Quotes of the Day:
“The totalitarian attempt at global conquest and total domination has been the destructive way out of all impasses. Its victory may coincide with the destruction of humanity; wherever it has ruled, it has begun to destroy the essence of man. Yet to turn our backs on the destructive forces of the century is of little avail.”
— The Origins Of Totalitarianism (Harvest Book Book 244) by Hannah Arendt
https://a.co/9m87wSH
"A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives."
- Jackie Robinson
"Culture is not a piece of baggage that immigrants carry with them; it is not static but undergoes constant modification in a new environment."
- Sau-ling Cynthia Wong
1. Ukraine war fortifies North Korea’s urge to arm
2. Yoon Should Have Asked Public About Moving Presidential Office
3. Yoon vows to remove obstacles hindering businesses
4. Yoon’s relocation plan to Yongsan met with concern about consequences
5. Daily coronavirus cases drop to 200,000s; concerns linger over spike amid eased curbs
6. N. Korea stays mum over suspected artillery shots
7. Ministry to set up new information center on unification by 2025
8. N. Korea slams Australia, Japan for 'extremely dangerous' military buildup, especially sub capabilities
9. Yoon's relocation causes headaches for Defense Ministry
10. Cybersecurity alert levels are raised
11. NK hackers stole $400m in cryptocurrency last year: report
12. Russia-Ukraine war poses food security threat to Korea
13. North Korean military told to check supplies in case of war with South Korea
14. Moon reacts negatively to presidential office relocation amid power transition
15. Online discussion with defectors suggests N. Koreans want more than just TV shows and films
1. Ukraine war fortifies North Korea’s urge to arm
There was never any doubt before Putin's War and there should be no doubt now that Kim will never give up his nuclear weapons.
And the combination of the treasured sword (nuclear) and the all purpose sword (cyber) give Kim many capabilities for not only survival but also for political warfare and blackmail diplomacy while continuing to advance the capabilities to allow him to eventually achieve his goal of domination of the Korean peninsula under the rule of the guerrilla Dynasty and Gulag State.
We need a superior political arare strategy resting on a strong deterrence capability that focuses on solving the Korean question.
Ukraine war fortifies North Korea’s urge to arm
A versatile, survivable atomic arsenal provides a shield against third-party intervention during conventional war
SEOUL – As a denuclearized and now devastated Ukraine strengthens the raison d’etre for North Korea’s nuclear armory, Pyongyang is pushing ahead with a wide range of weapons tests as voices in Russia question sanctions.
While Pyongyang is supporting close partner Russia at the UN, experts say Ukraine’s dire fate is driving a deep nail into the coffin of denuclearization. That concept – which many consider a daydream – dominates US interactions with North Korea.
Kim Jong Un’s regime has been pressing ahead with a high-tempo series of weapons tests this year, ranging from train-launched ballistic missiles to hypersonics. There are worries in Seoul that with Washington distracted by Ukraine, a new South Korean president taking office in May and joint South Korea-US spring military drills upcoming, an intercontinental ballistic missile may be next.
If so, it would be the first since the high-tension year of 2017.
Pyongyang’s active testing regimen of 2022, analysts say, is aimed less at sending political signals to Seoul or Washington and more about upgrading North Korean assets from a deterrent to an offensive armory.
That could, feasibly, allow Pyongyang to advance on Seoul while keeping ally the United States at arm’s length.
As a strategy, that would mirror the way Russia’s nuclear arsenal has halted an overt NATO intervention in Ukraine. North Korea is not only nuclear-armed, its conventional forces are almost twice the size of South Korea’s.
Kim Jong Un in ebullient form. The North Korean leader does not want to end up like Saddam Hussein, Muammar Gadaffi or Volodymyr Zelensky and is expanding his nuclear arsenal. Photo: AFP
Iraq, Libya and Ukraine
It is unlikely to escape the attention of anyone prowling Pyongyang’s corridors of power that three states – Iraq, Libya and Ukraine – that abandoned weapons of mass destruction programs suffered catastrophic invasions.
North Korean state media commented on the Western assault on Libya, but has remained silent on Ukraine, the latest of the three to suffer a conventional assault by a superior force.
Under the Budapest Memorandum of 1994, Ukraine, together with Belarus and Kazakhstan, agreed to give up nuclear arms in exchange for security guarantees from Russia, the UK and the US.
Pyongyang’s radio silence on a disarmed Ukraine’s dire misfortune is due to its unwillingness to criticize key partner Russia, said Go Myong-hyun, who watches North Korea from Seoul’s Asan Institute.
Indeed, North Korea was, on March 3, one of only five countries to oppose a motion to condemn Russia for its assault on Ukraine, which passed overwhelmingly at an emergency session of the UN General Assembly.
“The North Korea official read is that NATO provoked a nuclear power to invade a non-nuclear state,” Go told Asia Times. “I think they view themselves more as Russia in this case – they call themselves a superpower as they have nukes. So [in that view], Ukraine would be South Korea.”
It will not have escaped Kim’s attention that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s flash of the nuclear card terrified NATO and kept it out of the arena, leaving Russia’s army to conduct its so far conventional storm into Ukraine.
And asked if Kim and his advisers were congratulating themselves, behind closed doors, on their in-house nuclear deterrent, Andrei Lankov, a North Korea expert who teaches at Seoul’s Kookmin University, said: “Absolutely. From the North Korean point of view, the majority of countries that negotiated their nukes away ended up being conquered and ruined.”
What precedents do the Iraq-Libya-Ukraine experiences set for possible future talks between Pyongyang and Washington?
“I believe the chances of denuclearization have been close to zero for years,” said Lankov. “But now I would say they are well below zero.”
However, accepting that North Korean denuclearization is an impossibility would be an indigestible pill for US policymakers to swallow, given wider scenarios.
“The reason we insist on denuclearization is that the moment you recognize North Korea as a tacit nuclear state you are on a slippery slope with the global nonproliferation regime,” said Go. “So, it is always it on the table, however unrealistic some people think it has become.”
Kim goes on the offensive
On March 16, North Korea conducted what US and South Korean sources say was an abortive intercontinental ballistic missile test. Pyongyang insists it was a satellite launch vehicle for a reconnaissance satellite.
The launch technologies are dual-use. It was Pyongyang’s 10th missile test of the year. Then, on March 20, it tested a tactical multiple launch rocket system as part of its spring military exercises.
Yet Pyongyang has possessed an effective deterrent – a working ICBM that can reach the US mainland and an armory of nuclear warheads to mount on it – since 2017.
It is widely believed that the reason for North Korea’s massive investment in such expensive WOMD, at such ruinous cost in international sanctions, is the regime’s determination to deter a US attack.
Negotiations with the United States have been largely defunct since 2019. The weapons Kim has added to his shopping list since then include defense-evading hypersonic missiles, submarine-launched ballistic missiles, tactical nuclear devices and military satellites.
“It seems there is a desire for a menu of capabilities that gives them options and scenarios where they can use different tools and instruments,” said Daniel Pinkston, an international relations expert at Troy University.
“They want to unify Korea on their terms and have degrees of freedom and autonomy to set relations on their terms.”
More ominously, an expanded portfolio of survivable assets suggests that North Korea is upgrading from a deterrent to an offensive posture which could enable an eventual march on Seoul.
That would reflect Russia’s move on Ukraine – a nuclear state assaulting a non-nuclear state. The nuclear option, feasibly, could keep the non-nuclear state’s protector – respectively, NATO or the United States – out of the conflict.
“There is a blurred line between offensive and defensive capabilities,” said Lankov. “Probably, in due time, they will develop the capabilities to penetrate the US antimissile defensive, and once that happens, North Korea can probably realistically start dreaming about decoupling South Korea from the US.”
Though South Korea and the US share a mutual defense treaty, Lankov asked: “Is the US government willing to risk San Franscisco or New York to save Seoul?”
In Kiev’s Oolon district, a Russian shell hit a residential building on March 14. North Korea’s weapons of mass destruction could prevent the US from going to South Korea’s aid in the event of a conventional war breaking out. Photo: war.ukraine.ua / Aris Messins
Brothers in sanctions
Last week Kazbek Taysaev, the secretary of the Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party, read out an appeal from Lee Cheol, chairman of the Parliamentary Friendship Group of the Supreme People’s Assembly of North Korea.
Lee’s statement said both Russia and North Korea “… are subjected to real persecution by the collective West … overseas scoundrels are trying to destroy us with sanctions packages. We are surrounded by a chain of unfriendly states.”
Russia is now pummeled by the kind of sanctions regime that North Korea has labored under since 2016. And with Moscow looking for ways to shove back against Washington and Brussels, Taysaev’s suggestion may gain traction.
For both states, there could be a profitable barter, Go reckons.
“Russia now has plenty of surplus energy which they can’t export and North Korean needs are not that big,” Go said, noting that ship-to-ship fuel transfers on the high seas have, in recent years, sought to evade sanctions.
Though Pyongyang has minimal hard cash, it has one resource that could prove useful for the underpopulated Russian Far East, which lies adjacent to North Korea.
“I think the Russians are eyeing North Koreans as a source of cheap labor,” said Go. “From the Russian point of view, what else can they get?”
Lankov, however, suggested any cooperation would need to take place under the radar, given that Russia is a sitting member of the UN Security Council, which has enforced a range of sanctions on North Korea.
Follow Andrew Salmon on Twitter: @Andrewcsalmon
2. Yoon Should Have Asked Public About Moving Presidential Office
President-elect Yoon's initial days in his term will be defined by this issue. But perhaps that will be good. While everyone focuses on this issue he will make some substantive changes to strengthen democracy while the opposition is distracted.
Yoon Should Have Asked Public About Moving Presidential Office
President-elect Yoon Seok-youl said he will move the presidential office out of palatial Cheong Wa Dae to what is now the Defense Ministry, a big drab institutional structure in Yongsan. That means the ministry will move into the Joint Chiefs of Staff building next door and the JCS to Namtaeryeong south of Seoul, where the joint war command is located. The historic Blue House with its splendid gardens will be opened to the public after Yoon is inaugurated, and the old main hall and staff annex could become a presidential memorial hall and museum.
Cheong Wa Dae, the site of an old palace nestled in the skirts of Mt. Bukak, was chosen as the presidential office partly for fear of assassination attempts from North Korea, the aim being to make it as difficult as possible to get to the president. But that also means that presidents are physically rather remote, and the vast and imposing structure is all too apt to make them feel like little emperors, as a long line of autocrats did. Several past presidents promised to relocate their office but eventually gave up, be it security reasons or because they could not find a space big enough for a heliport and underground bunker, or simply because they fell in love with their splendid palace once they had moved in. The Defense Ministry headquarters solves those problems.
But Koreans are right to wonder whether key facilities should be relocated at such short notice with less than two months left before the new president is inaugurated. It is difficult to move even a private home in just two months, and the structure and layout of Cheong Wa Dae are a finely honed machine of workflow based on decades of experience. Ignoring that could have serious side effects. There must also be problems from rudely separating the Joint Chiefs of Staff from the Defense Ministry next door since they both handle the security of the country. There cannot have been enough consideration of these issues. The cost too is likely to be astronomical, and a mere presidential transition team should not be making such a big budgetary decision.
It is a pity that Yoon did not go through a process of sounding out public opinion on the matter. Perhaps he thought that would end up bogging down the relocation again as it has done so many times in the past. But such huge changes in the name of boosting communication with the public and transparency unfortunately require public consultation. That is how democracy works.
3. Yoon vows to remove obstacles hindering businesses
(LEAD) Yoon vows to remove obstacles hindering businesses | Yonhap News Agency
(ATTN: ADDS more details in last 2 paras)
SEOUL, March 21 (Yonhap) -- President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol vowed Monday to remove all institutional obstacles hindering businesses, saying economic growth should be led not by the government but by companies.
Yoon made the remark during a lunch meeting with the chiefs of six major business lobbies, stressing he is a strong believer in a free market economy.
"The government's job is to remove institutional obstacles so that businesses can decide more freely, invest freely and grow," he said. "Our (economy) must now change from being led by the government to being led by the private sector."
Yoon asked the participants to inform him on what the obstacles are.
"If the government builds the infrastructure and supports you from behind, and businesses lead the way in creating jobs and making investments so that companies grow, isn't that how the nation grows?" he said.
The participants included Chey Tae-won, chief of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Huh Chang-soo, chief of the Federation of Korean Industries; Kim Ki-mun, head of the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business; Sohn Kyung-shik, head of the Korea Enterprises Federation; Christopher Koo, chief of the Korea International Trade Association; and Choi Jin-shik, head of the Federation of Middle Market Enterprises of Korea.
Yoon, meanwhile, said the Korean economy is feared to slip into stagflation where inflation continues to rise at a time of weak growth, given the Ukraine crisis and more rate hikes in the United States.
"The general public's sufferings in the wake of the pandemic are being aggravated more ... and in order to help the economy leap forward, we have to have an economic paradigm led by the private sector, not by the government," he said on social media.
hague@yna.co.kr
(END)
4. Yoon’s relocation plan to Yongsan met with concern about consequences
There will be second and third order effects in all decisions.
Yoon’s relocation plan to Yongsan met with concern about consequences
Posted March. 21, 2022 07:55,
Updated March. 21, 2022 07:55
Yoon’s relocation plan to Yongsan met with concern about consequences. March. 21, 2022 07:55. .
South Korean President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol officially declared that the presidential office will be relocated to the Defense Ministry compound in Yongsan, central Seoul, adding that the current Cheong Wa Dae site will change into a public park for citizens. Giving a briefing on the planned relocation to Yongsan to the press in person with a presentation pointer for almost 90 minutes, he said that it is a hard job to do but it all comes down to a better future for the country.
Even with no objection to Yoon’s determination to put an end to the closedness of Cheong Wa Dae, his decision causes some regrets. It is not about whether Yongsan is an appropriate candidate site but about whether it is a timely decision to make at a time when critical national issues are still left unaddressed. Regarding this, there are concerns and criticisms of his impatience and hastiness in pushing ahead with the relocation plan. While he made it clear to open a new era in the Gwanghwamun area, Yongsan rose as a new option amid public controversy. In response, he acted as if he took the bull by the horns by making his plan official.
President-elect Yoon explained in detail that it is inevitable to move to Yongsan, describing that a new office in Gwanghwamun will cause a disaster for the public. Although his rationale is partly understandable given presidential security, budget, public accessibility and other realistic aspects of the plan, there is still strong opposition. At a time when North Korea takes suspicious action around the time of power transition, the relocation of facilities of the Defense Ministry and the Joint Chiefs of Staff due to an incoming presidential office may cause gaps in the security system. Added to this, former members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff expressed concerns that national and military commands, if they are situated nearby, can be an easy target of an enemy’s simultaneous attacks. The command-and-control system, installed in an underground bunker at Cheong Wa Dae, will have to be rebuilt from scratch. There is also controversy over whether the estimated cost of around 50 billion won can cover the whole plan and whether it is appropriate to use reserve funds.
Yoon said, “Once I move in Cheong Wa Dae, I will find it hard to walk out of it.” In some sense, his argument sounds reasonable given that President Moon Jae-in failed to keep his presidential pledge to communicate with the public in the Gwanghwamun area due to presidential security issues. However, it still requires careful consideration because the relocation of the presidential office will also affect where his successors work. No one would oppose the argument that Cheong Wa Dae is a symbol of “imperial power” so it needs to change no matter what. Regrettably, steps to listen to public opinions were missed in the process. Yoon could have thought of phasing in a renovation project on partial areas of Cheong Wa Dae over one to two years other than the immediate relocation to Yongsan. He might have been obsessed with a dogma aimed at dismantling Cheong Wa Dae. It is worrisome given that his apparent hastiness causes some concerns.
5. Daily coronavirus cases drop to 200,000s; concerns linger over spike amid eased curbs
I have been told the major jump in numbers may have been due to the decision to include numbers from home testing. I wonder how US numbers would jump if people reported their home test results.
(4th LD) Daily coronavirus cases drop to 200,000s; concerns linger over spike amid eased curbs | Yonhap News Agency
(ATTN: UPDATES with tally as of 9 p.m. in 6th para)
SEOUL, March 21 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's new COVID-19 cases dropped to the 200,000s for the first time in 10 days Monday due to less testing over the weekend, but concerns remain high that infections could spike again, as the government eased social distancing rules this week.
The country reported 209,169 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total caseload to 9,582,815, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.
Monday's tally marked a sharp decline from a record high of 621,281 reported Thursday. The number of new daily cases usually shrinks at the beginning of the week due to less testing over the weekend.
The death toll from COVID-19 came to 12,757, up 329 from Sunday, the KDCA said. The fatality rate was 0.13 percent.
The number of critically ill patients stood at 1,030, up 97 from the previous day.
As of 9 p.m. Monday, the country had reported 329,105 new cases, up 125,051 from the same time the previous day, according to health authorities and provincial governments. Daily cases are counted until midnight and announced the following morning.
Health authorities cited the possibility of the current outbreak to continue due to the fast spread of so-called stealth omicron, which has 30 percent higher transmission rate than the original omicron.
Omicron is made up of several sublineages. Among them, BA.2 was nicknamed the stealth variant early in the omicron wave.
"There is a possibility of the current trend to expand or to reach the peak later than expected due to the rising rate of BA.2 among omicron cases," KDCA Chief Jeong Eun-kyeong said.
The KDCA said the rate of detecting stealth omicron came to 41.4 percent over the past one week, sharply up from 26.3 percent a week earlier.
Despite recent letups, concerns lingered that daily infections could spike again, as the government eased social distancing rules as part of efforts to help small merchants and business owners taking the brunt of the pandemic due to less foot traffic and consumption.
Starting earlier in the day, the government eased the limit on private gatherings to eight people from the previous six while maintaining the 11 p.m. business curfew.
The measures are the latest in a series of steps to ease tough social distancing rules despite the still rampant spread of the highly transmissible omicron variant of the coronavirus.
In the face of the surging infections and overwhelmed hospital capacity, the government has also turned its focus away from preventing people from getting infected toward treating seriously ill patients.
It requires most infected people to receive at-home treatment for a week and allows them to go out without presenting their health status, such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test results.
Also, starting earlier in the day, fully-vaccinated international arrivals are required to submit their health status, such as PCR tests, and do not have to go through mandatory quarantine.
The number of people receiving at-home treatment stands at 1,993,986 as of Monday, the KDCA said.
Of the domestic cases, Seoul reported 41,078 new infections, with the surrounding Gyeonggi Province logging 56,909 The western port city of Incheon reported 12,086.
Those aged 60 or older, deemed to be a highly at-risk age group, accounted for 17.4 percent, the KDCA said.
As of midnight Sunday, 32.37 million people out of the 52 million population, or 63.1 percent, had received booster shots. Fully vaccinated people came to 44.46 million, representing 86.6 percent, the KDCA said.
As part of efforts to secure more COVID-19 vaccines for this year, the authorities said they have pre-purchased 10 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine candidate by SK Bioscience Co.
GBP510, under development by the affiliate of South Korea's family-controlled conglomerate SK Group, is the country's first homegrown vaccine candidate to enter the last phase of its clinical trial.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said it will decide whether to grant an emergency approval of the oral antiviral medicine Lagevrio by Thursday at the latest.
The planned introduction of the medicine by American multinational pharmaceutical company MSD, also known as Molnupiravir, comes amid rising demand for such oral COVID-19 medicine.
khj@yna.co.kr
(END)
6. N. Korea stays mum over suspected artillery shots
Actions speak louder than words. Perhaps they are letting the rockets speak for themselves for the moment and add to the messages of the past 10 missile launches and the new construction at the nuclear test site in order to shape the information environment.
(LEAD) N. Korea stays mum over suspected artillery shots | Yonhap News Agency
(ATTN: UPDATES with unification ministry's response in last 3 paras)
SEOUL, March 21 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's state media remained silent Monday on the country's apparent test-firing of artillery the previous day.
On Sunday, the North fired four suspected shots from its multiple rocket launchers that fell into the Yellow Sea from an unspecified location in South Pyongan Province, according to South Korean military officials.
The North's official media, including the Korean Central News Agency and the Rodong Sinmun newspaper, did not carry any reports on the firing Monday morning amid a view that it seems to have been part of the nation's ongoing wintertime military training.
They usually report on major missile launches and new weapons tests, if presumed successful, the next morning.
Pyongyang's state-controlled media also kept mum on a suspected missile launch last week that ended in failure.
Meanwhile, Seoul's Ministry of Unification, which handles inter-Korean affairs, said it will continue efforts for the stable management of the peninsula's situation and thorough preparations to respond to "all possibilities."
"(We) once again urge North Korea to immediately stop unilateral actions that create tensions and go counter to the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula, and to choose the path of dialogue and cooperation that we and the international community have proposed," ministry spokesperson Lee Jong-joo told a regular press briefing.
She stressed "mutual respect" is the basis for the development of inter-Korean ties, as it has been agreed between the two Koreas several times, answering a question on North Korean propaganda outlets' criticism of the South.
yunhwanchae@yna.co.kr
(END)
7. Ministry to set up new information center on unification by 2025
I hope this indicates a shift in focus to developing the plans to solve the Korea questions. Rather than intelligence and policy and attempted engagement with north Korea as it does now, the Ministry needs to be doing the detailed and long term planning for actual unification and the establishment of a United Republic of Korea (UROK). And It needs to prepare the Korean people on both sides of the DMZ for eventual unification (so it should have a role in information and influence activities toward the north to explain to the Korean people in the north what the unification process will entail.
Ministry to set up new information center on unification by 2025 | Yonhap News Agency
SEOUL, March 21 (Yonhap) — The South Korean government will build an expanded database center on unification on the outskirts of Seoul by 2025 to accommodate a growing number of archives, the unification ministry said Monday.
The Information Center on North Korea, a research center operated by the ministry since 1989 at leased facilities, will be expanded and relocated to Goyang, just northwest of Seoul.
The center is currently situated at the National Library of Korea in southern Seoul.
“Due to the increasing number of books at the center, issues have been consistently raised regarding the lack of space, inconvenience to visitors and difficulty in securing rental space,” Lee Jong-joo, the ministry’s spokesperson, told a regular press briefing.
The expanded facilities will serve as the country’s new mecca for historical records and other materials, as well as research in connection with North Korea and unification.
Earlier, the National Library of Korea has asked the ministry to move the facilities, citing lack of space at its own compound. The ministry has also discarded some old materials due to the shortage of storage space at the center.
julesyi@yna.co.kr
(END)
8. N. Korea slams Australia, Japan for 'extremely dangerous' military buildup, especially sub capabilities
This propaganda also is in support of the PRC.
N. Korea slams Australia, Japan for 'extremely dangerous' military buildup, especially sub capabilities | Yonhap News Agency
SEOUL, March 21 (Yonhap) -- North Korea on Monday slammed a recent push by Australia and Japan to beef up their submarine capabilities as "extremely dangerous acts" that can threaten regional peace and add to an arms race.
In a commentary posted on the North's foreign ministry website, the Korea-Asia Association denounced Australia's recent decision to build a nuclear submarine base under a partnership with Washington as "reckless."
"What cannot be overlooked is that the U.S. and the U.K. use the media as the front to describe extremely dangerous military moves of Australia as if they were a part of its increased military strength while linking those moves with the Ukrainian situation," the association said.
It then warned countries in the region to stay on high alert against the "dangerous military moves" of the United States and the West, and to stay vigilant against Australia rushing its attempt to be nuclear-armed following the "footsteps of the U.S. and the West."
In September last year, the U.S. launched a new trilateral security partnership with Australia and Britain, and said the countries will work to equip Australia with conventionally armed nuclear submarines as a first step.
In a separate commentary by the ministry's Institute for Studies of Japan, an unnamed researcher took aim at Tokyo's newly commissioned ultra-modern submarine "Taigei," calling it a move that will only bring "self-destruction."
"(Their purpose) is to regain the ruined status of the old Japanese Empire and realize its wild ambition for re-aggression by possessing the preemptive strike capability with the conversion of 'Self-Defence Forces' into offensive forces," read the piece.
julesyi@yna.co.kr
(END)
9. Yoon's relocation causes headaches for Defense Ministry
Yes, of course. Imagine if a US president wanted to move his or her offices to the Pentagon.
Monday
March 21, 2022
Yoon's relocation causes headaches for Defense Ministry
President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol points to the Defense Ministry main building in Yongsan District, where the presidential office will be relocated to, in a press conference at his transition team's headquarters in Samcheong-dong, central Seoul, Sunday. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]
The Ministry of National Defense is under pressure after President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol chose its compound in Yongsan District, central Seoul, as the venue of his new presidential office.
Yoon takes office on May 10, leaving some 50 days for the move, remodeling and security work to be completed.
The presidential office will move into the 10-story main Defense Ministry building.
However, there are around 1,100 personnel working in the ministry's main building, who will now have to be relocated from as early as this month.
Government officials said that they will have to be dispersed to around 10 locations within and outside the Defense Ministry compound, with only a few key departments, such as the defense minister's office, deemed suitable to move into the adjacent Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) building.
One government official expressed worry after Yoon's press conference Sunday saying, "Considering the period of time needed to remodel the Ministry of National Defense building into the presidential office, it seems that the move will have to be completed by the end of this month."
The official said, "Starting today, we have no choice but to finalize the moving schedule and pack our bags."
The compound is said to have enough room to house the Defense Ministry for now, but Yoon said he expects that the JCS will eventually move out to join the war command headquarters, leaving the Defense Ministry focused more on the policy side of security.
A national park will be built on the returned land, next to the Defense Ministry compound, to make the presidential office more approachable for the public. The presidential residence is expected to be in Hannam-dong, around five minutes away by car.
The compound covers some 276,000 square meters and houses the Defense Ministry's main building, the JCS headquarters, the Cyber Operations Command and other military facilities and agencies. Over 4,000 personnel work on the compound.
The Defense Ministry building does not have sliding windows due to security issues and the front gate of the building is on an incline meaning it is impossible to load and unload furniture or boxes at a high speed using a ladder truck.
The government official said, "In the end, we have to move with the four elevators in the office building. This is the reason why people say that it will be difficult to complete the move within the given time, even if it is fully operated 24 hours a day."
A big concern, both within and outside the military, is the possibility of a North Korean cyber attack, said military sources, among other underlying security concerns.
A military source told the JoongAng Ilbo, "In the past, there have been instances of security breaches when a moving company employee mistakenly connected the defense intranet to the Internet in the process of transferring the data facilities of the Joint Chiefs of Staff."
Some officials are concerned that that there might even be a disruption in national security if North Korea carries out a major provocation, such as the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile or a nuclear test, as has been predicted.
Military authorities are closely monitoring the possibility that North Korea may carry out such tests around late former leader Kim Il Sung's 110th anniversary birthday on April 15.
"We are moving in a hurry in a situation where a system is not well established," a military official, who requested anonymity, said. "It is really difficult to imagine the Ministry of National Defense as a ministry that only deals with policies."
This official said that the Defense Ministry has been operating a 24-hour defense posture regarding North Korea.
When asked about such security concerns involving the moving of the Defense Ministry during Sunday's press conference, Yoon described the agency as one that deals with "policies" as opposed to the Pentagon in the United States.
Some defense officials are also concerned the move could even affect the South Korea-U.S. joint springtime military exercise scheduled for next month.
"The relocation of the presidential office will lead to the moving of the Ministry of National Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff which will of course affect the [joint military] training," said a military source. "We have a situation where we have to prepare for moving and training simultaneously."
Lawmakers of the ruling Democratic Party also raised concern that the presidential transition team's estimated budget of 49.6 billion won ($40.9 million) allocated for the move is misleading, saying it doesn't cover the cost of the park's construction around the presidential office, nor the state guesthouse for foreign dignitaries, among other expenses.
A government source said, "The 50 billion won is just the cost of relocating the presidential office to the Defense Ministry," adding that all expenses put together could actually cost over 500 billion won.
Yoon has rejected reports that the cost of relocation could cost over 100 billion won.
Some within military even say that they feel "betrayed" over the plan to relocate the Defense Ministry, especially taking into consideration Yoon's campaign pledges to bolster national security.
A high-ranking military official, who requested anonymity, said, "In this election, the conservatives have been trending with security-focused supporters. With this, we hear a lot of complaints, such as feeling betrayed."
The relocation plan has also been met with mixed reactions from the public. Some Yongsan residents have raised concerns, especially about heavy traffic it might cause when the president commutes. Likewise, flight space around the area is expected to be restricted.
Others applaud the building of a national park and making the presidential office closer to the people, transforming Yongsan into the heart of Seoul, similar to what the White House in Washington may symbolize for Americans and tourists.
BY KIM SANG-JIN, SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]
10. Cybersecurity alert levels are raised
Good. Beware of the regime's all purpose sword (as well as other capabilities of other cyber threat countries)
Monday
March 21, 2022
Cybersecurity alert levels are raised
The Joint Chiefs of Staff, currently headquartered on the premises of the Defense Ministry in Yongsan District, central Seoul, is expected to move to the Capital Defense Command in Gwanak District, southern Seoul, pictured above, once the presidential office is moved to the defense ministry compound. The move has been cited by one military official as the reason for the elevation of the ministry's cybersecurity alert level. [NEWS1]
The Defense Ministry and National Intelligence Service (NIS) raised their cybersecurity alert levels on Monday amid concerns of possible online threats during the presidential transition and the impending move of the presidential office from the Blue House to Yongsan.
The Defense Ministry elevated its cyberspace protection condition (CPCON) by one stage to Level 3, the third highest in the five-tier system, while the NIS upped its own readiness stance to Level 2, the second lowest in the four-tier system.
Officials from the ministry and intelligence service said the changes were made to reflect concerns about Korea’s cybersecurity in light of the international situation in Europe and the Korean Peninsula.
Online spaces have emerged as battlegrounds between Moscow, Kyiv, the West and China amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine, while the presidential transition in Seoul could give rise to cybersecurity threats as the outgoing administration of President Moon Jae-in passes on sensitive intelligence to the incoming team assembled by President-elected Yoon Suk-yeol.
The ministry’s decision to elevate the CPCON level drew particular attention as it came two days after Yoon and his transition team announced that the presidential office would be moved from the Blue House to the building currently housing the Defense Ministry in Yongsan District, central Seoul.
The raise in the CPCON level – the first since August – will entail closer cooperation between the Defense Ministry, the rest of the government, private sector and armed forces to deter challenges to the country’s cybersecurity and preemptively confirm protection of the country’s online defense assets, according to officials.
The spy agency’s elevation of the cybersecurity alert to the second level also obliges both central and provincial governments, as well as public agencies, to check their cybersecurity readiness postures.
NIS officials said the elevation of the agency’s cybersecurity alert was motivated by concerns that hackers, especially those backed by Pyongyang, could attempt to steal policy documents of the next administration, which be inaugurated on May 10.
Although the Defense Ministry cited the potential of retaliatory cyberattacks against countries that joined sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine – a group that includes Korea – one military official who spoke to the JoongAng Ilbo on the condition of anonymity suggested that the cybersecurity alert elevation also reflected the ministry’s own uneasiness with the presidential office move.
“North Korea has been firing missiles since January, while it’s been over a month since the crisis in Ukraine began,” the official said. “It’s difficult to accept these events as the rationale for raising the cybersecurity alert level.”
The official added that the raise in the CPCON level after Yoon announced the move of the presidential office to the Defense Ministry’s premises “has led to misunderstanding within the military” and suggested that intelligence leaks during the move and transition motivated the alert level elevation.
BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]
11. NK hackers stole $400m in cryptocurrency last year: report
No small chunk of change. All for the royal court economy I am sure.
NK hackers stole $400m in cryptocurrency last year: report
NK hackers stole $400m in cryptocurrency last year: report
Published : Mar 20, 2022 - 15:42
Updated : Mar 20, 2022 - 17:31
Cryptocurrency (123rf)
North Korean hackers launched at least seven attacks on cryptocurrency platforms last year and stole nearly $400 million worth of digital assets, according to a blockchain data firm report submitted to the US Senate.
The heist marked a 40 percent increase from 2020 when it stole about $300 million, according to Jonathan Levin, co-founder of Chainalysis, in a written testimony submitted to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban affairs for a hearing on digital assets and illicit finance on Thursday in the US.
He said that the attacks targeted primarily investment firms and exchanges, deploying techniques such as phishing lures, code exploits and malware to siphon funds out from the organizations’ “hot” wallets and then move them into North Korea-controlled addresses.
“Once North Korea gained custody of the funds, they began a careful laundering process to cover up and cash out,” he said.
In the testimony, he noted that many of last year’s attacks were carried out by the Lazarus Group, a hacking group led by the North’s primary intelligence bureau, Reconnaissance General Bureau, which the US has imposed sanctions against.
The Lazarus Group, which was accused of orchestrating the notorious Sony Pictures hack in 2014 and WannaCry attack in 2017, in recent years has concentrated its efforts on digital asset crime -- a strategy that has proven immensely profitable, it added.
“From 2018 on, the group has stolen and laundered massive sums of virtual currencies every year, typically in excess of $200 million,” it said.
The revenue generated from these hacks goes to support North Korea’s weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs, the report said, citing the UN Security Council.
North Korea appears to be looking into digital money laundering to evade international sanctions on the regime, with the United Nations panel of experts monitoring sanctions on Pyongyang having said early this year that “cyberattacks, particularly on cryptocurrency assets, remain an important revenue source” for the regime.
The North Korean hackers targeted a diverse variety of cryptocurrencies last year, with ethereum accounting for 58 percent of the funds stolen, and bitcoin at 20 percent, whereas 22 percent were either ERC-20 tokens or altcoins, according to Chainalysis.
Levin identified that more than 65 percent of the North’s stolen funds were laundered through so-called mixers -- “software tools that pool and scramble digital assets from thousands of addresses” -- in an attempt to obscure the money’s origin.
12. Russia-Ukraine war poses food security threat to Korea
Another indication of how important Ukraine is to the international community. It is a major breadbasket for the world. And this illustrates one of South Korea's weaknesses.
Russia-Ukraine war poses food security threat to Korea
Farmers harvest with their combines in a wheat field near the village of Tbilisskaya, Russia, July 21, 2021. AP-Yonhap
By Baek Byung-yeul
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has been posing a threat to Korea's food security given that the warring nations account for around 30 percent of the world's traded wheat, according to industry analysts, Monday.
Korea, which has a low food self-sufficiency rate, could face a food crisis in a worst case as a result of rising overall grain prices due to the conflict and abnormal climate conditions caused by environmental change and the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, they said.
"If Ukraine and Russia experience a setback in wheat exports, wheat prices will naturally rise. In addition, corn and soybean prices, which are highly synchronized with wheat price, will also rise, adversely affecting Korea," Lee Choon-soo, a professor at the College of Life Science and Natural Resources at Sunchon University, said. "If grain prices surge, food and livestock feed prices will rise, which will lead to overall inflation."
Ukraine accounts for 12 percent of the world's wheat exports, while Russia occupies 18 percent. Data shows that grain prices have been on the rise due to a series of events. According to data gathered by the Korea Customs Service, the price of grain imports per ton in February was $386, up 26 percent from the same period in 2021. Compared to February 2020, just before the COVID-19 crisis began, 2022's figure is 47.4 percent higher.
The professor predicted that grain prices would continue to rise as recently climbing oil prices will also increase demand for bioenergy sources using grain. "When the global agriculture market saw steep price rises between 2007 and 2008 and 2010 and 2011, the price hikes were caused by the increased demand for bioenergy. Given soybean and corn are primary resources for bioenergy, the overall grain prices will keep rising," he said.
The soaring grain prices present a serious threat to Korea. According to data from the Korea Rural Economic Institute, the country's food self-sufficiency rate has continued to decline from 50.2 percent in 2015 to 48.7 percent in 2017 and 45.8 percent in 2019.
Comparatively, Korea's grain self-sufficiency rate has declined to 21 percent in 2019 from 23.9 percent in 2015.
Han Yoo-jung, an analyst at Daishin Securities, suggested an outlook on shares of snack and noodle makers such as Nongshim, Orion and Samyang Foods moving from overweight to neutral due to the higher grain prices.
"Between 2016 and 2020, Korea was included in the top eight importers of Ukrainian wheat and the top three importers of Russian corn. There are optimistic scenarios such as stabilizing the Ukraine conflict or expanding production areas in countries other than Russia and Ukraine, but at this point, the unprecedented uncertainty in the grain market is of great concern," the analyst said.
As a solution to the price hikes, the Sunchon University professor suggested the government provide more active support to domestic companies to cultivate various grains in areas overseas. "In the long run, encouraging local firms to cultivate crops in places other than Korea will be one of the ways to resolve the issue, but it takes time. In the short term, releasing grain reserves the government has at a low price could become another method of resolution," he said.
In response to the rising grain price, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced a plan to increase the self-sufficiency rate of wheat by expanding domestic wheat reserves.
"In order to stabilize the supply of wheat and ensure food security, the government plans to increase its wheat reserves to 14,000 tons this year, up 5,600 tons from 8,400 tons in 2021," the ministry said in a statement.
To make things more convenient for local wheat farmers, the government will start purchasing wheat in June, one month earlier than it did last year at the end of July, to avoid crossing over into the rainy season here, the ministry added.
"This year, the preparation period, such as preliminary quality inspection, will be shortened, and the purchase process will be moved to June immediately after harvest. Accordingly, it is expected that the weight of wheat storage and management on farmers and the deterioration of quality due to the rainy season will be reduced," it said.
13. North Korean military told to check supplies in case of war with South Korea
This is troubling. Is this a defensive concern or is it a cover for possible preparations for something else?
Or is this simply a response to the corruption problems within the regime?
North Korean military told to check supplies in case of war with South Korea
Officials are worried they could get in trouble for using up food, medicine and other supplies during the pandemic.
By Jieun Kim
2022.03.17
North Korea is performing supply checks to ensure the military is ready to fight a war with South Korea, an order one source said is an attempt to distract the country from ongoing economic turmoil.
The military arm of the Central Committee of the ruling Korean Workers’ Party ordered each unit and Civil Defense Departments in each province, city and county to make a check of strategic supplies to “prepare for the changing international situation.”
The inspection of strategic supplies is unplanned, a resident of the northeastern province of North Hamgyong told RFA’s Korean Service on March 13.
“It is to prepare a full-scale combat readiness posture that can quickly respond to any situation,” said the source, who requested anonymity for security reasons. “The move is aimed at strengthening the national defense power in response to the increasingly deteriorating international situation and the sharp military confrontation between the two Koreas.”
Military units are required to take a tally of stored ammunition, uniforms and foodstuffs in each unit, as well as the emergency supplies of food, medicine and tires stored by Civil Defense Departments in each region, according to the source.
“Residents think that the sudden inspection, although under the pretext of tensions, is actually aimed at creating an atmosphere of war to distract them from economic hardship,” he said.
“Officials in the propaganda and agitation sector are arguing that the situation will be tense because the new president elected in the South Korean presidential election is a bad president who wants to confront us,” he said, referring to South Korea’s conservative President-elect, Yoon Suk-yeol.
Inspections of supplies in nearby South Hamgyong province took government officials by surprise, one of the officials told RFA.
“The officials are stunned … because some of the storage areas they will inspect are empty. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, a significant amount of reserve materials have already been consumed,” said the second source, who requested anonymity to speak freely.
“The Civil Defense Department officials are angry that the party is trying to use international tensions to justify their inspection. Military units are well equipped … but the Civil Defense storage is not properly stocked because supplies were used for national construction projects too,” the second source said.
The second source pointed out that the government cannot keep track of its own propaganda messages.
“They promote that we are one of the world’s leading military powers. Then there should be no reason to be nervous about the election of a new president in South Korea,” the source said.
Translated by Leejin Jun. Written in English by Eugene Whong.
14. Moon reacts negatively to presidential office relocation amid power transition
Of course he does. But we should not forget he proposed moving the offices out of the Blue House as well but did not keep that promise.
Moon reacts negatively to presidential office relocation amid power transition
Seen above is the Ministry of National Defense headquarters in Yongsan District, Seoul, which will be used as the new office for President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol. Yonhap
President-elect reiterates resolve to return Cheong Wa Dae to public on May 10
By Nam Hyun-woo
President Moon Jae-in on Monday put the brakes on President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's plan to begin his presidency at a new office in the defense ministry compound in Yongsan District, Seoul, expressing worries about a possible security vacuum during the power transition process.
Moon's reaction came a day after Yoon unveiled a plan to relocate the presidential office to Yongsan, which requires Cabinet approval due to the huge relocation cost.
Yoon's first initiative since his election win earlier this month has encountered an obstacle with the sitting president voicing skepticism about the relocation plan. It remains uncertain whether the President-elect will push ahead with the plan at the expense of his relationship with Moon.
"Since President Moon pledged to have the presidential office move to the Government Complex in Gwanghwamun, Seoul, during his presidential campaign, we fully understand why President-elect Yoon is trying to return Cheong Wa Dae to the public," Park Soo-hyun, senior presidential secretary for public communication, said during a press conference.
"However, it seems inappropriate for the President-elect to push ahead with the relocation of the presidential office to the Ministry of National Defense, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) headquarters, presidential office, secretaries' office and other facilities, because President Moon is still in power, although his days in the top job of the government are numbered."
On Sunday, Yoon announced that he will start his first day of the presidency on May 10 at the newly relocated office, which sits next to U.S. Army Garrison Yongsan. The Cheong Wa Dae site and buildings will be opened to the public. The defense ministry will be moved to the JCS headquarters, which is next to the defense ministry building, and the JCS will move to the Army Public Affairs Division building for a while before relocating to the Namtaeryeong area in southern Seoul.
Yoon's presidential transition committee said around 50 billion won ($41.2 million) will be needed for the project, while it plans to tap into the state reserve fund to finance the cost, which will require Cabinet approval. The committee initially planned to seek approval during Tuesday's Cabinet meeting, but an official at Cheong Wa Dae said, "As the President expressed his concern, it will be difficult to table the issue during Tuesday's meeting."
Park cited "a security vacuum" as the reason.
"With the tense security situation on the Korean Peninsula, an abrupt relocation of the defense ministry, the JCS and Cheong Wa Dae's risk management center (underground bunker) during the power transition may cause a vacuum and disruptions in national security," he said.
"It will be appropriate for Yoon's transition committee to pursue the relocation after the defense ministry, the JCS headquarters and Cheong Wa Dae are thoroughly prepared, and the Moon government will decide its final stance after enough consultations with Yoon's side."
Yoon expressed regret over Moon's negative reaction to the relocation plan.
"If he resists cooperation… there are no forceful means that we can use to make it work," said President-elect Yoon's spokesperson, Kim Eun-hye.
But Kim made it clear that Yoon will live up to his commitment to return Cheong Wa Dae to the public on the first day of his inauguration, noting it will be effective from May 10, the day he will be sworn in as next president.
She did not elaborate on where Yoon will start his first day in office.
While the two sides lock horns, the relocation plan has left the nation divided, triggering a heated debate not only in political circles, but also among the general public.
Yoon said the relocation is aimed at facilitating communication with the public and ending the legacy of Korea's "imperial" presidency, but questions were raised about the security vacuum created by the move, as well as general skepticism over the suitability of the new site.
Rep. Yun Ho-jung, co-chief of the DPK emergency committee, said, "Yongsan is at the heart of the nation's defense, housing facilities that command the security of the country." He added that it will take at least two years to move core security facilities of the defense ministry, which will in the meantime leave a vacuum in national defense.
He added that the maximum height of buildings in the Yongsan area will be regulated if the presidential office moves there, which will disrupt ongoing development projects in the region.
The PPP, meanwhile, was welcoming Yoon's decision, but there are also opinions from within that the President-elect is rushing the relocation.
Yim Tae-hee, former presidential chief of staff during the Lee Myung-bak administration and a special adviser to Yoon, told Yonhap News Agency, "If the incoming administration makes any glitches while rushing to the new office, it may face national criticism right after Yoon's inauguration," adding "the opinion from the defense ministry should be respected."
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, who is also a member of the PPP, asked for a "prudent approach" during a meeting with Yoon on Saturday, citing the pros and cons of the new presidential office.
This combined image shows banners hung near the Ministry of National Defense headquarters in Yongsan District, Seoul, Monday, a day after President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol announced his plan to relocate the presidential office to the defense ministry building. The upper banner welcomes Yoon's plan, and the lower one opposes it, demanding the President-elect announce that there will be no new regulations on development in Yongsan District after the relocation. Yonhap
Yongsan era
Seoul citizens' opinions are also divided over Yoon's plan, due to the consequences of the relocation.
On an online forum of residents in Dongbu Ichon-dong in Yongsan District, a user wrote that the plan will benefit the area, as parks around the new presidential office will jack up the housing prices as well as dismissing the rumors that public rental apartments will be built on the site of U.S. Army Garrison Yongsan surrounding the defense ministry compound.
Also, there were expectations over urban development in surrounding areas, relocating nearby railroads underground and opening up Cheong Wa Dae as a tourist site.
On the other hand, concerns were also raised over traffic congestion due to the presidential motorcade, possible regulations on the height of new buildings and an air defense battery surrounding the presidential office.
The road connecting the defense ministry and nearby Hannam-dong is heavily congested. If the road is blocked for Yoon to commute between the office and his residence, which is anticipated to be located in Hannam-dong, the traffic situation is anticipated to worsen.
Cars are stuck in a traffic jam on the road in front of the Ministry of National Defense in Seoul connecting Samgakji Intersection with Itaewon in Yongsan District, Monday. YonhapA pending project for the construction of a 35-story building, right next to the defense ministry building, is also becoming uncertain because of the expected height limit to be imposed near the presidential office. Rumors are also spreading that air defense batteries may be installed on the roofs of nearby high-rises in order to protect the presidential office.
Yoon said there will be no additional regulations following the relocation, and the presidential transition committee also noted that there will be no air defense batteries on nearby apartments, but concerns remain because many details of the plan have yet to be disclosed.
15. Online discussion with defectors suggests N. Koreans want more than just TV shows and films
This is another reason why the Biden Administration and the new Yoon administration should develop a sophisticated information and influence activities campaign. it is time to "let slip the dogs" of information (with apologies to Shakespeare).
Online discussion with defectors suggests N. Koreans want more than just TV shows and films
For North Koreans, accessing outside information is a matter of survival, not merely the pursuit of pleasure, one defector participant said
By Mun Dong Hui -2022.03.21 1:49pm
A North Korean defector has called on the outside world to provide North Koreans with a higher level of information than just TV shows or movies.
The Korea office of the US-based nonprofit International Republican Institute (IRI) and the US embassy in Seoul hosted an online discussion on freedom of information and North Korea on Friday.
Chang Hyok, a North Korean defector who took part in the debate, said North Koreans are demanding an increasingly higher level of information. He said in the past, North Koreans were content simply to enjoy TV shows or films, but now they wonder about new cultures, professions, and economics.
He said young people in their teens and twenties seek TV shows and films, while other people need information that can help them survive the fierce competition for survival.
Hyok also suggested that the outside world consider ways for North Koreans to safely access information sent into the country.
He said in the past, North Koreans faced nothing more than a stint in a forced labor brigade for accessing outside information, but now, they face time in a labor camp or even death. He claimed that North Koreans are not consuming information from abroad as they did in the past, complaining that they have no means to safely do so.
However, Hyok said for North Koreans, accessing outside information was a matter of survival, not merely the pursuit of pleasure. He noted that the outside world must come up with solutions so that North Koreans can safely access information.
North Korea adopted a law to eradicate “reactionary thought and culture” in 2020. The law calls for long sentences for watching, listening to or keeping films, recordings, books, songs, drawings, photographs or other cultural items from South Korea or “enemy nations” such as the US or Japan. People caught importing or distributing said cultural items face life imprisonment or death.
UMG/Daily NK President Lee Kwang Baek participating in the online discussion on Feb. 18. (Screen capture)
There is reportedly considerable insecurity and discontent on the part of North Koreans due to economic difficulties resulting from protracted international sanctions and the COVID-19 pandemic. North Korean authorities worry that ideological laxity will accelerate if a disgruntled populace comes into contact with information from the outside world, and are responding with extreme “politics of fear.”
This is to say, as the outside world works to send information into North Korea, it must also consider the safety of the people who access that information.
Another defector at the event said sending information into North Korea could be an important way to convey to North Koreans the concept of freedom.
Defector Ryu Song Hyon said he believes North Koreans have a very limited understanding of the term “freedom.” He said when he lived in North Korea, he realized he had no freedom when he used information from the outside world to compare his situation with the rest of the world.
Lee Kwang Baek, head of the Unification Media Group and president of Daily NK, said sending information into North Korea could change how North Koreans think, potentially powering the transformation of the country. He said the outside world should provide knowledge and information needed so that North Koreans demand democracy, human rights, and peace on the Korean Peninsula.
The event was the second in a series of town hall discussions hosted by IRI Korea’s BYFY (By Youth For Youth) council. The series began so that members of the council — composed of young South Koreans and North Korean defectors — could inform young South Koreans about human rights in North Korea.
After the event, the BYFY council plans to write a policy memo to convey “the voice of the youth” to those concerned.
Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
Mun Dong Hui is one of Daily NK’s full-time journalists. Please direct any questions about his articles to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
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.
