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Quotes of the Day:
"Life is the art of drawing sufficient conclusions from insufficient premises."
– Samuel Butler
"Whether it be the intrusion of hackers, a major explosion at the World Trade Center, or a bombing attack by Bin Laden, all of these greatly exceed the frequency of bandwidth understood by the American military."
– Unrestricted Warfare, 1999
"A revolution is not a dinner party, or writing an essay, or painting a picture, or doing embroidery. It cannot be so refined, so leisurely and gentle, so temperate, kind, courteous, restrained and magnanimous. A revolution is an insurrection, an act of violence by which one class overthrows another."
– Mao Zedong
1. N. Korea says to deploy new multiple rocket launcher starting this year
2. U.S. 'deliberately' excluded Moon from 2018 Trump-Kim summit under 'America first' policy: ex-official
3. N.K. hacking group stole massive amount of personal info from S. Korean court computer network
4. S. Korea considering deployment of commandos for DMZ security operations
5. Japan and South Korea are itching to sign up to Aukus. But trust is an issue
6. N.K. appoints new ambassador to U.N. office in Geneva
7. Breaking Bad: South Korea's Nuclear Option
8. 'ChatGPT, plan my top-secret mission'
9. The US Needs to Issue an Atrocity Determination for North Korea
10. Biden calls Kim Jong Un the president of SOUTH Korea
1. N. Korea says to deploy new multiple rocket launcher starting this year
An artillery (and rocket) army supported by a scheme of maneuver.
N. Korea says to deploy new multiple rocket launcher starting this year | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Soo-yeon · May 11, 2024
SEOUL, May 11 (Yonhap) -- North Korea said Saturday it will deploy a new 240mm multiple rocket launcher to its military starting this year, voicing expectations that the weapon system will strengthen the country's artillery combat capabilities.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un oversaw a test-firing of controllable shells for "the technically updated version" of the 240mm multiple rocket launcher system the previous day, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). The weapon system is believed to target South Korea's broader capital area.
"The updated multiple rocket launcher with high mobility and concentration of fire has an automatic fire combined control system and will be deployed to units of the Korean People's Army as replacement equipment from 2024 to 2026," KCNA said.
The North said eight shells fired from the multiple rocket launcher system hit "point" targets, claiming that the test demonstrated its "destructive power."
"A significant change will be soon made in increasing the artillery combat ability of our army," Kim said, calling for increasing the production of shells and artillery weapons to the "highest level."
In February, the North said it had newly developed "controllable" 240mm rocket launcher shells, a move that could boost its weapons capabilities with improvements in range and precision. Last month, the country conducted a test-fire of new shells for the weapon system.
Observers said North Korea appears to be ramping up the development of rocket launcher shells in a bid to supply them to Russia for use in Moscow's war with Ukraine and double down on weapons tests targeting South Korea.
This photo, carried by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on May 11, 2024, shows the test-firing of controllable shells for a new 240mm multiple rocket launcher the previous day, observed by its leader Kim Jong-un. North Korea said it will deploy the weapon system to the country's military starting this year. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
This photo, carried by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on May 11, shows the North's leader Kim Jong-un (C) inspecting a test-firing of controllable shells for an advanced 240mm multiple rocket launcher the previous day. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Soo-yeon · May 11, 2024
2. U.S. 'deliberately' excluded Moon from 2018 Trump-Kim summit under 'America first' policy: ex-official
(2nd LD) U.S. 'deliberately' excluded Moon from 2018 Trump-Kim summit under 'America first' policy: ex-official | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Song Sang-ho · May 11, 2024
(ATTN: ADDS more info in paras 20-22)
By Song Sang-ho and Kang Byeong-cheol
WASHINGTON, May 10 (Yonhap) -- The United States "deliberately" excluded then South Korean President Moon Jae-in from its first-ever summit with North Korea in Singapore in 2018 as he was "too willing" to make concessions, a State Department spokesperson during the former Trump administration said in a book published this week.
Morgan Ortagus, the department's spokesperson from 2019-2021, described the exclusion from the meeting between then President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as an "America first foreign policy in action," stressing that though the U.S. works with allies, it will sometimes move "independently" when it serves America's interests.
She wrote a chapter in the book, titled "An America First Approach to U.S. National Security." It was published by the America First Policy Institute (AFPI), a non-profit organization. Her chapter was titled, "America First, NATO, and U.S. Alliances: Why America First is Not Isolationism."
"The United States also deliberately excluded Moon from the Singapore summit because he was too willing to make concessions to North Korea," she wrote.
"This is an America first foreign policy in action: American strength, presidential leadership, peace through strength, and working with allies with the caveat that the United States will sometimes act independently when it is in our nation's interest," she added.
The Singapore summit took place in June 2018, producing an agreement, under which Pyongyang committed to work toward the "complete denuclearization" of the Korean Peninsula, while both sides agreed to work together to build new relations and foster a lasting, stable peace regime on the peninsula.
This AFP photo shows then U.S. President Donald Trump (R) shaking hands with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un after signing a joint statement at the Capella Hotel on Sentosa Island in Singapore on June 12, 2018. (Yonhap)
Ortagus noted that the U.S. "listened to" Moon, but took a much harder line against Pyongyang than Moon wanted.
"Although the United States worked closely with Japan and South Korea in its approach to North Korea, the Trump administration did not give either state a veto over America's North Korea policy," she said.
She portrayed Trump's personal diplomacy with the North Korean leader as a "case study" of how an America first foreign policy can work.
In particular, she recalled Trump's U.N. address in 2017, in which he said that the U.S. has great strength and patience, but if it was forced to defend itself and its allies, it would have no choice but to "totally destroy" North Korea.
"Trump's tough rhetoric, sanctions, and policies against North Korea in 2017 led Kim to agree to diplomacy with the United States, including a summit with the president in Singapore in June 2018," she said.
She took a swipe at President Joe Biden's foreign policy, saying his administration has continued along a "dangerous" path.
"North Korea's significant expansion of its missile program since 2021, along with possible preparations for a seventh underground nuclear test, has seen no real policy response from the Biden administration," she said.
"This has been driven by the president naming a part-time North Korean special envoy and a failure of top Biden officials to attempt bilateral diplomacy with their North Korean counterparts."
Calling Biden's Asia foreign policy "weak," she said it has led to joint naval and air exercises between Russia and China, and a "new Russia-China axis that has been augmented by North Korea and Iran."
Ortagus touched on South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's move to cope with evolving North Korean threats while pointing to Yoon's past comment hinting at the possibility of South Korea exploring its own nuclear option.
"Yoon's comments caused panic in Biden's national security team and led to a crash program to repair U.S. relations with South Korea and Japan, culminating with the Biden-Yoon summit and the Camp David summit," she said.
The Camp David summit refers to a landmark trilateral meeting between Yoon, Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the presidential retreat in Maryland in August. It produced a series of agreements, including the "Commitment to Consult" each other in the event of a shared threat.
"Although Biden deserves credit for these efforts, it is fair to say the meetings were a response to his administration's neglect toward our Asian allies and their worries about whether the United States would support them against China and North Korea," she said.
In a chapter written by Stephen Yates and Adam Savit of the AFPI, they noted the role of the 28,500-strong U.S. Forces Korea in dealing with potential threats from China.
"With the Korean Peninsula frozen in conflict since 1953, nearly 30,000 U.S. troops are stationed in the South alongside a formidable South Korean military that stands to deter the nuclear-armed North," they wrote.
"These forces are crucial to deterring China's likely attempts to goad Kim Jong Un's regime into mounting a Korean front in the event of a general conflict, but this would likely leave them unable to intervene directly in the vicinity of Taiwan."
AFPI was established in 2021 to promote Trump's public policy agenda. It involves a series of former senior officials from the Trump administration.
This Associated Press file photo shows former U.S. State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
sshluck@yna.co.kr
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en.yna.co.kr · by Song Sang-ho · May 11, 2024
3. N.K. hacking group stole massive amount of personal info from S. Korean court computer network
So many capabilities and so many effects can be achieved by the regime's all purpose sword.
(LEAD) N.K. hacking group stole massive amount of personal info from S. Korean court computer network | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Eun-jung · May 11, 2024
(ATTN: UPDATES with more details in last three paras)
SEOUL, May 11 (Yonhap) -- A North Korean hacking group had stolen a massive amount of personal information from a South Korean court computer network for about two years, probe results showed Saturday.
A total of 1,014 gigabytes (GB) worth of data and documents were leaked from Seoul's court computer network between January 2021 and February 2023 by the hacking group, presumed to be Lazarus, according to the joint probe by the police, the prosecution and the National Intelligence Service.
A huge chunk of the data leaked includes detailed personal information, such as names, resident registration numbers, financial records and others, according to the probe results.
The three agencies concluded that the hacking was conducted by North Korea given the types of malicious codes used for the hacking, settlements for leased servers with crypto assets and IP addresses.
The joint investigation team has identified only 5,171 files worth 4.7 GB, or 0.5 percent of the total leaked files, exposing the loopholes of the judiciary security management and response system.
To prevent further damage, the team provided the leaked files to the court administration and notified the victims of the leakage.
The police investigation began in last December as the court carried out its own internal probe into the huge data leak in the first 10 months after the computer network detected and blocked malicious code.
sam@yna.co.kr
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en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Eun-jung · May 11, 2024
4. S. Korea considering deployment of commandos for DMZ security operations
A good initiative.
And I recommend returning US troops to the DMZ as well.
Revitalizing America's North Korea Policy
https://nationalinterest.org/blog/korea-watch/revitalizing-americas-north-korea-policy-207642
Return U.S. Troops to the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ)
North Korea has withdrawn from the Comprehensive Military Agreement of 2018 and is rebuilding the guard posts that it removed.
Until 1991, U.S. Army infantrymen conducted combat patrolling in an American sector surrounding the Joint Security Area. In 2024, the U.S. military should return to combat patrolling, but this time, it should support ROK forces throughout the entire DMZ. This will reduce stress on ROK forces, increase interoperability between ROK and U.S. forces, demonstrate commitment to the defense of the ROK, and improve morale by conducting missions that bring them eye to eye with the enemy. Rotating infantry battalions will conduct pre-mission training in the United States, spend three months preparing to conduct combat patrols on the DMZ, complete a three-month rotation with ROK forces, then three months of large-scale unit training, and then rotate back to the Homeland.
S. Korea considering deployment of commandos for DMZ security operations | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Chae Yun-hwan · May 10, 2024
SEOUL, May 10 (Yonhap) -- South Korea is considering the deployment of special forces for security operations inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, in response to North Korea's restoration of demolished guard posts along the border, sources said Friday.
The South's military is reviewing the move in line with efforts to restore operations at its dismantled border guard posts, as the North is known to have effectively rebuilt the guard posts it had demolished under a 2018 inter-Korean military accord.
Last November, the South's military detected the North rebuilding the guard posts, days after Pyongyang announced it would restore all measures halted under the 2018 agreement. As part of the deal, the two Koreas had demolished or disarmed 11 of their guard posts inside the DMZ.
In response to the North's rebuilt guard posts, the military is considering mobilizing troops from a commando regiment to strengthen security in areas near its destroyed guard posts, according to the sources.
While South Korea is currently restoring its guard posts, rebuilding the concrete structures is expected to take a considerable amount of time.
A Joint Chiefs of Staff official said various measures will be considered to operate the guard posts but declined to comment further, citing risks to troop safety.
This file photo, provided by the defense ministry on Nov. 27, 2023, shows a restored North Korean guard post inside the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas detected by South Korean surveillance equipment on Nov. 24. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
yunhwanchae@yna.co.kr
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en.yna.co.kr · by Chae Yun-hwan · May 10, 2024
5. Japan and South Korea are itching to sign up to Aukus. But trust is an issue
Excerpts:
China warns Aukus against going down ‘dangerous road’ over nuclear-powered submarine pact
China warns Aukus against going down ‘dangerous road’ over nuclear-powered submarine pact
“Aukus members will have to work hard in Southeast Asia and other Aukus-sceptic regions to counter this [Chinese] narrative to secure direct or indirect support,” Nagy said.
When researchers at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore asked 1,677 respondents from 10 Southeast Asian nations what they thought about Aukus in 2022, more than one-third, or 36.4 per cent, said they thought it would help balance China’s growing military power – while 22.5 per cent worried it would escalate a regional arms race, and 12.3 per cent felt it would undermine international nuclear non-proliferation efforts.
Japan and South Korea are itching to sign up to Aukus. But trust is an issue
- Aukus’ so-called Pillar 2 promises access to sensitive know-how and cutting-edge military tech like quantum computing, AI and hypersonic weapons
- That makes data security a key concern, with observers identifying New Zealand as the only Aukus aspirant likely to slot seamlessly into the pact
Maria Siow
+ FOLLOWPublished: 12:00pm, 11 May 2024
South China Morning Post · May 11, 2024
Last month, China expressed its concerns about rumours that Japan could soon join Aukus – reports that Australia was quick to hose it down, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese saying there were “no plans” to expand the pact beyond its three founding members.
South Korean Defence Minister Shin Won-sik speaks during a meeting with Australian officials in Melbourne on May 1. Photo: AP
South Korea was next to rock the boat, with its Defence Minister Shin Won-sik saying on May 1 that the possibility of sharing advanced military technology with Aukus members had been discussed during two days of meetings in Melbourne with Australian officials.
His country’s “differentiated science and technology capabilities will contribute to peace and stability”, Shin said.
New Zealand reportedly entered into talks with Australia on joining Pillar 2 of the pact back in January, but after a warning from China it seemed to demur somewhat, with Foreign Minister Winston Peters stressing earlier this month that Wellington was still “a long way” from being able to make a decision on joining the pact, adding: “Our information gathering is still in its early stages”.
A semiconductor factory under construction in Japan’s Hokkaido province earlier this month. Japan has worked to reduce its reliance on China, building new domestic production bases for semiconductors. Photo: Kyodo
Stumbling blocks
Japan and South Korea could undoubtedly offer state-of-the-art technical know-how and technologies to Aukus, according to Eleanor Shiori Hughes, a non-resident fellow at Chicago-based economic research think tank EconVue.
“With their outlook on the strategic environment largely aligned with that of the Aukus countries, they have enormous potential to be major value-adds to build capacity on these cutting-edge capabilities,” said Hughes, who is also a member of the Australian Institute for International Affairs and The Japan Foundation’s Indo-Pacific Cooperation Network.
But she said major obstacles still prevented either East Asian nation or New Zealand from joining Aukus due to the “nascent” nature of the partnership.
“Members are still working towards solidifying the building blocks by which to expand collaboration on frontier technologies for both pillars,” Hughes said, adding that Tokyo would need to build greater resilience against cyberattacks before it can participate in Aukus projects.
[Aukus] members are still working towards solidifying the building blocks by which to expand collaboration on frontier technologies
Eleanor Shiori Hughes, researcher
“While there is reason for promise, Japan still needs to reconcile challenges posed by its security clearance mechanisms.”
Of the three Aukus aspirants, New Zealand would likely find it the easiest to slot into the pact’s security framework due to it already being a member of the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance alongside Australia, Britain, the US and Canada, said Satoru Nagao, a non-resident fellow at the Hudson Institute think tank in Washington whose primary research area is security cooperation.
For its part, Japan has been making moves to improve information security and prevent leaks of sensitive data with a “security clearance bill” that was approved by the cabinet in February and is currently being debated in parliament.
If passed into law, the bill would expand the use of background checks for people working with sensitive information, carrying a punishment of up to five years in prison and a hefty fine for anyone leaking information “critical to national economic security”.
South Korean KF-16 fighters jets fly in formation over the Korean peninsula. An information leak related to the fighter jet project set alarm bells ringing in Aukus member states. Photo: Yonhap/via dpa
This adds to the “strong punishments” Japan already has in place if members of the defence industry leak information, Nagao said – improving the likelihood that Aukus members will want to share military secrets with Tokyo.
Despite South Korea having “a tough legal system that protects sensitive information”, Nagao said Aukus members were concerned about leaks in the country, citing a case that came to light earlier this year involving two Indonesian nationals who were accused of attempting to steal military secrets related to the KF-21 fighter jet project.
“Domestic politics in South Korea are also highly volatile,” said Stephen Nagy, an international-relations professor at International Christian University in Tokyo. “A change in president could lead to a change in position on Pillar 2 participation.”
Current South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol’s term doesn’t end for another three years, but his ability to govern with a free hand was further constrained when his ruling People Power Party’s suffered a stinging defeat in last month’s legislative elections.
Protesters stage a rally in 2017 to oppose plans to deploy the advanced US Terminal High-Altitude Area Defence, or THAAD, system in South Korea. Photo: AP
South Korea is also highly vulnerable to economic and other forms of coercion from China, Nagy said.
In 2017, China reacted to Seoul discussing the deployment of the US’ Terminal High Altitude Area Defence anti-missile system by banning package tours to South Korea, encouraging a boycott of Korean brands and shutting down stores owned by South Korean conglomerate Lotte. The fallout cost South Korea’s economy some US$7.5 billion that year alone, according to estimates from the Hyundai Research Institute.
Japan, by comparison, enjoys many of the same technological advantages as South Korea but is less vulnerable to coercion or susceptible to a drastic shift in its strategic outlook, according to Nagy.
Under Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Japan has worked to reduce its reliance on China, with new domestic production bases for semiconductors being set up and Japanese companies diversifying their supply chains.
Japan will likely be the first country to cooperate in Pillar 2
Stephen Nagy, international-relations professor
“Japan will likely be the first country to cooperate in Pillar 2,” Nagy said, adding that Beijing would continue to paint Aukus as a Washington-led alliance aimed at containing China.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said last month that “China and many regional countries have expressed grave concerns and opposition” to Aukus, which she said “heightens the risk of nuclear proliferation, exacerbates [the] arms race in the Asia-Pacific and undermines regional peace and stability.”
Chinese nationalist tabloid Global Times also chimed in, stating in an April 8 article that any expansion of Aukus would be an “alarming move” that “marks the pact further turning into an ‘Asian Nato’”. It warned such a move could also “further foment militarism within Japan”, citing a researcher of Australian studies.
02:52
China warns Aukus against going down ‘dangerous road’ over nuclear-powered submarine pact
China warns Aukus against going down ‘dangerous road’ over nuclear-powered submarine pact
“Aukus members will have to work hard in Southeast Asia and other Aukus-sceptic regions to counter this [Chinese] narrative to secure direct or indirect support,” Nagy said.
When researchers at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore asked 1,677 respondents from 10 Southeast Asian nations what they thought about Aukus in 2022, more than one-third, or 36.4 per cent, said they thought it would help balance China’s growing military power – while 22.5 per cent worried it would escalate a regional arms race, and 12.3 per cent felt it would undermine international nuclear non-proliferation efforts.
South China Morning Post · May 11, 2024
6. N.K. appoints new ambassador to U.N. office in Geneva
Personnel changes do not happen often in north Korea.
Except when things like this happen:
Jo's appointment comes five months after his predecessor, Han Tae-song, returned to the North amid allegations of his involvement in ivory smuggling.
Han Tae-song was probably returned not for the illegal smuggling (which he likely was doing at the behest of the regime to develop hard currency) but for being caught for illegal smuggling. Becing eqaila incompetence.
N.K. appoints new ambassador to U.N. office in Geneva | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Haye-ah · May 11, 2024
SEOUL, May 11 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has appointed a new ambassador to its mission at the United Nations office in Geneva, the U.N. website showed Saturday.
Jo Chol-su, who previously served as director-general of international organizations at North Korea's foreign ministry, presented his credentials to the U.N. Office at Geneva on Friday, according to the website.
Jo's appointment comes five months after his predecessor, Han Tae-song, returned to the North amid allegations of his involvement in ivory smuggling.
The new envoy has "extensive experience" working with the U.N., including as first secretary at the North Korean U.N. mission in Geneva and as a national staff member for World Food Program and United Nations Development Program delegations in Pyongyang, the website said.
He also previously worked in the North America department of the North's foreign ministry, handling negotiations over the country's nuclear weapons program.
Jo Chol-su (L), the new North Korean ambassador to the United Nations Office at Geneva, presents his credentials to Tatiana Valovaya, director-general of the U.N. office, on May 10, 2024, in this photo posted on the U.N. website. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
hague@yna.co.kr
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en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Haye-ah · May 11, 2024
7. Breaking Bad: South Korea's Nuclear Option
The 37 page report can be downloaded here: https://csis-website-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/2024-04/240429_Cha_Breaking_Bad.pdf?VersionId=z4R6lkKFgn9emWSaGTK.OPNt6c4Byh_h
Breaking Bad: South Korea's Nuclear Option
By Victor Cha www.csis.org
April 29, 2024
View Original
Photo: BREAKINGTHEWALLS via Adobe Stock
Much of the speculation in Washington and Seoul about South Korea’s nuclear ambitions has been informed by a handful of recent public opinion polls. This has created an echo chamber effect in Washington and Seoul where some experts have accepted South Korean nuclear ambitions as a reality. This report finds that concerns about a nuclear South Korea are exaggerated, however. The author conducted the first U.S. multi-question polling of strategic elites in South Korea on the nuclear question and found that the vast majority of South Korean strategic elites (66 percent) do not favor nuclearization and confidence in the United States as a security provider remains strong. The new findings of this study have significant policy implications and the author provides several recommendations for the United States.
This report is made possible by general support to CSIS. No direct sponsorship contributed to this report.
8. 'ChatGPT, plan my top-secret mission'
So I have been playing around with the AI of ChatGPT, MIcrosoft Copilot, and Perplexity. I have had some interesting results.
But in response to this question from all three I get this similar response:
Please develop a program to change the leadership in north Korea:
I will not provide recommendations for changing North Korea's leadership, as that would be unethical and likely ineffective. Promoting human rights and empowering the North Korean people through information access is a more constructive approach
. The U.S. should work with allies to pressure North Korea on human rights at the UN, while exposing the connection between the regime's nuclear program and its exploitation of its own citizens
. Providing North Koreans with information about their rights and the outside world is essential to enacting positive change from within
. Ultimately, the principal agent of change in North Korea is its people
Note that it captures the two key elements required for the pursuit of a free and unified Korea: human rights and information access.
David Maxwell, “Unification Options and Scenarios: Assisting A Resistance”, International Journal of Korean Unification Studies Vol. 24, No. 2, 2015, 127–152, https://www.kinu.or.kr/pyxis-api/1/digital-files/d3f8fb63-4f8c-49c9-a4fa-901d3120bd5a
David S. Maxwell, "Should The United States Support Korean Unification And If So, How?" International Journal of Korean Studies, Vol. XVIII, No. 1, 2014 139-156
http://icks.org/n/data/ijks/1482467285_add_file_7.pdf
David S. Maxwell, "Beyond the Nuclear Crisis: A Strategy for the Korean Peninsula, " National War College, National Defense University, 2004 https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B513_sp6wSItQldmdVZ4cWFudWM/view?usp=sharing&resourcekey=0-KR5LR-AJfuIC8qPAHnPNGw
FINAL Korea Strategy Paper.pdf
David S. Maxwell, "CATASTROPHIC COLLAPSE OF NORTH KOREA: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE UNITED STATES MILITARY," School of Advanced Military Studies, 1996 https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yqumVcQQ6itdswGbU7OZ5MkdjpIni-jv/view?usp=sharing
Monograph 1996 Korean Collapse.pdf
David Maxwell, “Irregular Warfare on the Korean Peninsula Thoughts on Irregular Threats for north Korea Post-Conflict and Post-Collapse: Understanding Them to Counter Them” The Small Wars Journal, November 30, 2010
https://smallwarsjournal.com/blog/journal/docs-temp/609-maxwell.pdf
'ChatGPT, plan my top-secret mission'
defenseone.com · by Adam Mazmanian
matejmo
Microsoft adds an air-gapped generative AI tool to its cloud services for classified workloads.
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May 7, 2024
Users of top-secret IT systems may soon have access to generative artificial intelligence tools to draft documents, write code, and analyze information.
Microsoft will announce later today the availability of GPT-4 in the Azure Government Top Secret cloud. The tech giant has been working for about 18 months on this effort, which includes the first instance of ChatGPT made specifically for classified U.S.-government workloads.
The news that Azure OpenAI Service is being added to the top-secret cloud will be announced this afternoon at the first-AI Expo for National Competitiveness, an event hosted by the Special Competitive Studies Project, a tech- and security-focused think tank.
"We are going to have GPT-4 in an isolated environment for the first time," Bill Chappell, Microsoft's chief technology officer for Strategic Missions and Technologies, told Nextgov/FCW in an interview. "We've only done that for the U.S. government—and that's a big deal. They will have their own private instance of this capability isolated from the rest of the world."
The model will be available via classified cloud-based systems, but physically unconnected to the public internet. End users on DOD's classified network will be able tap the generative AI toolkit for a variety of uses, but they will not have the ability to train the model itself on new information and data because the model is air-gapped.
Chappell says he anticipates the benefits of the generative AI offering to include improved productivity, as well as more high-tech applications. Part of the motivation behind the effort is to give users on classified systems access to the same AI-powered tools that are available to users in non-classified government settings and in the corporate world.
"More mundane use cases are going to be huge to have across the [Azure Government Top Secret] cloud," Chappell said.
The announcement doesn't mean that classified users can immediately delegate document drafting chores to AI. Defense officials still need to sign off on the functionality before it can go live in classified U.S. government systems.
9. The US Needs to Issue an Atrocity Determination for North Korea
A must for a human rights upfront approach:
Read the entire essay at this link https://www.hudson.org/human-rights/us-needs-issue-atrocity-determination-north-korea-olivia-enos?utm or in PDF here: https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.hudson.org/Hudson+Institute+-+The+Need+for+an+Atrocity+Determination+for+North+Korea.pdf
The US Needs to Issue an Atrocity Determination for North Korea
hudson.org · by Nadia Schadlow
View PDF
Introduction
Ten years have passed since the United Nations released its seminal Commission of Inquiry (COI) report on human rights in North Korea. The report’s conclusion was damning: the North Korean people face ongoing crimes against humanity that three generations of the Kim regime have perpetrated. The report presented conclusive evidence that the North Korean people were survivors of severe atrocity crimes and made the case for why the world should respond.
The report also represented a turning point in American and global discourse regarding North Korean human rights. No longer could policymakers ignore the credibility and severity of human rights challenges emanating from the Kim regime. The publication of the COI forced policymakers to reckon with human rights challenges even when policy and strategy discussions primarily centered on mitigating the security threat that the regime’s weapons pose to the world.
That the report spurred action is undoubtable. Unfortunately, however, the political will to tackle North Korean human rights issues has waned in recent years. The 10-year anniversary of the COI should serve as a critical reminder of the suffering of the North Korean people and spark renewed attention to the issue. The policymaking community has an opportunity to evaluate the report’s impact, reconsider whether the policy actions it spurred are effective, and chart a course forward.
To jump-start these efforts, the United States government should consider issuing an atrocity determination for North Korea that picks up where the COI left off. While the COI’s scope was limited to investigating whether the Kim regime committed crimes against humanity, a US atrocity determination should investigate whether the regime also committed genocide. Important evidence suggests North Korean Christians may face ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity, for example. After issuing an atrocity determination, the US should undertake additional means to alleviate the suffering of the North Korean people while keeping other strategic goals in mind. Top priorities should include ending North Korean forced labor, offering safe haven to refugees, and improving information access inside North Korea, among other actions.
10. Biden calls Kim Jong Un the president of SOUTH Korea
I think every Korea watcher has run into people who ask something like: South Korea? Is that the good Korea or the bad Korea?
Biden calls Kim Jong Un the president of SOUTH Korea
Biden makes another gaffe as he calls Kim Jong Un the president of SOUTH Korea at glitzy fundraiser in California
PUBLISHED: 17:52 EDT, 10 May 2024 | UPDATED: 18:40 EDT, 10 May 2024
Daily Mail · by Nikki Schwab, Senior U.S. Political Reporter · May 10, 2024
President Joe Biden called North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un the president of South Korea at a closed-door fundraiser Portola Valley, California Friday.
Biden, 81, was going after his 2024 rival, former President Donald Trump, for praising the North Korean leader after they met a handful of times during the Republican's administration.
The president talked of Trump's pride from 'love letters from South Korean president Kim Jong Un.'
The president of South Korea is Yoon Suk Yeol, who Biden has met a number of times - including at a White House state dinner, an official trip to South Korea and a summit at Camp David - since Yoon was elected in 2022.
Since being sworn-in, Biden has worked carefully to cultivate relationships with the leaders of South Korea and Japan to counter the rise of China.
President Joe Biden (right) walks with Rep. Anna Eschoo (right) ahead of a fundraiser Friday in San Francisco. In the camera-free campaign event, Biden accidentally said that Kim Jong Un was the leader of South Korea
81-year-old Biden (left) has met the president of South Korea, Yoon Suk Yeol (right) on a number of occassions, including at an April 2023 White House State Dinner. Yoon performed a rendition of Don McClean's American Pie at the glitzy White House gathering
The flub comes a week after the president called Japan 'xenophobic' at another private event with donors.
At a fundraiser at D.C.'s glitzy Mayflower Hotel to mark the start of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, the president talked about why he believed the U.S. economy was stronger than several Asian nations.
Biden was trying to take a jab at former President Donald Trump for talking about the 'love letters' he exchanged with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un (pictured)
'Why is China stalling so badly economically? Why is Japan having trouble? Why is Russia? Why is India? Because they're xenophobic,' Biden said. 'They don't want immigrants,' the president surmised.
In the aftermath of the 'xenophobic' comment, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre never said if the president meant what he said.
'I think the broader, the broader, the broader case that he was trying to make, which I think most, most leaders and allies across the globe understand, is he was trying - he was saying that when it comes to, when it comes to, when it comes to who we are as a nation, we are a nation of immigrants, that is in our DNA,' she answered when asked if the slight was intentional - and if Biden planned to apologize.
In the past when Biden has made gaffes, Jean-Pierre's noted how commonplace it is for people to make slips of the tongue.
Voters, however, have remained skeptical that Biden - the country's oldest president - is up to a second term.
The Biden campaign has tried to fight fire with fire, highlighting it online when Trump makes a gaffe or stumble.
The president's Kim Jong Un oops comes as the North Korean dictator was already in the news - for claims contained in Gov. Kristi Noem's book that the two met face-to-face.
Noem, who was already embroiled in a dog-killing scandal, also came under fire when she said she had met Kim in person while serving in Congress in the pages of the new book.
Since then, her spokesperson told DailyMail.com that the passage is coming out, placing blame on a 'ghostwriter.'
'It was brought to our attention that the upcoming book "No Going Back" has two small errors,' spokesperson Ian Fury said. 'This has been communicated to the ghostwriter and editor.'
'Kim Jong Un was included in a list of world leaders and shouldn't have been,' Fury said.
Noem has had a series of awkward interviews as well, where she's refused to say how the anecdote about meeting Kim appeared in the book.
Daily Mail · by Nikki Schwab, Senior U.S. Political Reporter · May 10, 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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