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Quotes of the Day:
"Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster."
– Nietzsche
"No problem can withstand the assault of sustained thinking."
– Voltaire
"Be a free thinker and don't accept everything as truth. Be critical and evaluate what you believe in ."
– Aristotle
1. N. Korean leader's sister raps Yoon over his New Year's Day speech
2. Sister of North Korean leader derides South Korea's president but praises his predecessor
3. Kim Jong Un orders end to communist diplomacy to reunify Korean Peninsula
4. Ex-US envoy stresses need to step up allied drills against NK threats
5. Army stages live-fire drills amid NK threats
6. N. Korea likely aims to raise military tensions to secure nuclear power status: expert
7. Korea to encourage new defense research with revised evaluation system
8. North Korea: The Problem Joe Biden Wants to Avoid?
9. K2 Black Panther: The Most Expensive Tank on Earth
10. Nicaraguan ambassador to N. Korea to take up post amid signs of Pyongyang resuming diplomacy with selected countries
11. Editorial: Political terrorism in Korea must end
12. N Korea vows military strength expansion in message to S Korean President
13. YouTube on verge of becoming most-used mobile platform in S. Korea: data
14. North Korea’s Kim calls for ‘radical improvement’ in farm machine sector
1. N. Korean leader's sister raps Yoon over his New Year's Day speech
The regime's bad cop.
With some praise for the previous president.
(3rd LD) N. Korean leader's sister raps Yoon over his New Year's Day speech | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Minji · January 3, 2024
(ATTN: ADDS Seoul unification ministry's response in paras 9-11)
SEOUL, Jan. 3 (Yonhap) -- The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has unleashed a sarcasm-filled tirade over South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's New Year's Day address that unveiled a plan to complete a sturdier deterrence system with the United States to counter North Korean threats this year.
In a statement late Tuesday night, Kim Yo-jong, a vice department director of the ruling Workers' Party's Central Committee, said that the deterrence plan has again given justification for the North to spur efforts to secure "more overwhelming" nuclear forces.
During the speech, Yoon highlighted his pursuit of "genuine and lasting peace" through strength and laid out a plan to devise an improved deterrence system in the first half of the year.
"I cordially welcome ROK President Yoon Suk Yeol's pledge to continuously render 'distinctive services' to the rapid development of our state's military superiority in the new year, too," Kim said in the statement carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency.
ROK stands for South Korea's official name, the Republic of Korea.
Kim sarcastically accused Yoon of being credited with making security anxiety "commonplace" in South Korea.
Touching on the cross-border policy of Yoon's predecessor, former President Moon Jae-in, she claimed that Pyongyang, caught up in Moon's peace drive, "lost a lot of time" during which North Korea should have enhanced its combat efficiency.
During his presidency from 2017-2022, Moon doubled down on his drive for inter-Korean reconciliation and cooperation, but his efforts stalled following a no-deal Hanoi summit between then U.S. President Donald Trump and the North Korean leader in 2019.
This March 2, 2019, file photo shows Kim Yo-jong, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's sister and vice department director of the ruling Workers' Party's Central Committee, as she visits the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi. (Yonhap)
South Korea's unification ministry lambasted Kim's statement as a "petty trick" aimed at shifting the blame on Seoul over heightened inter-Korean tensions.
"Kim Yo-jong's statement is merely a petty trick by a North Korean official who doesn't even fit the bill to distort and denigrate our country's head and the government in regard to the current situation," Kim In-ae, deputy ministry spokesperson, said in a statement.
The ministry official dismissed Kim's claim that North Korea wasted its time during the Moon administration as a "lie," pointing out that Pyongyang has never ceased its development of nuclear and missile programs.
Seoul's defense ministry dismissed Kim's statement as a "forced claim that makes no sense," likening it to a criminal blaming an innocent civilian or the police for committing a crime.
"While establishing a firm readiness posture, our military will punish any North Korean provocation immediately, strongly and until the end," it said in a statement.
The North has been ratcheting up tensions recently with ballistic missile tests and tough rhetoric against the South and the U.S.
Concluding the plenary meeting of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea on Saturday, the North Korean leader put forth the goal of launching three more military spy satellites as well as adding to its nuclear arsenal this year.
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Minji · January 3, 2024
2. Sister of North Korean leader derides South Korea's president but praises his predecessor
Praise of the predecessor should be a cause for concern as it is part of the regime's political warfare strategy to subvert the South.
Sister of North Korean leader derides South Korea's president but praises his predecessor
The Washington Post · by Hyung-Jin Kim | AP · January 2, 2024
SEOUL, South Korea — The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has derided South Korea’s conservative president for being “foolishly brave” but called his liberal predecessor “very smart” — rhetoric likely meant to help stoke domestic divisions in South Korea.
Her statement Tuesday came as a response to South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s New Year’s Day address, in which he said he would bolster South Korea’s military capability and enhance its alliance with the United States to cope with North Korea’s evolving nuclear threats.
Since taking office in 2022, Yoon has made such comments numerous times. Kim’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, used Yoon’s latest remarks as an opportunity to fire off derisive rhetoric against him.
“This person … has persistently called for ‘peace by force’ and got hell-bent on the beefing up of the extended deterrence and the South Korea-U.S. joint military exercises, thus putting the destiny of (South Korea) on the last extremity,” Kim Yo Jong said in a statement carried by state media.
Some observers say she may be seeking to boost anti-Yoon sentiments in South Korea among those opposing his North Korea policy ahead of April’s parliamentary elections.
Kim Yo Jong said that Yoon’s “foolishly brave” stance and “fanatical military confrontation posture” have led to North Korea beefing up its military programs. She said Yoon’s New Year’s Day speech once again provided North Korea with a justification to obtain ”more overwhelming nuclear fighting capability.”
Later she compared Yoon with his liberal predecessor, Moon Jae-in, calling the former South Korean president “very smart and crafty.”
She said that Moon’s appeasement policy left North Korea wasting time and failing to press forward with its arms buildup programs. She said Moon pleaded for North Korea to impose a moratorium on its missile and nuclear tests while bolstering South Korea’s own national security by procuring advanced U.S. fighter jets and winning U.S. consent in acquiring more powerful missiles.
But her praise of Moon contradicts earlier statements in which she and her government have previously berated him severely.
In 2021, she called Moon “a parrot raised by America” after he criticized North Korean missile tests. In 2019, in one of the most disdainful insults directed at Moon, an unidentified North Korean government committee spokesperson said that Moon’s comments hoping for better ties would make even the “boiled head of a cow break out into side-splitting laughter.”
“Kim Jong Un and Kim Yo Jong are likely missing Moon’s period because he was easier to deal with,” said Moon Seong Mook, an analyst for the Seoul-based Korea Research Institute for National Strategy. “They likely strongly wish Moon’s allies would win the parliamentary elections and later regain South Korea’s presidency, so they are trying to meddle in South Korean politics.”
On Wednesday, Yoon’s Defense Ministry called Kim Yo Jong’s statement “an irrational claim and sophistry that makes no sense.” A ministry statement said South Korea’s military will strongly and swiftly punish any provocations by North Korea.
Moon Jae-in, who governed South Korea from 2017-2022, was a champion of inter-Korean rapprochement. He met Kim Jong Un three times in 2018, touching off a flurry of short-lived exchange programs between the rivals and helping arrange the first North Korea-U.S. summit held between Kim and then-U.S. President Donald Trump. But North Korea turned a cold shoulder on Moon and cut off ties after its diplomacy with the United States fell apart in 2019.
Moon’s engagement policy drew both praise and criticism. His supporters credited him with achieving cooperation with North Korea and avoiding major armed clashes, but opponents say he was a naive North Korea sympathizer who ended up helping the North buy time to advance its nuclear program in the face of international sanctions and pressure.
Since the collapse of the nuclear diplomacy with the U.S., North Korea has been pushing hard to modernize its nuclear arsenal. That has prompted South Korea and the U.S. — now led by Yoon and President Joe Biden — to expand their military exercises and increase the temporary deployments of strategic U.S. assets like bombers, aircraft carriers and a nuclear-armed submarine. North Korea views such moves as a major security threat.
Moon Seong Mook, the expert, said Kim Jong Un appears “really angry” because his advancing nuclear program has failed to give him a strategic dominance on the Korean Peninsula.
Many experts say Kim Jong Un will likely intensify his weapons tests ahead of the U.S. presidential election in November because he believes he can wrest major concessions like sanctions relief if Trump returns to the White House.
Moon Seong Mook said North Korea won’t likely win what it wants even if Trump is reelected. But some say Trump may meet Kim again and offer concessions, as the U.S. is now preoccupied with other urgent issues like the Ukraine-Russia and the Israel-Hamas wars.
The Washington Post · by Hyung-Jin Kim | AP · January 2, 2024
3. Kim Jong Un orders end to communist diplomacy to reunify Korean Peninsula
The regime has always sought domination of the peninsula under the rule of the guerilla Dynasty and Gulag Sate. It talked about unification in order to subvert the ROK government and society. It has never had an intention of seeking peaceful unification through coexistence. It has always been about domination. This might be an indication that Kim thinks his subversion/political warfare strategy needs to be tweaked and that using unification as a pretext for subversion may no longer be viable given the current South Korean administration and its focus on real unification.
Kim Jong Un orders end to communist diplomacy to reunify Korean Peninsula
Stars and Stripes · by David Choi · January 2, 2024
North Koreans hoist their flag during a celebration marking the new year on Jan. 1, 2024. (Korean Central News Agency)
CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea — North Korea will scrap its efforts to reunify the Korean Peninsula due to South Korea’s “collusion with foreign forces,” the country’s state-run news agency reported Sunday.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during the five-day, end-of-year ruling party plenary meeting in Pyongyang last week made a “decisive policy change” toward South Korea, according to a Korean Central News Agency report published Sunday.
Kim said Pyongyang will abandon its efforts to reunify the peninsula because of Seoul’s insistence on the “collapse of the [North Korean] regime” and “absorbing” the North, KCNA reported.
North Korean media frequently claim that efforts to peacefully reunite the peninsula following the 1950-53 Korean War is stymied by U.S.-South Korean military drills and economic sanctions.
“It is not suitable to … [North Korea] to discuss the issue of reunification with the strange clan, who is no more than a colonial stooge of the [United States],” the report said.
North Korea’s Foreign Affairs Minister Choe Son-hui met with government officials Monday to “abolish and readjust organizations” relating to South Korean affairs, according to a news release from the ministry that day.
South Korea’s Ministry of Unification, the government agency tasked with promoting inter-Korean dialogue and reunification of the peninsula, said it “strongly condemns” Kim’s remarks, according to an emailed statement Monday.
Seoul will continue to “overwhelmingly suppress North Korea’s threats” with the U.S. and “pursue the normalization of inter-Korean relations …,” the ministry said.
North Korean rhetoric toward South Korea and the United States may test whoever is U.S. president in 2025, according to the Seoul-based Korean Institute for National Unification senior research fellow Hong Min.
“North Korea’s focus could be on showcasing its maximum weapon capabilities, particularly nuclear capabilities, before the upcoming U.S. presidential election,” Hong said by phone Tuesday.
North Korea may believe that its nuclear weapons could be a bargaining chip strong enough on its own, Hong said, and that pursuing reunification or diplomatic relations with the South may just be a burden.
During the plenary meeting of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea, Kim also said the regime will launch three military spy satellites into orbit and accelerate its nuclear weapons plan, according to KCNA.
Two of North Korea’s three satellite launch attempts in 2023 ended in failure. The regime also fired 24 ballistic missiles, five of intercontinental range, last year.
During a televised New Year’s address Monday, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol vowed to enhance the country’s defense, with U.S. help, against North Korea. U.S. military assets made several shows of force in South Korea last year.
The USS Kentucky made a port call to Busan in July, marking the first visit of a U.S. nuclear-capable ballistic missile submarine to South Korea in 42 years.
Three months later, a U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress bomber, also capable of carrying nuclear weapons, landed in South Korea for the first time in at least 30 years. It went on to fly the first-ever trilateral air power exercise with South Korean and Japanese fighter jets on Oct. 22. choi.david@stripes.com, Twitter: @choibboy
Joseph Ditzler
Joseph Ditzler
Joseph Ditzler is a Marine Corps veteran and the Pacific editor for Stars and Stripes. He’s a native of Pennsylvania and has written for newspapers and websites in Alaska, California, Florida, New Mexico, Oregon and Pennsylvania. He studied journalism at Penn State and international relations at the University of Oklahoma.
Stars and Stripes · by David Choi · January 2, 2024
4. Ex-US envoy stresses need to step up allied drills against NK threats
Concur. But we should note that we are doing more than we have done in decades.
Ex-US envoy stresses need to step up allied drills against NK threats
The Korea Times · January 3, 2024
Former U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Harry Harris speaks during a virtual forum hosted by The Washington Times Foundation in this photo captured from its YouTube account, Jan. 2. Yonhap
A former U.S. ambassador to South Korea called Tuesday for beefed-up defense drills between Seoul and Washington to counter North Korean threats, stressing the pursuit of dialogue with the recalcitrant regime should not come at the expense of the allies' military readiness.
Retired Adm. Harry Harris, who served as U.S. ambassador to South Korea from 2018-2021, made the call, pointing to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's unrelenting focus on advancing his regime's nuclear program and other weapons projects.
"The quest for dialogue with the North must never be made at the expense of the ability to respond to threats from the North," he said during a virtual forum hosted by The Washington Times Foundation, a U.S.-based nonprofit organization.
"We must up our combined game. Deterrence by appeasement is not deterrence at all," he added, underscoring that dialogue and military readiness must go "hand in hand."
Harris noted that last year alone, Pyongyang launched dozens of ballistic missiles of "increasing complexity" and traded weapons for Russian technology to conduct a satellite launch.
"Clearly, this is no path towards peace," he said. "While we hope for diplomacy with North Korea to be successful, we must recognize that hope alone is not a course of action."
Harris also expressed concerns over South Korean Foreign Minister nominee Cho Tae-yul's recent remarks in pursuit of improved relations with China.
"He seeks to strike an equivalency between China and the United States," he said. "There is no equivalency. South Korea has only one ally that will have its back if North Korea invades, and China is not that country."
Prior to his ambassadorial stint, Harris served as the head of the U.S. Pacific Command, currently the Indo-Pacific Command, an umbrella unit that oversees the 28,500-strong U.S. Forces Korea. (Yonhap)
The Korea Times · January 3, 2024
5. Army stages live-fire drills amid NK threats
Army stages live-fire drills amid NK threats
The Korea Times · January 2, 2024
K9 self-propelled howitzers of the 2nd Artillery Brigade takes part in a live-fire exercise at a training ground in Hwacheon County, 89 kilometers northeast of Seoul, Jan. 2. Courtesy of the Army
The Army conducted live-fire artillery and mechanized unit maneuver drills Tuesday to reinforce readiness against possible North Korean provocations in the new year, its officials said.
The exercise took place in areas near the front line, involving the Capital Mechanized Infantry Division and the 2nd Quick Response Division, among other units, with key Army assets, such as K9 self-propelled howitzers and K2 tanks.
The drills proceeded under various scenarios, including enemy artillery provocations, with troops carrying out retaliatory artillery firing against the origins of provocations, enemy command posts and their support forces, the Army said.
The exercise also mobilized Apache attack helicopters to provide aerial support for ground troops, while mechanized units trained on maneuvering swiftly to suppress enemy forces.
"In light of the new year and amid a grave security situation, the exercise took place to establish a strong combat posture at all times and to reinforce the resolve for a strong response and punishment in the event of an enemy provocation," the Army said.
The drills took place after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un defined inter-Korean ties as relations "between two states hostile to each other" and called for stepped-up preparations to "suppress the whole territory of South Korea" in a year-end ruling party meeting that ended Saturday. (Yonhap)
The Korea Times · January 2, 2024
6. N. Korea likely aims to raise military tensions to secure nuclear power status: expert
Yes to this statement and arms control negotiations will provide Kim with this recognition.
Excerpt:
"The Kim regime is presumed to be using the strategy of heightening military tensions on the peninsula to be recognized as a nuclear state by the U.S. government," Oh Gyeong-seob, a director at the state-funded Korea Institute for National Unification, said in a report.
N. Korea likely aims to raise military tensions to secure nuclear power status: expert | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Soo-yeon · January 3, 2024
SEOUL, Jan. 3 (Yonhap) -- North Korea appears to define its ties with South Korea as those between "two belligerent states" in an effort to intensify tensions on the Korean Peninsula so as to be recognized as a nuclear state by the United States, an expert said Wednesday.
At a year-end party meeting last week, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said inter-Korean relations are now those between "two nations hostile to each other" and ordered preparations for "a great event to suppress the whole territory" of South Korea in the event of a contingency.
"The Kim regime is presumed to be using the strategy of heightening military tensions on the peninsula to be recognized as a nuclear state by the U.S. government," Oh Gyeong-seob, a director at the state-funded Korea Institute for National Unification, said in a report.
This photo, carried by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on Dec. 31, 2023, shows the North's leader Kim Jong-un (C) attending a plenary meeting of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea the previous day. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
He said if the security situation on the peninsula becomes unstable due to North Korea's provocations, the issue of a nuclear disarmament or a revisit to the nuclear non-proliferation regime could be raised.
Analysts said North Korea is expected to focus on improving its nuclear and missile programs to raise its leverage ahead of the U.S. presidential election in November, hoping that former U.S. President Donald Trump will be reelected.
The North Korean leader held three meetings with Trump, but denuclearization talks have remained stalled since the collapse of their Hanoi summit in February 2019.
Oh also said North Korea is forecast to strengthen the role of agencies dealing with espionage operations or external ties, while dissolving or shrinking bodies in charge of inter-Korean affairs, such as the National Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland.
At the party meeting, the North's leader called for revamping agencies handling inter-Korean affairs as he will no longer consider South Korea a counterpart for reconciliation and unification.
Some experts said North Korea's foreign ministry may absorb the United Front Department at the ruling party, a key unit in charge of affairs with South Korea.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Soo-yeon · January 3, 2024
7. Korea to encourage new defense research with revised evaluation system
Korea to encourage new defense research with revised evaluation system
The Korea Times · January 2, 2024
President Yoon Suk Yeol visits Defense Industry exhibition in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Provicne, Dec. 7, 2023. Courtesy of the presidential office
Korea will employ a new evaluation system for some defense research projects in a move to ease burdens from possible failure and encourage participation in more challenging projects, the defense ministry said Tuesday.
The Cabinet approved the revised Defense Science and Technology Innovation Promotion Act to introduce the new system for emerging defense technology projects to evaluate not only their results but also the research process, according to the ministry.
Under the existing results-focused system, participants in the projects, such as companies and research institutes, had largely undertaken those with a high possibility of success due to fears of failing to produce desired results, the ministry said.
If a project is deemed to have failed, participants can be restricted from such projects for up to two years or the government can take back the project's funding partially or in its entirety.
The new system will take into account the project's level of difficulty and whether it has been conducted in good faith, easing the pressure to achieve intended goals, according to the ministry.
The system will be used to evaluate projects for defense technologies that do not have planned requirements, such as a vaccine platform to respond to a biological or chemical attack, and not for those being developed to meet specific military needs.
The revised law will take effect three months after its proclamation, which is expected to take place next week. (Yonhap)
The Korea Times · January 2, 2024
8. North Korea: The Problem Joe Biden Wants to Avoid?
You know our recommendations: Shift to a human rights up front approach, a strong information campaign, and the pursuit of a free and unified Korea.
North Korea: The Problem Joe Biden Wants to Avoid?
The U.S. and North Korea are beginning from such a low baseline that even small, incremental changes away from brinksmanship would be a big step forward. Unfortunately, the status-quo is likely to prevail throughout the year.
The National Interest · by Daniel R. DePetris · January 2, 2024
It’s difficult to look at the Korean Peninsula and conclude that Washington’s perennial North Korea problem will be any less relevant at the end of 2024 than it is today.
North Korea: What Happened to Diplomacy?
The previous year was one of the more discouraging on record, a far cry from the time when U.S. and North Korean officials were actually talking to each other about a possible diplomatic agreement on Pyongyang’s nuclear program and the overall state of affairs between their two countries.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has doubled down on his nuclear deterrent and ordered yet another expansion of Pyongyang’s arsenal during the 8th Workers’ Party of Korea Central Committee meeting this week.
The International Atomic Energy Agency, which hasn’t had a presence on North Korean soil since it was kicked out in 2009, reports that a light-water reactor at the Yongbyon nuclear complex will likely be operational by this summer, giving Kim another way to churn out plutonium.
Inter-Korean relations are in the doldrums, with former South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s policy of dialogue all but overturned by North Korea’s own actions and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s aversion to doing the opposite of what his predecessor did. The 2018 inter-Korean military accord designed to limit miscalculations along the Demilitarized Zone is now the byproduct of an old era.
2024, therefore, starts out in an especially depressing mood. South Korea’s National Intelligence Service assesses that the North Koreans will likely make trouble as South Koreans and Americans take to the polls this year. Kim Jong-un is broadcasting his intentions to accelerate North Korea’s military modernization drive, with an emphasis on finalizing the operational deployment of solid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM), deploying more military satellites and enhancing submarine technology with the eventual goal of pairing nuclear-armed missiles to them (which would provide Pyongyang with another option to hold the U.S., South Korea, and Japan at risk).
President Yoon is well aware of all these developments, has largely given up on diplomacy, is expanding bilateral security ties with Japan, and seeks to integrate Seoul’s conventional capabilities with Washington’s nuclear umbrella.
To be blunt, anybody hoping for a miracle on the Korean Peninsula needs to get their head examined. The U.S. and North Korea are beginning from such a low baseline that even small, incremental changes away from brinksmanship would be a big step forward. Unfortunately, the status quo is likely to prevail throughout the year.
The U.S. will continue to hold exercises with the South Korean and Japanese militaries, both bilaterally and trilaterally, to send Pyongyang a message that its rhetoric and actions are causing more trouble than they’re worth. North Korea, in turn, will cite growing U.S.-South Korea-Japan ties as justification to strengthen its own military capacity, proceed with its missile testing schedule, and deepen its closer partnerships with Russia and China as a counterweight.
Joe Biden Will Play it Safe
Busy with his re-election campaign, President Biden will play it safe with his North Korea strategy rather than take risks, even if playing it safe amounts to his administration mouthing useless platitudes about a North Korean denuclearization scenario that ceased to be realistic more than a decade ago.
The best the United States can hope for in the year ahead is to not make things worse. That means not overreacting to North Korean missile tests, recognizing it’s the far stronger party in the dispute, and understanding that for all his fire-breathing rhetoric, Kim Jong-un is an egomaniac who is nevertheless a rational actor.
About the Author
Daniel R. DePetris is a fellow at Defense Priorities and a syndicated foreign affairs columnist for the Chicago Tribune.
Image Credit: Shutterstock.
The National Interest · by Daniel R. DePetris · January 2, 2024
9. K2 Black Panther: The Most Expensive Tank on Earth
I had no idea it was the most expensive tank? I wonder if that is accurate.
K2 Black Panther: The Most Expensive Tank on Earth
The K2 Black Panther costs a whopping $8.5 million per unit - the most expensive tank on Earth. South Korea would need it if a war with North Korea ever started - again.
The National Interest · by Harrison Kass · January 2, 2024
Why is the K2 Black Panther the Most Expensive Tank on Earth? America enjoys the world’s best geographical advantages. The United States dominates a vast, resource-rich continent – a continent populated by friendly neighbors, or at least non-threatening ones. The continent is flanked by two massive oceans – the Atlantic and the Pacific. These function as the world’s biggest moats, separating America from all other great-power nations. No other country enjoys such geographic benefits. Indeed, many countries are threatened by their geography, rather than blessed with it. Take South Korea as an example.
South Korea sits on the bottom half of a peninsula. Sitting in the top half of the peninsula is South Korea’s bitter rival – North Korea. Technically, North and South Korea are still at war; no peace treaty was ever signed to end the Korean War, even when hostilities ceased.
To this day, North Korea keeps roughly 10,000 conventional artillery pieces trained on the South Korean capital, Seoul. North Korea's conventional weaponry has the capacity to inflict apocalyptic damage on South Korea. Similarly concerning, North Korea now has capable nuclear weapons.
Indeed, South Korea inhabits an unstable geography. Given the country’s proximity to their mortal rival, Seoul has invested heavily in ground forces. This investment has resulted in, among other things, one of history’s most advanced battle tanks, and one of the most expensive: the K2 Black Panther.
The K2 Is a Once in a Generation Tank
The K2 Black Panther costs a whopping $8.5 million per unit - the most expensive on Earth.
Each unit thus represents a significant investment in South Korean defense capabilities. Hyundai, better known for its mid-to-low-priced cars, manufactures the K2. But the K2 is no Hyundai Santa Fe. This is a serious, cutting-edge piece of technology – the world’s first and only fourth-generation battle tank.
In the 1990s, South Korea held a tank gap over North Korea. Pyongyang depended on outdated, early Cold War models like the Soviet T-55 and Type 59. Meanwhile, the U.S.-backed South Korea was operating relatively sophisticated K1 and KA1 tanks, which were designed in the 1980s. Still, given the dangerous nature of South Korea’s geography, and their proximity to North Korea, South Korea was not satisfied with their tank advantage. They set about designing even more advanced machinery.
Research for the K2 began in the late 1990s. The South Koreans wanted a tank that featured automatic target tracking devices, autoloaders, and 21st century operating software. By the early 2000s, the K2 had entered its testing phase.
In 2014, the K2 entered frontline service as clearly one of the world’s best operational tanks.
K2: Hard to Stop
The K2 packs a heavy punch, armed with a CN08 120mm 55-caliber smoothbore gun. An autoloader facilitates the firing of up to 10 rounds per minute. The CN08 is Hyundai-built – and beat out Rheinmetall’s experimental 140mm smoothbore gun in the competition to adorn the K2.
As a supplement to the main gun, the K2 carries two machine guns: one 12.7mm K6 heavy machine gun and one 7.62mm coaxial machine gun.
The 120mm main gun depends on an advanced fire-control system. The K2 uses lock-on targeting, thanks to an Extremely High-Frequency radar system, a Raman laser rangefinder, and a crosswind sensor. This means the K2 can acquire and track targets from up to 6 miles out. Accordingly, the K2 main gun is highly effective. It can fire while the tank is moving. It can even engage with low-flying aircraft. The modern fire control system makes tiny adjustments for travel over uneven terrain, calculating each bump in the road to recalibrate the gun moment to moment, resulting in a highly accurate weapon.
The K2 can move. With a top speed of 70 kilometers per hour, the K2 can accelerate from 0 to 32 kph in just 8.7 seconds. The tank was built to handle off-road-style conditions, maintaining speeds of up to 52 kph. The tank is entirely adept at handling the rugged battlefield environment. It can climb 60-degree slopes and scale 1.8-meter-high vertical objects. The K2 can also ford rivers up to a depth of 4.1 meters with no more than 20 minutes of preparation. The tank uses a snorkel system, and it can take on 500 gallons of water in the chassis, which helps the K2 sink down and maintain traction with the river bottom. Meanwhile, the turret remains watertight.
Indeed, the K2 Black Panther is a capable, modern tank. Designed for an 80-year-old feud, hopefully the K2 will never be needed for its design purpose: a land war with North Korea.
About the Author
Harrison Kass is a Senior Defense Editor with over 1,000 published articles. An attorney, pilot, guitarist, and minor pro hockey player, he joined the US Air Force as a Pilot Trainee but was medically discharged. Harrison holds a BA from Lake Forest College, a JD from the University of Oregon, and an MA from New York University. He lives in Oregon and listens to Dokken. Follow him on Twitter @harrison_kass.
All images are Creative Commons.
The National Interest · by Harrison Kass · January 2, 2024
10. Nicaraguan ambassador to N. Korea to take up post amid signs of Pyongyang resuming diplomacy with selected countries
Nicaraguan ambassador to N. Korea to take up post amid signs of Pyongyang resuming diplomacy with selected countries | Yonhap News Agency
m-en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Seung-yeon · January 3, 2024
SEOUL, Jan. 3 (Yonhap) -- Nicaragua's new ambassador to North Korea is set to take up his position in Pyongyang soon, according to a news report and diplomatic sources Wednesday, amid signs of the North apparently resuming diplomacy with countries considered to be at odds with the United States.
The online NK News reported recently that Ambassador Manuel Modesto Mungula Martinez is set to present his credentials to North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui, citing Rosario Murillo, Nicaragua's vice president and first lady.
Having the new ambassador from the Latin American country is a follow-up step after the two countries agreed in July last year to open an embassy in Pyongyang, the news outlet said.
Diplomatic sources said the opening of the Nicaraguan Embassy in North Korea and appointment of the top envoy represent the first case of the reclusive regime allowing a new diplomatic mission of a foreign country in Pyongyang since the COVID-19 pandemic.
view larger image
Officials of the Russian Embassy in Pyongyang visits the International Friendship Exhibition, a large complex in Pyongyang that houses the gifts given to former North Korean leaders by foreign dignitaries, in this photo carried by the North's Korean Central News Agency on Oct. 26, 2023. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
North Korea maintained a strict border shutdown during the pandemic. Most of the diplomatic missions also closed, with the foreign diplomats stationed there leaving Pyongyang due to the closure.
The isolated state slowly reopened its borders last year, with new ambassadors coming in to rotate the positions from China and Russia in March and September.
But it has not allowed those back in from the Western countries, like Britain, Sweden and Switzerland.
Diplomatic sources said the North appears to be reshaping its diplomacy to enhance engagement with countries that it can align with more in terms of their foreign policy approach toward Washington.
Nicaragua, along with Cuba and Venezuela, is known for its hostile U.S. policy.
"There is a possibility that the North is letting in the so-called anti-imperialist independent countries first, starting with China and Russia," a source said.
North Korea has shut down its diplomatic missions in Angola, Bangladesh, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Hong Kong, Spain and a few others over the recent months, citing "diplomatic efficiency."
As of early December last year, North Korea had 46 diplomatic missions overseas, down from 53 in early 2023.
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This file image shows the national flag of Nicaragua. (Yonhap)
elly@yna.co.kr
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m-en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Seung-yeon · January 3, 2024
11. Editorial: Political terrorism in Korea must end
Editorial: Political terrorism in Korea must end
https://www.chosun.com/english/opinion-en/2024/01/03/P5QUUUW735B2LGLZ2WHRYWZ7PQ/
By The Chosunilbo
Pubilshed 2024.01.03. 08:51
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, was stabbed on the left side of his neck while visiting the southern port city of Busan on Jan. 2. / News1
South Korea’s main opposition party leader Lee Jae-myung was stabbed in the neck by a man in his 60s while visiting Busan on Jan 2. Lee, the 59-year-old leader of the Democratic Party, received treatment at the Pusan National University Hospital and was later transported by helicopter to Seoul National University Hospital to undergo surgery. His injuries were not life threatening, but Lee may have sustained damage to his jugular vein, said a party spokesman.
President Yoon Suk-Yeol expressed deep concern over the attack. “What happened should never have happened,” he said. He called for a swift investigation and appropriate medical treatment.
Violence is never justified, against anyone for any reason. Physical attacks on politicians are crimes that can shake the very foundations of democracy.
This isn’t the first time violence and terrorism against politicians took place in the run-up to elections. During the last presidential election, former Democratic Party leader Song Young-gil was struck on the head with a hammer wielded by an elderly man in his 70s while campaigning in Sinchon, Seoul. The attacker was a leftist YouTuber who supported former President Moon Jae-in’s end-of-war declaration, and accused Song of “restarting U.S.-South Korea drills.”
In the 2006 local elections, Park Geun-hye, then-leader of Korea’s main opposition Grand National Party, was slashed in the face with a knife by a man in his 50s. The attack left an 11-centimeter gash on her face. Former presidents Roh Moo-hyun and Lee Myung-bak were both attacked with eggs during their respective campaign trails.
While not a Korean politician, U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Mark Lippert was attacked with a knife by Kim Ki-jong, a member of a pro-North Korea organization in 2015. He had to undergo surgery for five stab wounds to his face. There was also an incident where Lee Jae-myung’s supporters stabbed and seriously wounded a police officer inside the National Assembly.
The man’s motive for his attack on Lee in Busan is still unclear. A thorough investigation and severe punishment are needed to prevent such attacks from happening again. Politicians and their supporters must avoid using these incidents for political gain until the outcome of the investigation is announced. When former Democratic Party leader Song was hit on the head last year, a few members of the party falsely accused the conservative People’s Power Party of carrying out the attack, which turned out to be untrue.
If a similar attack happens again during the general election in April, it could plunge the electoral process into chaos. Party leaders should urge their supporters to refrain from unnecessary conflict and enhance security for their candidates throughout the campaign.
This incident is a reminder that extreme conflict has become the norm in Korean politics. There is a pervasive culture of defining opponents as enemies and targeting them for having different opinions, such as spreading fake news to demonize the opponent. The ruling and opposition parties must acknowledge their shared responsibility for respectful coexistence, whether they like it or not, to achieve the common good for the country and its people. Politicians should use this incident as an opportunity to reflect on the prevailing extremities of Korea’s political culture.
12. N Korea vows military strength expansion in message to S Korean President
N Korea vows military strength expansion in message to S Korean President
The move signals a strong response to any future extended deterrence against Pyongyang, expert says.
By Lee Jeong-Ho for RFA
2024.01.02
Seoul, South Korea
rfa.org
UPDATED at 1:26 a.m. ET on 2024-01-03
The North Korean leader’s powerful sister sent a rare New Year message to the South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol, claiming that Seoul’s hardline policy was only providing justification for Pyongyang’s development of its self-defense military capabilities.
“I wholeheartedly welcome President Yoon’s announcement of his commitment to make unique contributions to the rapid advancement of our nation’s military strength in the new year,” said Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un, as cited by the North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency late Tuesday.
In a statement, titled “New Year Message to the President of the Republic of Korea,” the influential sister said: “It is solely due to President Yoon that security instability has become a daily reality in the Republic of Korea,” calling Yoon a “special contributor” for aiding the development of its self-defense military capabilities.
Kim Yo Jong’s comments came as Yoon said in his New Year address Monday that Seoul would “complete” the enhanced extended deterrence system with its ally the United State by June this year.
“We will entirely eliminate the nuclear and missile threats posed by North Korea,” Yoon said at that time.
Yoon’s conservative administration has been implementing hardline policy towards Pyongyang, declaring its commitment to proceed reciprocal responses to North Korea’s provocations. The administration reinstated the designation of North Korea as the ‘main enemy’ in its defense documents, a term that had been removed during the tenure of the previous Moon Jae-in administration.
“We have also clearly identified who the real enemy is, enabling us to further sharpen our opposition stance, like a frost-covered spear,” Kim Yo Jong said, adding: “It is a great opportunity for us to have a courageous president who has no worries about the consequences of his actions or words.”
Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul who had advised South Korean administrations, said the message could be interpreted as the North’s response to Yoon’s New Year speech on strengthening the allies’ extended deterrence.
“North Korea is explicitly arguing for the need and validity of bolstering its nuclear capabilities as a reaction to Yoon’s hardline approach,” Yang said.
“This signals a strong response to any forthcoming enactments of extended deterrence against North Korea. The extensive ROK-US joint military drills planned in March, before the general election in April, are anticipated to be a crucial juncture,” he added by referring South Korea to its formal name.
In the statement, Kim Yo Jong also made a rare assessment on the South’s former President Moon.
Moon implemented an engagement policy with the North, including having inter-Korean summits in the border village of Panmunjom and Pyongyang in 2018, but North Korea returned to its brinkmanship diplomacy after its high-stake summit with the U.S. collapsed in Hanoi in 2019.
Describing Moon as a “brilliant and cunning person,” Kim Yo Jong said: “It is a significant loss that we squandered a considerable amount of time, unable to fortify our power as we were restrained by Moon Jae-in’s desire for peace.”
“We intend to amplify what was lost during the Moon Jae-in era by tenfold, twentyfold, or even more.”
University of North Korean Studies’ Yang believes the reference to Moon suggests that Pyongyang views the Moon administration as having slowed down the North’s progress in nuclear capabilities through its engagement approach.
“The specific reference to Moon also ties in with the rejection of reconciliation and unification policies, a topic of discussion in the party’s plenary meeting,” Yang said. “This tactic seeks to deflect responsibility for their policies rejecting unification onto both conservative or progressive administrations in the South.”
Meanwhile, South Korea’s Unification Ministry responded to Kim Yo Jong’s statement Wednesday, saying that the statement was a reflection of Pyongyang’s discomfort with Seoul’s “principled approach.”
The ministry’s deputy spokesperson stated that Kim’s statement was merely an “attempt to hide its intention of forcible reunification through military means, and to shift the blame for the escalating inter-Korean tensions onto the ROK,” referring South Korea to its formal name.
Edited by Taejun Kang and Elaine Chan.
Updated to add a response from South Korea’s Ministry of Unification.
rfa.org
13. YouTube on verge of becoming most-used mobile platform in S. Korea: data
Which is why we have seen north Korea venturing into YouTube.
YouTube on verge of becoming most-used mobile platform in S. Korea: data | Yonhap News Agency
m-en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Na-young · January 3, 2024
SEOUL, Jan. 3 (Yonhap) -- YouTube is poised to become the most used mobile platform in South Korea, closely trailing the current leader KakaoTalk, industry data showed Wednesday.
As of December, KakaoTalk, the country's top mobile messenger run by Kakao Corp., had a total of 41.02 million monthly active users (MAUs), while Google's YouTube was hot on its heels with only 336 fewer MAUs, according to the mobile index data from industry tracker IGAWorks.
It marked the smallest difference in MAUs between the two giant mobile platforms since IGAWorks began compiling the data from Android and iOS, two primary mobile operating systems for smartphones, in May 2020.
In December 2022, KakaoTalk had 1.44 million more MAUs than YouTube, but the gap narrowed to around 200,000 in November last year and to the 300 level last month.
Market observers say YouTube is expected to outpace KakaoTalk to claim the top spot in the mobile platform ranking later this year.
The growth of YouTube's popularity is mainly attributable to an increasing user base in their 30s, traditionally dominated by KakaoTalk.
Recent data showed YouTube has overtaken its Korean rival in terms of MAUs in this age group from the second quarter.
YouTube Music, YouTube's music streaming service, also outperformed Melon, Kakao Corp.'s music streaming service, for the first time to rank at No. 1 with nearly 6.5 million listeners last month.
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A file photo showing YouTube's logo (Yonhap)
nyway@yna.co.kr
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Keyword
m-en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Na-young · January 3, 2024
14. North Korea’s Kim calls for ‘radical improvement’ in farm machine sector
North Korea’s Kim calls for ‘radical improvement’ in farm machine sector
The Straits Times
January 2, 2024
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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said it was important to map out a long-term development plan to achieve mechanisation of agricultural work for rural development. PHOTO: REUTERS
SEOUL - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has called for a “radical improvement” in the country’s farm machinery sector, state media reported on Jan 3, as the reclusive state pushes for agricultural modernisation to tackle chronic food shortages.
Visiting a farm machine exhibition on Jan 2, Mr Kim said it was important to map out a long-term development plan to achieve mechanisation of agricultural work for rural development, KCNA news agency said.
A radical improvement in farm industrialisation “is an urgent requirement” Mr Kim said, according to the KCNA report.
The visit comes days after Mr Kim laid out the country's economic goals for the New Year, where he said stabilising agricultural production at a high level was a key task.
On display at the exhibition were hundreds of different farm machines, including tractors, rice transplanters and unmanned helicopters, KCNA said.
The North has suffered serious food shortages in recent decades, including famine in the 1990s, often as a result of natural disasters. International experts have warned that border closures during the Covid-19 pandemic worsened food security.
North Korea's crop output was estimated to have increased year-on-year in 2023 due to favourable weather conditions, but according to a South Korean official, still far below what is needed to address the country's chronic food shortages. REUTERS
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
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