Quotes of the Day:
"These days the sun never sets on America's special operations forces."
- Wall Street Journal
"Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up."
- Thomas Edison
“Some people awake each morning dreading the day looking for the negatives in their lives and in others, while some awaken fresh appreciating the opportunity to contribute to life,
making the world a better place and see the positives. Neither is right or wrong for we are human, we all make a conscious choice everyday as to who we shall be.”
- Mark W Boyer
1. End-of-war declaration a 'good starting point' to address N.K. security concerns: unification minister
2. Kim Jong-un 'Building Luxury Villas for Himself'
3. Over half of South Koreans say inter-Korean summit at Beijing Olympics not possible: poll
4. S. Korean, US defense chiefs to discuss OPCON transfer, China
5. North Korean wives of Chinese men asked to apply for temporary ID cards
6. ＜Inside N. Korea＞ The Great Annoyance of Kim Jong-un's Visit to Samjiyon: Residents Forbidden to Step Out for Several Days
7. North Korea issues emergency order for all fishing boats to receive new "sea entry licenses"
8. North Korea puts Kimhyongjik County under lockdown amid COVID-19 fears
9. Kim Jong Un Bans Citizens Ripping Off His Stylish Leather Coats
10. Visiting congressional delegation serves ‘Super Bowl’ of Thanksgiving meals in South Korea
1. End-of-war declaration a 'good starting point' to address N.K. security concerns: unification minister
I recommend the Minister change one word from "declaration" to "discussion." A discussion with north Korea about ending the war would be a useful start point (Assuming Kim Jong-un chooses to act as a responsible member of the intentional community). A unilateral or alliance declaration of the end of the war will not be helpful and will not result in jump starting north-South engagement or denuclearization negotiations. It is imperative that the ROK and the US achieve sufficient alignment on the strategic assumptions about the nature, objectives, and strategy of the Kim family regime. Without a common understanding it is hard to create and execute alliance policy and. strategy.
Furthermore while the Minister focuses on the alliance "hostile policy" we must also address an end to the north Korean hostile policy. It is the Kim family regime that seeks to dominate the Korean peninsula under the domination of the Guerrilla Dynasty and Gulag State. We must approach policy and strategy based on the understanding of the regime's intent to unify the peninsula under its control. This is the hostile policy that is most dangerous and the existential threat to the ROK. This must be addressed.
End-of-war declaration a 'good starting point' to address N.K. security concerns: unification minister | Yonhap News Agency
By Chae Yun-hwan
SEOUL, Nov. 26 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's unification minister on Friday pitched the proposed declaration of a formal end to the 1950-53 Korean War as a "good starting point" in the search for a "meaningful" solution to address North Korea's security concerns.
Unification Minister Lee In-young made the remarks as Seoul is pushing for the political declaration in a bid to create fresh momentum to reengage with Pyongyang and resume its stalled initiative for lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula.
"From the standpoint of North Korea, which has called for the withdrawal of hostile policy, I think the end-of-war declaration would be a good starting point toward a meaningful solution," Lee said at a peace forum in Goseong on the east coast.
"(We) will build trust through the declaration, and based on that trust, we could move to a process under which we can have substantive discussions on mutual interests," he said.
The North has repeatedly called for the U.S. to drop what it terms hostile policy toward the North, while Washington has said it harbors no hostile intent and called for Pyongyang's return to dialogue.
The minister also stressed the declaration will "significantly" weaken the motivation to create cross-border military tensions.
Seoul and Washington are in final-stage consultations over the declaration, Seoul officials have said, though uncertainties remain over whether Pyongyang would accede.
In September, Kim Yo-jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, called the declaration an "interesting" and "admirable" idea but urged Seoul to abandon its hostile policy toward Pyongyang in order to start relevant discussions.
yunhwanchae@yna.co.kr
(END)
2. Kim Jong-un 'Building Luxury Villas for Himself'
I used to joke with our soldiers when we looked at the existing villas as "leadership targets:" Capture one of these for me for my future retirement home. I will update my "request" to go after these new ones. (note tongue in cheek - though the" joke" was real).
But on a more serious note, this is just another example of Kim prioritizing himself and the regime over the welfare of the Korean people in the north. Did they ever finish the "COVID hospital" in Pyongyang that was supposed to be complete by October 2020? But I am sure they will complete these villas.
Kim Jong-un 'Building Luxury Villas for Himself'
November 26, 2021 12:20
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is building new luxury houses near his residence in Pyongyang and summer retreats in the countryside, U.S. website NK News reported on Wednesday.
NK News analyzed satellite photos from Planet Labs, an American earth-imaging company. Four McMansions seem to be going up in the Workers Party compound in Pyongyang and another by a lake in Anju, South Pyongan Province.
Construction of the four villas in the party compound seems to have started in September last year. Opposite the construction site is the main building of the Central Committee, and one of the villas appears to be being built on a site where former leader Kim Jong-il's movie archive once stood.
This image captured from the NK News website shows the construction site of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's new luxury mansion in Anju, South Pyongan Province.
NK News said the buildings are believed to be for Kim's "family members or others in his inner circle" since their compact size makes them only suitable for a small number of people.
The home being built next to Lake Yonphung in Anju is much bigger. Construction of a high-rise building started in mid-June, while boats were spotted crossing the lake.
"The construction -- and likely need to import sanctioned luxury goods to furnish the mansions -- comes as Kim repeated demands last week that the population work harder to overcome 'present hardships such as economic difficulties.'"
- Copyright © Chosunilbo & Chosun.com
3. Over half of South Koreans say inter-Korean summit at Beijing Olympics not possible: poll
Of course it will not happen because not only has north Korea decided not to participate, it has been suspended from participation by the IOC. I guess those who think it is possible have not been paying attention to the news.
The buried lede. I would like to know the context of this question. Did they ask if there would be a joint agreement with north Korea or a unilateral ROK or ROK/US alliance declaration? Would the declaration include a reduction in the north Korean existential threat to the South?
In the same survey, 67.2 percent said an end-of-war declaration is necessary, while 27.6 percent said it is not.
Over half of South Koreans say inter-Korean summit at Beijing Olympics not possible: poll
President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un / Reuters-Yonhap
More than half of South Koreans believe an inter-Korean summit at the Beijing Winter Olympics, slated for February, will not be possible, a survey showed Friday.
According to the survey on 1,000 adults by the Peaceful Unification Advisory Council on Nov. 20 and 21, 53.9 percent said an inter-Korean summit during the Winter Olympics would not be possible, while 40.1 percent said it would be.
South Korea has sought to use the Beijing Games to create fresh momentum for the resumption of stalled diplomacy with the North, though uncertainty still lingers over whether the North would accede.
In particular, Seoul has been pushing for the political declaration of a formal end to the 1950-53 Korean War in the hopes it would serve as a catalyst to advance its stalled peace agenda.
In the same survey, 67.2 percent said an end-of-war declaration is necessary, while 27.6 percent said it is not.
Respondents were split on whether Pope Francis' possible visit to the North would affect the ongoing efforts for peace on the Korean Peninsula. In the survey, 48.7 percent replied it would be helpful, while 48.9 percent said it would not be.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in asked the pope to visit Pyongyang during their meeting last month.
The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points and a 95 percent confidence level. (Yonhap)
4. S. Korean, US defense chiefs to discuss OPCON transfer, China
Next week's SCM/MCM could be an important indicator of the way forward for the military alliance.
A troubling situation based on today's threat environment:
The two countries will specifically discuss when and how to reactivate the now-dormant Cyber Cooperation Working Group and enhance cyber cooperation, the defense official said, adding that Washington has a high interest in the issue.
S. Korean, US defense chiefs to discuss OPCON transfer, China
Seoul says prior consultation has proceeded amicably under the Biden admin, unlike recent years
Published : Nov 26, 2021 - 16:08 Updated : Nov 26, 2021 - 19:22
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin meets with South Korea's Defense Minister Suh Wook in Seoul on Mar. 17, 2021. (File Photo - US Department of Defense, Lisa Ferdinando)
South Korean and US defense ministers will discuss a wide range of security and alliance issues, from the transfer of wartime operational control to challenges posed by China and North Korea.
South Korea’s Defense Minister Suh Wook and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin are set to host the 53rd ROK-US Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) in Seoul on Thursday.
The US high-ranking officers, including Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley, Commander of the United States Indo-Pacific Command Adm. John Aquilino, and Commander of United States Forces Korea Gen. Paul LaCamera, will attend the meeting.
The ROK-US annual defense ministerial talks will be notably held for the first time since the Biden administration took office.
Seoul and Washington will discuss ways to enhance coordination on policy toward North Korea, as well as strengthen their alliance comprehensively and reciprocally in wide-ranging fields such as space and cyberspace, an official at South Korea’s Defense Ministry, who wished to remain anonymous, said Thursday.
During the talks, the South Korean military will also seek to speed up the conditions-based transfer of wartime operational control, or OPCON, explaining its efforts to secure critical military capabilities to lead allied forces.
Wartime OPCON Transfer, FOC Test Timing
The meeting will be the last chance for the Moon Jae-in government to take further steps toward its public commitment to expeditiously regain wartime OPCON before his term ends in May, although a complete transition will be impossible to achieve by then.
The key issue is whether Seoul and Washington will advance discussions on the timing of the wartime OPCON transfer. The South Korean official expressed expectations for progress and underscored that prior consultations have proceeded in a “very amicable” manner, unlike last year’s SCM held during the Trump administration.
The official said the joint statement of the 53rd SCM would not carry a negative tone on the issue. But when asked whether the statement will specify the timing of the postponed test of Seoul’s full operational capability, the official said the two countries were still in discussions on the ”sensitive issue.“
The South Korean military must demonstrate it has the core military capabilities required to lead the combined defense posture in the Korean theater in order to retake wartime OPCON, in accordance with the Conditions-based OPCON Transition Plan.
Seoul’s military capabilities have to be verified through a three-stage assessment, which consists of the initial operational capability, full operational capability, and full mission capability in that order. The South Korean and US allies completed the first-stage in 2019, but the two countries have only conducted a rehearsal of the second stage, mainly due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Strengthening Alliance
Overall, South Korea’s Defense Ministry anticipates that the SCM joint statement will contain enhanced US commitment to the defense of South Korea, including the provision of bridging capabilities, compared to last year’s statement.
Seoul expects that Washington is likely to restore the removed clause that reaffirms its commitment to maintain the current level of the US military personnel in South Korea in this year’s joint statement.
South Korea and the US will also seek ways to broaden military cooperation into wider fields including space and cyberspace.
The two countries will specifically discuss when and how to reactivate the now-dormant Cyber Cooperation Working Group and enhance cyber cooperation, the defense official said, adding that Washington has a high interest in the issue.
Seoul also views that China-related issues will be on the agenda at this year’s meeting. In particular, the two countries will come up with ways to promote military cooperation between the US Indo-Pacific Strategy and South Korea’s New Southern Policy and align their regional strategies.
But the official clarified that Seoul and Washington will not discuss the launch of the bilateral defense working group on the matter, denying local media reports.
The Defense Ministry also said that minister Suh will explain Seoul’s position on an end-of-war declaration to the US defense secretary, but the issue is not a formal part of the agenda.
Meanwhile, South Korea’s JCS chairman Won In-choul and his US counterpart Gen. Milley will hold the 46th Military Committee Meeting on Dec. 1 in Seoul, prior to the annual defense ministerial meeting.
5. North Korean wives of Chinese men asked to apply for temporary ID cards
They are right to fear a "set-up." China remains complicit in north Korean human rights abuses.
North Korean wives of Chinese men asked to apply for temporary ID cards
The women hope to gain legal status to avoid repatriation, but some fear a set-up.
By Jeong Yon Park
2021.11.24
Police in China are calling on North Korean women who entered the country illegally and then married Chinese husbands to apply for temporary ID cards that will allow them to stay in China, sources told RFA.
The ID cards would in theory shield these women from being forcibly repatriated to North Korea and keep their families together. But many of the women are afraid to give personal details about their families in North Korea to the Chinese government, sources said.
RFA reported last week that Beijing was in the process of repatriating more than 1,100 detained undocumented North Koreans. Only a fraction of this group were women with Chinese husbands, but their detention has drawn renewed focus to an issue that local authorities have long ignored.
The spouses and children of women have pleaded with authorities for their release, arguing that their families should not be broken up and that the wives and mothers face execution upon their return to North Korea.
A Chinese citizen of Korean descent told RFA’s Korean Service Nov. 18 that police in Hebei announced in August that North Korean women who have lived in China for more than five years and are married with children are eligible for the ID cards.
The news that women in the same marital situation could apply for temporary ID cards that would protect them from such a fate has spread among the ethnic and undocumented Korean communities in northeastern China.
But the government has not issued an official declaration on the matter, leading some people to think that the call from local police might be a trick to get the women to give up their personal information and acknowledge their undocumented status, sources said.
“These days in some areas of Hebei province, there are many women who escaped North Korea who are visiting their local public security bureau to submit their personal information to get temporary IDs,” the source said.
But in order to get the IDs, the women must visit the bureau to be photographed and submit detailed personal data, including their places of birth and home address in North Korea, the address of their workplaces and family relationships, said the source, who requested anonymity to speak freely.
Because the government has not issued an official declaration on the matter, some undocumented North Koreans are fearful that the call from local police is a ruse to get the women to give up their personal information and acknowledge their undocumented status, sources said.
The Chinese citizen of Korean descent said there has been no written documentation backing up the police’s stated policy and no advertisements or coverage in the media.
“In many cases, the police call to deliver the information directly to Chinese men who are known to be living with undocumented North Korean women. In some areas the police even visit their families to deliver the information verbally,” the source said.
Police tend to know where all the married North Korean escapees live in their communities, according to the source. In general, they leave them alone as long as they keep quiet and do not cause problems in the community.
“Many of the escapees are saying that getting the ID cards is a dream come true, but they are still reluctant to submit such deeply personal information,” the source said.
“Some of the women are expressing extreme caution, saying that it might be more dangerous to give sensitive information to the police than to continue living in hiding,” the source said.
Despite these doubters, many North Korean escapees have gone in to apply. One woman, in the city of Shenyang in nearby Liaoning province, east of Hebei, told RFA that when she applied, she had to take mug shots, submit her fingerprints, and provide information on her families in both China and North Korea.
“When I first heard the surprising news that the police were issuing ID cards to North Korean refugees, I couldn’t believe it was true, because previously they thought of us as criminals,” she said, under condition of anonymity for security reasons.
“It was only after several North Korean women I know applied for the ID themselves that I finally began to hope that I could get one too,” the woman said.
Her anxious days are not over, however. While she knows many women who have applied for the IDs, none of them have yet received one, she said.
The United Nations recently published a letter it sent to the Chinese government in August expressing concern about the fate of the 1,170 North Koreans believed to be in Chinese custody in preparation for repatriation.
It said that forcible repatriation was a violation of the principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits returning asylum seekers to their home countries to face persecution.
RFA reported in July that the 50 North Koreans were loaded onto buses in the Chinese border city of Dandong and taken across the Yalu River. Sources said many Chinese onlookers showed hostility to the police, warning that they were effectively sending the refugees to their deaths.
Hundreds of thousands of North Koreans fled to China to escape a mid-1990s famine, with about 30,000 making their way to South Korea. As many as 60,000 North Koreans remain in China, despite having no legal status. Some have married Chinese nationals.
RFA reported in August that police had begun actively arresting North Korean spouses of Chinese nationals after a long period of time in which they were treated leniently.
Beijing claims it must return North Koreans found to be illegally within Chinese territory under two bilateral border and immigration pacts. Rights groups, however, say that forced repatriation is a violation of China’s responsibility to protect the escapees under the U.N. Refugee Convention.
There are as many as 30,000 unregistered children of North Korean women and Chinese men, according to the Department of State’s 2020 Trafficking in Persons Report. The report noted that the children are stateless and vulnerable to exploitation.
Translated by Leejin Jun. Written in English by Eugene Whong.
6. ＜Inside N. Korea＞ The Great Annoyance of Kim Jong-un's Visit to Samjiyon: Residents Forbidden to Step Out for Several Days
＜Inside N. Korea＞ The Great Annoyance of Kim Jong-un's Visit to Samjiyon: Residents Forbidden to Step Out for Several Days
Kim Jong-un visits Samjiyon on November 16. Quoted from the Rodong Sinmun.
On November 16, Kim Jong-un visited Samjiyon in northern Ryanggang Province, but residents have complained about the inconvenience of being forbidden to go out for several days (Kang Ji-won).
Samjiyon is a highland city at the foot of Mt. Paektu that has been wrongfully advertised as the "holy land of the revolution" where Kim Jong-il was born (he was born in Russia's Primorsky Territory). In November 2016, Kim Jong-un ordered a world-class international tourism zone to be built, and the rush construction began. In December 2019, the second of three phases were completed.
The following is a question-and-answer session with an interviewee who lives in the neighbouring city of Hyesan.
The special tourism zone in Samjiyon was built in a rush under the pressure of Kim Jong-un. The state-run media heavily promoted it. Quoted from the Rodong Sinmun.
◆ Prices rise due to traffic restrictions.
――When did the restrictions start?
From November 13, all vehicles travelling to and from Samjiyon were prohibited from passing through. Also, due to the traffic restrictions, the rice price went up by about 10% for a few days.
――Was it inconvenient for the residents?
Kim Jong-un flew in from Pyongyang, and from the 13th, Samjiyon residents were not permitted to go out. Instead, they were gathered in one room in each apartment and forced to stay in place wearing masks.
――While the Samjiyon construction has been advertised to be completed by October 2020, how is the progress?
This year, we haven't made much progress because we don't have enough construction materials due to the economic slump, and the COVID-19 pandemic has made it challenging to mobilize construction personnel. So we didn't make much progress this year, just tidying up and building a few houses.
Kim Jong-un is inspecting Samjiyon in the snow, as quoted by Rodong Sinmun in November 2018.
――How is life in Samjiyon?
We have banned using coal and firewood in our apartments and have switched to electric heating. Now that we are in the cold season, electricity is available almost 24 hours a day. The electricity situation is much better than in Pyongyang, and people from other parts of the country envy us because they say it is a whole new world. Still, there is no rationing, and some residents don't like the inconvenience of living in the mountains and want to move elsewhere.
※ ASIAPRESS contacts its reporting partners in North Korea through smuggled Chinese mobile phones.
7. North Korea issues emergency order for all fishing boats to receive new "sea entry licenses"
Another example of the regime exploiting COVID to exert greater control over the north Korean people.
The source said that this reissuance process is a yearly nuisance. However, with the Ministry of State Security completely changing their documents this year – and the screening promising to be so strict that every trivial thing could become a problem – owners of private boats are concerned that they may have to pay a hefty bribe to get a license.
In fact, some boat owners are complaining that there are so many procedures and things to deal with that few boats are likely to pass screening this year. Some may give up fishing and try their hand at other businesses if they must pay bribes on top of the yearly hassle of getting licenses, according to the source.
Meanwhile, fishery enterprises and fishery support bases of major enterprises are reportedly looking forward to the restart of long-range fishing, which has been suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
North Korea issues emergency order for all fishing boats to receive new "sea entry licenses" - Daily NK
Owners of private boats are concerned that they may have to pay a hefty bribe to get a license
Daily NK has learned that North Korea recently issued an emergency order for all fishing boats to exchange their current “sea entry licenses” for new ones.
A source in North Hamgyong Province told Daily NK on Wednesday that the Central Committee issued an order to the provincial branch of the Ministry of State Security calling on the ministry to ascertain the details about all fishing boats operated by fishery enterprises, boats operated by enterprise support bases and privately operated boats, and to replace all their fishing permits and sea entry licenses.
With the order, North Korea can confiscate boats from work units or individuals who possess too many of them, or transfer them to other organizations. This is all in keeping with the spirit of the Eighth Party Congress, which called for the elimination of “special work units or individuals.”
Fishery enterprises that take care of the state’s fishery needs will apparently face few hindrances due to the new order. However, small boats operated by the support units of enterprises and privately operated boats likely face fairly strict procedures to exchange their sea entry permits. This is reportedly leading some operators to voice concern.
North Korean fishing boats on the water near Wonsan, Kangwon Province. / Image: Daily NK
The source said locals feel a bit perplexed as the Ministry of State Security plans to comprehensively analyze each boat’s ledger and the personal details of operators, including whether to allow locals with criminal records to go to sea.
In particular, the ministry plans to learn the internal structure and holding capacity of each boat and register electronic parts and navigation equipment in cooperation with the nation’s radio communications regulator. It also plans to learn about boat owners and their families, a cause of concern for some operators.
The source said that this reissuance process is a yearly nuisance. However, with the Ministry of State Security completely changing their documents this year – and the screening promising to be so strict that every trivial thing could become a problem – owners of private boats are concerned that they may have to pay a hefty bribe to get a license.
In fact, some boat owners are complaining that there are so many procedures and things to deal with that few boats are likely to pass screening this year. Some may give up fishing and try their hand at other businesses if they must pay bribes on top of the yearly hassle of getting licenses, according to the source.
Meanwhile, fishery enterprises and fishery support bases of major enterprises are reportedly looking forward to the restart of long-range fishing, which has been suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
8. North Korea puts Kimhyongjik County under lockdown amid COVID-19 fears
There appears to be no end in sight for the regime's draconomicon population and resources control measures that are implemented under the excuse of defending against COVID but are really intended to exert greater control over the populations.
.
North Korea puts Kimhyongjik County under lockdown amid COVID-19 fears - Daily NK
The border town of Kimhyongjik County (formerly Huchang County), Yanggang Province has recently been placed under lockdown until Dec. 4, Daily NK has learned.
This comes amid speculation that North Korea may lift or partially relax its closure of the Sino-North Korean border sometime this month.
According to a Daily NK source in North Korea on Tuesday, Kimhyongjik County was put under lockdown on Nov. 19. The move runs counter to expectations that North Korea will relax its toughest quarantine posture, including possibly restarting trade.
At 9 PM last Thursday, a man in his 40s identified by his family name of Choe returned from China to North Korea at Kimhyongjik County. He was discovered by soldiers of 11th Corps – the so-called “Storm Corps” – who were waiting in ambush.
Mercilessly beaten by soldiers during his arrest and questioning, Choe testified that he had gone to China to receive money. Soldiers took the RMB 100,000 (about USD 15,600) he had on hand.
A view of Hyesan, in North Korea’s Yanggang Province. / Image: Daily NK
Soldiers quickly reported the incident that very day. The Central Emergency Anti-Epidemic Headquarters responded to the direct report from the local quarantine authorities in Kimhyongjok County by issuing a lockdown order on the town at 10 AM the next day.
Accordingly, the order suspended travel permits for Kimhyongjik County, banned vehicles and persons from entering the town, and closed markets.
The authorities have ordered the formation of joint enforcement teams composed of local civilian inspection squads and locally based soldiers to patrol the streets day and night. Anyone resisting or violating quarantine rules is to be arrested on the spot and punished with a month or more of forced labor, depending on the severity of their crime.
The source said the lockdown stops people from coming or going, once again locking them up in their homes. He said local residents will bear the entire economic brunt of the measure.
Meanwhile, Choe is awaiting preliminary hearings by the Ministry of State Security, having been ordered last Friday to spend 30 days in isolation. The source said Choe faces intensive questioning once he leaves quarantine.
Kimhyongjik County sits across the Yalu River from northeastern China. Given the geographic particulars, many locals smuggle gold, copper and other rare metals, as well as medicinal herbs.
Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
9. Kim Jong Un Bans Citizens Ripping Off His Stylish Leather Coats
Fashion police. I wonder if the Kim regime and the Taliban are sharing best practices on how to oppress people.
Excerpt:
“To put a stop to the cheap imitations, and the cheap imitators who wear them,” said RFA, “literal fashion police patrol the streets to confiscate the jackets from sellers and citizens sporting the look.”
Kim Jong Un Bans Citizens Ripping Off His Stylish Leather Coats
North Korean officials have started confiscating cheap knockoffs
of the leader’s trademark outerwear after they got just too fashionable in Pyongyang.
Updated Nov. 25, 2021 6:48AM ET / Published Nov. 25, 2021 6:29AM ET
SEOUL, South Korea—Follow the leader on whatever he says—just don’t imitate his dress style. That’s the lesson to be drawn from reports that North Korean authorities are busy ordering people to stop wearing discount leather jackets that look like the high-end coats that Kim Jong Un has been photographed wearing while cheering on missile tests and ordering his people to work harder to overcome the county’s grave economic difficulties.
While most of North Korea’s 25 million citizens cannot afford more than the simplest garb, leather jackets reminiscent of the country’s all-powerful dictator have become the go-to fashion in the capital of Pyongyang and other cities where members of the upper crust of military officers, government officials and members of the ruling Workers’ Party live and work.
“Authorities in North Korea are cracking down on residents wearing leather trench coats,” Radio Free Asia, a U.S.government-funded news operation with extensive sources in North Korea, is reporting. They’re saying “it is disrespectful to emulate the fashion choices of the country’s leader.”
The crackdown comes as Kim approaches the tenth anniversary since he assumed power after the death of his long-ruling father, Kim Jong Il, on December 17, 2011. Since then he's been photographed in fashionable suits, sports shirts and headgear, often worn only once and never seen again. Nothing, however, has caught the imagination of North Koreans so much as the iconic long leather coats that make him at once a macho figure, sporting and prosperous, as well as a fashion leader.
The identity of Kim Jong Un’s tailoring staff—presumably there’s more than one tailor—has never been revealed, but their style has been copied everywhere in North Korea, made rather coarsely at factories in the country or fabricated in China and smuggled across the Yalu or Tumen River borders.
“Leather trench coats became popular in 2019 after Kim appeared on TV wearing one,” RFA reported. “At first, real leather coats imported from China were snapped up by rich people who could afford them, but soon garment makers began to import fake leather to make them domestically.”
The high fashion trend reached an apotheosis of sorts at the military parade of the 8th Party Congress last January when Kim and assorted toadies on the reviewing stand were all wearing look-alike leather coats. Even kid sister Kim Yo Jong was swathed in one, setting a trend that caught on among well-to-do women as well as men.
It all got a bit much, however, when hundreds of lower-ranking types were seen wearing shoddy copies. Who do they think they are? Some felt it gave the impression they were almost mocking the ruling elite. It was as though suddenly the less fortunate had found a way to satirize their leaders without getting sent to prison or even tortured and executed.
“To put a stop to the cheap imitations, and the cheap imitators who wear them,” said RFA, “literal fashion police patrol the streets to confiscate the jackets from sellers and citizens sporting the look.”
Kim Jong Un shows off his jacket in the snow in Samjiyon City, North Korea.
North Korean news agency, via Reuters
No doubt one reason for the extreme image sensitivity is that Kim Jong Un has been the target of much speculation as his weight descended from over 300lbs to an estimated 260lbs in recent months.
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It was too easy for people to joke about his crew of tailors working overtime to make new outfits, including leather jackets, every time he dropped a pound or two. Considering he’s only five feet eight inches tall even with platform soles, he is still way too heavy, and analysts have been split over whether he’s embarked on a diet or if he’s really in ill health.
RFA quoted a source as saying “wearing clothes designed to look like the highest Dignity is an impure trend to challenge the authority of the highest Dignity.” The police, according to the source, “instructed the public not to wear leather coats because it is part of the party's directive to decide who can wear them.”
Lately, Kim has been ordering missile tests and making sure the nuclear complex 60 miles north of Pyongyang keeps churning out nuclear warheads and figures out how to install the ones it’s got on the tip of missiles capable of reaching the U.S.
While Kim lectures his people on the urgent need to buttress the impoverished economy, 38North, an authoritative website at the Stimson Center in Washington, cited satellite imagery proving that the nuclear reactor at the facility is still going full blast. The evidence, said 38North, was steam “emanating from the reactor’s generator hall” even as “water continues to be discharged from the auxiliary pipe.”
Kim has yet to show signs of giving up his nuclear program despite the joint statement signed by him and Donald Trump at their summit in Singapore in June 2018 pledging to work toward “denuclearization” of the Korean peninsula.
North Korea’s nuclear program is now a bone of contention in South Korea’s current presidential campaign. Lee Jae-myuing, candidate of the ruling Minjkoo or Democratic Party, told journalists for foreign news agencies Thursday that the U.S. and South Korea may “have to make certain concessions,” notably easing up on sanctions against the North, in order to reach a new deal on denuclearization.
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Lee’s relatively soft-line approach contrasts with that of the conservative People Power Party candidate, Yoon Seok-youl, who has said sanctions must remain in place until North Korea gets rid of its nuclear program. Yoon has also supported U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises while Lee has criticized them.
Lee also criticized Trump for trying to resolve too many problems at once in his three meetings with Kim. “The nuclear issue is intertwined with multiple issues,” he said, “so trying to find an approach all at once was indeed impossible.”
Meanwhile, the nuclear program remains at the top of Kim’s agenda even as he looks for funds and resources to resolve economic problems. Some of his proudest moments have occurred when ordering and then witnessing missile tests while wearing the leather coats that are now intrinsic in his popular image.
10. Visiting congressional delegation serves ‘Super Bowl’ of Thanksgiving meals in South Korea
Visiting congressional delegation serves ‘Super Bowl’ of Thanksgiving meals in South Korea
U.S. Forces Korea senior leaders serve Thanksgiving meals for Korean Augmentation to the U.S. Army trainees at Camp Humphreys, South Korea, on Nov. 25, 2021. (David Choi/Stars and Stripes)
CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea — The “Super Bowl” of Thanksgiving meals for U.S. troops, which included 3,097 pounds of turkey, was served by a bipartisan U.S. congressional delegation in South Korea on Thursday.
In addition to the turkey, the lavish meal throughout U.S. bases in South Korea included 2,088 pounds of roast beef, 1,251 pounds of steamship beef, 654 pounds of rib-eye steak and 2,449 pounds of ham, according to the 2nd Infantry Division fact sheet.
Sixty Army culinary specialists and 298 contractors prepared the meal for the roughly 28,500 troops, civilian employees and their families with U.S. Forces Korea.
Ice sculptures and cakes greeted the line of U.S. and South Korean troops at the Spartan Warrior Restaurant, a dining facility at Camp Humphreys.
Culinary specialists went through extra lengths to decorate the dining facility because the “soldiers are away from their families,” according to Sgt. 1st Class Michael Hanspard, a culinary specialist and restaurant manager.
Reps. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, left, and Sarah Jacobs of California, right, serve Thanksgiving meals with a South Korean service member at a dining facility at Camp Humphreys, South Korea, on Nov. 25, 2021. (David Choi/Stars and Stripes)
Thanksgiving Day diners were met by ice sculptures and a cake at the Spartan Warrior Restaurant at Camp Humphreys, South Korea, on Nov. 25, 2021. (David Choi/Stars and Stripes)
“This is a culinary specialist’s Super Bowl every year,” Hanspard told Stars and Stripes on Thursday. “This is what we want to throw down on. We really take pride in what we do, in terms of presentation and the taste of the food.”
A delegation of five House representatives – Democratic Reps. Mark Takano of California, Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, Colin Allred of Texas, Sara Jacobs of California and Republican Nancy Mace of South Carolina -- also helped serve meals to the troops.
“Come get your vegetables,” Slotkin, a member of the House Armed Services Committee and a former CIA analyst, shouted as she served mixed vegetables to a line of service members.
“It was great to meet some of our service members,” Takano, chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, said to Stars and Stripes. “It’s always a great pleasure to take the Thanksgiving holiday with members of Congress, who give up time with their families, to come and be with our troops, who are also giving up time with their families.”
Mace, a member of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee and a graduate of The Citadel Military College of South Carolina, toured the facility and stopped to chat with fellow South Carolinians.
“It’s just an honor to spend time with our soldiers who are stationed overseas, many of them don’t get to go home that frequently,” Mace said. “It’s an honor to be out here with our men and women in uniform who do so much for us.”
The delegation visited Japan earlier in the week and met with U.S. troops stationed on Okinawa. There, they warned about China’s rising regional influence.
“There’s a growing sense of a new reality with China, a stronger China, a more equipped China, a China that is closing the innovation gap,” Takano told Stars and Stripes on Tuesday.
David Choi
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.
