|
Quotes of the Day:
“Everything we say, everything we do, and everything we fail to say or do will have its impact in other lands.”
- Dwight D. Eisenhower
"Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.”
- George Bernard Shaw
History is the witness that testifies to the passing of time; it illuminates reality, vitalizes memory, provides guidance in daily life and brings us tidings of antiquity.
- Cicero
1. FM calls for inter-Korean dialogue during brief encounter with North's envoy at ASEAN meetings
2. N. Korea, supply chain issue to be discussed in S. Korea-China high-level talks next week
3. N. Korea slams Pelosi's Panmunjom visit
4. S. Korean, Australian defense chiefs visit construction site for K9 howitzer factory
5. North Korea Offers Russia 100,000 ‘Volunteers’ for War on Ukraine, Russian State TV Says
6. Ukraine war LIVE – Putin should ACCEPT North Korea’s assistance in conflict, claims pundit
7. Hackers From North Korea Seen As Culprits In DeBridge Finance Cyberattack
8. North Korea calls Pelosi 'destroyer of international peace'
9. South Korea’s THAAD Missile Shield Reconsidered After North Korean Threats
10. My journey from North Korea to Columbia University
11. North Korea preparing for atomic tests, dodges sanctions in drive for weapons
12. North Korea Reports No New COVID Cases and an ‘Impossible’ Fatality Rate
13. Why We Know Even Less Than Usual About North Korea’s Food Situation
14. North Korean COVID-19/Fever Data Tracker
15. Freedom is not Free. If you don't fight for it, you will lose it eventually.
1. FM calls for inter-Korean dialogue during brief encounter with North's envoy at ASEAN meetings
Good work Minister Park. Keep trying to engage. The ball remains in Kim Jong Un's court.
It is too bad the ASEAN protocol people did not seat the two of them together at dinner and place a bottle (or more) of Soju between them. And after they should have retired to a drawing room together to watch the film, "Escape from Mogadishu" to see how north and South Korean diplomats can get along (I recommend them movie)
FM calls for inter-Korean dialogue during brief encounter with North's envoy at ASEAN meetings | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 채윤환 · August 6, 2022
PHNOM PENH, Aug. 6 (Yonhap) -- South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin has called for an unconditional dialogue between the two Koreas during his brief exchange with a North Korean envoy participating in the ASEAN Regional Forum in Phnom Penh, Seoul officials said.
During a welcome dinner on Thursday, Park greeted An Kwang-il, the North's ambassador to Indonesia and top delegate to the regional security forum.
During their conversation, Park said that inter-Korean talks without conditions were needed and expressed hopes for denuclearization for peace and security on the Korean Peninsula, and An replied that conditions should be created, a foreign ministry official said.
An, who doubles as the North's point man on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, attended the conference instead of Pyongyang's top diplomat Choe Son-hui.
Inter-Korean ties have been stalled amid a prolonged deadlock in nuclear talks between Washington and Pyongyang since the no-deal Hanoi summit between their leaders in 2019.
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 채윤환 · August 6, 2022
2. N. Korea, supply chain issue to be discussed in S. Korea-China high-level talks next week
This will give us a possible indication for the future direction of ROK-PRC relations. But we should not expect the PRC to assist the ROK (or the US) in solving security issues on the Korean peninsula. The dilemmas north Korea creates for the ROK (and for the US) far outweigh any benefit the PRC would gain if it helped to solve the nuclear issue.
N. Korea, supply chain issue to be discussed in S. Korea-China high-level talks next week | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 이치동 · August 6, 2022
SEOUL, Aug. 6 (Yonhap) -- South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin said Saturday his talks with China's top diplomat next week will focus on ways for cooperation on North Korea and stability in supply chains.
He is scheduled to make a three-day trip to the eastern Chinese port city of Qingdao from Monday, during which he will meet bilaterally with his counterpart Wang Yi. It comes as the neighboring countries mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic ties on Aug. 24.
In the talks, slated for Tuesday, the two sides will assess progress in their relations over the past three decades and discuss ways for further development, Park told reporters at Incheon International Airport. He returned from Cambodia, where a series of annual meetings, hosted by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), were held.
On agenda items in talks with Wang, Park cited how to strengthen "strategic communication" for a resolution to the North Korean nuclear issue and stability in global supply chains in the economic security field.
Park, meanwhile, said he used the sessions in Phnom Penh to explain the Yoon Suk-yeol administration's proactive efforts for closer ties with ASEAN. He attended the ASEAN-South Korea Ministerial Meeting on Thursday.
"(We) have agreed to expand cooperation in various sectors, including trade, diplomacy, security, development cooperation and cultural exchanges," he said.
The two sides agreed to strengthen coordination for the diplomacy-based denuclearization of North Korea, he added.
Park participated as well in the ASEAN Plus Three meeting, which also involves China and Japan, the East Asia Summit (EAS) Foreign Ministers' Meeting and the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF).
He used the meetings to stress Seoul's position that peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait is crucial for regional security and prosperity as well as its stance on such matters as the South China Sea, Myanmar and Ukraine.
He had one-on-one talks with counterparts from some other major countries, including the United States, Japan and Canada, on the sidelines of the sessions.
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 이치동 · August 6, 2022
3. N. Korea slams Pelosi's Panmunjom visit
We certainly would not expect a positive statement.
(LEAD) N. Korea slams Pelosi's Panmunjom visit | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 채윤환 · August 6, 2022
(ATTN: ADDS photo)
SEOUL, Aug. 6 (Yonhap) -- North Korea on Saturday condemned U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to the inter-Korean truce village of Panmunjom.
In a statement, Jo Yong-sam, director general of the foreign ministry's press and information department, also criticized Pelosi for talking about "strong and expanded deterrent" against threats from North Korea during her trip to South Korea earlier this week.
She made a two-day visit here from Wednesday following a trip to Taiwan. She had talks with National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo and a phone call with President Yoon Suk-yeol.
She then visited the Joint Security Area of Panmunjom inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).
It demonstrates the "hostile policy of the current U.S. administration towards the DPRK," the North's official said in the English-language statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency.
Pelosi, who is "the worst destroyer of international peace and stability had incited the atmosphere of confrontation with Russia during her visit to Ukraine in April, and incurred the wrath of the Chinese people for her recent junket to Taiwan," Jo said.
He warned that it "would be a fatal mistake for her to think that she can go scot-free in the Korean Peninsula. The U.S. will have to pay dearly for all the sources of trouble spawned by her wherever she went."
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 채윤환 · August 6, 2022
4. S. Korean, Australian defense chiefs visit construction site for K9 howitzer factory
We are going to see a future with Korean weapons around the free world. (with north Korean weapons still proliferating to authoritarian regimes and terrorist organzations).
S. Korean, Australian defense chiefs visit construction site for K9 howitzer factory | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 송상호 · August 5, 2022
SEOUL, Aug. 5 (Yonhap) -- The defense chiefs of South Korea and Australia visited the construction site for a South Korean firm's howitzer factory in Australia on Friday, Lee's ministry said, a visit designed to highlight their shared desire for stronger arms industry cooperation.
Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup and his Australian counterpart, Richard Marles, toured the K9 self-propelled howitzer factory of Hanwha Defense in Geelong -- Marles' hometown and local constituency -- following their talks on bilateral cooperation the previous day.
The visit was arranged based on Marles' proposal to underline Geelong's industrial capacity and the potential for bilateral defense industry cooperation, according to the ministry. Libby Coker, a member of the Australian Parliament, was also present.
"While touring the factory premises, the two ministers shared the understanding that Australia's K9 project will be a symbol of bilateral defense industry cooperation and a foundation for an expansion into mutually beneficial cooperation," the ministry said in a press release.
On the same day, the ministers also visited Deakin University, a key institute for industry-academia defense cooperation.
There, they shared the view on the need for the two countries to further activate technological cooperation, the ministry said.
sshluck@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 송상호 · August 5, 2022
5. North Korea Offers Russia 100,000 ‘Volunteers’ for War on Ukraine, Russian State TV Says
Circular reporting. But it bears watching,
North Korea Offers Russia 100,000 ‘Volunteers’ for War on Ukraine, Russian State TV Says
By DIANA GLEBOVA
August 5, 2022 4:20 PM
https://www.nationalreview.com/news/north-korea-offers-russia-100000-volunteers-for-war-on-ukraine-russian-state-tv-says/
North Korea has offered Russia 100,000 “volunteers” to aid in the war against Ukraine, according to Russian state TV.
“There are reports that 100,000 North Korean volunteers are prepared to come and take part in the conflict,” talk show host Igor Korotchenko said on Russian Channel One, the New York Post reported.
TOP STORIES
North Korea Threatens Nuclear Strike on U.S.
DIANA GLEBOVA
Are People Just Getting Crazier?
JIM GERAGHTY
Rebekah Jones Disqualified from Running in Florida Democratic Primary
RYAN MILLS
The reports come as Russia’s military force is depleted after its unsuccessful attempt to take key parts of Ukraine, including the capital of Kyiv.
Some estimates put the number of Russian soldiers killed as high as 15,000 to 25,000. Accounting for over five months of the war, that puts Russia’s casualty count to about 100 soldiers a day.
Korotchenko also alluded to reports indicating Russia has invited North Korean “builders” to repair Russian-occupied Donbas.
PHOTOS: Pyongyang Military Parade
Alexander Matsegora, the Russian ambassador to North Korea, said in an interview in July, “Korean builders who are highly qualified, hardworking and ready to work in the most difficult conditions, will be a very serious” part in building the destroyed infrastructure in Donbas.
Korotchenko called North Korean builders “resident and undemanding” and said that most importantly, they are “motivated.”
U.S. Says Russia Has ‘Forcibly Deported’ Upwards of 1.6 Million Ukrainians: ‘War Crime’
Russia Recruits North Koreans to Rebuild Occupied Donbas
Putin’s Genocide in Ukraine
North Korea and Russia have experienced a closer partnership after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with North Korea being one of the only counties in the world to recognize Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR) and the Luhansk People’s Republic (LNR) as independent.
Matsegora claimed in the interview that North Korea receives nothing for cooperating with Russia, and said it just acted according to its “conscience.”
“North Korea is one of the very few countries that can afford to pursue a completely independent foreign policy. No one – neither Russia with China, let alone the United States – can force North Koreans to do something or not to do something,” the ambassador added, promising to aid North Korea fight its sanctions on the global stage.
“In the new reality in which we exist, in which the DPRK exists, in which the republics of Donbass will exist, we need to get used to living in conditions of all kinds of restrictions,” Matsegora concluded.
6. Ukraine war LIVE – Putin should ACCEPT North Korea’s assistance in conflict, claims pundit
Ukraine war LIVE – Putin should ACCEPT North Korea’s assistance in conflict, claims pundit
Matt Snape
5:30 ET, Aug 6 2022Updated: 11:05 ET, Aug 6 2022
https://www.the-sun.com/news/5935189/ukraine-war-news-russia-latest-north-korea/
RUSSIA "should not be shy about accepting the hand of Kim Jong-un", a military pundit has said on Russian television.
Igor Korotchenko, speaking on Russia-1, the country’s most-watched channel, suggested North Korean workers are “ready to work alongside” Russia in the conflict in Ukraine and that they should be “given the green light” to assist the war effort.
The pundits later joked about the importance of their relationship with both North Korea and China in fighting against the West, with Korotchenko adding that it was “time to open our border with North Korea and establish normal trade”, thwarting in the process the “UN sanctions regime” on Kim Jong-un’s dictatorship.
7. Hackers From North Korea Seen As Culprits In DeBridge Finance Cyberattack
The all purpose sword continues to strike.
Hackers From North Korea Seen As Culprits In DeBridge Finance Cyberattack | Bitcoinist.com
bitcoinist.com · by Jet Encila · August 6, 2022
Hackers from North Korea has reportedly found a new victim in DeBridge Finance, a cross-chain interoperability and liquidity transfer protocol, multiple sources disclose, Saturday.
Based on DeBridge’s initial assessment, the attempted cyberattack likely originated from the notorious North Korean hacking syndicate, Lazarus Group.
5 BTC + 300 Free Spins for new players & 15 BTC + 35.000 Free Spins every month, only at mBitcasino. Play Now!
Several DeBridge team members received a faked email containing a PDF file titled “New Salary Adjustments” that was purportedly sent by DeBridge co-founder Alex Smirnov.
According to Smirnov, a significant number of DeBridge staff received emails from the hackers. Upon viewing and downloading the PDF file, the PCs were infected with a malware that collects data.
“Fast investigation revealed that the received script captures several computer-related details and sends them to the attacker’s command and control center,” Smirnov added.
17/ Indicators of Compromise: CnC: www[.]googlesheet[.]info
New Salary Adjustments.pdf (clean): 15a42f76f41c8f4bab828160e4fd39c2
New Salary Adjustments.pdf (with password): 00380fcbb2af75ec177301d44d658bc4
password.txt.lnk: 2eaa53ccb43cd38a1f0a28abcd7f6a30
— deAlex (@AlexSmirnov__) August 5, 2022
BitStarz Player Lands $2,459,124 Record Win! Could you be next big winner?
Get 110 USDT Futures Bonus for FREE!
Lazarus Hackers Behind High-Profile Attacks In Recent Years
Email spoofing is a type of attack in which a malicious email is made to appear to have originated from a trustworthy source, in this case, the co-founder of the company.
Smirnov asserts that Lazarus Group hackers utilized the PDF names “New Salary Adjustments” in past hacks, and he cautioned all Web3 teams to remain vigilant for similar intrusions.
What is the best crypto casino in July 2022? Read our comprehensive comparison! We made deposits, played and reviewed 80+ crypto casinos to choose the best one.
Lazarus is responsible for some of the most prominent security breaches in recent years, including the 2014 Sony hack.
The group goes after crypto-based enterprises around the world. It recently targeted Axie Infinity’s Ronin Bridge and carted off more than $622 million, making it the biggest hack in crypto history.
Image: Bleeping Computer
Arthur Cheong, the founder of DeFiance Capital, stated that Lazarus is simply one of numerous cyber syndicates supported by North Korea that are actively targeting the global crypto industry.
David Schwed, CEO of blockchain security firm Halborn, says:
“These types of attacks are pretty prevalent… they rely on the inquisitive character of people by labeling the files something that would spark their curiosity, such as salary information.”
Cybersecurity firm Kaspersky has reiterated Cheong’s warnings, warning that a new group known as BlueNoroff is currently targeting cryptocurrency firms.
Buffett: Cyberattacks Bigger Threat Than Nukes
Recently, the U.S. Justice Department recouped $500,000 from North Korean hackers who compelled two American medical facilities to pay Bitcoin ransom payments.
Warren Buffet, a billionaire businessman and philanthropist, views cybercrime as one of humankind’s biggest problems and cyberattacks as a greater threat to humanity than nuclear or biological weapons.
In April 1955, the contemporary definition of the term “hack” was coined at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The Tech published the first recorded mention of computer (phone) hacking in 1963.
The evolution of the world’s threat landscape – from phone systems to a massive datasphere – has eclipsed humanity’s capacity to safeguard it in the past few decades.
Crypto total market cap at $1.07 trillion on the daily chart | Source: TradingView.com
Featured image from BitDegree, chart from TradingView.com
bitcoinist.com · by Jet Encila · August 6, 2022
8. North Korea calls Pelosi 'destroyer of international peace'
And of course the north Korean Propaganda and Agitation Department is supporting CHinese (and even Russian) themes and messages.
North Korea calls Pelosi 'destroyer of international peace'
AP · by HYUNG-JIN KIM · August 6, 2022
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea on Saturday called U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi “the worst destroyer of international peace and stability,” accusing her of inciting anti-North Korea sentiment and enraging China during her Asian tour earlier this week.
Pelosi traveled to South Korea after visiting Taiwan, which had prompted China to launch military exercises including missile strike training in waters near the self-governed island. China views Taiwan as part of its own territory to be annexed by force if necessary.
While in South Korea, Pelosi visited a border area with North Korea and discussed the North’s nuclear program with South Korean National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin Pyo. According to Kim, the two agreed to support their governments’ push for denuclearization and peace on the Korean Peninsula based on strong, extended deterrence against the North and diplomacy.
On Saturday, Jo Yong Sam, director general at the North Korean Foreign Ministry’s press and information affairs department, slammed Pelosi over her visit to the border and discussion of anti-North Korean deterrence.
ADVERTISEMENT
“Pelosi, who had come under a volley of due criticism from China for destroying regional peace and stability by visiting Taiwan, stirred up the atmosphere of confrontation” with North Korea during her stay in South Korea, Jo said in a statement carried by state media.
China cuts off vital US contacts over Pelosi Taiwan visit
Pelosi: China cannot isolate Taiwan by preventing visits
Blinken: China military drills are 'significant escalation'
EXPLAINER: Why is China staging drills around Taiwan?
Calling Pelosi “the worst destroyer of international peace and stability,” Jo argued Pelosi’s behavior in South Korea clearly showed the Biden administration’s hostile policy toward North Korea.
“It would be a fatal mistake for her to think that she can go scot-free in the Korean Peninsula,” Jo warned. “The U.S. will have to pay dearly for all the sources of trouble spawned by her wherever she went.”
Pelosi’s visit to the Joint Security Area at the Korean border on Thursday made her the highest-profile American to go there since then-President Donald Trump visited in 2019 for a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Located inside the world’s most heavily fortified border, the area is jointly controlled by the American-led United Nations Command and North Korea. U.S. presidents and other top officials have previously traveled to the area to reaffirm their security commitment to South Korea in times of animosities with North Korea.
During her JSA visit, Pelosi didn’t make any strong public statements against North Korea. She uploaded several photos from the JSA on Twitter and wrote: “We conveyed the gratitude of the Congress and the Country for the patriotic service of our servicemembers, who stand as sentinels of Democracy on the Korean Peninsula.”
Pelosi said in a separate statement that she and Kim, the South Korean parliamentary speaker, reaffirmed “our commitment to the U.S.-Korea alliance to advance security, strengthen our supply chains, and increase trade and investments that are beneficial to both our nations.”
Tensions on the Korean Peninsula remain high following North Korea’s torrid run of missile tests earlier this year. U.S. and South Korean officials said North Korea is ready to carry out its first nuclear weapons test in five years.
ADVERTISEMENT
North Korea has said it would not return to denuclearization talks and instead focus on expanding its nuclear program unless the United States drops its hostile policies, in an apparent reference to U.S.-led international sanctions on the North and its regular military drills with South Korea.
After Pelosi visited Taiwan and reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to defending democracy on the self-governing island, North Korea on Wednesday issued a statement berating the U.S. and supporting China, its main ally and biggest aid benefactor.
Pelosi was the the first House speaker to visit Taiwan in 25 years.
AP · by HYUNG-JIN KIM · August 6, 2022
9. South Korea’s THAAD Missile Shield Reconsidered After North Korean Threats
Comments from a number of us.
Not to disrespect VOA journalist Ms Lee because not all comments provided can be used in a story but here are all the comments I provided for context (I think she used my best sound bite comments!).
First and foremost on THAAD, any decision will be made solely based on ROK/US consultations and the necessity for improving the defense of the ROK, protecting its population, defending ROK and US military personnel, and serving US interests in the region. China (and north Korea) do not get a vote on how the alliance defends itself.
I also take some exception to the notion the previous ROK administration accepted the Three No's. As far as I know the Moon administration denied this and it is only China who said that Moon agreed and it is only China that discusses them because they are solely in Chinese interests. They go against ROK sovereignty and self defense.
But regardless, President Yoon and the people of South Korea are not bound by any agreements that put their country and the lives of its people at risk and the "Three No's" does just that.
The only "No" from President Yoon must be a resounding "HELL NO." (e.g., Hell no we won't accept your "three No's.") South Korea as a global pivotal state must not appease north Korea nor kowtow to China.
We should have no doubt that China fears integrated missile defense but most of all a trilateral ROK-Japan-US alliance. Additional THAAD deployment, integrated missile defense, and a trilateral alliance all upset China because they indicate the strength and resolve of the three nations. If China is so afraid of it, then perhaps the ROK and Japan should seriously pursue it.
We should expect China and north Korea to rhetorically attack the upcoming Pacific Dragon missile defense exercises as well,
The bottomline is that Seoul should not take into account China's position on THAAD whatsoever. The ROK is a sovereign country responsible for its own defense and as part of an alliance will make decisions on how the alliance can best ensure the security of the ROK.
That said, we should expect China to undertake economic warfare against the ROK as it did in 2017. This time it is imperative that the US and like minded democracies come to the economic defense of the ROK and continue to call out China for its flagrant disregard for the rules-based international order.
South Korea’s THAAD Missile Shield Reconsidered After North Korean Threats
August 05, 2022 3:05 AM
voanews.com
WASHINGTON —
South Korea’s new government has signaled a willingness to consider expanding its use of the U.S.-deployed THAAD missile shield in the face of growing evidence that North Korea is preparing to conduct a nuclear test.
Defense experts say the move, which would reverse existing policy and be strongly opposed by China, makes sense in light of Beijing’s reluctance to curb Pyongyang's recent series of missile launches.
The previous South Korean administration of Moon Jae-in opted out of deploying any additional U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile systems as a way to placate China in 2017, when South Korea received the shield. THAAD, designed to intercept short- and medium-range ballistic missiles, has been deployed throughout the world.
The policy, known as the “Three Nos,” called for no additional THAAD deployment, no participation in a U.S. missile defense system, no formation of a trilateral military alliance with Washington and Tokyo.
The Moon administration floated the “Three Nos” in October 2017 after Beijing launched a costly campaign of economic retaliation against South Korea. Seoul had decided the year before to allow placement of the THAAD system to defend itself against Pyongyang.
At the time, Beijing argued the THAAD system could be used to detect its missile activities. The economic retaliation is believed to continue in some South Korean regions, said President Yoon Suk Yeo's National Security Adviser Kim Sung-han in February during the election campaign, according to Reuters.
At a parliamentary hearing on July 25, South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin said, “The Three Nos was not a promise or agreement we made to China but an explanation of our position.”
He continued, “It is difficult to accept the call from China that we should keep the Three Nos policy even though the matter is of direct concern to our national security and sovereignty.”
In a tit-for-tat response, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian on July 27 said, “A commitment made should be a commitment kept despite change of government.”
He added, “China’s opposition to the U.S.’s deployment of THAAD in the ROK does not target the ROK side, but the U.S.’s malicious intention to deliberately undermine China’s strategic security.” South Korea’s official name is the Republic of Korea (ROK).
Outdated policy
Experts said the government of President Yoon Suk Yeol is not obligated to follow Moon’s Three Nos in the face of growing North Korean threats and Beijing’s unwillingness to dissuade Pyongyang from launching missiles.
“Things have changed since the Three Nos were discussed,” said Bruce Bennett, a senior defense analyst at the Rand Corporation.
“North Korea’s threat has become immensely greater,” he continued, and “China is failing as a great power” to “rein in the North Korean threat.”
On the same day Zhao spoke against augmenting the THAAD system, North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un said the country could use its nuclear arsenal in a conflict with the U.S. and South Korea.
North Korea has conducted 18 weapons tests this year including multiple ballistic missiles in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions.
China, along with Russia, vetoed a U.N. resolution, introduced by the U.S. in May, calling for new sanctions in response to Pyongyang’s accelerated ballistic missile launches.
Patrick Cronin, the Asia-Pacific security chair at the Hudson Institute, said, “At present, probably toward the end of this year, a seventh nuclear test by North Korea will require commensurate moves to ensure deterrence and strategic stability.”
He continued, “Thus, it behooves the Yoon administration to keep open its options regarding what are [its] very [best] defense systems, including THAAD.”
Cronin added, “President Yoon is not obligated to follow the policy of his predecessor. The Three Nos was a political policy out of the Moon administration, not a formal treaty commitment between two states.”
THAAD not for negotiations
Patricia Kim, a fellow at the Brookings Institution’s Center for East Asia Policy Studies, said, “South Korea should clearly convey that it has and will continue to make decisions based upon its national security interests.”
A spokesperson for the South Korean Foreign Ministry told VOA’s Korean Service on Wednesday that the Yoon government’s policies are grounded on a firm position of “protecting the life and safety of its people” as a core objective of its national security “amid heightened nuclear and missile threats from North Korea.”
Asked about Seoul’s position on possible additional THAAD deployments, the spokesperson said, “Anything that limits our national security and sovereign right is not subject to negotiations.”
VOA’s Korean Service contacted the Chinese embassy in Washington requesting comments on Beijing’s position on an additional THAAD placement in South Korea and was referred to Zhao’s July 27 comments.
David Maxwell, a senior fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies (FDD), said, “President Yoon and the people of South Korea are not bound by any agreements that put their country and the lives of its people at risk and the Three Nos does just that.”
Maxwell added, “We should expect China to undertake economic warfare against the ROK as it did in 2017.” He continued, “This time, it is imperative that the U.S. and like-minded democracies come to the economic defense of the ROK and continue to call out China for its flagrant disregard for the rules-based international order.”
voanews.com
10. My journey from North Korea to Columbia University
Of note, my friend Lee Soe-hyun was accepted to every graduate school to which she applied and she chose SIPA at Columbia.
Please watch her video at the link. https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/opinion/2022/08/728_333936.html?utm_source=pocket_mylist
Also, please consider donating to her gofundme campaign. https://www.gofundme.com/f/Join-Seohyun-for-Freedom-of-NorthKoreans?member=18771309&utm She will be giving back by helping to free the Korean people in the north.
My journey from North Korea to Columbia University
The Korea Times · August 6, 2022
Lee Seo-hyun/ Courtesy of Casey LartigueBy Lee Seo-hyun
On March 22nd, I received an email from Columbia University.
I logged on to check: had I been accepted? My heart was beating fast, and my hands were sweating. I clicked "view updates" and closed my eyes.
The first word that I saw when I opened my eyes was: "Welcome to SIPA" (the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University). Yes, I was accepted into my dream graduate school. It was one of the most exciting and happy moments in my life. However, that happiness didn't last long. Because I began to face the reality of the expensive tuition.
I never imagined that I would have this kind of opportunity in North Korea's "eternal enemy", the United States of America. Less than a decade ago, I was still brainwashed by the North Korean regime.
I was born and raised in North Korea's capital of Pyongyang. I was loyal to the regime, even after I had begun to have some doubts about the system. However, my belief and hope in the Kim regime completely vanished when many friends and their families were executed and sent to political prison camps.
I witnessed my best friend who was so loyal to the regime get dragged away. I will never forget receiving a text message from her saying "I don't think I can come back to school." Anger and resentment against the regime filled my body. I realized how desperately my country was in need of change.
About a year later, I escaped to South Korea and after that moved to the United States. I began volunteering behind the scenes for various North Korean causes, especially in the area of human rights violations. Then, working with different entities and organizations, I began engaging in strategically disseminating information to North Koreans. In the last three years, I started speaking out publicly to raise awareness of North Korean human rights violations. Most recently, I spoke at TEDx UCLA.
Through my last couple of years of activism, I learned the necessity of examining North Korea issues in a larger global context. When I first began my activism, the solution to the root of all the problems related to North Korea seemed to be simple: change the Kim regime. However, the more I experienced, the more I learned that it's much more complicated. Therefore, I decided to go to school in America to have a deeper knowledge of international relations in order to tackle the North Korea issues effectively.
When I read the acceptance letter from Columbia University, I thought about how I have gone from helping behind the scenes, engaging in information dissemination and public speaking, and now having this opportunity to begin a new phase of activism for the freedom of North Koreans.
I'm going to study International Affairs at Columbia (concentrating on International Security Policy and International Finance and Economic Policy.) I hope this formal education will equip me with a deeper knowledge of North Korea issues - all with the goal of one day freeing North Koreans from the grips of a dictator and bringing peace to the Korean Peninsula, and furthermore, the regional area.
Only one month left until classes start, I am now frantically raising money from scholarships, grants, and other funding opportunities that were available (such as the Bush Foundation, Freedom Speakers International, LiNK, SIPA admissions and others). I have also set up a GoFundMe.
I cannot continue my journey freeing North Koreans from the oppressive regime without your help. When the time comes, I will "pay it forward," and pass on the same love and support that you have shown me.
Casey Lartigue, co-founder along with Lee Eun-koo of Freedom Speakers International and co-author with Han Song-mi of Greenlight to Freedom, edited this text for publication.
The Korea Times · August 6, 2022
11. North Korea preparing for atomic tests, dodges sanctions in drive for weapons
Political warfare, blackmail diplomacy, and warfighting strategies.
North Korea preparing for atomic tests, dodges sanctions in drive for weapons
foxnews.com · by Peter Aitken | Fox News
Video
Gen. Keane: Shinzo Abe was wary of threats to Japan from China, North Korea
Fox News senior strategic analyst Gen. Jack Keane (Ret.) on the relationship the U.S. had with Shinzo Abe and his time as Japan’s prime minister
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
A new U.N. draft report reveals that North Korea has expanded its weapons testing facilities, indicating that the hermit kingdom may intend to start testing nuclear weapons in the near future.
The report was obtained by Japan's Nikkei news website and laid out findings that indicate North Korea has started to dig new tunnels at the Punggye-ri test site, which could allow the government to conduct "additional nuclear tests for the development of nuclear weapons."
The report covers the first half of 2022 and also details ways in which North Korea has managed to dodge sanctions and continue funding its operations. The U.N. Security Council’s North Korea sanctions committee will discuss the findings before releasing the report.
The committee may choose to take additional actions — including further sanctions — based on the findings from the report.
BIDEN TEAM CAN'T PUNT ON NORTH KOREA MISSILE PROGRAM AS OBAMA DID
Secretary of State Antony Blinken addressed the U.N. General Assembly during the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review conference on Monday, and claimed that Pyongyang "is preparing to conduct its seventh nuclear test."
"The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea continues to expand its unlawful nuclear program and continues its ongoing provocations against the region," he said.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends a convocation of the Expansion of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea in this photo released by the country's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on June 23, 2022. (KCNA via Reuters)
Pyongyang responded with a statement on Wednesday in which it labeled Blinken’s comments as "anti-DPRK confrontational clamor."
"A long time ago, the DPRK pulled out of the NPT through the legitimate procedure under the relevant article stipulated in the NPT," officials wrote. "Accordingly, nobody has the right or justification to accuse the DPRK, a nuclear possessing state outside the NPT, of its exercise of the right to self-defense."
IRANIAN OFFICIALS OPENLY DISCUSS COUNTRY'S ABILITY TO MAKE NUCLEAR WEAPON
North Korea accused the U.S. of trying to undermine "the foundation of the non-proliferation regime" and remaining "hell-bent on nuclear threats and blackmail against sovereign states."
- next
- Image 1 of 3
- South Korean and U.S. missiles are displayed at Korea War Memorial Museum in Seoul, South Korea, on May 26, 2022. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File))
- prev next
- Image 2 of 3
- In this photo distributed by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, walks around what it says is a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) at an undisclosed location in North Korea on March 24, 2022. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP, File)
- prev
- Image 3 of 3
- This photo, distributed by the North Korean government, shows what it says is a test-fire of a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) at an undisclosed location in North Korea on March 24, 2022. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP) ( )
"The United States itself would not deny the fact that it has transferred the technology of a nuclear-powered submarine to Australia and connived at and patronized Israel's possession of nuclear weapons," the statement continued. "It is the peak of busy blaming that the United States alleges somebody's ‘nuclear threats’ given the fact that it is the kingpin of nuclear proliferation which has historically and systematically violated its obligations under the treaty one article after another and disrupted international peace and regional security."
NORTH KOREA REPORTS NO NEW COVID CASES AMID DOUBTS ABOUT NATION'S STATISTICS
North and South Korea have claimed that Pyongyang can conduct a nuclear test "any time it decides," but the hermit kingdom continues to face obstacles — chief among them a fresh outbreak of COVID-19 that started in May.
Although satellite imagery of the North’s Punggye-ri nuclear site indicates that Pyongyang has been steadily restoring tunnel 3 of the nuclear site, no public remarks or reports over the nuclear test have been made.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The sixth and currently last nuclear test North Korea conducted occurred in 2017. The test of a hydrogen bomb triggered a magnitude 6.3 earthquake, and North Korea claimed the test was a "perfect success."
The U.N. Security Council is expected to meet on the sanctions report in a closed session later this month.
Peter Aitken is a Fox News Digital reporter with a focus on national and global news.
foxnews.com · by Peter Aitken | Fox News
12. North Korea Reports No New COVID Cases and an ‘Impossible’ Fatality Rate
This has been a major propaganda operation by the regime.
North Korea Reports No New COVID Cases and an ‘Impossible’ Fatality Rate
State media claims the country's "fever" outbreak has entered a "phase of stability," reporting the lowest fatality rate in the world by some margin.
Gavin Butler
By Gavin Butler
MELBOURNE, AU
Vice · by Gavin Butler · August 5, 2022
North Korea has emerged from its first wave of COVID-19 with by far the lowest fatality rate of any country in the pandemic’s history, at least according to state media.
In the almost three months since they abruptly announced the country’s first official outbreak, their leader Kim Jong Un and the Workers' Party of North Korea have largely avoided referring to the virus as COVID, describing it instead as an “obscure febrile disease” and “fever.”
Advertisement
But on Friday, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) announced that all patients suffering from “fever” had recovered, adding that the country’s “anti-epidemic situation” had “entered a definite phase of stability.” Reports further declared that North Korea would “redouble efforts to maintain perfection in the execution of state anti-epidemic policies.”
KCNA claimed that about 4.77 million fever patients had fully recovered since late April—and that of those, just 74 had died. That would make North Korea’s COVID fatality rate the lowest in the world by a considerable margin. The live mortality analyses tracker from Johns Hopkins University’s Coronavirus Resource Centre currently lists Bhutan as having the world’s lowest death-infection ratio, with just 21 fatalities from 60,530 COVID cases. Even that as a percentage (0.03) is so vanishingly small that Johns Hopkins rounds it down to zero. North Korea’s works out to be about 0.0016 percent.
The announcement, which came just five days after KCNA declared that there were no new “fever” cases in the country for the first time since mid-May, has drawn suspicion from experts, who claim the figures being publicly released by the North Korean government border on the impossible.
Advertisement
“North Korean propaganda is telling us that the outbreak that they said started in April is essentially over,” Colin Zwirko, senior analytical correspondent at NK News, told VICE World News. “They've been telling us for months how many fever cases there have been on a daily basis throughout the country, and now they've said for the last almost one week straight that there is nobody in the entire country who has had a fever. That’s obviously unreasonable and probably impossible.”
World News
Gavin Butler
05.18.22
Shin Young-jeon, a professor at Hanyang University's medical school in Seoul, was similarly incredulous, also saying the figures were nearly “impossible.” He suggested that given the number of fever cases, the fatality rates reported in other countries, and the potential of unreported cases throughout North Korea, there could be as many as 50,000 COVID deaths.
The potentially misleading data coming out of North Korea “could result from a combination of a lack of testing capacity, counting issues given the fact that old people have higher chances of dying from COVID mostly from home, and political reasons that the leadership do not want to publicise a massive death toll,” Shin wrote in an analysis released on July 29.
Zwirko further pointed out that North Korea’s public claims and statistics shouldn’t be trusted, in part because of the government’s insistence on using ambiguous language and being “openly unscientific” about their reporting methods. There is, however, some indication that the uncontrolled spread of the virus is no longer a major concern for North Korean authorities.
World News
Gavin Butler
06.17.22
“One pretty useful piece of evidence that they're trying to get back to normal and that there's no uncontrolled spread of the virus right now is that they held large-scale celebrations in every major city in the country on July 27,” Zwirko pointed out. “So they're definitely showing us that they're confident that there's no current uncontrolled spread of the virus. [But] I think that's about as far as we can go with determining just how much of the virus is left in the country.”
South Korea's Unification Minister Kwon Young-se, who is responsible for inter-Korean affairs, said this week that while there were “credibility issues” with the North's data, the COVID situation seemed “somewhat under control.”
Follow Gavin Butler on Twitter.
Vice · by Gavin Butler · August 5, 2022
13. Why We Know Even Less Than Usual About North Korea’s Food Situation
Conclusion:
While estimates of North Korea’s weather conditions are highly valuable for projecting its food supplies over the coming months, there are many crucial things the data doesn’t tell us. Aggregate production figures certainly matter for overall harvest prospects, but equally, if not more, important is distribution inside the country. In other words, we don’t know enough about who does and does not have access to food in North Korea or precisely what proportion of people’s food items come from the market, the state and kitchen gardens. While all of this information may be too much to realistically ask for, previous assessments by the FAO and WFP have included limited data such as market prices and agricultural production projections based on local soil samples. But for now, the combination of increased government-imposed seclusion and North Korea’s COVID-19 lockdown has undoubtedly made the country’s actual food situation and 2022 harvests even more difficult to evaluate than in pre-pandemic years.
Why We Know Even Less Than Usual About North Korea’s Food Situation
https://www.38north.org/2022/08/why-we-know-even-less-than-usual-about-north-koreas-food-situation/
Even in a normal year, North Korea’s food situation would be difficult to parse. This year, however, it is more trying than usual, largely due to the North Korean government’s response to the global pandemic. Since the country closed its border in early 2020, international humanitarian institutions, such as the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and the World Food Program (WFP), have been unable to conduct on-site monitoring missions. Furthermore, trustworthy information from inside the country has been even harder to come by due to tight border controls.
So, what are we to make of the reports of food shortages over the past few months? Carefully scrutinizing the available data pertaining to North Korea’s food situation, we can surmise the broad contours of this and how it is likely to evolve over the coming months. Overall, the situation appears precarious and fragile, but not exceptionally dire.
How We Know What We Know
It is crucial to examine how we know what we know. With no monitoring missions allowed into the country during its lockdown period, there is virtually no verifiable, first-hand information about its current agricultural conditions. In May this year, state media warned that the food situation would become tense, and Kim Jong Un called for an “all-out fight” against drought. Since then, North Korean media has published little information on the food situation. For example, a recent cabinet meeting discussed the economy, but the country’s agricultural situation was not mentioned in state media.[1]
The means available to understand the situation are few but vital. One assessment from the WFP published in June this year chiefly used satellite imagery and data from North Korean authorities to examine weather conditions pertaining to harvests. The FAO released a similarly sourced assessment in June 2021. This data is invaluable for surveying the North’s food situation, but it is not a substitute for on-site visits, which can give a much more detailed picture of what North Korean households are facing when it comes to food supplies.
Market price data is also a crucial source, but it comes with severe limitations as well. In theory, rapidly rising prices on staple goods, such as rice and corn, should broadly indicate whether there are food shortages in the country. The opposite—fixed or falling prices—should conversely indicate a somewhat stable food supply. However, in North Korea’s situation, prices may not rise even during a shortage. The general public’s declined purchasing power may make it difficult for sellers to raise prices even when supply declines. This likely serves as a partial explanation for the North Korean markets maintaining price stability during much of the pandemic.
Time is also a factor. North Korea is currently in the harvest season for spring crops, which are typically sown in March and harvested in July. Spring crops do not significantly contribute to the production of cereals, such as rice and corn. However, half of North Korea’s production of potatoes, which are an important staple during the lean summer months before the main autumn harvest, comes from the crops harvested in the spring.[2] In North Korea, the spring cropping season stretches from April-October and coincides with the main rainy season. Thus, there is little we can say at this time about North Korea’s food situation as a whole. The information that exists is restricted to limited data for the country’s most recent winter crops (the last WFP assessment was published in June 2022) and some weather- and climate-based weather projections for the rest of the season. That said, this information can only be applied so far as actual harvest results do not always conform to predictions and estimates.
What the Data Tells Us
Considering these limitations, what does the available data suggest about current and future food supplies in North Korea? Since the country’s rainy season runs from July-September, we won’t have a clear picture of the exact situation for several weeks. The predictive and historical data that we have for the past year paints a mixed and somewhat concerning picture.
According to the WFP, the lack of sufficient snow the past winter poses a significant problem for this year’s winter crops (sown in October, harvested in June) and current spring ones. Ideally, there would be enough snow in the winter that would supply the fields with water when it melts. Snow coverage also protects winter crops from freezing. Snowfall this past winter, as estimated via satellite imagery, was “markedly below average,” resulting in a poor water supply for the winter, spring and summer crops.[3] At the same time, while snowfall was significantly below average, it was, according to the WFP, slightly better than the “extremely dry” 2020-2021 crop year.
Similarly, while rainfall has been problematically low, it has not been too far outside the historical norm. Rainfall was lower than normal this past April and May. This led to a delay in planting and early crop development and the overall lower production of winter and spring crops. At the time of its release, the June WFP assessment projected that rainfall deficits would improve through the rest of the month, after the early weeks of June had already been very wet.[4] Projections for the July–September period, which account for 65 percent of North Korea’s total rainfall each year, hold that rain accumulation will most likely be around average, but overall weather conditions will be warmer than usual, which means that crops will require more water than usual. It will be crucial to monitor weather conditions over the coming weeks and months, especially as the country’s food situation is already so fragile. At the same time, the current existing data does not seem to indicate that weather conditions for this year’s harvests will be exceptionally problematic.
Conclusion
While estimates of North Korea’s weather conditions are highly valuable for projecting its food supplies over the coming months, there are many crucial things the data doesn’t tell us. Aggregate production figures certainly matter for overall harvest prospects, but equally, if not more, important is distribution inside the country. In other words, we don’t know enough about who does and does not have access to food in North Korea or precisely what proportion of people’s food items come from the market, the state and kitchen gardens. While all of this information may be too much to realistically ask for, previous assessments by the FAO and WFP have included limited data such as market prices and agricultural production projections based on local soil samples. But for now, the combination of increased government-imposed seclusion and North Korea’s COVID-19 lockdown has undoubtedly made the country’s actual food situation and 2022 harvests even more difficult to evaluate than in pre-pandemic years.
- [1]
- “Enlarged Plenary Meeting of Cabinet Held,” Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), July 15, 2022.
- [2]
-
World Food Program, “North Korea: Season 2022,” June 2022, retrieved at https://reliefweb.int/attachments/a052a7f2-5759-4cd2-bd58-5de5dced6bb6/WFP-0000140465.pdf, accessed 25/7/2022.
- [3]
- Ibid.
- [4]
- Ibid.
14. North Korean COVID-19/Fever Data Tracker
Graphs and data at the link.
North Korean COVID-19/Fever Data Tracker
Article last updated on August 4, 2022.
After two years of claiming no confirmed COVID-19 cases, North Korea disclosed a nationwide outbreak on May 13 and launched emergency epidemic prevention measures. The epidemic began in late April.
Officially, only a handful of cases have been confirmed as COVID-19, with the rest attributed to an unidentified “fever.” This is likely due to insufficient testing capabilities, and many are assumed to be COVID-19 related, however, that might not be the entire picture. North Korean state media has been publishing daily data on the outbreak, which is featured below. 38 North will update these numbers daily as new information becomes available.
Current Situation
North Korea reported five people recovered from Covid-19/fever on Wednesday to leave the country with no current cases – at least according to the state figures. Since soon after the country declared an outbreak in mid May, the number of cases has trended downwards and on Wednesday, finally reached zero. The announcement was made with little fanfare and the emergency anti-epidemic regulations look set to continue despite the apparent lack of cases.
Little is known about how North Korea collects this data and even classifies and confirms cases, so the actual situation in the country is unclear. Simply based on the global experience, it is almost certain that cases still exist in the country so the continuation of emergency protocols is likely necessary.
At its peak the country had 754,810 current cases on May 19. Over the course of the outbreak, 4.7 million people or 18.5 percent of the population have experienced fever, according to the government figures. There have been only 74 fatalities, according to the state.
Provincial Data
Previous Updates
15. Freedom is not Free. If you don't fight for it, you will lose it eventually.
Please take 11 minutes and watch this video from my good friend and now colleague at the Global Peace Foundation, Hyun Seung Lee.
Freedom is not Free. If you don't fight for it, you will lose it eventually.
Jul 22, 2022 One Korea Network's Washington DC Director, Hyun-Seung Lee (North Korean Escapee) spoke at the Captive Nations Summit on July 20th. Each July, the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation leads efforts to mark National Captive Nations Week, in fulfillment of the 1959 congressional resolution adopted during the Eisenhower administration to show American solidarity with nations subjugated by communism.
This year, VOC was honored for Mrs. Olena Zelenska, the First Lady of Ukraine to accept VOC’s Dissident Human Rights Award on behalf of the people of Ukraine for their brave fight for freedom against Russia’s war of aggression.
Full video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dm51w...
#VOC #NorthKoreanEscapee #HyunseungLee
De Oppresso Liber,
David Maxwell
Senior Fellow, Foundation for Defense of Democracies
Senior Fellow, Global Peace Foundation
Senior Advisor, Center for Asia Pacific Strategy
Editor, Small Wars Journal
Twitter: @davidmaxwell161
VIDEO "WHEREBY" Link: https://whereby.com/david-maxwell
Phone: 202-573-8647
email: david.maxwell161@gmail.com
| 
