Quotes of the Day:

“The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him.”

– Niccolo Machiavelli

"Every strike brings me closer to the next home run." 

– Babe Ruth

"Intellectual humility is the acceptance of individual limits of individual knowledge, including your own, and that no person can ever know enough to rule over others in confidence."

– A core principle of classical liberalism

1. Rival protests take place in downtown Seoul over Yoon impeachment

2. South Korea’s Crisis Is Nowhere Near Over

3. High body count may not deter North Korean forces fighting for Russia in Ukraine

4. Why North Korean troops are proving a nightmare for Russia

5.  S. Korea successfully launches 3rd spy satellite into orbit

6. N. Korea slams S. Korea-U.S.-Japan talks on Indo-Pacific as 'insult' to peace

7. U.S. Reduces Samsung’s Grant for Texas Chip-Making Project

8. Top diplomats of S. Korea, U.S. agree on holding in-person meeting at 'early date'

9. Hanwha completes US$100 mln acquisition of Philly Shipyard of U.S.

10. Editorial: Democratic Party's reckless impeachment tactics undermine justice

11. South Korea wins €1.9 billion nuclear renovation deal in Romania

12. First public appearance of fake ID cards of North Korean troops deployed to Russia

13. N. Korean leader calls for stronger rural economies

14. 'The Republic is in Hibernation' Middle School Graffiti Shocks North Korea

15. North Korean Soldiers Confused by Ukrainian Drones: “Keep Flying, Keep Flying… Boom, Boom”

16. Smoke and secrets: Inside the North Korean Embassy’s hasty flight from Damascus

1.  Rival protests take place in downtown Seoul over Yoon impeachment

​

This is the first report I am seeing about rival protests though traditionally anti-government protests always get more coverage than pro-government.. As I learned this week protests are only taking place on Saturdays (see my report below of my travel around Seoul this week). What was striking was how many signs of support for President Yoon there were along Itaewon-ro and around the Yongsan Presidential offices that spread around the Yongsan US military garrison as well.

See a photo comparison of the pro and anti protestors at the link. Note that in the report there is a number specified for the anti-Yoon protestors but there is not an estimate for the pro-Yoon supporters. The photos look like large numbers for both. The report and the photos confirm what I learned from taxi drivers and Koreans on the street this week. - i.e., festival like atmosphere.

https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2024/12/281_388904.html

​My report form Seoul:

Today I traveled around Seoul to get a sense of how the city is reacting to the political turmoil. The bottom line is that life goes on. Seoul seemed completely normal and it appeared to be business as usual. I traveled from the downtown area City Hall and the old Blue House. A taxi driver told me that over the past couple of Saturdays the road from Namdaemun gate to Kyungbuk Palace was completely filled with people with the police blocking cars from entering the area but otherwise the police just allowed the protestors to march and chant and there has been no violence. One person on the street told me it was like a festival in the streets and there was no fighting among the people or with the police. I traveled to Youido and drove around the National Assembly building area as close as I could get. It was pretty empty. The streets were lined with Korean flags hanging from the lampposts just like it was 8.15 Liberation Day. There were police barricades but I only found a lone woman standing near the main entrance with her sign. That was the only protestor I found. Again I was told that protests only take place on Saturdays (unlike 1987 the students remain in classes and only attend the protests on Saturday. The Yongsan Presidential Office area was quite different. There were also no protestors but the taxi driver was shocked because on both sides of Itaewon-Ro were flower displays in support of president Yoon all with the words "FIghting" admonishing president Yoon to fight impeachment. The flower displays were along the entire route and circled around the west side of the US Army Garrison Yongsan and then again on the south side of the garrison at the old Ichon Gate which is now an entrance to the Yongsan Presidential Office area. One of the most interesting points I heard from different people is that no one wants Yoon to remain as president. But at the same time no one I talked to from regular people on the street and taxi drivers to the national security professionals I met wanted Lee Jae Myung as president either. Everyone wants someone else to be president, someone new with all the political baggage but no one could say how that person is. Again, my overall assessment is that life is calm, people are going on about their lives, there is no panic, and they are waiting for the political process to play out which could take months.

Rival protests take place in downtown Seoul over Yoon impeachment

The Korea Times · December 21, 2024

Anti-Yoon Suk Yeol supporters stage a rally near Gyeongbok Palace in Seoul, Dec. 21. Yonhap

Massive rallies took place in downtown Seoul on Saturday either calling for the swift ouster of President Yoon Suk Yeol, or opposing it, over his martial law declaration.

A civic group demanding Yoon's immediate resignation held a rally near Gwanghwamun Square, which brought together at least 300,000 people, a count claimed by the group.

Holding K-pop light sticks, the protesters urged the authorities to immediately arrest Yoon for his shocking, albeit short-lived, declaration of martial law on Dec. 3, which led to the National Assembly's vote to impeach him last Saturday.

Yoon's presidential powers were suspended, but he remains in office pending a decision by the Constitutional Court.

Some 1 kilometer away from the protest venue, conservative groups launched a separate massive rally in support of Yoon.

Waving the South Korean and American flags, hundreds of thousands of the participants called for his reinstatement.

No clashes have been reported between the two sides, according to police officers.

Braving the cold, many across the country also took to the streets in protest of Yoon.

In the southwestern city of Gwangju, an association of 175 civic groups held a large-scale protest calling for Yoon's impeachment and the dismantlement of the ruling People Power Party. (Yonhap)

Pro-Yoon Suk Yeol supporters stage a rally near Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul, Dec. 21. Yonhap

The Korea Times · December 21, 2024

2.  South Korea’s Crisis Is Nowhere Near Over

​I was curious to see if 12/12: The Day on the Korean Air flight from Seoul but it was not shown.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/12.12:_The_Day

Excerpts:

So far, America’s reaction to the political crisis in Seoul has been subdued and cautious; in a statement, it simply emphasized the importance of democratic resilience and rule of law. The European Union was somewhat more forceful, urging a quick and democratic resolution to the crisis, suggesting the importance it places on South Korea’s supply chains and support for Ukraine.

For many Koreans who have known only democracy, Yoon’s declaration of martial law introduced them to the country’s history as a military dictatorship. Instead of a K-drama, the No. 1 Korean title on Netflix earlier this month was a film about the last time martial law was declared, in 1979. Apparently real life—both past and present—supplied more than enough excitement.

South Korea’s Crisis Is Nowhere Near Over

Ongoing political chaos will entrench the country’s economic and social problems—and leave Seoul woefully unprepared for Trump.

By Victor Cha

The Atlantic · by Victor Cha · December 20, 2024

The past two weeks in South Korean politics have featured enough twists to fill a Netflix K-drama. President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law, shocking even some of his own advisers. In a late-night session, the national legislature overturned it. A few days later, the besieged president begged forgiveness from his people, while a corruption scandal engulfed the first lady. Legislators voted to impeach Yoon last weekend and suspend his powers, which have been transferred to a caretaker government run by the prime minister. For now, Yoon remains in office; the country’s highest court will decide whether he can stay.

Korea’s national crisis is far from over. Government dysfunction will likely last well into the new year, entrenching the country’s economic and social problems. The crisis also threatens to undo the substantial progress that Korea has made in strengthening ties with the West, and to leave Seoul woefully unprepared to address Donald Trump’s return to the U.S. presidency, with all the dangers he poses to Korean security.

The proximate seeds of this calamity were planted last spring. The opposition trounced Yoon’s ruling party in national elections in April. Since then, Yoon’s political nemesis, Lee Jae-myung, has helped ensure that the legislature blocks all of the president’s bills, including the national budget. (Lee faces corruption charges, including for allegedly funneling money to North Korea, and an appellate-court decision will determine whether he can run to replace Yoon. He has denied any wrongdoing.) Meanwhile, Yoon’s wife, Kim Keon-hee, became the subject of growing public outrage over allegations of accepting lavish gifts. On December 3, in an apparent attempt to crush his political opposition and silence his wife’s critics, Yoon declared martial law.

Read: South Korea’s warning for Washington

But Yoon’s decision also reflected deeper structural issues. The Korean constitution allows presidents to sit for a single five-year term, with no possibility of reelection. As a result, about halfway through their tenure, both their own party and the opposition tend to distance themselves from the president as they begin looking for a successor. This process had already begun for Yoon, who took office in the spring of 2022. Alienated and unpopular in the second half of their term, many Korean presidents have sought to clamp down on opponents and consolidate power, with little regard for how the public will respond. After all, they have no reelection campaign to worry about.

That said, even at the height of their powers, Korean presidents rarely have a popular mandate to govern. That’s because, for more than three decades, one-third of the country’s electorate has identified as conservative, one-third as progressive, and one-third as moderate or undecided. Yoon, for example, is a conservative who won election by less than 1 percent and enjoyed no political honeymoon before his approval ratings plummeted. He was deeply disliked long before declaring martial law and apparently saw no other way to reverse his political fortunes.

Presidents are also vulnerable from the start of their term because of elements in Korean culture that promote a zero-sum view of politics. The country’s deep ideological divides contribute to this problem, but it’s also rooted in a concept called han, which is central to many Koreans’ emotional identity. Loosely translated as “resentment for past injustices,” han compels each side to not just beat the other, but destroy it. For example, opposition forces, led by Lee, have ruthlessly attacked the first lady, stirring mass protests and impugning her character. Government forces, meanwhile, are expected to pursue their corruption case against Lee until he’s at least disqualified from running in the next election, if not imprisoned. And in addition to impeaching Yoon, the opposition has opened a criminal case against him for insurrection. Some of these prosecutions may well be justified, but Korea’s politicians are highly motivated to carry them out past the point of reason.

The next step in resolving the crisis falls to the Constitutional Court, which will have final say on Yoon’s impeachment. It has ruled on presidential ousters before. In 2004, the court overturned the impeachment of President Roh Moo-hyun, allowing him to finish his term. More recently, in 2017, it upheld the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye. The court has up to 180 days to render a decision on Yoon. Politics will inevitably play a role, as all parties jockey to fill the court’s three current vacancies with friendly judges. If none of the spots is filled, the dissenting opinion of only one judge will be enough to overturn the impeachment and reinstate Yoon as president.

In Korea’s history of political chaos, these impeachments hardly rank. Four of the country’s 13 presidents (including Park) have been jailed. One committed suicide after leaving office, one was shot in the head by his bodyguard, and one was forced into exile (in Hawaii) until his death. Some years ago, I attended an event where I saw three former U.S. presidents all in the same place, and I thought: This could never happen in Korea.

Government dysfunction has cost South Korea. The Korean stock market plummeted after Yoon’s declaration of martial law, and the national currency quickly depreciated. (The stock market has since recovered.) Those who would invest in South Korea now price in political instability, just as they do the security threat from North Korea. Other stubborn problems—low birth rates, underemployment among the college-educated, a doctors’ strike that has effectively halted elective medical procedures—have gone largely unaddressed. Korea’s power brokers are too busy fighting among themselves.

Anna Louie Sussman: The real reason South Koreans aren’t having babies

Domestic concerns may soon be the least of Korea’s worries. Trump’s imminent return to the White House will put the U.S.-Korea alliance to the test at a moment when Seoul has only a caretaker government in place and no election scheduled in the near term. Without a permanent leader making the case on Korea’s behalf, Trump may be more likely to follow through on his promise to impose tariffs. He may demand to renegotiate America’s standing agreements with Seoul that protect free trade and cost-sharing for defense. Perhaps more frightening, Trump could remove the nearly 30,000 U.S. ground troops in Korea—something he tried and failed to do during his first term. He might also rekindle his friendship with the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and make a peace deal over Seoul’s head. All of these things could happen very quickly. As one former senior Trump official told me, speaking about the coming administration on the condition of anonymity, “Things will change not just in the first 100 days, but in the first 100 hours.”

With so much on the line, South Korea will need its leaders to establish early contact with Trump. Indeed, that was Yoon’s plan: He was angling for a pre-inauguration Mar-a-Lago meeting last month. But now Korea has no elected leader to advocate for it in the first months of the new U.S. administration.

Yoon did enact some policies that were widely admired, and that linked his country more strongly to the world, particularly to the West. Under Yoon, South Korea improved relations with Japan, advanced trilateral cooperation with Japan and the U.S., joined the Chips 4 Alliance for semiconductor supply chains and export controls, invested in electric-vehicle-battery production in the United States, and supported Ukraine. Now these and other policies will be tainted by his impeachment and subject to partisan attacks, while Seoul likely retrenches on all fronts.

So far, America’s reaction to the political crisis in Seoul has been subdued and cautious; in a statement, it simply emphasized the importance of democratic resilience and rule of law. The European Union was somewhat more forceful, urging a quick and democratic resolution to the crisis, suggesting the importance it places on South Korea’s supply chains and support for Ukraine.

For many Koreans who have known only democracy, Yoon’s declaration of martial law introduced them to the country’s history as a military dictatorship. Instead of a K-drama, the No. 1 Korean title on Netflix earlier this month was a film about the last time martial law was declared, in 1979. Apparently real life—both past and present—supplied more than enough excitement.

The Atlantic · by Victor Cha · December 20, 2024

3. High body count may not deter North Korean forces fighting for Russia in Ukraine

I don't think Pyongyang has shown a high tolerance for casualties since 1950-53.  When have they suffered significant losses since the Korean War? But I agree with the premise which is the nature of a dictatorships that can control every aspect of society.

But Ideology, indoctroctrination, and isolation will only help for so long. And even though he has supposedly isolated all the families of the soldiers deployed to Russia, eventually information about what ha-pened to their loved ones will eventually spread. And the only information they may ever receive is that your loved one is never coming home. That will have compound effects over time. Kim knows it will have a negative effect on the regime which is why he has supposedly sought to isolate those families. This is another indication of the indirect effect of information getting into the north. Eventually information about casualties will spread throughout the north.

High body count may not deter North Korean forces fighting for Russia in Ukraine

Pyongyang has shown higher tolerance for wartime casualties, analysts say

washingtontimes.com · by Andrew Salmon

By - The Washington Times - Friday, December 20, 2024

SEOUL, South Korea — As North Korean troops storm into battle against Ukrainians in Russia, the high casualties they have reportedly suffered are receiving major attention, but the early losses may not be enough to change Pyongyang’s calculations about the value of the deployment, analysts said this week.

Using signal intercepts and drone and satellite imagery, intelligence agencies are closely studying the first large-scale engagements fought by the North Korean regime’s forces since the 1950-53 Korean War. Both the U.S. and Ukrainian governments have highlighted significant casualties suffered by the North Korean forces in their first engagements in Russia’s Kursk region.

Some early Western media accounts have focused heavily on the tally of dead and wounded — though no North Korean prisoners have been taken — rather than on how the North Korean troops have performed on the battlefield. A telephone call intercepted by Ukrainian intelligence indicated soaring casualties as Russia seeks to drive out a Ukrainian force that has seized and held land in Kursk since the summer.

“Yesterday there was a train with about 100 [wounded] people. Today there are 120,” a nurse at a Moscow hospital told her husband, a soldier, in the call, the Kyiv Independent reported Wednesday. “How many more are there? God only knows.”

She suggested that despite heavy losses, the North Koreans are crack troops: “Are they elite, or what, these Korean “We are freeing up certain wards for them.”

A day later, a senior U.S. official told the Associated Press North Koreans had suffered “a couple of hundred” casualties in their early operations, likely due to inexperience.

On the same day, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service told a parliamentary committee that of the 11,000 North Korean troops believed to be in Kursk, 1,000 had been wounded, including 100 dead, citing what NIS analysts said was unfamiliarity with drone warfare as one reason for the losses. The casualty toll was said to include senior officers.

According to a 2022 analysis by the combat research body the Dupuy Institute, casualty ratios in the Ukraine war are likely four to five soldiers wounded for every one killed. It noted that many commentators, apparently ignorant of medical advances and widespread use of 21st-century body armor, continue to cite the World War II casualty ratio of three-to-one.

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Analysts say Western experience with wartime casualties cannot be compared to how the Russian and North Korean publics view the losses, however. Democracies have lost patience for long wars, despite combat losses being, in a historical context, extremely low. Commanders are pressed to minimize risks to troops, even in conflicts against lightly-armed enemies.

But Russia’s war in Ukraine, now approaching its third year, is being conducted at a higher tempo than any Western militaries have fought in recent decades. Minimizing casualties is not a priority for Russian officers — and likely even less for North Koreans, and a high tolerance for losses means commanders can focus on battlefield objectives.

Military historians have noted that it took an authoritarian state — the Soviet Union — to smash the bulk of Nazi Germany’s land forces in World War II. The cost to Moscow — 27 million dead — was likely higher than any of Russia’s democratic allies could have tolerated.

Since then, Western public acceptance of operational risk and casualties has weakened, while the size of their armed forces has shrunk.

“The value of life has changed over time in conflict, and is connected to one’s heritage, cultural values and the size and scale of one’s military,” said a Seoul-based Western military officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “Nowadays, the value of life is much higher than it was: In Afghanistan, if a Chinook [troop-carrying helicopter] went down, it was mission failure.”

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In Ukraine, Western observers have denounced “meat-wave” Russian attacks that result in high losses in troops and gear, certain the approach is unsustainable. But despite the losses, Ukraine is on the defensive all along the 600-mile-plus front in eastern and southern Ukraine, while Russian troops continue to push forward despite their heavy losses.

A social culture that promotes nationalism and militarism, married to the Kremlin’s authoritarian governance, differentiates Russia from Western democracies. Similar factors are even stronger in the highly militarized, ultra-nationalistic fortress state of North Korea.

“North Korea is more authoritarian and much more of a dictatorship than Russia,” said Yang Uk, a security expert at Seoul’s Asan Institute.

Drone footage from Kursk shows troops thought to be North Koreans attacking across open ground, through heavy fire, in extended line formations. Video clips show small suicide drones hunting individual soldiers, while others show lines of bodies and the dead being evacuated by sled.

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Even so, military analysts say the troops appear well disciplined. Their assault waves are spaced, and they utilize the few bits of dark cover in the white landscape effectively.

In a war in which objectives are often taken only after weeks or months of carnage, a Russian report on Telegram stated the North Koreans seized the village of Plekhove with “lightning” speed.

“They are not afraid to die,” said Mr. Yang. “The price of life is cheap in North Korea and that is why they can do this kind of operation.”

North Korea’s 1.2 million-strong, conscripted military is a hugely important component among a population of 26 million. All indications are that troops fighting in Russia are both risk- and casualty-tolerant.

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“These soldiers might be better off dead — it will be good money for their families,” said Mr. Yang. “If you are just living in North Korea, fighting in a war may be kind of the only chance that you can get to make a fortune.”

• Andrew Salmon can be reached at asalmon@washingtontimes.com.

Copyright © 2024 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.

washingtontimes.com · by Andrew Salmon

4. Why North Korean troops are proving a nightmare for Russia

As an aside I would like to reiterate my past comments regarding Ukraine as a laboratory and nK gaining combat experience: Surely the nKPA can learn a lot from the fight in Ukraine. The question is can they take those lessons to train the nKPA in north Korea? When units do not conduct combat training more than twice a year how many of these lessons will they be able to transfer to the larger force and then conduct sustained training to infuse them throughout the nKPA? And yes combat experience is a positive effect (for those who survive) but again can they transmit the lessons of combat to a significant portion of the nKPA? And combat experience among 10,000 or so troops (assuming that many even eventually return) in a 6.5 million man army may not translate to a significant number. And while those 10,000 will have a combat experience advantage on Day 1 of a renewed Korean War, on Day 2 that will be equalized between north and South. And I would remind us that when we conducted both Just Cause and Desert Storm there were very few troops (near zero) at the tip of the spear who had combat experience from the last major war we fought (Vietnam). Most of the coabt experience were in the senior NCO and officer ranks not in the tactical maneuver frontline forces. I am reminded of HR McMaster's troop at 73 Easting destroying an Iraqi Brigade (in minutes) that had years of combat experience fighting the Iranians while Captain McMaster's troop might have had one combat experienced man - probably only his First Sergeant had been old enough to have served in Vietnam and that might be stretching it. I will take good hard sustained training over the north Koreans ideological training and the few soldiers who may have combat experience from Russia and Ukraine. On Day 1 the nkPA might have more combat experienced soldiers than the ROK military. But on Day 1 the ROK military will have the better trained force. And on Day 2 combat experience will be equalized and the ROK military will still have the superior trained Army.

What I am waiting for is to see the effects of the Ukrainian "I want to live" psychological operations campaign.

Why North Korean troops are proving a nightmare for Russia

Sending 11,000 soldiers to fight Ukraine was meant to strengthen ties between Kim Jong-un and Putin, but instead they’re ‘cannon fodder’

https://archive.ph/2024.12.21-092741/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/12/20/why-north-korean-troops-are-proving-a-nightmare-for-russia/

Iain Hollingshead

20 December 2024 6:00pm GMT

After two years of intense courtship, progressing from warm words to vital weapons, summits in Pyongyang to 11,000 soldiers on the ground in Russia, the burgeoning relationship between Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un was signed in blood this week when the first stories emerged of North Korean casualties on the Ukrainian battlefield.

On Monday, the GUR, Ukraine’s military intelligence agency, claimed that 30 North Koreans had been killed or wounded in fighting around the villages of Plekhovo, Vorobzha and Martynovka in the Kursk region – a figure echoed by a spokesman for the US National Security Council. On Thursday, Lee Sung-kwon, a South Korean MP who had been briefed by his country’s intelligence services, claimed that at least 100 North Korean soldiers had been killed in total, with a further 1,000 injured.

These reports are difficult to verify given the nature of the battlefield and the agenda of those involved. Neither Moscow nor Pyongyang will admit to the deployment of North Korean troops in the war against Ukraine, let alone to any casualties. However, the first combat operations by Korean troops since the Vietnam War are already yielding some interesting insights into the military strengths and weaknesses of the renewed alliance, as well as its wider diplomatic risks and opportunities.

70 year old tactics

Many have expressed surprise at the ostensible naivety of the North Korean troops under live fire for the first time. Unverified footage posted on Ukrainian social media shows soldiers of apparent Korean origin (although Russia’s Asian minorities also serve in its armed forces) attempting to hide behind trees in open, snowy fields while being mercilessly hunted by drones. A Facebook post by the 8th Special Forces regiment boasted of their “warm welcome for North Korean troops”.

“They don’t understand what’s happening,” one Ukrainian drone commander told The Washington Post. “We were very surprised, we had never seen anything like it – forty to fifty people running across a field. That’s a perfect target for artillery and Mavic [drone] operators. Russians never ran like that.”

Secret hospitals and burnt faces - Putin can no longer hide the truth about North Korea

Another drone operator in the Kursk region compared the “bizarre” experience to “playing a computer simulator on easy mode”, while a Ukrainian officer said the North Koreans were using the “same tactics as 70 years ago”.

Mark Cancian, a former colonel in the US Marine Corps and now a senior adviser to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), has also been speaking to Ukrainian officers. “I’m surprised that the North Koreans are being used in small groups,” he says. “If that’s true, they will indeed end up as cannon fodder.”

However, such tactics would not be wholly inconsistent with a Russian strategy that has relied more heavily on numerical advantage than innovation over the past two years. “Russia has long been deploying its elite forces as infantry in frontal assaults,” says Christina Harward, a Russia analyst at the Institute for the Study of War. “It’s unlikely that Russia would deploy North Korean forces any differently.”

Language barrier

It is also possible that the Russians felt they had little choice given the short period between the untested North Korean troops being waved off in a special ceremony by Kim in October and their call-up on the battlefield only two months later. Armed with false documents identifying them as Buryats, an Asian people from Siberia, one hundred words of rudimentary Russian and some hasty training in trench clearing, the Koreans appear far from ready for a battle-hardened Ukrainian enemy.

This impression has been strengthened by testimony from North Korean defectors, one of whom told Radio Free Europe this week that he agreed with the Ukrainian assessment that North Korean troops could suffer casualty rates of up to 90 per cent.

Ukraine: The LatestShareFollowMassacre in Russia: North Korean troops 'decimated' in frontal attack in Kursk 

December 16, 2024

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These casualties are likely to be exacerbated by the linguistic and operational challenges of a multinational deployment. Cancian was surprised to learn that the North Koreans are apparently being merged with Russian troops. “In the First World War, the USA insisted on their units operating together – and not being dispersed along the front, as the French wanted,” he says. “It’s hard enough to get the Americans and the Brits to understand each other and they have a common language. Russian and Korean are very different. It may be that the Russians do not have a great deal of confidence in the North Korean commanders.”

According to the GUR, it was this language barrier which led to a recent “friendly fire” incident in which eight Chechen soldiers were killed by North Korean soldiers. The South Korean intelligence services believe that “expendable” North Korean units are viewed as “more of a burden than an asset” by their Russian allies.

Elite Storm Corps

However, others strike a cautionary note about jumping to conclusions on the basis of limited battlefield contact.

“We don’t have enough information to assess the effectiveness of the Korean People’s Army’s integration with Russian forces in Kursk,” says Michael Madden, a North Korea expert at the Stimson Center in Washington. “We have heard the ‘cannon fodder’ talking point even before North Korean forces were in the theatre of operations. Measuring their effectiveness will take a bit more time. While the Ukrainians can lay claim to a North Korean body count, it is the first innings in Russia retaking Kursk.”

Similarly, Harward points out that Russian milbloggers have “claimed that the North Korean forces were able to seize settlements incredibly fast in Kursk Oblast” – although this is “likely part of information operations aimed at intimidating Ukrainian forces”.

There is also a risk of underestimating North Korean troops from the elite Storm Corps, a unit whose training includes breaking lightbulbs with their bare hands and clubbing their comrades’ shirtless torsos with wooden sticks.

“By and large, these are highly trained and highly indoctrinated troops,” says Madden. “They come from military units which are fully supplied in terms of food, clothing and equipment.”

Men in return for missile technology

So how might this military alliance play out in the long term?

“Allies inevitably get grumpy with each other, so there will be a political dimension, especially if the casualties start getting high,” says Cancian. “That may drive some adaptations, such as more training for the North Koreans or operating as complete units.”

Madden points out that this is only the first phase in North Korean-Russian cooperation. “Casualties might present short-term setbacks, but over the medium and long-term, this will bolster the relationship.”

Military might: With 1.3 million conscripts and 7.6 million reservists, North Korea is amply resourced to help Russia in future stages of the war Credit: AP

If needs be, there is no shortage of North Korean troops in a country with 1.3 million conscripts and 7.6 million reservists – even if Madden believes that it will be at least a year before Pyongyang increases its deployment. According to Ukrainian officials, a second battalion of North Korean troops has gathered in Russia’s neighbouring Belgorod region, potentially in preparation for an assault on Kharkiv.

“We cannot rule out the likelihood that additional troops will be deployed from other divisions,” says Dr Edward Howell, a lecturer in politics at Oxford University and the Korea Foundation Fellow at Chatham House. “If Russia has pledged to provide North Korea with advanced military and missile technology, as well as knowhow, in response for North Korea going ‘all in’ and sending manpower, then North Korea is likely to continue to deploy troops in order to reap these benefits, and ask Putin for more substantial concessions.”

The concessions already wrung out of Moscow reveals the extent to which these 11,000 North Korean soldiers are simply pawns in a wider geo-political war. Kim has shipped 20,000 containers of weapons to Russia, earning up to $5.5 billion for a country hit by American sanctions. Meanwhile, his provision of boots on the ground could bring in another $572 million per year in payments, shoring up his domestic position and giving his surviving soldiers 21st-century combat experience. The Russian alliance also offers the potential to develop his nuclear weapon capability.

Similarly, a Russian government which has suffered an estimated 600,000 casualties in two years might be able to avoid another unpopular call-up of its reserves thanks to Korean reinforcements.

A special relationship signed in blood: Kim Jong-Un’s provision of 11,000 boots on the ground to President Putin could bring in $572 million per year in payments to North Korea Credit: Reuters

According to Dr Howell’s recent paper for Chatham House, this mutual benefit is reinforced by two states seeking to “undermine and erode the institutions and legitimacy of the US-led international order”.

While the partnership is helping Russia as long as the Ukraine War continues, it is more beneficial, he argues, to North Korea in the longer term. “Pyongyang now has the unwavering support of Moscow at the UN Security Council, which has been reduced to its most sclerotic since the institution’s inception in 1945,” he explains.

Luring defectors

However, the strengthening of the Russian-North Korean axis does provide two silver linings for Ukraine’s supporters. One is that the news of North Korea’s participation had already prompted NATO to provide more military aid to Ukraine. The other is that the Ukrainians have quickly spotted the propaganda value of denigrating the North Koreans as “mercenaries” mistreated by their Russian masters. This week, President Zelenskyy said that there was “not a single reason for North Koreans to die in this war”, posting an unverified video on X of Russian soldiers apparently burning the faces of dead North Korean soldiers in a bid to hide their identities.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian “I Want to Live” project, which attempts to lure Russian soldiers into defecting, has taken to posting Korean-language videos promising “three hot meals a day” for North Korean defectors.

“There are some very powerful opportunities,” says Cancian. “North Korean prisoners of war are likely to say some embarrassing things when removed from the propaganda bubble they have lived in all their lives. They might even manage to arrange some defectors to South Korea.”

5.  S. Korea successfully launches 3rd spy satellite into orbit

​Life goes on for South Korea.

(3rd LD) S. Korea successfully launches 3rd spy satellite into orbit | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Minji · December 21, 2024

(ATTN: RECASTS headline, lead; UPDATES with details, photos)

By Lee Minji

SEOUL, Dec. 21 (Yonhap) -- South Korea successfully placed into orbit its third homegrown spy satellite launched from a U.S. space center Saturday, the defense ministry said, as the country seeks to bolster its independent surveillance capabilities on North Korea.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the satellite normally lifted off at 8:34 p.m. (Korean time) from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California as planned and sent the reconnaissance satellite into orbit at 9:24 p.m., according to the ministry.

The launched satellite succeeded in communicating with an overseas ground station at 11:30 p.m., it added, in a step indicating the satellite's normal operation.

It is the third military satellite launched under South Korea's plan to acquire five spy satellites by 2025 to better monitor North Korea with an independent military satellite network. South Korea has previously relied largely on satellite imagery provided by the United States.

"We will strive to bolster our military's independent surveillance capabilities by succeeding with additional launches going forward," the ministry said, noting the success of the latest launch has enabled more accurate and swift identification of North Korean provocations.

South Korea's third spy satellite lifts off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Dec. 21, 2024, in this photo provided by the defense ministry. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

It is the third military satellite launched under South Korea's plan to acquire five spy satellites by 2025 to better monitor North Korea with an independent military satellite network. South Korea has previously relied largely on satellite imagery provided by the United States.

South Korea launched its first spy satellite -- equipped with electro-optical and infrared sensors to capture detailed images of the Earth's surface -- in December last year from the California space base.

In April, the country placed its second spy satellite -- fitted with synthetic aperture radar (SAR) sensors that capture data using microwaves and are capable of collecting data regardless of weather conditions -- from John F. Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island, Florida.

Like the third satellite equipped with SAR sensors, the remaining two satellites will also be equipped with such sensors.

South Korea's third spy satellite lifts off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Dec. 21, 2024, in this photo provided by the defense ministry. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

South Korea's defense authorities expected the launch to further enhance the military's three-pronged deterrence program against the North's nuclear and missile threats.

Once all five satellites are fully deployed, the military is expected to be able to monitor a certain target in North Korea every two hours, according to analysts.

The satellite network is also expected to enable more flexible and comprehensive coverage compared with just one or two satellites.

Defense Acquisition Program Administration Minister Seok Jong-gun, who is overseeing the third launch, said the grouped operation of satellites will enable the military to better identify signs of North Korea's provocations.

South Korea's third spy satellite lifts off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Dec. 21, 2024, in this photo provided by the defense ministry. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

The latest launch comes as North Korea has also been ramping up efforts to acquire space-based reconnaissance capabilities.

Pyongyang successfully launched its first military spy satellite, the Malligyong-1, in November 2023 and has vowed to launch three more spy satellites this year.

But North Korea has yet to launch a satellite since a rocket carrying a satellite exploded shortly following takeoff in May.

mlee@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Minji · December 21, 2024

6. N. Korea slams S. Korea-U.S.-Japan talks on Indo-Pacific as 'insult' to peace

​Isn't the regime describing itself and its "gangster like" relationship with Russia?

N. Korea slams S. Korea-U.S.-Japan talks on Indo-Pacific as 'insult' to peace | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Chae Yun-hwan · December 21, 2024

SEOUL, Dec. 21 (Yonhap) -- North Korea on Saturday lambasted a recent trilateral meeting between South Korea, the United States and Japan that discussed peace in the Indo-Pacific region, deriding the talks as an "insult" to peace.

The Rodong Sinmun, the North's main newspaper, criticized the trilateral Indo-Pacific Dialogue that took place in Tokyo on Dec. 11, accusing Washington of being a "gangster-like" country destroying peace and its Asian allies of being accomplices.

"The United States' history itself is one of war all around the world and its foreign policy is consistent with the evil of invading other countries and bringing destruction to peace and safety," it said.

The paper rejected Japan as a country that seeks peace, citing its guidelines for defense cooperation with the U.S. and its security law that allows collective self-defense. It also labeled South Korea as being the "vanguard of U.S. policies of invasion and war."

"The United States is an empire of evil and a gangster-like country destroying peace," it said. "Japan and puppet South Korea are accomplices no less guilty."

During this month's talks, the three countries acknowledged the need to explore ways to collectively contribute to peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region, according to Seoul's foreign ministry. The meeting marked the second of its kind after its inaugural session in January.

The talks took place as South Korea, the U.S. and Japan seek to deepen trilateral security cooperation amid evolving North Korean nuclear and missile threats.

This file photo, provided by the foreign ministry, shows participants of the South Korea-U.S.-Japan Indo-Pacific Dialogue that took place in Tokyo on Dec. 11, 2024. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

yunhwanchae@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Chae Yun-hwan · December 21, 2024

7. U.S. Reduces Samsung’s Grant for Texas Chip-Making Project

Intel's too.

20 hours ago

U.S. Reduces Samsung’s Grant for Texas Chip-Making Project

By

Asa Fitch

https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/stock-market-today-dow-sp500-nasdaq-live-12-20-2024/card/u-s-reduces-samsung-s-grant-for-texas-chip-making-project-VEshJNLLQB6E1p4ZqyOr?mod=Searchresults_pos4&page=1

South Korea’s Samsung Electronics on Friday finalized a U.S. grant of up to about $4.75 billion to help fund its chip-making expansion in Texas, significantly less than the $6.4 billion that the company and the government initially announced.

The funds come from the 2022 Chips Act, which sought to reinvigorate U.S. chip-making. In April, the Commerce Department said Samsung would invest $45 billion to build factories in Taylor, Texas. The Commerce Department said Friday its grant would support an investment of over $37 billion in the state.

“Ultimately, we changed this award to align with market conditions and the scope of the investment the company is making,” a Commerce Department spokesman said. “Samsung feels that this award represents a strong commitment to their Texas and U.S. efforts and is a sustainable long-term plan for them.”

Samsung’s chip-making arm has struggled in its quest to make some of the most advanced chips in the world in recent quarters, analysts say. The electronics giant also faltered in its bid to profit from the artificial-intelligence boom, apologizing for its performance in an October letter from the head of its semiconductor business.

The department also changed its award for U.S. chip giant Intel, which is building new factories in Ohio, Arizona and Oregon. Last month it allocated up to $7.87 billion for Intel, down from an $8.5 billion preliminary agreement. Officials cited additional funding of up to $3 billion Intel received to make chips for military applications as the reason for that reduction.

With the Samsung grant, all of the largest U.S. projects expected to get support from the Chips Act have received their funding. In addition to Samsung and Intel, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. got up to $6.6 billion for large new chip-making facilities in Arizona, and memory-chip giant Micron got up to $6.1 billion for facilities in Idaho and New York.

The Biden administration has been racing to finalize the awards before Trump takes the presidency. Trump has raised doubt about his support for the Chips Act, calling it “so bad” in an interview on the campaign trail.

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.

KR:005930 (S. Korea: KRX)

₩53000.00 KRW-100.00-0.19%

Intel Corp.

INTC (U.S.: Nasdaq)

$19.52 USD0.462.41%

8. Top diplomats of S. Korea, U.S. agree on holding in-person meeting at 'early date'

(LEAD) Top diplomats of S. Korea, U.S. agree on holding in-person meeting at 'early date' | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Song Sang-ho · December 21, 2024

(ATTN: UPDATES throughout with more info, details)

SEOUL, Dec. 21 (Yonhap) -- The top diplomats of South Korea and the United States spoke by phone Saturday and agreed to coordinate their schedules to hold an in-person meeting "at an early date," the foreign ministry said, as the two countries seek to ensure their alliance remains strong despite the political turmoil in Seoul.

Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and Secretary of State Antony Blinken reached the agreement amid concerns that the political turmoil in the wake of President Yoon Suk Yeol's short-lived martial law declaration and his subsequent impeachment could affect the allies' coordination over security and other issues.

"The two sides agreed to coordinate their schedules to hold an in-person meeting at an early date," the ministry said in a release.

Cho called for efforts to maintain and develop the bilateral alliance without wavering under South Korea's acting President Han Duck-soo, citing phone talks between Han and U.S. President Joe Biden earlier this week.

The minister also underscored the need for joint efforts to ensure that progress in cooperation between Seoul and Washington and between the allies and Tokyo will continue under the incoming U.S. administration, set to be launched Jan. 20.

Blinken agreed with Cho and expressed confidence in Han and South Korea's democracy and its resilience, according to the ministry.

In a separate readout, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said that Blinken conveyed to Cho the U.S.' "unwavering" support for the South Korean people while emphasizing the importance both nations place on democratic institutions and the rule of law.

Blinken also reiterated the United States' commitment to the South Korea-U.S. alliance remains "ironclad" and highlighted the "enduring nature of the alliance, which is rooted in shared values and mutual interests."

"Secretary Blinken expressed the intent of the United States to work alongside acting President and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo to pursue the alliance's shared goals, including regional security, prosperity and the promotion of democratic principles," Miller said.

On Thursday, Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell told reporters the U.S. is planning on having high-level in-person engagement with the administration led by Han and that the Biden administration "fully" supports Han's interim role.

Cho and Blinken previously held phone talks Dec. 6 to discuss Yoon's short-lived imposition of martial law on Dec. 3 and to reaffirm the bilateral alliance.

Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul (L) shakes hands with his U.S. counterpart, Antony Blinken, after their talks on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Lima, Peru, on Nov. 14, 2024, in this file photo provided by Cho's office the next day. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

yunhwanchae@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Song Sang-ho · December 21, 2024

9. Hanwha completes US$100 mln acquisition of Philly Shipyard of U.S.

​Is Hanwha making a $100million gamble on a revision or exception to the Jones Act?

Hanwha completes US$100 mln acquisition of Philly Shipyard of U.S. | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Chang Dong-woo · December 20, 2024

SEOUL, Dec. 20 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's Hanwha Group said Friday it has completed a US$100 million acquisition of Philly Shipyard, a leading U.S. shipbuilder for commercial and government projects.

The acquisition was finalized six months after signing a contract with Norway's Aker ASA, the parent company, in June. Hanwha Ocean Co. and Hanwha Systems Co. jointly undertook the acquisition.

Philly Shipyard was established in 1997 on the site of a former U.S. Navy shipyard in Philadelphia. It has been newly named Hanwha Philly Shipyard.

The shipyard specializes in constructing coastal transport vessels and has supplied approximately 50 percent of large commercial vessels subject to the U.S. Jones Act, including petrochemical carriers and container ships.

The shipyard also has a proven track record in projects such as constructing multipurpose training ships for the U.S. Maritime Administration.

Hanwha Philly Shipyard plans to create a significant number of local jobs, expand the yard's capabilities and scale into new markets, the group said.

This photo provided by Hanwha Group shows Philly Shipyard, a U.S. shipyard that the South Korean conglomerate has acquired. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

odissy@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Chang Dong-woo · December 20, 2024

10. Editorial: Democratic Party's reckless impeachment tactics undermine justice

Editorial: Democratic Party's reckless impeachment tactics undermine justice

https://www.chosun.com/english/opinion-en/2024/12/20/WVXCNVYJLRE25PLQNR4WH4I35M/

By The Chosunilbo

Published 2024.12.20. 09:11

South Korea's Constitutional Court holds a preparatory hearing for the impeachment of three prosecutors, including chief of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office.

The Constitutional Court’s first hearing on the impeachment of three prosecutors from the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, including Chief Lee Chang-soo, ended in just three minutes. This was because neither Jung Chung-rae, the chair of the National Assembly’s Legislative and Judiciary Committee who filed the impeachment request, nor a legal representative appeared. Despite the Democratic Party of Korea’s push for impeachment on Dec. 5, no defense counsel had been appointed by the first preparatory hearing on Dec. 18. The court postponed the hearing until the next preparatory date on Jan. 8. Having achieved their goal of impeaching President Yoon Suk-yeol, the party seems to have lost interest in the other impeachments they initiated.

The DPK justified the impeachment by citing the dismissal of charges against first lady Kim Keon-hee in the Deutsche Motors stock manipulation case. While opinions may differ on the case, impeachment under the Constitution requires a “serious violation of the Constitution or laws in the execution of duties.” Despite this clear standard, the party pushed forward, likely calculating that suspending these prosecutors would disrupt key investigations at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office. The office is handling high-profile cases, including party leader Lee Jae-myung’s election law violation, for which he received a prison sentence in the first trial last month, and the Daejang-dong scandal. The real motive behind the impeachment appears to be delaying investigations and trials involving Lee.

In August, the Constitutional Court unanimously dismissed the impeachment of prosecutor Lee Jung-seop, stating that the alleged charges, including misuse of golf courses and resorts, lacked “specific relevance to the execution of duties.” The decision underscored that job relevance, the basic requirement for impeachment, was not met. Prosecutor Lee had been leading an investigation into allegations of illegal remittances to North Korea involving Lee Jae-myung but was removed from the case for nine months due to the impeachment motion. Most prosecutors targeted by the DPK were investigating cases linked to Lee or the party itself.

The DPK’s actions are clearly aimed at shielding its leader, advancing an early presidential election, and securing his victory. While gaining political power is a legitimate goal, it must adhere to the rule of law and democratic norms. The DPK and its leader Lee’s approach has deviated far from these principles. Chief Prosecutor Lee Chang-soo has requested the Constitutional Court to lift his suspension. The court should approve his request and allow him to return to duty.

11. South Korea wins €1.9 billion nuclear renovation deal in Romania

Business goes on with South Korea.

South Korea wins €1.9 billion nuclear renovation deal in Romania

South Korea steps into nuclear renovation market with Cernavoda project

https://www.chosun.com/english/industry-en/2024/12/20/KPCHMMA35RFC3KDPNAULMCNSBA/

By Jo Jae-hee,

Cho Jae-hyun,

Park Su-hyeon

Published 2024.12.20. 11:01

South Korea has clinched a €1.9 billion ($2 billion) contract to renovate a nuclear power plant in Romania, marking a pivotal achievement in its growing presence in the global nuclear energy market. This project, the first overseas nuclear reactor refurbishment awarded to South Korean companies, follows major nuclear power construction orders from Egypt in 2022 and Bulgaria earlier this year. Additionally, a South Korean consortium led by Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) was selected in July as the preferred bidder to build new nuclear reactors in the Czech Republic in a $17.1 billion deal.

On Dec. 19, KHNP announced it had signed a final agreement with Romania’s state-run Societatea Nationala Nuclearelectrica (SNN) in Bucharest to upgrade Unit 1 of the Cernavoda Nuclear Power Plant. The €1.9 billion project will allocate 40% of the work—amounting to €840 million ($910 million)—to KHNP. The consortium also includes Canada’s Candu Energy and Italy’s Ansaldo Nucleare, which joined forces in October 2023.

Construction is scheduled to begin in February 2025 and is expected to take approximately five years and five months. Leading South Korean companies, including KEPCO KPS, Doosan Enerbility, Hyundai Engineering & Construction, and Samsung C&T, will participate in the project, providing expertise in construction and equipment manufacturing.

“This contract is expected to create a ripple effect, benefiting small and medium-sized nuclear companies and helping to revitalize South Korea’s nuclear energy ecosystem,” said Moon Joo-hyun, a professor at Dankook University.

Cernavoda Nuclear Power Plant in Romania, set for renovation. Unit 1 is on the right./Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP)

The renovation aims to extend the operational life of the 706 MW heavy water reactor, which began commercial operation in 1996, by an additional 30 years. Romania’s regulatory authorities approved the plant’s extended operating license in May 2023, with a goal to restart operations by 2030.

KHNP’s extensive experience with heavy water reactor construction and maintenance, gained over four decades at the Wolseong Nuclear Power Plant in South Korea, was instrumental in securing the contract. According to Moon Joo-hyun, a professor at Dankook University, “Heavy water reactor renovation projects are more challenging than building new reactors, as they require replacing outdated equipment with new systems. South Korea proved its expertise during the Wolseong Unit 1 renovation.”

Under the consortium agreement, Candu Energy will oversee pressure tube design, while Ansaldo Nucleare will manage turbine designs and equipment supply. KHNP will handle critical tasks, including the replacement of pressure tubes and the construction of facilities for radioactive waste storage.

KHNP emphasized the rigorous negotiations leading up to the deal, noting that the consortium held monthly in-person meetings with SNN for over a year to finalize project costs, conditions, and schedules.

South Korea’s efficiency in heavy water reactor projects has been widely recognized. During the Wolseong Unit 1 renovation in 2009, KHNP completed the project in just 27 months, significantly faster than Canada’s 46 months and Argentina’s 37 months for similar undertakings.

“This experience will also support ongoing domestic efforts, such as extending the operational life of Wolseong Units 2-4,” said Roh Dong-seok, executive director at the Korea Energy Information Culture Agency.

With global demand for power generation rising due to the expansion of electric vehicles and artificial intelligence, the need for nuclear maintenance is growing. The Cernavoda deal marks South Korea’s first foray into overseas nuclear refurbishment projects, opening doors to diversified nuclear exports.

Chung-Ang University professor Jeong Dong-wook noted the potential for further contracts from countries operating heavy water reactors, including Romania and Argentina. “South Korea has already proven its capabilities with light-water reactors in markets like the UAE and the Czech Republic. Now, even Canada, the originator of CANDU technology, acknowledges our excellence in heavy water reactor projects,” Jeong said.

12. First public appearance of fake ID cards of North Korean troops deployed to Russia

​Do Russia and north Korea really think they can successfully hide their identities? And why do they feel the need to? Maybe to cover up their failures?

First public appearance of fake ID cards of North Korean troops deployed to Russia

https://www.rfa.org/korean/in_focus/nk_nuclear_talks/north-korea-fake-military-id-russia-12202024142009.html

WASHINGTON-Cho Jin-woo choj@rfa.org

2024.12.20

A memorial ceremony is being held in the Buryat region of Russia in 2022 to commemorate Russian soldiers who died in the Ukrainian war.

 /federation

00:00 / 00:00

Anchor : As it is known that Russia provided ' fake ID cards ' to North Korean soldiers fighting in the Ukraine War to hide their identities  ,  evidence supporting this has been revealed for the first time .  Reporter Jo Jin-woo reports . 

Ukrainian media outlet  Evocation.info released several photos on the social network Telegram on the  20th , claiming that Russia had issued fake  ID cards with false information to North Korean soldiers .

According to the outlet, these photos show a Russian military ID card found in the possession of a North Korean soldier who died in Kursk , issued to a soldier named Kim Khanbolat Albertovich from the Republic of Tuva  , born on April 13 , 1997  .

The ID card shows that the soldier, born in the village of Bayantala, completed secondary technical education in  2016 and worked as a roofer before  being drafted into the 55th Mountain Infantry Brigade of Tuva .

In the middle of this ID card on page 19 , there is a hole as if a bullet had passed through it , and  a red mark, presumably bloodstains, remains clearly visible . 

In response, Evocation Info stated  ,  “ After investigating the name Kim and the date of birth ,  we were able to confirm that the person did not exist . ” “ The only factual information in the document is the signature on the first page ,  which reveals that the deceased soldier’s real name is  ‘ Lee Dae-hyuk . ’ ”

If you look at the actual photo, you can see the name Lee Dae-hyeok clearly engraved in Korean on the first page of the ID card .

Additionally, the outlet reported that the ID did not contain essential information such as a photo or order number .

Although his ID card shows that the soldier  has been serving since 2016 , he was first issued a weapon on October 10 ,  2024  , and  his military number was also issued the following day .

Based on this, the media claimed that the Russian military authorities  were issuing thousands of fake IDs to North Korean soldiers to disguise them as members of Russian ethnic minorities, such as Tuvans and  Buryats, in order to " legitimize " the North Korean military's participation in the war .

Radio Free Asia (RFA) has not independently verified the authenticity of the identification .

Ukrainian UN Ambassador  : “ 4,500 North Korean Soldiers  in Russian  Uniforms  to Deploy to Frontline in November ”

National Intelligence Service  : “ North Korean Special Forces Participate in Ukraine War ... Begins Moving Troops ”

ID card of a North Korean soldier disguised as a Tubain. / Invocation Info Telegram

There have been several reports that Russia issued fake ID cards to conceal the fact that it was sending North Korean troops ,  but this is the first time that actual evidence has been made public to confirm this .

Earlier, when South Korea's National Intelligence Service made official the fact that North Korea had dispatched troops in  October , it also revealed that Russia had issued fake ID cards to residents of some Siberian regions who looked similar to North Koreans in order to hide the fact that they had been deployed to the battlefield .

Ukrainian Ambassador to the UN Serhiy Olekhovich Kislycha also  said at a UN Security Council meeting at UN headquarters in New York in late October  that “ Russia will provide Russian identity cards to North Korean soldiers to hide their identities . ”

Meanwhile, David Maxwell, deputy director of the Asia-Pacific Strategy Center, told Radio Free Asia (RFA) on the  20th that it is not common sense for Russia to try to hide the identity of a North Korean soldier .

[ Vice President Maxwell ] I don't know if this is Ukrainian propaganda .  It's hard to tell .  If Russia or North Korea is trying to hide the identities of their soldiers ,  that's nonsense .  They're going to be exposed eventually . 

He also argued that even if Russia actually provided fake IDs to North Korean soldiers, it would be counterproductive .

[ Vice President Maxwell ] It's just another stupid move by Russia and North Korea .  Because if these soldiers are captured or killed, their identities will be revealed .  Also, it's well known that North Korea supports Russia ,  so there's no real purpose in pretending they're ethnic Russians or anything else . 

Evocation Info  reported on the 17th that around 100 wounded North Korean soldiers were being treated at a hospital in Kursk, Russia  .

Editor Park Jeong-woo ,  Web Editor Lee Gyeong-ha

13. N. Korean leader calls for stronger rural economies

N. Korean leader calls for stronger rural economies

The Korea Times · December 21, 2024

Kim Jong-un speaks to an official during his visit to a soysauce and bean paste production facility in Songchon County, northeast of Pyongyang, Dec. 20, in this photo provided by the North's Korean Central News Agency. Yonhap

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called for the country to step up development of its industrial production in regions outside Pyongyang to strengthen rural economies, state media KCNA said Saturday.

Kim called for the modernisation of regional manufacturing facilities, improvements in agriculture, and "to come up with clear results every year, regardless of conditions."

Kim was speaking Friday at a ceremony for new production facilities in Songchon County, northeast of Pyongyang, in which he participated in ribbon-cutting and toured manufacturing rooms for products such as soy sauce and bean paste, the KCNA said.

Last year, North Korea's nominal GDP stood at 40.2 trillion won ($27.86 billion), or just 1.7 percent that of South Korea's 2,401.2 trillion won, South Korea's statistics agency said Friday.

North Korea's GDP had shrunk for three straight years since 2020 during the pandemic when the country shut its borders, and only rebounded last year, the agency said. (Reuters)

The Korea Times · December 21, 2024

14. 'The Republic is in Hibernation' Middle School Graffiti Shocks North Korea

​Indications of resistance potential?

'The Republic is in Hibernation' Middle School Graffiti Shocks North Korea

https://www.rfa.org/korean/in_focus/nk_nuclear_talks/north-korea-kimjongun-scathing-scribble-education-school-12202024095756.html

Seoul-Kim Ji-eun, Moon Seong-hui xallsl@rfa.org

2024.12.20

In August 2017, the Korean Central News Agency reported that after North Korea issued a government statement denouncing the UN Security Council resolution and declaring an “action of justice,” young people across the country petitioned to join the Korean People’s Army.

 / AFP, Yonhap News

00:00 /03:59

Anchor : Unable to bear the burden of winter firewood homework ,  students in Yanggang Province are avoiding going to school, and graffiti criticizing the educational situation has been discovered, putting the judicial authorities in Yanggang Province on high alert .  Reporter Kim Ji-eun reports from inside North Korea . 

The Posong Labor District in Samsu County, Ryanggang Province, North Korea, has suffered several humiliations in the past due to the discovery of graffiti criticizing General Secretary Kim Jong-un and the Workers' Party .  Recently, graffiti criticizing the reality of North Korea's education was discovered again in Posong-ri, multiple local sources reported .

A senior official in Yanggang Province ( requesting anonymity for safety reasons ) said  on the  18th , “ Graffiti was discovered in the wooden warehouse of Posong Middle School in Samsu County on the  15th , and the Provincial Security Department and the Public Safety Department ( police ) are investigating ,” and  “ In order to catch the culprit, the Provincial Security Department and the Public Safety Department even set up an investigation headquarters at the Posong Police Station . ”

Graffiti is  'The school is closed .  The Republic is now in hibernation !' was  written in black magic on the exterior wall of the school's wooden warehouse, which was whitewashed with lime . The Pohang Police Station, which regarded this as the work of counterrevolutionaries, immediately reported it to the Provincial Security Department and the Samsu County Security Department , and an emergency investigation began .

“ This warehouse, which stores firewood for heating in the winter, is now empty due to a lack of firewood, ” the source added .  “ Because the Posong Workers’ District has a small number of students, it is not divided into elementary school , middle school, and high school , but  is simply called Posong Middle School . ”

“ The first people to discover the graffiti  were a cell secretary and three farmers from the Posong Farm’s  No. 3 work unit ,” the source  said . “ They discovered the graffiti on the outside wall of the school’s woodshed early that morning while leading cattle to gather firewood and reported it to the branch office . ”

Also  , “ According to the investigation headquarters,  there was a report from residents that two people who appeared to be border guards were loitering around the wooden warehouse  on the evening of the 14th ,  ” the report said .  “ Some residents  are reacting by saying, ‘ They are too sensitive about the content of the graffiti, even though it did not directly disparage the party or the leader . ’ ”

 “ If the Party Makes Up Itself,  We’re  Doomed” Graffiti Found Immediately After  Hyesan  Public Execution   

North Korea steps up security to prevent vandalism of  People's  Congress  election  posters   

On the same day, a source in the Yanggang Province education sector ( requesting anonymity for personal safety ) also said, “ I am well aware of the content of the graffiti discovered at Posong Middle School in Samsu County ,” and  “ This is the fourth graffiti incident in the Posong Workers’ District since Kim Jong-un came to power, and despite thorough investigations, we have not been able to catch the culprit .  ”

The source explained  , “ The judicial authorities are trying to attribute this graffiti incident to reactionaries, but education officials see it as a prank by students . ” He continued ,  “ If it were the malicious work of reactionaries, they would have directly criticized the party and the leader, but there was no such content in the graffiti . ”

An elderly man in Hyangsan County, North Pyongan Province, collects firewood on the street. /ap

“ Some people are immediately dismissing this graffiti incident as a prank by reckless students, asking,  ‘ How could these young students have done something like this to create such graffiti ? ’ ” he said, adding, “  The schools in Yanggang Province are only pretending to operate ,  but in reality, they are effectively shutting down . ”

“ This winter ,  each student  was assigned 1.5 cubic meters of firewood , which  would cost  300 yuan ( $ 41.4 ) at the market. It would take a worker  eight months to save up enough money, ” the source  said . “ Parents who can’t afford firewood are not able to send their children to school .  ”

The students’ assignment this year is not just firewood .  Before the end of the year, they must provide rabbit and dog skins ,  soybean paste and kimchi as supplies for the People’s Army, protective gloves for construction workers , and  30,000 won in the small fund  ( 1.25 dollars / 1 dollar at the December exchange rate  :  24,000 won for firewood  ) .

The source  said , “ Students who find it difficult to bear this burden are giving up going to school altogether, and the average attendance rate at schools in Yanggang Province  is currently less than 30% . ”

“It ’s not just schools that have shut down, but all institutions except for the railways and hospitals that supply food have also shut down ,” the source  said  , adding that “ it’s not wrong to call the country a  ‘ hibernation republic ’ .        ”

This is Ji-eun Kim of RFA's  Radio Free Asia in Seoul  .

Editor Lee Hyun-joo ,  Web Editor Lee Kyung-ha

​15. North Korean Soldiers Confused by Ukrainian Drones: “Keep Flying, Keep Flying… Boom, Boom”

​This is a Google translation of an RFA report.

North Korean Soldiers Confused by Ukrainian Drones: “Keep Flying, Keep Flying… Boom, Boom”

https://www.rfa.org/korean/in_focus/nk_nuclear_talks/north-korean-soldier-drone-attack-experience-video-12202024135623.html

WASHINGTON-Lee Sang-min lees@rfa.org

2024.12.20

A man who appears to be a North Korean soldier is talking to men who appear to be Russian soldiers in his quarters about his experience with drone attacks on the battlefield.

 / Telegram

00:00 /04:46

Anchor : A video has been released of a man believed to be a North Korean soldier deployed to Kursk, Russia, who is surprised by a drone attack he experienced on the battlefield and talks about his experience . Reporter Lee Sang-min reports .

The pro-Ukrainian international civic group ' Exilenova ' posted a video on the social network Telegram on the 17th . (Below)

The video shows a man who appears to be a North Korean soldier deployed to Kursk, Russia, explaining in Korean to men who appear to be Russian soldiers in his quarters about his experience with drone attacks on the battlefield.

The man, presumed to be a North Korean soldier, says in a surprised voice, “Hey, drone, the drone keeps flying, keep flying.” Then, the man, presumed to be a Russian soldier, says with his mouth the sound that a drone makes when it flies, and the North Korean soldier says, “Uh… boom boom.”

The man, presumed to be a North Korean soldier, then points to something on the side of the man, presumed to be a Russian soldier, standing in front of him and says, “That one, that one, four, four, tsetire (four in Russian) drones.”

When the man, presumed to be a Russian soldier, who was filming the video, heard this and asked in English, “Four? Four? Drones?” (meaning 4 drones), the North Korean soldier pointed his gun into the air and replied, “Thump thump thump thump thump thump thump,” meaning three.

Then the man, presumably a Russian soldier, says in English, “Good Guy.”

Based on the conversation, the man, presumed to be a North Korean soldier, is believed to have said that he shot down three Ukrainian drones.

Radio Free Asia (RFA) has not independently verified the authenticity of this video.

Earlier, the Ukrainian Special Forces (COO) claimed on the 17th that in just three days through the 16th, 50 North Korean soldiers were killed and 47 were injured due to drone attacks.

The special forces released a video on their social network Telegram at the time showing them using drones to attack North Korean soldiers. The video vividly shows the drones flying toward North Korean soldiers walking across a field or hiding behind trees, while the soldiers hurriedly evade them.

Lee Il-woo, director of the Independent Defense Network, a South Korean military expert who appears on RFA's weekly program "Encyclopedia of New Weapons on the Korean Peninsula," told Radio Free Asia (RFA) on the 20th that the man, presumed to be a North Korean soldier, seen in the video was extremely surprised by the drone attack .

[ Director Lee Il-woo ] Judging from this, it seems that there was little prior education ( to the North Korean military ) about the extensive use of drones by the Ukrainian military . Also, because communication was not possible, it seems ( to the North Korean military ) that the danger of drones was not properly conveyed .

In this video, the presumed North Korean man and the presumed Russian man were not able to communicate properly due to language barriers .

The presumed North Korean man was speaking in Korean, but then paused for a moment and said the Russian word for four , " tsitire . " When the presumed Russian soldier understood this Russian and asked in English, "four?" the presumed North Korean man replied in English, "Three . " In relation to this, the British Ministry of Defense analyzed on the 19th that the Russian and North Korean militaries are almost certainly having difficulties with interoperability, saying that the two sides do not share a common language , and that the North Korean military appears to be having difficulty integrating into the Russian command and control structure . A U.S. Department of Defense spokesperson also told RFA on the 20th , " We have said from the beginning that interoperability issues, including language barriers, would almost certainly arise due to Russia's desperate decision to suddenly drag the North Korean military into a war of aggression .  " 

Ukraine: “North Korean military installs additional drone observation posts”

Ukraine: “50 North Korean soldiers killed , 47 injured in drone attack”

FPV drone used by the Ukrainian military. / Photo credit: Ukrainian military (UKR 53rd Mechanized Brigade)

Director Lee Il-woo said that because of these communication problems, the Russian military cannot conduct complex operational commands against the North Korean military, so they are simply using them as infantry .

[ Director Lee Il-woo ] When the Russian army attacks, they provide covering fire with tanks and armored vehicles and support with artillery fire and drones, but if you look at the video, the North Korean army is charging without this support; they are just small groups of soldiers . In fact, other than these tactics, complex commands cannot be done due to communication problems .

In relation to this, Andriy Kovalenko, the director of the Center for Countering Disinformation (CDC) under the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, revealed on Telegram on the 16th that the Russian army is deploying North Korean troops into battle in the Kursk region without armored vehicles .

Director Lee Il-woo analyzed that the period for the Russian military to provide such equipment to the North Korean military is actually too short to use them as mechanized infantry or combat troops requiring expertise, and that the North Korean military will have no choice but to use them as so -called "meat grinder " infantry .

[ Director Lee Il-woo ] Rather than formally incorporating the North Korean soldiers into regular units and using them as combat personnel, the Russian military is simply sending them in groups of 20 to use them to exhaust Ukrainian ammunition . This is Lee Sang-min

from RFA Radio Free Asia.

Editor Park Jeong-woo , Web Editor Lee Gyeong-ha

​16. Smoke and secrets: Inside the North Korean Embassy’s hasty flight from Damascus

Smoke and secrets: Inside the North Korean Embassy’s hasty flight from Damascus

Locals describe a rushed operation to evacuate personnel and destroy documents after the fall of Syria’s Assad regime

https://www.nknews.org/2024/12/smoke-and-secrets-inside-the-north-korean-embassys-hasty-flight-from-damascus/

Heidi Pett | Ifang Bremer December 20, 2024

The North Korean Embassy in Syria | Image: NK News (Dec. 19, 2024)

The smoke rose from the North Korean Embassy for days after the Assad regime fell, the smell of burning documents or other materials wafting through the neighborhood in northeast Damascus. Foreign guards bearing firearms stood watch as diplomats shuffled in and out of the compound. Staff and their family members piled into awaiting vehicles.

Eyewitness accounts paint a picture of a hurried DPRK operation to evacuate personnel from Syria after the rebel takeover this month, shutting down a decades-long mission to a key Middle Eastern partner and likely destroying evidence of cooperation that experts say extends to weapons of mass destruction.

Yet even after North Korean diplomats fled on a Russian military flight on Sunday, signs of life at the embassy remain, raising questions about whether Pyongyang truly abandoned its presence in the country.

The DPRK evacuation appears to have begun in earnest when the militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) seized control of Damascus on Dec. 8, ending more than 50 years of rule by the Assad family.

“When things got intense, they left,” Abu Ahmed, who lives nearby, told NK News. He was one of many residents who observed their neighbors pack up and flee in haste.

Ahmed Saleh, a handyman who worked for the embassy, said he saw North Koreans departing on Monday, a day after the Assad regime fell, but that they later returned to collect belongings.

The main gate of the DPRK Embassy in Damascus | Image: NK News (Dec. 19, 2024)

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Other neighbors noticed the presence of “foreign guards with large guns” — possibly Russians — protecting the North Koreans as they moved out. One witness suggested the operation began even before the rebels took the city.

It’s unclear how many DPRK diplomats worked in Damascus, but eyewitnesses described a significant evacuation effort. Luxury cars and Toyota SUVs with diplomatic plates came and went, picking up staff and their family members over several days.

When NK News visited on Thursday, the seven-story embassy stood like an abandoned fort. The building was quiet, its front doors locked, the shutter down on a bulletin board that likely displayed propaganda about leader Kim Jong Un. No one answered the intercom.

The exact reason for North Korea’s abrupt departure remains unknown. State media has not reported on the embassy’s closure, or even acknowledged the end of Assad’s rule and his escape to Russia.

But Pyongyang reaffirmed its support for the “legitimate” Assad regime in its fight against “terrorists” just days before Damascus fell, and fear of rebel retaliation against allies of the notoriously brutal regime may have played a role in the decision to flee.

Ella, a woman in her 20s, said neighbors were quick to remove posters of Kim Jong Un outside the embassy after Assad’s fall. 

The embassy’s guard station, too, showed signs of vandalism: smashed windows, shards of glass, a discarded police vest lying next to a stained mattress. Nearby, an unlocked generator room was strewn with rubbish, old clothing and a military helmet.

A soldier’s helmet surrounded by trash in a generator building of the DPRK Embassy in Damascus | Image: NK News (Dec. 19, 2024)

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North Korea-Syria ties go back to the 1960s, and in recent years, their friendship has been characterized by greater military cooperation and frequent correspondence between leaders Kim Jong Un and Bashar Assad.

U.S. intelligence reports suggest the DPRK provided assistance for Syria’s Al-Kibar nuclear reactor, which Israel destroyed in 2007. During Syria’s civil war, multiple investigations uncovered evidence that North Korea also supplied equipment and expertise that supported the Assad regime’s use of chemical weapons.

In that light, North Korea’s Embassy in Damascus was more than just a diplomatic outpost — it was a key node in Pyongyang’s arms proliferation activity in the region and the linchpin of a decades-long partnership forged through military cooperation and mutual political support.

Some experts have expressed hope that the fall of the Assad regime could bring to light new details about North Korea’s long-standing weapons collaboration with Syria, either through human sources finally freed from his rule or through documents left behind when he fled.

But it appears that North Korean diplomats took precautions before leaving the embassy to ensure state secrets didn’t fall into its adversaries’ hand.

“[The diplomats] were burning materials after the Assad government fell. I could smell it and see the smoke,” a neighbor of the embassy told NK News, speaking on condition of anonymity due to safety concerns. “They burn rubbish every once in a while, but this time was unusual. There was more smoke, and they burned things for two days straight. I think it was in the courtyard.”

The closed doors of the DPRK Embassy in Damascus | Image: NK News (Dec. 19, 2024)

Despite the evacuation of embassy staff, some locals observed signs of activity that raise questions about whether North Korea has fully closed up shop in Syria, or merely made a tactical retreat.

“I think there is still somebody inside because I can hear the power generator being turned on, and there is sometimes light at night,” one neighbor said.

Even before leaving, some diplomats expressed interest in staying in Syria, the handyman Saleh told NK News, claiming that one North Korean even asked him about renting an apartment in Damascus.

If some embassy staff remained behind, or if the DPRK has hired someone to maintain the building, it could indicate efforts to preserve a foothold in the region. North Korea might also want to remain a minimal presence for intelligence gathering.

Experts have speculated that Pyongyang will wait and see what HTS does and whether it is interested in buying DPRK arms.

“Pragmatism reigns in Pyongyang,” said Christopher Green, an assistant professor at Leiden University and International Crisis Group consultant.

NK News reached out to HTS to ask if the group has been in touch with the North Korean Embassy, if it knows whether any DPRK staffers stayed behind and what will happen with the building. But the new government did not immediately provide a response.

For now, the apparent departure of the North Korean diplomats has left Fares El-Khouri Street quieter, their absence already palpable to nearby residents.

“I used to hear them playing basketball. I could smell their cooking. But now there’s no movement,” one local reflected. 

“They were good neighbors,” Ella said. “They would say hello.”

Edited by Bryan Betts

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