to North Korea, according to his ministry.”
12. Harvard institute calls on journal to address ‘comfort women’ paper issues
koreajoongangdaily.joins.com · by Michael Lee
I think it is difficult for Harvard to dig itself out of this hole.
13. EU Sanctions N.Korean Officials over Human Rights Abuses
There is more international support for human rights in north Korea than there is within the Moon administration.
14. For the first time, the Justice Department extradites a North Korean to stand trial in the U.S.
freekorea.us · by Joshua Stanton · March 23, 2021
Key point form Josh Stanton: "Mun undoubtedly knows many things about where Pyongyang hides his money, and his intelligence value could be inestimable. But the real impact of his extradition was to persuade Kim Jong-un that Malaysia was no longer a safe place for his agents, and to panic him into pulling his people out and cutting diplomatic relations. That will be a significant shock to Kim’s finances, because Malaysia was one of the largest hubs of North Korea’s money laundering operations."
15. CSIS Commission on the Korean Peninsula: Recommendations for the U.S.-Korea Alliance
csis.org · by John J. Hamre, Victor Cha, and Joseph Nye · March 22, 2021
The 31 page report can be downloaded here.
16. The South Korea-US 2+2 Talks: Who Came Out Ahead?
thediplomat.com · by Sukjoon Yoon · March 22, 2021
Alliance partners should not be "coming out ahead."
Excerpt:
“To summarize the outcome of these 2+2 talks, the United States sought to repair the strained alliance with South Korea after a similar, successful visit to Tokyo, but Seoul proved a much greater challenge. There were positive results for Washington: a less active pursuit of OPCON transfer by the Moon administration, the agreement on increased payments under the new SMA, and the prospect of buying more weapons and equipment from U.S. companies to operate the new ROK carrier. But there were negatives for the U.S. as well: South Korea declined to join the Quad Plus and signaled that military cooperation with Japan will not be harmonized anytime soon. Meanwhile, U.S.-ROK alliance is still centered on North Korea, rather than the much broader agenda that the United States desires.”
Spoiler alert: In conclusion, South Korea came out ahead at these talks, for the moment, anyway, with the United States largely unsatisfied. Even though the U.S. brought its big guns, Seoul held out for strategic autonomy, or at least strategic ambiguity, in dealing with North Korea and China. There may be no public disagreement revealed between the U.S. and the ROK, but the cracks will likely grow wider and deeper. The United States will surely be looking forward to the next ROK administration in 2022, and will be hoping for a conservative party victory.
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"Let us, on both sides, lay aside all arrogance. Let us not, on either side, claim that we have already discovered the truth. Let us seek it together as something which is known to neither of us. For only then may we seek the truth, lovingly and tranquilly, if there be no bold presumption that it is already discovered and possessed."
- Saint Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 AD
Unconventional warfare needs to remain the heart and soul of U.S. Special Operations Command and component commands.
- Brandon Webb
If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough.
- Albert Einstein