Informal Institute for National Security Thinkers and Practitioners

Quotes of the Day:


"They will never be forgotten, and their courage, service, and sacrifice will always be cherished by our grateful Nation."
–President Joe Biden

"All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone." 
– Blaise Pascal

"Experience is not what happens to a man; it is what a man does with what happens to him." 
– Aldous Huxley


1. Yoon says S. Korea can counter N. Korean nuclear threats without its own nukes

2. N. Korea's top envoy to Cuba begins duties, vows to further strengthen ties

3. S. Korea, U.S. to hold regular defense talks to discuss deterrence against N.K. threats |

4. Unification minister urges N. Korea to immediately return detained S. Koreans home

5. S. Korea, Czech Republic agree to team up for full cycle of nuclear energy industry

6. PPP leader stresses closer S. Korea-U.S. alliance in meeting with U.S. ambassador

7. Yoon pledges ‘nuclear energy renaissance’ at Korea-Czech business forum

8. Takeaways from AP’s story on the role of the West in widespread fraud with South Korean adoptions

9. Tongsun Park, key figure in 'Koreagate' scandal, dies at 89

10. <N. Korea Floods>Officials Taking Lead in Recovery Work, Anxious About Being Watched by Residents; Some Officials Punished for Drinking Alcohol

11. Desertions surge in N. Korean army corps, prompting urgent inspection

12. ‘No need for own nuclear weapon’ against North Korea: South Korean president

13. Protests Against Forced Repatriation of North Korean Defectors Planned in 11 Countries

14. Former North Korea Senior Official: “US Not Needed to Lift UN Sanctions on Kim Jong-un”

15. The phrase 'Let's kill all Ukrainians' in the guestbook of Myohyangsan in the North

16. US sanctions five Russian entities for facilitating illicit transactions to DPRK

17. Ex-President Moon accuses Yoon gov't of creating 'most dangerous' state since Korean War

18. PPP slams ex-chief of staff for remarks against unification, cozying up to NK leader

19. ROK-U.S. alliance needs public diplomacy, information campaign aimed at North Korea





1. Yoon says S. Korea can counter N. Korean nuclear threats without its own nukes



The national leadership in Korea (and most national security practitioners) are practical and know the danger of pursuing indigenous nuclear weapons. Most importantly everyone should know that the South's pursuit of nuclear weapons supports Kim Jong Un's political warfare strategy.


Yoon says S. Korea can counter N. Korean nuclear threats without its own nukes | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Eun-jung · September 20, 2024

By Kim Eun-jung

PRAGUE, Sept. 20 (Yonhap) -- President Yoon Suk Yeol said Friday that South Korea is not considering developing its own nuclear weapons and instead is focusing on strengthening deterrence with the United States to counter North Korea's nuclear threat.

Yoon made the remark in an interview with the Czech newspaper Hospodarske Noviny during his trip to the Czech Republic, which came a week after North Korea unveiled its uranium enrichment facility for the first time.

Yoon reiterated South Korea's commitment to the Nuclear Consultative Group, which was established during a summit with U.S. President Joe Biden in April 2023. In July, the two leaders adopted a nuclear strategy guideline that outlines South Korea's conventional military support for U.S. nuclear operations in case of a contingency.

"South Korea has established a mechanism that can effectively deter and respond to North Korea's nuclear threats without the need for its own nuclear armament," Yoon said in the written interview translated in English.

"South Korea is prioritizing bolstering its own military capabilities and bolstering the effectiveness of the extended deterrence with the U.S. against North Korean nuclear threats," he added.

Extended deterrence refers to Washington's commitment to defend its ally with the full range of its military capabilities, including nuclear forces.


South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol (L) and his Czech counterpart, Petr Pavel, hold a joint press conference after their talks at Prague Castle in the Czech Republic on Sept. 19, 2024. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)

During his trip focused on the Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) securing a major nuclear power deal in the Czech Republic, Yoon highlighted Seoul's efforts to revitalize the domestic nuclear industry by reversing the previous government's nuclear phase-out policy.

Last week, South Korea's nuclear watchdog approved the construction of the Shin-Hanul 3 and 4 reactors about eight years after the KHNP's request for the permits. The process was suspended in 2017 under the previous Moon Jae-in administration's push to reduce the country's dependence on nuclear energy.

"The construction of (the Shin-Hanul 3 and 4 reactors) means the full recovery of the nuclear energy ecosystem and is the strongest testament of South Korea's unwavering nuclear policy," Yoon said.

South Korea currently operates 26 atomic power plants, which supply about 30 percent of the nation's electricity. The number is expected to rise to 30 when the construction of four more reactors, including the Shin-Hanul 3 and 4 reactors, is completed.

ejkim@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Eun-jung · September 20, 2024


2. N. Korea's top envoy to Cuba begins duties, vows to further strengthen ties



Under the watchful eye of party officials and security service personnel. I wonder where his family is. Certainly not all are with him in Cuba (and perhaps none of his family members are there).


N. Korea's top envoy to Cuba begins duties, vows to further strengthen ties | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Han-joo · September 20, 2024

By Kim Han-joo

SEOUL, Sept. 20 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's new ambassador to Cuba has vowed to further strengthen ties with Havana, seven months after South Korea established diplomatic ties with Cuba in a significant diplomatic setback for Pyongyang.

Han Su-chol presented his credentials, according to Cuba's presidential office Thursday (local time), more than six months after his predecessor returned home.

Cuban Vice President Salvador Valdes Mesa accepted the credentials.

Han expressed his commitment to "actively strengthen and expand cooperation in all spheres," emphasizing the historic ties that have united the two countries for years, the office said.

In response, the Cuban vice president referred to North Korea as a "sister nation" and stated that the two countries are united by a long history of struggle against imperialism and a common enemy, according to the presidential office.

In February, South Korea and Cuba established formal diplomatic ties in a surprising move that many viewed as a diplomatic blow to North Korea, which has long maintained close relations with the Caribbean nation.

The following month, North Korea's then ambassador to Cuba, Ma Chol-su, left the country, an event some observers interpreted as a display of North Korea's discontent over the new diplomatic relationship between South Korea and Cuba.

Ri Il-gyu, a former counselor of political affairs at the North Korean Embassy in Cuba, recently told Yonhap News Agency that North Korea would "never abandon" its ties with Cuba.

Ri also revealed that members of North Korea's diplomatic mission in Cuba were summoned back to the country after his defection to South Korea with his family last November.


This image, captured from the website of Cuba's presidential office on Sept. 19, 2024, shows Cuban Vice President Salvador Valdes Mesa (C) with North Korea's new ambassador to Cuba, Han Su-chol (R). (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

khj@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Han-joo · September 20, 2024


3. S. Korea, U.S. to hold regular defense talks to discuss deterrence against N.K. threats |


They must continue to reexamine the question: What deters Kim Jong Un?


And what will cause the second tier leadership to disobey orders to attack the South or suppress dissent among the Korean people in the north?


Consider this:

A key target audience must be the north Korean People's Army (nKPA). The ROK and U.S. military psychological operations forces need to create a campaign targeting the nKPA with two objectives: first to prevent an attack of the South; the second to disobey orders directing the suppression of any collective action by the Korean people. The nKPA must decide not to put down any resistance to the Kim family regime.
https://www.upi.com/Voices/2024/09/19/ROK-US-alliance-needs-public-diplomacy-information-campaign-North-Korea/3981726754856/


S. Korea, U.S. to hold regular defense talks to discuss deterrence against N.K. threats | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Minji · September 20, 2024

SEOUL, Sept. 20 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and the United States will hold regular defense talks next week to discuss ways to strengthen security cooperation against North Korean nuclear and missile threats, the South's defense ministry said Friday.

The 25th Korea-U.S. Integrated Defense Dialogue (KIDD) is set to be held in Seoul on Monday and Tuesday for discussions on an array of security alliance issues ahead of the annual Security Consultative Meeting (SCM), which takes place in the fall.

South Korea's Deputy Minister for National Defense Policy Cho Chang-rae and U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for East Asia Anka Lee will lead the talks, according to the ministry.

The two-day meeting, which is seen as part of preparations for this year's SCM, will touch on key defense issues, such as enhancing extended deterrence efforts, evolving into a science and technology alliance, and strengthening solidarity and cooperation with like-minded partners, it added.


This undated file photo shows troops saluting, with the U.S. and South Korean national flags in the background. (Yonhap)

mlee@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Minji · September 20, 2024


4. Unification minister urges N. Korea to immediately return detained S. Koreans home


(LEAD) Unification minister urges N. Korea to immediately return detained S. Koreans home | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Song Sang-ho · September 20, 2024

(ATTN: ADDS State Department's statement on missionary Kim in paras 8-10; RECASTS dateline)

By Kim Soo-yeon

SEOUL/WASHINGTON, Sept. 20 (Yonhap) -- Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho on Friday called on North Korea to "immediately and unconditionally" send a detained South Korean missionary and five other nationals back home, condemning the North's yearslong arbitrary detention as grave human rights violations.

South Korea's top point man on North Korea issued a rare statement marking 4,000 days after missionary Kim Jung-wook was arrested in Pyongyang in 2013. He was sentenced to hard labor for life on charges of spying for South Korea's spy agency.

In 2014, two other South Korean missionaries -- Kim Kook-kie and Choi Chun-gil -- were also detained in North Korea on similar charges. Three former North Korean defectors, who had obtained South Korean citizenship, were held captive in 2016.

"The ROK government condemns North Korea's illegal and inhumane human rights violations and strongly urges the North, which is a party to major international human rights instruments, to immediately and unconditionally release our nationals who are illegally detained," Kim said in the statement, using the acronym of South Korea's official name -- the Republic of Korea.

The minister strongly denounced North Korea for unreasonable and excessive sentencing of the six individuals without a fair and public trial; its failure to provide basic procedural justice upon arrest and during detention; and the continued arbitrary detention.

"North Korea must not ignore our legitimate demands concerning the lives and safety of our citizens and must clearly recognize the seriousness of the issue, as well as the international community's strong warnings against its repeated violations of universal human rights norms," he said.

Kim also vowed efforts to bolster cooperation with the international community to resolve the issue of South Korean abductees, detainees and prisoners of war (POWs), and ensure that Japanese abductees and individuals from other countries no longer fall victim to the North's human rights abuses.

U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller issued a statement on missionary Kim Jung-wook, saying that the North's practice of "unjustly" detaining missionaries and others is a "blatant attempt to curtail freedom of religion or belief, silence individuals and limit access to outside information."

"We urge the DPRK to immediately release all those who have been denied fair public trials and are subjected to unjust or arbitrary detention," Miller said, referring to the North by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

"The U.S. remains gravely concerned about the lack of transparency, fairness, and accountability within the DPRK's judicial system. The DPRK regime continues to systematically violate and abuse the human rights of people in North Korea," he added.

Separately from the six South Korean detainees, 516 South Koreans have yet to return home among an estimated 3,835 people who were kidnapped by North Korea after the 1950-53 Korean War.

At least 60,000 POWs are also estimated to have not come back home or gone missing after being detained in North Korea. A total of 80 POWs have returned home since 1994, but only nine were alive as of March.


This image, captured from footage of Yonhap News Agency, shows South Korean nationals abducted and detained by North Korea, as the unification ministry called on North Korea on Oct. 10, 2023, to immediately send detained South Koreans back home. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

sooyeon@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Song Sang-ho · September 20, 2024


5. S. Korea, Czech Republic agree to team up for full cycle of nuclear energy industry


Again, the global pivotal state that chooses to be a peaceful nuclear power.




(LEAD) S. Korea, Czech Republic agree to team up for full cycle of nuclear energy industry | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Eun-jung · September 20, 2024

(ATTN: UPDATES with more details in paras 10-13; ADDS photo)

By Kim Eun-jung

PRAGUE, Sept. 20 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and the Czech Republic on Friday agreed to collaborate on the entire nuclear energy cycle as President Yoon Suk Yeol visited the European nation to bolster a Korean consortium's bid to secure a major nuclear plant contract.

Yoon and Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala attended the signing of memoranda of understanding (MOU) on nuclear energy cooperation during their visit to Doosan Skoda Power and JS Skoda, two nuclear energy companies in Plzen, an industrial city located about 90 kilometers west of Prague.

The agreements come as South Korea's consortium led by Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) seeks to finalize a contract to build two nuclear reactors in Dukovany, after being selected as the preferred bidder in July.

"The new nuclear reactors will be built together by South Korea and the Czech Republic," Yoon said during the ceremony. "The Korean government will fully support the faithful implementation of the nuclear energy agreements."


President Yoon Suk Yeol (L) and Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala attend a signing ceremony for agreements on nuclear energy industry cooperation at Doosan Skoda Power, a nuclear energy contractor in Plzen, an industrial city about 90 kilometers west of Prague, on Sept. 20, 2024. (Yonhap)

During the ceremony, 13 other MOUs were signed, covering cooperation across the entire nuclear energy cycle, including construction, operation, maintenance, nuclear fuel management and waste disposal.

Doosan Skoda Power and JS Skoda signed agreements to supply nuclear reactor turbines and turbine blades, respectively, to KHNP. The agreements will be confirmed if a final contract is signed in March next year.

Yoon highlighted Korea's strong track record in building nuclear reactors "on time, on budget" based on its expertise in constructing and operating nuclear power plants for more than five decades. He also expressed hope for further advancing bilateral economic ties.

"This nuclear deal will elevate the bilateral relationship to more comprehensive, future-oriented cooperation," Yoon said. "Both nations should harness the momentum from the nuclear energy sector to collaborate across broader industries."

If finalized, the deal -- estimated at around 24 trillion won (US$17.3 billion) -- will mark South Korea's second nuclear power plant export, following its 2009 project in the United Arab Emirates.


(From L to R) South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, South Korean Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun, Czech Minister of Industry and Trade Jozef Sikela and Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala attend a signing ceremony for agreements on nuclear energy industry cooperation at Doosan Skoda Power, a nuclear energy contractor in Plzen, an industrial city about 90 kilometers west of Prague, on Sept. 20, 2024. (Yonhap)

The two sides also signed the Trade Investment Promotion Framework, a comprehensive industrial and investment cooperation agreement, and agreed to launch a supply chain economic dialogue.

Later in the day, business leaders of the two countries gathered for a forum to explore areas of cooperation in advanced industries, such as artificial intelligence, batteries and next-generation vehicles.

Attendees included Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo and Hyundai Motor Group Chair Euisun Chung, who accompanied Yoon's trip as part of an economic delegation.

The trade volume between the two countries has been growing, surpassing $3 billion in 2018, $4 billion in 2021 and reaching an all-time high of $4.4 billion last year. As of 2023, South Korea is the fourth-largest investor in the Czech Republic, with over 100 Korean companies operating in the country.


Lee Jae-yong (R), chairman of Samsung Electronics, talks with Euisun Chung, chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, during a business forum involving business leaders of South Korea and the Czech Republic in Prague on Sept. 20, 2024. (Yonhap)

ejkim@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Eun-jung · September 20, 2024


6. PPP leader stresses closer S. Korea-U.S. alliance in meeting with U.S. ambassador


We can never take the alliance for granted. We must continually tend it.


PPP leader stresses closer S. Korea-U.S. alliance in meeting with U.S. ambassador | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Yi Wonju · September 20, 2024

SEOUL, Sept. 20 (Yonhap) -- The ruling People Power Party (PPP) leader expressed expectations Friday that the South Korea-United States alliance can further strengthen their cooperation as countries that pursue peace, freedom and democracy in his meeting with the top U.S. envoy in Seoul.

"South Korea and the U.S. share the same values such as liberal democracy," PPP chief Han Don-hoon said during his talks with U.S. Ambassador to Seoul Philip Goldberg at the National Assembly.

"This year marks the 71st anniversary of the U.S.-ROK alliance, and it is because of our shared core values that our alliance has lasted this long," he said.

Han noted that the motto of the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division stationed in the South -- "Second to None" -- shows their strong alliance.

Goldberg emphasized that the military alliance of the two countries, forged by blood during the 1950-53 Korean War, has developed into a comprehensive global partnership that spans trade, education and diplomacy.

He also stressed the two countries share a commitment to promote values such as democracy, freedom and human rights, and to defend them wherever they are threatened.


Han Dong-hoon (R), head of the ruling People Power Party, greets U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Philip Goldberg during the latter's visit to the National Assembly in Seoul on Sept. 20, 2024. (Yonhap)

julesyi@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Yi Wonju · September 20, 2024


7. Yoon pledges ‘nuclear energy renaissance’ at Korea-Czech business forum


I wish the US would have a nuclear power renaissance.



Yoon pledges ‘nuclear energy renaissance’ at Korea-Czech business forum

https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2024-09-20/national/diplomacy/Yoon-pledges-nuclear-energy-renaissance-at-KoreaCzech-business-forum-/2138286

Published: 20 Sep. 2024, 17:44

Updated: 20 Sep. 2024, 19:30


  • SARAH KIM
  • kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr


President Yoon Suk Yeol, third from right, Czech President Petr Pavel, second from right, and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, head of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, third from left, clap alongside other officials and business executives at the Korea-Czech business forum at a hotel in Prague in the Czech Republic on Friday. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

 

PRAGUE — President Yoon Suk Yeol called for Korea and the Czech Republic to achieve a "nuclear energy renaissance" at a bilateral business forum attended by top executives of both countries Friday. 

 

Yoon and Czech President Petr Pavel, following their bilateral summit the previous day, took part in the Korea-Czech business forum, which was co-hosted by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Czech Chamber of Commerce and attended by some 470 businesspeople, according to Seoul's presidential office.

 

In a keynote address, Yoon noted that with Team Korea's selection as the preferred bidder for the construction of a new nuclear power plant in the Czech Republic, it was time to move toward becoming "Team Czech-Korea" to achieve a "nuclear energy renaissance" together.

 

The forum was an occasion for the two sides to sign 14 memorandums of understanding (MOU), setting the direction of cooperation in economic and industrial sectors, the presidential office said. 

 

The event was attended by leaders of Korea's top conglomerates including Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong, Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo. This marks the first time this year that the chiefs of Korea's top four conglomerates accompanied the president on an overseas trip. 

 


Korean business leaders including from right, Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong, Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung and LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo attend a Korea-Czech business forum at a hotel in Prague in the Czech Republic on Friday. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

 

Yoon's four-day trip to the Central European nation comes on the heels of the Czech government selecting in July a Korean consortium led by Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) as the preferred bidder to build two nuclear reactors in Dukovany in an estimated 24 trillion won ($17.3 billion) project. 

 

"We must continue the momentum of cooperation in the nuclear power plant sector throughout various industries," Yoon said at the joint business forum. 

 

He called to institutionally support comprehensive cooperation across industries by signing a Trade and Investment Promotion Framework (TIPF) between the two governments.

 


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Yoon said that the two sides will also discuss major cooperation projects through a supply chain and energy dialogue (SCED) between the two countries, and announced that they will lay the foundation for cooperation in advanced industries such as batteries, future vehicles and hydrogen energy. 

 

He further stressed that aerospace, bio, chemistry and materials, digital technology and energy were identified as promising areas for cooperation between the two countries' research institutes, establishing the "ABCDE" of bilateral science and technology cooperation. He pledged to actively support joint research and personnel exchanges between the two countries to this end. 

 


President Yoon Suk Yeol gives a keynote address at the Korea-Czech business forum in Prague in the Czech Republic on Friday. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

 

Yoon also emphasized the potential in infrastructure cooperation, noting that Korea's high-speed rail has built a reputation for being "fast and safe," adding that he hopes that Korean companies can contribute to the construction and operation of such high-speed rail in the Czech Republic. 

 

Yoon in his address encouraged the business leaders who have contributed to the development of bilateral relations, noting that the two countries' economic exchanges date back to 1989, when a Korea-Czech economic cooperation council was established, dating back to even before the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1990. He noted that some 35 years later, engineers from the two countries are building Hyundai Motor vehicles in the Czech Republic municipality of Nosovice and exporting them to 74 countries.

 

He also called to work together to provide humanitarian support to rebuild Ukraine's infrastructure.

 

The two countries’ business sector likewise expressed hopes that Czech Republic will become a new gateway for Korean companies’ entry into Europe with the latest nuclear power plant deal. 

 

KCCI Chairman Chey called to “continue cooperation in various energy fields” along with the ongoing nuclear power plant project.

 

He especially highlighted Korea’s hydrogen technology “has endless possibility for cooperation with the Czech Republic,” as a country pursuing the development of a hydrogen economy. 

 

He added advanced industries, such as artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductors and batteries, are other areas in which the two countries can cooperate closely together in. 

 

Jan Rafaj, president of the Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic, noted that “Korea has become one of the Czech Republic’s most important non-European trading partners,” and that “the Czech Republic is a gateway for Korean companies to enter Europe.”

 

The Czech Republic is viewed as the country with the best industrial manufacturing base for batteries and automobiles among the Visegrad Group, or V4, comprised of four Central European countries — Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary.

 

Bilateral trade between Korea and the Czech Republic reached an all-time high of $4.47 billion last year, compared to $3 billion in 2018 and $4 billion in 2021.


BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]


8. Takeaways from AP’s story on the role of the West in widespread fraud with South Korean adoptions



This is so sad and tragic. Again, I worry for my friends who are Korean-American adoptees. I bet many have never had thoughts about their origin stories. And now they are wondering and stressing over this.


Takeaways from AP’s story on the role of the West in widespread fraud with South Korean adoptions

By KIM TONG-HYUNG and CLAIRE GALOFARO

Updated 12:37 AM EDT, September 20, 2024

AP · by KIM TONG-HYUNG · September 20, 2024


1 of 5 |Yooree Kim holds up a blouse given to her by the adoption agency that sent her to France when she was 11 years old, at her apartment in Seoul, South Korea, Saturday, May 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)


CLAIRE GALOFARO


KIM TONG-HYUNG

Kim has been covering the Koreas for the AP since 2014. He has published widely read stories on North Korea’s nuclear ambitions, the dark side of South Korea’s economic rise and international adoptions of Korean children.

twittermailto

AP · by KIM TONG-HYUNG · September 20, 2024



9. Tongsun Park, key figure in 'Koreagate' scandal, dies at 89



​Some history that many do not want to recall.


Tongsun Park, key figure in 'Koreagate' scandal, dies at 89

https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2024-09-20/national/diplomacy/Tongsun-Park-key-figure-in-Koreagate-scandal-dies-at-89/2137961

Published: 20 Sep. 2024, 11:56

Updated: 20 Sep. 2024, 11:57


Lobbyist Tongsun Park, a major figure in the "Koreagate" scandal, testifying at the U.S Congress in 1978. [YONHAP]

 

Tongsun Park, 89, a key figure in the major lobbying scandal “Koreagate,” which strained Korea-U.S. diplomatic relations during the Park Chung Hee regime in the 1970s, died Thursday. 

 

According to his surviving family, the lobbyist had been hospitalized approximately a week ago at Soonchunhyang University Hospital in Yongsan District, central Seoul, after his health deteriorated due to a chronic illness.

 

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Born in 1935 in Sunchon, South Phyongan, Park completed high school in Seoul before moving to the United States, where he graduated from Georgetown University. He then established a social club in Washington D.C. called the Georgetown Club to build connections. By the late 1960s, he had used the influence of then-Congressman Richard Hanna to secure a contract for brokering rice imports between the United States and Korea.

 

“Koreagate” began on Oct. 24, 1976, when U.S. newspaper The Washington Post ran a front-page story reporting that Park had been conducting a bribery operation under the direction of the Korean government, distributing between $500,000 and $1 million annually to over 90 U.S. congressmen and public officials. 

 

The scandal caused a significant stir and spiked anti-Korean sentiment in the United States, prompting an investigation by the U.S. House of Representatives committee dubbed the “Fraser Committee.”  

 


Lobbyist Tongsun Park, a key figure in the "Koreagate" scandal [YONHAP]

 

In 1978, Park testified before a public hearing in the U.S. Congress following an investigation by U.S. judicial authorities. The scandal concluded with one sitting congressman who had received money from Park being convicted and seven others facing congressional disciplinary action. Park claimed his actions were personal and had nothing to do with the Korean government. 

 

“Koreagate” led to a deterioration in Korea-U.S. relations. U.S. prosecutors indicted Park, but the charges were dismissed, and the lobbyist did not face criminal punishment. 

 

After the scandal, Park reportedly continued working as a lobbyist around the world, including in Japan and Taiwan. In 2005, U.S. prosecutors charged him with illegal lobbying, alleging Park had received at least $2 million from Iraq to help implement the United Nations’ Oil-for-Food program, which allowed the Saddam Hussein regime to bypass U.N. sanctions on Iraq at the time. 


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In February 2007, he was sentenced to five years in prison, but due to health reasons, his sentence was reduced, and he was released in September 2008.

 

Upon his release, Park returned to Korea, where he lived without making many public appearances. However, in November 2009, he gave a lecture in Seocho District, southern Seoul, titled “The Importance of Nongovernmental Diplomacy for Today and Tomorrow.”

 

“I am far from being a lobbyist,” said Park at the time. “I consider myself to have been involved in nongovernmental diplomacy with the United States during a time when Korea was struggling to survive, during the 1960s and 1970s.”


BY KIM MIN-YOUNG [kim.minyoung5@joongang.co.kr]




10. <N. Korea Floods>Officials Taking Lead in Recovery Work, Anxious About Being Watched by Residents; Some Officials Punished for Drinking Alcohol


Some indications of resistance potential.


<N. Korea Floods>Officials Taking Lead in Recovery Work, Anxious About Being Watched by Residents; Some Officials Punished for Drinking Alcohol

asiapress.org

(FILE PHOTO) North Korean people manually repairing a Yalu River embankment. They appear to be mobilized from workplaces and the women's union. Photographed from the Chinese side of the border in mid-2021, North Pyongan Province. (ASIAPRESS)

Reconstruction work continues on damage caused by heavy rains that hit the northern region of North Korea in late July. The Kim Jong-un regime has ordered the work to be completed by October 10, the anniversary of the founding of the Workers' Party. Local officials are under intense pressure, unable to leave the site day or night, and enduring harsh days. Some low-ranking party officials have been punished with forced labor for dereliction of duty. (ISHIMARU Jiro / KANG Ji-won)

◆Officials under Surveillance by Residents

"Officials are working like laborers at the reconstruction sites. You don't see pot-bellied officials anymore," said reporting partner A, who lives in Ryanggang Province, reporting this "anomaly" among officials in late August. A "pot-bellied official" refers to those who arrogantly give orders without doing any work.

A continued: "Officials can't leave the reconstruction sites. By order of the Central Committee, every move of the officials is to be investigated and reported to ensure that they are working responsibly on the ground. For this reason, party officials in Ryanggang Province are making surprise visits to the reconstruction sites to constantly check whether the officials are working properly. They're also listening to reports from mobilized workers and local residents.”

◆Officials Anxious about Punishment

It's clear that officials are intimidated by the fear of punishment, but this tension among officials has continued since early August.

After inspecting Sinuiju, which was hit by heavy rains in late July, Kim Jong-un declared that officials would be "severely punished" for dereliction of duty and inadequate initial response, stating that "unacceptable loss of life has occurred." The Korean Central News Agency also reported that the minister of social security (equivalent to the police chief) had been dismissed. In this grim atmosphere, nervous officials are taking the initiative to participate in fieldwork.

In Ryanggang Province, some residents who lost their homes in the floods have been evacuated to Pyongyang on Kim Jong-un's orders, and A said that the regime is demanding that all these evacuees move into newly built houses by the party's founding anniversary. This must be putting a lot of pressure on officials.

<Inside North Korea>Evacuation of Flood Victims to Pyongyang Seen as 'Show' - Backlash Against Delayed Recovery and Unfairness - People Prioritize Belongings Over Portraits...

◆Officials Punished with Field labor for Drinking Alcohol

On September 4, South Korea's National Intelligence Service announced that 20 to 30 officials may have been executed for their responsibility in the flood disaster. Among them was Kang Bong-hun, the highest-ranking official of the Jagang Province Party Committee.

When this news was relayed to reporting partner B in Musan County, North Hamgyong Province, and he was asked about related news, he replied: "I don't know much about other areas and haven't heard any information about officials being executed [in connection with the reconstruction work], but at the Musan Mine, a low-ranking official who was considered negligent in his duties received revolutionary punishment."

Revolutionary punishment is a form of discipline for officials who violate organizational rules by forcing them to work in the field for a certain period of time.

"The cell secretary (the lowest-level leader of the party organization) and the foreman of the ore processing plant of the Musan Mine received 2-3 months of revolutionary punishment for drinking alcohol during the mobilization period, failing to perform their duties properly and verbally abusing the workers. They are now at the reconstruction site working alongside the ordinary workers."

◆Distribution of Russian Flour

When asked about the current reconstruction situation in Musan County, B replied: "All other construction has been halted and everyone is mobilized for flood recovery, but it will be difficult to finish by October 10. On the road from Musan to Hoeryong, there are still places where vehicles can't pass because of collapsed bridges. There were orders to build temporary bridges, but they've only put gravel in the river. They're cracking down on the unauthorized departure of people mobilized for reconstruction work."

According to B, workers mobilized from the Musan mine received 15 kilograms of Russian flour per person in August, and other factories and enterprises also distributed over 10 kilograms.

"There was food aid from Russia. Thanks to it, people aren't starving, but everyone is just getting by because they also need side dishes and firewood."

ASIAPRESS could not confirm whether the distributed flour was provided free of charge from Russia.

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

Map of North Korea (ASIAPRESS)

asiapress.org



11. Desertions surge in N. Korean army corps, prompting urgent inspection


This Is a key indication for potential instability. And we should recall how we define respinge collapse: The loss of central governing effectiveness by the party combined with loss of coherency and support of the military.


Are we prepared to deal to with north Korean instability and regime collapse? We must be prepared for the full range of conflict and contingencies. And the real danger is the conditions that could lead to regime collapse are conditions that could drive Kim Jong Un to make a decision to attack the South and execute his campaign plan to dominate the peninsula as the only option for possible survival (of course he will not survive).

 



Desertions surge in N. Korean army corps, prompting urgent inspection - Daily NK English

Military officials blame abuse by senior soldiers as desertion rates climb, order special teams to retrieve missing troops


By Jeong Tae Joo - September 20, 2024

dailynk.com · by Jeong Tae Joo · September 20, 2024

FILE PHOTO: North Korean soldiers are seen in Sakju County, North Pyongan Province. (Daily NK)

North Korea’s Third Army Corps has seen a sharp increase in desertions during the first half of this year, triggering an emergency inspection by the General Staff Department, a military source recently told The Daily NK.

The inspection, which began Sept. 1, follows an internal report highlighting the severity of the desertion problem within the corps stationed in the city of Nampo.

The military source said the review is focusing on the causes of desertion and potential countermeasures. Preliminary findings suggest most deserters are soldiers who have served less than two years and experienced severe beatings and verbal abuse from senior soldiers.

One deserter from February remains unaccounted for, and several more have fled in the past month alone, the source said.

Unlike past trends where new recruits were more likely to desert, this year has seen an uptick in desertions among soldiers with over a year of service.

In response, the General Staff Department has ordered that soldiers with less than two years of service not be assigned to solo duties or given individual leave.

The Third Army Corps has also been instructed to form 10 three-person military police teams to track down and return deserters by autumn. Each team will include one officer and two enlisted personnel, with preference given to soldiers from families who can afford the associated travel costs.

The corps aims to complete the deserter recovery operation before winter training begins on Dec. 1.

The General Staff Department is using this inspection to emphasize the importance of honest reporting and comprehensive countermeasures across all military units.

The inspection is expected to conclude around Sept. 13.

The Daily NK works with a network of sources in North Korea, China, and elsewhere. For security reasons, their identities remain anonymous.

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

Read in Korean

dailynk.com · by Jeong Tae Joo · September 20, 2024



12. ‘No need for own nuclear weapon’ against North Korea: South Korean president



A cooler head prevails in South Korea.


‘No need for own nuclear weapon’ against North Korea: South Korean president

https://www.rfa.org/english/news/korea/south-korea-nuclear-weapons-09202024030701.html

Yoon Suk Yeol stressed cooperation with the US as key to deterring North Korea’s nuclear threat.

By Taejun Kang for RFA

2024.09.20

Taipei, Taiwan


South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol delivers a speech during his briefing on state affairs at a press conference at the presidential office in Seoul, South Korea, Aug. 29, 2024.

 Chung Sung-Jun/Pool via Reuters

South Korea has already established a system that can effectively deter and respond to the North Korean nuclear threat without the need for its own nuclear arsenal, said South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, a week after the North unveiled details of its uranium enrichment facility for the first time.

Yoon set out his thoughts on Friday, while on a visit to the Czech Republic, when asked by a reporter if South Korea was seriously considering nuclear weapons.

“Seoul sees beefing up its own defense capabilities as well as strengthening the enforceability of the U.S.-South Korean extended deterrent as the best defense against the North Korean nuclear threat,” he said.

“We established the NCG through the ‘Washington Declaration’ in April last year, and the United States and South Korea are currently promoting nuclear strategic planning as well as joint implementation through the Conventional-Nuclear Integration,” said Yoon, referring to a Nuclear Consultative Group and the strategy of being prepared to survive and respond to a nuclear attack.

The U.S. and South Korea held their inaugural NCG meeting in July last year, when they discussed information sharing, consultation mechanisms, and joint planning and execution to enhance nuclear deterrence against North Korea.

The NCG framework was announced during the bilateral summit in Washington last April against the backdrop of growing demands in South Korea for its own nuclear weapons in light of North Korea’s escalating nuclear threats.

Yoon also highlighted the importance of cooperation between the U.S., South Korea and fellow U.S. ally, Japan.

“Since the Camp David Summit in August last year, the three countries have established a trilateral cooperation system to enhance efforts to promote security and peace in the Indo-Pacific region,” he said.

U.S. President Joe Biden holds a joint press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol during the trilateral summit at Camp David near Thurmont, Maryland, U.S., Aug. 18, 2023. (Jim Bourg/Reuters)


At their Camp David meeting, the leaders of Japan, the U.S. and South Korea, agreed on several key initiatives aimed at strengthening trilateral cooperation. 

These included commitments to enhance joint military exercises, increase intelligence sharing and deepen economic ties. Additionally, the summit produced a joint statement that emphasized the importance of a free and open Indo-Pacific, underscoring the trilateral alliance’s role in maintaining regional stability and countering China’s growing influence.

“As challenges to the international order based on freedom, human rights, and the rule of law grow, especially if they are pursued through force and coercive diplomacy, the need for cooperation between the three countries as partners of values and interests will only increase,” the South Korean president said.

Yoon’s remarks came about a week after the North unveiled details of its uranium enrichment facility for the first time, with its leader Kim Jong Un calling for increasing the number of centrifuges for uranium enrichment so it can increase its nuclear arsenal for self-defense. 

RELATED STORIES

Satellite photos show expansion of suspected North Korean uranium enrichment site

North Korea unveils uranium enrichment facility for the first time

Kim Jong Un says North Korea to increase its arsenal of nuclear weapons

Radio Free Asia reported on Thursday, based on analysis of satellite imagery, evidence that a suspected North Korean uranium enrichment facility that may have been toured by leader Kim Jong Un recently has grown significantly since construction was first spotted there in February.

Impact of Russian sanctions

When questioned on whether sanctions against Russia have had any impact on the South Korean economy, Yoon said that since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, the volume of trade between South Korea and Russia has dropped significantly, and South Korean companies had suffered as a result.

“Nevertheless, as a responsible member of the international community, my government will continue to work in international co-operation to safeguard peace,” he added.

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned South Korea in June that sending weapons to Ukraine would be a “very big mistake” after South Korea said it would consider doing so in response to a pact between Russia and North Korea to come to each other’s aid if attacked.

At that time, South Korea announced it would reconsider its policy of not sending arms to Ukraine in response to North Korea and Russia signing a treaty that included a mutual pledge to provide immediate military assistance if either was attacked.

Edited by Mike Firn.



13. Protests Against Forced Repatriation of North Korean Defectors Planned in 11 Countries



Human rights upfront.


Protests Against Forced Repatriation of North Korean Defectors Planned in 11 Countries

https://www.rfa.org/korean/in_focus/human_rights_defector/protests-planned-in-11-countries-against-forced-repatriation-of-north-korean-defectors-09192024160252.html

WASHINGTON-Kim Ji-soo kimjis@rfa.org

2024.09.19


In August 2013, a girl stands with a picket sign opposing the Chinese government's repatriation of North Korean refugees in front of South Korean Christian protesters and North Korean defectors during a prayer meeting in front of the Chinese embassy.

 /AP



00:00 / 02:46

 

Anchor : On the 24th , North Korean human rights activists will urge the Chinese government to stop forcibly repatriating North Korean defectors . Reporter Kim Ji-soo reports .

 

Susan Scholte, executive director of the North Korea Freedom Coalition , a coalition of North Korean human rights groups, announced that they will hold a “ Save North Korean Refugees Day ” event on the 24th .

 

In a phone call with Radio Free Asia (RFA) on the 19th , Representative Scholte emphasized the fact that two women who were repatriated to North Korea in October of last year were executed and nine others were sentenced to life imprisonment , and appealed to North Korean citizens and defectors in China to let them know that people are concerned about this issue .

 

Representative Scholte : We all know that at least two women who were repatriated have been executed . This is an urgent matter . People are being executed, slowly dying in political prison camps . This will continue unless we stand together and raise our voices to pressure China to stop this .

 

 The large group repatriation on October 9th last year came two days after Hamas attacked Israel, so China probably thought they could handle it quietly, ” Scholte said . “ China knows what they did was wrong , so they don’t want the world to know about it . ”

 

He added, “ China must be feeling a great sense of urgency right now because South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol has made it clear that North Korean defectors in China are considered South Korean citizens under the Constitution of the Republic of Korea . ”

 

The North Korea Freedom Coalition plans to hold a protest with human rights activists in front of the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C. on the 24th to oppose the forced repatriation of North Korean defectors .

 

We are also preparing a letter to Chinese embassies and consulates around the world urging China to stop sending North Korean citizens to their deaths .

 

“Two North Korean Women Forcibly Repatriated from China Executed”

“15 North Korean defectors bound for South Korea arrested by Chinese police”

 

The event will be held in 15 cities in 11 countries , including Canada , Finland , Korea , Japan, and the United States .

 

The event, which began in 2009, is held annually on September 24, the day the Chinese government joined the 1982 UN Refugee Convention , to condemn the Chinese government's policy of forcibly repatriating North Korean defectors .

 

Last year, the North Korea Freedom Coalition delivered letters to Chinese embassies and consulates in 45 cities in 14 countries and held protests demanding an end to forced repatriation .

 

Meanwhile, Jang Se-yul, head of the South Korean North Korea human rights group People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, reported to Radio Free Asia on the 26th that 15 North Korean defectors were arrested by Chinese police in Kunming, Yunnan Province, China , a region bordering China and Southeast Asia, on the 21st of last month .

 

Editor Park Jeong-woo, Web Editor Han Deok-in



14. Former North Korea Senior Official: “US Not Needed to Lift UN Sanctions on Kim Jong-un”



​Because the north is very proficient in sanctions evasion activities with the complicity of CHina and Russia.



Former North Korea Senior Official: “US Not Needed to Lift UN Sanctions on Kim Jong-un”

https://www.rfa.org/korean/in_focus/nk_nuclear_talks/fmr-us-dos-top-diplomat-for-north-korea-issues_north-korea-sanctions-un-09192024162744.html

WASHINGTON-Lee Sang-min lees@rfa.org

2024.09.19


At the South Korea-US-Japan North Korea Nuclear Senior Representative Meeting held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in Jongno-gu, Seoul in January, then-Senior US State Department Official for North Korea Policy Jeong Park is speaking.

 /Yonhap News



00:00 / 04:58

 


Anchor : Former State Department senior official for North Korea Jung Park said that during his tenure, he made a lot of effort to highlight the North Korean issue as a global issue, not just an American issue. Reporter Lee Sang-min reports.


Former senior official for North Korea Jung Park, who was selected as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs in 2021, led the US’s North Korea policy.


He served concurrently as the State Department’s Deputy Special Representative for North Korea, and since former Special Representative for North Korea Sung Kim retired late last year, he has been in charge of the US’s response to the North Korea issue as a senior official for North


Korea. Park, who resigned two months ago in July, spoke about the North Korea policy he focused on during his tenure at an online discussion on North Korea hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) on the 19th.


He said that one of the criticisms at the time was that the State Department was doing nothing about North Korea, and that this was because there was no direct diplomacy with North Korea.


However, he said that his role at the State Department was to make the North Korean issue a global issue, and that he did a lot of work in this regard.


[Former Senior Official on North Korea Jeong Park] The relationship with North Korea is not just our problem, but a global problem. Therefore, our policy response must be made on a global level and adjusted to nonproliferation and human rights. The North Korea issue includes all of these elements.


He said that the UN Security Council situation is not what it used to be, and the sanctions system has weakened, and that this has required a lot of effort to inform and persuade many other countries, especially the Global South, of the dangers.


The Global South refers to developing countries located in the Southern Hemisphere, such as Southeast Asia, Latin America, and Africa.


In this regard, North Korea's Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui recently attended the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, etc.) Women's Conference, which was held in Russia and aims to be an alternative to the US-led international order, and the North Korean Foreign Ministry delegation began touring Southeast Asia and conducting diplomacy toward the Global South.


“North Korea Reveals Nuclear Facilities, Pressure for Nuclear Disarmament, Not Denuclearization”

Representatives of the four countries of North Korea: Korea, the US, Japan, and China, hold a series of meetings in Tokyo


Former senior North Korea official Chung Park said he emphasized to delegates, especially those from large countries, that North Korea comes to the negotiating table when countries take unified action, such as when Russia and China supported sanctions on the North at the U.N. Security Council from 2016 to 2018.


However, as the Ukraine War deepened relations between North Korea and Russia, North Korea gained confidence in a new world order that connects with Russia, China, and Iran, he analyzed.


[Former high-ranking North Korea official Jeong Park] I think this confidence in a new world order came about because North Korea had a security guarantee relationship with Russia. There is also the possibility that it can expect greater economic security from Russia.


He said that the deepening of North Korea-Russia relations has opened up a lot of diplomatic space for North Korea, citing Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui’s attendance at the BRICS women’s event as an example. He assessed that this environment has opened up the possibility that North Korea can no longer be seen as an isolated country but as a member of an anti-Western nation. He analyzed that


the greatest gift Russia has given North Korea is the hedge against China, that is, the ability to check, and that if former President Trump is elected and North Korea talks with the United States, it will be because it will gain additional hedging capabilities against China and Russia.


[Former Senior North Korea Official Jeong Park] The way North Korea confronts these three powers is noteworthy and should be closely examined. North Korea-Russia relations have also affected the structure of the UN Security Council, which has significantly changed Kim Jong-un’s incentive structure. Now, Kim Jong-un does not need the United States to lift sanctions.


He said that he believes that this strategy is what General Secretary Kim Jong-un is pursuing, as he believes that North Korea can use the fact that China and Russia are each afraid of being alienated, while at the same time taking advantage of the situation where the United States is alienated, by pitting Russia and Russia against each other.


At the discussion that day, Katrin Katz, former director of the White House National Security Council's Korea and Japan Affairs Bureau, analyzed that North Korea's recent release of photos of a uranium enrichment facility was intended to raise the question in the U.S. that North Korea's possession of nuclear weapons is irreversible and that it should now move toward an arms control approach rather than denuclearization.


However, Victor Cha, Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said that comparing denuclearization and arms control is wrong, and that the U.S. will not give up its goal of denuclearization and that arms control is an intermediate step toward denuclearization.


Cha stated that there is an analysis that the relationship between North Korea and Russia will not last long at a tactical level, but he does not see it that way.


Editor Park Jeong-woo, Web Editor Han Deok-in




​15. The phrase 'Let's kill all Ukrainians' in the guestbook of Myohyangsan in the North



Probably not a surprise.




The phrase 'Let's kill all Ukrainians' in the guestbook of Myohyangsan in the North

https://www.rfa.org/korean/in_focus/nk_nuclear_talks/guestbook_kill_ukraine-09192024153434.html

WASHINGTON-Park Jae-woo parkja@rfa.org

2024.09.19


In a photo released by Russian media outlet MR7 showing members of the Juche Idea Russian Institute visiting North Korea last month, the phrase “Let’s kill all Ukrainians, glory to Russia” can be seen written in Russian and Korean in the guestbook at Myohyangsan Mountain.

/MR7



00:00 /02:00

 

Anchor : Recently, North Korea has been accepting tourists targeting Russian citizens. Members of the Juche Idea Russian Research Institute who visited North Korea last August said they found a peculiar phrase about Ukraine in the Myohyangsan guestbook . Reporter Park Jae-woo reports .

 

According to Russian media outlet MR7, members of the Juche Idea Russian Institute visited North Korea in August at the invitation of the North Korean government .

 

They shared a photo of themselves visiting Pohyonsa Temple in Myohyangsan Mountain, North Korea, and something unusual stands out.

 

The guestbook contained a message written in Russian and Korean: “ Kill all Ukrainians , glory to Russia . ”

 

According to MR7, the phrase is an unofficial slogan from the Wagner Group, a Russian private military company playing a role in the Ukrainian war .

 

Lawyer Alexei Kalugin, who went on the tour, explained to Radio Free Asia (RFA) on the 19th that the text was not written by the members who went with them this time, but was already written when they arrived .

 

RFA Radio Free Asia has not independently verified the authenticity of the statement .

 

North Korea has been accepting tourists, limited to Russian nationals, since February .

 

First North Korean Human Rights Event in Germany Cancelled Due to Hacking… North Korea’s Action?

FBI Warns: “North Korean Hackers Could Attack Cryptocurrency ETFs”

 

It appears that this incident occurred during a trip to North Korea by various Russians .

 

North Korea officially supports the war in Ukraine and is providing weapons such as ammunition and missiles, which is making relations between the two countries closer .

 

According to the government of Primorsky Krai, about 1,000 Russian tourists visited North Korea from February to August .

 

It also forecasted that the number of Russian tourists traveling to North Korea next year would increase to 10,000 .

 

There is also the possibility of opening a direct flight between Moscow and Pyongyang to accommodate Russian tourists traveling to North Korea.

 

The Russian news agency TASS reported on the 11th that Nikita Kondrachev, director of the Department for Multilateral Economic Cooperation at the Russian Ministry of Economic Development, mentioned the possibility of opening a direct flight route between Moscow and Pyongyang, North Korea, at the Eastern Economic Forum held recently in Vladivostok .

 

Meanwhile, on the 16th of last month , travel agency 'Koryo Tour' announced that it had consulted with North Korean officials and would resume foreign tours to North Korea in December for the first time in four years .

 

Editor Park Jeong-woo,  Web Editor Kim Sang-il





16. US sanctions five Russian entities for facilitating illicit transactions to DPRK


Necessary actions.


US sanctions five Russian entities for facilitating illicit transactions to DPRK

Treasury also designated one individual in sanctions targeting North Korea’s WMD program and Moscow’s war in Ukraine

https://www.nknews.org/2024/09/us-sanctions-five-russian-entities-for-facilitating-illicit-transactions-to-dprk/

Anton Sokolin September 20, 2024


North Korean currency | Image: Forextime.com/Flickr (June 18, 2019) (CC BY 2.0)


The U.S. has slapped sanctions on five entities linked to Russia and one individual for facilitating illicit transactions between Moscow and Pyongyang in a bid to thwart their financial cooperation.

The new sanctions target networks that fund North Korea’s weapons of mass destruction and missile programs, which also support Russia’s war in Ukraine, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said in a statement Thursday.

“Russia has become increasingly dependent on the DPRK for weapons procurement and economic cooperation,” OFAC stated, pointing to Moscow’s “mounting losses on the battlefield and deepening international isolation.”

The designations “demonstrate the Putin regime’s use of illicit financial schemes to enable the DPRK to access the international banking system” in violation of U.N. Security Council Resolutions 1718 and 2270.

The sanctions targeted:

  • MRB Bank, or International Settlements Bank, located in Georgia’s separatist region of South Ossetia
  • TSMRBank (CMRBank), a U.S. and EU-designated bank located in Moscow which has partnered with MRB
  • Russian Financial Corporation Bank (RFC), a bank previously sanctioned by the U.S.
  • Stroytreyd LLC, a Moscow-based construction company
  • Timer Bank, a Moscow-based financial institution
  • Dmitry Nikulin, the vice president of TSMRBank

With this action, OFAC targeted “illicit financial schemes” run by North Korea’s Foreign Trade Bank (FTB) and Korea Kwangson Banking Corporation (KKBC), the statement said. 

The U.S. sanctioned FTB in 2013 for facilitating transactions tied to North Korea’s weapons programs and again in 2017 for its links to the DPRK government. KKBC was designated in 2009 for providing financial services to those involved in North Korean arms proliferation.

BANKROLLING SCHEMES

The five entities and individual were part of two separate schemes that involved moving millions of dollars between the Russian financial system and North Korea’s FTB and KKBC, the Treasury found.

In one notable scheme orchestrated by the Central Bank of Russia, the South Ossetia-based MRB acted as a “cut-out” for CMRBank to “establish a secret banking relationship with the FTB.”

Nikulin allegedly played a key role in the deal by helping to transfer cash deposits from FTB through TSMRBank to MRB. He also arranged for FTB and KKBC to open accounts at MRB and coordinated with North Korean officials to deliver millions of dollars and rubles to their accounts there, OFAC said.

An NK Pro investigation had previously identified TSMRBank and MRB as likely participants in a covert financial scheme used by DPRK operatives to channel assets in and out of the country via South Ossetia, a gray zone controlled by Russia.

“At least some of the DPRK accounts at MRB were used to pay for fuel exports from Russia to the DPRK,” the U.S. Treasury concluded.

The other case centered around the activities of the RFC, which colluded with North Korea’s FTB to set up the Stroytreyd company in Moscow to recover frozen North Korean assets held in defunct Russian banks.

“As a part of this effort to repatriate frozen assets to the DPRK, RFC-owned Timer Bank transferred funds worth millions of dollars to Stroytreyd that were for the ultimate benefit of FTB,” OFAC wrote.

The Treasury also found that DPRK officials worked closely with the RFC to foster high-level economic exchanges between Moscow and Pyongyang and ramp up their financial collaboration.

Additionally, OFAC concluded that the North’s FTB has conspired with the RFC to open accounts for other North Korean banks, including the Agricultural Development Bank, which was sanctioned by the U.S. in 2017.

Chris Monday, a Russia researcher at Dongseo University, told NK News that Russia exercises “de facto control over many renegade regions” like South Ossetia, Crimea or Abkhazia, “where it can establish ‘banks’ that operate with little international oversight.”

He noted that many of these areas, including in the Caucasus region where Russia has strong influence, tend to “turn a blind eye” to Moscow’s gray-zone activities.

“North Korea, Russia (and increasingly China) don’t recognize the legitimacy of Western law,” he said. “Little can be done.”

The expert suggested that Western sanctions against such banks and financial institutions will likely have little success in diminishing economic and military ties between Russia and North Korea.

“Both regimes have decades of experience in avoiding international oversight,” Monday said.

The new U.S. sanctions came the same day as members of the European Parliament passed a resolution urging a lift to restrictions that prevent Ukraine from using Western weapons to strike “legitimate military targets on Russian territory.”

The lawmakers also condemned Iran’s transfers of ballistic missiles to Russia and called for stronger sanctions to be imposed on Tehran and Pyongyang for their role in supporting Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

Similarly, they emphasized China’s alleged role in aiding Russia’s military capabilities, stating the need to expand EU sanctions against a wider range of Chinese individuals and entities.

Meanwhile, Kyiv maintains that North Korea remains the main supplier of arms to Russia, posing the “worst problem” Ukraine currently faces. 

Edited by Alannah Hill


17. Ex-President Moon accuses Yoon gov't of creating 'most dangerous' state since Korean War


Is he 8.15 Unification Doctrine exposing those who would prefer to support the Kim family regime?


But does Kim Jong Un not bear any responsibility for the conditions and tension? He has been given every opportunity to engage


Ex-President Moon accuses Yoon gov't of creating 'most dangerous' state since Korean War

The Korea Times · September 20, 2024

Former President Moon Jae-in speaks during a conference in Yeongam, South Jeolla Province, Sept. 20. Yonhap

Former President Moon Jae-in lambasted the North Korea policies of the Yoon Suk Yeol administration on Friday, saying they have led to the "most dangerous" state on the Korean Peninsula since the 1950-53 Korean War.

Moon, a liberal whose North Korea policies centered on bringing lasting peace through diplomacy, attacked the policies of his conservative successor at a conference held in the southwestern county of Yeongam to mark the sixth anniversary of the Pyongyang Joint Declaration he signed with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

"(The Yoon government) is calling only for 'peace by strength' and abandoning dialogue, effectively stating its intention to unify by absorption and making the situation worse," Moon said. "It has turned into nothing the efforts of past administrations to build trust and have dialogue with North Korea, which they did by repeatedly stating their intention not to seek unification by absorption."

Moon recalled that as part of the Pyongyang Joint Declaration, the two Koreas had agreed to a series of military tension reduction steps, but the Yoon administration suspended the measures in June in response to the North's provocations.

"The Korean Peninsula is in a dangerous state where a military clash could happen at any time," he said. "Right now, the Korean Peninsula is in the most dangerous state since the Korean War."

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have run high in recent months as North Korea has sent trash-carrying balloons across the border while continuing to test ballistic missiles and disclosing a uranium enrichment facility earlier this month.

Moon expressed concern about what he described as an "intensifying Cold War structure" around the Korean Peninsula, saying South Korea should not reinforce it but instead pursue "balanced diplomacy" and even serve as a "mediator for peace."

He also argued that inter-Korean dialogue should precede any dialogue between the United States and the North, with Seoul playing an active role in efforts to denuclearize the North.

"There's a possibility that a resumption of U.S.-North Korea talks will be sought under a new administration following the U.S. presidential election," he said. "When that happens, we should not be excluded like before."

During Moon's time in office, then U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un held three summit meetings to try to reach a deal on dismantling the North's nuclear weapons program but failed to produce concrete results.

Moon urged the North to return to dialogue.

"It is reckless and dangerous to again cling to nuclear weapons and return to the past while pushing confrontation," he said. "(North Korea) must return to dialogue at an early date."

Moon also criticized Kim's stipulation of inter-Korean relations as those between two hostile states, saying it is "anti-national" and "runs counter to the people's wishes for peace and unification." (Yonhap)

The Korea Times · September 20, 2024


18. PPP slams ex-chief of staff for remarks against unification, cozying up to NK leader


There should be no doubt where Im Jong-seok's loyalty lies. And it is not in Seoul.




PPP slams ex-chief of staff for remarks against unification, cozying up to NK leader

The Korea Times · September 20, 2024

Choo Kyung-ho, floor leader of the ruling People Power Party, speaks during a meeting at the National Assembly in Seoul, Sept. 20. Yonhap

The ruling People Power Party (PPP) on Friday criticized a former chief of staff to preceding President Moon Jae-in over his remark seen as aligning with leader Kim Jong-un's latest characterization of the Koreas as two hostile countries.

During a ceremony on Thursday, Im Jong-seok suggested that the two Koreas put aside "unrealistic" talks on unification and live as separate nations, and proposed removing the territorial clause in South Korea's Constitution, in an abrupt departure from his longstanding calls for unification.

Considered a strong advocate of inter-Korean reconciliation, Im previously said he would focus on working for the reunification of the Koreas as he retired from politics in 2019.

Speaking to reporters at the National Assembly, PPP floor leader Choo Kyung-ho called it a "bizarre phenomenon" for Im to "advocate for reunification when it is needed" and to retract his assertion as soon as "North Korea claims it is not needed."

"Im's sudden shift in position can only be explained in line with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's recent rejection of reunification," Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon wrote on his Facebook page.

In late 2023, Kim described the two Koreas as "two hostile countries in a state of war" and said he will no longer consider South Korea a counterpart for unification.

PPP Rep. Kim Yong-tae also criticized Im for defying the identity of South Korea and aligning with the North, slamming his remarks as "anti-constitutional and hypocritical." (Yonhap)

The Korea Times · September 20, 2024



​19. ROK-U.S. alliance needs public diplomacy, information campaign aimed at North Korea


Voices Sept. 19, 2024 / 10:39 AM

ROK-U.S. alliance needs public diplomacy, information campaign aimed at North Korea

By David Maxwell

upi.com


Messages of peace written by visitors hang from a tree in the exhibition center of Aegibong Peace Ecopark in Gimpo, South Korea. File Photo by Thomas Maresca/UPI | License Photo

Sept. 19 (UPI) -- The situation on the Korean Peninsula is one of the most enduring geopolitical challenges, and the pursuit of a free and unified Korea represents both a moral imperative and a strategic necessity. A public diplomacy and information campaign aimed at North Korea must be comprehensive, strategic, and anchored in the shared values of freedom, human rights, and self-determination. This essay outlines key strategies to achieve the goal of a free and unified Korea with a focus on human rights, information dissemination, and creating conditions for unification.

A free and unified Korea, the United Republic of Korea (UROK), represents the only viable path to ending North Korea's nuclear threat and human rights abuses, and achieving long-term peace and prosperity in Northeast Asia. The pursuit of this goal demands a strategic and holistic public diplomacy and information campaign to counter the propaganda of Kim Jong Un's regime and to empower the Korean people in the North with the knowledge, tools, and hope necessary for change. This campaign must emphasize human rights, self-determination, and the unique opportunity for Koreans to take control of their future.

The necessity of unification

The division of the Korean Peninsula is unnatural and perpetuates a system of human rights abuses under the Kim regime. As stated in the UN General Assembly Resolution 811, the objective remains a unified, independent, and democratic Korea under a representative form of government. Unification offers the solution to three critical issues: the nuclear threat posed by North Korea and its systematic human rights violations, and the need for a stable and prosperous region. By pursuing unification, we aim for a Korea that is secure, stable, non-nuclear, and economically vibrant.

The Kim regime's information warfare

The Kim regime's primary tool for maintaining control is information warfare (IW). Through the Propaganda and Agitation Department (PAD) and other covert means, North Korea seeks to subvert the Republic of Korea (ROK), split the ROK-U.S. alliance, and create external threats to justify the suffering and sacrifice of the North Korean people. Kim Jong Un's regime has gone to great lengths to prevent the flow of outside information, knowing that an informed population poses an existential threat to his rule. The North's information warfare is part of a larger strategy of political warfare designed to dominate the Korean Peninsula.

Shifting the alliance's focus

The ROK-U.S. alliance must prioritize solving the "Korea question," which is the unnatural division of the Korean peninsula (Para. 60 of the1953 Armistice) over denuclearization alone. A shift from a denuclearization-first approach to one focused on unification is imperative. This means recognizing that achieving denuclearization and ending human rights abuses is only possible through unification. To that end, the alliance must conduct a superior political warfare strategy, consisting of three lines of effort: a human rights upfront approach, a sophisticated information campaign, and the pursuit of a free and unified Korea.

A human rights up front approach

Human rights must be at the forefront of this campaign. It is not only a moral imperative but also a national security issue. The Kim regime denies the basic human rights of the North Korean people to maintain power. The campaign should emphasize that the Korean people in the North suffer because of the regime's deliberate decision to prioritize nuclear weapons over their welfare. Article 21 of the UN Declaration of Universal Human Rights, which states that everyone has the right to participate in their government, should be a central theme in our messaging.

Empowering the Korean people with information

One of the key weaknesses of the Kim regime is its reliance on controlling information. The regime invests heavily in propaganda and censorship to keep the North Korean people isolated from the outside world and ignorant of their basic human rights. The Korean people in the North live in a state of extreme oppression, denied access to external information, freedom of speech, and freedom of movement. This control is so pervasive that North Koreans often lack even the basic frame of reference to understand resistance or what life outside the regime's control might look like.

However, despite this, North Koreans have demonstrated immense resilience in the face of hardship. The key challenge is that while North Koreans are resilient, they have limited capability for resistance. This paradox highlights the importance of information as a tool of empowerment. By providing the North Korean people with unfiltered information about the outside world -- particularly about life in South Korea, where freedom, democracy, and human rights are guaranteed -- they can begin to see an alternative future. The "10-Point Promise" outlined at the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea serves as an important tool in this regard, offering the North Korean people a vision of a better future without the Kim regime.

In accordance with the new 8.15 Unification Doctrine and its "3-3-7 framework" of three unification visions, three strategies, and seven action plans, the ROK government must focus on information among the Korean people in the South. Specifically, the government and Korean civil society must stress cultivating values and capabilities within South Korea to drive unification and the development of action programs to educate and inspire future generations about unification.

A sophisticated information campaign, therefore, must prioritize the dissemination of practical and truthful information into North Korea. This campaign could include broadcasting content from sources such as Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA), which already play an important role in penetrating the regime's information blockade. By amplifying these efforts, North Koreans can be exposed to knowledge about their rights, the opportunities that exist in a unified Korea, and the ways in which they can organize for change. This would not only serve as a source of hope but also a catalyst for mobilizing action from within the country.

A key target audience must be the north Korean People's Army (nKPA). The ROK and U.S. military psychological operations forces need to create a campaign targeting the nKPA with two objectives: first to prevent an attack of the South; the second to disobey orders directing the suppression of any collective action by the Korean people. The nKPA must decide not to put down any resistance to the Kim family regime.

Information is the connective tissue between human rights and unification. A comprehensive information campaign must focus on three target audiences: the regime elite, the second-tier leadership, and the general population in the North. This campaign should be based on the five principles of information:

Massive quantities of information, from news to entertainment.

Practical information to encourage market activity and collective action.

Facts and the truth about North Korea and the outside world.

Understanding universal human rights.

Voices from North Korean escapees to tell their stories of success.

This information campaign should aim to expose the Kim regime's strategies and failures, highlighting the immense cost of their nuclear and missile activities on the Korean people.

Creating internal pressure for change

The goal of the information campaign should be to support the Korean people in the North to create the conditions for meaningful change. North Korea's internal stability is fragile, particularly given the regime's policy failures and the growing dissatisfaction among the elite and the military. By amplifying this internal pressure through information dissemination, the United States and South Korea can help create an environment in which change becomes inevitable.

One of the most powerful tools in this regard is the concept of a free and unified Korea. The United States and South Korea have consistently expressed their support for a unified Korean Peninsula based on freedom, democracy, and human rights. This vision stands in stark contrast to the Kim family regime's objective of domination. By emphasizing the benefits of unification -- such as economic development, individual freedoms, and an end to the regime's human rights abuses -- the information campaign can inspire hope among the North Korean people and drive them to demand change.

Furthermore, the campaign must not only focus on human rights abuses but also provide practical knowledge to the North Korean people on how to organize and resist the regime. This could include information on non-violent resistance, methods for evading surveillance, and strategies for communicating securely with one another. By empowering the people with both the knowledge of their rights and the tools to fight for them, the campaign can help facilitate the conditions for regime transition.

Conclusion

A sophisticated and holistic information campaign is essential for supporting the Korean people in North Korea in their pursuit of freedom and unification. By providing them with access to information, undermining the legitimacy of the Kim regime, and creating internal pressures for change, the United States and South Korea can play a critical role in shaping the future of the Korean Peninsula. The time is ripe for a new strategy, and the power of information must be at the forefront of efforts to achieve a free and unified Korea, a United Republic of Korea (UROK).

David Maxwell is a retired U.S. Army Special Forces Colonel who has spent more than 30 years in the Asia Pacific region (primarily Korea, Japan, and the Philippines) as a practitioner, specializing in Northeast Asian Security Affairs and irregular, unconventional, and political warfare. He is the Vice President of the Center for Asia Pacific Strategy and a Senior Fellow at the Global Peace Foundation, where he focuses on a free and unified Korea. Following retirement, he was the Associate Director of the Security Studies Program at Georgetown University. He is a member of the board of directors of the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea and the OSS Society and is a contributing editor to Small Wars Journal. The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.




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


De Oppresso Liber,
David Maxwell
Vice President, Center for Asia Pacific Strategy
Senior Fellow, Global Peace Foundation
Editor, Small Wars Journal
Twitter: @davidmaxwell161


If you do not read anything else in the 2017 National Security Strategy read this on page 14:

"A democracy is only as resilient as its people. An informed and engaged citizenry is the fundamental requirement for a free and resilient nation. For generations, our society has protected free press, free speech, and free thought. Today, actors such as Russia are using information tools in an attempt to undermine the legitimacy of democracies. Adversaries target media, political processes, financial networks, and personal data. The American public and private sectors must recognize this and work together to defend our way of life. No external threat can be allowed to shake our shared commitment to our values, undermine our system of government, or divide our Nation."
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