Quotes of the Day:

"War has rules, mud wrestling has rules - politics has no rules."

- Ross Perot

"You meet saints everywhere. They can be anywhere. They are people behaving decently in an indecent society." 

-Kurt Vonnegut

"I do not know what I may appear to the world, but to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the seashore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me." 

- Sir Isaac Newton

1. Joint Press Statement for the 22nd Korea-U.S. Integrated Defense Dialogue

2. North Korea Fires Ballistic Missile Toward Japan

3. N. Korea fires intermediate- or longer-range ballistic missile toward East Sea: S. Korean military

4. Seoul Stands Firm on Not Sending Lethal Weapons to Ukraine

5. Look where a year of Yoon’s “values diplomacy” has landed Korea

6. China, North Korea building underwater strike drones

7. North Korea likely fired solid-fuel ballistic missile

8. US urges NK to halt missile provocation, come to negotiating table

9. S. Korea to conduct radiation tests on 89 N. Korean defectors from May

10. Presidential office: It will not request apology for US wiretapping allegation

11. South Korea and Japan Try to Mend Ties Without Stirring Trouble

12. N. Korea unresponsive to regular contact via inter-Korean liaison line for 7th day

13. Poland urges U.S. to 'intervene' with Korea on Ukrainian arms issue

14. Japan says evacuation warning for North Korea missile was not a mistake

1. Joint Press Statement for the 22nd Korea-U.S. Integrated Defense Dialogue

This is a very substantive press statement from the KIDD. I commend the ROK and US action officers who crafted this. It is a very comprehensive statement.

I would like to highlight this paragraph:

Additionally, both sides reiterated the need to strengthen combined exercises and training and recognized the importance of returning to large-scale field exercises. To this effect, the leaders assessed that the Freedom Shield 23 (FS23) exercise — which was held in March of this year — showcased Alliance readiness and capabilities. They also concurred on the need to conduct practical combined exercises and trainings during the latter half of the year. Furthermore, the two sides emphasized that any nuclear attack by North Korea against the United States or its Allies and partners is unacceptable and will result in the end of the Kim regime.

Joint Press Statement for the 22nd Korea-U.S. Integrated Defense Dialogue

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Immediate Release

April 12, 2023 |×

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The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and the Republic of Korea (ROK) Ministry of National Defense (MND) held the 22nd Korea-U.S. Integrated Defense Dialogue (KIDD) from April 11-12, 2023 in Washington, D.C.

Assistant Secretary of Defense (ASD) for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs, Dr. Ely Ratner, and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (DASD) for East Asia, Dr. Siddharth Mohandas, led the U.S. delegation. Deputy Minister for National Defense Policy (DEPMIN), Dr. Heo Tae-keun, led the ROK delegation. Key senior U.S. and ROK defense and foreign affairs officials also participated. In addition, DASD for Nuclear and Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Policy, Mr. Richard Johnson, and DASD Mohandas together co-chaired the Deterrence Strategy Committee (DSC) session of the KIDD with DEPMIN Heo.

During the Security Policy Initiative (SPI), both sides reaffirmed the shared U.S. and ROK goal of the complete and verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and pledged that the Alliance would continue to strengthen its combined defense posture and capabilities to defend the ROK as well as deter conflict on the Peninsula. Both sides acknowledged that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) continues to diversify its delivery systems and advance its nuclear capability following unprecedented missile testing in 2022 and continued provocations in 2023. The leaders committed to responding to DPRK provocations that undermine regional peace and stability through close and coordinated bilateral responses that demonstrate the strength of the Alliance. They also reaffirmed the importance of full implementation by the international community of all United Nations (UN) Security Council Resolutions.

Additionally, both sides reiterated the need to strengthen combined exercises and training and recognized the importance of returning to large-scale field exercises. To this effect, the leaders assessed that the Freedom Shield 23 (FS23) exercise — which was held in March of this year — showcased Alliance readiness and capabilities. They also concurred on the need to conduct practical combined exercises and trainings during the latter half of the year. Furthermore, the two sides emphasized that any nuclear attack by North Korea against the United States or its Allies and partners is unacceptable and will result in the end of the Kim regime.

Considering the latest DPRK missile provocations, the leaders recognized the importance of combined readiness training and the Alliance’s missile defense architecture for defending the ROK people as well as U.S. and ROK deployed forces. They also assessed that the recent training event involving the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery contributed to the Alliance’s missile defense. The two sides also discussed the ROK Government’s plans to establish a combined joint multi-purpose live-fire training complex to significantly improve the training conditions of both nations, as well as ROK efforts to ensure routine and unfettered access to the U.S. THAAD site.

On science and technology cooperation, both sides recognized the need to modernize the Alliance in order to adapt to the evolving security environment and prepare for future challenges. To this effect, the two delegations pledged to continue efforts to strengthen science and technology cooperation while reinvigorating existing consultation mechanisms.

Both leaders also commended the ongoing progress being made through the Cyber Cooperation Working Group (CCWG) and Space Cooperation Working Group (SCWG). In particular, they expressed support towards developing a bilateral U.S.-ROK cyber exercise to build cyber capabilities and applauded ongoing efforts to conduct a U.S.-ROK Space Cooperation table-top exercise (TTX) later this year.

During the Conditions-based Operational Control (OPCON) Transition Working Group (COTWG), both sides acknowledged the progress made towards the transition of wartime OPCON to the Future Combined Forces Command (F-CFC) and reaffirmed a mutual commitment to meeting the three conditions under the bilaterally approved Conditions-based OPCON Transition Plan (COTP) and to strengthening Alliance combined defense capabilities. In particular, both leaders concurred on acquiring bilaterally approved levels of capabilities and systems, before recommending Full Operational Capability (FOC) Certification to the Security Consultative Meeting (SCM).

During the Executive Session, ASD Ratner and DEPMIN Heoled discussions on the increasingly complex regional and global security environment while reaffirming the importance of adhering to a rules-based international order. The two leaders also affirmed the shared U.S. and ROK commitment to maintaining peace and stability, lawful unimpeded commerce, and international norms such as freedom of navigation and overflight and other lawful use of the seas in the Indo-Pacific region — including the South China Sea and beyond. The two leaders also reinforced the importance of preserving peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and pledged to continue promoting defense and security cooperation throughout the region.

In addition, both delegations pledged to work closely together to implement the U.S. Indo-Pacific Strategy and the ROK Strategy for a Free, Peaceful, and Prosperous Indo-Pacific Region in order to promote regional peace and stability. They also discussed outcomes from the inaugural meeting of the Regional Cooperation Working Group (RCWG) in March 2023 and pledged to jointly seek measures to implement close cooperation with Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Pacific Island countries.

On trilateral cooperation with Japan, both leaders noted that trilateral cooperation among the three countries is critical for advancing shared security interests in the Indo-Pacific region, such as deterring and responding to DPRK’s nuclear and missile threats and both leaders committed to continuing discussions on trilateral security cooperation by utilizing the Defense Trilateral Talks (DTT). Both sides also welcomed the normalization of the ROK-Japan General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) during the March ROK-Japan Summit. They also affirmed the critical role that the GSOMIA continues to play in enabling bilateral cooperation between the ROK and Japan, as well as trilateral security cooperation among the ROK, United States, and Japan.

During the DSC, both sides discussed various ways to enhance U.S. extended deterrence. Both sides acknowledged progress on the revision of the ROK-U.S. Tailored Deterrence Strategy (TDS) based on guidance from U.S. and ROK strategic documents to effectively deter and respond to advancing DPRK nuclear and missile threats.

The leaders also commended the successful completion of a DSC TTX in February 2023 and pledged to continue discussions on deterrence and response options through future TTXs.

Both sides committed to strengthen cooperation in each area of extended deterrence including information sharing, joint planning and execution, consultation mechanisms, and crisis communication in preparation for DPRK threats and accelerate expanding the ROK’s role under the combined defense system.

U.S. officials reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to the defense of the ROK, leveraging the full range of U.S. military capabilities, including nuclear, conventional, and missile defense capabilities as well as advanced non-nuclear capabilities. ROK officials underscored their efforts to strengthen the ROK 3K Defense and establish the ROK Strategic Command, which is to contribute to deterrence and respond to DPRK’s advancing nuclear and missile threats under the robust combined defense posture.

Furthermore, the leaders reviewed progress on the Program Analysis Working Group (PAWG) for U.S.-ROK Missile Defense and the Counter Missile Working Group (CMWG) and pledged to continue close collaboration.

In conclusion, U.S. and ROK leaders assessed that the 22ndKIDD bolstered Alliance coordination and strengthened the U.S.-ROK combined defense posture. Based on these outcomes, the two sides pledged to continue progress leading up to the 55th SCM, scheduled for Fall 2023, and other 70th Anniversary events. They also agreed to continue discussions on holding the ROK-UNC Member States Defense Ministerial Meeting. The leaders concurred that the ROK-U.S. Summit, which will take place in late April on the 70thAnniversary of the Alliance, will be a significant step that propels the Alliance toward an even more global and comprehensive strategic Alliance.

South Korea Indo-Pacific Science technology Engineering

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2.

Kim Jong Un continues his failed strategy. Every launch makes the ROK, Japan, and the US strengthen their cooperation. US alliances in Northeast Asia grow stronger.

And it is most important that we do not make concessions while he conducts these provocations. If we do make concessions then Kim Jong Un will assess his political warfare and blackmail diplomacy strategies are working.

North Korea Fires Ballistic Missile Toward Japan

Launch comes as the country has stopped responding to calls on inter-Korean hotlines

https://www.wsj.com/articles/north-korea-fires-ballistic-missile-toward-japan-2c728f14?mod=Searchresults_pos1&page=1

By Jiyoung SohnFollow

April 12, 2023 10:09 pm ET

SEOUL—North Korea fired a ballistic missile on Thursday, nearly a week after the country’s military stopped responding to calls on an inter-Korean military hotline and days after leader Kim Jong Un vowed to strengthen the military’s capabilities.

The missile was launched at a lofted trajectory around 7:20 a.m. from an area near North Korea’s capital of Pyongyang, traveling for more than 600 miles before landing in waters east of the Korean Peninsula, according to South Korea’s military. Japan sent out an alert warning residents in the country’s northernmost island of Hokkaido to take shelter but later said the missile didn’t land in Japan’s territory or its exclusive economic zone.

Japan’s Defense Ministry said it was possibly an intercontinental ballistic missile, and South Korea’s military said it was a medium- or longer-range ballistic missile.

South Korea condemned the North’s missile launch, calling it a serious provocation that harmed peace and stability. Washington and Seoul held a meeting after the missile test and reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening their joint defenses.

North Korea’s latest missile launch is part of a pattern of tit-for-tat military responses to the U.S. and South Korea’s large-scale joint military exercises held throughout last month, which Pyongyang has characterized as preparations for an invasion.

Earlier this week, North Korea’s leader said the country would expand its defense capabilities in a “more practical and offensive” manner to address the “ever-worsening security on the Korean Peninsula” during a military meeting, according to North Korea’s state media.

North Korea has long used a playbook of using weapons tests to keep pressure on the U.S. and South Korea’s military exercises and claimed that it must develop nuclear weapons to deal with Washington’s continued military threats.

Following a record number of missile launches in 2022, North Korea has conducted a flurry of weapons tests this year, including firing cruise missiles from a submarine and an intercontinental ballistic missile.

South Korea said late last week that North Korea had stopped responding to calls on inter-Korean hotlines. The joint liaison offices and militaries for the two countries typically conduct check-ins via phone calls twice a day—once in the morning and once in the afternoon.

Earlier this week, South Korean Unification Minister Kwon Young-se expressed regret at North Korea’s “irresponsible attitude” over the hotline and warned that the North will “only further isolate itself and end up in a more difficult position” with its actions.

The ministry also warned North Korea to halt its unauthorized use of South Korean facilities at a now-stalled inter-Korean industrial park in North Korea’s city of Kaesong. In 2016, South Korea closed the Kaesong industrial park—a symbol of cooperation between the two Koreas—to penalize the North for its nuclear test and rocket launch at the time.

The U.S., South Korea and Japan have been strengthening their collective defenses to counter North Korea’s nuclear and missile threat. Washington and Seoul officials have said the country stands ready to conduct its first nuclear test since 2017. 

—Chieko Tsuneoka in Tokyo contributed to this article.

Write to Jiyoung Sohn at jiyoung.sohn@wsj.com

Copyright ©2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

3. N. Korea fires intermediate- or longer-range ballistic missile toward East Sea: S. Korean military

(5th LD) N. Korea fires intermediate- or longer-range ballistic missile toward East Sea: S. Korean military | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by 송상호 · April 13, 2023

(ATTN: ADDS more info, details in paras 4-7, 9; RECASTS throughout)

SEOUL, April 13 (Yonhap) -- North Korea fired an intermediate- or longer-range ballistic missile toward the East Sea on Thursday, South Korea's military said, escalating tensions amid its continued refusal to answer what used to be daily cross-border calls.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the launch in the vicinity of Pyongyang at 7:23 a.m., and the missile, fired at a lofted angle, flew about 1,000 kilometers before splashing into the water.

"The intelligence authorities of South Korea and the United States are conducting a comprehensive analysis on its detailed specifications," the JCS said in a text message sent to reporters.

The North appears to have tested a "new" missile system, a Seoul official said on condition of anonymity. He noted the allies are looking into "various" possibilities, including the launch having involved a solid-propellant intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).

South Korea's presidential National Security Council (NSC) "strongly" denounced the North's launch of a ballistic missile, while the U.S. NSC called the launch an "ICBM" test.

"The United States strongly condemns the DPRK for its test of a long-range ballistic missile," NSC spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement, referring to the North by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Soon after the launch, the allies held a coordination meeting and reaffirmed the two sides will further solidify their combined defense posture against "any North Korean threats and provocations," the JCS said.

"North Korea's ballistic missile launch is a grave provocative act that not only harms peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula but also in the international community, and a clear violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions," it said, urging the North to immediately stop such launches.

Seoul officials said the latest launch might have been aimed partially at flaunting the North's nuclear force ahead of the 111th birthday of the late Kim Il-sung, the North's national founder and the current leader's grandfather, on Saturday, and protesting the deterrence efforts by Seoul and Washington.

The North's last launch involving an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) or a longer-range one was that of a Hwasong-17 ICBM on March 16.

This week's launch came amid speculation that the recalcitrant regime could fire a long-range rocket to put its first military satellite into orbit given its professed plan to finish preparations for the launch by this month.

Since last Friday, the North has not responded to routine cross-border calls through inter-Korean liaison and military communication lines, raising concerns that the absence of regular contact could lead to provocations by the reclusive regime.

Pyongyang has recently ratcheted up tensions through hardening rhetoric and other provocative moves, such as the testing of what it claimed to be underwater nuclear attack drones.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has called for expanding his country's war deterrence in a more "practical and offensive" manner, as he presided over a key ruling party meeting Monday, according to Pyongyang's state media.

During the meeting, Kim was seen pointing to an apparent military operational map featuring key targets in the South -- a scene that raised speculation that he might have planned drills or other provocative acts with the targets in mind.

A ballistic missile is launched toward the East Sea from the Jangyon area in South Hwanghae Province on March 14, 2023, in this file photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency the following day. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

sshluck@yna.co.kr

yunhwan.chae@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by 송상호 · April 13, 2023

4. Seoul Stands Firm on Not Sending Lethal Weapons to Ukraine

Excerpts:

“The Republic of Korea and U.S. government have been discussing ways to support Ukraine’s protection of freedom. However, we cannot confirm the details of the discussion,” the spokesperson continued without elaborating.

South Korea has been providing humanitarian aid to Ukraine since Russia invaded in February 2022. It also joined the U.S. and Western democratic countries in sanctioning Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

But as the West has been increasing the amount and kinds of weapons supporting Ukraine’s defense against Russia, Seoul has stopped short of providing lethal aid even though Washington has been looking to buy artillery shells from Seoul since late last year as a way to replenish U.S. stockpiles exhausted from suppling Kyiv.

Seoul Stands Firm on Not Sending Lethal Weapons to Ukraine

April 12, 2023 9:10 PM

Christy Lee

voanews.com

washington —

Seoul has reiterated its decision not to send lethal weapons to Kyiv following the leak of Pentagon documents reportedly showing top South Korean officials deliberating whether to sell artillery shells to the U.S. because of worries that the ammunition could end up in Ukraine.

“The government’s policy of not providing lethal weapons to Ukraine remains unchanged,” a spokesperson for the South Korean Defense Ministry told VOA’s Korean Service on Wednesday.

“The Republic of Korea and U.S. government have been discussing ways to support Ukraine’s protection of freedom. However, we cannot confirm the details of the discussion,” the spokesperson continued without elaborating.

South Korea has been providing humanitarian aid to Ukraine since Russia invaded in February 2022. It also joined the U.S. and Western democratic countries in sanctioning Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

But as the West has been increasing the amount and kinds of weapons supporting Ukraine’s defense against Russia, Seoul has stopped short of providing lethal aid even though Washington has been looking to buy artillery shells from Seoul since late last year as a way to replenish U.S. stockpiles exhausted from suppling Kyiv.

In January, Pentagon spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Martin Meiners told VOA’s Korean Service that Washington was still in talks with South Korea’s “nongovernment industrial defense base” for “potential sales of ammunition.”

SEE ALSO:

Experts: Arming Ukraine Via US Could Worsen South Korea’s Ties with Russia

At the time, Seoul refrained from ammunition sales to avoid upsetting Russia, which had hinted that it could resume military cooperation with North Korea if South Korea assisted Ukraine.

Seoul’s deliberation

Seoul’s deliberations about selling the ammunition to the U.S. could be gleaned from the leaked Pentagon documents that allegedly reveal U.S. intelligence services spying on top South Korean officials, according to The New York Times.

South Korean national security adviser Kim Sung-han, who resigned in March over planning issues related to President Yoon Suk Yeol’s upcoming visit to Washington, and Secretary for Foreign Affairs Yi Mun-hui were concerned that the U.S. would not be “the end user” if Seoul sold ammunition to the U.S., according to the Times report.

Soo Kim, a former CIA analyst and policy practice lead at the Washington, D.C.-area consultancy LMI, said Seoul’s concern about extending arms support to Ukraine was nothing new.

“Seoul’s deliberation over support to Ukraine has been widely known since the beginning of the war,” Kim told VOA Korean. “But the leak itself makes the issue seem all the more serious and a point of friction between Seoul and Washington.”

The South Korean newspaper Dong-a Ilbo, citing a government official, reported Wednesday that South Korea was to lend rather than sell 500,000 rounds of 155 mm artillery shells to the U.S.

Supporting Ukraine

Scott Snyder, director of the program on U.S.-Korea policy and a senior fellow for Korea studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, said, “The leaked documents represent an impediment to South Korea’s cooperation with the U.S. to support Ukraine to the extent that they may raise the domestic political cost to Yoon of doing so.”

The allegation of U.S. espionage has sparked criticism in South Korea. Opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung said the Yoon government needed to secure “an official apology” from the U.S. and a “guarantee” it would not spy again.

Bruce Klingner, senior research fellow for Northeast Asia at the Heritage Foundation, said, “The South Korean opposition party predictably is trying to use the issue to undermine support for the alliance and to score political points against President Yoon.”

Yoon’s office issued a statement Tuesday saying the defense chiefs of South Korea and the U.S. agreed that significant portions of the leaked Pentagon documents contained fabricated information.

Washington expects more

Evans Revere, a former State Department official with an extensive experience negotiating with North Korea, also questioned the validity of the leaked document. But he said Seoul’s caution about providing direct arms support to Ukraine had concerned some in the West.

“It’s no secret, quite frankly, that there has been some level of concern in Washington, just as there has been some level of concern in Western Europe, that South Korea has not done as much as it could or should in terms of supplying Ukraine,” said Revere.

Describing South Korea as “one of the most formidable manufacturers of sophisticated arms and equipment in the world,” Revere said that while it was good to have Seoul supporting the West and pushing back against autocratic countries like Russia, the government needed to decide “what South Korea is prepared to do” that would “really make a difference in the ability of democracy to survive.”

South Korea was the eighth-largest global exporter of arms in 2017-21, according to a 2022 report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

Seoul’s dilemma

Terence Roehrig, a professor of national security and Korea expert at the U.S. Naval War College, said, “South Korean officials have sought to craft a careful policy that supports Ukraine along with the West and stand up to Russia, while also avoiding actions that provoke Russia into worsening security on the Korean Peninsula through support for the North.”

He continued, “Seoul has a delicate balancing act to play and its arms sales to others is a way of supporting the Ukrainian war effort without provoking Russia, though it’s not clear if the Kremlin sees the difference.”

Moscow has placed South Korea on a list of countries that commit “unfriendly actions” along with other countries that sanctioned Russia in March, according to Tass, a government-affiliated news outlet.

Revere, the former State Department official, said, “There is nothing that Russia is going to do to help South Korea when it comes to North Korea.”

He continued, “North Korea has become a de facto partner of Russia by supporting the Russian position on Ukraine, criticizing NATO, and perhaps even providing military support to the Russians.”

Kim Hyungjin contributed to this report.

voanews.com

5. Look where a year of Yoon’s “values diplomacy” has landed Korea

The very liberal newspaper Hankyoreh is of course going to be very critical of president Yoon and the editorial board outlines what it assesses as major failures of the administration and is especially critical of the pursuit of trilateral cooperation.

Look where a year of Yoon’s “values diplomacy” has landed Korea

Posted on : Apr.12,2023 16:52 KST Modified on : Apr.12,2023 16:52 KST

Since he was elected, Yoon has gone all in on stepping up trilateral cooperation with the US and Japan, but to what effect?

https://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/1087620.html

Since the early days of his administration, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has proclaimed the importance of “values diplomacy,” with an emphasis on trilateral cooperation with the US and Japan.

But just under a year later, the response from Japan has been a diplomatic white paper omitting past references to “carrying on the historical perceptions of previous Cabinets.” From the US, it has been the interception of presidential office communications.

The national security situation, which the Yoon administration has cited as its top reason for pursuing trilateral cooperation, is also graver than ever before. Observers are now commenting on the comprehensive diplomatic disaster the administration has met with after emphasizing trilateral cooperation as its paramount value.

On Tuesday, Kim Tae-hyo, the National Security Office’s first deputy director, was asked what position Seoul planned to communicate to Washington in response to reports on a document containing circumstantial evidence that US intelligence agencies have been eavesdropping on the South Korean presidential office.

“There’s nothing to communicate,” he responded.

He went on to say, “The reason is that this was something someone fabricated. So the independent investigation is going to take some time.”

His remarks show that the government has fully accepted the position of the US, which hopes to turn attention away from the real meaning of the eavesdropping issue toward document fabrication allegations.

Meanwhile, Seoul continues to adopt a submissive stance in its diplomacy with Japan.

In a diplomatic blue book published the same day, the Japanese government omitted a reference to “carrying on the historical perceptions of previous Cabinets” on the issue of forced labor mobilization during the occupation.

Meeting with reporters, a South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) official insisted, “It’s still only been a month since the solution was announced, and we’re continuing to see good-faith measures from Japan.”

A MOFA spokesperson’s statement expressing a message of protest from the South Korean government over Japan’s diplomatic blue book included only content about the Dokdo islets — and nothing about the forced labor issue.

Since he was elected, Yoon has gone all in on stepping up trilateral cooperation with the US and Japan, while criticizing the balanced diplomacy approach of his predecessor Moon Jae-in.

Paying his first visit to a US military unit as president-elect on April 7 of last year, he reiterated his plans to prioritize the South Korea-US alliance. In a telephone conversation with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on March 11 of last year — shortly after the election — he stressed the importance of trilateral cooperation and clearly signaled his intent to improve relations with Japan.

In response, the US and Japan have continued to present South Korea with bills to pay.

The Joe Biden administration overtly showed its protectionist “America first” orientation last year when it passed the Inflation Reduction Act, which excluded tax rebates for customers who purchase electric vehicles produced outside of North America. This decision had devastating consequences for the economic security of its ally South Korea.

Meanwhile, Japan has continued to parade its skewed historical perceptions.

The sixth-grade social studies textbooks unveiled by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology on March 28 were even more watered down than past ones in their accounts of Japan’s coercive practices in conscripting Koreans and forcing them to perform labor. Textbooks for third to sixth graders in elementary school were made even more explicit in their unjustified claims of Dokdo being “Japanese territory” that is currently “illegally occupied by South Korea.”

President Yoon Suk-yeol of South Korea (left) speaks during a summit with President Joe Biden of the US and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on Nov. 13. (Yoon Woon-sik/The Hankyoreh)

In emphasizing his plans for trilateral cooperation with the US and Japan, Yoon has also drawn clear lines with respect to China and Russia. He spelled this out explicitly in a meeting with the US and Japanese leaders at an Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit on Nov. 13 of last year, where they announced the “Phnom Penh Statement on US – Japan – Republic of Korea Trilateral Partnership for the Indo-Pacific,” which targeted China and Russia simultaneously.

Yoon’s focus on trilateral cooperation has had damaging economic consequences. In the past, China was the partner with which South Korea had the largest trade surplus; now, it is turning into the largest trade deficit.

According to Korea International Trade Association trade statistics shared on March 28, South Korea’s balance of trade with China in January recorded a deficit of US$3.93 billion. The same month, China became the trade partner accounting for South Korea’s largest deficit.

In terms of the cumulative trade balance for January and Friday, China was also responsible for the largest trade deficit, amounting to US$5.07 billion. Never before has China been responsible for South Korea’s largest trade deficit in monthly or annual terms.

Meanwhile, North Korea has gone four days without answering regular calls on the military hotline and at the inter-Korean joint liaison office. The Korean Peninsula situation is spiraling into its worst-ever state. The Ministry of Unification has gone from talking about dialogue with the North during the Moon administration to playing a vanguard role in the hard-line attitude toward Pyongyang.

Experts are warning that if South Korea is the only party focusing on trilateral cooperation while the other countries are considering their own benefits and interests, it could find itself sidelined on the diplomatic stage.

“If we are going to cooperate with the US or Japan, then we need to analyze things carefully and benefit where we can,” said Kim Joon-hyung, former chancellor of the Korean National Diplomatic Academy.

“Instead, things are currently going in a direction of skewed cooperation where we’re losing out entirely in terms of practical benefits,” he added.

Choi Jong-kun, who formerly served as first vice foreign minister, said, “It seems like we’re jumping into trilateral cooperation with the US and Japan without defining for ourselves what that entails.”

“We’re talking about trilateral cooperation like it’s some kind of panacea, and now we’re just taking one hit after another,” he said.

By Shin Hyeong-cheol, staff reporter

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]

6. China, North Korea building underwater strike drones

Is north Korea trying to "keep up with the Jonese?"

China, North Korea building underwater strike drones

washingtontimes.com · by Bill Gertz

NEWS AND ANALYSIS:

Both China and North Korea are fielding underwater drone strike vehicles similar in design to Russia’s nuclear-armed underwater Poseidon drone.

China‘s new extra-large underwater drone vehicle was showcased by its manufacturer, the China State Shipbuilding Corp. 705 Institute, at an arms show in February in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. An image of the drone sub shows four openings for torpedo tubes — an indication the vessel will be heavily armed and likely used to attack submarines or surface ships.

Naval warfare specialist H.I. Sutton, who first disclosed the drone in Naval News, said outfitting the drone with torpedoes represents a significant leap in weapons technology for Beijing.

“Arming autonomous underwater vehicles with weapons which require target identification, such as torpedoes, is problematic,” Mr. Sutton said. “It increases risks of blue on blue (or for China, red on red) accidents,” he said, referring to friendly-fire incidents.

The killer Chinese underwater drone also raises ethical and legal questions since it likely will employ completely robotic kill chains without human intervention. Underwater drones cannot be controlled by humans and must be completely autonomous, including when deciding whether to fire weapons.

“China appears more comfortable than other nations to take these risks,” Mr. Sutton said.

Images of the Chinese drone show what appears to be a sonar array on its side.

North Korea is also building an underwater drone that Mr. Sutton dubbed a conventionally powered “mini-Poseidon.” The North Korean Haeil-2 drone is much smaller than its Russian counterpart and could potentially be armed as a nuclear-tipped torpedo.

The North Korean weapon was disclosed in late March and tested April 4 to April 7, with a reported range of 540 nautical miles and an average speed of 4.6 knots.

“This is much slower than a torpedo,” Mr. Sutton said, noting that videos of the drone were shown on North Korean state television.

As Inside the Ring disclosed in May, Indo-Pacific Command commander Adm. John Aquilino revealed in congressional testimony that Russia was on the verge of deploying its first Poseidon drone, outfitted with a megaton-class nuclear warhead capable of destroying entire ports or cities. The Poseidon will be deployed on Russia’s new special-purpose submarine called the Belgorod, which can carry up to six high-speed Poseidon drones.

The U.S. Navy is also building large underwater drones, including Boeing’s Orca and Echo Voyager, but neither will be outfitted for firing torpedoes. The first Orca was launched in April 2022.

According to the Navy, the Orca will be equipped with sea mines, including the planned Hammerhead mine, a weapon tethered to the sea floor and equipped with an anti-submarine torpedo similar to the Cold War-era torpedo mine known as the CAPTOR.

washingtontimes.com · by Bill Gertz

7. North Korea likely fired solid-fuel ballistic missile

Obviously a  significant development if this was a solid fuel ballistic missile. That complicates ISR and reduces our warning time.

That said, the continued provocations illustrate Kim Jong Un's policy and strategy failures. His political warfare and blackmail diplomacy strategies are not achieving the necessary effects for the regime, neither driving a wedge in the ROK/US alliance nor coercing concessions. But of course the missile tests do support the third line of effort which is to develop advanced warfighting capabilities to support the ultimate objective to unify the peninsula by force to ensure the survival of the Kim family regime (as far-fetched as that may seem to some).

North Korea likely fired solid-fuel ballistic missile

The Korea Times · April 13, 2023

A TV screen is seen reporting North Korea's missile launch with file footage during a news program at Seoul Station in Seoul, Thursday. AP-Yonhap

Pyongyang's technical breakthrough could offer shorter launch time, greater mobility

By Jung Min-ho

North Korea on Thursday fired what is believed to be a solid-fuel ballistic missile that landed between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, raising fears of possible technical advancement in its weapons program.

Speaking to reporters, a Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) official said North Korea's military appears to have fired a new type of intermediate-range ballistic missile ― possibly running on solid fuel.

Solid fuel offers greater mobility for missiles and reduces preparation time before launch, compared with liquid fuel that takes more preparation time requiring activities that could be detected, therefore, giving some time for South Korea and the United States to prepare before launch.

"Given the significance of North Korean founder Kim Il-sung birthday on April 15, North Korea highly likely tested its solid-fuel ballistic missile," Cheong Seong-chang, a senior analyst at the Sejong Institute think tank, told The Korea Times. "The test would give the regime the opportunity to send its defiant message to Seoul and its allies and to promote it as an accomplishment ahead of the politically important anniversary."

A solid-propellant intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is one of the key weapons on the wish list of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who has been expanding and expressing his nuclear ambition following his fruitless summit with then U.S. President Donald Trump in 2019.

The JCS said the missile was fired at a high angle from its capital area and fell into the East Sea after a 1,000-kilometer flight.

North Korea's latest provocation prompted Japan to issue an evacuation order on Hokkaido. The warning was retracted later when it became obvious that the missile would not fall near the northeastern Japanese island. The country's defense ministry said the missile could be an ICBM.

South Korea's National Security Council (NSC) "strongly" denounced the test, which it called a "grave violation" of the U.N. Security Council's resolutions.

"NSC members stressed that North Korea's repeated provocations and threatening remarks show the importance of the strong South Korea-U.S. alliance and trust. We will continue to conduct joint military exercises to maintain readiness," the NSC said in a statement. "We will also strengthen security cooperation with the U.S. and Japan in the area of information-sharing after normalizing the General Security of Military Information Agreement."

The U.S. also "strongly condemned" North Korea for inflaming regional tensions.

"The president (Joe Biden) and his national security team are assessing the situation in close coordination with our allies," National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said in a statement. "The door has not closed on diplomacy, but Pyongyang must immediately cease its destabilizing actions and instead choose diplomatic engagement."

Flags of South Korea and the United States flutter at Imjingak Pavilion in Paju, near South Korea's border with North Korea, Tuesday. AP-Yonhap

Analysts worry that such a change in attitude is unrealistic, given the "favorable" geopolitical situation for North Korea's weapons development.

"North Korea will continue to try hard to improve its weapons capabilities when it can. The war in Ukraine and a new cold war climate have created an ideal environment for the North to develop its weapons program," Cheong said. "Once the U.S. and Russia begin to improve relations after the war, the favorable situation for North Korea could change. Meanwhile, it will continue to take advantage of it."

Jeong Han-beom, an international relations professor at Korea National Defense University, believes there are almost no available options for South Korea or the U.S. to take in order to tame North Korea's aggression, painting a bleak outlook for Seoul's diplomatic efforts for its summit with Washington on April 26 and the G7 summit next month.

"With North Korea already under almost every possible sanction, there are few meaningful additional measures South Korea or the U.S. can take," Jeong said. "There will be some joint announcements, but I think it would be mostly symbolic and bring no practical effect."

The Korea Times · April 13, 2023

8. US urges NK to halt missile provocation, come to negotiating table

Unfortunately, coming to the negotiating table without concessions will be assessed as an acknowledgement of failure by Kim.

US urges NK to halt missile provocation, come to negotiating table

The Korea Times · by 2023-04-13 07:53 | North Korea · April 13, 2023

This photo, carried by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) shows the North firing a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile from the Sunan area in Pyongyang the previous day, March 17. Yonhap

The United States strongly condemns North Korea's latest ballistic missile launch and calls on the country to stop further escalating tension on the Korean Peninsula, a National Security Council (NSC) spokesperson said Wednesday, hours after Pyongyang fired a ballistic missile into the East Sea.

The NSC spokesperson, Adrienne Watson, said President Joe Biden and his national security team are assessing the situation with U.S. allies and partners.

"This launch is a brazen violation of multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions and needlessly raises tensions and risks destabilizing the security situation in the region," she said in a released statement.

"This action demonstrates that the DPRK continues to prioritize its unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs over the well-being of its people," she added, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

N. Korea fires intermediate- or longer-range ballistic missile toward East Sea: S. Korean military

Officials in Seoul earlier said the top envoys of South Korea, the U.S. and Japan held telephone conversations soon after the North's missile launch and strongly condemned the latest provocation.

The missile launch follows an unprecedented 69 ballistic missile tests by North Korea in 2022, as well as the test firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in March.

"We urge all countries to condemn these violations and call on the DPRK to come to the table for serious negotiations," Watson said, reiterating that the door to diplomacy remains open.

"The United States will take all necessary measures to ensure the security of the American homeland and Republic of Korea and Japanese allies," the released statement said. (Yonhap)

The Korea Times · by 2023-04-13 07:53 | North Korea · April 13, 2023

9. S. Korea to conduct radiation tests on 89 N. Korean defectors from May

S. Korea to conduct radiation tests on 89 N. Korean defectors from May

The Korea Times · April 13, 2023

Smoke and debris rise in the air as an observation post next to the entrance of the north tunnel of North Korea's nuclear test site at Punggye-ri, North Hamgyong Province, is blown up in this May 24, 2018 file photo. Korea Times file 

South Korea plans to conduct radiation exposure tests on 89 North Korean defectors who hailed from areas near the North's Punggye-ri nuclear testing site, Seoul's unification ministry said Thursday.

The radiation testing will be carried out starting in May for six months on North Korean defectors who had lived in Kilju County and its nearby areas, and escaped the North after its first nuclear test in 2006, according to the ministry.

The government previously held such similar tests on 40 North Korean defectors in 2017 and 2018.

"It is meaningful to preemptively check the possibility of exposure to radioactive leaks and overall health conditions for those who may have sustained damage from the North's nuclear tests," a ministry official told reporters.

The North's Punggye-ri nuclear test site is located in Kilju County in the country's northeastern province. The secretive regime has conducted all six of its nuclear tests at the site.

Among the 89 defectors to undergo the testing, nine will be those who were suspected of having been exposed to radiation during the government's previous tests. The ministry will select the 80 others out of a group of those hoping to be tested.

In total, 796 North Koreans who used to live in areas near Punggye-ri defected to the South in the wake of the North's first nuclear detonation in October 2006.

In a report released in February, the Transitional Justice Working Group, an advocacy group for the North's human rights, said hundreds of thousands of residents living in the area near the Punggye-ri site are at risk of exposure to radioactive materials being spread by underground water. (Yonhap)

The Korea Times · April 13, 2023

10. Presidential office: It will not request apology for US wiretapping allegation

But this puts President Yoon at some political risk. I hope this is not an "own goal." Surely the US would understand and not at all be upset it the Yoon administration demanded a US apology. I think the US expects such demands from its allies. Unfortunately the political opposition will use this to paint the Yoon admin as being subservient to the US.

Presidential office: It will not request apology for US wiretapping allegation

donga.com

Posted April. 13, 2023 08:03,

Updated April. 13, 2023 08:03

Presidential office: It will not request apology for US wiretapping allegation. April. 13, 2023 08:03. by Joo-Young Jeon aimhigh@donga.com.

It was reported on Wednesday that the South Korean presidential office would not raise a diplomatic issue regarding the allegation about a U.S. intelligence agency’s wiretapping. It was concluded that the issue was close to being resolved as a third player was behind it and a large portion of the leaked documents were fabricated.

“It seems like the issue has been worked out as the presidential office was on the same page with U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Tuesday regarding the leaked documents,” said a member of the presidential office. “We will not ask for an official apology from the U.S. government.”

“A third party was involved in large part of the issue and there is no evidence that the U.S., our ally, did this with a malicious intention,” the first deputy chief of the National Security Office Kim Tae-hyo said to reporters during his visit to the U.S. on Tuesday (local time). His comment seemed to refer to the possibility that pro-Russian players might have been involved in leaking confidential documents.

To a question asking if he meant the conversation recorded in the confidential documents regarding former chief of the National Security Office Kim Seong-han was fabricated, he declined to answer specifically. “I already answered the question yesterday, and it answers everything,” he said. On Monday, Kim said that there is nothing to communicate with the U.S. regarding South Korea’s position as the documents were fabricated by somebody.

However, the New York Times reported on Tuesday that most documents are original and some fabricated ones were initially posted on the Internet without modification. A member of the presidential office repeated the previous stance that they should wait for the results of the U.S. Department of Justice’s investigation and establish the facts. “The area of diplomacy leaves room for interpretation. Facts are being shaken,” he said to a question if the documents related to South Korea were fabricated without giving a specific answer.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol made an order to strengthen the response posture to ensure that cyber threats on infrastructure, including finance and energy, do not lead to a security crisis. Chief of the National Security Office Cho Tae-yong presided over a meeting to assess the response posture of institutions to cyber attacks on energy at the presidential office in Yongsan-gu, Seoul.

한국어

donga.com

11. South Korea and Japan Try to Mend Ties Without Stirring Trouble

Come on. We have got to cease with the fantasy that it is our exercises that are a cause for concern. Whether we conduct exercises or not, Kim Jong Un will continue his three part strategy of political warfare, blackmail diplomacy, and the pursuit of advanced warfighting capabilities to dominate the peninsula. We must understand the nature, objectives, and strategy of the Kim family regime. If we cancel, postpone, or scale back exercises , Kim will judge his strategy is working. How did it work out for us when the former president unilaterally cancelled the exercise in 2018?

And the improvised trilateral cooperation is another indication of Kim's failed policy and strategy. We must demonstrate the strength of the trilateral relationship because that contributes to deterrence.  Kim Jong Un is smart enough to know better and not attack into strength. 

Excerpt:

There is every reason for Japan, South Korea, and the United States to cooperate in maintaining peace and stability in East Asia, and normalization of the GSOMIA agreement is a particularly welcome step in that direction. But discretion is also the better part of valor, and all three parties should proceed without excessive fanfare if they want to avoid bringing about more of the kind of instability that the flawed Japan-South Korea rapprochement is partly intended to preempt. Big joint military exercises that the U.S. and Korean armies conducted in March probably should have been executed with fewer journalists in attendance. And it is cause for concern that even bigger live-fire exercises are scheduled for the 70th anniversary of the U.S.-South Korea alliance in June, raising the prospect of a still more bellicose North Korean response.

South Korea and Japan Try to Mend Ties Without Stirring Trouble

Pyongyang won’t take reconciliation between its neighbors well.

By Christopher Green, a lecturer at Leiden University.

Foreign Policy · by Christopher Green · April 12, 2023

On March 16, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol made his first official trip to Tokyo, where he met Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. It was the first summit between leaders of the two countries in more than a decade, marking the culmination of a diplomatic revival that began on the fringes of the United Nations General Assembly last autumn.

The meeting was hailed by both sides as a success. Yoon said it resulted in “fruitful discussions that can transform Korea-Japan relations, which have been at a standstill, into a relationship of cooperation and mutually beneficial development.” Kishida called it a “major step toward normalizing relations.” Concretely, the summit resulted in Japan and South Korea easing trade controls, committing to frequent reciprocal visits, and maybe most importantly, reviving the 2016 General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA), a key plank in coordination with the United States on intelligence matters that Seoul all but suspended in 2019. It also gave a major nod toward Washington, which has expressed concern over the fraught bilateral relations at a time when it is focused on sprucing up its alliances to counter China’s growing influence in the region.

The credit for the dramatic diplomatic reversal largely goes to Yoon, who since taking power last year has made it his business to restore friendly relations with Tokyo. Until then, Japan’s stance toward South Korea had been one of frustrated indifference ever since the late-2017 collapse of a 2015 agreement compensating Korean women coerced into sexual labor during World War II. The administration of Yoon’s predecessor, Moon Jae-in, saw the deal as illegitimate and used the impeachment of the president who negotiated it, Park Geun-hye, as an effective basis for its abrogation.

The relationship steadily deteriorated throughout the rest of Moon’s tenure. In November 2018, Korean courts ordered two Japanese firms, Nippon Steel Corporation and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, to pay compensation to South Koreans forced to work in their factories during the late colonial period, from around 1939 to 1945. The following month, a Korean naval destroyer directed its fire-control radar at a patrol aircraft from Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force conducting surveillance activities in the East Sea/Sea of Japan. In a tit-for-tat move in the autumn of 2019, the two countries removed one another from their trade whitelists, and soon after, South Korea unilaterally sought to suspend the GSOMIA agreement. Whilst Seoul did not carry out this last threat in full, political and military relations were brought to a near-complete standstill.

But while the Tokyo summit finally brings the curtain down on an extended and troubling period of bilateral friction, enormous challenges remain on the path to achieving what both governments seek: maximizing mutual economic benefits whilst minimizing instability in Northeast Asia. Widespread contempt within South Korea for Yoon’s outreach is proving to be a particular stumbling block. Some Koreans still have—and a great many more are socialized into—painful memories of the violence unleashed during Japan’s colonial occupation, and resent what they see as a lingering Japanese tendency to glorify it. In a recent poll by Gallup Korea, 64 percent of respondents said there need not be any effort to improve ties if Japan’s attitude did not change.

In this context, Yoon’s that Korean companies that benefited from wartime reparations in the 1960s would compensate the victims of Japanese forced labor, rather than the Japanese firms themselves, was greeted with anger. Many South Koreans consider the move to be an act of unilateral capitulation, and a betrayal.

The bilateral relationship is also hostage to political opportunism in South Korea. Back at the outset of Yoon’s journey to restore relations, opposition leader Lee Jae-myung voiced the fanciful idea that a trilateral naval drill with Japan and the United States could presage Japanese boots on the ground in Korea, an idea that colonial history makes completely untenable. True to form, Lee’s response to last month’s summit was to accuse Yoon of selling out “our country’s pride, the victims’ human rights, and the justice of history, all of that, in exchange for a bowl of omurice,” referring to an omelet dish that Yoon is fond of, and which the Japanese provided during the summit visit.

This is all somewhat regrettable, for whilst largely understandable, South Korean public opposition to warmer ties with Japan under present circumstances is unhelpful for regional stability. Now more than at any time in recent memory, regional geopolitics call for greater coordination between these large East Asian democracies, significantly integrated economies, and key American allies, particularly in facing up to China in the post-Ukraine world.

Whatever happens domestically in the South, both Seoul and Tokyo must tread carefully as they restore relations if they do not want to further disturb the wider region, even unintentionally. That other regional concern, North Korea perceives the ongoing rapprochement between the two as engineered by Washington, which it also suspects of pushing for a return to scaled-up military exercises in South Korea this month, and of encouraging Tokyo to ramp up its defense capabilities. Japan late last year that it plans to double its defense budget to 2 percent of GDP by 2027 and is now developing counterstrike capabilities for the first time.

For Pyongyang, the logical conclusion is that it must enhance its own capabilities to counter the United States “zealously egging the puppets [South Korea] and Japan on to dangerous arms buildup under the signboard of implementing the ‘Indo-Pacific strategy’ aimed at maintaining regional military strategic hegemony,” as state media put it in a key commentary on March 17. Leader Kim Jong Un announced in his speech to a party meeting at the turn of the year that North Korea would expand its nuclear arsenal to do exactly that.

The supercharged regional arms race that could result from these dynamics would be detrimental to U.S., Japanese, and South Korean interests alike. In South Korean public opinion, there is already fear that a closer trilateral relationship between the three allies could spur an ever-closer relationship between China, North Korea, and Russia. Even if such a scenario is unlikely—Pyongyang’s deep paranoia means it’s unlikely to cooperate closely with anyone, even an ally like China—the risk remains that the Japan-South Korea rapprochement will add fuel to the fire of Pyongyang’s militarism.

There is every reason for Japan, South Korea, and the United States to cooperate in maintaining peace and stability in East Asia, and normalization of the GSOMIA agreement is a particularly welcome step in that direction. But discretion is also the better part of valor, and all three parties should proceed without excessive fanfare if they want to avoid bringing about more of the kind of instability that the flawed Japan-South Korea rapprochement is partly intended to preempt. Big joint military exercises that the U.S. and Korean armies conducted in March probably should have been executed with fewer journalists in attendance. And it is cause for concern that even bigger live-fire exercises are scheduled for the 70th anniversary of the U.S.-South Korea alliance in June, raising the prospect of a still more bellicose North Korean response.

The opinions expressed are the author’s own and do not represent any institution with which he is affiliated.

Foreign Policy · by Christopher Green · April 12, 2023

12. N. Korea unresponsive to regular contact via inter-Korean liaison line for 7th day

The regime says, "the missile was our message."

(LEAD) N. Korea unresponsive to regular contact via inter-Korean liaison line for 7th day | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by 김수연 · April 13, 2023

(ATTN: UPDATES with more details in para 3)

SEOUL, April 13 (Yonhap) -- North Korea did not respond to daily routine calls with South Korea via an inter-Korean liaison communication channel for the seventh straight day Thursday, Seoul's unification ministry said.

The North's unresponsiveness came as the secretive regime fired an intermediate- or longer-range ballistic missile toward the East Sea earlier in the day, according to the South's military.

North Korea did not answer the 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. regular calls, extending its refusal to respond to cross-border regular contact into the seventh straight day, according to the ministry. Seoul's opening calls via the militaries' East and West sea communication lines also went unanswered.

The latest suspension of communication came amid heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula in the wake of the North's weapons tests in protest of joint military drills between South Korea and the United States.

Unification Minister Kwon Young-se on Tuesday issued a rare statement expressing his "strong" regret over the North's "unilateral and irresponsible" move.

This file photo, provided by the unification ministry, shows a South Korean liaison officer talking to his North Korean counterpart at the Seoul bureau of their joint liaison office on Oct. 4, 2021. After a two-month suspension, the two Koreas restored cross-border communication lines that Pyongyang suspended in protest of an annual combined military exercise of South Korea and the United States. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

sooyeon@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by 김수연 · April 13, 2023

13. Poland urges U.S. to 'intervene' with Korea on Ukrainian arms issue

Our diplomats have their work cut out for them.

Thursday

April 13, 2023

 dictionary + A - A 

Poland urges U.S. to 'intervene' with Korea on Ukrainian arms issue

https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2023/04/13/national/politics/Korea-Poland-Prime-Minister-Mateusz-Morawiecki/20230413173937993.html

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki speaks to reporters after a meeting with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris at the Vice President's Ceremonial Office of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington on Tuesday. [AFP/YONHAP]

South Korea's Defense Ministry said Thursday that nothing has changed in its existing policy against providing lethal aid to countries at war after Poland urged the United States to directly intervene to enable Korea to supply artillery shells to Ukraine.  

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said in an interview with the New York Times published Wednesday that Poland has spoken to Korea about ammunition deliveries, as its huge supply of artillery shells could be helpful in Ukraine's war against Russia. 

However, Morawiecki said that he didn't think this was "going to be possible without the intervention of the United States," as Korea is "fearful" of Russian and Chinese reactions.  

The remarks were made amid ongoing controversy over leaked classified Pentagon documents indicating that the United States has been spying on its allies, including on the Korean government's internal communications regarding the provision of military aid to Ukraine.

Morawiecki said that he would be "very happy" if U.S. President Joe Biden stepped in, noting that without "some kind of shelter, some kind of security guarantee that President Biden could give South Korea, I don't think this is going to happen."

Poland imported weapons such as K9 self-propelled howitzers and K2 battle tanks from Korea last year. 

But Morawiecki stressed in the interview that Poland would never transfer the weapons without negotiating an arrangement with Korea, adding that buying shells from Korea specifically to send to Ukraine would require U.S. involvement.

Morawiecki was on trip to Washington to meet with U.S. officials earlier this week and condemned Russia's aggressions against Ukraine in a meeting with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris Tuesday in Washington. 

"I believe he was speaking from the position of the prime minister of Poland," Jeon Ha-kyu, spokesman of South Korea's Defense Ministry, told reporters Thursday regarding Morawiecki's remarks on artillery supplies. "We have nothing to confirm or comment on that." 

When asked to clarify if there had been conversations between Korea and Poland on the provision of ammunition to Ukraine, Jeon replied, "We will have to further check on the subject and content of the conversation."

He maintained that "there has been no change in the government's position on this matter," sticking to Korea's official stance that it will not provide lethal weapons to countries at war but will continue to provide humanitarian aid to support Ukraine. 

Last Saturday, the New York Times first reported citing leaked classified Pentagon documents shared on social media that the U.S. intelligence community spied on Seoul's top presidential aides' deliberations as they were "mired in concerns" that the United States would divert artillery shells sold by Korea to Ukraine.

When Seoul agreed to sell artillery shells to help Washington replenish its stockpiles late last year, it insisted that their "end user" should be the U.S. military. 

According to one purported top secret intelligence document, Lee Moon-hee, then presidential secretary for foreign affairs, told his boss, then-National Security Adviser Kim Sung-han, on March 1 that Korea's National Security Council (NSC) was worried that Biden will call President Yoon Suk Yeol to press him on the arms issue. He relayed that Korea was not prepared for such talks without coming up with a clear position first, as it could not violate its own policy against supplying lethal aid. 

At the time, Kim suggested selling 330,000 rounds of 155-millimeter artillery shells to Poland, according to the document. Lee said that it may be possible for Poland to agree to being called the end user and send the ammunition on to Ukraine, but that Korea would need to verify what Poland would do.

It's uncertain what Lee meant by this, however.

Lee and Kim both abruptly resigned from their posts last month. 

Seoul's presidential office has not confirmed this communication and said it agreed with the United States that many of the leaked documents had been "fabricated."

Last November, the United States purchased 100,000 rounds of 155-millimeter shells from Korea, reportedly to be supplied to Ukraine. The Korean Defense Ministry at the time maintained that it believed the "end user" of the ammunition would be the United States, sticking to its position that it will not provide lethal aid to Ukraine. 

On Wednesday, the Dong-A Ilbo first reported that Korea reached an agreement to lend the United States 500,000 rounds of 155-millimeter artillery shells, rather than selling them. 

The Defense Ministry has not confirmed nor denied the reports. 

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]

14. Japan says evacuation warning for North Korea missile was not a mistake

Japan says evacuation warning for North Korea missile was not a mistake

Reuters · by Reuters

TOKYO, April 13 (Reuters) - The Japanese government said the emergency evacuation warning it issued and later retracted against residents of the northern island of Hokkaido after a North Korean missile launch on Thursday morning was appropriate and not an error.

"We did not correct the information issued by the J-Alert" emergency broadcasting system, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told a news conference.

He said the North Korean missile disappeared from Japan's radar immediately after detection, and a further analysis found that there was no possibility of its landing in Japan's territory, leading to the lifting of the evacuation warning.

"The J-Alert warning was issued to inform citizens of the danger of a falling missile to prioritise citizens' safety," Matsuno said.

Reporting by Chang-Ran Kim and Kaori Kaneko

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Reuters · by Reuters

De Oppresso Liber,

David Maxwell

Vice President, Center for Asia Pacific Strategy

Senior Fellow, Foundation for Defense of Democracies

Senior Fellow, Global Peace Foundation

Editor, Small Wars Journal

Twitter: @davidmaxwell161

Phone: 202-573-8647

email: david.maxwell161@gmail.com