Quotes of the Day:

"We shouldn't teach great books; we should teach a love of reading."

– B.F. Skinner

"What more is necessary to make us a happy and prosperous people? Still one thing more ... a wise and frugal government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, which shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from labor the bread it has earned." 

– Thomas Jefferson

"I have learned two lessons in my life: first, there are no sufficient literary, psychological, or historical answers to human tragedy, only moral ones. Second, just as despair can come to one another only from other human beings, hope, too, can be given to one only by other human beings." 

– Elie Wiesel

1. A 10 Point Promise to the North Korean People

2. Will South Korea’s Defense Industry Boom Change U.S.-ROK Military Relations?

3. United States of America-Republic of Korea Extended Deterrence Strategy and Consultation Group

4. S. Korea to hold defense ministerial meeting with UNC member states next week

5. Russia has procured over 16,500 containers of munitions, related materiel from N. Korea since last Sept.: US official

6. [Exclusive] Old Korean Legation building could get historic listing Monday

7. S. Korea, US brace for NK 'grave provocations' around US election

8. N. Korea sending balloons into S. Korea for 2nd consecutive day: JCS

9. North Korean Spies Are Infiltrating U.S. Companies Through IT Jobs

10. UAE begins commercial operation of 4th nuclear reactor at S. Korean-built plant

11. North Korea punishes teenagers for watching S. Korean dramas, publicly shames families

12. ‘Sense of duty’: US, South Korea search underwater for missing Korean War bomber

13. ＜Inside N. Korea＞'I'm too hungry to work'... Flood Recovery Workers Deserting Due to Starvation, Continued Government Demands for Materials and Aid from Ordinary People

14. Trump’s Extolling North Korea’s Leader Kim Jong-un Has South Korean Policy-Makers Worried

15. N. Korea urgently extends rail lines to military fuel depots to enhance security

16. Bold remarks by Yoon's aide on US elections reflect Trump concerns

17. The Politics of Flooding and Stability in North Korea

18. US Navy ship enters Hanwha Ocean plant for maintenance

1. A 10 Point Promise to the North Korean People

This is a very important proposal. I will be referencing this in all my future writings that include comments on information. It should be a foundational element/message in a public diplomacy/information campaign targeting the regime elite, second tier leadership and the Korean people in the north.

A 10 Point Promise to the North Korean People

Posted by Committee for Human Rights in North Korea  

https://www.hrnkinsider.org/2024/09/a-10-point-promise-to-north-korean.html

A 10 Point Promise to the North Korean People

By Commander Fredrick “Skip” Vincenzo, USN (ret.)

 September 4, 2024

North Korea’s well documented record of human rights abuses is probably the worst in modern history. The United Nations Report of the Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea[1] is arguably the gold standard among the many reports that have extensively documented the Kim Regime’s systematic abuse of its own people. There is general consensus among the North Korea-focused “Community of Interest” on the need to push more information to the people in North Korea. As part of this effort the Republic of Korea (ROK)—United States (US) Alliance should take a more aggressive stance by bypassing the Kim regime and engaging in a direct, public conversation with the people in North Korea. The first step would be to publish an official version of this paper’s 10 point promise to the North Korean people as the means to demonstrate the sincerity of the outside world and counter what has been the foundation for decades of indoctrination by the Kim regime: The Ten Principles of Monolithic Ideology(TPMI).

The TPMI are, as Robert Collins has written in his book, Pyongyang Republic[2],:

 “the primary creed of the Kim regime. In practice, the Ten Principles have a greater impact on the daily lives of every North Korean than the KWP Charter, the constitution, or civil law. North Korea’s own political dictionary describes the principles as ‘the ideological system by which the whole Party and people is firmly armed with the revolutionary ideology of the Suryeong [Suryong] and united solidly around him, carrying out the revolutionary battle and construction battle under the sole leadership of the Suryeong,’…All North Koreans are required to memorize and strictly comply with the Ten Principles. Failure to do so is seen as treason, and results in severe punishment, incarceration, or banishment to political prison camps.” 

The people of North Korea need an alternative to this ideological indoctrination. This 10-point promise is designed to give them a framework for better understanding the contrast between what the outside world offers and the way the Kim regime forces them to live. In doing so, these promises undermine the core narrative of the Kim regime and replace the TPMI with a credible lens through which they can process what they see and hear from the outside in a way that provides hope for a better future without Kim. These promises should be used as the core for all outside information efforts. The leaders of the ROK, the US, and prominent figures in the international community who focus on North Korean human rights should publicly embrace this promise and do what they can to put in place policies and practices to make them real.

The 10 Point Promise

The increasingly irresponsible and dangerous behavior of Kim Jong Un is of great concern to the Republic of Korea (ROK), the United States (US) and the other free countries of the world. His aggressive pursuit of nuclear weapons and long-range missiles is a grave threat to the entire world. Contrary to what you are told, the ROK-US Alliance has no intention of invading North Korea. We could easily have destroyed your country many times but have chosen not to because we do not hate you. For proof of this simply compare the wealth and technology you have witnessed in foreign videos to how the Kim regime forces you to live. Who do you think has the real power? If we had truly wanted to destroy North Korea we surely would have already done so. Instead, we seek peace.

Freedom has allowed the ROK to develop a strong economy with a high standard of living while the Kim family, in glorifying itself, has repressed you and maintained a hostile attitude to the outside world to justify this repression. As a result of these hostile policies and the behavior of Kim Jong Un, North Korea is a pariah state, looked upon with worry and contempt.

Why do you need nuclear weapons? Can you or your children eat them? Do they keep you warm or treat your illnesses? These are basic human rights that governments the world over are supposed to provide for their people. Why not you? Instead, Kim tells you he needs these weapons to protect the system that represses you—ask yourself if it is worth protecting?

Until now, North Korea has been a relatively minor threat confined to the Korea Peninsula because it could not do real harm to the world. The nuclear weapons Kim tells you he needs change the game. The ROK—US alliance is extremely concerned by Kim Jong Un’s irresponsible and dangerous threats to use nuclear weapons. We DO NOT seek war but are concerned that his foolish actions and threats will start one. IF this happens, we know that Kim’s weapons could do great damage and kill millions of our people. To prevent this, we will be forced to use our full might to remove the threat to the world. This means you and your families will probably die.

To avoid this we ask you, the North Korean people, party officials and military commanders to consider the fate of your families and if Kim is so foolish as to start a war with the world, do not follow him. In choosing to abandon Kim, YOU, the people in North Korea—common folk and elites at all levels—will gain a brighter future in a peaceful North Korea free from Kim Jong Un. We are NOT calling for you to get rid of him now. We would prefer that he simply focus on improving how you live and stop threatening us but if he is foolish enough to start a war, that will be when you will have to decide to act to secure the safety and future of your families and not follow him into death. If war happens, do not engage in acts of violence or obey his orders—instead, look after your families and survive.

As a sign of commitment to peace we make this 10-point pledge to the rights of the North Korean people. If a war happens avoid violence, survive and we guarantee you a better future.

1.     You and your families will not be killed, abused or taken advantage of. Despite what you have been told, we do not seek to subjugate, abuse, harm or kill you or your children. We will seek to establish a safe and peaceful environment for you to live and prosper. If our soldiers commit crimes against you, they will be punished. Your personal property rights will be respected. We will establish the rule of law in accordance with accepted international legal norms and you will have legal rights that will be respected.

2.     Freedom from malnutrition. In the event of war, ROK-US alliance, with the support of the International Community, is prepared to provide immediate assistance—to the extent that this is desired and useful. As soon as it is safe to do so, we will bring in rice, meat, vegetables and other nutrition to include baby food—a diet normally available to infants and young children all over the world. If areas of North Korea are damaged in fighting, we will bring food and support to your homes.

3.     Modern health care. As soon as conditions permit, Alliance forces will bring in equipment, medicine, and trained medical personnel to assist North Korean doctors in treating diseases and improving the health of the North Korean people. You will not have to bribe or otherwise pay for this treatment.

4.     Shelter. You are guaranteed a warm, dry place to live with modern necessities like power and running water. Although this will not be instantaneous or easy, once a safe and peaceful environment can be established, the ROK-US Alliance, with the help of the international community, will repair existing housing, electric power and water systems—and build new modern ones where required to meet the needs of the North Korean people.

5.     Freedom from the control of the Korean Workers Party (KWP) and ideological suppression. The Korean Workers Party will be abolished and replaced by a government that serves you, with leaders you will choose and who respect your basic rights. Systems of political control will be abolished. The ten principles of monolithic ideology will be discarded, and mandatory political indoctrination will cease. This means political crimes will be abolished, political prisoners will be released, and mandatory weekly self-criticism sessions will end. The political power of the Inminban will be removed and people will no longer be required to report on each other.

6.     Opportunity, education, and freedom to seek employment you want. The government will no longer dictate which jobs you may do. Although it will take time to rebuild—such is that damage that Kim Jong Un has done to North Korea’s economy—the ROK-US Alliance, supported by investment from the outside world will develop the economy. This will provide rewarding jobs and opportunity for you and your children. 

a.     Jobs & salary guarantee: As peace and stability are established, we want you to remain in place and be industrious in helping rebuild a reunited Korea. With minor exceptions, you will be asked to continue to do the job you currently have but will start being paid a real salary in your current job to enable to you buy food, clothes and other items.

b.     Education guarantee: North Korea’s well-established school system will continue to educate your children, but political indoctrination will stop, and classes will focus on real learning—such as science, math, language, art, and music in order to prepare your children with the skills and knowledge to be successful in the modern world.

7.     Freedom to travel: As peace and stability are established, you will be allowed to travel freely without government interference throughout the Korean Peninsula and to foreign countries.

8.     The rule of law and an end to corruption. As peace and stability are established, the rule of reasonable law—centered on the principle of freedom and fairness which is the norm across the democratic world—will be instituted. Your property rights will be established, your property will be respected and won’t be seized arbitrarily. You will no longer be required to pay bribes to police, government officials and others.

9.     Transitional justice: For the past 76 years, the Kim family has abused and mistreated you. To do so, it has put in place a horrible system of policing and repression. Most of you have suffered under it even as some of your fellow Koreans were forced to participate in and enforce this system. However, some have even profited from this system. A transparent, publicly accessible system of transitional justice will be put in place to facilitate accountability, forgiveness and redemption of former KWP officials complicit in the crimes against the Korean people perpetrated by the Kim regime.

10.  Full citizenship in a unified and free Korean Peninsula. The North Korean people will take their place in a free, democratic and economically vibrant unified Korea supported by free, equal, and secret elections as well as constitutional conditions that ensure freedom and the protection of basic human rights. The “Songbun” system will be immediately eliminated, and you will no longer live under the restrictions it imposes.

Kim Jong Un and the terrible, unjust system he has put in place is the cause of your current suffering. You live in conditions that are among the worst in the world while just a few kilometers to the south 55 million of your fellow Koreans live in freedoom and prosperity. His arrogance, greed and selfishness are the reasons you suffer in cold misery. It is because of his hostility and irresponsible pursuit of nuclear weapons that we believe he has become a true threat to world peace. We fear his misguided policies will lead to war and destruction which we seek to avoid for both of our peoples. We recognize that no one wins in a war with nuclear weapons where millions will die and so we make you this offer.

If Kim’s foolish behavior leads you to war, find ways to avoid fighting Alliance forces. Our technology and firepower are overwhelming. If this happens you will have to choose under conditions of great uncertainty to trust that people you have never met are not as bad as the man you know Kim Jong Un to be. Do not follow his orders to employ weapons of mass destruction. Do not kill civilians or prisoners. Instead, help end the evil rule of the Kim family, do what you can to lessen the violence and destruction and help your fellow North Koreans to survive. Military soldiers and the officers that control them will be rewarded for weapons, ammunition and missiles and other dangerous items that are turned over unused. Government officials and civil employees find ways to do your part to end violence and continue to provide services to your people.

As time goes forward, we ask you to weigh what you can see and hear of the outside world with the reality of the world Kim Jong Un forces on you. No one knows today what a reunified Korea will ultimately look like, but the destiny of the Korean Peninsula is to be fully part of the international community with respect for human rights and the right of national self-determination. We are aware that the path to Korean unity poses many difficult questions to which no one today can give definitive answers. This especially includes the difficult and decisive question of the overarching security structures in Asia. What happens after Kim Jong Un is gone is a future we need to build together.

In making this 10-point promise, we guarantee you and you families a fruitful place in a reunified Korean Peninsula. Our intent and purpose in making these commitments to you is to avoid a conflict which is likely to destroy the Korean people and damage the rest of the world in the process. We can peacefully overcome the division of the Korean people, but this means prudence, reason, and good judgment on everyone's part.

Commander Fredrick “Skip” Vincenzo, USN (ret.), is a nonresident senior fellow with both the Center for Naval Analyses and the Indo-Pacific Security Initiative at the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security—as well as a non-resident fellow with the Irregular Warfare Initiative. He is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and completed Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training. With a career spanning 28 years—more than two thirds of that spent deployed on operations or permanently assigned overseas—he has extensive experience in Special Operations, Korean security, information operations, counter terror, NATO, and countering hybrid threats. His groundbreaking work on information-based sub-national deterrence is emerging as one of the most promising options for dealing with aggression coercion of authoritarians like Russia, China, and North Korea. His professional writing has appeared in numerous online security publications, and his largest collaborative piece, “An Information Based Strategy to Reduce North Korea’s Increasing Threat[3],” was cited by both the Wall Street Journal and Foreign Affairs Magazine as one of the few underexplored options for dealing with an increasingly dangerous North Korea.

[1] “Report of the Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea | OHCHR.” United Nations Human Rights Council. Accessed September 4, 2024. https://www.ohchr.org/en/hr-bodies/hrc/co-idprk/reportofthe-commissionof-inquiry-dprk.

[2] Robert Collins, “Pyongyang Republic,” HRNK, accessed September 4, 2024, https://www.hrnk.org/uploads/pdfs/Collins_PyongyangRepublic_FINAL_WEB.pdf.

[3] Fredrick Skip Vincenzo, An information based strategy to reduce North Korea’s increasing ..., October 2016, https://georgetownsecuritystudiesreview.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/An-Information-Based-Strategy-to-Reduce-North-Koreas-Increasing-Threat.pdf.

2. Will South Korea’s Defense Industry Boom Change U.S.-ROK Military Relations?

Yes. For the better. The ROK as a partner in the Arsenal of Democracy is a good thing for the alliance. Unlike WWII, the US cannot produce everything for everyone.

Will South Korea’s Defense Industry Boom Change U.S.-ROK Military Relations?

South Korea's defense industry growth signifies opportunities for increased security independence, but is unlikely to shake up the country's military partnership with the US

By  Hunter Slingbaum  •  Kaitlyn King

Korean Peninsula

• August 19, 2024
• https://www.stimson.org/2024/will-south-koreas-defense-industry-boom-change-u-s-rok-military-relations/?utm
•  

As South Korea continues to secure massive, back-to-back defense deals, the country has emerged as a force in the global defense industry. South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has made expanding the defense industry a core tenet of his presidency, promoting several policies in service of his goal to make South Korea the world’s fourth-largest defense exporter by 2027. This defense industry buildup has focused primarily on arms exports of vehicles such as combat aircraft and tanks and artillery, as well as the shipbuilding industry, though also expanding to military technology and artillery components. 

While the United States has a history of constraining its allies’ ability to build up independent defense production capabilities, that has done little to stop the ROK in recent years. In fact, the United States has been fairly supportive of this shift and seen room for South Korean production to supplement U.S. production shortages, especially as U.S. weapons stockpiles have quickly dwindled over the course of the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza. So, what does this mean for the future of the U.S.-ROK military alliance? 

South Korea’s Arms Industry and Ambitions

It’s not new that South Korea is producing a large share of its own military hardware, though Yoon has emphasized the push for a greater export market as a distinct feature of his administration, highlighting the defense industry as the nation’s “future growth engine.” 

Yoon’s goals for South Korea’s foreign policy and defense exports are complementary: become a “Global Pivotal State” and increase the nation’s international role and engagement through this form of economic and military diplomacy. South Korea also plans to increase its defense research and development budget over the coming years, aiming to grow its share of the global arms market from two to five percent by 2027. 

South Korea’s efforts to expand its defense production have led the country to become the world’s tenth largest arms exporter in 2023, up three ranks from ten years prior. Manufacturers like Hanwha Aerospace, Korean Aerospace Industries, and Hyundai Rotem have been at the forefront of expansion, bringing in lucrative deals like the $13.7 billion sale of weapon systems to Poland in 2022; a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the UAE in 2023 on strategic defense industry cooperation; and 51 deals and MOUs worth $15.6 billion with Saudi Arabia in 2023. As part of this push, South Korea has prioritized defense cooperation to support the development of deeper and varied partnerships beyond just seller-buyer relationships, as seen in frequent visits and talks between high-level officials. 

U.S.-ROK Military Relations

Once fully dependent on U.S. military support, South Korea has worked to equalize the relationship, building up its domestic defense capacity over the last several decades. While the United States remains their primary external supporter, 76 percent of South Korea’s weapons systems were produced domestically in 2020, and the Korean Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) plans to increase domestic production of components such as semiconductors for defense systems. 

That is not to say South Korea is attempting to fully detach from U.S.-provided defense capabilities. Currently, the most significant ways the United States provides for ROK defense needs are via personnel/troops, training support, and a nuclear umbrella—all of which remain firm, uncontested commitments. Especially given South Korea’s aging population, U.S. troops provide a necessary personnel boost to ROK forces and assure U.S. basing access in the country, a critical U.S. interest in the larger effort to remain engaged in the Indo-Pacific and contain and deter actors like China and North Korea.  

Increased South Korean defense industrial base capacity, particularly in arms and shipbuilding, has the potential to directly support the United States. For example, with US-China competition escalating and the Biden administration pushing to rival China in shipbuilding, increased cooperation with South Korea—a global leader in shipbuilding—presents a critical opportunity to reduce U.S. dependency on Chinese commercial ships and components while fulfilling core economic and security needs, particularly as U.S. shipbuilding programs face delays. This cooperation could be as minor as increasing the use of South Korean parts in U.S. shipbuilding or as extensive as coproduction. U.S. Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro recently emphasized such potential, pointing to the South Korean shipbuilding industry’s quality and capacity to increase production rates. The most substantive barrier to this partnership is not in its value to both parties, nor its general viability, but in increasingly strict “Buy America” regulations that, among other provisions, prevent any increased use of South Korean components in U.S. naval vessels.   

An Exercise in Fortune-Telling: What If the ROK Succeeds? 

So, it’s 2027, Yoon’s proposed deadline has passed, and South Korea has successfully achieved its goal of becoming a key player in the global defense industry. What changes? At least in terms of the U.S.-ROK relationship, likely not much.  

It is feasible that South Korea will gain a bit more autonomy in navigating the international sphere, given its deepened relations with other nations via arms sales not facilitated by the United States. Such relationships may even provide Seoul greater leverage in select negotiations with the United States, given the opportunity for South Korea to diversify and strengthen its supply chains and remain less dependent on certain U.S.-provided defense capabilities.  

That said, the United States and South Korea remain vital allies, and South Korean and U.S. interests do generally align; even without as many direct dependencies, South Korea is unlikely to act in ways counter to U.S. wishes. To demonstrate, one of the most notable cases of U.S.-ROK disconnect in recent years has been the failure of U.S. pressure to convince South Korea to directly supply arms to Ukraine, as South Korean law prohibits sending arms to a conflict zone. Even in this case, U.S. and ROK strategic interests remain largely aligned in upholding territorial sovereignty and supporting efforts to maintain some version of international order. Given that alignment, South Korea found a workaround to its own laws by supporting U.S. partners outside of Ukraine, approving a $134 million deal with the United Kingdom for artillery supplies for NATO forces. This has come alongside similar ROK sales to partners like Poland and nonlethal military support to Ukraine. 

For those who remain skeptical whether South Korea would continue to uphold U.S. strategic interests, its dependencies on the United States would not suddenly vanish if it becomes more self-reliant. In this scenario, the role of the United States in assuring South Korean security is unlikely to change, as the primary dimensions of U.S. support go well beyond providing arms. Thus, the United States would maintain critical levers to pull to ensure that U.S. and ROK interests stay aligned.  

Others fear that U.S. defense contractors would face increased competition. This may be true, but such pressures would be marginal, given the United States’ 42 percent share of the global market. Further, individual contractor needs are distinct from national strategic interests that serve the American people—which must remain paramount. Such competition could even pressure U.S. contractors to lower costs and increase the quality of their products, saving U.S. taxpayer dollars without sacrificing national security.  Ultimately, ROK defense production growth will primarily provide domestic benefits and have a negligible impact on the military alliance with the United States, and will likely even lead to increased cooperation between the countries. Though unlikely to be groundbreaking, improved South Korean defense capacity could aid current collaborative efforts, such as joint aims to bolster the resiliency and reliability of defense supply chains, or spur yet unseen avenues for mutually beneficial agreements. The hurdles to this future will not vanish overnight, but a United States that supports rather than constrains the ROK’s capacity-building efforts will be best positioned to reap the benefits that a strong, capable ally can provide. 

3. United States of America-Republic of Korea Extended Deterrence Strategy and Consultation Group

United States of America-Republic of Korea Extended Deterrence Strategy and Consultation Group

https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/article/3894971/united-states-of-america-republic-of-korea-extended-deterrence-strategy-and-con/

Sept. 4, 2024 |   

On Sept. 4, the foreign affairs and defense agencies of the United States and Republic of Korea (ROK) convened the fifth meeting of the Extended Deterrence Strategy and Consultation Group (EDSCG) in Washington. Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Bonnie Jenkins and Acting Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Cara Abercrombie led the U.S. delegation. ROK First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Kim Hong Kyun and Deputy Minister for National Defense Policy Dr. Cho Chang Lae led the ROK delegation. 

The EDSCG serves as a key annual forum for the Alliance to discuss and coordinate on security strategy and policy issues affecting the Korean Peninsula and broader Indo-Pacific. The fifth EDSCG built on the progress of the previous years' meetings and carried forward the significant Alliance efforts to strengthen extended deterrence since the April 2023 announcement of the Washington Declaration.

In the meeting, participants shared assessments on the DPRK's dangerous and irresponsible behavior, including its ongoing missile launches and continued pursuit of weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs in violation of the relevant United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions. Both sides also shared concerns on the DPRK's recent reckless and dangerous behaviors along the DMZ that raise the risk of inadvertent escalation on the Peninsula. Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula consistent with UNSC resolutions. The two sides committed to further enhance coordination to address DPRK sanctions evasion, including malicious cyber activities, and bolster deterrence against DPRK nuclear attacks, as well as non-nuclear WMD attacks, which pose a threat of high consequence, strategic-level attacks to the Alliance. The United States reiterated its strong support for President Yoon's aim to open a path for serious and sustained diplomacy with the DPRK, and the goals of the ROK's Audacious Initiative. Both sides reaffirmed that they remain open to dialogue without preconditions.

The ROK and the United States condemned the military cooperation between the DPRK and Russia, including arms transfers, which are in direct violation of UNSC resolutions, and identified measures to address the challenge posed by increased DPRK-Russia security cooperation. Both sides resolved to closely monitor what Russia provides to the DPRK and urged Russia and the DPRK to abide by the relevant UNSC resolutions.

The ROK and the United States recognized the deepening interconnectedness between the Indo-Pacific and the Euro-Atlantic and discussed the implications for deterrence and U.S. nuclear posture. The two sides considered the impact of non-nuclear threats to the Alliance, including emerging technologies, and committed to leverage Alliance technology advantages to enhance the Alliance's deterrence and defense posture. They pledged to continue to utilize the diplomatic, informational, military, and economic tools available to the Alliance to strengthen deterrence and reinforce the U.S. security commitment to the ROK. To that end, both sides committed to cooperating with likeminded partners to counter foreign misinformation on extended deterrence. Both sides welcomed the significant advances made by the Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) in its first year, including the completion and signing of the NCG Guidelines. In the context of a deteriorating security environment, the principals conducted a scenario-based discussion, for the first time at the EDSCG, to strengthen policy planning and coordination. 

Acknowledging mounting regional threats, the ROK and the United States committed to continue close cooperation to ensure that ROK and U.S. strategies and postures enhance peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific. The United States reiterated its ironclad commitment to draw on the full range of its military capabilities, including nuclear, to support extended deterrence for the ROK. Both sides reaffirmed that any nuclear attack by the DPRK against the ROK will be met with a swift, overwhelming, and decisive response, and the United States reiterated that any nuclear attack by the DPRK against the United States or its allies is unacceptable and will result in the end of that regime.

The co-chairs met with Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell in the State Department Treaty Room, where they applauded the EDSCG as an enduring Alliance forum to strengthen extended deterrence through cooperation between both countries' diplomatic and defense establishments. Following the meeting, the principals visited the National and Nuclear Risk Reduction Center and praised the rich history of the Alliance at a press conference, where they commended the continued progress of the EDSCG. The next high-level EDSCG meeting will be held in 2025.

4. S. Korea to hold defense ministerial meeting with UNC member states next week

The continued revitalization of the UNC is a positive development for the defense of the ROK.

S. Korea to hold defense ministerial meeting with UNC member states next week

The Korea Times · September 5, 2024

Defense Minister Shin Won-sik, center, speaks during the UNC member states defense ministerial meeting at the Ministry of National Defense, Yongsan District, Seoul, Nov. 14, 2023. Joint Press Corps

South Korea will hold a defense ministerial meeting with member states of the U.S.-led U.N. Command in Seoul next week to discuss ways to bolster security cooperation, the defense ministry said Thursday.

South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won-sik and his Canadian counterpart, Bill Blair, will co-host the meeting Tuesday, with representatives from 17 other UNC member states present, the ministry said.

South Korea, which is not a member of the UNC but serves as its host country, has sought to deepen ties with the UNC to bolster deterrence against growing military threats posed by North Korea.

The upcoming meeting marks the second of its kind following last year's inaugural gathering.

The UNC was established in July 1950 under a U.N. mandate to support South Korea against North Korea's aggression during the 1950-53 Korean War and has been overseeing the armistice that halted the conflict.

Participants will discuss the security situation on the Korean Peninsula and beyond, as well as measures to strengthen cooperation between South Korea and the UNC members, the ministry said.

During last year's meeting, UNC member states vowed to be united upon any armed attack against South Korea.

The current 18 UNC members are Australia, Belgium, Britain, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, the Philippines, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey and the United States.

Some 1.98 million personnel from 22 countries were dispatched to support South Korea during and right after the Korean War, which ended with the armistice, not a peace treaty.

North Korea has long called for dissolving the command and recently accused Washington of trying to make an Asian version of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) when Germany newly joined the UNC last month.

Meanwhile, the defense ministry will also hold an annual international security conference in Seoul next week to discuss threats to the global security environment and measures to respond to them.

The two-day Seoul Defense Dialogue will kick off Wednesday, bringing together some 900 security officials and experts, including Rob Bauer, chair of the NATO Military committee, and defense chiefs from the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia and others.

The conference will feature sessions on the possibility of armed conflict in Asia and other regions, security threats in the Indo-Pacific region, and challenges to the global nonproliferation regime, the ministry said. (Yonhap)

The Korea Times · September 5, 2024

5. Russia has procured over 16,500 containers of munitions, related materiel from N. Korea since last Sept.: US official

Russia has procured over 16,500 containers of munitions, related materiel from N. Korea since last Sept.: US official

The Korea Times · September 5, 2024

A representative from the prosecutor's office shows parts of an unidentified missile, which Ukrainian authorities believe to be made in North Korea and was used in a strike in Kharkiv earlier this week, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Jan. 6. Reuters-Yonhap

Russia has secured more than 16,500 containers of munitions and related materiel from North Korea since September last year, a U.S. official said Wednesday, in yet another sign of deepening military cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang.

During a security forum in Washington, Robert Koepcke, deputy assistant secretary of state for Korea, Japan and Mongolia, also revealed that since late December, Russia has launched upward of 65 North Korean missiles into Ukraine.

The official's remarks came as Washington has been working with allies to disrupt and prevent arms transactions between the North and Russia amid growing concerns about their security implications for the Korean Peninsula and Europe.

"Since September of last year, Russia has procured over 16,500 shipping containers of munitions and munitions-related materiel from DPRK," he said, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

"These arms transfers constitute clear violations of multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions," he added.

Koepcke also said that Washington is "deepening concerned" about what North Korea is getting in return for its arms support for Russia.

"In return for its missiles going to Ukraine, we believe Pyongyang is seeking military assistance from Russia, including fighter aircraft, surface-to-air missiles, armored vehicles, ballistic missile production equipment and other materials," he said.

The official underscored the ramifications from Russia's use of North Korean weapons on a war-torn Ukraine.

"Russia is using DPRK bullets and missiles to kill Ukrainian civilians, destroy Ukrainian cities and infrastructure, and prolong Russia's unlawful war," he said.

He also reiterated that the door for dialogue with North Korea remains open.

"The United States remains committed to diplomacy. We are willing to engage in dialogue without preconditions," he said.

"Advancing regional and global peace and security means we are open to discussing security issues, as well as human rights and humanitarian issues, including on family reunifications or inclusion and accessibility for persons with disabilities."

But as long as the North refuses to engage in dialogue and continues to carry out provocations, the U.S. will be compelled to take steps to protect itself and its allies, he said. (Yonhap)

The Korea Times · September 5, 2024

6. [Exclusive] Old Korean Legation building could get historic listing Monday

It is a very distinguished and elegant building that should be preserved.  

[Exclusive] Old Korean Legation building could get historic listing Monday

koreaherald.com · by Choi Si-young · September 5, 2024

By Choi Si-young

Published : Sept. 5, 2024 - 11:12

The Old Korean Legation building in Washington, DC. (Korea Heritage Service)

The decision on whether to designate the Old Korean Legation building in Washington, DC a US historic place worthy of preservation will be made Monday, and it would be “very uncommon” to see the US National Park Service reject the proposed designation, sources confirmed to The Korea Herald.

“Action will be taken on this nomination on Sept. 9,” a National Park Service official with direct knowledge of the matter said, referring to the application filed by the DC Historic Preservation Office. It seeks to recognize the 19th-century building officially on the National Register of Historic Places, the US government’s list of buildings, sites and structures known for their historic or artistic value.

The DC Historic Preservation Office received a request for the designation from the Korea Heritage Service in March, and the DC Historic Preservation Review Board advised the DC mayor to recommend its approval.

The Old Korean Legation, Korea’s first permanent diplomatic mission to the US, is tied to Korea’s efforts for a modern state in the late 19th century and independence from Japanese colonial rule in the 20th century, according to the HPO.

An HPO official familiar with the ongoing process said it is “very uncommon” for the NPS to reject a nomination.

“This is largely due to the fact that all nominations have already been heavily vetted by HPO staff and HPRB before submitting the nomination,” the official said, adding no letters of opposition had been filed during the period of gathering public input that started in early August and lasted over a month.

A return, rather than a rejection, could happen, in which case the HPO would “follow up with additional documentation or revised information and then resubmit the application successfully,” the official noted.

Established in 1877, the Washington building served as the Korean legation from 1889-1905, the first-ever Korean overseas mission in the West. The Korea Heritage Service acquired the building in 2012 and turned it into a museum in 2018 after a three-year restoration.

Monday’s signing by the National Park Service would mark the first time a Korean government-owned building receives an “individual listing” for its historical significance. The legation is currently listed in the US National Register as a “contributing building” in two historic districts: the Logan Circle Historic District and the Fourteen Street Historic District, both in DC.

The two were recognized in 1972 and 1994, respectively.

“The NPS is looking at the legation on its own merits as a historic piece and that’s why this nomination matters,” a Korea Heritage Service official said.

7. S. Korea, US brace for NK 'grave provocations' around US election

While I do not put much stock in an "October surprise," it is good to see officials working through scenarios.  

The question to ask is what action could Kim take that could have an impact on the election? Short of going to war there is not much that would likely influence the outcome.

Another missile launch over Japan? A nuclear test? An atmospheric nuclear test? A Choenan like incident (sinking a Korean warship)?

S. Korea, US brace for NK 'grave provocations' around US election

koreaherald.com · by Ji Da-gyum · September 5, 2024

High-level officials hold first scenario-based discussion simulating NK nuclear threats

By Ji Da-gyum

Published : Sept. 5, 2024 - 15:06

(From left to right) South Korea's First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Kim Hong Kyun, US Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Bonnie Jenkins, US Acting Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Cara Abercrombie and South Korea's Deputy Minister for National Defense Policy Cho Chang-lae convene for the fifth meeting of the Extended Deterrence Strategy and Consultation Group (EDSCG) in Washington on Wednesday. (Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

South Korea and the United States concluded Wednesday that the possibility of North Korea launching "grave provocations" around the US presidential election in November could not be dismissed, prompting discussions on a coordinated response to a range of potential scenarios.

The high-level meeting of the Extended Deterrence Strategy and Consultation Group, the alliance's premier annual forum for discussing and coordinating security strategy and policy issues impacting the Korean Peninsula and the broader Indo-Pacific region, convened in Washington with the participation of senior officials from foreign affairs and defense agencies.

First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Kim Hong-kyun, who led the South Korean delegation, stated that the EDSCG meeting was convened at a time when the "security situation on the Korean Peninsula is graver than ever before" during a press briefing following the meeting.

Kim denounced North Korea's "blatantly obvious" nuclear threats, saying the nation is resorting to "underhanded provocations, such as GPS signal jamming and the release of balloons filled with waste," which pose tangible harm to the South Korean public and the safety of nearby aircraft and ships.

"The joint assessment by South Korea and the US authorities is therefore that they cannot entirely rule out the possibility of North Korea carrying out grave provocations before or after the US presidential election," Kim said after the six-hour meeting. "In light of this, both sides engaged in consultations on a range of potential provocations and discussed ways to respond to them."

South Korea’s Deputy Minister for National Defense Policy Cho Chang-lae said that North Korea’s "potential strategic provocations" ahead of the US election could include actions such as a seventh nuclear test or an intercontinental ballistic missile launch at a normal trajectory, rather than the lofted angles commonly used in North Korea's previous missile tests.

"We had extensive discussions today on potential strategic provocations that could occur before the presidential election," Cho said.

From the US side, Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Bonnie Jenkins and Acting Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Cara Abercrombie attended the consultation.

Kim noted that Seoul and Washington "conducted contingency scenario-based discussions for the first time during the EDSCG meeting."

"The diplomatic and defense authorities of both countries held in-depth discussions on effective deterrence and countermeasures in the event of contingencies, grounded in concrete scenarios. This not only deepened mutual understanding but also laid the foundation for future discussion," Kim added.

The EDSCG meeting's joint statement also emphasized, "In the context of a deteriorating security environment, the principals conducted a scenario-based discussion, for the first time at the EDSCG, to strengthen policy planning and coordination."

Cho further explained that Seoul and Washington "held their first-ever scenario-based discussions simulating North Korean nuclear threats, exploring a range of practical response options."

The joint statement also reaffirmed the US' "ironclad commitment to draw on the full range of its military capabilities, including nuclear, to support extended deterrence" for South Korea.

"The United States reiterated that any nuclear attack by the DPRK against the United States or its allies is unacceptable and will result in the end of that regime," the statement read, referring to North Korea by the acronym of its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

"We take very seriously our extended deterrence," Jenkins said during the press briefing. "We have been doing everything we can, including this meeting, to show just how committed we are to that."

koreaherald.com · by Ji Da-gyum · September 5, 2024

8. N. Korea sending balloons into S. Korea for 2nd consecutive day: JCS

To Kim Jong Un: Is this all you have?

Of course some speculate that this will result in "creeping normalcy" and a decline in vigilance and eventually the regime will use these balloons to do something worse such as use the balloons as a way to deploy a biological agent.

(LEAD) N. Korea sending balloons into S. Korea for 2nd consecutive day: JCS | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Minji · September 5, 2024

(ATTN: RECASTS lead; ADDS more details in last 5 paras, photo, byline)

By Lee Minji

SEOUL, Sept. 5 (Yonhap) -- North Korea floated trash-carrying balloons into South Korea for a second straight day on Thursday, South Korea's military said, the latest in its repeated provocations Seoul condemned as "senseless."

"As (North Korea) has again been floating balloons since 9 a.m., we advise the public to beware of falling objects and report to nearby military units or the police when discovering a fallen balloon," the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a notice to reporters.

The move came after North Korea sent around 420 trash-carrying balloons from Wednesday night to early Thursday in what marked its resumption of its balloon campaign after a near monthlong halt.

Around 20 balloons were retrieved in Seoul and the surrounding Gyeonggi Province, with most of them containing scrap paper and plastic bottles, the JCS said. No hazardous substances have been found.

One of the hundreds of trash-carrying balloons sent by North Korea overnight is found in a rice paddy in the northwestern border county of Ganghwa, in this June 10, 2024, file photo. (Yonhap)

Since late May, the North has launched thousands of balloons carrying trash in a tit-for-tat move against anti-Pyongyang leaflets sent by North Korean defectors and activists in South Korea. Pyongyang last launched such balloons on Aug. 10.

In response to the North's campaign, South Korea's military began blasting anti-Pyongyang propaganda broadcasts daily through loudspeakers on the border in July.

North Korea has bristled against the anti-Pyongyang leaflet and loudspeaker campaigns on fears that an influx of outside information could pose a threat to the Kim Jong-un regime.

South Korea's unification ministry in charge of inter-Korean affairs condemned the repeated balloon campaign as "senseless."

"It is regrettable that North Korea has repeated the senseless and vulgar action at a time when damage from heavy rains is grave," a ministry official told reporters on condition of anonymity.

North Korea is struggling to recover from massive flood damage in its border areas along the Amnok River. Heavy rains in late July flooded large areas of the country's North Phyongan, Jagang and Ryanggang provinces.

The official also stressed that civilian activists' voluntary action to disperse information into the North can never be used as a pretext for North Korea's provocations against the South, referring to the anti-Pyongyang leafleting.

Thursday's move marked the 13th incident in which North Korea floated trash-carrying balloons across the border since late May.

Trash-carrying balloons floated from North Korea are spotted from the South Korean border town of Paju on Sept. 5, 2024. (Yonhap)

mlee@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Minji · September 5, 2024

9. North Korean Spies Are Infiltrating U.S. Companies Through IT Jobs

Kim's "all purpose sword" of cyber is a critical tool for the Kim family regime.

Excerpts:

In at least five cases, job inquiries were sent to a critical infrastructure organization in the U.S. and elsewhere, Barnhart said.

In May, federal prosecutors unsealed an indictment alleging an Arizona woman and a man in Ukraine were part of a network of laptop-farms that resulted in over 300 U.S. companies unknowingly hiring people with ties to North Korea, prosecutors said.

Applicants assumed the identities of at least 60 U.S. citizens—some at different companies simultaneously, sending $6.8 million of revenue overseas to Pyongyang, prosecutors said.

The targeted companies included a major television network, a Silicon Valley tech company, an aerospace and defense company, an American car manufacturer, a luxury retail store and a media and entertainment company, according to the Justice Department. At least three unsuccessful attempts were made to infiltrate U.S. government agencies.

North Korean Spies Are Infiltrating U.S. Companies Through IT Jobs

Companies are unknowingly hiring North Koreans for hundreds of low-level jobs, giving Pyongyang access to cash and IP

https://www.wsj.com/tech/north-korean-spies-are-infiltrating-u-s-companies-through-it-jobs-e45a1be8?mod=hp_lead_pos10

By Dustin Volz

Follow

Updated Sept. 5, 2024 12:01 am ET

Illustration: ILLUSTRATION: Ariel Zambelich/WSJ; PHOTOS: Getty Images

WASHINGTON—When cybersecurity company KnowBe4 was filling a remote IT job in July, it hired a highly skilled applicant who gave his name as Kyle and spoke accented English. He asked the company to ship his company laptop to an address in Washington state.

Kyle was actually in North Korea.

Cash-starved Pyongyang has long deployed cyberspies to steal intellectual property. But now it is forcing companies and government agencies to grapple with a new insider threat: Instead of merely hacking into networks, North Korean operatives are secretly joining the payroll as remote workers.

Capitalizing on a post-Covid boom in remote work and advances in generative artificial intelligence, North Koreans have been hired for hundreds—and potentially thousands—of low-level information-technology jobs and other roles in recent years, using stolen identities of foreigners, U.S. officials and security researchers say.

The scheme is netting hundreds of millions of dollars annually for Kim Jong Un’s reclusive regime, according to the U.S. Justice Department, allowing it to evade strict international sanctions and continue to fund its nuclear-weapons and ballistic-missile program.

Michael Barnhart, an analyst with Google Cloud’s Mandiant cyber-threat division, said its researchers were stunned at how prevalent the North Korean scam appears to be. “Once we peeled back these onion layers, we realized these IT workers are everywhere,” Barnhart said.

North Korea’s diplomatic mission at the United Nations didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Stu Sjouwerman, chief executive at KnowBe4 in Clearwater, Fla., said the company hired Kyle after a third-party jobs site flagged his apparent fluency in the technical language necessary for the internal IT position. In a Zoom interview, he came across as eager and honest.

“He was being open about strengths and weaknesses, and things he still needed to learn, career path ideas,” Sjouwerman said in an interview. “This guy was a professional interviewee who had probably done this a hundred times.”

Kyle posted an AI-generated photo of himself on his LinkedIn page using a stock image from the internet, the company said. 

In a blog entry on its website, KnowBe4 posted what it believes to be the root stock image, left, compared with the AI-generated image, right, used by ‘Kyle’ on his LinkedIn profile. Photo: KnowBe4

He attempted to deploy malware on his first day, which tripped the firm’s internal security alarms. The company deduced Kyle was an impostor and notified the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which traced the scheme to a residence in Washington state where a middleman was assisting the fraudulent operation, Sjouwerman said.

Companies say job seekers traced to North Korea have jumped in the past two years. 

Cinder, a startup technology company whose workforce is remote, said that it began receiving dozens of fraudulent applications in early 2023. Roughly 80% of applications from some job sites were believed to be North Korean operatives using false identities, the company said.

Declan Cummings, the company’s head of engineering, said he became suspicious when applicants would appear on Zoom for remote interviews and didn’t look quite like their LinkedIn profile photos. Often they spoke with thick accents, said Cummings, who is fluent in Korean and has done volunteer work with defectors from the country. 

In some cases, they listed work experience at Facebook offices in foreign countries that Cummings—a former employee of Facebook parent Meta Platforms META 0.19%increase; green up pointing triangle—knew didn’t exist. Online searches of job seekers’ names didn’t yield much personal information, he said.

“Hi, I love what you are doing,” one cover letter sent to the company by a suspected North Korean applicant said. “I’d love to use my strong debugging and problem-solving abilities to be a powerful force in the workplace. I can wear multiple hats and adapt to a fast-paced team.”

In one interview, Cummings mentioned that Cinder’s co-founders were former officers at the Central Intelligence Agency, which led the applicant to drop off the call. The company never heard from him again.

“Out of all the companies that these people could apply to, they are applying to a company run by ex-CIA people and a North Korea expert,” Cummings said. “I don’t think that we were uniquely targeted, but we might be uniquely aware of it.”

To fool employers, North Korea often relies on laptop farms run by middlemen in the U.S. who install remote desktop software that allows North Koreans to log in to internal company servers from overseas while creating the impression they are in the U.S.

Federal prosecutors alleged last month that Pyongyang paid a Tennessee man a monthly fee for receiving and booting up work laptops at his Nashville home that North Koreans posing as IT workers used to defraud multiple U.S. media companies, a Portland-based technology company and a British financial institution.

Matthew Knoot, 38 years old, was allegedly promised $500 per laptop—plus 20% of net profits—by his North Korean handler who went by the name Yang Di, according to the indictment. He earned substantially less—only about $15,100 over a 13-month period. Knoot entered a plea of not guilty and is scheduled to go on trial in October. His lawyer didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Each of the companies thought it had hired a U.S. citizen identified in court papers as “Andrew M.” The North Koreans were paid over $250,000 by each company from summer 2022 to summer 2023, and filed false reports with the Internal Revenue Service using the stolen identity. 

In some instances, the North Korean hires actually provided IT assistance to the companies—apparently seeking a paycheck that was at least partially claimed by Pyongyang.

The cyber operatives have used their access to company networks to steal intellectual property or quietly open a backdoor to launch cyberattacks. 

When Mandiant, Google Cloud’s cyber-threat division, shared nearly 800 email addresses suspected of belonging to North Korean IT workers with various private-sector security partners earlier this year, it found that around 10% of the accounts were used to apply for jobs between February and August, netting 236 conversations with recruiters.

In at least five cases, job inquiries were sent to a critical infrastructure organization in the U.S. and elsewhere, Barnhart said.

In May, federal prosecutors unsealed an indictment alleging an Arizona woman and a man in Ukraine were part of a network of laptop-farms that resulted in over 300 U.S. companies unknowingly hiring people with ties to North Korea, prosecutors said.

Applicants assumed the identities of at least 60 U.S. citizens—some at different companies simultaneously, sending $6.8 million of revenue overseas to Pyongyang, prosecutors said.

The targeted companies included a major television network, a Silicon Valley tech company, an aerospace and defense company, an American car manufacturer, a luxury retail store and a media and entertainment company, according to the Justice Department. At least three unsuccessful attempts were made to infiltrate U.S. government agencies.

Write to Dustin Volz at dustin.volz@wsj.com

10. UAE begins commercial operation of 4th nuclear reactor at S. Korean-built plant

The ROK is a global pivotal state that chooses to be a peaceful nuclear power, that is a partner in the arsenal of democracy and seeks to defend the rules based international order.

UAE begins commercial operation of 4th nuclear reactor at S. Korean-built plant | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Kang Yoon-seung · September 5, 2024

SEOUL, Sept. 5 (Yonhap) -- The state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) said Thursday that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has begun commercial operation of the fourth reactor at the South Korean-built Barakah nuclear power plant in the country.

The fourth unit at the plant went into operation earlier in the day after receiving approval from the Middle Eastern nation's regulatory authority in November last year and completing the insertion of fuel rods in the following month, according to KEPCO.

It is the final unit of the four nuclear reactors built 270 kilometers west of Abu Dhabi, under a US$20 billion contract won by a KEPCO-led consortium in 2009.

The project marks South Korea's first export of a homegrown commercial nuclear power plant.

With all the four units in operation, the Barakah nuclear power plant will be responsible for up to 25 percent of the UAE's energy demand, the company added.

KEPCO said it plans to continue efforts to seek strategic cooperation with other potential partners, such as Saudi Arabia and Britain.

This undated file photo provided by Korea Electric Power Corp. shows the fourth unit of the Barakah nuclear power plant located 270 kilometers west of Abu Dhabi. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

colin@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Kang Yoon-seung · September 5, 2024

11. North Korea punishes teenagers for watching S. Korean dramas, publicly shames families

The regime's actions will surely contribute to driving the younger generation toward resistance.

Excerpts:

In addition, personal information about the girls’ families, including their parents’ names, jobs, and places of residence, was disclosed. One mother, who works as a teacher, was criticized for failing to properly raise her daughter. The video stated, “How could she have educated her students well when she couldn’t even guide her own daughter away from falling into a pit of crime?”

Some videos also hinted at the widespread consumption of South Korean films and dramas among North Korean soldiers. In one video, a soldier confessed, “On my cell phone, I watched 15 American movies, 17 S. Korean movies, and listened to over 160 S. Korean songs.”

North Korea stressed the need to treat the spread of S. Korean culture as a life-or-death issue. The narration emphasized that every individual in the country, such as soldiers, workers, and their families, must view the fight against this harmful influence as a matter of their own survival.

In a related development, Lee Hyun-seung, a researcher at the Global Peace Foundation and the son of a former high-ranking official in North Korea’s Office 39, revealed in a discussion hosted by the Hudson Institute in Washington, D.C., that more than 30 middle school students were publicly executed in North Korea recently for watching South Korean dramas.

North Korea punishes teenagers for watching S. Korean dramas, publicly shames families

https://www.chosun.com/english/north-korea-en/2024/09/05/M3NFZD3BCZDVPDEQ3YPHWX7SFA/

By Kim Ji-hwan,

Lee Jung-soo

Published 2024.09.05. 15:11

North Korean authorities have arrested teenage girls in handcuffs for watching South Korean dramas, while publicly revealing their families’ personal details and condemning them in videos. /KBS

In a stark display of North Korea’s tightening control, teenage girls have been arrested, publicly shamed, and their families’ personal details exposed in newly revealed videos, all for the alleged crime of watching South Korean dramas.

On Sept. 4, KBS revealed videos produced in North Korea after May 2021 to educate its citizens and soldiers. KBS reported that there are around 10 such videos, each lasting over two hours.

The analysis suggests that as economic difficulties worsened following the cessation of trade with China during the COVID-19 pandemic, North Korea intensified its control measures, leading to a further deterioration in human rights conditions.

The newly revealed videos show young girls sitting in the front row, heads bowed in shame. At one point, a female student breaks down in tears.

Subtitles on the screen reveal the personal details of a student, including her age and school. The video includes narration stating, “Several students who watched and shared impure propaganda, including so-called South Korean puppet dramas, have been severely punished according to the law.” The video then shows teenage girls being handcuffed.

North Korean authorities have escalated their crackdown on South Korean media, arresting teenage girls and publicly exposing their families in videos, as part of an ongoing effort to suppress outside cultural influences. /KBS

In addition, personal information about the girls’ families, including their parents’ names, jobs, and places of residence, was disclosed. One mother, who works as a teacher, was criticized for failing to properly raise her daughter. The video stated, “How could she have educated her students well when she couldn’t even guide her own daughter away from falling into a pit of crime?”

Some videos also hinted at the widespread consumption of South Korean films and dramas among North Korean soldiers. In one video, a soldier confessed, “On my cell phone, I watched 15 American movies, 17 S. Korean movies, and listened to over 160 S. Korean songs.”

North Korea stressed the need to treat the spread of S. Korean culture as a life-or-death issue. The narration emphasized that every individual in the country, such as soldiers, workers, and their families, must view the fight against this harmful influence as a matter of their own survival.

In a related development, Lee Hyun-seung, a researcher at the Global Peace Foundation and the son of a former high-ranking official in North Korea’s Office 39, revealed in a discussion hosted by the Hudson Institute in Washington, D.C., that more than 30 middle school students were publicly executed in North Korea recently for watching South Korean dramas.

12. ‘Sense of duty’: US, South Korea search underwater for missing Korean War bomber

The ROK and US share values, to include searching for our missing.

‘Sense of duty’: US, South Korea search underwater for missing Korean War bomber

Stars and Stripes · by David Choi · September 4, 2024

U.S. Air Force B-26 Invaders on a training flight over Japan on July 11, 1950. (Wikimedia Commons)

CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea — Teams from the U.S. and South Korea tasked with recovering wartime remains launched a joint underwater search in South Korea this week for a bomber and its crew that crashed during the 1950-53 Korean War.

Twenty-two divers and underwater archaeologists from the U.S. Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency and the South Korean Agency for Killed in Action Recovery Identification, or MAKRI, started searching Tuesday for a U.S. B-26 Invader off Haeundae Beach in Busan, according to a Ministry of National Defense news release.

Investigators are using sonar equipment and magnetic detectors to comb through 4.6 square-miles of water until the search ends Sept. 27, the ministry said Tuesday. South Korea’s navy and coast guard will provide weather information and logistical support throughout the investigation.

Three crew members of the B-26 assigned to the 5th Air Force are believed to have died when their aircraft crashed into the sea after taking off from the K-9 Busan East Air Base in January 1953, according to the ministry.

During the war, the B-26 initially carried up to 6,000 pounds of bombs on daylight raids on North Korean targets, according to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. However, enemy antiaircraft weapons and Soviet-era MiG-15 fighter jets prompted its crews to turn to nighttime missions using infrared detection equipment.

The underwater survey is being conducted with a “sense of duty” to account for the service members who died, DPAA team leader Patrick Hennessy said in the release. “If there is even a faint possibility, we will not give up and focus on all of our capabilities.”

The joint effort will also strengthen future projects between the two agencies and bring to light those who “protected the freedom and prosperity” of South Korea, MAKRI manager Lee Gueun-won said in the release.

The two agencies have worked together to find, identify and repatriate Korean War-era human remains since 2011. Nearly 700 U.S. service members missing from the Korean War have been accounted for, but around 7,460 are still missing, according to the DPAA.

U.S. Army Pvt. 1st Class Arlie Barrett of the 24th Infantry Division was most recently accounted for by the DPAA on June 7, according to an agency news release Aug. 22.

The 19-year-old Bluff City, Tenn., native was declared missing after his unit fought North Korean troops on Aug. 10, 1950. His then-unidentified remains were recovered four months later and buried in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii.

His remains will be exhumed and reburied Sept. 27 in Mountain Home, Tenn., according to the DPAA release.

David Choi

David Choi

David Choi is based in South Korea and reports on the U.S. military and foreign policy. He served in the U.S. Army and California Army National Guard. He graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Stars and Stripes · by David Choi · September 4, 2024

13. ＜Inside N. Korea＞'I'm too hungry to work'... Flood Recovery Workers Deserting Due to Starvation, Continued Government Demands for Materials and Aid from Ordinary People

Is there a breaking point for the Korean people in the north?

＜Inside N. Korea＞'I'm too hungry to work'... Flood Recovery Workers Deserting Due to Starvation, Continued Government Demands for Materials and Aid from Ordinary People

asiapress.org

North Koreans mobilized for repair work on a Yalu River levee. Photographed from the Chinese side of the border in July 2021 in North Pyongan Province. (ASIAPRESS)

At the end of July, flood relief efforts in the northern region of North Korea were carried out by mobilizing "shock troop teams" from various enterprises, but there were desertions due to lack of food supplies. Authorities announced in mid-August that 'helping flood victims is the responsibility of the Workers' Party and the state,' but they are still demanding money from ordinary North Koreans. (HONG Mari / KANG Ji-won)

◆ Deserters May Face Forced Labor

At North Korea's largest iron ore mine in Musan County, North Hamgyong Province, "shock troop teams" have also been organized and deployed for flood recovery work. However, a local reporting partner told ASIAPRESS in late August that there were problems with desertion due to insufficient food supplies.

"Some of the food rations for the Musan mine workers are being diverted to the shock troop teams, but with the fall harvest not yet underway, food is scarce. (Unable to work due to lack of food) more than 20 of the 300 mobilized have returned. Although it's the company's fault for not providing food, there is talk of using forced labor for those who deserted. Because of the lack of food, more and more people are trying to avoid mobilization."

※ The term "shock troops" refers to specialized work units mobilized for national construction projects. There are "permanent shock troop teams," selected mainly from the youth organizations of enterprises with a service period of about three years, and "temporary shock troop teams," selected for specific projects from workplaces and party members.

◆ Continued Demands for Material and Aid

In addition, there is continued pressure on North Koreans to provide materials and aid for recovery efforts and to help families who have lost their homes and belongings in the flooding.

"In addition to demands for materials such as sacks and gravel from people's units and women's associations, there are also calls for voluntary assistance to flood victims. During a political education session, five members of the women's association were praised for donating food, blankets and money to the flood victims. The idea is to follow their example, but some people wonder "who could possibly provide support.”

A reporting partner in Ryanggang Province expressed frustration that the "non-tax burdens" on people had not been alleviated.

＜Latest Flood Damage Information＞Authorities Order: "Stop Demanding Supplies from the People" - Wary of Losing Public Sentiment due to “non-tax burdens”-

◆ Full Restoration by October 10 Workers’ Party Founding Anniversary

The dilapidated northern railway linking Ryanggang and Jagang provinces had its embankments washed away in late August, leaving the prospect of reopening uncertain.

The reporting partner in Ryanggang Province said, "All other project construction has been halted, and disaster relief work has been prioritized, but it's a patchwork job that is likely to collapse when it rains."

According to the reporting partner, the Central Committee of the Workers' Party has announced that the construction of housing for flood victims must be completed by October 10, the anniversary of the founding of the Workers' Party, and that the people currently sheltering in Pyongyang must be returned to their original homes.

※ Non-tax burdens: North Korea has promoted itself as a country without a tax system, but in reality, there have been constant demands for money and goods due to budget shortfalls for infrastructure maintenance, school operations, and other areas. This is known as "non-tax burdens" and has caused considerable discontent among North Koreans. Kim Jong-un had issued directives to eliminate these extra burdens during the recent floods, but they continue to exist.

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

Map of North Korea (ASIAPRESS)

Recovery Work in Full Swing... But Mobilized Soldiers Begging "Please Give Us Food", Flood Victims Begin Life in Shelters

• ＜Inside N. Korea＞Heatwave Grips North Korea: Residents Sleep Outdoors Amid Lack of Air Conditioning and Power Shortages
• ＜Inside N. Korea＞The Expansion of Card Payments: Realities and Reliability? (1) Wages paid by card, which can also be used in state-run stores and markets
• ＜Inside N. Korea＞Crackdowns intensify on people taking photos and videos with their cell phones…”We can’t take even one photo with their phones”
• ＜Inside N. Korea＞Army removes 'unification' phrase with paint, even removing 'sacred words' of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jung Il, confusing many poeple
• ＜Inside N. Korea＞State-led smuggling resumes in the Yalu River, sends seafood and copper ore to China, bringing in UN-sanctioned goods like cars and machinery

asiapress.org

14. Trump’s Extolling North Korea’s Leader Kim Jong-un Has South Korean Policy-Makers Worried

I have not read the book but based on the reporting about it it seems that his ghost writer does not have a clear understanding of the nature, objectives, and strategy of the Kim family regime and because of that we would be vulnerable to Kim's political warfare and blackmail diplomacy strategies. Of course there are many in South Korea who suffer from the same lack of understanding about the north. And they could be part of the next South Korean administration which should worry US policy-makers (at least the ones who do understand the nature, objectives, and strategy of the Kim family regime).

Trump’s Extolling North Korea’s Leader Kim Jong-un Has South Korean Policy-Makers Worried

In a newly published book, Trump writes of ‘a glorious new era of security and prosperity’ for Kim’s people.

DONALD KIRK

Wednesday, September 4, 202406:56:10 am

https://www.nysun.com/article/trumps-extolling-north-koreas-leader-kim-jong-un-has-south-korean-policy-makers-worried

In President Trump’s newly published “Save America,” a coffee-table picture book, he writes that the first of his three meetings with Kim Jong-un had shown that “real change is indeed possible” and that they had gotten “to know each other well in a confined period of time.”

It was at the summit between Trump and Kim at Singapore in June 2018 that they struck up a relationship that showed “real change is possible,” he wrote, raising hopes for “a glorious new era of security and prosperity for his people” after decades of hostility dating to the Korean War.

South Korean diplomats tell the Sun that Trump’s commentary, on top of his remarks about his bond with Mr. Kim, is raising concerns that should he return to the White House, the durability of Seoul’s historic alliance with Washington would be in doubt.

It’s not just Trump’s claims to have fallen “in love” with Mr. Kim but rather his insistence, as repeated in the book, that South Korea should “start paying more money for defense.” That’s a reminder that, as president, he had wanted the South to pay five times the current level of about a billion dollars a year for American troops and bases in Korea.

A former ambassador to Korea during Trump’s presidency, Harry Harris, sees a dour outlook among South Koreans whom he came to know well. A retired admiral who once commanded American forces in the Pacific, Mr. Harris was critical of Trump’s decision, immediately after the Singapore summit, to cancel war games involving American and South Korean troops.

“Our military readiness actually decreased because of the prohibition against military exercises,” Seoul’s Yonhap News quotes him as saying in a video link with the Korea Development Institute in Seoul and Johns Hopkins’ School of Advanced International Studies in Washington. It was “naive to think,” he said, that Mr. Kim would “ever give up his nuclear weapons.”

While Trump often refers to the relationship that he formed with Mr. Kim in Singapore, he prefers not to dwell on the failure of their second summit in Hanoi in February 2019.

A photograph in his new book shows the 45th president and Mr. Kim in the lobby of the Hotel Metropole in Hanoi. That was before Trump walked out of the meeting, skipping a lavish lunch for the American and North Korean teams, after Mr. Kim balked at giving up his nuclear weapons program despite agreeing to close the main nuclear facility at Yongbyon, north of Pyongyang.

Nor does the book dwell on Trump’s third and final meeting with Mr. Kim, at the truce village of Panmunjom on the North-South line 40 miles north of Seoul in June 2019. That was what Mr. Harris called “the snap summit” — a chat agreed on after Trump had met the then-president of South Korea, Moon Jae-in, in Seoul. Trump suggested working-level talks with the North Koreans, which never happened.

The book features pictures of Trump and Mr. Kim on the North-South line, and of Trump and Mr. Moon and their wives, Melania and Kim Jung-sook. That was nearly three years before a conservative, Yoon Seok-yul, was elected as Mr. Moon’s successor and Mr. Kim declared South Korea “the enemy” with whom he has refused all contact.

nysun.com

15. N. Korea urgently extends rail lines to military fuel depots to enhance security

While this is necessary to combat theft and corruption in the near term this must also be viewed as a n effort to improve support to warfighting which is the ultimate capability the regime needs to ensure domination of the Korean peninsula.

But this corruption is an indicator of potential instability within the military and more broadly among the Korean Workers' Party.

N. Korea urgently extends rail lines to military fuel depots to enhance security - Daily NK English

Following a recent theft of fuel, direct rail lines to depots are expected to prevent theft and ensure swift fuel delivery

By Jeong Tae Joo - September 4, 2024

dailynk.com · by Jeong Tae Joo · September 4, 2024

A photograph of a train at Kaesong Station published in state media in September 2020. (Rodong Sinmun)

North Korea’s defense ministry is urgently extending railroad lines to military fuel depots to enhance security in fuel distribution. The project, which began last week, was prompted by a major theft incident in early July involving a freight train carrying fuel for the General Political Bureau.

“Most of the fuel on the train was stolen when it stopped at a station for a few days on its way to the fuel depot in Ryongsong district,” a source in the North Korean military told The Daily NK on Aug. 30.

While the train was at the station, members of the train escort siphoned off a large amount of fuel and sold 600 kilograms to merchants at the wholesale price. The commander of the escort, feeling the pang of conscience, confessed what had happened to his unit’s political department.

The defense ministry’s fuel bureau regards the theft not as an isolated incident, but as confirmation of serious structural vulnerability in the fuel distribution system. While this is not the first time fuel has been stolen in transit, the incident has highlighted the severity of the problem.

“The defense ministry’s fuel bureau is taking practical measures to enhance security in the fuel distribution system and prevent the theft of fuel,” the source said. “As part of those measures, work on railroad links from train stations to fuel depots began in the Ryongsong, Sadong and Ryokpo districts of Pyongyang on Aug. 23.”

By enabling oil-bearing trains to head straight to the fuel depot without stopping at the station, officials hope to eliminate any chance of fuel being stolen while the train is stopped and to facilitate the swift transportation and safe storage of the fuel.

“The military hopes that by bringing the railroad tracks through the walls of the fuel depot, it will be able to tackle the issue of fuel theft and stabilize fuel transport,” the source said. “It also regards the new railroad links as a key opportunity to increase the efficiency of the fuel distribution system.”

He added: “The defense ministry emphasizes that preventing similar incidents of theft and improving escort and management throughout the fuel distribution system will help reinforce the stability of fuel distribution, as well as the military’s overall logistics management system.”

Incident sparks wider security boost at key facilities

Following the incident, the defense ministry’s fuel bureau is also planning to boost security at key fuel depots.

The bureau has announced plans to “tighten surveillance and control of workers inside the fuel depots and treat future incidents of fuel theft more strictly, regarding them not merely as individual acts of wrongdoing but as organized crime.”

The escort guards and commander who were arrested for stealing fuel and selling it to merchants are being interrogated by the military state security bureau, with the cooperation of the defense ministry’s fuel bureau.

The Ryongsong district merchants who bought the fuel have also been handed over to police investigators in the district, the source said.

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

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

Read in Korean

dailynk.com · by Jeong Tae Joo · September 4, 2024

16. Bold remarks by Yoon's aide on US elections reflect Trump concerns

Bold remarks by Yoon's aide on US elections reflect Trump concerns

The Korea Times · September 4, 2024

Kim Tae-hyo, principal deputy national security adviser, speaks during a briefing at the presidential office in Seoul, Aug. 18. Yonhap

Trump's reelection may weaken US security umbrella, Kim Tae-hyo says

By Lee Hyo-jin

Kim Tae-hyo, a key foreign policy aide to President Yoon Suk Yeol, suggested that a potential return of former U.S. President Donald Trump could weaken the U.S. security umbrella, in a rare expression of concern by a government official regarding the potential victory of the Republican candidate, analysts said Wednesday.

However, some of Kim's remarks about the U.S. elections, such as his assertion that Democratic nominee and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris "may need more heavyweight advisers on her foreign policy team," could be seen as controversial, observers noted.

"If Trump is reelected, there is a possibility that the U.S. security umbrella may be weakened, as it may seek to discuss the costs associated with the deployment of strategic assets provided to us," Kim, the principal deputy national security adviser, said during a forum hosted, Tuesday, by The Sejong Institute, a Seoul-based think tank.

The remarks were made during his lecture on the theme of U.S. presidential elections and South Korea's foreign policy strategy.

Kim stressed that the trilateral cooperation framework established between South Korea, the U.S., and Japan during the 2023 Camp David summit will likely remain solid under a potential Trump administration.

Regarding North Korea, Kim suggested that Trump might be keen on holding another summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. However, he anticipated a low possibility of Washington striking any surprising new deals with Pyongyang, given the significant decrease in Trump’s expectations following the failed summit in Hanoi in 2019.

Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump participates in a fireside chat during the Moms for Liberty National "Joyful Warriors" Summit, in Washington, Aug. 30. Reuters-Yonhap

The security adviser's lecture drew considerable attention, as he is widely regarded as the architect of Yoon's foreign policy.

His remarks, a rare instance of a senior official in the Yoon administration addressing the U.S. presidential campaign in detail, appeared to diverge from the government’s official position that the South Korea-U.S. alliance remains steadfast despite changes in leadership.

In previous briefings and media interviews, Yoon and his aides have generally avoided discussing the U.S. elections in detail. They have specifically downplayed concerns that Trump might again insist on a substantial increase in Seoul's contribution to the cost of stationing U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) or threaten to withdraw the troops.

Park Won-gon, a professor of North Korean studies at Ewha Womans University, commented that Kim may have been a little too candid, but he said what needed to be said.

"As Trump and his aides have hinted multiple times, if elected, Republicans may seek to weaken the extended deterrence that has been strengthened under Biden," Park said. "With just two months left until the elections, the security adviser expressed publicly that our government is closely watching these comments and plans to take appropriate response to potential shifts in U.S. policy."

"Kim's remarks directly conveyed the existing concerns among South Korean officials regarding a potential Trump return. Trump has made some blunt comments about the alliance with South Korea and touted his friendly ties with Kim Jong-un during his campaign, which have at times unnerved Seoul officials," a local foreign policy analyst told The Korea Times on condition of anonymity.

Democratic presidential nominee and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at North Western High School in Detroit, Mich., U.S., Monday (local time). Reuters-Yonhap

However, the analyst noted that some of the security adviser's comments might be perceived as inappropriate for a senior official.

"Even if these were his personal opinions, the straightforward remarks seem ill-suited for a senior government official, especially when the government should be engaging in low-key diplomacy with both Team Trump and Harris," he said.

"Particularly, his comments about Kamala Harris could be perceived as somewhat offensive."

Regarding the Democratic candidate, Kim expressed concerns during the lecture that her diplomatic and security advisers may lack charisma. He said, "The names of the advisers on her foreign policy and security team, as well as those advising on social issues, are unfamiliar."

Kim added, "When dealing with these individuals, I feel like I need to teach them," suggesting that it might take time for a potential Harris administration to carry out solid policy initiatives of its own.

It is unclear what Kim meant by "teach," but it could be interpreted as implying that Harris might lack experience with Korean Peninsula affairs compared to incumbent President Joe Biden or former President Barack Obama.

The Korea Times · September 4, 2024

17. The Politics of Flooding and Stability in North Korea

This is key: Yes, no government can prevent the work of nature. But a dysfunctional government is unable to deal with the consequences and take action (both preventative and crisis action). And this is not a new problem for Kim Jong Un but shows the problem lies with the nature of the Kim family regime.

"Under his father’s rule, drought, heavy rains, and a dysfunctional government that was unwilling to allow foreign non-governmental organizations to directly assist North Korean citizens led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands."

The Politics of Flooding and Stability in North Korea

besacenter.org · by Dr. Alon Levkowitz, Shay Yeger · September 5, 2024

BESA Center Perspectives Paper No. 2,302, September 5, 2024

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: In July 2024, torrential rain poured down on North Korea. Thousands of homes were flooded, and more than 40,000 people in North Pyongang Province and other nearby provinces had to be evacuated. This was not the first natural disaster North Korea has experienced during the tenure of Kim Jong-un. Under his father’s rule, drought, heavy rains, and a dysfunctional government that was unwilling to allow foreign non-governmental organizations to directly assist North Korean citizens led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands. Kim Jung-un’s decision on how to cope with this summer’s natural disaster gives us indications of how he governs the country.

The North Korean humanitarian crisis engendered by the severe flooding of July 2024 could have served as an opportunity for Kim Jong-un to approach the South for humanitarian aid, including food and medical assistance. Kim decided not to take this step, preferring instead to receive food aid from Russia.

This was a practical demonstration of the way relations have improved between North Korea and Russia. This warming was particularly apparent at the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war, when Pyongyang offered Moscow public support and sold weapons to Russia. Kim Jong-un and his sister, Kim Yo-jong, have both threatened South Korea in recent months, so asking the South for assistance with the humanitarian crisis might present the North as weak.

The humanitarian support Pyongyang accepted from the Russian administration is another demonstration of a shift in Kim’s regional policies. South Korea did extend an offer of humanitarian aid to North Korea, but Kim rejected it. He might fear that accepting help from the South would underscore his inability to manage the crisis, thereby undermining his leadership. Accepting aid from Seoul could have opened the door to the first official dialogue between the two Koreas in years, a step Kim appears reluctant to take under the current circumstances.

July’s flooding disaster has the potential to develop into a serious food and health crisis that might reflect on Kim’s leadership. To prevent this, he has begun a propaganda blitz to forestall any attempts by internal or external actors to use the crisis to raise doubts about his leadership. North Korean state media outlets have reported on all of Kim’s visits to the flooded areas and praised him as a leader who will do whatever is necessary to help the people of North Korea. The media have shown Kim traveling to flooded areas, getting into the water, and giving instructions on how to rehabilitate the region and build housing for the evacuees. He was portrayed not just as a rebuilder but as a leader who provides instruction to evacuated children. He was shown as the father of the nation, empathetic to people in need, an image also put forward by his grandfather, Kim Il-sung. Soldiers and students took part in evacuating and rebuilding the damaged areas. They also took part in Kim’s propaganda blitz, which was meant to send a message not only to North Koreans but to foreign actors who might try to exploit the crisis to suggest that Kim’s health issues do not allow him to rule, or that his regime cannot function during a humanitarian crisis.

Kim Jong-un’s approach to disaster management has undergone a significant transformation, as evidenced by his response to the July floods. Typically, his involvement in disaster-stricken areas has been minimal. His last visit prior to the recent one in July was in August 2020 to North Hwanghae province, and that was preceded by an inspection of recovery work in a flood-damaged northeastern city in September 2015. In other instances of flooding, it was typically senior North Korean officials who were dispatched rather than Kim himself. These rare appearances were seen as efforts to bolster his image as a leader concerned about public welfare, particularly during times of economic hardship exacerbated by events such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

The July 2024 floods, however, saw a marked change in KJU’s approach. Unlike previous appearances, when he arrived only after the rains had ceased and maintained a safe distance from the affected population, Kim was now seen directly engaging with the aftermath of the floods. Images captured him braving rain and wind, with North Korean Air Force helicopters in the background. He was later photographed kneeling in the mud, sitting with evacuees in tents, and driving through floodwaters in his car. This hands-on approach diverges significantly from his earlier visits, when he remained in his black SUV or viewed the damage from afar, maintaining a physical and emotional distance from the affected people. Kim’s July performance indicates a significant shift in his leadership style of disaster management.

As is customary in North Korea, state media played a crucial role in shaping this new narrative. They stressed that Kim had “personally directed the battle against the floods” and declared parts of three provinces “special disaster emergency zones”. The media’s portrayal of Kim as a “benevolent” leader risking his life to help his people was juxtaposed with their criticism of local officials for their “serious neglect” in responding to the disaster. This strategy effectively reinforced Kim’s caring leader image while deflecting blame onto lower-level bureaucrats.

The scale and sophistication of the rescue efforts also appeared more extensive than in previous disasters, suggesting improvements in North Korea’s crisis management capabilities. For example, the deployment of Air Force helicopters in rescue operations demonstrated enhanced resources and preparedness. This might be attributable to strengthened relationships with China and Russia, which may have provided the country with additional support.

However, Kim’s response also unveiled deeper anxieties about external influences on North Korean society. During his recent visit to the flood-hit region, Kim accused South Korean media of fabricating stories about the damage and death toll, calling their reports “fake news”, “conspiracy propaganda” and “blasphemy” from “the country of waste”. South Korean media, citing unnamed government sources, had reported that approximately 1,500 people were dead or missing due to the flooding. Kim’s aggressive stance towards South Korean media is particularly noteworthy as such verbal assaults have typically been the domain of his sister, Kim Yo-jong.

Kim’s harsh criticism likely reflects his concern over North Koreans’ increasing access to outside information. Advancements in technology have made it easier for North Koreans to receive information from beyond their borders. Additionally, the flooding affected both North Korea and China along the Yalu River, potentially allowing North Koreans to hear about the disaster from Chinese sources. By accusing South Korean media of spreading misinformation, Kim is trying to control the narrative and prevent external influences from undermining his regime’s authority. This approach also serves to exploit the natural disaster as a means of limiting South Korean influence among North Koreans by redirecting criticism outward, particularly amid recent escalations in inter-Korean tensions, exemplified by South Korea’s activation of propaganda loudspeakers along the DMZ in response to North Korea’s launch of trash balloons.

Kim Jong-un’s recent actions during the floods reflect a dual strategy: positioning himself as a compassionate, hands-on leader while aggressively countering perceived threats from external influences, particularly South Korea. This approach underscores the regime’s ongoing efforts to maintain control over its population amid increasing challenges from within and outside the country.

Dr. Alon Levkowitz is a senior lecturer in Asian Studies at Bar-Ilan University and a senior research fellow at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies.

Shay Yeger is a PhD candidate in Asian Studies at the University of Haifa, specializing in inter-Korean relations and the North Korean famine. Shay is also a research fellow at the IDF’s Dado Center for Interdisciplinary Military Studies, focusing on foreign policy and security in the Asia-Pacific region.

view pdf

besacenter.org · by Dr. Alon Levkowitz, Shay Yeger · September 5, 2024

18. US Navy ship enters Hanwha Ocean plant for maintenance

The ROK is now a partner in the "logistics" of democracy as well as the arsenal.

US Navy ship enters Hanwha Ocean plant for maintenance

naval-technology.com · by John Hill · September 4, 2024

A major moment in allied defence cooperation as the US Navy logistics vessel, ‘Wally Schirra’, enters a Korean port for maintenance at Hanwha Ocean’s Geoje plant. Credit: Hanwha Ocean.

The US Navy has made a major decision to allocate maintenance responsibilities for one of its auxiliary ships to Hanwha Ocean, a South Korean company, at its plant in Geoje on an island province just off the south coast of the mainland.

Hanwha’s naval division was awarded a contract for the maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) of the vessel on 2 September 2024. The port entry ceremony, which the Korean supplier extolled as an “historic moment,” was attended by approximately 50 people from both countries.

Designated the ‘Wally Schirra’, this Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo ship supplies ammunition, food, repair parts, fuel among other things to other combatant platforms at sea. It has a displacement of approximately 40,000 tonnes, a total length of 210 metres (m), and a width of 32.2m.

In May the logistic ship participated in US-Dutch naval operations in the South China Sea. This area of the world is a hotbed in the current ‘grey-zone’ conflict between the US and China playing out in the region. It was said that the bilateral effort provided an opportunity to improve allied interoperability and conduct complex scenarios, and all the while the Wally Schirra was on hand to replenish USS Mobile and HNLMS Tromp.

Hanwha will deliver the converted ship to the US Navy after approximately three months of maintenance, the supplier confirmed.

US industry is overburdened

While this instance of outsourcing may be the first of its kind, heralding a greater defence cooperation between the two allies, it is not the first time that South Korean industry has stepped in to prop up a breathless US naval industrial base.

The US Navy logistics support ship ‘Wally Schirra’ approaches the quay wall after entering the Hanwha Ocean Geoje plant for ship maintenance. Credit: Hanwha Ocean.

Only two months ago, Hanwha Ocean and Hanwha Systems – two divisions within the Korean parent group of the same name – entered into a $100m (Krw134m) purchase agreement for Philly Shipyard, a prominent US tanker and cargo construction company.

Furthermore, it as a move that stems from a foundational visit made by the US Secretary of the Navy, Carlos del Toro, to Hyundai Heavy Industries in Japan and Hanwha in Korea at the end of February.

At the time, del Toro commented: “discussions were very productive and centered on attracting Korean investment in integrated commercial and naval shipbuilding facilities in the United States.”

Other US allies are bolstering production of US naval components, albeit to a lesser extent. Just this week, the Department of Defense awarded a contract to a Chesapeake-based supplier that will use UK industry in Hampshire to produce 12 main shaft seal assemblies in support of the nuclear-powered propulsion system for the Virginia-class fast attack submarine fleet.

Hanwha Ocean resources

“We have become the first domestic shipyard to conduct an MRO project for a US Navy ship,” noted a Hanwha ocean official. “We will continue the reputation of Korean Defence through timely delivery based on our world-class MRO technology.”

Recently, the US has been actively reviewing the plan to entrust ship MRO work to allied countries with worthy ship technology and facilities due to the difficulties in maintaining operational naval forces due to distance and cost issues.

Particularly, there is a crisis in the US submarine construction sector according to major industrial players familiar with the matter. In response, suppliers are finding new ways to leverage coveted manufacturing skills such as welding, which are, on the whole, in a steady decline.

Accordingly, Hanwha Ocean obtained the MSRA (Ship Maintenance Agreement) based on its leading ship technology and maintenance infrastructure and won the contract for this military support ship MRO project.

Hanwha’s naval industrial expansion is noted in its financials for the first half of this year: sales accumulated $3.5bn – an approximate increase of 47.8% year-on-year.

“Investments for stable human resources supply and production efficiency are expanding, and the production system has entered the stabilisation phase,” an official said.

naval-technology.com · by John Hill · September 4, 2024

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