12/25/2020 News & Commentary – Korea

News & commentary by Dave Maxwell. Edited and published by Daniel Riggs.

1. Best Christmas present ever (Korea)

2. Canada endorses free speech amid South Korea leaflet ban

3.  S. Korea's virus cases hit all-time high despite tougher distancing rules

4.  First shipment of COVID-19 vaccine arrives for U.S. troops in S. Korea

5.  Kim Jong-un 2nd-most searched figure on Google in 2020

6.  Leaflet wars

7. Defense minister to expedite 2nd stage FOC for OPCON transfer

8. U.S. spy plane flies near North Korea ahead of Party Congress

9. North Korea construction stalled in pandemic year, analysts say

10. South Korea conducted Dokdo defense drill earlier this month

11. Central Anti-epidemic Committee inspects quarantine efforts ahead of the Eighth Party Congress

12. U.S. stresses importance of free flow of information to N. Korea

13. This Book Turns Everything You Thought You Knew About North Korea Upside Down

1. Best Christmas present ever (Korea)

The Korea Times· by Ned Forney · December 24, 2020

This is what Americans do.

2.  Canada endorses free speech amid South Korea leaflet ban

upi.com· by Elizabeth Shim · December 24, 2020

A lot of international opposition to the "Kim Yo-jong law."  Does South Korean want to remain part of the like minded democracies of the world?

3. S. Korea's virus cases hit all-time high despite tougher distancing rules

en.yna.co.kr · by 이민지 · December 25, 2020

COVID is keeping most of the world from having a Merry Christmas.

4. First shipment of COVID-19 vaccine arrives for U.S. troops in S. Korea

en.yna.co.kr · by 김광태 · December 25, 2020

5. Kim Jong-un 2nd-most searched figure on Google in 2020

The Korea Times · December 25, 2020

This should make Kim feel good. After all he craves attention and wants to be in the spotlight.

6. Leaflet wars

The Korea Times· by Donald Kirk · December 24, 2020

You can always count on Don Kirk for scathing criticism and pithy writing.

7. Defense minister to expedite 2nd stage FOC for OPCON transfer

donga.com· December 25, 2020

Transition.

We have to get this done but get it done right.  I am sure the Defense Minister has to support President Moon's position but these kinds of public statements are not helpful for the alliance.  The ROK and US military leadership must be fully committed to getting this done, but as I said, getting it done right.

8. U.S. spy plane flies near North Korea ahead of Party Congress

We must sustain ISR operations around Korea.

upi.com · by Elizabeth Shim · December 24, 2020

9. North Korea construction stalled in pandemic year, analysts say

upi.com By Elizabeth Shim· December 24, 2020

A BFO (blinding flash of the obvious). But we should also remember that more important than construction and mitigating the effects of COVID is the regime's priority for the people is ideological training versus construction work.

10. South Korea conducted Dokdo defense drill earlier this month

The Korea Times · December 25, 2020

There should be no question DokDo belongs to Korea.  However, these kinds of exercises do not help the Korea-Japan relationship.

11. Central Anti-epidemic Committee inspects quarantine efforts ahead of the Eighth Party Congress

dailynk.com · by Lee Chae Un · December 25, 2020

Excerpts:

“The heads of inminban, North Korea's lowest administrative unit, are keeping close tabs on hygiene among the households they watch over. In practice, this means that inminban heads are checking that people are abiding by quarantine rules and sanitizing their houses and hands four times a day.

Locals have reportedly been ordered to make their antiseptic solution from the extract provided by their inminban. One source said that the head of a local inminban told residents under her charge to boil water with half a spoon of salt for two hours if they are running low on antiseptic solution.”

12. U.S. stresses importance of free flow of information to N. Korea

en.yna.co.kr · by 송상호 · December 22, 2020

We need an alliance information and influence activities campaign.

13. This Book Turns Everything You Thought You Knew About North Korea Upside Down

covertactionmagazine.com · December 17, 2020

This is quite the revisionist or even alternative history.  I will probably order and read this book but based on this review it will go into the sub-genre of Korean security books that could be called "blame America for all that is wrong in Korea."

----------------

"Every strike brings me closer to the next home run." 

- Babe Ruth

"I think the two things most opposed to good counsel are haste and passion; haste usually goes hand in hand with folly, passion with coarseness and narrowness of mind."

- Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War

"My idea was that the role of the special forces were to train Vietnamese to behave as guerrillas, harassing the supply lines down through the mountains of the, ah, the Viet Cong. And the special American special forces were to train their special forces to do that."

- Roger Hilsman