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Quotes of the Day:
"You have to look deeper, way below the anger, the hurt, the hate, the jealousy, the self-pity, way down deeper where the dreams lie… Find your dream. It's the pursuit of the dream that heals you."
- Billy Mills, member of the Oglala Lakota and U.S. Olympic gold medalist in track and field
“You can’t live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you.”
- John Wooden
“The framers of the constitution knew human nature as well as we do. They too had lived in dangerous days; they too knew the suffocating influence of orthodoxy and standardized thought. They weighed the compulsions for restrained speech and thought against the abuses of liberty. They chose liberty."[Beauharnais v.Illinois, 342 U.S. 250, 287 (1952) (dissenting)]”
- William O. Douglas
1. KUSAF and KDVA Joint Message for “U.S.-ROK Alliance Memorial Week 2023”
2. USFK commander dismisses concerns over US commitment to defend S. Korea
3. Opinion | Why North Korea’s Princess Will Never Wear the Crown
4. Japan issues destruction order after North Korea announces 'satellite' launch window
5. N. Korea notifies IMO of 1st military spy satellite launch plan
6. N. Korean satellite launch would violate U.N. sanctions: State Dept.
7. S. Korea, France sign arrangement on military space partnership
8. Members of anti-proliferation initiative agree to step up cooperation against changing security environment
9. N. Korea announces ‘ICBM show’ disguised as a satellite
10. ＜Investigation Inside N. Korea＞Famine in the provinces : “Many people have died from the start of May due to starvation and disease…”
11. The annual “barley hump” set to hit some parts of North Korea particularly hard
12. Pyongyang may have delayed spy satellite launch due to technical issues
13. N. Korean official sentenced to life for human trafficking across border
14. Yoon urges closer cooperation to block North's illegal funding
1. KUSAF and KDVA Joint Message for “U.S.-ROK Alliance Memorial Week 2023”
KUSAF and KDVA Joint Message for “U.S.-ROK Alliance Memorial Week 2023”
https://kdva.vet/2023/05/27/kusaf-and-kdva-joint-message-for-u-s-rok-alliance-memorial-week-2023/
MAY 27, 2023 ANNOUNCEMENT
2023년 5월 29일
May 29, 2023
KUSAF and KDVA Joint Message for “U.S.-ROK Alliance Memorial Week 2023”
한미동맹재단과 주한미군전우회의 “2023 한미동맹 추모 주간” 공동메시지
Each time a service member dies in service to his or her country, it tears a hole in a family forever. A son or daughter, sister or brother, husband or wife, is lost to their loved ones.
군인이 국가를 위해 복무하다 우리의 곁을 떠나게 되면, 사랑하는 자녀, 형제자매, 배우자를 잃게 되어 한 가정에 영원한 상처를 남깁니다.
Some solace, though quite small, comes when that service member is remembered on occasions such as Memorial Day. Names are spoken, graves visited, memories shared. The loss is experienced all over again by those who knew the fallen, and the impact of that deceased family member or friend on the living is absorbed by younger generations who will, hopefully, continue to honor their sacrifice. At the same time, their deeds and sacrifices are honored not only by those who knew them, but by all freedom-loving people wise enough to understand that if the honored dead had not stood ready to perish, we might be living very different lives now.
현충일에 고인의 이름을 호명하고 현충원을 방문하며 추억을 공유하는 등 군 장병들을 기억하는 노력은 작은 것 같지만 큰 위로가 됩니다. 고인을 아는 사람들은 다시 한번 그들을 마음속에 되새길 것입니다. 또한 가족과 친구들은 고인의 희생을 젊은 세대가 계속해서 존중하고 이어가길 희망할 것입니다. 고인들의 업적과 희생은 지인들 뿐만 아니라 자유를 사랑하는 모든 사람들로부터 존경받을 것입니다. 고인들의 희생이 없었다면 우리는 지금과는 전혀 다른 삶을 살고 있을지도 모릅니다.
For members of the Korea-US Alliance Foundation and Korea Defense Veterans Association, we know too well of the brave sacrifice of Korean and American military members, who came together in a common cause to defend Korea. In the seven decades since the start of the Korean War in 1950, over 130,000 ROK and 36,000 U.S. service members have been killed in action in Korea.
한미동맹재단과 주한미군전우회는 대한민국 방어라는 공동의 목표를 함께 한 한국과 미국 군인들의 용감한희생을너무나잘알고있습니다.1950년한국전쟁발발이후70년동안한국군13만여명과 미군 3 만 6 천여 명이 한국에서 전사했습니다.
As the U.S.-ROK Alliance moves beyond 70 years into the future, it is even more meaningful that today marks the start of “U.S.-ROK Alliance Memorial Week” which is bookended by the U.S. Memorial Day on May 29, 2023, and the ROK Memorial Day on June 6, 2023. KDVA and KUSAF have marked this week to ask Americans and Koreans to visit Veterans’ graves in a local cemetery, attend a Memorial Day ceremony, or read an article or a chapter of a book that describes an individual tale of sacrifice while serving in Korea.
한미동맹이 70년을 넘어 미래로 나아가는 시점에서, 2023년 5월 29일 미국 현충일과 6월 6일 대한민국 현충일로 이어지는 ‘한미동맹 추모 주간’의 시작을 알리는 것은 특별한 의미가 있습니다. 주한미군전우회와 한미동맹재단은 추모 주간을 맞아 한국과 미국 국민들이 지역의 현충원을 방문하여 참전용사를 추모하거나 현충일 기념식에 참석하고, 한국에서 복무하는 동안 희생한 장병들의 이야기나 기사를 읽어 볼 것을 당부합니다.
On ROK Memorial Day at 10:00 a.m., Koreans pause to reflect on the heroes who saved their nation. As we have done in past years, KDVA asks its members and supporters to also pause at 3:00 p.m. EDT on U.S. Memorial Day to have a moment of appreciation for U.S. Korean War Veterans and Korea Defense Veterans who died while serving in Korea. (The time of 3:00 p.m. EDT will allow this observance to occur during daytime hours across six time zones.) Your act of remembrance will keep alive the spirit of those who died fighting for freedom.
대한민국은 현충일 오전 10 시에 잠시 멈춰 서서 조국을 구한 영웅들을 추모합니다. 지난 몇 년 동안 그랬던 것처럼, 주한미군전우회는 회원들과 후원자들에게도 미국 현충일 오후 3 시에 잠시 멈춰 서서 한국에서 복무 중 사망한 미국의 한국전 참전용사와 주한미군 복무장병들에게 감사하는 시간을 갖도록 당부합니다. (미국 동부 하절기 시간 오후 3시를 기준으로 6개 시간대에 걸쳐 낮 시간대에 추모 행사를 진행할 수 있습니다.) 여러분의 추모는 자유를 위해 싸우다 돌아가신 분들의 정신을 계속해서 살아있게 만들 것입니다.
함께해요 한미동맹! “Together for the ROK-U.S. Alliance”
커티스 스카파로티예비역 육군 대장
주한미군전우회 회장
Curtis M. Scaparrotti
General, U.S. Army (Retired) President
KDVA
임호영
대한민국 육군대장 (예비역)
한미동맹재단 회장
Leem, Ho Young
General, ROK Army (Retired) President
KUSAF
Statement: KUSAF and KDVA Joint Message for Alliance Memorial Week 2023
2. USFK commander dismisses concerns over US commitment to defend S. Korea
I wish he did not have to state this but he must do so because there will always be those who will question our commitment (to include Kim Jong Un and China and Russia).
And I am glad he made the comment about trading LA or DC for Seoul. We should keep in mind that those who make the argument that we should not trade LA or DC for Seoul are actually providing support to Kim Jong Un's political warfare strategy to divide the ROK/US alliance.
(And I wish the Korean press would refer to him as the Commander of the ROK/US Combined Forces Command which is the command that belongs to both countries and is responsible for deterrence and the defense of the ROK).
Excerpt:
"The last thing I would like to say is don't question the United States' commitment, its ironclad," he said during a forum hosted by the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses in central Seoul. "The argument of whether it will trade Seoul for Los Angeles or Washington, D.C., is not even worth addressing."
USFK commander dismisses concerns over US commitment to defend S. Korea
The Korea Times · May 30, 2023
U.S. Forces Korea Commander Gen. Paul LaCamera speaks at a forum hosted by the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses at a hotel in central Seoul, May 30. Yonhap
The top U.S. military commander in South Korea on Tuesday reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to defend its ally, dismissing concerns that the U.S. could trade its security commitment for the defense of its own cities as "not even worth addressing."
U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) Commander Gen. Paul LaCamera made the remarks amid lingering questions over whether Washington would fully act on its commitment to defend South Korea in a contingency as Pyongyang continues to ramp up weapons tests, such as its launch of a purported solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile last month.
"The last thing I would like to say is don't question the United States' commitment, its ironclad," he said during a forum hosted by the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses in central Seoul. "The argument of whether it will trade Seoul for Los Angeles or Washington, D.C., is not even worth addressing."
"The amount of Americans that live here today, the amount of service members that have given their lives in the defense of this nation, have served on this ground, the amount that appear now with our families and other Americans," he said. "Please do not question the United States' commitment."
The remarks come as Washington and Seoul have made efforts to bolster the credibility of the U.S. "extended deterrence" commitment to defend South Korea with all its military capabilities, including nuclear ones.
The two countries' leaders issued the Washington Declaration during their summit last month, in which they agreed to create the Nuclear Consultative Group to discuss nuclear and strategic planning issues.
"We will maintain our commitment to the alliance, which has endured since the Korean War, and never take it for granted," LaCamera said, adding the U.S. will further enhance the visibility of strategic assets on the Korean Peninsula as stated in the Washington Declaration.
He also highlighted the importance of coalitions and cooperation with other countries beyond the alliance, citing recent efforts for security cooperation between the leaders of South Korea, the U.S. and Japan.
"Transforming our alliance from a bilaterally-focused system to one that thinks, operates, trains in joint multinational, interagency and multidomain environments will not only deter the DPRK but other adversaries and competitors as well," he said.
DPRK stands for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. (Yonhap)
The Korea Times · May 30, 2023
3. Opinion | Why North Korea’s Princess Will Never Wear the Crown
Interesting analysis.
Excerpts:
While Kim Jong-un keeps several women in his inner circle, they nonetheless serve his purposes. “Kim Jong-un has been an expert in utilizing his female entourage by giving them different roles,” says Yun Byung-se, a former foreign minister of South Korea. For example, his sister, Kim Yo-jong, plays the bad cop in diplomatic rows with the United States, while the first lady, Ri Sol-ju, acts as the “mother of the state.”
With Ju-ae, Mr. Kim wants North Koreans to know that future generations of the Paektu bloodline are ready to defend the dynasty, says Mr. Yun. And he wants to be seen as a “loving father to all his citizens,” says Choi Byung-seop, who spent three decades monitoring North Korean television for South Korea’s Unification Ministry. Mr. Kim has floated Ju-ae as a trial balloon to “test the reactions within and outside his regime,” Kim Young-soo says. Gauging elite society’s loyalty is a way to measure his power consolidation; showing off a daughter could mean he feels reasonably secure, Mr. Choi explains.
The photographs of Ju-ae reinforce what we already know about North Korea and also tell us more. She is just the latest in a line of elite females to be idolized and propagandized. In February the regime printed Ju-ae’s picture on five new postage stamps. We can only guess at the sincerity of Kim Jong-un putting all eyes on his daughter.
Opinion | Why North Korea’s Princess Will Never Wear the Crown
The New York Times · by Chun Su-jin · May 30, 2023
Guest Essay
Why North Korea’s Princess Will Never Wear the Crown
May 30, 2023, 1:00 a.m. ET
Credit...The New York Times; photographs KCNA, via Reuters
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By
Ms. Chun has reported on North Korea for nearly two decades for JoongAng Ilbo, one of South Korea’s biggest newspapers.
SEOUL — For more than six months, Kim Jong-un, the leader of North Korea, has seemingly been giving the world an unprecedented glimpse into his private life. The first set of photos revealed a ponytailed girl in red shoes strolling hand in hand with Mr. Kim around a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile. Later, she’s gazing into his eyes at a celebration for weapons scientists and tenderly patting his shoulder at a military parade. On May 16, the pair wore matching lab coats while inspecting a supposed spy satellite.
State media has released the daddy-daughter images on over a dozen occasions since November, assuredly choreographed from curls to gloves. Analysts consider them confirmation of a descendant, though none of the photos can be independently verified. The country has been in nearly complete isolation since the pandemic began. But the regime’s propaganda machine has stayed busy cranking out sajin jeongchi, or photography politics, resulting in buzz, questions and press.
Now that the country’s routine missile tests aren’t generating the headlines he craves, Mr. Kim appears to be leveraging his daughter’s global star power. “Chairman Kim is always hungry for attention, but he has been losing the spotlight,” says Kim Young-soo, who leads the North Korea Research Institute, referring to the last time the leader commanded the world media, during 2018 and 2019 meetings with President Donald Trump. The new photos with his daughter distract from Kim Jong-un’s failure to provide adequate food and energy for his people — and, according to Soo Kim of the Lowy Institute, keeps the international community from focusing on a long-term solution to the state’s nuclear capabilities.
What do we know about this girl? According to South Korean intelligence, her name is Ju-ae, she is about 10 years old, she is probably the leader’s middle child, and as a baby she was once held by the U.S. basketball star Dennis Rodman. Mostly everything else is speculation. A favorite debate among North Korea watchers: Is she the heir apparent?
Kim Jong-un and his daughter Ju-ae congratulating soldiers, left, after what state media said was the test-firing of a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile, at an undisclosed location in North Korea, in an image released on Nov. 27. Father and daughter attending a banquet, right, in Pyongyang to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Korean People’s Army, in an image released on Feb. 8.Credit...Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via Associated Press; Korean Central News Agency, via Reuters
Some signs point to yes. The regime has long been obsessed with portraits as part of the cult of personality concocted around each leader of North Korea. The intimate photos of Ju-ae with Mr. Kim could be considered an official endorsement. A successor should also be the embodiment of her or his predecessor, masterly in the regime’s military-first ideology — which the photos certainly seem to illustrate.
Ju-ae’s hereditary claim is also bolstered by decades of “embellished stories about the honorable revolutionary blood flowing through the family veins,” as a 1988 RAND report about the legitimacy of her grandfather Kim Jong-il put it. In February, state television emphasized her direct link to the Paektu bloodline, referring to the myth that her grandfather was born on the Korean Peninsula’s highest mountain, with footage of a white horse belonging to the leader’s “beloved” child. State media previously circulated photos of Kim Jong-un riding a white horse around Mount Paektu. Finally, Radio Free Asia recently reported that North Koreans named Ju-ae have been summoned to change their names; the same demand was made of people sharing the names of previous leaders.
Others point out that Ju-ae has no chance of succession. In a country of hidden agendas, historical and current events foreshadow her purpose and fate. Ultimately, this line of thinking goes, the country’s and dynasty’s entrenched patriarchal traditions and gender inequality will prove immovable.
From the country’s founder, Kim Il-sung, to Kim Jong-il and now Kim Jong-un, power in North Korea has been deliberately handed from father to son. Each man over three generations has been declared the supreme leader and ruled by a uniquely North Korean formula centered on him, the suryong. The state ideology, called juche, mixes socialism and Confucianism, a hierarchical system that ranks men above women and limits women’s activities. In the North’s socialist theory of the great family, society is an organism consisting of “the suryong (the great leader) as the nucleus, surrounded by the party and the people, each having an inseparable relation within a community bound by a common destiny,” Kim Won-hong wrote in a 2014 report, “Women of North Korea: A Closer Look at Everyday Life.” The nucleus, of course, is the head of the family, the patriarch.
For hundreds of years, Korean custom has designated the eldest son as heir; Kim Jong-un, the youngest son, was appointed only after his father rejected his two brothers. The odds aren’t in Ju-ae’s favor when, according to South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, Kim Jong-un is believed to have at least one son, her older brother, and a third child whose gender is not publicly known. North Korea is experiencing “a wind of change in gender,” says Koo Hae-woo, a former high-ranking agent with the spy agency, but he still expects only “a man at the top.”
Gender barriers are evident across North Korea, perhaps more so now than when the country was founded after World War II. To build his empire, Kim Il-sung promoted equal rights to galvanize women’s contributions to the economy and society. A law gave women the right to vote and run for office, and the Democratic Women’s Union was started. But in the 1990s, the state collapsed under an economic crisis and deadly famine. Families survived only because married women took upon themselves the dual roles of breadwinner and homemaker.
“Widespread gender stereotypes” remain the root cause of discrimination against women, according to the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in North Korea. “Women are called ‘flowers.’ Women’s appearance — clothes, hairstyle and even makeup — are subjected to control by the state,” wrote Elizabeth Salmón in her February report. She said gender violence is normalized: “Many women in the country have faced sexual assault and rape, particularly by men in positions of authority with total impunity.” Some 72 percent of the people who have fled to South Korea are women, the report said. A dozen female defectors who had been architects and doctors told me that while they could only sell scrap metal or work at public bathhouses in Seoul, they were happier and treated more fairly.
Kim Jong-un and Ju-ae viewing a missile at Pyongyang International Airport, left, in an image released on Nov. 19. The pair, right, attending what state media reported was a missile launch exercise, in an image released on March 20.Credit...Korean Central News Agency, via Reuters
Long before Ju-ae, the Kim regime was spinning elite women into political symbols. In the 1970s, Kim Jong-il’s grandmother Kang Ban-sok and his mother, Kim Jong-suk, were featured as role models in the magazine Joseon Women. Ms. Kang was promoted as the “mother of all Koreans” through popular songs, paintings and revolutionary poetry. She consistently appeared wearing native Korean dress and a traditional hairstyle. The regime depicted Ms. Kim as “the mother of the revolution.” Women were educated to reproduce her virtuous womanhood and wifely devotion.
While Kim Jong-un keeps several women in his inner circle, they nonetheless serve his purposes. “Kim Jong-un has been an expert in utilizing his female entourage by giving them different roles,” says Yun Byung-se, a former foreign minister of South Korea. For example, his sister, Kim Yo-jong, plays the bad cop in diplomatic rows with the United States, while the first lady, Ri Sol-ju, acts as the “mother of the state.”
With Ju-ae, Mr. Kim wants North Koreans to know that future generations of the Paektu bloodline are ready to defend the dynasty, says Mr. Yun. And he wants to be seen as a “loving father to all his citizens,” says Choi Byung-seop, who spent three decades monitoring North Korean television for South Korea’s Unification Ministry. Mr. Kim has floated Ju-ae as a trial balloon to “test the reactions within and outside his regime,” Kim Young-soo says. Gauging elite society’s loyalty is a way to measure his power consolidation; showing off a daughter could mean he feels reasonably secure, Mr. Choi explains.
The photographs of Ju-ae reinforce what we already know about North Korea and also tell us more. She is just the latest in a line of elite females to be idolized and propagandized. In February the regime printed Ju-ae’s picture on five new postage stamps. We can only guess at the sincerity of Kim Jong-un putting all eyes on his daughter.
Chun Su-jin is a South Korean journalist with North Korean heritage. She has reported on the North for nearly two decades for JoongAng Ilbo, one of South Korea’s biggest newspapers. She is the author of “North Korean Women in Power: Daughters of the Sun.”
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The New York Times · by Chun Su-jin · May 30, 2023
4. Japan issues destruction order after North Korea announces 'satellite' launch window
Japan issues destruction order after North Korea announces 'satellite' launch window
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2023/05/29/national/north-korea-satellite-launch-window/?utm
Japan on Monday issued an order to prepare to destroy a North Korean ballistic missile or rocket that threatens Japanese territory, the Defense Ministry said, after Pyongyang notified Tokyo of plans to launch a satellite between Wednesday and June 11.
The plan to put a satellite into orbit — the North’s first space rocket launch in more than seven years — was met with immediate condemnation.
“Any missile launch by North Korea, even if it is called a 'satellite,' is a serious violation of the relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions and a serious problem for the safety of people,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters.
Kishida said Japan had “strongly urged” North Korea to exercise restraint and refrain from carrying out the launch, adding that Tokyo was cooperating with the U.S., South Korea and other countries on the issue.
Pyongyang is prohibited from conducting ballistic missile launches under United Nations Security Council resolutions, but says these measures do not cover its nominally civilian space program. Japan, South Korea and the U.S., however, view the launch of satellites as a thinly veiled means of advancing its missile program, since similar technology is employed.
The government's top spokesman, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno, said during a news conference that the Japan Coast Guard had been notified of the launch plans via email from North Korean authorities.
He said the rocket could fly over the islands of Okinawa Prefecture or other parts of Japan, a move he characterized as a "serious provocation."
A notice posted to the Japan Coast Guard website also issued a warning over the same time period covering a broad swath of ocean, including three areas where objects could be expected to fall — two in the Yellow Sea to the west of the Korean Peninsula and one spot east of the Philippines’ Luzon Island.
All three areas are located outside Japanese territorial waters and its exclusive economic zone, which extends 200 nautical miles (370 km) from its coast.
After a long-range missile launched by the North in April prompted a brief evacuation warning for Japan’s northernmost island of Hokkaido, the Defense Ministry announced it had ordered the Self-Defense Forces to be ready to shoot down any object that could threaten Japanese territory.
A Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) ground-based missile-defense battery is deployed at the Air Self-Defense Force base on Miyako Island, Okinawa Prefecture, on May 5. | KYODO
The preparations have included sending Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) ground-based missile-defense batteries to Okinawa's Miyako, Ishigaki and Yonaguni islands, as well as deploying Maritime Self-Defense Force Aegis destroyers — which are equipped with SM-3 interceptors — to waters around Japan.
The MSDF’s SM-3-equipped Aegis destroyers are designed to shoot down ballistic missiles outside the atmosphere, while the PAC-3 systems — which have a range of 30 kilometers — are used to intercept missiles that evade the SM-3s and are seen as the last line of defense.
Although North Korean satellite launches have in the past flown over Okinawa Prefecture’s far-flung southwestern islands, a shootdown scenario is highly unlikely, observers have said, with the order more about reassuring a nervous public.
Japan issued a similar order in February 2016, the last time North Korea tried to put a satellite into orbit, an attempt that was believed to have failed.
Earlier this month, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited a facility assembling what state-run media claimed was the country’s first spy satellite designed to keep a watchful eye on U.S. and allied forces in Asia.
In April, the North Korean leader said his country was aiming to develop “satellite intelligence-gathering capability” by deploying “several reconnaissance satellites on different orbits in succession” — theoretically enabling the regime to monitor military sites and potential enemy targets.
It’s unclear whether Pyongyang has made advances in its satellite capabilities since 2016, but at least some of the rationale for the latest launch could come from a desire to compete for prestige with its neighbor, after South Korea on Thursday used a domestically made space rocket to deliver a commercial-grade satellite into orbit for the first time.
But even if it is able to get the spy satellite into a low-Earth orbit, it will still face a number of daunting challenges, including camera performance, hard-to-come-by components and limited time windows for snapping shots of military sites, according to experts.
5. N. Korea notifies IMO of 1st military spy satellite launch plan
(4th LD) N. Korea notifies IMO of 1st military spy satellite launch plan | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 송상호 · May 30, 2023
(ATTN: UPDATES with N. Korea's notification to IMO in para 2; REWRITES paras 3-5; CHANGES headline, lead)
By Kim Soo-yeon
SEOUL, May 30 (Yonhap) -- North Korea notified the International Maritime Organization (IMO) on Tuesday of its plan to launch its first military spy satellite between May 31 and June 11, an IMO official said, in yet another indication that it would press ahead with it in defiance of international criticism and warnings.
The North made the notification through an email to an official in charge of maritime safety at the IMO headquarters in London, according to the official who requested anonymity. It marks the North's first such notification to the IMO since 2016.
The previous day, the North apprised Japan of the launch plan, a move that triggered a warning by South Korean, U.S. and Japanese nuclear envoys that the recalcitrant regime will face a "stern, unified" response from the international community should the plan go ahead.
Earlier in the day, Ri Pyong-chol, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, made it official that the launch will take place in June.
In a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency, Ri said the North's satellite-based reconnaissance is an "indispensable" act to bolster its self-defense capabilities against its enemies' "reckless" military exercises.
The North's spy satellite to be launched in June and various reconnaissance means to be newly tested are "indispensable to tracking, monitoring, discriminating, controlling and coping with in advance in real time the dangerous military acts" of the U.S. and South Korea, Ri said in the English-language statement.
He also vowed to "expand reconnaissance and information means and improve various defensive and offensive weapons and have the timetables for carrying out their development plans," without elaborating on details.
This photo, carried by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency on Dec. 19, 2022, shows the North conducting "an "important final-stage test" at Sohae Satellite Launching Ground, Cholsan, North Pyongan Province, for the development of a reconnaissance satellite the previous day. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
Earlier this month, North Korea announced the completion of preparations to mount its first military spy satellite on a rocket, with the North's leader Kim Jong-un approving the "future action plan."
A military reconnaissance satellite is among the high-tech weapons systems that the North's leader vowed to develop at a key party congress in 2021, along with a solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and a nuclear-powered submarine.
Ri condemned the U.S. and South Korea for raising military tensions, taking issue with the allies' largest-ever live-fire exercise and the South's plan to host a multinational naval drill aimed at preventing the trafficking of weapons of mass destruction.
He also slammed the U.S. for intensifying its "hostile air espionage activities" with the recent dispatch of high-profile military spy aircraft over the Yellow Sea.
"We will comprehensively consider the present and future threats and put into more thoroughgoing practice the activities for strengthening all-inclusive and practical war deterrents," Ri said.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (2nd from R, rear), along with his daughter Ju-ae (far R, rear), talks with members of the Non-permanent Satellite Launch Preparatory Committee in Pyongyang on May 16, 2023, to inspect the country's first military reconnaissance satellite, in this photo released by the North's official Korean Central News Agency. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
South Korea on Monday "strongly" warned against North Korea's planned satellite launch Monday, vowing to make Pyongyang pay "due prices" if it goes ahead with the launch.
Seoul's foreign ministry on Tuesday again slammed the North's planned launch and said it was "absurd" for Pyongyang to use the joint defense posture of South Korea and the U.S. as an excuse to launch a spy satellite.
"North Korea's so-called satellite launch is a clear violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions that prohibit any launch using ballistic missile technology," Lim Soo-suk, spokesperson of the ministry, told a regular press briefing. He added, "No matter what North Korea claims, it cannot hide this fact."
The North's proposed satellite launch would violate a series of United Nations Security Council resolutions banning its nuclear and missile programs, as it uses the same technology used in ballistic missiles.
Experts said a spy satellite will help the North stage a precision strike against targets in war situations, as it will enhance the country's surveillance capability, but many still raised doubts about the North's satellite capabilities.
In December last year, the North conducted an "important, final-stage" test for the development of a spy satellite and released black-and-white photos of South Korean cities that were shot by its "test satellite" from space. Outside experts said they are "too crude" to be satellite photos.
The North last launched the "Kwangmyongsong-4," an Earth-observation satellite, in February 2016, claiming it has the right to develop "peaceful" space programs.
In April, North Korea fired a solid-fuel ICBM for the first time, after launching more than 70 ballistic missiles last year alone, the most in a single year.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 송상호 · May 30, 2023
6. N. Korean satellite launch would violate U.N. sanctions: State Dept.
N. Korean satellite launch would violate U.N. sanctions: State Dept. | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 변덕근 · May 30, 2023
By Byun Duk-kun
WASHINGTON, May 29 (Yonhap) -- Any satellite launch by North Korea would violate United Nations Security Council resolutions that prohibit long-range missile tests by Pyongyang, a state department spokesperson said Monday in a prebuttal of the North's planned satellite launch.
North Korea has notified the Japanese government of its plan to launch a space launch vehicle (SLV) between May 31 and June 11, according to earlier reports.
"Any DPRK launch that uses ballistic missile technology, which would include SLVs used to launch a satellite into space, violates multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions," a state department spokesperson told Yonhap News Agency when asked about the North's proposed satellite launch.
"Space launch vehicles incorporate technologies that are identical to, and interchangeable with, those used in ballistic missiles, including intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs)," added the spokesperson.
DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the North's official name.
The proposed satellite launch follows an unprecedented number of long-range missile tests by North Korea.
Pyongyang fired 69 ballistic missiles in 2022, setting a new record for ballistic missiles launched in a single year.
"We urge the DPRK to refrain from further unlawful activity and call on Pyongyang to engage in serious and sustained diplomacy," the state department spokesperson said.
The spokesperson declined to comment when asked if the U.S. would take any steps to hold North Korea accountable for Pyongyang's anticipated satellite launch.
The top nuclear envoys of South Korea, the U.S. and Japan warned on Monday (Korea time) that there will be a "stern, unified" response from the international community if the North goes ahead with its satellite launch.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un smiles contently after watching a ground test of a "high-thrust solid-fuel motor" at Sohae Satellite Launching Ground in Cholsan, North Pyongan Province, North Korea, on Dec. 15, 2022, in this photo released by the North's Korean Central News Agency. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
bdk@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 변덕근 · May 30, 2023
7. S. Korea, France sign arrangement on military space partnership
S. Korea, France sign arrangement on military space partnership | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 송상호 · May 30, 2023
SEOUL, May 30 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and France signed an arrangement on military space cooperation on Tuesday in an effort to pursue "future-oriented" bilateral security cooperation, Seoul's defense ministry said.
Choi Byung-ok, director general at the defense policy bureau of Seoul's defense ministry, and French Space Commander Philippe Adam inked the letter of intent on the South Korea-France military space partnership in Seoul.
Based on the arrangement, the two sides will discuss military space cooperation and accelerate cooperation in bolstering their space security capabilities through the expansion of people-to-people exchanges and other efforts, according to the ministry.
"It is meaningful as it would mark the first step forward in expanding military cooperation between the two countries, as well as diversifying defense space cooperation," the ministry said in a press release.
During the signing event, Choi proposed pursuing active bilateral cooperation through such measures as South Korea's participation in a French-led international space exercise and joint research on space policy.
Adam pledged to actively cooperate to ensure that the two countries' space operational capabilities will strengthen in a "win-win" direction, according to the ministry.
Choi Byung-ok (R), director general at the defense policy bureau of South Korea's defense ministry, and French Space Commander Philippe Adam, pose for a photo after signing a letter of intent on the South Korea-France military space partnership in Seoul on May 30, 2023, in this photo released by the defense ministry. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
sshluck@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 송상호 · May 30, 2023
8. Members of anti-proliferation initiative agree to step up cooperation against changing security environment
Good. For too long we have been neglecting this important tool.
(LEAD) Members of anti-proliferation initiative agree to step up cooperation against changing security environment | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 이원주 · May 30, 2023
(ATTN: ADDS more info in last 5 paras)
SEOGWIPO, South Korea, May 30 (Yonhap) -- A group of countries endorsing the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) on Tuesday reaffirmed their commitment to interdict the illicit transfer of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and related materials.
The agreement was reached at a high-level forum on the 20th anniversary of the PSI on South Korea's southern resort island of Jeju with delegates from 70 PSI-endorsing and observer countries, including the United States, Japan and Australia, joining the event.
In a joint statement, the participating countries agreed to further commit to improving PSI capacity-building activities and training, as well as addressing the challenges posed by the emerging technologies and proliferation practices amid the "changing security environment."
The new areas of concern include proliferation finance involving cryptocurrency, intangible technology transfers and the increasing sophistication of proliferators' tactics to circumvent international law, they added.
The PSI members also noted that emerging technologies, such as 3D printing, artificial intelligence and quantum computing, can create additional nonproliferation and counter-proliferation challenges.
Stressing the need for "increased cooperation" in countering evolving threats posed by the development of nuclear and ballistic missile programs, the delegates decided to work on an "action plan" for the implementation of the joint statement.
U.S. Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs Bonnie Jenkins reads a message on behalf of U.S. President Joe Biden during a high-level meeting of the Proliferation Security Initiative, aimed at stopping trafficking of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery, at a hotel in the city of Seogwipo on South Korea's largest island of Jeju on May 30, 2023. (Yonhap)
At a press conference following the forum, Bonnie Jenkins, undersecretary of state for arms control and international security at the State Department, said the PSI does not target any particular nation but added that North Korea came up the most "in terms of challenges to the current environment."
"Obviously North Korea came up many times because if you're looking at challenges in a non-proliferation space and you're looking at the challenges that exist in this region ... it's hard not to talk about North Korea," she said.
When asked about the North's recent plans to launch its first military spy satellite, she said such security challenges highlight the importance of the PSI and other multilateral efforts.
On China, Jenkins said the PSI was willing to discuss Beijing's engagement in the initiative if it shows interest.
"We want to reach out to more countries in the Indo Pacific and Africa, and in other parts of the world," she said. "If China wanted to be a part of this, this is something that we could talk about."
julesyi@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 이원주 · May 30, 2023
9. N. Korea announces ‘ICBM show’ disguised as a satellite
Excerpts:
The government must thoroughly prepare for any situation arising from North Korea's satellite launch. Above all, as the North Korean projectile flies across the South Korean West Sea, measures to protect public safety must be prepared in all directions so that there is no disruption to the safe operation of ships. In addition, an all-out diplomatic war is urgently needed to ensure North Korea pays the price if it goes ahead with the launch. We must see that China and Russia do not harbor North Korea this time by ensuring tight pressure is exerted on North Korea in solidarity with the international community.
Furthermore, through the ROK-U.S. alliance and Korea-U.S.-Japan cooperation, we must conduct stern surveillance and tracking while preparing an interception posture for potential projectile debris falling into our territory. Japan has already deployed Patriot (PAC-3) interceptors on three islands in Okinawa Prefecture and issued a “destruction order” if a projectile falls. An uncompromising readiness posture is the most effective weapon to reassure the public and discourage North Korea from engaging in reckless acts.
N. Korea announces ‘ICBM show’ disguised as a satellite
donga.com
Posted May. 30, 2023 07:58,
Updated May. 30, 2023 07:58
N. Korea announces ‘ICBM show’ disguised as a satellite. May. 30, 2023 07:58. .
North Korea notified the Japanese government that it would launch a satellite between Wednesday and June 11. This move came after its April announcement of the completion of “the military reconnaissance satellite No. 1”, following North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s approval of the “future action plan” on the 16th of this month. Japanese media reported that the waters where debris is expected to fall are two spots in the West Sea and one in the East Sea off the coast of the Philippines. “If North Korea goes ahead with the launch, it will have to pay the price and suffer the consequences,” the South Korean government said, urging North Korea to immediately withdraw from the launch plan.
North Korea's satellite launch is an illegal act that violates the United Nations resolution on sanctions against North Korea. It is another provocation to show off its intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capabilities. Although, North Korea asserted that it possesses the legal right to develop space by notifying Japan of its launch plan, which is the navigation area coordinator in the region, under the Worldwide Navigation Warning System (WWNWS) operated by the International Maritime Organization (IMO). But North Korea lost that qualification long ago. Rockets used to launch satellites are technically identical to long-range ballistic missiles, and the UN Security Council has banned any launch using ballistic missile technology regardless of its purpose.
So far, North Korea has launched four projectiles after giving notification of the satellite launch. This upcoming launch is the first in seven years since the launch of the Kwangmyongsong Unit 4 satellite in February 2016. On May 17, North Korea also unveiled the actual “military reconnaissance satellite Unit 1.” Still, experts consider that what can be inferred from the photo with a low resolution is that it will fail to perform the function of a military satellite. Under the pretext of putting a shoddy satellite into a sun-synchronous orbit, the ICBM will be launched into the Pacific Ocean due south this time. And this will prove to be nothing short of North's intention to stage a “horror show” that adds anxiety and tension to the regional situation.
The government must thoroughly prepare for any situation arising from North Korea's satellite launch. Above all, as the North Korean projectile flies across the South Korean West Sea, measures to protect public safety must be prepared in all directions so that there is no disruption to the safe operation of ships. In addition, an all-out diplomatic war is urgently needed to ensure North Korea pays the price if it goes ahead with the launch. We must see that China and Russia do not harbor North Korea this time by ensuring tight pressure is exerted on North Korea in solidarity with the international community.
Furthermore, through the ROK-U.S. alliance and Korea-U.S.-Japan cooperation, we must conduct stern surveillance and tracking while preparing an interception posture for potential projectile debris falling into our territory. Japan has already deployed Patriot (PAC-3) interceptors on three islands in Okinawa Prefecture and issued a “destruction order” if a projectile falls. An uncompromising readiness posture is the most effective weapon to reassure the public and discourage North Korea from engaging in reckless acts.
한국어
donga.com
10. ＜Investigation Inside N. Korea＞Famine in the provinces : “Many people have died from the start of May due to starvation and disease…”
More indicators of potential instability. Again , to beat a dead horse - Are our contingency plans up to date?
＜Investigation Inside N. Korea＞Famine in the provinces : “Many people have died from the start of May due to starvation and disease…” (4) Old parents and children are abandoned, and frequent robberies occur…People are scared
asiapress.org
(FILE PHOTO) ASIAPRESS held a conversation with an elderly person walking alone in the depth of winter with a walking stick. “I’m 80-years-old, and life has gotten so tough that my son and his wife told me to leave.” Taken by KIM Dong-chul in February 2011 on the outskirts of Pyongyang (ASIAPRESS)
＜Investigation Inside N. Korea＞Famine in the provinces : “Many people have died from the start of May due to starvation and disease…” (1) The state’s food supplies have hit rock bottom
Amid the rise in people dying due to malnutrition and disease in North Korea’s provincial cities, there has been a dramatic increase in robberies and other crimes, along with people abandoning or neglecting their elderly parents or children. This article provides information about the situation in Hyesan, Yanggang Province, from three reporting partners in the area. (KANG Ji-won / ISHIMARU Jiro)
In the late 1990s, during the DPRK’s great famine, the entire country witnessed a rise in crime and people abandoning their children and elderly parents. The collapse of the public distribution system and people’s lack of cash and household items made it hard to find food – abandoning family members was the only way to survive.
In the 2000s, the situation in the country improved, with famine dissipating and the number of homeless people decreasing. Now, however, provincial cities are facing a humanitarian crisis similar to that of the 1990s.
This article summarizes information provided by three reporting partners in Yanggang Province from May 9 to May 26. ASIAPRESS used Chinese cell phones smuggled into the DPRK to communicate with them. The parentheses in the text below were added by the editor.
◆ Increase in crime
Robberies are occurring a lot (these days). The cousin of the head of the Socialist Women’s Union in one part of the city was hit in the head with a rock by a robber while riding her bike one night (in mid-May). She is still in a coma, and her bike and even the shoes she was wearing were all stolen (it is not clear what happened to the woman following this report).
Someone who visited a house in one part of the city said they wanted to get a drink of water, but then threatened (the family) with a knife and stole a video player. There’s been so many robberies these days that people are afraid to open their doors (for anyone). A lot of the robbers target people with a lot of money. There was an incident (in mid-May) where someone entered a party cadre’s house, knocked out the occupant with a club and then stole some rice.
Police patrols walk the streets almost every day, monitoring people who are walking around. We’ve been told to intensify security at our apartments, but what can anyone do against someone who would fight to the death? People are facing a situation of life and death, going to the mountains to pick what they can to eat whenever they have the time.
The district office supplied two kilograms of corn to households facing difficulties on May 7, but our neighborhood watch unit gave out corn to just two of the 10 families facing difficulties. That’s far from enough to survive on. People are just full of evil these days, getting into a lot of fights here and there. Some get into fights over money, asking those who borrowed money to give it back. It’s just a mess these days.
Families that can feed themselves are cautious and full of anxiety. People are even stealing unripe potatoes to eat from the farms, which has forced farms to start deploying security patrols earlier than usual.
(FILE PHOTO) A young homeless child, who looks around 10-years-old, is seen sitting listlessly at a market, perhaps due to starvation. The child had to face cold nights. Taken by ASIAPRESS in Hyesan in November 2012.
◆ People abandon their elderly parents and children
A police officer came to the neighborhood watch unit meeting on Wednesday (May 17) to warn that people who neglect or abandon their parents, divorce each other, neglect their children, or leave their registered residences without reporting it to their workplaces or social organizations will face severe punishment.
Sometimes people find out only after some time has passed that the parents they abandoned have died. There are also cases where elderly people who come out of their houses to beg do not know where their sons or daughters have gone.
Our neighborhood watch unit leader visits homes in danger of abandoning their elderly parents, but no special measures are put in place. All the authorities are saying is that people should “not abandon one’s parents because once food from China arrives it will be distributed immediately.”
When the authorities catch a homeless child, they confirm who the child lived with. The child is fingerprinted and taken back to their parents, but what’s the point? After all, the child left because there was nothing to eat at home. I’ve seen children sitting on the road in the evening just crying because their parents don’t return home.
◆ Homeless people are rounded up and mobilized for labor
The authorities in Hyesan Market are cracking down on homeless people, but the homeless can still be seen walking around. There are even homeless people who beg market sellers to let them hide under their stalls to avoid getting caught. The homeless people range in age from 10 to 60 years old. There’s nobody younger than that.
Older children are sent to farms or construction sites to work, but they end up running away, so the police have recruited former soldiers to monitor them.
There are people who just give up on life after failing to survive no matter how hard they tried. On May 14, a couple along with their six-year-old son bought a chicken, put some rat poison in it, and committed suicide by eating it. The child, luckily, didn’t die and was sent to an orphanage. But what will happen to him there?
On May 26, ASIAPRESS heard that state-run shops in Hoeryeong, North Hamgyung Province, provided one kilogram of white rice at 5,200 won to families facing difficulties in late May. The shops did not sell corn. The price of rice was 4,400 won in the early months of this year, which means that even state-set prices for rice are rising.
※1,000 North Korean won equals around 0.12USD.
The next installment will examine recent market trends and the circumstances surrounding state-run “grain shops.”
Map of North Korea ( ASIAPRESS)
asiapress.org
11. The annual “barley hump” set to hit some parts of North Korea particularly hard
Things are getting worse. UNlike following the Arduous March of the great famine of 1994-1996, the people are unable to access the safety valve developed e.g., markets - Kim's crackdown on markets could have catastrophic effects.
The annual “barley hump” set to hit some parts of North Korea particularly hard
In some parts of the country, children go around barefoot or in shoes that are too big for their feet, tattered old clothing on their backs and black smudges on their faces
By Lee Chae Un - 2023.05.30 5:00pm
dailynk.com
FILE PHOTO: A farmer heads home after working the land with an oxen and cart. (Daily NK)
As North Korea nears the “barley hump” — the lean time in the spring before the barley harvest — residents of Hwapyong County, Chagang Province, are facing severe privation, Daily NK has learned. Even children feel compelled to forage for food in the woods instead of going to school.
“The barley hump is the time of year when the food supply runs the lowest, but people are having an even harder time this year than in the past. Large numbers of families are going hungry, unable to afford even one meal a day,” a reporting partner in Chagang Province told Daily NK last Wednesday, speaking on condition of anonymity due to security concerns.
“In Hwapyong County, a lot of children have been going off to gather wild vegetables and supplement the family’s food supply instead of going to school. Most of the children go foraging in groups, and their clothing is so shabby that they look like packs of street urchins, even though they have homes and families,” the reporting partner said.
The children go around barefoot or in shoes that are too big for their feet, tattered old clothing on their backs and black smudges on their faces, so it is no wonder that they are often mistaken for urchins, the reporting partner explained.
“Working parents barely have time to rinse off their children’s stained clothing, and they can’t afford to buy new shoes when the old shoes start to wear out. Since nearly all the families in each neighborhood watch unit [inminban] are in the same predicament, the children troop around together without mistreating each other,” the reporting partner said.
Children head to the woods in groups to forage for food
Aware that their parents’ earnings aren’t enough to support the family, these children head to the woods together to forage for wild vegetables almost every day instead of going to school. These families are subsisting on vegetable porridge, which they prepare by adding the vegetables foraged by the children with their meager grain supplies.
The reporting partner related the following sad story shared by a resident of Hwapyong County.
“My daughter headed to school, or so she said, in shoes that show her toes. She didn’t say a word about her worn-out shoes, although she typically throws a fit about them, which was even more distressing for me. But when I got home from the marketplace that evening, my daughter had brought back wild vegetables from the woods, which meant she hadn’t gone to school at all. When I told her she needed to go to school tomorrow, she pointed out that we might starve to death if she doesn’t gather wild vegetables. I choked up and couldn’t say a word.”
That tallied with the following tale, related by another resident of Hwapyong County.
“Since the pandemic began, we haven’t been able to buy our son new shoes, which go for well over KPW 100,000, so we bought used shoes instead. But our son’s feet are growing quickly, and his used shoes wear out so fast. Nowadays, he goes out in his father’s big shoes or sometimes in his socks. Not being able to afford decent shoes is bad enough, but we have the added pain of watching him go foraging in the woods to help put food on the table. I just wish there was something else we could do.”
Daily attendance at schools in Hwapyong County has fallen to between five and ten students per class, the reporting partner said. Homeroom teachers have been dropping by students’ houses in an attempt to boost the attendance rate, but conditions are so bad for everyone that the teachers sometimes cannot bring themselves to order the students back to class, the reporting partner said.
“You can imagine how bad things have gotten when students are skipping school to go forage in the woods without even being told to. People are saying that if the government can’t feed the hungry itself, it should open up [the border] so that people can smuggle in enough to support themselves,” he added.
Translated by David Carruth. Edited by Robert Lauler.
Daily NK works with a network of reporting partners who live inside North Korea and China. Their identities remain anonymous due to security concerns. More information about Daily NK’s reporting partner network and information gathering activities can be found on our FAQ page here.
Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
Read in Korean
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12. Pyongyang may have delayed spy satellite launch due to technical issues
Well, so did the ROK. (but it went on to successful launch 5 satellites)
Pyongyang may have delayed spy satellite launch due to technical issues
The Korea Times · May 30, 2023
A TV screen shows a file image of North Korea's rocket launch during a news program at Seoul Station in Seoul, Monday. AP-Yonhap.
Experts believe regime still far from developing functional spy satellite
By Jung Min-ho
Pyongyang said on Tuesday that it will launch its first military reconnaissance satellite in two weeks to keep track of the U.S.' "reckless" military activities.
The announcement means the ambitious plan of North Korea, which was preparing to finish all the necessary preparation by the end of April, has officially been postponed.
Speaking to The Korea Times, experts said technical problems might have been the cause of the delay. Given the small size of the satellite, shown in photos released by the regime, and the level of complexity of the project, they also said North Korea still seems far from developing a functional, useful satellite for military purposes.
"Given that, unlike April, there are no major political events scheduled for June, it is possible that North Korea delayed the launch due to technical issues," Shin Jong-woo, a researcher at the Korea Defense and Security Forum, a think tank, said.
Park Won-gon, a professor of North Korean studies at Ewha Womans University, agreed.
"As we have seen through our own (Nuri rocket) space project, the complexity of developing a satellite is enormous. For the North, it would have been even more so, with an additional challenge of securing all the essential materials and parts amid sanctions," Park said.
In comments released by the official Korean Central News Agency, Ri Pyong-chol, one of the North's top military officers, said having space-based reconnaissance is expected to enable the military to monitor in real-time the "dangerous military acts" of the U.S. and its allies. He justified Pyongyang's satellite development by blaming Washington's "hostile air espionage activities" conducted over his country.
This photo taken in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, Monday, shows two flagpoles set up separately by South and North Korea near the inter-Korean border.
Yonhap
However, views differ among experts on where North Korea's real intention lies. Some think that its satellite development is only a cover for advancing its missile capabilities.
During a press conference, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said, "(North Korea's) satellite launches incorporate technology that is almost identical and compatible with those used for ballistic missiles, and regardless of the designation used by North Korea, we believe that the one planned for this time also uses ballistic missile technology."
Echoing that view, Shin said North Korea's satellite looks "too small" for advanced functions.
"The pictures released by North Korea show that it appears to be a little bigger than one meter long and not equipped with SAR (synthetic-aperture radar) that helps provide quality images even under bad weather conditions," he said. "I suspect that it may be part of North Korea's missile development effort and doubt that the satellite would be able to function properly."
North Korea's satellite launch would use the same long-range missile technology prohibited by U.S. Security resolutions, which has drawn criticism from Seoul, Washington and Tokyo.
However, based on North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's past comments about new weapons under development, Park believes the regime is serious about its space vision.
"North Korea has test-launched its missiles many times without prior notice to any country. Yet it issued notice (to Japan) this time and in the past ahead of satellite launches. Additionally, there is little North Korea would gain from the satellite launch in terms of developing ICBM capabilities as it only needs to acquire atmospheric reentry technologies, which the satellite test would not help," he said.
North Korea proved in the past that it had the ability to deliver a satellite into space, but the scholar said the capabilities of its satellites remain highly questionable.
"The regime would declare success if it successfully sends it into space. But it would require further analysis to know what that really means," he said.
The Korea Times · May 30, 2023
13. N. Korean official sentenced to life for human trafficking across border
Corruption in the Socialist Worker's Paradise.
Excerpt:
He added: “The Ministry of State Security, in distributing materials about the incident, pointed out that officers like company commanders and political guidance officers are engaging in non-socialist behavior even more openly, and sternly warned ordinary soldiers against colluding with such behavior on the part of their superiors, telling them to immediately and directly inform the officers’ superiors.”
N. Korean official sentenced to life for human trafficking across border
The women were sold to the men for RMB 40,000 to 50,000 each, which the political guidance officer split 50-50 with a Chinese human trafficker
dailynk.com
A photo of the China-North Korea border area. (Kang Dong Wan, Professor, Donga University)
A political guidance officer with a border guard unit based in Onsong County was recently given a life sentence for engaging in human trafficking, Daily NK has learned.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a reporting partner in North Hamgyong Province told Daily NK on Friday that “the Ministry of State Security distributed materials on May 20 that exposed the acts of the political guidance officer, who openly engaged in human trafficking during the period the border has been closed due to COVID-19.”
According to the materials, the political guidance officer was relieved of duty, turned over to a court and sentenced to life in a forced labor camp when it was discovered he had trafficked six unmarried women.
The political guidance officer tricked the women, telling them he was looking for “women who could run errands to Chinese pharmacies because drug prices have climbed so much due to COVID, and that they could become instantly rich by earning lots of money in a short period of time.” Instead, he shamelessly sold the women to Chinese men.
The women were sold to the men for RMB 40,000 to 50,000 (around USD 5,600 to 7,050) each, which the political guidance officer split 50-50 with a Chinese human trafficker.
The crimes of the official and his accomplices are exposed
One of the women sent to China learned what was happening and ran barefooted to a nearby police station, where she caused a scene by harming herself and screaming that she be sent back to North Korea at once. In the end, she was sent back to North Korea, where an investigation took place and the political guidance officer’s crimes were exposed.
“During the preliminary examination, the political guidance officer’s countless crimes, which included not only human trafficking but also moving money, were exposed in full, and he was ultimately sentenced to life and his family exiled to the interior,” the reporting partner said. “All the brokers and soldiers the officer was involved with were snagged, too, and are undergoing investigation.”
He added: “The Ministry of State Security, in distributing materials about the incident, pointed out that officers like company commanders and political guidance officers are engaging in non-socialist behavior even more openly, and sternly warned ordinary soldiers against colluding with such behavior on the part of their superiors, telling them to immediately and directly inform the officers’ superiors.”
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
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14. Yoon urges closer cooperation to block North's illegal funding
Tuesday
May 30, 2023
dictionary + A - A
Yoon urges closer cooperation to block North's illegal funding
https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2023/05/30/national/diplomacy/Korea-Yoon-Suk-Yeol-Proliferation-Security-Initiative/20230530182901504.html
U.S. Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs Bonnie Jenkins delivers a message on behalf of U.S. President Joe Biden at the Proliferation Security Initiative forum in Seogwipo, Jeju, on Tuesday. [YONHAP]
President Yoon Suk Yeol urged the international community to strengthen cooperation to choke off illegal funding of North Korea's nuclear and missile programs in his remarks to the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) forum Tuesday.
Representatives from over 70 countries — including the United States, Japan and Australia — took part in the PSI high-level political meeting hosted on Jeju Island this year, aimed at countering the trafficking of weapons of mass destruction (WMD).
"Despite UN Security Council sanctions, North Korea continues to illegally finance its nuclear and missiles programs," Yoon said in a video message, calling for "more robust" international cooperation to respond to such threats.
He stressed that the South Korean government will actively cooperate with its partners to contribute to the "freedom, peace and prosperity of mankind and to protect the international order based on international laws and norms."
The PSI, which marks its 20th anniversary, is an international effort specifically targeting the trafficking of WMDs, their delivery systems and related materials.
U.S. President Joe Biden stressed that "no nation acting alone" can address the challenges of WMD proliferation, in remarks to the forum delivered by Bonnie Jenkins, U.S. undersecretary for arms control and international security.
"Around the world, a growing number of nations continue to challenge the global security architecture that monitors and enforces norms against the spread of weapons of mass destruction," Biden said. "In far too many places, the risk of these weapons falling into the wrong hands remains a persistent and troubling concern."
In a joint statement adopted Tuesday afternoon, some 100 member states of the PSI stressed the need for "increased cooperation in countering the evolving threats posed by WMD proliferation, such as the development of nuclear and ballistic missiles programs" that violate UN Security Council resolutions.
They committed to considering the impact and challenges posed by the evolution of technologies, "taking into account that new critical and emerging technologies, such as 3D printing, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing, can create additional nonproliferation and counter-proliferation challenges."
The statement also stressed the need for the PSI to address "new and emerging proliferation practices," including "cryptocurrency, intangible technology transfers, and the increasing sophistication of proliferators' tactics to circumvent international law."
This is the first time the PSI forum, launched in May 2003 by the George W. Bush administration to stop WMD trafficking and held every five years to set guidelines for the initiative, was hosted in an Asian country.
A multinational naval drill related to the PSI scheduled for Wednesday will be drastically reduced due to bad weather, the Korean Ministry of National Defense announced Tuesday.
Korea was set to hold the Eastern Endeavor 23 exercise as a part of efforts to strengthen capabilities to counter WMD proliferation in international waters southeast of Jeju, the day after the PSI forum.
This comes as Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer, Hamagiri, entered the port of Busan to attend the naval drill hoisting the controversial Rising Sun flag on Monday.
The Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force has continued to use the Rising Sun ensign, seen as a symbol of Japan's past imperialism and a reminder of its brutal 1910-45 colonial rule over Korea.
The liberal Democratic Party in turn accused the government of "turning a blind eye" to Japan's past militarism by allowing the warship to hoist the Rising Sun flag in the drill.
During the scaled-back drill, the Korean destroyer Wang Geon, U.S. destroyer USS Milius, Japanese destroyer JS Hamagiri and Australian frigate HMAS Anzac will depart from Busan on Tuesday and later hold communication line inspection drills in international waters south of the peninsula.
The drill was expected to involve South Korea, the United States, Australia, Japan, Canada and Singapore.
Through this downsizing, a planned review of the warships by Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup was canceled, said his ministry. In turn, the potentially awkward spectacle of a Korean defense chief being saluted by the crew of a Japanese warship hoisting a Rising Sun flag was avoided.
When asked if the naval review was canceled because of the flag controversy, Jeon Ha-kyu, the Defense Ministry's spokesman, said at a briefing, "That's not the case."
The Korean Defense Ministry previously said it will not raise issue with Japan's use of the flag, calling it "common international practice."
BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]
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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