Posts tagged ‘North Korea’
The recently released Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index 2011-12 shows South Korea is ranked 44th in press freedom, falling below Botswana, South Africa and Ghana.
It was expected that Korea would fall in the rankings. In March 2011, the Reporters Without Borders country file on Korea was was less than positive:
A report carried by Yonhap on 23 January cited Ministry of Unification figures showing that production at the Kaesong Industrial Complex expanded 14.4 percent year-on-year with total production reaching USD369.9 million during the January-November period in 2011, up from USD323.3 million worth of production for all of 2010.
Publication entitled “Living with North Korea without Kim Jong Il: A South Korean Perspective”, by Kim Tae-Woo of the Korea Institute for National Unification (KINU). Read more
On 2 January 2012, the Wall Street Journal ’Korea Now‘ blog carried a short post on key Republican presidential candidates’ views regarding Korea.
It noted that there was a degree of disinterest in Korean affairs in the lead-up to the 2008 and suggests that it is again unlikely to be a major issue unless tension once increases substantially.
Preparations are currently underway for the 2012 Seoul Nuclear Security Summit, which will be held during 26-27 March 2012.
The summit is the largest in the security field focusing on international cooperative measures to protect nuclear materials and facilities from terrorist groups.
On 19 December 2011, the Korea Stock Exchange Index (KOSPI) fell 4.2 percent on news of the death of Kim Jong-Il and ended the day 3.43 percent down. On 20 December 2011, the KOSPI traded modestly higher following gains from the technology and the automobile producer sector with the majority of analysts forecasting additional support for the market on 21 December 2011.
On 19 December 2011 North Korean media announced Kim Jong-Il passed away. It reported the death occurred on 17 December 2011 and that physical fatigue was the cause of death. Resources on North Korea after Kim Jong-Il:
Jeffrey Robertson, Political change in North Korea, Parliament of Australia,
http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/rp/2007-08/08rp19.pdf
A new article in the journal International Security by Bruce W. Bennett (Rand Corporation) and Jennifer Lind (Dartmouth College) entitled “The Collapse of North Korea: Military Missions and Requirement” (may require login) adds to the debate on the lack of preparation for the sudden collapse of North Korea.
The article focuses on military preparedness and the potential missions required. Importantly, it also highlights the lack of preparation in several key areas, including the lack of multilateral planning; the limited consideration of potential collapse in contemporary South Korean defence planning and the need to reform the South Korean reserve structure; and the need to establish more links with North Korean military and government officials. The article is the result of a comprehensive consultation process involving some of the best contingency planning resources.
The Korea Institute for National Unification (KINU) has released the second book of a four-year project (2010-2013), which will culminate in a grand strategy for Korean unification. The current book, edited by Choi Jin-Wook has been given the self-explanatory title US-China Relations and Korean Unification.
On 8 November 2011, Yonhap News reported that South Korean authorities confirmed they hold no intelligence that North Korean leader, Kim Jong-Il, has died. Rumors of the death of Kim Jong-Il are thought to have affected South Korean financial markets throughout the day.
