|
(note: I will try to return to my normal publish schedule tomorrow).
Quotes of the Day:
"Most people do not really want freedom, because freedom involves responsibility, and most people are frightened of responsibility."
- Sigmund Freud
:Read not to contradict and refute, nor to believe and take for granted... but to weigh and consider."
- Francis Bacon
“Charles E. Cobb, Jr., a veteran of the Movement who served for years in Mississippi, summarized it as “struggle—disciplined, thoughtful, creative struggle.” That is a summary worth exploring. Discipline in military operations is most often thought of as following one’s training and obeying legal orders, and both of those are indeed crucial. But the foundation of it all is self-discipline, most often in simply being persistent, of putting one foot in front of the other, day after day, of keeping control of one’s own emotions and fears in order to serve a greater good. In the civil rights movement, an additional form of discipline was maintaining the message that is being sent out to the world. Again”
- Waging a Good War: A Military History of the Civil Rights Movement, 1954-1968 by Thomas E. Ricks
1. N. Korea fires some 130 artillery shells into inter-Korean maritime 'buffer zones'
2. S. Korea to revive 'enemy' expression for N.K. regime, military in defense white paper: sources
3. N. Korea accelerates efforts to raise status of the Kim dynasty’s next generation
4. North fires big guns, bigger insults at unification minister
5. Cooperation critical to dealing with N. Korea, economic challenges: envoys
6. 71st Operation Christmas Drop begins, Korea joins U.S. and its allies
7. Trump Owed Hidden Debt While In Office (alleged north Korea link)
8. Korea, Vietnam elevate ties to comprehensive, strategic partnership
1. N. Korea fires some 130 artillery shells into inter-Korean maritime 'buffer zones'
Kim Jong Un remains stuck in the seven decades old Kim family regime playbook.
(LEAD) N. Korea fires some 130 artillery shells into inter-Korean maritime 'buffer zones' | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 정주원 · December 5, 2022
(ATTN: ADDS North Korean military's statement in paras 7-10)
SEOUL, Dec. 5 (Yonhap) -- North Korea fired some 130 artillery shells into eastern and western maritime "buffer zones" Monday, in what Seoul called a violation of a 2018 bilateral military agreement, amid the South Korea-U.S. live-fire drills in a border region.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said that it detected the artillery firings, thought to involve multiple rocket launchers, from Kumgang County in Kangwon Province and Jangsan Cape in South Hwanghae Province, from 2:59 p.m.
The shells splashed into the maritime buffer zones north of the Northern Limit Line (NLL), a de facto sea border, which were set under an inter-Korean military accord signed on Sept. 19, 2018, to reduce border tensions.
The JCS communicated warnings to the North multiple times, pointing out the violation of the military accord and calling for the immediate cessation of the provocation, the JCS said in a text message sent to reporters.
"The artillery firings into the eastern and western maritime buffer zones are a clear violation of the Sept. 19 military accord and we strongly urge the North to immediately halt them," the JCS said.
It added the South Korean military is tracking and monitoring related North Korean movements in cooperation with the United States and is strengthening a readiness posture in preparation against a potential contingency.
North Korean military confirmed later in the day it fired artillery shells in response to South Korea's live-fire drills.
"Between 8:30 a.m. and 15:50 p.m., we observed dozens of projectiles, presumably launched from multiple rocket launchers and fired southeast from Cheorwon County in the South's territory of Gangwon Province," a spokesperson of the General Staff of the Korean People's Army said in a report carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency.
"An emergency order was issued to troops at the frontier to monitor the enemies' motions and prepare for rapid counterattacks. In addition, the troops at the eastern and western frontiers were ordered to counter-fire some 130 marine artillery shells," the spokesperson was quoted as saying.
The North Korean military also urged that the South should stop intensifying tensions by taking military actions near the border.
South Korea's office of Cheorwon County, 71 kilometers northeast of Seoul, has posted on its website an Army announcement that the military would stage live-fire drills, involving multiple rocket launchers and other assets, at border units on Monday and Tuesday.
The North's latest saber-rattling came after Seoul, Washington and Tokyo imposed additional standalone sanctions against individuals and institutions linked to the North's weapons development programs in a coordinated move last week.
sshluck@yna.co.kr
yunhwanchae@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 정주원 · December 5, 2022
2. S. Korea to revive 'enemy' expression for N.K. regime, military in defense white paper: sources
Given their constitution, their pronouncements (for 7 decades), their active subversion activities, their revolutionary ideology it is hard to describe north Korea as anything but an enemy.
S. Korea to revive 'enemy' expression for N.K. regime, military in defense white paper: sources | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 송상호 · December 6, 2022
SEOUL, Dec. 6 (Yonhap) -- South Korea plans to revive a reference to the North Korean regime and its military as an "enemy" in its defense white paper to be published next month under the conservative administration of President Yoon Suk-yeol, government sources said Tuesday.
The move comes in the wake of Pyongyang's relentless weapons tests, including the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile launch last month and the firing this week of artillery shells into maritime "buffer zones" set under a 2018 inter-Korean accord to reduce tensions.
"An expression referring to the North Korean regime and its military as an enemy has been included in the draft of the white paper," a source said on condition of anonymity.
Before his inauguration on May 10, Yoon's transition team announced 110 key policy tasks, including considering reinstating the "enemy" label for the North Korean military in the biennial defense white paper and other documents.
In line with the task, Seoul's defense ministry has distributed troop education materials that describe the North's military as an enemy.
The North Korean military was first referred to as an "enemy" in the defense policy paper in 1995 after a Pyongyang official threatened to turn Seoul into a "sea of flames." In the 2004 version, the expression was replaced by a "direct military threat" amid a conciliatory mood.
The enemy description was revived in 2010 as the North torpedoed a South Korean corvette in March of that year, killing 46 sailors, and launched an artillery attack on a border island in November, killing two soldiers and two civilians. The expression stayed until the 2016 edition of the paper.
But the enemy label disappeared in the white papers that the then liberal Moon Jae-in administration published in 2018 and 2020 amid its drive for cross-border reconciliation.
sshluck@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 송상호 · December 6, 2022
3. N. Korea accelerates efforts to raise status of the Kim dynasty’s next generation
Kim and his Propaganda and Agitation Department are actually serving up an opportunity for our PSYOP and influence professionals. This is the perfect opportunity for a sophisticated influence campaign. We should jump on this.
N. Korea accelerates efforts to raise status of the Kim dynasty’s next generation
High-ranking sources in North Korea agree that Kim’s recently debuted daughter has not been chosen as the successor who will carry on the family line
dailynk.com
Kim Jong Un with his wife and daughter in a photo published by state media on November 19, 2022. (Rodong Sinmun-News1)
The North Korean government recently disseminated a document emphasizing the revolutionary work conducted by members of the “Mount Paektu bloodline” and organized a related lecture for senior cadres, Daily NK has learned.
Following the public debut of the daughter of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, these developments appear to mark the beginning of efforts to elevate the status and authority of the Kim dynasty’s next generation.
Along with accompanying his daughter to the site of the test launch of the Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile on Nov. 18, Kim Jong Un also brought her along to a recent commemorative photo for people who contributed to the success of the test launch. On Nov. 27, the Rodong Sinmun published several photographs of Kim alongside his daughter in an article about the commemorative photo shoot.
A high-ranking Daily NK source inside North Korea said on Nov. 29 that North Korea organized a lecture for major cadres on the morning of Nov. 27 elaborating on the disseminated document. In effect, cadres were being given ideological training at the same time that North Korean media were publishing photographs of the second official appearance of Kim’s daughter.
The swift action by the Workers’ Party to disseminate a document about the Mount Paektu bloodline and to hold ideological training for senior cadres appears designed to head off any critical assessments about Kim bringing his daughter to major events and also control the narrative about Kim’s actions among cadres.
The document about the Mount Paektu bloodline, which is said to have been jointly composed by the Propaganda and Agitation Department and the Organization and Guidance Department, described “all the precious children of the Mangyongdae lineage and the Mount Paektu bloodline” as being “the holy foundation for the completion of our revolutionary work,” the source said.
The “Mangyongdae lineage” consists of four generations beginning with Kim Jong Un’s great-grandfather Kim Hyong Jik and going forward to his grandfather Kim Il Sung, his father Kim Jong Il, and Kim Jong Un himself. The expression is used to describe the status of the Kim family and the legitimacy of the dynastic succession.
Whereas the expression “Mount Paektu bloodline” signifies those born with a sense of revolutionary mission based on the history and achievements of Kim Il Sung’s struggle against Japanese colonial rule, the expression “Mangyongdae lineage” can be seen as stressing those who are in a direct line of descent from Kim Hyong Jik.
The expression “Mangyongdae lineage” has often been used in the Rodong Sinmun and other North Korean media outlets. When Kim Jong Un was identified as the successor to Kim Jong Il in 2009, for example, North Korean media said, “The noble vision and aspiration of the Mangyongdae revolutionary family, which runs from Kim Hyong Jik down through the Great Leader [Kim Il Sung] and the Great General [Kim Jong Il] is a strong and prosperous country that will forever thrive.”
SOURCES: KIM JONG UN’S DAUGHTER WILL NOT SUCCEED HER FATHER
But high-ranking sources in North Korea agree that Kim’s recently debuted daughter has not been chosen as the successor who will carry on the family line.
“The daughter revealed to the public cannot become the successor. If she were to be the successor, she wouldn’t have been shown holding her father’s hand or being carried like a child,” another high-ranking source told Daily NK.
Idolization consists of the process of deifying a leader who was born with unique qualities that set them apart from the masses. Therefore, the leader being idolized cannot be depicted as a weak child in need of protection, the source said.
After Kim Jong Un took power, mythical anecdotes were circulated that he had shot his first gun and driven his first car at the age of three as part of efforts to idolize him.
Senior cadres inside North Korea currently take it for granted that Kim’s successor will be his firstborn son. But because the successor must already be a fully capable adult at the time of his debut, he will be kept in complete secrecy until then, the source explained.
One of the apparent reasons that Kim brought his daughter along for two politically significant events related to North Korea’s nuclear arsenal is to underline that all members of his bloodline possess a superiority that sets them apart from the general public.
“The aged commander bowed low for a handshake, but [Kim’s] ten-year-old daughter didn’t bow. That shows that the leader’s children must be treated with the same veneration as the leader himself,” the first high-ranking source told Daily NK.
Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
Read in Korean
dailynk.com
4. North fires big guns, bigger insults at unification minister
The Minister was quite conciliatory at JSA in regards to no unification by absorption or that the ROK does not harbor hostility toward the north. Conciliatory words mean nothing to the regime and. do ot advance ROK interests.
Excerpts:
During his first visit to the Panmunjom Joint Security Area (JSA) on Nov. 29, Kwon said that the South does not harbor hostility towards the North, and that it will not seek “unification through absorption,” or bringing the territory controlled by Pyongyang under Seoul’s control. He also said South Korea would not “tolerate” the North’s “nuclear threats or armed provocations.”
The remarks were not well-received by the North
“Kwon visited [the JSA] that day with fear in his eyes and recited words he had memorized in advance, such as ‘dialogue’ and ‘sincerity’ and shrilled that [the South] would not tolerate the North’s ‘nuclear threat’ and ‘provocations,’” Uriminzokkiri said, adding that the unification minister “dared to mention our sacred dignity and political system when he babbled about ‘regime security,’ ‘future,’ and ‘fundamental concerns.’”
During his visit, the unification minister toured several historic sites in the JSA, including the Bridge of No Return, where Korean War prisoners were exchanged between April and September 1953; United Nations Command checkpoints no. 3 and 4; and the site of the 1976 axe murder incident, when North Korean soldiers killed two U.S. Army officers sent to prune a tree obscuring the line of sight between the two posts.
Monday
December 5, 2022
dictionary + A - A
North fires big guns, bigger insults at unification minister
https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2022/12/05/national/northKorea/Korea-artillery-Yellow-Sea/20221205180117176.html
In this photo released by Pyongyang's state-run Rodong Sinmun, the North Korean military conducts a live artillery firing drill on Sept. 6. [NEWS1]
North Korea's military fired over one hundred artillery shells into waters off its eastern and western coasts on Monday as its state-run propaganda outlet launched a verbal salvo against South Korea's top official on inter-Korean affairs.
"Beginning around 2:59 p.m. today, the South Korean military detected 130 artillery shots believed to have been fired into the East Sea and Yellow Sea from Kumgang County, Kangwon Province and Jangsan Cape in Hwanghae Province,” Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) told reporters in a text message.
The shells landed in a buffer zone north of the Northern Limit Line (NLL), the de facto inter-Korean maritime boundary, according to the JCS.
The JCS said the South Korean military relayed several warnings to the North regarding the artillery barrage in the maritime buffer zones, calling it a “violation of the September 19 military agreement” and demanding an “immediate suspension of provocations.”
Maritime buffer zones were set up under the 2018 inter-Korean comprehensive military agreement, which called for the de-escalation of cross-border tensions and was intended to reduce the risk of military clashes at sea.
The JCS added that the South Korean military “is bolstering its readiness in case an emergency arises while tracking and monitoring related trends in close cooperation with the United States.”
The North Korean artillery barrage came the same day that North Korean propaganda outlet Uriminzokkiri carried a tirade of insults directed at South Korean Unification Minister Kwon Young-se for urging the North to return to dialogue.
During his first visit to the Panmunjom Joint Security Area (JSA) on Nov. 29, Kwon said that the South does not harbor hostility towards the North, and that it will not seek “unification through absorption,” or bringing the territory controlled by Pyongyang under Seoul’s control. He also said South Korea would not “tolerate” the North’s “nuclear threats or armed provocations.”
The remarks were not well-received by the North
“Kwon visited [the JSA] that day with fear in his eyes and recited words he had memorized in advance, such as ‘dialogue’ and ‘sincerity’ and shrilled that [the South] would not tolerate the North’s ‘nuclear threat’ and ‘provocations,’” Uriminzokkiri said, adding that the unification minister “dared to mention our sacred dignity and political system when he babbled about ‘regime security,’ ‘future,’ and ‘fundamental concerns.’”
During his visit, the unification minister toured several historic sites in the JSA, including the Bridge of No Return, where Korean War prisoners were exchanged between April and September 1953; United Nations Command checkpoints no. 3 and 4; and the site of the 1976 axe murder incident, when North Korean soldiers killed two U.S. Army officers sent to prune a tree obscuring the line of sight between the two posts.
The final stops on the minister's tour of the JSA was the commemorative stone and a tree planted by former South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during their April 2018 summit, as well as the blue bridge and open-air platform purpose-built for the two leaders’ private chat during their meeting.
BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]
5. Cooperation critical to dealing with N. Korea, economic challenges: envoys
Tuesday
December 6, 2022
dictionary + A - A
Cooperation critical to dealing with N. Korea, economic challenges: envoys
President Yoon Suk-yeol, far left, speaks in a trilateral meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at a hotel in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on Nov. 13, 2022. [YONHAP]
South Korea and Japan must work closely together bilaterally and also trilaterally with the United States to deal with the various challenges at hand such as North Korean provocations and supply chain resiliency, the countries' top envoys in the U.S. said Monday.
South Korean Ambassador to the U.S. Cho Tae-yong said the Seoul government stands ready to strengthen its cooperation with the U.S. and Japan.
Cho highlighted the importance of trilateral cooperation between the U.S., Japan and South Korea in dealing with provocative North Korea, while hailing joint anti-submarine warfare (ASW) exercises the countries held last month in the wake of North Korea's intercontinental ballistic missile launch.
"This is a natural outcome of a more aligned threat perception," he said of the joint exercise while speaking at an annual seminar hosted by South Korea's SK Group. The seminar, titled "Trans-Pacific Dialogue," was held at a resort in Virginia, attended by SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won and many others, including Japanese Ambassador to the U.S. Koji Tomita.
"Security remains our core issue that is demonstrated by the threat posed by the DPRK," the Japanese diplomat said of trilateral cooperation, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Pyongyang fired a new record of 63 ballistic missiles this year, far exceeding the previous annual record of 25.
Tomita said North Korean provocations were the reason why the three countries "stepped up" their efforts to strengthen their capabilities, and also improve U.S. extended deterrence.
"But I also look forward to deepening our policy dialogue to greater alignment of security," he added.
Cho reiterated the need to enhance trilateral cooperation for economic security as well.
"After the pandemic and widespread disruption of supply chains, the world is turning its attention to building a stable, reliable and resilient supply chains," the South Korean diplomat said.
"Hence the time is right," he added, for creating a trend of economic collaboration between the countries.
Tomita agreed, noting the three countries together account for 30 percent of global gross domestic product, as well as 30 percent of global trade and 45 percent of the world's military spending.
"In this respect, much progress has been made bilaterally between Japan and the United States and between the United States and ROK for enhancing supply chain resilience," he said, referring to South Korea by its official name, the Republic of Korea.
"Trilateral dialogue can help create synergy in these efforts," he insisted.
Cho said Seoul stands ready to strengthen its trilateral cooperation with the U.S. and Japan.
"I can tell you that the Yoon Suk-yeol government is prepared to strengthen our contribution to the trilateral cooperation among the U.S., (South) Korea and Japan, and I hope that this will have a huge impact on building a rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific region, an area where Japan, Korea and the United States have a huge stake in," he said.
Yonhap
6. 71st Operation Christmas Drop begins, Korea joins U.S. and its allies
Another piece of history: South Korea is the only OECD nation to go from a major aid recipient to a major donor nation. This is one small example of South Korea as a "global pivotal state" and giving back in one.
Monday
December 5, 2022
dictionary + A - A
71st Operation Christmas Drop begins, Korea joins U.S. and its allies
https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2022/12/05/national/defense/Korea-Air-Force-Operation-Christmas-Drop/20221205175006984.html
South Korean Air Force personnel secure boxes containing humanitarian supplies to be airdropped to remote islands in Micronesia from a C-130 transport plane on Sunday as a part of the weeklong U.S.-led Operation Christmas Drop. [AIR FORCE]
Korea is taking part in Operation Christmas Drop for the second consecutive year, with an Air Force C-130 flying to remote Pacific islands and dropping toys, clothing, medicine, fishing gear, daily necessities and other gifts by parachute.
It joins Australia, Japan, New Zealand and the United States in the humanitarian mission, which has been held annually for 71 years.
Led by the U.S. Pacific Air Forces, participants will deliver donated goods to 20,000 people living on 56 islands throughout Micronesia and Palau. Operation Christmas Drop is the longest running Defense Department humanitarian assistance mission.
The South Korean Air Force sent a C-130 transport plane and some 30 service members, including pilots and mechanics, this year. The mission started Sunday at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, and will run through Friday.
According to the South Korean Air Force on Monday, its transport aircraft and personnel belonging to the 15th Special Missions Wing headed to Guam on Nov. 29 to undertake training ahead of the six-day operation.
They will make three flights to about 10 Micronesian islands and will return to Korea on Dec. 12.
On Saturday, military personnel and local residents finished packing the supply boxes and loaded them onto the transport plane Sunday.
In the months leading up to the drop dates, the U.S. Air Force collects and sorts donated supplies.
Air crews connect to Pacific island villages by ham radio as they fly overhead and use low-cost, low-altitude airdrops, using repurposed personnel parachutes, to deliver the supplies packed in parcels to the islanders.
The drop point target is marked with a flag by the islanders.
South Korean Air Force personnel airdrop a parcel with humanitarian supplies to islanders in Micronesia in the Pacific Ocean on Sunday as a part of the U.S.-led Operation Christmas Drop. [AIR FORCE]
Operation Christmas Drop began during the Christmas season in 1952 when crew on a B-29 Superfortress saw islanders waving at them from the island of Kapingamarangi in the Pacific Ocean. The aircrew dropped a bundle of supplied attached to a parachute to the islanders below.
Korea first joined the operation last year.
The South Korean Air Force said the operation will help improve its combined airlift and airdrop capabilities in coordination with other air forces and its long-range operational skills.
The mission helps train aircrews to resupply areas in the Indo-Pacific region.
"We are excited to team with our allies and partners throughout the region as we launch the 71st year of Operation Christmas Drop," said Col. Andrew Roddan, commander of the 374th Airlift Wing, in a statement last Tuesday.
He said the operation "represents a significant opportunity to integrate airlift teams as we work closely with international partners" and "helps to hone critical skills necessary for successful response to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief."
BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]
7. Trump Owed Hidden Debt While In Office (alleged north Korea link)
This seems like a reach. Some real spin here. Someone is trying hard to make a real north Korea connection here.
See the Raw Story article that follows this. Check out the Forbes article is "spun." "Revealed: Trump paid off secret debt to North Korea-linked company while in office"
Trump Owed Hidden Debt While In Office
Forbes · by Dan Alexander · December 5, 2022
Keeping an eye out: Former President Donald Trump arrives to speak at an event at Mar-A-Lago, Friday, November 18, 2022, in Palm Beach, Florida.
Rebecca Blackwell/AP
Donald Trump’s business attracted so much scrutiny during his time in office that it would be easy to conclude that all information about its foreign entanglements must be out by now. It is not. Buried in a heap of recently released financial paperwork sits a surprising revelation: Donald Trump had a foreign creditor he failed to disclose while running for president in 2016 and after assuming office in 2017.
The documents, compiled by the Trump Organization and obtained by the New York attorney general, show a previously unreported liability of $19.8 million listed as “L/P Daewoo.” The debt stems from an agreement Trump struck to share some of his licensing fees with Daewoo, a South Korean conglomerate that partnered with Trump on a project near the United Nations headquarters in New York City.
Trump eliminated the debt five and a half months into his tenure as president, according to the documents. He seems to have acted with some urgency to wipe the liability off his balance sheet. From 2011 to 2016, the documents show that the balance stayed static at $19.8 million. Paperwork capturing Trump’s financial picture as of June 30, 2017, five months into his presidency, appears to show that the balance had dropped to $4.3 million, $15.5 million less than it had been a year earlier. Trump got rid of the debt altogether shortly after that. “Daewoo was bought out of its position on July 5, 2017,” the documents say, without specifying who exactly paid off the loan.
Although the debt appeared on the Trump Organization’s internal paperwork, it did not show up on Trump’s public financial disclosure reports, documents he was required to submit to federal officials while running for president and after taking office. Trump’s former chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, told the New York Times in 2016 that his boss disclosed all debt connected to companies in which Trump held a 100% stake on the documents. That was not true.
There is a chance that Trump’s omission may have been legal, nonetheless. Although officials have to list personal loans on their financial disclosures, the law does not require them to include loans to their companies, unless they are personally liable for the loans. The Trump Organization documents do not specify whether the former president, who owned 100% of the entities responsible for the debt, personally guaranteed the liability, leaving it unclear whether he broke the law or merely took advantage of a loophole.
There’s little doubt that if the world had known about the debt while Trump was president, it would have sparked conflict-of-interest concerns, perhaps heightened by Daewoo’s historical ties to North Korea. (In the mid-1990s, the firm was the only South Korean company permitted to operate a business inside the country.) Most people as rich as Trump would not be heavily influenced by a $20 million loan. Regardless, the fact that the former president managed to keep the debt secret for so long underscores how weak the government’s ethics safeguards are, how difficult they are to strengthen—and how easily Trump could barrel right through them as he runs for president again in 2024.
Trump’s relationship with Daewoo dates back at least a quarter century. In 1997, the Korean firm signed a deal to partner with Trump on a black skyscraper near the United Nations named Trump World Tower. That project was successful enough that Daewoo continued to do business with Trump, using his name on six properties constructed in South Korea from 1999 to 2007.
At some point—it’s not clear exactly when or how—Daewoo also became Trump’s creditor. The debt reflected on the Trump Organization’s documents appears to have started with a principal of $25 million. Records indicate that the liability was connected to Trump ventures in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Brazil, Florida, Arizona, Canada and Chicago.
None of this was apparent on disclosure reports that Trump, whose representatives did not respond to requests for comment, filed with the Office of Government Ethics. “If someone does not disclose a loan, OGE has no way to know,” says Walter Shaub, who ran that agency when Trump took office. Don Fox, who also once headed the office, adds: “The system is kind of predicated upon people actually following a law because they want to follow the law.”
Trump repeatedly butted heads with ethics officials. In one instance, the agency reached out to the Department of Justice, after Trump failed to disclose a $130,000 liability owed to his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, who had paid hush money to porn actress Stormy Daniels on behalf of his boss. Cohen ultimately turned against Trump and testified on Capitol Hill, bringing documents with him that shed greater light on the president’s finances—and even hinted at the possibility of a second undisclosed liability.
“The system is kind of predicated upon people actually following a law because they want to follow the law.”
-Don Fox, former acting director of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics
After reviewing Cohen’s documents, Elijah Cummings, a Democrat who chaired the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, asked Trump’s accounting firm for additional materials. Reviewing those materials might have allowed lawmakers to identify loopholes and potentially draft legislation to close them. The accounting firm, Mazars, refused to turn over documents without a subpoena. Cummings’ committee supplied one, and Trump sued to block it.
In a world that operates at a faster and faster clip each year, the American legal system moves like it’s stuck in a different century. After losing in U.S. district and appeals courts, Trump filed an emergency application with the U.S. Supreme Court for a stay to stop the subpoena. The nation’s highest tribunal granted Trump’s request and then, in July 2020, a year after Cummings first subpoenaed for the documents, sent the matter back to a lower court for reconsideration.
Reviewing the case for a second time, a U.S. appeals court reached a split decision in July 2022—more than three years after the Oversight Committee issued the subpoena, over two and a half years after Cummings passed away and more than one-and-a-half years after Trump left office. The court ruled that Trump’s accountants had to turn over some documents, but it is unclear what exactly the Oversight Committee has received so far—it still has not revealed anything about the Daewoo debt.
“My committee is continuing to analyze information we are receiving from Mazars,” Carolyn Maloney, a Democrat who succeeded Cummings as chair of the Oversight Committee, said in a statement. “We are committed to uncovering the full scope of former President Trump’s conflicts of interest so the American people can understand how these conflicts may have influenced key decisions by the Trump Administration—and whether reforms are needed to prevent these serious conflicts in the future.”
It seems unlikely that Congress is going to tighten up disclosure laws anytime soon, however. The former president’s allies won back the House of Representatives last month, and Trump announced another run at the White House shortly thereafter. Republican House members probably will not want to pass a law that could expose their party’s front-runner for the 2024 presidential nomination. The Democrats have had their time in power, when they could have theoretically changed the laws. Trump, using the courts, managed to run out the clock.
Forbes · by Dan Alexander · December 5, 2022
Revealed: Trump paid off secret debt to North Korea-linked company while in office
Raw Story · by David Edwards · December 4, 2022
There is a "chance" Donald Trump didn't break the law by hiding debt from his 2016 presidential campaign's financial disclosure reports, according to Forbes.
Documents obtained by the outlet show that the then-candidate failed to disclose $19.8 million in debt to Daewoo, a South Korean company with a history of ties to North Korea.
"There is a chance that Trump's omission may have been legal," the report said, noting that Trump may have used a loophole in the law.
"Although officials have to list personal loans on their financial disclosures, the law does not require them to include loans to their companies, unless they are personally liable for the loans. The Trump Organization documents do not specify whether the former president, who owned 100% of the entities responsible for the debt, personally guaranteed the liability, leaving it unclear whether he broke the law or merely took advantage of a loophole."
Forbes also pointed out that Trump may have hidden the debt because Daewoo, at one time, "was the only South Korean company permitted to operate a business inside [North Korea]."
The documents, which were disclosed after being obtained by New York Attorney General Letitia James, said that Trump quickly eliminated the debt after taking office.
"Daewoo was bought out of its position on July 5, 2017," one document explained.
Raw Story · by David Edwards · December 4, 2022
8. Korea, Vietnam elevate ties to comprehensive, strategic partnership
The global pivotal state supporting a free and open INDOPACIFIC.
Korea, Vietnam elevate ties to comprehensive, strategic partnership
The Korea Times · by 2022-12-05 16:57 | Companies · December 5, 2022
President Yoon Suk-yeol shakes hands with his Vietnamese counterpart, Nguyen Xuan Phuc, during a joint press conference after their summit at the former's presidential office in Yongsan District, Seoul, Monday. Yonhap
By Nam Hyun-woo
President Yoon Suk-yeol and his Vietnamese counterpart, Nguyen Xuan Phuc, held a summit in Seoul, Monday, agreeing to elevate bilateral ties to "a comprehensive and strategic partnership."
The two leaders especially vowed to strengthen cooperation in strategy, security, industry, and supply chains.
Phuc arrived in Seoul on Sunday as part of a three-day state visit to Korea on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries. Phuc is the first foreign head of state to make a state visit to Korea since Yoon took office on May 10.
"For the past three decades, the two countries have established a model case of mutually beneficial and cooperative bilateral relations, with their dazzling progress in trade and investment cooperation," Yoon said during a joint press conference after the summit at the presidential office in Yongsan, Seoul.
"Based on these achievements, we seek to open up a new era of Korea-Vietnam relations by establishing a comprehensive and strategic partnership," he added.
In addition to Korea, Vietnam has forged comprehensive and strategic partnerships with only China, Russia and India.
Yoon noted that the two countries will enhance strategic dialogue, since they share mutual interests in the areas of regional peace, security and a rules-based order.
Korea, Vietnam to bolster critical materials supply chains
"Vietnam is the core partner of Korea's Indo-Pacific strategy and Korea-ASEAN solidarity initiative," Yoon said. "To strengthen Korea-ASEAN and Korea-Mekong cooperation, we will closely coordinate with Vietnam. President Phuc also welcomed South Korea's diplomatic vision to become a global pivotal state."
During last month's South Korea-ASEAN summit, Yoon unveiled his Indo-Pacific strategy which focuses on promoting freedom, peace and prosperity in the region, pursuing an open and fair economic order and stronger contributions by Seoul for those goals.
To this end, Yoon promised to reinvigorate vice-minister level strategic conversations between the two countries and expand bilateral cooperation in maritime security and national defense.
President Yoon Suk-yeol speaks during a summit with his Vietnamese counterpart, Nguyen Xuan Phuc, at the presidential office in Yongsan District, Seoul, Monday. Joint Press CorpsThe leaders also promised to expand bilateral cooperation for economic security and supply chain resilience.
During their summit, the two countries signed three agreements and six memorandums of understanding on tariffs, financial cooperation, rare minerals, electricity and other economic fields.
Highlighting them was an MOU on stronger bilateral cooperation in rare minerals. Vietnam has the world's second-largest reserves of rare earth metals and is an important supply chain partner for Korea, a chip manufacturing powerhouse.
The leaders also agreed that the two countries will make efforts to reach $100 billion in bilateral trade by 2023 and $150 billion by 2030.
"Korean companies are the largest investors in Vietnam with $30 billion in investments, which are expanding in areas such as technology transfers, in order to develop railways and trains, green industries, smart cities and other areas," Phuc said during the press conference.
"I am convinced that the comprehensive and strategic partnership will usher in a new era of bilateral relations and make contributions to international security and peace," he added.
Yoon also vowed to assist Vietnam with Korean language education. In February of last year, Vietnamese education authorities included Korean as one of the foreign languages taught at elementary schools there.
The Korean president also requested the Vietnamese government's support for Korea's southern port city of Busan's bid to host the 2030 World Expo. The Vietnamese leader responded positively to the request.
The Korea Times · by 2022-12-05 16:57 | Companies · December 5, 2022
De Oppresso Liber,
David Maxwell
Senior Fellow, Foundation for Defense of Democracies
Senior Fellow, Global Peace Foundation
Senior Advisor, Center for Asia Pacific Strategy
Editor, Small Wars Journal
Twitter: @davidmaxwell161
Phone: 202-573-8647
email: david.maxwell161@gmail.com
| 
