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Quotes of the Day:
“No man is truly free; All are slaves of money or necessity. Public opinion or fear of prosecution forces each one, against his conscience, to conform.”
- Euripides
“The main element of any United States policy toward the Soviet Union must be that of a long-term, patient but firm and vigilant containment of Russian expansive tendencies.”
- “X” (George Kennan), Foreign Affairs, July 1, 1947.
"Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world."
- Albert Einstein
1. S. Korea to launch space rocket Nuri following delay
2. Pyongyang denounces sharing of N. Korea's missile data among S. Korea, U.S., Japan
3. S. Korea approves plan to mass-produce more K2 main battle tanks
4. Ammunition aid to Ukraine will be considered after reviewing situation on ground: security adviser
5. US expert calls for radical shift in strategy to rid Pyongyang of nuclear arms
6. Korean Space Rocket Rescheduled for Thursday
7. N. Korea curtails early morning commerce in Pyongyang and other major cities
8. N. Korea cracks down on mobilization shirkers to increase labor at farms
9. Global Slavery Index 2023: N. Korea has the globe’s highest prevalence of modern slavery
10. U.S. Congress pressures S. Korea to join chip alliance
11. South Korea, U.S. conduct large-scale artillery exercise
12. Defense Ministry claims 'inaccuracies' in report on military aid to Ukraine
13. Korea launches space rocket Nuri following delay
14. Kim Jong-un might not have son
1. S. Korea to launch space rocket Nuri following delay
It is a sign of an advanced space program to identify mistakes before they become catastrophic and correct them.
(3rd LD) S. Korea to launch space rocket Nuri following delay | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 김보람 · May 25, 2023
(ATTN: UPDATES with new info throughout)
SEOUL, May 25 (Yonhap) -- South Korea is fully ready to launch its homegrown space rocket Nuri later in the day after solving a computer glitch.
Aerospace engineers completed the fuel and oxidizer injection into the rocket around 5:15 p.m., and the prelaunch operation, or an automatic system that oversees the final preflight checkouts, will begin 10 minutes before liftoff, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI).
The launch will take place at 6:24 p.m. at Naro Space Center in the southern coastal village of Goheung.
On Wednesday, the launch was called off due to a communications problem between a launch control computer and a launch pad facility control computer about three hours before liftoff.
The launch management committee, which oversees the entire process, decided to go ahead with the launch Thursday after engineers had inspected the system overnight and fixed the problem.
South Korea's homegrown space rocket Nuri is erected for launch at Naro Space Center in Goheung, 328 kilometers south of Seoul, on May 25, 2023, in this photo provided by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
"During the overnight examination, engineers found out the defect in a helium tank facility of the launch pad and revised its control program," Vice Science Minister Oh Tae-seog said in a press briefing. "We've repeated tests and checked the system is working well."
The ministry and KARI said no other technical problems have been detected, and the weather is favorable and all payload satellites are in good condition.
South Korea's homegrown space rocket Nuri is erected for launch at Naro Space Center in Goheung, 328 kilometers south of Seoul, on May 25, 2023, in this photo provided by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
It is not the first time that Nuri's launch has been postponed due to technical issues.
In June last year, South Korea delayed its second launch for five days due to a technical glitch in the rocket's oxidizer tank sensor.
After the postponement, Nuri successfully blasted off from Naro Space Center and sent a dummy satellite into its target orbit as planned, making South Korea the seventh country in the world to have developed a space launch vehicle that can carry a more than 1-ton satellite, after Russia, the United States, France, China, Japan and India.
South Korea has secured the key independent technology for developing and launching space rockets carrying homegrown satellites, opening up a new era in the country's space program.
The 2 trillion-won (US$1.52 billion) Nuri project that began in 2010 will continue until 2027, with three additional rocket launches.
On the third attempt, Nuri will carry eight payload satellites, including the country's second next-generation small satellite, the NEXTSAT-2, and put them into orbit.
The NEXTSAT-2 will be released 783 seconds after liftoff, and the other seven will be deployed at 20-second intervals.
brk@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 김보람 · May 25, 2023
2. Pyongyang denounces sharing of N. Korea's missile data among S. Korea, U.S., Japan
We are having an effect on the regime. This is not a good development for it. But of course it only has itself to blame. This action undermines north Korean capabilities because this sharing of information can seal gaps and seams in formation and improve detection, queuing, and launch of countermeasures.
Pyongyang denounces sharing of N. Korea's missile data among S. Korea, U.S., Japan | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 이민지 · May 25, 2023
SEOUL, May 25 (Yonhap) -- North Korea on Thursday criticized a recent agreement by the leaders of South Korea, the United States and Japan to share real-time data on the North's missile launches, saying it will only expose them to a "security crisis."
The criticism came after South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida agreed to deepen security cooperation in various areas, including in the sharing of missile warning data, during their trilateral talks held Sunday on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima, Japan.
"The U.S. and its followers will get more and more exposed to security crisis facilitating its final ruin for its frantic moves to tighten their military alliance against the DPRK and expand the war drills for aggression," Kang Jin-song, an international affairs analyst, said in an English-language article released by the North's Korean Central News Agency.
DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the North's official name.
Last month, Yoon and Biden held a summit in Washington and agreed to form a joint nuclear consulting group, called the Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG), to bolster extended deterrence against North Korea.
Kang claimed the NCG is part of a plan to form an "Asian-version NATO" that also involves Japan.
The analyst warned that North Korea will "never tolerate" such an action, saying Pyongyang will "frustrate the hostile forces' wrong choice step by step with powerful strength."
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol (R) speaks with U.S. President Joe Biden (L) and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida ahead of their three-way talks in Hiroshima, Japan, on May 21, 2023. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)
mlee@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 이민지 · May 25, 2023
3. S. Korea approves plan to mass-produce more K2 main battle tanks
They must assess that the market is good.
(LEAD) S. Korea approves plan to mass-produce more K2 main battle tanks | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 채윤환 · May 25, 2023
(ATTN: ADDS more details in para 5)
SEOUL, May 25 (Yonhap) -- South Korea on Thursday endorsed a mass production plan for additional K2 main battle tanks to bolster the military's readiness against enemy threats, the state arms procurement agency said.
The Defense Project Promotion Committee approved the 1.94 trillion-won (US$1.46 billion) project set to run over the next five years, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA).
"By acquiring additional K2 tanks through this project, (we) expect them to greatly contribute to enhancing the maneuver corps' capabilities to carry out offensive maneuver warfare," DAPA said.
It did not specify the number of tanks to be built under the project, which marks the fourth round of the mass production of the tanks. K2 tanks have been in service in the Army since 2014.
For the project, the government is seeking to introduce a homegrown transmission for the tank, although it would need to pass evaluations by the Defense Agency for Technology and Quality, according to a DAPA official.
A K2 battle tank crosses a pontoon bridge over the Namhan River in Yeoju, 61 kilometers east of Seoul, during Army river-crossing drills on May 24, 2023. (Yonhap)
The committee also endorsed a 3.09 trillion-won plan to purchase additional early warning and control aircraft from abroad to reinforce the military's aerial surveillance capabilities, according to DAPA.
The project will run through 2031, although DAPA did not disclose the number of the aircraft to be purchased. The Air Force currently operates four early warning and control aircraft.
DAPA said it expects the newly purchased aircraft to further strengthen the military's capabilities in surveillance of North Korean missiles and defending the country's airspace when deployed.
yunhwanchae@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 채윤환 · May 25, 2023
4. Ammunition aid to Ukraine will be considered after reviewing situation on ground: security adviser
Potentially good news.
I assume they have determined how to overcome their constitutional restrictions.
This could make the ROK a full partner in the Arsenal of Democracy.
Ammunition aid to Ukraine will be considered after reviewing situation on ground: security adviser
The Korea Times · by 2023-05-25 14:43 | Foreign Affairs · May 25, 2023
National Security Adviser Cho Tae-yong speaks during a meeting of the parliamentary House Steering Committee at the National Assembly building in Seoul, May 24. Yonhap
The issue of whether to send ammunition aid to Ukraine will be considered after reviewing the situation on the ground, National Security Adviser Cho Tae-yong has said.
Cho made the remark during a meeting of the parliamentary House Steering Committee on Wednesday when asked by a lawmaker whether South Korea plans to send ammunition to Ukraine.
"We've been providing humanitarian and financial assistance to Ukraine until now," Cho said. "However, Ukraine came under an illegal invasion. We plan to consider it after monitoring the situation on the ground and in light of other
situations."
S. Korean ammunition headed to Ukraine via US: WSJ
Cho made clear there are no plans to send ammunition as of now, either directly or via Poland.
Korea has sent various forms of nonlethal aid to Ukraine in its war against Russia's invasion but rejected Kyiv's requests for lethal weapons.
President Yoon Suk Yeol met for the first time with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the margins of the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima, Japan, on Sunday and promised additional aid, including demining equipment and ambulances. (Yonhap)
The Korea Times · by 2023-05-25 14:43 | Foreign Affairs · May 25, 2023
5. US expert calls for radical shift in strategy to rid Pyongyang of nuclear arms
The proposed strategy is here: https://nipp.org/information_series/robert-joseph-robert-collins-joseph-detrani-nicholas-eberstadt-olivia-enos-david-maxwell-and-greg-scarlatoiu-national-strategy-for-countering-north-korea-no-545-january-23-2023/
US expert calls for radical shift in strategy to rid Pyongyang of nuclear arms
The Korea Times · May 23, 2023
Robert Joseph, center, a senior scholar at the National Institute for Public Policy and former U.S. special envoy for nuclear nonproliferation, speaks during a forum titled, "The 70th Anniversary of the U.S.-ROK Alliance ― Onward Toward a Free and Unified Korea," on Capitol Hill in Washington, May 17 (local time). Korea Times photo by Jung Min-ho'
Any form of diplomacy will fail; regime change is only solution'
By Jung Min-ho
WASHINGTON ― Since nuclear threats from North Korea started to emerge in the early 1990s, the United States has been trying to resolve the issue through diplomacy. Yet this did not stop Pyongyang from developing nuclear weapons. Today it is estimated to have up to 60 nuclear warheads and its stockpile is expected to continue to grow.
This worrisome state of affairs points to a need for a fundamental shift in policy. According to an expert who has been working in nuclear deterrence and nuclear arms control for the past 26 years, the first necessary step for that shift is to recognize that any negotiations or even successful treaties with North Korea will not lead to its denuclearization.
"We have put nuclear disarmament at the center of our policy on North Korea for 30 years, and we have failed consistently for 30 years," Robert Joseph, a senior scholar at the National Institute for Public Policy and former U.S. special envoy for nuclear nonproliferation, said at a forum on the 70th anniversary of the South Korea-U.S. alliance on Capitol Hill on May 17 (local time).
"I had watched North Korea go from small-scale titanium reprocessing to full-scale industrial-size uranium enrichment. They went from one or two nuclear weapons to 40 to 60 today, perhaps as many as 200 by 2027."
Washington and its allies still have the chance to stop North Korea from becoming a greater nuclear power than France and Britain and presenting a more serious threat to Seoul and far beyond with its ever-growing missile capabilities and propensity to sell anyone the weapons at every possible chance.
"This notion that we can negotiate with something as evil as North Korea, is something I have trouble comprehending. North Korea is a 21st century Nazi Germany. Can you negotiate with Nazi Germany? Sure, we did. [Former British Prime Minister Neville] Chamberlain came home to London, waving a piece of paper saying 'Peace for our time.' He proved you can negotiate with evil. But he also proved what happens when you do that," Joseph said in reference to the Munich Agreement, a peace deal Nazi Germany signed a year before starting World War II.
"Yes, we need denuclearization. But we should understand that denuclearization is not going to come from negotiation. It's going to come from the end of the Kim regime."
Joseph, along with human rights experts who participated in the forum, thinks that the greatest vulnerability of the Kim Jong-un regime is from within, from the alienation of its own people who suffer under its totalitarian repression. He suggested placing human rights ― inside and outside of North Korea ― at the center of a new U.S. strategy.
"This is not human rights for the sake of human rights … This is the way to achieve national security objectives, including denuclearization," he said. "It is an approach that does not use force to overthrow North Korea. This is a regime change from within."
Kang Cheol-hwan, third from left, a human rights activist from North Korea, speaks during a forum titled, "The 70th Anniversary of the U.S.-ROK Alliance ― Onward Toward a Free and Unified Korea," on Capitol Hill in Washington, May 17 (local time). Courtesy of Global Peace Foundation
This strategy should involve the U.S. and all like-minded democratic allies, the private sector, particularly IT companies, and international civil society. What they should do is to generate content and let ordinary North Koreans know what the whole world knows ― the reality of their abysmal human rights situation, the corruption of their leaders and the world outside their borders.
Such a strategy would not require any exaggeration of or propaganda about what happens in North Korea; it simply needs nothing but the truth, according to Morse Hyun-Myung Tan, dean of the School of Law at Liberty University and former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Office of Global Criminal Justice.
"This is the worst totalitarian dictatorship on the planet. It is the worst violator of human rights and a committer of massive atrocity crimes. It must stop," Tan said. "This regime operates on the basis of force … And sadly, they do not understand or do not respond to any diplomatic language."
North Korean escapees said one crucial part of the human rights-based strategy is to put international pressure on Beijing, which helps the regime stay in power by deporting North Korean victims of state-led human rights abuses, which is a clear violation of U.N. treaties.
"If China does not send them back, a lot more North Koreans would escape and help set up conditions (near the border) for potential popular movements in North Korea," Kang Cheol-hwan, an escapee-turned-rights activist, said. "As long as China's government keeps sending them back, revolutionary change inside North Korea would be extremely difficult to occur."
The Korea Times · May 23, 2023
6. Korean Space Rocket Rescheduled for Thursday
8 satellites.
Korean Space Rocket Rescheduled for Thursday
english.chosun.com
May 25, 2023 13:44
Wednesday evening's launch of Korea's homegrown Nuri space rocket was called off due to a technical glitch just about two hours before liftoff and has been rescheduled for Thursday.
Technicians discovered a communications problem between the launch control computer and the launch pad computer that regulates the cryogenic helium supply.
The problem was found at around 4 p.m., right before the injection of fuel for the launch scheduled for 6:24 p.m. was due to begin.
Korea's homegrown Nuri space rocket sits on the launch pad at the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla Province on Thursday. /Yonhap
The Korea Aerospace Research Institute left the rocket on the launch pad and engineers fixed the problem overnight, so the liftoff has been rescheduled for the same time on Thursday evening.
The rocket will send eight satellites into orbit.
7. N. Korea curtails early morning commerce in Pyongyang and other major cities
Aesthetics? Taxes?
The regime is simply trying to maintain control over every aspect of society and it has been losing control due to markets. The only thing the regime fears more than the people armed with information is the people's market activity. Sadly because of the failed public distribution system (failed since the Arduous march of the famine of 1994-1996) markets are what has developed resilience among the people and helped them to survive. Kim is trying to take this away.
N. Korea curtails early morning commerce in Pyongyang and other major cities
The authorities pointed out that the throngs of early-morning merchants ruin the urban aesthetics, and that early morning merchants do not pay the market taxes that must go to the state
dailynk.com
FILE PHOTO: The Tongil Market in Pyongyang. (Daily NK)
North Korea recently began curtailing the early morning commerce that takes place in Pyongyang and other major cities nationwide, Daily NK has learned.
According to a Daily NK reporting partner in Pyongyang on Tuesday, North Korea recently declared illegal the early morning commerce that takes place between 4 AM and 8 AM in Pyongyang, Pyongsong, Hamhung, Chongjin and other major cities. It also issued an order for an intensive crackdown.
In issuing the crackdown order, North Korean authorities said that citizens “must keep the revolutionary system and order even in commerce,” and that the new instructions aimed to “do away with phenomena that spoil the socialist image.”
The authorities pointed out that the throngs of early morning merchants ruin the urban aesthetics, and that early morning merchants do not pay the market taxes that must go to the state.
“Most people who cannot engage in commerce during the day since they are burdened with mobilizations to farms or construction sites use the early morning hours,” said the reporting partner, speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons. “Many people receive spring vegetables, greenhouse fruits, rice, corn and other produce on wholesale, but in Pyongyang, the authorities said they will actively crack down on the disordered procession of merchants in the dark hours.”
In fact, Pyongyang’s city government is reportedly mobilizing crackdown teams composed of members of the General Federation of Trade Unions of Korea and enforcement squads composed of members of the Socialist Women’s Union of Korea, sending them to designated spots downtown where early morning merchants most appear.
Given these circumstances, locals sarcastically note that “there are more enforcement teams standing around everywhere downtown than there are merchants.”
Pyongyang enacted punishments aimed at confiscating the wares of merchants caught in the crackdowns and imposing fines and the writing up of self-criticism letters. Merchants who refuse and resist the crackdowns are immediately reported to the police.
Pyongyang continues to wage its sweeping crackdown in accordance with the order to “eliminate all early morning merchants by the end of the month,” but locals say that enforcement personnel are not waging a proper crackdown, the reporting partner said.
“Pyongyang’s crackdown teams don’t impose the state-set fines on merchants caught in the middle of downtown, but let them go after taking KPW 30,000 or enough money for two packs of cigarettes,” the reporting partner said. “So people are complaining that they don’t know if the crackdown was meant to achieve a policy or is just serving as a personal money-making operation.”
Translated by David Black. Edited by Robert Lauler.
Daily NK works with a network of reporting partners who live inside North Korea and China. Their identities remain anonymous due to security concerns. More information about Daily NK’s reporting partner network and information gathering activities can be found on our FAQ page here.
Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
Read in Korean
dailynk.com
8. N. Korea cracks down on mobilization shirkers to increase labor at farms
We worry about the prison camps where some of the worst abuses take place. But in reality the entire nation is a prison camp which is why I like to call north Korea the Guerrilla Dynasty and Gulag State.
N. Korea cracks down on mobilization shirkers to increase labor at farms
Fever cases are spiking in the country, leading to intensifying quarantine measures for personnel mobilized to rural farming areas
dailynk.com
In this photo published in May 2022, North Korean farm workers are seen watering a field. (Rodong Sinmun - News1)
North Korea has issued general rural mobilization orders with the full-scale start of the planting season, but farms face manpower shortages as people shirk the mobilizations. The authorities are responding to this situation by setting up checkpoints throughout rural communities and sending passersby caught in random inspections to the farms to work.
Speaking on condition of anonymity due to security concerns, a reporting partner in South Pyongan Province told Daily NK on Tuesday that new inspection checkpoints were set up at street corners leading into farms and major roads near farms earlier this month. Local security agents manage the inspection checkpoints set up to inspect passing vehicles and personnel.
The inspectors at the checkpoint stop passing individuals and check their place of residence and workplace. Afterwards, they accuse the individuals of engaging in private travel during work hours, and send them to farms to perform labor assignments as punishment. The reporting partner said the travelers are let go only after they get a certificate proving that they have completed planting work in the fields.
The Ministry of State Security sets up temporary inspection checkpoints near farms every planting season, removing them once the general rural mobilization period ends. However, with the growing number of people shirking mobilizations this year, more people than usual are getting caught at the checkpoints and sent to the farms to do forced labor.
The reporting partner said the number of people shirking rural mobilizations due to food shortages is skyrocketing this year.
Neither neighborhood watch units nor farms provide food even if one heads to the fields, meaning that mobilized workers must provide their own meals. So, people are avoiding the mobilizations, complaining that they “cannot work because they haven’t even a day’s worth of food.”
In fact, many North Koreans believe that shirking rural mobilizations is better, even if that means accepting punishments or disadvantages.
“There are always many people who try to avoid rural mobilizations, but this year, the mobilizations are failing even worse to allocate the labor needed on the farms,” said the reporting partner. “Not only labor, but everything is in short supply, including fertilizer and machinery.”
Spike in fever cases leads to intensifying quarantine measures
Meanwhile, with fever cases spiking in North Korea, the authorities have bolstered quarantine measures on personnel mobilized to rural communities, sparking serious discontent.
“They are calling on farmers and mobilized workers to strictly adhere to quarantine regulations, claiming the spring flu is going around,” the reporting partner said. “They are ordering not only temperature checks, but double and triple masking, and regularly watching so that nobody works with their mask down.”
People mobilized to work on the farms are complaining of heat rash and other skin diseases as they work with double and triple masks under the scorching sun, he added.
Translated by David Black. Edited by Robert Lauler.
Daily NK works with a network of reporting partners who live inside North Korea and China. Their identities remain anonymous due to security concerns. More information about Daily NK’s reporting partner network and information gathering activities can be found on our FAQ page here.
Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
Read in Korean
dailynk.com
9. Global Slavery Index 2023: N. Korea has the globe’s highest prevalence of modern slavery
Speaking of the Gulag State - it is a slave state and the facts confirm it.
Global Slavery Index 2023: N. Korea has the globe’s highest prevalence of modern slavery
Many North Koreans have to pay employers to be hired – effectively selling their labor on the black market in order to avoid imprisonment in labor camps or to survive, the report says
dailynk.com
FILE PHOTO: North Korean women at the customs office in Dandong in mid-February 2019. (Daily NK)
North Korea has the highest prevalence of modern slavery in the world, according to the Global Slavery Index 2023 (GSI), compiled by the Australian human rights organization Walk Free and published on May 24. Eritrea ranks second to last; Mauritania, where hereditary slavery was not officially abolished until 1981, is third to last.
Modern slavery, as defined in the report, comprises two principal components – forced labor including debt bondage, human trafficking, slavery-like practices and the sale and exploitation of children, as well as forced marriage and forced commercial sexual exploitation, all of which entail a “systematic elimination of a person’s freedom.”
According to the GSI, all of these problems are most prevalent in reclusive and authoritarian North Korea: One in ten – or 2,696,000 of 26 million – North Koreans are considered “modern slaves.” This is the highest figure among all 160 countries surveyed and evidence of the precarious living situation that prevails in dictator Kim Jong Un’s socialist and totalitarian system.
GSI: North Korea enslaves its citizens
The reason for the high figures in North Korea, according to the index, is the state itself. Not only does the regime lack the political will to address the problem, but it is actually responsible for the vast majority of modern slaves in the country, forcing citizens to work and punishing those who disobey with systematic abuse like torture, deprivation of food, further taxation and imprisonment. State control over resources additionally leads to widespread hunger and malnutrition, which increases vulnerability to other forms of modern slavery, such as trafficking in forced marriages, the GSI said.
Under Kim’s authoritarian rule, all labor is centrally organized. The nature of employment is guided by the archaic social class structure of North Korean society, which, in turn, facilitates modern slavery. Not everyone is paid for their work, and if they are, they are only paid in rations. According to the GSI, many North Koreans also have to pay employers to be hired – effectively selling their labor on the black market in order to avoid imprisonment in labor camps or to survive.
Moreover, the GSI noted that forced labor in the DPRK is used as a punishment against individuals convicted of nonviolent political offenses, violations of labor discipline as well as “crimes” such as consuming outside information, and even for exercising basic human rights. Prisoners in both short-term and long-term prison camps are then often forced to perform hard physical labor under harsh conditions in construction, agriculture, logging, mining or manufacturing. Some also have to work in administrative detention or for private interests. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights even stated in 2021 that the level of control, physical and psychological abuse, cruelty and hard labor within the prison system amounts to a “crime against humanity.”
North Koreans are also regularly sent abroad to work in places such as Russia, China and Siberia. According to the GSI, there are also cases in which North Korean women are being sold as brides to China and facing harsh penalties if they escape the forced marriage and return to North Korea. In addition, girls and women alike are reportedly forced into sexual slavery domestically by North Korean officials of various ranks.
Modern slavery is a mirror of power
The report said an estimated 50 million people worldwide were living in “modern slavery situations” in 2021 – an increase of 10 million from 2016, when the situation was last evaluated. Some 28 million of those affected are “enslaved” as forced laborers; the other 22 million are living in a forced marriage. Among the most prominent reasons for the situation, the report cites increasing and complex armed conflicts, widespread environmental degradation and the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
In addition to the bottom three – North Korea, Eritrea and Mauritania – Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Tajikistan, the United Arab Emirates, Russia, Afghanistan and Kuwait are considered to have the highest prevalence of modern slavery in the world. Those countries all share common characteristics, such as “limited protection of civil liberties and human rights” and are oftentimes volatile “regions where there is conflict or political instability, or host large numbers of vulnerable people.”
According to Grace Forrest, the founding director of Walk Free, modern slavery “permeates every aspect” of society. “It is a mirror of power that shows who has power in a society and who does not,” she said. “It is a man-made problem, connected to both historical slavery and persisting structural inequality. In a time of compounding crises, genuine political will is the key to ending these human rights abuses.”
Edited by Robert Lauler.
dailynk.com
10. U.S. Congress pressures S. Korea to join chip alliance
U.S. Congress pressures S. Korea to join chip alliance
donga.com
Posted May. 25, 2023 08:01,
Updated May. 25, 2023 08:01
U.S. Congress pressures S. Korea to join chip alliance. May. 25, 2023 08:01. weappon@donga.com,yesbro@donga.com.
As there is a likelihood that China’s ban on Micron Technology, a memory chip giant, may offer a potential opportunity for South Korean chipmakers such as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, the U.S. Congress voiced concern that the supply from South Korea should not be filling the gap left by the absence of Micron in the Chinese market. Should such happen, the U.S. Congress argues, the waiver previously extended to South Korea about the restrictions under the CHIPS Act must be withdrawn. The escalating competition between the U.S. and China over semiconductors is forcing South Korea to choose between siding with a U.S.-led chip alliance against China and responding to China’s possible economic retaliation against Korea.
Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are currently operating memory chip factories in China. Upon imposing a ban on China in October 2022, the U.S. Department of Commerce extended a one-year waiver for South Korean chipmakers from restrictions on exports of semiconductor equipment to China. House Select Committee on China Chairman Rep. Mike Gallagher’s remark can be understood as implying that the U.S. will withdraw a waiver it extended for South Korean chipmakers if they attempt to exploit China’s ban on Micron as a kind of disadvantage.
This is the first time that the U.S. officially asked South Korea not to fill the market gap in China arising from its ban on Micron. The U.S. Congress is advocating for South Korea’s participation in its chip alliance against China. “We are engaging with the broader business community as well as with our allies and partners to address the Chinese government’s restrictions against Micron,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said. “We will make clear to the Chinese government that this behavior is unacceptable and unproductive.”
한국어
donga.com
11. South Korea, U.S. conduct large-scale artillery exercise
Remember that north Korea is an artillery army and its artillery is the key to successful tactical operations.
And for the alliance counterfire against the nKPA's artillery is key to the defense.
Thursday
May 25, 2023
dictionary + A - A
South Korea, U.S. conduct large-scale artillery exercise
https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2023/05/25/national/defense/Korea-United-States-joint-exercise/20230525185001122.html
Multiple rocket launch systems from the South Korean and U.S. militaries conduct a joint live-fire exercise in Pocheon, Gyeonggi, on Thursday afternoon. [DEFENSE MINISTRY]
South Korean and U.S. armed forces conducted their largest joint live-fire artillery exercise in six years in Pocheon, Gyeonggi, on Thursday in what the Defense Ministry characterized as an exercise in deterrence against North Korean aggression.
The Combined Joint Live-Fire Exercise, which marks the 70th anniversary of the South Korea-U.S. alliance, took place before reporters from 2 p.m. and 4 p.m., with the drill scheduled to take place four more times on June 2, 7, 12 and 15.
The last iteration of the exercise took place in 2017 and involved over 2,000 South Korean and U.S. troops.
The exercise showcased the allies’ artillery firepower and other weapons systems, such as F-35A stealth fighters, AH-64 Apache attack helicopters, K-2 battle tanks and multiple rocket launcher systems.
The exercise comes at a time of high tensions on the Korean Peninsula, with satellite images showing the North racing ahead with construction on a new satellite launch facility at the Sohae Satellite Launching Ground in Tongchang-ri, North Pyongan Province, close to the border with China.
Meanwhile, the South Korean state arms procurement agency said Thursday that its Defense Project Promotion Committee had approved a mass production plan for additional K-2 main battle tanks to bolster the country’s defensive readiness.
The announcement by the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) marks the fourth time that K-2 tanks will enter mass production. The tanks have been in service with the South Korean Army since 2014.
The project is expected to cost 1.94 trillion won ($1.46 billion), with tank deliveries scheduled for completion within five years.
“The acquisition of additional K-2 tanks through this project is expected to greatly contribute to enhancing the Army corps’ capabilities to carry out offensive maneuvers,” DAPA said.
DAPA also seeks to incorporate a new homegrown transmission for the tank, which would need to pass tests by the Defense Agency for Technology and Quality, according to a DAPA official.
The agency said Thursday the defense project committee had also approved a 3.09 trillion-won plan to purchase additional early warning and control aircraft to strengthen the military’s aerial surveillance capabilities by 2031.
The agency did not disclose how many of such aircraft it aims to acquire, but the Air Force is known to currently operate four early warning and control aircraft.
DAPA said it expects the additional aircraft to bolster the military’s surveillance capabilities vis-à-vis North Korea’s missile launches.
BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]
12. Defense Ministry claims 'inaccuracies' in report on military aid to Ukraine
Thursday
May 25, 2023
dictionary + A - A
Defense Ministry claims 'inaccuracies' in report on military aid to Ukraine
https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2023/05/25/national/defense/Korea-Ukraine-ammunition/20230525173410182.html
Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, right, shakes hands with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ahead of their bilateral summit at the Group of 7 Summit in Hiroshima, Japan, Sunday. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]
The Ministry of National Defense said Thursday that there are some "inaccuracies" in a report that Korea is proceeding with the transfer of hundreds of thousands of artillery rounds eventually destined for Ukraine under a confidential arrangement.
The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that Korea planned to transfer shells to the United States, which in turn has arranged for them to be sent to Ukraine under this arrangement. This is a move that U.S. officials said would enable Ukraine's planned offensive against Russian forces to be more effective and allow the White House to delay a decision about whether to supply "dual-purpose" cluster munitions banned by many countries.
According to the report, the Pentagon declined to remark on the method or timeline but acknowledged that it has been in discussion with Seoul on buying its ammunition.
It reported that the decision "marks a turnabout by Seoul," which had pledged the artillery support last November. This comes as the United States is running out of artillery shell supplies having provided more than two million 155-millimeter artillery rounds to Ukraine since the Russian invasion began in February 2022.
Korea has maintained it will not provide lethal aid to countries at war, a position which it still adheres to, according to defense officials.
"The Korean government's position on aid to Ukraine remains unchanged," said Jeon Ha-kyu, spokesman of the Defense Ministry, in a briefing Thursday, noting there are some "inaccuracies in the report" by the Wall Street Journal.
"The international community is providing support to keep peace and stability in Ukraine against Russia's illegal aggression, and Korea, as a member of the international community, has continued to provide financial and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine," Jeon said.
"There has been discussion between the U.S. Department of Defense and a Korean company about the export of some ammunition," Jeon added, noting there "are restrictions" on what he could confirm when asked by a reporter which parts of the report were inaccurate.
He noted that "there have been many discussions and requests, so the Korean government will take appropriate measures after comprehensively reviewing the situation in Ukraine, including the humanitarian situation."
Separately, he said that the Defense Ministry is "actively reviewing" plans to deliver demining equipment and ambulances to Ukraine, as requested by the Ukrainian president and first lady.
Regarding the report on the supply of ammunition to Ukraine, a presidential official likewise told reporters in a briefing Thursday that "there has been no change in our position."
President Yoon Suk Yeol held his first bilateral summit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the Group of 7 (G7) summit in Hiroshima on Sunday and promised additional aid, including demining equipment and ambulances, which was also requested by first lady Olena Zelenska during her visit to Seoul earlier this month.
They also agreed to cooperate on Korea's participation in postwar reconstruction efforts in Ukraine.
National Security Adviser Cho Tae-yong speaks on the Ukrainian aid issue at a parliamentary meeting at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, Wednesday. [NEWS1]
On Wednesday, National Security Adviser Cho Tae-yong told the National Assembly that the issue of whether to send ammunition aid to Ukraine will be considered "after monitoring the situation on the ground and in light of other situations."
"So far, we've been providing humanitarian and financial assistance to Ukraine," Cho said. "However, Ukraine was illegally invaded. We plan to consider it after reviewing the situation on the ground and other circumstances later."
His remarks left open the possibility of Korea providing ammunition to Ukraine in the future.
However, Cho indicated there are no plans to send ammunition to Ukraine as of now, either directly or through Poland, as has been reported by some media outlets.
He responded to reports that Korea planned to loan some 500,000 155-millimeter shells to the United States to be used in Ukrainian.
In April, leaked classified Pentagon documents indicated that U.S. intelligence authorities may have been spying on its allies, including on Korean presidential officials' deliberations on supplying ammunition to Ukraine in its war with Russia.
These presidential senior aides, according to the purported leaked confidential documents, had allegedly been worried that the United States would pressure Korea to change its existing policy against providing lethal aid to countries at war. They were also mulling sending ammunition to Poland for possible transfer to Ukraine.
In an interview with Reuters last month, Yoon said Korea could provide aid beyond humanitarian or financial support if Ukraine comes under a large-scale attack on its civilians or another serious violation of the laws of war.
Yoon and U.S. President Joe Biden in a bilateral summit issued a joint statement that condemned Russia's war of aggression and pledged to "support Ukraine through the vital provision of political, security, humanitarian and economic assistance, including to increase power generation and transmission and rebuild critical infrastructure."
"Korea, in solidarity with countries that share the universal values of freedom, human rights and the rule of law, will provide maximum support for peacebuilding and economic reconstruction in Ukraine," Yoon said at his first Cabinet meeting after the G7 Summit on Tuesday.
Yoon in closed-door talks at the meeting spent a considerable time discussing the Ukrainian issue with his aides, including future reconstruction efforts, according to presidential officials.
BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]
13. Korea launches space rocket Nuri following delay
Good work.
Korea launches space rocket Nuri following delay
The Korea Times · by 2023-05-25 18:55 | Photo News · May 25, 2023
Korea's homegrown space rocket Nuri lifts off from Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla Province, southwestern Korea, May 25. Courtesy of Korea Aerospace Research Institute
Korea on Thursday launched its homegrown space rocket Nuri to put eight practical satellites into orbit, a critical mission for the country's space program.
The 200-ton Nuri, also known as KSLV-II, blasted off from Naro Space Center in the country's southern coastal village of Goheung at 6:24 p.m., according to the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI).
The rocket is expected to deploy satellites into orbit 550 kilometers above Earth 783 seconds, or about 13 minutes, after liftoff and finish its flight sequence in about 20 minutes if the launch goes as planned.
Korea had planned to launch the three-stage rocket Wednesday, but a computer glitch in the helium tank forced the country to postpone the liftoff for one day.
In a meeting of Nuri's launch management committee earlier in the day, the science ministry and KARI decided to go ahead with the launch after solving the problem overnight.
They said no other technical problems have been detected, and the weather is favorable and all payload satellites are in good condition.
A successful launch would confirm Korea's capability to operate a space vehicle to carry payload satellites into target orbit.
Nuri is loaded with eight practical satellites, including Korea's second next-generation small satellite, the NEXTSAT-2, and four microsatellites developed by the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute.
In 2022, Nuri sent a dummy satellite into its target orbit as planned, making Korea the seventh country in the world to have developed a space launch vehicle that can carry a more than 1-ton satellite, after Russia, the United States, France, China, Japan and India.
Korea has secured the key independent technology for developing and launching space rockets carrying homegrown satellites, opening up a new era in the country's space program.
The 2 trillion-won ($1.52 billion) Nuri project that began in 2010 will continue until 2027, with three additional rocket launches. (Yonhap)
The Korea Times · by 2023-05-25 18:55 | Photo News · May 25, 2023
14. Kim Jong-un might not have son
Do you mean Denis Rodman's intelligence is not A1?
But this report also cannot be rated as very reliable either.
Kim Jong-un might not have son
Friend from Swiss school says North Korean leader mentioned no sons
koreaherald.com · by Kim Arin · May 25, 2023
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s eldest child might not be a son after all.
In patriarchal North Korea, the eldest son -- whose existence remains a mystery -- would naturally be the heir to the North Korean leadership. Kim’s only publicly seen child to date is Ju-ae, a girl who is believed to be around 10 to 12 years of age.
Joao Micaelo, Kim’s friend from his school days in Switzerland, told Radio Free Asia on Wednesday that he has not heard the North Korean leader speak about his children other than the already-known daughter.
In his phone call with RFA, Micaelo said he was told by Kim that he has a daughter. Kim mentioned no sons, he said. Micaelo, who went to school with Kim in Switzerland in 1998, claims he had intimate conversations with him about his wife and children during his two trips to North Korea in 2012 and 2013.
The recording of the phone call released by RFA was dubbed over in Korean.
Authorities in South Korea have given mixed assessments as to whether the North Korean leader’s firstborn is a son, or if he even has any sons.
A Ministry of Unification official told reporters at a conference on Monday that Kim may not have a son as his eldest child as previously speculated.
In March, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service briefed the Assembly that it was looking into the intelligence that the eldest child is a son, and that it was not confirmed.
At the time the NIS reported that it believes that Ju-ae is the middle child of three. Little was known about her two siblings, including their sex. Despite her high-profile appearances, she was not viewed as the successor.
By Kim Arin (arin@heraldcorp.com)
koreaherald.com · by Kim Arin · May 25, 2023
De Oppresso Liber,
David Maxwell
Vice President, Center for Asia Pacific Strategy
Senior Fellow, Foundation for Defense of Democracies
Senior Fellow, Global Peace Foundation
Editor, Small Wars Journal
Twitter: @davidmaxwell161
Phone: 202-573-8647
email: david.maxwell161@gmail.com
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