Seoul's leniency on Pyongyang worries some in international community Unification minister in hot water over interview on lifting North Korea sanctionsBy Kang Seung-wooConcern is rising over the growing discord between South Korea and some in the international community over sanctions on North Korea, following Unification Minister Lee In-young's interview with an overseas media outlet, in which he questioned whether sanctions by the United States and the United Nations (U.N.) on the North were effective. In the recent interview with the Financial Times, Lee said it was time to reassess the efficacy of the sanctions, adding that the punitive actions have resulted in unintended negative effects on the lives of ordinary North Koreans. His remarks were in line with the Moon Jae-in administration's stance of easing or lifting the sanctions on North Korea in order to engage Pyongyang as part of the President's peace initiative.However, some members of the U.S. government and diplomatic observers here say the minister has misread the reason for the humanitarian crisis in North Korea, expressing worries that such a claim could obscure the real causes of the poMar 7, 2021By Kang Seung-woo
US defense chief shortlists North Korea as 'nation-state threat' North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attends wreath laying ceremony at Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi, Vietnam March 2, 2019. REUTERS-YonhapU.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Thursday included North Korea in only a handful of countries that pose threats to the United States and its allies.It marked the first time the U.S. defense chief addressed the North Korean issue since taking office in late January."Even as we address accelerating competition by China, we will ensure that we remain fully ready to respond to and effectively deter nation-state threats emanating from Russia, Iran, and North Korea," Austin said in a message to U.S. forces, released by his department."We will continue to maintain credible deterrence against advanced threats, and we will right-size our missions around the world in a transparent and principled manner," he added.The remarks come amid an ongoing review of U.S. global defense posture that will determine in which parts of the world the country may require an increased military presence or less.The U.S. currently keeps some 28,500 troops in South Korea.InMar 5, 2021
North Korea again ranks lowest in terms of economic freedom: think tank In a photo taken on July 28, 2017 North Korean visitors watch as a Korean People's Army (KPA) guide gestures before a display aboard the USS Pueblo at the Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum in Pyongyang. AFP-YonhapNorth Korea is the world's least free country in terms of economic freedom for its people and businesses, an annual report from a U.S. think tank showed Thursday.The North ranked 178th or last in terms of economic freedom, according to the report, the 2021 Index of Economic Freedom by the Washington-based Heritage Foundation."The world's least economically free nation remains North Korea, followed closely by the failed socialist nations of Venezuela and Cuba," it said, without clarifying how long North Korea has stayed at the bottom of the list.Out of possible 100, North Korea scored 5.2 in this year's index, up 1 point from a year earlier.Venezuela was ranked No. 177 with 24.7 points.South Korea, on the other hand, was ranked No. 24 with 74 points, unchanged from 2020, which placed it on a list of "mostly free" countries that include 32 other countries that scoredMar 5, 2021
Two-star Army general relieved of command after North Korean man's border crossing GettyimagesbankThe defense ministry said Thursday it has stripped a two-star Army general of his command to hold him accountable for a security failure in connection with a recent border crossing by a North Korean man. The 22nd Infantry Division guarding the east coast border with the North garnered criticism following revelations that soldiers initially failed to notice the North Korean man even though he was repeatedly caught on surveillance cameras after coming ashore by swimming across the sea border last month.The man was captured hours later and expressed a desire to defect.Following an onsite investigation, the ministry said it has relieved the general commanding the Army division in the eastern town of Goseong of his commandership and will take disciplinary measures against other senior officers responsible for the security lapse."The division commander has a direct responsibility over the poor maritime security and counterinfiltration operations, and is also accountable for negligently overseeing the management of drainage conduits," a ministry official said.The North KoreanMar 4, 2021
Sanctions not sole reason for humanitarian crisis in North Korea: unification ministry Unification Minister Lee In-young / YonhapUnification Minister Lee In-young did not mean that global sanctions are the sole reason for causing a humanitarian crisis in North Korea when he recently stressed the need to review their efficacy, his spokesperson said Wednesday.In an interview with the Financial Times last week, Lee raised the need to see whether sanctions have just ended up causing hardships to North Korean people without achieving their intended purpose of forcing Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons program.The remarks, however, have drawn controversy as some officials in the United States and the European Union reportedly said that it is not global sanctions, but the Kim Jong-un regime that should take responsibility for the current humanitarian crisis in North Korea."He meant to say that it is necessary to comprehensively review whether sanctions are contributing positively to achieving the purpose of facilitating the denuclearization (of North Korea)," Lee Jong-joo, the ministry's spokesperson, told reporters. "The remarks were based on a perception that it is tiMar 3, 2021
Pentagon concerned by UN report indicating possible North Korea nuclear reprocessing In this Feb. 17, 2021, file photo, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby speaks during a media briefing at the Pentagon in Washington. APThe Pentagon expressed concern on Tuesday about a U.N. report indicating possible reprocessing of nuclear fuel for bombs by North Korea, and said such activity could raise tensions with Pyongyang.Rear Admiral Michael Studeman, head of intelligence for the U.S. Indo-Pacific command, said North Korean activity highlighted this week by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) could be intended to get the attention of the Biden administration and as a bargaining chip to press for sanctions relief. The administration is currently reviewing U.S.-North Korea policy."We have our eye on this. And it is deeply concerning where North Korea wants to go," Studeman told an virtual event on technology and security.In a statement to the IAEA Board of Governors on Monday, the United Nations body's director general, Rafael Mariano Grossi, made reference to activity at North Korea's Yongbyong and Kangson nuclear facilities.He said there had been recent indications of opeMar 3, 2021
Satellite images show North Korea built structure to conceal nuclear weapons site: CNN North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, center / YonhapRecent satellite images show that North Korea may haven taken steps to hide a facility that the U.S. believes is used to store nuclear weapons, CNN reported Tuesday.The images, captured by a U.S. space technology company, Maxar, on Feb. 11, show new structures at the North's Yongdoktong site to conceal entrances to two underground tunnels, the report said."Yongdoktong has been previously identified by U.S. intelligence as a suspected North Korean nuclear weapons storage facility and is still believed to be used for that purpose," CNN reported, quoting an unidentified U.S. intelligence official.CNN added the site has been widely known to U.S. experts and officials for years and that it has been identified as a nuclear weapons storage facility.Still, the network noted the true intention or purpose of the newly added structure needed to be examined."The timing of the movements at Yongdoktong is noteworthy but requires some examination because North Korea's actions can never be taken at face value," it quoted an unidentified former U.S. intMar 3, 2021
'Consistency needed in North Korea policy' Lawmakers of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea participate in an online discussion event between parliamentary members of South Korea and the United States at a studio of local broadcaster Arirang TV in Seoul, Tuesday, with the participants from the U.S. seen on the background screens. Courtesy of office of Rep. Lee Kwang-jaeBy Jung Da-minWhen it comes to the goal of denuclearizing North Korea, shared by allies South Korea and the United States, establishing consistency in their relevant policies is a necessary step, regardless of which administration takes office, either in Seoul and Washington, lawmakers and politicians of the countries said during a virtual forum. “We have an unfortunate habit in Washington. When there is a transition of the administration, we tend to throw away many things that the previous administration has done,” said Joseph Yun, the former U.S. special representative for North Korea policies, who participated in an online discussion event between congressional and assembly members of both countries, Tuesday.Yun and other participants said that Mar 2, 2021
North Korean media criticizes Ramseyer as 'disgusting money grubber,' 'pseudo scholar' J. Mark Ramseyer / captured by Yonhap from Harvard Law School YouTube accountA North Korean propaganda outlet Tuesday strongly criticized a U.S. professor over his controversial claim that victims of Japan's wartime sexual slavery are voluntary prostitutes, calling him a "disgusting money grubber" and "pseudo scholar."This marked the first time that a North Korean media outlet has mentioned J. Mark Ramseyer, Mitsubishi professor of Japanese Legal Studies at Harvard Law School, since he caused a stir by describing the former sex slaves as prostitutes under voluntary contracts."Ramseyer is a Harvard professor masquerading as an academic and he has gone beyond supporting Japanese reactionaries' shameless and ruthless acts to cover up their past wrongdoings and insulted and despised victims of sex slavery as voluntary prostitutes," DPRK Today said in an interview with an official at the North's historical research institute. The website mentioned in detail Ramseyer's claim that Japan did not force sexual slavery upon women and that so-called comfort women made a lot of money by engaging Mar 2, 2021
North Korean workers stage pep rallies for new 5-year economic development plan This photo from Rodong Shimmun newspaper's website on Feb. 28 shows North Korean workers staging a pep rally in achieving a new five-year state economic development plan the country leader Kim Jong-un introduced in January this year. YonhapNorth Korea has staged worker pep rallies en masse across the country to boost morale in achieving a new five-year state economic development put forward by leader Kim Jong-un last month, the country's state media said Sunday.The North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that workers' rallies aimed at encouraging the fulfillment of the year-one goals of the five-year economic plan were held in multiple industrial fields and units. The rallies were held as answers to an earlier one staged at the Hwanghae Iron and Steel Complex, where workers affirmed their commitment to meet production targets and achieve the first-year goals of the plan, according to the KCNA.North Korea unveiled the new five-year economic development plan at the eighth congress of the Workers' Party last month, with a focus on self-reliance.The latest in the receFeb 28, 2021
