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Quotes of the Day:
"Communism never sleeps, never changes its objectives, nor must we. Our first duty to freedom is to defend our own. Then one day we might export a little to those peoples who have to live without it."
- Margaret Thatcher
"Most people are convinced that as long as they are not overtly forced to do something by an outside power, their decisions are theirs, and that if they want something, it is they who want it. But this is one of the great illusions we have about ourselves. A great number of our decisions are not really our own but are suggested to us from the outside; we have succeeded in persuading ourselves that it is we who have made the decision, whereas we have actually conformed with expectations of others, driven by the fear of isolation and by more direct threats to our life, freedom, and comfort."
~Erich Fromm
(Book: Escape from Freedom https://amzn.to/3jn3DCr).
"It is never too late to be what you might have been."
- George Eliot
1. S. Korea successfully conducts test flight of solid-fuel space vehicle: defense ministry
2. N. Korea working on draft resolution for year-end party plenary meeting
3. ‘We must pursue peace through overwhelming preparation,’ Yoon says
4. New N. Korean video harshly condemns people caught enjoying foreign content
5. Tensions in Korean peninsula expected to rise as South Korea, US mark 70 years of alliance with military drills
6. South Korea To Spend Billions Upgrading Its F-15K Slam Eagle Fighters
7. South Korea’s Indo-Pacific strategy highlights partnerships against regional threats
8. US Military Develops AI Systems to Counter Iranian Drone Threats
9. North and South Korea must return to peaceful dialogue after year of tit-for-tat escalation raises nuclear risks
10. UN Command convenes special team for probe into NK drone infiltrations
11. South Korea fires test rocket unannounced causing stir throughout nation
12. N. Korea's drone provocation
13. Winners and losers in war and peace
14. S. Korea's nuclear envoy discusses NK issue with US, Chinese counterparts
15. Millennium Hilton Seoul disappears into history
1. S. Korea successfully conducts test flight of solid-fuel space vehicle: defense ministry
Another technologically superior capability over north Korea.
(2nd LD) S. Korea successfully conducts test flight of solid-fuel space vehicle: defense ministry | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 송상호 · December 30, 2022
(ATTN: UPDATES throughout with details; ADDS photo)
SEOUL, Dec. 30 (Yonhap) -- South Korea successfully conducted a test flight of a solid-fuel space launch vehicle on Friday, the defense ministry said, nine months after its first test of the homegrown rocket.
The state-run Agency for Defense Development (ADD) carried out the test as part of efforts to strengthen "independent" space-based reconnaissance and surveillance capabilities, according to the ministry. It did not disclose the venue of the test.
"This flight test is a follow-up to the test on March 30 and we will achieve progress through the development process over the next several years," the ministry said in a text message sent to reporters.
It added, "Our military will double down on efforts to reinforce defense capabilities, including for the space domain."
The test came as North Korea has been pushing to acquire a solid-fuel long-range missile and a military reconnaissance satellite.
In March, the ADD carried out the first test of the indigenous solid-fuel space rocket at a testing site in Taean, 150 kilometers southwest of Seoul, to confirm its capabilities.
The rocket is designed to put a small satellite into a low Earth orbit for surveillance operations. Compared with liquid-fuel space vehicles, solid-fuel ones are known to be usually simpler and more cost-effective to launch.
The ministry has said it plans to launch an actual satellite mounted on the rocket in the future following additional development procedures.
Seoul's space rocket project gained momentum after Seoul and Washington agreed last year to lift the "missile guidelines" restrictions that had barred the South from developing or possessing ballistic missiles with a maximum range greater than 800 kilometers.
sshluck@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 송상호 · December 30, 2022
2. N. Korea working on draft resolution for year-end party plenary meeting
We are waiting with bated breath for the statement so we can parse every word,
(LEAD) N. Korea working on draft resolution for year-end party plenary meeting | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 김수연 · December 30, 2022
(ATTN: UPDATES with more info in paras 6, 7, 9, 10; CHANGES photos)
SEOUL, Dec. 30 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has discussed policy goals for 2023 to draw up a draft resolution expected to be adopted at the close of an ongoing plenary meeting of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), according to state media Friday.
During the fourth-day session of the WPK central committee's enlarged plenary meeting Thursday, participants held sectoral discussions to map out measures to implement "important tasks" set forth by the North's leader Kim Jong-un, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
Participants held "sincere discussions to establish in scientific, progressive and realistic ways the struggle plan for 2023," the KCNA said in an English dispatch.
Discussions included key goals for increasing production in the economic sector, improving people's living standards, and building a socialist culture for next year, it added.
Details of such discussions are expected to be made public through a resolution that would be adopted at the close of the WPK's meeting. The document could include the North's foreign policy line and stance on inter-Korean relations for the new year.
One of photos carried by the KCNA shows the North's leader holding a group meeting with key five officials, including Jo Yong-won, the party secretary for organizational affairs, and Premier Kim Tok-hun.
North Korea kicked off the WPK's plenary meeting Monday to review this year's achievements and discuss major tasks for 2023. On the second day of its session, Kim presented new goals for the strengthening of the country's military power next year in an indication that the regime will continue to conduct weapons tests in the new year.
The North's leader could use the ongoing meeting as a venue to deliver a major speech to replace his annual New Year's Day address.
Seoul's unification ministry said North Korea may release the outcome of the party meeting Saturday or Sunday in light of its previous announcement patterns following its year-end plenary meetings in 2019 and 2021.
"The North may make public (Kim Jong-un's) announcements replacing his New Year's Day speech tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. But the government will watch the North's move (without prejudgment)," Lee Hyo-jung, deputy spokesperson of Seoul's unification ministry, said at a regular press briefing.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 김수연 · December 30, 2022
3. ‘We must pursue peace through overwhelming preparation,’ Yoon says
"We maintain the peace through our strength; weakness only invites aggression."
- Ronald Raegan
Preparation.
"The more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war."
-Norman Schwartzkoph
“The more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war”
Chinese Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975) said in 1939, “The more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war.” The saying was also used by U.S. General Hugh Aloysius Drum (1879-1951) and Admiral Hyman G. Rickover (1900-1986). The saying is often listed as a “Chinese proverb.”
“The more you sweat in practice/training, the less you bleed in battle” is a popular sports and fitness adage.
‘We must pursue peace through overwhelming preparation,’ Yoon says
donga.com
Posted December. 30, 2022 07:42,
Updated December. 30, 2022 07:42
‘We must pursue peace through overwhelming preparation,’ Yoon says. December. 30, 2022 07:42. by Joo-Young Jeon, Seong-Ho Hwang aimhigh@donga.com,hsh0330@donga.com.
On Thursday, President Yoon Suk Yeol said that South Korea must protect the peace by overpowering war capabilities and ordered the military to be always prepared for the war, in a strong response to the North Korean drone provocation.
On his visit to the Agency for Defense Development in Daejeon on Thursday, President Yoon said that “North Korean drone infiltration into our airspace is absolutely intolerable,” and that the South Korean military must make sure that “provocations come with harsh costs.” President Yoon inspected the military’s weapons development status, including military surveillance, reconnaissance, and interception systems against North Korea’s drone threats.
President Yoon’s remarks were rebutted immediately by the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea. Rep. Park Hong-geun, floor leader of the DP, criticized President Yoon for making a hard-line comment that is fueling the anxiety of the Korean people by calling for full preparation for war and mentioning the possibility of making a preemptive strike.
한국어
donga.com
4. New N. Korean video harshly condemns people caught enjoying foreign content
Information is an existential threat to the Kim family regime. From news to entertainment.
New N. Korean video harshly condemns people caught enjoying foreign content
The video calls South Korean, Western and US cultures “dangerous toxins that instill delusions about the enemy countries and paralyze the revolutionary and class consciousness"
dailynk.com
Screenshot from what appears to be a video produced in North Korea showing a public struggle session of those caught violating the country's "anti-reactionary thought law." (Daily NK)
North Korean authorities recently produced a video that shows the public humiliation of people who were caught enjoying and distributing South Korean TV shows and music.
Daily NK recently obtained the video, which is entitled “Let’s Wage an Even More Intense Struggle to Wipe Out All Anti-socialist and Non-socialist Phenomena in the Capital.”
The video shows individuals who appear to have been arrested for consuming or distributing media from the outside world being publicly berated by a mob.
The individuals criticized in the video are of different ages and sexes, suggesting that information from the outside world is spreading among everyone — men and women, old and young.
In fact, according to a Unification Media Group and Daily NK survey of 50 North Koreans, the results of which were announced in October, South Korean TV programs such as “Crash Landing on You,” “Penthouse” and “Squid Game” are quite popular among North Koreans.
VIDEO AIMS TO INSTILL FEAR IN YOUNG PEOPLE
The video harshly condemns the crimes of a young woman born in 2003, showing her picture and listing her personal information, including her name, date of birth, address and workplace.
The profiling of the woman seems aimed at instilling fear in young people, the core age group consuming and distributing foreign media in North Korea.
According to the video, the woman gave about 50 South Korean videos and 30 South Korean songs to numerous people over several occasions from May of last year to early April of this year.
When she was arrested, she was also accused of going around singing South Korean songs, having written down the lyrics of some of them in a notebook, and sharing foreign videos with her coworkers.
In this screen capture from the video, young people caught watching or distributing foreign content appear to be awaiting punishment. (Daily NK)
The video said the girl was admonished and beaten by her father for watching “impure recordings” at home last year, but “she still couldn’t get her act together.”
“She continued to watch and distribute puppet [South Korean] recordings afterwards, and was criminally punished,” the video’s narration claimed.
However, the video narration did not reveal what kind of punishment she received.
S. KOREAN AND WESTERN CULTURES ARE “DANGEROUS TOXINS”
North Korea has been handing out stern punishments to people who watch or distribute foreign videos and media since enacting the “anti-reactionary thought law” in late 2020.
In fact, the video fully demonstrates the North Korean authorities’ attitude toward the viewing and distribution of foreign content.
It harshly condemns South Korean, Western and US cultures “that usually target depraved, toxic and perverted desires,” calling them “dangerous toxins that instill delusions about the enemy countries and paralyze the revolutionary and class consciousness.”
The video further accuses the South Korean “puppets” and “enemy forces” of holding fast to their “ideological and cultural invasion schemes,” and claims their “wicked goal” is to “weaken from the inside” North Korean socialism by “infiltrating reactionary culture and spiritually and culturally corrupting the people.”
In this screen capture from the video, a photo of the South Korean girl group “2NE1” is shown, presumably to demonstrate why such content must be eradicated from the society. (Daily NK)
The video accuses some “ideologically and spiritually distorted and ethically corrupt people and students” of “openly distributing the impure music and videos” sent into North Korea “by the South Korean puppets and enemy forces to spread reactionary and decadent thought and culture.”
Meanwhile, given that the number “3” was attached to the title of the video, there appears to be at least three such propaganda videos, and possibly more. This suggests that the North Korean authorities are using videos in Pyongyang and other regions of the country to stoke fear among the population.
In fact, the video’s narration said an “intense, great mop-up operation to boldly smash anti-socialist and non-socialist phenomena that weakens our internal power and blocks our drive is now being intensely waged across the entire society.”
This suggests that an intensive mop-up operation is being waged against South Korean pop culture and information from the outside world not only in Pyongyang, but throughout the entire country as well.
Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
Read in Korean
dailynk.com
5. Tensions in Korean peninsula expected to rise as South Korea, US mark 70 years of alliance with military drills
Actually the ROK/US alliance is telegraphing the new normal for readiness. No surprises. The alliance is transparently ensuring a foundation of deterrence and defense and is not reacting to north Korean provocations. These exercises and training are defensive. It is north Korea that is developing and demonstrating dangerous offensive capabilities. It is the Kim family regime that seeks domination of the peninsula while South Korea, with US and international support, pursues a free and unified Korea.
Tensions in Korean peninsula expected to rise as South Korea, US mark 70 years of alliance with military drills
South Korea will hold more than 20 joint military drills with the US next year, while Pyongyang is expected to conduct its seventh nuclear test.
channelnewsasia.com
SEOUL: Tensions in the Korean peninsula are expected to rise next year, as South Korea and the United States mark 70 years of their alliance with several military drills.
South Korea has said it will hold more than 20 large-scale joint military drills with the US next year, a move which could enrage Pyongyang.
The North conducted its highest number of missile tests in 2022, the most in a single year since leader Kim Jong Un took power in 2011, and more than the three previous years combined.
Among the more than 60 missiles fired were intercontinental ballistic missiles believed to be capable of reaching the US.
Some analysts also expect Pyongyang to conduct its seventh nuclear test in 2023, its first since 2017.
NO END IN SIGHT
Experts are convinced North Korea will not stop its launches, as long as there are no talks between Pyongyang and Washington, or Seoul and Pyongyang.
One Korea Center president Kwak Gil-sup said: “North Korea's attitude will remain consistent for the time being. If it wants to maintain tension through what it considers minor provocations to make nuclear possession a fait accompli and create conditions for disarmament talks, it must continue to upgrade nuclear power through strong provocations.”
Amid rising tensions on the Korean peninsula earlier this year, South Korea and the US held their largest joint military drills in years.
The USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier. (South Korean Navy/Yonhap via REUTERS)
The US sent its nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the USS Ronald Reagan, to take part in the Vigilant Storm operation alongside South Korea’s warplanes, staging mock attacks on enemy forces.
Both forces also conducted a joint river-crossing drill, in what was seen as a large-scale operation to counter threats from North Korea.
Both countries have said the drills are purely defensive and necessary, while Pyongyang has angrily condemned them as a rehearsal for an invasion of North Korea.
With more of such drills on the way, tensions on the Korean peninsula are expected to only go up.
A MORE AGGRESSIVE NORTH
There are concerns that the hardline stance taken by South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol could push North Korea to take more provocative actions next year.
Pyongyang is also turning more towards Russia and China, after failing to get any easing of sanctions from the United States.
Talks between Washington and Pyongyang have largely stalled since a failed summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and then-US president Donald Trump in 2019, despite the Biden administration saying it remains open to talks without preconditions.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and then-US president Donald Trump met in Hanoi in 2019. (Photo: Reuters/Leah Millis)
Mr Park Hwee-rhak, Nuclear Defence Chair of the Hansun Foundation, said: “I think not in the distant future, but soon, North Korea will attempt to reunify South Korea by launching a surprise attack, including the use of nuclear weapons.”
He noted that national unification is included in North Korea’s constitution, adding: “It doesn’t say unification per se in the constitution, but it conveys the idea of North Korea’s willingness to complete its socialist state and expand it to the Korean peninsula.”
channelnewsasia.com
6. South Korea To Spend Billions Upgrading Its F-15K Slam Eagle Fighters
South Korea To Spend Billions Upgrading Its F-15K Slam Eagle Fighters
With heightened tensions on the Korean peninsula, Seoul is investing in making its prized F-15 fighter jets even more potent.
BY
THOMAS NEWDICK
|
PUBLISHED DEC 29, 2022 2:47 PM
thedrive.com · by Thomas Newdick · December 29, 2022
Seoul has approved major projects to upgrade its existing F-15K Slam Eagle fighter jets, and to buy additional refueling tankers. The move comes as South Korea seeks to bolster its armed forces to counter the growing North Korean threat. As part of this effort, South Korea’s air force is set to be a major beneficiary, and approval for the plans comes just two days after the first North Korean cross-border drone intrusion in five years — which you can read more about here.
South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration, or DAPA, which is responsible for defense acquisition, announced yesterday that the F-15K upgrade and the new tankers had been approved, in a significant boost to the Republic of Korea Air Force, or ROKAF.
ROKAF pilots and maintainers race to launch an F-15K Slam Eagle fighter jet from a shelter at an airbase in the southern city of Daegu. WON DAI-YEON/AFP via Getty Images
Valued at $2.73 billion, the F-15 modernization was signed off by the government’s Defense Project Promotion Committee. DAPA says that the upgrade will “strengthen the mission capabilities and survivability” of the jets and will run between 2024 and 2034.
Central to the F-15 upgrade will be the introduction of a new active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, replacing the Raytheon AN/APG-63(V)1 currently used. There are a few different AESA options currently available, including the APG-63(V)3 that’s been retrofitted to U.S. Air Force F-15C/Ds and which was also chosen by Singapore and Saudi Arabia. Then there is the AN/APG-82(V)1 that goes into upgraded U.S. Air Force F-15Es, the new F-15EX, and which has also been selected by Japan for its F-15J Japanese Super Interceptor modernization package, among others. You can read about all these radars and their capabilities here, but suffice to say, an AESA set will bring a host of advantages, including in relation to range, fidelity, fast-scanning ability, reliability, electronic warfare, and resistance to countermeasures.
Most importantly, it will be critical for spotting low-flying and low-radar-cross-section targets like cruise missiles and drones. This ability was the primary driver behind the U.S. Air National Guard upgrading its F-15C/Ds and now its F-16s with AESA radar sets for the homeland defense role. The threat of both North Korean drones and cruise missiles is growing with a major drone incursion occurring just this week, the first time in five years.
The AN/APG-82 AESA radar on a test stand. Raytheon
Far less likely, but also a possibility would be installing the radar that’s being locally developed for Seoul’s new-generation fighter, the homegrown KF-21 Boramae. This is also an AESA radar, from Hanwha Systems.
The upgrade will also address the fighter’s integrated electronic warfare equipment, which currently includes the AN/ALR-56 radar warning receiver and AN/ALQ-135 jammer. The Japanese 'Super Interceptor' upgrade includes BAE Systems’ AN/ALQ-239 Digital Electronic Warfare System (DEWS) and the same company also produces the Eagle Passive/Active Warning Survivability System, or EPAWSS, used in upgraded U.S. Air Force F-15Es and the F-15EX.
The upgraded Slam Eagles will also receive a new mission computer; the Honeywell Advanced Display Core Processor (ADCP) is currently used in the F-15K.
Although there is no mention of new weaponry at this point, that’s certainly a possibility, cockpit displays, and the JHMCS II helmet-mounted sight.
Investing heavily in the F-15 fleet makes a lot of sense for Seoul, especially with plenty of life left on the jets, which average only a little more than 14 years old. Initially acquired under the F-X program launched in the mid-1990s, the first of 61 were formally introduced to service in late 2005. The type remains very much at the spearhead of the ROKAF’s combat fleet. While a multirole asset, the F-15K version is well equipped for long-range strike missions against North Korean targets, including hardened ones. Its Slam Eagle name reflects the ability to carry AGM-84H SLAM-ER standoff cruise missiles, while the Taurus KEPD 350K is another weapon option in the same category.
A ROKAF F-15K fighter jet armed with a Taurus KEPD 350K standoff missile during an exercise in 2017, in Taean-gun, South Korea. South Korean Defense Ministry via Getty Images
SLAM-ER is a tremendously precise cruise missile that has stealthy features and can reliably hit targets even in complex littoral environments. It has a range of around 170 miles and can be controlled via a two-way datalink from the launching aircraft, pinpointing its impact point dynamically, or it can work autonomously.
The F-15K is also especially valued for its ability to carry the GBU-28/B Paveway III laser-guided bomb, just one part of its prodigious weapons-carrying capability, unmatched in the ROKAF. Weighing 4,700 pounds, the penetrating GBU-28/B ‘bunker buster’ would likely be used against hardened shelters and caves housing North Korean missiles, aircraft, and nuclear facilities, as well as underground command posts, including those used by its leaders. The strategic value of this weapon (and by virtue also the F-15K) has been made clear by DAPA in the past, with one official stating:
“The deployment of GBU-28s will significantly improve the country’s deterrence against North Korea’s weapons of mass destruction.”
A U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle releases a GBU-28/B ‘bunker buster’ over the Utah Test and Training Range during a weapons evaluation test. U.S. Air Force
An F-15K with its impressive array of weapons options arranged in front of it. ROKAF
F-15Ks have also been at the forefront during responses to recent provocations from the North. In October, it was reported that around 30 ROKAF fighter jets — including F-15Ks — were scrambled in response to apparent air-to-surface firing exercises flown by North Korean warplanes, on the other side of the border. This was a greater number of ROKAF jets than are typically involved in such incidents. F-15Ks were also used in a widely publicized live-fire drill the same month. Here, two bunker-busting Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs) were dropped in direct response to North Korea’s launch of an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) over Japan.
A ROKAF F-15K drops two Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) onto an island target in response to a North Korean IRBM launch earlier the same day October 4, 2022. Photo by South Korean Defense Ministry via Getty Images
Since the arrival of the F-15K, however, Seoul has also invested in 40 F-35A stealth fighters and is busy working on the KF-21 Boramae program, with plans to induct at least 120 of the home-grown next-generation fighters.
Another upgrade program is already underway for the ROKAF’s most numerous fighter jet, the F-16C/D, around 130 of which are being brought up to F-16V standard, at a cost of around $1.2 billion. This modernization also features an AESA radar, Northrop Grumman’s AN/APG-83 Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR), as well as improved cockpit displays and mission computers. The upgrade work is expected to be completed by around 2025.
A ROKAF F-16D deployed at Edwards Air Force Base, California, to conduct tests under the South Korean F-16 upgrade program. U.S. Air Force
Meanwhile, the $948-million tanker plan that’s been approved will lead to the acquisition of reportedly two new refueling jets between 2024 and 2029.
The type of tanker has yet to be formally decided. The most likely candidates are the Boeing KC-46 Pegasus and the Airbus A330 MRTT, although the European offering would appear to be at a distinct advantage, with the ROKAF already operating four examples, under the local name KC-330 Cygnus.
Aerial refueling would play a major part in any kind of sustained air campaign, extending the radius of action of fighter jets and surveillance aircraft, including keeping them on station over critical areas like the disputed Dokdo islands as well as above or around North Korea itself, should the need arise. At the same time, the KC-330 also provides the ROKAF with a new strategic airlift capacity, to support international missions further afield.
The first Airbus A330 MRTT aircraft for the ROKAF departs for Busan, South Korea, in November 2018. Airbus
Aside from these ROKAF projects, the latest round of defense programs to be signed off in Seoul also includes an upgrade for the Republic of Korea Navy’s KDX-III destroyers, the Sejong the Great class, four of which have been completed, with two more planned. At a cost of around $530 million, these warships will receive new subsystems, including towed array sonars, between 2024 and 2033.
However, it’s the additional capabilities for the ROKAF that are especially eye-catching among the latest announcements.
These come at a time of increased tensions on the Korean peninsula, including a tit-for-tat campaign of weapons launching displays in recent months. Most dramatically, this included North Korea firing a ballistic missile across the de-facto maritime border with South Korea, for the first time, last month.
Other developments are underway within the ROKAF to make it better able to dissuade or respond to a possible nuclear attack from North Korea. This includes the recent announcement that the KF-21 would be armed with a locally produced air-launched cruise missile, or ALCM, the first of its kind to be produced by Seoul’s defense industry.
At the other end of the scale from Pyongyang’s nuclear threats, as noted earlier, this week South Korea scrambled fighter jets, light attack aircraft, and attack helicopters to respond to a North Korean cross-border drone intrusion, the first of its kind since 2017. In the process, five North Korean drones entered South Korean airspace, while a ROKAF KA-1 turboprop light attack aircraft crashed on takeoff.
Despite multiple rounds being fired, notably by helicopters, it’s unclear if South Korean air defenses actually managed to down any of the drones, which are a problematic target, as evidenced by their combat use in Ukraine and in Saudi Arabia, among others. One South Korean official likened the problem of downing a small drone to “catch[ing] a fly with cannon balls.”
ROKMND
It’s clear that North Korea’s expanding military capabilities now include not only ever more capable and far-reaching ballistic missiles, but also an array of drones that, while typically fairly unsophisticated, could sow confusion simply through their overwhelming weight of numbers. Added to this is North Korea’s ancient but still prolific air force, which includes slow-flying An-2 biplanes that could insert special forces deep inside South Korea. These old and slow planes are also far from easy targets for air defenses.
All in all, the kinds of weapons and tactics that North Korea could bring to bear in the opening stages of a cross-DMZ conflict, as well as Pyongyang’s willingness toward provocative actions that fall just short of all-out aggression, mean that modernization of South Korea’s armed forces is likely to remain a top priority for the time being.
Contact the author: thomas@thedrive.com
thedrive.com · by Thomas Newdick · December 29, 2022
7. South Korea’s Indo-Pacific strategy highlights partnerships against regional threats
South Korea’s Indo-Pacific strategy highlights partnerships against regional threats
Stars and Stripes · by David Choi · December 29, 2022
President Joe Biden was photographed with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol during a summit in Seoul, May 21, 2022. (Adam Schultz)
CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea — South Korea’s first comprehensive strategy for the Indo-Pacific region embraces the country’s ties to the United States and Japan against its neighbor North Korea’s “serious threat to peace and stability.”
“The future of the Indo-Pacific will be determined by our collective efforts to find common solutions to a range of complex challenges and build a sustainable and resilient regional order,” the report, released Wednesday, states. “To do our part, Korea aspires to become a global pivotal state that actively seeks out [agendas] for cooperation and shapes discussions in the region and the wider world.”
Washington responded Wednesday that President Joe Biden’s administration is in lockstep with South Korea’s Indo-Pacific strategy, which outlines the country’s economic, military and social goals in the coming years.
South Korea’s strategic goals reflect “our shared commitment to the region’s security and growing prosperity,” national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement by the White House.
“[South Korea’s] goal to expand its cooperation with other allies and partners across the Indo-Pacific will strengthen our shared ability to advance international peace, security, and promote nuclear nonproliferation,” Sullivan said in the statement. “The strategy will also enhance the region’s economic security networks, cooperation in science and technology, and engagement on climate change and energy security.”
Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman also tweeted on Wednesday: “We look forward to working with our [South Korean] friends to strengthen our alliance and expand our joint efforts in the region.”
Biden’s administration released its own strategy for the Indo-Pacific in February that reaffirmed the U.S. alliance with South Korea, advocated for the removal of nuclear weapons from the Korean Peninsula and called out China’s “bullying” in the region.
The administration’s plan also appealed for greater military cooperation with allies in the region, or “extended deterrence,” to respond to the military threat posed by North Korea.
South Korea’s strategy describes North Korea’s continued missile and nuclear capabilities as “a serious threat to peace and stability” in the world and seeks strengthened ties with the U.S. and Japan, “its closest neighbor,” to address the threat.
“Improved relations with Japan [are] essential for fostering cooperation and solidarity among like-minded Indo-Pacific nations; we are thus continuing our diplomatic efforts to restore mutual trust and advance relations,” the strategy report states.
North Korea fired over 70 missiles in 35 separate days of testing so far this year. U.S. and South Korean officials have warned throughout the year that the communist regime has also prepared to conduct its seventh and first nuclear test since 2017.
“Given the grave, serious challenge posed by North Korea’s nuclear program … we must clearly demonstrate that the international community’s determination to denuclearize the North will always outweigh the latter’s determination to advance its nuclear and missile program,” the strategy states.
The plans reiterate that the “door to dialogue with Pyongyang” remains open and that South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s terms are still on the table.
Yoon unveiled his self-described “audacious initiative” in August, promising economic incentives for North Korea should it take earnest steps toward denuclearization. The communist regime rejected Yoon’s offer to help modernize its agricultural and medical sectors in exchange for scrapping its weapons programs.
Stars and Stripes · by David Choi · December 29, 2022
8. US Military Develops AI Systems to Counter Iranian Drone Threats
I hope someone is sharing this with the ROK/US CFC and our Korean allies.
Video at the link.
US Military Develops AI Systems to Counter Iranian Drone Threats
https://armyintel.com/f/us-military-develops-ai-systems-to-counter-iranian-drone-threats
December 28, 2022
General Michael "Erik" Kurilla, Commander of US Central Command, announced during a press briefing that the US military has developed three innovative AI military systems to counter Iranian threats in the Middle East region. These systems, which cover land, sea, and air capabilities, are being implemented in response to the sophisticated and expanding capabilities of Iranian drones in the region. Kurilla specifically highlighted the increasing range and deadlier payloads of these drones as a threat to the US and its partner militaries.
"Iranian drones are a threat in the region. Iran commands an arsenal of drone systems ranging from small, short-range to modern intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance units. They are building larger drones that can fly further with increasingly deadly payloads," Kurilla explained.
To address these emerging threats, the US is downsizing its ground presence and instead relying on interconnected AI systems that will integrate with the region's militaries. One of these systems, Task Force 59, will consist of a fleet of over 100 maritime vessels based in Bahrain and Aqaba, Jordan, working together and communicating to provide a common operating picture to all participating militaries. Task Force 99, based in Qatar, will operate aerial drones equipped with tailored payloads and other capabilities to observe, detect, and gather data for an operations center. Task Force 39, the land component, will test concepts and technology, including a fleet of unmanned and manned ground vehicles, to defeat Iranian drones.
Kurilla also mentioned that the US is still partnering with Syrian Democratic Forces to counter threats from Daesh, and that while Daesh's capabilities in Iraq and Syria have been significantly degraded, the group still retains the ability to conduct operations in the region. The US military is continuing to advise, assist, and enable the Iraqi security forces in the fight against Daesh, and plans to release a full report on its Defeat Daesh operations in Iraq and Syria, including a tally of operations, raids, detentions, and killed Daesh operatives.
9. North and South Korea must return to peaceful dialogue after year of tit-for-tat escalation raises nuclear risks
Everyone except Kim Jong Un is ready for dialogue.
Petty behavior by the South? Sounds like a north Korean Propaganda and Agitation Department talking point.
North and South Korea must return to peaceful dialogue after year of tit-for-tat escalation raises nuclear risks
- Stakes are never higher as North Korea grows bolder in developing its nuclear weapons, passes a first-strike law, and cosies up to Russia and China
- Petty behaviour by the South only makes it impossible to make any serious demands on Pyongyang
Gabriela Bernal
+ myNEWS
Published: 3:30am, 29 Dec, 2022
https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3204706/north-and-south-korea-must-return-peaceful-dialogue-after-year-tit-tat-escalation-raises-nuclear?utm_campaign=dfn-ebb&utm_medium=email&utm_source=sailthru&SToverlay=2002c2d9-c344-4bbb-8610-e5794efcfa7d
The year 2022 has seen major shifts in the wrong direction on the Korean peninsula, with the North and South engaging in a tit-for-tat escalation campaign that continues to this day.
With the war in Ukraine and intensifying US-China rivalry, the opportunity has arisen for North Korea to more closely align itself with old-time allies in Beijing and Moscow. Meanwhile, levels of trilateral cooperation not seen in years were also observed south of the 38th parallel between Washington, Seoul and Tokyo.
With these two blocs fiercely pitted against each other, there seem to be few options for diplomacy and cooperation. This is problematic since the stakes have never been higher on the Korean peninsula. This year, North Korea showed the world its rapid level of missile and military technology development, ability to conduct continuous and multi-front military provocations, and growing arsenal of weapons of mass destruction, despite international sanctions.
North Korea has been particularly bold this year and this attitude was on full display on many occasions. An important example is the nuclear-use law adopted in September, under which North Korea could conduct a pre-emptive nuclear strike under certain conditions. What’s more, the law essentially scrapped any possibility of the denuclearisation of North Korea for now.
These are all major developments that have direct implications on not just the security situation on the Korean peninsula, but also on the wider region and potentially the world.
Another reason for concern is the speed at which North Korea’s weapons arsenal and military capabilities have developed in the past year. On November 18, for example, North Korea successfully launched a “new type” Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) at a highly lofted trajectory. The tests showed Pyongyang’s capability to deliver nuclear warheads against the continental United States and the constant modifications being made to its missiles.
This photo provided by the North Korean government shows the test-firing of what it says is a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile at Pyongyang International Airport on November 18. Photo: Korean Central News Agency / Korea News Service via AP
Then, on December 19, North Korean media announced a successful “important, final-stage test” for the development of a military reconnaissance satellite, expected to be completed by next April.
Another way North Korea has strengthened its position this year has been through support from Russia and China at the United Nations. Russia and China vetoed a US proposal in May for additional sanctions targeting North Korea. Although North Korea has been criticising such international sanctions for years, this is the first time that the two UN Security Council members came together at such a high level to directly block more sanctions against North Korea.
Diplomats at a meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss missile tests by North Korea on May 11 in New York. Photo: AFP
North Korea not only welcomed this support but also took the opportunity to strengthen its ties with both China and Russia. On August 1, North Korean Defence Minister Ri Yong-gil sent a message to his Chinese counterpart, Wei Fenghe, emphasising “that the Korean People’s Army would closely wage strategic and tactic-coordinated operations” with the People’s Liberation Army.
Not long after, in a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin by Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader hailed Moscow and Pyongyang’s growing “strategic and tactical cooperation, support and solidarity”.
That North Korea described cooperation with these countries using terms such as “strategic” and “tactical” points to the deepening of ties with its old-time allies, a trend likely to continue in the new year.
As the South Korean administration of President Yoon Suk-yeol takes an increasingly pro-US and Japan stance, some scholars have warned against the perils of Seoul joining a “bloc” that pits it strictly against its northern neighbour.
While the former Moon Jae-in administration tried to pursue a more balanced foreign policy, not choosing between Beijing and Washington, the Yoon government has clearly positioned itself in America’s corner.
South Korean President says China has the power to denuclearise North Korea
Repeated bilateral military drills with the United States and trilateral exercises involving Japan this year are cases in point. This choosing of sides has further embittered the leadership in Pyongyang, which has become all the more sceptical of engaging diplomatically with either Seoul or Washington.
The North-South division on the Korean peninsula seems deeper than ever. In recent months, for example, North Korea has referred to the South Korean president as an “idiot” and as “shameless”, and described his “audacious initiative” aimed at North Korea as “the height of absurdity”.
In turn, South Korea has chosen to respond to North Korea’s military actions through its own series of military provocations in recent months. The South even chose to respond to North Korea’s publishing of two satellite photos of Seoul and Incheon last week by sharing its own coloured satellite image of Pyongyang to prove to the North that its technology is superior
South Korea opens fire as North Korea drones cross the border
This kind of petty behaviour by the South only emboldens the North further and drags South Korea down to a level where it becomes impossible to make any serious demands on North Korea.
With all that has happened in 2022, it is difficult to see a way where the two Koreas can return to diplomacy and amicable talks in 2023. Of course, this is not impossible. But for tensions to be eased and diplomatic engagement to become possible once more, the dangerous confrontations deepening the decades-long division of the two Koreas must be eased.
For this, tit-for-tat actions and threats must stop, and the priority placed back on building trust, regular communication and the establishment of a more realistic, long-term policy for dealing with North Korea in 2023 and beyond.
Gabriela Bernal is a North Korea analyst and PhD scholar at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, South Korea
Gabriela Bernal
+ myNEWS
Gabriela Bernal is a North Korea analyst and PhD scholar at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, South Korea. She is also a freelance writer, with her work having appeared in various academic and news outlets. Her main areas of research are inter-Korean relations and North Korean foreign policy.
10. UN Command convenes special team for probe into NK drone infiltrations
UN Command convenes special team for probe into NK drone infiltrations
The Korea Times · by 2022-12-29 12:03 | Politics · December 29, 2022
A South Korean soldier, right, and a UNC (United Nations Command) soldier, left, walk inside a military armistice committee meeting room at the truce village of Panmunjom between North and South Korea, Oct. 4. AFP-Yonhap
The U.N. Command (UNC) has convened a special team to investigate North Korea's drone infiltrations earlier this week, its public affairs officer said Thursday, noting it is "aware" of the incident.
The UNC headquartered in Pyeongtaek, 65 kilometers south of Seoul, is in charge of observing the armistice agreement that halted the 1950-53 Korean War. The North's drone infiltrations across the inter-Korean border on Monday raised the possibility of an armistice breach.
Yoon says NK drone infiltration 'unacceptable'
"We are aware of the reported DPRK drone flights across the military demarcation line. United Nations Command convened a Special Investigation Team," Jacqueline N. Leeker, told Yonhap News Agency via email. DPRK stands for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
"As this is an ongoing investigation, we will not provide any further comments or statements until the investigation is complete," she added.
The North sent five unmanned aerial vehicles across the inter-Korean border, with one of them having flown all the way to northern Seoul. The South Korean military failed to shoot them down, raising questions over its readiness posture. (Yonhap)
The Korea Times · by 2022-12-29 12:03 | Politics · December 29, 2022
11. South Korea fires test rocket unannounced causing stir throughout nation
Friday
December 30, 2022
dictionary + A - A
South Korea fires test rocket unannounced causing stir throughout nation
https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2022/12/30/national/socialAffairs/Space-luanch-alien/20221230192508623.html
A solid-fuel rocket being fired in a test from Taean County, South Chungcheong on Friday [YONHAP].
A solid-fuel rocket was fired unannounced from southwest South Korea, leading to reports around the country of unidentified flying objects and mysterious lights in the sky.
The Defense Ministry confirmed after the fact that a rocket was launched from Taean County, South Chungcheong, and said it was a space launch vehicle.
“We tested a solid-fuel space launch vehicle as part of our efforts to strengthen our national defense and space-based surveillance and reconnaissance,” the Defense Ministry said via a statement. “While we took precautions, including clearing the airspace and the sea in the launch path before the test, we did not notify the public for military security reasons.”
Social media was soon swamped with photos of a serpentine contrail in the sky and questions about whether aliens had landed. Some posts claimed that the event was visible from Japan.
"I spotted something that looked like fireworks rising from the mountain,” said a woman who saw the rocket on her way to Chuncheon, Gangwon. “And soon after rising up, there was a huge light shining down like those from a helicopter.”
The woman said the event started at about 6:05 p.m. and was over about 10 minutes later.
“Was I witnessing an alien spaceship?" the witness asked.
According to JoongAng Ilbo, the rocket was fired from the Agency for Defense Development's (ADD) Anheung Test Center. The center has been in use since 1993.
A test launch of a domestically developed solid-fuel rocket was conducted from the ADD in March. The type of rocket tested is capable of putting small satellites into orbit.
Friday's launch came just a day after President Yoon Suk Yeol visited the ADD and called on the professionals working there to be ever vigilant and always prepared for war.
It also came less than a week after an unprecedented raid across the demilitarized zone by five North Korean drones. The president was furious that the military was unable to shot down the invading aircraft despite the unmanned aerial vehicles being present in South Korean airspace for hours.
BY LEE HO-JEONG [lee.hojeong@joongang.co.kr]
12. N. Korea's drone provocation
Sigh... Four drones less than 2 meters in size indicate a perforated air defense net? Sigh....
N. Korea's drone provocation
The Korea Times · December 28, 2022
How can S.Korea fix perforated air defense net?
South Korea is the world's sixth-strongest military power, according to Global Firepower (GFP), a U.S. rater of defense capability. North Korea is ranked 30th. The two Koreas are still at war, since the 1950-53 Korean War ended with a ceasefire agreement and not a peace treaty.
That explains why all South Korean commanders-in-chief, including President Yoon Suk-yeol, have sworn to maintain an "airtight" defense posture.
On Monday, South Koreans reaffirmed how vain such oaths are.
Five North Korean drones swung through the South's airspace for five hours. One of them might have flown over Yongsan, central Seoul, where Yoon's office is located. The military was unable to shoot down any of them and the drones either returned to the North or disappeared from radars.
The failure was more glaring because about 20 aircraft, including jet fighters and attack choppers, responded. One light attack plane even crashed as soon as it took off, while it remains unclear exactly what caused the accident.
During a briefing, a general at the Joint Chiefs of Staff said that it is challenging to catch unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) smaller than three meters. The officer added that the military also had to consider possible harm to civilians during counterattacks. Should people then remain content with the military's relatively early detection of the drones, unlike five years ago? "It was like wielding a hammer to catch a fly and breaking its handle," a military expert remarked.
The fuss continued through Tuesday, turning into a farce. The Air Force scrambled aircraft again, judging that the North Korean drones had reappeared. Officials in the northwestern islands even sounded alarms to warn residents. Unlike Monday, there were no stoppages of flights at the two nearby international airports ― Incheon and Gimpo ― as the "UAVs did not fly in their direction." However, it turned out later that what appeared to be drones on the radar were migratory birds. Island residents had to calm their pounding hearts once again.
All this occurred despite the military's repeated vows to prepare for North Korean drones since they first appeared in 2017. They introduced state-of-the-art foreign radars to detect and disable the frequency of hostile drones, but somehow failed to use them. Likewise, the military launched a missile to counter the North's escalating provocations in October, but it malfunctioned and crashed into the ground. The citizens of Gangneung along the northeastern coast had to sit up all night, thinking a war had broken out. In war, not just equipment but discipline ― and training ― matter.
President Yoon was right to point out a lack of training "over the past five years." However, Yoon must realize that many South Koreans are beginning to feel tired of watching their leader, who stepped into office seven months ago, blame his predecessor whenever things go wrong. People do not know what the commander-in-chief said and did on Monday. Yoon's press officers briefed reporters about only two events involving the president that day: his arrival at the office accompanied by a new dog and a year-end dinner with the heads of four presidential councils.
Yoon did not even hold a National Security Council meeting. Asked why, a press officer said, "You should not discuss things but act in war." Asked again about the president's seemingly slack security mindset, the officer said Yoon ordered South Korean drones to be sent into the North's territory ― after consulting with the U.S.
That may be better than doing nothing. But while counterattacks are good, preventing conflicts is better. Yoon needs to ponder why the drone provocation occurred for the first time in five years and why the North launched no fewer than 90 missiles primarily after he took office.
Yes, Pyongyang's hostility and aggression are to blame. However, the best stance is to engage in dialogue while maintaining a watertight defense posture. The worst is cutting all exchanges while remaining unprepared. What happened during the first two days of this week is closer to the latter.
The Korea Times · December 28, 2022
13. Winners and losers in war and peace
Winners and losers in war and peace
The Korea Times · December 29, 2022
By Donald Kirk
"All happy families are alike, but every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." Maybe we should go back to that maxim about happy and unhappy families at the opening of "Anna Karenina," the Russian classic by Leo Tolstoy. To paraphrase Tolstoy, all happy victors in war are alike, but every unhappy loser is unhappy in his or her own way. Let us consider how wars have ended since the victory of the allied powers over Nazi Germany and imperial Japan in 1945.
The Taliban, after their uncontested success in Afghanistan, were overjoyed while the U.S.-supported Afghan forces were destroyed, scattered, exiled and imprisoned. In Vietnam, after the defeat of the U.S.-backed South Vietnamese in 1975, the North Vietnamese exulted in victory, forcing thousands into "reeducation" camps from which many never emerged. Nearly a million fled on risky journeys by sea in which thousands drowned.
In the Korean War, South Korea and the U.S. turned back invasions first by the North Koreans and then the Chinese. South Korea has emerged as an incredibly prosperous country, recognized everywhere as economically and culturally productive and creative. North Korea has plunged into poverty made worse by a terrorist regime that's killed and imprisoned thousands of its own people while sinking much-needed funds into nuclear weapons and missiles.
Considering the history of the two Koreas over the span of nearly seven decades since the Korean War armistice was signed in July 1953, it's silly to argue the war isn't over just because it ended in a truce rather than a peace treaty. This exercise in semantics only provides an excuse for North Korea and its pro-North friends to undermine the truce with demands for a treaty calling for the destruction of the historic alliance between the Republic of Korea and the U.S. and the withdrawal of U.S. troops.
In Ukraine, it's too early to say who is winning or losing. The Russians have suffered huge setbacks, but Russia is a huge country. The Germans in 1941 pushed the Soviet army to the edge of Moscow. A monument marks the exact point where the Nazi invasion was halted in January 1942. President Vladimir Putin's failure to achieve a quick victory does not mean he's about to agree to a lasting compromise.
Russian offensives may wax and wane, but Putin is not likely to talk peace on any terms but his own. The worst mistake NATO, led by the U.S., could make would be to fall for a deal under which Ukraine concedes territory overrun by the Russians and then agree to a ceasefire and loss of foreign assistance. The Russians are still waiting to take over what Moscow sees as belonging to the greater Russian empire.
If the government of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was forced to accept a false peace, Ukraine, like South Vietnam, would be the unhappy loser. Putin would gear up for fresh offensives, carving out ever more Ukraine territory whenever he sensed a weakening of the NATO alliance. Victory may not be in sight for Ukraine, but compromise and defeat are not options.
Much closer to Korea, Taiwan also faces increasing threats from China. Just this week, the Chinese staged massive aerial war games within Taiwan's air defense identification zone. The purpose, of course, is intimidation, a warning that the Chinese may invade the island province that they've been claiming ever since the victory of Mao Zedong's Red Army over the Chinese mainland in 1949.
Taiwan is now an island of peace, independently governed by an elected president who's reluctant to proclaim independence for fear of thoroughly upsetting the Chinese. China's President Xi Jinping, whose mode of governance bears an unhappy resemblance to that of Putin, might decide the time had come to advance from war games to a full-scale invasion.
As of now, more than 70 years after nationalist Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek led his defeated forces across the Formosa Straits from the mainland, Taiwan enjoys much the same sense of freedom as South Korea. Mao's victory on the mainland was a tragedy for his enemies, but Taiwan has overcome terrible problems, including decades of martial law in which several thousand Taiwanese, at odds with Chiang, were executed.
Resentment no doubt festers between Taiwanese and those whose families stormed over from the mainland, but basically the island is free, prosperous and democratic. That's all the more reason for the U.S. to stand by Taiwan though Washington has formally recognized Beijing since 1978. As elsewhere, democracy and freedom are at stake.
Donald Kirk (www.donaldkirk.com) writes from Seoul as well as Washington.
The Korea Times · December 29, 2022
14. S. Korea's nuclear envoy discusses NK issue with US, Chinese counterparts
Talking is good. But we cannot expect China to solve South Korean and US security problems.
S. Korea's nuclear envoy discusses NK issue with US, Chinese counterparts
The Korea Times · December 30, 2022
Kim Gunn, Seoul's special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, holds phone consultations with his U.S. and Chinese counterparts, Dec. 30. Yonhap
South Korea's top nuclear envoy on Friday held back-to-back phone consultations with his United States and Chinese counterparts to discuss ways to prevent North Korea from engaging in further provocations and make it return to denuclearization talks, Seoul's foreign ministry said.
In their consultations, Kim Gunn, Seoul's special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, and his U.S. counterpart, Sung Kim, stressed the need to sternly respond to any type of provocations by the North based on the Seoul-Washington combined defense posture.
The two sides also deplored that Pyongyang was wasting its financial resources on "reckless nuclear and missile development, and military provocations" while ignoring the difficulties of its people.
In his separate consultations with Liu Xiaoming, Beijing's top nuclear envoy, Kim asked China to take a more active role to have North Korea refrain from further provocations. The Seoul envoy requested for Beijing's active cooperation to hold Pyongyang responsible for its repeated and illegal provocations.
According to the ministry, Liu reaffirmed China's willingness to play a constructive role in safeguarding peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and realizing the country's denuclearization. (Yonhap)
The Korea Times · December 30, 2022
15. Millennium Hilton Seoul disappears into history
I have probably stayed in this hotel in Seoul more than any other over the past four decades.
Millennium Hilton Seoul disappears into history
The Korea Times · December 29, 2022
The Christmas charity train runs through the miniature "Hilton Town" installed in the Millennium Hilton Seoul's lobby, Dec. 24. The hotel has displayed an annual charity train every December since 1995 to celebrate year-end festivities and donate the proceeds to welfare facilities. Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar
Epitome of Korean modern architecture that hosted heads of state to close at year-end
By Lee Hae-rin
Seoul as a sprawling metropolis is used to buildings going up and coming down ― it's a city built on rapid growth and development. But when towering landmarks close down, there undoubtedly will be memories, at both the personal and national levels, that continue to remain despite the buildings fading into history.
Such a situation may well be the case for the Millennium Hilton Seoul, a luxury hotel that was accessible not only to heads of state but also to the rising Korean middle class.
On Oct. 14, the Christmas charity trains at the Millennium Hilton Seoul started running several weeks earlier than usual. In previous years, the sprawling train set was usually set up only in December. That's because this Christmas marked the hotel's last ― along with its 39th year-end holidays ― before closing.
Since 1995, the hotel has kept the annual tradition of decorating its lobby with a miniature "Hilton Village" running trains on train tracks every December. This year it includes a miniature Millennium Seoul Hilton, built on the slope of a miniature Mount Nam sporting its own N Seoul Tower. The tradition of the charity train, from which proceeds have gone to various welfare facilities, has spread from here to other Hilton-affiliated hotels in Shanghai, Nagoya and other cities globally over the decades.
The origin of that tradition will disappear into history as the five-star hotel will close on Dec. 31.
The Millennium Hilton Seoul is seen from Mount Nam in central Seoul / Courtesy of HiltonLocated at the foot of Mount Nam and across the street from Seoul Station, the 22-story building featuring 640 rooms has itself been a microcosm of modern Korea, from its opening to its closing. It has a reputation for being the country's first luxury hotel built by a Korean architect, as well as having welcomed political leaders along with foreign and domestic travelers.
Witness to historic moments
Since its opening in December 1983, the five-star hotel has hosted and witnessed many of the country's historic moments during its era of rapid economic growth.
Former President Chun Doo-hwan and his wife, Lee Soon-ja, center, flanked by former presidents Yun Po-sun, left, and Choi Kyu-hah, right, proposes a toast to participants of a farewell dinner given in honor of the presidential couple at the Millennium Hilton Seoul, Feb. 24, 1988. Korea Times file
Former President Chun Doo-hwan, known to have enjoyed dinners there during his lifetime, held a valedictory ceremony there to end his seven-year presidential term on Feb. 24, 1988. The event took place on the eve of the inauguration of then-incoming President Roh Tae-woo, who had also been nominated as the Democratic Justice Party's presidential candidate the year before at the hotel.
Chun's banquet was attended by 1,000 domestic and foreign dignitaries, including Cabinet members, political leaders and foreign delegations. Chun declared that "There should be no more political chaos (in Korea)," in the grand ballroom.
Former President Roh Tae-woo, left, greets former Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev at the Millennium Hilton Seoul, March 27, 1994. Korea Times file
In 1997, the hotel hosted secret negotiations between then-presidential candidates Kim Dae-jung and Kim Jong-pil, leading to the "DJP alliance." The former Kim who ran for the New Democratic Party was elected president that year and the latter served as his prime minister from 1998 to 2000.
That same year, a memorandum of understanding for a $35-billion bailout fund for Korea was signed at the hotel while then International Monetary Fund (lMF) Managing Director Michel Camdessus stayed here.
The hotel hosted several other important political and diplomatic events. North Korean envoys sent to pay condolences after former President Kim Dae-jung's death in 2009 checked in during their visit to Seoul and former President Roh Moo-hyun visited the hotel for a one-year anniversary commemoration of the inter-Korean summit in October 2008.
The hotel's ownership, in the meantime, has been unstable.
After its original owner, Daewoo Group, dissolved following the Asian financial crisis in 2000, the property was sold to CDL Hotel Korea, operated under Singapore's Hong Leong Group. Then the hotel was sold again for 1.1 trillion won ($864 million) to IGIS Asset Management in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic reduced its profitability.
The hotel's latest owner, IGIS, now plans to demolish the building and build a 260,000-meter-square complex on the spot by 2027. The planned property will feature offices, hotel suites, commercial facilities and an urban air mobility (UAM) takeoff and landing area on its rooftop, the group said.
Several scholars have expressed regret over the loss of the landmark building, which is considered by many as a Korean modernist architect's masterpiece as well as a pioneering multistory building of Korea of the era. Demolishing the Millennium Hilton Seoul and constructing a new building on its site is like "melting down a historic Buddhist bell from the Silla Dynasty to make an iron pot," according to Kim Seung-hoy, a professor of architecture at Seoul National University.
The hotel was designed and built by veteran architect Kim Jong-soung, now 87, from 1979 to 1983.
Kim, who decided to become an architect to help rebuild the capital, which had been destroyed during the 1950-53 Korean War, studied modern architecture at Chicago's Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) and became a pupil of famous German American modernist architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886-1969), known as one of the most influential architects of the 20th century.
Kim Woo-choong (1936-2019), the founder and chairman of Daewoo Group, requested the Korean architect to build the five-star hotel, which was rare at the time, when Japanese architects were building most high-end accommodations here.
The architect envisioned the hotel more as an "open space that many people can come visit and enjoy" rather than a luxury just for a few. So he built an expansive lobby with a ceiling 18 meters high by connecting two basement floors and the ground floor with a large skylight.
The atrium lobby of the Millennium Seoul Hilton, published in The Korea Times Dec. 10, 1983. Korea Times ArchiveT
he building was unprecedentedly made with the finest materials and craftsmanship of the time. The bronze used in the pillars and stairs was supplied by munitions company Poongsan Metal Corp., while the marble imported from the Alps and Italy was used in its walls and stairs, and the wood used in the walls came from oak trees in Kentucky.
Built to "face Mount Nam, as if having a face-to-face conversation" in Kim's words in his memoir, the hotel stands like a folding screen around the mountain and offers exceptional views of the seasonal changes, from cherry blossoms in spring to autumn foliage.
The Korean Institute of Architects held a symposium in April with architecture and city ecology experts to discuss the future of the hotel. While all members shared the consensus that they felt regret over the predetermined demolition of the property, some argued for the cultural and historical value of such monuments and called for preservation policies, while others questioned the government's place in preserving commercial facilities.
The hotel's original architect, Kim, remarked during the symposium that "a building's lifespan may be as long as 400 years, but its use and functions could and should change over time." He suggested what he called a "win-win strategy," where the additional construction of supplementary buildings in the surrounding area could bring profits to the owner while preserving the existing property.
He cited New York City's Landmarks Law enacted in 1965 to avoid destroying or altering the city's architecturally, historically and culturally significant buildings. The Seagram Building by his teacher, Mies, a famous skyscraper at 375 Park Avenue, was designated a major landmark and is still well preserved, he explained.
However, the Millennium Hotel here in Seoul faces demise as these proposals have not been accepted.
Employees bid farewell to lifelong workplace
Among those who are most sorry for the hotel's closure are its 380 employees, most of whom have spent their entire careers working here.
According to a hotel employee who wished to remain anonymous, the hotel's decades-old reputation should largely be credited to its experienced and dedicated employees. They worked with pride and dedication, considering themselves as responsible for giving foreign travelers their first impression of the country and pioneers of Korea's top hospitality industry, she said.
"Kindness and hospitality come naturally to them (the hotel's experienced employees), from their decades of experience. I believe the quality and skillfulness of their service are incomparable," she said, explaining that while most of her colleagues are middle-aged, most other hotels in the country are usually run by a younger labor force in their late 20s or 30s.
A Millennium Seoul Hilton doorman, published in The Korea Times Dec. 10, 1983 / Korea Times Archive
Hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, the hotel has gone through financial difficulties.
Despite the pandemic-driven travel restrictions, employees have tried several initiatives to bring back guests and rejuvenate the hotel, she said, such as kids-friendly promotions targeting young families. It was also the first five-star hotel in the country to allow for the entry of companion animals with its "Very Important Pet (VIP)" package.
There were concerns that these initiatives could downgrade the facility's housekeeping. However, the employees thought their hotel "could wait no longer because it was time for a change" and the experienced staff's service know-how made the initiatives work.
Regardless, they have been told their work will come to an end and 80 percent of the employees have decided to retire. She said the hotel shutting its doors reminds her of the recent closure of Eulji Myeonok, a historic Pyongyang cold noodle restaurant that operated for 37 years in downtown Seoul's Euljiro area that was demolished this year as part of a redevelopment plan.
The Millennium Hilton Seoul will be open until Dec. 31.
The Korea Times · December 29, 2022
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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