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Quotes of the Day:
“Don’t be in such a hurry to condemn a person because he doesn’t do what you do, or think as you think or as fast. There was a time when you didn’t know what you know today.”
- Malcolm X
“Even totalitarianism did not become totalitarianism in one big step. The totalitarians started out demonizing their victims and then playing fast and loose with the laws to crack down on them. That is what is being done now by those who are demonizing for dollars. The communists demonized the capitalists, the Nazis demonized the Jews, and other opportunists have demonized whoever was handy.
- Dean Kalahar, The best of Thomas Sowell
“None of us today need feel any urge, in the name of good will, to downplay our differences. On the contrary, in a certain sense we can be proud of our differences, because they arise from good will itself---for love of country; for concern for the challenges of our time; from respect for, and yes, even outright enjoyment of, the democratic processes of disagreement and debate. Today our very differences attest to the greatness of our nation. For I can think of no country on Earth where two political leaders could disagree so widely yet come together in mutual respect. To paraphrase Mr. Jefferson: We are all Democrats, we are all Republicans, because we are all Americans.”
-Ronald Reagan in a speech at the opening of the Carter Presidential Center in 1986
1. S. Korea fully restores bilateral military information-sharing pact with Japan
2. 2022 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices
3. Impunity for human rights violations, corruption remains widespread in N. Korea in 2022: U.S. report
4. Kim Jong-un's 'Faceless' Companion Intrigues Boffins
5. Major N. Korean websites offline as of Tuesday morning
6. US, China, Russia argue over North Korea at United Nations
7. N. Korea conducts training in response to joint military training
8. South Korea levies sanctions on North in response to latest ICBM launch
9. North Korea's use of missile silo could mean less warning of launches - analysts
10. Daily NK acquires full text of the anti-reactionary thought law
11. [Column] New strategy for North Korean human rights
12. President Yoon refutes criticism of fence-mending summit with Japan
13. What are North Korea’s Instructions to Spies? North Korea-instructed Slogans Appear in Demonstrations in South Korea
14. The cost of North Korea’s illicit missile launches is being borne by its people: UK Statement at the Security Council
15. Three Revolutions Team member arrested for spreading “reactionary thought and culture”
16. Unification minister to visit Japan this week to discuss N. Korea
17. Ask a North Korean: What do North Koreans think about anti-government protests?
18. #NorthKorea: South Korea, US and Japan answer the provocations with readiness.
19. Kim Jong Un's daughter is already hugely unpopular in North Korea aged nine because of her weight: Starving citizens resent Kim Ju Ae because she is 'plump like the moon'
1. S. Korea fully restores bilateral military information-sharing pact with Japan
Hope we can sustain the momentum and keep seeing the ROK-Japan relationship keep moving forward.
(LEAD) S. Korea fully restores bilateral military information-sharing pact with Japan | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 이원주 · March 21, 2023
(ATTN: CHANGES headline, lead; UPDATES with more info throughout; ADDS byline)
By Yi Wonju
SEOUL, March 21 (Yonhap) -- South Korea on Tuesday fully restored its military intelligence-sharing pact with Tokyo, the foreign ministry said, as part of efforts to thaw long-frozen ties following a recent bilateral summit.
South Korea sent an official letter to Japan earlier in the day via diplomatic channels informing of its decision to fully restore the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) between the neighbors, the ministry said.
Signed in 2016, GSOMIA was seen as a rare symbol of security cooperation between Seoul and Tokyo before the former administration of President Moon Jae-in decided to terminate it in 2019 in protest of Japan's export restrictions against South Korea.
The decision to suspend the pact was later put on hold, but the amount of information sharing between the neighboring countries is thought to have been limited, as their relations remained strained over disputes stemming from Japan's colonial rule.
"Through the measure, our government has eliminated policy-related uncertainty regarding GSOMIA, securing a foothold for strengthening cooperation in military information between South Korea and Japan, as well as among South Korea, the U.S. and Japan," the ministry said.
President Yoon Suk Yeol (L) shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the end of their joint news conference after their summit in Tokyo on March 16, 2023. (Yonhap)
A foreign ministry official said the measure was made "in consideration of the reality" that cooperation with Japan and other countries is "necessary to deal with ever-growing nuclear and missile threats from North Korea."
"The defense ministries and other relevant authorities in South Korea and Japan will further accelerate the necessary cooperation whenever the North threatens with nuclear weapons or missiles," he told reporters on the customary condition of anonymity.
Last week, President Yoon Suk Yeol agreed to "completely normalize" GSOMIA during a summit meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to better respond to North Korea's nuclear and missile threats.
Just hours before the two leaders met in Tokyo, Pyongyang test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile that flew about 1,000 kilometers before falling into the open waters off the East Sea.
julesyi@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 이원주 · March 21, 2023
2. 2022 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices
Country by country reports are available at the link: https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/
north Korea report here: https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/north-korea/
South Korea report here: https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/south-korea/
Conclusion:
As the Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognizes, all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. We submit these country reports in service to our common humanity.
2022 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices
BUREAU OF DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS, AND LABOR
MARCH 20, 2023
The annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices – the Human Rights Report – cover internationally recognized individual, civil, political, and worker rights, as set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international agreements. The U.S. Department of State submits reports on all countries receiving assistance and all United Nations member states to the U.S. Congress in accordance with the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and the Trade Act of 1974.
TRANSLATIONS
IN THIS SECTION /
PREFACE
Preface
For nearly 50 years, the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices have served as a vital resource for governments, researchers, advocacy groups, journalists, and voices of conscience worldwide that work to promote respect for human rights and accountability for injustice. The individual reports cover 198 countries and territories, providing factual, objective information based on credible reports of the events that occurred throughout 2022. These reports are meticulously compiled by U.S. Department of State employees in Washington, D.C., and at our overseas missions throughout the world, who collectively spend thousands of hours preparing the reports using credible information from U.S. embassies and consulates abroad, foreign government officials, nongovernmental and international organizations, jurists and legal experts, journalists, academics, human rights defenders, labor activists, and published reports. We take seriously our responsibility to ensure their accuracy.
Each country report speaks for itself, describing reports of practices in calendar year 2022 in light of international law and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Some of the reports highlight record violations and abuses that are appalling in their scale and severity. Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine beginning in February 2022 has resulted in massive death and destruction, with reports of members of Russia’s forces committing war crimes and other atrocities, including summary executions of civilians and horrific accounts of gender-based violence, including sexual violence against women and children. In Iran, the regime responded with brutality and violence to peaceful protests across the country following the tragic death of Mahsa Jina Amini while in the custody of the so-called “morality police.” This year’s country report documents in detail the Iranian regime’s violent crackdown and its continued denial of the Iranian people’s universal human rights and fundamental freedoms, including freedoms of expression and religion or belief.
In Xinjiang, in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the country report describes how genocide and crimes against humanity continued to occur against predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups. In Burma, the report relays how the military regime continues to use violence to brutalize civilians and consolidate its control, reportedly killing more than 2,900 people and detaining more than 17,000 since the February 2021 military coup. As part of our efforts to ensure accountability in Burma, I made the important determination in March 2022 that the military had committed genocide and crimes against humanity against Rohingya, most of whom are Muslim, repledging U.S. efforts to promote justice and accountability for abuses faced by Rohingya and other ethnic and religious minority groups across Burma. As reflected in the report on Afghanistan, the Taliban’s oppressive and discriminatory measures against women and girls have been relentless. No other country in the world bars women and girls from getting an education, which is an internationally recognized human right. The Taliban’s edict barring female employees of non-governmental organizations from the workplace imperils tens of millions of Afghans who depend on humanitarian assistance for their survival. No country can achieve peace and prosperity when half its population is cut off from society and the economy.
Protracted human rights crises, as in South Sudan where a constant stream of subnational violence, combined with the transitional government’s lack of progress in implementing long overdue commitments, have continued to cause misery and death. The report on Syria describes how the regime continues to jail, torture, and kill political opponents, human rights defenders, and journalists. Over 154,000 persons remain disappeared or unjustly detained by the regime, ISIS, and other parties to the conflict. Authoritarian governments – like those in Cuba, Belarus, and Venezuela, among others – have condemned hundreds or thousands of peaceful protestors to lengthy and unjust prison sentences. In Cambodia, brave trade union activists who have led hundreds in a peaceful strike for over a year, have been reportedly met with arrest, detention, and other efforts to demoralize workers and silence their voices.
Still, we see people of courage and conscience standing up, at great personal risk, for universal human rights, to protect the wellbeing of their communities and for the future of their countries. These human rights defenders work tirelessly to expose injustice, corruption, and abuse and to press for transparency and accountability.
The 2022 country reports also illuminate the compounding impacts of human rights violations and abuses on persons in marginalized communities who also suffer disproportionately from the negative effects of economic inequality, climate change, migration, food insecurity, and other global challenges. In line with President Biden’s June 15, 2022, Executive Order, the 2022 country reports specifically include enhanced reporting on so-called conversion “therapy” practices, which are forced or involuntary efforts to change a person’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression, as well as additional reporting on the performance of unnecessary surgeries on intersex persons.
Democracy, human rights, and labor rights are mutually reinforcing, and support for democratic renewal is essential to promoting these rights. President Biden will co-host the second Summit for Democracy with the Governments of Costa Rica, the Netherlands, the Republic of Korea, and the Republic of Zambia on March 29-30, 2023. Together, we will showcase the great progress made by Summit partners and the importance of working together to meet the many challenges to democracy.
As the Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognizes, all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. We submit these country reports in service to our common humanity.
3. Impunity for human rights violations, corruption remains widespread in N. Korea in 2022: U.S. report
Let's use this resource to support a human rights upfront approach with north Korea.
Excerpts:
The annual report noted that the Kim family had no regard for human life, citing numerous reports that "the government or its agents committed arbitrary and unlawful killings," while private citizens were often forced to attend public executions.
Torture and inhuman treatment of prisoners also remain rampant in the country, according to the report.
"The law prohibits torture or inhuman treatment, but many sources reported these practices continued. Numerous defector accounts and NGO reports described the use of torture by authorities in detention facilities," it said.
The U.S. report comes after Pyongyang threatened to take the "toughest counteraction" against a United Nations Security Council meeting held on North Korean human rights last week.
North Korea claims the U.S. report, along with other international efforts to bring attention to its human rights conditions, is a U.S.-led scheme to bring down its regime, calling it the most intensive expression of U.S. hostile policy toward Pyongyang.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the reports are not designed to lecture or shame others.
"Rather, it is to provide a resource for those individuals working around the world to safeguard and uphold human dignity when it's under threat, in so many ways," he told a press briefing.
(LEAD) Impunity for human rights violations, corruption remains widespread in N. Korea in 2022: U.S. report | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 변덕근 · March 21, 2023
(ATTN: UPDATES with remarks from Secretary Blinken in paras 10-12)
By Byun Duk-kun
WASHINGTON, March 20 (Yonhap) -- North Korea continued to show no respect for basic human rights and freedoms of its people in 2022 while impunity for corruption continued to remain widespread, an annual U.S. report said Monday.
The 2022 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices said the country had dozens of other human rights issues, ranging from unlawful or arbitrary killings by the government, torture, total state control of expression and media and serious restrictions on freedom of movement and residence to trafficking in persons and punishment of family members for offenses allegedly committed by an individual.
North Korea or "the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) is an authoritarian state led by the Kim family since 1949," says the report, noting leader Kim Jong-un has ruled the country since the death of his father, Kim Jong-il, in 2011.
"The most recent national elections, held in 2019, were neither free nor fair," it added.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is seen speaking during a press briefing at the department in Washington on March 20, 2023 on the release of 2022 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices in this captured image. (Yonhap)
The annual report noted that the Kim family had no regard for human life, citing numerous reports that "the government or its agents committed arbitrary and unlawful killings," while private citizens were often forced to attend public executions.
Torture and inhuman treatment of prisoners also remain rampant in the country, according to the report.
"The law prohibits torture or inhuman treatment, but many sources reported these practices continued. Numerous defector accounts and NGO reports described the use of torture by authorities in detention facilities," it said.
The U.S. report comes after Pyongyang threatened to take the "toughest counteraction" against a United Nations Security Council meeting held on North Korean human rights last week.
North Korea claims the U.S. report, along with other international efforts to bring attention to its human rights conditions, is a U.S.-led scheme to bring down its regime, calling it the most intensive expression of U.S. hostile policy toward Pyongyang.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the reports are not designed to lecture or shame others.
"Rather, it is to provide a resource for those individuals working around the world to safeguard and uphold human dignity when it's under threat, in so many ways," he told a press briefing.
"Human rights are universal. They aren't defined by any one country, philosophy, or region. They apply to everyone everywhere," he added. "And importantly, it applies the same standards to everyone -- our allies and partners and countries with which we have differences."
The state department said the country reports provide "factual, objective information based on credible reports of the events that occurred throughout 2022."
In 2022, only 67 North Korean defectors arrived in South Korea, compared with 1,047 in 2019, highlighting the severity of North Korea's COVID-19 border closure and the risks associated with defecting the country, the report said.
In China, however, as many as 2,000 North Korean escapees were believed to be held as illegal migrants who could be repatriated back to North Korea, the report noted, citing a report by the U.N. special rapporteur on North Korean human rights.
Corruption also continued to remain widespread in "all parts of the economy and society," according to the report.
"Verifiable information was not available on whether criminal penalties for official corruption were applied. International organizations widely reported senior officials engaged in corrupt practices with impunity," it said.
Meanwhile, the country report on South Korea said there were "no reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or unlawful killings."
Still, the report pointed to several human rights issues that faced the country, including restrictions on freedom of expression, citing the National Security Law (NSL), which criminalizes "actions interpreted to be in support of the DPRK or otherwise against the state."
"The law provides for freedom of expression, including for members of the press and other media, and the government generally respected this right," said the report.
"Nonetheless, the government's interpretation and implementation of the NSL and other laws and provisions of the constitution limited freedom of speech and expression, and restricted access to the internet," it added.
Youtube
https://youtu.be/pLA6mBttckE
bdk@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 변덕근 · March 21, 2023
4. Kim Jong-un's 'Faceless' Companion Intrigues Boffins
Enquiring minds want to know.
Photo at the link. https://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2023/03/21/2023032101350.html
Kim Jong-un's 'Faceless' Companion Intrigues Boffins
March 21, 2023 13:11
Mystery surrounds a man in military uniform who was pictured in the state media next to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as he watched a drill simulating a tactical nuclear attack on Monday.
Unprecedentedly, the man's face has been pixelated out, sending observers into a frenzy of speculation.
Judging by his uniform, the man is a two-star army general. To make the mystery complete, he is wearing sunglasses and a face mask.
An intelligence source here offered little illumination. "He's presumed to be an official whose identity is being kept secret like the commander of a tactical nuclear operations unit," the source speculated.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (center) watches a military drill with his daughter and military officials, including a man (far right) whose face is pixelated out, in this photo from the [North] Korean Central News Agency on Monday.
State media also released a list of people who attended the drill. They include Defense Minister Kang Sun-nam, the commander-in-chief of the tactical nuclear operations unit, commanders of missile units on the eastern and western fronts, senior officials of the Workers Party Central Committee, senior officers at the Missile General Bureau, and officials at a nuclear weapons research center.
Most of these are known faces, but the mystery man could be the commander of the tactical nuclear operations unit or the chief of the Missile General Bureau.
That the tactical nuclear unit exists first became known in September and October last year, when Kim supervised a military drill carried out in response to joint South Korea-U.S. exercises.
The pixelation seems to be a "precautionary measure to protect the identity of senior officers at the tactical nuclear operations unit," said Kwak Gil-sop, a former National Intelligence Service officer. "It's also an effective way of preventing someone from becoming a sanctions target."
5. Major N. Korean websites offline as of Tuesday morning
Hmmm... Simply a technical glitch? Internal regime action to exert control? An external actor shutting it down? What would happen if we could somehow cut off the regime's access to its "all purpose sword" of cyber?
Major N. Korean websites offline as of Tuesday morning | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 김수연 · March 21, 2023
SEOUL, March 21 (Yonhap) -- Websites of some major North Korean organs, including the country's state media outlets and the foreign ministry, were knocked offline for an unknown reason Tuesday morning.
As of 9 a.m., there were failures in connecting to North Korean domain names ending in ".kp," such as the official Korean Central News Agency and the main newspaper, the Rodong Sinmun.
The exact cause for the problem was not immediately confirmed.
In January 2022, the North's major websites reportedly suffered a similar problem due to a suspected distributed denial-of-service attack. At that time, the North's internet went down for about six hours.
An image of a hacker's cyberattack (Yonhap)
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 김수연 · March 21, 2023
6. US, China, Russia argue over North Korea at United Nations
The guardian angels of Kim Jong Un: Xi and Putin. China and Russia: ensuring the survival of the Kim family regime since 1950.
US, China, Russia argue over North Korea at United Nations
Reuters · by Michelle Nichols
UNITED NATIONS, March 20 (Reuters) - The United States, China and Russia argued during a United Nations Security Council meeting on Monday over who was to blame for spurring North Korea's dozens of ballistic missile launches and development of a nuclear weapons program.
The 15-member council met over what Pyongyang said was the launch on Thursday of its largest Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile. North Korea has been under U.N. sanctions for its missile and nuclear programs since 2006.
China and Russia blamed joint military drills by the United States and South Korea for provoking Pyongyang while Washington accuses Beijing and Moscow of emboldening North Korea by shielding it from more sanctions.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres "remains deeply concerned over the divisions that have prevented the international community from acting on this matter," a senior U.N. official said at the meeting.
Russia's deputy U.N. Ambassador Anna Evstigneeva described the U.S. and South Korean military activity as "unprecedented," while China's deputy U.N. Ambassador Geng Shuang questioned whether they were defensive drills and blamed them for heightening tensions.
"These exercises are long standing, they are routine. They are purely defensive in nature ... The United States harbors no hostile intent toward the DPRK," said U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield, using its formal name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
For the past several years the council has been divided over how to deal with Pyongyang. Russia and China, veto powers along with the United States, Britain and France, have said more sanctions will not help and want such measures to be eased. Geng said it was intended as a goodwill gesture to try and create favorable conditions for a detente.
Thomas-Greenfield said lifting U.N. sanctions would reward Pyongyang "for doing nothing to comply with Security Council resolutions." She accused Pyongyang of depriving North Koreans of needed humanitarian assistance.
Russia and China also again raised nuclear concerns over a security pact known as AUKUS that will see Australia develop a nuclear-powered submarine program with the United States and Britain.
The United States and Britain both rejected their concerns and told the council that AUKUS does not violate the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Treaty.
"North Korea's illegal nuclear and ballistic missile programs violate multiple Council resolutions. So there's simply no comparison to the AUKUS," Britain's deputy U.N. Ambassador James Kariuki told the council.
Reporting by Michelle Nichols; editing by Grant McCool
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Reuters · by Michelle Nichols
7. N. Korea conducts training in response to joint military training
Perhaps. Or perhaps it is not in response to alliance combined training. Maybe this is nKPA training at the end of the annual Winter Training Cycle.
N. Korea conducts training in response to joint military training
donga.com
Posted March. 21, 2023 07:46,
Updated March. 21, 2023 07:46
N. Korea conducts training in response to joint military training. March. 21, 2023 07:46. .
A North Korean media reported Monday that the country’s tactical nuclear forces conducted a virtual comprehensive tactical training for nuclear counterattacks on Saturday and Sunday. The issuance and receipt of nuclear attack orders, handling of nuclear weapons, and operation procedures were inspected on the first day, followed by a launch of a tactical ballistic missile loaded with a simulated nuclear warhead, which was detonated at an 800-meter altitude after traveling 800 kilometers and reaching the target location. “We need to fully prepare the arrangement for nuclear attacks, which can be quickly and accurately operated any time, to be committed to a strategic mission of deterring wars,” said North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
According to the North’s claim, its capabilities of tactical nuclear weapons have become technologically sophisticated and entered the operation phase with preparedness for actual nuclear attacks. It is indeed noticeable that North Korea showed off its technological capabilities for detonation control: launching a nuclear missile to a target location in the sky and detonating it at a specific altitude. However, attention should be paid to the fact that the country conducted a practice for nuclear attack commanding system management on the previous day. This means that the country developed a nuclear command and control (NC2) system, from issuing an order for nuclear attacks, combining nuclear weapons, and launching them, and conducted training to learn the procedures.
North Korea enacted the national nuclear force policy in September, which states that nuclear attacks can be launched if the country’s leadership is in danger or if a war unfolds unfavorably against the country. It practically institutionalized the dangerous operation of the ‘Doomsday Machine,’ which means nuclear weapons can be automatically launched if the leadership experiences special incidents. It’s unlikely that the country’s nuclear attack system, which will be quickly operated at an arbitrary time and under unexpected circumstances, is equipped with safety measures to prevent accidental nuclear wars caused by misjudgment or accidents.
It is concerning what kind of crises the Korean Peninsula will be driven to by the ‘nuclear fanatics’ of North Korea who simply believe in the terrifying power of nuclear weapons. North Korea conducted the nuclear attack posture training during a large-scale joint training called ‘Freedom Shield’ between South Korea and the U.S. North Korea used to remain quiet during the deployment of the U.S.’s strategic assets or joint training between South Korea and the U.S. However, it committed bold provocations by launching ballistic missiles right before B-1B strategic bomber entered the operations area above the Korean Peninsula. South Korea and the U.S. should have tighter surveillance and a more dominant ability to punish the North to make a firm warning against the apocalyptic outcomes that Kim Jong Un’s reckless gambling would bring.
한국어
donga.com
8. South Korea levies sanctions on North in response to latest ICBM launch
Excerpts:
The list contains 77 items including relevant optical equipment, antenna, sensors and GPS systems, according to the ministry.
“The list has been shared with major allies and partner nations, so that it can be utilized for their own export restrictions on the North,” it said.
Tuesday
March 21, 2023
dictionary + A - A
South Korea levies sanctions on North in response to latest ICBM launch
https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2023/03/21/national/northKorea/korea-north-korea-sanctions/20230321111439654.html
A photo released by the official North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Monday showing a rocket launch during a tactical drill to bolster the country's war deterrence and nuclear counterattack capability at an undisclosed location in North Korea. [EPA/YONHAP]
South Korea levied unilateral sanctions on the North to target individuals and organizations tied to its weapons programs and satellite industry on Tuesday in response to its latest intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launch.
“The South Korean government prepared a list of items that North Korea uses in its satellite industry, to ensure that these items do not get exported to the North via a third country,” said the Foreign Ministry in its statement on Tuesday.
The list contains 77 items including relevant optical equipment, antenna, sensors and GPS systems, according to the ministry.
“The list has been shared with major allies and partner nations, so that it can be utilized for their own export restrictions on the North,” it said.
A general view of a United Nations security council meeting on non-proliferation and the DPRK, or North Korea, at the United Nations headquarters in New York City on Monday. [AFP/YONHAP]
Included in the sanctions were four individuals and six organizations tied to the North’s nuclear and missile development, including Ri Yong-gil, vice marshal and defense minister of North Korea, and two Singapore-based companies.
“They have either partaken in the nuclear and missile development of the North, hired a North Korean IT worker, or took part in illegal financial activities such as money laundering for the North,” said the ministry in its statement.
Any Korean entity wishing to engage with the sanctioned individuals or organizations for financial transactions will need the approval of the Bank of Korea or the Financial Services Commission.
The latest unilateral sanctions were the fifth levied by the Yoon Suk Yeol administration on North Korea, bringing the total sanctioned individuals to 35 and the organizations to 41.
North Korea launched a Hwasong-17 ICBM on March 16, known to be North Korea’s most advanced ICBM, capable of targeting anywhere in the United States when fired at a normal angle.
The test came just two hours and 40 minutes before Yoon was to travel to Japan for a historic summit and discuss threats from the regime. It also coincided with the ongoing Seoul-Washington combined military exercise, the largest to be held in five years.
The UN Security Council convened in New York on Monday but came up empty-handed again in condemning the North's continued violations of the council resolutions.
"I know two members of this council believe we should stay silent, but council silence is not working," said Linda Thomas-Greenfield, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, addressing the council members. "How many times must the DPRK [Democratic People's Republic of Korea] violate its UN Security Council resolution obligations before China and Russia stop shielding the DPRK regime?
"From my perspective, enough is enough."
The Security Council, which used to consistently issue resolutions to punish Pyongyang for its military provocations from 2006, failed to issue a sanctions resolution for the first time in May last year.
Russia and China, part of the five permanent members of the council, vetoed the U.S.-drafted resolution to strengthen sanctions on North Korea. A sanctions resolution at the council requires the support of all permanent members.
The council also held an informal meeting on the North Korean human rights issue last Friday, where 14 members out of the total 15 at the council were present, including Russia and China.
"The discussions were focused on ensuring that the human rights situation in the North becomes part of the official agenda on North Korea addressed by the council," said a Foreign Ministry official in meeting with a group of reporters in Seoul on Tuesday.
Thomas-Greenfield, speaking with the press after the meeting, said the meeting highlighted "the clear links between the DPRK's human rights violations and abuses and its development of weapons of mass destruction."
BY ESTHER CHUNG [chung.juhee@joongang.co.kr]
9. North Korea's use of missile silo could mean less warning of launches - analysts
Does a combination of silos and mobile launchers indicate the regime's attempt to protect its nuclear force to allow for a second strike? Or is this part of a deception plan - make us think that it is developing a silo infrastructure so we target all the known silo locations and waste our missiles trying to destroy the entire system that consists of dummy silos? After all, North Korea is the master of denial and deception.
Excerpt:
North Korea typically relies on mobile launchers, but the country's lack of infrastructure could make launches from such trucks challenging, Yang said.
"But the downside is that silos can be detected with satellite imagery, so someone would always keep an eye on them, and they might just be incapacitated in a preemptive strike," he added.
North Korea's use of missile silo could mean less warning of launches - analysts
Reuters · by Hyonhee Shin
SEOUL, March 20 (Reuters) - North Korea's presumed use of a silo in its latest missile test was aimed at boosting the speed and reliability of launches, and could be used in future flights of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), analysts said on Monday.
State media called Sunday's launch of the solid-fuelled KN-23, a short-range ballistic missile (SRBM), the latest in the isolated country's recent series of missile tests, an element of drills simulating a nuclear counterattack against the U.S. and South Korea.
State media photos showed that the missile soared from what appeared to be a buried silo, which analysts say would help fire missiles with little warning while evading outside monitoring, as Pyongyang races to perfect ICBMs capable of striking anywhere in the U.S.
"With a silo, you can quickly fire a missile, almost immediately," said Yang Uk, a fellow at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul. "And without launch preparations being detected in advance, you can just press a button."
A North Korean flag flutters on top of the 160-metre tall tower at North Korea's propaganda village of Gijungdong, in this picture taken from Tae Sung freedom village near the Military Demarcation Line (MDL), inside the demilitarised zone separating the two Koreas, in Paju, South Korea, September 30, 2019. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji
Unlike the KN-23, liquid-fuelled missiles such as North Korea's Hwasong-17 ICBM require time for fuelling. With a silo that can take place underground, out of sight.
North Korea typically relies on mobile launchers, but the country's lack of infrastructure could make launches from such trucks challenging, Yang said.
"But the downside is that silos can be detected with satellite imagery, so someone would always keep an eye on them, and they might just be incapacitated in a preemptive strike," he added.
Decker Eveleth at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in California said North Korea started breaking ground on the silo in late January, which means the deployment time for a missile based in such a structure could be less than 60 days.
Joseph Dempsey, a defence researcher at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said satellite imagery on Feb. 13 and March 18 indicated recent excavation and construction of possible fixed launch sites at the North's Sohae missile launching station.
Reporting by Hyonhee Shin. Editing by Gerry Doyle
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Reuters · by Hyonhee Shin
10. Daily NK acquires full text of the anti-reactionary thought law
Excerpts below. The regime is deathly afraid of outside information.
Access the full text HERE
Excerpt:
The law’s first chapter (Basics of the Reactionary Ideology and Culture Rejection Act) defines reactionary thought and culture as “rotten ideology and culture of hostile forces including South Korean publications that paralyzes the people’s revolutionary sense of ideology and social class, and deteriorates and depraves our society, as well as all types of impure and absurd ideology and culture that are not in our own style.” In short, the law states that South Korean movies, dramas, news and other outside content are reactionary thought and culture.
Daily NK acquires full text of the anti-reactionary thought law
The law, which was amended in August 2022, is made up of four chapters and 41 articles and has some slight differences to explanatory materials obtained by the organization in early 2021
By Seulkee Jang - 2023.03.21 5:00pm
dailynk.com
A panorama of Pyongyang published in state media in December 2019. (Rodong Sinmun - News1)
Daily NK is the first news outlet to have acquired the full text of the “Reactionary Ideology and Culture Rejection Act of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,” otherwise known as the “anti-reactionary thought law.” The full text of the law confirms that North Koreans who smuggle in, distribute, or encourage group viewing of movies and dramas from enemy countries can face the death penalty.
The full text of the law acquired by Daily NK is a version of the law that was amended and supplemented by Order No. 1028 of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly on August 19, 2022. The law is made up of four chapters and 41 articles.
The first chapter of the law (articles 1-7) concerns the definitions and aims of the anti-reactionary thought law, while the second chapter (articles 8-14) describes the duties required of officials to stop spread of reactionary thought and culture. The third chapter (articles 15-26) includes a list of media devices and content prohibited by the government along with stipulating bans on the consumption and distribution of reactionary thought and culture. The fourth chapter (article 27-40) stipulates in detail the punishments to be delivered to violators of the law.
REGIME EXPRESSES CONCERN ABOUT CULTURE OF “HOSTILE FORCES”
The law’s first chapter (Basics of the Reactionary Ideology and Culture Rejection Act) defines reactionary thought and culture as “rotten ideology and culture of hostile forces including South Korean publications that paralyzes the people’s revolutionary sense of ideology and social class, and deteriorates and depraves our society, as well as all types of impure and absurd ideology and culture that are not in our own style.” In short, the law states that South Korean movies, dramas, news and other outside content are reactionary thought and culture.
Article 5 (Principle of Reinforcing Ideological and Cultural Education) stipulates that “under circumstances where enemies’ ideological and cultural infiltration schemes are becoming increasingly cunning and heinous, the State shall further strengthen ideological and cultural education for the people so that they are not imbued with reactionary ideology and culture.” This acknowledges that the enactment of the law was due to the political burdens created by the spread of foreign content and its impact on people in the country.
Article 7 (Principle of Punishment of Offenders of Reactionary Ideology and Culture Rejection Order) stipulates that “the State shall enforce strict legal sanctions up to and including death penalty against any citizen bringing in, viewing, and distributing reactionary ideology and culture, depending on the severity, regardless of the reason and the offender’s social class.”
VIOLATORS OF THE LAW CAN FACE EXECUTION
Chapter 4 stipulates punishments for violators of the law. Article 27 (Crime of Distributing South Korean Ideology and Culture) details the punishments given to people who smuggle or distribute South Korean movies and video recordings.
Specifically, the articles states that “any person who views, listens to, or possesses South Korean movies, video recordings, compilations, books, songs, drawings, or photographs, or who brings in and distributes South Korean songs, drawings, photographs, or designs shall be sentenced to five to 10 years of reform through labor. If the severity of the crime is deemed high, the offender shall be sentenced to reform through labor for 10 years or more.” The article goes on to stipulate that “any person who brings in or distributes South Korean movies, video recordings, compilations, and books shall be sentenced to reform through labor for life.”
Article 28 (Crime of Distributing Ideology and Cuture of Hostile Countries) stipulates that “any person who views, listens to, or possesses movies, video recordings, books, songs, drawings, or photographs of hostile countries, or who brings in and distributes songs, drawings, photographs, or designs of hostile countries shall be sentenced to reform through labor for up to five years,” and that “if the severity of the crime is deemed high, the offender shall be sentenced to five to 10 years of reform through labor.”
Similar to Article 27, Article 28 stipulates that people who smuggle or distribute foreign content shall face 10 or more years of reform through labor, a punishment heavier than those given to people who simply consume foreign media. It goes on to state that “any person who brings in or distributes a large amount of movies, video recordings, compilations, and books of hostile countries to a large number of people, or who supports or encourages other people to view or read them in a group shall be sentenced to reform through labor for life or the death penalty.”
Meanwhile, Article 29 (Crime of Distributing Adult Videos and Sexually Explicit Materials and Spreading Superstition) sets forth punishments for people who view or possess adult videos, sexually explicit or superstitutous movies, video recordings, compilations, books, photographs or drawings. The punishments for these violations are the same as those stipulated in Article 28, ranging from at least five years of reform through labor up to the death penalty.
Article 32 (Crime of Reproducing South Korean Culture) sets forth that “any person who speaks, writes, or sings in the South Korean style, or produces publications in South Korean font shall be sentenced to short-term disciplinary labor. If the severity of the crime is deemed high, the offender shall be sentenced to reform through labor up to 2 years.” The Pyongyang Cultural Language Protection Act, which was recently enacted by North Korea, appears to have intensified the punishments detailed in this section of the anti-reactionary thought law.
The anti-reactionary thought law also stipulates punishments of short-term disciplinary labor, reform through labor, and the payment of fines for the consumption of foreign content through the illegal use of televisions and radios (Article 33); the crime of not reporting any activities involved in the smuggling, viewing or distribution of South Korean videos and adult videos (Article 34); and illegally installing operating system programs on cell phones of other people or possessing mobile phones manufactured in other countries (Article 35). The law even lays out punishments for parents when crimes related to reactionary ideology and culture occur as a result of their failure to educate and discipline their children (Article 37).
NORTH KOREA AMENDS AND SUPPLEMENTS ORIGINAL LAW
North Korea enacted the anti-reactionary thought law at the 12th Plenary Session of the 14th Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly in December 2020. At the time, the Rodong Sinmun stated that the law would “further cement our ideological, revolutionary and class positions by thoroughly preventing the inroads and spread of anti-socialist ideology and culture and firming maintaining our ideology, spirit and culture” and “must be observed by all institutions, enterprises, organizations and citizens.” The regime did not divulge any further details about the new law.
In January 2021, Daily NK obtained explanatory materials regarding the law and reported on punishments that could be levied against violators of the law.
The full text of the anti-reactionary thought law Daily NK obtained has some differences with the explanatory materials the outlet acquired in early 2021. In the explanatory materials, the punishments detailed in Article 27 of the law range from five to 15 years of reform through labor, but the full text of the law has been amended to stipulate at least five years and up to 10 years of reform through labor, and that in cases where the severity of the crime is deemed high, violators can face more than 10 years of reform through labor.
Article 27 of the explanatory materials states that “any person who brings in or distributes South Korean movies, video recordings, compilations, and books shall be sentenced to reform through labor for life or the death penalty depending on the severity of the crime, and anyone who organizes or encourages group viewing [of foreign content] shall face the death penalty.” Article 27 of the full text of the law, however, does not include these provisions. North Korea appears to have revised the law in August 2022, amending and supplementing some of the law’s provisions, but it is unclear why these changes were made.
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
The full text of the anti-reactionary thought law in English and Korean is available through the PDF file below.
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dailynk.com
11. [Column] New strategy for North Korean human rights
We need a human rights upfront approach.
Conclusion:
The Yoon Suk Yeol administration promised to normalize the North Korea Human Rights Act and come up with practical measures to improve the rights situation in North Korea. We need a new strategy to improve North Korean human rights amid the advancing nuclear and missile capabilities of the North and international sanctions.
Just as Pyongyang uses its nuclear and missile programs to promote regime security, South Korea and the international community must use human rights to promote the safety of the North Korean people. We must clearly remember that the COI recommended 10 years ago that not only the North Korean authorities but also the international community take responsibility for protecting the North Koreans’ human rights.
Tuesday
March 21, 2023
dictionary + A - A
[Column] New strategy for North Korean human rights
Yoon Yeo-sang
The author is head of the Database Center for North Korean Human Rights.
The most connotative word used to describe the human rights situation in North Korea is “gloomy.” The word is used when the current situation is extremely bad and there is almost no possibility of improvement in the future. Since issuing a North Korea human rights resolution in 2003, the United Nations has been playing a leading role to improve the gloomy human rights situation in the North. Since the conferences of the UN Commission on Human Rights in 2003 and General Assembly in 2005, the United Nations has adopted strong resolutions demanding the improvement of human rights situation in North Korea for 20 consecutive years.
Especially, the United Nations Human Rights Council’s 47 member countries unanimously agreed to start the Commission of Inquiry (COI) on Human Rights in the North on March 21, 2013. Differently from other COIs, the one dedicated to North Korea was agreed to unanimously at the United Nations for the first time. The commission was composed of three human rights experts and Chairman Michael Kirby, a former Justice of the High Court of Australia. The commission issued a mission to the members to spend one year to investigate and make a report on specific human rights violations regarding nine particular issues, including violations of the right to food, violations associated with prison camps, torture and inhuman treatment, violations of the right to life and enforced disappearances, including abductions of nationals of other countries.
The commission released its report on Feb. 7, 2014. It was the first outcome of inquiry directly done by the UN on the North’s human rights situation. It is, by far, considered the most reliable and trustworthy report in the international community. It not only surveyed the rights situation in the North, but also offered recommendations to the North Korean authority and international community on improvements. The commission concluded that the North Korean authority had committed extensive, organized and grave violations of human rights, and the violations are serious enough to be tried by the International Criminal Court as crimes against humanity. The report also made it clear that North Korea was responsible of specific offenses of inhumane crimes.
Although the report did not specify the name of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, it made clear that the supreme ruler of the country is responsible for the crimes. The report urged that the supreme ruler and other responsible people be referred to the International Criminal Court on charges of crimes against humanity and called on the international community to respond to the situation and exercise Responsibility to Protect (R2P) for the North Korean people.
R2P states that countries have a fundamental responsibility to protect their citizens. If they fail to do so, that responsibility falls on the international community. R2P was a concept adopted after the global community failed to respond to the massive ethnic cleansing and genocides which took place during the civil war in Rwanda and the Kosovo war.
The establishment, operation and report publication of the COI marked a turning point for the international community to shift its attentions from nuclear and missile programs to human rights issues. And yet, actual improvements were rarely made, despite the UN’s efforts. North Korean authorities appeared to have taken some actions by introducing rights protection clauses and making some improvements, but they are far from the expectations of the international community. Without a change in the perception of the North Korean authorities, which put higher priority on the safety of the regime over the protection of individuals’ rights, it is impossible to expect a dramatic change in the situation.
Even during the 1990s, when North Korea experienced massive starvation due to food shortages, it ignored the international community’s concerns and support and instead obsessed with developing nuclear weapons and missiles. As a result, the North’s isolation became more serious. Deaths from starvation were recently reported in Kaesong city, Hwanghae Province.
The Moon Jae-in administration had faced criticisms from the international community by having forcibly and secretly repatriated two young fishermen who had defected from the North, introducing a ban on sending leaflets to the North, oppressing activist groups promoting North Korean human rights, and disabling the North Korea Human Rights Act. Because of the North’s inhumane and regressive attitude and the South Korean government’s uncooperative attitude, countries that have led activities to improve the rights situation in the North, such as the United States and Europe, felt exhausted.
The Yoon Suk Yeol administration promised to normalize the North Korea Human Rights Act and come up with practical measures to improve the rights situation in North Korea. We need a new strategy to improve North Korean human rights amid the advancing nuclear and missile capabilities of the North and international sanctions.
Just as Pyongyang uses its nuclear and missile programs to promote regime security, South Korea and the international community must use human rights to promote the safety of the North Korean people. We must clearly remember that the COI recommended 10 years ago that not only the North Korean authorities but also the international community take responsibility for protecting the North Koreans’ human rights.
Translation by the Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
12. President Yoon refutes criticism of fence-mending summit with Japan
Stay tough and focused, Mr. President.
President Yoon refutes criticism of fence-mending summit with Japan
The Korea Times · March 21, 2023
President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the presidential office in Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap
Tokyo's claims on Dokdo, sexual slavery major drag on restoring ties
By Nam Hyun-woo
President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday refuted domestic criticism against his efforts to mend ties with Japan despite Tokyo's reluctance to issue an additional apology for its past wartime wrongdoings, saying that neglecting the frayed relationship with the neighboring country for political interest is tantamount to dereliction of the president's duty.
"The previous government left the troubled relationship between South Korea and Japan untouched and this resulted in the people of both countries and ethnic South Koreans living in Japan suffering, and the security and economies of both countries falling into a deep abyss," Yoon said during his 25-minute opening speech at a Cabinet meeting.
"I also could have chosen an easy path for immediate political gains and left the worst-ever South Korea-Japan relations unaddressed. However, I believed that neglecting grave international circumstances and exploiting the hostile nationalism and anti-Japan sentiment for domestic politics are nothing more than abandoning my duties as the president."
Yoon's unscheduled speech came amid his faltering job approval ratings after last week's summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
Fueling anti-Japan sentiment among South Koreans is the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) that has been harshly criticizing the president for having "paid tribute to Japan" with his "abysmal summit."
Earlier this month, the South Korean government announced an alternative plan to compensate victims of forced labor by Japanese companies during World War II through a fund created by Korean companies, without the direct involvement of the Japanese firms.
After announcing the plan, Yoon visited Tokyo last week and had a summit with Kishida, where the two leaders decided to revoke measures that the two countries imposed on each other when their relations were at the lowest ebb, and agreed to improve bilateral ties. This, however, triggered a backlash in his home country and the DPK, as Japan did not issue an additional apology for forcing Koreans to labor at its factories during World War II, while Japanese newspapers alleged that their government made further demands related to historical issues.
"In our society, there are groups which are seeking political gains by evoking exclusive nationalism and anti-Japan sentiment," Yoon said, referring to the DPK's criticism. "Japan has expressed its remorse and apologies over the history issue tens of times."
Yoon cited past apologies released by the Japanese government, including the 1998 joint declaration announced by then South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi. In the declaration, Obuchi expressed his deep remorse and apology for the "tremendous damage and suffering" the South Korean people experienced during Japan's 1910-45 colonial occupation.
During his remarks, Yoon stressed the necessity of improving ties with Japan, citing the challenges the nation faces.
"Amid comprehensive crises, including the escalating strategic competition between the United States and China, global supply chain disruptions and North Korea's increasing nuclear threats, the necessity of cooperation between Seoul and Tokyo is ever increasing," Yoon said.
"Historically, and culturally, the two countries are the closest neighbors. Germany and France have sacrificed numerous lives as enemies during World War II, but quickly reconciled and became the closest neighbors cooperating with each other."
Yoon said a number of advantages are expected as Seoul and Tokyo mend ties, citing a stable chip industry supply chain, joint efforts for carbon neutrality and joint entry into third markets as examples.
Main opposition Democratic Party of Korea floor leader Park Hong-keun, center, speaks during a party meeting at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap
While Yoon painted a rosy outlook of bilateral ties, the main opposition party threatened to launch an investigation into the recent developments, calling Yoon, Director of National Security Kim Sung-han, First Deputy Director of National Security Kim Tae-hyo and other key aides as "traitors."
The DPK has criticized Yoon's outreach to Tokyo as "submissive diplomacy" and raised suspicions that the president made unannounced concessions to Japan, citing Japanese news reports that Kishida made claims on Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo and demanded Seoul abide by a 2015 agreement on wartime sexual slavery, while lifting its import ban on fisheries products from Japan's Fukushima region, which was hit by a tsunami that crippled nuclear reactors in 2011.
"Including the questionable compensation plan for forced labor victims, we will question the truth behind the summit, including the issues of Dokdo, sexual slavery agreement, Fukushima fisheries products, and correct this submissive diplomacy," DPK floor leader Park Hong-keun said.
A day earlier, South Korea's presidential office expressed regret to Japan over a series of "distorted" reports alleging that the two leaders had discussed those issues. The office has been reiterating that the issues of former sex slaves and Dokdo were never discussed during the summit, while the import ban was brought up by Japanese lawmakers during a separate meeting they had with Yoon.
The Korea Times · March 21, 2023
13. What are North Korea’s Instructions to Spies? North Korea-instructed Slogans Appear in Demonstrations in South Korea
There has been very little reporting on the arrests of South Koreans accused of being agents of north Korea.
Photos and images at the link.
What are North Korea’s Instructions to Spies? North Korea-instructed Slogans Appear in Demonstrations in South Korea
https://eastasiaresearch.org/2023/03/20/what-are-north-koreas-instructions-to-spies-north-korea-instructed-slogans-appear-in-demonstrations-in-south-korea/
PUBLISHED DATEMARCH 20, 2023
LAST MODIFIED DATEMARCH 20, 2023
AUTHOR_
COMMENTS: 0
2023-3-20, Tara O
Various spy rings have been uncovered in South Korea, including those in the Changwon, Chungju, Jeju, and the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) (aka Minju NoChong). See here and here for details.
North Korea, through the Cultural Exchange Brureau, gave them orders, many of which were carried out. The First orders were to organize underground organizations and recruit members. These organizations then implemented activities that reflect the instructions from North Korea, many of them specific, including precisely worded slogans at demonstrations.
The Cultural Exchange Bureau is an intelligence organization of the Korean Workers’ Party that conducts anti-South Korea operations.
Anti-U.S., anti-Japan, anti-National Security
Documents obtained by the authorities from searching the KCTU offices and residences of related suspects show that in February 2021, North Korea instructed them to “carry out slogans such as dismantling the South Korea-U.S.-Japan military alliance (cooperation) and aggressively wage an anti-U.S. struggle” and “Slogans for the struggle to withdraw U.S. Forces Korea will expand to a wide regional scope.” In May 2021, North Korea also ordered, “continue to wage various anti-U.S. struggles.”
North Korea also ordered the group “People’s Vanguard” to conduct anti-U.S. struggles. During an August 15, 2022 demonstration and regional rallies leading up to it, People’s Vanguard conducted numerous anti-U.S. demonstrations throughout South Korea, holding slogans, such as “Dissolve the South Korea-U.S. alliance.”
Another organization, the Chungbuk Comrades Association for Independent Unification [Jaju Tongil Chungbuk Dongjihoi (자주통일 충북동지회)] also referred to as the Chungju Spy Ring, also carried out North Korean orders to engage in anti-U.S. activities by conducting “anti-F-35 import” demonstrations.
For other anti-U.S. and anti-alliance demonstrations by KCTU, see here.
KCTU demonstration on 2022-8-13. The placard: “Oppose Korea-US-Japan Military Cooperation”
As part of Kim Il-sung’s GatGeun Tactics (Hat String Tactics) of severing ROK (Republic of Korea)-U.S. relations and the alliance by attacking ROK-Japan relations, North Korea conducts anti-Japan activities to stoke anti-Japan sentiment in South Korea to weaken ROK-Japan relations. As ROK-U.S.-Japan cooperation was promoted in May 2021, North Korea ordered to “argue that discharge of (radioactive) contaminated water from Japan would bring a catastrophe to the Korean peninsula and to circulate gossips about (radioactive) monsters on the internet, such as the “appearance of monster fish.”
Anti-Republic of Korea (ROK), a liberal democracy and market economy
The members of the People’s Vanguard for Independent Unification (자주통일 민중전위), abbreviated as JaTong (자통), are also under investigation. North Korea, through the Cultural Exchange Bureau, ordered People’s Vanguard to “Blame the South Korean government and foment division of public opinion.”
North Korea also instructed People’s Vanguard, “In accordance with its ‘Revolutionary Strategy for the South (대남혁명전략)’.. wage anti-U.S. and anti-state struggles and public opinion battles and expand mass struggles demanding the removal of the regime through candlelight vigils and press conferences featuring the organizations of workers, farmers, and students.”
After the May 2022 ROK-U.S. summit, North Korea also instructed People’s Vanguard to call it “committing pro-U.S. begging” activities. North Korea noted, “While begging for cooperation in pressuring North Korea, he (President Yoon) showed his determination to confront North Korea,” and ordered People’s Vanguard to “struggle to suspend ROK-U.S. military exercises in conjunction with civic groups and fight through candlelight vigils.” People’s Vanguard followed up by distributing cards calling the summit a “foreign policy disaster.”
The Cultural Exchange Bureau also targeted the South Korean economy as well as the government by calling for a general strike in South Korea through the KCTU. In June 2022, North Korea issued an order to People’s Vanguard to have “KCTU lead the overall anti-government struggle by vigorously carrying out large-scale intensive struggles during July, such as collective general strikes, workers’ resolution congresses, and sectoral strikes.” In fact, there were numerous strikes, including the Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Strike.
During the strike by Cargo Solidarity (화물연대) in 2022, the Korean Workers’ Party instructed “all patriotic unification forces form a solidarity to provoke public outrage.” By “unification forces,” North Korea means those who support unified Korea under its rule, which is why it also describes the “unification force” as “patriotic.” The Cargo Solidarity is under the Korean Federation of Public & Social Services and Transportation Workers’ Union (전국공공운수사회서비스노조), which is a member of KCTU.
Anti-Yoon Suk-yeol
North Korea also sent slogans to spy suspects in the KCTU to be used during the demonstrations after the deaths on Halloween night in Itaewon in October 2022, which were actually used: “the Citizens are Dying” (“국민이 죽어간다”), (President Yoon Suk-yeol) “Stepping Down is Condolences” (“퇴진이 추모다”),” “Is This a (normal) Country?”
Anti-Yoon Candlelight Vigil 2022-11-26 in Seoul. Pickets: Yoon Suk-yeol Step Down!; Stepping Down is Condolences; Special Prosecution for Kim Keon-hee (First Lady)
In April 2021, when Yoon Suk-yeol’s presidential candidacy (North Korea termed it “grand aspiration”) was raised, North Korea also instructed People’s Vaguard for Independent Unification (JaTong) to “launch a public opinion battle that the revival of the conservative government will lead to a second Roh Moo-hyun tragedy.” Prior to the last presidential elections, North Korea also instructed the People’s Vanguard’s sockpuppet team (that posts online comments) to “impersonate ultra-conservative groups, including the “Taegukki (ROK flag) army” and disseminate creepy a rumor that “the Grand absurdity (Yoon Suk-yeol’s run for presidency) is a ploy by the ruling party (then the Democratic Party of Korea) to increase turmoil among the conservatives.”
(Note: A massive number of Korean citizens who rallied weekly with South Korean and U.S. flags for years since late 2016 to oppose the impeachment of then-president Park Geun-hye and to support the strong ROK-U.S. alliance, and later expanded to other causes, such as opposing Cho Kuk’s corruption scandal, are not “ultra” or “extreme.” They support freedom, rule of law, strong ROK-U.S. alliance, fair and free elections, separation of powers, market economy, etc.)
When President Yun’s approval rating fell in November 2022, North Korea ordered People’s Vanguard to launch a struggle to demand his resignation. The members of People’s Vanguard implemented the orders by participating in anti-U.S., anti-government demonstrations. Numerous anti-Yoon demonstrations did follow.
After People’s Vanguard reported to North Korea in October 2022 that Yoon’s poll had fallen, North Korea responded, “as the atmosphere of distrust and ostracism against Yoon Seok-yeol’s traitorous clique is increasing, aim to raise a second major people’s candlelight protest demanding Yoon Seok-yeol’s ouster.” [Note: North Korea denotes this is the “second” candlelight protest to demand an ouster of a sitting president. The “first” candlelight protest demanded the ouster of a sitting president at the time Park Geun-hye, and it succeeded.]
North Korea’s additional instructions included “organize groups to travel (to Seoul to join the major candlelight demonstrations) after regional candlelight vigils” and “introduce the farmers’ struggle for rice price stabilization,” yet another theme to promote farmers’ participation and to add another justification for the candlelight demonstrations.
Anti-conservative (pro-ROK as a liberal democracy and market economy)
North Korea has even issued orders to counter conservative YouTube channels by infiltrating as well as posing as conservative YouTube followers, and posting comments that elicit public criticism.
Anti-investigation
North Korea gave instructions on how to respond to the South Korean authorities who investigate the spy cases. North Korea instructed groups to provoke public outrage by calling the investigation by South Korea’s counterintelligence authorities “public security repression,” which distracts from the essence of the case, which is spying for North Korea. Indeed, they have used narratives like “suppression of labor unions” and “a public security case fabricated by the NIS” for investigating the spy suspects for their activities that should be investigated: meetings with the agents of North Korea’s intelligence apparatus, the Cultural Exchange Bureau (formerly Office 225), which has a specific mission of conducting anti-South Korea operations, and receiving spycraft training and instructions, pledging allegiance to North Korea, and joining the Korean Workers’ Party based in Pyongyang, to name a few.
Loyal to the Kim Family Regime in North Korea
During the search and seizure of KCTU offices, People’s Vanguard, and other related places, the authorities also seized documents on members’ loyalty to North Korea and the Kim regime.
The suspects at KCTU wrote oaths pledging allegiance to North Korea, praising Kim Il-sung’s Juche ideology and Kim Jong-un’s leadership. These oaths were written around specific North Korean holidays, such as Kim Jong-il’s birthday (February 16) and the founding day of the Workers’ Party of Korea (October 10).
People’s Vanguard also pledged allegiance to the Kim family regime in North Korea. In its covenant, it states, “We hold Marshal Kim Jong-un, who inherited the ideas of the great (Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il) Grand Marshals and the cause of the Juche revolution, as the leader of our revolution, and unconditionally and absolutely abide by the sole leadership of the Marshal.
Its creeds include:
- “Overthrow the U.S. imperialist aggressor forces and its subordinate pro-U.S. ruling group, and establish an independent (jaju) democratic (minju) government by uniting the expansive minjok and jaju (independent) capabilities under the leadership of the workers and masses (minjung).” (Note: The dictionary defines “minjok” as nation or people. When Koreans use the term in the context of Korea, it means ethnic Koreans. When North Korea uses the term “minjok,” it has a specific meaning that does not mean all Koreans. To the North Korean regime and its supporters, it means those who adhere to Juche ideology and the Kim family regime’s rule, in effect, a “Kim Il-sung tribe.”)
- Thoroughly liquidate the remnants of US imperialism and pro-US flunkyistic tendencies in all areas of society, including politics, military, economy, and culture, and realize complete minjok independence (jaju)
- Establish a federated (yeonbang, 연방) unified state (federation) based on the principles of independence (jaju), peace, and great minjok unity to complete the task of unifying the motherland, which is the pursuit of the minjok.
(Note: Unification by federation based on jaju, peace, and great minjok unity is North Korea’s publicly stated goal. It is important to note that the terms jaju, peace, and minjok are part of North Korea’s Terminology Confusion Tactics to confuse the unsuspecting public. North Kim regime means no U.S. military in Korea and no South Korea-U.S. alliance when it uses the term “jaju.” For details, see “North Korea’s Plan for Unification by Federation: What It Really Means,” in the International Journal of Korean Studies Spring/Sumer 2022 found here.)
A North Korean poster emphasizing “Jaju (자주) (independent) unification.” The word “minjok” (민족) also appears in the background.
North Korea’s goal of Unified Korea under its rule
North Korea has conducted subversive activities against South Korea for decades in order to unify Korea under the Kim regime. Dr. Yoo Dong-ryul of Korea Institute of Liberal Democracy explains that since the times of Kim Il-sung, North Korea has issued guidelines to “strengthen the capacity of the revolution in South Korea” and “North Korea has continued to send espionage agents to South Korea to support pro-North Korea and left-wing forces carrying out various operations, or inciting chaos in politics, economy, and society of South Korea.”
14. The cost of North Korea’s illicit missile launches is being borne by its people: UK Statement at the Security Council
From the UK.
The cost of North Korea’s illicit missile launches is being borne by its people: UK Statement at the Security Council
gov.uk
Statement by Ambassador James Kariuki at the UN Security Council briefing on North Korea
From:
Published
20 March 2023
Location:
UN Security Council
Delivered on:
20 March 2023 (Transcript of the speech, exactly as it was delivered)
Thank you, President. I also thank ASG Jencča for his briefing today, and welcome the participation of the Republic of Korea.
The UK condemns the launch by the DPRK of a further intercontinental ballistic missile on 16 March. This was the DPRK’s tenth ICBM launch since the start of 2022.
Make no mistake. This missile wasn’t designed, built, deployed and launched overnight. The DPRK first displayed this type in 2020. It has been tested multiple times since in a long-planned development process, in defiance of this Council’s decisions, and shielded by two of its members.
Those same members may seek to equate lawful defensive military exercises with the DPRK’s actions. Let’s be clear. Defensive exercises are safe when they are notified to other states in advance, and when they operate within defined areas, as South Korean and US exercises have done.
We should protect the credibility of this Council by challenging these violations with a firm and united response. Five years of inaction, forced on the Council by two members, have left no one safer. Now is the time for a comprehensive resolution that addresses international security concerns with new targeted measures, while also setting conditions for renewed dialogue, and facilitating aid.
We should recall that the cost of these illicit launches is being borne by the North Korean people, whose government diverts resources from peoples’ basic economic needs toward its illegal weapons programme. We call on the DPRK to allow UN international staff to enter the country. Sanctions exemptions are in place to support expedited humanitarian assistance.
We again call on all member states to fully implement existing Resolutions, which all Council members voted for multiple times, to counter the continued development of the DPRK’s prohibited programmes.
Finally, President, we call on the DPRK to cease these launches and engage meaningfully with offers from the United States and the Republic of Korea of dialogue. Diplomacy is the only route to sustained peace on the peninsula.
Thank you.
Published 20 March 2023
15. Three Revolutions Team member arrested for spreading “reactionary thought and culture”
We live for resistance. Some day... Some day.....
Three Revolutions Team member arrested for spreading “reactionary thought and culture”
The individual is accused of distributing USB cards with South Korean films, music and dance videos to workers at a logging camp
dailynk.com
FILE PHOTO: A woman in Wonsan, Kangwon Province, rides her bike past propaganda signs promoting the protection of forests. (Daily NK)
A Three Revolutions Team member at a logging camp in Pungso County, Yanggang Province, was arrested on Mar. 11 for “infecting the work team with reactionary thought and culture,” a reporting partner in Yanggang Province told Daily NK on Friday, speaking on condition of anonymity due to security concerns.
The Three Revolutions Team member distributed USB cards with South Korean films, music and dance videos to the seven loggers he was living with at the camp.
The “Three Revolutions” refers to a North Korean revolutionary movement to bring about ideal transformations in ideology, technology, and culture. Daily NK reported in 2021 that up to 80% of the country’s college graduates would serve in Three Revolutions Teams to provide low-cost labor to various enterprises and factories throughout the country.
According to the reporting partner, the Three Revolutions Team member is accused of bringing a new USB card to give to the workers every time he returned to the logging camp. He is also accused of creating a lax atmosphere that encouraged workers to slack off at work because of the cold weather and other problems.
In particular, the Three Revolutions Team member caused political problems by creating a secret society, getting the laborers to make a vow of silence over how they “freely enjoyed themselves watching South Korean films and listening to South Korean music while drinking,” the reporting partner said.
According to the reporting partner, the work team the Three Revolutions Team member was responsible for “was criticized during every review for having the worst production results.” During a review, one of the seven loggers received particular condemnation, and he confessed to agents with the local Ministry of State Security branch about what was happening.
After hearing the confession, the Yanggang Province branch of the “unified command on anti-socialist and non-socialist behavior” rushed a mobile strike team to Pungso County to arrest the Three Revolutions Team member and workers in the middle of the night, the reporting partner said.
“The workers have all been dragged off, and the Three Revolutions Team member is undergoing questioning in a solitary cell at the local Ministry of State Security office. He is being treated as a political prisoner, having been accused of agitating the workers to promote reactionary thought and culture and spreading anti-socialist and non-socialist thought,” he said.
Translated by David Black. Edited by Robert Lauler.
Daily NK works with a network of reporting partners who live inside North Korea. Their identities remain anonymous due to security concerns. More information about Daily NK’s reporting partner network and information gathering activities can be found on our FAQ page here.
Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
Read in Korean
dailynk.com
16. Unification minister to visit Japan this week to discuss N. Korea
Maintaining momentum.
Unification minister to visit Japan this week to discuss N. Korea | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 이원주 · March 20, 2023
SEOUL, March 20 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's top point man on North Korea will visit Japan this week to discuss Seoul-Tokyo cooperation on Pyongyang and other pending issues, his office said Monday.
Unification Minister Kwon Young-se plans to leave for Tokyo on Wednesday for a four-day trip at the invitation of the Japanese government, according to the ministry. It will be the first time for the South Korean unification minister to visit Tokyo on the "invitation program for ministers" hosted by Japan's foreign ministry.
During the visit, Kwon plans to brief officials there on South Korea's approach toward North Korea and unification strategy as a follow-up to the summit talks last week between President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and discuss ways to boost cooperation on wide-ranging issues, including those abducted by North Korea during the 1950-53 Korean War, the ministry added.
"We expect Kwon's visit to contribute to the development of cooperative ties between South Korea and Japan related to policies on unification and North Korea to a higher level," it said.
Kwon's upcoming visit to Japan comes as the Yoon administration is seeking to bolster coordination with Washington and Tokyo to cope with North Korea's nuclear and missile threats.
Unification Minister Kwon Young-se, who is handling inter-Korean affairs, speaks during a ceremony at the government complex in Seoul on March 2, 2023, to mark the 54th anniversary of the ministry's foundation. (Yonhap)
julesyi@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 이원주 · March 20, 2023
17. Ask a North Korean: What do North Koreans think about anti-government protests?
Excellent interview with my good friend and colleague Hyun Seung Lee. In support of Hyun Seung, I would add these concepts.
ØDesign an overt influence campaign targeting the Korean people based on Information, Knowledge, Truth, and Understanding
•Information – massive quantities of information from entertainment to news
•Knowledge – practical information on how to effect change (collective action), best practices for agriculture and market activity, educational lessons without Juche influence
•Truth – the truth about the regime and the situation in north Korea and the outside world
•Understanding – help the Korean people in the north to understand the inalienable and universal rights that belong to all human beings
Actions for Civil Society (around the world)
•Information to the north:
–Your culture – uniqueness of global society
–Faith alternatives for when Juche fails
–Information about people seeking self determination around the world
•Information to the South and Global Community:
–Advocate to your government to support unification
–Advocate to business to support unification (investment)
–Advocate for global support to unification
–Provide confidence to the South due to international support
•Support to NGOs who help Koreans escape
–Help educate escaped Koreans
–Provide employment/entrepreneurship opportunities to escapees
•Support Korean escapees’ information efforts
•Support the Korean Dream
Ask a North Korean: What do North Koreans think about anti-government protests?
State media reports on protests in capitalist countries, but most in DPRK can’t imagine voicing discontent with regime
https://www.nknews.org/2023/03/ask-a-north-korean-what-do-north-koreans-think-about-anti-government-protests/
Hyun-seung Lee March 20, 2023
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Workers at the Hwanghae Iron and Steel Complex attend a rally in support of the results of a North Korean party plenum | Image: KCNA (Feb. 23, 2021)
“Ask a North Korean” is an NK News series featuring interviews with and columns by North Korean defectors, most of whom left the DPRK within the last few years.
Readers may submit their questions for defectors by emailing ask@nknews.org and including their first name and city of residence.
Today’s question is from Benedikt, who asks if there are any forms of protest in North Korea.
Hyun-seung Lee — who comes from an elite North Korean family and defected in 2014 — spoke with NK News about the lack of information and brutal suppression that makes the expression of discontent nearly impossible.
Lee now resides in the U.S., where he is a fellow of North Korean studies at the Global Peace Foundation. He also runs the Pyonghattan YouTube channel with his sister.
The following interview has been edited for clarity and style.
South Korean protestors holding orange fliers during a mass protest against the Park Geun-hye government in Oct. 2016 | Image: Teddy Cross via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
NK News: North Korean propaganda emphasizes historical uprisings against colonialism and regularly features protests in capitalist countries. How can the regime valorize such actions when it doesn’t recognize the possibility that they could occur in the DPRK?
Hyun-seung Lee: As someone who received tertiary education in North Korea, I have first-hand experience studying these resistance movements from history. There are three reasons why North Korean citizens are unable to apply their understanding of such historical incidences of resistance against state oppression and anti-government protests to the current state and government of North Korea.
The first is the brainwashing in the education system. In history class, the regime teaches its view of the motives behind, and lessons to be drawn, from mass uprisings. They inculcate the view that the causes of these uprisings were the reign of an incompetent king, the tyranny enacted by a corrupt aristocracy and officials and the rule of the feudal state, which is inimical to the interests of the people.
The common thread in North Korean education is that things can only be set on course when a good leader appears (not elected), who will eliminate all this corruption and establish a decent regime. The DPRK is blessed with the greatest leader on earth, and because the people have the greatest faith in him, and follow him, North Korea is already a complete paradise on earth.
North Koreans are educated that the people are the masters of the country and that things are different to the feudal regimes of the past, and that the DPRK’s system surpasses imperialism and capitalism. In short, mass uprisings and anti-government protests only occur in capitalist countries, and not in North Korea and other socialist countries,
The second reason is that North Koreans lack information and motivation. Ideological education and tight controls on information make it impossible for North Koreans to consider their own situation in light of what happens in other countries. For example, state TV often broadcasts images of workers all over the world protesting but doesn’t provide them with more specific details.
Images of American workers protesting for employment protections would never mention what their wages are. If North Koreans would be flabbergasted to learn that Americans make in an hour what North Koreans make in a year.
Lastly, the government’s reign of terror makes a mass uprising impossible to even dream of. The regime follows the principle of guilt by association, punishing not only those found guilty of anti-party crimes but also three generations of their family and even distant relatives. Few have the resolve to risk the lives of their entire families to oppose the Kim family regime.
North Korean security camera installed at the border, March 3, 2023 | Image: NK News
NK News: Did you ever hear of any actual acts of rebellion against the government while you were in North Korea, such as protests, distribution of anti-government flyers or open discontent during periods of famine?
Lee: In the 29 years I lived in North Korea until my defection in 2014, I’d never once seen any anti-government flyers or other anti-government activity.
Perhaps this is because I mostly lived in Pyongyang. I’ve heard that in the provinces, it’s more common for people to express resentment against the state.
In 2004, when I was serving in the Korean People’s Army, my colleague came back from a gold mining village in Onsan County of North Pyongan Province. He told me that the people in that village watched South Korean dramas to their hearts’ content and expressed strong distaste for the regime. They would even direct their fury at any cars they saw with a Pyongyang license plate and hurl rocks at them. The reason was that the party had exiled most of the people in this town from Pyongyang.
There were people expressing dissatisfaction with the difficulties of the Arduous March famine of the 1990s, but as far as I know there were no individuals or groups openly moving against the North Korean regime. Until then, North Koreans still had some faith in their government. These days North Koreans believe in the market more than the party.
NK News: What about coup or assassination attempts against the Kim family? Did people talk about the 2004 Ryongchon train explosion, which many have speculated was an attempt on Kim Jong Il’s life?
Lee: Even though there were assassination attempts against the Kim family, this is a sensitive topic that ordinary North Koreans would be very hesitant to discuss. Therefore it’s difficult to ascertain the truth or falsity of rumored assassination attempts.
To make things more complicated, the Ministry of State Security is said to concoct incidents in order to show off their loyalty to the Kim family. For example, they may send out a report of a gun found in the vicinity of where Kim Jong Un was performing on-the-spot guidance, which they attributed to spies acting on orders from America to assassinate Kim.
In 2012, my father was invited to an event that Kim Jong Un attended at the Ryugyong Chung Ju-yung Gymnasium. Anti-aircraft artillery were installed on both sides of entranceways. My father thought it was strange, and the guards told him that it was to stop assassination attempts on Kim Jong Un.
Recently the number of people with access to outside information has increased, and so there are more people who no longer take the North Korean regime’s propaganda and education at face value. Many people are beginning to feel there’s something wrong about the North Korean system, but the problem is that they don’t know whether it’s the fault of the leader, or the system. It seems that these days, the majority of people believe it is due to the corruption of high-ranking officials.
Edited by Thomas Maresca
18. #NorthKorea: South Korea, US and Japan answer the provocations with readiness.
My interview last evening with John Batchelor and Gordon Chang.
https://audioboom.com/posts/8267183-northkorea-south-koresa-us-and-jpan-answer-the-provocations-with-readiness-david-maxwell-sen
#NorthKorea: South Korea, US and Japan answer the provocations with readiness. David Maxwell, senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and senior fellow at the Global Peace Foundation. @GordonGChang, Gatestone, Newsweek, The Hill:
#NorthKorea: South Koresa, US and Jpan answer the provocations with readiness. David Maxwell, senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and senior fellow at the Global Peace Foundation. @GordonGChang, Gatestone, Newsweek, The Hill:
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/north-korea-claims-almost-800000-people-have-signed-up-military-fight-against-us-2023-03-17/
https://www.foxnews.com/world/north-korea-says-icbm-launch-warning
19. Kim Jong Un's daughter is already hugely unpopular in North Korea aged nine because of her weight: Starving citizens resent Kim Ju Ae because she is 'plump like the moon'
Kim Jong Un's daughter is already hugely unpopular in North Korea aged nine because of her weight: Starving citizens resent Kim Ju Ae because she is 'plump like the moon'
- People are 'angry' to see Kim Ju Ae, 9, looking 'plump' as 'common people' starve
- It comes after predictions North Korea would lack 1m tonnes of grain this year
PUBLISHED: 05:43 EDT, 20 March 2023 | UPDATED: 06:35 EDT, 20 March 2023
Daily Mail · by Alexander Butler · March 20, 2023
North Korean's are 'angry' with Kim Jong Un's daughter who appears well fed and 'plump like the moon' in propaganda amid chronic food shortages.
Starving citizens have criticised Kim Ju Ae, 9, for looking 'so different' to the children of 'common people' who can't eat three meals a day due to lack of food.
It comes after South Korean experts predicted North Korea would be short of 1million tonnes of grain this year, around 20 per cent of its annual demand.
An anonymous source told RFA it made them 'angry' to see the officially named 'beloved child' of North Korea 'eating and living well' on TV while their own situation was 'so hard to bear'.
Another source added: 'The people are saying things like "She must be eating so well, her face is so white and plump like the moon."
Citizens have criticised Kim Ju Ae (pictured, left) for looking 'so different' to the children of 'common people' who can't eat three meals a day due to lack of food
An anonymous source told RFA it made them 'angry' to see the officially named 'beloved child' of North Korea 'eating and living well' on TV while their own situation was 'so hard to bear'
'Most people aren't able to eat properly so their cheekbones stick out from their faces even more than ever before.'
Other residents living north of the capital Pyongyang in South Pyongan reportedly compared Kim Ju Ae's 'plump' apperance to skinny children living in their towns.
The source said people were 'angry' to see the 'plump white face' of the Beloved Child appearing so often in propaganda while children of 'common people' often went without food.
Kim Ju Ae's last official public appearance was with her father and other senior party officials for the opening of a new street in Pyongyang on February 25 this year.
It was her seventh official public appearance since she was first seen at an intercontinental ballisitc missile test in November 2022, prompting some speculation she might be being prepared for the leadership of the Kim dynasty.
But it is still too early to consider her as Kim Jong Un's successor, according to Kwon Young Se, South Korea's minister of unification.
He told CBS radio: 'Even if North Korea creates a succession structure from now on, questions remain as to whether a woman will be able to lead the military-centered North Korean regime.'
It was her third official public appearance in only one month, which has led to some speculation she might be being primed to inherit the leadership of the Kim dynasty, which was founded in 1948
Citizens also struck out at Kim Ju Ae's 'fancy clothes' and claimed what she could get away with was hypocritical when others are punished for following 'capitalist culture' by following fashion trends.
A source said: 'Kim Ju Ae's clothing and appearance are completely different from what an ordinary teenage girl could get away with.'
Earlier this month South Korea's National Intelligence Service gave a closed briefing to MPs about her and gave some insight into her lifestyle.
Head of the NIS Kim Kyou-hyun said: 'It seems that Kim Ju-ae has never attended a regular education institution and was home-schooled.
'And her hobbies appear to be horseback riding, swimming and skiing.
'We have information that Kim Jong-un is very satisfied with Kim Ju-ae's skilled horseback riding.'
He reported that Ju-ae was the second of three children, with an older brother and a younger sibling whose sex is not known. He did not confirm rumours that the older son is kept from public view because he suffers from a disability.
'We are certain that Kim Jong-un's oldest child is a son.
'While we have confirmed the birth of a third child, the sex has not been confirmed as of now.
'The son has never been seen in public, and there is no intelligence that confirms rumours of physical or mental disabilities.'
Daddy's little girl: The North Korean despot with the young daughter Kim Ju Ae who could one day succeed him
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and daughter Kim Ju Ae at a military parade to mark the 75th founding anniversary of North Korea's army
Daily Mail · by Alexander Butler · March 20, 2023
De Oppresso Liber,
David Maxwell
Vice President, Center for Asia Pacific Strategy
Senior Fellow, Foundation for Defense of Democracies
Senior Fellow, Global Peace Foundation
Editor, Small Wars Journal
Twitter: @davidmaxwell161
Phone: 202-573-8647
email: david.maxwell161@gmail.com
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