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Quotes of the Day:
“The greatness of a man is not how much wealthy acquires, but in his integrity and ability to affect those around him positively.”
- Bob Marley
"Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish."
- John Quincy Adams
"The wisest mind hath something yet to learn."
- George Santayana
1. In letter to Xi, N. Korean leader highlights close bilateral ties with Beijing
2. Russian FM to visit Pyongyang next month as follow-up to Kim-Putin summit
3. Presidential office to discuss with China on Xi's possible visit to S. Korea
4. Seoul to restrict traffic during biggest-ever military parade
5. It Won’t Be Easy for Russia or North Korea To Fulfill Their Bargain
6. Russia's desperate need for weapons in Ukraine could be a big win for the North Korean military
7. North Korean opera stars are giving concerts to encourage farmers to finish this year’s harvest
8. North Korea is slave state
9. Brexit Britain will boom if it learns five crucial lessons from South Korea
10. Activist launches anti-regime leaflets toward North Korea to mark Freedom Week
1. In letter to Xi, N. Korean leader highlights close bilateral ties with Beijing
The trilateral transaction axis of authoritarians and threesome of convenience will be defined by Kim playing Xi and Putin off each other. That is in the Kim family DNA going back to Kim Il Sung. This will never effectively compete with the JAROKUS (Japan-ROK-US) security arrangement even if the members of the axis of authoritarians are jealous of it and trying to imitate it. We might want to consider using this theme in our information campaign.
In letter to Xi, N. Korean leader highlights close bilateral ties with Beijing | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Yi Wonju · September 24, 2023
SEOUL, Sept. 24 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has sent a letter to Chinese President Xi Jinping, reaffirming his commitment to advancing "close cooperation" with Beijing in line with the "requirements of the new era," state media reported Sunday.
Kim made the remarks in a reply message on Thursday to Xi's earlier letter congratulating North Korea on its 75th founding anniversary, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
Kim also "expressed the belief that the two parties and two countries would closely promote their solidarity and cooperation and that the DPRK-China friendly and cooperative relations would steadily develop in conformity with the requirements of the new era."
DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the North's official name.
China is widely believed to have significant leverage over its impoverished communist neighbor, which has long been dependent on Chinese diplomatic support and economic aid.
This undated image, captured from footage of Yonhap News TV, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (L) and Chinese President Xi Jinping. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
julesyi@yna.co.kr
(END)
2. Russian FM to visit Pyongyang next month as follow-up to Kim-Putin summit
Will he be carrying the check and hoping to return with the ammunition and military equipment?
Russian FM to visit Pyongyang next month as follow-up to Kim-Putin summit | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Yi Wonju · September 24, 2023
NEW YORK, Sept. 23 (Yonhap) -- Russia's top diplomat said Saturday he will visit North Korea next month as part of follow-up measures to the rare summit between their leaders earlier this month.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov made the remarks during a press conference at the U.N. headquarters in New York, saying that the upcoming visit follows the agreement between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Kim and Putin held the summit at a Russian spaceport on Sept. 13, raising speculation North Korea may have reached a deal to supply ammunition for Russia's war in Ukraine in exchange for food aid and the transfer of weapons technology.
Observers say Putin's visit to North Korea could be discussed during Lavrov's trip, as the Russian leader earlier accepted Kim's invitation extended to him at the summit.
This March 25, 2021, file photo shows Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov speaking during a joint news conference after his talks with his South Korean counterpart, Chung Eui-yong, at the foreign ministry in Seoul on the final day of his three-day trip to South Korea. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by Yi Wonju · September 24, 2023
3. Presidential office to discuss with China on Xi's possible visit to S. Korea
What message will be sent if Xi visits the ROK but does not go to Pyongyang?
Presidential office to discuss with China on Xi's possible visit to S. Korea | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Woo Jae-yeon · September 24, 2023
SEOUL, Sept. 24 (Yonhap) -- The office of President Yoon Suk Yeol will set out to arrange a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to South Korea, a senior government official said Sunday.
"As President Xi brought up a visit first to Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, we will start discussing the matter with China in earnest through diplomatic channels," the official told Yonhap News Agency on condition of anonymity.
Chinese President Xi said Saturday he will seriously consider a visit to Seoul during his meeting with Prime Minister Han on the sidelines of the Asian Games, which is currently taking place in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou.
Appearing on a local news program Sunday, National Security Adviser Cho Tae-yong also said the presidential office will help arrange a visit through diplomatic channels, as Xi "mentioned the need to visit South Korea multiple times."
"A visit (by Xi) will mark an important turning point for South Korea-China relations," which Cho said is one of the Yoon government's diplomatic goals.
Cho cautiously predicted a visit is unlikely to happen this year and said the government will take its time to make that happen.
In this file photo, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol (L) poses for a photo with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, during their bilateral talks at a hotel in Bali, Indonesia, on Nov. 15, 2022, on the sidelines of a Group of 20 summit. (Yonhap)
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by Woo Jae-yeon · September 24, 2023
4. Seoul to restrict traffic during biggest-ever military parade
I guess it is a good thing I will be in Pyeongtaek on Wednesday.
Sunday
September 24, 2023
dictionary + A - A
Published: 24 Sep. 2023, 18:15
Updated: 24 Sep. 2023, 19:37
Seoul to restrict traffic during biggest-ever military parade
https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2023-09-24/national/socialAffairs/Seoul-to-restrict-traffic-during-biggestever-military-parade/1877007
Military helicopters flying over downtown Seoul on Friday during a practice for the upcoming parade on Tuesday. The Korean military is holding a parade for the first time since 2013. [YONHAP]
Seoul's city government and the police will be restricting traffic in downtown Seoul on Wednesday for a military parade to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Korean armed forces.
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All roads entering the Namdaemun and Gyeongbok Palace areas will be closed off, mostly from 2 p.m.
While traffic will resume on some roads as early as 4:40 p.m. some will be closed until the following morning.
The police will also restrict traffic between 1:30 p.m. and 3:23 p.m. along the two ingress routes troops will take from Segok-dong in southern Seoul to the parade venue in the downtown area.
Traffic controls along the two routes will be lifted 40 minutes after the units pass.
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The infantry units attending the parade will move from Segok-dong and head along the Han River on the Gangbyeong Expressway before entering downtown.
Mechanized units with armored vehicles will move along the southern outskirts of Seoul before turning toward Bangbae and Dongjak, after which they will cross the Hangang Bridge and head for Namdaemun.
The infantry will be in transit between 1:40 p.m. and 2:50 p.m., while the mechanized units will be in transit between 1:30 p.m. and 3:23 p.m.
The military parade through downtown Seoul will begin at 4 p.m.
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It's the first such parade in the downtown area in 10 years, the previous one talking place in 2013.
Although central Seoul had hosted military parades every five years from 1998, the liberal Moon Jae-in administration downsized the 2018 event to an air show in a bid to improve relations with North Korea.
According to the South Korean military, this year’s parade will be the biggest ever.
The public will get its first look at several new weapon systems, including the Long-range Surface-to-Air Missile (L-SAM), which was developed to intercept North Korean ballistic missiles.
Some 6,7000 servicemen will participate in this year's military celebration, showcasing 340 pieces of kit including the K9 Thunder self-propelled howitzer, K2 Black Panther main battle tank and unmanned submersibles.
Aerial drones will also be on display during the parade. This is the first time the drone operation command will be participating in the parade since its establishment earlier this month.
Some 300 soldiers from the Eight U.S. Army will march alongside the Korean military to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the military alliance between South Korea and the United States. It's the first time U.S. troops have taken part in the parade.
The granddaughters of Mark Wayne Clark, the UN Command’s commander-in-chief who signed the armistice that ended the fighting of the 1950-1953 Korean War, were invited to this year's parade.
Korea's Armed Forces Day is Oct. 1.
BY LEE HO-JEONG [lee.hojeong@joongang.co.kr]
5. It Won’t Be Easy for Russia or North Korea To Fulfill Their Bargain
Conclusion:
Putin and Kim have discussed what each can offer the other. It won’t take long, however, for China to tire of the Russians intruding into a country in which Russia, right now, has little real interest. For Putin, all that counts is North Korea’s potential as a source of weapons for a war in which Kim has no stake aside from whatever he can extort from Russia.
It Won’t Be Easy for Russia or North Korea To Fulfill Their Bargain
Published 09/24/23 08:30 AM ET
Donald Kirk
themessenger.com · September 24, 2023
Kim Jong Un’s “magical mystery tour” through the Russian far east may have added a frightening dimension to the standoff between alliances in Northeast Asia. Russia appears poised to shower North Korea with fighter planes, warships and the technology to put satellites into orbit while North Korean factories, hidden around the country, pump out millions of artillery shells for beleaguered Russian forces in Ukraine.
Neither the Russians nor the North Koreans, however, will find it all that easy to live up to whatever bargain they may have made. The fact that Russian President Vladimir Putin has had to rely on a private army, the Wagner Group, is one sign of weakness. What strong government hires a rather large security force competing, and at times conflicting with, its own regular army?
It’s just as telling that Russian industry cannot produce all the arms and ammunition needed to fight what is still an isolated war in a confined area. Just think of the strength of the old Soviet army when it defeated the Germans in 1943-45 after they had surrounded Leningrad, driven to the edge of Moscow and taken over Stalingrad in the darkest days of World War II.
The Russians suffered by far the worst casualties of any of the warring armies. After the war, however, they were strong enough to maintain their grip on satellite nations from eastern Europe to central Asia for another 40 or so years.
It was to recapture those glory days that Putin foolishly decided to try to conquer Ukraine after having seized Crimea and much of the southeastern Donbas region, and bitten off bits of Georgia and Moldova. He wanted it all — as did Joseph Stalin when he tyrannized Ukraine into submission in the 1930s, starving the wheat-rich country by claiming harvests for Mother Russia.
Now, the question is whether the Russians can afford to build planes and much else for North Korea when they have to pump out ever more tanks and cannons and much else to replace their losses in a futile war. Sure, they can ship supplies by train or truck to North Korea across the 20-kilometer-long Tumen River border, and by sea without leaving territorial waters, but how much can they give while suffering shortages at home?
To meet Russian requirements as the war in Ukraine grinds on, Russian forces need about 10 million shells a year. Russian factories can make maybe 2 million shells. Can North Korea churn out that many? Not likely. Putin’s newfound love for North Korea has little to do with North Korea’s welfare. He is going to lose patience when the North Koreans stop shipping all the shells he wants and aren’t able to provide other basic weapons either.
Yet another issue to consider is the historic rivalry between Russia and China. We keep hearing they are allies — two huge neighbors under dictatorial presidents, in common cause against American-led alliances in Europe and Asia.
Chinese President Xi Jinping cannot be totally thrilled, however, by the notion of Russia taking over as North Korea’s best friend. Remember the Sino-Soviet split of the Cold War when it turned out Mao Zedong and Stalin were not on such good terms after all?
And remember also that a Chinese, not a Russian, general joined in signing the armistice in Panmunjom that ended the Korean War in 1953. The Russians were nowhere in sight at the signing, despite having nurtured Kim Il Sung as a Soviet army officer and installed him as the North’s top leader after the division of the Korean peninsula in 1945.
Once Mao had led his Red Army to victory over all of China in 1949, his “volunteers” saved the North from annihilation in the Korean War. The Soviet Union provided heavy equipment and air support and exported supplies to North Korea until the fall of Communist rule 32 years ago, after which they refused to accept worthless North Korean currency in payment. China has exerted by far the dominant influence.
Putin and Kim have discussed what each can offer the other. It won’t take long, however, for China to tire of the Russians intruding into a country in which Russia, right now, has little real interest. For Putin, all that counts is North Korea’s potential as a source of weapons for a war in which Kim has no stake aside from whatever he can extort from Russia.
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 · September 24, 2023
6. Russia's desperate need for weapons in Ukraine could be a big win for the North Korean military
Excerpts:
It's still not crystal clear what Russia might provide or how much effort it'll take to give North Korea what it wants. But Putin's willingness to work with North Korea speaks volumes about the Hermit Kingdom's increasingly prominent role as a political ally and indicates the decision to military cooperate with North Korea serves national interests that outweigh the negatives of sanctions, international community responses, or increased global isolation.
"I believe Kim will get everything he wants: money, technology, food and fuel," In-bum said, adding that he could get it directly from the Russians, if not through the usual nefarious channels like stealing and bribery. But again, there is more to it.
"Kim probably views it as the beginning of a relationship that he wants to develop," Bermudez said, adding that potential "real improvements" out of the two's relationship could include training exercises with Russian naval and air forces, and ultimately, would set Russia and North Korea as an aligned ideological opponent to the West.
"For both Kim and Putin this recent visit and possible future cooperation is a prestige builder," he said, but it remains to be seen how that evolves.
Russia's desperate need for weapons in Ukraine could be a big win for the North Korean military
Business Insider · by Chris Panella
Russia's President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un during their meeting at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the Amur region on September 13, 2023.MIKHAIL METZEL/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
- Russia is seeking weapons and ammunition from North Korea to continue its war in Ukraine.
- In return, Kim Jong Un could receive food and advanced technologies for satellites and nuclear submarines.
- The partnership could be big for North Korea, and experts told Insider both sides would benefit while standing against the West.
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Russia's desperation and pariah status are growing and forcing President Vladimir Putin to turn to North Korea to fuel his war in Ukraine. Both sides stand to gain, but a partnership could be a big win for North Korea.
Last week, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited the Amur region of Russia for a summit with Putin. Western officials previously warned that the two nations had been negotiating an arms deal of sorts that could replenish dwindling Russian ammunition stockpiles.
One Western official told the BBC that Russian forces fired between 10 million and 11 million artillery shells in 2022 after the initial full-scale invasion in February, and while Moscow could up its domestic production to around 2 million shells annually, that's not enough to satisfy Russia's insatiable shell hunger. That is where North Korea could come in: providing rockets and shells.
"The ammunition will be a morale booster that will increase the combat capability of the soldiers. This will contribute to a longer war and increase Russia's chances," retired South Korean Army Lieutenant general Chun In-bum told Insider.
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In return for its munitions, which it has in abundance, North Korea could receive advanced technology it doesn't have yet — satellite support, which Putin confirmed he'd be providing, according to Russian state media, as well as capabilities for nuclear-powered submarines.
North Korea could also receive petroleum products and food, which, according to a United Nations Security Council meeting this past August, North Korea desperately needs as its people starve. Part of the country's inability to feed its population comes from its "Military First" policy, Elizabeth Salmón, the UN special investigator on human rights in North Korea, said during the summit, as Kim prioritizes the country's defense budget.
Thus, an alliance would surely be mutually beneficial in the short and long term. But it also signals something bigger between the two.
"There is a reason why North Korea has been open and consistent with its public support – both political and material – to Russia's war efforts," said Jenny Town, director of 38 North, an analysis publication of The Henry L. Stimson Center, "as they stand to gain from that relationship in a multitude of ways that are low political risk to Kim Jong Un and high reward."
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North Korea leader Kim Jong Un observes artillery fire competition in North Korea.KCNA/REUTERS
When Kim left his so-called "Hermit Kingdom" last week, it was clear something was shifting. The trip was the dictator's first known international departure in more than four years, the last also being to Russia in 2019 for a meeting regarding North Korea's nuclear program. A Putin-Kim partnership specifically involving arms and ammo for Russian soldiers in Ukraine has been in the work for months at least, though, as Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu visited the DPRK in late July to, according to a top White House official, ask for support.
"We remain concerned that the DPRK continues to contemplate providing military support to Russia's military operations against Ukraine," White House National Security Council Spokesperson John Kirby said at the time, referring to North Korea by its official name, Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
If North Korea were to strike a deal, it's certainly got the stockpile to do so — nominally assessed at the unclassified level as being enough for three to six months of war, according to Joseph S. Bermudez Jr., a Senior Fellow for Imagery Analysis at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and a North Korean defense and intelligence affairs expert.
Pyongyang could offer enough to provide a stopgap for Russia, and considering North Korea's extensive industrial infrastructure for weapons systems, more could be on the way. "The challenge is that it doesn't operate at full capacity typically," Bermudez said, adding that North Korea is "operating at a maintenance level as opposed to a wartime level" and it'll take them time to ramp up production if they're to provide Russia with ongoing support.
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And while their means of production are older and manufacturing is a relatively slower process, it doesn't necessarily mean they produce inferior munitions — but there has been "some quality control issues" with ammunition sent overseas by North Korea, Bermudez said.
A 2010 North Korean artillery strike on Yeonpyeong Island, for instance, saw an estimated 20 of 80 rounds fail to detonate. "This high failure rate suggests that some DPRK-manufactured artillery munitions — especially MRL [Multiple Rocket Launcher] rounds — suffer from either poor quality control during manufacture or that storage conditions and standards are poor," a 38 North 2011 report said.
Some other experts and analysts suggested in the days leading up to the Putin-Kim summit that North Korean munitions were outdated and unreliable. It's unclear what specific munition Russia would be seeking and what the condition of said ammo would be in, but it frankly might not matter if Moscow is desperate enough.
"North Korean arms, especially if provided beyond just stockpiles but including new production, could help prolong Russia's warfighting efforts. Although North Korean production efforts would likely need additional resources of raw materials and/or energy to be increase output in substantial quantities," Town told Insider.
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But while "North Korean artillery and munitions are useful" for Russia, "this whole relationship is signaling a shift in how Russia values military cooperation with North Korea – both for war efforts, but in a broader war against the West," she added.
North Korean soldiers attend a mass rally in Kim Il-Sung Square in Pyongyang on December 1, 2017, to celebrate the country's declaration that it had achieved full nuclear statehood.KIM WON-JIN/AFP via Getty Images
That "broader war against the West" may include giving North Korea what it's currently lacking.
Officials speculated to The New York Times the wish list included advanced technology for satellites and nuclear-powered submarines. The latter would be especially timely given North Korea unveiled a "tactical nuclear attack submarine" days before the Putin-Kim meeting which appeared to be a heavily refurbished Cold War-era Romeo-class vessel that an naval expert called "kind of shoddy."
According to Bermudez, food and petroleum products are likely the top requests, but technology and resources, such as "scientists, technicians, engineers to improve what North Korea is doing" are up there as well. As for satellites, North Korea maintains the ability to produce its own satellite launch vehicles, but they may need help ironing out stage separation and reliability details.
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Its air force, too, could use some upgrades, as it currently operates antique aircraft like the MiG-21 and MiG-23. That puts it at a major disadvantage to regional foes, like South Korea, Japan, and the US forces in each of these countries, all of which have fifth-generation fighters.
But Russia's assistance in these areas might look a little more like teaching North Korea to support itself rather than a direct technology transfer. Nuclear-powered submarines would require Russian technicians and updated capabilities, as the jump from diesel-electric to nuclear power isn't an easy one, but North Korea has been producing submarines for decades and, numerically, has one of the largest naval fleets in the world, though it is mostly made of small coastal vessels.
"What they really need though," Bermudez told Insider, "is quieting technology" to make noisier subs, like that Romeo rework, stealthier.
It's still not crystal clear what Russia might provide or how much effort it'll take to give North Korea what it wants. But Putin's willingness to work with North Korea speaks volumes about the Hermit Kingdom's increasingly prominent role as a political ally and indicates the decision to military cooperate with North Korea serves national interests that outweigh the negatives of sanctions, international community responses, or increased global isolation.
"I believe Kim will get everything he wants: money, technology, food and fuel," In-bum said, adding that he could get it directly from the Russians, if not through the usual nefarious channels like stealing and bribery. But again, there is more to it.
"Kim probably views it as the beginning of a relationship that he wants to develop," Bermudez said, adding that potential "real improvements" out of the two's relationship could include training exercises with Russian naval and air forces, and ultimately, would set Russia and North Korea as an aligned ideological opponent to the West.
"For both Kim and Putin this recent visit and possible future cooperation is a prestige builder," he said, but it remains to be seen how that evolves.
Business Insider · by Chris Panella
7. North Korean opera stars are giving concerts to encourage farmers to finish this year’s harvest
This is how it is done in north Korea. To make you work harder we will provide you with opera music.
North Korean opera stars are giving concerts to encourage farmers to finish this year’s harvest - UPI.com
By Adam Schrader
upi.com
North Korean artists belonging to the 'Sea of Blood Opera Troupe' perform a Chinese classic opera known as 'Butterfly Lovers' in eastern China in January 2012. Opera singers and artists in North Korea are giving daily concerts at farms in the western part of the country to “encourage” farmers to finish this year’s harvest. File Photo by Wu Hong/EPA
Sept. 24 (UPI) -- Opera singers and artists in North Korea are giving daily concerts at farms in the western part of the country to "encourage" farmers to finish this year's harvest.
The "art squad," composed of musicians and artists from Pyongyang, are giving a performance every day at farms near the city of Nampho, according to a news release from North Korea's Central News Agency.
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The groups participating include the Phibada Opera Troupe, the National Folk Art Troupe, the National Theatrical Troupe and the National Acrobatic Troupe.
North Korea has a long tradition of opera that glorifies nationalism and the ideology of the country that began with the 1971 hit Sea of Blood, a tale about a woman and her family that suffers at the hands of the Japanese during the occupation of Korea in the 1930s.
The Phibada Opera Troupe, founded in 1946, is the group that created Sea of Blood, a show so revered in North Korea that the country's late leader Kim Jong-Il praised it in his treatise On The Art Of Opera. His father, the founder of North Korea Kim Il-Sung, was credited as the librettist of the opera.
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"Ours is a new historical era when the masses of the people have emerged as the masters of their destiny and of the world and are making history and shaping their own destiny. This period requires a new type of opera to serve the masses," Kim Jong-Il wrote.
"Only opera art which resolutely champions the interests of the revolution and implements the party's lines can be loved by the people and become a powerful weapon for encouraging them in the revolution and construction."
North Korean leaders said that the solo "When We Walk along the Road between Fields," performed by a woman, and other songs would be performed.
The concerts will be given at the Aewon Farm under the Nampho Municipal Rural Economy Committee and the Ryongwol Farm in Onchon County as well as at the Taeo and Tokwon farms in Unjon County and other farms in North Phyongan Province.
"Art squad members of working people's organizations conduct on-the-spot motivational art performances in the rural areas of South Phyongan, North and South Hwanghae provinces," the news release reads.
Officials in Pyongyang sent loudspeaker cars to encourage the farmers "in the breadbasket of the country."
upi.com
8. North Korea is slave state
I spent some time with the author this weekend and I will spend some of the Chuseok holiday later this week with him and some other escapees who do not have any family in the South. We will visit Free North Korea Radio. I am learning a lot about information and influence operations in the north from them this week. They confirm a lot of what I have previously learned but also provide some important new insights.
I also spent time with two Japanese of Korean descent who are suing Kim Jong Un (the Kim family regime) for fraud. They were among the 93,000 who were duped into returning to north Korea (the Socialist Workers Paradise) from Japan from the 1960s. Ironically, most of these people were not originally from north formerly industrialized north but from the relatively poor agricultural South. Very few have escaped.
One of the fascinating insights that they shared was that in the Songbun system the elite and the wavering classes do not see or think about the disloyal classes since they are apparently well segregated. I had to ask them why it is that if the people are so enslaved that they do not rise up and revolt. Most Americans wonder about this question as most would say Americans would never stand to live under an oppressive regime. I assumed they would say that it is the security mechanism that oppresses them, but that is only one part. They said that the disloyal classes really cannot imagine any different life - they felt like they were sentenced to live in these conditions that it is their fate and there is nothing they can do about it. They cannot imagine revolting because it is not in their frame of reference to understand what a revolt is and how they would do it. One said they just do not know what to do. They also said the elite do not want change because they want to survive with their relatively "good lives" and the wavering class is also just trying to survive. But they too do not know what to do to effect change. But they do not know what to change their country into. Everyone I talked to said they need help to understand their situation in life and what they can do to make their lives better. They need information and belief with knowledge the people can cause change. It has been really enlightening to meet Koreans and Japanese who have experience in the north during this north Korea Freedom Week.
We should think about the power of information and how that might lead to resistance and change.
North Korea is slave state
The Korea Times · September 17, 2023
North Koreans work at a timber yard in Dzhalingra camp in Russia's Far East, May 16, 2003. AP-YonhapBy Kim Dong-jae
Until last year, I was one of the modern slaves of Kim Jong-un. I was born and raised in North Korea. I worked in a North Korean building company in Russia for more than 5 years. I came here to tell the story of 21st-century slaves that exist in North Korea.
Have you ever seen slaves with your eyes? If you would like to see one, you should take a look at North Korean workers who are toiling abroad. And, if you talk with one of them for more than five minutes, you'll see the face of a modern slave.
Why are they slaves? There are many reasons, but I can't tell you all the reasons here, so I'll tell you only three.
First, they can't listen to anyone, look at or say anything while working abroad. Second, they can have no money, although they work as hard as a working ox. Third, they can say nothing about the bad treatment they get from Kim Jong-un. After hearing my story, you'll understand why we must end the dictatorship of the Kim family and the system of slavery there.
I'd like to begin my story from the airport of Vladivostok where I was sent in Russia. I arrived with my fellow workers at Vladivostok airport. When we arrived at the airport, the company director said to us workers, "From now on, you must work like ants for Kim Jong-un and yourselves." He said that we even had to make sugar drops from dung if necessary to make money. From the airport of Vladivostok as soon as we arrived in Russia, he always used "little" before our names, like "little Dong-jae," and did not treat us as human beings.
We were very often verbally yelled at and physically abused. But the only thing we could do was comply.
He was a little dictator for us in Russia.
We entered Russia saying we were exchange students. Our company's name wasn't on any legal documents. And in Russia, it is forbidden for students to work. We worked illegally.
So, the police clamped down on us whenever they saw us at construction sites while we were working. And if the police took one of us to jail, it was our problem, not the company's, not the government's. North Korean companies and the government are only observers of the imprisonment of their unhappy members. We had to escape the police's eyes and lay low in order to work in Russia.
The company director led us straight from the airport to the construction site, sealed off by armed guards. All the way to the construction site, the secret policeman of our company repeated the same words like a parrot. "Here is capitalism, and everybody here is our enemy." In every North Korean company, there must be at least one secret policeman, according to the diplomatic policy of Kim Jong-un's regime. So, in our company, one secret policeman stayed with us while we were working in Russia.
His only work was to watch over the members of our company, including the director, so nobody would escape. After arriving at the construction site, the director and the secret police told us not to listen to foreign workers. The director said they were all our enemies because they were on the same side as capitalism and the U.S.
He said, "Don't look at anything on the phone or TV because there is capitalism, and all capitalists lie. Don't say anything about us to foreigners since our enemies will take us to the Russian police."
On my first day in Russia, on my bed at night, I thought about my situation. What do people call a person who can't listen to anyone, look at or say anything?
A slave.
I realized that my identity was that of a slave. Our goal in Russia was to work for money. But, our real identity was as slaves of Kim Jong-un. One day, I heard the words of the director to the secret police, "It's good only when the worker's spirit is suppressed, and to suppress a worker's spirit, it is necessary to organize frequent overtime work until midnight for several nights in a row to sap him of energy. Without the strength of the body, he'll lose his spirit, too, and without spirit he'll think only about eating and sleeping like livestock. He won't think about money or resistance."
Indeed, it was an idea fitting for a little dictator. In fact, most of us in our company would sleep while walking to and from the construction site. And, we looked so pathetic that foreigners would ask us if we were prisoners the government sent for punishment. At that moment, I would answer, "We are normal people."
Surely, both they and I knew that we were not normal.
Every one of us had to pay $500 a month to the North Korean government. We usually worked for more than 18 hours a day, from 7 a.m. to 1 a.m. the next day. After 5 years of working 18 hours a day for about $3000 a month, we usually left with only one month's salary. Our director was making much more while we did most of the work. This ridiculous scenario can be explained only by the fact that we were slaves.
I would like to say one final thing that made me realize how we were slaves, not people. After the outbreak of COVID-19, a state of quarantine was declared in Russia and North Korea. One day, the secret police delivered us a directive from the motherland regarding COVID-19. It was really a directive from Kim Jong-un.
But the content was truly absurd. In case of being infected by the epidemic, it was regarded as unfaithfully participating in the COVID-19 quarantine project, and it was considered to be an act of treason. The person infected with COVID-19 was treated as a traitor to the nation instead of a person needing medical treatment. The workers were dumbfounded and couldn't keep this news to themselves. It was an absurd situation that went against all common sense: If you fell ill, you got no sympathy, even when in danger of death at any time. From the mouths of some workers, the words: "We are not even human beings" began to leak out. Perhaps it was starting to dawn on them that they were really just slaves of Kim Jong-un.
I didn't want to live any longer as a slave of the crazy Kim Jong-un. So, last year, I made my plan a reality to escape North Korea, and now I have become a citizen of the Republic of Korea. I had to sacrifice so much to gain the freedom that so many people take for granted, like fresh air or clean water. When I was defecting from North Korea, the thought that motivated me was that my world would never change, and my destiny would not change either without action.
A bad world does not change without action. And such a bad world perhaps might come knocking at your door all of a sudden as it did to me. And maybe then it's already too late. I hope you will add your voices to free the slaves in North Korea from the slave owner Kim Jong Un. I don't believe slave owners or slavery can be justified for any reason.
Kim Dong-jae (not his real name) was the winner of the 18th Freedom Speakers International (FSI) North Korean Refugee English Speech Contest on Aug. 26. His mentors for the contest were Dr. Gregory Gresko and Henry Hoffman. Kim's remarks were edited for publication by Casey Lartigue Jr., co-founder and co-president of FSI with Lee Eun-koo.
The Korea Times · September 17, 2023
9. Brexit Britain will boom if it learns five crucial lessons from South Korea
The five:
1. Make money out of anything
2. Celebrate their history
3. Being open to insurance based healthcare
4. Ready to fight for its values (and survival)
5. Build, build, build
Brexit Britain will boom if it learns five crucial lessons from South Korea
Express · by David Maddox · September 23, 2023
Andrea Leadsom says Brexit 'apologists' MPS should leave PPA
Since leaving the European Union Britain is reaching out to the rest of the world and trying to redefine its identity as an independent sovereign nation.
One country which can offer us some lessons is South Korea which has had to fight fiercely for its independence and culture from its northern Communist neighbour and is planning to follow the UK into the massive Comprehensive and Progressive Trans Pacific Partnership trade bloc.
It is also starting talks for an enhanced free trade agreement with Brexit Britain and, as I found, is very optimistic about what Brexit can bring in terms of closer relationships between our countries.
A ship-building, trading capitalist maritime nation like the UK it is a similar size in population with around 52 million people.
But as we move closer to our friends in the Far East, South Korea also offers some potential lessons which could make Brexit Britain thrive. Here are five:
David Maddox visited the demilitarized zone (DMZ) (Image: David Maddox)
1. Make money out of anything
Brexit Britain needs economic growth and needs to ditch the attitude in many quarters that there's something distasteful about making money, which South Korea certainly has done.
While North Korea is the world's most extreme Communist state, South Korea provides the Ying to its Yang of being the most extreme capitalist state.
This is the only explanation for the decision to go all in on turning the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) into a major tourist destination.
Take your country's most recent painful, blood-soaked tragedy (the Korean War), add in the constant continued threat of war, the divided families and still turn the buffer zone into a version of Disney.
Visitors to the DMZ get to go into one of the four tunnels dug by the North Koreans in recent history to get under the DMZ and attack Seoul.
Then there is the observation platform where you can go and have a look at North Korea and watch North Koreans scuttle around living their daily lives under the harshest of Marxist regimes.
We were assured it was fine to stare at the North Koreans like distant zoo creatures because they were watching us too.
Finally, there is the trip through Unification Village inhabited rent and tax-free by South Koreans who cannot go out at night because of the yet uncleared minefields.
Importantly, the village also hosts the main souvenir shop.
It is a unique experience but the decision to capitalise on it as a tourist destination underlines a mindset which makes South Korea such a dynamic economy.
Koreans visit Gyeongbokgung Palace in traditional dress (Image: David Maddox)
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2. Celebrate their history
The UK is full of lefties in organisations like the National Trust trying to apologise for British history and cancel heroes like Winston Churchill, Francis Drake or Admiral Lord Nelson.
There is none of this nonsense in South Korea. Instead, Koreans are actively encouraged to embrace their culture and traditions.
There is no better example of this than the policy surrounding visitors to its historic palaces.
Instead of the National Trust style notes clarifying history and denigrating the past, Koreans are encouraged to embrace their history by turning up in traditional dress.
Anybody who goes to the palaces in traditional clothing gets in free.
What is interesting is that the entry ticket to the largest palace is very cheap (about £2) but the vast majority still get into the spirit and go to the trouble of getting into the traditional regalia.
Seeing scores of Koreans going around like that adds hugely to the historic experience. If only the same policy existed for Britain's castles and stately homes.
Just saw a GP in Seoul. I turned up with no appointment, waited about 20 mins to be seen & they charged me £9. Extraordinary that Korea measures its wait for a doctor in minutes, while Britain measures it in *weeks*. Suspect a private GP service like that would thrive in the UK.
— Benjamin Butterworth (@benjaminbutter) September 20, 2023
3. Being open to insurance based healthcare
Well-known leftwing journalist Benjamin Butterworth attended the same conference in Seoul as I did.
He needed to see a doctor and get a prescription while out in South Korea and tweeted about his experience.
He noted: "Just saw a GP in Seoul. I turned up with no appointment, waited about 20 mins to be seen and they charged me £9. Extraordinary that Korea measures its wait for a doctor in minutes, while Britain measures it in *weeks*." He added: "Suspect a private GP service like that would thrive in the UK."
Another reminder that while the NHS has many good people working for it who do wonderful things, its structure and outcomes are not the envy of the world, as some would have us believe.
South Korea's cheap private system, especially at the GP level, is vastly more efficient and quicker than trying to see a doctor in the UK.
Somehow this means that unlike the NHS healthcare is not swallowing up the wealth of the nation either.
Living near to the tyrant Kim Jong Un focusses South Korean minds (Image: Getty)
4. Ready to fight for its values (and survival)
Living next to a hard-line communist state ruled by a trigger-happy tyrant with a penchant for firing off missiles tends to focus the mind.
We just have to deal with Emmanuel Macron and Ursula von der Leyen on our doorstep.
While the UK probably does not want to reintroduce national service for its young men which South Korea still has there are things to learn.
For example, there is no serious culture war in South Korea. Marxists whining about capitalism do not get much traction.
There is no equivocation or complacency in defending their values as a conservative capitalist country.
As a nation that is trading and outward-looking, it gives South Korea the strong confident identity it needs to succeed.
Just what Brexit Britain needs to embrace.
The sun rises over Seoul (Image: David Maddox)
5. Build, build, build
It is hard not to look at the glittering city of Seoul and not be impressed.
Population wise it is about the size of London and it is packed full of shiny new silver skyscrapers and modern transport infrastructure.
South Korea does not seem to get hamstrung in building major projects as has happened with HS2 here in the UK.
While there is a reverence for history it is not allowed to get in the way of progress, modernisation and building stuff.
This may be why they ended up controversially getting a contract to build ships for the Royal Navy.
What it means though is that the country is set up to succeed and is constantly looking to improve.
Express · by David Maddox · September 23, 2023
10. Activist launches anti-regime leaflets toward North Korea to mark Freedom Week
Activist launches anti-regime leaflets toward North Korea to mark Freedom Week
https://www.nknews.org/2023/09/activist-launches-anti-regime-leaflets-toward-north-korea-to-mark-freedom-week/?utm
Park Sang-hak says Fighters for a Free North Korea released 20 balloons from border island despite calls for ‘restraint’
Jeongmin Kim September 22, 2023
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A collage of photos from a Fighters for a Free North Korea balloon launch that the group says took place at Ganghwa Island in Incheon on Sept. 20, 2023 | Images: Park Sang-hak, edited by NK News
A high-profile defector activist said his organization launched balloons carrying anti-regime leaflets toward North Korea on Wednesday to mark North Korea Freedom Week, despite Seoul’s repeated calls for activists to exercise “restraint.”
Fighters for a Free North Korea (FFNK) released the balloons from Ganghwa Island in Incheon, near the inter-Korean border, according to leader Park Sang-hak.
“At around 11 p.m., marking the 20th North Korea Freedom Week, we attached 200,000 leaflets, 1,000 USB drives and 200 booklets to 20 large balloons and sent them,” Park told NK News.
Video of the launch provided by FFNK shows a poster attached to large balloons that reads, “Until the day our compatriots suffering under Kim Jong Un’s tyranny are freed, the anti-DPRK leaflet campaign will continue.”
The booklets that the balloons carried focus on South Korea’s dramatic economic development, according to Park.
“The dissemination of fact and truth is the most important mission and duty for DPRK defectors,” Park said. “We will continue to send more information to North Korea for the human rights and freedom of its people.”
It is unclear whether the items reached North Korea as intended. Park conducted a similar launch last October to mark North Korea Freedom Week.
Footage of the balloon launch that FFNK says took place on Sept. 20, 2023 | Image: Park Sang-hak
North Korea strongly objects to balloon launches, demolishing the inter-Korean liaison office in June 2020 after complaining about leaflets. The DPRK has also claimed, without evidence, that leaflets brought COVID-19 into the country.
Sending or attempting to send such items to North Korea is banned in South Korea under the anti-leafleting law passed under the progressive Moon administration in Dec. 2020, which seeks to reduce border tensions despite controversy about restricting freedom of expression.
Under the conservative Yoon administration, the South Korean government has continued to ask activists to refrain from sending leaflets into North Korea, citing sensitive inter-Korean relations.
But new unification minister Kim Yung-ho has said Seoul must change the anti-leaflet law criminalizing the activity.
Amid controversy over leafleting under the Moon administration, Seoul’s unification ministry revoked the operation permit for FFNK, citing concerns about the safety of residents in border towns.
FFNK appealed the decision, and in April, the Supreme Court reversed the ruling and remanded the case to a lower court for review, stating the government cannot prove the group’s activities caused a “grave danger” to the lives and safety of border area residents.
Edited by Bryan Betts
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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