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Quote of the Day:
“How can an act done under compulsion have any moral element in it, seeing that what is moral is the free act of an intelligent being?”
- Auberon Herbert
"In any campaign in the future, the participant who fails to take proper cognizance of guerrilla warfare, either in the planning or execution stages, may suffer severe setbacks, if not eventual defeat."
- Colonel Russell W. Volckmann, September 1950
"Before the U.S. Government decides to render support to a resistance, it establishes contact with representatives of a resistance organization to assess the compatibility of U.S. and resistance interests and objectives. This assessment is largely a political negotiation between the U.S. Government and the resistance organization. Once the U.S. Government establishes compatibility, it assesses the resistance potential."
FM 3-18 Special Forces Operations, 2014
1. South Korea Takes Hard Look at Strategy After Pyongyang’s Drone Incursion
2. 'N. Korea’s retaliation should not be feared,' Yoon says
3. S. Korea stages drills to counter N. Korean drone threats
4. Triple threat: Russia, Iran, and North Korea trade arms to get around sanctions
5. Yoon says N.K. drone infiltration 'unacceptable'
6. [INTERVIEW] Don't underestimate North Korea's drones: US analyst
7. North Korea Enters 2023 With Clear Plan for Military Escalation
8. Korean military tests, demonstrates capabilities days after North UAV raid
9. North Korean leader lays out key goals to boost military power
10. South Korea to maintain troop size against North threat
11. 'My floating restaurant is not a secret Chinese police station'
12. Central Committee Plenum Opens | North Korea Leadership Watch
13. DPRK Constitution Turns 50 | North Korea Leadership Watch
14. N. Korea commends Storm Corps soldiers for defense of border during pandemic
15. N. Korea’s largest thermal power station suffers boiler explosion
1. South Korea Takes Hard Look at Strategy After Pyongyang’s Drone Incursion
This type of provocation is a win-win-win for north Korea. If it causes an overreaction by the South, Kim wins. If the South fails to adequately defend the South, Kim wins. If the South fears to act due to the north's nuclear weapons, Kim wins.
Excerpts:
The drones were small and unsophisticated, and might have been deployed to provoke South Korea into a strong response that would nullify a 2018 pact that bans hostile activity in the border dividing the two countries, said Go Myong-hyun, a senior fellow at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul.
“A fierce reaction from South Korea gives North Korea pretext for even more provocations,” Mr. Go said.
South Korea spent five hours Monday trying to shoot down North Korea’s drones, one of which flew over northern Seoul. It was the first time a North Korean drone was detected in South Korean territory since 2017. South Korea’s military later flew its own surveillance assets over the border and conducted aerial defense drills.
South Korea’s military apologized for the failed operation, citing limitations in bringing down drones smaller than 10 feet and difficulties in shooting them over populated civilian areas. The drones didn’t pose a substantial threat to South Korea, military analysts say.
South Korea Takes Hard Look at Strategy After Pyongyang’s Drone Incursion
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol berated his defense minister over the military’s failed response to the airspace invasions
By Dasl YoonFollow
Updated Dec. 29, 2022 5:41 am ET
https://www.wsj.com/articles/south-korea-takes-hard-look-at-strategy-after-pyongyangs-drone-incursion-11672310456?mod=Searchresults_pos1&page=1
SEOUL—An incursion of North Korean drones into South Korea this week was a taunt by Pyongyang that Seoul should be wary of overreacting to, security analysts said, as South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol pushed the military to respond more aggressively.
South Korea’s military scrambled jet fighters, attack helicopters and other warplanes but failed to shoot down any of the five North Korean drones that flew into South Korean airspace Monday. Mr. Yoon berated his defense minister over the response, during which one South Korean light-attack aircraft crashed, and ordered the military to respond to future drone incursions by sending two or three drones across the border for every North Korean drone that invades South Korean airspace.
During a visit to the Agency for Defense Development on Thursday, Mr. Yoon continued to press the military, saying only “firm punishment and retaliation” would protect South Korea from attacks and provocations. While North Korea advances its programs for weapons of mass destruction, the country is also using “cheap but effective” weapons such as drones to “violate our freedom and confuse our society,” Mr. Yoon said.
The drones were small and unsophisticated, and might have been deployed to provoke South Korea into a strong response that would nullify a 2018 pact that bans hostile activity in the border dividing the two countries, said Go Myong-hyun, a senior fellow at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul.
Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, has lashed out at skeptics of Pyongyang’s claimed advances in its weapons programs.
PHOTO: KIM JAE-HWAN/SOPA IMAGES/ZUMA PRESS
“A fierce reaction from South Korea gives North Korea pretext for even more provocations,” Mr. Go said.
South Korea spent five hours Monday trying to shoot down North Korea’s drones, one of which flew over northern Seoul. It was the first time a North Korean drone was detected in South Korean territory since 2017. South Korea’s military later flew its own surveillance assets over the border and conducted aerial defense drills.
South Korea’s military apologized for the failed operation, citing limitations in bringing down drones smaller than 10 feet and difficulties in shooting them over populated civilian areas. The drones didn’t pose a substantial threat to South Korea, military analysts say.
Following Mr. Yoon’s orders to offensively deploy strike assets against North Korean drones, South Korean authorities have been on high alert. On Tuesday, fighter jets again took off, responding to what officials initially thought could be North Korean drones. Emergency text messages advised residents near the border be on the lookout for unmanned aerial vehicles. These turned out to be a flock of birds. On Wednesday, jets were again dispatched to chase a suspected drone, which turned out to be a balloon.
While North Korea’s small surveillance drones aren’t viewed as an immediate threat, the potential for Pyongyang to conduct attack missions with larger, bomb-carrying drones has stoked fear across South Korea, analysts say.
The smaller drones can go undetected by radar over civilian areas, showing that such less sophisticated weapons can evade South Korea’s defenses, said Hong Min, a senior fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification, a state-funded think tank in Seoul.
Earlier this month, Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, lashed out at skeptics of advances that Pyongyang has claimed in its weapons program and spy-satellite technology, threatening to further escalate tensions.
“While South Korea underrated North Korea’s weapons advancements, Pyongyang made a mockery of our military with a simple unsophisticated drone,” Mr. Hong said.
A North Korean community near the border with South Korea.
PHOTO: YONHAP NEWS/ZUMA PRESS
North Korea’s drone program is part of an attempt to offset the air superiority of the U.S.-South Korea alliance, which boasts high-tech military weapons, by inflicting a psychological shock to the public, North Korea watchers say.
North Korea has about 300 drones, including those for reconnaissance, target practice and combat, according to a 2016 United Nations report. The Korea Institute for National Unification has estimated that Pyongyang might possess about 1,000 drones, which could be used for airborne attacks with chemical or biological weapons.
The North Korean drones spotted in South Korea this week didn’t appear to have a radio control system to be piloted in real time or remote sensors to form a network with other weapons, and their most significant advantage was that they were small and slow enough to go undetected, the Asan Institute’s Mr. Go said. The drones were flying at about 62 miles an hour.
Mr. Yoon blamed the former left-leaning administration for basing its North Korea policy on Pyongyang’s goodwill and failing to adequately build military power to respond to drones, citing a lack of relevant training since 2017. He vowed to establish a drone unit for reconnaissance and surveillance against North Korea’s core military facilities.
On Wednesday, the Yoon administration unveiled updated defense plans to acquire new capabilities such as electromagnetic-pulse weapons and artificial-intelligence systems to counter North Korean threats. The budget for drone defense, which amounts to about $441 million, includes electromagnetic waves and laser weapons.
Write to Dasl Yoon at dasl.yoon@wsj.com
2. 'N. Korea’s retaliation should not be feared,' Yoon says
The South must at all times demonstrate strength and resolve. It must not "self-deter."
'N. Korea’s retaliation should not be feared,' Yoon says
donga.com
Posted December. 29, 2022 07:42,
Updated December. 29, 2022 07:42
'N. Korea’s retaliation should not be feared,' Yoon says. December. 29, 2022 07:42. by Jin-Woo Shin, Joo-Young Jeon niceshin@donga.com,aimhigh@donga.com.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said on Wednesday that South Korea must not be fearful or hesitant just because North Korea has nuclear weapons. His comment was made during a meeting with his advisors as controversies about the South Korean military’s poor response to North Korea’s provocation with drones. The president ordered strong retaliation in response to the North’s provocations and added that that is the most powerful way to deter provocations.
Meanwhile, the South Korean government released its independent Indo-Pacific Strategy Report on Wednesday. The report deals with nine core initiatives, such as ‘building orders in the Indo-Pacific region based on rules and principles.’ This is the first time South Korea has proposed a comprehensive regional strategy.
The Indo-Pacific strategy was developed with a focus on the U.S. as tensions between the U.S. and China intensified. As the report focuses on keeping China in check, how the relations with China are defined is garnering attention.
In the report, the South Korean government defined China as a “key country for cooperation to build prosperity and peace in the Indo-Pacific region”. It stated that “efforts to build healthier and more mature relations between South Korea and China will be made.” In addition, the government proposed an “inclusive vision that does not target or exclude specific countries” as the vision of the Indo-Pacific strategy.
The government also presented freedom, the rule of law, and human rights as the key components of the Indo-Pacific strategy, in line with the U.S.’s focus on ‘value diplomacy.’ However, the South Korean government’s report is deemed more inclusive of China than the U.S. and Japan’s Indo-Pacific strategies. Some say that the report is subject to criticism from both the U.S. and China as the Indo-Pacific strategy itself has the tendency to keep China in check while the report tried not to provoke China. A high-level government official in South Korea said that the relattends which is South Korea’s biggest export market, could not be ignored.
한국어
donga.com
3. S. Korea stages drills to counter N. Korean drone threats
Excerpts:
In a midterm defense blueprint released Wednesday, the defense ministry said it plans to spend 560 billion won (US$441 million) over the next five years for a set of anti-drone projects, including the deployment of a laser weapons system.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff has also laid out plans to aggressively utilize strike assets, stage regular drills and incorporate platforms capable of shooting down drones without causing damage to civilians.
(2nd LD) S. Korea stages drills to counter N. Korean drone threats | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 송상호 · December 29, 2022
(ATTN: UPDATES with press release in paras 3-5; CHANGES photo)
SEOUL, Dec. 29 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean military conducted drills Thursday to strengthen its defense against potential drone-based provocations by North Korea, Seoul officials said, as it has vowed to adopt an "aggressive" approach to counter the renewed security challenge.
The drills came after the military failed to shoot down five North Korean drones that violated the South's air space on Monday, in an infiltration that raised questions over its readiness posture.
They took place in areas around Ganap-ri, Yangju, some 30 kilometers northeast of Seoul, mobilizing some 20 manned and unmanned assets, including KA-1 light attack aircraft and Apache and Cobra attack helicopters.
Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) Chairman Gen. Kim Seung-kyum oversaw the drills.
"Under various hypothetic scenarios of enemy drone infiltrations, the drills proceeded with procedures to detect, identify, trace and intercept them," the JCS said in a press release.
In a midterm defense blueprint released Wednesday, the defense ministry said it plans to spend 560 billion won (US$441 million) over the next five years for a set of anti-drone projects, including the deployment of a laser weapons system.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff has also laid out plans to aggressively utilize strike assets, stage regular drills and incorporate platforms capable of shooting down drones without causing damage to civilians.
sshluck@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 송상호 · December 29, 2022
4. Triple threat: Russia, Iran, and North Korea trade arms to get around sanctions
Excerpts:
In cases for which cooperative implementation of sanctions is unlikely, the US government has developed an extraterritorial toolset that it has used to punish and disrupt proliferators and sanction evaders that lie outside the reach of US jurisdiction. Covert action can yield effects too. This may include sting and lure operations, or the insertion of compromised technology into illicit supply chains. Actions like these come with the risk of political and diplomatic blowback, but the humanitarian situation in Ukraine and the threat from Russian aggression may lead Washington to judge such risks worth taking.
Iranian and North Korean contributions to support Putin’s war in Ukraine are concerning, albeit not entirely surprising. Nor are the measures Moscow will use to circumvent sanctions to engage in illicit trade with Iran, North Korea, and other willing partners. The United States and its partners are faced with much of the same capacity, resource, and political challenges that have plagued previous efforts to counter sanctions evasion and illicit arms trade for decades. Will they overcome them this time around?
Triple threat: Russia, Iran, and North Korea trade arms to get around sanctions
By Darya Dolzikova, Daniel Salisbury | December 28, 2022
thebulletin.org · · December 28, 2022
By | December 28, 2022
According to US intelligence Iran may be preparing to ship Fateh-110 and Zolfaghar ballistic missiles to Russia for use in Ukraine. Reports last week also suggested that the Wagner Group, a Russian private military company, has purchased munitions from North Korea. Image of an Iranian Fateh-110 missile being launched during the Great prophet-7 military exercise in 2012 (Hossein Velayati / CC BY 4.0).
On December 16, CIA Director William Burns expressed concern over what he believes to be “at least the beginnings of a full-fledged defense partnership” between Iran and Russia. A few days earlier, the Russian military launched a wave of Iranian-made unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in an attack on Kyiv. These developments followed months of Iranian UAV use by Russian forces in Ukraine and discussion of potential Iranian missile transfers to the Russian military. Recent reports also suggest that the Wagner Group, a Russian private military company, has purchased infantry rockets and missiles from North Korea, several months after US officials first suggested Russia had approached that country for munitions.
Cooperation in the economic and military sphere between countries under sanctions and arms embargoes is not a new phenomenon. Recent reports of Russian procurement of military equipment from Iran and North Korea, therefore, come as no surprise. As Russia faces ever-tightening restrictions on its economy and military procurement, Moscow will likely continue leveraging trade opportunities that Tehran and Pyongyang present, relying on well-established methods of illicit trade and sanction evasion. To develop more effective countermeasures, it is important to understand how Moscow may rely on established sanction-evasion practices and the unique challenges it may present.
Mutually beneficial partnerships. As Russia again comes under expanding Western trade and financial restrictions, Moscow, Pyongyang, and Tehran all stand to benefit from closer economic cooperation. Besides selling drones to Russia, Iran has reportedly deployed personnel from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to train the Russian military in using its UAVs. Recent US intelligence assessments also suggested that Iran is preparing to ship Fateh-110 and Zolfaghar ballistic missiles to Russia for use in Ukraine. Speaking in early December, White House National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby said that the growing Iran-Russia military cooperation could also potentially include Russian transfers of Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets to Iran and the development of a joint UAV assembly line in Russia.
While there is no visual confirmation yet of arms transfer to the Wagner Group or the Russian military, North Korea’s military capabilities may be relevant to Russia’s needs. Both countries rely extensively on artillery in their military doctrines, with Russian supply chains increasingly under pressure to produce shells. North Korea’s weaponry is also largely based on aging Soviet-era designs—of which Pyongyang has sold maintenance and upgrade packages to overseas customers in recent years. This may provide opportunities for further cooperation with Moscow and the replenishment and repair of the mothballed Soviet systems, either for deployment in Ukraine or for use in future conflicts.
The shuttering of many Western market opportunities to Russian firms could also open new—albeit limited—opportunities for economically isolated and cash-strapped Pyongyang and Tehran. While Russia has long criticized international and unilateral sanctions on North Korea and Iran—and has been accused of skirting them on occasion—Moscow had not gone so far as to blatantly disregard them altogether. However, that calculus may be changing as reports emerge of new Iran-Russia economic cooperation in the energy, aerospace, and automotive sectors. Meanwhile, analysts have speculated that Pyongyang may accept compensation for any weapons sales to Russia in the form of cash transfers, fuel, or advanced weapons—all of which North Korea has struggled to procure under international sanctions.
Long experience in arms trade under sanctions. Tehran, Pyongyang, and Moscow all have extensive experience living and trading under sanctions. Iran has been subject to a US trade embargo since the 1979 Islamic Revolution and—because of its nuclear program—to progressively expansive international trade restrictions, including in arms and weapons systems. As part of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal (the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA), most international restrictions on trade with Iran have been lifted, including many—although not all—prohibitions on weapons trade.
North Korea and the Soviet Union had faced similar trade restrictions since the 1950s—including embargoes on arms and technology by members and allies of the Western bloc of countries. Since 2006, North Korea has also been subject to universal and vastly expanding UN sanctions as a direct result of Pyongyang’s nuclear-related activities. In Russia’s case, many Western controls were relaxed following the collapse of the Soviet Union. However, following Moscow’s illegal annexation of Crimea and invasion of eastern Ukraine in 2014, Western countries reintroduced some restrictions on arms-related transfers to Russia. These have been further expanded after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
RELATED:
To sanction North Korea, sanction those that won’t—Russia and China
Despite restrictions, all three countries managed to procure weapons and related dual-use technologies to sustain—and advance—their military capabilities. The Soviet Union constructed a vast military-industrial complex during the Cold War by harnessing domestic capabilities and procuring from Western markets, both legally and illicitly. Iran and North Korea have also managed to advance their nuclear and missile programs despite sanctions, sometimes by cooperating. North Korean arms and related technologies—often based on Soviet designs supplied to Pyongyang by Moscow during the Cold War—have made their way to, among other countries, Syria, Myanmar, Cuba, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Uganda. Iran has also provided extensive military support to the Syrian regime during the country’s civil war and has armed destabilizing non-state actors across the Middle East.
Reusing and adapting sanction-evasion methods. Illicit transfers and procurement of weapons and related technologies by Russia, Iran, and North Korea have historically relied on sanction-evasion strategies that have allowed sanctioned entities to obscure their involvement in the prohibited movement of goods. These methods have relied on the establishment of complex procurement and financial networks, involving a myriad of front companies, bank accounts, and procurement agents in third countries with poor sanction-compliance practices. Diplomats and intelligence officers have leveraged government resources and diplomatic privileges to support the creation and operation of these networks. Corrupt facilitators—which include government officials, compliance officers, lawyers, and accountants—have “greased the wheels” or turned a blind eye where needed.
If Moscow seeks to expand its military and economic cooperation with Tehran and Pyongyang, it will rely on many of these same tried-and-tested methods of sanction evasion and illicit procurement. Russian companies have already demonstrated their reliance on front companies and procurement agents in Europe, North America, and Asia to source Western components for their integration into military systems. The chief executive officer of one Russian logistics company, Novelco, even gave a seminar on trade under sanctions, highlighting the value of “friendly” countries like Turkey as transshipment hubs. Many of the countries targeted by Moscow to facilitate illicit trade—including Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Hong Kong—have been well-established jurisdictions of convenience for sanction evaders, like Iran and North Korea.
China’s apparent unwillingness to support sanctions on Russia is particularly concerning. The country has facilitated North Korean circumvention of UN sanctions in the past. It is also the top importer of Iranian oil (in defiance of US sanctions on the purchase of Iranian petroleum) and has reportedly facilitated the illicit transfer of missile technology between Iran and North Korea. Hong Kong and Chinese entities already appear to be acting as intermediaries in the supply of Western components for integration into Russian weapons systems. As a major economy, and a key financial and shipping hub, China’s willingness to cooperate with Western efforts at stemming Russian trade in arms and related technologies will be a key factor in their success.
Russia will undoubtedly also look to recent Iranian and North Korean successes in sanction evasion as it seeks to adapt established practices to new realities. Countries and banks that have demonstrated their continued inability—or unwillingness—to root out sanctioned Iranian and North Korean activities, will likely attract illicit business from Moscow as well. North Korean and Iranian sanction-evasion methods for trade in certain commodities (like coal or oil) may also provide learning opportunities for Moscow.
Russia poses new challenges. But Russia’s re-entry into this heavily “sanctioned club” of countries will present some unique enforcement challenges as well. Sanctions against Russia have been pursued by a relatively small number of Ukrainian allies, led by the United States and the European Union. This lack of a global consensus means that Moscow will have a wide range of third countries to choose from in facilitating the circumvention of unilateral sanctions. Russia’s veto power at the UN Security Council also means that the adoption of any international trade restrictions will be impossible.
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Opportunities for Western states to interdict shipments of military or strategic goods will be limited if Russia finds ways to avoid transshipment through jurisdictions sympathetic to Western sanctions. For instance, if North Korea were to supply military goods to Moscow, the shared land border will afford no opportunities for interdiction. Meanwhile, Russia and Iran appear to be establishing a trade corridor through the Caspian Sea and the Sea of Azov. Iran has also reportedly been delivering drones to Russia by air, which is more challenging to interdict than maritime transfers. Russia also appears to be using at least several countries in the Caucasus and Central Asia to transship goods from the European Union. Moscow may seek to also use these regions as a land route to transship goods between Russia and Iran, making interdiction dependent on the transit countries’ ability and willingness to implement sanctions.
Russia also has a greater capacity for sanction-busting than Iran and North Korea. A relatively stronger economy, a bigger military-industrial complex, as well as a greater intelligence, diplomatic and commercial presence abroad, provide Russia with greater resources to establish and operate sanction-evasion operations. But, in turn, the needs of the Russian economy, its military-industrial complex, and its armed forces during wartime are also much greater than, for example, North Korea’s.
Strengthening and adapting countermeasures. Efforts to counter Russia’s sanctions evasion will require strengthening the implementation of existing countermeasures, as well as adapting these measures to new challenges. In jurisdictions that have adopted sanctions on Russia, improving private sector awareness of sanction-evasion methods is key. Governments should continue to identify—and sanction—entities involved in sanction evasion themselves; investigative journalists and research institutions can support them in this work. However, identifying and issuing advisories on observed sanction-evasion patterns, high-risk third countries, and goods of particular interest to sanction evaders will help businesses take a more nuanced and effective approach to the implementation of sanctions on Russia.
The United States and its allies should also continue to engage with countries that could play the role of third-country facilitators, helping strengthen these countries’ export controls and sanctions implementation. Engagement with countries lying geographically between Russia and Iran and those with a record of being exploited by sanction evaders for their illicit activities could prove particularly valuable.
In addition, maintaining a dialogue with China, a key determinant of the effectiveness of sanctions on Russia, and making clear the potential costs of providing material support to Putin’s illegal invasion will be equally important. Governments, researchers, and journalists should shine a light on any support by Chinese entities to Russia’s defense industries. This will both help to highlight the nature of the challenge and may help rattle Beijing toward greater restraint.
In cases for which cooperative implementation of sanctions is unlikely, the US government has developed an extraterritorial toolset that it has used to punish and disrupt proliferators and sanction evaders that lie outside the reach of US jurisdiction. Covert action can yield effects too. This may include sting and lure operations, or the insertion of compromised technology into illicit supply chains. Actions like these come with the risk of political and diplomatic blowback, but the humanitarian situation in Ukraine and the threat from Russian aggression may lead Washington to judge such risks worth taking.
Iranian and North Korean contributions to support Putin’s war in Ukraine are concerning, albeit not entirely surprising. Nor are the measures Moscow will use to circumvent sanctions to engage in illicit trade with Iran, North Korea, and other willing partners. The United States and its partners are faced with much of the same capacity, resource, and political challenges that have plagued previous efforts to counter sanctions evasion and illicit arms trade for decades. Will they overcome them this time around?
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Darya Dolzikova
Darya Dolzikova is a research fellow in proliferation and nuclear policy at the Royal United Services Institute in London. Her research focuses on... Read More
Daniel Salisbury
Daniel Salisbury is a senior research fellow at the Centre for Science and Security Studies at King’s College London and an associate fellow at the... Read More
5. Yoon says N.K. drone infiltration 'unacceptable'
(2nd LD) Yoon says N.K. drone infiltration 'unacceptable' | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 이해아 · December 29, 2022
(ATTN: UPDATES with Yoon's remarks at NSC meeting)
By Lee Haye-ah
SEOUL, Dec. 29 (Yonhap) -- President Yoon Suk Yeol said Thursday that North Korea's recent drone infiltration was "unacceptable" and called for making "overwhelmingly superior" war preparations to ensure peace.
Yoon made the remark during a visit to the state-run Agency for Defense Development in Daejeon, 140 kilometers south of Seoul, where he checked the progress of the nation's weapons development, including its surveillance and reconnaissance interception capabilities, his office said.
"North Korea's violation of our airspace by drones was a completely unacceptable incident. We must make them realize that provocations come with harsh consequences," he said, according to deputy presidential spokesperson Lee Jae-myoung.
"Our military must become a powerful military that instills unapproachable fear in our enemy and firm confidence in our people," he said. "In order to gain peace, we must make overwhelmingly superior war preparations. We must realize clearly that with disguised peace, not only can we not defend our security, but its foundation will collapse."
Lee said Yoon called for firm punishment and retaliation against "acts violating our freedom," saying that is the only means to deter provocations.
"Whether our opponent has nuclear weapons or whatever weapon of mass destruction, we must send a clear message to people who habitually carry out provocations, and we must never fear them or hesitate," he said.
Yoon's visit to the agency came three days after North Korea sent five drones into South Korean airspace, including one into northern parts of Seoul. South Korea's military failed to shoot them down, raising questions about its readiness posture.
Yoon later berated Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup over the botched operation and instructed his aides to retaliate in no uncertain terms against future provocations, saying they should not be fearful or hesitant just because North Korea has nuclear weapons.
On Thursday, Yoon called for an overall review of the military's response systems against not only North Korean drones but all flying objects trespassing South Korean airspace, along with a swift repair of any shortcomings.
"In response to North Korea's attempts to strengthen its asymmetrical military strengths, we must also conduct an overall review of our military's strength enhancement plans," he said, according to Lee.
Later Thursday, Yoon attended a regular session of the standing committee of the presidential National Security Council.
He instructed the government to swiftly come up with various measures to protect the nation from North Korea's drone provocations aimed at disturbing normal state operations and causing social anxiety, Lee said.
The government decided to work to fill the gaps revealed during the incursion and to promptly take necessary steps, such as establishing a drone unit, procuring stealth drones and strengthening drone capabilities and response exercises, he added.
hague@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 이해아 · December 29, 2022
6. [INTERVIEW] Don't underestimate North Korea's drones: US analyst
But do not let an irrational fear of drones paralyze you either.
[INTERVIEW] Don't underestimate North Korea's drones: US analyst
The Korea Times · December 29, 2022
Smoke rises after a Russian drone strike in Kyiv, in this Oct. 17 file photo. North Korea may not have advanced drone technology, but South Korea should not underestimate the danger, according to a U.S. defense expert. Reuters-Yonhap
Kim's interest in drones comes from South Korea's clear vulnerability, Bennett says
By Jung Min-ho
Bruce Bennett, a senior defense analyst at the Rand Corporation It was neither a state-of-the-art fighter jet nor an intercontinental ballistic missile that killed top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad three years ago. It was a strike by an MQ-9 Reaper drone.
Although it would take a long time for North Korea to be able to copy anything close to such a high-level operation, South Korea should never underestimate what Pyongyang can ― and hopes to do ― with drone technology, according to Bruce Bennett, a senior defense analyst at the Rand Corporation, a U.S. policy think tank.
"While North Korea apparently lacks such [high-level] drone capabilities, it potentially could fly several dozen armed drones into the ROK Presidential Office or National Assembly or an oil refinery, causing serious damage," Bennett told The Korea Times, using the abbreviation of Republic of Korea, or South Korea, Thursday. "North Korea could also use drones to carry chemical and biological weapons. Only small amounts of biological weapons are required to cause a major disaster in the ROK. For example, the release of 1 to 2 kilograms of anthrax along the route the one drone took into northern Seoul could kill tens of thousands of people or far more and create a major medical crisis in the ROK."
His warning comes two days after five North Korean drones entered South Korea's airspace. One of them traveled as far as northern Seoul. In response, the military sent fighter jets and attack helicopters, but failed to shoot any of them down.
President Yoon Suk-yeol criticized the response and vowed to strengthen air defenses against drones. He also ordered the military to expedite the process of launching a unit specializing in drone operations. The military does not have a full-fledged drone unit, with one in the pilot phase, according to the Ministry of National Defense.
"[North Korean leader] Kim Jong-un's interest in drones comes from the fact that ROK has been vulnerable to drone reconnaissance and drone attacks. If President Yoon is successful in countering these vulnerabilities, Kim will likely lose interest in drones. This is how military threats work, a country tries to target vulnerabilities, and especially those vulnerabilities associated with the military strengths of the opponent," Bennett said. "As the ROK is seeking to improve radar coverage against drones, Kim will most likely pursue capabilities to produce stealthy drones [as well as] both enhanced reconnaissance and enhanced attack capabilities for those drones."
A drone approaches for an attack in Kyiv, in this Oct. 17 file photo. AFP-Yonhap
The war in Ukraine has demonstrated how dangerous unmanned aerial vehicles can be. Russia has used drones carrying weapons to destroy electrical power plants and water distribution systems, significantly disrupting the availability of electricity and fresh water for the Ukrainian military and citizens during the cold winter. North Korea will certainly learn from what is happening in that war and will try to imitate the tactics when it feels it must, he noted.
On Wednesday, the military announced a plan to invest 560 billion won ($441 million) into bolstering counter-drone capabilities over the next five years, including the deployment of a laser weapon system.
Bennett believes South Korea's focus on developing drone and anti-drone capabilities is the right direction as they will play increasingly critical roles in future warfare.
"To understand in part the value of drones, consider that lethal drones can probably be acquired at about 1 percent of the cost of a new F35 aircraft. Russia's Putin has apparently turned to using drones against Ukrainian facilities because the drones he has used are able to overwhelm the defenses available to Ukraine," he said. "Following Putin's example, many countries will likely pursue lethal drones."
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un speaks during a plenary meeting of the ruling Workers' Party at its headquarters in Pyongyang, North Korea, Dec. 27. He presented new plans to further bolster his military's power at that meeting. Yonhap Given the uncertain threats posed by North Korea's drones in the future, the focus of South Korea's military should be on developing overall drone technology and producing a wide range of drones rather than on a specific kind of drone development, he noted.
"So I think President Yoon should set a vision for a diversity of drone technology and drone defenses that would give a technologically advanced country like the ROK a significant advantage over a technologically backward country like North Korea," Bennett said. "If the ROK is prepared to defend against drone threats, North Korea is like less likely to use them. That doesn't mean that the investments in those defenses are useless because they never get used to shoot down North Korean drones. They do get used in deterring North Korean attacks in the first place, which I think most people would agree is the preferred outcome."
The Korea Times · December 29, 2022
7. North Korea Enters 2023 With Clear Plan for Military Escalation
Kim has no choice. There is nothing else in his seven decades playbook and he has failed to achieve any of his political warfare and blackmail diplomacy strategy objectives.
It is time for the alliance to flip the order of objectives: unification first, then denuclearization. It needs a support political warfare strategy - one that is built on the foundation of deterrence and defense employing a human rights upfront approach and a sophisticated information and influence campaign all in the pursuit of a free and unified Korea.
North Korea Enters 2023 With Clear Plan for Military Escalation
Pyongyang’s latest fiery rhetoric signals a clear path toward escalation in the new year.
https://www.usnews.com/news/world-report/articles/2022-12-28/north-korea-enters-2023-with-clear-plan-for-military-escalation?mc_cid=5417fdf0d5
By Paul D. Shinkman
|
Dec. 28, 2022, at 2:59 p.m.
North Korea on Wednesday signaled that it plans to escalate its weapons development and production – to include potential nuclear tests – at a time it senses weakness from its adversaries in the region.
[ READ: North Korea's Kim Unveils New Military Goals at Key Party Meeting ]
At the end of a year in which it test fired an unprecedented number of missiles, including those capable of reaching U.S. territory, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un convened a meeting of the Workers’ Party congress during which he disclosed new goals for 2023. He described to the elites in Pyongyang a “newly created challenging situation” on the Korean Peninsula and the need for a new direction in the hermit kingdom’s “anti-enemy struggle.”
As a part of North Korea’s struggle to “protect sovereign rights and defend national interests,” the country’s state news agency reported early Wednesday, “new core goals for strengthening self-defensive capabilities to be strongly pursued in 2023 have been presented in preparation for diverse fluctuations in the political situation.”
Though short on detail, the language represents the clearest indication yet that North Korea plans to accelerate the military buildup it had previously suspended during the Trump administration’s attempts to broker a peace.
The list of new strategic weaponry it plans to develop as a “top priority” over the next five years includes nuclear weapons, as well as a new intercontinental ballistic missile, hypersonic weapons, nuclear-powered submarines and at least one reconnaissance satellite.
Kim’s bold ambitions present new problems for President Joe Biden – whose administration has witnessed the steep degradation of relations with North Korea and a sharp rise in its bellicose behavior with no clear plan to address it – as well as for South Korea.
And the steady march toward more aggressive behavior on both sides of the Korean Peninsula escalated dramatically earlier this week when North Korea successfully launched at least five drones into South Korean airspace.
Analysts believe the mission was highly successful for Pyongyang, not only in its intended purpose of further documenting South Korean defensive positions but also in undermining the public perception of Seoul’s ability to defend itself.
“South Korea’s failure to shoot down the drones will decrease both U.S. military and domestic political confidence in South Korean military forces, and will also embolden North Korea to engage in further escalatory actions,” private intelligence firm RANE concluded in its latest analysis note.
The organization confirmed that South Korea proved unable to defend against any of the drones despite scrambling several attack helicopters and fighter jets and firing at least 100 shots at the invading aircraft, which ultimately returned safely to North Korean territory. It assesses Pyongyang sought to gather further reconnaissance on military targets in South Korea it had previously photographed during a recent satellite test launch, “while also flexing its military prowess.”
South Korea launched its own surveillance drones into the north as a part of its military response. And its leaders have attempted to push back on North Korea’s latest provocations by pointing to their own military capabilities.
[ READ: South Korea's President Says North Korea Should Not Be Feared Because of Nuclear Weapons ]
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol instructed his top officials not to fear North Korea’s provocations because of its nuclear weapons, the Yonhap news agency reported early Wednesday.
“President Yoon told them to punish and retaliate in no uncertain terms in response to any provocation by North Korea, saying that is the most powerful way to deter provocations,” his spokeswoman Kim Eun-hye told reporters. “The president also emphasized that we must not be fearful or hesitant just because North Korea has nuclear weapons.”
The Kim regime has escalated other forms of provocation against the West as well. It has supplied new forms of weapons and ammunition to its partners in the Russian military and allied mercenary organizations to offset Western sanctions and bolster Moscow’s struggling campaign in Ukraine.
Though the Pentagon has not openly confirmed the transactions, it has referenced the reports as a way to criticize Russia’s international isolation.
“It's just indicative of the fact that Russia finds itself having to deal with countries like Iran and North Korea in terms of replenishing its own stocks,” spokesman Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters in November. “Contrast that to what you see with the United States, the international community in Ukraine in terms of the robust defense industrial base that we have at our disposal to support Ukraine in its fight.”
8. Korean military tests, demonstrates capabilities days after North UAV raid
Thursday
December 29, 2022
dictionary + A - A
Korean military tests, demonstrates capabilities days after North UAV raid
https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2022/12/29/national/defense/Korea-military-Defense-Ministry/20221229175204676.html
Soldiers from the South Korean Army's V Corps operate an M61 Vulcan rotary cannon during anti-drone drills in Yangpyeong County, Gyeonggi on Thursday. [JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF]
A full complement of military assets were brought to bear in a show of force and adaptability near Seoul Thursday, just days after the South Korean military failed to counter an incursion by five drones from the North and just a day after President Yoon Suk-yeol upbraided top brass for ineffectiveness.
More than 20 manned and unmanned aircraft, including KA-1 fighters from the Air Force and AH-64 Apache and Bell AH-1 Cobra attack helicopters from the Army, were mobilized for the maneuvers in Yangpyeong County, Gyeonggi. Detecting and tracking small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) under 2 meters (6.58 feet) in length was the objective, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).
The JCS said troops rehearsed shooting drone targets with a drone gun, also known as a jammer, mounted on MD 500 Defender helicopters. The drone gun was brought in for training and testing purposes, according to the military. The drills also featured practice with ground-based anti-aircraft weapons, including the 20-millimeter M61 Vulcan rotary cannon and a short-range surface-to-air Cheonma missile.
Although the military scrambled Air Force fighters, attack helicopters and other aircraft in an effort to intercept the drones on Monday, it failed to shoot down any of the invading aircraft, while one of the planes deployed, a KA-1 light attack aircraft, crashed in Hoengseong County in Gangwon at 11:39 a.m.
Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup addresses lawmakers during a meeting of the National Assembly's Defense Committee in Yeouido, western Seoul on Wednesday. [YONHAP]
Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup apologized for the military’s botched response to the drone intrusion at a meeting of the National Assembly’s Defense Committee on Wednesday, while reassuring the public that the military’s existing defense systems is “sufficient” to deal with armed drones, which he said typically need to be at least 5 meters in length to carry armaments.
Military officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to reporters described the situation on Monday as akin to “trying to catch flies with cannonballs,” with JCS Director of Operations Kang Shin-chul explaining on Tuesday the military is currently limited in its ability to intercept UAVs under three meters long. The North Korean drones were estimated to be 1.8 meters in length.
In a mid-term defense budget released Wednesday, the Defense Ministry said it will allocate 560 billion won ($441 million) over the next five years to establish various anti-drone projects, including a laser weapons system.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said that in the future, it would aggressively mobilize strike assets, stage regular drills and integrate platforms capable of shooting down drones without causing damage to civilians in light of Monday’s drone incursions.
JCS Director of Public Affairs Col. Lee Seong-jun said at a press conference on Tuesday that the drones could not be fired upon when they were detected over populated areas, and that they were so small they would disappear from radar at times.
The Defense Ministry’s mid-term budget proposal aims to raise military spending by roughly 6.8 percent annually over the next five years, with a focus on acquiring detection and strike capabilities capable of “overwhelming” the North Korea’s rapidly advancing nuclear and missile arsenal should deterrence fail.
The ministry plans to spend a total of 331.4 trillion won from 2023 to 2027, earmarking 107.4 trillion won for improvements in defensive capabilities and the remaining 224 trillion won for managing troops, equipment and facilities.
According to the ministry’s blueprint, South Korea’s defense budget would increase from 54.6 trillion won this year to 57.1 trillion won next year, 61.4 trillion won in 2024, 66 trillion won in 2025, 70.9 trillion won in 2026 and 76 trillion won in 2027.
The changes envisaged by the budget proposal, which will require parliamentary approval, include the acquisition of more mid-size submarines armed with ballistic missiles and additional stealth fighters, additional reconnaissance satellites and early warning radar systems on Navy destroyers, and the deployment of both medium- and long-range missile defense systems.
The budget is aimed at bolstering the country’s "K-3" North deterrence strategy — the Kill Chain pre-emptive strike system, the Korea Air and Missile Defense (KAMD) system and the Korea Massive Punishment and Retaliation (KMPR) plan — to eliminate North Korea’s leadership in a major conflict.
Additional stealth jets would serve to enhance the South Korean military’s ability to conduct strikes against moving targets, while surface-to-surface missiles would be used to destroy targets sheltered in tunnels.
Submarines equipped with ballistic missiles would also enhance the military’s surprise strike capabilities.
In an effort to build a missile defense system that can detect threats from all directions, the ministry plans to upgrade all Navy destroyers already equipped with the Aegis Combat System to allow their radars to perform ballistic missile defense missions.
The Defense Ministry also plans to complete the rollout of Cheongung-II medium-range surface-to-air missiles (M-SAM) and deploy some advanced long-range surface-to-air missile (L-SAM) interception systems.
The ministry also seeks to secure core technologies required for the development a low-altitude missile defense (LAMD) system by 2026.
BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]
9. North Korean leader lays out key goals to boost military power
It is all Kim has and all he can do.
North Korean leader lays out key goals to boost military power
militarytimes.com · by Hyung-Jin Kim, The Associated Press · December 28, 2022
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un presented new plans to further bolster his military power next year at a meeting of top political officials, state media reported Wednesday, in an indication he’ll continue his provocative run of weapons displays.
Kim’s statement came as animosities with rival South Korea rose sharply this week with the South accusing the North of flying drones across the border for the first time in five years. This year, North Korea already performed a record number of missile tests in what experts call an attempt to modernize its arsenal and increase its leverage in future dealings with the United States.
RELATED
North Korea’s Kim boasts new ICBM as US flies bombers
U.S. B-1B bombers took part in separate joint exercises Saturday with South Korean and Japanese warplanes in response to a North Korean ICBM launch.
During the Tuesday session at the ongoing plenary meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party, Kim analyzed new security challenges in international politics and on the Korean Peninsula and clarified principles and directions to take in external relations and fights against enemies to protect national interests and sovereignty, according to the official Korean Central News Agency.
Kim “set forth new key goals for bolstering the self-reliant defense capability to be pushed ahead in 2023 under the multilaterally changing situation,” KCNA said, without elaborating.
Some observers say the new goals could be related to Kim’s drive to expand his nuclear arsenal and acquire high-tech weapons systems such as multi-warhead missiles, a more agile long-range weapon, a spy satellite and advanced drones. They say Kim would eventually aim to use his boosted nuclear power to force his rivals to accept the North as a legitimate nuclear state, a status he thinks is essential in getting international sanctions lifted.
On Monday, South Korea’s military fired warning shots and launched fighter jets and helicopters, after detecting what it called five North Korean drones that violated the South’s airspace. South Korea also flew three drones across the border in response, Defense Minister Lee Jong-Sup told lawmakers Wednesday.
The military apologized for failing to shoot down the drones and President Yoon Suk Yeol called for stronger air defenses and high-tech stealth drones to better monitor North Korea.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks during a cabinet council meeting at the presidential office in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2022. (Im Hun-jung/Yonhap via AP)
In a meeting with his advisers Wednesday, Yoon said South Korea must resolutely retaliate against any provocation by North Korea, saying that will be the most powerful means to deter the North. Yoon also said South Korea must not be intimidated by North Korea’s nuclear weapons, according to his spokesperson, Kim Eun-hye.
Some experts say the North Korean drone flights might have been designed to test South Korean and U.S. readiness and nullify a previous inter-Korean agreement to reduce tensions at front-line areas. They say North Korea likely assessed its drones as a cheap yet effective method to cause security jitters and a domestic divide in South Korea.
Yoon, a conservative who took office in May, said Tuesday that South Korea has had little anti-drone training since 2017, a year when his liberal predecessor Moon Jae-in was inaugurated. In an apparent effort to blame the allegedly lax air defenses on Moon’s engagement policy toward North Korea, Yoon said, “I think our people must have seen well how dangerous a policy relying on the North’s good faith and (peace) agreements would be.”
Moon’s liberal opposition Democratic Party accused the president of trying to shift blame.
Under a five-year arms buildup plan announced Wednesday, South Korea’s Defense Ministry said it’ll push to bolster its so-called three-axis system — preemptive strike, missile defense and retaliatory attack capabilities — to cope with North Korean nuclear threats. To do so, it said it’ll procure more stealth fighter jets and submarines capable of firing ballistic missiles, operate additional interceptor missiles and radars, and develop more powerful, precision-guided weapons.
It said South Korea will also procure diverse types of drones to strengthen its surveillance capacities.
10. South Korea to maintain troop size against North threat
Do demographics get a vote?
South Korea to maintain troop size against North threat
Stars and Stripes · by David Choi · December 28, 2022
South Korean marines pose during a graduation ceremony at Pohang Marine Base, South Korea, Feb. 26, 2016. (Allison Lotz/U.S. Marine Corps)
CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea — The South Korean military will maintain its current troop levels despite ongoing threats from North Korea’s military, according to a Ministry of National Defense prospectus released Wednesday.
South Korea will maintain its active-duty force of 500,000 service members until 2027, the five-year outlook states. The nation’s military numbered 618,000 active-duty troops in 2018, but was steadily downsized to 500,000 this year due to “a rapid decrease in young population,” according to the blueprint.
The plan adds 1,000 commissioned officers to the ranks while cutting 1,000 enlisted positions by 2027. Roughly 201,000 officers and 299,000 enlisted service members currently serve in South Korea’s military.
“The military will reinforce skilled officers, especially in military operations and combat fields, for the purpose of reforming a national defense manpower structure to maximize combat effectiveness and maintain the scale of the standing force,” the ministry said.
The plan comes as North Korea set a record pace for ballistic missile tests and continued its stream of threats against the South and the United States.
The communist regime so far this year has launched over 70 missiles in 35 separate days of testing, an annual record. It last fired two short-range ballistic missiles toward the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, on Friday and dispatched at least five small drones across the border with South Korea on Monday.
North Korea has been poised for months to conduct its seventh nuclear test, its first since 2017, according to U.S. and South Korean officials.
To help respond to North Korea’s threats, the ministry plans to increase its annual budget of roughly $43 billion to $60 billion by 2027, the ministry said in its prospectus.
South Korea had the world’s lowest fertility rate last year with less than one child born for each woman, according to data from the Ministry of Economy and Finance’s Statistics Korea division. The country recorded a birthrate of 0.81 children per woman last year, down from 0.84 recorded in 2021.
The latest recorded figure is the lowest since South Korea began collecting data in 1970, according to Statistics Korea.
In contrast, the average birth rate among the 38 nations within the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development was 1.59 births in 2020, according to the international organization’s website. The OECD says that a total fertility rate of 2.1 “ensures a broadly stable population” when not accounting for changes in migration or mortality rates.
The South Korean government implemented several proposals to boost its birth rate, including a roughly $550 maximum monthly allowance to households with a newborn child, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said in August.
David Choi
David Choi
David Choi is based in South Korea and reports on the U.S. military and foreign policy. He served in the U.S. Army and California Army National Guard. He graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Stars and Stripes · by David Choi · December 28, 2022
11. 'My floating restaurant is not a secret Chinese police station'
He doth protest too much.
Thursday
December 29, 2022
dictionary + A - A
'My floating restaurant is not a secret Chinese police station'
https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2022/12/29/national/diplomacy/korea-chinese-secret-police/20221229181614934.html
Wang Haijun, the owner of the Dongfang Mingzhu restaurant in Seoul speaks to the press in front of the restaurant on Thursday to dismiss allegation that the location was a secret Chinese police station. [NEWS1]
The owner of a restaurant on the Han River that's been pegged as a secret Chinese police station is hopping mad and has threatened to file a complaint against anyone who repeats the allegation.
And he will tell you more for 30,000 won ($23.65).
“The malicious media coverage has really pissed me off lately," said Wang Haijun, the owner of Dongfang Mingzhu during a press conference outside the Chinese restaurant.
Wang's outrage comes after Safeguard Defenders, a nongovernmental human rights organization, claimed earlier this month that a local-level public security bureau based in Nantong, Jiangsu Province, was running at least one police station in Korea, though it couldn’t confirm its exact location.
Local media claimed that the Chinese cops were operating out of the Dongfang Mingzhu, which is located in Songpa District, southern Seoul, and sits floating on the Han River.
Wang said he will host another press conference at the restaurant on Saturday to explain why his restaurant is not a secret Chinese police station. The first 100 people who come will be allowed in, and each person will have to pay 30,000 won.
He didn't say whether food will be served.
“I have been running business normally, until the secret police reports,” Wang said. "I have lived in Korea for nearly 20 years. I don’t know what in the world these media outlets want.”
He added he will press charges against all media outlets and reporters who made reports so far on the allegation and disclosed private information, including his name and information about his family members.
Wang has been running restaurants and other businesses in Korea since early 2000s. The headquarters of his restaurant is located right across the street from National Assembly in western Seoul.
Wang is also the CEO of HG Culture Media, a Chinese-Korean television network, and oversees the Korean operations of Xinhua Net, which is a part of state-run Xinhua News Agency.
He is the president of the Overseas Chinese Service Center, which Safeguard Defenders suspects could be a channel used by the Chinese secret police around the world to monitor its citizens.
The Chinese government persuaded 230,000 suspects in fraud cases from around the globe to return to China to face prosecution from April 2021 to July 2022, and these police stations may have played a part, according to the rights group.
While these targets of the Chinese government could include actual suspects of crimes, many others are dissidents, according to the group.
China has denied the presence of secret police stations overseas.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said, “the so-called overseas police stations do not exist,” during a press conference last Thursday.
The Korean government has been cautious.
“At this point, we do not have anything significant to share,” a Foreign Ministry official told the press in Seoul last week.
BY ESTHER CHUNG [chung.juhee@joongang.co.kr]
12. Central Committee Plenum Opens | North Korea Leadership Watch
Central Committee Plenum Opens | North Korea Leadership Watch
nkleadershipwatch.org
Central Committee Plenum Opens
Kim Jong Un and members of the WPK Political Bureau depart his headquarters building to the WPK Central Committee Office Building’s event center in central Pyongyang on 26 December 2022 for the 6th plenary meeting of the 8th WPK Central Committee (Photo: KCNA).
The 6th plenum (plenary meeting) of the 8th Workers’ Party of Korea [WPK] Central Committee opened at the Central Committee Office Building (WPK Central Committee Office Complex #1) in Pyongyang on 26 December (Monday). The meeting most likely go through the weekend (31 December/1 January 2023).
According to state media reporting the meeting is being held as “unprecedented challenges and trials that hindered and hampered our advance have been frustrated and the DPRK is making all efforts to accomplish its far-reaching ideal while aspiring to a more confident direction of advance” and “a historic time when the entire Party, the whole country and all the people vow to make a vigorous struggle in the new year 2023 for opening up a new phase for the prosperity of the state and its eventful development with the pride and confidence that they pioneered the second course of implementing the five-year plan in the spirit of fortitude by turning out as one in the implementation of the great program set forth at the 4th and 5th plenary meetings of the 8th Party Central Committee.”
Participants in the 6th plenar meeting of the 8th WPK Central Committee file into the meeting venue at the WPK Central Committee Office Building in central Pyongyang on 26 December 2022 (Photo: KCNA).
The plenary meeting convenes amid “unpredictable difficulties constantly threatening the existence and development of our state and people cropping up repeatedly” and that “thanks to the correct choice, seasoned leadership and tenacious practical ability of the Party Central Committee, the Korean revolution which is surely advancing along the road chose by itself as its timetable while turning the worst-ever crises into a phase of development and leap forward after the foundation of the DPRK, has now greeted a significant time of setting out the guidelines for the development of the Party and state for the new year after reviewing a year of ordeals in which the arduousness of all the past years has been aggregated.”
Kim Jong Un (KJU; Kim Cho’ng-u’n) came out for the meeting. Also in attendance were members and alternate (candidate) members of the WPK Central Committee, Central Committee Department directors, deputy director and senior cadres, leading cadres and functionaries of DPRK Cabinet ministries, commissions and state institutions, cadres and members of provincial, county and city WPK committees, cadres and members of provincial, county and city people’s committees and cadres and managers of economic production units.
Members of the plenary meeting presidium and members of the WPK Political Bureau vote to allow Kim Jong Un to preside over the 6th plenum of the 8th Central Committee on 26 December 2022. First row, left to right: Ri Il Hwan, Pak Jong Chon, Jo Yong Won, Kim Tok Hun, Choe Ryong Hae and Ri Pyong Chol. Second row, left to right: Pak Jong Gun, Pak Thae Song, Kim Jae Ryong, Jon Hyon Chol, Ri Yong Gil, Jong Kyong Thaek and Ri Thae Sop (Photo: KCNA).
Taking the platform as plenum presidium members were: DPRK Premier Kim Tok Hun (Kim Tok-hun); WPK Secretary for Organizational Affairs and Organization Guidance Department [OGD] Director Jo Yong Won (Cho Yo’ng-wo’n); Supreme People’s Assembly [SPA] Standing Committee Chairman Choe Ryong Hae (Ch’oe Ryong-hae); WPK Secretary for Military Affairs and WPK Central Military Commission [CMC] Vice Chairman Pak Jong Chon (Pak Cho’ng-ch’o’n); WPK Secretary for Defense Industry Ri Pyong Chol (Ri Pyo’ng-ch’o’l); WPK Secretary for Publicity and Information Ri Il Hwan (Ri Il-hwan); Chief of the Korean People’s Army General Staff Ri Thae Sop (Ri T’ae-sop), KPA General Political Bureau Director Jong Kyong Thaek (Cho’ng Kyo’ng-t’aek), Minister of Defense Ri Yong Gil (Ri Yo’ng-kil), WPK Secretary for Economic Affairs Jon Hyon Chol (Chon Hyon-ch’o’l), WPK Central Auditing Commission Kim Jae Ryong (Kim Chae-ryong), WPK for Science and Education Pak Thae Song (Pak T’ae-so’ng) and State Planning Commission Chairman and DPRK Vice Premier Pak Jong Gun (Pak Cho’ng-kun).
View of the platform and venue of the 6th plenum of the 8th Central Committee on 26 December 2022 (Photo: KCNA).
The WPK Political Bureau “authorized” Kim Jong Un to chair the meeting. KJU delivered remarks which “summarized the development course in which our Party has made more dynamic and wider progress in socialist construction while overcoming hardship and challenged equivalent to the ten-year struggle of the revolution for the past two years since the 8th Party Congress and made a scientific analysis and appreciation of the successes and progress.” He noted that it is a “precious experience we have gained through the arduous struggle of 2022 to deeply grasp the peculiarities of the recent internal and external environment and clarify the future direction of the development of the state affairs as well as the successes achieved in the arduous course.” He stressed “the need to lay out more exciting and confident struggle policies based on valuable facts that achieved practical advance while persevering all difficulties” and “the need for the members of the leadership body of the Party Central Committee to display a high sense of responsibility and activeness in the discussion of agenda items, bearing deep in mind their heavy responsibility and duty.”
The Central Committee plenum “unanimously approved” the agenda which include a review of the implementation of party and state policies in 2022, the party and state work plan for 2023 and the state budget implementation during 2022 and a draft budget for 2023.
KJU began his report reviewing the execution of party and government policies during 2022. KJU’s report “referred to the fact that the national power of the DPRK has remarkably increased in all fields of politics, military, economy and culture, and successes and progress have been made in carrying out the gigantic tasks set forth at the fourth and fifth plenary meetings of the 8th Party Central Committee through this year’s unprecedentedly arduous and fierce struggle, comprehensively analyzed and estimated in detail the experiences and lessons accumulated.”
Kim Jong Un addresses a meeting of the WPK Central Committee in Pyongyang on 26 December 2022 (Photo: Rodong Sinmun).
KJU’s report “clarified the main goals to be attained in 2023 in the key industrial sectors of the national economy including the metal, chemical, electric power, coal and machine industries, and in various fields of the national economy including the construction, agriculture and light industries, and the ways for carrying them out.”
Plenum meeting participants attentively listened to KJU’s report as he “proudly reviews the all-people struggle of this year which achieved splendid development in the spirit of fortitude and indicates the strategic and tactical policies and tasks for practical action to propel a fresh leap forward in the building Korean-style socialism.”
Put on the kettle. We will be here a while. . .
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13. DPRK Constitution Turns 50 | North Korea Leadership Watch
If only the regime allowed the rights that are in its constitution.
DPRK Constitution Turns 50 | North Korea Leadership Watch
nkleadershipwatch.org
DPRK Constitution Turns 50
View of the Mansudae Assembly Hall on 26 December 2022 during a meeting marking the 50th anniversary of North Korea’s constitution (Photo: KCNA).
A meeting commemorating the 50th anniversary of the promulgation of the DPRK Constitution was held at Mansudae Assembly Hall on 26 December (Monday). According to DPRK state media, the meeting “marked a significant occasion which solemnly declared once again at home and abroad that the Socialist Constitution, the Chuch’e-oriented political char and the code of the people firmly guaranteeing the prosperity of our great state and its farsighted plan, will be immortal along with the sacred history of the revolutionary leader of the party and the absolute prestige of the dignified People’s Republic.”
View of senior DPRK officials on the platform of a meeting commemorating the 50th anniversary of the promulgation of the DPRK Socialist Constitution in Pyongyang on 26 December 2022 (Photo: KCNA).
Kim Jong Un (KJU; Kim Cho’ng-u’n) came out to the meeting platform and participants “raised loud cheers of ‘Hurrah!’ looking up to him who comprehensively clarified the idea and theory of building the Chuch’e-oriented socialist law in the new era with his rare wisdom and seasoned leadership and energetically led the work to make our law truly contribute to building an independent state and ensuring the rights and interests of the people, thus remarkably strengthening the might of our nation and social system.”
Also attending the meeting from the platform were: DPRK Premier Kim Tok Hun (Kim Tok-hun), Workers’ Party of Korea [WPK] Secretary for Organizational Affairs Jo Yong Won (Cho Yo’ng-wo’n), State Affairs Commission [SAC] 1st Vice President and Supreme People’s Assembly [SPA] Standing Committee Chairman Choe Ryong Hae (Ch’oe Ryong-hae), WPK Secretary for Military Affairs and Central Military Commission [CMC] Vice Chairman Pak Jong Chon (Pak Cho’ng-ch’o’n), WPK Secretary for Defense Industry Ri Pyong Chol (Ri Pyo’ng-ch’o’l), WPK Secretary for Publicity and Information (Propaganda and Agitation) Ri Il Hwan (Ri Il-hwan), WPK Auditing Commission Chairman Kim Jae Ryong (Kim Chae-ryong), WPK Secretary for Economic Affairs Jon Hyon Chol (Chon Hyon-ch’o’l), WPK Secretary for Science and Education Pak Thae Song (Pak T’ae-so’ng), WPK Vice Premier and State Planning Chairman Pak Jong Gun (Pak Cho’ng-kun), Minister of Defense Ri Yong Gil (Ri Yo’ng-kil), Korean People’s Army [KPA] General Political Bureau Director Jong Kyong Thaek (Cho’ng Kyo’ng-t’aek), former WPK United Front Department [UFD] Director Kim Yong Chol (Kim Yo’ng-ch’o’l), DPRK Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui (Ch’oe Son-hu’i), WPK Military Affairs Department [MAD] Director O Il Jong (O Il-cho’ng), WPK Auditing Commission Vice Chairman and WPK Disciplinary Investigations Department Director Pak Thae Dok (Pak T’ae-tok), WPK Legal Affairs (Prosecutors) Department Director Kim Hyong Sik (Kim Hyong-sik), WPK Munitions Industry Department Director Jo Chun Ryong (Cho Chun-ryong), WPK Light Industry Department Director Han Kwang Sang (Han Kwang-sang), WPK Agriculture Department Director Ri Chol Man (Ri Ch’o’l-man), WPK International Affairs Department Director Kim Song Nam (Kim So’ng-nam), WPK Publicity and Information [PAD] Department Deputy Director and KJUPS deputy chief Kim Yo Jong (Kim Yo’-cho’ng), Chief of the KPA General Staff Ri Thae Sop (Ri T’ae-sop), WPK UFD Department Director Ri Son Gwon (Ri Son-kwon), DPRK Vice Premier Yang Sung Ho (Yang Sung-ho), DPRK Vice Premier and Agriculture Commission Chairman Ju Chol Gyu (Chu Ch’o’l-kyu), Minister of State Security Ri Chang Dae, Minister of Public Security Pak Su Il (Pak Su-il), DPRK Central Public Prosecutors’ Office Director U Sang Chol (U Sang-ch’o’l) and Pyongyang WPK City Committee Chief Secretary Kim Yong Hwan.
Overview of the venue of a national meeting marking the 50th anniversary of the DPRK Constitution at Mansudae Assembly Hall in Pyongyang on 26 December 2022 (Photo: KCNA).
Also in attendance were leading cadres and chief functionaries of DPRK, WPK and KPA institutions, participants in the 6th plenum of the 8th WPK Central Committee, deputies to the SPA and officials and cadres in the DPRK’s legal and judicial communities. The meeting participants “expressed their firm determination to fulfill their responsibility and duty in making our law truly contribute to realizing the people-first idea of the Workers’ Party of Korea both in name and reality with a single mind, true to the idea and leadership of Kim Jong Un.”
Choe Ryong Hae, Member of the Political Bureau Presidium, 1st Vice President of State Affairs and Chairman of the Supreme People’s Assembly Standing Committee reads out the anniversary report on 26 December 2022 (Photo: Rodong Sinmun).
Choe Ryong Hae read out an anniversary report. In the report he said that the “Socialist Constitution of the DPRK worked out by President Kim Il Sung (Kim Il-so’ng) is the most popular and revolutionary code embodying the immortal Chuch’e idea and an original political charter unprecedented in the world history of constitution” and referred “to the fact that the Socialist Constitution of the DPRK has fully demonstrated the advantages and great vitality as the code of the great leader, the code of the people and the code of the revolution in the complicated revolutionary struggle that has lasted for centuries.” The reported noted that a “new chapter of building the socialist law in the new era of the Chuch’e revolution has been opened and a great change has been brought about in the development of the state.”
Choe’s said that the “rapid development of the DPRK aspiring after mightiness, advancement and modernity is being steadily pushed forward under the strong legal guarantee and out state-first principle is being developed into an all-people ideology and emotion…this reality is a brilliant fruition of the outstanding leadership of the respected comrade Kim Jong Un, who clearly resolved the theoretical and practical issues arising in the building of the Chuch’e-based law. Our constitution will as ever successfully carry out its historic mission as a weapon powerfully propelling the cause of building a powerful country.”
Choe Ryong Hae, in his report, expressed “warm support for the Socialist Constitution of the DPRK, the most advantageous and powerful in the world, reflecting the will of all the Korean people.” He called “for more dynamically struggling for the eternal prosperity of our great country, our noble idea and our sacred cause by holding fast to the Chuch’e-oriented Socialist Constitution as its only weapon. It is a great honor and pride of our state and people to have the great political charter to firmly support Korean-style socialism and push it to realizing the far-reaching ideal until the day of building a communist society.”
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14. N. Korea commends Storm Corps soldiers for defense of border during pandemic
Awards for being brutal.
Excerpts:
They wore expressions that seemingly expressed rage at the soldiers who shot people no different from their loving parents or siblings.
In particular, some of the officers and soldiers said the awards were issued “for shooting and killing not the enemy, but people who are like your own flesh and blood,” said the source.
“They called it a very inhumane award, and the mood wasn’t happy,” he added.
N. Korea commends Storm Corps soldiers for defense of border during pandemic
“The government said these soldiers had brought about victorious progress in the defense of the border and significant results in the quarantine war,” a source told Daily NK
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FILE PHOTO: Barbed wire fences on the Sino-North Korean border. (Daily NK)
North Korea recently conducted an end-of-the year commendation ceremony for “model warriors” of the 11th Corps — the so-called “Storm Corps” — and border patrol troops.
The Storm Corps has been tasked with surveillance and control of the people living along the China-North Korea border.
A source in North Hamgyong Province told Daily NK on Monday that the ceremony was held on Dec. 10 with about 50 commanders and soldiers in attendance.
“The event congratulated those who exercised an indomitable fighting spirit in the iron-clad defense of the border and celebrated the victory in the quarantine war,” he said.
The source said about 20 soldiers received commendations.
“The government said these soldiers had brought about victorious progress in the defense of the border and significant results in the quarantine war,” he said.
According to the source, the authorities selected the model warriors if they “boldly stopped” illegal border hoppers or anyone else who approached one to two kilometers of the border — in accordance with combat orders issued with the government proclamation to close the border — and “hit the mark with their shots.”
In a August 2020 proclamation, North Korea established a buffer zone one to two kilometers along the border and warned that unauthorized persons or animals that enter the buffer zone would be “unconditionally fired upon.”
Since then, border guards have fired on people in the border region, leading to a series of unfortunate incidents, including the shooting of individuals who unknowingly entered the buffer zone in search of food. The order to fire upon people entering the zone still remains in place, according to the source.
However, the authorities consider soldiers who have actually fired upon intruders as “personnel who defended border guard posts and strongholds in a model way and delayed incidents by detecting phenomena and problems in a timely manner in a wartime-like situation.”
That is, they are soldiers “with a clear ideology who defended border guard posts during the difficult period, namely, the quarantine war on COVID-19.”
In fact, North Korean authorities bestowed Order of the National Flag Second Class medals on the soldiers, as well as unit commendations.
Unit political committees were reportedly tasked with bestowing the awards.
The authorities also reportedly inducted the commended soldiers into the Workers’ Party and highlighted how model warriors would receive priority admission into whichever university, officer academy or military college they wished to attend.
However, the source said the mood among the officers and soldiers who attended the ceremony was less-than-festive.
They wore expressions that seemingly expressed rage at the soldiers who shot people no different from their loving parents or siblings.
In particular, some of the officers and soldiers said the awards were issued “for shooting and killing not the enemy, but people who are like your own flesh and blood,” said the source.
“They called it a very inhumane award, and the mood wasn’t happy,” he added.
Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
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15. N. Korea’s largest thermal power station suffers boiler explosion
Just another example of the poor technology and infrastructure in north Korea.
N. Korea’s largest thermal power station suffers boiler explosion
All of the burned workers are reportedly undergoing treatment at the provincial people’s hospital in Pyongsong
dailynk.com
The Pukchang Thermoelectric Power Plant. (Rodong Sinmun)
A boiler at Pukchang Thermal Power Plant — North Korea’s largest thermal power station — recently exploded after being operated over its limits, Daily NK has learned.
The explosion comes as North Korean authorities make repeated calls to increase domestic electrical production, with critics calling the incident a “typical man-made disaster” resulting from excessive operations due to state coercion.
A source in South Pyongan Province told Daily NK on Monday that the recent explosion in the boiler — the facility used to generate heat — occurred while the plant in Pukchang County, South Pyongan Province, was operating at 100% electricity generating capacity at the end of the year.
The plant stopped operating after the explosion.
“Five workers who were sent into the boiler[room] without allowing it to cool down sustained burns and were hospitalized, and only then did work to repair the boiler come to a temporary halt,” said the source.
Pukchang Thermal Power Plant put off scheduled repairs to the boiler twice due to orders from the authorities to run at “full capacity,” he added.
Basically, this means the plant put off necessary work due to the government’s demand that the plant ensure 24-hour power to various sectors, including disease control-related facilities, amid the so-called “COVID-19 emergency period.”
In particular, the authorities committed a “second error” by ordering that the repairs to the boiler be completed as soon as possible, declaring that the fulfillment of this year’s electricity generation plans hinged on the Pukchang Thermal Power Plant.
They sent workers into the hot boiler room, but all they got was burn victims before calling a halt to the repairs.
Only then did the authorities take action. On Dec. 18, the state sent inspectors to the plant to hold an emergency discussion with the facility’s cadres and on-site technicians.
The crux of that discussion reportedly was, “The capital Pyongyang needs a lot of electricity now, so isn’t there anything you can do?”
However, the discussion only ended up drawing out pitiful conclusions. For example, the participants called for delaying restoration of the stricken boiler since repairing it “would threaten the safety of workers even if they let it cool for 10 days or more,” and suggested measures to repair the other boilers currently in operation “since they aren’t safe” due to wear and tear.
All of the burned workers are reportedly undergoing treatment at the provincial people’s hospital in Pyongsong.
The plant has forbidden visits to the injured men, explaining that “the state will look after all their needs since the accident was connected to state production.”
The source said the workers’ wives have no idea how badly their husbands have been injured.
“The families as well as other plant workers are complaining that the measure [to excessively run the boiler] was not warranted,” he said.
Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
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De Oppresso Liber,
David Maxwell
Senior Fellow, Foundation for Defense of Democracies
Senior Fellow, Global Peace Foundation
Senior Advisor, Center for Asia Pacific Strategy
Editor, Small Wars Journal
Twitter: @davidmaxwell161
Phone: 202-573-8647
email: david.maxwell161@gmail.com
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