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Quotes of the Day:
“The tyrant dies and his rule is over; the martyr dies and his rule begins.”
– Soren Kierkegaard
“Human rights' are a fine thing, but how can we make ourselves sure that our rights do not expand at the expense of the rights of others. A society with unlimited rights is incapable of standing to adversity. If we do not wish to be ruled by a coercive authority, then each of us must rein himself in...A stable society is achieved not by balancing opposing forces but by conscious self-limitation: by the principle that we are always duty-bound to defer to the sense of moral justice.”
– Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn
"I believe that man will not merely endure: he will prevail. He is immortal, not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice, but because he has a soul, a spirit capable of compassion and sacrifice and endurance."
– William Faulkner
1. USFK commander highlights Korean Peninsula's central role in Indo-Pacific security
2. S. Korea, U.S. hold 'comprehensive' talks on N. Korea policy based on summit fact sheet: Seoul
3. Revising the Espionage Act is the first step toward normalization
4. Seoul’s unification, foreign ministries clash over who takes lead on North Korea
5. Prospect of Trump-Kim summit rises in 2026, report says
6. South Korea passes law allowing police to stop leafleting toward North Korea
7. Russia agrees to train North Korean first responders in drone, rescue operations
8. 11 North Koreans have sought asylum in Russia since 2024, official data shows
9. South Korea denies rift over Unification Ministry's U.S. talks
10. Kim Ju-ae Precedes Kim Jong-un at Kangdong Factory Event
11. Editorial: People Power Party's 'Yoon Again' Push Risks Existential Crisis
12. N. Korean military orders XI Corps officers to quell unrest over Russia deployment before winter drills
13. Public trials surge in Pyongsong as N. Korea tightens control before Ninth Party Congress
14. Top security adviser to discuss with US about Korea's push to build nuclear-powered subs
15. Trump-Kim summit likelier in 2026, with Seoul still left in cold
1. USFK commander highlights Korean Peninsula's central role in Indo-Pacific security
Comment: Yonhap should have shown General Brunson's East Asia Up map to graphically illustrate this.
And Yonhap (and all Korean media) should be using General Brunson's correct title for reporting in the Korean news: Commander of the ROK/US Combined Forces Command.
But there are two key points we should know about Korea. All competition and any conflict in the Asia-Indo-Pacific region (and Eurasia for that matter) will affect Korea. And any contingency on the Korean peninsula whether war or internal instability and regime collapse will have global effects to include in the US homeland.
Access the East Asia Up Map here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1e31C97SRKPOSN_Url0z4fBsxOWMV7XIN/view?usp=sharing
USFK commander highlights Korean Peninsula's central role in Indo-Pacific security | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · Kim Hyun-soo · December 16, 2025
By Kim Hyun-soo
SEOUL, Dec. 16 (Yonhap) -- The commander of American forces in South Korea has underscored the Korean Peninsula's central role in the U.S. security strategy in the Indo-Pacific region, according to a website of the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) on Tuesday, noting the peninsula's location between the Asian continent and the Pacific region.
Gen. Xavier Brunson, commander of USFK, made the remarks at a lecture at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C., last Wednesday at a time when Seoul and Washington are pushing to "modernize" their alliance in a way that would increase South Korea's role in its own defense and its contributions to addressing regional threats.
"Korea is not a side chapter in American strategy," Brunson said, according to the website. "If you put the peninsula in the first chapter, the geometry of the region and the value of our alliances become impossible to ignore."
Describing the Korean Peninsula as a "hinge between the Asian continent and Pacific maritime approaches," Brunson said the peninsula "should be viewed as a central pillar of U.S. and allied strategy."
On the Korean Peninsula, Brunson said the U.S. and allied forces are already positioned inside the first island chain, a key perimeter for America's preeminence against China in the Pacific.
Brunson also underscored the forward posture and alliance modernization on the Korean Peninsula as "essential" to deterrence and crisis management amid North Korea's deepening military cooperation with Russia and growing regional threats.
This Aug. 8, 2025, file photo, provided by the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), shows USFK Commander Gen. Xavier Brunson speaking to reporters during a press conference at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, some 60 kilometers south of Seoul. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
sookim@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · Kim Hyun-soo · December 16, 2025
2. S. Korea, U.S. hold 'comprehensive' talks on N. Korea policy based on summit fact sheet: Seoul
Summary:
Seoul and Washington opened their first “comprehensive” bilateral policy talks under the current administrations, anchored to the Oct. 29 Lee–POTUS summit fact sheet. The foreign ministry said the agenda covered all peninsula issues, reaffirmed the goal of complete denuclearization, and committed to close allied coordination while urging Pyongyang to return to dialogue and meet international obligations on WMD and missiles. The launch is politically complicated at home. The unification ministry refused to attend, warning the channel could resemble the 2018–21 “working group” that many in Seoul saw as a sanctions gatekeeper that constrained inter Korean engagement. Foreign affairs denied a rift, but unification stressed it will lead inter Korean outreach.
Comment: The Fact Sheet and other ROK/US alliance strategic documents (e.g., 57th SCM communique, Armistice, Mutual Defense Treaty, SD#2, and TOR) have more direct relevance on Korea and the ROK/US alliance than the NSS.
(2nd LD) S. Korea, U.S. hold 'comprehensive' talks on N. Korea policy based on summit fact sheet: Seoul | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · Kim Seung-yeon · December 16, 2025
https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20251216000752315
(ATTN: RECASTS headline, lead; UPDATES article with foreign ministry readout)
By Kim Seung-yeon
SEOUL, Dec. 16 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and the United States held "comprehensive" discussions for coordination on their North Korea policy based on a recently released summit document, the foreign ministry said Tuesday, in the first such bilateral talks under their incumbent administrations.
The consultative meeting came as Seoul seeks to improve stalled inter-Korean ties and help resume dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang despite the North's repeated rejection of overtures.
But the launch of the talks has been overshadowed by a rare rift between the foreign ministry and the unification ministry handling inter-Korean affairs, sparked by the latter's objections to the dialogue that it says could undermine the prospects for restoring ties with Pyongyang.
Tuesday's meeting was led by Jeong Yeon-doo, vice minister for diplomatic strategy and intelligence at the foreign ministry, and acting U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Kevin Kim.
"The meeting addressed all ongoing bilateral issues concerning the Korean Peninsula, based on the South Korea-U.S. summit joint fact sheet," the ministry said in a release after the meeting. The fact sheet outlines the details of the agreements reached between President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump at their Oct. 29 summit in the southeastern city of Gyeongju.
In this photo provided by the foreign ministry, Jeong Yeon-doo (R), vice minister for diplomatic strategy and intelligence at South Korea's foreign ministry, poses with acting U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Kevin Kim ahead of their meeting on North Korea policy, at the ministry building in Seoul on Dec. 16, 2025. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
The ministry said it includes: reaffirming the allies' commitment to the complete denuclearization of North Korea and ensuring peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula; and working together to implement the 2018 joint statement produced after Trump's first summit talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
It also takes note of the allies' close coordination on North Korea policy and calls for North Korea to return to dialogue and abide by international obligations against its weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs.
"South Korea and the United States shared the understanding that close coordination on North Korea policy is vital, and agreed to strengthen communication at all levels going forward," the ministry said.
Officials of South Korea and the United States hold talks on North Korea policy at the foreign ministry in Seoul on Dec. 16, 2025, in this photo provided by the ministry. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
The meeting, however, came at a time when the unification ministry has raised objections to the dialogue led by the foreign ministry and the U.S., arguing that it could undermine the prospects for restoring ties with Pyongyang.
Unification Minister Chung Dong-young and several other Cabinet members have reportedly expressed concern that the dialogue channel could go down the same path as the bilateral "working group" run by Seoul and Washington during the Moon Jae-in government from 2018-21.
The working group was launched in November 2018 to enable close and timely coordination between the allies on North Korea–related issues, ranging from denuclearization and sanctions to inter-Korean cooperation. The Moon government had also invested heavily in rapprochement with Pyongyang and in facilitating nuclear talks between the North and the U.S.
But the working group increasingly came to be seen as a monitoring mechanism that hindered Seoul's peace efforts toward the North, as discussions prioritized compliance with international sanctions against Pyongyang.
Considering its role in inter-Korean issues, the unification ministry has taken part in key bilateral consultations with the U.S. on North Korea.
The unification ministry said it will not attend Tuesday's meeting and will have its own talks with the U.S. on North Korea policy when necessary.
Instead, the unification ministry hosted a briefing on North Korea policy for the foreign diplomatic corps based in Seoul and officials from international organizations. The ministry said this meeting was unrelated to the foreign ministry-led policy talks.
On Tuesday, the foreign ministry dismissed the view that the two ministries are in discord over North Korea policy coordination.
"The foreign and unification ministries are closely working together and communicating on foreign and security issues as one team," ministry spokesperson Park Il said in a press briefing.
The unification ministry struck a different note.
"We might have varying approaches, but we will ultimately coordinate and present a single position," an official told reporters. "The unification ministry will take the lead and engage more proactively in inter-Korean dialogues and exchanges."
elly@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · Kim Seung-yeon · December 16, 2025
3. Revising the Espionage Act is the first step toward normalization
Summary:
South Korea is moving to revise Article 98, the 1953 Espionage Act, to prosecute spying conducted on behalf of any foreign state, not only north Korea. The argument is that the operating environment has shifted to digital, multi actor competition, but the current framework often forces non north Korea cases into narrower military or industrial secrets statutes. Former NIS counterespionage chief Bae Jeong seok calls the change “normalization,” not a full counterintelligence upgrade. He stresses that counterespionage is a long game built on recruitment, counter operations, and, at times, leverage, and that a purely criminal case mindset cuts that off. He also argues South Korea needs influence transparency tools similar to FARA, clearer NIS police division of labor, better coordination, and ultimately a dedicated counterintelligence organization.
Comment: This is a very necessary step to help defeat China's United Front Work Department and the PRC's unstreaticed warfare and three warfares that are operating in South Korea. If they do ever develop a FARA law I hope they do it better than we have done in the US.
World News Dec. 16, 2025 / 12:33 AM / Updated at 12:33 AM
Revising the Espionage Act is the first step toward normalization
By Asia Today and translated by UPI
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2025/12/16/korea-spy-NIS-intelligence-law/8681765861437/
A crowd walks past a police tent in the Hongdae nightlife area of Seoul, South Korea on October 27, 2023, File Photo by Thomas Maresca/UPI | License Photo
Dec. 16 (Asia Today) -- "Decade of the Spy" was a label used by U.S. media in the 1980s, when major espionage cases involving the former Soviet Union were uncovered year after year. In 2025, the phrase has resurfaced in a different context: most information is now digital, physical distance matters less, and the security environment has shifted toward a broader "all-against-all" competition.
Against that backdrop, South Korea is pushing amendments to Article 98 of the Criminal Act, commonly referred to as the Espionage Act. Enacted in 1953, the law has historically been applied primarily to North Korea, even as alleged espionage activity linked to other countriesh as increased. The proposed revision would allow espionage acts carried out on behalf of any foreign country to be prosecuted under the same statute.
But practitioners argue that changing the law is not enough. Bae Jeong-seok, an adjunct professor at Sungkyunkwan University's Graduate School of National Strategy and a former National Intelligence Service counterespionage bureau chief with more than 30 years of experience, said revising the law is "normalization," not a full upgrade of counterintelligence capacity.
In an interview with Asia Today on Dec. 8, Bae said counterespionage should be treated not only as a criminal matter but as a national security function that requires long-term operations and can carry diplomatic value.
Related
-What structural limitations existed for counterespionage activities under the current legal framework?
"Today's intelligence environment is not like the Cold War, when you mainly focused on one adversary. It involves many state actors. But in South Korea, activity linked to foreign intelligence services other than North Korea often could not be charged as espionage. It was handled under separate laws protecting military secrets or industrial technology. In counterintelligence, the core is recruiting sources and running counter-operations, including using double agents, to gather more information. If everything is treated only as a standard criminal case, it limits intelligence work that needs time and flexibility."
-How does this revised espionage bill compare to major advanced nations?
"This is not 'toughening' the law so much as bringing South Korea in line with what many advanced countries already have. But legal tools to deal with influence operations are still limited. Efforts to shape public opinion, cultivate media ties, or influence policymaking can be hard to prosecute under traditional espionage charges. A separate reporting-based system like the U.S. Foreign Agents Registration Act, which requires disclosure of certain activities performed on behalf of foreign principals, is also needed."
-What will change with this amendment?
"It can help deter and disrupt foreign intelligence activity. If recruiting agents or providing information to a foreign intelligence service is itself treated as espionage, authorities can investigate earlier and more directly. That reduces the risk of South Korean citizens being recruited. It also gives counterintelligence more room to run long-term operations instead of moving immediately to prosecution in every case."
-What aspects of the amendment require further refinement?
"The most important point is allowing strategic decision-making. Counterespionage should not be limited to catching spies and quickly building a prosecution. It requires understanding how networks operate over time, then recruiting and turning sources. In some cases, captured agents can also be used as leverage in security and diplomatic channels. Without that kind of approach, you fall behind in modern intelligence competition."
-Beyond legal amendments, what direction should counterespionage personnel, technology, and organizational culture take?
"Police are expanding counterespionage efforts, but the main responsibility should remain with the NIS, which has the specialized experience. Police, which have investigative authority, can focus on arrests and prosecution. Coordination between the two needs to improve. Over the long term, South Korea should consider a dedicated counterintelligence body. This work requires continuity, and the typical government job-rotation system is not well suited to long-term operations."
- Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI
4. Seoul’s unification, foreign ministries clash over who takes lead on North Korea
Summary:
South Korea’s Lee administration is showing a familiar fault line on north Korea policy, and it is now public. The foreign ministry is running a new “comprehensive” coordination channel with Washington, while the unification ministry refused to participate and argues it should be the primary lead for peninsula and inter Korean policy as a matter of sovereignty. National Security Adviser Wi Sung lac is trying to cap the damage. He acknowledges ministries will differ, but says the NSC will force alignment so Seoul speaks with “one voice.” Substance sits under the turf fight. One camp prioritizes alliance synchronization and denuclearization framing. The other pushes a more independent approach, includes greater openness to dialing back combined drills, and warns that sanctions and human rights pressure do not generate leverage. The risk is not just bureaucratic friction. It is mixed signals to Pyongyang and to Washington, and a slower, less coherent policy cycle inside Seoul.
Comment: We have to follow this as it will have an impact on the Alliance.
My views on what the Ministry of Unification should be doing:
Analysis: Why the Ministry of Unification must lead Korea's grand strategy (which must focus on unification as the basis for ROK grand strategy)
https://www.upi.com/Voices/2025/07/07/korea-analysis-ministry-of-unification-must-lead-korea-grand-strategy-2025/2891751913674/
Seoul’s unification, foreign ministries clash over who takes lead on North Korea
Wi Sung-lac says South Korea will aim to speak with ‘one voice’ after unification ministry excluded from talks with US
Jooheon Kim December 16, 2025
https://www.nknews.org/2025/12/seouls-unification-foreign-ministries-clash-over-who-takes-lead-on-north-korea/
ROK National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac | Image: Screenshot from Wi Sung-lac's Facebook page
South Korea will strive to speak with “one voice” despite a dispute between the unification and foreign ministries over who takes the lead in coordinating North Korea policy with the U.S., Seoul’s top security official said Tuesday.
National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac made the comments ahead of a meeting between ROK foreign ministry officials and U.S. Acting Ambassador Kevin Kim in Seoul to discuss DPRK issues, without the participation of the unification ministry.
“It’s true that individual ministries express their own views, but there is always extensive coordination through the National Security Council,” he told reporters. He added that the government will continue its efforts to address issues with a unified voice.
Wi’s remarks come after the unification ministry announced it would not participate in the Seoul-Washington talks on Tuesday, where the allies reaffirmed their commitment to Pyongyang’s denuclearization and coordinating on DPRK policy. The U.S. envoy Kim reportedly left without answering a reporter’s question about whether he would separately meet with the unification ministry.
The unification ministry’s exclusion from talks related to its remit has drawn attention to possible divisions within the Lee Jae Myung administration about how best to approach inter-Korean ties.
Cho Han-bum, a senior research fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification, explained that the unification ministry advocates for addressing Korean Peninsula issues independently, without foreign intervention, while the foreign ministry places more importance on cooperation with the U.S.
Minister Chung Dong-young “belongs to the faction advocating an independent approach,” he told NK News.
Cho noted that controversies over coordination on North Korea policy also existed during the Moon Jae-in administration, with some on the South Korean left criticizing a U.S.-ROK working group for coordinating sanctions and inter-Korean cooperation for giving Washington greater oversight on North-South ties.
During a briefing on Tuesday, a unification ministry official criticized the bilateral working group for slowing down inter-Korean exchange and cooperation in the past, despite supporting close communication with the U.S.
The expert Cho said the divide between ROK officials coordinating with the U.S. and those favoring an independent approach is widening under the current administration.
“The unification ministry insists on inter-Korean talks that are hard to achieve, even though Pyongyang sees Seoul as hostile,” he said.
At a press conference last week, Chung said joint South Korea-U.S. military drills are a “means to achieve peace on the Korean Peninsula, not an end in themselves,” his ministry confirmed to NK News.
He also rejected claims that strengthening sanctions and forcefully raising human rights issues would increase leverage in negotiations, arguing that North Korea advanced its nuclear and missile capabilities during periods of “isolation under pressure through sanctions.”
Chung further said that policies on the Korean Peninsula and inter-Korean relations fall “within the realm of sovereignty,” stressing that his ministry is the primary authority for consultations with allies.
But while Chung and even President Lee Jae Myung have proposed scaling back U.S.-ROK military drills to support inter-Korean dialogue, Wi said last week that Seoul has no such plans.
Edited by Bryan Betts
5. Prospect of Trump-Kim summit rises in 2026, report says
Summary:
A Foreign Ministry linked KNDA forecast says a 2026 POTUS Kim summit is more likely because both leaders want leader level talks, prefer “peaceful coexistence,” and may downshift denuclearization as the gating issue. The report recalls the three meetings in 2018 and 2019 and notes the talks broke over sanctions relief and denuclearization steps. It warns diplomacy will not slow north Korea’s buildup. Pyongyang is expected to accelerate fissile material production and field new missile systems in 2026. A seventh nuclear test remains technically useful, but timing will hinge on China and U.S. reaction. Inter Korean dialogue is still unlikely under the “two state” line.
Comment: Every time "peaceful co-existence" is invoked the 26 million Koreans in the north have another knife plunged into their backs.
World News Dec. 16, 2025 / 3:37 AM
Prospect of Trump-Kim summit rises in 2026, report says
By Thomas Maresca
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2025/12/16/Trump-Kim-summit-KNDA-report-Korea-National-Diplomatic-Academy/5051765873479/
The prospect of a summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, seen here meeting at the DMZ on June 30, 2019, is on the rise, according to a report Tuesday by think tank KNDA. File White House Photo by Shealah Craighead/UPI | License Photo
SEOUL, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- The likelihood of a renewed summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has increased, even as Pyongyang presses ahead with nuclear weapons development, a South Korean think tank said Tuesday.
In an annual forecast released by the Foreign Ministry-linked Korea National Diplomatic Academy, analysts said Trump is expected to continue a top-down approach to North Korea under which leader-level talks could resume.
"The likelihood of a North Korea-U.S. summit has increased somewhat due to common ground in the two leaders' desire to hold a summit, pursue peaceful coexistence and lower the priority of the denuclearization issue," the report said.
Trump met Kim three times during his first term -- in Singapore in 2018, in Hanoi in 2019 and briefly at the Demilitarized Zone later that year -- but talks collapsed amid disagreements over sanctions relief and steps toward denuclearization.
Related
Since returning to office, Trump has floated another summit with Kim on numerous occasions, telling reporters in October he "would love" to meet the North Korean leader during a visit to South Korea.
Kim has also signaled a willingness to resume diplomacy with Washington, saying he has "fond memories" of Trump, while warning that any discussion of giving up his regime's nuclear arsenal would be off the table.
Despite the prospect of renewed diplomacy, the KNDA report said engagement with Washington is unlikely to slow Pyongyang's military buildup.
North Korea is expected to "accelerate the production of nuclear materials and the development and deployment of new missile systems" in 2026 as it works to operationalize a broader range of nuclear strike capabilities, the report said.
The academy added that a seventh nuclear test remains a "military and technological necessity," although Pyongyang is likely to exercise restraint as it weighs the impact on its relations with China and the United States.
North Korea last conducted a nuclear test in September 2017 at its Punggye-ri site. During a period of detente with Seoul and Washington the following year, Pyongyang demolished the entrances to two test tunnels in a highly publicized move.
Those steps have since been reversed, however. The U.N. nuclear watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency said North Korea began restoring tunnels at the site in 2022, and a 2025 U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency assessment concluded the country is now "postured to conduct a seventh nuclear test at a time of its choosing."
Prospects for inter-Korean relations remain dim, the report said, despite efforts by South Korean President Lee Jae Myung to rehabilitate ties since taking office in June
Communication between Seoul and Pyongyang is unlikely to resume as the North continues to promote its "hostile two-state doctrine," which defines the two Koreas as permanently separate adversaries.
"The likelihood of inter-Korean dialogue reopening is not high," the report said.
6. South Korea passes law allowing police to stop leafleting toward North Korea
Summary:
South Korea’s National Assembly passed amendments to the Police Officers’ Duties Execution Act that let police block or restrain people launching balloons with leaflets and other material toward north Korea from border areas. The unification ministry framed the move as a confidence building step and said the “era” of anti north Korea leaflets is ending, arguing launches raise tensions and endanger border residents. The change follows a separate Aviation Safety Act amendment tightening restrictions on unmanned balloon flights near no fly zones. It also reflects Seoul’s search for new tools after the Constitutional Court struck down Moon era anti leaflet provisions as an undue restriction on expression. Defector led groups argue balloons can inform and inspire escape, but Pyongyang has treated them as hostile acts, citing past exchanges of fire and the 2020 Kaesong liaison office demolition.
Comment: I will keep highlighting this major strategic error by Seoul every time a report comes out discussing it. Appeasing north Korea with this law makes Kim believe that his political warfare and blackmail diplomacy strategies are working. It sends the message of abandonment to the Korean people in the north.
South Korea passes law allowing police to stop leafleting toward North Korea
Seoul praises law cracking down on sending Bibles and leaflets by balloon as step toward restoring inter-Korean ties
Jooheon Kim December 16, 2025
https://www.nknews.org/2025/12/south-korea-passes-law-allowing-police-to-stop-leafleting-toward-north-korea/
Activists prepare to launch balloons carrying leaflets. | Image: Abductees' Family Union (June 2, 2025)
South Korea’s unification ministry has welcomed a new law granting police the authority to actively block activists from floating propaganda leaflets toward North Korea, calling the decision “a stepping stone toward restoring inter-Korean relations.”
“The era of anti-North Korea leaflets has effectively come to an end,” a unification ministry spokesman said during a press briefing in Seoul on Monday, following the National Assembly’s passage of the Police Officers’ Duties Execution Act the previous day.
The act allows police officers to block or restrain people from sending propaganda leaflets toward the north from border areas.
Activists in South Korea, some of whom defected from the North, have routinely sent lightweight packages containing medicines, snacks, Bibles and propaganda material tethered to balloons.
Some defectors have testified that they found balloons while living in the North and that their contents motivated them to escape from the regime. But the DPRK has strongly denounced the ROK leafleting, and South Korean residents near the border say they feel threatened by the practice because it aggravates tensions with Pyongyang.
“Together with the government’s confidence-building measures between the two Koreas, we hope that these legislative amendments will serve as a stepping stone toward restoring inter-Korean relations and moving toward peaceful coexistence,” the spokesman said.
Earlier this month, the National Assembly passed an amendment to the Aviation Safety Act banning all unmanned balloon flights in no-fly zones near the border. Prior to this amendment, balloons carrying objects weighing less than two kilograms could be flown in restricted zones without approval from the ROK land ministry.
While the Inter-Korean Basic Agreement in 1991 halted leaflet launches, activists resumed the practice after the two Koreas cut ties.
The propaganda leaflets have fostered distrust and threatened peace and safety in border areas,” the spokesman said.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has criticized the campaign as provocations that heighten tensions with the North. Pyongyang repeatedly denounced the balloon launches in state media.
In 2014, North Korea fired anti-aircraft rounds toward balloons launched from South Korea’s Yeoncheon County, leading to an exchange of gunfire across the border, according to the unification ministry.
The DPRK destroyed the Inter-Korean Liaison Office in Kaesong in June 2020 in protest of Seoul’s refusal to halt the campaigns. During the pandemic, North Korean state media also claimed without evidence that the balloons had brought the coronavirus into the country.
President Moon Jae-in’s administration passed an anti-leaflet law in 2021 that banned balloon launches, but South Korea’s Constitutional Court later ruled it restricted freedom of expression and struck it down.
Local authorities have since sought alternatives to curb the balloon launches, including new regulations after North Korea retaliated with trash balloons. The Lee administration further used existing laws, such as the Aviation Safety Act, to restrict activist leafleting.
In recent cases, South Korean police referred 17 citizens to prosecutors in Nov. 2024 for sending at least 1,000 balloons with leaflets and Bibles to the North. Police also referred to prosecutors six Americans in August for attempting to send rice, cash, and religious materials from a restricted area in the South.
Edited by David Choi
7. Russia agrees to train North Korean first responders in drone, rescue operations
Summary:
Russia’s Emergencies Ministry (EMERCOM) says it will train north Korea’s disaster response officials in drone technology, communications setup, and rescue operations, and do so free of charge. The arrangement was formalized in a memorandum signed by EMERCOM Deputy Minister Roman Kurynin and a DPRK Disaster Prevention Ministry delegation led by Vice Minister Ri Ki Chol, according to an EMERCOM press release. Courses are expected to run six months to two years at the Far Eastern Fire and Rescue Academy in Vladivostok. The talks follow Kurynin’s July trip to the DPRK and coincide with an EMERCOM Il-76 cargo flight to Pyongyang of unknown purpose.
Comment: KJU's mercenary force is buying all kinds of benefits for the Regime from Russia (paying for the benefits to Kim with their lives).
Russia agrees to train North Korean first responders in drone, rescue operations
Emergencies Ministry says it will offer the training free of charge following talks with DPRK delegation in Moscow
Anton Sokolin December 16, 2025
https://www.nknews.org/2025/12/russia-agrees-to-train-north-korean-first-responders-in-drone-rescue-operations/
DPRK Disaster Prevention Vice Minister Ri Ki Chol after signing a memorandum of cooperation with his Russian counterpart Roman Kurynin | Image: EMERCOM of Russia (Dec. 15, 2025)
Russia’s emergency response ministry has agreed to train North Korean partners in drone technology and rescue operations free of charge.
The two sides signed a “memorandum on specialist training and scientific and technical cooperation” following a meeting between Emergencies Ministry (EMERCOM) Deputy Minister Roman Kurynin and a DPRK Disaster Prevention Ministry delegation led by Vice Minister Ri Ki Chol, EMERCOM said in a press release late Monday.
The ministry did not state when the meeting took place but released photos of the talks and of Ri’s delegation visiting a monument to emergency responders in Moscow.
DPRK Disaster Prevention Vice Minister Ri Ki Chol signing a memorandum of cooperation with his Russian counterpart Roman Kurynin | Image: EMERCOM of Russia (Dec. 15, 2025)
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Kurynin said EMERCOM plans to “submit proposals to the Russian government to train Korean specialists and host them in Russia during their studies free of charge,” according to the readout.
The ministry has developed training programs covering “communications setup, unmanned aerial systems and rescue operations on water and in mountainous terrain,” which are expected to last from six months to two years and will be held at the Far Eastern Fire and Rescue Academy in Vladivostok.
Kurynin also reiterated an invitation for DPRK counterparts to attend the Integrated Safety and Security 2026 exhibition in Kazan.
North Korean state media only reported on Ri’s delegation departing for Russia on Dec. 8, while remaining silent on its activities in Moscow.
The visit follows Kurynin’s mid-July trip to the DPRK, when the two sides discussed training firefighters and rescue specialists, as well as joint scientific and technological projects. North Korea upgraded its State Emergency Disaster Committee to a full ministry within the past year.
This week’s talks came as an EMERCOM-operated Il-76TD cargo jet flew to Pyongyang from Moscow on Saturday, with a brief stopover in Khabarovsk. The purpose of the flight and whether it transported the DPRK delegation is unknown, though the aircraft was previously linked to Russia’s Wagner Group.
Edited by Bryan Betts
8. 11 North Koreans have sought asylum in Russia since 2024, official data shows
Summary:
Russian Interior Ministry (MVD) data shows 11 DPRK nationals applied for asylum in Russia from January 2024 through June 2025, up from eight in 2023 but far below the 2017 peak of 32. Applications rose in mid to late 2024, then dropped sharply, with only one filing recorded in the first half of 2025. Experts doubt the figures reflect deployed troops, who would be managed separately, and question whether Russia would grant protection given Moscow’s deepening ties with Pyongyang over Ukraine. Past approval rates were extremely low.
Comment: This report raises more questions than the information it provides. But the numbers seem relatively insignificant. Given the Russia-north Korea relationship, why would a Korean from the north seek asylum in Russia? Are there other requests for asylum that have been denied? What happens to those Koreans?
11 North Koreans have sought asylum in Russia since 2024, official data shows
Experts voice skepticism about numbers and whether DPRK nationals can receive protection amid allies’ Ukraine war ties
Anton Sokolin December 16, 2025
https://www.nknews.org/2025/12/11-north-koreans-have-sought-asylum-in-russia-since-2024-official-data-shows/
North Korean students in Pyongyang on Dec. 19, 2018 | Image: NK News
The number of North Korean nationals seeking asylum in Russia picked up in 2024 but plummeted in the first half of this year, official data shows, with experts expressing skepticism that DPRK soldiers can receive protection amid the two countries’ flourishing cooperation over the war in Ukraine.
A total of 11 DPRK nationals sought asylum in Russia between Jan. 2024 and this June, up from just eight in 2023, according to the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs’ (MVD) data.
Three DPRK citizens sought protection in Russia from January to June 2024, and the figure increased to six in July-September, just before Pyongyang began sending troops to Russia.
But only one North Korean has filed an application for asylum with Russian authorities this year, according to data for the first half.
While the 2024 figure marked an uptick from 2023, the number of DPRK asylum seekers has gradually declined from a high of 32 in 2017.
Anthony Rinna, a senior editor with the Sino-NK research group and Russia-North Korea specialist, suggested that some North Korean soldiers or workers may have applied for refugee status after learning that it was “at least technically a possibility.”
“My best guess is perhaps people … [pinned] their hopes on the idea that Russia may grant them asylum as an expression of gratitude for their assistance in the operations in Kursk,” he told NK News.
The expert also raised the possibility that migrant workers who have recently entered the country in large numbers may have sought asylum.
However, Unique Kim of the Database Center for North Korean Human Rights (NKDB) expressed doubts about the reliability of the Russian data, pointing to the difficulty of drawing a “meaningful inference” from the minuscule number of DPRK asylum applications.
“Also timing-wise, it’s very much early in the timeline where the troops were starting to get deployed,” she told NK News. “I don’t think the asylum numbers would likely reflect actual troops … they would be managed quite separately from the workers there.”
Kim also put the likelihood of DPRK nations receiving refugee protection in Russia as “very low.”
“I believe only one or so application was approved for asylum” in the 2010s, she said.
In the 2004-2014 period, 211 North Koreans reportedly filed for permanent asylum in Russia and only two received it. 90 received temporary asylum for a period of just a year.
Kim of NKDB said publishing data on DPRK asylum seekers allows Moscow to maintain the cover that it is “abiding by the obligations to go through refugee status determination.”
“I think what Russia might be saying is that, yes, we make these mechanisms available to North Korean nationals,” she suggested. “However, upon determining their circumstances, we find they don’t meet the criteria.”
The MVD is set to release data for Q3 in February. However, political sensitivities appear to have led some parts of the Russian government to refrain from releasing data, with the Russian Federal Security Service abruptly stopping publication of border crossing statistics on DPRK nationals this year.
Edited by Bryan Betts
9. South Korea denies rift over Unification Ministry's U.S. talks
Summary:
Seoul’s presidential office denied reports of a serious rift between the unification and foreign ministries after unification said it would skip a Dec. 16 U.S.-ROK consultation on north Korea. Spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said views may differ but it is not “conflict,” and the government is still seeking dialogue channels.
Comment. I think it is hard to deny just given the public statements, especially by the Minister of Unification and his staff.
World News Dec. 15, 2025 / 11:32 PM / Updated Dec. 15, 2025 at 11:32 PM
South Korea denies rift over Unification Ministry's U.S. talks
By Asia Today and translated by UPI
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2025/12/15/korea-ministry-unification-foreign-affairs/1141765855062/
Presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung attends a press conference at the presidential office in Seoul, South Korea, 16 July 2025. File Photo by EPA/YONHAP
Dec. 15 (Asia Today) -- South Korea's presidential office on Monday denied reports of conflict between the ministries of unification and foreign affairs after the Unification Ministry said it would not attend an upcoming regular South Korea-U.S. consultation on North Korea policy coordination.
Presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung told reporters at the presidential office in Seoul that even if there are "slightly different opinions," it is "difficult to describe the situation as conflict at this point."
Kang said the government is exploring "various methods" to open channels for dialogue with North Korea, adding that the process remains "frustrating" as efforts to establish communication continue.
The Unification Ministry earlier said it would not participate in the Dec. 16 consultation led by the Foreign Ministry because the meeting with the U.S. side concerns follow-up discussions tied to a "joint fact sheet," rather than broader talks on current diplomatic issues between Seoul and Washington.
The ministry said it would hold separate consultations with the United States if needed and maintained that it remains in close coordination with relevant ministries and the U.S. on North Korea policy.
The Unification Ministry has also expressed concern that the regular consultations could function like the South Korea-U.S. Working Group created in 2018 under the Moon Jae-in administration, which coordinated issues such as North Korean denuclearization but was criticized in South Korea for constraining inter-Korean exchanges.
- Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI
© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.
10. Kim Ju-ae Precedes Kim Jong-un at Kangdong Factory Event
Summary:
north Korea’s KCNA reported that Kim Jong-un attended the completion ceremony for new local factories and a service center in Kangdong County near Pyongyang, accompanied by his daughter Kim Ju-ae and wife Ri Sol-ju. State media highlighted Kim Ju-ae walking ahead of Kim and appearing prominently in photo coverage, signaling her rising public profile. The event showcased the “local development 20×10 policy,” with multiple completion ceremonies held nationwide as the regime accelerates projects ahead of the 9th Party Congress next year. Kim framed the drive as a sacred, people-centered mission and pledged an unprecedented tempo of innovation and construction.
Comment: Or is she just a young child walking ahead of his parents? Do we have to read into everything she does or doesn't do (Of course we do because there is so little information coming out of the north).
Kim Ju-ae Precedes Kim Jong-un at Kangdong Factory Event
North Korea's '20×10 Policy' Drives Nationwide Factory Completions Ahead of 9th Party Congress
By Kim Min-seo
Published 2025.12.16. 09:55
Updated 2025.12.16. 13:29
https://www.chosun.com/english/north-korea-en/2025/12/16/VSFHPKCJ3BAPVGMLWOIOQZFM4I/
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attended the completion ceremony of a local factory and comprehensive service center in Kangdong County on the outskirts of Pyongyang alongside his daughter Kim Ju-ae.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attends the completion ceremony for the Gangdong County local industrial factory and comprehensive service center on the outskirts of Pyongyang on the 15th, cuts the ribbon, and inspects the food factory and comprehensive service center, expressing satisfaction, the Korean Central News Agency reports on the 16th. The photo shows Kim Jong-un's daughter Kim Ju-ae heading toward the building ahead of Kim Jeong Eun-bo. /Yonhap, Korean Central News Agency
Rodong Sinmun published 53 photos of the event attended by Kim Jong-un and his daughter on the 16th. In the released images, Kim Ju-ae was seen walking ahead of Kim Jeong-eun-bo when entering the factory building. At a product exhibition hall constructed in the local factory, a scene was captured where Kim Ju-ae turned her back and browsed other displayed products while Kim Jong-un spoke to officials. Kim Jong-un’s wife, Ri Sol-ju, also attended the event, but photos only showed her observing Kim Ju-ae sitting with Kim Jong-un in front of a computer monitor, seemingly engaged in some work.
North Korea is building factories across local regions in accordance with the ‘local development 20×10 policy’ strongly promoted by Kim Jong-un. The pace has accelerated ahead of the 9th Party Congress scheduled for early next year, with completion ceremonies held simultaneously at five locations nationwide on the 16th alone. Kim Jong-un and his daughter visited the factory in Kangdong County, while Secretary Cho Yong-won traveled to Sinjang County in South Pyongan Province, Secretary Pak Jong-chon to Nangrim County in Jagang Province, Party Munitions Industry Department Chief Jo Chun-ryong to Daegwan County in North Pyongan Province, and Party Propaganda and Agitation Department Chief Chu Chang-il to Buryeong County in North Hamgyong Province.
During his tour of the Kangdong County food factory and comprehensive service center, Kim Jong-un stated, “The task of achieving a leap forward in local regions and delivering the noble realities of revival and civilization to the people is a sacred mission that our party, serving the people, must consistently advance without the slightest stagnation or wavering.” He added, “The beneficiaries and enjoyers of the new-era local development policy are none other than the local people,” and emphasized, “We will continue to drive forward an era of dynamism that transcends all precedents and limits in the breadth and depth of innovation and creation.”
North Korea held the 13th plenary meeting of the 8th Workers’ Party Central Committee from the 9th to the 11th and finalized 20 cities and counties where construction projects will be carried out next year under the ‘local development 20×10 policy.’
11. Editorial: People Power Party's 'Yoon Again' Push Risks Existential Crisis
Summary:
A Chosun Ilbo editorial argues the People Power Party is courting an existential crisis by doubling down on a “Yoon Again” posture instead of widening its coalition. It cites internal discipline moves against Kim Jong-hyeok for urging an apology over martial law and a break with the hardline faction, portraying party leadership as punishing dissent rather than addressing public concerns. The piece says leadership choices and reopened probes are inflaming factional warfare and pushing the party toward ideological extremism. With approval stuck in the low-to-mid 20 percent range and weak support among moderates in the capital region, the editorial warns the party risks becoming electorally irrelevant.
Comment: I do not want to delve into or meddle in South Korea politics but we must observe them for their impact on the ROK/US alliance. I do have to question the thinking of PPP members who think they can rehabilitate the reputation of Yoon and somehow return him to power. It is probably time for a major party dissolution and reorganization.
Editorial: People Power Party's 'Yoon Again' Push Risks Existential Crisis
Internal conflicts, stagnant approval ratings highlight flawed direction as party faces survival questions
By The Chosunilbo
Published 2025.12.17. 00:10
https://www.chosun.com/english/opinion-en/2025/12/17/NGZOYIZZ25EG7HRLHKVLPTXNPQ/
On the 16th, People Power Party Party Audit Committee Chair Lee Ho-seon explains at the party's central office in Yeouido, Seoul, the decision to recommend a two-year suspension of party membership for former Supreme Council member Kim Jong-hyeok. /Yonhap
The People Power Party (PPP) disciplinary audit committee requested on the 16th that the party’s ethics committee impose a severe penalty of a “two-year suspension of party membership rights” against former senior member Kim Jong-hyeok. Kim, classified as pro-Han Dong-hoon, had demanded an apology for the martial law and a break with the “Yoon Again” faction, which the committee deemed a violation of the party constitution and regulations. The disciplinary reasons included accusations that he “compared the party to an extreme regime” and “defamed PPP leader Jang Dong-hyeok.” The committee emphasized that Kim should face severe punishment for criticizing the party leadership, which has not properly apologized for the martial law even after over a year.
Lee Ho-seon, the disciplinary audit committee chair appointed by Leader Jang, has reopened an investigation into the “party member bulletin board incident” from a year ago. The controversy involves allegations that the family of former representative Han Dong-hoon posted critical remarks about former President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife on the party’s bulletin board. This renewed probe has intensified internal conflict within the PPP, and it is known to have contributed to the absurd martial law by intertwining with the special counsel investigation into former first lady Kim Keon-hee. Despite the lack of benefit to the party, Lee recently announced findings suggesting, “The former representative’s family posted the remarks.” On the 15th, Lee used extreme rhetoric, stating, “If an ox kills a person, the ox must be stoned to death.” The next day, he demanded severe disciplinary action against Kim.
Leader Jang appointed Jang Ye-chan, a former youth senior member who has defended former President Yoon, as deputy director of the Yeouido Research Institute. Deputy Director Jang has attacked PPP lawmakers demanding party reform as “traitors.” The PPP leadership is increasingly veering toward extremism rather than expanding its base.
The PPP’s approval rating remains stagnant in the low to mid-20% range. In the capital region, it barely reaches the 10% range among moderates. Despite the Democratic Party’s judicial intimidation, unconstitutional legislation, real estate policy reversals, and alleged ties to the Unification Church, the PPP has not gained sympathy but faces indifference. This reflects the party’s fundamentally flawed direction. Even as approval ratings prove this, a PPP senior member claimed, “The polling method is inaccurate.” Such remarks border on delusional self-victory.
At a PPP lawmakers’ discussion on the same day, an Incheon mayor from the party stated, “Public sentiment is, ‘The Democratic Party is unstable, but the PPP is even less trustworthy and cannot be supported.’” One lawmaker added, “Considering the capital region, we cannot avoid a sense of crisis about whether our party can survive.” If the PPP leadership continues rushing toward “Yoon Again,” the party’s existential crisis will become a reality.
12. N. Korean military orders XI Corps officers to quell unrest over Russia deployment before winter drills
Summary:
Daily NK reports that north Korea’s elite XI Corps, tied to troop deployments to Russia, is running intensified political indoctrination ahead of winter exercises to suppress growing unease among soldiers. Senior officers were ordered to attend a late November lecture after internal security reporting flagged agitation fueled by outside information about casualties and prisoners. The corps then directed two ideological sessions per week, praising deployed troops as heroes and framing loyalty as the warrior’s supreme duty. The lecture warned that capture is betrayal, urged “honorable death” over surrender, and threatened lifelong stigma for families. Despite the messaging, fear and dread reportedly persist.
Comment: This bears close watch. Will we see a breakdown among the three chains of control in the military? recall what are the two conditions that will lead to regime collapse - the loss of central government effectiveness and the loss of coherency and support of the military. Are we seeing early indications of the potential for the loss of coherency of the military?
Who in the ROK and US IC and military are observing for the conditions and indicators of internal instability and regime collapse? Is there sufficient priority for this analysis?
N. Korean military orders XI Corps officers to quell unrest over Russia deployment before winter drills
Officers instructed to warn that prisoners become propaganda pawns and families bear shame, but troops remain "weighed down with fear" about their fate
dailynk.com
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un observing Storm Corps training in 2013. (Rodong Sinmun)
North Korea’s elite XI Corps, which accounts for the bulk of soldiers deployed to Russia, held a lecture for senior officers aimed at quelling internal unrest ahead of winter military exercises.
A source in South Pyongan province told Daily NK recently that the XI Corps’ political department ordered all senior officers to attend the lecture on Nov. 29 based on pre-exercise materials distributed by the General Political Bureau of the Korean People’s Army.
“The military’s state security department has reported occasional indications of agitation among soldiers in the Storm Corps who have heard news from the outside world about the troops deployed to Russia. The lecture was held to urge (officers) to take concerted measures to defuse any ideological or psychological tension that might manifest among troops of the Storm Corps,” the source said.
The “concerted measures” in question refer to holding two political or ideological lectures per week during the winter exercises. “These lectures are supposed to tug on soldiers’ heartstrings by honoring the heroic mettle of the soldiers deployed to Russia, including those who died,” the source added.
According to the source, the lecture stressed the importance of boosting loyalty by proclaiming the sacrifice of North Korean troops deployed to Russia and the need to subdue agitation among the troops by reiterating that “fighting for the glory of the fatherland is the true path of the warrior.”
Lectures warn prisoners become propaganda pawns, families bear shame
“A warrior who is taken prisoner may have saved his skin, but he’s as good as dead,” the lecturer said, in an indirect reference to two North Korean soldiers sent to Russia who were taken prisoner by Ukraine.
According to the lecturer, the soldiers had already been exposed in the press and had flagrantly revealed military secrets they ought to have taken to the grave. “Even if these soldiers were to return alive, they forfeited their eternal glory the moment they abandoned the bosom of the DPRK,” the lecturer declared.
“If they had blown themselves up, they would have gone down as heroes whose names would be remembered in the fatherland. Those who choose to betray the cause are worse than dogs, and their families will bear that shame for the rest of their lives. The only choice on the battlefield is an honorable death,” the lecturer said.
“The political department of the corps command noted that the winter exercises are a time when soldiers need to shore up their ideological commitment and instructed officers to overtly warn soldiers during the two weekly lectures that any soldiers taken prisoner instantly become pawns in the enemy’s propaganda,” the source said.
These two weekly lectures are currently being held, but the troops of the XI Corps apparently don’t feel the ideological conviction the lectures are supposed to instill. Instead, the air is filled with anxiety and dread.
“Rumors are still going around about the conditions of the deployed troops. Now that many deployed soldiers have returned in body bags and the existence of prisoners has been officially recognized, soldiers are weighed down with fear about their own fate,” the source said.
Read in Korean
dailynk.com
13. Public trials surge in Pyongsong as N. Korea tightens control before Ninth Party Congress
Summary:
Daily NK reports a sharp rise in public trials in Pyongsong, staged in the municipal party committee square to impose “quiet terror” and tighten discipline ahead of next year’s Ninth Party Congress. Authorities are targeting contraband sales, unauthorized distribution of controlled goods, and foreign-currency transactions, forcing accused citizens to confess in public as a warning to others. Residents see the trials as a fear-based control measure responding to growing economic discontent and ideological “deviation.” Market vendors are especially alarmed: foreign currency is embedded in everyday trade, so arrests feel arbitrary, and confiscations plus heavy fines can erase months of earnings, making fines more feared than prison.
Comment: Can you say "draconian population and resources control measures?" It is all about control. Physical control, political control, and ideological control. And we should never forget to ask and answer the question: Whis KJU more afraid of? The ROK and US combined militaries or the Korean people in the north? We should all know it is the Korean people in the north especially when they armed with information. That is the first existential threat to the regime.
Public trials surge in Pyongsong as N. Korea tightens control before Ninth Party Congress
Market vendors say fines running into hundreds of thousands of won wipe out months of earnings, making financial penalties more frightening than prison time
dailynk.com
Pyongsong's city center. (Bjørn Christian Tørrissen)
Several trials have been held in Pyongsong’s party committee square over the past two months, with authorities targeting contraband sales, unauthorized distribution and foreign currency transactions to instill “quiet terror” and reinforce discipline ahead of next year’s major political event.
“Several public trials have been held in the square in front of the municipal party committee building in Pyongsong over the past two months. People have been paying close attention to these public trials, which bring people on stage to confess their wrongdoing,” a source in South Pyongan province told Daily NK recently.
“The government describes the sale of contraband, the unauthorized distribution of controlled goods and the ‘non-socialist’ circulation of foreign currency as being ‘phenomena that undermine socialist discipline.’ For that reason, the authorities have been more strictly policing such activities and making more offenders confess their crimes in public,” the source went on to say.
Public trials for all kinds of crimes are regarded as an effective measure of fear-based public control. These trials send the message that such actions will not be tolerated.
As for the recent increase in public trials in Pyongsong, North Koreans generally think the regime is attempting to instill internal discipline before the Ninth Party Congress. Given the increase of social, including ideological deviation and economic discontent, the regime appears to be tightening the reins to keep the public obedient and orderly before this large-scale political event.
“The regime is obviously determined to reinforce discipline before the Ninth Party Congress and will keep up those efforts until the event. I get the feeling they’re deliberately holding public trials over minor infractions to spread ‘quiet terror,'” the source said.
Market vendors fear fines more than prison time
Pyongsong residents have recently been gossiping about the public trial of a market vendor of soybean oil. The vendor, who dealt in large quantities of oil, was nabbed for casually accepting foreign currency while selling oil at the market.
The regime appears to be strictly policing any individuals who accept foreign currency in exchange for goods at the country’s informal markets.
“It would be hard to find any big-time merchants who don’t have any dealings in foreign currency. Since pretty much all market business is tied to foreign currency, frequent arrests are another cause of concern at the markets,” the source said.
The crackdown on foreign currency transactions between individuals is reportedly continuing at marketplaces. Rather than criminal prosecution, enforcers are focusing on imposing financial pain by confiscating the cash in the transaction. Those forfeitures have serious consequences for the people involved, the source said.
But what market vendors fear the most is a fine. When their sales are already so meager, a criminal fine—which can run in the hundreds of thousands of won—can wreck their livelihood.
“A single fine can wipe out a couple months’ worth of earnings. Nowadays, vendors say they’re more scared of fines than prison time,” the source said.
The source noted that the number of instructions, guidance and warnings that vendors receive from the market management office has been gradually on the rise.
“The management office’s constant nagging is wearing out vendors,” the source said.
Read in Korean
dailynk.com
14. Top security adviser to discuss with US about Korea's push to build nuclear-powered subs
Summary:
National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac says he will visit Washington to press follow-up on the Lee–POTUS summit, focusing on South Korea’s bid for U.S. approval to build nuclear-powered submarines plus uranium enrichment and spent-fuel reprocessing. He will also consult on peninsula peace, alliance coordination, and options to reopen dialogue with north Korea.
Comment: How will the submarine issue affect the alliance in the long term?
Top security adviser to discuss with US about Korea's push to build nuclear-powered subs - The Korea Times
The Korea Times · ListenListenText SizePrint
- Published Dec 16, 2025 11:27 am KST
https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/foreignaffairs/northkorea/20251216/top-security-adviser-to-discuss-with-us-about-koreas-push-to-build-nuclear-powered-subs
National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac answers reporters' questions before departing for Washington at Incheon International Airport, Tuesday. Yonhap
National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac said Tuesday that he plans to discuss with U.S. counterparts about South Korea's push to build nuclear-powered submarines and other follow-up measures to the summit between President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump in late October.
Wi made the remarks as he was set to depart for Washington, adding that the agenda on his visit to the United States also included Seoul's drive to secure uranium enrichment and spent nuclear fuel reprocessing capabilities.
The trip comes about a month after the allies released a joint fact sheet outlining trade and security agreements reached during the second Lee-Trump summit in South Korea's southeastern city of Gyeongju on Oct. 29, ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.
With regard to the U.S. approval for South Korea to build nuclear-powered submarines, Wi said he "plans to discuss how the U.S. side is being prepared."
"There are issues related to (U.S.) Congress to push for nuclear-powered submarines, so I will look at those issues as well," Wi told reporters.
"I think it is time to give fresh momentum to working-level consultations on the agreements from the Korea-U.S. summit," Wi said. "We will share the preparations and developments we have made so far and assess where the two sides should head next."
The presidential National Security Office in Seoul has formed three task force teams to prepare consultations on South Korea's push to develop nuclear-powered submarines, secure uranium enrichment and spent fuel reprocessing capabilities, and coordinate on defense budget matters.
Wi also said he plans to hold consultations with U.S. officials on peace on the Korean Peninsula and ways to resume dialogue with North Korea.
During their two summits, Lee expressed hope that Trump would play a "peacemaker" role on the peninsula, while suggesting South Korea act as a "pacemaker" to support those efforts.
"We will have detailed consultations on how to coordinate these roles and the direction going forward," he said. "Through that process, we hope to explore ways to bring North Korea back to the talks and the process of ease tensions."
His trip comes after the White House recently released a new National Security Strategy that makes no mention of North Korea, raising questions in Seoul about whether the issue may be receiving less attention under the Trump administration.
Both Lee and Trump have expressed their desire to resume dialogue with Pyongyang, but it remains uncertain whether the North would respond to dialogue overtures.
The Korea Times · ListenListenText SizePrint
15. Trump-Kim summit likelier in 2026, with Seoul still left in cold
Summary:
A Trump–Kim summit in 2026 is increasingly plausible, as both U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un share some interest in renewing high-level talks, potentially leveraging sanctions relief and strategic signaling to rekindle dialogue after years of impasse. However, Pyongyang’s deeper alignment with China and Russia, and its ongoing “hostile two-state” stance toward Seoul, mean inter-Korean engagement remains unlikely even if U.S.–DPRK diplomacy advances—leaving South Korea somewhat sidelined in the process.
Comment: Fears of Korea passing? But I remain skeptical that any talks will occur.
Trump-Kim summit likelier in 2026, with Seoul still left in cold
koreaherald.com · Ji Da-gyum · December 16, 2025
https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10637667
Trump’s April 2026 China visit could reopen window, but sanctions relief, Ukraine war are pivotal variables
US President Donald Trump (right) and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un meet for a social dinner on Feb. 27, 2019, at the Sofitel Legend Metropole hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam, as part of their second summit meeting. (White House)
The odds of a North Korea-US summit in 2026 appear higher, but a revival of inter-Korean dialogue is unlikely in the near future, according to a 2026 outlook by a government-affiliated research institute.
Pyongyang’s deepening ties with China and Russia are blunting its incentive to engage with Seoul, even as the US-North Korea impasse that persisted through 2025 does not necessarily have to carry into 2026, the Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security said in its annual forecast Tuesday.
“The likelihood of a renewed leader-level meeting has increased to some extent, with the two leaders sharing common ground, including a mutual desire for a summit, a framework of peaceful coexistence and the relegation of the denuclearization agenda to a later stage,” the report said about a potential Trump-Kim summit.
In particular, US President Trump’s scheduled visit to China in April 2026 could open a window to revive Trump-Kim talks, dormant since June 2019, though such a summit would not necessarily take place in China.
Briefing on their outlook, the authors said Kim’s political calculus would be shaped first and foremost by the scope of potential US sanctions relief, and, secondarily, by progress in President Trump’s bid to end Russia’s war in Ukraine as well as any accompanying shifts in US-Russia relations.
Lee Sang-sook, a professor at IFANS, noted that the “most critical factor is the extent of sanctions relief" in addition to the Russia factor.
"The US can sound out the extent of possible sanctions relief, and if Pyongyang finds it acceptable, US-North Korea dialogue stands a good chance of resuming," Lee told reporters. "Depending on the substance of discussions between Russia and the US and how the situation surrounding an end to the war in Ukraine unfolds, the chances of North Korea engaging in US-North Korea dialogue would rise compared with this year."
Echoing that view, Min Jeong-hun, also a professor at IFANS, said that certain signals or messages coming from the US — particularly those suggesting that talks could begin with a nuclear freeze — could be sufficient to revive US-North Korea nuclear diplomacy.
“In that context, the role of the South Korean government is crucial,” Min added, referring to the Lee Jae Myung administration's role as a “pacemaker."
Gradual path to denuclearization
The report said that as "South Korea and the US are expected to craft a more realistic denuclearization process for the Korean Peninsula to draw North Korea back to the negotiating table," the Lee administration’s phased approach could provide a viable roadmap.
“It appears increasingly likely that Washington and Pyongyang could flesh out a mutually acceptable denuclearization approach, potentially anchored in South Korea’s three-stage roadmap: freeze, reduction and dismantlement,” the report said.
The Lee administration’s phased approach departs from negotiations that demand an upfront commitment to the “complete denuclearization of North Korea,” framing denuclearization instead as the result of a step-by-step negotiating process.
“This approach presents gradual denuclearization as a realistic alternative — one in which reductions in North Korea’s nuclear and missile capabilities and corresponding measures are pursued simultaneously and in parallel," the report added.
North Korea’s incentives shift
However, the report said that “the resumption of inter-Korean talks is unlikely for a considerable period even if North Korea-US dialogue and contact resumes.”
“In 2026, prospects for the resumption of inter-Korean relations remain low due to North Korea’s continued adherence to its ‘hostile two-state doctrine’ and the prolonged Russia-Ukraine war,” the report read.
“With negotiations to terminate Russia’s war in Ukraine expected to remain stalled in 2026, Pyongyang is likely to conclude that improving inter-Korean relations offers limited strategic or economic payoff," the report read, noting the benefits North Korea has derived from sending troops to support Russia’s war effort.
More broadly, the reemergence of bloc-style confrontation between South Korea, the US and Japan on one side and North Korea, China and Russia on the other appears to have disincentivized North Korea from engaging with South Korea.
Ties between Beijing and Pyongyang have also been on an upward trajectory since the North Korea-China summit in September 2025, with China "reassessing North Korea’s value as a strategic buffer amid intensifying US-China strategic competition."
“North Korea has found security and economic escape routes within the emerging Eurasian ‘new Cold War’ configuration, as well as through its deepening ties with Russia and China,” the report said.
North Korea will essentially be able to "seek to secure multiple channels for circumventing sanctions by improving relations with China and Russia.”
However, the report also highlighted that Russia-North Korea ties "are projected to shift in line with how long the war in Ukraine persists and how the international community responds."
dagyumji@heraldcorp.com
koreaherald.com · Ji Da-gyum · December 16, 2025
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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