He is a citizen of Republic of Korea!!

AMnesty International is helping a citizen of Republic of Korea, Kim Kwang-ho. 

DOCUMENT - CHINA: FAMILY FACE FORCIBLE RETURN TO NORTH KOREA

UA: 185/13 Index: ASA 17/025/2013 China Date: 19 July 2013

URGENT ACTION

FAMILY FACE FORCIBLE RETURN TO NORTH KOREA

A family of five are at risk of forcible return to North Korea after being arrested by Chinese authorities. If returned to North Korea they are at serious risk of torture and other ill-treatment, forced labour and death.

The Chinese authorities are holding five North Koreans, Kim Kwang-ho, his wife Kim Ok-shil, their daughter, and two other relatives Kim Song-il and Kim Son-hye in a detention facility in the city of Yanji, Jilin province, north-eastern China. If returned to North Korea, illegal border-crossers typically face arbitrary detention, torture, and other ill-treatment, including forced labour. They would also be at risk of enforced disappearance in North Korea.

Kim Kwang-ho, Kim Ok-shil, and their daughter previously fled North Korea and settled in South Korea in August 2009. However, they left South Korea for China in December 2012. Kim Kwang-ho then returned to North Korea followed later by his wife and daughter. In January North Korean media interviewed Kim Kwang-ho, his wife and another North Korean who had returned from South Korea. In the interview they said that they had been lured to South Korea.

In their latest attempt to flee North Korea, Kim Kwang-ho and his family are reported to have left North Korea on 24 June. They were in China seeking means to return to South Korea when the shelter they were staying in was raided on 14 July by the Chinese police.

The circumstances behind their return to North Korea between December 2012 and early January remain unclear. There are concerns that their return may not have been voluntary, and that the media interview was used primarily as propaganda to deter others from trying to go to South Korea. This means that they are at heightened risk of punishment and risk to their lives including the death penalty if returned to North Korea.

Although China is a state party to the UN Refugee Convention it has prevented the UN refugee agency, the UNHCR, from having access to North Koreans in China. Amnesty International believes that all North Koreans in China are entitled to refugee status because of the risk of serious human rights violations if they are returned.

Please write immediately in English, Chinese or your own language:

Call on the authorities not to forcibly repatriate Kim Kwang-ho, Kim Ok-shil, their daughter and their relatives, Kim Song-il and Kim Son-hye;

Urge them to let Kim and his family travel to South Korea, or seek asylum in China and other countries,

Call on them to provide Kim and his family access to the UNHCR

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 30 AUGUST 2013 TO:

�

President

XI Jinping Guojia Zhuxi

The State Council General Office

2 Fuyoujie

Xichengqu, Beijingshi 100017

People's Republic of China

Fax: +86 10 6238 1025

Email: gov@govonline.cn

Salutation: Your Excellency

Premier

LI Keqiang Guojia Zongli

The State Council General Office

2 Fuyoujie

Xichengqu, Beijingshi 100017

People's Republic of China

Fax: +86 10 65961109 (c/o Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

Salutation: Your Excellency

And copies to:

Minister of Foreign Affairs

WANG Yi Buzhang, Waijiaobu

2 Chaoyangmen Nandajie

Chaoyang District, Beijingshi 100701

People's Republic of China

Fax: +86 10 65591516 or 65961109 or 65962660

Email: webmaster@mfa.gov.cn�

Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your country. Please insert local diplomatic addresses below:

Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date.

�

URGENT ACTION

FAMILY FACE FORCIBLE RETURN TO NORTH KOREA

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

North Koreans are not allowed to travel abroad without state permission however, facing significant risks, many do cross the border into China every year without permission. China considers all undocumented North Koreans to be economic migrants, rather than asylum-seekers, and returns them to North Korea if they are caught. However, international law prohibits the forcible return either directly or indirectly of any individuals to a country where they are at risk of persecution, torture or other ill-treatment, or death.

Kim Jong-un who came to power after his father’s death in December 2011 has increased border controls, condemned border crossers and threatened them with severe punishment, including death. On 19 June North Korean state news published a statement by the Ministry of People’s Security vowing to “take substantial measures to physically remove despicable human scum” who leave the country without permission – an act the North Korean government views as treason. According to South Korean government figures, there has been a significant drop in the number of North Koreans reaching South Korea in 2012: 1,509 compared to 2,706 in 2011.

In March 2013, the UN Human Rights Council voted to establish a Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into human rights violations in North Korea. The CoI is tasked to investigate alleged violations of the right to food, freedom of expression, right to life and freedom of movement, and abuses in political prison camps, torture and other ill-treatment, arbitrary detention, discrimination, and enforced disappearances.

The North Korean government refuses to recognize or grant access to international human rights monitors, including Amnesty International and the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in North Korea. Ongoing restrictions on access for independent monitors, intergovernmental organizations and humanitarian organizations impede efforts to assess the human rights situation in the country.

Name: Kim Kwang-ho (male); Kim Ok-shil (female); their daughter (female); Kim Song-il (male); Kim Son-hye (female)

Gender m/f: both

�

UA: 185/13 Index: ASA 17/025/2013 Issue Date: 19 July 2013

Brother of Kim Kwang-ho: Please save my brother

Brother of Kim Kwang-ho: Please save my brother

2013.07.19 00:11:43 

Kim Joo-cheol, a North Korean resident in the U.K., has appealed to the international society to save his brother and his family. His brother Kwang-ho and his family, who miraculously succeeded in escaping North Korea once again after being lured and abducted by the North Korean spies, were arrested by the Chinese police in Yanji.

Kwang-ho and Ko Kyung-hee were seen in a press conference held at the People’s Palace in Pyongyang on Jan. 24 this year, after being forced to testify that they returned to the homeland after having sickening experience in South Korea.

However, in stark contrast to the seemingly heroic welcome they received by the generous leader Kim Jong-un presented in the press conference, Kwang-ho and Ko were removed from Pyongyang and lived in a provincial town under constant monitoring. When they talked about pork belly slices and Korean ginseng chicken soup they had in South Korea, they were detained by the state security authority and subsequently released.   

Kwang-ho, his wife, and their one-year daughter, who could not bear living in stifling North Korean society, successfully escaped North Korea again. They took the wife’s younger sister and her husband, who had never escaped before. However, while they were hiding in China, they were arrested by the Chinese police on July 14. According to Ha Tae-kyung, a lawmaker for the ruling Saenuri Party, and Kim Yong-hwa, head of the North Korea Refugees Human Rights Association of Korea, on July 16, they are currently being jailed in China.

When this news spread across South Korea and the world, Kwang-ho’s younger brother Joo-cheol living in the U.K. started campaigning for saving his brother and his family.

Joo-cheol, who settled in the U.K. in 2007, had heard of his brother’s escape from North Korea, but has never seen him since his own escape. He said he heard about his brother through news occasionally.  

Joo-cheol confessed that when he first saw his brother in the press conference televised by the North Korean Central News Agency, he was nervous about what other people would think of himself. “But I was relieved after it was revealed that my brother’s re-defection to North Korea was involuntary and was a result of North Korean authority’s abduction, and that he was forced to glorify the regime during the press conference,” said Joo-cheol.

He urged the international community to save his brother as only death will await him upon repatriation, especially since he was used as a means of propaganda for the Kim Jong-un regime on TV.  

Yong-hwa, who was the first to deliver the news of Kwang-ho’s arrest in China through a press conference, said that he had several telephone calls with Kwang-ho when he successfully left North Korea for second time and was hiding in China. Yong-hwa said, “Kwang-ho told me over the telephone that appearing in the televised press conference early this year was the only way he could save his family in North Korea, and he was forced to memorize everything he said on TV for two months by the state security department.”

A South Korean government official said that the South Korean government has requested the Chinese government to have an interview with Kwang-ho and his family in order to protect North Korean escapees, who are legally South Korean citizens. After finding out accurate information on how Kwang-ho’s family went to North Korea, escaped again, and got arrested, the South Korean government will try to offer them protection more proactively.  

In fact, during the summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping last month, South Korean President Park Geun-hye requested that China takes more interest in human rights of North Korean escapees. It remains to see whether the summit would have positive impact in releasing Kwang-ho.

The North Korean Residents Society in Europe, which is based in the U.K., said they will launch a worldwide campaign for their safe journey to South Korea as Kwang-ho and his family will undoubtedly face the most atrocious kind of punishment if they are sent back to North Korea.

FreeNK Newpaper – News Team

ifreenk@gmail.com

[Editorial] Truce 60 years on

Can we believe North Korea's assertion for Peace Treaty?

I don't think so...

U.S. troops killed by the North Korean soldiers during Korean War

Editorial from The Korea Herald(2013.7.26)

Saturday marks the 60th anniversary of the armistice that put an end to the three-year Korean War. But the cease-fire has been a precarious one, with armed conflict intermittently flaring up across the border between South and North Korea. With the armistice agreement not replaced with a peace treaty yet, the two sides still remain deadly adversaries.

This has to change. Peace must be made permanent on the Korean Peninsula. With the Oriental calendar coming full circle every 60 years, the anniversary is an auspicious occasion for South and North Korea to make a fresh start to free the Korean people from the fear of another fratricidal war. To Koreans, whether in the South or in the North, the 60th anniversary means the completion of one life cycle and the start of another.

A most plausible scenario for peace on the Korean Peninsula is for North Korea to abandon its desire to arm itself with nuclear weapons in exchange for economic aid from abroad, mostly from South Korea. The next step would be to replace the armistice agreement with a peace treaty.

North Korea agreed to pursue the proposed peace process when it decided to participate in the six-party talks on its nuclear program in 2003. But the North, which deserted the multilateral nuclear talks within several years, has since conducted nuclear tests on three occasions.

The offer of massive aid is still on the table, with President Park Geun-hye committing herself to keeping a promise to reward the North if it decides to dismantle its nuclear program. She says South Korea is ready to promote coprosperity with the North and pursue a peaceful reunification.

The armistice anniversary is also a proper occasion to renew its thanks to the United States and 15 other nations that contributed to the U.S.-led U.N. forces, which helped South Korea fight back the invading North Korean and Chinese troops. Had it not been for their help, it would not have been possible for South Korea to rise from the ashes of war. After the war, it continued to receive aid from the United States and other countries.

Thanks to their support, South Korea, once one of the poorest aid recipients in the world, has turned itself into a well-to-do industrialized nation over the past 60 years. Its volume of external trade ranks eighth in the world, and its gross domestic product 15th ― no small achievement for a natural resources-poor country.

North Korea is no match for South Korea. It is listed by the United Nations as the poorest country among the 57 Asian-Pacific countries. Feeding the starving people, not the development of nuclear weapons, should be the priority issue of concern to the North Korean leadership.

For South Korea, it is now time to pay back. The South, which spent $1.55 billion in official development aid last year, an amount equal to 0.14 percent of its gross national income, will have to strive to meet the U.N.-set goal of 0.7 percent of GNI before long. It also needs to help promote world peace by contributing troops to U.N. peacekeeping forces.

The North's conciliatory gestures are all bullshit!!

Bastards!!!! Warmonger Kim Jong un!! He deceived our government by conciliatory gestures but it turned out to be bullshit!!

An article from The Korea Herald

http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20130717000211

Panama finds suspected weapons on N. Korean ship

Published : 2013-07-17 09:47
Updated : 2013-07-17 09:47

A North Korean ship carrying weapons system parts buried under sacks of sugar was seized as it tried to cross the Panama Canal on its way from Cuba to its home country, which is barred by United Nations sanctions from importing sophisticated weapons or missiles, Panamanian officials said Tuesday.

The ship appeared to be transporting a radar-control system for a Soviet-era surface-to-air missile system, according to a private defense analysis firm that examined a photograph of the find.

Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli said the ship identified as the 14,000-ton Chong Chon Gang was carrying missiles and other arms ``hidden in containers underneath the cargo of sugar.''

Martinelli tweeted a photo showing a green tube that appears to be a horizontal antenna for the SNR-75 ``Fan Song'' radar, which used to guide missiles fired by the SA-2 air-defense system found in former Warsaw Pact and Soviet-allied nations, said Neil Ashdown, an analyst for IHS Jane's Intelligence.

``It is possible that this could be being sent to North Korea to update its high-altitude air-defense capabilities,'' Ashdown said.

One container buried under sugar sacks contained radar equipment that appears to be designed for use with air-to-air or surface-to-air missiles, said Belsio Gonzalez, director of Panama's National Aeronautics and Ocean Administration. He said Panamanian authorities expected to find the missiles themselves in containers that must still be searched. An Associated Press journalist who gained access to the rusting ship saw green shipping containers that had been covered by hundreds, perhaps thousands, of white sacks marked ``Cuban Raw Sugar.''

The U.N. Security Council has imposed four rounds of increasingly tougher sanctions against North Korea since its first nuclear test on Oct. 9, 2006.

Under current sanctions, all U.N. member states are prohibited from directly or indirectly supplying, selling or transferring all arms, missiles or missile systems and the equipment and technology to make them to North Korea, with the exception of small arms and light weapons.

The most recent resolution, approved in March after Pyongyang's latest nuclear test, authorizes all countries to inspect cargo in or transiting through their territory that originated in North Korea, or is destined to North Korea if a state has credible information the cargo could violate Security Council resolutions.

``Panama obviously has an important responsibility to ensure that the Panama Canal is utilized for safe and legal commerce,'' said Acting U.S. Ambassador Rosemary DiCarlo, who is the current Security Council president. ``Shipments of arms or related material to or from Korea would violate Security Council resolutions, three of them as a matter of fact.''

Panamanian authorities believe the ship was returning from Havana on its way to North Korea, Panamanian Public Security Minister Jose Raul Mulino told The Associated Press. Based on unspecified intelligence, authorities suspected it could be carrying contraband and tried to communicate with the crew, who didn't respond. Martinelli said Panama originally suspected drugs could be aboard.

The 35 North Koreans on the boat were arrested after resisting police efforts to intercept the ship in Panamanian waters on Thursday as it moved toward the canal and take it to the Caribbean port of Manzanillo, Martinelli told private RPC radio station. The captain had a heart attack and also tried to commit suicide during the operation, Martinelli said.

Panamanian officials were finally able to board the ship to begin searching it Monday, pulling out hundreds of sacks of sugar.

The illicit cargo ``seems to be a type of missile, of rocket. Next to them there's another container that appears to have a type of control system,'' said Luis Eduardo Camacho, a spokesman for Martinelli. He said authorities had only searched one of the ship's five container sections, and the inspection of all the cargo will take at least a week. Panama has requested help from United Nations inspectors, along with Colombia and the UK, said Javier Carballo, the country's top narcotics prosecutor.

``Panama being a neutral country, a country in peace, that doesn't like war, we feel very worried about this military material,'' Martinelli said.

The governments of North Korea and Cuba made no public comment on the case.

In early July, a top North Korean general, Kim Kyok Sik, visited Cuba and met with his island counterparts. Cuban Communist Party newspaper Granma said he was also received by President Raul Castro, and the two had an ``exchange about the historical ties that unite the two nations and the common will to continue strengthening them.''

The meetings were held behind closed doors, and there has been no detailed account of their discussions.

``After this incident there should be renewed focus on North Korean-Cuban links,'' said Hugh Griffiths, an arms trafficking expert at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Griffiths said his institute told the U.N. this year that it had uncovered evidence of a flight from Cuba to North Korea that travelled via central Africa.

``Given the history of North Korea, Cuban military cooperation and now this latest seizure, we find this flight more interesting,'' he said. ``

The Chong Chon Gang has a history of being detained on suspicion of trafficking drugs and ammunition, Griffiths said. Lloyd's List Intelligence said the 34-year-old ship, which is registered to the Pyongyang-based Chongchongang Shipping Company, ``has a long history of detentions for safety deficiencies and other undeclared reasons.''

Satellite tracking records show it left the Pacific Coast of Russia on April 12 with a stated destination of Havana, then crossed the Pacific and the Panama Canal on its way to the Caribbean. It disappeared from satellite tracking until it showed up again on the Caribbean side of the canal, on July 10, Lloyd's said.

The disappearance from satellite tracking indicates that the crew may have switched off a device that automatically transmits the ship's location after it moved into the Caribbean, Lloyd's said.

Mulino, the Panamanian public security minister, said the ship crossed the Panama Canal from the Pacific to the Caribbean last month carrying a cargo of sheet metal that was inspected by Panamanian authorities.

Griffiths said the Chong Chon Gang was stopped in 2010 in the Ukraine and was attacked by pirates 400 miles off the coast of Somalia in 2009.

Griffiths' institute has also been interested in the ship because of a 2009 stop it made in Tartus _ a Syrian port city hosting a Russian naval base. (AP)

Talks about Kaesong Industrial Complex

This is an article from NKnews.
I really love this page because I can learn more about North Korea in English, and that means I learn about what I like in the way I like! :-)


http://www.nknews.org/2013/07/s-koreans-not-100-satisfied-with-kaesong-talks-outcome/


North not showing enough remorse for closing Kaesong Industrial Complex, analysts in South say

BY HYOWON SHIN AND SUSAN AHN , JULY 8, 2013

SEOUL – North Korea agreed to help South Korean businessmen retrieve completed products from the closed inter-Korean Kaesong Industrial Zone after holding 16-hour talks in Panmunjom on Saturday.

Korea’s monsoon season––which normally starts in mid-July––arrived early this year, causing South Korean businessmen to put pressure on the government in Seoul to work with the North in the securing of products and materials left behind in the inter-Korean complex after its closure in April.

The two sides were unable to reach an agreement for any long-term solution to permanently reopen the economic zone, however, instead opting to tackle ‘normalization’ during a second round of talks this Wednesday.

“The North and the South will make sure that businesses in the Kaesong Industrial Complex restart operations, depending on their preparations, and decided to hold the next round of talks in the Zone on July 10 for the normalization of the Kaesong Industrial Complex and the prevention of another occurance of suspended operation,” a radio broadcast on the Pyongyang-basd Korean Central Broadcasting Station said on Sunday.

‘NO REMORSE’

Both Koreas were unable to agree on what types of “raw materials” could be retrieved from the North, and whether or not a guarantee of safety for South Korean workers in the North could be included within the agreement.

“We are not 100% satisfied, but [the talks] were significant since they confirm the North’s enthusiasm towards the reopening of the Kaesong Industrial Complex,” Yoo Ho-yeol, a professor at Korea University, told the conservative daily Choson Ilbo.

North Korea did not demonstrate enough remorse for their decision to close the Kaesong complex in April, although it has taken an active role in solving some of the core problems, head of the Kaesong Industrial Complex Project Support Directorate Suh Ho also told the Choson Ilbo.

“If the North promises to actively prevent recurrences [of a closure], we will work to restart industry there –– even get a loan, whatever it takes,” the paper quoted a South Korean businessman with assets in the Zone as saying.

Other South Korean companies, however, have demonstrated an unwillingness to continue work in the Kaesong Industrial Zone as a significant number of customers have looked elsewhere for business following the closure of the complex.

CALL FOR COMPROMISE

During the talks, the North did not mention the cause of closure and was reluctant to bear full responsibility for suspension of operations. Talks were instead focused on the operational and technological aspects needed to combat against potential damage caused by heavy rains, the progressive Hankyoreh newspaper said in Seoul.

“In order to solve the root cause of the problem, institutional measures based on international norms must be put in place so that Kaesong Industrial Zone operations are not unilaterally suspended by North Korea,” Seoul’s Ministry of Unification said on May 28.

The South Korean government entered negotiations demanding reassurance for measures against a future closure of the Zone. Liberal media in Seoul, however, called for more balance in negotiations:

“The normalization of the complex will depend on whether the two sides are willing to compromise and accommodate each other’s position in a second-round meeting to be held on Wednesday,” the Hankyoreh argued on Monday morning.

The two sides will conduct follow-up talks regarding the reopening of the complex and the prevention of another shutdown in the future, Saturday’s joint agreement said. The South Korean government is pushing for a documented “guarantee” protecting the zone –– one that can be accepted by “international standards.”

“Most of our domestic and international buyers have already left us because of our failure to meet the supply schedules,” Kim Hak-gwon, co-chair of a task force of South Korean businesses with premises in the zone, told DongA news. “No buyers will place orders with the companies until there is some kind of guarantee that the Kaesong Industrial Zone will not be affected by political or military conflicts,” he said.

HAPPY DAYS

Inter Korean trade was at a height in 2007 under the Roh Moo-hyun administration with almost $1.8 billion worth of business changing hands in one year alone.

At the time, over 850 items were being traded between the two Koreas, from garlic to soap, lipstick and coal.

According to publicly available Ministry of Unification data, the North’s major exports consisted of “agricultural and marine products” (37.7%), and “mineral products” (32.8%). North Korea has some of the world’s largest natural mineral reserves that, thanks largely to a lack of developed infrastructure, have yet to be fully exploited.

In June, the a North Korean National Defence Commission (NDC) spokesman announced that there would be “a way towards normalizing operations” in the zone and open the Kaesong Industrial Complex if the South stopped its “hostile actions.”

The zone was shut down in April 2013 in response to annual South Korea-U.S. joint military exercises that Pyongyang regularly sees as a dress rehearsal for the invasion and occupation of the DPRK.

The closure of the complex left more than 53,000 North Korean workers jobless, and 123 South Korean businesses idle.

Headline image: futurecode1. Additional reporting by James Pearson in Seoul....

One of my worries

Am I too anxious? The article below is about Mt. Baekdu's eruptions and my ominous worry is that the North Korea's nuclear test might impinge on its explosion.

Read this article below and it's from Korea times, posted on 2012.5.3. Isn't it scary? The eruption of Mt. Baekdu must be a horrendous environmental disaster in this century.

Mt. Baekdu eruption's impact on NE Asia (25) Citing the rise of the surface temperature of Mt. Baekdu, geologists predict its eruption in a couple of years. / Korea Times file Mt. Baekdu has been carefully observed since 1999 when a volcanic observatory was built in China, and since 2002, there have been some symptoms of an eruption. By Park Chang-seok Yes, one! There’s only one thing about which they think in a same way – a concern about possible eruption of Mt. Baekdu. The two Koreas remain at odds in everything. But they are one in voicing how to counter the possible volcanic explosion of the highest mountain in the Korean Peninsula Inter-Korean anxiety is mounting, with growing apocalyptic predictions on the dormant volcano. A South Korean geological expert has warned that the volcano could erupt sometime around 2014 and 2015. Former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il reportedly said people in some regions of Yanggang and North Hamgyeong Provinces were feeling anxiety over a volcanic eruption of Mt. Baekdu. Kim called for quick countermeasures by the North Korean authorities. If a volcano, located on the border between North Korea and China erupts, damage could be 10 to 100 times greater than that caused by the April 2010 eruptions in Iceland. Experts predict that the ashes would not only hit the neighboring area but damage agriculture and cause serious disruptions in industrial activities and air flights. The Korean Peninsula, China, Japan and Russia would be severely damaged. A volcanic eruption begins when pressure on a magma chamber forces magma up through the conduit and out the volcano’s vents. When the magma chamber is completely filled, the type of eruption partly depends on the amount of gas and silica in the magma. The amount of silica determines how sticky (level of viscosity) the magma is and water provides the explosive potential of steam. The 2010 Iceland eruption caused enormous disruption to air travel across Western and Northern Europe, although relatively small in size for volcanic eruptions. About 20 countries closed their airspace and it affected hundreds of thousands of travelers. A very high proportion of flights within, to, and from Europe were cancelled, creating the highest level of air travel disruption since the World War II. Geological studies Fears of a Mt. Baekdu eruption loom large with ensuing warnings based on a series of geological studies from experts. A growing number of scholars have not ruled out the possibility of another eruption, linking the collapse of Korea’s ancient kingdom, Balhae, with the previous one. One theory comes from professor Hiroshi Machida of Tokyo Metropolitan University. Machida first presented a view in 1992 that the eruption of Mt. Baekdu (Mt. Changbai in Chinese) led to the fall of Balhae, which had expanded its sovereignty to the vast Manchuria territory. His theory was based on volcanic ash found in Tomakomai, a port city in southern Hokkaido, in 1981. The ash was named “Baekdu-Tomakomai volcanic ash” (B-Tm) after Mt. Baekdu and Tomakakomi city where it was found, according to So Won-ju who wrote the book “Secret of Mt. Baekdu’s Great Eruption.” Machida’s theory has gained momentum as an increasing number of geologists and climate change researchers have presented views that the ash was produced in the eruption of the highest mountain in the Korean Peninsula in the 10th century. The eruption of the 2,744 meter-high mountain was billed as the largest in the history of mankind and was about 50 times stronger than that of Mt. Vesuvius of Italy in 79 A.D. which led to the burying and destruction of the Roman city Pompeii. Balhae (Bohai in Chinese) was established by Dae Jo-yeong, a former Goguryeo general, in 698 after the fall of Goguryeo. Dae Jo-yeong took the helm of Jin (Zhen in Chinese), founded by his father Dae Jung-sang in 696, and renamed the country Balhae, declaring it as the successor state of Goguryeo (37 B.C. - 668 A.D.). Balhae’s ruin  Balhae occupied the southern parts of Manchuria and Primorsky Krai (now Russia’s Far East), and the northern part of the Korean Peninsula. It was defeated by the Khitans in 926, and most of its northern territories were absorbed into the Liao Dynasty, also known as the Khitan Empire, founded in 907 while the southern parts were absorbed into Goryeo Kingdom (918-1392). A dominant view related to Balhae’s decline had been Khitans’ 926 invasion. Some conventional historians believed that the rampancy of ethnic conflicts between the ruling Koreans and underclass Mohe (Malgal) caused its fall. But some refute these allegations, giving more weight on the catastrophic explosion of Mt. Baekdu as a primary cause for Balhae’s ruin rather than Khitans’ attack. Balhae had been engaged in a war with the Khitans for about two weeks and then collapsed immediately. How could Balhae with a long 200-year history fall so easily in such a short period of battle? Some historians raised doubts about the early collapse, pointing to Mt. Baekdu erupting as a cause for Balhae’s ruin. The massive explosion was believed to have created a tremendous amount of volcanic ash, damaging agriculture and even societal integrity. The Khitans were believed to have taken advantage of this natural disaster in putting the volcano-stricken Balhae under their complete control. The eruption might have prevented Balhae survivors from rebuilding their nation in consideration of the catastrophe. A variety of indicators, suggested by geologists and Balhae dynasty researchers who have monitored the change of Baekdu’s geographical features, are backing a scenario of the recurrence of the Mt. Baekdu eruption. Some experts say that an eruption is imminent. Geologist Yoon Sung-hyo at Pusan National University strongly believes Mt. Baekdu could erupt anytime soon.” According to historical records, major activity on the mountain in the 940s created a caldera on its peak, whose circumference is nearly 14 kilometers with an average depth of 213 meters and a maximum of 384 meters. Atop the mountain is Cheonji, literally meaning “heavenly lake,” the largest caldera in the world. Volcanic ash Volcanic ash from Mt. Baekdu eruption has been found as far away as the southern part of Hokkaido, Japan. Geologists predict the occurrence of great Mt. Baekdu eruptions every 1,000 years and that of minor ones every 200 to 300 years. Minor eruptions were recorded in 1413, 1597, 1668 and 1702 with the last activity being recorded in 1903. Among other indicators backing the scenario of a future eruption is the height of Mt. Baekdu, which has grown nearly 10 centimeters since 2002. Experts say an expanding magma pool, a precondition for an eruption, is gradually pushing up the height of the mountain as well as the temperature on the surface. On Oct. 1, 2006, a Russian satellite found the surface temperature of the mountain notably higher than before. The finding came just days after North Korea conducted an underground nuclear test in its northern territory, which could have been a catalyst reactivating magma flows, according to analysts. Mt. Baekdu has been carefully observed since 1999 when a volcanic observatory was built in China, and since 2002, there have been some symptoms of an eruption. Seismic activity near the mountain has increased dramatically, and the concentration of hydrogen and helium emissions, both of which are volcanic gases have risen 10-fold. And there’s ample possibility that Mt. Baekdu may erupt in the near future. If Mt. Baekdu erupts, it would no doubt bring about grave consequences for the two Koreas as well as the surrounding states, including China, Japan and Russia. The biggest immediate threat is the 2 billion tons of water in the lake on top of the crater. An eruption would likely cause severe flood damage, engulfing roads and homes within a 30-kilometer radius in just 3 hours and 20 minutes, a geological report found recently. Mt. Baekdu’s caldera The greatest victim of a Mt. Baekdu explosion may be North Korea, especially Yanggang and Hamgyeong Provinces. The two regions, located on the tip of the Korean Peninsula, may be covered with ash in just two hours. In about eight hours, ash may reach Ulleungdo and Dokdo, two far eastern islands of South Korea, and in 12 hours, land on Tottori Prefecture, Japan. After 18 hours, volcanic ash would likely spread beyond Japan. The National Institute for Disaster Prevention conducted a simulation in 2010 to test how far volcanic ash can spread if Mt. Baekdu erupts. According to the results, the effects can be different depending on the timing. If it happens in winter, Japan is expected to be more affected due to the northwest monsoon. On the other hand, a summer eruption would affect South Korea more. Mt. Baekdu’s caldera has nearly two billion tons of water. If volcanic heat evaporates the water and is mixed suddenly with volcanic ashes, it would be strong enough to engulf even Vladivostok in Russia and Hokkaido in northern Japan, according to experts. The construction of nuclear power plants by North Korea and China in the neighborhood may certainly pose a grave threat to all Northeast Asians, with the view that Mt. Baekdu’s explosion would for sure cause subsequent nuclear catastrophes, as seen in Japan’s 2011 tsunami disaster. A volcanic explosion is the most terrible natural disaster which cannot be easily avoided by human wisdom and knowledge. With unrelenting outbreaks of record-breaking natural disasters around the world and especially in the wake of Japan’s massive earthquake that is now estimated to have killed nearly 10,000, the world’s eyes are drawn to Mt. Baekdu. Multinational and regional cooperative monitoring systems are needed beyond ideological barriers to take preemptive measures against a possible eruption. By all indications, Mt. Baekdu is a real danger and it’s not clear how long it will stay inactive. A Mt. Baekdu eruption, if it takes place, will not be a matter for a certain country but a global concern to determine the future of Northeast Asian civilization. Environment Info Volcanic eruptions An important measure of eruptive strength is the Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI), a magnitudic scale ranging from 0 to 8 that often correlates to eruptive types. During a volcanic eruption, lava, tephra (ash, lapilli tuff, volcanic bombs and blocks), and various gases are expelled from a volcanic vent or fissure. Several types of volcanic eruptions have been distinguished by volcanologists. These are often named after famous volcanoes where that type of behavior has been observed. Some volcanoes may exhibit only one characteristic type of eruption during a period of activity, while others may display an entire sequence of types all in one eruptive series. Park Chang-seok is currently a resident research fellow of the Korea Institute of Public Administration (KIPA). Park, a former Korea Times managing editor and a Kyung Hee University media professor, is the author of “The History of Korean English Newspaper” and “News English.” He is the editor of KIPA’s two English books “Korea: From Rags to Riches” and “Discover Korea in Public Administration.”

I believe Xi, the smart guy.

@ Chappatte in “International Herald Tribune”

First summit talk with President Park Geun-hye and Xi jinping is set for June 27. With this meeting, President Park plans to enlist Beijing's help in pressuring Norh Korea to give up its nuclear programs.

As a key provider of economic aid and diplomatic protection for North Korea, China has long been considered the only country with any meaningful influence over Pyongyang, though it has been reluctant to use that leverage over concern that pushing the North too hard could hurt its national interests.
In recent months, however, China has apparently been taking a tougher approach to Pyonyang especially after the North's long-range rocket launch in December and its third nuclear test in February. Also, in the first summit with U.S. President Obama, Xi Jingping showed a strong agreement on the North Korean nuclear issue. Both leaders delivered a stern message to Pyongyang by declaring that they would not accept the North's posession of nuclear weapons.

The summit between Park and Xi should be the opportunity to further bolster cooperation in making Pyongyang realize that its bad behavior will never be rewarded and it has no other choice but to change course and become a responsible member of the international community.

Xi Jingping, as a very smart guym remembers his statements on the talk with Obama, and will force Pyongyang to give up its nuclear ambitions and closely cooperate with Korea to achive denuclearization of North Korea. He definitely knows what's right and it's time to gether up the North's reins.
 

Inter-Korean talks is expected

Inter-Korean relations are taking a conciliatory turn after months of heightened tension following North Korea's launch of a long-range rocket in December and third nuclear test in February.
With the North's first propose, two sides hold ministerial-level talks in Seoul on June 12 to discuss diverse pending issues, such as normalization of the suspended Gaeseong industrial complex and Mt.Geumgang tours.

Yes, this talk definitely will ease tension on the Korean Peninsula. Yet, it is premature to expect any breakthrough in cross-border relations.


First of all, resuming operation of Gaeseong complex could prove harder than it sounds. It was suspended two months ago following the North's unilateral withdrawal of its workers. Now North Korea wants to talk about reopening the complex. However, Seoul cannot and should not reopen the complex as if nothing has happened. North Korea should clarify that they will compensate for the losses sustained by the South Korean companies. More importantly, Pyongyang has to equip strong assurances that it will abide by inter-Korean agreements and never again disrupt the operation of the complex.


In addition, Pyongyang offer guarantees for the safety of tourist to the scenic mountain resort. The reason why Mt.Geumgang tours was suspended is that in July 2008, a 53-year-old housewife as the civilian tourist to Mt.Geumgang, got shot and killed by a North Korean soldier while she was walking around the resort area. South Korea government urged the North to cooperate in the investigation the North refused and blamed Seoul for tourist' shooting death.

Also, Pyongyang's proposal has no mention of the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, still less the abandonment of its nuclear weapons. This shows that the North has no willingness to change course. Unless North Korea decides to renounce its nuclear programs, a genuin reconciliation cannot be expected.


North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un has repeatedly vowed to persue a two-track strategy-promoting economic development and bolstering its nuclear arsenal simutaneously. This is however, a non-starter.

We have to keep in mind that the North's motivations behind the latest conciliatory gesture is probably the dictator's desire to prop it up with money from Seoul and to find a way to avoid sanction from International Society after the notorious third nuclear test.

 

We must not forget!

Ms. Park Killed by Garrison Unit, Not Infantry

By Park In Ho [2008-07-15 18:33 ]

The North Korean soldier who shot the late Park Wang Ja was not a regular infantryman, who watches over military facilities, but it is highly possible that he belonged to the "Mt. Geumgang Garrison," a group made up of soldiers transferred from the “Civilian Affairs Administrative Police Unit." Joo Sung Il, Chairman of the Baekdu Halla Association, a young defectors organization based in Seoul, who defected over the demilitarized zone (DMZ) in 2002 while working in the No. 2 Army Corps of the Civilian Police Unit, maintained in a phone conversation with the Daily NK, "According to the testimony of witness Lee Ihn Bok (23), three soldiers jumped out of the woods after the shooting of Park and they were most likely not infantrymen of the military facility close by, as insisted by the North." Chairman Joo explained that North Korea's “Mt. Geumgang Garrison" holds power transferred from nine Civilian Police Units. Accordingly, the Mt. Geumgang Garrison has the same operational principles as the Civilian Police Unit." The Civilian Police Unit is the corps which guards the border within the DMZ. According to the Korean War Armistice Agreement, the civilian police have to take responsibility for guarding the DMZ. The members of this unit are as professional as well-trained Special Forces, unlike South Korean military in guard posts. North Korea, immediately before the start of the Mt. Geumgang tours, organized the “Mt. Geumgang Garrison” with soldiers transferred from the People's Army Infantry Company. However, when the rumors about their violence or giving and receiving money started to circulate, soldiers were transferred from the “border battalion” in the North Korea-China border region. Subsequently, the Civilian Police Unit transferred its employees and formed the current “Mt. Geumgang Garrison." According to the explanation of Chairman Joo, Park did not climb over the 1.5m high sand mound which demarcated the military restricted area by the beach on the early morning of the 11th nor was shot by an infantryman located approximately 1km from the North Korean checkpoint, but it is highly possible that she was shot by the garrison unit which lies waiting overnight at a mid point. He pointed out, "A Civilian Police Unit is not formed for defense, so in the case of an emergency, for an immediate response, the smallest battle unit of three people each is formed... Lying in ambush or for inspections also operates three people to one group; however this is not just an average infantry unit; it is distinguishable as the 27th Brigade Border Garrison, which is made up of two people per unit in the Tumen River and Yalu River regions in the far north. He explained regarding the difference between the account that said warning shots and finally two aimed shots were fired, and of witness Lee Ihn Bok that he only heard two gunshots, "In the case of an average infantryman, they can fire an actual shot only after a warning. However, the Civilian Police Unit can fire immediately while omitting the warning shot.” However, he said, "It is not the first time that South Korean tourists have entered restricted areas and there have been several incidents like this, but a North Korean soldier has never fired a gunshot. If it is true that warning shots were not fired, but actual shots were fired, then it is highly possible that this incident was carefully planned." Chairman Joo also emphasized, "Average North Korean infantrymen do not have orders to aim at civilians, and they cannot independently decide to shot a South Korean civilian, which would always erupt into a political issue.” Last May, a civil servant working for North Chungcheong Provincial Office in South Korea visited the Mt. Geumgang site as part of a work-related educational process and was detained at a North Korean army post, but did not encounter any other incidents. He was jogging around 5:30 A.M. in the direction of Onjungkak and was detained for half an hour at a North Korean checkpoint, but the two North Korean infantrymen who detained him, while they had guns, conducted orders by blowing on their whistle. Chairman Joo said related to the chest and hip wounds inflicted on Park, "In order to strike the target with an AK-47 rifle, a person needs to be within a 100 meter distance. Such a technique surpasses the standard of average North Korean infantrymen." Such a statement gave credence to the possibility of the shooting having been over a short distance, in contrast to the North's explanation. He pointed out, "If North Korea, according to a particular political goal, needed to detain or execute a South Korean citizen, the Mt. Geumgang tourism area is probably the most suitable. In the tourism area, the ideologically and militarily elite soldiers are arrayed, while South Korean citizens are exposed in a defenseless state." Lee Myung Ho (pseudonym), who entered South Korea in 2005 after working at an army unit in Kangwon Province in the North, said, "According to the North Korean army regulations, it is impossible for a border infantryman to decide whether or not to fire on a South Korean tourist." He said, "In the case of the Mt. Geumgang garrison, each post and army affairs office is directly connected. Whether or not to shoot a South Korean cannot be single-handedly decided even by commanders of the army corps and other commanders." He said, "In North Korea, the fact that South Koreans are coming and going from Mt. Geumgang is a very important political issue. In the South, there have been talks about whether or not the shooting was carried out by the North Korean army or the hardliners, but only Kim Jong Il can determine such things."

North and South Korea agree to hold ministerial meeting June 12-13

North and South Korea agree to hold ministerial meeting June 12-13

Posted on : Jun.10,2013 11:46 KSTModified on : Jun.10,2013 15:01 KST

 

Chun Hae-sung (left), head of the South Korean Unification Ministry’s policy office and Kim Sung-hye, a senior official in North Korea’s Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, hold working level inter-Korean talks at the Panmunjom Peace Village on June 9. (provided by the Ministry of Unification)

Extensive working-level talks leave unresolved issues with the agenda and representatives

By Hankyoreh English staff

North and South Korea agreed to hold a two-day meeting in Seoul between minister-level authorities on June 12 and 13.

The two sides agreed on the official name “inter-Korean authorities’ talks” at their working-level effort to arrange a ministerial meeting, which concluded early Monday morning at Panmunjeom. It was also announced that the North Korean delegation had agreed to travel overland by way of the Gyeongui railway line.

But the general meeting and eight conversations by the chief representatives, which lasted until well past midnight on Sunday, failed to produce a final agreement on the agenda or the status of the representatives appearing at the talks, prompting each side to issue a separate announcement on these terms (the third and fourth out of the statement’s six clauses).

South Korea announced that an agreement had been made to “discuss immediate issues in need of urgent resolution,” including normalization of operations at the Kaesong Industrial Complex, the resumption of tourism at Mt. Keumgang in North Korea, reunions among separated family members, and other humanitarian issues.

But the North Korean announcement said the discussions would extend beyond those issues to include “immediate and urgent issues in inter-Korean relations such as joint commemoration of the June 15 Joint Statement [of 2000] and July 4 Joint Declaration [of 1972], private traffic and contact, and the pursuit of collaborative efforts.”

A senior official with the Ministry of Unification said on condition of anonymity that the South Korean side viewed it as “more suitable to use a general expression rather than itemizing and limiting the topics on the agenda as North Korea called for. Both sides decided to give separate announcements on the results of the discussion after they failed to bridge their differences on the agenda.”

The two sides also differed on the makeup of the delegations to the talks. The South Korean side said each would consist of five people, with the senior South Korean representative being someone empowered to address, discuss, and resolve inter-Korean issues. But the North Korean statement remained vague on the issue, confirming that the delegations would each have five members but stating that the senior representative would merely be a “minister-level authority.”

With both sides agreeing to discuss additional working-level matters through their Panmunjeom liaison officers, further discussion on the senior representatives appears likely in the time remaining.

The agreements were announced at a final general meeting early Sunday morning, after one previous general meeting and eight conversations between senior representatives. The first general meeting began slightly later than expected, at 10:13 am on Sunday, and continued on until 11 am, with both sides sharing their positions on agenda topics.

The meeting began without formalities, after the North Korean representatives agreed with the position of Chun Hae-sung, head of the Unification Ministry’s policy office and chief South Korean representative to the meeting, that it would be best to start right away, the ministry reported.

“We’re here to address the issues in a substantive way, so I think it’s best to go right into the discussions,” Chun was quoted as saying in his opening remarks.

The working level meetings Sunday were held behind closed doors. Reporters at the scene were not allowed access to the discussions.

While the working level meetings got off to a good start according to the tradition of past meetings, they ran into a snag in the afternoon when the two sides were unable to reach an agreement on the issues of whether Kim Yang-gon, Director of the North Korean United Front Department, would participate in the minister-level meetings and whether to hold a joint commemorative ceremony for the June 15 Joint Statement. As a result, last minute discussions continued into the early hours of the morning, with a seventh conversation between senior representatives taking place at 2am on June 10, fifteen hours after the talks began. With representatives from the North and South making periodic reports to and receiving orders from the governments in Seoul and Pyongyang, the heads of the delegations had to convene a total of eight times.

In regard to the question of who should represent the delegations at the minister-level meeting, the South Korean delegates did not directly bring up the name of Kim Yang-gon. However, they did indirectly express their opinion that, if the issues facing the North and South are to be comprehensively addressed, Central Committee Secretary and director of the North Korean United Front Department of the (North) Korean Workers’ Party would need to be present to serve as the counterpart of the South Korean Minister of Unification. Reports also indicate that the South proposed that the North Korean delegation to the talks in Seoul should come South over land instead of by plane.

However, the North Korean side was reported to have been unhappy with this proposal, arguing that, during the previous 21 minister-level talks, the head of the North Korean delegation was not the director of the North Korean United Front Department but rather a senior cabinet councilor. As a result, the statements ultimately released by the North and South included conflicting content in their fourth clauses, the sections that deal with the scale of the delegations to the talks and the rank of the head of the delegations. During this process, in order to give North Korea a little more leeway, the name of the upcoming talks was also altered from the original “inter-Korean minister-level talks” to “inter-Korean authorities’ talks.” Considering that the North Korean statement referred to a “high-ranking official,” it does not appear very likely that Kim Yang-gon will be present at the talks.

The other point of contention was whether to explicitly include items such as the commemorative ceremony for the June 15 Joint Declaration in the agenda for the talks. South Korea suggested that the issues of normalizing operations at the Kaesong Industrial Complex, resuming tours to Mt. Keumgang, and addressing humanitarian concerns such as the reunions of families separated during the Korean War ought to be on the agenda for discussion during the talks.

For its part, North Korea stuck to the position it had expressed in a special statement that the spokesperson for the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland (CPRF) released on June 6. While the North was in agreement with the South on the issues of the Kaesong Complex, Mt. Keumgang, and reunions for separated families, it insisted that the issues of commemorating the June 15 Joint Statement and the July 4 Joint Declaration and the question of allowing civilian interaction and travel and pursuing economic cooperation projects must be addressed. In the end, since the North and South were unable to settle their differences, they agreed to publish statements in which the third clauses, which address the agenda of the meeting, would not be consistent (just as with the fourth clause).

The outcome of this working-level meeting suggests that the South Korean government intends to focus on the issues of the Kaesong Complex, Mt. Keumgang, and the reunions of the separated families at the upcoming meetings. In contrast, it is understood that North Korea disclosed its intention to also place importance on the question of commemorating the June 15 Joint Declaration and the July 4 Joint Communique and the issues of permitting civilian traffic and contact and pursuing economic development projects, the latter of two are connected with alleviating the May 24 economic sanctions adopted by the Lee Myung-bak government after the sinking of the Cheonan warship.

This hints that both sides will experience a not insignificant amount of difficulty during the discussions that will take place between the Korean authorities on June 12. For this reason, we will have to wait until the minister-level authorities talks are over before we can answer whether these minister-level talks talks the first to take place since Park Geun-hye become president of South Korea will lead to a breakthrough on the pressing issues affecting both Koreas, including normalization of the Kaesong Complex.

The working-level talks that took place on Jun. 9 were the first talks between North and South to be held in two years and four months since the military working-level talks in Feb. 2011. Inter-Korean talks had not been held in Panmunjom since the preparatory contact for the summit meetings in May 2004, 13 years and two months ago.

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]