News & commentary by Dave Maxwell. Edited and published by Daniel Riggs.
1. Trump Signs Proclamation Commemorating End of Korean War
2. Proclamation on National Korean War Veterans Armistice Day, 2020 | The White House
3. N.K. leader confers pistols to officers on armistice anniversary
4. Declare your ideology (South Korea)
5. North Korea Reports 1st Suspected Case Of Coronavirus
6. US ambassador shaves off mustache to stay masked in summer amid pandemic
7. United Nations Command launches official website
8. Bill Gates Says Korea Taking Lead in COVID-19 Vaccine Development
9. Korea aims to maximize its newfound global popularity
10. Tear down the DMZ
11. The children of Korean War prisoners who never came home
12. Guns and glory : two Koreas mark armistice
13. North Korea's Kim marks war anniversary amid virus concerns
14. Trump stresses 'ironclad alliance' with Seoul in armistice proclamation
15. Gov't, military hit for poor security, defector management
16. North Korea shock: Kim Jong-Un’s sister asserts authority with new childbirth plan
1. Trump Signs Proclamation Commemorating End of Korean War
defense.gov · by David Vergun
Let us never forget the sacrifices of all those who defended freedom in Korea. And let us also never forget the blood of some 5 million souls in the hands of Kim Il Sung and the Kim family regime.
2. Proclamation on National Korean War Veterans Armistice Day, 2020 | The White House
whitehouse.gov · by President Donald J. Trump· July 24, 2020
3. N.K. leader confers pistols to officers on armistice anniversary
en.yna.co.kr · by 이원주 · July 27, 2020
Some of the north Korean generals might need some muzzle awareness. Quite the "oaths" from these officers: "solemn pledges, looking up to the Party flag, to hold close to their hearts the commemorative pistols conferred upon them by the Supreme Leader until their death," Not like our oaths to support and defend the Constitution. And we stand before our national flag, not the "party flag."
4. Declare your ideology (South Korea)
The Korea Times · by David Tizzard · July 26, 2020
Sigh... I think Professor Tizzard is giving the ruling party line here. Ideology is important because it guides actions. Look at what new members of Moon's national security team have been jailed for. Anyone who have violated the national security law should be thoroughly examined for suitability by the National Assembly.
5. North Korea Reports 1st Suspected Case Of Coronavirus
NPR · by Doreen McCallister · July 26, 2020
The other thing this accusation against a defector returning from South Korea does it to pave the way for acceptance of medical aid from the SOuth to help combat the coronavirus. Now the Propaganda and Agitation Department will say South Korea must atone for its sin of allowing the coronavirus to spread into north Korea. So the South will have to now provide aid and meet all the demands of the north.
6. US ambassador shaves off mustache to stay masked in summer amid pandemic
koreaherald.com · by The Korea Herald · July 27, 2020
Everyone must do their part to #killthevirus.
7. United Nations Command launches official website
koreaherald.com · by The Korea Herald · July 27, 2020
Well it is about time. Now the ROK/US Combined Forces Command needs its own web site. This has long been one of the problems with the USFK server hosting both UNC and ROK/US CFC. It is what gives the impression that the US controls the ROK forces apportioned to ROK/US CFC. It is why the ROK press always refers to USFK as the higher command and even makes such erroneous statements as ROK forces "falling under the control" of USFK. Especially in preparation for OPCON transition the ROK/US CFC should establish its own web site not connected to USFK.
8. Bill Gates Says Korea Taking Lead in COVID-19 Vaccine Development
9. Korea aims to maximize its newfound global popularity
koreajoongangdaily.joins.com· by Yoon So-Yeon· July 26, 2020
Wise moves by Korea.
10. Tear down the DMZ
The Korea Times · July 26, 2020
It saddens me to read this. Yes I want to "tear down" the DMZ. I have said the following many times:
* I support a diplomatic solution to the north Korean nuclear threat
* I support ROK engagement with the north
* I do not support a weakening of the ROK and ROK/US defensive capabilities
* I believe there cannot be success for US, ROK, and Japanese interests without strong ROK/US and Japan/US alliances
* Despite the above I think we have to accept that north Korea may have a continued hostile strategy and therefore while we prioritize diplomacy we have to remain prepared for the worst cases. I hope I am wrong here and that Kim Jong-un will dismantle his nuclear weapons and seek peaceful co-existence.
I am not one who is willing to gamble and remove troops before unification and the establishment of a United Republic of Kora. (UROK). If we remove troops while the Kim family regime is still in power there will be conflict and war. Yes it is true I cannot prove that will happen. But the truth is no one can disprove it either. I am not willing to gamble the lives of 85 million Koreans and hundreds of thousands of Americans. It is in US interests to prevent war on the Korean peninsula.
11. The children of Korean War prisoners who never came home
BBC · July 27, 2020
On the 67th anniversary of the Armistice we should not forget those who never came home because of the evil nature of the Kim family regime and the Chinese Communist Party. This was the most contentious issue of the Armistice negotiations: the return of and accounting for POWs.
12. Guns and glory : two Koreas mark armistice
24matins.uk · July 27, 2020
Which side wants peace and which side wants to use its military to dominate the peninsula? Which side honors its veterans and the sacrifice of a nation? Which side makes its military and the population worship at the feet of its dictator?
13. North Korea's Kim marks war anniversary amid virus concerns
AP · by Hyung-Jin Kim · July 27, 2020
The more I read these reports and think about the situation the more I think either the north is having a large outbreak or it soon will because it is unable to contain it and/or it knows it can no longer contain the information about it which is just as dangerous for the regime.
If I were advising the ROK/US CFC I would recommend they incorporate instability scenarios into next month's training. And this is why readiness has to take precedence over the OPCON transition process. On the other hand if we have a contingency in north Korea it would be best if the ROK/US CFC was led by a Korean general. If the situation ever evolves to the point where the peninsula is on the path to unification, military operations in support of the unification process need to be led by a Korean general. This is one of the reasons why I support the OPCON transition process. While I make a distinction of readiness over OPCON transition process in reality we have to figure out they can be "both/and" versus "either/or."
14. Trump stresses 'ironclad alliance' with Seoul in armistice proclamation
Good words from the President but it is becoming difficult to make the Koreans believe we have an ironclad alliance rather than a transactional house of cards as I wrote here last year:
It is always interesting that he did not mention north Korea in this proclamation.
15. Gov't, military hit for poor security, defector management
The Korea Times · July 27, 2020
As I have written, escapees (defectors) should be treated as South Korea national assets. They should be protected and they should be provided the opportunity to work toward unification in pursuit of the United Republic of Korea.
16. North Korea shock: Kim Jong-Un’s sister asserts authority with new childbirth plan
Express · by Ted Jeffery · July 27, 2020
What is Kim Yo-jong up to? She seems to have her hand in every aspect of north Korea these days.
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July 27, 1953
Agreement between the Commander-in-Chief, United Nations Command, on the one hand, and the Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army and the Commander of the Chinese People's volunteers, on the other hand, concerning a military armistice in Korea.
Preamble
The undersigned, the Commander-in-Chief, United Nations Command, on the one hand, and the Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army and the Commander of the Chinese People's Volunteers, on the other hand, in the interest of stopping the Korean conflict, with its great toil of suffering and bloodshed on both sides, and with the objective of establishing an armistice which will insure a complete cessation of hostilities and of all acts of armed force in Korea until a final peaceful settlement is achieved, do individually, collectively, and mutually agree to accept and to be bound and governed by the conditions and terms of armistice set forth in the following articles and paragraphs, which said conditions and terms are intended to be purely military in character and to pertain solely to the belligerents in Korea:
...
Article IV
Recommendations to the Governments Concerned on Both Sides
60. In order to insure the peaceful settlement of the Korean question, the military Commanders of both sides hereby recommend to the governments of the countries concerned on both sides that, within three (3) months after the Armistice Agreement is signed and becomes effective, a political conference of a higher level of both sides be held by representatives appointed respectively to settle through negotiation the questions of the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Korea, the peaceful settlement of the Korean question, etc