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"First class and kicking ass. Since 1775. Happy Birthday United States Marines."
Scratch a Navy man, and you'll find an adventurer.
Scratch an Army man and you'll find an explorer.
Scratch an Air Force man and you'll find a dreamer.
Scratch a Marine and he'll smack you upside your head!
Seen on the sea wall at Paengnyeong Do
해병대 사랑합니다
We love the Marines.
Quotes of the Day:
“Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.”
- Albert. Einstein
“An intellectual? Yes. And never deny it. An intellectual is someone whose mind watches itself. I like this, because I am happy to be both halves, the watcher and the watched. ‘Can they be brought together?’ This is a practical question. We must get down to it. ‘I despise intelligence’ really means: ‘I cannot bear my doubts.’”
- Albert Camus
“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.”
- Pablo Picasso
1. US, S Korea vow to bolster alliance to confront global challenges
2. S. Korea to honor fallen U.N. Korean War veterans in annual ceremony in Busan |
3. North Korea-Iran Relations Post-JCPOA
4. N. Korea calls U.S. 'war merchant' over support for Israel in war with Hamas
5. N. Korea's revision of election law does not mean guarantee of suffrage: Seoul
6 Seoul warns N. Korea over anti-Pyongyang leaflet campaign criticism
7. N. Korea’s national police agency hands down 4th quarter production quotas to reeducation camps
8. S. Korea joins int'l community for promoting crypto-asset reporting framework
9. North Korea operates 60 to 80 new military factories
10. Three and a half years left for President Yoon
11. Young Korean men try their luck in KATUSA lottery
12. Nat'l security advisers of Korea, US agree to push for meeting with Japanese counterpart
13. As Wars Rivet Attention to Israel and Ukraine, Don't Forget the North Koreans
14. Blinken, at Seoul Near the End of His Asian Swing, Agrees To Disagree With Korea on the Rights and Wrongs of War in Gaza
15. Korea hosts ASEAN-Plus cybersecurity training
16. Hamas Attack Gives South Korea ‘Wake-Up Call’ on Border Security
17. North Korea is "preparing" for war with nuclear weapons buildup
1. US, S Korea vow to bolster alliance to confront global challenges
I receive a lot of queries from the press as well as from my Korean friends asking if Korea is a lower priority because of everything that is happening in Ukraine, Gaza, and potentially Taiwan. I remind them that the house that is not burning does not make the news. But when Korea is not in the new ironically both north and South feel neglected, with the only difference being that the north will sometimes act out to get attention. These sustained high level visits are important to emphasize our commitment. When people question our priorities I remind them about the Young-Biden Summit, the Washington Declaration, the Camp David Summit, the increased deployment of strategic assets, the sustained level of readiness exercises, etc. It seems like a lot of people have amnesia and they do not remember the past, or even what we have done within the alliance over the past year. But most important I remind them that among all the conflict areas it is only Korea that is a treaty ally of the US and most importantly we maintain 28,500 US troops on the peninsula to contribute to the combined defense eof the ROK. That commitment has become so normal and routine that I think it is overlooked by too many.
Excerpts:
“We look forward to deepen our alliance and strategic partnership with the Republic of Korea,” Blinken said, referring to South Korea’s formal name, calling the ally a “key player” of the region.
In return, Yoon also restated South Korea’s commitment, as America’s ally, to work closely to defend the core values and strengthen the rules-based international order.
“The U.S. leadership is becoming more critical in light of the persistent nuclear concerns with North Korea, the ongoing war in Ukraine, and the escalating tensions in the Middle East,” he added, according to a statement released by the South Korean presidential office.
In a joint press conference between Blinken and his South Korean counterpart Park Jin, both sides agreed to foster the security cooperation to protect freedom, the rule of law, and human rights.
US, S Korea vow to bolster alliance to confront global challenges
The allies also reprimand N Korea and Russia’s arms trade as ‘blatant breach’ of U.N. security mandates.
By Lee Jeong-Ho for RFA
2023.11.09
Seoul, South Korea
rfa.org
The United States and South Korea have reiterated to boost their security cooperation to jointly deal with the likes of North Korea and Russia amid global challenges in Asia, the Middle East, and Europe.
“The U.S.’s foreign policy is focused on the Indo-Pacific region,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken assured South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol Thursday.
“We look forward to deepen our alliance and strategic partnership with the Republic of Korea,” Blinken said, referring to South Korea’s formal name, calling the ally a “key player” of the region.
In return, Yoon also restated South Korea’s commitment, as America’s ally, to work closely to defend the core values and strengthen the rules-based international order.
“The U.S. leadership is becoming more critical in light of the persistent nuclear concerns with North Korea, the ongoing war in Ukraine, and the escalating tensions in the Middle East,” he added, according to a statement released by the South Korean presidential office.
In a joint press conference between Blinken and his South Korean counterpart Park Jin, both sides agreed to foster the security cooperation to protect freedom, the rule of law, and human rights.
“As global instability rises, so too does the resilience of the ROK-US partnership,” Park said, adding that the cooperation should further encompass economic security and cutting-edge sectors such as artificial intelligence, quantum technology, and space exploration.
The allies also issued a stern warning to both Pyongyang and Moscow on its ammunition trade, calling it a “blatant breach” of U.N. Security Council mandates and a “significant risk to global stability.”
The reprimand followed as South Korea’s National Intelligence Service told its lawmakers in the National Assembly last week that Russia has acquired over 1 million artillery shells from North Korea since August.
The development demonstrates the strengthening relationship between Pyongyang and Moscow, underscored by the summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Russia September.
As North Korea is aiding Russia’s military efforts in Ukraine, South Korea, a U.S. ally, has been indirectly supplying ammunition to Ukraine through intermediary nations, including the U.S.
The involvement of the two Koreas in supporting their respective allies is poised to escalate tensions. The two Koreas remain in a technical state of war as the two failed to formally end the Korean War after the 1953 armistice agreement. Both states, thus, are among the few countries with the capacity to produce large quantities of conventional ammunition.
The tension is also expected to elevate as Pyongyang prepares for what is anticipated to be its third ‘satellite’ launch.
Blinken told reporters on Thursday that relevant authorities see Moscow to be helping the North obtain technologies which could potentially be weaponized. The assessment comes in line with that of the NIS’s. The South Korean spy agency indicated last week that North Korea was nearing the completion of its preparations for what it claims to be a ‘satellite’ launch, conducting final checks of the engine and launch apparatus. It suggested that North Korea might have consulted Russian experts, which could increase the chances of a successful launch.
Previous attempts by North Korea to send satellites into orbit in May and August were unsuccessful, which was widely regarded as a significant setback for its leader, Kim.
Such a launch would contravene United Nations Security Council resolutions prohibiting North Korea from using ballistic missile technology for any launches. North Korea’s past satellite launches have contributed to advancements in its long-range missile capabilities.
Recent tests of North Korean long-range missiles have shown the theoretical capacity to reach the U.S. mainland.
Edited by Elaine Chan and Taejun Kang
rfa.org
2. S. Korea to honor fallen U.N. Korean War veterans in annual ceremony in Busan |
Korea is a most grateful nation and has never forgotten those who came to its defense. And not just Ameircans. This quote could apply to all the sending states as they were all "who answered the call to defend a country they never knew and a people they never met"
S. Korea to honor fallen U.N. Korean War veterans in annual ceremony in Busan | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Chae Yun-hwan · November 10, 2023
SEOUL, Nov. 10 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will host an annual ceremony this week to commemorate the sacrifices of fallen troops who fought under the United Nations flag during the 1950-53 Korean War, the veterans ministry said Friday.
The "Turn Toward Busan" event will take place at the U.N. Memorial Cemetery in Busan, 320 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on Saturday, with the attendance of some 1,000 people, including bereaved family members, Korean War veterans and diplomatic delegates, according to the ministry.
The memorial park is the only U.N. cemetery in the world, home to 2,320 fallen veterans of the war from 11 countries. Some 1.98 million personnel from 22 countries were dispatched to help South Korea under a U.N. mandate during the war, which ended in a cease-fire, not a peace treaty.
During the ceremony, a minute of silence will be observed at 11 a.m. and a 21-gun salute will be fired in honor of the fallen troops as sirens wail throughout the city.
The event will also feature various commemorative performances, including a flyover by the South Korean Air Force's Black Eagles aerobatic team.
This file photo, taken Nov. 11, 2022, shows the South Korean Air Force's Black Eagles aerobatic team staging a memorial flight over the U.N. Memorial Cemetery in Busan, 320 kilometers southeast of Seoul, in an annual ceremony commemorating fallen troops who fought under the U.N. flag during the 1950-53 Korean War. (Yonhap)
After the ceremony, the remains of two British and four Colombian Korean War veterans, who died after the conflict, will be buried in the cemetery at their own or their families' wishes. Their remains arrived in South Korea on Wednesday.
The ministry said the weekend ceremony will cap off a series of events it hosted this year to mark the 70th anniversary of the signing of the armistice that ended the war.
At the invitation of the ministry, 18 foreign Korean War veterans, along with their family members, arrived in South Korea on Wednesday for a six-day stay.
Meanwhile, the Korea Defense Veterans Association (KDVA) and the Korea-U.S. Alliance Foundation (KUSAF) issued a joint statement thanking US veterans for their service in the war ahead of Veterans Day in the United States, which falls on the day of the memorial event.
The KDVA and the KUSAF "salute and sincerely thank" over 1.8 million American Veterans who fought in the Korean War, it said.
yunhwanchae@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by Chae Yun-hwan · November 10, 2023
3. North Korea-Iran Relations Post-JCPOA
Regarding workers in Syria: W]hat were they doing in 2007 and before? Weren't they assisting Syria in building their nuclear facilities? And aren't we still grateful to our Israeli brothers for destroying those facilities in 2007?
Excerpt:
In the future, Iran and North Korea could cooperate on Syria’s reconstruction. Before the UN mandate to expel North Korean overseas workers took effect in 2019, Syria hosted at least 800 North Korean military personnel and construction workers. In August 2022, the Syrian- Korean Joint Technical Committee discussed strategies to rehabilitate Syria’s production lines and rebuild industrial machinery damaged in the civil war. As Iranian companies provide construction materials to Syria and view housing, bridge and dam construction in Syria as key expansion frontiers, cooperation with North Korea could take hold.
While the substantive scope of Iran-North Korea cooperation in the post-JCPOA period has been modest, both countries appear determined to strengthen their partnership. As North Korea and Iran align against Israel in its escalating war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, their cooperation could deepen in the coming months.
North Korea-Iran Relations Post-JCPOA
https://www.38north.org/2023/11/north-korea-iran-relations-post-jcpoa/
In recent months, Iran and North Korea have become the two principal military backers of Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. While Iran’s drone exports and North Korea’s artillery shell shipments to the Russian military have been widely discussed, cooperation between Iran and North Korea has continued under the radar.
On February 1, Chief of Staff of Iran’s Armed Forces Mohammad Hossein Bagheri congratulated Pak Su-Il on his appointment as Chief of the General Staff of the Korean People’s Army. Bagheri’s statement stressed the importance of boosting cooperation between Iran and North Korea against “unilateralism” and “disruptive measures of global security.” While Bagheri’s comments reflected Iran’s long-standing antipathy toward US foreign policy, they were also a warning shot at Seoul. On January 16, South Korean President Yoon Suk-Yeol had called Iran the “enemy” of the United Arab Emirates and the Iranian Foreign Ministry blasted his “interfering statements.”
Bagheri’s comments on North Korea were possibly triggered by this dispute, as Pak Su-Il’s appointment occurred on December 28, 2022, and Iran stayed silent afterwards. They also reflect Iran and North Korea’s strengthening of ties since US President Donald Trump withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear deal in May 2018. Over the past five years, Iran and North Korea have collaborated on ballistic missile production while creating openings for stronger economic ties. As prospects for a JCPOA revival are slim and hardline President Ebrahim Raisi holds the reins of power, the near-term trajectory of Iran-North Korea relations is sanguine.
How Trump’s JCPOA Withdrawal Brought Iran and North Korea Closer Together
Although North Korea’s arms transfers to Iran during its 1980-1988 war with Iraq laid the foundation for a lasting partnership, bilateral relations cooled during Hassan Rouhani’s first term as Iran’s president. After the JCPOA was struck in July 2015, Rouhani courted commercial ties with South Korea and subtly criticized North Korea. During South Korean President Park Geun-hye’s May 2016 visit to Tehran, Rouhani called for the elimination of weapons of mass destruction in and the peaceful reunification of the Korean Peninsula.
After President Donald Trump placed Iran “on notice” in February 2017, Iranian officials anticipated the JCPOA’s dissolution and return of Western sanctions. These fears encouraged solidarity with North Korea, which also faced intensified US sanctions. After Secretary of State Rex Tillerson announced a review on US sanctions against Iran in April 2017, hardline media outlet Kayhan declared, “North Korea has fulfilled all of its commitments and America has fulfilled none of them! And this is the story of the Americans themselves.” It framed North Korea’s experience as a cautionary tale for Iran and lambasted Rouhani’s “passive policy of protecting the JCPOA at any cost.”
Advancements in Iran’s ballistic missile program underscored the value of North Korean technology. Iran’s January 2017 launch of the Khorramshahr ballistic missile sparked fears of Tehran’s renewed military cooperation with North Korea. The Khorramshahr resembled the Musudan or Hwasong-10, a North Korean ballistic missile that Pyongyang tested eight times in 2016. While North Korea’s sale of R-27 engines to Iran has not been confirmed, reports of Iran’s purchase of Hwasong-10s date back to 2005 and US intelligence has tracked Iran’s quest for a North Korean high-performance propulsion system since 2010.
Pressure from Iranian hardliners and Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), which oversees Iran’s ballistic missile program, encouraged Rouhani to reconsider his critical attitude toward North Korea. In August 2017, President of the Presidium of North Korea’s Supreme People’s Assembly Kim Yong Nam went on a ten-day trip to Tehran and attended Rouhani’s second term inauguration ceremony.
This trip underscored the revival of Iran-North Korea relations. Ali Larijani, the hardline speaker of Iran’s parliament, told Kim Yong Nam “Your stability in the face of American bullying is commendable.” Kim Yong Nam replied by praising Iran’s ballistic missile launches and declaring “Tehran and Pyongyang have a common enemy.” Trump’s JCPOA withdrawal further accelerated the development of Iran-North Korea relations. Ahead of Trump’s June 2018 meeting with Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Ghassemi urged North Korea to “remain on high alert” as Trump was unpredictable and willing to scrap agreements.
Hours after the US reinstated nuclear-related sanctions on Iran in August 2018, North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho met with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif in Tehran. The meeting included an exchange of ideas on how to combat US sanctions and Ri Yong Ho’s consultations with Zarif on how to extract US concessions in nuclear-related negotiations. This set the tone for deeper cooperation between the two sanctioned countries in the post-JCPOA era.
Iran’s Collaboration with North Korea Since the JCPOA’s Collapse
Since the JCPOA withdrawal, Iran and North Korea’s military cooperation has likely accelerated. As the last known reports of North Korean nuclear scientists visiting Iran date back to May 2015, military cooperation between Tehran and Pyongyang is likely confined to the ballistic missile sphere. The partnership between Iran’s Shahid Hemat Industrial Group (SHIG) and North Korea’s Korea Mining Development Trading Corporation (KOMID) has aided ballistic missile cooperation between the two countries.
Although US Director of National Intelligence James Clapper claimed that Iran-North Korea missile cooperation had slowed in 2016, the JCPOA did not completely stop Iran’s ballistic missile cooperation with North Korea. Iran’s 2016 expulsion of Kim Yong Chol and Jang Jung Son, two operatives at the North Korean Embassy in Tehran involved in military-related sanctions evasion, was a possible smokescreen. In March 2016, the US Treasury Department sanctioned SHIG’s Shahid Haj Ali Mohaved Research Center for ballistic missile cooperation with North Korea. North Korea’s July 2017 tests of the Hwasong-14 and November 2017 launch of the Hwasong-15 added to these concerns, as these missiles had RD-250 engines with an 80-ton thrust.
The JCPOA withdrawal accelerated this cooperation and sharpened the US’s response. In March 2019, the UN Panel of Experts investigated the return of KOMID and Green Pine operatives to Tehran. The UN Panel of Experts received testimony that the two North Korean weapons firms were “extremely active in Iran.” Iran’s non-compliance with UN Panel of Experts requests for passport information about suspected KOMID and Green Pine operatives fueled speculation about illicit transactions in the ballistic missile sphere.
In September 2020, the US Treasury Department sanctioned former SHIG director Seid Mir Ahmad Nooshin and the director of the Shahid Haj Ali Mohaved Research Center Ashagar Esma’ilpur. Nooshin was involved in the production of Iran’s 80-ton rocket booster and travelled to North Korea to negotiate a contract on its development. Esma’ilpur was involved in logistical cooperation between SHIG and KOMID and solicited aid from North Korea on the construction of Iran’s space launch vehicle (SLV). At the direction of five Iranian officials, SHIG reportedly invited 13 KOMID specialists, who were experts on liquid-propelled ballistic missile systems, to help Iran’s SLV program.
SHIG’s linkages to North Korea were confirmed by a February 2021 UN Panel of Experts report, which provided evidence of material transfers as recently as December 2020. In response to these allegations and reports of long-range missile development cooperation with North Korea, Iran’s UN Ambassador Majid Takht Ravanchi accused the UN Panel of Experts of using “false information and fabricated data.” Nevertheless, ongoing upgrades in Iran and North Korea’s missile programs, and the expiration of UN ballistic missile-related sanctions on Iran in October 2023 creates fruitful ground for further cooperation.
Efforts to bolster non-military cooperation between Iran and North Korea have been less successful. In December 2022, Iran’s Deputy Science Minister Hashem Dadashpour and North Korea’s Ambassador to Iran Han Song U discussed educational cooperation. These discussions included creating higher education programs in Iran for North Korean students, short-term study exchanges and spreading the Persian language to North Korea.
Dadashpour’s meeting sparked controversy amongst Iranian moderates and expatriates. In its report on Dadashpour’s meeting, pro-Rouhani outlet Aftab News speculated that North Korea’s Kwangmyong Intranet network could serve as an inspiration for Iran’s “national information network” proposal. Through exchanges of information technology specialists, Iran could censor unfavorable international media coverage North Korea-style. Iranian academic Mehdi Zakerian asked why children of Iranian officials can study in the US and Europe, while the Iranian government encourages study in North Korea.
In the future, Iran and North Korea could cooperate on Syria’s reconstruction. Before the UN mandate to expel North Korean overseas workers took effect in 2019, Syria hosted at least 800 North Korean military personnel and construction workers. In August 2022, the Syrian- Korean Joint Technical Committee discussed strategies to rehabilitate Syria’s production lines and rebuild industrial machinery damaged in the civil war. As Iranian companies provide construction materials to Syria and view housing, bridge and dam construction in Syria as key expansion frontiers, cooperation with North Korea could take hold.
While the substantive scope of Iran-North Korea cooperation in the post-JCPOA period has been modest, both countries appear determined to strengthen their partnership. As North Korea and Iran align against Israel in its escalating war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, their cooperation could deepen in the coming months.
4. N. Korea calls U.S. 'war merchant' over support for Israel in war with Hamas
The regime doth protest too much. It is North Korea that is a merchant of death in conflict zones around the world.
N. Korea calls U.S. 'war merchant' over support for Israel in war with Hamas | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Minji · November 10, 2023
SEOUL, Nov. 10 (Yonhap) -- North Korea on Friday denounced Washington's military support for Israel in its ongoing war with the Hamas militant group, calling the United States a "war merchant" that is aggravating the Middle East situation with weapons supply.
North Korea has consistently sided with Hamas over the ongoing conflict and accused Washington of being a "ringleader" in the Middle East situation, while dismissing persistent allegations that North Korea-made weapons have been used by Hamas.
"The U.S. has systemically handed over massive murder equipments to Israel, forcing them into invasion and slaughter," the North's main newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, said.
Claiming that the U.S. has sold weapons to other countries while promoting democratic values on the surface, the newspaper said it is "shameless" to see such a "war merchant" that has threatened peace and safety intervening in other countries' affairs.
Citing an article on a recent United Nations vote on ending the U.S.-led economic embargo on Cuba, the North said Washington is resorting to "hostile acts" using economic means in countries it cannot conquer with military means.
"The persistent embargo scheme of Cuba by the U.S. is clearly a manifestation of its hegemonic ambition based on power," the newspaper said, adding such a move could bring about the "fatal consequence" of isolating Washington.
The criticism came as Pyongyang has faced worsening economic difficulties due to years of COVID-19 lockdown and international sanctions on its nuclear and missile programs.
This composite image, provided by Yonhap News TV, shows Rodong Sinmun, North Korea's main newspaper. (Yonhap)
mlee@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Minji · November 10, 2023
5. N. Korea's revision of election law does not mean guarantee of suffrage: Seoul
We should consider the possible reasons for this. Is the result of human rights an external pressure? Is the regime trying to enhance its reputation somehow by trying to appear "democratic?" Recall how after the 104 UN Commission of Inquiry the regime changes its position and admitted there were Koreans in the north with disabilities and it passed a disabilities act to protect them. Is this new election law a similar attempt to respond to external criticism?
(LEAD) N. Korea's revision of election law does not mean guarantee of suffrage: Seoul | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Soo-yeon · November 9, 2023
(ATTN: ADDS more details in paras 9, 12)
By Kim Soo-yeon
SEOUL, Nov. 9 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's recent revision of an election law does not appear to genuinely guarantee people's suffrage, South Korea's unification ministry said Thursday.
In unspecified constituencies, North Korea has permitted two candidates to be recommended for the Nov. 26 election to pick new deputies for local assemblies under the revised election law, according to the Minju Choson, the North's Cabinet newspaper.
The move appears to intend to introduce competition to the election system, albeit on a rudimentary level, as the ruling Workers' Party has handpicked one candidate per electoral district so far.
The ministry in charge of inter-Korean affairs said the latest change in the North's election system does not indicate the introduction of a free election.
"Facing international criticism (about the North's election system), North Korea apparently revised it as a means of taking care of public opinion amid continued economic challenges," a ministry official told reporters on condition of anonymity.
"This is far from the actual guarantee of people's suffrage," he said, adding that North Korea has used elections as a way to strengthen its grip on people.
This file photo, captured from footage of North Korea's state-run Korea Central Television on July 22, 2019, shows the North's leader Kim Jong-un (R) casting a ballot for elections to pick new deputies of local assemblies the previous day. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
Under the revised election law, North Korea holds a preliminary election to decide on a final candidate for new deputies of local assemblies, after reviewing the qualifications of two candidates. The final candidate will be allowed to meet with voters during their election campaigns.
At polling stations, the North will also set up two separate ballot boxes of different colors -- one for approval and the other for disapproval, according to the ministry.
"(The principle of) secret voting has not been kept so far (in North Korea)," the official said in response to concerns that placing the two ballot boxes mars secret voting as it will be easy to see whether people vote for or against.
North Korea earlier announced a plan to hold elections in late November to choose new deputies for local assemblies of provinces, cities and counties across the nation.
The local elections are held every four years, and the number of seats is determined by the population of each area. But the elections are widely viewed as a formality, as the candidates are hand-picked by the North's ruling party and rubber-stamped into office.
In March 2024, North Korea plans to hold an election to pick deputies for the Supreme People's Assembly, the country's rubber-stamp parliament.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Soo-yeon · November 9, 2023
6. Seoul warns N. Korea over anti-Pyongyang leaflet campaign criticism
We must execute a superior form of political and information warfare against the north. The north's criticism indicates that it really does view information as an existential threat.
Here is a political warfare strategy and information campaign outline:
From Provocations And Deterrence To Preparing For Unification: Why An Information Campaign Is Vital To Political Warfare In Korea
https://www.19fortyfive.com/2023/06/from-provocations-and-deterrence-to-preparing-for-unification-why-an-information-campaign-is-vital-to-political-warfare-in-korea/.
And we must never be deterred from conducting an information campaign by the regime's rhetoric and threats.
Seoul warns N. Korea over anti-Pyongyang leaflet campaign criticism | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Minji · November 9, 2023
By Lee Minji
SEOUL, Nov. 9 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's unification ministry on Thursday warned Pyongyang to refrain from "acting rashly" after the recalcitrant regime threatened to "pour a shower of shells" into the South over propaganda leaflets criticizing it.
The warning came a day after the North's Korean Central News Agency carried a commentary claiming that psychological warfare, including the anti-Pyongyang leafleting campaign, will act as a "detonator" for the end of South Korea.
In September, South Korea's Constitutional Court struck down a law banning the cross-border leaflet campaign, saying it excessively restricts the right to freedom of expression.
The ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs, has launched a procedure to repeal the guidelines banning floating balloons carrying propaganda leaflets in all areas of South Korea.
"The distribution of leaflets into the North is a voluntary activity carried out by civic groups in accordance with the freedom of expression guaranteed in our Constitution," the ministry said in a statement.
"We sternly warn North Korea against acting rashly and using the Constitutional Court's decision striking down the cross-border leaflet campaign ban as a pretext," it added.
This undated photo, provided by Fighters for Free North Korea, shows one of the balloons carrying anti-Pyongyang leaflets that the North Korean defectors' group claimed it sent toward North Korea across the inter-Korean border. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
For years, North Korean defectors in the South and conservative activists have sent leaflets to the North via balloon to help encourage North Koreans to eventually rise up against the Pyongyang regime.
North Korea has bristled at the propaganda campaign amid concern that an influx of outside information could pose a threat to its leader Kim Jong-un.
In 2014, the two Koreas exchanged machine gun fire across the border after the North apparently tried to shoot down balloons carrying propaganda leaflets critical of North Korea.
North Korea blew up the inter-Korean liaison office in the North's border town of Kaesong in 2020 in anger over anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets sent via balloon by North Korean defectors in Seoul.
In the runup to the destruction of the office, Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim, threatened to scrap the 2018 no-hostility military pact with South Korea and demanded South Korea's legislation banning the sending of leaflets.
This July 28, 2023, file photo shows the office of the unification ministry at the government complex in Seoul. (Yonhap)
In December 2020, South Korea's parliament passed the so-called anti-leaflet act, which stipulates violators can face a maximum prison term of three years or a fine of up to 30 million won (US$22,932).
Noting that Pyongyang's latest criticism of the leaflet campaign was issued by an individual commentator rather than an official, a ministry official said the reclusive regime appears to be trying to distance itself from the South.
mlee@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Minji · November 9, 2023
7. N. Korea’s national police agency hands down 4th quarter production quotas to reeducation camps
Two words: Slave labor.
North Korea runs on slave labor.
N. Korea’s national police agency hands down 4th quarter production quotas to reeducation camps
One camp in Hamhung was ordered to manufacture knit goods, crochet products, false eyelashes, wigs, leather goods (excluding shoes), metal bands, bracelets, and other accessories
By Jeong Tae Joo - 2023.11.10 10:00am
dailynk.com
N. Korea’s national police agency hands down 4th quarter production quotas to reeducation camps | Daily NK English
Image: pixabay
North Korea’s national police agency recently handed down fourth quarter production quotas to reeducation camps under its administration, Daily NK has learned.
Speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons, a Daily NK source in South Hamgyong Province reported on Nov. 2 that “a reeducation camp in Hamhung received orders from the Production Division of the Ministry of Social Security [MSS]’s Reeducation Department regarding November’s export production quotas on Oct. 28.”
The source said that the Hamhung reeducation camp is just one example of how North Korea uses reeducation camp inmates to produce goods for export.
He told Daily NK that the ministry’s Reeducation Department revised the list of items which have long been produced at the Hamhung prison camp, and set new goals for the camp to complete by the end of this year. Items on the new production list included a variety of hand-made goods, including knit goods, crochet products, false eyelashes, wigs, leather goods (excluding shoes), metal bands, bracelets, and accessories.
The department also ordered reeducation camps across the country to begin producing shoe molds in the fourth quarter, the source said.
Between shortages of labor, technology, equipment, and raw materials, inadequate technology for producing newly requested items, and the short timeline to produce the goods by the end of the year, camp officials are concerned that they will not be able to meet their quotas, he said.
“This isn’t unique to the Hamhung reeducation camp. Camps all across the country are facing similar dilemmas,” the source added.
Since quotas set by the MSS Reeducation Department’s Production Division are part of broader national economic plans, all camps are used to achieve them. However, the lack of manpower and resources at reeducation camps makes fulfilling these quotas in such a short time span a challenging task.
The source further explained that when new items are added to the production list, it becomes even more difficult because camps need to make all of the necessary arrangements to manufacture them from scratch.
In early October, the reeducation camp in Hamhung had already imported small-scale equipment and materials, including a special glue, needed to mass produce false eyelashes.
Although it is natural for reeducation camps to be told to produce export goods for foreign currency-earning activities after the fall harvest season, camp officials are concerned that they will be hard-pressed to meet this year’s quotas by the shipment deadline.
The low-level camp officials directly in charge of the various production units are especially worried about whether they will be able to meet the quotas laid out by the Production Division, the source said.
“The government sells the goods produced in the camps for foreign currency, but never pays the camps in cash. Instead, all the camps receive is non-cash goods or grains. As a result, everyone [at the camps] simply focuses on finding ways to meet the production deadline and avoid criticism [from their superiors].”
The products manufactured inside the Hamhung reeducation camp are often exported to China through Sinuiju or sent to companies in the Rason Special Economic Zone to undergo further processing before being exported overseas, the source added.
Translated by Matthew Eteuati, Jr. 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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8. S. Korea joins int'l community for promoting crypto-asset reporting framework
An image of the joint statement is at the link: https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20231110004500320?section=news
S. Korea joins int'l community for promoting crypto-asset reporting framework | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Oh Seok-min · November 10, 2023
By Oh Seok-min
SEOUL, Nov. 10 (Yonhap) -- South Korea joined the United States, Britain, Japan and dozens of other countries to issue a statement calling for the promotion of the international framework on automatic exchanges of information on crypto-asset transactions to ensure tax compliance, the finance ministry said Friday.
In August 2022, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) approved the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF), which provides for the reporting of tax information on transactions in cyber assets in a standardized manner, with a view to automatically exchanging such information among tax authorities.
The Group of 20 nations have expressed their support for the framework, and the OECD set 2027 as a target year for its implementation.
This file photo, taken Oct. 24, 2023, shows a man checking prices of cryptocurrency at a trading room in Seoul. (Yonhap)
On Friday, a total of 48 nations, including South Korea, issued the joint statement to ensure the swift push for domestic procedures for its implementation and to encourage more nations to join the new scheme, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
"The widespread, consistent and timely implementation of the CARF will further improve our ability to ensure tax compliance and clamp down on tax evasion, which reduces public revenues and increases the burden on those who pay their taxes," the statement read.
The nations said they will work toward swiftly transposing the framework into their respective domestic law and activating exchange agreements by 2027, which is meant to keep pace with the rapid development and growth of the crypto-asset market and to ensure that recent gains in global tax transparency will not be eroded.
"We invite other jurisdictions to join us with a view to enhancing the global system of automatic information exchange which leaves no hiding places for tax evasion," the statement said.
This image, provided by South Korea's finance ministry, shows the joint statement by 48 nations on the implementation of the crypto-asset reporting framework issued on Nov. 10, 2023. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
graceoh@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by Oh Seok-min · November 10, 2023
9. North Korea operates 60 to 80 new military factories
Excerpts;
According to sources, there are currently 60 to 80 munitions factories operating in North Korea, primarily located in Jagang Province, South Pyongan Province, and North Pyongan Province. The “2022 Defense White Paper” published this year indicates that there are approximately 300 military factories in North Korea, including those for domestic purposes. However, due to challenges in power and raw material supply, it is estimated that fewer than 100 factories are operational. In reality, most of the factories capable of operation are currently in use.
The utilization rate of North Korea's military factories has been steadily increasing since the beginning of this year, with a significant spike noted in August and September. This surge in blatant production appears to coincide with North Korea's arms export agreement with Russia at the end of July and the North Korea-Russia summit in September. Another government source emphasized that North Korea is capitalizing on the unique opportunity presented by the Ukrainian conflict.
Ganggye City in Jagang Province and Guseong City in North Pyongan Province are known for their high concentration of factories. These areas in North Korea are involved in the production of various munitions, including artillery shells, bombs, multiple rocket launchers, and missile warheads.
North Korea operates 60 to 80 new military factories
donga.com
Posted November. 08, 2023 08:03,
Updated November. 08, 2023 08:03
North Korea operates 60 to 80 new military factories. November. 08, 2023 08:03. by Jin-Woo Shin niceshin@donga.com.
Reports suggest that North Korea has established new military factories near Jagang Province, a development that South Korean authorities are currently verifying. The government believes this is an effort to boost weapon production, notably artillery shells, which have seen a significant increase in supply, possibly for export to Russia. Earlier this month, during a National Assembly Intelligence Committee audit, the National Intelligence Service stated, “We believe North Korea has supplied over 1 million artillery shells to Russia, which is currently in a conflict with Ukraine.”
“We have learned that new factories are operational in Jagang Province, and we are currently investigating their construction date,” a government source stated on Monday. “This is unusual, given the challenging power supply situation in North Korea that has typically hindered factory operations.” The source also reported that there are now more than five newly operated military factories, including those remodeled this year.
According to sources, there are currently 60 to 80 munitions factories operating in North Korea, primarily located in Jagang Province, South Pyongan Province, and North Pyongan Province. The “2022 Defense White Paper” published this year indicates that there are approximately 300 military factories in North Korea, including those for domestic purposes. However, due to challenges in power and raw material supply, it is estimated that fewer than 100 factories are operational. In reality, most of the factories capable of operation are currently in use.
The utilization rate of North Korea's military factories has been steadily increasing since the beginning of this year, with a significant spike noted in August and September. This surge in blatant production appears to coincide with North Korea's arms export agreement with Russia at the end of July and the North Korea-Russia summit in September. Another government source emphasized that North Korea is capitalizing on the unique opportunity presented by the Ukrainian conflict.
Ganggye City in Jagang Province and Guseong City in North Pyongan Province are known for their high concentration of factories. These areas in North Korea are involved in the production of various munitions, including artillery shells, bombs, multiple rocket launchers, and missile warheads.
한국어
donga.com
10. Three and a half years left for President Yoon
Three and a half years left for President Yoon
Posted November. 10, 2023 08:04,
Updated November. 10, 2023 08:04
Since South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol took office one and a half years ago, a plethora of challenges have arisen at home and abroad, overshadowing the upgrade of the KORUS alliance and other achievements. It is still questionable whether President Yoon’s pledge to restore the values of fairness and common sense has been applied as to how policies are implemented and government personnel are recruited. With much focus put on assigning former prosecutors to key posts and launching prosecutorial investigations of the opposition party, the administration has put the job of revitalizing the economy and stabilizing the livelihoods of citizens on the back burner. The current administration is mainly to blame, apart from the hurdles to the operation of the National Assembly, where the opposition party holding the majority does not cooperate or makes an objection.
In response, President Yoon’s approval rating has reflected public opinion. Even with 49 percent of votes earned in the presidential election, the approval rating dropped to the 30 percent range in two months of the presidency, since it has not yet turned around. The trends in his approval rating mirror the fact that many of his core supporters have been disappointed with how he governs the administration. Although he left Cheong Wa Dae, the perceived symbol of outdated leadership, it is somewhat skeptical of whether his words have been kept to walk away from the imperial presidency and listen carefully to his key aides. In the meantime, the incumbent administration has compared itself to the former Moon Jae-in administration to seemingly attempt to avoid criticism, only tiring out the public. Added to this, there has been a lack of effort to hold those in charge accountable for scandalous incidents and accidents, including the Halloween crowd crush in Itaewon and confusion in policy implementation. Citizens may want to know if he still believes those responsible must be thoroughly investigated, just as he said one year ago.
President Yoon is asked by citizens whether the country has taken the right road over the past one and a half years and if he has shown great leadership on the path. This summer, he remarked that ideological beliefs matter most. He also said that arguing with one another is part of what ministers do. Such comments may prove that he lost touch with public opinion. Not until the ruling party's loss in the by-election for the Gangseo-gu District chief did he acknowledge that public opinions give the right answer at all times, unconditionally. There is an urgent need to change how he communicates regarding policy directions and personnel management so that his decisions can come across convincingly.
Change should start with the president and his close aides rather than with the administration and the ruling party. It has been more than one year since he answered questions from the press members. The last official press conference was held in August last year. By any means, this is not seen as a normal way of leadership. The president should go beyond merely listening to citizens on the street, just as he did during the presidential campaign to replying to a pile of questions regarding diplomacy toward China in the new Cold War era, governance in cooperation with the opposition party and guidelines of reform to the national pension system. Above all, he should change how he nominates government officials. Who is assigned to a key post reflects what the president looks for in candidates. He can restore support only when he looks further to find the right person who can be accepted favorably by citizens.
President Yoon has three and a half years to go before he leaves office, although only the next two years may allow him to have absolute power in his presidency. He may find it not easy to fulfill his pledges to reform the labor market, the national pension system, and the education sector, given that such reforms will be met with opposition from those who will see less benefit. It takes sophisticated skills and bold actions to complete such daunting jobs. Also, it matters how to convince citizens to willingly cooperate and endure inconveniences or disadvantages. It is President Yoon who stands at the forefront of making this happen. How much change he can bring about will determine how people remember him after he ends his terms.
11. Young Korean men try their luck in KATUSA lottery
An important legacy from the Korean War.
Young Korean men try their luck in KATUSA lottery
The Korea Times · November 9, 2023
Applicants and their parents vying for a military service placement in the Korean Augmentation to the United States Army (KATUSA) attend a lottery at the Military Manpower Administration (MMA) office in Daejeon, Thursday. Yonhap
Serving at USFK bases requires English skill and luck
By Lee Hyo-jin
DAEJEON – Silence filled the room as young men and parents waited anxiously to hear their fate at the Military Manpower Administration (MMA) headquarters in Daejeon, Nov. 2, during a lottery to select who would join the Korean Augmentation to the United States Army (KATUSA).
The descion was made within a few minutes in a lucky draw. The 30 or so young men and their parents, who showed up on behalf of their sons, were among the 15,360 applicants nationwide who signed up for this year's competition to serve at U.S. Army bases across the nation.
Among them, only 1,762 would make the cut — a competition ratio of 8.7 to 1.
Some bit their lips, while others closed their eyes for a moment of prayer as MMA officials prepared red, yellow and blue colored and numbered balls for the computerized lottery program.
“I’m trying to stay calm, telling myself that chances are low. I don’t want to get my hopes too high,” said Park Pil-gyu, 23, a college student living in Daejeon.
Bang Yeon-hwa, 45, who came on behalf of her son, had her fingers crossed.
"My husband is in the Navy, so we know how difficult things are in the Korean military. I really hope my son can get in so that he can have new experiences in the U.S. Army using his English skills," she said.
The attendees watched as an MMA official entered six-digit numbers – each randomly picked by six randomly selected people among the attendees – into the computerized lottery system. It took less than five seconds for the program to screen out 1,762 candidates among the list of 15,630 applicants in the random number draw.
Lee Won-hee, a Seoul resident who showed up on behalf of his son Kyung-woo, was the only lucky candidate among the applicants who came to the site.
“I’m really happy that my son won, but I feel bad for others who didn’t. And I was quite impressed to see for myself how the selection process is carried out fairly,” Lee said.
A mother of a KATUSA applicant, center, picks a numbered red ball from the box that will be used to create a six-digit number for the lottery program. Behind her is the screen showing a computerized lottery program that automatically selects candidates. Yonhap
The other 1,761 selected candidates are notified within a couple of hours via text message.
According to an MMA official, the lottery system to pick KATUSA soldiers is conducted every year in a transparent and open manner in the presence of applicants, the MMA chief, an official from the U.S. Army and experts who verified the lottery program.
The 1,762 men who were selected on Thursday will begin their 21-month-long service from January 2024. They will go through a five-week-long Korean Army basic military training, and then continue with another specialized training program under the U.S. Army which is three weeks long.
Those who did not make it on Thursday will begin their mandatory service in the Korean military, as candidates can apply for KATUSA only once.
"I don't know how to tell this news to my son. He will be so disappointed. But I guess he will apply for a translation position in the Korean Army," a woman in her 40s said as she left the hall after hearing that her son's number hadn't been drawn.
KATUSA and U.S. soldiers sing Korean and U.S. national anthems during the KATUSA-U.S. Soldier Friendship Week at the U.S. Army Garrison Humphreys in this May 30 photo. Newsis
Why KATUSA is popular
All able-bodied Korean men aged 18 to 35 are obliged to serve in the military under one of its wings ― Army, Air Force, Navy or Marine Corps.
But there is another option favored by many. KATUSA is a special branch that falls under the Republic of Korea Army but augments the United States Army under which Korean men are assigned to the Eighth U.S. Army (EUSA).
The concept of this program dates back to an informal agreement made between President Syngman Rhee and U.S. Army General Douglas MacArthur, the commander in chief of the Far East Command, during the 1950-53 Korean War. Under the agreement, KATUSA soldiers fought in major battles alongside American troops.
After the war, KATUSAs remained with their U.S. comrades in the barracks and helped by providing their local knowledge, becoming an integral component of the Korea-U.S. alliance.
It is said that in the early years of the KATUSA program, Korean soldiers were recruited directly off the streets of Busan. In the 1960s to 1970s, they were randomly picked from the ROK Army after undergoing an English proficiency test.
In 1998, the ROK Army changed the recruitment system to a 100 percent lottery-based program among eligible applicants meeting standardized English test score requirements. The MMA began overseeing the recruitment progress in 2003.
The competition among young men to become KATUSAs is fierce.
In 2022, 1,920 KATUSAs were selected among 14,107 applicants, a competition rate of 7.3 to 1. The competition ratio in 2022 was 7.6 to 1.
The main reason behind this continuing popularity is that the KATUSA conscripts enjoy some perks extended to U.S. troops stationed here.
They receive better conditions compared with Korean Army branches, for instance, greater freedom in leaving the base camp, the opportunity to learn English and experience American military culture, and more privacy afforded by single or double rooms.
"I think the best part was that I had much more free time compared with my friends who served in the Korean Army. We took days off on both Korean and American national holidays," said a 29-year-old former KATUSA surnamed Kim.
He also mentioned that his military service period seemed easier than for those serving in the Korean military due to the U.S. military's hierarchical relationships with supervisors being less stringent by comparison.
"I still keep in touch via social media with some U.S. comrades I met there. We got close by sharing each other's cultures," he said.
The Korea Times · November 9, 2023
12. Nat'l security advisers of Korea, US agree to push for meeting with Japanese counterpart
Nat'l security advisers of Korea, US agree to push for meeting with Japanese counterpart
The Korea Times · November 9, 2023
National Security Adviser Cho Tae-yong, left, and his U.S. counterpart, Jake Sullivan, are seen in this June 15 photo provided by Seoul's presidential office. Newsis
The national security advisers of Korea and the United States agreed Thursday to push for a trilateral meeting with their Japanese counterpart before the end of the year, Korea's presidential office said.
National Security Adviser Cho Tae-yong and his U.S. counterpart, Jake Sullivan, spoke by phone to discuss issues related to bilateral cooperation as well as trilateral cooperation involving Japan, the presidential office said in a press release.
Cho and Sullivan agreed to push for a trilateral meeting with Japan's National Security Secretariat Secretary General Takeo Akiba before the end of the year, in line with an agreement reached by President Yoon Suk Yeol, U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during their Camp David summit in August.
Cho and Sullivan also agreed to work to hold the first session of the Next Generation Critical and Emerging Technologies Dialogue, which Yoon and Biden agreed to establish during their bilateral summit in April.
Yoon is scheduled to travel to San Francisco next week to attend a summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.
Cho and Sullivan agreed to strengthen cooperation ahead of the APEC summit, the presidential office said. (Yonhap)
The Korea Times · November 9, 2023
13. As Wars Rivet Attention to Israel and Ukraine, Don't Forget the North Koreans
As I have written, the house that is not buring does not make the news. Also, north Korea is connected somewhat to almost every conflict zone.
While everyone thinks our attention is diverted we should be executing a superior political warfare campaign.
As Wars Rivet Attention to Israel and Ukraine, Don't Forget the North Koreans
Published 11/07/23 07:00 AM ET
Donald Kirk
themessenger.com · November 7, 2023
For years, North Koreans who manage to escape to China have faced a struggle for survival that ends with many of them forcibly returned to North Korea.
“They are treated as traitors or criminals by North Korean authorities,” said Thae Yong Ho, who was North Korea’s deputy ambassador in London when he defected in 2016, flying with his wife and two sons to Seoul. Then, four years later, he got elected by a wide margin from one of Seoul’s wealthiest districts to South Korea’s National Assembly.
Now Thae is campaigning to publicize the hardships of defectors, leading relatives of some of those held in North Korea to the United Nations and Washington, with the hope of persuading U.N. officials and members of Congress to bring pressure on China to stop repatriating defectors back to the North.
“Beating, torture and executions are routine,” said Thae. “Silence and quiet diplomacy with the Chinese government could not solve this humanitarian catastrophe.” It’s time, he said, for U.N. and U.S. leaders to demand loudly and openly that China accept the right of North Korean defectors in China to go to South Korea or any country that would have them — anywhere but back to North Korea.
Among those whom Thae and the others are to meet in Washington is the new U.S. envoy on North Korean human rights, Julie Turner, a career diplomat, who assumed that position in October, nine months after President Biden nominated her. On her first visit to Seoul in her new job, she decried the repatriation of North Korean refugees, promising South Korean officials to try to make the issue a priority in Washington’s difficult relations with China.
Turner faces what may seem insurmountable obstacles, however, in getting anywhere in her mission. North Korea takes bitter offense at any mention of its horrific abuses of human rights. Neither she nor South Korea’s human rights ambassador, Lee Shin-wha, a professor at Korea University, has any illusions about getting through to Pyongyang.
A sure sign of the difficulties Turner faces was a North Korean editorial attacking her as an ethnic Korean who had been adopted as a baby by American parents. “Turner should know that she was chosen as a political housemaid,” said Pyongyang’s Korean Central News Agency, denouncing her as a “scapegoat for the ‘human rights’ plots to pressure the DPRK,” the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
The editorial saw Washington’s renewed emphasis on human rights, demonstrated by Turner’s appointment, as “a poor policy set forth by the Biden administration driven into a scrape in the DPRK-U.S. nuclear confrontation.” In other words, according to KCNA, the U.S. was exploiting the human rights issue to buttress its pleas for North Korea to give up its nuclear program. Darkly, KCNA warned that U.S. criticism of North Korean human rights could “backfire on it, spawning severe security issues.”
Almost immediately after she returned to Washington, Turner addressed reports that China had “repatriated” 600 North Koreans. Another 2,000 reportedly are being held in Chinese prison camps awaiting their turn to be led under armed guards to buses that will transport them to the North Korean border. An estimated more than 100,000 North Koreans live secretly in China, merging with the Korean-Chinese community, doing odd jobs, many of the women forced into marriages with poor Chinese farmers.
Quite aside from the intransigence of North Korea and its Chinese protector, however, advocates on behalf of defectors face another huge problem in achieving awareness of the fate of North Korean refugees in China. Despite occasional flurries of publicity, Americans remain largely oblivious to the whole issue of human rights in North Korea. The danger of North Korea firing nuclear weapons rings more alarm bells, but it’s easy to ignore those dire threats as tiresome propaganda.
South Korean soldiers stand guard as they face North Korea's Panmon Hall (back) at the truce village of Panmunjom in the Joint Security Area of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating North and South Korea, on May 9, 2023.ANTHONY WALLACE/AFP via Getty Images
Vastly compounding the difficulties of raising North Korean human rights to the level of political discussion in the U.S. is the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas. As long as Gaza dominates the news, North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un would almost have to attack South Korea to compete for headlines.
The struggle, however, goes on. Suzanne Scholte, a tireless worker on behalf of North Korean refugees as chairman of the North Korea Freedom Coalition, has campaigned for years against repatriation of North Korean refugees. In a speech in Seoul, she called for “doing everything in our power to get information in North Korea, by land, by sea and by air.”
The inference was that South Korea should authorize defectors in the South to launch balloons over North Korea, wafting leaflets, along with candy bars and dollar bills, for North Koreans to read and enjoy. South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol’s leftist predecessor, Moon Jae-in, forced passage of a law banning the balloon drops. The law remains on the books, even if Yoon’s government hesitates to bring charges against defectors responsible for occasional balloon launches.
Radio broadcasts into North Korea are another matter. There’s no telling how many North Koreans hear them, considering that North Korean radios are configured to tune in only to authorized stations and it’s a grave offense to try to listen to foreign broadcasts. Despite the uncertainties, the U.S. government’s Voice of America and Radio Free Asia target North Korean audiences, and short-wave stations in Seoul, supported by the National Endowment for Democracy, beam an hour or two of news and commentary each day into the North.
Activists can also count on the Otto Warmbier Countering North Korean Censorship and Surveillance Act, passed by Congress a year ago. The act authorizes $50 million in funding for getting information into the North in the name of Otto Warmbier, the student who was jailed and beaten by North Korean guards before falling into a coma and dying soon after he was returned to the U.S. in June 2017.
Women accompanying Thae to the United States stand as living proof of the need for China to bestow a modicum of mercy on defectors. “Through our visit to the U.S., I would like to make Americans aware of the suffering and stop forced repatriation,” said one woman who had escaped from North Korea via China, while three of her brothers wound up in North Korean prisons. “Help us to stop the agony.”
Another woman told of having been sent from China into North Korea two times, then making it through China to Southeast Asia and on to South Korea. “The North Korean regime would call us traitors or rubbish,” she said. “I am still suffering.”
Beyond words, though, how much can anyone do while Congress is preoccupied with the wars in Ukraine and Israel? A large part of Turner’s job — and Thae’s visit — is to make sure Americans don’t forget the plight of millions of North Koreans.
Donald Kirk has been a journalist for more than 60 years, covering conflict in Asia and the Middle East. Now a freelance correspondent covering North and South Korea, he is the author of several books about Asian affairs.
themessenger.com · November 7, 2023
14. Blinken, at Seoul Near the End of His Asian Swing, Agrees To Disagree With Korea on the Rights and Wrongs of War in Gaza
Hmmm.... I am not sure they disagree. Was Minister Park speaking in English or in Korean? If in Korean it may be that whenever the term the Minister used might have been translated to ceasefire. And I do not think there is any doubt that the ROK condemns Hamas.
Blinken, at Seoul Near the End of His Asian Swing, Agrees To Disagree With Korea on the Rights and Wrongs of War in Gaza
Parley follows an exercise in doubletalk that took place on the secretary of state’s stop at Tokyo.
nysun.com
SEOUL — Secretary Blinken and his opposite number in South Korea came close to appearing to agree on the rights and wrongs of the war in Gaza. After dancing around the topic, however, it was clear they had agreed to disagree — albeit politely.
Mr. Blinken, standing beside Korea’s foreign minister, Park Jin, got around lastly to the middle east after affirming their “unified approach in the face of the DPRK” — Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, North Korea.
That was the easy part. Missing was a nod toward a common approach on the Middle East east, where Mr. Blinken spent most of the past week before sitting down with the foreign ministers of the G7 countries at Tokyo before flying on to Seoul.
The most upbeat remark the secretary could offer Seoul on the subject was that America “appreciates Korea’s leadership in condemning terrorist attacks” against Israel.
Mr. Park had no problem decrying the Hamas invasion of southern Israel on October 7. “We strongly protest the indiscriminate attack on Israel,” he said, “Attacks against civilians” were “an act of terrorism,” and “hostages should be released,” he went on, without hinting whether that should be a condition for a ceasefire.
In a bow to demands for a hiatus in the fighting, Mr. Park said “we strongly support a ceasefire” but did not specify which side to blame — Hamas for slaughtering 1,400 civilians and kidnapping 240 or the Israeli for its counterattack.
Mr. Blinken’s diplomatic minuet here was a logical follow-up to an exercise in double talk in the meeting at Tokyo the day before with foreign ministers of the G7 countries, including, besides Japan, America’s closest NATO allies, the UK, Canada, France, Germany, and Italy.
In their final statement, the G7 ministers, in a show of even-handedness, spoke of the need “to deny Hamas the ability to raise and use funds” for “more atrocities” while denouncing “extremist violence” by Israeli settlers in the West Bank. “Humanitarian pauses,” they agreed, might help.
Mr. Blinken’s performances in Tokyo and then Seoul typified a globe-girdling odyssey in which he’s sought to balance the interests of Israel with the need for accommodation with nations that are not on board with Mr. Netanyahu’s vow to defeat Hamas.
Everywhere he’s gone, beginning with Tel Aviv, then to Ramallah, headquarters of the Palestinian Authority, and on to Amman, the capital of Jordan, Mr. Blinken has tailored his remarks to quite varying audiences.
At Tel Aviv, meeting Mr. Netanyahu and the president, Isaac Herzog, he promoted the need to “protect Palestinian civilians” who should not have to “suffer” from Hamas brutality — a subtle warning to Mr. Netanyahu of the limits of American generosity.
At the de facto capital of the Palestinian Authority, Ramallah, he gave the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, the ritual American assurance of supporting “the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian state,” including Gaza, taken over by Hamas.
At Amman, Mr. Blinken faced a very different audience — the secretary- general of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the foreign ministers of Jordan, Egypt, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia. All of them, of course, called for a ceasefire in Gaza, to which he raised the issue of Hamas licking its wounds and fighting with renewed strength.
Mr. Blinken was on surer ground here in Korea where Mr. Park warned that North Korea’s nukes were “the biggest security threat” and Korea and Japan should “work together.” Mr. Blinken warned that Russia was providing technology for North Korea’s nukes and missiles in exchange for North Korean weaponry.
He gets back to tough negotiating when he meets India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, at New Delhi — the last stop on his trip. India is likely to remain “neutral,” valuing its ties to Moscow, a major source of arms, as well as Washington, as seen in its membership of “the Quad,” an informal grouping that includes Japan and Australia.
nysun.com
15. Korea hosts ASEAN-Plus cybersecurity training
Korea hosts ASEAN-Plus cybersecurity training
The Korea Times · November 10, 2023
Participants of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Defense Ministers' Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus) pose for a photo during a multinational cybersecurity training at the Nine Tree Premier ROKAUS Hotel Seoul Yongsan, in this Nov. 10 photo provided by Korea's defense ministry. Yonhap
Korea held a multinational cybersecurity exercise with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and other nations to improve their coordinated responses against cyberthreats, the defense ministry said Friday.
A total of 17 members of the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus) joined the Cyber Training and Exercise (CYTREX) held in Seoul on Wednesday and Thursday, their first in-person gathering since the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the ministry.
Launched in 2010, the ADMM-Plus is a platform for ASEAN and its eight dialogue partners — Korea, the United States, China, Japan, Russia, India, Australia and New Zealand — to strengthen security and defense cooperation.
During the two-day exercise, participants investigated cyberattacks and analyzed malicious codes in a simulated environment, marking their first cyber training based on cross-border networks, it said. (Yonhap)
The Korea Times · November 10, 2023
16. Hamas Attack Gives South Korea ‘Wake-Up Call’ on Border Security
Human infiltrators beat technology. South Korea, like ISrael, has become too dependent on technology. It is not a magic bullet. There is no substitute for boots on the ground.
If I were making recommendations I would revamp the DMZ mission and I would return US troops to supporting the ROK Army in DMZ patrolling. However, rather than an American sector such as we had when I was on the DMZ, I would be irritating US troops throughout the DMZ under the OPCON of hte Korean uniti responsible for the specific sector. Putting US forces on the DMZ, completely integrated with ROK units would further demonstrate US commitment and resolve, provide manpower for the declining size of the ROK Army, would enhance ROK/US interoperability, would improve the moral of US troops by giving them an important mission during their tour in Korea, sn download improve US small training and capabilities due to the focus on the DMZ mission.
Oh and I would reactivate the tunnel neutralization team units to search for the remaining 17 tunnels under the DMZ that have never been found. We must remember that Hezbillah and Hamas have received tunnelling advice and assistance from north Korea. It is north Korea, with its 5000 underground facilities that is the expert in tunnelling.
Hamas Attack Gives South Korea ‘Wake-Up Call’ on Border Security
North Korean threat was a key topic during Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Seoul
https://www.wsj.com/world/asia/hamas-attack-gives-south-korea-wake-up-call-on-border-security-f5a80397?mod=Searchresults_pos1&page=1
By Timothy W. Martin
Follow
Nov. 9, 2023 3:43 am ET
South Korean artillery during a military exercise with the U.S. PHOTO: DEFENSE MINISTRY/ZUMA PRESS
SEOUL—The Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel has revived a gut-wrenching question in South Korea: Could North Korea pull off a similar surprise assault?
In recent weeks, Seoul officials have vowed to learn from the Hamas attack and promised to beef up their defenses. Washington and Seoul recently held joint exercises simulating a response to a Hamas-style surprise attack.
South Korea’s defense minister has proposed more border-surveillance drones—a move that would require scrapping a 2018 inter-Korean accord that created no-fly zones near the border. A North Korean drone late last year hovered above central Seoul before safely flying back.
“It is a wake-up call for everybody,” said James JB Park, a former South Korean defense and national-security official. “These are discussions we need to have.”
The threat from Kim Jong Un’s regime played prominently during Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s two-day visit to Seoul. On Thursday, Blinken called North Korea’s weapons advances dangerous and destabilizing.
Blinken said U.S. officials had urged China to play a bigger role in curbing the Kim regime’s dangerous behavior. “To the extent that China values and places a premium on stability in the region, North Korea is the greatest source of instability,” he said.
A destroyed home at an Israeli kibbutz following Hamas’s Oct. 7 attacks. PHOTO: ALEXI J. ROSENFELD/GETTY IMAGES
In recent years, North Korea’s weapons advancements have overshadowed fears of a cross-border attack, but South Korea has lived with the threat of an assault for decades.
North Korea secretly dug tunnels under the Demilitarized Zone decades ago to use for a potential invasion, although some of them were eventually discovered by South Korea. The regime is still believed to use an extensive network of underground tunnels elsewhere to stash its weapons. In 2016, North Korea staged a mock raid, displaying paratroopers descending from the skies onto a replica of South Korea’s presidential compound.
Two of the world’s most heavily fortified borders separate the Gaza Strip from Israel and North from South Korea, but the two contested areas feature some key differences.
The Gaza Strip is relatively flat, with the Mediterranean Sea to the west and a shared border with Israel roughly 36 miles long. Since 2005, Hamas, which is designated by the U.S. as a terrorist organization, has fired more than 36,000 rockets at Israel.
The Korean DMZ stretches about 150 miles long, between the two countries’ east and west coasts. The region is so mountainous that the Kim regime, which the U.S. deems a state sponsor of terrorism, is believed to have stashed its heavy guns and multiple-rocket launchers underground and on the reverse slope of mountains facing South Korea. In an all-out conflict, Seoul officials estimate, North Korea can fire at Seoul some 16,000 rounds an hour.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin hold a joint press conference in Seoul on Thursday. PHOTO: JONATHAN ERNST/PRESS POOL
Before the Hamas attack, South Korea had faced growing criticisms about lax border security. Several individuals in recent years have breached the DMZ, heading both in and out of South Korea. Further scrutiny came in July, after a U.S. soldier, Travis King, sprinted into North Korea while on a tour of the Joint Security Area, where South Korean soldiers stand guard.
While North Korea has the firepower to launch a Hamas-style assault, it likely lacks the desire to do so, security experts say. It has carried out surprise attacks against South Korea in the past, including a presidential assassination attempt in 1968 and the sinking of a naval ship in 2010 that killed dozens.
“North Korea can always attack South Korea, but if they do that now, they wouldn’t have a clear purpose to do so,” said Ku-youn Chung, a political-science professor at South Korea’s Kangwon National University. Pyongyang appears to be biding its time ahead of next year’s U.S. presidential election to see how to proceed with potential nuclear talks, she added.
The Kim regime’s top priority is regime stability, which by extension requires keeping Kim, the 39-year-old dictator, and his family safe, said Eric Ballbach, the Korea Foundation fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs. A surprise attack on South Korea would challenge that core objective, he added.
“North Korea would need to prepare for all-out warfare, which would certainly not be in Kim Jong Un’s interest, at least not for now,” Ballbach said.
Two of the world’s most heavily fortified borders separate the Gaza Strip from Israel and North from South Korea. PHOTO: SUSAN WALSH/ASSOCIATED PRESS
A South Korean army soldier stands guard inside a military guard post in South Korea, near the border with North Korea. PHOTO: AHN YOUNG-JOON/ASSOCIATED PRESS
But tensions remain elevated between the two Koreas. On Wednesday, North Korea’s state media criticized Blinken’s visit and a coming trip to Seoul by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, calling the two U.S. officials unwelcome guests who bring “a new war cloud” to the region. The U.S. has recently deployed nuclear-capable bombers and warships to South Korea, some for the first time.
Pyongyang has shunned any attempts by the Biden administration to engage in formal talks and has gone on a spree of weapons tests. North Korea is expected to soon attempt a spy-satellite launch after two prior attempts failed earlier this year.
Amid the Israel-Hamas war, South Korean officials have pledged to accelerate the deployment of upgrades to the country’s missile systems, which aim to track, detect and strike a North Korean attack. Much of that technology is expected to be deployed by the end of the decade.
“North Korea’s enhanced nuclear and missile capabilities and Hamas’s surprise attacks on Israel remind us that North Korea could provoke at any moment,” said Park Jeong-hwan, South Korea’s Army chief of staff, at a parliamentary audit last month.
The focus for South Korea, and the U.S. military presence stationed in the country, should be letting North Korea understand the grave risks of launching any assault, said Jessica Taylor, a nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank.
“The primary thing we want to do is deter missiles from coming at all,” said Taylor, a former U.S. Department of Defense official, who served in South Korea.
Write to Timothy W. Martin at Timothy.Martin@wsj.com
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Appeared in the November 10, 2023, print edition as 'Hamas Attack Gives South Korea a Security ‘Wake-Up Call’'.
17. North Korea is "preparing" for war with nuclear weapons buildup
Yes, let us please understand the nature , objectives, and strategy of the Kim family regime. It is using blackmail diplomacy to gain political and economic concessions, political warfare to subvert the ROK and the ROK.US alliance, and developing advanced military capabilities to support blackmail diplomacy and political warfare and to prepare to use force if necessary to dominate the KOrean peninsula under the rule of the Guerrilla Dynasty and Gulag State. Its advanced military capabilities are "dual use" support to its subversion strategies and for the use of force to fight and win a war.
Excerpts:
Lankov, who specializes in Korean studies, argued that "the only way" to interpret the North Korean focus on building more nuclear weapons is that Kim is planning to mount a "conquest" of South Korea as part of "another round" of the Korean War. He said that Kim's ambitions would become clear within the next 15 years.
"The best, or perhaps even the only, way to explain the direction of Kim's nuclear weapons development is that the North Koreans are seriously preparing for a second round of the Korean war and conquest of the South," Lankov said. "It is a threat that will start to become more and more apparent over the next 10 or 15 years."
North Korea is "preparing" for war with nuclear weapons buildup
Newsweek · by Aila Slisco · November 9, 2023
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is "seriously preparing" for war as it builds its nuclear weapons arsenal, according to an expert on Korean history.
After decades of international pressure attempting to stop its development of nuclear weapons, North Korea announced during the administration of former President George W. Bush that it was conducting nuclear tests and had weapons. The country now has an arsenal that includes an estimated 35 to 63 warheads, according to the Institute for Science and International Security.
North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un during his meeting with Russian President at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Amur region on September 13, 2023. Row of heavy nuclear missiles. Kim working to "exponentially" build his country's nuclear weapons arsenal in "preparation" for war, according to a professor of Korean history. VLADIMIR SMIRNOV/scanrail/Getty Images
In an interview published by The Financial Times on Thursday, Kookmin University history professor Andrei Lankov said that Kim had been emboldened to build the nuclear arsenal due to Western leaders failing to take advantage of earlier opportunities to pressure the regime, wrongly believing that the nuclear program was not "a realistic threat."
Lankov, who specializes in Korean studies, argued that "the only way" to interpret the North Korean focus on building more nuclear weapons is that Kim is planning to mount a "conquest" of South Korea as part of "another round" of the Korean War. He said that Kim's ambitions would become clear within the next 15 years.
"The best, or perhaps even the only, way to explain the direction of Kim's nuclear weapons development is that the North Koreans are seriously preparing for a second round of the Korean war and conquest of the South," Lankov said. "It is a threat that will start to become more and more apparent over the next 10 or 15 years."
Newsweek reached out for comment to the North Korean embassy in London via email on Thursday.
Kim announced during a speech in September that he plans to "push ahead with the work for exponentially boosting the production of nuclear weapons and diversifying the nuclear strike means," as part of a "new Cold War" that pits the United States against North Korea and its allies Russia and China, according to the Associated Press.
U.S.-North Korean hostilities have increased this year, with Pyongyang officials threatening to retaliate over purported incursions in or near its territory on multiple occasions. North Korea threatened to launch a nuclear strike on the U.S. in July over a nuclear submarine arriving in Busan, South Korea.
Although the extent of North Korea's ability to strike the U.S. directly is unclear, it has tested intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) that could potentially reach across the Pacific. Details on the weapons that are in the country's nuclear arsenal are scarce due to the secrecy of the Kim regime.
However, the Congressional Commission on the Strategic Posture of the United States released a report last month that concluded, "North Korea continues to expand and diversify its nuclear forces, increasing the threat to U.S. Allies and forces in theater, and posing a greater threat to the U.S. and its Allies.
"North Korea is on pace to deploy nuclear-armed intercontinental range missiles in sufficient numbers that could potentially challenge U.S. homeland ground-based ballistic missile defenses," the report added.
Newsweek · by Aila Slisco · November 9, 2023
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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
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