Quotes of the Day:

“The basic tool for the manipulation of reality is the manipulation of words. If you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use the words.” 

- Philip K. Dick

“Whenever you are fed up with life, start writing; Ink is the great cure for all human ills, as I have found out long ago.”

​-​ C.S. Lewis

​"The first duty of society is to give each​ of its members the possibility of fulfilling his destiny. When it becomes incapable of performing this duty it must be transformed.

- Alexis Carrel

​1. North Korea stays silent on its apparent detention of a US soldier

2. Travis King was grieving the death of his young cousin before he crossed the border into North Korea, his family says

3. For the “Chinese Dream” to Become a Dream for All

4. It Takes a Potemkin Village

5. Top nuclear envoys of S. Korea, U.S., Japan denounce N. Korea's latest missile test

6. N. Korea poses grave threat to cyber security, cutting off illicit funds to weapons program important: U.S. official

7. N. Korea's trade reliance on China hits 10-year high in 2022

8. N. Korea warns U.S. nuclear submarine visit to S. Korea may fall under conditions for its nuke use

9. S. Korea, Japan eye holding working-level consultations over Fukushima water next week

​10. Russia grounds plane, arrests North Korean mother and son on the run

​11.​ ＜Inside N. Korea＞Police decided to use gun to combat rash of robberies…Soldiers also frequently take part in robberies

​12. ​S. Hamgyong Province’s food situation still dire despite fresh grains in markets

​13. ​Yoon, Biden, Kishida to hold summit at Camp David in August

14. First NCG meeting backed by nuclear-capable sub in Busan

15. Beijing 'actively enables' trafficking of North Korean women, girls: rights groups

1. North Korea stays silent on its apparent detention of a US soldier

As we should expect. The north was caught off guard by this as much as we were. The regime is trying to figure out what to do. It will surely look for ways to exploit this situation unless it comes to the conclusion that because of the soldier's disciplinary issues he may not have credibility and therefore may be of little to no value to the regime. In that case the best thing the regime could do would be to return him. But that decision will ultimately be made by Kim Jong Un alone.

North Korea stays silent on its apparent detention of a US soldier

militarytimes.com · by Hyung-Jin Kim, The Associated Press · July 19, 2023

Editor’s note: This story was updated at 4:30 p.m. EST with additional information.

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea stayed silent Wednesday about the detention of an American soldier who sprinted across the Koreas’ heavily fortified border as members of his tour group looked on in shock. Some observers said heightened tensions between the two countries make it unlikely that he will return any time soon.

Pvt. Travis King bolted into North Korea while on a tour of the Demilitarized Zone on Tuesday, a day after he was supposed to go back to a base in the U.S. He was released from a South Korean prison July 10 after serving time for assault and was scheduled to return to Fort Bliss, Texas.

King, who was imprisoned for 47 days, faced discharge from the Army because of his conviction in a foreign country, according to a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.

A portrait of American soldier Travis King is displayed as his grandfather, Carl Gates, talks about his grandson Wednesday, July 19, 2023, in Kenosha, Wis. (Morry Gash/AP)

King is the first known American held in North Korea in nearly five years, and his detention comes at a time of elevated animosity. On Wednesday, North Korea test-fired two ballistic missiles into the sea in an apparent protest of the deployment of a U.S. nuclear-armed submarine in South Korea for the first time in decades.

“It’s likely that North Korea will use the soldier for propaganda purposes in the short term and then as a bargaining chip,” said Yang Moo-jin, president of the University of North Korean Studies in South Korea.

King, a 23-year-old cavalry scout with the 1st Armored Division, was supposed to leave Monday for Texas. He was escorted as far as customs but left the airport before boarding his plane.

It wasn’t clear how he spent the hours until joining the tour in the border village of Panmunjom and running across the border Tuesday afternoon. The Army realized he was missing when he did not get off the flight in Texas as expected. Military officials released his name and limited information after King’s family was notified.

One woman who was on the tour with King said she initially thought his dash was some kind of stunt — and that she and others in the group couldn’t believe what happened.

King’s stint in prison was the result of an altercation last year.

RELATED

Soldier held in North Korea faced discharge for fights, cop car damage

The soldier who crossed the North Korean border Tuesday had previously been arrested in South Korea for getting into fights and damaging a cop car.

In February, a court fined him 5 million won ($3,950) after he was convicted of assaulting an unidentified person and damaging a police vehicle in Seoul last October, according to a transcript of the verdict obtained by The Associated Press.

The ruling said King had also been accused of punching a 23-year-old man at a Seoul nightclub, though the court dismissed that charge because the victim didn’t want King to be punished.

King’s maternal grandfather, Carl Gates, said his grandson joined the Army roughly three years ago because he “wanted to do better for himself.” He was drawn to service because he has a brother who is a police officer and a cousin in the Navy, Gates said.

Gates said he hoped his grandson could be brought home to get help.

“I think right now he might have a problem or something. I can’t see him doing that intentionally if he was in his right mind,” Gates said.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the administration was working to figure out where King was being held, his condition and his reason for crossing into North Korea. She said administration officials would seek his safe return to his family.

The American-led U.N. Command said Tuesday that the U.S. soldier was believed to be in North Korean custody.

It wasn’t known whether or how the U.S. and North Korea would communicate. The two countries have no diplomatic relations and are still officially at war because the Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty.

In the past, Sweden, which has an embassy in Pyongyang, provided consular services for other Americans detained in North Korea. But Swedish diplomatic staff reportedly haven’t returned to North Korea since the country imposed a COVID-19 lockdown in early 2020 and ordered all foreigners to leave.

Some observers said North Korea and the U.S. could still talk via Panmunjom or the North Korean mission at the U.N. in New York.

It’s rare for Americans or South Koreans to defect to North Korea, but more than 30,000 North Koreans have fled to South Korea to escape political oppression and economic difficulties since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.

Tae Yongho, a former minister at the North Korean Embassy in London, said North Korea is likely pleased to have “an opportunity to get the U.S. to lose its face” because King’s crossing happened on the same day the U.S. submarine arrived in South Korea.

Tae, now a South Korean lawmaker, said North Korea was unlikely to return King easily because he is a soldier from a nation technically at war with North Korea, and he voluntarily went to the North.

The U.S. still stations about 28,000 troops in South Korea.

Panmunjom, located inside the 248-kilometer-long (154-mile-long) Demilitarized Zone, has been jointly overseen by the U.N. Command and North Korea since the close of the Korean War.

Bloodshed has occasionally occurred there, but it has also been a venue for diplomacy and tourism, drawing visitors who want to see the Cold War’s last frontier. No civilians live there, but North and South Korean soldiers face off while tourists on both sides snap photographs.

A small number of U.S. soldiers went to North Korea during the Cold War, including Charles Jenkins, who deserted his army post in South Korea in 1965 and fled across the DMZ. He appeared in North Korean propaganda films and married a Japanese nursing student who was abducted from Japan by North Korean agents. Jenkins died in Japan in 2017.

In recent years, some American civilians have been arrested in North Korea on allegations of espionage, subversion and other anti-state acts, but were released after the U.S. sent high-profile missions to secure their freedom. The last releases occurred in 2018.

Those releases stood in striking contrast to the fate of Otto Warmbier, an American university student who died in 2017, days after he was released by North Korea in a coma following 17 months in captivity.

Copp reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Matthew Lee and Zeke Miller in Washington; Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin; and researcher Rhonda Shafner in New York contributed to this report.

2. Travis King was grieving the death of his young cousin before he crossed the border into North Korea, his family says

Travis King was grieving the death of his young cousin before he crossed the border into North Korea, his family says

“Travis has got a lot going on in his mind, and we’re worried about him,” the American soldier's uncle said. “Now we don’t know where he is, we don’t know what they’re doing to him, and we might not ever see him again.”

NBC News · by Phil McCausland

The 23-year-old Army private who intentionally crossed into North Korea on Tuesday had been grieving the loss of his young cousin, struggling with the distance from home and acting unlike himself when he was previously arrested in South Korea, where he was stationed, his family said Wednesday.

His family expressed deep concern Wednesday for Pvt. 2nd Class Travis King, who ran at top speed from a tour group visiting the Joint Security Area in the truce village known as Panmunjom, crossed the border Tuesday and ended up in North Korea’s custody.

“It’s out of his character,” King’s uncle Myron Gates said. “I’ve never seen him get down like that, ever. Something’s going on. This is not his personality.”

In an interview Wednesday at their home in Kenosha, Wisconsin, Myron Gates and King’s grandfather Carl Gates described the young soldier as a Bible reader who enjoyed quiet time alone.

Pvt. 2nd Class Travis King.via Carl Gates

That characterization was unlike the young private, who, according to The Associated Press, served almost two months in a South Korean prison on assault charges. Before he was detained by North Korean soldiers, King had slipped out of Incheon International Airport outside Seoul, the capital. He had been preparing to fly home for possible further disciplinary action after his incarceration.

The military had escorted him to the airport, but he was left unaccompanied from security to the airport gate, according to the AP. His motive for crossing into North Korea remains unknown.

But another uncle, Carl Gates, said that King, who graduated from Park High School in Racine in 2020, had been in a negative state of mind since his cousin died and that he acted out as a result. The cousin, 6-year-old King’Nazir Gates, who had a rare and untreatable genetic disorder, died in February, Carl Gates said.

“He’s still grieving, and that had a lot to do with what he did,” King’s uncle said.

Carl Gates said he was a father figure to King and one of the last people to speak to him before he illegally crossed the border. He declined to fully comment on his nephew’s actions until King’s mother discusses the situation, but he said King struggled with being so far from home.

“Travis has got a lot going on in his mind, and we’re worried about him,” he added. “Now we don’t know where he is, we don’t know what they’re doing to him, and we might not ever see him again.”

King’s mother, Claudia Gates, did not respond to requests for comment. When she was approached outside her home in Racine on Wednesday, she told WISN-TV of Milwaukee that her utmost concern is getting her son home.

“I just want my son back. Get my son home. Get my son home and pray that he comes back,” she said.

That could take some time.

Now in North Korean custody, King, who enlisted in the Army in 2021, crossed the heavily fortified border “willfully and without authorization,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters Tuesday. U.S. officials said they are working to have him released, though it is unclear what dialogue they have had with North Korea.

Although King’s motive for crossing and his state of mind when he departed the airport are not known, there are a few certainties in the aftermath, said Victor Cha, the senior vice president for Asia and the Korea chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

“This is technically a violation of the armistice, so there would be working-level negotiations with regards to that, because it’s an unauthorized crossing,” Cha said. He added that “it also becomes political right away with North Korea, because they will probably put this guy on trial, especially because he’s a soldier. There could be some sort of coerced apology or claim of defection, but that could take weeks or months.”

“I’m sure they’re interrogating him and figuring out how they want to use this,” Cha added.

Witnesses on the tour group King had joined before he crossed the border said the moment was alarming and caused some to worry that it could lead to some kind of attack.

Sarah Leslie, a New Zealander who was part of the group, said she thought it was some kind of stunt done for TikTok fame at first. Though soldiers gave chase, she said, “he was really flying, and I don’t think they had much hope of stopping him.”

Members of the tour were ordered inside one of the nearby buildings before they were eventually loaded back onto their bus and driven out of the Joint Security Area. The moment was terrifying, she said, because she feared someone might start shooting.

“On the tour, they talked about a number of incidents that had happened on the border and in the DMZ — quite a few of those involved shooting or worse by the North Koreans,” Leslie said, referring to the Demilitarized Zone dividing the Koreas. “So that was something that ran through my mind. There’s a guy dressed in black running straight at the North Korean side of the border. That’s a possibility.”

Cha, who was a top adviser on North Korean affairs for President George W. Bush, said whatever happens from here could benefit North Korea and be used in its propaganda.

He said it would most likely require a visit from a high-ranking current or former U.S. official to secure King’s freedom. In 2018, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was able to ensure three Americans were freed when he traveled to Pyongyang. Former President Jimmy Carter was able to retrieve Aijalon Mahli Gomes in 2010. And a visit from former President Bill Clinton in 2009 secured the release of Euna Lee and Laura Ling.

Otto Warmbier, a University of Virginia student who was detained in North Korea for 17 months, was released in 2017. He was returned to the U.S. unconscious and died later.

His father, Fred Warmbier, said Wednesday that King’s situation was “a gift” to Kim Jong Un’s regime. But he said it would be a mistake to criticize King for his actions, adding that it should be a priority for the government to ensure his swift return to the U.S.

“Regardless of the circumstances or the situation, this young man deserves the benefit of the doubt,” he said.

How those negotiations will move forward is unknown. The U.S. had increased its presence in the region to push back against North Korea’s missile testing and China’s creeping influence. The USS Kentucky arrived in Busan, South Korea, on Tuesday. It was the first time a U.S. nuclear ballistic missile submarine had visited the Korean peninsula in 40 years, according to U.S. Strategic Command.

Cha said it would most likely put the Biden administration in a temporary bind as the media and policymakers grow preoccupied with this moment, rather than the deterrence dialogues the U.S. and regional allies had focused on.

It could, however, lead to an opportunity, as well, because North Korea has not responded to any of the Biden administration’s efforts to talk, Cha said.

“If there is contact at a more political level, then we might want to say, ‘Let’s talk about some other stuff, too, not just this issue,’” he added.

NBC News · by Phil McCausland

3. For the “Chinese Dream” to Become a Dream for All

An excellent talking point here:

Secondly, China is making the situation on the Korean Peninsula unstable by condoning North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs. North Korea conducted 63 missile launches in 2022 in violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions. Meanwhile, China and Russia neglected their responsibilities as permanent members of the Security Council to take further measures, instead calling on all parties to “address the DPRK’s legitimate concerns.” North Korea claims that its nuclear and missile program is to defend against U.S. aggression. But its true objective is to fabricate the imaginary external threats in order to justify its three-generation hereditary regime. It is noteworthy that the UN Security Council Panel of Experts Overseeing Sanctions against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea frequently mentions China as the most suspected violator of sanctions.

North Korea reportedly allocated around $500 million exclusively for ballistic missile launches last year, which is more than enough to make up for North Korea’s annual food shortage. If China truly cares about North Korea, it should persuade North Korea to divert the cost of developing nuclear weapons and missiles to improving the living conditions of its people and accept humanitarian aid from the international community and South Korea.

Since China is our close neighbor and the largest trading partner, it is crucial to foster mutually beneficial cooperation. In order to move beyond the current tensions and establish a “strategic cooperative partnership,” it is necessary to uphold the principles of “mutual respect” and “Qiu Tong Cun Yi (求同存異).” For the “Chinese Dream” to become a dream for all rather than a selfish dream only for the Chinese people, China must reflect on itself.

[The Dong-a Ilbo Op-ed] For the “Chinese Dream” to Become a Dream for All (July 5)

• Issue/Region :
• Foreign Relations/China,Korean Peninsula,Northeast Asia
• Expert :
• Choi Kang / President
• 
  

en.asaninst.org

With the public announcement of “the New Model of Great Power Relations with the United States,” China claims itself as a “great power.” In the history of world, a great power does not simply imply the size of a country’s territory, but rather whether it possesses qualities that other nations seek to emulate and is capable of shaping the international order. For example, to become a more civilized country, Russia, under Peter the Great, tried to import the art, culture and technologies of the advanced European countries such as France and the Netherlands. In the late 19th century, China tried to modernize itself by learning advanced European science and technologies from Germany and Great Britain (Zhong Ti Xi Yong, 中體西用: Chinese essence and Western utility). Japan, who aspired to become a major power, transplanted European legal and political systems from Great Britain, Germany, France, and the Netherlands. In particular, the French Revolution and its underlying values, such as liberty, equality, and fraternity, greatly influenced many countries in the world. In a word, European countries such as Great Britain, France, and Germany, were not physically big but had the advanced civilizations that inspired many countries to follow.

China’s ambition to become a great power is clearly demonstrated by President Xi Jinping’s 2012 declaration that “achieving rejuvenation is the dream of the Chinese people,” signaling the pursuit of the “Chinese Dream.” However, a 2022 public opinion survey of 26 countries by the University of Cambridge and the British pollster YouGov found that the negative perceptions of China ranged from 60 percent to 70 percent across 16 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, and Australia.

Even before the diplomatic tensions sparked by Chinese ambassador Xing Haiming’s recent remarks about Seoul’s diplomatic options, South Korea has already been subject to Chinese economic and cultural coercion over the deployment of the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system, which was introduced to counter North Korea’s nuclear threats. In international relations, the perspectives and opinions of many countries cannot be the same, and it is natural that there are differences in their perspectives, especially between Korea and China, which have different political and economic systems. Premier Zhou Enlai well explained the nature of international relations during the 1955 Bandung Conference by advocating Qiu Tong Cun Yi (求同存異: seeking common ground while shelving differences). Unfortunately, such a consideration cannot be found in recent South Korea-China relations. These days China has made two mistakes.

The first is great power unilateralism. During the Korean War, that claimed the lives of over one million South Korean civilians, China intervened in the war by sending 2.9 million soldiers, consequently blocking the reunification of Korea. China claims that its participation in the war was to “aid North Korea against U.S. aggression (抗美援朝).”

The U.S. involvement in the Korean War was the response to North Korea’s invasion. In accordance with the UN Security Council resolution, 16 countries, including the United States, Britain, France, Turkey, and Australia, sent combat troops, and six countries, including Sweden, India, and Italy, provided medical units to form the UN forces. They fought against North Korea, the aggressor, under the UN flag. The Korean War was not started by the United States.

In 1947, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution with the intention of implementing a “General Election Plan” under the supervision of the United Nations throughout the Korean Peninsula. North Korea refused to comply, then the United Nations passed a resolution calling for elections to be held where possible, namely in South Korea. Subsequently, in May 1948, elections were conducted in South Korea, leading to the establishment of the Republic of Korea, which was recognized by the United Nations as the sole legitimate authority on the Korean Peninsula. It is important to note that the Korean War broke out as a result of North Korea’s invasion against the Republic of Korea, the only lawful government recognized by the United Nations.

Although Article 33 of the Chinese Constitution stipulates that “the state shall respect and protect human rights,” China has faced suspicion as a country where human rights abuses and political oppression are widespread. According to the 2023 World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders, China ranked 179th out of 180 surveyed countries, with North Korea occupying the last spot. China’s treatment of North Korean defectors has been criticized for its inhumane nature. Presently, a substantial number of defectors, up to 2,000 individuals, are being held in detention facilities in China, with most facing the imminent risk of repatriation to North Korea. In response, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives pointed out China’s complicity in endorsing brutal acts of violence, stating that defectors are being “thrown straight back into that meat grinder by the Chinese government.”

Secondly, China is making the situation on the Korean Peninsula unstable by condoning North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs. North Korea conducted 63 missile launches in 2022 in violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions. Meanwhile, China and Russia neglected their responsibilities as permanent members of the Security Council to take further measures, instead calling on all parties to “address the DPRK’s legitimate concerns.” North Korea claims that its nuclear and missile program is to defend against U.S. aggression. But its true objective is to fabricate the imaginary external threats in order to justify its three-generation hereditary regime. It is noteworthy that the UN Security Council Panel of Experts Overseeing Sanctions against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea frequently mentions China as the most suspected violator of sanctions.

North Korea reportedly allocated around $500 million exclusively for ballistic missile launches last year, which is more than enough to make up for North Korea’s annual food shortage. If China truly cares about North Korea, it should persuade North Korea to divert the cost of developing nuclear weapons and missiles to improving the living conditions of its people and accept humanitarian aid from the international community and South Korea.

Since China is our close neighbor and the largest trading partner, it is crucial to foster mutually beneficial cooperation. In order to move beyond the current tensions and establish a “strategic cooperative partnership,” it is necessary to uphold the principles of “mutual respect” and “Qiu Tong Cun Yi (求同存異).” For the “Chinese Dream” to become a dream for all rather than a selfish dream only for the Chinese people, China must reflect on itself.

* The view expressed herein was published on July 5 in the Dong-a Ilbo and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Asan Institute for Policy Studies.

Choi Kang

President

Dr. CHOI Kang is the President at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies. Previously, he was the dean of Planning and Assessment at the Korean National Diplomatic Academy. In 2012, Dr. Choi served as the president at the Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security (IFANS). He was also a professor and director general for American Studies at IFANS, a research fellow at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses, and senior director for Policy Planning and Coordination on the National Security Council Secretariat. He holds several advisory board memberships including: the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Trade, and Unification of the National Assembly; Ministry of National Defense; Ministry of Unification; Air Force Development Committee; and the National Unification Advisory Council. Dr. Choi was also a South Korean delegate to the Four-Party Talks. He writes extensively on the ROK-US alliance, North Korean military affairs, inter-Korean relations, crisis management, and multilateral security cooperation. Dr. Choi received his B.A. from Kyunghee University, M.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and his Ph.D. in political science from Ohio State University.

en.asaninst.org

4. It Takes a Potemkin Village

It Takes a Potemkin Village

Do North Korea’s commies spruce up the area along the DMZ when they expect company?

By James Freeman

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July 19, 2023 3:58 pm ET

https://www.wsj.com/articles/it-takes-a-potemkin-village-750706a3?

A South Korean soldier and a United Nations Command soldier stand guard before North Korea's Panmon Hall and the military demarcation line separating North and South Korea, at Panmunjom, in the Joint Security Area (JSA) of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on October 4, 2022. PHOTO: ANTHONY WALLACE/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES

Does the maintenance of a North Korean government building near the DMZ tell us anything about the regime or its plans? A series of photographs of the area near where a troubled American soldier crossed into North Korea from South Korea this week raises interesting questions.

The Journal’s Dasl Yoon and Timothy W. Martin report today:

The U.S. soldier being held in North Korea had faced assault allegations in South Korea last year and spent nearly seven weeks in a detention facility, according to U.S. officials, as new details emerged about the legal issues faced by an American who crossed the Korean border.

The fate of the soldier, identified as Army Private 2nd Class Travis King, has handed Washington a fresh challenge in its relations with Pyongyang as tensions have been rising on the Korean Peninsula.

King, 23, remained in North Korean custody on Wednesday after crossing the border without authorization the previous day while on a tour of the Joint Security Area, which is within the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas.

The U.S. military says that Pvt. King made his unauthorized crossing of the military demarcation line into North Korea willfully. He had previously been involved in two alleged assaults—at least one of which generated headlines in South Korean media. The Journal reporters note:

He was held at a detention facility in South Korea for 47 days, and spent about a week at Camp Humphreys—a large U.S. Army base in South Korea—before being escorted by military officers to Incheon International Airport, U.S. officials said. On Monday, he had been set to board a flight to Texas, where he would face disciplinary actions and a potential discharge, the officials said.

But what happened at the airport is not entirely clear. Tucker Reals, Haley Ott, and Sarah Baldwin report for CBS News that Pvt. King was headed back to the U.S. “to be ‘separated’ from the Army, U.S. officials told CBS News, but after parting ways with his escort at customs, he didn’t board the plane. After going through airport security, he somehow returned and managed to join a civilian tour group heading from Seoul to Panmunjom.”

The story gets even stranger. The CBS report adds:

CBS News’ British partner network BBC News spoke with a man who used to work for a company that ran tours to the JSA for U.S. troops serving in South Korea.

Now the host of the North Korea-themed NK News Podcast, Jacco Zwetsloot told the BBC there was “no way this person could escape from the airport one day and book on to one of these tours the next.”

He said it generally takes three days for someone to be authorized to go on one of the trips, and his former clients would have to submit passport and military ID information to U.N. Command, which operates the JSA, in advance... He said to book a spot on one of the limited tours now running would have required research and planning.

A witness who was in King’s tour group told CBS News on Tuesday that the American abruptly left the others, laughed, and then ran across the Military Demarcation Line before anyone could act to stop him.

Let’s hope that Travis King and any valuable information he may possess are swiftly and safely returned to the United States.

In the meantime, while there remain numerous questions about how this troubled soldier managed to get to the Joint Security Area of the DMZ, a longtime Journal reader raises another question about the area itself.

Paul Stewart, who maintains a keen eye for detail, noticed the photograph that accompanies this column. Taken by Agence France-Presse last October, it has been used by a number of news organizations to illustrate stories about this week’s drama at the DMZ. Mr. Stewart observes:

I couldn’t help but notice the shocking contrast between that photo and the WSJ video of then-President Donald Trump’s 2019 meeting [with North Korean communist dictator Kim Jong Un] at the same location.

Looking at the October, 2022, photo, which includes the steps of North Korea’s Panmon Hall, Mr. Stewart writes:

It looks like weeds have grown up on the North Korean side, and the green bush about halfway up the stairs in the center doesn’t appear to have been trimmed at all in the meantime! I did note, however, that on the South Korean side, the area is generally clean and no weeds are visible... it did occur to me that when North Korea knows that cameras will be clicking, they do go to the trouble to (at least) pull the weeds!!!

Does the varying condition of the Panmon Hall steps tell us anything about the regime or its expectations?

Some say that in a command economy it takes a Potemkin Village to raise well-trimmed shrubbery. Certainly one could understand if Pyongyang sometimes decides to save a few bucks on landscaping given how its thuggish central planning has impoverished the country. Reliable data on the closed society are hard to come by but it is among the poorest nations on earth. The CIA says that “a large portion of the population suffers from low levels of food consumption” and the Heritage Foundation explains why:

North Korea continues its isolation from much of the rest of the world. Based on limited available information, North Korea’s economic freedom score is 2.9, making its economy the least free in the 2023 Index...

North Korea’s dictatorial leadership remains unwilling to open or restructure its economy. Despite experimenting with a few market reforms, the regime adheres to the system of state command and control that has kept the country and its people near bankruptcy for decades. The Communist Party controls every aspect of economic activity...

The state sets production levels for most products, and state-owned industries account for nearly 100 percent of the country’s GDP... Entrepreneurial activity remains virtually impossible.

But perhaps it’s possible for outsiders to glean information about the regime based on the condition of its landmark along the DMZ—and whether the regime expects much attention from foreign media. Photographs taken this year, such as when U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville visited the southern side of the military demarcation line, appear to show the steps of Panmon Hall in much better condition than in 2022— even if they don’t quite seem to approach the pristine presentation in the images from 2019.

James Freeman is the co-author of “The Cost: Trump, China and American Revival” and also the co-author of “Borrowed Time: Two Centuries of Booms, Busts and Bailouts at Citi.”

***

Follow James Freeman on Twitter.

5. Top nuclear envoys of S. Korea, U.S., Japan denounce N. Korea's latest missile test

(LEAD) Top nuclear envoys of S. Korea, U.S., Japan denounce N. Korea's latest missile test | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Yi Wonju · July 20, 2023

(ATTN: ADDS more info in last 3 paras; CHANGES photo)

SEOUL, July 20 (Yonhap) -- The top nuclear negotiators of South Korea, the United States and Japan met in Japan on Thursday and strongly condemned North Korea's recent ballistic missile launch, Seoul's foreign ministry said.

Kim Gunn, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, and his U.S. and Japanese counterparts, Sung Kim and Takehiro Funakoshi, respectively, delivered the message at a trilateral meeting in Karuizawa, a day after Pyongyang fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea.

The three sides discussed ways to "effectively counter" North Korea's continued provocations and agreed to step up efforts to prevent illicit revenue from flowing into the North's weapons development programs, the ministry said.

"Kim Jong-un thought that by heightening threats of a nuclear attack, he will gain respect and have things his way," the South Korean envoy said. "However, instead of being intimidated or conceding, the ROK and the U.S. have upgraded the Alliance through the Washington Declaration."

Kim criticized the North Korean regime for pushing for self-reliance and draining its scarce resources through its nuclear and missile programs.

"To put it simply, Kim Jong-un has reached a dead end," he said.

Kim called the allies' recently launched Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) "particularly meaningful" for enhancing their combined deterrence and response posture.

During their April summit, President Yoon Suk Yeol and U.S. President Biden adopted the Washington Declaration and agreed to establish the NCG to discuss nuclear and strategic planning between the allies and strengthen the credibility of the U.S. extended deterrence commitment to defending South Korea with all of its military capabilities, including nuclear weapons.

The envoys also reaffirmed that the three countries remain open to dialogue with North Korea and agreed to strengthen "close communication and coordination to bring North Korea back to the path to denuclearization."

Kim also met separately with Funakoshi and denounced the North's "unprecedented" number of nuclear and missile provocations, the ministry said.

"The two sides agreed to step up efforts in strengthening the international community's strict implementation of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions on North Korea and in calling for China's constructive role, making use of the fact that South Korea, the U.S. and Japan will all serve as members of the UNSC next year," it added.

The meeting comes after the UNSC failed to take action on North Korea for its intercontinental ballistic missile test last week due to opposition from China and Russia.

Kim Gunn (R), South Korea's special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, poses for a photo with Sung Kim (L), U.S. special envoy for North Korea, and Takehiro Funakoshi, head of the Japanese foreign ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, during their talks on North Korea in Karuizawa, Japan, on July 20, 2023, in this photo provided by Seoul's foreign ministry. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

julesyi@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Yi Wonju · July 20, 2023

6. N. Korea poses grave threat to cyber security, cutting off illicit funds to weapons program important: U.S. official

Yes, we must aggressively go after the regime's all purpose sword.

N. Korea poses grave threat to cyber security, cutting off illicit funds to weapons program important: U.S. official | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Duk-Kun Byun · July 20, 2023

By Byun Duk-kun

WASHINGTON, July 19 (Yonhap) -- The United States is most concerned about cyber crimes committed by North Korean and Russian actors, a ranking U.S. official said Wednesday.

Brian Nelson, under secretary of treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence, also highlighted ongoing U.S. efforts to curb illicit cyber activities by North Korean actors that help fund the country's illegal weapons development programs.

"Obviously, the two state actors I worry the most about are the DPRK and Russia," Nelson said during a virtual seminar hosted by the Center for a New American Security, a think tank based in Washington, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Brian Nelson, under secretary of treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence, is seen speaking during a webinar hosted by the Washington-based Center for a New American Security think tank on July 19, 2023 in this captured image. (Yonhap)

"I think ... you see how much they are relying on virtual assets in support of their weapons of mass destruction program. That is a significant, very significant national security concern that I work quite a bit about. And given that, obviously, diplomatic engagement has been quite challenging with the DPRK, this sort of cutting off this funding stream meaningfully, I think, is important," he added.

Led by Nelson, the treasury department's terrorism and financial intelligence bureau has imposed sanctions on more than a dozen North Korean entities and individuals this year.

"The United States and our partners remain committed to combating the DPRK's illicit revenue generation activities and continued efforts to steal money from financial institutions, virtual currency exchanges, companies, and private individuals around the world," Nelson said in May when the treasury department imposed sanctions on four North Korean entities and one North Korean national for illicit cyber activities that support North Korea's weapons programs.

South Korea's spy agency said Wednesday (Korea time) that North Korea stole a total of US$700 million worth of cryptocurrency in 2022, enough to fund the launch of some 30 intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Nelson underscored the importance of efforts by the private sector to curb illicit cyber activities by actors such as North Korea.

"North Korean cyber criminals are actively and aggressively exploiting vulnerabilities. In particular, they seek out the non-implementation and frankly, the willful disregard" by private service providers, Nelson told the webinar.

"While we are responsible for developing the guardrails to mitigate illicit finance risks, it is truly incumbent upon the private sector to effectively implement them," he added.

bdk@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Duk-Kun Byun · July 20, 2023

7. N. Korea's trade reliance on China hits 10-year high in 2022

I do not think we should be deceived by the percentages. 

Barely a billion dollars in trade is not too much:

Excerpts:

The amount took up 96.7 percent of North Korea's overall trade, up from 95.6 percent a year earlier.

Exports stood at $134 million and imports reached $1.398 billion, with its trade deficit rising to $1.27 billion from a $565 million shortfall.

N. Korea's trade reliance on China hits 10-year high in 2022 | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Young-Sup Kwak · July 20, 2023

SEOUL, July 20 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's dependency on China for foreign trade hit its highest level in 2022 since its leader Kim Jong-un took the helm of the reclusive country 10 years earlier, a report showed Thursday.

Pyongyang's trade with Beijing came to US$1.53 billion last year, up about 125 percent from the previous year, according to the report from the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA).

The amount took up 96.7 percent of North Korea's overall trade, up from 95.6 percent a year earlier.

Exports stood at $134 million and imports reached $1.398 billion, with its trade deficit rising to $1.27 billion from a $565 million shortfall.

The jump in North Korea's trade with its top trading partner was attributed to softened COVID-19 restrictions and increased railroad trade between the neighbors.

Vietnam ranked second with 1 percent, with Argentina, Nigeria and the Netherlands among the other trading nations.

The report also showed that North Korea's overall external trade reached $1.59 billion in 2022, up a whopping 122.3 percent from a year earlier.

Overseas shipments surged 94 percent on-year to $159 million, with imports spiking 126 percent to $1.43 billion. Its trade deficit widened sharply to $1.27 billion last year from a deficit of $549 million a year earlier.

Minerals were North Korea's top export item in 2022, with their exports shooting up 7,281 percent to around $4.5 million. Crude and other oil products were the No. 1 import good at $520 million, which accounted for 36.4 percent of its total imports.

A KOTRA official said North Korea's trade with China is expected to expand further this year, given a 270 percent jump in bilateral trade in the first five months of the year.

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Young-Sup Kwak · July 20, 2023

8. N. Korea warns U.S. nuclear submarine visit to S. Korea may fall under conditions for its nuke use

​We must not allow an overreaction to this rhetoric but I can hear the calls from some corners saying we must withdraw our submarine in the face of this threat (but perhaps the sailors would instead like to have their port call extended so they can enjoy the hospitality of Pusan.)

N. Korea warns U.S. nuclear submarine visit to S. Korea may fall under conditions for its nuke use | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Song Sang-ho · July 20, 2023

SEOUL, July 20 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's defense chief warned Thursday a U.S. nuclear-capable strategic submarine's port visit to South Korea this week may fall under the legal conditions for his country's use of nuclear weapons.

Defense Minister Kang Sun-nam made the remarks, issuing an anticipated criticism of the visit here by the USS Kentucky, an 18,750-ton Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine (SSBN), and the recent inaugural meeting of the Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) between South Korea and the United States.

"I remind the U.S. military of the fact that the ever-increasing visibility of the deployment of the strategic nuclear submarine and other strategic assets may fall under the conditions of the use of nuclear weapons specified in DPRK law on nuclear force policy," he said in a press statement carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency.

DPRK stands for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Kang pointed out that the North's nuclear doctrine allows for the execution of necessary procedures in cases where a nuclear attack is launched against it or it is judged that the use of nuclear weapons against it is imminent.

"The U.S. military side should realize that its nuclear assets have entered extremely dangerous waters," he said.

The USS Kentucky arrived in the southeastern port city of Busan on Tuesday, marking the first U.S. SSBN arrival here since 1981. Its arrival coincided with the first NCG session.

The U.S. pledged to enhance the "regular visibility" of its high-profile military assets, including SSBNs, in the Washington Declaration that Presidents Yoon Suk Yeol and Joe Biden issued during their summit in April.

In the declaration, the two sides announced the creation of the NCG aimed at enhancing America's extended deterrence commitment to using the full range of its military capabilities, including nuclear, to defend its ally.

This photo, provided by the Defense Daily on July 19, 2023, shows the USS Kentucky nuclear ballistic missile submarine at a key naval base in Busan, 320 kilometers southeast of Seoul. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Song Sang-ho · July 20, 2023

9. S. Korea, Japan eye holding working-level consultations over Fukushima water next week

Meeting and talking about tough issues and differences is a good thing for the relationship.

S. Korea, Japan eye holding working-level consultations over Fukushima water next week | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Chang Dong-woo · July 20, 2023

SEOUL, July 20 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and Japan are discussing holding working-level consultations next week to discuss Seoul's requests regarding Tokyo's plan to discharge contaminated water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant, according to sources Thursday.

According to the sources, the two sides are discussing holding director-general-level talks next week in Japan to discuss follow-up measures to the results of a bilateral summit held on the sidelines of a North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit held in Vilnius, Lithuania, earlier this month.

During the summit between President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on July 12, Yoon asked Tokyo to include South Korean experts in monitoring the planned release of the water.

Yoon also asked that the discharge be stopped immediately if the concentration of radioactive material in the water exceeds standard levels and that Japan promptly inform the South.

The two countries previously held working-level discussions on the Fukushima water issue in Seoul in May.

The International Atomic Energy Agency has priority in deciding whether to include a South Korean expert in the water monitoring team, but it will require cooperation from the Japanese authorities in making such a decision, officials said.

In this file photo, South Korean and Japanese officials hold working-level consultations at Seoul's foreign ministry on May 12, 2023, over Tokyo's plan to discharge contaminated water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant. (Yonhap)

odissy@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Chang Dong-woo · July 20, 2023

10. Russia grounds plane, arrests North Korean mother and son on the run

​Photo of the leaflet at the link: https://www.rfa.org/english/news/korea/arrests-07192023174035.html​

Russia grounds plane, arrests North Korean mother and son on the run

Arrests happened last month, a day after authorities said two had gone missing.

By Kim Jieun for RFA Korean

2023.07.19

rfa.org

Russian authorities grounded a Moscow-bound flight to arrest a North Korean diplomat’s wife and son who went missing from the far eastern city of Vladivostok last month, residents in Russia familiar with the case told Radio Free Asia.

RFA reported on June 6 that Russian authorities announced that they were searching for Kim Kum Sun, 43, and Park Kwon Ju, 15, who had last been seen on June 4 leaving the North Korean consulate in Vladivostok.

Kim had been working as the acting manager of two North Korean restaurants in the city in place of her husband, considered a diplomat, who traveled to North Korea in 2019 but was unable to return to Russia due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On July 7, the day after the announcement, Kim and Park were arrested after boarding a Moscow-bound flight departing from the central Russian city of Krasnoyarsk, a resident of Vladivostok, who requested anonymity for personal safety, told RFA’s Korean Service.

“Their flight to Moscow departed from Yemelyanovo International Airport located on the outskirts of Krasnoyarsk as normal, but to arrest the mother and the son, the Russian public security authorities forced the plane to return to the airport,” he said. “When the plane landed …, the authorities arrested them.”

They would have gotten all the way to Moscow if not for the consulate getting Russian authorities involved, the Vladivostok resident said.

As of Tuesday, Russian media has made no mention of Kim and Park’s arrest. RFA was not able to confirm with Russian authorities that they grounded the flight to arrest the pair.

Higher priority?

It was also not clear if Kim and Park had been accused of any crimes.

But it is standard procedure for the North Korean consulate to fraudulently accuse missing personnel of crimes so that Russian authorities place a higher priority on the case, a Russian citizen of Korean descent from Krasnoyarsk, who requested anonymity for security reasons, told RFA.

“North Korea reports missing people by framing them for crimes,” he said. “So the escapees are in danger of being executed without the protection of the local state and the international community.”

But if they were accused criminals, the runaways would not be eligible for international protection, he said.

The Krasnoyarsk resident confirmed that the authorities ordered the plane to return to the airport to arrest Kim and Park.

“There has been an increasing number of escape attempts among North Korean trade officials and workers in Russia recently,” he said.

They may have been inspired by other North Koreans who successfully fled, including a computer engineer, a work unit manager, a work site manager, a doctor and a soldier from the General Staff Department of the North Korean military.

“The United Nations and the international community must take an active role in helping those who risk their lives to escape from the dictatorship,” the Krasnoyarsk resident said.

“Instead of [arresting them] as demanded by the North Korean authorities and sending them to a place where death awaits them, [Russian authorities] should open the way for them to receive refugee status according to the regulations set by the United Nations.”

Translated by Leejin J. Chung. Edited by Eugene Whong and Malcolm Foster.

rfa.org

11. ＜Inside N. Korea＞Police decided to use gun to combat rash of robberies…Soldiers also frequently take part in robberies

Desperate conditions in north Korea. Again, we must carefully observe for indications of instability. Collapse will occur when the regime can no longer cover the entire territory in the north from Pyongyang and there is the loss of coherency and support of the military. So in short collapse could occur when there is the loss of central governing effects and the loss of military coherency. The danger in this is that not only will it lead to immense suffering and violent internal conflict in the north particularly as military units compete for resources, these conditions could lead Kim to make the decisions to "externalize" his internal problems and execute hsi campaign plan to unify the peninsula under the rule of the Guerrilla Dynasty and Gulag State to ensure his survival (as irrational as that might seem to us it could be a very rational decision based on Kim's perspective). 

＜Inside N. Korea＞Police decided to use gun to combat rash of robberies…Soldiers also frequently take part in robberies, using “knives to threaten people and take away their bicycles, phones, and even their clothes”

asiapress.org

(FILE PHOTO) A soldier getting on a train with a cigarette in his hand. Taken by ASIAPRESS at Hyesan Station, Yanggang Province, in October 2013.

People in North Korea’s provincial cities are increasingly fearful due to a rash of armed robberies that have taken place amid continuing poverty among the urban dwellers. The increase in cases of blackmail and robberies by military soldiers has led to police to order its officers to “fire on and suppress (criminals) in cases where the offense is heinous.” A reporting partner in North Hamgyung Province gave the following report in late June. (KANG Ji-won)

◆ Robbers use knives to threaten victims and take away their bicycles, phones and even their clothes

Currently, in areas bordering China, including North Hamgyung and Yanggang provinces, it is illegal to go outside after 9 PM. The curfew was originally implemented to prevent people from using the cover of night to cross the border into China, defect across the border, or engage in smuggling; recently, however, the ban is being used to prevent robberies.

A reporting partner called “A” in Hoeryong told ASIAPRESS that “anyone who is caught outside after 9:30 PM (the authorities give people 30 minutes after 9 PM to get home) is detained. Soldiers are also subject to being detained for curfew violations. People are scared to go outside once it’s dark because robbers will stick knives at your throat or waist and take away what you’re carrying, including your phone and even your clothes.”

“A” also told ASIAPRESS about a recent robbery that occurred in broad daylight near where he lives:

“A man and woman were returning to the downtown area on their bike from the outskirts of town one afternoon in late June when they were robbed. The man’s head was smashed with a rock as he tried to fight back and he fainted, and the robber took the bike and all their personal items.

These days, robberies are conducted in teams. There are many robberies where criminals have a lookout to ensure no one’s coming while they attack their victims, even stealing their bikes. People are so scared that they’ll go in groups of three to five people when travelling between rural and downtown areas.”

(FILE PHOTO) Young soldiers taking baths and doing their washing along the edges of the Yalu River. Some of the soldiers are so thin you can see their ribs. The photograph shows a part of Sakju County, North Pyongan Province, and was taken by ISHIMARU Jiro on the Chinese side of border in July 2017. Soldiers are currently banned from approaching the river, so it’s impossible to see anything like this now.

◆ Police ordered to fire on and suppress those who commit heinous crimes

The authorities, however, are not just sitting on their hands in the face of this increase in heinous crime. “A” told ASIAPRESS that in late June, people attending an inminban (neighborhood watch unit) meeting were told to actively cooperate with the police and official efforts to crack down on crime.

All districts have checkpoints manned by inminban. The authorities ordered that these checkpoints must thoroughly confirm the identities of everyone entering the districts in order to catch those perpetrating robberies or other anti-social behavior, and to report people who are involved in group activities.

The police are also increasing both the size and number of day and night patrols, which is “due to an order to fire on and suppress criminals who conduct heinous crimes,” the reporting partner told ASIAPRESS.

◆ Violent soldiers

A major problem is that robberies are frequently committed by military soldiers.

“If criminals are soldiers, the police can’t go to military bases to conduct face-to-face interviews, even if the criminals’ faces are revealed. That’s why soldiers are increasingly causing issues and stealing from ordinary people during the daylight when there’s a lot of people around.

I once refused to give a passing soldier a cigarette he demanded and he took that as an offense and started an argument, but I was so scared I eventually just handed over all my cigarettes. If I hadn’t, he would’ve probably taken away from bicycle and everything else I had on me. The military bases say they are restricting soldiers’ leave, but robberies committed by soldiers continue to happen.”

Behind the increase in heinous crime such as robberies, there has been a rise in people suffering from poverty due to North Korea’s poor economic situation. There are even cases of people dying of starvation among the vulnerable classes in provincial cities. The frequent cases of robberies by soldiers may be due to poor supplies of daily necessities like food at military bases.

Another ASIAPRESS reporting partner said that “these days, people are focused on surviving without starving at any cost, even if that means stealing.”

※ ASIAPRESS communicates with its reporting partners through Chinese cell phones smuggled into North Korea.

asiapress.org​

12. S. Hamgyong Province’s food situation still dire despite fresh grains in markets

S. Hamgyong Province’s food situation still dire despite fresh grains in markets

On a positive note, the flow of freshly harvested wheat and barley into the markets have led to a price decrease for corn and other grains

By Lee Chae Un - 2023.07.20 4:00pm

dailynk.com

Farmland in Chongsan-ri, between Nampo and Pyongyang. (Flickr, Creative Commons)

Newly harvested crops of wheat and barley are now for sale in markets in South Hamgyong Province, but the influx of grain has done little to ease people’s food troubles.

“Recently in Hamhung, the latest crops of wheat and barley are available at the market, but since wheat and barley are more expensive than corn, it hasn’t done much to make people’s lives any easier,” a source in South Hamgyong Province told Daily NK on July 12, speaking on condition of anonymity.

According to the source, prices for wheat and barley have fallen as the latest harvest has entered the markets.

For example, at Hamhung’s Kumsa Market on July 9, one kilogram of wheat sold for KPW 3,800 and one kilogram of barley sold for KPW 4,000. By contrast, before the new harvest came on the market, the same quantities of wheat and barley were selling for KPW 4,500 and KPW 5,000 respectively. The July 9 prices represent a price drop of between KPW 700 – 1,000 per kilogram.

Prices for wheat flour have also mirrored the drop in wheat prices, falling from KPW 8,000 to KPW 7,000.

However, even if wheat and barley prices come down, the drop in prices does not offer solutions to food issues faced by ordinary people.

“Even if wheat and barley prices fall, no one is buying because wheat and barley are still much more expensive than corn, which sells for KPW 2,000 per kilogram. The situation is so bad that people aren’t even able to buy mixed corn-rice anymore.”

Mixed barley and rice is particularly unpopular these days because the mixture digests too quickly and leaves people feeling hungry again too quickly. On the other hand, wheat continues to have buyers among merchants who sell bread and dumplings and need wheat flour to make their own products. Demand for wheat still remains generally low since it is too expensive to actually help resolve the fundamental issues of food security for most ordinary people.

Some good news amid the gloom

However, the source pointed out there has been some good news. As wheat and barley flow into the markets, corn and other grains have become cheaper, and people can now afford to buy a bit more to eat with the same amount of money.

The notable exception to this downward trend has been potato prices where the extra supply from the new harvest has not done much to lower prices.

On July 9, potatoes sold for between KPW 1,000 and KPW 1,200 per kilogram at Hamhung’s markets. This is not a substantial change from before, when potatoes sold for between KPW 1,000 and KPW 1,500 per kilogram.

“Even with newly harvested grains and potatoes entering the markets, the latest crop hasn’t done much to resolve people’s food difficulties. While farmers might benefit from the last harvest, the new crops won’t be solving food scarcity issues for urban dwellers who have to buy everything with money,” the source said.

Translated by Rose Adams. Edited by Robert Lauler.

Daily NK works with a network of sources who live inside North Korea, China and elsewhere. Their identities remain anonymous due to security concerns. More information about Daily NK’s reporting partner network and information gathering activities can be found on our FAQ page here.

Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.

Read in Korean

dailynk.com

13. Yoon, Biden, Kishida to hold summit at Camp David in August

We should keep in mind that this is another indication of Kim Jong Un's failed strategy. This is also something that China does not want to see happen. north Korean actions drive improved trilateral cooperation and that is not in Chinese interests.

Thursday

July 20, 2023

 dictionary + A - A 

Published: 20 Jul. 2023, 10:52

Updated: 20 Jul. 2023, 17:56

Yoon, Biden, Kishida to hold summit at Camp David in August

https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2023/07/20/national/diplomacy/Korea-trilateral-summit-Camp-David/20230720105233660.html

From right, Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and U.S. President Joe Biden chat at a trilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Hiroshima, Japan, on May 21. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida are expected to hold a trilateral summit at Camp David in Maryland on Aug. 18, according to sources Thursday. 

Camp David, a secluded rural retreat for U.S. presidents in Catoctin Mountain Park, has often served as a site where American leaders deliberated over difficult decisions or hosted important high-level guests.

The presidential office said in a statement Thursday that a trilateral summit meeting is "scheduled to be held in the United States in August."

It added, "The specific date and location will be announced as soon as possible after coordination between the three countries."

During a brief meeting between the three leaders on the sidelines of the Group of 7 summit in Hiroshima on May 21, Biden invited Yoon and Kishida for another trilateral summit in Washington as early as this summer.

During this encounter, Biden "commended" Yoon and Kishida "on their courageous work to improve their bilateral ties," referring to their efforts to overcome the issue of compensation for Japan's wartime forced labor victims earlier this year and to repair diplomatic relations. Biden noted that the trilateral partnership and the Indo-Pacific are stronger because of their efforts.

Kim Tae-hyo, Korea's principal deputy national security adviser, said in a joint press briefing with U.S. White House officials Wednesday in Seoul that a Korea-U.S.-Japan summit is in the works for August, following up on Biden's earlier invitation.

"At that time, issues such as security cooperation, economic security and exchange issues can be comprehensively discussed among the three countries," Kim said.

The joint press conference came alongside Kurt Campbell, the White House National Security Council coordinator for Indo-Pacific affairs, and Cara Abercrombie, deputy assistant to the president and coordinator for defense policy and arms control. Earlier Tuesday, the Korea-U.S. Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG), a bilateral consultative body created to strengthen extended deterrence, held its inaugural meeting at the Yongsan presidential office.

Kim added that a working-level NCG meeting between Seoul and Washington is planned to be held not too long after the trilateral summit.

The Camp David complex was first completed in 1938, and then-President Franklin D. Roosevelt made it the presidential retreat, initially naming the property "Shangri-La." It was later renamed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower as "Camp David" after his grandson and has become a place for presidents and their families to get away from Washington.

Roosevelt and other presidents have used Camp David as a place to host foreign leaders and heads of state over the years, sometimes to tackle tough diplomatic negotiations.

Then-Korean President Lee Myung-bak held a bilateral summit meeting with President George W. Bush at Camp David in April 2008 during his visit to the United States.

The three countries' leaders held a trilateral summit in June 2022 on the margins of the NATO summit in Madrid and also in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on the sidelines of Asean-related meetings last November. 

This marks the first time the three countries' leaders will be meeting separately for the purpose of holding a trilateral summit, as they previously met on the sidelines of other multilateral events, usually restricted in time.  

"A separate meeting between the heads of Korea, the United States and Japan sends a message in itself," said a presidential official.  

This trilateral meeting could become regularized, as the one between the leaders of Korea, Japan and China first launched in 1999. 

Earlier Thursday, Japanese daily Yomiuri Shimbun also reported that the three sides are coordinating holding a trilateral summit on Aug. 18 at Camp David, near Washington. 

This will become Yoon's third trip to the United States since he took the presidency in May 2022. He previously attended the United Nations General Assembly in New York last September and made a trip to Washington and Boston in April for a state visit.  

14. First NCG meeting backed by nuclear-capable sub in Busan

There has been relatively little reporting on the first NCG. Although we must manage expectations as it is only the first meeting and the first order of business is to create the organization and develop the working processes, the Korean public thirst for substance from each and every meeting. A major line of effort of the NCG is to develop an effective strategic communications plan that not only supports deterrence (targeting Kim Jong Un). but also gives confidence and strategic reassurance to the Korean people of the strategic resolve of the alliance.

Tuesday

July 18, 2023

 dictionary + A - A 

Published: 18 Jul. 2023, 19:17

First NCG meeting backed by nuclear-capable sub in Busan

https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2023/07/18/national/diplomacy/Korea-United-States-Nuclear-Consultative-Group/20230718191731104.html

President Yoon Suk Yeol, center, speaks at the inaugural meeting of the Nuclear Consultative Group, alongside U.S. National Security Council Coordinator for Indo-Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell, left of Yoon, at the Yongsan presidential office in central Seoul on Tuesday. [PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE]

A U.S. nuclear-capable submarine made a port call in Korea for the first time in some 40 years as a "manifestation" of Washington's commitment to extended deterrence, a White House National Security Council (NSC) official said Tuesday.

On the same day, the South Korea-U.S. Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG), a bilateral consultative body created to strengthen extended deterrence, held its inaugural meeting in Seoul. 

"As we speak an American nuclear submarine is making port in Busan today," said Kurt Campbell, NSC coordinator for Indo-Pacific affairs in a joint press conference at the Yongsan presidential office. He noted it was the first visit of a U.S. nuclear submarine "in decades" as he stressed that it is important to "manifest commitments." 

South Korea's Defense Ministry confirmed that the USS Kentucky, a U.S. nuclear-capable ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) arrived at a naval base in Busan earlier Tuesday, the first port call of its kind in 42 years. 

The arrival of the 18,750-ton Ohio-class SSBN, a key U.S. strategic asset, is seen as a demonstration of the two countries ironclad combined defense posture.

The last known U.S. ballistic missile submarine to make a port call in Korea was the USS Robert E. Lee in March 1981.

The first bilateral NCG meeting convened earlier that day at the presidential office, co-chaired by Kim Tae-hyo, Korea's principal deputy national security adviser, and Campbell and discussed information sharing, consultation mechanisms, joint planning and execution plans to strengthen extended deterrence against North Korea.

"There is no issue that we take more seriously than the strength, than the confidence in our nuclear deterrence," Campbell said in the press conference alongside Kim, adding that the launch of the NCG "will go a long way towards making clear that our partnership is rock solid and that we are taking every possible step to ensure confidence in the nuclear, strategic, and military partnership between our two great countries."

He said the meeting laid out the "appropriate steps" to send the strongest possible signal that the United States and South Korea are working together as the "closet possible partners" even in the face of provocations from North Korea.

"Any nuclear attack by North Korea against the United States or its allies is unacceptable and will result in the end of that regime," the two sides said through a joint press statement after the meeting. The two sides highlighted that any nuclear attack by the North against the South will be met with "a swift, overwhelming, and decisive response."

He called the efforts taken by Seoul and Washington as being "unprecedented," unlike anything since the "early days of the Cold War."

President Yoon Suk Yeol made a brief appearance at the beginning of the meeting to launch the NCG. The meeting was also attended by Cara Abercrombie, deputy assistant to the president and coordinator for defense policy and arms control at the White House NSC, and other defense and foreign affairs officials from the two countries. 

The NCG meeting comes as a follow-up to the Washington Declaration signed by Yoon and U.S. President Joe Biden at their bilateral summit at the White House on April 26, during the Korean leader's state visit to the United States. 

The declaration agreed to establish a new bilateral NCG, a planned consultative body of officials from both countries designed to strengthen extended deterrence against threats from North Korea through enhanced dialogue and information sharing on nuclear strategy. 

Extended deterrence refers to the United States' commitment to mobilizing the full range of its military capabilities, both nuclear and conventional, to defend its ally under a possible attack. 

Analysts, however, have pointed out that the NCG falls short of providing the same kind of nuclear sharing that the United States and NATO members have.

The two sides said that the NCG will play an integral role in discussing "nuclear and strategic planning" and responses to North Korea's aggression, according to the joint statement. They established a range of ways to bolster nuclear deterrence and response capabilities on the Korean Peninsula, including the development of security and information sharing protocols; nuclear consultation and communication processes in crises and contingencies; and coordination and development of planning, operations, exercises, simulations, trainings and investment activities.

They also discussed joint planning and execution of Korean conventional support to U.S. nuclear operations, including "how to enhance visibility of U.S. strategic asset deployments around the Korean Peninsula," the statement added. 

Korean Principal Deputy National Security Adviser Kim Tae-hyo, left, and Kurt Campbell, White House Indo-Pacific coordinator, shake hands at a joint press conference after the inaugural session of the Nuclear Consultative Group at the presidential office in Yongsan, central Seoul, Tuesday. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

"It is very meaningful that the Nuclear Consultative Group, established in accordance with the Washington Declaration adopted with President Biden in April, is taking its first step," President Yoon said during a brief appearance at the beginning of the NCG meeting. "The NCG must thoroughly respond to the advancing North Korean nuclear and missile threats by strengthening its extended deterrence capabilities."

"Just as President Biden warned in April that North Korea that a nuclear attack by North Korea would lead to the end of the regime, we must strengthen extended deterrence implementation through a nuclear-based South Korea-U.S. alliance to ensure that North Korea does not dare to use nuclear weapons," Yoon added, according to presidential spokesperson Lee Do-woon.

"The first NCG meeting will be an important starting point for building strong and effective South Korea-U.S. extended deterrence," Yoon said in a Cabinet meeting. "Through the Korea-U.S. alliance, which has been upgraded to a new nuclear-based paradigm, substantial efforts will be made to fundamentally block North Korea's nuclear and missile threats."

The NCG will meet quarterly, and the next principal-level meeting will take place later this year in the United States. 

Kim said in the press conference that Biden has also invited the Korean and Japanese leaders for a trilateral summit in the United States sometime in August, and that preparations for this meeting are underway.  

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]

15. Beijing 'actively enables' trafficking of North Korean women, girls: rights groups

​This is just sickening. China's human rights atrocities align with north Korea. I hope all those who are touting the new film "Sound of Freedom​" will consider the human trafficking taking place in China. I have not seen the film but I imagine that there is nothing in it about the north Korea-China problem.

The situation is very complex but we must hold China and north Korea accountable for their severe human rights abuses.

Excerpts:

Such criminal practices have created another vulnerable group in China ― the tens of thousands of children born to North Korean mothers ― as the union of a Chinese national with a North Korean national who is illegally residing in the country is not legally recognized under Chinese regulations.

"These children are often deprived of their rights to birth registration, nationality, education and health care because their birth cannot be registered without exposing the mother to the risk of refoulement by China. The constant threat of the mother's refoulement to the DPRK (North Korea) results in separation of children from mothers," the statement says.

This complex international human rights issue is only expected to worsen unless China starts to confront it. The first necessary step is to collect data, including how many undocumented North Korean escapees have been deported or granted refugee status in China, if there are any cases of the latter, rights advocates said.

After reviewing the documents released by NGOs, the Chinese government will issue its own report on the issue before its fourth UPR cycle, where it will respond to official inquiries and comments from the governments of other member states.

Beijing 'actively enables' trafficking of North Korean women, girls: rights groups

The Korea Times · July 20, 2023

This April 15, 2019 photo shows a woman wiping tears from her face during an event marking the anniversary of the birth of Kim Il-sung, founder of North Korea, in Pyongyang. AFP-Yonhap

Activists call on China to fulfill its promise to protect victims ahead of UN review​ ​

By Jung Min-ho

Beijing vowed to take all measures necessary to combat the crime of human trafficking at its second and third cycle of Universal Periodic Reviews (UPR), a U.N. peer-review of the human rights records of all member states, held in 2013 and 2018 respectively.

But after a decade of inattention, if not deliberate ignorance on the part of Chinese authorities, North Korean women and girls remain easy targets of human traffickers resulting in them frequently becoming victims of various crimes including sexual extortion.

Ahead of China's fourth UPR cycle, expected to be held early next year, human rights groups have called for the country to fulfill its own promise to better protect North Korean escapees. In a joint statement sent to U.N. member states, they also urged governments around the world, including South Korea, to raise their voice over the issue at the upcoming session.

"China actively enables and facilitates the widespread and systematic trafficking of women and girls from North Korea through its policy of forcibly repatriating them to North Korea where they are subjected to torture, sexual and gender-based violence, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance and even execution and forcible abortions," Citizens' Alliance for North Korean Human Rights (NKHR) and Transitional Justice Working Group said in that statement.

"The (Chinese) government must acknowledge the causal links between its refoulement policy and human trafficking."

Beijing has claimed that those who come to China for economic reasons do not qualify as refugees. It categorically treats all undocumented North Koreans as illegal migrants. But not all North Koreans, particularly women and girls, voluntarily cross the border, Lee Ji-yoon, a program manager at NKHR, told The Korea Times on Thursday.

"A significant number of North Korean women in border areas have been trafficked to China against their will or even without their knowledge," she said.

One victim told the NKHR that she fell asleep after eating an apple given to her by an old friend, only to find herself in China the next day being told that she was being sold to a man who "couldn't get married." This was devastating for the victim, who was going to get married to her longtime boyfriend. Such horrendous stories of forced marriage are not uncommon, human rights activists said.

"Many trafficked North Korean women are sold to rural families with a son that has not been able to find a bride and who desire unpaid labor and the continuation of their family line. The husbands, their families, their relatives and villagers continue the trafficking commenced by traffickers when they receive and detain women, fully aware that the trafficked woman has no safe refuge in China, no language skills and no money to escape," the statement says.

This June 19, 2019 photo shows North Korean and Chinese flags flying in Kim Il-sung square in Pyongyang, North Korea. AFP-Yonhap

Such criminal practices have created another vulnerable group in China ― the tens of thousands of children born to North Korean mothers ― as the union of a Chinese national with a North Korean national who is illegally residing in the country is not legally recognized under Chinese regulations.

"These children are often deprived of their rights to birth registration, nationality, education and health care because their birth cannot be registered without exposing the mother to the risk of refoulement by China. The constant threat of the mother's refoulement to the DPRK (North Korea) results in separation of children from mothers," the statement says.

This complex international human rights issue is only expected to worsen unless China starts to confront it. The first necessary step is to collect data, including how many undocumented North Korean escapees have been deported or granted refugee status in China, if there are any cases of the latter, rights advocates said.

After reviewing the documents released by NGOs, the Chinese government will issue its own report on the issue before its fourth UPR cycle, where it will respond to official inquiries and comments from the governments of other member states.

The Korea Times · July 20, 2023

​​

De Oppresso Liber,

David Maxwell

Vice President, Center for Asia Pacific Strategy

Senior Fellow, Global Peace Foundation

Editor, Small Wars Journal

Twitter: @davidmaxwell161

Phone: 202-573-8647

email: david.maxwell161@gmail.com