Kim’s sister appears in public for 1st time since July

This undated picture released from North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on October 2, 2020, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and sister Kim Yo Jong visiting fields in Kimhwa County, Kangwon province; Photo: AFP

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s sister Kim Yo Jong made her first appearance in state media since July, an absence that speculated her power was “clipped” after she led a contentious pressure campaign against South Korea.

Kim Yo Jong joined her brother and a handful of top cadres on a tour to inspect reconstruction work to repair damage caused by massive flooding in recent weeks, the state’s Korean Central News Agency reported Friday.

The political analysts predicted that Kim Yo Jong is likely to be the successor to her brother Kim Jong Un during his prolonged absence in April raised questions about his health conditions.

She was last mentioned in state media when she joined her brother on an inspection tour of a chicken farm, which included a glimpse of her picking up a cigarette butt from her brother.

“The listing of the accompanying officials in today’s report indicates that she has not been demoted,” said Rachel Minyoung Lee, an independent political analyst who used to work for the US government in areas related to North Korea.

According to Bloomberg, Kim Yo Jong’s political status rose at the beginning of the year where she was a key player on policies toward the country’s two biggest adversaries, the US and South Korea. 

A leading South Korean newspaper, the Chosun, reported in recent days that “she might even visit President Donald Trump before the presidential election in a show of support”.

Kim Yo Jong led a series of threats and provocations against South Korea that culminated with Pyongyang in June blowing up a joint liaison office north of the border built-in 2018 as a symbol of reconciliation between the two countries still “technically” at war. 

Just as soon as it looked like more was on the way, her brother reversed course in late June and halted plans to step up provocations.

In July, she issued a message saying that North Korea had no intention of holding a meeting with Trump, calling on him to change his policy of applying sanctions against the state.

After that, she was seen absent from two key meetings in August of the ruling Workers’ Party which raised speculation that “she had fallen out of favor”. – Bloomberg. Source: https://www.daily-bangladesh.com

Read More........ → October 04, 2020

Korea punishes TikTok for data mishandling

In this file photo illustration, the logo of social media application TikTok is displayed on the screen of an iPhone, in Arlington, Virginia. TikTok has been caught up in the escalating dispute between the United States and China, with the Chinese-owned firm accused of acting as a surveillance tool for Beijing, an allegation it denies. AFP-Yonhap

By Kim Yoo-chul: The country's top telecom regulator fined Chinese video-sharing platform TikTok 186 million won ($155,000) over the app operator's mismanagement of user data, with the regulator chief Han Sang-hyuck calling it a "problematic company."

The Korea Communications Commission (KCC) said Wednesday the regulator's decision to impose the fine was based on its thorough internal investigation that uncovered TikTok's violation of local telecommunication laws.

"The KCC can confirm TikTok didn't get parental consent when collecting personal data for users younger than 14. Plus, TikTok didn't notify its users of its overseas transfer of personal data. While TikTok had promised children under the age of 14 wouldn't be able to use its service, it didn't operate a proper online age verification process," the KCC said in a statement, adding the telecom regulator also found TikTok collected data on at least 6,007 children under the age of 14 registered to the service between May 31, 2017, and Dec. 6 last year.

TikTok also transferred Korean user data to servers in the United States and Singapore without prior notice, the regulator said. With regard to the KCC's request for the latest updates on its data privacy policies, TikTok said personal information of its Korean users is being managed by cloud-computing service operators in the U.S. and Singapore.

The KCC notified TikTok of the decision Wednesday. The regulator also requested TikTok correct "all problems found" within 30 days. "The KCC ordered TikTok to immediately stop its practice of violating local telecommunication laws."

A few hours after the KCC announcement, one TikTok user in China claimed Korean K-pop stars' TikTok accounts had been deleted. TikTok accounts of some K-pop stars are still active, but some officials didn't rule out the possibility that more K-pop stars' TikTok accounts will be deleted.

Amid intense scrutiny over TikTok as a potential national security risk in the United States, top Washington officials said the United States is considering banning the use of TikTok and other Chinese social media apps such as WeChat.

White House trade adviser Peter Navarro recently claimed TikTok is one of the biggest forms of censorship in mainland China. He further alleged that "all of the data that goes into those mobile apps that kids have so much fun with and seem so convenient, it goes right to servers in China, right to the Chinese military, the Chinese Communist Party and the agencies which want to steal our intellectual property."

Launched by Chinese internet upstart ByteDance, TikTok has been working to distance itself from its Chinese association through efforts such as storing data in the United States and Singapore as well as overhauling its corporate structure, industry officials said. It remains to be seen whether or not Korean companies will join hands with Washington's calls to boycott TikTok, after Wells Fargo and Amazon asked employees to remove TikTok from their mobile phones.

As of last year, TikTok had 3.4 million users here, according to industry tracker WiseApp. Source https://www.koreatimes.co.kr

Read More........ → July 17, 2020

US 'strongly' supports inter-Korean cooperation: Biegun

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha, right, talks with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Seoul, Wednesday. / Joint press corps

US envoy has no intention to contact NK side during Seoul visit

By Kang Seung-woo

U.S. special representative to North Korea Stephen Biegun said Wednesday that the Trump administration "strongly" stands behind the government's efforts to promote inter-Korean exchanges and cooperation.

His remarks came amid lingering speculation that Washington is uncomfortable with Seoul's independent push for inter-Korean ties, as the U.S. government has repeatedly insisted that such cooperation proceed in lockstep with progress in denuclearizing North Korea.

Biegun, who doubles as the deputy secretary of state, also said contacting North Korean officials was not the purpose of his Seoul visit this time, brushing away speculations of any possible contact.

"The United States strongly supports inter-Korean cooperation and we believe this plays an important component in creating a more stable environment on the Korean peninsula," Biegun told reporters following a meeting with his South Korean counterpart Lee Do-hoon, the special representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs, at the foreign ministry in Seoul, where he also sat down with Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and Vice Minister Cho Sei-young earlier in the day.

"We look forward to fully supporting the government of Korea as it advances its goals with North Korea in inter-Korean cooperation," he added.

His remarks come as the Moon Jae-in administration is set to adopt a harder drive for independent inter-Korean exchanges and cooperation with the North, as evidenced by Friday's reshuffle of his diplomacy and national security teams, which he filled with so-called pro-North Korea figures including National Intelligence Service (NIS) director nominee Park Jie-won, a key figure in arranging the first inter-Korean summit in 2000.

Along with Park, Im Jong-seok, a former presidential chief of staff who has called for independent yet aggressive actions to improve stalled inter-Korean relations, and Suh Hoon, Moon's first NIS chief who was also involved in the 2000 inter-Korean summit, have also joined the teams as a special adviser for diplomatic and security affairs and director of the National Security Office, respectively.

Despite the U.S.' supportive stance toward inter-Korean exchanges and cooperation, Biegun failed to go into details as he parried question about the South Korea-U.S. working group. The group, set up in November 2018 to coordinate issues regarding the North, has been under siege recently for allegedly hindering progress in inter-Korean ties due to its "excessively harsh" standards adopted on the North.

Going tit-for-tat

On Biegun's visit to Seoul, North Korea said it would not meet him during his three-day stay here ― a stance announced twice, first by North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui last Saturday and then again by North Korean Foreign Ministry North America Department head Kwon Jong-gun, Tuesday, hours before the American envoy's arrival in Seoul.

Their statements came amid growing speculation that Biegun could have been carrying a message from U.S. President Donald Trump for the North, which may have included an offer to hold another summit ahead of the U.S. presidential election in November.

In response, Biegun paid them back.

"Let me clarify one thing. I've seen some press comments of late that North Koreans are not prepared to meet with me on this visit. It's somewhat strange because we did not request a visit with North Koreans. Let me be absolutely clear. We did not request a visit. This visit is to meet with our close allies. With South Koreans we had excellent discussions," he told reporters.

"I also want to be very clear on one point. I do not take my direction from Vice Minister Choe Son-hui nor for that matter do I take it from Ambassador (John) Bolton. I take my guidance from the conclusion of several meetings that President Trump and Chairman Kim (Jong-un) had over the last two years."

However, Biegun left room for negotiations with the North, saying the U.S. looks forward to continuing its work for a peaceful outcome on the Korean Peninsula.

"When Chairman Kim appoints a counterpart to me, who is prepared and empowered to negotiate on these issues, they will find us ready at that very moment," he said.

"I believe this is very much possible."Source: https://www.koreatimes.co.kr 

Read More........ → July 13, 2020