Informal Institute for National Security Thinkers and Practitioners

Quotes of the Day:

"Without inspiration the best powers of the mind remain dormant; there is a fuel in us which needs to be ignited with sparks.

– Author Unknown, but widely attributed to Johann Gottfried von Herder

"The person who tries to live alone will not succeed as a human being. His heart withers if it does not answer another heart. His mind shrinks away if he hears only the echoes of his own thoughts and finds no other inspiration."

– Pearl S. Buck

"The foundation of our resilience is people. Ordinary people. Ordinary Heroes. Among us. With us in the formation.

To all those who serve in the Armed Forces and other parts of the Defence Forces of Ukraine, I express my respect and deep gratitude.

To all those who help, support and believe in us, I bow to the ground.

Eternal memory and honour to all those who have fallen for freedom.Ukraine will stand and win."

– Valerii Zaluzhnyi General, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine

1. John Batchelor Show: #SOUTH KOREA: Beijing and Pyongyang use lawfare against Constitutional order and President Yoon.

2. Inside an Elite Ukrainian Unit’s Mission to Capture a North Korean Soldier

3. Suicides, new tactics and propaganda iPads: details from captured North Koreans expose new foe in Ukraine

4. What to make of Kim Jong Un’s reported messages to troops fighting Ukraine

5. Why Ukraine’s footage of North Korean POWs puts them and their families at risk

6. Top military officer inspects readiness posture against N.K. threats near NLL

7. Yoon to attend hearing of impeachment trial Tuesday

8. Investigators withdraw from detention center after failing to forcibly bring in Yoon

9. The North Korean Card in Ukraine

10. Yoon moved to solitary cell at Seoul Detention Center

11. Military commanders linked to martial law case dismissed from positions

12. Acting president likely to veto bill on special probe against Yoon: official

13. South Korea to develop indigenous 'Iron Dome' system

14. Editorial: Detention warrant for President Yoon raises concerns of judicial double standards

15. South Korea's defense industry earns $9.5 bn in exports, with profits surge

16. Study or else: N. Korean workers face daily memorization drills on party policies

17. Classroom politics: N. Korean teacher loses position after failed attempt to skip militia drills

18. Why are lines at Incheon Airport getting longer? Security delays frustrate travelers

1. John Batchelor Show: #SOUTH KOREA: Beijing and Pyongyang use lawfare against Constitutional order and President Yoon.

My latest interview with John Batchelor and Gordon Chang on the situation in South Korea. I tried to represent the perspectives I learned from some respected Koreans in the South and some Korean Americans who understand that fundamentally this is part of the larger strategic competition between the PRC and the US.

The bottom line is South Korea is at the heart of strategic competition between China and the US.

So the question for the incoming administration is do we know that we are in such a competition with China and north Korea over the democratic soul of South Korea?

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/south-korea-beijing-and-pyongyang-use-lawfare-against/id589864479?i=1000684651952

#SOUTH KOREA: Beijing and Pyongyang use lawfare against Constitutional order and President Yoon.

David Maxwell, vice president of the Center for Asia Pacific Strategy, on the latest in South Korea,.

@GordonGChang, Gatestone, Newsweek, The Hill

https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/16/asia/south-korea-martial-law/index.html

2. Inside an Elite Ukrainian Unit’s Mission to Capture a North Korean Soldier

Important reporting from the Wall Street Journal. It is good the Ukrainians wanted to put our skepticism to rest.

My gruesome comments follow about north Korean soldiers execution and suicide so consider this a trigger warning

During the 1996 Sango Sub infiltration some 26 north Korea military personnel escaped from their sub on the South Korean east coast and were pursued for many weeks. At one point a nK leader executed 11 personnel and killed himself. Others were killed in engagement with the ROK forces and we think one may have made it back across the DMZ. The nK SOF are known to train in executions and suicide in lieu of capture. While some attribute it ideological indoctrination it may have more to do with what they know will happen to their family if captured. The ultimate coercion.

In 1997 a Yugo mini-sub was caught in the nets of a fishing boat that was enroute to infiltrate 4 nK SOF into the ROK and towed to the South Korean coast. The crew tried to scuttle the sub but it was recovered with 9 bodies. The first person (A Marine Major who was a member of the Military Armistice Commission) to enter the sub after it was recovered went down the ladder and was waist deep in sea water and blood. The 5 navy crewmen were beaten to death with steel rods (presumably for screwing up the mission by getting caught in the nets of a fishing boat). The 4 nK SOF killed themselves by putting a hand grenade on their knees and pulling the pin. See the photo I have pasted below the article.

Inside an Elite Ukrainian Unit’s Mission to Capture a North Korean Soldier

Ukraine wanted to show that North Korean troops are fighting alongside Russian soldiers. It took a high-stakes mission to prove it.

https://www.wsj.com/world/inside-an-elite-ukrainian-units-mission-to-capture-a-north-korean-soldier-9d5f2ae6?st=JMZ3xS&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

By Jane Lytvynenko in Kyiv, Ukraine, and Dasl YoonFollow in Seoul

Jan. 19, 2025 11:00 pm ET

The Ukrainian special-forces team closed in on the North Korean lying alone and injured in a forest in Russia’s Kursk region. Spotting the Ukrainians, the young soldier brandished a hand grenade in a desperate threat.

The Ukrainian team’s commander, a captain with the call sign Green, stepped forward to talk him down using the few phrases of Korean he had learned just for this eventuality.

“Brother, everything’s all right,” Green tried to tell him.

Up until that moment earlier this month, thousands of North Korean soldiers, fighting a war miles from home on Russia’s side, had been killed or injured, but none of them captured. Some had been killed by their own side to prevent their capture after they sustained wounds; others had chosen to kill themselves rather than surrender, at least one after calling out the name of Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un, according to videos and accounts provided by Ukraine’s military.

Now, the team from the 8th Regiment of Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces who were surrounding the North Korean soldier faced a delicate challenge: taking him prisoner while staying alive themselves.

Russia and North Korea haven’t publicly acknowledged the deployment of what Kyiv and its Western allies say are 12,000 of Pyongyang’s troops to the battlefield of the biggest war in Europe since World War II. Ukrainian officials say the use of North Korean troops is a sign that the war is taking on a new, global dimension as it heads toward a fourth year, and Kyiv wants a decisive response from its allies.

The North Korean troops first appeared on the battlefield in mid-December, deployed in Russia’s Kursk region partially occupied by Ukraine since August.

Ukrainian incursion into Russia

Ukrainian advances in Russia

Russian forces

Front-line areas

Kyiv

Area of

detail

Rylsk

RUSSIA

Sudzha

KURSK REGION

Sumy

UKRAINE

20 miles

20 km

Note: As of Jan. 15

Source: Institute for the Study of War and AEI’s Critical Threats Project

Andrew Barnett/WSJ

Used in infantry attacks and largely unsupported by armored vehicles or artillery, the North Koreans have appeared in videos shot from Ukrainian drones—cut down as they trek across barren fields. Ukrainian soldiers say they have been impressed by the North Koreans’ willingness to press forward even as their comrades perish alongside them.

Russia hasn’t publicly admitted to using soldiers from another country’s army, and the documents found by Ukrainian troops on deceased North Koreans appear to have been issued to show them originating from Russia.

Ukrainian troops are taking risks to capture North Koreans on the battlefield to prove their involvement, but Russian and North Korean troops are doing everything possible to hide and eliminate wounded North Korean soldiers, South Korean officials say.

“Our combatants, who saw other comrades fall, ruthlessly killed those attempting to surrender,” say documents retrieved from an unnamed North Korean army officer by Ukrainian forces after he had been killed in combat. The documents were published by the Human Rights Foundation’s Korea desk, which has been assisting Ukraine’s special forces in analyzing documents recovered from North Korean soldiers.

North Korean troops have also chosen death over capture, Ukrainian soldiers say, carrying a grenade with which to blow themselves up or, in rare cases, a shiv with which to cut their arteries. One North Korean detained by Ukrainians was taken alive before but, heavily wounded, he died during transportation, according to Ukrainian officials.

“Their motivation is at a high level,” said Green. “Their physical training is at a high level, and their readiness to die is the same.”

In January, Green’s group devised the operation to capture a North Korean prisoner.

For several days, they studied the movements of around eight North Koreans stationed in a forest in Kursk. After carefully planning the mission and selecting routes in and out, the Ukrainian team dressed in camouflage to blend in with late-winter foliage and set out at midday on Jan. 9.

The Ukrainians picked their way across a minefield—the shortest route—and ambushed the North Koreans, who quickly retreated. “They understood they couldn’t fight us,” Green said.

That is just how the Ukrainians had planned it. Now, they could sweep the area for any wounded soldiers. At first, they didn’t notice the man lying quietly on the cold ground among the trees.

Once they spotted him, Green approached. The North Korean held up a grenade, the Ukrainian officer recalled, as if to threaten to blow himself up.

Green tried out the hastily learned Korean phrases, then switched to Russian: “Everything is all right. I’m helping.”Ukrainian special-forces operators communicated with a North Korean soldier during his capture in Russia’s Kursk region.

UKRAINIAN SPECIAL OPERATIONS FORCES

Green and his men also had to stay alive, ready to scatter at a moment’s notice.

“I was constantly watching his hands,” he said.

With hand gestures, Green showed the first aid he wanted to perform on the man’s injured leg. The North Korean lifted his hand and swooped it down, seemingly showing that he had been wounded by a drone.

Eventually, he relented and gave up the grenade.

“We treated him like a child. We didn’t want him to hurt himself,” Green said.

The man had discarded all his equipment and weapons other than the grenade, which Green said was typical for North Korean soldiers seeking to improve their mobility in order to flee. Green said he had encountered other dead North Korean soldiers with only cheap sausage stuffed into their grenade pouches, but the one in the woods had no water and no food. In a later interrogation video, the soldier said he had been wounded days earlier and left behind by his comrades.

The Ukrainians started carrying the North Korean back toward their lines.

“And then Armageddon started,” Green said.

Green and his team devised the operation to capture a North Korean prisoner. Photo: Serhii Korovayny for WSJ

Russian howitzers began raining an unusually intense bombardment of shells at the Ukrainians and their captive as they moved through the woods.

Green and his men carried their prisoner across planks of wood laid atop Russian barbed wire. They ran with him through the minefield, then scattered to buildings and basements to await evacuation as artillery shells exploded behind them.

The Russians “used all the resources they had at that moment, simply to get rid of both the Korean and us,” Green said.

The Ukrainians put their prisoner in a basement where bodies of deceased North Koreans lay uncollected. The man, who had short black hair and a thin mustache, appeared in shock from the pain.

Apparently fearing torture, he wouldn’t allow himself to be injected with Nalbuphine, a strong painkiller, until a man from the special forces showed him in gestures that they were just trying to move aside his clothes to administer the dose. Seeing his dead comrades, the North Korean asked for a cigarette.

The artillery continued at a rate that surprised even Green, who knows the area and Russian tactics well.

The Ukrainian team carried the North Korean prisoner across planks of wood laid atop Russian barbed wire. They ran with him through the minefield.

UKRAINIAN SPECIAL OPERATIONS FORCES

As soon as there was a five-minute break in the bombardment, the evacuation vehicle sped toward the pickup point. Green and his men loaded the North Korean aboard, and the vehicle raced away. The special forces had completed their task.

Later, a questioner asked the North Korean man, lying on a bunk bed with a bandaged hand, “Do you know where you are?” He shook his head. “Do you know that you’re fighting against Ukraine?” The prisoner again shook his head.

The interrogation was shown on a video posted by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Jan. 12 announcing that two North Korean prisoners had been captured. The second one, captured separately by paratroopers of the 95th Air Assault Brigade, was also shown in the video, with his head bandaged and jaw badly swollen. He didn’t speak, apparently unable.

The North Korean taken by Green’s team, a rifleman who turns 20 years old this year, claimed he believed he was on a training exercise. Later, in the same video, he described watching compatriots die in an attack in early January.

The future of the two prisoners is unclear. Zelensky has said that he’s ready to return them to Kim Jong Un in exchange for Ukrainians in Russian captivity, but for now, they remain in Ukrainian custody.

Interrogating North Korean soldiers will reveal information about the recent state of living and military training in North Korea, and if they decide to defect to South Korea that would prove to be of significant strategic and symbolic value, said Lee Seongmin, director of the Korea Desk at the Human Rights Foundation, which has analyzed documents and notes Ukrainians found.

An undated handout photograph released on Jan. 11 shows an alleged North Korean soldier lying in a cell at an undisclosed location in Ukraine. Photo: UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE/AFP/Getty Images

The captured North Korean soldiers couldn’t only help understand why they were deployed and the specific missions that they are assigned to, but also provide an advantage for South Korea to demonstrate Pyongyang’s unlawful activities, he added.

“They serve as living proof of North Korea’s illegal participation in Russia’s war,” Lee said.

In a ceremony in Kyiv on Friday, Zelensky awarded medals to all those involved in the capture of the two North Koreans: Green and his men, as well as the paratroopers who captured the other soldier.

In the video showing him on the bunk bed in Kyiv, the young soldier captured by Green and his team asked if the Ukrainians were good people. Told yes by his interrogator, he declared: “I want to live here.”

Moments later, he was asked if he would go back to North Korea. His expression went blank: “I’d go back,” the soldier said, “if I was told to go back.”

Suicides, new tactics and propaganda iPads: details from captured North Koreans expose new foe in Ukraine

Discovery of two injured servicemen sent from Pyongyang and disguised as Russian fighters blows apart myth that Zelenskyy’s fight is solely with Moscow

The Guardian · by Luke Harding · January 18, 2025

The news was sensational. It travelled quickly among Ukrainian soldiers fighting in Russia’s Kursk region. “I heard from a friend of a friend,” one officer, Vitalii Ovcharenko, recalled. “This was half an hour after it happened. My friend said: ‘We’ve got a North Korean prisoner! He’s in shock but OK.’ I said: ‘Wow.’” Ovcharenko added: “Everyone wanted a selfie. They wrapped him in a blanket and gave him tea.”

Last week’s capture of two North Korean servicemen was an extraordinary moment in Russia’s bloody war against Ukraine. The Kremlin has taken elaborate steps to conceal the presence of 12,000 elite troops sent in autumn by Pyongyang to Russia. At camps in the Far East they were given Russian equipment: uniforms, rifles and fake military documents.

The foreign soldiers even received phoney Russian names. All were “born” in the Siberian republic of Tuva, where locals have an Asian appearance and belong to a Turkic ethnic group. The North Koreans were then attached to regular Russian marine and assault corps units and sent to the frontline, thousands of kilometres to the west, around the Ukrainian-occupied Russian town of Sudzha.

This legalistic pretence fell apart last week when two separate Ukrainian groups found the soldiers on the battlefield. Both were injured. They had lain in the cold for several days. Video shows paratroopers carrying one of them across a pine forest. They were driven to Kyiv, where Ukraine’s SBU intelligence agency debriefed them, along with South Korea’s national intelligence service.

A few tentative facts emerged. One soldier – Lee Jong Nam, a 25-year-old sergeant from Pyongyang – joined the army in 2016 and was serving in a sniper reconnaissance platoon, a part of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)’s fifth battalion. His first combat mission was on 8 January. He was wounded in the jaw. All the other soldiers in his seven-person group were killed.

Vitalii Ovcharenko, a Ukrainian soldier fighting in Kursk, described the North Korean prisoners as ‘precious’. Photograph: Alessio Mamo/The Observer

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shared footage of the second unidentified soldier speaking from his hospital bed. He said he had lain in the open for “three, four or five days” and said the name given on his Russian military ID was bogus. “I don’t remember it. It wasn’t mine,” he confirmed. The soldier, wounded in the leg, believed he was taking part in a training exercise.

Ovcharenko, who has been fighting in Russia since Ukraine’s August incursion, described the prisoners as “precious” – valuable assets in the struggle for international opinion. “Western agencies know North Korea is involved in Russia’s war. This is fact-checking. It’s proof,” he said. “You have a real person in front of you. You can ask questions. Pyongyang is sending Moscow infantry as well as weapons.”

According to Zelenskyy, the soldiers were raised “in an information vacuum” and knew nothing about Ukraine. Moscow was using them “solely to prolong and escalate its war”, he said. The pair’s capture comes at a precarious time for Kyiv, ahead of Donald Trump’s return to the White House and as Russian troops advance in the east of Ukraine, village by smashed village.

One of Zelenskyy’s key messages to his western allies is that Ukraine is no longer fighting Russia but a malign group of autocratic states. They have been dubbed Crink: China, Russia, Iran and North Korea. All help Russia’s war. Pyongyang sends soldiers, ballistic missiles, howitzers and shells. Tehran offers kamikaze drones. Beijing sells micro-electronic components used in weapons systems and is a political partner.

Footage shows Ukrainian drones dropping grenades on enemy soldiers in the Kursk region – video

Pyongyang’s deepening involvement in Europe’s biggest conflict since 1945 has implications for the Asia Pacific region, especially for South Korea, Kyiv thinks. According to Ukraine’s HUR military intelligence organisation, the Kremlin is providing Kim Jong Un’s regime with torpedoes and technology for making drones. North Korea is keen to receive intelligence from Russian military satellites and air-to-air missiles, it says.

Meanwhile, North Korean troops are gaining valuable experience of 21st century war. Maj Gen Vadym Skybytskyi, the HUR’s deputy chief, said they were learning from their mistakes. “To begin with they advanced in large groups across snowy fields. The next lot won’t do that. They are learning new tactics and how to fight in a drone environment.” Those who survive will return home as military trainers, he said.

Speaking to the Observer, Skybytskyi said the North Koreans were keen and ideologically driven. Casualties – 300 dead, 2,700 injured, according to Seoul – have not dented morale. Soldiers have blown themselves up to avoid capture. An iPad retrieved from a dead North Korean soldier contained 67 gigabytes of propaganda. “My colleague looked at it. After two hours he said: ‘North Korea is the best country in the world,’” the general explained.

Some Ukrainian soldiers have dismissed the North Koreans as hopeless fighters sent by Russia on suicide missions. Ovcharenko, however, said some were organised and good marksmen: “The Russians hide when they see drones. The North Koreans try and shoot them down. They understand combined war, with infantry, planes and tanks.” These skills could play a role in a future peninsular war, he said.

Anastasiia Kozhukhova, wife of the deputy mayor of Bilopillia, a Ukrainian city close to the Russian border. Photograph: Alessio Mamo/The Observer

The Kremlin has waged a relentless assault on Ukraine’s Kursk pocket, with North Korean troops frequently in the vanguard. There is fierce fighting on both flanks. One of the two prisoners was captured near the village of Orlovka, 18km north of Sudzha. North Korean units have been deployed in the village of Makhnovka, on the southern outskirts of the Ukrainian-held town.

It is unclear how long Kyiv can continue its Kursk operation. The region could form part of peace negotiations with Moscow. So far, however, Vladimir Putin has said that his war objectives are unchanged. They include the annexation of four Ukrainian regions – including major cities Russia does not control – and a veto on Ukraine’s Nato membership, something Trump appears willing to grant.

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Residents in Ukrainian communities just across from Kursk worry that a second Russian invasion looms. “What will happen to our territory when the operation is over? That’s the question,” Anastasiia Kozhukhova wondered. She lives in the town of Bilopillia, where her husband Oleksandr is deputy mayor. It is located 5km from the Russian border. A fence in a ruined village marks the boundary.

In the months leading up to Ukraine’s cross-border raid last summer, Russia attacked Bilopillia with air-dropped glide bombs. They damaged the TV tower, town hall, shops and other buildings. One bomb flattened the police station opposite Kozhukhova’s flat. “I hid in the bath with my 12-year-old son, Roman, and our dog,” she recalled. The blast blew out windows and a door, which struck Oleksandr on the shoulder.

The Russians continue to target Bilopillia with missiles and drones, though less frequently than before, the deputy mayor said. He showed off a basement shelter where his mostly female colleagues worked, as well as Bilopillia’s memorial park, and the cemetery where several of his soldier friends are buried. Did he feel sympathy for North Koreans fighting nearby? “No. They came here to kill us,” he replied.

Vadym Riddik, left, commander of a drone unit, fighting in the Kursk region. Photograph: Alessio Mamo/The Observer

Ukrainian soldiers deployed around Sudzha showed a similar indifference. “I don’t care if they are Korean or Russian. An enemy is an enemy. They all die the same way,” Bohdan, a member of the 17th brigade’s Rubicon drone company, said. In his view, the North Koreans used old-fashioned tactics reminiscent of the second world war. “Maybe they don’t appreciate we have thermal cameras and can track them easily at night,” he remarked.

Repatriation or a life among ‘enemies’: what fate awaits the North Koreans captured by Ukraine?

The unit’s commander Vadym Riddik said the North Koreans were taking brutal losses. “We kill them with our drones,” he said. “They move in groups of 30 or 40. The Russians are more careful and go around in twos or threes.” To prove his point, Riddik showed off videos from kamikaze drones. First one and then another fell on a large party of North Koreans as they walked on open ground. They toppled over, dead or injured.

In Riddik’s view, warfare had changed completely – something Pyongyang now understands better, albeit at a bloody cost. Expensive tanks could be knocked out by cheap unmanned aerial vehicles. Both sides were experimenting with fibre-optic drones, impervious to electronic counter-measures.

“It’s a battle of technology. War is the engine of progress,” the commander said. But, he added: “I think we are better than them.”

Luke Harding’s Invasion: Russia’s Bloody War and Ukraine’s Fight for Survival, shortlisted for the Orwell prize, is published by Guardian Faber

The Guardian · by Luke Harding · January 18, 2025

4. What to make of Kim Jong Un’s reported messages to troops fighting Ukraine

Excerpts:

The messages, dated Dec. 31 and Jan. 1, reportedly shared Kim Jong Un’s New Year’s wishes and gratitude to the North Korean soldiers supporting Russia’s war efforts, and the U.S. newspaper published a photo of one of the letters written on weathered paper.

“You experienced heartbreaking sacrifices and the joys of costly battle victories, many noble combat experiences, the priceless feeling of genuine camaraderie and patriotism, all so far away from the motherland,” the letter reads.

“Comrades! I really miss you,” the leader adds in appreciation of the “heroes of our nation” fighting far from their homeland and families.

The Washington Post stated that the letters’ origins were not clear, as they could have been sent directly from Pyongyang or written down by North Korean soldiers as their commanders read the message out loud.

NK News analysis of the published letter suggests it’s unlikely that the North Korean leader wrote it himself, as the handwriting and signature do not appear to match his previous handwritten messages.

However, this does not rule out the possibilities that the soldiers wrote down the message read aloud by their commanders, as The Washington Post suggested, or transcribed it from a recorded audio message.

What to make of Kim Jong Un’s reported messages to troops fighting Ukraine

Release of handwritten notes from fallen soldiers is part of Kyiv’s efforts to highlight DPRK involvement in war

https://www.nknews.org/2025/01/what-to-make-of-kim-jong-uns-reported-messages-to-troops-fighting-ukraine/

Shreyas Reddy January 20, 2025

Kim Jong Un signing a decree | Image: Rodong Sinmun (Feb. 7, 2016)

Handwritten notes reportedly conveying messages of support from Kim Jong Un to North Korean soldiers fighting against Ukraine could play a role in drawing international attention to Pyongyang’s military involvement, though experts caution that it’s difficult to verify the notes’ authenticity from their contents alone.

The Washington Post reported on Sunday that Ukrainian forces recovered two handwritten notes from the bodies of dead North Korean soldiers, which supposedly relayed messages from the North Korean leader to troops on the front lines.

The messages, dated Dec. 31 and Jan. 1, reportedly shared Kim Jong Un’s New Year’s wishes and gratitude to the North Korean soldiers supporting Russia’s war efforts, and the U.S. newspaper published a photo of one of the letters written on weathered paper.

“You experienced heartbreaking sacrifices and the joys of costly battle victories, many noble combat experiences, the priceless feeling of genuine camaraderie and patriotism, all so far away from the motherland,” the letter reads.

“Comrades! I really miss you,” the leader adds in appreciation of the “heroes of our nation” fighting far from their homeland and families.

The Washington Post stated that the letters’ origins were not clear, as they could have been sent directly from Pyongyang or written down by North Korean soldiers as their commanders read the message out loud.

NK News analysis of the published letter suggests it’s unlikely that the North Korean leader wrote it himself, as the handwriting and signature do not appear to match his previous handwritten messages.

However, this does not rule out the possibilities that the soldiers wrote down the message read aloud by their commanders, as The Washington Post suggested, or transcribed it from a recorded audio message.

David, a North Korean defector who was deployed to the inter-Korean border during his time in the Korean People’s Army, noted the poor quality of the paper and handwriting.

“It is more plausible that the content was distributed to the entire military, and soldiers copied it into their notebooks for safekeeping,” he told NK News.

The message’s wording appears to confirm it was written by a North Korean, as it uses DPRK spellings for words like “labor” (로고) as opposed to the South Korean (노고). It also features some words that are not commonly used in South Korea (ex. “결속하는,” meaning “accomplished”).

Shin Seung-ki, a research fellow at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses, told NK News that the expressions used in the letter appear consistent with those used by Kim and the North Korean regime for “propaganda and agitation purposes” in the past.

“While it is difficult to verify the authenticity, it seems highly likely that the deployed North Korean soldiers, who have been brainwashed for a long time and accustomed to such propaganda, will accept this as fact,” he said.

Shin and David said that such a message, if it exists, could help boost the morale of North Korean troops as they engage in an actual war for the first time.

WHAT UKRAINE WANTS

Ukrainian special forces’ decision to share evidence of North Koreans’ military activities with The Washington Post underscores Kyiv’s recent drive to highlight the threat posed by Pyongyang’s support for Russia’s war efforts.

A wave of falsified images and staged videos purporting to show North Korean troops followed the initial news of their deployment to Russia in October, but in recent weeks Ukrainian authorities have provided more evidence of the DPRK presence.

In late December, the Special Operations Forces released several handwritten notes and a Russia-issued false military ID it claimed to have retrieved from a 27-year-old soldier named Jong Gyong Hong, who reportedly died battling Ukrainian forces in the Russian border region of Kursk.

The documents included a birthday message Jong wrote to his best friend and a diary in which he praised the North Korean leader for offering him a second chance after he “betrayed” the ruling party’s love. It also outlined tactics for countering Ukrainian drones.

Last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the Security Service of Ukraine published photos and videos of DPRK troops captured in Kursk, marking the first time Kyiv has shared testimony from North Korean prisoners of war. Kyiv has continued sharing their testimonies online in the following days.

Zelensky stated on social media last week that these testimonies reinforced Kyiv’s recent efforts to “establish the facts” and “verify all the details” about North Korea’s participation in the war.

Along with the recovered message reportedly from Kim Jong Un, the Washington Post also published photos of other items retrieved by the 1st Battalion of Ukraine’s 8th Special Operations Forces Regiment, including a sheet of paper containing 23 Korean phrases and their Russian equivalents in Korean characters, weapons including Russian assault rifles and a Ukrainian-made knife, body armor, a first aid manual, a diary, a military ID and assorted equipment.

Based on the items recovered and Ukrainian soldiers’ accounts, the newspaper described the DPRK forces as “highly motivated, organized, well-trained and better equipped than Russian infantry,” despite reportedly suffering thousands of casualties.

It also suggested “Ukraine appears increasingly eager to gather evidence of North Korea’s growing role in the war,” seemingly to convince incoming President Donald Trump that he should use his personal bond with Kim to ensure the troops’ withdrawal.

“It might be intended to highlight that North Korean troops are assisting Russia, thereby drawing greater attention and sustained support from Europe and the international community regarding the war in Ukraine,” the North Korean defector David said.

Shin agreed that Kyiv’s consistent focus on emphasizing the DPRK threat is aimed at securing “additional and sustained support” from the international community

“From Ukraine’s perspective, it seems there is an intent to inform the international community that Kim Jong Un is encouraging the deployed troops to prevent desertions and boost morale, thereby enhancing combat effectiveness, which poses a significant burden for Ukraine,” he said.

Seung-Yeon Chung contributed reporting to this article. Edited by Alannah Hill

5. Why Ukraine’s footage of North Korean POWs puts them and their families at risk

Sigh... Does anyone really need a warning about what we already know is standard practice for the regime? Whether their faces are shown or not, captured prisoners' families are vulnerable. The units will report their dead, missing, and captured personnel so it is not like the regime will not have an idea of who is captured.

But as a precaution, isn't that why the Urkainians have blocked out faces the videos?

Why Ukraine’s footage of North Korean POWs puts them and their families at risk

Human rights experts warn DPRK could retaliate against soldiers if their identities become known

https://www.nknews.org/2025/01/why-ukraines-footage-of-north-korean-pows-puts-them-and-their-families-at-risk/

Ifang Bremer January 20, 2025

North Korean soldiers in Pyongyang | Image: Eric Lafforgue (2008)

Ukraine has heavily publicized its capture of two North Korean soldiers this month, releasing photos and videos of their interrogations as definitive proof that DPRK troops are fighting on the Russian side.

But Kyiv’s decision to reveal the identities of the soldiers has also raised ethnical concerns, with human rights experts warning that the move could put the two prisoners of war and even their family members at risk.

President Volodymyr Zelensky first shared photos of the POWs on Jan. 11, shortly after their capture in Russia’s Kursk region earlier in the month, and the Ukrainian authorities have since released additional footage of the two men born in 1999 and 2005, without blurring their faces, most recently on Monday.

Ukraine has done this even though the Third Geneva Convention stipulates that “any materials that enable individual prisoners to be identified must normally be regarded as subjecting them to public curiosity and, therefore, may not be transmitted, published or broadcast.”

The treaty does make exceptions for two specific circumstances: when disclosure serves a compelling public interest, or when it directly benefits the prisoner’s welfare. But even in these cases, the materials should preserve the prisoners’ fundamental dignity.

Both Russia and Ukraine have widely publicized images of POWs despite these stipulations, drawing criticism from the U.N. and rights groups who argue such practices violate international human rights law

These cases have also forced media outlets to weigh whether to republish the images. International media have widely covered the photos, including the BBC and NK News, though some outlets have opted to blur the photos or not publish them at all.

PERSECUTION AND RETRIBUTION

However, human rights advocates argue that the bigger concern in the case of North Korean POWs is the severe risk of persecution and retribution that they face at the hands of the DPRK state if their identities become known.

Escapees have noted that North Korean soldiers are instructed to fight till the end, with surrender not an option.

Severe punishment could become even more likely if captured soldiers express a will to defect, and one of the two North Korean POWs does just that in a video released by Ukraine. It is unclear if the 19-year-old soldier was aware his remarks would be published online.

“If returned to North Korea, this soldier risks enforced disappearance, torture, wrongful imprisonment, forced labor, or execution for disobeying orders or attempting desertion. His family there is already at risk of retaliation,” Human Rights Watch stated in a commentary on the case.

Lina Yoon, a senior researcher at Human Rights Watch, noted that a North Korean soldier expressing a desire to stay in Ukraine could be a treasonous statement under the DPRK’s totalitarian system.

“Not respecting the protections [that the Third Geneva Convention] provides puts these men and their families at greater risk of persecution by North Korean authorities,” she told NK News.

Mark Kersten, a human rights law expert at the University of Fraser Valley, echoed these concerns on social media, noting that the DPRK soldiers’ “capture — and the evidence of it — is quite likely a death sentence should they ever be returned to North Korea.”

The other soldier said he wants to go back to North Korea and therefore appears less likely to receive as severe a punishment if returned, but he could still face lengthy interrogations and perhaps detention.

Zelensky has indicated that Kyiv wants to exchange North Korean prisoners for Ukrainian captives, despite concerns about the fate that awaits repatriated soldiers in the DPRK.

The risk to North Korean POWs is not merely theoretical, as shown by the case of DPRK women that China recently sent back to their home country.

U.N. experts sent a letter to Pyongyang late last year seeking clarification about reports that the government executed two women forcibly repatriated from China, while sentencing nine other women to life in prison.

The two women were reportedly sentenced to death and executed the same day for “insulting the dignity of people” for engaging in prostitution, but the U.N. experts stated the women were likely not perpetrators but “victims of trafficking.”

Experts have pointed out that the DPRK has forced many if not most troops into fighting for Russia, noting that soldiers could be tortured and even executed for disobeying orders or attempting desertion.

North Korea is known to extend punishment to families up to the third generation based on the principle of guilt by association.

The cell where one of the North Korean POWs is being held in Kyiv | Image: Volodymyr Zelensky via Telegram

MAKING A POINT

Despite these concerns, the case of the two North Korean POWs may not be completely cut and dry.

The expert Kersten acknowledged that publishing POW information is not necessarily a violation of international human rights law.

“For it not to be, there must exist a clear and compelling reason to share photos of the North Korean POWs that outweighs their right not to be exposed to curiosity,” he wrote on social media.

Ukraine has framed its publication of the soldiers’ identities as part of efforts to produce irrefutable evidence of the DPRK’s participation in the war.

When posting related videos, Zelensky emphasized that “all facts regarding North Korea’s participation in this war will be established.”

One of the special forces operators involved in the operation that led to the capture of the North Koreans told the Kyiv Independent that capturing DPRK soldiers “was the main task” of their mission.

Kyiv’s foreign minister has also hailed their capture as “definitive proof” of DPRK involvement in the conflict, which both Pyongyang and Moscow have yet to acknowledge.

In Ukraine’s case, the decision to disclose the POWs’ identities appears aimed at drawing international attention to the conflict by highlighting North Korean involvement, at a time when Russia is making gains and Western support for Kyiv is wavering ahead of Donald Trump’s return to power.

Some Ukrainian researchers have also argued that publicly identifying POWs is necessary to counter Russian disinformation, such as denying the deployment of DPRK troops, and serves as a deterrent against aggression.

Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense and the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War did not respond to NK News questions about the decisions to disclose the identities of the North Korean soldiers and related human rights concerns.

It’s possible that Kyiv will conclude that it has achieved its purpose by publicizing the identities of the two soldiers and refrain from doing so again if it captures more North Koreans.

But Ukraine’s continued release of new footage of their interrogations and reports that North Korea could deploy more troops suggest that the issue might not go away any time soon.

Edited by Bryan Betts

6. Top military officer inspects readiness posture against N.K. threats near NLL

(LEAD) Yoon to attend hearing of impeachment trial Tuesday | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Eun-jung · January 20, 2025

(ATTN: UPDATES with more details from fourth para)

SEOUL, Jan. 20 (Yonhap) -- President Yoon Suk Yeol will attend the hearing of his impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court on Tuesday, his lawyers said Monday.

The court is set to hold the third hearing on the impeachment trial at 2 p.m. on Tuesday to review evidence submitted by the National Assembly related to his short-lived imposition of martial law on Dec. 3.

It would mark the first time for an impeached president to personally appear at a Constitutional Court trial.

President Yoon Suk Yeol (Yonhap)

Yoon, currently suspended from his duties, did not attend two previous hearings earlier this month.

Detained at the Seoul Detention Center since last Wednesday and placed under formal arrest Sunday, Yoon has refused questioning by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials over charges of insurrection and abuse of power.

The court has 180 days to decide whether to uphold or reject Yoon's impeachment from the day it received the case on Dec. 14.

If upheld, Yoon will be removed from office, triggering a snap presidential election within 60 days. If dismissed, he will be reinstated.

ejkim@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Eun-jung · January 20, 2025

8. Investigators withdraw from detention center after failing to forcibly bring in Yoon

According to reports from Korean friends, these CIO investigators are under the influence (if not control) of the Minjoo/DPK.

(3rd LD) Investigators withdraw from detention center after failing to forcibly bring in Yoon | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Woo Jae-yeon · January 20, 2025

(ATTN: CHANGES headline, lead; ADDS photo, latest development in first 5 paras; TRIMS)

By Lee Haye-ah

SEOUL, Jan. 20 (Yonhap) -- The state anti-corruption agency failed to forcibly bring in impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol on Monday because of his refusal to cooperate with an investigation into his botched martial law bid.

Investigators from the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) withdrew from the Seoul Detention Center at around 9:00 p.m. after a six-hour standoff, but said they would make another attempt later.

The agency said their efforts to "detain and question the suspect" was unsuccessful due to Yoon's "continued refusal to cooperate with the investigation."

The attempt was suspended "in accordance with human rights protection regulations," it added.

Earlier in the day, the CIO sent six investigators to the center to forcibly investigate Yoon who was formally arrested early Sunday, after he repeatedly ignored orders by the agency to appear for questioning.

Investigators from the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials leave the Seoul Detention Center located in Uiwang, south of Seoul, on Jan. 20, 2025. (Yonhap)

The CIO previously said it was "strongly considering bringing him in by force" as Yoon refuses to voluntarily cooperate with the investigation.

The agency stressed that forcibly investigating an accused is permissible under the law and supported by court precedents.

This undated file photo shows impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol. (Yonhap)

Yoon will be held in custody until Jan. 28, and if a court grants an extension, until Feb. 7, the official said.

The CIO will continue talks with the prosecution over when to transfer the case to them for further investigation and potential indictment.

The impeached president faces charges of leading an insurrection and abusing his power through his short-lived imposition of martial law on Dec. 3.

He was formally arrested early Sunday after a court issued a warrant to extend his detention over concerns he might destroy evidence.

Large numbers of Yoon's supporters stormed the court after the warrant's issuance in protest, injuring police officers and damaging the building.

The CIO official said the agency will seek the cooperation of the police to ensure the safety of investigators probing the case.

A Ministry of Justice van, presumed to be carrying impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol, arrives at the Seoul Western District Court in the capital on Jan. 18, 2025, for a hearing on his formal arrest over a botched attempt to impose martial law. (Yonhap)

hague@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Woo Jae-yeon · January 20, 2025

9. The North Korean Card in Ukraine

I do not think normalization is in the cards anytime in the near future. I also am afraid that north Korea will not be a priority issue despite its critical linkage with both China and Russia and its very real threat. There is just not a "win" to be had in the near term. There is, however, an opportunity to play the long game versus north Korea if we are willing to implement a creative new strategy.

Excerpts:

Giving up on North Korea should not be an option for the U.S. and its allies and partners. For 30 years Pyongyang was seeking a normal relationship with the U.S. – a relationship that would provide North Korea with security assurances, economic development assistance and international legitimacy. An alignment with Russia commits a heavily sanctioned North Korea to international pariah status, with no hope of international development assistance. This is not what Mr. Kim wants. His father, Kim Jong il, and his grandfather, Kim il Sung, would expect more from Mr. Kim.

Russia’s embrace of North Korea is tactical. Once North Korea ceases to be of value, Mr. Putin will move on, as Russia did in the past when they downgraded relations with North Korea in 1995. North Korea is being used by an ambitious Mr. Putin, determined to recreate the Russian empire.

Hopefully, the Trump administration will make North Korea a priority issue. President-elect Donald Trump can use his close personal relationship with Mr. Kim to reengage with North Korea, with the immediate prospect of sanctions relief and security assurances, in return for a halt to nuclear tests and missile launches and the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons. North Korea’s goal will be a normal relationship with the U.S. Our goal should be complete and verifiable denuclearization, something that will require years to accomplish.

The North Korean Card in Ukraine

https://www.thecipherbrief.com/column_article/the-north-korean-card-in-ukraine?utm

Posted: January 17th, 2025

By Ambassador Joseph DeTrani

Ambassador Joseph DeTrani served as the U.S. Representative to the Korea Energy Development Organization (KEDO), as well as former CIA director of East Asia Operations. He also served as Associate Director of National Intelligence and Mission Manager for North Korea, was the Special Envoy for the Six-Party Talks with North Korea, and served as the Director of the National Counter Proliferation Center, ODNI. He currently serves on the Board of Managers at Sandia National Laboratories.

OPINION — The Budapest Memorandum of December 1994 provided security assurances to Ukraine in exchange for that country giving up its nuclear weapons. The Memorandum prohibited Russia, the U.S. and the UK from threatening or using military or economic coercion against Ukraine, and mandated a respect for Ukraine’s independence and sovereignty.

In February 2022, Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. That war of aggression continues, with estimates of 700,000 Ukrainians killed or wounded, and more than 800,000 Russian soldiers killed or wounded. The socio-economic carnage to Ukraine is tragic, with over 8 million Ukrainians seeking refuge in neighboring countries.

North Korea reportedly sent more than 11,000 special forces troops to aid Russia in its war of aggression in Ukraine. This is in addition to the artillery shells and ballistic missiles North Korea is providing to Russia. In exchange, North Korea is reportedly receiving $2000 for each of its soldiers in Russia, while gaining valuable warfighting expertise. This is in addition to the satellite, ballistic missile and nuclear assistance the North Koreans are likely getting from Russia.

North Korea’s embrace of Russia and its war of aggression in Ukraine are both stark messages aimed primarily at the United States. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s June 2024 visit to Pyongyang for meetings with Kim Jong Un and the signing of a new Treaty of Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, committing each to come to the aid of the other if either is invaded, was North Korea’s pivot to the Russian Federation. After thirty years of seeking a normal relationship with the U.S., Mr. Kim gave up on the U.S. and aligned North Korea to Russia, as part of the so-called Axis of Authoritarian states – Russia, China, Iran and China.

Everyone needs a good nightcap. Ours happens to come in the form of a M-F newsletter that provides the best way to unwind while staying up to speed on national security. (And this Nightcap promises no hangover or weight gain.) Sign up today.

Last week North Korea successfully launched an Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM) with a hypersonic warhead. Not surprisingly, the launch was conducted during Secretary State Antony Blinken’s visit to South Korea. Last year, North Korea successfully launched the Hwasong-19, a solid fuel Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) that can carry multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs) and can target the whole of the U.S.

North Korea’s state media KCNA reported that during last month’s Plenum of the Central Committee of the Worker’s Party, Mr. Kim said North Korea would adopt the “toughest” strategy to counteract the U.S., claiming the alliance of the U.S., South Korea and Japan is a “nuclear military bloc” and South Korea has been an “anti-communist” outpost for the U.S. As expected, Mr. Kim also said North Korea would “bolster the country’s war deterrence.” Of note, a new premier was appointed – Pak Thae Song – and Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui, the first woman to hold this position, was promoted to the Politburo of the Party’s Central Committee. Interestingly, Ms. Choe is an American specialist who participated in all official and Track 1.5 unofficial meetings with the U.S., starting in 2003 with the Six Party Talks.

Having negotiated with North Korea from 2003 to 2016, I believe Pyongyang had one recurrent goal: a normal relationship with the U.S. In 1994 and 2005, with the Agreed Framework and the Joint Statement of the Six Party Talks, there was progress made with North Korea. Indeed, President-elect Donald Trump established a close and briefly productive relationship with Mr. Kim. The 2018 Singapore Summit was successful, but the 2019 Hanoi Summit ended abruptly, given Mr. Kim’s refusal to declare all nuclear facilities. A subsequent meeting in the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) was symbolic but noteworthy, given the strong personal relationship between Messrs. Trump and Kim.

Join Cipher Brief Experts for a real-time conversation on defining the gray zone and the impact on U.S. national security led by Dr. Michael Vickers, former Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence, and Dave Pitts, former Assistant Director of CIA for South and Central Asia, on Wednesday, January 22 at 1:30p ET.

Subscriber+ Members, check your email for an invitation to register for this exclusive conversation. Not a member? We can help with that.

Giving up on North Korea should not be an option for the U.S. and its allies and partners. For 30 years Pyongyang was seeking a normal relationship with the U.S. – a relationship that would provide North Korea with security assurances, economic development assistance and international legitimacy. An alignment with Russia commits a heavily sanctioned North Korea to international pariah status, with no hope of international development assistance. This is not what Mr. Kim wants. His father, Kim Jong il, and his grandfather, Kim il Sung, would expect more from Mr. Kim.

Russia’s embrace of North Korea is tactical. Once North Korea ceases to be of value, Mr. Putin will move on, as Russia did in the past when they downgraded relations with North Korea in 1995. North Korea is being used by an ambitious Mr. Putin, determined to recreate the Russian empire.

Hopefully, the Trump administration will make North Korea a priority issue. President-elect Donald Trump can use his close personal relationship with Mr. Kim to reengage with North Korea, with the immediate prospect of sanctions relief and security assurances, in return for a halt to nuclear tests and missile launches and the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons. North Korea’s goal will be a normal relationship with the U.S. Our goal should be complete and verifiable denuclearization, something that will require years to accomplish.

This column by Cipher Brief Expert Ambassador Joseph DeTrani was first published in The Washington Times

Read more expert-driven national security insights, perspective and analysis in The Cipher Brief because National Security is Everyone’s Business.

10. Yoon moved to solitary cell at Seoul Detention Center

This treatment of President Yoon is so disrespectful and deeply troubling. The opposition Minjoo/DPK who are controlling these actions are making Korea look like a community banana republic.

(2nd LD) Yoon moved to solitary cell at Seoul Detention Center | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Eun-jung · January 20, 2025

(ATTN: ADDS Yoon's inmate number in third para)

By Chae Yun-hwan

SEOUL, Jan. 20 (Yonhap) -- Detained President Yoon Suk Yeol has been moved to a solitary cell at the Seoul Detention Center's general wing after he was placed under formal arrest over the weekend, a correctional official said Monday.

Yoon was transferred to the 12-square-meter cell at the detention center in Uiwang, south of Seoul, on Sunday after the Seoul Western District Court issued a warrant for his formal arrest, according to Shin Yong-hae, commissioner general of the Korea Correctional Service.

Yoon will be referred to by his inmate number, 10, instead of his name, according to officials.

"(Yoon) was moved from a holding room for suspects to the general detention wing, and (I) received a report that he spent the night well," Shin told lawmakers during a session of the National Assembly's legislation and judiciary committee.

Yoon's cell, which is known to usually hold five or six people, is similar in size to those where past presidents have been detained, Shin said.

The official told lawmakers that Yoon cooperated with official procedures for his detention, such as taking a mug shot and undergoing a physical exam, noting that a personal correctional officer has been designated for his safety.

Shin said his office is also cooperating with the police and the Presidential Security Service to ensure security amid concerns over Yoon's supporters possibly taking drastic action, such as attempting to free the detained president.

Meanwhile, Yoon's lawyers called on the state anti-corruption agency to immediately withdraw its decision the previous day to restrict the detained president from visitations.

"Restricting family visitations is not for the purpose of an investigation but merely an act of venting against the president," Yun Gap-geun, his lawyer, said in a statement.

Shin Yong-hae (L), commissioner general of the Korea Correctional Service, speaks to lawmakers at a parliamentary session of the legislation and judiciary committee at the National Assembly in western Seoul on Jan. 20, 2025. (Yonhap)

yunhwanchae@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Eun-jung · January 20, 2025

11. Military commanders linked to martial law case dismissed from positions

Again, the opposition Minjoo/DPK who are controlling these actions are making Korea look like a community banana republic.

(LEAD) Military commanders linked to martial law case dismissed from positions | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Minji · January 20, 2025

(ATTN: ADDS details in last four paras)

SEOUL, Jan. 20 (Yonhap) -- The military on Monday approved the official dismissal of four senior commanders suspected of taking part in impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol's short-lived martial imposition from their positions.

The decision made at disciplinary committees of the defense ministry and the Army, respectively, affects Lt. Gen. Yeo In-hyung, head of the Defense Counterintelligence Command; Maj. Gen. Moon Sang-ho, head of the Defense Intelligence Command; Lt. Gen. Lee Jin-woo, head of the Capital Defense Command; and Lt. Gen. Kwak Jong-keun, chief of the Army Special Warfare Command, according to the ministry.

The commanders are suspected of taking part in martial law operations during Yoon's botched martial law bid on Dec. 3.

The move is expected to go into effect on Tuesday, when the ministry will officially notify the four commanders of the decision.

The ministry is currently conducting a legal review of possible disciplinary measures for Army Chief of Staff Gen. Park An-su, who served as martial law commander.

This composite photo shows (from L to R) former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun; Army Chief of Staff Gen. Park An-su, who served as martial law commander; Lt. Gen. Lee Jin-woo, head of the Capital Defense Command; Lt. Gen. Yeo In-hyung, head of the Defense Counterintelligence Command; and Lt. Gen. Kwak Jong-keun, chief of the Army Special Warfare Command. (Yonhap)

All four commanders, alongside Park, have been suspended from their duties and indicted with physical detention over their alleged connections to the martial law bid.

Moon is suspected of sending troops to the National Election Commission's office in Gwacheon, south of Seoul, on the night of Dec. 3, and discussing martial law operations in advance, while Yeo is also suspected of the same charges as well as ordering the arrest of key politicians.

Lee is accused of ordering the deployment of troops to the National Assembly and ordering them to enter the National Assembly building and drag out lawmakers.

Kwak is similarly accused of sending special operations forces to the National Assembly under orders from Yoon to secure the building and prevent lawmakers from passing a motion to reject martial law.

mlee@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Minji · January 20, 2025

12. Acting president likely to veto bill on special probe against Yoon: official

Is acting President Choi demonstrating leadership and standing up to the Minjoo/DPK?

Acting president likely to veto bill on special probe against Yoon: official | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Han-joo · January 20, 2025

By Kim Han-joo

SEOUL, Jan. 20 (Yonhap) -- Acting President Choi Sang-mok is likely to demand the National Assembly reconsider an opposition-proposed bill that calls for a special counsel probe into impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol over insurrection charges, a government official said Monday.

On Friday, the bill, proposed by the main opposition Democratic Party (DP), was passed during a parliamentary plenary session, despite unanimous opposition from lawmakers of the ruling People Power Party.

"Acting President Choi is deliberating how to handle the special counsel probe bill," the finance ministry official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Choi had vetoed a similar DP-proposed bill on Yoon, stressing the need for bipartisan agreement.

The latest bill omits allegations that Yoon has committed "treason" by attempting to provoke a deliberate conflict with North Korea, which were previously part of the bill rejected by Choi.

The ruling party had still criticized the DP-proposed bill as being "overly broad," and said it would propose its own version that does not include insurrection charges over Yoon's failed martial law bid.

The latest bill passed by the opposition-led parliament is unlikely to be included in the motion for the Cabinet meeting scheduled for Tuesday, the ministry official noted.

The official noted it was difficult to say whether the bill passed with bipartisan support, while there also existed questions over the need for a special counsel given that the president is already in detention.

khj@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Han-joo · January 20, 2025

13. South Korea to develop indigenous 'Iron Dome' system

Will the laws of physics support this? Or will this be in name only?

South Korea to develop indigenous 'Iron Dome' system

koreaherald.com · by Hwang Joo-young · January 20, 2025

A conceptual illustration of a South Korean low-altitude missile defense system (DAPA)

South Korea has started development of a low-altitude missile defense system, akin to Israel’s "Iron Dome," to better counter long-range North Korean artillery threats.

The Defense Acquisition Program Administration held a project kickoff meeting on Monday attended by military officials, representatives from the Agency for Defense Development -- a state-run defense think tank -- and prototype manufacturers, including LIG Nex1, Hanwha Aerospace and Hanwha Systems. According to DAPA, the ADD will lead the project.

The new ground-based missile defense system is designed to protect critical national and military facilities in the Seoul metropolitan area from North Korea’s long-range artillery.

DAPA stated that the system is being designed to engage a larger number of targets simultaneously compared to Israel’s Iron Dome system, which has been used to intercept short-range rockets during Israel's conflicts with Hamas.

According to DAPA, the ADD plans to leverage its expertise in systems integration, fire control and precision detection and tracking technologies developed during previous air defense missile system projects.

The project, aiming for completion by 2028, is expected to cost approximately 479.8 billion won ($330 million).

“The launch of this project signifies our capability to independently secure a robust air defense system to protect critical facilities and the lives of our citizens from North Korea’s long-range artillery threats,” a DAPA official said.

“We are also exploring measures to expedite the system’s deployment and will closely cooperate with the ADD, the military and prototype manufacturers to ensure its success.”

The newly developed surface-to-air defense system will primarily target threats at altitudes of up to 12 kilometers, defending against North Korea’s long-range artillery shells, which typically travel at altitudes below 20 kilometers.

Currently, the military independently operates a comprehensive surface-to-air missile defense system: the Shingung and Cheongung systems for altitudes of up to 12 kilometers; the Patriot, M-SAM-II and M-SAM-I systems for the altitude range of 12 to 40 kilometers; and the L-SAM-I for 40 to 80 kilometers.

The L-SAM-II, capable of countering threats above 80 kilometers, is currently under development.

koreaherald.com · by Hwang Joo-young · January 20, 2025

14. Editorial: Detention warrant for President Yoon raises concerns of judicial double standards

The MInjoo/DPK is digging itself into a hole and exposing its true intent (which is not to protect Korean democracy).

Editorial: Detention warrant for President Yoon raises concerns of judicial double standards

https://www.chosun.com/english/opinion-en/2025/01/20/3QKYP3KSABC45OTNU7PDKUZXKI/

By The Chosunilbo

Published 2025.01.20. 09:15

Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung / Yonhap

Judge Cha Eun-kyung of the Seoul Western District Court issued a warrant to detain impeached President Yoon Suk-yeol, citing only one reason: “concern that the suspect may destroy evidence.” Typically, courts provide detailed grounds and reasoning when issuing a detention warrant, explaining why they believe a suspect might destroy evidence or pose a flight risk. However, in this case—where the arrest and detention of a sitting president could significantly impact the Constitutional Court’s impeachment trial—the court only offered a brief, 15-character explanation without elaborating on why it was concerned that Yoon might destroy evidence. It also did not address flight risk or the validity of the charges. The court’s decision appears to have been influenced by Yoon’s refusal to comply with searches and summonses, as well as his blanket denial of the allegations.

The lack of explanation raises questions about the fairness and consistency of court rulings. In other high-profile cases, the court took a different approach. It rejected an arrest warrant for Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung, even after the National Assembly passed a motion for his arrest with bipartisan support. Similarly, while sentencing Rebuilding Korea Party leader Cho Guk to two years in prison for document falsification, the court opted not to detain him, allowing him to run in the general election and secure a seat in the National Assembly. In contrast, issuing a detention warrant for a sitting president with only a brief 15-character justification invites questions about the court’s impartiality.

The judge who dismissed Lee’s arrest warrant in September 2023 provided a detailed 600-word explanation, noting that the need to protect Lee’s right to defense outweighed concerns about evidence destruction. The judge explained that Lee, the leader of a political party, was subject to public scrutiny and criticism, which served as a safeguard against misconduct. It is unclear why the same principle was not applied to President Yoon, who holds the nation’s highest office.

The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), leading the investigation into Yoon, is under fire for the way it handled the warrant application procedure. The CIO was criticized for “warrant shopping” after filing both the arrest and detention warrant request with the Seoul Western District Court instead of the Seoul Central District Court. The warrant review was conducted over the weekend by an on-call judge rather than a judge specializing in warrants. This contrasts with past cases where warrant judges were specially assigned to handle high-profile cases even on weekends, raising further concerns about the fairness of the process.

Attention is now shifting to the the ongoing legal battles involving Lee Jae-myung, including charges of election law violations, perjury, the Daejang-dong land development scandal, and illicit money transfers to North Korea. In the election law violation case, Lee was sentenced in the first trial to one year in prison and two years of probation on charges of lying during the presidential campaign. The second trial must be concluded by Feb. 15, and the Supreme Court ruling must be issued by May 15. Any delays or perceptions of unfairness in these proceedings could spark controversy ahead of the presidential election and undermine public trust in the judiciary.

15. South Korea's defense industry earns $9.5 bn in exports, with profits surge

A partner in the Arsenal of Democracy.

This is one reason why South Korea as a free and democratic alliance partner is more important than ever.

South Korea's defense industry earns $9.5 bn in exports, with profits surge

https://www.chosun.com/english/industry-en/2025/01/20/Z2OUSAAAZJGGDGHZRAM3UUA4IU/

Global demand powers record growth in South Korea's defense sector

By Kim Ji-hwan,

Lee Jung-soo

Published 2025.01.20. 16:35

South Korea’s defense industry is poised for significant growth in 2024, with major defense companies reporting surging profits driven by increasing export volumes and new international contracts, despite falling short of last year’s export target. /Hanwha Aerospace

South Korea’s defense industry exports totaled 13.83 trillion won ($9.5 billion at 1,456 won per dollar) in 2024, reaching only half of the target goal. However, combined operating profits for the country’s major defense companies are expected to rise significantly due to the increasing volume of exports signed over the past two years.

According to financial information provider FnGuide on Jan. 20, the combined annual operating profits of Hanwha Aerospace, Hyundai Rotem, LIG Nex1, and Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) are projected to reach $1.58 billion. This would mark a 72.3% increase from $922 million in 2023 and the first time exceeding $2 billion.

A K2 Black Panther tank firing during an exercise. /Hyundai Rotem

Among the four S. Korean major companies, Hanwha Aerospace stands out with its robust performance. The company’s estimated revenue for last year is $6.94 billion, and its operating profit is projected to rise 94.65% year-on-year to $924 million. Hanwha Aerospace signed export contracts in 2022 for K9 self-propelled howitzers and Chunmoo multiple rocket launchers (K-239 Chunmoo) with Poland, as well as a K9 deal with Egypt. These contracts have been reflected in its earnings since the second quarter of last year.

Hyundai Rotem, driven by its K2 tanks, is expected to see a revenue increase of 18.43% from the previous year, reaching $2.92 billion. Its operating profit is forecast to surge by 116.66% to $313 million. The company delivered 56 K2GF (gap filler) tanks to Poland under its first contract last year and plans to deliver an additional 96 units this year. Analysts noted that increased exports in the rail sector, which has higher profitability than domestic sales, also contributed to Hyundai Rotem’s rising profits.

South Korea Air Force F-15K and a Philippine Air Force FA-50PH perform a friendship flight over Darwin Air Base in Australia during the exercise Pitch Black on Dec. 31. /KAI

KAI, the manufacturer of the KF-21 Korean Fighter and FA-50 light combat aircraft, is expected to record $2.52 billion in revenue, a 4% decline from the previous year, but an 11.28% increase in operating profit at $189 million.

KAI delivered the domestically developed Light Armed Helicopter (LAH) “Miron” to the S. Korean Army in Dec. 2024,. It is also set to include development earnings from the FA-50PL, a customized variant for Poland, which will begin deliveries at the end of this year. Revenue from the FA-50PL project is recognized gradually as the project progresses. Key development achievements, such as the completion of the air refueling system for the FA-50PL, have been included in the revenue starting from the third quarter of last year.

LIG Nex1, a specialist in guided weapons, is projected to post $2.06 billion in revenue, up 29.93%, and an operating profit of $155 million, up 21% year-on-year. By the end of the third quarter last year, the company’s order backlog stood at $12.63 billion. LIG Nex1 also secured its first export contract for the Cheongung-II surface-to-air guided missile system, agreeing to deliver eight batteries to Iraq. Following pricing negotiations with Hanwha Aerospace, LIG Nex1′s earnings are also expected to grow this year.

A defense industry official said, “As companies increase production of exported defense equipment this year, their earnings are expected to grow even more. New contracts with the Philippines for frigates and ongoing submarine talks with Poland are also likely to strengthen their performance.”

16. Study or else: N. Korean workers face daily memorization drills on party policies

"Civics class" in north Korea is unlike civics anywhere else in the world though I am sure there are some throughout the world who would like to emulate these policies and practices. And this gives new meaning to "life-long learning."

But on a serious note, ideological control is Kim's superpower for survival.

Study or else: N. Korean workers face daily memorization drills on party policies - Daily NK English

"It's absurd to force miners, already exhausted from working underground, to memorize materials and answer questions," one worker told Daily NK

By Seon Hwa - January 20, 2025

dailynk.com · by Seon Hwa · January 20, 2025

The Rodong Sinmun newspaper reported on Dec. 29 that the politburo of the Eighth Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) convened on Dec. 27 for its 24th session, which lasted for two days. The politburo’s meeting, which was held immediately after the Central Committee’s plenary session began on Dec. 23, reviewed items consolidated from research groups and deliberative bodies in various subcommittees and revised and supplemented their draft decisions before submitting them to the plenary session, the newspaper reported. (Rodong Sinmun, News 1)

North Korean authorities have mandated nationwide study sessions on the outcomes of December’s 11th Plenary Meeting of the Eighth Central Committee, requiring workers to memorize the content – a policy that’s drawing increasing complaints of exhaustion.

“Regional party committees have ordered all party members and workers to study the plenary meeting decisions,” a Daily NK source in North Pyongan province reported recently. “Everyone must attend ‘plenary meeting study sessions’ after work before they can go home.”

The study materials cover North Korea’s 2025 economic policies under its five-year plan, including key economic indicators, annual production targets, and specific goals for individual workplaces. Workers must demonstrate complete mastery of these materials to show their commitment to organizational objectives.

Workers with regular jobs are particularly frustrated by these mandatory after-work memorization sessions. At one North Pyongan province coal mine, a worker expressed his frustration with the daily question-and-answer sessions: “It’s absurd to force miners, already exhausted from working underground, to memorize materials and answer questions.”

The pressure has intensified as officials from higher agencies conduct random spot checks. “They stop miners in passing and quiz them about the study materials,” the source said. “Everyone’s on edge because if you answer incorrectly, they report it to your supervisor, who then faces reprimands.”

Local party officials, fearing criticism from their superiors over workers’ inadequate knowledge, have resorted to harsh tactics. “They tell workers to ‘memorize the materials instead of sleeping,'” the source said. “When someone can’t recite the content, these officials publicly humiliate them, calling them stupid and birdbrained. It’s created serious tension between officials and workers.”

Workers are increasingly vocal about their displeasure with these policies. “People are asking how this helps anything,” the source explained. “They say you need good morale to meet production goals, but these daily memorization drills and hostile quizzing just destroy workplace spirit. How does memorizing party decisions improve the economy? We shouldn’t waste time on such pointless activities.”

Read in Korean

dailynk.com · by Seon Hwa · January 20, 2025

17. Classroom politics: N. Korean teacher loses position after failed attempt to skip militia drills

Reported by a colleague. Anywhere else a friend or colleague would cover for you but not in north Korea where you only get ahead by demonstrating personal loyalty to the Kim family regime. And loyalty means reporting on family, friends. and co-workers.

Classroom politics: N. Korean teacher loses position after failed attempt to skip militia drills - Daily NK English

The training runs for two weeks at Red Youth Guards camps located throughout the country's cities and counties

By Eun Seol - January 20, 2025

dailynk.com · by Eun Seol · January 20, 2025

Members of the Worker-Peasant Red Guard (WPRG) participate in military drills. (DPRK Today)

A young teacher in Hoeryong, North Hamgyong province, faced public criticism and lost her teaching position after attempting to dodge mandatory militia drills – exposed by a colleague’s report to authorities, Daily NK learned Thursday.

The incident involved a teacher in her 20s, identified only as Kim, who sought help from a parent with connections to the city’s militia department. She hoped to obtain falsified documents showing she had completed the required Worker-Peasant Red Guards exercises during winter break.

In North Korea, all unmarried women, including teachers, must participate in these militia drills. The training runs for two weeks at Red Youth Guards camps located throughout the country’s cities and counties. While men must continue participating after marriage, women gain exemption upon wedding – leading to the common joke that women should “marry quickly if they don’t want to lug a gun and a backpack during drills.”

The scheme unraveled when a fellow teacher reported Kim to authorities. She was subsequently labeled “ideologically ill” during a faculty assembly and stripped of her classroom duties.

“The whistleblower had long envied homeroom teachers’ positions,” the source explained. “Homeroom teachers can sustain themselves through parents’ bribes, while teachers without classrooms struggle financially.”

The source revealed that schools typically have five or six teachers without assigned classes, creating intense competition for homeroom positions. “The start of each year brings fierce competition for classroom assignments,” they said. “The reporting teacher deliberately waited for the right moment to target Kim, hoping to secure a classroom position for the new semester.”

However, the whistleblower’s actions have backfired among colleagues. Other teachers have condemned her as “mean” for betraying a colleague to gain a classroom position. Since using connections to avoid militia drills is common practice among teachers, they view the betrayal as worse than the attempted drill-dodging.

“Ultimately, she won’t get a classroom assignment, and her reputation is ruined,” the source concluded. “Some suggest there must have been good reasons she wasn’t assigned a class in the first place.”

Read in Korean

dailynk.com · by Eun Seol · January 20, 2025

18. Why are lines at Incheon Airport getting longer? Security delays frustrate travelers

On my numerous trips through Incheon Airport over the last year I have noticed this. Lines to get through security appear daunting once you go through the first checkpoint and see the mass of humanity standing before you. However, the lines keep moving and you hardly ever come to a stop. In reality it does not take very long to get through the line and at the X-ray checkpoint the Korean officials and the screening equipment are very efficient at helping you get through the process. I have not observed any equipment malfunctions or staffing shortages. It is better than any US airport (though TSA-pre and especially Clear help a lot).

Why are lines at Incheon Airport getting longer? Security delays frustrate travelers

https://www.chosun.com/english/national-en/2025/01/20/OIEK3ORE3VAKTOYXDKXJEXSELQ/

Incheon Airport struggles with staff shortages and equipment malfunctions

By Yoo Byoung-hoon,

Shon Duk-ho,

Lee Jae-eun

Published 2025.01.20. 14:47

Updated 2025.01.20. 15:49

Travelers waiting in line at the security checkpoint at Incheon Airport's Terminal 2 on Jan. 3, 2025. / Yoo Byoung-hoon

Mr. Park, 38, experienced an excruciatingly long wait before he boarded a flight to Nha Trang, Vietnam, departing from Incheon International Airport at 9:50 p.m. late last month. He arrived at the airport at around 7 p.m. on Dec. 27, nearly three hours before the flight, but the line at the security checkpoint inside the departure hall was so long that he reached the boarding gate only 10 minutes before departure at around 9 40 p.m. “I don’t understand why so many security checkpoints are left closed,” he said in frustration.

Travelers are increasingly frustrated with the lengthy departure procedures at Incheon Airport. Long lines at security checkpoints, which screen passengers and their carry-on luggage inside the departure hall, have become a recurring problem.

The new security equipment the airport introduced to improve the speed and accuracy of the screening process has reportedly been causing issues, according to sources familiar with the matter. A lack of sufficient staff to fully operate the equipment has further exacerbated the situation.

According to Incheon Airport and the Security Checkpoint Workers' Union on Jan. 20, less than one-third of the airport’s security checkpoints are operational during peak hours, from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., when passenger numbers are at their highest. The airport and the union cite a “lack of manpower” for this setback. Only six out of 21 security checkpoints at Terminal 2 Departure Gate 1 were functioning, leaving over 70% of the facilities underutilized.

While some suggest adjusting staff schedules so that more people can work during peak hours, the union claims that the workload would be unsustainable with the current staffing shortage even if the airport opted for such flexibility. Security screeners work four days a week in seven shifts, with some pulling grueling 15-hour shifts from 4 p.m. to 7 a.m., which is 13.5 hours of actual work excluding breaks. This workload far exceeds the legal 40-hour workweek. Even during peak hours, nearly half of all staff and 75% of those scheduled to work are engaged in security screening duties.

Incheon Airport has been rolling out new security screening equipment since 2022 to improve screening accuracy and efficiency. All 33 checkpoints in Terminal 1 now use the updated equipment, while at Terminal 2, only 7 of the 35 checkpoints have been upgraded, with the remaining 28 still using older models.

The older equipment relied on X-ray technology, which required screeners to analyze two-dimensional images to detect potentially dangerous or prohibited items. The new equipment’s computed tomography (CT) technology provides 360-degree, three-dimensional images that can be rotated, allowing for a more detailed luggage inspection.

While the older machines could handle 145 bags per hour, the new equipment can screen up to 260 bags per hour, significantly improving processing speed. Scanning a single bag now takes 14 seconds, compared to 25 seconds with the older equipment.

However, the new equipment requires more staff—7 workers per checkpoint, compared to 4.5 for the older ones. When factoring in this limitation, the hourly processing efficiency per staff member has increased by just 7.8%, from 32.2 passengers to 34.7.

The new equipment, while promising, is reportedly prone to malfunctions that hinder overall efficiency. The union claims that the equipment features more radiation-shielding lead curtains at the entrance, which often causes lightweight items, such as scarves, to fall out of the plastic security bins. When this happens, the equipment must be shut down and reset, which takes about four minutes, equivalent to the time needed to process the luggage of 16 passengers. However, an Incheon Airpot official said, “Cases of items falling out of security bins are extremely rare.”

The union also pointed out that the machines generate an error if a carry-on bag is not scanned within 15 seconds, requiring staff to manually rescan and inspect the luggage. These issues contribute to longer wait times at security checkpoints.

Industry insiders argue that introducing updated security equipment is insufficient to meet the growing demand for departures at Incheon Airport. According to airport statistics, a daily average of 3,809 passengers departed from Terminal 2 between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. in December last year.

De Oppresso Liber,

David Maxwell

Vice President, Center for Asia Pacific Strategy

Senior Fellow, Global Peace Foundation

Editor, Small Wars Journal

Twitter: @davidmaxwell161

Phone: 202-573-8647

email: david.maxwell161@gmail.com

De Oppresso Liber,

David Maxwell

Vice President, Center for Asia Pacific Strategy

Senior Fellow, Global Peace Foundation

Editor, Small Wars Journal

Twitter: @davidmaxwell161

email: david.maxwell161@gmail.com

If you do not read anything else in the 2017 National Security Strategy read this on page 14:

"A democracy is only as resilient as its people. An informed and engaged citizenry is the fundamental requirement for a free and resilient nation. For generations, our society has protected free press, free speech, and free thought. Today, actors such as Russia are using information tools in an attempt to undermine the legitimacy of democracies. Adversaries target media, political processes, financial networks, and personal data. The American public and private sectors must recognize this and work together to defend our way of life. No external threat can be allowed to shake our shared commitment to our values, undermine our system of government, or divide our Nation."

Access NSS HERE

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Study or else: N. Korean workers face daily memorization drills on party policies - Daily NK English

Classroom politics: N. Korean teacher loses position after failed attempt to skip militia drills - Daily NK English

Why are lines at Incheon Airport getting longer? Security delays frustrate travelers