Quotes of the Day:

"You must remember that some things that are legally right are not morally right."

– Abraham Lincoln

"Once you teach people to say what they do not understand, it is easy enough to get them to say anything you like."

– J.J. Rousseau

"Treat the earth well: it was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children. We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors, we borrow it from our Children."

– Crazy Horse

1. Why a Korea End-of-War Declaration Would Be a Mistake

2. “Institutionalization of US-ROK-Japan Security Cooperation Helps Suppress North Korea… Strong Signal to China and Russia”

3. US, South Korean defense chiefs ‘strongly’ urge North to cease trash balloon flights

4. N.K. leader's daughter being groomed to succeed Kim: lawmakers

5. N.K. trash balloons disrupt Incheon Int'l Airport operations on 12 occasions: lawmaker

6. Hanwha Aerospace from South Korea Offers Romania Advanced Redback IFV combat vehicles

7. North Korea increases production of 152-millimeter artillery shells

8. Indictment of North Korea expert Sue Mi Terry will not harm US-ROK alliance: NIS

9. Editorial: S. Korean parliament cripples intelligence powers, granting N. Korea's 70-year wish

10. Independence activist's legacy lives on: Huh Mi-mi secures silver in Judo

11. Australia's foreign minister says Russia-North Korea defense deal is 'risky for the world'

12. ROK court issues arrest warrant over reported leak of intel to North Korea

13. Seoul to spend $530K on overseas North Korean human rights conference series

14. Official at military's intelligence command arrested for alleged leak of 'black agents' info

15. North Korean restaurant in Mongolia still closed despite report on reopening

16. N. Korea holds simultaneous closed trials for violators of anti-reactionary thought law

17. N. Korea's political prison camps: Shrinking populations amid tightening control

18. Hoeryong harshly cracks down on Chinese cellphone users

19. Korean athletes shine with skill, determination, and class

1. Why a Korea End-of-War Declaration Would Be a Mistake

From my good friend from north Korea.

Conclusion:

For the past half-century, the North Korean regime has had no intention of honoring agreements for reconciliation and cooperation with the South or the United States. Yet, some experts criticize Washington and Seoul for not keeping their promises to Pyongyang. Kim Jong-un sees nuclear weapons as a powerful means to ensure his survival and regime protection, a way to maintain a balance of power between the North and South and a tool to unify the South under his rule through nuclear force. North Korean dictators have been attempting to unify South Korea by force for more than half a century. Expecting the North Korean regime to honor the end-of-war declaration and peace agreements without changing the Kim family regime is an unrealistic fantasy.

Why a Korea End-of-War Declaration Would Be a Mistake

Expecting the North Korean regime to honor the end-of-war declaration and peace agreements without changing the Kim family regime is an unrealistic fantasy.

The National Interest · by Ri Jong Ho · July 29, 2024

July 27 marked the seventy-first anniversary of the Korean Armistice Agreement in 1953. The Korean Peninsula suffered a horrific war from June 25, 1950, instigated by North Korean forces, which resulted in millions of casualties and injuries and displaced up to 8 million people. The devastating war destroyed widespread infrastructure in both North and South Korea, including homes, hospitals, schools, factories, roads, railways, and bridges, pummeling cities [DM1] into ashes.

Therefore, our nation must never forget the horrific history of the Korean War started by Kim Il-sung, the leader of North Korea. Kim Jong-un, his grandson, has identified South Korea as “a state most hostile” to North Korea and boasted that in the event of a war, he would “use all our super power to wipe [our enemies] out.”

Former South Korean president Moon Jae-in and Kim Jong-un agreed to the Panmunjom Declaration in 2018, which established a peace process on the sixty-fifth anniversary of the Armistice Agreement. Moon proposed replacing the Armistice Agreement with a declaration of the end of the war, promoting coexistence between North and South Korea and asserted that the end-of-war declaration would lead to the resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue. This was a misstep that failed to perceive the true ambitions and nature of the North Korean dictatorship, which has been preparing for armed reunification for more than half a century. Relying on the goodwill of a hostile country is a very dangerous idea.

I have experienced all three generations of North Korean leaders, from Kim Il-sung to Kim Jong-il and Kim Jong-un, and have been in close proximity to them to understand their policies of armed reunification with the South for over thirty years. Until Kim Il-sung’s death in 1994, slogans in the offices of the Workers’ Party and the military read, “Let’s unify the country in the leader’s era [Kim Il-sung].” During Kim Jong-il’s reign, the line went, “Let’s unify the country in the general’s [Kim Jong-il’s] era .” Kim Jong-un even openly stated that he would make 2013 the year of a “nationwide patriotic struggle for reunification” and accelerated preparations for war. These are examples that show the direct ambition of the Kim regime to invade South Korea.

Former South Korean presidents Kim Dae-jung, Roh Moo-hyun, and Moon Jae-in held five peace talks with North Korean dictators Kim Jong-il and Kim Jong-un. However, all those peace summits failed. Instead, North Korea received over a billion dollars in food and energy aid from the U.S. (until 2009) and ROK governments, advancing its nuclear missile development, and now threatens South Korea and world peace with nuclear weapons. Signing a peace agreement and coexisting with a hostile country that possesses nuclear weapons is as foolish as inviting a gangster into one’s home and trying to live peacefully with them.

The declaration of the end of the war is literally a declaration that the war is over. It is to confirm the complete end of the war state between the North and South to the 80 million people on the Korean Peninsula and the international community. Therefore, it must be clarified that the end-of-war declaration is different from the current Armistice Agreement system. Any peace must dismantle the demilitarized zone (DMZ), a scar of division and war. The ugly barbed wire fences stretching about 248 km should be removed, and the millions of mines cleared. At the same time, all the numerous military facilities, equipment, and soldiers stationed there should be withdrawn entirely, and the area declared a peace zone.

The North and South are historically one nation. Therefore, if the war is declared over, the land routes and railways crossing the thirty-eighth parallel should be immediately connected and opened, allowing residents of both the North and South to travel freely between Seoul and Pyongyang as they did before 1945. Moreover, peaceful cities and villages should be built together around the former DMZ, complete with “peace parks” and facilities for commerce and tourism.

Moreover, if an end-of-war declaration is made, the closed North Korean regime should open the country and announce a reform policy that guarantees freedom and human rights to its residents. Without such guarantees, residents of both the North and South cannot freely interact, and economic exchanges cannot occur, nor can separated families exchange emails or phone calls. The North Korean regime should also pledge to the international community and the people of both Koreas that it will make denuclearization irreversible. Such prerequisites must be met for a true end-of-war declaration, and it must be agreed upon by the parties involved and the United Nations and announced to the world. Without such binding guarantees, if an end-of-war declaration is made formally, the Kim Jong-un regime could change at any time.

In reality, peace cannot be achieved for free. Genuine peace on the Korean Peninsula can only be guaranteed if the oppressive Kim Jong-un regime falls. This would allow North Korea to open up, guaranteeing economic freedom, rights, and private property to its residents, liberating them from the shackles of slavery. Peace cannot thrive where there is tyranny. Therefore, if the cruel oppression of the North Korean dictatorship continues and the freedom and human rights of North Korean residents are not guaranteed, South Korea cannot even think about peaceful coexistence with the North.

Peace on the Korean Peninsula is not limited to the end-of-war declaration and peace agreements. Due to the ongoing confrontation between communist forces and the free world surrounding the Korean Peninsula, the stability of the peace regime requires the unification of systems between the North and South. In the 1970s, Vietnam also signed a peace agreement, but eventually, North Vietnam invaded South Vietnam and achieved reunification under communist rule. Therefore, peace on the Korean Peninsula will be complete when both the North and South are unified under a free democratic system.

The previous Moon Jae-in administration disingenuously claimed that the end-of-war declaration was not legally binding and merely a political declaration unrelated to the Armistice Agreement, with nothing to do with the dissolution of the UN Command or the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Korea.[AL8] [DM9]

If the end-of-war declaration lacks international legally binding power, there is a possibility that the North Korean dictator could reverse it at any time, exploiting it continuously. Especially if a declaration is made, the North Korean regime will demand the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Korea and the cessation of U.S.-ROK joint military exercises, inciting protests within South Korea to drive out U.S. forces through candlelight protests. On October 27, 2021, at the Fourth Committee of the UN General Assembly, North Korea’s ambassador to the UN, Kim Song, demanded the dissolution of the UN Command in Korea. This should be seen as the true intention of the North Korean regime regarding the end-of-war declaration.

In 2021, several Democratic legislators, including Congressman Brad Sherman (D-CA), proposed the Peace on the Korean Peninsula Act. In response, thirty-five Republican House members sent an open letter to the White House, expressing deep concerns that the end-of-war declaration would seriously threaten security on the Korean Peninsula. Ironically, some Korean Americans have been lobbying for years to pass the legislation. If their families were living like slaves under the most closed and oppressive regime in the world, would they still advocate for a peace agreement with it?

Moreover, some Korea watchers argue that North Korea behaves better when the United States engages with and makes concessions to it. This logic overlooks why North Korean residents live like slaves and why Kim Jong-un pours the state’s resources into developing nuclear weapons. North Korea’s foreign policy has always been based on deception. For example, when the U.S.-North Korea nuclear agreement was signed in Geneva in 1994, Kim Jong-il rejoiced that he had fooled President Bill Clinton. He boasted to senior officials, “We gained time to develop nuclear weapons and received free light-water reactors worth $4.6 billion and 500,000 tons of heavy fuel oil annually until the reactors are completed.” This is what I heard directly from Kim Jong-il’s speech to senior officials in 1998 at the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party.

For the past half-century, the North Korean regime has had no intention of honoring agreements for reconciliation and cooperation with the South or the United States. Yet, some experts criticize Washington and Seoul for not keeping their promises to Pyongyang. Kim Jong-un sees nuclear weapons as a powerful means to ensure his survival and regime protection, a way to maintain a balance of power between the North and South and a tool to unify the South under his rule through nuclear force. North Korean dictators have been attempting to unify South Korea by force for more than half a century. Expecting the North Korean regime to honor the end-of-war declaration and peace agreements without changing the Kim family regime is an unrealistic fantasy.

About the Author

Ri Jong Ho is a former senior North Korean economic official who served under all three leaders of the Kim family regime. His most recent role was based in Dalian, China, where he headed the Korea Daehung Trading Corporation, overseen by the clandestine Office 39 under the direct control of the ruling Kim family. Before his assignment in Dalian, Jong Ho held pivotal positions, including President of the Daehung Shipping Company and Executive Director of the Daehung General Bureau of the North Korean Workers’ Party, a role equivalent to Vice-Minister rank in the North Korean party-state. Subsequently, he was appointed Chairman of the Korea Kumgang Economic Development Group (KKG) under the North Korean Defense Committee by Kim Jong-il. Jong Ho is a recipient of the Hero of Labor Award, the highest civilian honor in North Korea. Following a series of brutal purges by Kim Jong-un, he defected with his family to South Korea in late 2014. Currently, Jong Ho resides in the greater Washington, DC area.

2.“Institutionalization of US-ROK-Japan Security Cooperation Helps Suppress North Korea… Strong Signal to China and Russia”

Commentary from Bruce Klingner, Patrick Cronin, Bruce Bennett, and me.

This is a Google translation of the article.

Here is the Korean language video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SPHjmmiUrc

“Institutionalization of US-ROK-Japan Security Cooperation Helps Suppress North Korea… Strong Signal to China and Russia”

2024.7.30

Jo Eun-jung

An F-18 Super Hornet prepares for takeoff during the first multi-domain joint exercise between the US, South Korea, and Japan, 'Freedom Edge,' which was held until the 29th of last month.

U.S. experts have assessed that if the U.S.-ROK-Japan security cooperation is institutionalized, it will greatly help to deter North Korea's threats by improving joint combat capabilities. At the same time, they emphasized that it will send a strong signal to enemies and competitors such as China and Russia. Reporter Jo Eun-jung reports.

Bruce Klingner, Senior Research Fellow, Heritage Foundation. Photo = Heritage Foundation.

Bruce Klingner, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, said in a video conference with VOA on the 29th that the Memorandum of Understanding on Security Cooperation Framework signed by the defense ministers of the U.S., South Korea, and Japan is an institutional effort to continue security cooperation among the three countries.

The explanation is that “the goal is to reduce the possibility that the important progress made so far will be reversed even if the leadership of the three countries changes in the future.”

“This document further connects the three countries of the U.S., South Korea and Japan,” said researcher Klingner.

[Recording: Researcher Klingner] “This is more explicitly linking the three countries. The most notable part is the continued affirmation of the real time exchange of warning information from North Korean missile launches. But we've also seen a pledge during the past year and affirmed repeatedly of large scale multi-domain military exercises involving the three countries. That goes beyond previous trilateral military exercises as well as other cooperation on coordination and interoperability.”

He said, “The most notable part is that we have continued to confirm that we are exchanging real-time information on North Korea’s missile warnings.”

He also said, “We have repeatedly confirmed the implementation of large-scale multi-domain joint exercises involving the three countries,” adding, “This goes beyond previous coordination and interoperability cooperation.”

“The United States has been working to strengthen trilateral cooperation between its two key allies in Northeast Asia,” said Klinger, adding that this document is a continuation of that effort.

On the 28th, South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won-sik, Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara, and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (from left) hold the Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) for the Japan-U.S.-ROK Security Cooperation Framework (TSCF) signed after the Japan-U.S.-ROK Trilateral Defense Ministerial Meeting held at the Japanese Ministry of Defense.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, South Korean Minister of National Defense Shin Won-sik, and Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara signed the Memorandum of Understanding on the U.S.-ROK-Japan Security Cooperation Framework in Tokyo, Japan on the 28th.

This is the first document containing the basic direction and policy guidelines for trilateral security cooperation, and aims to ensure peace and security on the Korean Peninsula, in the Indo-Pacific region, and beyond by responding to challenges, provocations, and threats in the region.

Specifically, the three countries agreed to regularly hold high-level meetings, such as the Defense Ministers’ Meeting, the Joint Chiefs of Staff Meeting, and the US-ROK-Japan Security Meeting, regularize trilateral military exercises, and strengthen communication and cooperation for the effective operation of the real-time North Korean missile warning information sharing system.

We also decided to regularly and systematically conduct trilateral training, such as 'Freedom Edge', based on a multi-year trilateral training plan.

Patrick Cronin, Asia-Pacific Security Chair, Hudson Institute

Patrick Cronin, chair of Asia-Pacific Security Studies at the Hudson Institute, also said in a video conference with VOA on the same day that the cooperation between the U.S., South Korea, and Japan achieved so far is “an attempt to institutionalize it and make it more durable,” and that “the Biden administration’s timing of the adoption of this document to coincide with the second anniversary of the Camp David summit is intended to show that this trilateral relationship can enjoy bipartisan support no matter who wins the U.S. election in November.”

Cronin analyzed that the military training, regularization of high-level dialogue, and sharing of military information contained in the document enhanced the combat capabilities of the three countries.

[Recording: Cronin Chair] “I think if you think about definitions of deterrence, you know, having credible combat capability is at the heart of it. So I think this process and this trilateral framework and everything that is tucked under this framework, that’s included policy decisions, information sharing exercises, exchanges, all of that builds credible combat capability that in turn deters North Korean threat.”

“The core of deterrence is having a credible warfighting capability,” Cronin said. “Everything that goes into the trilateral security cooperation framework—the policy-making, the information sharing, the training, the exchanges—all of these are building a credible warfighting capability, and ultimately deterring the North Korean threat.”

He went on to say that this document also sends signals to China and Russia.

[Recording: Cronin Chair] “In China's activities in the South China Sea, Russian-Chinese military activities in Asia-Pacific, all of those are essentially being signaled as, if they become malign actions. If they become aggressive, then yes, we have this combat capability among the three democracies to respond.”

“It’s sending a signal about China’s activities in the South China Sea, and about Russia’s and China’s military activities in the Asia-Pacific,” he said. “If those actions turn malicious and aggressive, it’s a signal that the three democracies have the combat capability to respond.”

Cronin said that the US, South Korea and Japan are cooperating directly on the North Korean threat, such as sharing information on North Korean missiles, and are potentially cooperating on the possibility of invasion by China and Russia.

He also said that the US, South Korea and Japan should strengthen their national capabilities and cooperate closely to cope with various contingencies.

Bruce Bennett, Senior Researcher, RAND Corporation.

Bruce Bennett, a senior researcher at the Rand Corporation, told VOA in a telephone interview on the 29th that both the U.S., South Korea, and Japan “recognize that China’s peaceful rise is over and that it is now attempting to become much more aggressive in securing dominance in Northeast Asia.”

He also assessed that this document is the first step toward a trilateral alliance among the US, South Korea, and Japan targeting not only North Korea but also China and Russia.

[Recording: Researcher Bennett] “So this statement is a first step. Beyond just informal working together toward eventually maybe we will wind up getting a treat with Japan. But it’s it’s a way of enhancing our cooperation with the Japanese so that we have a trilateral plan to get together and be able to deal with the threats from China, but also from Russia and also from North Korea.”

“This is a first step beyond informal cooperation toward the possibility of ultimately concluding a treaty with Japan,” Bennett said.

He continued, “(The US and South Korea) will strengthen cooperation with Japan and work together to develop a trilateral plan to deal with threats from not only China, but also Russia and North Korea.”

David Maxwell, Vice President, Center for Asia Pacific Strategy. Photo = Center for Asia Pacific Strategy.

David Maxwell, deputy director of the Asia-Pacific Strategy Center and former chief of staff for operations at the ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command, said the Security Cooperation Framework Memorandum of Understanding would be of practical help in operational planning, and in particular, would serve as a strong warning message to adversaries.

“This document provides a framework for continuity,” Maxwell said. “As training officers and commanders move around and change, this provides a framework for them to reference.”

[Recording: Vice President Maxwell] “It provides a framework and provides, for continuity, as, you know, action officers, commanders, leaders, rotate, and change, there's, there's a, a framework in place that they'll be able to refer to. It does code, what is already begun. it's another step forward, to really demonstrate, among the three countries, the cooperation, but also to send a powerful signal, I think, to, any of our competitors or adversaries, that the three countries are cooperating and the combined strength of the “The defense capabilities of the three countries are truly formidable.”

“This is a formalization of the cooperation that has already begun,” he continued. “This demonstrates cooperation among our three countries and sends a powerful signal to our competitors and adversaries that our combined defense capabilities are formidable.”

He analyzed that such trilateral defense cooperation can demonstrate strength and determination and instill fear in North Korea, thereby deterring North Korean attacks.

Meanwhile, Vice Admiral Maxwell, who served as the commander of the 1st Battalion of the US Special Forces stationed in Okinawa, Japan in the early 2000s, said that the newly created Joint Command of the US Forces in Japan will be converted from an administrative command to an operational command.

It is explained that the role will also be to directly plan operations focused on joint defense of Japan, in addition to providing troops in the event of an emergency in the Indo-Pacific region.

At a press conference held in Tokyo on the 28th following a meeting of foreign and defense ministers with Japan, Secretary Austin announced plans to reorganize the US Forces Japan into a unified military command under the command of the US Indo-Pacific Command in order to strengthen the command and control linkage between the US military and the Japanese Self-Defense Forces.

Deputy Director Maxwell said that the establishment of the Joint Command of the US Forces Japan would also contribute to the security of the US, South Korea, and Japan.

[Recording: Vice President Maxwell] “Of course, from a trilateral perspective, Japan's movement from a pacifist constitution to one that is a responsible military member of the international community, where it can take actions that are necessary for the defense of itself and the defense of others. “This will enhance triangle, security, as well.”

“From the perspectives of the US, South Korea, and Japan, the analysis is that if Japan breaks away from its pacifist constitution and transforms into a responsible military state in the international community and takes the necessary measures to defend itself and other countries, it will also strengthen the security of the US, South Korea, and Japan.”

Cronin also said that the establishment of the Joint Command of the U.S. Forces Japan would have a positive impact on the Korean Peninsula, saying, “The U.S. and Japan will be more closely linked, and we will be better prepared to exert combined forces, such as the intelligence, cyber, and logistics power needed to support South Korea in the event of an emergency on the Korean Peninsula.”

This is Eun-Jeong Jo from VOA News.

3. US, South Korean defense chiefs ‘strongly’ urge North to cease trash balloon flights

US, South Korean defense chiefs ‘strongly’ urge North to cease trash balloon flights

Stars and Stripes · by David Choi · July 29, 2024

South Korean troops inspect trash carried by a balloon from North Korea to Seoul, South Korea, June 1, 2024. (South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff)

SEOUL, South Korea — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won-sik on Sunday urged North Korea to immediately stop sending balloons carrying trash across its southern border.

The two also agreed to work closer with their Japanese counterpart to curb the communist regime’s provocations.

During a meeting with Austin in Tokyo on Sunday, Shin called North Korea’s practice of sending balloons to the South a “clear violation” of the Korean armistice agreement, according to a news release from the Ministry of National Defense that day.

“The two leaders strongly urged North Korea to immediately cease these provocative acts,” a separate Defense Department news release said Sunday.

The 1953 armistice between the U.N. Command, North Korea and China established air and maritime borders and was meant to cease hostilities from the three-year Korean War.

North Korea has floated thousands of balloons carrying household trash across its border since May and most recently sent roughly 500 balloons on Wednesday. At least two landed on the South Korean presidential compound and on the U.S. Army’s Yongsan Garrison in Seoul.

Pyongyang claims its balloons are being sent in retaliation against South Korean activists who send balloons carrying humanitarian aid and pro-South Korean propaganda across the northern border.

Austin and Shin were joined by Japanese Defense Minister Kihara Minoru in Tokyo on Sunday for the inaugural Trilateral Ministerial Meeting, where the three signed a memorandum that “institutionalizes” security cooperation, according to the DOD release.

This Trilateral Security Cooperation Framework memorandum ushers in a “new era of trilateral cooperation” through information sharing, military exercises and collaboration on policy matters related to the Korean Peninsula and the Indo-Pacific, the release said.

South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won-sik, left, Japanese Defense Minister Kihara Minoru, center, and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin pose after signing a memorandum in Tokyo, Sunday, July 28, 2024. (South Korean Ministry of National Defense)

The three leaders intend to hold another ministerial meeting in South Korea next year and in the United States in 2026, the release added.

Those meetings coincided with a U.S.-Japan Security Consultative Committee, or 2+2, that brought Austin and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken face to face in Tokyo with Minoru and Japanese Foreign Affairs Minister Kamikawa Yoko.

In their statement afterward, the four “emphasized the critical importance of deepening cooperation with [South Korea] to maintaining regional peace and stability...”

The statement also mentioned the first new multidomain military exercise carried out this year by the three powers, Freedom Edge, and the creation of a mechanism to share data among the three from North Korean missile launches.

North Korea has fired over a dozen ballistic missiles in eight separate days of testing so far this year. The regime most recently launched a short-range ballistic missile and an unidentified variant off its eastern coast on July 1, according to the South’s military.

Austin reiterated that the U.S.’s commitment to South Korea is “backed by the full range of U.S. capabilities including nuclear, conventional, missile defense and advanced non-nuclear capabilities,” the DOD release states.

These assurances have materialized in the form of visits to South Korea by an assortment of U.S. military assets. In the past month, an Air Force AC-130J Ghostrider gunship drilled for two weeks with South Korea’s air force; the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt sailed to Busan, South Korea’s largest port, for a trilateral exercise with warships sent by Seoul and Tokyo.

North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency has condemned the appearances of major U.S. military hardware in and around the peninsula. A KCNA report on June 24 described the Theodore Roosevelt’s visit as a provocative act and warned of “overwhelming” measures against the U.S. and South Korea.

Stars and Stripes · by David Choi · July 29, 2024

4. N.K. leader's daughter being groomed to succeed Kim: lawmakers

This will get a lot of press. There was a CNN report on this yesterday. Video at this link: https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/29/world/video/kim-jong-un-daughter-succession-north-korea-ripley-digvid

Again, I remain skeptical.

(2nd LD) N.K. leader's daughter being groomed to succeed Kim: lawmakers | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Haye-ah · July 29, 2024

(ATTN: UPDATES with NIS comments on espionage laws)

SEOUL, July 29 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's daughter, Ju-ae, is being groomed to succeed her father, though the selection is not final and he could ultimately choose someone else, two lawmakers quoted South Korea's spy agency as saying Monday.

The National Intelligence Service (NIS) made the report to the parliamentary intelligence committee, saying North Korea has suggested Ju-ae is a strong candidate to succeed her father by adjusting the frequency of her public appearances to gauge public sentiment, Rep. Lee Seong-kweun of the ruling People Power Party and Rep. Park Sun-won of the main opposition Democratic Party said during a press briefing.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (R) watches a ceremony marking the completion of a new street in northern Pyongyang, alongside his daughter, Ju-ae, in this file photo carried by the Korean Central News Agency on May 15, 2024. It was the first time in two months that Ju-ae made a public appearance. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

The NIS said it determined that Ju-ae is being groomed as Kim's successor by studying the appellations North Korea uses to refer to her, how frequently she has appeared in public and at which events, according to the lawmakers.

The NIS said in the past, around 60 percent of Ju-ae's public activities involved accompanying her father to military events with some others economy-related, but North Korea's use of the word "hyangdo," which translates as "guide," in reference to her suggested she was on the path to becoming the next leader.

The word "hyangdo" means to light the path forward in a revolutionary fight and is used for leaders or their successors, Lee explained.

Still, the NIS said it does not rule out the possibility Kim will choose someone else as his next-in-line, given his other children could step forward or that North Korea has not finalized who the successor will be.

Meanwhile, the North Korean leader appears to have health issues, weighing 140 kilograms and at high risk of heart disease, likely due to stress, smoking and drinking, the NIS was quoted as saying.

Kim is believed to have shown systems of high blood pressure and diabetes since his early 30s, it said.

The NIS further reported signs Kim is looking for alternative medicinal substances, leading to speculation he could have conditions that are difficult to deal with using his current medicine.

On the pace of Pyongyang's nuclear and missile development, the NIS counted a total of 48 missiles being launched on 14 occasions this year, according to Lee.

The spy agency also reported a total of some 3,600 trash-filled balloons launched toward South Korea this year, which the North has claimed is retaliation for South Korean activists sending propaganda leaflets across the border.

Since last month's summit between North Korean leader Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin, the two countries have been speeding up the implementation of follow-up measures especially in the military and economic fields, the NIS was quoted as saying.

For example, Russia has sent a military delegation and its top prosecutor to the North, while more than 300 Russian tourists have visited the North's border city of Rason following the resumption of tours previously suspended due to COVID-19.

The NIS also dismissed concerns that the recent indictment of Sue Mi Terry, a renowned Korean American foreign policy expert, could hurt the South Korea-U.S. alliance.

Terry was indicted this month on charges of acting as an unregistered agent for the South Korean government from 2013 until last year.

"There are no major problems in intelligence cooperation between South Korea and the U.S., and in fact, it is only expanding," the NIS was quoted as saying. "There are no problems at all in security cooperation."

Terry's case has started discussions in South Korea about the need to create a law that punishes people for divulging state secrets and other sensitive information to foreign countries.

Current espionage laws only punish the act of transferring state secrets to "enemy countries."

During the parliamentary session, the NIS explained the need to legislate a law similar to the U.S. Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), which Terry is accused of conspiring to violate.

NIS Director Cho Tae-yong, who was present at the session, said his agency plans to push for revisions to the criminal code to create a FARA-like law and expand the scope of punishable people under espionage laws.

hague@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Haye-ah · July 29, 2024

5. N.K. trash balloons disrupt Incheon Int'l Airport operations on 12 occasions: lawmaker

They probably need to post sentries around the perimeter of the airport to observe for balloons.

N.K. trash balloons disrupt Incheon Int'l Airport operations on 12 occasions: lawmaker | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Chang Dong-woo · July 30, 2024

SEOUL, July 30 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's recent campaign of launching trash-carrying balloons toward South Korea has disrupted operations of Incheon International Airport, the South's main gateway, on 12 occasions, a lawmaker said Tuesday, citing government data.

According to data from the Seoul Regional Aviation Administration submitted to Rep. Yang Bu-nam of the main opposition Democratic Party, runways at the airport have been shut down for a total of 265 minutes across 12 occasions due to the balloons sent from North Korea.

The first disruption incident occurred from 10:48 p.m. to 11:42 p.m. on June 1, four days after North Korea first began launching the balloons. The most severe disruption occurred on June 26, when runways were shut down on eight occasions, resulting in 166 minutes of halted takeoffs and landings.

"North Korea's trash balloons not only have landed within the premises of the presidential office but also have had a broad impact on the operations of Incheon International Airport and flights there," Yang said.

He added that the government must work to suspend the vicious cycle connected to both anti-North Korean leaflet balloons from the South and trash balloons from the North.

According to the South's intelligence agency, the North has sent some 3,600 trash-carrying balloons toward South Korea this year, which the North has claimed are in retaliation for South Korean activists sending propaganda leaflets across the border.

This photo provided by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport shows an aerial view of Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

odissy@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Chang Dong-woo · July 30, 2024

6. Hanwha Aerospace from South Korea Offers Romania Advanced Redback IFV combat vehicles

Hanwha Aerospace from South Korea Offers Romania Advanced Redback IFV combat vehicles

armyrecognition.com · by Administrator

• Defense News Army 2024

According to recent information released by the South Korean Defense Company Hanwha Aerospace, after the signature of a contract with Romania on July 10, 2024 for the supply of 54 K9 155mm self-propelled howitzer and 36 K10 Ammunition Resupply Vehicles, as part of efforts to broaden its partnership with Romania, Hanwha Aerospace is offering the Redback tracked armored Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV) for Romania’s IFV modernization program.

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The AS-21 Redback is the latest development of modern tracked armored IFV Infantry Fighting Vehicle full designed and developed by the South Korean Defense Company Hanwha Aerospace. (Picture source: Army Recognition Group)

In 2023, the Redback was selected for Australia’s next-generation IFV under the LAND 400 Phase 3 program for the delivery of 129 vehicles, most of which are to be built at a facility in Geelong, Victoria. To win the high-profile Australian IFV (Infantry Fighting Vehicle) contest, the Redback successfully went through the world’s most competitive IFV tests and evaluations, proving its overwhelming maneuverability and lethality compared to other armoured combat vehicles.

Currently, the Romania army is equipped with 142 tracked armored IFVs including 41 MLI-84 and 101 MLI-84M Jderul. The MLI-84 Romanian Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV) was developed in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It officially entered into service in 1985.

The MLI-84 is Romanian-made IFV based on the tracked chassis of the Soviet-made BMP-1 but is somewhat larger and heavier, featuring a 12.7 mm anti-aircraft machine gun mounted on the left side of the rear troop compartment. This vehicle is fully amphibious, propelled through water by its tracks, and equipped with an NBC system and night vision equipment for the commander, gunner, and driver. Unlike the BMP-1, which has four rectangular roof hatches, the MLI-84 has three. The left rear rectangular hatch has been replaced with a circular hatch cover, on which the 12.7 mm anti-aircraft machine gun is mounted.

The MLI-84M is a Romanian armored infantry fighting vehicle, developed by Uzina Mecanică Mizil between the 1990s and 2000s. It was officially introduced into service in 2005. It is an upgraded version of the MLI-84 infantry fighting vehicle, featuring a 25mm automatic cannon, a coaxial 7.62mm machine gun, and two Spike LR anti-tank missiles.

The Romanian Ministry of Defense is planning to replace its aging MLI-84 Infantry Fighting Vehicles (IFVs). This replacement program will occur in two stages. The first stage, spanning from 2023 to 2031, involves the acquisition of 246 new IFVs, including training simulators and initial logistical support, with a budget of approximately 2.545 billion euros. The second stage, beginning in 2031, aims to procure an additional 52 IFVs for 450 million euros​.

Several contenders have shown interest in supplying the new IFVs. These include the ASCOD from General Dynamics European Land Systems, the AS21 Redback from Hanwha, and the Lynx from Rheinmetall. The ASCOD 2 and AS21 Redback are among the leading candidates, with the ASCOD being displayed in 2022 in Romania.

This significant modernization effort is part of a broader defense renewal program for the Romanian Armed Forces, estimated to be worth around 10 billion euros until 2030​.

Romania has planned to replace its old MLI-84 Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV) with a new generation of combat vehicles. In this image, you can see the MLI-84M. (Picture source: Wikimedia).

The Redback Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV) from Hanwha Defense was developed as an advanced variant of South Korea's K21 IFV to compete for international contracts, particularly for the Australian Army’s Land 400 Phase 3 project. The development of the Redback began around 2019, with its first prototype unveiled at the Seoul International Aerospace & Defense Exhibition in October 2019.

The Australian Army selected the Redback IFV in July 2023 after extensive trials and evaluations, awarding Hanwha a multi-billion-dollar contract. The first production vehicles are expected to be delivered by early 2027, with the final deliveries completed by 2028. The Redback is designed to offer enhanced protection, mobility, and firepower, featuring modular armor, advanced active protection systems, and superior crew comfort. It is equipped with a 30mm Bushmaster II cannon and can carry three crew members and up to eight infantry soldiers.

The Redback is tailored to meet modern combat requirements, integrating technologies such as the Iron Fist Active Protection System and a digital battle management system, making it a formidable addition to any military force. The vehicle's production will involve facilities in both South Korea and Australia, highlighting the deepening defense cooperation between these two countries​.

The Redback Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV) excels in mobility, firepower, and protection, making it a versatile and formidable asset for modern militaries. In terms of mobility, the Redback is powered by a 1,000 horsepower MTU eight-cylinder diesel engine, paired with an Allison automatic transmission, which allows it to reach speeds of up to 65 km/h. Its advanced hydropneumatic suspension system, featuring in-arm independent suspension units (ISU), provides exceptional off-road capability and ride stability, enabling the vehicle to traverse difficult terrain with ease. The one-piece rubber tracks further enhance mobility by reducing noise and vibration while simplifying maintenance and repairs​.

In terms of firepower, the Redback is equipped with a Mk44S Bushmaster II 30mm chain gun, which can be upgraded to a 40mm variant if required. This main armament is complemented by a coaxially mounted 7.62mm machine gun, providing comprehensive lethality against a range of targets. The vehicle's turret, based on Elbit's MT30 Mk 2 design, integrates advanced fire control systems, electro-optics, and situational awareness tools, ensuring precise targeting and effective engagement in combat scenarios. The Redback's protection is equally impressive, featuring modular armor that can be configured to provide protection levels from STANAG Level 2 to Level 6. Additionally, the vehicle is equipped with the Iron Fist Active Protection System (APS), which offers superior defense against guided anti-tank missiles and projectiles, further enhancing its survivability on the battlefield​.

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armyrecognition.com · by Administrator

7. North Korea increases production of 152-millimeter artillery shells

As Dr, Bruce Bechtol argues (and will argue tonight at Hudson), north Korea's defense industry is conducting a "Surge."

North Korea increases production of 152-millimeter artillery shells

https://www.rfa.org/english/news/korea/north-korea-munitions-production-ukraine-russia-07292024131858.html

Officials in the country assume that the shells are for Russia to use in Ukraine.

By Moon Seong-hui for RFA Korean

2024.07.29

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspects a military factory in August 2024.

 Yonhap News

Several factories in North Korea have altered their production processes to quickly churn out 152-millimeter artillery shells, officials in the country told Radio Free Asia, but they do not know whether the ammunition is going to Russia for use in its war with Ukraine.

“Key officials at the factory do not know whether the 152 mm artillery shells produced here are intended to support Russia,” an official at a factory in the northern province of Ryanggang told RFA Korean on condition of anonymity for security reasons. 

“However, considering the production process was urgently prepared immediately after Kim Jong Un’s visit to Russia, it is assumed that it is for the purpose of supporting Russia,” he added.

South Korean Minister of National Defense Shin Won-sik said in an interview with Japan’s Yomiuri News on July 24, “North Korea-Russia arms trade began in earnest around the visit of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to Russia in September last year.”

He also said that the ministry believes that the containers transported from North Korea to Russia as of July 15 contained 5.2 million rounds of 152-millimeter artillery shells, and dozens of short-range ballistic missiles.

North Korean export of munitions would be a violation of international sanctions meant to prevent Pyongyang from funneling resources into its nuclear and missile programs, but the South Korean ministry of defense believes this has already begun.

Shortly after Kim’s trip, several factories that normally make other kinds of ammunition were converted to make 152-millimeter artillery shells, the North Korean officials said.

“The forestry machinery branch factory, located in the valleys of Wangdok, Komsan-dong, Hyesan City has been producing 152-millimeter artillery shells since the beginning of this year,” a second Ryanggang official told RFA on condition of anonymity to speak freely. “The goal is to produce 6,000 shells per month, but the target amount has not yet been reached.”

He said that the factory was already making mortar shells, but the change in the production process occurred as soon as Kim returned from Russia last year.

“A new 152-millimeter shell production process was installed in the basement where mortarshells were produced,” he said. “The entire artillery shell production process was completed in less than two months, and test production was successfully carried out at the end of December, before the new year.”

The factory is on the same electrical grid as the city of Samjiyon, but at times where that city experiences rolling blackouts, the factory continues to be supplied. However, the factory has failed to hit shell production targets because raw materials are not supplied consistently, he said.

“The materials needed to produce artillery shells come from China, not Russia,” said the second official, adding that nobody knows how the supplier gets the materials, like special alloys needed to make the shells.

The first official confirmed that another factory in the province changed its process to produce shells.

“Along with the Hyesan Forestry Machinery Branch Factory, the 915 Factory has also been producing 152 mm artillery shells starting this year,” he said.

The shells produced in Ryanggang are then sent to an agricultural machinery factory in the northeastern province of North Hamgyong to be made into finished products, he said.

Translated by Claire S. Lee. Edited by Eugene Whong.

8. Indictment of North Korea expert Sue Mi Terry will not harm US-ROK alliance: NIS

But it will likely have a chilling effect on engagement with Korean analysts.

Indictment of North Korea expert Sue Mi Terry will not harm US-ROK alliance: NIS

https://www.nknews.org/2024/07/indictment-of-north-korea-expert-sue-mi-terry-will-not-harm-us-rok-alliance-nis/

South Korean spy agency also tells lawmakers that Kim Jong Un is morbidly obese and may seek new foreign medications

Jeongmin Kim July 30, 2024

A photo of Terry allegedly meeting NIS agents at an upscale Greek restaurant in Manhattan | Image: United States District Court Southern District of New York

The FBI indictment of North Korea expert Sue Mi Terry for allegedly acting on behalf of the South Korean government will not harm the U.S.-ROK alliance, Seoul’s intelligence agency told lawmakers on Monday.

The National Intelligence Service (NIS) was not aware of the allegations against Terry prior to her indictment, the vice chairs of the National Assembly’s intelligence committee relayed to reporters after being briefed by the NIS.

According to U.S. prosecutors, Terry never registered as a foreign agent under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) as required by law while engaging with South Korean spies in exchange for luxury goods and expensive dinners from 2013 to 2023.

“Considering that FARA was largely inactive until the recent U.S. presidential election tensions … it is not appropriate to associate this with U.S.-ROK security cooperation. The NIS partially agreed with this view,” Lee Seong-kweun, a lawmaker from the People Power Party (PPP), told reporters. 

Park Sun-won, the DP’s vice chair of the intelligence committee from the Democratic Party (DP) and former NIS deputy chief under the previous administration, agreed.

“Most lawmakers from both ruling and opposition parties concurred that the Sue Mi Terry case does not involve obtaining U.S. classified or significantly critical information, and wasn’t at the level of threatening the alliance.”

Park said that the committee lawmakers agreed that Terry acted as a “Korean Peninsula expert and a sound opinion leader in the U.S., noting that the case involved only a violation of the foreign agent registration, not espionage.” 

Lee added that the NIS and the ruling party agree that a FARA breach is “completely different from spy charges.”

An official from the Presidential Office previously claimed that the Terry case mostly occurred during the previous Moon Jae-in administration — which the DP quickly refuted — and that it would consider a probe against the previous administration’s intel agency figures. 

Lee said that lawmakers had called for an “inspection and investigation of the lapses in the intelligence agency” and that the NIS agreed to review the matter.

However, Park said Monday’s session did not feature discussion of a particular probe, though lawmakers did accuse the NIS of a delayed response to the indictment.

The lawmakers also mentioned discussion of potentially creating a Korean version of FARA to protect against foreign influence operations, most recently through a bill proposed by Park. 

The NIS agreed on the need for a Korean version of FARA, Park said, which could include amendment of the criminal law and the National Security Technology Research Institute Act to require something similar to foreign agent registration.

“There are no significant differences in position between the ruling and opposition parties on this matter. In fact, the NIS and lawmakers from both sides have similar views on this,” Park said. 

Terry’s lawyer has denied the allegations made by the FBI and previously told NK News that her client has “at all times” been “a staunch supporter of the U.S.-ROK alliance.” 

• READ MORE: Shock, then silence: What Washington thinks of the charges against Sue Mi Terry

KIM JONG UN’S NEW DRUGS, DAUGHTER

Lawmakers also relayed the NIS assessment of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s health and his daughter’s status during Monday’s closed-door meeting.

According to Park and Lee, the NIS said Kim weighs 309 pounds (140 kilograms) and has a body mass index (BMI) in the mid-40s, far exceeding the normal range of 25.

This places him in the category of morbid obesity, making him a high-risk candidate for heart disease, the NIS believes, according to the lawmakers.

They added that the NIS suspects that Kim might be seeking “new types of medication” to manage his hypertension and diabetes, noting signs of North Korean officials attempting to “acquire treatments from overseas.”

Regarding Kim’s daughter, reportedly named Ju Ae, the NIS said North Korea is “subtly hinting” that she is highly likely to be the successor, while adjusting her state media appearances to carefully manage public perception.

The NIS emphasized that North Korea’s use of the term “hyangdo” to reference her is traditionally associated with successors and leadership training.

However, it also noted the possibility that other siblings might still emerge as potential successors — a caveat similar to that in a previous briefing for lawmakers. 

BALLOONS AND RUSSIA

Lawmakers stated that the NIS believes North Korea has launched a total of 3,600 balloons in 10 rounds since late May. 

North Korea has “adjusted” its strategy by sometimes “targeting densely populated areas or major security facilities” with these balloons, according to the lawmakers.

Some balloons have also included “white powder, simulating hazardous materials,” they added. 

In relation to North Korea-Russia ties, the NIS told lawmakers that Pyongyang is solidifying its military exchanges through training programs and naval delegations and “preparing to send workers to Russia” for construction, processing and agricultural projects.

Regarding Pyongyang’s failed reconnaissance satellite launch in May, the NIS highlighted that the space launch vehicle, which exploded mid-air, used a new type of engine made of liquid oxygen and kerosene that “suggests that the engine likely involves Russian support.”

Meanwhile, DP lawmaker Yang Bu-nam stated on Tuesday that North Korean balloons have led to 12 runway shutdowns at Incheon International Airport.

“According to data submitted to [my]office by the Seoul Aviation Administration, as of July 23, Incheon Airport’s runways were shut down a total of 12 times for 265 minutes due to North Korean balloons,” Yang wrote in a blog post. 

Edited by Alannah Hill

9. Editorial: S. Korean parliament cripples intelligence powers, granting N. Korea's 70-year wish

Editorial: S. Korean parliament cripples intelligence powers, granting N. Korea's 70-year wish

https://www.chosun.com/english/opinion-en/2024/07/30/I3GT2YI2SFGDTO4UMITIUWGVCY/

By The Chosunilbo

Published 2024.07.30. 09:09

Former President Moon Jae-in (left) and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un exchange the Panmunjom Declaration signed during the inter-Korean summit held in the border truce village of Panmunjom. /Yonhap News

South Korea’s counterintelligence authorities have launched an investigation into a civilian employee of the Korea Defense Intelligence Command (KDIC) over the leak of personal information about intelligence officers. If North Korea recruited this employee during the leak of classified information from his laptop, it would warrant a national security investigation. The investigation must determine whether only this individual was recruited or if there are additional connections.

Both military counterintelligence authorities and the National Intelligence Service (NIS) need to mobilize their full capabilities for this matter. However, the NIS lacks anti-communist investigation authority and is therefore unable to handle espionage cases. In December 2020, the Moon Jae-in administration amended the National Intelligence Service Act, transferring these powers to the police, who have been responsible for such investigations since January 2021. The Democratic Party used its majority in the National Assembly to push this change through. Although the People Power Party pledged to restore these investigative powers after the general election, their plan failed following their electoral defeat.

Instead, 11 Democratic Party lawmakers, mainly from progressive backgrounds, recently proposed a bill to amend the Act, stripping the NIS of its authority over security crime investigations. The bill seeks to eliminate the spy agency’s powers to conduct on-site investigations, review documents, collect samples, request data, and obtain testimonies. Removing the NIS’s investigative authority, after it has already lost its counterintelligence powers, would render the agency effectively powerless. This is particularly concerning given the imminent threat from nearby violent groups, yet the National Assembly continues to undermine the core functions of our intelligence agencies.

The transfer of anti-communist investigation authority from the NIS to the police during the Democratic Party administration has dismantled the investigative triad of the NIS, police, and military counterintelligence. Former NIS Director Lee Byeong-ho recently recounted in his memoir the “pastor spy” case he handled, where North Korean reports were being sent from a theological college office computer. Under pressure from Minbyun (Lawyers for a Democratic Society), the suspect invoked his right to remain silent, leading to an incomplete investigation and a case forwarded to the prosecution, which resulted in only a three-year sentence. Lee stated, “Effective espionage investigations require the full integration of the NIS’s capabilities, but North Korea has achieved its 70-year goal by dismantling these investigative powers.”

Building intelligence and counterintelligence capabilities takes decades, but they can collapse instantly. Strengthening intelligence agencies is a common trend not only among totalitarian regimes like China and Russia but also among democratic nations such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and France. South Korea is uniquely weakening its intelligence agencies by both limiting their powers and undermining them internally. National security is fundamental to the people’s daily lives and well-being. If former Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung genuinely champions his focus on basic living needs, he should begin by restoring anti-communist investigation authority.

10. Independence activist's legacy lives on: Huh Mi-mi secures silver in Judo

Excerpt:

Moreover, Huh Mi-mi is well-known as a descendant of an independence activist. She is the fifth-generation descendant of Huh Seok (1857-1920), who was arrested and imprisoned by Japanese police for posting anti-Japanese flyers in Gunwi County, Gyeongbuk Province, in 1918 during the Japanese colonial period. Huh Seok, who was sentenced to one year in prison, passed away three days after his release and was posthumously awarded the Order of Merit for National Foundation in 1991.

Independence activist's legacy lives on: Huh Mi-mi secures silver in Judo

https://www.chosun.com/english/kpop-culture-en/2024/07/30/OYHM6CGVHREMNNVLLNXCL3K42Q/

By Jang Min-seok (Paris),

Yang Seung-su,

Lee Jung-soo

Published 2024.07.30. 16:07

Updated 2024.07.30. 18:31

Huh Mi-mi, competing in the women's judo 57kg class at the 2024 Paris Olympics, faced Canada's Christa Deguchi in the final held at the Champ de Mars Arena in Paris, France, on July. 29, 2024 (local time). / Koh Un-ho

Huh Mi-mi, a 22-year-old descendant of a Korean independence activist, captured a silver medal in the women’s judo 57kg class at the Olympics, marking South Korea’s best performance in women’s judo in eight years.

In the 2016 Rio Olympics, Jeong Bo-kyeong won a silver medal in the women’s judo 48kg class, and Huh Mi-mi secured a silver medal, achieving S. Korea’s best performance in eight years. S. Korean women’s judo did not win any medals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

World-ranked No. 3 Huh Mi-mi lost by penalty to top-ranked Christa Deguchi in the women’s judo 57kg final held at the Champ de Mars Arena in Paris, France, on July 29. Deguchi, a Japanese-Canadian athlete, is a star with two world championship titles. Huh Mi-mi had defeated Deguchi in the final of the world championships last May, but this time she could not overcome the challenge.

Wearing a blue Judo-gi(Judo uniform), Huh Mi-mi attempted an over-the-shoulder throw from the beginning, and both received penalties with 3 minutes and 2 seconds left. Then, Huh Mi-mi received another penalty with 1 minute and 56 seconds remaining.

The match eventually went into ‘Golden Score,’ a sudden death overtime period used in judo where the first score wins the match, with a 0-0 tie. Deguchi, who had been passive, received a penalty 1 minute and 48 seconds into the overtime. Both athletes now had two penalties. However, Huh Mi-mi received another penalty 2 minutes and 35 seconds into overtime, resulting in a loss by penalty.

Huh Mi-mi is cheering next to the memorial of her great-great-great-grandfather, South Korean independence activist Huh Seok. / Gyeongbuk Athletic Association

Earlier, Huh Mi-mi passed the round of 32 with a bye and won by penalty against Timna Nelson Levy (Israel) in the round of 16. In the quarterfinals, she achieved a half-point win against Mongolia’s Enkhriilen Lkhagvatogoo, who had been considered her rival.

Despite Lkhagvatogoo being ranked lower, she had beaten Huh Mi-mi in three previous encounters before the Olympics. Huh Mi-mi had lost to Lkhagvatogoo in the bronze medal matches at the World Championships in the past two years and in the final of the Asian Championships this year, but she avenged those defeats on the biggest stage. In the semifinals, Huh Mi-mi defeated Brazil’s Rafaela Silva by half-point in a pinning technique.

Huh Mi-mi was born in Tokyo, Japan, in 2002 to a Korean father and a Japanese mother. Although she grew up in Japan, she started judo at the age of six, following her father, a judo athlete who maintained his Korean nationality. In her third year of middle school, she won the All-Japan Middle School Judo Championships and emerged as a promising judo talent in Japan. However, in 2021, she decided to move to Korea.

The reason she decided to move to Korea was to follow the last wish of her grandmother, who had lived as a Korean in Japan and had expressed her hope that Mi-mi would compete in the Olympics as a representative of Korea. Huh Mi-mi joined the Gyeongbuk Athletic Association and proudly wore the South Korean national emblem in February the following year.

After holding dual nationality for a while, she gave up her Japanese nationality last year and became a Korean citizen. Her younger sister, Huh Mi-o (20), is also currently competing as an athlete for the Athletic Association.

Moreover, Huh Mi-mi is well-known as a descendant of an independence activist. She is the fifth-generation descendant of Huh Seok (1857-1920), who was arrested and imprisoned by Japanese police for posting anti-Japanese flyers in Gunwi County, Gyeongbuk Province, in 1918 during the Japanese colonial period. Huh Seok, who was sentenced to one year in prison, passed away three days after his release and was posthumously awarded the Order of Merit for National Foundation in 1991.

11. Australia's foreign minister says Russia-North Korea defense deal is 'risky for the world'

Australia's foreign minister says Russia-North Korea defense deal is 'risky for the world'

Australia’s foreign minister says a recent defense deal between North Korea and Russia is destabilizing and “risky for the world.”

The Washington Post · by Hyung-Jin Kim | AP · July 30, 2024

SEOUL, South Korea — Australia’s foreign minister said Tuesday the recent defense deal between North Korea and Russia was “destabilizing” and “risky for the world,” after she visited the tense border village shared by North and South Korea on Tuesday.

In June, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a pact stipulating mutual military assistance if either country is attacked, deepening worries about the expanding ties between the countries. The U.S. and its partners have steadfastly accused North Korea of supplying much-needed conventional arms to Russia for its war in Ukraine in return for military and economic assistance.

“I also want to say something about the security pact between North Korea and Russia. And say again, this is destabilizing. This is risky for the world and again we say Russia is behaving in ways which are not conducive to peace but are escalatory,” Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong told reporters following a visit to the southern side of the Korean border village of Panmunjom.

Wong condemned North Korea’s extended run of missile tests that she said threaten regional security. “We share great concerns about DPRK’s escalatory reactions, destabilizing actions,” she said, referring to North Korea by the acronym of its official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Also Tuesday, Wong met South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul in Seoul and agreed to work together with the international community to cope with the North Korean-Russian military partnerships, according to South Korea’s Foreign Ministry. Wong also met South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and exchanged opinions on how to improve bilateral relations, Yoon’s office said in a statement.

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have been running high in recent months, with North Korea flying trash-carrying balloons toward South Korea and continuing weapons tests. South Korea has responded by resuming anti-Pyongyang propaganda broadcasts and live-fire drills at border areas.

__

Associated Press video journalist Kim Yong Ho contributed to this report from Paju, South Korea.

The Washington Post · by Hyung-Jin Kim | AP · July 30, 2024

12. ROK court issues arrest warrant over reported leak of intel to North Korea

​Find the traitor.

ROK court issues arrest warrant over reported leak of intel to North Korea

https://www.nknews.org/2024/07/rok-court-issues-arrest-warrant-over-reported-leak-of-intel-to-north-korea/

Announcement comes after Seoul's defense ministry confirmed it was investigating disclosure of list of military spies

Joon Ha Park July 30, 2024

A North Korean man uses a computer | Image: NK News (April 2018)

South Korea’s Central Military Court has issued an arrest warrant for an intelligence service employee on charges of leaking military secrets, reportedly to North Korea.

Announcing the warrant on Tuesday, the defense ministry stated that it will not provide specific details about the employee’s alleged criminal activities at this time due to the ongoing investigation.

“The investigation will continue rigorously in accordance with the law and established principles,” a ministry spokesperson said Tuesday.

The issuing of the arrest warrant comes after the defense ministry confirmed on Monday that it was investigating the suspected disclosure of a classified list of South Korean military intelligence agents.

Maeil Business Newspaper reported Friday that classified documents managed by the Defense Intelligence Command (DIC), including sensitive details about military intelligence units such as the Headquarters Intelligence Detachment and human intelligence (HUMINT) operations, were leaked to North Korea. 

The newspaper indicated that South Korea has restricted the activities of overseas intelligence agents due to the leak, including recalling some personnel. The breach was discovered about a month ago, according to multiple local media reports.  

The South Korean Counterintelligence Command is investigating the incident and reportedly believes that the information was leaked via a personal laptop belonging to a military-civilian public servant in the DIC’s overseas operations department. 

The investigation is exploring whether the individual intentionally extracted and leaked the information. 

The employee, however, claims their laptop was hacked. If the laptop was indeed compromised, the individual would still be culpable for mishandling classified information on a personal device rather than using secure military networks.

Song Jong-seok, a professor of information security at Yeungnam University College’s Cybersecurity Division, told NK News that such a leak would have severe implications for South Korea’s security. 

“With the increasing difficulty of gathering information due to encryption and other factors, any disruption to HUMINT operations could lead to a significant loss of expertise and present a major challenge to national security efforts,” he said.

Analysts have also suggested that the breach could undermine trust in South Korea’s ability to protect sensitive information at a time when the country seeks to improve intelligence-sharing and military collaboration with allies and other partners.

Jeongmin Kim contributed reporting to this article. Edited by Bryan Betts

13. Seoul to spend $530K on overseas North Korean human rights conference series

I attended both these events.

I wish we had these kinds of resources to support our North Korean Young Leaders Assembly which is conducted on a bare bones budget. But then if we did have access to these resources it would have come from a foreign government.

Excerpts:

Day one of the first event in Washington last week took place at the National Endowment of Democracy (NED) and included speeches by unification minister Kim Yung Ho, the U.S. special envoy for North Korean human rights, Julie Turner, and a panel with nine young escapees who unveiled a declaration to promote “dignity, hope and freedom” in the DPRK. 

On the second day, the conference moved to the event hall of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) for more panel discussions. 

Seoul to spend $530K on overseas North Korean human rights conference series

Events in Washington and Geneva come as activists have questioned large budgets for conferences with limited reach

https://www.nknews.org/2024/07/seoul-to-spend-530k-on-overseas-north-korean-human-rights-conference-series/

Ifang Bremer July 30, 2024

Minister of Unification Kim Yong-ho (right) and actor Yoo Ji-tae, the ministry's ambassador for North Korean human rights, who both attended the 2024 International Dialogue on North Korean Human Rights in Washington D.C. in July | Image: Ministry of Unification

South Korea’s Ministry of Unification (MOU) has budgeted over half a million dollars for an overseas conference series on North Korean human rights this year, showing the Yoon administration continues to spend heavily on its goal of drawing attention to DPRK abuses.

But the expenditure for the events in Washington earlier this month and in Geneva later this year also come as some activists have expressed unease about the extent of government spending on such conferences given their limited reach.

The unification ministry has allocated 734 million won ($530,000) to cover expenses for the two-part 2024 International Dialogue on North Korean Human Rights, according to a public bidding announcement released earlier this year.

Day one of the first event in Washington last week took place at the National Endowment of Democracy (NED) and included speeches by unification minister Kim Yung Ho, the U.S. special envoy for North Korean human rights, Julie Turner, and a panel with nine young escapees who unveiled a declaration to promote “dignity, hope and freedom” in the DPRK. 

On the second day, the conference moved to the event hall of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) for more panel discussions. 

The budget for the Washington event and the second leg in Geneva appears to be well above the cost for other DPRK human rights events. 

According to the ministry, the event “aimed at leading discourse on North Korean human rights issues and raising international awareness by inviting numerous esteemed experts.”

For instance, public data shows the MOU allocated 100 million won for an event in July, while the Seoul city government budgeted 84 million won for a three-hour human rights forum at City Hall earlier this month. The ROK foreign ministry allocated 70 million won for a five-hour conference at the 5-star Lotte Hotel in May. 

The unification ministry told NK News that the designated budget went toward covering travel, accommodation, honoraria for speakers and conference room rental fees, though it didn’t detail the exact costs for each.

“These expenses are considered to be standard for inviting domestic and international authorities on North Korean human rights,” the ministry said.

CSIS Korea Chair Victor Cha told NK News that “CSIS supported the conference at CSIS in its entirety” and that the institute “received no funding from MOU.”

“As a courtesy, we listed the National Endowment for Democracy, Human Asia and MOU as partners,” he said. 

BIG BUCKS

The latest ROK government spending on North Korean human rights events comes after activists and escapees raised concerns last year about the Yoon administration’s focus on sometimes glitzy conferences, raising questions about these events’ ability to drive real change.

The exact extent of MOU spending on human rights conferences is unclear, but the ministry’s total budget for promoting North Korean human rights for this year is 9.8 billion won ($7 million).

By comparison, the ministry’s budget for operating counseling centers and trauma recovery programs for escapees was set at 500 million in 2024, according to the ROK National Assembly’s Budget Office. 

Seoul’s emphasis on human rights conferences is the result of South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol’s efforts to overhaul inter-Korean policy, chastising the unification ministry for acting like a “North Korea aid ministry” under his predecessor and calling for more efforts to draw attention to human rights abuses in the DPRK.

Meanwhile, many nongovernmental organizations working on North Korean human rights say they lack funding, according to Sean Chung, the CEO of the nonprofit HanVoice.

HanVoice research into DPRK human rights organizations found that “75% of practitioners surveyed identified the lack of funding as the most significant challenge faced at their organization,” Chung told NK News.

That’s despite NGOs’ “central role in driving change and the advancement of human rights in North Korea,” he said.

One participant in the recent conference in Washington defended the event, stating that the MOU attempted to keep expenses down.

“The government of the ROK, which was represented by the minister of unification, was frugal in their attitude to costs,” said Michael Kirby, the former head of the U.N. Commision of Inquiry (COI) that investigated North Korean human rights in 2013.

He told NK News that international speakers “were all subject to severe limitations on our expenditures,” while calling it an appropriate time to bring together experts to mark the 10th anniversary of the publication of the COI’s report “to search for new strategies and fresh ideas.”

But Eunhee Park, an escapee who also attended the conference, raised the need for such events to actually bring in fresh perspectives and cover new issues if they’re going to be truly effective.

“They kept talking about how the North Korean government controls people and how North Korean residents receive content from outside the DPRK, such as South Korean dramas, that lead them to escape,” Park said. “But there is not any hope that we can see from just talking about North Korea.”

However, she did praise the smaller NED-hosted event where nine defectors spoke, stating that some of the escapees “had never before been in public” and offered a “broadened perspective of North Korean issues.”

Park said the escapees impressed MOU officials attending the event, perhaps “making them think that North Koreans are not only people to be helped, but to be cooperated with.”

Edited by Bryan Betts

14. Official at military's intelligence command arrested for alleged leak of 'black agents' info

It is no surprise that north Korea is conducting active subversion in South Korea and of course espionage is a critical component of its political warfare strategy.

(LEAD) Official at military's intelligence command arrested for alleged leak of 'black agents' info | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Seung-yeon · July 30, 2024

(ATTN: ADDS more info in last 2 paras)

SEOUL, July 30 (Yonhap) -- A military court has issued a warrant to arrest an official at the military's intelligence command for allegedly leaking information of South Korean espionage agents operating overseas, the defense ministry said Tuesday.

The civilian official at the Korea Defense Intelligence Command, whose identity is withheld, is suspected of handing over personal information of so-called black agents to a Chinese national of Korean descent.

Black agents refer to intelligence officials conducting undercover espionage activities overseas against North Korea with their identities in disguise.

Military authorities are believed to have detected signs that the leaked intelligence might have been handed over to North Korea. There is a possibility that the Chinese national could be an informant for North Korea's Reconnaissance General Bureau, the country's intelligence agency.

Classified data stored at internal computers at the intelligence command was transferred to the official's personal laptop, and ultimately was found to be leaked to a third party.

The official denied the alleged leak of military intelligence, claiming that his laptop was hacked.

The intelligence command became aware of the alleged leaking around June after being informed of the case by a related intelligence agency, two lawmakers quoted the command as saying following a closed-door meeting at the National Assembly.

Reps. Lee Seong-kweun of the ruling People Power Party and Park Sun-won of the main opposition Democratic Party made the disclosure, through which the command appears to refute the suspected official's claim that the leak is the result of hacking.

This undated image, captured from footage from Yonhap News TV, shows the logo of South Korea's defense ministry. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

sooyeon@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Seung-yeon · July 30, 2024

15. North Korean restaurant in Mongolia still closed despite report on reopening

When I was in Mongolia earlier this month I had dinner with a Mongolian businessman who ran multiple businesses including a company that provides translation services. He told me that all north korean restaurants were closed in MOngolia. He used to bring South Korean clients to those restaurants before he was told that the money went to the Kim family regime (he said the prices were always somewhat higher but the food was supposed to be very good). However, since COVID closed the restaurants none have been reopened (according to him).

North Korean restaurant in Mongolia still closed despite report on reopening

https://www.nknews.org/2024/07/north-korean-restaurant-in-mongolia-still-closed-despite-report-on-reopening/

NK News finds Pyongyang Baek Hwa Restaurant empty and in state of disrepair amid sanctions on DPRK overseas labor

Chad O'Carroll July 30, 2024

The sign for the Pyongyang Baek Hwa Restaurant outside the entrance | Image: NK News

A North Korea-linked restaurant in the Mongolian capital appeared to still be closed during an NK News visit this month, despite a recent report stating it reopened in contravention of U.N. sanctions prohibiting overseas labor and DPRK-related joint ventures.

Pyongyang Papers, an anonymous blog that publishes information about alleged DPRK sanctions violations, reported in early June that the Pyongyang Baek Hwa Restaurant in Ulaanbaatar had reopened and that DPRK restaurant workers were “set to travel to Mongolia to work in the reopened restaurant.”

The report said business activity there directly supports the advancement of DPRK weapons of mass destruction programs.

“The restaurant is operated by the North Korean regime and is breaking sanctions by employing North Korean workers and directly funding Kim Jong Un’s nuclear and ballistic weapons program,” the blog stated.

But when NK News visited the restaurant in mid-July, a handwritten message on the door indicated that the restaurant was “under construction.” The website Daily NK observed a similar sign outside the restaurant in July 2022.

The main entrance was also in a state of disrepair earlier this month, with Korean letters and English words missing from the restaurant’s sign.

A sign in Korean on the door to the restaurant that reads “Under construction,” with a phone number listed that matches the Facebook page of the restaurant | Image: NK News

NK News later called a phone number for the restaurant listed on the handwritten message, and a telecom operator recording indicated that the number had been “turned off” or “disconnected.”

Despite the restaurant being closed at the time, signs advertising the business were still on the exterior of the building.

A list of businesses on the ground floor also specified the North Korean restaurant’s location at the top of the building.

This may mean that it will reopen in the future, especially given reports from 2022 that the DPRK Embassy in Mongolia owns the property — unlike the other former North Korean restaurant locations around the city. 

Benjamin Weston, a former North Korea tour guide who lives in Mongolia, said the Pyongyang Papers report claiming the restaurant was open was “odd” as it had been closed so long.

“I’d be confident it’s not reopened,” he said, “mostly because Koreans I know here are generally on course to head back to the DPRK in the coming weeks and months, and there’s no sign of a great influx headed our way, outside of the odd diplomatic visit, so not sure how they’d staff it.”

“I’m not sure what prompted them to believe it had reopened.”

Signage for the restaurant remains on the outside of the building, and the restaurant is still listed on a directory of businesses in the building. | Image: NK News

Mongolia’s foreign ministry did not reply to an NK News request for comment on the status of the restaurant, nor did the Daco Building where the restaurant is located. Pyongyang Papers did not respond to an NK News email about the discrepancy in reporting.

A view of the exterior of the Daco Building in Ulaanbaatar | Image: NK News

Mongolia previously hosted several DPRK-linked restaurants, including the Pyongyang Restaurant, Pyongyang Koryo Folk Restaurant and Urlag Restaurant. 

The former socialist state was also a common destination for DPRK overseas labor, hosting construction and cashmere-industry workers, before U.N. sanctions prohibited North Koreans from working overseas.

Edited by Bryan Betts

​16. N. Korea holds simultaneous closed trials for violators of anti-reactionary thought law

Kim Jong Un's existential threat: information.

N. Korea holds simultaneous closed trials for violators of anti-reactionary thought law - Daily NK English

"The defendants (allegedly) purchased 'puppet cultural items' with large sums of money and actively sold them to others," a source told Daily NK

By Jeong Seo-yeong - July 30, 2024

dailynk.com · by Jeong Seo-yeong · July 30, 2024

FILE PHOTO: Popular devices for consuming media in North Korea (portable media player, radio, and mp4 player.) (©Daily NK)

North Korea conducted simultaneous closed trials in Pyongyang and North Hwanghae Province in mid-July, following orders from the Central Anti-Socialist and Non-Socialist (ASNS) Joint Command.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a Daily NK source in Pyongyang reported Monday that “North Korean authorities held closed trials for violations of the DPRK Law of Rejecting Reactionary Thought and Culture simultaneously in Pyongyang and Singe County, North Hwanghae Province on July 13. The courts sentenced each defendant to death.”

According to the source, the courts tried one individual working for the State General Bureau of Tourist Guidance in Pyongyang and another from the Singe County Forestry Management Office, which is in North Hwanghae Province. Authorities accused them of distributing South Korean movies, dramas, and songs.

The courts imposed the maximum legal punishment. Based on reports from neighboring residents and confessions during preliminary examinations, the courts determined that these individuals not only consumed South Korean culture but also engaged in anti-state activities by accepting the ideology of a hostile country.

“The defendants (allegedly) purchased ‘puppet cultural items’ with large sums of money and actively sold them to others,” the source said. “They expressed dissatisfaction, comparing capitalist countries to North Korea, saying ‘The state deceives us and treats us like servants.'”

The defendants also allegedly said that they were “dissatisfied with being born in this country.” Consequently, the courts classified them as reactionaries who abandoned socialist principles.

The Central ASNS Joint Command labeled the defendants as “serious threats to the state” and sentenced them to death. It also ordered the exile of the defendants’ families to “areas isolated from society.”

The source opined that “these trials demonstrate North Korea’s harsh and severe response to violations of the DPRK Law of Rejecting Reactionary Thought and Culture. This clearly shows the government’s resolve to strengthen judicial punishment to prevent the spread of reactionary thought and culture.”

Daily NK works with a network of sources living in North Korea, China, and elsewhere. Their identities remain anonymous for security reasons.

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

Read in Korean

dailynk.com · by Jeong Seo-yeong · July 30, 2024

​17. N. Korea's political prison camps: Shrinking populations amid tightening control

Not fewer numbers of prisons. Simply more deaths.  

N. Korea's political prison camps: Shrinking populations amid tightening control - Daily NK English

The decrease in population in some camps appears due to higher death rates resulting from intensified punishment and control measures

By Mun Dong Hui - July 30, 2024

dailynk.com · by Mun Dong Hui · July 30, 2024

Image: DALL.E

The populations of North Korea’s infamous political prison camps, long criticized as hotbeds of human rights violations, has decreased by about 9,000 inmates compared to last year, totaling approximately 190,000 as of June 2024. This represents a 4.6% reduction from the previous year’s figures, according to a Daily NK source well acquainted with detention facilities in North Korea.

The breakdown of inmates across different camps as of late June 2024 reveals varying population sizes. Camp 14 in Kaechon holds approximately 39,300 inmates, while Camp 15 in Yodok contains about 34,000. Camp 16 in Hwasong has a population of around 21,000, and Camp 17, also in Kaechon, houses about 39,600 prisoners. Camp 18 in Bukchang holds approximately 23,800 inmates, and Camp 25 in Susong contains around 32,100 prisoners.

Expanding control and the evolution of the “guilt-by-association” system

The increase in Camp 18’s population appears to be due to a surge in internal dissatisfaction with the state, political dissenters, and opponents of government policies. “Early this year, there were orders to expand prison capacity to immediately suppress even the slightest elements of state subversion as part of efforts to strengthen social control,” the source said.

Notably, Camp 16 has seen an influx of entire families, including young children and the elderly. “Previously, single family units were common, but now entire extended families being interned,” the source said. “This is to punish and ‘re-educate’ not just the political prisoners themselves, but their families as well.”

This development suggests an expansion of North Korea's "guilt-by-association" system, extending beyond immediate family members to include relatives. As North Korea tightens its social control, it appears to be intensifying this system for political prisoners, casting a wider net of punishment and control.

In Camp 18, some management personnel have been relocated to prevent secret leaks, illegal activities, and localized corruption. The source said that "some management personnel have been reassigned as part of personnel changes."

Declining numbers reveal grim reality

The source attributes the population change to two conflicting factors: an increase in new inmates due to growing political dissent following the COVID-19 pandemic, and a higher death rate resulting from intensified punishment and control measures within the camps. "That appears to due to the fact that in camps where the total population decreased despite new prisoners, the number of deaths exceeded new arrivals," the source explained.

Camps 14, 15, 17, and 25 saw decreases in their populations, indicating higher death rates. Conversely, Camps 16 and 18 experienced population increases.

These changes indicate a tightening grip on the prison camp system and an expansion of punitive measures to include extended family networks, reflecting the regime's intensifying efforts to maintain control and suppress dissent.

Daily NK works with a network of sources living in North Korea, China, and elsewhere. Their identities remain anonymous for security reasons.

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

Read in Korean

dailynk.com · by Mun Dong Hui · July 30, 2024

18. Hoeryong harshly cracks down on Chinese cellphone users

​Again, information (and communications and the ability to transfer funds) is the threat to the regime.

Hoeryong harshly cracks down on Chinese cellphone users - Daily NK English

Cellphone crackdowns have long been a money-making scheme for security agents

By Eun Seol -

July 30, 2024

dailynk.com · by Eun Seol · July 30, 2024

Image: Adobe Firefly

North Koreans in Hoeryong are living in fear after the Ministry of State Security’s local branch announced severe punishments for using Chinese cellphones. Authorities are threatening to charge users with espionage and exile their families.

According to a Daily NK source in North Hamgyong Province recently, three people in downtown Hoeryong have already been arrested by the Ministry of State Security for using Chinese cellphones since early July.

When a family member of one detainee attempted to bribe security agents for a quick release during the investigation, one of the agents snapped, “Think this is like before? Just prepare for exile.”

The source said the family is now sleepless with anxiety about their fate.

The source reported that most Hoeryong residents are aware of newly hardened stance by the security officials and threats of severe punishment for using Chinese cellphones.

“They’re saying that regardless of reason, those caught will be mercilessly charged with espionage, and their families will be exiled to mountainous areas like Changtae, Gyesang, or Gyeha,” the source said. “People who rely on smuggling for their livelihood are trembling with fear.”

The source added: “The situation is so serious that Chinese residents in Hoeryong aren’t free from the crackdowns, either. They even face challenges in resolving issues with RMB 50,000 (about USD 6,886) bribes if caught using a Chinese cellphone.”

The velvet gloves are off

Up until recently, security agents tried to persuade people to surrender their Chinese cellphones, promising forgiveness. However, with few voluntary surrenders, they now appear to be adopting harsher tactics to pressure people to turn themselves in.

However, cellphone crackdowns have long been a money-making scheme for security agents, suggesting that actual punishments might not match the severe rhetoric.

“While the central government emphasizes absolutely no leniency for bribes, security agents need more people caught to collect bribes and supplement their income,” the source said. “They’re probably feeling conflicted right now.”

The harsher crackdowns may force people who rely on Chinese cellphones for their livelihoods to devise new ways to evade the authorities.

“People are too smart now to blindly follow orders from the Workers’ Party of Korea,” the source said. “While I’m not sure of specific methods, efforts to communicate with the outside world will continue in some form.”

Daily NK works with a network of sources living in North Korea, China, and elsewhere. Their identities remain anonymous for security reasons.

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

Read in Korean

dailynk.com · by Eun Seol · July 30, 2024

19. Korean athletes shine with skill, determination, and class

​Nice to see a positive review of the athletes.

Korean athletes shine with skill, determination, and class

donga.com

Posted July. 30, 2024 07:43,

Updated July. 30, 2024 07:43

Korean athletes shine with skill, determination, and class. July. 30, 2024 07:43. .

The Korean women's archery team achieved their 10th consecutive victory in the Paris Summer Olympics team event final after a tense shootout with China. The team, comprising Jeon Hoon-young (30), Im Si-hyeon (21), and Nam Su-hyeon (19), overcame the challenging winds of the Seine and the immense pressure to continue their winning streak, ultimately standing tall on the top podium. Despite all three athletes being newcomers to the Olympic stage, they trusted in the strength of the 2,500 arrows they shot during the internal selection process. The fair selection system, based solely on skill, is the key to the Korean archery team’s success, earning them praise from foreign media as "superhuman."

The Korean national team in the Paris Olympics has been delivering thrilling medal performances from the start, surpassing expectations of being one of the weakest teams. On Monday, high school student Ban Hyo-jin (17), the youngest member of the Korean national team, set an Olympic record in the 10-meter air rifle individual event, securing her fourth gold medal and marking Korea's 100th gold in Olympic history. In the women’s 10-meter air pistol event, Oh Ye-jin (19), a rising shooting star who was previously not considered a medal contender, and ‘mom gunfighter’ Kim Ye-ji (32) won gold and silver medals, respectively. Kim Woo-min (23), a standout in the swimming golden generation, clinched a bronze medal in the 400-meter freestyle, overcoming the challenge of competing in lane 1, where the current was strongest.

The first gold medalist of these games was Oh Sang-wook (28), who triumphed in the fencing sabre individual event, becoming the first Korean male athlete to win an Olympic gold in this discipline. Oh achieved an individual grand slam, but his sportsmanship in the final stood out more than this feat. When an opponent fell backward, he reached out to help him up, even though scoring one more point could have secured the gold. Oh said, “All fencers do that. There is a camaraderie that only fencers understand through competition.”

Not all stories are about victories. Hwang Seon-woo (21), a strong contender for a medal in the men’s 200-meter freestyle, did not make it to the finals. While fans were disappointed, Hwang remained optimistic, saying, “My swimming career doesn’t end here. It was a race that taught me a lesson.” Veteran judoka Ahn Ba-ul (30), aiming for his third consecutive Olympic medal, was eliminated in the round of 16, and Kim Won-jin (32), competing in his third Olympics despite a torn shoulder cartilage, also ended without a medal. “The Olympics are the last stage, so I’m honored," Kim said, expressing her gratitude. "I have no regrets.” We extend our heartfelt support to the Korean Olympians who embody the spirit of competing with dignity, whether in victory or defeat.

한국어

donga.com

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