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Quotes of the Day:
“Risk anything! Care no more for the opinion of others … Do the hardest thing on earth for you. Act for yourself. Face the truth.”
- Katherine Mansfield [1888-1923]
"Human beings have a demonstrated talent for self-deception when their emotions are stirred."
- Carl Sagan
"The liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than their democratic state itself. That, in its essence, is fascism – ownership of govern-ment by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power.”
- Franklin Delano Roosevelt [1882-1945]
1. N. Korea 'expands, reorganizes' military units with operational combat missions: KCNA
2. Rodong Sinmun Calls for Intensifying Education in Revolutionary Traditions
3. Yoon orders maximum relief supplies for quake-hit Turkey
4. [Meanwhile] China’s warfare beyond bounds (South Korean perspective)
5. Representatives of separated families invited to visit North Korea
6. S. Korea, Thailand sign deal to cooperate for feasibility study for space launch site
7. Military academy to reinstate 'Korean War History' as requirement for all cadets
8. Will N.Korea's Dynastic Succession Ever End?
9. N. Korean soldier’s toes amputated after severe case of frostbite
10. N. Korea sees rise in people consuming homemade drugs
11. Pyongyangites preparing for military parade collapse due to exhaustion, malnutrition
12. Sariwon officials launch crackdown on money changers for avoiding manure campaign
13. South Korea's dilemma over sending arms to Ukraine
14. NK media urges thorough quarantine efforts amid 'very unstable' virus situation
15. "My father fled North Korea, time is running out to find his family"
16. Seth Rogen On How ‘The Interview’ Caused A ‘Seismic Shift’ In Hollywood & ‘Recalibrated’ His Definition Of Controversy
17. Is Kim Jong Un’s daughter being lined up to lead?
1. N. Korea 'expands, reorganizes' military units with operational combat missions: KCNA
Photos and video at the link: https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20230213001000325?section=nk/nk
There is not much detail about the expansion and reorganization other than adopting new "colors" for units.
Rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic or new circus tent and the same old clowns?
The referenced KCNA article is below this.
N. Korea 'expands, reorganizes' military units with operational combat missions: KCNA | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 김수연 · February 13, 2023
SEOUL, Feb. 13 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has "expanded and reorganized" many of its military units in accordance with new security situations, assigning operational combat missions to them, state media said Monday.
The report came after North Korea held a massive military parade last week to mark the 75th founding anniversary of the Korean People's Army (KPA), displaying intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and other advanced weaponry, as well as new military units.
"Many units of services and arms of the KPA have been expanded and reorganized, major operational combat duties assigned to them" as required by new situations and changed strategic and tactical missions of overall units, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said, without specifying in what way military units have been expanded.
In an English-language statement, the KCNA said the North has redesigned the colors of military units, which "fully demonstrated their dignity and honor at the military parade" to celebrate the KPA anniversary.
The North earlier pledged to expand and intensify military drills and "perfect" its war readiness posture in response to Seoul-Washington's joint military exercises involving strategic assets.
Military parade photos carried by state media last week showed one of the military colors having a picture of the Hwasong-17 ICBM and the numbers 2022.11. This has spawned speculation that the North may have created a unit in charge of ICBM operations in November last year.
The colors of the Missile General Bureau were detected during the military event, after being unveiled for the first time at a party military meeting early last week.
The KCNA also reported the parade featured columns of "specialist service persons including the 191 Command Intelligence Brigade." Observers said the unit appears to be in charge of the North's communications and intelligence, with the secretive regime vowing to put a spy satellite into orbit by April.
Youtube
https://youtu.be/qq5O2c9OR7Q
This image, captured from footage of North Korea's Korean Central Television on Feb. 10, 2023, shows troops apparently belonging to the Missile General Bureau who participated in a military parade held the previous day at Kim Il Sung Square. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 김수연 · February 13, 2023
Colors of KPA Redesigned
Date: 13/02/2023 | Source: KCNA.kp (En) | Read original version at source
https://kcnawatch.org/newstream/1676241279-234724936/colors-of-kpa-redesigned/
Pyongyang, February 13 (KCNA) -- The colors are the banner of victory and honor and the symbol of the heroic Korean People's Army (KPA) associated with the noble lives of President Kim Il Sung and Chairman Kim Jong Il , the founder and builders of the revolutionary armed forces, and replete with the faith and spirit of the service personnel of the People's Army to defend the revolutionary cause of Juche with arms under the leadership of the respected Comrade Kim Jong Un .
In the course of implementing the idea and line of the great Workers' Party of Korea on building a powerful army, many units of services and arms of the People's Army have been expanded and reorganized, major operational combat duties assigned to them as required by the new situation and environment and the strategic and tactical missions of overall units changed.
The colors were redesigned in line with the strategic missions of the units of all levels of the KPA strengthened into the most powerful revolutionary army in the world under the leadership of the Party.
The colors of glory fully demonstrated their dignity and honor at the military parade for celebrating the 75th founding anniversary of the KPA. -0-
www.kcna.kp (Juche112.2.13.)
2. Rodong Sinmun Calls for Intensifying Education in Revolutionary Traditions
This is one of the reasons I describe north Korea as a revolutionary power in addition to being a rogue state. The revolution is key to regime legitimacy but also provides the way forward for the regime and the nation. COunterintuitively it is also what holds the north back. So much time and energy is wasted in "revolutionary education." And guiding all aspects of life to include economic, agriculture, technological, and industrial policies by the revolutionary spirit is a recipe for failure.
Kim Jong Un and the Kim family regime cannot and will not change. The question is can others inside north KOrea create conditions for change?
Rodong Sinmun Calls for Intensifying Education in Revolutionary Traditions
https://kcnawatch.org/newstream/1676283156-983600049/rodong-sinmun-calls-for-intensifying-education-in-revolutionary-traditions/
Date: 13/02/2023 | Source: KCNA.kp (En) | Read original version at source
Pyongyang, February 13 (KCNA) -- Rodong Sinmun Monday in an editorial stresses it is the firm determination and will of the Workers' Party of Korea to preserve the revolutionary traditions of Paektu forever and brave the difficulties of the revolution and pave the path of its advance in the spirit of Mt Paektu, the indomitable offensive spirit based on the great traditions.
The revolution can advance victoriously when a large army of staunch revolutionaries, fully imbued with the sacred revolutionary history and precious revolutionary exploits of the leader and the noble revolutionary spirit of the forerunners, is trained through intensified education in the revolutionary traditions, the editorial says, and goes on:
The Korean people could vigorously advance along the road of socialism with unshakable faith and will, despite the imperialists' long-standing barbarous moves to isolate and stifle the DPRK, and achieve miraculous victories and changes, breaking through the worst adversity. This is because they have firmly armed themselves with the glorious revolutionary traditions of our Party.
To further intensify education in the revolutionary traditions is an essential requirement for consolidating the revolutionary position and class position of the DPRK as firm as a rock.
In order to strengthen our revolutionary ranks into ones of ideology and faith that defend the red flag of the revolution to the last in any adversity and into the vanguard unit which does never compromise with the class enemies, it is necessary to invariably hold fast to the great programme of ideological education for further intensifying education in the revolutionary traditions.
To further strengthen education in the revolutionary traditions is a sure guarantee for dynamically opening up a new phase of the development of the state in the offensive spirit of Paektu.
Our national prestige and glory, the dignity and self-respect of the people of the powerful country shining all over the world and the proud innovative entities made in the course of the overall development of socialist construction are the brilliant fruition of the leadership of our Party which has led Juche Korea to make a dynamic advance in the spirit of Mt Paektu, overcoming all difficulties.
The editorial says that only victory and glory are always in store for the Korean revolution as it has the great revolutionary history and tradition of struggle the inheritance of which is surely guaranteed. -0-
www.kcna.kp (Juche112.2.13.)
3. Yoon orders maximum relief supplies for quake-hit Turkey
Yoon orders maximum relief supplies for quake-hit Turkey | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 이해아 · February 13, 2023
By Lee Haye-ah
SEOUL, Feb. 13 (Yonhap) -- President Yoon Suk Yeol instructed the government Monday to mobilize all available resources to secure maximum relief supplies for quake-hit Turkey, his office said.
Yoon gave the instruction during a weekly meeting with his senior secretaries, saying South Korea must be more eager than anyone to help Turkey recover from the devastating earthquake as an "ally forged in blood and a brother nation," presidential spokesperson Lee Do-woon said during a press briefing.
"What Turkey needs the most at the moment is tents, medicine and medical supplies, and electric equipment," Yoon was quoted as saying.
Presidential spokesperson Lee Do-woon gives a press briefing at the presidential office in Seoul on Feb. 13, 2023. (Yonhap)
"I would like each ministry, including the foreign ministry, defense ministry, industry ministry, to mobilize all available resources and secure maximum relief supplies and swiftly discuss measures with the Turkish side," he added.
Yoon also instructed each ministry to designate a department responsible for handling aid for Turkey, with Minister for Government Policy Coordination Bang Moon-kyu in charge, to ensure Turkey receives not only emergency relief but also help with reconstruction, according to Lee.
In a separate weekly meeting with Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, Yoon again stressed the need to provide maximum support to Turkey, citing the "brother nation's" deployment of troops to fight alongside South Korea during the 1950-53 Korean War.
Lee also said the government decided to send 150 tents and 2,200 blankets to Turkey via military aircraft on Thursday.
The supplies will be sent together with a second team of relief workers, he said, noting some 372 medical staffers are waiting to be sent, including 29 who are ready to depart within a week.
hague@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 이해아 · February 13, 2023
4. [Meanwhile] China’s warfare beyond bounds (South Korean perspective)
Excerpts:
Under such circumstances, China’s “grey zone strategy” has been drawing attention since 2010. By using the ambiguous grey zone that is neither war nor peace, China wants to attain political, diplomatic and military objectives.
The most notable example is China’s maritime militia, which is often used for the South China Sea conflicts. Fleets of hundreds of ships move in groups and pressure other countries. If another country attacks them, it can be considered “an attack on civilians.” The reconnaissance balloon is another typical case of China’s “grey zone tactic.”
This is why it is hard to believe China’s claim that they are simply “civilian airships for weather observation.” According to recent research by Prof. Pyo Nari at the National Diplomatic Academy, the RAND Corporation categorized China’s grey zone tactics into 77 types, and 30 of them have been or are being applied to Korea. Examples include Beijing’s pressuring of Korea by arbitrarily reducing the number of Chinese tourists to Korea or China’s attempt to bribe Korean academic figures.
We are living in a world where we should look up and check if there’s something floating over our heads.
Monday
February 13, 2023
dictionary + A - A
[Meanwhile] China’s warfare beyond bounds
YOU SANG-CHUL
The author is the head of the China Institute of the JoongAng Ilbo and CEO of China Lab.
U.S.-China relations are in the dumps. The two countries sought dialogue after the U.S.-China summit at the end of last year, but the atmosphere froze with the appearance of Chinese reconnaissance balloons.
I want to pose a question here. Why did China fly balloons in the 21st century when there are countless satellites? There are more advantages than we think. First, they are very cheap to make. Second, they cause little damage even if they are shot down. Third, they can serve as ultra-low orbit satellites by staying in one place for a long time.
But the biggest reason is that China can achieve military objectives through the balloons while claiming them to be for “civilian use.” The background is the concept of “unrestricted warfare” — a concept developed by Qiao Liang, a professor at the National Defense University, and Wang Xiangsui, a professor at Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, in 1999.
When dealing with a powerful enemy like the United States, China must avoid direct confrontation and use all possible means to create a strategic environment favorable to China.
If the United States proposes a boxing match, China wants to engage in a street fight, kicking, butting and cursing. In 2003, China made it official. It developed the so-called three-warfare strategy — including “public opinion warfare, psychological warfare and legal warfare.”
Under such circumstances, China’s “grey zone strategy” has been drawing attention since 2010. By using the ambiguous grey zone that is neither war nor peace, China wants to attain political, diplomatic and military objectives.
The most notable example is China’s maritime militia, which is often used for the South China Sea conflicts. Fleets of hundreds of ships move in groups and pressure other countries. If another country attacks them, it can be considered “an attack on civilians.” The reconnaissance balloon is another typical case of China’s “grey zone tactic.”
This is why it is hard to believe China’s claim that they are simply “civilian airships for weather observation.” According to recent research by Prof. Pyo Nari at the National Diplomatic Academy, the RAND Corporation categorized China’s grey zone tactics into 77 types, and 30 of them have been or are being applied to Korea. Examples include Beijing’s pressuring of Korea by arbitrarily reducing the number of Chinese tourists to Korea or China’s attempt to bribe Korean academic figures.
We are living in a world where we should look up and check if there’s something floating over our heads.
5. Representatives of separated families invited to visit North Korea
Is the Kim family regime opening a new line of effort to its political warfare strategy - a charm offensive.
But if such talks do not result in visits or actually allow families to permanently reunite then we need to hold north Korea accountable for continued human rights abuses. Sustaining the forced separation of families is a major human rights abuse. They do not deserve any credit for allow visits. It is pscholological torture of families to allow visits and then contoniue to maintain separation for no good reason.
Representatives of separated families invited to visit North Korea
The Korea Times · February 13, 2023
Family members hold hands during a reunion event held at a venue in the Mount Kumgang resort, North Korea, in this Aug. 25, 2018, file photo. Activists representing the families dispersed by the Korean War (1950-53) have been invited by North Korea to visit Pyongyang in the first such case in more than three years, officials said Monday. Korea Times file
1st Pyongyang trip request in over 3 years under review amid tensions
By Jung Min-ho
Activists representing the families dispersed by the Korean War (1950-53) have been invited by North Korea to visit Pyongyang in the first such case in more than three years.
At Monday's press briefing, Koo Byoung-sam, spokesman for the Unification Ministry, said it has been reviewing the validity of a travel request form submitted Feb. 10 by three officials of the Inter-Korean Separated Family Association.
"We are examining the organization that invited them, including whether it can be trusted," Koo said.
If approved, they would be the first South Koreans to officially visit North Korea since 2019.
According to the invitation revealed by Ryu Jae-bok, head of the organization established in 2012 to promote inter-Korean exchanges, he and its two directors ― Maeng Jung-a and Choi Im-ho ― were invited to the North Korean capital. The host said the purpose of their visit will be to discuss possible projects regarding the divided families, saying it would "provide safety and stay expenses" for the guests.
The family association said the host is an organization affiliated to the regime's United Front Department, known for propaganda espionage operations, without revealing its name.
Koo Byoung-sam, spokesman for the Unification Ministry, speaks during a press briefing at the government complex in Seoul, Monday. Newsis
The news comes about a week after the ministry said it would step up efforts to connect the separated family members with their loved ones in the North by any means possible despite growing tensions and no progress on peace talks in recent years.
According to the ministry, more than 10,000 people who had been on the waiting list for family reunions have died over the past three years. Of the 134,000 people on that list, only 42,000, or 31 percent, are still alive. In two years, that is expected to fall below 30 percent, with more than 65 percent of the remaining survivors in their 80s or 90s.
Emphasizing the urgency of the issue, Minister Kwon Young-se proposed discussions with North Korea about arranging reunion events for them before the term "separated families" disappears into the history books, ahead of the Chuseok holiday. But the North has not responded.
With North Korea being uncooperative on the issue, the ministry said it would ask the North to exchange information about the separated families on both sides first, as many wish to at least know whether their loved ones are still alive.
Since the first Seoul-Pyongyang summit in 2000, the two sides have held 21 rounds of face-to-face family reunion events, including the latest one in August 2018.
Both liberal and conservative administrations in the past shared the vision of progress on the humanitarian issue even at the height of military tension. When former President Lee Myung-bak was in office from 2008 to 2013, a reunion event was held in September 2009 despite the death of a South Korean woman shot dead by a North Korean soldier while on holiday at Mt. Kumgang a year earlier. Another event was staged in October 2010, seven months after the North Korean military's torpedo attack on the South Korean Navy corvette, Cheonan. There were two such events held during Park Geun-hye's term in office from 2013 to 2017 despite the continuation of North Korea's nuclear weapons development.
The Korea Times · February 13, 2023
6. S. Korea, Thailand sign deal to cooperate for feasibility study for space launch site
S. Korea, Thailand sign deal to cooperate for feasibility study for space launch site
The Korea Times · February 13, 2023
South Korea's homegrown space rocket Nuri lifts off from Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla Province, southwestern Korea, Oct. 21, 2021. Joint Press Corps
South Korea and Thailand have agreed to work together for a project to build a space launch site in the Southeast Asian country, the science ministry said Monday.
The Ministry of Science and ICT signed an implementation agreement with the Geo-Information and Space Technology Development Agency of Thailand to cooperate in carrying out a feasibility study for the spaceport, using South Korea's experience in its space projects.
The move came after South Korean Science Minister Lee Jong-ho and his Thai counterpart, Anek Laothamatas, discussed ways to enhance bilateral cooperation in the space sector in November last year.
South Korea has participated in some of Thailand's space projects, including THEOS-2, the Earth observation optical satellite.
South Korea built the Naro Space Center in the country's southern coastal village of Goheung in 2009, which has supported six launches, including the latest launch of Nuri, or KSLV-II, the country's first homegrown space rocket, last year. (Yonhap)
The Korea Times · February 13, 2023
7. Military academy to reinstate 'Korean War History' as requirement for all cadets
The buried lede is the fact that Korean War history has not been taught at the Korean mMilitary Academy.
Excerpts:
The Korea Military Academy said it is pushing to alter the curriculum to require all cadets to take the war history class, which has been mandatory only for those majoring in defense strategy.
Cadets majoring in command management, military science and military engineering have not been required to take the history class under the current curriculum implemented from 2019.
Military academy to reinstate 'Korean War History' as requirement for all cadets | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 채윤환 · February 13, 2023
SEOUL, Feb. 13 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's Army academy is seeking to restore its Korean War history class as a requirement for all cadets next year, officials said Monday, reversing a decision in 2018 to make it optional for many cadets.
The move came amid concerns that many cadets could enter military service without a sufficient grasp of the 1950-53 conflict that still affects security on the Korean Peninsula, as it ended in a truce rather than a peace treaty.
The Korea Military Academy said it is pushing to alter the curriculum to require all cadets to take the war history class, which has been mandatory only for those majoring in defense strategy.
Cadets majoring in command management, military science and military engineering have not been required to take the history class under the current curriculum implemented from 2019.
"We are pursuing the amendment in the 'future-oriented' 2024 curriculum to cultivate core talents who have internalized a proper view of the country and its history, and will lead a 'strong military in science and technology,'" the academy said in a statement.
It added that current fourth-year cadets who have yet to take the war history course will complete a 30-hour complementary class on the subject before they are commissioned as officers next month.
This undated file photo, provided by Yonhap News TV, shows the emblem of the Korea Military Academy. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
yunhwanchae@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 채윤환 · February 13, 2023
8. Will N.Korea's Dynastic Succession Ever End?
Only if the Korean people in the north break the chain and change north Korea forever.
Change has to come from within.
Will N.Korea's Dynastic Succession Ever End?
english.chosun.com
February 10, 2023 13:15
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has been taking his daughter to various events as the North's Korean People's Army marks its 75th anniversary. North Korean state-run media now refers to the 10-year-old Kim Ju-ae as the "respected" child and no longer mention the leader's wife Ri Sol-ju or sister Kim Yo-jong. Ju-ae stood next to her father during a massive military parade in Pyongyang on Wednesday evening and posed for photos with her father and top military brass. Some pundits have already concluded that she is being groomed as her father's successor.
The North Korean leader apparently has three children, though the sex of the others is not known, and Ju-ae is the second child. It is too early to conclude that she has been chosen to succeed her father in a country as patriarchal as the North, but the succession does seem to be on his mind. Last October, he visited an elite Workers Party academy and said, "Train able workers for the party who can be entrusted with tasks for the following centuries." A month later, he showed his daughter to the world for the first time at the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile. Since then, Ju-ae has been spotted with her father five times, all at military events.
Meanwhile the North's food shortage is getting worse. An extraordinary plenary meeting of the party Central Committee at the end of this month is to discuss "urgent agricultural policies." The North usually holds only one or two of these meetings per year, but the last one was in December, which gives some indication how dire the food situation must be.
But the North has squandered all its money on weapons. Wednesday's parade featured more than twice the number of Hwasong-17 ballistic missiles capable of reaching the U.S. mainland as last year, as well as new solid-fuel ones. It also showcased a North Korean version of the Iskander hypersonic missile, and super-sized artillery aimed at targets in South Korea. It is distressing to see that the North has no intention of ending development of weapons of mass destruction and the dynastic succession of its cruel and incompetent leadership.
Read this article in Korean
- Copyright © Chosunilbo & Chosun.com
english.chosun.com
9. N. Korean soldier’s toes amputated after severe case of frostbite
Probably a slow news day as I fear this happens much more than is reported. Given the conditions and the poor equipment it is likely the troops suffer from frostbite routinely.
N. Korean soldier’s toes amputated after severe case of frostbite
The military infirmary simply prescribed medicine to rub on the frostbite, and then proceeded to ignore the man for over a week
By Lee Chae Un - 2023.02.13 5:00pm
dailynk.com
FILE PHOTO: The North Korean military conducting a winter river-crossing drill in January 2018. (Daily Nk)
A soldier with the 43rd Brigade, a military unit based in Yanggang Province’s Samjiyon city, recently had his toes amputated due to severe frostbite suffered during winter training exercises, Daily NK has learned.
According to a Daily NK source in the province on Friday, a soldier with the brigade’s First Battalion suffered frostbite to his feet during ski training in bitter cold temperatures of 40 below zero.
However, the man received no proper treatment and had to have all the toes on both feet amputated.
The First Brigade usually conducts training to neutralize enemies who infiltrate Samjiyon city, which is near the China-North Korea border, but in winter, it conducts ski training in the mountains.
The unit has appeared at events attended by North Korea’s supreme leadership since the Kim Jong Il era, and in the winter, it engages in eight to 10 hours a day of ski training, regardless of weather conditions, so it can take part in events featuring the leadership at any time.
Soldiers often suffer frostbite to their hands, ears or feet during winter, and the soldier in question was hospitalized at an army infirmary after his feet suffered severe frostbite following prolonged ski training in the cold.
The source said the soldier’s feet were swollen and oozing puss, so he complained of pain to his commanders during training. The commanders forced him to train anyway, accusing him of faking it to get out of drills.
In the end, the soldier lost feeling in his toes, and was hospitalized only when his toes turned black.
However, the military infirmary simply prescribed medicine to rub on the frostbite, and then proceeded to ignore the man for over a week.
In short, the soldier was put in a situation in which medical practioners had no choice but to amputate all his toes.
The source said soldiers based in Samjiyon not only have to deal with constant hunger due to poor rations, but they are also forced to train in the bitter cold because Kim Jong Un could show up for an event at any time.
“In the end, the soldier had his toes amputated, but none of the commanders will take responsibility for it,” he said, adding, “He was just quietly sent home.”
Translated by David Black. Edited by Robert Lauler.
Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
Read in Korean
dailynk.com
10. N. Korea sees rise in people consuming homemade drugs
The people are desperate as they fend for themselves. The party cannot provide for the welfare of the Korean peoepl in the north.
N. Korea sees rise in people consuming homemade drugs
Many people are using folk remedies of unproven efficacy, mixing or boiling medicine herbs like bell flower, atractylodes root, white atractylis and willow leaf, sources told Daily NK
dailynk.com
North Korean state media published this photo of a pharmacy on June 13, 2022. (Rodong Sinmun - News1)
More North Koreans are consuming homemade drugs now than before the coronavirus pandemic, multiple sources told Daily NK on Friday.
Prior to COVID, North Koreans could go to local markets or home businesses specializing in drug sales to buy fever medicine, pain medicine, digestive medicine, diarrhea medicine and other remedies. After the start of the pandemic, the authorities have been strongly cracking down on unlicensed drug sales, forcing people to turn to pharmacies for drugs.
For ordinary North Koreans, however, purchasing medicinal remedies in pharamacies is exceedly difficult.
For one, there is a massive gap between supply and demand, which has led to a substantial amount of corruption in drug-related transactions. Pharmacies pilfer fever and pain medicines like aspirin or paracetamol and antibiotics such as amoxicillin to sell to drug merchants for prices higher than state-set prices. Or they make customers pay the difference between state-set prices and market-set prices.
In fact, the Central Public Prosecutor’s Office recently launched a nationwide inspection to bust pharmacies that made illegal profits by selling drugs or medical supplies for prices higher than state-set prices or by using illegal means to circulate drugs into the market.
What’s more, pharmacies mostly carry traditional Korean medicines manufactured at North Korean pharmaceutical factories, but many North Koreans dislike such remedies because they lack effectiveness.
PEOPLE REMEDY AILMENTS WITH DANGEROUS HOMEMADE DRUGS
Given this situation, more and more North Koreans are purchasing ingredients to make their own medicines.
Sources in the country told Daily NK that many people are using folk remedies of unproven efficacy, mixing or boiling medicine herbs like bell flower, atractylodes root, white atractylis and willow leaf.
The sources also said there has been a notable recent increase in using narcotics to treat seriously ill patients.
With drug abuse sharply climbing amid the shortage of pharmaceuticals, North Korean authorities launched a special crackdown on narcotics such as opium and methamphetamine in late 2022.
However, government crackdowns have not stopped North Koreans from seeking out narcotics as an alternative to proper medications, and eradicating the phenomenon will likely prove difficult.
In fact, one of the sources who spoke with Daily NK said a sick person in South Pyongan Province immediately lost consciousness and then died last year after receiving an intravenous injection of saline mixed with opium powder.
Even though opium is relatively easy to obtain and people continue to use it as a medicine, the authorities are failing to take proper measures to either restrict it or offer alternatives.
Moreover, as the authorities have provided no guidelines for the use of needles in connection with homemade drugs, North Koreans often reuse needles after boiling them in salt water.
Basically, this means North Koreans are exposed to infections and other health problems from the reuse of medical equipment.
Perhaps out of awareness of the problems arising from the drug shortage, North Korea is emphasizing the domestic production and supply of drugs.
In a Feb. 2 article titled “Let’s Increase the Number and Production Total of Medicines,” the Rodong Sinmun called satisfying the demand for drugs a “critical effort that must be carried out regardless of conditions,” and implored factories making pharmaceuticals and traditional Korean medicines to prospectively secure needed ingredients and supplies for production and manage their operations in a resourceful manner.
Translated by David Black. Edited by Robert Lauler.
Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
Read in Korean
dailynk.com
11. Pyongyangites preparing for military parade collapse due to exhaustion, malnutrition
Not very egalitarian in the Socialist workers paradise.
Pyongyangites preparing for military parade collapse due to exhaustion, malnutrition
Some Pyongyangites got out of the drills by paying money or providing supplies, so only the poorest people in each neighborhood got roped into the latest national event, a source told Daily NK
dailynk.com
Kim Jong Un was accompanied by his wife and daughter at a banquet celebrating the founding of the DPRK's military on Feb. 7, according to state-run media. (Rodong Sinmun-News1)
Amid North Korea’s preparations for its major Feb. 8 military parade, several Pyongyang residents mobilized for the preparations were hospitalized after collapsing from intensive training and malnutrition, Daily NK has learned.
A source in Pyongyang told Daily NK on Tuesday that Pyongyang residents were mobilized to prepare for the mass rallies accompanying the military parade, which marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People’s Army.
“Women suffering from malnutrition due to terrible economic conditions are being hospitalized one by one during training,” he said.
According to the source, city residents were mobilized last weekend for training, and two women undergoing drills at Kim Il Sung Square collapsed during exercises and were taken to the hospital by military vehicles.
After being mobilized for the training in an undernourished state, the pair blacked out and collapsed during the exercises.
Many other drill participants were just one step away from passing out due to cold symptoms or malnutrition, the source claimed.
People collapsing during parade training has been a long-standing problem, but the issue became so bad during the early days of February that officials had to report it up the line.
“Rather than show concern for people who are sick and suffering, the government ordered officials to deal with the situation immediately, telling them to keep everyone in line given the event is just a few days away,” he said.
The source said the government ordered that weak people be replaced by healthy ones in the parade, warning that if one or two people fall in a parade rank, it would cause problems for the ranks behind them. This, officials said, would disgrace North Korea before the entire world.
Pyongyangites with money or connections got out of the drills by paying money or providing supplies, so only the poorest people in each neighborhood got roped into the latest national event, the source further reported.
“People were mobilized regardless of malnutrition because they couldn’t talk about their difficult situation for fear of getting blamed for political ideology issues or expressing discontent,” he said.
Following the order by the authorities to replace weak people, people in charge of the event — who until then had been pressing participants with calls of “holding the event together whether you live or die” — immediately embarked on hasty efforts to reorganize the ranks.
Translated by David Black. Edited by Robert Lauler.
Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
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dailynk.com
12. Sariwon officials launch crackdown on money changers for avoiding manure campaign
A "no shit" defense probably did not work. Probably because money changers are assumed to have enough money to buy food and eat to make manure.
Sariwon officials launch crackdown on money changers for avoiding manure campaign
The police sent 10 or so money changers to Sariwon’s Migok Collective Farm to perform forced labor, a source told Daily NK
By Lee Chae Un - 2023.02.13 10:14am
dailynk.com
North Korean workers distributing manure for use as fertilizer in this photo from January 2015. (Urriminjokggiri)
Authorities in the North Hwanghae Province city of Sariwon recently carried out an intensive crackdown on money changers for failing to properly participate in the production and transport of manure, a source in the province told Daily NK on Thursday.
At the start of every year, North Korea issues general mobilization orders for the public to produce manure needed to prepare for the year’s farming. North Koreans stop what they are doing and spend over a month making manure.
This year was no different, with the authorities calling on everyone to produce manure, telling citizens that “if you’re a person who eats rice, produce manure, with no exceptions.”
But some people are avoiding the mobilizations because they are unsure how they can make a living if they take part in the collection campaign on a daily basis.
According to the source, this tendency is most pronounced in the Sariwon neighborhoods of Taesong-dong and Kuchon-dong.
In fact, about 10 money changers in Taesong Market refused to take part in manure production late last month, as if they had all pledged not to.
The source said people have been forced to engage in manure production for over a month since January without a single day’s rest, and now “they cannot put up with the daily mobilizations.”
“They are refusing the mobilization orders, saying [the authorities] should just kill them first,” he said.
In January of last year, people were mobilized for manure production and transportation every day for the first half of the month; in the second half of the month, they were mobilized once every two or three days.
However, unlike last year, people were forced to produce manure every day throughout the month this year, the source said.
He went on to relate that people disgruntled by this situation have begun openly expressing their discontent by refusing to take part in the mobilizations.
However, the neighborhood offices and neighborhood watch units to which the recalcitrant money changers belong raised serious issues with this.
When Sariwon’s party committee got wind of it, it ordered the city police to take strong measures against them.
The source said the police sent the 10 or so money changers to Sariwon’s Migok Collective Farm to perform forced labor.
“Locals are surprised at how the authorities are making people do forced labor for refusing to participation in collection campaigns, rather than provide a stable living environment for people who are finding it more and more difficult to make a living,” he said.
Translated by David Black. Edited by Robert Lauler.
Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
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13. South Korea's dilemma over sending arms to Ukraine
Be the partner in the Arsenal of Democracy. Step up and do not tap dance.
South Korea's dilemma over sending arms to Ukraine
In face of myriad diplomatic challenges, NK threat, S. Korea in difficult position to offer lethal aid, experts in Seoul say
koreaherald.com · by Shin Ji-hye · February 13, 2023
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has been under growing pressure from allies in the West to provide arms support to Ukraine in its war against the invader Russia, particularly after his attendance at the NATO summit last year and a visit by the US-led military alliance in Europe to Seoul last month.
In a speech at the Chey Institute for Advanced Studies in Seoul on Jan. 30, hours before the two met, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg urged Yoon to “step up” to meet Ukraine’s pressing need for weapons.
Stoltenberg later briefed Yoon on the current situation in Ukraine and stressed the “armed aggression” was unacceptable. Yoon said South Korea would continue to do what it can to help the people of Ukraine.
But for the South Korean leader who is already facing myriad diplomatic challenges and the imminent threat of North Korea at the same time, it is still a difficult prospect for the world’s eighth-largest arms exporter to offer lethal aid to Ukraine, according to experts in Seoul.
“Expectations from Ukraine may rise as South Korea is strengthening its alliance with the US and also attended the NATO summit (last year) as an observer,” said Park Ihn-hwi, an international studies professor at Ewha Womans University.
“However, South Korea is already mired in serious diplomatic dilemmas, such as the US-China conflicts, thorny relations with Japan, North Korean threats and the Indo-Pacific strategies,” Park said. "We (South Korea) can’t afford any more dilemmas."
Park noted that North Korea had fired around 70 missiles last year, including eight intercontinental ballistic missiles.
“If relations with Russia deteriorate and it does not agree to sanction the regime (North Korea), the situation on the Korean Peninsula could be further exacerbated,” he said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said in October last year if South Korea decides to send weapons to Ukraine, it would “destroy our relations.”
Nam Chang-hee, a professor of political science at Inha University, said that South Korea should be able to convince its allies of the situation the country is in.
“We have to explain our geopolitical difficulties to the West, convincing them that we are next to the most dangerous country in the world,” he said.
Instead of sending arms, South Korea should continue to offer nonlethal and indirect support, according to Nam.
“We must do the best we can by authorizing or expanding the US taking of reserve ammunition and expand arms exports to the US and Europe,” he said.
“If we do our best in this way, there is room for the West to understand our position.”
US media outlets recently reported that South Korea has indirectly supported Ukraine via the US. The Wall Street Journal reported that under a confidential agreement, Korea would sell 100,000 rounds of 155 mm artillery ammunition to the US that were destined for Ukraine. The New York Times also reported that Washington turned to South Korea and Israel for supplies of shells for the war in Ukraine.
South Korea has also exported arms to European countries. Last year, South Korea signed a contract to export K2 tanks and K9 self-propelled howitzers worth $5.76 billion to Poland, which has been providing various military supplies to Ukraine. To Ukraine directly, it has provided nonlethal military supplies such as gas masks, bulletproof helmets, tents, blankets, combat rations and medicine.
Chun Chae-sung, a professor at Seoul National University’s department of political science and international relations, also echoed the need to expand indirect support to the country in the war while continuing its participation in an international sanctions against Russia.
“Although the Ukraine issue is an important international challenge, it has no direct security relationship with South Korea, which does not have hostile relations with Russia,” said Chun Chae-sung, a professor at Seoul National University’s department of political science and international relations.
“Rather than direct military support, we should participate in economic or nonmilitary sanctions in the frame of Russia’s violation of international laws.”
The pressure from the West, however, will grow on the Yoon administration as war continues. But the president should be careful when choosing his words, otherwise he could risk losing the international community's trust.
"Since President Yoon has been constantly shouting for the defense of freedom, he could lose the trust of the international community if he does not take (corresponding) action,” said Wi Sung-lac, a former South Korean representative to the six-party talks and an ambassador to Russia.
In his inauguration speech last year, Yoon said if individual freedom is violated due to illegal acts by military power and dignified life, “All citizens of the world should help as free citizens in solidarity.”
He has also repeatedly used the words "freedom," "value" and "international solidarity" speaking at home and abroad.
“At first, the Yoon administration seemed to have acted as if Korea was going to give weapons, and later turned passive,” Wi said. “So the US welcomed it very much at first and they were later disappointed as (Korea) took a step back. So they are now putting pressure on Korea again.”
Korea has touted itself as a “global pivot state,” stressing value diplomacy. But it has avoided most sensitive international issues, such as China's aggression against Taiwan, China's repression of Uyghurs in Xinjiang, the Crimean Peninsula and now Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Wi said.
Because Korea is recognized as a nation by other countries that avoids sensitive issues, they will be more surprised if the country actually does something, he said.
“I understand the current agony of the Korean government, but it is important to strike a balance. We should either reduce rhetoric or increase action not to lose trust in the international community," Wi said.
This is the first installment of a series of articles and interviews on Russia's invasion of Ukraine marking one year on Feb. 24, to shed light on the brutality of the war and its complex impact on the international community and South Korea. -- Ed.
By Shin Ji-hye (shinjh@heraldcorp.com)
koreaherald.com · by Shin Ji-hye · February 13, 2023
14. NK media urges thorough quarantine efforts amid 'very unstable' virus situation
We need to vigilant in observing the indicators of instability that could result from the COVID paradox in north Korea.
north Korea’s COVID Paradox
•No reported cases for 2 years – Outbreak (May 2022) and then Over (July 2022)?
–Assessment: highly unlikely
–Myriad reports from inside about quarantine camps and outbreaks among military
•Kim exploiting COVID to oppress, repress, and suppress
–Close borders, hinder markets, seize foreign currency, stop movement, information crackdown
•“Arduous March” – Great Famine of 1994-1996
–Estimated possibly 3 million perished
–“Saved” by ROK Sunshine policy (and $billions in aid from 1997-2007)
–Development of 400+ markets – resilient women taking care of families
•Comparison –a COVID outbreak could be far worse
–Made worse by Kim’s policy decisions to exploit the situation to keep a stranglehold on the people to sustain power
•Regime Collapse: loss of central governing effectiveness by the party combined with loss of coherency and support of the military
NK media urges thorough quarantine efforts amid 'very unstable' virus situation
The Korea Times · by 2023-02-12 10:26 | Politics · February 12, 2023
This photo, captured on Feb. 12 from a broadcast of North Korea's official Korean Central Television, shows North Korean workers engaging in antivirus efforts. Yonhap
A North Korean state broadcaster called Sunday for thorough quarantine efforts, pointing to the "very unstable" situation marked by the spread of COVID-19, seasonal flu and other contagious illnesses.
The North's official Korean Central Television said the country's entire society should continue to maintain the antivirus campaign by blocking all virus transmission routes, including border and coastal areas, until the world's public health crisis ends.
Desolate truce village symbolizes latest rift between two Koreas
"Even into the new year, there are still no signs of the malignant contagious disease situation being resolved," it said. "As it has rather worsened due to the emergence and spread of variants with stronger immune evasion capabilities, the quarantine situation is very unstable."
The broadcaster cited the concurrent spread of COVID-19, influenza and the respiratory syncytial virus.
In August last year, the North declared victory against the COVID-19 crisis. But it has continued to stress the need for strong quarantine efforts as it remains wary of a possible flare-up in virus cases. (Yonhap)
The Korea Times · by 2023-02-12 10:26 | Politics · February 12, 2023
15. "My father fled North Korea, time is running out to find his family"
This is a crime against humanity, Only an authoritarian dictatorship who seeks total control over every aspect of society to protect itself from the people would act in this way,
"My father fled North Korea, time is running out to find his family"
Newsweek · by Jason Nichols · February 10, 2023
When North Korea crossed the 38th parallel on June 25, 1950 and invaded South Korea, it was just a few days before the United States began bombing North Korea. My father was able to escape to South Korea, but not everyone in his family made it across the 38th parallel. Left behind were his father, older brother, sister-in-law and niece.
With President Joe Biden's January 23 appointment of Julie Turner as North Korea envoy for human rights, a position that has remained vacant since 2017, he is suddenly hopeful again, anxiously awaiting her Senate confirmation.
My father was nine when he fled his house and ran for cover in an abandoned factory building as U.S. military aircraft flew overhead. As bombings intensified during the cold winter months, my father and his family were forced to evacuate.
"You must take the children to South Korea," my grandfather said to my grandmother. "Once the fighting is over, return home." That was over 70 years ago and my father hasn't heard from my grandfather and our other relatives since.
My father is from Hwanghae Province in North Korea. In December of 1950, he and his family rode on the rooftop of one of the last passenger trains out of Sariwon. Whenever the train stopped, my father's older brother Jungkuk climbed down from the snowy roof with a pot and cooked rice for them. His brother gathered wood, paper and anything else he could find on the ground to make the cooking fire. My father told me how he helplessly watched many people plunge to their deaths when the train unexpectedly lurched forward.
My dad's second oldest brother was conscripted into the North Korea army. Forcibly taken from his home, he left behind his young wife and one-year-old daughter, my cousin, who stayed in North Korea with my grandfather, awaiting his return.
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Sharon Soldati and her father, Don Kim. Courtesy of Sharon Soldati
Sharon Soldati's mother, Moon Kim and father, Don Kim. Courtesy of Sharon Soldati
Since the Korean War, thousands of Americans, many in their eighties and nineties, have been separated from family members in North Korea. My father has been waiting for seventy-two years to find out what happened to his family. Every few months, more elders in my father's circle of friends pass away without ever learning what happened to family members who were left behind in North Korea.
Then, on December 23, 2022 President Biden signed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the annual defense spending legislation which, among other foreign and humanitarian priorities, included The Divided Families Reunification Act (H.R. 826). Sponsored by U.S. Representative Grace Meng (D-NY), it is a bill that requires the U.S. Secretary of State to consult with representatives of Americans with family members in North Korea on the subject of potential family reunions, including virtual ones.
Sharon Soldati and her cousin Hunsoo Kim traveled up to the 38th parallel in South Korea in November 2022 to retrace the steps of their fathers' journey out of North Korea. Here they are pictured standing near the banks of the Imjin River (North Korea is visible in the distance). As we were standing there, Hunsoo's wife who took the picture said, "Birds can fly to North Korea, but we can't." Sharon Soldati
Sharon Soldati and her cousin Hunsoo Kim in Imjingak located on the banks of the Imjin River along the tracks of the former Gyeongui train line which used to connect North and South Korea.
In early January, I met my father with a group of his friends at a Korean bakery just outside of Atlanta, where he lives.
"Eat," my father urged, as he pushed a plate of hodu-gwaja, walnut cake, towards me. They excitedly spoke about the recent turn of events. One, Kris Chong, president of the Atlanta Association of People from Five Provinces of North Korea, expressed his hope of organizing reunions with family in North Korea using video conferencing technology. Originally from Pyongyang, he is 77 years old.
"If we can make this happen before I die," he said, "then I can say I have accomplished my life's work."
A few weeks later, I woke up to messages from Mr. Chong. He has created a group chat with second-generation Korean Americans he hopes can help with family reunification efforts. With Julie Turner's nomination, Mr. Chong feels that there is, at long last, a real chance to make these family reunifications a reality.
"We must hurry up and prepare for a consultation with the future Ambassador," he writes. "Family video reunions could go faster."
"My niece might still be alive in North Korea," my father says, a glimmer of hope shimmering in his eyes. I sense their urgency. After all, 72 years is a long time to wait.
Sharon Soldati's father Don Kim at high school in South Korea (left) and in 2023, aged 81. Courtesy of Sharon Soldati
Prior to that, in November, I had attended a 2022 overseas North Koreans homeland delegation meeting in Seoul, South Korea, and spent time with my 92-year-old aunt. She also rode on top of that train out of Sariwon with my dad.
"Your grandfather," she said, "was very handsome and clever."
"And my uncle?" I asked.
"He would give away the coat on his back, if someone needed it." She laughed wistfully, adjusting her reading glasses, as we sat together at her dining table after a breakfast of soybean stew. "He was just that kind of a person." She wonders too if her niece survived. "Back then, she always had a runny nose." Our elders hold onto the smallest details. After all these years, it is all they have.
However, as elders in our community await Julie Turner's Senate confirmation as North Korea human rights envoy, a spring of hope rises. Perhaps aging Korean Americans like my father will finally know what happened to families. I believe it is crucial for the Senate to confirm Ms. Turner's appointment and for the Biden Administration to support the Korean American community in helping to reunite divided families before it is too late. Time is running out.
Sharon Kim Soldati is a Korean American writer originally from New York and now living in Switzerland. She has published personal essays for The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and The Underwater Railroad. She is currently writing a historical fiction novel based on her parents' escape from North Korea.
All views expressed in this article are the author's own.
Newsweek · by Jason Nichols · February 10, 2023
16. Seth Rogen On How ‘The Interview’ Caused A ‘Seismic Shift’ In Hollywood & ‘Recalibrated’ His Definition Of Controversy
Seth Rogen On How ‘The Interview’ Caused A ‘Seismic Shift’ In Hollywood & ‘Recalibrated’ His Definition Of Controversy
etcanada.com · by Brent Furdyk · February 12, 2023
Seth Rogen is looking back on the controversy surrounding “The Interview”, the 2014 comedy that wound up playing a central role in the infamous Sony hack.
In the film, Rogen and James Franco play a pair of Americans recruited by the CIA to assassinate North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un (Randall Park), a premise that resulted in a pressure campaign from the North Korean government — including threats of terror attacks on theatres — that scuttled the film’s planned theatrical release at the last minute, with the film instead released online.
“At the time, it was really bad and really catastrophic,” Rogen told Tony Hawk and Jason Ellis during a recent appearance on their “Hawk vs Wolf” podcast.
“People we knew were getting fired from it,” Rogen recalled. “The head of the studio [Sony Pictures head Amy Pascal] was essentially fired from it.”
However, the film’s online release proved to be the proverbial canary in the coal mine heralding the evolution of the movie industry.
“It really caused seismic shifts in Hollywood at the time, and I think how business was done in some ways,” Rogen said. “It kind of showed the success a movie could have in some ways if it has a full theatrical campaign and then immediately go to streaming. It streamed on Google, and I think it’s still the biggest movie that’s ever streamed on Google, which is crazy. Students come up to me and say they’re teaching it in their university class. It was wild.”
According the Rogen, the experience enlightened him about the true nature of controversy.
“It re-calibrated what I think is controversial,” he explained. “After that, I was like, now I know what it’s like. Unless the president is giving news conferences about it, that’s controversy. If someone is getting mad about it on social media, that’s not controversy. Having, like, the U.N. have to make a statement about it, that’s a controversy.”
Rogen is also thankful that his career emerged more or less unscathed after the experience.
“We were able to keep making movies,” Rogen said. “What’s crazy is now it’s on television; it’s on FX at 2 p.m. It was at one point the most controversial thing in the world, and now I’ll be flipping channels on a Sunday afternoon, and it’s just playing. I was worried maybe it would cause some longer-lasting fallout than it did.”
etcanada.com · by Brent Furdyk · February 12, 2023
17. Is Kim Jong Un’s daughter being lined up to lead?
Conclusion:
Though unlikely, it is not impossible for a woman to lead. Kim Jong Un may wish to break with the historically male-dominated nature of the North Korean military and Party officials if doing so allows the Kim dynasty to continue. And although it is rare, it is not unknown for women to have been appointed to senior positions of leadership in the country. Choe Son Hui, North Korea’s sharp-tongued negotiator in the infamous meetings between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un, was, in June last year, promoted to Foreign Minister. At the same time, being the next Supreme Leader is no mean feat.
Is Kim Jong Un’s daughter being lined up to lead?
The Spectator · by Edward Howell · February 12, 2023
- Coffee House
Edward Howell
(Photo: Alamy)
The photograph shows a happy family. After a 35-day public absence, the corpulent Kim Jong Un has been pictured this week with his wife Ri Sol Ju, and sitting between them their daughter, Kim Ju Ae, as they dine in the presence of North Korean military officers weighed down with medals.
Is Kim Jong Un’s daughter being lined up to take over North Korea? The photograph has only heightened speculation that the stage is now being set for her to be leader, as the fourth generation of Kim to rule the country. This week North Korean state media gave Kim Ju Ae the honorific of ‘respected’ when writing about the event, an adjective which had previously been bestowed upon leaders of the DPRK and their spouses.
The occasion for the photograph was the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People’s Army (KPA), North Korea’s military force, which was established in 1948. A military banquet preceded a lavish parade.
These events are frequently used as an opportunity to display the North’s latest conventional and nuclear weaponry. This year’s parade predictably saw a cornucopia of missiles on show. One of the Intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) featured was the Hwasong-17 – the world’s largest road-mobile liquid-fuelled ICBM, first unveiled in October 2020 – which graced Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang. State media also appeared to show a new design of solid-fuel ICBM which, if this is the case, would be a technological breakthrough for Pyongyang. With fewer moving parts, solid-fuel missiles launch at faster speeds and are harder to detect than their liquid-fuel counterparts. Expanding the technological scope and sophistication of North Korea’s weaponry has been one of Kim Jong Un’s central aims, as he made clear when he outlined his five-year shopping list of new and expanded weaponry at the eighth Workers’ Party Congress in January 2021.
It is not the first but the fifth time that Kim Jong Un’s daughter has appeared in public. Yet Wednesday was no ordinary ‘bring your daughter to work’ day. Missiles mean a lot to Kim Jong Un and his family. At Wednesday’s banquet, eagle-eyed observers noted how Kim Jong Un’s wife, Ri Sol Ju, sported a pendant of the Hwasong-17. Their daughter followed protocol, cheering as the missiles went past.
The second child of Kim Jong Un, Ju Ae is reportedly only nine or ten years old. Years before the world had even seen her, the infamous former US basketball player, Dennis Rodman – a confidant of the North Korean leader – leaked Ju Ae’s name to the international press. Whilst it is quite possiblethat she may be groomed as heir apparent, only time will tell. Indeed, North Korean state media has not even revealed her name. She is one of several children of the Supreme Leader, and little is known about the others. Showing her in public may be a symbolic way for Kim to allow the North Korean elites, people, and the world to get to know her face.
He may have his own experience in mind. For decades, the world impatiently waited for his father, Kim Jong Il, to name a successor. Only in September 2010 did the fog clear, when Kim Jong Un was promoted to the equivalent of a four-star general in the Korean People’s Army. The then-youthful and unknown Kim took the mantle of the North Korean leadership following his father’s sudden death in December 2011. In contrast, Kim Jong Il was officially announced as the successor to Kim Il Sung – the founding father of North Korea – in 1980, 14 years before the former’s death.
There is another explanation for the public appearance of Kim Ju Ae. Her appearances have been hitherto limited to military parades and missile launches, which carry immense propagandistic value for her father’s rule. In November last year, both father and his ‘most beloved’ daughter – as North Korean state media then termed Kim Ju Ae – inspected an ICBM before they gleefully watched the launching of the missile. Although it is unclear whether Kim Ju Ae will inherit her father’s role, one message is being made crystal clear: that it is not just the Kim regime that is here to stay; so too is a North Korea with ever-expanding missile and nuclear capabilities, a North Korea which future generations will witness and continue to uphold. And the treasured ‘Baekdu bloodline’ will be sustained by keeping the leadership within the Kim family.
A third consideration of whether Kim Ju Ae will succeed her father pertains to North Korea’s patriarchal society. Similar speculation abounded during Kim Jong Un’s absence in 2020, when many observers suggested he might have died, and if the time had come for his acerbic younger sister, Kim Yo Jong – rising the ranks of the elite – to succeed him.
Though unlikely, it is not impossible for a woman to lead. Kim Jong Un may wish to break with the historically male-dominated nature of the North Korean military and Party officials if doing so allows the Kim dynasty to continue. And although it is rare, it is not unknown for women to have been appointed to senior positions of leadership in the country. Choe Son Hui, North Korea’s sharp-tongued negotiator in the infamous meetings between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un, was, in June last year, promoted to Foreign Minister. At the same time, being the next Supreme Leader is no mean feat.
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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