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Quotes of the day:
“It is hard to free fools from the chains they revere.”
- Voltaire
“There is nothing more confining than the prison we don't know we are in.”
- Shakespeare
"The eyes of others our prisons; their thoughts our cages."
- Virginia Woolf
1. North Korea’s hidden hand in supplying rockets to Hamas
2. US aircraft carrier Carl Vinson arrives in South Korea port
3. Rival Koreas race to launch first spy satellites this month
4. North Korea tells Japan it plans to launch satellite in the coming days
5. NGOs lament North Korea’s reluctance to accept aid despite humanitarian problems
6. North Korea cracks down on unregistered laptops and tablets
7. Hymn to Kim Jong Un becomes official song at state events
8. S. Korea hints at halt to 2018 inter-Korean military accord in event of N.K. satellite launch
9. N.K. hacking group stole email accounts of about 1,500 S. Koreans: police
10. Tours to Panmunjom to partially resume after 4-month hiatus
11. N. Korea prepares for local elections after election law revision
12. Korea, U.S. to Set up Military 5G Network
13. What do N. Koreans think about the country’s new election system?
14. N. Korea applies market exchange rate to electronic prepaid card transactions
15. Facing uncertain future, N. Korean high schooler takes own life
16, S. Korea: September 19 military agreement to be suspended if N. Korea launches reconnaissance satellite
17. S. Korea, Britain vow closer ties in nuclear energy sector
18. How to escape North Korea
1. North Korea’s hidden hand in supplying rockets to Hamas
north Korea and the Kim Family regime: Perhaps the worst malign actor of all the revisionist, rogue, and revolutionary powers.
North Korea’s hidden hand in supplying rockets to Hamas
The Gaza war has revealed the extent to which North Korean rockets are being launched into Israel.
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-774209
By DR. BRUCE BECHTOL NOVEMBER 20, 2023 16:04Updated: NOVEMBER 20, 2023 20:25
Dr. Bruce E. Bechtol Jr.(photo credit: Courtesy)
Jerusalem Post
For years, the government of North Korea has manufactured and sold its deadly weapons, including powerful rockets, to other outlaw regimes worldwide. In defiance of UN sanctions, global condemnation, and American warnings, Pyongyang continues on this path unimpeded and without concerns. The current war in Gaza has revealed the real danger and extent to which North Korean rockets, sold to Iran to supply Hamas, are being launched by the terrorists into Israeli cities and towns.
Back in 2021, I wrote a piece for the National Interest in which I outlined arms deals that reportedly occurred between North Korea and Hamas, resulting in rockets, upgrades to technology, and other military capabilities. At the time, Hamas was launching thousands of rockets into Israel, but most were destroyed by the Iron Dome system, and the Israeli people largely considered themselves safe from attack.
Fast forward to October of 2023. Things have changed. The threat from Hamas has proven to be so horrifying that most agree it needs to be completely destroyed. The terrorist attacks against civilians and targeting civilian communities in Israel have been carried out with a level of brutality rarely seen since medieval times. In the footage the whole world has seen, Hamas “fighters” were seen using weaponry from several sources – but shockingly to some, an analysis of weapons used thus far shows several systems with North Korean origins.
The world first took notice of North Korean arms ending up in the hands of Hamas in 2009, when arms shipments consisting largely of rockets and rocket-propelled grenades were interdicted in Thailand and the UAE. The Israeli government at the time stated that these shipments were probably bound for Hamas and Hezbollah. The go-between for North Korea to these two entities was almost certainly Iran. Since interdicted shipments are often only the tip of the iceberg, this is quite disturbing.
According to a report in The Telegraph in July of 2014, North Korea had entered into a deal with Hamas to sell the terrorist organization both rockets and communications gear (more on the “communications” gear later). The deal is said to have been worth several hundred thousand dollars, so it is likely that the deal involved the sale of thousands of North Korean rockets to Hamas. The deal was reportedly brokered through a Lebanese front company with ties to Hamas, located in Beirut. In addition, by the time the article was published, a down payment had already been made, so it is likely that the shipment of rockets and communications gear occurred sometime in late 2014.
In 2018, Fadi al-Batsh, a Palestinian and reported Hamas operative, was assassinated in Malaysia. Malaysia was for many years (including during that time frame) a location that North Korea used to operate many of its front companies for arms deals all over the world, but particularly in the Middle East and Africa, as well as to launder the money from those deals.
According to press reporting, intelligence officials from the West and the Middle East had evidence that Batsh was part of negotiations with the North Koreans for arms deals being run out of Malaysia (as many of Pyongyang’s arms deals were at the time), including for communications components used in rocket guidance systems. According to Egyptian officials, a seized shipment of North Korean communications components used for guided munitions that they captured in 2018 was destined for Gaza. And what of the actual capabilities that North Korea has contributed to Hamas?
AdvertisementAccording to sources within the South Korean JCS, “some of the multiple rocket launchers found near the Israeli border that Hamas militants reportedly used had “Bang-122” written in Korean.” The official further remarked, “Lately, we have repeatedly detected North Korea exporting various weapons to Middle East countries and militant organizations, including the 122-millimeter multiple rocket launchers found along the border near Israel,” said a JCS official. “We believe these weapons were used by Hamas or an organization that supports Hamas.” The “F-7” North Korean-made RPG has also been photographed in the possession of Hamas fighters attacking Israel on October 7.
According to the Associated Press and confirmed by numerous photos, “Hamas propaganda videos and photos previously have shown its fighters with North Korea’s Bulsae guided anti-tank missile.” The “Bulsae” is a laser-guided ATGM that has the potential to be effective against Israeli armor as it moves through a ground campaign in Gaza. Finally, back in 2014, according to a report from The Telegraph, “Israeli military commanders supervising operations against Gaza believe North Korean experts have given Hamas advice on building the extensive network of tunnels in Gaza that has enabled fighters to move weapons without detection by Israeli drones, which maintain a constant monitoring operation over Gaza.”
These tunnels continue to be a major challenge to the IDF and will continue to be a challenge to a ground campaign in Gaza. What does all of this mean? First of all, it means North Korea will sell anything to anybody – including terrorist groups. Secondly, it means the governments of Israel and the USA must consider North Korea’s military proliferation an existential national security threat, and more proactive means of thwarting it must immediately commence. Third, it means that North Korea’s strong ties to Iran also equate to strong ties to proxy state and non-state actors that Iran supports. Thus, the road to destroying North Korea’s illicit arms networks in the Middle East runs through Iran.
Israel’s intelligence services and the IDF will need to critically reevaluate its analysis of the threat from North Korea when the Gaza war is won. The Jewish state no longer has the luxury of assuming outlaw regimes like the one in Pyongyang create only a marginal threat when their hidden hand in supplying Iran is now very clear.
Dr. Bruce E. Bechtol Jr. is a professor of Political Science at Angelo State University. He is also the president of the International Council on Korean Studies and a fellow at the Institute for Korean-American Studies. The author of five books dealing with North Korea, his latest work is entitled “North Korean Military Proliferation in the Middle East and Africa.”
Jerusalem Post
2. US aircraft carrier Carl Vinson arrives in South Korea port
5 acres of American real estate projected anywhere in the world.
US aircraft carrier Carl Vinson arrives in South Korea port
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/us-aircraft-carrier-carl-vinson-arrives-south-korea-port-2023-11-21/?utm
Reuters
November 20, 20238:47 PM ESTUpdated 11 hours ago
Fighter jets sit on the U.S. aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson as it arrives at a port in Busan, South Korea, November 21, 2023. Yonhap via REUTERS Acquire Licensing Rights
SEOUL, Nov 21 (Reuters) - The U.S. aircraft carrier Carl Vinson arrived at a port in the South Korean city of Busan on Tuesday, in a show of extended deterrence against North Korea's nuclear and missile programs, South Korea's navy said.
The arrival comes as North Korea plans to launch a rocket carrying a space satellite between Nov. 22 and Dec. 1 in the direction of the Yellow Sea and East China Sea, according to Japan's Coast Guard,
It would mark a third attempt by the nuclear-armed North this year to put a spy satellite into orbit.
In a statement, South Korean Rear Admiral Kim Ji-hoon said the arrival of the Carl Vinson showed a "strong combined defence posture and a determined willingness to respond to North Korea's advancing nuclear and missile threats" by the South Korea-U.S. alliance.
Reporting by Hyunsu Yim Editing by Ed Davies
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
3. Rival Koreas race to launch first spy satellites this month
Rival Koreas race to launch first spy satellites this month
Reuters · by Josh Smith
SEOUL, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Both South and North Korea aim to launch their first spy satellites into orbit by the end of the month, entering a race for military capabilities in space.
North Korea has notified Japan it plans to launch a satellite between Wednesday and Dec. 1, after two failed attempts to launch spy satellites earlier this year.
South Korea, meanwhile, plans to send its first domestically developed military reconnaissance satellite into space on Nov. 30 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched from California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base.
Seoul plans to use SpaceX to launch four more spy satellites by 2025, and has test launched its own liquid and solid fuel rockets to launch more civilian and military satellites in the future.
A functioning reconnaissance satellite could give North Korea its first capability to remotely monitor U.S., South Korean, and Japanese troops, while South Korea's satellites would reduce its dependence on American intelligence systems.
"Both Koreas stand to benefit to different degrees from the acquisition of independent space-based reconnaissance capabilities," said Ankit Panda of the U.S.-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "There is no doubt an element of prestige here, too, for both sides, but the practical benefits are a primary driver."
In September Russian President Vladimir Putin gave Kim Jong Un a tour of Russia's modern space launch facility and promised to help Pyongyang build satellites.
And on Tuesday, a researcher at North Korea's National Aerospace Development Administration said the militarisation of space by the United States and its allies demanded that Pyongyang step up its spy satellite programme.
Announcing plans for South Korea's own constellation of spy satellites in 2020, then-deputy national security adviser Kim Hyun-chong said that the South's military needs “unblinking eyes” to monitor the Korean peninsula 24 hours a day.
The two Koreas could use such satellites for increased early warning capabilities, military targeting and damage assessments in the event of a war, and communications, among other uses, said Chun In-bum, a retired South Korean army general.
South Korean officials who recovered debris from North Korea's recent satellite launches have cast doubt on their capabilities, and Seoul and Washington have called the launches veiled tests of ballistic missile technology banned by United Nations Security Council resolutions.
"Even if North Korea is successful in the next launch they will be a long way from any reconnaissance capability that would be of military value," Chun said.
Panda argued that even if North Korea's first satellite is poor in its overall resolution, it can still have some military utility for strategic warning and situational awareness.
It would be shortsighted to view the acquisition of reconnaissance capabilities by North Korea as a strictly threatening development, he added.
"While Pyongyang could use these capabilities to queue nuclear attacks and conduct damage assessment, we might also see such a capability confer a stabilizing effect by allowing North Korea to maintain better strategic situational awareness in a crisis," Panda said.
South Korea's capabilities are more advanced, but it still has to make more progress to see results, Chun said.
"For South Korea it will provide a meaningful boost in its surveillance capabilities but still a lot more satellites will be required," he said.
Reporting by Josh Smith; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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Reuters · by Josh Smith
4. North Korea tells Japan it plans to launch satellite in the coming days
The only thing worse than Kim launching a satellite during the Thanksgiving holiday to make all the US national security personnel who focus on Korea work on the holiday is to threaten a launch over the holiday and then not conduct one but still making all the US national security personnel who are responsible for Korea to work over the holiday.
Kim knows how to play the game.
North Korea tells Japan it plans to launch satellite in the coming days
Reuters · by Chang-Ran Kim
TOKYO/SEOUL Nov 21 (Reuters) - North Korea has notified Japan it plans to launch a satellite between Wednesday and Dec. 1, in what Tokyo and Seoul said could be a third attempt to put a spy satellite into orbit in violation of a U.N. ban.
Japan's Coast Guard said on Tuesday the North gave notice of the launch in the direction of the Yellow Sea and East China Sea. South Korea's state maritime safety agency issued a warning to vessels of the planned launch for the same areas as previous launches.
North Korea had attempted to launch what it called spy satellites twice earlier this year but failed, and South Korean officials have said in recent days that it appeared set to try again soon.
State media KCNA reported on Tuesday it was North Korea's "sovereign right" to strengthen its military power against the U.S.-led space surveillance system and defended its military satellite development, citing a researcher at the nuclear-armed state's space agency.
The notice prompted immediate condemnation from Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who said his country's defence systems, including the Aegis destroyers and PAC-3 air defence missiles, stood ready for any "unexpected situation" that arose.
"Even if the purpose is to launch a satellite, using ballistic missile technology is a violation of a series of United Nations Security Council resolutions," Kishida told reporters.
"It is also a matter that greatly affects national security."
Japan will work with the United States, South Korea and others to "strongly urge" North Korea not to go ahead with the launch, Kishida said.
South Korea's defence ministry said it was watching the North's planned launch. Previous launches came in the early hours of the first day of the window, the ministry said, and it was possible the third attempt would be successful.
FLEET OF SATELLITES PLANNED
North Korea has notified Japan, as the coordinating authority for the International Maritime Organization for those waters, of its satellite launch plans previously.
Pyongyang considers its space and military rocket programmes a sovereign right, and has said it plans a fleet of satellites to monitor moves by U.S. and South Korean troops.
It has made multiple attempts to launch what it called "observation" satellites, two of which appeared to have successfully reached orbit.
Analysts say spy satellites are crucial to improving the effectiveness of North Korea's weapons.
The launch would be the first since North Korean leader Kim Jong Un toured Russia's modern space station in September where President Vladimir Putin promised to help Pyongyang build satellites.
North Korea's notice follows its denouncement on Monday of the potential U.S. sale of hundreds of missiles to Japan and South Korea, calling it a dangerous act and vowing to boost deterrence and respond to increased tension.
On Monday, South Korea's military issued a warning demanding North Korea call off any plan to launch a satellite, describing it as an act of provocation that threatens South Korea's security.
It said it had done its part to comply with a 2018 agreement with the North not to engage in actions that raise tension while the North repeatedly violated it by launching missiles and flying drones.
South Korean officials have said they were reviewing the possibility of suspending some parts of the agreement.
After the May launch attempt, South Korea retrieved the wreckage of the satellite from the sea and said an analysis showed it had no meaningful use as a reconnaissance platform.
On Tuesday, the U.S. aircraft carrier Carl Vinson entered the South Korean port of Busan on a previously scheduled visit as part of a increased readiness by the allies against North Korea's missile and nuclear threats, South Korea's navy said.
South Korea separately plans to launch its first reconnaissance satellite from California on Nov. 30 with the aid of the United States.
Reporting by Chang-Ran Kim in Tokyo and Jack Kim in Seoul; Editing by Sandra Maler, Lincoln Feast and Simon Cameron-Moore
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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Reuters · by Chang-Ran Kim
5. NGOs lament North Korea’s reluctance to accept aid despite humanitarian problems
The Korean people in the north are not a priority for the regime. The regime prioritizes the safety and welfare of the Kim family regime and the elite, the development of nuclear weapons, missiles,band advanced warfighting capabilities over the welfare of the Korean people.
NGOs lament North Korea’s reluctance to accept aid despite humanitarian problems
Multiple groups report that they’ve struggled to reach contacts and deliver aid as DPRK prioritizes self-reliance
https://www.nknews.org/2023/11/ngos-lament-north-koreas-reluctance-to-accept-aid-despite-humanitarian-problems/?utm
Ifang Bremer November 20, 2023
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North Korean children in the port city of Nampho in Sept. 2015 | Image: NK News
North Korea’s pandemic border controls and insistence on self-reliance are impeding the provision of much-needed aid, contributing to the deterioration of the humanitarian situation in the country, multiple international organizations have told the U.N. Panel of Experts.
Six out of 11 organizations surveyed about the impact of sanctions on the humanitarian situation in the DPRK said they have had difficulties contacting or cooperating with the North Korean government while attempting to deliver aid or perform humanitarian work over the past three years, according to comments included in the Panel’s latest report on violations of the DPRK sanctions regime.
“The North Korean government’s decision to close its borders in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic has aggravated the humanitarian situation in the country; in our understanding and assessment, the U.N. sanctions had no influence in this,” one organization that used to operate inside North Korea said.
The report anonymized all the organizations.
Another aid group stated that they have “virtually lost contact with North Korea” since the border closed in 2020.
“We received a waiver from U.N. sanctions in 2021. Since then, we have consistently asked the North to meet in third countries … However, we have been unable to do so due to COVID-19.”
“Our occasional correspondence through the North Korean Consulate in [a member state] has also been cut off,” the group said.
North Koreans working in a rice field in Oct. 2016 | Image: NK News
A third group lamented that the DPRK’s pandemic import restrictions have impeded the delivery of aid.
“Several shipments of essential and critical equipment that [organization 11] procured, most of which were approved by the U.N. Sanctions Committee, were held up at different locations incurring large expenses on storage charges and customs demurrage,” the organization said. “Several shipments expired while being held up, costing more money to dispose of such shipments. Some shipments had to be re-routed to other countries, causing additional financial burden.”
In recent months, North Korea has allowed citizens stranded abroad during the pandemic to return home and foreign delegations to visit, while cross-border trade with China has ticked up.
But there have been no signs that the DPRK will allow workers from international organizations to return anytime soon. The last foreign workers from the U.N. and nongovernmental organizations left the country in spring 2021.
LACK OF FOOD AND MEDICINE
The humanitarian situation in the country has likely only worsened over the past three years, the organizations indicated.
One group said that “up-to-date data is not available at this time and that the situation is likely to be worse than estimates indicate.”
“The biggest humanitarian challenges facing the country include chronic malnutrition; lack of access to basic health services; declining conditions in water and sanitation, and hygiene; malnutrition and high vulnerability to natural disasters.”
A second organization agreed, telling the panel that “North Koreans have been surviving on their folk remedies due to the lockdown and disruption of medicine supplies from abroad. Also, we’ve heard from North Korean defectors that North Koreans are struggling to buy medicine, even at the market.”
Because of the absence of foreign aid workers, the true extent of the humanitarian situation in North Korea remains unclear. But the U.N. estimates that 45.5% of the North Korean population — almost 12 million people — was undernourished between 2020 and 2022.
SELF-RELIANCE
Most of the organizations blamed the DPRK’s border closure for deteriorating conditions in the country, but two groups also indicated that North Korea’s state philosophy of self-reliance has contributed to Pyongyang’s uncooperative stance.
“North Korean authorities do not believe that humanitarian aid will fundamentally improve their economic situation; instead, they think it only increases the dependence of its high-ranking officials and people on the outside world,” one group said.
Another group added that it had heard from “insiders” that “although the situation of North Koreans is serious, they should overcome it on their own, not with external help.”
Five of the 11 groups also cited the lack of a banking channel to North Korea as a hindrance to their work. With sanctions banning the transfer of funds to North Korea, organizations have relied on staff bringing in cash to the country to fund their activities.
However, several organizations indicated that banks are hesitant or unwilling to supply cash “particularly if the cash supply is intended for projects in DPRK.”
Organizations working with North Korea have struggled to establish a direct banking channel to North Korea for years due to sanctions and other restrictions.
But despite these hurdles, the U.N. transferred US$1 million to a North Korean bank account in Oct. 2022 for the reported purpose of supporting humanitarian work inside the country.
Edited by Alannah Hill
6. North Korea cracks down on unregistered laptops and tablets
External information is an existential threat to the regime.
North Korea cracks down on unregistered laptops and tablets
Move is aimed at blocking access to foreign media that’s considered a corrupting influence.
By Moon Seonghwi for RFA Korean
2023.11.20
rfa.org
North Korean authorities are cracking down on people who use unregistered laptops and tablets to keep them from watching foreign “anti-socialist” videos, residents in the country told Radio Free Asia.
Those caught with unregistered electronic devices will be punished as a spy, a resident of Ryanggang province told RFA Korean on condition of anonymity to speak freely.
“From now on, laptops and tablets that are not registered with the government will be punished at the same level as with possession of small radios,” the resident said. “If you are caught secretly carrying a small radio, you will be punished as a spy, regardless of the reason.”
The punishment awaiting those who might be caught wasn’t immediately clear, but RFA has reported various punishments for people caught consuming foreign media, including execution.
Recent investigations into people who were found guilty of “anti-socialist acts” revealed that they were exposed to foreign media through the devices, he said.
In recent years, memory sticks and SD cards containing South Korean and Western movies, TV shows and music have been smuggled into the country, usually from China, and secretly passed along from person to person.
Authorities are taking the step because efforts to stop foreign media from flowing into the country have been ineffective despite serious punishments, the resident said.
“Starting in 2020, there were very strong demands to voluntarily hand over South Korean movies, music, and illegal publications to judicial authorities, but no one actually did so voluntarily,” he said.
“Cracking down on South Korean movies, music, and illegal publications will not be easy because they are easy to hide, but now laptops and tablets that can secretly play such materials are being targeted.”
Streamlined process
It’s the latest bid to exercise complete control over what types of information the public can access.
The Ministry of Social Security ordered the head of every neighborhood watch unit to go to all the houses in the neighborhood to deliver orders that all laptops and tablets must be registered, and to receive a signature confirming that the resident has read and understood it.
Because the government wants everyone to register their devices, the registration process has been streamlined, a second Ryanggang province resident said on condition of anonymity for security reasons.
“In the past, desktop computers, laptops, and tablets were taken directly to the city and county social security department and post offices to be registered,” the resident said.
“Now … you can go to the head of the neighborhood-watch unit and write down the date you came into possession of the computer, the route by which you took possession of it, the model, and the year it was produced.”
About one-third of all households in most North Korean cities have tablets and laptops, even if they are older models, a former North Korean who escaped North Korea and settled in South Korea at the end of 2019, who requested anonymity for personal safety, told RFA.
RFA was not able to confirm the exact percentage of North Korean residents who own unregistered laptops and tablets.
Translated by Claire Shinyoung Oh Lee. Edited by Eugene Whong and Malcolm Foster.
rfa.org
7. Hymn to Kim Jong Un becomes official song at state events
But in keeping with custom and tradition, regime leadership is deified.
Hymn to Kim Jong Un becomes official song at state events
By replacing a hymn to his father, Kim is breaking out of previous leaders’ shadows, experts say.
By RFA Korean
2023.11.15
rfa.org
“Our general is the wisest of 10 million. Our general cultivates the best paradise with the power of love for our everlasting happiness. His name is General Kim Jong Un!”
So goes the second verse of a song that praises the North Korean leader that is now mandatory for everyone to sing before every social event, residents told Radio Free Asia.
The “Hymn of General Kim Jong Un” will replace the “Hymn of General Kim Jong Il,” the current leader’s father and predecessor. That song had been in use since 1997 when it replaced the “Hymn of General Kim Il Sung,” the progenitor of the three-generation Kim dynasty.
The move to praise the third-generational leader instead of the first or second is an attempt to solidify loyalty around himself by breaking out of his grandfather and father’s shadows, a former high-ranking North Korean official who settled in South Korea in 2019, told RFA Korean on condition of anonymity for safety reasons.
“Since Kim Jong Un has been in power for over 10 years, we cannot continue to live under Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il,” the former official said. “Though they are considered … the origin of revolutionary ideology, that entity must be upheld now by Kim Jong Un.”
‘Ascended the throne’
Orders to change the songs went out this month, a resident from the northeastern province of North Hamgyong told RFA Korean on condition of anonymity for safety reasons.
“Kim Jong Un, ascended to the throne in a hereditary succession as a 27-year-old following the death of his father in 2011,” the resident said. “He had us starting events with songs about his ancestors even after 10 years in power, [because at first] he had no political base … and wanted to emphasize the legitimacy of his succession.”
Along with starting events with the “Hymn of Kim Jong Un,” citizens will be required to end events with another song, “We Will Defend General Kim Jong Un at the Cost of Our Lives,” he said.
North Korean President Kim Il Sung waves during a celebration marking his 80th birthday at Kim Il Sung stadium in Pyongyang, April 15, 1992. A North Korean resident says that in the years preceding Kim Il Sung’s death in 1994, citizens were made to sing songs praising Kim and his son and heir, Kim Jong Il. Credit: Jiji Press/AFP
Both songs are not new, according to the resident.
The hymn was first performed in 2015 by the army during celebrations for the holiday North Korea calls Victory Day, the anniversary of the 1953 signing of the armistice that ended hostilities in the 1950-53 Korean War. The song about defending the leader was first performed on stage in 2012, shortly after Kim Jong Un took power.
The resident said that in the years preceding Kim Il Sung’s death in 1994, the people were made to sing songs praising both Kim Il Sung and his heir, Kim Jong Il. Once the younger Kim took over, the songs praising only Kim Il Sung had been continuously used until three years after he died. Kim Jong Il then replaced them with the songs praising himself.
‘Mixed reactions’
Though it took 10 years for Kim Jong Un to do the same for himself, the move was expected, a resident from the northwestern province of North Pyongan told RFA on condition of anonymity for security reasons.
“When the event song changed, residents showed mixed reactions,” he said. “While they accept this as an expected procedure since he is a hereditary leader, they still react harshly, because asking residents to sacrifice their lives for Kim Jong Un, the leader who caused the current severe food shortage, is an outrage.”
Complaints about the new songs are many, the second resident said.
“Most people cannot accept the propaganda which idolizes [the leader] and forces us to praise the ‘mighty spirit of Korea’ and ‘the dazzling sun of the century,’” he said – a possible link back to grandfather Kim Il Sung, who is often referred to as “the Sun” in propaganda, including the major holiday dedicated to him, the April 15 Day of the Sun.
“Residents are struggling with more severe living difficulties than during the Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il eras,” he said. “However we are told to praise [Kim Jong Un] and defend him with our lives. It’s simply too hard to believe.”
Brainwashing
But the former official said he was saddened that residents have no choice but to comply with the government’s orders to praise Kim Jong Un.
“From the perspective of society and residents, they must comply because they continue to receive brainwashing education from the time when they first open their eyes after birth until they grow old and die,” he said.
“In their minds, they may be thinking, ‘What is the government doing and what is the leader doing when we live poor like this?’ Still, it is a strangely rigid consciousness that must be followed as instructed by the party.”
A former North Korean official who settled in South Korea in the mid-2010s said that the change in song goes beyond merely escaping previous leaders’ shadows.
“It seems an effort to break the link between Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il and highlight Kim Jong Un as the only great leader,” he said.
Translated by Claire Shinyoung Oh Lee. Edited by Eugene Whong and Malcolm Foster.
rfa.org
8. S. Korea hints at halt to 2018 inter-Korean military accord in event of N.K. satellite launch
A threat to withdraw from the CMA gains the ROK no leverage with the regime in the north. It is like if you insult me I will punch myself in the face.
S. Korea hints at halt to 2018 inter-Korean military accord in event of N.K. satellite launch | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Haye-ah · November 21, 2023
By Lee Haye-ah
LONDON, Nov. 21 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's presidential office suggested Tuesday that a 2018 inter-Korean military tension reduction agreement could be suspended in the event North Korea goes ahead with its planned space rocket launch.
The remark by a senior presidential official came after North Korea reportedly notified Japan of its plan to launch a space rocket between Wednesday and Dec. 1, in what would likely be its third attempt to put a military spy satellite into orbit.
This undated file photo shows the presidential office in Seoul. (Yonhap)
"If you read carefully the Development of Inter-Korean Relations Act, any discussions between the South and the North can be suspended in part or in whole in the event of a critical cause, including those related to national security," the official told reporters in London where South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is on a four-day state visit.
"We can take action in line with that clause ... and because the type of provocation North Korea will engage in has not been decided yet, depending on the type and scale of provocation, we will have to decide the scope and details of the necessary steps regarding the Sept. 19 agreement," he added.
The Comprehensive Military Agreement, signed on Sept. 19, 2018, under the previous liberal administration of President Moon Jae-in, calls for halting all hostile military activity between the Koreas, setting up maritime buffer zones and turning the Demilitarized Zone into a peace zone, among other things.
The presidential official noted North Korea has "unilaterally and consistently violated" the agreement for a long time, posing limitations for South Korea's defense posture.
The official assured that a system is in place to ensure Yoon can be briefed immediately in the event North Korea carries out the launch even during his busy schedule in London.
hague@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Haye-ah · November 21, 2023
9. N.K. hacking group stole email accounts of about 1,500 S. Koreans: police
The all purpose sword strikes again.
N.K. hacking group stole email accounts of about 1,500 S. Koreans: police | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Yoo Cheong-mo · November 21, 2023
SEOUL, Nov. 21 (Yonhap) -- A North Korean hacking group has stolen the email accounts of nearly 1,500 South Korean people, including dozens of government officials, this year after taking control of about 500 transit servers at home and abroad, the Korean National Police Agency (KNPA) said Tuesday.
The North's hacking organization, identified as "Kimsuky," was also found to have attempted to steal the victims' virtual assets, as well as their personal information, IDs and passwords, the KNPA said, though the virtual asset theft attempts failed due to strict security procedures.
A total of 1,468 South Koreans, including 57 former and current government officials, had their email accounts stolen by Kimsuky in 2023, marking a nearly 30-fold increase from only 49 victims reported to the authorities last year.
Last year's victims were mostly diplomacy and security experts but Kimsuky has indiscriminately expanded the target of its hacking attacks to the general public, the agency said, adding 1,411 ordinary citizens, including company employees and self-employed people, suffered damage this year.
Kimsuky sent malicious emails to the victims under the feigned names of government organizations, reporters and research institutes after changing its IP address via 576 servers at home and abroad, the KNPA said. The hacking group then gained access to the victims' attached documents, address directories and other data, though there were no confidential materials among the stolen information.
Notably, Kimsuky's hacking method has become far more sophisticated, as some of the victims were induced by attached URLs to access fake websites imitating trustworthy organizations or portals, the agency noted.
The North's hackers attempted to steal virtual assets from 19 of the victims by fraudulently accessing their virtual asset exchange accounts but those attempts were not successful due to strict security procedures, the KNPA said.
The agency has also confirmed that Kimsuky has earned less than 1 million won (US$775) by secretly running a virtual asset mining program on 147 transit servers taken over through hacking.
This composite file image depicts North Korean hacking attacks, as provided by Yonhap News TV. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
ycm@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by Yoo Cheong-mo · November 21, 2023
10. Tours to Panmunjom to partially resume after 4-month hiatus
Tours to Panmunjom to partially resume after 4-month hiatus | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Minji · November 21, 2023
SEOUL, Nov. 21 (Yonhap) -- A tour program to the truce village of Panmunjom on the inter-Korean border will partially resume this week, the unification ministry said Tuesday.
The move came a day after Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho met with Gen. Paul LaCamera, chief of the United Nations Command (UNC), to discuss how to boost cooperation with the command, an enforcer of the Armistice Agreement that halted the 1950-53 Korean War.
The tour program for civilian visitors had been suspended since mid-July, after U.S. Army private Travis King crossed the border into the North during a tour to the Joint Security Area in the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas.
The ministry, which runs the tour for South Korean nationals, said a group of 20 visitors -- including policy advisers and defectors from North Korea -- will join a special tour of the truce village organized by the National Institute for Unification Education on Wednesday.
Special tours are typically organized by the government and differ from the general tours that ordinary visitors can sign up for online.
A ministry official said further discussions are needed for the resumption of the general tours for South Korean nationals.
This Sept. 5, 2023, file photo shows buses parked at the tour center for the truce village of Panmunjom on the inter-Korean border. (Yonhap)
mlee@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Minji · November 21, 2023
11. N. Korea prepares for local elections after election law revision
N. Korea prepares for local elections after election law revision | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Minji · November 21, 2023
SEOUL, Nov. 21 (Yonhap) -- Meetings were held across North Korea for voters to meet candidates running in the upcoming local elections, Pyongyang's state media said Tuesday, as the reclusive regime prepares for its first election featuring more than one candidate.
On Sunday, North Korea is set to hold local elections to pick new deputies for local assemblies of provinces, cities and counties across the nation. In what appeared to be an intention to introduce competition in the election system, some constituencies had fielded two candidates for the upcoming vote.
Under the recently revised election law, the North will hold a preliminary election to decide on a final candidate for new deputies of local assemblies, after reviewing the qualifications of two candidates. The final candidate will be allowed to meet with voters during their election campaigns.
The North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said registered candidates and voters held gatherings to discuss issues regarding their respective constituencies in a "candid" manner, enabling candidates to "look back on their work" under their "impartial evaluation."
This Nov. 13, 2023, screenshot from North Korea's Korean Central TV promotes local elections that will be held Nov. 26. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
The KCNA also reported that Choe Ryong-hae, chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly, inspected ongoing preparations for the local elections.
"He called for making sure that the people fully express their will in the upcoming vote by well equipping the polling booths and conducting various forms of election campaigns," it said.
The recent revision in the election law appears to be intended to introduce competition to the election system, albeit on a rudimentary level, as the ruling Workers' Party has so far hand-picked one candidate per electoral district.
The local elections are held every four years, and the number of seats is determined by the population of each area. But the elections are widely viewed as a formality, as the candidates are selected by the North's ruling party and rubber-stamped into office.
South Korea's unification ministry has said the change in the North's election system does not indicate the introduction of free elections in the reclusive regime and is rather seen as an attempt to manage public opinion amid prolonged economic difficulties.
This photo, carried by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency, shows Choe Ryong-hae (L), chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly, inspecting ongoing preparations for the local elections scheduled for Nov. 26. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
mlee@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Minji · November 21, 2023
12. Korea, U.S. to Set up Military 5G Network
Korea, U.S. to Set up Military 5G Network
english.chosun.com
November 21, 2023 10:45
The U.S. will set up a 5G mobile military network in Korea to share information in real time during joint operations, according to sources.
The U.S. aims to bolster military ties with allies to respond more effectively to threats and plans to expand the 5G network to Japan, Australia and other Indo-Pacific allies.
A U.S. source said Sunday that it will "enhance their capabilities greatly to grasp situations and make operation decisions in the face of enemies' maneuvers or threats."
The U.S. and Korean governments agreed to establish the network at their Combined Forces Command's Osan Airbase in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province and are in the process of drawing up a blueprint with a view to starting the project next year.
A U-2S high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft takes off from Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province on Oct. 30. /News1
Osan Air Base is home to cutting-edge U.S. fighter jets and other strategic weapons and is a key American base in the region along with Kadena Air Base in Okinawa.
U.S. and Korean officials want to expand the network to other American military bases on the Korean Peninsula.
This is seen as part of U.S. efforts to expand its Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC21) concept to connect sensors from all branches of the American armed forces in a unified artificial intelligence-powered network.
Seoul's Allies Pledge Concerted Response to N.Korean Attack
Seoul Seeks Partial Suspension of Military Deal with N.Korea
S.Korean, U.S. Defense Chiefs Meet in Seoul
Korean, U.S. Defense Ministers to Hold Security Meeting Next Week
New Defense Minister Holds 1st Phone Call with U.S. Counterpart
New Defense Chief Wants to Scrap Inter-Korean Military Agreement
Nat'l Assembly Condemns N.Korea's Violation of Military Pact
2 Koreas Agree to More Disarmament Along Border
- Copyright © Chosunilbo & Chosun.com
english.chosun.com
13. What do N. Koreans think about the country’s new election system?
Real change? Is the regime trying to democracy in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea? Next will we see a separation of powers to try to make it a republic?
What do N. Koreans think about the country’s new election system?
Some people were initially dubious about a change to the election process, leaving many surprised when posters with photos of the candidates began appearing
By Jong So Yong -
2023.11.21 5:00pm
dailynk.com
What do N. Koreans think about the country’s new election system? | Daily NK English
Home Headline What do N. Koreans think about the country’s new election system?
A 2009 poster in Pyongyang calling on North Koreans to make sure to vote on election day. (Jensowagner, Creative Commons, Flickr)
In the run-up to the Nov. 26 elections for delegates to the regional people’s committees, North Korean authorities have introduced a brand new election method: allowing multiple candidates to run and letting citizens choose the winner. This development has sparked a wide range of responses from North Koreans.
“On Nov. 8, inminban [people’s units] informed people that this year’s elections would be different from in the past. Rather than being limited to a single candidate, two candidates can be placed on a ballot and people could vote freely for the candidate of their choice,” a source in North Pyongan Province told Daily NK on Oct. 15, speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons.
Following the change, the names and faces of the candidates have been plastered on street corners near workplaces and throughout residential units, the source said.
Some people were initially dubious about a change to the election process, leaving many surprised when posters with photos of the candidates began appearing.
While some were intrigued by the introduction of multiple candidates, others have been less enthusiastic, pointing out that “there’s no way to know about the achievements or personalities of the candidates, so it is impossible to know who to vote for, so we will [probably] end up just voting for whoever.”
Others commented that “it ultimately doesn’t make much difference since both the candidates have already been picked by the Workers’ Party.” One even went so far as to joke, “[I’ll] vote for whoever buys [me] a bottle of alcohol.”
People also cynically pointed out that “the state decides all policy matters and gives regional people’s committees no voice in the matter, so what could [the delegates] actually do for us anyway?” Some also remarked that “it’s not like [the delegates] can raise our voices to the Workers’ Party and change anything, so our ballots are just ballots.”
In Dongrim County, one person was made the focus of an ideological struggle during a weekly criticism session after remarking that “even if the election style changes, it’s not like it will change anything about our lives. I’m just going to vote for whoever has better physiognomy [personality traits ascribed to certain facial features].”
The source told Daily NK that “people are watching their words carefully after it was made known that the Ministry of State Security and Ministry of Social Security were given orders to keep a close eye on people to make sure there were no strange reactions or reactionary political remarks in response to the new election format.”
North Korea revised its existing elections law at the 27th Plenary Meeting of the 14th Supreme People’s Assembly’s Standing Committee in August. The amendment allows for multiple candidates to be placed on ballots and for voters to elect one of the candidates. This is the first time such a system has been implemented in North Korea.
Unlike past elections that featured single candidates already pre-selected by the Workers’ Party, the new elections will have two candidates competing to win the majority of people’s votes and be declared the winner. The move appears to be aimed at garnering goodwill from people by partially expanding citizens’ voting rights.
In regards to the new election process, the South’s Ministry of Unification said that “North Korea has long been subject to criticism by the international community [for its election system]. In the midst of continuing economic difficulties, they appear to have changed the system slightly as a way to manage public opinion.”
The ministry did, however, point out that as long as North Korea fails to guarantee citizens the right to vote by secret ballot “there will still be a long way to go before people are truly enfranchised [guaranteed voting rights].
Translated by Rose Adams. Edited by Robert Lauler.
Daily NK works with a network of sources who live inside North Korea, China and elsewhere. Their identities remain anonymous due to security concerns. More information about Daily NK’s reporting partner network and information gathering activities can be found on our FAQ page here.
Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
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14. N. Korea applies market exchange rate to electronic prepaid card transactions
Does the regime see this as a money making opportunity for the regime?
N. Korea applies market exchange rate to electronic prepaid card transactions
“We’ll have to wait and see whether these measures will be continued or whether they’re only being applied temporarily to achieve a short-term goal,” one expert told Daily NK
By Seulkee Jang - 2023.11.21 3:47pm
dailynk.com
N. Korea applies market exchange rate to electronic prepaid card transactions | Daily NK English
North Korean prepaid cards (Sogwang)
North Korea has recently been applying the market exchange rate, rather than the official exchange rate, to transactions with electronic prepaid cards holding foreign currency. With less value lost in transactions, there has reportedly been an increase in card usage by foreign currency holders in the country.
Speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons, a source in South Pyongan Province told Daily NK on Nov. 9 that North Korea has recently been encouraging its citizens to use the prepaid cards by applying market rates when foreign currency is exchanged. The apparent goal is for banks and other financial institutions to absorb the foreign currency currently held by North Korean citizens, leading them to use the local currency.
Previously, the cards applied the official exchange rate, which has fallen to just one fortieth of the market rate. As a result, almost nobody used the foreign exchange prepaid cards to purchase products with North Korean won. The cards were basically only used by foreigners or locals at foreign exchange stores, where the foreign currency on the cards could be used without changing it to North Korean won.
But now that North Korea is applying market exchange rates to wire transfers and local currency transactions at regular stores, the number of people using the foreign exchange prepaid cards has gone up considerably, the source said.
“If you put foreign currency on the card, the bank will convert it to North Korean won at market rates whenever you make a purchase at a store,” the source said.
“Banks in the provinces have been instructed to change money at the exchange rates used in the informal markets when customers spend or wire money. Putting your money on the card is convenient because it reduces the risk of theft and saves you from carrying around big wads of cash,” said a source in Yanggang Province.
And since market exchange rates have risen recently, this is a good time for foreign currency holders to make purchases in US dollars or Chinese yuan.
The North Korean won-US dollar exchange rate on Oct. 30 was KPW 8,483 in Pyongyang, Sinuiju and Hyesan — the highest market rate in three years. The North Korean won-Chinese yuan exchange rate on the same day was KPW 1,270 in Pyongyang and KPW 1,260 in Sinuiju.
The won exchange rates with the US dollar and Chinese yuan have both held steady since this past June, when they returned to parity with January 2020, shortly before the North Korean government closed the border because of the spread of COVID-19.
It appears that more people began using the foreign exchange prepaid cards after North Korea revised sections of its Central Bank Act and Electronic Payments Act in July. Government measures since the revision of the two laws are basically aimed at incentivizing citizens to use banks by providing services based on market exchange rates.
Daily NK recently reported that the North Korean authorities have been changing citizens’ foreign currency into the local currency at rates that are similar to or even higher than the market exchange rates.
However, market rates are not being applied to foreign currency transactions at banks in every part of North Korea.
In Pyongyang, for example, the policy is only being implemented at banks in certain neighborhoods, and even then, cards are only available to donju (wealthy entrepreneurs) and employees of trading organizations with foreign currency holdings.
“Since they’re using the market exchange rates, you don’t lose money on the transactions. But banks aren’t able to keep up with constant rate fluctuations the way a money changer could. Also inconvenient is the fact that the cards can only be used on weekdays, and not weekends, and only between the hours of 8 AM and 6 PM,” a source in Pyongyang said.
“If the North Korean authorities reduce foreign exchange loss by applying market exchange rates to electronic cards capable of foreign currency transactions, the number of card users is expected to increase. That’s also likely to have some effect in bringing privately held foreign currency into the open,” said an expert on the North Korean economy who asked to remain anonymous.
“We’ll have to wait and see whether these measures will be continued or whether they’re only being applied temporarily to achieve a short-term goal,” the expert noted.
Translated by David Carruth. Edited by Robert Lauler.
Daily NK works with a network of sources who live inside North Korea, China and elsewhere. Their identities remain anonymous due to security concerns. More information about Daily NK’s reporting partner network and information gathering activities can be found on our FAQ page here.
Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
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Seulkee Jang
Seulkee Jang is one of Daily NK’s full-time journalists. Please direct any questions about her articles to dailynk@uni-media.net.
dailynk.com
15. Facing uncertain future, N. Korean high schooler takes own life
There is no way to gather data to determine trends, but given the conditions in the north, it is probably not surprising that there are a lot more suicides that we see in te reports.
Facing uncertain future, N. Korean high schooler takes own life
Neighbors who discovered the student’s body as they were passing by immediately informed the police, but it took an hour for them to arrive
By Jong So Yong - 2023.11.20 10:00am
dailynk.com
Facing uncertain future, N. Korean high schooler takes own life | Daily NK English
A view of Mirae Scientists Street in Pyongyang. (Ryugyong)
A high school student at a Pyongyang recently leaped to his death from a high-rise building, Daily NK has learned.
Speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons, a source in Pyongyang told Daily NK on Nov. 13 that the high school student “had hoped to go a teacher’s college, but leaped to his death from a high-rise building in Kwangbok-dong, Mangyong District, because his family faced financial difficulties and was placed on a military recruitment list.”
Neighbors who discovered the student’s body as they were passing by immediately informed the police, but it took an hour for them to arrive.
In the meantime, crowds gathered around the body, witnessing the horrible sight of the corpse.
“Officers from the Kwangbok-dong police box and Mangyongdae District branch of the Ministry of Social Security arrived an hour after the initial report. Taking charge of the scene, they began stopping people from using their mobile phones, but finding it difficult to monitor each and every phone, they confiscated everyone’s mobile phone and put them in a bag, telling the owners that they would return them in two days,” the source said.
The police investigated whether the phones’ owners took photos at the scene or called anybody while there, apparently to stop rumors from spreading.
Police also questioned the dead student’s parents, teachers and friends to get a full account of what happened. The investigation eventually concluded that the student took his own life due to pessimism over his personal circumstances.
Based on the police investigation, the student studied so hard that he frequently placed first or second in his class. Investigators also found that he wanted to enter a teacher’s college.
However, the student’s parents had already asked his teacher to place him on the military recruitment list, explaining that they could not support their son if he went to university because they were strapped financially. In fact, during a counseling session, school administrators explained to the student that he had been placed on next year’s military draft list because his family faced financial issues.
Following the counseling session, the student often spoke pessimistically about his circumstances, telling his friends: “I can’t go to university, even if I study well, and I can’t become a teacher like I want to.”
Then, in late October, he unleashed on his parents, telling them that “we live like beggars and there’s no point in living in Pyongyang when I can’t go to college.” When his father slapped him, he went to the roof of a high-rise building in anger and leaped off.
“Neighbors have expressed sadness over the incident, saying that there are many households who can’t put a single meal on the table even in Pyongyang, and that the tragedy involved a good student who took his own life due to poverty, given that the gap between rich and poor is akin to the gap between heaven and earth.”
Translated by David Black. Edited by Robert Lauler.
Daily NK works with a network of sources who live inside North Korea, China and elsewhere. Their identities remain anonymous due to security concerns. More information about Daily NK’s reporting partner network and information gathering activities can be found on our FAQ page here.
Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
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Jong So Yong
Jong So Yong is one of Daily NK’s freelance reporters. Questions about her articles can be directed to dailynk@uni-media.net.
dailynk.com
16. S. Korea: September 19 military agreement to be suspended if N. Korea launches reconnaissance satellite
You can't fire me. I will quit first.
This is a mistake.
S. Korea: September 19 military agreement to be suspended if N. Korea launches reconnaissance satellite
donga.com
Posted November. 21, 2023 09:09,
Updated November. 21, 2023 09:09
S. Korea: September 19 military agreement to be suspended if N. Korea launches reconnaissance satellite. November. 21, 2023 09:09. by Sang-Ho Yun ysh1005@donga.com.
The South Korean military sent a public final warning on Monday to North Korea that the September 19 inter-Korean military agreement will be suspended if the North launches a military reconnaissance satellite. The military sent an unprecedented warning based on the judgment that North Korea is likely to launch a reconnaissance satellite this week. In case of the launch, the South Korean military will suspend the effect of partial clauses of the agreement, including lifting the land, sea, and air buffer zones, which restrict surveillance on North Korea and live fire training in front-line areas. The South Korean government believes that Russia dispatched its personnel to the North to provide critical help to advance the North’s reconnaissance satellite technology.
The South Korean military announced a warning by the Joint Chiefs of Staff against North Korea regarding North Korea’s launch of a military reconnaissance satellite. It made a high-level criticism by saying that North Korea’s launch of a military reconnaissance satellite is a provocation that threatens South Korea’s national security. “Maintaining the restriction on the South Korean military’s intelligence watch activities in contact areas according to the September 19 agreement largely undermines the military’s readiness posture and may cause a failure to protect our people’s lives and safety,” the military said. “If the North proceeds with the launch despite our warning, we will take actions needed to protect our people’s lives and safety. The military has clarified that the September 19 agreement will be suspended in case of the launch.
The South Korean government believes that North Korea is about 75 to 80 percent ready to make its third attempt to launch the satellite. An information authority reportedly identified that a North Korean satellite launch vehicle and other launch equipment were moved to the Sohae Satellite Launching Station in Tongchang-ri, North Pyongan Province. The South Korean and U.S. military believe that it will take about a week for the North to produce a launch pad, erect a projectile, and inject liquid fuel.
한국어
donga.com
17.S. Korea, Britain vow closer ties in nuclear energy sector
Remember that South Korea shoes to be a peaceful nuclear power that uses its nuclear expertise for good.
S. Korea, Britain vow closer ties in nuclear energy sector | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Kang Yoon-seung · November 21, 2023
SEOUL, Nov. 21 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and Britain agreed to strengthen their cooperation in the nuclear energy sector, including the construction of new power plants, the industry ministry said Tuesday.
The two countries signed nine memoranda of understanding centered on building a cooperative relationship spanning the entire lifecycle of nuclear power plants, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
Industry Minister Bang Moon-kyu met his British counterpart, Claire Coutinho, and agreed to hold technical meetings in the near future with the goal of fostering cooperation in the construction of new nuclear power plants.
State-run South Korean energy firms, including the Korea Electric Power Corp., also forged a total of eight agreements, encompassing the planning, operation and dismantling of nuclear plants, to seek "the broadest possible relationship," the ministry said.
These agreements were reached on the margins of President Yoon Suk Yeol's state visit to the European nation that began Monday (local time).
Britain has been actively working to increase its reliance on nuclear power, aiming for nuclear energy to constitute 25 percent of its power generation by 2050, compared with the 15 percent recorded in 2020.
"The two countries can seek a mutually beneficial relationship as South Korea has strength in the construction of nuclear plants and equipment, and Britain has a competitive edge in reactor dismantling and the nuclear fuel sector," the ministry said in a statement.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol (L), alongside his wife, Kim Keon Hee, arrives at London Stansted Airport on the outskirts of London on Nov. 20, 2023, for a four-day state visit to Britain on the first leg of a two-nation trip that will later take him to France for a final diplomatic campaign to bring the 2030 World Expo to Busan. (Yonhap)
colin@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by Kang Yoon-seung · November 21, 2023
18. How to escape North Korea
I have heard some positive critical comments about Beyond Utopia with speculation that it could win an Academy Award in the documentary category.
How to escape North Korea
unherd.com · by Ian Birrell · November 21, 2023
When Kim Seungeun first visited North Korea, he saw a barren land devastated by famine, its trees stripped by people desperate to heat their homes. He can still picture the corpses floating down the Tumen River on its border with the South. “Sometimes there was just one body, sometimes two or three,” he told me. “They’d probably all starved to death.”
Kim watched in horror as people on both banks poked the corpses with poles until they burst and sank beneath its waters, rather than bother to retrieve them. Then came the pivotal event in his life. A stick-thin child — a boy of about seven, malnourished and driven by grinding hunger to cross the swirling river despite the bodies — begged him for help. “I fell to my knees, crying so many tears, and promised God to devote my life to helping these people,” said Kim.
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The nightmare he witnessed on his volunteer church mission at the turn of the century could not be more different from the portrait painted by his grandfather. Growing up in a small South Korean fishing village, Kim was frequently regaled with tales of the beautiful mountains, rivers and women seen in the north before their country was sliced in half following the Second World War. Three decades later, this romantic image had been shattered.
After his epiphany, Kim became a Christian pastor and devoted himself and his Caleb Mission to saving North Korean citizens from the clutches of the Hermit Kingdom. When we met earlier this year, I asked how many people he has helped to flee using his clandestine routes that rely on bribery, smugglers, subterfuge and safe houses. “1,008,” he replied with a smile.
This, despite the fact that anyone caught escaping North Korea risks torture, public execution or being sent to a slave labour camp for life with their entire family. Now his work is being highlighted in Beyond Utopia, a gripping new documentary that features astonishing footage of one family’s flight to freedom shot on their mobile phones. At one point, the mother, hiding beside her weeping young daughters after crossing a border river, is shown on a video call pleading for salvation. “Please help us live,” she begs him. Later, this family of five, which includes a grandmother aged 83, are seen dodging officials and wearily scrambling through the mountains, rivers and jungles of four nations to safety in South Korea. They all carried suicide pills to swallow if caught.
During our conversation, Kim described the people he is still trying to save. These include one woman in her 20s who crossed the border five years ago, but was traded to a Chinese man who twice made her pregnant, then sold both the babies. He has also been told of bounty hunters murdering North Koreans hiding in China to harvest body parts, such as kidneys and hearts, for sale to hospitals. Six years ago, he rescued two teenage girls whos a broker was threatening to sell into the organ market, taking them into his own home to raise them alongside his own daughter. Other rescues include a teenage girl sold to a Chinese man in his sixties and a woman raped every night by a father and his two sons. “I’ve heard so many horrible stories,” said Kim, 58. “When you hear such things your mind collapses.”
He started his underground railroad in 2000, after falling in love with Park Esther, an early defector who he met shortly after she crossed into China. A former army officer, she fled after her parents died from starvation. “It was through loving and talking to my wife that I discovered how hard life was for North Koreans and how difficult it was for them to find freedom,” said Kim.
He spent months seeking out possible escape routes, eventually marrying her after buying identity papers from a dead Chinese woman. Now, both are pastors, their dedication to the cause boosted by the tragic death of their son. “He passed away when he was seven,” he said. “We were distraught, crying all the time and even questioning God. But then we realised that our son was in heaven and we should dedicate our lives to making him proud by giving more love to defectors.”
Kim, whose rescues have taken him deep into sweltering jungles and on daring boat missions on the seas, stopped travelling to China 14 years ago due to the dangers of detection as state surveillance systems improved and his reputation grew. Incredibly, Kim claims just two of his group’s escape attempts have failed. The first followed a tip-off to Chinese police following a domestic argument in a safe house as they were rescuing seven orphans. Fortunately, the children were young enough to avoid serious trouble when they returned to North Korea. The second involved two women defectors with children born in China who were captured by Chinese officials after being detected by facial recognition technology while travelling across the country in 2019. “We do not know exactly what happened. Probably the kids were sent back to their fathers and the women sent back to North Korea. They might well have been sent to the gulag as punishment.”
This is a grim fate. One former guard told me how both officials and prisoners in a gulag had to watch two brothers being beheaded after they were caught in China as a warning not to flee — then all inmates were ordered to throw stones at the decapitated corpses. Even a short sentence in the slave labour camps that holds an estimated 200,000 people can be fatal. During her seven years working in a camp, the same guard witnessed routine killings, torture and rape of political prisoners. Former inmates have told me injured people being dumped to die in snow and rotting corpses left in piles beside their huts over winter.
The pandemic staunched the flow of those managing to escape, as Beijing’s “Zero Covid” policies heavily restricted movement in the country. Then, six months ago, new anti-spying laws made it harder for groups to operate in border regions. Meanwhile, North Korea responded to the virus by ramping up security in border areas. As a result, only 67 defectors made it to South Korea last year, compared with 1,047 in 2019 — and many are thought to be hiding in China, where activists fear up to 30,000 defectors may be stuck.
Since the lifting of Beijing’s anti-Covid policies, Pastor Kim has restarted his underground railroad. Today, he is focusing his efforts on defectors trapped in China, such as one woman who had been sold aged 17 to a man nearly two decades her senior. “It is almost impossible to get people out of North Korea now,” he said. “We used to be able to bribe guards but now they put different departments there to watch over each other. On the Chinese side, there is military as well as police to keep guard.”
Hundreds of miles of new fortifications have also been built along the North Korean borders with China and Russia to stop smugglers, and guards have been ordered to shoot dead anyone entering security zones. Night-time bans have been imposed on road and rail travel near barbed-wire fencing or security facilities. One market trader told the BBC in June that even approaching the border river could now lead to harsh punishment, “so almost nobody is crossing”. Another man spoke of a spate of executions of people trying to defect. “We are stuck here waiting to die,” he said.
Beyond Utopia also shows the bid by another defector called Lee So-Yeon to help her son escape, an attempt that ends badly and leaves her looking broken. I found this deeply disturbing, having first met the same woman seven years ago in Seoul. She had shown me how she smuggled computer memory sticks into North Korea containing footage of female defectors accusing named high-ranking officials of sexual abuse and rape. This was her revenge for the widespread rape she witnessed while serving in the army — including by her own commander, who assaulted 30 women in her unit. “The videos tell them they will be subjected to punishment after reunification,” she told me. Although the government has cracked down on the illicit use of mobile phones, the pastor said they can still make contact with sources inside North Korea using Chinese smartphones close to the border. (I agreed not to disclose their methods.)
Despite the difficulties and surging costs of escape — which have risen almost tenfold since the pandemic — Kim recently dispatched an aide to the border region, who sent up a drone mounted with cameras to search for any weak spots along the fences on both sides of the river. This aide told me that he had spent 10 years hiding in China after leaving his home town near the border. “I looked out to the place where I grew up but cannot go there and they cannot leave. It is so hard. It is impossible to describe such feelings,” he said. He then described how he is motivated by the hope of one day finding his young sister. “She crossed the border into China but I can’t find her. She may have been sold. I know that she is hiding or suffering somewhere in China.”
I have met many North Korean defectors over the past decade. Most have similar tales of tragedy and torn families. One man told me how his fiancé was beaten so badly by government goons after his escape that she was left unrecognisable, two of his uncles were tortured to death, and his teenage cousins were reduced to street begging. Small wonder many defectors are left traumatised — yet such is the indoctrination that, even as she flees, that family’s grandmother in Beyond Utopia is heard praising the ruling dynasty that dominated her eight decades on earth.
The Hermit Kingdom is a country that crushes humanity. “In North Korea you have no dreams, no hopes, no life,” said Timmy Kang, a restaurant owner who escaped in 2005. “Everything is controlled — it is horrible. Then in China our mothers, our fathers, our sisters and our brothers are hunted down like animals. This is why Pastor Kim is a hero to us.”Or, as one British film reviewer was moved to call him after seeing his exploits on celluloid, “the greatest man who ever lived”.
unherd.com · by Ian Birrell · November 21, 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
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