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Quotes of the Day:
“As an alternative to combat, which, even if starting off limited, might escalate to something worse, there has been growing interest in nonviolent forms of pressure, such as cyberattacks, information warfare and economic sanctions, separately or in combination. Resort to these methods has become so regular, as the major powers compete for advantage and try to undermine their rivals, that a ‘grey area’ between war and peace has been identified as a busy arena of constant struggle. Here the aim is more disruption than destruction, undermining rather than overthrowing an opponent’s political system by spreading rumours and false news, triggering breakdowns in infrastructure, and adding to economic stress.”
- Command: The Politics of Military Operations from Korea to Ukraine by Lawrence Freedman
"The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts: therefore, guard accordingly, and take care that you entertain no notions unsuitable to virtue and reasonable nature."
- Marcus Aurelius
Many hands make work light; many ideas open the way.
- Hmong proverb
1. Full text of Yoon's address to U.N. General Assembly
2. U.S. made dialogue offer to N. Korea in July, no response yet: envoy
3. Chief of N. Korea's minor political party dies: state media
4. S. Korea seeks 'political' solution to U.S. inflation law: industry minister
5. Physics Body Concedes Mistakes in Study of Missile Defense
6. Kishida-Yoon sideline summit hangs in the balance
7. N. Korea considers plans to replace populations living near Strategic Force bases and “special zones”
8. N. Korea’s leadership uses “patriotic marketing” to inspire patriotism among public
9. Yanggang Province students mobilized to dig up potatoes for a month
10. N. Korea's Magunpo rocket engine test site seems affected by minor flooding: report
11. Yoon's hope of striking 'grand bargain' with Tokyo remains elusive
12. USS Ronald Reagan could be joined by nuclear submarine
13. The Most Expensive Tank on Earth? Meet the K2 Black Panther
1. Full text of Yoon's address to U.N. General Assembly
Excerpts:
Today, the global community is yet again witnessing freedom and peace of its citizens put in jeopardy. Attempts to alter the status quo by force endangers the lives of innocent people; nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction pose increasing threats to humanity; systemic violations of human rights leave millions of children deprived of their future.
Such threats to freedom and peace must be overcome through solidarity and fearless commitment to the framework of universal global norms consolidated over the years within the UN system.
The theme of the UNGA session this year, the "watershed moment", encapsulates the gravity of the global crisis confronting us, which underscores the solemn role of the UN.
The first step in our journey to seek solution that will help us through these turbulent times to find answers begins with solidarity and deference to the universally accepted global norms, working together throughout the UN system which has been established over the past decades.
Full text of Yoon's address to U.N. General Assembly | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 이해아 · September 21, 2022
NEW YORK, Sept. 20 (Yonhap) -- The following is the full text of President Yoon Suk-yeol's address to the 77th U.N. General Assembly in New York on Tuesday.
Freedom and Solidarity: Answers to the Watershed Moment
Mr. President,
Mr. Secretary General,
Distinguished delegates,
I offer my sincere congratulations to His Excellency Mr. Csaba Korosi for assuming the presidency of the United Nations General Assembly.
I hope that the 77th session of the UNGA, under your leadership, will bring together the wisdom of each member state so as to shape a better world.
I also express my deepest respect to Mr. Secretary General Antonio Guterres
for his tireless devotion as he embarks on his second term.
Under the United Nations Charter, we are called upon to endeavor to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom and to unite our strength to maintain international peace and security.
When freedom of any individual in a nation comes under threat, members of the community must join hands to remove the threat and defend freedom. Likewise, when freedom of any citizen or nation in the global community is in peril, it is the community of nations that must stand together in solidarity to defend that freedom.
Our modern history testifies to the process of our solidarity and unity in safeguarding freedom and pushing our civilization forward.
Today, the global community is yet again witnessing freedom and peace of its citizens put in jeopardy. Attempts to alter the status quo by force endangers the lives of innocent people; nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction pose increasing threats to humanity; systemic violations of human rights leave millions of children deprived of their future.
Such threats to freedom and peace must be overcome through solidarity and fearless commitment to the framework of universal global norms consolidated over the years within the UN system.
The theme of the UNGA session this year, the "watershed moment", encapsulates the gravity of the global crisis confronting us, which underscores the solemn role of the UN.
The first step in our journey to seek solution that will help us through these turbulent times to find answers begins with solidarity and deference to the universally accepted global norms, working together throughout the UN system which has been established over the past decades.
Mr. President, Mr. Secretary General, honorable delegates.
As humanity strives to defend freedom and build lasting peace, the UN's role is indispensable.
Genuine freedom is not just being free from the shackles but having opportunities to live life to the fullest with dignity. Genuine peace is not an absence of war but removing conflict and enmity that hold back shared progress of humanity and building the foundation for greater prosperity.
Genuine freedom and peace can turn into reality when we are free from disease and hunger, free from illiteracy and free from want of energy and culture.
In this regard, the United Nations has been exerting great endeavors through the UNECOSOC and UNESCO, among others, yet is now urged to take on a broader role and responsibility.
To tackle the challenges brought on by the pandemic, the UN must play a central role in bringing the community of nations together to decisively step up their support for countries with limited fiscal space and technical expertise.
In pursuit of the global agenda for decarbonization, countries with leading green technologies must work to unsparingly share new and renewable energy technologies with others.
In the era of digital sophistication, one of the most urgent tasks for the global community and the UN is promoting global cooperation to narrow the digital divide which exacerbates polarization between nations.
Countries at the forefront of digital innovation must offer broader assistance for digital education, technology transfer and investment while the UN must redouble its efforts to mobilize support to that end.
Mr. President, Mr. Secretary-General, and distinguished delegates,
The Republic of Korea, notwithstanding the recent fiscal consolidation, scaled up support for those who are in need with resources secured through expenditure restructuring. At home, we are offering more assistance to socially vulnerable groups. Abroad, we increased our Official Development Assistance budget with a vision to achieve a more inclusive development globally.
Just as broadening support for the socially disadvantaged groups lays the groundwork for sustainable prosperity, support for nations of the world facing challenges will render global freedom and peace more sustainable.
As a responsible member of the international community, Korea is committed to playing its due responsibility and role for the freedom of global citizens and prosperity of the global community.
Korea has accelerated research and development for Covid-19 therapeutics and vaccines, pledging 300 million dollars toward the ACT-A Initiative and 30 million dollars to the Financial Intermediary Fund of the World Bank, among others, thereby expanding its contributions to building a more robust global health architecture.
To ensure a more effective response to future infectious disease outbreaks, Korea will host a ministerial meeting of the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) in Seoul this November. We are also taking part in negotiations to reach a pandemic accord under the World Health Organization.
In addition, Korea will remarkably increase its contribution to the Global Fund, joining forces with our partners in our fight against infectious diseases including AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.
Turning to the issue of climate change, Korea will scale up its green ODA, help developing countries transition to a low-carbon future and share its innovative green technologies with the entire humanity.
Over the years, Korea has been transferring and sharing its e-government digital technology with developing countries and many others.
The Republic of Korea is pushing forward with its plan to transform the government into a digital platform government. It is an ambitious initiative to remarkably upgrade our democracy, public service, and welfare through digital technology.
We will continue to more widely share our advanced digital technology and data, and spare no effort in providing support and in investing in education.
Mr. President, Mr. Secretary-General, distinguished delegates,
As we seek answers to the global crisis we are faced with, the viability of the UN system and the universal global norms architecture is under test.
The crisis confronting us will only be resolved when we stand firmly in solidarity to share the universal value of freedom and work together to uphold and spread our freedom.
In this vein, we must more firmly support the system of the UN anchored in a spirit of freedom and solidarity as well as the normative frameworks that have thus been universally recognized in the international community.
Any attempt to turn away from the UN system and universal norms will divide the global community into blocs, further compounding the crisis and turmoil.
We must more rigorously identify the nature and the roots of the problems that lie before us. The international community must vigorously endeavor to share responsibility and join whenever necessary forces to resolve the challenges we face.
Once again, I call upon global citizens and leaders of the world for their resolute and enduring support for the UN system and universal global norms as we seek answers in this watershed moment.
Mr. President, Mr. Secretary-General, distinguished delegates,
The very first mission of the United Nations after its founding was to approve the Republic of Korea as the sole legitimate government on the Korean Peninsula, and to defend the freedom of my country by sending over UN forces during the Korean War.
Thanks to such efforts by the United Nations, Korea was able to become what it is today. As such, the Republic of Korea will protect and expand the freedom of global citizens; and together with the United Nations, we will fulfill our responsibilities to promote peace and prosperity around the world.
Thank you.
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 이해아 · September 21, 2022
2. U.S. made dialogue offer to N. Korea in July, no response yet: envoy
Excerpts:
"I believe our last communication with the DPRK was during the summer. We sent the message reiterating our interest in re-engagement and also re-offering our assistance in COVID-related items," Kim said in a meeting with reporters in Seoul, referring to the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. "But I say 'no interest' (from the North) in the sense that they have not responded to any of our messages."
...
"I can assure you that this is still an issue of great priority and concern to the U.S. government," he said, cataloguing a series of concerns about the North's weapons of mass destruction programs and human rights and humanitarian situations.
Touching on Washington's "practical, incremental" approach toward the North's nuclear quandary, the envoy pointed out the technical reality: denuclearization cannot happen "overnight."
"So, they would have to be phased," he said. "I think it's reasonable to expect you sort of start with the (nuclear) freeze and you continue to build towards complete denuclearization."
On the possibility of arms reduction being an interim goal toward the end state of the North's denuclearization, he said that "no one" is talking about arms reduction.
"Our policy remains to pursue complete denuclearization through diplomacy," he added.
(LEAD) U.S. made dialogue offer to N. Korea in July, no response yet: envoy | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 송상호 · September 20, 2022
(ATTN: UPDATES throughout with more remarks, details)
By Song Sang-ho
SEOUL, Sept. 20 (Yonhap) -- The United States made yet another dialogue offer to North Korea this summer through a communication channel in New York, but the North has not responded, Washington's top nuclear envoy said Tuesday.
U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Sung Kim said that the overture was made through the so-called New York channel, involving the North's diplomatic mission at the U.N., in July, as he highlighted the Joe Biden administration's continued commitment to reengage with Pyongyang.
"I believe our last communication with the DPRK was during the summer. We sent the message reiterating our interest in re-engagement and also re-offering our assistance in COVID-related items," Kim said in a meeting with reporters in Seoul, referring to the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. "But I say 'no interest' (from the North) in the sense that they have not responded to any of our messages."
The ambassador pointed to a "strict" pandemic-induced lockdown in the North as well as the spread of the coronavirus as potential reasons why the North has remained unresponsive to the latest and previous overtures by the U.S. in recent years.
"As they get the COVID situation under control, and as they open up, hopefully, they might show some interest," he said.
Kim stressed that both Seoul and Washington have "many creative ideas" for reengagement with the North, calling on Pyongyang to return to the negotiating table to work towards the "complete denuclearization" of the Korean Peninsula and address "issues of concern to all sides." But he did not elaborate.
"The problem is that in order for us to try these ideas, we need a partner. But the one thing we want to avoid is just negotiating by ourselves," he said. "We need a willing partner on the other side of the table, who will engage us in a serious discussion about all of these ideas that we have ... many creative ideas, including ideas to address their concerns."
Asked if his team will reach out to the North in the near future again, the envoy said it has no plans at the moment.
In a show of Washington's desire for diplomacy with Pyongyang, Kim noted Biden has not foreclosed the possibility of "leadership engagement" with the recalcitrant regime.
"We have not ruled out leadership engagement in diplomacy, but it would have to be done in a way that there's adequate preparation, and that prospects for progress are real in order for our president to engage personally," he said.
Touching on lingering concerns about the possibility of the North carrying out what would be its seventh nuclear test, Kim warned that there will be a "stronger-than-before" response should it happen.
"I think our response will be responsible and decisive, and it will send a very clear message to the DPRK that there are consequences to their irresponsible actions," Kim said.
He added, "I think it's inevitable that our response will be stronger than before. We need to build on what we have been doing because it wouldn't make sense for us to be remaining the same when North Koreans are continuing to escalate in terms of their provocation."
Asked to comment on the North's recent codification of an assertive nuclear policy, Kim took it seriously, but cautioned against "overanalyzing" it.
"I think the security risk is too real for us to just assume that anything's a bluff," he said. "I think rather than trying to overanalyze what it really means in reality, it is much more constructive for us to focus on what we can do, which is to make sure that we are prepared to deal with all contingencies."
Kim brushed aside speculation that North Korea might have been taken off the U.S.' list of policy priorities as Washington is preoccupied with a raft of other challenges, like the war in Ukraine.
"I can assure you that this is still an issue of great priority and concern to the U.S. government," he said, cataloguing a series of concerns about the North's weapons of mass destruction programs and human rights and humanitarian situations.
Touching on Washington's "practical, incremental" approach toward the North's nuclear quandary, the envoy pointed out the technical reality: denuclearization cannot happen "overnight."
"So, they would have to be phased," he said. "I think it's reasonable to expect you sort of start with the (nuclear) freeze and you continue to build towards complete denuclearization."
On the possibility of arms reduction being an interim goal toward the end state of the North's denuclearization, he said that "no one" is talking about arms reduction.
"Our policy remains to pursue complete denuclearization through diplomacy," he added.
sshluck@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 송상호 · September 20, 2022
3. Chief of N. Korea's minor political party dies: state media
We should not misunderstand and think there is an opposition political party in the north.
Pak was vice chairman of the standing committee of the North's rubber-stamp Supreme People's Assembly and chairman of the central committee of the Korean Social Democratic Party, a minor political party formed in 1945.
Chief of N. Korea's minor political party dies: state media | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 이원주 · September 20, 2022
SEOUL, Sept. 20 (Yonhap) -- Pak Yong-il, a senior member of North Korea's parliament known for his role in inter-Korean exchanges, has died, according to Pyongyang's state media Tuesday.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un sent a wreath the previous day expressing deep condolences over his death, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.
Pak was vice chairman of the standing committee of the North's rubber-stamp Supreme People's Assembly and chairman of the central committee of the Korean Social Democratic Party, a minor political party formed in 1945.
"Pak Yong-il devoted himself to the struggle for the prosperity and development of our state and the independent reunification of the country with ardent patriotism," the KCNA said.
He previously served as vice chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country handling inter-Korean affairs and took part in the Korean Red Cross negotiations with Seoul in 2009 and 2010.
As Pyongyang's chief delegate, Pak led the working-level Red Cross talks from 2013 to 2015 on the issue of holding reunions for families separated during the 1950-53 Korean War.
In June 2018, he also attended high-level talks at the truce village of Panmunjom to discuss steps to implement agreements reached during a April 27 summit between Kim and then South Korean President Moon Jae-in.
julesyi@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 이원주 · September 20, 2022
4. S. Korea seeks 'political' solution to U.S. inflation law: industry minister
I spoke with some Korean officials yesterday and some US experts and they seemed somewhat optimistic that we can find a resolution.
S. Korea seeks 'political' solution to U.S. inflation law: industry minister | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 변덕근 · September 21, 2022
By Byun Duk-kun
WASHINGTON, Sept. 20 (Yonhap) -- South Korea hopes to find a political solution to the new U.S. law on inflation that excludes South Korean-made electric vehicles (EVs) from U.S. tax benefits, South Korean Industry Minister Lee Chang-yang said Tuesday.
Lee made the remarks shortly after arriving in Washington for a meeting with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo.
"The essence of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is that it is a law legislated by Congress, (which means) discussions between administrations will unlikely have any direct impact on Congress," the South Korean minister said.
"It is not easy to address the issue from an economic perspective since it was made from a political perspective," he added.
The IRA offers a tax credit of up to US$7,500 to each buyer of a new EV assembled in North America, thereby excluding all South Korean-made electric cars from the benefit.
Seoul has repeatedly pointed out that the new U.S. law may violate the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement, which guarantees equal treatment of products from each country as domestic goods.
The IRA may also breach the most favored nation principle, which is based on the idea that countries should treat all their trade partners equally, according to Seoul officials.
The U.S. has acknowledge potential problems with the IRA and agreed to form a direct dialogue channel with Seoul to specifically discuss the issue, according to South Korean officials, including Trade Minister Ahn Duk-geun, who visited Washington earlier this month.
"The IRA was legislated in a very short span of time, and thus (the U.S.) had somewhat failed to gather the views of interested-parties such as South Korea, Japan and EU, and efforts by the (U.S.) administration may not lead to a revision," said Lee, highlighting the need for what he called a political solution.
"I plan to negotiate with a different method this time. Instead of highlighting or complaining about our damage, I plan to earnestly point out what kind of problems and errors there are in the IRA and so it will cause a controversy within the (U.S.) government," he added.
bdk@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 변덕근 · September 21, 2022
5. Physics Body Concedes Mistakes in Study of Missile Defense
"Science is not truth. Science is finding the truth. When science changes its opinion, it didn't lie to you. It learned more."
- Unknown (found on social media)
“The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom.” - Isaac Asimov
Physics Body Concedes Mistakes in Study of Missile Defense
Two scientists said the American Physical Society had erred in evaluating their plan to use drones to shoot down North Korean long-range missiles.
nytimes.com · by William J. Broad · September 19, 2022
An image released by North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency showed the test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile.Credit...KCNA, via Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
The world’s largest body of physicists admitted on Monday that a report it had issued seven months ago contained errors that downplayed the effectiveness of a novel plan for shooting down missiles.
The American Physical Society published the 54-page report in February. It assessed the overall feasibility of thwarting missile strikes and concluded that a proposal that the United States use drones to shoot down North Korean missiles faced “very difficult challenges.” The group sent the report to Congress and officials in the Biden administration as part of the society’s long history of providing guidance on cutting-edge weapons to defense policy decision makers.
Three months later, in May, the group pulled the document from its website, saying in an online note that the report was under review by its authors and would be “re-posted when available.” The note gave no reason for the withdrawal.
But the scientists who proposed the drone idea say the reason was errors in the society’s technical analysis of the concept, which the society acknowledged on its website Monday but has yet to detail or explain.
“The whole thing is outrageous,” said Richard L. Garwin, the lead scientist behind the proposal. Dr. Garwin, 94, has advised the U.S. government on issues of national security for more than a half century. He also wields outsize influence in the scientific community because he’s credited with designing — at age 23 in 1951 — the world’s first hydrogen bomb.
He and the other proponent of the drone idea say they want Washington officials to have an impartial assessment of the plan as they consider how to improve the nation’s defenses against enemy missiles.
“It’s a potential system for the defense of the United States, and these people are trying to stop it,” said Theodore A. Postol, the other scientist and an emeritus professor of science and national security at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
A group of 13 physicists and engineers wrote the February report. Its chairman was Frederick K. Lamb of the University of Illinois. The co-chairs were James D. Wells of the University of Michigan and Laura Grego of M.I.T. and the Union of Concerned Scientists. The private group, based in Cambridge, Mass., has often faulted antimissile defense as futile and destabilizing.
Academic and private groups have long vetted claims of breakthroughs in destroying enemy warheads fired from the earth’s far side. The task, one of the hardest in modern warfare, is likened to hitting a bullet with a bullet. Members of the American Physical Society have repeatedly caught the Pentagon in errors, exaggerations and what appear to be outright deceptions.
Now, the physical society has been caught in its own error. It says the episode is a first in its 123-year history.
Dr. Garwin and Dr. Postol’s antimissile plan zeros in on destroying North Korean missiles fired at the United States. After Pyongyang achieved a run of successful flight tests in 2017, American intelligence agencies described its intercontinental ballistic missiles and their nuclear warheads as an emerging threat.
According to the plan, American drones would loiter over the Sea of Japan. If North Korea began a nuclear attack, the drones would fire rocket interceptors that would track the fiery exhaust of the rising missiles and annihilate them.
If feasible, the idea is seen as superior to the traditional missile defense method — shattering a missile’s incoming warheads as they race toward their targets. Experts agree that rising missiles are slower, easier to track and far more vulnerable to attack.
In 2004, the Bush administration began deploying, in Alaska and California, a system of interceptor missiles that has about a half-hour to track long-range warheads fired from North Korea. Even so, top experts say it has major shortcomings.
By contrast, the drone interceptors would linger relatively close to enemy launchers. Dr. Garwin and Dr. Postol detailed their plan in 2017 and 2018 studies, prompting the Trump administration to examine the idea as a possible way to thwart the new generation of more threatening North Korean missiles.
In 2020, the physical society began its own antimissile study. It looked at the feasibility over the next 15 years of both the old and new approaches, including Dr. Garwin and Dr. Postol’s. It released its report in February.
The main error uncovered by Dr. Garwin and Dr. Postol in the society’s report centers on the speed of their proposed interceptor rockets and thus how far they would have to fly. The report’s diagram shows the carrier drones as having to loiter over North Korea’s mainland or a narrow strip of its coastal waters in order to knock out missiles fired at Boston, New York or Washington. In such locations, the drones could be shot down.
But the two scientists found that the study group had used the wrong interceptor speed — less than 2.5 miles per second instead of the faster pace of more than 3.1 miles per second. That error might seem small, but the military upshot was not. For an interceptor flight of 195 seconds, the baseline, the correct number was seen as moving the drones more than 100 miles farther out to sea.
“It puts you deep inside the Sea of Japan, where you can loiter and take aim at your leisure,” Dr. Postol said. “Theirs puts you into an area where you can’t operate.”
Soon after the report’s February release, Dr. Garwin and Dr. Postol began exchanging emails with the report’s authors, which The Times has reviewed. In them, the authors admit to mistakes and suggest corrections.
Frances Hellman, a physicist at the University of California, Berkeley, who is president of the physical society, said that in late May and early June, it had privately notified key recipients about problems with the report, including staff members at the National Security Council and the Department of Defense, as well as House and Senate armed services subcommittees.
But making public a corrected version of the report, she added, “may take a year” from the time of its publication.
“We take the integrity of our reports extremely seriously,” Dr. Hellman said in an interview. But removing the errors, she said, is inevitably a slow process because it involves dozens of experts and society officials. “They want it to happen overnight,” she said of Dr. Garwin and Dr. Postol.
Dr. Lamb, the report committee’s chairman, said one snag in the revision was that the study group’s members are busy people who “committed time” to the report. “Now we’re in overtime,” he said. Dr. Lamb added that the job required enormous care. “The worst possible thing,” he said, “is to try to correct something and make another mistake.”
Dr. Hellman, the society’s president, said that the group was seeking ways to better handle such situations in the future.
The long current delay “is not dissimilar to the time it takes to correct a scientific paper,” Dr. Hellman added. “We need to be sure we have the science correct. This argues for more care, not less.”
nytimes.com · by William J. Broad · September 19, 2022
6. Kishida-Yoon sideline summit hangs in the balance
Will they or won't they?
Kishida-Yoon sideline summit hangs in the balance
As both leaders head to New York, Seoul seeks bilateral reset while Tokyo wants return of assets seized for wartime forced labor
asiatimes.com · by Andrew Salmon · September 20, 2022
SEOUL – Will they? Or won’t they?
There are conflicting reports on whether Japanese Prime Minster Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol will summit on the sidelines of the 77th UN General Assembly held in New York this week.
The two early-in-their-term leaders – Kishida took power in October 2021, Yoon in May 2022 – spoke on the sidelines of a NATO meeting this June but have never held a dedicated bilateral.
The neighboring Northeast Asian democracies are divided by ongoing bad blood relating to Japan’s exploitative and often brutal 1910-1945 colonial rule over the peninsula and more recently South Korea’s retaliatory legal decision in 2018 over Japan’s use of wartime forced labor.
That decision preceded both of their administrations, leading to hopes that chilled relations might thaw under Kishida and Yoon. So far, those hopes have been largely chimerical.
The conservative Yoon, who comes from a different party than his predecessor, seeks a bilateral reset. But Kishida is sticking to the policy of his two predecessors, who hailed from the same party, the long-ruling conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).
Both face local political constraints.
Yoon, subject to low approval ratings, must tread carefully to avoid angering his public, which is hair-trigger sensitive when it comes to Japanese matters. And Kishida has to tread lightly in the lead-up to the upcoming state funeral of an assassinated predecessor, under whose administration bilateral relations froze.
Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and his South Korean counterpart Park Jin met in New York on Monday to discuss pending issues. Hayashi “welcomed working-level talks on the issue” according to Japanese media, while Park called for Japan’s “sincere efforts”, according to Korean media.
But will the leaders actually sit down together to thrash out the many, many items that could make up a packed agenda? “Details of the meeting, including the date and agenda, have not been confirmed, but South Korean officials maintain it will go ahead as agreed upon,” Yonhap reported.
Yonhap’s Japanese counterpart, Kyodo, was more restrained.
Regarding a possible summit, Kyodo quoted Hayashi as saying “Nothing has yet been decided” – interpreted by the agency as “stopping short of clarifying whether the matter was brought up during their talks.”
Much is at stake. On the security front, upgraded trilateral military cooperation between Seoul, Tokyo and Washington beckons. Currently, any Japanese and South Korean defense cooperation is ad hoc, bar a limited, US-brokered intelligence-sharing agreement.
On the trade front, Japan is the leading economy – and de facto gate guard – of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), a free trade body that South Korea seeks to join.
More broadly, Seoul and Tokyo have similar interests that would benefit from shared voice and action in global fora.
They are democratic middle powers surrounded by authoritarian, nuclear-armed China, North Korea and Russia. They are manufacturing powerhouses with economies that are complementary as well as competitive.
And they are both subject to collateral damage from the crossfire being exchanged between their strategic ally, the United States, and their chief trade partner, China.
Feel the love (not)! South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in (left) shakes hands with Japan’s then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on August 5, 2020. Photo: AFP
The heart of the matter
Kishida is widely seen as being less hawkish than his late predecessor, Shinzo Abe. Likewise, a key difference in the political philosophies of Yoon and his predecessor Moon Jae-in is the former’s strong desire for better relations with Japan.
Under Abe and Moon, Seoul-Tokyo relations plummeted to arguably their lowest level since the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1965. Moon unilaterally overturned a supposedly “final and irreversible” 2015 Seoul-Tokyo deal over comfort women in 2017.
Then, in 2018, a Korean court found Japanese companies Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Nippon Steel liable for using Korean forced labor in their plants near the end of World War II. Citing humanitarian, rather than Korean law, the court ordered the seizure and liquidation of corporate assets to pay the victims.
Bilateral trust – hardly deeply entrenched beforehand – evaporated.
Abe, already angered by Moon’s unilateral 2017 move, was livid over the 2018 decision, which Tokyo insisted ignored a landmark deal that had normalized diplomatic relations.
Under the deal, Japan had paid Korea hundreds of millions of dollars in colonial era reparations that had been worked out, virtually to the last dollar, during the prior negotiations.
The Korean government of the time, however, had not paid out the Japanese monies to the victims but used the cash instead for economic development.
Following the court’s seizure of Japanese assets, relations deteriorated as Tokyo slowed the export of key semiconductor materials to Korea and removed Seoul from its “white list” of privileged trade partners. Seoul retaliated with its own “white list” move while the Korean public launched a boycott of Japanese products.
While Tokyo’s trade restrictions proved to be a “shot across the bow” – South Korea’s semiconductor manufacturing was not impacted – Asia Times understands that if the Japanese assets still in Korea’s legal lockup are liquidated, Japan’s retaliation will be severe.
South Korean protesters hold a sign during a weekly anti-Japanese demonstration supporting comfort women who served as sex slaves for Japanese soldiers during World War II, near the Japanese embassy in Seoul on July 24, 2019. Photo: AFP / Jung Yeon-je
That could extend to disinvestment and financial sanctions, punitive moves that would have a dire impact on US-led diplomacy in the region, not to mention regional supply chains.
Problematically for Yoon, no constitutional mechanism exists for the president to overturn a court decision. A body of experts has been established to advise Yoon on the issue and there is ongoing talk of corporates who benefitted from the 1965 treaty paying monies to the victims.
However, Tokyo has been unwilling to budge and sees the ball as in Korea’s court.
Meanwhile, there is very considerable opacity hanging over why the seized assets – mainly securities – have not been liquidated four years after the 2018 judgment. That had been widely expected in August but did not transpire, suggesting possible unofficial political pressure on the judiciary.
It is a particularly thorny issue for Yoon given his low popularity ratings – in the low 30% range – and the customarily incendiary public emotion aimed toward Japan.
But it is also tricky for Kishida given that the state funeral for Abe – who, despite his stance on Korea, was Japan’s longest-serving prime minister and wielded huge influence in the LDP – will not take place until September 27.
Follow this writer on Twitter @ASalmonSeoul
asiatimes.com · by Andrew Salmon · September 20, 2022
7. N. Korea considers plans to replace populations living near Strategic Force bases and “special zones”
Another draconian population and resources control measure from the regime.
Paranoia runs deep.
Excerpts:
A Daily NK source in North Korea said Friday that the Ministry of Social Security issued an order to relevant provincial branches on Sept. 12 calling on them to secretly review the documents of local residents “for efforts to carry out a complete replacement of populations in special zones near the Strategic Forces since the adoption of legislation promulgating the country’s nuclear weapon policy.”
The measure appears to be the result of the greater importance North Korea now puts on protecting military secrets regarding nuclear-armed combat units such as the Strategic Forces since the country legislated its nuclear policy during the recent seventh session of the 14th Supreme People’s Assembly.
N. Korea considers plans to replace populations living near Strategic Force bases and “special zones”
The planned effort to replace residents living near these areas is the first of its kind since North Korean leader Kim Jong Un came to power, a source told Daily NK
dailynk.com
A North Korean ballistic missile on display during the country's Victory Day parade in 2013. (Wikimedia Commons)
North Korea’s Ministry of Social Security is secretly considering plans to replace populations living near Strategic Force bases or sensitive “special zones,” Daily NK has learned.
A Daily NK source in North Korea said Friday that the Ministry of Social Security issued an order to relevant provincial branches on Sept. 12 calling on them to secretly review the documents of local residents “for efforts to carry out a complete replacement of populations in special zones near the Strategic Forces since the adoption of legislation promulgating the country’s nuclear weapon policy.”
The measure appears to be the result of the greater importance North Korea now puts on protecting military secrets regarding nuclear-armed combat units such as the Strategic Forces since the country legislated its nuclear policy during the recent seventh session of the 14th Supreme People’s Assembly.
The source said the order to review activities for a sweeping replacement of residents living near Strategic Forces bases and related special zones is the first of its kind since North Korean leader Kim Jong Un came to power.
The source said within the military, staff departments of Strategic Forces units ordered the construction and inspection of new electrified fences and guideposts around special zones. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Social Security ordered the social security bureaus of relevant regions to consider replacing “problematic” individuals who live near special zones.
Regional police offices that received the secret order are reportedly saying the measure seemingly calls for organizing residents to bolster security in line with the elevated status of the Strategic Forces — which deals with nuclear weapons — and the branch’s subordinate units in the wake of legislation promulgating the country’s nuclear weapons policy.
In fact, the provincial police agencies reportedly received concrete orders to examine the residential registration documents, census information and past “tendencies” of residents living near Strategic Forces bases and special zones, as well as to investigate the birth statuses and social statuses of the paternal and maternal sides of their families all the way down to fifth cousins.
Regional police offices are reportedly considering a plan that would “unconditionally” add residents judged to be “ideologically impure” or having lived “unhealthy lives” to a list of people to be relocated, including people with defectors to South Korea in their families, malcontents, “unemployed good-for-nothings,” ex-cons who have done stints of forced labor, draft dodgers and deserters.
Even though North Korea ordered that the effort be carried out in strict secrecy, people living near Strategic Forces bases and special zones have already heard rumors of the move from different sources, and are reportedly expressing disquiet.
A source said many people are worrying that they could be forced to “turn their backs on the birthplaces and homes they love,” with the authorities driving them to “unfamiliar, unknown” regions and places, “since they say they will forcefully move people or replace populations based on three months of residential registration documents.”
Meanwhile, the authorities will reportedly carry out the Ministry of Social Security’s order over three months, from the end of this month to the end of year, thoroughly selecting individuals to be moved based on their residential registration documents, family registers and evaluations of the activities in political organizations.
Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
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8. N. Korea’s leadership uses “patriotic marketing” to inspire patriotism among public
All they have is "ideology.' It is an ideological war between north and South and this is one the South should win hands down.
This is an excerpt from the draft of a long paper I am working on:
The Ideological War
One of the essential elements animating the conflict between north and South is ideological. There are extreme differences in values. On the one hand are the shared values of the RO/U.S. alliance: freedom and individual liberty, liberal constitutional democracy, free market economics, the rule of law, and human rights. In the north, the regime oppresses the population through the Juche ideological, the Songbun social classifications system, Byungjin – the simultaneous pursuit of nuclear weapons and economic development, rule by law, and most importantly, the denial of human rights to maintain the regime in power. The Korean people in the north and the South must choose the values they want to live by.
The north conducts active subversion against the South. It seeks to undermine the legitimacy, power, and authority of ROK government institutions. In the north's vision, those would lead to a collapse of the ROK government and set the political conditions for the regime to dominate the South through capitulation. The collapse of the ROK government would also set favorable conditions for using military force. The ideal condition for the north to execute its military campaign plan is an end to the alliance, withdrawal of U.S. forces, and an end to extended deterrence and the nuclear umbrella over the ROK and Japan. The regime's political warfare activities and blackmail diplomacy must be examined through the lens of active subversion of both the South and the ROK/U.S. alliance.
The results of the 8th Party Congress in January 2021 provide an overview of Kim Jong Un's entire strategy. It laid out the political warfare strategy of subversion, coercion, and extortion. The best example of blackmail diplomacy occurred in June 2021 when Kim Yo Jong revealed the severe threat to the regime by information from the South. Information getting into the north, primarily conducted by escapees (defectors) from the north, is such a threat that Kim Yo Jong threatened the South with the destruction of its liaison building in the Kaesong Industrial Complex if it did not halt information flow. Kim Yo Jong soon made good on the threat, and explosives dramatically destroyed the building. By December 2021, President Moon’s ruling party in the National Assembly passed the so-called “anti-leaflet law” banning the launch of information from the South. This law is one of the worst examples of appeasement of the north. However, the north's actions laid bare Kim's fear of information getting into the north. This fear must be taken into consideration for strategic planning.
The north will conduct negotiations to set conditions and seek political and economic concessions. It will not negotiate to denuclearize. It uses the phrase "denuclearization of the Korean peninsula" to drive U.S. forces off the Korean peninsula. Although the U.S. unilaterally withdrew tactical nuclear weapons in 1992 in support of the north-South Agreement on Denuclearization, the regime argues that the presence of U.S. troops and the routine deployment of strategic assets means that the U.S. nuclear weapons are present in the region and often on the peninsula. Its negotiations will not negotiate away its nuclear weapons until U.S. forces withdraw, arguing that the threat to the north from the U.S. must be removed before it can denuclearize. What should not be misunderstood is that the regime has no intention of denuclearization but instead is working on setting the conditions so it can dominate the South. This must be factored into alliance planning.
Economically, north Korea is a failed state. It depends on trade with China and the complicity of China and Russia in sanctions evasion. The north must reform its economy for long-term survival to someday function as a normal country in the international community. However, although China has pushed its style of economic reform for years, neither Kim Jong Il nor Kim Jong Un has shown any willingness to reform. This is because reform undermines the legitimacy of the regime. Rather than reform, it blames the struggles on external threats and demands the sacrifice of the people to defend the nation. Because it does not have a functioning economy by any reasonable standard, the regime resorts to illicit activities worldwide and the proliferation of weapons, military equipment, and training in conflict zones to generate hard currency. It is likely that the regime generates sufficient hard currency to provide at least a basic level of sustainment for the people. However, the regime prioritizes support to the regime and military and developing nuclear weapons and missiles. The people suffer what they must because the strong man Kim does what he will – and that is to prioritize nuclear weapons over the welfare of the people. This must be factored into an information and influence activities strategy. The Korean people in the north must know the truth.
N. Korea’s leadership uses “patriotic marketing” to inspire patriotism among public
"The authorities issued an order calling for a 'revolution within the clothing sector so that people could proudly wear clothing with the flag of the Republic,'" a source told Daily NK
dailynk.com
Women at a Pyongyang textile factory wearing T-shirts emblazoned with the DPRK's flag. (Rodong Sinmun - News1)
North Korea is revving up its “patriotic marketing,” promoting the supposed popularity among North Koreans of t-shirts emblazoned with the North Korean flag. This aims to bolster the public’s ideological solidarity by stressing North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s political slogan of “Our Nation First.”
A Daily NK source in Pyongyang said Thursday that the frequent appearance of people wearing clothing with the North Korean flag on North Korean media as of late “started after an order was issued.”
The source said the campaign was part of the Central Committee’s Propaganda and Agitation Department’s ideological education plans, and that the Ministry of Light Industry was cooperating with the effort.
This means North Korea’s highest leadership cooked up the idea of “patriotic marketing” to inspire public patriotism. In fact, if key figures like North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s powerful sister Kim Yo Jong and Workers’ Party Secretary Jo Yong Won proposed the campaign, Kim Jong Un himself likely approved it.
The source said the authorities issued an order calling for a “revolution within the clothing sector so that people could proudly wear clothing with the flag of the Republic.”
He added that the order called for the creation and production of several clothing designs sporting the flag.
“They chose a propaganda policy to eradicate among the young generation, who have never experienced invasion and exploitation by imperialists and have grown up knowing only happiness, the phenomena of neglecting our own things [North Korean culture] and envying the things of others and the outside world,” he said. “The policy intends to arm the young generation with the ideology of ‘Our Nation First’ and make them work for the country wearing clothes emblazoned with our flag, the proud flag of the Republic.”
This means the production and promotion of the t-shirts with the North Korean flag is actually a policy embodying the will of the highest leadership to instill patriotism in young people.
In fact, North Korea has been working hard to prevent ideological disaffection among the young people upon whom the country’s future rests, cracking down hard on “impure behavior” that threatens the regime such as importing or distributing cultural items from the outside world. North Korea is calling on young people to reject foreign culture and protect socialist thought and culture.
The source said the party is trying to instill in the young generation a sense of patriotism, “to think our socialist fatherland is the best in the world and to love what’s ours, even if we have no food or clothes.”
“The party says we must continue to carry out the project to turn the spirit overflowing with patriotism throughout the country into a party and social ethos for a decade going forward,” he said.
In a story titled “Our State-first Principle Is Just Belief in Excellence of Our Leader,” North Korea’s Rodong Sinmun wrote on Sept. 7 that “[a] great state and great people come into the world by a great leader,” and equated the country’s “state-first principle” to its “leader-first principle.”
Likewise, in a front page editorial on Sept. 1 entitled “Let’s Fully Realize Our State-first Principle,” the paper said that “the state-first principle is the leader-first principle,” and that “the era of ‘our state first’ is a great age that has unfolded under the superior ideology and leadership” of Kim Jong Un.
By linking the principles of “state first” and “leader first,” the authorities appear to be encouraging public loyalty toward Kim, particularly among young people.
Meanwhile, the source said many people felt wearing T-shirts with the flag was a bit strange at first, given the dull clothing they usually wear every day. Now, however, half the people “wear it with pride because it has the flag,” while the other half wear it “with little regard for the flag.”
The source said the authorities have sometimes ordered people to wear the shirts as a uniform, and sometimes forced participants in athletics tournaments to purchase them from the factory.
“The clothing is being mass-produced at clothing factories or silk factories,” he said.
Home-based crafters in Pyongyang and other major cities are producing products as well, cutting and sewing onto clothing printed images of the flag they have received from the authorities. The source said factory-made T-shirts sold in state-run shops cost KPW 30,000, while ones made at home cost anywhere from KPW 10,000 to KPW 15,000.
Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
Read in Korean
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9. Yanggang Province students mobilized to dig up potatoes for a month
We should remember these words:
“The fundamental reason for human rights being trampled in North Korea lies in the ‘Dear Leader Absolutism’ dictatorship. There can be no human rights for the people in North Korea where the greatest morality and absolute law is giving one’s mind and body to the Dear Leader; and living as a slave who obeys completely and unconditionally the Dear Leader - it is the only life permitted the North Korean People.”
Hwang Jang Yop, 2 DEC 99
Yanggang Province students mobilized to dig up potatoes for a month
"School parents who are living day-to-day are complaining about the cost of providing food to their children who must live on farms during the mobilization period," a source told Daily NK
By Lee Chae Un - 2022.09.20 10:00am
dailynk.com
North Korean farmers harvesting potatoes in Yanggang Province. (Rodong Sinmun)
Students in Yanggang Province — one of North Korea’s most important potato-producing regions — have reportedly been mobilized to dig up potatoes for a month.
According to a Daily NK source in Yanggang Province on Thursday, the authorities issued the mobilization order to high schools, vocational schools and universities in Hyesan early this month.
The order called on schools to have students arrive at the farms in their charge by Sept. 11 and begin digging up potatoes from the next day.
Students in Yanggang Province — a major potato producer — are mobilized for spud duty every harvest season. According to the source, this year is no different.
The students will be digging potatoes for a month, from Sept. 12 to Oct. 10. The source said schools brought students to the farms in their charge between Sept. 10 and Sept. 11 — in accordance with the order from the provincial party’s education department.
Schools are reportedly tasking the students with providing the food, side dishes and seasonings needed for the mobilization period.
In fact, one class at Hyemyong Senior Middle School in Hyesan ordered each student to ensure 15 kilograms of rice, one bottle of cooking oil, 100 grams of seasoning, 500 grams of soybean paste, 200 grams of red pepper powder and 300 grams of salt. Another class at the school ordered each student to provide 12 kilograms of rice and KPW 150,000 to buy side dishes.
North Korea calls on people to come together to support agricultural work every spring and fall. However, most units ordered to assist agricultural efforts dump the responsibility for producing food onto individuals.
This is nothing new, but with families once again forced to cough up a ton of food and money during the agricultural support period even as they endure hardships due to the protracted COVID-19 pandemic, school parents are reportedly very unhappy.
In particular, the source says some homeroom teachers are using the mobilization as a means to make money, offering to exclude students from well-off families from potato duty in return for payments of RMB 700 to RMB 1,000, much to the ire of parents.
“School teachers are using the agricultural mobilizations, including potato harvesting, as a means to make money,” said the source. “But perhaps because life is so tough this year, no students are asking to be excluded, so teachers are forcing students to pay to be excluded from the mobilization.
“It’s to the point that one wonders whether the yearly agricultural mobilizations are to lend a hand to farmers or fill the pockets of teachers,” he continued, adding, “In particular, school parents who are living day-to-day are complaining about the cost of providing food to their children who must live on farms during the mobilization period.”
Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
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10. N. Korea's Magunpo rocket engine test site seems affected by minor flooding: report
N. Korea's Magunpo rocket engine test site seems affected by minor flooding: report
The Korea Times · September 20, 2022
A rocket engine emits flame from a test structure in this April 9, 2016 file photo released by Pyongyang's Rodong Sinmun. Yonhap
A rocket engine test facility in North Korea appears to have been hit by minor flooding from heavy downpours in recent months, according to a U.S. monitoring website that cited new satellite imagery.
In a note posted Monday (local time), 38 North said satellite photos taken between July and August indicate some flooding at the Magunpo Solid Rocket Engine Test Facility located near the eastern city of Hamhung in South Hamgyong Province.
"Magunpo is near sea level, and there have been recent tell-tale signs of flooding around the complex owing to the heavy monsoon rains," it said. "At the horizontal test stand (the East Test Stand), water was seen pooled at the east end of the flame trench in early July and did not completely drain from the trench until after mid-August."
It added there were no apparent signs of activities related to actual engine testing. (Yonhap)
The Korea Times · September 20, 2022
11. Yoon's hope of striking 'grand bargain' with Tokyo remains elusive
Yoon's hope of striking 'grand bargain' with Tokyo remains elusive
The Korea Times · September 20, 2022
President Yoon Suk-yeol and his wife Kim Keon-hee disembark the presidential jet as they arrive at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, Monday (local time). Yonhap
Minister Park Jin tells Japanese FM about what's being discussed in Korea as possible solution to forced labor issue
By Nam Hyun-woo
The foreign ministers of Korea and Japan met on Monday apparently to fine-tune details of an envisaged summit between President Yoon Suk-yeol and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida later this week.
Details of the closed-door talks were not made public. But judging by the remarks made by Japan's top diplomat, the two sides did not seem to be on the same page on certain issues. This poses a grim outlook on the Korean president's hope of reaching "a grand bargain" to improve soured Seoul-Tokyo relations, which is already facing doubts over its feasibility.
According to Seoul's foreign ministry, South Korea's Minister of Foreign Affairs Park Jin and his Japanese counterpart Yoshimasa Hayashi had a 55-minute closed-door meeting at a hotel in New York, Monday (local time).
After the meeting, Park told reporters that the two sides "agreed to work together in a sincere manner to improve bilateral relations." The ministry also said Park told Hayashi that they should join efforts to achieve "desirable" resolutions related to history matters, referring to the issue of compensating the Korean victims of Japan's wartime forced labor. The issue stands as the key reason behind chilled relations between Seoul and Tokyo.
Although the details of the meeting were not disclosed, Park reportedly told Hayashi about the Korean government's efforts to explore ways to resolve the forced labor issue, such as organizing a private fund to compensate the victims.
Korea's Supreme Court has ordered the liquidation of assets here owned by two Japanese companies to compensate the forced labor victims, as the businesses have not complied with the compensation orders. To resolve this issue, the Yoon government has set up a public-private consultative body and held four meetings to explore ways to find a resolution.
So far, victims have been claiming that the Japanese companies should participate in organizing the fund to take at least some responsibility. They have also claimed that the Korean government should not contribute to the fund.
Including this, a series of updates were assumed to be made during the Park-Hayashi meeting, to have this matter be one of the subjects of the envisaged Yoon-Kishida summit on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Korea officially announced on Sept. 15 that Yoon and Kishida will hold a meeting, which will be the first Seoul-Tokyo summit since December 2019. But Japan has refused to confirm this, saying nothing has been fixed yet.
After the ministerial meeting, Japanese broadcaster TBS reported that Hayashi said he "welcomes" Korea's efforts to improve ties with Japan, but reiterated that "nothing has been fixed" over the possible summit between Yoon and Kishida.
Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks to the media before leaving for New York to deliver an address at the U.N. General Assembly, at the prime minister's office in Tokyo Tuesday. AFP-Yonhap
Multiple sources at the presidential office said the summit "will take place" on the sidelines of the U.N. event, but the discord raises doubts over Yoon's idea of pursuing "a grand bargain" to resolve the current bilateral friction.
During an interview with The New York Times published on Sunday, Yoon said he hopes to strike "a grand bargain" with Tokyo over thorny historical issues.
Yoon has been using the term to describe his diplomatic philosophy of tabling various pending agendas between the two countries, including the forced labor issue, Japan's wartime sex slavery, bilateral cooperation on security issues and economic matters, all on the table for negotiation, and seek a comprehensive resolution.
This, however, is facing doubts because the two sides are still struggling to coordinate whether they should announce the plan to hold the summit, which is seen as the first step toward the grand bargain.
The domestic popularity of the two leaders also undermines the momentum of the bargain.
Since the two countries' relations have been intertwined with negative public sentiment towards each other, seeking an amicable outcome requires solid domestic support for the leaders.
However, Yoon's job approval rating stood at 33.4 percent in a Realmeter poll released on Monday, while that of the Kishida Cabinet remained at 29 percent in a Mainichi Shimbun poll also revealed on Monday.
Since the two leaders have yet to spend a year in their offices, pundits also said they did not have enough time to convince their people of the necessity of mending frayed bilateral ties even though that process may go against public sentiment.
Against this backdrop, the format of the possible Yoon-Kishida summit is also gaining attention. Seoul's presidential office has said the leaders will sit down for about 30 minutes for an official summit, while Japanese news outlets are reporting that even though the leaders meet, it will be a casual pull-aside meeting.
The Korea Times · September 20, 2022
12. USS Ronald Reagan could be joined by nuclear submarine
Extended deterrence message.
Tuesday
September 20, 2022
dictionary + A - A
USS Ronald Reagan could be joined by nuclear submarine
https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2022/09/20/national/defense/Korea-USS-Ronald-Reagan-carrier-strike-group/20220920160707893.html
The U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, second from left, and South Korea's landing platform helicopter ship Marado, left, sail during a joint military exercise at an undisclosed location on June 4. [DEFENSE MINISTRY]
A U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier will visit the peninsula later this week for combined drills with the South Korean Navy, the first in nearly five years and a warning to Pyongyang.
The USS Ronald Reagan carrier strike group is scheduled to arrive at a naval base in Busan on Friday to hold joint maritime drills in the East Sea, said the South Korean Navy in a statement Monday.
The drills will bolster the two countries' readiness posture and demonstrate the "firm resolve by the Korea-U.S. alliance for the sake of peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula," it added.
The carrier strike group includes the Nimitz-class Reagan carrier, the USS Chancellorsville guided-missile cruiser and the USS Barry Aegis-equipped destroyer.
The USS Annapolis, a 6,000-ton nuclear-powered submarine, is also expected take part in the drills, according to Korean government sources.
It is unclear if the submarine's arrival will be acknowledged publicly. In the past, deployments of U.S. nuclear-powered submarines to the Korea area have been carried out secretively or confirmed afterwards.
This exercise comes amid concerns that North Korea is preparing a seventh nuclear test and after its Supreme People's Assembly adopted a law allowing the use of preemptive nuclear strikes for self-defense earlier this month.
They will be the first such joint drills involving a U.S. aircraft carrier near the Korean Peninsula since October 2017. North Korea conducted its sixth nuclear test in November 2017 and at the time, three U.S. aircraft carriers were simultaneously deployed to the East Sea: the Reagan, Nimitz and Theodore Roosevelt .
In their first bilateral summit in late May, President Yoon Suk-yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden agreed on the deployment of strategic U.S. military assets in "a timely and coordinated manner as necessary" and reaffirmed Washington's commitment to extended deterrence to Korea "using the full range of U.S. defense capabilities, including nuclear, conventional, and missile defense capabilities."
They also agreed to expand the "scope and scale" of combined military drills and revived their Extended Deterrence Strategy and Consultation Group (EDSCG).
The deployment of the U.S. carrier strike group is a follow-up to that bilateral summit in May and a defense ministerial meeting in Washington in late July in which Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin agreed to strengthen the alliance's deterrence posture, including through deploying U.S. strategic assets to the Korean Peninsula.
In a joint statement released after a vice-ministerial meeting of the EDSCG in Washington last Friday, the United States again pledged to "continue to deploy and exercise strategic assets in the region in a timely and effective manner to deter and respond to the DPRK [Democratic People's Republic of Korea] and enhance regional security."
The statement described the upcoming deployment of the Ronald Reagan carrier strike group in the region "as a clear demonstration of such U.S. commitment," adding that the two sides "will continue to explore avenues to enhance Alliance strategic readiness through improved information sharing, training and exercises."
Earlier this month, Seoul and Washington wrapped up annual summertime combined military exercises that included live fire drills for the first time since 2017.
Other strategic assets such as bombers were scrambled near the Korean Peninsula ahead of the joint maritime exercise in the East Sea, also seen as a demonstration of U.S. extended deterrence.
The U.S. Strategic Command said in a statement Friday that the deployment of B-1B Lancer strategic bombers in the Indo-Pacific region earlier that week is a part of its efforts to "reinforce America's ironclad commitment to Allies and partners through military employment and demonstrating strategic predictability."
North Korea has been sensitive to the deployment of U.S. strategic bombers such as the B-1Bs around the Korean Peninsula in the past.
BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]
13. The Most Expensive Tank on Earth? Meet the K2 Black Panther
???
Excerpts:
The K2 can move. With a top speed of 70 kilometers per hour, the K2 can accelerate from 0 to 32 kph in just 8.7 seconds. The tank was built to handle off-road-style conditions, maintaining speeds of up to 52 kph. The tank is entirely adept at handling the rugged battlefield environment. It can climb 60-degree slopes and scale 1.8-meter-high vertical objects. The K2 can also ford rivers up to a depth of 4.1 meters with no more than 20 minutes of preparation. The tank uses a snorkel system, and it can take on 500 gallons of water in the chassis, which helps the K2 sink down and maintain traction with the river bottom. Meanwhile, the turret remains watertight.Indeed, the K2 is a capable, modern tank.
Designed for an 80-year-old feud, hopefully the K2 will never be needed for its design purpose: a land war with North Korea.
The Most Expensive Tank on Earth? Meet the K2 Black Panther
19fortyfive.com · by Harrison Kass · September 19, 2022
Why is the K2 Black Panther the Most Expensive Tank on Earth? America enjoys the world’s best geographical advantages. The United States dominates a vast, resource-rich continent – a continent populated by friendly neighbors, or at least non-threatening ones. The continent is flanked by two massive oceans – the Atlantic and the Pacific. These function as the world’s biggest moats, separating America from all other great-power nations. No other country enjoys such geographic benefits. Indeed, many countries are threatened by their geography, rather than blessed with it. Take South Korea as an example.
South Korea sits on the bottom half of a peninsula. Sitting in the top half of the peninsula is South Korea’s bitter rival – North Korea. Technically, North and South Korea are still at war; no peace treaty was ever signed to end the Korean War, even when hostilities ceased. To this day, North Korea keeps roughly 10,000 conventional artillery pieces trained on the South Korean capital, Seoul. North Korea’s conventional weaponry has the capacity to inflict apocalyptic damage on South Korea. Similarly concerning, North Korea now has capable nuclear weapons.
Indeed, South Korea inhabits an unstable geography. Given the country’s proximity to their mortal rival, Seoul has invested heavily in ground forces. This investment has resulted in, among other things, one of history’s most advanced battle tanks, and one of the most expensive: the K2 Black Panther.
The K2 Is a Once in a Generation Tank
The K2 costs a whopping $8.5 million per unit. Each unit thus represents a significant investment in South Korean defense capabilities. Hyundai, better known for its mid-to-low-priced cars, manufactures the K2. But the K2 is no Hyundai Santa Fe. This is a serious, cutting-edge piece of technology – the world’s first and only fourth-generation battle tank.
In the 1990s, South Korea held a tank gap over North Korea. Pyongyang depended on outdated, early Cold War models like the Soviet T-55 and Type 59. Meanwhile, the U.S.-backed South Korea was operating relatively sophisticated K1 and KA1 tanks, which were designed in the 1980s. Still, given the dangerous nature of South Korea’s geography, and their proximity to North Korea, South Korea was not satisfied with their tank advantage. They set about designing even more advanced machinery.
Research for the K2 began in the late 1990s. The South Koreans wanted a tank that featured automatic target tracking devices, autoloaders, and 21st century operating software. By the early 2000s, the K2 had entered its testing phase. In 2014, the K2 entered frontline service as clearly one of the world’s best operational tanks.
K2: Hard to Stop
The K2 packs a heavy punch, armed with a CN08 120mm 55-caliber smoothbore gun. An autoloader facilitates the firing of up to 10 rounds per minute. The CN08 is Hyundai-built – and beat out Rheinmetall’s experimental 140mm smoothbore gun in the competition to adorn the K2. As a supplement to the main gun, the K2 carries two machine guns: one 12.7mm K6 heavy machine gun and one 7.62mm coaxial machine gun.
The 120mm main gun depends on an advanced fire-control system. The K2 uses lock-on targeting, thanks to an Extremely High-Frequency radar system, a Raman laser rangefinder, and a crosswind sensor. This means the K2 can acquire and track targets from up to 6 miles out. Accordingly, the K2 main gun is highly effective. It can fire while the tank is moving. It can even engage with low-flying aircraft. The modern fire control system makes tiny adjustments for travel over uneven terrain, calculating each bump in the road to recalibrate the gun moment to moment, resulting in a highly accurate weapon.
The K2 can move. With a top speed of 70 kilometers per hour, the K2 can accelerate from 0 to 32 kph in just 8.7 seconds. The tank was built to handle off-road-style conditions, maintaining speeds of up to 52 kph. The tank is entirely adept at handling the rugged battlefield environment. It can climb 60-degree slopes and scale 1.8-meter-high vertical objects. The K2 can also ford rivers up to a depth of 4.1 meters with no more than 20 minutes of preparation. The tank uses a snorkel system, and it can take on 500 gallons of water in the chassis, which helps the K2 sink down and maintain traction with the river bottom. Meanwhile, the turret remains watertight.
Indeed, the K2 is a capable, modern tank. Designed for an 80-year-old feud, hopefully the K2 will never be needed for its design purpose: a land war with North Korea.
Harrison Kass is the Senior Defense Editor at 19FortyFive. An attorney, pilot, guitarist, and minor pro hockey player, he joined the US Air Force as a Pilot Trainee but was medically discharged. Harrison holds a BA from Lake Forest College, a JD from the University of Oregon, and an MA from New York University. He lives in Oregon and listens to Dokken. Follow him on Twitter @harrison_kass.
19fortyfive.com · by Harrison Kass · September 19, 2022
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
Phone: 202-573-8647
email: david.maxwell161@gmail.com
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