Friday Morning Reading

Nice translation for the Ambassador's name:  Lippert = Report.  And it is nice that north Korea is on a first name basis with "Mark."  Guess they must have used the second or third string propagandists for this statement.

But it is the accusation of our madcap saber rattling that really hurts our feelings.

The recent case amid mounting anti-Americanism reflects the mindset of south Korean people censuring the U.S. for bringing the danger of a war to the Korean peninsula through the madcap saber-rattling.

calendar>>March 5. 2015 Juche 104

U.S. Ambassador Attacked by S. Korean  http://www.kcna.co.jp/index-e.htm

Pyongyang, March 5 (KCNA) -- Mark Report, U.S. Ambassador to south Korea, was attacked by a member of the south Korean civilian organization at the venue of a lecture sponsored by the people's council for national reconciliation and cooperation in Jongro District, Seoul on March 5. Good for Bangladesh.  I hope other nations will have the guts to enforce their laws and international law and crack down on the criminal illicit activity being conducted by north Korean diplomats. Bangladesh seizes $1.4 million in gold from North Korean diplomat DHAKA Fri Mar 6, 2015 2:15am EST http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/06/us-bangladesh-northkorea-diplomat-idUSKBN0M20JT20150306 I am sure there will be a response from Korea and China on this.  From a US perspective this seems very logical and should be a good thing for the Japan-US alliance as well as Japan's "most important neighboring country" but that country's domestic political constituency  can only view this through the lens of history. Japan to define collective self-defense as an SDF ‘primary mission’ http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/03/06/national/japan-define-collective-self-defense-sdf-primary-mission/#.VPmBGoHF_V2 I am certainly not well versed in the nuances of diplomatic language.   However, it seems to me that being "an important neighboring country" would seem to connote a lesser status than "our most important neighboring country."  I interpret this completely opposite of my Korean friends.  I look forward to being schooled in the differences (and of course it may be problematic due to the differences in English, Japanese, and Korean languages).  I would think that the sharing of values would be implied in being our most important neighboring country and do not need to be mentioned in every statement. On the MOFA’s website, Japan used to describe South Korea as “an important neighboring country that shares basic values with Japan such as freedom, democracy, and a market economy.” However, as of March 4, the description had changed to simply call South Korea Japan’s “most important neighboring country.” The ministry’s altered description matches Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s recent stance on South Korea. When Abe gave speeches in 2013 and 2014, he described South Korea exactly the MOFA’s website used to: as “our most important neighboring country with which we share fundamental values and interests.” Abe changed this formulation in his February speech to the Diet, saying simply that “the Republic of Korea (ROK) is our most important neighboring country.” Image Credit: White House photo by Pete Souza Did Japan Just Change Its Attitude Toward South Korea? A change in Japan’s official diplomatic language is causing a furor in South Korea. http://thediplomat.com/2015/03/did-japan-just-change-its-attitude-toward-south-korea/ U.S. Strategy in Iraq Increasingly Relies on Iran By HELENE COOPERMARCH 5, 2015 http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/06/world/middleeast/us-strategy-in-iraq-increasingly-relies-on-iran.html?emc=edit_th_20150306&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=175827 Excerpt: The presence of Suleimani at the forefront of Iraqi forces’efforts to reclaim Tikrit from ISIS control underscores both the expanding influence of Iran on the central Iraqi government and the increasingly critical role that Shi’ite militiamen, thought to be operating under Quds command, are playing in the Iraqi fight against ISIS. Neither development brings pleasure to senior U.S. officials or lawmakers in Congress. Quds force leader, commanding Iraqi forces against ISIS, alarms Washington http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/03/05/iran-quds-force-leader-commanding-iraqi-forces-against-isis-alarms-americans/?intcmp=latestnews By James Rosen Published March 05, 2015 FoxNews.com k  I received the following comments from a very good friend with whom I have served for many years and who has also served in Korea and he provides some very important perspective: As you would recall anti-American demonstrations were at an all-time high the summer of 2001, we had fire-bombings at the main gate of Yongsan, riots near multiple gates every Saturday (except when it rained hard) a US doctor from 121 Hospital in Seoul while returning from volunteer work at an orphanage was stabbed to death in broad daylight in Itaewon on a Saturday afternoon by a man who proclaimed that the US caused the Korean War and a pair of US civilian dependents were attacked by Anti-US demonstrators and pushed to the ground all just prior to the attacks of 9/11.  Following the attacks on 9/11 40,000 ROK riot police in full military uniforms surrounded US bases in Korea, letters of condolence came flooding in to US commands and bases, groups of Korean citizens (many who were former KATUSAs) formed patrols to help “guard” Americans and for a very long time demonstrations against US bases did not happen.  US forces were restricted from going to entertainment districts like Itaewon for a long time following the attacks out of fear of follow-on terrorist attacks, when the restrictions came down, US forces implemented a courtesy patrol that included team of officers and NCOs (LTCs, MAJs, 1SGs, SGMs, SFCs) from USFK patrolling in groups of 4-6 along with MPs until closing time.   I can remember going up to Itaewon while on-duty and having shop keepers thank us and apologize for the behavior of the demonstrators and offer support in the war against Al Qaeda.  Way different environment than prior to the attacks. The Korean people are very proud and given the fact that North Korea made comments supporting the attack, it is likely that the South will feel additional pressure. David S. Maxwell Associate Director Center for Security Studies Georgetown University Office: 202-687-3834 Cell: 703-300-8263 email: david.maxwell@georgetown.edu  Alt email: david.maxwell161@gmail.com Twitter: @davidmaxwell161 Blog: http://maxoki161.blogspot.com/ ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: David Maxwell <David.Maxwell@georgetown.edu> Date: Thu, Mar 5, 2015 at 9:29 AM Subject: US Ambassador Mark Lippert Attacked at Breakfast Gathering To: From the Arirang Institute.  It will be interesting to read the cultural reaction to this and the national shame that Koreans will feel about this. This is something hard for people like us westerners to understand. CNN Anderson Cooper tried to call Ambassador Lippert a Navy SEAL but Barbara Starr corrected him and correctly described him as a Naval reserve intelligence officer who had support the SEALs. But even the most bad ass SEAL or Delta operator  (or Steven Seagal or Chuck Norris) probably could not have defended himself against a blind side attack like what happened to Ambassador Lippert unless his sixth sense was so finely turned like in the movies or he had developed eyes in the back of his head.  In a situation like this he is dependent on security procedures of the host nation and the event organizers (which obviously broke down on the Korean side since they let a known activist who had thrown a brick at the Japanese Ambassador in 2010 be seated at the table next to the Ambassador) and there are few if any Ambassadors who are given the close in protection that might have prevented this - and even then no one would have had a security detail that close to him while he is seated for breakfast - security was dependent on the Koreans vetting all the attendees but this event was probably not considered to be on a scale that needed the level of vetting required to prevent these incidents. The blowback on this is that this could really restrain the Ambassador's engagement activities (that have been very positively received by the Korean public) because the RSO security requirements for the Ambassador's participation at events will become prohibitive to event organizers (this will be the knee jerk US reaction).  The irony is that the collective Korean sense of national guilt over this incident will put tremendous pressure on Korean security forces and whatever the US asks for in terms of security will pale in comparison to what the Koreans will do for the Ambassador whenever he is in public from now on.  The Korean security reaction will be greater than the usual US knee jerk security reaction. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Arirang Institute <admin@ariranginstitute.org> Date: Thu, Mar 5, 2015 at 11:32 AM Subject: American Ambassador to South Korea, Mark Lippert, Stabbed Facilitating dialogue in East Asia | Arirang Institute Insights View this email in your browser US Ambassador Mark Lippert Attacked at Breakfast Gathering

Official KCNA Statement on ouster of Jang Song-taek

Below is the official statement regarding the ouster of Jang Song-taek from the Korean Central News Agency.

I think this is a very important statement worth reading to understand the Kim Family Regime.  I think it is pretty clear what hang's crimes are: "anti-party, counter-revolutionary factional acts."  This phrase is used 7 times in its entirety as well as each part used individually a number of times as well.

Note the statement about "implementing the behests of Kim jong-il" (read Bruce Bechtol's book The Last Days of Kim Jong-il as he explains how Kim Jong-un is following what Kim Jong-il started).  

Note reference to Juche as well as this oft repeated phrase, the part, the army, and the people in various forms.

But I am reminded of this observation about the Jang incident sent to me by a China analyst which I think sums up exactly what Kim Jong-un is doing:

This is the ultimate expression of China’s deterrence strategy of “killing a chicken to scare the monkeys!”

But I think the bottom line is that Kim Jong-un still faces internal dissent and discord.  Whether Jang is the cause of it or a symptom or just convenient to use as an object lesson I do not know.  This is surely an attempt to consolidate power and protect the regime.  I think it is also a strong indicator that Kim Jong-un will not reform, will not open up, and will likely be more difficult and certainly more unstable than Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il – It is ironic that we might be thinking that Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il would be better to still have around.

In order for Kim to continue to govern he requires complete party and military unity (thus the numerous references to unitary effort – e.g., unitary center of leadership).  I think the concluding sentence sums it all up.  This is the ideal way forward for the Kim Family Regime in Kim Jong-un's mind and if he can exercise complete and ultimate power and eliminate all resistance to his rule.  That will be the single guiding factor in all his future decision making and we should keep this in mind when we assess his actions and statements.

No force on earth can deter our party, army and people from dynamically advancing toward a final victory, single-mindedly united around Kim Jong Un under the uplifted banner of great Kimilsungism-Kimjongilism.

V/R
Dave 

Report on Enlarged Meeting of Political Bureau of Central Committee of WPK http://www.kcna.co.jp/index-e.htm

Pyongyang, December 9 (KCNA) -- A report on the enlarged meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) was released on December 8. The following is the full text of the report: An enlarged meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the WPK was held in Pyongyang, the capital of the revolution, on Dec. 8. Respected Comrade Kim Jong Un, first secretary of the WPK, guided the meeting. Present there were members and alternate members of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the WPK. Leading officials of the Central Committee of the WPK, provincial party committees and armed forces organs attended it as observers. Our party members, service personnel and all other people have made energetic efforts to implement the behests of leader Kim Jong Il, entrusting their destiny entirely to Kim Jong Un and getting united close around the Central Committee of the WPK since the demise of Kim Jong Il, the greatest loss to the nation. In this historic period for carrying forward the revolutionary cause of Juche the chance elements and alien elements who had made their ways into the party committed such anti-party, counter-revolutionary factional acts as expanding their forces through factional moves and daring challenge the party, while attempting to undermine the unitary leadership of the party. In this connection, the Political Bureau of the C.C., the WPK convened its enlarged meeting and discussed the issue related to the anti-party, counter-revolutionary factional acts committed by Jang Song Thaek. The meeting, to begin with, fully laid bare the anti-party, counter-revolutionary factional acts of Jang Song Thaek and their harmfulness and reactionary nature. It is the immutable truth proved by the nearly 70-year-long history of the WPK that the party can preserve its revolutionary nature as the party of the leader and fulfill its historic mission only when it firmly ensures its unity and cohesion based on the monolithic idea and the unitary center of leadership. The entire party, whole army and all people are dynamically advancing toward the final victory in the drive for the building of a thriving nation, meeting all challenges of history and resolutely foiling the desperate moves of the enemies of the revolution under the leadership of Kim Jong Un. Such situation urgently calls for consolidating as firm as a rock the single-minded unity of the party and the revolutionary ranks with Kim Jong Un as its unitary centre and more thoroughly establishing the monolithic leadership system of the party throughout the party and society. The Jang Song Thaek group, however, committed such anti-party, counter-revolutionary factional acts as gnawing at the unity and cohesion of the party and disturbing the work for establishing the party unitary leadership system and perpetrated such ant-state, unpopular crimes as doing enormous harm to the efforts to build a thriving nation and improve the standard of people's living. Jang pretended to uphold the party and leader but was engrossed in such factional acts as dreaming different dreams and involving himself in double-dealing behind the scene. Though he held responsible posts of the party and state thanks to the deep political trust of the party and leader, he committed such perfidious acts as shunning and obstructing in every way the work for holding President Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il in high esteem for all ages, behaving against the elementary sense of moral obligation and conscience as a human being. Jang desperately worked to form a faction within the party by creating illusion about him and winning those weak in faith and flatterers to his side. Prompted by his politically-motivated ambition, he tried to increase his force and build his base for realizing it by implanting those who had been punished for their serious wrongs in the past period into ranks of officials of departments of the party central committee and units under them. Jang and his followers did not sincerely accept the line and policies of the party, the organizational will of the WPK, but deliberately neglected their implementation, distorted them and openly played down the policies of the party. In the end, they made no scruple of perpetrating such counter-revolutionary acts as disobeying the order issued by the supreme commander of the Korean People's Army. The Jang group weakened the party's guidance over judicial, prosecution and people's security bodies, bringing very harmful consequences to the work for protecting the social system, policies and people. Such acts are nothing but counter-revolutionary, unpopular criminal acts of giving up the class struggle and paralyzing the function of popular democratic dictatorship, yielding to the offensive of the hostile forces to stifle the DPRK. Jang seriously obstructed the nation's economic affairs and the improvement of the standard of people's living in violation of the pivot-to-the-Cabinet principle and the Cabinet responsibility principle laid down by the WPK. The Jang group put under its control the fields and units which play an important role in the nation's economic development and the improvement of people's living in a crafty manner, making it impossible for the economic guidance organs including the Cabinet to perform their roles. By throwing the state financial management system into confusion and committing such act of treachery as selling off precious resources of the country at cheap prices, the group made it impossible to carry out the behests of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il on developing the industries of Juche iron, Juche fertilizer and Juche vinalon. Affected by the capitalist way of living, Jang committed irregularities and corruption and led a dissolute and depraved life. By abusing his power, he was engrossed in irregularities and corruption, had improper relations with several women and was wined and dined at back parlors of deluxe restaurants. Ideologically sick and extremely idle and easy-going, he used drugs and squandered foreign currency at casinos while he was receiving medical treatment in a foreign country under the care of the party. Jang and his followers committed criminal acts baffling imagination and they did tremendous harm to our party and revolution. The ungrateful criminal acts perpetrated by the group of Jang Song Thaek are lashing our party members, service personnel of the People's Army and people into great fury as it committed such crimes before they observed two-year mourning for Kim Jong Il, eternal general secretary of the WPK. Speeches were made at the enlarged meeting. Speakers bitterly criticized in unison the anti-party, counter-revolutionary factional acts committed by the Jang group and expressed their firm resolution to remain true to the idea and leadership of Kim Jong Un and devotedly defend the Party Central Committee politically and ideologically and with lives. The meeting adopted a decision of the Political Bureau of the Party Central Committee on relieving Jang of all posts, depriving him of all titles and expelling him and removing his name from the WPK. The party served warning to Jang several times and dealt blows at him, watching his group's anti-party, counter-revolutionary factional acts as it has been aware of them from long ago. But it did not pay heed to it but went beyond tolerance limit. That was why the party eliminated Jang and purged his group, unable to remain an onlooker to its acts any longer, dealing telling blows at sectarian acts manifested within the party. Our party will never pardon anyone challenging its leadership and infringing upon the interests of the state and people in violation of the principle of the revolution, regardless of his or her position and merits. No matter how mischievously a tiny handful of anti-party, counter-revolutionary factional elements may work, they can never shake the revolutionary faith of all party members, service personnel and people holding Kim Jong Un in high esteem as the unitary centre of unity and unitary centre of leadership. The discovery and purge of the Jang group, a modern day faction and undesirable elements who happened to worm their ways into our party ranks, made our party and revolutionary ranks purer and helped consolidate our single-minded unity remarkably and advance more dynamically the revolutionary cause of Juche along the road of victory. No force on earth can deter our party, army and people from dynamically advancing toward a final victory, single-mindedly united around Kim Jong Un under the uplifted banner of great Kimilsungism-Kimjongilism.