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"Our lives on this planet are too short and the work to be done too great to let this spirit flourish any longer in our land. Of course we cannot vanquish it with a program, nor with a resolution... But we can perhaps remember, if only for a time, that those who live with us are our brothers, that they share with us the same short moment of life; that they seek, as do we, nothing but the chance to live out their lives in purpose and in happiness, winning what satisfaction and fulfillment they can. ”
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1. U.S. Special Representative to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea Sung Kim On Recent DPRK Missile Launches
2. Follow South Korea's Lead: How America Can Push Back on North Korea
3. How Should US Respond to a North Korean Nuclear Test?
4. Aerial 'Show Of Force' Missions Are Back Over South Korea
5. Could North Korea become a breeding ground for new COVID-19 mutations?
6. S. Korea, U.S., Japan agree to bolster security ties against N. Korea
7. N. Korea holds politburo session without leader Kim's attendance
8. Korea, Japan, U.S. vow united response to a nuke test
9. PPP says it's ready to be tough with North Korea
10. Many N. Koreans skeptical about their own government's COVID-19 statistics
11. N. Korean elite jockey for job assignments in Pyongyang's new Hwasong District
12. New ambassador nominee gets US approval
13. Allies in talks on new site for residual US military facilities: sources
14. The Pyongyang problem for the Quad
15. China calls for calm on Korean Peninsula, rejects claim it harassed Canadian patrol plane
16. As North Korea prepares for first nuclear test in 5 years, Biden administration says all US diplomatic efforts have been rebuffed
1. U.S. Special Representative to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea Sung Kim On Recent DPRK Missile Launches
U.S. Special Representative to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea Sung Kim On Recent DPRK Missile Launches - United States Department of State
SPECIAL BRIEFING
VIA TELECONFERENCE
JUNE 7, 2022
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MR ICE: Thank you, Operator, and good morning, everyone, or good afternoon, depending on where you are. I really appreciate you joining us today. We have with us U.S. Special Representative for the DPRK, Ambassador Sung Kim, who is on the line with us.
We’re very glad to have Special Representative Kim with us today, who’s going to tell you more about U.S. efforts to engage the DPRK in diplomacy, their most recent ballistic missile launches, and he’ll probably talk a little bit about his recent travel to Seoul.
Ambassador Kim is going to open with some remarks and then we’ll take a few of your questions.
I would like to take this opportunity to remind everyone that the contents of our briefing today is U.S. policy toward the DPRK. We ask you all to hew to that topic. I’ll also mention that while we are on the record with this conversation with Ambassador Kim, the contents of this briefing are embargoed until the end of the call.
Okay. And with that, very happy to turn it over to Special Representative Kim. Sir, over to you.
AMBASSADOR KIM: Great. Thank you very much, JT. Good morning, everyone.
On June 5, the DPRK launched eight ballistic missiles from various parts of the country, which would be the largest number of ballistic missiles ever launched in a single day by the DPRK.
North Korea has now launched 31 ballistic missiles in 2022, the most ballistic missiles it has ever launched in a single year, surpassing its previous record of 25 in 2019. And it’s only June.
In addition to launching an unprecedented number of ballistic missiles, the DPRK’s senior officials have used rhetoric that could suggest the use of tactical nuclear weapons. We also assess that the DPRK is preparing to conduct a seventh nuclear test.
We’re also preparing for a UN General Assembly debate on the DPRK on Wednesday, June 8th. The debate is being held because two members vetoed a resolution the United States introduced in response to the DPRK’s series of ballistic missile launches this year, including ICBMs launched on March 24 and May 25. The veto blocked the will of the rest of council members and prevented the council from carrying out its responsibilities.
Since the announcement of our DPRK policy review last spring, the United States has always been very clear – we seek dialogue with Pyongyang without preconditions. We continue to remain committed to diplomacy, even as the DPRK launches an unprecedented number of ballistic missiles. We have also been clear that we will seek to cooperate on humanitarian issues, regardless of the status of WMD-related discussions.
To demonstrate our sincerity, senior U.S. officials, including our President and the Secretary of State, have repeatedly and publicly affirmed that we seek diplomacy with the DPRK without preconditions.
We have also reached out to pass this message through private channels as well. This includes high-level personal messages from senior U.S. officials to senior DPRK officials.
Over the past year, we have sent such messages in multiple ways – through third parties, directly, in writing – and have also included specific proposals, including regarding humanitarian cooperation and COVID-19-related assistance. We have also emphasized our willingness to have conversations about practical steps both sides could take to address the security situation in the region.
To reinforce all these messages, Washington has also encouraged our allies, partners, and others, including the PRC, to convey our openness to diplomacy with the DPRK and to press Pyongyang to connect with the United States.
However, to date, the DPRK has not responded and continues to show no indication it is interested in engaging. Instead, we have seen a marked increase in the scope and scale of their ballistic missile tests, brazenly flaunting – flouting the international rules-based order and unnecessarily increasing regional tension. They have launched an unprecedented number of ballistic missiles, even in the midst of what appears to be a severe COVID-19 outbreak.
Even so, we continue to reach out to the DPRK and are committed to pursuing a diplomatic approach. The United States harbors no hostile intent towards the DPRK. We are prepared to meet without preconditions, and we call on the DPRK to engage in serious and sustained diplomacy.
With that, happy to take questions.
MR ICE: Thank you, Ambassador Kim. With that, I think we’ll turn to our first question. Let’s go to the line of Matt Lee. Morning, Matt.
QUESTION: Ambassador, one, just a quick logistical – sorry, can you hear me?
MR ICE: Yeah. We can hear you, Matt.
QUESTION: Okay. Sorry. One quick logistical question, which is are you back? Are you back in Washington now or are you still on the road?
AMBASSADOR KIM: I’m actually in Jakarta right now.
QUESTION: You’re – (laughter) – in Jakarta. Okay. And can I ask why? And then my substantive question on North Korea has to do with whether – these outreaches, these – that you guys have made over the course of the last year or so, has there been anything recent that you can speak to that has – that you think is significant that the North Koreans have ignored? Thank you.
AMBASSADOR KIM: Thanks very much, Matt. Why Jakarta is that I am continuing to serve concurrently as the U.S. ambassador to Indonesia, so after I traveled to Washington a couple of weeks ago, stopped in Seoul for discussions with my Korean and Japanese counterparts past couple of days, and now I’m back in Indonesia.
In terms of outreaches, we have continued to make outreaches through different channels. I would say most recent one would be our offer to discuss possible cooperation on humanitarian issues, including COVID cooperation.
MR ICE: Very good. Let’s go to the line of Kylie Atwood. Morning, Kylie.
QUESTION: Hello. Thank you for doing this, Ambassador. Just to follow up on Matt’s question there, can you be a little bit more specific about when that COVID cooperation outreach was? Was it in the last month or two? Can you just give us a rough timeframe for when that happened?
And then my second question is the Biden administration continues to say that you guys are prepared to meet North Korea without preconditions; you guys are committed to a diplomatic approach. How – does that commitment have an end date by which you will have to seek a different approach, given just how many missile tests we’ve seen and, of course, concerns about them continuing to build and test their nuclear capabilities? Thanks.
AMBASSADOR KIM: Thanks, Kylie. In terms of the timing of our outreach regarding possible cooperation on COVID, that was conveyed almost as soon as they made public their COVID outbreak. So I would say – guess it’s definitely within the past month or so, because we want to make clear that we continue to separate humanitarian issues from other developmental concerns, and we would like to offer cooperation in helping them deal with the COVID situation.
On the timeline for a commitment to a diplomatic approach, there is no end date for that. I think we will continue to remain committed to pursuing, via the diplomatic path, to pursue the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and to address issues of concern to both sides.
I should mention that, I mean, even as we remain committed to diplomacy, I mean, we are continuing to do other things to make sure that we are protecting ourselves as well as our allies. That, of course, includes maintaining strong deterrent capability, together with the Republic of Korea and Japan; also includes working on sanctions to make sure that countries are actually enforcing UN Security Council resolution sanctions in place, as well as unilateral sanctions that are out there.
So it’s all to say a multipronged approach, but we don’t have an artificial timeline on when our commitment to diplomacy would end.
MR ICE: Let’s go to the line now of Jacob Fromer.
QUESTION: Hi. Thanks. Can you hear me okay?
MR ICE: We can hear you, Jacob.
AMBASSADOR KIM: Yes.
QUESTION: Thanks. I have two quick questions. First, the U.S. Government often cites North Korea as an area where the U.S. and China can work together, despite a lot of tensions in other areas, and so I just wanted to ask if that’s still the case. Do you still see China as a reliable partner on this issue?
And then my second question is that there’s been some reporting that the COVID outbreak in the North Korean capital came after a big military parade that they had this spring, and I’m just wondering, are you seeing any signs that Kim Jong-un has lost any amount of political support within the country because of that? Thank you.
AMBASSADOR KIM: Thanks, Jacob. We continue to believe that China has an important role to play and that they continue to share our ultimate objective of the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. We also believe that it’s in China’s interest to make sure that North Korea refrains from actions that are destabilizing on the peninsula and beyond.
I guess if you look at what happened in the UN Security Council with China and Russia vetoing the latest resolution – an indication that we are not receiving the kind of cooperation that we would like to have from China – but at the same time, we do believe, as you noted in the question, that this is an area for cooperation between the U.S. and China. There are shared interests and goals here. It’s hard for me to imagine that Beijing would actually want North Korea to continue to provoke, violate multiple Security Council resolutions, and destabilize the region. So we hope that China will be more forthcoming in working with us to deal with the situation on the peninsula.
On COVID, I mean, as they announced publicly, the COVID situation appears to be quite serious. I mean, we don’t have any information on whether that has led to any political problems for the leadership there, but we do believe that the situation is serious, and that’s why we have offered to cooperate with them in helping them deal with the situation.
MR ICE: Let’s now go to the line of Ryohei Takagi at Kyodo News.
QUESTION: Can you hear me?
MR ICE: Yes, we can hear you, Ryohei.
QUESTION: I have two quick questions. Thank you so much for taking my question, Ambassador Kim. One is the possible nuclear test, and another one is UN Security Council resolution sanctions.
On possible nuclear test, as you said, you assess the DPRK is preparing for another nuclear test soon. And State Department Spokesperson Ned Price also said yesterday DPRK could seek another nuclear test in the coming days. So is there any specific indication that North Korea’s nuclear test is imminent?
And on UN Security Council resolution sanctions, Russia and China’s veto encouraged North Korea to do another provocative actions like a ballistic missile test because it didn’t have any outcome, and in addition it showed everybody the deep division of the UN Security Council. So just – could you help us understand why it was necessary for the United States to take a vote at the time? Thank you.
AMBASSADOR KIM: Great, and thank you, (inaudible). I don’t have any specific information about the exact timing of the possible nuclear test. We know that the North Koreans have done preparations for a nuclear test, and we will be obviously vigilant and we will be in close touch with our allies and partners to be able to respond very quickly, very swiftly should the North Koreans proceed with the nuclear test.
On UN Security Council resolutions, we and our partners felt very strongly that it was important for there to be a response in the UN context. Inasmuch as North Korea’s series of missile – ballistic missile tests are a clear violation of multiple Security Council resolutions, we thought it was important for us to speak. And as you saw in the vote, with the exception of China and Russia, everybody else in the council agreed with us.
I mean, it was very unfortunate that China and Russia chose to veto the resolution. And one of the concerns is, just as you suggested in your question, that when the DPRK sees that the council is unable to respond together, it might in fact encourage them to take further provocative actions and further violations of Security Council resolutions. So we will hear from China and Russia tomorrow. They have an opportunity to explain why they vetoed the resolution when the General Assembly meets tomorrow, and hopefully we’ll have some sense of why they chose to take that action.
MR ICE: Let’s next go to the line of Francesco Fontemaggi with AFP.
QUESTION: Hi, can you hear me?
MR ICE: Yeah, we can hear you, Francesco.
QUESTION: Hi. Hi – Ambassador, thank you. I was wondering – you said that you would be ready with a swift response to any nuclear test that you guys seem to be bracing for. Can you just give us a sense of what form could that response take? Do you think there is any chance that the situation at the Security Council would change if there is a nuclear test, or what would you guys do? And also, would you still be as ready as you are now to dialogue and engagement with North Korea after a seventh nuclear test? Thank you.
AMBASSADOR KIM: Thanks very much, Francesco. So a very important aspect to us responding to a possible nuclear test is going to be our very close coordination and communication with our allies and partners, especially with the ROK and Japan. I don’t want to go into details of what specific measures we would undertake, but it will be in very close cooperation with our allies and partners. And I do expect that there would be a UN Security Council aspect to it inasmuch as the nuclear test is also a violation of multiple Security Council resolutions.
Other question is whether we would still be committed to dialogue should a nuclear test happen. Now, I don’t want to speculate on hypothetical situations, but I think the President and the Secretary and other senior officials have made clear that we are deeply committed to finding a diplomatic path forward. And so we will look for any opening to make meaningful progress on denuclearization and other issues of concern to us.
MR ICE: We have time for a few more questions. Let’s go to the line of Soyoung Kim at RFA.
QUESTION: Hi. Thanks for taking my question. As an extended question for a possible COVID assistance to North Korea, the proposals you said you reach out to North Korea through a private channel, does it include any vaccine, like a U.S. vaccine – providing U.S. vaccines such as, like, Moderna or Pfizer, which is believed that North Korea might prefer?
AMBASSADOR KIM: Thank you, Ms. Kim. So we have offered to discuss possible COVID-related cooperation with the DPRK. Because we haven’t had the discussion with them, we don’t have details of what we would be able to provide. But I do think at this point we’re openminded about what type of assistance or cooperation we can be offering.
And of course, in terms of vaccines, it doesn’t necessarily have to be from the United States bilaterally. It could be through COVAX, which has in fact done a very good job of distributing vaccines globally.
So I think we’re openminded about what type of cooperation we could offer, but so far the DPRK has shown no interest in engaging us on this particular aspect also.
MR ICE: And let’s now go to the line of Sho Watanabe at Nippon TV.
QUESTION: Thank you so much, but my question have already been asked by other reporters. Thank you.
MR ICE: Very good. Okay. Let’s go to the line of Kristina Anderson.
QUESTION: (Inaudible) this today. My question is about the potential impact on our outreach to North Korea – as you call it, the DPRK – and the – given the global food insecurity situation that’s developing and whether there might be an opening there as well. Thank you.
AMBASSADOR KIM: Thank you, Kristina. Can you repeat the first part of your question, when you started “the potential effect of,” then I didn’t hear you.
QUESTION: Yes. I’m curious about the global food insecurity, the global food crisis that’s developing, and how that might impact relations with North Korea, whether we might have an opportunity there to try to outreach with additional resources there in a kind of food diplomacy. Thank you.
AMBASSADOR KIM: Yeah, no, thank you very much. When we offered to discuss possible humanitarian cooperation, we expected that food assistance might be a part of it. And we’re openminded, as I said, about what type of humanitarian assistance, cooperation we might be able to offer. But the main thing is for the DPRK to let us know that they are in fact interested in working with us in dealing with the humanitarian situation on the ground, including the COVID-19 outbreak and possible food shortage difficulties that they face.
MR ICE: All right. And let’s go to the line of Ethan Jewell.
QUESTION: Yeah, hi. So on Tuesday in Seoul, Wendy Sherman said that there will be a, quote, “swift and forceful response” if North Korea tests a nuclear weapon. Can you elaborate what that response may be? And second, just very quickly, I know you touched on the timing of the nuclear test, but a specific South Korean outlet citing an unnamed government official said on Tuesday that North Korea is likely to conduct a nuclear test on Friday. And I was wondering if this is an assessment that Washington shares. Thank you.
AMBASSADOR KIM: Thanks very much, Ethan. I don’t have much more beyond what the deputy secretary said in Seoul. I think, as she indicated, we will be swift and forceful in our response, and we will coordinate very closely with the ROK, Japan, and other – and our other partners in responding to a possible nuclear test. We will be responsive and appropriate to this possible provocation. I do think it will have different aspects to it. It will not be just a singular response. But we will work closely with our partners and allies, and we will try to be as swift as possible and make a very clear, clear response that a nuclear test is unacceptable to us and to the international community.
On timing, I don’t have anything more. They’ve obviously done the preparations in Punggye-ri and my understanding is that they could test any time, but whether that’s Friday or much later on, who knows? I mean, obviously, our hope is that they will refrain from a nuclear test, which would be terribly destabilizing to the entire region.
MR ICE: Okay, and coming toward the end here, let’s go to the line of Joel Gehrke.
QUESTION: Hi. Thanks for doing this. Wanted to ask a sort of – a question by analogy a little bit. It’s striking to hear the North Koreans just conducting these tests and referring so openly to tactical nuclear weapons, while in Ukraine, of course, we’re watching the Russians conduct a war of aggression very openly under the umbrella of a – of their tactical nuclear threats. I wonder: Do you think that North Korean behavior, this new moment of North Korean behavior, is informed at all or influenced at all by what they’re seeing in Europe?
And then following on to that, do you have anything to offer North Korea that would go beyond what the Trump administration was willing to offer when those talks fell apart on the one hand? And on the other hand, if you don’t, do you envision any security steps that the U.S. can take that counteract or offset the capabilities the North Koreans are now displaying? Thank you.
AMBASSADOR KIM: Thanks very much. Having worked on this issue for probably too long now, I’m always cautious about speculating on what’s influencing the DPRK leadership’s decision making. So I don’t know, honestly, whether some of their brazen activities and statements this spring are influenced by developments, external developments, including what’s happening in Ukraine. All I can say is that we have made very clear to them that we are open to finding a meaningful diplomatic path forward, and that we hope that they will refrain from provocative actions and return to the table to discuss with us.
In terms of what we can offer, I mean, I think what we’ve made clear to them is that we are willing to address issues of concern to them. Whether we find those issues to be legitimate or not, we are willing to sit down with them and give them an opportunity to explain their position and see if there’s a way for us to address their concerns. I’m not sure if it’s particularly productive to further compare what was on the table during the Trump administration to what we’re willing to do now, but I think the main point is that we’re willing to take a more comprehensive, more flexible, and more openminded approach to diplomacy if and when the DPRK shows interest in finding a diplomatic path forward.
And then at the same time, as I mentioned earlier, I mean, we are going to continue to work on making sure that our deterrent capabilities, together with our allies ROK and Japan, are what it needs to be to deal with all contingencies on the peninsula. And I’m quite confident that this NATO Alliance with both the ROK and Japan are very strong, and there is no ambiguity about our commitment to defending our allies. And I sense tremendous commitment on the part of both Seoul and Tokyo to work with us to make sure that we have what we need to defend ourselves and defend our allies.
MR ICE: And with that, ladies and gentlemen, unfortunately, we’re at the end of our time today. I do want to take this opportunity to thank you for joining us. We very much appreciate you having with us today. And then also a very special thank you to our briefer today, Special Representative Sung Kim. Thank you, Ambassador Kim, for joining us. With that —
AMBASSADOR KIM: Thanks, JT.
MR ICE: (Laughter.) Thanks, again. With that, our briefing is concluded and the embargo is lifted. Have a good rest of your day.
2. Follow South Korea's Lead: How America Can Push Back on North Korea
President Yoon's three important words: "No more appeasement."
I agree that South Korea is moving in the right direction. But I actually believe the ROK and US are very in synch right now with aligned assumptions on the nature, objectives, and strategy of the Kim family regime and a clear belief that the regime is executing a hostile policy of political warfare and blackmail diplomacy with the long term objective to dominate the peninsula. The ROK/US Alliance, through words and actions must make Kim Jong Un understand that his strategy will not succeed because of the strength of the ROK/US alliance.
Follow South Korea's Lead: How America Can Push Back on North Korea
The U.S. and South Korea answered Kim by firing eight short-range missiles to demonstrate allied capabilities and resolve. Obama would never have done this. Considering that the Biden administration is basically the Obama administration with a different headliner, the obvious question is: Why the more robust response now?
Perhaps the answer lies not in the White House, but with South Korea’s new president. The recently inaugurated conservative administration of Yoon Suk Yeol has vowed to implement a firmer, more principled policy than his predecessor in responding to North Korean provocations. His goals match our bilateral interests. The strong allied response appears to be clear evidence of this.
It’s not surprising that the Biden administration would go along Yoon. It’s not like they had come up with any better ideas for dealing with North Korea.
So, what does the future hold for the peninsula? This month’s missile tit-for-tat suggests we are in for a series of tense times ahead. After a brief hiatus, North Korea resumed missile launches in 2019. Since Biden entered the Oval Office, Kim has ramped up those efforts, logging 30 launches so far in 2022. Meanwhile, American and South Korean officials report that North Korea has completed preparations for another nuclear test, which would be the first since 2017.
What is important to note here, however, this looks to be a case of our allies pulling us forward to be more prominent, proactive, and engaged—and doing it the right way, not asking the U.S. to carry the load but to partner in common interest and share the burdens, responsibilities, and the benefits.
North Korea Policy as a Model
Rather than debating what theater to pivot to and which to ignore, the Biden administration needs to determine our core national interests in each region and then work with our friends and allies to pursue them.
A Heritage Foundation vice president and 19FortyFive Contributing Editor, James Jay Carafano directs the think tank’s research on matters of national security and foreign relations.
3. How Should US Respond to a North Korean Nuclear Test?
My "thesis:" The air, land, and sea actions (combined with strategic influence operations), consistently executed in the face of Kim's hostile policy, must convince Kim that his political warfare strategy and blackmail diplomacy cannot succeed. In the words of President Yoon: "there will be no more appeasement."
For additional information, here are all the comments are provided to VOA to support the single sentence used in the article below (not a criticism, many of the other commentators in the article made similar points):
Kim will conduct a test for two purposes. The primary reason will be to advance the capabilities of the program. If they have been able to miniaturize a nuclear warhead they will likely test it to confirm it can be used on an ICBM to target the US. The second purpose is to support its political warfare strategy and blackmail diplomacy to use increased tensions, threats, and provocations to obtain political and economic concessions. Kim continues to conduct these actions to try to get sanctions relief.
But these two lines of effort are not mutually exclusive. They are in fact mutually supporting reinforcing. They can undermine the alliance and subvert the ROK while at the same time develop advanced warfighting techniques that can be employed to support its quest to dominate the Korean peninsula.
Given the current environment of strategic competition we cannot expect any support for sanctions from China and Russia. They are not going to lift a hand to solve ROK and US security issues. In fact, the dilemma and distraction Kim poses to the alliance is likely welcomed in Beijing and Moscow.
That said, I think if there is a test it is correct to pursue additional sanctions and continue to get China and Russia on the record opposing them. It helps to make clear to the world that the support for the malign activities of north Korea undermines the rules based international order and demonstrates the true intent of Xi and Putin and should leave no doubt in anyone’s mind that they, along with Kim Jong-un, are not responsible members of the international community.
It is imperative that the US demonstrates strategic reassurance and strategic resolve which it has been doing during this year of north Korean missile launches. Despite Putin’s War in Ukraine and Chinese activities in the South China Sea and its threats to Taiwan we have deployed strategic assets to Guam and are preparing to do so again. We have deployed F-35s to Okinawa. We have steamed a carrier battle group in the East Sea. The US can walk and chew gum at the same time and can employ its military instrument of power around the world as necessary.
I would like to see training exercises with the ROK and Japan. I am not sure relations have progressed sufficiently yet to do that. I would like to see a move toward an integrated missile defense posture with the ROK, Japan, and the US. Increased trilateral cooperation shows that Kim Jong-un (and China) has miscalculated.
I expect Kim will continue to execute his political warfare strategy and blackmail diplomacy while developing advanced warfighting capabilities. Those are his priorities. Secondarily he will continue to try to prevent the spread of COVID and the damage it is and will likely cause. But he will also continue to crack down on the people with his draconian population and resources control measures. The reason for this is that he fears resistance among the Korean people more than he fears the threats from the combined ROK and US military forces.
Whether he tests a 7th nuclear weapon will depend on the need to test to advance the program as well as if he thinks he can achieve strategic effects beneficial to the regime in the form of maximum pressure on the alliance to coerce sanctions relief. But if he thinks he can, he will have miscalculated. I think President Yoon’s statement following the ROK-US summit that there will be no more appeasement of the Kim family regime speaks for the alliance. Kim must know that he cannot succeed through coercion. He has to come to the decision that his only option is to come to the table and negotiate in good faith as a responsible member of the international community. But that is contrary to his nature.
How Should US Respond to a North Korean Nuclear Test?
Washington —
The United States has warned of "a swift and forceful response" if North Korea conducts a nuclear test. Such a reaction, experts say, must include bolstering South Korean defenses while targeting Chinese and Russian entities and individuals supporting Pyongyang's weapons programs.
In Seoul on Tuesday, after meeting with South Korea's First Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun-dong, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said, "There would be a swift and forceful response" to a North Korean nuclear test.
At a meeting in Vienna on Monday, Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said North Korea was gearing up for a possible nuclear test as one of the tunnel entrances had been "reopened" at its Punggye-ri nuclear test site.
Signs of preparation for a nuclear test have been visible via satellite since March at Punggye-ri, which Pyongyang shut down in 2018 in front of foreign journalists invited to watch its dismantlement.
At a press briefing on Monday, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said the U.S. is concerned Pyongyang will conduct a nuclear test "in the coming days."
"It is a contingency we have planned for" with allies and partners, Price added.
Tensions have been mounting on the Korean Peninsula following Pyongyang's launch of eight short-range ballistic missiles on Sunday. It was Pyongyang's 18th round of weapons tests this year.
The U.S. and South Korean militaries responded by firing eight ballistic missiles on Monday and staging a show of force with fighter jet drills over the Yellow Sea, also known as the West Sea, on Tuesday.
Counterstrategy
A North Korean nuclear test, which would be the country's seventh since 2006 and its first since September 2017, should be met by reinforcing defenses around the Korean Peninsula, experts said.
"It is imperative that the U.S. demonstrates strategic reassurance and strategic resolve, which it has been doing during this year of North Korean missile launches," said David Maxwell, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
President Joe Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol agreed at their summit on May 21 to deploy strategic U.S. assets "in a timely and coordinated manner as necessary" as well as "to reinforce deterrence in the face of [North Korea's] destabilizing activities," according to a joint statement released by the White House. Strategic assets include aircraft carriers and nuclear-powered submarines.
The two leaders also agreed to start discussions to expand joint military drills around the Korean Peninsula. Chinese and Russian bombers and fighter jets entered the Korea air defense identification zone in the Sea of Japan, approaching but coming short of violating South Korea's airspace, when Biden was in Tokyo after visiting Seoul on his Asian tour. China and Russia have also increased their military activities around Japan recently as well.
Lawrence Korb, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress think tank and a former U.S. assistant secretary of defense, said Washington and Seoul should "hold more military exercises and put a carrier task force and a ballistic missile submarine in the area to send a signal" to North Korea that any use of nuclear weapons will come with a price.
South Korea's military said on Saturday it had launched military drills with the U.S. in the waters off Okinawa, Japan, and that for the first time in more than four years, the exercises involved a U.S. aircraft carrier — in this case, the nuclear-powered USS Ronald Reagan, according to Reuters.
Under Yoon's predecessor Moon Jae-in, who promoted inter-Korean reconciliation efforts, large-scale joint drills, that Pyongyang sees as invasion exercises, were either scaled down or canceled.
Victor Cha, a senior vice president and Korea chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies who led negotiations with North Korea under the George W. Bush administration, said that "trilateral exercises" including Japan "would also be useful to deter unilateral actions by China, Russia, or the DPRK" since "the Korean and Japanese security theaters are interlinked." Cha used the acronym for North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
"If Russia and China are making air and sea incursions into South Korea or into Japan, that should be of concern to both countries," Cha said.
Sanctions
Experts also said the U.S. should respond to any Pyongyang nuclear test by imposing unilateral sanctions on entities and individuals operating in China and Russia in support of North Korea's weapons programs.
Joshua Stanton, a Washington-based attorney who helped draft the North Korea Sanctions Enforcement Act of 2016, said North Korean leader "Kim Jong Un's money-laundering networks have thousands of agents and front companies overseas."
He continued, "Many of them are in Russia and China, and most of them are controlled by entities that are already designated by the U.N. They must be blocked" from access to the international financial system.
China and Russia, as U.N. Security Council permanent members with veto powers, blocked a new U.S.-led resolution calling for more sanctions on North Korea at the United Nations on May 26.
Beijing and Moscow, however, are unlikely to pass another resolution on North Korea, experts say, even if the regime conducts a nuclear test, unlike in 2016 and 2017 when they voted in favor of U.N. resolutions in response to Pyongyang's fourth, fifth and sixth nuclear tests.
U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Sung Kim said on Tuesday via teleconference from Jakarta, Indonesia, that the U.S. was preparing for a U.N. General Assembly meeting on Wednesday where Beijing and Moscow will "have an opportunity to explain why they vetoed the resolution" on North Korea.
If the Security Council remains stymied on North Korea, said Anthony Ruggiero, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, "U.S. sanctions can be used to implement U.N. sanctions" by targeting North Korean, Chinese and Russian companies, individuals and banks that aid Pyongyang's sanctions evasion.
At the briefing on Monday, Price said the U.S. and "our partners and allies have authorities that we can coordinate just as we work on defense and deterrence together with our partners in the region." He was alluding to sanctions the U.S. could impose in coordination with other willing countries.
Doug Bandow, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, said that other than unilateral sanctions that Washington tends to resort to as "America's first response to North Korean provocations," the Biden administration "has no good options" after a nuclear test.
"Sanctions so far have not changed the North's policies and aren't likely to have any greater impact now," he said.
Suzanne DiMaggio, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said, "Now it appears we're about to enter a fraught period, and U.S. options are limited at best."
4. Aerial 'Show Of Force' Missions Are Back Over South Korea
Aerial 'Show Of Force' Missions Are Back Over South Korea
Amid fears of an imminent North Korean nuclear test, South Korea and the United States have resumed large-scale airpower demonstrations.
BY
JUN 7, 2022 1:55 PM
Fighter jets from South Korea and the United States came together today for an unprecedented — at least in recent years — ‘show of force’ aimed squarely at North Korea, which launched no fewer than eight ballistic missiles on Sunday, in the latest incident of saber-rattling on the peninsula. A total of 20 fighters from the Republic of Korean Air Force, or ROKAF, and the U.S. Air Force were involved in today’s airpower demonstration, which was held off the western coast of South Korea.
While there have been joint exercises between these air arms in the recent past, they tend to have been conducted without major publicity, including the release of photos and video. This practice began after President Donald Trump’s direct relationship with Kim Jong Un began and has carried on ever since, until now. Before that, constant highly publicized displays of capabilities, from heavy bombers visiting the Peninsula to massive tactical jet formations, were common in response to provocative North Korean acts.
According to South Korean accounts, the formation comprised 16 F-35A, F-15K, and F-16 fighters from the ROKAF as well as four USAF F-16s from the 8th Fighter Wing, the “Wolf Pack,” which is permanently based at Kunsan Air Base in Korea. Alongside the 51st Fighter Wing at Osan Air Base, this wing has a primary task of deterring North Korean aggression. Based on official imagery, most of the aircraft appeared to be carrying external weapons and stores — this obviously can’t be established for the F-35 stealth jets, with their internal weapons bays.
A ROKAF F-15K Slam Eagle takes off armed with AIM-120 AMRAAMs and Joint Direct Attack Munitions, or JDAMs. Republic of Korea Ministry of Defense
All of these aircraft would be expected to play a significant role in targeting North Korean ballistic and cruise missiles, nuclear facilities, regime infrastructure, and related command and control bunkers if a full-blown conflict were ever to break out on the peninsula. In many cases, these kinds of facilities are hardened and/or buried deep underground. The ROKAF, in particular, has invested heavily in high-end conventional capabilities, like fighter jets and standoff weapons, that would be able to penetrate the North Korean air defense network and hit these objectives if required. This is in addition to tearing down North Korea's air defenses and going after its conventional warfighting capabilities.
ROKAF F-15K Slam Eagles roll onto the runway ahead of today’s airpower demonstration flight. Republic of Korea Ministry of Defense
“South Korea and the United States demonstrated their strong ability and determination to quickly and accurately strike any North Korean provocation,” the South Korean military said in a statement about the bilateral flight. It added that the two countries are keeping a close eye on potential further provocations by North Korea.
This significant display of military might was a clear signal directed at Pyongyang, which on June 5 fired eight short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) toward the sea off its east coast. The missiles were launched from at least four different locations, according to South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff. It’s notable that the North Korean test came just a day after South Korea and the United States concluded Carrier Strike Group Exercise 2022, a series of military maneuvers that included the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76).
A Republic of Korea Navy Lynx helicopter and a U.S. Navy MH-60S Seahawk in formation near the USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) during the Carrier Strike Group Exercise 2022. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Michael B. Jarmiolowski
While the number of SRBMs launched by North Korea is concerning, many observers had been expecting North Korea to conduct a new nuclear test — its seventh in total — which would be even more provocative. As it is, the 35-minute missile salvo was the 18th round of tests of this kind since the start of the year.
People sit near a screen showing a news broadcast with file footage of a North Korean missile test, at a railway station in Seoul on June 5, 2022. Photo by ANTHONY WALLACE/AFP via Getty Images
Earlier this week, the International Atomic Energy Agency reported that a tunnel entrance at North Korea’s Punggye-ri nuclear test site had been opened, which may signal that a nuclear test is imminent. At the same time, the agency said that work is underway to expand the country’s main nuclear facility at Yongbyon.
ROKAF F-35A stealth jets were among the aircraft involved in today’s airpower demonstration. Republic of Korea Ministry of Defense
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, who is currently in Seoul to discuss the North Korean issue, said: “Any nuclear test would be in complete violation of UN Security Council resolutions [and] there would be a swift and forceful response to such a test … I believe that not only ROK and the United States and Japan, but the entire world will respond in a strong and clear manner.”
In the meantime, South Korea and the United States already responded in kind to the North Korean SRBM tests, when they fired eight surface-to-surface missiles into the sea off South Korea’s western coast on Monday. The barrage involved seven South Korean and one U.S. missile, the latter being an MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS.
Republic of Korea Army and the U.S. Army 2nd Infantry Division soldiers fire ATACMS missiles on June 6, 2022. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Cody Harding / 2nd Infantry Division
“The South Korea-U.S. combined firing of the ground-to-ground missiles demonstrated the capability and posture to launch immediate precision strikes on the origins of provocations and their command and support forces,” South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff said in a press release. “Our military strongly condemns the North's series of ballistic missile provocations and seriously urges it to immediately stop acts that raise military tensions on the peninsula and add to security concerns,” it added.
Overall, South Korea and the United States seem to be doubling down on their responses to North Korean military activities. On the one hand, this is keeping pace with Pyongyang’s recent spate of missile tests, but on the other it likely also reflects the broader aims of South Korea’s new conservative president, Yoon Suk Yeol. In statements, Yoon has said he will take a hard line when it comes to responding to North Korean “provocations.”
South Korean President-elect Yoon Suk Yeoltalks with soldiers from the 2nd Infantry Division, South Korea/U.S. Combined Division at Camp Humphreys on April 7, 2022. Photo by Cpl. Seong Yeon Kang/U.S. Army via Getty Images
Seoul’s revised posture also includes plans for larger-scale exercises with the United States, after bilateral maneuvers were scaled back during the previous South Korean administration and as a result of the period of entente between President Trump and Kim Jong Un.
For the time being, all eyes remain on the North and the anticipated nuclear test, which will presumably bring an even more forceful response from South Korea and its American ally. Whatever form that takes, it seems clear that tensions on the peninsula are, once again, likely to increase.
Contact the author: thomas@thedrive.com
5. Could North Korea become a breeding ground for new COVID-19 mutations?
Yes.
This could be a preview of the medical challenges that will impact the unification process.
Could North Korea become a breeding ground for new COVID-19 mutations? | DW | 07.06.2022
DW · by Deutsche Welle (www.dw.com)
International health organizations are concerned that despite North Korea's insistence that it has the COVID-19 outbreak under control, limited vaccines, rudimentary medical facilities and the poor health of the general population make the isolated state the ideal environment for new variants of the virus to emerge.
Virologists point out that South Africa, which has an alarmingly high HIV infection rate, has had problems halting the spread of the disease and has been the source of at least one new mutation that has since spread around the world. And while South Africa has accepted outside assistance and aggressively fought the virus, North Korea has opted for isolation and, in the early phases of the pandemic, rebuffed offers of vaccines and other medical equipment.
Despite those offers of assistance from foreign governments and health agencies, Pyongyang claims that its coronavirus infection rate is in steady decline. On Tuesday, state media reported 61,730 new cases of "fever," bringing the total number of cases since late April to 4.19 million. That is approximately one in six people of the 25.78 million population.
Little faith in official figures
With outside aid organizations not permitted to enter the secretive state to gauge the true scale of the problem and little faith in official figures, there is growing concern that the virus may be evolving.
Watch video 01:24
North Korea's fight against COVID-19
"I believe the situation we have seen in South Africa with coronavirus in a population that had a high HIV infection rate has parallels with what is happening in North Korea," said Kazuhiro Tateda, president of the Japan Association for Infectious Diseases and a member of the advisory panel set up to advise the Japanese government at the outset of the health crisis in early 2020.
"Health authorities there have had problems eradicating the virus and, in places, it has mutated into new strains," he told DW.
Tateda also points out that North Korea has a serious problem with tuberculosis, or TB for short, which is also transmitted between people through the air.
"For many years, it has proved difficult to stop the spread of TB, and I can see the same thing happening with COVID. This is, of course, made worse by a healthcare system that is not very advanced, food shortages, and the fact that we believe very few people have been vaccinated," Tateda added.
In a recent seminar in Seoul examining the situation in North Korea, Kim Sin-gon, a professor at Korea University's college of medicine, pointed out that the delta and omicron variants of the virus emerged in areas of India and South Africa with relatively low levels of vaccination.
"This is why South Korea and the world should pay more attention to North Korea's struggle with COVID-19," The Korea Times quoted him as saying. "Its zero vaccine rate is deeply concerning."
Fears for almost half of population
Kim says he has little trust in the official figures on infections and that he estimates the virus may have already infected fully 40% of the North Korean population.
Watch video 01:29
North Korea turns down COVID-19 vaccine offers
That concern has been echoed by the World Health Organization, which cautioned in May that "unchecked transmission" in North Korea could lead to the emergence of new variants of the virus.
"WHO has always said that where you have unchecked transmission, there is always a higher risk of new variants emerging," said Mike Ryan, director of emergencies for the organization, at a press briefing.
Quizzed about how the WHO intends to intervene in North Korea, Ryan said the organization was ready to provide assistance but could only wait to be invited in by the government in Pyongyang as it has no power to step in unilaterally, even when lives are at stake.
For Dr Edwin Salvador, the WHO representative to North Korea, that is the biggest frustration in his efforts to provide help.
Shortage of information
"Through our country office, the WHO has shared with the national authorities the recommended priority actions for COVID response, along with links to various WHO guidelines," he told DW. "The WHO has also shared a list of deployable supplies such as masks, gloves, personal protective equipment, and so on."
It is still awaiting a response from Pyongyang, he said.
The WHO has provided North Korea with information on variants of concern and their characteristics, Salvador added, and shared laboratory guidance on COVID-19 testing and sequencing, as well as online training resources. But there is still a shortage of the information that would enable the organization to provide more targeted solutions, he said.
"State media continues to be the only source of information on the number of people with 'fever' in North Korea," he said. "And in view of the numbers being reported, testing capacities and hospitals are likely to be overwhelmed, as was the case in countries with similar numbers of cases."
Watch video 03:51
North Korea COVID outbreak could have 'devastating consequences'
Edited by: Shamil Shams
DW · by Deutsche Welle (www.dw.com)
6. S. Korea, U.S., Japan agree to bolster security ties against N. Korea
Perhaps north Korea (and China) are doing what the allies could not do on their own - forcing improved trilateral relations and cooperation. Certainly not the expected or desired outcome for Kim and Xi.
(2nd LD) S. Korea, U.S., Japan agree to bolster security ties against N. Korea | Yonhap News Agency
(ATTN: UPDATES with bilateral meeting of S. Korean, Japanese officials in second to last para)
By Kim Eun-jung
SEOUL, June 8 (Yonhap) -- South Korea, the United States and Japan agreed Wednesday to bolster their united front against North Korea's threats, as their senior government officials gathered here amid reports that the secretive regime is all set for a nuclear test.
It marked the first trilateral meeting of the regional powers' No. 2 diplomats in half a year, coming on the heels of a string of ballistic missile launches by the North.
In a joint statement, Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun-dong and his American and Japanese counterparts -- Wendy Sherman and Takeo Mori -- "strongly condemned" Pyongyang's behavior as "unlawful" acts.
They made clear that the three sides remain committed to advancing trilateral security cooperation to counter the North's evolving threats.
Sherman reaffirmed Washington's "steadfast commitment" to the defense of its Asian allies, including "extended deterrence."
The officials urged Pyongyang to cease destabilizing acts and return to the negotiating table, citing their shared goal for the complete denuclearization of Korea through diplomacy and dialogue.
They expressed hope that the Kim Jong-un regime will respond positively to international offers of help in its fight against COVID-19.
During the talks that took place two weeks after President Joe Biden's trip to Seoul and Tokyo, the three sides also discussed ways to enhance cooperation on a range of global issues, including support for Ukraine, economic security and the promotion of "a free and open Indo-Pacific," according to the statement.
They decided to hold the next face-to-face three-way session in Tokyo in the fall.
The previous day, Cho had bilateral talks with Sherman on the allies' coordinated response to North Korea and follow-up measures to the summit accord between Biden and President Yoon Suk-yeol. The presidents had their first summit in Seoul last month.
Later in the day, Cho and Mori held a separate meeting to discuss ways to mend fences between Seoul and Tokyo, as their relations have long been strained due primarily to disputes over shared history. The two sides agreed to maintain "close communication" to resolve pending issues, according to Cho's ministry.
Meanwhile, Sherman had a separate meeting with Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Dmytro Senik, who was also visiting Seoul this week. The deputy secretary "provided an update on U.S. assistance to Ukraine, including security, humanitarian and economic assistance, as well as budgetary support and aid for long-term efforts," the State Department said in a statement.
ejkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
7. N. Korea holds politburo session without leader Kim's attendance
Hmmm.... we could make all kinds of speculation. Or not.
N. Korea holds politburo session without leader Kim's attendance | Yonhap News Agency
SEOUL, June 8 (Yonhap) -- North Korea held a ruling Workers' Party politburo meeting and decided on the agenda to be discussed at a key party meeting set for early this month, state media said Wednesday.
Jo Yong-won, secretary for organizational affairs of the ruling Workers' Party's Central Committee, presided over the political bureau meeting on Tuesday, according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). North Korean leader Kim Jong-un did not attend the meeting.
The politburo meeting comes ahead of a plenary session of the Central Committee of the ruling party that the North said it would hold in early June to decide on a "series of important issues."
"The meeting decided on the agenda of the 5th Plenary Meeting of the 8th Party Central Committee, and examined and approved the important documents, including the report on the interim review of the work for implementing the Party and state policies to be submitted to the plenary meeting, and the discussion form and schedule of an enlarged plenary meeting and the selection of observers," the KCNA said.
North Korean state media has not yet reported on when the plenary meeting will be held but Tuesday's session suggests that the meeting is imminent.
The upcoming session has drawn keen attention from the outside world as it may provide a clue to the country's policy directions amid stalled nuclear talks with the United States, as well as the COVID-19 crisis and signs of a possible nuclear test. In South Korea, the conservative Yoon Suk-yeol administration was launched last month. The North has a track record of escalating tensions on the peninsula in the early months of a new South Korean government.
julesyi@yna.co.kr
(END)
8. Korea, Japan, U.S. vow united response to a nuke test
Excerpts:
But North Korea is not the only pressing issue on the trilateral agenda, said Sherman.
“There is nothing our three countries cannot achieve when we work together, from confronting the climate crisis to combating the Covid-19 pandemic, from building more resilient supply chains to promoting inclusive economic development, from championing democracy and human rights to addressing regional security challenges,” she said. She added that the three countries stand together in their support of Ukraine.
“Russia’s aggression against Ukraine is an attempt to change the status quo by force, an act that shakes not only the European but the entire international order including Asia’s,” Mori said in the briefing. “We shared the recognition that such a unilateral change in the status quo must not be allowed in the Asia Pacific region.”
Trilateral economic cooperation for supply chain resilience was highlighted during the meeting, and Cho emphasized the Korean government’s “resolve to actively participate” in the U.S.-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework and Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad), the four-nation Indo-Pacific alliance between Australia, India, Japan, and the United States.
Wednesday
June 8, 2022
Korea, Japan, U.S. vow united response to a nuke test
From left, Japanese Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Takeo Mori, First Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun-dong and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman meet in Seoul on Wednesday. [YONHAP]
Seoul, Washington and Tokyo will work particularly closely as expectations of a seventh nuclear test by North Korea rise, said First Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun-dong after meeting with his American and Japanese counterparts in Seoul on Wednesday.
“South Korea, the United States and Japan agreed to strengthen security cooperation in relation to the situation where additional provocations such as North Korea's seventh nuclear test are possible and as North Korea's nuclear and missile threats are becoming more and more advanced,” Cho said in the trilateral press briefing at the Foreign Ministry headquarters in Seoul.
“We hereby emphasize to the North that the path to dialogue is open ... and affirm our commitment to cooperate with the international community to communicate with the North to cease its illegal actions and to return to dialogue,” he added.
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, joining the conference with Japanese Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Takeo Mori, also highlighted recent provocations from the North.
“Since last September, the DPRK has significantly increased the pace and scale of its ballistic missile launches,” Sherman said, using the acronym for the full name of North Korea, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. “Each of these launches violates multiple UN Security Council resolutions and poses a serious threat to the security of the region and of the entire international community. “
In their joint statement, Sherman also reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to defend Korea and Japan, including through extended deterrence.
The trilateral vice-ministerial meeting was the 10th since such meetings were started in 2015 and the fifth to take place in Seoul. The last was last November in Washington.
The latest meeting followed 31 ballistic missile launches from the North, including of an intercontinental ballistic missile on May 25.
Signs that the regime is preparing for a seventh nuclear test were perceived in satellite images in April of the Punggye-ri testing site, the site of all six previous nuclear tests.
The three governments also called on the North to respond to international offers to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.
North Korea admitted a Covid-19 outbreak in the country in May, and its state media reported that more than a million people were affected. The regime has not responded to offers of vaccines from the outside world.
But North Korea is not the only pressing issue on the trilateral agenda, said Sherman.
“There is nothing our three countries cannot achieve when we work together, from confronting the climate crisis to combating the Covid-19 pandemic, from building more resilient supply chains to promoting inclusive economic development, from championing democracy and human rights to addressing regional security challenges,” she said. She added that the three countries stand together in their support of Ukraine.
“Russia’s aggression against Ukraine is an attempt to change the status quo by force, an act that shakes not only the European but the entire international order including Asia’s,” Mori said in the briefing. “We shared the recognition that such a unilateral change in the status quo must not be allowed in the Asia Pacific region.”
Trilateral economic cooperation for supply chain resilience was highlighted during the meeting, and Cho emphasized the Korean government’s “resolve to actively participate” in the U.S.-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework and Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad), the four-nation Indo-Pacific alliance between Australia, India, Japan, and the United States.
BY ESTHER CHUNG [chung.juhee@joongang.co.kr]
9. PPP says it's ready to be tough with North Korea
Kim Jong Un missed all the opportunities of the Moon-Trump era. I bet he now misses them both.
Wednesday
June 8, 2022
PPP says it's ready to be tough with North Korea
PPP chief whip Kwon Seong-dong, left, talks to Foreign Minister Park Jin during a party-government meeting at the National Assembly on Wednesday. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]
A leader of the People Power Party (PPP) says it will not give in to pressure from North Korea amid signs of an imminent seventh nuclear test.
“Another nuclear test would simply be a reckless gamble that risks the lives of North Koreans,” said People Power Party (PPP) floor leader Kwon Seong-dong at a meeting of high-ranking PPP leaders and officials from President Yoon Suk-yeol’s administration at the National Assembly.
Attendees included Foreign Minister Park Jin, Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup, and Shin In-ho, deputy director of the National Security Office.
Kwon warned the North that it “has nothing to gain from committing further provocations, except for stiff international sanctions and retribution,” and expressed outrage that the North had conducted 18 missile tests this year so far.
Declaring that South Korea “will no longer be unilaterally dragged around by North Korea,” Kwon drew a contrast between the current PPP-led administration and that of former President Moon Jae-in of the liberal Democratic Party (DP).
The PPP has long criticized the Moon administration and the DP for being soft on North Korea, as well as for tolerating political figures accused of promoting a pro-North Korea agenda in the South, such as former DP lawmaker Lim Su-kyung and former presidential Chief of Staff Im Jong-seok.
“The Yoon administration is different from the previous administration,” said Sung Il-jong, chairman of the PPP’s policy committee. “Cooperation between South Korea and the United States is stronger than ever before, we will not overlook any provocations by North Korea, and we are fully prepared."
The party’s Secretary-General Han Ki-ho was blunter in his criticism of the Moon administration, saying it was time to “kick aside” the end-of-war declaration pursued by Moon and the “fake show of peace,” which Han described as “hoodwinking the public.”
Shin emphasized the Yoon administration's contrasting attitude toward North Korean provocations, describing the Moon government as “only holding meetings but essentially doing nothing if provocations occurred.”
The renewed hard-line stance by the PPP and members of the Yoon administration follows the hawkish views of the president, who vowed his government “will deal sternly and sternly with any provocations from North Korea,” during a Memorial Day speech at the National Cemetery on Monday.
In an indirect warning to Pyongyang, Yoon also emphasized that South Korea “has developed critical and practical security capabilities to counter North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats.”
The Defense Ministry under Yoon’s presidency has revived references to a “tri-axial system” to contain the missile threat from North Korea.
The tri-axial system refers to the Kill Chain preemptive strike system, the Korean Air and Missile Defense (KAMD) and the Korea Massive Punishment and Retaliation (KMPR) plan.
Kill Chain is a system to carry out a preemptive strike against Pyongyang's nuclear and missile facilities if Seoul is faced with an imminent threat, while the KAMD would trace and shoot down North Korean ballistic missiles heading for South Korea. The KMPR would be used to punish and retaliate against North Korea if it strikes South Korea.
References to the tri-axial system disappeared during the Moon administration, but were revived in recent Defense Ministry white papers.
BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]
10. Many N. Koreans skeptical about their own government's COVID-19 statistics
As is the rest of the world.
Many N. Koreans skeptical about their own government's COVID-19 statistics - Daily NK
"[People] say the numbers on fully recovered people are questionable because “people receive no drugs or treatment when they are quarantined with fevers," a source told Daily NK
Kim Jong Un at an emergency consultative meeting of the politburo on Sunday. (Rodong Sinmun - News1)
North Korea is claiming that the country’s COVID-19 situation is improving, with the number of new fever cases decreasing. Yet several Daily NK sources say North Koreans themselves are skeptical of coronavirus-related data released by their own government.
According to statistics released through North Korean media recently, the number of new fever cases in the country has hovered at around 100,000 since May 21. North Korea announced a downward trend just six days after making its first official admission of an outbreak on May 12, indicating confidence that it can control and manage the situation on its own.
However, a source in Gangwon Province told Daily NK on Friday that as long as the country’s Emergency Anti-epidemic Command fails to ascertain directly how lower-level officials are reporting fever cases, “the reality is that the statistics simply reflect what lower-level officials report, meaning that the central government can’t know everything.”
The source went on to say that, “People don’t believe official statistics are accurate because lower-level officials are just counting who has fevers or not.”
A Daily NK source in Nampo said people doubt the credibility of the statistics announced by the authorities. They say the numbers on fully recovered people are questionable because “people receive no drugs or treatment when they are quarantined with fevers.”
As these reports suggest, many North Koreans do not appear to believe the government’s reports that the COVID-19 numbers are trending downward. North Korea’s entire population remains unvaccinated, which has prevented the country from achieving herd immunity.
Meanwhile, North Korea is stressing the role of the country’s “household doctor system.” The system charges a single doctor at a neighborhood clinic with taking care of families in several inminban (people’s units).
Rodong Sinmun reported in a May 19 article that “a large number of doctors in charge of households and medical workers of national, provincial, city and county-level hospitals are carrying out medical check-ups for the residents under their care in a responsible manner.
“They keep close watch on those with fever and use scientific treatment methods,” it added.
However, Daily NK’s source in Nampo said that despite the household doctor system being in place, “there are many times when the five people who go around and check on quarantined families doesn’t even include a single doctor.
“It’s tough for one doctor to go around and take care of 40 to 50 households on his or her own,” he continued, adding, “And, in fact, since the key [measures taken by the authorities to combat] COVID-19 include lockdowns, quarantines and bans on movement, non-professionals could be the ones going around taking people’s temperatures. The household doctor system isn’t helping the situation.”
Daily NK’s source in Gangwon Province said the doctors who conduct checkups at people’s homes have no medications in their medicine bags.
“All they have are thermometers and propaganda material about public health,” he said. “They just take your temperature, which anyone can do. Will you get accurate treatments or statistics from that?”
Meanwhile, people classified as “fully recovered” upon being released from quarantine are complaining about various ailments.
“They didn’t take any medicine, and they’re called ‘fully recovered’ simply because they’ve completed their quarantine periods. [Even after leaving quarantine], some people have headaches or suffer non-stop coughing,” the Gangwon Province-based source said. “They’re all afraid that they’ll be put again into quarantine, like a rat in a hole, if they get worse.”
Translated by David Black. Edited by Robert Lauler.
Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
11. N. Korean elite jockey for job assignments in Pyongyang's new Hwasong District
A change to Songbun rules? But only those who live in Pyongyang are eligible so they basically have to have good or acceptable Songbun already.
Excerpts:
Ordinarily, in the case of Pyongyang’s downtown districts, the authorities unilaterally appoint and assign cadres or draw cadres from certain privileged bodies. In this case, however, the authorities are basically giving cadres and workers from all over Pyongyang a chance to work in Hwasong District.
This suggests the authorities intend to promote Kim’s “love of the people” by granting people of different classes an opportunity to live and work in the district.
That being said, the authorities are still applying strict standards for would-be Hwasong District employees. Aspirants need to receive recommendations from their current employers and be free of trouble in their ideology, professional careers and family lives.
Nevertheless, cadres and workers are competing for spots in hopes that they can also receive a home in Hwasong if they are assigned to work in the district.
“People think that since [Hwasong] has been made a key district of the city that can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Central District, [people living there will] receive many privileges,” said the source in Pyongyang. “People are scrambling to get assigned to organizations in Hwasong, even paying bribes. That’s because opportunities for promotion, ration benefits and opportunities for preferential treatment depend on which district you work in.”
N. Korean elite jockey for job assignments in Pyongyang's new Hwasong District - Daily NK
The authorities intend to promote Kim’s “love of the people” by granting people of different classes an opportunity to live and work in the district
N. Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the groundbreaking for the Hwasong housing project in February. (Rodong Sinmun-News1)
Following a recent decision to elevate Pyongyang’s Hwasong area to “district” status, North Korean authorities have been busy organizing administrative units in the new district.
Pyongyangites are already calling the new district their city’s “Second Central District,” a nod to the capital’s Central District, a special zone where only high-ranking cadres reside. Not surprisingly, cadres and officials in Pyongyang are waging a fierce competition among themselves to get assigned to jobs in the new district.
A source in Pyongyang told Daily NK on May 31 that the authorities have begun work on organizing Hwasong District’s administrative components, including its party committee, people’s committee and local branches of the Ministry of Social Security, Ministry of State Security and prosecutor’s office.
The organizing of these administrative units will take place in two phases. The first phase to organize upper-level organizations will continue until the end of July, while the second phase to fill out subordinate and lower-level organizations should be completed by the end of November.
KCNA reported on May 15 that the Standing Committee of the Supreme People’s Assembly had decided to elevate the Hwasong area into Hwasong District, and that the Cabinet and other related bodies would craft the necessary working-level measures to implement the decision.
North Korea has been carrying out a large-scale housing project in the Hwasong area as part of the country’s plan — presented during the Eighth Party Congress early last year — to build 50,000 housing units in Pyongyang.
The Hwasong housing project follows efforts to construct houses in Pyongyang’s Songin and Songhwa areas.
The home and office of late North Korean founder Kim Il Sung was in Hwasong, and the area is home to the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, the mausoleum of Kim and his son, late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. During the groundbreaking event to launch the Hwasong housing project in February, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called the area the “sacred ground of the Sun,” a reference to his grandfather Kim Il Sung.
With North Korea granting Hwasong “sacred” significance due to its links with the Kim family, along with unveiling plans to make the neighborhood a central part of the capital by designating it a new administrative district, Pyongyang residents think the area will become “privileged ground” second only to the city’s Central District.
Government officials and cadres are aggressively applying to work in Hwasong District, too.
The authorities plan to give cadres who work for Pyongyang’s existing regional organizations preferential treatment during the selection and assignment process for Hwasong’s new party and people’s committees.
Ordinarily, in the case of Pyongyang’s downtown districts, the authorities unilaterally appoint and assign cadres or draw cadres from certain privileged bodies. In this case, however, the authorities are basically giving cadres and workers from all over Pyongyang a chance to work in Hwasong District.
This suggests the authorities intend to promote Kim’s “love of the people” by granting people of different classes an opportunity to live and work in the district.
That being said, the authorities are still applying strict standards for would-be Hwasong District employees. Aspirants need to receive recommendations from their current employers and be free of trouble in their ideology, professional careers and family lives.
Nevertheless, cadres and workers are competing for spots in hopes that they can also receive a home in Hwasong if they are assigned to work in the district.
“People think that since [Hwasong] has been made a key district of the city that can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Central District, [people living there will] receive many privileges,” said the source in Pyongyang. “People are scrambling to get assigned to organizations in Hwasong, even paying bribes. That’s because opportunities for promotion, ration benefits and opportunities for preferential treatment depend on which district you work in.”
Translated by David Black. Edited by Robert Lauler.
Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
12. New ambassador nominee gets US approval
New ambassador nominee gets US approval
By Kang Seung-woo
Cho Tae-yong, the nominee for Korea's ambassador to the United States, has received diplomatic consent ― known in international affairs as "agrement" ― from Washington, according to media reports.
Cho Tae-yongPresident Yoon Suk-yeol appointed the diplomat-turned-politician as his first ambassador to the U.S. on May 17 and the approval came two weeks after Cho's nomination.
It took two months for Lee Soo-hyuck, Cho's predecessor under the Moon Jae-in administration, to receive the approval of the U.S. government, raising speculation for some at the time that the delayed consent had been due to Washington's displeasure with Seoul's decision to end an information-sharing deal with Japan, although the foreign ministry dismissed such conjecture.
Known by those close to him for possessing a balanced mindset as well as expertise in U.S. and North Korean affairs, Cho, 65, served as the first vice foreign minister and the deputy national security adviser under the Park Geun-hye administration. In addition, he was elected as a proportional representative in 2020 on the conservative People Power Party's ticket, serving on the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee and Intelligence Committee.
Last week, Cho resigned from the Assembly to take on the ambassadorship.
Ahead of his nomination, Cho had also been one of the candidates for the foreign minister post, which was eventually taken by Park Jin, a veteran fellow PPP lawmaker.
13. Allies in talks on new site for residual US military facilities: sources
On the old Camp Coiner I suppose.
Excerpt:
The two sides have been "positively" weighing the idea of putting residual military facilities in a site right next to an area in the northernmost portion of the U.S. military's Yongsan Garrison ― now reserved for the construction of the new U.S. Embassy compound, according to the sources.
Allies in talks on new site for residual US military facilities: sources
Yongsan Garrison / Korea Times fileKorea and the United States are in talks over the selection of a new site to house American military facilities that the countries have agreed to retain in central Seoul under their broader base relocation scheme, sources here said Wednesday.
The two sides have been "positively" weighing the idea of putting residual military facilities in a site right next to an area in the northernmost portion of the U.S. military's Yongsan Garrison ― now reserved for the construction of the new U.S. Embassy compound, according to the sources.
Seoul and Washington had initially agreed to put the residual facilities in a 105,000-square-meter site within the southern section of the garrison. The reconsideration came after the recent relocation of South Korea's presidential office close to that site.
"The two sides are positively discussing the selection of a new site, but no final decision has been made yet," a source told Yonhap News Agency on condition of anonymity.
The two countries have agreed to retain the residual facilities in Yongsan despite their agreement to relocate other facilities in the garrison to Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of the capital. The facilities include the Dragon Hill Lodge. (Yonhap)
14. The Pyongyang problem for the Quad
I would be careful using the word instability along with north Korea. I think China benefits from the dilemma and distraction north Korea causes for the US, the ROK, and the Quad. But it does not benefit from north Korean instability (which could lead to regime collapse). I believe China is more concerned with preventing war and instability and regime collapse while allowing the north to cause problems for the US within the context of strategic competition (or the new Cold War). It does not have the same concern over nuclear weapons that the ROK and the US does. It is certainly not going to solve ROK and US security issues.
Excerpts:
However, the situation can be handled to the benefit of the Quad.
Principally, a “US-led” initiative must not become a “US-dominated” initiative and lose the thread of equality that brought the powers together. India, for instance, which historically sought to play a mediation role on the Korean peninsula, must be allowed its own voice on the challenge.
The Quad must also continue to cooperate on non-traditional security concerns, such as maritime pollution, and in that way foster trust with other actors, including Taiwan. A heavy emphasis on North Korea would be a distraction from core business for the grouping.
Finally, it is important to recognise the weakness of bilateral ties between China and North Korea. North Korea has appeared at times to seek to lessen its dependence on China by seeking advantage through limited cooperation with adversaries. As Pyongyang stands more pressed for money and food supplies than ever before, the Quad can try to open negotiations, which North Korea could agree on in lieu of aid.
The Pyongyang problem for the Quad
North Korea poses a challenge for regional security, and
so often China has stood to benefit from such instability.
North Korea at least waited until US President Joe Biden had left Asia before launching another volley of missiles to splash into the sea. American officials had braced for a potential show of force by Pyongyang as Biden toured the region last month for meetings culminating with the “Quad” nations, India, United States, Japan and Australia. Certainly North Korea was on the minds of the gathered leaders – in a joint statement issued after their summit in Tokyo, the four members condemned Pyongyang’s “destabilising ballistic missile launches” and called on North Korea to engage in substantive dialogue for the complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula in line with the United Nations Security Council resolutions. They also emphasised a need to immediately resolve the question of Japanese abductees, which directly involves North Korea.
The main focus of the Quad – while not explicitly named – is clearly China.
Biden had earlier visited Seoul and discussed options to deter North Korea with newly sworn-in South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol (who has been toying with the idea of joining the Quad). North Korea’s spree of dangerous missile launches since the beginning of the year has ensured attention is again on the challenges involved.
But the main focus of the Quad – while not explicitly named – is clearly China. The meeting in Tokyo saw much more ambitious steps to counter the twin security and economic challenges that China presents, including condemning the “militarisation of disputed features” in the region, launching a new initiative to enhance maritime awareness to help countries resist coercive actions, and pledging an economic framework to span 13 countries in the Indo-Pacific. Biden also made a point of saying the United States kept open the option of using force to keep China from absorbing Taiwan.
Even so, North Korea remains a regional flashpoint that poses a problem for the Quad. China and North Korea describe their bilateral ties as “invincible” while Beijing has persistently criticised the Quad as an “Asian NATO”. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un this year sent a message to China’s Xi Jinping vowing to work together to “frustrate” perceived threats from the United States and its allies. This has extended in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – while Beijing abstained in votes at the United Nations, Pyongyang openly supported Moscow. Both Russia and China reciprocated by blocking the imposition of any further sanctions on North Korea.
When considering Pyongyang’s expanding arsenal and ability to create instability, supporting North Korea offers a useful means for China to derail the Quad’s plans and discourage investments.
China has historically made use of North Korea’s heavy economic dependence to ensure the country destabilises, if not entirely threatens, America’s presence in the region. When considering Pyongyang’s expanding arsenal and ability to create instability, supporting North Korea offers a useful means for China to derail the Quad’s plans and discourage investments.
However, the situation can be handled to the benefit of the Quad.
Principally, a “US-led” initiative must not become a “US-dominated” initiative and lose the thread of equality that brought the powers together. India, for instance, which historically sought to play a mediation role on the Korean peninsula, must be allowed its own voice on the challenge.
The Quad must also continue to cooperate on non-traditional security concerns, such as maritime pollution, and in that way foster trust with other actors, including Taiwan. A heavy emphasis on North Korea would be a distraction from core business for the grouping.
Finally, it is important to recognise the weakness of bilateral ties between China and North Korea. North Korea has appeared at times to seek to lessen its dependence on China by seeking advantage through limited cooperation with adversaries. As Pyongyang stands more pressed for money and food supplies than ever before, the Quad can try to open negotiations, which North Korea could agree on in lieu of aid.
15. China calls for calm on Korean Peninsula, rejects claim it harassed Canadian patrol plane
Admit nothing, deny everything, make counteraccusations.
China calls for calm on Korean Peninsula, rejects claim it harassed Canadian patrol plane
A Royal Canadian Air Force CP-140 Aurora pauses on its way to Thule Air Base, Greenland, on June 12, 2021. (Krista Blizzard/RCAF)
CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea — A senior Chinese official dismissed claims that Chinese military aircraft harassed a Canadian surveillance plane flying missions in support of U.N. sanctions on North Korea.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian on Tuesday accused Canada of conducting “flat-out irresponsible and provocative” reconnaissance operations against China.
“China firmly rejects all moves that endanger China’s sovereignty and national security under all pretexts,” Zhao said during a press briefing. “Canada should respect objective facts, stop spreading disinformation and take real actions for the recovery and normal development of China-Canada relations.”
A Canadian Defence Department statement on June 1 claimed Chinese military aircraft tried to divert a Canadian patrol plane from its flight path several times between April 26 and May 26. Canada’s air force deployed the CP-140 Aurora long-range patrol aircraft and crew to Japan to monitor U.N. Security Council sanctions against North Korea. Other nations have conducted similar operations in the region in recent years, including Germany, France and Australia.
The Canadian air crew felt endangered during the encounters and altered course to avoid colliding with the Chinese aircraft, according to the statement. “These interactions are well-documented by our aircrew for professional internal analysis,” according to the department.
“Such interactions, which occur in international airspace during U.N.-sanctioned missions, are of concern and of increasing frequency,” according to the Canadian statement. “These occurrences have also been addressed through diplomatic channels.”
China voted with the Security Council to tighten sanctions on North Korea for its nuclear and ballistic missile tests as recently as 2017. In May, however, China and Russia used their Security Council vetoes to block additional sanctions. The U.S. has accused China and Russia of thwarting those sanctions.
On Monday, Zhao counseled North Korea, the United States and South Korea to “remain calm, exercise self-restraint” following an unprecedented volley of eight short-range ballistic missiles fired into the East Sea on Sunday by North Korea.
The U.S. and South Korea on Monday fired eight missiles of their own in response and sent fighter aircraft over the Yellow Sea in a display of air power.
“China’s position is very clear,” Zhao told reporters. “It is in all sides’ interest to safeguard peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and advance the political settlement process of the Peninsula issue.”
16. As North Korea prepares for first nuclear test in 5 years, Biden administration says all US diplomatic efforts have been rebuffed
As North Korea prepares for first nuclear test in 5 years, Biden administration says all US diplomatic efforts have been rebuffed
N. KOREA NUKE TEST READY TO GO: All indications are that North Korea is planning to conduct its seventh nuclear test as soon as sometime this week, the State Department point man on North Korea policy told reporters yesterday.
The test — which some reports suggest could come Friday (Thursday night Washington time) — comes after the North fired off eight ballistic missiles Sunday, the most it’s launched in a single day, and bringing its total for the year to 31, surpassing its previous record of 25 in 2019.
“In addition to launching an unprecedented number of ballistic missiles, the DPRK’s senior officials have used rhetoric that could suggest the use of tactical nuclear weapons,” said Amb. Sun Kim, the U.S. special representative for North Korea, at a State Department briefing. “We also assess that the DPRK is preparing to conduct a seventh nuclear test.”
It would be the first nuclear test in almost five years, at the same testing ground in the northeastern town of Punggye-ri, where in Sept. 2017, North Korea claimed to have detonated a thermonuclear bomb that could be delivered by an intercontinental ballistic missile. The International Atomic Energy Agency says activity has been detected at the site, indicating one of the passages has been reopened.
“They’ve obviously done the preparations in Punggye-ri, and my understanding is that they could test any time, but whether that’s Friday or much later on, who knows?” said Kim. “Obviously, our hope is that they will refrain from a nuclear test, which would be terribly destabilizing to the entire region.”
‘A SWIFT AND FORCEFUL RESPONSE’: Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman is on a visit to the region, and in meetings with her counterparts from South Korea and Japan, she condemned what she called North Korea’s “recent unlawful ballistic missile launches” and called for a “return to negotiations.”
“Any nuclear tests would be in complete violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions,” Sherman said Tuesday in Seoul. “There would be a swift and forceful response to such a test.”
“It will not be just a singular response,” said Kim at the State Department. “We will work closely with our partners and allies, and we will try to be as swift as possible and make a very clear, clear response that a nuclear test is unacceptable to us and to the international community.”
RUSSIA, CHINA BLOCKING UN RESOLUTION: The United Nations has scheduled a General Assembly debate for today, after Russia and China vetoed a U.S.-sponsored resolution condemning North Korea’s accelerated missile tests, which all violate previous resolutions.
“It was very unfortunate that China and Russia chose to veto the resolution,” said Kim. “One of the concerns is … that when [North Korea] sees that the council is unable to respond together, it might in fact encourage them to take further provocative actions.”
“So we will hear from China and Russia … They have an opportunity to explain why they vetoed the resolution,” he said. “We continue to believe that China has an important role to play and that they continue to share our ultimate objective of the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.”
“It’s hard for me to imagine that Beijing would actually want North Korea to continue to provoke, violate multiple Security Council resolutions, and destabilize the region.”
KIM JONG UN NOT INTERESTED IN TALKING: The U.S. has made numerous offers, both publicly and through private channels, to pursue diplomacy without preconditions, including offering humanitarian aid to help North Korea with its current COVID crisis. All have been rebuffed by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
“To date, [North Korea] has not responded and continues to show no indication it is interested in engaging,” said the U.S. special representative. “Instead, we have seen a marked increase in the scope and scale of their ballistic missile tests, brazenly flaunting, flouting the international rules-based order and unnecessarily increasing regional tension.”
“Even so, we continue to reach out,” he said. “The United States harbors no hostile intent toward [North Korea].”
De Oppresso Liber,
David Maxwell
Senior Fellow, Foundation for Defense of Democracies
Senior Fellow, Global Peace Foundation
Senior Advisor, Center for Asia Pacific Strategy
Editor, Small Wars Journal
Twitter: @davidmaxwell161
Phone: 202-573-8647
