Quotes of the Day:
"The meme is the new PSYOP leaflet" (please let slip our PSYOP dogs of war)
"Failing to learn from history is like flunking an open-book test."
- Gary McMahan
“There is no purgatory for war criminals. They go straight to hell, ambassador.”
- The Ukrainian Ambassador to the UN in an exchange with this month’s Chair of the Security Council, the Russian Federation Ambassador
“Kenya and almost every African country was birthed by the ending of empire. Our borders were not of our own drawing,. Had we chosen to pursue states on the basis of ethnic, racial or religious homogeneity, we would still be waging bloody wars these many decades later. Instead, we agreed that we would settle for the borders that we inherited. But we would still pursue continental political, economic and legal integration. Rather than form nations that looked ever backwards into history with a dangerous nostalgia, we chose to look forward to a greatness none of our many nations and peoples had ever known.”
- Ambassador Martin Kimani, Kenyan Ambassador to the UN
"Putin will be a pariah on the international stage. Any nation that countenances Russia's naked aggression against Ukraine will be stained by association"
- President Biden
"Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake."
-Bonaparte
1. Shooting occurs not far from where Kim Jong Un attends groundbreaking ceremony
2. Ukraine asks for S.Korea cybersecurity aid amid Russia invasion
3. Moon calls nuclear power main source of electricity over next 60 years
4. Korea and US agree to return 165,000 square meters of Yongsan US base
5. Frontrunners address Russian invasion of Ukraine with different focuses
6. CPAC panelists warn South Korea 'in danger' of falling under 'communist' rule
7. Leaving behind the left (South Korea)
8. Korea Warned of Greater Dependence on China
9. N. Korea ranked one of worst countries for political rights and civil liberties: report
10. ‘Just a prank’: Prohibited photos of North Korean leaders found at market south of Seoul
11. South Korea's presidential race puts misogyny in spotlight
12. Even in North Korea... "Corona is just like the common cold" and "Eating garlic will make you safe," an atmosphere of disregard for coronavirus is spreading.
13. North Korea sees farm worker family ties as a growing threat
14. North Korean cargo trains returning from China are half-empty
1. Shooting occurs not far from where Kim Jong Un attends groundbreaking ceremony
We must not overreact to this reporting from Daily NK but it bears watching. What I know from my escapee friends is that only two organizations are authorized to carry live ammo in Pyongyang: Kim's Bodyguard Command and nkPA special forces conducting demonstrations (one of my escapee friends was on a demonstration team. -you now, the guys who jump through fire and more).
So the question is whether this is in any way an indication of potential or nascent resistance? Is there a breakdown in the 3 chains of control of the military? Or just bad blood between a deputy and his commander and the deputy was presented an opporutnity whe.n the unit was issued live ammunition?
Excerpt:
The source said the platoon guarding Sinsang Station in the Sinsang Labor District was carrying live ammunition as it was on special guard duty. This is when the deputy commander of the guard post allegedly emptied an entire magazine into the guard post commander, killing him. The provincial party received a report of the incident immediately, convening another enlarged meeting of the military committee that evening.
Shooting occurs not far from where Kim Jong Un attends groundbreaking ceremony
The shooting occurred despite South Hamgyong Province's unusual move to shut down roads and even communications in the run up to Kim's visit
2022.02.25 10:00am
A shooting took place on Feb. 18 in South Hamgyong Province, not far from where North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attended the groundbreaking of the Yonpo Greenhouse Farm the same day.
According to a Daily NK source in the province yesterday, the provincial party committee convened extended meetings of its military committee on Feb. 16 and Feb. 18.
On Feb. 16, the committee met to put the entire province under lockdown for two days — Feb. 17 and Feb. 18 — ahead of Kim’s appearance in Hamju County’s Yonpo district. On Feb. 18, the committee discussed measures to deal with the shooting.
The source said the provincial party convened an emergency enlarged meeting of the military committee on the evening of Feb. 16 after receiving notification that Kim was coming. He said the meeting discussed locking down the province from midnight of Feb. 17 to midnight of Feb. 18, putting it under “special guard” status.
In response, the authorities shut down access to all roads into the province, and even shut down landline and mobile communications in the province.
The source said “on-the-spot guidance” visits by Kim are usually accompanied by localized lockdowns of a specific city or county. He said shutting down an entire province is highly unusual.
The provincial party of South Hamgyong Province put the province on high alert ahead of Kim’s attendance of the groundbreaking ceremony. Despite this, on the day of the ceremony (Feb. 18), there was a shooting in an army security platoon at Sinsang Station in Chongpyong County, right next door to Hamju County.
The source said the platoon guarding Sinsang Station in the Sinsang Labor District was carrying live ammunition as it was on special guard duty. This is when the deputy commander of the guard post allegedly emptied an entire magazine into the guard post commander, killing him. The provincial party received a report of the incident immediately, convening another enlarged meeting of the military committee that evening.
During the four hour meeting, Ri Chong Nam — the chief secretary of the provincial party — sharply criticized the “large-scale incident” that took place while the province was on special guard duty to protect the event attended by Kim. He reportedly took to task the political cadres of military units stationed in the province who were in attendance.
Photos published by North Korean state media on Feb. 19 about the groundbreaking ceremony at the Yonpo Greenhouse Farm on Feb. 18. (Rodong Sinmun-News1)
He further rebuked the cadres for failing to properly manage their units and ascertain the “tendencies” of their soldiers, failures that led to an incident that could have easily compromised the safety of the “revolutionary leadership.”
The next morning, Ri sent a self-criticism letter — written in his own handwriting — from the military committee’s members along with an incident report to the Central Committee. Ri is reportedly close to Kim, and once served as deputy director of the Central Committee’s Organization and Guidance Department. He was named the province’s chief secretary after previous secretary Kim Song Il was blamed for the response to a destructive typhoon in 2020 and sacked.
According to the source, the self-criticism letter said the military committee took collective responsibility for the failures that took place during the ceremony period, would accept any punishment given, and were even prepared to give up their party membership. It also said the members would “give their lives” to ensure that the Yonpo Greenhouse Farm is completed by Oct. 10.
North Korea’s Central Committee reportedly met on Feb. 20. It praised the military committee of South Hamgyong Province for convening right away to report the incident, reaffirming its faith in the local party and calling on it to repay that faith with results.
Ultimately, the commander of the security department of the Seventh Corps, as well as the head of the department’s political division, were relieved and demoted. The two soldiers are reportedly being sent to a farm run by the Seventh Corps in Yonggwang County.
The Seventh Corps is stationed in South Hamgyong Province.
Meanwhile, the alleged shooter in the incident has been placed under arrest. The source said he likely faces a death sentence for the crime of “causing chaos during the period of an event attended by the Supreme Leader.”
Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
Ha Yoon Ah is one of Daily NK’s full-time journalists. Please direct any questions about her articles to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
2. Ukraine asks for S.Korea cybersecurity aid amid Russia invasion
I hope South Korea honors this request. It could make an important contribution here.
Ukraine asks for S.Korea cybersecurity aid amid Russia invasion
SEOUL, Feb 25 (Reuters) - The top Ukraine official in South Korea said on Friday that his country wants to request Seoul's assistance in boosting its cybersecurity capability to defend against Russian attacks.
Missiles pounded the Ukrainian capital as Russian forces pressed their advance after launching attacks on Thursday, prompting Kyiv's plea for more help from the international community. read more
Dmytro Ponomarenko, Ukraine's ambassador-designate to South Korea, said the websites of the country's governmental institutions were suffering from Russian attacks.
A global cybersecurity firm has also said that a newly discovered piece of destructive software was found circulating in Ukraine and has hit hundreds of computers, part of what was deemed an intensifying wave of hacks aimed at the country. read more
Ponomarenko commended South Korean President Moon Jae-in's remarks that Ukraine's sovereignty must be respected and Seoul supports a peaceful resolution of the crisis, but expressed hopes for additional assistance.
"We would also be grateful if the Republic of Korea, being a highly developed hi-tech country, gave us a hand in strengthening our cybersecurity capabilities," he said in a statement released after a news conference in Seoul, using South Korea's official name.
Moon said South Korea would join the international community's efforts to slap economic sanctions on Russia, but officials said they were not considering adopting unilateral measures. read more
An official at South Korea's foreign ministry said it would step up support for Ukraine, but did not immediately comment on potential cyber cooperation.
South Korea designated Ukraine as a key recipient of official development aid last year, and currently provides help in education, health and public administration among other areas.
Ukraine accounts for only around 0.1% of South Korea's trade volume. Russia is South Korea's major energy supplier and 10th largest trade partner, with several big companies including Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor running plants there.
Ponomarenko urged the international community to show solidarity by imposing sanctions against Russia and providing Ukraine with financial, military and fuel support, as well as humanitarian assistance.
"We need to act together and in coordinated manner," he told the news conference.
Reporting by Hyonhee Shin; Editing by Kim Coghill
3. Moon calls nuclear power main source of electricity over next 60 years
Hmm... Phase out nuclear power but it will be the main power source for 60 years????
Moon calls nuclear power main source of electricity over next 60 years | Yonhap News Agency
SEOUL, Feb. 25 (Yonhap) -- President Moon Jae-in said Friday that South Korea will fully use its nuclear power plants under its nuclear phase-out scheme, calling nuclear power a mainsource of electricity over the next 60 years.
"Over the next 60 years, while nuclear power plants continue to operate, nuclear power plants should be fully utilized as a main base source of electricity," Moon told a meeting on stable supply of power, according to presidential spokesperson Park Kyung-mee.
Construction of four nuclear reactors -- Shin-Hanul No. 1 and No. 2, as well as Shin-Kori No. 5 and No. 6 -- have been delayed due to safety inspections and other issues.
Moon urged officials to make efforts to gradually start operations at the four nuclear reactors, because safety standards for operations have increased, Park said.
Moon said the Korean government's energy transition policy is to gradually suspend construction of new nuclear power plants and prohibit the extension of the lifespan for older nuclear power plants until 2084.
Moon called for officials to "make every effort to ensure the safety of nuclear power plants while maintaining proper operation rate," according to Park.
The nuclear phase-out scheme set by Moon's government centers on slowly breaking away from nuclear energy by refraining from building additional plants while retiring old ones.
Under the roadmap, South Korea plans to decrease the number of nuclear plants in operation to 17 by 2034, from this year's 24.
The government plans to reduce nuclear energy to account for 23.9 percent of the country's total power generation by 2030 from around 30 percent last year. It targets to raise the proportion of renewable sources to 20 percent from 6.6 percent over the same period.
kdh@yna.co.kr
(END)
4. Korea and US agree to return 165,000 square meters of Yongsan US base
A small win-win victory.
Korea and US agree to return 165,000 square meters of Yongsan US base
D-12
Mar. 9,2022
Published : Feb 25, 2022 - 15:56 Updated : Feb 25, 2022 - 16:01
(Yonhap)
South Korea and the United States have reached an agreement for the US to return 165,000 square meters from the Yongsan US Base in Seoul and Camp Red Cloud, a US Army camp located in Uijeongbu city, officials said Friday.
Im Sang-woo, director of the North American Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and joint chairperson of the Korea-US Status of Forces Agreement, and Scott Pleus, deputy commander of the US Forces Korea, adopted a joint statement containing these details by phone on the day.
The relocation of the Yongsan US military base was decided earlier, but the land returned to Korea so far is about 50,000 square meters. It is only a fraction of the 2.03 million square meters of the Yongsan US base that should be returned.
At the meeting, the two sides reaffirmed that they would work closely together to complete the return of the Yongsan Garrison on a significant scale by early this year.
Yoon Chang-ryul, the first deputy director of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, said, “We plan to receive 165,000 square meters first today, and then go through the relevant procedures in the first half of this year to receive a substantial amount of additional refunds.”
He expects that the construction of Yongsan Park, which will be the first national park in Korea, will gain momentum.
The Korean government plans to create an e-commerce logistics complex on the Camp Red Cloud site in Uijeongbu City.
This is the second round of returns from the US of Yongsan Base, after it returned 53,418 square meters of two areas on the base, including a sports field and a softball stadium in December 2020.
Korea and the US agreed to gather opinions on maintaining and managing US bases in a cleaner and safer manner and continue consultation efforts with an emphasis on strengthening the environmental management of bases in use. They agreed to share environmental information on US military bases, improve the Korea-US response system in case of an accident, and refine procedures for accessing US bases, in line with the US–South Korea Status of Forces Agreement environmental document.
5. Frontrunners address Russian invasion of Ukraine with different focuses
Frontrunners address Russian invasion of Ukraine with different focuses
D-12
Mar. 9,2022
Published : Feb 25, 2022 - 15:24 Updated : Feb 25, 2022 - 18:40
The two frontrunners in the quickly approaching presidential election addressed the Russian invasion of Ukraine with different focuses. While Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea spoke of economic aspects, Yoon Suk-yeol from the main opposition People Power Party attacked the Moon Jae-in administration’s security policies.
Lee tried to bring the focus on how the war will affect the Korean economy in an attempt to emphasize his capability in handling economic matters. Lee has been seen branding himself as an “economy president” in his election campaign in recent days.
“The government should prepare for the war’s effect on food security, such as a rise in prices of crops,” Lee said during an emergency meeting held Thursday. “We have to make sure of the effects the uncertainty of the economy will have on businesses, and prepare countermeasures for businesses that rely on imports and exports that can be affected by the war and related sanctions.”
A few hours before the meeting, Lee had said, “Our stocks are falling due to a war happening in a country irrelevant to us on the other side of the world.” He made this statement while on the campaign trail in Wonju, Gangwon Province.
“The economy grows in stability,” he said, attacking Yoon for his policy concerning the US’ Terminal High Altitude Area Defense anti-missile system. “Political leaders should never intensify a war crisis.”
Yoon refocused on criticizing the current Moon Jae-in administration’s security policies.
“People are realizing a war is not something that happens to a ‘faraway nation,’ watching the reports on Russia’s attack on Ukraine,” Yoon wrote on his social media account, attacking Lee’s comment. “An end-of-war declaration in words or truce treaty do not stop a war. We need the strong solidarity of an alliance and strong national defense power.
The Moon Jae-in administration has been pushing for an official end-of-war declaration to the 1950-53 Korean War as a diplomatic vehicle to encourage North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons.
“The incident gives a lesson to us, surrounded by powerful nations,” Yoon said during a separate emergency meeting held Thursday. “Russia’s military action is a violation against international law.”
“We should cooperate with free states, including our allies, the US, UK, France, Germany, Japan and more, to peacefully resolve the situation,” Yoon said.
6. CPAC panelists warn South Korea 'in danger' of falling under 'communist' rule
A brutal critique of the South Korean left. While this focuses on South Korea leftist leadership I think we should also understand the Kim family regime's subversion strategy. . Kim Jong-un continues 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.
Subversion
- The undermining of the power and authority of an established system or institution.
-
As in: "the ruthless subversion of democracy"
- Ideological War – a choice between:
- Shared ROK/US Values
- Freedom and individual liberty, liberal democracy, free market economy, rule of law, and human rights
- Kim family regime (KFR) “values”
- Juche/Kimilsungism/now "KIMJONGUNISM," Socialist Workers Paradise, Songun, Songbun, Byungjin, and denial of human rights to sustain KFR power
- nK engages in political warfare and active subversion of the ROK
CPAC panelists warn South Korea 'in danger' of falling under 'communist' rule
By , Christian Post Reporter | Thursday, February 24, 2022
North Korean defector Lee Hyun-Seung (L) speaks with CPAC Executive Director Dan Schneider (R) at CPAC 2022 in Orlando, Florida, on Feb. 24, 2022. | YouTube/Right Side Broadcasting Network
A North Korean defector argues that the democratic country of South Korea is in danger of becoming a communist state due to the possibility of a “pro-China” and “pro-North Korea” candidate winning the upcoming presidential election.
The 2022 Conservative Political Action Conference, an annual gathering of conservative activists, held its first full day of programming Thursday. For the second year in a row, the conference took place in Orlando, Florida, instead of National Harbor, Maryland, where it had taken place in previous years.
The first full day of the conference occurred as Russia invaded Ukraine Thursday. One of the first panels at this year's conference was titled “I Escaped Communist North Korea." However, it began with a brief discussion from national security experts KT McFarland and Gordon Chang on Russia before North Korean defector Lee Hyun-Seung was introduced.
Lee, who now goes by the name “Arthur,” works for KCPAC, the Korean equivalent of CPAC. He didn’t mince words about the direction he thinks South Korea is headed, although it’s been an American ally for many years.
In a conversation on the main stage with CPAC Executive Director Dan Schneider, Lee lamented that “the President of South Korea [Moon Jae-in] is a socialist” and “the candidate to replace the current socialist is a communist [Lee-Jae Myung].”
During the talk, Schneider reported that “that communist has closer ties to the Chinese Communist Party and to North Korea than to the U.S.”
The South Korean presidential election, scheduled to take place on March 9, is a faceoff between the Democratic Party of Korea candidate Lee-Jae Myung and People Power Party candidate Yoon Suk-Yeol.
Lee Hyun-Seung elaborated on the situation, warning that Lee-Jae Myung is “fascinated by the socialism and the communism.”
He contended that “they want to make South Korea … a socialist country.”
“So, they want to rig the election so that they can get the absolute power in the Congress and then … [manipulate] the National Election Commission to rig [the] election,” he claimed.
The defector concluded that “South Korea is really in danger” because of politicians who want to establish “one-party control.” Schneider agreed, suggesting that South Korea could become “the next Venezuela.”
Lee Hyun-Seung stated that although President Moon and Lee-Jae Myung were “human rights lawyers,” they “never talk about North Korean human rights” and “never talk about Hong Kong.”
He suggested that their silence on the human rights violations in North Korea and Hong Kong is because “they are pro-North Korea but also pro-China.” He expressed hope that the “American people can fight together to preserve our freedom” on the Korean Peninsula.
At CPAC, Lee Hyun-Seung touched on his experience living in North Korea, which has operated as a brutal dictatorship run by the Kim dynasty for several decades.
“I lived in North Korea for about 30 years,” he said.
“In North Korea, you are not allowed to gather in one place to express your opinion. … Everybody should be controlled by the regime and everything is controlled by the one man,” he added.
Lee Hyun-Seung suggested that a conference like CPAC would not be possible in North Korea unless it was approved by the Kim regime.
He was asked by Schneider what would happen to him if he told a neighbor that he disliked what the Kim regime was doing. Lee Hyun-Seung said his family would have endured “three-generation punishment.”
In a “three-generation punishment,” grandparents, parents and their children “will be punished severely.” According to Lee Hyun-Seung, “your grandfather will be executed, your father will be killed by the regime and your … children will be sent to political prison camps.”
“In the camp, when the … young babies were born in the camp, they have to live in the camp for their entire life unless the regime [releases] them,” he explained.
After describing the political climate of North Korea, the defector touched on why his family escaped the country.
“Seven years ago, my entire family made the toughest decision [of] our entire lives,” he recalled, describing the decision as a choice to “escape for freedom” or “live as [a] slave.”
Lee Hyun-Seung expressed gratitude that his family decided to “leave the country” and leave “everything behind for freedom.” He said freedom is “more valuable than life” and the reason why he decided to escape.
“So many people do not stop escaping,” he said.
7. Leaving behind the left (South Korea)
Advice for more than South Korea.
Conclusion:
A book on German chancellors by former prime minister Kim Hwang-sik can be seen as a guide to the future of Korean politics. The book studied the leadership of post-war chancellors responsible for German unification and prosperity. German leadership either from the left or the right upheld principles but at the same time accepted the need to comprise and cooperate with opponents. Korea must put an end to the winner-take-all mighty presidency and reinvent the 1987 system that opened the era of direct presidential election. Instead of rhetorical centrist platforms and promise of harmony, politics must demonstrate true bipartisanship as in the coalition under President Kim Dae-jung. As the African proverb says, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
(slow is smooth, smooth is fast).
Thursday
February 24, 2022
Leaving behind the left
Yeom Jae-ho
The author is a professor emeritus and former president of Korea University.
The January edition of Le Monde diplomatique focuses on the retreat of the left in Europe and projected that it will lose again in France’s April 10 presidential election. The Socialists governed the country for about 20 years. However, as the left has lost the trust of the people, the possibility of their victory in the upcoming election is nearly naught, according to the journal.
The retreat of the left is being seen across Europe. Two decades ago, 13 out of 15 EU member countries were under leftist governments. Only seven are left among 27 EU members. Benoit Breville, editor and deputy director of Le Monde diplomatique, and Serge Halimi, its president and director, devoted a feature to the reasons why the left has become so weak in Europe.
They found two common disappointments of leftist governments. First, they emulated the right’s platforms without putting into action their ideology. The second was “financial strangulation.” The Socialist government of France sought practical and centrist platforms and led privatization and financial liberalizations. The Socialist Party neglected pleas from its traditional voting base of laborers and working-class people. Leaders from labor and socialist parties moved onto well-paying institutions upon resigning from office. Former Socialist Finance Minister Dominique Strauss-Kahn became the head of the International Monetary Fund. Three French associates of Francois Mitterrand took charge of financial globalization — Jacques Delors as the president of the European Commission, Henri Chavranski at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and Michel Camdessus as head of the IMF. They displayed the hypocrisy of leftist technocrats being converted to neoliberalism.
The left also disappointed in fixing pension insecurity and high unemployment. Since the left wing failed to keep campaign promises, they lost voters in elections that followed. “The left has often been in the cockpit. And this is part of its current problem, as voters’ memories of the left in power have dampened their willingness to grant it the controls again,” the writers observed.
President Moon Jae-in, left, shows his residence to Lee Jae-myung after he was elected presidential candidate of the ruling Democratic Party last October. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]
When elections come around, political parties turn to Hotelling’s Law, or the principle of minimum differentiation reasoned by mathematician Harold Hotelling. For example, ice cream vendors are pulled towards the middle of the beach instead of the far end in order to reach more sunbathers. In politics, candidates aim for the middle of the political spectrum as going too far left or right may lose centrist votes. The left chose practicality over fundamental principles , and the right turned more to ideology than efficiency. All played out as election strategies to generate centrist platforms. When they failed to act on their promises, centrist voters felt betrayed and decided not support them the next time.
South Korean politics have meandered down a similar path. President Park Geun-hye employed many leftist ideas in her campaign platforms. But she lost the trust of both sides after failing to reconcile her half-baked mix and was impeached at the end. President Moon Jae-in vowed to revitalize the economy, create jobs, and end the politics of division and conflict. He also failed. Each candidate promises to be engaging towards the center, but when they come to power, they become oblivious.
Whether on the right or left, self-righteousness generates hypocrisy and obsession leads to impotence. One must admit to the weaknesses and seek help to be appreciated for genuineness and competence. Conflict between the self-righteous left and the hard-core right has destabilized politics. For the left to extend power, it must overcome its dilemma and demonstrate its true ability and sincerity. The Cho Kuk debacle, the faceoff between former justice minister Choo Mi-ae and prosecutor general Yoon Suk-yeol, controversy over satellite parties and the Daejangdong scandal, real estate price spike and tax bombardment all exposed the leftist government for insincerity and incompetence. If leaders on the left wing keep up their hypocrisy, pragmatism without principles, and divisiveness, they cannot hold onto power.
A book on German chancellors by former prime minister Kim Hwang-sik can be seen as a guide to the future of Korean politics. The book studied the leadership of post-war chancellors responsible for German unification and prosperity. German leadership either from the left or the right upheld principles but at the same time accepted the need to comprise and cooperate with opponents. Korea must put an end to the winner-take-all mighty presidency and reinvent the 1987 system that opened the era of direct presidential election. Instead of rhetorical centrist platforms and promise of harmony, politics must demonstrate true bipartisanship as in the coalition under President Kim Dae-jung. As the African proverb says, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
Translation by the Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
8. Korea Warned of Greater Dependence on China
Korea Warned of Greater Dependence on China
February 25, 2022 08:39
Business experts on Wednesday warned that Korea's efforts to bring home the production of parts and equipment could paradoxically end up increasing its dependence on China, which controls the global supply of raw materials.
Korea has been seeking to localize the production of materials, components and equipment since Japan curbed exports of key semiconductor materials over a historic spat. "Instead of excluding imports from a particular country, the government should diversify global supply chains," said one expert.
Korea is already heavily dependent on China for battery and semiconductor materials and needs to prepare for uncertainties in the escalating cold war between the U.S. and China.
Ahn Ki-hyun at the Korea Semiconductor Industry Association, said, "We're importing Chinese raw materials to manufacture materials ourselves, but that means we'll end up even more dependent on China."
According to the Korea Customs Service, imports of Japanese-made hydrogen fluoride, which is vital for eliminating contaminants in the semiconductor manufacturing process, decreased from 41.9 percent in 2018 to 13.6 percent last year. But the proportion of Chinese-made hydrogen fluoride increased by 17.7 percentage points instead.
Jeong Hyung-gon at the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy said, "Amid the U.S' attempts to restructure into 'China-free' supply chains, we need to decrease our over-dependence on China over the long term."
Experts also warn that localizing the production of materials, components and equipment could tamper with the established global division of labor, whereby Korea imports materials and equipment from Japan and the U.S. to manufacture key components in China and Vietnam.
- Copyright © Chosunilbo & Chosun.com
9. N. Korea ranked one of worst countries for political rights and civil liberties: report
No surprise but good to keep in mind.
N. Korea ranked one of worst countries for political rights and civil liberties: report | Yonhap News Agency
SEOUL, Feb. 25 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has been rated as one of the worst countries in terms of freedom, a recent report by a U.S.-funded freedom watchdog showed Friday.
In an annual Freedom House report titled, "Freedom in the World 2022," the North received a combined freedom score of 3 out of 100 -- zero points for political rights and 3 points for civil liberties.
It ranked only above Turkmenistan at 2 points, and South Sudan and Syria with just 1 point each among 195 countries assessed by the organization.
The report came amid concerns about human rights conditions in the North that has been struggling with economic woes aggravated by global sanctions and pandemic-driven border closures.
yunhwanchae@yna.co.kr
(END)
10. ‘Just a prank’: Prohibited photos of North Korean leaders found at market south of Seoul
‘Just a prank’: Prohibited photos of North Korean leaders found at market south of Seoul
Framed photos of deceased North Korean leaders Kim Il Sung, left, and Kim Jong Il hang inside a train car in Pyongyang, North Korea, in 2016. (Jan Bockaert/Wikimedia Commons)
Forbidden photographs of three generations of North Korean leaders that were discarded at an outdoor market in South Korea were traced to two perpetrators, according to police.
The two men, friends in their 20s or 30s, won’t be charged for leaving framed photographs of Kim Jong Un, Kim Jong Il and Kim Il Sung at Moran Market, a Seongnam city police officer told Stars and Stripes on Tuesday. It’s customary in South Korea for some government officials to speak to the media on condition of anonymity.
South Korean law prohibits certain depictions of North Korea and its leaders, and also restricts access to television broadcasts from the communist regime.
Someone on Friday reported finding the photos at the outdoor venue that sells a range of household goods. Using closed-circuit television cameras in the area, police identified two suspects, one who purchased the frames and printed the North Korean leaders’ photos and another person who received them.
The two took part in an “exchange of useless gifts,” the police officer said. The gag gift exchange is typically held during the Christmas season and has grown in popularity after social media users displayed their items on online forums.
The person “who received the frames with the pictures looked for a way to throw them away and dumped them in Moran Market recently,” the officer explained.
Gyeonggi police closed the case without filing charges; “it was just a prank,” the police officer said. He released no further details.
Kim Jong Un, the current ruler of North Korea, came to power following the death of his father, Kim Jong Il, in 2011. Kim Jong Il ruled North Korea after the death of his father, the nation’s founder, Kim Il Sung, in 1994.
South Korea’s National Security Act says that a person who “manufactures, imports, reproduces, holds, carries, distributes, sells or acquires any documents, drawings or other expression materials” with an intent to promote an anti-government organization and “endanger the existence and security of the State or democratic fundamental order” can be jailed for up to seven years, according to the Ministry of Government Legislation.
Stars and Stripes reporter Yoo Kyong Chang contributed to this report.
11. South Korea's presidential race puts misogyny in spotlight
South Korea's presidential race puts misogyny in spotlight
AP · by JUWON PARK, KIM TONG-HYUNG and KIM JUNG YOON · February 23, 2022
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — As South Korea enters a bitter presidential race, Hong Hee-jin is one of many young women who feel that the country’s politics has become dominated by discrimination against women, even outright misogyny.
“Women are being treated like they don’t even have voting rights,” the 27-year-old office worker in the capital, Seoul, said.
For years, South Korean women have made slow but steady progress in the workplace as they confronted an entrenched culture of male chauvinism and harassment. But this extremely tight presidential race, which culminates March 9, has exposed the fragility of what’s been won.
Top conservative candidate Yoon Suk Yeol and his liberal rival Lee Jae-myung — both men above 55 — are fighting for what they see as a “male” vote crucial for victory. They have increasingly focused their messages on young men who decry gender equality policies and the loss of traditional privileges in a hyper-competitive job market.
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“Politicians are taking the easy path,” Hong said. “Instead of coming up with real policies to solve problems facing young people, they are fanning gender conflicts, telling men in their 20s that their difficulties stem from women receiving too many benefits.”
The tensions can be seen on the streets. Hundreds of women have marched in protest against the “election of misogyny.” Small but vocal groups of anti-feminist men have staged rallies in response.
Divisive gender politics has grown as South Korea deals with a fast-aging population, a plummeting birth rate, soaring personal debt, a decaying job market and stark inequality. There’s also the growing nuclear threat from North Korea and fears of being squeezed in the confrontation between the United States and China.
No campaign issue, however, has caused more debate than Yoon’s vow to abolish the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, which the candidate says promotes policies unfair to men.
A former prosecutor general, Yoon, 61, has also vowed stronger penalties for false sexual crime reports. Critics say this makes up only a small number of rape claims, and that the threat of tougher punishment could intimidate victims from coming forward amid a recent male backlash against the #MeToo movement.
Liberal ruling party candidate Lee, 57, has taken a cautious approach to gender issues, while clashing with Yoon over the economy and North Korea policy.
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Narrowly trailing Yoon in the polls, Lee has faced calls to appeal to more young men, whose support of conservative candidates in mayoral by-elections in Seoul and Busan may have led to a shocking double-defeat for the liberals.
Lee has described gender tensions as related to joblessness and says men shouldn’t be discriminated against. He said he plans to keep the gender ministry, but under a different Korean name that no longer includes the word “women.”
Yoon’s campaign has been influenced by his party’s chairman, Lee Jun-seok, a 36-year-old Harvard-educated “men’s rights” advocate who describes hiring targets for women and other gender equality policies as “reverse discrimination.” Lee calls feminist politics “blowfish poison.”
Yoon during a presidential debate on Monday repeated an argument that South Korea no longer has any structural barriers to women’s success, saying discrimination is now about “individual versus individual.”
The World Economic Forum ranks South Korea 102 out of 156 nations in an index that examines gender gaps in jobs, education, health and political representation.
South Korea has by far the largest gender pay gap among developed economies at around 32%, according to the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and women remain significantly underrepresented in corporate boardrooms and politics. The country’s record-low birth rate underscores how many women find it impossible to combine careers and family.
Scrapping the gender ministry could weaken women’s rights and “take a toll on democracy,” said Chung Hyun-back, a scholar who served as gender equality minister in 2017-18, under current liberal President Moon Jae-in. It is also a key government department committed to helping single parents, sexual abuse survivors and the families of minorities and migrants.
The prospect frustrates Kang Ji-woo, a 36-year-old single mother who once struggled to find a job in a deeply conservative society and who receives child care support from the gender ministry. Unwed mothers in South Korea are sometimes pressured and shamed into having abortions or relinquishing their children for adoption.
“There’s no candidate worth trusting on polices aimed at helping the disadvantaged,” she said.
South Korean conservatives are galvanizing around a Trump-like brand of divisive “identity politics” that speaks almost exclusively to men after years of disarray following the 2017 ouster of the country’s first female president, Park Geun-hye, over a massive corruption scandal, according to Park Won-Ho, a Seoul National University politics professor.
Park Geun-hye had drawn power from older conservative voters who saw her dictator father, Park Chung-hee, as a hero who lifted the nation from the devastation of the 1950-53 Korean War.
Yoon is tapping into the resentment of men in their 20s and 30s who face a bleak job market while agonizing over soaring housing prices and dimming prospects for marriage and parenthood. They are increasingly sensitive to competition from women, who often outpace them at school and are more eager to break from traditional gender roles for professional advancement.
Even as many men cling to the notion that their female colleagues have it easier in the workplace — including being exempt from a mandatory 18-month military service — women have begun to more loudly criticize a male-centered corporate culture that exposes them to harassment, unequal pay and promotions, and often derails their careers after they have children.
Hong Eun-pyo, a 39-year-old who runs an anti-feminist YouTube channel, justifies higher pay for men, insisting they put in longer hours or perform more difficult tasks. “If they want to reach as high as their male peers and be paid the same wages, they should keep working and not get pregnant,” he said.
Song Tae-woong, an office worker, says young men, worried about a life path that seems tougher than their fathers, resent women’s increasing complaints about society.
“Our parents’ generation, now in their 50s and 60s, got married early and progressed step by step,” he said. “People today are ... extremely restless.”
Some experts, including Chung, think politicians are overplaying the gender grievances of certain middle-class, college-educated men who have become radicalized over the internet as they compete with women for a shrinking number of decent jobs.
Recent surveys, however, show a striking political divide between increasingly conservative young men and their more left-leaning female peers, not just over gender issues but also on the economy and national security, says Park, the politics professor. This indicates conservatives are successfully mobilizing their young male supporters to back broader agendas, including tougher approaches on North Korea and policies emphasizing economic growth over welfare spending. Younger women are left feeling largely unrepresented, polls show.
Lee Ji-young, a teacher who has risen to the top of her field in the highly competitive private tutoring business, remembers years of verbal and physical sexual harassment and unwanted advances by male colleagues who constantly questioned her competitiveness.
One colleague told her that Korean society was stable during the medieval era “because women were quiet, but that now they have ruined South Korea,” Lee said.
She said she once twisted the wrist of a male colleague when he tried to touch her backside.
“Usually women wouldn’t react this way,” Lee said. “I’ve witnessed women who would cry at home or quit work ... because they were afraid of being judged, personally and professionally.”
AP · by JUWON PARK, KIM TONG-HYUNG and KIM JUNG YOON · February 23, 2022
12. Even in North Korea... "Corona is just like the common cold" and "Eating garlic will make you safe," an atmosphere of disregard for coronavirus is spreading.
Even in North Korea... "Corona is just like the common cold" and "Eating garlic will make you safe," an atmosphere of disregard for coronavirus is spreading.
A young border guard (left) and an ordinary soldier wear masks and guard behind barbed wire. They are thin. Photographed in July 2021 from the Chinese side of Sinuiju City (ASIAPRESS).
While the North Korean authorities advertise that they are maintaining a "zero coronavirus" with no cases of infection to date, they also report to the public that a new variant of the Omicron strain has caused many deaths in foreign countries due to outbreaks and call for continued vigilance with "priority on quarantine."
Our reporting partner, who lives in North Hamkyung Province in the northern part of the country, explained that "If you have a fever or cold symptoms, you must report it to the head of the people's group (a local organization that is the end of the government, or a neighbourhood association.) It is then reported to the 'quarantine command,' which maintains the system."
◆ What scares people is poverty, not coronavirus.
However, residents are not aware of the threat.
Two years ago, North Korea began implementing strict and excessive quarantine measures against the coronavirus. The economic downturn has worsened, and the exhaustion of the residents has become more pronounced. Due to their poverty, the deterioration of their lives due to the excessive control by the authorities is seen as more threatening to their livelihood and lives than the invisible malignant epidemic. Therefore, there is an atmosphere of sickness and tiredness of the prolonged restrictions on coronavirus.
Our reporting partner, who lives in Ryanggang Province, informed us of the following on February 21.
"More and more people are thinking that 'corona has weakened and is just like a common cold,' or that 'North Koreans eat a lot of garlic, so we don't infect with coronavirus.'"
It is said that the source of this unfounded optimism that is spreading is from outside information.
Kim Jong-un regime has closed the border and denied the return of its citizens and the entry of almost any foreigner. Smuggling to and from China has also been largely eradicated. Despite this, information regarding Omicron strains being less severe and causing fewer deaths has been transmitted, and this appears to be spreading.
It is mainly those who have defected to South Korea carrying the information. They use Chinese cell phones to keep in touch with family members and acquaintances who remain in North Korea. It is believed that the newest information about the coronavirus is passed on to them and is then spread by word of mouth within North Korea.
◆ Authorities Fearing Easing of Vigilance Continue to Convey the "Fear of Coronavirus"
The Kim Jong-un regime, which is unwilling to let its alertness to the coronavirus lapse, continues to convey the "fear of the coronavirus" to an excessive extent through the state media, citing the number of infections and deaths in each country almost every day. For example, on February 22, the Korean Central News Agency published an article titled "Increase in Coronavirus Infections and Deaths in Asia," saying, "In Japan, 4,552,142 people have been infected 22,033 people have died," without mentioning that it is a cumulative total.
This January, the Workers' Party distributed to its cadres a document entitled "Regarding the Continuation and Maintenance of a Mass Anti-Quarantine Atmosphere and All-Society Consciousness Unity in Emergency Quarantine Projects." This is because the government is wary of loosening its control (Kang Ji-won).
※ASIAPRESS contacts its reporting partners in North Korea through smuggled Chinese mobile phones.
13. North Korea sees farm worker family ties as a growing threat
North Korea sees farm worker family ties as a growing threat
New policy would separate similarly surnamed farmers to discourage dissent.
By Hyemin Son
2022.02.24
North Korea is reorganizing collective farm labor groups to prevent workers from forming alliances based on family ties, which the state fears undermine its agricultural goals, sources in the country told RFA.
In a society where most families pride themselves on maintaining genealogical records that go back centuries, duty to family is of the utmost importance in North Korea. Collective farm group leaders worry that having too many workers with the same surname in a single working group could empower them to serve the interests of their own families before the broader society, sources told RFA.
“The local party committee of the cooperative farms in the city of Anju are rearranging work groups so that no more than three people with the same surname are working together,” a resident of the city in South Pyongan province, about 40 miles north of the capital Pyongyang, told RFA’s Korean Service.
“In order to increase grain production this year … we must cultivate wheat and barley instead of corn,” said the source, who requested anonymity for security reasons.
Cooperative farmers prefer to cultivate corn because it has a more stable market price and is more filling than wheat and barley, but the authorities want a crop that can be harvested quickly, requires less fertilizer and can improve acidified soil.
The rearrangement is intended to remove any discord that could challenge this change, the source said.
“There are more than 10 workers with the surname Ri who are in my group at the cooperative farm in Sonhung village in Anju. All of them were born and raised in Sonhung and are related to each other by at least the 12th degree,” she said.
In Korea, 12th degree relations of the same generation would be fifth cousins, sharing a great-great-great-great-grandparent. Though relatives so distant would hardly be considered kin in other societies, they count as family in a culture that emphasizes bloodlines.
The source said the working group was centered around helping their relatives rather than listening to instructions from their leader.
“The authorities saw the Ris as a potential force that could confront the farm leader,” she said. “So, they split them up into other teams.”
Thirteen people named Han were separated in Komhung village, in the province’s Sukchon county, a source there told RFA.
“They had been living as farmers in the area for many generations and were related by at least the eighth degree [third cousins or closer], but the authorities are suddenly placing them on different teams, three of them on each,” said the second source, who requested anonymity to speak freely.
“The farmers are criticizing the way that authorities are dispersing relatives who have been living close together for many generations,” she said.
The fact that many farmers work with members of their same clan is a direct result of North Korean governmental policies that forbid farmers from moving to cities to prevent a manpower shortage in rural areas, the source said.
More than half of the people living on the Korean peninsula have one of the five most common surnames: Kim, Lee (usually Romanized as Ri by North Koreans), Park, Choi and Jeong (Jong), according to data compiled in 2015 by the South Korean Statistical Information Service, that included estimates for North Korea.
Because Korean genealogical records are paternalistic, an unknown distant relative with the same surname would be easier to trace than an unknown close relative with a different surname.
Translated by Claire Lee and Leejin Jun. Written in English by Eugene Whong.
14. North Korean cargo trains returning from China are half-empty
COVID still has a major effect.
But this is an important indicator.
Meanwhile, the authorities are reportedly tearing their hair out over frequent thefts at the Uiju facility.
North Korean cargo trains returning from China are half-empty
The lack of space at the quarantine facility in Uiju, where imports entering through Sinuiju are stored, may be the reason
Cargo trains recently returning to Sinuiju from Dandong have been half-empty, Daily NK has learned.
This development comes after freight train service between North Korea and China restarted last month, and suggests that North Korean authorities are having difficulties managing the sudden spike in imported items.
In a telephone conversation with Daily NK on Wednesday, a source in North Hamgyong Province said two cars of a train that recently returned from China were completely empty. Only the train’s other two cars were carrying goods.
Immediately after Jan. 16, when freight train service restarted for the first time in about two years, 10-car trains returned to Sinuiju from Dandong full of goods.
As the cargo loads decreased, however, trains of seven to eight cars began making the trip. Recently, even four-car trains are coming back partially empty.
The lack of space at the quarantine facility in Uiju, where imports entering through Sinuiju are stored, may be the reason.
According to the source, people wonder whether the trains are coming back half-empty because the Uiju facility is full, and therefore unable to accept any more goods.
Another Daily NK source said the authorities are adjusting the schedules and loads of China-North Korea freight trains depending on the capacity of the Uiju quarantine facility.
Quarantine times depend on the item, but some cargo can spend up to two months in the facility. Because of this, the flow of imports and exports has been less-than-smooth.
On Jan. 16, a North Korean train arrived at Dandong Station, signaling the restart of North Korea-China freight train service which had been halted for the past two or so years. (Daily NK)
Meanwhile, the authorities are reportedly tearing their hair out over frequent thefts at the Uiju facility.
The source said dozens of people steal items stored at the facility every night. He said a guardpost has been set up to protect the goods, but because so many thieves are involved — thieves who apparently know the area around the facility — protecting the items is proving difficult.
He said stolen goods include foodstuffs, plastic pipes, medical supplies and other items, suggesting that the thieves are stealing as much as they can to sell with little concern for what, exactly, they are stealing.
Two North Korean men in their 30s were reportedly sentenced to forced labor recently after they were caught stealing construction supplies and medical supplies stored at the quarantine facility.
North Korean authorities ban ordinary people from approaching quarantine facilities and are bolstering exemplary punishments of people who steal quarantined items. Yet, thefts have not stopped.
The source said many people still peak into the facility looking for imported items to steal despite the strengthened punishments. He said it seems a growing number of people are risking their lives to steal due to the country’s poor economic conditions.
Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
Seulkee Jang is one of Daily NK’s full-time journalists. Please direct any questions about her 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.
