Informal Institute for National Security Thinkers and Practitioners

Quotes of the Day:

“Patriotism is usually stronger than class hatred, and always stronger than internationalism.”

– George Orwell

"Forces beyond your control can take away everything you possess except one thing, your freedom to choose who you will respond to the situation."

– Viktor Frankl

"Don't hit at all if it is honorably possible to avoid hitting; but never hit soft!"

– Theodore Roosevelt

1. Anti-impeachment/Save Korea Rallies Overwhelm Pro-impeachment Rallies in Seoul

2. Opposition party to introduce impeachment motion against Han

3. Why Are North Korean Troops in Ukraine Taking Heavy Casualties?

4. Allies agree to get diplomatic, security agenda back on track

5. Why North Korean troops are suffering heavy losses in combat with Ukraine

6. N. Korea presumed to disband all organizations dealing with inter-Korean issues: Seoul

7. North Korean hackers stole $308M from Japanese crypto exchange, US and Japan say

8. NK troops likely to march in 2025 Moscow victory day parade: Kremlin aide

9. Former commander's notebook includes potential plan to incite N. Korean attacks

10. New activity detected at Kaesong Industrial Park, South Korean military says

11. Constitutional Court reaffirms Yoon's impeachment trial possible with 6 justices

12. Nominates Skeptic of US-ROK Extended Deterrence as Next US Under Secretary of Defense

13. Russian POWs in Ukraine call their North Korean allies ‘reckless’

14. North Korea’s mid-range ballistic missile systems spotted in Russia: expert

1. Anti-impeachment/Save Korea Rallies Overwhelm Pro-impeachment Rallies in Seoul

Photos and videos at the link below from Dr. Tara O.

The Korean and foreign media do not seem to be telling this story.

This aligns with what I learned of my visit to Seoul last week.

My notes from December 18th:

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.

I also received this strange and suspicious message via Linkedin out of the blue from someone in Korea whom I do not know.

I think the person who sent me this message may be referring to the CIA news at this link. I wonder if people in South Korea are using this report information on those who they think support north Korea, though I do find the whole VISA allegation a little far fetched):

CIA makes it easier for potential informants to share tips

https://apnews.com/article/cia-china-iran-north-korea-informants-9df0be211da7b2e914e8e5a12e90634e

The CIA wants to make it easier — and safer — for people in Iran, China and North Korea to share information with America’s premier spy agency.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Dear David Maxwell

It is such an honor to write this letter. I do not represent anybody or any organizations. I could not find your personal email. I am Justin Kim, currently residing in Incheon, South Korea. I am writing this letter to show a deep gratitude towards your brave voice.

It is widely known that the opposition party is attempting to withdraw U.S. forces from South Korea. They clearly stated in the initial impeachment statement that the president must be removed due to his neglect of North Korea, China, and Russia. This point is crucial because many Koreans have not considered it as significant, given that it has been repeatedly emphasized for nearly two decades. As a result, Koreans have become desensitized to this issue.

The majority of Koreans do not think— they simply do not care. In fact, the conflict between the majority and minority parties has become so routine that most people are unaware of what is truly happening, or more accurately, they do not want to know. For example, they even argue over important issues, such as honoring Korean War veterans. People fail to understand why such matters should even be a subject of debate.

One of their worst habits is their unquestioning acceptance. They do not criticize anything. Koreans, along with other East Asian cultures, place the highest value on group harmony, which leads them to view criticism as negative. On top of that, they often uncritically trust mainstream broadcasters, celebrities or influencers, such as left leaning broadcasters KBS, MBC, JTBC, or even K-pop stars. As a result, Koreans tend to align themselves with the narratives presented by these mainstream figures.

Most of the people who participated in the pro-impeachment protests were women in their 20s and 30s, likely motivated by the desire to showcase their actions on social media as a quick way to satisfy their moral vanity. It was strange to witness their behavior, as they seemed unaware of the implications of their actions. Perhaps they found the term “martial law” too intimidating. But they would never think about “why”. It is so sad. In the second attempt, the impeachment passed the assembly after the removal of the phrase "North Korea, China, and Russia."

A group of people from an internet community called ‘DC Inside’ (a Korean version of Reddit, but more right-leaning) organized to report individuals who posted pro-impeachment content to the CIA. Yes, the CIA. The reports are then processed by an AI system integrated with ESTA (Electronic Visa approval system). As a result, it seems that U.S. immigration is now rejecting ESTAs for individuals who posted "suspicious" content on social media. I never know if it actually works.

But what I do know is that you are the first one to point out that in the first impeachment statement, the opposition party made it clear that the president was wrong for neglecting “enemies”. This has caused those participated in the pro-impeachment protests to be considered “suspicious”, and “Anti-American”. The situation has become a meme, prompting many people to report to the CIA. This is particularly critical for young women, who are now voluntarily removing their posts, stopping their participation in protests. It is actually making them stop to listen to the president's speeches.

This could be a big comedy that we both can have a giggle at. But the whole CIA thing triggered a butterfly effect, revealing that many of the protest participants were Chinese international students who could speak Korean, trying to compromise the public opinion in Korea, and a significant number of accounts in internet communities were actually operated by Chinese. Suddenly, Koreans began to open their eyes.

The martial law exposed the infiltration of Chinese espionage. The CIA online reports even stopped bots—users would simply tag CIA, and the bot would disappear or disable itself. While it's unclear how effective this is, it seems to be working in some way.

The president's bold declaration of martial law would mark a significant turning point in the ongoing struggle between the CCP and the Free World. Last Saturday, an anti-impeachment protest took place in Gwanghwamun. While only less than 1000-2000 participated in the pro-impeachment protest, over 300,000 people gathered for the anti-impeachment protest to help the president.

Your voice made all of this possible. You prevented South Korea from falling into communization. You truly did. Thank you very much for your brave and eye-opening statement.

Sincerely,

Anti-impeachment/Save Korea Rallies Overwhelm Pro-impeachment Rallies in Seoul

https://eastasiaresearch.org/2024/12/23/anti-impeachment-save-korea-rallies-overwhelm-pro-impeachment-rallies-in-seoul/

Published dateDecember 23, 2024

Last modified dateDecember 23, 2024

Author_

Comments: 0

2024-12-23, Tara O

The mass media has focused on reporting the pro-impeachment protests in South Korea, leading readers to believe that the majority of Koreans support impeaching President Yoon Suk-yeol. However, this is far from the truth. The main stream media has been ignoring rallies that oppose the impeachment and support Yoon’s martial law declaration. This media blackout also happened during the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye starting in the fall of 2016. Both the Save Korea (anti-impeachment) rally and the pro-impeachment rally this past Saturday, 21 December 2024, were reported by some legacy media, but its bias remained; it drastically downplayed the Save Korea/anti-impeachment rally and inflated the pro-impeachment rally.

Save Korea, Anti-impeachment rally, 2024-12-21

Save Korea, anti-impeachment rally, 2024-12-21

Save Korea, anti-impeachment rally 2024-12-21

Save Korea, anti-impeachment rally, 2024-12-21

On 21 December 2024, the area from Gwanghwamun to City Hall to the South Gate (Namdaemun or Sungryemun) was packed with an estimated 2 million people opposing the impeachment. Although the majority of the Korean major media did not cover the newsworthy rally, Japanese media did, and showed a drone view (3:43), which shows the massiveness of this rally. It gives a sense of how huge this rally really is.

Here is another drone video posted on social media X.

These people came out not only to oppose the impeachment of President Yoon, but they also rallied to address several other concerns:

Tyrannical behavior of the leftist Democratic Party of Korea (DPK)-dominated National Assembly, which has weaponized the legislative branch’s lawmaking power
Investigating and revealing the truth about election fraud
Holding various politicians, including Lee Jae-myung and Moon Jae-in, accountable for their crimes
Stopping deep-rooted Chinese influence
Stopping deep-rooted North Korean influence

The pro-impeachment protest, on the other hand, was rather small.

2024-12-21. Pro-impeachment rally

The organizers of the pro-impeachment protest claimed 300,000, but the police estimated only 25,000 people showed up, a much smaller figure. (0:16) Meanwhile, some media reported less than 1/10 of the figure for the anti-impeachment, Save Korea rally. Readers can see for themselves in the figure below:

A Comparison, 2022-12-21: Left side: Save Korea, anti-impeach rally; Right side: pro-impeach rally.

News Daily Best’s capture of online messages of the pro-impeachment participant after seeing the massive anti-impeachment rally, 2024-12-21

A pro-impeachment protester live streamed the crowd at Gwanghwamun, Seoul, and saw the massive anti-impeachment/save Korea rally. After marking the map (Red: anti-impeachment; Blue: pro-impeachment), he posted “the red (area) is packed with Taegugki Army” (Taegugki means Korean flag) and pleaded, “please let more of us come [to the impeachment rally]. Today, the fire power is really lacking!!” (2:01)

In another left-wing online community, several postings state: “Wow, what’s going on at the Gwanghwamun rally today…it’s really depressing…..the voices opposing impeachment are f…ing loud…..I want to go home” and “I’m currently at Gwanghwamun. There is much more Taegugki Army here too (tears emoji). Last week, we were separated geographically, so I didn’t realize, but as I hear voices supporting Yoon Suk-yeol…I feel f….ing nervous…Their…amp is f…ing loud…voice are…f…ing loud……….hurry up and come out, it’s not that cold.” (2:43)

The Save Korea rallies are much larger than the pro-impeachment rallies. The Save Korea/anti-impeachment rally attendants wave the flags of the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the U.S. Many of them want the National Election Commission investigated and election integrity restored. They believe strongly in the ROK-U.S. alliance, and close relations with the U.S., Japan, and like-minded countries. They do not want South Korea to be dominated by China, North Korea, and socialism.

The save Korea rallies are held daily, some by the Constitutional Court (to oppose impeachment) and the Supreme Court (to demand Lee Jae-myung’s hearings do not continuously get delayed and he be imprisoned for his crimes). The rallies at Gwanghwamun (aka Syngman Rhee Plaza) are held daily as well, with a lot more people participating on Saturdays.

The below meme with country flags represents what these rallies, against impeachment and for impeachment, are really about.

Categories:Anti-impeachmentElection FraudPro-impeachmentProtestsRalliesSocialismSubversion

Tags:Anti-impeachment Martial Law Pro-impeachment Rallies

2. Opposition party to introduce impeachment motion against Han

Is the opposition overplaying its hand? Will the Korean people become fed up with the opposition's tactics? Will they determine that the opposition is more of a threat to the republic than President Yoon's declaration of martial law?

(3rd LD) Opposition party to introduce impeachment motion against Han | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Haye-ah · December 24, 2024

(ATTN: UPDATES with DP decision to impeach Han; CHANGES headline)

By Lee Haye-ah

SEOUL, Dec. 24 (Yonhap) -- The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) said it will introduce an impeachment motion against acting President Han Duck-soo on Tuesday over his refusal to promulgate two special counsel bills targeting President Yoon Suk Yeol and first lady Kim Keon Hee.

A party spokesperson told reporters the decision was adopted unanimously at a meeting of DP lawmakers and the motion will be reported to a plenary parliamentary session Thursday.

Democratic Party floor leader Park Chan-dae speaks during a party meeting at the National Assembly in Seoul on Dec. 24, 2024. (Yonhap)

hague@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Haye-ah · December 24, 2024

3. Why Are North Korean Troops in Ukraine Taking Heavy Casualties?

Still more questions for than answers for me.

I am not seeing anything that we can consider ground truth yet.

Why Are North Korean Troops in Ukraine Taking Heavy Casualties?

The North Korean army is one of the world’s largest. As it joins Russia’s war against Ukraine, its soldiers are paying a price for Kim Jong-un’s geopolitical maneuvers.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/23/world/asia/north-korea-military-russia-what-to-know.html?searchResultPosition=1

A photograph provided by North Korean state media showed troops taking part in a military parade last year in Pyongyang, North Korea.Credit...Korean Central News Agency, via Reuters

By Choe Sang-Hun

Reporting from Seoul

Dec. 23, 2024

Leer en español 阅读简体中文版閱讀繁體中文版

Want to stay updated on what’s happening in North Korea? Sign up for Your Places: Global Update, and we’ll send our latest coverage to your inbox.

For years, North Korea’s military has helped its leader, Kim Jong-un, keep control of his people and provide a buffer against the country’s sworn enemy, South Korea. With 1.3 million members, the North’s army is among the world’s largest conventional armed forces.

Now, with more than 11,000 North Korean troops fighting alongside Russian forces against Ukraine, it’s playing a more prominent role in Mr. Kim’s geopolitical gambit for much-needed cash and diplomatic leverage.

The troops that North Korea deployed are from its “Storm” Corps, special forces that are among the military’s best trained and most heavily indoctrinated. But they were badly prepared for drone attacks and the unfamiliar terrain far from their isolated homeland, according to South Korea’s National Intelligence Service.

More than 100 of them were killed and 1,000 others wounded in their first battles, the intelligence agency told South Korean lawmakers in a briefing on Thursday. The agency said a general-ranking officer may be among those killed, according to Lee Seong-kweun, a lawmaker who spoke to reporters after the closed-door briefing.

The agency said Mr. Kim appeared to be preparing to send more troops to Russia, as he sees Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II as an opportunity to advance his own military and diplomatic ambitions.

Here is what to know about the North Korean military and the troops Mr. Kim sent in his country’s first major intervention in an overseas conflict.

What are the North Korean troops’ weaknesses?

The North’s special forces have trained mainly for sniper missions, urban warfare and infiltrations by sea, air and across Korea’s many mountains. They have not trained enough for drone and trench warfare waged over terrain like the mostly open and flat Russia-Ukraine front line, said Doo Jin-ho, a senior analyst at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses in Seoul.

Image

Soldiers training at a base for special operations forces at an undisclosed location in North Korea in a photograph provided by the North Korean state media. Credit...Korean Central News Agency, via Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

For two years during the pandemic when North Korea shut down, its special forces rotated in and out of guard-post duties along the country’s border with China, missing some of their regular training, Mr. Doo said.

The North Korean troops’ deployment was so rushed that it could take time for Russia to integrate them properly into its military, South Korean intelligence officials told lawmakers. They were thrust into battle after learning a smattering of military terms, like “open fire,” “artillery” and “in position” in Russian, potentially creating problems in battlefield communications, they said.

“From top to bottom, the North Korean military has had no live combat experiences for decades,” said Ahn Chan-il, a former North Korean army sergeant living in South Korea. “The troops must have had a crash course on drone and infantry warfare, but the question is how well they are familiarized with it.”

Who is in charge?

Once dismissed by some outside observers as young and inexperienced, Mr. Kim, the country’s leader, has proved a strong commander in chief who rules with what the South Korean government has called a “reign of terror.”

His father and predecessor, Kim Jong-il, led his country with a “military-first” policy. He relied on the Korean People’s Army to hold the country together in the wake of a famine in the 1990s. In return, he allowed it to hog government resources, as well as to run profitable operations, such as mining, fisheries and smuggling.

Once Mr. Kim took over after his father’s death in 2011, he moved to subjugate the military elites, banishing or executing top generals. In 2015, Gen. Hyon Yong-chol, then the defense minister, was executed with an antiaircraft gun after he dozed off in Mr. Kim’s presence, according to South Korean intelligence officials.

In 2017, Mr. Kim sidelined Vice Marshal Hwang Pyong-so, the military’s top political officer. For two months, Mr. Hwang was made to sweep the front yard of a party building in Pyongyang, said Lee Ilkyu, a North Korean diplomat in Cuba who defected to Seoul last year.

North Korean officials live with constant fear because they don’t know when they might fall victim to Kim Jong-un’s impulsiveness, Mr. Lee added.

Outside analysts closely watch who accompanies Mr. Kim on his tours of military units and weapons test sites for signs of who might be in — or out of — his favor.

In September, the analysts began noticing two new faces in the circle of top officials around Mr. Kim: Col. Gen. Kim Yong-bok and Col. Gen. Ri Chang-ho. Their importance to Mr. Kim was revealed when they later accompanied the troops to Russia.

Image

People in South Korea watched TV images in October of soldiers believed to be from North Korea standing in line for supplies from Russia.Credit...Ahn Young-Joon/Associated Press

General Kim was identified as commander of the North’s special forces during a military parade in 2017, according to Hong Min, an analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification in Seoul. General Ri headed the military’s Reconnaissance General Bureau, which is involved in arms trade, cybercrime and other illicit activities to fatten Mr. Kim’s coffers.

On Monday, the United States and its allies blacklisted the two generals for their roles in Russia’s war. They join other key members of the North Korean government already blacklisted under United Nations Security Council resolutions.

The soldiers risk death for higher status.

The soldiers sent to Russia were probably from poor families. The chance to go abroad and the prospect of cash can be huge incentives for them, Mr. Ahn said. Russia could pay as much as $2,000 a month per North Korean soldier, according to the South Korean intelligence agency. Although their government is expected to take most of it, the remainder can still be a huge sum for an ordinary soldier.

North Korea was also boosting the morale of troops fighting on the front line by promising them fast-track induction into membership of the Workers’ Party, a highly coveted status symbol, said Kim Seongmin, a former North Korean army captain who runs a radio station in the South, citing informers inside the North.

“The troops had little hope for their future in the North,” said Kim Kwang-Jin, another North Korean defector, who works as a senior analyst at the government-run Institute for National Security Strategy in Seoul. “They go there at the risk of their lives, but they will also see it as an opportunity to make money and, if they are killed, to elevate their family’s social status to that of the war dead.”

Even if they suffered heavy casualties, Mr. Kim’s totalitarian control would make it impossible for the public to complain, defectors said.

“North Korea will take the casualties for granted,” said Sim Ju-il, a former North Korean army lieutenant colonel living in Seoul. “It will consider them an inevitable cost of gaining experience in modern warfare in case it should fight against the United States military in Korea.”

Choe Sang-Hun is the lead reporter for The Times in Seoul, covering South and North Korea. More about Choe Sang-Hun

A version of this article appears in print on Dec. 24, 2024, Section A, Page 7 of the New York edition with the headline: Heavy Losses in Ukraine For North Korean Forces. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

See more on: Russia-Ukraine War, Kim Jong-un , Kim Jong-il, National Intelligence Service (South Korea), Workers' Party of Korea

4. Allies agree to get diplomatic, security agenda back on track

Was it ever off track?

The government is functioning. However, it is worrisome that the opposition seems to be trying to upend the government in almost every way possible.

The Constitutional court has 180 days to rule on the impeachment. It took approximately 60 days during the Roh Myoo Hyun impeachment and 90 days during the Park Gun Hye impeachment. If the Constitutional Court upholds the impeachment there will be a snap election within 60 days. And the result of that election will put the winner in the Presidential Office the next day with no transition. So Korea is potentially looking at a transition in May or June or a return to the current government in March or April.

All this puts Korea behind as the US administration transitions. There is concern in Korea for "Korea passing" in that the Trump administration could ignore Korea during its political turmoil and decide to execute a north Korea policy without consultation. I personally do not think that the incoming Trump administration will be in any hurry to deal with north Korea and I am even more sure that Kim Jong Un will not want to deal with the new administration unless President Trump is willing to make some extreme concession (which I do not think he is willing to do). I think the appointment of Richard Grennell as special envoy (for rogue states - my assessment) means that the Trump administration is going to take a hardline against rogue states such as north Korea and Venezuela and other malign actors (love letters between Trump and Kim notwithstanding).

Allies agree to get diplomatic, security agenda back on track

koreaherald.com · by Ji Da-gyum · December 24, 2024

Foreign ministerial meeting highly likely to occur before Biden’s term ends

US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell (left) and South Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong Kyun walk out to deliver remarks to the news media prior to a meeting at the State Department in Washington on Monday. (EPA)

South Korea and the United States have agreed to bring their diplomatic and security agenda back on course after disruptions caused by President Yoon Suk Yeol's Dec. 3 martial law declaration, the Foreign Ministry in Seoul said Tuesday.

The agreement followed a meeting in Washington on Monday, local time, between South Korea’s First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun and US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell. Kim's trip marks the first by a senior Korean diplomat to the US since political turmoil erupted over Yoon’s martial law decree.

“Both vice ministers discussed plans for future high-level exchanges between South Korea and the US,” the Foreign Ministry said in a Korean-language statement. “They agreed to fully restore major diplomatic and security events that had been postponed, aiming to hold them at the earliest feasible and mutually convenient time.”

When asked whether the delayed meeting of the Nuclear Consultative Group would take place during the Biden administration's term, Campbell said “This is going to be one of the issues that we’re going to discuss today” during his remarks before the meeting.

“Our expectation is that the critical mechanisms in the US-ROK relationship will remain in place, and we believe that a meeting schedule is important,” Campbell added, referring to South Korea by its official name, the Republic of Korea.

Defense Ministry spokesperson Jeon Ha-kyu said during a press briefing on Tuesday that “the issue of the NCG is currently being closely coordinated between Korea and the United States to ensure its prompt convening,” though it remains uncertain whether it will take place before the end of the Biden administration.

Seoul and Washington have indefinitely postponed the fourth NCG meeting and the inaugural NCG Tabletop Exercise -- a discussion-based drill simulating nuclear and strategic responses to North Korea’s potential use of a nuclear weapon and other contingencies on the peninsula -- originally scheduled for Dec. 4 and 5.

The South Korean delegation, headed by Cho Chang-rae, the deputy defense minister for policy, had arrived in Washington for the meeting and TTX, but it was canceled at the last minute on Dec. 3.

Kim and Campbell also discussed North Korean issues, including potential provocations amid South Korea's political upheaval, during the meeting.

“Both vice ministers shared the view that there is a need to prepare for the possibility of North Korea miscalculating the current situation in Korea and carrying out various provocations,” the Foreign Ministry in Seoul said in the statement.

“They also agreed to intensify diplomatic efforts to block illicit military cooperation between Russia and North Korea, particularly at a juncture when the participation of North Korean troops in the war and their casualties have been confirmed.”

During the meeting, Kim also emphasized the importance of ensuring that the development of the alliance, as well as the close communication and coordination between the two countries for the complete denuclearization of North Korea, are effectively conveyed to the incoming Trump administration, with its inauguration less than a month away.

Kim called for Campbell’s special attention to this matter.

In response, Campbell said that he would relay Kim's points to the Trump administration to ensure the shared objectives between the allies can be achieved, according Seoul.

A senior South Korean government official on Monday also said that the Korean government is making efforts to “facilitate in-person engagements at various levels, including foreign ministers, as early as possible” following the inauguration of the second Trump administration.

The official, on condition of anonymity, emphasized that the Korean government, under Acting President Han Duck-soo, is open to engaging with President-elect Donald Trump, whether through a phone call or an in-person meeting.

“If President-elect Trump is willing, a phone call with acting President Han Duck-soo can be arranged, and an in-person meeting can also be facilitated,” the official said during a press briefing at the Korean Embassy in Washington.

The official also hinted that Seoul and Washington are working to schedule a foreign ministerial-level meeting before the end of the Biden administration.

“I am not certain whether it will take place in Korea or the US, but it is clear that higher-level (in-person) consultations beyond the vice foreign ministerial level will be held,” the official said.

koreaherald.com · by Ji Da-gyum · December 24, 2024

5. Why North Korean troops are suffering heavy losses in combat with Ukraine

Again, still more questions than answers. I have seen no credible reporting on how they are really performing in combat.

Why North Korean troops are suffering heavy losses in combat with Ukraine

Experts suggest DPRK soldiers were ill-prepared for modern combat, while stressing they will quickly learn from mistakes

https://www.nknews.org/2024/12/why-north-korean-troops-are-suffering-heavy-losses-in-combat-with-ukraine/

Anton Sokolin December 24, 2024

North Korean soldiers during infiltration drills at the Kangdong training grounds in March 2024 | Image: KCTV (March 16, 2024)

Reports from Ukraine indicate that casualties are rapidly mounting among the North Korean troops deployed to support Russia’s invasion, with the latest estimate finding that DPRK soldiers’ poor preparedness for modern warfare has already resulted in thousands of dead or wounded.

But experts cautioned against underestimating the 11,000 North Korea forces fighting in Kursk, emphasizing that recent failures will only push Moscow and Pyongyang to reassess their tactics and provide valuable lessons for the DPRK’s military strategists.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Tuesday that North Korea has suffered over 3,000 casualties in the Kursk region, accusing Russian authorities of “simply disposing of them in assaults.”

“Why the Koreans should fight for Putin is a question that no normal person on Earth can answer,” the Ukrainian leader said. “And unfortunately, the world is doing almost nothing to counter the criminal collaboration between Russia and North Korea.”

The latest figure marks a significant increase from the few hundred initially reported by Ukrainian military intelligence, and from the 1,100 casualties that the South Korean military estimated Monday.

The reported losses, along with Ukrainian military footage of alleged North Korean soldiers struggling to counter drones, have cast doubt on DPRK troops’ competence and raised questions about whether they are doing more to help or harm Russia’s war efforts.

Experts told NK News that while North Korean troops appeared helpless marching exposed to enemy fire across snow fields in Kursk, they still played a significant role in Russia’s counteroffensive that has seized large swaths of land previously held by Ukraine.

After regrouping and “licking their wounds,” North Korean commanders and soldiers will likely borrow new tactics from their Russian counterparts, they said, albeit after paying high cost.

BIG LOSSES?

Despite Kyiv’s claims that many North Koreans died in Kursk, it is hardly possible to know the real extent of casualties among DPRK troops as neither Moscow or Kyiv disclose their respective figures, reporting only on the losses of the other side.

Russian journalist and military expert Valery Shiryaev has recently pointed out that the reliability of DPRK casualty reports coming from the Ukrainian side is quite low, given the tendency among Kyiv and Moscow militaries to exaggerate each other’s losses.

Chris Monday, a Russia researcher at Dongseo University, also told NK News that Zelensky’s figures “have to be taken with a grain of salt.”

Similarly, Ruslan Leviev, the head of the Conflict Intelligence Team, recently raised doubts about the accuracy of the ROK’s assessment of DPRK losses, explaining that a 1:10 kill-to-injury ratio is unrealistic for this conflict.

The expert said the ratio for Russian forces is 1:3.5, while for Ukraine it is around 1:4.5, stating that it is highly unlikely North Korean troops were able to evacuate every 10 wounded soldiers for every one killed.

Military analyst Joost Oliemans assessed that while DPRK forces have likely suffered serious casualties, the actual results were far from being “extremely grim.”

“Once you realize what they’re doing, such as trying to force breakthroughs using localized surges of light infantry assaults, some method to the madness emerges,” he told NK News.

The Russian forces likely avoid such operations because “they’ve lost the requisite morale, fitness and general training,” the expert suggested.

“The North Koreans do not seem to be lacking in those respects, and it appears they’ve managed to garner some limited successes, despite the gruesome cost.”

The Deep State open-sourced project detailing military operations of Russian and Ukrainian troops in the Kursk region on Aug. 15, 2024 | Image: DeepState

Russian forces have regained some 40% of the territory Ukraine seized during its initial incursion into Kursk in August, according to The Washington Post. The assessment aligns with the Ukrainian project Deep State Map, which is tracking the position of the frontline in Donbas and Kursk.

At the same time, Oliemans expressed doubt that North Korean troops would be able to present Russia with “dramatic” results, rather expecting only “incremental” gains.

DPRK TROOPS’ STRENGTHS

The North Korean troops deployed to Russia reportedly come from the Storms Corps, a special forces unit originally trained for incursions into South Korea, and the challenges they have experienced fighting Ukraine likely stem from the very different environment they have encountered on the battlefields of Eastern Europe.

Commenting on footage that shows DPRK soldiers being hit by cluster munitions and drones in a snowy field, Joost Oliemans compared North Korean troops to a “specialized tool” that has been misapplied.

“Their intended niche is to force and exploit breakthroughs in the initial phases of a conflict against an enemy that may be taken by surprise,” the expert told NK News, “not marched against well-prepared fortifications in an almost perfectly monitored battlespace.”

Andrei Lankov, a professor at Kookmin University, compared the DPRK’s tactics to those from World War I, when troops would “walk in long lines across fields and trenches.”

“Most likely they were told to do so by their North Korean superiors, who are expectedly slow to adapt due to the prevalent bureaucratic rigidity in the DPRK armed forces,” he told NK News.

Leviev of the Conflict Intelligence Team notably assessed that North Korean generals appear to be leading DPRK “expeditionary forces” isolated from Russian troops, coordinating their actions with Russian counterparts.

However, the Pentagon previously reported that some North Korean troops are integrated with Russian units. Yang Uk, a military analyst at Asan Institute, suggested that the DPRK soldiers have suffered casualties in part because they are just following orders, without having the liberty to “take their own actions in the field.”

Additional factors like the language barrier and limitations in communication with Russian commanders have likely added complexity to the operations of North Korean soldiers, the expert said, explaining that the DPRK likely couldn’t replicate Russian tactics using compact and mobile units for assaults.

“Russians can [participate in assaults] in groups of three to five, but North Koreans had to be placed in bigger formations,” he said.

Using this approach, Russian commanders must have expected high casualties when they sent North Korean soldiers on “rough missions,” according to Ryo Hinata-Yamaguchi, associate professor at Tokyo International University Institute for International Strategy.

OUTLOOK

Experts didn’t rule out the possibility of North Korean troops catching up with Russian forces and improving their performance, although it will likely come as a result of trial and effort rife with more personnel losses.

Retired ROK Lt. Gen. Chun In-bum said the high level of discipline among North Korean soldiers will be to their advantage on the battlefield, stressing that “the lack of experience will soon be filled.”

“The Ukrainians mock them but soon they might be in for a surprise as the North Koreans learn from their mistakes,” he told NK News. “The ones who don’t adapt will be dead soon and there will be a lot of them who will be better troops.”

North Korean soldiers during infiltration drills at the Kangdong training grounds in March 2024 | Image: KCTV (March 16, 2024)

Oliemans suggested that “the time for licking wounds and reevaluating tactics might be soon at hand,” although he remained skeptical whether they will be able to “keep this up too long without losing effectiveness.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if the North Koreans are clamouring to get redeployed anywhere else,” he said. “Attempting to open a new front, distracting Ukrainian forces or interdicting logistics in deep penetrations without support are much more in line with their intended uses.”

Lankov underscored the bureaucratic rigidity of North Korean command structures, suggesting that meaningful changes will require senior Russian officers to escalate complaints up the chain of command, possibly to Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un.

Yang Uk similarly noted that authoritarian systems are inherently slow to adapt, often leading to a “lot of blood shed,” while Shiryaev noted North Korean generals’ reliance on military doctrines rooted in Soviet manuals from the 1940-50s.

But the researcher Monday stressed that “North Korea is entering this war very slowly and tentatively,” suggesting progress will become apparent only gradually.

“In 2022, analysts were amazed by the poor performance of the Russian army after their many failures to seize territory,” he said. “The following year, the situation had reversed and it was the Ukrainian army that failed to achieve a breakthrough.”

Edited by Bryan Betts

6. N. Korea presumed to disband all organizations dealing with inter-Korean issues: Seoul

But the regime is not disbanding organizations charged with conducting subversion of the ROK government, Korean society, or the South Korea-US alliance.

We must not ever forget the nature, objectives, and strategy of the Kim family regime and that it remains solely focused on domination of the Korean peninsula to ensure regime survival and it will use all tools at its disposal from political warfare and blackmail diplomacy to advanced warfighting capabilities to achieve unification of the entire peninsula by force under the rule of the Guerrilla Dynasty and Gulag State.

We must not be misled by these cosmetic changes.

N. Korea presumed to disband all organizations dealing with inter-Korean issues: Seoul | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Park Boram · December 24, 2024

By Park Boram

SEOUL, Dec. 24 (Yonhap) -- North Korea is presumed to have disbanded all of its roughly 10 official organizations responsible for addressing inter-Korean issues, following leader Kim Jong-un's order last year to codify South Korea as its primary foe, a unification ministry official said Tuesday.

The official disclosed the assessment as the ministry published the latest editions of its annually published directories of North Korea's key government and party cadres.

Of the 11 North Korean organizations listed as responsible for inter-Korean relations in the 2023 editions, all were either deleted or marked as "presumably disbanded" in the 2024 versions, including the National Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, a state agency that previously handled talks with the South.

They also include the Democratic Front for the Reunification of Korea, the National Reconciliation Council and five other agencies responsible for inter-Korean issues, which North Korea previously announced as abolished through news reports.

"Including the eight agencies that the North said it had disbanded, around 10 organizations dealing with relations with the South are presumed to have been abolished," the ministry official noted.

North Korea appears to have undergone an organizational revamp after Kim, during a year-end plenary party meeting in December last year, defined inter-Korean relations as those between "two states hostile to each other" and ordered agencies handling inter-Korean issues to be discarded.

Under the move, the United Front Department, a key party organ in charge of affairs with South Korea, was also renamed the Workers' Party of Korea Central Committee Bureau 10.

This file photo of North Korean Defense Minister No Kwang-chol was published by the Korean Central News Agency on Nov. 18, 2024. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

"With the renaming, some of its functions appear to have been transferred to the foreign ministry, although the organization's status seems largely unchanged, as shown by the protocol and treatment accorded to (its leadership, such as) adviser Kim Yong-chol and the head, Ri Son-gwon," the official stated.

The official also assessed that Defense Minister No Kwang-chol, who assumed office earlier in October, and the new Public Security Minister Pang Tu-sop might have been elected as full and preliminary members of the party's Politburo, respectively.

This image, captured from North Korea's state-run Korean Central Television, shows the new Public Security Minister Pang Tu-sop in the red circle. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

pbr@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Park Boram · December 24, 2024

7. North Korean hackers stole $308M from Japanese crypto exchange, US and Japan say

A Christmas present for Kim Jong Un from the all purpose sword.

North Korean hackers stole $308M from Japanese crypto exchange, US and Japan say

Finding confirms previous research linking Lazarus Group to the elaborate social engineering campaign

https://www.nknews.org/2024/12/north-korean-hackers-stole-308m-from-japanese-crypto-exchange-us-and-japan-say/

Shreyas Reddy December 24, 2024

Japanese yen currency notes | Image: Maccabee via Pixabay (March 27, 2017)

North Korean cybercriminals stole $308 million in virtual funds earlier this year after infiltrating a Japanese cryptocurrency exchange’s systems through an elaborate social engineering campaign, according to U.S. and Japanese authorities.

In a press release on Monday, the FBI, the U.S. Department of Defense Cyber Crime Center and the National Police Agency of Japan attributed the theft of 4,502.9 bitcoin from DMM Bitcoin in May to TraderTraitor, a cryptocurrency-focused threat cluster associated with North Korea’s Lazarus Group.

Also known as Jade Sleet, UNC4899 and Slow Pisces, the group often carries out targeted social engineering campaigns against multiple employees of the same company to achieve its goals, the press release added.

The joint investigation gives credence to the findings of U.S. blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis, which reported last week that North Korean cybercriminals were behind the DMM Bitcoin operation, one of several major heists through which Pyongyang amassed virtual funds worth over $1.3 billion this year.

DMM Bitcoin announced earlier this month that it will shut down its operations after transferring its remaining accounts and assets to cryptocurrency finance firm SBI VC Trade, while continuing to investigate the breach.

Blockchain sleuth ZachXBT previously attributed the campaign to Lazarus Group in a thread on social media, outlining the attackers’ cryptocurrency laundering activities, but Tuesday’s press release marks the first official confirmation of TraderTraitor’s involvement.

ENGINEERING THE BREACH

According to the U.S. and Japanese law enforcement agencies, the North Korean actor initiated the campaign in March by approaching an employee at the Japan-based cryptocurrency wallet software firm Ginco under the guise of a recruiter on LinkedIn.

The attackers then sent the target a web address linked to a malicious script written in the Python programming language, which they claimed was a pre-employment test on development platform GitHub. After the target, who had access to Ginco’s wallet management system, copied the Python code to their personal GitHub page, the attackers compromised the victim’s system.

This approach using LinkedIn is typical of North Korean campaigns like Lazarus’ Operation Dream Job, in which the attackers try to deceive targets in priority fields such as cryptocurrency and defense by masquerading as recruiters.

In mid-May, the threat actor impersonated the compromised employee to gain access to Ginco’s unencrypted communications system, and likely manipulated a legitimate transaction request by a DMM employee later the same month to steal cryptocurrency and transfer it to their own wallets.

According to Chainalysis’ report last week, the North Korean cybercriminals moved the stolen funds to several intermediary addresses before sending them to a Bitcoin CoinJoin mixer, which scrambles transaction addresses and amounts to make them harder to track.

They subsequently transferred part of the funds through multiple bridging services used to move assets between different blockchain networks, and the money eventually made its way to the Cambodian online marketplace Huione Guarantee, a known cybercrime hub.

A Japanese police advisory on Tuesday drew attention to North Korean cybercriminals’ use of sophisticated social engineering tactics, including tailoring their communications to suit targets’ backgrounds and switching conversations to other social networks or messaging apps after the initial LinkedIn outreach.

To guard against such tactics, the police advised potential victims to avoid accessing company systems using a personal computer, request video calls with unknown people who reach out and save screenshots of conversations, among other measures.

The advisory also prescribed several precautions for system administrators, including checking whether the domain they are communicating with was registered recently, restricting access levels to what is strictly necessary for work and checking inconsistencies with access requests outside normal hours.

The joint investigation highlights Washington’s ongoing efforts to work with international partners to crack down on DPRK cybercrime, and the U.S. and Japanese authorities pledged to continue efforts to “expose and combat North Korea’s use of illicit activities” to generate revenue for the regime.

The U.S. also reportedly plans to work with South Korea to develop technologies to prevent attacks on virtual currency services and track stolen assets, in line with recent bilateral cooperation to counter Pyongyang’s sanctions evasion through cryptocurrency theft.

Edited by Alannah Hill

8. NK troops likely to march in 2025 Moscow victory day parade: Kremlin aide

Who can goose step better, north Korean or Russian troops?

NK troops likely to march in 2025 Moscow victory day parade: Kremlin aide

The Korea Times · December 24, 2024

Visitors view the Soviet T-34-76 medium tank during an exhibition commemorating the 83rd historical parade, which celebrates the anniversary of the 1941 'Battle of Moscow' during World War II, held in Red Square, Moscow, Nov. 7. EPA-Yonhap

Kremlin foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov said on Monday that he thought it likely that North Korean soldiers would take part in next year's Moscow's Red Square parade to commemorate the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.

Ukraine says North Korean soldiers have fought on Russia's side against Ukrainian troops trying to hold territory in Russia's Kursk region. Moscow has neither confirmed nor denied the presence of North Korean troops on its soil.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un signed a "Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty" during Putin's visit to Pyongyang in June.

The pact includes a mutual defence pact for immediate military assistance if either faces armed aggression. (Reuters)

The Korea Times · December 24, 2024

9. Former commander's notebook includes potential plan to incite N. Korean attacks

Again, an incredible report or a "northern wind" conspiracy?

Or is this disinformation to influence north Korea to not conduct provocations in response to potential South Korean actions? Does this help prevent miscalculation and escalation? Playing 3 dimensional chess or Go/Baduk at the same time?

Former commander's notebook includes potential plan to incite N. Korean attacks

donga.com

Posted December. 24, 2024 08:05,

Updated December. 24, 2024 08:05

Former commander's notebook includes potential plan to incite N. Korean attacks. December. 24, 2024 08:05. by 임재혁 기자 heok@donga.com.

The police, investigating the illegal declaration of martial law on December 3, have confirmed the contents of former Information Commander Noh Sang-won’s notebook, which states that the South Korean military “induces North Korean attacks.” The police are looking into these revelations in light of Article 99 of the Landesverrat under the Criminal Act, “General Treason” charges. Given that Noh's notebook, which details his involvement in martial law, suggests efforts to provoke North Korean attacks, there is growing scrutiny over whether the charges will be extended to President Yoon Suk Yeol and former Minister of National Defense Kim Yong-hyun, who declared the martial law.

On Monday, the National Investigation Headquarters’ Special Martial Law Investigation Team of the National Police Agency announced at a press conference that “the notebook secured from former Commander Noh’s residence contained the contents of ‘inducing North Korean attacks at the NLL (Northern Limit Line).’” The team further stated they would investigate whether the notebook included specific references, such as “hitting the origin of the sewage balloon.”

Crimes of treason encompass offenses that threaten a nation from external forces. Article 92 of the Landesverrat under the Criminal Act stipulates that “whoever conspires with a foreign country to open hostilities against the Republic of Korea, or conspires with a foreign national to commit treason against the Republic of Korea, shall be punished by death or life imprisonment.” The police are considering general treason charges for former Commander Noh based on this. The notebook retrieved by the police contains various sections related to martial law. Additionally, there are references to individuals, including politicians, listed as “targets for collection.” When asked whether the entire notebook pertained to martial law, a special investigation official confirmed, “Basically (yes). While not every detail has been confirmed, there is substantial related content.” The official also mentioned the notebook included references to terms like “blockade of the National Assembly” and names of politicians, journalists, religious figures, unions, judges, and public officials, all labeled as “targets of collection.” This could suggest potential plans for their arrest.

The opposition party has argued that the contents of former Commander Noh’s notebook represent a “North Wind operation” aimed at provoking conflict with North Korea to spark a rebellion. The Democratic Party of Korea condemned these actions, stating, “If the president tried to incite conflict with another country, it clearly falls under the crime of treason,” and called for Yoon Suk Yeol's arrest along with a thorough investigation into the internal rebellion and treason.

한국어

donga.com

10. New activity detected at Kaesong Industrial Park, South Korean military says

Salvaging all remaining useful items?

Tuesday

December 24, 2024

dictionary + A - A

New activity detected at Kaesong Industrial Park, South Korean military says

https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2024-12-24/national/northKorea/New-activity-detected-at-Kaesong-Industrial-Park-South-Korean-military-says/2208017

Published: 24 Dec. 2024, 13:22

A satellite view of a damaged border road over Kaesong, North Korea, after North Korea's KCNA news agency reported that the military had blasted sections of road and rail links with South Korea on Oct.16. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

New activities seemingly involving the removal of items have been detected at the now-shuttered joint industrial park in the North Korean border city of Kaesong, the South Korean military said Monday.

The joint liaison office has remained abandoned since June 2020, when North Korea blew it up after lashing out at Seoul for failing to stop North Korean defectors in South Korea from sending anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the border.

Similar activities were observed prior to the 2020 explosion, prompting the South Korean military to remain vigilant for the possibility of another such explosion.

Last month, the North severed power lines installed by South Korea to supply electricity to the park, as part of its ongoing campaign to cut inter-Korean ties.

11. Constitutional Court reaffirms Yoon's impeachment trial possible with 6 justices

Constitutional Court reaffirms Yoon's impeachment trial possible with 6 justices | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Haye-ah · December 24, 2024

By Lee Haye-ah

SEOUL, Dec. 24 (Yonhap) -- The Constitutional Court reaffirmed Tuesday that President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment trial can proceed with just six justices as three vacancies have yet to be filled.

Lee Jin, a court spokesperson, made the remark in response to questions raised by Yoon's legal representative about whether the court should deliberate on Yoon's impeachment with a third of its bench empty.

"Our position is that everything from deliberations to oral arguments is possible even with six people," Lee said when asked by a reporter about the lawyer's remark earlier in the day. "There is no change in plans for the (first) preparatory hearing on Friday."

Wreaths sent by supporters of President Yoon Suk Yeol are lined up outside the Constitutional Court in Seoul on Dec. 19, 2024, expressing their opposition to Yoon's impeachment over his martial law declaration. (Yonhap)

The National Assembly's impeachment case against Yoon was filed Dec. 14 and the court has 180 days to decide whether to unseat or reinstate the president over his short-lived imposition of martial law early this month.

Yoon has refused to cooperate with the court's preparations for the trial, including an order to submit the minutes of a Cabinet meeting he convened shortly before declaring martial law and the text of the martial law decree issued the same day.

The court said the previous day it will go ahead with the proceedings despite Yoon's refusal to receive various documents sent by the court by considering them served last Friday when they were delivered to his residence.

The justices have scheduled a meeting Thursday to discuss preparations for the trial.

When asked if there are any consequences for Yoon's refusal to submit the required documents or the absence of his legal defense team at Friday's preparatory hearing, Lee said that decision will be up to the justices.

hague@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Haye-ah · December 24, 2024

12. Nominates Skeptic of US-ROK Extended Deterrence as Next US Under Secretary of Defense

This does not bode well for the ROK-US Alliance.

Being a fan of Justice Scalia I will not attack people but only ideas. These ideas of US extended deterrence are problematic for the alliance and more importantly for US national security.

This is a Google translation of an RFA report.

Nominates Skeptic of US-ROK Extended Deterrence as Next US Under Secretary of Defense

https://www.rfa.org/korean/in_focus/human_rights_defector/us-defense-nominee-colby-skepticism-extended-deterrence-12232024144501.html

WASHINGTON-Lee Sang-min lees@rfa.org

2024.12.23

Albert Colby, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy

/ RFA Photo - Yoo Hyung-jun

00:00 /10:18

Anchor : A former U.S. Department of Defense official who has stated that the extended deterrence between South Korea and the U.S. is ineffective and that the role of U.S. forces in Korea should be comprehensively reexamined has been nominated as the next Under Secretary of Defense for Policy . Reporter Lee Sang-min reports .

US President-elect Donald Trump on the 22nd nominated Elbridge Colby, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategic Military Affairs, as Under Secretary of Defense for Policy .

In an interview with Radio Free Asia (RFA) last December, nominee Colby said that the Washington Declaration, which included measures to strengthen extended deterrence between South Korea and the United States, was ineffective in resolving the North Korean nuclear issue .

[ Colby Nominee ] I think the Washington Declaration is only symbolic and does not solve the real problem . If North Korea can threaten the U.S. mainland with a nuclear weapon , it is not reasonable to think that the U.S. should lose a number of cities to prevent North Korean provocations.

Nominee Colby argues that it is not reasonable for the United States to provide extended deterrence ( nuclear umbrella ) to South Korea at the risk of a nuclear attack on the American homeland from North Korea . [ Nominee Colby ] The core of the problem is nuclear weapons and long-range missiles . These are the two biggest threats from North Korea . In particular, the fact that they have the ability to strike the American homeland is a problem . This is not because Americans are more important than Koreans , but because this ability undermines America's traditional strategy .

He said that extended deterrence is based on the decision of the United States and that North Korea is well aware of this, and that if North Korea were to threaten a nuclear attack on American cities, it would be a very difficult problem, suggesting that the United States may not provide extended deterrence to South Korea.

He said that we should clearly recognize this problem and discuss together what can be done. In this regard, he said in another media outlet that we also need to consider arming South Korea with nuclear weapons .

Former US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense: “USFK Must Focus More on China Threats”

Dartmouth College Professor: “Many in the US and the Government Opinion on Korea Needs Nuclear Armament”

South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden officially announced the “Washington Declaration,” which included measures to strengthen U.S. extended deterrence, at the White House summit on July 26 last year. The photo shows the joint press conference held after the meeting. /Yonhap

Nominee Colby also said the structure and deployment of U.S. forces in Korea must be comprehensively reviewed.

He pointed out that while the US Forces in Korea are currently facing threats from North Korea, that is not the biggest challenge facing the two countries, and that the most important task to consider is China.

[ Colby Nominee ] The most important thing we have to do is to make sure that China does not dominate this region . If we focus our efforts on defending North Korea and lose a war with China , it will be meaningless . So I think we have to completely review the structure and deployment of our forces in Korea .

He said that South Korean forces need to be refocused on North Korea and that US forces in Korea need to be refocused on supporting the US in its fight against China, and that this is an issue that needs to be discussed openly and honestly before an emergency arises.

He also criticized Korea's opposition to the intervention of US forces in Korea in the event of an emergency in Taiwan as being imprudent.

[ Colby nominee ] What would the United States think if South Korea told them not to move US troops to South Korea when the US was involved in a major war with China over Taiwan ? “ You are the same ally who told us in our crisis that we cannot use our military .” How useful would that alliance be ? I don’t think it would be prudent for South Korea to make that decision.

Colby, who is confirmed by the Senate, will begin his official duties as undersecretary of defense for policy.

This is Lee Sang-min of RFA Free Asia Broadcasting .

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

13. Russian POWs in Ukraine call their North Korean allies ‘reckless’

Grain of salt.

I remember being at a conference in 2001 that had a Russian colonel on a panel. We were discussing the intelligence value of information from POWs. He said he would never trust information from POWs because he could make them tell him anything he wanted to hear.

Russian POWs in Ukraine call their North Korean allies ‘reckless’

The North Korean soldiers are better equipped and better fed than the Russians, but they lack discipline, they said.

By Eugene Whong for RFA

https://www.rfa.org/english/korea/2024/12/23/north-korea-russian-pows-in-ukraine/

2024.12.23

In a video exclusively obtained by Ukrainian media, captured Russian soldiers describe the treatment and behavior of North Korean troops sent to aid Russia.

Russian prisoners of war captured by Ukrainian forces complained about the lack of discipline and professionalism of North Korean troops dispatched to fight in the conflict, video footage of their interrogation shows.

The videos, published by media outlet RBC-Ukraine shows two Russian soldiers explaining how the North Koreans were “reckless.”

One of the soldiers explained how the North Koreans opened fire on approaching Russians, and how they even shot at other North Koreans.

“They say that they’re headless, that they don’t care where to go and how they go,” he said. “Insane guys.”

The other soldier said that North Koreans fire indiscriminately at any and all drones.

“To be honest, the farther away from the Koreans, the calmer it is...,” he said. “They shoot at ... anything that flies. It doesn’t matter if it’s a Russian or Ukrainian (drone).”

The soldiers also said that North Korean troops are better equipped than they were, with the first saying that they had newer weapons and they were better fed than their Russian counterparts.

“I know they eat well,” he said. “If they eat raw smoked sausage, the most delicious thing we ate in the dining room was buckwheat porridge.”

The video footage of the two prisoners, if legitimate, would be yet another example of evidence that North Korea is helping Russia in its war in Ukraine, which Pyongyang and Moscow have not outwardly confirmed.

14. North Korea’s mid-range ballistic missile systems spotted in Russia: expert

North Korea’s mid-range ballistic missile systems spotted in Russia: expert

Pyongyang is suspected of sending weapons to Russia to support its invasion of Ukraine.

By Taejun Kang for RFA

https://www.rfa.org/english/korea/2024/12/23/north-korea-missile-russia/

2024.12.22

North Korea tests a KN-15 ballistic missile – also known as a Pukguksong-2 – in this undated photo released May 22, 2017. (KCNA via Reuters)

TAIPEI, Taiwan – North Korea is supplying its medium-range KN-15 ballistic missile system to Russia for its war in Ukraine, a Ukrainian defense researcher said, citing evidence of video footage of what he said was a train carrying the system through Russia.

North Korea has been suspected of sending weapons to Russia to support its invasion of Ukraine. South Korea said in October that the North had sent about 7,000 containers of weapons to Russia over the previous two months, bringing the total number of containers to 20,000.

An image made from video shows what Ukrainian defense researcher Andriy Tarasenko says is North Korea’s KN-15 ballistic missile system spotted in Russia. (Andriy Tarasenko via Telegram)

“Another echelon with Korean equipment spotted in the Tyumen region. Shown are 10 M1989 Koksan and presumably 4 Pukguksong-2 IRBMs (2500 km),” said Andriy Tarasenko on his Telegram channel on Sunday, sharing a 19-second video as evidence.

M1989 Koksan refers to a North Korean self-propelled 170 mm artillery system, while Pukguksong-2 is the North’s KN-15, a medium-range ballistic missile carrier.

The published video, purportedly filmed in central Russia’s Tyumen region, shows a train with freight cars, platforms with excavators, self-propelled artillery systems, and five tracked vehicles with a cylindrical top.

The video quality makes it difficult to identify the type of vehicles, but they bear a striking resemblance to the KN-15 missile system when compared to publicly available photos of North Korean missile systems.

Radio Free Asia has not been able to independently verify the video.

In this April 15, 2017, file photo, missiles believed to be the Pukguksong 2 are displayed in Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang. (Wong Maye-E/AP)

North Korea first test fired the KN-15 in February 2017. The system made its debut at a military parade in Pyongyang in April of the same year.

The maximum range of the ballistic missile in the KN-15 system is not known but Western analysts think it is about 2,000 kilometers (1,242 miles).

During its first launch, the South Korean military reported that the missile reached an altitude of 550 kilometers, traveled about 500 kilometers, and landed in the sea to the east of Japan.