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Quotes of the Day:
“The people who kill in torture and tell lies in the name of their sacred causes, these are never the publicans in the sinners. No, they’re virtuous, respectable men, who have the finest feelings, the best brains, the noblest ideals.”
– Aldous Huxley
"In human society, all violence can be traced back to these seven recurrent blunders: wealth without work, pleasure without conscience, knowledge without character, commerce without morality, science without humanity, worship without sacrifice, and politics without principles."
– Mahatma Gandhi
"Sometimes the things that may or may not be true are the things a man needs to believe in the most. That people are basically good; that honor, courage, and virtue mean everything; that power and money, money and power mean nothing; that good always triumphs over evil; and I want you to remember this, that love… true love never dies. You remember that, boy. You remember that. Doesn’t matter if it’s true or not. You see, a man should believe in those things, because those are the things worth believing in."
Hub McCann (played by Robert Duvall) , from the film Second Hand Lions
1. Sirens Sound, Anxieties Rise on Tiny Island Near North Korean Shores
2. Inside a Top-Secret U.S. Military Bunker as North Korea Tensions Rise
3. US and Japan plan biggest upgrade to security pact in over 60 years
4. Kim Jong-un inspects tank unit, first to enter Seoul during Korean War
5. N.K. leader's sister says Japan's PM proposed summit with Kim
6. Editorial: Opposition leader’s remark ‘what does Cross-Strait issue have to do with Korea?’ sparks concerns
7. Minister calls on U.S. Congress to back Seoul's unification vision
8. N. Korean official calls for boosting ties with China
9. ‘If Trump wins, Yoon may be pushed aside in US talks with North Korea’
10. UN investigating claims of rampant North Korean wildlife trafficking in Africa
11. US delays vote to extend UN sanctions panel on North Korea
12. N. Korea orders delay in discharge of troops in tank, artillery, and communications units
13. North Korea’s markets see rise in imported feminine hygiene products
14. Anti-piracy Cheonghae Unit returns home from deployment
15. Breakaway parties roil South Korea’s two-party system
1. Sirens Sound, Anxieties Rise on Tiny Island Near North Korean Shores
Sirens Sound, Anxieties Rise on Tiny Island Near North Korean Shores
Residents on Yeonpyeong fear the Kim Jong Un regime could launch another attack
https://www.wsj.com/world/asia/sirens-sound-anxieties-rise-on-tiny-island-near-north-korean-shores-27773888?mod=Searchresults_pos1&page=1
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WSJ’s Timothy Martin goes inside an underground bunker complex where operations of U.S. and South Korean forces would be centralized during a war with the Kim Jong Un regime. Photo: Diana Chan
By Dasl YoonFollow and Timothy W. MartinFollow | Photographs by Tina Hsu for The Wall Street Journal
Updated March 25, 2024 12:02 am ET
YEONPYEONG ISLAND, South Korea—In January, emergency sirens blared across this tiny South Korean island less than 2 miles from North Korean shores. Kim Joung-bae, a local village chief, leapt into action.
Pyongyang had just lobbed hundreds of shells into nearby waters, and Seoul readied artillery-firing drills in response. It wasn’t clear what might unfold next.
Kim, a 74-year-old former South Korean marine who fought in the Vietnam War, went door-to-door urging residents to seek cover. Inside an emergency shelter stocked with slippers, blankets and canned tuna, residents were chatting nervously and pacing back and forth. As a community leader, Kim said he was trying not to show his anxiety, though he privately feared the possibility of war.
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“This is the front line,” Kim said. “We don’t know when we might be attacked.”
With inter-Korean ties sinking to their worst levels in years, concerns are running especially high on Yeonpyeong Island, the site of a deadly 2010 artillery attack. It is one of five South Korean islands sitting just below the two countries’ disputed maritime border in the Yellow Sea. Even on overcast days, North Korean land is visible.
U.S. and South Korean military officials doubt the Kim Jong Un regime is gearing up for a major assault. Shin Won-sik, South Korea’s defense minister, warns Pyongyang could attempt smaller provocations, such as torpedo attacks on South Korean ships. But something akin to the 2010 shelling attack on Yeonpyeong, Shin said, would be met with a “crushing defeat” of North Korean forces.
Kim, the third-generation dictator, has recently called attention to the western border islands. In a January speech, he argued the North’s maritime border extended farther south than the Northern Limit Line, a territorial divide unilaterally established by the United Nations Command following the armistice that ended fighting in the 1950-53 Korean War.
Kim said any incursion into the North’s self-declared territory—“even 0.001 millimeters”— would be considered an act of war. In recent weeks, Kim has mentioned Yeonpyeong Island by name, instructing North Korean troops to bolster readiness in the area.
Metal spikes known as “dragon’s teeth” protrude from Yeonpyeong’s waters during low tide.
South Korean military personnel close the gates to a beach on Yeonpyeong.
With a civilian population of roughly 2,000, Yeonpyeong is a sleepy island with no hotels and no Starbucks—but eight emergency bunkers. Around 1,000 South Korean marines are believed to be stationed on Yeonpyeong, where artillery guns jut out from the hills and metal “dragon’s teeth” spikes poke out from the beach waters. On the island’s narrow roads, drivers of camouflaged trucks salute at regular vehicles.
Yeonpyeong holds particular appeal as a target to the Kim regime, given its proximity to the South Korean mainland and North Korea’s ability to take hostages on the island, said James JB Park, a former South Korean defense and national-security official. Pyongyang could send thousands of special-force soldiers on harbor-craft vessels that could reach Yeonpyeong in roughly 90 minutes, he added.
“I think Yeonpyeong Island could be the primary target,” said Park, who is now a nonresident Kelly fellow at the Pacific Forum, a Hawaii-based think tank. “They already have their coastal guns ready with their gates open.”
Yeonpyeong is home to some 2,000 civilian residents.
Relative calm returned to the island in the years after the 2010 bombardment, but tensions are rising again.
David Maxwell, a former U.S. Army Special Forces colonel with extensive experience in Asia, said Yeonpyeong holds strategic value to North Korea beyond military benefits, such as the psychological effect of South Korea failing to defend its territory. “It’s the tyranny of proximity,” Maxwell said.
The 2010 artillery attack killed four South Koreans. It occurred months after North Korea in nearby waters had torpedoed a South Korean naval ship, killing 46 servicemen.
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For much of the past decade, Yeonpyeong rebuilt itself from the rubble. The bunkers were equipped with modern communication gear, gas masks and medical-treatment rooms. A new library was built, as well as a multistory sports complex with an indoor tennis court. The two Koreas in 2018 struck an accord pledging to tone down military hostilities that brought a pause to the threat.
But North-South relations have again frayed, as Kim ditched diplomacy and plowed forward with weapons advances. The inter-Korean pact was scrapped last November. This month, Shin, the defense minister, ordered troops to “respond first and report later” in the event of a North Korean provocation.
Yeonpyeong residents are acutely aware of the renewed danger. Villagers such as 75-year-old Moon Sun-ki vividly remember the day the island was shelled in 2010. Around 2:30 p.m. on a November day, Moon was stunned to witness North Korean artillery shells crushing Yeonpyeong’s small houses with flimsy roofs. He stared blankly at smoke rising above flaming mountains and burning homes.
Resident Moon Sun-ki says he still gets flashbacks to North Korea's shelling of Yeonpyeong, where remnants of the 2010 attack have been preserved at an education center.
About 100 residents, including children, spent the night huddled together inside a shelter. Most of them lost contact with family members living on the mainland as phone lines were cut off due to the bombardment. Residents were evacuated to the nearest port city of Incheon, and Moon returned three months later. Loud bangs still give him flashbacks, Moon said.
“People who heard the shelling back then don’t feel the same again,” he said.
Yeonpyeong sits so close to North Korean land that the proximity is a tourist attraction. At an observatory, visitors can peer through mounted binoculars and reference a nearby map to spot 10 different North Korean locales, including a train station tens of miles away.
For fishermen like Park Tia-won, sailing near North Korean waters requires careful navigation.
Despite the elevated fears, residents remain deeply attached to the island, and many make a living fishing for crab, clams and octopus in nearby waters. Normally around this time of the year, fisherman and lifelong Yeonpyeong resident Park Tia-won sees dozens of Chinese boats fishing in the Yellow Sea. But when relations are tense between the two Koreas, not a single Chinese boat is in sight, as if they have been warned by the North, the 64-year-old Park said.
He hasn’t seen a Chinese vessel of late, he said.
Every day he goes out into the sea, Park keeps a close eye on his boat’s navigation system to avoid getting too close to the disputed maritime border. If a fishing boat accidentally crosses over, even by 6 or 7 feet, South Korean navy officials will contact it and direct it away.
“There’s constant anxiety about a potential North Korean attack,” said Park.
Jiyoung Sohn contributed to this article.
The ability to see North Korean land from Yeonpyeong is both a tourist attraction and a reminder of the island’s vulnerability.
Write to Dasl Yoon at dasl.yoon@wsj.com and Timothy W. Martin at Timothy.Martin@wsj.com
2. Inside a Top-Secret U.S. Military Bunker as North Korea Tensions Rise
A 6 minute tour of CP TANGO, the command and control HQ in Korea, as well as a tour of Yeongpyeong Do (of the Northwest Islands). Includes interviews with the CINC CFC and the DCINC CFC.
I have many memories of spending much time in this bunker.
https://www.wsj.com/video/series/wsj-explains/inside-a-top-secret-us-military-bunker-as-north-korea-tensions-rise/125BE31D-7949-40BE-87EF-F505BB7422C6?mod
Inside a Top-Secret U.S. Military Bunker as North Korea Tensions Rise
WSJ’s Timothy Martin goes inside an underground bunker complex where operations of U.S. and South Korean forces would be centralized during a war with the Kim Jong Un regime. Photo: Diana Chan
By Wall Street Journal
7 hours ago
5:55
3. US and Japan plan biggest upgrade to security pact in over 60 years
Financial Times has the scoop here. Japan wants more senior US military officers posted in Japan. I recall years ago some in the Japanese military looked with envy on the ROK/US Combined Forces Command with the understanding that the combined command contributed so much to the development of the ROK military over the past 4+ decades (since 1978).
The other news services reports are based on this article. I received call from the Korean media asking if the US would be putting a 4 star US commander in Japan and what would that do to the INDOPACOM - US Forces Japan and US Forces Korea command relationships. This is the first I have heard of possible changes in the US military relationship with Japan.
Excerpts:
People familiar with the situation said other models could also be considered, including the possibility of upgrading the USFJ. The Pentagon is some way from making any decision, including on the task force idea, which was proposed by Admiral John Aquilino, Indopacom commander. Defence secretary Lloyd Austin also wants to give Admiral Samuel Paparo, who will succeed Aquilino in May, a chance to weigh in after he assumes the role.
The US and Japanese foreign and defence ministers are also expected to discuss the issue together later this year.
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The White House, Pentagon and Indo-Pacom declined to comment. The Japanese government also did not comment.
Whatever model is chosen will be complicated because of questions about resources and infrastructure and issues related to military hierarchy. There will also likely be turf battles between the different services in the US military.
Tokyo has been pushing for a US four-star commander in Japan. But the idea faces resistance, including on Capitol Hill. Jack Reed, the Democratic head of the Senate armed services committee, recently told the Defense Writers Group that Aquilino had done a “superb” job in his contact with the Japanese and that the current structure was “adequate”.
US and Japan plan biggest upgrade to security pact in over 60 years
Financial Times · by Demetri Sevastopulo · March 24, 2024
The US and Japan are planning the biggest upgrade to their security alliance since they signed a mutual defence treaty in 1960 in a move to counter China.
President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will announce plans to restructure the US military command in Japan to strengthen operational planning and exercises between the nations, according to five people familiar with the situation. They will unveil the plan when Biden hosts Kishida at the White House on April 10.
The allies want to bolster their security ties to respond to what they view as a growing threat from China, which requires their militaries to co-operate and plan more seamlessly, particularly in a crisis such as a Taiwan conflict.
While Biden and Kishida will herald the strength of the US-Japan alliance, the summit will come just weeks after the US president expressed his opposition to the Japanese group Nippon Steel acquiring US Steel. The intervention was designed to boost union support before the November election, but has partly soured the otherwise strong alliance.
Japan has over the past couple of years significantly increased its security capabilities, spending much more on defence, including plans to buy US Tomahawk cruise missiles. The Japanese military is also setting up a “Joint Operations Command” next year to improve co-ordination between the branches of its own Self-Defense Forces.
But co-ordination between the allies is hampered because the US Forces Japan (USFJ) has changed little from the days when the US and Japanese militaries did less together and has little command and control authority. Japan has to deal more with the US Indo-Pacific Command in Hawaii, which is 19 hours behind Tokyo and 6,200km away.
Fumio Kishida, left, and Joe Biden at the White House in January 2023 © Ting Shen/Bloomberg
“Japan’s new national security policy is the most positive security development in east Asia in this century. The recognition that our two nations’ defence strategies have converged makes improvement in our day-to-day command and control the logical next step,” said Philip Davidson, who retired as Indo-Pacific commander in 2021.
Tokyo has long urged the US to give the three-star USFJ commander more operational authority, saying closer co-ordination on the ground was needed.
One catalyst was the 2011 earthquake and tsunami when US and Japanese troops carried out a joint rescue operation. While it was a success, Ryoichi Oriki, then chief of Japan’s SDF joint staff, said it was inconvenient having to co-ordinate with the US Indo-Pacific Command in Hawaii rather than the USFJ commander, his daily counterpart.
Tokyo says there is an urgent need to put a more senior US officer in Japan as it takes on a bigger regional defence role. “It sends a strong strategic signal to China and North Korea and it’s meaningful from the point of view of deterrence to say that the US will strengthen the command structure in Japan,” Oriki told the Financial Times.
One model the Biden administration is considering involves creating a new US military joint task force that would be attached to the US Pacific Fleet, one of the component commands at Indopacom in Hawaii. The fleet’s four-star commander would spend more time in Japan than at present and would have an enhanced support structure in the country. Over time, the task force, which would include different parts of the US military, would shift to Japan.
US and Japanese soldiers clearing debris left by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami © Toru Yamanaka/AFP/Getty Images
Christopher Johnstone, a former senior Pentagon and CIA official, said upgrading the US command would be a “big step in building a more credible bilateral military alliance”.
“Co-locating these commands, at least partially, would move the US-Japan alliance closer to the ‘fight tonight’ mantra of the US alliance with South Korea — more responsive and credible in responding to regional threats,” said Johnstone, now at the CSIS think-tank. “This would make a major contribution to deterrence in the region.”
James Schoff, a US-Japan alliance expert at the Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA, said the two allies needed to strengthen and clarify leadership and operational relationships for planning in both peacetime and times of crisis.
“US leadership could potentially ‘commute’ from Hawaii to Japan for this in peacetime, but they’ll need some kind of full-time joint staff based in Japan to plan, facilitate, and build trust with Japanese counterparts for a practical set of bilateral missions,” Schoff added.
People familiar with the situation said other models could also be considered, including the possibility of upgrading the USFJ. The Pentagon is some way from making any decision, including on the task force idea, which was proposed by Admiral John Aquilino, Indopacom commander. Defence secretary Lloyd Austin also wants to give Admiral Samuel Paparo, who will succeed Aquilino in May, a chance to weigh in after he assumes the role.
The US and Japanese foreign and defence ministers are also expected to discuss the issue together later this year.
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The White House, Pentagon and Indo-Pacom declined to comment. The Japanese government also did not comment.
Whatever model is chosen will be complicated because of questions about resources and infrastructure and issues related to military hierarchy. There will also likely be turf battles between the different services in the US military.
Tokyo has been pushing for a US four-star commander in Japan. But the idea faces resistance, including on Capitol Hill. Jack Reed, the Democratic head of the Senate armed services committee, recently told the Defense Writers Group that Aquilino had done a “superb” job in his contact with the Japanese and that the current structure was “adequate”.
Asked by the FT if a four-star officer was necessary in Japan, Reed said: “Maybe in the future, but right now I think we have the command structure in place to carry out an effective response.”
Financial Times · by Demetri Sevastopulo · March 24, 2024
4. Kim Jong-un inspects tank unit, first to enter Seoul during Korean War
We should remember that on June 25, 1950 the nKPA had superior numbers and greater capabilities than the 50,000 man South Korean constabulary force with no tanks or artillery. Despite these advanced capabilities the ROK Army delayed this superior force long enough for the US to intervene. Given the time and distance the nKPA should have been in Pusan by early July before US forces began landing in any significant strength. So celebrate all you want MArshall Kim, but it was the ROK that successfully defended long enough for he international community to intervene and come to the defense of freedom in South korea. Just saying.
Kim Jong-un inspects tank unit, first to enter Seoul during Korean War
https://www.chosun.com/english/north-korea-en/2024/03/25/ZOHI25DNKRD6TAQ3UN5W6EDXFY/
By Kim Myeong-jin
Published 2024.03.25. 15:55
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Mar. 25, 2024 that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspected on Mar. 24, 2024 the First Tank Armored Infantry Regiment, part of the 105th Tank Division of the Seoul Ryu Kyong Su Guards of the Korean People's Army./Korean Central News Agency
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un recently visited a tank unit noted for being the first to enter Seoul during the Korean War, as reported by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Mar. 25.
According to the state-run agency KCNA, Kim inspected the First Tank Armored Infantry Regiment, part of the 105th Tank Division of the Seoul Ryu Kyong Su Guards of the Korean People’s Army, on the preceding day.
KCNA commented on the unit, noting its distinction as the first to enter Seoul during the War of Fatherland Liberation (the June 25 War), raising the Republic’s flag at the Goryeo Central Office, and establishing a revolutionary martial spirit through numerous battles. This earned the unit the esteemed ‘guards’ and ‘Seoul’ titles.
Kim Jong-un emphasized the importance of upholding and enhancing the immortal achievements of the nation’s founders, Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il, by perfecting war readiness and strengthening combat capabilities. He highlighted the unit’s role in exemplifying the heroism and bravery of the armed forces, urging it to set an example for the entire army.
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Mar. 25, 2024 that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspected on Mar. 24, 2024 the First Tank Armored Infantry Regiment, part of the 105th Tank Division of the Seoul Ryu Kyong Su Guards of the Korean People's Army./Korean Central News Agency
Kim Jong-un inspected the Division’s First Tank Armored Infantry Regiment and oversaw training exercises focused on overcoming obstacles and executing high-speed breakthroughs. Kim said, “The 105th Tank Division, a unit that symbolizes the heroism and bravery of our armed forces, must set an example for the entire army and carry its banner high.”
KCNA said Kim Jong-un’s visit also included taking commemorative photos, watching performances by the Division’s artistic and propaganda corps, and inspecting the unit’s cafeteria and hospital facilities. He showed a keen interest in the soldiers’ living conditions.
KCNA released photos of Kim’s visit, including scenes from the unit’s cafeteria crowded with soldiers and tables laden with white rice, red-spiced soup, meat dishes, and what appeared to be boiled eggs. Notably, one of the tanks featured a plate with the inscription, “Annihilate the U.S. invaders who are the iron enemy of the Korean people!”
Kim likely visited the 105th Division to congratulate them on their victory in the Korean People’s Army’s Tandem Inter-Unit Training Competition on Mar. 13, which he directed.
Kim’s entourage included high-ranking officials such as Pak Jong-chon, vice chairman of the Workers Party’s central military commission; Defense Minister Kang Sun-nam; and Chief of the General Staff Ri Yong-gil.
5. N.K. leader's sister says Japan's PM proposed summit with Kim
I find it hard to believe that Kim will agree to a meeting without some huge concessions provided by Japan.
The regime's Propaganda and Agitation Department is going to try to exploit this with the intent to upset bilateral relationships and trilateral cooperation.
(2nd LD) N.K. leader's sister says Japan's PM proposed summit with Kim | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Yi Wonju · March 25, 2024
(ATTN: ADDS comments from foreign ministry in paras 6-7)
SEOUL/TOKYO, March 25 (Yonhap) -- Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has expressed his intention to hold a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Kim's influential sister said Monday, emphasizing such a meeting would only be possible should Tokyo make a political decision "in actuality."
"Shortly ago, Kishida, through another channel, conveyed his intention to personally meet the President of the State Affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea as soon as possible." Kim Yo-jong, who serves as the vice department director of the ruling Workers' Party's Central Committee, said in an English-language statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), using the country's formal name.
It did not provide details on the channel used for the proposal or a potential time frame for such a meeting.
She said opening a new chapter in the relationship between North Korea and Japan would depend on whether Japan makes a political decision, warning that using the summit to resolve the issue of Japanese abductees in North Korea would be seen as a "bid for popularity."
"If Japan truly wants to improve the bilateral relations and contribute to ensuring regional peace and stability as a close neighbor of the DPRK, it is necessary for it to make a political decision for strategic option conformed to its overall interests," Kim said.
A foreign ministry official said South Korea is "closely communicating with Japan" regarding the North's purported proposal.
"The government is closely communicating with Japan on the North Korean nuclear issue and other North Korea-related issues, including contact between North Korea and Japan," he said, stressing that Seoul, Washington and Tokyo are in "close coordination" to bring Pyongyang back to the path toward denuclearization.
This July 31, 2023, file photo taken from footage of North Korea's Korean Central Television shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's sister, Yo-jong. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
In 2002, Kim's father, then North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, met with then Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in Pyongyang, and admitted that North Korean agents kidnapped 13 Japanese citizens in the 1970s and 1980s to train spies in Japanese culture and language.
The North then allowed five of those abducted to make a temporary visit to their homeland, saying eight others were dead.
Japan refused to return the five and called on the North to repatriate their family members in the North. Japan has no formal diplomatic relations with North Korea.
Kim stressed that North Korea will not be a security threat to Japan in any case should Japan respect North Korea's sovereignty and security in a fair and equal manner, according to the KCNA.
When asked about Kim's statement during a parliamentary committee meeting Monday afternoon, Kishida said while he is not aware of the specific statement, a summit between the two countries is "important" to resolve many pending issues, including that of abductees.
In February, Kim said the North Korean regime is open to improving its relationship with Japan in response to Kishida's remarks that he feels a "strong need" to change the current relationship between Tokyo and Pyongyang, and that he is currently making related activities.
mlee@yna.co.kr
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en.yna.co.kr · by Yi Wonju · March 25, 2024
6. Editorial: Opposition leader’s remark ‘what does Cross-Strait issue have to do with Korea?’ sparks concerns
The foreign policy and national security pendulum will swing in South Korea.
And if political leaders in South Korea do not understand how cross strait issues will affect the ROK, then we are going to see some real problems for South Korea as well as the ROK/US alliance.
Editorial: Opposition leader’s remark ‘what does Cross-Strait issue have to do with Korea?’ sparks concerns
https://www.chosun.com/english/opinion-en/2024/03/25/RNXXXAND7FE7FE6OTUFEN26BLE/
By The Chosunilbo
Published 2024.03.25. 08:39
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, seeks support during his campaign visit to Dangjin, South Chungcheong Province on March 22. /Yonhap News
During a campaign rally in South Chungcheong Province on March 22, Lee Jae-myung, the leader of South Korea’s main opposition Democratic Party, questioned, “Why keep pestering China?” With a gesture of clasping his hands together, he suggested that a simple “xièxiè” (thank you) to China and also expressing gratitude to Taiwan should suffice. “Why bother meddling everywhere?” He further questioned the relevance of the Taiwan Strait issue to South Korea, asking, “Whatever happens in the Taiwan Strait, whatever happens with China and Taiwan’s domestic issues, what does it matter to us?” It is surprising enough that the leader of the dominant party in the parliament has made remarks that seem to be kowtowing to China, but the security perception and geopolitical understanding that ‘What does the Taiwan Strait issue have to do with us?’ is even more absurd.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in the United States released a “war game report” last year that simulated a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. In the war game, China initially targeted U.S. military bases in Japan, concerned that fighter jets and aircraft carriers launched from Japan—where the core forces of the U.S. Navy and Air Force are stationed—would intercept Chinese troops attempting to land in Taiwan. South Korea, which also hosts U.S. Air Force bases, was noted in the CSIS report as a likely target for China to instigate provocations by North Korea to disperse U.S. military power. By creating a second front on the Korean Peninsula concurrent with an invasion of Taiwan, China can divide the focus of U.S. forces between the Peninsula and Taiwan, increasing its chances of success. Keeping U.S. forces tied down on the peninsula is crucial for China. If North Korea’s Kim Jong-un believes the U.S. lacks the capacity to send reinforcements, he might be highly likely to take a risk.
Historical precedents confirm the close connection between the security of the Korean Peninsula and Taiwan. When the Korean War broke out, the U.S. quickly moved the Seventh Fleet to the Taiwan Strait. This military action was taken to prevent the spread of conflict to both sides of the Strait, such as a Chinese Communist invasion of Taiwan, before the U.S. military’s participation. Likewise, if China decides to attack Taiwan, it is a foregone conclusion that China will ignite a second front on the Korean Peninsula. The situation cannot be altered by the South Korean regime’s emotional affinity towards China. South Korea’s maritime trade routes will also be hit if China attacks Taiwan. The flames from the Taiwan Strait are bound to spread to the Korean Peninsula. The belief that merely avoiding provocation and expressing thanks to China would be sufficient shows a fundamental misunderstanding of security and geopolitical dynamics.
7. Minister calls on U.S. Congress to back Seoul's unification vision
The US president supports the vision (See Camp David Principles and the Spirit of Camp David). We need the entire executive branch (e.g., State and Defense) as well as Congress to embrace solving the "Korea question" (unification) as the path to peace, security, and prosperity on the Korean peninsula and Northeast Asia.
(LEAD) Minister calls on U.S. Congress to back Seoul's unification vision | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Yi Wonju · March 25, 2024
(ATTN: UPDATES with info on meeting with foreign minister in last 3 paras; ADDS photo)
SEOUL, March 25 (Yonhap) -- Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho on Monday asked for U.S. lawmakers' bipartisan cooperation and support for South Korea's efforts to seek a peaceful unification with North Korea.
Kim made the remark during his meeting with visiting members of the U.S. Congressional Study Group on Korea (CSGK), a bipartisan study group on South Korea, amid tensions heightened by North Korea's weapons tests.
South Korea plans to unveil a new unification vision based on the principle of liberal democracy, as President Yoon Suk Yeol has stressed that unification is precisely "what is needed to expand the universal values of freedom and human rights."
"We ask for your cooperation and support for South Korea's efforts to establish unification based on freedom and peace," Kim said at the meeting with the CSGK members.
Korean American Rep. Young Kim (R-CA) said the issue of unification between South and North Korea is "deeply personal and very important" to her.
"However, it's worrisome ... that Kim Jong-un has really thrown away any possibility of peaceful unification and has ramped up the aggression with the firing of the missiles," she said, voicing concerns that North Korea seems to be "less interested in peaceful engagement with South Korea."
Rep. Ami Bera (D-CA), stressed the need for the U.S. and South Korea to work together for bringing peace and prosperity to the Korean Peninsula and the world.
At a year-end party meeting, the North's leader Kim defined inter-Korean ties as relations between "two states hostile to each other" and called for preparations to occupy the South Korean territory in the event of a war.
Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho (C) poses for a photo with Rep. Young Kim (R-CA) (L) and Rep. Ami Bera (D-CA), visiting members of the U.S. Congressional Study Group on Korea, on March 25, 2024. (Yonhap)
Separately, Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul also met with the delegation and urged their "continued attention" on the Korean Peninsula.
Cho stressed the government will continue its efforts for unification even though the North has labeled the South as a hostile country and said it will no longer seek unification.
Cho also expressed concerns about the growing cooperation between North Korea and Russia not only on the military front but also in the political and economic sectors, his office said in a press release.
Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul (4th from R) poses for a photo with Rep. Young Kim (R-CA) (4th from L) and Rep. Ami Bera (D-CA) (3rd from R), and other visiting members of the U.S. Congressional Study Group on Korea, on March 25, 2024, in this photo provided by the ministry. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by Yi Wonju · March 25, 2024
8. N. Korean official calls for boosting ties with China
The Kim family regime: playing all sides.
N. Korean official calls for boosting ties with China | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Minji · March 25, 2024
SEOUL, March 25 (Yonhap) -- A senior North Korean official has called for further strengthening ties with China, North Korea's state media said Monday, the latest in a series of meetings with senior Chinese officials.
Kim Song-nam, director of the international department at the Workers' Party, made the comments in a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing on Saturday, noting this year marks the year of the North Korea-China friendship, according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
This year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between North Korea and China, the North's longtime ally and largest economic benefactor.
In response, Wang said he is certain their friendly ties will advance under the strategic leadership of their leaders and said Beijing will bolster communication and cooperation with Pyongyang to guard their common interests, the KCNA said.
Kim also met with Wang Huning, a member of the standing committee of the political bureau of the Chinese Communist Party, and Liu Jianchao, the minister of the party's international liaison department Thursday.
Kim was in Beijing for the first leg of his three-nation trip, which will also take him to Vietnam and Laos.
The trip came as North Korea appears to be resuming diplomatic activity with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), following years of Pyongyang's COVID-19 border shutdowns.
Laos plans to host the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and other ASEAN-related meetings as this year's chair country. The annual ARF is the sole regional forum joined by North Korea.
ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam.
Kim Song-nam (L), director of the international department at the Workers' Party of North Korea, and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi shake hands during their meeting in Beijing on March 23, 2024, in this photo carried by the North's Korean Central News Agency two days later. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
mlee@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Minji · March 25, 2024
9. ‘If Trump wins, Yoon may be pushed aside in US talks with North Korea’
Note the former DCINC is running for office with the Democratic Party).
But if former President Trump wins in November he will need to consider what is more likely to bring him a win in Korea. Will it be another attempt at a relationship with Kim Jong Un to achieve denuclearization or will he have a better chance for a win and a positive legacy in Korea in Northeast Asia by supporting Korean unification? Of course the current president should be asking the same question now and if he remains in office.
‘If Trump wins, Yoon may be pushed aside in US talks with North Korea’
koreaherald.com · by Kim Arin · March 24, 2024
South Korea’s conservatives aren’t better at national security, says ROK-US CFC ex-deputy commander
By Kim Arin
Published : March 24, 2024 - 17:57
Democratic Party of Korea Rep. Kim Byung-joo, who was deputy commander of the ROK-US Combined Forces Command before entering politics in 2020, speaks to The Korea Herald at his campaign office in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province, Tuesday. (Kim Arin/The Korea Herald)
NAMYANGJU, Gyeonggi Province -- If former US President Donald Trump returns to the White House, Seoul may be excluded from Washington’s potential negotiations with Pyongyang due to the Yoon Suk Yeol administration’s hard-line stance on North Korea, according to former Army general-turned-lawmaker Rep. Kim Byung-joo.
“There is a possibility that our government may not have a seat at the table where decisions concerning the Korean Peninsula are being made between the US and North Korea if Trump wins another presidency. All our ties with North Korea have been cut off, so,” he said in an interview with The Korea Herald.
“As Trump has experience in solving inter-Korean issues, he may try to do it (again). That could be a golden opportunity. The problem is, the Yoon administration may not be included,” said Kim, who was recruited into politics in 2020 by the Democratic Party of Korea. “Trump could be speaking with Kim Jong-un directly, without involving Yoon.”
Kim, who was previously deputy commander of the ROK-US Combined Forces Command, said it was “completely untrue” that Seoul’s relations with Washington soured when President Moon Jae-in took office.
“I don’t think Biden himself would agree if you asked. If you asked the former commanders of the USFK (US Forces Korea), Abrams or Brooks, I don’t think they would agree, either,” he said, referring to Gen. Robert B. Abrams and Gen Vincent K. Brooks, each of whom Kim served with as deputy commander.
He said that near the end of Moon’s term, the then-South Korean president and Biden agreed to terminate the South Korea-US missile guidelines that capped Seoul’s missile developments, which had been a long-standing goal on both sides of the aisle.
"This would not have been possible without a strong mutual trus, and it is a piece of solid evidence that the ROK-US alliance was stronger than ever with Moon as president,” he said. ROK refers to the country’s formal name, the Republic of Korea.
Kim says the Democratic Party of Korea is the “the better party” at handling national security and defense issues. (Kim Arin/The Korea Herald)
The lawmaker challenged the views that conservatives are better at national security and defense.
Kim said that the Democratic Party was “the better party when it comes to matters of national security and defense,” contrary to popular perceptions that favor the rival People Power Party in those areas.
“It’s funny. Conservatives are supposed to be good at handling national security issues, but when they are in power, they really aren’t,” he said.
He said defense spending was one key measure of an administration’s commitment to national security.
“During the last Moon administration, the increase in yearly defense budget was between 5 and 6 percent. By contrast, the Yoon administration’s defense spending increase is just 4 percent,” he said. Considering that the inflation rate is now around 5 percent, a 4 percent increase was actually a decrease, he explained.
“This goes to show how the conservative party is all words and no action. Our party, on the other hand, is committed to investing in national defense and improving the welfare of our men and women in uniform.”
He said that the missile firing and other military provocations by North Korea “may help” the ruling People Power Party in the election.
“When tensions escalate, people tend to want to empower the ruling party and the administration in power because they’re the ones that need to navigate the crisis. So North Korea’s provocations may give the ruling party a bit of an advantage,” he said.
“But the Yoon administration is not managing the crisis. They are sliding toward a war. While it is North Korea that is taking these military actions, such a hawkish approach on our part may be provoking, not resolving, the crisis.”
He said that in his recent encounters with voters in Namyangju, a city north of Seoul, they have told him they were worried by the frequent weapons tests and other shows of force by North Korea.
He said that for over three years during the Moon administration, South Korea enjoyed a period of peace before “unfortunately, once again entering a rocky phase.”
Kim is running for a second National Assembly term in Namyangju, where he maintains a steady lead over the People Power Party candidate, Kwak Kwan-yong, according to several polls.
koreaherald.com · by Kim Arin · March 24, 2024
10. UN investigating claims of rampant North Korean wildlife trafficking in Africa
north Korea's malign activities know no limits.
UN investigating claims of rampant North Korean wildlife trafficking in Africa
DPRK officials allegedly smuggled tens of millions in rhino horns and elephant tusks via Mozambique and other countries
https://www.nknews.org/2024/03/un-investigating-claims-of-rampant-north-korean-wildlife-trafficking-in-africa/
Ifang Bremer March 25, 2024
The U.N. Panel of Experts is investigating allegations North Korean diplomats illegally trafficked millions worth of dollars in rhinoceros horns. | Image: Pexels
The U.N. Panel of Experts overseeing DPRK sanctions is investigating allegations that North Korean officials engaged in multiple wildlife trafficking schemes in Africa between 2022 and 2023, according to its latest report.
The first case involves a North Korean diplomat in South Africa named Yun Kil and was first reported by the website Pyongyang Papers, an anonymous blog that publishes allegations of North Korean sanctions violations.
Pyongyang Papers alleged in March 2022 that Yun attempted to traffic $65 million worth of rhinoceros horns the same year, looking to sell the horns to a Chinese company via a Mozambique broker.
Matthew Redhead, a financial crime researcher at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) who has researched North Korean wildlife trafficking, told NK News that $65 million worth of rhino horns suggests North Korea might be upscaling its illegal wildlife trade.
“That sounds like a heck of a lot of horn, and certainly not an amount that would be susceptible to transport in the diplomatic bag or personal luggage, unless it was being smuggled out in small amounts,” he said. “This makes me wonder whether what we’re seeing here is an effort to ‘industrialize’ their smuggling efforts, using channels more typically used for their sanctions evasion efforts.”
The panel is also looking into a case raised by a local Botswana news outlet about a DPRK-led ivory smuggling plot spanning four African countries.
According to Weekend Post, a North Korean intelligence official named Yi Kang Dae financed an operation to illegally transport rhino horns and elephant tusks from Botswana on two separate occasions, in Nov. 2022 and Feb. 2023.
After leaving Botswana, the illegal goods were allegedly smuggled into South Africa and Zimbabwe before arriving in Mozambique, from where they were subsequently shipped to an undisclosed third country.
The outlet reported the North Korean smugglers acted on behalf of Han Tae Song, the DPRK’s ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva.
Japanese media reported in December that Han was set to return to Pyongyang after Swiss authorities and the Panel of Experts investigated his alleged involvement in wildlife trafficking. Han was reportedly previously expelled from Zimbabwe in 1992 for engaging in rhino horn trafficking.
Reports of North Korean involvement in illegal wildlife trade have surfaced for decades. Experts say DPRK diplomats based in southern African countries have used the ivory trade as a means to gain illegal revenues for the government, or to maintain their own missions in the absence of Pyongyang funds.
Redhead of RUSI told NK News that “most of the sourcing of illegally traded animals by North Korea has taken place historically in sub-Saharan African countries.”
“Given many of these countries’ historic links with North Korea, gratitude for past support, and a more permissive view about the international wildlife trade, there has been a tendency for some local officials to turn a blind eye to North Korean activities,” he said. “Local governments will eventually complain about the most egregious examples of bad North Korean behavior, but they haven’t made a systematic effort to stop it — so far.”
According to Redhead, illegal wildlife trade “is an easy way for North Korea to make money at relatively low risk, and it has plenty of experienced operatives in the field.”
“But of course, with the North Korean diplomatic presence declining, that channel is going to become more difficult to use, and I suspect we will see North Koreans operating undercover as third-party nationals (for example as Chinese and Vietnamese) playing a greater role in sourcing and transporting these items.”
North Korea has closed nine of its overseas missions since. Six of the recently closed embassies were in African countries, underlining an effort to reduce its diplomatic activity in the region by shuttering or consolidating missions.
Historically, Pyongyang’s foreign missions have been a means for the DPRK to illicitly gain foreign currency by abusing diplomatic immunity, ranging from selling ivory to dealing in Cuban cigars.
Edited by Bryan Betts
11. US delays vote to extend UN sanctions panel on North Korea
Russia (and China) wants sanctions relief for north Korea. We should expect to see greater efforts to do so in the coming days, weeks, months.
US delays vote to extend UN sanctions panel on North Korea
Lack of ‘consensus’ behind decision as Russia threatens to veto unless sanctions regime loosened, sources says
https://www.nknews.org/2024/03/us-delays-vote-to-extend-un-sanctions-panel-on-north-korea/
Chad O'Carroll March 23, 2024
The United Nations Headquarters building in New York City | Image: US State Department (2015)
The United States delayed a much anticipated Security Council vote on Friday that would decide whether the Panel of Experts (PoE) would continue, multiple sources told NK News.
In an exclusive report last week, NK News detailed major disagreements among the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) that put the future of the group in question. Russia appeared likely to veto the PoE’s mandate.
But shortly before the vote on Friday, the U.S. postponed it due to there being “no consensus,” an informed source said on condition of anonymity.
Though the vote has been rescheduled to next week, it’s possible that there will be further delays until the U.S. and other UNSC members wrangle enough support to ensure that U.N. monitoring of North Korea sanctions compliance and violations continue.
Last week the U.S. successfully rallied a large number of U.N. member states to attend an open briefing of the 1718 Committee, multiple sources told NK News, during which the PoE’s acting coordinator briefed attendees about their latest report.
The majority of member states present reiterated their support for an extension of the Panels’ mandate in what appeared to be a coordinated effort to pressure Russia into supporting this as well.
Russia and China appear committed to introducing sunset clauses to parts of the U.N. sanctions regime that would give North Korea more breathing room. Moscow has also pushed to reduce Panel reporting from twice to once per year.
But the U.S., U.K. and France have refused to accept these proposals, and Russia has responded by threatening to veto the Panel’s mandate and essentially suspend U.N. monitoring of any of its sanctions against North Korea, according to sources who spoke to NK News last week.
The mandate expires on April 30, meaning there are still around six weeks for Security Council members to come to an agreement and extend the PoE through 2025.
Edited by Arius Derr
12. N. Korea orders delay in discharge of troops in tank, artillery, and communications units
N. Korea orders delay in discharge of troops in tank, artillery, and communications units
"The units consider the postponement of the discharge to be an important decision that could have a major impact on the completion of preparations for war...," a source told Daily NK
By Jeong Tae Joo - March 25, 2024
dailynk.com
N. Korea orders delay in discharge of troops in tank, artillery, and communications units - Daily NK English
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un directed a training match between the country’s tank corps on March 13, the Rodong Sinmun reported on March 14. (Rodong Sinmun-News1)
North Korea’s military recently ordered a delay in the discharge of troops in specialized units, Daily NK has learned.
“Following a decision of the military’s party committee on Feb. 15, the military ordered the delay of the discharge of soldiers in some units – including those in tank, artillery, and communications units – for one year,” a Daily NK source in the North Korean military said Friday, speaking on condition of anonymity. “Those troops facing a delay in their discharge will carry out their military duties until next March.”
The source went on to explain that “the decision is in response to recent tensions and changes in the international military situation. The military is focusing on the operation of specialized units, which are growing in strategic importance,” the source said.
In short, the recent decision to delay discharges is aimed at keeping specialized units in full combat readiness.
North Korea’s military leadership believes that the latest decision will help strengthen the combat power of the armed forces and improve the combat capabilities of specialized troops, the source said.
“The military leadership expects [the order] to provide specialized troops with an opportunity for additional training and to strengthen their expertise during the extended service period, along with an acceleration of training of the next batch of specialized troops. Ultimately, this will help to raise the overall combat readiness of specialized units.”
The military leadership stressed that the order “is related to the operational planning of the Supreme Command, which aims to use the experience and knowledge of experienced veteran soldiers to strengthen the army’s ability to carry out operations,” the source added.
Military promises extra support to those facing discharge delays
The specialized units that received the order believe that the decision was necessary to strengthen state security and national defense and will greatly accelerate preparations for war, the source further reported.
“The units consider the postponement of the discharge to be an important decision that could have a major impact on the completion of preparations for war because the military confrontation this year is worse than ever and war could break out at any moment,” he said.
Extending military service is a sensitive issue that could deeply affect soldiers who are scheduled for immediate discharge, along with their families. However, the army has called for devotion and loyalty, stressing that the decision “prioritizes strengthening state security and national defense,” the source reported.
Meanwhile, North Korean military authorities said they would provide additional welfare support to the soldiers whose service terms were extended and operate a combat simulation program to continuously improve their expertise and technical capabilities.
Translated by David Black. Edited by Robert Lauler.
Daily NK works with a network of sources living in North Korea, China, and elsewhere. Their identities remain anonymous for security reasons. For more information about Daily NK’s network of reporting partners and information-gathering activities, please visit our FAQ page here.
Please send any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
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13. North Korea’s markets see rise in imported feminine hygiene products
North Korea’s markets see rise in imported feminine hygiene products
Before the pandemic, three in five North Korean women used Chinese-made sanitary pads, but now the figure is closer to one in five, a source told Daily NK
By Lee Chae Un - March 25, 2024
dailynk.com
North Korea’s markets see rise in imported feminine hygiene products - Daily NK English
FILE PHOTO: A women’s sanitary pad produced by a North Korean company. (Daily NK)
The number of feminine hygiene products and other imports from China available in North Korean markets has increased significantly. As a result, prices are now much lower than during the pandemic, but North Korean women are reluctant to buy the products because of financial difficulties.
“Women’s sanitary pads and other factory-made goods are imported from China and distributed in marketplaces, resulting in more product options and much lower prices. But North Korean women in financial difficulties are still unable to buy the items imported from China,” a source in South Pyongan Province told Daily NK on Friday, speaking on condition of anonymity.
According to the source, as recently as last year there were more local feminine hygiene products than imported ones on North Korean marketplaces, but the recent influx of imported goods has driven down prices.
When North Korea closed the border during the pandemic, market vendors ran low on imported goods. In a marketplace in the city of Pyongsong, the price of a set of 10 Chinese-made sanitary napkins shot up from KPW 4,000 to KPW 15,000. But with imported goods recently arriving in greater quantities, the same set of sanitary napkins is now selling for the much lower price of KPW 7,500, the source said.
While North Korean sanitary napkins are cheaper, at KPW 3,500 for a set of 10, women have not favored them in the past because of their poor quality, a mindset that persists today.
“The sanitary pads made here don’t feel very comfortable and tend to get dislodged. They’re also not very absorbent and menstrual flow sometimes leaks out the sides, so women prefer to buy imported napkins that are of better quality. But while prices have come down, they’re still too expensive for most people to buy,” the source said.
Before the pandemic, three in five North Korean women used Chinese-made sanitary pads, but now the figure is closer to one in five, the source said.
“Before COVID-19, young people used a lot of disposable pads because they were embarrassed by the idea of cloth or gauze pads. But now people are so desperate that even young people are using homemade sanitary napkins made of cloth. The locally produced napkins are of such poor quality that women would rather not use them even if they could afford them,” the source said.
North Koreans shun more expensive Chinese goods in some cases
Recent imports include large quantities of Chinese-made toothbrushes and toothpaste, bringing prices that had soared from KPW 600–700 to KPW 10,000–12,000 during the pandemic down to KPW 3,000 per toothbrush and KPW 4,500 per tube of toothpaste at a marketplace in Pyongsong. That represents a decrease of 60–70% from pandemic-era prices, but they are still twice as expensive as domestic products, which are in the KPW 1,000–2,000 range.
“When it comes to toothbrushes and toothpaste, people often use North Korean products because they are cheaper without worrying too much about quality. Toothbrushes are often used for almost a year until the bristles are all bent and frayed,” the South Pyongan Province source said.
While Chinese-made feminine hygiene products are widely available in marketplaces in Hyesan, Yanggang Province, merchants are not profiting from the goods as financially strapped locals are reluctant to open their wallets.
“Various women’s products are on sale in Hyesan’s markets, but people just browse without buying. Customers prefer to buy imports because cheap local products have a bad reputation, regardless of their actual quality. But since they can’t afford the imports, they just browse the selection or ask about the prices,” another source in Yanggang Province told Daily NK.
Translated by David Carruth. Edited by Robert Lauler.
Daily NK works with a network of sources living in North Korea, China, and elsewhere. Their identities remain anonymous for security reasons. For more information about Daily NK’s network of reporting partners and information-gathering activities, please visit our FAQ page here.
Please send any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
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Lee Chae Un
Lee Chae Un is one of Daily NK’s full-time journalists. She can be reached at dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
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14. Anti-piracy Cheonghae Unit returns home from deployment
The global pivotal state.
Monday
March 25, 2024
dictionary + A - A
Published: 25 Mar. 2024, 18:23
Anti-piracy Cheonghae Unit returns home from deployment
https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2024-03-25/national/defense/Antipiracy-Cheonghae-Unit-returns-home-from-deployment/2010533
A soldier of the Cheonghae Unit, returning home from a six-month deployment to waters near the Gulf of Aden, is greeted by his daughter at a naval base on Monday. The ROKS Yang Man-chun destroyer, carrying the 41st rotation of the anti-piracy Cheonghae Unit, left a naval base in Busan in September last year. South Korea first deployed the Cheonghae Unit in 2009. [YONHAP]
Members of the Cheonghae Unit returned home from a six-month deployment to waters near the Gulf of Aden at a naval base on Monday.
The ROKS Yang Man-chun destroyer, carrying the 41st rotation of the anti-piracy Cheonghae Unit, left a naval base in Busan in September last year.
South Korea first deployed the Cheonghae Unit in 2009.
15. Breakaway parties roil South Korea’s two-party system
Excerpt:
If one or more of the new South Korean parties should emerge from the election as with parliamentary kingmaking clout, it would represent a crack in the country’s two-party system and could free up the gridlock that has dogged parliamentary politics in recent years.
Breakaway parties roil South Korea’s two-party system - Asia Times
Upstart parties have the potential at April 10 elections to break parliamentary gridlock and transform domestic and international agendas
asiatimes.com · by Jong Eun Lee · March 25, 2024
Contemporary South Korean politics has traditionally been dominated by just two main parties – in common with many other countries with strong presidential systems. But that could soon change.
Recent voter discontent is creating opportunities for smaller political parties in the upcoming parliamentary election on April 10, 2024.
Heading into that vote, the two main parties – President Yoon Suk Yeol’s People Power Party and the opposition Democratic Party – between them hold 270 seats in the 300-member parliament. But both parties are grappling with internal struggles and political controversies that are fueling the prospect of new, breakaway parties making gains.
The result could be a multi-party legislature. As a political scientist with a focus on East Asia and international affairs, I believe that outcome has the potential to transform the country’s domestic and international agenda.
Parliamentary gridlock
Polling suggests that South Koreans haven’t been happy with the performance of their politicians for years, with one 2022 survey putting trust in the national assembly at just 24%. Events since then are unlikely to have improved confidence in either main party.
Since Yoon was elected president in 2022, his legislative agenda has been met with resistance by the opposition-controlled National Assembly. His plans for reforming the country’s education, pension and labor systems have stalled as a result.
Meanwhile, Yoon has vetoed multiple bills passed by the National Assembly, such as the “yellow envelope” law, which limits companies’ lawsuits for damage claims over labor union disputes, and legislation calling for special probes into the crowd crush inside Seoul’s Itaewon district during Halloween weekend in 2022 that resulted in hundreds of deaths and injuries.
On foreign policy, the opposition Democratic Party has faulted the Yoon government’s pursuit of increased security ties with Japan in the face of continued bilateral tensions over Japan’s past colonial history in Korea.
Specifically, the opposition criticized a bilateral deal on compensation for the victims of forced wartime labor in Korea, and the Yoon government’s acceptance of Japan’s release of wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean.
Last fall, partly as a protest against the president’s foreign policy and in a bid to overhaul the government’s cabinet, the National Assembly passed a nonbinding no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, although Yoon refused to dismiss his premier.
The net result of the political gridlock is that both the Yoon government and the Democratic Party face high levels of public disapproval. Yoon’s approval rating has stagnated below 40%, and the majority of voters have expressed an intention to hold his government accountable in the upcoming election by supporting opposition parties.
However, the Democratic Party has failed to capitalize on Yoon’s unpopularity, due to similar public disapproval toward the party’s leader, Lee Jae-myung.
Intraparty factions
South Korea’s two main parties have frequently experienced internal feuds among factions supportive and opposed to party leadership. In recent months, factions opposed to both Yoon’s and Lee’s leadership have bolted from their respective parties.
Fashion plate and market player: First Lady Kim Keon-hee takes in art at the Kunsthaus Zürich in Switzerland. Photo: Yonhap
In January 2024, Lee Jun-seok, former People Power Party chairman, started the New Reform Party with party members who protested the pro-Yoon faction’s seemingly cliquish party leadership.
This “non-Yoon” faction has also criticized the president’s veto of the special counsel bill to investigate allegations surrounding First Lady Kim Keon-hee, which include claims of violating anti-graft laws and involvement in stock price manipulation.
Under criminal investigation: Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung. Photo: Korea Joongang Daily
The Democratic Party is facing a similar challenge. Also in January 2024, Lee Nak-yon, former prime minister under the previous Democratic government of President Moon Jae-in, started the New Future Party, criticizing his former party as having turned into a “bulletproof shield” for the unpopular leader Lee Jae-myung. Specifically, the “non Jae-myung” faction has criticized him for refusing to step down despite being under criminal investigation on corruption charges.
These new breakaway parties’ strategy is to take advantage of South Korea’s mixed-member proportional election system, which provides opportunities for smaller parties to win seats. To do so, they have been focusing efforts on building concentrated support among core groups of voters.
The New Reform Party has gained support among younger conservative male voters critical of the older generation of conservative politicians close to Yoon.
Meanwhile, the New Future Party retains some support among traditional Democratic Party members, who feel disappointed with the direction of the party. Several Democratic legislators who claimed to have been purged by the party leadership have joined Lee Nak-yon, widening the schism within the main opposition party.
Potential impact
The latest polls indicate a tight race between the People Power Party and the Democratic Party, with a 37.7% and 36.9% share of the vote, respectively. If the breakaway parties win even a small number of seats, the result could be a “hung parliament,” in which neither main party can form a single-party majority.
That would leave smaller parties with huge legislative leverage.
The New Reform Party is more likely to partner with the Yoon government on policy agendas – despite personal antipathy between Yoon and Lee Jun-Seok. On foreign policy, New Reform Party members have expressed support for pragmatic relations with Japan and have warned against excessive anti-Japan nationalist rhetoric in domestic politics.
On social and economic policies, the New Reform Party’s platform likewise aligns with the Yoon government in supporting the expansion of South Korea’s semiconductor industry and abolishing the Ministry of Gender Equality.
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Particularly on gender issues, the New Reform Party could push the Yoon government farther toward positions that appeal to younger male conservative voters, such as by introducing female military service. At present, only men are subject to South Korea’s mandatory military conscription, a policy that many younger South Korean men perceive as discrimination.
Lee Nak-yon’s New Future Party is more critical of the Yoon government’s domestic and foreign policies. However, with its platform to end two-party gridlock, the New Future Party could also seek a role as an arbitrator over contentious policy issues.
The new parties could also support the opposition Democratic Party in pressuring the Yoon government to be more accountable. Specifically, Yoon could face increased demands to approve investigations on the allegations surrounding the First Lady and to solicit opposition parties’ consent for future cabinet nominations.
It is still uncertain how well the breakaway parties will perform in the upcoming election. And they face competition from another new party, the National Innovation Party, that is politically aligned with the Democratic Party.
One recent election in East Asia will give these new parties encouragement: Taiwan’s legislative election in January saw a new third party become kingmaker in the legislative assembly.
If one or more of the new South Korean parties should emerge from the election as with parliamentary kingmaking clout, it would represent a crack in the country’s two-party system and could free up the gridlock that has dogged parliamentary politics in recent years.
Jong Eun Lee is an assistant professor at North Greenville University.
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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asiatimes.com · by Jong Eun Lee · March 25, 2024
De Oppresso Liber,
David Maxwell
Vice President, Center for Asia Pacific Strategy
Senior Fellow, Global Peace Foundation
Editor, Small Wars Journal
Twitter: @davidmaxwell161
Phone: 202-573-8647
email: david.maxwell161@gmail.com
| 
