Informal Institute for National Security Thinkers and Practitioners

Please note I am leaving today (for a week) for my frist trip back to Korea since Janaury 2020, pre-COVID. The timing of my messages will be adjusted in accordance with the time difference.

Quotes of the Day:

"No sensible decision can be made any longer without taking into account not only the world as it is, but the world as it will be."

- Isaac Asimov

"Whoever degrades another degrades me,

And whatever is done or said returns at last to me."

- Walt Whitman: Leaves of Grass

"Man is a creature who lives not upon bread alone, but principally by catchwords."

- Robert Louis Stevenson: Virginibus Puerisque

1. North Korea’s Yongbyon Nuclear Center: Plutonium Production Continues Despite Heavy Rains

2. Auto parts are a hot commodity in a North Korea cut off from new supplies

3. Economic initiatives involving Russia, China derailed under Yoon administration

4. Presidential office hits back at ex-FM Chung over repatriation of N.K. fishermen

5. S. Korea, U.S. defense chiefs to meet in Washington next week

6. Ex-FM Chung says no request from N. Korea for fishermen's repatriation

7. Yoon vows to safeguard constitutional values on Constitution Day

8. Former security chief denies fishermen repatriations were done to appease North

9. Civic group slams China for claiming Arirang as their culture

10. Foreign minister to hold first bilateral talk with Japan this week

1. North Korea’s Yongbyon Nuclear Center: Plutonium Production Continues Despite Heavy Rains

Imagery at the link: https://www.38north.org/2022/07/north-koreas-yongbyon-nuclear-center-plutonium-production-continues-despite-heavy-rains/?utm_source=pocket_mylist

North Korea’s Yongbyon Nuclear Center: Plutonium Production Continues Despite Heavy Rains

BY: PETER MAKOWSKY, OLLI HEINONEN, JACK LIU AND JENNY TOWN
JULY 12, 2022

Commercial satellite imagery of North Korea’s Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center from July 5, 2022 indicates that despite heavy rains over the past several weeks, the 5 MWe Reactor continues to produce plutonium for the country’s nuclear weapons program. Moreover, smoke is observed emitting from the Thermal (Steam) Plant at the Radiochemical Laboratory, which may signal early preparations for a forthcoming reprocessing campaign or treatment of radioactive wastes. This may help explain recent activity at the spent fuel reception building and Building 500, as also recently reported by CSIS’ Beyond Parallel. Dismantlement activities continue at the 50 MWe Reactor after recently reported trenching activity at its nearby pump house.

To date, no major flooding is apparent, although increased humidity and constant rain may cause problems in some process buildings. Continued rain could bring about flooding of critical facilities later this summer, which may hamper fissile material production.

5 MWe Reactor

At the 5 MWe Reactor, cooling water discharge has been observed throughout May and June and continues in July, as indicated by cooling water discharge. The heavy rains over the past 40 days do not appear to have caused any complications to reactor operations as of yet, although water levels are rising, and work is underway throughout the center to help prevent severe flooding.

Figure 1. Cooling water discharge observed at 5 MWe Reactor.

The Radiochemical Laboratory

Activities reported in May 2022 have continued at the spent fuel reception building. There are, however, notable new developments at the Thermal Plant and at the building suspected to be a radioactive waste storage facility (Building 500).

On July 5, a faint smoke emission, more easily seen by the shadow it cast, is visible emanating from the stack of the Thermal Plant. Smoke was last seen from this stack in July 2021, which marked the end of what was believed to have been a spent-fuel reprocessing campaign, carried out between February and July of last year. No emission was visible on imagery from July 3, as noted in a report by CSIS’ Beyond Parallel. It is too early to conclude whether a new reprocessing campaign has commenced or if steam is being produced for the radioactive waste handling facilities. The steam could also be used to remove humidity from the process buildings caused by excessive rainfall. Additional monitoring for continued emissions or an increase in volume is necessary to follow the development of activities at the reprocessing site.

Figure 2. Faint smoke emission seen at Thermal Plant on July 5, 2022.

There have been vehicles visiting the area of the spent fuel reception building, although they do not appear to be associated with the actual transfer of spent fuel. Piles of materials or equipment have also appeared in the area, which could indicate ongoing routine maintenance or small construction work.

Figure 3. Vehicles and possible materials observed around spent fuel reception building.

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Figure 3b. Vehicles and possible materials observed around spent fuel reception building. Image © 2022 Planet Labs, PBC cc-by-nc-sa 4.0. For media licensing options, please contact thirtyeightnorth@gmail.com.

Figure 3a. Vehicles and possible materials observed around spent fuel reception building. Image Pleiades © CNES 2022, Distribution Airbus DS. For media options, please contact thirtyeightnorth@gmail.com.

At Building 500, a suspected radioactive waste storage facility, new activity is apparent. While better viewed in the July 3 image featured in the CSIS report, this likely excavation activity could signal efforts to refurbish the facility, or possible early stages of building expansion or modification.

Figure 4. Activity observed at Building 500.

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Figure 4a. Activity observed at Building 500. Image Pleiades © CNES 2022, Distribution Airbus DS. For media options, please contact thirtyeightnorth@gmail.com.

Experimental Light Water Reactor (ELWR)

There have been no signs yet of operations at the ELWR. However, construction continues at the small complex of buildings just outside of the reactor’s security wall. Construction of these buildings began in 2021, and exterior work on two of the buildings was largely complete by April 2022. Progress on the third building is ongoing. Since April, the addition of a second floor has started, suggesting it may be a two-story structure when complete. The function of these buildings is yet to be determined.

Figure 5. Ongoing construction activity at Experimental Light Water Reactor.

Figure 5a.Image Pleiades © CNES 2022, Distribution Airbus DS. For media options, please contact thirtyeightnorth@gmail.com; Figure 5b. Image © 2022 Planet Labs, PBC cc-by-nc-sa 4.0. For media licensing options, please contact thirtyeightnorth@gmail.com.

Dismantlement at the 50 MWe Reactor Complex

Little activity is observed at the 50 MWe Reactor complex despite recent trenching activity near its associated pump house. However, since May, additional roof panels have been removed from the south wing of a building next to the reactor hall. The continued cannibalization of the reactor facilities suggests the need for these materials for other projects within the Yongbyon complex, where probable building materials shortages are likely. Alternatively, the North Koreans may be slowly dismantling these deteriorating buildings altogether. Until now, there has been no sign of dismantling activities at the reactor buildings, which requires more resources to complete.

Figure 6. Roof panels removed from building near 50 MWe Reactor hall between May and July.

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Figure 6b. Roof panels removed from building near 50 MWe Reactor hall between May and July. Image © 2022 Planet Labs, PBC cc-by-nc-sa 4.0. For media licensing options, please contact thirtyeightnorth@gmail.com.

Figure 6a. Roof panels removed from building near 50 MWe Reactor hall between May and July. Image Pleiades © CNES 2022, Distribution Airbus DS. For media options, please contact thirtyeightnorth@gmail.com.

Since the reported trenching near the pump house and underground facility was completed in early May of this year, no additional related activity has been observed. Instead, in the field where this had occurred, rows of crops are now present (this field has previously been used for agricultural purposes). This suggests the limited nature of the trenching was likely related to water drainage repairs needed to protect the underground facility.

Figure 7. Crops observed at former trenching site.

2. Auto parts are a hot commodity in a North Korea cut off from new supplies

This conclusion says it all about the regime:

“Due to the (COVID-19) pandemic, many thieves are active because there is not enough food to eat and clothes to wear. Nevertheless, the Workers’ Party has no interest in resolving the suffering of the people, and they are telling us to overcome economic difficulties, armed only with ideological training,” he said, referring to propaganda lessons that tell the people to solve their own problems in line with the country’s founding Juche ideology of self-reliance.

Auto parts are a hot commodity in a North Korea cut off from new supplies

When a brake pad breaks or a muffler rusts, some car owners turn to theft to keep their vehicles on the road.

By Chang Gyu Ahn for RFA Korean

2022.07.15

rfa.org

Thieves in North Korea are scouring the city for cars to strip, as a severe parts shortage grips the country due to a ban on imports in response to the coronavirus pandemic, sources in the country told RFA.

Most North Koreans do not own vehicles, but most of those who do drive cars made in China.

Imports of Chinese auto parts stopped when Beijing and Pyongyang shut down the border and suspended all trade at the beginning of the pandemic in January 2020.

As supplies inside North Korea dwindled, parts available for purchase have become rarer and rarer. Opportunistic thieves are looking to cash in on the shortage.

In some cases, car owners have to steal parts just to keep their own vehicles running, a resident of Chongjin in the northeastern province of North Hamgyong told RFA’s Korean Service on condition of anonymity for security reasons.

“Thievery of auto parts is rampant downtown,” said the source. “New parts are almost impossible to find, and even used ones are hard to get, so the thieves steal other people’s auto parts to repair their own cars.”

Sometimes the thieves steal the entire car.

“Last week in Sunam district, a car owner parked his car in front of his house. A short while later, while he was eating dinner, his car disappeared,” the source said. “The next day, the car was found … only the shell remained, with all the main components torn off.”

A black market of stolen auto parts has developed as the parts become more and more valuable, the source said.

“Car parts are as precious as food, and they can be sold to make money at any time. There are many cases where cars that are parked at night on the roadside or in villages are hauled to a remote place so the thieves can steal the parts,” he said.

“The vicious cycle continues when the victims of theft steal parts from others to fix their own cars,” the source said.

A car drives past residential buildings in Pyongyang, North Korea in a file photo. Photo: Reuters

Businesses have begun to ramp up security to protect the vehicles they depend on to make money, he said.

“This can disrupt production and business operations, so drivers are sleeping in their cars to protect them when they travel to other regions.”

Protecting cars has become a struggle in South Hamgyong province, a resident there told RFA, on condition of anonymity to speak freely.

“Most companies that own cars do not have dedicated garages and they park their cars outside,” he said.

“There are two security guards on a shift at night in my company. Even though the car was parked in front of the well-lit security office, auto parts were still stolen multiple times,” the second source said.

The second source’s company is holding drivers responsible for all vehicle expenses, so the drivers are getting creative to deter thieves.

“One driver built a garage out of plastic film in his yard at his own high-fenced house. He guards the car by sleeping in it at night with two ferocious dogs,” he said.

“Due to the (COVID-19) pandemic, many thieves are active because there is not enough food to eat and clothes to wear. Nevertheless, the Workers’ Party has no interest in resolving the suffering of the people, and they are telling us to overcome economic difficulties, armed only with ideological training,” he said, referring to propaganda lessons that tell the people to solve their own problems in line with the country’s founding Juche ideology of self-reliance.

Translated by Claire Shinyoung O. Lee. Written in English by Eugene Whong.

rfa.org

3. Economic initiatives involving Russia, China derailed under Yoon administration

Is the Yoon administration to blame? Or is it because of the malign activities of China and Russia? Maybe there are just some projects that might the South at risk.

Economic initiatives involving Russia, China derailed under Yoon administration

The Korea Times · July 17, 2022

President Yoon Suk-yeol and first lady Kim Keon-hee arrive in Madrid, Spain, on June 27 for the NATO Summit. Korea Times photo by Seo Jae-hoon

S. Korea looks to Europe in bid to cut dependency on China

By Kim Bo-eun

HONG KONG ― An apparent shift in the external economic policy of South Korea's new government has put the brakes on a number of efforts in Russia and China that were initiated under the previous administration.

And while the shift also reflects developing situations such as Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the abrupt sea change that has occurred with the leadership change has come at the cost of government funds, time and effort.

Under the previous administration of Moon Jae-in, an ambitious plan was drawn up to build a power grid spanning South Korea, China, Japan, Russia and Mongolia. The idea was for countries in northeast Asia with high energy demand to be able to access wind and solar power, along with natural gas, from the resource-abundant easternmost parts of Siberia and Mongolia.

Possibilities were discussed at the 2017 Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russia, which was attended by the heads of state of Russia, South Korea, Japan and Mongolia. The plan had support from both the demand and supply sides, as it met their needs.

Former President Moon Jae-in delivers a keynote speech at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russia, on Sept. 7, 2017. Yonhap

Government-level exchanges between South Korea and China had also taken place to explore possibilities of economic cooperation with China's northeastern province of Liaoning that borders North Korea.

This was part of Moon's "New Northern Policy" seeking strengthened economic ties with Russia and Central Asian countries, as well as north-eastern China. The previous administration launched a presidential committee for the initiative in 2017, which aimed to build foundations to collaborate with North Korea and Russia for logistics, explore possibilities of a free-trade agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and look into opportunities in China's overseas infrastructure project known as the Belt and Road Initiative, according to the government policy website. The EAEU is composed of Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

Such plans were put on hold as relations with North Korea soured under the latter years of the Moon administration. But they have now been entirely derailed, due to dim prospects of improving ties under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration that takes a hardline stance toward North Korea. The outbreak of the Kremlin-led war in Ukraine in March, and Korea joining sanctions on Russia, also played a part.

"The northeast Asia power-grid plan definitely lost its drive," a South Korean government source said, while also conceding that policy changes are inevitable, given the five-year term of Korea's president.

The Moon administration pushed for a number of economic initiatives in Russia and China, which have derailed under the Yoon administration. gettyimagesbank

Events had also taken place to look into Korean businesses' role in China's Greater Bay Area initiative, which aims to create an integrated economic and business hub with Hong Kong, Macau and nine cities in southern China.

Such forms of collaboration have lost their momentum due to the Yoon administration's intentions to forge closer ties with the U.S. and its allies, as the rivalry between the world's two largest economies shows no sign of abating.

Last month, South Korea for the first time attended a NATO meeting, along with Japan, as the West seeks to team up with other major democracies to counter an increasingly assertive Russia, and China that has backed the Kremlin.

This policy shift toward the U.S. has naturally resulted in an alignment in economic policy as well.

Korea has joined U.S.-led initiatives such as the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework and the Minerals Security Partnership, both of which seek to cut dependency on China for key resources and items by building alternative supply chains.

The Yoon administration is now seeking to boost economic ties with Europe and Australia, as a means to diversify trade away from China ― Korea's largest trade partner ― which took up 25 percent of the country's exports in 2021.

During his visit to Spain for the NATO meeting, Yoon met with various heads of European states and promoted Korea's chip-making and nuclear-power capabilities, as well as the country's defense industry and green-energy sector.

Presidential secretary for economic affairs Choi Sang-mok drew attention for his remarks in a briefing for reporters held on the sidelines of the NATO meeting, which reflected the government's positioning toward China. "The era of booming exports via China of the past 20 years is coming to end. We need substitute markets and diversification," he said.

He referred to the European Union, which with a GDP of $17 trillion is the largest market after the U.S. and is similar in size to China.

But it is unclear how much boosting trade with other regions will be able to substitute trade and investments with China and Russia. A commentary by Shanghai University of International Business and Economics professor of international relations Zhan Debin in China's state-run Global Times earlier this month said Europe cannot replace the Chinese market, referring to Korea's trade deficit with the EU over the past decade.

Regarding Choi's remark, the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea's spokeswoman, Shin Hyeon-young, said: "We would like to ask the Yoon administration if it is truly prepared to take on the shrinkage in trade and investments with China and Russia."

The Korea Times · July 17, 2022

4. Presidential office hits back at ex-FM Chung over repatriation of N.K. fishermen

Look, the actions of the forced repatriation of the two fishermen 2019 cannot be defended. When you find yourself in a hole, stop digging. That said the Moon administration must be careful not to turn this into a political witch hunt. It must uphold its democratic principles even if the previous administration did not adhere to them.

South Korea certainly deserves criticism. But more specifically the previous Moon administration deserves all the criticism. They violated international norms and standards and failed to act as a democracy which requires the rule of law and due process for all persons, especially its citizens. And the ROK Constitution recognizes all Koreans, in the north and South, as ROK citizens.

These fishermen should have had the allegation investigated and if sufficient evidence was found they should have been tried in a ROK court of law. Instead, they were turned over to the regime in the north and faced certain torture and execution. If the allegations could not be proven they should have been processed as escapees.

However, as I have previously written, South Korea should be commended for now taking action to investigate and correct this incident. This is what democracies do. They admit mistakes. They investigate themselves and take corrective action. And because of elections the people can hold governments accountable and with the change in government a new government can take a fresh look at the situation and take action to uphold its values.

As counterintuitive as it may seem on the surface or to those uneducated about democracies, South Korea is upholding its democratic values now despite having trampled over them some years ago in the previous Moon administration. We should respect the new administration for being confident enough to admit mistakes and take action to resolve them and prevent them from ever occurring again.

Compare this to the mafia-like crime family cult known as the Kim family regime to the north. It received these forcibly repatriated fishermen, tortured them, and then executed them as traitors. The brutal human rights abuses and crimes against humanity are taking place on a daily basis in the north. The north cannot admit mistakes or change in any way because of its despotic one man ruling system.

Despite the mistakes in the South every rational person would rather live under a government that values freedom and liberty and when it errs admits and corrects its mistakes. The Koreans in the north have no such opportunity and can only continue to suffer under Kim’s rule.

Again, as I have written, I think this is a shocking incident to all freedom loving people and to all who value the rule of law in a democracy. But I think it is also important to recognize the Korean people in the South elected a new government that is now investigating the incident to make the South Korean government transparent and hold to account those responsible. This would not happen in a country that does not have a democratically elected government. Rather than appearing weak this actually reinforces the strength of South Korean democracy. You have free expression by the Korean people and politicians criticizing the government, you have the media with freedom of the press reporting on this to hold the government accountable, and you have a new government that is willing to expose government misdeeds to the public and the world. But we must keep in mind what makes this tragedy so horrific is what happened to the fisherman after they were forcibly returned to the north. The regime brutalized them. And there is blood on the hands of officials from the previous administration and they must therefore be held accountable in accordance with the rule of law and due process even as they denied those to the two fishermen.

(3rd LD) Presidential office hits back at ex-FM Chung over repatriation of N.K. fishermen | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by 고병준 · July 17, 2022

(ATTN: ADDS unification ministry's remarks in paras 12-13)

SEOUL, July 17 (Yonhap) -- The office of President Yoon Suk-yeol immediately struck back at former Foreign Minister and National Security Adviser Chung Eui-yong on Sunday after he defended the previous administration's 2019 repatriation of two North Korean fishermen against their will.

Chung said earlier Sunday the then government of President Moon Jae-in determined the North Koreans' expression of a desire to defect as insincere and decided to deport them, as they had confessed to killing 16 fellow crew members.

Chung also said the North Koreans "were rare, grotesque killers."

"Some claim that we had to accept them into our society as defectors in accordance with our Constitution," he said in a statement. "However, our domestic law stipulates that nonpolitical criminals, like them, should be deported without being allowed into the country. Nonpolitical serious criminals are also not considered refugees under international law."

Just hours later, Choi Young-bum, senior presidential secretary for press affairs, hit back at Chung.

"What officials of the previous administration and the opposition party should do is not to engage in a political offensive, but to cooperate faithfully with the investigation," Choi said.

Choi also criticized Chung for portraying the North Koreans as "grotesque killers," accusing him of making such a characterization without a proper investigation of them.

"It is also nonsense to say that they had no intentions to defect," Choi said. "Then why did they ignore the letters of intention to defect these people wrote on their own? The point in this case is that the North Korean defector fishermen were sent back to the field of death when they had to be dealt with in accordance with our law."

In 2019, the North Koreans were captured near the sea border in the East Sea. They confessed to killing 16 fellow crew members and expressed a desire to defect to South Korea, but the then Moon Jae-in government deemed their intentions to be insincere and sent them back to the North.

The repatriation is one of the suspicious cases involving the former administration that President Yoon Suk-yeol's government is revisiting, along with the North's killing of a South Korean fisheries official near the western sea border in 2020.

Criticism of the repatriation escalated last week after the unification ministry released 10 photos of the North Koreans being dragged across the inter-Korean border and handed over to the North, apparently against their will.

With controversy escalating over the matter, the ministry handling inter-Korean affairs said Sunday it has confirmed that one of its officials has a video clip on the repatriation process and is now considering whether to make public the clip.

"The video was personally shot by a staff member and is not officially under the control of the unification ministry, so a review is under way to look into the legal aspects of submitting it to parliament and others," the ministry said.

Critics have accused the then Moon administration of sending them back to their homeland in an effort to curry favor with Pyongyang so as to help move the stalled inter-Korean peace process forward.

In the statement, Chung also dismissed as "extremely absurd" allegations that the Moon government deported them to create a favorable atmosphere for inviting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to a special summit between South Korea and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

"The government determined that in consideration of the timing and method of their expression of a desire to defect, their intentions were insincere," Chung said. "By any means, we could not view it as a normal course of defection."

Chung also rejected allegations the South repatriated the North Koreans after North Korea requested their repatriation first, stressing that South Korea first asked the North if it was willing to accept the two fishermen before deporting them.

A newspaper report had earlier alleged that the North informed the then presidential office, Cheong Wa Dae, that a fishing boat carrying North Koreans was heading to South Korea and the notification could be seen as an order for the South to capture and repatriate them.

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by 고병준 · July 17, 2022

5. S. Korea, U.S. defense chiefs to meet in Washington next week

I assume the Defense Minister will be the senior Korean representative when the rebuilt Korean War Memorial is dedicated with the Wall of Remembrance unveiled with the names of all the fallen US military and KATUSA service members. I guess the President will not be traveling for this one.

This is another data point in sustained high level alliance engagement. I am just guessing because I have not crunched the numbers but I would think there has been a higher level of engagement than in recent administrations. Both countries are really "leaning in" to the alliance.

.S. Korea, U.S. defense chiefs to meet in Washington next week | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by 김은정 · July 17, 2022

SEOUL, July 17 (Yonhap) -- The defense chiefs of South Korea and the United States have agreed to hold talks in Washington next week to discuss the bilateral alliance and combined defense posture against North Korea, Seoul officials said Sunday.

Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup plans to meet his U.S. counterpart, Lloyd Austin, when Lee visits Washington, D.C. to attend a dedication ceremony for a Wall of Remembrance at the Korean War Veterans Memorial, slated for July 27.

The two sides are currently coordinating a detailed schedule and meeting agenda, according to the officials.

It would be their second in-person discussion in about a month, following their meeting held on the sidelines of a security forum in Singapore.

The defense chiefs are expected to discuss how to strengthen their combined defense posture and extended deterrence against North Korea's growing missile and nuclear threats.

Last week, South Korea and the U.S. conducted their first combined air drills involving F-35A stealth fighters, amid concerns over Pyongyang's preparation for its seventh nuclear test or other provocative acts.

The allies are also considering the resumption of combined field training during their regular military exercise set for next month, according to informed sources.

ejkim@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by 김은정 · July 17, 2022

6. Ex-FM Chung says no request from N. Korea for fishermen's repatriation

I do not know what is wrose. Reacting to a request or taking the initiative to forcibly repatriate them without a request. Either way, the previous administration seems to be kowtowing to appease the regime in the north.

Maybe they were "grotesque killers" but we will have no way of knowing because someone decided that they were without due process. Who in the government made the determination and how did they make it?

Excerpt:

"The government determined that in consideration of the timing and method of their expression of a desire to defect, their intentions were insincere," Chung said. "By any means, we could not view it as a normal course of defection."

Chung said the fishermen were not "simple murderers who killed one person or two, but they were rare, grotesque killers."

Ex-FM Chung says no request from N. Korea for fishermen's repatriation

The Korea Times · by 2022-07-17 17:22 | North Korea · July 17, 2022

Former Foreign Minister and National Security Adviser Chung Eui-yong speaks during a National Assembly meeting in this March 28 photo. Korea Times file

Former Foreign Minister and National Security Adviser Chung Eui-yong rejected allegations Sunday that South Korea sent two North Korean fishermen back to their homeland in 2019 after North Korea requested their repatriation first.

Chung made the remark in a statement issued via Rep. Yoon Kun-young of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), stressing that South Korea first asked the North if it was willing to accept the two fishermen before deporting them.

The statement came after a newspaper report alleged that the North informed the then presidential office, Cheong Wa Dae, that a fishing boat carrying North Koreans was heading to South Korea and the notification could be seen as an order for the South to capture and repatriate them.

"No request was received from North Korea that the brutal criminals be repatriated," Chung said in the statement. "But we sounded out North Korea's intentions because we need to check the willingness of the counterpart nation first in case of deportation."

Chung served as the chief of the presidential National Security Office at the time.

Presidential office hits back at ex-FM Chung over repatriation of NK fishermen

Critics have accused the then Moon administration of sending them back to their homeland in an effort to curry favor with Pyongyang so as to help move the stalled inter-Korean peace process forward.

Chung also dismissed as "extremely absurd" allegations that the Moon government deported them to create a favorable atmosphere for inviting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to a special summit between South Korea and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Chung said the fishermen were not "simple murderers who killed one person or two, but they were rare, grotesque killers."

"Some claim that we had to accept them into our society as defectors in accordance with our Constitution," he said. "However, our domestic law stipulates that nonpolitical criminals like them should be deported without being allowed into the country. Nonpolitical serious criminals are also not considered refugees under the international law." (Yonhap)

The Korea Times · by 2022-07-17 17:22 | North Korea · July 17, 2022

7. Yoon vows to safeguard constitutional values on Constitution Day

These are the right words. And South Korea must live up to them (and I believe it will).

Excerpt:

President Yoon Suk-yeol renewed his commitment to promote the constitutional values of free democracy, human rights and rule of law as South Korea commemorates Constitution Day on Sunday.

Yoon vows to safeguard constitutional values on Constitution Day

The Korea Times · July 17, 2022

President Yoon Suk-yeol delivers an opening speech for the 2022 Boryeong Mud Festival at Daecheon Beach on South Korea's western coast, Saturday, in this photo provided by his office. Yonhap

President Yoon Suk-yeol renewed his commitment to promote the constitutional values of free democracy, human rights and rule of law as South Korea commemorates Constitution Day on Sunday.

"The constitutional values of free democracy, human rights and rule of law are the foundation of national unity, and the process of realizing such values leads to the road for prosperity and development," Yoon wrote on his Facebook account.

"I will safeguard the spirit of the Constitution together with the great people," he said.

Yoon recalled his visit to the southwestern city of Gwangju a year ago to look back on the spirit of the 1980 pro-democracy uprising, in which he said people fought to defend the constitutional values with their blood.

In May, Yoon and some 100 lawmakers from the ruling People Power Party traveled to Gwangju to pay their respects to the victims of the democracy movement during a ceremony marking its 42nd anniversary. (Yonhap)

The Korea Times · July 17, 2022

8. Former security chief denies fishermen repatriations were done to appease North

Again, when you find yourself in a hole, stop digging. Or perhaps you doth protest too much?

Sunday

July 17, 2022

Former security chief denies fishermen repatriations were done to appease North

https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2022/07/17/national/northKorea/Korea-North-Korea-Chung-Euiyong/20220717172901334.html

Members of the North Korean Women Defectors' Alliance held a protest outside the Democratic Party's headquarters in Yeouido, southern Seoul, on Sunday, urging punishment of officials involved in the 2019 repatriation incident. [NEWS1]

A former Blue House security official denied Sunday that Seoul repatriated two North Korean fishermen in 2019 at Pyongyang's behest, hitting back at claims that their deportation was done to appease North Korea.

“There was no request from North Korea to repatriate these vicious criminals first,” said Chung Eui-yong, former chief of the National Security Office (NSO), in a public statement released through Democratic Party (DP) lawmaker Yoon Kun-young that echoed the DP’s earlier descriptions of the fishermen as dangerous felons.

Doubling down on the DP’s claim that the repatriated fishermen were “once-in-a-generation murderers,” Chung emphasized that it was Seoul that first asked Pyongyang if it would accept the pair before deporting them.

“We sounded out North Korea’s opinion because we need to check the willingness of the counterpart nation first in the case of deportation,” Chung said.

The two North Korean fishermen crossed the inter-Korean maritime border in the East Sea and were taken into custody by the South Korean Navy on Nov. 2, 2019.

Accused of killing the captain and 15 fellow crew members aboard their fishing vessel, the pair was repatriated via the inter-Korean truce village of Panmunjom five days later.

Photos of the fishermen’s forced repatriation released last week by the Unification Ministry sparked rage from human rights groups and calls for the prosecution of high-ranking officials in the former President Moon Jae-in administration, including Chung.

The former NSO chief struck back at arguments from defectors’ associations and the conservative People Power Party (PPP) saying that the Moon administration unjustly expelled the two fishermen to appease Pyongyang, arguing the pair were not bona fide defectors deserving of South Korean protection.

“They did not immediately come to the South after committing their crime, nor did they intend to defect to the South in the first place,” Chung said, repeating the Moon administration’s claim that the pair did not express a desire to defect.

“The [killers] returned to the port of Kimchaek after [committing the murders], but one of their accomplices was arrested by the North Korean authorities in the process of raising funds for the group’s escape, so the other two fled by sea and were captured by our naval special forces,” Chung said.

The former NSO chief argued the fishermen’s deportation was the best measure to ensure the safety of South Korean society, even if it lacked due process.

“It would have been practically impossible to punish them based only on their confessions,” Chung claimed, explaining that “no South Korean court has ever exercised jurisdiction over violent criminal acts committed by a North Korean against another North Korean.”

“If [the fishermen] had been allowed to enter South Korean society without punishment, who would be responsible for protecting our citizens?” Chung asked.

Chung also argued that the current controversy threatened to undermine confidence in the country’s governance.

“Immediately after [the fishermen’s] deportation, the government submitted an undisclosed report to the National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, and even some [PPP] members agreed that [expulsion] was an appropriate measure,” Chung said.

“However badly some people want to delegitimize a previous administration, revisiting a legitimate course of action taken with inter-agency consensus in accordance with the law is tantamount to attacking our system of governance,” he added.

The presidential office on Sunday issued a rebuttal to Chung's arguments, calling on DP members and former government officials to “diligently cooperate” with the investigation into the Moon administration's handling of the repatriation case.

“There is a serious problem with labeling the North Korean fishermen as ‘once-in-a-generation murderers’ without a proper investigation,” presidential spokesman Choi Young-bum said at a press briefing.

Choi also took issue with Chung's claim that the fishermen did not intend to defect. “The idea that they didn't want to defect is a gross distortion,” the spokesman said. “If that were the case, why did [the previous government] ignore their handwritten declaration, where they stated their intent to defect?”

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]

9. Civic group slams China for claiming Arirang as their culture

Dear China,

Soft power is about "attractiveness." You have soft power when others are attracted to you, your political system, your economic system, or your culture. Soft Power is not about appropriating culture from another country. You are demonstrating that South Korea has soft power. You cannot take it away from them and try to use it for your own benefit. Your actions prove South Korea has superior soft power and you are attracted to it.

Civic group slams China for claiming Arirang as their culture

koreaherald.com · by Lee Jung-Youn · July 17, 2022

By Lee Jung-Youn

Published : Jul 17, 2022 - 17:10 Updated : Jul 17, 2022 - 17:10

The English version of petition poster “Arirang this time?! China why again!” released by VANK (Voluntary Agency Network of Korea)

Voluntary Agency Network of Korea, a nongovernmental diplomatic group, released a poster criticizing China’s attempt to claim the traditional Korean folk song Arirang as part of its culture on Saturday.

The poster, released in both Korean and English, reads: “Arirang this time?! China, why again!” It shows an image of a Chinese TV show with people singing Arirang wearing hanbok.

“China claims not only Korean songs, but also various aspects of Korean heritage, culture, and history, including hanbok and kimchi, as Chinese culture. We should stop this cultural imperialism.”

VANK has also started an online petition to protect Arirang since Saturday.

Arirang is one of Korea’s best-known folk songs that embodies people’s hardships and desire for independence. It is also designated a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity representing Korea.

However, a search for “Arirang” on China’s largest portal site Baidu results in an official search result that claims the song “is the culture of the Joseonjok people. Joseonjok belongs to China, and all of its culture, including Arirang, should be considered as Chinese.” Joseonjok are ethnic Koreans in China. VANK states that the culture of ethnic Koreans in China did not originate from China, but from Korea.

“We strongly condemn Chinese cultural imperialism that tries to take Korean culture away,” VANK said.

VANK was established in 1999, and has actively carried out numerous campaigns both online and offline to spread information about Korea to the world. The petitions VANK has launched can be found in the Bridge Asia Website.

By Lee Jung-Youn (jy@heraldcorp.com)

10. Foreign minister to hold first bilateral talk with Japan this week

I wish him the best of luck. I hope he and his counterpart can jump start improved relations.

Foreign minister to hold first bilateral talk with Japan this week

koreaherald.com · by Jo He-rim · July 17, 2022

Park Jin to express condolences over recent death of Shinzo Abe

By Jo He-rim

Published : Jul 17, 2022 - 14:41 Updated : Jul 17, 2022 - 15:11

South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin (Yonhap)

South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin will hold his first bilateral talk with his Japanese counterpart this week to discuss ways to improve the long-strained bilateral ties during his visit to Japan, the South Korean Foreign Ministry said on Sunday.

It would be the foreign minister’s first official trip to Japan after the inauguration of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration in May. During the three-day trip from Monday to Wednesday, Park is expected to discuss a series of contentious issues with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, according to the ministry.

The envisioned bilateral meeting of the foreign ministers in Japan would be the first in four years and seven months after the last one was held in December 2017.

The bilateral meeting is scheduled for Monday. Park and Hayashi are set to attend a banquet afterwards later that day in the evening.

During his trip, Park is also expected to pay tribute to the former Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo, who was shot during a campaign speech in the city of Nara, days before the country’s upper house elections on July 10.

Among the major sticking points expected to be discussed include the South Korean top court’s rulings in 2018 ordering Japanese companies that coerced Koreans into labor during the Japanese colonization of the Korean Peninsula from 1910-1945 to provide compensation for the victims.

In 2018, the South Korean Supreme Court handed down separate rulings against Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Nippon Steel to provide compensation to Korean victims who were forced to work for them during Japan’s colonization of Korea.

But as Japan claims all issues regarding reparation were settled through a 1965 accord aimed at reviving diplomatic relations, Japanese firms have refused to comply with the ruling, prompting victims to take the issue back to court. The judges here ordered the companies to liquidate their Korea-based assets to provide the compensation in 2021.

As the two sides remain at odds over the issue, Japan has demanded that the Korean government come up with a solution. The incumbent Yoon Suk-yeol administration has launched a consultative group of public and private groups to gather opinions from officials, experts, victims and their legal representatives.

Other topics on the table stemming from their shared history include Japan’s coercion of Korean women into sexual slavery and a territorial dispute over the Dokdo islets. The two sides are also expected to talk about their joint efforts to deter North Korea’s nuclear provocations, together with the United States.

In their bilateral talks, the ministers may also discuss holding the first bilateral summit of the leaders of Korea and Japan. While South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met in person for the first time at the NATO leaders’ summit last month, they were not able to hold a bilateral summit.

At the NATO summit, two leaders held a trilateral summit involving US President Joe Biden.

By Jo He-rim (herim@heraldcorp.com)

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

VIDEO "WHEREBY" Link: https://whereby.com/david-maxwell

Phone: 202-573-8647

email: david.maxwell161@gmail.com

V/R

David Maxwell

Senior Fellow

Foundation for Defense of Democracies

Phone: 202-573-8647

Personal Email: d avid.maxwell161@gmail.com

Web Site: www.fdd.org

Twitter: @davidmaxwell161

Subscribe to FDD’s new podcast, Foreign Podicy

FDD is a Washington-based nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.

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