Korean Peninsula On The Brink Of War

[American Patriot]

North Korean Naval Ship Mysteriously Sank

Unclear why it went down or how many died
By Noah Rayman Nov. 04, 2013

KCNA / AFP / Getty ImagesNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-Un visits the cemetery of fallen fighters of the KPA Navy Unit 790 at an undisclosed location in North Korea in a photo released on Nov. 2, 2013.

A North Korean naval vessel sank last month, according to media reports in North and South Korea, but the details, including the number of causalities and the reason, remain a mystery.


In a rare report on a military mishap, the North’s official news agency said Saturday that an unspecified number of deaths occurred while a submarine chaser was performing “combat duties,” the Associated Press reports. State media also reported that leader Kim Jong Un visited a military cemetery and displayed images of the leader beside stone markers inscribed with “Oct. 13.”


In South Korea, a media report citing an unidentified military source said the vessel was built in the 1960s and may have sunk as a result of its age.

[American Patriot]

I think most have heard about Kim's uncle who was first fire, then had all his images, pictures, papers, everything the government had praising him, burned.

Last night, he was arrested, bound and dragged in front of some body that pretends to be a body of "law" and he was dragged outside and executed and labeled as a traitor for all time and "human scum".

[American Patriot]

North Korea executes Kim Jong Un's uncle

Published December 12, 2013FoxNews.com

• 
  Aug. 14, 2012: In this file photo provided by China's Xinhua News Agency, Jang Song Thaek, North Korea's vice chairman of the powerful National Defense Commission, attends the third meeting on developing the economic zones in North Korea, in Beijing. (AP/XinHua)
  
  
  
  

North Korea announced Thursday it had executed the uncle of leader Kim Jong Un, declaring him a traitor who tried to overthrow the state.


The announcement came only days after Pyongyang announced through state media that Jang Song Thaek -- long considered the country's No. 2 power -- had been removed from all his posts because of allegations of corruption, drug use, gambling, womanizing and leading a "dissolute and depraved life."


State news agency KCNA said a tribunal examined Jang's crimes, including "attempting to overthrow the state by all sorts of intrigues and despicable methods with a wild ambition to grab the supreme power of our party and state."


The report called him "a traitor to the nation" and "worse than a dog."


National Security Council spokesman Patrick Ventrell said that there was no reason to doubt the report of Jang’s death and if true, it illustrated North Korea's "extreme brutality."


"While we cannot independently verify this development, we have no reason to doubt the official KCNA report that Jang Song Thaek has been executed,” Ventrell said. “If confirmed, this is another example of the extreme brutality of the North Korean regime. We are following developments in North Korea closely and consulting with our allies and partners in the region."


Jang was seen as helping Kim Jong Un consolidate power after the death of his father, Kim Jong Il, two years ago.


Some analysts see North Korea's personnel reshuffle as a sign of Kim Jong Un's growing confidence, but there has also been fear in Seoul that the removal of such an important part of the North's government -- seen by outsiders as the leading supporter of Chinese-style economic reforms -- could create dangerous instability or lead to a miscalculation or attack on the South.


Tensions are still high on the Korean Peninsula following a torrent of threats in March and April by Kim Jong Un's government against Washington, Seoul and Tokyo, including vows of missile and nuclear strikes and warnings that Pyongyang would restart nuclear bomb fuel production.


Jang was married to Kim Jong Un's aunt, Kim Kyong Hui, the younger sister of Kim Jong Il. He was earlier described by state media as "abusing his power," being "engrossed in irregularities and corruption," and taking drugs and squandering money at casinos while undergoing medical treatment in a foreign country.

[American Patriot]

Uncertainty after North Korea announces execution of leader's uncle

By Jethro Mullen and Tom Watkins, CNN
updated 5:42 AM EST, Fri December 13, 2013

In an image taken from footage shown by North Korea's KCTV and released by South Korea's Yonhap news agency on December 9, 2013, Jang Song-Thaek is reportedly being dragged away from his chair by two police officials during a meeting in Pyongyang. North Korea confirmed on December 9 that the powerful uncle of Kim Jong-Un, the nation's leader, had been removed. New reports from North Korea say that Jang has been executed.







STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: North Korea seems "not as stable as we thought," one analyst says
• NEW: Some observers warn a provocative move like a missile or nuclear test could follow
• Jang Song Thaek was married to Kim's aunt, was vice chairman of the top military body
• North Korea state media say he was convicted and executed Thursday

(CNN) -- As the shock sinks in of North Korea's extraordinary announcement of the execution of leader Kim Jong Un's uncle and former protector, government officials and analysts are trying to decipher what the brutal move means.
The ruthless disposal of Jang Song Thaek -- Kim's uncle by marriage who had, until recently, been regarded as the second-most powerful figure in the secretive, nuclear-armed nation -- has serious implications for North Korea, its neighbors and the United States, observers said.
But exactly what is going on inside the notoriously opaque North Korea regime remains as murky as ever.
"We don't have a clear sense of this at all," said Victor Cha, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies who represented the United States in nuclear talks with North Korea.
Report: Kim Jong Un's uncle executed
North Korea leader's uncle executed
Photos: A glimpse inside North Korea


Expand: The photos N. Korea banned




Photos: Kim Jong Un's military



Some saw the execution, reported early Friday by North Korean state media, as a chilling demonstration of total control by Kim, the young leader who came to power two years ago.


"I think what he's telling people -- the United States, South Korea, China, others -- is that he is his own man, that you are going to have to deal with him," said Philip Yun, executive director of the Ploughshares Fund, a nuclear nonproliferation group.


Who is Jang?



Jang, who was married to Kim's aunt, served as vice chairman of North Korea's top military body and had often been pictured beside the young leader, who is believed to be around 30. He was considered to be the regent who secured Kim's assumption of power after the 2011 death of his father, Kim Jong Il.


But in a lengthy article foaming with outraged rhetoric, North Korea's official news agency on Friday accused Jang of trying to overthrow the state and describing him as "despicable human scum."


One big question is whether Kim acted out of strength, consolidating the power he has amassed over the past two years, or out of fear that his uncle was building a rival force inside the regime.


Kim already removed the country's top general last year, Cha noted. By taking down Jang, he's axed a powerful figure from the country's dominant Workers' Party.
"It makes you wonder: If he's consolidating his power, what is he building it around?" Cha said. "He's basically attacking the two most important institutions in North Korea, which is the party and the military."


Provocative moves



Few analysts interpreted the execution, which took place days after the North had said that Jang had been dramatically removed from his government posts, as a healthy sign.


"If two weeks ago, we thought that North Korea was somewhat stable, I think today people feel that it's not as stable as we thought it was," said Cha, the author of "The Impossible State: North Korea, Past and Future."


Suh Sang-ki, a lawmaker in South Korea's governing Saenuri Party who sits on a parliamentary intelligence committee, said that the decision to kill Jang suggests Kim's power is weaker than that of his father.


In a statement issued after a phone briefing from South Korea's National Intelligence Service, Suh said that the execution appeared to be a pre-emptive effort to prevent any internal unrest over Jang's ouster.


Analysts said North Korea was likely to continue with the provocative moves under Kim that have strained its relations with South Korea, the United States and others.



"I think there's going to be a clear amount of brinksmanship," said Yun of the Ploughshares Fund. "I think if we continue to wait for him to do things, he's going to continue to shoot missiles, and he'll probably at some point decide to test a nuclear weapon."


Missile and nukes



North Korea carried out a long-range rocket launch a year ago and an underground nuclear test, its third so far, in February. The U.N. sanctions that followed were met by a barrage of threatening rhetoric from Pyongyang, directed at South Korea and the United States, which ratcheted up tensions in the region.


The situation has calmed since, and the North and South have resumed dialogue. The two sides have agreed to meet next week in their joint industrial zone on the North's side of the border.


But with the anniversary of Kim Jong Il's death, last year's rocket launch and now Jang's execution, Seoul is keeping a close eye on Pyongyang's actions, officials said.
The South Korean defense ministry said Friday that no unusual activities by the North Korean military had been detected.


"December has always been a month in which something happens with North Korea," Cha said. "And we're only halfway through it."


In Washington, a State Department official acknowledged having seen the report of Jang's execution. "While we cannot independently verify this development, we have no reason to doubt the official KCNA report," Deputy Spokeswoman Marie Harf said in a statement.


"If confirmed, this is another example of the extreme brutality of the North Korean regime. We are following developments in North Korea closely and consulting with our allies and partners in the region," Harf added.


China, whose senior officials were considered to have close ties to Jang, described the recent developments as North Korea's "internal affairs."


Beijing hopes and believes that relations between the two countries "will continue advance healthily and steadily," Hong Lei, a foreign ministry spokesman said at a regular briefing Friday.


"Worse than a dog"



The official North Korean report on the execution said that a special military tribunal had been held Thursday against Jang, who was accused of trying to overthrow the state "by all sorts of intrigues and despicable methods."


It added, "All the crimes committed by the accused were proved in the course of hearing and were admitted by him."


Once his guilt was established, Jang was immediately executed, it said.


The KCNA report described Jang as a "traitor for all ages" and "worse than a dog," and said he had betrayed his party and leader.


Jang and his allies were accused of double-dealing behind the scenes, "dreaming different dreams" and selling the country's resources at cheap prices, thereby threatening North Korea's economic development, according to a KCNA statement earlier this week.


"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," the statement said.


The statement accused Jang of womanizing, drug use, gambling, eating at expensive restaurants and undergoing medical treatment in a foreign country.


Friday's KCNA report accused Jang of having distributed pornographic pictures among his confidants and having taken at least 4.6 million euros (US $6.3 million) "from his secret coffers and squandered it in 2009 alone."


CNN's Elise Labott and Paula Hancocks, and journalist Yoonjung Seo contributed to this report

[American Patriot]

If this crap in North Korea isn't a LESSON that the Left should listen to, I don't know what is. THIS is what you get when you allow a government to get like this.

This administration is already well on the road to this kind of behavior. They send in "cops" to kick in doors to take guns from people, to misappropriate their hard earned money, and to squelch speaking out against the government.

The more you speak, the more names they call you and try to make you sound "extreme" so they can go after you.

One day - the Left will be staring down the barrel of the same sort of gun that killed Kim Jong Un's uncle - and they will deserve it for allowing the government to get too powerful.

[American Patriot]

im Jong-un's uncle executed

Kim Jong Un's uncle, Jang Song-taek was executed after a special military tribunal found him guilty of treason.

Reuters | about 14 hours ago

SEOUL - North Korea said on Friday Jang Song-taek, the uncle of leader Kim Jong-un and previously considered the second most powerful man in the secretive state, has been executed after a special military tribunal found him guilty of treason.

"The accused Jang brought together undesirable forces and formed a faction as the boss of a modern day factional group for a long time and thus committed such hideous crime as attempting to overthrow the state," the North's official KCNA news agency said.

The official Rodong Sinmun newspaper on Friday carried a photograph of Jang in handcuffs and being held by uniformed guards as he stood trial.

Earlier this week, North Korea stripped Jang of all posts and expelled him from the ruling Workers' Party, accusing him of criminal acts including mismanagement of the state financial system, womanising and alcohol abuse.

"From long ago, Jang had a dirty political ambition. He dared not raise his head when Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il were alive," KCNA said, referring to leader Kim's grandfather and father, who were previous rulers of the dynastic state.

"He began revealing his true colours, thinking that it was just the time for him to realise his wild ambition in the period of historic turn when the generation of the revolution was replaced."

The execution caps a spectacular downfall of the husband of leader Kim's aunt. Jang had previously suffered purges, but fought his way back to the power circle to hold influential positions in the ruling party and the military.

[American Patriot]

Was North Korea's No. 2 Killed For Not Clapping Hard Enough?

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By Mark Memmott

Enlarge image
Credit Kyodo/Landov
Jang Song Thaek, who was North Korea's second-most powerful official, was put to death this week.

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  3:44
  
  
  
  On 'Morning Edition': NPR's Frank Langfitt talks about a high-profile execution in North Korea
  
  

As outsiders try to figure out why North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had his uncle executed this week, they're focusing on a couple things. According to NPR's Frank Langfitt:


-- There seems have been "a lot of genuine personal dislike" between Kim and Jang Song Thaek, the uncle and until this week North Korea's second most powerful man.


Kim may have been "angry that his uncle disrespected him," Frank said on Morning Edition. According to North Korea's official news agency, Jang clapped "half-heartedly" when Kim was elected vice chairman of the country's central military commission.


-- Kim also may have wanted to send a message to others in the regime that "no one is safe ... don't mess with me."


Officially, as we reported Thursday, North Korea's news agency says Jang was found guilty of treason. He allegedly "brought together undesirable forces and formed a faction ... and thus committed such hideous crime as attempting to overthrow the state."


In South Korea, the Yonhap News agency reports that "Seoul [is] wary of provocations by North Korea after Jang's execution."


The North might even go so far as to test another nuclear weapon, Yonhap says:


"Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-jae said the recent purge is likely to be followed by military provocations, including a nuclear bomb test. Touching on the speculation that the North will soon conduct their fourth nuclear test, the minister said in a parliamentary meeting, 'That is probable. We are keeping an eye on such a possibility.' "

[American Patriot]

Execution 'shows extreme brutality'

Dec 13 2013
The execution of the uncle of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un is further evidence of the "extreme brutality" of the far eastern country's regime, Downing Street has said.
Pyongyang's official news agency has announced that Jang Song Thaek, 67, has been shot as a traitor for plotting to seize supreme power from his nephew.
Jang had previously been portrayed as a mentor to 30-year-old Kim - who inherited the position of supreme leader on the death of his father in 2011 - and was seen as the second most powerful figure in the secretive communist state.
But just days ago, he was shown being taken from a party event by uniformed guards, and North Korean media carried statements denouncing him as a "traitor to the nation for all ages", ''worse than a dog" and "despicable human scum" who had been planning a military coup.


Prime Minister David Cameron's official spokesman told reporters at a daily Westminster press briefing: "If this is confirmed, it is another example of the extreme brutality of the North Korean regime."
His words echoed the comments of the White House, which also saw Jang's abrupt downfall and execution as evidence of the Pyongyang regime's "extreme brutality".

[American Patriot]

Kim Jong-un has shown he wants to take North Korea backwards

The execution by Kim Jong-un of his uncle Jang Song-thaek was swift, brutal - and a slap in the face for China, writes the former UK ambassador to North Korea

Jang Song-thaek, the uncle of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, is escorted in to court Photo: AFP/Getty Images








By Jon Everard

11:31AM GMT 13 Dec 2013


Never before has North Korea purged someone so publicly as it has just eliminated Kim Jong-un's uncle, Jang Song-thaek.

In the past purges were usually conducted in secret. But this time not only has the detailed political indictment against Jang been published (in the form of the report of the Politburo meeting on Sunday at which he was dismissed) but his actual eviction from a party meeting was broadcast on North Korean television.

^{A special military tribunal being held in Pyongyang, North Korea to try Jang Song-thaek}

Then, early today, came the brutal climax: the announcement on official state television that he had been executed for treason, branded "despicable human scum".

In making this very public display of ruthlessness Kim Jong-un probably had three objectives. Firstly, nobody in North Korea can doubt now that he, and he alone, is in charge. Nor can anybody doubt that he is utterly ruthless in removing absolutely anybody who might, in the colourful language of the indictment, "dream different dreams".

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^{Jang Song-thaek (left) follows North Korea's new leader Kim Jong-un during his Kim Jong-il's funeral}
If even the immensely powerful Jang Song-thaek, Kim's own uncle, can be brought so low and dispatched so swiftly, then nobody is safe.
Secondly, Kim Jong-un has told his country – and the world – that not only Jang the man, but also the vision that he stood for, has been purged.
Jang Song-thaek seems to have argued for a less closed North Korea, one that embraced trade and encouraged inward investment. He was in charge of several (perhaps all) of North Korea's planned special economic zones (an experiment copied from the early days of China's transformation) and was regarded as a strong supporter of economic reform.
The indictment of which he was immediately found guilty accused Jang both of "selling off precious resources of the country at cheap prices" and of opposing the "development of the industries of Juche iron, Juche fertilizer and Juche vinalon".
This is Pyongyang-speak for the development of North Korean indigenous industries (vinalon is a uniquely North Korean – and uniquely uncomfortable – artificial fibre).
^{Jang Song-thaek (left) with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un}
So Jang probably argued that North Korea should trade its abundant natural resources to secure the basic materials that it needs rather than try (inefficiently) to manufacture them itself. This heresy will have infuriated North Korea's ideologues, and apparently Kim Jong-un too. Jang's purge probably signals a reverse perestroika – that North Korea is abandoning its timid attempts at structural economic reform.
Thirdly, this is a slap in the face for China. China is often described as North Korea's only ally but with every nuclear test and every provocative missile launch the relationship has become more strained. After North Korea's third nuclear test in February China recalibrated its policy to North Korea.
It stopped giving North Korea cash aid (it now gives only food and oil). It changed the lead department on policy towards its awkward neighbour from the Communist Party, which has been generally kind to North Korea, to the much sterner Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It made public a long list of items whose delivery to North Korea its customs officials were instructed to prevent.
And – a particular sting – it banned top-level contacts. This has meant that Kim Jong-un has been unable to visit Beijing, a big snub in Asian diplomacy. To rub salt into the wound President Xi Jinping of China hosted a very successful state visit in June by Kim Jong-un's arch-rival, President Park Geun-hye of South Korea, and said last week that he hoped to visit South Korea himself.
President Xi has however neither visited Pyongyang nor shown any interest in doing so. All this will have alarmed and angered the regime, and Jang's indictment and dismissal is probably, amongst other things, Kim's answer to China. The sale of "precious resources" mentioned above was to China, so North Korea has come close to declaring much of its trade with China illegitimate, and China regarded Jang Song-thaek as its main friend at the court of Kim.
^{Jang Song-thaek (circled) with former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il}
The stunned Chinese silence at the news of his removal, followed by a terse statement that this was North Korea's internal affair, speaks volumes.
Kim has chosen his moment carefully. China is currently embroiled in an increasingly nasty dispute with its neighbours over islands in the East China sea, and Kim knows that it will not want, just now, to retaliate against a country that, for all its infuriating behaviour, remains one of China's few allies.
The story certainly does not end here. Kim now has to decide what to do with Jang's wife, Kim Kyung-hi (Kim Jong-il's sister and so Kim Jong-un's aunt)?
Can Kim afford to cast even her off – or is she already so sick that she no longer matters? And meanwhile, will Kim feel the need to arrange a distraction from this political turmoil?
He may already be prepared for another nuclear test, and there are ominous reports of movements of heavy weapons near North Korea's maritime border with South Korea, where in 2010 North Korea sank a South Korean corvette and shelled a South Korean island. The next few months may well prove turbulent.
John Everard was British ambassador to North Korea from 2006 - 2008





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[American Patriot]

The Man Who is Not an Uncle.

Or

The Non-Existent Man

Earlier this week North Korea edited Jang from a state documentary featuring Kim Jong-un.
























With files from the National Post

[Toad]

Curious as to the method of execution. Norks are known for not being as clean cut as a firing squad. (ie: the General who was staked in the middle of a morter range.)

[American Patriot]

No idea Toad.... the media isn't laying it out like they usually do.

[vector7]

US sending 800 troops amd 40 M1A2 Abrams tanks and Bradleys to S Korea



800 soldiers, 40 M1A2 Abrams main battle tanks and 40 Bradley fighting vehicles will be dispatched to South Korea.

Wed Jan 8, 2014 1:54AM

Related Interviews:




'Korean war will be hugely damaging'


'

US provokes war on Korean peninsula'

Related Viewpoints:



Japan pursuing rearmament policy

The United States plans to deploy new troops and military equipment in South Korea in February amid increased tensions on the Korean peninsula.

800 soldiers, forty M1A2 Abrams main battle tanks and forty Bradley fighting vehicles will be dispatched to South Korea from the first US Cavalry Division as part of a military rebalance, the Pentagon said on Tuesday.

Army Colonel Steve Warren said, “This addition is part of the rebalance to the Pacific. It's been long planned and is part of our enduring commitment to security on the Korean peninsula.”

The new troops and equipment will be sent to North Gyeonggi Province, just south of the demilitarized zone which separates North Korea from South Korea.

The troops will remain in the country for nine months while the equipment will be left behind there to be used by follow-on rotation of US forces, a Pentagon spokesman said.

The US move comes amid increased tensions between the two Koreas as the North has continued to develop nuclear weapons and test missiles. The country’s leader, Kim Jong-un, executed his powerful uncle last month in what became the biggest upheaval inside the ruling regime for years.

US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday that “the United States and the Republic of Korea stand very firmly united, without an inch of daylight between us, not a sliver of daylight, on the subject of opposition to North Korea's destabilizing nuclear and ballistic missile programs and proliferation activities.”

“There is no greater sign of the United States commitment to regional security than the 28,500 troops stationed in South Korea,” Kerry said in a meeting with South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se in Washington.

In 2011, President Barack Obama announced a strategic rebalancing of priorities toward the Pacific while reducing US commitments in Iraq and Afghanistan.

AT/HJ

[vector7]

U.S. Bolsters Forces in South Korea with Armored Unit



The U.S. military will deploy 800 additional troops from an armored unit to South Korea to bolster its forces in case of a crisis with North Korea, the Pentagon said Tuesday.

The U.S. Army soldiers, armored vehicles and tanks from the 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment will be stationed at camps Hovey and Stanley near the demarcation line with the North starting next month, military officers said.

The rotational deployment is part of a strategic shift towards the Asia-Pacific region "and allows for greater responsiveness to better meet theater operational requirements," the Pentagon said in a statement.

"This is a plus-up," spokesman Colonel Steven Warren told reporters, confirming that the U.S. military presence would expand under the decision.

The move "is part of our rebalance to the Pacific," he said.

The U.S. military already has 28,500 troops on the ground in the South and the decision to send reinforcements appeared to signal Washington's concern over possible provocations from volatile North Korea.

But Warren said the deployment had "been long planned."

The unit includes 40 Abrams M1 tanks and 40 Bradley armored fighting vehicles, he added.

Under a treaty with Seoul, the U.S. military commander would lead both the American contingent and South Korea's 640,000-strong force in case of a war with the North.

During peacetime, each side maintains operational command of their own troops.

South Korea agreed to take over wartime operational command of all troops starting in 2015, after delaying a previous target date in 2012.

Tensions with North Korea have prompted Seoul to reconsider the plan, and the South has asked Washington to review the timing of the scheduled transition.

The "combat ready" cavalry unit will stay in South Korea for a nine-month tour but will leave its armored vehicles and tanks behind for troops that follow them, the Pentagon said.

The announcement came a day after Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel hosted South Korea's Foreign Minister Yun Byung-Se for talks at the Pentagon.

"The two discussed the importance of maintaining a robust combined defense of the Korean Peninsula as a strong deterrent against provocations from North Korea," spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby said.

South Korea and the United States have called for vigilance on the peninsula after North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un ordered the execution of his uncle, Jang Song-Thaek, for an alleged plot.

[Toad]

Curious as to the method of execution. Norks are known for not being as clean cut as a firing squad. (ie: the General who was staked in the middle of a morter range.)

Toad ~ Just a followup on how twisted the execution ended up being. (Note - This is a Chinese news feed, I don't think they're making this up, considering it puts their relationship with N.K. in bad light. Plus if you google it, it's now carried by quite a few other sources.)

http://www.straitstimes.com/the-big-...china-20131224

By Ching Cheong, Senior Writer

THE execution of Jang Song Thaek, the No. 2 man in North Korea, took Beijing by surprise and will adversely affect bilateral relations.

Beijing's displeasure is expressed through the publication of a detailed account of Jang's brutal execution in Wen Wei Po, its official mouthpiece, in Hong Kong, on Dec 12.

According to the report, unlike previous executions of political prisoners which were carried out by firing squads with machine guns, Jang was stripped naked and thrown into a cage, along with his five closest aides. Then 120 hounds, starved for three days, were allowed to prey on them until they were completely eaten up. This is called "quan jue", or execution by dogs.

The report said the entire process lasted for an hour, with Mr Kim Jong Un, the supreme leader in North Korea, supervising it along with 300 senior officials.

The horrifying report vividly depicted the brutality of the young North Korean leader. The fact that it appeared in a Beijing- controlled newspaper showed that China no longer cares about its relations with the Kim regime.

Two days later, the Global Times, associated with the People's Daily, a Chinese Communist Party organ, followed up with a sternly worded editorial saying that the abrupt political change epitomised the backwardness of the North Korean political system. It warned the Chinese government not to coddle North Korea any longer, saying that the majority of Chinese were extremely disgusted with the Kim regime.

The incendiary story, plus the stern editorial, provided a measure of the extent of Beijing's loathing, which is quite understandable.

In purging a top official known for his close ties with Beijing in such a brutal manner, Pyongyang did not hide its antagonism towards China.

The official litany of Jang's treason implicated China three times. Jang was accused of underselling coal and other natural resources for which China was virtually the sole customer. He was also charged with "selling off the land of Rason economic and trade zone to a foreign country for a period of five decades under the pretext of paying debts". Finally, he was accused of selling precious metals, thus disrupting the country's financial stability. In fact, China purchased some of North Korea's gold reserves several months ago.

He was also accused of aiding Chinese businessmen in securing low prices for North Korean goods and commodities.

The purge of Jang reflected the longstanding suspicion and apprehension of the North Korean regime towards China, which dates back to the time of Kim Il Sung, North Korea's founder.

Although China fought the Korean War to preserve the Kim regime, he was less than grateful. Once the war was over, Kim started purging the Yan-an faction within his party. This faction received its training in Yan-an, the capital of the Chinese Communist Party in the 1940s.

Stanford University research fellow David Straub recalled that when he accompanied former United States assistant secretary of state James Kelly to North Korea in 2002, the North's then Vice-Foreign Minister Kang Sok Ju made comments that minimised Chinese assistance during the Korean War.

When the son, Kim Jong Il, took over the helm, he did not hide the fact that his nuclear weapons could be used against China.

Dr Xue Litai, a research fellow at Stanford University's Centre for International Security and Cooperation at the time, disclosed that he received further confirmation from an American source who accompanied former US president Bill Clinton in his visit to Pyongyang in 2009. According to the source, a North Korean senior official told Mr Clinton that their nuclear weapons could not reach the US but could be "pointed West" in the direction of the Chinese mainland.

The North Korean official also reportedly suggested that if the US changed its policy towards Pyongyang, the latter could become a strong bastion against China.

The Korean peninsula was a vassal state of China in the 17th century. A deep-rooted suspicion remains among the North Korean leadership that China wants to make North Korea its satellite state. Pyongyang also resents Beijing establishing ties with Seoul, which it sees as an act of betrayal.

Nuclear-armed China is seen as having double standards when it exerts pressure on Pyongyang to halt the latter's nuclear programme.

So when the grandson, Mr Kim Jong Un, took over the helm, this family tradition of suspecting China prompted the young leader to take drastic action to cleanse the party of any pro-China elements.

Recent developments have posed a number of issues for China.

First, China's own security is at risk. The erratic and ruthless behaviour of Mr Kim Jong Un suggests that China should not underrate the likelihood of a nuclear threat from Pyongyang.

The Internet version of the Global Times carried an article last Monday by Lieutenant-General Wang Hongguang, former deputy commander of Nanjing Greater Military Region, saying that the recent incident showed North Korea had become increasingly provocative and was getting out of (Chinese) control. He urged a complete reassessment of security threats originating from that direction.

Second, China's political and strategic influence on the Korean peninsula has been drastically reduced. China was widely considered to be able to rein in the unruly Kim regime, thus acting as a force for peace in the region. But it now appears China's influence over its neighbour is close to zero.

This is clear from the fact that Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi telephoned his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov for urgent consultation on Dec 13. This was followed by Ambassador Wu Dawei's trip to Moscow. Both moves suggest that Beijing realises it can no longer tame the Kim regime by itself.

Third, China had hoped to nurture a less belligerent neighbour by encouraging reform, open- door policies and economic development in North Korea. Jang had been working closely with China to bring about a Chinese-style transformation in his own country. With Jang brutally executed, the idea of a peaceful transformation seems unrealistic.
chingcheong@gmail.com


Background story

Toad ~ This further and very public breakdown of Beijing-Pyongyang relations may be the motivation of the US troop buildup on the DMZ.

And:

the idea of a peaceful transformation seems unrealistic.

China is now saying this. That means something.

[American Patriot]

Whaaaaa!


North Korea warns South, US over 'provocative' military drills

Published January 16, 2014FoxNews.com

• 
  FILE: March 9, 2013: The guided-missile destroyers USS Lassen (DDG 82), arrives to participate in the annual joint military exercises, dubbed Key Resolve, between the South Korean and United States. (AP)
  

North Korea demanded that South Korea and the United States cancel annual military exercises planned for February and March, saying the drills were a "dangerous" provocation that could push the situation on the Korean Peninsula to a catastrophe.
The North's KCNA state news agency quoted a committee in charge of efforts to promote Korean unification as saying the drills have "created such a deplorable situation in which huge aggression troops of the U.S. are deployed in areas close to the Military Demarcation Line."
"We sternly warn the U.S. and the South Korean authorities to stop the dangerous military exercises which may push the situation on the peninsula and the North-South ties to a catastrophe," the statement from the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea said, UPI reported.
South Korea and the U.S. regularly conduct routine, defense-oriented drills such as the Key Resolve and Foal Eagle exercises to help to bolster security on the peninsula and to highlight the longstanding military partnership between the two countries.
North Korea has described the drills as a prelude to invasion. In 2013, the North warned the top American commander in South Korea of "miserable destruction" if the U.S. military pressed ahead with the same exercises scheduled to begin next month.
The North said the announcement of the this year's drills "is little short of the declaration of a total nuclear stand-off," adding the exercises will cause the North-South ties to plunge into an "unimaginable holocaust and that disaster will follow should they go ahead with the nuclear war drills and make military provocation, defying our warning," according to UPI.
South Korea said Wednesday the drills will go ahead as planned and that North Korea's military has showed no sign of unusual activity, Reuters reported.
"If North Korea actually commits military aggression at the excuse of what is a normal exercise we conduct as preparation for emergency, our military will mercilessly and decisively punish them," South Korea's Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min Seok told reporters Wednesday.
North Korea drew worldwide condemnation last year after it announced it conducted its third nuclear test ahead of the joint drills, in direct defiance to U.N. Security Council orders to shut down its atomic activity or face more sanctions and international isolation.

[Toad]

Juuuuuust like clockwork.

[American Patriot]

That's what I was thinking. You can pretty much set your clocks by these guys, about every six months.

[American Patriot]

U.S. Commander: North Korean Leader May Not Be Consistently 'Rational'



Jan. 23, 2014

By Rachel Oswald
Global Security Newswire






North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspects the command of the Korean People's Army in this undated picture, released earlier this month by official state media. The head of U.S. military forces in the Pacific said Kim does not appear to consistently make decisions in a rational manner. (KNS/AFP/Getty Images)



The head of U.S. military forces in the Pacific on Thursday questioned whether North Korea's Kim Jong Un consistently makes lucid and logical decisions.


Kim's "behavior" -- or at least what has been reported out of the notoriously isolated country -- "would make me wonder whether … he is always in the rational decision-making mode, and this is a problem," U.S. Pacific Command head Navy Adm. Samuel Locklear said at a Pentagon press briefing.


Since coming to power in late 2011, Kim has presided over a number of startling events in North Korea, including last month's execution of Jang Song Thaek, his uncle and former adviser. Last spring, the hermit nation engaged in nuclear saber-rattling against South Korea and the United States. Kim also has overseen long-range missile and nuclear-device tests, as well as expansion of the country's fissile material-production capabilities.


These actions have puzzled and unnerved senior U.S. military officials, some of whom now worry that the Kim regime may not be as stable as was once thought. Were the government to collapse, North Korea could be faced with a power vacuum that might jeopardize the security of the country's weapons of mass destruction or sensitive materials.


"The way ahead with the new leader is not clear to me," said Locklear, adding that Kim's actions have contributed to making the region a "very dangerous place."


North Korea watchers similarly have said they are uncertain why Pyongyang risked such potentially regime-destabilizing activities as last spring's brinkmanship tactics with the United States and the more recent purge of Jang.


The latter event is particularly mystifying to some issue experts who wonder why Kim allowed state-run media to report Jang was executed for plotting to seize power from him. Such an admission would seem to tarnish the carefully crafted Kim dynasty brand of being beloved by all in North Korea.


More recently, Pyongyang has demanded that the U.S. and South Korean militaries cancel their annual joint exercises, Key Resolve and Foal Eagle, or risk what North Korea has termed "unimaginable holocaust."


However, Locklear said there is no chance of a cancelation.


"We don’t to plan to stop the exercises; the exercises are part of the alliance, the cornerstone of how we train and maintain the alliance," he said.

[Toad]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...ged-uncle.html

Kim Jong-un 'executes direct relations of purged uncle'
North Korean leader has purged entire familes closely related to Jang Song Thaek, according to South Korean media.

The direct relatives of Jang Song Thaek, Kim Jong-un's recently executed uncle, have all been put to death upon the orders of the North Korean leader, it was reported yesterday

Entire families closely related to Jang, who was purged by the Pyongyang regime in December for allegedly plotting its overthrow, were executed including children and grandchildren, "multiple sources" told South Korea's Yonhap News Agency.

Among those allegedly executed were Jon Yong-jin, Jang's brother-in-law and the country's ambassador to Cuba, and Jang Yong-chol, Jang's nephew and ambassador to Malaysia, the anonymous sources said.

The killings were reported to have taken place after Jang's own execution on December 12 and "mean that no traces of him should be left", a source told Yonhap. The agency reported that while some of the relatives who had resisted arrest had been "shot to death by pistol in front of other people", others related to Jang through marriage had instead been exiled to remote villages with their maiden families.

Yonhap's report has not yet been corroborated and follows a spate of sensational rumors about North Korea in recent weeks

However, recent events in North Korea suggest the execution of Jang's close family members could be true.

The ambassadors allegedly executed were spotted en-route to North Korea after being recalled from their overseas diplomatic postings in the wake of Jang's purge in early December.

In addition, for decades a harsh "guilt-by-association" culture has prevailed in North Korea, with entire families facing heavy punishment – including death – simply for being related to convicted political dissidents or defectors.

Yonhap News, which is a publicly funded news agency with close links to the South Korean government and intelligence services, has been wrong on North Korea news in the past, but was the first media organisation to report on Jang's death, days before it was announced by North Korean media.

Jang was executed for a wide range of alleged crimes against the state that included plotting a coup, misappropriating resources, and womanising.

Denounced by the regime as "despicable human scum" who had perpetrated "thrice-cursed acts of treachery", Jang's death was the first execution of a senior official since the 1950s and stunned many long-time North Korea watchers.



Toad~ Insanity. Absolute insanity.