Quotes of the Day:
"Before all masters, necessity is the one most listened to, and who teaches the best."
- Jules Verne
"'Knowledge dominance' does scare us as Marines. General George Armstrong Custer probably thought he had knowledge dominance, too. Anytime you think you're smarter than your adversary, you're probably about a half-mile from the Little Big Horn."
- Colonel Art Corbett, USMC
"Those cannot be trusted to act on clear and concise verbal orders, but want everything in writing, are useless. There is too much paper in circulation in the army and no-one can read even half of it intelligently."
- Field Marshall The Viscount Montgomery of Alamein KG, GCB, DSO. Memoirs, 1958. (17 November 1887 - 24 March 1976)
1. United States-Japan-Republic of Korea Trilateral Ministerial Meeting (TMM) Joint Press Statement
2. North Korea's New Foreign Minister: A 'Very Familiar' Face in DC
3. Seoul to 'dramatically' boost defense amid fears over North Korea's nuclear plans
4. North Korea’s Belated Effort to Import COVID-19 Medical Supplies
5. S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases below 10,000 for 3rd day
6. N. Korea's suspected COVID-19 cases close to 40,000: state media
7. S. Korea to 'normalize' security cooperation with Japan to address N.K. threats: minister
8. N. Korea fires presumed artillery shots: S. Korean military
9. Who Is Choe Son-Hui ? First Female Foreign Minister of North Korea
10. North Korea slams Seoul’s part in massive US-led RIMPAC naval exercise
11. In first, Japan, U.S. and South Korea stress importance of 'peace and stability' in Taiwan Strait
12. China calls for more goodwill on peninsula
13. N. Korean leader extends full support to Putin amid war in Ukraine
14. PACAF Highlights Strong ‘Trilateral’ Response to North Korea Missile Tests
15. North Korea's leader defends arms buildup during party meeting
16. Chinese fishing boat seized for alleged illegal fishing in S. Korean waters
1. United States-Japan-Republic of Korea Trilateral Ministerial Meeting (TMM) Joint Press Statement
Good progress here. I am cautiously optimistic but still realistic. There is hard work to be done between the ROK and Japan.
Excerpts:
The United States reaffirmed its steadfast alliance commitments to Japan and the ROK backed by the full range of U.S. capabilities, including nuclear. Japan and the ROK highlighted the importance of their bilateral ties and trilateral cooperation to protect and advance their shared security goals. The Ministers committed to work closely together for peace and stability in the region and around the world.
United States-Japan-Republic of Korea Trilateral Ministerial Meeting (TMM) Joint Press Statement
Release
Immediate Release
June 11, 2022
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III, Republic of Korea (ROK) Minister of National Defense Lee Jong-Sup, and Japanese Minister of Defense Kishi Nobuo convened a Trilateral Ministerial Meeting in Singapore on June 11. During the meeting, the three ministers discussed the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), enhancing trilateral security cooperation, and addressing common security challenges in the Indo-Pacific region.
The Ministers pledged that the United States, Japan, and the ROK will cooperate closely toward their shared commitment to achieve the complete denuclearization of, and the establishment of permanent peace on, the Korean Peninsula. Additionally, they affirmed the importance of full implementation of relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions (UNSCRs) by the international community. They underscored the importance of sustained international cooperation to deter, disrupt, and ultimately eliminate the DPRK’s illicit ship-to-ship transfers. They recognized the international community’s shared goal of the DPRK’s full compliance with its international obligations in accordance with all relevant UNSCRs. They also shared their deep concerns about the DPRK’s weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs, which pose a grave threat to international peace and stability, and committed to address these concerns through concerted trilateral cooperation.
They further committed to conduct trilateral missile warning and ballistic missile search and tracking exercises, and to identify further trilateral actions in order to address DPRK ballistic missile launches. They strongly condemned the DPRK’s repeated unlawful ballistic missile launches and confirmed that any launches of ballistic missiles by the DPRK are a clear violation of multiple UNSCRs. In addition, they shared the recognition that defense-related confidence building among countries in the region is important and committed to strengthening cooperation to institutionalize such efforts.
The Ministers discussed other regional security issues and concurred in the importance of deepening trilateral cooperation on key issues to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific region, including information sharing, high-level policy consultations, and combined exercises. They expressed strong opposition to any unilateral actions that seek to alter the status quo and increase tensions in the region. They emphasized the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. They shared concerns on activities that are inconsistent with the international rules-based order and stressed the importance of freedom of navigation and overflight. They also reaffirmed that all disputes should be resolved in a peaceful manner in accordance with the principles of international law.
The United States reaffirmed its steadfast alliance commitments to Japan and the ROK backed by the full range of U.S. capabilities, including nuclear. Japan and the ROK highlighted the importance of their bilateral ties and trilateral cooperation to protect and advance their shared security goals. The Ministers committed to work closely together for peace and stability in the region and around the world.
2. North Korea's New Foreign Minister: A 'Very Familiar' Face in DC
We should not get our hopes up because perhaps that is what Kim Jong Un wants us to do. I think we should heed Michael Madden's caution.
Excerpts:
It's not clear whether Choe's promotion – which came during a major, multiday political meeting in Pyongyang – indicates a wider shift in North Korea's approach toward the United States.
...
Choe is a "colorful character," according to a Washington-based Korea specialist who has participated in backchannel talks with the North Korean diplomat, noting that she can be very contrarian and cheeky.
"She has a lot of experience with Americans, but that doesn't mean she'll make things easy on the U.S.," said the Asia expert, who spoke to VOA on condition of anonymity because of the private nature of Track II discussions.
Michael Madden, a North Korea leadership expert at the Washington-based Stimson Center, agrees that Choe's appointment does not necessarily signal a greater North Korean willingness to engage with the United States.
"We need to be mindful of the fact that Choe Son Hui has also been quite active in North Korea's relations with China and Russia, particularly Russia," Madden said. "So her appointment is linked more closely with the post-Ukraine invasion geopolitical space rather than a potential thaw with the Americans."
North Korea's New Foreign Minister: A 'Very Familiar' Face in DC
June 11, 2022 6:03 AM
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA —
North Korea's new foreign minister is a tough-talking veteran female diplomat who speaks fluent English and has decades of experience negotiating with the United States and other major powers.
State media on Saturday announced the promotion of Choe Son Hui, who becomes North Korea's first female foreign minister and one of the highest-ranking women officials in its history.
It's not clear whether Choe's promotion – which came during a major, multiday political meeting in Pyongyang – indicates a wider shift in North Korea's approach toward the United States.
North Korea walked away from nuclear talks in 2019. It has ignored repeated invitations to dialogue by the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden.
Instead, North Korea has launched 31 ballistic missiles this year, smashing a previous record of 25 set in 2019. There are also signs North Korea is preparing to conduct another nuclear test, the International Atomic Energy Agency said this week.
During past periods of U.S.-North Korea tension, Choe has taken a softer approach. At various points in her career, analysts have said her elevation represents North Korea's willingness to talk with Washington.
But Choe, the daughter of former North Korean premier Choe Yong Rim, also has a reputation for speaking bluntly.
FILE - People watch a TV screen showing file footage of North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, March 15, 2019.
She once called former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence a "political dummy." Those comments were reportedly a major factor in former U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to temporarily cancel his first summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Trump and Kim eventually met in June 2018 in Singapore, where they agreed to "work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula." They held two more meetings in 2019 – first in Hanoi, Vietnam, and then on the inter-Korean border.
Choe played a major role in those negotiations, as well as in working-level talks between U.S. and North Korean officials. However, the diplomacy eventually broke down after North Korea grew frustrated at U.S. unwillingness to meet its demands.
Choe was a frequent participant in backchannel discussions, also known as "Track II" talks, with former diplomats and scholars. Those interactions make her very familiar to officials and others in Washington, according to Asia foreign affairs specialist Rorry Daniels, who has helped organize such informal discussions.
FILE - North Korea Deputy Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui talks during a press conference Feb. 28, 2019, at Melia Hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam.
"I bet she has been at every major Track II in the last decade or more," Daniels said. "She is tough, but not a hardliner. As familiar with the U.S. and knowledgeable about its system as any of the major North Korean players."
Earlier in her career, Choe served as an interpreter at six-party talks between North Korea and five major world powers. Since then, she has steadily risen through the ranks of the country's foreign ministry. In 2019, she was appointed to first vice foreign minister.
Choe is a "colorful character," according to a Washington-based Korea specialist who has participated in backchannel talks with the North Korean diplomat, noting that she can be very contrarian and cheeky.
"She has a lot of experience with Americans, but that doesn't mean she'll make things easy on the U.S.," said the Asia expert, who spoke to VOA on condition of anonymity because of the private nature of Track II discussions.
Michael Madden, a North Korea leadership expert at the Washington-based Stimson Center, agrees that Choe's appointment does not necessarily signal a greater North Korean willingness to engage with the United States.
"We need to be mindful of the fact that Choe Son Hui has also been quite active in North Korea's relations with China and Russia, particularly Russia," Madden said. "So her appointment is linked more closely with the post-Ukraine invasion geopolitical space rather than a potential thaw with the Americans."
3. Seoul to 'dramatically' boost defense amid fears over North Korea's nuclear plans
It should go without saying we are seeing a radical departure from the previous administration although the Moon administration did make some significant defense investments. The difference is the view of the threat from the north. The Yoon administration understands the nature, objectives,and strategy of theKIm family regime and the existential threat it poses to the South.
CNN · by Simone McCarthy and Heather Chen, CNN
Singapore (CNN)South Korea will "dramatically" strengthen its defensive capabilities, its defense minister said Sunday amid international concern that Pyongyang is reviving its nuclear testing program.
"Our government will strengthen capabilities to better implement the US extended deterrence and will dramatically enhance response capabilities of the Republic of Korea military to deter North Korea's nuclear and missile threats," Defense Minister Lee Jong-Sup said at the Shangri-La Dialogue security forum in Singapore.
Lee also said South Korea would work more closely with the United States and Japan as part of its response -- echoing a pledge made by US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin a day earlier.
North Korea's "repeated missile provocations" were advancing in "quality and quantity," Lee said, adding that this and preparations for a nuclear test were a "grave challenge threatening peace and stability."
That threat has been a key topic of discussion at the three-day security forum, which draws defense officials from across the region and this year has been playing out under the shadow of the war in Ukraine and heightened concerns over Pyongyang's weapons program.
Read More
Lee's latest comments are another sign of Seoul's shift to a harder line against the regime of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, following North Korea's flurry of missile testing and the election of new South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol.
Regional response
The dialogue has also been a forum for countries to bolster plans for cooperation to deter the North Korean threat.
In a meeting on the sidelines of the forum on Saturday, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi of Japan and South Korea's Lee spoke of "solidarity" as a key element of deterrence against North Korea, according to a senior US defense official.
The three countries planned to engage in ballistic missile data-sharing exercises and discuss additional trilateral exercises, the official said.
Austin pledged to deepen American security cooperation with Japan and South Korea in response to North Korean provocations in an address that same day.
"We remain open to future diplomacy -- and fully prepared to deter and to defeat future aggression," he said.
Earlier this month, the US and South Korea responded together to a North Korean ballistic missile test by firing their own missiles into waters off the east coast of the Korean peninsula, while US and Japanese forces held a joint drill.
Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe also weighed in on North Korea's recent missile launches in response to a question following his own address at the forum on Sunday.
Wei said China would continue to promote peace on the Korean peninsula, but stressed that the security concerns of all parties should be accommodated.
"The concerns of the DPRK [Democratic People's Republic of Korea] are not addressed by the international community," he said, adding that international sanctions had been detrimental to the quality of life in North Korea.
Late last month, China, together with Russia, blocked a US-led bid to strengthen sanctions against North Korea in response to recent ballistic missile tests in violation of UN resolutions.
In his address, South Korea's Minister Lee said if North Korea made substantial progress in denuclearization, South Korea would pursue a "bold plan" to help improve the country's economy and the lives of its citizens, but this plan needs to come "from a position of strength."
CNN's Ally Barnard and Teele Rebane contributed to this report.
CNN · by Simone McCarthy and Heather Chen, CNN
4. North Korea’s Belated Effort to Import COVID-19 Medical Supplies
Important insights from Troy Stangerone.
Conclusion:
If North Korea believes that it can perhaps wait out this wave of infections, it may be mistaken. In South Africa, 98 percent of the population is estimated to have antibodies for COVID-19, but the new BA.4 and BA.5 variants are driving new waves of infections. If Pyongyang hopes that it can merely ride this wave out and avoid future ones without a well-developed COVID-19 plan, it is likely to be mistaken.
North Korea’s Belated Effort to Import COVID-19 Medical Supplies
Pyongyang only ramped up its pandemic-related imports after admitting its first outbreak. Is it too little, too late?
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For a country with a medical system already facing shortages, North Korea’s approach to dealing with the pandemic has been complex. Initially, North Korea’s border measures and lockdowns of Kaesong and other locations appeared to have kept COVID-19 at bay for much of the last two years, but that changed in mid-May when North Korea announced its first confirmed COVID-19 case and rapidly spreading instances of fever. As of June 9, Pyongyang had reported 4.3 million cases of fever, but it lacks the capacity to actually test for COVID-19 on that scale.
A review of Pyongyang’s trade during the pandemic suggests that North Korea took steps to address the pandemic in the early stages. However, the regime reduced its pandemic-related imports as the pandemic stretched into 2021 and is only now trying to take additional steps to address its needs.
In 2020, with some expected variance among trading partners, North Korea appears to have prioritized medical supplies relative to other products. Overall imports from China, which account for more than 90 percent of North Korea’s trade, fell by 81 percent. In contrast, pharmaceutical imports from China only declined by 59 percent.
Pharmaceutical imports from Russia, in contrast with most countries, increased from $2.5 million in 2019 to $3.9 million in 2020. Imports from India only declined 46 percent.
The only relatively significant sources of pharmaceutical imports ($500,000+) that saw declines larger than North Korea’s trade as a whole were Poland and the Netherlands, each with declines of more than 75 percent, and Germany, which saw pharmaceutical exports to North Korea fall to zero.
During this early period of the pandemic, when treatments were unclear, maintaining pharmaceutical imports to the largest extent possible helped to preserve supplies of medicines needed to treat existing conditions and potentially address the pandemic.
The vast majority of North Korea’s pharmaceutical imports from China in 2020 were therapeutic drugs. These include medicines for retail sale, antibiotics, penicillin and its derivatives, and insulin. There is a similar pattern with other trading partners. Imports from Russia largely consisted of drugs sold at retail, but there was also a slight increase in imports of antibiotics. In the case of India, North Korea imported $1.6 million in pharmaceutical products, including $930,932 in non-COVID-19 vaccines and $491,808 in pharmaceuticals primarily related to tuberculosis.
There are also indications that North Korea took steps to identify potential COVID-19 cases early in the pandemic. Similar to its use of fever now to identify potential COVID-19 cases, North Korea significantly increased its imports thermometers and pyrometers, presumably to enhance the regime’s ability to track fever outbreaks in the population. After importing only a little over $300,000 worth of thermometers and pyrometers from China the decade prior to the pandemic, and nearly as much from India in 2015, North Korean imports of thermometers and pyrometers from China surged to $1.7 million in 2020.
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Pyongyang also placed some focus on protective equipment. Imports of surgical gloves from China surged 63 percent as North Korea imported more than 500,000 pairs. It also imported a little over $300,000 in unidentified garments in 2020 that could be used for medical purposes, but saw a significant decline in imports of protective goggles.
While much of the rest of the world began to vaccinate its populations in 2021, North Korea seemingly began to scale back its COVID-19 efforts. It declined 3 million Sinovac COVID-19 vaccines from COVAX, suggesting that they should go to countries more in need. At the same time, despite pharmaceutical imports from China, by far North Korea’s largest source, growing a little over 1 percent, pharmaceutical imports from India collapsed to just under $8,000 and imports from Russia ceased, resulting in a net decline of over $5 million worth of pharmaceutical products. North Korea also essentially stopped importing thermometers and pyrometers, protective goggles, and surgical gloves.
Whether these shifts were a function of a continued decline in overall trade in 2021 or overconfidence by the regime, there was a noticeable decline in North Korea’s medical and COVID-19-related imports in 2021.
However, facing a continuing decline in its overall trade, North Korea made the decision to resume regular freight rail service with China earlier this year. Partially reopening the border was a calculated but necessary risk. The more traffic Pyongyang allowed across the border to address growing shortages of goods, the more likely its quarantine efforts were to fail. It also turned out to be a poorly timed risk, as freight rail service resumed shortly before China began experiencing its own mass outbreaks of the highly transmissible Omicron variant.
While it is unclear whether North Korea’s outbreak can be traced to the resumption of freight rail service or another factor, now that North Korea is acknowledging that COVID-19 is present domestically, what supplies has the regime imported to deal with the outbreak?
In the first four months of this year, pharmaceutical imports from China are above the same period for each year of the last decade, at $16.7 million. Medicines for retail make up the biggest portion, but antibiotics also account for about $2.7 million of those imports.
North Korea has also imported 10.7 million textile face masks (it may also have imported up to 13 million in 2021 and 12.9 million in 2020 under a separate HS code that also includes other products).
To address its testing needs, North Korea has imported more than $480,000 worth of thermometers and pyrometers this year. Additionally, it has begun importing supplies for COVID-19 test kits that the World Health Organization helped North Korea to develop last year. So far this year, North Korea has imported $16,748 worth of diagnostic reagents for COVID-19 test kits and $104,130 worth of COVID-19 diagnostic test instruments.
To help treat patients with severe COVID-19 cases, North Korea has imported $267,000 in noninvasive ventilators and $20,000 in oxygen therapy apparatuses after not importing any in 2021.
Imports of nasal prongs and catheters, which help supply oxygen to patients, jumped to $913,689, almost equaling all of North Korea’s 2020 imports and just $350,000 behind all of 2019.
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However, there are no indications that North Korea has imported oxygen or other related equipment, such as pulse oximeters, to measure the oxygen saturation of hemoglobin in arterial blood during the pandemic. It has not imported oxygen masks since 2020.
After essentially dropping off North Korea’s imports in 2021, North Korea has imported 200,750 pairs of surgical gloves, $42,355 in protective goggles, and a small amount of laminated garments from China.
It has also imported $4.3 million worth of soap this year, equivalent to its total imports of soap from China in 2021 and more than half of what it imported in all of 2019. However, imports of hand sanitizer and other disinfectants fell off significantly during the pandemic.
There are also indications that North Korea may be preparing to vaccinate part of the population. Gavi believes that North Korea has begun administering Chinese vaccines and, in February, it imported a little over $300,000 worth of unidentified vaccines from China. It also imported a little over $600,000 in syringes through April, a pace much higher than annual imports in the last five years.
North Korea may also be filling some of its COVID-19 needs from domestic production of pharmaceuticals, thermometers, face masks and other products, but it is unlikely given the scale of the outbreak that domestic production along with imports from this year could meet North Korea’s needs.
Thus far, North Korea has only accepted limited amounts of aid since announcing its initial confirmed case of COVID-19. It also appears to be taking steps to loosen restrictions put in place to handle the outbreak without securing a sufficient aid plan from the international community.
If North Korea believes that it can perhaps wait out this wave of infections, it may be mistaken. In South Africa, 98 percent of the population is estimated to have antibodies for COVID-19, but the new BA.4 and BA.5 variants are driving new waves of infections. If Pyongyang hopes that it can merely ride this wave out and avoid future ones without a well-developed COVID-19 plan, it is likely to be mistaken.
CONTRIBUTING AUTHOR
Troy Stangarone
Troy Stangarone is Senior Director and Fellow at the Korea Economic Institute of America (KEI).
5. S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases below 10,000 for 3rd day
I wonder how long it will be before we start hearing reports from north Korea with matching numbers or better numbers?
(2nd LD) S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases below 10,000 for 3rd day | Yonhap News Agency
(ATTN: UPDATES with 9 p.m. tally in paras 7-8)
SEOUL, June 12 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's new COVID-19 cases stayed below 10,000 for the third consecutive day Sunday on fewer tests on the weekend and the waning omicron-driven virus wave.
The country added 7,382 new infections, bringing the total caseload to 18,225,460, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.
Sunday's figure was down from 8,442 the previous day. It was also down from 9,832 new cases logged a week earlier.
Of the new infections, 78 were from overseas, marking the highest figure in about three months. The imported cases have grown in recent days, as the country lifted the self-quarantine for all international arrivals, regardless of their nationalities or vaccination status.
The country added 20 COVID-19 deaths Sunday, bringing the death toll to 24,371. The fatality rate stood at 0.13 percent.
The number of critically ill patients came to 98, falling below 100 for the first time since April last year.
As of 9 p.m. Sunday, local governments had reported 3,577 additional COVID-19 cases, down 3,520 from the same time Saturday.
Daily cases are counted until midnight and announced the following morning.
As of Sunday, 44.61 million, or 86.9 percent of the population, had completed the full two-dose vaccinations, and 33.34 million had received their first booster shots.
More than 4.26 million people, or 8.3 percent of the population, had gotten their second booster shots, the KDCA said.
The government is expected to decide on Friday whether to lift the mandatory seven-day self-isolation period for COVID-19 patients amid its ongoing efforts to support the people's return to pre-pandemic normalcy.
The health authorities have warned of another virus wave in summer due to growing people-to-people contact in the vacation season and other seasonal factors, and devised measures to better protect vulnerable groups.
Starting next month, the country plans to bring in AstraZeneca's antibody treatment Evusheld for emergency use, which will be given to those with compromised immune systems as a preventive measure.
It has also been working to secure 5,000 medical centers across the nation that will handle COVID-19 cases in a comprehensive manner from testing to prescription and treatment.
As of Sunday, a total of 6,590 hospital beds are reserved for COVID-19 patients nationwide. Of them, 1,537 beds are meant to treat seriously ill patients, and 7.5 percent of them are occupied, according to the KDCA.
graceoh@yna.co.kr
(END)
6. N. Korea's suspected COVID-19 cases close to 40,000: state media
For the regime perhaps this is a competition for "legitimacy."
Excerpt:
South Korean observers question the credibility of the coronavirus statistics released by the North, with a fatality rate of just 0.002 percent, compared to South Korea's 0.13 percent a day earlier.
(LEAD) N. Korea's suspected COVID-19 cases close to 40,000: state media | Yonhap News Agency
(ATTN: UPDATES with more details throughout; ADDS photo)
SEOUL, June 12 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's new suspected COVID-19 cases dropped to near 40,000, while another death was reported, according to its state media Sunday.
More than 40,060 people showed symptoms of fever over a 24-hour period until 6 p.m. the previous day, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said, citing data from the state emergency epidemic prevention headquarters. One additional death was confirmed, bringing the total toll to 72, it added.
The total number of fever cases since late April came to over 4.43 million as of 6 p.m. Saturday, of which more than 4.36 million have recovered, and at least 71,160 are being treated, it added.
The country's daily fever tally has been on a downward trend after peaking at over 392,920 on May 15.
The North urged all-out efforts to carry out the antivirus measures discussed during the enlarged plenary meeting of the party's Central Committee last week.
"The most pressing task facing us now is to ultimately overcome this malicious virus crisis and to bring back stability, and to ramp up the country's quarantine and crisis control capabilities," the Rodong Sinmun, the North's main newspaper, said.
On May 12, North Korea acknowledged the first outbreak of COVID-19 after claiming to be coronavirus-free for over two years.
South Korean observers question the credibility of the coronavirus statistics released by the North, with a fatality rate of just 0.002 percent, compared to South Korea's 0.13 percent a day earlier.
(END)
7. S. Korea to 'normalize' security cooperation with Japan to address N.K. threats: minister
I hope Japan has the same view.
(LEAD) S. Korea to 'normalize' security cooperation with Japan to address N.K. threats: minister | Yonhap News Agency
(ATTN: UPDATES throughout with more details; RECASTS 2nd para)
By Song Sang-ho
SINGAPORE, June 12 (Yonhap) -- South Korea seeks to "normalize" security cooperation with Japan and strengthen trilateral collaboration involving the United States to address North Korea's nuclear and missile threats, Seoul's defense minister said Sunday.
Lee Jong-sup was speaking at the annual Shangri-La Dialogue in this city state, striving to drum up global support to tackle the security challenges that he said can affect the overall Indo-Pacific region.
This year's session of Asia's premier defense forum took place amid increased tensions caused by the North's recent ballistic missile launches and its preparations for a nuclear test. Security concerns deepened further after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un reaffirmed his regime's principle of "power for power and head-on contest" during a recent key ruling party session.
The minister said that South Korea intends to engage in a "serious" dialogue with Japan not just to normalize security cooperation between the two countries but also to beef up trilateral cooperation with the U.S.
He pointed out "unresolved issues" between Seoul and Tokyo in an apparent allusion to historical and other rows largely stemming from Japan's 1910-45 colonization of the Korean Peninsula.
But he expressed Seoul's intention to "have the two sides put their wisdom together to reach reasonable solutions in a way that is in line with the two countries' shared interests."
Lee also laid out the Yoon Suk-yeol administration's goal to denuclearize the North in a "complete, verifiable" manner, stressing "our principle to establish a sustainable peace on the Korean Peninsula will remain firm and robust."
"To this end, we will set forth clear corresponding measures with the international community to pursue the denuclearization of North Korea," he said.
Lee highlighted Seoul's pursuit of a "bold plan that can yield groundbreaking improvements for North Korea's economy and its citizens' quality of life."
But he stressed such a drive will proceed "from a position of strength" that will be undergirded by efforts to better implement America's extended deterrence and "dramatically" increase South Korea's own military capabilities.
Extended deterrence refers to the U.S.' commitment to mobilizing a full range of its military capabilities, including nuclear options, to defend its ally.
Lee emphasized a linkage between stability of the peninsula and that of the overall region.
"South Korea's political, economic and cultural status as well as the distinctive geopolitical character of the Korean Peninsula are inseparable from the stability in the Indo-Pacific region," he said.
Lee also used his speech to outline a set of Seoul's initiatives to make more contributions to regional security.
Those include expanding cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations "in more domains, more proactively" through joint responses against cyberthreats and other challenges.
On the basis of the principles of "openness, transparency, and inclusiveness," he added, Seoul plans to expand cooperation with various regional security bodies, like the Quad forum.
"The Republic of Korea will seek to play a constructive role as a 'global pivotal state,' so that rather than ruling out a certain country, it can unlock the greatest amount of security benefits for the greatest number of countries," he said.
sshluck@yna.co.kr
(END)
8. N. Korea fires presumed artillery shots: S. Korean military
Kim just cannot help himself. He follows the advice of the late Madeleine Albright. What good is to have a military if you are not willing to use it.
N. Korea fires presumed artillery shots: S. Korean military | Yonhap News Agency
SEOUL, June 12 (Yonhap) -- North Korea fired artillery shots Sunday, presumably from multiple rocket launchers, South Korea's military said, in what would be yet another show of force by the reclusive regime.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a text message to reporters that it had detected "several trajectories" believed to be artillery shots from around 8:07 a.m. to 11:03 a.m. It gave no additional details, such as the exact number of shots launched and the origin of the firing.
"While bolstering our military's surveillance and vigilance, South Korea and the United States are working closely and maintaining a thorough readiness posture," the JCS said.
The launch came a week after North Korea fired eight short-range ballistic missiles toward the East Sea.
colin@yna.co.kr
(END)
9. Who Is Choe Son-Hui ? First Female Foreign Minister of North Korea
I do not usually go to the web site shethepeople (https://www.shethepeople.tv/) for national security news but this came up in one of my news feeds. There is nothing earth shattering in this report which I think is pretty much synthesized from wire service reports but the fact that this subject is on this web site just strikes me as interesting given the headlines and other stories that accompanied one. I just hope this website is not putting Choe on the same levels some of the other women featured on this e site.
Who Is Choe Son-Hui ? First Female Foreign Minister of North Korea
Reports have revealed that Choe Son-hui has previously served closely with Kim Jong Un, during nuclear talks with the United States and has also accompanied him to summits with then US President Donald Trump in 2019, due to her fluency and hold over English as a career diplomat. During a question-answer session on the night of the summit, that collapsed without a deal, She had said,”I think the United States has missed a golden opportunity with its rejection of our proposals.”
Who Is Choe Son-Hui?
Choe Son-hui will now lead the foreign ministry of North Korea after the promotion from her previous position. This diplomat has now replaced Ri Son Gwon, a former hardline military officer, and foreign minister. At the meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party’s Central Committee from June 8 – to June 10, 2022, Kim Jong Un reportedly came to the decision of promoting Choe Son-hui a veteran with previous experience in handling US affairs as his new foreign minister.
Born on 10 August 1964 in North Korea, she is an interpreter, aide, researcher, and Foreign Ministry official. One of the few women at such a high rank in North Korea, Choe has connections to the ruling party through her stepfather Choe Yong-rim, a former Premier of the North Korean army, who fought in the anti-Japanese struggle, under Kim Il-sung.
From section chief to deputy director, deputy director-general of the North American department in 2016, and vice-minister in 2018, Choe has progressed through all the ranks and now holds a decade-long experience in the ministry.
Reports have also revealed that ever since the summit in 2019 with Kim and Trump collapsed, the diplomatic relationship between Pyongyang and Washington has been stalled. Kim’s government has also refused to respond to the United States’ repeated offers to return to negotiations. This news of North Korea appointing Choe Son-hui as its first female foreign minister comes amidst speculations that the country may soon carry out its seventh nuclear test.
10. North Korea slams Seoul’s part in massive US-led RIMPAC naval exercise
Yes, north Korea and the regime should be afraid of the ROK due to its ability to lead an element of RIMPAC and develop interoperability with Asia Pacific naiotions. That is a capability the nKPA will never have and if there is a war that the north starts the ROK will be able to count on a large number of allies that can bring devastating capabilities to the Korean Theater of Operations.
North Korea slams Seoul’s part in massive US-led RIMPAC naval exercise
Sailors from the USS Ronald Reagan train with South Korean special forces aboard ROKS Marado in the Philippine Sea, June 3, 2022. (Oswald Felix Jr./U.S. Navy)
CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea — A state-run news outlet in North Korea has railed against South Korea’s plan to participate in the world’s largest maritime exercise, led by the U.S. military.
Uriminzokkiri, or With Our People, in an online editorial Wednesday described the South Korean navy as “war maniacs” for joining Rim of the Pacific, or RIMPAC, from June 29 to Aug. 4 in and offshore of Hawaii and California.
Twenty-six nations are expected to participate, with land forces from nine countries, 38 ships, four submarines, more than 170 aircraft and around 25,000 service members, according to the Navy. The massive biennial exercise, which began in 1971, also serves to sustain relationships between the United States and allied and friendly navies.
This year’s invitees include Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, Ecuador, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Peru, South Korea, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tonga and the United Kingdom.
North Korea frequently criticizes the joint military exercises between the U.S. and the South and claims they are a rehearsal for the invasion. Uriminzokkiri wrote Wednesday that South Korean forces are “plotting to engage actively in … world domination.”
“The rash military behavior of petty [South Korean] military authorities ... is a ridiculous lunatic attitude, as if one sets out to play with fire while carrying gunpowder on one’s back,” the editorial said.
North Korea has become more outspoken in its opposition to its neighbor’s military exercises in recent weeks. The South took part in a carrier strike group exercise with the USS Ronald Reagan in the Philippine Sea that ended on June 4.
South Korea is also scheduled to join Pitch Black, a three-week air force exercise in Australia in the fall. Other participating nations are Canada, France, Indonesia, India, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, the U.K., the United Arab Emirates and the United States.
South Korea, Japan and Germany will be fully participating in Pitch Black for the first time.
Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have risen this year after an unprecedented series of ballistic missile tests by North Korea. The regime has conducted 17 rounds of tests since January, including the June 5 launch of eight short-range missiles off its eastern coast.
The South Korean military and U.S. Forces Korea fired eight missiles on June 6 to demonstrate their ability to strike North Korea's launch sites.
Several senior U.S. diplomats arrived in Seoul this week to discuss the situation on the Korean Peninsula. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman met with her South Korean and Japanese counterparts and warned that the allies are prepared for additional provocations from the North, including a nuclear test.
U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Sung Kim, who was in Seoul early this month, warned that a North Korean nuclear test, its first since 2017, may be imminent.
11. In first, Japan, U.S. and South Korea stress importance of 'peace and stability' in Taiwan Strait
Another important first. Again, I am cautiously optimistic about our pseudo or de facto trilateral alliance, but not naive about the remaining challenges and difficulties to have a real alliance.
In first, Japan, U.S. and South Korea stress importance of 'peace and stability' in Taiwan Strait
SINGAPORE – Defense chiefs from Japan, the United States and South Korea on Saturday highlighted the importance of “peace and stability” in the Taiwan Strait at a time when China has raised regional tensions by putting military pressure on democratically governed Taiwan.
Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup also condemned North Korea’s ballistic missile launches and agreed to conduct joint drills to deal with them, according to a joint statement issued after their meeting in Singapore.
It was the first time for the issue of Taiwan — the self-ruled island viewed by Beijing as part of its own territory that must be reunited by force, if necessary — to be referred to in defense ministerial talks among the three nations, the Japanese Defense Ministry said.
The officials aired “strong opposition to any unilateral actions that seek to alter the status quo and increase tensions” in the Indo-Pacific, and shared concerns on activities “inconsistent with the international rules-based order,” the statement said, in a veiled criticism of Beijing’s growing assertiveness in the region.
They “reaffirmed that all disputes should be resolved in a peaceful manner in accordance with the principles of international law,” it added.
Held on the fringes of the annual Asia Security Summit, also known as the Shangri-La Dialogue, the meeting was the first trilateral gathering since Yoon Suk-yeol became South Korea’s president on May 10 and Lee was named his defense chief.
Defense chiefs of the three countries last held in-person talks in November 2019.
As for Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile development, the three nations pledged to carry out “trilateral missile warning and ballistic missile search and tracking exercises,” as well as to take further joint actions to deal with North Korea’s “repeated unlawful ballistic missile launches.”
Washington and its allies Tokyo and Seoul are also bracing for a new nuclear test by North Korea — which would be the country’s seventh and the first since September 2017 if conducted — at its Punggye-ri test site in the northeast.
In addition to the North Korean threats, the change of government in Seoul has given fresh momentum for Japan-South Korea ties to improve. Bilateral ties sank to their lowest level in decades under Yoon’s predecessor, Moon Jae-in, over a host of issues stemming from Japan’s 1910-1945 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.
The Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual event that brings together defense officials from dozens of countries, had been canceled for the last two years due to the coronavirus pandemic.
12. China calls for more goodwill on peninsula
Interpretation of the headline and the article: China says the US must make concessions and appease Kim Jong Un.
China calls for more goodwill on peninsula
All parties related to the Korean Peninsula issue should stay calm, exercise restraint and send more messages that help de-escalate tensions, said Liu Xiaoming, China's special representative on Korean Peninsula affairs.
In a phone call with his Republic of Korea counterpart Kim Gunn on Thursday, Liu said China supports the ROK and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in improving relations with each other, according to a statement issued by China's Foreign Ministry.
Congratulating Kim on his appointment as the ROK's new special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, Liu said China will continue to play a constructive role for the political settlement of the Korean Peninsula issue.
Kim briefed Liu on Seoul's stance on the issue, and said the new ROK administration is willing to keep the door of dialogue with the DPRK open and will continue to work to improve inter-Korean relations.
The ROK values China's important role in addressing the issue, and hopes to maintain communication and cooperation with China, Kim said.
Liu posted tweets about the phone call on Thursday, saying he was glad to talk with Kim.
The phone call came a day after the United Nations General Assembly held a debate on vetoes cast on a Security Council draft resolution, which was tabled by the United States and aimed at tightening sanctions against the DPRK.
Crux of deadlock
China's permanent representative to the UN, Zhang Jun, said during the debate that the situation in the Korean Peninsula has become tense, something that China does not want to see.
The crux of the current deadlock on the Korean Peninsula issue lies in the absence of US response to the DPRK's denuclearization efforts in 2018 following the "action for action" principle, as well as the US' failure to accommodate the legitimate concerns of the DPRK, said China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian during a daily news conference on Tuesday.
"The US side should demonstrate sincerity and take real steps instead of shouting empty slogans for dialogue," Zhao said.
In an interview with a ROK television show on Thursday, Chinese Ambassador to the ROK Xing Haiming said the peninsula "has gone back to the kind of tension that it used to experience in 2017", after a period of easement from 2018 to 2021.
China has always been committed to denuclearization of the peninsula, maintaining peace and stability of the peninsula and solving issues through talks, Xing said, according to a statement issued by the Chinese embassy in Seoul.
China does not support either side of the peninsula to possess nuclear weapons, Xing said, calling for the ROK to work with China for the peninsula's denuclearization.
wangqingyun@chinadaily.com.cn
13. N. Korean leader extends full support to Putin amid war in Ukraine
No surprise. We know how the sides line up.
N. Korean leader extends full support to Putin amid war in Ukraine | Yonhap News Agency
SEOUL, June 12 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Sunday expressed full support for Russian President Vladimir Putin, the country's state media reported, despite international condemnation for his invasion of Ukraine.
The Russian people have "achieved great successes in accomplishing the just cause of defending the dignity and security of their country ... while braving all sorts of challenges and hardships," Kim said in a message to Putin on the occasion of the Russia Day holiday, according to North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency. "The Korean people extend full support and encouragement to them."
Kim's apparent reference to the unprovoked attack against Ukraine as a "just cause" for defending Russia's security is the latest sign that illustrates decades-old close bilateral ties between the two countries.
Pyongyang has recently stressed its close ties with Moscow despite growing criticism from the international community on the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Kim also expressed conviction that the friendly relations will continue to strengthen in all areas and in the "journey for defending the international justice and ensuring the global security."
In 2019, Kim held his first summit with Putin in Russia's far eastern city of Vladivostok.
julesyi@yna.co.kr
(END)
14. PACAF Highlights Strong ‘Trilateral’ Response to North Korea Missile Tests
PACAF commander "on message." (though I take some exception to the unpredictability comment about KJU - I think he is predictable). But his comment on a trilateral response is what we need to focus on.
Excerpt:
“We can never look past North Korea with how unpredictable they are,” Wilsbach said during an interview at PACAF headquarters at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii.
“We’ve got to be ready to respond, and we are,” he added. “What was unique about that is how really trilateral it was with the Japanese as well as the Republic of Korea and the U.S.”
PACAF Highlights Strong ‘Trilateral’ Response to North Korea Missile Tests - Air Force Magazine
June 10, 2022 | By
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JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii—The recent barrage of ballistic missile tests by North Korea elicited a strong, “trilateral” response from the United States and Pacific allies Japan and South Korea, Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) commander Gen. Kenneth S. Wilsbach told Air Force Magazine on June 9. The show of force is necessary to retain allied unity against Chinese aggression, America’s principal concern in the theater, experts say.
“We can never look past North Korea with how unpredictable they are,” Wilsbach said during an interview at PACAF headquarters at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii.
“We’ve got to be ready to respond, and we are,” he added. “What was unique about that is how really trilateral it was with the Japanese as well as the Republic of Korea and the U.S.”
The North test-fired eight short-range ballistic missiles June 5, its largest test in a single day, and brought its total tests per year to 31, the largest number ever in a single year.
“They’re doing those to invoke a reaction by the United States, perhaps Japan, perhaps the Republic of Korea,” Wilsbach added.
That response came in the form of missile tests and fighter jet flights.
The United States and South Korea conducted a combined live-fire exercise June 5, firing one U.S. Army missile and seven Korean missiles into the Sea of Japan, northeast of South Korea.
The two allies also flew 20 fighter jets June 7, including South Korean F 35s, F-15s, and F-16s alongside U.S. F-16s. Separately, the United States and Japan conducted a drill with four Japanese F-15s and two American F-16s.
The most recent tests follow a string of ballistic missile launches by North Korea that began with four tests May 24 that included an intercontinental ballistic missile. In response, on May 25, the United States and South Korea test-fired Republic of Korea (ROK) Hyunmu-2 missiles using the U.S. Army’s Tactical Missile System.
Wilsbach said the continued U.S. and allied responses don’t antagonize North Korea but show unity and force.
“I’m sure that they had planned to launch those missiles well ahead of time,” Wilsbach said. “I seriously doubt that it was antagonistic from the standpoint of they saw us fly and then they launched missiles, because it takes so much planning.”
Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) international security fellow John Schaus told Air Force Magazine in an interview that it is hard to get Pacific allies such as South Korea to see eye to eye with the United States on China as a threat. Demonstrating U.S. commitment to the ROK alliance helps.
“South Korea has a very real threat immediately across the border in North Korea,” Schaus said. “Much the same way we see NATO prioritizing Russia rather than China because it’s right next door, South Korea is prioritizing North Korea rather than China efforts.”
Schaus believes it’s an “open question” whether Pacific allies such as South Korea would assist the United States should conflict arise with China, all the more reason why the United States needs to show its commitment to South Korea’s security priorities.
“Korea is more complicated,” the analyst said, comparing South Korea to alliance partners Japan and Australia.
“I’d say that the new president in Korea is more reflexively pro-alliance than perhaps the last president was,” he added.
Wilsbach said the rapid and united show of force by the United States is a show of the U.S. commitment to the Pacific allies most threatened by North Korea’s aggression.
“That definitely is demonstrating resolve to the region,” he said.
15. North Korea's leader defends arms buildup during party meeting
Of course he does. But it confirms his prioritization of the nuclear weapons and missile programs over the welfare of the Korean people. His decision making is directly responsible for the suffering of theKOrean people living in the north.
North Korea's leader defends arms buildup during party meeting
PBS · by Kim Tong-Hyung, Associated Press · June 11, 2022
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un doubled down on his arms buildup in the face of what he described as an aggravating security environment while outside governments monitor signs of a possibly imminent North Korean nuclear test explosion.
Kim’s comments during a major three-day political conference that wrapped up Friday didn’t include any direct criticism of the United States or rival South Korea amid a prolonged deadlock in nuclear diplomacy.
Kim defended his accelerating weapons development as a rightful exercise of sovereign rights to self-defense and set forth further “militant tasks” to be pursued by his armed forces and military scientists, according to state-run Korean Central News Agency. The report on Saturday didn’t mention any specific goals or plans regarding testing activity, including the detonation of a nuclear device.
The plenary meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party’s Central Committee also reviewed key state affairs, including efforts to slow a COVID-19 outbreak the North first acknowledged last month and progress in economic goals Kim is desperate to keep alive amid strengthened virus restrictions.
“(Kim) said the right to self-defense is an issue of defending sovereignty, clarifying once again the party’s invariable fighting principle of power for power and head-on contest,” KCNA said.
The meeting came amid a provocative streak in missile demonstrations aimed at forcing the United States to accept the idea of North Korea as a nuclear power and negotiating economic and security concessions from a position of strength.
North Korea for years has mastered the art of manufacturing diplomatic crises with weapons tests and threats before eventually offering negotiations aimed at extracting concessions.
In a move that may have future foreign policy implications, Kim during the meeting promoted a veteran diplomat with deep experience in handling U.S. affairs as his new foreign minister.
Choe Sun Hui, who is among the North’s most powerful women along with the leader’s sister Kim Yo Jong, had a major role in preparing Kim Jong Un for his meetings with former U.S. President Donald Trump in 2018 and 2019. Talks between Pyongyang and Washington derailed after the collapse of Kim’s second meeting with Trump in February 2019, when the Americans rejected North Korea’s demands for dropping U.S.-led sanctions in exchange for limited disarmament steps.
Choe replaces Ri Son Gwon, a hard-liner with a military background who during the meeting was announced as Kim’s new point person on rival South Korea.
North Korea has a history of dialing up pressure on Seoul when it doesn’t get what it wants from Washington. While KCNA’s report on the meeting didn’t include any comments specifically referring to South Korea, it said the participants clarified “principles and strategic and tactical orientations to be maintained in the struggle against the enemy and in the field of foreign affairs.”
North Korea also announced a partial reshuffle of its military leadership to accommodate an influx of former counterintelligence officials named to key posts, in a possible step by Kim to further strengthen his grip over the military bureaucracy.
South Korea’s Unification Ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs, said it isn’t immediately clear how North Korea’s comments and personnel moves would affect relations with the South. The ministry said in a statement that the South would sternly respond in conjunction with its U.S. ally if provoked by the North.
The ministry added that North Korean state media’s lack of specific descriptions about the state of the economy beyond some agricultural and construction campaigns suggests the country is struggling to meet development goals Kim presented in a five-year plan in early 2021.
North Korea has already set an annual record in ballistic launches through the first half of 2022, firing 31 missiles in over 18 different launch events, including its first demonstrations of intercontinental ballistic missiles in nearly five years.
Kim may up the ante soon as U.S. and South Korean officials say North Korea has all but finished preparations to detonate a nuclear device at its testing ground in the northeastern town of Punggye-ri. The site had been inactive since hosting the North’s sixth nuclear test in September 2017, when it said it detonated a thermonuclear bomb designed for its ICBMs.
The North’s unusually fast pace in testing activity underscores Kim’s dual intent to advance his arsenal and pressure the Biden administration over long-stalled nuclear diplomacy, experts say.
While the United States has said it would push for additional sanctions if North Korea conducts another nuclear test, the divisions between permanent members of the U.N. Security Council make the prospects for meaningful punitive measures unclear. Russia and China this year vetoed U.S.-sponsored resolutions that would have increased sanctions, insisting Washington should focus on reviving dialogue.
Kim’s pressure campaign hasn’t been slowed by a COVID-19 outbreak spreading across the largely unvaccinated autocracy of 26 million people.
During the meeting, North Korea maintained a dubious claim that its outbreak was easing despite outside concerns of huge death rates given the country’s broken health care system.
North Korea has restricted movement of people and supplies between regions, but large groups of workers have continued to gather at farms and industrial sites, being driven to shore up an economy decimated by decades of mismanagement, sanctions and pandemic border closures.
Kim during the meeting said the country’s “maximum emergency” anti-virus campaign of the past month has strengthened the economic sector’s ability to cope with the virus.
Kim has rejected U.S. and South Korean offers of vaccines and other help. GAVI, the nonprofit that runs the U.N.-backed COVAX distribution program for vaccines, believes North Korea has begun administering doses given by its ally China. But the number of doses and how they were being distributed wasn’t known.
PBS · by Kim Tong-Hyung, Associated Press · June 11, 2022
16. Chinese fishing boat seized for alleged illegal fishing in S. Korean waters
Chinese fishing boat seized for alleged illegal fishing in S. Korean waters | Yonhap News Agency
INCHEON, June 12 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean coast guard said Sunday that it has seized a Chinese speedboat for suspected illegal fishing in South Korean waters in the Yellow Sea.
The five-ton boat carrying two Chinese fishermen is suspected of trying to fish in waters about 35 kilometers west of South Korea's western border island of Socheong at around 8 p.m. on Saturday.
The Chinese boat was fleeing to the north of the inter-Korean border before it was caught by a South Korean Navy 500-ton speedboat.
The Chinese fishermen did not comply with the coast guard's order to stop, Han Sang-yoon, a Coast Guard official handling the case, told Yonhap News Agency.
Two Chinese nationals were taken in for questioning by South Korean Coast Guard officials at a pier in Incheon, Han said. They could face charges of trespassing in areas near the western South Korean border islands and of not complying with the order to stop, which could carry fines of more than 10 million won (US$7,800).
Chinese fishing boats are allowed to enter South Korea's western exclusive economic zone for fishing on the condition that they keep records of their activities and operate within limits. Still, areas near the South Korean border islands are off-limit to Chinese fishermen.
Last year, South Korea seized a total of 108 Chinese fishing boats in violation of due regulations. Of the total, 23 were caught for entering the zone without fishing permits, and most of the remaining cases were for underreporting fish catches.
Some Chinese fishermen have used violence during raids by the South Korean Coast Guard. In 2011, a South Korean Coast Guard officer was killed by a Chinese skipper during a raid.
julesyi@yna.co.kr
(END)
17.
De Oppresso Liber,
David Maxwell
Senior Fellow, Foundation for Defense of Democracies
Senior Fellow, Global Peace Foundation
Senior Advisor, Center for Asia Pacific Strategy
Editor, Small Wars Journal
Twitter: @davidmaxwell161
Phone: 202-573-8647
