News & commentary by Dave Maxwell. Edited and published by Daniel Riggs.
1. S. Koreans put alliance with US before inter-Korean relations
2. North Korea may offer olive branch to US
3. Kim Jong-un's Sister Labelled 'North Korea's Most Outspoken Attack Dog' by Western Media
4. 2021 Won't Be Any Better for North Korea
5. On a locked-down New Year's Eve, Pyongyang parties
6. Defense chief inspects defense posture in new year
7. Kim Jong Un Keeps Biden Guessing After Skipping New Year Speech
8. Suspected Ganggye Chemical Factory leak pollutes nearby Changja River
9. New virus cases fall below 900, gov't extends current social distancing scheme
1. S. Koreans put alliance with US before inter-Korean relations
donga.com· January 2, 2021
I can say I side with my Korean brethren in South Korea. I hope this resonates with both the Moon and incoming Biden administrations. This is an important data point (that of course confirms my bias so there is that).
Excerpt: "Notably, strengthening alliance with the U.S. has earned a percentage three times higher than the restoration of the inter-Korean relations. While North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is expected to set a direction of this year at the 8th Labor Party Conference, South Korean citizens are already aware that the inter-Korean relations will make little improvement for the time being."
2. North Korea may offer olive branch to US
The Korea Times · by Kang Seung-woo · January 2, 2021
Wishful thinking? Charlie Brown and Lucy's football? How many times have we heard this? How many times have we seen a substantive and sincere effort to improve relations with the US?
Every time I read this kind of hopeful speculation I have to ask for the answers to this questions/
1. Do we believe that Kim Jong-un has abandoned the seven decades old strategy of subversion, coercion-extortion (blackmail diplomacy), and use of force to achieve unification dominated by the Guerrilla Dynasty and Gulag State in order to ensure the survival of the mafia like crime family cult known as Kim family regime?
2. In support of that strategy do we believe that Kim Jong-un has abandoned the objective to split the ROK/US Alliance and get US forces off the peninsula? Has KJU given up his divide to conquer strategy - divide the alliance to conquer the ROK?
The answers to these questions should guide us to the strategy to solve the "Korea question" (para 60 of the Armistice) and lead to the only acceptable durable political arrangement: A secure, stable, economically vibrant, non-nuclear Korean peninsula unified under a liberal constitutional form of government with respect for individual liberty, the rule of law, and human rights, determined by the Korean people. In short, a United Republic of Korea (UROK)
The root of all problems in Korea is the existence of the mafia- like crime family cult known as the Kim family regime that has the objective of dominating the Korean Peninsula under the rule of the Guerrilla Dynasty and Gulag State.
I hope i am wrong. I recognize I could be wrong as there are no experts on north Korea and none of us can know what is Kim Jong-un's true intent. We can only assess and analyze based on history, actions, and words of the regime. I will gladly accept all the criticism of being wrong if Kim Jong-un does demonstrate a sincere effort to improve relations with the US that is not part of his political warfare strategy and long con.
3. Kim Jong-un's Sister Labelled 'North Korea's Most Outspoken Attack Dog' by Western Media
sputniknews.com · by Aleksandra Serebriakova. Sputnik International
Moscow's Sputnik News criticizes Don Kirk and his recent analysis of Kim Yo-jong.
4. 2021 Won't Be Any Better for North Korea
The National Interest · by Daniel R. DePetris · January 1, 2021
The headline "prediction" that has the highest chance of being right. But there is more to this article.
This excerpt reminds of something we rarely talk about. In 1994 when we concluded the Agreed Framework to freeze the regime's nuclear program and trade that for 2 light water nuclear reactors and 500K ton of heavy fuel oil every year we based that on an assumption the dire economic situation in north Korean would result in collapse. That was a bad assumption though it did lead us to do some planning for the possibility (and those of us who conducted the planning ever predicted if or when the regime would collapse but recognized only that if it did collapse it would be a catastrophic event for the ROK/US alliance, the region, and possibility the international community). We also assess that while the regime proved extraordinarily resilient it was likely "saved" the ROK's implementation of the Sunshine Policy and the Peace and prosperity Policy from 1997 through 2007. But we need to consider the conditions are much different now than in 1994-1996 and 1997 through 2007.
Excerpt:
“In other words, the Biden administration will be engaging in self-delusion if it comes into office believing a poor economy will drive the North into doing what it has refused to do for years: hand over the keys to its nuclear kingdom. This doesn't mean Kim would be opposed to other diplomatic arrangements with Washington, such as an interim freeze-for-freeze agreement or a deal fashioned in the traditional mould of an arms control accord. But it does mean that quick, complete, and verified denuclearization is as unlikely in 2021 as it was in 2020.”
5. On a locked-down New Year's Eve, Pyongyang parties
washingtontimes.com · by David R. Sands
No reports of COVID cases, draconian population and resources control measures for the Koreans throughout north Korea and "partying like it is 1999" in Pyongyang.
6. Defense chief inspects defense posture in new year
en.yna.co.kr · by 김수연 · January 2, 2021
Just as an aside, I think "Sejong the Great" is one of the coolest names for a warship.
7. Kim Jong Un Keeps Biden Guessing After Skipping New Year Speech
Bloomberg · by Jon Herskovitz and Jeong-Ho Lee · December 31, 2020
I wanted to highlight this comment from Soo Kim:
"The party congress is Kim Jong Un's one shot at articulating the country's strategy for the new year and sending some signals to the outside world," said Soo Kim, a Rand Corp. policy analyst who previously worked at the Central Intelligence Agency. "I'd think the Party Congress would give us further glimpse into North Korea's weaknesses and the regime's efforts to compensate or deny that these weaknesses exist."
8. Suspected Ganggye Chemical Factory leak pollutes nearby Changja River
dailynk.com · January 1, 2021
Perhaps we could offer the US "Superfund" solution as part of our humanitarian assistance offering.
But on a serious note, what kind of chemicals are being produced at this factory? I would think they are dual use.
9. New virus cases fall below 900, gov't extends current social distancing scheme
en.yna.co.kr · by 김수연 · January 2, 2021
-----------
"Read the best books first, otherwise you'll find you do not have time."
- Henry David Thoreau
"The chief task in life is simply this: to identify and separate matters so that I can say clearly to myself which are the externals not under my control, and which have to do with the choices I actually control. Where then do I look for good and evil? Not to uncontrollable externals but within myself to the choices that are my own..."
- Epictetus
'Shall I ask the brave soldier, who fights by my side, In the cause of mankind, if our creeds agree? Shall I give up the friend I have valued and tried, if he kneel not before the same alter as me."
- Thomas Moore