On Asia Trip, Trump Met by Protests Calling on U.S. to Open Diplomatic Relations with North Korea

President Donald Trump continued his five-nation tour of Asia, landing in Vietnam today for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. This comes as Trump said on Thursday that he wants Russia’s help in getting North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons. In Korea, he attempted to visit the Demilitarized Zone, but his fleet of helicopters was turned back due to bad weather. We speak with Professor Bruce Cumings, who just returned from Seoul, South Korea, where Trump was met with protests. He is professor of history at the University of Chicago and the author of several books on Korea, including “Korea’s Place in the Sun: A Modern History.”

Seoul: Living in the Shadow of the Bomb - BBC Newsnight

Gabriel Gatehouse reports from Seoul on the North Korean defectors who want to bring down Kim Jong-un and asks if Seoul’s residents are concerned about the nuclear threat from North Korea.

South Korea 'Deploys Warships to Track North Missiles'
BBC: South Korea has deployed two warships with missile-defence systems in response to North Korea moving missiles to its east coast.

The dispute over its nuclear weapons programme has seen Pyongyang ramp up its rhetoric and make specific threats to target US territory.

Lucy Williamson reports from Seoul. Watch BBC video » | Friday, April 05, 2013

North Korea Threatens to Attack the South
North Korea threatens to attack the South if Seoul joins a new round of tightened UN sanctions. Pyongyang has declared a boycott of all dialogue aimed at ending its nuclear programme. The country has also vowed to conduct more rocket and nuclear tests following UN security council sanctions for a long-range missile launch in December

Read the article here

North Korea Threatens to Blow Up Media Offices over Critical Coverage
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: North Korea's military threatened on Monday to blow up the Seoul offices of South Korean media outlets following critical coverage of a mass children's event in Pyongyang.

The military general staff, in an unusually detailed statement on the official news agency, said missile units and other forces had fixed the longitude and latitude coordinates for several firms' offices in central Seoul.

The statement named the Chosun Ilbo and JoongAng Ilbo newspapers, a TV channel operated by Dong-A Ilbo newspaper, and the KBS, CBS, MBC and SBS television stations.

The North's military accused conservative South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak of inciting the coverage and called on him to apologise to avert an attack.

"In case dens of monstrous crimes are blown up one after another, the Lee group will be entirely held responsible for this," it said in what it termed an "open ultimatum".

The military accused the media outlets of "monstrous mud-slinging" over their coverage of an event which brought 20,000 schoolchildren to Pyongyang to mark the 66th anniversary of the [North] Korea[n] Children's Union. » | Source: agencies | Monday, June 04, 2012

Cérémonie de mariage de 2.500 couples moonistes près de Séoul
REUTERS FRANCE: SEOUL - Environ 2.500 couples membres de la secte Moon ont échangé samedi des voeux de mariage dans un stade de Gapyeong, à 75 km de Séoul, où ils ont été bénis par le fondateur de la secte de l'Eglise de l'unification, le révérend Sun Myung Moon, 92 ans. » | Sung-won Shim et Reuters TV; Jean-Loup Fiévet pour le service français | samedi 24 mars 2012

Obama’s Trade Strategy Runs Into Stiff Resistance
President Obama and Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany talked, and disagreed, at the Group of 20 meeting on Thursday. Photograph: The New York Times
THE NEW YORK TIMES: SEOUL, South Korea — President Obama’s hopes of emerging from his Asia trip with the twin victories of a free trade agreement with South Korea and a unified approach to spurring economic growth around the world ran into resistance on all fronts on Thursday, putting Mr. Obama at odds with his key allies and largest trading partners.

The most concrete trophy expected to emerge from the trip eluded his grasp: a long-delayed free trade agreement with South Korea, first negotiated by the Bush administration and then reopened by Mr. Obama, to have greater protections for American workers.

And as officials frenetically tried to paper over differences among the Group of 20 members with a vaguely worded communiqué to be issued Friday, there was no way to avoid discussion of the fundamental differences of economic strategy. After five largely harmonious meetings in the past two years to deal with the most severe downturn since the Depression, major disputes broke out between Washington and China, Britain, Germany and Brazil.

Each rejected core elements of Mr. Obama’s strategy of stimulating growth before focusing on deficit reduction. Several major nations continued to accuse the Federal Reserve of deliberately devaluing the dollar last week in an effort to put the costs of America’s competitive troubles on trading partners, rather than taking politically tough measures to rein in spending at home.

The result was that Mr. Obama repeatedly found himself on the defensive. He and the South Korean president, Lee Myung-bak, had vowed to complete the trade pact by the time they met here; while Mr. Obama insisted that it would be resolved “in a matter of weeks,” without the pressure of a summit meeting it was unclear how the hurdles on nontariff barriers to American cars and beef would be resolved. >>> Sewell Chan, Sheryl Gay Stolberg and David E. Sanger | Thursday, November 11, 2010

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Obama Ends G-20 Summit With Criticism of China >>> Sewell Chan | Friday, November 12, 2010

A Lesson from China in Where Power Lies
THE TELEGRAPH: China believes its economic success reflects its superior culture.

The leaders of the G20 group of rich and developing nations met in Seoul this week for what might reasonably be described as their first post-crisis summit. But it also had the feeling of the first post-Western summit. China, the world’s second richest nation and its rising power, believes that the financial crisis was actually a “North Atlantic crisis”. Now that the worst of it is over, Beijing sees little reason to swallow the medicine for someone else’s sickness. The summit therefore broke up – none too amicably – without really addressing the trade imbalances that were one of the root causes of the crisis, or America’s worry that Beijing is gaining an unfair advantage by artificially keeping its currency weak. Instead, China flexed its muscles and got what it wanted: a watered-down statement that will not force it to change course. If President Obama hoped that the G20 would burnish his image as a world statesman after the disaster of the midterm elections, those hopes were disappointed.

It is inescapable that we are witnessing a historic shift of economic power from West to East. David Cameron has certainly taken this on board, judging by the caution with which he and his Cabinet members treated China during their visit earlier this week. The Prime Minister approached the subject of human rights far more obliquely than he did as leader of the Opposition. Whether this was wise judgment or a failure of nerve is difficult to say. Although China treats dissidents with gross inhumanity, the more it is lectured on the subject, the more intransigent it becomes. In a sense, that is convenient for Mr Cameron: if protesting about repression makes the situation worse, then Britain can concentrate on trade with a fairly clear conscience. Read on and comment >>> Telegraph View | Friday, November 12, 2010

David Cameron*: Waterboarding Does Not Save Lives
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: David Cameron has flatly contradicted George W Bush and said he does not believe that waterboarding, the controversial interrogation technique, saves lives.

The British prime minister, speaking at the G20 summit in South Korea, repeated the official British line that torture was wrong, and he went further, attacking policies pursued by the Bush administration on the detention and treatment of prisoners which he said had helped to radicalise people and made the West "less safe".

Mr Bush memoirs, which were published this week, asserted strongly that the waterboarding of prisoners had averted huge terrorist attacks on key London targets. The former US president also said that he did not believe that waterboarding constituted torture. >>> Andrew Porter in Seoul | Thursday, November 11, 2010

* This man is turning out to be a naïve fool! – Mark

Merkel bleibt hart beim G-20-Gipfel: Vereinigte Staaten in Seoul isoliert
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: Barack Obama hat in Seoul einen schweren Stand. China, Deutschland, aber auch Brasilien sind - gelinde gesagt - über die amerikanische Wirtschafts- und Finanzpolitik verstimmt. Das Anwerfen der Notenpresse in den Vereinigten Staaten weckt Ängste vor Inflation und Spekulation.

Beim Gipfel der führenden Wirtschaftsmächte (G20) stehen die Vereinigten Staaten im Abseits. Das Anwerfen der Notenpresse durch die amerikanische Notenbank und die Idee einer „Exportbremse“ für Deutschland und China stießen schon vor Beginn des Treffens in der südkoreanischen Hauptstadt Seoul auf massive Kritik. Die G-20-Staats- und Regierungschefs wollen bis Freitag versuchen, einen „Währungskrieg“ und neue Schranken im Welthandel zu verhindern.

Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel (CDU) erteilte dem Vorschlag von Barack Obama eine klare Absage, führende Exportnationen müssten ihren Handelsüberschuss deckeln und stattdessen mehr für die heimische Nachfrage tun: „Eine politische Festlegung von Obergrenzen für Leistungsbilanzüberschüsse oder -defizite ist weder ökonomisch gerechtfertigt noch politisch angemessen“, sagte sie bei einem G20- „Business Summit“ vor 100 Topmanagern aus aller Welt. „Dies wäre unvereinbar mit dem Ziel eines freien Welthandels.“ >>> dpa | Donnerstag, 11. November 2010

North Korea Threatens 'Nuclear War' Over Troop Exercises
THE GUARDIAN: Pyongyang ramps up the tension over this weekend's joint US-South Korean wargames in the Sea of Japan

South Koreans take a look at the US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS George Washington at Busan. the ship is about to take part in large-scale military exercises in the Sea of Japan Photograph: The Guardian
North Korea has threatened to use its "nuclear deterrent" in response to planned military exercises by the US and South Korea this weekend.

The regime promised a "retaliatory sacred war" amid increased tensions on the Korean peninsula over the March sinking of a South Korean navy vessel, which Seoul and Washington blame on Pyongyang.

North Korea's National Defence Commission (NDC), headed by leader Kim Jong-il, issued the threat today for what it called a second "unpardonable" provocation for again being blamed for the incident in which 46 sailors died.

"The army and people of the [North] will legitimately counter with their powerful nuclear deterrence the largest-ever nuclear war exercises," the commission said in a statement run on the state-run Korean Central News Agency.

Pyongyang routinely threatens war when its southern neighbour and the US hold joint military exercises. South Korea's defence ministry said no unusual North Korean military movements were detected. >>> David Batty and Justin McCurry | Saturday, July 24, 2010

Nordkorea droht mit "Flammenmeer" in Seoul
WELT ONLINE: Scharfe Töne aus Pjöngjang: Nordkorea droht dem Süden mit einem "unbegrenzten Militärschlag" und dem Niederbrennen der Hauptstadt.

Eine nordkoreanische Wache steht an der Demarkationslinie der entmilitarisierten Zone zwischen Nord- und Südkorea. Pjöngjang hat die Kriegsrhetorik gegen den Süden verschärft. Bild: Welt Online
Im Konflikt mit Südkorea hat das kommunistische Nordkorea mit Militärschlägen gegen südkoreanische Propaganda-Anlagen an der Grenze gedroht. Die Volksarmee werde „einen unbegrenzten Militärschlag ausführen, um die Mittel der Gruppe für die psychologische Kriegsführung gegen die Volksrepublik (Nordkorea) in allen Gebieten entlang der Front in die Luft zu jagen“, heißt es in einer „wichtigen Erklärung“ aus Pjöngjang.

In der Stellungnahme des Führungsstabs der nordkoreanischen Volksarmee, die von den Staatsmedien veröffentlicht wurde, wird die Regierung in Seoul erneut als „Gruppe von Verrätern“ beschimpft. Sie solle sich vor Augen führen, dass die „militärische Vergeltung“ ein Schlag sei, der selbst Seoul in ein „Flammenmeer“ verwandeln könne. Diese Metapher hat Nordkorea in der Vergangenheit wiederholt in seinen Drohgebärden gegenüber Südkorea benutzt.

Mit der Erklärung verschärft Nordkorea seine Warnungen an Südkorea vor einer Wiederaufnahme von propagandistischen Lautsprecher-Durchsagen. Bereits im Mai hatte das Land mit der Zerstörung der südkoreanischen Lautsprecher gedroht. >>> DPA/CN | Samstag, 12. Juni 2010

South Korea Bans All Trade With North Over Cheonan Attack
TIMES ONLINE: President Barack Obama today said he “fully supports” the South Korean president and his response to the torpedo attack by North Korea that killed 46 South Korean sailors as the cross-border animosity between the two countries continues to rise.

South Korea’s President Lee Myung-bak earlier today demanded that North Korea “immediately apologise and punish those responsible for the attack, and, most importantly, stop its belligerent and threatening behaviour” and announced it will take the case of the torpedoed Cheonan warship to the United Nations Security Council.

In a move which analysts described as “cautiously hard-line”, Mr Lee also said he would be suspending all exchanges between the two Koreas and imposing a total ban on North Korean ships passing through South Korean waters.

His government banned all trade, investment and visits with North Korea. South Korea also plans to reduce the number of workers in a joint factory park just inside the North which has long been an important source of income for the North Korean leadership.

The White House said Seoul can continue to count on the full backing of Washington. Read on and comment >>> Leo Lewis, Beijing | Monday, May 24, 2010

Nordkorea droht Seoul mit Militärschlag: Rückkehr Pjongjangs zur Herstellung von Plutonium?
NZZ Online: Das Regime in Nordkorea hat seine bereits sehr aggressive Rhetorik noch einmal um einen Ton höher geschraubt. Es bezeichnete den Waffenstillstand vom Juli 1953 als nicht mehr bindend.

Am Montag hatte Nordkorea die Welt mit einem unterirdischen Atomtest schockiert und zwei Kurzstreckenraketen getestet. Am Dienstag reagierte Pjongjang mit drei weiteren Raketentests auf die einhellige Verurteilung durch den Uno-Sicherheitsrat. Am Mittwoch hat nun das nordkoreanische Regime verlauten lassen, dass es sich nicht mehr an das Waffenstillstandsabkommen gebunden fühle, mit dem am 27. Juli 1953 der blutige Koreakrieg beendet worden war. Pjongjang drohte Seoul mit Krieg, sollten die Südkoreaner Schiffe auf dem Weg von oder nach nordkoreanischen Häfen aufhalten und durchsuchen. >>> us. Tokio | Mittwoch, 27. Mai 2009

WELT ONLINE: Nach Raketentests: Russland bereitet sich auf Atomkrieg in Korea vor

Bild dank der Welt
Nach dem nordkoreanischen Atomtest hat Russland erste Sicherheitsmaßnahmen ergriffen. Dazu gehören präventive Schritte "für den Fall einer unkontrollierbaren Entwicklung". Ziel ist es, auf den Ausbruch eines Atomkriegs auf der koreanischen Halbinsel vorbereitet zu sein. Gleichzeitig zeigt Russland Verständnis für Diktator Kim Jong-il.

Russland bereitet sich sicherheitshalber schon mal auf einen eventuellen militärischen Konflikt auf der koreanischen Halbinsel vor.

Wie die russische Nachrichtenagentur Interfax unter Berufung auf militärische Kreise mitteilte, werde ein "Komplex präventiver Maßnahmen für den Fall einer unkontrollierbaren Entwicklung" vorbereitet.

Moskaus Militärs reagieren damit auf den jüngsten Atombombenversuch und die Raketentests des nordkoreanischen Regimes, die weltweite Empörung über die eklatante Verletzung internationaler Abkommen hervorgerufen hatten.

Der anonyme Gesprächspartner der russischen Nachrichtenagentur sieht dabei durchaus die Nordkoreaner als Ursache der verschärften Spannungen, sie hätten mit ihren jüngsten Entscheidungen die Lage angeheizt.

Das könne sich auch auf die Sicherheit der Bevölkerung in den fernöstlichen Regionen Russlands auswirken. "Im Zusammenhang damit entstand die Notwendigkeit für entsprechende präventive Maßnahmen", zitierte die Agentur ihren Gesprächspartner.



Dessen Worten zufolge würden die Präventivmaßnahmen von militärischen Institutionen, die für eine verstärkte Kontrolle der Radioaktivität und die Zivilverteidigung zuständig seien. >>> Von Manfred Quiring | Mittwoch, 27. Mai 2009