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Quotes of the Day:
"Try to understand everyone, scorn no one, don't believe anything blindly."
- Albert Einstein
“At least once every human should have to run for his life, to teach him that milk does not come from supermarkets, that safety does not come from policeman, that ‘news’ is not something that happens to other people. He might learn how his ancestors lived, and that he himself is no different – in the crunch his life depends on his agility, alertness, and personal resourcefulness.
- Robert Heinlein
"The general public has long been divided into two parts; those who think that science can do anything and those who are afraid it will."
- Thomas Pynchon
1. Negotiation is only way N. Korean nuclear issue can be resolved: U.S. official
2. S. Korea, U.S., Japan agree to hold missile defense, anti-sub drills regularly to counter N.K. threats
3. N. Korea set to mark late founder's birthday
4. Seoul official mentions possibility of S. Korea-U.S. intel partnership expansion to include Japan
5. Former military officer who met N. Korea’s Supreme Leader remains hungry
6. Ship carrying 1 S. Korean sailor released after hijacking in waters off West Africa: foreign ministry
7. S. Korea, Japan agree to boost tourism
8. Yoon’s unification white paper states ‘N. Korean denuclearization’
9. South ready to improve relations with North, but won't tolerate provocations: Unification Ministry
10. [INTERVIEW] US urges China to play role to stop human rights abuses in North Korea
11. China's Korea envoy accuses US of 'using' tensions
12. The Role of South Korea in the U.S. Semiconductor Supply Chain Strategy
13. S. Korea, U.S. will continue to strengthen alliance in face of crisis: Amb. Goldberg
14. Joint Statement of the 13th Defense Trilateral Talks (ROK- Japan- US)
15. To curb theft and skip days at factories, North Korea is installing security cameras
16. North Korea warns parents to send their truant kids to school
1. Negotiation is only way N. Korean nuclear issue can be resolved: U.S. official
Please do not be misled by the headline.
Keep this quote from Dr, Pak in mind:
"But I think at the end of the day only Kim Jong-un can decide to do what's best for his people, and it seems that he's decided that what's best for his people, and probably just for himself, maybe is the pursuit of nuclear weapons," she told the seminar.
...
"Over the course of 10 plus years that Kim Jong-un has been in power, his weapon systems have become much more sophisticated and diverse and dangerous," said Park.
Negotiation is only way N. Korean nuclear issue can be resolved: U.S. official | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 변덕근 · April 15, 2023
By Byun Duk-kun
WASHINGTON, April 14 (Yonhap) -- Negotiation is the only way the nuclear standoff between the United States and North Korea can be resolved, a senior U.S. official said Friday, urging Pyongyang to come to the dialogue table.
Jung Pak, assistant secretary of state and deputy special representative for North Korea, also called on North Korea's closest neighbors -- China and Russia -- to encourage Pyongyang to engage in dialogue.
The U.S. will, she said, "continue to evaluate our approach and take our steps, our next steps in lockstep with Korea and Japan, as well as other like-minded partners and to try to encourage Kim Jong-un to come to dialogue," Pak said, referring to the North Korean leader by his name.
"Negotiation and dialogue is really the only way that we are going to resolve this issue, and we hope that the DPRK opens up its border soon," she said in a seminar on the U.S.-South Korea alliance hosted by the Brookings Institution, a Washington-based think tank.
DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, North Korea's official name.
Jung Pak, assistant secretary of state and deputy special representative for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, is seen speaking during a seminar hosted by the Brookings Institution in Washington on April 14, 2023 in this captured image. (Yonhap)
Pak insisted that the U.S., from President Joe Biden and down, has been consistent in offering to engage with North Korea without any preconditions.
"But I think at the end of the day only Kim Jong-un can decide to do what's best for his people, and it seems that he's decided that what's best for his people, and probably just for himself, maybe is the pursuit of nuclear weapons," she told the seminar.
The state department official stressed the need to fully implement United Nations Security Council (UNSC) sanctions on North Korea, insisting that the North had engaged in dialogue when all major players, including Beijing and Moscow, were all on the same page in terms of sanctions implementation.
"I would also argue that there has been greater international consensus on this issue, and that Beijing and Moscow can absolutely do more on sanctions implementation and to press the DPRK to come to the table," said Pak.
China and Russia, both friendly neighbors of North Korea and veto power-wielding permanent members of the UNSC, have blocked more than a dozen Security Council meetings held since last year to discuss ways to hold Pyongyang accountable for its military provocations.
North Korea staged an unprecedented 69 ballistic missile tests in 2022, a new record for the number of ballistic missiles launched in a single year.
"Over the course of 10 plus years that Kim Jong-un has been in power, his weapon systems have become much more sophisticated and diverse and dangerous," said Park.
"There used to be a much greater array of trading partners but also proliferation partners (of North Korea), and it's because of sanctions and their implementation that those numbers have shrunk quite a bit," she added.
bdk@yna.co.kr
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en.yna.co.kr · by 변덕근 · April 15, 2023
2. S. Korea, U.S., Japan agree to hold missile defense, anti-sub drills regularly to counter N.K. threats
Every time Kim Jong Un acts he makes trilateral cooperation stronger. This is another example of his failed strategy.
S. Korea, U.S., Japan agree to hold missile defense, anti-sub drills regularly to counter N.K. threats | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 송상호 · April 15, 2023
SEOUL, April 15 (Yonhap) -- South Korea, the United States and Japan agreed to hold missile defense and anti-submarine drills regularly to counter growing North Korean threats during their senior-level defense talks in Washington earlier this week, Seoul's defense ministry said Saturday.
They reached the agreement at a session of the Defense Trilateral Talks (DTT) on Friday (Washington time), amid tensions caused by Pyongyang's recent weapons tests, including that of what it claims to be a solid-fuel Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on Thursday.
"The representatives of the three countries decided to conduct missile defense and anti-submarine exercises on a regular basis to deter and respond to North Korea's nuclear and missile threats, and had consultations on ways to resume trilateral training programs, including those for maritime interdiction and anti-piracy operations," the ministry said in a press release.
South Korean Deputy Defense Minister for Policy Heo Tae-keun, U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Ely Ratner and Japanese Director General for Defense Policy Kazuo Masuda led their respective delegations at the latest DTT session.
The DTT was previously held in 2020. It did not take place in 2021 and last year amid the COVID-19 pandemic and historical tensions between Seoul and Tokyo.
sshluck@yna.co.kr
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en.yna.co.kr · by 송상호 · April 15, 2023
3. N. Korea set to mark late founder's birthday
And what "gift" do we expect from Kim Jong Un as he celebrates his grandfather's birthday?
N. Korea set to mark late founder's birthday | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 박상수 · April 15, 2023
SEOUL, April 15 (Yonhap) -- North Korea appears set to hold celebrations for the 111th birth anniversary of its late founder Kim Il-sung on Saturday with dance performances in its capital and fireworks.
The North's state-run Korean Central Television reported that a slew of events will be held at Kim Il-sung Square in Pyongyang to mark the Day of the Sun holiday later in the day. But it did not mention large-scale performances and events.
As the North usually marks every fifth and 10th political anniversaries with major celebrations, Kim Jong-un, the North's leader and grandson of the late founder, is unlikely to attend the event.
He previously appeared at military parades that marked the 100th and 105th birth anniversaries of his late grandfather in 2012 and 2017, respectively. Kim also attended a mass rally last year to mark his grandfather's birthday.
Pyongyang has revved up a festive mood for the late founder's birthday with a variety of arts events and commemorative stamps of its late leader.
The anniversary came as North Korea has been ratcheting up its provocations ahead of the late founder's birthday.
On Friday, North Korea said it has launched a new solid-fuel Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) for the first time.
The North launched the new ICBM on Thursday, guided by its leader, to confirm the performance of "high-thrust solid-fuel engines for multi-stage missiles," according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
The latest launch also came amid heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula as the North has not responded to routine cross-border calls through inter-Korean liaison and military communication lines since last Friday.
Pyongyang has recently conducted other major weapons tests, such as the launch of the Hwasong-17 ICBM on March 16 and what it claimed to be underwater nuclear attack drones, in protest against combined springtime military drills between South Korea and the United States.
The regime has decried the exercises as preparations for an invasion against it.
Commemorative stamps to mark the 111th birth anniversary of North Korea's late founder Kim Il-sung are shown in this image released by the country's postal office on April 11, 2023. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
sam@yna.co.kr
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en.yna.co.kr · by 박상수 · April 15, 2023
4. Seoul official mentions possibility of S. Korea-U.S. intel partnership expansion to include Japan
As a dedicated acronym control officer wannabe I would have to consider this as "JUSK" - Japan - United States - Korea. Or it could be "JAK" - Japan - America - Korea.
But on a slightly more serious note this would be the Asian ( "Asia Three Eyes" eyes only: US, Korea, Japan) equivalent of the Five Eyes (eyes only: US, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand)
But on a serious note, this is a positive development and again, China and north Korea are helping to drive these initiatives forward which will strengthen the national security of all three countries. China and north Korea continue to help make JUSK or JAK grow stronger. They are both miscalculating when it comes to Korea and Japan.
Seoul official mentions possibility of S. Korea-U.S. intel partnership expansion to include Japan | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 송상호 · April 15, 2023
SEOUL, April 15 (Yonhap) -- A South Korean presidential security official took note of the possibility Saturday that Seoul and Washington could expand the allies' intelligence partnership to include Japan, a topic for the bilateral summit set for later this month.
Principal Deputy National Security Adviser Kim Tae-hyo made the remark upon arrival from Washington, where he discussed preparations for the planned White House summit between President Yoon Suk Yeol and his U.S. counterpart, Joe Biden, on April 26.
"The possibility is great, but it can be considered in a step-by-step manner or on a case-by-case basis," Kim said at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, when asked if Japan can be included in the South Korea-U.S. "intelligence alliance."
Principal Deputy National Security Adviser Kim Tae-hyo speaks to the press at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, on April 15, 2023, upon arrival from Washington. (Yonhap)
In answer to a question about whether the level of intelligence cooperation between the South and the United States can be elevated to that of the "Five Eyes" intelligence alliance, Kim said the bilateral partnership may "perhaps" be deeper than the five-way architecture consisting of the U.S., Britain, Australia, Canada and New Zealand
"We have been further solidifying that (bilateral) intelligence alliance," he said. "And I think going forward, there will be discussions on which partner we would invite additionally to the South Korea-U.S. intelligence alliance."
He said the upcoming summit will deal with various topics, including security, economy and people-to-people exchanges, as the two countries mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of their alliance this year.
"I think based on the outcomes of the alliance over the past 70 years, the summit will become a significant historical turning point that would write a new milestone for the future of the alliance," he said.
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 송상호 · April 15, 2023
5. Former military officer who met N. Korea’s Supreme Leader remains hungry
I suppose he is lucky he only remains hungry and that something else did not happen to him.
And I guess the nKPA transition assistance program is not very good.
Excerpts:
People who have met the supreme leader are envied in North Korea because they receive various benefits, including access to good jobs and good universities, that extend to their children and even their grandchildren.
But despite that status, the retired officer was in worse financial straits than other families even before COVID-19. And in the early months of this year, his family members fainted from hunger, the reporting partner said.
“Even officers have all kinds of trouble adjusting to normal life after 10 years in the military. Imagine what it must be like for someone who has depended on government rations for 30 years in the military. Retired soldiers and their families have been suffering even greater hardship since the outbreak of COVID-19.”
Now this is a message I would exploit if we were conducting an information and influence activities campaign against the regime. We could draw a lot from the short sentence below.
Except:
“If the ultimate reward for retired soldiers who have dedicated their lives to the army is starvation, it’s sure to give young people a good reason to avoid a career in the army,” the reporting partner observed.
Former military officer who met N. Korea’s Supreme Leader remains hungry
In mid-January, the retired officer drafted a petition asking for help feeding his family and submitted the petition to the provincial party committee
dailynk.com
FILE PHOTO: A street in Wonsan, Kangwon Province. (Daily NK)
A Kangwon Province resident who met the country’s supreme leader twice asked the Workers’ Party of Korea for help his hungry family, but three months have passed without any help being given, Daily NK has learned.
“In mid-January, an individual in Sepo County who had met the supreme leader asked the provincial party committee to submit a request for food assistance to the Central Committee. But no assistance has been given, and the individual remains hungry,” a reporting partner in Kangwon Province told Daily NK on Monday, speaking on condition of anonymity due to security concerns.
According to the reporting partner, the individual who filed the petition to the central committee is a retired military officer who was discharged in 2014 after a 30-year career in the army. He is on record having met the supreme leader two times while serving in the military. There are reportedly two photographs of the leader hanging up in his house.
People who have met the supreme leader are envied in North Korea because they receive various benefits, including access to good jobs and good universities, that extend to their children and even their grandchildren.
But despite that status, the retired officer was in worse financial straits than other families even before COVID-19. And in the early months of this year, his family members fainted from hunger, the reporting partner said.
“Even officers have all kinds of trouble adjusting to normal life after 10 years in the military. Imagine what it must be like for someone who has depended on government rations for 30 years in the military. Retired soldiers and their families have been suffering even greater hardship since the outbreak of COVID-19.”
When officers leave the military and return to normal life, they typically start a business to earn a living. But this retired officer and his wife did not have a knack for business and chose an unprofitable product line, which left them in grinding poverty. That is why the former officer ended up submitting a petition to the Central Committee, the reporting partner said.
In mid-January, the retired officer drafted a petition asking for help feeding his family and submitted the petition to the provincial party committee, which then passed it along to the Central Committee.
Two months later, the Central Committee sharply rebuked the provincial party committee for passing along a petition it ought to have handled itself. The Central Committee also instructed the provincial party committee to provide food to the family of the former officer who had met the supreme leader.
But the family has yet to receive any food, which has irritated locals. “What’s so great about having met the supreme leader? What good does it do to have a photograph of him on your wall?” one asked. “When the whole family was starving, members of the people’s committee helped out, but the government hasn’t even sent a single gram of rice.”
“If the ultimate reward for retired soldiers who have dedicated their lives to the army is starvation, it’s sure to give young people a good reason to avoid a career in the army,” the reporting partner observed.
Translated by David Carruth. Edited by Robert Lauler.
Daily NK works with a network of reporting partners who live inside North Korea and China. Their identities remain anonymous due to security concerns. More information about Daily NK’s reporting partner network and information gathering activities can be found on our FAQ page here.
Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
Read in Korean
dailynk.com
6. Ship carrying 1 S. Korean sailor released after hijacking in waters off West Africa: foreign ministry
Recall about 12 years or so ago the ROK Navy SEALs conducted an operation off the Horn of Africa to rescue a Korean crew and recover a Korean ship.
Operation Dawn of Gulf of Aden
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Dawn_of_Gulf_of_Aden
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gPU4g0DY6U
Ship carrying 1 S. Korean sailor released after hijacking in waters off West Africa: foreign ministry | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 송상호 · April 15, 2023
SEOUL, April 15 (Yonhap) -- An oil tanker carrying one South Korean sailor on board was released after being hijacked by pirates in waters off West Africa earlier this week, Seoul's foreign ministry said Saturday.
The 4,300-ton Singapore-registered tanker Success 9, carrying 20 crew members, including the Korean national, was hijacked by pirates in waters south of Ivory Coast at 11:00 p.m. on Monday (Korea time), according to the ministry.
The authorities got in contact with the South Korean crew member at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday and found that all the pirates fled after having stolen cargo and the crew's personal belongings. All crew members remain safe, the ministry said.
After learning of the hijacking, the foreign ministry organized an internal team to find a way to rescue them. Foreign Minister Park Jin and Second Vice Foreign Minister Lee Do-hoon led a series of related meetings.
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 송상호 · April 15, 2023
7. S. Korea, Japan agree to boost tourism
Another positive step forward.
S. Korea, Japan agree to boost tourism | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 박상수 · April 15, 2023
SEOUL, April 15 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and Japan have agreed to boost tourism between the two nations amid their efforts to normalize their frayed ties, Seoul's culture ministry said Saturday.
Park Bo-gyoon, South Korean minister of culture, sports and tourism, met with his counterpart, Saito Tetsuo, in Tokyo on Thursday and discussed measures to boost tourism between the neighboring countries.
Park said the number of Japanese tourists to South Korea has been on the rise amid the eased virus restrictions, but it is still too small compared to South Koreans visiting Japan.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida agreed to mend ties soured by historical disputes and step up security cooperation during a summit last month.
This photo, provided by the culture ministry, shows South Korean Culture Minister Park Bo-gyoon (R) shaking hands with his Japanese counterpart, Saito Tetsuo, at the latter's office in Tokyo on April 14, 2023 (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
sam@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 박상수 · April 15, 2023
8. Yoon’s unification white paper states ‘N. Korean denuclearization’
This article fails to mention the most important thing about the White paper and that is it seeks a free and democratic unified Korea.
I am not so concerned about the order of NK-US or US-NK but I do think the use of denuclearization of north Korea versus denuclearization of the Korean peninsula is important because it recognizes the regime' strategy to get US forces off the peninsula because they have access to nuclear weapons so therefore the South is "nuclearized." The use of "denuclearization of the Korean peninsula plays into the regime's political warfare strategy.
The ROK MOU appears to have thought deeply about the nature, objectives, and strategy of the Kim family regime. Although not every is expressed explicitly as I am sure the authors and the Minister are cognizant of how being too direct and explicit would be exploited by both the regime and the political opposition the South.sufficient understanding can be gained from reading between the lines.
This article also seems to treat human rights as an afterthought when in fact the White Paper outlines it is as one the five key tasks.
Here is the outline of the new Korean policy. (access it here: https://www.unikorea.go.kr/eng_unikorea/news/Publications/Related%20Documents/?boardId=bbs_0000000000000179&mode=view&cntId=2)
The bottom line is if I were a planner or strategist I could make very good use of this guidance because of its overall broadness as well as its sufficient directness.
Korean Unification and Denuclearization Policy 2023
I. Goal
- Resolve the North Korean nuclear issue through the audacious initiative
- Principled and pragmatic inter-Korean relations
- Lay the foundation for peaceful unification with the Korean people in the international community
II. Principles
- Ensure that military provocation of any kind will not be tolerated
- Develop mutually beneficial into Korean relations
- Lay the foundation for peaceful unification
III. Key Tasks
- Create a virtuous cycle of denuclearization and trust building between the two careers
- Pursue normalization of inter-Korean relations based on mutual respect
- Promote the human rights issues of North Korean people and address the pain brought by national division
- Restore, ethnic, homogeneity through open access and communication
- Prepare for unification with the Korean people in the international community
Yoon’s unification white paper states ‘N. Korean denuclearization’
donga.com
Posted April. 15, 2023 08:36,
Updated April. 15, 2023 08:36
Yoon’s unification white paper states ‘N. Korean denuclearization’. April. 15, 2023 08:36. by Jin-Woo Shin niceshin@donga.com.
The Yoon Suk Yeol administration has published its first unification white paper, in which the official term "North Korean denuclearization" was used instead of "Korean Peninsula denuclearization" used by the previous Moon Jae-in administration. The change was made to emphasize that North Korea is the party responsible for denuclearization. A government official stated that this was a clear message to North Korea, which is overtly increasing its nuclear and missile threat levels, to demonstrate its commitment to denuclearization in a serious manner.
On Friday, the Ministry of Unification released the ‘2023 Unification White Paper,’ which contains expressions such as "North Korean denuclearization.” In Chapter 1, the paper pointed out that North Korea has exacerbated the security instability on the Korean Peninsula by continuing its nuclear and missile threats and provocations despite its chronic economic difficulties."
The paper also includes expressions that reflect the South Korean government's strong response principles and policies, such as "firmly responding to North Korea's provocations" and "not tolerating North Korea's nuclear threats or military provocations." In contrast, the ‘2022 Unification White Paper,’ published under the former Moon Jae-in administration, did not contain expressions such as "provocation" and even stated that there was no "high level of tension" despite North Korea's ballistic missile launches.
In this white paper, the term "U.S.-N.K." was repeatedly used to replace the previous expression "N.K.-U.S." “The changes have been made following experts’ suggestion to unify the term (to U.S.-N.K.),” Lee Hyo-jeong, a spokesperson for the ministry, explained at a briefing on the same day.
In addition to the shift in terminology, the new white paper also addressed the North’s human rights issues, emphasizing that improving the human rights of North Korean residents is one of the most critical tasks in North Korea policy.
The ministry also recently published a report that analyzes the human rights abuse cases against North Korean defectors who have recently entered South Korea.
한국어
donga.com
9. South ready to improve relations with North, but won't tolerate provocations: Unification Ministry
If provocations are "tolerated" it means success for Kim's political warfare and blackmail diplomacy strategies.
By all means talk, negotiate, and try to improve relations but do not make concessions or tolerate regime bad behavior.
Friday
April 14, 2023
dictionary + A - A
South ready to improve relations with North, but won't tolerate provocations: Unification Ministry
https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2023/04/14/national/northKorea/North-Korea-Unification-Ministry-2023-Unification-White-Paper/20230414100012199.html
Unification Minister Kwon Young-se addresses reporters at the Central Government Complex in Jongno District, central Seoul on Tuesday. [YONHAP]
South Korea stands ready to improve relations with North Korea on the basis of reciprocity, but will not tolerate armed provocations by the regime "in any shape or form," according to a new policy document released by the Unification Ministry on Friday.
The 2023 Unification White Paper by the ministry outlines President Yoon Suk Yeol’s so-called “Audacious Initiative,” which offers massive economic, agricultural and development aid to the impoverished North in return for permanent denuclearization, while also addressing longstanding concerns about the state of human rights under the regime and difficulties faced by North Korean defectors in South Korean society.
In the document, the Unification Ministry calls for better relations with Pyongyang based on mutual respect and “flexible” reciprocity and argues that the South does not seek to re-unify the peninsula by absorbing the North or initiating overthrow of its regime.
To deal with the nuclear-armed North, South Korea will not seek to only maintain a strong deterrence posture to ward off a potential attack, but also “create the right conditions” to dissuade the regime from contemplating use of its nuclear weapons, and eventually induce its return to dialogue, according to the white paper.
In its three-stage blueprint for carrying out Yoon’s Audacious Initiative, the ministry will first seek a “preliminary and comprehensive” agreement that lays out denuclearization goals and procedures in return for food aid, followed by a “practical” accord that involves military trust-building and entails medical, agricultural and modernization development aid.
The final stage, “complete denuclearization,” would be accompanied by the restarting of full-fledged inter-Korean economic exchanges and cooperation.
In the new white paper, the Unification Ministry also calls for measures to alleviate suffering caused by division of the peninsula, including the creation of a foundation to carry out reunions of families divided by the 1950-53 Korean War.
The ministry estimated that of the 133,675 South Koreans to date who have signed up for the chance to meet with relatives in the North, 91,051 have died, leaving 42,624 on the waitlist.
Over 65 percent of those remaining on the list are over 80 years old.
Family reunions have previously been carried out by the two Koreas’ respective Red Cross committees. The South selects participants for reunions through a lottery, while the North is suspected of selecting people based on their perceived loyalty to the regime.
Under the new white paper, the ministry will also expand existing programs and create new ones to support North Korean defectors in South Korea pursue education, job training and employment and resolve mental and physical health issues arising from their time in the North.
Gaps in Seoul’s social support for North Koreans who re-settle in the South came under intense scrutiny in 2019 after a 42-year-old North Korean woman and her six-year-old son were discovered to have starved to death in their apartment in southern Seoul.
The ministry also noted that the number of North Koreans who successfully defected to the South slightly increased to 67 in 2022 compared to 63 defectors in 2021, but that the figure remains well below the annual defector numbers before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020.
The ministry promised to expand support for South Korean companies that suffered losses due to the closure of the Kaesong Industrial Complex and the North's unauthorized use of South Korean machinery and equipment after the withdrawal of South Korean personnel from the zone.
While Seoul will seek to resolve inter-Korean issues through dialogue with Pyongyang, the ministry said that it will also seek to foster international cooperation and solidarity to dissuade the North from carrying out additional acts that could lead to a further deterioration in relations.
BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]
10. [INTERVIEW] US urges China to play role to stop human rights abuses in North Korea
Excellent. We need to call out China's complicity in north Korea's human rights abuses. Koreans from the north in China should be given refugee status and allowed to go to South Korea. At the very least they should never be forcibly repatriated to north Korea.
[INTERVIEW] US urges China to play role to stop human rights abuses in North Korea
The Korea Times · April 15, 2023
Sung Kim, the U.S. special representative for North Korea, speaks during a meeting with his counterparts from South Korea and Japan at the foreign ministry in Seoul, April 7. Yonhap
US Special Representative for North Korea Sung Kim voices concerns about China's forced repatriation of North Korean refugees
By Kang Hyun-kyung
The United States will continue its diplomatic efforts to build pressure on China to scrap its forced repatriation of North Korean refugees as the brutal policy has resulted in unspeakable human rights violations of those returned to the North, according to a U.S. nuclear envoy.
"We are concerned by reports that potentially hundreds of North Koreans are detained in the PRC and will face forced repatriation when the border reopens," Sung Kim, the U.S. special representative for North Korea, said in a written interview with The Korea Times on Friday.
The PRC stands for the People's Republic of China.
Kim, who concurrently serves as U.S. ambassador to Indonesia, said the U.S. government has raised North Korea-related issues at "almost every recent senior-level engagement" with China, including meetings and phone calls conducted by President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, urging the nation to play a constructive role to settle the problems.
The U.S. nuclear envoy made the remarks after a Korea Times report that hundreds of North Korean refugees detained in China would be sent back to the North when the border reopens.
It remains uncertain when North Korea will ease or lift its border closure but some experts predict it to happen after April 15, the birthday of North Korea's founder Kim Il-sung who is the grandfather of its current leader Kim Jong-un.
China's massive repatriation, if it becomes a reality, will likely trigger a humanitarian crisis as North Korea is notorious for its brutal treatment of citizens who were repatriated after their failed attempts to flee the totalitarian state.
Ambassador Kim said China's forced repatriation makes the North Korean escapees vulnerable to human rights abuses in their home country.
"The PRC continues to consider North Koreans who flee to China or defect while working in China to be illegal 'economic migrants' rather than refugees or asylum seekers," Kim said. "As such, they are subject to detention and forced repatriation to the DPRK, where they are vulnerable to harsh punishments including torture, forced abortions, forced labor or even death."
The DPRK is an acronym of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, better known as North Korea.
The U.S. envoy underlined the State Department's diplomatic efforts to raise such cases with the Chinese government, calling on Beijing to uphold its obligations under the U.N. Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, its 1967 Protocol and the U.N. Convention Against Torture.
Sung Kim, right, the U.S. special representative for North Korea, poses with his South Korean counterpart Kim Gunn, center, and Japanese counterpart Takehiro Funakoshi, prior to their meeting at the foreign ministry in Seoul, April 7.
Yonhap
On top of bilateral diplomacy, he said the U.S. has raised the issue of North Korea's human rights violations through multilateral diplomacy.
"The United States believes DPRK human rights issues belong on the formal U.N. Security Council agenda," he said.
"To that end, the United States worked with allies and partners, including Republic of Korea, Japan and Albania, to convene an informal, Arria-formula meeting of U.N. Security Council (UNSC) members on March 17 to raise DPRK human rights issues, including transnational repression."
Elizabeth Salmon, the U.N. special rapporteur on the human rights situation in the North, and James Turpin, chief of the prevention and sustaining peace session at the office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, were also invited to the Arria-formula meeting, named after Venezuelan diplomat and former UNSC President Diego Arria.
Two unidentified North Korean defectors were also present and testified to their sufferings in the North, according to the United Nations.
The informal UNSC meeting was held to highlight the ongoing violations of human rights in North Korea and underscore how these abuses are linked with the threats to peace and security posed by North Korea's weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs, according to the United Nations.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Commission of Inquiry (COI) in 2013 to investigate the systemic and widespread human rights violations in North Korea. A year later, the COI issued a report that characterized North Korea's human rights violations as "crimes against humanity."
Kim stressed that human rights are at the center of U.S. foreign policy.
"For decades, the United States has championed efforts to promote respect for the human rights and dignity of North Koreans, including members of the most vulnerable populations," he said.
He said Washington will continue bolstering its efforts to prevent North Korea's further human rights violations.
"We continue to work with the international community to raise awareness of DPRK human rights issues, document violations and abuses, counter acts of DPRK transnational repression, urge respect for the principle of non-refoulement and increase the flow of independent information into, within and out of the DPRK," he said.
The Korea Times · April 15, 2023
11. China's Korea envoy accuses US of 'using' tensions
Admit nothing. Deny everything. And make counter accusations. The Ambassador has the counter accusations part down.
China's Korea envoy accuses US of 'using' tensions
The Korea Times · April 15, 2023
Special Representative of the Chinese government on Korean Peninsula Affairs Liu Xiaoming poses during a photo session in Paris, April 14. AFP-Yonhap
China's ambassador for the Korean peninsula accused the U.S., Friday, of "using" regional tensions to reinforce an anti-Beijing alliance, after weeks of mounting rhetoric and missile tests by Pyongyang.
"We are concerned about the U.S.' intention to use Korean peninsula issues as a tool for containing China," Special Representative Liu Xiaoming told AFP in Paris following a tour of European capitals.
"It's part of their Indo-Pacific strategy... to gang up allies, to strengthen their alliance with (South Korea) and Japan," he added.
Tensions have been rising over recent weeks across the Korean peninsula, with the North carrying out a string of missile tests while the South and the U.S. have run large-scale military exercises.
China ally Pyongyang said Friday it had successfully tested a solid-fuel ballistic missile, a technology offering a far less predictable nuclear launch capability.
In September, leader Kim Jong-un said the North's status as a nuclear power was now "irreversible".
"People focus on the launches and nuclear tests of the DPRK, but they ignore the reason why they are doing this is a lack of a mechanism, a security structure" to guarantee peace on the peninsula, Chinese envoy Liu said, using an acronym for the North's official name.
For their part, the U.S. and Seoul point to Kim's order to his army earlier this year to step up preparations for "real war" as justification for their own drills.
China is pushing for a "dual-track" approach to ending Pyongyang's nuclear drive, saying world powers should offer relief from U.N. Security Council sanctions in exchange for concrete disarmament steps.
Liu complained that North Korean gestures during the Trump administration had not been met with such action from Washington.
"The message sent to the DPRK is still pressure, sanctions, confrontation, so that made dialogue impossible," he said, casting doubt on the "seriousness" of US commitment to denuclearization.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and French President Emmanuel Macron review troops during a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, April 6. AP-Yonhap
'Strategic independence'
After talks in capitals including Berlin, Brussels and Paris, Liu said European leaders should "persuade Americans to address the security concerns of North Korea."
His call came days after French President Emmanuel Macron reiterated his ambition of "strategic independence" setting Europe apart from both the U.S. and China as he returned from a visit to Beijing.
Macron's comments were met with outcry in other European capitals and in Washington, following a year in which the continent's dependence on the U.S. for its defense has been starkly underscored by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
"We appreciate the independent strategy by some of the European countries," China's Liu said. "I think it serves the interests of Europe."
With China's ambassador already back in Pyongyang after years of closed borders due to COVID, those European nations who previously had missions there "hope they can reopen the embassies and start exchanges with the DPRK," he added.
A TV screen shows North Korea launching a missile in file footage during a news program at Seoul Railway Station, April 13. AP-Yonhap
'No nuclear threats'
Liu said that Russia remained a reliable partner pushing for denuclearization in Korea despite Moscow's own nuclear sabre-rattling during its invasion of Ukraine.
"No threat of the use of nuclear weapons" was China's "consistent position," he said.
Nevertheless, "China and Russia share a lot with regard to the Korean peninsula. We all work for peace and stability," he added.
Liu referred to official denials when asked whether reported North Korean arms deliveries to Russia in support of its invasion of Ukraine posed a problem for peace efforts on the peninsula.
Asked about a recent Financial Times report that Hong Kong- and Macau-based businessmen were smuggling oil into North Korea in defiance of U.N. sanctions, Liu said that China is "a responsible member of the (U.N.) Security Council" and "we certainly carry out our obligations fully" to enforce import restrictions.
On North Korean overseas workers ― an economic lifeline for the regime barred under another UN resolution recently underlined by the U.S., South Korea and Japan ― he said that "there's no more such cases (in China)... that issue has been resolved".
Liu also acknowledged that North Korea is "faced with some difficulties" in its food supply after reports of shortages and a February call from Kim to up grain production, although he insisted the problems were "a result of sanctions". (AFP)
The Korea Times · April 15, 2023
12. The Role of South Korea in the U.S. Semiconductor Supply Chain Strategy
Commentary for Congressional Affairs
The Role of South Korea in the U.S. Semiconductor Supply Chain Strategy
by Troy Stangarone
April 13, 2023
nbr.org
With geostrategic competition increasing between the United States and China, Washington is increasingly taking steps to maintain a technological lead on China in strategically important areas such as semiconductors. To maintain this lead, the United States has turned to a combination of export controls to limit China’s access to the most advanced semiconductor technology and incentives through the CHIPS and Science Act to encourage investments in increased production domestically.
In order to successfully implement these policies, the United States will need the support of allied governments and foreign firms to enforce export controls abroad and invest in new semiconductor facilities in the United States. South Korea and South Korean firms are expected to be key partners for the United States in its efforts to strengthen U.S. supply chains, but they have concerns about the impact of U.S. export controls and the guardrails in the CHIPS Act on business operations and the future prospects for the semiconductor industry in South Korea.
Why South Korea Matters for the U.S. Semiconductor Supply Chain
South Korea plays an important role in global semiconductor supply chains. While Europe and Japan play crucial roles in the manufacture of equipment and chemicals needed for semiconductor production, South Korea is a key end producer of semiconductors, including some of the world’s most advanced chips. The two largest South Korean manufacturers—Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix—account for 17% of the global market share and are the dominant producers of memory chips globally. Based on data from 2022, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix accounted for approximately 50% of global market share in NAND flash memory chips. In the DRAM segment, the two firms are even more dominant, accounting for nearly 70% of the global market.
South Korea also plays a key role as a manufacturer for fabless semiconductor firms, with an 18% market share. Samsung Electronics is the world’s second-largest manufacturer, trailing only TSMC. South Korean firms are also technologically advanced. According to McKinsey, 37% of the world’s production capacity for semiconductors smaller than ten nanometers is in South Korea (the remainder is in Taiwan), giving it the ability to produce the world’s most advanced chips.
In addition, semiconductors are a key part of cooperation between the United States and South Korea. In 2021 the two countries agreed to cooperate on R&D and support investment in leading edge manufacturing in both countries. This included a commitment by Samsung Electronics to invest $17 billion to build a second semiconductor fabrication plant (or “fab”) in the United States. Subsequently, SK Hynix announced that it would invest $15 billion in an advanced chip packing plant and R&D facility in the United States. Samsung is also considering investing $200 billion in eleven additional U.S. plants.
On the governmental level, South Korea is a participant in the “Fab 4” East Asian semiconductor grouping. At last year’s summit meeting, the two countries agreed to establish the ministerial-level U.S.-Korea Supply Chain and Commercial Dialogue, where semiconductors are one of the issues discussed.
South Korean Concerns Regarding U.S. Semiconductor Policy
Despite South Korea’s commitment to working with the United States on semiconductors, the country has concerns about U.S. policy and its implications for the domestic semiconductor industry and South Korean firms’ operations more broadly. These firms are important for the domestic economy, which is highly dependent on trade. Exports account for 42% of GDP, and semiconductors are South Korea’s largest export item, accounting for nearly 18.9% of total exports in 2022.
South Korean firms have invested significantly in semiconductor production in China. Samsung’s plant in Xi’an produces 40% of its NAND chips, while half of SK Hynix’s DRAM chips and upward of 30% of its NAND chips are produced at its plants in Wuxi and Dalian. U.S. export controls put in place last year to prevent the shipment of advanced U.S. technology to China have raised concerns about the ability of Samsung and SK Hynix to run their Chinese facilities after an initial one-year waiver expires.
South Korea is also concerned about the conditions set by the U.S. Commerce Department for semiconductor firms to receive U.S. subsidies under the CHIPS Act. These include requirements that firms provide information about their management, profit projections, and technology; provisions over profit sharing; and restrictions for ten years on expanding operations in China. Although the guardrails recently announced by the Commerce Department have lessened concerns about South Korean operations in China, broader issues persist.
What South Korea Is Doing to Protect Its Semiconductor Industry
South Korea is taking steps to protect the long-term future of an industry critical for its own economy. The National Assembly recently passed its own version of the CHIPS Act. The K-CHIPS Act, as it is called, would provide a 15% tax break for facilities investment by large firms and up to 25% for small firms. It would also provide tax breaks of 30%–40% for R&D by large firms and up to 50% for small firms. It also reduces regulatory overlap between ministries.
The South Korean government has announced plans to create the world’s largest semiconductor cluster outside Seoul. $228 billion in investment through 2042 would come from Samsung, including the construction of five new fabs.
Alongside these domestic initiatives, Seoul is working through the Supply Chain and Commercial Dialogue and meeting with U.S. administration officials to discuss its concerns related to U.S. export controls and the CHIPS Act. Dialogue through these and other channels has helped South Korea ensure that its concerns are considered.
What Congress Can Do
There are steps that Congress can take to support South Korean semiconductor investments in the United States and cooperation on the semiconductor supply chain more broadly. First, it could pass the Partner with Korea Act. Congress has yet to follow through on providing South Korea with the professional visas that were agreed to with the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement. With concerns about a shortage of qualified workers for semiconductor facilities, passage of the Partner with Korea Act will help ensure that Samsung and SK Hynix have access to skilled nonpermanent workers while Americans are being trained to take on more of the high-skilled jobs.
Congress should also hold hearings to review U.S. semiconductor strategy. Based on the concerns of South Korea and other U.S. allies and partners, Congress should seek to provide oversight on whether U.S. export controls are flexible enough to meet national security concerns without undermining the businesses of U.S. partners. In particular, it should examine whether the requirements for subsidies under the CHIPS Act could discourage investment in the United States.
Cooperation on semiconductors needs to support the industry in both the United States and South Korea. While DuPont invested in production of photoresist after Japan placed export restrictions on South Korea, there has been less attention to how U.S. investment in South Korea can support the broader supply chain between the two countries. This will be critical as they work together to protect the long-term viability of the industry. South Korea will be a key partner for strengthening the semiconductor supply chain in the United States, but long-term success requires developing a strategy that strengthens the supply chain in both countries.
Troy Stangarone is Senior Director and Fellow at the Korea Economic Institute (KEI), where he oversees trade- and economic-related initiatives, as well as KEI’s relations with Capitol Hill and the Washington, D.C., trade community. The views expressed here are the author’s.
Endnotes
[1] Fabless semiconductor firms are firms that design semiconductors but outsource their manufacturing to third-party firms.
nbr.org
13. S. Korea, U.S. will continue to strengthen alliance in face of crisis: Amb. Goldberg
The right words. (But I suppose we should expect those from an Ambassador.) :-)
S. Korea, U.S. will continue to strengthen alliance in face of crisis: Amb. Goldberg | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 변덕근 · April 15, 2023
By Byun Duk-kun
WASHINGTON, April 14 (Yonhap) -- The United States and South Korea will continue to deepen their bilateral cooperation and alliance while jointly facing various regional and global challenges, including the threat posed by North Korea, U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Philip Goldberg said Friday.
The U.S. diplomat said President Joe Biden will also reaffirm strong U.S. commitment to the security and defense of South Korea when he holds a bilateral summit with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol later this month.
"On today's theme -- reinvigorating the U.S.-ROK alliance -- the energy and enthusiasm for the U.S.-ROK alliance remains as high as ever," Goldberg said, referring to South Korea by its official name, the Republic of Korea.
"The depth and breadth of our relationship is astounding. As we confront a host of global threats, the United States and the ROK will only deepen our ties and strengthen our resolve," he added in prerecorded keynote remarks delivered at a seminar hosted by the Brookings Institution, a Washington-based think tank.
Philip Goldberg, U.S. ambassador to South Korea, is seen delivering keynote remarks at a seminar hosted by the Washington-based Brookings Institution think tank on April 14, 2023 in this captured image. (Yonhap)
The South Korean president is set to make a state visit to the U.S. from April 24, two days before he and Biden will hold a bilateral summit.
Goldberg said the Yoon-Biden summit will once again highlight the strength of the U.S.-South Korea alliance that he said provided a "solid foundation" for the people of South Korea to flourish over the past 70 years since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.
"During the visit, President Biden and President Yoon will discuss how the U.S.-ROK alliance is critical to advance in peace, stability and prosperity for our two countries in the Indo-Pacific and the world," he said.
"They will highlight the enduring strength of the ironclad U.S.-ROK alliance and the United States' unwavering commitment to this country," he added.
The U.S. ambassador said the leaders will also discuss ways to further strengthen their countries' bilateral cooperation in areas such as economic security, supply chain resiliency and climate change.
"Another opportunity to advance our cooperation is through the ROK's newly unveiled ambitious Indo-Pacific strategy, which called to strengthen solidarity with like minded partners and to promote shared values such as democracy, human rights and free economies," said Goldberg.
"We fully support the ROK and expanding its global role and fulfilling its aspirations as a global pivotal state, which aligns with our own commitment to strengthen cooperation with Southeast Asian and Pacific Island countries," he added.
bdk@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 변덕근 · April 15, 2023
14. Joint Statement of the 13th Defense Trilateral Talks (ROK- Japan- US)
Joint Statement of the 13th Defense Trilateral Talks
defense.gov
Release
Immediate Release
April 14, 2023 |×
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- U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Ely Ratner, Japan Director General for Defense Policy Masuda Kazuo, and Republic of Korea (ROK) Deputy Minister for National Defense Policy Heo Tae-keun convened the 13th Defense Trilateral Talks (DTT) in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 2023. The representatives exchanged assessments of the security environment on the Korean Peninsula and broader region, and they consulted on concrete ways to deepen U.S.-Japan-ROK security cooperation.
- The three defense officials confirmed that each side would remain vigilant and enhance trilateral security cooperation to deter the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea's (DPRK) nuclear and missile threats and to strengthen peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in the Indo-Pacific region. They condemned in the strongest terms the DPRK's repeated violations of United Nations Security Council resolutions (UNSCRs), including its continuous nuclear and missile provocations and illicit ship-to-ship transfers, and they affirmed the international community's shared goal to ensure the DPRK fully complies with its obligations under relevant UNSCRs. They urged the DPRK to stop all destabilizing activities immediately. They reaffirmed that a DPRK nuclear test, if conducted, would be met with a strong and resolute response from the international community. They also reiterated that the path to dialogue remains open toward peaceful and diplomatic resolution with the DPRK, and the three officials called on the DPRK to return to negotiations. To this end, the U.S. and Japanese representatives expressed support for the goal of the ROK Government's "Audacious Initiative," which aligns with the three sides’ shared commitment to achieve complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
- The three representatives also discussed the security situation in the Indo-Pacific region and reiterated their shared commitment to the rules-based international order. They emphasized the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. They reaffirmed the need to stand with Ukraine against Russia’s unprovoked and brutal war of aggression and recognized that it is a serious violation of territorial integrity and sovereignty which undermines the fabric of the entire international order.
- The three sides discussed the regularization of missile defense exercises and anti-submarine exercises to deter and respond to DPRK’s nuclear and missile threats, and discussed ways to resume trilateral exercises, including maritime interdiction and anti-piracy exercises, in order to maintain peace and stability in the region in a more effective manner.
- The United States expressed full support for Japan and ROK commitments to further strengthen communication and collaboration among the defense authorities, particularly in leveraging their respective bilateral General Security of Military Information Agreements (GSOMIA) toward peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in the region.
- In line with the commitment of U.S., Japan, and ROK leaders to share “DPRK missile warning data in real time” at the Phnom Penh Summit on November 13, 2022, the three representatives affirmed ongoing work to fully leverage the existing information frameworks including the Trilateral Information Sharing Arrangement (TISA)to improve coordination and cooperation among the three countries.
- The United States also reiterated its ironclad commitment to defend Japan and the ROK, which is backed by the full range of defensive capabilities – including nuclear.
- The three representatives affirmed that the discussion during the 13th Defense Trilateral Talks has greatly contributed to a substantive development of the U.S.-Japan-ROK security cooperation. Furthermore, they agreed to hold the 14th Defense Trilateral Talks next year in Seoul on a date to be mutually determined.
Indo-Pacific Exercises ukraine response partnerships South Korea Japan
defense.gov
15. To curb theft and skip days at factories, North Korea is installing security cameras
More indicators for potential instability.
To curb theft and skip days at factories, North Korea is installing security cameras
Poor economy has driven workers to steal parts to sell outside
By Hyemin Son for RFA Korean
2023.04.11
rfa.org
As North Korea’s economy worsens, factory workers are stealing more parts, tools and other items to sell elsewhere and bring in a bit more income. Others are bribing their bosses to skip work so they can make more money doing other side jobs.
Authorities have taken notice, and are installing security cameras to monitor their activities, sources in the country say.
In the past, such closed-circuit television cameras, or CCTVs, were used only in high-priority areas, such as in busy intersections and government buildings, and almost exclusively in the capital Pyongyang. But starting in March, they began to appear in factories and other workplaces.
“Earlier this month, CCTVs were installed at every factory under the Tokchon Motor Complex. The cameras are running for 24 hours,” a source from South Pyongan Province, North of Pyongyang, told RFA’s Korean Service on condition of anonymity to speak freely.
The complex is North Korea’s foremost auto and auto-parts production facility and employs about 25,000 people.
“The Central Committee supplied CCTVs imported from China,” the source said. “The cameras are used to monitor who is stealing factory materials and who is spending their working hours away from their job.”
Side jobs
Although most men in North Korea are assigned a government job that they must report to, the salary is way below the cost of living, to the point that most people have to earn money in other ways to make ends meet.
In most cases, this means that they have to go into business for themselves, often by selling goods or services in local marketplaces.
Most companies will accept bribes from their employees who want to seek their fortunes elsewhere, the sources say. But now the cameras will reveal who actually shows up for work.
“The CCTVs are installed at the main gate of each factory, and at the workplaces of each factory,” he said. “The workers are uncomfortable that the cameras reveal who goes to work at what time and who chats during the work day at the daily work review session every evening,”
Rampant theft
It’s the same situation at the Chongju Bearing Factory in the northwestern province of North Pyongan. Cameras have been installed to stop theft, which is rampant at the factory, a source there told RFA on condition of anonymity for security reasons.
“Due to the lack of food received from rations, factory workers secretly steal bearings and material parts produced in the factory in their pockets,” he said. “They will later sell them at the market to make a living.”
Since the cameras were installed, several employees have been caught.
“Now if they put even a small piece of iron in their pocket, they are disgraced publicly as a thief who steals state materials,” he said. “The workers are very unhappy about this.”
The source said that the CCTV cameras also changed the way that daily production reviews are conducted.
Previously, the head of the work team reported production totals. But since the cameras were installed, the team leader must also report who worked a full eight hours and whether they stole anything.
Stealing a few items from factories is widespread in North Korea, and perpetrators are not usually punished beyond public criticism. But if the scale of the theft is large, those responsible can be punished as criminals under the law.
Installing cameras in factories is highly unusual, said a source using the pseudonym Kim Yong-il, who once was an administrative official in the North prior to escaping and resettling in South Korea.
“It seems like the cameras are not for the small factories. They should first go into the larger ones,” said Kim. “CCTVs enable discipline management. The other intention is to crack down on the leakage of materials and equipment from inside the factory.”
He said that if North Korea did nothing to increase wages and rations at the factories, using the cameras to force employees to show up to work and prevent them from stealing would result in not only increased productivity, it will also increase their dissatisfaction.
Translated by Claire Shinyoung Oh Lee. Written in English by Eugene Whong. Edited by Malcolm Foster.
rfa.org
16. North Korea warns parents to send their truant kids to school
Times are hard for Korean families.
North Korea warns parents to send their truant kids to school
Children in poor families are needed for farm labor as planting season begins.
By Chang Gyu Ahn for RFA Korean
2023.04.13
rfa.org
It’s been more than 10 days since the new school year began in North Korea, and a large number of poor children have yet to show up for classes because they are needed for farm work during the planting season.
So authorities are warning their parents to send them to school or face interrogation or public shaming, sources in the country told Radio Free Asia.
Most North Korean elementary schools should have around 30 students in each classroom, but one or two from each class have yet to show up for their first day of school, a resident in the northern province of Ryanggang, who is knowledgeable about the education sector in Paegam county, told RFA’s Korean Service Monday on condition of anonymity for security reasons.
“Today, the county’s education department sent a notice to parents who have not sent their children to school … warning that they will notify the party committees and their parents’ workplaces if they don’t attend,” he said.
The warnings come after previous efforts to get the children to school failed, according to the source.
“When the class attendance rates are down, the homeroom teacher will be interrogated,” he said. “Even if their classmates come to their homes to pick them up, or if the teacher visits with the parents, there are still quite a few children who do not come to school.”
The source said that the children who aren’t attending school are from families experiencing economic hardship.
“The reason why children do not come to school is because they have to help their parents, who are busy preparing their small plots of land for farming in the mountains as the planting season begins,” he said.
Matter of survival
Planting season is vital for many rural families to survive.
“Farming on their private plots is the most important activity for the year because corn, beans, potatoes and whatever else can be grown on small plots of land will be the only food these households … have to stay alive this year,” the source said.
A North Korean boy works on a collective farm in South Hwanghae province. Credit: Reuters file photo
The same problem existed in previous years, but it fell to the teachers to ask the parents to send their kids to school, he said. This is the first year that parents are getting an official warning, and it appears to be highly unusual.
While there’s no accompanying punishment laid out in the warning other than being reported to the party committee, the potential for public disgrace by such a high-ranking institution makes the report alone a serious threat, he said.
For the country’s poorest, going into the mountains to find some empty land to grow vegetables is a matter of survival. North Korea has suffered from chronic food shortages for decades, and a suspension of trade with China during the COVID-19 pandemic made the shortages worse.
At one point during the pandemic, the government told the people that they would no longer receive rations and would be on their own for food.
The impoverished children work to cultivate the newly slashed and burned land, so they have no time to go to school.
Summoned for questioning
In the city of Kimchaek, in the northeastern province of North Hamgyong, the problem is so dire that authorities there began calling in the parents for interrogation, a source there told RFA on condition of anonymity to speak freely.
“There are a total of 28 students in my kid’s class in elementary school, but four of them are not attending,” she said. “Last week, schools in the city submitted absentee lists to the education department, and included their parents’ jobs, their titles and home addresses.”
The source said she believes that the interrogations began on Monday.
“Interrogating the parents will not guarantee a 100% attendance rate,” she said. “For families who do not have food to eat right now or who are struggling to live, it is more important to not starve than it is to send their children to school.”
Translated by Claire Shinyoung Oh Lee. Written in English by Eugene Whong. Edited by Malcolm Foster.
rfa.org
De Oppresso Liber,
David Maxwell
Vice President, Center for Asia Pacific Strategy
Senior Fellow, Foundation for Defense of Democracies
Senior Fellow, Global Peace Foundation
Editor, Small Wars Journal
Twitter: @davidmaxwell161
Phone: 202-573-8647
email: david.maxwell161@gmail.com
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