Xi-Putin summit and NK
Quotes of the Day:
"It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop"
– Confucius
"One life is all we have and we live it as we believe in living it. But to sacrifice what you are and to live without belief, that is a fate more terrible than dying."
–Joan of Arc
"One of the identifying features of tribalistic thought is believing one is absolutely on the right side of history. And to believe that is to believe that the other side is absolutely wrong."
– Samantha Rose Hill
1. N. Korea slams U.S. subcritical nuclear test, vows measures to bolster nuclear deterrence
2. Should South Korea ‘scare Kim’ with US nuclear bombs? ‘China and Russia would raise hell’
3. Unification minister criticizes ex-liberal President Moon's memoir
4. FM Cho: S. Korea, Japan should manage relations so as 'not to disrupt' mood in improving ties
5. N. Korea changes name of key party organ in charge of inter-Korean affairs
6. S. Korea to set up monuments in hopes of repatriation of 5 abductees
7. S. Korea to designate July 14 as day for N. Korean defectors
8. N. Korea showcases fireworks modeled after Hwaseong-17 ICBM
9. N. Korean leader mourns military official known for close ties with him on 2nd annv. of death
10. Editorial: Former President Moon Jae-in trusts Kim Jong-un over objective evidence
11. ＜Inside N. Korea＞Blindsided by information blockade...Unprecedented surveillance as defectors' families considered chief drivers of flow of outside information
12. Moon memoir stirs the pot with accounts of North's Kim, Trump, Abe
13. A glimpse into the future of surveillance technology in North Korea
14. Xi-Putin summit and NK
1. N. Korea slams U.S. subcritical nuclear test, vows measures to bolster nuclear deterrence
No surprise. The regime will use this for justification for its actions.
N. Korea slams U.S. subcritical nuclear test, vows measures to bolster nuclear deterrence | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Soo-yeon · May 20, 2024
SEOUL, May 20 (Yonhap) -- North Korea threatened Monday to take powerful deterrent action against what it claims is the U.S. nuclear threat, denouncing Washington for its recent subcritical nuclear test.
The U.S. carried out a subcritical nuclear test in Nevada last week, the third of its kind under President Joe Biden. The U.S. said it was designed to collect "essential data" about its nuclear warheads.
An unnamed spokesman at the North's foreign ministry said North Korea cannot but reconsider the measures necessary for improving its overall nuclear deterrence posture, adding that the U.S. is not qualified to talk about nuclear war threats from others.
North Korea "will not tolerate the creation of strategic imbalance and security vacuum in the Korean peninsula, but firmly defend its security, rights and interests through powerful deterrent action against the evolving nuclear threat from the U.S.," the spokesman was quoted as saying by the Korean Central News Agency, without elaborating.
North Korea conducted its sixth and last nuclear test in September 2017 and enshrined its nuclear power status in its constitution in September.
Officials in Seoul and Washington have said Pyongyang may conduct its seventh nuclear test "at any time," noting the country appears to have completed all preparations for a nuclear test.
The USS Kentucky Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine (C) enters a naval base in Busan, 320 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on July 18, 2023, in this file photo captured from the U.S. Forces Korea's Facebook page. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Soo-yeon · May 20, 2024
2. Should South Korea ‘scare Kim’ with US nuclear bombs? ‘China and Russia would raise hell’
Sensational headline but it does beg the question: What deters Kim Jong Un? What really does "scare" him or make him afraid?
Should South Korea ‘scare Kim’ with US nuclear bombs? ‘China and Russia would raise hell’
- A US defence analyst says South Korea should pay to refurbish some of the US’ old ‘regime killer’ nuclear bombs as a deterrent against North Korea
- It comes as confidence wavers in Washington’s defence commitments, with Seoul said to be reviewing its options ahead of November’s US election
- Park Chan-kyong
-
+ FOLLOWPublished: 8:00am, 20 May 2024
https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3263120/should-south-korea-scare-kim-us-nuclear-bombs-china-and-russia-would-raise-hell
The United States should deploy refurbished tactical nuclear weapons in South Korea to “scare” North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, according to an American defence analyst – despite Korean academics’ concerns “China and Russia would raise hell”.
Bruce W. Bennett, a senior analyst with the Rand Corporation, made the suggestion at a security forum in Seoul on Thursday, citing a proposal the US think tank first made in a joint report with the South Korean Asan Institute for Policy Studies last year.
He told the forum that eight to 12 “regime killer” B61 bombs – designed to destroy underground command-and-control headquarters – could be deployed on the peninsula “to scare Kim”, who has reportedly built a vast network of underground shelters across North Korea.
These bombs would serve “both symbolic and operational purposes” as part of a proposed deployment of roughly 180 US nuclear weapons to South Korea over “the next few years”, said the report.
Bennett said at Thursday’s forum that South Korea could pay to modernise about 100 of the old tactical nuclear weapons the US has earmarked for dismantling. These could then be stored in the US and brought to South Korea if the North were to attack, he said.
Missiles are launched from an undisclosed location in North Korea during what state media described as a simulated nuclear counter-attack drill last month. Photo: KCNA via EPA-EFE
The US last deployed tactical nuclear weapons to South Korea in the 1990s and there have been growing calls for their return. But Bennett said renovating the ageing storage facilities in South Korea would prove costly.
China would also likely protest against such a move, he said, citing Beijing’s earlier objections to Seoul’s plans for a US THAAD anti-missile air defence system.
A poll conducted in South Korea at the turn of the year found nine out of 10 respondents thought it would be impossible to denuclearise North Korea, with 73 per cent saying South Korea should develop its own nuclear weapons. The poll commissioned by the Chey Institute for Advanced Studies was conducted by Gallup Korea between December 15 and January 10.
But South Korea developing its own nuclear weapons would constitute a massive expense. Bennett said it would be more economical for Seoul to finance the modernisation of 100 US tactical nuclear weapons, at an estimated cost of 3 trillion won (US$2.2 billion), than spend 1 trillion won on one self-developed weapon.
Unlike the North, South Korea also lacks uranium mines – and would likely face international sanctions if it did start developing its own nuclear weapons.
China and Russia would raise hell with such moves, crying foul as they could be in breach of the Non-Proliferation Treaty
Yang Moo-jin, University of North Korean Studies
US public opinion, meanwhile, has steadily turned against defending South Korea. Only 50 per cent of respondents to an opinion poll conducted in September by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs favoured using US troops to defend South Korea in the event of an invasion, down from 63 per cent in 2021, and 55 per cent last year.
A former US defence official under Donald Trump created a stir earlier this month when he said that American forces in South Korea should be overhauled and “not be held hostage to dealing with the North Korean problem”.
“I think we need to have a plan that is based on reality. If you are assuming that the United States is going to break its spear, if you will, fighting North Korea, that is an imprudent assumption,” Elbridge Colby, former deputy assistant secretary of defence for strategy and force development, told Yonhap news agency.
“To the extent that we are currently planning on sending massive amounts of forces to Korea that would decrease our ability to deal with the Chinese, I think we need to revise that.”
US President Joe Biden stands next to South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol at an Apec meeting in November. Photo: AFP
“Seoul is reviewing various options” depending on the outcome of November’s US presidential election, Park Won-gon, a political-science professor at Ewha Womans University, told This Week in Asia.
If Joe Biden remains in the White House, Park said it was unlikely that the modernisation proposal would gain much traction as Washington has already agreed to send strategic assets to the peninsula under a nuclear consultative group it agreed with Seoul last year. But he said Trump may have other ideas, depending on South Korea’s willingness to pay.
“Relying on the goodwill of the US president in the face of North Korea’s blatant nuclear threats is extremely dangerous,” said Cheong Seong-chang, a senior analyst at the Sejong Institute think tank. “US history shows that its defence commitments have not always been kept.”
North Korea’s Kim Jong-un guides country’s 1st ‘nuclear trigger’ simulation drills
However, any reintroduction of nuclear weapons to South Korea would likely anger both Beijing and Moscow, according to Yang Moo-jin, head of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.
“China and Russia would raise hell with such moves, crying foul as they could be in breach of the Non-Proliferation Treaty,” he told This Week in Asia, citing the international treaty to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.
“Instead, we had better look back on what was achieved through past negotiations and renew efforts to resume dialogue with the North for a nuclear freeze before moving to the next stage through confidence-building.”
CONVERSATIONS (29)
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Park Chan-kyong
Park Chan-kyong is a journalist covering South Korean affairs for the South China Morning Post. He previously worked at the Agence France-Presse's Seoul bureau for 35 years. He studied political science at Korea University and economics at the Yonsei University Graduate School.
3. Unification minister criticizes ex-liberal President Moon's memoir
Why would anyone think that Kim Jong Un would both not use nuclear weapons and want to give them up? Is this laying the groundwork for a future liberal ROK administration? Will a future administration base its north Korea policy on these "assumptions?" The Moon administration certainly did. We must understand the nature, objectives, and strategy of the Kim family regime. And we should keep in mind that the regime is masterful at deception.
(LEAD) Unification minister criticizes ex-liberal President Moon's memoir | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Soo-yeon · May 20, 2024
(ATTN: RECASTS headline, lead; UPDATES with more details throughout)
By Kim Soo-yeon and Kim Han-joo
SEOUL, May 20 (Yonhap) -- Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho criticized a memoir written by former liberal President Moon Jae-in on Monday, raising the need to distinguish North Korea's intention not to use nuclear weapons from its nuclear capability in order to prevent a miscalculation of the security situation.
In the memoir published last week, Moon said North Korean leader Kim Jong-un voiced frustration over the global skepticism of his willingness for denuclearization, stressing that he had no intention to use nuclear weapons.
Moon, who held inter-Korean summits with the North's leader in 2018, said he believes Kim Jong-un's promise to abandon the country's nuclear weapons.
In what would be the first criticism openly made by a senior government official, the unification minister said if South Korea relies only on North Korea's "good faith," its people and national security could be at risk.
"While ignoring North Korea's (nuclear) capability, if we only focus on the North's intentions, this could result in a miscalculation of the security situation," Kim told a press conference.
This photo, taken May 20, 2024, shows Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho speaking at a press conference in Seoul. (Yonhap)
His remarks came as North Korea has been focusing on advancing its nuclear and missile programs, including the launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) since the collapse of the Hanoi summit between Kim Jong-un and then U.S. President Donald Trump in 2019.
Seoul's top point man on North Korea cited the example of the Munich Agreement clinched in 1938 among Nazi Germany, Britain, France and Italy, saying that World War II broke out as a result of Europe's "appeasement" policy toward Adolf Hitler following the agreement.
The minister, meanwhile, said North Korea has changed the name of a key party organization in charge of inter-Korean affairs as part of a reshuffle, as its leader Kim has defined inter-Korean relations as those "between two states hostile to each other."
"North Korea has yet to make an official announcement, but the North has changed the name of the United Front Department (UFD) into the WPK Central Committee Bureau 10," Kim said, adding the new entity is carrying out psychological warfare functions.
The UFD had dealt with inter-Korean talks and North Korea's policy toward South Korea, serving as a counterpart to Seoul's unification ministry. At a year-end party plenary meeting, the North Korean leader ordered officials to disband agencies dealing with inter-Korean affairs.
"Kim Jong-un's move to erase the legacy of his predecessors effectively points to the attempt to degrade (the late national founder) Kim Il-sung and (his late father) Kim Jong-il. We cannot rule out the possibility that this will cause ideological chaos internally in the North," the minister said.
Kim also voiced the need to restore the suspended inter-Korean communication channel in a bid to deal with urgent humanitarian affairs and natural disaster responses.
Since April last year, North Korea has not responded to daily phone calls through an inter-Korean liaison line and military hotline, without specifying reasons.
"It is urgent to restore the communication channels that North Korea has unilaterally suspended in order to prevent damage from heavy rains during the monsoon season," he said.
The minister said he and Julie Turner, the U.S. special envoy for North Korean human rights, are scheduled to visit the island of Seonyu on Friday, where South Korean teenagers were abducted by the North in the 1970s.
Five South Korean high school students were kidnapped by North Korea on the Seonyu and Hong islands, off the country's southwest coast, between 1977 and 1978.
Unification Minsiter Kim Yung-ho speaks at a press conference in Seoul on May 20, 2024. (Yonhap)
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Soo-yeon · May 20, 2024
4 FM Cho: S. Korea, Japan should manage relations so as 'not to disrupt' mood in improving ties
I am a broken record: They must put national security and national prosperity ahead of historical issues.
FM Cho: S. Korea, Japan should manage relations so as 'not to disrupt' mood in improving ties | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Seung-yeon · May 20, 2024
By Kim Seung-yeon
SEOUL, May 20 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and Japan should carefully manage their relationship so as "not to disrupt" the hardly achieved momentum in their improving bilateral relations, calling Tokyo a key partner at a time fraught with geopolitical challenges, Seoul's top diplomat said Monday,
Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul made the remarks at a forum, pointing out that next year, which will mark the 60th anniversary of the normalization of the bilateral ties, should also serve as a "new milestone" in the relationship.
"We cannot stay here. Both South Korea and Japan are precious to each other, and we can and must be the cornerstones for peace and prosperity in Northeast Asia and the Asia-Pacific region," Cho said during a forum hosted by the foreign ministry.
"It is more than important that we understand each other and carefully manage the relationship so that there are no disruptions to the flow of the hard-earned improvement in bilateral relations," he said.
Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul delivers an opening speech during a forum on South Korea-Japan relations at a hotel in Seoul on May 20, 2024. (Yonhap)
Cho's comments came as the recent row over Tokyo's implicit demand for LY Corp., the operator of the popular Line messaging app in Japan, to "review its capital relationship" in the joint venture with South Korea's Naver Corp. has emerged as a potential source of fresh tensions.
Some South Korean lawmakers called for Japan to take steps to resolve the issue, warning that the row could throw cold water on the improving bilateral relations.
Seoul has requested Tokyo ensure there are no "unfair discriminatory measures" against South Korean companies in Japan. Last week, Second Vice Foreign Minister Kang In-sun told the deputy chief of mission at the Japanese Embassy in Seoul to help ensure that Naver can make its "own decision without external pressure."
Cho emphasized that the future-oriented development of the bilateral ties is essential in addressing various regional and geopolitical challenges, including North Korea's nuclear and missile threats.
"It's time to look towards the future of Korea-Japan relations with a broader perspective and a long-term approach," Cho said.
elly@yna.co.kr
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en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Seung-yeon · May 20, 2024
5. N. Korea changes name of key party organ in charge of inter-Korean affairs
"You number 10, GI."
Excerpts:
"North Korea has yet to make an official announcement, but the North has changed the name of the United Front Department (UFD) into the WPK Central Committee Bureau 10," Kim told reporters, saying the organization is carrying out psychological warfare-centered functions.
The UFD had dealt with inter-Korean talks and North Korea's policy with South Korea, serving as a counterpart to Seoul's unification ministry. At the party meeting, the North's leader ordered officials to disband agencies dealing with inter-Korean affairs.
"Kim Jong-un's move to erase the legacy of his predecessors effectively points to the attempt to degrade (the late national founder) Kim Il-sung and (his late father) Kim Jong-il. We cannot rule out the possibility that this would cause ideological chaos internally in the North," Kim said.
N. Korea changes name of key party organ in charge of inter-Korean affairs | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Soo-yeon · May 20, 2024
By Kim Soo-yeon and Kim Han-joo
SEOUL, May 20 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has changed the name of a key party organization in charge of inter-Korean affairs, and the entity is dealing with psychological warfare amid the North's animosity toward South Korea, Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho said Monday.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un defined inter-Korean relations as those "between two states hostile to each other" at a year-end plenary meeting of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK).
"North Korea has yet to make an official announcement, but the North has changed the name of the United Front Department (UFD) into the WPK Central Committee Bureau 10," Kim told reporters, saying the organization is carrying out psychological warfare-centered functions.
The UFD had dealt with inter-Korean talks and North Korea's policy with South Korea, serving as a counterpart to Seoul's unification ministry. At the party meeting, the North's leader ordered officials to disband agencies dealing with inter-Korean affairs.
"Kim Jong-un's move to erase the legacy of his predecessors effectively points to the attempt to degrade (the late national founder) Kim Il-sung and (his late father) Kim Jong-il. We cannot rule out the possibility that this would cause ideological chaos internally in the North," Kim said.
Meanwhile, Kim said he and Julie Turner, the U.S. special envoy for North Korean human rights, are scheduled to visit the island of Seonyu on Friday, where South Korean teens were abducted by the North in the 1970s.
Five South Korean high school students were kidnapped by North Korea on the Seonyu and Hong islands, off the country's southwest coast, between 1977 and 1978.
This file photo, taken April 18, 2024, shows Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho speaking at a meeting in Seoul to discuss the establishment of a facility dedicated to raise public awareness of North Korea's human rights problems. (Yonhap)
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Soo-yeon · May 20, 2024
6. S. Korea to set up monuments in hopes of repatriation of 5 abductees
S. Korea to set up monuments in hopes of repatriation of 5 abductees | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Soo-yeon · May 20, 2024
SEOUL, May 20 (Yonhap) -- The unification ministry said Monday it will set up two monuments in hopes of the repatriation of five South Koreans who were abducted by North Korea on two southwestern islands in the 1970s.
North Korean agents kidnapped the five South Korean high school students from the Seonyu and Hong islands between 1977 and 1978, and they have yet to return home.
Among them, Kim Young-nam was married in North Korea to Megumi Yokota, a Japanese kidnapped by North Korean agents in the 1970s, when she was 13. Kim was abducted by the North in August 1977 in areas near Seonyu Island. Yokota is a symbol of the Japanese people abducted by North Korea.
The ministry in charge of inter-Korean affairs said it will hold a ceremony unveiling the monuments dedicated to those teens on Seonyu Island on Friday and Hong Island on Monday, respectively.
The Friday ceremony will bring together Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho; Julie Turner, the U.S. special envoy for North Korean human rights; and Lee Shin-wha, Seoul's envoy for North Korean human rights.
With the establishment of the monuments, the government hopes to express its strong commitment to resolving the abductee issue and encourage people to join efforts to bring them back home, according to the ministry.
Currently, six South Koreans are being detained in North Korea, including three missionaries -- Kim Jung-wook, Choi Chun-gil and Kim Kook-kie -- whose whereabouts and fates are unknown.
Separately, 516 South Koreans have yet to return home among an estimated 3,835 people who were kidnapped by North Korea after the 1950-53 Korean War, according to government data.
At least 60,000 prisoners of war (POWs) are also estimated to have not come back home or gone missing after being detained in North Korea. A total of 80 POWs have returned home since 1994, but only nine were alive as of March.
This file photo, taken May 16, 2006, shows the mother (L) of Kim Young-nam, who was abducted by North Korea in 1977, meeting in Seoul with the father (R) of Megumi Yokota, a Japanese who was kidnapped by North Korean agents in the 1970s, when she was 13. Kim and Yokota were married in North Korea. (Yonhap)
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Soo-yeon · May 20, 2024
7. S. Korea to designate July 14 as day for N. Korean defectors
Good. They need to be honored.
S. Korea to designate July 14 as day for N. Korean defectors | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Han-joo · May 20, 2024
By Kim Han-joo
SEOUL, May 20 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will designate July 14 as the official day for North Korean defectors, the unification ministry said Monday, in its latest effort to better embrace individuals who have fled the reclusive regime.
The official designation will be formalized through a presidential decree to be issued Tuesday, following President Yoon Suk Yeol's proposal during a Cabinet meeting nearly four months ago.
July 14 was chosen as it marks the enactment of the law on protecting North Korean defectors and supporting their settlement, which came into effect on that date in 1997.
To commemorate the new day, the ministry plans to host a ceremony and various events to raise public awareness and support for defectors.
In addition, the ministry intends to establish a commemorative venue, such as a monument or park, to honor defectors who have lost their lives, particularly those who died during failed escape attempts.
South Korea has a longstanding policy of accepting any North Korean defectors who want to live in the South and repatriating any North Koreans who stray into the South if they want to return.
After escaping the North, eight men and 35 women arrived in the South in the January-March period, bringing the total number of North Korean defectors to 34,121, according to the data from the unification ministry in charge of inter-Korean affairs.
This file photo, taken Dec. 1, 2023, shows a job fair for North Korean defectors in Seoul. (Yonhap)
khj@yna.co.kr
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en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Han-joo · May 20, 2024
8. N. Korea showcases fireworks modeled after Hwaseong-17 ICBM
Who buys these fireworks and who uses them?
N. Korea showcases fireworks modeled after Hwaseong-17 ICBM | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Han-joo · May 20, 2024
SEOUL, May 20 (Yonhap) -- Fireworks modeled after North Korea's largest intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) have become available for purchase, in what observers say is another point of pride for the reclusive regime.
On Sunday, North Korea's state-run Korean Central TV showed footage of fireworks shaped like the Hwasong-17 ICBM displayed on shelves at a toy store in Pyongyang, alongside other children's toys.
The Hwasong-17, referred to by observers as the "monster missile," is significantly improved compared with its predecessor, the Hwasong-15. It has an estimated range of about 15,000 kilometers, long enough to reach the U.S. mainland.
North Korea test-fired the Hwasong-17 in February, March, May and November of 2022, as well as in March 2023.
Previously, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's wife, Ri Sol-ju, was seen wearing a necklace shaped like an ICBM during a banquet celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Korean People's Army in Pyongyang last February.
Other items and models replicating the Hwasong-17 ICBM have been previously displayed at events, such as a celebratory exhibition marking the birthday of North Korea's late founder, Kim Il-sung, on April 15.
Observers say that North Korea's production and intentional display of various products inspired by the Hwasong-17 can be interpreted as the country feeling a great sense of pride in the success of the ICBM launch.
In this photo captured from the North's Central TV on May 19, 2024, fireworks shaped like the Hwasong-17 ICBM are displayed on the shelves of a toy store in Pyongyang, alongside other children's toys. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
khj@yna.co.kr
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en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Han-joo · May 20, 2024
9. N. Korean leader mourns military official known for close ties with him on 2nd annv. of death
N. Korean leader mourns military official known for close ties with him on 2nd annv. of death | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Soo-yeon · May 20, 2024
SEOUL, May 20 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has visited the cemetery of Hyon Chol-hae, known to have helped groom the current leader, on the occasion of the second year of his death, Pyongyang's state media reported Monday.
Kim laid a flower at the grave of Hyon in the Patriotic Martyrs Cemetery in Sinmi-ri, Pyongyang, on Sunday afternoon, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
Hyun, marshal of the Korean People's Army, died at 87 on May 19, 2022. He is known to have played a key role in assisting Kim Jong-il, father of the incumbent leader, in tightening his grip on the military and also helped groom Kim Jong-un as the next leader in the country's hereditary succession.
The North's leader "paid high regard" to Hyon in reflection of his reverence, saying that Hyon's feats in building a strong army will be "immortal in history," the KCNA said.
In 2022, North Korea held a state funeral for Hyon, chaired by Kim Jong-un and attended by key senior officials.
This photo, carried by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on May 20, 2024, shows the North's leader laying a flower at the grave of Hyon Chol-hae, marshal of the Korean People's Army, on the occasion of the second anniversary of his death. Hyon is known to have helped groom the current leader. (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 20, 2024
10. Editorial: Former President Moon Jae-in trusts Kim Jong-un over objective evidence
My thoughts exactly. Fantasy versus objective evidence.
Editorial: Former President Moon Jae-in trusts Kim Jong-un over objective evidence
https://www.chosun.com/english/opinion-en/2024/05/20/SWCF7WCJDBGY3GCAQMYOAOTYH4/
By The Chosunilbo
Published 2024.05.20. 08:53
Former South Korean President Moon Jae-in's memoirs on display at the Gwanghwamun branch of Kyobo Bookstore in Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea, on May 19, 2024./News1
On the day that North Korea fired several ballistic missiles into the East Sea, former South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s memoirs were released. In them, he wrote that he regretted not being more active in mediating between the United States and North Korea to lift sanctions. For a man who risked international embarrassment by asking for the lifting of sanctions in front of European leaders who emphasized their importance, he blamed himself for not doing enough.
“If only we had put that in the communiqué,” Moon said, claiming that there was a verbal agreement at the Singapore summit to suspend North Korea’s nuclear and missile tests and joint U.S.-South Korean drills. He regretted that the North’s demand for a “both stop”—trading North Korea’s illegal provocations for South Korea’s legitimate defense exercises—was not made explicit.
“I think Kim Jong-un’s promise to denuclearize was sincere,” Moon said, noting that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un had said, “I have no intention of using nuclear weapons. I don’t want my daughter’s generation to have to live with nuclear weapons over their heads.” At the time, however, North Korea was still accelerating its nuclear and missile program. Moon also cited Kim’s statement that “we don’t have any medium- or long-range missiles.” As soon as the “denuclearization show” was over, a parade of ICBMs rolled through Kim Il-sung Square.
In Moon’s memoirs, he consistently took Kim Jong-un’s word over objective facts. Kim Jong-un’s promises to visit South Korea, set up a direct phone line, or communicate via email have yet to materialize, but Moon said he understood what was happening in the North. Anecdotes include Kim saying, “I want to console the people who are suffering from the shelling of Yeonpyeong Island,” or proposing in a letter to “discuss the rebuilding of the (bombed) inter-Korean liaison office.” He was unable to distinguish between diplomatic rhetoric and genuine intentions.
In 2018, Moon called allegations about his wife and former first lady Kim Jung-sook’s business trip to India a “malicious distortion.” However, government documents show that India originally wanted the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism to visit, not Kim. Kim flew to India on a presidential plane, visited the Taj Mahal, a popular tourist attraction, and posed for a photo with another tourist. The trip was not on the official itinerary and was omitted from the ministry’s post-trip report. Despite the allegations, Moon called it “the first solo diplomatic trip by a spouse.” Kim’s overseas trips must also be investigated.
11. ＜Inside N. Korea＞Blindsided by information blockade...Unprecedented surveillance as defectors' families considered chief drivers of flow of outside information
On the one hand this reinforces the great fear of the regime. Information is an existential threat. But it also means we have to work much harder at getting information inside.
＜Inside N. Korea＞Blindsided by information blockade...Unprecedented surveillance as defectors' families considered chief drivers of flow of outside information
asiapress.org
(FILE PHOTO) A No. 10 checkpoint overlooking the Yalu River. The checkpoint is managed by the state security agency and blocks the main road leading to the border, mainly checking the IDs, travel documents and cell phones of passersby. A view from the Chinese side of the border across from Sokju County in North Pyongan Province. Taken in September 2023 (ASIAPRESS)
The North Korean government’s tight control of information through border closures during the COVID pandemic has left North Koreans in the dark about what is happening outside the country. In particular, in an effort to cut off the channels of outside information, repression against those who have family members who have defected to South Korea or Japan is intensifying day by day, according to an ASIAPRESS reporting partner. (JEON Sung-jun / KANG Ji-won)
◆ Outside information fails to seep into the country due to intense restrictions
As thirsty as the world is for information from inside North Korea, North Koreans are just as hungry for information from the outside. Based on reports from ASIAPRESS reporting partners in the northern part of the country, the North Korean government’s tight control of information has been somewhat successful in insulating the population from outside news.
"We don't hear anything about China, South Korea, or anything like that from the marketplaces or from people here. The only news we hear about is from Rodong Sinmun (the Workers' Party of Korea's official newspaper) in regards to China's economic development, the situation in Palestine, and things like that."
◆ Defector families live in fear due to regime suppression
"The regime is increasingly cracking down on North Korean defectors' families, especially on (their alleged involvement) in spreading rumors and using Chinese phones. The regime says they will not forgive defectors, and that they have already sinned (by defecting) and should be loyal to the country."
The reporting partner explained that the authorities keep defectors’ families under heavy surveillance, labeling them as potential criminals who bring in outside information. The government constantly harasses them in various ways, even conducting investigations aimed at entrapping them.
"Defector families live in fear because police officials visit them, arbitrarily call them into their offices, and investigate them. The police and state security agency send people to pry into their every move and disguise themselves as money transfer brokers to search for Chinese phones."
"North Korean families in areas far from the border are not allowed to be issued travel documents, and if they sneak near the border - regardless of whether or not they call (their family members in South Korea or Japan) - they are deemed attempted defectors and sent to jail."
Kim Jong Un's regime, which has used the COVID pandemic to tighten its grip on North Korean society and its people, has targeted the families of North Korean defectors as part of its efforts to stem the flow of outside information, which the regime considers its Achilles heel.
※ ASIAPRESS communicates with its reporting partners through Chinese cell phones smuggled into North Korea.
A map of North Korea (ASIAPRESS)
asiapress.org
12. Moon memoir stirs the pot with accounts of North's Kim, Trump, Abe
Sunday
May 19, 2024
print dictionary + A - A print
Published: 19 May. 2024, 18:13
Moon memoir stirs the pot with accounts of North's Kim, Trump, Abe
https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2024-05-19/national/politics/Moon-memoir-stirs-the-pot-with-accounts-of-Norths-Kim-Trump-Abe/2049974
Former President Moon Jae-in's memoir is on sale at Kyobo Bookstore in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul, on Sunday. [NEWS1]
Former President Moon Jae-in stirred controversy on Friday when he released his memoir, breaking his longtime silence regarding his administration's foreign and defense policy.
In the book, which is his first to be published since he left office two years ago, Moon recounts major encounters he had with foreign leaders, including former U.S. President Donald Trump, late Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, as well as international and domestic circumstances that shaped global events from 2017 to 2022, when he was in office.
The memoir is structured around the former president’s responses to questions asked by Choi Jong-kun, an international relations professor at Yonsei University who served as first deputy foreign minister under Moon.
Regarding his meetings with the North Korean leader, Moon recalled Kim “repeatedly insisted that [Pyongyang’s] nuclear weapons are intended to ensure [his regime’s] survival, and that he has no intention of ever using them.”
According to Moon, Kim argued that his regime “would not have endured sanctions to develop nuclear weapons if he thought it could survive without them,” adding that he “as a father to a young daughter” did not want to see her “carrying a nuclear arsenal upon her shoulders.”
But Moon said Kim also told him “time and again” that he was “frustrated that the United States and the international community did not believe he was serious about denuclearization.”
While Moon supported direct talks between the United States and North Korea to ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula over Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons and missile programs, two summits between Trump and Kim in 2018 and 2019 ended without an agreement, after which the North ramped up missile testing, eventually launching its first solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile last year.
While Moon said that Trump “could be rude and rough around the edges in the eyes of some observers,” he also recounted that the U.S. president was “honest” in his dealings with South Korea.
“Even Trump said himself on multiple occasions that he had ‘good chemistry’ with me,” Moon said, noting that the U.S. president made for a “good partner in diplomacy” during the three years that both men were in office.
But Moon was significantly less rosy in his recollections of Abe, who was assassinated three months after the South Korean president’s term ended.
Calling him “headstrong,” Moon said that Abe’s approach to Pyongyang only served to fan anxiety on the peninsula in 2017, when the North launched a flurry of missiles.
According to Moon, Abe proposed a joint military exercise between South Korea, the United States and Japan to counter the North, as well as a drill to evacuate Japanese nationals from South Korea to prepare for a contingency.
Moon claimed that he pursued “future-oriented cooperation” with Tokyo despite multiple disputes stemming from Japan’s 1910-45 colonial occupation of Korea, but that Abe’s government chose to damage relations with Seoul by imposing export controls on key technologies in 2019.
While Moon wrote that his memoir was “not intended to boast about [his] administration’s foreign policy and security accomplishments, but rather to diligently document the reasons for and consequences of [his] successes and failures,” members of the conservative People Power Party (PPP) criticized the former president for taking the North Korean leader at his word.
On Saturday, PPP Rep. Na Kyung-won said the memoir showed that Moon “is still serving as Kim Jong-un’s spokesman” by “failing to escape the narrative promoted by the North to justify its development of nuclear weapons.”
Calling Moon’s “naiveté” a mark of “grave incompetence,” Na argued that Moon’s willingness to believe Kim “a great risk to the country.”
Na further called on the former president’s liberal Democratic Party to “escape Moon’s ideological framework for approaching North Korea” through conciliation.
BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]
13. A glimpse into the future of surveillance technology in North Korea
Based on the recent 38 North report.
A glimpse into the future of surveillance technology in North Korea - Daily NK English
North Korea is not likely to take the all-seeing CCTV approach favored by richer countries, focusing rather on “impartial” surveillance to put pressure on the human networks enforcing the regime’s control
By Rose Adams - May 20, 2024
dailynk.com · by Rose Adams · May 20, 2024
North Korea may be infamous for being “decades in the past,” but its technology is not nearly so far behind. North Korea has trained a world-class cohort of hackers and IT professionals who rake in billions of dollars for the regime through cryptocurrency theft and remote IT work, even as the vast majority of North Koreans have never accessed the worldwide web. This lopsided technical development means that much of North Korea’s methods for controlling its population still rely on human intelligence and analog systems of identification. While these human-based surveillance systems are thorough, they are also frequently prone to human “error” in the form of bribery and corruption. One shudders to think then, what the North Korean state might be capable of if it were to adopt a Chinese model of AI-enabled omnipotent state surveillance.
A recent report published by US-based think tank 38 North, “Digital Surveillance in North Korea: Moving Toward a Digital Panopticon State,” suggests that North Korea is already experimenting with digitizing state surveillance. The report provides thorough evidence that North Korea has been steadily developing technologies with clear surveillance purposes, including facial recognition and AI-powered CCTV monitoring technologies. This progress raises important questions regarding how soon this sort of technology will be deployable in North Korea and what a tech-powered North Korean surveillance state might look like.
In imagining how North Korea’s surveillance tech might play out on the ground, a new report from Daily NK offers some valuable insight. Journalist Kim Jeong Yoon reported that in 2021, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the North Korean government turned to AI-backed solutions to reinforce controls over domestic travel, ostensibly to prevent the spread of the virus. In April 2021, authorities in South Hamgyong Province installed facial recognition-enabled cameras at gates to multiple train stations in the province to replace manual inspection of travel documents. Similar set-ups were reportedly put into place across the country, including in Pyongyang. In the years since, all of the facial recognition cameras in South Hamgyong Province have fallen into disrepair, but at least three such devices are reportedly still in operation at train gates in the capital city of Pyongyang. (Read the full article here)
Whether these facial recognition devices were domestically produced or imported and modified from China remains unclear. This author believes that the facial recognition software in use is likely of North Korean origin, potentially the Dambo system developed by Kim Il Sung University. Chapter 7 of the 38 North report includes images from a 2019 technological exhibition with a facial recognition-powered access control system for entrance to buildings that could likely be easily adapted for entrance to a train station. The report also highlights domestic coverage of the university’s advanced facial recognition technology dated to December 2021, the same year that Daily NK reports the government installed facial recognition systems at major train stations across the country.
Regardless of software, however, much of the hardware itself is likely of Chinese origin considering the North’s limited capacity for manufacturing highly-integrated electronics. The 38 North report found, for example, that the DT-20 facial recognition access management device advertised by Amnokgang Technology Development Company appears to be produced by the Chinese company “Wit Easy Electronic Co.” Other ostensibly “domestically produced” high-level technologies like North Korean smartphones have been similarly traced back to Chinese manufacturers. North Korean software on Chinese-made hardware or a wholly imported Chinese system would explain why the broken devices in South Hamgyong Province have not yet been replaced or repaired, since repairs would require importing parts or new units from Chinese partners.
This example aligns with three key limiting factors highlighted in the 38 North report: a reliance on imported hardware, insufficient interconnectivity (particularly in more remote areas), and electricity shortages. North Korea may well be working to tackle the second issue (interconnectivity) with its new 4G network, but the country is unlikely to quickly resolve its decades-long struggle to provide a steady flow of electricity. Integrated electronics manufacturing, by a similar token, is likely not an industry that North Korea can rapidly expand on its own.
These hard limits suggest that North Korea is not likely to take the all-seeing CCTV approach favored by richer countries like China and South Korea, but will focus on using “impartial” surveillance to put pressure on the human networks enforcing the regime’s control. When forced by material constraints to target only a small fraction of the population, the most effective strategy is likely to surveil the enforcers themselves. Surveillance of regime-enforcing officials could reduce opportunities for bribery and corruption, which would in turn make crackdowns on “anti-socialist” behaviors more effective. Likewise, facial recognition-backed control over transportation reduces human error, the effectiveness of forged documents, and makes it more difficult for individual officials to take bribes.
Anecdotes from the 38 North report suggest that the North already uses surveillance cameras to keep an eye on enforcement, but that these officials find ways to continue receiving bribes by taking advantage of surveillance blind spots. Considering the fact that Ministry of State Security agents and similar enforcers widely rely on bribes to make a living, and in turn pay part of those bribes to their superiors, this creates incentive for collaboration between enforcement officials to evade surveillance in order to continue generating revenue. Implementation of surveillance cameras may spread around or inflate bribes – such as a percentage of bribes going to officials monitoring CCTV footage – but is unlikely to curb corrupt behavior without complementary policies to reduce financial demands on MSS agents or increase their salaries to the point where corruption poses a greater risk than benefit.
In sum, technology-powered surveillance systems have the potential to further strengthen the regime’s control by reducing opportunities for individuals to bribe their way past enforcers. However, systemic issues like reliance on foreign parts and unreliable electricity will likely relegate tech-based approaches to a minor role for the time being. This author also suspects that the government’s reliance on bribery and corruption to keep enforcers paid will further undermine attempts to effectively implement technological surveillance systems regardless of other technical factors. Likewise, reduced corruption has a ripple effect for ordinary citizens in the form of reduced smuggling opportunities and inflated bribes, further driving up the costs of food and other necessary items and threatening the livelihoods of low-level vendors. Greater surveillance – no matter how imperfect – poses a dire threat to the North Korean people’s lives and livelihoods.
Check out the original 38 North Report here.
Views expressed in this guest column do not necessarily reflect those of Daily NK.
dailynk.com · by Rose Adams · May 20, 2024
14. Xi-Putin summit and NK
Excerpts:
Policy priorities should focus on preventing military conflicts on the peninsula and finding a breakthrough to the complex issue of North Korea’s nuclear buildup. Encouragingly, Putin and Xi emphasized in the statement the necessity of resolving the Korean issue through dialogue, underscoring that political and diplomatic approaches are the sole means to prevent potential conflicts.
South Korea should continue dialogue and diplomatic efforts toward peace on the Korean Peninsula, while preparing for the worst-case scenario. Effective measures should be taken to alleviate the public's concerns, such as fostering the alliance with the U.S. Besides this, Yoon and his security team should also find ways to improve ties with Beijing and Moscow. A balanced and nuanced diplomatic approach is essential to maximize national interests and ensure the safety of the South Korean people.
Xi-Putin summit and NK
The Korea Times · May 20, 2024
Prudent policy shift needed to address security changes
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping met in Beijing Thursday, announcing a new era in bilateral relations. Adopting a joint statement, they agreed to deepen their strategic partnership on the 75th anniversary of diplomatic ties.
In the statement, the two leaders expressed strong opposition to “the acts of military intimidation by the United States and its allies that escalate confrontation with North Korea, which may lead to armed incidents and a rise in tensions on the Korean Peninsula.” They urged the U.S. to discontinue sanctions and military provocations against North Korea, explicitly criticizing the joint military exercises conducted by South Korea and the U.S.
North Korea, seemingly encouraged by the support from China and Russia, fired a ballistic missile into the East Sea on Friday. This follows its previous test of an ultrasonic solid-fuel missile this year and 19 ballistic missiles tests last year alone. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his sister Kim Yo-jong have also ramped up hostile rhetoric against the South, using inflammatory language sprinkled liberally with words such as “war,” “enemy” and “demolition.”
Given these developments, it is inappropriate for both China and Russia to support the North while condemning the ROK-U.S. joint military drills. As permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, the two nations are expected to support U.N. sanctions against Pyongyang, yet they have chosen to oppose them.
This shift is evident in the international security landscape surrounding the Korean Peninsula. Putin has been seeking to cement ties with China to counteract sanctions from the U.S. and other Western countries since its invasion of Ukraine. China, for its part, has been desperate to solicit Russia’s support amid an intensifying hegemonic struggle against the U.S., particularly in disputes over semiconductors and tariffs.
North Korea has taken advantage of growing ties with Russia and China to bolster its nuclear capabilities by fostering ties with the two neighboring autocratic superpowers. The fortified ties between those three countries have made it almost impossible to deter North Korea’s nuclear development through U.N. sanctions. China’s move is all the more disappointing as it came just three days after South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul visited Beijing for talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi. They agreed to cooperate more closely to further develop bilateral and trilateral ties through an envisioned summit between Seoul, Beijing and Tokyo.
Against this backdrop, there is a growing chorus of voices urging South Korea to either develop its own nuclear weapons or engage in a nuclear sharing arrangement similar to that of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker (R. Miss.) has called for a treaty with South Korea for NATO-style nuclear sharing.
The Yoon Suk Yeol administration has adopted a cautious approach toward China and Russia, particularly in the aftermath of the ruling People Power Party's crushing defeat in the April 10 general elections. The Yoon government has faced criticism for deteriorating relations with China and Russia due to its foreign policies that favor the U.S. and Japan. A shift in approach to surrounding powerful neighboring nations now seems inevitable.
Policy priorities should focus on preventing military conflicts on the peninsula and finding a breakthrough to the complex issue of North Korea’s nuclear buildup. Encouragingly, Putin and Xi emphasized in the statement the necessity of resolving the Korean issue through dialogue, underscoring that political and diplomatic approaches are the sole means to prevent potential conflicts.
South Korea should continue dialogue and diplomatic efforts toward peace on the Korean Peninsula, while preparing for the worst-case scenario. Effective measures should be taken to alleviate the public's concerns, such as fostering the alliance with the U.S. Besides this, Yoon and his security team should also find ways to improve ties with Beijing and Moscow. A balanced and nuanced diplomatic approach is essential to maximize national interests and ensure the safety of the South Korean people.
The Korea Times · May 20, 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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