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Quotes of the Day:
"Strategic competition is a persistent and long-term struggle that occurs between two or more adversaries seeking to
pursue incompatible interests without necessarily engaging in armed conflict with each other.
...
We think of being at peace or war…our adversaries don’t think that way.
...
Strategic competition is thus an enduring condition to be managed, not a problem to be solved."
...
By taking actions designed to shift the focus of strategic competition into areas that favor
U.S. interests or undermine an adversary’s interests, the Joint Force can exploit the
competitive space to gain advantage over adversaries and pursue national interests."
- Joint Concept for Competing 10 February 2023
"I love quotations because it is a joy to find thoughts one might have had."
- Marlene Dietrich [1901-92]
"The best minds of my generation are thinking about how to make people click ads."
- data scientist Jeff Hammerbacher
1. N. Korean leader attends groundbreaking ceremony for new street in Pyongyang
2. Zelenskyy says S. Korea's military support will be positive for Ukraine: state media
3. North not backing down ahead of South-U.S. joint military exercises
4. South Korea, U.S. mull deployment of nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to peninsula
5. Intensifying chip wars
6. UAE begins commercial operations at S. Korean-built No. 3 nuclear reactor
7. In Seoul, Ukrainians and Russians protest against war
8. S. Korea asks US command to remove ‘Sea of Japan’ from trilateral exercise press release
9. [INTERVIEW] 'Unified Korea will become model nation on global stage'
10. North Korea's Kim mobilises young labourers in new housing plan amid economic woes
1. N. Korean leader attends groundbreaking ceremony for new street in Pyongyang
Along with his daughter perhaps trying to demonstrate a kinder gentler Kim Jong Un.
N. Korean leader attends groundbreaking ceremony for new street in Pyongyang | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 김한주 · February 26, 2023
SEOUL, Feb. 26 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has attended a groundbreaking ceremony for a new street in Pyongyang, the country's state media reported Sunday.
Kim attended the ceremony in Pyongyang's Sopho area Saturday, which is part of an ambitious project to build 4,100 homes in the capital city's northern area, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.
The project is different from another one for the construction of 10,000 new homes in Pyongyang's Hwasong district.
Kim's daughter, Ju-ae, also attended the ceremony, the KCNA said. It did not mention her by name but called her Kim's "beloved daughter."
This photo, released by the North's official Korean Central News Agency on Feb. 26, 2023, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (C) attending a groundbreaking ceremony for a new street in Pyongyang. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
khj@yna.co.kr
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en.yna.co.kr · by 김한주 · February 26, 2023
2. Zelenskyy says S. Korea's military support will be positive for Ukraine: state media
South Korea stepping up as a global pivotal state.
Zelenskyy says S. Korea's military support will be positive for Ukraine: state media | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 김승연 · February 25, 2023
SEOUL, Feb. 25 (Yonhap) -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said South Korea's military support will be a positive for his country in the war against Russia, expressing hope that Korea finds a way to provide the assistance.
Zelenskyy made the remarks during a speech in Kyiv marking the first anniversary of Russia's invasion into Ukraine, in response to North Atlantic Treaty Organization Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg's call for South Korea to provide military aid to the war-torn country, according to a news report on Friday by Ukrinform, its state news agency.
"We look positively if weapons are supplied to us," Zelenskyy was quoted by the outlet as saying. "I hope that it will find an opportunity to help Ukraine."
Zelenskyy said "details are being discussed" with other countries about South Korea in this vein, without elaborating further.
He also stressed the bilateral relations with South Korea are "very important" and should further develop.
Stoltenberg told a forum in Seoul during his visit in late January that South Korea should "step up on the specific issue of military support."
South Korea has only provided humanitarian aid and other non-military support to Ukraine, citing its position not to supply arms to countries engaged in conflict.
Ukrainian president speaks to S. Korean parliament via video
In this file photo, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (on screen) speaks via video at the National Assembly in Seoul on April 11, 2022. Zelenskyy asked South Korea to provide military equipment support to help his country's fight against Russian aggression. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)
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en.yna.co.kr · by 김승연 · February 25, 2023
3. North not backing down ahead of South-U.S. joint military exercises
The headline has it backwards. It is the ROK/US alliance not backing down in the face of regime rhetoric. Kim Jong Un's strategy is failing - he will not receive sanctions relief nor will he split the ROK/US alliance which are the two objectives of provocations.
Furthermore, if the alliance backs down Kim will assess his political warfare and blackmail diplomacy strategies as success and he will double down. We have to hold the line until Kim accepts his failure, is pressured to change by the elite and military or is changed by the Korean people in the north.
Sunday
February 26, 2023
dictionary + A - A
North not backing down ahead of South-U.S. joint military exercises
https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2023/02/26/national/northKorea/North-Korea-KORUS-military-exercise-Freedom-Shield/20230226170704276.html
A Los Angeles-class nuclear power submarine enters the naval port in Busan. [US NAVY 7TH FLEET]
Tensions with North Korea are rising as South Korea and the United States gear up for a 10-day joint military exercise scheduled to kick off on March 13.
North Korea continued its verbal assault on the joint military exercise over the weekend, especially as the nuclear power submarine USS Springfield arrived at the Busan Naval Base.
On Sunday, the Arirang Meari, one of the regime's mouthpieces, claimed that the joint military exercises are “dangerous” provocations made with the goal of preparing for an invasion.
“The U.S.-South Korea joint military exercise ‘Freedom Shield,’ which has further intensified its training, clearly shows its intension,” the North Korean media reported.
North Korea claimed that the recent exercises are not only larger in size but also in intensity, compared to past trainings such as Key Resolve and Foal Eagle.
“Landing indicates attack,” the North Korean media continued. “A massive landing exercise proves that it is training with a clear goal of invasion and pre-emptive attack.”
The mouthpiece also added that the latest training is a more aggressive military strategy: Operations Plan 5015, which includes infiltration, Pyongyang occupation and pre-emptive nuclear strikes.
Tongil Voice, a North Korean radio broadcaster, in its own statement on Sunday claimed that the joint exercises are nothing but bluff and bravado.
“[The military exercises] are the agonizing struggles of those who are appalled by our military might,” Tongil Voice claimed.
The North Korean media claimed that the very thought of the countries standing against its "invincible" military makes even a “boiled beef head” laugh.
North Korea's verbal attacks come one day after the U.S. Navy’s Seventh Fleet posted pictures of the 6,000-ton Los Angeles-class submarine arriving in Busan. The submarine was said to be carrying dozens of Tomahawk cruise missiles with a range of 1,700 nautical miles (1,956 miles).
So far this year, North Korea has made four missile provocations, starting with the launch of an short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) on Jan. 1. The latest were four “strategic cruise missiles” that North Korea claimed to have fired on Friday.
The South Korean military, however, did not confirm the latest cruise missiles.
The Joint Chief of Staff in a statement said it is currently analyzing all possibilities, including that the claims by North Korea on the cruise missiles may be false.
In November, North Korea claimed it had fired two cruise missiles toward Ulsan Island during the South Korea-U.S. joint exercise Vigilant Storm, which the South Korean JCS concluded was false.
The South's Unification Ministry on Friday claimed that firing just three missiles — one ICBM and two short-range ballistic missiles — would have required enough money to provide roughly 100,000 tons of food to its people.
That is the same as five months of food for some 2 to 3 million people.
Last week, the South Korean military intelligence told lawmakers that North Korea is likely to conduct a seventh nuclear test in order to make the warheads smaller and lighter for tactical nuclear arsenals.
The Korean military, when reporting to the members on the National Assembly’s Intelligence Committee on Feb. 22, said that while it is not certain when the test will be made, it is likely to be made in Pyunggye-ri.
Also the South Korean military intelligence believes North Korea will try to launch a reconnaissance satellite in April.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un with daughter Kim Ju-ae during a construction project groundbreaking ceremony held in Pyongyang on Saturday. [KOREAN CENTRAL NEWS AGENCY]
Meanwhile, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his daughter Kim Ju-ae attended a groundbreaking ceremony on Saturday for a construction project in Pyongyang, according to the state-owned media Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Sunday.
This was the seventh public appearance of Kim's daughter since her public debut in November, and the second of her non-military appearances.
The construction projects include building 4,100 housing units in northern Pyongyang. This is a separate project from the 10,000 housing units that are being built in another area in Pyongyang.
Kim Ju-ae's public appearances with her father have become more frequent, including one where she took center stage during the military parade held earlier this month.
BY LEE HO-JEONG [lee.hojeong@joongang.co.kr]
4.South Korea, U.S. mull deployment of nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to peninsula
Friday
February 24, 2023
dictionary + A - A
South Korea, U.S. mull deployment of nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to peninsula
https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2023/02/24/national/northKorea/Korea-aircraft-carrier-United-States/20230224164456546.html
The U.S. Navy’s aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, front, and South Korean Navy ships Munmu the Great and Gangwon steam in formation in waters east of the Korean Peninsula in a photograph released by the U.S. Navy on Sept. 29. [U.S. NAVY]
South Korea and the United States are mulling the deployment of a U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to the Korean Peninsula for the allies' joint exercise next month, according to military officials.
If agreed, a Nimitz-class U.S. aircraft carrier and associated strike group of U.S. Navy ships would be deployed to Busan to take part in the allies’ springtime Freedom Shield exercise, which is set to begin in the middle of March, unnamed military sources told the Chosun Ilbo and Yonhap on Thursday.
The most recent aircraft carrier deployed by the United States to South Korea was the USS Ronald Reagan, which participated in a joint naval exercise with the South Korean Navy in the East Sea in September last year.
Seoul’s Defense Ministry declined to confirm details about the U.S. aircraft carrier’s possible deployment to Korea, only saying in a Friday press statement that “the deployment of U.S. key military assets has proceeded through close consultation between South Korea and the U.S.”
The allies’ defense chiefs agreed during talks held in November last year to increase the frequency and involvement of U.S. strategic asset deployments in their joint exercises in response to North Korea’s advancing nuclear weapons and missile development programs.
North Korea’s foreign ministry upped its verbal offensive against the allies in a Friday statement, where it said it would consider “hostile action” by the United States as tantamount to a “declaration of war.”
Pyongyang’s state-controlled Korean Central News Agency quoted Kwon Jong-gun, director-general for U.S. affairs at the regime’s foreign ministry, as demanding that Washington halt its deployment of strategic assets to the peninsula and joint exercises with South Korea to forestall a “vicious cycle” of hostilities.
Kwon also denounced the allies’ table-top exercise held Thursday at the Pentagon, where they simulated their response to a hypothetical attack by North Korea using nuclear weapons, as well as the visit by the two countries’ defense officials to the Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay in Georgia, which houses several Ohio-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines.
Pyongyang has often bristled at joint exercises by Seoul and Washington, characterizing them as rehearsals for invasion.
But the United States issued a strongly-worded warning of its own to North Korea that the regime would not survive if it moved its previous threats to use nuclear weapons into action.
U.S. officials present at the table-top exercise “highlighted that the 2022 Nuclear Posture Review states that any nuclear attack by North Korea against the United States or its Allies and partners is unacceptable and will result in the end of that regime,” the U.S. Department of Defense said in a Friday statement announcing the conclusion of the exercise and the submarine base visit.
The statement also said that the United States “will continue to work with the ROK to ensure an effective mix of capabilities, concepts, deployments, exercises, and tailored options to deter and, if necessary, respond to coercion and aggression by the DPRK,” referring to South and North Korea by the acronyms for their official names, the Republic of Korea and Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]
5. Intensifying chip wars
Intensifying chip wars
The Korea Times · February 26, 2023
To survive, Korea must overcome geo-economic challenges
Many pundits compare the ongoing U.S.-China competition for global hegemony to a new Cold War. Because of its geopolitical uniqueness, Korea is one of the countries that most directly feels the heat of the G2 rivalry. And nowhere is this more visible than in the intensifying war of nerves over the semiconductor industry.
Two latest media reports indicate the U.S.-China chip bout has entered the second round.
Last Thursday, the New York Times reported that U.S. and foreign semiconductor companies had set off a lobbying frenzy for a larger slice of the pie from Washington's $39 billion (51 trillion won) subsidy for chip manufacturers. Two Korean makers with a heavy presence in America ― Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix ― will also go all out to be included in the list of beneficiaries.
However, as a Korean newspaper described it, the cash will likely be a "poisoned carrot." The U.S. government will dole out the funds on the condition that recipients restrict their investments in China for a decade.
On the same day, Alan Estevez, undersecretary of commerce for industry and security, said the U.S. government would limit the level of computer chips produced by Korean companies in China.
If the official's words become a reality, it will deal a critical blow to Korea's semiconductor exports to China. Semiconductors account for 20 percent of Korea's total exports and China buys 40 percent of Korean-made chips. Since semiconductors need continuous upgrading, a "cap on the levels that they can grow to in China" could be a death knell for shipments to China. Another Korean daily said Korean chipmakers may have to "withdraw from China" in the worst-case scenario.
That must never happen, however.
It also explains why Korea has been equivocal in joining the Chip-4 alliance alongside the U.S., Taiwan, and Japan against China. Unlike the three other countries with distinct security and economic priorities, Korea has complicated geo-economic concerns. So do most private companies underneath their governments' ostensible commitments. Henceforth, the complex uniting and splitting between businesses of even competing countries. For instance, Ford Motor recently drew Washington's ire by announcing a partnership with China's CATL for a car battery plant.
There will be limitations to alienating or decoupling with the world's No. 2 economy to create a new global supply network. Different countries and companies should have different interests. Perfect teamwork between the public and private sectors is crucial for Korea to weather new geo-economic challenges. But the current developments point the opposite way.
For instance, Samsung Electronics and SK hynix have made, and will make, several billion-dollar investments in America and China. However, Koreans have not heard about similar plans in their country, causing concerns about an industrial hollowing out. This happens when others, including Europe, Japan, and Taiwan, seek more production at home.
Bureaucrats and politicians are even more clueless. The finance ministry, bent only on fiscal soundness, is too stingy to provide financial support. The governing party is mired in factional feuds between President Yoon Suk Yeol's cronies and is political opponents. Opposition leaders ask why the nation should provide more benefits for super-rich companies. But antipathy for family-run conglomerates is one thing and sound industrial policy is another. As they have done for decades, Koreans must again admit their love-hate relationship with the chaebol, especially in cost-heavy sectors like semiconductors.
The government must also tackle two structural problems at home ― talent and technology.
The London-based Economist magazine recently predicted that Korea's semiconductor industry will face a shortage of at least 30,000 workers in the next decade. The Hankyoreh newspaper reported last week that all successful applicants for semiconductor departments at Korea's most prestigious universities gave up their enrollment to enter medical schools. The government must do all it can to reverse this trend, while helping Korean companies, now remaining as memory chipmakers, turn to logical chips and machinery.
To orchestrate this enormous task, Yoon must be the Republic of Korea's chief executive, not its "No. 1 salesman."
The Korea Times · February 26, 2023
6. UAE begins commercial operations at S. Korean-built No. 3 nuclear reactor
South Korea: A peaceful nuclear power.
UAE begins commercial operations at S. Korean-built No. 3 nuclear reactor | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 김한주 · February 26, 2023
SEOUL, Feb. 26 (Yonhap) -- The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has started commercial operations at the third unit of the South Korean-built Barakah nuclear power plant, South Korea's state-run utility firm said Sunday.
The Unit 3 reactor began its commercial operations Friday after the Middle East country issued an operating license last June and the process to insert fuel rods into the reactor started, according to the Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO).
It is one of the four nuclear reactors built in Barakah, 270 kilometers west of Abu Dhabi, under a US$20 billion contract won by a KEPCO-led consortium in 2009. The project marked South Korea's first export of a homegrown commercial atomic power plant.
The first Barakah unit began commercial operations in April 2021 and the second one in March 2022.
The Emirates Nuclear Energy Corp. said Unit 3 adds 1,400 megawatts of clean electricity capacity to the UAE grid, with the total production from the three units reaching 4,200 megawatts.
This undated file photo released by the Korea Electric Power Corp. shows the third reactor of the Barakah nuclear plant of the United Arab Emirates. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
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en.yna.co.kr · by 김한주 · February 26, 2023
7. In Seoul, Ukrainians and Russians protest against war
[From the Scene] In Seoul, Ukrainians and Russians protest against war
koreaherald.com · by Kim Arin;Lim Jae-seong · February 26, 2023
People hold candles in a vigil commemorating the one year anniversary of Russia’s war against Ukraine on Friday near the Russian embassy in Seoul. (Lim Jae-seong/The Korea Herald)
A large crowd turned out at a series of vigils and rallies held outside the Russian Embassy in Seoul on Friday and Saturday to show support for Ukraine, one year since Russia’s invasion of the country.
Chants denouncing Russia -- “Withdraw Russian troops from Ukraine! If Russia stops fighting, there is no war!” -- rung around the square near the embassy, as Ukraine supporters and anti-war demonstrators gathered.
One of them was Andrei Litvinov, a Ukrainian teacher at a school in South Jeolla Province’s Gwangju for children of Koryoin or ethnic Koreans in post-Soviet countries.
“I remember when Russia invaded Ukraine and the war broke out a year ago, I was completely depressed. I was just watching the news for days, not speaking or eating,” he told The Korea Herald.
“Then I came to my senses and began doing what I could do. I went to forums, gave speeches and made donations. I went to Poland as a volunteer with a Korean team to help the war refugees there.”
He said at his school there were students who came here to flee the war.
“My students tell me they saw tanks and dead bodies. At their age, they shouldn’t even be seeing things like that in a movie. But this was the reality they had to live through.”
Litvinov said his brother is a soldier in the Ukrainian military, and that his 67-year-old father is now receiving treatment in Czechoslovakia after he was injured in a missile attack at his family’s hometown of Zaporizhzhia.
From the stories he was hearing from his friends and relatives, he was “convinced” that Ukraine was going to win the war and that the end was drawing near.
“Our soldiers are being trained in the UK and in Spain, and we are being supplied Leopard tanks. Biden was recently in Kyiv and he said that the US would support us as long as it takes. So all of these things have been very reassuring.”
He said he feels South Korea has been “cautious” in its support of Ukraine.
“There was a United Nations vote on Thursday condemning Russia, and South Korea voted to stand on the side of Ukraine, so we are very thankful,” he said. “At the same time in sending arms supplies to Ukraine, for example, compared to other countries, I feel that South Korea has been a bit hesitant maybe.”
South Korean leaders could “afford to be more brave,” he said.
“I wish the politicians in South Korea could be more brave. If they are still intimidated by Russia, they are overestimating Russia,” he said. “South Korea is not a weak country at all. Look at us now standing in front of the Russian Embassy. They can’t say or do anything to us.”
He said he believed being on the side of Ukraine was “being on the right side of history.”
“If there is a message I’d really like to get across South Korean leaders, it is that Ukraine’s defeat is also South Korea’s defeat. Because this war is more than just about Ukraine,” he said.
“I say this as a father of five children myself. What kind of a world would we be leaving behind for our children if we allow Russia’s behaviors to be tolerated?”
He said that this war was about “showing one country not respecting the principles of the international law that there will be consequences.”
“South Korea also has some hostile neighbors. My sons are South Korean too, and one day they will serve in the South Korean military. What if North Korea starts doing what Russia’s doing in Ukraine? This is why Russia cannot win.”
Andrei Litvinov, a Ukrainian teacher at a school for Koryoin children in Gwangju, lays a flower in remembrance of the children who died in the war in Ukraine during a rally outside the Russian embassy on Friday. (Kim Arin/The Korea Herald)
Among dozens who were present at the evening vigil, a Russian woman in her 30s said she decided to come to “make a statement” that she is against the war.
“I’m a psychologist. I have lots of psychologist colleagues in Ukraine who are working with Ukrainian soldiers and civilians and helping them cope with what’s going on,” she said, identifying herself only by her first name, Polina.
“As a Russian, I think protesting together with people who also care is very important. I’m here as a tourist, but I wanted to show I’m with them.”
A 21-year-old Ukrainian student, who said he has been studying in Korea for two years, said almost everyone he knows in his hometown has been affected by the war.
“I’m from Dnipro, which is near the biggest nuclear power plant, so there’s been a lot of bombing,” he said. “There was a bomb explosion in my yard, and almost every one of my friends’ apartments have been hit by missiles.”
He said that Korea, as one of the wealthier countries in the world, could send more help to Ukraine.
“It doesn’t have to be heavy arms like tanks. It can be medical help or anything. We need every help that Korea’s law and system can allow.”
Metelitsa Oleg, 60, from Belarus said that she and many of her fellow Belarusians were “really upset” about her government’s alignment with Russia.
“Belarusian people hate Putin. We support Ukraine. Putin is using Belarusian territory to invade Ukraine. It is horrible and really such a big shame,” she said.
She said this was not her first time attending an anti-war demonstration in South Korea.
“We’ve gotten lots of support from Korean people,” she said. “We have to support Ukraine as much as possible. Russia will be fighting with the whole world on Ukraine’s side.”
She said she will continue to participate in actions to support Ukraine.
“I’ve been showing up at rallies at least once a month. This is not my first, and won’t be the last.”
By Kim Arin (arin@heraldcorp.com)
Lim Jae-seong (forestjs@heraldcorp.com)
koreaherald.com · by Kim Arin;Lim Jae-seong · February 26, 2023
8. S. Korea asks US command to remove ‘Sea of Japan’ from trilateral exercise press release
Sigh... A self-inflicted "own goal." They should have said in the waters adjacent to the Korean Theater of Operations. We keep making these kinds of mistakes. Have not learned anything after being allies for seven decades?
I remember when we updated the maps through the ROK/US CFC in the 1990s (WGS 84). We received many complaints for our counterparts about he Sea of Japan and other names (Chinese Yalu River versus the Korean name of Amnok gang)
S. Korea asks US command to remove ‘Sea of Japan’ from trilateral exercise press release
koreaherald.com · by Ji Da-gyum · February 23, 2023
South Korea has asked the US Indo-Pacific Command to revise the US military’s reference to international waters between Japan and South Korea from the “Sea of Japan” to a neutral description, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed Thursday.
The navies of South Korea, the United States and Japan conducted a trilateral missile defense exercise outside the territorial waters of South Korea and Japan on Wednesday to enhance military interoperability and readiness against escalating threats from North Korea.
The US Indo-Pacific Command’s reference to the international waters where the exercise took place as the “Sea of Japan” in a statement immediately prompted a backlash from South Korean media outlets.
“We’ve asked the Indo-Pacific Command to revise its reference to the location as the Sea of Japan, which has remained unchanged,” JCS spokesperson Col. Lee Sung-jun said during a televised briefing held on Thursday morning. “We will wait for a response.”
Lee said the South Korean military expects the US Indo-Pacific Command to amend its statement in light of the contested naming of the area between South Korea and Japan. South Korea’s Defense Ministry and JCS made the requests to the US on Wednesday evening.
The US Indo-Pacific Command’s statement generated a whirlwind of local media reports raising the questions of whether it is fair to call the international waters which are not subject to any state’s jurisdiction as the “Sea of Japan.”
More than 30 local news outlets and broadcasters in South Korea highlighted the difference between the South Korean military and the US Indo-Pacific Command in specifying the spot of the trilateral exercise as of 6 p.m. on Thursday.
The JCS was asked by local media whether it was appropriate to stage the trilateral exercise around 180 kilometers east of the Dokdo islets on Takeshima Day, the day Japan annually celebrates its claim to the Dokdo islets.
This is not the first time that South Korea has asked the US to amend its reference to the location of trilateral exercises, which have been generally staged on international waters between South Korea and Japan.
In October last year, the US Indo-Pacific Command initially designated the location of the trilateral missile defense exercise in an area similar to where the Wednesday drills were conducted as the “Sea of Japan.” But the command later revised its statement and used the term “waters between Korea and Japan,” complying with a request from South Korea.
The US Pacific Fleet also took out the term “East Sea” in its press release on the bilateral naval drills staged between South Korea and the US in South Korean waters in September 2022 after Japan lodged a complaint.
The ongoing conflict on the naming reflects the sensitivity of the issue for both countries that have been at odds for years over territorial and wartime history disputes rooted in Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule of Korea.
Tokyo insists that the Sea of Japan is the only name that has been established internationally, with no need or reason for changing it. But Seoul has been putting forward diplomatic efforts to campaign for the term East Sea, which it says has been in use for more than 2,000 years as numerous historical records illustrate.
But the waters between the Korean Peninsula and the Japanese Archipelago became widely known as the Sea of Japan as Japan emerged as a regional power in Asia in the late 19th century and the early 20th century when world maps were being drawn similarly to current ones. South Korea has elucidated that the country was unable to claim the legitimacy of the name “East Sea” during the period of the Japanese occupation.
South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said the government has repeatedly clarified its stance on using the term “East Sea,” and conveyed clear messages to the US including the US Indo-Pacific Command.
“Our government will continue to make efforts to rectify mistakes related to the reference of the East Sea and enhance the understanding of the international community on the issue in close cooperation with overseas missions, related government agencies such as Northeast Asian History Foundation and nongovernmental organizations,” Lim Soo-suk, a spokesperson for the ministry, said at a televised general press briefing in response to a question on the issue on Thursday.
By Ji Da-gyum (dagyumji@heraldcorp.com)
koreaherald.com · by Ji Da-gyum · February 23, 2023
9. [INTERVIEW] 'Unified Korea will become model nation on global stage'
[INTERVIEW] 'Unified Korea will become model nation on global stage'
The Korea Times · February 23, 2023
Hyun Jin Preston Moon, founder and chairman of Global Peace Foundation speaks during an interview with The Korea Times in Seoul Feb. 20. Courtesy of Global Peace Foundation
Moon encourages young generation to take part in 'Korean Dream' initiative
By Lee Hyo-jin
After more than seven decades of hostilities between South and North Korea, unification may sound like a distant goal to many ― especially to the younger generations. For them, integrating the capitalist south with the communist north is becoming an increasingly far-fetched idea amid the widening economic and cultural gaps that exist between the two.
However, Hyun Jin Preston Moon, the founder and chairman of the Washington D.C.-based non-profit group Global Peace Foundation (GPF), strongly believes that young people will play a significant role in achieving unification on the Korean Peninsula.
After establishing the foundation in 2009, Moon has been campaigning for unification based on the founding ideal of Korea "Hongik Ingan," which means "to live for the greater benefit of all mankind."
"If I speak to young people here in Korea, they have been misinformed about unification and that is one of the reasons why a lot of the concepts they have are wrong," he said during an interview with The Korea Times in Seoul, Feb. 20. "They don't seem to understand what opportunities will be afforded to them if that [unification] happens. It will be the greatest transformative opportunity in their lifetime," he said.
With that, he stressed the importance of quality education for young people.
"Education is absolutely the key. If you want to have the public to make good decisions, you have to provide them with the right information. There's a lot of ideas out there that are not really good ideas ― and have been disproven historically ― and yet are now still being pushed upon young people."
Hyun Jin Preston Moon gives a speech during an event held to campaign for unification in Seoul, Feb. 21. Courtesy of Global Peace Foundation
Unification achievable through grassroots movements
During the interview, Moon introduced what he calls the "Korean Dream" framework as a tool to achieve the unification of the two Koreas and create a common national identity. The initiative is based on the notion that feasible progress on unification will be made by grassroots movements of ordinary people, not top-down decisions by policymakers.
He said that diplomatic initiatives, bilateral talks and summits aimed at resolving security concerns surrounding North Korea's nuclear weapons program have led to little progress so far.
Against this backdrop, he established Action for Korea United (AKU) in 2012, a coalition of 1,000 civic organizations which aims for a grassroots approach to raising public awareness of the importance of unification.
"Ordinary people are going to be the gate openers. If people moving in a certain direction and a central vision is what's driving them, eventually, the politicians are going to follow and they're going to open the doors. That's what happened with the downfall of the Soviet Union and German unification," he said.
Such an initiative seems to be showing visible progress.
Participants attend an event hosted by the Global Peace Foundation on its unification campaign held in Yeouido, Seoul, Feb. 21. Courtesy of Global Peace Foundation
In February, the GPF held a so-called "10 million people's Korean Dream rally for the 80th anniversary of Korean Liberation," with an aim of gathering 10 million people in Korea and overseas by 2025, to establish the goal of achieving unification by then. 2025 marks the 80th anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japanese colonial rule that ended in 1945.
After the inaugural ceremony held in the southeastern port city of Busan on Feb. 2, large-scale rallies were held in major cities ― in Gwangju on Feb. 4, in Daejeon on Feb. 11 and Daegu on Feb. 18. The last ceremony was held in Seoul on Feb. 21, bringing together over 600 scholars and prominent figures.
Asked why he chose Busan as the first city to hold the rallies, Moon said, "Busan has always been the gateway to the world or Asia-Pacific. And historically, it was the last stronghold during the Korean War. It's not only the gateway to Asia, but also really the beginning of change and that's why it started with Busan."
However, Moon said his ultimate goal is to gather the voices of Koreans not only in the nation, but also those of the Korean diaspora overseas.
"There are more than 7 million or 8 million Koreans that live abroad, and we want their voices to be mixed in with the voices of those who are on the peninsula. And we also want voices of those even in North Korea," he said.
Moon went on to say that if his vision materialized, Korea will become a model nation for peace and prosperity.
"When I'm talking about the Korean Dream, I'm not talking about just unification of the Korean Peninsula. I'm talking about creating a model nation that can be a leader on the global stage."
"If the divided Korea all of a sudden comes together as one ― not because of nuclear arms or nuclear weapons ― but based on a vision rooted in their history in their historical mandate to create a model nation, that will be the inspirational story of the century. It will set a tremendous precedent for the world," he said.
While some may think that integrating South Korea and North Korea may bring more of a financial burden to the South, Moon believes otherwise. He said developed countries like the United States can be a significant partner for unification in terms of economic assistance, given that North Korea is its top security concern.
He likened it to the Marshall plan, a U.S.-sponsored post-World War II program that supported the reconstruction of enemy nations and eventually brought them into the fold of the Western democracies.
Plus, Moon added that if Korea is united based upon the Korean Dream model, it is likely for the nation to be the financial center of Asia, replacing Hong Kong.
"Given the posture of China, there is no way that international finance and international banks would want to have their headquarters there. A nation such as Korea, based upon the Korean Dream model is the bulwark of freedom and fundamental human rights that upholds Western values. So naturally, we'll draw on all of that," he said.
The Korea Times · February 23, 2023
10. North Korea's Kim mobilises young labourers in new housing plan amid economic woes
North Korea's Kim mobilises young labourers in new housing plan amid economic woes
channelnewsasia.com
SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has mobilised young labourers to launch a new housing project in Pyongyang, state media said on Sunday (Feb 26), as he pushes for an ambitious plan to build 50,000 homes in the capital despite deepening economic hardships.
Kim attended a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction project in Pyongyang's Sopo district on Saturday with thousands of young labourers, the official KCNA news agency reported.
In 2021, Kim unveiled a plan to build 50,000 new homes in Pyongyang by 2025, and state media reported the completion of the first 10,000 new apartments last year, including a 80-floor skyscraper.
The plan came after South Korea warned of a deepening food crisis in the isolated North amid sanctions over its weapons programmes and the fallout from COVID-19 lockdowns, including a recent surge in deaths from starvation in some countryside regions.
North Korea has not confirmed any food shortages but the ruling party has scheduled a meeting for late February to discuss agricultural development, calling it a "very important and urgent task".
Kim has said the housing projects faces "unprecedentedly harsh challenges". He mobilised the young labour units, called dolgyeokdae or "Shock Brigade", in his pet infrastructure initiatives which have often faced lacklustre progress amid resources shortages, including a massive housing campaign in the northern alpine town of Samjiyon.
In Sopo, he aims to create a "distinctive street" with about 4,100 homes, in addition to a recently launched drive for 10,000 apartments, Kim said, thanking some 100,000 young men who volunteered to join the plans.
The new housing project would serve as "another proud page in the history of youth movements" and a symbol of the country's socialist revolution and "political struggle", Kim said.
"The distinctive architectures of this street will intuitively show our nation's status and rapid development," Kim said, accompanied by his young daughter who has appeared recently in a series of major events.
"It will clearly prove it to the world how our movement and struggle are advancing and developing and how vigorously they are expanding even in the face of the most arduous trials and difficulties," he added.
channelnewsasia.com
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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