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Quotes of the Day:
“When pride arises out of knowledge, that is always a sign that something in one's knowledge is indeed terribly wrong. For when knowledge is truly present, it makes one humble in a completely natural way.”
- Rudolf Steiner
“The oppressor would not be so strong if he did not have accomplices among the oppressed.”
- Simone de Beauvoir
“The existence of the Kim regime is an offense to human dignity.”
- Hon. Damon Wilson, President, National Endowment for Democracy, 15 SEP 22
1. China's top legislator stresses 'mutual respect' in 'sensitive matters' with South Korea
2. Ruling party reveals information about two N. Korean fishermen
3. North Korea forces citizens to attend lectures about new nuclear force law
4. DoD Leaders Meet With Republic of Korea Leaders at the Pentagon
5. N. Koreans can use e-payments to buy items through popular e-commerce app
6. "All Invaded People Want to Resist": Steinbeck's The Moon is Down (Dusty Shelves)
7. North Korean Weapons Supplied to Russia Would Likely Have Limits
8. North Korea Is ‘Preparing’ For Its 7th Nuclear Test; Can US, Japan & South Korea Pin Down Kim Jong-Un?
9. Three men charged with obstructing investigations into suspected transfers of gasoil to North Korea
10. Russia, China and Iran are new Axis of Evil plotting to break up West
1. China's top legislator stresses 'mutual respect' in 'sensitive matters' with South Korea
Mutual respect must begin with China's respect for South Korea's right of self-defense and for alliance defense. It does not get a vote in the defense measures of a sovereign nation.
China's top legislator stresses 'mutual respect' in 'sensitive matters' with South Korea
The Korea Times · September 16, 2022
Li Zhanshu, chairman of the Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress, left, speaks during a joint press conference with South Korea's National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo after their meeting in Seoul, Friday. Joint Press Corps
China's sulk at THAAD battery disguised as cordial greeting
By Nam Hyun-woo
Li Zhanshu, China's third-most-powerful official and chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, stressed, Friday, the spirit of "mutual respect" in addressing "sensitive matters" with South Korea, in an apparent reference to Seoul's recent move to normalize deployment of a U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system on its soil.
During a press announcement after meeting Seoul's National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo, Li said he and Kim "shared their thoughts that the two sides should address sensitive problems based on the spirit of respecting each other's key major interests" for the sake of productive and healthy bilateral relations.
The sensitive problems Li mentioned seem to be Seoul's recent moves to normalize the THAAD base in Seongju, North Gyeongsang Province.
Ever since South Korea deployed the missile defense system in 2017, China has been expressing its opposition, more recently urging Seoul to uphold the so-called "Three Nos" policy, which refers to no additional THAAD deployments, no South Korean integration into a U.S.-led regional missile defense system and no trilateral alliance with the U.S. and Japan.
The mutual respect Li was referring to has been widely acknowledged as China's expression that the THAAD battery hurts Beijing's interests, thus Seoul should show respect on this.
"The terminology has widely been using in cordial remarks between the two countries' leaders and ranking diplomats, but the two countries have been using it for different purposes," said Park Won-gon, a professor of North Korean studies at Ewha Womans University. "While China wants to be respected on its claim, South Korea is using the term of mutual respect, asking China to accept that South Korea needs THAAD to counter North Korea's nuclear and missile threats."
During his meeting with Speaker Kim, Li also said that "President Xi Jinping has evaluated that China-South Korea relations were able to make their achievements because they have maintained the values of mutual respect, mutual trust and reciprocal magnanimity."
The concept of mutual respect has been the keyword in Seoul and Beijing's recent diplomatic overtures, as South Korea's Yoon Suk-yeol administration is putting greater emphasis on expanding its ties with the United States, triggering concerns that this may sour South Korea's relations with China, its largest trading partner.
As a tactic to address this dilemma, South Korea has been stressing the value of mutual trust. Foreign Minister Park Jin, during a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi last month, stressed that the two sides can have healthy relations even though there may be differences in their values and socio-political systems.
During Li's meeting with speaker Kim, they recognized the progress in bilateral relations over the past three decades and discussed how they should develop them further in the future.
During the press announcement, Kim said he proposed a trilateral meeting between the parliamentary heads of South Korea, China and Japan, as a way to strengthen exchanges between high-ranking officials of the countries.
"Chairman Li and I have shared the recognition that the two countries' legislative bodies should make contributions to the peace and stability of Northeast Asia amid the flexible geopolitical circumstances," Kim said. "Li responded that he will seriously consider the proposal, and I will soon communicate this with Japan in an appropriate manner."
Li also said in the press announcement that the two sides recognized that the peace and safety of the Korean Peninsula should be protected through conversations and negotiations, and "the establishment of a peace scheme on the peninsula serves each country's common interests."
President Yoon Suk-yeol shakes hands with Li Zhanshu, chairman of the Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress, during the latter's visit to the presidential office in Yongsan District, Seoul, Friday. Joint Press Corps
After meeting Kim, Li met President Yoon and exchanged cordial words recognizing the past 30 years of bilateral relations.
"This year marks the 30th anniversary of the two countries diplomatic ties," Yoon said during the meeting at the presidential office in Yongsan District, Seoul. "I expect Chairman Li's contribution and interest for the progress in the bilateral relations, and I also hope the two countries expand their common interests and build friendship and trust between their people."
Li responded that the two countries' relations have achieved "omnidirectional developments" under the two countries' leaders in the past 30 years.
Li's visit to Seoul came upon Speaker Kim's invitation. Along with 66 delegates including some minister- and vice minister-level officials, Li arrived in Seoul on Thursday for a three-day visit.
Also on Friday, Li paid a visit to LG Science Park in southwestern Seoul's Gangseo District, which accommodates the R&D departments of LG Group's eight major affiliates including LG Energy Solution, the world's No. 2 EV battery maker in terms of sales.
The Korea Times · September 16, 2022
2. Ruling party reveals information about two N. Korean fishermen
I attended this event yesterday. I missed the news that the US is investigating this incident. I guess it was only his Facebook page.
Excerpt:
“Three years have passed since the incident, but it remains unclear whether they are alive or not. The North should disclose the current status of the two young men, who were forced back to the regime irrespective of their will, to the United Nations and international community,” Rep. Ha Tae-gyeong said. “The U.S. is investigating the forced repatriation of the two North Korean fishermen.” On Thursday, Mr. Ha said on his Facebook post, sharing the news of his talks with Uzra Zeya, the Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights in the Biden administration.
한국어
Ruling party reveals information about two N. Korean fishermen
donga.com
Posted September. 16, 2022 07:35,
Updated September. 16, 2022 07:35
Ruling party reveals information about two N. Korean fishermen. September. 16, 2022 07:35. oldsport@donga.com.
The ruling People Power Party (PPP) has revealed information about the two North Korean fishermen. They were forcibly repatriated to Pyongyang under the former Moon Jae-in administration despite expressing their will to surrender in November 2019.
Rep. Ha Tae-gyeong, Ji Seong-ho, and Hong Seok-jun of the PPP, who are visiting the U.S. to attend the IPCNK general meeting, issued a statement on Wednesday (local time) and said, “We decided to “disclose their basic information including their name, age, and hometown as we cannot delay identifying their whereabouts.” According to the statement, one of the fishermen is a man named Woo Bom Son, born in Chongjin of North Hamgyong Province in 1997. In the footage disclosed by the Unification Ministry, Woo was seen banging his head on the ground in defiance of the forced repatriation. The other man is Kim Hyon Uk, who was born in 1996 and also hailed from Chongjin.
“Three years have passed since the incident, but it remains unclear whether they are alive or not. The North should disclose the current status of the two young men, who were forced back to the regime irrespective of their will, to the United Nations and international community,” Rep. Ha Tae-gyeong said. “The U.S. is investigating the forced repatriation of the two North Korean fishermen.” On Thursday, Mr. Ha said on his Facebook post, sharing the news of his talks with Uzra Zeya, the Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights in the Biden administration.
한국어
donga.com
3. North Korea forces citizens to attend lectures about new nuclear force law
The regime's main effort is ideological. But you cannot eat nuclear weapons.
North Korea forces citizens to attend lectures about new nuclear force law
The citizens say the lectures are a waste of time as they struggle with a bleak economy.
By Chang Gyu Ahn for RFA Korean
2022.09.14
rfa.org
North Korea is forcing citizens to attend propaganda lectures to promote the newly passed “Nuclear Forces Policy Act,” which authorizes leader Kim Jong Un to order a preemptive nuclear strike to counter threats, but people are griping that the lectures waste time while they struggle to make a living, sources in the country told RFA.
The rubber-stamp Supreme People’s Assembly approved the new law last week, after which Kim vowed in a speech to never give up nuclear weapons, moves that sparked deep concern from members of the international community who hope to find a diplomatic solution to the nuclear issue.
The government organized a week of lectures to explain to the public how the law enhances North Korea’s defensive capabilities, and to highlight its passage as an example of Kim’s greatness, an official from Hyesan in the northern province of Ryanggang told RFA’s Korean Service Monday on condition of anonymity for security reasons.
“Today, an intensive lecture promoting the Nuclear Forces Policy Act was held for all residents. But the residents are responding to the lecture, in short, negatively,” said the source. “Lectures will be held every day this week in each institution, company, and region,” he said, adding that 100 percent of the population must attend all week.
“Today’s lecture emphasized that as long as Kim Jong Un breathes, we must have faith that victory will soon follow,” he said.
Shortly after the law was passed, citizens began speculating on why, so the authorities say the lectures are supposed to prevent rumors from spreading, according to the source.
“People have been talking about the new law, saying they passed it because closed-door talks with other countries to get financial aid without giving up nuclear weapons have failed,” the source said.
The source did not specify which closed-door talks the people were referring to, however, summits in 2018 and 2019 between Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump failed to produce an agreement on sanctions relief for partial denuclearization. North Korea has additionally held summits with South Korea, China and Russia during the same time frame.
Citizens generally do not like hearing about the nuclear issue because they are more concerned with making ends meet while the economy is in dire circumstances, according to the source.
“The residents are very aware right now that the development and possession of nuclear weapons are not helping their lives at all, so they think the order to attend lectures about it is a waste of time,” the source said.
“They accuse the government of benign paranoid … making a fuss as if the U.S. is on the brink of attacking us,” he said.
In addition to the lectures that justify the new law, the citizens in the northeastern province of North Hamgyong must also study Kim Jong Un’s speech to the Supreme People’s Assembly last week, an official in the province’s Onsong county told RFA on condition of anonymity for security reasons.
Many residents did not react favorably to Kim’s promise to keep North Korea nuclear, he said.
“They are concerned about the negative consequences of the adoption of this new policy, saying that the country's economy and residents' lives have reached a tipping point,” the second source said..
The lectures will also focus on the country’s achievements in Kim Jong Un’s first 10 years as ruler, and its successes in the struggle to construct a socialist society, he said.
Warning from Seoul
In response to the North’s new nuclear law, South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense issued a stern warning Tuesday.
“Should North Korea attempt to use nuclear arms, it would face the overwhelming response from the South Korea-U.S. alliance, and its regime would enter a path of self-destruction,” ministry spokesperson Moon Hong-sik told a press briefing.
Translated by Claire Shinyoung Oh Lee and Leejin J. Chung. Written in English by Eugene Whong.
rfa.org
4. DoD Leaders Meet With Republic of Korea Leaders at the Pentagon
I will be on a panel in Seoul next week on north Korean provocations with my friend VIce Minister Shin Beom Chul.
DoD Leaders Meet With Republic of Korea Leaders at the Pentagon
defense.gov
Release
Immediate Release
Sept. 15, 2022
Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder provided the following readout:
Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks met with the Republic of Korea (ROK) Vice Minister of National Defense Shin Beomchul today at the Pentagon. The two leaders reaffirmed the importance of the U.S.-ROK Alliance and the mutual commitment to maintaining a strong combined defense posture. They also discussed the security environment on the Korean Peninsula and committed to continuing regional cooperation that upholds a free and open Indo-Pacific.
On September 14, Vice Minister Shin met with the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, Heidi Shyu, to discuss the critical importance of science and technology (S&T) cooperation to the alliance. Both sides agreed that deep S&T cooperation is essential to integrated deterrence and a robust defense posture on the Korean Peninsula.
Also on September 14, Vice Minister Shin met with Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisitions and Sustainment, William LaPlante, to discuss the ROK’s interest in pursuing a Reciprocal Defense Procurement Agreement between the U.S. and South Korea. Both parties also reaffirmed their commitment to increasing bilateral cooperation between our two countries.
South Korea partnerships Hicks Deputy Defense Secretary
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5. N. Koreans can use e-payments to buy items through popular e-commerce app
I listened to Jang Hyoek discuss this yesterday. He is an escapee and former entrepreneur from north Korea. He provided incredible insights into the information terrain in north Korea from smartphones to the north Korea "intranet." Kim cannot put the information genie back in the bottle. There is tremendous potential for getting information into north Korea.
Also, the Honorable Hong Suk Joon of the ROK National Assembly reminded us that when it comes to information that the "right to know" is a basic human right.
N. Koreans can use e-payments to buy items through popular e-commerce app
North Koreans express surprise and contentment that they can receive items from Pyongyang foreign currency shops within a week, a source told Daily NK
dailynk.com
North Korean e-commerce app, Manmulsang (Photo capture from Seogwang)
North Koreans can use both bank cards and bank transfers to buy goods on a popular mobile e-commerce app used to purchase items from foreign currency shops nationwide.
A source in Yanggang Province told Daily NK on Tuesday that to purchase items with the app, a user needs a bank card in their own name, a mobile phone and a mobile phone number.
“You make electronic payments using a pre-registered card after the app verifies your ID and password,” he said.
When making e-payments, North Korean authorities verify whether the phone number and name on the bank card match the information stored on the app.
The authorities check the phone number because North Koreans sometimes illegally sell their mobile phones, along with the phone numbers attached to them. Because the registered name on the phone and the actual owner sometimes differ, North Korean authorities impose ID verifications that check the registered owner of the phone number, too.
App users must reportedly make their purchases in foreign currency only, just as they would at the brick-and-mortar shops.
“You can register on the app various foreign currency cards issued by the Central Bank and regional commercial banks,” said the source. “People who haven’t registered a card can buy things with bank transfers.”
This means even if a user has no separately issued foreign currency card, they can buy goods by depositing money in the foreign currency shops’ bank accounts, as long as they have a foreign currency account in their own name.
“If you send money to the foreign currency shop’s foreign currency account, you get a text message within a minute saying the payment has been completed,” said the source. “Everyone was amazed at first at such a rare thing, though they also worried about getting scammed.”
This is to say, North Koreans — highly distrustful of the country’s public financial system — were at first hesitant to buy goods using mobile payments or bank transfers.
“In particular, people in provincial areas were so amazed they bought the cheapest thing there just to see what happened,” said the source. “When people in Yanggang Province bought goods from a foreign currency shop in Pyongyang on their mobile phones, the items arrived within a week, packaged with the specific name of the shop, delivered via private buses from Pyongyang to Hamhung to Hyesan. Now people don’t worry about getting scammed.”
In fact, North Koreans express surprise and contentment that they can receive items from Pyongyang foreign currency shops within a week, exclaiming that “this is the first time in their lives that they have felt the state so thoroughly earning the individual’s trust.”
“When you buy goods from Pyongyang in the provinces, the app gives you the total price by automatically calculating the shipping cost,” the source said, adding, “People have no complaints about this. They can conveniently receive goods where they are, so naturally they don’t mind paying shipping based on the distance.”
Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
Read in Korean
dailynk.com
6. "All Invaded People Want to Resist": Steinbeck's The Moon is Down (Dusty Shelves)
I just reread this book over the summer, (I have a copy on my iPad) I would love to find someone from north Korea to write a novel of resistance in north Korea along the lines of Steinbeck's book. We need to find authors who are willing to follow in Steinbeck's footsteps.
Note that Steinbeck wrote this book with General Donovan's encouragement. This is an excerpt from a blog - The Moon is Down – Precision Propaganda Prose at this link: https://chronicchronicler.wordpress.com/2014/05/07/the-moon-is-down-precision-propaganda-prose/
So let’s get into some history then some overview so you can get the gist of what was going on and what the story is about. So according to Donald V. Coers (the gentleman who wrote the introduction to my copy of The Moon is Down), Steinbeck served voluntarily in several US government intelligence agencies between 1940 and 1942 out of concern of the Nazis. It was during this time that he met Colonel William J. “Wild Bill” Donovan, who was head of the Office of Coordinator of Information (COI) and the Office for Strategic Services (OSS), both of which would merge to become the CIA.
It was while Steinbeck was working at the COI that Donovan and Steinbeck began discussions on using his literary talents to make a propaganda piece. From these talks, and gathering information on refugees from Norway, Denmark, France, Belgium and the Netherlands about underground activities against the Nazi invaders. It was this that inspired him to write his book and, after several drafts, The Moon is Down was published in 1942.
It can be accessed and read online for free at this link: https://www.onlinereadfreebooks.com/en/The-Moon-Is-Down-990474/1
“ALL INVADED PEOPLE WANT TO RESIST”: STEINBECK’S THE MOON IS DOWN (DUSTY SHELVES)
warroom.armywarcollege.edu · by Rick Chersicla · September 16, 2022
The nearly uncontested conquest of the town at the center of the novella is thanks in part to a collaborator in their midst, a prominent townsperson who had set the conditions that ensured a smooth entry for the invading force.
Most readers likely associate John Steinbeck with mandatory High School assignments—The Grapes of Wrath, or perhaps Of Mice and Men—and are not aware of his work during the Second World War. Steinbeck served as a war correspondent in England and in Italy, and much of his wartime writing (both fiction and nonfiction) was borne out of his own experiences and observations. One of his lesser known works is his short classic of resilience and civil resistance, The Moon is Down.
Published in 1942, The Moon is Down is set in an unnamed Northern European country, where an invader (with some very thinly veiled similarities to Nazi Germany) rapidly overcomes the people of a mining town and their miniscule local militia. The nearly uncontested conquest of the town at the center of the novella is thanks in part to a collaborator in their midst, a prominent townsperson who had set the conditions that ensured a smooth entry for the invading force. The book does not focus on the invasion however, and contains no battle scenes, but centers rather on how people cope with occupation, and the social dynamics at play within resistance movements.
Shaken by their rapid capitulation and immediate occupation, the townspeople do not know precisely how to interact with their initially benevolent invaders, and are vexed as to how to feel about the new status quo. The town is isolated from the rest of the country, and the local leaders grapple with what the appropriate behavior is for an occupied people. The commanding officer of the invading force, a Colonel Lanser, is obligated by his orders to administer the town through collaborating local authorities. As a result, the mayor is not removed, but remains the face of the local government as Colonel Lanser and his staff attempt to keep the town peaceful and the townspeople docile by governing through familiar leaders. The invaders need the town for its natural resources—particularly coal, and to get it the townspeople must be cooperative with the occupying force.
Colonel Lanser initially has an ironically cordial relationship with the Mayor given the circumstances, until the Mayor finds his courage and begins to assert himself. The emboldened local leader tries to warn the Colonel that the townspeople may not accept their current condition as a lasting one, and reminds Lanser that “the one impossible job is to break a man’s spirit permanently.” Colonel Lanser himself is a semi-tragic figure, torn between his lessons of the last war, and his orders—leading the occupation only grudgingly. He counsels caution to the younger officers, and is a pragmatic if not somewhat melancholy figure. The experienced Colonel expects resentment (“there are no peaceful people” he remembers), and understands that a strong response to resistance or acts of sabotage will only begin a cycle of reprisals and resistance. When one of his officers is killed after trying to force a townsperson to work, the Colonel sees the “spark that can burst into flame” ignite an earnest resistance—“so it begins!” he proclaims.
The dichotomy between the older generation who has seen the human cost of war, and the younger ones, full of faith in their system and their cause, is the most interesting theme of the book.
Slowly, both overt and deniable acts of sabotage slow down progress for the occupiers. The local miners “make mistakes” and machinery breaks, and eventually outside sponsors send dynamite in by parachute to cut the railroad. The occupiers’ reactions to mounting resistance are split between the experienced Colonel, and the naïve younger members of his staff. The dichotomy between the older generation who has seen the human cost of war, and the younger ones, full of faith in their system and their cause, is the most interesting theme of the book. Tensions build as Lanser and his staff lurch into to a familiar historical pattern: the seemingly inevitable cycle of occupation, resistance, and violence.
Steinbeck tells the story of the psychological changes within the town as resistance mounts, as the originally confident conquerors begin to fear the townspeople. Some of Colonel Lanser’s staff begin to lose faith—first in their mission, but then also in their domestic leadership. “Is this place conquered?” asks one of the younger officers of his Captain. When his Captain replies with “Of course,” the doubting Lieutenant begins to unravel: “Conquered and we’re afraid, conquered and we’re surrounded.” His once-total faith shaken, the previously confident Lieutenant observes that they’ve moved “conquest after conquest, deeper and deeper into molasses.” Hysterical, the Lieutenant has a new perspective on the war, and can see new headlines: “Flies conquer the flypaper. Flies capture two hundred miles of new flypaper!”
The Moon is Down is a quick, worthwhile, and timely read. It is not one of dramatic battle scenes, but rather an examination of how the Mayor and the townspeople grapple with what it means to be free, and their obligations as free people and citizens. Criticized as propaganda by some, it is worth noting that the novella was clandestinely printed in or smuggled into multiple occupied countries by 1944, inspiring the will to resist across Europe. After World War II, Steinbeck was even recognized by the Norwegian King due to the perceived impact of The Moon is Down in Norway. It is difficult to read this classic work in 2022, however, and think of Norway, or World War II, but rather of Ukraine. Are there Russian soldiers wondering now if “the flies have captured the flypaper”? Time will tell.
Rick Chersicla is an Army Strategist currently serving in a joint headquarters in Europe.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Army War College, the U.S. Army, or the Department of Defense.
Photo Description: Troops of the Wehrmacht, the military forces of Nazi Germany, in Oslo, Norway on April 9, 1940, the first day of the German invasion and occupation of Norway in World War II. The soldiers are equipped with greatcoats, steel helmets, studded jack boots, Karabiner 98k rifles and field gear. They are marching down the Karl Johans gate Street while civilians have gathered on the pavements as spectactors of the show. Unarmed Norwegian police in dark overcoats and British brodie helmets help maintain law and order. In the background are the Royal palace, the buildings of University of Oslo, etc.
Photo Credit: Henriksen & Steen (Photographers in Oslo, Norway) / National Library of Norway
warroom.armywarcollege.edu · by Rick Chersicla · September 16, 2022
7. North Korean Weapons Supplied to Russia Would Likely Have Limits
How many of the north Korean artillery rounds will be duds? How many will blow up in the guns?
North Korean Weapons Supplied to Russia Would Likely Have Limits
U.S. says Moscow could potentially purchase millions of rounds from Pyongyang, but most are old and unsophisticated
https://www.wsj.com/articles/any-north-korean-weapons-supplied-to-russia-would-likely-have-limits-11663244076
By Dasl YoonFollow
Sept. 15, 2022 8:14 am ET
SEOUL—North Korea has stockpiles of munitions to assist Russia’s military as the Ukraine war grinds on, but weapons experts say they are old and Kim Jong Un’s regime would face problems providing Russia with the more sophisticated weaponry it has been developing.
The U.S. said last week that Russia could potentially purchase millions of rounds of ammunition from North Korea. White House national-security spokesman John Kirby called it an indication of how desperate President Vladimir Putin had become. He said the purchase hadn’t occurred yet but that U.S. intelligence indicated that it could include rockets and artillery shells.
Vassily Nebenzia, Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations, said it was his first time hearing of the purchase and that he thought the report was false.
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Military analysts have long thought one of Russia’s strengths on the battlefield would be its conventional munitions, which lacked accuracy but had the benefit of being in plentiful supply. Moscow’s greater need was thought to be supplies of more-sophisticated weapons.
But North Korea isn’t well-positioned to supply modern weaponry. In recent years, North Korea has been developing a series of missiles that can carry warheads and hit targets with greater precision. The missiles bear similarities to ones developed by South Korea and Russia, but Pyongyang has yet to mass produce these guided missiles and Russia would likely need North Korea’s launchers to use them, said Go Myong-Hyun, a senior research fellow at the Asan Institute of Policy Studies in Seoul.
“Russia is looking to North Korea for a large quantity of conventional weapons rather than sophisticated ones,” said Mr. Go.
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North Korea could provide both munitions, which include artillery guns, and the projectiles fired from them, but will likely supply Russia with Soviet-era projectiles that would work with Russia’s existing weapons, experts say.
North Korea has more than 300 munitions factories that are able to produce major weapons, but the country has faced difficulty maintaining some of the factories as raw material shortages intensify due to prolonged international sanctions, according to South Korea’s 2020 Defense White Paper.
North Korea’s Expanding Missile Arsenal Unpacked
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From a more powerful intercontinental ballistic missile to hypersonic ones, North Korea has been displaying new weapons alongside its nuclear bombs and submarines. WSJ takes a look at the regime’s growing arsenal to see what message it sends to the world. Composite: Diana Chan
While North Korea is among the poorest countries in the world, it spends nearly a quarter of its gross domestic product on its military, according to U.S. State Department estimates. North Korea is estimated to have military supplies that could last one to three months during wartime, according to South Korea’s defense ministry.
Those supplies include tens of millions of artillery shells and rockets that date back to the 1950s and are similar to the weapons Russia is using to shell Ukrainian cities, Mr. Go said. The stockpile includes smaller ammunition like 122mm and 152mm artillery shells, which Russia fires regularly.
But weapons experts say North Korea’s artillery has appeared to be unreliable and inaccurate in the past, though it could cause significant civilian damage. When North Korea shelled South Korea’s Yeonpyeong island in 2010, it fired around 170 shells using a 122mm multiple-rocket launcher, but just 80 shells landed on the island, South Korea’s military said at the time.
The regime could also provide items like projectiles and land mines or bullets for Soviet-developed rifles such as AK-47s, still widely used in Russia and North Korea, according to Lee Ho-ryung, a North Korea military researcher at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses.
Estimates of how much ammunition Russia is burning through vary, but in a Telegram post in August a Ukrainian general, Valeriy Zaluzhny, estimated that Russia is using 40,000 to 60,000 rounds a day. At that rate, Russian forces could burn through a million rounds in roughly 20 days.
North Korea shelled South Korea’s Yeonpyeong island in 2010.
PHOTO: ANONYMOUS/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Russia is in need of more munitions it can use quickly, experts say. But supplying new weapons systems requires training, the way U.S. service members are providing Ukrainian soldiers with training on how to use and maintain Western weapons. North Korea’s older ammunition, including Scud missiles, and Soviet-era systems, such as 122mm multiple-rocket launchers, are already similar to what Russia uses, according to Moon Seong-mook, a retired South Korean army brigadier general.
About 20,000 artillery pieces, which include multiple-rocket launchers, are part of North Korea’s inventory, according to estimates by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies. But experts say it is unclear how much artillery North Korea is producing currently on top of its existing stock.
The provision of munitions to supply Russia’s war effort would add a new dimension to the Moscow-Pyongyang relationship, which has deepened during the conflict. North Korea was one of just five countries to vote against a U.N. resolution demanding that Russia end its invasion and among the first to recognize the eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk as independent republics. In turn, the Russian-occupied regions said they want North Korean laborers to help restore facilities damaged by the fighting in the Ukraine conflict. North Korea and Russia agreed to resume rail traffic this month, hinting at a resumption of trade.
Any munition sales by Pyongyang would violate U.N. sanctions prohibiting the regime from importing or exporting weapons. Nonetheless, North Korea would likely welcome the opportunity to sell weapons to Russia after years of international sanctions and the pandemic have taken a toll on its economy, North Korea watchers say. North Korea could send artillery to Russia using their cross-border railway, and there would be little other countries could do to stop it. Moscow, which has veto power on the U.N. Security Council, could block any potential repercussions. Pyongyang would likely seek food, fuel or cash in return for the weapons.
“Pyongyang is using the Ukraine crisis to bolster its already close relations with another patron on the U.N. Security Council,” said Ken Gause, director of the Adversary Analytics Program at CNA, a nonprofit think tank. “It’s an additional level of protection against U.S.-led sanctions.”
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attending a munitions industry conference in Pyongyang, in this handout photo released by the Korean Central News Agency.
PHOTO: -/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
Write to Dasl Yoon at dasl.yoon@wsj.com
8. North Korea Is ‘Preparing’ For Its 7th Nuclear Test; Can US, Japan & South Korea Pin Down Kim Jong-Un?
I think we could take Kim Jong Un in two out of three falls. A pin to win.
North Korea Is ‘Preparing’ For Its 7th Nuclear Test; Can US, Japan & South Korea Pin Down Kim Jong-Un?
eurasiantimes.com · by Prakash Nanda · September 14, 2022
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s assertion on September 8 that his country will never abandon its nuclear weapons and the growing speculations that it is preparing for its seventh nuclear explosion has raised many questions in South Korea and its “Security Treaty partner” United States.
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Do the two have any countermeasures, individually and at the alliance levels? Does a nuclear North Korea compel South Korea to go nuclear too? These are difficult questions, and their answers may not be fully satisfying.
Kim has now made his “rubber-stamp parliament” pass a new law that spells out conditions where North Korea would be inclined to use its nuclear weapons.
The law requires North Korea’s military to “automatically” execute nuclear strikes against enemy forces, including their “starting point of provocation and the command,” if Pyongyang’s leadership comes under attack.
The new law also says that North Korea could use nukes to prevent an unspecified “catastrophic crisis” for its government and people. In other words, Pyongyang will not hesitate to use its nuclear weapons when threatened proactively.
Kim was referring to the region of the United States and its allies. His latest comments underscored the growing animosity in the area as he accelerates the expansion of his nuclear weapons and missiles program.
“The purpose of the United States is not only to remove our nuclear might itself but eventually to force us to surrender or weaken our rights to self-defense through giving up our nukes so that they could collapse our government at any time,” Kim said in his speech in the North Korean parliament.
“Let them sanction us for 100 days, 1,000 days, ten years, or 100 years,” he added. “We will never give up our rights to self-defense that preserves our country’s existence and the safety of our people just to ease the difficulties we are experiencing temporarily.”
Predictably, Kim’s assertion has invited global reactions and concerns, mainly from South Korea, the United States, and Japan. These three countries are most affected if and when North Korea fires missiles and conducts nuclear tests.
File Image: Kim Jong-un
Incidentally, during the current calendar year, the North has already tested more missiles than in any other full calendar year and is on the cusp of a seventh nuclear test (the last one was done in 2017).
Strategic experts are waiting for the response of the officials of the United States and South Korea (Republic of Korea or ROC) when they hold their bilateral “Extended Deterrence Strategy and Consultation Group” (EDSCG) meeting on September 16, 2022. The United States delegation will be led by Ambassador Bonnie D. Jenkins, Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, and Dr. Colin Kahl, Secretary of Defense for Policy. The Republic of Korea delegation will be led by Cho Hyundong, First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Shin Beomchul, Vice Minister of National Defense.
The EDSCG allows the two governments to discuss peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and Indo-Pacific. President Joseph R Biden and President Yoon Suk Yeol of the Republic of Korea agreed to re-establish the EDSCG at the May 2022 Summit in Seoul. This will be the first EDSCG meeting since 2018.
It may be noted that there is the 1953 Mutual Defense Treaty between the United States and ROK, which, over time, has evolved into a comprehensive strategic partnership, serving as a linchpin for security and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.
Over 28,500 US military personnel are stationed in Korea and work closely with the ROK military and United Nations Command member countries to deter and defend against the threat from North Korea (the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea or DPRK) and maintain the Armistice Agreement made to halt the Korean War (1950-53).
However, US-ROK security relations had received a big jolt under previous South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who believed in wooing North Korea and China. He stopped placing the American THAAD missiles on South Korean soil against North Korean missile attacks and down-scaled the joint US-ROK military exercises. After 2018, these exercises were reduced to “computer-simulated games.”
And the American troops were forced to be redeployed in nearby US territories like Alaska and Hawaii for training. It is pointed out that this adversely affected interoperability, combat readiness, and allied deterrence.
However, under the newly elected President Yoon Suk-yeol, things look promising. He puts a premium on the South Korea-US security alliance and South Korea’s onus as an ally. Under him, the suspended US-Joint military exercises have revived (the largest since 2017 concluded on September 1).
Apart from the revival of proper joint exercises, last month (August 16-17), the US and South Korea resumed the Korea-US Integrated Defense Dialogue (KIDD). During this dialogue, the US said it would consider deploying strategic assets to the Korean Peninsula — which could mean anything from nuclear-powered submarines, strategic bombers, or even tactical nuclear weapons — should North Korea issue nuclear threats.
“The two sides affirmed that should the DPRK (North Korea) conduct a nuclear test, the ROK (South Korea) and the US will engage in a strong and firm bilateral response, to include options to deploy US strategic assets to the region,” said the Pentagon and South Korea’s Defense Ministry in a joint statement.
The statement was in line with remarks made a week earlier by South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup that the allies would unleash a “high-intensity” response in the event of a nuclear test to demonstrate that Pyongyang’s use of such weapons would be “futile.” He added, “in case of a strategic provocation, we plan to mobilize not only South Korean military capabilities but also US strategic assets.”
No information was provided about the type of strategic assets Washington would consider deploying. US President Joe Biden and his South Korean counterpart Yoon Suk-yeol have previously mentioned “nuclear capabilities” to respond to the North’s nuclear threats. This means the assets likely to be deployed could include nuclear-powered submarines and aircraft carriers, strategic bombers, and possibly tactical nuclear weapons if needed.
During the KIDD meeting, Seoul and Washington also acknowledged the progress made toward revising the US-South Korean Tailored Deterrence Strategy (TDS) that was concluded in 2013, saying that this strategy, which is aligned with related US strategies, will enable “effective deterrence of the DPRK’s nuclear, other WMD (weapons of mass destruction) and non-nuclear capabilities with strategic effects amidst a dynamic security environment of the region.”
In addition, in this meeting, the US-South Korea session explored ways to strengthen capabilities further to deter and counter North Korea’s evolving nuclear and missile threats, with Seoul confirming plans to enhance what is said to be its three-axis defense system. US officials reaffirmed the ironclad US commitment to the defense of the ROK, leveraging the full range of US military capabilities—including nuclear, conventional, missile defense, and other advanced non-nuclear capabilities.
Incidentally, South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program administration announced in early August that it has been working on nearly 200 defense projects, including new surveillance satellites, tactical ground-to-ground guided weapons, ballistic missile early warning radar, and long-range surface-to-air missile systems.
Reportedly, the new South Korean administration under President Yoon has reinvigorated the military planning for preemptive and retaliatory strikes against the North Korean leadership under the so-called Korean Massive Punishment and Retaliation (KMPR) strategy.
File Image: Russian President Putin with Kim Jong Un of North Korea
Accordingly, South Korea would use conventional missiles to target, among other things, North Korea’s leadership—including Kim Jong Un. Though the plan’s specifics remain classified, it is understood that “Every Pyongyang district, particularly where the North Korean leadership is possibly hidden, will be destroyed by ballistic missiles and high-explosive shells as soon as the North shows any signs of using a nuclear weapon. In other words, the North’s capital city will be reduced to ashes and removed from the map.”
Similarly, with the coming of President Yoon, the trilateral security cooperation between Seoul, Washington, and Tokyo that talks of collective remedial measures have improved. Given the bitter history between Japan and South Korea, particularly the memory of the oppressions of the Koreans under Japanese colonial rule, South Korea under President Moon had found it politically incorrect to join hands with Japan.
But the truth is that Japan is critical to South Korea’s national security. After all, the US, which also has a Security Treaty with Japan and where American troops (about 50,000) are present, requires rear bases to support forces and provide supplies to the Korean Peninsula during the war.
However, after President Yoon assumed office, diplomats from the United States, Japan, and South Korea confirmed their “commitment” to working together against possible threats from North Korea in a recent meeting. But the details of their plans are not public.
However, Seoul and Tokyo have agreed with the US that the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) they had signed in the past would play an essential role in enabling bilateral cooperation between the two countries and trilateral security cooperation with the US.
However, what is noteworthy in the context of North Korea threatening to use nuclear weapons is that President Yoon has categorically ruled out the possibility of the South going nuclear.
He has just told the press that Seoul would stay committed to an international treaty to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons. “I believe the NPT [Non-Proliferation Treaty] regime is a fundamental and necessary premise for permanent world peace,” Yoon said, expressing hope that the US deterrence strategy for its allies could evolve to counter the North’s growing threat.
However, it may be pointed out that on this point, President Yoon is not precisely reflecting South Korea’s shifting domestic consensus regarding nuclear weapons. While South Korean public support toward nuclear weapons acquisition has ranged between 50 and 70% throughout the past decade, recent public opinion polls indicate that public support for nuclear weapons has surpassed 70%.
The Chicago Council on Global Affairs found that 71% of South Korean respondents supported the development of a domestic nuclear weapons program due to the need to defend South Korea from threats other than North Korea (39%), increase the prestige of South Korea to the international community (26%), and counter the growing threat from North Korea (23%).
File Image: South Korean K2 black panther tank
Similarly, South Korea’s Asan Institute for Policy Studies conducted an opinion poll in March 2022, revealing that 70.2% of South Koreans favor nuclear weapons development in South Korea (28.2% opposed). The data shows that a majority continue to support (min 55.6%, max 70.2%) indigenous nuclear development since 2010.
When asked about reintroducing US tactical nuclear weapons onto the Korean Peninsula, 59% of the respondents supported it in March 2022. The data suggests continued broad support for tactical nuclear weapons since 2013. These South Koreans would like to come again under the American nuclear umbrella.
It may be noted that the US had previously stationed tactical nuclear weapons, or non-strategic nuclear weapons, in South Korea between 1958 and 1991 to counter a potential renewed invasion by North Korea. At its height, the US nuclear arsenal in South Korea comprised eight weapons systems consisting of 950 nuclear warheads.
Besides, many South Koreans will like South Korea’s independent acquisition of nuclear weapons.
These proponents argue that it is the only option for South Korea to possess and control nuclear weapons operations directly.
However, US support for either independent South Korean acquisition of nuclear capabilities or redeployment of their tactical nuclear weapons (their temporary use being brought from outside during a war is different) looks unlikely, as far as one could see.
Because the nuclearization of South Korea will further vitiate the global non-proliferation regime and trigger a similar nuclearization of Japan, besides, there will be operational problems if South Korea develops nuclear weapons. Will these be integrated into the US-South Korean Combined Forces Command and thus come under American control?
Would the Americans agree if they were under South Korea’s independent command? And finally, will South Korean nuclear weapons not violate the Non-Proliferation Treaty of which South Korea is a member? If Seoul comes out of it like North Korea, will the US remain its ally? “NO” will be the common answer to all these questions.
Given this, any strategy to counter the North Korean nuclear threat will need South Korea and the United States to be on the same page.
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Author and veteran journalist Prakash Nanda has been commenting on politics, foreign policy on strategic affairs for nearly three decades. A former National Fellow of the Indian Council for Historical Research and recipient of the Seoul Peace Prize Scholarship, he is also a Distinguished Fellow at the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies. CONTACT: [email protected]
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eurasiantimes.com · by Prakash Nanda · September 14, 2022
9. Three men charged with obstructing investigations into suspected transfers of gasoil to North Korea
Three men charged with obstructing investigations into suspected transfers of gasoil to North Korea
channelnewsasia.com
Singapore
File photo of a gavel. (Photo: CNA/Jeremy Long)
15 Sep 2022 01:26PM (Updated: 15 Sep 2022 01:26PM)
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SINGAPORE: Three men were charged in court on Thursday (Sep 15) with several counts of conspiracy to obstruct investigations into suspected transfers of gasoil to North Korea.
In October 2018, the police received information that a Singapore-registered oil tanker, Marine Tanker Sea Tanker II, was allegedly used in ship-to-ship transfers of gasoil with North Korean-flagged vessels, said the police in a news release.
According to court documents, the accused are Ong Chou Hong, Jeremy Koh Renfeng and Benny Tan Chun Kiat.
Koh, 40 and Tan, 47, were cargo officers on the oil tanker. Ong, 32, was employed as an assistant marine superintendent at Sea Hub Tankers. The company is the registered owner of the vessel.
Police investigations revealed that the men had allegedly conspired to falsify records in the ship documents of MT Sea Tanker II, specifically, the official logbook and part of the oil record book. The documents contained information on the vessel's movement and cargo activity during the material period, said the police.
The falsified records were then provided to the Singapore authorities who were investigating the vessel's activities.
Further investigations revealed that prior to the vessel's return to Singapore, Ong and Koh allegedly conspired to dismantle and dispose of a computer processing unit that was onboard the oil tanker.
This was "to prevent the Singapore authorities from obtaining information in the CPU relating to the vessel’s activities during the material period", said the police.
If found guilty of intentionally obstructing the course of justice under the Penal Code, they may be jailed up to seven years, fined or both.
Source: CNA/lk(ta)
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10. Russia, China and Iran are new Axis of Evil plotting to break up West
Why do they not recognize north Korea as part of these "conspiracies?" Don't they know north Korea's relations with these three evil nations? Yes they mention that north Korea as a plank holder in the original axis of evil. But why don't they recognize what north Korea is doing today?
Russia, China and Iran are new Axis of Evil plotting to break up West
The REAL Axis of Evil: How nuclear-armed Russia, China and Iran are plotting to break up the West with a new world order
- Russia's invasion of Ukraine has helped forge closer ties with anti-West nations Iran and China
- The trio are united by their desire to thwart the West and have spoken of their desire to form new alliances
- They regularly engage in nuclear sabre-rattling and want to upset democracy with their authoritarian regimes
By JACK NEWMAN FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 12:28 EDT, 15 September 2022 | UPDATED: 12:28 EDT, 15 September 2022
Daily Mail · by Jack Newman For Mailonline · September 15, 2022
At the dawn of the millennium, the West was facing a new threat far removed from the previous century's enemies of the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany.
Rather than grand territorial ambitions, these new dangers came from hostile countries wanting only to wreak havoc and instil fear in the US and Europe, through terrorism and nuclear sabre-rattling.
A hangover from imperialism and Soviet allegiances, the countries were said to be united by a hatred of the West and being seemingly hellbent on destruction.
In 2002, George W. Bush described the trio of North Korea, Iraq and Iran as an 'axis of evil' in a bid to shore up support for his War on Terror and pinpoint a common enemy.
But what actually united the countries beyond their common anti-West ideology was in fact their limited scope and their over-inflated capabilities.
Iraq, as was later discovered, did not possess any weapons of mass destruction, North Korea's nuclear programme was in its infancy, and Iran would go on to sign the nuclear deal to lift sanctions imposed on the country.
But now, a new Axis of Evil is forming which presents a much more terrifying threat to Western security and democracy, and its leaders are meeting today.
Xi Jinping, right, Vladimir Putin, centre, and Mongolian President Ukhnaa Khurelsukh attend today's talks in Uzbekistan
Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin pose for a photo on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation today
Putin shakes hands with Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi as he looks to forge a new world order with anti-Western leaders
Russia, China and Iran are threatening a new 'world order', breaking up the West through cyber attacks, election interference, territorial landgrabs, bare-faced aggression, propaganda and nuclear stockpiling.
Unlike the threats two decades on, the current axis is led by a genuine superpower in China, with Russia also capable of unleashing chaos on a global scale, and its leader having shown himself to be a war-mongering despot does little to allay the fears.
Iran remains a junior partner, but flanked by the two allies, it presents a triptych of terror that looks to reshape the world as we know it.
When Putin travelled to Iran in the summer, Kremlin loyalist Yevgeny Popov said they were forming a new 'Axis of Good' which raised eyebrows in the West.
The countries' three respective presidents, Putin, Xi Jinping and Ebrahim Raisi also met in Uzbekistan today for talks aimed at boosting ties between their countries.
While they were flanked by other nations at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, the West knows that it is the triumvirate represents the real danger.
A Russian missile strike destroys a flat in Bakhmut, Donetsk today, as it continues its savage war in Ukraine
Bodies of civilians in plastic bags lay in a mass grave in Bucha discovered by Ukrainians in April
While they were flanked by other nations at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, the West knows that it is the triumvirate represents the real danger
Iran is not a full member, but moved a step closer today by signing a memorandum of obligations to join the Asian security pact.
In a very thinly-veiled hint of his plans, Putin today blasted what he described as an 'ugly' effort by the US and its allies to maintain their perceived global domination.
'Attempts to create a unipolar world have recently taken an absolutely ugly shape. They are absolutely unacceptable for the vast majority of countries on the globe,' the Russian president said in opening remarks ahead of his meeting with Xi.
Xi added that China, together with Russia, will 'set an example of a responsible world power and to play a leading role to take the rapidly changing world on a track of sustainable and positive development.'
Raisi said during his meeting with Putin today: 'Iran is determined to boost its ties with Russia, from economic to aerospace and political fields.
'The cooperation between Tehran and Moscow can significantly neutralise the limitations imposed on our countries by the U.S. sanctions,' he said.
Earlier this week, a Chinese diplomat said Beijing is willing to shape the international order together with Russia in a 'more just and rational direction', further signalling their intent to form an 'entente terrible'.
While the countries had been forging relationships for some years, the fulcrum in global geopolitics came on February 24 when Putin ordered his inhumane invasion which used the West and NATO's expansion eastwards as a pretext.
When Putin travelled to Iran in the summer, Kremlin loyalist Yevgeny Popov said they were forming a new 'Axis of Good' which raised eyebrows in the West (pictured today)
Iran unveiled the Khaibar-buster missile earlier this year and boasted of how it could reach Israel and US bases in the Middle East
The Iranian Army launches a drone carrying a missile during military drills, with Russia expected to receive a shipment
For years, Russia was seen as a more benign and outward looking country compared to its totalitarianism of much of the 20th century.
Moscow opened its arms to the West and its riches and the West received them in kind, turning much of London into a playground for oligarchs and their billions.
But that all changed when troops stepped across the Ukrainian border, bringing the sceptre of World War III closer than it had been in decades.
War crimes committed by Putin's forces have seen residential buildings targeted, civilians tortured and raped, children separated from their families and sent to Russia, summary executions and use of banned weapons, it has been claimed.
His savagery has united most of the world in a coalition of collective condemnation, as Ukraine flags fly over much of the West.
But elsewhere, countries have remained remarkably tight-lipped about the blatant violence, hoping it could secure them a seat at Putin's table and keep relations strong.
Putin's aggression not only revealed his desire to restore Russia to the 'glories' of the expansive Soviet Union, but also acted as a signal to the West and its protocols.
It showed his intent to act completely in his own interest without regard for how much it would disrupt the global food chain, economy, energy and refugee situations.
Russia test launched the Sarmat ICBM in April and has issued constant nuclear threats towards the West
His constant threats towards NATO powers and his nuclear sabre-rattling only adds to the potential outbreak of full-scale global conflict.
The war has already redrawn the map, with Baltic countries lining up to join NATO, re-erecting the Iron Curtain that was long thought to be torn down for good.
On top of his bellicose actions on the ground, Putin is also engaged in a war of information, espionage and politics.
Persistent cyber attacks and election interference are deliberately intended to upset democratic norms in the West.
It was claimed only this week that Russia has spent £250million since 2014 trying to influence foreign elections in more than two dozen countries.
Unlike declared efforts by foreign governments to lobby for preferred initiatives, Russia's covert influence involved using front organisations to funnel money to preferred causes or politicians, the US intelligence cable alleges.
Putin was spending huge sums 'in an attempt to manipulate democracies from the inside,' the US official said.
Ukrainian soldiers sit atop a tank in Izyum, Kharkiv Region, eastern Ukraine, today
State Department spokesman Ned Price called Russia's covert funding an 'assault on sovereignty.'
'It is an effort to chip away at the ability of people around the world to choose the governments that they see best fit to represent them, to represent their interests, and to represent their values,' he said.
The coordinated attack on institutions is all part of Putin's plan to undermine the West and shore up his authorities regime, sowing seeds of discord abroad while strengthening his own position at home.
Russia's alliance with China has been brought into sharp focus by the war.
Once bitter Cold War enemies, Beijing and Moscow have stepped up cooperation in recent years as a counterbalance to what they see as US global dominance.
When Putin and Xi met at the Winter Olympics before the invasion, the countries stressed their friendship 'has no limits'.
It was reported in March that senior Chinese officials asked Putin to hold off on invading Ukraine until after the 2022 Winter Olympics.
But China does still have something to lose from their alliance, with trade with Europe and the United States a major driver of China's economic growth, even as its estrangement with the US and its appetite for energy have led it to deepen ties with Moscow.
When Putin and Xi met at the Winter Olympics before the invasion, the countries stressed their friendship 'has no limits' (pictured today)
Military vehicles carrying DF-41 intercontinental ballistic missiles travel past Tiananmen Square during a Chinese military parade
Beijing has not condemned Moscow's invasion, and provided diplomatic cover by blasting Western sanctions and arms sales to Kyiv.
Moscow is also looking for new markets and suppliers to replace the major foreign firms that left Russia following the invasion.
Beijing is Moscow's largest trading partner, with trade volumes last year hitting $147 billion, according to Chinese customs data.
The Russian military also announced sweeping military drills in the country's east that will involve forces from China last week, another show of increasingly close ties.
This summer, they unveiled the first road bridge linking the two countries, connecting the far eastern Russian city of Blagoveshchensk with the northern Chinese city of Heihe.
Last week, Beijing's top legislator Li Zhanshu became the highest-ranking Communist Party politician to travel to Russia since the Ukraine invasion.
Li on his visit hailed an 'unprecedented level' of trust and cooperation between Moscow and Beijing.
Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) vehicles carry out drills off the coast of Zhangzhou, the mainland's closest city to Taiwan
It was also feared that Russia's moves in Ukraine would trigger similar action from China in Taiwan.
Beijing claims the disputed island as its own territory, to be brought under its control by force if necessary.
China says it plans to annex Taiwan under the 'one country, two systems' format applied in Hong Kong, which critics say has been undermined by a sweeping national security law that asserts Beijing's control over speech and political participation.
The concept has been thoroughly rejected in Taiwanese public opinion polls in which respondents have overwhelmingly favoured the status-quo of de-facto independence.
Tensions rose last month when a visit by US Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan triggered the biggest military activity ever seen around the island in a show of Chinese might.
Any provocation from China would likely see US involvement, another very real threat to global order from the superpower.
A Chinese armoured rocket launcher pictured practicing live-fire drills near Taiwan last month
Jinping's heavy investment in Africa with his Belt and Road Initiative also shows his desire to usurp Western hegemony.
The pursuit of a 'new Silk Road' trade route between Asia and Europe is the flagship of President Xi Jinping's plans for Chinese expansion.
It is made up of a 'belt' of six overland corridors that direct trade to and from China and a maritime 'road' of shipping routes and seaports from the South China Sea to the Indian Ocean.
Pillars of the BRI already built include freight rail links from Wuhan to Lyon and Chengdu to Prague.
Author Johnathan E. Hillman, an adviser to the US State Department, wrote: 'By limiting outside scrutiny, the initiative's lack of transparency gives Chinese companies an edge in risky markets, and it allows Beijing to use large projects to exercise political influence.'
The multitrillion-dollar initiative involves hundreds of projects, most of them built by Chinese contractors and financed by loans from Chinese state-owned banks, across an arc of 65 countries from the South Pacific through Asia to Africa, Europe and the Middle East.
The Chinese government calls the initiative 'a bid to enhance regional connectivity and embrace a brighter future'.
Other observes and critics, however, see it as a push for the country's position as a global economic power with a China-centred trading network while burying some countries under massive debt.
Meanwhile, Iran's importance to the 'new world order' was underlined by Putin's decision to embark on his first trip beyond the borders of the old Soviet Union since the Ukraine war.
Without sanctions relief in sight, Iran's tactical partnership with Russia has become one of survival.
Iran has rapidly advanced its nuclear program since former President Donald Trump abandoned the atomic accord and reimposed crushing sanctions.
Putin arrived in Iran in June to forge a fearsome new alliance, with both sanction-hit countries united by their hatred for the West
Iran has unveiled a new missile that is capable of hitting nearby US bases and targets within its arch-enemy Israel
Backed into a corner by the West and its regional rivals, Iran is ramping up uranium enrichment, cracking down on dissent and grabbing headlines with optimistic, hard-line stances intended to keep the Iranian currency from crashing.
Fadahossein Maleki, a member of the Iranian parliament's influential committee on national security and foreign policy, described Russia as Iran's 'most strategic partner'.
His comments belied decades of animosity stemming from Russia's occupation of Iran during World War II - and its refusal to leave afterward.
Putin's foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov called Iran 'an important partner for Russia', saying the countries shared 'a desire to take their relations to a new level of strategic partnership.'
During June's meeting, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said of the Ukraine invasion: 'War is a violent and difficult issue, and the Islamic Republic is in no way happy that civilians get caught up in it, but concerning Ukraine, had you not taken the initiative, the other side [NATO] would have taken the initiative and caused the war.'
Russia has also obtained hundreds of Iranian drones capable of being used in its war against Ukraine despite US warnings to Tehran not to ship them, according to Western intelligence officials.
Facing economic sanctions and limits to its supply chain due to its invasion of Ukraine, Russia has increasingly turned to Iran as a key partner and supplier of weapons.
Iran's foreign minister, Hossein-Amir Abdollahian, said Tehran had 'various types of collaboration with Russia, including in the defence sector.'
Earlier this year, Raisi also expressed his desire for closer cooperation with China.
Raisi told China's Minister of National Defense Wei Fenghe that Tehran sees its ties with Beijing as strategic.
Closer cooperation would serve to confront what the Iranian president described as US unilateralism as talks to revive Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers have stalled.
'Confronting unilateralism and creating stability and order is possible through cooperation of independent and like-minded powers,' Raisi was quoted as saying.
Wei in turn said improving ties between Iran and China would provide security, 'particularly in the current critical and tense situation.'
A Russian delegation visited an Iranian airfield on June 8 and July 5 to inspect the drones which could be used to direct artillery fire and destroy Ukrainian military hardware
Iran and China have increased their military ties in recent years, with their navies visiting each other's ports and holding joint naval drills in the Indian Ocean.
In 2021, Iran and China signed a 25-year strategic cooperation agreement that covered a variety of economic activities from oil and mining to promoting industrial activity in Iran, as well as transportation and agricultural collaborations.
Iran is not only relying on Chinese and Russian influence, but is also building its own arsenal of weaponry designed to terrorise the West.
Unveiled early this year, the Khaibar-buster, a reference to a Jewish castle overrun by Muslim warriors led by Prophet Mohammed in the early days of Islam, has a range of 900 miles and runs on solid fuel, state media reported.
The missile has high accuracy, is manufactured completely domestically, and can defeat missile shield systems, the report said, although this information has not been independently verified.
Armed forces chief of staff Mohammad Bagheri described it as a strategic, 'long-range' missile.
He said during the unveiling: 'The enemies of the Revolution and the Islamic Republic do not understand anything but the language of power and force'.
Iran has the largest arsenal of missiles in the Middle East.
While we are in an age of information and cyber warfare, the threat of a nuclear apocalypse may seem slim despite the constant warnings.
But the combined powers of Russia, China and Iran now possess the capabilities to completely disrupt the West, as we have already seen in the past two years.
Covid, whose true origins remain unknown but emerged from China, proved how easy it is to turn the world upside down which enemies of the West will have noted.
The unholy trinity are already colluding to reset the world in their favour and the West should not take this for granted as it faces being broken up and overtaken with a new authoritarian order that endangers the values we hold so dearly.
Daily Mail · by Jack Newman For Mailonline · September 15, 2022
De Oppresso Liber,
David Maxwell
Senior Fellow, Foundation for Defense of Democracies
Senior Fellow, Global Peace Foundation
Senior Advisor, Center for Asia Pacific Strategy
Editor, Small Wars Journal
Twitter: @davidmaxwell161
Phone: 202-573-8647
email: david.maxwell161@gmail.com
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