Quotes of the Day:
“The key American shortcoming, in the early twenty-first century as in the 1960s, was the inability to constructively guide the leaders of allied states in the direction desired by Washington”
― Max Boot, The Road Not Taken: Edward Lansdale and the American Tragedy in Vietnam
Lansdale quoted Robert Taber (The War of the Flea): "There is only one means of defeating an insurgent people who will not surrender, and that is extermination. There is only one way to control a territory that harbours resistance, and that is to turn it into a desert. Where these means cannot, for whatever reason, be used, the war is lost." Lansdale thought this was the situation in Vietnam and wrote to a friend that if the solution was to "kill every last person in the enemy ranks" then he was "not only morally opposed" to this strategy but knew it was "humanly impossible".
“It's not given to people to judge what's right or wrong. People have eternally been mistaken and will be mistaken, and in nothing more than in what they consider right and wrong.”
― Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace
1. Biden Administration Foreign Policy Tracker: KOREA
2. Korea expected to face reduced military capability: lawmaker
3. N. Korea vows to strengthen friendly ties with China
4. North Korea Exposes Hoarding Among Merchants to Force ‘Voluntary’ Donations
5. FM Chung stresses end-of-war declaration in talks with Blinken
6. Construction Activity Continues at Yongbyon’s Uranium Enrichment Plant
7. Amid coal shortages, Chinese traders on the hunt for more North Korean coal
8. North Korea: New Terminology Portends Ongoing Policy Shift
9. S. Korea launches advanced submarine rescue ship
10. S. Korean NSC discusses ways of reopening talks with North amid restored hotlines
11. Ministry approves 3 requests by civilian groups to provide humanitarian aid to N. Korea
12. WHO says it began shipment of COVID-19 medical supplies to N. Korea
13. Japan reports sighting of missile aboard North Korean ship in its waters
14. North Korea Trying to Hide Uranium Plant Expansion, Group Says
15. North Korea calls out US for ‘systematic racial discrimination’ after Border Patrol incident
16. ‘Two pedals’: North Korea sends conflicting messages with missile tests and hints of outreach
17. Trump's Security Aide Blasts Concessions to N.Korea
18. 26 Korean Words Added to Latest Oxford English Dictionary
19. Belittling Hangeul: Indiscriminate use of borrowed words hurts cultural pride
1. Biden Administration Foreign Policy Tracker: KOREA
Korea
By David Maxwell
Previous Trend: Neutral
The Biden administration’s diplomacy toward Pyongyang remains stalemated because North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un continues to refuse ROK and U.S. offers to meet anywhere, anytime, and without preconditions to conduct denuclearization talks. On September 15, North Korea conducted its fourth and fifth missile tests of 2021; within hours, South Korea tested a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) of its own. A sixth North Korean missile test, which Pyongyang claims was a hypersonic missile, was conducted on September 29.
Meanwhile, the alliance pledged to strengthen its defenses. The ROK Navy launched its third 3,000-ton submarine capable of launching an SLBM that is nearly ready for operational deployment. ROK President Moon Jae-in continues to press for an end-of-war declaration and humanitarian assistance in an attempt to jump-start North-South engagement and denuclearization talks. The United States is willing to discuss an end-of-war declaration but is unlikely to give Kim what he demands — sanctions relief — because the Biden administration’s policy remains the full implementation of all relevant UN Security Council Resolutions.
2. Korea expected to face reduced military capability: lawmaker
Excerpt:
A serious shortfall in Korea's military capability is expected in the near future, as the country's plan to secure new assets to replace aging military aircraft and warships remains insufficient, a lawmaker said, Wednesday.
Korea expected to face reduced military capability: lawmaker
Seen above is the prototype of the KF-21 Boramae fighter jet displayed at Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province. April 9. YonhapBy Nam Hyun-woo
A serious shortfall in Korea's military capability is expected in the near future, as the country's plan to secure new assets to replace aging military aircraft and warships remains insufficient, a lawmaker said, Wednesday.
According to Rep. Ahn Gyu-back of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, a significant portion of core assets owned by the Army, the Navy and the Air Force will be decommissioned in the near future. However, the pace of fielding new assets is slow and the number of aircraft and warships will be smaller than now even after their deployment is completed.
Citing Air Force data, Ahn said the number of fighter jets in operation stands at around 410 this year, but this number will decline to 360 in 2024 as old combat planes will reach the end of their service life.
Ahn said this is far below 430, which is the number of mission-proper fighter jets suggested by the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses (KIDA).
The Air Force has been pursuing the KF-X project, which is aimed at domestic development of the KF-21 Boramae fighter jet. However, the jet will be deployed no sooner than 2028, casting concerns of a potential deficit in air defense capability. The military said it plans to deploy 40 KF-21 Boramae fighter jets by 2028 and increase the number to 120 by 2032.
Ahn said the Army faces a similar situation, as nearly 80 percent of 280 attack helicopters in operation now have exceeded their service lives, with some of them operating more than 10 years longer than their lifespans.
"Given that the Army is planning to complete the deployment of new light armed helicopters and attack helicopters by early 2030, it is impossible to retire the current helicopters," Ahn said.
The Dosan Ahn Chang-ho submarine is seen in waters off Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, during a ceremony to mark the 73rd Armed Forces Day, Oct. 1. Korea Times photo by Wang Tae-seog
In the Navy, Ahn expected the number of medium-size and large warships will decline by 30 percent and that of high-speed patrol ships will be halved, even though the Navy plans to introduce new vessels such as new frigates and Aegis-equipped destroyers. An official at Ahn's office added there has been no research done on the desired number of mission-appropriate vessels.
"Even though there are plans to introduce new assets, the military for years to come will face a serious vacuum in its capability, and this could have been prevented given the operational lifespan of those old assets," Ahn said.
Ahn proposed a taskforce comprised of the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Defense Acquisition Program Administration to come up with countermeasures for buoying military capability.
3. N. Korea vows to strengthen friendly ties with China
Sometimes I wonder why this even makes the news. I suppose it would really be news if the north said it was going to weaken ties!
N. Korea vows to strengthen friendly ties with China | Yonhap News Agency
SEOUL, Oct. 6 (Yonhap) -- North Korea on Wednesday vowed to strengthen its friendly relations with China, as the two neighbors marked the 72nd anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic ties.
In a writing posted on its website, the North's foreign ministry also said it is Pyongyang's unwavering stance to jointly fight with China to safeguard regional peace, security and building of socialism.
Stressing North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has held summit talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping five times since March 2018, the ministry said the comradeship between the leaders serves as an engine to drive the two countries' relations forward.
North Korea and China have recently highlighted their close relations.
On Friday, Kim sent a message to Xi on the occasion of the 72nd founding anniversary of the ally and pledged his support for China's fight against anti-China confrontational moves by "hostile forces."
Kim and Xi also exchanged congratulatory messages on the 60th anniversary of the treaty of friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance between the two countries in July.
ksnam@yna.co.kr
(END)
4. North Korea Exposes Hoarding Among Merchants to Force ‘Voluntary’ Donations
Again, I think it is very hard to imagine the life the Koreans in the north live under the brutal dictatorship of the Kim family regime.
We should keep in mind that women have been the force behind the market activity and targeting them specifically appears to be an indication that the regime either wants to gain and maintain control of the markets or wants to make them fail. But without an effective Public Distribution System the people are going to suffer on a scale not seen since the Arduous March of the famine of 1994-1996.
North Korea Exposes Hoarding Among Merchants to Force ‘Voluntary’ Donations
Criticism sessions target the mostly female market traders accused of profiteering.
Authorities in North Korea are naming and shaming merchants accused of profiteering from scarce goods to get them to “volunteer” to donate large amounts of money to the government, sources in the country told RFA.
In a country whose chronic shortages of food and other essentials were made worse with the closure of the border and suspension of all trade with China since January 2020 on coronavirus concerns, merchants have been able to buy up supplies of scarce and expensive goods and jack their prices even higher.
“The local branch of the Socialist Women’s Union of Korea hosted a meeting where they criticized their members for stocking up on goods and selling them at a higher price,” a resident of Yongchon county in the northwestern province of North Pyongan told RFA’s Korean Service Sept. 26.
“Some of the members are not happy enough to sell a packet of imported seasoning with a profit of 5,000 won (U.S. $0.82). They need to sell it for at least 10,000 won in profit. Such greed is an example of antisocialist culture, according to the union,” said the source, who requested anonymity for security reasons.
Nearly all merchants in the local marketplaces are women, working to bring in income for their families while men report to their low-paying government-assigned jobs. With no official jobs, they are officially classified as “housewives,” with automatic membership in the women’s union.
“The authorities are suddenly getting into the Socialist Women’s Union members’ business because the union itself is not small and they all make money at the local market,” the source said.
But even though the authorities are using the sessions to criticize hoarding, stopping the practice is not their actual goal, according to the source.
“At the end of the lecture they appeal to the union members’ sense of patriotism, asking them to volunteer to donate money because the country is in dire need due to the current economic situation,” said the source.
“Residents are criticizing the authorities, saying that they cunningly used the carrot-and-stick approach to extract large amounts of money from union members,” added the source.
Market manipulation
Although the border has been closed since last year, smugglers have been sneaking goods from China to North Korea by ship after maritime trade partially resumed in May of this year, according to the source.
The source said that Chinese seasonings and cooking oil are in extremely high demand because imports were unavailable for so long.
This has created an opportunity for merchants in the border city of Sinuiju, who buy an entire ship’s cargo of seasonings, making them artificially scarce.
According to the source, a 480-gram (17-ounce) box of seasoning costs about 7,000 or 8,000 won at the port in Sinuiju, but it it sells for 15,000 to 20,000 won on the market. Wheat flour, meanwhile, costs 8,000 to 9,000 won at port, but 13,000 to 15,000 on the market.
In South Pyongan province, the local women’s union gathered members and “showed video footage of a local market secretly filmed by the authorities,” said a resident of Unsan county.
“There were scenes of merchants buying up all the daily necessities, which have become scarce due to the pandemic, and selling them back at a high price,” the second source said.
“All the merchants in the video are members of the Socialist Women’s Union of Korea,” the second source said.
The government lecturer compared the profiteering traders to capitalists who don’t mind taking advantage of people their parents’ age to make money, then urged the union members to adhere to socialist principles of helping and guiding one another even when doing business, according to the second source.
“The members laughed at the lecture, saying, ‘Business is the act of buying and selling things to make money. What do they mean by helping and guiding one another? Are they helping and guiding us when they collect taxes from us?’”
The cash-strapped North Korean government often finds ways to siphon money out of the people’s pockets.
RFA reported last month that rural households in some parts of the country were made to pay about 20,000 won for the construction of propaganda murals, while in August citizens who had been mobilized for flood relief work could buy their way out of it for about 30,000 won.
Reported by Hyemin Son for RFA’s Korean Service. Translated by Jinha Shin. Written in English by Eugene Whong.
5. FM Chung stresses end-of-war declaration in talks with Blinken
A "meaningful" confidence building measure? Yes I want an end to the Korean war. But it cannot come at the expense of the security of the ROK or US interests to prevent a war on the Korean peninsula. Yes it is the ultimate counterintuitive assessment: an end of war declaration likely will increase the chance of war because the regime will judge its strategy a success. UNless there is a reduction in forces on the north side of the DMZ the north will still pose an existential threat to the South. A piece of paper or end of war declaration will do nothing for the security of the ROK.
Does FM Chung believe that Kim Jong-un has abandoned the seven decades old strategy of subversion, coercion-extortion (blackmail diplomacy), and use of force to achieve unification dominated by the Guerrilla Dynasty and Gulag State in order to ensure the survival of the mafia like crime family cult known as Kim family regime?
If Kim Jong-un agrees to an end of war declaration it will not be because it is a meaningful confidence building measure. it will be because he believes he can exploit it to support his strategy.
Excerpt:
Chung told Blinken that President Moon Jae-in’s recent proposal to declare an end to the 1950-53 Korean War would be a “meaningful” confidence-building measure to engage the recalcitrant regime. The two agreed to closely communicate on the matter, according to the Foreign Ministry.
FM Chung stresses end-of-war declaration in talks with Blinken
Published : Oct 6, 2021 - 15:13 Updated : Oct 6, 2021 - 18:13
Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong (left) and his US counterpart, Antony Blinken, meet for a brief session on the sidelines of the Meeting of the OECD Council at Ministerial Level in Paris on Tuesday. (Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong stressed the need to declare an official end to the Korean War in his talks with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, amid recent signs of potential discrepancies between Seoul and Washington in their approaches to Pyongyang.
The two envoys held a pull-aside meeting Tuesday on the margins of a meeting of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris.
Chung told Blinken that President Moon Jae-in’s recent proposal to declare an end to the 1950-53 Korean War would be a “meaningful” confidence-building measure to engage the recalcitrant regime. The two agreed to closely communicate on the matter, according to the Foreign Ministry.
They also assessed the recent situation on the Korean Peninsula and exchanged views on ways to resume talks with North Korea, which have been stalled for more than two years.
Chung and Blinken met at a time of mixed signals from the North, with conciliatory gestures alternating with provocation. On Monday, communication between the two Koreas was restored about two months after Pyongyang unilaterally cut off contact in August. Moreover, Pyongyang conducted a flurry of missile tests last month -- firing a new cruise missile, a hypersonic missile and two ballistic missiles -- in defiance of UN Security Council resolutions banning the North from developing or testing nuclear weapons or ballistic missiles.
With just seven months left in his tenure, President Moon and his government have been engaged in a last-ditch attempt to put the peace process back on track, even as Pyongyang upped the ante with missile launches. At the United Nations General Assembly last month, Moon again proposed declaring a formal end to the Korean War -- which concluded with a cease-fire rather than a peace treaty -- as a first step toward denuclearization and peace.
South Korea has been pushing the US to do more. In an interview with the Washington Post last week, Foreign Minister Chung called on the Biden administration to spell out the specific incentives it would offer Pyongyang at the negotiating table. In response, a senior US official was quoted as saying the US had put forward specific proposals for discussion with the North but Pyongyang had not responded.
The minister also addressed a parliamentary session last week and mentioned the need to ease sanctions on North Korea as a way to draw the regime back to the nuclear talks.
The US State Department seemed to disagree with Chung and issued a statement stressing the need to maintain sanctions against North Korea.
“It is important for the international community to send a strong, unified message that the DPRK must halt provocations, abide by its obligations under UN Security Council resolutions and engage in sustained and intensive negotiations with the United States,” a State Department spokesperson told the Voice of America.
Meanwhile, in Paris, Chung also held talks with his Italian counterpart, Luigi Di Maio. The two envoys agreed to expand bilateral cooperation in “future-oriented” sectors such as green industries, according to the ministry.
He also met Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlic Radman and discussed bilateral relations and issues on the Korean Peninsula. With the next year marking the 30th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral ties between Croatia and South Korea, the two agreed to work together to deepen relations through high-level exchanges.
On Tuesday, Chung delivered a keynote speech at the OECD ministerial session highlighting global efforts to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic. Chung stressed the need to open country borders to facilitate the exchange of genetic information and distribute vaccines and treatments.
He also said Seoul would keep its earlier pledge to donate $200 million to the COVAX facility in the interest of achieving a swift vaccine supply.
6. Construction Activity Continues at Yongbyon’s Uranium Enrichment Plant
No intention of shutting down its nuclear program.
Construction Activity Continues at Yongbyon’s Uranium Enrichment Plant | 38 North: Informed Analysis of North Korea
BY: OLLI HEINONEN, JACK LIU, SAMANTHA J. PITZ AND JENNY TOWN
Recent commercial satellite imagery indicates continued construction activity at North Korea’s Uranium Enrichment Plant (UEP) at the Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center. Imagery from October 1 indicates that previously reported construction in an area just north of the plant’s Cascade Hall #2 has recently been covered with a tent, concealing details of the building’s layout and construction. Prior to this concealment, the floor space measured roughly 42 meters by 15 meters (including walls), with six circles each approximately three meters in diameter observed at the east end of the building. The purpose of the building is still unknown and may be harder to determine via imagery going forward.
There are several possible functions for such an extension. One option, assuming that North Korea is producing low-enriched uranium at two enrichment halls, is that the extension could also be used to enrich low-enriched uranium to weapons grade (high-enriched uranium) as it becomes available from those two cascade halls.
Figure 1. New covering over construction area visible at UEP.
Image Pleiades © CNES 2021, Distribution Airbus DS. For media options, please contact [email protected]
7. Amid coal shortages, Chinese traders on the hunt for more North Korean coal
Given the problems also noted with its coal trade with Australia this is not a surprise. This might be a sort of win-win for China and north Korea.
Amid coal shortages, Chinese traders on the hunt for more North Korean coal - Daily NK
With China on the hunt for coal amid energy shortages, a growing number of Chinese traders are reportedly asking for North Korean coal. It appears North Korean coal exports will increase for the time being with the Chinese government looking the other way.
According to a source in Pyongyang on Wednesday, there have been noticeably more requests for coal from Chinese traders since North Korea’s national foundation day holiday on Sept. 9. He said there have been several illegal transshipments of coal for export over the last month.
China has recently limited trade with private North Korean traders, dealing instead with official North Korean trading bodies. The source said, however, that Beijing now approves transactions with any North Korean entity that can provide China with coal, including private ones.
In fact, the Chinese government has reportedly launched no particular crackdowns on private imports of North Korean coal.
Rather, according to a source in China, some provincial civil servants in China are advising traders to take care not to get photographed when they transship coal. Essentially, the Chinese government is turning a blind eye to imports of North Korean coal, an internationally sanctioned item. At the same time, they are asking traders to exercise caution, aware that the international community is watching.
Kumya Youth Coal Mine in South Hamgyong Province. / Image: Yonhap News Agency
Skyrocketing coal prices are fueling the Chinese traders’ aggressive demands for North Korean coal.
According to the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange, the futures price for coal on Sep. 2 was USD 216 a ton, a record high. The Newcastle Coal futures price, the global benchmark, was USD 240 a ton on Sept. 4, nearly triple the price at the beginning of the year.
Meanwhile, the price of North Korean coal has yet to reach even half the international price. This has Chinese traders busy dealing with North Korean counterparts able to provide them with coal.
However, with North Korea trying to raise coal prices and China trying to keep prices low due to international sanctions, it sometimes takes time to work out prices
“As Chinese demand for coal grows, North Korea is jacking up its price more than 30 or 50%. So it’s taking time to work out the prices,” said the source in China. “With demand on the increase, it appears the price [of North Korean coal] will rise, too.
North Korean authorities appear to be reacting to the situation by accelerating coal mining efforts.
In a speech on the second day of the Fifth Meeting of the 14th Supreme People’s Assembly on Sep. 29, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for state investment in electricity and coal and strengthening the country’s material and technological base to “provide not only for the demands of the people’s economy, but also prospective demand.”
This suggests a call to expand coal mining, taking into account not only local demand but international demand as well.
Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
8. North Korea: New Terminology Portends Ongoing Policy Shift
Perhaps. But I remain skeptical. Maybe they promoted a new translator. Or maybe they received the new thesaurus I have been threatened to send for years to help them with their usual over the top rhetoric.
And of course as the saying goes actions speak louder than words. I would need to see some substantive actions by the north to accept this analysis. Instead it seems to nicely fit the narratives and agendas of those who continue to labor under the misguided belief that concessions will change the north's negotiating strategy and behavior. Some want so badly to believe that we can make a deal with the regime and also that the problem is with the US and not the mafia-like crime family cult known as the Kim family regime that seeks to dominate the peninsula under the rule of the guerrilla Dynasty and Gulag State.
And of course the nuanced difference in wording could simply be part of the regime's political warfare strategy and "leading with influence."
North Korea: New Terminology Portends Ongoing Policy Shift | 38 North: Informed Analysis of North Korea
Over the past few weeks, Pyongyang has reintroduced the concept of “balance” and eased off references to “deterrence” in its discussions of military power. Although still early to draw conclusions, we may be seeing in that terminology shift the leading edge of what could be a significant policy development. An early, and probably only partial, manifestation of this new policy seems reflected in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)’s recent, positive stance (and actions) on inter-Korean dialogue.
Kim Jong Un addresses the 14th Supreme People’s Assembly on September 30, 2021. (Source: Rodong Sinmun)
A similar shift in emphasis—away from references to “deterrence” and to emphasis on “balance”—occurred in 2017. At the same time Kim was ramping up WMD development through missile and nuclear tests, Pyongyang began stressing the importance of achieving a “balance” or, in some cases, a “practical equivalence” with the US. In effect, that terminology was clearing the way for Kim to move to the point of declaring that the North’s WMD program was sufficient and that it was now possible to turn to diplomacy externally and to the economy at home.
In North Korean usage, deterrence can be a never-ending process justifying constant attention—and expenditure—on developing new and more potent WMD systems. That Pyongyang is now again speaking in terms of a “balance of military force” on the peninsula while taking what appear to be the opening steps in resurrecting inter-Korean dialogue suggests that this shift in terminology may become part of the justification for Kim to restore economic links to the South—and, not incidentally, slide out from under China’s suffocating shadow. Emphasis on “stability” and “balance” in the current context fits with the long-standing North Korean assertion that there must be a propitious external security environment as a first step, but once achieved, it becomes possible to focus attention and resources on the economy.
That the shift in tone and vocabulary may go beyond Pyongyang’s calculations on inter-Korean relations might have been signaled in an October 3 statement by Jo Chol Su, director of the Foreign Ministry’s Department of International Relations, in response to the UN Security Council (UNSC) meeting on the North’s recent missile tests. Read in isolation, Jo’s statement may seem tough, but it is noticeably restrained compared to a statement he issued in March, also in response to a UNSC meeting. In that earlier statement, Jo referred to deterrence and US hostile policy, and “strongly denounce[d]” the Security Council. By contrast, his recent statement made no mention of deterrence nor to US hostile policy, and merely expressed “strong concerns” over the Security Council meeting.
At this point, it is hard to see beyond any initial observations about what the shift in terminology might mean. Potentially, and if developed to the next stage, the concept of “balance of forces” could open the door to some form of inter-Korean arms control discussions. Interpreted literally, “balance of forces” implies a mutually agreed upon stopping point that might, in the best case, move on to a process for building down military forces.
- [1]
“Kim Yo Jong, Vice Department Director of C.C., WPK, Issues Press Statement,” KCNA, September 24, 2021.
-
[1] A reference to the “balance of military power” on the peninsula appeared a few days later in a speech by the DPRK representative at the United Nations (UN) General Assembly. Then, in his September 30 address to the Supreme People’s Assembly, Kim Jong Un spoke of the development of new weapons systems as “ensuring the stable control of the instable military situation” around Korea, while accusing the US and South Korea of “destroying the stability and balance.”
9. S. Korea launches advanced submarine rescue ship
Good to see the ROK Navy develop the necessary infrastructure for supporting submarine operations.
This is a curious comment. There is a long history of battles on the island and resistance to foreign invasion.
Ganghwado, or Ganghwa Island, is a Yellow Sea island, which served as a historic base of resistance in the face of national crises.
(LEAD) S. Korea launches advanced submarine rescue ship | Yonhap News Agency
(ATTN: RECASTS headline, first 2 paras as ceremony takes place; CHANGES photo)
SEOUL, Oct. 7 (Yonhap) -- South Korea launched a new 5,600-ton-class submarine rescue vessel Thursday capable of conducting rescue operations in the deep sea regardless of weather conditions, the Navy said.
A launch ceremony for the vessel, named Ganghwado, took place at the Okpo shipyard of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., on the southern island of Geoje, it added.
Built under the ARS-II (auxiliary submarine rescue ship) project launched in 2015, it is the country's second vessel of its kind designed to carry out rescue, underwater research and the recovery of sunken vessel missions.
Currently, the country has the 3,200-ton Cheonghaejin submarine rescue ship, which was commissioned in late 1996.
The new vessel adopted the so-called center well system, which makes it possible to rescue crews of distressed submarines at depths of up to several hundred meters amid waves as tall as 4 meters, while the existing one can operate in waves of up to 2 meters, according to officials of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA).
It is capable of rescuing and carrying up to 17 individuals at a time, and can support a midsized chopper, along with 130 crew members, the arms procurement agency said, adding the vessel is scheduled to be delivered to the Navy in around mid-2023 after test operations.
"The advanced Ganghwado ship is expected to help ensure the safe operation of our submarines by conducting missions despite unfavorable conditions at sea," DAPA official Bang Geuk-cheoul said.
Ganghwado, or Ganghwa Island, is a Yellow Sea island, which served as a historic base of resistance in the face of national crises.
graceoh@yna.co.kr
(END)
10. S. Korean NSC discusses ways of reopening talks with North amid restored hotlines
South Korea's desire for talks will be exploited by the regime.
Buried lede:
They also agreed to strengthen "practical cooperation" with Japan to develop a "future-oriented" relationship and promote co-prosperity with Tokyo following the inauguration of new Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
S. Korean NSC discusses ways of reopening talks with North amid restored hotlines | Yonhap News Agency
SEOUL, Oct. 7 (Yonhap) -- Top security officials held a National Security Council meeting Thursday and discussed ways of reopening stalled dialogue with North Korea after the recent restoration of cross-border communications after a near two-month suspension, Cheong Wa Dae said.
On Monday, the North reopened the cross-border hotlines, 55 days after the North began refusing to answer South Korea's calls in protest of an annual combined military exercise between the South and the United States.
In Thursday's NSC meeting, led by National Security Office Director Suh Hoon, top security officials discussed efforts to reengage with the North in light of the restoration of cross-border communications.
They assessed positively the fact that direct military and government hotlines between the two Koreas were operating as normal since their restoration this week, and stressed the importance of maintaining stability in the political situation related to Pyongyang and preventing a buildup of military tensions.
The officials agreed to closely review latest developments on the North while strengthening communications and cooperation with related nations.
They also agreed to strengthen "practical cooperation" with Japan to develop a "future-oriented" relationship and promote co-prosperity with Tokyo following the inauguration of new Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
odissy@yna.co.kr
(END)
11. Ministry approves 3 requests by civilian groups to provide humanitarian aid to N. Korea
Ministry approves 3 requests by civilian groups to provide humanitarian aid to N. Korea | Yonhap News Agency
SEOUL, Oct. 7 (Yonhap) -- The unification ministry said Thursday that it has approved three requests by civilian organizations to provide humanitarian assistance to North Korea, which are meant to help bolster cross-border cooperation and exchanges.
The decision was announced amid cautious optimism about the resumption of dialogue created after North Korea restored all communication lines with South Korea early this week following about two months of suspension attributable to Pyongyang's protest over a joint military exercise by the South and the United States.
"The unification ministry approved civilian organizations' three requests to ship humanitarian materials into the North," a ministry official said. "Our stance remains unchanged that we will continue to seek cooperation in humanitarian areas, including those in urgent need of medical and nutritional materials for children, pregnant and other at-risk citizens in the North."
The official declined to identify the organizations, just saying that those materials to be shipped into the North are related to public health in the North and all necessary costs will be funded by the organizations themselves.
In late July, the ministry allowed civilian groups to pursue humanitarian assistance to North Korea following about a 10-month hiatus caused by the North's killing of a South Korean fisheries official near the inter-Korean sea border in September last year.
South Korea has stated that inter-Korean cooperation in the humanitarian field should go on regardless of political and military situations on the peninsula. Last month, the ministry decided to provide up to 10 billion won (US$8.5 million) to help civilian organizations carry out aid projects for North Korean people.
North Korea has tightened its border controls to stave off a coronavirus outbreak on its soil since early last year. But some signs have been detected that it might be easing the restrictions, with its trade with China on a marked rise in recent months.
The World Health Organization earlier reported that it has begun the shipment of COVID-19 medical supplies to the North through the Chinese port of Dalian.
kokobj@yna.co.kr
(END)
12. WHO says it began shipment of COVID-19 medical supplies to N. Korea
But there are still no reports of COVID in the north.
(LEAD) WHO says it began shipment of COVID-19 medical supplies to N. Korea | Yonhap News Agency
(ATTN: ADDS unification ministry official's comments in paras 6-8)
SEOUL, Oct. 7 (Yonhap) -- The World Health Organization (WHO) said that it has begun the shipment of COVID-19 medical supplies to North Korea through the Chinese port of Dalian, raising the possibility that the North might be easing its long-enforced tight border controls amid the global pandemic.
North Korea has tightened border controls since the outbreak of the coronavirus in China, which has meant key materials and medical supplies could not be shipped to the North. The North closed off a major shipping route linking Dalian to its western port of Nampo in July last year, as it heightened its anti-epidemic emergency status to the highest level.
"To support DPR Korea with essential COVID-19 medical supplies, the WHO started the shipment through Dalian," the organization said in its weekly report that provides updates on situations about infections and preventive measures in the world.
DPR Korea stands for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Given that the report provided updated situations from Sept. 20-26, the shipment appears to have started late last month. The report did not specify exactly when and what kind of medical materials had been headed to the North.
A unification ministry official in Seoul declined to elaborate on the WHO report but noted that some signs have been detected recently that North Korea is opening up its maritime routes with China.
"China's customs data show that maritime shipping routes between North Korea and China appear to be opening," the official said, apparently referring to a sharp increase in their recent bilateral trade.
"But we have not detected yet signs that indicate the resumption of movement of materials through land routes between the two countries," the official added.
North Korea has claimed to be coronavirus-free and rejected outside help for its anti-epidemic campaign for fear that any shipment could spread the virus to its soil.
The WHO's latest report said that a total of 40,700 North Korean citizens have tested for the coronavirus but "no case of COVID-19 has been reported as of 23 September 2021."
kokobj@yna.co.kr
(END)
13. Japan reports sighting of missile aboard North Korean ship in its waters
Similar to a Redeye or Stinger shoulder fire air defense weapon.
Excerpts:
The Japan Coast Guard has not commented on its response to the latest North Korean ship found operating within Japan’s EEZ, although Brown suggested there was little the Japanese side could do other than to monitor its movements.
“Unless a Japanese aircraft or surface vessel comes under direct attack, they will simply observe and keep their distance,” he said. “Japan will not want to initiate a confrontation and its forces will only respond if they are directly attacked.”
Japan reports sighting of missile aboard North Korean ship in its waters
- The coastguard says the weapon identified was either a Russian-made SA-16 surface-to-air missile or a North Korean copy of the weapon
- Japan is sensitive to North Korean ships approaching its shores, a legacy of the abduction of its nationals by commando units from vessels disguised as fishing boats
By Julian Ryall South China Morning Post3 min
A Japan coastguard vessel. Photo: Reuters
Japan’s coastguard has reported sighting a man-portable surface-to-air missile aboard a North Korean vessel operating within Japanese fishing grounds off Ishikawa prefecture, on its northern coast.
The vessel is believed to have been a North Korean government ship, belonging to either the navy or coastguard, and was spotted in late June in the Yamatotai fishing grounds off the Noto Peninsula, the agency confirmed.
While North Korean fishing boats have been reported in the area on numerous occasions, it was the first time the crew of a vessel had been observed to be armed with an anti-aircraft weapon.
The ship was reported to be within
Good hauls have also caught the attention of foreign fishermen, however, and there have been an increasing number of incursions into Japanese waters in recent years, particularly by Chinese and North Korean fishing boats.
The problem is exacerbated as the precise location of borders in the Sea of Japan, or East Sea, are disputed, an official of the Japan Coast Guard said, with both North and South Korea, Russia, and Japan all having overlapping claims.
“We carry out constant patrols with patrol vessels and aircraft in the area in order to protect Japanese fishing crews,” said the official, who declined to be named, adding that Japanese boats had been cautioned to be vigilant while operating in the area.
The coastguard is refusing to provide a full account of the incident on the grounds that it would compromise information-gathering capabilities, but it has confirmed the weapon identified aboard the North Korean ship was either a Russian-made SA-16 surface-to-air missile or a North Korean copy of the weapon.
Initially issued to the Russian military in 1981 and designed to destroy low-flying aircraft and helicopters, the weapon uses an infrared guidance system and has a maximum range of more than 5 kilometres.
The coastguard would not confirm if the weapon was sighted from a ship, a helicopter or a fixed-wing reconnaissance aircraft, although given that it was an anti-aircraft weapon, the latter would appear more likely.
James Brown, an associate professor of international relations at the Tokyo campus of Temple University, said
“It is difficult to be sure what the vessel might have been doing in that area, but it is possible they were carrying out reconnaissance or naval drills, which would fit the pattern of behaviour that we have seen recently of North Korea ratcheting up tensions in the region,” he said.
Japan is sensitive to North Korean ships approaching its shores, a legacy of the abduction of its nationals in the 1970s and 1980s by commando units that were landed on the coasts of northern Japan from vessels disguised as fishing boats.
There have also been reports of Japanese fishermen disappearing from their vessels in the Sea of Japan and being taken to North Korea.
In December 2001, four Japan coastguard ships gave chase to an unidentified vessel sighted within Japan’s EEZ off Kyushu, in southwest Japan.
The ship ignored orders to stop and a series of warning shots. A six-hour firefight ensued, during which the crew of the foreign vessel were seen to be holding shoulder-held rocket launchers.
It was eventually sunk by gunfire and the crew of 15 were all killed or lost at sea.
The Japanese government subsequently raised the ship and confirmed it had been disguised as a Chinese or Japanese fishing boat, but had been fitted with a powerful engine capable of 33 knots.
A twin-barrelled 14.5mm anti-aircraft gun was fitted beneath a retracting cover directly behind the wheelhouse and the stern had been modified to install doors to allow a speedboat to be launched.
The ship was also found to be carrying machine guns and other small arms, maps of Kyushu, diving equipment, clothing made in North Korea and a lapel badge bearing an image of Kim Il-sung, the founder of the North Korean state. Pyongyang has denied any involvement in the incident.
The Japan Coast Guard has not commented on its response to the latest North Korean ship found operating within Japan’s EEZ, although Brown suggested there was little the Japanese side could do other than to monitor its movements.
“Unless a Japanese aircraft or surface vessel comes under direct attack, they will simply observe and keep their distance,” he said. “Japan will not want to initiate a confrontation and its forces will only respond if they are directly attacked.”
Julian Ryall never expected to still be in Japan 24 years after he first arrived, but he quickly realised its advantages over his native London. He lives in Yokohama with his wife and children and writes for publications around the world.
14. North Korea Trying to Hide Uranium Plant Expansion, Group Says
North Korea Trying to Hide Uranium Plant Expansion, Group Says
October 6, 2021, 10:12 PM EDT
- 38 North says satellite photos indicate covers at work site
- Moves comes as Pyongyang reopens communications with Seoul
North Korea appears to have taken steps to conceal upgrades to an uranium-enrichment plant from spy satellites, as it reopens communications with South Korea’s pro-engagement president, Moon Jae-in.
Satellite imagery shows that previously reported construction in an area at the Yongbyon uranium enrichment plant has been covered to hide details of the building’s layout, the U.S.-based 38 North website said in a post on its website. It added that although there may be several reasons for the expansion, one option could be to increase production of fissile material.
“One option, assuming that North Korea is producing low-enriched uranium at two enrichment halls, is that the extension could also be used to enrich low-enriched uranium to weapons grade (high-enriched uranium) as it becomes available from those two cascade halls,” it said.
The renovations could indicate North Korea plans to increase production by as much as 25%, weapons expert Jeffrey Lewis wrote on his Arms Control Wonk website in mid-September. 38 North had said earlier that the satellite imagery indicated cooling units were removed at the facility between Aug. 25 and Sept. 1, and the reason for the move was “unclear.”
The upgrade at the uranium-enrichment facility at Yongbyon comes after the International Atomic Energy Agency said North Korea had also resumed plutonium-production operations at its main nuclear complex for the first time in about three years.
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The moves show that leader Kim Jong Un is ramping up production of material for nuclear bombs, which he kept churning out during disarmament talks with former U.S. President Donald Trump. Kim has piled pressure on President Joe Biden and Moon through tests in September of three new weapons systems designed to deliver nuclear weapons to all of South Korea and most of Japan -- two countries that host the bulk of U.S. troops in the region.
Kim offered an olive branch to Moon this week by restoring inter-Korean hotlines that Pyongyang let go silent for about two months and dangled the prospects of another face-to-face meeting before the South Korean leader leaves office next year.
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The change in tone likely has a lot to do with the political calendar in Seoul. South Korea elects a new president in March and time is running out for Moon to make good on one of his core pledges to bring the two Koreas closer to peace. North Korea likely sees the election as a chance to win concessions from Moon and get him to press the U.S. to do the same.
Andrew Kim, the former head of a CIA center in charge of countering threats from North Korea, said he expects a video summit to take place before Moon leaves office, Stars and Stripes reported Wednesday.
North Korea turns out about enough fissile material for five to six nuclear bombs a year, according to estimates by weapons experts, and has a stockpile large enough for about 30 to 60 weapons.
The Yongbyon nuclear complex, which has served as the crown jewel of North Korea’s atomic program, is an aging facility about 100 kilometers (60 miles) north of Pyongyang that once was the only source of its fissile material. It churned out roughly enough plutonium each year for one atomic bomb.
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Since then, North Korea has used uranium enrichment as the main source of fissile material for weapons.
15. North Korea calls out US for ‘systematic racial discrimination’ after Border Patrol incident
Admit nothing, deny everything, and make counter accusations.
North Korea calls out US for ‘systematic racial discrimination’ after Border Patrol incident
U.S. Border Patrol agents train on horseback in Eagle Pass, Texas, Nov. 16, 2018. (U.S. Customs and Border Protection)
CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea — North Korea has ridiculed the United States’ reputation as a “human rights exemplar” and referenced viral images of U.S. agents chasing Haitian migrants near the Mexican border late last month.
News reports from near the international bridge connecting Del Rio, Texas and Acuna, Mexico, said Border Patrol agents on horseback appeared to be using lariats near the migrants. Thousands of Haitians crossed into Del Rio in September following the July assassination of President Jovenel Moise and an August earthquake that killed nearly 2,000 people, according to the United Nations.
Photographer Paul Ratje, who took a now-viral image of a Border Patrol agent on horseback chasing migrants holding bags of food, told PolitiFact he saw the agent swing his horse reins in the air while in pursuit. The photographer said he did not witness whippings, but the agent’s actions “looked pretty threatening.”
“The behavior of the border patrols who insulted the immigrants, whirling their whips, is not a problem confined to individuals, but an inevitable consequence brought by the corrupt American society,” North Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement Tuesday.
The statement also referenced videos of agents verbally disparaging the migrants that it characterized as “an undisguised reflection of racial discrimination.”
“This reveals the absurdity of ‘human rights’ and ‘democracy’ claimed by the U.S.; and this systematic racial discrimination is rooted too deep in the U.S to be properly addressed,” it said.
North Korea’s state-run media frequently reference U.S. news reports to criticize American society and leaders without mentioning human-rights abuses and corruption within their own borders. The North is described as "one of the most repressive countries in the world" by the Human Rights Watch, as evidenced by its forced labor prison camps, torture and regulation of free speech.
The Border Patrol footage sparked outrage on Capitol Hill, mainly from Democratic lawmakers who demanded a probe of the incident. A Department of Homeland Security statement called the footage “extremely troubling” and said it will take “appropriate disciplinary actions” following a full investigation.
“I promise you those people will pay,” President Joe Biden, referring to the Border Patrol agents, told reporters at a briefing last month. “There will be consequences.”
Border encampments housing thousands of Haitian migrants have been cleared in recent weeks following massive deportations to Haiti and Mexico, according to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
The U.S. special envoy to Haiti, Daniel Foote, resigned Sept. 22 citing the Biden administration’s “inhumane, counterproductive” measures to address the increase of Haitian migrants in the country, according to a copy of his resignation letter obtained by NBC News.
David Choi
16. ‘Two pedals’: North Korea sends conflicting messages with missile tests and hints of outreach
Did an official really make the first part of this statement? Next we will be hearing "long time no see GI...."
“Long time no talk,” a South Korean official said on Monday's call with his North Korean counterpart, according to a video released by the South Korean Unification Ministry. “We’re very pleased to restore communication channels like this. We hope that South-North relations will develop to a new level.”
‘Two pedals’: North Korea sends conflicting messages with missile tests and hints of outreach
TOKYO — North Korea restored a hotline this week to bring back another avenue for dialogue with Seoul. And South Korea and its allies are trying to decipher what Kim Jong Un's regime wants to say.
There is the return of missile tests — at least four in four weeks — that suggest Kim wants U.S. attention and is keeping to his pledges to expand his arsenal, including tests of what North Korea claimed was a new hypersonic missile.
But then there are hints of outreach: the restoration of the hotline Monday and Kim's increasingly powerful sister, Kim Yo Jong, dialing down the North's rhetoric at the United Nations.
“Long time no talk,” a South Korean official said on Monday's call with his North Korean counterpart, according to a video released by the South Korean Unification Ministry. “We’re very pleased to restore communication channels like this. We hope that South-North relations will develop to a new level.”
The hotline's return — a mostly symbolic gesture by both sides — comes as North Korea is showcasing milestones in its weapons program and trying to avoid fresh U.N. sanctions. Kim's regime has vowed to expand its military to counter what it calls hostile policies from the United States, its "biggest enemy."
At the same time, experts say, North Korea may be looking to improve relations with Seoul in the final stretch of President Moon Jae-in’s term, which will end after the March presidential election.
That would give the North a possible face-saving path back to the negotiating table as Washington and allies seek to rein in Pyongyang’s nuclear program.
The Biden administration has said it is willing to resume talks with North Korean officials without preconditions but has not signaled an intention to offer the sanction waivers Pyongyang has been demanding.
“From the North Korean side, the message seems to be rather clear. They want the United States to take a more kind of positive position on the issue of economic sanctions,” Yoon said. “In some sense, I think North Koreans are trying to utilize South Korea’s position to push the U.S. side in their direction, in favor of North Korea.”
Paik Hak-soon, former president of South Korea’s Sejong Institute think tank, said North Korea has become disillusioned with the United States since the 2019 negotiations with the Trump administration fell apart. The North, however, still sees possible openings with the South, he said.
“What Kim Jong Un is trying, and also what Moon Jae-in is trying, is to continue such a process of peace for his own benefit, respectively,” Paik said. “In the process of improving inter-Korean relations, if Biden gets a more positive message from North Korea, he [Biden] can come out and begin negotiations again.”
North Korea had a provocative September after an otherwise quiet year of self-imposed pandemic lockdown. Its latest activities began with a show of force, then quickly turned conciliatory toward the South.
It test-fired multiple new weapons to show it is on track with its top priorities in its weapons development program, including the apparent hypersonic missile, a new “antiaircraft” missile and a new long-range cruise missile. The North slammed the United States over “double standards.”
Meanwhile, Moon delivered a speech on Sept. 21 at the U.N. General Assembly again calling for an end-of-war declaration, which he views as a way to move forward with denuclearization talks. Sustained fighting in the Korean War ended with an armistice agreement in 1953, but the two Koreas remain technically at war.
Last week, Kim Jong Un said restarting the communications hotline would “realize the expectations and desire of the entire Korean nation for recovering cross-border relations.”
With just a few months left in Moon’s five-year term, critics of the South Korean president say he is rushing to coax Kim back to negotiations without making serious efforts toward denuclearization.
“Declaring peace at the same time while acknowledging their nukes — how does that mean anything to us?” said Lee Jun-seok, the chairman of South Korea’s opposition People Power Party. “It’s like putting your feet on both pedals while driving the car. Pressing two pedals at the same time, it will break your car eventually.”
U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price told journalists Monday that the United States supports the restoration of inter-Korean dialogue and reiterated that it is “prepared” to meet with North Korean officials “without preconditions.”
Yoon, South Korea’s former foreign minister, called for a rethinking of how the United States has approached North Korean issues for decades.
“The level of mutual distrust is so high, and that has been the fundamental reason for no progress or even worsening situation up to now,” Yoon said. “If we really want to resolve this nuclear issue without changing the nature of the U.S.-North Korean political relations, I think it would be impossible.”
Jessica Lee, senior fellow at the Washington-based Quincy Institute think tank, which promotes a more restrained approach to foreign policy, said there is only so much progress that inter-Korean talks can accomplish unless Pyongyang and Washington are willing to open direct negotiations.
“Washington clearly believes it is acting reasonably, while Pyongyang sees provocation as the best way to get Washington to be more reasonable,” Lee said. “Diplomacy is about compromise and getting some, not all, of what you want. Until Washington and Pyongyang accept that reality, inter-Korean diplomacy will never progress beyond aspiration.”
17. Trump's Security Aide Blasts Concessions to N.Korea
Excerpt:
"I use the apocryphal quotation attributed to Einstein. It is insanity that if someone is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result," he said. "I think the definition of insanity on North Korea is to make concessions to the North Koreans, just for the privilege of entering into talks."
Trump's Security Aide Blasts Concessions to N.Korea
October 07, 2021 11:43
H.R. McMaster, who shaped the U.S.' North Korea policy in the first year of the Trump administration, said Monday that "maximum pressure" is the best strategy in dealing with the renegade country.
The remarks came after President Moon Jae-in last month called for declaring a formal end to the Korean War at the UN General Assembly.
McMaster, a retired general, was then-President Donald Trump's national security adviser from February 2017 to March 2018. When he was fired he moved to the Hudson Institute to serve as Japan chair, and it was there that he met with a small group of reporters to answer questions about current issues on the Korean Peninsula.
When asked about Moon's calls to give incentives to entice North Korea to return to the dialogue table, McMaster said, "Well, gosh," and referred his questioners to his book "Battlegrounds: The Fight to Defend the Free World," published in September last year, in which one of the chapters deals with the "insanity" of making concessions to the North.
"I use the apocryphal quotation attributed to Einstein. It is insanity that if someone is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result," he said. "I think the definition of insanity on North Korea is to make concessions to the North Koreans, just for the privilege of entering into talks."
"What that has resulted in the past has been long frustrating talks with North Korea that just really don't have many prospects for success," he added. "And then finally, out of frustration, out of exhaustion, we make concession after concession to North Koreans that results in a very weak agreement that locks in the status quo as the new normal."
"And then what North Korea does is it takes that payoff, and then immediately break the agreement to start the cycle again -- provocation, concession, and then violation," McMaster said. "So I think the best chance is the maximum pressure."
Former U.S. national security adviser H.R. McMaster (right) talks to reporters at the Hudson Institute in Washington on Monday.
In the memoir, McMaster reveals the disagreements he had with Cheong Wa Dae national security adviser Chung Eui-yong, who is now foreign minister, about the deployment of the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense battery in Korea and North Korea policy.
He recalls just how "misaligned" Seoul and Washington were when it comes to deciding on how to deal with the North's threat.
When asked what he would tell Chung if he met him again, McMaster said, "I will try to keep this simple. This won't bear fruit." He pointed out that the ruling Monjoo Party has been making such calls for a long time. "I think it is based on unrealistic assumption," he said.
But he described such disagreements between the U.S., South Korea and Japan as "family disputes" and added, "If we stand together with a unified voice, I think that provides the best deterrent capability to the North, but also one of the best incentives for China to do more about the problems in North Korea."
"I am worried about the Japan-South Korea relationship because it creates more opportunity of coercion by the Chinese Communist Party and to drive a wedge" between the allies.
- Copyright © Chosunilbo & Chosun.com
18. 26 Korean Words Added to Latest Oxford English Dictionary
The soft power of the Korean wave.
26 Korean Words Added to Latest Oxford English Dictionary
October 07, 2021 12:55
The latest edition of the Oxford English Dictionary contains 26 Korean words or coinages, including "mukbang," "daebak" and "oppa."
The Oxford English Dictionary dates back to 1884 and is considered to be the authoritative glossary of the English language. The BBC said Korea's influence "has reached the Oxford English Dictionary."
Other Korean words that made it onto the OED include "hallyu," "K-drama," "banchan," "japchae," "kimbap," "dongchimi," "oppa," "noona" and "unni."
"This rise in popularity of [Korean] culture, which began in the 1990s in East and Southeast Asia, had become a worldwide phenomenon by the 2010s, driven largely by the success of various forms of Korean entertainment on social media and video-sharing platforms," the OED editors said.
The dictionary defines the alarming gluttony displays dubbed "mukbang" as "a video, especially one that is livestreamed, that features a person eating a large quantity of food and talking to the audience." It defines "daebak" as "an interjection expressing enthusiastic approval used in a similar way to 'fantastic!' and 'amazing!'"
Also included are words in "Konglish" or Korean anglicisms. They include "skinship" or "touching or close physical contact between parent and child or between lovers or friends, used to express affection or strengthen an emotional bond," "fighting" in the sense of a word of encouragement, and "PC bang" or Internet café.
There are now around 100 Korean words in the OED.
- Copyright © Chosunilbo & Chosun.com
19. Belittling Hangeul: Indiscriminate use of borrowed words hurts cultural pride
A different view of the Korean language.
Excerpts:
Koo Jeong-woo, a professor of Sociology at Sungkyunkwan University, admitted that the use of English loanwords has penetrated deep into Korean society.
"In modern language, it's unavoidable to bring words from foreign languages considering that there are increasing number of foreign residents and it became part of our lifestyle. However, the elderly may feel a sense of incompatibility and digital divide. It's a similar feeling having to use a kiosk and complete a 'self-order,'" he said.
However, he remained positive about the use of slang and Gen Z terms, calling it a natural process.
Belittling Hangeul: Indiscriminate use of borrowed words hurts cultural pride
This is the last in a two-part Hangeul Day article series revisiting the meaning of the Korean alphabet in the age of artificial intelligence._ ED
Government draws criticism for inaccurate use of pandemic-related terms
By Kwak Yeon-soo
The indiscriminate use of inaccurate words ― some of which don't even make sense at all ― have drawn focus as a problem lately as the nation is set to celebrate the 575th anniversary of the invention of Hangeul, the Korean alphabet, by King Sejong the Great on Oct. 9th.
The government, which is expected to right the wrongs in the misuse of Hangeul, has initiated the wrongful use of Korean, drawing criticism from concerned experts.
The government and public institutions started to move away from using Korean words and rather employing clumsily crafted hybrid terms or "Konglish" ― English inspired vocabulary instead.
The pandemic exacerbated the phenomenon. Since the outbreak of coronavirus, terms like "untact" (a combination of the prefix "un" and the word "contact" ― essentially "contactless") and "corona blue" (feeling depressed due to pandemic-related causes) have been widely used to describe the rules and realities of life in the time of COVID-19.
Like the term "quarantine" some words, particularly from English, are either improperly borrowed or incorrectly used adding to the linguistic mess.
While advocates assert that changing vocabulary reflects social and cultural shift, others argue it has gone far beyond the acceptable level. According to critics, the language that was created to promote social connections is in fact widening the generational rift.
Experts say that misusing foreign language rather than simply using loanwords correctly may cause serious harm to Koreans' proper use of their own language.
"Hangeul has been part of national pride and language is a tool that distinguishes one culture from another. If people use more English loanwords, they naturally result in the use of less Korean vocabulary. If such a trend continues, it can pose a grave threat to our cultural identity and Korean language may be relegated to an inferior status," said an official at the Korean Language Society, an academic organization that has been at the forefront of preserving, studying and developing Korean language.
Asking for anonymity, the official explained that Korean language has suffered the consequence of Korea's tragic modern history.
Until late Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910), hanja (Chinese characters) was widely used by the ruling class as some considered it a superior writing system to Hangeul, mainly due to China's influence in the region. Under Japan's 1910-1945 colonial rule, the Japanese language was spoken by the ruling class while Korean was used by the lowest class of people. During and after the 1950-53 Korean War, the presence of U.S. military impacted the rise of English as Koreans' most prevalent second language.
The official pinpointed some construction companies' use of English terms, such as "castle," "palace" and "tower," in their apartments to exude an upscale, high-end image, as an example of foreign language preference.
Surprisingly, however, a recent survey conducted by the Federation of Korean Language & Culture Centers on the public perception of foreign language names for apartments noted that only five percent of 1,000 participants answered they would choose English or other foreign words for their apartment names. By contrast, 49.1 percent of the respondents said they prefer Korean words.
"Many English words such as 'computer' 'radio' and 'television' to describe some of new digital gadgets and gizmo are acceptable because there are no Korean terms to describe them, but we should refrain from using terms that can be expressed in Korean," the official said.
Among others, the Hangul Munwha Yeondae, a cultural association focused on recognition and preservation of the Korean language, said that the indiscriminate use of English terms or other foreign language to describe certain products or phenomenon is a serious problem that needs to be remedied.
Shin Su-ho, an member of the group, said a language divide is one of the problems that exacerbated a general rift between the younger and older generations.
"The younger generation learns fast and adopts and adapts well while the older generation would face obstacles. In the end, it creates the dynamics for inequality," he said.
Shin shared that the digital and social media era has fueled the widespread use of foreign language because more people tend to think they are "catchier" and "cooler."
"It's regrettable that the government is promoting the so-called 'with corona' plans. Why can't they just create a term in Korean? Is the word 'with' really necessary? I don't understand," he said.
Koo Jeong-woo, a professor of Sociology at Sungkyunkwan University, admitted that the use of English loanwords has penetrated deep into Korean society.
"In modern language, it's unavoidable to bring words from foreign languages considering that there are increasing number of foreign residents and it became part of our lifestyle. However, the elderly may feel a sense of incompatibility and digital divide. It's a similar feeling having to use a kiosk and complete a 'self-order,'" he said.
However, he remained positive about the use of slang and Gen Z terms, calling it a natural process.
V/R
David Maxwell
Senior Fellow
Foundation for Defense of Democracies
Phone: 202-573-8647
Twitter: @davidmaxwell161
FDD is a Washington-based nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.
