Bharat Rakshak

At the DSC, the allies will focus on developing the so-called “4D” concept, the allies’ proactive defense concept. The 4D stands for “detect, defense, disrupt and destroy” ― the four major steps to handle Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile attacks.

The “detect” represents the allies’ procedures to track North Korea’s missile movements with various intelligence-gathering assets, while the “defense” refers to a set of the allied defensive operations to minimize any damage from potential attacks.

The “disrupt” means striking North Korea’s core missile facilities including supporting installations, while the “destroy” refers to the allies’ efforts to demolish the North’s mobile launchers, called TEL (transporter erector launcher), and incoming missiles.

“Through the operation of the DSC, the allies will be able to effectively deter and respond to North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats, based on the 4D concept and the tailored deterrence strategy,” said Seoul’s Defense Ministry in a press release.

“The DSC will also help enhance interoperability of the allied forces, and make it possible for the allies to more systematically utilize America’s capabilities ― both on the peninsula and outside it ― and South Korea’s Kill Chain and KAMD capabilities.”

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, who is presently on a four-day visit to South Korea, has held a meeting with South Korean Defence Minister Han Min-koo.

Parrikar also met Admiral Choi, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Minister Chang of the Defence Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA); National Security Advisor Kim Kwan-jin; before being received by Defence Minister Han Min-koo at a ceremonial reception at the Ministry of Defence of Korea in Seoul.

In all his meetings, the Defence Minister offered sincere condolences on the first anniversary of the Sewol ferry disaster in April 2014, in which over 300 lives were lost.

Parrikar also paid tributes to the achievements of the Korean people in building a prosperous democracy, thereby realizing the prophetic words of Gurudev Tagore that Korea would be the "shining light of the East".

During the meeting with Admiral Choi, the two sides discussed existing bilateral defence relations.

Both sides recognized that the relationship was one in which there are no obstacles to realizing the significant potential for military to military ties.

NEW DELHI, April 20 (UPI) -- North Korean foreign minister Ri Su Yong met with his India counterpart Sushma Swaraj to request food aid and other forms of humanitarian assistance.
...
Ri Su Yong's plea to India comes at a time when aid from the international community has decreased dramatically over the years.

International humanitarian aid to North Korea in 2004 was estimated to be $300 million, but it was down to $50 million by 2014.

According to an official press release from India's ministry of external affairs, Swaraj held talks with Ri in a "frank and friendly atmosphere" regarding India's security concerns and India's past humanitarian assistance to reclusive Pyongyang.

In 2011, India agreed to send emergency food supplies. According to South Korean news agency Newsis, India supplied humanitarian assistance worth $1 million that year.

Swaraj's meeting with Ri comes after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has signaled an interest in expanding India's role in the Asia-Pacific region, including the Korean peninsula.

South Korea will need to show patience and magnanimity to persuade North Koreans that unification will benefit both halves of the Korean peninsula, a group of experts said at a recent panel.

The experts told an audience at Chapman University in Los Angeles that the South should emulate West Germany's approach to the former East Germany, taking time to explain its policies and winning the trust of its communist neighbors that made unification acceptable.

"West Germany had become in most East German minds seen as an entity that they could deal with," said Lynn Turk, a member of board of directors at the Pacific Century Institute.

"The West Germans did a good job of persuading the East Germans that it was tolerable, and the South Koreans have to do that as well," he said.

Turk recommended that Seoul propose a long-term target date for unifying the wealthy, capitalist South with its poor communist northern half -- a step that "gives them enough time to do all those things that will be necessary to cushion and make unification tolerable and pleasant."

Bruce Bennett, a senior research fellow at the Rand Corporation think tank, said that North Korean residents should frequently be exposed to broadcasts and consumer goods from outside their country. Unification requires slow preparations under a detailed plan to minimize side effects.

Bennett said a recent poll of North Korean citizens living in China showed 95 percent thought life would be better if the Koreas unified, but respondents believed that the elites of North Korea were "the stumbling block."

"It's the elites with which we've got to work," he said.

Bennett argued against the temptation to conduct "deBaathification" of North Korea -- removal of all former leaders and ruling party members as was done a decade ago in Iraq after Saddam Hussein was toppled.

"If you do that, the elites will never support that unification," he said.

South Korea, with which India has trade deficit of over USD 8 billion, has sought widening of the scope of free trade agreement by including more products under the pact.

The issue came up for discussion during a meeting of Indian and Korean officials in Seoul last month.

The talks over widening of free trade agreement are likely to figure during Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's visit to South Korea in the second week of May.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also expected to visit the country later next month.

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Chinese nuclear experts believe North Korea may already have a nuclear arsenal of 20 warheads and the uranium enrichment capacity to double that figure by next year, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

The estimate, which the Journal said was relayed to US nuclear specialists in a closed-door meeting in February, is significantly higher than any previously known Chinese assessment.

It also exceeds recent estimates by US experts which put the North's current arsenal at between 10 and 16 nuclear weapons.

For example, North Korea's relations with China have not been very cordial after its third nuclear test in early 2013. Beijing started cooperating with the international community in executing sanctions on the North in an unprecedented manner.

Furthermore, exchange of missile and nuclear technologies between Pakistan and North Korea in the 1990s also brought India and South Korea closer.

However, India might be ready to help North Korea, if Pyongyang makes a constructive gesture to give up its nuclear and missile programs and adopts economic reforms. India may also be ready to provide its good office, if it's required, to move forward in the direction of Korean unification.

Russian firms to join Gaeseong complex

Timonin also told reporters that Moscow is also considering setting up a natural gas pipeline between Russia's Fast East and South Korea via North Korea, saying such a line would serve as an "energy bridge."

The gas pipeline and the Trans-Siberian Railway (TSR) connecting Russia to South Korea via North Korea are seen as two pivotal projects for energy-rich Russia to expand its economic partnerships with the two Koreas.

A group of U.S. congressmen called for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe Tuesday to issue an apology for his nation's sexual enslavement of thousands of Asian women in wartime brothels when he addresses a joint session of Congress next week.

Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA), Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY), Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) and Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) made the request in their speeches at the House.

Rep. Israel argued that the Abe's planned speech "must be honest" and address Imperial Japan's wartime atrocities, stressing that ignoring such acts would be to "ensure a very troubling future."

Decades-old ROK-US agreement finally revised

By Yi Whan-woo

South Korea and the United States reached agreement for a revision of their nuclear cooperation deal, Wednesday, allowing Seoul to expand its commercial use of nuclear energy.

Park Ro-byug, Seoul's Ambassador for Nuclear and Special Representative for the Republic of Korea (ROK)-U.S. Nuclear Cooperation, signed a provisional pact with U.S. Ambassador Mark Lippert in Seoul.

The 21-point deal will require final approval from both President Park Geun-hye and her U.S. counterpart Barack Obama to take effect.

The agreement states that South Korea has the right to peaceful use of nuclear energy as signatory to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said South Korea achieved its three goals in bilateral agreement — winning the right to deal with spent nuclear fuel, securing a stable supply of nuclear fuel and promoting the export of nuclear power plants.

The accord will allow Seoul to secure long-term advance consent from Washington for early stages in experimental reprocessing, called "pyroprocessing," including "post-irradiation examination" and "electro-reduction.

PM Narendra Modi's trip to South Korea next month as part of his three-nation tour may fetch $10-billion for his pet projects,including smart cities, Digital India and Swachh Bharat Abhiyan

India and S Korea are negotiating terms for the package, which will be funded by South Korea's Export Import Bank and the country's export council to boost India's infrastructure spending, officials told ET, indicating that the assistance could be provided on a long-term basis at reasonable interest rates. Modi's maiden trip to South Korea as PM is scheduled for May 18-19, following his trips to China and Mongolia.

Five years after the India-South Korea Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) was implemented, the two sides have begun talks to expand the deal to cover more manufacturing sectors despite New Delhi gaining little on the services front.

Sources said India has pitched for easing restrictions on export of diamonds, textiles goods and fruits and vegetables. In return, Korea is seeking lower import duty for nearly 800 items, including auto components, some steel products and electronic goods.

Under CEPA, Korea was to reduce or eliminate duties on 93% of all tariff lines or products, while India had to offer similar concessions for 85% of all tariff lines. Including the sensitive products, India has to lower duties over a nine-year period, compared to seven years for South Korea.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday that South Korea was an important pillar of India's Act East Policy.

He also said that India was committed to maximising engagement with the Asia Pacific Region.

“Korea will always be a special partner in our development journey,” he added.

PM Modi will pay a three-nation official visit to China, Mongolia and Korea from May 14 to 19.

Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to South Korea this month, the Cabinet today approved revising the double tax avoidance pact with Seoul to provide tax stability and facilitate flow of investment and technology between the countries.


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Trade and geopolitics are not the only issues that engage Prime Minister Modi and President Park Gyeun-hye. It remains to be seen if Modi will strike up as lively a friendship with his Korean counterpart — also a single person like our PM — as he has with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Advisors of Park believe that their boss is eager to establish as close a bond with Modi as Abe enjoys. Managing this India-Japan-Korea ménage a trois will test Modi’s diplomatic skills.

North Korea said on Saturday that it had successfully test-fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) — a technology that could eventually offer the nuclear-armed state a survivable second-strike capability.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, who personally oversaw the test, hailed the newly developed missile as a "world-level strategic weapon", according to a report by the official KCNA news agency.

alt
Posted : 2015-05-10 16:29
Updated : 2015-05-10 16:47
Seoul sets up task force to deal with Japan
음성듣기
By Do Je-hae

The government has established a task force to respond effectively to increasing challenges in Korea-Japan relations, according to sources Sunday.

The task force comes as part of measures to address mounting criticism of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' inability to confront properly Japan's whitewashing of wartime atrocities.

The ministry has filled the new organization with experts from within and outside.

Officials from the ministry's divisions dealing with Japan, U.S. and the United Nations have been attached to the task force. The Northeast Asian History Foundation, a state-fund think tank, is also participating.

The task force has been meeting regularly.

"It can have a positive role in coordinating decisions from various divisions charged with Japan-related issues," an official told Yonhap news agency.

During a meeting with the government on April 8, the ruling Saenuri Party proposed establishing a task force to respond to Japan's apparent distortions of historical truth about wartime atrocities.

Another state-run think tank, the Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security (IFAN), is considering setting up a "Japan research center."

These establishments are seen as part of government attempts to advance a strategic approach in dealing with Japan.

Bilateral relations have been deteriorating under the Park Geun-hye administration, due chiefly to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's actions to play down Japan's wartime crimes.

In her third year in office, Park has yet to hold a summit with Abe.

A series of moves from Japan have triggered hostility toward Tokyo here, including its recent campaign to register industrial facilities built during the colonial era on UNESCO's world heritage list.

Some Koreans forced into slavery participated in building some of these facilities.

Increasing numbers of people here are calling for a so-called "two-track" strategy in dealing with the pending issues with Japan.

Experts cite the need for the Seoul government to come up with initiatives in foreign policy and security affairs while separately addressing historical issues, including the sexual enslavement of Korean women in Japanese military brothels during World War II.

Japan has also come under fire for its claim of sovereignty over Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo.

The proposed three-way FTA, if signed, will mark South Korea's first free trade pact with Japan as Seoul and Beijing have already reached a deal on a bilateral FTA.

Seoul and Tokyo have held six rounds of FTA talks for a bilateral FTA, but the talks have been suspended since November 2004, largely due to Japan's opposition to liberalize its agricultural market.

South Korea is also considering taking part in a U.S.-led regional FTA, known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership, that involves Japan and 10 other countries.

The TPP negotiations are said to had been delayed again due to Japan's reluctance to open up its agricultural market.

Out of all 12 countries currently involved in TPP negotiations, Japan and Mexico are the only countries with which South Korea does not have a bilateral or multilateral free trade pact.

The 12 countries are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam and the United States.

The South Korean military is maintaining a powerful deterrence posture based on its joint defense arrangement with the U.S. against North Korea's unexpected military provocations, Han said, adding that plans are also in the making to come up with further countermeasures for the future. (Yonhap)

North Korea's defense minister has been executed in front of hundreds of people, South Korean media report.

South Korea Ambassador Joon-gyu Lee said that Korean companies were eager to invest in India. 'Investment should be by private companies, not government. Korea's Axim bank is to provide $10 billion to India,' said South Korea Ambassador.

SEOUL: India and South Korea on Monday signed seven bilateral agreements and agreed to upgrade ties to "special strategic partnership".

"Our relationship started with a strong economic emphasis. But, it has also now become strategic in content," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday.

"The decision to upgrade bilateral ties reflect how seriously we take the new framework of our relationship. Republic of Korea is the second country with which India will have a diplomatic and security dialogue in 2+2 format," PM Modi said while addressing a joint press conference with South Korean President Park Geun-hye in Seoul.

PM Modi said that "we consider South Korea a crucial partner in India's economic modernization".

South Korea has agreed to provide USD 10 billion to India for mutual cooperation in infrastructure comprising Economic Development Cooperation Fund and export credits for priority sectors including development of smart cities, railways, power generation.


“The Ministry of Strategy and Finance and the Export-Import Bank of Korea expressed their intention to provide USD 10 billion for mutual cooperation in infrastructure, comprising Economic Development Cooperation Fund (USD 1 billion) and export credits (USD 9 billion) for priority sectors, including smart cities, railways, power generation and transmission, and other sectors to be agreed,” according to a Joint statement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President of the Republic of Korea, Park Geun-hye, during his visit to Seoul.

The two governments and the EXIM Banks of the two countries will hold consultations to chalk out a roadmap in order to materialize the envisioned financial support for priority sectors.

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi commenced his two-day visit to Seoul Monday, South Korea has offered to set up a $10-billion fund to support several of his ambitious projects, from bullet trains to smart cities, the country's envoy to India Joon-gyu Lee has said.

"My country is offering India a financial package amounting to a total of $10 billion. This will comprise an economic development cooperation fund of $1 billion and export credits of another $9 billion," Lee said in an interview.

"This fund will be used to support several of Prime Minister Modi's initiatives on infrastructure development, including smart cities project, railways, power generation, transmission and also other sectors that can be agreed upon at a later stage," Lee added.

According to him, South Korean companies are especially interested in developing India's railroad network, ports and other modern transportation mediums. "Discussions with the relevant ministries and companies are ongoing -- like in upgrading the existing railways," the ambassador elaborated.

"South Korea has the experience in all aspects of railway development, from modernisation of the existing network to complete turnkey for high-speed 'bullet trains'. My country stands ready to work with India to develop its transportation infrastructure."

As he landed in Seoul on Monday, infrastructure, apart from the hard-sell of his "Make in India" campaign, in the typical Modi style, is set to be the cornerstone of the India premier's visit to this northeast asian nation with which India enjoys bilateral trade worth $20 billion annually.

Modi has, many a time, evinced interest in South Korea's capability in ship building and the need to boost the Indian vessel-manufacturing operations. Seoul is keen to pursue ties in this area as well.

"We are working hard on this issue. We appreciate very much the prime minister's acknowledgement for our ship-building industry. We are obliged, and priviledged, to respond to India's call for collaborations seriously," the ambassador said in the free-wheeling talk with IANS.

According to him, the prime minister's visit to the biggest shipyard in South Korea was showed how important this industry was to both nations, "I am sure our two government will find a nice way to explore the big potential of cooperation in ship-building."

India and South Korea today agreed to upgrade their ties to 'Special Strategic Partnership' and deepen cooperation in defence sector as the two sides signed seven agreements including on avoidance of double taxation.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who arrived here today from Mongolia on the last leg of his three-nation tour, held wide-ranging talks with South Korean President Park Geun-hye at Cheong Wae Dae, the office and residence of the President.

"We have agreed to upgrade the bilateral relationship to 'Special Strategic Partnership'," Modi said at a joint press interaction with President Park after their "excellent" talks.

Modi said South Korea is the second country (after Japan) with which India will have a diplomatic and security dialogue in 2+2 format, referring to a bilateral dialogue process involving the foreign and defence ministers of the two sides.

Stating that the national security councils of the two sides will have regular cooperation, Modi said the two nations have agreed to expand cooperation between their armed forces.

"We intend to deepen our cooperation in defence technology and manufacture of defence equipment in India. This sector offers huge opportunities in India," he said.

The Prime Minister said South Korean President's response has been positive on the participation of Korean companies in the defence sector in India.