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Quotes of the Day:
“If you concentrate exclusively on victory, while no thought for the after effect, you may be too exhausted to profit by peace, while it is almost certain that the peace will be a bad one, containing the germs of another war.”
- B.H. Liddel-Hart
“When the hour of crisis comes, remember that 40 selected men can shake the world”
-Yasotay (Mongol Warlord)
“If in taking a native den one thinks chiefly of the market that he will establish there on the morrow, one does not take it in the ordinary way.”
- Lyautey: The Colonial Role of the Army, Revue Des Deux Mondes, 15 February 1900
1. Biden Administration Foreign Policy Tracker: (KOREA)
2. Unification minister discusses N.K. human rights with U.N. rapporteur
3. N. Korea blasts new U.N. rapporteur on its human rights as 'puppet' of U.S.
4. Top nuke envoys of S. Korea, U.S., Japan to meet in Tokyo next week
5. Lifting ban on North Korean media can only help the South Korean government
6. New U.N. rapporteur voices concerns over South Korea's repatriation of N. Korean fishermen in 2019
7. S. Korea, U.S., Japan agree on strong response in case of N. Korea's nuke test
8. S. Korea approves basic plan to upgrade AH-64E Apache helicopters
9. Pyongyang General Hospital’s construction manager sent to forced labor camp
10. North Korea’s Plan for Unification by Federation: What It Really Means
11. N. Korea forces border residents to sign oaths to “never use foreign-made cell phones”
12. N. Korea puts 20 people on trial for watching, distributing “impure recorded materials”
13. Korean delegation proposes ‘joint consultative channel’ to U.S. (IRA)
14. One-of-a-kind U.S. Army laboratory strengthens partnership with South Korean allies
15. South Korea Zeros F-35B CVX Carrier Program in Favor of Funding North Korean Deterrence Strategy
16. Shifting World War II Memory in East Asia Signals Newly Emerging Global Alliances
17. ＜Local Interviews＞Is N. Korea’s “victory over COVID-19” legit? (1) Fever patients still emerge…People believe the country has achieved herd immunity
1. Biden Administration Foreign Policy Tracker: (KOREA)
Korea
By David Maxwell
https://www.fdd.org/analysis/2022/09/01/biden-administration-foreign-policy-tracker-september/#korea
Previous Trend: Positive
The United States and South Korea demonstrated their commitment to military readiness against a potential North Korean attack by resuming their annual exercise, now named Ulchi Freedom Shield, at full scale on August 22. This is the first step to reversing the decline in combined readiness caused by COVID-19 and the 2018 decision to cancel or scale back bilateral military exercises. So far, Pyongyang has responded with predictably harsh rhetoric and two cruise missiles fired into the West Sea. The exercise follows the August 17 meeting of the Korean Integrated Defense Dialogue, where Washington and Seoul reaffirmed their commitment to enhanced military cooperation throughout the Indo-Pacific.
Meanwhile, speculation about a potential seventh North Korean nuclear test continues. Kim Jong Un may be refraining from nuclear testing to gain economic support from China, which likely hopes for quiet ahead of its upcoming 20th Party Congress, where Xi Jinping is expected to secure a third term as leader.
On August 15th, Korean Liberation Day, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol unveiled an “audacious initiative” for engaging North Korea. The plan envisions economic incentives in return for North Korean steps toward denuclearization, but offers few details. Washington expressed support for the initiative, indicating the allies are completely aligned. Along with the United Nations, they continue to call on Pyongyang to denuclearize, while Yoon promises Seoul will not seek nuclear weapons.
However, the Yoon administration is expressing concern that the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act, which President Biden signed into law on August 16, could hurt South Korean industry. A South Korean pundit disparagingly called it a return to “America First.”
2. Unification minister discusses N.K. human rights with U.N. rapporteur
Dr. Salmon is getting some press coverage in South and north Korea.
Unification minister discusses N.K. human rights with U.N. rapporteur | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 이원주 · September 2, 2022
SEOUL, Sept. 2 (Yonhap) -- Unification Minister Kwon Young-se met Friday with the new U.N. special rapporteur for North Korea's human rights to discuss humanitarian issues in Pyongyang.
During his meeting with Elizabeth Salmon, Kwon promised proactive efforts to address the human rights issue of North Korea and expressed regret that the matter had been "neglected" under the previous liberal Moon Jae-in administration.
"The administration of President Yoon Suk-yeol will strive to improve the human rights situation of North Koreans no less than our efforts toward the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and improving inter-Korean relations," he said.
He stressed the need to hold people that are "responsible for making the North Korean human rights situation worse" accountable for their actions.
Salmon shared the view that human rights are a "necessary step for sustainable peace," and emphasized that the two sides have a common goal and responsibility toward enhancing the human rights of North Koreans.
Salmon arrived in Seoul earlier this week on her first trip to Korea since assuming the post early last month as Tomas Ojea Quintana's successor.
julesyi@yna.co.kr
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en.yna.co.kr · by 이원주 · September 2, 2022
3. N. Korea blasts new U.N. rapporteur on its human rights as 'puppet' of U.S.
This is a sign of the threat human rights poses to the regime in the north.
While our focus on the nuclear threat legimtatizes the regime, the focus on human rights undermines the legitimacy of the regime and is an existential threat. This is why getting information into north Korea is so important and I am encouraged by the words of Professor Lee Shin Hwa, the South Korean ambassador for north Korean Human Rights who has already emphasized this. The Korean people in the north must be informed about how their human rights are abused. While it may seem like they should know that they are suffering and their human rights are denied, the fact is the indoctrination system actually helps prevent Koreans from understanding their human rights. They certainly have no idea of the UN universal declaration of human rights. And in my discussions with some escapees they related how they grew up believing they were free and had good lives in the north because they were told they did. They did not understand the concept of freedom until they walked down the streets of Seoul and Washington and observed true freedom. So a foundational line of effort to a future strategy must be information to inform and educate Koreans in the north about their human rights.
Human rights are not only a moral imperative, they are a national security issue because Kim Jong Un must deny human rights to remain in power.
N. Korea blasts new U.N. rapporteur on its human rights as 'puppet' of U.S. | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 채윤환 · September 2, 2022
SEOUL, Sept. 2 (Yonhap) -- North Korea accused the newly appointed U.N. special rapporteur on its human rights situation Friday of serving merely as a "puppet" of the United States.
In response to a question by the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), a spokesperson for Pyongyang's foreign ministry launched the verbal attack on the U.S. and Elizabeth Salmon, who assumed the post in early August. She arrived in Seoul earlier this week for meetings with South Korean officials, North Korean defectors and relevant activists groups. She has publicly called for more efforts to address the human rights situation in the North.
"We had already made clear our principled stand that we neither recognize nor deal with any 'special rapporteur' who is merely a puppet of the U.S," the unnamed spokesperson was quoted as saying by the KCNA in an English-language article. "The DPRK will never pardon the U.S. and its vassal forces' 'human rights' racket against the DPRK which is aimed at overthrowing its social system." The DPRK stands for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
The spokesperson also claimed that Washington is using the human rights issue as the "most politicized hostile means" against Pyongyang.
"The 'human rights' racket of the U.S. and other hostile forces has nothing to do with the guarantee of true human rights and is nothing but the most politicized hostile means for tarnishing the dignified image of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and stamping out the genuine rights and interests of the Korean people," the spokesperson said.
yunhwanchae@yna.co.kr
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en.yna.co.kr · by 채윤환 · September 2, 2022
4. Top nuke envoys of S. Korea, U.S., Japan to meet in Tokyo next week
Sustained high level alliance diplomacy and trilateral cooperation.
Top nuke envoys of S. Korea, U.S., Japan to meet in Tokyo next week | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 송상호 · September 2, 2022
SEOUL, Sept. 2 (Yonhap) -- The top nuclear envoys of South Korea, the United States and Japan will hold trilateral talks in Tokyo next week over North Korea's denuclearization and other issues, Seoul's foreign ministry said Friday.
Seoul's chief nuclear negotiator, Kim Gunn, will meet trilaterally with his U.S. and Japanese counterparts, Sung Kim and Takehiro Funakoshi, respectively, in the Japanese capital on Wednesday. He will also meet bilaterally with Kim and Funakoshi.
The gatherings have been arranged amid concerns that Pyongyang could engage in provocative acts, like a nuclear test, as Seoul and Washington concluded a major allied exercise that the reclusive regime decried as a war rehearsal.
"During the planned consultations, the three plan to exchange their assessments of recent situations on the Korean Peninsula and have in-depth talks over the issue of North Korea's denuclearization," the ministry said in a press release.
The three last held a trilateral session on the Indonesian resort island of Bali in July.
sshluck@yna.co.kr
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en.yna.co.kr · by 송상호 · September 2, 2022
5. Lifting ban on North Korean media can only help the South Korean government
I agree with Dr. Lankov. This is the right thing to do. I am not concerned with Koreans in the South being influenced by north Korean propaganda. Certainly those who already have sympathies for Juche and the north will use the propaganda to justify their views (e.g., "See how good things are in the north, just watch their TV."). But allowing north Korean broadcasts provides the opportunity to recognize the north's strategy, understand it, expose it, and attack it (with superior political warfare and information and influence activities). A friend and colleague said that we cannot expect reciprocity from the north and he is right. The north will certainly not open up their airwaves to South Korean or foreign broadcasts. But this allows South Korea to have the moral high ground and justifies all external information and influence activities toward the north. Watching north Korean broadcasts will only confirm for the Korean people in the South and people around the world what the UN Commission Inquiry reported - that the human rights of the Korean people in the north are being denied due to the forced information isolation by the regime. We all have a responsibility to get information into the north to inform and help the Korean people in the north.
Lifting ban on North Korean media can only help the South Korean government
No other group inflicts as much damage on the DPRK's image as its own propagandists
https://www.nknews.org/2022/09/lifting-ban-on-north-korean-media-can-only-help-the-south-korean-government/?utm_source=pocket_mylist
Andrei Lankov September 1, 2022
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A North Korean teacher in a classroom in South Pyongan Province | Image: Eric Lafforgue (May 16, 2009)
For many years, visiting a North Korean website from a South Korean IP address would prompt a serious-looking warning from ROK police explaining the website is blocked for containing illicit material.
The ban on DPRK state media dates back to the division of Korea and was perhaps understandable at one time. South Korea was fighting a civil war for survival against a stronger opponent and cut access to hostile propaganda.
This sort of censorship was enshrined in the controversial National Security Law, giving authorities broad power to punish anyone they saw as threatening the ROK state.
But it seems now that the Yoon administration is finally going to lift this ban on DPRK state media, with the prominent former DPRK diplomat and current ROK lawmaker Tae Young-ho voicing support.
Already ROK visitors to the Japanese copy of North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency website (kcna.co.jp) are no longer greeted with a police warning but instead a simple timeout message from whichever browser they use. Soon, they may see the full website.
Frankly, South Korean censorship of North Korean content stopped making any sense once the Cold War ended. Seoul should recognize its superiority in every way over its long-time rival and not feel insecure about whether its citizens can read the Rodong Sinmun online.
OUTDATED RULES
There are at least three reasons why the ban has outlived its usefulness.
First, it’s politically wrong. The ROK is a strong, healthy democracy that supports pluralism and freedom of speech and press. In most modern democracies, citizens can read and write mostly whatever they want, with the few restrictions that exist usually in non-political domains.
In the U.K, for example, the British Communist Party’s Morning Star publication was and is freely and widely available. It was equally unthinkable to ban the Americans, British or French from buying even the most critical and “subversive” publications from the Soviet Union or China.
Second, censorship does not work in high-tech, ultra-connected South Korea. When I raise this issue in private conversations and ask Korean colleagues why a useless, controversial and anachronistic ban on DPRK state media has not been lifted, I am often told it’s in place to placate older South Koreans.
These are people who came of age during the anti-communist Cold War struggle and who don’t understand how easy it is to today to read the full palate of DPRK media with a free virtual private network (VPN) or encrypted browser like Tor.
Tellingly, ROK authorities do nothing to disrupt VPN use, and this speaks volumes about how much of a threat they really perceive DPRK state media to be. Had Seoul really wanted to implement the ban, it would have found ways to make getting around it far more difficult, but they did not bother.
Several editions of The Pyongyang Times on Jan. 9, 2018 | Image: NK News
Third, the ban does not impact support or rejection of DPRK ideology in the South. Few South Koreans care about the North as it is, and those that do are unlikely to buy into Kim Jong Un’s propaganda simply because the Rodong Sinmun is available online. In fact, North Korean state media would probably turn off the few South Koreans that would bother tuning in.
One of the major justifications behind the North Korean media ban was the belief that free access to subversive media will somehow influence the South Korean public, making them more sympathetic toward Juche ideology and perhaps even transform them into enthusiastic Jucheistas.
These fears are completely unfounded, even though the present author doesn’t see why a Juche party cannot exist inside South Korea (after all, far more exotic and theoretically far more violent groups flourish on many university campuses in the West).
The North Korean media in its current state is self-defeating. South Korean consumers don’t think about North Korea much, and the ones that do are highly skeptical and even hostile towards the DPRK system already.
The truly insane intensity of North Korean propaganda itself is not going to turn the tide. The constant use of strong insults and swear words, as well as the lofty rhetoric applied every time Kim family members are mentioned (and they are mentioned quite frequently), will produce a predictable impression on new readers.
South Korean readers would quickly tire of state media’s editorial decisions. The Rodong Sinmun’s international news section consists almost exclusively of reports about all kinds of natural and technical disasters. There would be no mention of the appointment of a new Japanese prime minister, for example, but wall-to-wall coverage about an earthquake in Papua New Guinea and a large traffic accident in Nigeria.
Propaganda in Pyongyang depicts a barrage of missiles annihilating the American mainland on Jan. 10, 2018 | Image: NK News
HARD PASS
In many cases, North Korean media will look comical, just as it did to outsiders in Moscow. In the 1960s and 1970s, the Soviet Union was literally flooded with North Korean propaganda. Usually, it came in the shape of glossy propaganda magazines, translated to rather awkward and sometimes comical Russian. These materials were widely subscribed — the subscription fee was very low — and one could find it sometimes in waiting rooms of barber shops or other such establishments.
While the North Korean ideology officials probably reported to their superiors about the great success of their publication among the Soviet public, the real reason for this interest was quite different and, for the North Korean propagandists, embarrassing. These magazines were bought exactly because of the bizarre combination of the personality cult gone mad, hysterical nationalism and absurdly passionate tone.
This combination produced a comical impression on the Soviet public, which came to see North Korea as a bombastic dictatorship gone mad. Actually, no other group inflicted such damage on North Korea’s image as its own propagandists.
The majority of the South Korean audience nowadays will hardly react to the North Korean media differently. Perhaps, some people will be influenced, but they will not be numerous. For the vast majority, free access to the media will really make North Korea a less attractive place.
From this point of view, it should come as no surprise that a conservative government known for being highly critical of North Korea is carrying out the decision to open such access.
Edited by Arius Derr
Updated at 11:02 p.m. KST to clarify that South Korean police message does not appear for Japanese copy of KCNA website.
6. New U.N. rapporteur voices concerns over South Korea's repatriation of N. Korean fishermen in 2019
Yes this was a tragic event and a human rights issue. Two things though. South Korea is debating this and political leaders and the public are critical of the actions and it is being investigated as can only happen in a free country where there is freedom of the press and freedom of the people to speak out. And outsiders (e.g., Dr. Salmon) can come to Korea and speak freely to criticize the action. This is a mark of an advanced and free country - to admit and correct mistakes and take corrective action to not make the same mistake again.
But we should never lose sight of the fact as to why this is such a horrendous action by the former administration. It is because of how forced returnees are expected to be treated by the regime in the north. We can be pretty sure r they faced certain tortue and punishment and probably death. The reason this action is so terrible and tragic.
New U.N. rapporteur voices concerns over South Korea's repatriation of N. Korean fishermen in 2019 | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 이원주 · September 2, 2022
SEOUL, Sept. 2 (Yonhap) -- The new U.N. special rapporteur for North Korea's human rights on Friday expressed concerns over South Korea's forced repatriation of two North Korean fishermen in 2019.
During a press conference in Seoul, Elizabeth Salmon also said the right to send anti-Pyongyang leaflets to the North could be limited if it threatens the "safety and security" of the region.
Salmon, a Peruvian professor of international law, arrived in Seoul last Saturday for an eight-day trip. It is her first trip to South Korea since assuming the post early last month as Tomas Ojea Quintana's successor.
On Nov. 7, 2019, the preceding Moon Jae-in administration repatriated the two North Koreans captured a week earlier near the eastern sea border, saying they had confessed to killing 16 fellow crew members. Critics have accused the Moon administration of hastily deporting the fishermen to curry favor with Pyongyang.
Salmon said the case is an issue of concern regardless of whoever made the decision to send them back and who the defectors are.
She promised to look further into the issue, stressing the need for Seoul to respect the international principle of non-refoulement for those who are likely to face punishment back in the North.
Salmon maintained a cautious stance on South Korean activists' anti-North Korea leaflet campaigns.
"In international human rights law, the peaceful expression of views is protected under human rights treaties but even if it is a protected right, it has some limitations and exceptions," she said.
Defector groups in South Korea have flown huge balloons carrying leaflets across the inter-Korean border claiming their right to send information into the reclusive North.
The previous government banned the leafleting to protect the lives and safety of residents living in the border areas as such leaflets could provoke the North to take bellicose action.
julesyi@yna.co.kr
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en.yna.co.kr · by 이원주 · September 2, 2022
7. S. Korea, U.S., Japan agree on strong response in case of N. Korea's nuke test
Trilateral coordination.
The three counties must view this as an opportunity to demonstrate to Kim Jong Un that his political warfare, blackmail diplomacy, and warfighting strategies cannot be successful. That should be our fundamental approach. We must show no fear of a nuclear test.
(4th LD) S. Korea, U.S., Japan agree on strong response in case of N. Korea's nuke test | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 변덕근 · September 2, 2022
(ATTN: UPDATES with reports of a press release from the White House in paras 8-11; CHANGES dateline; ADDS photo)
HONOLULU/WASHINGTON, Sept. 1 (Yonhap) -- South Korea, Japan and the United States agreed to stern measures against a new nuclear test by North Korea, South Korea's top security adviser said Thursday, adding the countries' reaction will be different from those of the past.
Kim Sung-han made the remarks after a trilateral meeting with his U.S. and Japanese counterparts -- Jake Sullivan and Takeo Akiba -- in Honolulu.
"(We) agreed that there must not be naive thinking or reaction that North Korea has conducted six nuclear tests and that (a new test) will only be one more nuclear test," Kim told reporters before heading home.
"Should North Korea conduct its seventh nuclear test, our reaction will certainly be different from those until now," he added.
Officials in Seoul and Washington earlier said the North appears to have completed "all preparations" for a nuclear test and that it may only be gauging the timing.
Pyongyang conducted its sixth and last nuclear test in September 2017.
Kim declined to comment on any specific steps the three countries may take against a new North Korean nuclear test but said they will be "maximized" toward making Pyongyang realize that it was a "wrong decision" to conduct a seventh nuclear test.
The White House said the U.S. national security adviser reaffirmed U.S. commitment to the defense of South Korea and Japan.
"They discussed their joint commitment to peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and condemned the DPRK's continued development of its ballistic missile and weapons of mass destruction programs, and Russian aggression in Ukraine," it said of the trilateral meeting in a press release.
DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the North's official name.
"The United States reaffirmed its ironclad alliance commitments to both the ROK and Japan, including our commitment to extended deterrence to both countries and underscored the importance of bilateral ties and trilateral cooperation to the security and prosperity of our citizens, the region, and the world," it added, referring to South Korea by its official name, the Republic of Korea.
The three-way meeting between the top national security advisers of South Korea, Japan and the U.S. marked the first of its kind in 16 months, as well as the first since Kim took office earlier this year.
It also comes after South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol offered to launch aid projects for the impoverished North as long as Pyongyang showed its commitment to denuclearize in what his government calls an "audacious plan."
Kim said both the U.S. and Japan have shown "positive reactions" to the South Korean initiative, aimed at restarting dialogue with North Korea.
"(The three countries) agreed to work closely toward making North Korea accept the offer," he said.
Kim said the three countries have also agreed to take joint efforts against any actions that disturb global supply chains.
Thursday's meeting followed bilateral talks between Kim and his U.S. and Japanese counterparts.
Kim earlier said Sullivan has agreed to have the White House National Security Council look into South Korea's concerns over the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act.
The act, signed into law on Aug. 16, allows a government credit of up to US$7,500 for each electric vehicle purchase, but only to cars built with batteries produced in the U.S., excluding all South Korean exports from the benefit despite the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement that guarantees South Korean products the same treatment as domestic goods or those from a most favored nation.
South Korea's presidential office said in a press release that the three officials had wide-ranging discussions on the North Korean nuclear issue, cooperation on advanced technologies and supply chains, and key regional and international issues.
The three agreed during their trilateral meeting to "further strengthen cooperation between the three countries aimed at contributing to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in the region," it said.
The presidential office also said Kim used his bilateral meeting with Sullivan to deliver South Korean businesses' concerns about the Inflation Reduction Act and the CHIPS and Science Act.
"He called for the U.S. National Security Council's active cooperation and interest in resolving these," it said.
In his meeting with Akiba, Kim explained the "audacious plan" and asked for Japan's cooperation while discussing ways the two countries can work together to respond to North Korea's nuclear and missile provocations.
The two also exchanged views on ways to improve the bilateral relationship, the office said.
On Wednesday night, Kim attended a welcome reception hosted by Commander of Indo-Pacific Command Adm. John Aquilino for the delegations of the three nations.
"We assess that through the meeting between the national security advisers of South Korea, the U.S. and Japan, the three countries were able to share their assessments of the current situation on the Korean Peninsula and in international affairs, hold in-depth discussions on ways to cooperate going forward, and further strengthen the close cooperation system through which we can communicate and cooperate frequently in the future," the office said.
bdk@yna.co.kr
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en.yna.co.kr · by 변덕근 · September 2, 2022
8. S. Korea approves basic plan to upgrade AH-64E Apache helicopters
S. Korea approves basic plan to upgrade AH-64E Apache helicopters | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 송상호 · September 2, 2022
SEOUL, Sept. 2 (Yonhap) -- South Korea approved a 400 billion-won (US$295 million) plan Friday to upgrade the Army's AH-64E Apache Guardian attack helicopters, the state arms procurement agency said, amid Seoul's stepped-up push to counter North Korea's evolving military threats.
The Defense Project Promotion Committee endorsed the basic plan to buy tactical data links and fire control radar systems from the United States from 2023-2027 to enhance the choppers' combat capabilities, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA).
Tactical data links are expected to help improve the sharing of information on operational situations among friendly forces, while the radar systems will bolster wartime capabilities to suppress hostile mechanized unit forces, DAPA said.
The South Korean Army completed the deployment of 36 AH-64E helicopters in early 2017.
sshluck@yna.co.kr
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en.yna.co.kr · by 송상호 · September 2, 2022
9. Pyongyang General Hospital’s construction manager sent to forced labor camp
Harsh "accountability" (or blame or scapegoating) for unrealistic projects in north Korea. I believe this was supposed to be the flagship medical facility for COVID to be completed by October 2020 originally.
Pyongyang General Hospital’s construction manager sent to forced labor camp
Other people involved with the hospital project have been punished for the construction delay and the misappropriation of materials as well
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at a ceremony celebrating the start of construction of the hospital on Mar. 13, 2020. (Rodong Sinmun - News1)
The senior official in charge of the Pyongyang General Hospital’s construction was sent to a forced labor camp in Sungho-ri in April as punishment for the project’s lack of progress, Daily NK has learned.
“The chief of staff of the ‘Heroes’ First Brigade in charge of building the Pyongyang General Hospital was sent to [the labor camp] at Sungho-ri in early April,” a Pyongyang-based source told Daily NK on Aug. 30. “A serious shortage of rebars was discovered during a review by the Central Committee and the Central Prosecutors’ Office.”
During a visit to the construction site in July 2020, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un expressed considerable unhappiness with the slow progress on the hospital’s construction, ordering the replacement of all the project’s managers. Kim held the managers responsible for the lack of progress on the construction of the hospital, which is considered one of the regime’s signature projects.
When the replacements failed to speed up construction, the leadership demoted the head of the First Brigade, one of the key figures responsible for the project, from major general to colonel.
After the government’s tough measures to push forward the construction project — including the demotion and management reshuffle — failed to get results, it ultimately sent the project head to a labor camp.
North Korea had originally intended to finish the hospital by Oct. 10, 2020, the 75th anniversary of the Workers’ Party of Korea’s founding. Construction on the hospital, however, is still ongoing.
“The official was given a labor sentence because someone had to be held responsible,” the source said. “He was sent to the Sungho-ri camp because he couldn’t be sent to a normal reeducation camp. As such, it should be possible for him to return to normal life [at some point].”
The prison camp in Sungho-ri used to be a concentration camp for political prisoners. Last year, North Korean authorities changed the camp into a forced labor facility for senior officials and people working on classified projects. Rather than completely cordoning inmates off from society, the camp functions as a place of temporary detention and reeducation.
“The original inmates [of the Sungho-ri political prison camp] were all transferred to Camp 17,” the source said.
Based on a Daily NK survey of North Korea’s nationwide prison population, the inmate population at Camp 17 increased by about 20,400 people between July 2021 and June 2022. That is comparable to the estimated 21,000 people who had been imprisoned at the Sungho-ri camp.
In addition to the First Brigade’s chief of staff, other people involved with the hospital project have been punished for the construction delay and the misappropriation of materials.
“Nine officers were cashiered because of the shortfall of domestic materials and high-quality imported materials including steel, wood, iron plates, glass and tiles. They were sentenced to three to nine years in prison for theft of state property,” the source said.
Daily NK was unable to determine whether those officers were sent to the Sungho-ri forced labor camp as well.
Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
Read in Korean
dailynk.com
10. North Korea’s Plan for Unification by Federation: What It Really Means
This is a very important read. Anyone who advocates for a federation or confederal system or "one country two systems" approach to unification needs to read this.
This is the heart of the Regime's efforts to subvert the South. At heart this is a political warfare program. by the Kim family regime or its strategy to "win without fighting."
North Korea’s Plan for Unification by Federation: What It Really Means
http://icks.org/n/data/ijks/2022SS-2.pdf
Tara O, Ph. D.
East Asia Research Center
Abstract
North Korea has long pursued “unification by federation.” This has been a non-kinetic option of dominating the entire Korean Peninsula under North Korea’s Kim Family Regime’s totalitarian rule and creating a socialist society. Kim Jong-un even described this as the “One state, Two Systems” formula that China uses for Hong Kong. In Kim Il-sung’s Three Great Charters for Motherland Unification, the Koryo Federation Unification Scheme is one of the charters. The prerequisites to “unification by federation” include abolishing the National Security Act, dismantling the National Intelligence Service, legalizing pro-North Korea groups, and withdrawing U.S. Forces Korea--all to occur in South Korea. Kim Ilsung’s other two charters have a similar theme of expelling the U.S. military from South Korea. Over the years, North Korea has used different terms, such as Koryo Federation and Low-Level Federation. Surprisingly, South Korean Presidents Moon Jae-in, Rho Moo-hyun, and Kim Dae-jung have supported “Low-Level Federation.” This paper explains in detail what unification by federation entails, its history, and its ramifications. Unification through federation is dangerous, because it is about a unified Korea that is not free.
Keywords: North Korea, South Korea, federation, low level federation, Koryo Federation, Three Great Charters, unification, Three Great Principles, Ten Point Program, socialism, “One Country, Two Systems”
11. N. Korea forces border residents to sign oaths to “never use foreign-made cell phones”
Control of information and access is key to regime survival. Information is an existential threat to the regime.
I am sure many of the Korean people in the north will have their fingers crossed behind their backs when they take this oath. (humor attempt)
N. Korea forces border residents to sign oaths to “never use foreign-made cell phones”
“Citizens in the border region must come together as one in the struggle against users of Chinese-made mobile phones and prevent impure elements from emerging in our midst,” the oath stated
By Lee Chae Un - 2022.09.02 3:43pm
dailynk.com
A marker delineating the border between China and North Korea (Wikimedia Commons)
North Korean security personnel have recently begun forcing residents of the China-North Korea border region to sign written oaths pledging never to use foreign-made mobile phones.
A Daily NK source in North Hamgyong Province said the local branch of the Ministry of State Security in Hoeryong has been forcing locals to sign written oaths not to use Chinese-made mobile phones since the middle of last month.
“The head of the neighborhood watch unit and the security agent in charge have been going around together collecting signatures from locals,” he said.
According to the source, the written oath includes not only the pledge not to use Chinese-made mobile phones, but also a promise to promptly alert relevant security organizations when they discover somebody using a Chinese-made phone, along with a warning that violators face criminal punishments.
The oath warned that “we cannot protect our lives, the socialist system that is our livelihood and the fate of our children if we leave alone those who, blinded by a few coins, sell our internal secrets.”
“Citizens in the border region must come together as one in the struggle against users of Chinese-made mobile phones and prevent impure elements from emerging in our midst,” it said.
North Korea has waged a war to eradicate users of illegal foreign-made mobile phones in the border region since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The authorities have branded people caught up in the crackdown as spies, sending them to detention facilities and even exiling their family members to rural areas.
However, residents of border regions continue to use foriegn-made mobile phones despite the intensive crackdowns and controls. Faced with this situation, the authorities now appear to be pressuring people to submit to written pledges.
In fact, local authorities called a meeting of one neighborhood watch unit in Hoeyong’s Mangyang-dong district on Aug. 19, with a local security officer and a provincial security guidance officer present. Officials at the meeting explained the written oaths and obtained signatures from local residents.
The local security officer stated that “the time to educate you through words has passed,” the source said, adding that he warned the meeting attendees that they face “criminal punishments if they use Chinese mobile phones or fail to report unusual behavior they’ve seen.”
For residents of the border region who make their living through smuggling and dealing with the outside world, the order to stop using Chinese-made mobile phones amounts to “telling them to starve to death,” the source claimed.
“They [local residents] doubt that getting people to sign written pledges like this is an effective tactic given that people are suffering economic difficulties,” he added.
Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
Read in Korean
dailynk.com
12. N. Korea puts 20 people on trial for watching, distributing “impure recorded materials”
Impure? "Crash landing on You" is a threat. As I have written before, escapees tell me one of the most powerful aspects of this semi comedic love story is that it portrays the Korean people in the north to include north Korean soldiers as human beings and not as brutal monsters. This is contrary to everything have ever seen produced by
the north's Propaganda and Agitation Department which only portrays the decadent South Korean society that is a puppet of the US and led by incompetent leaders.
But I bet the members of Unified Command 82 get to enjoy watching all the impure material from the South.
Excerpt:
“Unified Command 82 [the unified command on non-socialist and anti-socialist behavior] launched an intensive inspection of educational institutions in Sariwon from last week,” he added.
N. Korea puts 20 people on trial for watching, distributing “impure recorded materials”
The trial turned the spotlight on two Sariwon University of Technology students, criticizing how they had copied hundreds of “impure recordings” to USBs and SD
dailynk.com
A scene from "Crash Landing on You," a South Korean drama. (tvN)
North Korea subjected about 20 people to a public trial in Sariwon, North Hwanghae Province, for watching or distributing “impure recorded materials,” Daily NK has learned.
According to a Daily NK source in North Korea on Tuesday, the accused were stood before a public trial at a sports stadium in Sariwon on Aug. 13 for watching, listening to, distributing or selling South Korean films, TV programs and music.
The 20 or so individuals included two students from Sariwon University of Technology, five students from Kye Ung Sang Sariwon University of Agriculture, and four students from Ri Kye Sun Sariwon University of Education, as well as two high school students.
The public trial lasted for two hours from 10 AM to noon, and was attended by students from Sariwon’s universities and high schools, the source said.
The trial’s chairperson first explained that law enforcement had caught the accused watching “illegal and decadent” South Korean dramas and music downloaded onto their notebook computers and mobile phones, despite orders from the ruling party calling for an intensive struggle against “anti-socialist and non-socialist behavior.”
The trial turned the spotlight on two Sariwon University of Technology students in particular, criticizing how they had copied hundreds of “impure recordings” to USBs and SD cards for distribution and sale, despite the fact they already been caught and punished before.
According to the trial proceedings, investigators found that the Sariwon University of Technology students had illegally copied South Korean films, TV programs, music videos and the like to USBs and SD cards for two years, ostensibly to pay for school. They allegedly got teenagers to distribute and sell the contraband at Taesong Market, Kuchon Market and other major markets in Sariwon.
In the end, the Sariwon University of Technology students were sentenced to 15 years of forced labor for distributing and selling “impure recordings” in accordance with North Korea’s law to eradicate “reactionary thought and culture.” The others were sentenced to seven to 10 years of forced labor for consuming the South Korean material.
North Korea enacted the law to eradicate “reactionary thought and culture” in December of 2020. The law calls for punishments of five to 15 years of forced labor for those caught watching, listening to or storing South Korean films, recordings, compilations, books, songs, drawings or photographs, as well as those caught importing or distributing songs, drawings, photographs or designs that reflect South Korean culture.
The source said the trial ended with threats; namely that young people who are caught forming organizations and groups to watch or distribute “impure recordings” would be subject to criminal punishments “from which they would never recover.”
The source said with the government issuing constant orders warning officials that they must continue the struggle against anti-socialist and non-socialist behavior, the authorities are likely to step up their efforts to crack down and criticize products of “outside culture” such as South Korean films or music.
“Unified Command 82 [the unified command on non-socialist and anti-socialist behavior] launched an intensive inspection of educational institutions in Sariwon from last week,” he added.
Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
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13. Korean delegation proposes ‘joint consultative channel’ to U.S. (IRA)
Korean delegation proposes ‘joint consultative channel’ to U.S.
donga.com
Posted September. 02, 2022 08:07,
Updated September. 02, 2022 08:07
Korean delegation proposes ‘joint consultative channel’ to U.S.. September. 02, 2022 08:07. weappon@donga.com.
The South Korean government has sent a delegation to the U.S. to discuss its concerns over the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which excludes electric vehicles (EVs) assembled in South Korea from the subsidy list. The delegation announced that it proposed a joint consultative channel between related government agencies of both countries to the Biden administration.
“We made a suggestion to come up with a joint consultative channel as this issue involves several ministries,” Ahn Sung-il, head of the New Trade Order Strategic Bureau of the Ministry of Trade, said to the press on Wednesday on his way back after his three-day visit to Washington. The IRA, a bill including a provision that discriminates against EVs manufactured in South Korea, has recently passed the U.S. Senate.
The Korean delegation’s proposal to build a channel with all related agencies involved, such as the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), Departments of Treasury, Commerce and Foreign Affairs, was made out of concerns that the act violates the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement and is related to tax incentives.
Ahn also mentioned the U.S.’ positive response to his suggestion, saying, “Trade Minister Ahn Duk-geun’s visit to the U.S. in early September will open up the discussions for the details on creating the joint channel.”
Ahn gave a particular meaning to the White House officials who unexpectedly showed up during his visit to the USTR. “This shows that the White House is taking this issue seriously,” he said. ”The officials said that the U.S. considers South Korea an important ally and they are ready to put heads together with South Korea.”
However, many predict that it is unlikely for the Biden administration to come up with a solution that satisfies the Korean side within a short period. “The U.S. side may need to work further on it, as the act itself falls under the legislative body and it has not been long since it passed,” said Ahn. “It will take more time.”
한국어
donga.com
14. One-of-a-kind U.S. Army laboratory strengthens partnership with South Korean allies
One-of-a-kind U.S. Army laboratory strengthens partnership with South Korean allies
korea.stripes.com · September 2, 2022
Staff Sgt. Stephen J. Riddick (third from left) and Col. Matthew J. Grieser (second from left) observe a display at the Republic of Korea Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear (CBRN) Defense Command at their headquarters in Seoul, South Korea. The 1st Area Medical Command has worked to build stronger ties and forge greater interoperability with South Korean counterpart commands on the Korean Peninsula, including the ROK CBRN Defense Command and ROK Armed Forces Medical Command. Courtesy photo.
by Walter Ham
20th CBRNE Command
September 2, 2022
SEOUL, South Korea – A one-of-a-kind U.S. Army medical laboratory has worked to build stronger ties and forge greater interoperability with South Korean counterpart commands on the Korean Peninsula.
Leaders from the 1st Area Medical Laboratory met with leaders from the Republic of Korea Armed Forces Medical Command and ROK Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear (CBRN) Defense Command at their respective headquarters in South Korea.
Col. Matthew J. Grieser, the commander of the 1st AML, and Sgt. Maj. Erin L. Trudden, the senior enlisted leader, visited with their South Korean counterparts at their commands together with Maj. Jang-woo Lee, Maj. Andrew Clark and Staff Sgt. Stephen J. Riddick.
The 1st AML leaders met with ROK Army Brig. Gen. Dae-wee Lee, the commander of the ROK CBRN Defense Command, and Brig. Gen. Byung-seop Choi, the commander of the ROK Armed Forces Medical Command.
Both South Korean commands agreed to established working groups with the U.S. Army mobile laboratory to plan future combined field training exercises.
The ROK CBRN Defense Research Institute showcased their CBRN research laboratories and displayed the deployable Mobile Analytical Laboratories.
At the ROK Armed Forces Medical Command, the ROK military medical partners showcased the control center for telemedicine, medical evacuations and the mobile diagnostic laboratory.
The 1st AML leaders were also invited to the Armed Forces Trauma Center to observe the newly opened military trauma treatment facility with the only hospital helipad in South Korea that met the required specifications for landing U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters.
Maj. Jang-woo Lee, who is originally from South Korea, said COVID-19 pandemic restrictions limited exchanges during the last two years.
“The pandemic prevented the face-to-face meetings and visits for last two years and virtual meetings had limitations particularly on engagements with foreign military partners,” said Lee, the former Biological Threat Assessment Section chief and officer-in-charge of Multifunctional Threat Assessment Troop 1 at the 1st Area Medical Laboratory.
Lee added that the visits contributed to agreements on future collaborations between 1st AML and the ROK commands.
The Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland-headquartered 1st Area Medical Laboratory is part of the 44th Medical Brigade and 20th Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives (CBRNE) Command, the U.S. military’s premier multifunctional all hazards command.
From 19 bases in 16 states, American Soldiers and U.S. Army civilians from the 20th CBRNE Command tackle the world’s most dangerous hazards in support of joint, interagency and allied operations.
According to Grieser, the commander of the 1st AML, the ROK commands are strategically important to the 1st Area Medical Laboratory.
“As the South Korean Armed Forces are the strategically significant military partner within the U.S. Indo-Pacific region, it is important to build the relationship and sustain the partnership with them for the 1st Area Medical Laboratory’s worldwide operational requirements, particularly on the Korean Peninsula,” said Grieser, a native of Mulino, Oregon, who has deployed to Afghanistan four times and Iraq five times and served in Haiti, Panama and New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina.
15. South Korea Zeros F-35B CVX Carrier Program in Favor of Funding North Korean Deterrence Strategy
South Korea Zeros F-35B CVX Carrier Program in Favor of Funding North Korean Deterrence Strategy - USNI News
news.usni.org · by Juho Lee · September 1, 2022
South Korea’s CVX aircraft carrier program received no funding in the latest budget proposal released this week, a move that puts the future of the programming in serious doubt.
The South Korean government requested about $ 42.4 billion for defense spending next year, a 4.6 percent increase from 2022, in its Aug. 30, defense budget proposal. Of this, about $13.3 billion was allocated to new acquisition programs, with the remaining funds assigned for maintenance and operations.
The 30,000-ton Republic of Korea Navy carrier was planned to field up to 20 short takeoff vertical landing F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters. But in July, the Republic of Korea Air Force purchased the F-35A ground variant, putting the carrier program in doubt, USNI News previously reported.
“The government has allocated significant funds to the defense budget despite its focus on creating a ‘healthy budget’ because of the very serious security situation,” according to a statement from Ministry of National Defense of South Korea
The budget reflects the priorities of the new administration under President Yoon Suk-yeol, who has downplayed the importance of CVX and emphasized that of the so-called “three-axis system” — a defense strategy aimed at deterring North Korea.
The three-axis system envisions a pre-emptive strike against North Korea when a nuclear attack against South Korea seems imminent, followed by the interception of missiles that have already been launched and a massive conventional retaliatory strike against the North Korean military and its top brass. Funding for the system will increase 9.4 percent or around $3.9 billion, according to the proposal.
That translates to a boost in South Korea’s submarine program. The KSS-III ballistic missile submarine program received around $185 million in the 2023 proposal. The boats are a crucial component of the third axis of the three-axis system, dubbed “Korean Massive Punishment and Retaliation (KMPR).”
Submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBM) from KSS-III are able to hit North Korean bunkers and command control facilities during a conflict with North Korea. In addition to its role in KMPR, the KSS-III submarines are ideal for shadowing the Sinpo-class, North Korea’s SLBM-capable submarines, due to the former’s improved range and endurance. ROKS Dosan Ahn Changho (SS-083), the lead ship of KSS-III Batch I, deployed for the first time earlier this month.
Other notable naval programs in the funding proposal include the Ulsan-class frigate and the anti-submarine warfare unmanned underwater vehicle (ASWUUV), which have been allocated $390 million and $26.5 million in funding, respectively.
The Ulsan-class frigates – which are 129m in length, 15m in width, displace 3,500 tons and have a maximum speed of 30 knots – will be the workhorse of the Republic of Korea Navy in the coming decades. Construction on the first ship began earlier this year in April.
The ASWUUV is a “large displacement umanned underwater vehicle” that is 6.5m long and displaces 9 tons. South Korea’s Agency for Defense Development and Hanwha have been jointly developing the system since 2017, with the first “operational demonstration” taking place in June earlier this year.
A version of this post originally appeared on Naval News. It’s been republished here with permission.
Related
news.usni.org · by Juho Lee · September 1, 2022
16. Shifting World War II Memory in East Asia Signals Newly Emerging Global Alliances
History matters.
These ongoing shifts in World War II remembrance show us that the past is not a mere encumbrance but rather a productive resource for global actors, who make selective use of the past as an instrument for articulating values, striking alliances, and furthering policy agendas. As Beijing commemorates its World War II triumph tomorrow, it is worth keeping in mind that official memory can reveal more about strategic aims and intentions than any policy paper.
Shifting World War II Memory in East Asia Signals Newly Emerging Global Alliances
With tensions rising in the Indo-Pacific, Beijing’s new triumphalism takes aim at one-time ally U.S., while Washington and its regional partners embrace former foe Japan’s historical revisionism.
thediplomat.com · by Vincent K. L. Chang · September 2, 2022
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Summer is a busy time for World War II remembrance in East Asia.
Every year on August 6 and 9, the Japanese commemorate the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which killed 200,000 civilians during the final days of World War II. On August 14, people across Asia recall the sufferings of the wartime sex slaves – euphemistically called “comfort women” – that fell victim to Japanese military abusers. On the following day, on which in 1945 Imperial Japan announced its unconditional surrender, North and South Korea celebrate National Liberation Day as Japanese cabinet leaders make ritual offerings at controversial war shrines to mourn their war dead.
Tomorrow, the People’s Republic of China will commemorate victory in what it calls the “Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression.” The annual celebration on September 3 is one of two recently established official holidays in China commemorating its World War II struggle.
As nations and their leaders revisit the past, they revise and refocus their memory to align with present needs and concerns. And with geopolitical tensions approaching boiling point, East Asia’s murky memoryscape has recently seen several remarkable shifts that outline the newly emerging alliances in a looming conflict.
In China, one of the most telling shifts has been to depict World War II as a critical moment of national unity triumphing over foreign aggressors – in a theater that Beijing claims started first, lasted the longest, and saw the highest death toll of any in the war – rather than a symbol of national victimhood and suffering.
My recent research on Beijing’s diplomatic discourse and domestic propaganda has detailed the comprehensive campaign launched under Xi Jinping to convince global audiences that China was a principal victor of World War II and a key architect of the post-war global order, and to ingrain into domestic audiences the belief that China’s great triumph – and the spirit of national unity and resistance in which it was forged – would not have transpired without the Chinese Communist Party’s foresight.
Put simply, Beijing’s new reading of World War II marks a shift away from recalling past trauma to anticipating the imminent “rejuvenation” of the Chinese nation, united under the CCP’s leadership, and the important tasks ahead for the Chinese people on the path to this final victory.
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This trend continues in this year’s commemoration events. On August 15, the Museum of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression in Beijing – the country’s national war memorial – launched a new exhibition showcasing the CCP’s “history of leading the country to the victory.” Visiting the museum and reviewing the past, Chinese experts say, can help the Chinese people to “better understand responsibilities they need to shoulder.”
The U.S. as Antagonist
Beijing feels that it is being held back in its attempts to restore national greatness by global powers that see China’s rise as a threat to their position. As I have articulated elsewhere, a key point of Beijing’s recent strategic messaging and new use of historical statecraft has been to call out and denounce all external forces that attempt to undermine China’s great mission of national rejuvenation.
While Japanese right-wing militarism might remain one of these hostile foreign forces, Tokyo has recently all but been supplanted by Washington – China’s one-time ally in World War II – as the new principal “other” in Beijing’s official discourse.
This does not mean that Japan is no longer a target of official criticism and populist vitriol; in fact, anti-Japanese sentiment in China has been on the rise again lately. But this apparent continuity must not conceal the changes in the nature and motives of such grievances, which are now neither Tokyo’s onetime role as fascist aggressor in World War II nor the prospect of its military prowess in the region per se, but above all its perceived complicity as Washington’s regional vassal in ongoing joint efforts to disrupt the region and thwart China’s rise.
Russia as Beijing’s New Memory Partner
In mobilizing memory to oppose U.S. hegemony and “war-mongering under the guise of democracy,” Beijing has reached out to Moscow, another former World War II ally. This trend predates the current leadership but really took off in 2015, when Xi attended Russia’s Victory Day on May 9 and Russian President Vladimir Putin reciprocated during China’s September 3 celebration, and the two states exchanged guards of honor to participate in each other’s national military parades.
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In recent years, Beijing and Moscow have redoubled their efforts to overcome the historical trust deficit between their peoples and build a memory partnership. Two years ago, the Chinese and Russian ambassadors in Washington published a joint article on a U.S. defense community platform to reflect on the 75th anniversary of V-J Day, in which they urged their former ally to honor the history and spirit of the war and move away from Cold War-like “zero-sum” thinking and unilateralism.
The Ukraine crisis has only reinforced the convergence of Chinese and Russian narratives. In the months following the Russian invasion, Beijing frequently echoed Moscow’s complaints about NATO expansion. In warning the United States and its allies against trying to build a version of NATO in the Indo-Pacific as part of a strategy of containing China and sustaining U.S. hegemony, Xi’s “wolf warrior” diplomats continue to instruct the U.S. to give up its “practice of making enemies” and to not “mess up Asia and the whole world after messing up Europe.”
Tokyo’s Historical Revisionism
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Meanwhile, it is not only authoritarian regimes that have been busy revising and mobilizing the memory of World War II in recent years.
Abe Shinzo, Japan’s longest-serving prime minister who was brutally murdered this year, used his time in office to reconstruct history with the help of public relations firms and amateur historians. Rowing back on Murayama’s 1995 war apology and Kono’s 1993 apology to wartime sex slaves, Abe aggressively advanced a new historical narrative that portrayed Japan as a victim in World War II and as a proactive contributor to global peace and prosperity in the post-war era.
Abe’s successor, Kishida Fumio, is continuing this unapologetic, nationalistic line. His first remembrance speech last month was almost a copy of Abe’s 2020 address. Employing vague language to refer to the “tragedy of the war,” it made no mention of Japanese imperialism and World War II aggression across Asia or the victims of this aggression.
Washington’s Counter-Offensive
After initial hesitation, the United States essentially accepted its former enemy’s revisionist narrative. Having snubbed Beijing’s invitation to the September 2015 victory celebration, then-President Barack Obama joined Abe a year later in a service at the Hiroshima Memorial Peace Park, where he lauded their countries’ friendship as an “alliance of hope for the world.”
Strategic motives have prompted successive U.S. administrations to endorse Tokyo’s retelling of World War II history and not that of Beijing, even though the latter (significant gaps notwithstanding) has never been more historically accurate than today. While Washington thus continues to shun China’s historical contribution to the Allied effort in World War II, it has now embarked on a counter-offensive of “memory diplomacy” in which it not only deliberately omits but strategically targets its “forgotten ally” of World War II.
At a carefully orchestrated, high-level international memorial service in Solomon Islands last month, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, accompanied by senior government and military officials from Australia and New Zealand, and also Japan, commemorated the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal – the first Allied offensive in the Pacific to check the Japanese advance – as a decisive moment in ensuring the victory of freedom and democracy. Notably, the battle took place far from China, without Chinese troops participating.
It was an awkward gathering for more than one reason, especially with the envisaged host, Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, refusing to attend. The intended presentation of the U.S. and its allies as one “Pacific family” in their pushback to China ended up with Sherman rebuking Sogavare, whose government switched recognition from Taiwan to the PRC and recently concluded a controversial security pact with Beijing.
Emerging Memory Alliances
With tensions rising in the Indo-Pacific in the aftermath of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan early last month, a growing number of “like-minded” governments in the region are now following Washington, Canberra, and Wellington’s recent example of bowing to Tokyo’s selective remembering of World War II.
On August 15, in his first speech marking Japan’s World War II surrender and the end of its colonial rule over the Korean Peninsula, South Korea’s new prime minister, Han Duck-soo, made a rare offer of reconciliation to Tokyo. Despite his government expressing “deep regret” over Kishida paying tribute at the controversial Yasukuni Shrine, Han vowed to overcome historical disputes with Japan and improve bilateral relations in view of their shared values and “common threats” to global freedom.
Recent war remembrance in Taiwan, meanwhile, has seen a shift away from competing with Beijing over who deserves credit for resisting Japan in World War II to effectively de-remembering the history of Japanese aggression under incumbent president Tsai Ing-wen’s Democratic Progressive Party. In 2015, then President Ma Ying-jeou of the Kuomintang marked the 70th anniversary of V-J Day with an unprecedented display of homegrown weapons. Just five years later, under a DPP administration, public commemoration of World War II on the island has virtually disappeared. Today there is dissatisfaction in some quarters that Tsai’s government is doing too little to preserve the memory of Taiwanese women who were sexually abused by the Japanese military.
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These ongoing shifts in World War II remembrance show us that the past is not a mere encumbrance but rather a productive resource for global actors, who make selective use of the past as an instrument for articulating values, striking alliances, and furthering policy agendas. As Beijing commemorates its World War II triumph tomorrow, it is worth keeping in mind that official memory can reveal more about strategic aims and intentions than any policy paper.
Vincent K. L. Chang
Vincent K. L. Chang is an assistant professor at the Leiden University Institute for Area Studies (LIAS) and a senior fellow of the LeidenAsiaCentre.
thediplomat.com · by Vincent K. L. Chang · September 2, 2022
17. ＜Local Interviews＞Is N. Korea’s “victory over COVID-19” legit? (1) Fever patients still emerge…People believe the country has achieved herd immunity
Unfortunately the Korean people in the north sometimes believe what they are told.
＜Local Interviews＞Is N. Korea’s “victory over COVID-19” legit? (1) Fever patients still emerge…People believe the country has achieved herd immunity
asiapress.org
This photo shows the overreaching nature of North Korea’s COVID-19 measures. Soldiers guarding the border near the Tumen River are wearing hazmat suits while repairing a levy. Taken on the Chinese side of the border in October 2020 near Hyesan, Yanggang Province.
After officially acknowledging a COVID-19 outbreak in May, the Kim Jong-un regime declared victory over the pandemic on August 10. Following the declaration, the regime claimed that there have been no further COVID-19 cases and significantly relaxed restrictions on movement. What, however, are the realities in the country? ASIAPRESS asked reporting partners in the northern part of the country in late August about the current situation. In this article, ASIAPRESS provides testimony from two reporting partners in Yanggang Province. (KANG Ji-won / ISHIMARU Jiro)
◆ Interviews with two reporting partners in Yanggang Province
Following the declaration of victory at a national emergency quarantine review meeting on August 10, North Korean authorities have stopped releasing the number of “fever patients due to the malicious virus” that had been published on a daily basis. On August 25, North Korea reported that four suspected fever patients had emerged in Yanggang Province; however, the regime explained that these cases were due to influenza, not the coronavirus.
ASIAPRESS conducted interviews with two people living in Hyesan about the situation in North Korea following the victory declaration. Based on surveys conducted by ASIAPRESS up until now, many provincial cities are not conducting examinations to see whether people have come down with COVID-19; instead, they are judging whether people have gotten the virus based on whether they have fevers or other symptoms such as coughing.
◆ People don’t know what PCR tests are
“A,” who lives in the downtown of a city in Yanggang Province, works as a businessperson.
―― Kim Jong-un declared that North Korea has been victorious over COVID-19. Are there any fever patients anymore?
“The number of people with fevers has decreased a great deal, but they still exist. The authorities just treat them as people with colds, however. I haven’t heard of anyone with severe symptoms. Already there’s the perceptions that most people have already gotten COVID-19 at least once.”
―― Are people put into isolation if they get a fever?
The criteria for being isolated isn’t clear. People are told to self-isolate if they have a fever. People avoid going outside if they have coughing and a fever because if they do, they may be punished (forced isolation, other punishment). In our neighborhood watch unit, we’ve had suspected coronavirus cases emerge in two households recently, but the local doctor just said they were ordinary colds.”
※ Neighborhood watch units, or inminban, are North Korea’s lowest level administrative unit and are typically made up of 20-30 households.
―― Are PCR tests being conducted?
“They don’t do those kinds of tests. All they do is take people’s temperatures and ask about people’s conditions to figure out if someone has contracted the virus. People don’t know about PCR tests, and I’ve never seen one. Cadres may know about them, though…”
―― We’ve heard that disease control restrictions have been loosened in cities near the border with China and on the border with South Korea. Have controls really been loosened?
“Disease control measures are still in place, but the authorities no longer punish people for not wearing masks. We’ve been told that we can voluntarily wear masks when we go outside. All they do is tell us to wear masks whenever we take part in group events, such as meetings.”
Young soldiers with masks guarding the border in Sinuiju behind a barbed-wire fence. Taken by ASIAPRESS in July 2021 on the Chinese side of the border.
◆ There are still fever patients in North Korea
“B” is a housewife who lives in the downtown of a city in Yanggang Province.
―― Have disease control measures been relaxed?
“The authorities are still keeping people on their toes about them here. It seems they’ve been relaxed in other areas, but we’re close to the Chinese border. That being said, only people who have symptoms are having their temperatures checked now. The authorities have told us that if we have a fever, we should take it upon ourselves to report it, medicate ourselves, and self-isolation.”
※ Before the “victory declaration,” neighborhood watch units went around two to three times a day to check people’s temperatures.
―― Are the authorities still disinfecting areas around apartments?
“They’ve decreased the number of disinfections from four to five a day to just two. The disinfection efforts are mainly happening in places with fever cases. People here probably all got the virus and are now fully recovered. There’s hardly anyone who has serious symptoms in my view.
However, I’m not sure if these cases are colds or COVID-19 cases. The disease control system is still in place, but people expect things to get better now.”
◆ Relaxing of disease control measures in the China-North Korea border region
―― Are masks required along with temperature checks?
“They tell us to wear masks, but no one gets punished for not wearing them anymore. Recently, the authorities conducted a survey of COVID-19 cases in neighborhood watch units and found that all households had contracted the virus with the exception of one or two families.
The security checkpoints run by neighborhood watch units no longer conduct entry checks or temperature checks. That being said, the authorities are still monitoring whether people are coming from other areas.”
―― What about the situation in workplaces and in markets?
“There’s still things that are unclear, but I’ve heard that people are now going back to work full time instead of on shifts as they did before. The authorities are not cracking down on things as much in the markets, either. The authorities, however, are telling people to watch each other and beware of the coronavirus. They are essentially telling people that if they have fevers, they should voluntarily report it and get medical treatment.”
―― Are restrictions on movement to other areas still in place?
“There are still strong restrictions on people going to other counties. People can go if they are doing work for their company. There’s no more restrictions on people taking part in farm mobilizations.
However, people still can’t really move around for personal reasons. One neighbor who wanted to go to Unheung County for something wasn’t allowed to get past a checkpoint because they said he didn’t have the right documents.” (To be continued in the next installment)
※ ASIAPRESS communicates with its reporting partners through Chinese cell phones smuggled into North Korea.
asiapress.org
De Oppresso Liber,
David Maxwell
Senior Fellow, Foundation for Defense of Democracies
Senior Fellow, Global Peace Foundation
Senior Advisor, Center for Asia Pacific Strategy
Editor, Small Wars Journal
Twitter: @davidmaxwell161
VIDEO "WHEREBY" Link: https://whereby.com/david-maxwell
Phone: 202-573-8647
email: david.maxwell161@gmail.com
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