Category: Inter-Korean Issues

Is anyone surprised by this news?:

The Moon Jae-in administration and the liberal ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) are facing a new political threat, after a group of activists accused of espionage was found to have contacted Moon and the party before he was elected as President. 

The conservative opposition bloc is already labeling this incident an “espionage scandal,” demanding an explanation from the Moon government and suggesting that the issue could cause a stir in the upcoming presidential election slated for next march. 

On Monday, the Cheongju District Court issued arrest warrants for three of the four activists who are based in the city, on charges of violating the National Security Act. 

The activists were turned into the prosecution while protesting South Korea’s deployment of F-35A stealth fighters. The National Intelligence Service (NIS) and prosecutors allege that they have been organizing the protests after receiving orders from North Korean spies in China and Cambodia.

Korea Times via a reader tip

You can read more at the link, but the alleged spies were part of President Moon’s campaign and had contact with prominent members of the ruling party before being busted.

The North Koreans have been much quieter then I was expecting them to be this summer. This leads me to believe there must be a lot of back channel communication happening that we don’t know about:

South and North Korea have restored their communication lines, Cheong Wa Dae said Tuesday, with leaders of the two countries agreeing to rebuild mutual trust for better inter-Korean relations. 

This latest development has raised hopes for another reconciliatory mood on the Korean Peninsula and a resumption of the stalled nuclear talks between the United States and North Korea. 

“South and North Korea have agreed to restore their communication lines, which had been severed, as of 10 a.m., Tuesday,” presidential senior secretary for public communication Park Soo-hyun said during a press conference.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

Someone must have told KEPCO to keep the lights on, the question is who:

South Korea’s state-run electric company supplied power to Kaesong in North Korea for several months after all South Korean personnel withdrew from an industrial complex in January 2020, according to documents obtained by the JoongAng Ilbo on Monday.  
   
The documents from the Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco), which were given to the newspaper by People Power Party (PPP) lawmaker Yoon Young-seok’s office, show that electricity to the city was not cut off after the withdrawal — raising questions as to whether power was supplied even after North Korea blew up the Inter-Korean Liaison Office last June. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

It is just amazing that people keep wanting to shovel money into North Korea and keep thinking the results are going to be different this time:

Incheon Metropolitan Government has sparked a controversy for contracting out a study on developing airports in North Korea, drawing criticisms from conservative lawmakers over the plan’s feasibility and political motivation.

According to Incheon Metropolitan Government’s data submitted to Rep. Han Ki-ho of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), the city government contracted out the study to a consortium led by Korea National University of Transportation in May last year, at a cost of 135 million won ($120,000).

The study was aimed at exploring ways to nurture Incheon International Airport as a travel hub for North Korea. For this purpose, the study proposed improvements to eight existing airports in North Korea and the building of a new one there. 

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but the Incheon government wants throw over $4 billion into renovating North Korean airports and build a whole new airport in Rason.

The Korean government is going after Park Sang-hak again:

South Korean police in Monday summoned an activist who said he flew hundreds of thousands of anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets toward North Korea in defiance of a new law that criminalizes such activities.

The questioning of Park Sang-hak came hours after President Moon Jae-in in a nationally televised speech issued apparent criticism toward Park without naming him, saying it’s “never desirable” to dampen relations with the North by violating inter-Korean agreements and South Korean laws.

Associated Press

You can read more at the link, but I guess we will see if the ROK government tries to jail him or not to appease the Kim regime. If they do jail him it will likely lead to much international criticism for jailing a human rights activist to appease the thugs in Pyongyang.

ROK Heads may remember that Park Sang-hak has been the victim of multiple assassination attempts by North Korean agents and assaulted by Korean leftists. He has also had leftists intrude at his house and has been repeatedly arrested and harassed by the Moon administration in effort to stop his group’s activities. .