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Quotes of the Day:
"Measuring success in cultural diplomacy - the use of education, creative expression in any form, or people-to-people exchange to increase understanding across regions, cultures, or peoples - is challenging. How does one quantify changes in attitude, abandoning stereotypes, or feeling empathy as a result of a performance, a film, a book?"
– Cynthia P. Schneider
"Presidents should do whatever possible and practical to encourage an environment of cooperation and bipartisanship. And they should maintain a certain level of decorum, diplomacy and decency. But, at the end of the day, presidents get elected to enact change."
– Mark McKinnon
"And we ought to work our diplomacy first and I think it's a reason it's going to respond increasingly to our diplomacy particularly with the president's direct involvement in the peace process, and I think that's extraordinarily important."
– Frank Carlucci
1. Ministry dismisses report on proposing legal revision to recognize N. Korea as separate nation
2. Military updates land border rule in responding to N. Korean incursions
3. Presidential office holds 1st press briefing at Cheong Wa Dae since relocation
4. FM Cho vows to seek dialogue with N. Korea, other countries for peace on Korean Peninsula
5. S. Korea, China arranging summit talks early next year: FM Cho
6. Arms agency to pick shipbuilder for homegrown destroyer through selective bidding
7. N. Korea-backed hackers launch newly detected cyberattack scheme using computer files: report
8. S Korea opposition leader says president's N Korea policy amounts to "surrender"
9. Lee Jae Myung orders tighter government coordination on North Korea policy
10. Seoul’s defense ministry to restore North Korea division supporting engagement
11. Trump’s National Security Strategy risks aggravating tensions with North Korea
12. Ask a North Korean: What is it like to work on a construction site in the DPRK?
13. North Korea's Regime and Markets Engage in Invisible Battle
14. Editorial: Armistice Line Drawn by South Korean Soldiers' Sacrifice – Can One Regime Concede It?
1. Ministry dismisses report on proposing legal revision to recognize N. Korea as separate nation
Comment: Disinformation (deliberate erroneous information to achieve an effect)? But it is good to get this thinking exposed to the public and to prevent such a dangerous proposal from gaining legs. This could potentially fracture South Korea politically and possibly have serious implications for the ROKUS alliance as well as South Korean standing in the region and the world.
Of course the counter argument is that such a proposal is acknowledging reality and given some of the polls on unification some could argue this is the best way to prevent unification.
The counter to that is what happens when there is war or regime collapse in the north? What comes next after the Kim family regime is defeated and destroyed through war or regime collapse?
Ministry dismisses report on proposing legal revision to recognize N. Korea as separate nation | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · Park Boram · December 22, 2025
https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20251222005400315
SEOUL, Dec. 22 (Yonhap) -- The unification ministry on Monday dismissed a news report that it had proposed a constitutional revision to President Lee Jae Myung to recognize North Korea as a separate nation as part of efforts to resume engagement with Pyongyang.
The reaction came after a local newspaper claimed that the ministry had proposed amending the Constitution to recognize North Korea as a separate, independent nation during a closed-door policy briefing to Lee last Friday.
The Constitution currently defines the entire Korean Peninsula as the sovereign territory of South Korea, effectively not recognizing North Korea as an equal nation.
Ministry spokesperson Yoon Min-ho dismissed the report as "groundless and false" during a press briefing Monday.
"The ministry did not propose a constitutional revision during the policy briefing, nor has it ever reviewed such a move," Yoon said, expressing "regret" over what he called a "distorted report."
Unification ministry spokesperson Yoon Min-ho speaks during a press briefing on Dec. 22, 2025. (Yonhap)
pbr@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · Park Boram · December 22, 2025
2. Military updates land border rule in responding to N. Korean incursions
Summary:
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff has updated internal guidelines for responding to north Korean troop incursions in the DMZ to reduce accidental clash risk. Units are told to prioritize physical MDL markers while also applying both the ROK military map’s MDL and the UNC marker-connected line. This can shift assessments southward, meaning some crossings of the UNC-connected line may not trigger action if not judged an MDL breach on ROK maps. The guidance, shared with frontline units in June 2024 and codified in September 2025, is limited to exposed daytime activity near the MDL. Critics warn it could encourage passive responses as Seoul seeks dialogue. Officials cite data-set discrepancies and plan UNC consultations in 2026.
Comment: This is not a new issue but it is likely being highlighted now because the Minister of Unification's challenges to the UNC.
(LEAD) Military updates land border rule in responding to N. Korean incursions | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · Lee Minji · December 22, 2025
https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20251222004853315
(ATTN: RECASTS headline, lead; ADDS details, remarks; TRIMS)
By Lee Minji
SEOUL, Dec. 22 (Yonhap) -- The military has internally updated guidelines in defining the inter-Korean land border when dealing with incursions by North Korean soldiers to prevent the risk of accidental clashes, officials said Monday.
The move comes as North Korean troops have repeatedly violated the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) within the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas since last year in the process of carrying out construction activities near the heavily fortified border.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it has ordered troops to prioritize markers that indicate the MDL when making decisions, while also "comprehensively" applying both the MDL on the South Korean military map and a line connecting the MDL markers set out by the U.S.-led United Nations Command (UNC).
The move effectively enables the military to use a line drawn farther southward in assessing whether North Korean troops' border crossings have occurred.
Under the updated guideline, even if North Korean troops cross the line connecting the MDL indicators, the South Korean military may not respond if it assesses it is not the MDL crossing in terms of its own military map.
North Korean soldiers reinforce barbed wire near the Military Demarcation Line within the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas, in this file photo released by the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Dec. 23, 2024. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
Nearly 1,300 markers were installed in 1953, a month after the signing of the armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War, but only about one-sixth of them are identifiable. Maintenance efforts by the UNC have been suspended since the North fired at workers conducting the job in 1973.
A JCS official said the new guidelines were shared with front-line units in June last year and officially included in an operational guideline in September this year.
The JCS said the decision, which went into effect last year, is aimed at ensuring troops' firm response and preventing accidental clashes between the two Koreas in the event of a border crossing by North Korean soldiers.
"The measure is limited to situations in which North Korean soldiers conduct activities near the MDL in an exposed environment during daytime," a ministry official said, stressing that it is not aimed at altering operational procedures or applying the MDL in a way that is favorable to North Korean troops.
But critics said the move could prompt the South Korean military to passively respond to North Korean troops' border crossing amid Seoul's efforts to resume dialogue with Pyongyang.
On the inconsistency between coordinates of the MDL used on the South Korean military map and those on the UNC data sets, a JCS official attributed the disparity to different technologies and timings in updating the data sets.
The defense ministry plans to consult with the UNC on addressing the issue next year, as an estimated 60 percent of the coordinates used by the two sides vary, a ministry official said.
Last month, Seoul's defense ministry proposed holding military talks with Pyongyang on how to clarify the MDL, which marked South Korea's first official proposal for talks with the North since President Lee Jae Myung took office in June, with a pledge to mend frayed ties with the North and create conditions for dialogue.
The North has yet to respond to the proposal.
Since April last year, North Korea has deployed troops near the MDL to plant mines, erect anti-tank barriers and reinforce barbed wire fences after the country's leader Kim Jong-un described inter-Korean ties as those between "two states hostile to each other" in late 2023.
North Korean troops have violated the land border 26 times since last year, with 17 cases reported this year alone, according to the JCS. The most recent case occurred in late November.
Since last year, the South Korean military has aired warning messages about 2,400 times and subsequently fired warning shots 36 times in accordance with guidelines. North Korean soldiers retreated in all cases.
mlee@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · Lee Minji · December 22, 2025
3. Presidential office holds 1st press briefing at Cheong Wa Dae since relocation
Comment: Back to the Blue House. What is MND and ROK JCS doing at the "old" Yongsan Presidential Offices now?
Presidential office holds 1st press briefing at Cheong Wa Dae since relocation | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · Yi Wonju · December 22, 2025
https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20251222010900315
SEOUL, Dec. 22 (Yonhap) -- The presidential office on Monday held a press briefing at the presidential compound of Cheong Wa Dae for the first time in around 3 1/2 years after relocating its office facilities.
Earlier in the day, presidential spokesperson Jeon Eun-soo held the briefing at the Chunchugwan press center, marking the first such briefing there under the administration of President Lee Jae Myung.
In 2022, former President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was ousted over his failed martial law bid late last year, relocated the presidential office from Cheong Wa Dae in central Seoul to the defense ministry compound in Yongsan, citing the need to better communicate with the public.
Since taking office in June, Lee has said he will move the presidential office back to Cheong Wa Dae once renovations are completed.
The relocation of most facilities is expected to be completed around Christmas.
Reporters enter the Chunchugwan press center at the presidential compound of Cheong Wa Dae in central Seoul after relocating its facilities on Dec. 22, 2025. (Yonhap)
julesyi@yna.co.kr
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en.yna.co.kr · Yi Wonju · December 22, 2025
4. FM Cho vows to seek dialogue with N. Korea, other countries for peace on Korean Peninsula
Comment: Of course we all want peace in Korea.
- I support peace on the Korean peninsula
- I support a diplomatic solution to the north Korean nuclear threat
- I support ROK engagement with the north
- I do not support a weakening of the ROK and ROK/US defensive capabilities
- I believe there cannot be success for US, ROK, and Japanese interests without strong ROK/US and Japan/US alliances AND trilateral cooperation.
- Despite the above I think we have to accept that north Korea has a continued hostile strategy (that it has clearly stated) and therefore while we prioritize diplomacy we have to remain prepared for the worst cases (war and internal instability and regime collapse). I hope I am wrong here and that Kim Jong-un will dismantle his nuclear weapons, end his crimes against humanity, and seek peaceful coexistence that leads to a free and unified Korea. But I do not think that is likely so we need a superior political warfare and military strategy to achieve peace by settling the "Korea question" once and for all.
FM Cho vows to seek dialogue with N. Korea, other countries for peace on Korean Peninsula | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · Yi Wonju · December 22, 2025
https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20251222011500315
SEOUL, Dec. 22 (Yonhap) -- Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said Monday he would work to establish peace on the Korean Peninsula by seeking dialogue with North Korea and other relevant nations, reiterating the government's efforts to reengage with Pyongyang.
Cho made the remarks in a keynote speech at an event hosted by the South Korea-U.S. Parliamentarians Union, saying it is time to "deeply reflect on what must be done" to ensure security and peace on the peninsula.
"The two summit meetings between South Korea and the United States this year would provide a foundation for those efforts," he said, stressing the importance of "swiftly and properly" negotiating the agreements reached in the joint fact sheet.
He added that South Korea should work to bolster deterrence while simultaneously seeking dialogue with North Korea and other relevant nations.
Following two summits in August and October between South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump, the two countries released a joint fact sheet outlining their agreements.
Under the agreements, the U.S. committed to supporting South Korea in its efforts toward civil uranium enrichment and spent fuel reprocessing for peaceful uses. It also includes U.S. approval for and its commitment to advancing Seoul's drive for nuclear-powered submarines.
Cho added that Seoul will hold talks with Washington on the submarines and uranium enrichment next year.
Foreign Minister Cho Hyun speaks during a press briefing at the government complex in Seoul on Dec. 19, 2025. (Yonhap)
julesyi@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · Yi Wonju · December 22, 2025
5. S. Korea, China arranging summit talks early next year: FM Cho
Comment: Before or after the POTUS-Xi summit?
S. Korea, China arranging summit talks early next year: FM Cho | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · Kim Hyun-soo · December 22, 2025
https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20251222005800315?section=national/politics
SEOUL, Dec. 22 (Yonhap) -- Seoul and Beijing have been in arrangements for summit talks between President Lee Jae Myung and Chinese President Xi Jinping early next year, Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said Monday.
Asked during an interview with Yonhap News TV whether Lee and Xi would hold summit talks early next year, Cho replied, "We have been in (relevant) consultations with China."
Cho said a date for the planned summit between Lee and Xi will be announced "soon."
If the summit is held, how to persuade North Korea to return to the dialogue table will be a major agenda item, Cho said.
"It will be important to seek China's cooperation so that North Korea can come to the dialogue table," Cho said.
South Korea has called on China to play a role in fostering conditions to resume dialogue with North Korea, with China reaffirming its commitment to ensuring stability on the Korean Peninsula.
Diplomatic tensions between Seoul and Beijing persist over China's steel structures built in the overlapping sea zone in the Yellow Sea. The steel towers have raised speculation that China has installed them to lay territorial claims to the area as was done in the South China Sea.
Cho said that Lee and Xi would discuss the issue of China's steel structures in the Yellow Sea.
Foreign Minister Cho Hyun briefs reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs after a policy briefing on Dec. 19, 2025. (Yonhap)
sookim@yna.co.kr
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en.yna.co.kr · Kim Hyun-soo · December 22, 2025
6. Arms agency to pick shipbuilder for homegrown destroyer through selective bidding
Comment: Hyundai versus Hanwha.
(LEAD) Arms agency to pick shipbuilder for homegrown destroyer through selective bidding | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · Kim Hyun-soo · December 22, 2025
https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20251222009251315
(ATTN: ADDS info in paras 4-5)
By Kim Hyun-soo
SEOUL, Dec. 22 (Yonhap) -- The state arms procurement agency plans to introduce a selective bidding process to pick a shipbuilder for the country's first homegrown advanced destroyer, officials said Monday.
The Defense Project Promotion Committee made the decision in a meeting held Monday afternoon, finalizing how it will pick the winner of the estimated 7 trillion-won (US$5 billion) project to build six advanced destroyers, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration.
The project had been in a limbo over a legal feud between shipbuilders Hanwha Ocean Co. and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. that had taken part in designing the envisioned destroyer.
The arms agency plans to deliver the destroyers to the Navy for deployment by the end of 2032.
The envisioned 6,000-ton-class Aegis destroyers are expected to become the Navy's future strategic asset, equipped with weapons systems largely developed from homegrown technology.
This image, provided by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., shows the envisioned design of what would be South Korea's first homegrown destroyer. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
mlee@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · Kim Hyun-soo · December 22, 2025
7. N. Korea-backed hackers launch newly detected cyberattack scheme using computer files: report
Comment: Graphic at the link.
N. Korea-backed hackers launch newly detected cyberattack scheme using computer files: report | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · Kim Boram · December 22, 2025
https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20251222006100320
SEOUL, Dec. 22 (Yonhap) -- A North Korea-linked cyber hacking group appears to have launched a new cyberattack campaign, code-named "Artemis," that embeds malicious code inside computer files, a report showed Monday.
The Genians Security Center (GSC), a South Korean cybersecurity institute, said in a report that it detected the operation believed to have been carried out by APT37, a Pyongyang-backed cyber hacking group.
According to the report, the threat actors embedded malicious object linking and embedding (OLE) code inside Hangul Word Processor (HWP) documents. An attack chain is triggered when a user allows the opening of the document's content and clicks a hyperlink in the file.
HWP is a document file format widely used as a standard in South Korea.
The findings follow an October report by 38 North, a U.S.-based website monitoring North Korea, which said North Korean cyber operators have repeatedly exploited the HWP format to infiltrate government, military and key industrial networks in South Korea.
"This attack demonstrates APT37's ongoing pattern of highly developed reconnaissance and infiltration activities," the GSC report said. "It also indicates that the group continues to refine its capabilities by leveraging advanced technical methods."
This image from a report by the Genians Security Center shows a flow chart of a cyberattack believed to have been carried out by Pyongyang-backed hacking group APT37. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
brk@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · Kim Boram · December 22, 2025
8. S Korea opposition leader says president's N Korea policy amounts to "surrender"
Comment: Domestic politics, yes. But this impacts the ROK/US alliance.
World News Dec. 21, 2025 / 11:49 PM / Updated Dec. 21, 2025 at 11:49 PM
S Korea opposition leader says president's N Korea policy amounts to "surrender"
By Asia Today and translated by UPI
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2025/12/21/korea-lee-north-policy-surrender/9401766361991/
Jang Dong-hyuk, leader of the People Power Party, left, and Song Eon-seok, the party’s floor leader, attend a Supreme Council meeting at the National Assembly in Seoul on the 18th. Photo by Asia Today
Dec. 21 (Asia Today) -- People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyuk criticized President Lee Jae-myung's approach to North Korea on Sunday, saying it was "not peaceful reunification" but a "white-flag surrender" and "submission."
Jang made the remarks in a Facebook post, writing, "Submission is not peace."
He said Lee, shortly after taking office, halted broadcasts to North Korea that he said had continued for 50 years. Jang also criticized Lee for saying he wanted to apologize to North Korea over leaflet campaigns, arguing the stance would upset South Koreans.
Jang said Lee also argued against blocking South Korean citizens from accessing North Korea's Rodong Sinmun newspaper.
"The president, who should uphold the Constitution, is defying the spirit of free democratic peaceful unification that the Constitution aims for," Jang wrote.
He added that South Koreans were angry while North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was "smiling" and "applauding," urging, "Wake up!"
- Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI
9. Lee Jae Myung orders tighter government coordination on North Korea policy
Summary:
President Lee Jae Myung ordered creation of an interagency “security ministers’ meeting” to tighten coordination on north Korea policy after visible friction among the foreign, defense, and unification ministries over who leads DPRK strategy. The new body is meant to align assessments and messaging while preserving ministry-specific perspectives. Separately, Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said the unification and foreign ministries agreed to revive a vice minister-level coordination channel with monthly meetings, though the unification ministry later said scheduling remains unresolved. The push follows a December dispute over participation in a U.S.-ROK policy coordination meeting on denuclearization. The unification ministry also denied reports it briefed Lee on revising the constitution to reflect a “two states” approach.
Comment: The most important immediate task for POTROK is rein in the Minister of Unification. But perhaps, like Lincoln, he likes his team of rivals? But can he use his rivals effectively to develop sound national security policies?
Lee Jae Myung orders tighter government coordination on North Korea policy
Creation of new security ministers’ meeting follows signs of discord between unification and foreign ministries
Joon Ha Park December 22, 2025
https://www.nknews.org/2025/12/lee-jae-myung-orders-tighter-government-coordination-on-north-korea-policy/
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung speaks to officials during a defense ministry policy briefing on Dec. 18, 2025. | Image: ROK Presidential Office
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has ordered the creation of an interagency “security ministers’ meeting” to facilitate tighter coordination on North Korea, following signs of discord within his administration over who should take the lead on DPRK policy.
Lee instructed officials to establish the body, bringing together the foreign, defense and unification ministries, following a closed-door policy briefing, presidential spokesperson Kim Nam-jun said Friday.
The president heard internal assessments from the foreign ministry, the Overseas Koreans Agency and the unification ministry after their livestreamed policy reports, and separately reviewed the defense ministry’s briefing a day earlier.
During the closed-door briefing, Lee said “it is helpful for each ministry to have its own distinct position,” adding that “it also has the effect of widening the space we have when choosing our external and foreign policy,” according to the Presidential Office.
Unification minister Chung Dong-young told reporters following the policy briefing that the two ministries agreed to activate a vice minister-level dialogue. According to Chung, vice unification minister Kim Nam-jung will hold monthly meetings with Jeong Yeon-doo, director-general of the foreign ministry’s Bureau of Foreign Strategy and Intelligence, to exchange assessments and coordinate positions on North Korea-related issues.
The arrangement revives a coordination channel last used in the mid-2000s, during Chung’s previous tenure as unification minister.
The unification ministry said Monday that vice minister-level regular talks with the foreign ministry are still under discussion and have not yet been scheduled.
The moves follow public disagreements earlier this month over which department should lead North Korea policy, exposing differing approaches among the unification ministry, the foreign ministry and the National Security Office.
Tensions surfaced around a regular U.S.-ROK policy coordination meeting on North Korea’s nuclear program scheduled for Dec. 16. While the foreign ministry pushed to launch the consultative body in close alignment with Washington, the unification ministry opted out, instead briefing foreign diplomats in Seoul and signaling it would engage the U.S. later.
National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac said on Dec. 16 that the government would continue efforts to speak with “one voice,” noting that individual ministries may express differing views but that coordination takes place through the National Security Council.
The differing perspectives reflected longstanding debates in Seoul over balancing inter-Korean engagement and coordination with Washington on denuclearization, sanctions and military posture.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung speaks to unification minister Chung Dong-young and foreign minister Cho Hyun over lunch at the Seoul Government Complex on Dec. 19, 2025. | Image: ROK Presidential Office
UNIFICATION MINISTRY DENIAL
On Monday, the unification ministry also denied local media reports that it had briefed Lee on the need to consider a constitutional revision reflecting a “two states” approach to the Korean Peninsula.
Spokesman Yoon Min-ho said during a press briefing that the ministry neither reported on constitutional revision during a closed-door policy briefing nor reviewed such an issue, calling the media report “completely untrue.”
He added that the ministry regretted the “distortion of the contents of its confidential briefing.”
The denial followed a JoongAng Ilbo report that Friday’s closed-door briefing included calls for a revision of Article 3 of the Constitution, which defines South Korea’s territory as encompassing the entire Korean Peninsula.
Lee, at the time, reportedly acknowledged the sentiment but said a constitutional revision would be “difficult.”
Earlier this year, unification minister Chung suggested the Koreas are “in reality” two separate states, suggesting that acknowledging this could provide a more realistic path toward unification.
North Korea denounced the goal of reunification in late 2023, labeling the South a “hostile, enemy state.”
Edited by David Choi
10. Seoul’s defense ministry to restore North Korea division supporting engagement
Summary:
Seoul’s defense ministry plans to rename its North Korea Strategy Division back to the North Korea Policy Division, restoring a unit designed to support engagement with Pyongyang and inter-Korean military talks. Officials say the division will expand work that had become largely nominal, focusing on negotiation strategy, running talks, and supporting delegations. The change reverses the Yoon administration’s 2024 rebranding that emphasized DPRK sanctions and deterrence over engagement. Analysts say the move aligns the Lee Jae Myung government with a dialogue-first approach and likely revives the division’s Moon era role, including support for the 2018 Comprehensive Military Agreement and its land, sea, and air buffer zones. Timing depends on pending legislation.
Comment: Recall the 2018 Comprehensive Military Agreement was concluded without any substantive coordination with the UNC.
Seoul’s defense ministry to restore North Korea division supporting engagement
Decision reverses Yoon administration’s renaming of North Korea Policy Division to focus on DPRK sanctions
Jooheon Kim December 22, 2025
https://www.nknews.org/2025/12/seouls-defense-ministry-to-restore-north-korea-division-supporting-engagement/
A ROK army officer (right) shakes hands with his DPRK counterpart during a joint on-site verification in Cheorwon following the trial withdrawal of guard posts under the Comprehensive Military Agreement (CMA). | Image: ROK defense ministry (December 2018)
Seoul’s defense ministry plans to reinstate its “North Korea Policy Division” focused on easing tensions with Pyongyang, seeking to reinforce the Lee Jae Myung administration’s engagement-focused inter-Korean policy.
A defense ministry official told NK News on Monday that the ministry has issued a legislative notice to rename its North Korea Strategy Division as the North Korea Policy Division.
“[Our] work related to inter-Korean military talks, which had become largely nominal, will be significantly expanded,” the official said. “The North Korea Policy Division will focus on key tasks such as developing negotiation strategies and measures for military talks, managing the meetings and supporting the delegations.”
The official added it is difficult to predict when the legislation will be passed.
The return of the North Korea Policy Division reverses the previous Yoon administration’s decision to rename it last year, part of efforts to downplay engagement and focus the division on defense-related DPRK sanctions.
Jihoon Yu, a research fellow at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses, said the decision to reinstate the division realigns defense policy with the Lee administration’s embrace of engagement.
“It seems to be a division focused on cooperation with North Korea,” he said, adding that it is likely to play a similar role as it did during the progressive Moon Jae-in administration.
Known as the North Korea Policy Division since 2008, this division’s main tasks included developing negotiation strategies for military talks and providing military support for inter-Korean exchanges and cooperation.
It played a key role in the implementation of the Comprehensive Military Agreement (CMA) in 2018 during the Moon Jae-in administration. The CMA established buffer zones on land, at sea and in the air to minimize the risk of conflict, banning artillery exercises and large-scale maneuvers near the heavily fortified border.
In Dec. 2018, Moon even visited the defense ministry to personally encourage the staff of the North Korea Policy Division.
But the conservative Yoon administration suspended the CMA in June last year in response to Pyongyang’s launch of around a thousand trash balloons across the border. This followed North Korea’s decision to abandon the military pact the previous November.
“During the Yoon administration, the division mainly followed a hardline approach toward North Korea, focusing on strong deterrence,” Yu said.
Lee Jae Myung has pledged to “restore the spirit” of the 2018 military agreement with North Korea, affirming his intention to revive inter-Korean dialogue. But Pyongyang has not responded to a proposal for military talks, and South Korea pushed ahead with an excavation of Korean War remains in the DMZ without the DPRK’s participation earlier this year.
Edited by Bryan Betts
11. Trump’s National Security Strategy risks aggravating tensions with North Korea
Summary:
Rob York argues the new U.S. National Security Strategy sidelines north Korea by omitting it entirely, signaling it is not a priority even as Pyongyang can still drive peninsula instability. He says the document’s personalized tone and emphasis on allies carrying more defense burden could provoke north Korean antagonism and harden inter-Korean division. York judges the NSS could be good news for Kim if he seeks a deal with POTUS, but warns a summit alone risks empty outcomes unless paired with a workable doctrine toward Seoul after Kim’s 2023 “two states” posture. If U.S. forces reframe or reduce their footprint, Pyongyang’s narrative shifts, potentially prompting new provocations. York urges U.S. strategy to explicitly link any talks to stabilizing inter-Korean relations.
Comment: Interesting assessment. The key point to remember is that it is the presence of US forces which deters Kim from attacking the South conventional and with nuclear weapons. Any perceived weakening of the alliance invites north Korea probing with the bayonet (e.g., Lenin - if you find mush push.... I am less concerned with the NSS than with what might be in the Global Force Posture review concerning US forces in Korea and the region.
Trump’s National Security Strategy risks aggravating tensions with North Korea
While the DPRK is clearly not a priority for the US, that doesn’t stop Pyongyang from antagonizing Seoul
Rob York December 19, 2025
https://www.nknews.org/2025/12/trumps-national-security-strategy-risks-aggravating-tensions-with-north-korea/
President Donald Trump at the White House in Dec. 2025 | Image: Trump White House
Editor’s note: The following article is an opinion piece by Rob York, director for regional affairs at the Pacific Forum. Views expressed in opinion articles are exclusively the author’s own and do not represent those of NK News.
The U.S. released the first National Security Strategy (NSS) of Trump’s second presidency this month, and for the first time in recent memory, the document makes no mention of North Korea.
Instead, it is highly personalized and makes numerous references to President Donald Trump, contrasting him with his predecessors and hailing his vision of a U.S. that does less in the world.
It also endorses the idea of South Korea as a U.S. partner stepping up to meet its own defense needs, a development that the DPRK has reacted negatively toward in the past.
And yet, the document as a whole could be good news for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, if he is ready to make a deal with the Trump administration and has a plan for dealing with South Korea in the aftermath.
But absent that, it risks further entrenching inter-Korean division and the aggravated state of tensions on the peninsula.
PRESIDENT’S PIVOT
Let’s start with the obvious: North Korea is clearly not a priority for the Trump administration.
While voices within Trump’s broader orbit — staunch anti-communists and those with Korean roots — may still hope for regime change in Pyongyang and the absorption of North Korea into the South, there is little indication that those at the highest levels of the administration care about the matter at all, or are willing to convince the president that it should be a priority.
The calls from Trump’s first term for the obliteration of the North if its nuclear program continues to progress — which by all accounts it has, if in less demonstrative ways than during his first term — have also waned.
Furthermore, while this administration still considers Asia as important enough to include in the NSS, the prominence of the Indo-Pacific has seen a sharp downturn since the last version in 2022, when the document described China, North Korea’s treaty ally, as seeking to overturn the U.S.-led global order.
The Trump administration informing Europe that the U.S. will no longer be the primary supporter of NATO, and the NSS highlighting the need for South Korea and Japan to do more to carry their own defense burdens, suggests that Washington is now shunning its broader role as the world’s security guarantor.
There’s also the matter of how this NSS bears more of this president’s personal stamp than any other in memory.
While Trump has repeatedly claimed that he is reversing the previous administration’s supposed prioritization of foreign affairs over the concerns of the American public, foreign leaders from Russia, Pakistan and Azerbaijan have noted his eagerness to cast himself as a peacemaker, one who can bless deals and call a halt to hostilities.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump shake hands at the inter-Korean border on June 30, 2019. | Image: Trump White House
ANOTHER SUMMIT?
We can expect the U.S. to at least gradually step back from its responsibilities to the Korean Peninsula. However, Kim may achieve this transition more quickly and permanently if he engages with the president directly.
By all accounts, Trump remains interested. That said, organizing a Trump-Kim summit might not be an accomplishment in and of itself.
We all saw the president’s approach to dealmaking in 2018 and 2019, where he trusted in his instincts and chose to work out the details in person, rather than delegating this to experienced diplomats. This approach can result in vacuous statements with little impact (as in Singapore in 2018), or the breakdown of talks altogether (as in Hanoi in 2019).
It does appear that Trump has abandoned the goal of complete denuclearization but will likely want some gesture of good faith from Kim, and the North Korean leader has demonstrated a tendency to overreach, as he did in Hanoi.
But assuming the summit takes place and is successful, Kim has another problem: identifying his doctrine toward South Korea.
Kim infamously swore off the possibility of reunification with South Korea in late 2023 and suggested Seoul is simply too corrupt and hostile to merge with. North Korea once talked of liberating the South from foreign occupation; it now speaks as though it would sooner obliterate Seoul than make peace.
The Lee Jae Myung administration came to power by promising peace without unification, unlike his progressive predecessors. Instead, his administration promises something that looks a lot like coexistence, but it’s not yet clear whether Kim feels the same.
It was one thing for Kim to claim that reunification is not realistic: The South Korean public overwhelmingly agrees with that sentiment. Swearing off engagement also made few waves: Most South Koreans do not yearn for North Korea’s attention as it diverts resources toward Russia and Ukraine.
But just because North Korea no longer thinks it can eliminate the southern threat through unification does not mean that it can stop viewing them as a threat.
President Donald Trump and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung during a ceremony before their summit | Image: APEC 2025 KOREA & Yonhap News (Oct. 29, 2025)
COMPETING NARRATIVES
A subset of South Koreans remain committed to highlighting North Korea as a terrible place to live and continue to draw attention to those who have escaped its borders. Others remain committed to helping others escape.
South Korea remains an economic allure for the North, and the Trump-endorsed defense budget increases, which Seoul continues to engage in, suggests the allies have not stopped looking at the North at least as a potential enemy.
If Kim and Trump publicly make peace and the U.S. announces it will reduce its defense footprint in South Korea — or at least announces that their purpose is to deter China rather than the North — Pyongyang’s narrative of how the U.S. is using its presence as a foothold to overthrow the North and its socialist system collapses.
It has long been suggested that North Korea needs some sort of external conflict to justify its prioritization of the military and repressive governance. Would it stoke conflict with the South to achieve this? Can it embrace coexistence, even if that means completely changing its public stance on the South?
Peaceful coexistence still seems doubtful. Even though North Korea has shifted its public position on the South in the past, it has not done so for long and has reserved the right to engage in provocative actions against Seoul — whether it needs sustained conflict to keep the population in line, or genuinely suspects the South still has designs on its downfall.
Furthermore, if Kim does not reverse his stance on permanent division in the aftermath of a diplomatic breakthrough with Trump, that position will likely remain permanent.
Without intending to, Donald Trump’s most recent NSS could push the two Koreas toward a more permanent state of tension, with no ready-made means of lowering them.
President Trump’s signal of openness to further talks with Kim is welcome. And while there are reasons to question whether Kim would honor an arms control agreement, it is for the best that Trump has dropped the demand for complete denuclearization. However, a better version of the NSS would have mentioned North Korea and made clear that President Trump requires stabilization of inter-Korean relations for talks to proceed.
Any potential Trump-Kim deal would be important for more than the two leaders and their countries – it would have either direct or downstream effects on South Korea, including potential destabilization of peninsular and regional security. Failure to factor South Korea in could have a long-term, and detrimental, effect on Trump’s legacy as a peacemaker.
12. Ask a North Korean: What is it like to work on a construction site in the DPRK?
Summary:
A former north Korean construction worker describes grueling, unpaid days marked by long commutes, abusive supervision, and dangerous worksites. Workers often walked or biked long distances because transport was limited and bicycles were expensive relative to wages. The day began with mandatory assemblies and threats, then ran roughly 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. with labor like hand-mixing mortar and hauling heavy loads without machinery. Managers enforced discipline through humiliation and violence, including beatings for tardiness, then demanded loyalty afterward. Safety was poor, with improvised high-risk tasks such as carrying mortar across narrow beams above exposed rebar. Workers also faced accusations of “stealing” scraps needed for fuel.
Comment: Can you work at "Chollima Speed?"
"The Chollima Movement (Korean: 천리마 운동; Hanja: 千里馬運動) was a state-sponsored Stakhanovite movement in North Korea intended to promote rapid economic development. Launched in 1956 or 1958, the movement emphasized "ideological incentives to work harder" and the personal guidance of Kim Il Sung rather than rational modes of economic management."
"In other areas of North Korea society the term "Chollima speed" is still used to depict rapid completion of expectations, referring to both the mythical horse but also to the economic growth in the 1950s."
The above illustrates why north Korea is a failed state.
Ask a North Korean: What is it like to work on a construction site in the DPRK?
A former construction worker shares a day in the life, from long commutes and abusive bosses to workplace hazards
Jin Ju-dong December 22, 2025
https://www.nknews.org/2025/12/ask-a-north-korean-what-is-it-like-to-work-on-a-construction-site-in-the-dprk/
North Korean workers on a construction site | Image: NK News
“Ask a North Korean” is an NK News series featuring interviews with and columns by North Korean defectors, most of whom left the DPRK within the last few years.
Readers may submit their questions for defectors by emailing ask@nknews.org and including their first name and city of residence.
Today’s question is: What was it like for North Korean overseas laborers during the pandemic?
Jin Ju-dong — who was born and raised in North Korea and defected during the pandemic — writes about the difficulties of commuting, tyrannical managers and the hazardous conditions he faced on the job.
Got a question for Ju-dong? Email it to ask@nknews.org with your name and city. We’ll be publishing the best ones.
The human rights violations that workers experience at North Korean construction sites are beyond what many in the international community can imagine: 12-13 hours of unpaid labor, deplorable workplace safety conditions, inhumane verbal abuse from managers and more.
While living in the DPRK, I worked at a worker training center under the Foreign Construction Guidance Bureau. All North Korean overseas workers, whether deployed by the military, Workers’ Party organizations, the State Security Department or regular civilian dispatch, must go through such worker training centers that specialize in sending workers abroad. Our center was one of the training centers for regular civilian dispatch.
Around Oct. 2015, the center took on a construction project to expand a publishing house under the Party’s Propaganda and Agitation Department located in central Pyongyang. All personnel from the center were mobilized for this construction work.
The center had only a few people living in that area, so most of the workers had to commute from far away. This was a common problem: Construction sites can be miles away from where workers live, and they must get there at their own expense, including in areas where there is no or limited public transportation.
While laborers in other countries can drive to work, this is not possible in North Korea, where private car ownership (while growing) remains rare and is restricted to a relatively wealthy elite in Pyongyang. Instead, workers often must walk or bike miles to their work sites, departing early to arrive on time.
Bicycles, while a popular mode of transportation in the DPRK, are still a significant financial burden for North Koreans, where the average monthly salary is only a few dollars at most. When I was in the country, I used Chinese bicycles that typically cost around $50 to $60, while used Japanese bicycles cost as much as $200.
This means that purchasing a bicycle in North Korea is an expense not unlike buying a car in other countries, requiring ordinary citizens to save for years. Thus, in reality, bicycles are not something that everyone can own.
North Korean workers carry banners at a job site | Image: NK News
EARLY, BUT NOT EARLY ENOUGH
To better understand how the work site operated, it may be helpful if I share about a real day in my life as a construction worker.
At the time, our job was to tear down an old two-story building and build a five-story one in its place. Apparently, another construction company had been handling the project but their performance was poor, so our company had to take it over. We were in the process of digging foundations.
We would work each day from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., with a morning meeting at the start of the day.
On this particular day, I arrived at the work site by bicycle at 7:30 a.m. The commute took me an hour and a half.
When I arrived, everyone was already there except a coworker named Kwang Chol (pseudonym), who lived in the Ryokpo District of southern Pyongyang. The work team leader glared at me, ordering me to take out the tools for the 8 a.m. meeting and chiding me to come earlier to prepare.
I apologized and promised to arrive earlier from the next day, before helping another coworker named Sang Chol (pseudonym) to move pickaxes and shovels from a warehouse.
One year older than I was, Sang Chol was a friend who lived in Pyongyang’s relatively central Songyo District. Not owning a bicycle, he commuted by tram.
Curious, I asked when he arrived for work and he said about 7:15 a.m. I thought to myself that the bosses actually wanted us to arrive an hour before the meeting, and from then on, I left home at 5:30 a.m. each day to get to the work site by 7 a.m.
North Korean workers at a job site | Image: NK News
THE MORNING MEETING
At 10 minutes until 8 a.m., about 500 construction workers from the center gathered in a corner of the construction site.
The center’s chief engineer raised his voice at the beginning of the meeting, warning those with “no concept of time” would be marked late if they didn’t arrive by 8 a.m.
At that moment, a worker passed by, slightly bent over and pushing a bicycle. The chief engineer called him out, castigating him for arriving five minutes late. He demanded to know what workplace he was from, and then asked where his workplace leader was from.
As it turned out, neither the workplace leader nor the deputy workplace leader had arrived yet. They were apparently out handling the “welfare supply service,” which refers to arranging meals, drinks and snacks for workers.
“Look at this, even the workplace leader hasn’t come out yet, so that’s why these workplace workers are late like this,” the chief engineer said.
Around 13 people were late like this, and the chief engineer interrogated the workplace leaders or team leaders each time a tardy worker appeared.
The chief engineer continued the meeting by admonishing workers for “collecting wood scraps at the work site like rats,” which they did to take home for firewood or to sell as kindling at the market.
He also accused workers of stealing cement from the construction site and stressed that even scraps were construction materials.
“If I catch anyone wandering around the construction site during break or lunch time, I’ll work with the personnel department to delay your overseas assignment by one year. If you don’t care about overseas dispatch, do as you please.”
North Korean workers on a job site | Image: KCTV
OFF TO WORK WE GO
The morning assembly finally ended after an hour and work began at 9 a.m. The day’s task was to make mortar by mixing sand, cement and water, which is not easy when you have to do it by hand without the help of machines.
Just as we were about to start work, Kwang Chol from Ryokpo District arrived. Since this construction began, he had been late almost every day because his home was far.
The team leader spotted him and called out, “Hey! You bastard Kwang Chol. You’re late again today.” The harsh language froze all the team members, but everyone was more shocked when he started beating Kwang Chol with his fists and feet.
He struck at the latecomer’s face, ribs and shins while hurling abuse about his tardiness. The assault only stopped when blood began flowing from Kwang Chol’s nose.
The rest of us began work as if nothing had happened.
When lunch time came, everyone ate food that they had brought from home. But Kwang Chol didn’t have one, so the other workers each gave him a spoonful of rice from their own lunch boxes.
When he tried to slip away, the team leader called to him: “Let’s eat together. Sit there, and don’t raise my blood pressure again.” He also offered him a drink.
“Hey, Kwang Chol, I went a bit overboard this morning, but it’s all for your own good,” he said. “If you live in society like that, you won’t survive anywhere.”
Kwang Chol just shed tears without answering, only eating his meal, and everyone felt sorry for him.
North Korean construction workers on a job site | Image: NK News
THIRD-FLOOR ACROBATICS
That afternoon, we proceeded with the work of mixing mortar, which we then had to carry on poles to the masonry site and up to the third floor.
At one point, we had to cross a long beam only a foot wide (30 cm), requiring the two people carrying some 110 pounds (50 kg) of mortar to perform a kind of acrobatics. It was dangerous work: A fall likely meant broken legs, a cracked skull or worse, due to the rebar sticking out of the concrete.
I opened my eyes wide and concentrated on my feet while on the beam. Every time I safely crossed, a cold sweat ran down my spine.
Work ended at 10:30 p.m., when the electricity supplied to the publishing house was cut off due to power shortages. After a work summary meeting, I got on my bike and pedaled furiously to get back home before midnight. In a few short hours, I’d have to wake up and do it all over again.
The above account is just a single day from my experience at a North Korean construction site. But it showcases the deplorable conditions at these workplaces, and the way in which the DPRK state ruthlessly violates the dignity and right to life of workers.
North Korean construction workers leave work in the evening | Image: NK News
Edited by Bryan Betts
13. North Korea's Regime and Markets Engage in Invisible Battle
Summary:
South Korean experts argue a “hidden battle” is unfolding between the north Korean regime and the markets it tries to control, with market activity plus the spread of Hallyu seen as especially corrosive to regime stability. Economist Kim Byung-yeon says no regime ultimately defeats market forces, making the current tension structurally fragile. KDI’s Lee Seok contends food access has improved overall and tight state control reduces the likelihood of a famine-scale crisis, but market restrictions worsen distribution and daily livelihoods, especially for low-income groups. Former unification vice minister Kim Chun-sig expects stronger market and food controls, framing them as core social control alongside anti-Hallyu laws tied to Kim Jong-un’s late-2023 “two-state” line. He also argues Kim Ju-ae is being elevated as a successor, though succession stability is uncertain.
Comment: this is the overlooked fight on the Korean peninsula. These markets are the lifelines and source of resilience for the Korean people in the north. Yet they are an existential threat to the Kim family regime if Kim cannot control them. Our failure to observe these activities as indications and warnings will ensure we are caught flat footed when internal instability takes place. And our failure will be catastrophic if we do not sufficiently plan and prepare for the very real possibility of regime collapse (keeping in mind that the conditions of regime collapse could drive KJU to make the decision to go to war as his only potential path to survival).
Catastrophic Collapse of North Korea: Implications for the United States Military
https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/tr/pdf/ADA314274.pdf
This paper was an early assessment of North Korea's fragility, moving beyond simple deterrence to consider the messy aftermath of state failure, a topic crucial for U.S. defense planning. It highlighted that while collapse seems sudden, gradual decay makes it inevitable, requiring military and policy readiness for massive instability and refugee flows, and positioning China as a key player.
North Korea's Regime and Markets Engage in Invisible Battle
Experts: Market control and Hallyu's spread challenge regime stability
By Kim Min-seo
Published 2025.12.22. 16:46
Updated 2025.12.22. 17:36https://www.chosun.com/english/north-korea-en/2025/12/22/2ED6BXHKI5HKTHK76V52JJJC3I/
Kim Byung-yeon, a distinguished professor in the Department of Economics at Seoul National University, said on the 22nd, “A ‘hidden battle’ is unfolding between the North Korean regime and the markets it seeks to control.”
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. /News1
Professor Kim made these remarks at a discussion held in Gwanghwamun, Seoul, on the same day under the sponsorship of the Unification and Sharing Foundation, organized by the Empathy Korean Peninsula Research Group, themed ‘10 Questions: How Should We View North Korea?’. He stated, “At the level of the North Korean regime, the battle to control the markets is no easy fight,” adding, “It appears to be a very difficult battle, and in the history of the world, no regime has ever won a battle against the market.” Professor Kim added, “When market activities and the spread of Hallyu, the Korean Wave, are combined, they will have the most negative impact on the North Korean regime,” and stated, “In the long term, the tense relationship between the markets and the North Korean authorities seeking to control them is highly fragile.”
Lee Seok, a senior research fellow at the Korea Development Institute, KDI, said, “Currently, North Korean residents’ access to food is not in a bad situation,” and added, “Overall, there has been an improvement in access to food, and the North Korean authorities’ control has strengthened.” For this reason, Research Fellow Lee stated, “There is little possibility of a major food crisis like the one in the past when large-scale starvation occurred,” and added, “However, due to the North Korean authorities’ market control, distribution issues arise, making people’s livelihoods quite difficult. In some cases, especially for those with low income, the situation is even harder, but from the perspective of the North Korean regime, it does not seem to be a bad situation.”
Former Vice Minister of Unification Kim Chun-sig said regarding the future movements of the North Korean authorities, “They are likely to move in the direction of strengthening market control, including food.” Former Vice Minister Kim explained, “North Korean leader Kim Jong-un seems to have introduced the ‘hostile two-state theory’ in late 2023, believing that residents constantly looking toward the South could lead to dissatisfaction with the regime and shake the system, and that this could no longer be tolerated,” and added, “They are strengthening social control by enacting laws to block Hallyu, the Korean Wave, and market control is the most crucial form of social control.” He continued, “The North Korean regime is a society that operates based on control, and since control is directly linked to the regime’s stability, they will strengthen control,” and stated, “Shifting economic management from government-led to private-led would be a massive systemic transformation, which North Korea cannot possibly tolerate.”
Regarding the North Korean authorities’ efforts to highlight Kim Ju-ae’s presence, former Vice Minister Kim said, “Seeing how North Korea is exposing Kim Ju-ae, they are clearly treating her as a successor,” and added, “A successor and a second-in-command are completely different; a successor’s protocol is on par with the leader’s.” This means that the protocol for Kim Ju-ae is on par with that of Kim Jong-un. However, former Vice Minister Kim expressed skepticism, saying, “If a fourth-generation succession were to occur, Kim Ju-ae would become the successor, but given North Korea’s economic situation and external relations, it is questionable whether the environment will allow for a stable succession.”
14. Editorial: Armistice Line Drawn by South Korean Soldiers' Sacrifice – Can One Regime Concede It?
Summary:
Chosunilbo argues the JCS’s updated frontline guidance effectively shifts how the Military Demarcation Line is judged when ROK and UNC data differ, treating the more southerly line as the operational MDL and, in some areas, moving the practical boundary south by dozens of meters. The editorial says this risks tacitly accepting north Korean “borderization” activity and repeated MDL violations, and it criticizes any “voluntary retreat” as historically and internationally anomalous. It links the guidance to the Lee administration’s engagement posture, citing steps like halting anti-north Korea broadcasts, seeking to revive the Sept. 19 military agreement, and signaling flexibility on combined exercises. Its core claim is legitimacy: the armistice line was paid for in wartime sacrifice and cannot be adjusted unilaterally for diplomatic convenience.
Comment: Perhaps next someone will want to cede the Northern Limit Line (which is only a de facto boundary and not one that is internationally recognized - it was only established as a control measure after the Armistice to control South Korean vessels from venturing too far north.
Editorial: Armistice Line Drawn by South Korean Soldiers' Sacrifice – Can One Regime Concede It?
By The Chosunilbo
Published 2025.12.23. 00:00
Updated 2025.12.23. 00:57https://www.chosun.com/e
nglish/opinion-en/2025/12/23/RDHVTAN4CRFAHK7VRPHZVDU6AU/
A view from the Odusan Unification Observatory in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, of a village in Gaepung-gun, North Hwanghae Province, North Korea. /News1
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) issued guidelines to frontline units in September that adjusted the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) standards in a way more favorable to North Korea. Until now, frontline units had conducted operations against the North based on the MDL marked on South Korean military maps. However, the guidelines reportedly stated that if the South Korean military’s MDL and the U.N. Command’s MDL differ, the more southerly line should be considered the MDL. As a result, the MDL has retreated southward by dozens of meters in some areas compared to its previous position.
The demarcation line was originally marked by 1,292 signs when the armistice agreement was signed, but many have been lost, leaving only around 200 today. During this time, the South Korean military and the U.N. Command have each surveyed and marked the MDL on their own maps. Currently, about 60% of the demarcation lines between the two do not align.
North Korea has consistently violated the demarcation line under the pretext of surveying it. Since April of last year, it has mobilized large-scale forces to construct concrete barriers along the demarcation line, a process it calls “borderization,” leading to more frequent MDL violations. The issuance of these guidelines could be interpreted as tacitly accepting North Korea’s violations. Such a voluntary retreat from the border is unprecedented globally. For instance, China and India have clashed violently over territorial disputes in the Himalayas, with dozens killed or injured, neither side yielding even a few dozen meters.
The JCS’s issuance of the guidelines appears to align with the current administration’s policy toward North Korea. The government, claiming it seeks dialogue with the North, halted anti-North Korea broadcasts after 50 years and declared the restoration of the September 19 Military Agreement, which North Korea had unilaterally abandoned. It has also postponed joint South Korea-U.S. military drills, stating they could be suspended if necessary. Now, it has issued guidelines that effectively amount to a retreat from the border. The current demarcation line was established after fierce hilltop battles during the Korean War. Many South Korean soldiers sacrificed their lives to advance even a few meters. This guideline disregards that heavy sacrifice with a lighthearted decision. It is not something a single administration can unilaterally decide.
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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