Quotes of the Day:
"I wish to preach, not the doctrine of ignoble ease, but the doctrine of the strenuous life, the life of toil and effort, labor and strife; to preach that highest form of success which comes, not to the man who desires mere easy peace, but to the man who does not shrink from danger, from hardship, or bitter toil, and who out of these wins the splendid ultimate triumph."
- Theodore Roosevelt
"Dissents speak to a future age. It's not simply to say, 'My colleagues are wrong, and I would do it this way.' But the greatest dissents do become court opinions, and gradually over time, their views become the dominant view. So that's the dissenter's hope: that they are writing not for today but for tomorrow."
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg
"In order to establish myself, I help others establish themselves; in order to enlarge myself, I help others to enlarge themselves."
- Confucius
1. N.K. leader loses 20 kilograms, has no health issues: Seoul's spy agency
2. S. Korea, U.S. in speedy, serious discussions on end-of-war declaration proposal: official
3. WFP chief calls for int'l cooperation to improve N. Korea's food situation
4. Kim Jong Un orders enlargement of department that screens new strategic and tactical weapons
5. N. Korea stays mum on ex-president Roh's death despite his feat in inter-Korean ties
6. Some N. Koreans eager to work in Russia bribe officials or cheat to pass physicals
7. Russian charged with cyber theft crime extradited to U.S.: ministry
8. U.S. Puts Dampener on Declaring Korean War over
9. US-South Korea joint space drills to focus on space situational awareness
10. Can Moon’s Final Attempt to End the Korean War Work?
11. North Korea has the world's largest special-operations force. A defected spy offers hints about how they'd be used in a war.
12. Washington, Seoul have different perspectives on formal end to Korean War
13. U.S. Senate committee passes bill on battling N. Korean censorship
14. S. Korea discovers more Korean War remains in DMZ
15. N. Korea slams U.S., some western countries for skipping U.N. meeting on racism
16. Sung Kim: Discussions on end of war require N. Korea to return to talks
17. North Korea tells hungry citizens to ‘tighten belts’ until 2025
18. Kim Jong Un orders starving North Koreans to eat less food until 2025
1. N.K. leader loses 20 kilograms, has no health issues: Seoul's spy agency
Well I am glad the NIS has cleared this up for us.
But these actions may be significant:
He has also removed portraits of his father and grandfather, former leaders Kim Jong-il and Kim Il-sung, from the backdrop of official meetings, indicating a departure from the shadow of his predecessors.
Internally, the term "Kim Jong-un-ism" is being used, the agency said.
The leader's sister, Kim Yo-jong, has conducted public activities on 34 occasions this year, double the number last year, and oversees the regime's relations with South Korea and the United States while also making undisclosed trips to the provinces to check on people's livelihoods and report her findings to her brother.
The NIS also reported North Korea could have reprocessed spent nuclear fuel rods at its main nuclear complex in Yongbyon from February to July. By reprocessing spent fuel rods, the North can harvest weapons-grade plutonium.
(2nd LD) N.K. leader loses 20 kilograms, has no health issues: Seoul's spy agency | Yonhap News Agency
(ATTN: UPDATES with more details)
By Lee Haye-ah
SEOUL, Oct. 28 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has lost around 20 kilograms after previously weighing about 140 kg, but he appears to have no health issues, South Korea's spy agency was quoted as saying Thursday.
The National Intelligence Service (NIS) gave the briefing during a closed-door parliamentary session, rejecting rumors that the communist regime was using a stand-in for Kim during recent public appearances, Rep. Kim Byung-kee of the ruling Democratic Party told reporters.
The NIS made the assessment after conducting a detailed study of the North Korean leader's health using artificial intelligence and other scientific methods, the lawmaker said.
Kim's health has been a frequent subject of speculation due to the political implications in the event that he is unable to perform his duties. No known successor has been appointed.
Kim carried out public activities on 70 days this year, which is 45 percent more than during the same period last year, the NIS said.
He has also removed portraits of his father and grandfather, former leaders Kim Jong-il and Kim Il-sung, from the backdrop of official meetings, indicating a departure from the shadow of his predecessors.
Internally, the term "Kim Jong-un-ism" is being used, the agency said.
The leader's sister, Kim Yo-jong, has conducted public activities on 34 occasions this year, double the number last year, and oversees the regime's relations with South Korea and the United States while also making undisclosed trips to the provinces to check on people's livelihoods and report her findings to her brother.
The NIS also reported North Korea could have reprocessed spent nuclear fuel rods at its main nuclear complex in Yongbyon from February to July. By reprocessing spent fuel rods, the North can harvest weapons-grade plutonium.
On the North's economic difficulties, the NIS said cross-border trade with China came to US$185 million during the first nine months of this year, which is a third of the level during the same period last year, Rep. Ha Tae-keung of the main opposition People Power Party told reporters.
The North's central bank has struggled to print money due to shortages of paper and ink and a scarcity of medicines has led to the spread of infectious diseases.
The North Korean leader has said he feels like he is walking on thin ice due to the economic situation and ordered "all who eat to go help rural villages," Kim, the lawmaker, quoted the NIS as saying.
hague@yna.co.kr
(END)
2. S. Korea, U.S. in speedy, serious discussions on end-of-war declaration proposal: official
I think the ROK side is trying to force the hand of the US with these public disclosures.
The problem is anyone who opposes an aned of war declaration is branded as being opposed to peace or a war monger.
I support a peace treaty to end the war between the north and South. But no agreement should be made without ensuring that the ROK remains secure from attack. The question must be asked: how does no end of war declaration contribute to the security of the ROK?
Furthermore, the end of a declaration is based on the assumption that it will bring Kim to the negotiating table. Based on my understanding of the nature, objectives, and strategy of the Kim family regime it is not likely that this assumption will become a fact. An end of war declaration might contribute to traditional foreign relations theory if Kim Jong-un was prepared to act as a responsible member of the international community.
S. Korea, U.S. in speedy, serious discussions on end-of-war declaration proposal: official | Yonhap News Agency
By Kim Eun-jung
SEOUL, Oct. 28 (Yonhap) -- With regard to the sensitive issue of declaring a formal end to the Korean War, South Korea and the United States are holding "fast-paced and serious" discussions in a "mutually desirable" direction, a South Korean government official said Thursday.
He was seeking to assuage worries about the fate of Seoul's proposal for the end-of-war declaration, which it hopes to use as part of efforts to resume dialogue with North Korea and reboot the long-stalled Korea peace process.
Media outlets here have paid keen attention to White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan's remarks earlier this week on the matter.
"We may have somewhat different perspectives on the precise sequence or timing or conditions for different steps," he told reporters, sparking speculation that the Joe Biden administration may have a negative view on South Korea's push for the immediate declaration of a formal end to the 1950-53 war, which ended in a truce, not a peace treaty.
South Korea, however, has emphasized the allies are on the same page over their ultimate goal of getting the Korean Peninsula denuclearized and establishing lasting peace.
"Fast-faced and serious discussions (between the two sides) have been underway in a mutually desirable way," a senior foreign ministry said, requesting anonymity.
He acknowledged some differences between Seoul and Washington on details of the war-ending declaration issue.
Nonetheless, diplomacy is a process to narrow a gap and expand "common ground," he added, citing a string of high-level discussions between the allies since President Moon Jae-in reiterated the suggestion at the U.N. General Assembly session in September that the two Koreas and the U.S., possibly joined by China, proclaim an end to the war in a highly symbolic and political gesture for building trust. The North has called on the U.S. to retract what it calls "hostile policy."
Ahn Eun-joo, the ministry's vice spokesperson, also said it is a matter that "can be resolved" through diplomatic consultations.
According to an informed source, the allies are in consultations on the wording in the draft of the envisioned declaration.
ejkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
3. WFP chief calls for int'l cooperation to improve N. Korea's food situation
The WFP could more easily mobilize international support if Kim Jong-un was transparent and allowed for the delivery of aid in accordance with international standards and norms.
WFP chief calls for int'l cooperation to improve N. Korea's food situation | Yonhap News Agency
SEOUL, Oct. 28 (Yonhap) -- The head of the World Food Programme (WFP) on Thursday called for international cooperation to improve North Korea's food situation, raising concerns over a "growing threat" from extreme weather caused by climate change.
WFP Executive Director David Beasley made the remarks in a video keynote speech at a seminar in the northeastern county of Yanggu, referring to a series of droughts and floods that impacted North Korea's crop yields last year.
"We stand ready to respond to these sudden emergencies whenever, wherever they occur. But a successful program to improve food security in DPRK critically depends on international cooperation," he said. DPRK stands for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
The global food situation is feared to worsen in the years to come, Beasley warned, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in addition to the climate change crisis.
North Korea is known for chronic food shortages that have been apparently aggravated in recent years due to typhoons, flooding and other abnormal weather conditions.
Though North Korea claims to be coronavirus-free, its tight border controls put in place to stave off the global pandemic are believed to be taking a toll on food supplies by making it hard to import grains and necessary materials for its citizens.
scaaet@yna.co.kr
(END)
4. Kim Jong Un orders enlargement of department that screens new strategic and tactical weapons
Does anyone see any evidence that Kim ong-un is even considering giving up his nuclear program?
I do wonder about this report (if it is accurate). Does this indicate the regime is having trouble with its nuclear scientists and technicians? Is there a shortfall? And are too many of them suffering from medical problems from too much radiation exposure? I have heard anecdotes about the high rates of cancers and other ailments related to radiation and chemical contamination around Yongbyon.
Kim Jong Un orders enlargement of department that screens new strategic and tactical weapons - Daily NK
North Korea has been advancing its weapon systems under Kim Jong Un's rule
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has reportedly ordered a strengthening of the “expertise” of the department screening strategic and tactical weapons.
The order comes as North Korea continues to focus on developing nuclear weapons.
According to a Daily NK source in the North Korean military on Wednesday, the “special order” in Kim’s name was handed down during a meeting of the party committee of the Korean People’s Army on Oct. 23.
The meeting credited the Ministry of Defense’s Weapons Bureau for its “excellent contributions” over the last decade during the screening process all weapons systems must undergo prior to deployment. This means that not only did the bureau properly test weapon capabilities during the screening process, but also committed no major detectable errors in deploying the weapons according to the circumstances of each unit.
Rather than rewarding those involved for their contributions, however, he ordered that their duties be bolstered. That is to say, he ordered that the “department that made the excellent contributions be enlarged and reorganized.”
This indicates Kim’s desire to quickly modernize and diversify weapons and launch systems to build North Korea’s self-defense capacity.
Kim Jong Un at the leadership podium during the Party Foundation Day military parade in Pyongyang on Oct. 10, 2020. / Image: KCNA
North Korea has been advancing its weapon systems under Kim. In particular, the country recently tested a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLMB) and conducted last month four test launches of new missile systems, including a long-range cruise missile, a train-launched ballistic missile, a hypersonic missile and a surface-to-air missile.
The order also reflects a perceived need to push the modernization of the country’s arsenal to strengthen its “nuclear deterrent” as called for during the Eighth Party Congress at the start of the year.
Worsening living conditions due to the protracted closure of North Korea’s borders in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic appears to have had an impact, too. This means the order reflects the authorities’ intention to break through the country’s difficulties by strengthening national defense.
North Korea may also use the order as a propaganda point a decade in the future, much as it did at the recent Defense Development Exhibition when it pointed to the “re-founding of the military during Kim Jong Un’s first 10 years” as an accomplishment.
The Ministry of Defense’s Weapons Bureau responded to Kim’s order by jumping to work. It has decided to divide its general screening department for weapon testing into six sections specializing in individual weapon systems. It also plans to onboard many new technical specialists.
More specifically, the bureau plans to evaluate and select leading defense industry technicians and managers from research centers, universities and other workplaces by the end of November. It will then give the new hires three months of practical training in cooperation with related sectors.
Screening Department of the Weapons Bureau of the Ministry of Defense: This department carries out the vital final testing of weapon systems that have already undergone research (by R&D institutions such as the Academy of National Defense Science), prototyping, simulations, production and test launches.
In particular, weapons and equipment passed in tests by the Military Industries Department must pass a final vetting by the Screening Department of the Weapons Bureau before being deployed in the field.
Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
5. N. Korea stays mum on ex-president Roh's death despite his feat in inter-Korean ties
Probably the two most significant north-South agreements were made during President Roh's tenure. I am sure the regime and the Propaganda and Agitation Department are trying to figure out how to best exploit his passing. Should they focus on Kwangju and President Roh/s role there to try to fucreate further ROK poliitcalfriction? Should they focus on his later conviction? Should they avoid the changes to north-South relations?
N. Korea stays mum on ex-president Roh's death despite his feat in inter-Korean ties | Yonhap News Agency
By Choi Soo-hyang
SEOUL, Oct. 28 (Yonhap) -- North Korea stayed silent Thursday on the death of South Korea's former President Roh Tae-woo in spite of his widely credited legacy on inter-Korean relations.
Roh, who led the South's conservative administration from 1988-93, died Tuesday at age 88, and he will be laid to rest this weekend. But North Korean state media outlets, including the Rodong Sinmun and the Korean Central News Agency, had not carried any report on his death as of Thursday afternoon.
North Korea has been selective in expressing condolences to South Korean figures' deaths, depending on their North Korea policy and inter-Korean relations of the time.
The North delivered a message of condolence when former President Roh Moo-hyun died in 2009 and dispatched special envoys to the funeral when former President Kim Dae-jung died later that year. But it kept mum when former President Kim Young-sam died in 2015.
Kim Dae-jung, a liberal, held the first-ever inter-Korean summit with the late Kim Jong-il, then North Korean leader and father of current leader Kim Jong-un, in Pyongyang in 2000. Roh Moo-hyun, another liberal president, also met with the late Kim in 2007.
In 2019, Kim Jong-un expressed condolences to liberal President Moon Jae-in over the death of his mother and sent a condolence message along with a wreath of flowers to the South when Lee Hee-ho, the wife of the late former President Kim Dae-jung, died.
Moon and Kim Jong-un held three rounds of summit talks in 2018.
The two Koreas held their first-ever prime ministers' talks in 1990 and concurrently joined the United Nations the following year under the Roh Tae-woo government.
The North, however, has been critical of Roh for his role in a 1979 military coup that helped his predecessor, Chun Doo-hwan, seize power.
North Korea has also bristled at Roh's signature Nordpolitik, or Northern Diplomacy, under which the South established diplomatic ties with Pyongyang's traditional allies, including then Soviet Union and China, in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
scaaet@yna.co.kr
(END)
6. Some N. Koreans eager to work in Russia bribe officials or cheat to pass physicals
Desperation of the Korean people living in the north? Only in north Korea do you have to fake a weigh-in to make yourself appear heavier to go do work that violates UN sanctions and ends up supporting the regime.
Some N. Koreans eager to work in Russia bribe officials or cheat to pass physicals - Daily NK
One man took the physical with lumps of metal in his clothes to boost his weight
By Seulkee Jang - 2021.10.28 4:31pm
With North Korean authorities soon set to dispatch North Korean laborers to Russia, some applicants are apparently bribing officials to pass the physical or faking results. This is causing a stir. North Korean authorities focused on selecting healthy adult males for dispatch abroad, but many of the workers are reportedly so underweight as to classify as malnourished.
According to a Daily NK source in Pyongyang on Wednesday, North Korean authorities had been training the workers selected to be sent to logging camps in Russia. However, the Overseas Construction Guidance Department, which oversees the selection of the workers, received a complaint that the first batch of workers included applicants physically unqualified for the work.
The person who filed the complaint reportedly accused an acquaintance of passing the physical by faking the results after being excluded from the first round of selections, despite paying a bribe.
The applicant was reportedly a man in his 40s who took the physical with lumps of metal in his clothes to boost his weight.
The man passed his first physical, which set 60 kilograms as the “passing weight.” However, a physical after the complaint revealed the man to weigh 48 kilograms, mortifying everyone involved.
Because of this, the Overseas Construction Guidance Department ordered everyone selected to be weighed once again. It is also investigating whether applicants faked other parts of the physical, too.
North Korean authorities reportedly plan to exclude from overseas deployments applicants who weigh much less in their second physicals than their first. To the cadre departments of the provincial party chapters that recommended the applicants in question, the authorities plan to restrict or cancel their qualifications to recommend workers for overseas service.
A construction site in Russia photographed in June 2019. North Korean workers reportedly were working there at the time. / Image: Daily NK
In the past, North Korean authorities paid no heed to body weight when selecting workers to send overseas. As long as they were free of infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, they were considered acceptable. However, the source said the authorities are now making height and weight important criteria, sensing the eyes and ears of the world upon them.
They worry that doubt would fall on the food situation in North Korea or the nutritional state of North Koreans should Pyongyang send overseas workers who appear too thin or weak.
“Even within the party, at first, they thought thin people were fine. All that was important was that they went and made money,” said the source. “Nowadays, however, if they send people who are too weak, in foreign countries, they’ll ask what kind of prisoners we have sent.
“Even the state now considers global attention to be fairly important when sending North Koreans overseas,” he added.
The problem is that it appears many of the applicants resorted to similar chicanery to pass the physical.
About 10% of the total applicants failed the weight qualification during the second test, according to the source.
If over 10% of even volunteers for overseas work — by definition, adult males capable of physical labor who are not so desperately poor that they skip meals — are underweight, the percentage of ordinary people suffering malnutrition must be much higher.
The source said the authorities conduct physicals on workers to be sent overseas every year, but never have the volunteers suffered from such malnutrition. He said the number of people suffering from the worst standards of malnutrition are growing over time.
Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
7. Russian charged with cyber theft crime extradited to U.S.: ministry
An interesting development.
Russian charged with cyber theft crime extradited to U.S.: ministry | Yonhap News Agency
SEOUL, Oct. 28 (Yonhap) -- South Korea has extradited a Russian member of a multinational cyber crime organization charged in the United States with developing and distributing malicious software for money laundering and theft, officials said Thursday.
The justice ministry said the unidentified Russian national, alleged to have stolen over US$2 million from companies and individuals while working as a member of a cyber crime gang responsible for developing the malware Trickbot, was deported to the U.S. on Oct. 20.
According to the ministry, the Russian was charged in the Northern District Court in Ohio in August for his alleged involvement in cyber theft using Trickbot.
The person was detained by South Korean prosecutors after the ministry received an emergency extradition request from the U.S. Department of Justice on May 25.
A Seoul court later reviewed the U.S. request and approved the hand off on Sept. 2. An order to extradite the suspect was made by the justice minister late last month, according to the ministry.
odissy@yna.co.kr
(END)
8. U.S. Puts Dampener on Declaring Korean War over
Reporting on the end of war declaration proposal is all over the map.
U.S. Puts Dampener on Declaring Korean War over
October 28, 2021 12:33
The White House on Tuesday distanced itself from attempts by the South Korean government to declare a formal end to the Korean War and woo North Korea by lifting sanctions.
White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said, "We may have somewhat different perspectives on the precise sequence or timing or conditions for different steps, but we are fundamentally aligned on the core strategic initiative here and on the belief that only through diplomacy are we going to really, truly be able to effectively make progress, and that that diplomacy has to be effectively paired with deterrence."
Jake Sullivan /Yonhap
He made the remarks when asked how seriously the White House takes the push to declare the 1950-53 war formally over. The two Koreas remain technically at war because fighting only ended with a ceasefire.
The government here has been suggesting, directly and indirectly, that the U.S. is on board with the quixotic project, which was announced by President Moon Jae-in at the UN General Assembly last month, but the White House has so far maintained a dignified silence.
The feeling in Washington seems to have been that President Moon Jae-in is on his way out -- his term ends next May -- and there is no need to engage too closely with his efforts.
The Moon administration has also been trying to persuade the U.S. to engage the North with humanitarian aid in fighting the coronavirus pandemic and even lift sanctions, but repeated requests have been politely rebuffed.
The U.S. position is that any formal peace treaty must be preceded by "verifiable and irreversible" steps toward denuclearization from North Korea, and the North's recent flurry of missile tests make it a pipe dream. A peace declaration could also have an impact on the presence of the U.S. Forces Korea, which Washington now sees as vital cornerstone in its anti-China strategy in East Asia.
"It's a diplomatic custom not to highlight any differences too much," a former senior diplomat here said. "Sullivan suggested not only that there's a widening gap in opinions between the two countries, but also that Washington is wearying of South Korea's badgering."
Senior South Korean diplomats and security officials have pushed their U.S. counterparts for talks about the peace declaration on no fewer than 10 occasions since Moon made the proposal. On Wednesday, a government official here still said, "We'll continue to have serious and intensive talks in close cooperation [with U.S. officials] on the end-of-war declaration."
Sullivan's mention of "deterrence" has also been read as a veiled criticism of Seoul's persistent attempts to downscale joint military exercises to please the North. A retired Army general here said, "It means that the U.S. is worried and dissatisfied that the South Korean government has downscaled or discontinued joint South Korea-U.S. military exercises and has turned a blind eye to North Korea's provocations."
- Copyright © Chosunilbo & Chosun.com
9. US-South Korea joint space drills to focus on space situational awareness
Excerpt:
He said under the “Space Odyssey 2050” strategy unveiled last year, the South Korea’s air force is moving to add a satellite laser tracking system, a space object laser tracking system, small satellite launchers and a satellite jamming system to its space assets by the late-2020s in order to have a “full-fledged space monitoring capacity and limited ability to perform military operations in space.”
I wonder if the late David Bowie was in the background singing "Space Oddity" when the Space Odyssey2050 plan was unveiled.
Ground Control to Major Tom
Ground Control to Major Tom
Take your protein pills and put your helmet on
Ground Control to Major Tom (ten, nine, eight, seven, six)
Commencing countdown, engines on (five, four, three)
Check ignition and may God's love be with you (two, one, liftoff)
This is Ground Control to Major Tom
You've really made the grade
And the papers want to know whose shirts you wear
Now it's time to leave the capsule if you dare
"This is Major Tom to Ground Control
I'm stepping through the door
And I'm floating in a most peculiar way
And the stars look very different today
For here
Am I sitting in a tin can
Far above the world
Planet Earth is blue
And there's nothing I can do
Though I'm past one hundred thousand miles
I'm feeling very still
And I think my spaceship knows which way to go
Tell my wife I love her very much she knows
Ground Control to Major Tom
Your circuit's dead, there's something wrong
Can you hear me, Major Tom?
Can you hear me, Major Tom?
Can you hear me, Major Tom?
Can you "Here am I floating 'round my tin can
Far above the moon
Planet Earth is blue
And there's nothing I can do"
US-South Korea joint space drills to focus on space situational awareness - SpaceNews
SUNGNAM, South Korea — Joint drills between the U.S. Space Force and Republic of Korea (ROK) Air Force will focus on enhancing space situational awareness (SSA) capabilities of both sides, a senior air force officer said.
The ROK Air Force is set to perform joint drills with the U.S. Space Force under an Aug. 27 agreement signed between ROK Air Force chief of staff, Gen. Park In-ho, and U.S. Space Force Gen. John W. Raymond, chief of space operations, at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
“What we urgently need is ‘eyes’ to look at what’s happening in outer space,” said ROK Air Force Col. Park Ki-tae, inaugural chief of the air force’s Space Operations Center, during an Oct. 20 military technology seminar held here as part of the Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition 2021. Park’s center, launched last month, is responsible for drawing a strategic roadmap to build the air force’s space power.
“One of the primary things we want to achieve through cooperation with the U.S. Space Force is improving our capabilities to detect dangerous objects in space and how to avoid them when they approach our satellites,” Park said. Improved capabilities will also make it possible for South Korea’s air force to issue a warning in a timely manner when an object falls to Earth from space, he said. For its part, he added, the ROK Air Force is building its own SSA infrastructure — including an electro-optical satellite surveillance system, a space weather forecast and warning system and reconnaissance satellites — with the goal of making it fully operational by the mid-2020s. In line with this, South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) recently signed a $13.9 million contract with Satrec Initiative to develop a space weather forecast system. Once developed, the system will help prevent satellites, high-altitude surveillance drones, and guided weapons systems from malfunctioning due to disruptions that space weather conditions could cause in GPS signals, according to DAPA.
Park said the air force has improved its SSA capabilities since 2017 through joint projects with Korea Aerospace Research Institute, and Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute. And being part of U.S. Space Force’s drills will help sharpen its edge further in SSA, the colonel said.
Satellite navigation is another field of cooperation between the two organizations, Park said. South Korea is set to build its own satellite navigation system, named Korea Positioning System (KPS), in cooperation with the United States by 2035. The system will comprise eight satellites — three in geosynchronous orbit and five in inclined geosynchronous orbit — that are interoperable with the existing GPS satellites managed by the U.S. Space Force.
“The basis of KPS is GPS, so we need to learn technological and operational know-how about satellite navigation systems from the U.S. Space Force,” Park said.
He said under the “Space Odyssey 2050” strategy unveiled last year, the South Korea’s air force is moving to add a satellite laser tracking system, a space object laser tracking system, small satellite launchers and a satellite jamming system to its space assets by the late-2020s in order to have a “full-fledged space monitoring capacity and limited ability to perform military operations in space.”
Park said while South Korea needs various forms of space launch vehicles to ensure quick and cost-effective satellite launches, an air-launched system is “particularly necessary considering the geographical features of the country.” South Korea faces North Korea on its north side, China on the west, and Japan on the east. South is the only direction at which the nation can launch a space rocket from its soil without overflying its neighbors. In July, the Air Force asked Korean Air, South Korea’s biggest airline, and Seoul National University to conduct joint research on the feasibility of using modified Boeing 747-400 aircraft for air-launching space rockets and orbital vehicles.
10. Can Moon’s Final Attempt to End the Korean War Work?
It will only work if the leopard can change his spots: If Kim Jong-un can change his nature and become a responsible member of the international community.
Excerpts:
Some critics have questioned Moon’s proposal to formally declare an end to the Korean War, saying North Korea would demand the United States to withdraw its troops from the South’s soil as a follow-up measure. Moon said that the declaration by no means refers to the withdrawal of the U.S. troops, as only the United States and South Korea can make a decision on that issue. However, an end-of-war declaration could lead to the end of the United Nations Command in South Korea, which is tasked with “maintaining and enforcing the Armistice Agreement” currently in place.
“For me, I don’t think we need to officially end the Korean War before the end of Moon’s term as there is no urgent need to deal with this issue and no threat of North Korea in people’s daily lives,” Lee Jong-hak, a university student in Seoul, told The Diplomat. “Also, I personally think the U.S. does not want to end the Korean War to keep checking North Korea, China, and Russia in the region.”
Can Moon’s Final Attempt to End the Korean War Work?
South Korean President Moon Jae-in called for an end-of-war declaration in his U.N. address, but the other countries involved have different goals.
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After U.S. President Joe Biden took office in January, South Korean President Moon Jae-in expected Washington to actively re-engage on the North Korea issue, considering Biden’s long experience as a veteran politician who worked as a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for more than a decade. After completing a review of North Korea policies, the White House assured that its approach for achieving the denuclearization of North Korea would be different from the ways pursued by the previous Obama and Trump administrations. Since then, Sung Kim, the U.S. special envoy on North Korea, has consistently conveyed the message that he is willing to meet his North Korean counterparts “anytime, anywhere, and without preconditions.”
However, North Korea has been adamant in refusing these overtures. As North Korea believes then-U.S. President Donald Trump humiliated its supreme leader, Kim Jong Un, at the Hanoi summit in 2019, it has been asking the United States to make concessions or remove the so-called “hostile” policy first if Washington wants to renew the bilateral nuclear talks.
Seoul has expected Washington to reach an agreement on the long-term denuclearization process of North Korea during the Hanoi summit, as Trump and Kim had already held their first summit meeting in Singapore and shared their views on the two main issues: dismantling North Korea’s nuclear complexes and suspending crippling economic sanctions. However, the two parties could not agree on the scope of these important issues during the Hanoi summit. The collapse of North Korea-U.S. diplomacy in turn sabotaged Moon’s efforts to advance inter-Korean relations.
With Moon’s term set to end in May 2022, this is his last chance to make a breakthrough. He reiterated his clear desire to serve as a peacemaker for the Korean Peninsula in his address at the National Assembly on Monday. In Moon’s eyes, a formal declaration of the end of the Korean War is the final card to play in order to create momentum not only to renew the dialogue between the two Koreas but also to entice Washington to provide detailed proposals and incentives to Pyongyang to make them return to the table for denuclearization negotiations.
However, Washington has different views on the timing and motivation of an end-of-war declaration.
“[W]e may have somewhat different perspectives on the precise sequence or timing or conditions for different steps,” said Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security advisor, in a press briefing on Tuesday. He was responding to a question about “how seriously the White House takes” the prospect of “the declaration to end the Korean War.”
He added, however, that the U.S. and South Korea “are fundamentally aligned on the core strategic initiative here and on the belief that only through diplomacy are we going to really, truly be able to effectively make progress and that diplomacy has to be effectively paired with deterrence.”
The Biden administration has never taken a diplomatic overture to North Korea off the table, but so far it has focused on other means to tackle the growing nuclear capabilities of the North.
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Mason Richey, a professor of international and area studies at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul, told The Diplomat that the United States is skeptical about the value of a formal declaration to end the Korean War.
“The Biden administration is apparently willing to at least entertain the idea of an end-of-war declaration, at which President Moon is aiming, but seems very skeptical about it,” Richey said.
U.S. foreign affairs officials responsible for the North Korea issue have regularly met with their South Korean counterparts, but there have been no new approaches made by Washington to induce Pyongyang to return to the table. Instead, the United States has continuously implied that the ball is in the North’s court.
“Notably the perception in Washington is that an end-of-war declaration should not come at the beginning of a process of negotiation over Peninsula issues (notably denuclearization), but rather should be one output of meaningful measures taken by Pyongyang to satisfy U.S. demands,” Richey said.
Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of the North Korean leader, earlier showed her interest in this proposal after Moon made his address at U.N. General Assembly. However, she emphasized that North Korea would not seriously deal with Moon’s proposal unless the United States made concessions and proved that it has “no hostile” intent toward her country – which has long been the North’s official precondition for renewing the negotiations. In other words, North Korea insists that the U.S. must make the first move.
Given the circumstances, Moon’s hands are tied as a mediator between the U.S. and North Korea. The outcomes of the failed Hanoi summit proved that Washington would not lift the crippling economic sanctions unless the North agrees with its approach, which is “complete, verifiable, irreversible denuclearization.” Pyongyang, meanwhile, demands sanctions relief – and now military concessions as well – before beginning any substantial dismantling of its nuclear program.
Despite deadlock on the nuclear issue, Seoul expects the related countries to consult over the end-of-war declaration before the end of Moon’s term. That issue, while not simple, would be less diplomatically complex than a full agreement on denuclearization.
South Koreans also support Moon’s proposal. According to the poll conducted by the National Unification Advisory Council last month, 67.8 percent supported a declaration to end the Korean War while 29.4 percent said it was not necessary. In addition, 54.2 percent of respondents in the same survey believed that the U.S. and North Korea will renew their bilateral nuclear talks within this year.
However, as North Korea continues strengthening its nuclear and missile capabilities, South Koreans are showing less interest in “reunification” with the North. Only 44 percent said reunification with North Korea is necessary, according to a poll conducted by the Institute for Peace and Unification Studies at Seoul National University in early this month. Another 29. 4 percent said reunification was unnecessary.
Some critics have questioned Moon’s proposal to formally declare an end to the Korean War, saying North Korea would demand the United States to withdraw its troops from the South’s soil as a follow-up measure. Moon said that the declaration by no means refers to the withdrawal of the U.S. troops, as only the United States and South Korea can make a decision on that issue. However, an end-of-war declaration could lead to the end of the United Nations Command in South Korea, which is tasked with “maintaining and enforcing the Armistice Agreement” currently in place.
“For me, I don’t think we need to officially end the Korean War before the end of Moon’s term as there is no urgent need to deal with this issue and no threat of North Korea in people’s daily lives,” Lee Jong-hak, a university student in Seoul, told The Diplomat. “Also, I personally think the U.S. does not want to end the Korean War to keep checking North Korea, China, and Russia in the region.”
11. North Korea has the world's largest special-operations force. A defected spy offers hints about how they'd be used in a war.
As an aside I was not the former Green Beret who was interviewed for this and I do not know who it was.
North Korea has the world's largest special-operations force. A defected spy offers hints about how they'd be used in a war.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspecting a North Korean military special-operation forces event in a photo released April 14, 2017.
STR/AFP via Getty Images
- Within North Korea's massive army is another massive force: some 200,000 special-operations troops.
- Not much is known about those troops, but they are believed to well trained and highly motivated.
- Pyongyang would likely deploy them before or early in a war to disrupt US and South Korean military operations.
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North Korea frequently taunts its rivals with a nuclear destruction, and despite its own dire economic and social situation, Pyongyang certainly has the military capabilities to instigate a war that could kill hundreds of thousands, if not millions.
Nuclear weapons, ballistic missiles, thousands of artillery pieces, and millions of fanatical troops are the core of the North Korean threat. But Kim Jong Un has another ace up his sleeve: potent special-operations forces.
Not much is known about this force, but recent revelations by a senior North Korean spy who defected offer some insight into how Pyongyang's commandos train and fight.
North Korea's commandos
North Korean special-forces soldiers at a parade for the 105th birth anniversary of Kim Il Sung, in Pyongyang, April 15, 2017.
REUTERS/Damir Sagolj
The Korean People's Army (KPA) is one of the largest in the world, with an active-duty force of about 1.3 million. Pyongyang also has more than 200,000 special operators organized in standard formations, such as brigades, regiments, battalions, and in even smaller, more specialized outfits.
The typical special-operations unit has between 3,000 and 5,000 commandos and falls under the different branches of the North Korean military and under Pyongyang's intelligence service, the Reconnaissance General Bureau.
North Korean special-operations units can be divided by specialty.
Reconnaissance units specialize in collecting intelligence and passing it back to headquarters. Airborne units can infiltrate by air and seize and hold targets like airfields or bridges. Maritime units can infiltrate from submarines or ships and conduct littoral raids. Commando units can conduct direct-action operations, such as raids.
North Korean troops may appear very well equipped during parades in Pyongyang, but those weapons and gear aren't necessarily distributed to the rest of the force. Because of their special mission, North Korean special-operations units receive the best equipment and training.
In a recent report, the US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) said "North Korean SOF are highly trained and well-equipped in comparison to other units, and, if successfully infiltrated into the South, would be capable of disruptive attacks in the rear area."
That gear is rudimentary compared to other countries' special-operations units, but even with technological or logistical shortcomings compared to US and South Korean special-operations units, North Korean commandos are a dedicated and dangerous foe.
Crossing the line
South Korean soldiers at the border between South and North Korea in Panmunjom, South Korea, July 12, 2017.
Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images
According to the US military, KPA doctrine and tactics for ground operations have largely remained the same since the Korean War in the 1950s. Special-operations forces play an important part in KPA's war-fighting doctrine, which seeks to attack an enemy target simultaneously from numerous angles.
North Korean special-operations doctrine emphasizes speed and surprise. Pyongyang's special-operations forces have two strategic missions: to infiltrate South Korea and conduct unconventional warfare and sabotage on the US and South Korean rear lines and to defend North Korea against US or South Korean special-operations units.
In such a scenario, North Korean heavy infantry or mechanized units would strike at South Korean and US forces' frontlines. North Korean special-operations forces, organized in commando or light infantry units, would conduct unconventional warfare to the rear or on the flanks, attacking supply lines, command-and-control centers, and other strategic facilities.
By design, North Korea's commandos are aggressive and would prefer to be on the offensive, which is in line with special-operations doctrine around the around.
North Korean special-operations forces during an exercise, in a photo released August 26, 2017.
STR/AFP via Getty Images
They "would be a fierce enemy" if a war broke out, a former Green Beret who served in South Korea told Insider.
The Kim regime has cultivated a cult of personality around its leaders, with public pledges of loyalty by troops and military elites.
"We have the technological advantage and our planes and missiles can bomb them back to the Stone Age, but they will be fighting for their 'god,'" the former Green Beret said. "Since birth, they have been brought up in this cultish environment where the supreme leader is their 'god.' They are fanatical and tough. Korean winters are no joke, and these guys have been trained to survive and operate in such environments. They would fight to the last man."
Pyongyang might also use conventional military operations to distract US and South Korean forces and allow its special-operations units to infiltrate the South successfully.
In 2010, 46 sailors were killed when a South Korean vessel was sunk in a suspected North Korean submarine attack. A few months later, North Korean artillery shelled a South Korean island near the two countries' maritime boundary, killing four people.
In a recent interview with the BBC, Kim Kuk-song, a senior North Korean intelligence officer who defected to South Korea, described how Kim Jong Un uses North Korea's military and intelligence resources for personal enrichment or revenge against real or perceived enemies. North Korean special-operations forces may also facilitate such "gang-style" operations.
North Korean troops during a special-operations forces event, in a photo released April 14, 2017.
STR/AFP via Getty Images
In the event of a war with South Korea, North Korean commandos would also likely attempt a strike against South Korea's leaders and command-and-control centers, seeking to decapitate South Korean leadership and sow confusion in the initial hours of the conflict.
It wouldn't be the first time North Korean commandos have tried something like that. On January 31, 1969, a North Korean special-operations assault force infiltrated into South Korea with the goal of assassinating South Korean President Park Chung-hee.
The commando team moved fast and aggressively and managed to reach Park's residence in Seoul, even though they were spotted by some farmers along the way. That's when everything unraveled, however, as the North Koreans didn't know the code word to enter the residence and got into a running firefight with South Korean troops.
In the end, only one North Korean commando managed to get back into North Korea, with the rest captured or killed.
The threat of infiltration and of other attacks by North Korean commandos remains. North Korea may exaggerate its military capabilities regularly, but its special-operations forces are no joke.
Stavros Atlamazoglou is a defense journalist specializing in special operations, a Hellenic Army veteran (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ), and a Johns Hopkins University graduate.
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12. Washington, Seoul have different perspectives on formal end to Korean War
Again, reporting is all over the map on this issue.
Washington, Seoul have different perspectives on formal end to Korean War
Members of the 1st Marine Division capture Chinese soldiers in Hoengsong, Korea, March 2, 1951. (U.S. Marine Corps)
The White House this week indicated it had differences with the South Korean government’s approach to formally ending the Korean War but said their diplomats’ ongoing talks have been “very productive.”
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Tuesday described the bilateral talks as “intensive” but said he did “not want to go too far publicly” in revealing details.
“I will only say that special envoy Sung Kim’s recent discussions have been very productive, constructive,” Sullivan told reporters at the White House briefing room.
Sung Kim, the U.S. special representative for North Korea, has been meeting with Noh Kyu-duk, South Korea’s special representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs, over their respective nations’ positions on a formal end to the war with North Korea.
The 1950-53 Korean War came to an informal end with an armistice rather than a peace treaty. The U.N. Command and China were also signatories to the temporary agreement, raising the question of whether the two must be part of the ongoing discourse between the U.S. and Seoul.
The administration of South Korean President Moon Jae-in, whose term ends next year, has in recent weeks advocated a formal end to the conflict. Addressing the U.N. General Assembly on Sept. 21, Moon called for the signatories to “come together and declare that the war on the Korean Peninsula is over.”
Following his remarks, U.S. and South Korean diplomats held talks in Seoul and Washington, D.C.
Sullivan on Tuesday said the White House “may have somewhat different perspectives on the precise sequence or timing, or conditions for different steps” but added that “we are fundamentally aligned on the core strategic initiative here.”
He also told reporters that the White House was “going to continue the intensive conversations with China.”
The idea of an end-of-war declaration has been met with mixed feelings. Critics of the proposal say North Korea, which continues to violate human rights and conduct provocative weapon tests, would become the primary benefactor.
Pyongyang has long called for the roughly 28,500 U.S. troops to leave the Korean Peninsula, and an end to the war would call into question the legitimacy of stationing American forces in South Korea, according to defense analysts.
Supporters of the proposal, however, have suggested that the declaration would jump-start the peace process between the two Koreas and pressure Pyongyang to join the international community.
Despite continued weapons tests and provocative statements in recent weeks, Pyongyang described ending the conflict as “interesting” and a “good idea.”
"We have discussed the end of war declaration at several opportunities in the past since we have appreciated of the necessity and meaning of the [declaration], which can be the beginning of the establishment of a system to ensure peace on the Korean Peninsula,” Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said in a statement last month.
David Choi
13. U.S. Senate committee passes bill on battling N. Korean censorship
Perhaps this will provide the spark that will ignite the comprehensive information and influence campaign we need to be successful on the Korean peninsula.
U.S. Senate committee passes bill on battling N. Korean censorship | Yonhap News Agency
By Byun Duk-kun
WASHINGTON, Oct. 27 (Yonhap) -- The U.S. Senate foreign relations committee has passed a bill aimed at countering North Korea's repressive censorship and providing outside information to the people of the reclusive North, a cosponsor of the bill said Wednesday.
The bill, titled the Otto Warmbier North Korea Censorship and Surveillance Act, passed the Senate committee last Tuesday, according to Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH).
The proposed bill is named after the Cincinnati native, who was detained by North Korea during his trip there in 2016 for allegedly stealing a propaganda poster from his hotel.
Warmbier, then 22, died in June 2017, six days after he was released from North Korea.
"Otto Warmbier was the best of America, the Midwest and Cincinnati. This legislation will help ensure his memory lives on and the brutal regime responsible for his unjust death is held accountable for this and its myriad of other human rights abuses," Portman said, according to a press release from his office.
The bill, jointly proposed by senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Chris Coons (D-DE) in June, seeks to require the U.S. president to develop and submit to Congress "a strategy on combating North Korea's repressive information environment" within 180 days of its enactment.
It, if enacted, will also provide US$10 million annually to the U.S. Agency for Global Media for the next five years to increase its broadcasting into North Korea, as well as provide grants to private media outlets that send outside information into the reclusive state.
bdk@yna.co.kr
(END)
14. S. Korea discovers more Korean War remains in DMZ
Shared ROK and us values: We will not leave our fallen and missing behind and will not rest until we recover them.
S. Korea discovers more Korean War remains in DMZ | Yonhap News Agency
By Kang Yoon-seung and Song Sang-ho
SEOUL, Oct. 28 (Yonhap) -- South Korea has found more than two dozen bone fragments presumed to be from troops killed in the 1950-53 Korean War during recent excavation work in a former battle site, the defense ministry said Thursday.
The military has discovered 26 bone pieces and 5,132 articles, including combat gear, in the White Horse Ridge, the site inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas. Many of them are thought to be from fallen South Korean troops, the ministry said.
In September, the ministry launched the excavation work there as part of efforts to fulfill a 2018 inter-Korean military accord, including the joint retrieval project. The South currently conducts the project alone, as the North remains unresponsive to calls to join it.
The ministry said that the Agency for Killed In Action for Recovery and Identification will carry out a DNA analysis to identify the bone pieces.
"(The government) will make its best efforts for excavation in all areas, including the DMZ, until the return of the last solider killed in the Korean War to his family and home country," the ministry said in a press release.
The recovery work in the White Horse Ridge followed the conclusion of the yearslong excavation work at the nearby Arrowhead Ridge in June.
At the Arrowhead Ridge, the military recovered a total of 3,092 bone fragments believed to have belonged to 424 troops killed in action.
colin@yna.co.kr
(END)
15. N. Korea slams U.S., some western countries for skipping U.N. meeting on racism
N. Korea slams U.S., some western countries for skipping U.N. meeting on racism | Yonhap News Agency
By Chae Yun-hwan
SEOUL, Oct. 28 (Yonhap) -- North Korea rebuked the United States and other western nations Thursday for having double standards on human rights and racism, taking issue with their absence from a recent symbolic U.N. meeting.
In a note posted on the foreign ministry's website, North Korea criticized the U.S., Britain and others for not taking part in a high-level meeting at the U.N. General Assembly last month to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action that calls for racial justice.
It accused the countries of having "the darkest history" in racism and "pouring cold water" on efforts to protect and improve human rights, while claiming to be "advanced nations" and acting like "judges" in the fields.
"Before western countries dispute here and there of non-existent 'human rights problems' of others, (they) should focus on their own domestic affairs, such as systematic racism and human rights violations," it added.
In recent years, Pyongyang has increased such postings, related to diplomatic and international issues, on the website of its foreign ministry.
An official at South Korea's Unification Ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs, said that it continues to monitor those messages considered to reflect the North Korean authorities' views. But the official pointed out that such online postings apparently carry less weight in comparison with the ministry's official statements.
yunhwanchae@yna.co.kr
(END)
16. Sung Kim: Discussions on end of war require N. Korea to return to talks
Ambassador Kim is exactly right here. If we want an end of war declaration then the north needs to come to the table to discuss it. We must never unilaterally make a concession to the north without reciprocity. We have done this so many times in the past to include the unilateral withdrawal of US tactical nuclear weapons in 1991.
Sung Kim: Discussions on end of war require N. Korea to return to talks
Posted October. 28, 2021 07:34,
Updated October. 28, 2021 07:34
Sung Kim: Discussions on end of war require N. Korea to return to talks. October. 28, 2021 07:34. by Jin-Woo Shin niceshin@donga.com.
It was reported that the U.S. said to the South Korean government that unless North Korea returns to talks first, South Korea’s proposal to end the Korean War is not acceptable. In addition, the U.S. government reportedly said that China and other related countries should be involved in the announcement of the end of the war before South Korea and the U.S. discuss their stances on the matter. As it differs from the South Korean government’s idea that the announcement of the end of war is a gateway to resume denuclearization talks between the U.S. and North Korea and dialogues between the two Koreas, some suspect that the Moon Jae-in administration’s North Korea policies at the end of its term may face some issues.
According to multiple government sources on Wednesday, Kim Sung, the special representative of the US State Department on North Korea policy, said the above at a South Korea-U.S. meeting over the North Korean nuclear program on Sunday during his visit to South Korea. While the South Korean government shared an idea to propose the end-of-war announcement based on discussions between South Korea and the U.S. to begin talks again, focusing on the aspect that the announcement is a political and symbolic one, rather than legally binding, the Joe Biden administration has made it clear that the proposal can be discussed when the North returns to talks.
The Biden administration has examined the end-of-war announcement scenario proposed by the South Korean government and analyzed the pros and cons of the proposal. Kim’s response means that the U.S. decided not to agree with the proposal at the moment after internal analysis as the announcement may send a wrong message to the North regarding the dissolution of the United Nations Command or the withdrawal of the United States Forces Korea.
“We may have somewhat different perspectives on the precise sequence or timing or conditions for different steps,” National Security Advisor of the U.S. Jake Sullivan said to a question regarding the U.S.’s stance on the announcement to end the Korean War during a White House briefing on Tuesday (local time). It was the first official acknowledgment on the U.S. government side that South Korea and the U.S. have differences in opinion regarding the end-of-war announcement.
17. North Korea tells hungry citizens to ‘tighten belts’ until 2025
An awful long time to tighten their belts. What might happen among the Korean people living in the north between now and then?
Excerpts:
“Residents are already struggling to get by and have already tightened their belts as much as possible. They resent the unrealistic demands of the authorities, asking how much tighter they could possibly tighten their belts,” said the second source.
The North Korean government has been pushing its mantra of self-reliance since the beginning of this year. One of leader Kim Jong Un’s key messages in the eighth congress of the ruling Korean Workers’ Party in January was for the country to decrease dependence on imports and solve its own problems.
In April, authorities told them to prepare for an economic situation worse than the Arduous March, the Korean name for the 1994-1998 famine that killed millions, as many as 10 percent of the country by some estimates.
In July, the Central Committee ordered citizens to start farming their own food in anticipation of a food shortage that could last three years.
Sources said that citizens were resentful because the government was shirking its responsibilities to the people, simply telling them that they were on their own to feed themselves without doing anything to solve the problem.
North Korea tells hungry citizens to ‘tighten belts’ until 2025
People resent being told to eat less for three more years when they may not last through the winter.
North Korea is telling citizens to tighten their belts through at least 2025, the year they will reopen the border with China which they closed last year to ward off the coronavirus, causing severe food shortages, sources in the country told RFA.
After the government informed citizens to expect more years of hardship, people complained that they might not be able to last through the coming winter--much less hold out through the middle of the decade.
“Two weeks ago, they told the neighborhood watch unit meeting that our food emergency would continue until 2025. Authorities emphasized that the possibility of reopening customs between North Korea and China before 2025 was very slim,” a resident of the northwestern border city of Sinuiju, across from China’s Dandong, told RFA’s Korean Service Oct. 21.
“The food situation right now is already clearly an emergency, and the people are struggling with shortages. When the authorities tell them that they need to conserve and consume less food until 2025… they can do nothing but feel great despair,” said the source who requested anonymity for security reasons.
Chronically short of food, the country of 25 million has seen starvation deaths in the wake of the closure of the Sino-Korean border and suspension of trade with China in January 2020 to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The move devastated the North Korean economy, causing food prices to skyrocket without imports from China covering the gap between domestic food production and demand.
The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization projected in a recent report that North Korea would be short about 860,000 tons of food this year, about two months’ consumption. The UN World Food Program estimates that about 40% of North Korea’s population is undernourished.
North Korea faulted factors beyond its control for its inability to achieve food self-sufficiency and other sustainable development goals in a recent Voluntary National Review for the United Nations.
“The continued sanctions and blockade on the DPRK, severe natural disasters that hit the country every year and the protracted world health crisis since 2020 are main obstacles to the Government’s efforts to achieve the sustainable development of the country and improve the people’s livelihood,” the report said.
Though UN and U.S. sanctions restrict the trade of certain goods that could generate cash and resources into Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programs, the border closure restricts all trade, and it has made finding their next meal difficult for many North Koreans.
The people were looking forward to the border reopening and had been hoping it would happen soon, according to the Sinuiju resident.
“Distrust and resentment of the authorities is rampant among the residents because at the meeting they said we should reduce the amount of food we eat and tighten our belts more than ever,” the source said.
“Some of the residents are saying that the situation right now is so serious they don’t know if they can even survive the coming winter. They say that telling us to endure hardship until 2025 is the same as telling us to starve to death,” said the source.
When the same bleak food message was delivered to residents of Hoeyrong, the northeastern border city of 150,000 people, officials tried to spin it as the country’s successful management of the pandemic in a world ravaged by coronavirus, a resident told RFA.
“They said at the meeting that the coronavirus situation in other countries was so bad. The number of coronavirus-related deaths is rapidly increasing every day around the world,” said the second source, who requested anonymity to speak freely.
“But the residents do not trust the authorities’ explanation, saying, ‘No matter how difficult the situation is, where on Earth could there be people going through more difficulty than we are?’” the second source said.
The people criticize the government for doing nothing to solve the food crisis and worry that the border will remain closed even if they are dying of starvation, according to the second source.
“Criticism is coming out that the government’s emphasis on saving food might be because the Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un is not aware of how serious the food situation is,” the second source said.
“Residents are already struggling to get by and have already tightened their belts as much as possible. They resent the unrealistic demands of the authorities, asking how much tighter they could possibly tighten their belts,” said the second source.
The North Korean government has been pushing its mantra of self-reliance since the beginning of this year. One of leader Kim Jong Un’s key messages in the eighth congress of the ruling Korean Workers’ Party in January was for the country to decrease dependence on imports and solve its own problems.
In April, authorities told them to prepare for an economic situation worse than the Arduous March, the Korean name for the 1994-1998 famine that killed millions, as many as 10 percent of the country by some estimates.
In July, the Central Committee ordered citizens to start farming their own food in anticipation of a food shortage that could last three years.
Sources said that citizens were resentful because the government was shirking its responsibilities to the people, simply telling them that they were on their own to feed themselves without doing anything to solve the problem.
Reported by Jeong Yon Park for RFA’s Korean Service. Translated by Leejin Jun. Written in English by Eugene Whong.
18. Kim Jong Un orders starving North Koreans to eat less food until 2025
Imagine the effects on the markets if the border with China remains closed until 2025.
Kim Jong Un orders starving North Koreans to eat less food until 2025
Kim Jong Un orders starving North Koreans to eat less food until 2025 - when the country expects to finally reopen its border with China following Covid shutdown
- Government in North Korea has warned citizens will need to eat less until 2025
- The nation's food supply cannot currently meet demand and prices have soared
- North Korea also closed its border with China as a measure against Covid-19
- The reduced trade, mixed with natural disasters, leaves the nation short on food
PUBLISHED: 06:24 EDT, 27 October 2021 | UPDATED: 06:52 EDT, 27 October 2021
Daily Mail · by Sam Baker For Mailonline · October 27, 2021
North Korea has warned its citizens that they must expect to eat less food until the country re-opens its border with China in 2025.
Food shortages are already affecting North Koreans, but citizens were told to tighten their belts for at least another three years by officials, according to RFA.
However, people have already complained that shortages would make it difficult to see themselves through the winter, let alone multiple years.
North Korea closed its border with China in January 2020 as a precautionary measure against the spread of coronavirus.
North Korea has warned its citizens that they must expect to eat less food until the country re-opens its border with China in 2025. Food shortages are already affecting North Koreans, but citizens were told to tighten their belts for at least another three years by Kim Jong Un's (pictured) government
But the move had a serious impact on the nation's economy - with prices of everyday goods rising sharply as demand outstripped supply.
Speaking about the new government guidance, a resident of the city Sinuiju, who wished to remain anonymous, said that people have been warned that the chances of re-opening the border with China before 2025 were slim.
They added: 'The food situation right now is already clearly an emergency, and the people are struggling with shortages. When the authorities tell them that they need to conserve and consume less food until 2025… they can do nothing but feel great despair.'
Despite the current hardships the North Korean people are facing, their leader Kim Jong Un has been continuing to push the idea of self-reliance this year.
The North Korean government has blamed external factors for their food shortages though, citing sanctions imposed on them, natural disasters and the global coronavirus pandemic. Pictured: North Korean farmers harvesting rice on October 19, 2021
This message was further encouraged in July when then Central Committee instructed the public to begin growing their own crops in anticipation of shortages.
However, with the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization estimating that North Korea is short around 860,000 tons of food this year, the Sinuiju resident said that contempt is growing among the people.
'They say that telling us to endure hardship until 2025 is the same as telling us to starve to death,' the resident said.
A second source claimed that the North Korean government is attempting to spin the food shortages as a result of their effective Covid-19 strategy, which they say has worked well.
The government has blamed external factors for their food shortages though, citing sanctions imposed on them, natural disasters and the global coronavirus pandemic.
Last year, North Korea suffered severe flooding which damaged vital crops and left hundreds of families without homes. This year, crops were also damaged by droughts and subsequent flooding.
In August, heavy rains in northeastern North Korea destroyed or flooded 1,170 houses and forced 5,000 residents to evacuate to safety, North Korea's state TV reported.
The downpour in South Hamgyong Province washed away hundreds of hectares of farmlands and destroyed many bridges. Footage showed houses submerged up to their red-brick roofs, a severed bridge over muddy water and a swollen river.
Kim has acknowledged a 'tense' food situation that could worsen if all of the crops fail, exacerbating economic problems amid strict self-imposed border and movement restrictions that have slowed trade to a trickle. Pictured: File image of men plowing a field in North Korea in July 2017
Summer rains in North Korea often cause serious damage to its agricultural and other sectors due to poor drainage, deforestation and dilapidated infrastructure in the impoverished country.
Kim has acknowledged a 'tense' food situation that could worsen if all of the crops fail, exacerbating economic problems amid strict self-imposed border and movement restrictions that have slowed trade to a trickle.
North Korea is a mountainous nation, meaning suitable land for farming is in short supply and many of its farmers lack access to tools such as tractors, combine harvesters and threshers.
As a result, it is thought that North Korea relies on foreign imports and aid to feed around a third of its population.
Even with those imports, a 2017 UN report concluded that two fifths of the population are undernourished - meaning they don't have access to the number of calories needed per day to maintain a healthy weight.
A third of North Korea children are also thought to be stunted, meaning they did not get enough calories during the early years of their life.
Daily Mail · by Sam Baker For Mailonline · October 27, 2021
V/R
David Maxwell
Senior Fellow
Foundation for Defense of Democracies
Phone: 202-573-8647
Twitter: @davidmaxwell161
FDD is a Washington-based nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.
