A Tale of Two Koreas
o Since 1948 there have existed two Koreas on
the divided Korean Peninsula: North and South
Korea. [NOKO and SOUKO or DP-RoK & RoK.]
o Both were recognized as sovereign states by
the UN in 1991, and ‘most’ countries of the
world have normal relations with both Korean
states.
o US and NOKO like to have verbal boxing
matches while NOKO wastes money on
modernizing arms while keeping its people
under strict control. [This may not be true.]
Abnormal relations for > six decades
After the Second World War, on August 15, 1945, Korea was liberated after 35 years of Japanese occupation.
But it was soon occupied by U S and Soviet forces, who took control of the southern and northern parts of the peninsula, respectively.
The Republic of Korea (ROK)—or South Korea and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) were established in 1948.
Abnormal relations for > six decades
The occupation forces left the Peninsula in 1949, making Koreans independent but divided into two ideologically contrasting systems.
As the China, became communist in 1946, the event gave a great boost to North Korea.
North Korean leader Kim Il-sung started a Korean War to solve the problem of division by military means. The U.S. intervened in the civil war between the two Koreas. Eventually, two nations got recognition as belonging to two systems_ DP-RoK & RoK or NOKO & SOUKO.
NOKO: “I ain’t done that!!”
On March 26, 2010, the South Korean warship Cheonan, carrying 104 officers and crew onboard, sank in the waters between Baengnyeong Island and Daecheong Island in the Yellow Sea, when an unidentified explosion hit the rear of the ship, causing 46 deaths. The U.S. and South Korea immediately accused North Korea of attacking the warship with a submarine torpedo. This undoubtedly increased tension.
Happenings-2014-16
In 2014, after the U.S. and South Korea started the “Key
Resolve” joint military exercises on February 24, North
Korea repeatedly launched various types of missiles.
On May 20, 2015, North Korea issued a statement,
claiming that it has achieved a miniaturized and
diversified “nuclear strike capability.”
The situation further escalated in 2016. North Korea
conducted its fourth nuclear test on January 6.
NOKO is now NU-NOKO-2017
To understand the Korean nuclear issue, one needs to trace back to the settlement of the Korean War—a war which in a legal sense has not yet ended.
In his State of the Union address in January 2002, the U.S. president Bush listed North Korea, along with Iran and Iraq, as one of the three states forming the “axis of evil.” On January 10, 2003, North Korea announced its formal withdrawal from the NPT.
Nuke Korea, R U Secure?
As of March 2017, North Korea had conducted five nuclear tests. The first occurred following the suspension of Six-Party Talks in 2006 due to the BDA issue and U.S. sanctions.
The other four tests all occurred after 2009.
The South Korean government would consider the introduction of the missile defense system known as Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD).
o U.S. and South Korean troops are expected to
kick off the annual Ulchi -Freedom Guardian
military exercises on Aug. 21.
o North Korea sees these exercises and larger ones
held every spring as a rehearsal for invasion.
o Getting Washington to halt them has long been
one of Pyongyang's demands.
o Tensions have risen since North Korea tested two
intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) in July 2017.
o North Korea has yet to back away from its biggest threat:
o A plan to lob missiles toward U.S. military bases on the
island of Guam that Pyongyang says should be ready for
leader Kim Jong Un to review anytime now.
o Will the tough-talking Trump feel compelled to take matters
into his own hands?
o Aug. 15 is the anniversary of the end of World War II in 1945 and
the Korean Peninsula's liberation from Japanese colonial rule.
o North Korea launched its first intercontinental ballistic missile,
for example, on July 4 — Independence Day in the United
States.
SOUKO warns US: Strike not NOKO now
SEOUL, 14, Aug. South Korea — Alarmed by President Trump’s recent threats to NOKO, President Moon Jae-in of SOUKO issued a rebuke to the U S on Tuesday, warning that any unilateral military action against the North over its nuclear weapons program would be intolerable.
“No one should be allowed to decide on a military action on the Korean Peninsula without SOUKOan agreement,” Mr. Moon said in a nationally televised speech.
Bring NOKO to negotiation
In his speech on Tuesday [14 Aug], President Moon repeated his argument that sanctions and pressure alone would not deter North Korea from its nuclear pursuits, but he said war should not be an option. “The purpose of strong sanctions and pressure against North Korea is to bring it to the negotiating table, not to raise military tensions,” he said.
NORTH KOREAN MISSLE OVER JAPAN
AUG-30- 2017 North Korea fired a missile that flew
over Japan and landed in waters off the northern
region of Hokkaido early on Tuesday, South Korean
and Japanese officials said, marking a sharp
escalation of tensions on the Korean peninsula.
The test, which experts said appeared to have been
an intermediate-range Hwasong 12 missile, came as
U.S. and South Korean forces conduct annual military
drills on the peninsula, against which North Korea
strenuously objects.
Would they face "fire and fury" ? Or will Kim Jong-Un face assassination?
North Korea fired what it said was a rocket carrying a
communications satellite into orbit over Japan in 2009.
The United States, Japan and South Korea considered that
launch to have been a ballistic missile test. Japan's Chief
Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said the latest North
Korean missile fell into the sea 1,180 km (735 miles) east of
the Cape of Erimo on Hokkaido The Japanese military did not
attempt to shoot down the missile, which passed over Japanese
territory around 6:07 a.m. local time (2107 GMT).
North Korea again asked the U.N. Security
Council to meet to discuss the ongoing joint
U.S.-South Korean military drills, according to a
letter released on Monday by the North Korean
mission to the United Nations.
The Aug. 25 letter to the Security Council and
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres from North
Korean U.N. Ambassador Ja Song Nam
described
the military exercises as a "grave threat" to the
Korean peninsula and international peace and
security.
"It is the fair and square self-defensive right of the DPRK
to cope with reckless, aggressive war manoeuvres and
the U.S. would be wholly responsible for any catastrophic
consequences to be entailed from the result," Ja wrote,
using the initials of North Korea's official name, the
Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Similar previous requests have gone unanswered by the
15-member Security Council.
The 15-member U.N. Security Council unanimously
imposed new sanctions on North Korea in response to
the two July long-range missile launches.
"It is the fair and square self-defensive right of
the DPRK to cope with reckless, aggressive war
manoeuvres and the U.S. would be wholly
responsible for any catastrophic consequences
to be entailed from the result,"
Ja wrote, using the initials of North Korea's
official name, the Democratic People's Republic
of Korea.
Unpredictable as the situation is, some
potential flashpoints to watch for:
U.S. and SOUKO troops are expected to kick
off the annual Ulchi- Freedom Guardian military exercises on Aug. 21.
NOKO sees these exercises and larger ones held every spring as a rehearsal for invasion.
Getting U S to halt them is a Pyongyang's key demand, and it regularly stirs the pot around the time they're held.