China opposes sanctions on North Korea

[Disir]

China expressed its opposition on Thursday to unilateral sanctions against North Korea, saying they could raise international tension.

US President Barack Obama on Wednesday imposed sweeping new sanctions on North Korea intended to further isolate its leadership after recent nuclear and rocket tests, seen by the United States and its allies as provocative.

The new sanctions threaten to ban from the global financial system anyone who does business with much of North Korea's economy, including its financial, mining and transport sectors.

The so-called secondary sanctions will compel banks to freeze the assets of anyone who breaks the blockade, potentially squeezing out North Korea's business ties, including those with China.
China opposes sanctions on North Korea

Gearing up for the ride.

 

[MisterBeale]

I've got no problem with these sanctions as long as they are applied to Israel too. As they haven't been, I don't see anything wrong with China's position. Or Russia's either for that matter. We should get our military out of there. We have no business being there. None.

It's all politics and crap to justify a continued military presence and the continued stationing of the seventh fleet out there. CFR media is not trustworthy on this issue, AT ALL.

Legal North Korean Satellite Launch Draws Superpower’s Condemnation

China - DPRK RelationsDPRKDPRK - NATO RelationsDPRK - Russia RelationsKoreaPyongyang
Christof Lehmann (nsnbc) : The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) launched the Kwangmyongsong-4 observation satellite on Sunday. The legal launch prompted NATO, Russia and China to condemn or regret the launch that despite a lack of a reentry vehicle and other preconditions for a ballistic missile is being touted as a military provocation.

Why indeed would it be so strange for Pyongyang to want to develop its capacity to launch vehicles into space, or to build functional earth observation devices? North Korea’s conception of 2012’s device as an element of projects focused on improving its agricultural capacity surely makes perfect sense given the historically haphazard nature of North Korean industrial planning.


If the satellite really does have remote sensing capacity, that could be a boon to North Korea’s ability to manage its forests and fisheries, and could greatly improve the country’s meteorological monitoring ability.


These are major domestic priorities. The Supreme Leader, Kim Jong-Un, quite unexpectedly and viciously denounced the country’s weather forecasting service in 2014, and in 2015, his government put a lot of work into developing the fishing industry and improving flood prevention and forecasting (especially after recent floods in the important Rason Special Economic Zone).


And aside from the obvious potential practical benefits, external commentators have paid scant attention to Kwangmyongsong-4’s place in North Korea’s charismatic political calendar.

Behind the Putin Invite to Kim Jong-un
Behind the Putin Invite to Kim Jong-un
In a private discussion over dinner at the World Economic Forum at Davos Switzerland back in the 1990’s, where I was present as a free-lance journalist, I had occasion to have a fascinating talk with the late James R. Lilley about world events. He was at Davos, as he privately confided, to “baby sit” a delegation of generals from China’s Peoples’ Liberation Army. The year was 1998 as I recall and China’s leaders were being wooed by the West.

Over a glass of fine Swiss wine, we talked about China and Asian politics. Perhaps because he was enjoying what he said was a very informed discussion of world politics, he never got around to asking more about who I was. I was fine with that. The talk came to North Korea which then was subject of much consternation over its nuclear weapons program. At one point Lilley blurted a profoundly useful piece of intelligence. He said to me, “If North Korea did not exist, we would have to create it to give us the excuse to keep our Seventh Fleet in Japan after the end of the Cold War.”

Lilley was no novice to the games of US geopolitics. He, like his old friend George H.W. Bush, had been a member of the Skull & Bones secret society at Yale University. He was fluent in Mandarin having been born to missionary parents in Shanghai, China. He served in the CIA as leading China expert for 30 years and later became US Ambassador to Beijing during the (US-orchestrated) Tiananmen Square student protests of 1989. Lilley knew what Washington Asia politics were.

So with that insider comment in mind, let’s look at what could possibly be behind the sudden demonization, yet again, of North Korea.



Why Now North Korea?
Why Now North Korea?
It is very, very, rare for the US Government to step in in such a private hacker case. It is even that much rarer for the US President to order sanctions against a country with whom it has ostensibly been trying to get into a negotiated deal to abandon its nuclear weapons arsenal.


The North Korean Government denied responsibility and proposed a joint independent investigation into the matter together with the United States Government, an offer Washington rejected with a contemptuous statement from White House National Security Council spokesperson Mark Stroh: “We are confident the North Korean government is responsible for this destructive attack. If the North Korean government wants to help, they can admit their culpability and compensate Sony for the damages this attack caused.”


Next we will look at what smells more and more like a US intelligence False Flag attempt to demonize North Korea anew and what in fact might be the real reason for President Obama’s bizarre new North Korean sanctions.

F. William Engdahl is strategic risk consultant and lecturer, he holds a degree in politics from Princeton University and is a best-selling author on oil and geopolitics, exclusively for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook”.

Related articles:

US Thought-Control Goes into Loop over Sony Hollywood Hack
The Interview Debacle: New Evidence Shows N. Korea Didn’t Hack Sony

 

[Unkotare]

The OP is false. China is complying with the new sanctions against NK.

 

[Unkotare]

The Chosun Ilbo (English Edition): Daily News from Korea - China Complies with Sanctions Against N.Korea

 

[Disir]

The Chosun Ilbo (English Edition): Daily News from Korea - China Complies with Sanctions Against N.Korea

And this is what is happening in the background.
Exclusive: U.N. lifts North Korea sanctions on four ships at China's request

 

[waltky]

China gonna get into it with No. Korea?...

China, North Korea exchange war of words through media
April 8, 2016 -- North Korea and China are exchanging grievances through state media, as Beijing remains staunchly opposed to Pyongyang's decision to pursue nuclear weapons.

China's state-owned newspaper People's Daily said in an editorial that in the event of instability on the Korean peninsula, owing to the "nuclear problem," a security threat "greater than the Syria crisis" could take place. Pyongyang's nuclear weapons strategy could ultimately put the regime in danger and North Korea needs to rethink its policies, the People's Daily stated.

But the criticism of North Korea could be a response to an indirect verbal attack from Pyongyang, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported. While not calling China out by name, North Korea's state news agency KCNA had slammed a country on April 1 for "subservience" to the United States in the face of "superpower pressure."

Pyongyang claimed the country was discarding a valuable friendship, a collaboration that was bonded in blood. China's Global Times has dismissed the North Korean criticism. In a recent editorial, the state tabloid had suggested it would be an "exaggeration" to say bilateral relations have changed, adding new sanctions on the North does not contradict the friendship between the two countries.

The editorial also stated it would be more challenging for China to manage the stability of Northeast Asia if Pyongyang doesn't heed the warnings against nuclear weapons development. The People's Daily went further to state North Korea has neither the intention nor the ability to wage war, and added Pyongyang's maneuvers are designed to incite anti-U.S. sentiment.

China, North Korea exchange war of words through media

See also:

Russia postpones missile technology transfer to China
April 8, 2016 - There might be concern in Moscow the technology could end up in North Korean hands.

Russia has postponed the transfer of missile engines to China, out of concern the technology could be passed on to a third country – like North Korea. Russia's space agency told local newspaper Izvestia China is not a member of the Missile Technology Control Regime, an informal and voluntary association of countries that coordinate efforts to block proliferation. In order for the transfer to take place, the Moscow space agency official said China needs a legal foundation that requires it to fulfill nonproliferation objectives, first, before trading in missile technology.

China had hoped for a supply of missile engines, Yonhap reported. The Russian official said Beijing and Moscow have formed a working group in order to find a solution. It's likely by the end of 2016 the deal would be settled, the official said. South Korea press reported there might be concern on the Russian side the technology could end up in North Korean hands.

China is a traditional North Korea ally and Pyongyang's closest economic partner. MTCR was established after an agreement was reached in 1987 among the Group of Seven or G7 countries, which includes the United States. MTCR protocol prevents the proliferation of nuclear warheads that weigh more than 1,100 pounds and missiles that travel more than 180 miles.

Concern is growing that North Korea is developing more lethal weapons of mass destruction. The Institute for Science and International Security in Washington, D.C., issued a report Tuesday, stating that it's highly likely Pyongyang has been extracting plutonium for nuclear weapons. According to the organization, it is possible the North has produced 10-15 pounds of plutonium after 2013. To manufacture one nuclear weapon, about 2-4 pounds of plutonium is required.

Russia postpones missile technology transfer to China

 

[Unkotare]

Post your own words once in a while.

 

[Bleipriester]

To manufacture one nuclear weapon, about 2-4 pounds of plutonium is required.

This is a stupid statement. What is the definition of nuclear weapon? Tactical nukes (which North Korea is developing), strategic nukes (intentional mass destruction)?

 

[waltky]

Sanctions don't seem to be havin' an effect on FatBoy...

North Korea Could Test World’s Commitment to Sanctions
April 29, 2016 — North Korea’s defiant and accelerated efforts to develop an advanced nuclear arsenal have not been deterred, so far, by the tough new United Nations sanctions imposed in March.

The latest infraction of U.N. resolutions banning Pyongyang’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs occurred Thursday, when the North attempted another intermediate range ballistic missile launch. But the missile crashed seconds after it was fired, according to the South Korean Defense Ministry. The North Korean military conducted a similar mid-range missile test earlier this month that also failed. In response to the lasted missile test, the United Nations urged North Korea on Thursday to stop "any further provocative actions" and the Security Council held a closed-door meeting to discuss if further responses should be considered. Pyongyang is also reportedly prepared to conduct its fifth nuclear test at any time, just months after it set off its last nuclear explosion in January.

Sanctions questioned

The new North Korean sanctions passed in March are considered the strongest international measures yet and are meant to pressure Kim Jong Un to reconsider his nuclear ambitions. But rather than offer concessions, the young North Korean leader has reacted to international pressure with speed and fury, increasing the number and frequency of tests and threatening nuclear strikes against the United States and its allies in Asia. “Under the current sanctions regime I see little hope for making real progress in denuclearization despite all the fuss about sanctions,” said Ambassador Chun Yung-woo, who was a South Korean national security adviser to former President Lee Myung-bak until 2013, and is now an analyst with the Asan Institute in Seoul.

A man watches a TV news program showing a file footage of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea​

Ambassador Chun was one of a number of international analysts who discussed the purpose and effectiveness of North Korean sanctions at an Asan Institute forum in Seoul this week. North Korea has been under United Nations sanctions since it conducted its first nuclear test in 2006. The new measures include banning much of the North’s lucrative mineral trade, inspecting all cargo crossing the border for illicit items, and blacklisting key officials and organizations connected to the North’s nuclear program.

China’s mixed signals

China holds the key to effective sanctions enforcement as 90 percent of all North Korean trade passes through its borders. Yang Xiyu, a North Korea analyst at the China Institute of International Studies in Beijing, said contrary to reports of lax implementation, the Chinese government has imposed strict requirements that will significantly reduce trade at the Sino/Korean border. “You need to provide a full set of documents and evidence to show the legitimacy of your deal, and such a complicated procedure technically will sharply increase comprehensive costs for businessmen,” said Yang. However on Thursday, Chinese President Xi Jinping again tempered his support for sanctions with concern for maintaining regional stability. “We will absolutely not permit war or chaos on the peninsula,” said Xi.

A Central Committee meeting is held to mark the 104th birth anniversary of North Korea's founder Kim Il Sung in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA)​

Ambassador Chun said Beijing is sending mixed signals that undermine the international commitment to sanctions. “The message that Kim Jong Un will get from China’s position is, ‘Don’t worry about serious consequences, we will pretend to take sanctions, but not unbearable sanctions,’” said Chun. If Pyongyang goes ahead as expected with its fifth nuclear test prior to the commencement of its ruling party congress next week, the international community, including China, will likely consider further sanctions that will impose economic pain beyond those targeting the military and elites. “If they go further, I believe they will receive the further shocks,” said Yang.

Iran lessons

See also:

North Korea warns U.S. of a 'dog's death' in face of sanctions
April 29, 2016 - Pyongyang’s anti-U.S. rhetoric has grown in the wake of increased diplomatic isolation.

North Korea said the United States would "die a dog's death" if it continued to engage in "rising tensions" at the truce village of Panmunjom. Pyongyang's state-controlled news agency KCNA said Friday U.S. troops were engaging in provocations at the demilitarized zone and that the threats were "getting worse." "Despite our repeated warnings, if provocations continue, then at any time, at any place, [the United States] would die a dog's death," North Korea said.

According to a North Korean Panmunjom spokesman Pyongyang's soldiers pushed out an incursion at "Oryong guard post" where an "extremely dangerous" provocation took place involving "puppet soldiers," a reference to South Korean troops. North Korea took decisive action, and the provocations took place between April 20 and 26, according to KCNA. There have been no South Korea reports of troop movements at the border. Pyongyang's anti-U.S. rhetoric has grown with U.S. sanctions against the country.

A South Korean soldier stands guard at the Dorasan Station in the Civilian Control area near the demilitarized zone in Paju, South Korea​

On Thursday a North Korean foreign ministry spokesman said the sanctions were a U.S. plot to carry out its aggression-oriented policy, Yonhap reported. "Throughout history, the United States has regarded sanctions as a major means for pursuing its foreign policy and deliberately wielded this stick against countries and people disobedient to its definition of international law," the spokesman said. North Korea also took aim at U.S. society, saying, "innocent people fall victim to shooting sprees for the mere reason that they hurt one's feelings. This is a daily occurrence in the United States."

North Korea's missile provocations have also been a source of concern. Defense One reported that a U.S. defense official said the Pentagon had no advance warning of North Korea missile launches, such as the firing of two Rodong missiles from a road mobile launcher on March 18. But the U.S. intelligence community is working on algorithms that could train computers to identify launcher-shaped objects. The $10 million project could collect information from U.S. spy satellites, manned aircraft and drones, according to the report.

North Korea warns U.S. of a 'dog's death' in face of sanctions

 

[waltky]

Sanctions gettin' personal...

Kim Jong Un slapped with sanctions for human rights violations by Obama government
Thursday 7th July, 2016 | WASHINGTON, U.S. – U.S. Obama administration reportedly announced that it will impose sanctions on North Korea’s Kim Jong Un for human rights abuse.

According to reports, this is the first time that Kim Jong Un has been singled out personally, in the many sanctions slapped on the country, and placed on the blacklist for human rights abusers along with 10 other officials. U.S. Treasury Department officials reportedly said that the secretive leader was “ultimately responsible” for what they touted as “North Korea's notorious abuses of human rights.” It was added that the sanctions are a move within an escalating campaign to attack the regime’s finances to retaliate against North Korea’s nuclear-weapon and ballistic-missiles tests. The unusual step was also taken due to reports of forced labor camps and the torture and executions of dissidents in the country.

Acting Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Adam J. Szubin reportedly said that, “Under Kim Jong Un, North Korea continues to inflict intolerable cruelty and hardship on millions of its own people, including extrajudicial killings, forced labour, and torture.” Reports added that the blacklist also reportedly names five other official organisations involved in monitoring ordinary North Koreans and keeping an estimated 80,000 to 120,000 people in camps as political prisoners. Officially, the sanctions do not hold much momentum and reportedly allows freezing of any assets that North Korea may have in the U.S., and bar interactions between North Koreans and Americans - both of which are limited or even non-existent. Although the actions were mandated as part of a February 2016 law that required the reporting of human rights violations in North Korea and imposing of sanctions, the Obama administration reportedly revealed that they had long planned to take more aggressive action.

Reports state that the sanctions will have “global financial implications for some of the individuals.” An administration official reportedly said, “The fact they are being named might not affect lives today… But in a future scenario in which the political situation in the DPRK [North Korea] is different, being on this blacklist could have a considerable impact on any prospects these people have. And I think they know it.” Kim Jong Un joins other authoritarian leaders on the blacklist for horrific conditions in their countries, including Bashar al-Assad of Syria, Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus and Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe.

Kim Jong Un slapped with sanctions for human rights violations by Obama government

 

[waltky]

Granny says, "Dat's right - Obama just startin' to deal with lil' fatboy Kim...

China criticizes U.S. sanctions against Kim Jong Un
July 7, 2016 -- China voiced its objection to a U.S. Treasury decision to sanction Kim Jong Un as a human rights offender and called the measure a "openly pressurizing" move.

Beijing's foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said Thursday China is opposed to "one country using international law as the basis for placing unilateral sanctions on another country," South Korean newspaper Kyunghyang Shinmun reported. Using the issue of human rights to openly pressure another country and creating hostility is a move that China is "consistently opposed" to, Hong said. On Wednesday for the first time the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control placed Kim among a total of 11 individuals under sanctions.

Kim is responsible for the infliction of "intolerable cruelty and hardship on millions of its own people, including extrajudicial killings, forced labor and torture," said the Treasury's Acting Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Adam J. Szubin. The action is not helpful, according to Hong. "China has consistently argued that human rights issues should be handled through constructive dialogue and cooperation on the basis of equality and mutual respect," Hong said, adding China has been duly carrying out its obligations under United Nations Security Council sanctions Resolution 2270, adopted in March.

China and North Korea have been unable to agree on Pyongyang's pursuit of nuclear weapons development, but recent diplomatic overtures have shown Beijing is willing to be flexible and pursue other forms of dialogue. Lee Hee-ok, a political scientist at Sungkyunkwan University in South Korea, said the recent meeting between North Korea's vice party chairman Ri Su Yong and Chinese President Xi Jinping included talks of a possible Kim Jong Un visit to China, News 1 reported. North Korea is looking for a way out of isolation in the aftermath of nuclear and missile tests, Lee said.

China criticizes U.S. sanctions against Kim Jong Un

See also:

U.S. official: Blacklisting Kim Jong Un is 'just the start'
July 8, 2016 - Human rights in North Korea are to be more broadly addressed, Tom Malinowski said.

Unprecedented sanctions on Kim Jong Un are "just the start" of a bigger U.S. plan to blacklist other North Korean individuals for human rights violations. Tom Malinowski, assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labor, told South Korean news agency Yonhap the sanctions announcement made Wednesday marks only the beginning of a larger movement to address human rights issues. "The list is just the start. There are I think many others who could be added to the list. We need to keep on gathering information," Malinowski said.

The U.S. official's remarks come two days after the Treasury Department named Kim a human rights offender, placing him alongside less than a dozen North Korean officials for rights abuses. Anyone who conducts trade with Kim would have their U.S. accounts frozen. North Korea has responded with fiery rhetoric, calling the blacklist an "open declaration of war." Pyongyang has also threatened to abort all diplomatic channels with the United States unless the designation is revoked, according to Yonhap.

But North Korea has made similar threats in the past, Malinowski said. "I think this is the fourth time this year that North Korea has called an action by the U.S. government or the South Korean government a declaration of war. The rhetoric is what we have become used to," the senior diplomat said. "The effect is to show these [rights abusers]: We know who you are, we know your name, we know what you do, and if things change on the Korean peninsula, there will be a very different future for you if you get involved in these cruel acts." In April, Malinowski had said North Koreans linked to human rights abuses will be held responsible in the event that Kim's regime collapses.

U.S. official: Blacklisting Kim Jong Un is 'just the start'

Related:

Report: North Korean diplomat flees Russia, seeking political asylum
July 8, 2016 -- A North Korean diplomat based in Russia has gone missing, and it is likely he is attempting political asylum with his family.

According to a Pulkovo Airport official in St. Petersburg, the diplomat left the country on a plane bound for Belarus on July 2, Ria Novosti reported. The man was identified by Russian media as Kim Chol Song, a third secretary and trade representative of the North Korean mission in St. Petersburg. Chinese state media, however, has said the man's name is Kim Chol Sam.

The diplomat, his wife and son boarded a Belavia Belarusian Airlines flight. They'd purchased the tickets three hours prior to boarding, according to the report. Fontanka, an online Russian news site, quoted a local investigator who also said the North Korean envoy had left for Belarus to seek asylum in Europe.

The flight the North Koreans boarded left at 7:45 p.m. from Pulkovo Airport, and arrived in Minsk at 9:13 p.m., Fontanka reported. Another North Korean trade representative in St. Petersburg, presumably a colleague of Kim's, told police the missing man left the diplomatic compound in a government vehicle on July 1. When the diplomat became incommunicado, the trade representative reported the incident that then led to the investigations, Yonhap reported.

Report: North Korean diplomat flees Russia, seeking political asylum

 

[waltky]

China takin' advantage of No. Korean desperation...

Report: North Korea exports of iron ore to China surging
Aug. 11, 2016 -- North Korea is exporting thousands of tons of iron ore to China.

Trade in North Korean raw materials has surged despite China's standing agreement to implement the United Nations Security Council sanctions, according to a recent report. A source in China who spoke to South Korean news service Daily NK said North Korea is exporting "thousands of tons of iron ore, daily." Iron ore is being loaded on 30- to 40t-class vehicles and being transported from the North Korean border town of Musan to China across the Tumen River, the source said. The trucks travel to Helong. Sometimes high-speed freight trains are involved in the transportation of the goods, according to the report. The source said the "sudden activities" involving North Korea is a source of bewilderment for local Chinese residents. New trade flows are also emerging in the Chinese border city of Dandong.

A source in the city told Daily NK after the Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge reopened in February, the number of vehicles going into North Korea has steadily increased. "The trucks are fully stocked with various products and equipment materials and thousands of 20t-class vehicles headed for Sinuiju [North Korea] indicate a tenfold increase than before," the source said. Locals are saying the activities are a response to retaliation for THAAD deployment in South Korea, the source said. The observations are being made at a time when China-North Korea trade has continued unabated and even increased after the adoption of stronger sanctions at the U.N.

William Brown, an East Asia specialist at Georgetown University, said trade statistics from the first half of the year indicate that trade with North Korea decreased significantly for Russia, India and Brazil. But the only major country that has not decreased North Korea trade is China, a sign North Korea is increasing its trade dependency on Beijing, Brown said, according to Radio Free Asia. China's export volume to North Korea was $796 million from April to June, up more than 31 percent from January to March, according to Chinese data and South Korean news service News 1.

Report: North Korea exports of iron ore to China surging

See also:

North Korea sold fishing rights to China for $75M, source says
Aug. 11, 2016 -- North Korea sold its state fishing rights to coastal waters on both sides of the peninsula, according to South Korean intelligence officials.

Pyongyang earned about $75 million from selling its maritime rights to China and the measure is driving the surge in Chinese fishing vessels near the peninsula, Yonhap reported. All money earned from the sales of sovereign fishing rights is going to the Kim Jong Un regime, South Korean intelligence officials say. Sales of rights cover waters proximal to the Northern Limit Line, a disputed maritime border between North and South Korea. South Korea's coast guard has been confronting the increased presence of Chinese boats in disputed as well as territorial waters in recent years.

A South Korean intelligence official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the rights are being sold through an "intermediary trading company" but that in the future North Korea is likely to be in direct charge of the sales of the rights. North Korea has allowed Chinese boats to operate in its sovereign waters since 2004, according to the official, but the agreement does not cover the area near the Northern Limit Line. The presence of about 900-1,000 Chinese boats near the NLL, however, indicates that the status quo has since changed, and that China has purchased additional fishing rights from a regime that is desperate for cash.

South Korean defense ministry spokesman Moon Sang-kyun said Thursday that specific information cannot be shared with the press but confirmed the Chinese vessels are present near the NLL in the East Sea, or the Sea of Japan. Chinese fishing boats were believed to have been in operation only along the western coast prior to the latest reports. The presence of illegal Chinese boats in South Korean territorial waters in June resulted in an unprecedented joint action by the United Nations Command in June.

North Korea sold fishing rights to China for $75M, source says

 

[idb]

Surely China's patience with NK will run out eventually...whatever that might look like.
Their test firing of missiles has caused South Korea to decide to install a missile defence system...which in turn has upset China.

 

[yiostheoy]

China expressed its opposition on Thursday to unilateral sanctions against North Korea, saying they could raise international tension.

US President Barack Obama on Wednesday imposed sweeping new sanctions on North Korea intended to further isolate its leadership after recent nuclear and rocket tests, seen by the United States and its allies as provocative.

The new sanctions threaten to ban from the global financial system anyone who does business with much of North Korea's economy, including its financial, mining and transport sectors.

The so-called secondary sanctions will compel banks to freeze the assets of anyone who breaks the blockade, potentially squeezing out North Korea's business ties, including those with China.
China opposes sanctions on North Korea

Gearing up for the ride.

No shit, because N.Korea is China's surrogate.

 

[yiostheoy]

Hillary is going to inherit this sh!thole (N.Korea).

Hopefully she can bounce her ideas off Bill.

Bill is no warrior either though.

Bill got his ass kicked in Somalia.

 

[Unkotare]

China expressed its opposition on Thursday to unilateral sanctions against North Korea, saying they could raise international tension.

US President Barack Obama on Wednesday imposed sweeping new sanctions on North Korea intended to further isolate its leadership after recent nuclear and rocket tests, seen by the United States and its allies as provocative.

The new sanctions threaten to ban from the global financial system anyone who does business with much of North Korea's economy, including its financial, mining and transport sectors.

The so-called secondary sanctions will compel banks to freeze the assets of anyone who breaks the blockade, potentially squeezing out North Korea's business ties, including those with China.
China opposes sanctions on North Korea

Gearing up for the ride.

No shit, because N.Korea is China's surrogate.

That hasn't been true for many years.

 

[waltky]

Hillary gonna get us into Korean War Pt. 2...

The coming clash with China over North Korea
If Hillary Clinton is elected, her national security team plans to urgently address the growing North Korean nuclear and missile threat. That would surely raise tensions on the Korean peninsula — and it could also lead to an early and acrimonious confrontation between a Clinton administration and the Chinese government of Xi Jinping.

Xi is staunchly opposed to Clinton’s plan to drastically increase sanctions on the regime of Kim Jong Un. At the Munich Security Conference Core Group meeting here last week, Chinese officials and experts delivered a clear and unequivocal message to the visiting Westerners: China will not take any steps against Pyongyang that might increase the chance of a confrontation with the North Korean regime or encourage regime change on China’s border.

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui said that although China might endorse a limited U.N. Security Council resolution in response to North Korea’s recent provocations, there’s no Chinese appetite for further pressure. The Chinese rationale is simple: Beijing values stability on the Korean peninsula more than it fears the growing prospect that North Korea will succeed in its goal of becoming a full-fledged nuclear power capable of striking the West. “China will never allow war or chaos on the peninsula, and if that occurs that will help no one,” Zhang said. “We need to bring the issue back to the track of dialogue and consultation.”

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un waves at parade participants at the Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea​

In Washington, there’s bipartisan consensus that returning to the negotiating table without significantly more leverage against the Kim regime would be a futile and perhaps even dangerous misstep. At best, it would only repeat a failed pattern of bribing the North Korean government into a short-term pause in its mischief. Top Clinton foreign policy advisers have been open about their intention to apply to North Korea a version of the playbook the Obama administration used with Iran. They are promising to drastically increase sanctions on Pyongyang before sitting down at the table. They are also considering secondary sanctions on foreign firms that enable North Korea’s illicit industries, which means punishing Chinese companies keeping Kim’s nuclear and missile industries afloat.

For the Chinese government, both of those ideas are seen as direct assaults on China’s primacy over an issue it considers a core interest. Rather than respond to the threat of sanctions by leaning on its client state, Beijing is more likely to buck Washington and fight back against the new policy. “If the assumption of any new American administration is that China is the one to blame and we need to put pressure on or even punish China, that would be a big mistake,” said Dong Wang, professor at the School of International Studies at Peking University. China may retaliate with punitive measures against the United States in other areas of the bilateral relationship, he said.

MORE

 

[waltky]

Preparing for Chinese intervention on the Korean peninsula...

Analyst: Preparations needed to prevent Chinese intervention in North Korea
Nov. 7, 2016 - A South Korean researcher says Seoul must act quickly to make sure another country does not make jurisdictional claims.

South Korea should be prepared for a multinational intervention in the event of "sudden changes" on the Korean peninsula, and be ready to prevent Chinese military deployment, an analyst said on Tuesday. Hong Hyun-ik, a senior researcher at the Sejong Institute, a South Korean think tank, said it would be an "urgent" priority for Seoul to block Chinese interference in the case of a political crisis in North Korea, Yonhap reported. South Korea must make sure North Korea's territory falls under Seoul's jurisdiction before another power makes the claim, Hong said.

The possibility that a third party could move on North Korea is real in the event of an emergency, according to the analyst. "China needs a new friendly regime in the North, and has a reason to want to secure weapons of mass destruction," Hong said. The researcher stated there are several scenarios in the event of a crisis such as a collapse, including the involvement of United Nations peacekeeping forces, some other type of multinational coalition, or a U.S.-South Korea joint intervention.

Hong also said the United States would prioritize the securing of nuclear weapons in North Korea, but China would concentrate on securing influence in the area. "In the event of a sudden change in North Korea, China would quickly block the border in order to prevent a mass inflow of North Koreans," Hong said. The move could involve the deployment of Chinese troops into North Korea. "Creating a buffer zone [against refugees] would be the most natural justification," for Chinese troop deployment, Hong said.

The analyst recommended the United States and South Korea, with support from the United Nations, take countermeasures against Chinese intervention by creating a buffer zone of refugee camps where North Koreans would receive assistance. On Tuesday U.S. and South Korea forces continued joint drills, this time simulating a helicopter deployment into North Korean territory, Yonhap reported.

Analyst: Preparations needed to prevent Chinese intervention in North Korea

See also:

U.S. Forces Korea conducts evacuation drill for American civilians
Nov. 7, 2016 - Troops transported military families to Japan for the first time in seven years in an annual exercise that prepares them for a scenario of war.

U.S. troops in South Korea simulated the evacuation of U.S. civilians in late October and early November in the wake of recent North Korea provocations.[ The U.S. Forces Korea exercises known as "Courageous Channel" are held annually, but according to the U.S. Eighth Army this year's drill marked the first time in seven years training was held in the most lifelike setting, should war erupt on the peninsula. U.S. troops conducted training that transported civilians to a U.S. military base in Japan, Yonhap reported. "We exercise our non-combatant evacuations operations every year but this exercise is by far the most realistic. This is the first time since 2009 we have flown family members outside of the peninsula in support of this exercise," said Justin Sturn, an evacuation expert with the U.S. 19th Expeditionary Sustainment Command.

Family members of U.S. military personnel, including children, participated in the exercises as non-combatant evacuees, according to the Eighth Army website. The families were transported to a U.S. army base in the South Korean city of Pyeongtaek then traveled to another base in Daegu on Chinook helicopters. They were then briefed at Camp Walker, weighed and processed through a relocation center, according to the military.

After spending the night in the area, they were sent to an airbase where they boarded a C-130 aircraft that departed from South Korea for Japan. The exercise was held between Oct. 31 and Nov. 3. Second Lt. Leigh Ostrander said a situation where U.S. civilians would need to be evacuated would be a "scary situation." "We need to be really aware of who we're working with and what's going through their minds as well as ours," Ostrander said.

U.S. Forces Korea conducts evacuation drill for American civilians

 

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China expressed its opposition on Thursday to unilateral sanctions against North Korea, saying they could raise international tension.

US President Barack Obama on Wednesday imposed sweeping new sanctions on North Korea intended to further isolate its leadership after recent nuclear and rocket tests, seen by the United States and its allies as provocative.

The new sanctions threaten to ban from the global financial system anyone who does business with much of North Korea's economy, including its financial, mining and transport sectors.

The so-called secondary sanctions will compel banks to freeze the assets of anyone who breaks the blockade, potentially squeezing out North Korea's business ties, including those with China.
China opposes sanctions on North Korea

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