Informal Institute for National Security Thinkers and Practitioners

Quotes of the Day:

"You must do the thing you think you cannot do."

– Eleanor Roosevelt

"It is also in the interests of the tyrant to make his subjects poor... the people are so occupied with their daily tasks that they have no time for plotting."

– Aristotle

"The last of the human freedoms, to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, is to choose one's own way."

– Dr. Viktor E. Frankl

1. S. Korea, U.S., Japan leaders to announce joint statement Sunday to mark Camp David summit

2. Dark forces, fake news: How partisan attacks undermine Yoon’s unification policy

3. Presidential office launches task force to implement Yoon's unification doctrine

4. South Korea's Yoon makes rare outreach to North Koreans for unification

5. N. Korea's Kim attends demonstration class for children from flood-hit region

6. Kim Jong Un shocks listeners by using South Korean terms in speech

7. South Korea Defense Minister Nominee: “Extended Deterrence is Basic, All Means Considered”

8. NSC discusses ways to beef up cybersecurity for defense contractors

9. Japanese music and food find growing acceptance in South Korea amid warming bilateral ties

10. UN fans Korea-Japan embers with heritage site move

11. President Yoon’s Vision of Unification: Liberation, not Engagement

12. Seoul to hold Ulchi civil defense exercise next week

13. New monument overlooking DMZ honors those who fled North Korea — or died trying

14. Why China Shuns the Russia-North Korea Alliance

1. S. Korea, U.S., Japan leaders to announce joint statement Sunday to mark Camp David summit

Excerpts:

The statement is also expected to outline trilateral support for Yoon's new unification doctrine, which he announced during his Liberation Day address Thursday.

The new doctrine updates a previous unification vision presented by the Kim Young-sam administration in 1994. It focuses on expanding North Koreans' access to outside information and proposes opening an official dialogue channel between the two Koreas to discuss various issues.

Additionally, another trilateral summit is anticipated before the end of this year.

Here is the intro I am writing for paper I will present in Seoul in two weeks:

On the one year anniversary of the Camp David Summit, it is time to take stock of the agreements. Clearly, great strides have been made with trilateral security cooperation. Notably, the historic multi-domain exercise Freedom Edge in June 2024 demonstrates the will of the three countries to coordinate to defend mutual interests in the region. Over the past year there have been myriad trilateral meetings to operationalize and institutionalize some elements of the Camp David Principles and the Spirit of Camp David.

There is one important area where there has been no apparent progress, at least to those outside the governments. At the Summit the three leaders expressed their support for a “unified Korean Peninsula that is free and at peace.” This is a major strategic objective that can contribute to solving many of the complex issues in Northeast Asia. For the past year the three countries appear to have focused on everything but unification. However, that changed on Liberation Day, August 15, 2024 when President Yoon unveiled a new strategy for Korean unification, the “8.15 Unification Doctrine,” encompassing three visions, three strategies, and seven action plans. This updates the South Korean unification vision from 1994.

S. Korea, U.S., Japan leaders to announce joint statement Sunday to mark Camp David summit | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Han-joo · August 17, 2024

SEOUL, Aug. 17 (Yonhap) -- The leaders of South Korea, the United States and Japan will announce a joint statement this weekend to commemorate the first anniversary of the historic Camp David summit, a presidential official in Seoul said Saturday.

The trilateral summit, held at Camp David in Maryland last August, brought together South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. The summit resulted in a series of landmark agreements aimed at strengthening cooperation among the three nations.

The joint statement, to be announced Sunday, is expected to commemorate the first anniversary and explore ways to maintain and stabilize the trilateral cooperation system.

"We are preparing a joint statement that will reflect the founding purpose of the Camp David cooperation framework, the achievements of the past year, and the shared concerns for future collaboration," said the high-ranking presidential official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The agreement comes at a time of political change. Kishida has announced his intention to step down next month, and Biden has also withdrawn from the upcoming presidential race.

Despite the leadership transitions in the U.S. and Japan, the joint statement will emphasize the commitment to unwavering cooperation among the three countries.

The statement is also expected to outline trilateral support for Yoon's new unification doctrine, which he announced during his Liberation Day address Thursday.

The new doctrine updates a previous unification vision presented by the Kim Young-sam administration in 1994. It focuses on expanding North Koreans' access to outside information and proposes opening an official dialogue channel between the two Koreas to discuss various issues.

Additionally, another trilateral summit is anticipated before the end of this year.

Some speculate that the summit could take place during an international multilateral meeting in October, where the leaders of the three nations may meet again.

"The timing and details of the next summit are still under discussion, and no specific decisions have been made yet," the official said.

Earlier this week, Mira Rapp-Hooper, the senior director for East Asia and Oceania at the National Security Council, hinted at the possibility of another trilateral leaders' summit before the end of this year.

This Aug. 18, 2023, file photo shows South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol (L), U.S. President Joe Biden (C) and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at a luncheon following a trilateral summit at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)

khj@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Han-joo · August 17, 2024

2. Dark forces, fake news: How partisan attacks undermine Yoon’s unification policy

NK News is emphasizing its anti-unification (and anti-Yoon) agenda.

Dark forces, fake news: How partisan attacks undermine Yoon’s unification policy

Experts say president is using new doctrine as cudgel against opponents, dooming any chance of garnering broader support

https://www.nknews.org/2024/08/dark-forces-fake-news-how-partisan-attacks-undermine-yoons-unification-policy/

Jeongmin Kim August 16, 2024

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol visits an ROK army unit near the inter-Korean border. | Image: ROK Presidential Office (Oct. 2023)

When he unveiled his new unification blueprint this week, President Yoon Suk-yeol called for South Koreans to fight “pseudo-intellectuals” and “anti-unification forces” to prepare to unify with North Korea under ROK rule, accusing these “demagogues” of spreading disinformation and sowing division.

But the president’s cryptic attack on amorphous domestic enemies undermined any hope of garnering broader support for his unification vision, experts told NK News, turning the policy into a cudgel for attacking progressive opponents and raising concerns that the president is acting counter to the liberal democratic values he professes to promote.

In his speech on Liberation Day, Yoon set out three main strategic tasks to bring about a “unified Republic of Korea,” the first being to ensure that South Koreans “firmly possess the values and capabilities needed to pursue freedom-based unification.”

“More than anything else, we ourselves need to believe more strongly in the value of freedom,” the president said. “Only by firmly defending our freedom can we become the leading force driving free and democratic unification.”

Yoon stated that South Koreans need to develop a stronger sense of responsibility so as not to confuse “self-indulgence” with freedom, implying citizens are not educated enough about the value of “fighting for” freedom.

“Even more importantly, we must not be swayed by false propaganda and pseudo-logic intended to undermine free societies,” he added.

The president then painted a sinister picture about “dark forces of instigation” who are spreading propaganda to “destroy the values and order of a free society by deluding people.”

While Yoon didn’t explicitly identify these forces, he referred to “vested interest groups” that drive a large-scale digital and information industry, implying targets such as YouTube pundits, opposition figures and critical media organizations.

“They are only bent on dividing people through instigation and fabrication and reaping rewards from the division they sow. They are the anti-freedom, anti-unification forces that are blocking our march forward,” he said.

“In order to safeguard our freedom-based value system against these forces, our people must be armed with the power of truth and fight back. Freedom must be secured through struggle; it never comes about as a matter of course.”

The president vowed to “protect” the South Korean people from such forces to bring about unification with North Korea based on the principles of liberal democracy.

Yoon at the National Liberation Day celebration | Image: ROK Presidential Office (Aug. 15, 2024)

PARTISAN POLICY

Yoon’s attack on “anti-unification forces” was arguably the most puzzling section of his speech, which otherwise focused on concrete proposals like holding conferences on North Korean human rights and providing humanitarian aid.

But his rhetoric drew upon past speeches where he has railed against “anti-state forces” as part of efforts to smear his progressive predecessor and others who support an engagement-focused approach to inter-Korean ties.

Lee Sang-sin, director of the Center for the Study of Liberal Democracy at the Korea Institute for National Unification (KINU), interpreted Yoon’s remarks as a thinly veiled criticism of progressive factions that advocate peaceful coexistence over outright unification.

“The Moon administration prioritized easing tensions between North and South Korea, pursuing denuclearization first, and prioritizing the reconciliation and cooperation stage. Some scholars have long argued for recognizing North and South Korea as separate states from the outset,” Lee said.

“Anti-unification” forces thus appears to refer to those who argue that the two Koreas are two separate sovereign states, a view that DPRK leader Kim Jong Un endorsed last year when he abandoned unification as a policy goal.

While Yoon’s rhetoric is not totally new, some have characterized it as inappropriate to incorporate such partisan attacks into a milestone doctrine, especially since it is updating a 30-year-old unification roadmap that has enjoyed support across ideological lines.

“The value of freedom can ultimately be used in terms of either a universal value sort of sense, or as an ideological value. However, from Yoon’s perspective, it seems there’s more emphasis on the ideological connotation,” said Yang Moo-jin, president of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.

The expert said Yoon’s focus is on presenting North Korea as a dictatorial state that South Korea must spread freedom to in order for citizens to “resist” the Kim regime.

“Usually, when talking about unification, keywords are usually expected to be based on philosophies like Korean brotherhood, peace and prosperity,” he said. “But leading the speech with things like ‘false propaganda’ and ‘pseudo- and cult-like intellectuals’ in this context is ultimately … meant as a criticism against those who have shown opposition against his administration’s views.”

While conservatives have urged Yoon to hijack unification discourse from progressives in the past, most ROK newspapers’ editorial boards criticized Yoon’s ideological attacks on political opponents in a speech ostensibly about introducing state policy.

“It would have been better to deliver a message of unity rather than criticizing opponents,” the editorial board of the Chosun Ilbo wrote Thursday.

The Dong-a Ilbo called it “embarrassing to the patriotic martyrs” to announce a “domestic ideological war” in a unification doctrine, while the Joongang Ilbo wrote that it is “inappropriate” to include “attacks against domestic political opponents” on a day historically celebrating liberation from Japanese colonialism.

The three newspapers are all considered major conservative outlets in South Korea.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in (facing camera) shakes hands with DPRK leader Kim Jong Un at the inter-Korean border on April 27, 2018. | Image: Joint Inter-Korean Summit Press Corps

MY WAY, OR THE HIGHWAY

In a briefing on Thursday, a high-level South Korean official, speaking on condition of anonymity, offered additional explanation about Yoon’s unification policy, and in the process further fueled concerns about the president’s attacks on political enemies.

“While securing peace and uniting as a nation, we must resolutely stand against forces that seek to undermine the spirit of liberal democracy in our country’s constitution by collaborating or colluding with North Korea,” the official said. “Only by firmly establishing our own identity can we spread our spirit of freedom to North Korea and the international community.”

The official referred to Article 4 of the ROK Constitution which states that the president has a duty to pursue “peaceful unification based on the principles of liberal democracy.”

But they said Yoon has encountered forces that seek to undermine this pursuit, framing them as “anti-constitution, which means anti-freedom, and therefore also opposing unification which must be based on freedom.”

“The speech very neatly clears this up,” the official said.

Experts said they found the logic puzzling and raised concerns about militaristic language that calls for “fighting” enemies who allegedly oppose the constitution, suggesting that Yoon seeks to define freedom in a way that excludes his opponents.

“The core of the unification plan adopted in 1994, based on public opinion and bipartisan agreement, also contains the principle of freedom. Here, freedom is not an ideological concept but a universal value,” Yang told NK News.

Peter Ward, a research fellow at the Sejong Institute, told NK News that Yoon’s emphasis on fighting “anti-unification forces” makes his already partisan unification doctrine even more so.

He noted that the 1994 unification roadmap was able to survive multiple progressive and conservative administrations, “whereas this one is as partisan as it gets.”

“One may agree or disagree with it, but he basically implies his partisan opponents are peddling lies and fake news, and his way is the only way,” the expert said.

Yang of the University of North Korean Studies said the inclusion of partisan attacks was one of the biggest mistakes Yoon made in announcing his new unification policy.

“By announcing this unification doctrine using terms like pseudo-intellectuals and fake news battle, he’s damaging the authenticity of the doctrine himself.”

Joon Ha Park contributed reporting to this article. Edited by Bryan Betts

3. Presidential office launches task force to implement Yoon's unification doctrine

Japan and the US would be well served to establish "unification desks" within State/MOFA to provide support to the ROK.

This is the most aggressive and comprehensive unification planning ever conducted by the ROK.

I received a 17 page document on 8.15 Unification Doctrine in Korean. ChatGPT provided me with the following English Summary. I am so happy to see this new "doctrine." Hopefully a complete English version will soon be posted on the MOU website.

The document you uploaded is a detailed explanation of the "8.15 Unification Doctrine," which was articulated on August 16, 2024. It outlines the South Korean government's approach to unification under President Yoon Suk-yeol's administration. Here's a brief summary of the key sections:

Background: The doctrine is grounded in the South Korean constitution, which advocates for peaceful unification based on a liberal democratic order. The Yoon administration emphasizes freedom, peace, and prosperity as core values guiding national governance.
Structure: The doctrine is structured around three unification visions, three strategies, and seven action plans, forming a "3-3-7" framework.
Three Visions:

Individual: A nation where citizens' freedom and safety are guaranteed.
National: A strong and prosperous country driven by creativity and innovation.
Global: A country that leads international harmony and contributes to world peace and prosperity.

Three Strategies:

Domestic: Cultivating values and capabilities within South Korea to drive unification.
North Korea: Fostering a desire among North Koreans for unification.
International: Securing international support for unification based on universal values of freedom and human rights.

Seven Action Plans:

Activation of Unification Programs: Focusing on educating and inspiring future generations about unification.
Improving North Korean Human Rights: Taking multidimensional efforts to address human rights issues in North Korea.
Humanitarian Support for North Korean Survival: Providing humanitarian aid regardless of political or military situations.
Expanding Information Access for North Koreans: Ensuring North Koreans have access to external information.
Incorporating the Role of North Korean Defectors: Leveraging the experiences of defectors in the unification process.
Proposal for a Dialogue Framework between South and North Korean Authorities: Suggesting a dialogue mechanism to discuss wide-ranging issues.
Establishment of the International Korean Peninsula Forum: Creating an international forum to garner global support for unification.

The document also includes key messages from President Yoon on the topic of unification and references to unification messages from previous South Korean governments.

Presidential office launches task force to implement Yoon's unification doctrine | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Haye-ah · August 16, 2024

SEOUL, Aug. 16 (Yonhap) -- The presidential office on Friday launched a task force to implement the details of President Yoon Suk Yeol's new unification doctrine, an official said.

The task force is headed by Principal Deputy National Security Adviser Kim Tae-hyo and aims to realize the goals and projects laid out in the unification vision unveiled by Yoon during his Liberation Day address Thursday.

Among other things, the task force will work to raise further awareness of North Korea's dismal human rights situation around the world, launch a North Korea Freedom and Human Rights Fund to support nongovernmental activities that promote freedom and human rights in the country, and provide cutting-edge, on-site programs to better educate South Korea's young generations on what unification could look like.

In the case of the fund, the aim is to launch it before the end of the year.

The new doctrine updates a previous unification vision presented by the Kim Young-sam administration in 1994. It centers on expanding North Koreans' access to outside information and proposes opening an official dialogue channel between the two Koreas to discuss any issue.

President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks during a ceremony marking the 79th anniversary of Liberation Day at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts on Aug. 15, 2024, in this photo provided by his office. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

hague@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Haye-ah · August 16, 2024

4. South Korea's Yoon makes rare outreach to North Koreans for unification

Again, here is the 3-3-7 strategy for reference to complement the analysis by Young Gyo Kim.

Background: The doctrine is grounded in the South Korean constitution, which advocates for peaceful unification based on a liberal democratic order. The Yoon administration emphasizes freedom, peace, and prosperity as core values guiding national governance.
Structure: The doctrine is structured around three unification visions, three strategies, and seven action plans, forming a "3-3-7" framework.
Three Visions:

Individual: A nation where citizens' freedom and safety are guaranteed.
National: A strong and prosperous country driven by creativity and innovation.
Global: A country that leads international harmony and contributes to world peace and prosperity.

Three Strategies:

Domestic: Cultivating values and capabilities within South Korea to drive unification.
North Korea: Fostering a desire among North Koreans for unification.
International: Securing international support for unification based on universal values of freedom and human rights.

Seven Action Plans:

Activation of Unification Programs: Focusing on educating and inspiring future generations about unification.
Improving North Korean Human Rights: Taking multidimensional efforts to address human rights issues in North Korea.
Humanitarian Support for North Korean Survival: Providing humanitarian aid regardless of political or military situations.
Expanding Information Access for North Koreans: Ensuring North Koreans have access to external information.
Incorporating the Role of North Korean Defectors: Leveraging the experiences of defectors in the unification process.
Proposal for a Dialogue Framework between South and North Korean Authorities: Suggesting a dialogue mechanism to discuss wide-ranging issues.
Establishment of the International Korean Peninsula Forum: Creating an international forum to garner global support for unification.

The document also includes key messages from President Yoon on the topic of unification and references to unification messages from previous South Korean governments.

South Korea's Yoon makes rare outreach to North Koreans for unification

https://www.voanews.com/a/south-korea-s-yoon-makes-rare-outreach-to-north-koreans-for-unification-/7746003.html

August 16, 2024 8:37 PM

By Young Gyo Kim

washington —

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's freedom-based approach toward unifying the two Koreas could chart a bold path signaling a departure from the policies of his predecessors, experts in Washington said.

In a speech commemorating South Korea's Liberation Day on Thursday, Yoon introduced the "August 15 Doctrine," his vision for achieving a "freedom-based unification" of the Korean Peninsula.

Made up of incremental strategies, the doctrine seeks a dialogue between South and North but puts much weight on addressing the North Korean human rights issue.

"Testimonials from numerous North Korean defectors show that our radio and TV broadcasts helped make them aware of the false propaganda and instigations emanating from the North Korean regime," Yoon said during his speech.

The seven key steps under the doctrine include expanding North Koreans' rights to access information, supporting endeavors to inform the international community of North Korea's human rights situation, incorporating the roles of North Korean defectors into unification efforts, and providing humanitarian aid to North Korea.

Accent on rights

Sung-Yoon Lee, a fellow with the Wilson Center's Indo-Pacific Program, said Yoon broke from the South Korean presidents before him by accentuating North Koreans' human rights.

"None of his predecessors made the explicit connection between freedom for all North Koreans and final liberation of the Korean Peninsula," Lee told VOA Korean on Thursday via email.

South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife, Kim Keon Hee, wave flags of South Korea during a ceremony held to celebrate the 79th Korean National Liberation Day at the Sejong Center of the Performing Arts in Seoul, Aug. 15, 2024.

Lee said Yoon was "boldly emphasizing North Korea human rights and the protection of the right to speech and information of North Koreans, while seeking talks" with Pyongyang.

Evans Revere, who served as acting U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, agreed that North Korean human rights were at the core of the Yoon doctrine.

"Seoul is clearly planning to make these ideas the centerpiece of its approach to North Korea going forward," Revere told VOA Korean on Thursday via email.

Revere said that the new approach has "the potential to create schisms" inside North Korea and accelerate the process of political and social change if South Korea is "successful in delivering this message to the people of North Korea through its radio and television broadcasts and by other means."

Andrew Yeo, the SK-Korea Foundation chair at the Brookings Institution's Center for Asia Policy Studies, said that Yoon was intently focused on the notion of freedom of people on the Korean Peninsula, noting that the words "free" or "freedom" appear over 50 times in his speech.

"I don't see this as contradictory to reinforcing the idea of freedom-based unification," Yeo told VOA Korean on Thursday via email.

Strong protest

Yeo, however, expressed skepticism about how the North Korean regime will respond to Yoon's proposal.

"The call to establish an inter-Korean working group to discuss people-to-people cooperation and humanitarian engagement will ring hollow to Kim Jong Un given the Yoon government's emphasis on freedom before unification," he said.

This photo released July 2, 2024, shows Kim Jong Un attending the Enlarged Meeting of the 10th Plenary Meeting of the 8th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, held June 28-July 1, at a site in North Korea. (Korean Central News Agency)

Revere said he was "highly pessimistic" that Pyongyang will react well to the proposal.

Revere explained that words such as "freedom" and "democracy," which are highlighted in the new unification vision, are "anathema to the DPRK, as is the idea that the ROK intends to boost its efforts to get information to the North Korean people."

DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, North Korea's official name, while ROK is an abbreviation of South Korea's official name, Republic of Korea.

Robert Rapson, who served as chargé d'affaires and deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul from 2018 to 2021, cautioned that Yoon's vision could result in the escalation of tension.

"If anything, it is bound to elicit sharp negative reactions in Pyongyang, and likely in Beijing, too, and lead to a heightening of tensions along the DMZ and across the peninsula," he told VOA Korean on Thursday via email.

The United States voiced support for Yoon's proposal.

"The long-standing, ironclad alliance between the United States and the Republic of Korea has contributed to peace, security and prosperity for Northeast Asia, the broader Indo-Pacific and beyond," a State Department spokesperson told VOA Korean on Friday via email.

"We support President Yoon's aim to open a path for serious and sustained diplomacy with the DPRK," the spokesperson said, adding that "we are committed to working with allies and partners to promote human rights, accountability and access to information in the DPRK."

China, North Korea's closest strategic partner, took a more reserved view.

"DPRK and ROK are the main parties to the Korean Peninsula issue, which should ultimately be resolved through dialogue and cooperation," a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington told VOA Korean on Friday in an emailed statement.

"China supports all measures that are conducive to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula," the spokesperson said. "We sincerely hope that the North-South relations will continue to improve and that the Korean Peninsula will maintain peace and stability."

North Korea has not responded to Yoon's speech on its major state media outlets.

5. N. Korea's Kim attends demonstration class for children from flood-hit region

Demonstration equals propaganda in north Korea.

N. Korea's Kim attends demonstration class for children from flood-hit region | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Han-joo · August 17, 2024

SEOUL, Aug. 17 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has attended a demonstration class for children from flood-hit regions, state media reported Saturday, as part of a series of efforts to emphasize his concern for the victims of recent heavy downpours.

Kim visited the school located at their accommodation in Pyongyang on Friday, which had been prepared for victims from flood-affected areas in the North Phyongan, Jagang, and Ryanggang provinces, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

This photo, carried by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on Aug. 17, 2024, shows the North's leader Kim Jong-un with children at their accommodation in Pyongyang. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

Heavy rains in late July flooded large areas along the Amnok River on the northern border. Some South Korean media outlets have reported that the number of those dead or missing likely exceeds 1,000.

The KCNA reported that Kim arrived at the April 25 Hostel and observed the lesson for pupils from the flood-stricken areas, inspecting educational equipment and school fixtures.

Kim emphasized "the need to ensure that the children study well during the recovery from flood damage and to organize a diverse schedule that will make their stay in Pyongyang an unforgettable and pleasant memory forever," according to the report.

In a separate dispatch, the KCNA also reported that children and other people from the flood-affected areas enjoyed their stay in Pyongyang, including having a good time at the Munsu and Rungna water parks.

During last week's visit to Uiju County in North Phyongan, Kim met with flood victims staying at a temporary shelter and promised to bring them to Pyongyang.

More than 13,000 victims, including children, the elderly and the sick, arrived in Pyongyang on Thursday and were provided with accommodation.

Last week, Kim pledged to support flood victims without outside assistance, effectively rejecting international aid and South Korea's proposal for flood damage relief.

khj@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Han-joo · August 17, 2024

6. Kim Jong Un shocks listeners by using South Korean terms in speech

If you cannot beat them join them?

Or does this reveal that KJU is watching too many K-Dramas and can't help himself?

Kim Jong Un shocks listeners by using South Korean terms in speech

North Koreans are punished for using ‘anti-socialist’ words picked up from smuggled South Korean dramas.

https://www.rfa.org/english/news/korea/north-korea-south-korea-korean-wave-language-dialects-kim-jong-un-speech-yalu-river-flood-08162024111909.html/ampRFA

By Ahn Chang Gyu and Park Jaewoo for RFA Korean
2024-08-16

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits the flood-hit area in Uiju County of North Pyongan Province, Aug. 9, 2024. KCNA via KNS/AFP

Kim Jong Un recently shocked North Korean flood victims when he addressed them in a speech that contained words and phrases commonly used by South Koreans – terms that would get ordinary citizens in hot water, residents told Radio Free Asia.

Authorities regularly punish users of South Korean lingo because it suggests that they learned to speak that way from watching illegal South Korean movies and TV shows – considered “anti-socialist” and a bad capitalist influence – that have been smuggled into the country.

In the most serious cases, people can get sent to work in coal mines or prison camps for merely texting using South Korean slang or using terms of endearment that would be more common in Seoul than in Pyongyang.

While Kim did not use slang or cutesy words that South Korean couples call each other, experts said that the South Korean terms he used suggest that he might be watching the banned South Korean movies and TV shows that his people get punished for.

Since adopting the Anti-reactionary Thought and Culture Act in 2020, which seeks to eradicate “hostile” foreign and capitalistic influences on North Korean culture, authorities essentially made it illegal to speak “like a South Korean.”

In January 2023, North Korea codified this by passing the Pyongyang Cultural Language Protection act, which defines the Pyongyang dialect of Korean as the standard language, and prohibits the use of so-called “puppet words” that “completely lost the foundation of the Korean language due to Westernization, Japanification, and Chinese characterization.”

Now North Koreans have to be ultra-conscious not to let any Southern lingo slip out when they talk in public, or they could be sentenced to six years of hard labor, life-long hard labor, or even death, depending on how serious their offense.

But the laws apparently do not apply to Kim Jong Un. Earlier this month, while speaking to victims of the recent Yalu River flood, he called them his fellow “citizens” instead of “comrades,” as communist parlance would dictate, a resident of the northwestern province of North Pyongan told RFA Korean on condition of anonymity for security reasons.

He also referred to older flood victims as “elders” rather than “seniors” or “respected grandparents,” and abbreviated “television” to the more American-sounding “TV” as is common in the South, rather than “terebi,” which is more common in the North.

He also told the victims that they were “navigating rough terrain” rather than the more Northern expression of being in a “difficult and tiring situation.”

“People were more surprised by the way Kim Jong Un used South Korean words in his speech than by the content of the speech itself,” the resident said.

Linguistic divide

The divergence in the varieties of Korean spoken in the North and the South are more than just regional differences–the division of the Korean peninsula after World War II had sweeping linguistic consequences.

Differing standardization policies enacted by both governments have resulted in spelling and vocabulary differences, with closed off North Korea more hesitant to adopt loan words from foreign languages than the more open South.

South Korea Defense Minister Nominee: “Extended Deterrence is Basic, All Means Considered”

https://www.rfa.org/korean/in_focus/nk_nuclear_talks/defenseminister-08162024090445.html

Seoul-Handohyeong hando@rfa.org

2024.08.16

Kim Yong-hyun, nominee for South Korea's Minister of National Defense, answers reporters' questions on his way to work at the Army Club in Seoul on the 16th.

/Yonhap News

00:00 / 03:58

Anchor : Kim Yong-hyun, the nominee for South Korea's Minister of National Defense, said that while responding to the North Korean nuclear threat based on the South Korea-U.S. alliance and extended deterrence , he will remain open to all means if necessary . Han Do-hyung reports from Seoul .

Kim Yong-hyun, nominee for Minister of National Defense of South Korea, meets with reporters on his way to work at the Army Club in Seoul on the 16th .

When asked whether there would be any change in the existing security view, candidate Kim emphasized that “ the basic response to the North Korean nuclear threat is based on extended deterrence and the nuclear umbrella . ”

In doing so, it was reaffirmed that the ROK-US alliance was upgraded to a nuclear-based alliance through the ‘ Washington Declaration ’ between the ROK-US summits in May last year .

Candidate Kim also raised the need to find additional means to respond to the North Korean nuclear threat .

From the standpoint of prioritizing the safety of the Korean people , if we determine that it is difficult to handle the threat of North Korea's nuclear weapons, we must keep all options open .

South Korea Defense Minister nominee Kim Yong-hyun : There were many questions raised about the effectiveness of the nuclear umbrella and. However, from the perspective of prioritizing the safety of the people, if it is judged that it is difficult to deal with the North Korean nuclear threat to the people with that, I think all other means are open .

In February 2020 , while serving as a visiting professor at Soongsil University, candidate Kim contributed an article to the Korean media outlet ' Korea Economic Daily ' in which he argued that " we need to change our approach to North Korea's denuclearization " and that self-defense nuclear armament should be considered as one of the realistic means .

Accordingly, candidate Kim predicted that if nuclear armament is achieved, the possibility of sanctions by the international community, including the United States, will be limited to a formal measure .

There have been no active sanctions imposed on countries that are aligned with American values and interests, such as Britain, France , Israel , and India, that have acquired nuclear weapons .

This position is significantly different from what the Korean government has previously stated on several occasions .

In an interview with the British news agency Reuters released on the 8th (local time), Minister of National Defense and newly appointed Director of the National Security Office Shin Won-sik predicted that if South Korea pursues nuclear armament, “ it will face a situation where a major crack is created in the alliance with the United States . ”

He also expressed concern that if South Korea were to withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), “ various disadvantages could arise . ”

The U.S. government has also repeatedly expressed its negative stance on South Korea's nuclear armament, such as when Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy Vipin Narang told Radio Free Asia (RFA) on the 1st that it would be best for South Korea to strengthen extended deterrence through the Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) rather than having its own nuclear weapons .

Meanwhile, new Special Advisor for Foreign Affairs and Security Jang Ho-jin visited the United States for his first official schedule .

Special Advisor Jang Shin-im met with reporters at Dells International Airport in the United States on the 15th (local time) and said, “ It has been almost a year since the Camp David summit among Korea, the United States, and Japan, ” and “ We plan to discuss how to successfully conclude issues such as the Korea-U.S. alliance during the Biden administration in the United States . ”

Special Advisor Jang Shin-im said about the possibility of North Korea's provocation before the U.S. presidential election in November , " There are always rumors of North Korean provocations, " and " We have drawn up detailed countermeasure plans for various forms of provocation . "

On the 12th , South Korean President Yoon Seok- yeol nominated then-Director of the Presidential Security Service Kim Yong-hyun as the new Minister of National Defense , Minister of National Defense Shin Won-sik as Director of the National Security Office , and then-Director of the National Security Office Jang Ho-jin as Special Advisor to the President for Foreign Affairs and National Security .

U.S. Defense Official: “ Nuclear Consultative Group Is Best Solution for Korean Peninsula Security Challenges ”

Korean political circles rekindle ' nuclear armament ' debate ... Prime Minister: " Not under consideration "

Meanwhile, Rep. Yang Bu-nam of the Democratic Party of Korea , the main opposition party in Korea , cited data from the National Fire Agency on the 16th and announced that as of the 13th , a total of 1,567 119 reports related to North Korea's " dirt balloons " had been tallied .

According to this, Seoul received the most reports at 1,126 , accounting for 71.9% of the total .

This was followed by southern Gyeonggi-do with 162 cases , northern Gyeonggi-do with 151 cases , Incheon with 56 cases , Gangwon-do with 48 cases , and North Chungcheong-do with 16 cases .

About 10,000 firefighters were dispatched after receiving reports of North Korean sewage balloons , and over 2,400 fire trucks were mobilized .

On this day, Minister of National Defense nominee Kim Yong-hyun stated regarding North Korea's provocations such as the garbage balloon launch, " The most important thing is the safety of the people, " and " I will carefully consider and implement the best plan to ensure the safety of the people . "

Editor Hong Seung-wook , Web Editor Kim Sang-il

8. NSC discusses ways to beef up cybersecurity for defense contractors

NSC discusses ways to beef up cybersecurity for defense contractors

koreaherald.com · by Yonhap · August 16, 2024

By Yonhap

Published : Aug. 16, 2024 - 20:38

The Presidential Office in Yongsan, Seoul (The Presidential Office)

The presidential National Security Council (NSC) held a meeting Friday to discuss measures to enhance cybersecurity for defense contractors to address concerns about hacking attacks targeting military technology.

Shin Yong-seok, the presidential secretary for cybersecurity, led the meeting with officials from the state-run arms procurement agency, the spy agency, the police and the Defense Counterintelligence Command, following recent reports of alleged hacking attempts on local defense companies.

The participants discussed ways to expand intelligence sharing and provide support for technology protection measures to enhance cybersecurity of small and medium-sized defense contractors, the NSC said.

During the meeting, Shin said key defense technologies are vital to national security and stressed the need for close cooperation between relevant agencies to fix security vulnerabilities, it noted. (Yonhap)

koreaherald.com · by Yonhap · August 16, 2024

9. Japanese music and food find growing acceptance in South Korea amid warming bilateral ties

Japanese music and food find growing acceptance in South Korea amid warming bilateral ties

Restaurants serving Japanese food are easy to find in Seoul and bustling on weekends, while J-pop is growing in popularity among South Korea's youths.

Lim Yun Suk

@YunSukCNA

Darrelle Ng

16 Aug 2024 03:55PM

channelnewsasia.com

SEOUL: Japanese songs sung by Japanese singers live on a South Korean television network would have been unthinkable a few years ago.

But in recent months, Japanese singers have been winning the hearts of many on a hit South Korean music entertainment programme.

Named the “Korea-Japan Top 10 Show”, it pits famous singers from the two nations in friendly competition on major cable network MBN.

Viewership reached as high as 5.7 per cent in the third week of its 12-week run, and the show’s website has more than 3,000 supportive comments.

It started airing in May after another programme with a similar theme ended its run earlier this year with a positive reception from the audience.

Seoul-based CReA Studio, which created both shows, said it took a big risk bringing the concept to life.

“There were concerns that this (concept) could cause some backlash. But surprisingly, people responded very positively,” the studio’s CEO Seo Hye-jin said.

She added that viewers found the two shows “sensational”, as Japanese songs have never been played on mainstream South Korean television before.

INITIAL WORRIES ON RECEPTION

South Korea’s free-to-air networks generally do not show Japanese content.

Wounds dating back more than a century still linger between the two nations, when South Korea was under 35 years of Japanese colonisation.

Some South Korean singers who were invited to participate in the music show were initially worried as they were unsure how the public would react to them singing in Japanese.

"I thought it would be great if I could, as a singer, take part in this historic moment, when we can sing songs and become one (through music),” said veteran South Korean singer Lyn.

“Even though we speak a different language, Korean viewers were very receptive to it, and I don’t think they linked it to any painful historical events or other things."

Japanese singer Utagokoro Rie, also a participant on the show, said she was not aware of the grim past between the two countries before making her first ever trip to South Korea for the programme.

“When I first appeared on the show and sang, I wasn't thinking about (politics) at all,” the 51-year-old told CNA.

“But after this show aired, I heard Koreans say I'm a bridge between South Korea and Japan. I felt a sense of responsibility when they said that to me.”

SOUTH KOREA-JAPAN TIES

After South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol took office in 2022, relations between Seoul and Tokyo saw rapid improvement.

He and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida resumed reciprocal visits as the two countries' leaders, a practice that had been suspended since 2011.

Both leaders are keen to solidify security cooperation – alongside common allies including the United States – to better cope with North Korea’s nuclear threats.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during a joint press conference in Seoul, South Korea, May 27, 2024. (File photo: REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji)

The camaraderie today is in stark contrast to just five years ago, when Koreans took to the streets against Japan’s export restrictions on some of South Korea’s key industrial materials.

The curbs in 2019 was Tokyo’s retaliation in a series of tit-for-tat moves, following an order by South Korea’s top court for Japanese firms to compensate Korean victims of Japan’s wartime forced labour.

President Yoon now plans to use local funds for the victims, instead of seeking direct compensation from Japanese firms.

DECADES AFTER NORMALISING TIES

Next year, the two nations are expected to elevate their bilateral ties as they celebrate 60 years of diplomatic relations.

But deep-rooted anti-Japanese sentiments remain among South Koreans, who say it is crucial for Japan to reaffirm its recognition of historical facts that have strained bilateral ties for decades.

"It can be highly regarded that exchanges of people and goods between South Korea and Japan have been fully restored,” said Yang Kee-ho, a Japanese studies professor at Sungkonghoe University.

“However, the problem is that these aspects have not brought visible results that the South Korean people (want to see) … such as (Japan) completely conceding on historical issues.”

A protester in Seoul holds a poster showing South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, during a rally demanding a halt to Japan's discharging of treated radioactive water from the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea, Sep 2, 2023. (File Photo: AP/Ahn Young-joon)

A recent sore point was Japan's release of treated radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the ocean. Thousands of protesters rallied along the streets of Seoul against Japan and denounced the South Korean government’s stance on seeing no scientific problems with the water release.

Visits by Japanese politicians to the controversial Yasukuni shrine – seen by many nations as a symbol of the country’s wartime aggression – are also often a point of contention for South Koreans.

JAPANESE CULTURE IN SOUTH KOREA

While dissatisfaction and underlying tensions remain, there is also growing acceptance of Japanese culture in South Korea.

Restaurants serving Japanese food – owned by South Koreans – are easy to find in Seoul and bustling on weekends.

“In the past, there was a lot of talk about ‘no Japan’ and excluding Japanese culture. But these days, Japanese culture is being more embraced,” said one customer dining at an izakaya, a Japanese bar.

Patrons enjoy a meal at an izakaya, a Japanese bar, in Seoul.

The izakaya’s owner Kim Tae-kyung told CNA he considered the two countries' ties before opening the venue about a month ago because he had seen how anti-Japanese sentiments can affect Japan-related businesses in South Korea.

"(These days), lots of young people are travelling to Japan and they like Japanese culture, and so I thought it would be all right to open an izakaya,” he said.

Japanese pop and rock music are also growing in popularity, particularly among youths, with some bands enjoying sold-out concerts in South Korea.

Still, the two nations’ diplomatic relations wane and wax with each administration.

As Japan’s Kishida is set to resign next month, there are concerns that their warming ties could once again be tested when the next prime minister takes the reins.

However, analysts said they expect minimal changes to diplomatic relations, given that Kishida’s successor is likely to follow in his footsteps when it comes to foreign policy.

channelnewsasia.com

10. UN fans Korea-Japan embers with heritage site move

Excerpts:

This is not an issue confined to the question of World Heritage status. Suits filed in Korea by Korean workers and their descendants against Japanese companies who used forced labor – in the case of these mines, Mitsubishi Materials – were a central part of the downturn in Korea-Japan relations in 2018.

The successful rulings in favor of the workers, who demanded compensation for unpaid wages, remain an issue despite the Yoon administration’s decision last year to resolve the problem by using a Korean-funded foundation to settle the demands.

That is quite distinct from the way Mitsubishi Materials dealt with a suit filed by Chinese forced laborers that was settled in Chinese courts in 2016 with compensation payments and an apology from the company. The company also offered similar apologies to American POWs used as forced labor in their mines during the war. The contrast with Japan’s approach to Korea remains problematic, to say the least.

As noted, the Yoon administration’s drive to improve relations with Tokyo is a signal accomplishment. From the standpoint of geopolitics, the most notable consequence of this improvement has been the deepening of trilateral security cooperation with the United States and Japan.

However, both trilateral ties and improved bilateral relations with Japan remain vulnerable not only to a change in political leadership but also to the lingering and potentially explosive effects of unaddressed historical grievances.

UN fans Korea-Japan embers with heritage site move - Asia Times

UNESCO nod to Japan’s Sado gold mines where Korean laborers toiled in wartime tests the limits of historical compromise

asiatimes.com · by Daniel Sneider · August 17, 2024

The transformation of relations between South Korea and Japan during the past two-plus years is one of the signal accomplishments of the Yoon Suk Yeol administration. However, there remain doubts over the durability of this achievement.

A troubling question remains whether the historical past of Japan’s colonial rule over Korea will again roil relations. The ongoing division between the two countries over colonial and wartime history, alongside Korean demands for historical justice, is again on display in recent weeks.

Gold mine background and controversy

On July 27, the World Heritage Committee of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) formally granted the prized World Heritage Site status to the gold mines located on Japan’s Sado Island.

In a submission to UNESCO in 2015, Japan had included the mines on a list of sites that supported its industrial revolution. The Sado gold mines were developed during the Tokugawa era and played an important role in Japan’s modernization. Although the mines are no longer operational, they have been preserved as a historical site for tourists.

The controversy surrounding Japan’s application centers on the wartime history of the mines and the use of Korean workers to carry out dangerous mining operations. The South Korean government and civic activists opposed the granting of World Heritage status to the gold mines.

Koreans, along with numerous Western and Japanese historians, insist that many of the workers were brought to the mines against their will, through either coercion or deception. The objections to the granting of World Heritage status rested on compelling Japan to acknowledge the role of Korean forced labor at the site itself and in its official accounts.

The Sado decision reflected a compromise by Japan that was supported by the South Korean government and reached through diplomatic negotiations. It included an agreement by Japan to present the role of Korean workers and their harsh working conditions, as well as hold an annual ceremony to pay respect to them.

An exhibit at a museum near the site was created to provide information on the more than 1,500 Korean laborers who worked there, including the fact that they faced more dangerous conditions than their Japanese counterparts and other harsh measures.

However, it avoided using the term “forced labor,” which the Japanese government has always opposed. Within Korea, this compromise has been assailed, particularly by the opposition Democratic Party and Korean media commentary. The Yoon government has been accused of deliberately and misleadingly claiming that Japan had agreed to fully accept this history.

“The Japanese government had never acknowledged the concept of forced labor,” former Korean Ambassador to Japan Shin Kak-soo told this writer in an email exchange. Even in the case of Battleship Island (discussed below), it tried to find language that avoided the term. “This time, it seemed the negotiations did not squarely address this issue.”

Nonetheless, Shin believes that the compromise was justified. “My hunch is that the Korean government strove to put more emphasis on the real teaching of history to the visitors to the site than arguments on the wording,” the former diplomat, who remains active on relations with Japan, said. “We need to assess the outcome as a product of diplomatic compromise, given the big gap between the two sides on their historical views.”

Japan fails to fill out the history

At the time of the 2015 application, the Japanese government, then led by the late Shinzo Abe, denied the forced nature of Korean labor and discrimination against Koreans at the sites. But UNESCO insisted that Japan clearly admit that “a large number of Koreans and others … were brought against their will and forced to work under harsh conditions in the 1940s at some of the sites.”

The coal mine operated on Japan’s Hashima Island, popularly known as Battleship Island, was granted World Heritage status in 2015, but only after Japan agreed to include the “full history” that would “allow an understanding that there were a large number of Koreans and others who were brought against their will and forced to work under harsh conditions in the 1940s at some of the sites.” Even then, a follow-up monitoring team found in 2021 that the information center failed to do this.

In the case of the Sado mine, historians have documented that at least 1,519 Koreans were forced to work from 1939 until the end of World War II. The initial application filed by the local government, which sought the status to promote tourism to the island, made no mention of the wartime era. It confined itself to the history of the mines during the Tokugawa and Meiji era (until 1912), seeking to avoid this controversy.

The Korean government opposed this application, as did UNESCO experts. UNESCO’s International Council on Monuments and Sites requested that the Japanese applicants deal with the wartime period, and a supplemental document was submitted to respond to this issue.

The document offers a description of three phases of labor “recruitment” that implies the Korean workers voluntarily agreed to work at the mines until 1944, when labor “requisition” was compulsory. The Japanese official document also asserts that there was no discrimination between Korean and Japanese workers and that the Koreans were paid wages.

The descriptions of the phases of “recruitment” in the document are “misleading,” Dr. Nikolai Johnsen, a British scholar at the University of London who has researched and written extensively on this history, told this writer.

The workers were signed up by agents supported by the colonial government “who compelled large groups of men from impoverished Korean villages to take up dangerous work in Japan under false pretenses.” During the second phase, which began in 1942, the colonial regime directly selected the workers, and opposition “often had dire consequences” in the form of “forced mobilization,” the scholar said.

Further, Johnsen explained that “claiming this system was non-discriminatory is simply historical denialism.” Wages and working conditions were far from equal, and a large proportion of the wages never got paid, the funds held in accounts by Mitsubishi but never released.

The Japanese account also uses the term “workers from the Korean Peninsula,” a formulation that treats Koreans as subjects of the Japanese Empire and refuses to recognize them as foreign forced laborers.

“Recognition of the true character of this history would greatly elevate the universal value of the Sado mines as a UNESCO World Heritage site,” Johnsen wrote in a paper published two years ago. “They cannot be suppressed for the sake of instilling pride in future Japanese generations to the neglect of the victims.”

Sign up for one of our free newsletters

Lingering disputes and the shadow of history

This is not an issue confined to the question of World Heritage status. Suits filed in Korea by Korean workers and their descendants against Japanese companies who used forced labor – in the case of these mines, Mitsubishi Materials – were a central part of the downturn in Korea-Japan relations in 2018.

The successful rulings in favor of the workers, who demanded compensation for unpaid wages, remain an issue despite the Yoon administration’s decision last year to resolve the problem by using a Korean-funded foundation to settle the demands.

That is quite distinct from the way Mitsubishi Materials dealt with a suit filed by Chinese forced laborers that was settled in Chinese courts in 2016 with compensation payments and an apology from the company. The company also offered similar apologies to American POWs used as forced labor in their mines during the war. The contrast with Japan’s approach to Korea remains problematic, to say the least.

As noted, the Yoon administration’s drive to improve relations with Tokyo is a signal accomplishment. From the standpoint of geopolitics, the most notable consequence of this improvement has been the deepening of trilateral security cooperation with the United States and Japan.

However, both trilateral ties and improved bilateral relations with Japan remain vulnerable not only to a change in political leadership but also to the lingering and potentially explosive effects of unaddressed historical grievances.

Daniel Sneider is a lecturer on international policy and East Asian studies at Stanford University and a non-resident distinguished fellow at the Korea Economic Institute of America. The views expressed here are the author’s alone.

This article was originally published by KEIA’s The Peninsula. It is republished with permission.

Thank you for registering!

An account was already registered with this email. Please check your inbox for an authentication link.

asiatimes.com · by Daniel Sneider · August 17, 2024

11. President Yoon’s Vision of Unification: Liberation, not Engagement

Excerpt:

Conclusion

The dangers of renewed conflict on the Korean Peninsula can never be underestimated. The warring visions of unification offered by President Yoon and North Korean leader Kim are likely to lead to even greater inter-Korean tensions. Against a backdrop of global uncertainty, the intensification of partisan conflict within South Korea further complicates any effort to reshape relations on the Korean Peninsula.

President Yoon’s Vision of Unification: Liberation, not Engagement - Korea Economic Institute of America

keia.org · · August 16, 2024

The Peninsula

Published August 16, 2024

Author: Daniel Sneider

Category: South Korea

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol offered a dramatically different vision of Korean unification in his Liberation Day speech on August 15, an annual observance in South Korea that marks the end of Japanese colonial rule over the Korean Peninsula. In his speech, President Yoon framed unification as completing the unfinished task of liberation and the triumph of “freedom” over the North Korean system. “The freedom we enjoy must be extended to the frozen kingdom of the North, where people are deprived of freedom and suffer from poverty and starvation,” Yoon said. “Only when a unified free and democratic nation rightfully owned by the people is established across the entire Korean Peninsula will we finally have complete liberation.”

His vision clearly rejects the legitimacy of the “Democratic People’s Republic of Korea” and the idea of unification through a gradual process of integration and extensive cross-border cooperation – a concept that was famously embodied in the progressive Sunshine Policy of the late President Kim Dae-jung but also largely embraced by conservative successors such as Park Geun-hye in her hallmark 2014 speech on unification. Furthermore, Yoon’s speech occurred amid heightened inter-Korean tensions, growing domestic partisanship, and Japanese actions that risk bilateral uncertainty.

Shifting Visions of Unification

President Yoon laid out a set of proposals to accomplish this goal, such as the creation of a new inter-Korean working group to hold talks on a wide range of issues from economic cooperation to disaster relief. But the thrust of his speech focused on efforts to actively support human rights in the North, deepen the flow of information into the closed society, and support those who have defected to the South. The intent is to build support within the North for what amounts to, though it is not directly stated, de facto regime change. “If more North Koreans come to recognize that unification through freedom is the only way to improve their lives and are convinced that a unified Republic of Korea will embrace them, they will become strong, friendly forces for a freedom-based unification,” he said.

Yoon’s unification policy is a response to, and perhaps ironically a mirror of, the equally dramatic shift in the policy of the North Korean regime. In a speech to the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea in late December, Kim Jong-un declared a “new stand on north-south relations and the reunification policy.” South Korea was now to be regarded as a “hostile” and “belligerent” state under the control of the United States. All references to peaceful unification were ended, and he directed the North Korean military to prepare “to subjugate the whole territory of the south.” Since Kim’s policy shift, there has been an uptick in tough rhetoric and military buildup directed against the South. The North Koreans have conducted a series of short-range ballistic missile tests and, earlier this month, announced the delivery of 250 nuclear-capable missile launchers to frontline units along the border with the South.

Partisanship Surrounding Liberation Day

Yoon’s address had a decidedly partisan tone as well. He assailed “pseudo-intellectuals” and others who circulate “fake news” to “undermine free societies,” labeling them as “anti-freedom, anti-unification forces.” The increasingly polarized atmosphere in South Korea was manifest in the unprecedented decision of the opposition parties and groups representing the descendants of anti-Japanese “freedom fighters,” such as the Heritage of Korean Independence, to hold separate ceremonies.

Liberation Day has traditionally been a moment of national unity to honor the spirit of the Korean independence movement against Japan’s colonial rule. The decision of the opposition parties and their allies to boycott Yoon’s address was intended to protest perceived attempts by the government to distort the history of resistance and justify Japanese revisionism of its colonial rule. The controversy over the Korean government’s support of the Japanese application for World Heritage Site status for the Sado Gold Mines, where Korean forced labor was employed during the war, has fed this mood.

The decision to boycott the official ceremony was also triggered by the government’s appointment of figures associated with the “New Right,” an intellectual movement that has offered an alternative view of Korea-Japan history, to key posts. Such moves include the appointment of Kim Hyoung-suk as president of the Independence Hall of Korea, the major museum commemorating this resistance. “Our society has recently been thrown into confusion by widespread vulgar historical attitudes that are tainted by a pro-Japanese view of history and distortions of the truth. We couldn’t just stand by and watch this historical regression and disparagement,” said Heritage of Korean Independence leader Lee Jong-chan, explaining the group’s decision to hold their own separate ceremony.

Simmering Korea-Japan Tensions

Yoon’s Liberation Day speech was also notable for its almost complete absence of references to Japan, other than noting that the day marked the end of Imperial Japan’s rule and comparing Korea’s economic achievements to those of Japan. In his speech last year, Yoon offered an extensive discussion of the improvement of relations with Japan, including the establishment of closer trilateral security cooperation with the United States and Japan. It is unclear why Japan disappeared from this year’s Liberation Day address – perhaps as a nod to the use of anti-Japanese issues by the opposition or as an indirect acknowledgment of ongoing tensions between the two countries over wartime and colonial history.

For Japan, August 15 is also an important historical moment, one that marks its surrender and the end of the war. In his speech to commemorate the anniversary of defeat, Prime Minister Kishida Fumio pledged to maintain Japan’s pacifist resolve to “never again repeat the devastation of war.” He noted the 3 million Japanese who lost their lives in the war, including in the Battle of Okinawa, the bombing raids on Japan, and most of all, the atomic bombings. But he carefully avoided mentioning Japanese aggression across Asia. At the same time, three members of Kishida’s cabinet, including Defense Minister Kihara Minoru, visited the controversial Yasukuni Shrine to honor Japan’s war dead. The gap between how Korea and Japan mark this moment in history offers a reminder of the way the past continues to color the present.

Conclusion

The dangers of renewed conflict on the Korean Peninsula can never be underestimated. The warring visions of unification offered by President Yoon and North Korean leader Kim are likely to lead to even greater inter-Korean tensions. Against a backdrop of global uncertainty, the intensification of partisan conflict within South Korea further complicates any effort to reshape relations on the Korean Peninsula.

Daniel Sneider is a Lecturer of International Policy and East Asian Studies at Stanford University and a Non-Resident Distinguished Fellow at the Korea Economic Institute of America. The views expressed here are the author’s alone.

Photo from the Office of South Korean President

KEI is registered under the FARA as an agent of the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy, a public corporation established by the government of the Republic of Korea. Additional information is available at the Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.

Return to the Peninsula

12. Seoul to hold Ulchi civil defense exercise next week

Seoul to hold Ulchi civil defense exercise next week

The Korea Times · August 16, 2024

The photo taken on Aug. 18, 2023 shows Ulchi civil defense exercise taking place in front of the National Assembly. Yonhap

A four-day civil defense exercise will be held in Seoul next week, including an air raid evacuation drill on the last day, the city government said Friday.

It is part of the annual Ulchi exercise to be held across the nation from Monday to Thursday in an effort to check on contingency plans to prepare for war and other national emergency situations.

This year's exercise will involve simulations of a drone attack and the launch of trash-carrying balloons from North Korea.

In Seoul, about 170 institutions and some 140,000 people will take part in the exercise.

The city government will open a war situation room and conduct a discussion on wartime issues and a tabletop exercise. Mayor Oh Se-hoon will preside over a meeting Monday on a simulated drone threat situation, officials said.

On Tuesday, a counterterrorism exercise will be held at the Olympic Gymnastics Arena in eastern Seoul to minimize damage in case of drone threats or infiltrations of special operations units against multiuse facilities.

On the final day, an anti-air raid evacuation exercise will be held, in which people will be required to evacuate to the nearest shelters or underground facilities as part of a civil defense drill at 2 p.m.

Cars traveling in areas where traffic is restricted should stop and pull over under police guidance for five minutes after the alarm goes off.

The locations of the shelters are available at the National Disaster and Safety Portal and the Emergency Ready App.

The Ulchi exercise was launched in 1969 following a raid by North Korean commandos on the presidential residence in Seoul the previous year. (Yonhap)

The Korea Times · August 16, 2024

13. New monument overlooking DMZ honors those who fled North Korea — or died trying

I will try to visit this and pay respects on my next two trips to Seoul this month and next.

New monument overlooking DMZ honors those who fled North Korea — or died trying

Stars and Stripes · by Yoo Kyong Chang and Luis Garcia · August 16, 2024

A monument dedicated to North Korean defectors stands at the Odusan Unification Observatory in Paju, South Korea, on Aug. 14, 2024. (Luis Garcia/Stars and Stripes)

PAJU, South Korea — Oh Eun Jeong, a poet who fled North Korea in 2009, left behind a younger sister for whom she still longs.

Oh, profiled by The Washington Post in 2018 as one of many young North Korean defectors thriving with new lives in the South, said that longing motivated her to write poetry.

“I think about my sister every day,” she told Stars and Stripes by phone Aug. 8. “Knowing she’s still there while I’m here makes my heart heavy.”

Oh and other former North Koreans now have a place to bring those sentiments. On Aug. 1, the South Korean Ministry for Unification unveiled a monument to those who escaped the North or lost their lives in the attempt.

“This monument gives me a place to express that longing, even if I can’t be with her,” Oh said.

A remembrance plaque dedicated to North Korean defectors accompanies a memorial at the Odusan Unification Observatory in Paju, South Korea, on Aug. 14, 2024. (Luis Garcia/Stars and Stripes)

More than 33,000 North Koreans have successfully reached the South since 1998, according to an Associated Press report in October. The number of those who perished in the attempt is hard to calculate.

The monument is in Paju and overlooks the Demilitarized Zone that divides the two countries, with a view beyond the DMZ into North Korea.

“The sculpture installed at the Odusan Unification Observatory symbolizes the longing and courage of North Korean defectors in their pursuit of freedom as well as their hope for the future, along with the memory of those who sacrificed their lives during the escape process,” Unification Minister Kim Yung Ho said during the unveiling ceremony, according to an Aug. 1 statement from the ministry.

Han Bonghee, a doctor of oriental medicine in Goyang City, defected from North Korea in 1998.

“This is more than just stone,” she told Stars and Stripes by phone Aug. 6, speaking of the new monument. “It’s a place where defectors like me can finally honor those we lost.”

Han has written a memoir that recounts her father’s forced repatriation and death in a North Korean prison.

“I see this as a sacred space where I can pay respects to my parents and others who couldn’t make it,” she said.

A view of North Korea from Odusan Unification Observatory in Paju, South Korea, on Aug. 14, 2024. (Luis Garcia/Stars and Stripes)

North Hamgyong province Gov. Ji Seongho, a former member of the National Assembly, proposed the monument’s location.

“I think this monument could be the space that can be a source of strength for defectors,” Ji told Stars and Stripes by phone Aug. 8. “It could be a site where they can look at their hometown and get themselves sorted when times are tough and difficult.”

The monument stands where North Korea is visible, a poignant detail for those who left loved ones behind, he said.

Ji said he hopes the monument conveys the preciousness of freedom to South Koreans and reminds defectors to leave fully honoring those who couldn’t make it.

The number of North Korean defectors peaked at 2,914 in 2009, according to the Visual Capitalist website. That number slumped to fewer than 150 for all of 2021 and 2022. Last year, 99 people were recorded having escaped the North.

Oh said she can’t help but think of those she left behind, or whose bid for freedom failed.

“Whenever I hear about North Koreans who died trying to escape, I think how nice it would have been if they could have set foot on this land,” she said.

Stars and Stripes · by Yoo Kyong Chang and Luis Garcia · August 16, 2024

14. Why China Shuns the Russia-North Korea Alliance

Really? Mending fences with the US is a priority?

Excerpts:

The Chinese-North Korean relationship is complicated. The stability of the Korean Peninsula is a critical strategic priority for Beijing. A nuclear war would be in no one’s interest, but Beijing must also keep the North Korean regime from collapsing and sending millions of refugees over the border. Therefore, it is vitally important that China provide North Korea with substantial economic and diplomatic support. In China’s ideal version of the relationship, North Korea would be its vassal. When it suited Beijing, it could encourage Pyongyang’s erratic and threatening tendencies to coerce South Korea and the United States. Then, when Seoul and Washington were ready to give Beijing what it wanted, it could bring Pyongyang to heel. In this way, China could exact concessions from its foes while maintaining an air of magnanimity. Crucially, this strategy depends on North Korea’s isolation.

At the moment, however, North Korea and China need different things. North Korea needs all the financial, economic and humanitarian help it can get. China needs U.S. investment to help revitalize its sputtering economy, and it wants better relations with South Korea, which it hopes will translate into a more stable relationship with Washington and progress on denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula. What Beijing does not need is Pyongyang making threats and fueling a regional arms race and U.S. military buildup.

Why China Shuns the Russia-North Korea Alliance - Geopolitical Futures

Mending fences with the U.S. takes priority over their temporary affair.

geopoliticalfutures.com · by Victoria Herczegh · August 13, 2024

Early this year, there was no greater advocate of a China-Russia-North Korea alliance than Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea for more than a decade. Trade with China would continue to normalize and grow after a sudden stop during the COVID-19 pandemic; Russia would exchange advanced military technology for North Korea’s spare ammunition and weaponry. Together, they would provide another layer of security for Kim’s regime. Russia, with its all-consuming focus on defeating Ukraine, was and is eager to upgrade relations with any country willing and able to support it, but China has conspicuously kept its distance from anything resembling a trilateral partnership. For Beijing, propping up Pyongyang is less important than mending ties with the United States, maintaining Chinese influence in the Indo-Pacific and containing the confrontation on the Korean Peninsula. Over the longer term, Moscow’s interest in Pyongyang will wane, and Kim’s regime will be driven back into Beijing’s arms.

Trade with China is the lifeblood of the North Korean economy. In 2023, after three years of economic contraction and pandemic-related border closures, North Korea and China resumed cross-border trade. Though it traded almost exclusively with China (the rest of the world accounted for less than 2 percent of North Korea’s trade by volume), the North Korean economy expanded by 3.1 percent for the year, its highest growth rate since 2016. Speaking in January, an exuberant Kim declared 2024 the “North Korea-China friendship year.” China’s president, Xi Jinping, appeared to reciprocate, emphasizing Beijing’s readiness to cooperate with Pyongyang and its “strategic and long-term perspective” on their relationship.

By mid-June, things had changed. For weeks, there were rumors of an imminent trilateral summit, during which Kim, Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin were expected to sign a major defense agreement. Kim and Xi last met face to face in 2019, since which time Putin and Xi have become “all-weather friends.” But when the day arrived, only Kim and Putin were in attendance. While they signed a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty, Beijing seemed intent on distancing itself from whatever might transpire in Pyongyang, even scheduling meetings with South Korean officials for the same week.

The Chinese-North Korean relationship is complicated. The stability of the Korean Peninsula is a critical strategic priority for Beijing. A nuclear war would be in no one’s interest, but Beijing must also keep the North Korean regime from collapsing and sending millions of refugees over the border. Therefore, it is vitally important that China provide North Korea with substantial economic and diplomatic support. In China’s ideal version of the relationship, North Korea would be its vassal. When it suited Beijing, it could encourage Pyongyang’s erratic and threatening tendencies to coerce South Korea and the United States. Then, when Seoul and Washington were ready to give Beijing what it wanted, it could bring Pyongyang to heel. In this way, China could exact concessions from its foes while maintaining an air of magnanimity. Crucially, this strategy depends on North Korea’s isolation.

At the moment, however, North Korea and China need different things. North Korea needs all the financial, economic and humanitarian help it can get. China needs U.S. investment to help revitalize its sputtering economy, and it wants better relations with South Korea, which it hopes will translate into a more stable relationship with Washington and progress on denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula. What Beijing does not need is Pyongyang making threats and fueling a regional arms race and U.S. military buildup.

Were North Korea devoid of other sponsors, this might not be a problem. But while China is keeping its distance in the name of neutrality, Russia is more than willing to deal. Two and a half years into a war many expected would last only weeks, Moscow badly needs ammunition, weapons and workers. Since late last year, it has received missiles and 5 million artillery shells from North Korea, according to South Korean estimates. The other side of the transaction is murkier, but Moscow may be assisting Pyongyang in developing ballistic missiles, satellites and launchers, air defense systems and other weapons. It could even help North Korea with its nuclear weapons program.

Secure in the belief that Russia will continue to need its help, North Korea has communicated to China its dissatisfaction with the recent level of Chinese support. For example, Pyongyang switched from a Chinese to a Russian satellite to broadcast its state television, and when hit with severe flooding this month, it turned down Beijing’s offer to support rescue efforts – reportedly leading to several drownings. China has not taken these slights lying down. According to reports in July, China ordered all North Korean workers in the country on expired visas to return home immediately, not gradually as Pyongyang had planned.

At the moment, China looks to be losing its influence over North Korea to Russia. But while Pyongyang’s interest in stabilizing its economy and earning international recognition of its status as a de facto nuclear-armed state is constant, Moscow’s pursuit of victory over Kyiv at nearly any cost is not. When the Ukraine war ends, Russia will not be as desperate for foreign weapons, though it may still be subject to sanctions by most advanced economies, in which case it could still benefit from cooperation with North Korea in the agricultural sector. At the same time, its recent gestures notwithstanding, Pyongyang cannot afford to alienate Beijing, its most important traditional ally. Similarly, China needs North Korea in the long term to support its strategic interests. The trilateral alliance of Kim’s dream is unlikely to happen, but China and North Korea’s partnership will be back on track sooner rather than later.

geopoliticalfutures.com · by Victoria Herczegh · August 13, 2024

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

De Oppresso Liber,

David Maxwell

Vice President, Center for Asia Pacific Strategy

Senior Fellow, Global Peace Foundation

Editor, Small Wars Journal

Twitter: @davidmaxwell161

email: david.maxwell161@gmail.com

If you do not read anything else in the 2017 National Security Strategy read this on page 14:

"A democracy is only as resilient as its people. An informed and engaged citizenry is the fundamental requirement for a free and resilient nation. For generations, our society has protected free press, free speech, and free thought. Today, actors such as Russia are using information tools in an attempt to undermine the legitimacy of democracies. Adversaries target media, political processes, financial networks, and personal data. The American public and private sectors must recognize this and work together to defend our way of life. No external threat can be allowed to shake our shared commitment to our values, undermine our system of government, or divide our Nation."

Access NSS HERE

Company Name | Website