ONE ON ONE - Joe Biden Interview and "Promise me, Dad"

IMHO:  Joe Biden, one of the last 'decent' citizen politicians.

"Joe Biden condemns Trump’s handling of North Korea, hasn’t ruled out 2020" PBS NewsHour 1/4/2018

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  In a wide-ranging interview with PBS NewsHour's Judy Woodruff, former Vice President Joe Biden said he believes the U.S. is closer than ever to nuclear war, adding President Trump "undermines" the office of the President.  He also talks about his latest book, "Promise me, Dad," which chronicles his son Beau's brain cancer diagnosis and death, and his own decision not to run for President in 2016.

KOREAS - Provocations, Escalation and Tolerance

"Threat of Escalation by North Korea Looms Over Summit With Park Geun-hye" (Part-1) PBS Newshour 5/7/2013

JEFFREY BROWN (Newshour):  And we return to the situation on the Korean Peninsula, as the threat of further escalation loomed over a White House summit today.

The day began with a new warning on North Korean state television aimed at joint U.S./South Korean naval drills in the yellow sea.

WOMAN:  First, Korean people's army units in the southwestern sector of the front will take immediate counteractions in case even a single shell drops over the territorial waters on our side.  Second, in case the enemies recklessly counter our counterstrikes, all striking forces will turn the five islands in the West Sea of Korea into a sea of flames.

JEFFREY BROWN:  The new threat of from the North and its young leader, Kim Jong-un, follows several months of tough talk and actions, while the U.S. and South Korea conducted joint military exercises that were seen in turn as provocations by the North.

In December, North Korea test-launched a long-range rocket. In February, it carried out another underground nuclear test, its third to date.  And when the U.N. Security Council imposed new sanctions as a result, the North renounced the armistice that ended the Korean War, and then insisted it would fire off more mid-range Musudan missiles.

Despite North Korea's threat, there were no launches and U.S. officials now report the North has removed the weapons from a launch site.  Against that backdrop, President Obama held a White House summit today with South Korea's new president, Park Geun-hye, followed by a joint news conference

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA:  The days when North Korea could create a crisis and illicit concessions, those days are over.  Our two nations are prepared to engage with North Korea diplomatically and over time build trust.  But, as always, and as President Park has made clear, the burden is on Pyongyang to take meaningful steps.

PRESIDENT PARK GEUN-HYE, South Korea:  We will be no means tolerate North Korea's threats and provocations, which have recently been escalating further, and that such actions would only deepen North Korea's isolation.

JEFFREY BROWN:  Park took office in February, becoming South Korea's first female president.  She's the daughter of Park Chung-hee, who took power in a military coup and ruled South Korea in the 1960s and '70s before being assassinated.

The new president came to power seeking to improve relations with the North, but her tone has changed with events.  In an interview with CBS News yesterday, Park warned that her country will meet any aggression in kind.

PRESIDENT PARK:  Yes, we will make them pay.

JEFFREY BROWN:  Still, President Park has also said that if the North relents on its nuclear program, she's prepared to resume aid shipments and economic initiatives.

"South Korea May Be Growing Less Tolerant of Pyongyang's Provocations" (Part-2) PBS Newshour 5/7/2013

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  While North Korea makes fresh warnings, other signs suggest that nation has backed off some of its hot rhetoric.  Former State Department official Kurt Campbell and former U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Donald Gregg join Jeffrey Brown to discuss South Korea's President Park Geun-hye and building trust with North Korea's leader.

KOREA - More From the Peninsula's Bully

"North Korea Bars South Korean Workers From Jointly Owned Factories" (Part-1) PBS Newshour 4/3/2013

GWEN IFILL (Newshour):  The mounting hostility on the Korean Peninsula took an economic turn today at a cluster of factories jointly owned by the two countries.

Trucks filled with supplies and South Korean workers waited in long lines at the border with the North today before being turned away.  And some already on the other side couldn't go home.

MAN:  People couldn't return because they were supposed to leave by trucks, which were scheduled to enter the North carrying supplies.  However, those trucks couldn't get into North Korea.

GWEN IFILL:  The Kaesong Industrial Park is a rare example of economic cooperation between the two countries.  It houses factories for 123 South Korean companies, employs more than 50,000 North Koreans and hundreds more South Koreans who commute across the heavily fortified border each week.

South Korean managers and workers feared the travel ban would cost jobs and hurt business far beyond Kaesong.

SHIM SUNG-MAN, Apparel Maker:  It's very serious.  Given the current situation, factory operations could have problems two to three days later, and it will damage deliveries.

GWEN IFILL:  South Korea's unification minister urged Kim Jong-un's government to reverse its decision.

KIM HYUNG-SEOK, South Korean Unification Ministry Spokesman:  North Korea's measure to suspend the industrial zone is an obstacle to the stable management of the zone.  We urge the North to immediately normalize the access to the Kaesong industrial zone.

GWEN IFILL:  Today's border action is the latest response to South Korea's ongoing joint military exercises with the United States.

It comes a day after North Korea announced it would restart production of nuclear weapon materials.  And, today, North Korean state television broadcast an undated video of what it said was an anti-American rally with thousands of students chanting, "Let's kill."

South Korea's defense minister advised the North to tamp down its rhetoric.

KIM KWAN-JIN, South Korean Defense Minister:  I am warning North Korea to stop its threats.  I want to announce here that we have a full military readiness posture.  It is important for the South Korean people not to be agitated by North Korea's threats, because we have a firm military posture.

GWEN IFILL:  And, speaking in Washington today, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said the U.S. must remain vigilant.

DEFENSE SECRETARY CHUCK HAGEL, United States:  I don't want to be the secretary of defense who was wrong once.  So we will continue to take these threats seriously.  I hope the North will ratchet this very dangerous rhetoric down.

There is a pathway that is responsible for the North to get on a path to peace, but they have got to be a responsible member of the world community.

GWEN IFILL:  Defense Department officials announced this afternoon the U.S. is sending a land-based missile defense system to Guam in response to rising North Korean threats.  In the past two days, the Pentagon has also sent guided-missile destroyers to the Western Pacific.

"For North Korea, Economic and Strategic Significance in Kaesong Closing" (Part-2) PBS Newshour 4/3/2013

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  Why did North Korea close the Kaesong industrial complex when it actually relies on that income?  Gwen Ifill talks to Jack Pritchard, former U.S. special envoy for North Korea negotiations, about how a combination of "compounding events" makes current tensions with North Korea potentially more significant than past dustups.

KOREA - The Neighborhood Bully, North Korean President Kim Jong-un

"Korean Peninsula Engages in War of Words Over Military Action Threats" (Part-1) PBS Newshour 4/1/2013

JUDY WOODRUFF (Newshour):  U.S. officials said today that a Navy guided-missile destroyer capable of shooting down ballistic missiles has been positioned slightly closer to the Korean Peninsula.  This comes in the wake of an escalating verbal exchange between North and South Korea, and a day after top North Korean officials said that building nuclear capabilities was one of its top priorities.

In Seoul today, South Korean President Park Geun-Hye issued a stern warning during a meeting with the country's defense officials.

PRESIDENT PARK GEUN-HYE, South Korea:  If there's any provocation against South Korea and its people, there should be strong response in initial combat without any political considerations.

JUDY WOODRUFF:  Over the weekend, North Korea said it had entered a state of war with South Korea -- the latest threat from Pyongyang since the United Nations slapped sanctions on the country's nuclear program last month.

North Korea said the most recent move is in response to ongoing joint military exercises between the South and the United States.  The U.S. announced it has sent F-22 stealth fighter jets to the region as part of the annual war games.

Today, North Korean state television also released new video of military training exercises.  It showed soldiers at a firing range shooting at targets with the letters "USA" on them.

In Washington, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney downplayed the statements by the North.

JAY CARNEY, White House Press Secretary:  Despite the harsh rhetoric we're hearing from Pyongyang, we are not seeing changes to the North Korean military posture, such as large-scale mobilizations and positioning of forces.

Now, we take this seriously.  I have said that in the past.  And we are vigilant and we are monitoring the Korean situation very diligently.

JUDY WOODRUFF:  Yesterday, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met with members of the country's Labor Party and said building nuclear capabilities and the economy were top priorities.

Today, during a parliamentary session, Pak Pong Ju was appointed the country's new premier, a position he held previously from 2003 to 2007.  The move is seen as one that may be tied to Kim's call for economic improvements.  The United Nations says two-thirds of North Koreans suffer from inadequate food.

"Discerning Reality From Rhetoric in North Korea's Threats" (Part-2) PBS Newshour 4/1/2013

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  Is the latest rhetoric from North Korea brinkmanship or does it reflect the communist state's ability to mount an attack?  Judy Woodruff talks to two former Korea intelligence analysts -- Robert Carlin of Stanford University and Bruce Klingner of the Heritage Foundation -- about North Korea's military ability and strategy.

KOREA - U.S. and South Korean Forces Exercises

US Forces Show New Hardware in Korea Exercises
AP 9/1/2011

POLITICS - Korea, A Timely Question

"Bush on North Korea: Worse than you think" by Graham Allison, Los Angles Times

The president is downplaying the nuclear threat. But what happens if Pyongyang sells the bomb to terrorists?

At a news conference Friday, President Bush was asked why, given North Korea's increasing nuclear capability, its refusal to talk and its July 4 missile launches, Americans shouldn't conclude that the U.S. policy toward North Korea is a failed one.

"Because it takes time to get things done," Bush replied.

Taking a page from its post-9/11 strategy of avoiding discussion of the inability to capture Osama bin Laden, for the last year the Bush administration has assiduously avoided two words: North Korea.

Until Kim Jong Il forced himself back into the limelight, the administration had almost succeeded in erasing him from public consciousness. The White House's desire to change the subject is understandable. Since Bush entered the Oval Office in January 2001, Kim's estimated stockpile of plutonium has quintupled.

Why are Kim's nuclear bombs a much graver threat than his missiles?

As a vehicle for delivering a nuclear weapon, an intercontinental ballistic missile has one fatal flaw: It leaves an unambiguous return address. Kim knows that were he to launch a nuclear-tipped ICBM against the United States, in the same hour, America's overwhelming nuclear response would ensure that no warhead was ever again launched from North Korea.

If a North Korean nuclear weapon does detonate in an American city, it will have come in a backpack across our porous borders (where 50% more illegal aliens entered the U.S. last year than in the year before 9/11), or in one of the 7 million cargo containers that arrive by ship and rail annually (only 3% of which are inspected), or in a boat that docks at one of the countless unmonitored marinas in the Northeast, Florida or California.

My reminder, Kim is a madman, period. He is also crafty. When it comes to who or what Americans should fear, it is Kim. Not Iran and neither was Saddam.