Quotes of the Day:

"I have always thought the actions of men the best interpreters of their thoughts." 

- John Locke

"Our lives are frittered away by detail; simplify, simplify." 

- Henry David Thoreau

"Wrong does not cease to be wrong because the majority share in it."

- Leo Tolstoy

1. North Korea's Kim vows full support for Russia’s 'just fight' after viewing launchpads with Putin

2. Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin Meet at Russia’s Vostochny Cosmodrome

3. N. Korea fires 2 short-range ballistic missiles into East Sea ahead of Kim-Putin summit

4. Kim tells Putin N. Korea supports Russia's 'sacred fight' against West

5. Kim Jong Un arrives by train in Russia for Putin meeting about arms deals

6. Kim Jong Un arrives by train in Russia for Putin meeting about arms deals

7. Yoon names new ministers of defense, culture, gender equality

8. Kim and Putin Discuss Deepening Ties as Ukraine War Looms Over Summit

9. North Korea-Russia relations moving to ‘fresh higher level,’ Kim says

10. The Sleeper Has Awakened: Six Key Takeaways From the Rollout of North Korea’s “Tactical Nuclear Attack Submarine”

11. Russia promises to help North Korea build satellites

12. US will not hesitate to take action if N. Korea provides weapons to Russia: state dept.

13. Creating unified Korea by means of visionary 'Declaration of Unification'

14. Kim, Putin to fortify ‘anti-imperialist’ united front, vow tech cooperation

15. Former N. Korean defector hunter reflects on her experiences

16. S. Korea to hold massive military parade for 1st time in decade

1. North Korea's Kim vows full support for Russia’s 'just fight' after viewing launchpads with Putin

North Korea's Kim vows full support for Russia’s 'just fight' after viewing launchpads with Putin

AP · September 13, 2023

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed support for Russia’s “just fight” during a summit with President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday that the U.S. warned could lead to a deal to supply ammunition for Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

After touring launch pads with Putin at a remote space base in Russia’s Far East, Kim expressed “full and unconditional support” and said Pyongyang will always stand with Moscow on the “anti-imperialist” front.

The leaders met at the Vostochny Cosmodrome for a summit that underscores how their interests are aligning in the face of their countries’ separate, intensifying confrontations with the United States. The talks lasted four to five hours, after which Kim left, Russia’s state news agency RIA Novosti reported.

North Korea may have tens of millions of aging artillery shells and rockets based on Soviet designs that could give a huge boost to the Russian army in Ukraine, analysts say.

The decision to meet at Cosmodrome, Russia’s most important launch center on its own soil, suggests that Kim is seeking Russian help developing military reconnaissance satellites, which he has described as crucial to enhance the threat of his nuclear-capable missiles. In recent months, North Korea has repeatedly failed to put its first military spy satellite into orbit.

But either buying arms from or providing rocket technology to North Korea would violate international sanctions that Russia has supported in the past.

Putin welcomed Kim’s limousine, brought from Pyongyang in the North Korean leader’s special armored train, at the entrance to the launch facility with a handshake that lasted around 40 seconds. In his opening remarks, Putin welcomed Kim to Russia and said he was glad to see him, saying the talks would cover economic cooperation, humanitarian issues and the “situation in the region.”

In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korea leader Kim Jong Un, front right, and Russian Natural Resources Minister Alexander Kozlov, front left, walk to a station building at Khasan station, Russia Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

Kim, in turn, expressed support for Moscow’s efforts to defend its interests, in an apparent reference to the war in Ukraine. “Russia is currently engaged in a just fight against hegemonic forces to defend its sovereign rights, security and interests,” the North Korean leader said. “I take this opportunity to affirm that we will always stand with Russia on the anti-imperialist front and the front of independence.”

The two men began their meeting with a tour of a Soyuz-2 space rocket launch facility, at which Kim peppered a Russian space official with questions about the rockets.

Kim and Putin then met together with their delegations and later one-on-one, according to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov. After the talks, the Russian president threw an official lunch for Kim, Russian state media reported.

The meeting came hours after North Korea fired two ballistic missiles toward the sea, extending a highly provocative run in North Korean weapons testing since the start of 2022, as Kim used the distraction caused by Putin’s war on Ukraine to accelerate his weapons development.

This Tuesday. Sept. 12, 2023, photo provided by the North Korean government shows that North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un, center, attends a welcome ceremony after crossing the border to Russia at Khasan, about 127 km (79 miles) south of Vladivostok. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff didn’t immediately say how far the North Korean missiles flew. Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said the missiles landed in the waters outside of the country’s exclusive economic zones and there were no reports of damages to vessels or aircraft.

Official photos showed that Kim was accompanied by Pak Thae Song, chairman of North Korea’s space science and technology committee, and navy Adm. Kim Myong Sik, who are linked with North Korean efforts to acquire spy satellites and nuclear-capable ballistic missile submarines, according to South Korea’s Unification Ministry.

Asked whether Russia will help North Korea build satellites, Putin was quoted by Russian state media as saying “that’s why we have come here. The DPRK leader shows keen interest in rocket technology. They’re trying to develop space, too,” using the abbreviation for North Korea’s formal name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Asked about military cooperation, Putin said “we will talk about all issues without a rush. There is time.”

Kim also brought Jo Chun Ryong, a ruling party official in charge of munitions policies, who joined him on recent tours of factories producing artillery shells and missile, according to South Korea.

Despite the recent frequency of North Korean missile firings, Wednesday’s launches on the eve of the summit came as a surprise. South Korea’s Unification Ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs, said it was the first time the North launched a missile while Kim was traveling overseas.

Kim could have ordered the launches to make a point to Putin about North Korea’s defense posture and show that he remains in close control of the country’s military activities even while abroad, said Moon Seong Mook, an analyst with the Seoul-based Korea Research Institute for National Strategy.

Moon, a retired South Korean brigadier general who participated in past inter-Korean military talks, said the North with the launches could have also intended to express its anger toward the United States, after State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a press briefing that Putin was meeting “an international pariah to ask for assistance in a war.”

The United States has accused North Korea of providing Russia with arms, including selling artillery shells to the Russian mercenary group Wagner. Both Russian and North Korean officials denied such claims.

Speculation about military cooperation grew after Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu visited North Korea in July. Kim subsequently toured his weapons factories, which experts said had the dual goal of encouraging the modernization of North Korean weaponry and examining artillery and other supplies that could be exported to Russia.

___

Litvinova reported from Tallinn, Estonia. Associated Press journalists Jim Heintz in Tallinn, Estonia; Aamer Madhani and Matthew Lee in Washington; Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations, Dake Kang and Ng Han Guan in Fangchuan, China; Haruka Nuga and Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo; and Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed.

AP · September 13, 2023

2. Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin Meet at Russia’s Vostochny Cosmodrome

Excerpts:

The Kim regime stands alone as having the production experience, capacity and willingness despite sanctions to supply Moscow, said Hong Min, a senior fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification, a state-funded think tank in Seoul. But Pyongyang’s domestic production of late has been hampered by a lack of raw materials and energy shortages—areas that Moscow could help address.

“With Russia’s support, North Korea can also expand its munitions factories to serve as a long-term base producing war supplies for Russia,” Hong said.

In return, Pyongyang could seek aid, energy and tech transfers for Kim’s top pursuits, such as nuclear-powered submarines or reconnaissance satellites. North Korea’s two recent attempts to place a spy satellite into orbit have failed.

Kim arrived in Russia accompanied by top military officials in charge of North Korea’s weapons production and satellite technology. If Pyongyang’s technology advances, the regime could track the military movements of the U.S. and its allies in real time. The accuracy of its nuclear-strike capabilities could be improved.

Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin Meet at Russia’s Vostochny Cosmodrome

Moscow’s main spaceport hosts summit between two autocrats who pledge friendship and deeper military relations

https://www.wsj.com/world/asia/kim-jong-un-and-vladimir-putin-meet-at-russias-vostochny-cosmodrome-91529be9

By Dasl Yoon

Follow and Timothy W. Martin

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Updated Sept. 13, 2023 5:58 am ET

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North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un met with President Vladimir Putin at Russia’s main spaceport on Wednesday. Putin offered to help North Korea build satellites, while Kim expressed his full support for Russia and vowed to stand by the country’s side. Photo: Mikhail Metzel/AFP/Getty Images. Photo: Mikhail Metzel/AFP/Getty Images

Vladimir Putin welcomed North Korea’s Kim Jong Un at Russia’s main spaceport, as the leaders from two of the U.S.’s nuclear-armed adversaries seek to strengthen military ties.

On a sunny Wednesday afternoon, Kim shook hands, exchanged pleasantries and toured the Vostochny Cosmodrome, located in Russia’s Far East, according to Russian media. They strolled around the Russian space facility, with Russian officials explaining how the country’s rockets get launched. Putin offered to help North Korea build satellites, Russian media reported.

“That’s why we came to Vostochny Cosmodrome,” said Putin, who had met the North Korean leader once before, in April 2019.

Before the two sides sat down for talks, Kim, the 39-year-old dictator, expressed his full support for Russia and vowed to stand by the country’s side.

Kim, taking his first international trip in more than four years, needed multiple days aboard his luxurious, bulletproof train to reach the Amur Oblast region where the cosmodrome is located. Putin has used the space center for high-profile diplomacy before, including an April 2022 visit by the Belarusian leader. Moscow conducted its failed moon-landing launch from the same site last month.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the Vostochny Cosmodrome. PHOTO: VLADIMIR SMIRNOV/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES

For Moscow and Pyongyang, the summit offers a rare moment to display unapologetic friendship. The pair of autocrats have drawn closer following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and North Korea’s return to long-range missile testing—rogue behavior that has left both countries more isolated and ostracized.

That has converged the worldviews of Kim and Putin as they confront a similar set of challenges: Weakened economies, international sanctions and strengthened U.S. alliances. The summit also gives each leader an opportunity to show that powerful allies remain on their side.

But the get-together could deliver more than just diplomatic showmanship. The U.S. and its allies have warned the meeting could advance an arms sale between the two countries, with North Korea offering ammunition to help restock Russia’s supplies and extend the Ukraine war. 

The West had thought Russia might be able to produce about one million artillery shells a year. But now, the assessment is that Russia is on a path over the next couple of years to produce two million artillery shells annually, according to a Western official. To put that in perspective, the official said, Russia fired 10 million to 11 million shells last year and was sometimes using shells that were out of date and prone to malfunction.

To sustain the war, Russia has boosted defense spending by some 30%, which has had a distorting effect on its economy by forcing cutbacks elsewhere and prompting an increase in interest rates, the official said.

The Putin-Kim talks are expected to last several hours, the Kremlin said, followed by an official state dinner. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, who visited Pyongyang in late July, would participate in Putin’s talks with the North Korean leader, the Kremlin said. 

Hours before the summit, North Korea launched two ballistic missiles off its east coast, Japanese and South Korean officials said. Conducting weapons tests while Kim is away could be a demonstration that the regime maintains military readiness despite the leader’s absence, Pyongyang watchers said

Many of North Korea’s missiles are based on Soviet-era technology and its artillery shells are compatible with much of Moscow’s weapons systems, weapons experts say.

North Korea would be able to supply 122 mm and 152 mm artillery shells that Russia has burned through during the war.

The Kim regime stands alone as having the production experience, capacity and willingness despite sanctions to supply Moscow, said Hong Min, a senior fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification, a state-funded think tank in Seoul. But Pyongyang’s domestic production of late has been hampered by a lack of raw materials and energy shortages—areas that Moscow could help address.

“With Russia’s support, North Korea can also expand its munitions factories to serve as a long-term base producing war supplies for Russia,” Hong said.

In return, Pyongyang could seek aid, energy and tech transfers for Kim’s top pursuits, such as nuclear-powered submarines or reconnaissance satellites. North Korea’s two recent attempts to place a spy satellite into orbit have failed.

Kim arrived in Russia accompanied by top military officials in charge of North Korea’s weapons production and satellite technology. If Pyongyang’s technology advances, the regime could track the military movements of the U.S. and its allies in real time. The accuracy of its nuclear-strike capabilities could be improved.

A joint South Korea and U.S. analysis of recovered debris from the first botched attempt showed major insufficiencies to be considered military-grade use. North Korea’s military satellite program is still very basic and many of its weapons are made of old components that need to be replaced, said Cha Du-hyeogn, a former South Korean presidential security adviser. “Russia could lend a hand in upgrading and advancing North Korea’s weapons programs.”

The Putin-Kim meeting, by validating closer coordination between the two nations, could also give some countries and private enterprises the green light to resume doing business with North Korea, said Darya Dolzikova, a research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, a London-based defense and security think tank. Russia enjoys veto power at the United Nations Security Council as a permanent member.

The leader-to-leader summit “may legitimize trade with North Korea,” she said. “It sort of suggests Russia won’t stand in the way of other countries engaging with North Korea.”

Ahead of the summit, Russian officials said discussions between the two leaders could cover humanitarian aid and the U.N. Security Council resolutions imposed against Pyongyang. U.S. officials said those who help Russia’s military campaign would be held accountable and that new sanctions could be imposed.

The Soviet Union had served as North Korea’s main benefactor for decades, though the assistance dried up after the Cold War. Since then, the two countries’ economic ties have been limited, especially compared with Pyongyang’s trade volumes with Beijing.

Instead, the Kim regime has come to rely overwhelmingly on China, which represented roughly 97% of North Korea’s foreign trade in 2022, according to South Korean data. That was the highest level during Kim’s decade or so in power. Russia didn’t rank among North Korea’s five largest trade partners.

That said, the U.S. has already taken into consideration a tighter Russia-North Korea relationship as part of its strategic calculus, with the Biden administration having deepened military partnership with Japan and South Korea, said Frank Aum, a senior expert for Northeast Asia at the U.S. Institute of Peace. Any furthering of ties between Pyongyang and Moscow “are just intensifications of the current situation on the ground,” Aum said.

During his Pyongyang visit, Shoigu, the Russian defense minister, is thought to have proposed North Korea’s participation in joint naval exercises with China, according to South Korea’s spy agency.

The Kim regime, for decades, has avoided outside partnerships, believing in strategic isolationism and developing internal capabilities. But in recent years, Kim has vowed to deepen military ties with both Beijing and Moscow.

China and Russia have boosted coordination between themselves, including a recent joint naval patrol near Alaska. But North Korea lacks naval and air force capabilities, meaning there may not be much to gain with interoperability, a major goal of the combined exercises, said Kim Jina, a professor at South Korea’s Hankuk University of Foreign Studies.

“It seems unlikely that North Korea will contribute much,” she said.

Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, will host his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, for talks in Moscow on Sept. 18, the Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman said.

As part of Wednesday’s festivities, Kim, wearing a black suit and silver tie, signed the Vostochny Cosmodrome’s guest book. “Russia’s glory of producing space pioneers will never be forgotten,” he wrote.

—Chieko Tsuneoka, Michael R. Gordon and Bojan Pancevski contributed to this article.

Write to Dasl Yoon at dasl.yoon@wsj.com and Timothy W. Martin at Timothy.Martin@wsj.com

Copyright ©2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

3. N. Korea fires 2 short-range ballistic missiles into East Sea ahead of Kim-Putin summit

Does Kim really think this deterred the alliance? (or is it just pundits who think that Kim thinks this will deter the ROK/US alliance?)

Excerpt:

The launches marked the first time the North has fired a ballistic missile while Kim is outside of the country, according to Seoul's unification ministry.

(3rd LD) N. Korea fires 2 short-range ballistic missiles into East Sea ahead of Kim-Putin summit | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Chae Yun-hwan · September 13, 2023

(ATTN: RECASTS headline, lead; UPDATES with more details throughout)

By Chae Yun-hwan

SEOUL, Sept. 13 (Yonhap) -- North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea on Wednesday, South Korea's military said, in an apparent show of force ahead of its leader Kim Jong-un's summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the launches from an area in or around Sunan in Pyongyang between about 11:43 a.m. and 11:53 a.m. The missiles flew some 650 kilometers each before splashing into the waters.

Pyongyang's latest saber-rattling came just before Russian media reported that Kim had met Putin at Russia's Vostochny Cosmodrome space center in the Amur region ahead of their expected summit later in the day.

Kim departed for Russia at Putin's invitation Sunday amid concerns over a possible arms deal that could support Moscow's war in Ukraine.

It marks the first meeting between the two leaders since their 2019 summit in Russia's far eastern city of Vladivostok.

The JCS strongly condemned the latest launches as "significant acts of provocation" that violate U.N. Security Council resolutions banning the North from launches using ballistic missile technology.

"While preparing for additional provocations from North Korea, our military is closely monitoring activities and signs from the country in close coordination with the United States," the JCS said in a text message sent to reporters.

The launches marked the first time the North has fired a ballistic missile while Kim is outside of the country, according to Seoul's unification ministry.

North Korea last fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea on Aug. 30. It also fired several cruise missiles off its west coast on Sept. 2.

This file photo, taken Aug. 31, 2023, shows a news report on North Korea's launches of two short-range ballistic missiles the previous day being aired at Seoul Station in central Seoul. (Yonhap)

yunhwanchae@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Chae Yun-hwan · September 13, 2023

4. Kim tells Putin N. Korea supports Russia's 'sacred fight' against West

One point. Kim has taken some significant military and par\ty/political leadership with him. WHo is left in Pyongyang? He must have no fear of those left behind conducting anyti-regime activity. Did he take the senior party/political and military leadership with him so they could not get into mischief back in Pyongyang? The bottom line is that he must feel secure enough to be able to leave the country.

Excerpts:

After departing from Pyongyang by armored train Sunday, the North Korean leader arrived at the rocket launch facility earlier in the day, traveling more than 1,000 kilometers north of the eastern Russian city of Vladivostok, where they previously met in 2019.

Photos carried by the North's state media showed that Kim was accompanied by the North's top party and military officials, including military marshals Ri Pyong-chol and Pak Jong-chon, and Pak Thae-song, an official in charge of space technology.

The makeup of his entourage and the selection of Russia's space facility as the venue for talks spawn speculation that North Korea may agree to supply Russia with ammunition and weaponry for its war in Ukraine. In return, North Korea may want food aid and a weapons technology transfer from Moscow, such as those involving spy satellites and nuclear-powered submarines.

If Kim and Putin also agree to strengthen their military cooperation, including a three-way naval drill with China, it would pose a major security challenge on the Korean Peninsula and beyond.

(6th LD) Kim tells Putin N. Korea supports Russia's 'sacred fight' against West | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Chae Yun-hwan · September 13, 2023

(ATTN: ADDS details)

By Lee Minji

SEOUL, Sept. 13 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un told Russian President Vladimir Putin that Pyongyang supports Moscow's "sacred fight" against the West as the two isolated leaders held a rare summit in Russia on Wednesday, amid concerns that they may advance an arms negotiation and bolster military cooperation.

With the participation of delegations, Kim and Putin began talks at the Vostochny space center in Russia's Amur region after they shook hands and greeted each other for their first meeting in more than four years, according to Russian news media.

Kim told Putin that "Russia is waging a sacred fight against the West," adding that North Korea will work together with Russia to "fight against imperialism."

In an apparent reference to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Kim said that he is supportive of "all decisions" made by Putin.

"(North Korea's) relations with Russia are the top priority of Pyongyang," Kim told Putin at the start of the talks, adding the invitation came at a very important time.

Putin said he hopes to talk about economic cooperation, security situations on the Korean Peninsula and humanitarian issues, according to Russian news agencies.

In the run-up to the talks, Putin gave Kim a tour of the Vostochny Cosmodrome.

Russian news agencies said Kim and Putin had no plan to sign official documents after they concluded a one-on-one meeting, which was followed by talks in an extended format. The two leaders were also offered an official dinner, according to Russian news agencies.

This AFP photo shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (R) and Russian President Vladimir Putin (C) smiling during their meeting at the Vostochny Cosmodrome space center in Russia's Amur region on Sept. 13, 2023. (Yonhap)

The Kremlin earlier said Putin and Kim would touch on bilateral ties and economic cooperation during the summit, but added their talks may involve sensitive issues that would not be made available publicly.

Speculations have risen that military cooperation would likely be discussed, as Russia apparently needs North Korea's supplies of artillery shells and ammunition for its war with Ukraine, while the North wants high-tech weapons technology from Russia.

Putin said "all issues" will be discussed during their talks, when asked by reporters if he plans to touch on military and technical cooperation.

The Russian president also noted Kim has shown "great interest" in rocket technology, pledging to help the recalcitrant regime build its own satellite. North Korea made attempts in May and August to place a military spy satellite into an orbit, but they ended in failure.

Television footage on display at Seoul Station shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (2nd from L, on screen) and Russian President Vladimir Putin (2nd from R, on screen) holding talks at Russia's Vostochny space center on Sept. 13, 2023. (Yonhap)

After departing from Pyongyang by armored train Sunday, the North Korean leader arrived at the rocket launch facility earlier in the day, traveling more than 1,000 kilometers north of the eastern Russian city of Vladivostok, where they previously met in 2019.

Photos carried by the North's state media showed that Kim was accompanied by the North's top party and military officials, including military marshals Ri Pyong-chol and Pak Jong-chon, and Pak Thae-song, an official in charge of space technology.

The makeup of his entourage and the selection of Russia's space facility as the venue for talks spawn speculation that North Korea may agree to supply Russia with ammunition and weaponry for its war in Ukraine. In return, North Korea may want food aid and a weapons technology transfer from Moscow, such as those involving spy satellites and nuclear-powered submarines.

If Kim and Putin also agree to strengthen their military cooperation, including a three-way naval drill with China, it would pose a major security challenge on the Korean Peninsula and beyond.

Any arms deal between Pyongyang and Moscow constitutes a violation of multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions that prohibit any arms trade with North Korea.

Their meeting comes as Pyongyang has recently been seeking to bolster military ties with Moscow and doubling down on its weapons development in the wake of growing security cooperation among South Korea, the United States and Japan.

Kim earlier said his trip to Russia for a meeting with Putin is a "clear manifestation" of North Korea prioritizing the "strategic importance" of their bilateral ties, according to the North's Korean Central News Agency.

In an apparent show of force, the North fired two short-range ballistic missiles toward the East Sea shortly before Kim and Putin's meeting Wednesday, South Korea's military said.

North Korea pledged to launch a third spy satellite in October after its previous two thwarted attempts and recently unveiled what it claimed to be a tactical nuclear-attack submarine.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (C) talks with Russian officials after arriving in the Russian border city of Khasan aboard his special train on Sept. 12, 2023, en route to an unspecified location for a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, in this photo provided by the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

mlee@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Chae Yun-hwan · September 13, 2023

5. Kim Jong Un arrives by train in Russia for Putin meeting about arms deals

This is a key point. We are all speculating (me included) on what deals will be made but I am sure both Russia and north Korea will try to release only the information they want us to know. So when they do we should ask what are they not telling us?

Excerpt:

"Naturally, being neighbors, our countries cooperate in certain sensitive spheres which should not be publicly revealed or announced,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday.

Kim Jong Un arrives by train in Russia for Putin meeting about arms deals

Washington Examiner · September 12, 2023

North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un has arrived in Russia for a summit with President Vladimir Putin that could enhance North Korea’s ability to attack the United States or its allies.

"Naturally, being neighbors, our countries cooperate in certain sensitive spheres which should not be publicly revealed or announced,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday.

INSIDE KIM JONG UN'S ARMORED TRAIN: THE HULKING LOCOMOTIVE NORTH KOREAN DESPOT TAKES INSTEAD OF FLYING

In this Tuesday photo released by the governor of the Russian far eastern region of Primorsky Krai, Oleg Kozhemyako, on his Telegram channel, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un steps down from his train after crossing the border to Russia at Khasan, about 127 km (79 miles) south of Vladivostok.

(Governor of Primorsky Krai Oleg Kozhemyako's Telegram channel via AP)

Kim, who rode by armored train for his first trip out of North Korea since 2019, had an initial meeting Tuesday with Russia’s natural resources minister. Yet his summit with Putin is the main affair, with the North Korean leader expected to offer vast stockpiles of Soviet-era ammunition to sustain Russia's war in Ukraine in exchange for Russian support in upgrading North Korea’s military, potentially including technology that Kim may need to fulfill his nuclear arsenal ambitions.

“Two pieces of technology that we believe they seek is miniaturization of nuclear warheads and reentry technology for their [intercontinental ballistic missiles],” Senior Fellow David Maxwell at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies told the Washington Examiner. “If they don't have them, this could be Kim's opportunity to try to really extort them from Russia to further advance North Korean nuclear and missile capabilities. That would be a direct threat to the United States.”

Any such exchange would violate United Nations Security Council resolutions that Russia endorsed as a permanent member of the Security Council.

"In building our relations with our neighbors, including North Korea, the important thing for us is the interests of our two countries, not Washington's warnings," Peskov said.

Kim and Putin’s expanding relationship has already stirred unease in South Korea, the democratic U.S. ally that has been in an uneasy armistice with its northern neighbor for 70 years.

"Our government has been understanding the overall situation well, independently and in cooperation with our allies and partner nations, and making full preparations," an unnamed aide to South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol told reporters, according to Yonhap. "Many countries are watching the summit between North Korea, which is under U.N. sanctions, and Russia, a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, with a bit of concern for various reasons, but as the president has stated, we hope Russia will act responsibly as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council.”

Dissident Russians and Western governments have portrayed Putin’s appeal for military supplies from the likes of North Korea and Iran as a sign of weakness.

“If they are looking for weaponry in North Korea, one of the poorest and less developed countries of the world — an isolated country — to my mind that is the utmost humiliation of the propaganda of Russian 'great power,’” former Russian Foreign Minister Andrey Kozyrev, who held that post in Boris Yeltsin’s first term as president, told the BBC. “A great power would not go to North Korea for an alliance or military supplies.”

The visit comes on the heels of a historic summit at Camp David last month, when President Joe Biden hosted his South Korean counterpart as well as Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

"We are watching the situation with concern, including its impact on Russia's war in Ukraine," Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said of the Kim-Putin meeting. “In any case, Japan will continue to collect and analyze relevant information.”

The Japanese leader has been outspoken about his fear that Kim will follow Putin’s example in using the threat of nuclear war to deter the United States from intervening to halt a North Korean attack against one of its neighbors.

“The summit’s deliverables might include an arms deal, but Russia and North Korea won’t make public the full details of their cooperation because of the serious international legal violations involved,” Ewha University professor Leif-Eric Easley told the Japan Times. “Putin is unlikely to provide Kim with technology to miniaturize nuclear devices or propel nuclear-powered submarines because even a desperate war machine does not trade its military crown jewels for old, dumb munitions.”

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Kremlin officials have declined to provide details on the itinerary of Putin’s meeting with Kim, but Putin attended the Eastern Economic Forum on Tuesday in Vladivostok — a port city in Russia’s far southeastern region, near the border with North Korea. His expected visit to Vostochny Cosmodrome raises the possibility that he will host Kim at the spaceport, just weeks after North Korea’s latest botched attempt to put a spy satellite into orbit.

“They are really appearing to want to develop satellite imagery for targeting,” Maxwell, the FDD senior fellow, said. “So they're likely to ask Russia for support, intelligence-wise, [for] imagery and things like that.”

Washington Examiner · September 12, 2023

6. Kim Jong Un arrives by train in Russia for Putin meeting about arms deals

This is a key point. We are all speculating (me included) on what deals will be made but I am sure both Russia and north Korea will try to release only the information they want us to know. So when they do we should ask what are they not telling us?

Excerpt:

"Naturally, being neighbors, our countries cooperate in certain sensitive spheres which should not be publicly revealed or announced,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday.

Kim Jong Un arrives by train in Russia for Putin meeting about arms deals

Washington Examiner · September 12, 2023

North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un has arrived in Russia for a summit with President Vladimir Putin that could enhance North Korea’s ability to attack the United States or its allies.

"Naturally, being neighbors, our countries cooperate in certain sensitive spheres which should not be publicly revealed or announced,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday.

INSIDE KIM JONG UN'S ARMORED TRAIN: THE HULKING LOCOMOTIVE NORTH KOREAN DESPOT TAKES INSTEAD OF FLYING

In this Tuesday photo released by the governor of the Russian far eastern region of Primorsky Krai, Oleg Kozhemyako, on his Telegram channel, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un steps down from his train after crossing the border to Russia at Khasan, about 127 km (79 miles) south of Vladivostok.

(Governor of Primorsky Krai Oleg Kozhemyako's Telegram channel via AP)

Kim, who rode by armored train for his first trip out of North Korea since 2019, had an initial meeting Tuesday with Russia’s natural resources minister. Yet his summit with Putin is the main affair, with the North Korean leader expected to offer vast stockpiles of Soviet-era ammunition to sustain Russia's war in Ukraine in exchange for Russian support in upgrading North Korea’s military, potentially including technology that Kim may need to fulfill his nuclear arsenal ambitions.

“Two pieces of technology that we believe they seek is miniaturization of nuclear warheads and reentry technology for their [intercontinental ballistic missiles],” Senior Fellow David Maxwell at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies told the Washington Examiner. “If they don't have them, this could be Kim's opportunity to try to really extort them from Russia to further advance North Korean nuclear and missile capabilities. That would be a direct threat to the United States.”

Any such exchange would violate United Nations Security Council resolutions that Russia endorsed as a permanent member of the Security Council.

"In building our relations with our neighbors, including North Korea, the important thing for us is the interests of our two countries, not Washington's warnings," Peskov said.

Kim and Putin’s expanding relationship has already stirred unease in South Korea, the democratic U.S. ally that has been in an uneasy armistice with its northern neighbor for 70 years.

"Our government has been understanding the overall situation well, independently and in cooperation with our allies and partner nations, and making full preparations," an unnamed aide to South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol told reporters, according to Yonhap. "Many countries are watching the summit between North Korea, which is under U.N. sanctions, and Russia, a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, with a bit of concern for various reasons, but as the president has stated, we hope Russia will act responsibly as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council.”

Dissident Russians and Western governments have portrayed Putin’s appeal for military supplies from the likes of North Korea and Iran as a sign of weakness.

“If they are looking for weaponry in North Korea, one of the poorest and less developed countries of the world — an isolated country — to my mind that is the utmost humiliation of the propaganda of Russian 'great power,’” former Russian Foreign Minister Andrey Kozyrev, who held that post in Boris Yeltsin’s first term as president, told the BBC. “A great power would not go to North Korea for an alliance or military supplies.”

The visit comes on the heels of a historic summit at Camp David last month, when President Joe Biden hosted his South Korean counterpart as well as Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

"We are watching the situation with concern, including its impact on Russia's war in Ukraine," Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said of the Kim-Putin meeting. “In any case, Japan will continue to collect and analyze relevant information.”

The Japanese leader has been outspoken about his fear that Kim will follow Putin’s example in using the threat of nuclear war to deter the United States from intervening to halt a North Korean attack against one of its neighbors.

“The summit’s deliverables might include an arms deal, but Russia and North Korea won’t make public the full details of their cooperation because of the serious international legal violations involved,” Ewha University professor Leif-Eric Easley told the Japan Times. “Putin is unlikely to provide Kim with technology to miniaturize nuclear devices or propel nuclear-powered submarines because even a desperate war machine does not trade its military crown jewels for old, dumb munitions.”

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Kremlin officials have declined to provide details on the itinerary of Putin’s meeting with Kim, but Putin attended the Eastern Economic Forum on Tuesday in Vladivostok — a port city in Russia’s far southeastern region, near the border with North Korea. His expected visit to Vostochny Cosmodrome raises the possibility that he will host Kim at the spaceport, just weeks after North Korea’s latest botched attempt to put a spy satellite into orbit.

“They are really appearing to want to develop satellite imagery for targeting,” Maxwell, the FDD senior fellow, said. “So they're likely to ask Russia for support, intelligence-wise, [for] imagery and things like that.”

Washington Examiner · September 12, 2023

7. Yoon names new ministers of defense, culture, gender equality

Excerpts:

"As someone with an abundance of experience in both defense policy and operations, we determined that (Shin) would be the best person to build up our security capabilities in the face of North Korea's evolving nuclear and missile threats and complete our grand national defense plan, Defense Innovation 4.0," Kim said, referring to an initiative to make the military smarter using cutting-edge technologies.

Kim especially cited the nominee's 35 years of service in the Army, including as vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and his current position as ranking member of the parliamentary national defense committee.

(3rd LD) Yoon names new ministers of defense, culture, gender equality | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Haye-ah · September 13, 2023

(ATTN: UPDATES with details, nominees' remarks; CHANGES photo, spelling of Kim Haeng per presidential office's release)

By Lee Haye-ah

SEOUL, Sept. 13 (Yonhap) -- President Yoon Suk Yeol nominated a ruling party lawmaker and former three-star Army general for defense minister Wednesday in a partial Cabinet shakeup that also affected the culture and gender equality ministers.

Rep. Shin Won-sik of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) was picked to replace Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup, while Yoo In-chon, special presidential adviser for culture and sports, was named the new culture minister, and Kim Haeng, a former PPP interim leadership member, was tapped for the new minister of gender equality and family, presidential chief of staff Kim Dae-ki said during a press briefing.

Presidential chief of staff Kim Dae-ki (L) announces the nominees for ministers of defense, culture and gender equality at the presidential office in Seoul on Sept. 13, 2023. Standing next to him (from L to R) are culture minister nominee Yoo In-chon, gender equality minister nominee Kim Haeng and defense minister nominee Shin Won-sik. (Yonhap)

"As someone with an abundance of experience in both defense policy and operations, we determined that (Shin) would be the best person to build up our security capabilities in the face of North Korea's evolving nuclear and missile threats and complete our grand national defense plan, Defense Innovation 4.0," Kim said, referring to an initiative to make the military smarter using cutting-edge technologies.

Kim especially cited the nominee's 35 years of service in the Army, including as vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and his current position as ranking member of the parliamentary national defense committee.

On the culture minister nominee, Kim said Yoo is equipped to further promote Korean culture in the world, based on his long career in the culture and arts field and his previous stint as culture minister during the Lee Myung-bak administration.

Yoo is also well known as a TV and stage actor.

On the gender equality minister nominee, Kim said her excellent communication skills, together with her diverse background in media, politics and public institutions, will help her smoothly carry out the ministry's work ahead of its planned abolishment, a campaign pledge of Yoon.

Speaking at the same press briefing, Shin vowed to do his best to "make soldiers like soldiers and the military like the military."

"The security environment at home and abroad is very serious," he said. "Though I am lacking, if I become defense minister, I will fulfill my duties so that the people may live comfortably."

The outgoing defense minister reportedly expressed his intention to resign amid the main opposition party's push to impeach him over his handling of a military investigation into a young Marine's death.

Yoon does not plan to accept his resignation as doing so would create a security vacuum pending Shin's confirmation by the National Assembly, a senior presidential official told reporters on background.

Yoo, the culture minister nominee, told reporters he plans to devise policies in line with the rapidly changing environment and ensure culture plays a role in enhancing the quality of people's lives.

Kim, the gender equality minister nominee, said she will do her best to communicate actively with the people for as long as the ministry exists and carry out its unique responsibilities related to the dignity of life, values of family and the country's sustainability.

All Cabinet ministers must undergo a confirmation process at the National Assembly though parliamentary consent is not necessary for their appointment.

hague@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Haye-ah · September 13, 2023

8. Kim and Putin Discuss Deepening Ties as Ukraine War Looms Over Summit

I would not blame former President Trump here. It is Kim's failed policies, failed economy, and failure to achieve any of his strategic objectives combined with the failing Putin's War in Ukraine that is driving this. The rise of the axis of authorirans or the threesome of convenience is not due to former Presdent Trump.

Excerpt:

If anything, Mr. Trump’s failed diplomatic efforts with Mr. Kim helped North Korea draw closer to Beijing and Moscow. Mr. Kim met Mr. Putin two months after his botched summit talks with Mr. Trump in 2019.

Kim and Putin Discuss Deepening Ties as Ukraine War Looms Over Summit

The New York Times · by Choe Sang-Hun · September 13, 2023

President Vladimir V. Putin and Kim Jong-un, North Korea’s leader, at Vostochny Cosmodrome in far eastern Russia on Wednesday, in a photo released by Russian state media.Credit...Sputnik, via Reuters

President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia welcomed the leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-un, to a space facility in far eastern Russia on Wednesday, for a summit that is being scrutinized for indications that Pyongyang will supply armaments the Kremlin needs for its war in Ukraine.

The two leaders met at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia’s Amur region, first entering group discussions alongside their respective ministers and later moving into a tête-à-tête. The negotiations lasted roughly two hours in total before the delegations broke for lunch.

Mr. Kim expressed confidence in Russia’s ability to win the war during his lunchtime toast, following the Kremlin’s lead in casting the conflict as a war against the collective West rather than against Ukraine. Mr. Kim said Russia would “win a great victory in the sacred struggle to punish the band of evil that aspires to hegemony and feeds on expansionist illusions.”

The State of the War

• Kim Jong-un in Russia: The North Korean leader arrived in the country for a meeting with President Vladimir Putin that could see the two nations increasing military cooperation.
• Kyiv Drone Strikes: Ukraine said that it had foiled a large Russian drone attack on the capital, the latest barrage in a campaign apparently intended to destroy infrastructure and demoralize the local population.
• Elon Musk: The multibillionaire businessman foiled an attack on Russia’s Black Sea fleet in 2022 by refusing to let Ukraine use his Starlink satellite network to guide its drones, Musk has acknowledged, renewing questions about the global power he wields through his companies.
• Cluster Munitions: Ukrainian troops have embraced the controversial weapons in their fight against Russian forces. But are the U.S.-supplied bomblets making a difference?

Along the bay of Sevastopol in Crimea last year. Russia invaded Crimea in 2014, illegally annexed it and began building up military operations there.Credit...Associated Press

A Ukrainian attack targeting the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in Crimea damaged two ships, and triggered a large blaze at a sprawling naval shipyard that plays a critical role in the Russian war effort, according to Russian and Ukrainian officials.

The pre-dawn attack on Wednesday appeared to be the largest on the Russian naval headquarters in the occupied port city of Sevastopol since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly 19 months ago.

The Russian Ministry of Defense said in a statement that Ukraine had fired 10 cruise missiles at the facility in the city of Sevastopol at the same time as it targeted a Russian warship on the Black Sea with three maritime drones. Air defense systems shot down seven cruise missiles, and the patrol ship Vasily Bykov destroyed the unmanned drones, the ministry said.

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European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called for a major expansion of the bloc on Wednesday.Credit...Jean-Francois Badias/Associated Press

The European Union’s top official on Wednesday called for a major expansion of the bloc to include not only Ukraine but also Moldova, several Western Balkan nations and Georgia over the next few years, a move that would push the group from 27 to over 30 members with more than half a billion citizens, and would make the world’s largest free-trade, free-travel area even larger.

Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, said that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had pushed Europe to respond “to the call of history.”

“In a world where size and weight matter, it is clearly in Europe’s strategic and security interest to complete our Union,” she said in her annual State of the European Union address at the European Parliament in the French city of Strasbourg.

President Vladimir V. Putin and Kim Jong-un, North Korea’s leader, at Vostochny Cosmodrome in far eastern Russia on Wednesday, in a photo released by Russian state media.Credit...Vladimir Smirnov/Sputnik, via Associated Press

The summit meeting on Wednesday between President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and the leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-un, comes at a rare moment of mutual need.

Mr. Putin needs more munitions to fuel his war against Ukraine, the likes of which North Korea possesses in abundance. And Mr. Kim requires more advanced military technology to secure his regime, as well as food, fuel and cash to support his isolated nation. These are all things Russia could theoretically provide, apart from the challenges posed by United Nations Security Council sanctions.

That backdrop has made North Korea far more relevant than in years past for Russia, despite North Korea’s history as an impoverished, troublesome partner since the breakup of the old Soviet bloc. And it underscores the extent to which war aims continue to serve as an overriding priority for Mr. Putin, as his invasion of Ukraine nears the 19-month mark.

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President Vladimir V. Putin and Kim Jong-un, North Korea’s leader, inspecting a launch pad of Soyuz rockets at Vostochny Cosmodrome in far eastern Russia on Wednesday, in a photo released by Russian state media.Credit...Sputnik, via Reuters

President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia on Wednesday hosted the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, at a prized spaceport, a symbolic choice for two countries that have significant ambitions in space but have recently suffered setbacks on that front.

The site was the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the Amur region in Russia’s far east, built as part of Mr. Putin’s broader effort to reestablish Moscow’s global might as a superpower boasting a space program. Its first launch was in 2016.

Last month, a Russian robotic spacecraft that launched from the cosmodrome accidentally crashed into the moon while en route to the lunar surface.The lander, known as the Luna-25, was supposed to complete Russia’s first space launch to the moon’s surface since the 1970s and become the first spacecraft to reach the moon’s south polar region. Instead, that accolade went to India.

A television at a rail station in Seoul showing file footage of a previous North Korean missile launch during the announcement of Wednesday’s launch.Credit...Lee Jin-Man/Associated Press

North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast on Wednesday, as its leader, Kim Jong-un, was in Russia for a meeting with President Vladimir V. Putin to discuss military and other cooperation.

It was the first time that North Korea had conducted a missile test during one of Mr. Kim’s rare trips abroad. The South Korean military said it was analyzing data collected from the North Korean test to help determine what type of ballistic missile was launched. North Korea last conducted a ballistic missile test on Aug. 30, when it fired two off its east coast.

Multiple resolutions from the United Nations Security Council prohibit North Korea from testing ballistic missiles. North Korea has repeatedly flouted them in recent years, as Russia and China used their veto power at the Security Council to scuttle any attempt by Washington and its allies to impose new U.N. sanctions against the North.

North Korea has conducted 21 ballistic and other missile tests this year, sometimes firing multiple missiles in a single testing event. Under Mr. Kim, North Korea is trying to strengthen ties with Russia and China to counter an expanding trilateral military cooperative among the United States, Japan and South Korea.

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A handout photo shows President Vladimir Putin of Russia Kim Jong-un, North Korea’s leader, right, during a visit to the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia on Wednesday.

As Kim Jong-un has sought to elevate North Korea’s standing with both Russia and China, he has found opportunities in the deepening rivalry between China and the United States, and in Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Even when he engaged in meetings with President Donald J. Trump in 2018 and 2019, Mr. Kim used it as leverage to repair ties with Beijing. Long cool to Mr. Kim, Mr. Xi agreed to meet him before and after Mr. Kim’s meetings with Mr. Trump to ensure that North Korea remained in Beijing’s fold. (Mr. Xi even lent Mr. Kim a Boeing 747 jumbo jet to fly to Singapore for his first summit with Mr. Trump in 2018.)

If anything, Mr. Trump’s failed diplomatic efforts with Mr. Kim helped North Korea draw closer to Beijing and Moscow. Mr. Kim met Mr. Putin two months after his botched summit talks with Mr. Trump in 2019.

The New York Times · by Choe Sang-Hun · September 13, 2023

9. North Korea-Russia relations moving to ‘fresh higher level,’ Kim says

Rarely does Kim Jong Un make the front page of all the major newspapers. I expect the Propaganda and Agitation Department to pose Kim Jong Un with the front pages of the Washington Post, NY Times, and Wall Street Journal. Kim must be enjoying this.

North Korea-Russia relations moving to ‘fresh higher level,’ Kim says

The Washington Post · by Michelle Ye Hee Lee · September 13, 2023

SEOUL — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his visit to Russia was a show of the “strategic importance” between the two countries, state media said Wednesday, ahead of an expected meeting between Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Kim was greeted with the fanfare of a military band performance and red carpet walkway when he crossed the border into Russia on Tuesday morning, marking the reclusive leader’s first international trip since the pandemic began. He is still moving slowly north in a heavily-armored train that travels at only 55 miles an hour.

Kim said his visit “is a clear expression of how our party and government put a high value on the strategic importance of DPRK-Russia relations,” Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency reported Wednesday, using the official abbreviation for North Korea.

With Kim’s trip, friendship and cooperation between the two countries would move to a “fresh higher level,” the report said.

The Kremlin said the two leaders would meet after an economic forum at the Russian port city of Vladivostok this week, and Putin on Tuesday announced plans to visit the Vostochny Cosmodrome, Russia’s main spaceport since 2016.

Japanese outlet Kyodo News reported, citing unnamed Russian officials, Putin and Kim would meet on Wednesday afternoon at the spaceport is in Russia’s far eastern Amur region, some 900 miles by road north of Vladivostok.

The two leaders are expected to discuss increased support for each other, including the potential exchange of arms, labor and food, as Russia runs low on ammunition in its war against Ukraine and North Korea seeks to boost its dire economy.

Meanwhile, North Korea fired a suspected ballistic missile toward the sea off its East coast, the South Korean military said Wednesday. Japanese media reported it fell outside Japanese waters.

Kim left Pyongyang on his famously slow-moving train on Sunday afternoon along with top government and party officials, state media reported. Those who appeared to board the train included defense chief Kang Sun Nam and munitions industry department director Jo Chun Ryong, according to an analysis of state media photos by NK Pro, a monitoring website based in Seoul.

Dressed in a black suit, Kim stepped off his train at Khasan station along the border of the two countries at 6 a.m. Tuesday, state media said.

Oleg Kozhemyako, the governor of Russia’s far eastern Primorsky region, received Kim at the train station upon his arrival Tuesday, photos show. Among the Russian officials at the welcome ceremony was Alexander Kozlov, the minister of natural resources and ecology, state media said.

The expected meeting with Putin will be the two isolated leaders’ first since 2019, when Kim traveled to Vladivostok. That summit took place two months after the collapse of U.S.-North Korea denuclearization negotiations in Hanoi, and as Kim sought to hedge his bets in his negotiations of his nuclear program.

Kim has been expanding his nuclear-capable weapons arsenal at a rapid clip since his failed summit with then-U. S. President Donald Trump, even as his pandemic measures constricted his economy.

Now, Kim and Putin are looking to signal that they are banding together around shared interests in their respective standoffs with Washington.

Washington has accused Moscow of seeking North Korean weapons to provide for its war in Ukraine.

“We remain concerned that North Korea is contemplating providing any type of ammunition or materiel support to Russia, in support of their war against Ukraine,” Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder told reporters on Monday.

In an interview on CBS “Face the Nation” on Sunday, Vice President Harris said “it would be a huge mistake” for the two leaders to iron out an arms deal.

“I also believe very strongly that for both Russia and North Korea, this will further isolate them,” Harris said.

Min Joo Kim in Seoul contributed reporting.

The Washington Post · by Michelle Ye Hee Lee · September 13, 2023

10. The Sleeper Has Awakened: Six Key Takeaways From the Rollout of North Korea’s “Tactical Nuclear Attack Submarine”

​Excerpt:

The Bottom Line

The long-awaited rollout of the modified ROMEO missile sub makes good on an effort underway since at least 2014. The apparent remodification of the sub to carry a larger number of missiles for a “tactical nuclear” role against South Korea and Japan (and US bases there), and the newly-announced plan to convert more and perhaps all other ROMEOs to this configuration, is probably Kim’s best near-term option for a militarily meaningful sea-based nuclear deterrent. Kim may well also see his “New Look” nuclearized Navy as the best way to get combat value out of an old, technically lagging fleet. But converting all 19 of the other ROMEOs is likely to take much longer than five-10 years, and a nuclear-powered submarine, however much additional impetus it is going to receive, is unlikely to be part of the picture for a long time. The missile sub force will almost certainly continue to play second fiddle to the much larger, still growing, and much more survivable land-based ballistic and cruise missile force.

The Sleeper Has Awakened: Six Key Takeaways From the Rollout of North Korea’s “Tactical Nuclear Attack Submarine”

• BY: VANN H. VAN DIEPEN
• SEPTEMBER 11, 2023

https://www.38north.org/2023/09/the-sleeper-has-awakened-six-key-takeaways-from-the-roll-out-of-north-koreas-tactical-nuclear-attack-submarine/

On September 8, North Korean media announced that “a Korean-style tactical nuclear attack submarine” had been rolled out of a construction hall at the Sinpho South Shipyard into the water two days before. Associated photos revealed substantial modifications made to an existing old ROMEO-class conventionally powered submarine to launch “tactical nuclear weapons.” The text of a speech Kim Jong Un reportedly gave on the occasion provided further insight into the origin and purpose of the new sub, and North Korean plans for a nuclearized Navy, including further such conversions and a renewed commitment to building nuclear-powered submarines.

There are six key takeaways from the rollout of the “new” nuclear-armed conventionally powered ballistic missile submarine (SSB):

• This is most likely the same ROMEO that was being modified when Kim Jong Un visited in July 2019, which had probably been in the construction hall since 2014. At that stage, the new submarine was expected to be configured to carry three submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) launch tubes. However, extensive modifications appear to have been made after that site visit.
• The most significant remodifications focused on accommodating more missiles. The missile section is much longer, containing four launch tubes for SLBMs of about the same diameter as the 1,250-kilometer (KM) range Pukguksong-1 or 1,900-km range and Pukguksong-3 (which could also accommodate the smaller-diameter KN-23 short-range ballistic missile [SRBM]), and six launch tubes most likely for the 0.5-0.6-meter (m) diameter, 2,000-km-range Hwasal-2 land-attack cruise missile (LACM). The larger tubes could not accommodate the North’s newer, larger Pukguksong-4, -5 and probable -6 SLBMs.
• This shift ’in an SSB’s mission from strategic to “tactical” is consistent with North Korea’s emphasis on “tactical nukes” over the past few years for propaganda and deterrent purposes. The Pukguksong-1, -3, and LACM could cover all of South Korea and Japan, and US bases there, from North Korean territorial waters; the KN-23 would be largely limited to South Korea. Deployment close to North Korea will also be the best way to mitigate the extremely high vulnerability of the old-tech, very noisy sub—increased by the sub’s various modifications—to allied anti-submarine warfare (ASW).
• Kim apparently also intends to convert “all” of the North’s remaining ROMEOs (up to 19) to the new configuration, raising the prospect of a future force carrying up to 80 SLBMs and 120 LACMs. This combination of more subs carrying more missiles is probably North Korea’s best option to obtain a large enough sea-based deterrent to be militarily significant. But it remains to be seen how many ROMEOs are actually converted into missile subs and how long that might take, given North Korea’s limited shipbuilding capacity. Work on future conversions is likely to be slow-going—probably at least five years per boat. Deploying additional road-mobile missiles will almost certainly remain a more cost-effective and more survivable way for North Korea to add to its nuclear strike capability.
• Kim’s vision for the future of the Navy is heavily focused on it “going nuclear,” including explicitly for reasons of cost-effectiveness. This is strangely reminiscent of the Eisenhower Administration’s “New Look” strategy from the mid-1950s that relied on nuclear weapons as a less economically costly alternative to large conventional forces.
• That vision also still includes developing nuclear-powered submarines, to which Kim said, “…we should give greater impetus.” But the speech seems to recognize such a capability will be a long time coming, barring substantial Chinese and/or Russian technical assistance.

The bottom line is that, while the rollout of the larger-capacity SSB and prospect of further conversions provides a credible path for a future (albeit theater-focused) sub-launched missile force, such a force will almost certainly continue to play second fiddle to the much larger, still growing, and much more survivable land-based ballistic and cruise missile force.

(Source: Rodong Sinmun)

A Reconfigured Old Submarine

The newly rolled-out sub is a large-scale modification of one of North Korea’s 20 Soviet-pattern 1950s ROMEO-class diesel/electric submarines, as was expected based on the photographs released by North Korea in July 2019 of a modified ROMEO under construction inside this same construction hall at Sinpho South Shipyard. Based on those photos, analysts expected to see a ROMEO with a sail elongated to accommodate three launch tubes for SLBMs about the size of the North’s Pukguksong-1 (first revealed in 2015) or Pukguksong-3 (first flight tested in October 2019).

The rollout, however, revealed much more extensive modifications. The modified sub is about 10 meters longer than the original ROMEO, with the addition of a much longer missile section than expected based on the July 2019 photos (now some 22.4 m, including the sail), a roughly 30 percent reduction in the length of the hull forward of the sail, and a bow reconfigured to a rounded, bulbous shape.[1]

Some of the modifications are different than those seen in the July 2019 North Korean photos (others were obscured in those photos), raising the possibility that the submarine seen in 2019 and the one rolled out in 2023 are two different boats. Most likely, however, the same sub seen in July 2019 was remodified into the current configuration since then—a possibility previously flagged in 38 North. Not only do other prominent analysts seem to agree with this, but there has been no open-source reporting of a “missing” second ROMEO, another ROMEO being added to the construction hall, or the switching out of the one seen in 2019, which has not been seen outside the hall until now.[2] Remodification of the original modified ROMEO also seems to be most consistent with the lengthy period the submarine spent under modification (since about June 2014); North Korea’s original July 2019 claims that the sub’s “operational deployment is near at hand,” and Kim saying in his latest speech that in 2019 he “came here [to Sinpho South Shipyard] and gave the task of introducing advanced power systems in the existing medium-sized submarines and improving their overall underwater operation capabilities.”

A Surprising Missile Load-out

Most importantly, the longer missile section incorporates hatch-covered launch tubes for 10 missiles rather than the originally expected three. Four of the 10 hatches appear large enough for missiles of about 1.5 m in diameter,the size of the Pukgukong-1 and -3. (Such tubes also could accommodate the 0.95-m diameter KN-23 SRBM.) The other six hatches are substantially smaller, most likely covering launch tubes for the 0.5-0.6 m-diameter Hwasal-2 land-attack cruise missile (LACM)—a possibility also foreshadowed in 38 North.

• The Pukguksong-1 has an estimated maximum range of about 1,250 km but has not been flight tested from a submarine since 2016, and only then to a range of about 500 km. Its land-based version, the Pukguksong-2, was last flight tested in a lofted trajectory in 2017, but reportedly has been operationally deployed since about 2019.
• The Pukguksong-3 has an estimated maximum range of about 1,900 km and has only been flight tested once in October 2019, from a submersible test platform.
• The Hwasal-2 has been reported by North Korea to have a 2,000 km range. It has reportedly been flown on the order of 17 times, mostly from road-mobile land launchers. But it was reportedly launched twice from a submerged submarine in March 2023 (apparently from its torpedo tubes) and once in August 2023 from a corvette surface combatant ship.
• The KN-23 has demonstrated a maximum range of 800 km but has generally flown to ranges of 400-630 km that maximize its maneuver capability against missile defenses. It was launched submerged from the single-tube GORAE/SINPO test sub in October 2021.

Given the long time since the Pukguksong-1 and -3 were last launched, it is unclear whether North Korea would conduct further launches before deploying one of them on the new missile sub or if it would first conduct them from the submersible test platform or the single-tube GORAE/SINPO test sub. The Hwasal-2 has not been launched submerged from a vertical launch tube like that on the new missile sub, but it is not clear whether the North would test-launch it in such a configuration before loading it onto the new sub. It might regard the previous underwater torpedo-tube testing, in conjunction with the large number of other launches, as enough to be confident in Hwasal launches from the new sub. The KN-23 presumably would be good to go on the new SSB. (Interestingly, by September 8, the submersible test platform had been moved near where the new submarine is currently berthed.)

A Different Mission

Based on the July 2019 North Korean photos, the missile sub was generally expected to have a “strategic” mission, albeit within the confines of the range of the missiles it would carry. North Korea has since displayed, but has not yet flight tested, three progressively larger and longer-ranged SLBMs. It was generally expected that the launch tubes would have been modified over time to carry one of these, thus increasing the sub’s threat range and “strategic” utility, although at least the third and most recent SLBM was probably too large for that sub.

It is now clear that the new missile sub will not be carrying any of the longer-range SLBMs, which exceed two m in diameter and thus are too large for its launch tubes. Kim Jong Un has specifically called the new SSB a “tactical nuclear submarine,” carrying “tactical nukes,” that will “stand in different parts of our territorial waters.” The refocusing of the sub on “tactical nukes” is consistent with North Korea’s emphasis on such weapons over the past few years for propaganda and deterrent purposes. An additional possible motivation behind the 2019 remodification of the sub may have been to devise a political counter to South Korean plans that the North could have become aware of in 2015 or 2016 to deploy short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs), albeit with conventional warheads, on its next generation of submarine.

From North Korean territorial waters, the new sub could cover all of South Korea and Japan, and US bases there, with the Pukguksong-1, -3, and LACM. The longer-ranged Pukguksong-3 and Hwasal-2 would have such coverage from any part of North Korea’s east coast. The KN-23, however, would be largely limited to South Korea. Deployment close to North Korea will be the best way to mitigate the extremely high vulnerability of the old-tech, very noisy ROMEO-based missile sub to allied anti-submarine warfare (ASW) assets—a vulnerability increased by the speed and maneuverability penalties and probably reduced battery capacity (and likely increased noise) caused by its various modifications.

A Larger Sub-launched Missile Force

Not only does the new sub carry more missiles than previously expected, but Kim also noted his “intention to turn all the other existing medium-sized submarines into attack ones like this one,” which he termed “a revolutionary step for ensuring maximum efficiency,” yielding “a rapid improvement of our national defence capabilities.” This presumably means Kim intends to convert all the remaining 19 ROMEOs, which would yield an ultimate force of 80 SLBMs and 120 sub-launched LACMs. This combination of more conversions of existing subs carrying more missiles would help address a key shortcoming of the apparent three-SLBM track North Korea had been on in 2019: the difficulty of obtaining a large enough SLBM force to be militarily significant in anything resembling a cost-effective way compared to simply deploying more land-mobile missiles.

But it remains to be seen how many ROMEOs are actually converted into missile subs (some boats may be too decrepit at this point, and conversion will sacrifice the missions those boats currently fulfill), how long that process will take, and whether Kim will stay the course or change his mind at some point about continuing with the conversions or about converting boats to the current configuration. Although Kim spoke in terms of “five or ten years” to “usher in an era when our Navy changes,” North Korea has limited capacity for this kind of work. The construction hall at Sinpho South that modified this sub can accommodate two boats at once, but currently appears to be empty.[3] The even larger construction hall nearby could also be used for this purpose, but may be intended for future, larger submarines—possibly including future nuclear-powered submarines if North Korea is able to achieve them (see below). We also do not know the rate at which it could manufacture all the new submarine hull sections required to convert 19 more boats.

It apparently took five years to get the current sub from ROMEO to first-iteration missile sub, and another four years to get it to its final configuration. Now that the North has apparently settled on the design for what Kim called “the standard type of tactical nuclear submarine,” and has experience with the first conversion, future production can presumably be faster and more efficient than nine years per boat—but five years each would seem a reasonable minimum.

Furthermore, the construction and operation of each additional submarine will almost certainly remain a less cost-effective way of adding nuclear strike capability than producing and deploying four more road-mobile launchers for medium-range missiles and two more five-tube road-mobile LACM launchers. The survivability advantage of North Korea’s field-deployed land-mobile missiles over ROMEO-based SLBMs is even greater, given the further reduction in survivability from the missile subs’ modifications.

A “New Look” Navy

One of the most remarkable things about Kim’s speech was his focus on “go[ing] nuclear “as “the most important thing” in strengthening the Navy, calling it “a rapid improvement of our national defence capabilities with the nuclear deterrence as the core.” Kim’s citing of the nuclear sub build-up as a direct alternative to “the past” where “we, in developing the submarine industry, focused on building many small and fast submarines,” and terming the nuclear build-up “a revolutionary step for ensuring maximum efficiency,” is strangely reminiscent of the Eisenhower administration’s “New Look” strategy from the mid-1950s that relied on nuclear weapons as a less economically costly alternative to large conventional forces. The nuclearization of the Navy is also evident in the deployment of LACMs on a surface ship and the launching of a KN-23 SRBM from the GORAE/SINPO test sub.

A Renewed Commitment to Nuclear-powered Subs

Kim’s current vision for a nuclearized Navy also includes nuclear-powered submarines. He noted “our development-oriented, prospective plan for building nuclear submarines” in conjunction with the nuclear-armed, conventionally-powered modified ROMEO missile subs as “a ‘low-cost, hi-tech strategy’” combination. Kim avers that he gave the Sinpho South Shipyard the task of “commissioning” nuclear-powered subs “to the combat ranks” four years ago.

But it seems clear that, although Kim said, “…we should give greater impetus to the building of nuclear-powered submarine[s],” he recognizes such subs will be a long time coming. This may help explain why he also said that “whether we launch powerful nuclear submarines sooner or later,” it is “how quickly our Navy is equipped with nuclear weapons… [that] will have a critical bearing on our state’s destiny.” Indeed, he claimed that the rollout of the new ROMEO-based missile sub “will be as burdensome to our opponents as is our building a new-type nuclear-powered submarine.” A nuclear-powered submarine is highly unlikely to be part of Kim’s inventory “when we, in five or ten years, usher in an era when our Navy changes” unless North Korea receives substantial technical and material assistance from China and/or Russia.

The Bottom Line

The long-awaited rollout of the modified ROMEO missile sub makes good on an effort underway since at least 2014. The apparent remodification of the sub to carry a larger number of missiles for a “tactical nuclear” role against South Korea and Japan (and US bases there), and the newly-announced plan to convert more and perhaps all other ROMEOs to this configuration, is probably Kim’s best near-term option for a militarily meaningful sea-based nuclear deterrent. Kim may well also see his “New Look” nuclearized Navy as the best way to get combat value out of an old, technically lagging fleet. But converting all 19 of the other ROMEOs is likely to take much longer than five-10 years, and a nuclear-powered submarine, however much additional impetus it is going to receive, is unlikely to be part of the picture for a long time. The missile sub force will almost certainly continue to play second fiddle to the much larger, still growing, and much more survivable land-based ballistic and cruise missile force.

1. [1]
2. See H.I. Sutton, “North Korea’s New Missile Submarine: Hero Kim Gun-ok,” Covert Shores, September 8, 2023, http://www.hisutton.com/North-Korea-Submarine-Hero-Kim-Gun-ok.html; and PBfirefly. Twitter Post, September 8, 2023, 1:31 a.m., https://twitter.com/peacebread1/status/1700018883531546967.
3. [2]
4. For example, see Joseph Dempsey. Twitter Post, September 7, 2023, 7:21 p.m., https://twitter.com/JosephHDempsey/status/1699925968750604582; and Ankit Panda, “North Korea’s nuclear ambitions reach new stage with ballistic missile submarine,” NK Pro, September 8, 2023, https://www.nknews.org/pro/north-koreas-nuclear-ambitions-reach-new-stage-with-ballistic-missile-submarine.
5. [3]
6. See Nathan J Hunt. Twitter Post, September 8, 2023, 2:04 a.m., https://twitter.com/ISNJH/status/1700027215839424514; and Tarao Goo. Twitter Post, September 8, 2023, 10:58 a.m., https://twitter.com/GreatPoppo/status/1700161655504507001. The latter notes that the presence of another boat cannot be ruled out.

11. Russia promises to help North Korea build satellites

The public acknowledgement of "support." What are they not making public?

Russia promises to help North Korea build satellites

The Korea Times · by 2023-09-13 09:24 | North Korea · September 13, 2023

Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un shake hands during their meeting at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the far eastern Amur region, Russia, Wednesday. AP-Yonhap 

Kim, Putin meet at major Russian space launch center

By Kang Seung-woo

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a summit, Wednesday, at the Vostochny Cosmodrome, a space station in Russia's far eastern Amur region, where Pyongyang received assurances of Moscow's assistance in satellite technology.

In the lead-up to the much-heralded meeting between Kim and Putin, there had been growing speculation over a possible arms deal. In addition, the venue for the summit also indicated that the two are interested in talks to exchange Moscow's military technology for Pyongyang's artillery shells for use in Ukraine.

Russia is becoming more desperate for artillery shells to resupply its arsenal for the war in Ukraine, while North Korea seeks Russia's help to build satellites.

Putin confirmed the speculation by telling reporters before meeting Kim, "That's why we came here. The leader of the DPRK shows great interest in rocket technology, they are trying to develop space," according to Russia's state-run RIA Novosti news agency. The DRPK refers to North Korea's official name, or the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

He was also quoted as saying that the North Korean delegation will be shown new objects.

"We, of course, need to talk about issues of economic interaction, about humanitarian issues, about the situation in the region," Putin said, opening the meeting, according to RIA Novosti.

US will not hesitate to take action if N. Korea provides weapons to Russia: state dept.

In return, Kim assured Putin that North Korea supports all decisions of Russia and is ready to further develop bilateral relations, expressing hope that both countries will always fight together against imperialism, the report added.

It was the first meeting between the two leaders since their 2019 summit in Russia's far eastern city of Vladivostok.

When Kim arrived at the spaceport for the summit, the two heads of state shook hands and had a brief conversation.

The North Korean leader thanked the Russian president for the invitation to his country and in response, Putin said he was glad to see Kim, adding that the meeting took place on dates that are significant for North Korea, the report said.

This year marks the North's 75th founding anniversary, 70th anniversary of the victory in the 1950-53 Korean War and 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations with Russia.

According to Russia's other state news agency, Tass, Kim's heavily armored train, dubbed Taeyang-ho that translates to "Sun" in Korean, arrived near the spaceport and was welcomed by an honor guard of the Eastern Military District and Russian government officials.

Kim departed Pyongyang for Russia, Sunday, at Putin's invitation.

NK fires 2 short-range ballistic missiles

Hours ahead of the Kim-Putin meeting, North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea, according to the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

The JCS said it detected the launches from an area in or around Sunan in Pyongyang between 11:43 a.m. and 11:53 a.m. They traveled some 650 kilometers each before landing in the ocean.

It was North Korea's 16th ballistic missile launch of the year, according to a military source.

The JCS strongly condemned the latest launches as "significant acts of provocation" that violate U.N. Security Council resolutions banning North Korea from using ballistic missile technology.

"While preparing for additional provocations from North Korea, our military is closely monitoring activities and signs from the country in close coordination with the United States," the JCS said in a text message sent to reporters.

The Korea Times · by 2023-09-13 09:24 | North Korea · September 13, 2023

12. US will not hesitate to take action if N. Korea provides weapons to Russia: state dept.

​Now is the time to execute a comprehensive information campaign. Kim fears information and it can have long term effects.

US will not hesitate to take action if N. Korea provides weapons to Russia: state dept.

The Korea Times · by 2023-09-13 16:46 | Politics · September 13, 2023

State Department Press Secretary Matthew Miller is seen answering questions during a daily press briefing at the state department in Washington in this Sept. 12 captured image. YonhapThe United States will not hesitate in taking any necessary action should North Korea agree to provide weapons to Russia, a state department spokesperson said Tuesday.

Matthew Miller also reiterated that any arms transfer from North Korea to Russia would violate multiple United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions.

"We will monitor what happens and will not hesitate to take action to hold those accountable if necessary," the department spokesperson told a daily press briefing when asked about a potential arms deal between Pyongyang and Moscow.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is currently on a visit to Russia where he is expected to hold a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday.

Jung Pak, U.S. deputy special envoy for North Korea, said Monday that the Kim-Putin meeting might be the "final step" before the countries sign an arms deal.

Miller underscored that any arms trade with North Korea would be in violation of multiple UNSC resolutions.

"We have been very clear about what our position is, which is that any transfer of arms from North Korea to Russia would violate multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions," he told the press briefing.

Russian officials were earlier quoted as saying that Russia may be willing to discuss lifting of sanctions currently imposed on North Korea with Pyongyang if necessary, apparently referring to UNSC sanctions.

Miller said "no" when asked if Russia could unilaterally lift UNSC sanctions on North Korea.

"Russia cannot take unilateral actions related to the United Nations Security Council," he said.

On the proposed transfer of Iranian funds previously frozen in South Korean banks accounts, the department spokesperson said the funds will be used for humanitarian purposes only, and under close U.S. oversight.

"So the waivers that the secretary signed on Friday that were notified to Congress yesterday were to effectuate the transfer of funds from accounts in South Korea," he said, noting the funds will be first transferred to special accounts in Europe and ultimately to accounts in Qatar.

"They will be available for use for humanitarian transactions with strict treasury department oversight," added Miller.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un waves as he boards a train in Pyongyang to visit Russia to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Sept. 10, in this photo released by the North's official Korean Central News Agency. Yonhap

A Pentagon spokesperson noted that a Kim-Putin meeting will likely focus on an arms deal, while calling on Pyongyang not to provide weapons to Russia.

"Obviously we know that a meeting is to take place. Our understanding is that this will focus on arms negotiations," Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told a daily press briefing at the Department of Defense.

"And again, we would call on North Korea to meet its previous stated public commitments not to supply weapons to Russia, which will only end up prolonging the unnecessary war in Ukraine," he added. (Yonhap)

The Korea Times · by 2023-09-13 16:46 | Politics · September 13, 2023

13. Creating unified Korea by means of visionary 'Declaration of Unification'

Excerpts:

Such a Declaration of Unification should be drafted by a group of visionary Koreans who can rise above their particular circumstances and it should draw on the best of the Western and Eastern traditional philosophies to put forth a vision that will inspire not just Koreans, but people around the world thirsting for accountable government.

The Korean tradition of "hongik" (sharing benefits among all citizens) should be at the core of this declaration.

The term "unification" will mean more than a crude merging of the political and economic systems on the Korean Peninsula, implying rather a new unification of the citizens within a free society powered by common interests and universal values.

The Declaration of Unification must be inspired, not bureaucratic, elegantly phrased, not pedantic or banal, and crafted for the next thousand years, not just the upcoming regional elections. The drafting of such a text for the ages would bring with it a revolution in current Korean politics as well as a revival of the concept of statesmanship.

The preparation for the drafting of such a Declaration of Unification will be transformative, leading Koreans to think about what is possible, rather than focusing on what is wrong, to imagine possibilities, rather than fearing competition with, or threats from, North Korean workers.

Creating unified Korea by means of visionary 'Declaration of Unification'

The Korea Times · September 13, 2023

By Emanuel Pastreich

The efforts to normalize relations between North and South Korea through high-level meetings between politicians, the construction of factories at the Kaesong industrial region, and plans for trans-Asian gas pipelines over the last 25 years have gone nowhere.

Tensions have only increased between North and South, ideological confrontations between factions in Seoul have only grown more severe, and the other members of the defunct six-party talks: The United States, Japan, Russia, and China, are no longer able to meet at all.

Tragically, politicians assumed that photo ops with North Korean leaders, increased manufacturing in North Korea, and promoting K-pop stars among Pyongyang youth would somehow become a magic engine to drive the unification of the Korean people. Offering a few chances to make money was simply not enough to create a new nation.

History demonstrates that a successful unification of a people springs from an inspiring vision for what is possible, which is deeply rooted in the ancient traditions of moral philosophy, one that is infused with moving ideas that appeal to a universal desire for freedom and truth.

That is to say that the process leading to successful unification can only start with the Korean people themselves, taking the form of a deep dialogue that recognizes cultural and institutional commonalities of all Koreans and that affirms a common commitment for the future based on the ethical and the spiritual, not merely the consumption of products and the piling up of money in multinational banks.

The United States, Japan, China, Russia and Mongolia can support this process by building a substantial peace architecture for the region that facilitates unification, but they cannot play an immediate role in unification itself.

In the case of the United States, the greatest contribution might well be the proper introduction to the Koreans of America's own experience of establishing a constitutional republic based on transparent democratic governance.

Conveying that approach in an inspiring manner to Koreans so that they can achieve true unification will be a significant contribution to Korea's future prosperity and thereby bring about a free and peaceful order in Northeast Asia.

The United States was transformed from a group of colonies controlled by the British East India Company and other corporations headquartered in London into a constitutional republic through three critical stages: the proclamation of a Declaration of Independence, the drafting of a Constitution, and a series of rigorous and passionate discussions about the value of the constitution primarily through a series of articles known today as The Federalist Papers that made the ratification of the Constitution by the thirteen states possible.

The transformation of colonies controlled by London's financial interests into the United States of America was led by a handful of committed public intellectuals, each of whom had a slightly different political orientation. Between them they hammered out a contract between the people and the state that was inspiring, but also pragmatic and flexible.

The first step, the drafting of a Korean-style declaration of independence, or more accurately, the Declaration of Unification, is the most pressing action demanded for a free and unified Korea.

That Declaration of Unification will transform the two nations of the Republic of Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea into a new nation that is greater than the mere sum of two economies and is more inspiring than the crude aggregate of two populations.

The Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4, 1776, and established a United States independent of the British Empire. But it went far further than just institutional adjustments in its message.

When the Declaration of Independence proclaimed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness," it implied that independence grew from the political rights of the citizens and therefore any government must derive its "just powers from the consent of the governed."

The U.S. Constitution laid down the foundations for a new form of governance based on fundamental principles of freedom, the rights of the citizen, and the rule of law within a republic independent from monarchy and the church.

Korea can follow a similar process, bringing together a group of inspired public intellectuals, like Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Robert R. Livingston and Roger Sherman in 1776, to draft a powerful Declaration of Unification that limns the structure of a unified Korean nation dedicated to freedom and liberty, and defines values and principles that will undergird this new nation, one that will supplant the governments of both North and South, thereby realizing the original United Nations' plan for a united Korean Peninsula.

Such a Declaration of Unification should be drafted by a group of visionary Koreans who can rise above their particular circumstances and it should draw on the best of the Western and Eastern traditional philosophies to put forth a vision that will inspire not just Koreans, but people around the world thirsting for accountable government.

The Korean tradition of "hongik" (sharing benefits among all citizens) should be at the core of this declaration.

The term "unification" will mean more than a crude merging of the political and economic systems on the Korean Peninsula, implying rather a new unification of the citizens within a free society powered by common interests and universal values.

The Declaration of Unification must be inspired, not bureaucratic, elegantly phrased, not pedantic or banal, and crafted for the next thousand years, not just the upcoming regional elections. The drafting of such a text for the ages would bring with it a revolution in current Korean politics as well as a revival of the concept of statesmanship.

The preparation for the drafting of such a Declaration of Unification will be transformative, leading Koreans to think about what is possible, rather than focusing on what is wrong, to imagine possibilities, rather than fearing competition with, or threats from, North Korean workers.

Unification should follow the advice of management expert Peter Drucker, "Don't solve problems. Pursue opportunities." That is to say that if Koreans obsess on the endless problems of contemporary society, those problems will only become magnified, but if Koreans rise to a higher level, bravely seizing opportunities to create a new nation, the momentum generated will lead naturally to the resolution of many social ills.

Finally, the Korean project of building a new nation, and restoring and affirming the role of the constitution and the value of a republic that holds up the rights of citizens, will spill over into Japan, China, and even the United States itself, leading to the revitalization of the bonds that tie citizens to governance.

Such a process would follow precisely the model of the Korean Declaration of Independence (March 1, 1919) that elegantly articulated the potential for national self-determination identified in U.S. President Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points (January 8, 1918) while expressing them within an Eastern cultural context. The Korean Independence Movement inspired the May 4th movement in China just two months later, and it was cited across Asia as a model for what citizens can achieve.

This time as well, a free and unified Korea expressed in a Declaration of Unification can become the template for a free and peaceful world.

Emanuel Pastreich is president of Asia Society, researcher at Council on East Asian Studies, Yale University and senior fellow at Global Peace Foundation. The views expressed in the above article are the author's own and do not reflect the editorial direction of The Korea Times.

The Korea Times · September 13, 2023

14. Kim, Putin to fortify ‘anti-imperialist’ united front, vow tech cooperation

Kim, Putin to fortify ‘anti-imperialist’ united front, vow tech cooperation

North Korea, Russia leaders meet at Russia’s space icon Vostochny Cosmodrome.

By Lee Jeong-Ho for RFA

2023.09.13

Seoul, South Korea

rfa.org

Updated Sept. 13, 2023, 04:55 a.m. ET

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin met at the symbol of Russia’s space prowess on Wednesday, where both sides vowed to boost their comprehensive cooperation, spanning from the economy to military.

“I want to discuss cooperation in the economy, and many other areas,” Putin told Kim at the start of the landmark summit at Russia’s far east spaceport of Vostochny Cosmodrome on Wednesday. “It would also be nice to talk about the situation on the Korean Peninsula.”

“I am honored to meet you here, at the heart of a space superpower,” Kim responded. “We will stand with Russia in our anti-Imperialist united front.”

The comments came as both leaders were set to discuss military cooperation that could boost their battle against the West. At the heart of the cooperation is most likely to be Russia’s weapons technology transfer in exchange for North Korea’s conventional ammunition.

Kim has a “keen interest in rocket technology and is focusing on space advancements. I plan to familiarize him with the latest technologies during our base tour,” Putin told reporters, as captured by footage released by Russian media IRA Novosti on Wednesday.

Asked about Russia’s intention to assist North Korea’s satellite development, the Russian leader said: “That’s why we’re here.”

The two leaders have yet to publicly comment on any ammunition deal, but the Kremlin said on Wednesday that it would cooperate with North Korea in “sensitive areas that can’t be disclosed.”

The summit lasted around two hours, according to the Kremlin, which said no joint statement would be released.

Missile launch

Meanwhile, North Korea has fired two ballistic missiles off to its eastern coast, as Kim and Putin arrived in the Vostochny Cosmodrome for the summit where arms trading is most likely to dominate the agenda.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Wednesday that they have “detected two short-range ballistic missiles fired into the East Sea [Sea of Japan]”, about an hour before the Kim-Putin summit. The missiles were fired from the Sunan area, near Pyongyang, it added.

While it is unclear on why North Korea fired missiles, Pyongyang has historically shown a tendency to use such launches as its strategic tool against the democratic world.

The launch marks the “onset of comprehensive military collaboration between the two nations. This could imply a united front between the North Korean and Russian militaries against the trilateral security cooperation between the ROK, U.S. and Japan,” said Cheon Seong-whun, a former security strategy secretary for South Korea’s presidential office.

“Simultaneously, it shows that North Korea could still operate in Kim Jong Un’s absence. It acts as a deterrent against potential attacks targeting the North Korean leadership.”

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrives in Khasan, Russia, Sept. 12, 2023. Credit: KCNA via Reuters

The Kim-Putin summit is widely viewed as an effort by Pyongyang and Moscow to further cement their ties in the face of international sanctions pressing their economies. Russia is under sanctions due to its aggression against Ukraine, while North Korea is sanctioned for its nuclear ambitions.

On his arrival in Russia on Tuesday, Kim stated that his government places “strategic importance” on relations with its northern neighbor, according to North Korea’s state-run Korea Central News Agency Wednesday.

Choosing the Vostochny Cosmodrome as a venue may also signal that bilateral diplomacy has now expanded to scientific and technological collaboration.

The spaceport, located in the Far East of Russia, showcases Putin’s aspirations to transform Russia into a leading space power. The facility was built with the objective of cutting Russia’s reliance on Kazakhstan’s Baikonur Cosmodrome. Apart from being a launching site, the complex is positioned as a technological and economic hub, promoting advancements of Russia’s aerospace industry.

Given the significance of the venue, and Putin’s offer to aid Kim in perfecting his satellite technology, the summit is set to entail discussions to deepen cooperation in the aerospace industry. Enhanced cooperation in the sector may risk international security as it would most likely advance Pyongyang’s missile technology. Rocket technology can be used for both launching satellites and missiles. For that reason, the UN bans North Korea from launching a ballistic rocket, even if it claims to be a satellite launch.

Technology transfer

The possibility of technology transfer has become significant and highly plausible based on the makeup of Kim’s delegation to Russia. Ri Pyong-chol, vice chairman of the ruling Workers’ Party’s Central Military Commission and Pak Jong-chon, newly-appointed head of the party’s military political leadership, are part of the entourage, according to a Korean Central News Agency report released on Tuesday.

The top military figures in the delegation may indicate Pyongyang’s interest in attaining Russia’s military technology and its defense ties with Moscow, which could boost its deterrence capability against the U.S. and its regional allies.

“Kim has always asserted his right of ‘peaceful use of space’, and demonstrated his commitment to acquiring the relevant technology,” said Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul who has advised the South Korean government over the years.

“The meeting at the Vostochny Cosmodrome is not only symbolic, but could also mean an actual transfer of space technology. In particular, the launch of a reconnaissance satellite in October will be seen as a must.”

So far this year, North Korea has failed to successfully launch what it described as “satellites”. The Malligyong-1 satellite, mounted on the new-type Chollima-1 rocket, lost thrust over the Yellow Sea in May. A second attempt last month also failed. North Korea has planned for a third try next month, according to the Korean Central News Agency.

The relevant Russian technology transfer may accelerate the North’s technological progress and help Kim attain success in the third test. “From Russia’s point of view, satellite technology may be less likely to be criticized by the international community,” Yang added.

“I think that Russia sharing its advanced technologies and expertise with North Korea will help Pyongyang to catch up with South Korea, which has more sophisticated weapons systems,” said Ramon Pacheco Pardo, Professor of International Relations at King’s College London and the KF-VUB Korea Chair at the Brussels School of Governance of Vrije Universiteit Brussel.

Potential backlash from Asia to Europe

The broadening scope of bilateral collaboration and diplomacy “may serve as a rationale for increased cooperation among regional allies and, by extension, military cooperation among ROK, U.S.and Japan,” pointed out Park Won-gon, an associate professor in the department of North Korean studies at Ewha Womans University.

Granted, South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol has repeatedly warned Pyongyang and Moscow that Seoul would strengthen its military ties with its allies if North Korea’s provocation shows no signs of easing.

“North Korea’s nuclear threat is a practical threat to South Korea,” Yoon said during a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, where he also told his ministers of his conversation with China’s premier Li Qiang last week. “The more serious the North Korean nuclear issue becomes, the stronger the relations among ROK, U.S. and Japan. Would become,” Yoon had told Li.

Park said, beyond enhancing the trilateral cooperation between the US, South Korea and Japan, the summit could have ramifications for NATO in its engagement with Pyongyang.

“Russia is the country that started the war in Ukraine. If North Korea were to intervene in the Ukraine war and provide weapons, it would most likely turn all NATO countries against itself,” Park noted.

Experts note that any ammunition supplies to Russia may prolong its aggression against Ukraine, could risk the current security situation in Europe. Ammunition supplies from North Korea could enable Russia to further advance deeper into Ukrainian territories.

NATO has been imposing multiple sanctions on Russia to curb its expansionist ambition. North Korea may be subjected to NATO’s upcoming sanctions, should there be solid evidence of it supplying ammunition, Park said.

Edited by Elaine Chan and Taejun Kang.

Story updated throughout with details of Kim-Putin summit.

rfa.org

15. Former N. Korean defector hunter reflects on her experiences

Excerpts:

Han reflected upon her past experiences from her current vantage point:

“I decided to become a spy at the age of 34. My hometown was the kind of place where people struggled to make a living and only a handful of officials were comfortable. But when I escaped to China in search of a better life, I was treated like an animal because I didn’t have any civil rights.”

“Then I got arrested and taken back to North Korea. I became a spy because I was afraid of going to prison, where I was sure to die. Many [North Koreans] trying to make it to South Korea were caught because of me. Now I regret becoming a spy.”

Former N. Korean defector hunter reflects on her experiences

Now living in China, the former agent says that she "became spy because I was afraid of going to prison, where I was sure to die"

By Kim Jeong Yoon - 2023.09.13 5:00pm

dailynk.com

Former N. Korean defector hunter reflects on her experiences | Daily NK English

FILE PHOTO: View into North Korea from across the Tumen River in China’s Jilin Province. (Daily NK)

In September 2018, a woman in her late 30s lay on her side in a safe house of the North Hamgyong Province state security bureau amid the acrid smell of cigarette smoke.

Rewinding back to mid-2014, the woman, surnamed Han, had been arrested by the provincial state security bureau for making an illegal crossing into China. After pledging loyalty to the bureau, she was ordered to return to China, this time as a spy.

After taking power in North Korea, Kim Jong Un became concerned about the large number of defections that had taken place during the deadly famine known in North Korea as the “Arduous March.” So on several occasions, he instructed the Ministry of State Security, the military’s state security bureau, and the state security bureaus of provinces bordering China to devise sweeping measures to counter defection attempts. 

Subsequently, the Ministry of State Security pressured provincial state security bureaus on the border with China to come up with creative schemes for repatriating defectors, noting that the Supreme Leader had instructed the state security apparatus to bring back each and every citizen who had fled the country because of hardships in the past.

In response, the North Hamgyong Province state security bureau came up with a scheme of assigning spies to lure back defectors from South Korea and ferret out defectors in China who were trying to reach the South. That scheme was implemented immediately. 

After screening women who were in detention following repatriation from China, the provincial state security bureau selected the ones with decent backgrounds and social status. The women were ordered to swear an oath of loyalty and then sent back to China. Their mission was to use whatever means necessary to track down defectors seeking to travel to South Korea and report back on their findings.

Han was in the batch the spies selected by the state security bureau at that time. She was assigned to China’s Jilin Province, where she diligently applied herself to her mission.

When Han had smuggled herself across the border because of the privation she faced in North Korea, she faced a new and terrible hardship in China: contempt and scorn. Even so, she had contended herself with getting three solid meals a day without any fear of starvation. And then she was repatriated to North Korea against her will.

Han thought it would be better to serve as a spy for the state security bureau in China than to struggle in North Korea without any viable livelihood. For four years after her recruitment — from 2014 to 2018 — she traveled around Jilin Province, informing on more than twenty North Korean defectors who were hoping to make their way to South Korea.

Han was praised for her performance and was among the “key spies” who were brought back to North Korea on orders from the Ministry of State Security on September 9, 2018 — the 70th anniversary of North Korea’s establishment — for intense training.

At a safe house operated by the ministry, Han was given a four-year assignment to South Korea, where she was supposed to entice defectors to return to the North. Her assignment was to settle her affairs in China and travel to South Korea in the same manner as ordinary defectors. She was to then settle down in the South and await her next orders.

An unexpected turn of events

In October 2018, she returned to the house in China where she had been living with a Korean-Chinese man. According to the original plan, she was supposed to look up a broker in China and head to South Korea, but there was a hitch: she got pregnant.

The provincial state security bureau pushed her to carry out her mission, even if that meant getting an abortion. But Han insisted on keeping the child and waiting until the child turned one before heading to Korea.

And so Han found herself still in China when the calendar flipped from 2019 to 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic spread around the world. She was stuck in China and soon decided to remain there for good. She severed her connection with the North Hamgyong Province state security bureau and relocated to another part of China.

Han reflected upon her past experiences from her current vantage point:

“I decided to become a spy at the age of 34. My hometown was the kind of place where people struggled to make a living and only a handful of officials were comfortable. But when I escaped to China in search of a better life, I was treated like an animal because I didn’t have any civil rights.”

“Then I got arrested and taken back to North Korea. I became a spy because I was afraid of going to prison, where I was sure to die. Many [North Koreans] trying to make it to South Korea were caught because of me. Now I regret becoming a spy.”

Translated by David Carruth. Edited by Robert Lauler. 

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

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

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16. S. Korea to hold massive military parade for 1st time in decade

Please do not try to compete with the nKPA in the parade competition. Let them have their victory on the parade field. Victory must come on the battlefield.

S. Korea to hold massive military parade for 1st time in decade

koreaherald.com · by Lee Jaeeun · September 13, 2023

By Lee Jaeeun

Published : Sept. 13, 2023 - 14:12

Citizens watch the celebratory flight of the Air Force's special flight team, the Black Eagles, at a cultural experience event to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Armed Forces Day held at Seoul Battleship Park in Mapo-gu, Seoul, Sept. 6. (Newsis)

South Korea will hold a large-scale military parade for the first time in 10 years to showcase its strategic weapons as part of an Armed Forces Day event later this month, the Ministry of Defense said Wednesday.

The 75th Armed Forces Day falls on Oct. 1, which is a day to commemorate the service of the country's former and current troops. This year, the government's official ceremony will be held on Sept. 26 ahead of the Chuseok holiday, which runs for six days from Sept. 28.

The ceremony is set to kick off at the Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, to show off South Korea’s new homegrown weapons, including KF-21 fighter jets, Light Armed Helicopters and long-range surface-to-air missiles.

The event will move to Gwanghwamun in central Seoul for a large-scale military parade in the afternoon. During the parade, the Air Force's Black Eagles aerobatic team and Apache attack helicopters will stage flights over the troops.

While South Korea has typically held a military parade every five years to mark Armed Forces Day in a show of firepower against North Korea, the parade was last staged in 2013 during the conservative former Park Geun-hye government. The event did not take place under the liberal former Moon Jae-in administration, which pushed for inter-Korean reconciliation.

This year's event will proceed under the theme of "a strong military, strong security and peace through strength" to demonstrate the military's resolve to defend the country, focusing on sending a message to North Korea amid increasing provocations, an official said.

koreaherald.com · by Lee Jaeeun · September 13, 2023

De Oppresso Liber,

David Maxwell

Vice President, Center for Asia Pacific Strategy

Senior Fellow, Global Peace Foundation

Editor, Small Wars Journal

Twitter: @davidmaxwell161

Phone: 202-573-8647

email: david.maxwell161@gmail.com