Quotes of the Day:
“The most important decision you make is to be in a good mood.”
- Voltaire
"A strong will, a settled purpose, an invincible determination can accomplish almost anything; and in this lies the distinction between great men and little men."
- Thomas Fuller
"I am wiser than this man, for neither of us appears to know anything great and good; but he fancies he knows something, although he knows nothing; whereas I, as I do not know anything, so I do not fancy I do. In this trifling particular, then, I appear to be wiser than he, because I do not fancy I know what I do not know."
- Socrates
1. Rep. Young Kim Urges Biden Administration to Oppose End-of-War Declaration for Korean War
2. 35 GOP Reps warn North Korea must denuclearize before end of war or there will be ‘disastrous consequences’
3. Cheong Wa Dae says Beijing Olympic diplomatic boycott not under consideration for now
4. Stars removed from shoulders of North's military commanders
5. U.S. will continue working with South to engage North: Policy chief
6. Military to hire reservists as part-time training leaders
7. KDVA ROK-U.S. Alliance Journal Issue: 2021-4
8. Politics or misguided conviction? Is Moon obsessed with ending the Korean War?
9. Advisers to rival presidential candidates clash over NK policy
10. North Korea wants to give candies to kids for Kim Jong Un's birthday, but it's making its citizens pay to produce them: report
11. North Korea's tense food situation
12. North Korea appears to have revived the “five families responsibility system”
13. North Korean mineral exports continue on the open seas despite sanctions
14. A bilateral friendship award (South Korea)
1.Rep. Young Kim Urges Biden Administration to Oppose End-of-War Declaration for Korean War
Rep. Young Kim Urges Biden Administration to Oppose End-of-War Declaration for Korean War
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Representative Young Kim (CA-39) warned the Biden administration of the consequences of offering a unilateral end-of-war declaration for the Korean War without firm commitments and progress from the Kim regime to support a complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization of North Korea and respect the basic human rights of the North Korean people.
Congresswoman Kim led a letter alongside House Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Michael McCaul (TX-10) and 33 colleagues to U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. Special Representative to North Korea Sung Yong Kim in strong opposition to calls for an end-of-war declaration for the Korean War, which would undermine and destabilize the security of the Korean peninsula.
Kim grew up in South Korea in the aftermath of the Korean War, is one of the first Korean American women to serve in Congress and serves as Vice Ranking Member of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, Central Asia and Nonproliferation. She has fought for North Korean human rights issues and to reunite Korean Americans with their loved ones in North Korea long before coming to Congress. She wrote an op-ed in the Washington Examiner on steps the Biden administration should take to pressure the Kim regime and strengthen our trilateral relationship with South Korea and Japan, which can be found here.
“Maintaining peace requires both sides to actively work to keep it. Kim Jong-un has proven time and time again to be an unreliable negotiator, and we must realize we’re dealing with a regime that cannot be trusted,” said Congresswoman Kim. “An end-of-war declaration for the Korean War without commitment from the Kim regime on complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization of North Korea will destabilize security in the Korean Peninsula and cede the negotiating leverage of the United States, South Korea and our allies to the Kim regime. I will continue to urge the Biden administration against an end-of-war declaration and promote initiatives that will secure lasting peace and security on the Korean peninsula.”
Other cosigners of the letter include Reps. Michelle Steel (CA-48), Chris Smith (NJ-04), Steve Chabot (OH-01), Brian Babin (TX-36), Mike Gallagher (WI-08), Kat Cammack (FL-03), Bill Johnson (OH-06), Claudia Tenney (NY-22), Louie Gohmert (TX-01), Michael Waltz (FL-06), Nicole Malliotakis (NY-11), Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01), Bill Huizenga (MI-02), Brad Wenstrup (OH-02),Glenn Thompson (PA-15), Darrell Issa (CA-50), Dan Meuser (PA-09), Burgess Owens (UT-04), Tim Burchett (TN-02), Julia Letlow (LA-05), Diana Harshbarger (TN-01), Adrian Smith (NE-03), Mark E. Green, M.D. (TN-07) Ashley Hinson (IA-01), Andrew Garbarino (NY-02), Andy Barr (KY-06), Bob Latta (OH-05), Steve Womack (AR-03), Doug Lamborn (CO-05), Jeff Duncan (SC-03), Ken Calvert (CA-42), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA-02) and Peter Meijer (MI-03).
Excerpts from the letter can be found HERE or below:
We write to you today regarding recent calls by South Korean and U.S. politicians to support a formal end of war declaration for the Korean War as a catalyst for resuming dialogue with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). We are gravely concerned that this declaration, instead of promoting peace, would seriously undermine and destabilize the security of the Korean peninsula. We also support the measured approach you have demonstrated thus far and urge you to engage with your South Korean counterparts on the clear dangers and risks of this strategy.
In order to have peace, both sides must be determined to keep it. Thus far, Kim Jong-un has shown no interest in pursuing an end of war declaration, which he has personally labeled as “premature.” Kim has repeatedly stated that sanctions relief must be a first order priority before peace talks while continuing to launch missiles and further develop North Korea’s nuclear weapons program. Arguments in favor of the declaration as a means of bringing North Korea back to the table for negotiation have fallen on deaf ears in Pyongyang.
Further, there is no historical precedent to support the theory that the Kim regime would abide by the terms of a peace agreement. The DPRK has repeatedly violated binding agreements with South Korea, the U.S., and the United Nations, and continues to engage in illegal activity to skirt sanctions on its nuclear weapons program and egregious human rights abuses. Pyongyang also frequently violates the longstanding armistice between North and South and has repeatedly declared it as null and void.
An end of war declaration also poses serious risks for U.S. forces on the peninsula and the stability for the region. A premature peace treaty would provide a predicate for the DPRK to demand the dismantlement of the U.S. Forces South Korea and the U.S. withdraw its 28,500 troops from South Korea, given that their purpose is to deter aggression from the North, and call for the permanent termination of annual U.S.-ROK joint military exercises. Our military presence in South Korea includes Camp Humphreys, the largest overseas U.S. military base in the world, and plays an essential role in promoting regional security and deterrence against the DPRK, Russia, and the People’s Republic of China. Opening the door for considering for the removal of U.S. troops from the Korean peninsula before the North has fully denuclearized would have disastrous consequences for U.S. national security, erode our combined deterrence, and jeopardize the lives of tens of millions of Americans, Koreans, and Japanese.
Declaring an end to hostilities should come at the culmination of comprehensive and long-term talks with North Korea after eliminating its nuclear arsenal and demonstrating verifiable improvements on its human rights record. It should not be offered as an attempt to initiate talks with an uncertain endgame and strategy.
The U.S. should continue to work closely with South Korea and Japan in balancing against security threats from North Korea and work with the UN and our allies to enforce existing sanctions on the DPRK and its elites to bring them back to the negotiating table. This strategy should also include persuading the People’s Republic of China to exert actual financial and political pressure on Kim and his inner circle.
Peace cannot be achieved through words alone. It requires action and binding guarantees to hold. We must be able to trust that North Korea will fulfill potential commitments to full denuclearization, cease illicit activity, and improve its human rights record. Granting the Kim regime unilateral concessions which substantially weaken the position of the United States, Korea, and our allies to resist its aggression would be premature and dangerous to our shared interests. We urge you to reject calls to declare an end to hostilities until these conditions are met.
Thank you for your consideration and we look forward to your reply.
영 김 의원, 바이든 정부에 종전선언 및 평화협정 반대 촉구
영 김 연방하원의원 (가주 39지구) 은 북한 정권의 완전하고 검증 가능하며 되돌릴 수 없는 비핵화 진전이나 북한 주민의 기본적인 인권 보장이 없이 일방적인 종전 선언과 평화 협정의 위험성에 대하여 바이든 행정부에 경고했다.
영 김 의원은 Michael McCaul (TX-10), 외교위원회 공화당 간사와 33명에 동료의원들과 함께 한반도의 안보에 악영향을 미칠 종전 선언을 강력히 반대하는 편지를 Jake Sullivan 국가안보보좌관, Antony Blinken 국무장관과 성 김 대북특사에게 보냈다.
영 김 의원은 6.25 전쟁의 상흔을 보면서 자라난 첫 한인 여성 연방하원의원 중의 하나이고 외교위 아태 소위원회의 중진 위원이다. 영김 의원은 북한 인권 문제를 다루고 미주 한인들이 북한에 있는 가족들과 상봉할 수 있도록 연방 의회에 입성하기 전부터 오랫동안 노력해 왔다. 영 김 의원은 바이든 행정부가 북한 정권을 압박하고 한-미-일 3자 관계를 강화하기 위해 취해야 할 조치에 대해Washington Examiner에 기고한 기고문을 여기에서 확인할 수 있다.
“평화를 유지하려면 양측의 적극적인 노력이 반드시 있어야 한다. 김정은을 신뢰할 수 없다는 사실을 김정은 스스로가 거듭 증명했고 우리는 믿을 수 없는 정권과 거래하고 있다는 사실을 깨달아야 한다”라고 영 김 의원은 밝혔다. “북한의 완전하고 검증 가능하며 되돌릴 수 없는 비핵화에 대한 약속 없는 종전선언은 한반도 안보를 불안정하게 만들고 미국, 한국 및 동맹국의 협상 영향력을 약화 시킬 것이다. 앞으로도 계속해서 바이든 행정부에 종전선언에 반대할 것을 촉구하고 한반도의 항구적인 평화와 안보를 확보하려는 방안들을 추진할 것이다.”
공동 서명자들은 Michelle Steel (CA-48), Chris Smith (NJ-04), Steve Chabot (OH-01), Brian Babin (TX-36), Mike Gallagher (WI-08), Kat Cammack (FL-03), Bill Johnson (OH-06), Claudia Tenney (NY-22), Louie Gohmert (TX-01), Michael Waltz (FL-06), Nicole Malliotakis (NY-11), Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01), Bill Huizenga (MI-02), Brad Wenstrup (OH-02),Glenn Thompson (PA-15), Darrell Issa (CA-50), Dan Meuser (PA-09), Burgess Owens (UT-04), Tim Burchett (TN-02), Julia Letlow (LA-05), Diana Harshbarger (TN-01), Adrian Smith (NE-03), Mark E. Green, M.D. (TN-07) Ashley Hinson (IA-01), Andrew Garbarino (NY-02), Andy Barr (KY-06), Bob Latta (OH-05), Steve Womack (AR-03), Doug Lamborn (CO-05), Jeff Duncan (SC-03), Ken Calvert (CA-42), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA-02) and Peter Meijer (MI-03) 이다.
2. 35 GOP Reps warn North Korea must denuclearize before end of war or there will be ‘disastrous consequences’
My fear on this issue is that we may lose the long history of very strong bipartisan support for security on the Korean peninsula. We now have Congressman Brad Sherman's (Democracy) HR 3446 versus Congresswomen Young Kim (Republican) and her GOP colleagues opposing an end of war declaration.
I would ask our Democratic and Republican Representatives (and Senators) to keep in the forefront of their minds the question of how do we ensure the security of the ROK and deter war on the Korean peninsula and support the political outcome that resolves the "Korea question?"
35 GOP Reps warn North Korea must denuclearize before end of war or there will be ‘disastrous consequences’
Lawmakers argue a declaration to formally end the 70-year war between North and South Korea could undermine regional security if a nuclear agreement is not also reached
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FIRST ON FOX: GOP lawmakers demanded Tuesday that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un agree to denuclearize before any peace agreement is reached by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and South Korea and the U.S. removes its troops from the peninsula.
In a letter to White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on Tuesday, 35 GOP House lawmakers led by Rep. Young Kim, R-Calif., argued a declaration to formally end the 70-year war could undermine regional security if a nuclear agreement is not also reached.
"We are gravely concerned that this declaration, instead of promoting peace, would seriously undermine and destabilize the security of the Korean peninsula," the letter obtained by Fox News read. "Arguments in favor of the declaration as a means of bringing North Korea back to the table for negotiation have fallen on deaf ears in Pyongyang."
The letter comes after reports first surfaced late last month that Washington and Seoul were working to end the decades-long conflict.
The White House would not comment on whether it has been actively working to finalize an end of war declaration or if the agreement would include language on denuclearization.
But a spokesman told Fox News the White House is "prepared to engage in diplomacy with DPRK."
"The United States remains committed to achieving lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula through dialogue and diplomacy," the spokesman said.
Republicans argued in the Tuesday letter that diplomatic relations with Pyongyang are too precarious to trust a nuclear agreement would be followed even if the DPRK agreed to one.
"There is no historical precedent to support the theory that the Kim regime would abide by the terms of a peace agreement," the lawmakers said. "The DPRK has repeatedly violated binding agreements with South Korea, the U.S., and the United Nations, and continues to engage in illegal activity to skirt sanctions on its nuclear weapons program and egregious human rights abuses."
"Opening the door for considering for the removal of U.S. troops from the Korean peninsula before the North has fully denuclearized would have disastrous consequences for U.S. national security, erode our combined deterrence, and jeopardize the lives of tens of millions of Americans, Koreans, and Japanese."
Kim, a California Republican, grew up in South Korea in the aftermath of the Korean War and argued the Biden administration’s attempt to engage in diplomatic relations with the DPRK were futile.
"Kim Jong-un has proven time and time again to be an unreliable negotiator, and we must realize we’re dealing with a regime that cannot be trusted," the congresswoman told Fox News. Adding that an end of war declaration could "cede the negotiating leverage of the United States, South Korea and our allies to the Kim regime."
Lawmakers fear that fromaly concluding the war would give North Korea bargaining power to call for the removal of all U.S. troops from the region – dismantling a deterrence force for not only the DPRK, but China and Russia.
"Declaring an end to hostilities should come at the culmination of comprehensive and long-term talks with North Korea after eliminating its nuclear arsenal and demonstrating verifiable improvements on its human rights record," lawmakers concluded. "It should not be offered as an attempt to initiate talks with an uncertain endgame and strategy."
3. Cheong Wa Dae says Beijing Olympic diplomatic boycott not under consideration for now
Excerpts:
Asked whether the U.S. diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Olympics would cloud Moon's efforts for an end-of-war declaration, the official said that there is no "direct relation" between the declaration and the Olympics.
The official also said that South Korea and the U.S. have been in consultations to declare ending the Korean War, but North Korea's response is still in question.
Moon has stepped up diplomatic efforts to declare a formal end to the Korean War, saying such a declaration would be the first step toward peace and denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula.
The Korean War, in which South Korea and a U.S.-led United Nations Command fought against invading North Korean forces backed by China, ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty.
Moon believes an end-of-war declaration will help revive stalled peace talks with North Korea.
(LEAD) Cheong Wa Dae says Beijing Olympic diplomatic boycott not under consideration for now | Yonhap News Agency
(ATTN: ADDS remarks, details from para 6; AMENDS headline)
By Kim Deok-hyun
SEOUL, Dec. 8 (Yonhap) -- South Korea is not considering a diplomatic boycott of the upcoming Winter Olympics in Beijing and the country is still undecided on the matter, a senior presidential official said Wednesday.
The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, made the remarks when asked about the U.S. government's announcement to stage a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics due to China's human rights abuses.
The official said the U.S. informed South Korea of the diplomatic boycott, and Seoul has not decided to join the U.S. move.
"No decision has been made on our government's participation," the official said.
In response to the U.S. announcement, the South Korean government repeated its principled support for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, again expressing hope that it will contribute to peace and inter-Korean relations.
The Moon Jae-in administration hopes for a breakthrough in efforts to revitalize the Korea peace process from the Beijing Olympics, similar to that from the 2018 PyeongChang games.
Some view the Beijing event as a potential chance for significant progress in the Moon government's push for the declaration of a formal end to the 1950-53 Korean War.
Asked whether the U.S. diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Olympics would cloud Moon's efforts for an end-of-war declaration, the official said that there is no "direct relation" between the declaration and the Olympics.
The official also said that South Korea and the U.S. have been in consultations to declare ending the Korean War, but North Korea's response is still in question.
Moon has stepped up diplomatic efforts to declare a formal end to the Korean War, saying such a declaration would be the first step toward peace and denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula.
The Korean War, in which South Korea and a U.S.-led United Nations Command fought against invading North Korean forces backed by China, ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty.
Moon believes an end-of-war declaration will help revive stalled peace talks with North Korea.
kdh@yna.co.kr
(END)
4. Stars removed from shoulders of North's military commanders
KimJong-un giveth and Kim Jong-un taketh away.
But what is interesting is if a US general were demoted one rank he would likely retire rather than continue to serve. Of course the north does not have a retirement system like we do.
Or perhaps they had two much grade inflation and they are downsizing? They certainly have awards and decorations inflation.
Tuesday
December 7, 2021
Stars removed from shoulders of North's military commanders
Photos of a weekend military meeting released on Tuesday by the North's state-run Korean Central News Agency show Navy Commander Kim Myong-sik, left, and Air Force Commander Kim Chung-il each sporting one less star on their epaulettes compared to their previous public appearances. [YONHAP]
Photos from a weekend gathering of North Korea's military brass appear to show that the country's Navy and Air Force commanders have been demoted by one rank, potentially reflecting a push to penalize military leaders deemed insufficiently committed to the regime.
The photos, released by the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Tuesday, show North Korean Navy Commander Kim Myong-sik and Air Force Commander Kim Chung-il seated in the front row of an educational session held for the North’s military leaders, held at the April 25 Cultural Center in Pyongyang on Saturday and Sunday.
The navy commander, who had previously sported three stars on his epaulettes, signifying his rank as admiral, appeared in uniform with only two stars, while the air force commander, who was previously known to be a two-star lieutenant general, had only one star on his uniform’s epaulettes.
Kim Myong-sik was identified as an admiral until July 30, according to coverage of an ideology session released by the KCNA.
However, rumors of his demotion spread after photos of the Oct. 11 defense exhibition in Pyongyang, which North Korean leader Kim Jong-un also attended, showed him wearing the uniform of a lower-ranking position.
Kim Chung-il was appointed as the commander of the North’s Air Force at the 8th meeting of the ruling Korean Workers’ Party’s Central Military Commission on Feb. 24 and promoted to lieutenant general.
Given that Kim Chung-il was still a lieutenant general at the October exhibition, it appears he was demoted more recently than Kim Myong-sik.
While the ranks of the two military officials were apparently lowered in the latter half of this year, official state media has not directly commented on their demotions.
However, Kim Jong-un is known to have instructed high-ranking military officials at a July political lecture that the regime needed to "seriously review shortcomings in the military by sharing beneficial experiences to overcome weaknesses."
The demotions of the two commanders suggest that they were reprimanded and disciplined after problems under their command were revealed.
However, Kim Jong-un is also known to periodically tighten his grip over the North’s military by inducing competition among its high-ranking officials vying for his favor by demonstrating their loyalty.
It is expected that Kim may introduce more changes in military appointments, or even re-instate demoted officials to their former rank, to demonstrate his control over the country’s armed forces.
BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]
5. U.S. will continue working with South to engage North: Policy chief
Of course we will. What would make anyone think otherwise? Not a discussion about differences in views about an end of war declaration.
Wednesday
December 8, 2021
U.S. will continue working with South to engage North: Policy chief
Kurt Campbell
Washington will continue working with Seoul to engage Pyongyang diplomatically despite the lack of progress to restart denuclearization talks, White House Asia policy coordinator Kurt Campbell said Tuesday.
Campbell, the National Security Council coordinator for the Asia-Pacific region, admitted that the United States has “not had success” in its efforts to engage North Korea, but added that the current administration of U.S. President Joe Biden is “still determined to put [its] best foot forward with respect to diplomacy,” in remarks to reporters after a forum in Virginia hosted by the Chey Institute for Advanced Studies, a think tank operated by SK Group.
While the policy coordinator did not specify how Washington might successfully engage Pyongyang in response to a question about the current stalemate, he did say that it would work together with Seoul to seek “the best way.”
Campbell’s comments come during an ongoing suspension of dialogue between the United States and North Korea.
Pyongyang has refused to engage in denuclearization talks with Washington since 2019, when the summit in Hanoi, Vietnam, between then-U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un collapsed without an accord.
The talks broke down after the two countries failed to reach an agreement about the sequence of denuclearization and relief for ongoing international sanctions against the North.
The North wanted the United States to lift sanctions first, before any further concessions from the North on denuclearization, especially concerning the North’s nuclear facilities in Yongbyon.
Since then, the North has proceeded with several missile weapons tests, the most recent one being a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) test in October.
It has also ignored repeated attempts at dialogue from the Biden administration, which took office in January.
Campbell indicated that both the United States and South Korea are working hard to coordinate an effort to bring the North back to the negotiating table.
“That dialogue [between Seoul and Washington] is very strong, and we continue to be joined at the hip with respect to our outreach to Pyongyang,” he said.
His positive assessment of U.S.-South Korea dialogue regarding the thorny issue of the North and its nuclear arsenal comes as U.S. officials in public have cautiously welcomed South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s goal to achieve a formal declaration ending the current legal state of war on the Korean Peninsula.
The 1950-1953 Korean War ended with only an armistice, and no formal peace treaty.
The Moon government has been pushing for an official declaration to end the war in recent meetings with the Joe Biden administration, and in recent weeks the two sides have been working on the wording of such a declaration.
BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]
6. Military to hire reservists as part-time training leaders
Seems like a positive and innovative step forward. But I do not think the incentives will be sufficient. You cannot do "volunteer"military work on the cheap (is that an oxymoron?)
Tuesday
December 7, 2021
Military to hire reservists as part-time training leaders
Korea's military plans to hire former soldiers to serve as part-time leaders during the training of reservists, the Defense Ministry announced Tuesday.
The ministry said that the Reserve Military Act and the Military Service Act, which regulate the training of men in the reserve forces, will be amended to allow reservists and former soldiers to serve as part-time platoon leaders or take up other commanding posts for up to 180 days per year, with a daily wage of 100,000 to 150,000 won ($85-130) as an incentive for former soldiers to sign up for such positions.
These part-time reservists will be able to apply for posts as company commander, platoon leader, and combat equipment operations and maintenance personnel.
The ministry added that it plans to increase the number of short-term part-time reservist training leaders to about 4,500, and long-term part-time reservist leaders to 600 by 2024.
Short-term part-time reservist leaders will be summoned for duty 15 days a year, with the ministry setting an initial recruitment target of 3,700 people next year.
Short-term reservist leadership positions will last one year, with 100,000 won in compensation per day when reservist training takes place on weekdays, and 150,000 won per day on holidays and weekends.
Long-term part-time reservist leadership posts include 50 positions, such as lieutenant commander, major-level staff, non-commissioned officers for maintenance and distribution and tank maintenance soldiers. Long-term part-time reservist leaders will be paid 150,000 won for each day they work.
The Defense Ministry’s recruitment drive for more reservists in leadership positions comes as the country faces a shortfall in able-bodied conscripts, leading to greater reliance on the country’s sizeable reserves remaining ready in case of a wartime contingency.
“In wartime, military units consist of standing forces and mobilized reserve forces. As the number of active-duty soldiers decreases, the importance of reserve forces that can be mobilized is increasing,” the ministry said in its announcement.
“In some units where mobilized reservists make up the bulk of the manpower, more than 90 percent of the unit members are drawn from reserves.”
The growing reliance on the state of the country’s reserves reflects the military’s awareness of Korea’s dwindling supply of able-bodied men to serve as conscripts in active duty positions.
The Korean military is already reforming its forces to reduce the size of its 599,000-strong force, which includes both conscripts and enlisted soldiers, to 522,000 troops by 2022.
While the military hopes to keep a baseline number of 274,00 conscripts within the 522,000 figure, the Defense Ministry forecast in November 2019 that the pool of able-bodied men available for conscription will decline by nearly half over the next two decades.
The number of 20-year-old Korean men that can enlist for mandatory military service each year is due to drop from 330,000 at the end of 2020 to 240,000 by 2036, and then further to around 186,000 by 2039.
BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]
7. KDVA ROK-U.S. Alliance Journal Issue: 2021-4
The KDVA is becoming a very influential veterans organization that supports the ROK/US alliance.
The cover photo appears to have CSM JoAnn Naumann, Senior Enlisted leader of Special Operations Command Korea with her fellow senior leaders.
For those with little understanding of the ROK/US Combined Forces Command I recommend the first article.
And then for OPCON transition I strongly recommend COL Shawn Creamer's article. COL Creamer is one of the real experts on all things related to command relationship and the OPCON transition possess.
KDVA ROK-U.S. Alliance Journal Issue: 2021-4
2021 4th Quarter Edition
Featuring stories and articles by KDVA members and supporters of the ROK-U.S. Alliance.
8. Politics or misguided conviction? Is Moon obsessed with ending the Korean War?
I listened to Robert Carlin pontificate on this last evening at a Stimson/38 North/Sejong Institute zoom call. He said the time for this was in 2018 and we should have listened to Kim Jong-un then. He said now is not the right time. We missed the boat in 2018 and we should now wait for the right opportunity in the future.
They addressed my questions on the end of war declaration and talk somewhat on human rights after my question (and I think Don Kirk's comments about not addressing human rights) but did not cover my questions on global illicit activities and north Korean proliferation. The focus was really on how well Kim Jong-un has done leading north Korea for the past 10 years. And of course it was all about the US hostile policy and no discussion of north Korea's hostile policy. The gist of most of the commentary was for the last 10 years we have missed the signals from the regime on how Kim has tried to change the situation.
Politics or misguided conviction? Is Moon obsessed with ending the Korean War?
Changed circumstances cast doubt on validity of president’s efforts, some commentators say
Published : Dec 8, 2021 - 14:49 Updated : Dec 8, 2021 - 18:03
President Moon Jae-in speaks in a congratulatory video speech at the 2021 Seoul UN Peacekeeping Ministerial in Seoul on Tuesday night. (Yonhap)
With the clock ticking on his term in office, President Moon Jae-in is taking every opportunity to push his agenda to declare the end of the Korean War. But experts are raising questions about his motivations and about the validity of his goal.
“The declaration of an end to the war is the first step toward peace and denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula,” Moon said in a congratulatory video speech at the 2021 Seoul UN Peacekeeping Ministerial in Seoul on Tuesday night.
He urged the international community to work together to create a new order of reconciliation and cooperation by formally ending the war, and to work for peace on the Korean Peninsula and throughout the world.
His remarks are in line with Seoul’s recently ratcheted up efforts to persuade concerned countries to support an official declaration ending the Korean War.
Last week, South Korean national security adviser Suh Hoon flew to China to meet with top Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi. Suh explained the government’s efforts to advance the peace process on the Korean Peninsula, including the envisioned declaration.
Moon also met with US Defense Minister Lloyd Austin in Seoul on Dec. 2 to explain his motives for wanting to end the war. Korea National Diplomatic Academy Chancellor Hong Hyun-ik said early this month in a press briefing in Washington that there will be a crisis next year unless the war is formally ended.
Despite Moon’s last-ditch efforts, experts are skeptical, and some say his apparent obsession is driven by a desire to save face despite his fruitless North Korea policies, said political commentator Rhee Jong-hoon.
For much of his term, Moon focused on policies toward the North. They paid off at first, resulting in three inter-Korean summits and two US-North Korea summits.
However, the relationship soured again. North Korea blew up a joint liaison office with the South near the North’s border town of Kaesong. The agreements made during the summits have never been followed.
“If the two Koreas restart the dialogue and declare the war’s end, this is a historical event. Involved parties should gather to sign it -- whether in Panmunjeom or Seoul. This will be a huge event,” Rhee said, adding that it could mean a ruling party victory in the upcoming election.
“Moon seems to be judging that this is a card that can help re-create the regime in the run-up to the election in about three months.”
Lee Jae-myung, the ruling Democratic Party of Korea’s presidential candidate, agrees with Moon and has said political considerations must not prevent an end-of-war declaration.
Hong Min, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification’s North Korean research division, said Moon’s push to end the war is not being advanced just for political reasons.
Through the Panmunjom Declaration in 2018, the two Koreas agreed to cooperate to officially end the Korean War. The same year, then-US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un agreed to speed up the denuclearization process by signing a joint statement.
“Moon Jae-in believes that the reason the 2018 agreements are not being followed and the current deadlock came is that the two Koreas did not declare an end to the war,” Hong said.
“Moon thinks the declaration is a starting point for the peace process on the peninsula,” Hong said.
Moon’s logic would have been right in 2018, Hong said, when the complete denuclearization of the North and corresponding measures from the US were on the table.
Things have changed now. North Korea took denuclearization off the table and announced it was upgrading its weapons. The US firmly maintains that it will not accept the North’s demands or alleviate sanctions without denuclearization.
“In the changed situation, it is questionable whether it is right for the government to say that the end-of-war declaration is still the starting point,” Hong said.
On Tuesday, 35 lawmakers from the US Republican Party sent a letter to the White House expressing that they were against the push for an end-of-war declaration.
In a letter to National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, they said, “We are gravely concerned that this declaration, instead of promoting peace, would seriously undermine and destabilize the security of the Korean peninsula.”
“We also support the measured approach you have demonstrated thus far and urge you to engage with your South Korean counterparts on the clear dangers and risks of this strategy.”
In response, Korea’s Foreign Ministry said, “The declaration of the end of the war is not a legally binding peace agreement,” adding that it will not pose a severe risk to the stability of the US military in Korea and the region as the lawmakers feared.
The ministry added there are various opinions surrounding the end-of-war declaration in the US, with voices of concern and voices of understanding and supporting it.
9. Advisers to rival presidential candidates clash over NK policy
I have worked with both over the years. I was surprised to see Ambasador Wi sign on to the Lee campaign but I am told that he has done so because he views Lee as "practical" and wants to ensure a strong foreign policy. I know both Ambassador Wi and Professor Kim are strong supporters of the ROK/US alliance.
But as we know, foreign policy positions, north Korea, and the ROK/US alliance will not determine the outcome of the March election.
Excerpts:
Lee:
“Candidate Lee’s thoughts and policy on North Korea are frequently misunderstood. There is a presumption that candidate Lee’s North Korea policies are ideology-driven and appeasing (the North),” Wi said at the forum, in which he took part virtually from Seoul due to the COVID-19 situation. “That is not true. Candidate Lee stands firmly on realism and pragmatism toward North Korea policy.”
Wi said Lee’s vision is to use a mix of rewards, sanctions and pressure, in addition to dialogue, to deal with the North’s nuclear problem, all while working with the US and pursuing trilateral cooperation with Tokyo and Washington.
While Seoul’s negotiations with Pyongyang should be flexible, Wi said, the North’s wrongful behavior should be confronted.
Wi stressed a step-by-step approach consisting of “small deals,” echoing Lee’s proposal to conditionally ease economic sanctions against North Korea with a “snapback” provision -- meaning the sanctions could be reimposed if Pyongyang failed to keep its promises.
...
Wi also agreed on the need to bolster the South Korea-US alliance.
Yoon:
In contrast, professor Kim said the sanctions should remain in place until Pyongyang takes substantial denuclearization steps, echoing Yoon’s “denuclearization first” approach. In the meantime, Yoon is open to economic support and cooperation projects with the North, as well as establishing a trilateral liaison office among the two Koreas and the US, as incentives for progress on the North’s denuclearization, Kim explained.
“Candidate Yoon pursues the complete denuclearization of North Korea. But he is not taking the position of choosing between a so-called ‘big deal’ and ‘small deal,’” Kim said, joining the forum virtually from Seoul. “North Korea’s behavior over the past three years tells us it will be very hard to come up with a dramatic breakthrough in denuclearization.”
Kim also said President Moon Jae-in’s proposal to formally end the 1950-53 Korean War is premature, especially when Pyongyang is not asking for it.
At the session, Kim proposed a “two plus two” meeting of foreign and economy ministers representing South Korea and the US, to discuss economic and security issues amid the heightened rivalry between US and China.
Advisers to rival presidential candidates clash over NK policy
Published : Dec 8, 2021 - 15:41 Updated : Dec 8, 2021 - 17:41
Former South Korean Ambassador Wi Sung-lak(left), who advises Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, and Kim Sung-han, a professor at the Korea University Graduate School of International Studies who advises Yoon Suk-youl of the main opposition People Power Party. (Yonhap)
Advisers to South Korea’s two leading presidential candidates agreed during a forum in Washington that the alliance with the US needs to be strengthened, but opinions diverged on how to denuclearize North Korea.
Former South Korean Ambassador Wi Sung-lac, who advises Lee Jae-myung of the liberal ruling Democratic Party of Korea, and Kim Sung-han, a professor at the Korea University Graduate School of International Studies who advises Yoon Suk-yeol of the conservative opposition People Power Party, discussed their candidates’ foreign policy at a forum hosted by the Chey Institute for Advanced Studies, a think tank run by South Korean conglomerate SK Group, in Washington on Tuesday (Eastern time).
“Candidate Lee’s thoughts and policy on North Korea are frequently misunderstood. There is a presumption that candidate Lee’s North Korea policies are ideology-driven and appeasing (the North),” Wi said at the forum, in which he took part virtually from Seoul due to the COVID-19 situation. “That is not true. Candidate Lee stands firmly on realism and pragmatism toward North Korea policy.”
Wi said Lee’s vision is to use a mix of rewards, sanctions and pressure, in addition to dialogue, to deal with the North’s nuclear problem, all while working with the US and pursuing trilateral cooperation with Tokyo and Washington.
While Seoul’s negotiations with Pyongyang should be flexible, Wi said, the North’s wrongful behavior should be confronted.
Wi stressed a step-by-step approach consisting of “small deals,” echoing Lee’s proposal to conditionally ease economic sanctions against North Korea with a “snapback” provision -- meaning the sanctions could be reimposed if Pyongyang failed to keep its promises.
In contrast, professor Kim said the sanctions should remain in place until Pyongyang takes substantial denuclearization steps, echoing Yoon’s “denuclearization first” approach. In the meantime, Yoon is open to economic support and cooperation projects with the North, as well as establishing a trilateral liaison office among the two Koreas and the US, as incentives for progress on the North’s denuclearization, Kim explained.
“Candidate Yoon pursues the complete denuclearization of North Korea. But he is not taking the position of choosing between a so-called ‘big deal’ and ‘small deal,’” Kim said, joining the forum virtually from Seoul. “North Korea’s behavior over the past three years tells us it will be very hard to come up with a dramatic breakthrough in denuclearization.”
Kim also said President Moon Jae-in’s proposal to formally end the 1950-53 Korean War is premature, especially when Pyongyang is not asking for it.
At the session, Kim proposed a “two plus two” meeting of foreign and economy ministers representing South Korea and the US, to discuss economic and security issues amid the heightened rivalry between US and China.
Wi also agreed on the need to bolster the South Korea-US alliance.
10. North Korea wants to give candies to kids for Kim Jong Un's birthday, but it's making its citizens pay to produce them: report
Only in north Korea.
North Korea wants to give candies to kids for Kim Jong Un's birthday, but it's making its citizens pay to produce them: report
A worker stands before a machine on a production line for "Taeha" brand cakes at the Unha Taesong Foodstuff Factory in Pyongyang on April 6, 2021.
KIM WON JIN/AFP via Getty Images
- North Korea is making residents pay for sweets to give children on Kim Jong Un's birthday, RFA reported.
- Surging prices amid a food shortage this year led officials to impose a tax on candy ingredients.
- The sweets are a long-time tradition for the Kims' birthdays.
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Local governments in North Korea are requiring that citizens pay for candy ingredients as the country rushes to manufacture sweets in time for dictator Kim Jong Un's birthday, Radio Free Asia reported, citing two unnamed local sources.
Officials in some areas have imposed a tax on each household so their governments can buy raw confectionary ingredients, such as flour and sugar, one source from North Pyongan Province told RFA.
The source said that families in some regions have also been asked to donate an egg to the candy-making effort, resulting in egg shortages in markets.
North Koreans are not happy about being asked to chip in, a source told RFA.
"Residents are angry that the authorities are wiping out the pockets of the people at a time like this to make candy for children, supposedly from Kim Jong Un for his birthday," they said.
Each province is responsible for producing and distributing the sweets, the outlet reported.
This past April, families started selling the gifted treats they received for Kim Il Sung's birthday, per Daily NK, as the country faces a devastating food crisis that even Kim admitted is "tense."
11. North Korea's tense food situation
I believe things are going to go from bad to worse in north Korea. We need to be prepared for a wide range of contingencies.
North Korea's tense food situation
By Benjamin Katzeff Silberstein
As usual, it’s very difficult to get a read on the domestic availability and production of food in North Korea. Nonetheless, the overarching picture continues to be grim, and the fears over the Omicron-variant seems to be making it all worse. This is also what the South Korean government assesses:
The cost of groceries and daily necessities in North Korea is estimated to be rapidly increasing in the face of a prolonged border lockdown to stave off the COVID-19 pandemic, Seoul’s unification ministry said Monday.
The North has imposed a strict border control since last year, which is believed to have taken a toll on its economy already hit by crippling sanctions.
“North Korea is experiencing chronic food shortages with around 1 million tons of foods falling short every year,” ministry spokesperson Lee Jong-joo told a regular press briefing. “As the coronavirus-driven border lockdown has prolonged, it is likely to be having difficulties in securing necessary foods from abroad.”
The North was seen preparing to reopen its land border with China, with South Korea’s spy agency estimating its cross-border rail services could resume as early as in November. But the spread of the omicron variant is apparently delaying the reclusive regime’s planned border reopening.
“Though we do have limits in having access to accurate information, the government’s estimation … is that the volatility of foods and necessities prices is growing (in North Korea) and some items are witnessing a rapid price hike,” Lee said.
Yet, referring to experts’ assessments the North’s crop output could improve this year due to better weather conditions, she said the government will continue monitoring its situation in line with a review on the need for a humanitarian cooperation.
(Source: “Prices of food, daily necessities estimated to be rapidly soaring in N. Korea: gov’t,” Yonhap News, 6/12/21.)
The last paragraph here is a crucial caveat, as North Korea’s food production is highly volatile and dependent on weather conditions. Over the past few years, there have sometimes been reason to suspect that the state has exaggerated the direness of its food situation rather than the other way around.
Nonetheless, it’s clear that the prolonged border closure is hitting hard against the economy as a whole. There have been several reports over the past few months indicating that Pyongyang might soon unseal the border, but no major changes seem to have taken place. I’m not sure that means those reports were necessarily wrong. Rather, the government may well have planned to ease the border lockdown at several points only to back down in the face of a new development, be it Covid-19 spreading in China’s northeast, or the rise of the Omicron variant.
It’s difficult to see what could really change if the government continues to both refuse to let the outside world assist in a vaccination campaign, and at the same time responds to each new wave or variant of the virus by further tightening or extending the border lockdown. It’s not a sustainable strategy but given the regime’s fear of the havoc that a significant spread of the virus could wreak in society, given its very fragile health system, it might not change anytime soon.
12. North Korea appears to have revived the “five families responsibility system”
This is an indication that Daily NK and Radio Free Asia with their substantial contents inside north Korea (as well as escapees who remain in contact with their families) are a threat to the regime.
North Korea appears to have revived the “five families responsibility system”
North Korean authorities want to completely block what they believe to be increasingly frequent leaks of information to the outside world
Daily NK understands that the authorities in some areas of North Korea have stopped conveying orders through inminban (people’s unit) circulars. Instead, every five households are selecting a person to relay government orders to locals.
A source in Yanggang Province told Daily NK on Tuesday that the authorities adopted the new system in Hyesan from Dec. 1. He said every five households selects a single individual to go around to each home to verbally relay orders and tasks from the authorities as they are conveyed through the inminban.
According to the source, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, inminban meetings were held at least five times a month. These meetings conveyed policies and instructions from the authorities. During months with many such meetings, the inminban sent a circular to each home, with households signing the circulars to verify they read them.
From last year, however, the authorities began to convey orders primarily through the circular for quarantine reasons. Meetings were sometimes if rarely held if the authorities had an especially important order to relay.
From February, the head of the inminban had to submit the signed circular to the head of the neighborhood office the very day it went out.
This was essentially a mechanism to prevent internal information – namely, party orders and policies as contained in the circular – from leaking to the outside world.
Apartments can be seen in Hyesan, Yanggang Province in this August 2018 photo. / Image: Daily NK
However, authorities adopted the latest method of communication after concluding that material contained in circulars issued in regions along the Sino-North Korean border was continuing to leak abroad.
Relatedly, the people’s committee of Yanggang Province convened an emergency meeting of neighborhood office heads in late October, during which the committee ordered a suspension of the circulars, replacing them with the system of every five families selecting a person to convey orders from the inminban.
One inminban in Hyesan moved very quickly to respond, immediately selecting the individuals. The source said the authorities have essentially revived the old “five families responsibility system,” albeit in a new form.
Adopted in 1958, the “five families responsibility system” grouped households into units of five, with one fervent party member among them chosen to observe the other four families. This means the authorities will learn every move the people make, from their daily lives to their ideological tendencies.
The source said the authorities want to completely block what they believe to be increasingly frequent leaks of information to the outside world. They also seemingly intend to more closely scrutinize the ideological tendencies of residents, he added.
13. North Korean mineral exports continue on the open seas despite sanctions
despite sanctions? Sanctions are not effective unless they are effectively enforced.
But this article illustrates the priorities of the regime and the problems of the population.
North Korean mineral exports continue on the open seas despite sanctions
There are also still no clear signs that trade will restart in the border city of Sinuiju, where observers speculated last month that international rail service could begin again
With North Korean authorities hesitating to restart train-based trade between Sinuiju and the Chinese city of Dandong, transshipments have reportedly increased between North Korean and Chinese ships. Multiple sources told Daily NK recently that North Korean mineral exports are taking place on the open seas, international sanctions notwithstanding.
According to a Daily NK source in China on Monday, there have been dozens of trade transactions between North Korea and China in the open seas off Nampo since early last month.
The ships reportedly proceed with the transshipments after turning off their automatic identification systems (AIS) before making contact in the high seas.
North Korea has typically exported coal, magnesia clinkers, molybdenum, and other minerals. Molybdenum is a rare metal used in the production of high-strength alloys and superalloys. Demand for the metal has reportedly grown in China as of late.
However, Beijing has expanded domestic coal production to combat recent power shortages while simultaneously diversifying imports, leading to falling coal prices in China.
Accordingly, North Korea is reportedly unable to demand high prices like it did in September and October, when international coal prices skyrocketed.
One North Korean trader contacted by Daily NK said that because of falling coal prices in China, North Korean traders could receive only half of the goods they planned to take from their Chinese counterparts. He complained that it was a “big problem” that North Korea could not import goods as planned.
According to a high-ranking North Korean source, the authorities recently issued a list of priority imports to trading companies through the Ministry of External Economic Relations. The list included rice and corn to alleviate wintertime food shortages.
North Korean public health authorities disinfecting a customs office in Nampo. / Image: Rodong Sinmun
The authorities also ordered the import of flour, sugar and other ingredients needed to produce candy, cookies, and other confections to provide to citizens on the 110th Day of the Sun next year, otherwise known as the anniversary of the birth of late North Korean leader Kim Il Sung on Apr. 15.
Additionally, the priority import list included agricultural supplies for next year’s farming, such as pesticides, fertilizer, and plastic coverings, and construction materials for the ongoing construction of 10,000 homes in Pyongyang, along with rebar and steel.
However, individual trading companies have also reportedly decided to import consumables such as seasonings, soybean oil, and clothing, depending on regional needs.
North Korean authorities carried out this trading activity based on state plans and targets. They also kept an eye out for smuggling of goods outside the approved list.
According to the high-ranking source, the authorities installed cameras on all ships and placed Ministry of State Security agents on trading vessels to watch over the entire transaction process as part of efforts to stop smuggling or corruption by North Korean traders.
North Korean authorities ordered traders to observe strict quarantine procedures during ship-to-ship transactions, too.
When North Korean and Chinese ships meet in open waters, North Korean crews first spray disinfectant directly on their Chinese counterparts and the goods before they change hands, a process that reportedly takes over an hour.
Because of North Korea’s strict quarantine procedures, ship-to-ship transactions on the open seas that used to take two to four hours to complete now take up to over six hours.
A Chinese person who took part in one such transaction with North Korea said the North Koreans directly sprayed disinfectant on him and other people. The smell was so noxious it made them tear up, he said.
In contrast to the brisk open seas trading centered on Nampo last month, there are still no clear signs that trade will restart in the border city of Sinuiju, where observers speculated last month that international rail service could restart.
South Korea’s National Intelligence Service said during a closed-door audit by the National Assembly’s Intelligence Committee in October that North Korea was discussing with China and Russia plans to restart train service, and that the rail link between Sinuiju and Dandong could reopen in November.
According to another one of Daily NK’s sources in North Korea, a trial run of the international train service between the two cities was conducted last month.
North Korean authorities, however, appear unwilling to reopen train service because of the need to deploy a large number of maintenance personnel along with difficulties importing needed goods due to international sanctions.
Seulkee Jang is one of Daily NK’s full-time journalists. Please direct any questions about her articles to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
14. A bilateral friendship award (South Korea)
Great to see Ambassador Laney honored.
Excerpts:
Even though the armistice agreement signed Aug. 27, 1953 that ended inter-Korean fighting is still effective 68 years later, numerous violations of truce pacts have been initiated by the aggressive North, and they are still threatening the South and the U.S. forces stationed at Camp Humphreys in Pyongtaek, by upgrading its nuclear armaments continuously. Under such crucial circumstances, it is dangerous for the policy administrators in the South to support the pursuit of a full-fledged end-of-war declaration with the villainous North.
The 58-year-old KAA's annual night award event in 2021 reassuringly reminded us of the utmost importance of Korea's national security against the armed threats on the Korean Peninsula provoked by the warmongering North Korean regime, seemingly backed by the neighboring giant, China. As advocated by the awardee, Laney, during his ambassadorship in Seoul, the "Korea-U.S. military alliance forged in blood" should definitely be enforced until the North keeps its pledge of removing its own nuclear weapons, even under a possible new administration in South Korea following the 20th presidential election on March 9, 2022.
A bilateral friendship award
By Lee Sun-ho
The 19th Korea-America Friendship Night event took place at Walker Hall of the Grand Walker Hill Seoul on Nov. 24, 2021. The award ceremony, hosted by the Korea-America Association (KAA) and chaired by Dr. Choi Joong-kyung, was adjusted due to restrictions imposed by pandemic quarantine guidelines ― limiting the number of participants, keeping adequate social distancing, and wearing facemasks.
In the spotlight of this annual function was the unanimously-elected 19th Korea-America Friendship Award given to Dr. James T. Laney who served as the 16th United States Ambassador to the Republic of Korea from 1993 to 1996. Prior to taking up his diplomatic position in Korea, he had served as a renowned American educator at Emory University in Georgia: dean of the Candler School of Theology (1969-77) and consecutively its 17th President (1978-93).
He has had three sojourns in Korea over the years. His irrevocable ties to Korea date back to 1947, when he spent a number of years with the U.S. Army Counter-Intelligence Corps. Having witnessed the hardships Koreans suffered in the war-ravaged era, he was determined to return to Korea to work as a Methodist missionary (1959-64), when he taught theology to Korean students as a professor at Yonsei University in Seoul and where the youngest two of his five children were born.
The number 16 has been a special number in his life. The span of his presidency at Emory lasted 16 years. He has 16 grandchildren and he served as the 16th U.S. ambassador to Korea.
In addition to his devotions to Korea as a soldier, a missionary and a professor, he played vital roles in upgrading the U.S.-Korea alliance by wisely resolving a wide range of major issues without letup between the two governments. The top U.S. diplomat vigorously performed his public duties as an inspiring vanguard in strengthening the U.S.-Korea partnership in and out of Korea throughout the decades of his brilliant career.
Even though Laney was unable to join the gala dinner in Korea due to the worldwide inconveniences caused by COVID-19 and his condition for traveling at the age of 94, the mood for recognizing his lifelong qualification to be honored by the award was endorsed by participating dignitaries, not only by Christopher Del Corse, charge d'affaires ad interim at the U.S. Embassy in his welcoming remarks, but also by General Paul J. LaCamera, commander of the U.S.-Korea Combined Forces Command and his deputies in their congratulatory remarks.
It could not be forgotten that the Korean War (1950-53) left a record-breaking combat history with 76 participating nations involved during and after the battles on this small peninsula in Asia. North Korea, the assaulting communist side, was backed by eight countries including China and the Soviet Union, while South Korea was supported by 68 nations under the banner of the United Nations, principally the United States.
Even though the armistice agreement signed Aug. 27, 1953 that ended inter-Korean fighting is still effective 68 years later, numerous violations of truce pacts have been initiated by the aggressive North, and they are still threatening the South and the U.S. forces stationed at Camp Humphreys in Pyongtaek, by upgrading its nuclear armaments continuously. Under such crucial circumstances, it is dangerous for the policy administrators in the South to support the pursuit of a full-fledged end-of-war declaration with the villainous North.
The 58-year-old KAA's annual night award event in 2021 reassuringly reminded us of the utmost importance of Korea's national security against the armed threats on the Korean Peninsula provoked by the warmongering North Korean regime, seemingly backed by the neighboring giant, China. As advocated by the awardee, Laney, during his ambassadorship in Seoul, the "Korea-U.S. military alliance forged in blood" should definitely be enforced until the North keeps its pledge of removing its own nuclear weapons, even under a possible new administration in South Korea following the 20th presidential election on March 9, 2022.
The writer (kexim2@unitel.co.kr) is a freelance columnist living in Seoul.
V/R
David Maxwell
Senior Fellow
Foundation for Defense of Democracies
Phone: 202-573-8647
Twitter: @davidmaxwell161
FDD is a Washington-based nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.
