NK REPORT

Only at MHI-NK News: Pyongyang will use Olympics to “weaken” ROK-U.S. alliance: South Korean MND, By Dagyum Ji  Defense ministry says DPRK may demand end to joint drills in exchange for PyeongChang participation The South Korean military on Friday said it believes North Korea will attempt to drive a wedge between the allies and ask Seoul to put a stop to U.S.-ROK joint military drills in exchange for its participation in the 2018 Winter Olympics. The Ministry of National Defense (MND) shared the assessment of this year’s security Inter-Korean progress: what’s motivating Pyongyang? By Fyodor Tertitskiy The DPRK has made important gains, but when PyeongChang is over little will have changed Recent developments surrounding inter-Korean relations, including the agreement to allow athletes from the DPRK to participate in the Winter Olympics, have led to optimism in some quarters that the rapprochement might lead to a mid-to-long-term de-escalation of the situation on the peninsula. Beginning with Kim Jong Un’s suggestion to hold talks in his New Year speech to People of nort korean. ——————————————————— Seoul to “regularize” high-level inter-Korean talks, boost civilian exchanges,  By Dagyum Ji Unification ministry says plans have been “kicked into high gear” by PyeongChang Olympics The South Korean Ministry of Unification (MOU) on Friday unveiled plans to “regularize” high-level talks between the two Koreas and promote civilian inter-Korean exchanges, in a briefing with Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon. At a 2018 policy briefing by five government ministries, the MOU said it planned to “regularize and systemize South-North talks” to restore inter-Korean. N. Korean delegation to visit South for art troupe performance talks on Saturday, By Dagyum Ji Hyon Song Wol, head of the Samjiyon Orchestra, to lead DPRK’s preliminary inspection team Pyongyang will dispatch a delegation to South Korea on Saturday to discuss practical issues related to a performance next month by a DPRK art troupe, Seoul’s unification ministry announced on Friday. North Korea on Friday proposed sending a preliminary inspection team to examine facilities for the performance, due to take place in the South during the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.North Korea’s best-known female pop star, Hyon Song Wol, was part of the reclusive state’s delegation to rare talks with the South on Monday. Who is this woman and why was she there? —————————————————————– On the hunt for North Korea’s last Siberian tigers, By Greg Noone​ The researchers – both international and Korean – behind the search for the elusive big cat The Siberian, or Amur tiger (Panthera tigris altaica) is celebrated as a national animal of Korea. It is also widely considered to be extinct on the peninsula. Where at the beginning of the twentieth century the animal’s range encompassed the endless forests of what is now the Russian Far East, Manchuria, and Korea, now it is largely confined to a handful of reserves dotted throughout Primorsky Krai, Khabarovsk Krai, and northern China.Only around five hundred Siberian tigers remain in the wild, stalking wild boar or roe deer through the woods, or else stalked themselves by avid wildlife documentarians eager to capture the elusive cat on film. NARROW ACCESS It was to find a way to prove this that, in 1997, brought Anatolii Kachur to Pyongyang. As deputy director at the Pacific Geographical Institute in Vladivostok, Kachur had been involved in conservation projects in the region for almost two decades.The organization had been exchanging data on Siberian tigers with scientists from the DPRK for a number of years, yet without sources of funding, no joint field survey had been attempted. A pitch to UNESCO broke this impasse. “When the funding was approved, we immediately contacted the Korean side and arranged a meeting,” Kachur says. The talks in Pyongyang proved difficult; access to the desired survey sites by foreign conservation workers was not a realistic possibility. On the last day of negotiations, however, the mood abruptly changed.“According to our Korean colleagues, the final decision was made by Kim Jong Il, who personally considered the goals of this project and approved its implementation.”

Top MHI-NK Stories from around the web: 50% of South Korea against unification flag at Olympics (Korea Times) According to a poll by RealMeter, 49.4 percent of 500 people aged over 19 voted against athletes from the two Koreas marching under the flag symbolizing a unified Korea for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics set to begin next month… Foreign ministry to focus diplomatic efforts on inducing N.K., U.S. into ‘dialogue process’ (Yonhap News) South Korea will work hard to induce North Korea and the United States into a “dialogue process” based on the peaceful momentum created by the resumption of inter-Korean talks on Pyongyang’s participation in the upcoming Winter Olympics,the foreign ministry said Friday. “We decided to make a contribution to the successful hosting of the PyeongChang Olympics by opening or supporting high-level diplomatic events, while intensifying efforts to secure global understanding and support to have the recent momentum for talks turn into a peaceful resolution of the North’s nuclear problem,” the ministry said.”In particular, we emphasized that we will focus our diplomatic capacity on inducing North Korea and the U.S. into a dialogue process so that it could create a virtuous cycle of inter-Korean talks resulting in North Korea-U.S. talks,” it added. Lawmakers call for military-to-military communications with North Korea (The Hill) More than 30 lawmakers are calling on President Trump to reestablish military-to-military communications with North Korea. “The U.S. should do all in its power to avoid misunderstandings that could escalate to a greater conflict… ​Abductee families to urge Kim Jong Un be prosecuted at Hague court (Asahi Shimbun) The families of Japanese abducted by North Korea, and those believed to have been taken, will urge the International Criminal Court to prosecute the North’s leader, saying the lack of information about their loved ones is a human rights abuse. North Korea admitted in 2002 it had kidnapped 13 Japanese in the 1970s and 1980s to train spies, and five of them returned to Japan. Tokyo suspects that hundreds more may have been taken.Eight people, including Teruaki Masumoto, whose sister Rumiko is said by North Korea to have died, will travel to The Hague to urge the International Criminal Court (ICC) to prosecute North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for human rights abuses because of his refusal to provide information about their family members. The group will present a petition requesting investigation into the disappearances as a case of crimes against humanity to raise international attention about the issue, said Kazuhiro Araki, who heads a support group for families of the missing.   Launch of the “Korea Computer Center”: An E-library of North Korean Software (38 North) What does this open library of DPRK software reveal about the country’s domestic IT landscape. “The way that devices have been programmed to access the national intranet can tell us something about its structure and the security settings will provide detail on how much network-level surveillance takes place. For organizations interested in infiltrating North Korea with information, such data can be very valuable.

WHITE HOUSE REPORT

To : <redaksi@mediahukumindonesia.com>Date : Tue, 09 Jan 2018 21:47:54 +0700   Subject : 26 years later

26 years later, a president hears rural America 
On January 13, 1992, President George H. W. Bush spoke at the American Farm Bureau Federation’s annual convention in Kansas City, Missouri. Fresh off a 12-day trip to Asia, he talked about trade, security, and prosperity for rural America in the new global economy.

For more than a quarter-century, no American president returned to speak at the convention, which is a staple of the U.S. agriculture industry. Yesterday, President Donald J. Trump broke that trend.

Here is what he told the convention:

• “We have been working every day to deliver for America’s farmers just as they work every day to deliver for us.”
• Tax reform means that “American farmers will be able to deduct 100% of the cost of new equipment in the year you make the investment.”
• “We are reviewing all of our trade agreements to make sure they are fair and reciprocal.”

The President signed two orders moments after he spoke, both of which act on the recommendation of his Agriculture and Rural Prosperity Task Force to expand access to broadband internet in rural America.

Read: “Our farmers deserve a government that serves their interest.”

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The power of conservative voices 
“I think from the conservative perspective, we accomplished more thanks to President Trump’s leadership than has been accomplished in more than a generation,” Vice President Mike Pence told Dana Loesch in an interview yesterday.

The Vice President covered a lot of ground with the conservative radio and television host. The two discussed the economy, infrastructure, North Korea, and what to expect from Republicans in 2018. Loesch also asked Vice President Pence about the state of political commentary during the Trump Administration.

“The reality is that great, strong . . . [conservative voices] have, while outnumbered, served to create a tremendous counterweight,” the Vice President said.

Read the full conversation here.

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Tax reform: Where are we going?
Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Kevin Hassett shares a simple message on tax reform: Wage growth in America has been much too slow for too long, but business tax reform offers a glimmer of hope.

Here is Dr. Hassett’s breakdown:

• “Wage growth has been stagnant for much of the past two decades.”
• 
• “With the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act now enacted, America’s corporate tax position stands to encourage rather than discourage investment and therefore wage growth.”
• 
• What’s next? “The corporate income tax base stands to increase, allowing America’s tax rate to fall while revenues remain unchanged.”
• 

Read: On tax reform, where have we been and where are we going?

Photo of the Day

President Donald J. Trump participates in on field ceremonies at the 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship between the University of Alabama Crimson Tide and the University of Georgia Bulldogs | January 8, 2018 (Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead)

POTUS TODAY

This morning, President Trump will host a meeting with bipartisan members of the Senate about immigration. In the afternoon, the President will sign an Executive Order on “Supporting our Veterans during their Transition from Uniformed Service to Civilian Life.”

Later, the President will meet with Secretary of Defense James Mattis.

Vice President Mike Pence will travel to the U.S. Capitol to participate in the Senate Republican Policy Lunch.

White House Press Briefing (1/9/18):

THE WHITE HOUSE  MHI 

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Americans’ optimism about job market hit record high in 2017

Megan Brenan in Gallup News

Americans’ optimism about the U.S. job market hit its highest annual average in 17 years, according to new polling from Gallup News.

“Americans’ optimism about finding a quality job averaged 56% in 2017 . . . a sharp increase from 42% in 2016,” Megan Brenan writes. “Coinciding with rising optimism, the U.S. unemployment rate fell from an average 4.9% in 2016 to 4.4% in 2017, the lowest rate since 2000.”

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Bruce Abramson and Jeff Ballabon tick off the benefits of President Donald J. Trump’s first year in office in an op-ed for The Washington Times. “The sclerotic Obama economy had been so lackluster for so long that many economists (and all progressives) had already accepted it as the new normal,” they write. “Growth is back.”

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U.S. Secretary Of Agriculture Sonny Perdue writes in CNN that “rural broadband is our duty to farmers.” Highlighting the work of the President’s Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity, Perdue writes, “To increase access to broadband in rural areas, we must incentivize private capital investment, including the use of public-private partnerships.”

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In a piece for Washington Examiner, Justin Haskins details how “working-class families are winning big under Trump.” Haskins offers a deep dive of the most recent numbers from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, which show that the average monthly unemployment rate for Americans without a high school diploma is “the lowest it’s been since 2000.”

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Boris Epshteyn, chief political analyst at WJLA, breaks down the economic numbers from President Trump’s first year in office. “Here is the bottom line: the American economy has gained considerable strength in the first year of the Trump administration,” Epshteyn writes. “These numbers show that a positive impact is being felt across demographics.”

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Fox 5 DC reports that more than 296,000 residents of the District of Columbia will receive reduced electricity rates because of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act: “Pepco says if its plans are approved, the company plans to begin issuing credit-lowering customer bills beginning within the first quarter of 2018.”

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