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Quotes of the Day:
"We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason if we remember that we are not descended from fearful men, not from men who feared to write, to speak, to associate and to defend causes which were, for the moment, unpopular."
– Edward R. Murrow
"Freedom is nothing but a chance to be better."
– Albert Camus
"The difference between perseverance and obstinacy is that one often comes from a strong will, and the other from a strong won't."
– Henry Ward Beecher
1. Washington will consider 'interim steps' toward N.K. denuclearization: U.S. official
2. Historical Turning Point: Establishment Of Relations Between Cuba And South Korea And Rising Tensions On Korean Peninsula – Analysis
3. S. Korea, U.S. begin key annual military drills amid N.K. threats
4. ＜Inside N. Korea＞ Preparation for construction mobilizations for Kim Jong-un’s “20x10 policy” are complete, but there’s already unrest and complaints among workers over supplies of food
5. N. Korea deletes state media articles using unification references
6. North Korea broke into S. Korean chip equipment firms, Seoul's spy agency says
7. Air combat drills kick off amid larger US-South Korean military exercise
8. Constructing Killwebs for Effects Based Targeting in Multi-Domain Operations (Korea)
9. N. Korean elite’s demand for luxury clothing, accessories on the rise
10. Young N. Koreans increasingly skip work due to economic hardship
11. Korea nears population extinction despite warnings in 1988
12. Hungry North Koreans who 'eat grass' resent Kim Jong-un's flashy gift from Putin
13. NIS warns of rise in North Korean hacking threats against South Korean chipmakers
14. NK may stage provocations during combined exercise, defense minister warns
1. Washington will consider 'interim steps' toward N.K. denuclearization: U.S. official
It looks like the arms control proponents might be influencing some in the administration. Is this showing our desartion to negotiate? Just keep in mind if we propose arms control negotiations to get the regime to the table, Kim will assess his political warfare strategy as a success. We should not expect Kim to negotiate in good faith.
Washington will consider 'interim steps' toward N.K. denuclearization: U.S. official | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Yi Wonju · March 4, 2024
SEOUL, March 4 (Yonhap) -- The United States will consider laying out "interim steps" on the path to North Korea's denuclearization, a White House official said Monday.
Mira Rapp-Hooper, the U.S. National Security Council senior director for East Asia and Oceania, also said Washington is "ready and willing" to engage in discussions with the North about threat reduction.
"The United States remains committed to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula but we're also going to consider interim steps on that pathway to denuclearization, provided that these steps will make the region and the world safer," she said at a forum in Seoul co-hosted by South Korea's JoongAng Ilbo newspaper and the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
The remarks came as North Korea has ramped up weapons tests in the new year in what appears to be an effort to strengthen its capabilities to deliver nuclear warheads. In January, the North fired a solid-fuel hypersonic missile and launched what it claimed was an underwater nuclear attack drone.
The U.S. denuclearization negotiations with North Korea stalled following a no-deal Hanoi summit between then U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in 2019.
Mira Rapp-Hooper, the U.S. National Security Council senior director for East Asia and Oceania, speaks during a forum in Seoul co-hosted by South Korea's JoongAng Ilbo newspaper and the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) on March 4, 2024, in this image captured from the YouTube channel of JTBC news. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
Matt Pottinger, a former U.S. deputy national security adviser, emphasized that the North's recent labeling of South Korea as its "principal enemy" and escalating military provocations are not signs of leader Kim Jong-un's readiness to go to war but rather aimed at stepping up the ante for negotiations.
"I think it's far more likely that Kim is dusting off an old playbook of manufacturing a crisis in pursuit of the following goals to deter the United States and South Korea at a time when Kim is shipping large quantities of ammunition and weapons to Russia, which is the last thing he'd be doing if he were planning a war, and also to tee up renewed negotiations with the United States following our presidential election in November," he said.
He voiced concerns over the growing military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow, saying it is "emblematic of the new axis" of aggression they are waging or planning around the world.
julesyi@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by Yi Wonju · March 4, 2024
2. Historical Turning Point: Establishment Of Relations Between Cuba And South Korea And Rising Tensions On Korean Peninsula – Analysis
Again, the Go/Baduk board is playing out globally.
Historical Turning Point: Establishment Of Relations Between Cuba And South Korea And Rising Tensions On Korean Peninsula – Analysis
https://www.eurasiareview.com/04032024-historical-turning-point-establishment-of-relations-between-cuba-and-south-korea-and-rising-tensions-on-korean-peninsula-analysis/
March 4, 2024 0 Comments
By Matija Šerić
On February 14, the news websites announced the surprising news that South Korea established diplomatic relations with the Republic of Cuba through its mission to the United Nations. In New York, the Cuban and South Korean ambassadors to the UN exchanged diplomatic credentials and thus official diplomatic relations were established.
“The decision to establish official relations between the two countries was made in accordance with the purpose and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, international law, and in accordance with the spirit and rules established in the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of April 18, 1961,” announced the diplomatic mission of South Korea. It was agreed that embassies will be opened in both countries.
The news of the rapprochement between Seoul and Havana represents a kind of political sensation considering the friendly relations between Cuba and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea that have lasted since the Cuban Revolution in 1959 until today. Cuba thus became the 193rd country in the world with which the Republic of Korea maintains official diplomatic contacts. After establishing official diplomatic relations with Cuba, Syria remains the only member of the UN that does not have diplomatic relations with South Korea.
North Korea – the main obstacle in relations between Seoul and Havana
Although Cuba under the leadership of President Carlos Prío Socarrás officially recognized R. Korea in 1949, a year after its founding, political and trade relations were severed after left-wing revolutionary Fidel Castro took power after a successful revolution in 1959. Given that Cuba and North Korea were communist Eastern Bloc countries during the Cold War and staunchly anti-American determined, they established diplomatic relations in 1960 and continued to further develop them. It was in 1960 that the Cuban minister, the legendary Ernesto Che Guevara, visited Pyongyang and declared that Cuba should follow the North Korean model. Che was impressed by the lightning-fast post-war reconstruction of the war-torn country and the rapid industrial development. He told an American journalist that the DPRK “was a small country resurrected from the ashes of American bombing and invasion.”
Throughout the Cold War, but also after its end in 1991, Cuba and N. Korea have remained close allies and have supported each other to this day. In addition to the internal political and social similarity (one-party communist systems), the two countries were even more strongly linked by resistance to US foreign policy. Both Pyongyang and Havana were and remain under US sanctions. In 2013, in the midst of the rattling of nuclear weapons and the great crisis between Pyongyang and Washington, Fidel Castro wrote to North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un that “a nuclear war will not benefit anyone.” When Castro died in late 2016, three days of mourning were declared in the DPRK. and Kim called him a comrade. The new Cuban president, Miguel Diaz Canel, who succeeded Raul Castro, visited Pyongyang in 2018. Relations are still excellent.
Efforts to revive South Korean-Cuban relations
Intentions to thaw the frozen relations between Cuba and South Korea are not recent news. A closer look at Seoul’s foreign policy will reveal how, for nearly a quarter of a century, South Korean diplomats have been trying to revive ties with Cuba from a deadlock since the rule of President Kim Dae-jung. During his term in office in 1999, the Republic of Korea supported the UN General Assembly resolution on the need to lift the US trade embargo on Cuba, and this continued for years to come.
The Foreign Minister of the Republic of Korea, Yun Byung-se, in June 2016, during his official trip to Cuba for the 7th summit of the Association of Caribbean States (ASC), expressed Seoul’s intention to establish diplomatic ties with Cuba. Then Yun met with Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez for a private meeting. However, the Cubans persistently refused to establish relations with the South. Korea in order not to irritate or hurt their communist comrades from N. Korea.
Cuban motives for cooperation
Apparently, the rapprochement between Seoul and Havana was a mutual initiative – the interests coincided. On the one hand, the Cuban economy is in a good state. Although Cuba has been in an economic crisis since the US imposed a trade embargo on it in 1960, which is still in force, the situation has been particularly difficult in the last five years. The following processes have contributed to the unenviable economic situation in Cuba: 1) the crisis in Venezuela has influenced the fact that Caracas no longer sends large quantities of subsidized oil, 2) the massive coming to power of Cuba-unfriendly, right-wing, governments in South America that don’t support cooperation, 3) negative health consequences of the corona crisis, 4) inadequate economic policies that fueled inflation (30% in 2023) are the result of the decisions of the economically unskilled President Diaz Canel.
The economic situation in Cuba is so bad that some analysts estimate that the communist regime is the weakest since the so-called “Special period“ in the early 1990s after the collapse of the USSR. This is shown by street protests and arrests of dissidents. Cuba sees South Korea as a potential partner that can help it, since the South Korean economy is extremely powerful, developed and diversified. South Korea is the 4th largest economic power in Asia and the 12th largest economic power in the world. The South Koreans can supply the Cubans with practically every product from food to the most sophisticated technology. Of course, the question is what Uncle Sam will say and whether he will allow the South Koreans to have greater trade arrangements with Cuba.
South Korean motives for cooperation
On the other hand, Seoul wants to improve its status and reputation in the world, which is already high due primarily to the economic success of the South Korean state and giants such as Samsung, LG, Kia, Hyundai, SK Hynix, but also South Korean soft powers such as the successful film industry and industry entertainment (K-pop).
Unlike N. Korea, which has positioned itself as a pariah state that defies international order and peace by rattling nuclear and ballistic missiles, South Korea wants to profile itself as a factor of security, peace and prosperity in the Far East, but also in the world. This effort has always existed among South Korean policymakers, but it has gained stronger impulses since the conservative Yoon Suk Yeol became South Korea’s president in 2022. Yoon wants to make his country a stronger global brand, according to which the Republic of Korea would not only be an exemplary democratic state that is not a case state, but would go beyond local frameworks, respond to challenges and become a global point of stability that “promotes freedom, peace and prosperity through liberal democratic values and meaningful cooperation.”
South Korea can indeed play an important global role by contributing to shaping international relations, encouraging states to adhere to accepted international rules, and mediating between developed and developing countries.
South Korea as a globally important geopolitical actor
The United States and its partners in Asia and Europe have welcomed the Yoon government’s broader diplomatic, economic and strategic efforts that extend beyond Asia. The establishment of South Korean-Cuban relations represents the culmination of efforts by South Korean diplomacy to strengthen its position in Latin America and the Caribbean. Cuba was the only country in the South American and Caribbean region that did not have official ties to Seoul.
After the establishment of relations with Havana, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea announced that they now expect formal relations with Cuba to be a “key turning point” in their efforts to strengthen ties with Central and South America, expanding their diplomatic horizons and with countries that were loyal partners of North Korea. Yoon’s administration noted that Cuba is a key country in Latin America since it has diplomatic relations with 190 countries and diplomatic-consular missions in more than 100 countries, which makes it a key country in Latin America. The process of strengthening the relationship S. Korea’s relationship with Latin America is most visible in the fields of growing cultural and people-to-people exchange across the Pacific Ocean.
A lesser-known South Korean-Cuban collaboration
In accordance with Yoon’s vision of South Korea as a globally important country, South Korean companies, once diplomatic relations are established, will be able to establish their presence in Cuba. South Korea was also present in Cuba before and had a certain influence through tourism and the Korean diaspora there. About 1,100 people of Korean descent currently live in Cuba. In the pre-pandemic period, an average of 14,000 South Koreans visited the island nation each year.
Lim Soosuk, spokesman for the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that the opening of relations with Cuba will provide new business opportunities for South Korean companies and facilitate the South. Korea providing consular assistance to its nationals in that country. “In the future, our government will actively engage in further discussions with the Cuban government to promote friendship,” Lim concluded.
Cooperation has existed before. Since the Korea Trade and Investment Promotion Agency opened a branch office in Havana in 2005, there has been a steady development of bilateral trade. In 2022, the export of S. Korea’s exports to Cuba amounted to 14 million dollars, and imports from Cuba amounted to 7 million dollars. A festival of Cuban cinema was held in downtown Seoul in the summer of 2022, while a special exhibition presented Korean films at the Havana Film Festival last December.
Heated inter-Korean relations
The thawing of Cuban-South Korean relations coincides with growing inter-Korean tensions and a new crisis on the Korean Peninsula. Since the beginning of New Year 2024, Kim Jong-un has begun to refer to South Korea as the “primary and unchanging main enemy” of the DPRK (instead of the USA) and has called for changes to the constitution to explicitly state this.
In a speech before the Supreme People’s Assembly of the DPRK in January, Kim stated that N. Korea is abandoning its long-term goal of reconciliation with its southern neighbor and has threatened to destroy the South with nuclear weapons if provoked. He rejected the policy of uniting the two Koreas into a joint state of the Korean people. According to him, this is not possible because Seoul wanted to achieve this by force.
“We don’t want war, but we have no intention of avoiding it,” Kim said, adding that N. Korea should plan for “total domination and subjugation” of its southern neighbor in the event of a war conflict.
A dangerous future
The rapprochement of Havana and Seoul is interpreted by many as a real and symbolic blow to Pyongyang (as announced by the South Korean president’s office), which could always boast of friendly and comradely ties with the communist Caribbean island. Cuba was one of the few countries in the world, apart from China, Russia, Iran and Syria, which were always ready to unequivocally support North Korea in international forums and give it diplomatic support.
Some geopolitical experts point out that the warming of relations between Seoul and Havana will very likely further increase Pyongyang’s diplomatic isolation and will result in greater pressure from the West on Kim to turn to diplomacy and abandon the policy of direct confrontation with the South. Korea. However, this is not very likely. Events on the ground show different trends.
Kim has doubled the number of ballistic missile tests in recent weeks and continued to stockpile weapons. Recently, the most relevant thing has been the testing of cruise missiles. Kim has fully embraced the rhetoric of the Cold War between the two Koreas, which has not been seen for a long time. It is quite obvious that Kim wants to more actively involve the DPRK in a global Cold War 2.0 with reliance on China and Russia against the US in order to reduce diplomatic pressure for his regime to denuclearize. The support of Beijing and Moscow to Pyongyang is not in doubt. It looks like the Korean Cold War will further intensify as well as the global geopolitical constellation that many perceive as Cold War with real wars from Sudan to Myanmar.
Matija Šerić
Matija Šerić is a geopolitical analyst and journalist from Croatia and writes on foreign policy, history, economy, society, etc.
3. S. Korea, U.S. begin key annual military drills amid N.K. threats
Certainly everyone expects a north Korean provocation in response to our routine and regularly scheduled exercises. As a reminder this is a way to think about responding to nK threats.
Response to Tension, Threats, and Provocations-
(The regime’s “blackmail diplomacy”)
•First, do not overreact. Always call out Kim Jong-un's strategy As Sun Tzu would advise- “ …what is of supreme importance in war is to attack the enemy’s strategy; … next best is to disrupt his alliances.” Make sure the international community, the press, and the public in the ROK and the U.S. and the elite and the Korean people living in in the north know what Kim is doing.
•Second, never ever back down in the face of north Korean increased tension, threats, and provocations.
•Third, coordinate an alliance response. There may be times when a good cop-bad cop approach is appropriate. Try to mitigate the internal domestic political criticisms that will inevitably occur in Seoul and DC. Do not let those criticisms negatively influence policy and actions.
•Fourth, exploit weakness in north Korea - create internal pressure on Kim and the regime from his elite and military. Always work to drive a wedge among the party, elite, and military (which is a challenge since they are all intertwined and inextricably linked).
•Fifth, demonstrate strength and resolve. Do not be afraid to show military strength. Never misunderstand the north's propaganda - do not give in to demands to reduce exercises or take other measures based on north Korean demands that would in any way reduce the readiness of the combined military forces. The north does not want an end to the exercises because they are a threat, they want to weaken the alliance and force U.S. troops from the peninsula which will be the logical result if they are unable to effectively train.
•Sixth, depending on the nature of the provocation, be prepared to initiate a decisive response using the most appropriate tools, e.g., diplomatic, military, economic, information and influence activities, cyber, etc. or a combination.
•
North Korea’s Ballistic Missile Test: A 6 Step Strategy To Respond
https://www.19fortyfive.com/2022/01/north-koreas-ballistic-missile-test-a-6-step-strategy-to-respond/
(LEAD) S. Korea, U.S. begin key annual military drills amid N.K. threats | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Chae Yun-hwan · March 4, 2024
(ATTN: ADDS details in last 2 paras, photos)
By Chae Yun-hwan
SEOUL, March 4 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and the United States kicked off a major combined military exercise Monday to reinforce deterrence against North Korea's nuclear and missile threats amid concern Pyongyang could use the maneuvers as a pretext for provocations.
The annual Freedom Shield exercise got under way for an 11-day run amid heightened tensions over Pyongyang's continued saber-rattling, including artillery firings near the western sea border and a series of missile launches.
The springtime exercise marks the first one after Pyongyang in November scrapped a 2018 inter-Korean military accord designed to reduce tensions along the border, raising concerns of the North possibly staging provocative military demonstrations.
Pyongyang has long denounced the allies' military drills as rehearsals for an invasion against it and has a track record of conducting missile launches in protest of such exercises, though Seoul and Washington have said such exercises are purely defensive.
Col. Lee Sung-jun (L), the Joint Chiefs of Staff's spokesperson, bumps fists with Col. Issac Taylor, spokesperson of the U.S. Forces Korea, in a press briefing at the defense ministry's headquarters in central Seoul on Feb. 28, 2024, in this photo provided by the South Korean military. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
The South Korean and U.S. militaries said the latest exercise is aimed at improving their combined defense posture, noting that it will focus on multi-domain operations by utilizing land, sea, air, cyber and space assets, and countering the North's nuclear operations.
In a briefing last week, Col. Lee Sung-jun, the Joint Chiefs of Staff's spokesperson, said the exercise will simulate various scenarios and will include training on detecting and intercepting the North's cruise missiles.
The two sides plan to stage a total of 48 on-field drills this month -- more than double the number over a similar period last year -- although none of them are scheduled near the inter-Korean border, according to the South's military.
South Korean and U.S. air force personnel take part in a combined exercise at the Korean Air and Space Operations Center at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, 60 kilometers south of Seoul, on March 4, 2024, in this photo provided by the South's Air Force. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
Personnel from 12 member states of the United Nations Command, including Australia, Britain, the Philippines and Thailand, will join the exercise, with the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission (NNSC) observing them.
Members of the U.S.-led multinational command, established in 1950 under a U.N. mandate to support South Korea during the 1950-53 Korean War, have regularly participated in the combined exercise.
The NNSC is tasked with overseeing the implementation of the armistice of the Korean War, which technically never ended as the warring sides did not sign a peace treaty.
Amid concerns of provocative acts by North Korea, South Korean and U.S. reconnaissance aircraft were spotted flying over South Korea in apparent missions to monitor the North, according to flight trackers.
A U.S. RC-135V plane, which took off from Okinawa, Japan, and a South Korean RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aircraft were seen flying over waters off the western coast and Gyeonggi Province, which surrounds Seoul.
A U.S. RC-135V reconnaissance aircraft is seen in this undated photo provided by the U.S. military. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
yunhwanchae@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by Chae Yun-hwan · March 4, 2024
4. ＜Inside N. Korea＞ Preparation for construction mobilizations for Kim Jong-un’s “20x10 policy” are complete, but there’s already unrest and complaints among workers over supplies of food
This should be no surprise.
＜Inside N. Korea＞ Preparation for construction mobilizations for Kim Jong-un’s “20x10 policy” are complete, but there’s already unrest and complaints among workers over supplies of food
asiapress.org
People mobilized for the construction of a dike on the Yalu River. Photo taken from the Chinese side of the border across from North Pyongan Province in mid-July 2021 (ASIAPRESS)
Kim Jong-un announced the “20×10 Policy for Rural Development” during a January 15 speech. The policy aims to bridge the gap between the capital and the provinces and between urban and rural areas. In the speech, he ordered the construction of modern factories in 20 counties every year for the next 10 years. In the northern part of North Hamgyong Province, the selection of laborers for the construction projects was completed in late February, and construction is expected to begin in early March. However, anxiety about food supply is already spreading among local people. (By KANG Ji-won ／ ISHIMARU Jiro)
◆ Workers required to prepare their own work clothes, shovels and pickaxes
In late February, ASIAPRESS investigated the progress of the mobilization in Musan County, North Hamgyong Province. Musan County is home to the largest iron mine in North Korea. According to a reporting partner living in Musan, more than 300 people have been selected to work at the mine in Musan, as well as in Gyongsong and Orang counties, both areas that have been selected for the construction of the new plants.
"More than 300 people have been selected from the Musan mine alone. This is the total number of 'party members' and 'mine shock troop units,' plus those who volunteered. They were to prepare themselves by the end of February and go to the construction site by train at the beginning of March.
“Workers are required to bring their own tools for construction, such as blankets, overalls, work boots, shovels, pickaxes, crowbars, and ropes, all at personal expense. They were also issued ‘food suspension’ papers.”
Shock troop units: Specialized civil engineering organizations mobilized for national construction projects. There are two types: "permanent" units, recruited mainly from the Youth League and serving for about three years, and "temporary" units, recruited for projects from workplaces and party members.
A young man who is part of a “shock troop unit” mobilized by North Korea’s youth league for a project. People with little experience in construction are enlisted into the shock troop units and put to work on projects to be finished within a month. They are barely paid. Photo taken in September 2011 by Koo Kwang-ho (ASIAPRESS)
◆ How will workers and their families receive food?
What are “food suspension” papers?
In North Korea, the rule is that you receive food rations from one workplace. If workers are mobilized to another area, they must submit a certificate to the site they are mobilized to stating that they have stopped receiving food from their previous workplace. Only then can they resume receiving rations.
Workers mobilized for the construction of the factory will be provided with meals at the mobilization site if they carry a 'food suspension' document issued by Musan Mine. However, there are already many complaints about how the food will be provided to the workers.
"At Musan Mine, the food rationed to the workers is only for themselves, and at most, it is good for just five to seven days a month. There is no food for the workers’ families. When they are mobilized to build a factory, they can eat three meals a day at the site. It was decided that Musan Mine would pay for 15 days of food and the government would pay for the rest."
◆ Worker unrest spreads even before mobilizations begin
The move has caused a stir among the workers. Those who are not mobilized to build the factory and remain in the mines are worried that their rations will be reduced to the amount of daily meals given to those who are mobilized.
"We can't make money in the markets, so most of us live on the rations we get at work and the food sold at the state-run grain shops. Everyone is very sensitive to the amount of food they get from their workplace," the reporting partner said.
Since the pandemic began in 2020, the Kim regime has severely restricted private economic activity. It has banned the sale of rice and corn in markets and severely restricted the buying and selling of consumer goods. Meanwhile, it has reinstated food rationing for businesses, albeit in smaller quantities, and has occasionally sold food at state-run grain shops.
Urban residents, whose cash income has plummeted, have no choice but to rely on rationing and the state-run shops for food.
"There are many people who criticize and complain that (the government) wants to focus on building factories when it can't even provide food. Even the Musan Mine workers who were mobilized fed their children and families porridge with the little food they were given, and many of them are worried about what will happen to their families after they are mobilized to the construction site.”
Workers are expected to rotate out of the construction site every six months.
※ ASIAPRESS communicates with reporting partners through Chinese cell phones smuggled into North Korea.
A map of North Korea (ASIAPRESS)
asiapress.org
5. N. Korea deletes state media articles using unification references
KJU has taken away the hope of the Korean people in the north. This is a major miscalculation on his part and a major opportunity for the ROK. It is time to build a sophisticated information campaign around a human rights approach and the pursuit of a free and unified Korea that is the only path to an end of the nuclear threat and the crimes against humanity.
N. Korea deletes state media articles using unification references | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Minji · March 4, 2024
SEOUL, March 4 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has removed articles with unification references from the website of its state-run media outlet, after leader Kim Jong-un called South Korea the North's "primary foe" and vowed not to seek unification with the South.
As of Monday, a majority of the articles containing references to unification, such as "peaceful reunification," "great national unity" and "northern half," appear to have been deleted from the website of the North's Korean Central News Agency.
The move came as Kim has defined inter-Korean ties as relations between "two states hostile to each other" during a year-end party meeting.
In a speech on Jan. 16, Kim stressed that "linguistic remnants misinterpreting the north and the south as fellow countrymen" should not be used and that the "firm idea" viewing South Korea as a "primary foe" and "invariable principal enemy" should be instilled.
North Korea has since erased an image of the Korean Peninsula, viewed as a unification reference, from its major websites, as well as commemorative stamps, such as those of inter-Korean summits, from the website of its state-run stamp company.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un speaks in a parliamentary meeting at the Mansudae Assembly Hall in Pyongyang on Jan. 15, 2024, in this footage from the North's Korean Central Television aired the following day. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
mlee@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Minji · March 4, 2024
6. North Korea broke into S. Korean chip equipment firms, Seoul's spy agency says
The most flexible and effective tool of the regime is its all purpose sword. I think we need to put as much (if not much more) effort into defeating the all purpose sword as we put into denuclearization.
North Korea broke into S. Korean chip equipment firms, Seoul's spy agency says
By Hyonhee Shin
March 4, 20245:51 AM ESTUpdated 3 hours ago
A man holds a laptop computer as cyber code is projected on him in this illustration picture taken on May 13, 2017. RUTERS/Kacper Pempel/Illustration/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
SEOUL, March 4 (Reuters) - North Korea's hacking groups have broken into at least two South Korean manufacturers of chipmaking equipment, as the country looks to evade sanctions and turn out its own semiconductors for weapons programmes, South Korea's spy agency said on Monday.
The news comes after South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol warned North Korea could stage provocations, such as cyber attacks or spreading fake news, to interfere in April's parliamentary elections.
The National Intelligence Service (NIS) said the South Korean firms had been a key target of North Korean hackers since late last year, and called for tougher security.
North Korea penetrated the servers of two companies in December and February, stealing product design drawings and photographs of their facilities, the NIS said.
"We believe that North Korea might possibly be preparing to produce its own semiconductors in the face of difficulties in procuring them due to sanctions," it said in a statement.Also driving the North's efforts could be higher demand from its satellite, missile and other weapons programmes, it added.
Pyongyang has always denied involvement in cybercrimes, although North Korea has been blamed for cyberattacks netting millions of dollars.
The hackers employed a technique called "living off the land," which minimises malicious codes and uses existing, legitimate tools installed within the servers, making it difficult to detect with security software, the NIS said.
Reporting by Hyonhee Shin; Editing by Clarence Fernandez
7. Air combat drills kick off amid larger US-South Korean military exercise
This is the most important "dual contingency" force on the Korean peninsula. It is the only force that could be needed for a fight in both Korea and Taiwan. Therefore this training is useful for both fights.
But it is also one of the most important deterrent forces against north Korea because if there is one thing that the north fears as much as nuclear weapons it is US and ROK/US alliance air power because of its historical experience and what it knows it will do to the north if Kim attacks the South.
Air combat drills kick off amid larger US-South Korean military exercise
Stars and Stripes · by David Choi · March 4, 2024
South Korean F-15K Slam Eagles taxi on the runway at Osan Air Base, South Korea, March 4, 2024. (South Korean air force)
CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea — U.S. and South Korean airmen began a five-day combat drill to sharpen the allied defense against aerial attacks Monday amid a broader exercise that kicked off in South Korea that day.
More than 20 U.S. and South Korean fighters flew counter-air drills for Ssangmae Training, or Buddy Squadron, from Osan Air Base, roughly 30 miles south of Seoul, the Ministry of National Defense said in a news release.
Aircraft used in Buddy Squadron include F-16 Fighting Falcons from Osan’s 51st Fighter Wing and F-15K Slam Eagles from South Korea’s 11th Fighter Wing, according to the release.
“We are conducting the training as ‘one team’ to immediately respond to enemy provocations,” South Korean air force F-15K pilot Maj. Park Young-do said in the release.
The annual air drill began in 1998, according to the ministry.
A South Korean F-15K Slam Eagle touches down at Osan Air Base, South Korea, March 4, 2024. (South Korean air force)
Freedom Shield, a separate 11-day joint military exercise, also kicked off Monday.
The semiannual Freedom Shield is aimed at countering North Korean threats, such as its cruise-missile launch sites, South Korean army Col. Lee Sung-jun told reporters at a news conference Wednesday.
This year’s iteration is composed of 48 drills, double the number conducted in 2023, Lee said. Neither U.S. Forces Korea nor the Ministry of National Defense disclosed how many troops are participating in the exercise, citing operational security concerns.
U.N. Command member states Australia, Belgium, Canada, Colombia, France, Great Britain, Greece, Italy, New Zealand, the Philippines and Thailand will also be contributing troops for the exercise, according to U.S. Forces Korea.
The drills come as diplomatic relations between North and South Korea have stalled. In November, both countries withdrew from a military deconfliction agreement that had banned armed guards and aircraft patrols near the border since November 2018.
North Korea last fired a ballistic missile that flew roughly 620 miles before splashing down into the Sea of Japan, or East Sea, on Jan. 14. The communist regime also fired an unspecified number of cruise missiles over a 10-day span starting Jan. 24.
David Choi
David Choi
David Choi is based in South Korea and reports on the U.S. military and foreign policy. He served in the U.S. Army and California Army National Guard. He graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Stars and Stripes · by David Choi · March 4, 2024
8. Constructing Killwebs for Effects Based Targeting in Multi-Domain Operations (Korea)
So I mentioned this concept in last week's interview on VOA's Washington Talk.
I was fortunate enough to receive a brief from the Northeast Asia Fusion cell at Camp Humphreys during my recent trip to Korea.
Unfortunately, I could not do the concept justice in my edited remarks and my remarks were certainly overshadowed by the focus on Elbridge Colby's commentary..
Fortunately, the main author of the concept, Brian Davis, gave this presentation in January, I recommend taking one hour and watching his presentation. It is one of the major lines of effort we should be focusing on to deal with Kim Jong Un. This concept has tremendous application to kinetic targeting but I would argue is even more useful in support of an influence campaign (non-kinetic) targeting. It allows military and political leaders to appreciate the context, understand the problem ,and develop an approach (or multiple approaches).
https://nsiteam.com/smaspeakerseries_09january2024/
Constructing Killwebs for Effects Based Targeting in Multi-Domain Operations
January 2024 No Comments
Speaker: COL Brian Davis (Northeast Asia Regional Fusion Cell, US Forces Korea)
Date: 9 January 2024
Speaker Session Summary
A kill web is defined as a network map of a collection of kill chains. Colonel (COL) Davis used the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) as a case study to illustrate how a kill web can offer a comprehensive view of a multi-domain threat environment and actor decision-making calculus. He emphasized that kill webs can capture the multi-actor nature of an environment, highlighting China’s and Russia’s enablement of the DPRK and the crucial role played by US allies in the region. Allies provide the US with increased insertion capabilities, enabling more impactful and targeted activities within the kill web.
Constructing an effective kill web allows an actor to bring multi-domain capabilities to bear, empower allies, and gain the best possible understanding of adversary decision-making. By focusing on each domain, the kill web can help identify resource allocation priorities and determine which combatant command is most qualified to control operations in specific domains. COL Davis described a five-layer kill web: 1) the Geophysical Layer, 2) Logical Layer, 3) Data Layer, 4) Personal/Entity Layer, and 5) Cognitive Layer. The Cyber Domain in the Geophysical Layer is crucial, particularly for gathering data on the DPRK through satellite imagery. The Cognitive Layer was identified as the most important because it reveals the enemy’s decision-making calculus, the ultimate objective of the kill web. COL Davis outlined four requirements for generating a substantial effect on the network represented by the kill web: 1) current intel, 2) authorities and approval to act, 3) access, placement, and penetration, and 4) the capability to undertake a mission.
Speaker Session Recording
Briefing Materials
Biography: COL Brian R. Davis is the Director of the United States Forces Korea (USFK) Northeast Asia Regional Fusion Cell (NFC) in the J3X. He has lived in Korea off and on for almost 15 years dating back to 1988 when he first arrived in Pusan, Korea for two years as a missionary. Brian spent most of his military career providing intelligence support to Special Operations Forces including 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne), Special Operations Command Korea (SOCKOR) and the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC).
Brian’s first assignment as an Army officer in 2001 was in the United Nations Command Security Battalion Joint Security Area (UNCSB-JSA) Panmunjom, as the Executive Officer of the Joint Security Force (JSF) Republic of Korea Infantry Company and then as the JSA Battalion Adjutant. Due to his level of Korean language fluency, he was selected to serve as a backup translator in 32 meetings between the United Nation’s Command Military Armistice Commission (UNCMAC) and representatives of the North Korean People’s Army during the negotiations to build the Kaeseong Industrial Complex and open the two transportation corridors through the Demilitarized Zone.
Brian holds Bachelor of Science degrees in Economics and Political Science as well as a Masters of Public Administration (MPA) from Brigham Young University and a Masters of National Resource Strategy from the Eisenhower College at the National Defense University.
9. N. Korean elite’s demand for luxury clothing, accessories on the rise
Go figure. But Kim must keep them happy.
But does this provide a measure of effectiveness for analysis of information efforts from escapees in South Korea?
N. Korean elite’s demand for luxury clothing, accessories on the rise
"North Koreans, like South Koreans, prefer simple and high-quality styles and colors. In this way, they are different from the Chinese," a source told Daily NK, adding: "I think this is due to the influence of South Korean dramas and movies"
By Seulkee Jang - March 4, 2024
dailynk.com
N. Korean elite’s demand for luxury clothing, accessories on the rise - Daily NK English
The Rakwon Department Store in Pyongyang. (Minjokdaedangyol Homepage)
Demand for designer goods procured by North Korean trade officials in Pyongyang has increased dramatically, suggesting a growing preference among the upper class for luxury clothing and accessories.
On Feb. 27, Daily NK spoke to a source who said trade officials in Pyongyang have recently been ordering luxury goods – including bags, clothes, and shoes – from their counterparts in China.
Pyongyang trade officials usually find pictures and prices of the goods they want on the Internet from inside North Korea and then request them from Chinese traders. Sometimes they give their counterparts only a price range and a brand and confirm the price after the Chinese trader finds a picture of an item that meets their request.
Trade officials appear to buy products that best embody both the tastes and financial power of the upper class.
“North Koreans, like South Koreans, prefer simple and high-quality styles and colors. In this way, they are different from the Chinese,” the source said. “I think this is due to the influence of South Korean dramas and movies.”
In particular, Pyongyang trade officials often request luxury clothing, including shoes, T-shirts, and sweaters from brands such as Gucci, Ferragamo, and Fendi. Items like these are expensive, often totaling RMB 5,000 to 6,000 (about USD 700 to 850).
In the case of bags, prices can be much higher, and requests often include a variety of styles from different brands, including tote bags, crossbody bags, and backpacks.
When Pyongyang trade officials place orders for luxury items or other miscellaneous goods, they request at least three or four items and as many as 100. The source explained that this is because it is relatively difficult to secure dozens of expensive bags at one time, so the trade officials request a small number and supplement the order with other products worth about RMB 5,000 each. In this way, they ensure that each transaction is worth millions of Chinese yuan.
Chinese merchants find it difficult to source enough luxury brand goods in one place to fulfill Pyongyang’s large orders, so they source the items from several cities in China, including Beijing, Qingdao, and Shenyang.
In the past, North Korea obtained luxury goods through trade officials or diplomats sent abroad, but more recently traders have been able to search for items within the country, specify what they want, and import the goods through Chinese traders, resulting in new trade routes and systems as well as higher trade volumes.
Trade officials in Pyongyang have also emphasized to Chinese traders that they will not accept counterfeit goods, going so far as to require certificates of authenticity with the products. In the past, North Korean trade officials preferred counterfeits, but now they insist that the goods they receive are genuine.
“These luxury clothing and other goods are then sold in large department stores or foreign currency shops in Pyongyang,” the source said. “This means that the demand for luxury goods has increased among members of the upper class, such as high-ranking officials or moneylenders in Pyongyang.
“You can buy luxury clothing or bags at Daesong or Rakwon department stores,” added another Pyongyang-based source. “If you ask a department store for a certain item, they’ll even find it for you.” In this way, department stores act as procurement companies.
The regime is eager to keep the elite happy
Despite North Korea’s worsening economic crisis due to the closure of its borders following the outbreak of COVID-19, the upper class’s demand for luxury items has only increased.
“When Kim Jong Un made an official visit to the high-end Daesong Department Store in Pyongyang, he instructed the staff to ‘ensure the comfort and convenience of the people.’” This statement can be seen as an acceptance of the material demands of Pyongyang’s ruling class, which is the target group of Daesong Department Store,” Oh Gyeong-seob, senior researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification (KINU), told Daily NK in a phone call.
Oh’s statement refers to Kim Jong Un’s visit to Daesong Department Store in 2019, where he told employees, “We must ensure people’s comfort and convenience in their daily lives by selling enough high-quality daily necessities and consumer goods to meet their ever-growing tastes and desires.”
Oh believes that the North Korean authorities understand the material desires of high-ranking officials and the upper class, and are actively taking steps to cultivate a system that provides them with what they want.
“The North Korean elite were probably more eager to own these luxury products after seeing that Kim Jong Un, the country’s most important celebrity, and those close to him also owned them,” Oh said. “In addition, it appears that the wealthy are now engaging in a kind of ‘revenge buying’ as trade has remained very limited due to the impact of COVID-19.”
Translated by Audrey Gregg. 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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Seulkee Jang
Seulkee Jang is one of Daily NK’s full-time journalists. Please direct any questions about her articles to dailynk@uni-media.net.
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10. Young N. Koreans increasingly skip work due to economic hardship
Is this an indicator of potential instability?
Young N. Koreans increasingly skip work due to economic hardship
"The number of young people skipping work in Hyesan has more than doubled," a source told Daily NK
By Lee Chae Un - March 4, 2024
https://www.dailynk.com/english/young-north-koreans-increasingly-skip-work-due-economic-hardship/
"Members of the Socialist Patriotic Youth League on an excursion to the Mt. Paektu Milyong Birth Home climbed Mt. Paektu, the holy mountain of the Revolution on Feb. 20," Rodong Sinmun reported on Feb. 21. (Rodong Sinmun-News1)
As North Koreans face continuing economic hardship in the wake of the pandemic, more and more young people are skipping work. Employers are issuing stern warnings and even taking legal action in serious cases, but this only makes young people more defiant.
“The number of young people skipping work in Hyesan has more than doubled. While there used to be a few absentee workers at workplaces, there are now five or more on average,” a source in Yanggang Province told Daily NK on Feb. 29, speaking on condition of anonymity.
According to the source, absenteeism among young people in Hyesan has been on the rise recently. The source explained that many people have little motivation to show up for their government-assigned jobs, which often pay little or nothing, as the economic situation has not improved even after the pandemic.
At a cement factory in Hyesan, five young people missed more than ten days of work in February. The factory had representatives visit the homes of the young truants to assess the situation, but the factory has yet to come up with a concrete plan of action.
“A young man met the love of his life in 2022. They had just started living together because financial difficulties prevented them from getting married, and they had a child last November. But in their poverty, the mother couldn’t afford enough food to breastfeed properly, and the baby whimpered with hunger every day. So the young man has been skipping work while looking for other ways to earn some money,” the source said.
The factory manager who stopped by the young man’s home was shocked to see the family earning a living from a small patch of land they farmed near the city center. The manager felt sorry for the family and returned to the factory without taking any further action.
When seven young people skipped work at a construction company in Hyesan this month, three of the absentees were given disciplinary labor sentences.
“Although officials sternly warn young people that frequent absenteeism will result in legal punishment, and although several people have actually been sent to disciplinary labor camps, absenteeism isn’t decreasing. This shows that young people consider their livelihoods more important than their jobs,” the source said.
The source quoted a North Korean youth as saying, “We have seen with our own eyes that our parents remained loyal until they collapsed from hunger, but their efforts went unrewarded.”
“When we’re on the verge of starvation, what’s the point of being called a hero or getting some kind of medal?” said another.
“We can’t survive unless we pull ourselves up by our bootstraps. That’s why going to work is worse than death and feels like a kind of torture,” said a third young person.
“Young people who have suffered economically even after the end of the pandemic feel desperate about their future. If the authorities rely on legal measures to deal with this, young people’s distrust and antipathy towards the state will only increase in the future, which could have serious consequences,” the source said.
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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11. Korea nears population extinction despite warnings in 1988
I guess Korea cannot say it was not warned.
Korea nears population extinction despite warnings in 1988
donga.com
Posted March. 04, 2024 08:09,
Updated March. 04, 2024 08:09
Korea nears population extinction despite warnings in 1988. March. 04, 2024 08:09. .
‘Our nation's population is expected to undergo a rapid decline over the next 30 years.’
This is the first sentence of an article published in the society section of The Dong-A Ilbo on Nov. 12, 1988. Accompanied by a subheading stating, 'Last year's total fertility rate recorded 1.7,’ the article concludes with a quote from Lee Si-baek, then a professor at Seoul National University Graduate School of Public Health: “I think it's because of the success of family planning programs. Moving forward, population policy and all relevant policy plans will have to be drastically revised.” This was during the 1980s, a time when the slogan 'even one child floods the Korean peninsula' was prevalent.
The prediction has become a reality after 32 years. From 2020, when more people died than were born for the first time, to last year, there was a natural decline of 336,300 people. The population of Hanam City, Gyeonggi Province, and Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, has disappeared in just four years. The total fertility rate fell to less than half of 1.7, reaching 0.72 last year and 0.65 in the fourth quarter alone. Considering that the fertility rate needed to maintain the current population is 2.1, the prediction that we will become the "first country to face extinction in the world" is likely to materialize.
Since the success of family planning in 1980, which saw the fertility rate plummet from 2.82 to 1 mark, we knew the problems that a declining fertility rate would bring, as developed countries were already experiencing population decline, a growing elderly population, and labor shortages due to low fertility rates. According to a December 7, 1981 editorial, “It may seem desirable to stop population growth by further reducing the fertility rate since we feel the side effects of overpopulation in our daily lives, but the example of the developed countries teaches us that population problems bring a new series of issues not only in terms of food and unemployment.”
The failure to respond to the declining birthrate, which was as evident as an 'open book test,' is also apparent in the issue of work-family balance. In a 1981 interview, the late Dr. Lee Tai-young, Korea's first female lawyer, stated, “Of Korea's 18.64 million female population, 5.25 million are employed, constituting 28% of the total. While the number of working women is increasing, many areas still lack the experience and wisdom needed to address issues such as balancing work and family.” The problem of women being forced to choose between work and family is one of the main reasons for the declining birthrate, as the proportion of employed women has nearly doubled.
The idea of a 'demographic cliff' and a 'single tax' on unmarried households is not uncommon in the online community. On Sept. 19, 1977, a short article titled 'Fines for Childlessness' appeared in the foreign topics section, featuring a British professor's prediction that the U.K., facing a declining birth rate, would have to fine childless couples by the year 2000. What once seemed like a foreign topic has now become commonplace in Korea.
As I reflect on the articles that have appeared in newspapers, I come to the stark realization that the frightening prediction made 30 years ago has come true: 'In the next 30 years or so, we will be the first country in the world to disappear because of population decline, not war or disaster.' I hope this sentence is never quoted as having become a reality.
한국어
donga.com
12. Hungry North Koreans who 'eat grass' resent Kim Jong-un's flashy gift from Putin
The people cannot eat a limousine.
Hungry North Koreans who 'eat grass' resent Kim Jong-un's flashy gift from Putin
News that Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin gifted North Korean leader Kim Jong-un a luxury and showy gift amid growing hardships has hit North Korean residents where it hurts - in their hungry stomachs
NEWS
ByZita Whalley
dailystar.co.uk · by Zita Whalley · March 3, 2024
A lavish gift from one autocrat to another has sparked resentment among impoverished and hungry citizens.
North Korean nationals have criticised the news that Russian despot Vladimir Putin gifted North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un a luxury car in light of growing hardships.
North Korean state media quoted Kim You Jong, politician and Kim Jong-un's younger sister, praising the gift, saying: "This is a fine gift that will serve as a clear symbol of the special friendship that has developed between the leaders of our two countries".
Click here for the latest news and updates from the Daily Star
A luxury gift from Putin to Kim Jong-un has made North Koreans resentful (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
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An unnamed source told the paper news of flashy gifts is "unpleasant" when people are facing food shortages.
The source said: “Whenever residents of Chongjin [capital of North Korea's North Hamgyong Province] hear that the Marshal [Kim Jong-un] recently received a car from President Putin, they furrow their brows.”
The source added that a Chongjin resident said that news of such lavish gifts make struggling citizens more "neurotic".
They said: “People like us are so poor that we can barely find grass to chew. Still, we have to make a living somehow, or else we’ll have to beg on the streets until we roll over and die. For people like us, it’s better not to hear that [Kim] received a car as a gift, because it will only make us more neurotic."
North Koreans are facing growing food shortages, and other hardships (Image: Getty Images)
Discontent among North Korean nationals is growing. While food shortages become widespread families haven't seen any rations, despite rumours that the government has done well selling arms to Russia.
Another Chongjin resident said: “They may try to keep us in the dark, but we’re not blind and deaf. We know what’s going on.
"The North Koreans know very well that we have to tighten our belts so that they can make weapons, sell them to other countries, and then use the proceeds to make more weapons.
One North Korean said they can 'barely find grass to chew' (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
"I have no idea who benefits from strengthening our military or developing nuclear weapons.
"To me, the news about the car felt like mocking hungry people by putting some meat in front of them and saying, 'Look at this! Don’t you wish you could have some?'"
Another resident said: “If he really cared about the people, he would have asked for food instead of a car and given everyone a few kilos,” said a third.
For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletter by clicking here.
dailystar.co.uk · by Zita Whalley · March 3, 2024
13. NIS warns of rise in North Korean hacking threats against South Korean chipmakers
The ROK, US, and like minded democracies must fight the cyber war. We are actively at war with north Korea in the cyber domain.
NIS warns of rise in North Korean hacking threats against South Korean chipmakers
koreaherald.com · by Kim Arin · March 4, 2024
Court administrator apologizes for leak following Lazarus attacks
By Kim Arin
Published : March 4, 2024 - 18:32
(123rf)
South Korea’s spy agency on Monday warned of a recent uptick in North Korean hacking threats against South Korean semiconductor firms.
The National Intelligence Service said North Korean hackers have been ramping up hacking efforts targeting South Korean semiconductor equipment makers since the latter half of 2023.
The NIS said the North Korean hackers mainly focused on companies whose servers are connected to the Internet and who had their vulnerabilities exposed.
The North Korean hackers used the “Living off the Land” or the LotL technique, which minimizes the use of malware and instead uses legitimate programs installed on the servers, the NIS said. This technique makes it harder for security tools to detect the attacks.
As examples of recent cases, the NIS cited two companies that were robbed of important commercial secrets such as product design drawings and photographs of facility sites from their servers over the past three months.
The NIS is working with the companies that suffered the North Korean hacking attacks to upgrade their security measures. Other semiconductor firms have been informed to conduct security checks to prevent damage.
The NIS recommended companies run security updates for servers exposed to the Internet and authenticate company accounts regularly to beef up security.
The NIS believes North Korea may be preparing to produce its own semiconductors amid sanctions imposed by the international community, to meet its rising demand for weapons such as satellites and missiles.
In another instance of a North Korean hacking attack, South Korea’s court administrator on Monday apologized for leaks perpetrated by Lazarus, a group of hackers linked to the North Korean regime, pledging to take security steps.
In a message uploaded to the Supreme Court website on Monday, the court administrator said that an investigation conducted since foreign hacking attempts were detected in February last year found that the attacks were believed to be of North Korean origin.
The investigation concluded that there was a high risk of North Korean hackers having broken into the judiciary servers and leaking confidential documents and other data.
“We would like to offer our deepest apologies to the public for causing great concern,” the message read. “Based on the findings of the investigation, we will be taking follow-up measures as promptly as we can to mend the security flaws and prevent future occurrences.”
Last year, the court administrator asked the police to investigate following preliminary findings that the techniques used to break into the networks were similar to the ones used by Lazarus.
koreaherald.com · by Kim Arin · March 4, 2024
14. NK may stage provocations during combined exercise, defense minister warns
We must expect this. But we should not fear this.
Do not fear the reaper or north Korean provocations.
NK may stage provocations during combined exercise, defense minister warns
The Korea Times · March 4, 2024
An Apache helicopter flies at U.S. Army Garrison Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, Monday, as the militaries of South Korea and the U.S. kicked off the Freedom Shield combined exercise. Yonhap
South Korea, US kick off annual joint military drills
By Nam Hyun-woo
North Korea might stage provocations during the annual Freedom Shield combined military exercise between South Korea and the United States, Seoul’s defense minister said, Monday.
“There are chances for North Korea to stage various provocations on the occasion of (the allies’) combined training and major elections in South Korea and the U.S., in order to set up a strategic environment advantageous to the regime,” Defense Minister Shin Won-sik said during a forum in Seoul.
Shin was referring to the Freedom Shield exercise which kicked off on the same day for an 11-day run. It is a computer-simulated, defense-oriented command post exercise event, but the allies have also been conducting various types of field drills during the period.
During this year’s Freedom Shield, the allies will conduct 48 rounds of on-field drills, which is more than double those of last year’s edition. Also, training for tracking and intercepting North Korean cruise missiles is included in this year's program, given that Pyongyang has already launched cruise missiles five times this year. It remains uncertain whether the U.S. will deploy strategic assets such as bombers or nuclear submarines during the period.
Members of the South Korea-U.S. Combined Air Component Command participate in the Freedom Shield exercise at the Korea Air and Space Operations Center at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, Monday. Courtesy of ROK Air Force
The North detests the Freedom Shield exercise, claiming it is “practice for war against the North.”
When the allies held the exercise last year, the North said “the U.S. and South Korea are explicitly showcasing their attempt at military dominance on the Korean Peninsula, and North Korea will respond to it, if the U.S. chooses to show its force.”
The possibilities of North Korea’s provocations during the Freedom Shield period are higher this year, because the two Koreas have virtually scrapped their 2018 Comprehensive Military Agreement aimed at completely ceasing all hostile acts against each other, including military trainings targeting each other in border areas.
During his speech, Shin stated that he and his U.S. counterpart, Lloyd Austin, reaffirmed the rock-solid alliance between Seoul and Washington in a phone call last week.
“South Korea and the U.S. are striving for peace through strength based on a robust combined defense posture,” Shin said. “Through the Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) between the two countries, the allies will complete comprehensive extended deterrence by the first half of this year.”
During the second NCG between Seoul and Washington in December, the two countries agreed to conduct exercises based on a scenario of a nuclear attack by the North. This will not be included in the ongoing Freedom Shield training, but likely to be included in the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise in August.
The Korea Times · March 4, 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
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