Tag: Moon Jae-in

Moon has been deputized by Kim to extort Lee to give Kim. Confusing? Put differently: The tyrant has cajoled the president, an elected leader, to coerce his nation's richest man to pay up to the tyrant. https://t.co/Kx3MSYnCOi

— Sung-Yoon Lee (@SungYoonLee1) September 20, 2018

President Moon is continuing to advocate for everyone to believe in Kim Jong-un:

President Moon Jae-in said Tuesday that the United States has nothing to lose from its denuclearization talks with North Korea, as it could resume sanctions or reverse a declaration ending the Korean War if Pyongyang reneges on its pledge to denuclearize.

Moon stressed that U.S. concessions to North Korea could be reversed if Pyongyang was caught cheating on its denuclearization pledge during an interview with Fox News during his five-day visit to New York for the UN General Assembly.

“One thing stands clear,” the president said. “South Korea and the U.S. have nothing to lose from denuclearization talks [with the North]. Measures that the North is required to take are abandon already-made nuclear stockpiles; dismantle the Yongbyon nuclear facility; and close down nuclear testing and missile testing sites.”

These steps were equivalent to “irreversible measures,” and the North’s demands of the United States could easily be reversed if Pyongyang doesn’t follow through with its denuclearization promises, Moon argued.  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

Here is what he had to say about USFK:

Moon also dismissed concerns that an end to the war could change the status of U.S. troops in South Korea and the UN Command.
“An end-of-war declaration is a political statement en route to signing a peace treaty. Until the peace treaty is signed, an armistice will be maintained,” he stressed.

Moon stressed that the issue of U.S. troops in the South had to do with the U.S.-Korea alliance, not ending the war or signing a peace treaty.

“North Korean leader Kim also agrees with this concept [of the U.S. forces in South Korea],” he said.

For the status of USFK, of course both Moon and Kim are of course going to say there will be no change.  I believe that President Moon is too smart to advocate against keeping USFK in Korea post-peace treaty because that will mobilize the conservative opposition against him.  However, Moon can use his surrogates to make life difficult for USFK to where the Trump administration could decide to withdraw on its own.  This gets Moon and his left wing base in South Korea what they ultimately want, USFK withdrawal without getting blamed for it.

With the end of the US-ROK alliance Moon and Kim can move forward with their confederation idea which will essentially lead to unification on North Korean terms.

As far as denuclearization, I have been saying repeatedly, if the Kim regime wants people to see that it is serious about denuclearization then begin shipping nuclear material out of the country.  Instead the regime and President Moon want sanctions dropped for North Korea so far doing little to nothing in return.

Once sanctions are dropped it will be extremely difficult to get an international consensus to reimplement sanction if they are not denuclearizing, but at the same time behaving.  These countries will know that if they reimplement sanctions then missile and nuclear tests and other provocations will restart, so best just to leave North Korea alone.  This then allows the Kim regime to keep their nukes and have sanctions dropped.  We have been down this road before and it keeps ending at the same point and President Moon wants everyone to think the destination will be different this time.

President Moon wants everyone to believe that the Kim regime really means it this time to denuclearize:

South Korean President Moon Jae-in pushed back Tuesday against widespread skepticism about the sincerity of Kim Jong Un’s vows to give up his nuclear bombs, saying that the current round of diplomacy with North Korea is ”completely different” than the many failed deals that have frustrated past negotiators.

Moon, fresh off a dramatic summit in Pyongyang last week with Kim that saw more promises from the North Korean leader to dismantle his weapons programs, is at the U.N. General Assembly this week, meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump and other world leaders to explain and, to some extent, defend his efforts to bring peace to the famously hostile Korean Peninsula.

He told an audience at the Council on Foreign Relations think tank in New York that it was ”only natural that we have plenty of suspicions regarding the true motivations” of Kim. It was, after all, only last year that a series of increasingly powerful North Korean weapons tests, including the nation’s sixth nuclear test explosion, and the tough reaction by Trump had many worrying about war. Some critics believe that tough sanctions and pressure, rather than engagement and concessions, stand a better chance of ridding the North of its nukes.

”It’s completely different this time around,” Moon said, speaking through an interpreter. What’s changed this time is that, unlike past efforts that collapsed when the countries tried to implement deals that had been made at the working level, this one has Trump and Kim making the decisions and then driving their lieutenants to follow through.

”This was a promise made in front of the whole world” by Trump and Kim, Moon said. ”For this reason, I believe the promise will be kept.”  [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link, but if Kim Jong-un wants people to think he is serious about denuclearization he can start shipping out nuclear material from his country.  The concessions they have made so far are all easily reversible that he wants sanctions dropped and a peace treaty signed in return for.

Shipping nuclear material out of the country cannot be reversed and worthy of bigger concessions from the US.  Until the Kim regime starts doing that people are going to rightfully remain skeptical about his intentions.  As I have long been saying, the Kim regime wants “pretend denuclearization” which many people in the academic class, political class, and US adversaries want as well.

Some valid points are raised in the below piece. Reminds me of the adage of the risks of sleeping with dogs. But Moon seems to be willing to tolerate a few fleas in his quest for a more sustainable peace and reduction in conflict. https://t.co/7OTj3ugTjf

— tomcoyner (@tomcoyner) September 20, 2018

President Moon has returned to South Korea after a photo shoot with Kim Jong-un on North Korea’s highest mountain, Mt. Paekdu:

South Korean President Moon Jae-in returned home Thursday after a three-day trip to North Korea for his third summit with leader Kim Jong-un.

Moon arrived at Seoul Air Base at 5:36 p.m., about two hours after his flight left North Korea’s Samjiyon airport near Mount Paekdu.

His departure from the North came after a joint trip with Kim to Mount Paekdu that highlighted the success of their bilateral summit in Pyongyang.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link, but it is expected that President Moon will next turn his attention on President Trump to get him to drop sanctions in return for North Korea’s “Pretend Denuclearization“.

If the Moon administration gets its way, this magician will not need to turn North Korean currency into US dollars, it will be brought across the border in large quantities for Kim Jong-un:

South Korean magician Choi Hyun-woo is expected to perform in front of the leaders of the two Koreas, with Cheong Wa-dae announcing on Monday that Choi was in the South’s delegation.

“I am not sure about the specifics (where and when I am going to present my show), as the news came as surprise,” Choi told CBS radio, Tuesday morning just before leaving for Pyongyang.

He said he planned to engage North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in his show.

“I cannot reveal which magic performances I’m going to present at the show, but I’m planning to create scenes that I hope show the ‘miracle of inter-Korean unity,'” he said.

He was not sure whether he would do a similar trick to one performed by a North Korean magician ― turning North Korean currency into a U.S. dollar.  [Korea Times]

President Moon received a lavish welcome in Pyongyang:

President Moon Jae-in began talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to seek momentum in denuclearization, following his arrival in Pyongyang for a three day summit, Tuesday.

Their first talks of the third summit took place at the headquarters of the Workers’ Party of North Korea (WPK) in Pyongyang for 90 minutes starting at 3:30 p.m.

Seoul’s spy chief Suh Hoon and National Security Office (NSO) head Chung Eui-yong attended, while the North was represented by Kim Yong-chol, a senior ruling party official and the first lady Kim Yo-jong, according to presidential secretary Yoon Young-chan in a media briefing at a main press center set up in Dongdaemun, Seoul.

This is the first time a South Korean president has been to the WPK headquarters, where Kim’s office is located. President Moon is also the first head of state to hold a summit with Kim in Pyongyang since the latter took power.

“From that perspective, we believe this is great hospitality that has never been seen before, as Kim flew to China and Singapore for summits with other leaders,” Yoon said.

“The leaders of the two Koreas undertook a comprehensive review of key pending issues that need to be addressed properly. The two also searched for specific ways to advance various inter-Korean projects. However, South Korea is committed to abiding by all U.N. Security Council sanctions, and the talks for greater economic cooperation with the North were done in accordance with these,” Yoon said.  [Korea Times]

So how is getting Kim Jong-un to denuclearize going?  About as we all expected:

While getting a specific timeline and details for North Korea’s denuclearization is at the top of President Moon’s agenda for the summit, Yoon said it was highly unlikely the two would agree on a detailed timeframe towards a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula.

“We can figure it out, but we have to wait,” he said.

When it comes to denuclearization it is always we have to wait, but when it comes to giving the Kim regime concessions they always have to happen now.  Here is what else President Moon had to say:

Before his departure for Pyongyang, President Moon said he was seeking “permanent peace,” which is irreversible and can be sustained regardless of external factors.

The quickest way to permanent peace is to surrender, which is essentially what Moon’s confederation idea is.

Of course the Moon administration is going to downplay the cost of the money they plan to give to North Korea:

The Unification Ministry is rejecting suspicions it is downplaying the costs of implementing April’s inter-Korean Panmunjeom Declaration.

A ministry official told reporters Wednesday that the practice of submitting estimated next-year budget requests was established by the Roh Moo-hyun government in 2007, and that this government is simply following precedent.  He was responding to the concerns raised by some opposition lawmakers that the total cost of implementing the Panmunjeom Declaration may be far higher than the Moon administration’s 471-billion estimate, and say that requesting funds in year-by-year amounts may be a way of minimizing perception of that total cost.

Earlier this week, the government told lawmakers that  it will require an additional 298-point-six billion won next year to implement the agreement.

Estimated costs include operating the inter-Korean liaison office, holding family reunions, and a range of infrastructure projects to modernize North Koreas roads and rails. [KBS World Radio]

What is funny is that the Moon administration is claiming they are following precedent set during the Roh Moo-hyun administration.  Current President Moon was the Chief of Staff for former President Roh, so essentially his administration is following a precedent of downplaying Inter-Korean cooperation costs he helped to create.

It looks like the Moon administration better hurry up and fire everyone else at Statistics Korea because the job numbers just continue to be dismal:

Anchor: New jobs figures released Wednesday show a bleak situation. Unemployment reached its highest point last month since the Asian financial crisis nearly 20 years ago.
Our Park Jong-hong has this report.

Report: The latest figures show South Korea’s jobless rate rose slightly in August to four percent due to a fall in employment in the retail and manufacturing sectors.

Young adults aged 15 to 29 who were out of a job last month stood at ten percent, up six-tenths of a percentage point from the previous year and the highest since 1999.

The number of employed went up by a mere three-thousand compared to August last year to 26-point-nine million.

This increase in jobs last month is the smallest since January 2010, when ten-thousand jobs were cut.

For the second month in a row, the number of newly added jobs has stayed below ten-thousand per month.

An official at Statistics Korea, which compiled the report, said one main reason behind the dismal figures is the struggling business at automakers and shipbuilders which is spilling over to related sectors like retail.  [KBS World Radio]

You can read more at the link.

If there is going to be a second Trump-Kim summit I would think there is going to be a major announcement from the summit instead of the generalities that came out of the first summit:

South Korea’s president called on the United States and North Korea to make “bold decisions” to put nuclear negotiations back on track as the White House announced planning is underway for a second summit between President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un.

President Moon Jae-in, who plans to travel to Pyongyang next week for his own meeting with Kim, said he has no choice but to play mediator to promote dialogue between the longtime adversaries.

Talks aimed at persuading the North to give up nuclear weapons have stalled since Trump and Kim vowed to work toward the “complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula” at their June 12 summit in Singapore.

But Trump welcomed a North Korean military parade over the weekend that left out the usual long-range missiles and focused on peace and economic development in what was seen as a gesture toward rekindling talks with Washington.

Moon said Tuesday that the North must dismantle its nuclear weapons programs and the U.S. must take a corresponding step.

“If we would like to move to a higher level … bold ideas and decisions by the leaders of North Korea and the United States are necessary,” he said during a Cabinet meeting, according to a transcript from his office. “In the process, both countries must end the deep-rooted, mutual distrust stemming from 70 years of hostile relations.”  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read more at the link, but when President Moon talks about “bold decisions” what he means is that President Trump needs to sign up for the “pretend denuclearization” plan.  Does anyone really expect Kim Jong-un is going to show up at a second summit and hand over his nukes to President Trump?