|
Quotes of the Day:
“Critics are men who watch a battle from a high place and then come down to shoot the survivors.”
- Ernest Hemingway
“People do all sorts of clever and difficult things to improve life instead of doing the simplest, easiest thing - not participating in activities that make life bad”
- Leo Tolstoy
“Learn to use the knowledge of the past and you will look like a genius, even when you are really just a clever borrower.”
- Robert Greene
1. North Korea fires 2 short-range ballistic missiles into East Sea: JCS
2. U.S. condemns N. Korean missile launch, urges Pyongyang to engage in dialogue
3. Harris' trip to DMZ will highlight U.S. commitment to security of S. Korea: U.S. official
4. North Korea Launches 2 Ballistic Missiles
5. North Korea’s New Nuclear Policy Law
6. What if Kim Jong Un isn’t bluffing? Seoul and Washington should shore up defenses
7. North's 7th nuke test expected Oct. 16 to Nov. 7: NIS
8. South Korea decides to scrap satellite launches using Russian rockets amid sanctions
9. South Korea's mission to NATO approved
10. Korean military rebuts possibility of USFK deploying for Taiwan
11. North Korea is at least 4 nuclear tests away from reaching weapons goals, think tank says
12. Harris Pledges Help over U.S. Tax Breaks for Korean EVs
13. Yoon’s office, ruling party step up offensive against MBC
14. DPRK lashes out against international system governed by ‘exclusive Western values’
1. North Korea fires 2 short-range ballistic missiles into East Sea: JCS
Kim Jong Un is putting out the welcome mat for the Vice President.
(4th LD) North Korea fires 2 short-range ballistic missiles into East Sea: JCS | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 이민지 · September 28, 2022
(ATTN: UPDATES with NSC meeting)
By Song Sang-ho
SEOUL, Sept. 28 (Yonhap) -- North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) into the East Sea on Wednesday, ratcheting up tensions amid an ongoing South Korea-U.S. naval exercise involving an American aircraft carrier.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the launches from the Sunan area in Pyongyang between 6:10 p.m. and 6:20 p.m., and that the missiles flew some 360 kilometers at apogees of around 30 km at top speeds of about Mach 6.
It did not provide other details, saying the intelligence authorities of South Korea and the United States are conducting a detailed analysis to verify the specifics of the missiles.
The launches came just three days after the North fired off an SRBM into the East Sea
JCS Chairman Gen. Kim Seung-kyum and Gen. Paul LaCamera, the commander of the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command, held virtual talks over the launches and reaffirmed their commitment to further solidify a combined defense posture against "any" North Korean threats and provocations, according to the JCS.
"Such provocative acts by North Korea would further strengthen deterrence and response capabilities of the South Korea-U.S. alliance and only deepen its isolation from the international community," the JCS said in a text message sent to reporters.
It also condemned the launches as an act of "significant provocation" that undermines peace and security on the Korean Peninsula as well as in the international community, and as a "clear" breach of U.N. Security Council resolutions.
"Our military will maintain a firm readiness posture based on the capabilities to respond overwhelmingly to any North Korean threats while tracking and monitoring related movements in close coordination with the U.S. in preparation against the possibility of additional North Korean provocations," the JCS added.
The presidential National Security Council strongly condemned the launches as repeated violations of the U.N. Security Council resolutions and reaffirmed its stance to strengthen the combined defense posture between the allies.
National Security Adviser Kim Sung-han chaired an emergency meeting of the top national security body shortly after Pyongyang fired the missiles, the presidential office said.
President Yoon Suk-yeol was briefed on the launches, it said.
Informed sources said that the two SRBMs appeared to have been fired from road-mobile launchers.
The latest saber-rattling came as U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris plans to visit Seoul on Thursday and the allies' Navies are staging an exercise featuring the nuclear-powered USS Ronald Reagan carrier in the East Sea.
The U.S. carrier, a centerpiece of America's naval might, arrived here on Friday for the first allied exercise near the peninsula in five years. The four-day exercise is set to run through Thursday.
The allies have been cranking up security coordination amid concerns that the recalcitrant regime would engage in provocative acts like a nuclear test or a submarine-launched ballistic missile launch.
sshluck@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 이민지 · September 28, 2022
2. U.S. condemns N. Korean missile launch, urges Pyongyang to engage in dialogue
U.S. condemns N. Korean missile launch, urges Pyongyang to engage in dialogue | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 변덕근 · September 28, 2022
By Byun Duk-kun
WASHINGTON, Sept. 28 (Yonhap) -- The United States condemns North Korea's latest missile launch but remains open to dialogue, a state department spokesperson said Wednesday.
The remarks come hours after North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea.
"The United States condemns the DPRK's ballistic missile launches," the spokesperson told Yonhap News Agency in an email, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
"These launches are in violation of multiple United Nations Security Council Resolutions and poses a threat to the DPRK's neighbors and the international community," the official added, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The North's latest missile launches came as U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris is on a visit to Japan and set to travel to South Korea on Thursday. Pyongyang also fired a ballistic missile on Sunday (Seoul time).
The state department spokesperson declined to comment when asked if the North's missile provocations may affect the vice president's trip to the region.
Harris is scheduled to visit the Demilitarized Zone during her visit, U.S. officials have said.
The department spokesperson urged the North to return to the dialogue table, saying, "We remain committed to a diplomatic approach to the DPRK and call on the DPRK to engage in dialogue."
"Our commitment to the defense of the Republic of Korea and Japan remains ironclad," the official added.
bdk@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 변덕근 · September 28, 2022
3. Harris' trip to DMZ will highlight U.S. commitment to security of S. Korea: U.S. official
(LEAD) Harris' trip to DMZ will highlight U.S. commitment to security of S. Korea: U.S. official | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 변덕근 · September 28, 2022
(ATTN: UPDATES with additional remarks from the U.S. administration official, more details, information in last 6 paras)
By Byun Duk-kun
WASHINGTON, Sept. 27 (Yonhap) -- U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris' visit to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) will underscore the U.S.' commitment to the defense of South Korea, a senior U.S. official said Tuesday.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, also said the trip had been planned for weeks, despite the sudden announcement of plans this week.
"The key messaging that she's talking about on this trip is how our defense commitments are ironclad," the administration official said of Harris' trip to the DMZ in a press briefing in Tokyo, according to the White House.
"We know there's been a lot of discussions with the Koreans about extended deterrence commitments. And to really put those words into action, we believe it's a powerful signal of that," the official added.
South Korea and the U.S. held their first meeting of the Extended Deterrence Strategy and Consultation Group in nearly five years in Washington earlier this month.
The U.S. vice president is set to arrive in South Korea on Thursday, following her ongoing visit to Japan to attend the funeral of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Her planned visit to the DMZ came to light on Tuesday (Seoul time) when she met with the head of South Korea's delegation to Abe's funeral, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who said Harris' trip to the heavily-fortified area inside of the four-kilometer wide inter-Korean border will be a "symbolic move" for the Korea-U.S. alliance.
The U.S. administration official said they already had plans to announce Harris' trip to the DMZ when asked if the South Korean prime minister may have overstepped and forced such an announcement.
"We were comfortable with it. We were going, obviously, to announce it soon anyway," the official was quoted as saying.
The official said the vice president's trip to the DMZ will also send a message to South Korea that the U.S. continues to be focused on North Korea while dealing with other major issues.
"I think the vice president showing up there makes very clear to our friends and allies in South Korea that even when there are other threats in the region -- you know, to Taiwan, which is more important, whatever -- we are not losing sight of the fact that the DPRK remains a real threat," the official said, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
The White House earlier said Harris and Han discussed Seoul's concerns over the Inflation Reduction Act that offers government tax credits to buyers of new electric vehicles (EVs) assembled in North America, thereby excluding South Korean-made EVs from the benefit.
The administration official explained that the vice president "listened carefully" to Seoul's concerns and that she also explained the U.S.' view that the law benefits not only the U.S. but also other countries, including South Korea.
"What the vice president did was explain our view, which is as follows: that this law is really a good thing for Americans, the world, and the planet, in terms of what it does for clean energy and climate," the official said.
"We think that the South Koreans and all of our partners in this region and beyond recognize that, so it's a hugely important step on the climate front and dealing with the climate crisis," the official added.
Still, the official noted the vice president has reaffirmed the U.S.' commitment to addressing the issue.
"All I can say is that we listen carefully, because it's such a close and important ally; we take the concern seriously; and we pledged to put our experts together to work on the issue," the official said.
bdk@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 변덕근 · September 28, 2022
4. North Korea Launches 2 Ballistic Missiles
Excerpts:
Before heading to the DMZ on Thursday, Harris will hold a meeting with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, who is struggling to recover from a “diplomatic disaster” during his trip to New York last week. At a critically important moment for Seoul to persuade Washington to prevent South Korean corporations from being damaged by the new Inflation Reduction Act, Yoon did not even have a chance to sit down with Biden to discuss the issue during his trip. Instead, the two presidents had a brief – around 48 seconds – standing chat on the sidelines of another meeting. South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin said that Yoon discussed every important agenda item with Biden during their talk, but it is questionable how Yoon could even bring up the issue to Biden in 48 seconds when his interpreter needed to translate his words.
On Wednesday, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service reported to the Intelligence Committee of the National Assembly that, if North Korea carries out a seventh nuclear test, it will take place between October 17 and November 7. It shows that the National Intelligence Service also expects that North Korea would not test its nuclear weapons before the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Community Party, which is scheduled to begin October 16.
North Korea Launches 2 Ballistic Missiles
While South Korea and the United States are conducting joint military drills on the east coast of the Korean Peninsula, North Korea launched ballistic missiles in the same direction.
thediplomat.com · by Mitch Shin · September 28, 2022
Advertisement
North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles toward its east coast sometime between 6:10 p.m. and 6:20 p.m. KST, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said on Wednesday. The missiles were launched from the Sunan area of Pyongyang, the capital of the North, and flew about 360 km with an altitude of 36 km.
South Korean military is analyzing more details of the capabilities of the tested missiles but, considering the range and altitude of the missiles, the North likely tested its KN-23 Iskander-class missiles again.
The South Korean military strongly condemned the North’s ballistic missile launches and urged the immediate halt of the tests. North Korea is banned from testing and developing ballistic missiles under U.N. Security Council resolutions.
Wednesday’s missile test came three days after North Korea fired a short-range ballistic missile, also suspected to be the KN-23 Iskander-class, on Sunday – a day before South Korea kicked off its joint navy drills with the United States. That was North Korea’s first ballistic missile test since June. The missile tested on Sunday flew about 600 km with a max altitude of 60 km. Based on the data from the JCS, North Korea intentionally aimed at targets closer to its east coast in Wednesday’s launch.
The North’s missile launch on Wednesday also came a day before U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris arrives in Seoul. During her time in South Korea, she is scheduled to visit the demilitarized zone (DMZ), where then-U.S. President Donald Trump met the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in 2019. Some have speculated that the latest missile test might have been a response to Harris’ planned visit. However, the missile launches were likely carried out as a “tit-for-tat” measure against the South Korea-U.S. naval drills. Pyongyang has consistently complained about joint military drills between South Korea and the United States, not high-ranking U.S. officials’ visits to DMZ.
Enjoying this article? Click here to subscribe for full access. Just $5 a month.
Before heading to the DMZ on Thursday, Harris will hold a meeting with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, who is struggling to recover from a “diplomatic disaster” during his trip to New York last week. At a critically important moment for Seoul to persuade Washington to prevent South Korean corporations from being damaged by the new Inflation Reduction Act, Yoon did not even have a chance to sit down with Biden to discuss the issue during his trip. Instead, the two presidents had a brief – around 48 seconds – standing chat on the sidelines of another meeting. South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin said that Yoon discussed every important agenda item with Biden during their talk, but it is questionable how Yoon could even bring up the issue to Biden in 48 seconds when his interpreter needed to translate his words.
On Wednesday, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service reported to the Intelligence Committee of the National Assembly that, if North Korea carries out a seventh nuclear test, it will take place between October 17 and November 7. It shows that the National Intelligence Service also expects that North Korea would not test its nuclear weapons before the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Community Party, which is scheduled to begin October 16.
thediplomat.com · by Mitch Shin · September 28, 2022
5. North Korea’s New Nuclear Policy Law
Conclusion:
Taken together, North Korea’s nuclear policy law and South Korea’s Kill Chain system paint a worrying picture for nuclear stability on the Korean peninsula. In a crisis or conflict, both sides would face an incentive to escalate quickly and decisively to preempt the other’s preemption strategy. A nuclear crisis like the one in 2017 does not appear imminent. Hopefully things will stay calm on the Korean peninsula because the next crisis could be even more prone to escalation than the last one.
SEPTEMBER 27, 2022 2:43PM
North Korea’s New Nuclear Policy Law
https://www.cato.org/blog/north-koreas-new-nuclear-policy-law
By Eric Gomez
SHARE
North Korea celebrated its 74th birthday on September 9 with a new nuclear policy law. North Korea’s new law explains the general role of nuclear weapons in North Korea’s defense strategy, lays out the conditions under which it would use nuclear weapons, and establishes other broad policies, making it analogous to a U.S. nuclear posture review. North Korea’s nuclear policy law does not contain any unexpected revelations, but it highlights several worrying trends in the country’s nuclear strategy that could make future crises more dangerous.
The new nuclear policy law underscores the importance of first use, including preemptive attack, in North Korea’s nuclear strategy. The overarching objective of North Korea’s nuclear weapons, according to the new legislation, is to preserve the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. To achieve this goal, North Korea will have a flexible strategy for employing nuclear weapons, including retaliation and preemption. Nuclear preemption means using nuclear offensively to eliminate the danger of a looming attack by beating the other side to the punch.
A nuclear preemption strategy is intended to prevent enemy action by making it too dangerous for the other side to consider attacking in the first place. The target of the preemption strategy, in this case the United States and South Korea, needs to tread very carefully because it is not certain what actions will cross the other state’s threshold for nuclear use. The safest course of action, therefore, is for the target of the preemption strategy to always err on the side of caution and not make threats or maneuver its forces in ways that could trigger a nuclear attack.
Nuclear preemption is especially attractive for North Korea because of its overall weakness vis‐à‐vis the United States and South Korea. Once a war starts, be it conventional or nuclear, North Korea will likely not survive because its armed forces, while large, are at an immense qualitative disadvantage. Nuclear weapons give Kim Jong‐un the ability to inflict immense pain on the United States and South Korea even if he would ultimately be defeated. While Seoul and Washington would ultimately prevail, the high costs stemming from North Korean nuclear use should be enough to stop them from attacking Pyongyang.
North Korea hopes that its preemption strategy will create such high risks of a conflict going nuclear that South Korea and the United States will always act cautiously. However, there is another way to respond to preemption: attack even faster. South Korea has leaned into this option with its “Kill Chain” system, which uses precise conventional weapons such as cruise and ballistic missiles to rapidly target North Korea’s leadership before it can give a launch order to nuclear forces. Kill Chain has been in development for several years, but the relatively new Yoon Suk‐yeol administration has been particularly vocal about the system in recent months.
North Korea’s nuclear policy law does not mention Kill Chain by name, but it does contain provisions designed to undermine Kill Chain’s effectiveness. The law clearly states that Kim Jong‐un has “all decisive powers concerning nuclear weapons” with assistance from other officials in carrying out attack orders. However, in the event of a Kill Chain‐like attack against North Korea’s command and control, the new law states “a nuclear strike shall be launched automatically and immediately.” In other words, even if Kill Chain decapitates North Korea’s leadership, it will not be able to fully disable North Korea’s ability to use its nuclear weapons.
It is not clear how North Korea will turn this rhetoric into reality. One approach could involve delegating launch authority to military commanders in the field at some point during a crisis or early in a conflict so that they can fire their weapons if they are cut off from central command. Delegating launch authority would improve survivability against decapitation attacks, but it could also increase the likelihood of units going rogue and using their weapons to threaten North Korea’s leadership.
Taken together, North Korea’s nuclear policy law and South Korea’s Kill Chain system paint a worrying picture for nuclear stability on the Korean peninsula. In a crisis or conflict, both sides would face an incentive to escalate quickly and decisively to preempt the other’s preemption strategy. A nuclear crisis like the one in 2017 does not appear imminent. Hopefully things will stay calm on the Korean peninsula because the next crisis could be even more prone to escalation than the last one.
6. What if Kim Jong Un isn’t bluffing? Seoul and Washington should shore up defenses
Excerpts:
By increasing the nuclear threat, said a South Korean foreign ministry spokesman, North Korea would “further strengthen the Seoul-Washington alliance” while “further isolating itself from the international community and worsening economic difficulties facing the North Korean people.”
That warning was not likely to have the slightest impact. By imposing the “biggest-ever sanctions and blockade,” Kim said, Washington is guilty of “misjudgment and miscalculation of adversaries.”
Seoul and Washington together need to demonstrate that it’s Kim who’s guilty of miscalculation. Together they should continue to build up their defenses. By authorizing the use of nuclear weapons any time, Kim may be considering Korean War II — a second North Korean invasion, utilizing nukes and missiles to make it far more devastating and deadly than Korean War I.
What if Kim Jong Un isn’t bluffing? Seoul and Washington should shore up defenses
BY DONALD KIRK, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR - 09/27/22 12:00 PM ET
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY CONTRIBUTORS ARE THEIR OWN AND NOT THE VIEW OF THE HILL
The Hill · · September 27, 2022
North Korea is a nuclear state, and leader Kim Jong Un could fire or drop his nuclear warheads any time. Kim made that message indelibly clear in a speech at the Supreme People’s Assembly, which then passed a law saying the North could fire off a nuke automatically in response to any threat, real or imagined.
These remarks should snuff the hopes of the most optimistic officials and analysts who persist in thinking they can somehow negotiate with Kim to give up his nukes. That dream, enticing though it always has been in the quest for negotiations with North Korea, should be laid aside as fantasy. Forget about denuclearization, was the message — more harshly stated than in any of Kim’s previous diatribes against Washington and Seoul.
Now it’s up to the Republic of Korea and the U.S. to stand firm against Kim’s threats, to denounce them for what they are, an attempt at intimidation that won’t stop the U.S. and ROK from cooperating on military exercises and strengthening their defenses against the North. There is no need to be polite in the face of Kim’s nonsense. Expressions of “regret” are useless.
Nor is there any point in reminding Kim of the “audacious initiative” proposed by President Yoon Suk-yeol for providing the North with vast amounts of aid in return for basic steps toward denuclearization. Rather than repeating that proposal, Yoon might be well advised to withdraw it. Why not state simply: “You had your chance, and now we’re no longer offering it.”
Kim was right when he said the Americans want to get the North to “put down” and “eliminate our nuclear weapons,” but he was wrong in saying they want “ultimately to bring down our regime.”
Destruction of the Kim regime could bring about chaos with unpredictable results, including possibly the rise of a new leader who might go beyond rhetoric and actually fire missiles with nuclear warheads at the South. Rather than attempting to “weaken the power to exercise self-defense,” as Kim said the U.S. was doing, the U.S. and ROK need to do much more to make sure they’re capable of quickly turning back North Korean aggression.
With that view in mind, Washington and Seoul should firmly denounce the law adopted by the North’s Supreme People’s Assembly, authorizing an “automatic nuclear strike” on the origin of any attack of the North. The same law legalized Kim’s “monolithic command” with “decisive powers” over nuclear weapons — another way of saying he’s ready to open a nuclear war.
Kim has always had total power, but he evidently felt the need to reinforce it while Yoon tightens the South’s alliance with Washington. American and South Korean forces have completed their first field exercises in five years, and Yoon and his ministers have been mingling tough talk with offers of negotiation that North Korea has loudly rejected.
At a gathering of military officers and officials from dozens of countries, Shin Beom-chul, South Korea’s vice defense minister, said it would “be no surprise” if North Korea were to conduct its seventh nuclear test — its first since September 2017.
“The present threat is not only to Korea but the entire world,” Shin said at the annual Seoul Defense Dialogue that I attended at the Lotte Hotel. “There should be serious consequences,” he said. “We need to deter North Korean attempts.” In fact, “If necessary, we may have a counter-attack against North Korea.”
That’s not going to happen, at least to judge from the remarks of Allison Hooker, a key aide on North Korea in the Trump administration, now with American Global Strategies. “Our wish to galvanize international cooperation is very difficult,” she said. “The international community’s ability to muster a strong response is unclear.” Oddly, she said, “It’s not even clear whether a seventh nuclear test will be sufficiently shocking.”
Let us hope that the big talk on responding to North Korea is not all empty posturing. The Americans and South Koreans should be ready to move swiftly, decisively, against any real signs of North Korean moves against the South. Kim’s remarks, together with the new North Koren law authorizing a strike against the South any time, shows the mounting danger.
Kim Jong Un’s remarks were calibrated to answer the comments of South Korean leaders, including President Yoon. He gave his talk on the 74th anniversary of the formal founding of North Korea as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in 1948 under his grandfather, Kim Il Sung. Less than two years later, Kim Il Sung ordered the invasion of the South, resulting in a war that cost 4 million lives.
By increasing the nuclear threat, said a South Korean foreign ministry spokesman, North Korea would “further strengthen the Seoul-Washington alliance” while “further isolating itself from the international community and worsening economic difficulties facing the North Korean people.”
That warning was not likely to have the slightest impact. By imposing the “biggest-ever sanctions and blockade,” Kim said, Washington is guilty of “misjudgment and miscalculation of adversaries.”
Seoul and Washington together need to demonstrate that it’s Kim who’s guilty of miscalculation. Together they should continue to build up their defenses. By authorizing the use of nuclear weapons any time, Kim may be considering Korean War II — a second North Korean invasion, utilizing nukes and missiles to make it far more devastating and deadly than Korean War I.
Donald Kirk has been a journalist for more than 60 years, focusing much of his career on conflict in Asia and the Middle East, including as a correspondent for the Washington Star and Chicago Tribune. He currently is a freelance correspondent covering North and South Korea. He is the author of several books about Asian affairs.
The Hill · by Alex Gangitano · September 27, 2022
7. North's 7th nuke test expected Oct. 16 to Nov. 7: NIS
recognize, understand, EXPOSE, and attack the enemy's strategy.
This can inoculate the population against the political effects of a test.
By epxosing these dates it could cause Kim to potponse the test just to make it appear the NIS got it wrong in order to discredit it.
Of course to advance the nuclear program Kim may have to test sooner rather than later.
And this could be intended as the exclamation point" to emphasize the September 8th announcement of the new "nuclear law."
Wednesday
September 28, 2022
dictionary + A - A
North's 7th nuke test expected Oct. 16 to Nov. 7: NIS
https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2022/09/28/national/northKorea/Korea-North-Korea-National-Intelligence-Service/20220928171417217.html
The command center and workers' living quarters at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site are demolished on May 24, 2018. [YONHAP]
South Korea’s intelligence agency expects North Korea to conduct a seventh nuclear test between October 16 and Nov. 7.
The National Intelligence Service (NIS) made the prediction Wednesday during a closed-door briefing for the National Assembly's intelligence committee, according to Rep. Yoo Sang-bum of the People Power Party and Rep. Youn Kun-young of the Democratic Party, both of whom are members.
They also quoted NIS chief Kim Kyou-hyun as saying that North Korea had completed reconstruction of the third tunnel at its mountainous nuclear weapons test site in Punggye-ri, North Hamgyong Province, which indicates the possibility of a nuclear test has increased. The Punggye-ri testing site is where North Korea conducted all six previous nuclear tests, the last taking place in September 2017.
“Considering various circumstances, the NIS reported that it had assessed that a seventh nuclear test would take place between these dates since it would most likely take place after the National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party and before U.S. midterm elections,” said Youn to reporters after the briefing. “It was a comprehensive judgement that also took into consideration the Covid-19 situation and international relations.”
The NIS also said that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Chinese President Xi Jinping recently exchanged letters, with Kim sending six and Xi two, according to Yoo and Youn.
Regarding recent domestic and international media reports about a young girl spotted at a state event being Kim Jong-un’s daughter, the NIS said that “the possibility is small,” according to the lawmakers.
The NIS reported no apparent changes to Kim’s health.
BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]
8. South Korea decides to scrap satellite launches using Russian rockets amid sanctions
South Korea decides to scrap satellite launches using Russian rockets amid sanctions
The Korea Times · September 28, 2022
South Korea's own rocket, Korea Space Launch Vehicle (KSLV-II) or Nuri, lifts off in its second attempt from Naro Space Center in Goheung County, South Jeolla Province, June 21. Courtesy of Ministry of Science and ICT
South Korea has decided to cancel plans to launch satellites using Russian rockets later this year amid the international community's sanctions on Russia's space program over the Ukrainian war, a government document showed Wednesday.
The government had planned to launch the Korea Multipurpose Satellite 6, known as the Arirang 6, on Russia's Angara 1.2 vehicle later this year from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northwestern Russia and a next-generation midsized observational satellite aboard a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
In a document submitted to the National Assembly, the Ministry of Science and ICT assessed it has become "difficult" to proceed with the satellite launches using Russian rockets, citing the international community's joint sanctions on Moscow over the Ukrainian invasion.
The ministry also asked for an additional budget, estimating the projects to cost an additional 88.1 billion won (US$61.1 million) in total under new launch deals. It plans to nix the Russian deals and seek new space launch providers if the National Assembly approves the request.
The government is most likely to sign deals with SpaceX and the European Space Agency for the launches. The terms of the current deals with Russia remain confidential due to five-year non-disclosure agreements. (Yonhap)
The Korea Times · September 28, 2022
9. South Korea's mission to NATO approved
South Korea is stepping up on the world stage.
Excerpts:
According to its website on Wednesday (local time), the North Atlantic Council (NAC), the top decision-making body of NATO, agreed on Monday to accept South Korea's request to designate its Embassy to Belgium as the country's mission to NATO.
"This is an important step in NATO's strong partnership with the Republic of Korea," the website read. "Since 2005, the Alliance (NATO) and Seoul have developed a strong partnership, based on shared values."
South Korea's mission to NATO approved
The Korea Times · September 28, 2022
President Yoon Suk-yeol shakes hands with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg during their meeting at the 2022 NATO Summit in Madrid, Spain, June 30. Joint Press CorpsBy Nam Hyun-woo
South Korea's request to set up a mission to NATO was approved, offering greater chances for Seoul to expand its strategic and security cooperation with the largest military alliance in the world.
According to its website on Wednesday (local time), the North Atlantic Council (NAC), the top decision-making body of NATO, agreed on Monday to accept South Korea's request to designate its Embassy to Belgium as the country's mission to NATO.
"This is an important step in NATO's strong partnership with the Republic of Korea," the website read. "Since 2005, the Alliance (NATO) and Seoul have developed a strong partnership, based on shared values."
It continued that the two sides' dialogues and cooperation are being developed in areas including nuclear non-proliferation, cyber defense, counterterrorism, security-related civil science projects, interoperability and chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) defense, as well as civil preparedness, resilience and disaster relief.
South Korea's Ambassador to Belgium Yoon Soon-gu will lead Seoul's mission to NATO.
The approval came after the South Korean government announced its plan to set up the mission, on the occasion of President Yoon Suk-yeol's attendance at the 2022 NATO Summit in Madrid, Spain, in June.
South Korea is not a member of the military alliance but stands as a partner nation. Japan, Australia and New Zealand are also NATO partner countries in the Asia-Pacific region, and the three countries have already set up their own missions to the alliance.
On the sidelines of the NATO Summit, the four Asia-Pacific partner nations held a four-way summit, in which their leaders exchanged opinions on cooperation to counter security threats.
South Korea's mission to NATO will play a role in Seoul's efforts to contribute to global security matters. While proposing the plan, National Security Office Director Kim Sung-han said the mission will be "a diplomatic platform in Europe enhancing networks with allied nations and partner countries."
Ambassador Kim Gunn, Seoul's special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, right, poses with NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoana, during their meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, Tuesday (local time). Courtesy of Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Meanwhile, Ambassador Kim Gunn, Seoul's special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, attended the NAC+4 meeting in Brussels on Tuesday (local time).
NAC+4 refers to 30 NATO members, the four Asia-Pacific partner countries and two European nations ― Finland and Sweden ― seeking entry into the alliance.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kim told participants that North Korea is intensifying its nuclear and missile ambitions by legislating its use of nuclear weapons and firing a total of 32 ballistic missiles this year alone.
The ministry said the special representative introduced the South Korean government's direction in responding to the threats and detailed Yoon's proposal to North Korea, dubbed the "audacious initiative," which is aimed at providing socio-economic support to North Korea in order to entice the regime's denuclearization.
While explaining this, Kim stressed that it is important for North Korea to understand that the international community's commitment to denuclearization is greater than Pyongyang's ambition for nuclear weapons.
Participants said that the North's nuclear threats are tied to the security of Europe, and the shared recognition that they should not neglect Pyongyang's nuclear risks amid the Russia-Ukraine war.
The Korea Times · September 28, 2022
10. Korean military rebuts possibility of USFK deploying for Taiwan
The headline does not seem to match the conclusion of this article. And "Mr." LaCamera?
Conclusion:
The Korean military authorities stressed that the top priority of the USFK is deterrence against North Korea. “It is inappropriate (for the defense ministry) to rebut a comment made by a former USFK commander as he is a civilian,” said Moon Hong-sik, the deputy spokesperson of the South Korean Defense Ministry, citing Mr. LaCamera, the incumbent USFK comment, who said the top priority for the US forces stationed in South Korea is to deter a potential North Korean invasion. Mr. Moon added that Seoul and Washington are closely aligned when it comes to the operation of the USFK and that the two allies are maintaining a watertight defense posture.
Korean military rebuts possibility of USFK deploying for Taiwan
donga.com
Posted September. 28, 2022 07:37,
Updated September. 28, 2022 07:37
Korean military rebuts possibility of USFK deploying for Taiwan. September. 28, 2022 07:37. by Sang-Ho Yun ysh1005@donga.com.
The South Korean military authorities rebutted the possibility of the USFK deployed for a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan after Former USFK Commander Robert Abrams mentioned such a scenario.
According to the Radio Free Asia on Monday, the retired general, who led the USFK from 2018 to 2021, said it would be “possible” to deploy the USFK forces when asked if there is any possibility that the USFK might be mobilized in the event that China invades Taiwan. “It is up to the United States to choose what forces should be used to fend off a Chinese invasion of Taiwan,” he said. “The ROK-US alliance has several options to deter North Korea even if parts of the USFK forces are deployed for Taiwan.” Mr. Abrams said it would be inappropriate to disclose the details about the deterrence options. He handed over the command of the USFK to Gen. Paul LaCamera in July last year.
“The U.S. forces at Kadena Air Base of Japan and Osan Air Base of Korea are stationed closer to Taiwan than any other air forces from the mainland U.S.,” said Bruce Bennett, a senior researcher and military expert for North Korea at the RAND Corporation. “In the event of a Chinese invasion, the U.S. Air Forces in Osan or Gunsan in South Korea might be deployed to Taiwan,” the RFA reported.
The Korean military authorities stressed that the top priority of the USFK is deterrence against North Korea. “It is inappropriate (for the defense ministry) to rebut a comment made by a former USFK commander as he is a civilian,” said Moon Hong-sik, the deputy spokesperson of the South Korean Defense Ministry, citing Mr. LaCamera, the incumbent USFK comment, who said the top priority for the US forces stationed in South Korea is to deter a potential North Korean invasion. Mr. Moon added that Seoul and Washington are closely aligned when it comes to the operation of the USFK and that the two allies are maintaining a watertight defense posture.
한국어
donga.com
11. North Korea is at least 4 nuclear tests away from reaching weapons goals, think tank says
Excerpts:
The Korea Institute for Defense Analyses, a government-funded research institute, submitted a report to Rep. Shin Wonsik of the ruling People Power Party analyzing the costs for Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program, according to a news release from the lawmaker’s office on Tuesday.
...
North Korea, claiming at the time it no longer needed to conduct the tests due to its already advanced nuclear capabilities, partially demolished its Punggye-ri nuclear testing site in the northeast mountains. Numerous watchdog groups reviewing commercial satellite imagery have since reported seeing renewed activity around the facility, including the construction of new buildings and repairs.
In January, the state-run Korean Central News Agency said the regime would “immediately” resume its tests of long-range ballistic missile and nuclear weapons in response to provocations from the South and the United States.
North Korea has launched more than 33 missiles in 20 rounds of tests so far this year. The regime last test-fired two short-range missiles on Wednesday, a day before Vice President Kamala Harris was scheduled to travel to South Korea to meet with Yoon and visit the Demilitarized Zone between the North and South.
North Korea is at least 4 nuclear tests away from reaching weapons goals, think tank says
Stars and Stripes · by David Choi · September 28, 2022
North Korea has conducted six nuclear tests since 2006 and is believed by U.S. and South Korean intelligence officials to have prepared for a seventh. (KCNA)
CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea — Defense experts estimate North Korea is at least four nuclear tests away from creating a tactical nuclear weapon or pairing nuclear warheads to multiple independently-targetable reentry vehicles.
The Korea Institute for Defense Analyses, a government-funded research institute, submitted a report to Rep. Shin Wonsik of the ruling People Power Party analyzing the costs for Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program, according to a news release from the lawmaker’s office on Tuesday.
The report, which KIDA has not released to the public, says North Korea is estimated to have spent up to $1.6 billion on its nuclear program since the 1970s, the release said.
At least four more nuclear tests at a total cost of between $440 million and $640 million will be required before the North is capable of creating high-yield nuclear warheads or a functioning multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle with nuclear warheads, according to the defense institute.
“Instead of a useless nuclear weapon, I hope you choose a future for the people and humankind,” Shin said in the release. The comment was directed at North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and military officials have vowed a firm response if the North carries out another nuclear test. South Korea’s response “would be entirely different” from the past, Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup said in August.
Yoon has simultaneously proposed an “audacious initiative” consisting of economic assistance for North Korea in exchange for concrete steps toward denuclearization. The North’s leaders have rebuffed the proposals and continue to issue fiery statements against the South.
North Korea has conducted six nuclear tests since 2006 and is believed by U.S. and South Korean intelligence officials to have prepared to conduct a seventh.
Following denuclearization negotiations between Kim and then-Presidents Donald Trump and Moon Jae-in of South Korea, the communist regime declared in 2018 it would suspend nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile tests.
North Korea, claiming at the time it no longer needed to conduct the tests due to its already advanced nuclear capabilities, partially demolished its Punggye-ri nuclear testing site in the northeast mountains. Numerous watchdog groups reviewing commercial satellite imagery have since reported seeing renewed activity around the facility, including the construction of new buildings and repairs.
In January, the state-run Korean Central News Agency said the regime would “immediately” resume its tests of long-range ballistic missile and nuclear weapons in response to provocations from the South and the United States.
North Korea has launched more than 33 missiles in 20 rounds of tests so far this year. The regime last test-fired two short-range missiles on Wednesday, a day before Vice President Kamala Harris was scheduled to travel to South Korea to meet with Yoon and visit the Demilitarized Zone between the North and South.
Stars and Stripes · by David Choi · September 28, 2022
12. Harris Pledges Help over U.S. Tax Breaks for Korean EVs
Harris Pledges Help over U.S. Tax Breaks for Korean EVs
english.chosun.com
September 28, 2022 13:21
A silver lining is on the horizon for Korean electric car makers after a new U.S. law stopped state subsidies for EVs made outside North America, threatening their position in the American market.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday signaled a grace period for Korean EV makers before they are ready to make their cars in America while the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act is being implemented.
Harris sat down with Prime Minister Han Duck-soo in Tokyo before attending the state funeral of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. She said Seoul and Washington will continue "close consultations" to address Korea's concerns over the act, which excludes electric vehicles assembled outside North America from U.S. tax breaks.
She added she understands Korea's concerns and hinted at a grace period until EV assembly plants in the U.S. are complete. Hyundai begins construction of an EV plant in the state of Georgia late this year, aiming to finish it by 2025.
Prime Minister Han Duck-soo (left) shakes hands with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris in Tokyo on Tuesday. /Newsis
Korean carmakers believe their products should be given equal treatment as U.S. goods under the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, especially since they have already pledged massive investments in the U.S.
But no immediate change to the act is likely ahead of U.S. mid-term elections slated for November, which are likely to be fought on super-heated patriotism. Korean companies instead hope for a grace period until they begin production there.
Hyundai has pledged to invest a whopping US$10.5 billion, including $5.5 billion for the Georgia plant, plus new projects such as urban air mobility, robotics and automated driving. The IRA, which puts it at a distinct disadvantage in the U.S. against local carmakers, felt like a slap in the face.
Harris flies to Seoul on Thursday, where she faces further discussions of the IRA. She will meet President Yoon Suk-yeol and visit the demilitarized zone.
She said the U.S.-Korea "alliance remains the linchpin of peace, stability, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific and around the world." Han said her visit to the DMZ will be "very symbolic."
Kamala Harris to Visit Seoul This Month
- Copyright © Chosunilbo & Chosun.com
english.chosun.com
13. Yoon’s office, ruling party step up offensive against MBC
Please stop. You are undermining the legitimacy of South Korean democracy. You must protect freedom of the press, not attack it.
Yoon’s office, ruling party step up offensive against MBC
koreaherald.com · by Shin Ji-hye · September 28, 2022
The presidential office and the ruling party are ratcheting up the pressure on local broadcaster MBC over its reporting on President Yoon Suk-yeol’s controversial use of vulgar language, against rising accusations of attempts at censorship of the press.
The presidential office said Tuesday night it sent an official letter to MBC President Park Sung-je asking for clarification on the matter.
The letter asked the broadcaster to answer on what grounds it wrote the subtitles for Yoon’s remarks in a video showing him conversing with aides shortly after attending the Global Fund's Seventh Replenishment Conference in New York. It also asked the broadcaster about whether efforts had been made to verify Yoon’s remarks with the presidential office.
“Regarding the MBC report, the presidential office said the subtitles were false. However, MBC did not revise the initial report but rather made additional reports, and the contents were reproduced with subtitles called ‘domestic media reports,’” the letter said, adding it damaged the alliance with the US as well as the national interest.
MBC immediately refuted the office’s claim, releasing its own statement.
“It is very regrettable that the presidential office, the highest authority, sent an official letter to the president of a public broadcasting company in the form of clarification of the reporting process, despite that there is an institutional mechanism that can object to the report,” the statement said.
“Even though most domestic media outlets reported the same, the fact that (the presidential office) sent such an official letter only to MBC raises doubts about whether it is trying to settle the controversy by sacrificing MBC,” it added.
MBC hoped that the recent attack on the broadcaster, which is being conducted primarily by some political circles, is not an attempt to “curb the public monitoring” and “criticism functions of the media.”
During his trip to New York last week, Yoon was caught on a hot mic insulting the US Congress. In the video released by local media, Yoon told his aides with vulgar language that it would be embarrassing for Biden if Congress did not approve something unspecified. The presidential office later sought to clarify that the remarks were directed at Korea's National Assembly, not the US Congress.
On Tuesday, the People Power Party launched a task force to find out the truth of what they called “MBC’s biased manipulated broadcasting.”
The following day, the ruling People Power Party members, including Vice Floor Leader Song Eon-seok, visited MBC in protest of the controversy over Yoon’s remarks. The lawmakers also held a rally on MBC's purportedly manipulated broadcasts, including pickets in front of MBC's management center.
The ruling party is additionally urging MBC executives to resign. On Monday, some lawmakers held a press conference demanding the resignation of MBC President Park Sung-je and an apology broadcast, saying, "It is a serious manipulation broadcast that will remain as a dark stain on the media."
The party announced that it would take decisive action against Korea’s leading broadcaster MBC, which first reported Yoon’s remarks.
By Shin Ji-hye (shinjh@heraldcorp.com)
koreaherald.com · by Shin Ji-hye · September 28, 2022
14. DPRK lashes out against international system governed by ‘exclusive Western values’
These "western values" are universal values and rights and enshrined in the UN Declaration of Human Rights.
We must not forget that in the context of the political warfare structure on the Korean peninsula, it is an ideological war and the Korean people on both sides fo the DMZ have to be able to make a choice.
A reminder:
Subversion
- The undermining of the power and authority of an established system or institution.
-
As in: "the ruthless subversion of democracy"
- Ideological War – a choice between:
- Shared ROK/US Values
- Freedom and individual liberty, liberal democracy, free market economy, rule of law, and human rights
- Kim family regime (KFR) “values”
- Juche/Kimilsungism/now "KIMJONGUNISM," Socialist Workers Paradise, Songun, Songbun, Byungjin, and denial of human rights to sustain KFR power
- nK engages in political warfare and active subversion of the ROK
Political Warfare: Political warfare is the use of political means to compel an opponent to do one's will, based on hostile intent. The term political describes the calculated interaction between a government and a target audience to include another state's government, military, and/or general population. Governments use a variety of techniques to coerce certain actions, thereby gaining relative advantage over an opponent. The techniques include propaganda and psychological operations (PSYOP), which service national and military objectives respectively. Propaganda has many aspects and a hostile and coercive political purpose. Psychological operations are for strategic and tactical military objectives and may be intended for hostile military and civilian populations. Smith, Paul A., On Political War (Washington: National Defense University Press, 1989), p. 3. https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a233501.pdf
DPRK lashes out against international system governed by ‘exclusive Western values’
news.un.org · September 26, 2022
“The present reality urgently calls for the UN to promote more than ever before cooperation and reconciliation, and unity and solidarity among its Member States, and to discharge its righteous missions and role,” Ambassador Kim Song said.
Security Council reform
He said the UN Security Council is not “fully discharging” its mandate to safeguard international peace, because of the “unjust and double-dealing acts” of the United States and other States following in its footsteps.
The Council “does not say even a word about the high-handedness and arbitrariness, reckless arms build-up and war crimes of the US, but picks a quarrel with his country at every chance in its righteous efforts to bolster national self-defence capabilities”.
Mr. Song argued that the 15-nation body has lost international confidence and is in urgent need of reform.
To put an end to the arrogance of specific countries including the US and restore confidence, he advised that “urgent priority should be given to the expansion and strengthening of the representation of developing countries, which account for the absolute majority of the UN membership”.
Korean peninsula security
Turning to regional security, the Ambassador maintained that the Korean peninsula is caught in “a vicious cycle of tension and confrontation due to the increasing hostility of the US” and its forces against the North.
Noting that “it is heading into a much more dangerous phase,” he drew attention to US President Joe Biden’s address to the Assembly in which “he picked on us saying that despite their ‘efforts to begin serious and sustained diplomacy,’ the DPRK continues to blatantly violate UN ‘sanctions’”.
“To put it clearly, we have never recognized such ‘resolutions’ of the UN that impose pressure because we do not abide by its ‘rules’ made by the US unilaterally,” said the Ambassador, stressing that his country never would.
He observed that even though several countries in the world possess nuclear weapons, only the DPRK has been “subjected to the most brigandish and brutal” sanctions resolutions.
“This is because the UN connived at and allowed the high-handedness and arbitrariness of the US antagonizing the independent DPRK with an absurd reason that it differs in its ideas and systems and opposes its unjust policy,” said Mr. Song.
Against the backdrop that the US is planning to conduct joint military exercises in the region, he described it as “an extremely dangerous act of igniting the fuse to drive the situation on the Korean peninsula to the brink of war”.
“The United States should clearly understand that its heinous and hostile policy against the DPRK over the past 30 years had just brought about today’s reality and ask and answer itself and ponder over how far it would prolong this situation in the future," he added.
Foreign policy stand
In closing, the Ambassador upheld the DPRK’s foreign policy stance to maintain independence, peace and friendship.
He pledged broad cooperation with all countries and nations that “oppose and reject aggression and interference, domination and subordination” and to develop “multifaceted exchanges and cooperation even with the capitalist countries that respect our country and take friendly attitude to it”.
“The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea sets great store by sovereign equality and international justice…and it will fulfil its responsibilities and role in ensuring peace and security on the Korean peninsula”.
news.un.org · September 26, 2022
De Oppresso Liber,
David Maxwell
Senior Fellow, Foundation for Defense of Democracies
Senior Fellow, Global Peace Foundation
Senior Advisor, Center for Asia Pacific Strategy
Editor, Small Wars Journal
Twitter: @davidmaxwell161
Phone: 202-573-8647
email: david.maxwell161@gmail.com
| 
