North Korea Watch 2013-2019

post 1500, 50 to go till something gives, Un moves on SK or China moves on Un, till then the new news

N. Korean farmer breeds giant mushrooms: report
BEIJING, Aug. 9 (Yonhap) -- A North Korean farmer has found a way to cultivate a cluster of mushrooms weighing some 20 kilograms, China's state media reported Friday. Full story

S. Korea voices hope for reasonable outcome at Kaesong talks
SEOUL, Aug. 9 (Yonhap) -- The future of a troubled joint inter-Korean factory zone in North Korea will hinge on whether the communist North accepts its responsibility over the current work stoppage and promises never to close it again, a Seoul official said Friday. Full story

N. Korea food procurement effort inadequate to cover shortfalls: report
SEOUL, Aug. 9 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's food procurement effort has been inadequate to cover the expected shortfall for this year, a media report based on data provided by an international agriculture agency said Friday. Full story

Senior N. Korean diplomat met U.S. academics in Geneva: source
WASHINGTON, Aug. 8 (Yonhap) -- A senior North Korean foreign ministry official had a rare meeting with Joel Wit, a former State Department official, in Geneva early this week, a diplomatic source here said Thursday. Full story

] visit link english.yonhapnews.co.kr... to read them in full, the only thing that can come from any move is a war in the Korea's that never ended, and Un will make the move.

Originally posted by Gazrok
So, in essence, your defense of NK not making threats is that "they were only kidding", so they aren't REAL threats?

The point i hope to establish is that North Korea has for the longest time been willing to sign a permanent peace treaty as well as sign a non aggression pact with the US. I am not sure that sort of thing is even done any more but suffice to say Kim Il-sung and his son both did as much as could be expected, of their types, to make their positions safe by making peace with the west while avoiding the appearance of weakness. The problem was never the fact that they were dictators but that they, like Iraq, Libya, Yugoslavia etc, believed that corporate capitalism was no solution for their people.

Also i did not suggest that North Korea were unable to act on these threats but merely that they might have long ago acted on the threats had they believed they could better secure their independence that way. They have for a long time probably understood that they could not rely on China or the USSR for aims as grand as re-unification and that an aggressive war on their part might very well have to be fought alone with help again only coming when China's immediate frontiers were threatened. After the experience of the 50's they also had a better grasp of what they were up against and new that they had lost even the superiority they originally held over the Us backed south Korean forces.

Generals ( doesn't matter if they be Korean or Iraqi) DO NOT advocate for war unless they are sure they can win and this is certainly more so for the peace time crop. They would have done what they could to protect their positions of authority by avoiding a conflict that would at least have diminished their authority as they tried to wade trough a million well armed and trained South Koreans backed by several US divisions that would be reinforced in short order. It was a losing proposition at the height of the cold war and it would be worse today and this all very well known and why the North could never and can not today( with or without nukes) escalate unless they were openly attacked.

As far as i am concerned *everyone* knows this.

Ok...sure. Anyone else buying that?

*pauses for the crickets*

They are not suicidal, psychotic or even insane and since only the USA has the power to systematically defuse the situation in Korea. If the US national security state is worried about appearances it could first deal with other corrupt dictatorships that are less well armed and that they do have much influence over ( Saudi Arabia) thus creating the 'credibility' that would allow it sign the documents that could pretty easily normalize the situation in Korea.

The problem wasn't then and isn't now North Korean belligerence but the same old US belligerence in defense of the same old corporate capitalist agenda.

Stellar

reply to post by StellarX


Well said. It would be nice to know how much power in NK rests with Un. If he can, on his own, push the war button then all bets are off. We have maniacs running US. Anything can happen and probably will.

P

Originally posted by StellarX

Originally posted by Gazrok
So, in essence, your defense of NK not making threats is that "they were only kidding", so they aren't REAL threats?

The point i hope to establish is that North Korea has for the longest time been willing to sign a permanent peace treaty as well as sign a non aggression pact with the US. I am not sure that sort of thing is even done any more but suffice to say Kim Il-sung and his son both did as much as could be expected, of their types, to make their positions safe by making peace with the west while avoiding the appearance of weakness. The problem was never the fact that they were dictators but that they, like Iraq, Libya, Yugoslavia etc, believed that corporate capitalism was no solution for their people.

Also i did not suggest that North Korea were unable to act on these threats but merely that they might have long ago acted on the threats had they believed they could better secure their independence that way. They have for a long time probably understood that they could not rely on China or the USSR for aims as grand as re-unification and that an aggressive war on their part might very well have to be fought alone with help again only coming when China's immediate frontiers were threatened. After the experience of the 50's they also had a better grasp of what they were up against and new that they had lost even the superiority they originally held over the Us backed south Korean forces.

Generals ( doesn't matter if they be Korean or Iraqi) DO NOT advocate for war unless they are sure they can win and this is certainly more so for the peace time crop. They would have done what they could to protect their positions of authority by avoiding a conflict that would at least have diminished their authority as they tried to wade trough a million well armed and trained South Koreans backed by several US divisions that would be reinforced in short order. It was a losing proposition at the height of the cold war and it would be worse today and this all very well known and why the North could never and can not today( with or without nukes) escalate unless they were openly attacked.

As far as i am concerned *everyone* knows this.

Ok...sure. Anyone else buying that?

*pauses for the crickets*

They are not suicidal, psychotic or even insane and since only the USA has the power to systematically defuse the situation in Korea. If the US national security state is worried about appearances it could first deal with other corrupt dictatorships that are less well armed and that they do have much influence over ( Saudi Arabia) thus creating the 'credibility' that would allow it sign the documents that could pretty easily normalize the situation in Korea.

The problem wasn't then and isn't now North Korean belligerence but the same old US belligerence in defense of the same old corporate capitalist agenda.

Stellar

edit on 12-8-2013 by StellarX because: (no reason given)

What the hell are you doing posting logical assertions on ATS.

new look for SK news english.yonhapnews.co.kr... might not be able to copy full story any more yep one can english.yonhapnews.co.kr... from the link

Traces of nuclear activity-related gas detected in June: sources

2013/08/13 13:38

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SEOUL, Aug. 13 (Yonhap) -- South Korea detected traces of Xenon, a chemical element usually found near recent nuclear activities, in the country's atmosphere in June, but it does not seem to have originated from North Korea, government sources said Tuesday.

According to the sources, the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety detected traces of the colorless, odorless noble gas on three occasions in June. Xenon is detected in trace amounts after nuclear bomb tests or other nuclear activities.

After the findings, the government tried to track down its source, but found no signs of nearby nuclear activities in the preceding weeks, the sources said.

The government could not determine the origin of the Xenon gas, one of the sources said, adding that the North may not be responsible because no signs of nuclear activities have been seen in the country at around that time.

Xenon takes about 12 days to reduce by half in the air and North Korea showed no signs of nuclear generation or arms tests in the cited period before the detection, including in its nuclear generation complex in Yongbyon, the source said.

Another source said that the government received no intelligence about the North's nuclear activities in relation with the Xenon detection.

In April, North Korea announced that its nuclear scientists will begin work "readjusting and restarting" a uranium enrichment plant and a graphite-moderated, 5-megawatt reactor in the Yongbyon complex.

The South, however, has not detected any actions by the North to resume the operations of the nuclear reactor, according to the sources.

[email protected]

(END)

what doi you think of their new look like it or ?? my self .. news is news

reply to post by StellarX

The problem wasn't then and isn't now North Korean belligerence but the same old US belligerence in defense of the same old corporate capitalist agenda.

How is calling for no nukes (same as China's demand, by the way) part of a corporate capitalist agenda? That's what the US is demanding....no nukes. And yes, it very much IS the belligerence of NK on this point that remains the problem. Deals are made...then NK goes and breaks their agreements, one by one....repeatedly. Then, it demands bribes to come back to the table....(and it gets them)......

Originally posted by Gazrok
reply to post by StellarX

 

The problem wasn't then and isn't now North Korean belligerence but the same old US belligerence in defense of the same old corporate capitalist agenda.

How is calling for no nukes (same as China's demand, by the way) part of a corporate capitalist agenda? That's what the US is demanding....no nukes. And yes, it very much IS the belligerence of NK on this point that remains the problem. Deals are made...then NK goes and breaks their agreements, one by one....repeatedly. Then, it demands bribes to come back to the table....(and it gets them)......

The problem for me is always that the call for no nukes comes from the most belligerent nuclear armed nation in the world. We 'ave em, and you're not allowed to have any, nope, none, zip, zero!

Sorry. If the US has them, then everyone else needs them as the only countries that don't get attacked are the ones without Nukes.

While you're at it, how about taking the Nukes away from Israel.

I hate hypocrites and that is what the US is.

P

reply to post by pheonix358


Last I checked, Israel hasn't threatened publicly to nuke it's neighbors. NK has.

China pretty much ensures the US isn't going to roll into NK...so not only is it strategically unnecessary, but it's a complete waste of money when your people are starving.....

Originally posted by Gazrok
reply to post by pheonix358

 

Last I checked, Israel hasn't threatened publicly to nuke it's neighbors. NK has.

China pretty much ensures the US isn't going to roll into NK...so not only is it strategically unnecessary, but it's a complete waste of money when your people are starving.....

Last time I checked "The Samson Option" was all about blowing away the neighbors.

NK is a sovereign Nation. It is the Nations with the Nukes telling other Nations not to build any.

CRAP! Total crap. When the Nuclear armed nations get rid of their Nukes THEN they can run around making sure no one else is making them. Until then they can take a running leap!

Why does the USA need thousands of Nukes. Just like the yanks to need to destroy our entire planet three times over. Isn't once enough. What gives them the right to wipe out all life on this Planet!

It is just wrong on so many levels. Reminds me of the behaviour of street gangs.

P

reply to post by pheonix358
yes we should rid the world of nukes , but then how many wars will be fought ? the reason we have nukes, that is a Deterrent of a major world war en.wikipedia.org... good reference, to show we yanks are not the only ones with nukes , MAD sums it, Mutually assured Destruction, NK is one nation that would use nukes in a first strike with out thinking it through, yes they are mad insane enough to use it,[ would you give a gun to an insane person and think that they would not use it ?.] This is true for the DPRK. Now for the new news Kaesong will reopen.. Park want's a peace park in DMZ... in depth look in the Kaesong closer... visit link to read them in full english.yonhapnews.co.kr...

reply to post by bekod


The MAD principal is flawed. If it would have ensured their mutual destruction I would be all for it.

But it does not work like that!

It is not mutually assured destruction. It is us, them and every other poor sod on the planet and the lucky one's die quickly!

Well, Sod Off. It is my world too. Take your nukes and use them on the politicians!

P

'A big hoax': Experts say North Korea showing off missiles that can't fly

PYONGYANG, North Korea -- Missiles paraded through the streets of Pyongyang in recent displays of North Korean military might -- said to be capable of hitting targets throughout Asia and even in the U.S. -- are incapable of flight and are almost certainly nothing more than fakes, according to U.S. government experts and independent analysts.

"My opinion is that it's a big hoax," Markus Schiller, an aerospace engineer in Munich and former RAND Corp. military analyst, said of the intercontinental and medium-range missiles displayed in the North Korean capital in April 2012 and again two weeks ago.

Link/; news.ca.msn.com...

It appears at least some of NKs bluster is well,...Bluster.

Originally posted by Gazrok
How is calling for no nukes (same as China's demand, by the way) part of a corporate capitalist agenda?

Do your best to disarm all countries with different social models with or without sanctions ( economic means) until you can eventually attack and destroy them based on one pretext or another. This is the basic agenda of how the US ( but essentially old Europe as well; or at least the factions in control of their economies) has dealt with the rival social movements in dozens of countries since the second world war.

That's what the US is demanding....no nukes.

Why? What can North Korea do with a few nukes beside destroy itself utterly? Do you think they could defeat even South Korea with a few nukes? They can not and the ONLY thing it will do is radicalize South Korea further as well as gain it many allies as well as alienating China completely. The only way one can believe that North Korea would ever use Nuclear weapons aggressively without being attacked is if you believed their leadership were crazy and if they were crazy they would have attacked when they still had some chance in the 80's and early 90's. The fact of the matter is that they are no more or less insane ( reasoning from false principles and arriving at logical conclusions) than the leadership in most of the rest of the world which they understand well enough to know that they need the nukes and can't really use them either; just like all the other insane leaders.

And yes, it very much IS the belligerence of NK on this point that remains the problem. Deals are made...then NK goes and breaks their agreements, one by one....repeatedly. Then, it demands bribes to come back to the table....(and it gets them)......

You can try to go look up which country has broken the most UN resolution.. I believe it's Israel or the US and i don't think North Korea will really feature on the list. I do not wish to suggest that the North Koreans play by civilized rules but the fact is that North Koreans themselves are the one's that have suffered by far the worse under their government while US/European aggression, sanctions and trade and economic policies have since the second world war killed hundreds of millions of people all over the world. As with most autocrats/dictators they are far more often than not more dangerous to their own country than to their neighbors. Ironically US elections are very democratic by comparison and it's citizens normally do pretty well by world standards which can not be said for the many victims of US aggressive wars all around the world.

But i don't suppose you agree or even know about the yearly death toll associated with the globalization of corporate capitalism...

North Korea does demand bribes to come to the table in the same way that a child demands sweets to shut up in a shopping center and receives them for the same reason; to spare the party with all the real power the embarrassment of either seeming powerless to control the situation or violent and cruel if it uses it's abundant power.

I would carry the analogy further in saying that if the US really, like a good parent, had the best interest of the North Korean 'children' in mind they would have resolved this situation in the 50's by either forcing reunification, by taking 'North Korea' by whatever additional force required and then defending a unified Korea as a bastion of capitalism, or allowing the people of the entire Korea to pick their leader ( and they would have picked Kim Il-sung which is why the scheduled UN organized election was not allowed to proceed) which would then have made Korea socialist, independent and pretty nationalist. To let the situation fester as it did just reinforces the point that the US national security state does not plan along moral principles and will create from whole cloth whatever instability it's strategy for global, mostly American led, corporate capitalism control requires.

We can absolutely talk about the crimes Kim Il-sung and his sons&generals have committed but we should not forget that their power has largely come from from the double edged sword of alternating US-NSS inaction and provocation.

At least we can agree that the US government, either by the people or by the corporations, have had and have today both the economic and military power to mostly change the direction in which the world has and is still moving today. If you are happy with where we are going as a species you can either praise&support the US government/corporations and condemn popular resistance to corporate capitalism, and the fascists government forms it so loves creating and backing, or condemn corporate capitalism and praise&support the popular resistance to it.

I think you can tell where i currently stand.

Stellar

reply to post by pheonix358
well MAD seems to have worked so far , no nation has nuked an other in the nuke war age that is, China is even saying to DPRK give up your nukes and China has a lot of them english.yonhapnews.co.kr... from the link

China touts role in easing tensions on Korean Peninsula

2013/08/16 14:31

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BEIJING, Aug. 16 (Yonhap) -- A senior Chinese official on Friday touted his country's diplomatic efforts to ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula, while reaffirming its pledge to press North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons program.

State Councilor Yang Jiechi, a senior foreign policy adviser to Chinese President Xi Jinping, also hailed the June summit talks between South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Xi as having "consolidated our good-neighborly friendship and cooperation."

Yang made the remarks in his eight-page article on China's major diplomatic agenda and global affairs, titled "Innovations in China's Diplomatic Theory and Practice Under New Conditions."

"On the Korean nuclear issue, while firmly committed to the goal of denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula, we have actively reached out to relevant countries to move the situation on the peninsula towards relaxation," Yang said.

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula soared early this year, following North Korea's third nuclear test and menacing threats against South Korea and the United States.

In the latest sign of easing tensions, Seoul and Pyongyang agreed this week to reopen a jointly-run industrial complex in the North's border city of Kaesong that was shuttered in April amid high tensions.

[email protected]

(END)

DPRK played its hand well it was nothing but a bluff, ?why to get food, aid and the respect it has wanted. Does DPRK have nukes?? , the answer lays with in History, The USSR dropped the biggest bomb ever by air , when at that time it was thought to be imposable, not only the air drop, but the bomb it self.

In other news for SK , F35 is out Boeing and Euro are in english.yonhapnews.co.kr... from the link

S. Korea's fighter jet project becomes two-way race

2013/08/16 16:47

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By Kim Eun-jung

SEOUL, Aug. 16 (Yonhap) -- In a last-ditch effort to win South Korea's fighter jet project, two of the three bidders -- Boeing and EADS -- offered proposals below the state budget of 8.3 trillion won (US$7.2 billion) during the final bidding on Friday, government officials and industry sources said.

The third company, Lockheed Martin, selling its F-35 stealth jets through the foreign military sales (FMS) program, offered a price higher than Seoul's budget, according to sources, effectively being eliminated from the race to win the country's largest arms procurement deal.

As the bidding process ended, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) will conduct a comprehensive assessment of the jets and officially announce the winner next month.

"As there were companies that offered price within the program budget, we will proceed to the next step," DAPA spokesman Baek Yoon-hyung said in a press briefing, without elaborating the names citing the ongoing procedure.

"Although all jets will be evaluated, aircraft exceeding the budget will not be qualified for the contract," Baek said.

This week's final rounds of biddings were held following a six-week suspension due to all previous sessions ending in a failure when all three aerospace giants offered prices above the 8.3 trillion won budget approved by parliament.

The bidding war illustrated the heightened competition among the world's biggest defense groups as they seek to overcome drastic cutbacks in military spending in the U.S. and Europe.

The cheaper proposals by the two companies came after the DAPA announced that another failure in the bidding may lead to restarting the project from the beginning.

It had said that all options will be considered, such as reducing the number of jets to be bought, buying the jets in installments and increasing the state budget, which could be more beneficial to F-35s, whose biggest hindrance is their high cost.

Initially, Lockheed Martin's F-35s, which are in development for the U.S. military, were seen as a favorite given South Korean Air Force's long pursuit of stealth fighter jets that can pass through North Korea's complex web of radars and given the close relations between the two allies.

However, there was less room for price negotiations as F-35s are sold through the foreign military sales (FMS) program by the U.S. government.

Unlike the other two that make direct commercial sales, Lockheed Martin has offered a bid whose combined prices for each year from 2017 to 2022 exceeded Seoul's budget, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The government-to-government FMS condition requires a foreign government to pay the amount specified by the U.S. government for the F-35s at the time of payment.

Seoul had initially picked a bidder last October with the goal of receiving the first delivery in December 2016, but it postponed the schedule to get the first batch in August 2017 in accordance with the change in the negotiation procedure.

Military officials have expressed concerns over the further delay in the project to replace the aging fleet of F-4 and F-5 jets, with some of them introduced to the country over 40 years ago.

The DAPA has faced criticism for the delay by conducting biddings for a mix of direct commercial sales and the government-to-government deal.

The agency said it will conduct a comprehensive evaluation with value-added analysis on price conditions, without elaborating details of the assessment criteria.

The price factor accounts for 30 percent of the total score, while the pure procurement cost, excluding life-cycle maintenance and operation costs, occupies a smaller proportion of the selection process. However, the DAPA held its ground that meeting the budget limit is one of the most important requirements for the deal.

The final decision will be made in a meeting of experts and government officials slated for in mid-September. No specific date has been confirmed.

In its bid, Boeing has stressed the interoperability of the F-15 SE with other models purchased in the first two stages of the fighter modernization programs. Seoul has purchased 60 Boeing F-15 fighter jets since 2002.

It doesn't offer the same radar signature reduction as an F-35 and is only optimized for air-to-air combat stealth. What it does offer is greatly improved radar stealth over the F-15K and internal weapons.

While EADS' twin-engine Eurofighter is not equipped with stealth, EADS says measures were taken to reduce the Typhoon's radar cross section, especially from the frontal aspect.

EADS offered an investment of $2 billion in Seoul's plan to build its own fighter aircraft and assemble 53 planes in South Korea to boost its aerospace industry.

If Eurofighter is selected, it will be the first European combat jet deployed by South Korean Air Force.

[email protected]

(END)

and for other news english.yonhapnews.co.kr... from the link

N. Korea's Kim Jong-un has stably consolidated power: South diplomatic paper
SEOUL, Aug. 16 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's young leader Kim Jong-un has stably consolidated his grip over the communist country's powerful governing party and the military while pouring money into extravagant projects designed to glorify his regime, the South Korean foreign ministry's white paper showed Friday.2013/08/16 17:52


Seoul offers talks with N. Korea on family reunions
SEOUL, Aug. 16 (Yonhap) -- South Korea proposed Friday that the two Koreas hold a working-level meeting next week to discuss the resumption of reunions of families separated by the Korean War (1950-53). 2013/08/16 17:28

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N. Korean youths submit request to take part in UN event in Gwangju
GWANGJU, Aug. 16 (Yonhap) -- Three North Korean youths have submitted requests to take part in a United Nations program slated to start in the southern city of Gwangju, the local organizer of the event said Friday. 2013/08/16 15:58

China touts role in easing tensions on Korean Peninsula
BEIJING, Aug. 16 (Yonhap) -- A senior Chinese official on Friday touted his country's diplomatic efforts to ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula, while reaffirming its pledge to press North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons program. 2013/08/16 14:31

that is all for now

Originally posted by Beartracker16
'A big hoax': Experts say North Korea showing off missiles that can't fly

PYONGYANG, North Korea -- Missiles paraded through the streets of Pyongyang in recent displays of North Korean military might -- said to be capable of hitting targets throughout Asia and even in the U.S. -- are incapable of flight and are almost certainly nothing more than fakes, according to U.S. government experts and independent analysts.

"My opinion is that it's a big hoax," Markus Schiller, an aerospace engineer in Munich and former RAND Corp. military analyst, said of the intercontinental and medium-range missiles displayed in the North Korean capital in April 2012 and again two weeks ago.

Link/; news.ca.msn.com...

It appears at least some of NKs bluster is well,...Bluster.

The article asked why they would parade fake missiles if they had real ones. It's real simple. If you concentrate real missiles at a known location and time you are inviting the destruction of those missiles by an aggressive US.

Originally posted by Adaluncatif
The article asked why they would parade fake missiles if they had real ones. It's real simple. If you concentrate real missiles at a known location and time you are inviting the destruction of those missiles by an aggressive US.

You must remember that there are many many people on this board and around the world that actually believes that the United states of America is in fact *the good guy* and that doing something like that would be unimaginable; like blowing up schools&wedding parties and starving entire nations into submission.

The Us national security states many victims ( and imperialism's victims in general) knows better...

Stellar

If any one cares the F15 is the SK winner english.yonhapnews.co.kr... from the link

(LEAD) Boeing's F-15SE reportedly chosen as final candidate for S. Korea's next main fighter plane

2013/08/18 15:31

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SEOUL, Aug. 18 (Yonhap) - The Eurofighter Tranche 3 Typhoon by the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company (EADS) has reportedly been eliminated from South Korea's multibillion-dollar project to buy new fighter jets, leaving Boeing's F-15 Silent Eagle as the sole final candidate, government sources in Seoul said Sunday.

Earlier on Sunday, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration said that one of the two finalists -- Boeing and EADS -- in the nation's 8.3 trillion won (US$7.2 billion) fighter project has dropped out of the bidding due to problems with their documents.

EADS is known as the company to have stepped out of the race, according to sources in Seoul.

"We disqualified the concerned company and will consider the remaining one firm as a candidate in the committee for defense procurement projects," the national procurement agency said, citing "flaws found in the bidding documents" as reasons of the elimination. It did not elaborate on what kind of document flaws was found.

The committee, presided over by Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin, is to hold the committee in mid-September in order to finally pick a fight jet model to be introduced to South Korea's Air Force.

The competition to win the South Korean project narrowed to a two-way race last week after the two aerospace firms offered their fighter jets for prices below the South Korea's state budget set at 8.3 trillion won. Another player Lockheed Martin submitted a price for its F-35 stealth, exceeding the state budget.

[email protected]

(END)

as if this was not planed.

oh here it comes more war drums from Un er DPRK the US SK are set to kick off war drill games this week english.yonhapnews.co.kr... from the link

S. Korea, U.S. to launch two-week joint war drills this week

2013/08/18 13:43

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SEOUL, Aug. 18 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and the United States will launch their annual two-week joint war exercise this week, the Combined Forces Command (CFC) said, amid North Korea's unusual low-key stance to the war game that they strongly condemned in the past.

The computer-aided Ulchi Freedom Guardian (UFG) will kick off on Monday for a 12-day run, mobilizing about 50,000 South Korean forces and approximately 30,000 U.S. servicemen, including some 3,000 from the U.S. and other bases in the Pacific region.

The CFC said the drills are intended to examine the forces' ability to secure security on the Korean Peninsula and maintain the joint defense capacities between the two allies.

Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission observers will monitor the exercise along with seven United Nations Command (UNC) states -- Australia, Britain, Canada, Denmark, France, New Zealand and Norway.

Ahead of the joint war game this year, North Korea has unusually kept a low profile, presumably due to growing signs of better inter-Korean relations.

North Korea has long balked at the annual UFG drills and other similar joint maneuvers, claiming they are a prelude to war despite Seoul and Washington's argument that they are for defense purposes only.

On Wednesday, both countries reached a dramatic agreement to reopen their joint factory park in the North Korean border town of Kaesong after the industrial complex was shut down in April amid rising tensions.

Efforts are also gaining pace among the participant countries to resume the long-stalled six-party talks, designed to persuade the North to discard its nuclear programs.

Along with the war exercise, the South Korean government will also hold a separate four-day emergency exercise from Monday.

The annual local drill, involving administrative bodies and public employees nationwide, is designed to examine the government's readiness for dealing with potential terrorist attacks and military provocations from the North.

The Koreas remain technically at war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended in an armistice. About 28,500 U.S. soldiers are stationed in South Korea.

[email protected]

(END)

ok so it is not post 1550 but 1518

Kaesong is saved for now SK DPRK agree to reopen it english.yonhapnews.co.kr... from the link

(News Focus) Koreas resolve standoff over shuttered Kaesong zone

2013/08/14 23:23

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By Lee Joon-sung

SEOUL, Aug. 14 (Yonhap) -- After seven rounds of negotiations over the course of several weeks, South and North Korea averted the complete shutdown of the inter-Korean factory park in the North's boder city of Kaesong.

A five-point agreement reached Wednesday to reopen the Kaesong Industrial Complex comes 133 days after the North restricted entry into the zone on April 3, citing joint South Korean-U.S. military drills it said threatened its security. This was followed by the complete halt of operations after Pyongyang ordered all of its 53,000 workers not to report to work.

Seoul countered by pulling out all of its managers on May 3. It then warned of "grave measures" against the industrial complex unless the North pledges not to close the complex again in the future.

Earlier this month, South Korea had authorized 280.9 billion won (US$250.9 million) in insurance payments to 109 companies with assets in Kaesong in a move seen as a step toward permanent closure of the factory park.

These developments all combined to prompt North Korea to come to the negotiating, according to government officials and experts in Seoul.

"The agreement, while stating both Koreas must work together to prevent another shut down, makes clear that it is the North that has to give all the guarantees not to block the movement of people and materials and the pulling out of workers," said Kim Ki-woong, Seoul's chief delegate at the talks.

He pointed out that the agreement was based on the proposal forwarded by the South earlier in the day and that it set up various safeguards to prevent the North from closing the complex in the future.

Kim said that the creation of a brand new joint management committee will effectively give Seoul equal say in the running of operations and make it impossible for the North to carry out unilateral actions.

He said the call to transform Kaesong into a truly international complex is another safeguard that will make it difficult for the North to take arbitrary actions similar to those it carried out in March and April of this year.

Related to the agreement reached, local experts said that reopening the complex marks a positive turn of events that can lay the first firm foundation for their trust building process, which has been the hallmark of President Park Guen-hye's North Korean policy.

She said after the agreement was reached that the move to reopen the Kaesong complex should be utilized as a new starting point for South-North relations.

This view was echoed by Chang Yong-seok, a senior researcher at the Institute for Peace and Unification Studies at Seoul National University, who said the understanding reached could lay the foundation for trust building down the line. It could also be used as a stepping stone for restarting tours to the Mount Kumgang resort that has been suspended since 2008, he said.

"The latest breakthrough can moreover open the door for family reunions for people who were separated by the Korean War, as well as more humanitarian assistance and exchanges," he speculated.

Others said that the agreement reached showed both sides have made some strategic concessions that are a good precedence for future talks. They added that Seoul and Pyongyang may have realized they had too much vested in Kaesong to allow it to be closed completely.

Yang Moo-jin, a political scientist at the University of North Korean Studies said that by demonstrating the ability to accept requests by the other side, the incumbent administration's policy initiative toward the North has gained more buoyancy.

A sign that the Kaesong talks may have exerted a positive influence on relations can be discerned by the lack of belligerence shown by North Korea toward the upcoming Ulchi Freedom Guardian military exercises between South Korea and U.S. forces. The exercises will kick off next week.

Typically Pyongyang issues formal condemnations whenever military drills take place, calling them a dress rehearsal to invade the North.

After having fueled tensions earlier in the year that culminated in the detonation of its third nuclear device, there have been speculations that the North may be trying to mellow its stance and abstain from antagonizing its neighbors.

Despite such predictions, some North Korean analysts said there is much that must be done to reduce tensions on the Korean Peninsula, and that the two sides should continue to engage in dialogue.

"Taking advantage of the agreement, the two sides should move on projects such as the peace park that President Park wanted to build inside the demilitarized zone," said Park Hyeong-jung, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification. He said that by showing willingness to make headway on small scale projects, the two sides can expand cooperation.

If talks and exchanges progress, the level of talks could be moved up to the ministerial level. Such a move could welcome the discussion of more comprehensive issues facing the two countries and help solve more outstanding points of contention, he added.

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(END)

it does not when but it dies say it is a done deal

A five-point agreement reached Wednesday to reopen the Kaesong Industrial Complex comes 133 days after the North restricted entry into the zone on April 3, citing joint South Korean-U.S. military drills it said threatened its security. This was followed by the complete halt of operations after Pyongyang ordered all of its 53,000 workers not to report to work.

till Un has an other fit and pulls the rug out form under it , by the war games going on this week.

edit on 18-8-2013 by bekod because: (no reason given)