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Quotes of the Day:
"We, the representatives of 20,000,000 united people of Korea, hereby proclaim the independence of Korea and the liberty of the Korean people. This Proclamation stands in witness to the equality of all nations, and we pass it on to our posterity as their inalienable right."
- From the Korean Declaration of Independence, 1919
"Guerrilla warfare is defined in [Special Regulation] 320-5-1 as operations carried out by small independent forces, generally in the rear of the enemy, with the objective of harassing, delaying and disrupting military operations of the enemy. The term is sometimes limited to the military operations and tactics of small forces whose objective is to inflict causalities and damage upon the enemy rather than to seize or defend terrain; these operations are characterized by the extensive use of surprise and emphasis on avoidance of causalities. The term….includes organized and directed passive resistance, espionage, assassination, sabotage and propaganda, and in some cases, ordinary combat. Guerrilla warfare is ordinarily carried on by irregular, or partisan forces; however regular forces which have been cut off behind enemy lines or which have infiltrated into the enemy rear areas may use guerrilla tactics."
– FM 31-21, Organization and Conduct of Guerrilla Warfare (October 1951)
"To meet the challenges of UW support to social movements or social revolution, a deeper understanding of the dynamics of civil resistance and how UW can be conducted through such subversive (and often nonviolent) movements is required."
– By Joseph L. Votel, Charles T. Cleveland, Charles T. Connett, and Will Irwin
1. N. Korean leader boosts military-related public activities in recent 3 months: report
2. Potential discovery of oil, gas reserves in East Sea ‘highly prospective’: Act-Geo adviser
3. No First Use: Threatening Alliance Cohesion, Assurance, and Non-Proliferation
4. North Korea punishes money changers to stop soaring exchange rates
5. North Korea sent trash balloons. Activists in the South sent K-pop.
6. Editorial: President Yoon must stop junior military officers' exodus to build a strong nation
7. School of Advanced Military Studies participate in academic broadening with combined special operations units in Korea
8. Ex-Gyeonggi vice governor gets 9 1/2-yr sentence in N.K. remittance, graft case
9. S. Korea dismisses Japan's protest over maritime survey near Dokdo
10. Korea's diplomacy put to test as Japan pushes ahead with UNESCO bid for Sado mines
11. N. Korea holds events to celebrate 78th anniversary of youth organization
12. Are North Korea's trash balloons an escalation?
13. Will North Korea fly trash balloons into South Korea again? A look at rising tensions between them
14. North Korea clears land at six locations inside DMZ, satellite imagery shows
15. North Korea urges children to provide weapons to boost country’s military power
16. N. Korean e-payment services popular among young people
1. N. Korean leader boosts military-related public activities in recent 3 months: report
The military is a source of Kim's power. Remember that his regime will collapse when the party can no longer govern throughout the north from Pyongyang combined with the loss of coherency and support of the military and security services.
This is also part of Kim ratcheting up tensions to generate the perception of an external threat to justify the suffering and sacrifice of the Korean people in the north. Kim is facing enormous internal pressures due to his failed promises and that he has removed home from the Koren people when he eliminated the hope of peaceful unification.
N. Korean leader boosts military-related public activities in recent 3 months: report | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Han-joo · June 7, 2024
By Kim Han-joo
SEOUL, June 7 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un significantly increased military-related public activities in the March-May period after he vowed to deal with inter-Korean relations with increased hostility, a report showed Friday.
Kim participated in 33 public activities during the three-month period ending in May, up 59 percent from the average of 20.7 recorded for the same period from 2021 to 2023, according to the report by the state-run Korea Institute for National Unification (KINU).
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (in leather jacket) observes a drill during a visit to a major operational training base in the country's western region on March 6, 2024, in this photo released by the North's official Korean Central News Agency. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
Of them, the number of military-related public activities came to 19, up 184 percent from a three-year average of 6.7 activities, the report said.
KINU monitors the activities of Kim and three other key party officials by analyzing reports from state media outlets, such as the Korean Central News Agency and the Rodong Sinmin, the country's main newspaper.
Notably, Kim inspected or guided military drills six times during the cited period, with five of such on-site inspections carried out in March, when North Korean troops wrapped up winter military exercises.
He oversaw military exercises involving paratroopers on March 15 and supervised "salvo" drills with artillery units using the 600mm multiple launch rocket system in the western region three days later.
In the six-month period ending in May, the number of Kim's public activities came to 64, compared with a three-year average of 44.3 activities, the report showed.
At a year-end party plenary meeting, Kim defined inter-Korean ties as those between "two states hostile to each other" and said there is no point in seeking reconciliation and unification with South Korea.
Meanwhile, Premier Kim Tok-hun made 11 public appearances in the March-May period, lower than the average of 13.7 over the previous three years.
But he did not carry out any standalone public activity from May 7 till the end of that month and was not seen attending a politburo meeting of the ruling Workers' Party on May 24 for an unknown reason.
As for Choe Ryong-hae, chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly, his public activities came to 13 during the period, a sharp rise from the three-year average of four activities.
He may travel to China if Beijing holds an event to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the two countries' diplomatic relations on Oct. 6, the report said.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (C) laughs while observing the test-firing of controllable shells for a new 240mm multiple rocket launcher, in this file photo carried by the North's Korean Central News Agency on May 11, 2024. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
khj@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Han-joo · June 7, 2024
2. Potential discovery of oil, gas reserves in East Sea ‘highly prospective’: Act-Geo adviser
Some cold water on the possibility.
Excerpt:
“Don’t get me wrong. It is still risky,” Abreu said. He added that the success rate means “there’s an 80 percent chance they do not work.”
(2nd LD) Potential discovery of oil, gas reserves in East Sea ‘highly prospective’: Act-Geo adviser | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr
Chae Yun-hwan
Economy 19:31 June 07, 2024
(ATTN: ADDS more details in last 3 paras)
By Kang Yoon-seung
SEJONG, June 7 (Yonhap) — A potential discovery of oil and gas reserves off South Korea’s East Sea is “highly prospective,” Vitor Abreu, the owner and adviser of the U.S. geoscience research company Act-Geo behind the country’s oil exploration project, said Friday, citing the presence of “key elements.”
“So to summarize … the basin is highly prospective,” Abreu said during a press briefing in the central city of Sejong, noting that the location “has presence of all the key main elements,” including the possible existence of hydrocarbon.
Abreu highlighted the spot contained geological factors indicating the existence of gas and oil, namely reservoir, seal and source rock, as well as trap.
“Not only that, the early results are already (drawing the) attention of important international companies,” he said.
The briefing organized by the state-run Korea National Oil Corp. (KNOC) came after President Yoon Suk Yeol announced Monday that Act-Geo’s study suggested significant gas and oil deposits may be buried in the deep sea off the coast of Yeongil Bay in Pohang, about 260 kilometers southeast of Seoul.
Act-Geo estimated that the deposits could hold between 3.5 billion and 14 billion barrels of gas and oil. Once confirmed, the quantity would be theoretically sufficient to meet the country’s gas and oil demand for up to 29 years and four years, respectively.
Vitor Abreu, who heads the U.S.-based geoscience research company Act-Geo, speaks to reporters in the central city of Sejong on June 7, 2024. (Yonhap)
Abreu added that the estimated success rate of 20 percent is a “very good” figure, noting that the comparable figure for a project in Guyana, which had 4 billion barrels, came to 16 percent.
“Don’t get me wrong. It is still risky,” Abreu said. He added that the success rate means “there’s an 80 percent chance they do not work.”
“If there was one prospect out there, I probably didn’t want to drill it,” the adviser said. “If I have five that look like that one, I will find oil in one of them. So far, we have seven.”
“The final step was basically to base on that analysis to rank different prospects and select the top ones because they show geological and geophysical evidence for the presence of possible accumulations,” he added.
“The only way to test that now is for drilling,” noting that the move is the only way to “unrisk” such uncertainties.
Abreu’s visit to South Korea came as there has been growing skepticism over the potential discovery, including its feasibility. Some even said that the address of the company headquarters was that of a residential house in suburban Houston.
Responding to questions about the company’s background, Abreu said small businesses participating in such major projects is “industry standard practice,” as the company focuses on interpreting data instead of carrying out drilling operations.
“The only thing that we need to do our job are computers, software and cameras,” he said, noting that his workers are spread across the world, including in Brazil, Mexico and Switzerland.
Later in the day, Abreu met Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun and discussed the prospects of the deep sea project.
During the meeting, Ahn noted the project’s importance for energy security and the national economy, considering that South Korea relies entirely on imports for its oil and gas needs.
Ahn said his ministry will hold a strategic meeting encompassing domestic and foreign experts sometime this month to discuss ways to develop the potential oil and gas reserves.
Vitor Abreu, who heads the U.S.-based geoscience research company Act-Geo, speaks to reporters in the central city of Sejong on June 7, 2024. (Yonhap)
colin@yna.co.kr
(END)
3. No First Use: Threatening Alliance Cohesion, Assurance, and Non-Proliferation
Download the10 page report at this link: https://nipp.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/IS-588.pdf
No First Use: Threatening Alliance Cohesion, Assurance, and Non-Proliferation
By
Michaela Dodge and Keith B. Payne, No First Use: Threatening Alliance Cohesion, Assurance, and Non-Proliferation, No. 588, June 6, 2024
https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2024/06/07/no_first_use_threatening_alliance_cohesion_assurance_and_non-proliferation_1036507.html?mc_cid=86a18a30e5&mc_eid=70bf478f36
Download PDF
No First Use: Threatening Alliance Cohesion, Assurance, and Non-Proliferation
Dr. Michaela Dodge
Dr. Michaela Dodge is a Research Scholar at the National Institute for Public Policy.
Dr. Keith B. Payne
Dr. Keith B. Payne is a co-founder of the National Institute for Public Policy, professor emeritus at the Graduate School of Defense and Strategic Studies, Missouri State University, a former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense and former Senior Advisor to the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
Introduction
The U.S. extended nuclear deterrent is underpinned by the deterrent threat option to escalate to nuclear first use in the event of otherwise unstoppable aggression against an ally. For decades, major allies have testified as to the critical importance they attach to this nuclear escalation threat behind the U.S. extended nuclear deterrent. It is a key reason, allies insist, that they are able to stand back from pursuing their own national possession of nuclear weapons—and thus a key to U.S. nuclear non-proliferation goals. It is no overstatement to conclude that, for decades, the U.S. extended deterrent, including the nuclear escalation option, have been essential to the cohesion of U.S. alliances and the relative success of nuclear non-proliferation.[1]
Episodic U.S. initiatives to move to no first use (NFU) or “sole purpose” nuclear weapon policies—that would preclude U.S. nuclear employment in response to anything other than an opponent’s nuclear attack—would directly contradict the traditional U.S. extended nuclear deterrent commitment to allies. These initiatives are a prime example of how the U.S. pursuit of arms control goals can unintentionally undermine the keys to alliance cohesion—extended nuclear deterrence and the assurance of allies. U.S. allies have consistently expressed sharp, substantive opposition to U.S. proposals for an NFU or “sole purpose” nuclear policy—two different titles for essentially the same policy constraint on U.S. deterrent strategies, i.e., precluding a U.S. nuclear response to an opponent’s non-nuclear attack, including an opponent’s chemical or biological weapons (CBW) attack.[2]
Despite this consistent, enduring allied opposition and a deteriorating national security environment, recent U.S. presidential administrations continue to signal their enthusiasm for an NFU or “sole purpose” policy in an effort to showcase their commitment to reducing the number and role of nuclear weapons. For example, coincident with Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s most recent three-day visit in China, Assistant Secretary of State Mallory Stewart reportedly declared with seeming enthusiasm that the United States “is open to considering a proposal by China that nuclear weapons states negotiate a treaty on the no-first use (NFU) of nuclear weapons.”[3] This renewed signaling by the Biden Administration of interest in NFU is only the latest in Washington’s expressions of interest in an NFU policy, and will likely again be followed by strong allied pushback. This cycle has been repeated numerous times over the past five decades. As a recent academic study of the subject rightly concluded, “The question of whether the United States should adopt an NFU pledge has arisen repeatedly in debates of declaratory policy and is likely to recur…”[4]
Various administrations’ efforts to move toward an NFU policy in contradiction of the U.S. nuclear umbrella for allies typically have been supported by some members of Congress who have proposed laws articulating their own version of the NFU or “sole purpose” policy.[5] Washington’s continuing initiatives to adopt such an arms control policy that allies expressly and repeatedly oppose, based on their serious and understandable concerns about its degrading effect on the credibility of the U.S. extended deterrent, contribute to growing allied questioning of U.S. credibility as a guarantor of their security.
Ironically, perhaps, Washington’s numerous arms control forays toward an NFU policy contribute to allied doubts about extended deterrence and undermine U.S. efforts to assure allies regarding their security position. In short, Washington’s repeated moves in the direction of an NFU policy fan allied fears about U.S. extended deterrence credibility that, in turn, undermine U.S. efforts to sustain allied cohesion and non-proliferation goals. Rather than recognizing this problem and finally curtailing its initiatives to advance an NFU policy, or spending the enormous resources needed to provide a plausible alternative to the traditional U.S. nuclear escalation threat backstopping extended deterrence, Washington continually disturbs allies with its repeated NFU forays—only to stand back following equally-repeated allied pushback.
4. North Korea punishes money changers to stop soaring exchange rates
You can get a lot of bang for your buck in north korea. This is why the escapees included one thousand $1 bills in the last balloon launch.
North Korea punishes money changers to stop soaring exchange rates
The US dollar used to hover around the 8,000 won mark, but now it is worth more than 13,000.
https://www.rfa.org/english/news/korea/exchange-rate-dollar-won-north-forex-06062024112851.html
By Ahn Chang Gyu for RFA Korean
2024.06.06
Two North Korean men make a blackmarket transaction, buying and selling of US dollars, outside a subway station in Pyongyang, February 14, 2003.
Goh Chai Hin/AFP
North Korea is warning private money changers that the government will confiscate their foreign and domestic currency if they change U.S. dollars into North Korean won at a rate significantly higher than official rates at banks.
The move is aimed at stabilizing the exchange rate between the dollar and the won, which has been skyrocketing recently. Until last summer, the rate hovered around 8,000 won per dollar but now it is around 13,000 or 14,000 on the black market.
State-run banks, meanwhile, offer 8,900 won per dollar.
Even though North Korea is largely cut off from trade with the United States, the dollar, along with the Chinese yuan, are the preferred currencies of the people due to their relative stability compared to the won.
In 2009, the country suddenly revalued its currency, and then limited the amount of old won people were allowed to exchange for new won. The revaluation wiped out the life savings of many, and it led to an increased reliance on foreign currency.
A North Korean pays money to a cashier at a supermarket in Pyongyang, North Korea, on Sept. 12, 2018. (Kin Cheung/AP)
Faith in the won is still on flimsy ground, but when it is used its value is always thought of in terms relative to these foreign currencies.
Since much of the North Korean economy is dependent on trading goods either smuggled or imported from China, and these naturally cost more when the exchange rate is higher.
“Instructions to use national banks and foreign currency exchange offices when changing foreign currency are repeatedly announced at meetings at factories morning meetings and neighborhood-watch units,” a resident of the northeastern city of Rason, who requested anonymity for personal safety, told RFA Korean.
The currency confiscation measure for those caught changing money privately was announced at the most recent neighborhood watch unit meetings, she said.
“The names, workplaces, and home addresses of those who were arrested for secretly exchanging foreign currency in violation of the party’s policy are being made public,” she said, adding that the information about arrestees is blared over loudspeakers for all to hear.
She said a major crackdown on money changers is underway.
“They were active on the streets and at entrances of marketplaces, but they have not been coming out these days,” she said.
The soaring exchange rate coincided with the post-COVID resumption of trade with China last summer, a resident from Rason’s surrounding North Hamgyong province told RFA on condition of anonymity to speak freely.
“It is also rising rapidly after the announcement of salary increases for workers this year,” he said, adding that it was reminiscent of 2002, another time that salaries rose sharply. “As monthly wages increased in 2002, the dollar exchange rate, which was around 200 won, rose to over 1,000 won. The price of rice, which was around 45 won per kilogram (2.2 pounds), rose almost 10 times.”
The rate shows no signs of slowing its increase, he said.
“It is clear that the dollar exchange rate and product prices will rise further in the future,” he said. “It’s good for the rich but it makes life more difficult for the poor, which is most of the people.”
Translated by Claire S. Lee. Edited by Eugene Whong and Malcolm Foster.
5. North Korea sent trash balloons. Activists in the South sent K-pop.
For some it seems like these balloon launches are a new phenomena. Yes the north's filth balloons are a new development, but balloon flights to and from the north and South are not new at all. They have been taking place for decades.
North Korea sent trash balloons. Activists in the South sent K-pop.
A South Korean group launched balloons containing anti-Pyongyang fliers and thousands of USB drives with local pop music and TV — all illegal in the North.
By Kelsey Ables and Jintak Han
June 7, 2024 at 6:18 a.m. EDT
The Washington Post · by Kelsey Ables · June 7, 2024
SEOUL — After North Korea recently sent thousands of waste-filled balloons to South Korea, activists here responded with airborne deliveries that the regime up north might find even more despicable than garbage: K-pop and K-dramas.
On Thursday, activists in South Korea set aloft 10 large balloons containing thousands of USB drives loaded with local music — including K-pop and trot songs, an old-school South Korean genre experiencing a modern revival — and “Winter Sonata,” a hugely popular romance TV series.
Launched after midnight from Pocheon, a city about 30 miles northeast of Seoul, the balloons also carried 200,000 leaflets criticizing North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, as well as 2,000 U.S. $1 bills, according to a statement from the Fighters for Free North Korea (FFNK) group, which is led by North Korean defector Park Sang-hak.
In a statement, FFNK accused North Korea of “indiscriminately dropping” 15 tons of waste on the South via balloons, calling it “a display of insult and embarrassment for our 50 million citizens.” The South Korean military said that the balloons were “clear violations of international law and seriously threaten the safety of our citizens.”
Activists from the South have for years sent balloons over the border in an attempt to reach the people there with leaflets, media and even Choco Pies — while North Korea has responded at least twice with airborne trash. The South briefly banned sending propaganda leaflets to the North, but the law was struck down last year.
“We sent them truth and fact, love and medicine — and dollar bills, dramas and trot songs,” FFNK said Thursday in their statement, adding that Kim “has not said a single word of apology” and accusing him of “unprecedented evils.”
FFNK sent 20 balloons with similar contents on May 10, according to a press release on its website, sparking the latest tit-for-tat balloon launches.
John Lie, a sociologist at University of California at Berkeley, who has written about the history of K-pop, attributed the group’s recent actions in part to the belief that previous balloons were successful, “at least gauged by the fact that North Korean authorities are responding to what they consider to be ‘trash’ with their trash,” he wrote in an email.
In recent years, South Korean culture has flourished globally, with K-pop groups selling out stadiums, K-dramas dominating streaming platforms, and K-beauty and K-fashion industries booming. But consuming foreign media is an offense in North Korea, and in 2020, Pyongyang adopted a law specifically cracking down on K-pop and other South Korean cultural content, media in the South reported.
Freedom House, a Washington-based pro-democracy think tank and watchdog, gives North Korea a 3 out of 100 rating for civil liberties and political rights.
Relations between the two countries — which never officially signed a peace treaty after a 1953 armistice ended hostilities in the Korean War — have been especially turbulent in recent months, with Kim earlier this year formally abandoning the idea of peaceful reunification with the South, The Washington Post reported.
And balloons filled with South Korean culture might only serve to highlight that division.
“K-dramas have hooked some North Korean viewers and project the image of wealthy, successful South Korea” compared with the North, Lie said, while “pop culture can have a subversive effect on authoritarian” regimes, sparking crackdowns, such as with jazz in the Soviet Union, he added.
For most South Koreans, K-culture “is not only great in and of itself,” Lie said, “but is also a global brand: the most potent expression of South Korean coolness and greatness.”
The Washington Post · by Kelsey Ables · June 7, 2024
6. Editorial: President Yoon must stop junior military officers' exodus to build a strong nation
Editorial: President Yoon must stop junior military officers' exodus to build a strong nation
https://www.chosun.com/english/opinion-en/2024/06/07/UUIB7VHIUJC7ZMC2SJPL6FIGZ4/
By The Chosunilbo
Published 2024.06.07. 09:05
President Yoon Suk-yeol visited the 5th Infantry Division of the Army in Yeoncheon County, Gyeonggi Province, to encourage the soldiers. on Dec. 2024./ Presidential Office
Last year, 9,481 officers and non-commissioned officers (NCOs) with over five years of service left the military, a 24% increase from the previous year and the highest number ever recorded in South Korea.
Among them, 4,061 captains and sergeants who had served for 5 to 10 years accounted for 43% of the total, a 35% increase from the year before.
This indicates a worsening trend of junior officers and NCOs, who are essential to the military, leaving their posts. These personnel are leaving because they feel a sense of relative deprivation due to the increase in soldiers’ salaries and the shortened service periods.
Additionally, their duty allowances are less than half of what police officers and firefighters receive. They claim, “Driving taxis or doing deliveries is better than serving in the military.”
As a result, recruiting officers and NCOs is becoming increasingly difficult. The ROTC (Reserve Officers’ Training Corps), responsible for 70% of junior officers, sees a declining support rate every year, with many universities failing to fill even half of their quotas.
Several ROTC units have already closed in the nation. This decline in popularity extends not only to the ROTC but also to military academies, university military science departments, and army, navy, and air force NCOs. The number of young people willing to become officers or NCOs is dwindling, and current personnel are eagerly looking for opportunities to leave the service.
The root cause of this situation lies in the populist policies of political parties regarding military service. Regardless of the political party, there has been competition during elections to shorten the service period, resulting in general soldiers now serving only 18 months. They are discharged before they even learn basic tactics.
The ROTC officers’ service period has also decreased to 28 months. Starting next year, due to a presidential campaign promise of a “2,000,000 won ($1,467.14) monthly salary for soldiers,” the salaries of officers and soldiers will be the same.
In fact, real income has already reversed because, unlike soldiers whose food, clothing, and shelter are guaranteed by the state, officers have to cover their food and housing costs from their salaries. It’s no wonder that few people want to become officers under these conditions.
The patriotism and qualities of junior officers are crucial to military strength, as history has shown in every war. If their morale is low, the troops will be disorganized, no matter how many soldiers there are. Even a stealth aircraft or an Aegis ship that worth million to billion dollars would be useless.
Currently, junior officers, who are the core of our military, regret their career choice and cynically believe that leaving the military is a matter of intelligence. This is an unacceptable situation for a country facing the threat of North Korean nuclear attacks.
Yesterday, in his Memorial Day speech, President Yoon Suk-yeol stated, “We will never overlook North Korea’s threats,” and pledged to “build a stronger South Korea.” Without special measures to prevent the exodus of junior officers, these words will ring hollow. It is hoped that both political parties can agree on a fundamental principle to keep defense policy free from political populism.
7. School of Advanced Military Studies participate in academic broadening with combined special operations units in Korea
Three of my favorite things: SAMs, Special Operations, and Korea. A great opportunity for SAMS students.
I wrote my second SAMS monograph on the catastrophic collapse of north Korea and the implications for the US Military and then the Army sent me to Korea to serve on the ROK/US CFC staff and I was able to put my academic work to use as we developed the first plans for regime collapse. My SAMS experience was one of the most important opportunities of my military service.
Some might think my follow-on assignment (back) to Korea was good personnel management - I was able to put my research into action. However, the only reason I went to Korea is because it was the only assignment they could send a Special Forces officer because they were not going to send me to an Army Corps or Division and they would not send me to aTheater Special Operations Command. The personnel managers said we are not sending Army Majors to send SAMS to assign them to joint assignments. They only wanted them sent to Army assignments, Fortunately a few years later that changed and SF officers would spend their SAMS utilization tours at Theater SOCs.
School of Advanced Military Studies participate in academic broadening with combined special operations units in Korea
SOUTH KOREA
04.23.2024
Subscribe13
U.S. Army Maj. Brian Hamel, Advanced Military Studies Program student, discusses his research on special operations forces’ contributions to space warfare through the lens of the special operations forces, space, and cyber triad – a U.S. Army initiative focused on providing military leaders different options to facilitate deterrence – with senior Republic of Korea Special Warfare Command and U.S. Special Operations Command Korea leadership on April 24, 2024, at Icheon, ROK. U.S. and multinational students from AMSP conduct graduate level research focused on historical, current, and future military topics, giving the U.S. Army, Department of Defense, and broader network of aligned nations in-depth insights into various problems or events. (U.S. Air Force photo by Maj. Christopher Mesnard)
8. Ex-Gyeonggi vice governor gets 9 1/2-yr sentence in N.K. remittance, graft case
An indication of active north Korean subversion in the South?
(2nd LD) Ex-Gyeonggi vice governor gets 9 1/2-yr sentence in N.K. remittance, graft case | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Yoo Cheong-mo · June 7, 2024
(ATTN: UPDATES with more details in paras 2, 3, 6)
SUWON, South Korea, June 7 (Yonhap) -- Former Gyeonggi Province Vice Gov. Lee Hwa-young, who is said to be close to opposition leader Lee Jae-myung, was sentenced by a court on Friday to nine years and six months in prison on multiple charges, including collusion in an underwear maker's unauthorized remittance to North Korea.
The Suwon District Court handed down the sentence, finding Lee Hwa-young guilty of colluding in Ssangbangwool Group's transfer of US$3.94 million (about 5.38 billion won) to North Korea between 2019 and 2020, bribery and political fund law violations.
The court also imposed a fine of 250 million won ($183,000) on him and ordered the forfeiture of 326 million won.
A file photo of former Gyeonggi Province Vice Gov. Lee Hwa-young provided by the provincial government in January 2020 (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
Lee Hwa-young was indicted for violating the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act in connection with Ssangbangwool's transfer of $8 million to the North. Prosecutors claim $5 million of the money was intended to help Gyeonggi's smart farm support program in North Korea, and the rest was to facilitate then Gyeonggi Gov. Lee Jae-myung's planned visit to Pyongyang. Kim Seong-tae, former chairman of Ssangbangwool, allegedly delivered the money to Kim Yong-chol, chairman of North Korea's Asia-Pacific Peace Committee, on behalf of Lee Jae-myung and the provincial government.
Lee Hwa-young served as vice governor while Lee Jae-myung was governor of Gyeonggi Province, which surrounds Seoul, from 2018-2021.
The court recognized only $3.94 million of the $8 million the prosecution stated in the indictment as illegal funds smuggled overseas.
Lee Hwa-young was also charged with receiving illicit political funds amounting to 334 million won from Ssangbangwool, including 259 million won worth of bribes provided through methods such as corporate card and vehicle usage, between July 2018 and August 2022. In addition, he is suspected of inciting Ssangbangwool's Vice Chairman Bang Yong-cheol to destroy corporate data related to his corporate card use.
The court said it appears that Lee had received bribes and political funds for a long period of time without any sense of compunction, considering his past behavior.
"The defendant has worked for our society as a high-ranking official for decades but he is highly likely to be criticized in this regard," the court said.
"He was supposed to be careful within the boundary of the law in the case of crimes under the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act. But he ended up committing a crime of providing funds to North Korea by using his public position. Nevertheless, he has denied the crime with unreasonable excuses throughout the court hearing, thus deserving severe punishment," it said.
The court acquitted Lee of parts of his graft and political fund and foreign exchange law violation charges.
The ruling came about one year and eight months after Lee was indicted in October 2022. Prosecutors demanded imprisonment of 15 years for him in a previous hearing in April. He has denied the charges. He said once that he had reported Ssangbangwool's North Korean remittance to Lee Jae-myung but reversed his statement later.
Following the conviction of Lee Hwa-young, the prosecution is expected to wind up its investigation into Lee Jae-myung for a possible indictment on allegations that he, as governor of Gyeonggi, asked Ssangbangwool to illegally transfer $8 million to North Korea. The prosecution requested an arrest warrant for Lee Jae-myung in September last year on multiple charges, including one related to the North Korean remittance case, but the Seoul Central District Court refused to approve the warrant.
ycm@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by Yoo Cheong-mo · June 7, 2024
9. S. Korea dismisses Japan's protest over maritime survey near Dokdo
The friction continues.
S. Korea dismisses Japan's protest over maritime survey near Dokdo | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Han-joo · June 7, 2024
By Kim Han-joo
SEOUL, June 7 (Yonhap) -- The foreign ministry on Friday dismissed Japan's renewed protest over Seoul's routine maritime survey near the East Sea islets of Dokdo, saying that the move is a "legitimate" activity.
On Thursday, Japan's foreign ministry lodged a complaint through diplomatic and embassy channels, demanding an immediate halt to the maritime survey conducted by the Korea Hydrographic and Oceanographic Agency around the rocky islets. Tokyo argued that Seoul had not sought prior consent for the survey.
In response, Seoul's foreign ministry said the maritime survey is a "legitimate" activity, emphasizing that Dokdo is indisputably South Korean territory historically, geographically, and under international law.
"The government cannot accept Japan's objections to activities conducted in accordance with international law and relevant domestic regulations," a ministry official said on the condition of anonymity, adding that the government has rejected Japan's "inappropriate" claims through diplomatic channels.
Dokdo has long been a recurring source of tension between the two neighbors, as Tokyo continues to assert its sovereignty claims in policy papers, public statements, and school textbooks. Tokyo also lodges a complaint every time Seoul conducts regular maritime surveys.
The agency dispatches a research vessel regularly to monitor ocean currents and measure sea temperatures using sonar technology as part of its ongoing maritime surveys.
In April, Japan also filed a complaint through the diplomatic channels after a group of lawmakers, including Cho Kuk, the leader of the Rebuilding Korea Party, visited the islets.
South Korea maintains a small police detachment on the islets, effectively controlling them.
This undated file photo, provided by the Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology, shows the East Sea islets of Dokdo. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
khj@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Han-joo · June 7, 2024
10. Korea's diplomacy put to test as Japan pushes ahead with UNESCO bid for Sado mines
Again. More friction in the Japan-Korea relationship.
Korea's diplomacy put to test as Japan pushes ahead with UNESCO bid for Sado mines
The Korea Times · June 7, 2024
Korean Ambassador to Japan Yun Duk-min looks at a map inside the Sado gold mine in Niigata, Japan, Dec. 1, 2023. Courtesy of Korean Embassy in Japan
Seoul hints at opposing inscription if Tokyo fails to include wartime forced labor history in nomination letter
By Lee Hyo-jin
Korea's diplomatic abilities will face a critical test in the coming weeks as Japan pushes to include the Sado mines — a contentious wartime site linked to forced labor of people including Koreans — on UNESCO's World Heritage list.
The final decision regarding the inscription will be made during the UNESCO World Heritage Committee (WHC) session in New Delhi, India, from July 21 to 23. The meeting will gather all 21 members of its rotating committee, which includes both Korea and Japan this year.
Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, Friday, that Korea may officially oppose the Sado mines' inclusion in the World Heritage list, unless Japan includes the history of forced labor in its nomination bid.
According to UNESCO guidelines, a property's inclusion on the World Heritage list requires a two-thirds majority vote from committee members present. However, decisions are typically reached through consensus, with formal voting only occurring when consensus cannot be achieved beforehand.
"Whether we will oppose it or not depends on Japan," a ministry official told reporters during a closed-door briefing.
"We are considering not obstructing a consensus formation if our position is reflected adequately. But if our stance is not acknowledged, we may potentially delay a consensus and push ahead with holding the vote," the official said.
In other words, Seoul would not categorically oppose Tokyo's bid for inscription on UNESCO's list unless it properly incorporates the mines' wartime history and forced labor in its submission letter to UNESCO.
The mines on the island of Sado were used for manufacturing war-related materials during World War II. Historical documents show that nearly 2,000 Koreans were forced to work there during Japan's colonial occupation of Korea from 1910 to 1945.
In its letter of recommendation submitted to UNESCO, the Japanese government described the mine as having value of its mining technology and system from the 16th century until the mid-19th century, effectively excluding its 20th-century wartime atrocity.
The Korean government has been demanding Japan include the full account of the mine's history, including the forced labor of Koreans.
A gold mine on the island of Sado / Korea Times file
With less than two months to go until UNESCO makes its final decision, the foreign ministry is actively engaging in negotiations with its Japanese counterpart, aiming to prevent the bilateral issue from affecting other UNESCO member states.
"Failure to resolve bilateral issues through dialogue, which could potentially lead to confrontational situations, could undermine the overall practices and atmosphere of the UNESCO WHC," the ministry official said, noting that both the Korean and Japanese governments are committed to reaching a consensus and avoiding the need for a vote.
Korea's diplomatic effort is expected to intensify as the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), a UNESCO advisory body, referred the nomination of the Sado mines, Thursday, requesting Japan to submit additional documents about the property.
ICOMOS, one of the three advisory bodies to the UNESCO WHC, plays a crucial role in the final decision-making process for inscription.
The evaluations conducted by the advisory body result in one of the four recommendations: inscription, if all requirements are met; referral, referring back to the state for additional information about the property; deferral, meaning that the nomination requires more in-depth assessment or study; and denial.
According to ICOMOS, reasons for referral could be associated with a lack of adequate definition of the property. But this decision is viewed as relatively encouraging to the applying state, as it may lead to quicker inscription compared to a deferral decision.
In 2023, all eight properties initially recommended for referral by the advisory body were ultimately inscribed in the final decision.
Following the referral decision, the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs announced "the Sado mine has been recognized as worthy of consideration for World Heritage inscription," expressing optimism about its inclusion in the upcoming July session, according to Kyodo News.
The Korea Times · June 7, 2024
11. N. Korea holds events to celebrate 78th anniversary of youth organization
N. Korea holds events to celebrate 78th anniversary of youth organization
The Korea Times · June 7, 2024
Members of the Korean Children's Union attend a national conference to celebrate the 78th anniversary of its founding in Pyongyang on June 6, in this photo released by the North's official Korean Central News Agency. Yonhap
North Korea has held various events to celebrate the 78th anniversary of the founding of its major youth organization, state media reported Friday, a move seen as aimed at eliciting the younger generation's loyalty for its leader, Kim Jong-un.
The Korean Children's Union (KCU), established in 1946, organized a national conference in Pyongyang on Thursday, followed by a concert by its members, according to multiple reports from the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
The KCU is a youth organization comprised of children aged around 7 to 14. Its members, known for wearing red neckerchiefs, are estimated to number around 3 million.
Attending the concert were notable figures, such as Choe Ryong-hae, chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly, and a visiting Russian youth delegation, the National Council of the Russian Association of Youth and Children.
The Rodong Sinmun, North Korea's main newspaper, also reported on the event, saying the KCU members pledged to "serve beloved father" with "utmost loyalty and strive to bring him only joy."
In addition to the events in Pyongyang, similar gatherings and meetings commemorating the 78th anniversary of the KCU's founding took place across various parts of the country. (Yonhap)
The Korea Times · June 7, 2024
12. Are North Korea's trash balloons an escalation?
Just another tactic in the Kim family regime playbook.
Are North Korea's trash balloons an escalation? – DW – 06/04/2024
Julian Ryall in Tokyo
06/04/2024June 4, 2024
South Korea has suspended a 2018 peace agreement and said it might resume propaganda broadcasts into the North after Pyongyang sent thousands of balloons carrying trash and human waste into the South.
DW
The government of South Korea has warned that it is planning countermeasures against North Korea, which has dramatically ramped up provocations following a failed attempt to place a spy satellite into orbit on May 27.
South Korea's ruling People Power Party (PPP) convened a meeting of its emergency committee on Monday to consider responses to the North's actions after the rocket carrying the satellite exploded in midair shortly after launch.
Since late May, North Korea has jammed GPS signals over a wide area off the west coast of the Korean Peninsula, potentially endangering civilian air and maritime traffic. The North also fired 10 short-range ballistic missiles and rounds from 18 multiple rocket launchers into the Sea of Japan.
Pyongyang has also issued threats against shipping operating near the disputed sea border off the west coast, and claims to have released 2,000 balloons carrying trash and human waste over the border into the South.
Authorities in the South have confirmed around 700 have landed, causing minor damage and spreading human feces and rubbish at landing sites.
On Monday, senior PPP official Choo Kyung-ho said the regime of Kim Jong Un in North Korea would "inevitably pay the price" for the provocations and demanded an immediate apology from Pyongyang.
The government on Monday decided to fully suspend the 2018 inter-Korean peace pact "until mutual trust between the two Koreas is restored."
North Korea sends hundreds of trash balloons across border
South to resume propaganda broadcasts?
Seoul is also understood to be considering resuming propaganda broadcasts into the North from large loudspeakers placed close to the Demilitarized Zone that separates the feuding neighbors.
Resuming the broadcasts, which were turned off 2018, would represent an escalation, as they are considered to be a form of psychological warfare. The North has in the past threatened to target the speaker sites with artillery barrages.
"South Korea has responded to these childish and vulgar provocations by threatening to resume propaganda broadcasts," said Chun In-bum, a retired lieutenant general in the Republic of Korea Army and now a senior fellow with the National Institute for Deterrence Studies.
Chun said the North responded quickly, saying they would stop sending balloons if the South held off on the propaganda broadcasts.
"It would appear that some of the tension has been relieved, but I would say that more is yet to come," Chun told DW.
The retired general said the current inner-Korean tensions could be a sign that Kim is again making a big military push, and heading towards weapons capable of striking the continental United States.
There is the widespread belief that Kim is being assisted in the development of such weapons through an increasingly firm alliance with Vladimir Putin's Russia.
North Korea emboldened by Russian support
As Russia's war in Ukraine drags on, the US has warned Russia is providing North Korea with assistance on developing more advanced weapons technology, such as hypersonic missiles, in exchange for North Korean artillery shells.
And with Russia's backing as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, Pyongyang has appeared more emboldened in the face of international criticism.
After UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the North's failed attempt to launch a rocket carrying a spy satellite on Tuesday, the North bit back, calling Guterres a "servant" of the US.
And while there were suggestions that the UN Security Council might attempt to pass a new resolution on the North, the effort never got off the ground as proponents were aware that Russia would merely use its veto to stifle any debate.
"The UN Security Council is effectively paralyzed on these kinds of issues right now and North Korea sees that as an opportunity to act with impunity," said Dan Pinkston, a professor of international relations at the Seoul campus of Troy University.
"Russia has given Pyongyang the green light to do whatever it wants because all political and diplomatic pressure has been eroded away," he told DW.
Why North Korea is more dangerous than ever
Escalated danger of conflict?
As well as having the explicit backing of Moscow, Kim also appears to be deviating from the policies of his father and grandfather vis-a-vis South Korea.
While his predecessors attempted to out-perform the South after failing to win the Korean War and subsume the rest of the peninsula under North Korean rule, that policy changed earlier this year, said Pinkston.
"Kim could be acting more aggressively out of dissatisfaction with the current situation or the long-standing status quo," he said. "He may want to overturn that and is looking for ways to make that happen."
Kim may have concluded that his predecessors' policies have failed to deliver control of the entire peninsula and is looking for an alternative strategy, Pinkston said.
"And those options will include using military force to reach his objectives, which matches the policies of China, Russia and Iran of using force to overturn what they see as a US-led, liberal world order," he added.
"They have no interest in protecting human rights, open economies or ensuring the peaceful settlement of disputes; they see force as a legitimate tool of their foreign policy," he said.
And while North Korean provocations are nothing new on the peninsula, Pinkston cautions that the South and its allies and partners need to be alert.
"These balloons filled with trash appear to be an emotionally immature reaction from the North, but they do have their uses," he pointed out.
"The North is testing the South's air defenses, seeing how fast the military here is able to respond to a threat, seeking out holes in the radar coverage and looking to take advantage of that."
Edited by: Wesley Rahn
DW
13. Will North Korea fly trash balloons into South Korea again? A look at rising tensions between them
If Kim thinks he can achieve desired effects he will. If the ROK stops escapee/defectors from sending balloons north we can be sure he will employ this tactic again because it works. Of course because the escapees/defectors continue to send balloons north he may continue his filth balloon barrage (or S**t Show) for a period of time. But if the ROK does not give in, the regime will eventually stop because the tactic will be proven unsuccessful.
Will North Korea fly trash balloons into South Korea again? A look at rising tensions between them
koreaherald.com · by AP · June 7, 2024
By AP
Published : June 7, 2024 - 21:12
A group of North Korean defectors tried to fly balloons carrying K-pop content early Thursday, with some successfully entering North Korean skies, according to the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff. (Yonhap)
South Koreans were alert Friday for possible new launches by North Korea of balloons carrying rubbish into the South, a day after Seoul activists flew their own balloons to scatter political leaflets in the North.
Any resumption of trash balloon launches by North Korea would likely prompt South Korea to respond, possibly with anti-North Korean loudspeaker broadcasts or live-fire exercises along their heavily fortified border. North Korea would probably retaliate with its own measures, further escalating tensions between the rivals.
Here is a look at the soaring animosities between the Koreas over the balloon launches:
Last week, South Korean authorities discovered about 1,000 North Korean-flown balloons carrying manure, cigarette butts, scraps of cloth, waste batteries and vinyl in various parts of South Korea. No highly dangerous materials were found, but some South Koreans worry that North Korea may launch balloons with biological or other hazardous materials in the future.
South Korean officials called the North Korean balloon campaign and other recent provocations “absurd, irrational” and vowed “unbearable” retaliation. They suspended a 2018 military agreement on easing frontline military tensions with North Korea.
Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, said the balloons were a response to campaigns by South Korean civilians to fly propaganda leaflets into North Korea. Analysts say the North's action was also likely designed to trigger a divide in South Korea over its conservative government's tough policy on North Korea.
For years, South Korean civic activists have used helium-filled balloons to drop anti-North Korean leaflets and USB sticks with South Korean dramas and world news in the North, which forbids access to foreign news for most of its 26 million people. The launches infuriate North Korea, which has previously fired at the balloons and destroyed an empty South Korean-built liaison office in the North in response.
North's vice defense minister, Kim Kang-il, said Sunday that his country would stop the balloon campaign but threatened to resume it if South Korean activists sent leaflets again.
In defiance of the warning, a South Korean civilian group led by North Korean defector Park Sang-hak said it launched 10 balloons from a border town on Thursday carrying 200,000 anti-North Korean leaflets, USB sticks with K-pop songs and South Korean dramas, and one-dollar U.S. bills.
“We sent the truth and love, medicines, one-dollar bills and songs. But a barbaric Kim Jong-un sent us filth and garbage and he hasn’t made a word of apology over that,” Park said.
North Korea hasn't immediately responded. Many experts predict it will resume flying trash-carrying balloons when weather conditions are favorable. North Korea's state media have previously called Park “human scum without an equal in the world."
Following the suspension of the 2018 tension-easing agreement, South Korea is ready to retaliate against a new North Korean balloon campaign by restarting frontline live-fire drills or loudspeaker broadcasts of anti-North Korean messages and outside news. Such steps are likely to further enrage North Korea.
Flying balloons with propaganda leaflets into each other's territory was one of the most common psychological campaigns by the two Koreas during the 1950-53 Korean War and at the height of the Cold War.
But the North Korean balloons sent into South Korea in recent days carried only garbage, not political leaflets. It was the North's first balloon campaign in seven years.
In a Memorial Day speech Thursday, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said that “North Korea carried out a despicable provocation that would make any normal country ashamed of itself.” U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller earlier called the trash-carrying balloons “disgusting" and “childish.”
Frontline loudspeaker broadcasts were also used by the rival Koreas for psychological warfare during the Cold War, along with giant frontline billboards and propaganda radio broadcasts.
In recent years, the two Koreas have agreed to halt such activities but sometimes resumed them when tensions rose. South Korean officials say they have no legal grounds to ban private citizens from flying balloons to North Korea, after the country’s constitutional court last year struck down a law criminalizing such leafleting as a violation of free speech.
Many in South Korea believe a resumption of loudspeaker broadcasts would severely sting North Korea's leadership because of fears the broadcasts would demoralize frontline troops and residents of the rigidly controlled society and eventually weaken Kim Jong-un's leadership.
In 2015, when South Korea restarted loudspeaker broadcasts after a lapse of 11 years, North Korea fired artillery rounds across the border, prompting South Korea to return fire. No casualties were reported.
koreaherald.com · by AP · June 7, 2024
14. North Korea clears land at six locations inside DMZ, satellite imagery shows
Time to redeploy US patrols to the DMZ integrated with the ROK military units.
North Korea clears land at six locations inside DMZ, satellite imagery shows
https://www.nknews.org/2024/06/north-korea-clears-land-at-six-locations-inside-dmz-satellite-imagery-shows/
Experts say land clearing is likely aimed at bolstering defense with one section crossing military demarcation line
Ifang Bremer | Joon Ha Park June 7, 2024
North Korean soldiers in the Joint Security Area (left) and satellite imagery of new land clearing by North Korea near Panmunjom (right) | Image: Eric Lafforgue and Planet Labs (edited by NK News)
North Korea is clearing vegetation at six different areas across the peninsula’s demilitarized zone (DMZ) in apparent efforts to bolster border defenses on South Korea’s doorstep, analysis of satellite imagery by NK News reveals.
NK News reported earlier this week on a section of borderland cleared by North Korea on the east coast of the peninsula, but further analysis revealed DPRK soldiers are clearing sections all along the inter-Korean border, spanning from east to west on the Korean Peninsula.
OVERVIEW OF SIX LAND CLEARING SITES BY NORTH KOREA BETWEEN APRIL-JUNE
North Korean border development at Panmunjom
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Planet Labs satellite imagery shows that DPRK soldiers have cleared and likely demined strips of land at six different locations along the heavily fortified DMZ, with one area located just 0.7 miles from Panmunjeom.
All land clearing happened between late April and early June, according to satellite imagery, with some sections cleared close to the military demarcation line (MDL) and, in one instance, crossing the MDL.
The U.N. Command (UNC) told NK News earlier this week that “Since its declared abandonment of unification policies, the DPRK has pursued measures to harden its boundaries.”
Early this year, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered officials to “redefine North Korea’s borders” as part of a sweeping policy change rejecting peaceful reunification with the South and emphasizing that the two Koreas are separate countries at war.
Locations of North Korean land clearing inside the DMZ between late April and June 2024 | Image: Felt (edited by NK News)
Christopher Green, a professor at Leiden University and analyst for the International Crisis Group, told NK News that North Korea most likely cleared the land near the MDL “for the purpose of patrols and, ergo, defense.”
Green said that “hardening defenses is not by itself a problem,” but that “extra border region military activities now the Comprehensive Military Agreement (CMA) is dead, do certainly increase the risk of conflict arising from misunderstandings.”
North Korea completely withdrew from the 2018 inter-Korean military deal in Nov. 2023 after South Korea suspended a provision concerning no-fly buffer zones. Seoul suspended the deal in its entirety earlier this week, citing North Korea’s recent launch of 1,000 balloons containing trash and feces across the border.
South Korea has since redeployed propaganda loudspeakers to the border area and announced that it will resume normal military operations in the region.
Shin Seung-ki, a senior analyst at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses (KIDA), agreed with Green that the North’s intentions in undertaking such clearances along the fortified border could be to better monitor the movements of the ROK military guard posts (GP) along the DMZ.
Shortly after North Korea’s withdrawal from the CMA, South Korea’s defense ministry announced that North Korea appeared to be rebuilding guard posts and deploying heavy weaponry to the inter-Korean border. North Korea had previously removed several GPs and weaponry along the border following the establishment of the CMA.
Shin also raised the possibility that the land clearing could be part of a bid by Pyongyang to “make it more difficult for North Korean soldiers to defect to the South.”
The KIDA expert voiced the need for further verification from the ROK military about its assessment of North Korea’s land clearing since creating new fences or paths that cross the MDL could “become a significant issue.”
South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense refused to respond to several NK News inquiries about North Korea’s construction inside the DMZ.
The construction follows confirmation that North Korea has been demolishing facilities near major roads connecting to South Korea and reports that the DPRK has also installed landmines at several inter-Korean crossings.
Edited by Alannah Hill
15. North Korea urges children to provide weapons to boost country’s military power
Will this violate child soldier laws?
Certainly a human rights abuse.
16. N. Korean e-payment services popular among young people
Is this an opportunity for electronic penetration?
N. Korean e-payment services popular among young people - Daily NK English
"For payments, all you have to do is touch your personal visual code on a UV reader," a source told Daily NK
By Mun Dong Hui - June 7, 2024
dailynk.com · by Mun Dong Hui · June 7, 2024
North Korean e-commerce app, Manmulsang (Photo capture from Seogwang)
Electronic payment services such as offline payments using QR codes are becoming increasingly popular among young North Koreans in major cities, Daily NK has learned.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a source in North Korea told Daily NK on Tuesday that “many people are using a smartphone payment application made by Samhung IT Exchange Center,” usually “residents of Pyongyang, provincial capitals and other big cities who use smartphones.”
Samhung IT Exchange Center is one of North Korea’s few software developers. It develops multiple products under government contract. North Korean media recently reported that Samhung IT Exchange Center’s “Samhung Electronic Payment Service System” and “Samhung Electronic Wallet” are gaining popularity.
The simplified smartphone payment application mentioned by the source appears to be one of these two. However, Daily NK has yet to determine whether the two applications are actually the same.
“For payments, all you have to do is touch your personal visual code on a UV reader,” the source said. “In Pyongyang, they now say that anyone who opens a wallet instead of using a visual code is old-fashioned.”
North Koreans have little faith in banks. The country’s 2009 currency reform left the public deeply distrustful of the authorities and banks. Since then, North Korea has been trying to reduce public distrust and normalize banking operations.
Part of this effort appears to be reducing the public’s deep-rooted mistrust of banks by providing convenient, simplified payment applications. In fact, simplified payment applications are becoming increasingly popular among North Korea’s youth, the source said.
“Electronic payment systems are spreading rapidly, especially in Pyongyang, provincial capitals, downtown areas and central cities, as well as among the youth, and are gradually gaining public trust,” she said. “Even the elderly are having fun, learning how to use the apps from their children overnight and putting their money in the banks to make payments.”
“This payment service system is the most widely used in shops, banks, restaurants and elsewhere after Ullim,” she said. “In addition to Samhung IT Exchange Center, IT companies and exchange companies are also developing various electronic payment applications.”
This suggests that while the Ullim and Kangsong electronic payment apps are currently in use in North Korea, more are under development. North Korea appears to be developing and deploying various payment apps to absorb idle cash.
At the same time, North Korea is reportedly making efforts to improve the compatibility of electronic payment cards needed for simplified mobile payments.
“When the digital payment systems are created, they will be compatible with internal bank intranets, depending on whether you’re in the capital or the provinces, where you work, who you are, and which bank you’re dealing with,” she said. “You can use a wide range of cards, so the Chonsong card isn’t the only one that can make electronic payments.”
When North Korea first produced simplified payment applications, only the Chonsong electronic payment card issued by the country’s central bank could make electronic payments. However, the number of cards that can make electronic payments is growing, making such payments more accessible to the public.
Daily NK works with a network of sources living in North Korea, China, and elsewhere. Their identities remain anonymous for security reasons. For more information about Daily NK’s network of reporting partners and information-gathering activities, please visit our FAQ page here.
Please send any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
Read in Korean
dailynk.com · by Mun Dong Hui · June 7, 2024
North Korea urges children to provide weapons to boost country’s military power
Expert says directive targeting DPRK youth highlights regime’s will to use all available resources to achieve objectives
https://www.nknews.org/2024/06/north-korea-urges-children-to-provide-weapons-to-boost-countrys-military-power/
Shreyas Reddy June 7, 2024
Members of the Korean Children's Union (KCU) march during a national meeting in Pyongyang | Image: KCNA (June 7, 2024)
North Korea has called on children to augment the country’s military power by providing weapons, underscoring the regime’s focus on instilling loyalty among the youth to leader Kim Jong Un and his military ambitions.
During a national meeting in Pyongyang commemorating the 78th anniversary of the Korean Children’s Union (KCU) on Thursday, Socialist Patriotic Youth League head Mun Chol urged the group’s members to “become true propagandists and patriots” in order to bring about prosperity, the cabinet-run newspaper Rodong Sinmun reported.
To better serve the nation, he reportedly instructed children to work toward achieving the KCU’s goals and prioritize education to boost “socialist construction” in the DPRK.
Characterized by their signature red neckties, the KCU’s members are under 14 years of age, after which they graduate to the Socialist Patriotic Youth League.
Bringing children into official organizations ensures they are exposed to state-driven ideological and labor activities at a young age, according to Fyodor Tertitskiy, a researcher at Seoul’s Kookmin University.
“The KCU is the primary institution to indoctrinate the youth,” he told NK News. “All young DPRK citizens, except those born in the harshest camps, become its members.”
Officials and youth representatives address a rally marking the Korean Children’s Union (KCU) founding anniversary | Image: KCNA (June 7, 2024)
At Thursday’s rally, Mun called on the assembled children to emulate the spirit of the Anti-Japanese Children’s Corps, a pre-independence youth group that inspired the formation of the KCU, and young troops during the Korean War.
To live up to these standards, he called on the children to boost Pyongyang’s ongoing efforts to advance its military capabilities by “actively supporting the Korean People’s Army and contributing to strengthening the nation’s military power by preparing more ‘Sonyon’ [‘Kid’] armed equipment,” referring to rocket launchers “donated” by the youth group last year.
At the time, NK News identified the system as a 12-tube 300mm multiple rocket launcher vehicle, dubbed the KN-09 by the U.S. and capable of firing precision-guided rockets at targets up to 125 miles (200 km) away.
The KCU presented a “Sonyon” (“Kids”) rocket launcher to the military in 2023 | Image: KCNA (June 7, 2023)
The emphasis on North Korean youth contributing to military build-up echoes Kim Jong Un’s 2022 address to the KCU, calling for children to foster “hatred” for “American bastards” and help make arms to support the military’s efforts.
Kim previously called for instilling loyalty in the country’s youth by making them work on construction projects and participate in military drills.
Defectors have also previously stated that the KCU leadership typically orders children to collect and donate scrap metal and other materials needed to manufacture weapons.
Pyongyang’s persistent focus on using children for weapons development reflects its willingness to do whatever it deems necessary to achieve its objectives, Tertitskiy told NK News.
“Children can be used as free labor and this is what Pyongyang is doing. It’s not really that unexpected, especially given the recent trend to revert the economy to its original state — the one based on planning, mobilization and centralization.”
Standing in front of a sign saying “Always ready,” KCU members applaud during a rally in Pyongyang | Image: KCNA (June 7, 2024)
LEADER’S ‘LOVING CARE’
Kim Jong Un was not present at the children’s rally, but his presence loomed large over the proceedings as state media emphasized the supreme leader’s “loving care.”
On behalf of the KCU members, Mun expressed “heartfelt wishes” for the health of the nation’s “beloved father” and highlighted the leader’s role in shaping future generations.
“All KCU members should always remember that today’s happiness and the endlessly bright future are possible because of Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un, and they should grow up as true sons and daughters of the socialist fatherland,” he said.
Following Mun’s speech, youth representatives reaffirmed their loyalty to Kim and vowed to “bring joy to the leader at all times” in order to advance North Korea’s socialist development.
An evening gala celebrating the KCU’s 78th founding anniversary featuring fireworks and performances | Image: KCNA (June 7, 2024)
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These narratives reinforce Pyongyang’s propaganda efforts in recent years to portray Kim Jong Un as a father figure guiding the country’s youth, a theme that was also prominent at other events marking the children’s group’s founding anniversary.
At a fireworks-filled gala staged in Pyongyang’s Kim Il Sung Square on Thursday evening, senior officials and a visiting Russian youth delegation watched as students staged cultural performances, including large-scale dances and songs celebrating the leader.
“All the spectators, recognizing the bright smiles of the children as the symbol of the socialist system and the strength of our style of socialism, envisioned the endless bright future of our nation with joy, confident in the nurturing care of Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un,” state media reported.
KCU members and officials across the country also paid tribute to the current leader and his predecessors, Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, and participated in meetings, storytelling sessions, sports and other events commemorating the founding anniversary.
Events across North Korea marked the KCU’s founding anniversary with sports, cultural performances and tributes to the leader | Image: KCNA (June 7, 2024)
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Edited by Alannah Hill
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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