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Quotes of the Day:
“Your knowledge is far more important than your degree.”
- Paul Dirac
"Learning and leadership are indispensable to each other. "
- John F. Kennedy
"We can disagree and still love each other unless your disagreement is rooted in my oppression and denial of my humanity and right to exist."
- James Baldwin
1. Sometimes less is more: The most important 26 words of ROK-US summit
2. State visit consolidates economic vision for alliance
3. Japan’s Kishida Visits South Korea as Two U.S. Allies Confront ‘Grave’ Security Issues
4. Japanese PM pays respects to Seoul National Cemetery
5. Yoon and Kishida seek to transcend historical issues to normalize ties
6. Japan to allow Korean experts to inspect Fukushima plant
7. The Forces Behind South Korea’s and Japan’s Thaw
8. S. Korea to attend new round of negotiations for IPEF this week
9. S. Korea plans to hold multinational WMD-interception exercise this month
10. Yoon's approval rating inches up for 2 weeks: poll
11. Japan leader expresses sympathy for Korean colonial victims
12. Kaesong farmers unhappy at city party committee’s focus on agitation activities
13. Nuri rocket to carry multi-purpose satellites when launched on May 24
14. IAEA Concerned About Safety of Ukraine's Nuclear Plant
15. Civic group sends anti-Pyongyang propaganda material to N. Korea via balloons
16. Defense chiefs of S. Korea, Japan likely to hold talks in early June: sources
17. Seoul to host MLB season-opening games in 2024: report
18. Allies eye talks to form trilateral security forum at G7 meeting
19. ‘The Glory’ Was a Hit. Now Netflix Is Spending More on K-Dramas.
1. Sometimes less is more: The most important 26 words of ROK-US summit
My latest OpEd on the Summit. Since the Korea Times does not include the hotlinks to the references in the essay I have pasted the submitted essay with them below the published version for those who need access to the references.
Sometimes less is more: The most important 26 words of ROK-US summit
The Korea Times · May 8, 2023
By David Maxwell
By all measures the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the United States (ROK-U.S.) summit and state visit by President Yoon Suk Yeol was a resounding success. It celebrated the 70-year blood friendship kindled in the heat of battle from 1950-53. It advanced mutual security and mutual prosperity and established a sound foundation for the further evolution of the alliance as a Global Comprehensive Strategic Alliance in the 21st century.
The highlight that has drawn the most attention from supporters and critics alike, as well as heated rhetoric from North Korea, China and Russia, is the Washington Declaration. It seeks to improve extended deterrence, restore confidence in the U.S. commitment to defend South Korea, which keeps the ROK non-nuclear in accordance with the 1992 Agreement on Denuclearization, and establishes a new organization, the Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG), to ensure respect for the sovereignty of both nations in the event that the U.S. employs its nuclear weapons against a North Korean attack with weapons of mass destruction.
The statements and speeches have been analyzed in detail and all Korea watchers and the press have conducted analyses of the issues that hold their interest. However, there is one statement that has been overlooked.
"The two presidents are committed to build a better future for all Korean people and support a unified Korean Peninsula that is free and at peace."
These 26 words provide the strategic aim for the ROK-U.S. alliance until a free and unified Korea is finally established. They describe the acceptable durable political arrangement that will protect, serve and advance ROK and U.S. interests in Northeast Asia. They must form the foundation for all strategic planning, e.g., they describe the end for which the ways and means must be developed and employed. These relatively few words provide guidance to the alliance, offer hope to the Korean people, provide the solution to the nuclear and military threats, and set the stage for a "United Republic of Korea" (UROK) to achieve new heights in the world.
The second most important words were reiterated a number of times in the joint statement as well as by the actions of the ROK first lady Kim Keon Hee: "human rights." Both presidents stated that they condemn the human rights abuses of the regime and seek to promote the human rights of the Korean people in the north. Kim met with escapees from the North and human rights activists and learned first-hand from them the terrible crimes against humanity being committed by the Kim Jong-un family regime.
The presidents also condemned the Kim family regime for diverting resources that could improve the lives of the people in order to build nuclear weapons and missiles. This should be a major theme in a sophisticated information and influence campaign that is designed to inform, educate and influence the Korean people in the North to seek a better life and prepare for unification.
It is not surprising that the 26 words are overlooked. They have been stated in various ways by the presidents of both countries since 2009. However, the word "unification" seems to create strategic planning paralysis in Korea, the U.S. and the international community. The unification process is complex and fraught with challenges. Most importantly, no one can predict the path to unification or when it might happen. Because of this few want to address it.
Furthermore, some policymakers may not want to address it for fear that it would challenge Kim Jong-un and prevent any negotiated denuclearization agreement. This is despite the fact we know from Kim's own statements and a 2022 law that he will never give up his nuclear weapons.
In addition to 2023 being the 70th anniversary of the ROK-U.S. Mutual Defense Treaty, it is also the 70th anniversary of the Armistice Agreement. Like the 26 words in the 2023 ROK-U.S. joint statement, buried in the Armistice in paragraph 60 is the subtle realization that the only way to end the conflict on the peninsula is through a political settlement that requires a solution to the Korea question. That "question" is the unnatural division of the peninsula. The military commanders who signed the Armistice gave us the solution to denuclearization threats and future conflict: unification.
A human rights upfront approach, a sophisticated influence campaign, and the pursuit of a free and unified Korea are best described as part of a superior political warfare strategy that can accomplish strategic objectives short of war. This is something the ROK-U.S. alliance can execute to achieve mutual interests which include a peaceful and prosperous peninsula and region.
The ROK government and all Korean people can pursue a free and unified Korea from the moral high ground. They can do so by planning for peaceful unification. Although it is Kim Jong-un who has the vote on whether it is peaceful, the option is open to him. However, what is important in overtly planning for peaceful unification is that despite the actual path that might lead to unification (war, regime collapse or new emerging leadership in the north) all the planning for peaceful unification will provide the foundation for the process. Peaceful unification planning efforts will not be wasted.
Although denuclearization of the North remains a worthy goal, it must be viewed as aspirational as long as the Kim family regime remains in power. The conventional wisdom has always been that denuclearization must come first and then unification will follow and that there should be no discussion of unification and human rights out of fear that it would prevent Kim Jong-un from making a denuclearization agreement. Yet no one should be deluded about Kim's intentions. He has told the world he will never denuclearize. His political warfare and blackmail diplomacy strategies completely failed in 2022 because Presidents Yoon and Biden, like their predecessors, refused to make the political and economic concessions he demanded just to come to the negotiating table: namely to remove sanctions.
It is time for the U.S. and the ROK-U.S. alliance to execute a political warfare strategy that flips the conventional wisdom and seeks unification first and then denuclearization. The international community, but most importantly, the people of the ROK-U.S., alliance, that the only way to end the nuclear program and the human rights abuses is through unification of the Korean Peninsula. The ROK and U.S. must continue to maintain the highest state of military readiness to deter war and then adopt a human rights upfront approach, a comprehensive and sophisticated information and influence activities campaign, and focus all efforts on the pursuit of a free and unified Korea.
Presidents Biden and Yoon have provided the strategic guidance for what we all should know to be true: The only way we are going to see an end to the nuclear program and military threats as well as the human rights abuses and crimes against humanity being committed against the Korean people living in the north by the mafia-like crime family cult known as the Kim family regime is through the achievement of unification. This must be a free and unified Korea that is secure and stable, non-nuclear, economically vibrant and unified under a liberal constitutional form of government based on individual liberty, freedom, rule of law and human rights as determined by the Korean people. A free and unified Korea or in short, a United Republic of Korea.
David Maxwell is a retired U.S. Army Special Forces Colonel and has spent more than 30 years in Asia as a practitioner and specializes in Northeast Asian Security Affairs and irregular, unconventional and political warfare. He is the vice president of the Center for Asia Pacific Strategy and a senior fellow at the Global Peace Foundation (where he focuses on a free and unified Korea) and the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies.
The Korea Times · May 8, 2023
Sometimes Less is More:
The Most Important Twenty Six Words of the ROK/U.S. Summit
David Maxwell
By all measures the Republic of Korea and United States (ROK/U.S.) Summit and State Visit by President Yoon was a resounding success. It celebrated the 70 year blood friendship kindled in the heat of battle from 1950-1953. It advanced mutual security and mutual prosperity and established a sound foundation for the further evolution of the alliance as a Global Comprehensive Strategic Alliance in the 21st Century.
The highlight that has drawn the most attention from supporters and critics alike, as well as heated rhetoric from north Korea, China, and Russia, is the Washington Declaration. It seeks to improve extended deterrence, restore confidence in the U.S. commitment to defend South Korea, that keeps the ROK non-nuclear in accordance with the 1992 Agreement on Denuclearization, and establishes a new organization, the Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG), to ensure respect for the sovereignty of both nations in the event that the U.S. must employ its nuclear weapons against a north Korean attack with weapons of mass destruction.
The statements and speeches have been analyzed in detail and all Korea watchers and the press have conducted analysis of the issues that hold their interest. However, there is one statement that has been overlooked.
“The two Presidents are committed to build a better future for all Korean people and support a unified Korean Peninsula that is free and at peace.”
These twenty six words provide the strategic aim for the ROK/U.S. alliance until a free and unified Korea is finally established. They describe the acceptable durable political arrangement that will protect, serve, and advance ROK and U.S. interests in Northeast Asia. And most importantly they advance the interests of nearly 80 million Koreans on the peninsula. They must form the foundation for all strategic planning, e.g., they describe the end for which the ways and means must be developed and employed. These relatively few words provide guidance to the alliance, offer hope to the Korean people, provide the solution to the nuclear and military threats, and set the stage for a United Republic of Korea (UROK) to achieve new heights in the world.
The second most important words were reiterated a number of times in the Joint Statement as well as by the actions of the ROK First lady, Dr. Kim Keon-hee: “human rights.” Both Presidents stated that they condemn the human rights abuses of the regime and seek to promote the human rights of the Korean people in the north. Dr. Kim met with escapees from the north and human rights activists and learned first-hand from them the terrible crimes against humanity being committed by the Kim family regime.
The Presidents also condemned the Kim family regime for diverting resources that could improve the lives of the people in order to build nuclear weapons and missiles. This should be a major theme in a sophisticated information and influence campaign that is designed inform, educate, and influence the Korean people in the north to seek a better life and prepare for unification.
It is not surprising that the twenty six words are overlooked. They have been stated in various ways by the Presidents of both countries since 2009. However, the word “unification” seems to create “strategic planning paralysis” in Korea, the U.S., and the international community. The unification process is complex and fraught with challenges. Most importantly, no one can predict the path to unification or when it might happen. Because of this few want to address it.
Furthermore, some policymakers may not want to address it for fear that it would challenge Kim Jong Un and prevent any negotiated denuclearization agreement. This is despite the fact we know from Kim Jong Un’s own statements and a 2022 law that he will never give up his nuclear weapons.
In addition to 2023 being the 70th anniversary of the ROK/U.S. Mutual Defense Treaty, it is also the 70th Anniversary of the Armistice Agreement. Like the twenty six words in the 2023 ROK/U.S. Joint Statement, buried in the Armistice in paragraph 60 is the subtle realization that the only way to end the conflict on the peninsula is through a political settlement which requires a solution to the “Korea question.” That “question” is the unnatural division of the peninsula. The military commanders who signed the Armistice gave us the solution to denuclearization threats and future conflict: unification.
A human rights upfront approach, a sophisticated influence campaign, and the pursuit of a free and unified Korea are best described as part of a superior political warfare strategy that can accomplish strategic objectives short of war. This is something the ROK/US alliance can execute to achieve mutual interests which include a peaceful and prosperous peninsula and region.
The ROK government and all Korean people can pursue a free and unified Korea from the moral high ground. They can do so by planning for peaceful unification. Although it is Kim Jong Un who has the vote on whether it is peaceful, the option is open to him. However, what is important in overtly planning for peaceful unification is that despite the actual path that might lead to unification (war, regime collapse, or new emerging leadership in the north) all the planning for peaceful unification will provide the foundation for the process. Peaceful unification planning efforts will not be wasted.
Although denuclearization of the north remains a worthy goal, it must be viewed as aspirational as long as the Kim family regime remains in power. The conventional wisdom has always been that denuclearization must come first and then unification will follow and that there should be no discussion of unification and human rights out of fear that it would prevent Kim Jong Un from making a denuclearization agreement. Yet no one should be deluded about Kim’s intentions. He has told the world he will never denuclearize. His political warfare and blackmail diplomacy strategies completely failed in 2022 because Presidents Yoon and Biden, like their predecessors, refused to make the political and economic concessions he demanded just to come to the negotiating table: namely to remove sanctions.
It is time for the U.S and the ROK/U.S. alliance to execute a political warfare strategy that flips the conventional wisdom and seeks unification first and then denuclearization. The international community, but most importantly, the people of the ROK/U.S., alliance, that the only way to end the nuclear program and the human rights abuses is through unification of the Korean peninsula. The ROK and U.S. must continue to maintain the highest state of military readiness to deter war and then adopt a human rights upfront approach, a comprehensive and sophisticated information and influence activities campaign, and focus all efforts on the pursuit of a free and unified Korea.
President Biden and President Yoon have provided the strategic guidance for what we all should know to be true: The only way we are going to see an end to the nuclear program and military threats as well as the human rights abuses and crimes against humanity being committed against the Korean people living in the north by the mafia-like crime family cult known as the Kim family regime is through achievement of unification. This must be a free and unified Korea that is secure and stable, non-nuclear, economically vibrant, and unified under a liberal constitutional form of government based on individual liberty, freedom, rule of law, and human rights as determined by the Korean people. A free and unified Korea or in short, a United Republic of Korea (UROK).
David Maxwell is a retired U.S. Army Special Forces Colonel and has spent more than 30 years in Asia as a practitioner and specializes in Northeast Asian Security Affairs and irregular, unconventional and political warfare. He is the vice president of the Center for Asia Pacific Strategy and a senior fellow at the Global Peace Foundation (where he focuses on a free and unified Korea) and the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies.
2. State visit consolidates economic vision for alliance
It is all about national security and national prosperity. We can count on Troy Stangerone to give us the excellent economic analysis that supports mutual national prosperity. The alliance is more than just security.
State visit consolidates economic vision for alliance
The Korea Times · May 8, 2023
By Troy Stangarone
In recent years, the approach to joint statements and the balance of issues has changed at U.S.-Korea summits. The joint statements became more detailed. Economic issues were given more weight in the relationship and North Korea became less prominent. While North Korea's resumption of weapons development since last year pushed extended deterrence to the top of the April 2023 Yoon-Biden summit agenda, cooperation on economic issues related to climate change, technology and space remained prominent and the summit consolidated an economic vision for the future of the relationship.
That vision was articulated by President Yoon Suk Yeol, who called for the relationship to "leap into a new phase" to tackle complex issues and to move towards increased cooperation on innovative technologies. This vision is perhaps best encapsulated by U.S.-Korea cooperation on climate change. Climate change represents a global challenge that cannot be solved by any nation alone. Over the last three years has become an important aspect of cooperation in the U.S.-Korea relationship.
In the Biden-Yoon joint statement, climate change, along with clean technology, is the only issue that touches on the alliance's vision for cooperation globally, regionally and bilaterally. Across those three levels of cooperation, the statement envisions the United States and Korea working together to increase the share of electricity in power generation, to develop new technologies to make hydrogen and other clean technologies commercially viable, to strengthen clean energy ecosystems and to support countries' ability to prepare for and adapt to climate change.
The summit also produced the creation of a Next Generation Critical and Emerging Technologies Dialogue headed up by the two allies' respective national security advisors. With national security issues becoming increasingly intertwined with economic issues, the dialogue will provide a platform for the two countries to work through these difficult issues on technologies ranging from biotechnology, batteries and semiconductors to future-oriented quantum technologies. The United States and Korea are looking to deepen their economic partnership in all of these areas.
However, the most interesting development may be in the area of space cooperation. While the summit officially brought space, along with cybersecurity, into the alliance, it also produced developments on commercial space cooperation. The joint statement calls for collaboration on the development of commercial space stations, something NASA only began to pursue in late 2021 and potentially puts Korea and the United States at the forefront of the commercialization of space.
Despite progress on these issues and others, the economic outcomes from the summit may have disappointed some for much of the past year, the Inflation Reduction Act and CHIPS and Sciences Act have overshadowed U.S.-Korea relations and issues related to each remain to be resolved. However, much of the work that could have been done in the short term on these two issues was accomplished prior to the summit.
The U.S. Treasury Department took up Korean suggestions to allow leased EVs to be classified as commercial vehicles in regard to the Inflation Reduction Act. It also took up Korean recommendations that allow cathodes and anodes produced in Korea for EV batteries to qualify under the legislation's provisions. In the absence of amending the law to address the assembly issue hindering Hyundai and Kia, the Biden administration had taken the steps it legally could.
It is also important to note that in the case of the Inflation Reduction Act, Korea as a whole is one of the big winners from the legislation. Goldman Sachs estimates that Korean battery firms will account for 55 percent of the U.S. battery market by 2025, while the United States will become one of the top markets for EV batteries. Korea will also benefit from the solar industry sector. Hanwha Q Cells estimates it will receive $875 million a year in tax credits for the production of solar panels in the United States. By 2025, estimates suggest Hanwha Q Cells will account for 30 percent of all solar panel production in the United States.
Similar to the case with EVs, the Commerce Department in advance of the summit had taken up recommendations to provide some flexibility under the guardrails of the CHIPS Act to allow for the expansion of Korean semiconductor facilities in China.
One opportunity the Biden-Yoon summit missed was to remove the national security tariffs the United States placed on Korean steel during the Trump administration. The Biden administration has already reached new agreements with the EU, the United Kingdom and Japan. Revising the terms under which Korea can export steel to the United States should have been an easy deliverable.
The United States and Korea have now consolidated an economic vision for the alliance that began to take shape in 2021. It is built around deeper cooperation on climate change, technology and space with a focus on EVs, EV batteries and semiconductors. However, as technologies ranging from quantum computing to artificial develop, these new technologies will increasingly become the focus of what President Yoon has called a technology alliance.
Troy Stangarone (ts@keia.org) is the senior director of congressional affairs and trade at the Korea Economic Institute.
The Korea Times · May 8, 2023
3. Japan’s Kishida Visits South Korea as Two U.S. Allies Confront ‘Grave’ Security Issues
Again, I cannot beat the horse dead enough: National security and national prosperity.
Excerpts:
Both South Korea and Japan are protected under the U.S. nuclear umbrella, meaning Washington reserves the option of using nuclear weapons to defend its allies. Tokyo welcomed Washington’s new commitment to further strengthen extended deterrence by involving Seoul in consultations related to nuclear planning. The accord was announced during Mr. Yoon’s state visit to meet Mr. Biden in Washington last month. On Sunday, Mr. Yoon said he doesn’t rule out Japan’s participation in the accord, called the Washington Declaration.
Beijing was quick to condemn Washington, saying it was jeopardizing regional stability. “The U.S. has been a source of tension through exploiting the issues on the Korean Peninsula,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said.
China is the largest trading partner of both Japan and South Korea. Three-way summits between China, Japan and South Korea haven’t taken place since 2019, as Tokyo and Seoul argued over the forced-labor issue. Officials from the three nations have said they are considering resuming trilateral summitry this year.
“Implicitly South Korea and Japan will be discussing how to make themselves more resilient against China’s economic coercion as they cooperate more closely with the U.S.,” Prof. Kim said.
Japan’s Kishida Visits South Korea as Two U.S. Allies Confront ‘Grave’ Security Issues
Seoul and Tokyo pledge deeper cooperation amid China’s regional aggression and North Korea’s weapons advances
By Dasl YoonFollow
May 7, 2023 8:03 am ET
https://www.wsj.com/articles/japans-kishida-visits-south-korea-as-two-u-s-allies-confront-grave-security-issues-ca5e1356?mod=Searchresults_pos3&page=1
SEOUL—The leaders of South Korea and Japan met Sunday, as the two U.S. allies continue rekindling cooperation to counter China’s regional aggression and North Korea’s nuclear threat.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida arrived in Seoul for a two-day trip, the first visit to South Korea by a Japanese leader since 2018. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol traveled to Tokyo in March for the first formal summit between the two countries in more than a decade.
Mr. Kishida visited the Seoul National Cemetery and paid respects to Korean War veterans and independence activists. The two leaders discussed the threat posed by North Korea’s nuclear and missile development and vowed to strengthen security cooperation with the U.S. by continuing discussions around sharing North Korea missile data in real-time.
“We must leave behind the perception that the two countries cannot move forward and cooperate unless past issues are fully resolved,” Mr. Yoon said during a joint press conference on Sunday. “Japan and South Korea are facing a grave security situation in Northeast Asia.”
Mr. Kishida said bilateral relations had produced tangible results in the past two months. “The situation of the international community surrounding us is making Japan-South Korea cooperation ever more essential,” he said.
Relations between the two American allies had soured in recent years. One major obstacle to improving ties was a 2018 ruling by South Korea’s Supreme Court that Japanese companies should compensate Koreans who were subjected to forced labor when Korea was a Japanese colony. The two countries downgraded each other’s trade status and South Korea threatened to terminate a military-sharing agreement, while Japan imposed export restrictions on materials needed for semiconductors.
But Mr. Yoon, a conservative who took office a year ago, has made improving relations with Japan a priority. He proposed that victims of forced labor be compensated through a South Korean fund, which led to a normalizing of the military-sharing agreement and a lifting of Japan’s export restrictions.
A tighter Tokyo-Seoul alliance enables more integrated, real-time missile defense with Washington that enhances the allies’ ability to monitor military movements by North Korea and China.
“Both Korea and Japan have national interests in deepening cooperation, but they also need to do it for Washington, who will most likely lead any response to threats in the region,” said Tongfi Kim, a professor at the Brussels School of Governance.
Opponents of President Yoon’s plan for compensating Korean victims of Japanese forced labor marching in Seoul in March. PHOTO: YONHAP NEWS/ZUMA PRESS
Mr. Yoon has paid a political cost for his detente with Tokyo. At the end of March, following the summit with Mr. Kishida in Tokyo, his approval rating dropped to 30%, the lowest level in four months, though it has risen slightly since then.
Nearly 60% of South Koreans responding to a recent Gallup Korea poll said they oppose Mr. Yoon’s plan to compensate victims of forced labor without involving Japanese companies. Of 15 plaintiffs who had won lawsuits against Japanese companies on the forced-labor issue, 10 have agreed to be compensated by the South Korean fund, Mr. Yoon said Sunday.
Mr. Kishida praised Mr. Yoon’s work on the forced-labor issue, adding Tokyo would uphold previous governments’ expressions of remorse. “My heart aches at the pain and sadness many people felt at that time under a harsh environment,” he said.
Mr. Yoon’s efforts to improve Tokyo-Seoul ties have helped propel the trilateral relationship with Washington forward, said Andrew Yeo, a senior fellow who focuses on Korean issues at Brookings Institution, a Washington-based think tank.
“It fits the Biden administration’s desire to advance integrated deterrence—the idea that the U.S. and its allies will use all tools and means to deter aggression across different theaters of conflict,” Mr. Yeo said.
More than 80,000 U.S. troops are stationed in Japan and South Korea. In recent months, the three countries have increased joint military exercises.
President Biden later this month will hold his third trilateral summit with the leaders of South Korea and Japan in Hiroshima at the leaders summit for the Group of Seven major economies, Mr. Kishida said on Sunday. South Korea isn’t a G-7 member but Mr. Kishida extended an invite to Mr. Yoon, which the South Korean presidential office said was a positive measure following the summit in Tokyo. Japan has also invited the heads of several other countries, including India, Vietnam and Indonesia.
A U.S.-Japan-South Korea naval exercise in April. PHOTO: DEFENSE MINISTRY/ZUMA PRESS
Both South Korea and Japan are protected under the U.S. nuclear umbrella, meaning Washington reserves the option of using nuclear weapons to defend its allies. Tokyo welcomed Washington’s new commitment to further strengthen extended deterrence by involving Seoul in consultations related to nuclear planning. The accord was announced during Mr. Yoon’s state visit to meet Mr. Biden in Washington last month. On Sunday, Mr. Yoon said he doesn’t rule out Japan’s participation in the accord, called the Washington Declaration.
Beijing was quick to condemn Washington, saying it was jeopardizing regional stability. “The U.S. has been a source of tension through exploiting the issues on the Korean Peninsula,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said.
China is the largest trading partner of both Japan and South Korea. Three-way summits between China, Japan and South Korea haven’t taken place since 2019, as Tokyo and Seoul argued over the forced-labor issue. Officials from the three nations have said they are considering resuming trilateral summitry this year.
“Implicitly South Korea and Japan will be discussing how to make themselves more resilient against China’s economic coercion as they cooperate more closely with the U.S.,” Prof. Kim said.
—Peter Landers in Tokyo contributed to this article.
Write to Dasl Yoon at dasl.yoon@wsj.com
Copyright ©2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
Appeared in the May 8, 2023, print edition as 'Japan, South Korea Leaders Discuss Security'.
4. Japanese PM pays respects to Seoul National Cemetery
Japanese PM pays respects to Seoul National Cemetery
donga.com
Posted May. 08, 2023 08:13,
Updated May. 08, 2023 08:13
Japanese PM pays respects to Seoul National Cemetery. May. 08, 2023 08:13. sanghun@donga.com.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visited the Seoul National Cemetery to pay tribute on Sunday as the first step of his visit to Korea. It is the first time in 12 years since Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda paid tribute to the Seoul National Cemetery in October 2011
Prime Minister Kishida offered incense and laid flowers along with his wife Yoko, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiji Kihara, Japanese Ambassador to Korea Koichi Aiboshi, Korean Ambassador to Japan Yoon Duk-min and paid tribute to those who sacrificed their lives for Korea. Prime Minister Kishida laid a wreath in his name. After paying tribute, he signed his name in the guestbook as “Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s visit to Korea” in English.
There have been six visits by previous Japanese Prime Ministers to the Seoul National Cemetery, which was first started in 1983 by Yasuhiro Nakasone, followed by Shinzo Abe (2006), and Taro Aso (2009). Former Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama visited the Daejeon National Cemetery in 2010, paying tribute to the 46 soldiers and warrant officer Han Ju-ho who lost their lives in the sinking of Cheonan.
“It is only natural for a head of state to visit the national cemetery of the country that s/he is visiting to pay respects to many respectable leaders,” said a Japanese government official. “He wishes to pay his respects to those in Korean history.”
“It is practice for foreign heads of state visiting Korea to pay tribute to this cemetery. It appears that the Prime Minister is signaling to Korea to resume shuttle diplomacy,” reported Kyodo News. Some say that the visit hints intention to show Japan’s willingness to reinforce security cooperation between South Korea and the U.S. as most of the soldiers buried in the Seoul National Cemetery lost their lives in the Korean War.
한국어
donga.com
5. Yoon and Kishida seek to transcend historical issues to normalize ties
Excerpts:
"When Yoon visited Japan in March, I clearly stated that the Japanese government inherits on the whole the historical perceptions of past governments, including the 1998 Japan-South Korea joint declaration, and this position will remain unwavering in the future," Kishida said during a joint press conference after the summit, referring to the declaration in which then-Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi expressed remorse for the "horrendous damage and pain" Japan's colonial rule inflicted on the Korean people.
"My heart aches for those who had to work in harsh environments and went through difficult and sad experiences," he added.
Yoon and Kishida seek to transcend historical issues to normalize ties
The Korea Times · by 2023-05-08 10:10 | Foreign Affairs · May 7, 2023
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida after a joint press conference following their summit at the presidential office in Yongsan District, Seoul, Sunday. Yonhap
Seoul experts to participate in Fukushima wastewater inspection
By Nam Hyun-woo
The leaders of South Korea and Japan tried to look beyond historical disputes over wartime forced labor to achieve their "shared goal" of future-oriented bilateral ties, during a summit in Seoul, Sunday.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said his "heart aches" for South Korean victims who were forced to labor for Japanese companies during World War II. Those comments are viewed as Tokyo's response to conciliatory gestures Seoul made earlier to improve bilateral relations. However, Kishida did not offer a direct apology to the victims.
Kishida made those remarks after a summit with President Yoon Suk Yeol, where they pledged to normalize ties and establish future-oriented bilateral relations.
The prime minister was visiting Seoul in response to Yoon's trip to Tokyo in March, which was the first step in mending relations between the two countries that had deteriorated to one of the lowest levels in decades after South Korea's Supreme Court in 2018 ordered two Japanese companies to compensate Korean victims of wartime forced labor.
"When Yoon visited Japan in March, I clearly stated that the Japanese government inherits on the whole the historical perceptions of past governments, including the 1998 Japan-South Korea joint declaration, and this position will remain unwavering in the future," Kishida said during a joint press conference after the summit, referring to the declaration in which then-Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi expressed remorse for the "horrendous damage and pain" Japan's colonial rule inflicted on the Korean people.
"My heart aches for those who had to work in harsh environments and went through difficult and sad experiences," he added.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol talks with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during their summit at the presidential office in Seoul, Sunday. AP-Yonhap
The remarks are interpreted as Tokyo's response to Seoul's earlier announcement, made before Yoon's March visit to Japan, of a plan to let a South Korean public foundation compensate the victims without the direct involvement of the responsible Japanese firms ― a plan that drew domestic criticism that the president was taking a submissive stance, while Tokyo is not showing reciprocal responses.
"I was deeply impressed that many people have opened their hearts for the future while recalling painful memories of the past, as efforts by the South Korean government continue regarding the proposed plan," Kishida said.
"There have been numerous historical events and circumstances between the two countries, but I believe it is my duty as the Japanese prime minister to work and cooperate with President Yoon and the South Korean side for the sake of a better future," he added.
Kishida was expected to make sympathetic or comforting remarks during his visit to Seoul, rather than offering a direct apology for the forced labor issue, because Japan believes all wartime compensation issues were settled under a 1965 treaty between the two countries that normalized diplomatic relations.
Yoon also shared a similar view that the two sides should now look to the future.
"We should get away from the perception that we cannot take a single step forward toward future cooperation, just because historical issues have not been fully resolved," Yoon said, adding the third-party compensation plan is "the only resolution that meets the 1965 treaty and the 2018 Supreme Court ruling."
In another gesture marking a step forward, the two leaders agreed to jointly pay tribute to the Korean victims of the atomic bombing at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum during Yoon's planned visit to Japan later this month to participate in the Group of Seven meeting upon Kishida's invitation.
Fukushima wastewater inspection
They also agreed to send South Korean experts to Japan to inspect Tokyo's plan to release radioactive wastewater from the tsunami-destroyed Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant ― an issue that drew concerns from South Korea and other neighboring countries over maritime safety.
"I hope that meaningful measures will be taken by taking into account South Koreans' demand for objective and science-based verification," Yoon said.
Kishida said the Japanese government believes it is important to accept an inspection by South Korean experts in order to "address the concerns of South Koreans."
During the summit, Yoon and Kishida agreed that the two countries should strengthen cooperation in responding to security, economic and other global issues, and recognized that improved Seoul-Tokyo relations will benefit people on both sides.
"Prime Minister Kishida and I share the recognition that North Korea's nuclear and missile development poses a significant threat not only to the Korean Peninsula and Japan, but also to global peace and stability," Yoon said. "In order to respond, we both agree that close communication and consultations, such as a trilateral summit (involving the U.S.) on the occasion of the upcoming Group of Seven Summit, are very important."
Yoon also said there is progress in talks for real-time sharing of North Korea's missile information between the three countries and that he and Kishida agreed to continue the trilateral security cooperation.
In doing so, Yoon said he does "not rule out" Japan's participation in a new Seoul-Washington Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG), which was agreed between Yoon and U.S. President Joe Biden during their summit last month to give South Korea more insight into how the U.S. plans and prepares for major contingencies. The NCG is anticipated to have repercussions across the three countries' relations with China, Russia and North Korea.
The summit marks an important turning point in relations between the two countries, as it signifies their mutual intention to normalize ties and strengthen cooperation in addressing the various challenges facing the Indo-Pacific region.
To showcase this intention, Kishida visited the Seoul National Cemetery in Dongjak District before the summit and paid tribute to deceased South Korean patriots and independence fighters buried there.
This is the first time a Japanese prime minister has visited the cemetery since 2011, when former Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda paid his respects.
The Korea Times · by 2023-05-08 10:10 | Foreign Affairs · May 7, 2023
6. Japan to allow Korean experts to inspect Fukushima plant
Sunday
May 7, 2023
dictionary + A - A
Japan to allow Korean experts to inspect Fukushima plant
https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2023/05/07/national/politics/Korea-Japan-Yoon-Suk-Yeol/20230507200912407.html
Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, right, shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during their joint press conference at the Yongsan presidential office in central Seoul Sunday after their bilateral summit. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]
Japan agreed to allow Korean experts to conduct an on-site inspection at the now defunct Fukushima nuclear power plant ahead of the planned release of treated water into the Pacific Ocean, President Yoon Suk Yeol said after his bilateral summit with the Japanese leader Sunday.
"I hope that meaningful measures will be taken in consideration of our people's call for a science-based, objective inspection," Yoon said in a joint press conference alongside Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the Yongsan presidential office in central Seoul, addressing such worries.
A massive earthquake and tsunami struck Japan on March 11, 2011, destroying the Fukushima plant, and Japan decided in 2021 to release the radioactive water stored in tanks at the plant into the ocean, a move neighboring countries and environmental groups have protested.
The Korean inspection team will be dispatched separately from inspections conducted by international experts through the International Atomic Energy Agency.
"My heart aches for the many people who had to work under harsh environments at the time and suffered pain and sadness," Kishida said, explaining this reflects his personal views. He seemed to reference Korean victims of wartime forced labor during the press conference.
Kishida repeated his position that he will inherit the historical awareness of previous cabinets, including the joint declaration of 1998 adopted by Korean President Kim Dae-jung and Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi. He also stated this position during the bilateral summit on March 16.
In the landmark 1998 declaration, Obuchi acknowledged that Japan had caused "tremendous damage and suffering to the people of the Republic of Korea through its colonial rule" and expressed "deep remorse and heartfelt apology."
Kishida went a step beyond his remarks in March in his remarks in Seoul on Sunday, but stopped short of explicitly expressing an apology or remorse. This came as Koreans had anticipated Japan would take corresponding measures to Seoul's efforts to resolve the forced labor issue.
Noting there are many historical issues between the two countries, Kishida added, "I believe it is my duty as Japan's prime minister to cooperate with President Yoon and the Korean side for our future by inheriting the efforts of our ancestors who have overcome difficult times."
Kishida added that the "position of the government will not be shaken in the future."
Their reunion came just 52 days after Yoon's trip to Tokyo for a bilateral summit on March 16 and a resumption of so-called "shuttle diplomacy" between the two countries' leaders after 12 years.
Kishida's visit to Seoul reciprocates Yoon's Tokyo trip, a step towards normalizing bilateral relations which deteriorated in recent years due to historical disputes stemming from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule and a trade spat.
Yoon also left open the possibility that South Korea, the United States and Japan may establish a three-way nuclear consultative body on extended deterrence in light of the North's nuclear and missile threats.
Kishida's trip comes on the heels of Yoon's state visit to the United States in late April for a bilateral summit with U.S. President Joe Biden.
During the summit at the White House on April 26, Yoon and Biden adopted the Washington Declaration, committing to strengthening extended deterrence and creating a NATO-inspired bilateral Nuclear Consultative Group.
Yoon during the press conference Sunday said that the Washington Declaration "doesn't exclude Japan's participation" as bilateral negotiations and implementation measure are still under discussion.
They also shared the view that North Korea's nuclear and missile development "is a grave threat not only to the Korean Peninsula and Japan, but to the peace and stability across the globe."
Yoon and Kishida also confirmed that procedures for restoring Korea to Japan's "white list" of preferential trading partners are being "steadily implemented."
The two sides also agreed to strengthen semiconductor supply chains as a part of measures to bolster economic security cooperation.
In late 2018, the Korean Supreme Court ordered Japanese companies to individually compensate the victims of forced labor during World War II. Japan imposed export restrictions on three key materials essential to Korea's semiconductor and display production in 2019, widely seen as retaliation for the forced labor rulings. Tokyo also removed Korea from its so-called "white list" of trusted trading partners, a move returned by Seoul.
In early March, the Yoon government announced a plan to compensate victims of Japan's wartime forced labor through a Korea-backed public foundation, without set contributions from Japanese companies, a move protested by some victims and civic groups. This led way to the consecutive bilateral summits and thawing of bilateral relations.
Kishida's trip to Seoul comes ahead of the Group of 7 (G7) summit in Hiroshima later this month, to which Yoon has been invited to attend by the host country, Japan. Yoon, Kishida and Biden are expected to hold a trilateral summit on the sidelines of the gathering.
Yoon and Kishida will also make a visit to Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and pay respects to the Korean victims of the U.S. atomic bombing.
When asked about a meaningful response by Japan over the forced labor issue, Yoon replied, "I think it's important to do things with sincerity, and it's not something that can be demanded from the other side."
The issue of lifting Korea's ban on exports of Japanese seafood from the Fukushima area was not discussed, according to Kim Tae-hyo, principal deputy national security adviser in a press briefing after the summit.
Around noon Sunday, the Japanese prime minister and first lady Yuko Kishida arrived at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi, for a working visit. They were greeted by officials including First Vice Foreign Minister Chang Ho-jin and Korean Ambassador to Japan Yun Duk-min.
Kishida and his first lady immediately paid respects at the Seoul National Cemetery in Dongjak District, southern Seoul, where Korean patriots including independence fighters and Korean War veterans are commemorated. This marked the first such trip to the cemetery since Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda last made a bilateral visit to Seoul in October 2011 to meet with President Lee Myung-bak.
Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, center right, and first lady Kim Keon-hee, wave with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, center left, and first lady Yuko Kishida in a welcoming ceremony at the Yongsan presidential office in central Seoul Sunday ahead of their bilateral summit. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]
Yoon and first lady Kim Keon-hee received Kishida and his wife in a welcoming ceremony at the Yongsan presidential office later Sunday afternoon.
Yoon and Kishida began their bilateral summit, which included smaller group talks followed by an expanded meeting. The talks were an occasion to discuss issues including security matters, economic cooperation in areas such as high-tech industries and science and technology, and youth and cultural exchanges.
"Amid the current grave international situation and complex global crises, cooperation between Korea and Japan is essential not only for the common interests of both countries, but also for world peace and prosperity," said Yoon at the beginning of the expanded meeting. "Korea and Japan, who share universal values, must work together with stronger solidarity with the international community in a situation where liberal democracy, which has been the foundation of peace and prosperity, is under threat."
He also repeated the position he shared during his address at Harvard University on April 28 that he would like to "move away from the perception that we cannot take a single step toward future cooperation" unless past historical issues are completely settled.
"It took 12 years to restore shuttle diplomacy, but it took less than two months for the two of us to go back and forth," said Yoon. "I think this confirms that Korea-Japan relations, which have started anew, are moving forward with speed."
Kishida said in response that he is "delighted to be able to start full-fledged shuttle diplomacy" by visiting Seoul at an early date, thanking the Koreans and Yoon for their "warm hospitality."
He noted that in less than two months, various conversations are "moving along dynamically" and that he hoped to discuss with Yoon the latest situation in the Indo-Pacific region, including North Korea, and cooperation on global issues, keeping in mind the G7 summit in Hiroshima.
Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, left, chats with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, in front of U.S. President Joe Biden’s gift of baseball memorabilia from Yoon’s state visit in late April at the Yongsan presidential office in central Seoul Sunday during their bilateral summit. [PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE]
In the evening, Yoon and the first lady hosted a dinner at the presidential residence in Hannam-dong for the Japanese prime minister and his wife.
The dinner menu included traditional Korean dishes including gujeolpan (nine different ingredients assorted on an octagon-shape wooden plate), hanwoo galbijjim (Korean braised beef ribs), bulgogi and naengmyeon (cold noodles), according to the presidential office.
Yoon last hosted Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at his new presidential residence last November.
Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and first lady Kim Keon-hee, left, have dinner with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and first lady Yuko Kishida, right, at the presidential residence in Hannam-dong, central Seoul Sunday. [PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE]
BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]
7. The Forces Behind South Korea’s and Japan’s Thaw
I truly hope we are going to see a breakthrough. And we may only have to thank China, Russia, and north Korea.
The Forces Behind South Korea’s and Japan’s Thaw
The New York Times · by Choe Sang-Hun · May 7, 2023
Eras of grievances between the two countries are giving way under the pressure of global changes, and with help from a personal outreach approach by both leaders.
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Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida with his wife, Yuko, and others visiting the National Cemetery in Seoul on Sunday.Credit...Pool photo by Chung Sung-Jun
By
May 7, 2023Updated 3:09 a.m. ET
For years, the forces driving South Korea and Japan apart, deeply rooted in bitter history, had seemed too strong to overcome despite repeated efforts and the urging of their mutual ally, the United States.
South Koreans say Japan never properly apologized or atoned for its brutal colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 1945. To the Japanese, South Korea has often been an untrustworthy neighbor that has broken several promises, including treaty agreements that were designed to salve historical wounds.
But the advent of two new administrations in the neighboring countries — President Yoon Suk Yeol in South Korea, and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Japan — has led to a rapid thawing of relations.
In March, the two countries began taking steps to address a long-festering dispute over wartime forced labor. In April, South Korea restored Japan’s status as a preferred trading partner, prompting Tokyo to start the process of restoring the same status for South Korea. And Mr. Yoon drew notice in his home country after declaring that Japan must no longer be expected to “kneel because of our history 100 years ago.”
Now, Mr. Kishida is making a personal visit to South Korea, in a meeting that is being closely watched for new signs of progress. Here are some of the global forces behind their mutual outreach.
Tension with China and Russia
Tokyo and Seoul are moving to align themselves more closely with Washington as China promotes an alternate vision of the world in which the United States has less power, and as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine raises alarm about a new era of militarization.
Both countries supported the Biden administration’s “free and open” Indo-Pacific vision, attending a NATO summit meeting last summer where leaders condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and expressed concern about China’s threat to undermine the international rule-based order.
President Biden holding a trilateral meeting with Mr. Yoon and Mr. Kishida during the NATO Summit in Madrid last year.Credit...Kenny Holston for The New York Times
Both countries have realized that the fast-changing geopolitical environment has created challenges they cannot deal with alone. The joint maneuverings by Chinese and Russian military aircraft near South Korean and Japanese airspace in recent years helped drive that message home.
Mr. Kishida now calls South Korea “an important neighboring country that we should work with.” And Mr. Yoon has urged South Koreans to no longer regard Japan as “a militaristic aggressor of the past” but as “a partner that shares the same universal values.”
The trilateral relationship with South Korea and Japan “is central to our shared vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific region, which is why I, along with other senior Department colleagues, have invested so much time and focus on this critical partnership,” Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said in March.
North Korea’s nuclear arsenal
North Korea’s growing nuclear and missile threat was an incentive for Seoul and Tokyo to recognize the strategic value of building up trilateral cooperation with the United States. In recent months, North Korea has not only fired missiles over Japan, but also threatened a nuclear attack on South Korea.
South Korea has never been formally allied with Japan and has been reluctant to cooperate militarily with the country beyond humanitarian search-and-rescue missions on the high seas. But they are expanding military cooperation now, mainly because of North Korea.
A photograph provided by North Korean state media showed Kim Jong-un, the country’s leader, visiting a hall displaying what appeared to be various types of warheads designed to be mounted on missiles or rocket launchers in undisclosed location.Credit...Korean Central News Agency, via Associated Press
When the leaders of the United States, Japan and South Korea met in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, last November, they agreed to share real-time North Korean missile warning data. The three nations have also expanded trilateral missile defense and other military exercises in recent months.
One of the steps Seoul took to mend ties with Tokyo in March was to formally reinstate a bilateral military intelligence-sharing agreement that helps the two neighbors guard against North Korean missiles. At the height of the dispute over wartime forced labor in 2019, Seoul announced plans to terminate the accord.
Vulnerable global supply chains
That same year, 2019, Japan imposed restrictions on exporting chemicals essential to South Korea’s semiconductor industry. Seoul filed a complaint against Tokyo with the World Trade Organization. Both nations removed each other from their so-called white list of preferential trade partners.
Recently, though, Tokyo and Seoul agreed to withdraw those export controls, and Seoul withdrew its W.T.O. complaint. Seoul and Tokyo also agreed to start an “economic security dialogue” to discuss cooperation in key technologies and supply chains. Mr. Yoon’s government recently expressed hopes of attracting Japanese companies to a $228 billion semiconductor complex South Korea plans to build near Seoul by 2042.
President Biden with Mr. Yoon and Lee Jae-yong of Samsung Electronics, fifth from left, during a tour of one of the company’s facilities near Seoul in 2022.Credit...Doug Mills/The New York Times
South Korea is the world’s leading producer of memory chips, and Japan supplies tools and materials essential to chip-making. Last year, Washington proposed the so-called Chip 4 Alliance with the two allies and Taiwan to keep China at bay in the contest for global semiconductor supply chains.
Growing fears about Taiwan
Seoul, Tokyo and Washington share a strong common interest in keeping peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.
Security analysts fear that China might attempt to invade Taiwan, similar to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. If that happened, some experts warn that North Korea might take the opportunity to start a war on the Korean Peninsula and realize its own territorial ambitions.
Such a move would open two simultaneous battlefronts for the American military in the region.
“If a clash erupts in the Taiwan Strait, the United States will demand various cooperation from its allies and partner nations,” Kim Han-kwon, a professor at the Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security in Seoul, wrote in a paper in February. “It sees its bilateral alliances with South Korea and Japan, in particular, as key regional strategic assets in connection with the Taiwan Strait.”
Taiwanese military personnel participating in a military exercise in Pingtung County, Taiwan, in 2022.Credit...Lam Yik Fei for The New York Times
Japan and South Korea have been able to thrive economically in part because of the security the United States provides by keeping a large military presence in both nations. Now, the United States wants all its allies to play a bigger role in regional defense.
In addition to South Korea and Japan, Washington has recently moved to strengthen its military ties with Australia, India and the Philippines to counterbalance China’s influence in the region and to improve its ability to defend Taiwan.
The New York Times · by Choe Sang-Hun · May 7, 2023
8. S. Korea to attend new round of negotiations for IPEF this week
S. Korea to attend new round of negotiations for IPEF this week | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 오석민 · May 8, 2023
SEOUL, May 8 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will participate in the third round of official negotiations for the United States-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) to be held in Singapore this week, the industry ministry said Monday.
During the upcoming session, set to take place from Monday through May 15, the member nations will work to make progress in setting details of its four key pillars -- trade, supply chain resilience, clean economy and fair economy, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
South Korea sent a delegation led by senior ministry official Roh Keon-ki and involving officials from the industry, finance, foreign and other related ministries for working-level and chief delegate meetings, it added.
"This negotiation will be crucial in terms of making concrete progress in the four sectors. We will do our best to set forth our stance proactively and seek cooperation with nations in a similar position with South Korea," the ministry said in a release.
The IPEF was launched in May last year with a goal to promote resilience and fairness, and fuel sustainable economic growth and investment in the region, and the first rule-setting meeting was held in the Australian city of Brisbane in December.
The member nations had a special session in India in February before holding the second negotiating round in March in Bali.
The fourth round will take place in South Korea's southern port city of Busan, the ministry said.
The 14 IPEF partner nations, including Japan, Australia, India and Vietnam, represent 40 percent of global gross domestic product and 28 percent of global goods and services trade, according to government data.
As of 2021, trade volume between South Korea and the remaining 13 IPEF member nations came to US$498.4 billion, accounting for 39.6 percent of Seoul's total trade that year.
This file photo, provided by South Korea's trade ministry, shows Trade Minister Ahn Duk-geun (C) and other representatives posing for a group photo at the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework talks in Los Angeles on Sept. 8, 2022. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
graceoh@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 오석민 · May 8, 2023
9. S. Korea plans to hold multinational WMD-interception exercise this month
S. Korea plans to hold multinational WMD-interception exercise this month | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 채윤환 · May 8, 2023
SEOUL, May 8 (Yonhap) -- South Korea plans to hold a multinational maritime exercise later this month as part of an international initiative aimed at stopping transfers of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), a defense ministry official said Monday.
The country plans to stage the Eastern Endeavor 23 exercise in an effort to strengthen capabilities to counter WMD proliferation when it hosts the high-level meeting of the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) this month.
"Our military is planning a combined maritime interdiction exercise with some countries on the occasion of the high-level PSI meeting set to open in South Korea in late May for the first time," the official said.
The official added that details of the exercise, such as participating countries, have yet to be finalized. The drills, however, are expected to focus on maritime interception and seizure operations.
Launched in 2003, PSI is a global effort aimed at stopping the trafficking of WMDs, their delivery systems, and related materials.
The United States initiated the Asia-Pacific PSI exercises in 2014 and participating countries have hosted their own exercises, like Eastern Endeavor in South Korea, Pacific Protector in Australia and Pacific Shield in Japan.
Last year, the U.S. hosted the five-day Fortune Guard 22 in Honolulu in September, which brought together 21 countries, including South Korea.
This file photo, released by the South Korean Navy on April 17, 2023, shows three Aegis-equipped destroyers -- the South's Yulgok Yi I (front), the Benfold (C) of the U.S. Navy and the JS Atago of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force -- sailing in waters off South Korea's east coast. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
yunhwanchae@yna.co.kr
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en.yna.co.kr · by 채윤환 · May 8, 2023
10. Yoon's approval rating inches up for 2 weeks: poll
Some slightly good news. His approval rating is probably higher among Americans, especially after his rendition of American Pie. He certainly set a standard for state visits that no other leader will be able to emulate.
Yoon's approval rating inches up for 2 weeks: poll | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 김한주 · May 8, 2023
By Kim Han-joo
SEOUL, May 8 (Yonhap) -- President Yoon Suk Yeol's approval rating inched up for the second consecutive week thanks in part to positive feedback on his recent state visit to the United States, a poll showed Monday.
In the poll of 1,504 adults aged 18 or older conducted by Realmeter from Tuesday to Thursday of last week, the positive assessment of Yoon's performance rose 0.1 percentage point from the previous week to 34.6 percent.
Yoon's disapproval rating was 62.5 percent, down 0.1 percentage point from the previous week.
According to Bae Cheol-ho, a senior analyst at Realmeter, last week's approval rating can be attributed to Yoon's six-day state visit to the U.S. designed to mark the 70th anniversary of the bilateral alliance this year.
The momentum, however, was limited due to controversies over the issue of party nominations for next year's general elections following allegations surrounding a phone conversation between Rep. Tae Yong-ho of the ruling People Power Party and a presidential secretary, according to Bae.
The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level.
President Yoon Suk Yeol waves during a ceremony at Yongsan Children's Garden in front of the presidential office in Seoul on May 4, 2023. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)
khj@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 김한주 · May 8, 2023
11. Japan leader expresses sympathy for Korean colonial victims
Excerpts:
Ahead of his summit with Yoon, Kishida and his wife, Yuko Kishida, visited the national cemetery in Seoul, where they burned incense and paid a silent tribute before a memorial. Buried or honored in the cemetery are mostly Korean War dead, but include Korean independence fighters during the period of Japanese rule. Kishida was the first Japanese leader to visit the place in 12 years.
“Kishida’s comments about Koreans who suffered under Japanese colonialism may be criticized for not being more specific about historical perpetrators and more apologetic toward historical victims,” Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, said. “But Kishida did visit South Korea’s national cemetery and said that his heartfelt views, respect for the past, and recognition of current global challenges produce a sense of responsibility for improving Seoul-Tokyo relations.”
Yoon said talks among Seoul, Tokyo and Washington are underway to implement their earlier agreement on a faster exchange of information on North Korean missile tests. Yoon said he and Kishida reaffirmed that North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs pose a grave threat to the two countries and the rest of the world.
Japan leader expresses sympathy for Korean colonial victims
The Washington Post · by Hyung-Jin Kim and Mari Yamaguchi | AP · May 7, 2023
SEOUL, South Korea — Japan’s prime minister expressed sympathy for the suffering of Korean forced laborers during Japan’s colonial rule, as he and his South Korean counterpart Sunday renewed their resolve to overcome historical grievances and strengthen cooperation in the face of shared challenges such as North Korea’s nuclear program.
Comments by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during his summit with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol — their second meeting in less than two months — were closely watched in South Korea, where many still harbor strong resentment against Japan’s 1910-45 colonial occupation of the Korean Peninsula.
Yoon has faced domestic criticism that he had preemptively made concessions to Tokyo without getting corresponding steps in return. Kishida’s statement, which avoided a new, direct apology over the colonization but still sympathized with the Korean victims, suggests he felt pressure to say something to maintain momentum for an effort to improve ties.
“And personally, I have strong pain in my heart as I think of the extreme difficulty and sorrow that many people had to suffer under the severe environment in those days,” Kishida told a joint news conference with Yoon, referring to the Japanese colonial period.
He said he believes “it is my responsibility as prime minister of Japan to cooperate with” Yoon to forge stronger relations.
Kishida arrived in South Korea earlier Sunday for a two-day visit, which reciprocates a mid-March trip to Tokyo by Yoon and marks the first exchange of visits between the leaders of the Asian neighbors in 12 years.
The back-to-back summits were largely meant to resolve the countries’ bitter disputes caused by the 2018 court rulings in South Korea that ordered two Japanese companies to financially compensate some of their aging former Korean employees for colonial-era forced labor. Japan has refused to abide by the verdicts, arguing that all compensation issues were already settled when the two countries normalized ties in 1965.
The wrangling led to the countries downgrading each other’s trade status and Seoul’s previous liberal government threatening to spike a military intelligence-sharing pact. Their strained ties complicated U.S. efforts to build a stronger regional alliance to better cope with rising Chinese influence and North Korean nuclear threats.
In March, however, Yoon’s conservative government took a major step toward mending the ties by announcing it would use local funds to compensate the forced labor victims without demanding contributions from Japanese companies. Later in March, Yoon traveled to Tokyo to meet with Kishida, and the two agreed to resume leadership-level visits and other talks. Their governments have since taken steps to withdraw their economic retaliatory steps.
Yoon’s push, however, drew strong backlash from some of the forced labor victims and his liberal rivals at home, who have demanded direct compensation from the Japanese companies. Yoon has defended his move, saying greater cooperation with Japan is required to jointly tackle North Korea’s advancing nuclear program, the intensifying U.S.-China strategic rivalry and global supply chain challenges.
“We should stay away from a thinking that we must not make a step forward because our history issues aren’t settled completely,” Yoon said Sunday. He said that 10 out of the 15 former forced laborers or their families involved in the 2018 rulings had accepted compensation under Seoul’s third-party reimbursement plan.
Kishida said: “I’m struck by the fact that many people, despite their painful memories from the past, opened their hearts for the future as measures by the South Korean government related to (the fund) move forward.”
Kishida also reaffirmed his government upholds the positions of previous Japanese administrations on the colonization issue, including the landmark 1998 joint declaration by Tokyo and Seoul, but didn’t make a new apology. In that declaration, then-Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi said: “I feel acute remorse and offer an apology from my heart” over the colonial rule.
Japanese governments have expressed remorse or apologies over the colonial period numerous times. But some Japanese officials and politicians have occasionally made comments that have been accused of whitewashing Tokyo’s wartime aggressions, prompting Seoul to urge Tokyo to make new, more sincere apologies.
Ahead of his summit with Yoon, Kishida and his wife, Yuko Kishida, visited the national cemetery in Seoul, where they burned incense and paid a silent tribute before a memorial. Buried or honored in the cemetery are mostly Korean War dead, but include Korean independence fighters during the period of Japanese rule. Kishida was the first Japanese leader to visit the place in 12 years.
“Kishida’s comments about Koreans who suffered under Japanese colonialism may be criticized for not being more specific about historical perpetrators and more apologetic toward historical victims,” Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, said. “But Kishida did visit South Korea’s national cemetery and said that his heartfelt views, respect for the past, and recognition of current global challenges produce a sense of responsibility for improving Seoul-Tokyo relations.”
Yoon said talks among Seoul, Tokyo and Washington are underway to implement their earlier agreement on a faster exchange of information on North Korean missile tests. Yoon said he and Kishida reaffirmed that North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs pose a grave threat to the two countries and the rest of the world.
In late April, Yoon made a state visit to the United States and agreed with President Joe Biden to reinforce deterrence capabilities against North Korea’s nuclear threats. During a joint news conference, Biden thanked Yoon “for your political courage and personal commitment to diplomacy with Japan.”
Yoon, Biden and Kishida are expected to hold a trilateral meeting later this month on the sidelines of the Group of Seven meetings in Hiroshima to discuss North Korea, China’s assertiveness and Russia’s war on Ukraine. Yoon was invited as one of eight outreach nations.
Kishida said he and Yoon would pay respects before a memorial for Korean atomic bomb victims in Hiroshima. In another apparent conciliatory measure, Kishida said Japan will allow South Korean experts to visit and inspect a planned release of treated but still radioactive wastewater from the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant.
___
Yamaguchi reported from Tokyo.
More AP coverage of the Asia-Pacific region is at https://apnews.com/hub/asia-pacific
The Washington Post · by Hyung-Jin Kim and Mari Yamaguchi | AP · May 7, 2023
12. Kaesong farmers unhappy at city party committee’s focus on agitation activities
Could this be one spark that leads to internal instability or even collective action?
Excerpts:
“Both the ordinary farmers’ and farm managers’ disapproval towards the committee’s policy of agitation activities cannot be openly displayed,” the reporting partner said. “The farmers have, amongst themselves, been criticizing the committee for its continued lack of understanding about the central workings of agricultural work, despite the longstanding presence of these farmers who go about working tirelessly and relentlessly year after year.”
Kaesong farmers unhappy at city party committee’s focus on agitation activities
By Jong So Yong -
2023.05.08 10:00am
dailynk.com
Farmers in the city of Kaesong are expressing their discontent at the city’s party committee, which is entirely preoccupied with agitation activities despite the current busy farming season, Daily NK has learned.
“The farmers’ simmering dissatisfaction with Kaesong’s city party committee stems from the committee’s exclusive focus on agitation activities, specifically the allocation of political and economic agitation activities to each farm, rather than channeling manpower to support busy farming activities,” a reporting partner in Kaesong told Daily NK last Tuesday, speaking on condition of anonymity due to security concerns.
According to the reporting partner, the committee has determined the amount of such agitation activities to be carried out by various organizations, enterprises and schools in the city, and gave orders for these institutions to report on the number of activities conducted.
Far from receiving help to resolve pressing agricultural matters, work units were instead entirely focused on a range of propaganda and agitation practice sessions before going out to the fields to sing, dance, and read aloud poems before returning home. All of this has led to mounting displeasure among the farm managers and farmers.
In fact, the reporting partner told Daily NK that city officials and laborers, who came to one of the farms in Kaepung County to conduct agitation activities, had summoned all the farmers to listen to their propaganda speeches for over an hour despite the farmers having their hands full with unfinished work. This led the farmers to question “whether these actions were really proper during such a busy period.”
One of the farmers expressed his opinion about this loudly with little reservation, saying that “while such agitation activities are good, it is a waste of time during this busy period when much labor is needed in the fields.”
In particular, the farmer complained that “summoning farmers to participate in these activities during working hours impedes the fulfillment of production goals,” adding that “one should come to the farms fully committed to help with the farm work, and not hinder progress if assistance can’t be provided.”
He went on to remark that “the whole city is singing and dancing, engrossed in agitation activities, which instead has turned out to be a hindrance,” echoing the sentiments of the farmers as a whole.
The reporting partner said that this farmer was reported to the village-level party committee for ideological deviation, and subsequently summoned to write a letter of self-criticism. He then received a stern warning from the committee, stating that a repeat of such actions would incur even greater repercussions.
“Both the ordinary farmers’ and farm managers’ disapproval towards the committee’s policy of agitation activities cannot be openly displayed,” the reporting partner said. “The farmers have, amongst themselves, been criticizing the committee for its continued lack of understanding about the central workings of agricultural work, despite the longstanding presence of these farmers who go about working tirelessly and relentlessly year after year.”
Translated by Marc Yeo Yi Fei. Edited by Robert Lauler.
Daily NK works with a network of reporting partners who live inside North Korea and China. Their identities remain anonymous due to security concerns. More information about Daily NK’s reporting partner network and information gathering activities can be found on our FAQ page here.
Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
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13. Nuri rocket to carry multi-purpose satellites when launched on May 24
Nuri rocket to carry multi-purpose satellites when launched on May 24
The Korea Times · May 7, 2023
The Nuri space launch vehicle is seen at Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla Province, May 3. Courtesy of KARIBy Baek Byung-yeul
GOHEUNG ― Preparations for the third launch of the Nuri rocket, scheduled for May 24, are smoothly underway at the Naro Space Center in the southwestern county of Goheung, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT and Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), May 3.
Given the first and second launches were test flights, they said that the May 24 launch is significant in that Nuri will carry out the mission of placing eight satellites that are to be utilized for scientific research purposes into space orbit.
In its first launch on October 21, 2021, the Nuri rocket, also known as Korean Space Launch Vehicle II (KSLV-II), failed to place a dummy satellite into orbit.
However, its second launch on June 21, 2022, saw Nuri successfully place a dummy satellite and a performance verification satellite into a low orbit of 700 kilometers above the Earth, making Korea the seventh nation in the world to launch a space rocket using domestically developed technology to place an over 1-ton satellite into orbit.
Lee Sang-ryool, president of KARI, speaks during a press conference held at Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla Province, May 3. Courtesy of KARI
Lee Sang-ryool, president of KARI, said that the significance of the third launch is that it is the first challenge to go into space with satellites that will actually be used.
"For the first and second launches of the Nuri rocket, we focused on developing our own launch vehicle. Based on that success, the third launch will be an enhancement project to improve the reliability and stabilize the launch vehicle," Lee told reporters.
"The third launch is significant because it will be the first time we will be launching with our own clients, carrying eight satellites. We have always used other countries' launch vehicles, but we will finally launch Korean clients' satellites on a Korean-made launch vehicle. This is a very important moment, and I hope it will be a leap forward for Korea's space industry," the president added.
Cho Sun-hak, director general of the Space Policy and Nuclear Energy Bureau of the Ministry of Science and ICT, said the launch will test whether Nuri can properly serve as a launch platform to put eight satellites into orbit.
"We began construction of the Naro Space Center 20 years ago. The idea of launching our own satellites and our own launch vehicle was only a dream, but the advancement of science and technology has made it possible. It was made possible by the hard work of policymakers, scientists and officials from the space industry," the director general said.
The third launch is scheduled for 6:24 p.m. on May 24. It may be 30 minutes earlier or later depending on weather conditions but the science ministry and KARI plan to stick to the scheduled launch time as much as possible. If the launch is not possible at the appointed time, the launch will be attempted again the following day during the launch reserve period between May 25 and May 31.
The main payload of the eight satellites is the next-generation small satellite developed by the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), KARI said. It will orbit 550 kilometers above the Earth and perform Earth observation with synthetic aperture radar (SAR) for two years.
"SAR is a technology that uses radio waves to recognize terrain features through signal, allowing for observations unaffected by light and clouds. Through the launch of the satellite, we will try to validate the technologies we have developed and obtain images of the Earth," Jang Tae-seong, an official from KAIST's Satellite Technology Research Center, said.
Hanwha Aerospace, which was chosen as a private partner to upgrade the Nuri space rocket, also participated in the launch for the first time. In the third launch, the company has served in managing production and co-operated in preparing for the launch with KARI.
The Korea Times · May 7, 2023
14. IAEA Concerned About Safety of Ukraine's Nuclear Plant
This is in the South Korean press (Chosun Ilbo). Learn, adapt, and anticipate. What should we anticipate about a possible war in South Korea with 24 nuclear power plants?
Excerpt:
"I'm extremely concerned about the very real nuclear safety and security risks facing the plant," Grossi said. "We must act now to prevent the threat of a severe nuclear accident and its associated consequences for the population and the environment. This major nuclear facility must be protected."
IAEA Concerned About Safety of Ukraine's Nuclear Plant
english.chosun.com
May 08, 2023 08:12
The director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency has issued a warning about the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine and the surrounding community.
Rafael Mariano Grossi said in a statement Saturday that the general situation around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has become "increasingly unpredictable and potentially dangerous."
Grossi said "the nearby town of Enerhodar," where most of the plant staff live, is being evacuated. The operating staff, however, remains on-site at the plant.
A general view of the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine on March 29, 2023. /AFP
However, the IAEA experts, based at the plant, have not been able to visit Enerhodar recently. Grossi said the experts "are continuing to hear shelling on a regular basis."
The plant is located in southern Ukraine which, according to the statement, "has seen a recent increase in military presence and activity."
"I'm extremely concerned about the very real nuclear safety and security risks facing the plant," Grossi said. "We must act now to prevent the threat of a severe nuclear accident and its associated consequences for the population and the environment. This major nuclear facility must be protected."
- Copyright © Chosunilbo & Chosun.com
english.chosun.com
15. Civic group sends anti-Pyongyang propaganda material to N. Korea via balloons
Photo of a placard at the link: https://koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2023/05/205_350548.html
These civic groups would really benefit from some expert PSYOP advice. Much of the propaganda sent north is about denouncing Kim Jong Un. While it often makes us feel good to insult Kim Jong Un, it is really necessary to employ much more sophisticated psychological operations in the north. I am reminded of my discussions with former north Korean People's Army soldiers. I asked them about the Netflix K-drama (rom com actually). They said it made soldiers want to come to the South even more than they already did. But what really impressed them was the fact that it portrayed soldiers and Korean people in the north as human beings and not as monsters. The propaganda they are used to seeing about the South is always insulting. But what impressed them is that the South korean government allowed their entertainment industry to produce a drama that did not portray them as enemies because their government would never allow that to happen.Although I am sure the Netflix producers did not intend to create this kind of message it does illustrate a better way to think about messaging to the north than simply creating content that insults Kim Jong Un.
Excerpt:
According to Park, placards denouncing North Korean leader Kim Jong-un over Pyongyang's nuclear and missile provocations were attached to the balloons. The FFNK previously sent eight balloons carrying similar goods about eight months ago.
Civic group sends anti-Pyongyang propaganda material to N. Korea via balloons
The Korea Times · May 8, 2023
A placard condemning North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is attached to one of the balloons the anti-Pyongyang group sent to North Korea last week, in this May 8 photo provided by Fighters for a Free North Korea. YonhapA North Korean defectors' group said Monday it has flown giant balloons carrying medicine and anti-Pyongyang leaflets to North Korea across the western inter-Korean border last week.
Park Sang-hak, head of the Fighters for a Free North Korea (FFNK), told Yonhap News Agency that the organization sent 20 balloons carrying vitamin C tablets, Tylenol pills and booklets to the North on Friday from Ganghwa Island, west of Seoul.
According to Park, placards denouncing North Korean leader Kim Jong-un over Pyongyang's nuclear and missile provocations were attached to the balloons. The FFNK previously sent eight balloons carrying similar goods about eight months ago.
Such acts are banned in South Korea under a law that was legislated to help reduce tensions in the border regions, as North Korea has bristled strongly against such balloons and even threatened to shoot them down.
Violators are subject to a maximum prison term of three years or a fine of 30 million won ($22,636).
In response, the unification ministry reaffirmed the government's call against such acts.
"There is no change in the government's stance that the distribution of leaflets should be refrained in consideration of factors including sensitive inter-Korean circumstances and concerns of border area residents," Koo Byoung-sam, the ministry's spokesperson, told a regular press briefing.
In 2020, the ministry revoked the operation permit for the FFNK, citing concerns over the safety of border town residents and tension on the Korean peninsula.
The group filed a complaint protesting the decision, in which the Supreme Court ordered a lower court to review the legality of the revocation in a ruling last month. (Yonhap)
The Korea Times · May 8, 2023
16. Defense chiefs of S. Korea, Japan likely to hold talks in early June: sources
Defense chiefs of S. Korea, Japan likely to hold talks in early June: sources | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 채윤환 · May 8, 2023
SEOUL, May 8 (Yonhap) -- The defense chiefs of South Korea and Japan are expected to hold bilateral talks early next month, multiple sources said Monday, as the two countries seek to bolster security cooperation following recent summit meetings between their leaders.
Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup is expected to meet his Japanese counterpart, Yasukazu Hamada, on the sidelines of this year's Shangri-La Dialogue, a regional security gathering, in Singapore from June 2-4, according to the sources.
If realized, the talks would come about a month after a summit held between President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, their second in less than two months, this past Sunday in Seoul.
The ministerial talks would mark the first bilateral meeting between the two countries' defense chiefs since November 2019.
The two sides are expected to discuss a range of pending security issues, including a past spat over low-altitude flybys by Japanese maritime patrol aircraft over South Korean warships in 2018 and 2019 after Tokyo's claim that a South Korean warship had locked its fire-control radar on its plane.
Seoul's defense ministry is also reportedly working to arrange separate bilateral talks with defense chiefs from the United States and China, as well as a trilateral meeting involving Washington and Tokyo at the Singapore gathering.
This file photo, taken June 11, 2022, shows Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup (R) posing for a photo with U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (C) and then Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi before their trilateral talks in Singapore. (Yonhap)
yunhwanchae@yna.co.kr
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en.yna.co.kr · by 채윤환 · May 8, 2023
17. Seoul to host MLB season-opening games in 2024: report
Seoul to host MLB season-opening games in 2024: report | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 유지호 · May 8, 2023
By Yoo Jee-ho
SEOUL, May 8 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will likely host Major League Baseball (MLB) regular season games for the first time at the start of the 2024 season, a U.S. report claimed on Sunday (local time), with a familiar face returning to his old stomping ground for the historic occasion.
Citing sources, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported that the two-game series between the San Diego Padres, featuring South Korean infielder Kim Ha-seong, and the Los Angeles Dodgers to be played in Seoul in late March 2024 is in the works.
If finalized, these will be the first MLB games in South Korea, and also the first games of the 2024 MLB season.
In this Associated Press photo, San Diego Padres shortstop Kim Ha-seong gets ready to throw to first for the out on Curt Casali of the Cincinnati Reds during the top of the seventh inning of a Major League Baseball regular season game at Petco Park in San Diego on May 2, 2023. (Yonhap)
The newspaper added that Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, home of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) club Kiwoom Heroes, is expected to host the National League West showdown. Kim was an All-Star shortstop for the Heroes during his seven-year KBO career before taking his talent to San Diego ahead of the 2021 season. The Heroes moved into the dome at the start of the 2016 season.
"It's going to be an honor for our team to go to my country and play a game there," Kim told the San Diego Union-Tribune. "It's going to be so fun, and I'm looking forward to it."
As for the Padres' growing presence in South Korea, Kim said. "I can see every year there's more Padres fans, and I hear more about Padres and people now know our players, too. People will love it, love to see them. And also the Dodgers, there's obviously great players too. So it's going to be a blast and fans will love it."
In this USA Today Sports photo via Reuters, Kim Ha-seong of the San Diego Padres (L) has a sombrero placed on him by teammate Fernando Tatis Jr. after hitting a three-run home run against the Cincinnati Reds during the bottom of the fifth inning of a Major League Baseball regular season game at Petco Park in San Diego on May 1, 2023. (Yonhap)
The Dodgers also have history with Korean players and boast a strong fan base in this country. The first Korean-born player in MLB history, right-handed pitcher Park Chan-ho, played for the Dodgers from 1994 to 2001, and again in 2008. He's currently an adviser in the Padres front office. Infielder Choi Hee-seop and pitcher Seo Jae-weong also donned Dodger blue in the mid-2000s.
Most recently, left-hander Ryu Hyun-jin was a mainstay in the Dodgers starting rotation from 2013 to 2019. In his final season there, Ryu led the majors with a 2.32 ERA and became the first South Korean pitcher to start an MLB All-Star Game.
Kim is the third South Korean-born player to play for the Padres, after pitcher Baek Cha-seung and Park.
jeeho@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 유지호 · May 8, 2023
18. Allies eye talks to form trilateral security forum at G7 meeting
Another step toward a trilateral alliance? Thank you to China, Russia, and north Korea for being the catalysts for improved trilateral cooperation. Note comments on the NCG.
Allies eye talks to form trilateral security forum at G7 meeting
The Korea Times · by 2023-05-08 16:38 | Foreign Affairs · May 8, 2023
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida waves before leaving South Korea at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, Monday. Yonhap
Including Japan in S. Korea-US NCG elusive: expert
By Nam Hyun-woo
The leaders of South Korea and Japan have opened up the possibility of forming a stronger trilateral security apparatus between Seoul, Tokyo and Washington during their next three-way meeting, prompting speculation that the three countries will likely engage in relevant talks later this month in Hiroshima, where a Group of Seven summit is scheduled to take place from May 19 to 21.
During a joint press conference after the South Korea-Japan summit in Seoul, Sunday, President Yoon Suk Yeol said, "The Washington Declaration is an agreement reached between [South] Korea and the United States, but it does not rule out Japan from participating in the forum."
The Washington Declaration is a document that was agreed upon by Yoon and U.S. President Joe Biden last month, in which the two countries would set up a new Seoul-Washington Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) to give South Korea more insight into U.S. nuclear planning and execution to deter North Korea's nuclear and missile threats.
"The Washington Declaration is not completed yet and its content should be filled in through continued discussions in the process of joint planning and execution. Once this gets on the right track and Japan is ready for this in terms of its relations with the U.S., I'm sure that we can cooperate at any time," Yoon added.
President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks during a joint press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the presidential office in Yongsan District, Seoul, Sunday. Yonhap
His remarks are interpreted as Korea's approval of Japan joining the Seoul-Washington NCG, meaning the respective extended deterrence consultative body of Seoul-Washington and Tokyo-Washington could be merged, or a new body involving all three countries could be established.
While Seoul and Washington decided to have the NCG serve as the top consultative body to discuss extended U.S. deterrence against Pyongyang's nuclear threats, Japan and the U.S. have been operating the Extended Deterrence Dialogue (EDD) since 2010. However, Japan's presence in the EDD is known to be weaker than the level of joint planning.
If Japan joins the Seoul-Washington NCG, the competitive dynamics in Northeast Asia will intensify, as South Korea, Japan and the U.S. strengthen their security cooperation based on nuclear planning and extended deterrence against three nuclear states ― North Korea, Russia and China.
However, experts said such prospects remain elusive, although the three allies could begin talks to form a new consultative body at the trilateral summit in Hiroshima.
ANALYSISKishida's remarks on forced labor victims show his political limits
"It was basically a question to the president, so it must have been difficult for Yoon to rule out Japan's participation in the NCG in the presence of the prime minister," said Kim Yeoul-soo, chief security strategy officer at the Korea Institute of Military Affairs.
"The president set up two conditions for Japan to join the Seoul-Washington NCG. The first is that South Korea and the U.S. should finish detailing what kind of roles that they will serve in the NCG and the second is that Japan and the U.S. should finish their own talks."
Kim said Japan also has to consider its own public sentiment on whether the country should be involved in nuclear planning, while the U.S. also has to calculate the benefits of providing nuclear-based extended deterrence to Tokyo.
"There is one big difference between South Korea and Japan in setting their target of extended deterrence," the analyst said. "The Seoul-Washington NCG sees North Korea's nuclear threats as its main challenge, while the EDD between Tokyo and Washington does not set a primary target. From Japan's perspective, China's assertion could be a bigger risk than North Korea's threats."
President Yoon Suk Yeol, U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida hold a three-way summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia in this Nov. 13, 2022 photo. YonhapKim said chances are rather high for the three countries to come up with "a proper name for the consultative apparatus" as their efforts continue to share real-time data on North Korea's missiles.
Currently, the three countries' data or information sharing relies on the Trilateral Information Sharing Arrangement (TISA) between them and the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) between Seoul and Tokyo.
The TISA was signed in 2014 as a framework where the three countries voluntarily share classified information only through the U.S. Under the GSOMIA, South Korea and Japan share data only when there is a request.
To overcome this, Yoon, Kishida and Biden agreed last November to share North Korean missile warning data in real time to improve each country's ability to detect and assess the threat posed by incoming missiles.
Against this backdrop, multiple government officials said the focus of the trilateral meeting in Hiroshima will be on "strengthening the function of detecting North Korean missile and nuclear threats."
During Sunday's summit, Yoon confirmed that "there is progress in discussions between related authorities of each country" and promised "continued security cooperation between the three countries in the future."
Kishida also noted that he and Yoon had the same opinion on "the importance of improving deterrence and response capabilities" against North Korea's provocations "through Japan-U.S. alliance, South Korea-U.S. alliance and Japan-South Korea-U.S. security cooperation," and welcomed the progress in the real-time sharing of data on North Korea's threat.
The Korea Times · by 2023-05-08 16:38 | Foreign Affairs · May 8, 2023
19. ‘The Glory’ Was a Hit. Now Netflix Is Spending More on K-Dramas.
We need to influence NETFLIX to produce K-drama content that can help informa, educate, and motivate Koreans in the north (and the South) about unification. "Crash Landing on You" shows that north-South dramas can make a profit and support influence operations (without intending to do so).
‘The Glory’ Was a Hit. Now Netflix Is Spending More on K-Dramas.
By Jin Yu Young and Matt Stevens
Jin Yu Young reported from Seoul and visited Netflix’s offices there. Matt Stevens reported from New York.
The New York Times · by Matt Stevens · May 7, 2023
As the series, which focuses on bullying and revenge, became the latest global sensation to emerge from South Korea, Netflix announced it would spend $2.5 billion more on Korean content.
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Song Hye-kyo plays Moon Dong-eun, the heroine of “The Glory,” a drama of bullying and revenge that has become Netflix’s latest hit series from South Korea.Credit...Graphyoda/Netflix
By Jin Yu Young and
Jin Yu Young reported from Seoul and visited Netflix’s offices there. Matt Stevens reported from New York.
May 7, 2023, 10:00 a.m. ET
“Somebody please help me!” Dong-eun, a high school student, screams as a classmate sears a hair curler into her arm while two other tormentors hold her down.
The gruesome scene in a school gymnasium is one of the early, pivotal moments of “The Glory,” the 16-episode drama centered on bullying, social status and revenge that has become the latest in a succession of South Korean mega hits for Netflix. Its breakout sensation, “Squid Game,” became the streamer’s most popular series of all time.
“The Glory,” which was released in two parts in December and March, is now Netflix’s fifth most popular non-English television offering ever. Executives said they were somewhat surprised to see how well the show did internationally, noting that it reached the top 10 non-English TV list in 91 countries.
It was one of the Korean hits, along with “Squid Game” and “Physical: 100,” that Ted Sarandos, co-chief executive of Netflix, cited last month when he met with President Yoon Suk Yeol of South Korea. There he announced a $2.5 billion investment in South Korean content over the next four years and noted that stories created in the country “are now at the heart of the global cultural zeitgeist.”
Don Kang, Netflix’s vice president of content for Korea, said it had been exciting to see the show take off globally. “‘The Glory’ is a great example of a story that resonates authentically with local audiences, but also depicts themes of human psychology and social issues, which audiences everywhere can relate to,” he said in a statement to The New York Times.
“The Glory” revolves around Moon Dong-eun, who makes it her life’s mission to seek revenge on the people who bullied her in high school. Her scars serve both as physical reminders of the pain she suffered at the hands of bullies and as the motivation behind her yearslong quest for vengeance. As she ages and develops her complicated payback scheme, she transforms from victim to perpetrator.
In braiding together the themes of bullying and revenge — plot devices that have animated dramas for centuries — “The Glory” lured droves of justice-hungry viewers in South Korea and beyond, even without the grand sets and striking visuals that propelled the popularity of “Squid Game.”
Netflix officials said they were pleased to discover that a show focused on story line and characters could travel as well as it did. They said they decided early on to release the episodes in two batches in part because of the weightiness of the content.
In a country where traditional broadcasters still censor smoking, Netflix is among the platforms that have opened a path for content creators to delve into topics that have long been considered too risqué, said Yu Kon-shik, an adjunct professor of communications at Konkuk University in Seoul and part of the production planning committee at the Korean Broadcasting System.
Fans of “The Glory,” some of whom recalled their own experiences with bullying, admitted that they found it gratifying and cathartic to see Dong-eun upend the lives of her enemies, even when she did things they would never consider.
“‘The Glory’ is this slow burn of a vengeance,” said Amy Lew, of Temple City, Calif., whose children have been bullied in school. “That’s everyone’s dark side, right? You want to see the underdog win.”
“Squid Game” became Netflix's most popular series of all time.Credit...Netflix
There is a reason so many people can relate. Almost one in three students reported being bullied in 2019, according to a UNESCO report, which also found that the prevalence of bullying has increased in almost one in five countries. And although reports of school violence in South Korea are relatively low — about 2 percent of students report being victims, according to its Ministry of Education — the actual figures could be higher because many students are afraid to speak up, said Kim Tae-yeon, a lawyer in Seoul who specializes in the subject.
The resonance of “The Glory” and its themes parked the show on Netflix’s Global Top 10 list for non-English television for 13 weeks. (It has spent only three weeks on the list of leading non-English programs in the United States.) It became one of four Korean series among Netflix’s 10 most popular non-English TV offerings of all time, along with “Squid Game,” “All of Us Are Dead” and “Extraordinary Attorney Woo.”
Now the company is hoping to build on those successes by releasing more than 30 Korean series, films and unscripted shows this year alone. At the end of March, just three weeks after the release of the second batch of episodes of “The Glory,” Netflix offered up another new Korean thriller: “Kill Boksoon.”
It has spent the past five weeks in Netflix’s top 10 for non-English films.
The global success of Korean productions demonstrates the international reach of Netflix — which can subtitle or dub shows in more than 30 languages — but also of the growing power of Seoul as a creative hub, Kang, the Netflix vice president, said.
“Korea is a storytelling powerhouse with the ability to showcase uniquely Korean culture and issues,” he said, “while conveying universal emotions that resonate with people around the world.”
The New York Times · by Matt Stevens · May 7, 2023
De Oppresso Liber,
David Maxwell
Vice President, Center for Asia Pacific Strategy
Senior Fellow, Foundation for Defense of Democracies
Senior Fellow, Global Peace Foundation
Editor, Small Wars Journal
Twitter: @davidmaxwell161
Phone: 202-573-8647
email: david.maxwell161@gmail.com
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