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Quotes of the Day:
"The man who does not do his own thinking is a slave, and is a traitor to himself and to his fellow-men."
– Robert Ingersoll
"What we become depends on what we read after all of the professors have finished with us. The greatest university of all is a collection of books."
– Thomas Carlyle
It cannot be repeated too often, that nothing is more fertile in prodigies than the art of being free; but there is nothing more arduous than the apprenticeship of liberty.
– Alexis de Toqueville
1. Editorial: US-Japan, China-N. Korea tighten grip on Northeast Asian security as S. Korean politics rages on
2. 'Day of Sun' reference over N. Korean late founder's birthday reemerges in state media
3. U.S. envoy meets FM Cho in Seoul after Russia's veto on U.N. panel monitoring N.K. sanctions
4. The North Korean origins of Iran's rocket strike capability against Israel
5. As winter training ends, N. Korean military takes action to tighten combat discipline
6. Kim Jong Un, China’s Zhao Leji seek enhanced cooperation
7. N. Koreans complain about Kim Jong Un's inspection of tank unit
8. ＜Inside N. Korea＞ 'National Unified Price System' implemented on domestic products...Stores are given booklet showing prices in new system… Government aims to tighten control over economy
9. Korean official development assistance increases by 11%
10. Samsung Electronics Gets $6.4 Billion for Texas Chip Plants
11. Emergency plan needed for a new Mideast crisis (South Korea)
12. Congratulations, democracy (South Korea)
1. Editorial: US-Japan, China-N. Korea tighten grip on Northeast Asian security as S. Korean politics rages on
It is this kind of thinking that harms the alliance by not accurately informing the people. The ROK-US and Japan-US alliances are not zero sum. Leaders from the ROK and the US must counter this growing negative narrative.
Excerpt:
The enhanced role of Japan in the U.S. countering China is unavoidable, but it poses concerns from the perspective of South Korea. Strengthening the U.S.-Japan alliance could potentially weaken the U.S.-South Korea alliance. Changes in the role of U.S. forces in Japan are also concerning. If China were to invade Taiwan, U.S. forces in Japan would likely be the first to be deployed, prompting China to take action through North Korea, leading to a crisis on the Korean Peninsula. While a summit between North Korea and Japan may not immediately disrupt the security cooperation and international sanctions involving South Korea, the government should closely monitor the discussions between the two parties.
Editorial: US-Japan, China-N. Korea tighten grip on Northeast Asian security as S. Korean politics rages on
By The Chosunilbo
Published 2024.04.14. 09:33
Updated 2024.04.14. 10:53
https://www.chosun.com/english/opinion-en/2024/04/14/I55RC5UWYFGSTJED2IP25KEWP4/
U.S. President Joe Biden escorts Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to their trilateral summit at the White House in Washington, U.S., April 11, 2024./Reuters Yonhap News
Amid the South Korean public’s focus on the recent general election, Northeast Asia’s security situation is swiftly evolving. President Joe Biden of the United States and Prime Minister Kishida Fumio of Japan have agreed to strengthen their security and technological alliance through a summit. Together, they plan to develop and produce weapons to counter China and adjust the command structure to coordinate the movements of the U.S. military and the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF). Prime Minister Kishida expressed Japan’s commitment to supporting the U.S. in maintaining global peace, indicating a significant expansion of military roles in the region and beyond. President Biden welcomed Japan’s involvement, and the U.S. and Japan have agreed to hold their first trilateral summit with the Philippines, conducting joint patrols and exercises. Japan will also partner in advanced technological development in the security alliance between the US, UK, and Australia, known as AUKUS.
In response, China’s top legislator Zhao Leji visited North Korea, marking the first high-level visit from China since Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to North Korea in 2019. Zhao met with Kim, and there’s speculation about a possible summit between North Korea and China. A summit between China and Russia is scheduled for next month, showing increased coordination among China, North Korea, and Russia in response to the strengthening of the U.S.-Japan alliance.
The enhanced role of Japan in the U.S. countering China is unavoidable, but it poses concerns from the perspective of South Korea. Strengthening the U.S.-Japan alliance could potentially weaken the U.S.-South Korea alliance. Changes in the role of U.S. forces in Japan are also concerning. If China were to invade Taiwan, U.S. forces in Japan would likely be the first to be deployed, prompting China to take action through North Korea, leading to a crisis on the Korean Peninsula. While a summit between North Korea and Japan may not immediately disrupt the security cooperation and international sanctions involving South Korea, the government should closely monitor the discussions between the two parties.
The U.S. is expected to invite South Korea to join as a partner in advanced technological development following Japan’s inclusion in AUKUS. All these movements ultimately aim to counter China. South Korea must align with the U.S. but also manage its relationship with China, which poses a significant challenge. Against this backdrop, a trilateral summit between South Korea, China, and Japan is scheduled to take place in Seoul next month, attracting attention from the U.S.. South Korea is now on a diplomatic test bed. With the general election over, it is time to closely monitor and prepare for changes in the security situation in Northeast Asia amid the North Korean nuclear threat.
2. 'Day of Sun' reference over N. Korean late founder's birthday reemerges in state media
You know what they say, a day without sunshine is like a day without orange juice. Or do I have that backwards? (note attempt at humor).
(LEAD) 'Day of Sun' reference over N. Korean late founder's birthday reemerges in state media | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Soo-yeon · April 15, 2024
(ATTN: UPDATES with more details in last 2 paras)
SEOUL, April 15 (Yonhap) -- North Korean state media referred to the birthday of North Korean late founder Kim Il-sung as the Day of the Sun on Monday after stopping using the term in recent weeks while calling it "the April holiday."
Kim's birthday, April 15, has been revered as the Day of the Sun in North Korea and celebrated as one of the secretive country's most important national holidays, along with the birthday of his late son and successor Kim Jong-il in February. The North's founder died of heart failure in 1994 at age 82.
But in the run-up to his 112th birthday this year, North Korean state media had referred to it as "the April holiday" or "the spring holiday in April" instead of the Day of the Sun in recent months, spawning speculation that the incumbent leader Kim Jong-un may be cautious about an excessive idolization of his grandfather.
The North's state media called his birthday the Day of the Sun again in its Monday reports, while calling on people to show loyalty to Kim Jong-un, who it said has inherited the revolutionary ideology from the forefathers.
This photo, carried by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on April 15, 2024, shows the statues of North Korean late founder Kim Il-sung and former late leader Kim Jong-il on Mansu Hill in Pyongyang as senior party and government officials laid floral baskets in front of the statues on the occasion of the 112th birthday of Kim Il-sung. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
Senior party and government officials laid floral baskets before the statues of the two late leaders on Mansu Hill on Sunday "on the occasion of the significant Day of the Sun," the Korean Central News Agency reported.
Seoul's unification ministry earlier said it is "unusual" for North Korean state media to have been referring to Kim's birthday as the April holiday" in recent weeks.
When asked if North Korea is viewing Kim's birthday as less important than before, the ministry said it should comprehensively look at media reports coming out until April 15 in a bid to correctly assess the situation.
Kim Il-sung is known as the role model of the North's incumbent leader. But at a year-end party meeting, Kim Jong-un scrapped a decadeslong policy of seeking unification with South Korea, a legacy of his grandfather, and defined inter-Korean ties as those between "two states hostile to each other."
Koo Byoung-sam, spokesperson at the unification ministry, declined to comment on the reemergence of the Day of the Sun reference in the North's state media.
"North Korea used the term in the Rodong Sinmun, its main newspaper, but there seems to be no difference from its previous pattern, where the country capitalized on April 15 as a chance to strengthen internal unity by idolizing Kim Il-sung and highlighting loyalty to Kim Jong-un," he said.
This photo, carried by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on April 15, 2024, shows the North holding a nighttime event for schoolchildren to celebrate the 112th birthday of late founder Kim Il-sung with fireworks at the plaza named after him in Pyongyang the previous day. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Soo-yeon · April 15, 2024
3. U.S. envoy meets FM Cho in Seoul after Russia's veto on U.N. panel monitoring N.K. sanctions
(2nd LD) U.S. envoy meets FM Cho in Seoul after Russia's veto on U.N. panel monitoring N.K. sanctions | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Chae Yun-hwan · April 15, 2024
(ATTN: ADDS more details in paras 5-8, photo)
By Kim Seung-yeon and Chae Yun-hwan
SEOUL, April 15 (Yonhap) -- The top U.S. envoy to the United Nations met with Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul in Seoul on Monday for discussions that have likely centered on exploring alternatives after Russia's veto on renewing the U.N. expert panel monitoring sanctions on North Korea.
Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield's meeting with Cho took place as part of her four-day visit to South Korea, during which she is also expected to meet with senior government officials in Seoul to discuss cooperation in the U.N. Security Council.
She arrived in South Korea on Sunday.
"It was very productive and I look forward to continuing those discussions over the course of the next two days," Thomas-Greenfield told reporters as she left the foreign ministry building.
This file photo, taken March 17, 2023, shows U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield. (Yonhap)
Later Monday, the U.S. envoy met with Defense Minister Shin Won-sik and expressed concern over Russia's recent veto, noting that it could create lapses in implementing U.N. Security Council sanctions resolutions on the North, according to Seoul's defense ministry.
The U.S. envoy explained that Washington is making efforts to ensure that an alternative credible report on North Korean sanctions can continue to be produced, and expressed hopes for support from South Korea, it said.
The U.S. envoy called North Korea's advancement of its nuclear and ballistic missile programs violations of U.N. Security Council resolutions, and an illegal act that undermines the universal values of the international community.
The two sides also expressed concern over increasing uncertainty in the global security situation, and agreed to cooperate to push for projects connected to the U.N. Security Council resolutions, according to the ministry.
Her visit came after Russia last month vetoed the U.N.'s annual renewal of an expert panel monitoring the North's compliance with U.N. sanctions.
North Korea has been under tightened U.N. sanctions, which call for, among other things, a ban on the country's exports of coal and other mineral resources to cut off North Korea's access to hard currency.
With the veto, the panel's mandate is set to expire April 30, a termination that observers say could chip away at international efforts to curb evolving North Korean nuclear and missile threats.
During her trip, the U.S. envoy will also travel to the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas, meet young North Korean defectors and speak with students at Ewha Womans University before heading to Japan on Wednesday.
It marks Thomas-Greenfield's first visit to Seoul, and the first trip by a U.S. ambassador to the U.N. since 2016.
Defense Minister Shin Won-sik (L) speaks with U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield (R), at Shin's office in central Seoul on April 15, 2024, in this photo provided by the defense ministry. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
yunhwanchae@yna.co.kr
elly@yna.co.kr
(END)
4. The North Korean origins of Iran's rocket strike capability against Israel
This is too often overlooked. What we should keep in mind is that north Korea is contributing to malign actors in conflict zones around the world.
The north Korea - Iran relationship will be explored in detail by Dr Bruce Bechtol and Dr Anthony Celso in their forthcoming book: Rogue Allies: The Strategic Partnership Between Iran and North Korea. This will be a seminal work as I have not seen a book treat the north Korean and Iranian problems in such a balanced manner.
We should keep in mind that north Korea is a different kind of pivotal state that is a member of the axis of totalitarians/dictators and is a major contributor to the "arsenal of malign actors." north Korea has long been at the center of supply for such actors through its weapons and training proliferation.
The North Korean origins of Iran's rocket strike capability against Israel - Daily NK English
North Korean arms exports have long served to counterbalance the considerable arms and technology transfers from the Western world to Israel from the 1990s
By A.B. Abrams - April 15, 2024
dailynk.com · by A.B. Abrams · April 15, 2024
On Apr. 2, 2024, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un conducted an on-the-spot inspection of the first test launch of a new medium- to long-range solid-state ballistic missile, the Hwasongpo-16B, equipped with a newly developed hypersonic glide flight combat vehicle (warhead), according to Rodong Sinmun on Apr. 3. (Rodong Sinmun-News1)
In the aftermath of a lethal air strike on an Iranian diplomatic building in Damascus on Apr. 1, which was quickly widely attributed to the Israeli Air Force, Tehran’s pledges to retaliate have led both local and international media to highlight the range of missile classes the country has capable of striking Israeli territory. The country has a history of launching missile strikes in response to the killing of its officials or attacks on its territory, with the most notable example in recent years being the strikes launched against U.S. military bases in Iraq on Jan. 8, 2020, causing 109 American casualties. This represented a response to the killing of Iran’s most decorated military official Major General Qasem Soleimani in a drone strike six days prior. While Iran’s capability to engage targets in Israel is well established, with the country having also conducted lengthy drone reconnaissance operations in Israeli airspace in the past, less well known is how this capability was first obtained, the central role played by the North Korean defense sector, and how it tied into the origins of Pyongyang’s special relationship with Tehran.
Alongside Egypt, Iran became one of the first clients for North Korean ballistic missiles in the early 1980s and purchased several hundred Hwasong-5 missiles during the Iran-Iraq War, before advancing this relationship further with the acquisition of the longer ranged Hwasong-6 and beginning to seek domestic license production of the Korean missiles. Where both the Hwasong-5 and Hwasong-6 were close derivatives of the Soviet Scud-B, with these designated Shahab-1 and Shahab-2 in Iran, in the early 1990s North Korea completed development of a unique and significantly larger missile class designated Hwasong-7. While using reverse engineered Scud technologies, the missile had five times the range of the Hwasong-5 and Scud-B allowing it to engage targets up to 1,500 kilometers away, with this capability highly valued to target American military facilities in Japan. This marked the first time that the Korean People’s Army could effectively threaten targets beyond the Korean Peninsula, which had critical wartime implications due to Japan’s central role as a staging ground for possible American military operations in Korea.
The Hwasong-7, better known in the West as the Rodong-1, made a formidable show of force on May 29, 1993, when one was launched into the Sea of Japan, and demonstrated high precision impacting close to a target buoy hundreds of kilometers away. The missile’s introduction came at a time of growing concerns in the West regarding Pyongyang’s possible development of nuclear weapons, and coincided with a period of high tensions with Washington. The Bill Clinton administration the following year came close to ordering a military campaign against North Korea, which analysts widely credited the country’s missile capabilities as a leading factor in having deterred. While the Hwasong-7 was a game changer for North Korea’s missile deterrent capabilities, and marked the beginning of a new era for the country’s strike capabilities culminating 24 years later in the acquiring of a viable ICBM, the missile was also highly attractive to international clients – in particular Iran and Pakistan.
In the aftermath of the Soviet Union’s disintegration, Iran faced growing hurdles impeding the modernization of its conventional forces, with the United States intervening to effectively prevent arms acquisitions from Soviet successor states. The 1995 Gore-Chernomyrdin Agreement bound Moscow to cut off existing arms supply contracts to Iran and refrain from signing new ones, ending a budding military relationship that began in 1989, which is still far from having fully recovered. Initially promising Iranian efforts to acquire MiG-29 fighters from Moldova fell through when the United States applied political pressure on Chișinău, and went as far as to purchase the Soviet built jets for its own fleet to deny them to Iran. In the post-Cold War era North Korea remained far less susceptible to Western pressure over arms sales than Soviet successor states, while ballistic missiles provided an effective means of deterring larger militaries, including the United States, asymmetrically.
While a primary benefit of the Hwasong-7 for Iran was that it would facilitate retaliation against American military installations throughout the Middle East should the U.S. attempt a military attack, as well as attacks on key oil infrastructure in the Gulf with massive economic repercussions, the missile was also valued for its ability to reach Israeli targets. This took on new importance after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, after which Israel came to view Iran as its primary regional adversary. The Israeli Air Force retained considerable assets capable of striking Iranian targets, ranging from new F-15I fighters to Jericho II ballistic missiles, both of which can deliver either conventional or nuclear strikes.
The ability to strike Israel had also been a goal of Iraq’s ballistic missile program, although Iraqi efforts to modify Soviet-supplied Scud missiles for this purpose were far from successful. The AI Hussein missile had doubled its range to 600 kilometers, but carried very small warheads due to the need to carry extra fuel. Its accuracy was greatly reduced, especially in the sparsely populated Middle East. The Hwasong-7 was a far more effective solution to the need for extended range, as its much larger size allowed for both a larger payload and more fuel, while its accuracy was improved over that of Scud missiles. Although the ability to achieve much greater ranges with more compact missiles had been demonstrated in the Soviet Union and would emerge in North Korea in later years, the Scud technologies of the time were insufficient to develop an efficient longer-range missile.
Considerable technology transfer suspected between two countries
The possible sale of the Hwasong-7 and its technologies to Iran in the early 1990s led to significant American threats against both countries and Israeli diplomatic overtures to Pyongyang, although neither succeeded in preventing the transfer. For North Korea, the sale served three primary purposes, including providing the country with substantial and much-needed revenue after its trade with the former Soviet bloc was effectively cut off, while further strengthening security ties with Iran and challenging Western security interests in the Middle East. The missile was subsequently manufactured under license in Iran under the designation Shahab-3, with an estimated 50 launchers and several hundred missiles in service by the late 2000s.
In parallel to the modernization of the Hwasong-7 in North Korea, the Shahab-3 would also benefit from significant improvements thought to have been developed jointly by the two countries. Among these were improved guidance capabilities, introduction of maneuverable reentry vehicles, and use of a new rocket-nozzle control system, with many of these upgrades intended to increase survivability against Western and Israeli missile defense systems. Enhanced derivatives of the Shahab-3 have included the Ghadr-110 and Emad, the latter unveiled in 2015, with both boasting significantly extended ranges. Israeli intelligence sources reported that the Shahab-3 saw one combat deployment, and was used on June 18, 2017, for retaliatory strikes against Islamic State jihadist insurgents in Syria after terror attacks on Iranian targets, demonstrating high precision.
North Korea would continue to play a central role in the modernization of Iran’s longer ranged missile capabilities, with unconfirmed U.S. reports indicating that the Hwasong-10 ballistic missile was tested in Iran as early as the mid-2000s. This intermediate range ballistic missile could engage targets over twice as far as the Hwasong-7, with enhanced variants in the 2010s providing North Korea with its first known strike capability against targets on Guam. Its development became a priority target for American “left of launch” electronic sabotage efforts under the Obama administration. While North Korea’s intermediate range arsenal has moved two generations past the Hwasong-10, with the Hwasong-12 first launched in 2017 and the Hwasong-16B in April 2024, the Iranian Khoramshahr series of ballistic missiles continue to play a central role in the country’s arsenal and are widely reported to be based on Hwasong-10 technologies.
In what may be the latest development in missile technology sharing between the two U.S. adversaries, Iran’s claims to have developed a hypersonic glide vehicle for its longer ranged missiles closely followed North Korea’s development of missiles with such vehicles domestically. This would follow a long history of North Korea exporting countermeasures to enemy air defenses to enhance the missile arsenals of both Iran and its close strategic partner Syria. With post-Soviet Russia having played a much more limited role in the Middle East – and managing its arms exports far more carefully to avoid conflicting with Israeli interests – North Korean arms exports would serve to counterbalance the considerable arms and technology transfers from the Western world to Israel from the 1990s. The result has been success in both significantly shifting the regional balance of power, and in gaining major markets for its equipment.
Views expressed in this guest column do not necessarily reflect those of Daily NK.
dailynk.com · by A.B. Abrams · April 15, 2024
5. As winter training ends, N. Korean military takes action to tighten combat discipline
It is imperative that the military maintain coherency and continues to support the regime. Loss of coherence of the military and loss of support for the regime combined with the loss of central governing effectiveness (the ability of the party to govern throughout the north) will lead to regime collapse and internal instability. Unfortunately as these conditions emerge, it could also lead Kim to make the decision to execute his campaign plan to dominate the peninsula to ensure regime survival,
As winter training ends, N. Korean military takes action to tighten combat discipline - Daily NK English
Some commanders are complacent about the General Staff Department's order to tighten discipline, saying it issues the same order every year, a source told Daily NK
By Jeong Tae Joo - April 15, 2024
dailynk.com · by Jeong Tae Joo · April 15, 2024
North Korean soldiers (DPRK Today)
The General Staff Department of the North Korean military has issued a surprise telegram to the entire army explaining the combat situation and calling for a one-month emergency mobilization. It appears that the military authorities are trying to tighten combat discipline, which has become lax with the end of winter training.
Speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons, a Daily NK source in the North Korean military said the General Staff Department issued the order on Apr. 7. The telegraphed order called for a one-month emergency mobilization starting from Apr. 9 and set out combat conditions, with the Combat Training Bureau of the General Staff Department saying the aim was to once again test the readiness and responsiveness of each unit.
The source said the General Staff Department wanted to keep the military on its toes as soldiers slack off on their military duties in the spring after the end of winter training, when they shift en masse to outside projects and military-run side businesses, and to tighten discipline.
In fact, some units that completed their winter training in late March missed or simply failed to respond to wire or wireless telegraph signals sent unannounced by the General Staff Department to test combat readiness.
This means that the General Staff Department, disturbed by this apparent laxity on the part of the soldiers, moved to prevent lax combat discipline during the spring, when soldiers are mobilized for outside projects and side businesses.
“The Combat Training Bureau of the General Staff Department said that the purpose and meaning of the telegram on surprise combat circumstances and the emergency call is to strengthen each unit’s control and maintain combat mobilization readiness at a high level,” the source said. “Units that received the order generally believe that it was issued to maintain a tight combat readiness, which can become slack while soldiers work on outside projects and side businesses.”
He added: “Some commanders believe that the order is part of a temporary military drill, but some others believe that the order will be used as an opportunity to strengthen the army’s readiness for combat mobilization, while at the same time reaffirming the state of military discipline in each unit.”
Unlike the General Staff Department, which is moving aggressively to address the issue of lax military discipline – a common problem in the spring – some commanders in the field are approaching the issue with less gusto.
“Some commanders are complacent about the General Staff Department’s order, saying it issues the same order every year,” the source said. “They believe that the order won’t cause any major changes in the combat readiness of the Korean People’s Army units, which have to handle many outside tasks such as base construction, side businesses, agricultural support and various construction projects.”
Translated by David Black. Edited by Robert Lauler.
Daily NK works with a network of sources living in North Korea, China, and elsewhere. Their identities remain anonymous for security reasons. For more information about Daily NK’s network of reporting partners and information-gathering activities, please visit our FAQ page here.
Please send any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
Read in Korean
dailynk.com · by Jeong Tae Joo · April 15, 2024
6. Kim Jong Un, China’s Zhao Leji seek enhanced cooperation
Kim Jong Un, China’s Zhao Leji seek enhanced cooperation
donga.com
Posted April. 15, 2024 08:09,
Updated April. 15, 2024 08:09
Kim Jong Un, China’s Zhao Leji seek enhanced cooperation. April. 15, 2024 08:09. by Jin-Woo Shin niceshin@donga.com.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un talked with Zhao Leji, the current chairman of China’s Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, about boosting bilateral relations and cooperation. He accompanied China’s third-highest official even at his last luncheon as part of his three-day visit to Pyongyang, only exhibiting his intent on strategically solidifying their relationship. It is also presumed that they talked about preparations for Kim to visit China over lunchtime. With Pyongyang and Moscow getting closer after their summit talk last year, China has seemingly distanced itself from the North Korean regime. Faced with growing conflicts with Washington, it is reaching out to Pyongyang.
Kim met Zhao at the headquarters of the party's central committee on Saturday, saying, "This visit by China's party leaders and government officials has considerable significance for demonstrating the invincibility of our friendship and taking our close and cooperative relationship to a level that can meet the demand of this time,” wrote North Korea's official news agency, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Sunday. The news report stated that the two leaders talked candidly about their mutual concerns and issues to diversify and expand their level of cooperation and upgrade their friendship to stronger ties.
North Korean and Chinese news reports said that Kim made a toast for the longevity and good health of Chinese President Xi Jinping at the luncheon party with Chairman Zhao. China's state-owned CCTV released a video of the two leaders hugging as many as three times to demonstrate their close relationship. The footage also showed gifts delivered by the Chinese delegation including a sculpture of eight running horses and boxes of 30-year-old Maotai, nicknamed the national liquor of China.
한국어
donga.com
7. N. Koreans complain about Kim Jong Un's inspection of tank unit
There is some hope. These soldiers are acting like soldiers everywhere. They do not like visits by dignitaries because it creates too much work and too much stress.
N. Koreans complain about Kim Jong Un's inspection of tank unit - Daily NK English
The soldiers' unusually fine food attracted more attention from North Koreans than the tank unit's military prowess, a source told Daily NK
By Jong So Yong - April 15, 2024
dailynk.com · by Jong So Yong · April 15, 2024
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspects the 105th Tank Division of the Korean People's Army's Seoul Ryu Kyong Su Guards 105th Tank Division and its affiliated First Armored Infantry Regiment on Mar. 24, Rodong Sinmun reported. (Rodong Sinmun-News1)
North Koreans complained about government propaganda following media coverage of leader Kim Jong Un’s inspection of a tank unit, prompting the state security apparatus to take action, Daily NK has learned.
“When the marshal [Kim Jong Un] inspected the Seoul Ryu Kyong Su Guards 105th Tank Division, the soldiers were photographed eating rice, meat, soup with red chili flakes, fresh vegetables and fruits. Most Chongjin residents who saw the photos dismissed them as propaganda,” a source in North Hamgyong Province told Daily NK on Friday, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Rodong Sinmun and other North Korean media reported on Mar. 25 that Kim had inspected the Seoul Ryu Kyong Su Guards 105th Tank Division and the affiliated First Armored Infantry Regiment and watched the tank crews practicing obstacle-clearing and high-speed breakthrough drills, while also visiting the unit’s mess hall and barracks and taking an interest in the troops’ living conditions.
But according to the source, the soldiers’ unusually fine food attracted more attention from North Koreans than the tank unit’s military prowess, which the media coverage had sought to highlight.
The majority of Chongjin citizens who saw the photos and video of Kim’s inspection of the tank unit recognized that the media coverage was meant to emphasize North Korea’s military and economic status and inspire public pride, but said that the carefully staged propaganda was so far removed from reality that it only discouraged people.
Citizens who had already completed their military service were particularly irritated by the report, the source said. “I never saw this kind of [food] during my military service. I didn’t even get it on my birthday,” one said.
“This will get a big laugh from anyone who has been in the army,” another remarked.
“What makes me even angrier is that this propaganda is so on the nose,” said a third.
According to the source, other citizens were outspoken in their criticism of the regime.
“The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is a total crock,” one remarked.
“I’ve lost my ability to feel anything because nothing we want ever happens,” said a second.
“This has absolutely no effect on our lives,” said a third.
“In the midst of all this grumbling, the Ministry of State Security finally got involved. Too many people were criticizing the government for the bureau to arrest them all, so instead it had all agencies, businesses, organizations, and neighborhood watch groups tell the people on Apr. 1 that anyone who complained about the Kim Jong Un’s inspection would be severely punished,” the source said.
The state security agency, which disapproves of markets as capitalist centers of rumor, called a meeting with market managers and representatives of vendors and had them pass on the threat of punishment to anyone who complained about Kim’s inspection of the tank unit.
“On Apr. 1, the state security agent at Sunam Market took the initiative to tell the vendors to keep an eye on each other and report anyone who grumbles or criticizes the leader’s inspection,” the source said.
Translated by David Carruth. Edited by Robert Lauler.
Daily NK works with a network of sources living in North Korea, China, and elsewhere. Their identities remain anonymous for security reasons. For more information about Daily NK’s network of reporting partners and information-gathering activities, please visit our FAQ page here.
Please send any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
Read in Korean
dailynk.com · by Jong So Yong · April 15, 2024
8. ＜Inside N. Korea＞ 'National Unified Price System' implemented on domestic products...Stores are given booklet showing prices in new system… Government aims to tighten control over economy
No centrally controlled economy can be successful in the long term.
＜Inside N. Korea＞ 'National Unified Price System' implemented on domestic products...Stores are given booklet showing prices in new system… Government aims to tighten control over economy
asiapress.org
(FILE PHOTO) A woman offering ready-made Chinese goods to a customer at a market. Nowadays, many Chinese products have disappeared from the market. Photographed in Suncheon, South Pyongan Province in 2012, Reporter Kim Dong-Cheol (ASIAPRESS)
◆ All consumer goods to have new government-set prices
Since early February, North Korean authorities have implemented a "national unified price system" for domestic consumer goods sold in state-run stores and grain sales centers (food outlets).
According to a reporting partner living in northern North Korea, a 200-page booklet detailing the selling price of each domestic product was distributed to state-run stores. The reporting partner stated:
"All domestic products sold in state-owned stores, such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, shoes, soy sauce, salt, and food, have the same government-set prices as before, but the prices are subject to change. Entrepreneurs are concerned that the state will try to dictate market prices in the future."
◆ Priority given to domestic products to push out Chinese ones
Until around 2019, Chinese products dominated the North Korean market for most general consumer goods, including clothing, shoes, and general merchandise, but the Kim Jong Un /regime's prioritization of domestic products and the COVID pandemic have caused imports of consumer goods from China to plummet. The authorities are implementing strict controls to ensure that domestic goods are sold through state-owned stores, and the introduction of the "national single price system" appears to be part of this.
Another reporting partner commented on the distribution of domestic goods:
"Domestic products are inferior to Chinese products, but they are still okay (in terms of quality). However, the state-owned shops don't always have the goods and only sell them when they come in... As the market has become more (government) controlled, there are fewer goods available, and people are gradually using the stores (more and more). But the government-run stores are inconvenient because they have a fixed-price system, so you can't bargain or trade, and you can't pay later." (ISHIMARU Jiro / KANG Ji-won)
ASIAPRESS communicates with its reporting partners through Chinese cell phones smuggled into North Korea.
A map of North Korea (ASIAPRESS)
asiapress.org
9. Korean official development assistance increases by 11%
Just as a reminder that the ROK is the only OECD nation that has gone from a major aid recipient to a major donor nation.
Monday
Published: 15 Apr. 2024, 16:44
Korean official development assistance increases by 11%
https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2024-04-15/national/diplomacy/Korean-official-development-assistance-increases-by-11/2025731
Korea’s official development assistance (ODA) amounted to $3.13 billion last year, an increase of 11.4 percent compared to the previous year, according to data from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
This puts the country at 14th place among the 31 OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) member states.
Both bilateral aid ($2.3 billion), government assistance given directly to the government of another country, and multilateral aid ($830 million), indirect assistance given through international organizations, increased evenly, according to a press release from the Foreign Ministry introducing the OECD DAC data.
While the fluctuations of the won-dollar exchange rate have slowed compared to the previous year, investments and contributions to international financial organizations such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have increased, the data showed.
Bilateral aid increased by 3.4 percent compared to the previous year, with both grant assistance and concessional loans increasing to $1.57 billion and $730 million, respectively.
As for grant assistance, support for social sectors such as education, health, public administration, humanitarian aid for overseas emergency relief and support for vulnerable communities increased by 2.6 percent compared to the previous year.
Concessional loans also increased by 5.1 percent compared to the previous year as loan support expanded due to increased financial demand from recipient countries for climate change responses and industrial development.
The total ODA amount from the 31 member countries of the OECD DAC was $223.7 billion, an increase of 6.2 percent compared to last year.
Additionally, the ratio of ODA to gross national income (GNI), which indicates the scale of ODA support relative to the size of countries’ economies, was 0.18 percent for Korea, an increase of 0.01 percentage points compared to the previous year.
“Despite the austerity fiscal policy, the ODA budget for 2024 had the largest ever increase of 31.1 percent to $4.7 billion, in order for Korea to perform a role commensurate with our growing status as a global power,” said the Foreign Ministry in a press release.
The Korean government plans to continue expanding the scale of ODA to actively respond to demands for international development cooperation, such as humanitarian support for conflict and disaster areas and responding to climate change.
BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]
10. Samsung Electronics Gets $6.4 Billion for Texas Chip Plants
Samsung Electronics Gets $6.4 Billion for Texas Chip Plants
Expansion includes second factory, an advanced chip-packaging facility and research-and-development capabilities
https://www.wsj.com/tech/samsung-electronics-gets-6-4-billion-for-texas-chip-plants-06dafea9?mod=Searchresults_pos1&page=1
By Jiyoung Sohn
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in Seoul and Asa Fitch
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in New York
April 15, 2024 5:00 am ET
Construction continues on Samsung’s manufacturing facility in Taylor, Texas. PHOTO: SCOTT COLEMAN/ZUMA PRESS
The U.S. government is granting
Samsung Electronics 005930 -1.79%decrease; red down pointing triangle up to $6.4 billion to build chip-making facilities in Texas, the latest in a string of major subsidy awards from the Biden administration aimed at reviving semiconductor manufacturing in the U.S. Samsung is using the grant money to help hike its investment in Taylor, Texas, just outside Austin, to roughly $45 billion, adding a second chip-making factory, an advanced chip-packaging facility and research-and-development capabilities, the Commerce Department said. It more than doubles Samsung’s commitment made in 2021 to build a chip-making plant in Taylor.
The Wall Street Journal reported the company’s expanded investment plans for Taylor earlier this month.
The funding is contingent on due diligence from Commerce, which is overseeing $39 billion of manufacturing grants under 2022’s Chips Act.
Samsung’s grant brings to $23 billion the amount of money awarded this year by Commerce for big chip-making projects in the U.S. The Samsung projects will create 17,000 construction jobs and 4,500 manufacturing jobs, Commerce said.
The Chips Act is central in a revival of industrial policy under the Biden administration, using government funds to restore domestic production of a tech component seen as critical to national security and economic growth.
The U.S. accounted for more than a third of global chip production in the 1990s, a share that had dwindled to about 12% in 2020.
Samsung is the world’s largest maker of memory chips. PHOTO: SEONGJOON CHO/BLOOMBERG NEWS
Much of the chip supply chain is concentrated in Asia, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said in a call with reporters. “That leaves the U.S. supply chain incredibly vulnerable to disruption,” she said.
South Korea’s Samsung is the world’s largest maker of memory chips and a major player in the contract chip-making, or foundry, business. It is one of a handful of players capable of manufacturing the industry’s most cutting-edge logic chips, alongside
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.and Intel.Two years ago, Samsung floated the prospect of potentially investing upward of $200 billion in 11 new chip-making plants in Texas over the next two decades in filings made to the Texas Comptroller’s Office.
According to Commerce, Samsung’s two planned chip-making plants in Taylor will produce 4-nanometer and 2-nanometer chips for the firm’s foundry business—some of the most advanced in the world—and begin production in 2026 and 2027.
Apple’s latest iPhone 15 is known to be equipped with processors made using TSMC’s 3-nanometer process. In the industry, lower nanometer numbers denote more sophisticated production technology.Meanwhile, Samsung’s planned advanced chip-packaging facility will carry out 3-D packaging for high-bandwidth memory, or HBM, a specialized type of memory that is integral to artificial-intelligence computing. It will also provide so-called 2.5-D packaging technologies employed in combining logic and memory chips into a single package to create more powerful chip systems for AI computing.
HBM is made by stacking several DRAM memory chips—a type of memory that lets devices store data temporarily and carry out various tasks—on top of one another and fusing them together. HBM has become the go-to type of memory used in high-performance AI processor chips made by
Nvidia and others.To achieve faster data-processing speeds, graphic-processing units by the likes of Nvidia and HBM are currently bundled together using the 2.5-D packaging techniques. Major chip makers including TSMC, Samsung and Intel are investing in 2.5-D packaging as well as next-generation 3-D packaging.
One of Samsung’s selling points has been that it is a company that has all those capabilities and can streamline the production process for AI chips. The firm’s memory business produces HBM, while the foundry unit is able to manufacture cutting-edge processor chips. And the firm offers advanced-packaging solutions for integrating various chips together.
The federal funding will also support facility expansions in Samsung’s Austin chip factories for industries including aerospace, defense and automotives.
As the disbursement of funds under the Chips Act kicks into full swing, Raimondo suggested that with projects such as Samsung’s, the U.S. is on track to make about 20% of the world’s most advanced logic chips by 2030.
Last week, TSMC, the world’s top contract chip maker, landed up to $6.6 billion from the U.S. government to help fund its $65 billion investment toward three chip factories planned for Phoenix.
Intel earlier received $8.5 billion under the Chips Act to help fund new chip plants planned in four states. Intel’s total investment in U.S. projects in the next five years is expected to exceed $100 billion, according to the Commerce Department.
Contract chip maker
GlobalFoundries also received $1.5 billion in grants in February.Write to Jiyoung Sohn at jiyoung.sohn@wsj.com and Asa Fitch at asa.fitch@wsj.com
11. Emergency plan needed for a new Mideast crisis (South Korea)
Yes, as a global pivotal state, the ROK must have a plan.
Monday
Published: 15 Apr. 2024, 19:18
Emergency plan needed for a new Mideast crisis
https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2024-04-15/opinion/editorials/Emergency-plan-needed-for-a-new-Mideast-crisis/2025917
The military confrontation between Hamas and Israeli forces in Gaza drawn out for over six months is spilling over into what could become the fifth Arab-Israeli war since the 1973 Ramadan War, or the Yom Kippur War, which took place after Iran executed a massive aerial attack on Israel. A full-blown war on top of the Ukraine war could send significant shockwaves across the globe and devastate the Korean economy as it struggles with an inflation-plagued slump.
Iran launched a wave of 300 drones as well as cruise and ballistic missiles toward Israel overnight on Saturday until Sunday morning. It is Tehran’s first direct assault on Israel since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, although it kept up enmity by backing militant proxy groups fighting the United States and Israel. Iran claimed the attack was a response to Israel’s strike on one of its consular buildings in Syria earlier this month that killed two Iranian generals.
Israel claimed that 99 percent of the missiles and drones were shot down before they reached its territory with the help of its allies and its prized Iron Dome anti-missile system. Hawkish Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed retaliation, declaring, “Whoever harms us, we will harm them.”
The UN Security Council held an emergency meeting after the attack. U.S. President Joe Biden, fearing possible upsets in the run-up to the presidential election in November, advised Netanyahu against a retaliation. But whether he will heed international warnings is uncertain, given the tit-for-tat history. Such a move could trigger a full-scale confrontation and escalate geopolitical risks that will cause another major upset in oil and commodity prices and supply disruptions that jeopardize the global economy.
The external shock could roil the Korean economy, which is dogged by high interest rates, inflation and U.S. dollar exchange on top of depressed domestic demand. The headline consumer price index rose 3.1 percent last month over last year and the dollar hit a 17-month high against the Korean won.
Another war there can fan more volatility on global crude oil and other commodity prices, dealing a heavy blow to Korea, which relies mostly on the region’s oil for energy. If Iran blocks the Strait of Hormuz on top of the Red Sea shipping crisis from Houthi rebel attacks on cargo ships and tankers passing the Suez Canal, the global shipping order could become dysfunctional enough to feed another inflationary run.
The government must closely monitor the alarming developments in the Middle East. A task force must be formed with the ministries of foreign affairs, security, economy, trade, industry and energy to make a contingency plan for various scenarios. It must prepare measures from multiple angles to minimize the external shock spillover to the domestic economy.
12. Congratulations, democracy (South Korea)
An interesting comparison of our two democracies.
Congratulations, democracy
The Korea Times · April 15, 2024
By Mark Peterson
Congratulations, Korea, on another display of democracy with your recent elections. I lived in Korea at a time when the practice of democracy was in question, but today, in some ways, Korea is more democratic than my own country, the United States.
What is the evidence? How can I say such a thing? There are several factors I look at. In the last presidential elections, for example, in Korea the margin of victory was 0.73 percent, smaller than one percent difference in the voting. Yet, the losing candidate conceded graciously and democracy won the day. There was a transition of power, not only from one person to the next, but from one party to the opposing party. No squabble, no lawsuits, no fuss — democracy.
In America, at the last presidential election, the loser lost by 4.5 percent and yet he cried and complained and filed lawsuits, none of which was at all successful, and refused to concede. And refused to attend the inauguration of the winner — the first time that had happened in 152 years, when a petulant Andrew Jackson refused to attend the inauguration of Ulysses S. Grant.
It is really a shameful embarrassment that Donald Trump not only refused to attend the inauguration of Joe Biden — which is a visual representation of the peaceful transfer of power in a democracy — but also continues to whine and moan about the election being unfair and corrupt when there is no real evidence of such.
So, hats off to Korea for its peaceful transition of presidential power.
The way Korea treats its former presidents, however, is somewhat problematic. Years ago, I wrote an opinion piece titled "Presidential cannibalism," wherein I bemoaned the fate of Korean presidents once they leave office. They either died, such as Park Chung-hee and Roh Moo-hyun, or were disgraced, such as Syngman Rhee and Kim Young-sam, or incarcerated, such as Chun Doo-hwan, Roh Tae-woo, Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak. I meant by the term "cannibalism" that they were "eaten" symbolically. Kim Dae-jung and Moon Jae-in are the only two who have not suffered from being "eaten" after leaving office.
In this regard too, American politics might learn something of democracy from Korea — if Trump, indeed, ends up in jail. So far, he is only in court, but four different courts on umpteen criminal counts. Time will tell whether he ends up where four Korean presidents have ended up.
"Term limits" is another area where Korea might be ahead of America — one single five-year term avoids a lot of the problems of two four-year terms. Americans always talk of the desire for term limitations, but other than the two terms for the president, and varying term limitations for most governorships, Americans talk more than they practice.
As to which country is more democratic — admittedly a difficult thing to measure — I like to cite the example of university presidents. When Korea, after the difficulties of 1987, adopted a completely free press and wide-ranging democratic reforms, universities wanted to get in on the game and most decided to hold elections to select a president. By contrast, every American university, public, private and church-sponsored, selects its president by a decision of the governing board. No American university that I know of elects the president from among the faculty. Yet, Korea, in a wonderful display of democracy, elects its university presidents by a vote of the faculty. I should add that I understand some universities have given that authority to the governing board, but many still hold elections. And as I witness social organizations of all types, I have seen elections of presidents and chairs, and slates of officers. Democratic actions is seem in many sectors of society, contrary to what many say about Korea being a "top-down" country.
Of course, as a historian of pre-modern Korea, I like to point out that the roots of democratic action in Korea run deep. In the 1392-1910 Joseon Kingdom, kings were never as autocratic as most other pre-modern kings or emperors — in China and Japan, certainly. The Korean king, by commitment to the Confucian government, was duty-bound to listen to "remonstrance" — an odd word meaning criticism. A righteous king, by Confucian dogma, must engage in self-reflection and listen to criticism. There were three organs manned by youngish, idealistic officials, who were duty-bound to point out corruption whenever it was found in the government or the court.
Student demonstrations, which Korea has long called the "conscience" of society, did not begin with Park Chung-hee or even Syngman Rhee, although it was the student demonstrations that brought down the Rhee government.
Student demonstrations were found in the Joseon era as well. When the students of the Sungkyunkwan, the kingdom's state university, were upset about a government policy, they would stage a sit-in and refuse to study until the issue was solved.
Korea should be proud of its democratic traditions, and once again, it is manifest in the pendulum swing of power that we have seen this last week.
Mark Peterson (markpeterson@byu.edu) is a professor emeritus of Korean, Asian and Near Eastern languages at Brigham Young University in Utah.
The Korea Times · April 15, 2024
De Oppresso Liber,
David Maxwell
Vice President, Center for Asia Pacific Strategy
Senior Fellow, Global Peace Foundation
Editor, Small Wars Journal
Twitter: @davidmaxwell161
Phone: 202-573-8647
email: david.maxwell161@gmail.com
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