Quotes of the Day:

"We will never have true civilization until we have learned to recognize the rights of others."

- WIll Rogers

"Only during hard times do people come to understand how difficult it is to be the master of their feelings and thoughts."

-Anton Chekhov

"I hope our wisdom will grow with our power, and teach us that the less we use our power the greater it will be." 

- Thomas Jefferson

1. Joint Press Statement for the 23rd Korea-U.S. Integrated Defense Dialogue

2. Supporting Human Rights in North Korea

3. Ex-chief of U.S. Space Force warns Pyongyang-Moscow cooperation may give N. Korea 'greater' space capabilities

4. S.Korea to Send 2 Minesweepers to Ukraine

5. Yoon to depart for New York to attend U.N. General Assembly

6. South Korea's Yoon warns against Russia-North Korea military cooperation and plans to discuss at UN

7. North Korea's Kim Jong Un inspects Russian bombers and a warship on a visit to Russia's Far East

8. Ukraine’s Hunger for Howitzers Transforms an Arms Industry

9. Ahead of Kim visit to Russia, N. Hamgyong Province security agents ordered to return weapons to armories

10. Five alleged burglars and murderers publicly executed in Chongjin

11. China’s Wang Yi heads to Russia as North Korea’s Kim wraps up visit

12. ＜Inside N. Korea＞Kim Jong-un orders start of operation to eliminate private medical activities, with a “secret vote” leading to arrests…The state also aims to revive its control over the medical sector

13. High-level defense talks discuss North's growing threats

14. An ‘ideology war’, a double-edged sword

15. National Resistance Center: Russia plans to bring North Korean workers to occupied Ukraine

16. Kim Jong Un's sister Kim Yo Jong travels to Russia in style with $7,000 Dior bag

17. Russia gifts North Korea’s Kim kamikaze drones, bulletproof vest as state visit ends

18. S. Korea to invest $218 mil. to develop improved bunker-buster missile

1. Joint Press Statement for the 23rd Korea-U.S. Integrated Defense Dialogue

Very comprehensive talks covering all the key issues.

Note the UNC coordination that has really been really been raised to a new level. The multiyear trilateral exercise plan is a key contributor to sustaining the efforts from the Camp David Summit. In terms of OPCON transition I have not been tracking the transition for Combined Component Command to standing component commands. I wonder if this includes the CUWTF/CFSOCC [SOF] component.

Excerpts:

In commemorating the 70th anniversary of the U.S.-ROK Alliance and Armistice Agreement, the two sides agreed to co-host the ROK-UNC Member States Defense Ministerial Meeting in conjunction with the 55th Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) in November. The leaders acknowledged that the meeting would strengthen U.S and ROK solidarity with the UNC Member States who share core values of promoting peace and security on the Korean Peninsula. 

...

The two sides also underscored the significance of the outcomes of the Trilateral Leaders' Summit at Camp David in August, which marked the beginning of a "new era of ROK-U.S.-Japan cooperation." The U.S. and ROK discussed ways to evolve defense trilateral cooperation into a comprehensive and multi-layered partnership that contributes to peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula and in the Indo-Pacific region. Along with Japan, the U.S. and ROK discussed ongoing trilateral efforts to operationalize a real-time missile warning data sharing mechanism against DPRK threats by the end of 2023 and to institutionalize a multi-year trilateral military exercise plan.

...

During the Conditions-based Operational Control (OPCON) Transition Working Group (COTWG), both sides reviewed the progress in meeting the three conditions under the bilaterally approved Conditions-based OPCON Transition Plan (COTP) and reaffirmed a mutual commitment to strengthening the combined defense posture of the Alliance. In particular, the leaders noted the progress made in pursuing the transition of wartime OPCON this year, including the bilateral evaluation of COTP capabilities and systems, the transition of Combined Component Commands to standing component commands, and the assessment of the regional security environment. The two sides pledged to comprehensively review the results of the bilateral evaluation to pursue the F-CFC Full Operational Capability (FOC) certification and other subsequent tasks in a systematic and stable manner.

RELEASE

IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Joint Press Statement for the 23rd Korea-U.S. Integrated Defense Dialogue

https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3528305/joint-press-statement-for-the-23rd-korea-us-integrated-defense-dialogue/

Sept. 18, 2023 |   

The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and the Republic of Korea (ROK) Ministry of National Defense (MND) held the 23rd Korea-U.S. Integrated Defense Dialogue (KIDD) on September 18, 2023 in Seoul.

Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (DASD) for East Asia, Cara Allison Marshall, led the U.S. delegation and Deputy Minister for National Defense Policy (DEPMIN), Dr. Taekeun Heo, led the ROK delegation. Key senior U.S. and ROK defense and foreign affairs officials also participated in the dialogue. 

During the Security Policy Initiative session, both sides reaffirmed the shared U.S. and ROK goal of the complete denuclearization of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). They pledged to continue strengthening combined defense posture and capabilities to defend the ROK as well as deter conflict on the Peninsula.

The two sides shared their assessments of continued DPRK provocations and its efforts to diversify its delivery systems and advance its nuclear systems. The leaders committed to respond to DPRK provocations that undermine regional peace and stability through close and coordinated bilateral responses that demonstrate the strength of the Alliance. Both sides also reaffirmed the importance of full implementation of all United Nations (UN) Security Council Resolutions by the international community, particularly in light of the DPRK's failed space launch vehicle (SLV) launches in May and August. 

Furthermore, the U.S. side reaffirmed its ironclad commitment to the defense of the ROK, leveraging the full range of U.S. military capabilities—including nuclear, conventional, and missile defense capabilities as well as advanced non-nuclear capabilities—and reiterated that any nuclear attack by the DPRK against the United States or its Allies will result in the end of the Kim regime.

To this effect, the two sides assessed that the Ulchi Freedom Shield 23 (UFS23) exercise significantly improved the Alliance's crisis management and all-out war execution capabilities. The exercise was conducted in August of this year under a realistic operational environment that reflected the DPRK's advancing nuclear and missile threats as well as the possibility of a rapid transition to wartime. They also assessed that UFS23, in conjunction with over 30 intensive Warrior Shield field training exercises, enhanced combined operation execution capabilities. Based on these outcomes, the two sides pledged to further strengthen combined exercises and training to stay responsive to the rapidly changing security environment on the Korean Peninsula.

In commemorating the 70th anniversary of the U.S.-ROK Alliance and Armistice Agreement, the two sides agreed to co-host the ROK-UNC Member States Defense Ministerial Meeting in conjunction with the 55th Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) in November. The leaders acknowledged that the meeting would strengthen U.S and ROK solidarity with the UNC Member States who share core values of promoting peace and security on the Korean Peninsula. 

On defense science and technology cooperation, both sides recognized the need to modernize the Alliance and expeditiously deliver game-changing technologies to the warfighter. To this end, the two sides pledged to continue strengthening cooperation based on shared strategic interests and enhance collaboration on joint research and development. The leaders underscored the importance of bolstering supply chain resiliency and strengthening the connection between U.S. and ROK defense industrial bases to enhance interoperability and interchangeability within the Alliance defense architecture. 

Both sides acknowledged progress of the revision of the Tailored Deterrence Strategy (TDS) based on guidance from U.S. and ROK strategic documents to effectively deter and respond to advancing DPRK nuclear and missile threats. The leaders shared a common understanding that the document, in conjunction with the progress achieved through the newly established Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG), will contribute to consultations and joint planning to this effect.

The leaders reviewed progress on the Program Analysis Working Group (PAWG), which aims to counter the DPRK's evolving missile threat and pledged to continue close collaboration. Both sides also agreed to initiate a joint study through the Counter-Missile Working Group (CMWG) to further develop the Alliance's comprehensive counter-missile strategy.

The two sides commended the outcomes of the May 2023 Cyber Cooperation Working Group (CCWG) meeting, which included discussions on plans to participate in a bilateral cyber exercise early next year. The leaders also acknowledged that the ROK-U.S. Space Cooperation table-top exercise (TTX) will highlight ways the two sides can work together to build a unified understanding of deterrence and threats in the space domain. The U.S. and ROK also pledged to continue close consultations on various space cooperation measures, through the Space Cooperation Working Group (SCWG).

During the Conditions-based Operational Control (OPCON) Transition Working Group (COTWG), both sides reviewed the progress in meeting the three conditions under the bilaterally approved Conditions-based OPCON Transition Plan (COTP) and reaffirmed a mutual commitment to strengthening the combined defense posture of the Alliance. In particular, the leaders noted the progress made in pursuing the transition of wartime OPCON this year, including the bilateral evaluation of COTP capabilities and systems, the transition of Combined Component Commands to standing component commands, and the assessment of the regional security environment. The two sides pledged to comprehensively review the results of the bilateral evaluation to pursue the F-CFC Full Operational Capability (FOC) certification and other subsequent tasks in a systematic and stable manner.

During the Executive Session, acting DASD Allison Marshall and DEPMIN Heo led discussions on the increasingly complex regional and global security environment. As such, the two leaders reaffirmed the importance of upholding the the rules-based international order and adhering to international law. They pledged to work closely together to promote peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, including in the South China Sea and beyond.

Both delegations noted efforts to expand cooperation with Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) nations and Pacific Island countries through the Regional Cooperation Working Group (RCWG) as part of efforts to implement the ROK Strategy for a Free, Peaceful, and Prosperous Indo-Pacific Region and the U.S. Indo-Pacific Strategy. 

The two sides also underscored the significance of the outcomes of the Trilateral Leaders' Summit at Camp David in August, which marked the beginning of a "new era of ROK-U.S.-Japan cooperation." The U.S. and ROK discussed ways to evolve defense trilateral cooperation into a comprehensive and multi-layered partnership that contributes to peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula and in the Indo-Pacific region. Along with Japan, the U.S. and ROK discussed ongoing trilateral efforts to operationalize a real-time missile warning data sharing mechanism against DPRK threats by the end of 2023 and to institutionalize a multi-year trilateral military exercise plan.

During the meeting, both pledged that the U.S. Strategic Command and United States Forces Korea will closely collaborate with the ROK Strategic Command, which will be newly established, so that it can secure its role and status as a strategic unit. Both sides also agreed that U.S. and ROK forces will enhance the combined defense architecture of the Alliance by jointly developing planning and execution of Conventional-Nuclear Integration (CNI) efforts through the NCG. 

In conclusion, ROK and U.S. leaders assessed that the 23rd KIDD significantly contributed to reaffirming the strong cohesion of the Alliance, bolstering Alliance coordination, and strengthening the ROK-U.S. combined defense posture. Both delegations agreed that the KIDD has been a key mechanism in developing the Alliance into one of the most dynamic and premier alliances in the world over the last 70 years. Based on these outcomes, the two sides pledged to continue progress leading up to the 55th SCM and the ROK-UNC Member States Defense Ministerial Meeting, scheduled in November 2023.

2.Supporting Human Rights in North Korea

north Korean Freedom Week Schedule in Korea at this link: https://defenseforumfoundation.org/images/stories2023/The20thNKFWScheduleUpdated_ENG_Public3.pdf

Trilateral Cooperation for Freedom in North Korea and Human Rights Upfront Strategy​ (9/23/23): https://globalpeace.org/event/trilateral-cooperation-for-freedom-in-north-korea-and-human-rights-upfront-strategy/

Supporting Human Rights in North Korea

PRESS STATEMENT

MATTHEW MILLER, DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON

SEPTEMBER 17, 2023

https://www.state.gov/supporting-human-rights-in-north-korea-2/

As we observe the 20th annual North Korea Freedom Week, we recognize the courage of the North Korean defector and human rights community, which continues to speak on behalf of the millions of North Koreans suffering abuses who are unable to advocate for themselves. The DPRK continues to exploit its own citizens, including through mass mobilizations of school children and forced labor, and divert resources that could benefit them to build up its unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs.

We remain deeply concerned about the plight of North Korean asylum seekers, including some 2,000 North Koreans detained in China who are at risk of repatriation to the DPRK. North Koreans forcibly repatriated are reportedly commonly subjected to torture, arbitrary detention, forced abortion, other forms of gender-based violence, and summary execution.

The international community must act to promote accountability for those responsible for the DPRK’s human rights violations and abuses. Addressing the DPRK’s egregious human rights situation remains a priority for the United States, and we continue to work with the international community to highlight abuses and violations, promote accountability and increase access to independent information into, out of, and within the DPRK.

3.  Ex-chief of U.S. Space Force warns Pyongyang-Moscow cooperation may give N. Korea 'greater' space capabilities

Seems logical.

Excerpt:

"Having cooperation with Russia could potentially enable North Korea with greater capabilities in the space domain," Raymond said when asked about what the possible cooperation could entail.

(Yonhap Interview) Ex-chief of U.S. Space Force warns Pyongyang-Moscow cooperation may give N. Korea 'greater' space capabilities | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Chae Yun-hwan · September 18, 2023

By Chae Yun-hwan

SEOUL, Sept. 18 (Yonhap) -- The former chief of the U.S. Space Force has warned that possible cooperation between North Korea and Russia could enable Pyongyang with "greater" space capabilities as concerns grow over the two countries' efforts to forge closer ties.

Ret. Gen. John W. Raymond, the U.S. Space Force's first chief of space operations, made the remark in an interview with Yonhap News Agency in Seoul last Thursday, a day after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a summit at the Vostochny space center in Russia.

At the spaceport, Putin told Russian media that Moscow would help Pyongyang build satellites, as the North has sought to advance its space capabilities, with a planned launch of a military spy satellite next month after two failed attempts this year.

"Having cooperation with Russia could potentially enable North Korea with greater capabilities in the space domain," Raymond said when asked about what the possible cooperation could entail.

Ret. Gen. John W. Raymond, former chief of the U.S. Space Force, speaks with Yonhap News Agency at a hotel in central Seoul on Sept. 14, 2023, in this photo provided by Boryung. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

Pyongyang's launches of its Malligyong-1 reconnaissance satellite mounted on the Chollima-1 rocket failed in May and last month due to technical issues, according to the North's state media.

The promised assistance from Russia has raised speculation of Pyongyang possibly making advances in the effort.

But the retired general, who led the Space Force from its inception in 2019 until last year, said he was not "overly concerned" with North Korean satellites so far.

"The satellites they're working on now, I'm not all that overly concerned about because they haven't been that capable and there's plenty of other satellites -- commercial satellites -- up there that have more capability," he said.

In July, South Korea's military said the North's spy satellite had "no military utility" after analyzing wreckage of the first launch retrieved from the Yellow Sea.

Raymond still expressed concern about Pyongyang's continued ballistic missile launches and pointed out the role of the U.S. Space Force in responding to such threats.

"They are also obviously conducting ballistic missile tests, which is concerning," he said. "Our focus has been largely keeping a watchful eye on being able to detect the missile launches and warn countries of those launches."

"We operate a constellation of satellites that can detect missile launches globally, and then we share that information with our close partners," he said.

North Korea has continued to advance its missiles program despite U.N. Security Council resolutions banning the country from any launches using ballistic missile technology.

It test-fired the Hwasong-18 solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile, which can reach the U.S. mainland, on two occasions this year.

To bolster security cooperation with South Korea, the U.S. military established the U.S. Space Forces Korea here in December last year.

"I was really happy that we've established the Space Force component here," Raymond said. "I think that will help us integrate space more effectively into this region, and I think it will help us continue to mature and nurture the partnership that we have with South Korea as it relates to space."

Raymond also noted how the increasing use of space led the U.S. to establish its newest armed service.

"What used to be great power competition between the Soviet Union and the United States has now gone down to high school students launching satellites," he said. "Because the domain had changed so much, the United States decided to capitalize on an opportunity to establish a service that's dedicated to (it)."

As the domain gets more crowded and contested, Raymond highlighted the need for a set of rules or international norms in space, just as in any other domain.

"We have to make sure that we operate smartly, and that we do so in a safe and professional manner," he said. "I'm not naive enough to think that if you have a set of rules everyone will follow, but if you have a set of rules, you'll identify who's not following."

The former Space Force chief retired from the military in January after 38 years of service. He has since joined a U.S. space company, Axiom Space, as a board member and strategic adviser.

Axiom Space, which seeks to build an international space station, has joined hands with South Korean company Boryung, signing an agreement earlier this year to set up a joint venture here to push for joint space projects.

yunhwanchae@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Chae Yun-hwan · September 18, 2023

4. S.Korea to Send 2 Minesweepers to Ukraine

To the headline editor author: We usually refer to "minesweepers" as naval vessels while for ground operations we usually describe these as mine clearing equipment.

I wonder if he will mention the UN Command in his speech.

S.Korea to Send 2 Minesweepers to Ukraine

english.chosun.com

September 18, 2023 13:36

South Korea will send two K600 "Rhino" minefield breaching vehicles to war-torn Ukraine.

The Rhino is a homegrown minesweeper that either clears up a rear area or clears paths through a minefield on the frontline.

Though not a lethal weapon, the vehicle is the most warlike equipment South Korea has so far sent to Ukraine.

"The government has decided recently to send two minesweepers to Ukraine as soon as possible in addition to an earlier shipment of old mine detectors," a government source here said Sunday. "This follows an urgent request and President Yoon Suk-yeol's promise to support Ukraine."

In a bilateral meeting at the G7 Summit in Hiroshima in May, Yoon promised his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy to send nonlethal equipment and give postwar reconstruction assistance. During a surprise visit to Ukraine in July, Yoon reaffirmed his promise to send more mine detectors and minesweepers.

The government made the decision after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, where the two sides are believed to have struck weapons deals.

But out of concern for the Russian reaction, the government will ask Ukraine to use the vehicles only for humanitarian operations.

Korea Denies Wiretapping by U.S. Intelligence

Leaked U.S. Documents Reveal Wiretapping of Korea

Ukrainian President Asks Korea to Send Weapons

Korea to Help Rebuild War-Torn Ukraine

• Copyright © Chosunilbo & Chosun.com

english.chosun.com

5. Yoon to depart for New York to attend U.N. General Assembly

President Yoon is spending a lot of time in the US. Three visits in less than 6 months.

I wonder if he will mention the UN Command in his remarks as he did in his August 15 Liberation Day remarks.

Excerpts from his August 15 speech:

Here is an excerpt from President Yoon's August 15th Liberation Day speech. I cannot recall another ROK president ever discussing the UNC rear in Japan, the 7 bases and the importance of them to the defense of the ROK. The president is wrong to say there will be an automatic "retaliation" by the UNC (nothing is automatic except the right to self defense but there is certainly no automatic retaliation).

(entire speech is here: https://eng.president.go.kr/speeches/ChFr4MEm)

In order to fundamentally block North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats, the

Republic of Korea, the United States and Japan must closely cooperate on

reconnaissance assets and share North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missiles

data in real time.

The seven rear bases provided to the United Nations Command(UNC) by the

government of Japan serve as the greatest deterrent which keeps the North from

invading the South.

A renewed North Korean invasion will trigger an automatic and immediate

intervention and retaliation by the UNC, and the UNC-rear in Japan is

sufficiently equipped with necessary land, sea and air capabilities.

The UNC is a great example of international solidarity that has played a key

role in firmly safeguarding the Republic of Korea’s freedom “under one flag.”

The ROK-U.S.-Japan summit to be held at Camp David in three days will set a

new milestone in trilateral cooperation contributing to peace and prosperity on

the Korean Peninsula and in the Indo-Pacific region.

Yoon to depart for New York to attend U.N. General Assembly | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Haye-ah · September 18, 2023

By Lee Haye-ah

SEOUL, Sept. 18 (Yonhap) -- President Yoon Suk Yeol was set to embark on a five-day visit to New York on Monday to attend the U.N. General Assembly and meet with world leaders amid signs of growing military cooperation between North Korea and Russia.

During the annual U.N. gathering, Yoon will also hold a flurry of bilateral summits on the sidelines in a last-minute push to win support for South Korea's bid to host the 2030 World Expo in its southeastern port city of Busan.

President Yoon Suk Yeol delivers an address during the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Sept. 20, 2022. (Yonhap)

"President Yoon plans to widely make known our determination to carry out our role and responsibility befitting the status of the Republic of Korea in terms of solving various challenges facing the international community," Principal Deputy National Security Adviser Kim Tae-hyo told reporters on Thursday.

"President Yoon will pledge that the Republic of Korea will fulfill its responsible role in continuing to expand official development assistance to help reduce the global development gap, supporting the efforts of climate-vulnerable nations to reduce carbon emissions and transition to clean energy, and allowing the world's citizens to enjoy the benefits of digital technologies," Kim said.

A highlight of Yoon's trip will be his address to the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday.

The speech will come as last week's rare summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin has led to concern about potential military deals between the two isolated states.

"In the U.N. General Assembly address, we expect that there will be an appropriate analysis and message about the recent military exchanges between North Korea and Russia," a senior presidential official told reporters Thursday.

"Along with individual measures we can take on our own, we're also discussing multilateral measures we can take together with the United States, Japan and other key friends," the official added.

In an interview with the Associated Press published Sunday, Yoon said military cooperation between North Korea and Russia is "illegal and unjust as it contravenes U.N. Security Council resolutions and various other international sanctions."

The international community "will unite more tightly in response to such a move," he said.

President Yoon Suk Yeol gives a presentation to promote South Korea's bid to host the 2030 World Expo in its southeastern city of Busan, at the 172nd general assembly of the Bureau International des Expositions, the international body in charge of overseeing the Expo, in Issy-les-Moulineaux, near Paris, on June 20, 2023. (Yonhap)

Yoon is scheduled to hold at least 30 bilateral summits on the margins of the U.N. General Assembly, including around 10 with countries that have never previously had a bilateral summit with South Korea since they established diplomatic relations, such as North Macedonia, San Marino, Saint Lucia and Mauritania.

During these meetings, Yoon will continue his push to win support for South Korea's bid to host the 2030 World Expo, with two months to go until member states of the Bureau International des Expositions, the international body in charge of overseeing the event, cast their votes.

Busan is in a three-way competition against Rome, Italy, and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Other events on Yoon's itinerary will include a meeting with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, a reception hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden, and a Digital Vision Forum to be held at New York University, where Yoon will unveil plans to announce a "Digital Bill of Rights" outlining the details of a new digital order.

Yoon will be accompanied on the trip by first lady Kim Keon Hee and return home on Saturday.

hague@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Haye-ah · September 18, 2023

6. South Korea's Yoon warns against Russia-North Korea military cooperation and plans to discuss at UN

The leader of a Global Pivotal State at work.

Excerpt:

While in New York, Yoon said he will hold bilateral summits with the leaders of about 30 countries. Yoon said he’ll try to use those summits to discuss bilateral cooperation and explain South Kore’s hopes to host the 2030 World Expo in Busan, South Korea’s second-biggest city.

South Korea's Yoon warns against Russia-North Korea military cooperation and plans to discuss at UN

AP · September 17, 2023

BY HYUNG-JIN KIM

Updated 2:35 AM EDT, September 17, 2023

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s president said the international community “will unite more tightly” to cope with deepening military cooperation between Russia and North Korea, as he plans to raise the issue with world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly this week.

Worries about Russian-North Korean ties have flared since North Korean leader Kim Jong Un traveled to Russia last week for a summit with President Vladimir Putin and to tour a slew of high-profile military and technology sites. Foreign experts speculate Kim could refill Russia’s ammunition inventory drained in its 18-month war with Ukraine in return for economic aid and technologies to modernize his weapons systems targeting South Korea and the U.S.

“Military cooperation between North Korea and Russia is illegal and unjust as it contravenes U.N. Security Council resolutions and various other international sanctions,” South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said in written responses to questions from The Associated Press before his departure to New York to attend the U.N. General Assembly.

“The international community will unite more tightly in response to such a move,” he said.

In his address Wednesday at the annual U.N. gathering, Yoon will speak about his assessment of the Russian-North Korean moves, according to his office in South Korea, which added it is discussing countermeasures with the U.S., Japan and other partners.

While Russian-North Korean cooperation is feared to fuel Russia’s war efforts in Ukraine, it has also stoked security jitters in South Korea, where many think a Russian transfer of sophisticated weapons technologies would help North Korea acquire a functioning spy satellite, a nuclear-powered submarine and more powerful missiles. Some experts still say North Korea would end up receiving food and cash in return for supplying ammunition and shells because Russia closely guards its high-tech weapons technologies.

North Korea’s advancing nuclear arsenal has been a major source of tensions in the region, with the North openly threatening to use nuclear weapons in potential conflicts with its rivals and conducting a barrage of missile tests since last year. In response, Yoon and U.S. President Joe Biden in April agreed to expand joint military exercises, increase the temporary deployments of U.S. strategic assets and launch a bilateral nuclear consultative group.

“Our two countries (South Korea and the U.S.) reaffirmed that any nuclear attack by North Korea will be met with a swift, overwhelming and decisive response that will bring about the end of the regime,” Yoon said.

“Going forward, (South Korea)-U.S. extended deterrence will develop into a joint system in which both countries discuss, decide and act together,” he said. “We will also enhance the ability to deter and respond to any nuclear or missile threat from North Korea.”

Since entering Russia last Tuesday in his first foreign travel in 4 1/2 years, Kim has inspected some of Russia’s most advanced weapons systems including nuclear-capable bombers, fighter jets, hypersonic missiles and a warship. During a summit with Putin at Russia’s most important space launch center on Wednesday, Kim vowed “full and unconditional support” for Putin.

Some South Koreans call on their government to consider providing lethal weapons to Ukraine in retaliation against Russia’s possible weapons technology transfers. But South Korea’s Defense Ministry said its policy of not supplying weapons to countries at war remained unchanged.

Yoon recently announced South Korea will provide an additional $300 million to Ukraine next year, on top of the $150 million promised this year. He said South Korea will prepare for a mid- to long-term support package worth more than $2 billion.

South Korea has provided Ukraine with demining equipment, emergency evacuation vehicles, pickup trucks, medical supplies, tablet PCs and other items. Yoon said in the coming year South Korea will continue to communicate closely with Ukraine to send it what is truly needed.

Since taking office last year, Yoon, a conservative, has made a bolstered military alliance with the U.S. the heart of his foreign policy while pushing to move beyond history disputes with Japan — Korea’s former colonial ruler — and expand a trilateral Seoul-Washington-Tokyo security cooperation. That has triggered concerns that South Korea’s relations with China, its biggest trading partner, will be hurt.

Yoon dismissed such a notion, saying “the trilateral cooperation harbors no intention of marginalizing any particular nation or establishing an exclusive coalition.”

Citing his meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping last November and Premier Li Qiang this month, both on the margins of regional gatherings, Yoon said he learned that “China also attaches importance to (South Korea)-China relations.”

During their November meeting, Yoon said Xi expressed his willingness to visit South Korea when the COVID-19 pandemic situation stabilized. Yoon said Li and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida had also expressed their support for resuming a trilateral Seoul-Beijing-Tokyo summit in South Korea for the first time in four years.

“All three countries — the Republic of Korea, the United States and Japan — share a common understanding that it is important for China to play a responsible and constructive role not only in resolving pending issues on the Korean Peninsula and in the region but also in addressing global challenges,” Yoon said.

In his U.N. speech, Yoon said that he’ll also raise the issue of gaps in three areas — development, climate responses and digital transformation — and present how South Korea will contribute to resolving them. Yoon said that as a non-permanent member of the Security Council for the 2024-25 term, he’ll also mention that South Korea will play a responsible role on security issues that require international solidarity like the war in Ukraine and the North Korean nuclear program.

While in New York, Yoon said he will hold bilateral summits with the leaders of about 30 countries. Yoon said he’ll try to use those summits to discuss bilateral cooperation and explain South Kore’s hopes to host the 2030 World Expo in Busan, South Korea’s second-biggest city.

AP · September 17, 2023

7. North Korea's Kim Jong Un inspects Russian bombers and a warship on a visit to Russia's Far East

24 photos at the link: https://apnews.com/article/north-korea-russia-kim-jong-un-putin-vladivostok-0255d844b06e11c39920cc2acdb53406?utm

North Korea's Kim Jong Un inspects Russian bombers and a warship on a visit to Russia's Far East

AP · September 16, 2023

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SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspected Russia’s nuclear-capable bombers, hypersonic missiles and an advanced warship from its Pacific fleet on Saturday as he continued a trip in Russia’s Far East that has sparked Western concerns about an arms alliance that could fuel President Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine.

After arriving in the city of Artyom by train, Kim traveled to an airport just outside the port city of Vladivostok where Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and other senior military officials gave him an up-close look at Russia’s strategic bombers and other warplanes.

All the Russian warplanes shown to Kim on Saturday were among the types that have seen active use in the war in Ukraine, including the Tu-160, Tu-95 and Tu-22 bombers that have regularly launched cruise missiles.

Shoigu and Lt. Gen. Sergei Kobylash, the commander of the Russian long-range bomber force, explained to Kim that the Tu-160 had recently received new cruise missiles with a range of more than 6,500 kilometers (over 4,040 miles). Pointing at the weapons bay, Shoigu said that each bomber carries 12 missiles.

Russian officials have previously said that the new missile was under development, and the latest comments confirmed its deployment for the first time.

Shoigu, who had met Kim during a rare visit to North Korea in July, also showed Kim another of Russia’s latest missiles, the hypersonic Kinzhal, carried by the MiG-31 fighter jet, that saw its first combat during the war in Ukraine, according to Russia’s Defense Ministry.

Kim and Shoigu later traveled to Vladivostok, where they inspected the Admiral Shaposhnikov frigate. Russia’s navy commander, Adm. Nikolai Yevmenov, briefed Kim on the ship’s capabilities and weapons, which include long-range Kalibr cruise missiles that Russian warships have regularly fired at targets in Ukraine.

Kim’s visits to military and technology sites this week possibly hint at what he wants from Russia, perhaps in exchange for supplying munitions to refill Putin’s declining reserves as his invasion of Ukraine becomes a drawn-out war of attrition.

Kim’s trip to Russia, which included more than four hours of talks with Putin on Wednesday, comes amid momentum in military cooperation between the countries in which North Korea could potentially seek Russian technologies to advance Kim’s nuclear, missile and other military programs in exchange for providing Russia with badly needed munitions.

Videos released by Russia’s Defense Ministry showed Shoigu greeting Kim at the airport along with honor guards lined up near a red carpet. Kim was seen peering at the Kinzhal missile, gesturing and asking questions about the warplanes’ capabilities as he discussed technical details with Shoigu and other military officials through translators.

Kim was also seen talking to Shoigu and Yevmenov about a purported nuclear attack submarine the North unveiled last week as they stepped out of the Shaposhnikov frigate.

Later Saturday, Kim visited a local theater to watch Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty ballet performance, Russia’s ambassador to Pyongyang, Alexander Matsegora, was quoted as saying by the Russian RIA Novosti state news agency. The agency said Kim left after the first act.

The visit follows Kim’s tour on Friday of a factory producing advanced Russian warplanes.

Kim in recent months has emphasized the need to strengthen his navy to counter the advanced naval assets of the United States, which has been expanding its combined military exercises with South Korea to counter the North’s growing threat.

Analysts say Kim’s focus on naval strength could be driven by ambitions to obtain sophisticated technologies for ballistic missile submarines and nuclear-propelled submarines as well as to initiate joint naval exercises between Russia and North Korea.

After meeting Putin at Russia’s main spaceport, a location that pointed to Kim’s desire for Russian assistance in his efforts to acquire space-based reconnaissance assets and missile technologies, North Korea’s leader reappeared Friday in the far eastern city of Komsomolsk-on-Amur for a visit to a plant producing Russia’s Su-57 fighter jets.

Experts have said potential military cooperation between the countries could include efforts to modernize North Korea’s outdated air force, which relies on warplanes sent from the Soviet Union in the 1980s.

Kim’s trip to Russia, his first since April 2019 when he met Putin in Vladivostok, came days after he attended a ceremony at a North Korean military shipyard where the country unveiled the alleged nuclear attack submarine.

State media claimed it is capable of launching tactical nuclear weapons from underwater. But South Korea’s military expressed doubt about the operational capabilities of the sub, which was the result of reshaping an existing submarine to install missile launch tubes.

Kim has also announced goals to acquire nuclear-propelled submarines, which can quietly travel long distances and approach enemy shores to deliver strikes, a key asset in his efforts to build a viable nuclear arsenal that could threaten the United States. Analysts say such capacities would be unfeasible for the North without external assistance.

Putin on Friday reiterated that Russia would abide by U.N. sanctions, some of which ban North Korea from exporting or importing any weapons. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov separately said that no agreements on bilateral military cooperation were signed after the Putin-Kim meeting Wednesday.

Experts say North Korea and Russia aren’t likely to publicize any deals on weapons to avoid stronger international criticism.

Kim, whose visit to Russia is his first foreign trip since the COVID-19 pandemic, has been eager to boost the visibility of his partnerships with Moscow and Beijing as he attempts to break out of international isolation and insert Pyongyang in a united front against Washington. Some South Korean experts say that Kim could also pursue a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

In another sign of the North’s post-pandemic opening, KCNA said Saturday that a team of North Korean athletes departed from Pyongyang to participate in the Asian Games starting next week in Hangzhou, China. South Korea’s government says around 190 North Korean athletes are registered for the event.

Since last year, the U.S. has accused North Korea of providing ammunition, artillery shells and rockets to Russia, many of them likely copies of Soviet-era munitions. South Korean officials said North Korean weapons provided to Russia have already been used in Ukraine.

AP · September 16, 2023

8. Ukraine’s Hunger for Howitzers Transforms an Arms Industry

I am beating the dead horse again. More evidence of South Korea as a partner in the Arsenal of Democracy.

Ukraine’s Hunger for Howitzers Transforms an Arms Industry

Hanwha Aerospace is doubling its howitzer production capacity as South Korea becomes the world’s fastest-growing weapons exporter

https://www.wsj.com/world/ukraines-hunger-for-howitzers-transforms-an-arms-industry-a1b907c4

By Dasl YoonFollow

Updated Sept. 18, 2023 at 12:07 am ET

CHANGWON, South Korea—On a recent afternoon in a South Korean factory, robots assembled bulletproof plates and workers drilled steel parts onto dozens of 47-ton howitzers destined for Poland. Outside the factory in the southern coastal city of Changwon, howitzers destined for Estonia rumbled through a testing area.

The 155mm K9 self-propelled howitzer is at the center of South Korea’s unlikely rise as a weapons exporter. Manufactured by 

Hanwha Aerospace, it is the country’s bestselling weapon. Demand for howitzers and other weapons made in South Korea has been turbocharged as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has turned into a grinding land war.The U.S. and its allies have sent Ukraine much of their supplies of artillery and munitions, and they have realized their arms industries are ill prepared to quickly replenish them. That is where South Korea has come in.

While Seoul has declined to supply lethal weapons directly to Ukraine, the country has been willing to replenish the supplies of the U.S. and its allies—and it has shown it can often do so on shorter timelines and at lower costs than many Western competitors.

The war has transformed South Korea’s arms industry, which once manufactured weapons largely for its own defense, into the world’s fastest-growing arms exporter, with its sales more than doubling in 2022.

Poland and other countries have turned to South Korea’s K9 howitzers after giving their existing howitzers to Ukraine. PHOTO: MICHAL DYJUK/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Hanwha is now preparing to sell many more howitzers. The company is doubling its capacity to produce them, said Choi Dong-bin, a general manager at Hanwha Aerospace’s Changwon plant who has been at the company for three decades.

Years of steady investments in its manufacturing processes have laid the groundwork for the expansion, he said. “It’s only possible because we’ve maintained production lines by consistently securing raw materials and manpower, which is not an investment many countries make,” he said.

The changing nature of wars

Following the Cold War, many North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries reset the priorities of their arms industries. European nations shrank their defense budgets. Their inventories of tanks and heavy artillery shriveled under the assumption that a large-scale land war involving a major military power was unlikely. Funds were instead directed toward the acquisition of jet fighters and ships.

They got rid of vast warehouses as well as excess production capacity, and stopped sourcing many of the materials needed to mass-produce munitions. The lack of resources needed now spans from chemicals and electricity to personnel, said Nicholas Marsh, a senior researcher specializing in arms control and military aid at the Peace Research Institute Oslo.

“When people think about defense production, they tend to think of massive factories with tens of thousands of workers, while now you’re looking at something that’s more like the production of racing cars—very high-tech and very low production numbers,” Marsh said. “It could take years to ramp up production of weapons we haven’t been mass producing.”

The U.S. defense industry went through a similar shift in emphasis. Its involvement in prolonged conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan didn’t alter that. U.S. forces battled relatively lightly armed militants in those conflicts. In Afghanistan, the U.S. fired hundreds of shells a day on average, versus thousands a day that are now being fired in Ukraine.

South Korean soldiers preparing howitzers during a military exercise. PHOTO: LEE JIN-MAN/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Meanwhile, South Korea was facing a different threat. On the Korean Peninsula, one of the great conventional land wars of the 20th century never really ended. Active hostilities ceased with the signing of an armistice in 1953, but the two sides didn’t stop preparing for the fight to resume one day.

For decades, South Korea was largely outgunned by North Korea in conventional weaponry and heavily reliant on the U.S. for its defense. In the 1980s, the country began building its capacity to produce its own weaponry and has been steadily honing its arms-manufacturing processes since then.

“South Korea maintained a robust defense production ecosystem to meet its own military’s needs and also because the threat landscape didn’t change dramatically like it did for the West,” said Elias Yousif, an analyst at the Stimson Center’s Conventional Defense Program.

A new war in Europe

When Russia invaded Ukraine, few expected the drawn-out conflict that has ensued. Ukraine has proven capable of not just resisting but of pushing back Moscow’s forces in many parts of the country. The war has now settled into a bloody battle of attrition as Ukraine presses a counteroffensive on Russia’s strongholds in eastern Ukraine.

Both Russia and Ukraine are burning through ammunition faster than they can produce it. U.S. officials said that North Korea could have advanced arms sales to Russia during Kim Jong Un’s meeting with President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday. Ukraine has struggled in its counteroffensive, and made repeated pleas to its Western allies for howitzers and long-range rocket launchers that are needed to take out enemy targets from a protected distance.

The 155mm howitzer round is now the most requested munition for the war in Ukraine. South Korea supplied the U.S. with hundreds of thousands of 155mm artillery rounds after Washington sent much of its supplies to Ukraine.

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What will be the effect of the U.S. and its allies relying on South Korea to replenish their supplies of artillery and munitions? Join the conversation below.

The U.S. first produced a 155mm howitzer in the 1940s, and deployed it during World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. The howitzer—a piece of artillery that fires explosive shells—has evolved over the years, increasing in accuracy and range. The K9 self-propelled howitzers can travel more than 40 miles an hour and are fitted with steel armored plates, making them resemble tanks.

The U.S. used 155mm howitzers during World War II. PHOTO: U.S. ARMY SIGNAL CORPS/GETTY IMAGES

Ukrainian troops deploying a howitzer in the battle against Russia. PHOTO: DMYTRO SMOLIENKO/UKRINFORM/ZUMA PRESS

Aided by drones that identify enemy targets, the howitzers supplied by the U.S. and Europe have significantly boosted Ukraine’s firepower. The self-propelled artillery used in the Ukraine war have longer barrels that give them greater range and a higher rate of fire than lighter artillery that are towed behind trucks.

South Korea’s K9 howitzer isn’t considered to be as advanced as Germany’s PzH 2000, which has a faster launch speed and is able to load more ammunition at once. Yet, countries such as Poland, Norway and Estonia have turned to South Korea’s K9 howitzers after giving their existing howitzers to Kyiv because they are roughly half the price and delivered within months instead of years.

South Korean weapons are based on U.S. and German technology transfers, which has made them ideal for NATO countries such as Poland, said Daniel Fiott, the head of the defense and statecraft program at the Brussels School of Governance.

“NATO countries looked around and saw a country that had a similar threat perception, and the fact that South Korea was a valued political partner made it the perfect recipe to buy from them,” Fiott said.

Preparing for a war of attrition

South Korea has invested for decades in artillery that could be used in attrition warfare, in which countries attempt to wear down opponents by draining military resources and personnel. The investments are due directly to the threat it faces from its heavily armed northern neighbor.

Up until the 1980s, North Korea had about 5,000 more artillery weapons than the South, which prompted Seoul to designate Hanwha, then Samsung Precision, a defense contractor to arm its military. At the time, South Korea largely relied on U.S. weapons and troops for protection.

Hanwha was originally founded by a gunpowder engineer in 1952 as the Korea Explosives Co. The company made industrial explosives for construction and later expanded into other sectors, such as petrochemicals and resorts. Samsung Precision was founded in 1977 and eventually became Hanwha Aerospace, a subsidiary of Hanwha Group.

Apart from howitzers, Hanwha also produces other weapons such as the Chunmoo multiple-rocket-launcher system. PHOTO: SEONGJOON CHO/BLOOMBERG NEWS

In the 1980s, South Korea’s military was in need of longer-range weapons. At the government’s behest, Hanwha Aerospace began work on the K9 in 1989. When a naval battle broke out with North Korea a decade later, the country deployed them to the island of Yeonpyeong, located about 8 miles from North Korea’s western coast. By then, the K9s had a range of 25 miles.

Hanwha is developing other arms that are in demand globally. Another of its subsidiaries, 

Hanwha Ocean, is manufacturing 3,000-ton attack submarines capable of firing ballistic missiles. The company aims to secure a deal with Canada to replace its aging fleet with eight to 12 submarines.Hanwha Group has grown as South Korea has put itself among a small group of countries, including Israel and Turkey, that have been able to grow from arms importers to major exporters, industry analysts say. But Israel’s conflict with Palestine has complicated some arms trade with Europe and Turkey is still an up-and-coming player, they say.

South Korea is still small when compared with the world’s biggest weapons suppliers, accounting for just 2.4% of global arms exports. While the U.S. accounts for around 60% of pending combat aircraft orders globally, South Korea has the most orders of tanks and artillery among the world’s top 10 arms exporters, which includes China, Russia, France and Germany, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute’s Arms Transfers Database.

Hanwha Aerospace’s howitzers are at the center of South Korea’s unlikely rise as an arms exporter. PHOTO: KIM HONG-JI/REUTERS

Poland showed off the K9 self-propelled howitzer during the Armed Forces Day military parade last month. PHOTO: DAMIAN LEMASKI/BLOOMBERG NEWS

Last year, Poland had intended to buy 500 U.S.-made M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or Himars, which have been used by Ukraine. Instead, it signed a deal to buy 288 South Korean Chunmoo launchers manufactured by Hanwha, with the Polish defense minister tying the decision to America’s inability to deliver the Himars in a satisfactory time frame. 

Industry insiders say South Korea gives generous technology transfers and supports building manufacturing facilities in countries that buy the products. Romania and the U.K. are also planning to import Hanwha’s K9 howitzers while a manufacturing facility will be built in Poland, which could be used as a base for K9 exports to other European countries. In July, Australia chose Hanwha over Germany’s 

Rheinmetall to build 129 Redback infantry fighting vehicles, one of the largest projects in the history of the Australian army.Local threats have helped South Korea grow into a country with advanced technology that has big defense contracts in the Middle East and Europe, which has been a difficult breakthrough for non-European countries, said Siemon Wezeman, a senior researcher at SIPRI. 

“South Korea very well may be the world’s fifth-largest weapons exporter in the next few years,” Wezeman said. 

Write to Dasl Yoon at dasl.yoon@wsj.com

9. Ahead of Kim visit to Russia, N. Hamgyong Province security agents ordered to return weapons to armories

​As Dr. Jung Pak has often asked: Who is Kim more afraid of? The US military or the Korean people in the north. This is an indicator.

Ahead of Kim visit to Russia, N. Hamgyong Province security agents ordered to return weapons to armories

Rumors suggest that Kim could make a visit to N. Hamgyong Province on his way back from Russia

By Jong So Yong - 2023.09.18 5:00pm

dailynk.com

Ahead of Kim visit to Russia, N. Hamgyong Province security agents ordered to return weapons to armories | Daily NK English

Kim Jong Un at the plenary session, which was held from Feb. 26 to Mar. 1, 2023. (Rodong Sinmun-News1)

Ahead of Kim Jong Un’s visit to Russia, the Ministry of State Security ordered personnel at its North Hamgyong Province branch to return their weapons to armories, Daily NK has learned. 

The ministry issued the order at midnight on Sept. 10, instructing the regional branch to confiscate weapons and ammunition from all its agents, and banning agents from removing weapons or ammunition from armories until otherwise ordered, a Daily NK source in North Hamgyong Province said last Friday, speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons.

North Korean media reported that Kim departed Pyongyang for Russia in the afternoon of Sept. 10. The ministry’s order came down in the early morning hours of the same day that Kim was set to depart.

According to the source, when Kim visited Russia in April 2019, only Ministry of State Security personnel at guard posts located within a five-kilometer radius of the railroad Kim’s train passed in North Hamgyong Province were ordered to hand in their weapons. This time, however, the ministry confiscated weapons and ammunition from all its agents in the province. 

The ministry’s order included instructions to prevent accidents or incidents involving weapons or ammunition, and told law enforcement and judicial agencies to ensure they have control over their detention facilities to prevent escapes or other incidents.

Rumors fly about potential Kim visit to N. Hamgyong Province

Meanwhile, rumors are circulating in North Korea that Kim could conduct on-the-spot visits to important sites in North Hamgyong Province when he returns from his visit to Russia.

In fact, North Hamgyong Province’s Ministry of State Security branch recently ordered that stretches of the railroad in the province be divided into zones of responsibility, with security personnel assigned to each zone eating and sleeping onsite to prevent accidents or incidents through strict, around-the-clock management and control.

“Based on the order, North Hamgyong Province is currently operating a 24-hour surveillance and reporting system, with all local branches on a state of alert with revolutionary awareness, eating and sleeping in their zones or areas of responsibility, workplaces and designated places,” the source said.

North Hamgyong Province’s party committee has also ordered all local agencies, companies, and farms to make thorough preparations for a personal visit from the Supreme Leader. 

“The Supreme Leader has recently made some annoyed comments [directed at corruption and misconduct among officials], and officials are tense as they prepare for a potential visit because they don’t know what would happen if he were to discover even the tiniest of flaws.”

Translated by David Black. 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.

Read in Korean

Jong So Yong

Jong So Yong is one of Daily NK’s freelance reporters. Questions about her articles can be directed to dailynk@uni-media.net.

dailynk.com

10. Five alleged burglars and murderers publicly executed in Chongjin

But the regime will not ask why crime is rising or take action to root out the causes of crime -= of course the reason for that is because it is the policies of the regime and the policy decisions of the leadership that is causing the rise in crime.

Five alleged burglars and murderers publicly executed in Chongjin

North Korean authorities appear to be aware of growing public unease about rising crime and likely conducted the public executions to set an example for others

By Lee Chae Un - 2023.09.18 2:28pm

dailynk.com

Five alleged burglars and murderers publicly executed in Chongjin | Daily NK English

FILE PHOTO: A scene from Chongjin, North Hamgyong Province. (Daily NK)

Five people allegedly involved in burglaries and murders in Chongjin were publicly executed in late August for “causing public disorder and sowing fear,” Daily NK has learned. 

Speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons, a source in North Hamgyong Province told Daily NK last Thursday that “two of the executed individuals began burglarizing homes in Ranam District in May due to hardships so bad they couldn’t even put a single meal on the table, and were caught after they fled when they killed somebody and made off with KPW 2 million.” 

The two were arrested after the murder they committed was caught on a CCTV installed in a nearby apartment. “The camera had been useless because there’d been no power, but by chance the electricity was on at the time and they got caught red-handed,” the source said. 

North Hamgyong Province police inspectors hardpressed the pair, believing they could be suspects in another murder. The two eventually confessed to another killing, a grizzly murder in late April in which they desecrated and abandoned the corpse.

Another of the executed men murdered a person for refusing to buy some electrical cables he had stolen. “Selling stolen cables has long been a serious crime, and since he killed somebody as well, he was executed,” the source said.

Public unease grows amid rising crime 

The source explained that there has been a string of serious crimes in Chongjin this year, including murder, which have led to unease among the general public. 

In fact, the source estimated that one or two murders occur in the city per month, and that some of the killers have not yet been caught.

“With frequent murders occurring, most people say if a burglar enters your home, you shouldn’t try to chase him out, but simply do what they say to stay alive. I don’t know if it’s because times are growing tougher, but it’s confusing to witness a society where burglaries are on the rise and murders — which used to happen just three or so times a year at most – now happen twice a month.”

North Korean authorities appear to be aware of the growing public unease and likely conducted the recent public executions to set an example for others. However, most people in Chongjin remain skeptical, doubting whether the “sound of gunfire will reduce crime,” the source said. 

“Crime is born of hardship from food shortages. The authorities are trying to solve the crime problem with gunfire without resolving the hunger problem, so public sentiment is growing even worse. As long as there’s no solution to the fundamental problem — that there’s no rice to put in rice sacks — crime won’t cease, even if the government shoots criminals.”

Translated by David Black. 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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Lee Chae Un

Lee Chae Un is one of Daily NK’s full-time journalists. She can be reached at dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.

dailynk.com

11. China’s Wang Yi heads to Russia as North Korea’s Kim wraps up visit

Counterbalance or is the senior partner of the "threesome of convenience" going to get a briefing on the results of the Putin-Kim summit?

China’s Wang Yi heads to Russia as North Korea’s Kim wraps up visit

Foreign minister’s visit is seen as a counterbalance to warming ties between Pyongyang and Moscow, say experts.

By Lee Jeong-Ho and Elaine Chan for RFA

2023.09.18

rfa.org

China’s foreign minister Wang Yi has begun on Monday a four-day visit to Russia during which both sides could shore up their strategic ties, a day after Beijing’s ally and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un concluded a six-day visit to Russia’s far east.

Wang will be in Russia for the China-Russia strategic security consultation, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement Monday.

The top diplomat’s trip to Russia follows on the heels of Kim’s high-profile visit to Russia where he and Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed to step up cooperation on multiple fronts – from the economy, diplomacy to the military. The Kim-Putin summit came as China did not actively respond to Moscow’s call in July to conduct a trilateral joint military drill to form a united front against the United States and its allies.

“China’s perspective on the strengthening ties between Russia and North Korea is rather multifaceted,” said Ji Seong-ho, a North Korean defector-turned-South Korean lawmaker.

“Beijing must carefully assess how such a development impacts its influence over both North Korea and Russia, as it faces competition with the U.S.,” Ji said.

“China has recently been at the receiving end when it comes to calls for diplomatic collaboration from Russia and North Korea. But its domestic challenges, particularly its economic concerns, have inevitably limited its maneuverability,” Ji added.

“It seems China is attempting to assert its role in the region before it’s too late.”

Wang’s visit could underscore Beijing’s attempt to reiterate its strategic significance to its longtime neighboring allies, Moscow and Pyongyang, ensuring its influence remains paramount for both nations. In fact, China’s economic and security interests are largely related to those of its two neighbors.

Yet, China could be stuck between a rock and a hard place. It neither wants to be too close to North Korea and Russia, which are under U.N. sanctions regimes, nor too distant as that could translate into its diminished regional clout that weakens its leverage against the U.S. and its allies.

Conversely, closer ties between Pyongyang and Moscow may also result in both countries being less dependent on China. North Korea’s nuclear provocations have already pushed China’s neighbors South Korea and Japan to draw closer to Washington.

“China would most likely feel the strain in its relationship with North Korea right now,” said Park Won-gon, an associate professor in the department of North Korean studies at Ewha Womans University. “While it doesn’t want to see North Korea going nuclear, it also doesn’t want to see its influence diminishing. It would be a difficult problem for China.”

The Kim-Putin summit on Wednesday has triggered the U.S. and its allies, South Korea and Japan, to ratchet up countermeasures. The two leaders vowed to intensify security cooperation that could change regional security dynamics, which could eat into Beijing’s interests.

China has long opposed the emergence of a multilateral security platform in the region, in what it described as a “mini-Nato” in the Indo-Pacific. The allies’ collective military prowess is not only seen to surpass that of China, Russia and North Korea put together, it may also deter Beijing’s expansionist ambitions in the region, including territorial claims in the South China Sea.

Taiwan’s defense ministry said on Monday that since Sunday, it has spotted 103 Chinese People’s Liberation Army aircraft crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait – an unofficial barrier between the two sides – that China began crossing in the last few years.

China-Russia relations

Wang’s visit, therefore, may provide an opportunity for Beijing to engage in the regional security matters, whilst potentially gaining an insight into the outcome of any agreements between Kim and Putin.

But Ewha Womans University’s Park is doubtful if Beijing could get additional details. “It is less likely that both sides would release anything on the recent development of the North Korea-Russia relations,” he said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping attend a signing ceremony at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia March 21, 2023. Credit: Sputnik/Vladimir Astapkovich/Kremlin via Reuters

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Putin called each other “dear friends” during Xi’s state visit to Moscow in March, where he pledged solidarity with Russia, “to stand guard over the world order based on international law.”

China has helped safeguard Russia from isolation by the Western democracies after the invasion of Ukraine, by increasing imports of Russian oil, and selling more electronic and computer equipment to the country.

The Chinese diplomat’s visit is also seen as readying the ground for Putin’s potential trip to Beijing next month for the Belt and Road forum, a platform that showcases the Chinese massive infrastructure-led strategy to seek global dominance.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said last week that Wang will meet his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov for talks that will cover Ukraine and security in the Asia Pacific region, according to a Monday report by the official news agency, Tass.

On Sunday, Wang met U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan in Malta for “candid substantive, and constructive discussions,” both the White House and the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in statements.

While the two sides are committed “to pursue additional high-level engagement and consultations in key areas” in the coming months, Wang, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry statement, stressed that the Taiwan issue is the first red line that must not be crossed in U.S.-China relations.

Edited by Taejun Kang and Mike Firn.

rfa.org

12. ＜Inside N. Korea＞Kim Jong-un orders start of operation to eliminate private medical activities, with a “secret vote” leading to arrests…The state also aims to revive its control over the medical sector

​Another indication of the regime's loss of control. A small indicator perhaps but something we should continue to watch.

＜Inside N. Korea＞Kim Jong-un orders start of operation to eliminate private medical activities, with a “secret vote” leading to arrests…The state also aims to revive its control over the medical sector

asiapress.org

(FILE PHOTO) Amoxicillin, a drug provided by international aid agencies, on sale at a market. The drug is used to treat skin infections, but now all stores of the drug sold through illegal channels have dried up. Taken in October 2014 by ASIAPRESS.

Starting in August, the Kim Jong-un regime started an intense crackdown on private medical activities, which have flourished due to the paralyzed state of the country’s medical system. In January of this year, Kim Jong-un ordered the crackdown on illegal medical activities, leading to the crackdown. What is the regime aiming to achieve through the crackdown? (KANG Ji-won)

◆ N. Korea’s “free medical care system” implodes in the 1990s

One of the socialist North Korean regime’s oldest policies is “free medical care.” The regime has long claimed that medical visits related to injuries and disease, treatments, surgeries, hospitalizations, and even medicine prescriptions are all free.

In the 1990s, however, the lack of medicines and equipment, and halt in government rations for doctors and other medical professionals, led to the implosion of the country’s “system of free medical care.” People had to hand over bribes to get treatments and surgeries, and it became commonplace for medicines to be purchased through markets and under-the-table deals.

The medical supplies supplied by the government to medical facilities and the medical supplies received from the United Nations and other aid organizations were frequently siphoned off to the black market. Starting in the 2000s, people found that while they could get checkups at hospitals, they would have to pay their own way to obtain medicines.

A “Top Secret” document acquired by ASIAPRESS in late 2022. The cause of chronic “illegal medical activities” is due to the drastic reduction in Chinese medicine imports stemming from North Korea’s overreaching efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

◆ COVID-19 shows how dilapidated the country’s medical system really is

The start of the COVID-19 pandemic in January 2020, which led North Korea to close its borders and end almost all trade with China, resulted in the country’s medical system completely collapsing. Medicine imports from China dried up, and in the ending months of 2020, many elderly people and children died because they failed to get simple treatments or surgeries.

With the collapse of the medical system, traditional remedies such as moxibustion, acupuncture, cupping, acupressure, and the consumption of medicinal herbs filled in the gap. Despite having just hastily studied traditional remedies, even non-professionals jumped into the industry with dreams of earning money. There are now sometimes reports of incidents occurring due to traditional remedies. Starting in 2022, the North Korean authorities began cracking down on the rapid spread of traditional remedies.

What is particularly noteworthy is that Kim Jong-un handed down an order in January 2023 calling for the “strengthening of crackdowns and control over illegal medical activities.” A “Top Secret” government document obtained by ASIAPRESS says the following:

“(The government) aims to strengthen education and controls with a view to eliminate the phenomenon of people earning money through illegal medical activity in the Workers’ Party, labor organizations, and among ordinary people and employees. The Ministry of Social Security (the police) and other law-and-order agencies will strengthen their crackdowns and controls on preventing illegal medical activities with a view to make it clear to ordinary people and employees that anyone who has caused harm to patients by conducting illegal medical activities will face a public struggle (denunciation rally) and be severely punished under the law.”

However, why did the country’s Supreme Leader personally hand down an order instructing the authorities to crackdown on traditional remedies, which is only one part of the myriad of illegal activities that occur in North Korean society?

(FILE PHOTO) A room inside a hospital in Yanggang Province. A patient can be seen lying on a bed. Taken by ASIAPRESS in April 2015.

◆ A “secret vote” is held that leads to arrests of doctors and nurses

A reporting partner in the northern region of the country told ASIAPRESS in mid-August about the start of the large-scale crackdown on people prescribing traditional remedies:

“Our inminban (neighborhood watch unit) was ordered to eliminate private medical activities through a pan-national reporting system, and on August 4, there was a ‘vote’ held to report those who perpetrate illegal medical activities.”

The authorities also informed the population that there were would severe legal punishments meted out to those involved in abortion-related surgeries. Meanwhile, they demanded that those who practice acupuncture, cupping, create medicinal herbs, acupressure, use IVs, and conduct blood transfusions voluntarily turn themselves in along with the medical devices in their possession.

“Through this ‘vote,’ the names of many doctors and nurses working at hospitals were made known. Even the names of those who practiced Oriental medicine were revealed. Those who were reported were investigated by the police and even faced having their houses searched.”

Many people are expressing discontent about the government’s hardline approach to the issue, particularly because they are unable to get treatments at hospitals and are forced to turn to traditional remedies due to the lack of money. Meanwhile, medical practitioners are avoiding crackdowns by the authorities by halting procedures at homes and are instead making house calls to conduct checkups and various medical procedures.

◆ The state aims to exert a monopoly of sales of medicines, too

In tandem with the crackdown on illegal medical practices, the authorities are intensifying their control over the distribution of medicines. The reporting partner told ASIAPRESS that one government official said the following:

“Sick people don’t go to state-run medical facilities. That’s because the hospitals don’t have medical supplies imported by the government. And that’s why private citizens are increasingly conducting checkups, diagnoses and selling medicines. Going forward, the private sale of medicines will be eliminated…That was what the notice said.”

After the notice was made, hospitals stopped selling medicines and only wrote prescriptions, and patients took these prescriptions to state-run pharmacies to buy medicines at state-set prices.

“I heard that the measure was implemented to ensure the revitalization of the free medical care system in the future,” the reporting partner emphasized.

In short, the reporting partner said that the Kim Jong-un regime is intent to revitalize the “system of free medical care” in the future, regardless of whether this is an achievable goal or not. To achieve this goal, the regime aims to eliminate illegal medical activities conducted by private practitioners, along with the illegal sale of medicines, with a view to ensure the state has overall control over the medical system and the distribution of medicines.

Given that it will be impossible to achieve a sudden revival of the “system of free medical care,” the government’s initial goal appears to be aimed at turning the “privatized” medical system into one controlled by the government.

※ ASIAPRESS communicates with its reporting partners through Chinese cell phones smuggled into North Korea.

asiapress.org

13. High-level defense talks discuss North's growing threats

Monday

September 18, 2023

 dictionary + A - A 

Published: 18 Sep. 2023, 18:55

Updated: 18 Sep. 2023, 19:25

High-level defense talks discuss North's growing threats

https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2023-09-18/national/northKorea/Highlevel-defense-talks-discuss-Norths-growing-threats/1872182

Cara Allison Marshall, the Pentagon’s principal director for East Asia, and Heo Tae-keun, South Korea’s deputy defense minister for policy, pose for a photo to mark the 23rd Korea-U.S. Integrated Defense Dialogue that took place in Seoul on Monday. [MINISTRY OF NATIONAL DEFENSE]

Defense officials from South Korea and the United States met in Seoul on Monday for talks designed to bolster deterrence against North Korea’s advancing nuclear weapons and missile threats.

The Korea-U. S. Integrated Defense Dialogue (KIDD), which last took place in April, is expected to touch on several areas of security cooperation between South Korea and the United States, including ways for the allies to coordinate their response and deterrence strategies against Pyongyang’s growing arsenal.

During the talks, the two sides are also expected to explore ways to strengthen their joint readiness posture and discuss the conditional transfer of wartime operational control, also known as Opcon, from Washington to Seoul, according to the South Korean Defense Ministry.

The talks were led by Heo Tae-keun, South Korea’s deputy defense minister for policy, and Cara Allison Marshall, the Pentagon’s principal director for East Asia, as well as other officials from both countries.

Launched in 2011, KIDD is a regular comprehensive meeting between the allies’ senior defense officials.

Related Article

South Korea, U.S. strengthen deterrence against North amid weapons deal concerns

U.S. approves $5 billion F-35 fighter jet sale to Korea

Monday’s KIDD talks took place amid signs that deepening cooperation between North Korea and Russia could lead to advances in the North’s space program, which has tried but failed to launch two military reconnaissance satellites into orbit this past year.

Pyongyang’s state-controlled Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Monday that regime leader Kim Jong-un’s “successful” talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin had “opened a new chapter” in the two countries’ relations in its report on Kim’s departure from Vladivostok.

In this photo released by Pyongyang's state-controlled Korean Central News Agency on Monday, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un observes a Russian military band performance in Vladivostok before boarding his train back to North Korea. [YONHAP]

During the six-day trip — his first overseas visit since 2019 — Kim held a summit with Putin and toured several key Russian military sites, including the Vostochny Cosmodrome spaceport as well as the Yuri Gagarin and Yakovlev aircraft plants in Komsomolsk-on-Amur.

While the exact results of the two leaders’ summit have not been made public, Kim’s decision to include senior defense and space officials on his trip has sparked speculation that the North could agree to supply Russia with ammunition and weapons to use in Ukraine in exchange for advanced space and military technology.

Korean People’s Army Marshal Ri Pyong-chol, who oversees the North’s nuclear weapons and missile programs, and Pak Thae-song, chairman of the North’s national space science and technology committee, were present in photographs of Kim’s entourage as he departed Pyongyang by train last week.

During his summit with the North Korean leader, Putin expressed his intent to help develop North Korea’s satellite program and also accepted Kim’s invitation for a return visit to Pyongyang as the two leaders highlighted their “strategic cooperation,” according to the KCNA.

Related Article

Yoon criticizes North Korea-Russia military cooperation

Putin accepts Kim's invitation to North Korea, U.S. warns of arms deals

Putin offers assistance to North's satellite program

North says second spy satellite launch ended in failure

Meanwhile, the South Korean state arms procurement agency said Monday that South Korea will invest approximately 290 billion won ($218 million) to develop a more advanced version of an indigenous missile system capable of destroying underground enemy facilities.

According to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), the development of the Korean Tactical Surface-to-Surface Missile-II system will boost the South Korean military’s precision strike capabilities against targets hidden inside tunnels and bunkers.

A DAPA official told reporters on condition of anonymity that the new missile system, which can be transported and fired from mobile launchers, is aimed at striking underground North Korean weapons systems, such as long-range artillery systems that are usually cached away inside tunnels.

While current South Korean bunker-busting missiles can fly up to 180 kilometers (111.8 miles), the new missile system is expected to have a range of over 300 kilometers, placing all but the farthest regions of North Korea within range.

North Korea maintains around 6,000 artillery systems within range of major South Korean population centers, including Seoul, according to a 2020 report by policy think tank Rand Corp.

North Korea used coastal artillery embedded in underground tunnels to shell South Korea’s Yeonpyeong Island in the Yellow Sea in 2010, killing two marines and two civilians.

The attack spurred Seoul to develop its current anti-bunker missile system.

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]

​14. An ‘ideology war’, a double-edged sword

As I have long argued, the north is conducting deliberate subversion against the South (as well as the ROK/US alliance). The ideological war is with the north (and those they have recruited and developed as well as useful idiots) and the South.

Subversion:

•The undermining of the power and authority of an established system or institution.

–As in: "the ruthless subversion of democracy"

•Ideological War – a choice between:

–Shared ROK/US Values

•Freedom and individual liberty, liberal democracy, rule of law, free market economy, and human rights

–Kim family regime (KFR) “values”

•Juche/Kimilsungism, Socialist Workers Paradise, Songun, Songbun, Byungjin, rule BY law, and denial of human rights to sustain KFR power

•nK engages in active subversion of the ROK as well as the ROK/US Alliance

Monday

September 18, 2023

 dictionary + A - A 

Published: 18 Sep. 2023, 20:44

An ‘ideology war’, a double-edged sword

https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2023-09-18/opinion/columns/An-ideology-war-a-doubleedged-sword/1872303

Choi Hoon

The author is the chief editor of the JoongAng Ilbo.

President Yoon Suk Yeol has repeatedly stressed the importance of ideology in national governance. “Anti-state forces with blind faith in communist totalitarianism remain active [in our society]” while “posing as democracy and human rights activists or liberal partisans,” he said in an address on the Aug. 15 Liberation Day. During a meeting with members of the Peaceful Unification Advisory Council on Aug. 29, the president attacked “opportunistic followers of communist totalitarianism.”

In a cabinet meeting on the same day, Yoon urged ministers to be more “aggressive” in their battle against the ideological opposites. Then, during a meeting with members of his People Power Party (PPP) on Aug. 30, he emphasized that “ideology is the most important value for the country. […] We cannot avoid fighting with the forces who claim 1 plus 1 is 100.”

It makes people wonder what really has brought about all this preach on ideology, since the president would be the most well-informed and have a lot on his mind. I asked his key aide who advises the president on this governance ideology.

President Yoon Suk Yeol delivers a speech aboard the ROK Navy’s Nojeokbong landing ship at an Incheon port to commemorate the Incheon landing of Sept. 15, 1950, during the Korean War.

Q. Why is the president’s tone so hawkish?

A.president Yoon has pored over the book “Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty” by Professors Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson. What set South Korea and North Korea apart — one for a global success and the other for disaster, despite sharing the same language and blood —was the differing institution and regime. Ideology shapes the institution. President Yoon believes that the conviction of the correct ideology should be firm so that free democracy and market economy can fully activate for the good of the public.

We haven’t heard “communist totalitarianism” in a long time. 

It refers to North Korea, of course. It also includes Russia and China, as they are all fake democracies.

Who are “opportunistic forces”? 

The Democratic Party (DP) has its roots in the Korea Democratic Party, which was founded in 1945 by independence fighters and nationalistic intellectuals such as Song Jin-woo, Kim Seong-su, Shin Ik-hui and Cho Byung-ok, who had been anti-communism and pro-United States. But the party lost its identity over the years. President Moon Jae-in’s push for an end-of-war declaration in place of the Armistice was a primary example. If the war is declared to have ended, the United Nations Command (UNC)’s rear bases in Japan would no longer truly be needed. The Moon administration even refused to accept German and Dutch inclusion in the UNC and its enlarged role. His government was uncomfortable with the UNC.

Why is the president demanding the PPP and Cabinet members fight?

The president believes ministers should not administer the country simply with expertise and science. The ruling force these days acts very cautiously to avoid seeing blood. The “combative liberalism” should be at the core of the powers that be. The president vowed not to be loyal to individuals. He cannot go along with those who differ in values.

Could this be the guideline on nominations for the next parliamentary elections in April?

A political party is a group of allies. The president is not yet convinced that the PPP is fully committed to upholding such a core ideology. The “devotion to values” could be the criteria in the nomination.

Can all this be helpful?

Even the conservatives are confused. The removal of the bust of independence fighter Hong Beom-do from the Military Academy, citing his involvement in the Soviet communist party, could backfire. But the president does not waver in fear of causing controversy. He is very stubborn when fixing what he believes is wrong, regardless of criticism.

The right wing may continue cheering. But a head of state posing as a crusader in an ideological war can be a double-edged sword. The moment the president defines people as “followers of Communist totalitarianism” or “anti-nation” forces, the middle ground disappears. The world has become too complex to distinguish between thoughts and souls. As the rule in the game Go suggests, it could be best that players “forget everything after they studied hard.”

Red scare remains traumatic in our society. The opposition and the media could feel suppressed in their role of checking and criticizing the government and public policy. If law enforcement authorities also turn “combative” toward the presidential order, anxiety and conflict could spread in our society. The benign intention to safeguard free democracy could end up restraining the freedom.

The ideology of our community is well defined in our Constitution — Korea is a democratic republic based on free and democratic order. Freedom, democracy and republic are the ideology. To ensure individual freedom, the people have chosen democracy to command the country. As individual freedom can collide in a conflict of interests, we agreed on the democracy under the rule of the majority. Nevertheless, freedom and democracy always clash. That’s why it is based on republicanism, backed by citizenship that respects the balance of individual freedom and communal good. The dispute on ideology can be settled through constitutional reference.

The presidential aide relayed Yoon’s own wording. “The comment on ideology came from the goal to seek wellbeing of the people. If the institutions of free democracy and market economy are not crystal clear, the well-being of the people cannot be guaranteed. His intention is to clarify the national identity for the sustainable well-being of the people and social development.” In fact, the well-being of the people should be the goal of ideological pursuit, shouldn’t it?

15. National Resistance Center: Russia plans to bring North Korean workers to occupied Ukraine

Workers? Or Soldiers dressed as workers?

National Resistance Center: Russia plans to bring North Korean workers to occupied Ukraine

kyivindependent.com · by Rachel Amran · September 18, 2023

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by September 18, 2023 3:27 AM 1 min read

This audio is created with AI assistance

The Kremlin intends to bring North Korean workers to occupied regions of eastern Ukraine, the National Resistance Center reported on Sept. 17.

During a widely publicized meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Sept. 13, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin allegedly tried to convince the DPRK to open "diplomatic missions in Donetsk and Luhansk" as a way to facilitate the importation of North Korean workers to the occupied territories. The objective of these workers, according to the report, would be to aid construction projects in Russian-controlled regions of Ukraine.

The Center stated that previous attempts by the Russian Federation to recruit Central Asian labor migrants into the military suggests that the Kremlin is unable to gather sufficient numbers of workers from within Russia.

However, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Sept. 15 that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed no agreements during their meeting.

Rachel Amran

News Editor

Rachel Amran is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked on the Europe and Central Asia team of Human Rights Watch investigating war crimes in Ukraine. Rachel holds a master's degree in Russian, Eastern European, and Eurasian Regional Studies from Columbia University.

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16. Kim Jong Un's sister Kim Yo Jong travels to Russia in style with $7,000 Dior bag

The world's most dangerous woman travels in style.

Kim Jong Un's sister Kim Yo Jong travels to Russia in style with $7,000 Dior bag

republicworld.com

Last Updated: 18th September, 2023 11:29 IST

Kim Jong Un's Sister Kim Yo Jong Travels To Russia In Style With $7,000 Dior Bag

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's sister Kim Yo Jong travelled to Russia in style while accompanying her brother on the tour last week.

Rest of the World News

| Written By

Deeksha Sharma

Kim Yo Jong visited Russia along with her brother Kim Jong Un | Image: AP/X/@TR__Via

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's sister Kim Yo Jong travelled to Russia in style while accompanying her brother on the tour. According to images circulating on social media, Jong brought along an iconic Dior bag when she visited the Yuri Gagarin Aviation Plant in Komsomolsk-on-Amur with the North Korean delegation on Friday.

As per The Korea Herald, the black bag costs a whopping $7,000. It appeared to have a pattern similar to that of the Lady Dior bag that is currently on sale on the French luxury fashion brand's official website. But this isn't the first time that Kim Jong Un's family has brought their fashion A-game in public.

Earlier in March, his daughter Kim Ju-ae sported a black coat worth $1,900, also presumed to be from Dior. The leader himself was spotted with an IWC Schaffhausen watch on during a military parade to mark 75 years of the ruling Worker's Party in 2020. The watch from the Swiss manufacturer comes at a hefty price of $13,400.

North Korea's fascination with high-end international brands

In recent years, luxury goods from around the world have caught the eye of North Korea's elite. Previously, the goods were only limited to the leader's family. In the capital city of Pyongyang, stores have begun selling high-end items by taking US dollars from patrons in exchange for North Korean won.

While the UN Security Council Resolution 2270 bans the import of luxury brands into North Korea, Kim Jong Un and his family are said to have a separate entity that brings the items for them exclusively. The ruling family's wealthy preferences have garnered criticism from other nations. Earlier in June, media outlets reported that North Koreans were starving to death due to a food crisis in the country. It is said that the number of starvation-related deaths has tripled in comparison with previous years.

First Published: 18th September, 2023 11:29 IST

republicworld.com

17. Russia gifts North Korea’s Kim kamikaze drones, bulletproof vest as state visit ends

So many gifts for Kim.

AsiaEast Asia

Russia gifts North Korea’s Kim kamikaze drones, bulletproof vest as state visit ends

• Kim Jong-un received the gifts, including special clothing undetectable by thermal cameras, at the end of his longest foreign trip since taking power
• As the North Korean leader’s armoured train departed he was waved off by officials to the sound of Russian patriotic song ‘Farewell of Slavianka’
• https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3234880/north-koreas-kim-takes-home-gift-kamikaze-drones-bulletproof-vest-russian-visit

North Korea’s Kim Jong-un shakes hands with Russian natural-resources minister Alexander Kozlov during a farewell ceremony at a railway station near Vladivostok. Photo: KCNA VIA KNS / AFP

Agence France-Presse

and

Associated Press

Published: 7:51am, 18 Sep, 2023

Why you can trust SCMP

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un received five explosive drones, a reconnaissance drone and a bulletproof vest as gifts before he departed Russia, the official TASS news agency reported.

Kim’s armoured train pulled out of a railway station in Artyom, a far eastern Russian city about 200km (124 miles) from the border with North Korea, on Sunday to the sound of the Russian patriotic march song “Farewell of Slavianka” at the end of a farewell ceremony, according to Russian state news agency RIA.

Senior officials including Russia’s Minister of Natural Resources Alexander Kozlov and Primorye regional Governor Oleg Kozhemyako were present at the ceremony, which featured a Russian military band playing both North Korean and Russian national anthems.

Kim receives a farewell ceremony at Artyom railway station on Sunday at the end of his visit to Russia. Photo: KCNA via KNS / AFP

It was the North Korean leader’s longest foreign trip since he took power in late 2011. Observers said he was expected to return to Pyongyang on Monday afternoon.

Before departing from Vladivostok, the Pacific port city just over the border, Kim was presented with five explosive drones, a reconnaissance drone and a bulletproof vest as gifts from the governor of the Primorye region, which borders China and North Korea.

Pyongyang’s Korean Central News Agency on Monday said Kim “extended his heartfelt thanks to President Putin and the Russian leadership” for “their special care and cordial hospitality” as he wrapped up the visit.

North Korea’s Kim Jong-un, Russia talk up military ties in new ‘heyday’

17 Sep 2023

Kim is heading home “after successfully completing the schedule of his official goodwill visit to the Russian Federation,” KCNA said.

On Sunday, Kim watched a performing walrus at the Primorsky Aquarium, Russia’s largest, accompanied by his officials, many wearing military uniforms.

State media images showed Kim smiling broadly as he applauded the walrus and its handler.

Kim also “watched white dolphins and other sea animals performing acrobatic feats at the dolphinarium and looked round various places of the aquarium,” KCNA said.

North Korea’s Kim (front row, fourth from right) watches a performance by a walrus at Primorsky Aquarium in Vladivostok on Sunday. Photo: Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP

The North Korean leader also praised the facility for “winning a reputation as a popular scientific research base” under Putin’s leadership, it added.

Kim’s latest visit to Russia will “shine long in history”, KCNA said, and will further consolidate the two countries’ “militant unity” while “opening up a new chapter” of their relations.

While meeting Kim, Putin accepted an invitation to visit North Korea and offered to send one of its nationals to space, which would be a first.

Kim’s first official visit abroad since the pandemic has fanned Western fears that Moscow and Pyongyang will defy sanctions and strike an arms deal.

North Korea’s Kim visits Russia’s Far East, inspects bombers, missiles, warship

16 Sep 2023

On Saturday he met the Russian defence minister in Vladivostok, where he inspected state-of-the-art weapons including a hypersonic missile system.

TASS said the “leader of the DPRK received five kamikaze drones and a ‘Geran-25’ reconnaissance drone with vertical take-off”, using the official name of North Korea.

TASS said the governor of the Primorye region, which borders China and North Korea, also “offered Kim Jong-un a set of bulletproof protection” and “special clothing not detectable by thermal cameras”.

Kim’s extended tour of Russia’s far eastern region, which began on Tuesday, has focused extensively on military matters, as evidenced by his own officer-dominated entourage, a symbolic exchange of rifles with President Vladimir Putin and a tour of a fighter jet factory in Komsomolsk-on-Amur.

Kim Jong-un returns home with gifts of drones and bulletproof vest after week-long Russia tour

Moscow is believed to be interested in buying North Korean ammunition to continue fighting in Ukraine, while Pyongyang wants Russia’s help to develop its internationally condemned missile programme. The Kremlin has said no agreement has or will be signed.

North Korea may have tens of millions of ageing artillery shells and rockets based on Soviet designs that could bolster Russian forces in Ukraine, analysts say, even though its old artillery systems have a reputation for poor accuracy. Both sides in the Ukraine war have been reportedly firing thousands of artillery rounds a day.

UN Security Council resolutions – which Russia, a permanent member, previously endorsed – ban North Korea from exporting or importing any arms.

Observers say Russia’s alleged attempts to receive ammunition and artillery shells from North Korea suggest Moscow’s desperation to refill its arsenal exhausted in the war with Ukraine.

North Korea arms for Russia won’t make big difference in Ukraine: US general

17 Sep 2023

“Military cooperation between North Korea and Russia is illegal and unjust as it contravenes UN Security Council resolutions and various other international sanctions”, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said on Sunday in written responses to questions.

“The international community will unite more tightly in response to such a move”.

North Korean’s KCNA described the atmosphere during Kim’s visit as “fervent and warm” and said a “new era of friendship, solidarity and cooperation” was opening between North Korea and Russia.

18. S. Korea to invest $218 mil. to develop improved bunker-buster missile

Good.

S. Korea to invest $218 mil. to develop improved bunker-buster missile

The Korea Times · September 18, 2023

A Korean Tactical Surface-to-Surface Missile striking a target during a test launch at an undisclosed location is seen in this undated file photo provided by the defense ministry. Yonhap

South Korea will invest about 290 billion won ($218 million) to develop an improved version of a homegrown bunker-buster missile capable of striking underground enemy targets, the state arms procurement agency said Monday.

The project comes as South Korea's military has been seeking to reinforce its deterrence capabilities against North Korea's evolving missile and nuclear threats.

The improved Korean Tactical Surface-to-Surface Missile-II will be operated on a mobile launcher, and will enhance the military's precision strike capabilities against targets hidden inside tunnels and bunkers, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA).

A DAPA official said the new missile is designed to mainly target North Korean weapons systems stationed underground, such as its long-range artillery pieces inside tunnels.

In 2010, North Korea's coastal artillery shelled South Korea's Yeonpyeong Island near the western sea border from its underground tunnels.

The provocation, which killed two marines and two civilians, prompted South Korea to develop its existing missile system.

The new bunker-buster missile will also have increased range and penetration capabilities, compared with the current system that has a range of up to 180 kilometers. DAPA did not provide details on the new weapon's specifications, but it is expected to have a range of over 300 km.

Still, the DAPA official declined to provide details on the penetration capabilities of both the existing and new systems, citing operational security.

The state-run Agency for Defense Development will oversee the project, which is set to run through the end of 2027, with major defense companies taking part in producing prototype models. (Yonhap)

The Korea Times · September 18, 2023

19.

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