News and Commentary by Dave Maxwell. Edited and Published by Riley Murray.
1. North Korea Releases 7,000 Prisoners, Orders People to Provide for Them
2. North Korea Arrests Six Gold Smugglers Who Triggered Hyesan Lockdown
3. Human rights must not be 'trampled' in global rush for PPE, say MPs
4. US, UK Sourcing PPEs from Chinese Factories that Use North Korean Slave Labor, Report Says
5. USFK commander says capability of N. Korea's new weapons yet to be verified
6. New virus cases over 300 for 5th day, tougher antivirus curbs in offing
7. N. Korea calls for tighter border controls amid global COVID-19 resurgence
8. USFK skips publication of annual security report this year
9. No exit in sight from frayed Korea-Japan ties
10. N. Korea slams U.N. Security Council for taking issue with its space program
11. S. Korea, U.S. agree to boost space defense cooperation
12. Resumption of humanitarian aid may send 'good' message to N. Korea: Kurt Campbell
13. N. Korean laborers continue to earn foreign currency abroad
14. Kimchi Making at Home Was Going Out of Style. Rural Towns to the Rescue.
1. North Korea Releases 7,000 Prisoners, Orders People to Provide for Them
rfa.org – 20 November 2020
The first part of the headline might seem like a good thing. But this article illustrates all that is wrong with the Kim family regime and how it treats the Korean people living in the north.
2. North Korea Arrests Six Gold Smugglers Who Triggered Hyesan Lockdown
Citizens, soldiers, security officers. Another indicator we need to pay attention to.
Just as an aside there is no other media organization that can conduct this kind of reporting. We should be thankful for RFA and VOA.
3. Human rights must not be 'trampled' in global rush for PPE, say MPs
The Guardian · by Pete Pattisson · November 21, 2020
And I have to compliment the Guardian here also for revealing this.
4. US, UK Sourcing PPEs from Chinese Factories that Use North Korean Slave Labor, Report Says
ibtimes.sg · by Krishnendu Banerjee · November 21, 2020
5. USFK commander says capability of N. Korea's new weapons yet to be verified
en.yna.co.kr · by 최수향 · November 20, 2020
Absolutely correct. I am sure our ISR has been surging to determine the capabilities of these weapons or even if they are in fact real and not mock-ups. But we also should not discount them because north Korea has often surprised us with its advancements.
And to Yonhap, why don't you please refer to General Abrams as the Commander of the ROK/US CFC since that is the combined command belonging to both Korea and the US with the responsibility for deterrence and defense.
6. New virus cases over 300 for 5th day, tougher antivirus curbs in offing
en.yna.co.kr · by 주경돈 · November 22, 2020
7. N. Korea calls for tighter border controls amid global COVID-19 resurgence
en.yna.co.kr · by 이원주 · November 22, 2020
Build the wall:
"Building a flawless blockade of barrier in preparation for the worsening global health pandemic is a critical issue in intensifying the antivirus campaign," the Rodong Sinmun, the organ of the ruling party, said Sunday.
"We must continue to maintain an ironclad barrier to protect the safety of our country and our people," it added.
Seriously, I think we must assume things are getting worse inside north Korea and it may be only a matter of time before COVID-19 gets out of control and then we will be on a path that may be worse than the Arduous March of the great famine of 1994-1996.
8. USFK skips publication of annual security report this year
en.yna.co.kr · by 오석민 · November 22, 2020
Damn. This is one of the most useful documents for understanding the current situation on the Korean peninsula. I know it is a lot of work to put this together, but I find it very substantive, useful, and authoritative.
9. No exit in sight from frayed Korea-Japan ties
The Korea Times · November 20, 2020
This is one of the many problems: "However, the diplomatic source said the Suga Cabinet believes its ties with the Moon government cannot be restored without Korea's promise that the seized assets of Japanese companies would not be sold off."
10. N. Korea slams U.N. Security Council for taking issue with its space program
en.yna.co.kr · by 이원주 · November 20, 2020
Admit nothing, deny everything, and make counter accusations. There are some interesting counter accusations here.
11. S. Korea, U.S. agree to boost space defense cooperation
en.yna.co.kr · by 최수향 · November 22, 2020
Of course, this is what the north considers a double standard.
12. Resumption of humanitarian aid may send 'good' message to N. Korea: Kurt Campbell
en.yna.co.kr · by 변덕근 · November 21, 2020
With all due respect to someone who could be SECSTATE in the Biden administration (though he is not currently on any shortlists).
The Kim family regime is not influenced by humanitarian aid. At best the regime welcomes it because it reduces one headache for the regime. But it is not going to respond favorably in negotiations or even return to negotiations because of humanitarian aid. It will exploit any humanitarian aid by continuing to conduct political warfare and its long con.
13. N. Korean laborers continue to earn foreign currency abroad
dailynk.com – by Mun Dong Hui - November 20, 2020
Quality of meals? Is that a real measure of effectiveness for human rights?
This is the real regime:
According to diplomatic source in China, North Korean authorities recently handed down an order to laborers dispatched to China. The order called for the workers to comply with quarantine guidelines even while overseas; for expatriate workers to take active part in the "movement to earn foreign currency" to "show concern for the difficult circumstances the country faces"; and, for workers in China to contribute their personal funds to the nation and people's economy during the so-called "80-day battle."
That is to say, the government is demanding that laborers donate their personal salaries to the Workers' Party as a show of loyalty.
14. Kimchi Making at Home Was Going Out of Style. Rural Towns to the Rescue.
The New York Times · by Choe Sang-Hun · November 21, 2020
Making Kimchi is a lot of work. Cooking Korean food in general takes a lot of work.
"In battle, there are not more than two methods of attack-the direct and the indirect; yet these two in combination give rise to an endless series of maneuvers."
-Sun Tzu
"...there was no point in seeking to convert the intellectuals. For intellectuals would never be converted and would anyway always yield to the stronger, 'and this will always be the man in the street.' Arguments must therefore be crude, clear and forcible, and appeal to emotions and instincts, not the intellect. Truth was unimportant and entirely subordinate to tactics and psychology...Hatred and contempt must be directed at particular individuals."
- H. Trevor-Roper (ed), The Goebbels Diaries, p. XX, cited in Regan, Geoffrey. 1987. Great Military Disasters. New York: M. Evans and Company.
"Public sentiment is everything. With public sentiment nothing can fail. Without it nothing can succeed. He who molds opinion is greater than he who enacts laws."
- President Abraham Lincoln