Quotes of the Day:

"You cannot negotiate peace with somebody who has come to kill you."

- Golda Meir

"With reasonable men, I will reason; with humane men I will plead; but to tyrants I will give no quarter, nor waste arguments where they will certainly be lost."

- William Lloyd Garrison

"Live so that when your children think of fairness, caring, and integrity, they think of you." - H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

1.  North Korea's arms deals with Hamas, Hezbollah pose common threat to South Korea, Israel

2. Special Envoy for North Korea Human Rights Confirmed by the Senate, but Still Not in Office at the State Department

3. China repatriates N Korean defectors after Asian Games: source

4. Gov't working to verify speculation over China's forced repatriation of N. Korean defectors

5. N.K. propaganda outlets slam Seoul's unification minister as 'madman'

6. JCS chief says 2018 military accord restricts S. Korea's surveillance of N. Korea

7. China Forcibly Repatriates 600 Defectors to N.Korea

8. North Korea's Kim shares letters with Russia's Putin, wishes victory over 'imperialists'

9.Respected Comrade Kim Jong Un Sends Greetings to (and receives greetings from) Russian President

10. US aircraft carrier arrives in South Korea as North's leader Kim exchanges messages with Putin

11.Avoid being 're-hyphenated' with North Korea

12. Lessons from Middle East (for Korea)

13. Opposition party wins crucial by-election in Seoul

14. 2 new plaques installed to commemorate US Korean War veterans

15. How does Hamas get its weapons? A mix of improvisation, resourcefulness and a key overseas benefactor

16. American arm of Korea's Hanwha has a 10-year plan to become a US land systems prime

1. North Korea's arms deals with Hamas, Hezbollah pose common threat to South Korea, Israel

Important analysis from Dr. Bruce bechtol. Few have such a grasp of north Korean proliferation activities as Dr. Bechtol. I am waiting to review the manuscript of a forthcoming book that he is co-authoring with an Iran expert that will provide great detail covering the issues reported in the article below (and more).

North Korea's arms deals with Hamas, Hezbollah pose common threat to South Korea, Israel

The Korea Times · October 12, 2023

Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets launched from the Gaza Strip, as seen from the city of Ashkelon, Israel, on Oct. 9. Reuters-Yonhap

Experts warn simple missiles, if fired in large numbers, can make superior enemy vulnerable

By Kang Hyun-kyung

South Korea should take heed of Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas, an Islamic militant group controlling the Gaza Strip, as the recent incursion illustrates the potential risks posed by North Korea, experts said.

They pointed out that simple and cheaper weapons, if used in a huge barrage like the recent raining down of rockets fired by Hamas, can be destructive enough to make an enemy armed with state-of-the-art defense systems vulnerable.

“If the Iron Dome can’t stop all of the rockets from Hamas, how is South Korea supposed to stop all the rockets from North Korea in an attack?” Bruce Bechtol Jr., a former officer of the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency, said during a phone interview with The Korea Times on Wednesday. “I think that’s the question South Koreans need to start asking themselves because North Korea has much more effective rockets than Hamas.”

The Israel-Hamas conflict has killed over 2,000 people since a barrage of rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip by Hamas on Saturday.

According to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), some 4,500 rockets have been fired at Israeli territory by Hamas, backed by Iran since Saturday’s attack.

The huge barrage of rockets launched by Hamas initially overwhelmed Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system, which was designed to track and intercept inbound missiles.

After the initial struggles, however, the Iron Dome batteries successfully prevented short-range rockets from hitting Israelis.

The conflict in the Middle East has drawn attention from South Korea’s defense authorities because some of the weapons Hamas used are believed to have originated from North Korea.

“It looks like some of those rockets or at least some of those launchers were supplied to Hamas by the North Koreans back in 2014,” said Bechtol Jr.

He was referring to the report in 2014 by British newspaper The Telegraph that North Korea and Hamas signed a secret arms deal worth several hundred thousand dollars to sell rockets and communication equipment.

“These are not sophisticated systems that Hamas were shooting at Israelis. These are simple: 107 mm, 122 mm Katsuya rockets. These are the same kind of rockets that the North Koreans have,” Bechtol Jr. said.

He encouraged South Korea to invest in more sophisticated counter-battery fire capabilities, stressing North Korea has many rockets all over the Demilitarized Zone.

Bechtol Jr., a professor of political science at Angelo State University in Texas, warned that Israel could face another challenge if Hamas is going to launch its anti-tank system, which it reportedly purchased from North Korea.

“Troubling to me are the reports that North Korea has also sold ‘Bulsae’ anti-tank systems to Hamas, and that they have assisted Hamas with the tunnels they built under the border into Israel,” he said.

The Bulsae-2 is an anti-tank-guided missile developed by North Korea. It is a variant of the Soviet Union’s Fagot. Since the late 1970s, the Soviet Union provided its Fagot anti-tank-guided weapons to North Korea and even helped the North to set up local production of these weapons.

Bruce Bechtol Jr., a professor of political science at Angelo State University in Texas / Courtesy of Bruce Bechtol Jr.

“The problem with this is a lot of those tanks Israelis have are very susceptible to the Bulsae system. South Korean tanks are susceptible to Bulsae, too. It’s something to think about,” he said.

Following Hamas’s massive rocket attacks, Hezbollah, another Islamic militant group based in southern Lebanon, congratulated Hamas for the massive rocket attacks, and fired rockets at the Israeli border area. Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah, exchanged fire with respective rockets. Analysts say Hezbollah’s rocket launches are a symbolic move to show the armed group’s support for Hamas, rather than a precursor to serious military action against Israel.

North Korea’s arms exports and training of Hamas and Hezbollah militants have emerged as a fresh headache for South Korea.

This could steer the U.S. government’s foreign policy focus back on the Middle East from the Indo-Pacific region.

If this happens, South Korea will face challenges in defending itself from North Korea.

Hong Sung-pyo, a senior research analyst at the Korea Institute for Military Affairs, said Seoul needs to closely watch North Korea’s military ties with Hamas and Hezbollah as they could have significant implications for South Korea’s security.

“North Korea is under layered sanctions from the United Nations, the U.S. and the European Union. Considering this, it is no surprise that the North is trying to work with illicit groups like Hamas, Hezbollah and other terrorist organizations to export their weapons,” he said.

Through cooperation with these armed groups, Hong said North Korea earns cash and tries to team up with them to foster partnerships against their common adversaries, such as the United States.

Hamas and Hezbollah have decades-old ties with North Korea.

North Korea secretly exported its weapons to Hamas and Hezbollah which are designated by the U.S. as terrorist organizations, and helped the armed groups dig underground tunnels to launch surprise attacks on Israeli citizens living in the border area. The North also trained the Islamic militants to enhance their wartime skills during the Cold War period.

North Korea’s covert arms deals with Hamas were confirmed in 2009 when 35 tons of weapons, including surface-to-surface missiles and rocket-propelled grenades, were seized after a cargo plane carrying the weapons was forced to land at Bangkok airport. It was later confirmed that those weapons were scheduled to be smuggled to Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah in Lebanon via Iran.

In 2014, the Israeli Army uncovered a network of underground tunnels stretching from the Gaza Strip to Israeli territory during its aerial operation against Hamas and other militant groups in the Gaza Strip.

The IDF calls the network the “metro” as it is as huge as an underground city, comprising dozens of access points from the Gaza Strip. The tunnels were used as weapons caches, bunkers and command centers, according to the IDF.

According to the Alma Research and Education Center of Israel, North Korea, in collaboration with Iran, also helped Hezbollah build a host of inter-regional tunnels in Lebanon after the Second Lebanon War in 2006. The think tank said that Hezbollah’s tunnel network is even larger than that of Hamas.

“Hezbollah’s model is the same as the North Korean model: Tunnels in which hundreds of combatants, fully equipped, can pass stealthily and rapidly underground,” it said in a 2021 report.

This image, captured from a video shared on the X account War Noir, shows a Hamas fighter holding an F-7 high-explosive fragmentation rocket originally produced in North Korea.

North Korea has also trained Islamic militants, according to experts.

“Between 1968 and 1988, North Korea built and operated at least 30 special training camps within its borders, specializing in terrorist and guerilla warfare training. Reports at the time indicated that over 5,000 recruits from some 25 nations visited these camps to take part in various courses lasting anywhere from three to 18 months,” Bethol Jr. said.

North Korea trained Palestinian terrorists, both those belonging to the Palestine Liberation Organization and from Syrian and Libyan-backed groups, up until the late 1980s, according to Barry Rubin, author of “North Korea’s Threats to the Middle East and the Middle East’s Threats to Asia.”

The Korea Times · October 12, 2023

2. Special Envoy for North Korea Human Rights Confirmed by the Senate, but Still Not in Office at the State Department

How can we execute a human rights upfront approach?

Excerpts:

Julie Turner was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on July 27, 2023. It is now more than 60 days since her Senate confirmation, and she still has not yet been sworn in. Just when there was a sigh of relief that we would soon have a new Special Envoy in place, we are still waiting for the State Department to act.

...

Another issue that relates to the Special Envoy for North Korean Human Rights is also victim to the dysfunction we are observing in Washington, D.C. That is the failure of the U.S. Congress to adopt an extension or “reauthorization” of the North Korea Human Rights Act in 2022.

...

It is particularly noteworthy that the Senate and House versions of the legislation to extend the North Korea Human Rights Act are bipartisan in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. The sponsor of the bills and the leading cosponsor are of different political parties. It is also noteworthy that Congressman Young Kim raised North Korea human rights and this reauthorization legislation in a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing with Secretary of State Antony Blinken in April of this year.

The bipartisan agreement in both House and Senate, with both Republicans and Democrats recognizing the value and importance of North Korea Human Rights legislation and the appointment of a Special Envoy for North Korean human rights might be a helpful move to improve the political atmosphere in Washington. There certainly is no danger or political risk in having the Special Envoy sworn-in and functioning in her office.

New Publication: Special Envoy for North Korea Human Rights Confirmed by the Senate, but Still Not in Office at the State Department

By Robert R. King, Senior Adviser (Non-resident), Korea Chair

pardot.csis.org

Julie Turner was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on July 27, 2023. It is now more than 60 days since her Senate confirmation, and she still has not yet been sworn in.

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Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browserSpecial Envoy for North Korea

Human Rights Confirmed by the Senate, but Still Not in Office at the State Department

By Robert R. King, Senior Adviser (Non-resident), Korea Chair

In January 2023, President Joe Biden nominated Julie Turner to be the U.S. Special Envoy for North Korean Human Rights Issues. She is a career official at the Department of State and well-qualified for the position. I was the last Special Envoy, and I resigned from that position in January 2017 at the end of the Obama Administration. Julie Turner’s nomination and confirmation finally came, but that position has been vacant for over six and a half years.

In July 2018 then-President Donald Trump signed legislation reauthorizing the North Korea Human Rights Act, extending its provisions for another four years. The law called for the appointment of a Special Envoy with rank of ambassador to focus on North Korea human rights issues, a requirement which had been in previous versions of the legislation since 2008. That legislation expired in 2022 without the appointment of the Special Envoy for the entire four-year period that the 2018 legislation was valid.

President Donald Trump failed to nominate a Special Envoy for North Korean human rights for the entire four years of his presidency. His first Secretary of State Rex Tillerson made a public proposal to restructure the State Department to make it more efficient. Tillerson sent a letter to the Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee informing him that he planned to eliminate half of the existing special envoy positions for specific high profile foreign policy issues, including the envoy for North Korea human rights. The U.S. Congress had created in law many of those positions which Tillerson planned to eliminate, and the vigor of the Congressional response to Tillerson’s reorganization could be heard all the way from Capitol Hill to Foggy Bottom.

Before long, Secretary Tillerson was “invited” by the Trump White House to find employment elsewhere, and his proposed restructuring of the State Department was quickly abandoned. In July 2018 Trump signed legislation approved by House and Senate extending the North Korea Human Rights Act for another four years. But he ignored the legislative provision calling for the appointment of a human rights Special Envoy, and the position remained vacant for Trump’s entire term in office.

When Joe Biden stepped into the Oval Office in January 2021, he came with a much more refined sensitivity regarding the importance of the role of Congress. He had been a member of the U.S. Senate for 36 years, and he was the lead Democratic senator on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee when the North Korea Human Rights Act was first adopted in 2004. In a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing with Biden’s new Secretary of State in March 2021, Secretary Antony Blinken was questioned by Congresswoman Young Kim (R-California) who urged the appointment of the North Korea human rights envoy “as quickly as possible.” Blinken told her, “This is an issue I feel strongly about, and I agree with you.”

Despite that agreement, the Biden administration did not move quickly to appoint a North Korea human right envoy. The nomination of Julie Turner was finally submitted to the U.S. Senate in January 2023—a full two years into President Biden’s four-year term. The Senate confirmation was a slow process, thanks in large part to the intensified partisanship and dysfunction of the U.S. Senate in recent years. The confirmation hearing for nominee Julie Turner was finally held five months after the nomination was sent to the Senate in mid-May 2023. A pro-forma voice vote to confirm her required more than two additional months before her Senate confirmation was completed.

The U.S. Senate was more efficient fifteen years ago when my nomination as Special Envoy for North Korea human right was submitted to the Senate on September 25, 2009. I had preliminary meetings with several senators and committee staff members, and my confirmation hearing along with three other ambassadorial nominees took place about six weeks later. The Senate voted by voice vote to confirm me a couple of weeks later on November 20, 2009. My confirmation required less than two months. In contrast, Julie Turner’s confirmation required more than six months.

State Department Dawdles and the North Korea Human Rights Post is Still Vacant

“Swearing-in” is not a complicated process. I was sworn-in as Special Envoy for North Korea human rights on November 24, 2009. The U.S. Senate voted to confirm me on Friday November 20, and the following Tuesday November 24, I took the oath of office. This was my “official” swearing-in. The Deputy Secretary of State administered the oath to me in his office. My wife and one of my sons were present along with two other State Department officers whom I would be working with. The swearing-in took about five minutes. We chatted for a few minutes longer, and I was officially in office. Two weeks later I had a “ceremonial swearing-in” event at the diplomatic reception rooms of the State Department with over a hundred family members, friends and U.S. and Korean officials.

Julie Turner was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on July 27, 2023. It is now more than 60 days since her Senate confirmation, and she still has not yet been sworn in. Just when there was a sigh of relief that we would soon have a new Special Envoy in place, we are still waiting for the State Department to act.

Within a few months after South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol took office in mid-2022, Professor Lee Shin-hwa was appointed and sworn-in as South Korea’s Ambassador for North Korea Human Rights issues. South Korea has refocused attention on North Korean human rights in the United Nations and its international policies. And the change came quickly after the new administration assumed office.

The first two years of the Biden administration have been far more sluggish in moving on North Korean human rights. This is not an issue that the Secretary of State or the most senior State Department officials would focus on, but clearly having a special envoy confirmed but still not taking the oath of office for well over two months ought to be sufficiently embarrassing that someone should rattle the cage and arrange for the Special Envoy to be sworn in. It makes the State Department look bureaucratic and inefficient. The Special Envoy should be in New York City in late October when the annual report from the UN Special Rapporteur on DPRK Human Rights is discussed in the General Assembly’s Third Committee. There are human rights events sponsored by the South Korean government at which the U.S. Special Envoy should participate on behalf of the United States.

It is time to end this bureaucratic delay within the State Department. It is time for Ambassador Turner to take the oath of office and function as the U.S. Congress intended when this important position was created.

North Korea Human Rights Act Expired in 2022—

No Signs that Congress is Moving to Reauthorize the Law

Another issue that relates to the Special Envoy for North Korean Human Rights is also victim to the dysfunction we are observing in Washington, D.C. That is the failure of the U.S. Congress to adopt an extension or “reauthorization” of the North Korea Human Rights Act in 2022.

Current Congressional rules do not allow policy legislation to be enacted in perpetuity. When the North Korea Human Rights Act was first adopted in 2004, the legislation was valid for four years, and it expired after that date. The logic is that if programs and policies that were established were still considered valuable by the Congress, the legislation should be reauthorized or re-approved and updated periodically. The first North Korea Human Rights Act was adopted in 2004, it was reauthorized in 2008 with a few relatively minor changes, including the provision that the Special Envoy hold the rank of ambassador and be confirmed by the U.S. Senate. In 2012, the legislation was again reauthorized, this time for a five-year period.

When that legislation was about to expire in 2017, Legislation was introduced to extend the act for another four years. This was during the Trump administration, and efforts to restructure the State Department and eliminate the North Korea Human Rights envoy were under consideration by then Secretary of State Tillerson. The North Korean Human Rights Act was reauthorized in 2018 for the period through 2022. President Trump signed the bill into law in 2018, although as we noted, he did not appoint a Special Envoy for North Korean Human Rights as required in the law during the entire four years of his tenure as President. Efforts were made in Congress during 2021-2022 again to reauthorize the North Korea Human Rights Act. The Senate version of the legislation was adopted in the U.S. Senate at the end of 2022, but it was not considered in the House of Representatives.

With the beginning of the new Congress in January 2023, legislation has been introduced in both the House and the Senate to reauthorize the North Korea Human Rights Act. In March 2023, Senator Marco Rubio (R-Florida) and Senator Tim Kaine (D-Virginia) introduced legislation to extend the North Korea Human Rights Act of 2004 through 2028. In the House of Representatives, Congressman Young Kim (R-California) with Congressman Ami Bera (D-California) have introduced similar legislation in April of this year.

It is particularly noteworthy that the Senate and House versions of the legislation to extend the North Korea Human Rights Act are bipartisan in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. The sponsor of the bills and the leading cosponsor are of different political parties. It is also noteworthy that Congressman Young Kim raised North Korea human rights and this reauthorization legislation in a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing with Secretary of State Antony Blinken in April of this year.

The bipartisan agreement in both House and Senate, with both Republicans and Democrats recognizing the value and importance of North Korea Human Rights legislation and the appointment of a Special Envoy for North Korean human rights might be a helpful move to improve the political atmosphere in Washington. There certainly is no danger or political risk in having the Special Envoy sworn-in and functioning in her office.

The Korea Chair Platform is published by the Office of the Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a private, tax-exempt institution focusing on international public policy issues. Its research is nonpartisan and nonproprietary. CSIS does not take specific policy positions. Accordingly, all views, positions, and conclusions expressed in this publication should be understood to be solely those of the author(s).

More by Robert R. King Publications | Events | Experts | Podcasts

pardot.csis.org

2. China repatriates N Korean defectors after Asian Games: source

They face certain punishment that may include death.

China repatriates N Korean defectors after Asian Games: source

Most of the defectors were civilians and religious figures who were attempting to travel to the South.

By Mok Yongjae and Kim Ji Eun for RFA Korean

2023.10.12

rfa.org

China has repatriated more than 500 North Koreans shortly after the Hangzhou Asian Games, multiple sources working to rescue North Koreans in China told Radio Free Asia on Wednesday.

Most of the North Koreans were civilians and religious figures who were arrested while attempting to travel to South Korea from China, the sources added.

According to the J.M. Missionary Union, which has been working to rescue North Koreans, the repatriation took place in the Chinese cities of Tumen, Hunchun, Changbai, Dandong, and Nanping.

Beijing and Pyongyang had previously agreed that the repatriation would take place immediately after the Asian Games, it said.

“At around 7:30 p.m. local time on the 9th of this month, after dark, the repatriation was secretly carried out through various Chinese customs offices along the border between North Korea and China,” an official at the J.M. Missionary Union told RFA on Oct. 11, adding that the people were arrested during the COVID pandemic and kept in Chinese detention centers.

“Previously, some North Koreans were repatriated as China began repatriating North Koreans on Aug. 29. Some defectors were also sent back to the North last month on Sept. 18, just before the Asian Games,” said the official. “Following this, a large-scale repatriation of more than 500 defectors was carried out on Sep. 9.”

Peter Jung, head of the North Korean Solidarity for Justice, also told RFA that a large number of North Koreans had been repatriated through the North Korean-Chinese border, including children, and that the repatriations had taken place simultaneously in several areas.

“Our sources told us that a North Korean defector, who was just hours away from being repatriated, called his family in China in a tearful voice, asking them to take care of his remaining children because he did not know what would happen to them if he was repatriated,” said Jung.

“North Korea had closed its borders and refused to repatriate defectors from China due to the COVID, but as both China and North Korea have relaxed their anti-COVID policies, we understand that Chinese authorities have urged North Korea to accept defectors,” he added.

Separately, the U.S.-based civil society organization One Korea Network also said in a press release that the Chinese government secretly repatriated North Korean defectors on Monday through the cities of Tumen, Hunchun, Dandong, Nanping, and Sanjiang.

The repatriation was reportedly carried out under tight security and in secret, making it particularly noteworthy that it took place 10 days before North Korea’s party founding day on Oct. 10, and just after the end of China’s National Day holiday and the Hangzhou Asian Games.

“The detention center workers had not been informed of any information regarding the movement of the North Korean defectors in their custody,” a source in Yanji, China, told RFA on Nov. 11, citing a detention center worker. “Under these circumstances, the defectors were suddenly loaded into cars at dawn on the 9th and taken somewhere.”

Another China-based source said: “I understand that [Chinese authorities] make the North Koreans gather at night in certain places, such as Yanji, and then pick a time when the area goes quiet before sending them back to the North, while maintaining the highest possible monitoring.”

Meanwhile, South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Nov. 11 that it had no confirmation on whether China repatriated North Koreans immediately after the Asian Games.

“The South Korean government is making diplomatic efforts to ensure that North Koreans living abroad are not forcibly repatriated and can safely and quickly go to their desired destinations,” the ministry said.

Translated by Taejun Kang. Edited by Elaine Chan

rfa.org

3. Gov't working to verify speculation over China's forced repatriation of N. Korean defectors

(LEAD) Gov't working to verify speculation over China's forced repatriation of N. Korean defectors | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Yi Wonju · October 12, 2023

(ATTN: ADDS comments from foreign ministry in paras 6-7)

SEOUL, Oct. 12 (Yonhap) -- The unification ministry said Thursday it is working to verify a news report that China sent back hundreds of North Korean defectors earlier this week, stressing that no North Korean refugees should be repatriated against their will.

China forcibly repatriated around 600 North Korean defectors detained in the Jilin and Liaoning provinces Monday night to their reclusive home country via border cities such as Dandong and Hunchun, right after the end of the Asian Games in Hangzhou, according to local human rights groups.

There are growing concerns over China's forced repatriation of such refugees, as North Korea started to reopen its border in August after it imposed strict COVID-19 lockdowns in early 2020.

The ministry in charge of inter-Korean affairs said it is keeping close tabs on the issue while trying to verify the claim.

"The government has the stance that North Korean defectors staying abroad should not be sent back to the North against their will. The move will be a violation of international norms banning forced repatriation," a ministry official told reporters on condition of anonymity.

This undated file graphic, provided by Yonhap News TV, shows a map of North Korea with images of people. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

Seoul's foreign ministry also said it is "currently working to verify the facts in detail."

"Our government is continuing to request cooperation from China through various opportunities so that North Korean defectors living abroad can safely and swiftly move to their desired places without being forcibly repatriated to the North against their will," Lim Soo-suk, spokesperson for the ministry, told a regular press briefing.

China has begun sending back around 90 North Korean defectors on two buses since late August and completed the forced repatriation of around 2,600 defectors, Justice For North Korea, a rights advocacy group, claimed.

At a parliamentary audit session held Wednesday, Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho said the government has expressed its stance on several occasions via diplomatic channels that China should not forcibly repatriate the North's defectors.

Concerns have grown that North Korean defectors could undergo human rights abuses and face harsh punishment if they are sent back to North Korea.

sooyeon@yna.co.kr

julesyi@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Yi Wonju · October 12, 2023

4. N.K. propaganda outlets slam Seoul's unification minister as 'madman'

The Minister gets an A. His work is causing great fear in the Kim family regime. This response confirms he is on the right track.

Excerpts:

The propaganda outlet Meari first lashed out at the unification minister on Sept. 13, while Uriminzokkiri issued a criticism of Kim, by name, for the first time Monday, according to the ministry.

The ministry declined to respond to the propaganda outlets.

"The government does not acknowledge statements by North Korean propaganda outlets as Pyongyang's official opinion nor assess or respond to them as they are vulgar in content and difficult to verify the source," a ministry official told reporters on condition of anonymity.

Kim, a conservative professor known to be a vocal advocate of human rights, vowed to pursue a principle-based inter-Korean policy as he took office in late July.

Kim Yong-hyun, a professor of North Korean studies at Seoul-based Dongguk University, said the North may be trying to shift the blame for strained ties onto the unification minister.

(LEAD) N.K. propaganda outlets slam Seoul's unification minister as 'madman' | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Minji · October 12, 2023

(ATTN: ADDS details, ministry's response)

By Lee Minji

SEOUL, Oct. 12 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's propaganda outlets on Thursday issued a barrage of insults against South Korea's point man on inter-Korean affairs, calling him a "madman" and the worst-ever "traitor."

North Korea has often denounced South Korea's unification ministry, but its criticism of Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho, by name, only began earlier this week.

"A madman bent on pouring out slanders day after day has appeared in the puppet region. It is puppet Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho," Uriminzokkiri TV said.

"This man, drenched in an anti-republic sense, is a traitor who exceeds previous puppet unification ministers who were notorious for their criminal behavior," it said.

Another propaganda outlet, Meari, claimed that Kim will come to face the "stern judgment of history" over what it called his "exalted" attitude.

Choson Sinbo, a pro-North Korean newspaper based in Japan, also took a swipe at Kim, calling him an "anti-unification minister" who only ratchets up tension on the Korean Peninsula.

Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho attends a parliamentary inspection of his ministry at the foreign affairs and unification committee of the National Assembly in Seoul on Oct. 11, 2023. (Yonhap)

The criticisms are the latest in a series of similar rhetoric the propaganda outlets have issued amid lingering tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

The propaganda outlet Meari first lashed out at the unification minister on Sept. 13, while Uriminzokkiri issued a criticism of Kim, by name, for the first time Monday, according to the ministry.

The ministry declined to respond to the propaganda outlets.

"The government does not acknowledge statements by North Korean propaganda outlets as Pyongyang's official opinion nor assess or respond to them as they are vulgar in content and difficult to verify the source," a ministry official told reporters on condition of anonymity.

Kim, a conservative professor known to be a vocal advocate of human rights, vowed to pursue a principle-based inter-Korean policy as he took office in late July.

Kim Yong-hyun, a professor of North Korean studies at Seoul-based Dongguk University, said the North may be trying to shift the blame for strained ties onto the unification minister.

mlee@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Minji · October 12, 2023

5. JCS chief says 2018 military accord restricts S. Korea's surveillance of N. Korea

The CMA was a mistake and most were opposed to it when it was signed. It has reduced readiness of the combined forces as well as degraded reconnaissance. The ROK has implemented the agreement in good faith despite the impact on ISR and readiness. However, the north has not.

This is another example of how a piece of paper does not provide security for the ROK. There were no actions under the CMA that in any way enhanced the security of the ROK. The nKPA to have 70% of its 1.2million man active force deployed between the DMZ and Pyongyang in an offensive posture. Steel trumps paper.

(LEAD) JCS chief says 2018 military accord restricts S. Korea's surveillance of N. Korea | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Eun-jung · October 12, 2023

(ATTN: CHANGES headline, lead; UPDATES with latest details in paras 2-8, 11; CHANGES photo)

By Kim Eun-jung

SEOUL, Oct. 12 (Yonhap) -- A 2018 military tension reduction agreement with North Korea restricts South Korea's surveillance of the North due to no-fly zones set along the heavily fortified border under the deal, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Thursday.

Gen. Kim Seung-kyum made the assessment during a parliamentary audit, as newly appointed Defense Minister Shin Won-shik has been pushing to suspend the 2018 agreement signed when then President Moon Jae-in traveled to Pyongyang for summit talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

"Due to no-fly zones set under the military agreement, our surveillance range is restricted in terms of time and space," Kim said during the audit of the JCS, when asked if the military accord has limited the spy planes' flight range.

The September 19 agreement called for setting up buffer zones along land and maritime borders and creating no-fly zones to reduce military tension. Pyongyang has violated the agreement 17 times until the end of last year and 15 violations occurred last year alone, according to the defense ministry.

"The September 19 military agreement has affected surveillance and reconnaissance and the current operational readiness. The agreement was aimed at easing tension and building trust, but doubts have arisen due to (North Korea's) advancing nuclear and missile programs," Kim said, taking note of the need to reconsider its effectiveness.

Gen. Kim Seung-kyum, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), speaks during a parliamentary audit held at the JCS headquarters in Seoul on Oct. 12, 2023. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)

Kim evaluated the Palestinian military group Hamas' surprise attack on Israel succeeded in the early stage of the conflict through "various, manipulative tactics and strategy," saying South Korea faces a different type of security threat from North Korea.

"The way Hamas invaded Israel has many implications as North Korea could wage a war in a similar way in the future," he said.

Hamas unleashed a barrage of some 5,000 rockets on Israel last Saturday, with some of them bypassing Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system, despite its known interception rate of 90 percent.

The attack has brought renewed attention to South Korea's military capabilities for countering the threats posed by North Korea's artillery positioned near the border, which is known to be more powerful than Hamas' rockets.

According to Kim, the North is estimated to have some 700 long-range artillery pieces, with about 300 of them evaluated to pose a threat the Seoul metropolitan area, home to about half of the country's 51.5 million people.

"Our military confronts an adversary equipped with different military capability from Hamas. (The South Korean military) is maintaining firm warfare capabilities that can retaliate against any provocations by the adversary and aggression immediately, strongly and until the end," the four-star general said.

A military parade is under way in downtown Seoul amid rain on Sept. 26, 2023, involving long-range surface-to-air missiles, Hyunmoo missiles and missile defense system, in commemoration of the 75th anniversary of Armed Forces Day.

Kim said South Korea has been putting resources to achieve "peace through strength" amid Pyongyang's advancing missile and nuclear threat and uncertainties surrounding the regional security.

"Through close coordination with the United States, the South Korean military has been increasing the extended deterrence capabilities of the South Korean-U.S. alliance and the three-axis system to enhance our ability to deter and respond to North Korea's nuclear and missile threats," Kim said.

In a policy report, the JCS said it will beef up the operational capability of the country's "three-axis" defense system against North Korea.

The system includes the Korea Air and Missile Defense system, which involves the long-range surface-to-air missile system and an improved version of the mid-range surface-to-air missile system, as well as an operational plan to incapacitate the North Korean leadership in a major conflict and the Kill Chain pre-emptive strike platform.

ejkim@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Eun-jung · October 12, 2023

6. China Forcibly Repatriates 600 Defectors to N.Korea

China is complicit in north Korean human rights atrocities and crimes against humanity.

China Forcibly Repatriates 600 Defectors to N.Korea

english.chosun.com

October 12, 2023 11:05

China abruptly repatriated about 600 North Korean defectors to North Korea on Monday night, sources said Wednesday.

The defectors had been detained in prisons in Jilin and Liaoning provinces since they were caught trying to flee to South Korea during the coronavirus lockdown and include relatives of South Korean prisoners of war in the North.

The 600 were surreptitiously sent back to the North through five border posts in Hunchun, Tumen, Changbai and Nanping in Jilin and Dandong in Liaoning.

China had sent back a handful of defectors to the North since it lifted COVID restrictions, but nothing on this scale and in such a concerted operation, human rights activists said.

"We've heard from our source in the Chinese police that Chinese authorities put the defectors in trucks and sent them back to the North under cover of darkness between around 6 and 8 p.m. Monday as if in a military operation," said Joo Ok-kyung of Light of Freedom, a defectors rescue group.

"It seems that the North and China agreed in advance to repatriate them right after the Asian Games ended."

"For security reasons, Chinese authorities told defectors in prisons to prepare for travel only a few hours before they were repatriated," another source said. "This gave their relatives in China and South Korea no time to do anything for them."

Activists protest against China's repatriation of North Korean defectors near the Chinese Embassy in Seoul on Sept. 19. /Newsis

In some regions, North Korean security officials arrived and took part in their operation.

A diplomatic source said, "This seems to be a gift to the North Korean regime from China on the eve of the 78th anniversary of the North Korean Workers Party" on Tuesday.

The UN and human rights groups estimate that more than 2,000 defectors have been detained in prisons across China since the COVID pandemic. It seems that the latest incident is part of a Chinese plan for their repatriation that began after lockdown was lifted. Once they are sent back to the North, defectors face being incarcerated in prisons or political prison camps.

"The North Korean regime is desperate to prevent news and information about the outside world from spreading to North Koreans through repatriated defectors," the rights group Justice for North Korea said. "It is certain that the human rights of the repatriated defectors will be cruelly violated."

Human rights groups have urged the Chinese government to stop repatriating defectors to the North but to little avail.

Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho has reaffirmed the principle that South Korea will accept all defectors who want to come here. Foreign Minister Park Jin said that no defectors should be forcibly repatriated to the North against their will under any circumstances.

2,000 N.Korean Defectors 'Held in China'

Over 200 N.Korean Defectors Caught in China Last Year

New UN Rapporteur on N.Korea Human Rights Arrives in Seoul

• Copyright © Chosunilbo & Chosun.com

english.chosun.com

7. North Korea's Kim shares letters with Russia's Putin, wishes victory over 'imperialists'

The axis of authoritarians.

North Korea's Kim shares letters with Russia's Putin, wishes victory over 'imperialists'

Reuters · by Hyonhee Shin

SEOUL, Oct 12 (Reuters) - North Korea leader Kim Jong Un exchanged letters with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, vowing to advance their ties and wishing him victory over what he called hegemony and pressure from imperialists, Pyongyang's state media KCNA said.

The letters mark the 75th anniversary of bilateral relations, and came about a month after Kim's rare trip to Russia during which he and Putin discussed military cooperation, including over North Korea's satellite programme, and the war in Ukraine.

In his letter, Kim said he was extremely satisfied with their "candid, comprehensive" discussions during the visit. He pledged to further develop relations to a "new height" and wished Putin good luck in resisting Western pressure over Ukraine.

"I hope that the Russian people, who have set out to build a strong nation, will always achieve only victory and glory in their struggle to protect the country's sovereignty, dignity, security and peace by crushing the imperialists' persistent hegemonic policy and anti-Russia scheme to isolate and stifle it," Kim said.

Putin, in his message to Kim, said their recent meeting was more evidence of developing ties.

"I am convinced that to implement the agreements will contribute to further expanding the constructive bilateral cooperation for improving the well-being of the peoples of the two countries and ensuring security and stability in the Korean peninsula and Northeast Asia as a whole," he said.

Kim's visit has stoked U.S. concerns that a revived Moscow-Pyongyang axis could bolster Russia's military in Ukraine and provide Kim with missile technology banned under U.N. resolutions.

Washington has accused has accused North Korea of providing weapons to Russia for its war in Ukraine, including artillery shells, shoulder-fired rockets and missiles.

Pyongyang and Moscow have denied any arms transactions, but promised to deepen defence cooperation.

Reporting by Hyonhee Shin; Editing by Lincoln Feast.

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Acquire Licensing Rights, opens new tab

Reuters · by Hyonhee Shin

8. Respected Comrade Kim Jong Un Sends Greetings to (and receives greetings from) Russian President

Both articles pasted below.

Respected Comrade Kim Jong Un Sends Greetings to Russian President

https://kcnawatch.org/newstream/1697062108-393678222/respected-comrade-kim-jong-un-sends-greetings-to-russian-president/

Date: 12/10/2023 | Source: KCNA.kp (En) | Read original version at source

Pyongyang, October 12 (KCNA) -- Kim Jong Un , president of the State Affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Thursday sent a message of greeting to Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, president of the Russian Federation.

In the message, the respected Comrade Kim Jong Un extended warm congratulations on behalf of the DPRK government and people to President Putin and the government and people of the Russian Federation on the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries, a significant common holiday.

He said that the first establishment of diplomatic ties with the Soviet Union after the foundation of the DPRK provided a firm guarantee for further consolidating the friendly ties between the peoples of the DPRK and Russia, closely united in blood and comradeship during the anti-Japanese war, and steadily strengthening and developing their traditional and strategic good-neighborly relations.

The DPRK-Russia relations, started with militant friendship and comradely cooperation by the preceding leaders, have stood all trials and tests of history and consistently advanced along the road of friendship, solidarity and good neighborliness, and are now dynamically advancing towards the stable and future-oriented new era for eternal prosperity, the message said, adding:

I am very satisfied over the fact that I recently paid an official goodwill visit to Russia and had an exchange of candid and comprehensive opinions with Comrade Putin for multiform development of the DPRK-Russia friendly relations, and express the firm belief that the bilateral friendship and solidarity and cooperation, consolidated generation after generation and century after century, will steadily develop onto a new level in the future, too.

I take this opportunity to heartily wish you good health and success in your responsible work, hoping that the Russian people out in building a powerful state would always emerge victorious and glorious in the struggle for frustrating the imperialists' persistent hegemonic policy and moves to isolate and stifle Russia and defending the sovereignty, dignity, security and peace of the country. -0-

www.kcna.kp (Juche112.10.12.)

Respected Comrade Kim Jong Un Receives Greetings from Russian President

https://kcnawatch.org/newstream/1697062108-826644228/respected-comrade-kim-jong-un-receives-greetings-from-russian-president/

Date: 12/10/2023 | Source: KCNA.kp (En) | Read original version at source

Pyongyang, October 12 (KCNA) -- Kim Jong Un , president of the State Affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Thursday received a message of greeting from Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, president of the Russian Federation.

In the message, Putin extended sincere congratulations to Kim Jong Un on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries.

He said that in 1948 the Soviet Union acknowledged the DPRK first and since then solid ties of friendship, good neighborliness and cooperation have been provided between Moscow and Pyongyang.

And he expressed satisfaction over the fact that the Russia-DPRK relations continue to positively develop in all aspects on the basis of the glorious traditions of the past.

The recent meeting between us at the Vostochny Spaceport fully proved this, the message said, adding:

I am convinced that to implement the agreements will contribute to further expanding the constructive bilateral cooperation for improving the well-being of the peoples of the two countries and ensuring security and stability in the Korean peninsula and Northeast Asia as a whole.

I heartily wish you good health and success and all the citizens of the DPRK peace and wellbeing. -0-

www.kcna.kp (Juche112.10.12.)

9. US aircraft carrier arrives in South Korea as North's leader Kim exchanges messages with Putin

Excellent timing demonstrating the new normal of sustaining a high level of readiness and interoperability as a matter of routine. These are not episodic events conducted in response to north Korean actions but instead deliberately planned activities to sustain a high level of readiness and demonstrate strategic reassurance. and strategic resolve.

US aircraft carrier arrives in South Korea as North's leader Kim exchanges messages with Putin

AP · October 12, 2023

U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan is escorted as it arrives in Busan, South Korea, Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023. (Kang Duck-chul/Yonhap via AP)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier arrived in South Korea on Thursday in a demonstration of strength against North Korea, as the North’s leader reaffirmed his push to bolster ties with Russia.

The USS Ronald Reagan and its battle group came to the southeastern South Korean port of Busan after participating in a trilateral South Korean-U.S.-Japanese maritime exercise in international waters off a southern South Korean island earlier this week, the South Korean Defense Ministry said.

The aircraft carrier is to stay in Busan until next Monday as part of a bilateral agreement to enhance “regular visibility” of U.S. strategic assets to the Korean Peninsula in response to North Korea’s advancing nuclear program, according to an earlier Defense Ministry statement.

It’s the first arrival of a U.S. aircraft carrier in South Korea in six months since the USS Nimitz docked at Busan in late March, the statement said.

The arrival of the USS Ronald Reagan is expected to enrage North Korea, which views the deployment of such a powerful U.S. military asset as a major security threat. When the USS Ronald Reagan staged joint military drills with South Korean forces off the Korean Peninsula’s east coast in October 2022, North Korea said the carrier’s deployment was causing “considerably huge negative splash” in regional security and performed ballistic missile tests.

The U.S. carrier’s latest arrival comes as concerns grow that North Korea is pushing to get sophisticated weapons technologies from Russia in exchange for supplying ammunitions to refill Russia’s conventional arms stores exhausted by its protracted war with Ukraine. Such concerns flared after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited Russia’s Far East last month to meet President Vladimir Putin and inspect key weapons-making facilities.

Many experts say Kim would want Russian help to build more reliable weapons systems targeting the U.S. and South Korea. Washington and Seoul have warned that Moscow and Pyongyang would pay a price if they move ahead with the speculated weapons transfer deal in breach of U.N. Security Council resolutions that ban any weapons trading with North Korea.

On Thursday, Kim and Putin exchanged messages marking 75 years of diplomatic ties between the two countries.

In his message to Putin, Kim said he was “very satisfied” over “an exchange of candid and comprehensive opinions” with Putin during his Russia trip, while expressing a firm belief that bilateral ties will develop onto a new level. Kim also hoped that the Russian people would defeat “the imperialists’ persistent hegemonic policy and moves to isolate and stifle Russia,” according to the official Korean Central News Agency.

Putin, for his part, told Kim in his message that he was satisfied with the fact that bilateral ties continue to positively develop in all aspects, KCNA said.

AP · October 12, 2023

11.Avoid being 're-hyphenated' with North Korea

No more north-South Korea. But I would go a step further. A big step further with the pursuit of a free and unified Korea that becomes a United Republic of Korea (UROK).

Excerpts:

Overall, it may appear quite satisfying for South Korea that it has been responding to North Korea in its own language but at the same time, there must be a rethink as it may further divide South Korea and North Korea. Actually for decades, the international community understood the Korean issue as a contest between the two political entities of the Korean Peninsula who are rivals and in contest with each other. However, with the democratization and economic success of South Korea along with its rise as a responsible middle power in the Indo-Pacific, a big shift could be clearly seen. The international community started realizing that the problem is not a contest between the two Koreas but only North Korea. South Korea has taken itself out of the conundrum. South Korea's economic success, democratic vibrancy and cultural resurgence place it in a different light. South Korea began to provide developmental aid to many developing countries and its "transformative power" is considered a model to be imitated. Contrary to this, North Korea is considered a "failed state," "rouge state" and a source of potential instability in the region.

Thus, it appears to be wise on the part of South Korea to keep moving on its own path, concentrating on its economic growth and democracy. It does not mean to say that South Korea has to neglect its genuine security concern and should be negligent to its defense preparedness. However, provocative statements, a narrow retributive approach and unnecessary demonstrative moves could be avoided. All of them may have potential to "re-hyphenate" South Korea with North Korea. Although it is quite premature to say that such re-hyphenation would happen in the near future, any slide towards it must be identified early and a restraint must be put on it.

Avoid being 're-hyphenated' with North Korea

The Korea Times · October 12, 2023

By Sandip Kumar Mishra

The Yoon Suk Yeol administration in South Korea appears to be giving a befitting reply to North Korea’s “uncouth” and provocative behavior. After coming to power, the new administration has taken a tough stance and a tit for tat approach in its dealing with North Korea. The most recent example has been a large-scale military parade of South Korea on Sept. 26. It was interesting to see the South Korean military parade passing through the heart of the capital city and displaying domestically developed tanks, self-propelled artillery and the participation of American soldiers based in South Korea also.

Several pictures and videos are being shared on social media and elsewhere in which people were seen cheering as troops, tanks, missiles and drones pass by them. Actually, the whole day, from the Seoul Air Base to the streets of Seoul, Hyunmoo missiles, L-Sam missile interceptors, reconnaissance drones and several jets demonstrated the military strength of South Korea. The parade was not held for the last ten years and earlier parades were more symbolic and at a smaller scale.

It is true that North Korea’s notoriety has gone forward in leaps and bounds in recent years. Despite sincere efforts of the Moon Jae-administration which led to the Panmunjeom Declaration, establishment of a liaison office in Kaesong, the Pyongyang Declaration, and even two summit meetings of the North Korean leader with the U.S. president, North Korea has remained recalcitrant. After an unsuccessful Hanoi summit, North Korea has become more aggressive in its posturing. Though they have not conducted any nuclear tests in the last six years, they have destroyed the liaison office at the Kaesong, made sharp personal remarks on South Korean leaders and tested almost 150 missiles in under two years.

In response to North Korea's belligerent, non-compromising and unpredictable behavior, South Korea feels that enough is enough and Yoon’s North Korea policy reflects such a mood in South Korea. In less than one and half years, Yoon has proposed a preemptive strike on North Korea, redeployment of U.S. tactical nuclear weapons and at the popular level there has been demand for South Korea develpoping its own nuclear weapons. South Korea has released its own Indo-Pacific strategy while Yoon has participated in the two NATO summits, had outreach towards Japan and strengthened relations with the U.S. with the Washington Declaration as well as the Camp David trilateral meeting. South Korea went to the extent that when North Korea tested missiles in October 2022, South Korea also did the same and the South Korea military openly said that South Korea’s air to surface missile tests are “in reaction to a barrage of North Korean missile tests.”

Yoon administration’s choice of appointments in the unification and defense ministries has also been indicative of this trend. In June 2023, Yoon appointed his unification minister Kim Yung-ho, who wrote in 2019 that unification would happen when the Kim Jong-un “regime is overthrown and North Korea is liberated.” He appointed a new defense minister Shin Won-sik who has been critical of the Sunshine Policy and engagement with North Korea and wants the Pyongyang Declaration of September 19 to be “abolished.”

Overall, it may appear quite satisfying for South Korea that it has been responding to North Korea in its own language but at the same time, there must be a rethink as it may further divide South Korea and North Korea. Actually for decades, the international community understood the Korean issue as a contest between the two political entities of the Korean Peninsula who are rivals and in contest with each other. However, with the democratization and economic success of South Korea along with its rise as a responsible middle power in the Indo-Pacific, a big shift could be clearly seen. The international community started realizing that the problem is not a contest between the two Koreas but only North Korea. South Korea has taken itself out of the conundrum. South Korea's economic success, democratic vibrancy and cultural resurgence place it in a different light. South Korea began to provide developmental aid to many developing countries and its "transformative power" is considered a model to be imitated. Contrary to this, North Korea is considered a "failed state," "rouge state" and a source of potential instability in the region.

Thus, it appears to be wise on the part of South Korea to keep moving on its own path, concentrating on its economic growth and democracy. It does not mean to say that South Korea has to neglect its genuine security concern and should be negligent to its defense preparedness. However, provocative statements, a narrow retributive approach and unnecessary demonstrative moves could be avoided. All of them may have potential to "re-hyphenate" South Korea with North Korea. Although it is quite premature to say that such re-hyphenation would happen in the near future, any slide towards it must be identified early and a restraint must be put on it.

The author is associate professor at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, India, and can be reached at sandipmishra10@gmail.com.

The Korea Times · October 12, 2023

12. Lessons from Middle East (for Korea)

But peaceful co-existence is hard with someone who wants to kill you. This editorial lacks a sufficient understanding of the nature, objectives, and strategy of the Kim family regime and is simply wishful thinking.

Excerpts:

The hawks, including Yoon’s new defense minister, appear to have learned the wrong lessons from the Israeli-Hamas conflict. They call for neutralizing, if not abrogating, the inter-Korean military accord of Sept. 19, 2018, saying that it only hampers the South’s ability to gather intelligence. However, any unilateral incapacitation of the agreement, the only remaining device to avoid incidental clashes, will give Pyongyang further excuses to break, not keep, it.

The hardliners must know that the latest failure of Mossad, Israel’s world-famous spy agency, was due to its mistakes in interpreting, not collecting, the intelligence. That and the unsuccessful performance of the Iron Dome are because of Israel's lack of internal unity, caused by divisive politics.

Peaceful coexistence, not a cycle of retaliation, is the answer. The animosity between Israelis and Arabs traces back thousands of years, culturally and religiously. The animosity between the two Koreas is less than 80 years old and rooted in an ideological rivalry no longer relevant worldwide.

Koreans, south and north, must shed the trauma of their fratricidal war.

Lessons from Middle East

The Korea Times · October 12, 2023

Choose peaceful coexistence, not a cycle of retaliation

Half a world away, brutal killing sprees continue as blood cries out for more blood.

There have already been thousands of casualties in less than a week, with many more to come. Few can know how long, and horribly, this military conflict, caused by Hamas’s brutal attack on Israel, will go on for.

The international community, especially the West led by the U.S., should strive to stop this tragedy as soon as possible instead of taking sides. For humane and economic reasons, the world cannot afford two simultaneous wars as the Russian-Ukrainian conflict approaches the two-year mark.

Hamas’ killing of civilians, including children, women and older people, is unacceptable. The Palestinian militant group has even taken about 150 people hostage, using them as human shields of sorts. That is terrorism, not a military operation. Foremost efforts should be made to set them free. Hamas also must know such acts will not help but harm it.

One should then ponder why this group has grown so ruthless and vicious.

Hamas leaders must have known Israel would retaliate tens and hundreds of times. However, they think the hardliners, or the entirety of Palestine, will stand at the crossroads of life and death if the status quo continues. The ultra-right coalition in Israel, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, ignores Hamas and the Gaza Strip. The Two-State Solution, outlined in Oslo in 1993 to ensure peaceful coexistence, exists in name only.

The U.S. has not exactly been an impartial mediator, as Palestinians see it. In January 2020, then-U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled a “peace plan” that was lopsided in favor of Israel, seriously eroding the two-state principle. The international community, led by the United Nations, was negative about it except for some pro-U.S. countries. South Korea, under former President Moon Jae-in, belonged to the latter group. This might be more the case now, given the tighter alliance between Seoul and Washington.

President Yoon Suk Yeol may find the ongoing developments in the Middle East somewhat perplexing. Yoon has sought a breakthrough via Saudi Arabia and the UAE so as to escape an economic impasse caused by the U.S. and China. If the conflict prolongs and expands, and Korea is forced to take sides, many agreements with these Arab partners will end up on the scrap heap.

However, the economy should not be the only reason for Seoul to stay neutral. On Wednesday, President Yoon and his aides condemned Hamas for committing inhumane acts. They should stop there and call for peace.

Hamas’ tactics also caused a rude awakening for Yoon’s national security team. These officials appear to have realized “anew” that North Korea’s nuclear weapons are not the only threat. We have long pointed out on this page that Pyongyang does not need atomic bombs to pulverize Seoul. The North’s long-range artillery and 200,000-strong special commandos are enough to take an early edge in a hypothetical scenario. Still, the South will win any prolonged conflict with the help of the U.S.' nuclear umbrella.

However, win or lose, another Korean War, if it were to occur, would destroy this peninsula in a short amount of time.

The hawks, including Yoon’s new defense minister, appear to have learned the wrong lessons from the Israeli-Hamas conflict. They call for neutralizing, if not abrogating, the inter-Korean military accord of Sept. 19, 2018, saying that it only hampers the South’s ability to gather intelligence. However, any unilateral incapacitation of the agreement, the only remaining device to avoid incidental clashes, will give Pyongyang further excuses to break, not keep, it.

The hardliners must know that the latest failure of Mossad, Israel’s world-famous spy agency, was due to its mistakes in interpreting, not collecting, the intelligence. That and the unsuccessful performance of the Iron Dome are because of Israel's lack of internal unity, caused by divisive politics.

Peaceful coexistence, not a cycle of retaliation, is the answer. The animosity between Israelis and Arabs traces back thousands of years, culturally and religiously. The animosity between the two Koreas is less than 80 years old and rooted in an ideological rivalry no longer relevant worldwide.

Koreans, south and north, must shed the trauma of their fratricidal war.

The Korea Times · October 12, 2023

13.  Opposition party wins crucial by-election in Seoul

Political trouble ahead for the Yoon administration.

Opposition party wins crucial by-election in Seoul

koreaherald.com · by Yonhap · October 12, 2023

By Yonhap

Published : Oct. 12, 2023 - 00:32

Jin Kyo-hoon, the main opposition Democratic Party's candidate in the by-election for the new chief of Seoul's Gangseo Ward, and other party officials cheer as they watch television screens broadcasting the provisional results at his campaign office on Wednesday night. (Yonhap)

The candidate from the main opposition Democratic Party won a crucial local by-election in Seoul, the voting results showed Thursday, capping a high-stakes contest seen as a key barometer of voter sentiment ahead of next year's parliamentary election in April.

Jin Kyo-hoon of the Democratic Party had 56.52 percent of the vote to represent Gangseo Ward, while his rival from the ruling People Power Party, Kim Tae-woo, had 39.37 percent, according to the National Election Commission. Jin was 17.15 percentage points ahead of Kim.

Voter turnout was tallied provisionally at 48.7 percent, the NEC said.

Jin called his election a "victory for common sense and principle" and pledged to use his "second and minute" for the district.

Even before the final results came, Kim conceded defeat in the by-election.

"I feel sorry that I could not respond to the backing of those who supported me," he said in a statement. "I also extend my appreciation to people in my camp who did their utmost despite the difficult circumstances."

A graduate of the Korean National Police University, Jin served in various top police posts, including as the chief of the Jeonbuk Provincial Police.

Although the election will only decide who will become one of Seoul's 25 ward chiefs, it has gained much attention, with the turnout for the two-day advance voting recording the highest ever in the country's by-election history.

Election officials sort ballot papers to count votes for the Gangseo Ward chief by-election at a sports center in Seoul on Wednesday night. (Yonhap)

During the early voting on Friday and Saturday, 113,313 out of the 500,603 eligible voters cast their ballots, representing a turnout of 22.64 percent, the NEC said.

A total of six candidates were running in the by-election, including Kim, a former ward chief, and Jin, a former deputy chief of the national police.

The by-election took place after Kim was removed from the top post of the ward office in May due to a suspended prison sentence for leaking secrets he gained while working for a special inspection team under former President Moon Jae-in.

Although the seat was vacated due to Kim's conviction, the People Power Party named him as its candidate after a special presidential pardon in August, which reinstated his right to run in elections.

Rival parties have each made a final plea for voters' support for their respective candidates, with the People Power Party saying Kim is the right person who will be working for the Gangseo constituency.

The Democratic Party, meanwhile, has appealed for support for Jin, arguing that winning the seat will serve as an opportunity to showcase judgment of the Yoon Suk Yeol administration. (Yonhap)

koreaherald.com · by Yonhap · October 12, 2023

14. 2 new plaques installed to commemorate US Korean War veterans

At the Korean Military Academy. 

Excerpts:

The KMA held a ceremony Thursday to unveil the two new plaques to be installed within its campus that would commemorate the West Point classes of 1945 and 1951 who fought in the Korean War. The plaques were dedicated to the 25 graduates of the West Point Class of 1945 and 11 graduates from the Class of 1951.

...

The two plaques unveiled during the Thursday event finalizes the KMA’s project of installing plaques for a total of 150 West Point graduates who were killed while fighting in the Korean War. From 1996 to 2022, five plaques were installed to commemorate 114 West Point graduates. The latest addition of two has raised the total count to seven.

2 new plaques installed to commemorate US Korean War veterans

koreaherald.com · by Korea Herald · October 12, 2023

By Korea Herald

Published : Oct. 12, 2023 - 18:13

Korean War veterans and military officials pose for a photo during a ceremony at the Korea Military Academy in Nowon-gu, northern Seoul, Thursday. (Korea Military Academy)

Plaques commemorating US Military Academy graduates killed during the 1950-53 Korean War were installed at the Korea Military Academy.

The KMA held a ceremony Thursday to unveil the two new plaques to be installed within its campus that would commemorate the West Point classes of 1945 and 1951 who fought in the Korean War. The plaques were dedicated to the 25 graduates of the West Point Class of 1945 and 11 graduates from the Class of 1951.

The ceremony was attended by dozens of Korean War veterans as well as Korean and US officials, including Korea Defense Veterans Association Chairman Curtis M. Scaparrotti, KDVA Korea Chapter President Choi Byung-Hyuk and KMA Superintendent Kwon Young-ho. KMA’s cadets and other high-ranking US and Korean military officials joined to celebrate the unveiling of the plaques.

The two plaques unveiled during the Thursday event finalizes the KMA’s project of installing plaques for a total of 150 West Point graduates who were killed while fighting in the Korean War. From 1996 to 2022, five plaques were installed to commemorate 114 West Point graduates. The latest addition of two has raised the total count to seven.

“The 36 heroes we commemorate today joined West Point in 1945 and 1951 to later proudly answer the call for arms to defend the country (Korea) and its people they have never heard of in their lives,” Kwon said in an address during the ceremony.

“It was only with these heroes’ sacrifice 70 years ago that democracy, peace and prosperity were made possible on this land, and this alliance by blood enabled us to form a strong joint defense posture.”

The latest plaques were installed with financial support from the KDVA Korea Chapter, which represents 3.5 million US soldiers who have been stationed in Korea as well as Korean service members who have served with them since an armistice was signed to halt the Korean War in 1953.

The KMA signed an agreement with the KDVA in 2019 to cooperate in organizing commemorative activities for Korean and US service members, as well as developing educational programs for KMA cadets for their better understanding of the Korea-US alliance and national security.

koreaherald.com · by Korea Herald · October 12, 2023

15. How does Hamas get its weapons? A mix of improvisation, resourcefulness and a key overseas benefactor

No mention of north Kores. These reporters might want to ask this question to get ot the next level of analysis: Where does Iran get these weapons?

This is from today:

North Korea's arms deals with Hamas, Hezbollah pose common threat to South Korea, Israel

https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2023/10/103_360986.html

Or they could have found this article from 5 years ago:

North Korea’s Illegal Weapons Trade: The Proliferation Threat From Pyongyang

https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/north-korea/2018-06-06/north-koreas-illegal-weapons-trade

Also this book by Dr. Bruce Bechtol (also from 5 years ago):

North Korean Military Proliferation in the Middle East and Africa: Enabling Violence and Instability

https://www.amazon.com/Korean-Military-Proliferation-Middle-Africa/dp/0813175887

How does Hamas get its weapons? A mix of improvisation, resourcefulness and a key overseas benefactor

https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/11/middleeast/hamas-weaponry-gaza-israel-palestine-unrest-intl-hnk-ml/

Analysis by Brad Lendon, CNN

 5 minute read 

Updated 3:34 AM EDT, Thu October 12, 2023

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Hamas official reveals intent behind assault on Israel on Russian TV

02:52 - Source: CNN

CNN — 

The brutal rampage by Islamist militant group Hamas on Israel last weekend involved thousands of rockets and missiles, drones dropping explosives, and untold numbers of small arms and ammunition.

But the attack was launched from the Hamas-ruled enclave of Gaza, a 140-square-mile (360-square-kilometer) strip of Mediterranean coastal land bordered on two sides by Israel and one by Egypt.

It’s a poor, densely populated area, with few resources.

And it has been almost completely cut off from the rest of the world for nearly 17 years, when Hamas seized control, prompting Israel and Egypt to impose a strict siege on the territory, which is ongoing.

Israel also maintains an air and naval blockade on Gaza as well as a vast array of surveillance.

Which begs the question: How did Hamas amass the sheer amount of weaponry that enabled the group to pull off coordinated attacks that have left more than 1,200 people dead in Israel and thousands more injured – while continuing to rain rocket fire down on Israel?

The answer, according to experts, is through a combination of guile, improvisation, tenacity and an important overseas benefactor.

Members of the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, are shown in January 2017.

Said Khatib/AFP/Getty Images/FILE

The Iran factor

“Hamas acquires its weapons through smuggling or local construction and receives some military support from Iran,” the CIA’s World Factbook says.

While the Israeli and US governments have yet to find any direct role by Iran in last weekend’s raids, experts say the Islamic Republic has long been Hamas’ main military supporter, smuggling weapons into the enclave through clandestine cross-border tunnels or boats that have escaped the Mediterranean blockade.

“Hamas’ tunnel infrastructure is still massive despite Israel and Egypt regularly degrading it,” said Bilal Saab, senior fellow and director of the Defense and Security Program at the Middle East Institute (MEI) in Washington.

“Hamas has received arms from Iran smuggled into the (Gaza) Strip via tunnels. This often included longer-range systems,” said Daniel Byman, a senior fellow with the Transnational Threats Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

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“Iran has also been shipping Hamas its more advanced … ballistic missiles via sea, in components for construction in Gaza,” said Charles Lister, senior fellow at the MEI.

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Retired general explains why he thinks Iran helped support Hamas attacks

01:08 - Source: CNN

But Iran has been a mentor, too, analysts say.

“Iran also helped Hamas with its indigenous manufacturing, enabling Hamas to create its own arsenals,” said Byman at the CSIS.

A senior Hamas official based in Lebanon gave details of the Hamas’ weapons manufacturing in an edited interview with Russia Today’s Arabic-news channel RTArabic published on their website on Sunday.

“We have local factories for everything, for rockets with ranges of 250 km, for 160 km, 80km, and 10 km. We have factories for mortars and their shells. … We have factories for Kalashnikovs (rifles) and their bullets. We’re manufacturing the bullets with permission from the Russians. We’re building it in Gaza,” Ali Baraka, head of Hamas National Relations Abroad, is quoted as saying.

A Palestinian man is lowered into a smuggling tunnel beneath the Gaza-Egypt border, in the southern Gaza Strip, on September 11, 2013.

Mahmud Hams/AFP/Getty Images/FILE

Recycling

For bigger items, the MEI’s Lister said Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a branch of the Iranian military that answers directly to the country’s supreme leader, has been giving Hamas engineers weapons training for almost two decades.

“Years of having access to more advanced systems has given Hamas engineers the knowledge necessary to significantly enhance its domestic production capacity,” Lister said.

And Tehran keeps the training of Hamas’ weapons makers current, he added.

“Hamas’ rocket and missile engineers are part of Iran’s regional network, so frequent training and exchange in Iran itself is part and parcel of Iran’s efforts to professionalize its proxy forces across the region,” Lister said.

But how Hamas sources the raw materials for those indigenous weapons also shows the ingenuity and resourcefulness of the group.

Gaza has none of the heavy industry that would support weapons production in most of the world. According to the CIA Factbook, its main industries are textiles, food processing and furniture.

But among its main exports are scrap iron, which can provide material to make weapons in the tunnel network below the enclave.

And that metal in many instances comes from previous destructive fighting in Gaza, according to Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, who wrote about it for the Washington Institute for Near East Policy’s Fikra Forum in 2021.

When Gaza infrastructure has been destroyed in Israeli airstrikes, what’s left – sheet metal and metal pipes, rebar, electrical wiring – has found its way into Hamas’ weapon workshops, emerging as rocket tubes or other explosive devices, he wrote.

Recycling unexploded Israel munitions for their explosive material and other parts adds to Hamas’ supply chain, Alkhatib wrote.

“The IDF’s operation indirectly provided Hamas with materials that are otherwise strictly monitored or forbidden altogether in Gaza,” he wrote.

​16. American arm of Korea's Hanwha has a 10-year plan to become a US land systems prime

American arm of Korea's Hanwha has a 10-year plan to become a US land systems prime - Breaking Defense

Hanwha Defense USA's strategy is "very much about being a prime contractor that can compete with the other peers that are here. And how do you get there? It's about partnerships. It's about organic growth. It's about M&A type of capability,” CEO John Kelly told Breaking Defense.

breakingdefense.com · by Michael Marrow · October 11, 2023

The South Korean defense contractor Hanwha brought out the big guns for AUSA 2023. (Brendon Smith / Breaking Defense)

AUSA 2023 — The US-based subsidiary of South Korea’s largest defense contractor is laying the groundwork to become a prime supplier for land systems in the US by the end of the decade, and “all options are on the table” for the company to achieve its goal, Hanwha Defense USA Chief Executive Officer John Kelly told Breaking Defense.

The company’s planning predates the war in Ukraine, but the demand for weapons and ammunition is now outstripping supply throughout much of the West as the fight drags on, leading major military powers like the US searching for new sources, Kelly said.

The American supply chain, like those of other countries, “tends to be quite well protected. And it makes it difficult for a foreign-owned business to break in,” Kelly said Tuesday in an interview on the sidelines of the Association of the United States Army convention in Washington. “I think you’ve seen that paradigm stretch now, because there is just literally not enough supply going around.”

Hanwha has invested in some facilities to get the ball rolling on its US ambitions, opening a headquarters in McLean, Va. as well as an engineering design center in Detroit, Mich. But it’ll need a major new development to fully realize its plans, with Kelly raising the prospect of moves like partnerships or mergers and acquisitions.

The company’s strategy is “very much about being a prime contractor that can compete with the other peers that are here. And how do you get there? It’s about partnerships. It’s about organic growth. It’s about M&A type of capability,” Kelly said, adding that “all options are on the table at the moment” while preserving “a bit of agility to be able to move between them.”

Once “things progress” for the company, Kelly said Hanwha would then “look at transferring manufactur[ing]” into the US. The company has been working for two years to clear regulatory hurdles for foreign-owned businesses, according to Kelly, and is “almost there.”

Hanwha’s ultimately unsuccessful bid with Oshkosh on the Army’s Joint Light Tactical Vehicle program is a leading example of the company’s approach, Kelly said. Along those lines, he said Hanwha is interested in unmanned ground vehicle contests and is preparing to announce a new partnership to compete for a potential second iteration of the Army’s Small Multipurpose Equipment Transport (S-MET) program, though a competition has not been formally announced by the service.

Although current focus on Ukraine has led to high demand for artillery, attention turning toward the Indo-Pacific threatens to diminish some of that demand. Hanwha doesn’t make artillery shells that have been used extensively in the European conflict, though the company does supply energetics that propel them. (South Korean export controls prevent Hanwha-made weapons from being used in the war, which are instead only being purchased to replenish Western inventories.)

“We’ve done a lot of work on this, because that’s a concern of ours,” Kelly said. “Munitions, energetics tends to be the bill payer. When things are going down, that’s what you buy less of.”

But even if the war in Ukraine halted tomorrow, Western stocks would still need to be replenished and probably kept at a “much higher” level, Kelly reasoned. And, lessons learned about the lack of capacity could result in “a more sustainable base that can pivot up to meet a surge in the way that we struggled to meet so far.”

Walking around a full-sized K9 Thunder self-propelled howitzer on display at the show, Kelly said that the company’s South Korean pedigree can lend itself to some of the Army’s key initiatives. For example, he said the thinking behind K9’s automatic ammunition resupply vehicle was in part driven by manpower limitations in South Korea — which could be an advantage for a US Army trying to be lighter itself under contested logistics. As the Army weighs possible alternatives for its Extended Range Cannon Artillery (ERCA) initiative, Kelly also said the K9 would be a “good candidate.”

Alongside its inroads into the US, parent company Hanwha’s global reach is expanding through other countries, with nations like Poland signing big orders for weapon systems like the K9. The firm’s continued rise, which helped drive a record year for South Korean defense sales in 2022, is evidence of not just the strength of Hanwha, but the South Korean defense industry as a whole, according to Kelly.

“What you’re seeing in general with the South Korean defense business is its coming of age,” he said.

breakingdefense.com · by Michael Marrow · October 11, 2023

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