News and Commentary by Dave Maxwell. Edited and Published by Riley Murray.
1. Diplomatic rift between S. Korea and U.S. deepens
2. Gov't Insists Slain Official 'Wanted to Defect' to N.Korea
3. S. Korea to continue flu vaccination program as no direct links with deaths found
4. Chinese foreign minister could visit S. Korea timed with Japan tour
5. Shoddy recovery upsets typhoon-hit N. Koreans: RFA
6. Police Breaks THAAD Blockade
7. The Korean marijuana story
8. Kim Jong-un's Wife Hasn't Been Seen in Public Since January
1. Diplomatic rift between S. Korea and U.S. deepens
donga.com – 24 October 2020
This is really troubling. I do not think we in the US are really aware of the tenuousness of the alliance right now. OPCON transition could be the catalyst for a real break in the alliance. Obviously it is combined with the SMA stalemate, the continuing contentious THAAD issue, training access for US troops, the veiled threat of US troop reduction/withdrawals, the push to the Quad Plus and the perception of the ROK being forced to choose sides, the South's engagement policy toward the north and the perception the Moon administration wants to lift sanctions to appease the regime. And then there are the "slights" mentioned in the OpEd below from the SECSTATE and SECDEF (both perhaps blown out of proportion and not slights from the US perspective). We are at the point of the proverbial perfect storm.
2. Gov't Insists Slain Official 'Wanted to Defect' to N.Korea
english.chosun.com – 23 October 2020
Even if this were true and the government is not simply taking the north's explanation as evidence, the ROK government should not be perpetuating this out of respect for the family and it does not do any good for the Moon administration or the Korean people.
3. S. Korea to continue flu vaccination program as no direct links with deaths found
en.yna.co.kr · by 송상호 · October 24, 2020
We all must get our flu shots (if you have not already).
4. Chinese foreign minister could visit S. Korea timed with Japan tour
donga.com – by Gi-Jae Han – 24 October 2020
This should not be blown out of proportion. South Korea must engage with China.
5. Shoddy recovery upsets typhoon-hit N. Koreans: RFA
koreaherald.com · by Choi Si-young · October 23, 2020
This is the nature of the Kim family regime. Kim's policy priorities and decisions ensure the Korean people in the north continue to suffer.
6. Police Breaks THAAD Blockade
english.chosun.com – 23 October 2020
This is another point of alliance friction. Again, as I have mentioned my Korean friends tell me these are professional leftist anti-American protests who are very well organized and control the narrative in South Korea. It is difficult for the Moon administration to deal with them. But US soldiers are living in working in a very austere environment (despite them being located on a former Lotte golf course) because they cannot be properly resupplied.
7. The Korean marijuana story
The Korea Times – by David Tizzard - October 24, 2020
Something for the weekend.
I recall being struck by the story here in in Max Hastings' book. I remember thinking how we did not learn about the use of marijuana when we went through SERE school. It could have made the experience much more "enjoyable." Our POWs in north Korea knew the meaning of "small victories."
Excerpt: In something that sounds like a Cheech and Chong fairytale, westerners living in Korea during the 1960s talk of how it was simply a case of reaching out a hand and picking buds from the plants as they travelled the countryside. In his book on the Korean War, historian Max Hastings recounts a humorous tale of North Korea soldiers being confused by their American and British prisoners of war's constant laughing and singing while supposedly under duress in the camps: they did not realize the captured troops had found large stashes of wacky-backy and were smoking it frequently.
8. Kim Jong-un's Wife Hasn't Been Seen in Public Since January
tmz.com – 23 October 2020
The importance of this piece is that the Kim family regime has really made it to the big leagues. Kim would be happy because now the regime is being tracked and followed by that crucial media outlet of TMZ! (okay my apologies for the sarcasm)
“The Russian view of modern warfare is based on the idea that the main battles-ace is the mind.” -
National Defence Academy of Latvia
"It is books that are the key to the wide world; if you can’t do anything else, read all that you can.”
- Jane Hamilton
“Engage people with what they expect; it is that they are able to discern and confirms their projections. It settles them into predictable patterns of response, occupying their minds while you wait for the extraordinary moment - that which they cannot anticipate”
- Sun Tzu (found on the interwebs but not in any translation I have - but it reads like something Sun Tzu would have written)