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Quotes of the Day:
"Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy."
– Franz Kafka
“Wisdom is the right use of knowledge. To know is not to be wise. Many men know a great deal, and are all the greater fools for it. There is no fool, so great a fool as a knowing fool. But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom.”
– Charles Spurgeon
“Nothing in the world is so strong as a kind heart.”
– Frances Hodgson Burnett
1. [Scarlatoiu] South Korea, a peacekeeping power, versus North Korea, a spreader of instability and violence
2. HRNK Message on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women
3. N.K. leader's sister again denounces 'political agitation' leaflets from South
4. Top security officials of S. Korea, Lithuania discuss N.K.-Russia military cooperation
5. N. Korea cuts power lines supplying electricity to shuttered Kaesong complex
6. Korean Peninsula Facing New Cold War, Says Security Panel
7. South Korea to station F-35s at bases throughout the peninsula, report says
8. North Korea sent 100 ballistic missiles to Russia: Ukraine
9. Mysterious Military Industry City Manpo (2) - Civilian Life at the Border: Harvesting with Ox Carts, Children Sleeping on Handcarts (10 Photos)
10. NK tightens control to quell unrest over troop dispatch to Russia
11. N. Koreans made 'loyalty oath' on Kim Jong-un's birthday, not Jan. 1 this year: Seoul
12. Kim Jong Un’s tactic to increase his leverage
13. Trump appoints Alex Wong as deputy national security advisor
14. Fears grow that North Korea could host Russian missiles after senior envoy's remarks
1. [Scarlatoiu] South Korea, a peacekeeping power, versus North Korea, a spreader of instability and violence
This is a Google translation of Greg's weekly RFA column. Greg is uniquely qualified to write this weekly column which he has been doing for two decades to inform the Korean people in the north through Radio Free Asia. He speaks with authority from his own experience having lived through the Romanian revolution that overthrew a communist dictator who was a close friend of Kim Il Sung. And he speaks fluent Korean, English, French, and of course his native Romanian. He is truly an example of what it is to be a great American.
Excerpts:
Should the North Korean people be held responsible for the Kim regime exporting instability and violence to conflict zones? Absolutely not. The Kim regime sells the blood, sweat, and tears of its own people for its own benefit and to maintain its regime. The Kim Jong-un regime needs foreign currency to produce nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. The Kim Jong-un regime sacrifices its own people in North Korea, overseas, and far away, including on the Ukrainian front. The reason is to maintain power.
Are the North Korean people called to spread instability and violence? Absolutely not. All they want is a decent life for their families. There is only one solution to the problems surrounding North Korea, including nuclear weapons, missiles, and the export of violence and instability. The only way for the North Korean people to develop their homeland and bring peace and prosperity to their families is unification under a prosperous free democratic state. And one day, just like the people of a free and prosperous democratic South Korea, the North Korean people will become a force for good in the world. Let us hope that one day they will bring peace and prosperity, not instability and violence, to others.
[Scarlatoiu] South Korea, a peacekeeping power, versus North Korea, a spreader of instability and violence
https://www.rfa.org/korean/commentary/greg/comparison-north-south-korea-11182024103532.html
Greg Scarlatoiu, Chairman, Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, USA
11/19/2024
On September 11, 2019, Hanbit Unit soldiers invited 200 children living in a refugee shelter in South Sudan and UN and NGO officials to introduce Chuseok, a representative Korean holiday, and experience traditional games together. [Provided by the Joint Chiefs of Staff]
/Yonhap News
00:00 /08:03
Greg Scarlatoiu, Chairman, Committee for Human Rights in North Korea
After its founding on August 15, 1948, South Korea benefited from international humanitarian, development, and security assistance. The United Nations forces were ultimately able to repel Kim Il-sung's invasion and defend South Korea.
On July 27, 1953, when the Korean War ceased, Korea was one of the poorest countries in the world. Through the efforts and innovation of the Korean people and the benefits of a market economy, Korea became a true economic powerhouse. In just a few decades, from 1961 to the mid-1990s, Korea achieved the “Miracle of the Han River.” Korea became an economic powerhouse in just a few decades, as other countries have developed over two centuries. Korean global companies such as Samsung, Hyundai Motors, and LG occupy unrivaled positions in the global automobile industry, electronics industry, home appliances, microchip, mobile phone manufacturing, and shipbuilding. “Hallyu” and Korean pop culture, music, movies, and TV dramas have become a global phenomenon known and loved by hundreds of millions of people around the world. Over the past 60 years, Korea has created one of the world’s most amazing success stories.
But the Korean people were not content to be mere beneficiaries of international humanitarian, development, and security assistance. Now a global economic and cultural powerhouse, Korea has made a significant contribution to providing peace, security, humanitarian, and development assistance to developing countries around the world.
Since joining the UN in 1991, Korea has made significant contributions to the UN through peacekeeping operations, development assistance, and human rights promotion. In December 2021, Korea hosted the Seoul UN Peacekeeping Conference in Seoul, the capital city, where 57 member states and two international organizations expressed their common commitment to UN peacekeeping operations. At the center of this ministerial meeting was the UN Secretary-General’s Action for Peace (A4P) Plan, and in particular the implementation strategy known as A4P.
In recent years, hundreds of Korean peacekeepers have been conducting peace operations around the world. Three generations of Koreans have shed blood, sweat, and tears for the prosperity, democracy, and economic success of their country. In recent years, Koreans have been applying their talents and courage to bring peace, prosperity, and security to people all over the world, from East Timor to Western Sahara.
In contrast, North Korea has exported instability and violence to many troubled areas of the world. In 1967, North Korean fighter pilots, along with Syrian pilots, attacked Israel in the Six-Day War. In 1973, North Korean pilots, along with Egyptian pilots, again attacked the State of Israel in the Yom Kippur War.
In the West African country of Zimbabwe, a genocide took place for three months from January 1983. It was an atrocity in which Zimbabwean soldiers, who received weapons support from North Korea and were trained by military instructors, massacred 20,000 Ndebele tribesmen. The reason for the mass slaughter of these tribesmen was because they supported the opposition leader of Zimbabwe's dictator Robert Mugabe.
In the 1990s, Eritrea in Africa seceded from Ethiopia. War broke out and North Korea sent tanks, tank crews, other soldiers and weapons to support Ethiopia. In 2007, the Israeli Air Force bombed a nuclear reactor that North Korea was building for Syrian dictator Assad. Two North Korean special forces, Chollima-1 and Chollima-2, fought alongside Assad's forces in the Syrian civil war.
North Korea has proliferated ballistic missiles and other weapons to Iran and its terrorist proxies Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the Houthi rebels in Yemen. North Korea has exported millions of artillery shells to Russia for use on the Ukrainian front. Over the past year, half of the artillery shells fired by Russia have been North Korean. Russia has also deployed North Korean-made KN-23 ballistic missiles in its war of aggression against Ukraine. Thousands of North Korean troops are currently deployed on the Ukrainian front, helping Russia invade the independent European country of Ukraine.
Should the North Korean people be held responsible for the Kim regime exporting instability and violence to conflict zones? Absolutely not. The Kim regime sells the blood, sweat, and tears of its own people for its own benefit and to maintain its regime. The Kim Jong-un regime needs foreign currency to produce nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. The Kim Jong-un regime sacrifices its own people in North Korea, overseas, and far away, including on the Ukrainian front. The reason is to maintain power.
Are the North Korean people called to spread instability and violence? Absolutely not. All they want is a decent life for their families. There is only one solution to the problems surrounding North Korea, including nuclear weapons, missiles, and the export of violence and instability. The only way for the North Korean people to develop their homeland and bring peace and prosperity to their families is unification under a prosperous free democratic state. And one day, just like the people of a free and prosperous democratic South Korea, the North Korean people will become a force for good in the world. Let us hope that one day they will bring peace and prosperity, not instability and violence, to others.
Editor Park Jeong-woo, Web Editor Kim Sang-il
2. HRNK Message on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women
A message about north Korea and China's human rights abuses of women. Please remember their suffering and help pressure the leaders of the two countries.
HRNK Message on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women
Monday, November 25th, 2024
Help HRNK spread the word!
HRNK, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, relies on donations to support our programs and to provide website content and services free of charge without commercial advertising. Your support enables HRNK to continue our important work promoting human rights in North Korea.
Thank you!
https://mailchi.mp/hrnk.org/hrnk-message-on-the-international-day-for-the-elimination-of-violence-against-women?e=46d109134b
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COMMITTEE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS IN NORTH KOREA — PRESS RELEASE
November 25, 2024
HRNK Message on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women
WASHINGTON, D.C. – November 25, 2024
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
This year, November 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, will mark the launch of a 16-day campaign concluding on December 10, International Human Rights Day. HRNK wishes to highlight the plight of North Korean women, who have taken the brunt of repression under the Kim Jong-un regime. It is women who have assumed primary responsibility for the survival of their families during and after the devastating famine of the mid-1990s. It is women who are arrested, interrogated, tortured, punished and imprisoned for alleged wrongdoing at North Korea's informal markets. It is primarily North Korean women who are arrested and forcibly repatriated by China, as alleged "illegal economic migrants," in direct violation of China's obligations under the 1951 UN Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol. It is a tragic paradox that China, host to the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women and the subsequent adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action aiming to end violence against women, is aiding and abetting the Kim family regime, an entity which commits egregious acts of violence against women, including imprisonment at political and reeducation labor camps, forced abortions, infanticide, and other forms of extreme cruelty. Restoring the rights, freedom, and dignity of North Korean women is not a mere international organization procedural matter or academic exercise. It is an urgent matter that the international community must address without further delay.
Greg Scarlatoiu
President and CEO
* * *
HRNK was founded in 2001 as a nonprofit research organization dedicated to documenting human rights conditions in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), as North Korea is formally known. Visit www.hrnk.org to learn more.
3. N.K. leader's sister again denounces 'political agitation' leaflets from South
Another indication of how information is affecting the regime. It is a threat and the regimen really fears it. Imagine if we had a comprehensive information campaign with the full support and resources of the ROK/US alliance.
N.K. leader's sister again denounces 'political agitation' leaflets from South | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Park Boram · November 26, 2024
SEOUL, Nov. 26 (Yonhap) -- The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Tuesday denounced "political agitation" leaflets, accusing South Korea of sending them across the border.
"Various kinds of political agitation leaflets and dirty things sent by the ROK scum were dropped again in different areas near the southern border of the DPRK" on Tuesday, the North's Korean Central News Agency quoted Kim Yo-jong as saying in a statement.
ROK stands for the Republic of Korea, the official name of South Korea, while DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the official name of North Korea.
Security forces organs have blocked the affected areas and were searching for, gathering and disposing of the materials, she said.
"We strongly denounce the despicable acts of the ROK scum who committed the provocation of polluting the inviolable territory of the DPRK by scattering anti-DPRK political and conspiratorial agitation things again," the statement said.
Last week, Kim accused South Korea of sending anti-Pyongyang leaflets to the North and warned that the South would pay a "dear price." This was followed by the North launching trash-filled balloons across the border into the South.
North Korea has reacted angrily to South Korean activists sending balloons across the border carrying anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets and South Korean consumer goods.
Kim Yo-jong, vice department director of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea. (Yonhap)
pbr@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by Park Boram · November 26, 2024
4. Top security officials of S. Korea, Lithuania discuss N.K.-Russia military cooperation
The world is getting smaller. Are our geographic combatant command boundaries still relevant?
Top security officials of S. Korea, Lithuania discuss N.K.-Russia military cooperation | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Eun-jung · November 26, 2024
SEOUL, Nov. 26 (Yonhap) -- National Security Adviser Shin Won-sik met with his Lithuanian counterpart, Kestutis Budrys, on Tuesday and discussed coordinated responses against the military cooperation between North Korea and Russia, the presidential office said.
The top security officials agreed that North Korea's deployment of troops to Russia in support of its war against Ukraine poses a grave threat to global security, with implications reaching beyond the Korean Peninsula and Europe, the office said in a release.
They also committed to work together to ensure the international community sends a strong message against the growing military ties between Pyongyang and Moscow, it noted.
National Security Adviser Shin Won-sik (R) shakes hands with his Lithuanian counterpart, Kestutis Budrys, during their meeting at the presidential office in Seoul on Nov. 26, 2024, in this photo provided by the office. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
ejkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Eun-jung · November 26, 2024
5. N. Korea cuts power lines supplying electricity to shuttered Kaesong complex
Excerpts:
South Korea built 48 transmission towers -- including 15 located in the North -- to supply electricity to the now-shuttered Kaesong Industrial Complex.
But power supply has been halted since June 2020, when the North blew up an inter-Korean liaison office at the complex after lashing out at Seoul for failing to stop North Korean defectors in South Korea from sending anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the border.
Asked whether the resource-strapped North Korea severed the power lines to recycle them, Lee did not rule out such a possibility, noting that power lines contain a large amount of copper.
The latest move came as North Korea has been ramping up inter-Korean tensions and wiping out traces of unification after its leader Kim Jong-un defined the Koreas as "two hostile states" late last year.
The North has since removed street lamps and installed mines along its side of the Gyeongui and Donghae roads, as well as deployed troops to build apparent anti-tank barriers and reinforce barbed wire within its side of the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas.
(LEAD) N. Korea cuts power lines supplying electricity to shuttered Kaesong complex | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Minji · November 26, 2024
(ATTN: ADDS remarks from press briefing in paras 3-4, 7)
By Lee Minji
SEOUL, Nov. 26 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has cut power lines installed by South Korea to supply electricity to a now-shuttered joint industrial park in the North Korean border city of Kaesong, South Korea's military said, the latest in Pyongyang's move to sever inter-Korean ties.
The military has detected North Korean soldiers removing part of the power lines connecting transmission towers built along the Gyeongui road since Sunday, officials said, in what appeared to be preparations to demolish the transmission towers built by the South.
"The North has yet to work on the transmission towers. (North Korean soldiers) have piled up the severed high-voltage lines that fell on the ground," Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesperson Col. Lee Sung-jun told a regular press briefing.
Lee said North Korean troops have cut power lines connected to the first transmission tower located north of the military demarcation line, adding that further monitoring is needed.
This undated file photo shows transmission towers built by South Korea to supply electricity to the now-shuttered inter-Korean Kaesong Industrial Complex in the North Korean border city of Kaesong. Also seen in the photo is an inter-Korean liaison office the North blew up in June 2020. (Yonhap)
South Korea built 48 transmission towers -- including 15 located in the North -- to supply electricity to the now-shuttered Kaesong Industrial Complex.
But power supply has been halted since June 2020, when the North blew up an inter-Korean liaison office at the complex after lashing out at Seoul for failing to stop North Korean defectors in South Korea from sending anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the border.
Asked whether the resource-strapped North Korea severed the power lines to recycle them, Lee did not rule out such a possibility, noting that power lines contain a large amount of copper.
The latest move came as North Korea has been ramping up inter-Korean tensions and wiping out traces of unification after its leader Kim Jong-un defined the Koreas as "two hostile states" late last year.
The North has since removed street lamps and installed mines along its side of the Gyeongui and Donghae roads, as well as deployed troops to build apparent anti-tank barriers and reinforce barbed wire within its side of the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas.
Last month, the North blew up its part of the two roads after its military announced a plan to "completely separate" North Korea's territory from the South.
mlee@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Minji · November 26, 2024
6. Korean Peninsula Facing New Cold War, Says Security Panel
Excerpts:
Ma and others said this growing uncertainty over future relations with Washington is also raising questions about relying on the United States’ “nuclear umbrella” to deter Pyongyang or Beijing from attacking.
“Without America’s nuclear umbrella, South Korea may not be secure,” Ma said.
A possibility is “we may develop our own” nuclear weapons, Ma added.
Also troubling to Asian nation is the impact of higher tariffs on their exports to the United States.
“We already have some sense of what follows … trade war,” particularly between China and the United States, Mireya Solis, Brookings director of Asia Policy Studies, said.
Trump wants to impose 10 percent tariffs on all Chinese imports.
She added the Biden administration kept in place a number of the tariffs the first Trump administration placed on Beijing. A “trade war” and tariffs imposed on their own exports would have an impact on Japan and Korea, as well as Southeast Asia.
Korean Peninsula Facing New Cold War, Says Security Panel - USNI News
news.usni.org · by John Grady · November 25, 2024
North Korean short-range ballistic missile launch on April 22, 2024. KCNA Photo
South Korea faces the mounting threat of North Korea using nuclear weapons as the two countries enter a “new Cold War,” the chair of Seoul National University’s security research center said Friday.
Kim Jong-Un is bent on the survival of the North Korean regime at all costs, with the North Korean leader describing the current tensions asa new Cold War, Chaesung Chun said during a Friday Brookings Institution event.
The two panels at the Brookings Institution event repeatedly expressed concern about facing another four years of “transactional relationships” replacing the relative stability of the Biden administration’s “latticework” of multilateral relations from Japan and Korea in the north to Australia and New Zealand in the south.
The emphasis in the Biden administration was on dealing with the rising China diplomatically, and economically and protecting national sovereignty in the region the chair, Chun said.
“Top-down level negotiations” between Trump and Kim, as occurred during his first presidential term, carry great risk not only for Korea, but Japan and others, Chun added.
Before any new talks between Trump and Kim begin, there needs to be “a consensus on general security cooperation” between Seoul and Washington, Chun said, adding these possible new rounds of negotiations between Trump and Kim should be “long and painful” and involved “more than missiles and nuclear weapons.”
“Deal-making could undermine South Korean security” without that consensus, Sang-yoon Ma, professor of international relations at Korea’s Catholic University, said. He added even if the incoming administration “took a bystander approach” to relationships in north Asia, it could have an impact on South Korean security.
Andrew Yeo, senior fellow at the Center for Asia Policy Studies, added Trump “may make life more difficult for alliances” beyond those with Korea and Japan.
Trump regards Taiwan, which does not have a formal security treaty with the United States, as being “really far away from the United States” and not in its immediate interest, said Ryan Hess, director of the John L. Thornton China Center at Brookings. During the campaign the president-elect called on Taipei to spend more of its own defense. He also complained often about Taiwan’s dominance of the microchip industry.
Hess added members of the administration do not share that view. Sen. Marco Rubio, (R-Fla.) and Rep. Mike Waltz, (R-Fla.) “are very passionate” about Taiwan’s survival. Rubio will be nominated to be secretary of state and Waltz as the national security advisor when the administration takes office Jan. 20.
While Seoul completed negotiations last month with the United States on burden-sharing, the question of whether it will survive to 2030 are already being raised.
The new agreement between Washington and Seoul raises Korea’s share by more than 8 percent in 2026, or $1.47 billion.
Japan is to begin its talks with Washington on burden-sharing next year.
In 2019, Trump called on Japan to quadruple its spending on the Special Measures Agreement that covers part of the expense of stationing American forces in the two treaty partners’ territory.
Ma and others said this growing uncertainty over future relations with Washington is also raising questions about relying on the United States’ “nuclear umbrella” to deter Pyongyang or Beijing from attacking.
“Without America’s nuclear umbrella, South Korea may not be secure,” Ma said.
A possibility is “we may develop our own” nuclear weapons, Ma added.
Also troubling to Asian nation is the impact of higher tariffs on their exports to the United States.
“We already have some sense of what follows … trade war,” particularly between China and the United States, Mireya Solis, Brookings director of Asia Policy Studies, said.
Trump wants to impose 10 percent tariffs on all Chinese imports.
She added the Biden administration kept in place a number of the tariffs the first Trump administration placed on Beijing. A “trade war” and tariffs imposed on their own exports would have an impact on Japan and Korea, as well as Southeast Asia.
Related
news.usni.org · by John Grady · November 25, 2024
7. South Korea to station F-35s at bases throughout the peninsula, report says
Disperse for defense and protection.
South Korea to station F-35s at bases throughout the peninsula, report says
Stars and Stripes · by David Choi · November 25, 2024
U.S. and South Korean air force F-35A Lightning II stealth fighters train over the Korean Peninsula on July 12, 2022. (Trevor Gordnier/U.S. Air Force)
SEOUL, South Korea — The South Korean air force plans to disperse its newest fleet of F-35A Lightning II stealth jets throughout the country, rather than at just one base, to better respond to North Korean threats, according to local media.
Seoul agreed to purchase the 20 F-35As, expected to be operational by 2027, from the United States for nearly $2.9 billion in December. It also agreed to buy $271 million worth of munitions for the aircraft that month.
The country received its first 40 F-35As from a $7 billion deal in 2019.
The new aircraft will be assigned to several, unspecified installations instead of operating out of Cheongju Air Base, which is home to the current F-35 fleet, unnamed officials said in a Yonhap News report Monday.
South Korea’s air force in an emailed statement declined to comment on the report Monday, citing operational security.
The F-35 developed by Lockheed Martin comes in three variants: the A model performs conventional takeoffs and landings; the B model is capable of short takeoffs and vertical landings; and the C model is designed for arrested landings on aircraft carriers.
The U.S. Air Force has already shifted its aerial assets in South Korea during the past year as part of a broader plan to improve its military posture.
Nine F-16 Fighting Falcons from the 8th Fighter Wing out of Kunsan Air Base, roughly 115 miles southwest of Seoul, were assigned to the 36th Fighter Squadron at Osan Air Base, about 30 miles south of the capital, as part of a yearlong trial in June.
The trial is a way to see if the additional F-16s would “increase our training effectiveness while also increasing our combat capability if deterrence fails,” 7th Air Force commander Lt. Gen. David Iverson said in a news release at the time.
Starting in January, the Air Force will also be retiring all 24 A-10 Thunderbolt IIs in South Korea and upgrading its F-16s in the country to modernize its fleet.
The fourth-generation F-16s will receive new avionics systems and other “pivotal upgrades” to mimic the capabilities of fifth-generation aircraft, the 7th Air Force said in a news release Nov. 13.
U.S. and South Korean F-35s frequently conduct joint exercises over the Korean Peninsula. In June, Marine Corps F-35Bs and South Korean air force F-35As took to the skies for the first live-fire demonstration with a B-1B Lancer bomber in seven years.
David Choi
David Choi
David Choi is based in South Korea and reports on the U.S. military and foreign policy. He served in the U.S. Army and California Army National Guard. He graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Stars and Stripes · by David Choi · November 25, 2024
8. North Korea sent 100 ballistic missiles to Russia: Ukraine
North Korea sent 100 ballistic missiles to Russia: Ukraine
A Ukrainian defense intelligence unit said Pyongyang also sent military specialists to help Moscow.
https://www.rfa.org/english/korea/2024/11/26/north-korea-ukraine-missiles/
By Taejun Kang for RFA
2024.11.26
View of a key military factory during a visit by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (not pictured) in this undated photo released by North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency on Aug. 14, 2023. (KCNA/Reuters)
TAIPEI, Taiwan – North Korea has sent more than 100 KN-23 and KN-24 ballistic missiles to Russia, along with military specialists, to support its war with Ukraine, said a Ukrainian defense intelligence unit, about a week after South Korean confirmed that the North had exported additional artillery systems to Russia.
North Korea has been suspected of sending weapons to Russia to support its invasion of Ukraine. The South said last month that North Korea had sent about 7,000 containers of suspected weapons to Russia over the last two months, bringing the total number of containers to 20,000.
“The aggressor state of Russia has received more than 100 such missiles from the DPRK. The enemy first used these weapons in the war against Ukraine at the end of 2023,” said the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine.
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, DPRK, is North Korea’s official name.
“Along with the missiles, Pyongyang then sent its military specialists to Russia to service the launchers and participate in war crimes against Ukraine,” the institution said.
The KN-23 and KN-24 are North Korean short-range ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads, known as Hwasong-11 variants.
The intelligence unit reported that the missiles, responsible for numerous civilian casualties, were discovered to contain components manufactured by foreign companies, including from Britain, China, Japan, Switzerland and the United States.
One missile was found to include a voltage converter produced in February last year, bearing the label of the British company XP Power.
The unit urged stricter controls on the export of such components.
Part of an unidentified missile, which Ukrainian authorities believe to be made in North Korea and was used in a strike in Kharkiv, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Jan. 6, 2024. (Vyacheslav Madiyevskyy/Reuters)
The British arms watchdog Conflict Arms Research said in April it had analyzed 290 parts from a North Korean missile used by Russia against Ukraine and concluded that the missile was believed to be a North Korean short-range ballistic missile, either the KN-23 or KN-24.
At that time, the watchdog said it identified parts from companies based in the U.S., China, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Singapore, Switzerland and Taiwan.
In response to the report, a representative of a Japanese company, whose name and identification number were engraved on one of the missiles, told media that the item was “counterfeit,” noting that the engraving style differed from that of the authentic product.
The Ukraine intelligence unit’s report came about a week after South Korea’s spy agency confirmed that North Korea had exported additional artillery ammunition and launchers to Russia.
“In addition to artillery missiles, North Korea has also exported 170mm self-propelled artillery and 240mm howitzers,” said the National Intelligence Service, or NIS.
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North Korean casualties
Ukraine’s report also followed confirmation from South Korea’s main security agency that it had “specific intelligence” that North Korean forces in Russia had suffered casualties.
The U.S. and South Korea have said that North Korean troops had been fighting against Ukrainian forces in Kursk. The U.S. has estimated more than 10,000 North Korean soldiers had been sent to Kursk and they had begun combat operations alongside Russian forces.
Neither Russia nor North Korea have confirmed the presence of North Korean troops.
Separately, media reported that 500 North Koreans and one high-level North Korean official had been killed in a Ukrainian attack with British missiles last week.
The U.S. Department of Defense said on Tuesday it couldn’t independently confirm the reports.
“What we’ve said, you know, before is that they’re in that region and certainly poised to engage the Ukrainians in combat,” Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh told a briefing.
“But I can’t confirm those reports that there have been casualties yet.”
Edited by Mike Firn.
9. Mysterious Military Industry City Manpo (2) - Civilian Life at the Border: Harvesting with Ox Carts, Children Sleeping on Handcarts (10 Photos)
Photos at the link: https://www.asiapress.org/rimjin-gang/2024/11/photo/manpo-2/
Mysterious Military Industry City Manpo (2) - Civilian Life at the Border: Harvesting with Ox Carts, Children Sleeping on Handcarts (10 Photos)
asiapress.org
Nestled in a deep mountainous region, Jagang Province serves as North Korea's military industrial hub. Recent reports indicate that a U.S. think tank has identified previously unknown missile bases in the area. The province is so tightly controlled that even North Korean citizens face strict restrictions on entering the region. Despite its shared border with China, surprisingly few defectors come from this area. In mid-October, ASIAPRESS captured these rare images of Manpo city from across the border in Jian city, China's Jilin Province, offering a glimpse into daily life in this secretive region. (HONG Mari)
Mysterious Military Industry City Manpo (1) Charcoal Cars Emitting White Smoke, Tightly Closed Trading Point, and Military Checkpoints (9 Photos)
A charcoal-powered vehicle stopped at a checkpoint, emitting white smoke. In energy-deficient North Korea, imported Chinese vehicles are converted to run on charcoal.
A village spread out in a deep valley. Cultivated fields can be seen scattered on the mountain behind. Barbed wire is strung on the white poles at the bottom of the photo.
Perhaps a pepper field in front. Farm workers are loading harvested crops onto an ox cart. Oxen are communal property of the farm and remain indispensable for farming.
Corn drying abundantly on the roof. Corn is a staple food, eaten as rice or porridge when dried and ground, or made into noodles as flour. Children are sleeping on a handcart in front.
A woman's bicycle basket has a registration card showing "Manpo" as her place of residence.
Farm workers returning for their lunch break. They're carrying straw, possibly for animal feed. Corn is drying on the roof of the inner house.
A child wearing an oversized adult top. Perhaps with their mother beside them, jumping and following behind. In North Korea, if parents are farm workers, children must also become farm workers.
At a checkpoint, a soldier wearing an "inspector" armband is talking with a soldier in a four-wheel-drive vehicle.
What appears to be a private home under repair. For security, the door is made of steel, and the locking mechanism is hidden. White handprints on the wall, possibly from children playing.
This appears to be a limestone or cement factory. Though visibly aged, it seems to be operational.
Map of North Korea (ASIAPRESS)
※All photos of the city of Manpo, Jagang Province. Photographed from the Chinese side of the border in October 2024, ASIAPRESS
asiapress.org
10. NK tightens control to quell unrest over troop dispatch to Russia
Can't we effectively exploit this opportunity that Kim is providing us for an information campaign? There is so much potential for a specific PSYOP campaign against the nKPA. This will have far reaching and long lasting effects if we have the political will to exploit it.
NK tightens control to quell unrest over troop dispatch to Russia
The Korea Times · November 26, 2024
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un delivers a speech during the opening ceremony of a defense exhibition in Pyongyang, Nov. 21, in this photo carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency. Yonhap
Idolization of Kim Jong-un continues
By Kwak Yeon-soo
North Korea is intensifying internal control over its military and citizens in what seems to be an effort to suppress any dissent regarding the regime's troop deployment to support Russia's war against Ukraine, the Ministry of Unification said, Tuesday.
North Korea hosted the 4th Conference of Battalion Commanders and Political Instructors of the Korean People's Army (KPA) from Nov. 14 to 15. Such conferences had only been held three times previously: in October 1953 after the Korean Armistice Agreement, in October 2006 just before North Korea's first nuclear test, and in November 2014 during a period when the North's leader Kim Jong-un carried out a reign of terror.
“Hosting a rare conference for the first time in 10 years seems not only aimed at quelling any military or internal unrest regarding North Korea's troop dispatch to Russia, but also at fostering hostility toward South Korea and the outside world,” a senior unification ministry official said on condition of anonymity.
"The regime is worried that public discontent could increase if there are casualties or if rumors about the troop deployments spread."
So far, North Korea has kept its troop deployment to Russia a secret from its citizens. However, it appears that rumors about the deployment have already spread within North Korea, with families of the soldiers reportedly wailing, according to the National Intelligence Service, which shared this information with lawmakers in late October.
The ministry said that North Korea appears to have sent the troops by expecting three benefits in addition to receiving economic gains and greater military-technical assistance.
“The North Korea-Russia military alliance may be solidified and the North's strategic status may be upgraded after the war ends. Pyongyang’s ties with Moscow could be beneficial in reaching out to the U.S.,” the official said.
A source familiar with the matter said that Russia would want to regain control of the Kursk region before U.S. President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January and potentially proposes a peace deal for the Ukraine war.
“North Korean troops are deployed to help Russia drive Ukrainian troops out from Russia’s Kursk border region. We need to closely monitor what role North Korean troops play as Russia has begun a major counteroffensive against Ukrainian troops there. I believe North Korean soldiers could rotate in batches rather than the North sending additional forces,” the source said.
The Gaeseong Industrial Complex, a joint industrial park in the North's border city of Gaeseong, is seen in this Oct. 5, 2022 file photo. Yonhap
Meanwhile, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has been solidifying his leadership while downplaying the roles of his predecessors, Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il. The appearance of Kim Jong-un badges and new portraits alongside those of past leaders reflects an intensified effort to emphasize his authority.
The official said Kim Jong-un may ask North Koreans to take loyalty oaths on Jan. 8, which is believed to be his birthday, as part of steps to solidify his rule. North Korea has never officially confirmed Kim's birthdate, and such oath ceremonies have traditionally been held on Jan. 1 New Year’s day or the anniversaries of the birthdays of his father on Feb. 16, and grandfather on April 15.
“This year, Kim Jong-un hosted a loyalty oath ceremony on Jan. 8 instead of Jan. 1. This is seen as a move to shift toward political assertiveness, departing from his predecessors’ approach,” the official said.
The ministry also said North Korea cutting power lines supplying electricity to the shuttered Gaeseong industrial complex is part of a move to remove all traces of unification after Kim Jong-un defined the South as a “hostile” state last December.
“The military has detected North Korean soldiers removing part of the power lines connecting transmission towers near the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) on Sunday in what appeared to be preparations to demolish the transmission towers built by the South. We will respond resolutely to North Korea's illegal violation of property rights,” another senior unification ministry official said.
This year, North Korea has been carrying out unusual activities, including demolishing street lamps, installing mines along its side of the Gyeongui and Donghae roads, as well as deploying troops to build anti-tank barriers and reinforce barbed wire fences within its side of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas.
The Korea Times · November 26, 2024
11. N. Koreans made 'loyalty oath' on Kim Jong-un's birthday, not Jan. 1 this year: Seoul
So much to exploit here. Kim's actions can feed right into an information campaign.
N. Koreans made 'loyalty oath' on Kim Jong-un's birthday, not Jan. 1 this year: Seoul
The Korea Times · November 26, 2024
A mosaic portrait featuring North Korean Kim Jong-un is seen in this photocarried by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency, Sept. 1, 2023. Yonhap
North Koreans were ordered to make a "loyalty oath" on Jan. 8, leader Kim Jong-un's birthday, not on the first day of this year, as the North seeks to bolster the personality cult for Kim, South Korea's unification ministry said Tuesday.
Usually, North Koreans are ordered to sign a "loyalty oath" document on Jan. 1 to show their allegiance to the regime, after gathering at a meeting related to the ruling Workers' Party of Korea or Kim Jong-un.
In the past, the North also ordered its people to take an oath of allegiance on Feb. 16, the birthday of Kim Jong-il, the late father of the incumbent leader, and April 15, the birthday of late national founder Kim Il-sung.
The unification ministry said North Korea held such a ritual on Jan. 8, Kim Jong-un's birthday, not on Jan. 1 this year, a move seen as being aimed at reinforcing the idolization of Kim as the sole leader.
"There is a possibility that North Korea could expand the use of a pin featuring Kim Jong-un's solitary portrait and designate his birthday as a national holiday," a ministry official told reporters.
North Korea has been bolstering the personality cult for Kim as the sole ruler, warranting people's respect while refraining from excessively extolling the late state founder.
In a related move, North Korea has stopped using its "juche," or self-reliance, calendar —a system of numbering the years that symbolizes Kim Il-sung. Under this calendar, adopted in 1997, the national founder's birth year, 1912, is considered Juche 1.
The ministry said the Rodong Sinmun, the North's main newspaper, began removing the use of the juche calendar in its Oct. 13 edition, and state TV footage featuring the Juche year has been also edited or cut.
Meanwhile, North Korea's trade with China has yet to recover to the pre-pandemic level though the North reopened its border last year following years of COVID-19 border restrictions, according to the ministry.
North Korea's trade with China, the North's main economic benefactor, came to $1.49 billion in the January-September period, compared with $1.62 billion the previous year.
The data came as relations between North Korea and China have cooled amid Pyongyang's close alignment with Moscow.
On North Korea's trade with Russia, the ministry said the trade volume is presumed to increase "significantly" this year, compared with last year, amid an increase in the North's imports of wheat flour and refined oil from Russia.
In regard to the possibility of North Korea's additional deployment of troops to Russia, the ministry official said the rotation of soldiers seems to be more likely, rather than an additional dispatch of troops, if Moscow's war with Ukraine continues. (Yonhap)
The Korea Times · November 26, 2024
12. Kim Jong Un’s tactic to increase his leverage
Sigh... Political warfare and blackmail diplomacy. Kim is providing us with opportunities.
Kim Jong Un’s tactic to increase his leverage
donga.com
Posted November. 25, 2024 07:45,
Updated November. 25, 2024 07:45
Kim Jong Un’s tactic to increase his leverage. November. 25, 2024 07:45. .
“We have already taken negotiations with the U.S. as far as they can go,” stated North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. “What we confirmed from the results was not the great power’s (the U.S.) willingness for coexistence but its thoroughly force-driven, invasive, and hostile policy toward North Korea,” he added. Citing the lack of success in negotiations between the United States and North Korea during Donald Trump’s first presidency, he warned that Trump’s second term would bring a ‘strength-to-strength confrontation’ involving nuclear capabilities. However, some interpret Kim’s remarks as a hint at the possibility of a 'reunion,' as he explicitly recalled his willingness to negotiate and coexist with Trump.
Ahead of the U.S. presidential election, North Korea escalated tensions through a series of provocations. In September, it unveiled a key facility for producing highly enriched uranium (HEU). In October, it installed an anti-tank barrier at the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) to further isolate itself from the South. Just five days before the election, it launched a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). The recent deployment of North Korean troops to Russia is not only related to Russia’s transfer of nuclear technology but also appears to be an attempt to strike a significant deal with the United States in the shifting security environment of the Trump era.
It’s a classic North Korean tactic to increase its leverage. For more than three decades, North Korea has routinely provoked the United States with nuclear and missile tests around the U.S. presidential election. For instance, it announced its withdrawal from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) five months after Bill Clinton won the 1992 presidential election. When Trump was first elected, Pyongyang escalated tensions with a sixth nuclear test and an ICBM provocation in 2017. However, this stance shifted with the U.S.-North Korea summits in 2018 and 2019.
Given this precedent, Kim Jong Un may have implied that he is open to dialogue if Trump, unlike Joe Biden, reverses his hostile policy toward North Korea. On the campaign trail, Trump repeatedly emphasized, “I got along well with Kim Jong Un” and “It’s good to get along with someone who has nuclear weapons.” Notably, Trump also nominated Alex Wong, who played a key role in the U.S.-North Korea summit, to serve as the principal deputy national security advisor in the White House.
If a direct deal is struck between the United States and North Korea, Kim will likely seek the lifting of sanctions in exchange for recognition as a de facto nuclear power and steps toward nuclear disarmament. It is also possible that President-elect Trump, who prioritizes tangible outcomes, will respond favorably. In such a scenario, we cannot rule out the possibility of the South Korean government being sidelined in U.S.-North Korea relations, thereby increasing security risks. The South Korean government should focus its diplomatic efforts on preventing ‘Korea passing’ and ensuring that the South Korea-U.S. alliance remains strong.
한국어
donga.com
13. Trump appoints Alex Wong as deputy national security advisor
Some in Korea are putting a lot of hope and faith in Alex.
Excerpts:
Inter-Korean Korean issues will not resume immediately with Wong joining the administration, as the U.S. views the Ukraine-Russia war and the Middle East war as priorities. Wong, who is also a China expert, must also deal with issues of conflict between the U.S. and China. Above all, the North Korean nuclear issue is not something that can be solely relied on the hands of a few individuals. Even if a nuclear freeze or disarmament is discussed with Kim Jong Un, who claims there will be no more denuclearization negotiations, a verification process would be inevitable.
If South Korea can address challenges through skilled diplomatic tactics backed by connections and strategy, it does not seem impossible to bring North Korea to the negotiating table along with the United States. Who knows- the North Korean diplomat who desperately whispered to the U.S. delegation may return to the table.
Trump appoints Alex Wong as deputy national security advisor
donga.com
Posted November. 26, 2024 07:52,
Updated November. 26, 2024 07:52
Trump appoints Alex Wong as deputy national security advisor. November. 26, 2024 07:52. .
Follow-up negotiations were held in Sweden eight months after the Hanoi summit between U.S.-North Korea in 2019. North Korean representative Kim Myong Gil began to read aloud a long manuscript he had prepared without making eye contact with U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun. When Kim, who severely criticized that “United States was entirely accountable,” and called off negotiations, a pin-drop silence fell over the room. As the North Korean delegation left, an official who had hesitated until the last moment, grabbed Biegun's arm and hurriedly whispered, “Please, don’t give up.”
Alex Wong, who was appointed deputy national security adviser in the second term of President Donald Trump Administration, was one of delegations present at the time. As the State Department's special deputy representative for North Korea during the first term, he was known for persistently studying North Korea and devised negotiation strategies along with Biegun. He expressed regret that no further progress was made on the strategies prepared when the Biden administration took office. When the Biden administration began reviewing the North Korea policy of the Trump administration they led, he described their strategy as a “stupid approach.” For Wong, who continued to pay attention to North Korean affairs even after leaving public office, the Hanoi meeting remained as an ‘unfinished negotiation.’
Hence expectations that the appointment of Wong as deputy national security advisor will increase the chance of resumed negotiations between the United States and North Korea. Trump described Wong as one who supported negotiations with Kim Jung Un.” Wong also has strong ties to Korea. He enjoyed ‘Whole Chicken Stew’ at Gwanghwamun with Representative Biegun. Whenever he went on a business trip to Seoul as a Coupang executive, he met his Korean diplomat friends and visited Korean restaurant together.
Inter-Korean Korean issues will not resume immediately with Wong joining the administration, as the U.S. views the Ukraine-Russia war and the Middle East war as priorities. Wong, who is also a China expert, must also deal with issues of conflict between the U.S. and China. Above all, the North Korean nuclear issue is not something that can be solely relied on the hands of a few individuals. Even if a nuclear freeze or disarmament is discussed with Kim Jong Un, who claims there will be no more denuclearization negotiations, a verification process would be inevitable.
If South Korea can address challenges through skilled diplomatic tactics backed by connections and strategy, it does not seem impossible to bring North Korea to the negotiating table along with the United States. Who knows- the North Korean diplomat who desperately whispered to the U.S. delegation may return to the table.
한국어
donga.com
14. Fears grow that North Korea could host Russian missiles after senior envoy's remarks
The more that we telegraph our fear of escalation the more likely our adversaries will escalate.
Strength prevents escalation, not weakness.
Fears grow that North Korea could host Russian missiles after senior envoy's remarks
https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2024-11-26/national/defense/Fears-grow-that-North-Korea-could-host-Russian-missiles-after-senior-envoys-remarks/2186695
Published: 26 Nov. 2024, 18:16
- SEO JI-EUN
- seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr
Russia’s new hypersonic missile Zircon [SCREEN CAPTURE]
Russia is considering deploying medium- and short-range missiles to Asia in response to possible U.S. missile redeployments, Moscow's deputy foreign minister said Monday, sparking concerns that North Korea could emerge as a potential host for Russian weapons as the two states grow closer.
“The appearance of such U.S. systems in any region of the world will determine our next steps, including in the field of organizing a military and military-technical response,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told reporters Monday when asked whether Russia was considering the possibility of deploying medium-range and short-range missiles in Asia.
Ryabkov emphasized that Russia’s newly developed Oreshnik medium-range ballistic missile, used for the first time against Ukraine’s city of Dnipro on Nov. 21, is not restricted under current international treaties. The missile features multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle (MIRV) technology, which North Korea has yet to develop.
The statement follows reports that the United States is considering deploying missiles to Japan’s southwestern islands and the Philippines in preparation for a potential conflict between China and Taiwan.
While Belarus remains the most likely location for additional Russian missile deployments as the country already hosts Russian tactical nuclear weapons, experts do not rule out North Korea as a potential host.
During a July meeting of Russia’s Security Council, President Vladimir Putin called for the resumption of intermediate-range missile production and hinted at a possible deployment in Asia following U.S. actions in Europe and Asia.
"Although Russia did not directly refer to North Korea, Moscow’s mention of Asia could serve as a symbolic and psychological gesture to demonstrate the extent of its partnership with Pyongyang and to pressure Seoul and Washington," said Kim Young-jun, a professor at Korea National Defense University.
If Russia deploys nuclear-capable missiles to North Korea, it would significantly alter the security dynamics of the Korean Peninsula and the broader Indo-Pacific region. For South Korea, this would mean facing dual nuclear threats from both North Korea’s illicit arsenal and Russia’s internationally recognized nuclear capabilities.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, right, and Russian President Vladimir Putin sign joint documents during a ceremony at the Kumsusan State Guest House in Pyongyang on June 19. [TASS/YONHAP]
Such a scenario could undermine the South Korea-U.S. extended deterrence framework, which is designed to counter North Korea’s nuclear ambitions.
However, in a March interview, Putin downplayed the possibility of directly supplying nuclear weapons to Pyongyang, stating that North Korea has its “own nuclear umbrella.”
“Russia's message is another form of rhetoric aimed at escalating nuclear threats,” said Hyun Seung-soo, deputy director of the Korea Institute for National Unification. “The timing strongly suggests that the primary goal is to deter South Korea from providing lethal weapons to Ukraine.”
Ryabkov’s comments coincided with a meeting between South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha at the G7 Foreign Ministers’ summit in Fiuggi, Italy, on Monday.
During the meeting, Cho emphasized that South Korea would implement “effective measures in stages” to address threats posed by North Korea-Russia military cooperation. Sybiha expressed optimism that Ukraine’s special envoy would visit South Korea soon to continue discussions.
Ukraine reportedly plans to send Defense Minister Rustem Umerov to South Korea as a special envoy. Cho welcomed the initiative, expressing hope for meaningful consultations during the visit.
Russia is deploying North Korean troops to bolster its military efforts in Ukraine to reclaim occupied territories in Kursk.
BY LEE YOO-JEONG, PARK HYUN-JU, SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]
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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