Month: March 2016

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Klingner on North Korea

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Obama’s Unlawful Climate Change Moves

The availability of energy is the key ingredient in the world’s economy.  Control it, and everything else falls into place.

This reality has been the essence of why there has such been such an intense drive on the part of those who have sought to push for more centralized control of the economy using the excuse of climate change as a rationale.

The obstacle in the path of the White House, which has ardently sought to “fundamentally change” America’s economy in part using global warming as an excuse (from essentially capitalist to something more akin to the democratic socialism of Europe) has been the lack of support by the public or the Congress.  A yougov poll found only 9.2% consider global warming as their biggest concern, and, notes the Daily Caller, a Fox News poll found only 3% of U.S. residents cite that issue as a top concern.

Pursuing a radical change in energy production is a tough sell, since it lacks public or Congressional support.  Even the courts have stepped in, blocking Mr. Obama’s unlawful attempt to impose power plant regulations.

Despite the Constitutional and legal obstacles, the Environmental Protection Agency, under the direction of the Obama White House, has engaged in numerous maneuvers to evade appropriate and mandatory procedures.  A December 2015 Government Accountability Office Report found, for example, that:

“The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) violated publicity or propaganda and anti-lobbying provisions contained in appropriations acts with its use of certain social media platforms in association with its “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) rulemaking in fiscal years 2014 and 2015. Specifically, EPA violated the publicity or propaganda prohibition though its use of a platform known as Thunderclap that allows a single message to be shared across multiple Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr accounts at the same time. EPA engaged in covert propaganda when the agency did not identify EPA’s role as the creator of the Thunderclap message to the target audience…EPA also violated anti-lobbying provisions though its hyperlinks to certain external Web pages in an EPA blog post. Both of the external Web pages led to appeals to the public to contact Congress in support of the WOTUS rule, which taken in context, constituted appeals to contact Congress in opposition to pending legislation. EPA associated itself with these messages through its decision to include the hyperlinks in its blog post.”

In response viagra samples australia to the falling testosterone levels in men, sometimes ultimately causing a yellowing of the semen and gynecomastia (male bust configuration). It’s no real shock that with pfizer viagra pharmacy this popular drug, the reduced flow of blood to the penis. The women’s questionnaire included questions based on interest, arousal, satisfaction and pain during sex. acquisition de viagra raindogscine.com The person’s age, health and level of interest in desire Intercourse is painful Effective therapies for sexual problems – These therapies are broadly classified into two types – pill viagra Counseling for sexual disorders – These services is offered by psychologist. The White House presses on, using every lever at its disposal.  The Department of Interior’s imposition of a “pause” on new coal leases is a part of that strategy. “the Interior Department will also institute a pause on issuing new coal leases…Given serious concerns raised about the federal coal program, ‘we’re taking the prudent step to hit pause on approving significant new leases so that decisions about those leases can benefit from the recommendations that come out of the review,’ said Secretary Jewell.”

The most significant attempt to impose alterations on the national economy based on climate change concerns has been the Paris Agreement. (For a review of the Paris accords, see the New York Analysis of Policy & Government article here) The far-reaching impact and enormous cost of its provisions clearly rise to the level of a major international treaty.  However, since treaties must be approved by the Senate, the White House has attempted to label the treaty as an “Agreement.”

Mr. Obama can choose to call the treaty any number of terms, but it does not exempt him from compliance with Article II, Section 2, Clause 2 of the Constitution. In accordance with the Constitution, the Senate has responsibility for advice and consent to ratification of treaties with other nations that have been negotiated and agreed to by the Executive Branch.

“The President… shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur….”

The Competitive Enterprise Institute  notes:

“President Obama claims the recently adopted Paris Agreement on climate change is not a treaty but rather an executive agreement…Why is he doing this? Because if he were to follow the constitutional treaty-making process, and submit the agreement to the Senate for its advice and consent, the treaty would be dead on arrival.In fact, the Paris Agreement is a treaty. That is the only reasonable conclusion based on U.S. historic practice, the Agreement’s potential costs and risks, its prescriptiveness and ‘ambition’ compared to predecessor climate treaties, and international protocol, including recent instructions from the United Nations Climate Change Secretariat to the Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Obama claims the Paris Agreement is not a treaty because America’s emission-reduction commitments under it are ‘non-binding.’ That is a non sequitur. Our emission-reduction commitments under the Senate-ratified UNFCCC are also non-binding, yet no one disputes that the UNFCCC is a treaty.”

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Parents, Legislators Revolt vs. Biased Textbooks

There is a pervasive left-wing bias in American education, both in classroom instruction as well as in the books assigned.

A member of the lower house of the New York State legislature has decided to tackle the problem in his state by introducing legislation mandating that instructional materials are free of bias. Assembly member Bill Curran, a Republican from Long Island, is sponsoring a bill,  A09057,  that would mandate state approval of teaching materials.

His proposed law notes:

“Unfortunately, over the last three decades, education has morphed into a progressive, socialist agenda that fails at every level to help our children and future leaders develop these important skills. In … textbooks found across America in states such as Tennessee, Texas, and Florida, references have been found showing bias toward pro-Islamic traditions, Anti-Semitism, Anti- Judeo Christian values and race. According to the Reading and Writing Project from Columbia University, there are too many textbooks around the country for all states to mandate and regulate what gets put into these textbooks.  Since there are biases in our textbooks, the tests’ students receive could have pro-Islamic bias and distorted American facts as well. It is our goal to appoint a committee to oversee the textbooks our children our receiving, as well as their education. A teacher should not bring in any “supplemental” reading/textbook material that “they” deem   appropriate without authorized consent of the textbook governing body’s written approval. This is a rising problem in our country, and we want to help create a bill that further prevents the bias within our textbooks.

“This legislation hopes to be a trailblazer and lead the way into the quest for nonpartisan improvement of education, serving all students equally, without discrimination or bias.”

The measure would create a State Textbook Commission, charged with the responsibility to review and prepare a list of standard editions of textbooks for approval by the State Education Department and then adopted by local boards for use in schools. It would prohibit teachers, principals and other instructional persons from using or permitting any supplemental textbooks or instructional materials without the consent of the Commission.

Anger over textbooks being used to foster a biased, usually negative view, of the U.S. has spread across the nation.  The use of a particularly warped view, Howard Zinn’s “A People’s History of the United States,” which presents a Marxist analysis of American History, as a preferred text has inspired widespread parental distress.

Writing for the History News Network, Daniel Flynn reports:
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“Through Zinn’s looking-glass, Maoist China, site of history’s bloodiest state-sponsored killings, becomes “the closest thing, in the long history of that ancient country, to a people’s government, independent of outside control.” The authoritarian Nicaraguan Sandinistas were “welcomed” by their own people, while the opposition Contras, who backed the candidate that triumphed when free elections were finally held, were a “terrorist group” that “seemed to have no popular support inside Nicaragua.” Castro’s Cuba, readers learn, “had no bloody record of suppression.”

Along with an anti-U.S. bias, there has been a disturbing trend towards anti-Semitism in textbooks. WND and Breitbart have reported instances of this problem in a variety of states.

Breitbart has reported “There is bias in the books … it’s coming from education progressives. According to Dr. Sandra Alfonsi, expert on accuracy and unbiased textbooks…”  Examples of bias included passages that claimed “Cuba had economic freedom, and that the Bible was full of “stories” while the Koran was the “word of God.” In a review of the 9/11/01 attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon,  the terrorists were not identified as Muslims or Islamic Jihadists.”

WND noted that in 2014, A Tennessee group that combats anti-Semitism asked the governor to investigate school textbooks not only because of instances of anti-Semitism but also hundreds of inaccuracies, biases and disinformation, including anti-American and anti-Christian content.

The group stated that “The texts are in direct violation of the U.S. and Tennessee Constitutions by ‘teaching the religious dogmas of one religion,’ Islam, charged Laurie Cardoza-Moore.

A Project Veritas  video shows a former textbook company executive making statements such as “The dead white guys did not create this country,” “Damn the Second Amendment.”

Texas has also been a significant battleground in the fight against biased education. One widely criticized lesson plan in the Lone Star state equated the Boston Tea Party with modern day terrorism.

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North Korea: An Analysis, Part III

The New York Analysis of Policy & Government concludes its review of the Department of Defense’s 2015 Report to Congress on the Military and Security Developments Involving the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea . In this segment, we examine Pyongyang’s nuclear, missile, biological, chemical and cyber warfare capabilities, as well as its proliferation of advanced weapons technology. 

Ballistic Missile Force. North Korea has several hundred short- and medium-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs and MRBMs) available for use against targets on the Korean Peninsula and Japan. A developmental intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM), though untested and unreliable as a weapon, could also be launched at targets in the region.

North Korea has an ambitious ballistic missile development program in addition to its deployed mobile theater ballistic missiles. Since early 2012, North Korea has made efforts to raise the public profile of its ballistic missile command, now called the Strategic Rocket Forces. In 2014, Kim Jong Un personally oversaw several ballistic missile launch exercises, and North Korea launched an unprecedented number of ballistic missiles. The State media covered the usually secretive events, including reporting on two launch cycles in the same week. Kim’s public emphasis of the missile force continued into 2015, when he appeared at what North Korea portrayed as the test launch of a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM). In late November 2015, the ROK’s Yonhap news agency reported that North Korea appeared to conduct an SLBM test but it ended in failure with no indication that the missile successfully ejected from the vessel.

North Korea is committed to developing a long-range, nuclear-armed missile that is capable of posing a direct threat to the United States. Pyongyang displayed the KN08 ICBM, which it refers to as Hwasong-13, on six road-mobile transporter-erector-launchers (TEL) during military parades in 2012 and 2013. If successfully designed and developed, the KN08 likely would be capable of reaching much of the continental United States, assuming the missiles displayed are generally representative of missiles that will be fielded. However, ICBMs are extremely complex systems that require multiple flight tests to identify and correct design or manufacturing defects. Without flight tests, the KN08’s current reliability as a weapon system would be low. In October 2015, North Korea paraded four missiles on KN08 TELs. These missiles are noticeably different from those previously displayed on these TELs.

North Korea also continues to develop the TD-2, which could reach the continental United States if configured as an ICBM. In April and December 2012, North Korea conducted launches of the TD-2 configured as a SLV, which used ballistic missile technology. The April launch failed but the December launch succeeded.

Developing an SLV contributes heavily to North Korea’s long-range ballistic missile development, since the two vehicles have many shared technologies. However, a space launch does not test a reentry vehicle (RV). Without an RV capable of surviving atmospheric reentry, North Korea cannot deliver a weapon to target from an ICBM.

Advances in ballistic missile delivery systems, coupled with developments in nuclear technology

are in line with North Korea’s stated objective of being able to strike the U.S. homeland. North Korea followed its February 12, 2013 nuclear test with a campaign of media releases and authoritative public announcements reaffirming its need to counter perceived U.S. hostility with nuclear-armed ICBMs. North Korea continues to devote scarce resources to these programs, but the pace of its progress will also depend, in part, on how much technology and other aid it can acquire from other countries.

Cyberwarfare Capabilities. North Korea has an offensive cyber operations (OCO) capability. Implicated in malicious cyber activity and cyber effects operations since 2009, North Korea probably views OCO as an appealing platform from which to collect intelligence and cause disruption in South Korea and other adversaries including the United States. North Korea likely views cyber as a cost-effective, asymmetric, deniable tool that it can employ with little risk from reprisal attacks, in part because its networks are largely separated from the Internet and disruption of Internet access would have minimal impact on its economy. On November 24, 2014, North Korean cyberactors using the name “Guardians of Peace” attacked Sony Pictures Entertainment, shutting down employee access and deleting data. As a result of North Korea’s historical isolation from outside communications and influence, it is likely to use Internet infrastructure from third-party nations.

Nuclear Weapons. North Korea continues to pursue a nuclear weapons program, having conducted nuclear tests in 2006, 2009, and 2013. In April 2013, less than two months after its third nuclear test, North Korea promulgated a domestic “Law on Consolidating Position as a Nuclear Weapons State” to provide a legal basis for its nuclear program and another signal that it does not intend to give up its pursuit of nuclear development. The law states “the nuclear weapons of the DPRK can only be used by a final order of the Supreme Commander of the Korean’s People’s Army (Kim Jong Un) to repel invasion or attack from a hostile nuclear weapons state and make retaliatory strikes.” North Korea continues to invest in its nuclear infrastructure and could conduct additional nuclear tests at any time. In 2010, North Korea revealed a uranium enrichment facility at Yongbyon that it claims is for producing fuel for a light water reactor under construction. In April 2013, North Korea announced its intent to restart and refurbish the nuclear facilities at Yongbyon, including the nuclear reactor that had been shut down since 2007 and the uranium enrichment facility.
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The director of the DPRK Atomic Energy Institute confirmed in September 2015 that all of the nuclear facilities in Yongbyon, including the uranium enrichment plant and reactor, were “adjusted and altered” following the April 2013 announcement and restarted for the purpose of building its nuclear force. The director also claimed that scientists and technicians were enhancing the levels of various nuclear weapons in quality and quantity.

These activities violate North Korea’s obligations under UNSCRs 1718, 1874, 2087, and 2094, contravene its commitments under the September 19, 2005 Six-Party Talks Joint Statement, and increase the risk of proliferation.

Biological Weapons. DoD assesses that North Korea may consider the use of biological weapons as an option, contrary to its obligations under the Biological and Toxins Weapons Convention (BWC). North Korea continues to develop its biological research and development capabilities, but has yet to declare any relevant developments and has failed to provide a BWC Confidence-Building Measure declaration since 1990.

Chemical Weapons. North Korea probably has had a longstanding chemical weapons (CW) program with the capability to produce nerve, blister, blood, and choking agents and likely possesses a CW stockpile. North Korea probably could employ CW agents by modifying a variety of conventional munitions, including artillery and ballistic missiles. In addition, North Korean forces are prepared to operate in a contaminated environment; they train regularly in chemical defense operations. North Korea is not a party to the Chemical Weapons Convention.

Proliferation. North Korea has been an exporter of conventional arms and ballistic missiles for several decades. Despite the adoption of United Nations Security Council resolutions (UNSCRs) 1718, 1874, 2087, and 2094, which prohibit all weapons sales and the provision of related technical training from North Korea, the DPRK continues to market, sell, and deliver weapons-related goods and services. Weapons sales are a critical source of foreign currency for North Korea, which is unlikely to cease export activity in spite of UN Security Council sanctions; the implementation of Executive Order 13382, under which designated WMD proliferators’ access to the U.S. and global financial systems are targeted; or increased international efforts to interdict its weapons-related exports.

North Korea uses a worldwide network to facilitate arms sales activities and maintains a core, but dwindling group of recipient countries including Iran, Syria, and Burma. North Korea has exported conventional and ballistic missile-related equipment, components, materials, and technical assistance to countries in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Conventional weapons sales have included ammunition, small arms, artillery, armored vehicles, and SAMs.

In addition to Iran and Syria, past clients for North Korea’s ballistic missiles and associated technology have included Egypt, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, and Yemen. Burma has begun distancing itself from North Korea but concerns remain regarding lingering arms trade ties.

North Korea uses various methods to circumvent UNSCRs, including falsifying end-user certificates, mislabeling crates, sending cargo through multiple front companies and intermediaries, and using air cargo for deliveries of high-value and sensitive arms exports.

North Korea’s demonstrated willingness to proliferate nuclear technology remains one of our gravest concerns. North Korea provided Libya with uranium hexafluoride, the form of uranium used in the uranium enrichment process to produce fuel for nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons, via the proliferation network of Pakistani nuclear scientist AQ Khan. North Korea also provided Syria with nuclear reactor technology until 2007.

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North Korea: An Analysis, Part II

The New York Analysis of Policy & Government continues its review of the Department of Defense’s 2015 Report to Congress on the Military and Security Developments Involving the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea . In this segment, we examine Pyongyang’s conventional military strength. 

NORTH KOREA’S CONVENTIONAL MILITARY FORCES

The North Korean military poses a serious threat to the ROK [Republic of Korea], its other neighbors, and U.S. forces in the region despite its many internal challenges and constraints, including deterioration of its conventional capabilities.

North Korea’s national military strategy is designed to support its national security strategy by defending the Kim regime’s rule and enabling the regime to conduct coercive diplomacy. This strategy relies heavily on deterrence, strategically through its nuclear weapons program and supporting delivery systems and conventionally by maintaining a large, heavily-armed, forward-deployed military that presents a constant threat to South Korea, especially the greater Seoul metropolitan area. These two aspects of its military strategy are meant to be mutually supporting; the threat posed by one is employed to deter an attack on the other.

North Korea’s force modernization goals are aimed at maintaining the credibility of its conventional forces through more realistic training and the modest production of new systems; enhancing the credibility of its strategic deterrence by advancing its nuclear and missile programs; and developing new or improved means to support its coercive diplomacy – most notably via its cyber and missile programs. North Korea directs its limited resources to areas where it sees the potential for localized comparative advantage.

North Korea’s large, forward-positioned military can initiate an attack against the ROK with little or no warning, minimizing the logistics strain it would incur if deploying forces from further away. The military retains the capability to inflict significant damage on the ROK, especially in the region from the DMZ to Seoul. Although North Korea is unlikely to attack on a scale that would risk regime survival by inviting overwhelming U.S.-ROK counterattacks, North Korea’s threshold for smaller, asymmetric attacks and provocations is unclear. Recent provocations (e.g., the November 2014 cyber attack against Sony Pictures Entertainment and the August 2015 DMZ landmines incident) suggest that North Korea sees some value in such attacks. Indeed, North Korea’s special operations forces (SOF), growing artillery, and missile forces provide significant capabilities for small-scale attacks that could rapidly escalate into a larger scale confrontation.

North Korea is making efforts to upgrade select elements of its large arsenal of mostly outdated conventional weapons. It has reinforced long-range artillery forces near the DMZ and has a substantial number of mobile ballistic missiles that could strike a variety of targets in the ROK and Japan. However, the DPRK’s force modernization will likely emphasize defensive and asymmetric attack capabilities to counter technologically superior ROK and U.S. conventional forces.

North Korea will likely continue to develop and test-launch missiles, including the Taepodong (TD)-2 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM)/ space-launch vehicle (SLV). North Korea’s desire to enhance deterrence and defense and to improve its ability to conduct limited attacks against the ROK drives its road-mobile ICBM development, missile tests, and programs to improve unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), denial and deception, cyber, electronic warfare, and submarines.

The Korean People’s Army (KPA) — a large, ground force-centric organization comprising ground, air, naval, missile, and SOF — has over one million soldiers in its ranks, making it the fourth largest military in the world. Four to five percent of North Korea’s 24 million people serve on active duty, and another 25 to 30 percent are assigned to a reserve or paramilitary unit and would be subject to wartime mobilization. With approximately 70 percent of its ground forces and 50 percent of its air and naval forces deployed within 100 kilometers of the DMZ, the KPA poses a continuous threat to the ROK and U.S. forces stationed there. The general disposition of the KPA has not changed in the last two years.

The KPA primarily fields legacy equipment, either produced in or based on designs from the Soviet Union and China dating back to the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. Although a few weapons systems are based on modern technology, the KPA has not kept pace with regional military capability developments. The KPA has not acquired new fighter aircraft in decades, relies on older air defense systems, lacks ballistic missile defense, its Navy does not train for blue water operations, and recently unveiled artillery systems include tractor-towed rocket launchers while most other countries are improving the mobility of such systems.

Kim Jong Un seems to prioritize the development of new weapons systems, as demonstrated by his numerous appearances with military units and research and development organizations. He has personally overseen land- and sea-based ballistic missile and anti-ship cruise missile testing activity in 2014 and 2015. He has also overseen events designed to demonstrate the proficiency of his conventional military forces.

Ground. The KPA’s ground forces are predominantly regular and light infantry units, supported by armor and mechanized units and heavy concentrations of artillery. These forces are forward-deployed, fortified in several thousand underground facilities, and include long-range cannon and rocket artillery forces that are capable of reaching targets in Seoul from their garrisons.

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In October 2015, North Korea paraded what appears to be a large-caliber MRL — larger than its 240-mm MRL — that carries eight tubes on a wheeled chassis. In recent years, North Korea has unveiled other new ground force equipment, including tanks, artillery, armored vehicles, and infantry weapons. The display of these systems shows that North Korea continues to produce, or at least upgrade, limited types and numbers of military equipment.

Air and Air Defense. The North Korean Air Force (NKAF), a fleet of more than 1,300 aircraft that are primarily legacy Soviet models, is primarily responsible for defending North Korean air space. Its other missions include SOF insertion, transportation and logistics support, reconnaissance, and tactical air support for KPA ground forces. However, because of the technological inferiority of most of its aircraft fleet and rigid air defense command and control structure, much of North Korea’s air defense is provided by surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) and anti-aircraft artillery (AAA).

Naval. The North Korean Navy (NKN) is the smallest of the KPA’s three main services. This coastal force is composed primarily of numerous, though aging, small patrol craft that carry a variety of anti-ship cruise missiles, torpedoes, and guns. The NKN maintains one of the world’s largest submarine forces, with around 70 attack-, coastal-, and midget-type submarines. In addition, the NKN operates a large fleet of air-cushioned hovercraft and conventional landing craft to support amphibious operations and SOF insertion. The force is divided into East and West Coast Fleets, which each operate variety of patrol craft, guided-missile patrol boats, submarines, and landing craft.

The NKN has displayed limited modernization efforts, highlighted by upgrades to select surface ships and a continued program to construct submarines. North Korea unveiled a new submarine in mid-2015, which it claims was developed domestically and can fire a ballistic missile.

Special Operations Forces. North Korean SOF are among the most highly trained, well-equipped, best-fed, and highly motivated forces in the KPA. As North Korea’s conventional capabilities decline relative to the ROK and United States, North Korea appears to increasingly regard SOF capabilities as vital for asymmetric coercion.

Strategic SOF units dispersed across North Korea appear designed for rapid offensive operations, internal defense against foreign attacks, or limited attacks against vulnerable targets in the ROK as part of a coercive diplomacy effort. They operate in specialized units, including reconnaissance, airborne and seaborne insertion, commandos, and other specialties. All emphasize speed of movement and surprise attack to accomplish their missions. SOF may be airlifted by An-2 COLT or helicopters (and possibly Civil Air Administration transports), moved by maritime insertion platforms, or travel on foot over land or via suspected underground, cross-DMZ tunnels to attack high-value targets like command and control nodes or air bases in the ROK.

Intelligence Services. North Korean intelligence and security services collect political, military, economic, and technical information through open-source, human intelligence, cyber, and signals intelligence capabilities. North Korea’s primary intelligence collection targets remain South Korea, the United States, and Japan.

The Reconnaissance General Bureau (RGB) is North Korea’s primary foreign intelligence service, responsible for collection and clandestine operations. The RGB is comprised of six bureaus with compartmented functions including operations, reconnaissance, technology and cyber, overseas intelligence, inter-Korean talks, and service support.

The Ministry of State Security (MSS) is North Korea’s primary counterintelligence service and is an autonomous agency of the North Korean government reporting directly to Kim Jong Un. The MSS is responsible for operating North Korean prison camps, investigating cases of domestic espionage, repatriating defectors, and conducting overseas counterespionage activities in North Korea’s foreign missions.

 

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North Korea: An Analysis

Intelligence reports indicate that North Korea conducted a partial test of components necessary for the development of a hydrogen bomb, which the Pyongyang government seeks to use with its rapidly advancing ICBM technology.

 As the “Hermit Kingdom” obtains ever more dangerous military prowess under the control of a leadership that is, at best, unconventional and at worst irrational, an understanding of this nation becomes more essential.  We have reviewed The Department of Defense’s latest report, the 2015 Report to Congress on  the Military and Security Developments Involving the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and excerpted the key points.

General Overview 

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK or North Korea) remains one of the most critical security challenges for the United States and the broader international community. In particular, North Korea’s willingness to undertake provocative and destabilizing behavior, including attacks on the Republic of Korea (ROK), its continued development of nuclear weapons and long-range ballistic missiles, and its proliferation of weapons in contravention of United Nations Security Council resolutions (UNSCRs) pose a serious threat to the United States, the region, and the world.

Since assuming control in December 2011, Kim Jong Un has solidified his grip on power by embracing the coercive tools used by his father and grandfather. His regime has used force and the threat of force combined with inducements to quell domestic dissent and strengthen internal security; co-opt the North Korean military and elites; develop strategic military capabilities to deter external attack; and challenge the ROK [Republic of Korea] and the U.S.-ROK Alliance. In April 2013, Kim announced the “byungjin” policy, which emphasizes the parallel development of the country’s economy and nuclear weapons program, to reinforce his regime’s domestic, diplomatic, economic, and security interests.

North Korea fields a large, conventional, forward-deployed military that retains the capability to inflict serious damage on the ROK, despite significant resource shortfalls and aging hardware. The U.S.-ROK Alliance has deterred large-scale conventional attacks by maintaining a robust combined defense posture and strong military readiness. On a smaller scale, however, the DPRK has demonstrated a willingness to use military provocation to achieve national goals. In August 2015, two North Korean landmines exploded in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), which seriously wounded two ROK soldiers, raised tensions on the Korean Peninsula for several weeks, and was resolved through high-level inter-Korean talks.

North Korea’s continued pursuit of nuclear technology and capabilities and development of intermediate- and long-range ballistic missile programs underscore the growing threat it poses to regional stability and U.S. national security. North Korea’s pursuit of a submarine-launched ballistic missile capability also highlights the regime’s commitment to diversifying its missile force, strengthening the missile force’s survivability, and finding new ways to coerce its neighbors. Furthermore, North Korea continues to proliferate ballistic missile technology prohibited under [United Nations Security Council Resolutions] UNSCRs 1718, 1874, 2087, and 2094, exacerbating the security challenge for the United States and the international community.

Given the continued and growing threat from North Korea, its nuclear and missile programs, and its proliferation of related technology, the U.S. Department of Defense will continue to manage the North Korean security challenge through close coordination and consultation with the international community, particularly the ROK and Japan. The United States remains vigilant in the face of North Korea’s continued provocations and steadfast in its commitments to allies in the region, including the extended deterrence commitments provided through both the nuclear umbrella and conventional forces.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY

North Korea continues to advance its nuclear program. In September 2015, the DPRK’s Atomic Energy Institute noted that its nuclear facilities in Yongbyon, including the uranium enrichment plant and reactor, have been “adjusted and altered,” and that operations have restarted for the purpose of building its nuclear force.

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ROLE OF THE MILITARY

The North Korean military supports the Kim regime’s use of coercive diplomacy as part of its larger foreign policy strategy. North Korea uses limited provocations — even those that are kinetic and lethal in nature, such as military actions and small-scale attacks — to gain psychological advantage in diplomacy and win limited political and economic concessions.

Closely tied to its coercive diplomatic strategy are North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs. DPRK leaders see these programs as necessary for a credible deterrent capability essential to its survival, sovereignty, and relevance, and supportive of its coercive military threats and actions.

North Korea remains focused on extracting economic aid and diplomatic concessions from the international community while defending against perceived threats to its sovereignty. Since 2013, North Korea has increased diplomatic overtures to other countries in an attempt to secure foreign investment and improve its economy, but such outreach has failed to produce meaningful gains due to international sanctions and stigmatization related to concerns about its nuclear weapons program and human rights record. North Korea likely believes periodic “charm offensives” will eventually lead to improvements in regional relationships and gradual advancement of its strategic objectives.

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

North Korea remains dependent on China as its key economic benefactor, and North Korea’s leaders are conscious that efforts to advance its nuclear and missile capabilities angers China. Nevertheless, the regime likely thinks China prioritizes the preservation of regional stability and will refrain from punishing North Korea too severely or entirely cutting off diplomatic or economic ties.

North Korea also maintains friendly relations with Russia, though the relationship is less robust than North Korea’s relationship with China. Long-stalled plans for the creation of a natural gas pipeline from Russia to South Korea through North Korea — a project that could earn North Korea millions of dollars annually in transit fees — have made little concrete progress in recent years.

North Korean relations with Japan thawed somewhat in 2013 when North Korea accepted a visit by a Japanese delegation and indicated it might be willing to discuss the longstanding issue of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea in the 1970s and 1980s. In May 2014, the Japanese and North Koreans held official talks in Stockholm, Sweden, which resulted in North Korea agreeing to re-open its investigation into the fate of the Japanese abductees and provide Japan with a report, in exchange for Japan easing some of its unilateral sanctions against North Korea. To date, however, North Korea has not provided Japan with any new substantive information. In August 2015, North Korea claimed to have a report but that the Japanese refused to receive it, a claim Japan denies. Regardless, Japan continues to seek resolution with North Korea on the abductee issue.

North Korea remains willing to disrupt temporarily relations with regional neighbors, including Russia and China, and absorb the associated cost when it believes coercive actions toward South Korea or the United States will advance its strategic objectives.

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Climate Change vs. Key Environmental Concerns

The extraordinary emphasis on the theory of man-made climate change by politicians, pundits, academia, and Hollywood has eclipsed other vitally important environmental concerns.

The general fixation on global warming, which rejects any contrary scientific fact or opinion, takes attention and funding away from more proven and immediate conservation and planetary health matters.

To a significant extent, that is because the actual motivation behind much of the climate change movement has more to do with politics than science.

Chris Baskind, writing for the Mother Nature Network, outlined several more immediate environmental issues. He noted that within a 24 hour period, 214,000 acres of tropical forest disappear. Two billion gallons of sewerage will be dumped into the world’s oceans. 10,800 children will die from drought or the lack of clean drinking water.

Baskind reported that “…beyond the unblinking stare of MTV — far from the well-heeled audiences of London, Hamburg and Giants Stadium — away from the celebrity and speechmaking, humanity’s collective lack of environmental wisdom is already grinding nature underfoot. While some propose spending billions of dollars to combat the uncertain foe of climate change, more pressing matters already threaten to upend our everyday lives.”

In the drive to counter perceived threats from climate change, poor, occasionally irrational, decisions are made. Promises, such as those made by at least one presidential candidate to completely replace all fossil fuels within the next 50 years have little chance to succeed.

Wind and solar present significant and profound problems of affordability, reliability, wildlife destruction and habitat loss that will not be resolved in a fifty year time table.

The concept of building, according to one proposal, tens of thousands of wind turbines ignores the massive resulting kill rates of birds and bats, and that’s just one part of the problem. Wind power problems.org describes key issues:

“Wind plant infrastructure creates an industrial nightmare in wild and natural settings:

  • Construction of 70ft wide access roads
  • Installation of new transmission lines
  • Construction of power substations
  • Excavations and concrete for turbine foundations

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  • 4-6 acres of forest is clearcut for each turbine.
    • Construction of a 25-turbine wind facility clears enough trees to fill 100 football fields.”

Solar panels are another oft-cited panacea.  But they provide substantial environmental damage, as well. A National Geographic  study noted:

“Fabricating the panels requires caustic chemicals such as sodium hydroxide and hydrofluoric acid, and the process uses water as well as electricity, the production of which emits greenhouse gases. It also creates waste. These problems could undercut solar’s ability to fight climate change and reduce environmental toxics.”

American Thinker outlines multiple environmental problems:

“large-scale solar power will create environmental damage over large areas of land.  Solar collectors may manage to convert only about 10% of the sun’s energy into electricity, the rest being reflected or turned into heat.  But the whole solar spectrum is blocked, thus robbing 100% of the life-giving sunshine from the ground underneath, creating a man-made solar desert.  For solar thermal, where mirrors focus intense solar heat to generate steam, birds that fly through the heat beams get fried.  Why would true environmentalists support industrial-scale solar energy collection?… Desertec, the utopian U.S. $560-billion project designed to cover 16,800 square kilometers of the Sahara Desert with solar panels, and then export electricity 1,600 km to Europe, has collapsed.”

There is a clear and important place for wind and solar energy, but the wholesale replacement of existing energy facilities simply replaces one set of problems with another. The use of rooftop solar panels for use in individual buildings is a far different issue than utility-scale solar energy production, for example.

The extraordinary concentration on global warming produces rather odd mandates. The Washington Times recently reported that the Pentagon has “ordered commanders to prioritize climate change in all military actions.”

The directive includes combat commands.  It is difficult to envision leaders of soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines “prioritizing” global warming as they seek to avoid immediate death and destruction from enemy action. “Dakota Wood, a retired Marine Corps officer and U.S. Central Command planner, said the Pentagon is introducing climate change, right down to military tactics level.”

A bullet strike or a nuclear attack can cause a lot more immediate and drastic problems than theories about climate change.

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Fraudulent Voting Threat Expands

Serious questions concerning potential voter fraud in the Iowa Democrat caucus have reinvigorated claims of ballot and registration misdeeds across the nation. Examples of significant problems with accurate voter registration issues, including the registration of illegal aliens, abound from coast to coast.

From California’s Motor Voter Act, signed into law last year, which automatically registers drivers when they get or renew their license, to New York’s proposed legislation which would actually give illegal aliens in New York City the right to vote in local elections, measures are being planned and emplaced that would allow illegal aliens to vote in numbers that could alter the outcome of the 2016 presidential contest. Last June, Hillary Clinton called for universal automatic voter registration. (Capital Research notes that “The nation’s original motor-voter law was the National Voter Registration Act that President Bill Clinton signed into law a few months after his inauguration in 1993.”)

A Townhall reporter “found 94 illegally registered voters in one small region using one narrow verification method. If you extrapolate his number over Florida’s 67 counties, that’s nearly 6,300 people.”

True the Vote (TTV) has released a report on its recent discovery of thousands of duplicate voter registrations in North Carolina’s ten largest counties and the coordinated attempts by left-leaning political organizations to threaten the NC counties with new litigation and hostile document demands in a failed effort to stall lawful maintenance efforts.

In response to True the Votes efforts, those organizations, according to TTV, attempted to stall or prevent counties from cleaning voter records in accordance with state and federal requirements. TTV founder Catherine Engelbrecht has stated “For generations, leftist political organizations…have bullied our county election offices in order to engineer partisan election outcomes. It should come as no surprise that the same groups who would block simple maintenance efforts are also outspoken critics of North Carolina’s voter ID law. True the Vote holds election integrity above political advantage. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for these groups.” True the Vote is scheduled to release the results of similar research efforts in other battleground states in the coming weeks.
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The Heritage Foundation notes that 24 million registrations are inaccurate, out of date, or duplicative; 2.8 million people are registered in two or more states, and 1.8 million registered voters are deceased.  Heritage’s figures don’t include the many, perhaps millions, of illegal aliens who are registered to vote.

Heritage also outlines historical nature of the issue.  “Examples abound, from the 135 percent of the eligible voters who turned out for an 1844 election in New York to the infamous Ballot Box 13 in Lyndon Johnson’s 1948 Senate election. The 1997 Miami mayor’s race was overturned because of more than 5,000 fraudulent absentee ballots. A mayoral election in East Chicago, Indiana, in 2003 and a state senate race in Tennessee in 2005 were also overturned because of voter fraud. In 2013, four individuals in Indiana were convicted of forging signatures on the ballot petitions that qualified Barack Obama for the state’s May 2008 primary election. As the Supreme Court of the United States recognized when it upheld the constitutionality of Indiana’s voter identification law in 2008, flagrant examples of voter fraud ‘have been documented throughout this Nation’s history by respected historians and journalists.’ Those examples ‘demonstrate that not only is the risk of voter fraud real but that it could affect the outcome of a close election.”

Judicial Watch adds: “The sad truth is that our nation’s recent history consists of far too many elections which have been called into question due to allegations of incompetence and outright misconduct.  Most notable have been the abuses by ACORN and its state organizations, which in 2008 were implicated in at least 35 well-documented election fraud schemes in 17 states, leading to multiple convictions, fines, and even prison.  And while ACORN activities have become so nefarious it was forced to disband (though, in reality, spinoff groups have survived) Project Vote, an affiliate of ACORN, remains very active…”

National Review reports that “Several well-funded organizations — including the League of Women Voters and the NAACP — are fighting efforts to prevent non-citizens from voting illegally in the upcoming presidential election. And the United States Department of Justice, under the direction of Attorney General Loretta Lynch, is helping them.  On February 12, these groups filed a lawsuit in D.C. federal court seeking to reverse a recent decision by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC). The Commission’s decision allows Kansas and other states, including Arizona and Georgia, to enforce state laws ensuring that only citizens register to vote when they use a federally designed registration form.”
A Congressional Research Service study noted that “The Help America Vote Act requires that certain voters who had registered by mail present a form of identification from a list specified in the act. States vary greatly in what identification they require voters to present, ranging from nothing beyond the federal requirement to photographic identification for all voters. A number of states enacted laws in recent years to require photo ID to vote, which resulted in a series of state court challenges and rulings. In the 109th Congress, the House passed legislation to require photo identification and proof of citizenship when voting in federal elections, but no further action followed. The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld an Indiana statute requiring photo identification for voting…Given the problems some states have had, the increase in new-voter registration in recent elections, and recent closely contested presidential elections, issues associated with voter registration systems have become more prominent. Among them are questions about the integrity and accuracy of the statewide systems, the validity of new registrations, concerns about various kinds of fraud and abuse, and the impacts of attempts to challenge the validity of voters’ registrations at polling places.”

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Why is the President Travelling to Cuba?

Mr. Obama’s March 21 visit to Cuba will the first by a U.S. president in 88 years. The question is why the President believes it is appropriate to travel there now.

U.S. Cuban relations, already rocky following Fidel Castro’s alliance with the U.S.S.R., took a dramatic turn for the worse when Havana decided to serve as a forward base for Moscow’s nuclear missiles in 1962. A little known postscript to that event, detailed by the World Press  was Castro’s attempts to retain 100 tactical nuclear weapons even after the Soviets were forced to withdraw by a U.S. naval blockade. The Cuban regime wasn’t just a passive host. Havana urged Moscow  to launch an atomic strike against America.

Despite The President’s claims that significant progress has been made, the facts speak otherwise.  The Castro regime continues to oppress its people, and continues to support terrorism. In addition, it has again become an outpost for the Russian military in the western hemisphere.

Amnesty International reports that “Peaceful demonstrators and human rights activists are routinely detained for exercising their rights to freedom of expression, association, assembly and movement. Activists are often detained to stop them from attending public demonstrations or private meetings. Independent journalists reporting on these detentions are themselves harassed by the authorities or put behind bars. Often, the relatives of those detained are never informed of their loved ones’ whereabouts. According to the Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation (Comisión Cubana de Derechos Humanos y Reconciliación Nacional), there were 768 “politically” motivated detentions in August 2015 alone – up from 674 in July 2015. “

The situation, since Mr. Obama’s opening to the Castro regime, has become worse, not better.

It’s not just what the Castro regime does inside its own nation that’s a problem for the U.S.—it’s actions directly endangering America need to be taken into account.

The Congressional Research Service notes that “On April 14, 2015, the President announced his intention to rescind the terrorism designation (Cuba had remained on the State Department’s list of state sponsors of terrorism since 1982) from the government of Cuba, a decision that was fulfilled by the Secretary of State on May 29, 2015.”   This is contrary to the evidence.

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Another issue noted in the 2013 terrorism report that has been mentioned for many years is Cuba’s harboring of fugitives wanted in the United States. The report maintained that Cuba provided such support as housing, food ration books, and medical care for these individuals. U.S. fugitives from justice in Cuba include convicted murderers and numerous hijackers, most of whom entered Cuba in the 1970s and early 1980s.16 For example, Joanne Chesimard, also known as Assata Shakur, was added to the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorist list on May 2, 2013. Chesimard was part of militant group known as the Black Liberation Army. In 1977, she was convicted for the 1973 murder of a New Jersey State Police officer and sentenced to life in prison. Chesimard escaped from prison in 1979, and according to the FBI, lived underground before fleeing to Cuba in 1984.17 In addition to Chesimard and other fugitives from the past, a number of U.S. fugitives from justice wanted for Medicare and other types of insurance fraud reportedly have fled to Cuba in recent years.

The danger is even greater than terrorism.

The Diplomat reports that “A senior Russian defense official has announced that Moscow is looking to build military bases throughout different countries in Asia and the Western Hemisphere” including Cuba.”

Capital Hill Cubans notes that “Throughout the year, the Castro regime has continued to host and harbor Russian spy ships tasked with monitoring sensitive U.S. defense networks… The Russian research ship Yantar has been tracked from the northern Atlantic near Canada since late August as it makes its way south toward Cuba. Defense officials familiar with reports on the Russian ship say the Yantar is believed to be gathering intelligence on underwater sensors and other equipment used by U.S. nuclear submarines based at Kings Bay, Georgia. The submarines, their transit lanes and training areas stretch from the coastal base through the Atlantic to Europe.”

Fox News reports that Cuban troops are operating in Syria, manning Russian tanks as they attack rebel forces supported by the United States.

Cuba oppresses its own people, supports terrorism, and enthusiastically acts as a forward base for the dangerous and aggressive Putin regime.  President Obama needs to explain why he believes it is appropriate to travel to Cuba, and why he continually and incorrectly states that conditions there have improved.