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Quotes of the Day:
“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn.”
- Heidi and Alvin Toffler
“A wise man speaks because he has something to say; a fool because he has to say something.”
- Plato
"The only thing that will redeem mankind is co-operation, and the first step towards co-operation lies in the hearts of individuals."
- Bertrand Russell
1. S. Korea urges N. Korea to honor 2018 accord on reducing military tensions
2. U.S. remains committed to denuclearization of 'entire' Korean Peninsula: Pentagon spokesman
3. Kim Jong Un’s Batshit Threats Just Got a Lot Scarier
4. General who led Syrian bombing is new face of Russian war
5. S. Korean envoy raises issue of female N.K. defectors' human rights at U.N. meeting
6. Gov't to make every effort to seek release of S. Korean detainees in N. Korea: minister
7. Navy eyes creation of unmanned command in 2040s
8. ‘Priceless collection’: Army museum reopens in South Korea after $2.1 million renovation
9. Korean and American businessmen issue joint statement against IRA
10. Punggye-ri Update: Waiting for Kim
11. S. Korea's Army seeks advanced interception system against new N.K. missiles
12. Moon's aide says repatriating fishermen was right move
13. Top commanders of South Korea, U.S., Japan vow close security ties to counter North's threats
14. Top brass commit to extended deterrence in Washington
15. Poland mulls acquiring Redback armored vehicles from Korea
16. S. Korea considering co-sponsoring UN resolution on NK human rights: ministry
17. At UN, S. Korea highlights human rights violations suffered by N. Koreans, defectors
18. North Korean police told to improve security nationwide to protect leader Kim Jong Un
1. S. Korea urges N. Korea to honor 2018 accord on reducing military tensions
When the CMA was signed in 2018 many analysts knew this would be the outcome. The regime would not live up to the agreement.
S. Korea urges N. Korea to honor 2018 accord on reducing military tensions | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 김수연 · October 20, 2022
SEOUL, Oct. 20 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's unification ministry on Thursday called on North Korea to honor a 2018 inter-Korean agreement on reducing military tensions as Pyongyang's latest artillery firing constitutes a violation of the accord.
Since last week, North Korea has launched hundreds of artillery shots into maritime buffer zones set under the 2018 inter-Korean agreement in its "powerful military countermeasure" against military drills under way in the South.
"When it comes to the 2018 accord, the government believes that inter-Korean agreements should be mutually respected and implemented," a ministry official told reporters.
The ministry said "various" reasons appear to have been behind the North's latest artillery firing.
"The North's move seems to have been aimed at protesting joint military exercises between South Korea and the United States, pressing for a halt to the drills, and gauging the South's stance on the 2018 inter-Korean deal," the official said.
Seoul and Washington have held joint military drills in recent weeks in a bid to maintain a firm readiness posture in the wake of the North's missile and nuclear threats.
The South's troops also kicked off the annual Hoguk exercise on Monday to hone its defense capabilities.
North Korea's artillery firing came despite speculation that Pyongyang may refrain from military provocations during the ongoing 20th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 김수연 · October 20, 2022
2. U.S. remains committed to denuclearization of 'entire' Korean Peninsula: Pentagon spokesman
The "entire" Korean peninsula is part of the regime's narrative - Kim's argument is the presence of US forces brings nuclear weapons to the peninsula (e.g., strategic assets) and for their to be denuclearization of the entire peninsula means US forces must leave the peninsula and the US must end extended deterrence and the nuclear umbrella over the ROK and Japan. Just a reminder but I know the ROK/US alliance will not agree to that (hopefully not ever!).
And another reminder: The only way we are going to see an end to the nuclear program and military threats as well as the human rights abuses and crimes against humanity being committed against the Korean people living in the north by the mafia-like crime family cult known as the Kim family regime is through achievement of unification and the establishment of a free and unified Korea that is secure and stable, non-nuclear, economically vibrant, and unified under a liberal constitutional form of government based on individual liberty, rule of law, and human rights as determined by the Korean people. A free and unified Korea or in short, a United Republic of Korea (UROK).
U.S. remains committed to denuclearization of 'entire' Korean Peninsula: Pentagon spokesman | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 변덕근 · October 21, 2022
By Byun Duk-kun
WASHINGTON, Oct. 20 (Yonhap) -- The United States remains committed to the denuclearization of the "entire" Korean Peninsula, a defense department spokesperson said Thursday, indicating that the U.S. is not considering deploying nuclear weapons to South Korea.
Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder also reiterated that the U.S. extended deterrence provided to South Korea would be sufficient to defend the Asian ally and deter any potential aggression from North Korea.
"We are still committed to denuclearization of the entire peninsula," the spokesman said when asked if the U.S. was considering making South Korea a nuclear state.
"Here in the Pentagon our focus is on providing a strategic deterrent capability to the Republic of Korea and to our allies and partners in the region," he added, referring to South Korea by its official name.
The remark comes amid calls for the redeployment of U.S. tactical nuclear weapons to South Korea following a recent series of North Korean missile launches.
Pyongyang has fired 44 ballistic missiles this year, a senior U.S. administration official said earlier in the day, the largest number of ballistic missiles it launched in a single year.
North Korea also fired an intermediate-range ballistic missile over Japan this month, the first missile to do so since 2017.
Ryder insisted the U.S. is already providing the security assistance that South Korea requires.
"We have a significant U.S. force presence on the peninsula," the spokesman said, referring to the 28,500-strong U.S. Forces Korea.
"The United States, the Republic of Korea and other allies and partners in the region to include Japan conduct regular exercises to ensure that our forces have interoperability, that we can work together with the idea to defend one another's interests and our territorial integrity, as well as deter a potential attack," he added.
He earlier said South Korea is already backed by the "full range" of U.S. defense capabilities, including "nuclear, conventional and missile defense capabilities" when asked the same question.
U.S. and South Korean officials have said the North may soon conduct a nuclear test, following the resumption of ballistic missile tests after a four-year hiatus.
"We continue to believe that North Korea is preparing for potential future nuclear test," said Ryder, adding the U.S. and its allies in the region are keeping a "close eye" on the reclusive country.
Pyongyang conducted its sixth and last nuclear test in September 2017.
The Pentagon spokesman underscored U.S. capabilities to counter any potential North Korean aggression, also noting a group of U.S. bombers are currently in Guam, sending a "very clear message" to North Korea.
"So it's not uncommon for us to have bomber task forces, which conduct operations around the world again for two reasons; one to send a very clear message that we will support our partners and allies around the world, and two that we do have the capability to conduct global operations on any given day," he said when asked about the bombers.
"So to answer your question, it is meant to send a message that the United States stands closely with its allies and partners to deter potential provocation," added Ryder.
bdk@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 변덕근 · October 21, 2022
3. Kim Jong Un’s Batshit Threats Just Got a Lot Scarier
Comments from Bruce Bechtol, Bruce Bennett, and me.
Kim Jong Un’s Batshit Threats Just Got a Lot Scarier
WEAPON OF CHOICE
The real danger isn’t North Korea’s nuclear weapons.
Donald Kirk
Published Oct. 20, 2022 8:04PM ET
The Daily Beast · October 21, 2022
Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty/AP
The headlines blare out the fears that North Korea’s Kim Jong Un might fire a “tactical nuclear warhead” on targets in South Korea or maybe Japan. It’s not at all clear how much death and destruction a “tacnuke” would inflict. Like any other weapon, they come in different sizes and ranges, but any of them could probably wipe out a few thousand troops. Then there would be the fallout that would endanger the lives of thousands more people over a broad area, always at the mercy of wind currents.
Now, however, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, proud though he is of his nukes, is showing off another much easier way to threaten the South. On Wednesday, he unleashed 250 cannon shots—seen as his primary weapon of choice rather than missiles and tactical nukes—into “maritime buffer zones” off the east and west coasts after South Korea launched more military exercises that the South’s conservative president, Yoon Suk-yeol, believes are essential for defense against the North.
Just to make sure South Korea got the message, Pyongyang’s Korean Central News Agency quoted a military spokesman saying, “Our Army strongly warns the enemy forces to immediately stop the highly irritating provocative act in the frontline areas.”
The latest North Korean artillery barrage comes on top of hundreds of cannon shots fired last week, signaling what Kim might seriously do if cornered, especially if personally endangered or simply angered by American and South Korean war games.
As North Korea’s cannonades make clear, Kim is believed to be far more likely to use artillery than tactical nukes in a showdown. North Korea has had more than 10,000 cannons above the Demilitarized Zone between the two Koreas ever since the Korean War, replacing old with new ones capable of firing shells 60 miles. The biggest U.S. base, Camp Humphreys, headquarters of U.S. forces in Korea, is just within range, as is nearby Osan Air Base, headquarters of the U.S. seventh air force. Kim is testing them for accuracy and distance just as he’s been test-firing dozens of missiles.
“Their long-range artillery can now attack areas far south of Seoul,” Bruce Bechtol, a former intelligence expert in the Pentagon and author of numerous books and articles on North Korea’s military posture, told The Daily Beast. “They can also completely inundate Seoul with the systems they have deployed along the DMZ at nearly a moment’s notice. That is the immediate tactical threat. It is also the most likely used in the early days of any conflict.”
David Maxwell, a former U.S. army special forces officer who served five tours in South Korea, told The Daily Beast he “thinks it is apples and oranges” when asked to compare the effectiveness of tacnukes versus artillery. “They create different effects,” he responded. “The artillery along the DMZ has resulted in the tyranny of proximity which has led to strategic paralysis by the alliance. The alliance will not respond kinetically anywhere deep into North Korea for fear of the response against Seoul.”
A TV screen shows a news program reporting North Korea’s missile launch displayed at the Yongsan Railway Station.
Kim Jae-Hwan/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty
The irony, Maxwell added, “is that the artillery, and specifically the threat to Seoul, has long been an effective deterrent, and the regime has never really needed nuclear weapons because they have been able to hold Seoul hostage without nuclear weapons.”
Bruce Bennett, Korea expert at the RAND Corporation, agreed. “If Kim wants to coerce the ROK (Republic of Korea), he can do so with regular or long-range artillery without having the escalatory impacts of using a nuclear weapon.”
“He would start a major war.”
Moreover, Bennett said, tacnukes would probably not suffice to “neutralize airfields” in South Korea or Japan. “An airfield with aircraft shelters will require a nuclear warhead able to cause a much bigger blast, likely in the hundreds of kilotons. Warheads that big will generally be interpreted by the U.S. as strategic nuclear weapons, requiring a much more serious U.S. response.”
Bennett believes Kim “will still use his conventional weapons for limited attacks” knowing “once he moves to his definition of tactical nuclear weapons, he would start a major war.”
More than four years ago, General Vincent Brooks, then U.S. commander in Korea, testified before a U.S. senate committee that long-range artillery posed “a serious, credible threat to 25 million citizens and approximately 150,000 U.S. citizens” in South Korea’s northern region. The inference was that artillery was the primary worry even though nukes and missiles were obviously “concerning.”
Like the Agent Orange the Americans spread over the jungles of Vietnam in a demented effort to destroy and expose the hideouts of the Viet Cong and “North” Vietnamese enemy during the Vietnam War, tactical nukes would not only inflict death right away but would leave generations in agony. Still, they would not be nearly as devastating as “strategic nuclear warheads” that could conceivably destroy San Francisco or Los Angeles.
Talk of a nuclear war is compelling, but the sense is North Korea is not too likely to deploy either strategic or tactical nukes, useful though the latter might seem against limited targets. Firing just one into the South would risk retribution far deadlier than the Korean War in which American warplanes bombed North Korean cities nearly to oblivion. Also, the Chinese wouldn’t want the North Koreans, whom they’re providing with oil and food and much else, to ignite a war when China is making a fortune off its highly favorable trade balance with the U.S. and its business with South Korea.
Artillery shells, however, are another matter. The danger of cross-border shelling right now is more acute than it’s been in nearly seven decades since the Korean War ended.
In this photo provided by the North Korean government, Kim Jong Un directs military personnel while inspecting military exercises at an undisclosed location in North Korea.
Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP
Think of the impact of firing a few of them into South Korea’s densely populated northern region, including the capital of Seoul, the west coast industrial port of Incheon, and other major population centers. Incheon’s Kangwha Island is right across a narrow waterway from North Korea, and Seoul is within reach of long-range artillery. A few “warnings shots' ' into South Korean territory would panic millions into leaping into cars, buses and trains, fleeing to safety well below the South’s northern tier.
North Korea has already fired nearly 1,000 shells close to the North-South line and sent warplanes into nearby skies in a show of what might really happen. Now, engaging in still more high-profile military exercises, South Korea and the U.S. are defying the North with their own shows of force in the face of Kim’s campaign of intimidation. Previous agreements with North Korea on flights and exercises close to the Demilitarized Zone are no longer valid. Meanwhile, war edges ever closer to reality.
The Daily Beast · October 21, 2022
4. General who led Syrian bombing is new face of Russian war
Excerpts:
In a 2020 report, Human Rights Watch named Surovikin, along with Putin, Assad and other figures as bearing command responsibility for violations during the 2019-20 Syrian offensive in Idlib province.
He apparently has a temper that has not endeared him to subordinates, according to Russian media. One officer under Surovikin complained to prosecutors that the general had beaten him after becoming angry over how he voted in parliamentary elections; another subordinate reportedly shot himself. Investigators found no wrongdoing in either case.
His track record in Syria could have been a factor behind his appointment in Ukraine, as Putin has moved to raise the stakes and reverse a series of humiliating defeats.
Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, who has repeatedly called for ramping up strikes in Ukraine, praised Surovikin as “a real general and a warrior, well-experienced, farsighted and forceful who places patriotism, honor and dignity above all.
“The united group of forces is now in safe hands,” the Kremlin-backed Kadyrov said, voicing confidence that he will “improve the situation.”
General who led Syrian bombing is new face of Russian war
AP · by The Associated Press · October 21, 2022
The general carrying out President Vladimir Putin’s new military strategy in Ukraine has a reputation for brutality — for bombing civilians in Russia’s campaign in Syria. He also played a role in the deaths of three protesters in Moscow during the failed coup against Mikhail Gorbachev in 1991 that hastened the demise of the Soviet Union.
Bald and fierce-looking, Gen. Sergei Surovikin was put in charge of Russian forces in Ukraine on Oct. 8 after what has so far been a faltering invasion that has seen a number of chaotic retreats and other setbacks over the nearly eight months of war.
Putin put the 56-year-old career military man in command following an apparent truck bombing of the strategic bridge to the Crimean Peninsula that embarrassed the Kremlin and created logistical problems for the Russian forces.
Russia responded with a barrage of strikes across Ukraine, which Putin said were aimed at knocking down energy infrastructure and Ukrainian military command centers. Such attacks have continued on a daily basis, pummeling power plants and other facilities with cruise missiles and waves of Iranian-made drones.
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Surovikin also retains his job of air force chief, a position that could help coordinate the airstrikes with other operations.
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During the most recent bombardments, some Russian war bloggers carried a statement attributed to Surovikin that signaled his intention to pursue the attacks with unrelenting vigor in an attempt to pound the Kyiv government into submission.
“I don’t want to sacrifice Russian soldiers’ lives in a guerrilla war against hordes of fanatics armed by NATO,” the bloggers quoted his statement as saying. “We have enough technical means to force Ukraine to surrender.”
While the veracity of the statement couldn’t be confirmed, it appears to reflect the same heavy-handed approach that Surovikin took in Syria where he oversaw the destruction of entire cities to flush out rebel resistance without paying much attention to the civilian population. That indiscriminate bombing drew condemnation from international human rights groups, and some media reports have dubbed him “General Armageddon.”
Putin awarded Surovikin the Hero of Russia medal, the country’s highest award, in 2017 and promoted him to full general.
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Kremlin hawks lauded Surovikin’s appointment in Ukraine. Yevgeny Prigozhin, a millionaire businessman dubbed “Putin’s chef” who owns a prominent military contractor that plays a key role in the fighting in Ukraine, praised him as “the best commander in the Russian army.”
But even as hard-liners expected Surovikin to ramp up strikes on Ukraine, his first public statements after his appointment sounded more like a recognition of the Russian military’s vulnerabilities than blustery threats.
In remarks on Russian state television, Surovikin acknowledged that Russian forces in southern Ukraine were in a “quite difficult position” in the face of Ukrainian counteroffensive.
In carefully scripted comments that Surovikin appeared to read from a teleprompter, he said that further action in the region will depend on the evolving combat situation. Observers interpreted his statement as an attempt to prepare the public for a possible Russian pullback from the strategic southern city of Kherson in southern Ukraine.
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Surovikin began his military career with the Soviet army in 1980s and, as a young lieutenant, was named an infantry platoon commander. When he later rose to air force chief, it drew a mixed reaction in the ranks because it marked the first time when the job was given to an infantry officer.
He found himself in the center of a political storm in 1991.
When members of the Communist Party’s old guard staged a hard-line coup in August of that year, briefly ousting Gorbachev and sending troops into Moscow to impose a state of emergency, Surovikin commanded one of the mechanized infantry battalions that rolled into the capital.
Popular resistance mounted quickly, and in the final hours of the three-day coup, protesters blocked an armored convoy led by Surovikin and tried to set some of the vehicles ablaze. In a chaotic melee, two protesters were shot and a third was crushed to death by an armored vehicle.
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The coup collapsed later that day, and Surovikin was quickly arrested. He spent seven months behind bars pending an inquiry but was eventually acquitted and even promoted to major as investigators concluded that he was only fulfilling his duties.
Another rocky moment in his career came in 1995, when Surovikin was convicted of illegal possession and trafficking of firearms while studying at a military academy. He was sentenced to a year in prison but the conviction was reversed quickly.
He rose steadily through the ranks, commanding units deployed to the former Soviet republic of Tajikistan, leading troops sent to Chechnya and serving at other posts across Russia.
He was appointed commander of Russian forces in Syria in 2017 and served a second stint there in 2019 as Moscow sought to prop up President Bashar Assad’s regime and help it regain ground amid a devastating civil war.
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In a 2020 report, Human Rights Watch named Surovikin, along with Putin, Assad and other figures as bearing command responsibility for violations during the 2019-20 Syrian offensive in Idlib province.
He apparently has a temper that has not endeared him to subordinates, according to Russian media. One officer under Surovikin complained to prosecutors that the general had beaten him after becoming angry over how he voted in parliamentary elections; another subordinate reportedly shot himself. Investigators found no wrongdoing in either case.
His track record in Syria could have been a factor behind his appointment in Ukraine, as Putin has moved to raise the stakes and reverse a series of humiliating defeats.
Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, who has repeatedly called for ramping up strikes in Ukraine, praised Surovikin as “a real general and a warrior, well-experienced, farsighted and forceful who places patriotism, honor and dignity above all.
“The united group of forces is now in safe hands,” the Kremlin-backed Kadyrov said, voicing confidence that he will “improve the situation.”
___
Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
AP · by The Associated Press · October 21, 2022
5. S. Korean envoy raises issue of female N.K. defectors' human rights at U.N. meeting
It is good to see Yonhap (and South Korea at the UN) balancing nuclear weapons news of north Korean with human rights issues. We need to address north Korean human rights abuses (and Chinese human rights abuses and complicity in the north's).
S. Korean envoy raises issue of female N.K. defectors' human rights at U.N. meeting | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 김수연 · October 21, 2022
NEW YORK, Oct. 20 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's top envoy at the United Nations appealed Thursday to the international community to pay more attention to the dire human rights conditions that female North Korean defectors endure in the North before escape.
Addressing a U.N. Security Council (UNSC) session, Ambassador Hwang Joon-kook said it is "heartbreaking" to see that many North Korean women arrive in South Korea only after suffering from years of human rights violations in the North.
"I would like to remind neighboring countries that the principle of non-refoulement should be also applied to North Korean defectors," he said.
It marked the first time that the South Korean government brought up the human rights issue of female North Korean defectors at an open debate session of the UNSC.
North Koreans forcibly repatriated to their homeland are often subject to torture, arbitrary detention, summary execution, sexual violence and other inhumane treatments.
At a U.N. Human Rights Council session held earlier in the day, Hwang pointed out that the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in North Korea has aggravated its human rights situations.
Hwang's remarks come as South Korea is "positively" considering co-sponsoring a U.N. resolution condemning North Korea's grave human rights conditions after refraining from doing so for years under the preceding liberal administration.
South Korea has not participated as a co-sponsor of the U.N. Human Rights Council resolution condemning the North's human rights abuses since 2019 under the Moon Jae-in government that wanted to improve ties with North Korea.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 김수연 · October 21, 2022
6. Gov't to make every effort to seek release of S. Korean detainees in N. Korea: minister
Again, good to see Yonhap and South Korea focusing on human rights. When we talk about nuclear weapons it enhances KJU's legitimacy. When we address human rights it undermines it. This is why we need a human rights upfront approach.
Gov't to make every effort to seek release of S. Korean detainees in N. Korea: minister | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 김수연 · October 21, 2022
SEOUL, Oct. 21 (Yonhap) -- Unification Minister Kwon Young-se said Friday the government will mobilize all available means to win the release of South Korean detainees in North Korea.
Kwon was speaking at a meeting with family members of two of the six detainees who have been held in the North since 2013. The rare session was arranged to explain the government's commitment to resolving the long-running issue.
"The government will do its best to win the release of the six detainees by mobilizing all available means," Kwon said.
He said frosty inter-Korean ties would be a major hindrance in resolving the issue, but the government will make its upmost efforts to protect its nationals.
Currently, six South Koreans, including three pastors, are being detained in North Korea on charges of committing what Pyongyang called anti-North Korea crimes.
Of them, three South Korean pastors -- Kim Jung-wook, Kim Kuk-gi and Choe Chun-gil -- were sentenced to hard labor for life on charges of spying for South Korea's intelligence agency. The other three detainees are known to be North Korean defectors.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 김수연 · October 21, 2022
7. Navy eyes creation of unmanned command in 2040s
I wonder if the headline editor noticed the possible humor in the headline - a command that is unmanned? How do you have a command without any people? But of course they mean a command to command unmanned ships, not a command that is unmanned
(2nd LD) Navy eyes creation of unmanned command in 2040s | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 채윤환 · October 21, 2022
(ATTN: UPDATES with Air Force's audit report in last 2 paras)
SEOUL, Oct. 21 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's Navy is seeking to create a new command running unmanned ships, submarines and aircraft in the 2040s, the armed service said Friday, in an effort to address a potential troop shortage caused by the country's low birthrate.
During a parliamentary audit, the Navy unveiled a series of policy goals, including removing one of the three fleet commands and creating the new command employing unmanned naval assets.
The envisioned command is to comprise three units -- the unmanned surface ship, submarine and aviation groups -- the Navy said.
For the change in its overall force structure, the Navy plans to curtail the percentage of conscripts in its personnel makeup to 20 percent in the 2040s from the current 37.1 percent.
The Navy also outlined its plan to increase the percentage of unmanned assets in its overall operations, which currently stands at 1 percent to 9 percent in the mid-2020s, 28 percent in the mid-2030s and 45 percent in the 2040s.
In addition, it emphasized its focus on establishing a key deterrence system that includes the underwater Kill Chain strike system and maritime multilayered missile defense platform.
The Kill Chain program employs the Navy's next-generation 3,000-ton submarine, maritime surveillance aircraft and naval helicopters. The missile defense platform consists of the country's high-tech Aegis destroyers.
Citing documents from the defense ministry, Rep. Shin Won-sik of the ruling People Power Party said that South Korea is expected to spend some 30.5 trillion won (US$21.1 billion) from 2023-2027 to establish the "three-axis" deterrence system.
The three-pronged system consists of the Korea Massive Punishment and Retaliation (KMPR), an operational plan to incapacitate the North Korean leadership in a major conflict; the Kill Chain preemptive strike platform; and the Korea Air and Missile Defense system.
Meanwhile, the Marine Corps said it is weighing the possibility of its separation from the Navy as an independent entity under its mid- and long-term plans.
Also during the audit, the Air Force said it will push to acquire hypersonic air-to-surface missiles in line with its drive to secure "ultra-precision, high-yield" missiles.
The move comes as North Korea has been seen striving to develop hypersonic missiles in what appears to be an effort to breach the South Korea-U.S. alliance's missile defense.
sshluck@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 채윤환 · October 21, 2022
8. ‘Priceless collection’: Army museum reopens in South Korea after $2.1 million renovation
I wonder about the protection and evacuation plan if north Korea ever resumes hostilities. (yes I am a worst case planner).
‘Priceless collection’: Army museum reopens in South Korea after $2.1 million renovation
Stars and Stripes · by David Choi · October 20, 2022
The 2nd Infantry Division, Eighth Army and Korean Theater of Operations Museum reopened at Camp Humphreys, South Korea, Oct. 19, 2022, after $2.1 million in renovations. (David Choi/Stars and Stripes)
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CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea — A museum dedicated to telling the history of the Eighth Army and the 2nd Infantry Division reopened on Wednesday after a $2.1 million renovation.
The 2nd Infantry Division, Eighth Army and Korean Theater of Operations Museum at Camp Humphreys opened its doors after eight months of revamping that installed interactive, hand-drawn displays and a small theater.
The spruce-up was done by “some of the best museum professionals in the world,” including those who worked on the National Museum of Korea, museum director and retired Army colonel William Alexander said during a reopening ceremony attended by soldiers and officials from Gyeonggi province on Wednesday.
“This is just the start,” Alexander said. “We have more to go — landscaping, more artifacts, more displays and it’ll be really outstanding.”
Once inside the museum, visitors are greeted by an OH-58D Kiowa helicopter that served in Bosnia in 1997, Kosovo in 2002 and Iraq in 2004, where it was struck by small arms fire.
The Medal of Honor posthumously awarded to Army Sgt. 1st Class William Sitman is on display at the 2nd Infantry Division, Eighth Army and Korean Theater of Operations Museum at Camp Humphreys, South Korea, Oct. 19, 2022. (David Choi/Stars and Stripes)
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A soldier checks out a display inside the newly renovated 2nd Infantry Division, Eighth Army and Korean Theater of Operations Museum at Camp Humphreys, South Korea, Oct. 19, 2022. (David Choi/Stars and Stripes)
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Among the museum’s more than 2,000 items is a 2nd ID patch worn by NASA astronaut and Air Force Gen. Michael Collins during the Apollo 11 flight to the moon in 1969. The patch was originally worn by his father, James Collins, who was the division’s commander in 1939.
Also on display are priceless artifacts, like a Medal of Honor awarded to Army Sgt. 1st Class William Sitman of the 23rd Infantry Regiment, 2nd ID, during the Korean War. Sitman posthumously earned the medal after he threw himself on an enemy grenade to protect five other soldiers in his squad on Feb. 14, 1951.
Lifelike mannequins depicting combat first aid and other scenarios from World War I, World War II and the 1950-53 Korean War are displayed with speakers playing sounds from battle.
The museum’s “priceless collection” of artifacts is important in training and developing new soldiers, according to Charles Bowery Jr., executive director of the Army’s Center of Military History.
“The Army’s history matters to soldiers,” he said during the ceremony. “The insignia that you wear on your uniforms, the places around you, the places you serve have a deep meaning in all our past.”
Eighth Army commander Lt. Gen. Bill Burleson, who also attended the ceremony, said the museum honored the U.S.-South Korea military alliance and the soldiers who upheld that partnership.
“Ultimately, not only is this about an alliance but it's about the history of soldiers, soldiers who have personally sacrificed and have served tours here in Korea both during the war, as well as since the war and into the future,” he said.
Roughly 28,500 U.S. troops are stationed in South Korea, the majority of them at Humphreys. The 2nd ID traces its lineage to 1917 and World War I and has produced 40 Medal of Honor recipients, according to the division’s webpage.
A view of the theater inside the newly renovated 2nd Infantry Division, Eighth Army and Korean Theater of Operations Museum at Camp Humphreys, South Korea, Oct. 19, 2022. (David Choi/Stars and Stripes)
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Stars and Stripes · by David Choi · October 20, 2022
9. Korean and American businessmen issue joint statement against IRA
Korean and American businessmen issue joint statement against IRA
donga.com
Posted October. 21, 2022 07:44,
Updated October. 21, 2022 07:44
Korean and American businessmen issue joint statement against IRA. October. 21, 2022 07:44. beepark@donga.com.
U.S. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said Wednesday (local time) that he would hold an IRA hearing once the Republican Party wins the majority in the midterm election slated for next month.
“The IRA needs to be revised, and going hand-in-hand with China can be a win-win for both of us,” said Senator Graham during a BMW event in his constituency in South Carolina announcing investment plans for electric vehicles. He said if his party takes control after the midterm elections, he will hold a hearing where automakers can have a say about what they need to hone their competitive edge. The senator stressed the need to revise the IRA amid the voiced concerns among American and European carmakers about the difficulties of complying with the IRA EV battery regulations. When the bill was passed in the Senate in August, Senator Graham voted against it. In a press conference, he even said the IRA is a nightmare for South Carolina.
Businessmen from Korea and the U.S. are also calling for revision. During a plenary session hosted by the Federation of Korean Industries and the American Chamber of Commerce on Thursday, the businessmen from both countries declared a joint statement to bring up their concerns about the discrimination against Korean EVs by the IRA enforcement and to establish a stable supply chain for core industries. The joint statement included an urge to scrap regulations that impede bilateral trade between Korea and the U.S., such as Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, which restricts imports for U.S. national security. Some of the participants from the American side chimed in, saying the IRA’s effective discriminations against Korean products are not aligned with the spirit of the alliance and free trade agreement between the two allies.
The businessmen from both countries also shared their will to push for a currency swap or come up with other measures whose effect is equivalent to currency swaps to stabilize the foreign currencies market of South Korea.
한국어
donga.com
10. Punggye-ri Update: Waiting for Kim
Imagery at the link: https://beyondparallel.csis.org/punggye-ri-update-waiting-for-kim/?utm_source=pocket_mylist
Punggye-ri Update: Waiting for Kim - Beyond Parallel
beyondparallel.csis.org · by Joseph S. Bermudez Jr. · October 20, 2022
Punggye-ri Update: Waiting for Kim
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Key Findings
- There is no new activity at Tunnel No. 3. This is expected because both the United States and South Korea assess North Korea as having finished all preparations for conducting a nuclear test using this tunnel.
- The ongoing construction activity of the road leading to Tunnel No. 4 has been suspended. The construction may be either an expansion of North Korea’s nuclear testing capabilities beyond Tunnel No. 3 or a component of a strategic deception plan.
- There is minor activity observed in the main administration and support area, primarily consisting of workers/troops moving about the main courtyard and evidence of vehicle movements.
- North Korea’s seventh nuclear test will almost assuredly take place at the Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Facility. However, the nation possesses the technical capability and resources to conduct such a test from another location, although a specific site has yet to be identified.
The South Korean National Intelligence Service has assessed that the seventh nuclear test could be carried out sometime between October 16 and November 7, after the National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party and before the U.S. midterm elections. Consistent with this assessment and given the recent series of provocations, the office of South Korean President Yoon has been “in standby mode” with “a sense of alertness” for the upcoming nuclear test, which could be “two or three consecutive” tests in a row.
This report addresses observable activities at the northern section of the Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Facility as of October 17, 2022, as part of Beyond Parallel’s ongoing detailed coverage of North Korea’s WMD and ballistic missile developments.
An overview of the Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Facility, October 17, 2022. Click to enlarge. (Copyright © Airbus DS 2022) Image may not be republished without permission. Please contact imagery@csis.org.
Tunnel No. 3
As with our previous report, a high-resolution Airbus Neo satellite image collected on October 17, 2022, shows no significant changes to the area immediately outside the portal to Tunnel No. 3 (also known as the South Portal). This lack of new external developments is expected, as both the United States and South Korea assess North Korea as having finished all preparations for conducting its seventh nuclear test.
A short distance to the southeast of Tunnel No. 3 is an open-air lumber mill and a small storage yard. No changes of significance are noted in this latest image.
An October 17, 2022, view of Tunnel No. 3 at the Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Facility. Click to enlarge. (Copyright © Airbus DS 2022) Image may not be republished without permission. Please contact imagery@csis.org.
Tunnel No. 4
The construction of the access road to Tunnel No. 4 (also known as the West Portal) appears to have been once again suspended and the road remains open to the area in front of the collapsed former portal. There is no evidence in the October 17, 2022, image of any activity to reopen the portal. To make Tunnel No. 4 viable again, the extensive support cribbing previously seen above would have to be rebuilt. As noted previously, experts believe that the 2018 disabling only collapsed a small section of the entrance to the tunnel, as was the case at Tunnel No. 3. It remains unclear whether the activity at Tunnel No. 4 is designed to expand North Korea’s nuclear testing capabilities beyond Tunnel No. 3 or a component of a strategic deception plan.
A view of the access road leading to Tunnel No. 4 and the recent grading activity in front of its collapsed portal, October 17, 2022. Click to enlarge. (Copyright © Airbus DS 2022) Image may not be republished without permission. Please contact imagery@csis.org.
Main Administration and Support Area
Only minor activity is observed in the main administration and support area, primarily consisting of workers/troops moving about the main courtyard and evidence of vehicle movements. The two unidentified objects believed to be piles of drying grain present in our previous report are no longer present.
Overview of the Main Administration and Support Area, October 17, 2022. Click to enlarge. (Copyright © Airbus DS 2022) Image may not be republished without permission. Please contact imagery@csis.org.
Tunnels No. 1 and No. 2
The October 17, 2022, satellite image continues to show no activity at either of the remaining two tunnels at the Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Facility—Tunnel No. 1 (East Portal) and No. 2 (North Portal).
Overview of the collapsed Tunnel No. 2 (North Portal), October 17, 2022. Click to enlarge. (Copyright © Airbus DS 2022) Image may not be republished without permission. Please contact imagery@csis.org.
Overview of the abandoned and collapsed Tunnel No. 1 (East Portal), October 17, 2022. Click to enlarge. (Copyright © Airbus DS 2022) Image may not be republished without permission. Please contact imagery@csis.org.
Joseph S. Bermudez Jr. is an internationally recognized analyst, award-winning author, and lecturer on North Korean defense and intelligence affairs and ballistic missile development in developing countries. He is concurrently senior fellow for Imagery Analysis at the Center for Strategic and International Security (CSIS); and senior adviser and imagery analyst for the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK). Formerly, he has served as founder and CEO of KPA Associates, LLC, publisher and editor of KPA Journal, senior imagery analyst for 38 North, chief analytics officer and co-founder of AllSource Analysis, Inc., and senior all-source analyst for DigitalGlobe’s Analysis Center.
Victor Cha is senior vice president for Asia and Korea Chair and the inaugural holder of the Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Jennifer Jun is program manager and research associate with the iDeas Lab and Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Headline image credit: Copyright © Airbus DS 2022
Special thanks to William Taylor for markups.
References
-
“Yoon’s office on 24-hour standby against possible N. Korea nuclear test,” Yonhap, October 16, 2022, https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20221016002900315?section=nk/nk.
-
Ibid; Jeongmin Kim and Yeji Chung, “North Korea could conduct more than one nuclear test in a row: Experts,” NK News, October 17, 2022, https://www.nknews.org/2022/10/north-korea-could-conduct-more-than-one-nuclear-test-in-a-row-experts/.
beyondparallel.csis.org · by Joseph S. Bermudez Jr. · October 20, 2022
11. S. Korea's Army seeks advanced interception system against new N.K. missiles
S. Korea's Army seeks advanced interception system against new N.K. missiles | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 채윤환 · October 20, 2022
By Chae Yun-hwan
SEOUL, Oct. 20 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's Army said Thursday it is pushing to acquire an advanced interception system to defend against evolving missile and artillery threats from North Korea.
It unveiled the plan for the acquisition of the low altitude missile defense-II (LAMD-II) system that is intended to shoot down North Korea's new ballistic missiles, such as the KN-23 and the KN-24, and its super-large artillery rockets in a report for an annual parliamentary audit.
LAMD-II will be an improved version of the LAMD system that Seoul seeks to develop by 2029.
The Army added that it is also planning for the early development of the Korean Tactical Surface-to-Surface Missile-II (KTSSM-II) as part of efforts to bolster the military's Kill Chain preemptive strike platform against the nuclear-armed North. It aims to develop the KTSSM-II by 2030, earlier than its initial target year of 2034.
It is also seeking to establish the Combat Capability Development Command by reorganizing the existing Army Research Center for Future & Innovation into a specialized research organization.
The Army's push to develop new defense systems comes as Pyongyang has recently ratcheted up regional tensions with continued provocations, including the firing of hundreds of artillery shots into maritime buffer zones earlier this week.
yunhwanchae@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 채윤환 · October 20, 2022
12. Moon's aide says repatriating fishermen was right move
Wow. This just illustrates the lack of understanding of the nature of the Kim family regime. To think this would have any kind of positive impact on north-South relations and prevent tensions or conflict is the height of naivete.
Thursday
October 20, 2022
dictionary + A - A
Moon's aide says repatriating fishermen was right move
https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2022/10/20/national/northKorea/Korea-North-Korea-fishermen/20221020182918621.html
In a photograph released by the Unification Ministry in July, the first of the two North Korean fishermen to be repatriated via Panmunjom on Nov. 7, 2019 drags his feet as he is forced to return to the North. [UNIFICATION MINISTRY]
A former Blue House official questioned Wednesday about the 2019 repatriation of two North Korean fishermen defended the government's decision as being in the "national interest."
Noh Young-min, who was chief of staff to President Moon Jae-in from 2019 to 2020, is suspected by prosecutors of having intervened in the case to push for the fishermen's deportation back to the North against their wishes — and to placate Pyongyang.
Prosecutors questioned Noh for approximately 12 hours and 30 minutes on Wednesday, with the former chief of staff leaving the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office at 9:30 p.m.
The two fishermen crossed the inter-Korean maritime border in the East Sea and were taken into custody by the South Korean Navy on Nov. 2, 2019.
Accused of killing the captain and 15 fellow crew members aboard their fishing vessel, the pair was repatriated via the inter-Korean truce village of Panmunjom five days later after the Moon government decided their desire to defect was not genuine, and that they could not be admitted as defectors because of their alleged crimes.
Noh, who presided over a meeting at the Blue House where the repatriation was decided, was accused in a criminal complaint by the conservative People Power Party of having committed abuse of power, illegal confinement and dereliction of duty in his handling of the fishermen's case.
In a statement released after he left questioning, Noh argued that the Moon administration's decision to send the fishermen back to the North was the correct course of action.
"Our people's lives and safety come first, and the peaceful management of the division [of the Korean Peninsula] is the government's constitutional duty," he said.
"Turning a security-related issue, and inter-Korean relations based on the national interest, into an act of politically-motivated revenge against a former presidential administration is akin to hacking at one's own heel with an axe."
The fishermen's repatriation re-emerged as a major political controversy after the Unification Ministry released photos and a video in July showing the fishermen dragging their feet and falling to the ground as they were forced by South Korean officials to return to the North.
Critics of the Moon administration's decision allege that Seoul was trying to curry favor with Pyongyang by sending the pair back to the North.
Prosecutors are also expected to summon former Director of National Security Chung Eui-yong and former National Intelligence Service Director Suh Hoon over allegations that they meddled with a probe into the fishermen's alleged crimes and removed mention of their desire to defect from an official report.
BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]
13. Top commanders of South Korea, U.S., Japan vow close security ties to counter North's threats
Let's move to integrated missile defense and more aggressive trilateral exercises and training.
Friday
October 21, 2022
dictionary + A - A
Top commanders of South Korea, U.S., Japan vow close security ties to counter North's threats
https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2022/10/21/national/defense/korea-join-chief-of-staffs-JCS/20221021114654376.html
Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) Chairman Gen. Kim Seung-kyum, second from left, his U.S. counterpart, Gen. Mark Milley, center, and his Japanese counterpart, Gen. Koji Yamazaki, second from right, pose for a photo after trilateral talks in Washington on Oct. 20. [YONHAP]
The top military officers of South Korea, the United States and Japan emphasized the importance of trilateral security cooperation against North Korea's threats during their Pentagon meeting, as Washington reaffirmed its commitment to the defense of the regional allies, according to a joint statement.
Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) Chairman Gen. Kim Seung-kyum participated in the Trilateral Chief of Defense Meeting, along with his American and Japanese counterparts — Gen. Mark Milley and Gen. Koji Yamazaki, respectively — on Thursday (local time). U.S. Indo-Pacific Command commander Adm. John C. Aquilino and Gen. Paul J. LaCamera, top commander of the U.S. Forces Korea, attended it as well.
"This session featured discussions on regional security challenges, to include the DPRK's recent missile activities and nuclear program developments, which destabilize the region," it read. "The leaders discussed continued efforts to achieve the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Gen. Milley reaffirmed the ironclad commitment of the U.S. to defend Japan and the Republic of Korea." DPRK stands for North Korea's official name, Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
The three sides stressed the importance of bilateral, trilateral, and multilateral cooperation and coordination to enhance the security of the Korean Peninsula and the region, it added.
Yonhap
14. Top brass commit to extended deterrence in Washington
This is one of the most important strategic messages that we have to emphasize. There are real concerns in the ROK and Japan over the reliability of the US commitment to extended deterrence.. We must demonstrate strategic reassurance and strategic resolve and we must recognize, understand, and respect our allies' concerns.
Thursday
October 20, 2022
dictionary + A - A
Top brass commit to extended deterrence in Washington
https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2022/10/20/national/defense/Korea-Joint-Chiefs-of-Staff-Mark-Milley/20221020175108342.html
Four U.S. B-1B stealth bombers, such as the one shown in this June 12 photograph from the U.S. Air Force, have been deployed to Anderson Air Base in the U.S. territory of Guam amid escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula. [UNITED STATES AIR FORCE]
The United States reaffirmed its commitment to the defense of South Korea, and the protection offered by its nuclear umbrella, at a meeting of the countries' top military brass in Washington.
South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) Chairman Kim Seung-kyum and U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark A. Milley held the 47th Korea-U.S. Military Commission Meeting (MCM) on Wednesday at the Pentagon, where the two military chiefs reaffirmed the strength of the South Korea-U.S. alliance and discussed the security situation on the Korean Peninsula.
According to South Korea’s JCS Thursday, Kim and Milley discussed several alliance issues including the conditional transfer of wartime operational control (Opcon) from the United States to South Korea.
The allies shared opinions on recent North Korean actions that have ratcheted up tensions on the Peninsula, such as its recent announcement that it could use nuclear weapons first if its perceives an existential threat to the regime’s survival, a salvo of missile launches and its artillery firing drills.
The talks came at a time that some South Korean politicians are calling for the redeployment of U.S. tactical nuclear weapons to the Korean Peninsula or even the domestic development of such weapons.
South Korea’s JCS said that Milley reiterated the U.S. commitment to South Korea’s security, including extended deterrence.
Also in attendance at the MCM meeting were U.S. Indo-Pacific Command chief John Aquilino and Commander Paul LaCamera of the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command (CFC) and United States Forces Korea (USFK).
Their meeting coincided with confirmation from the U.S. Strategic Command that it has deployed four B-1B strategic bombers to Guam.
According to the aircraft tracking site “Aircraft Spots” on Wednesday, two U.S. Air Force B-1B stealth bombers left a U.S. Air Force base in South Dakota and arrived at Anderson Air Force Base in the U.S. territory of Guam.
Aircraft Spots noted the previous day that two other B-1B bombers arrived in Guam, bringing the total number of B-1B bombers stationed in Guam to four.
When asked by Radio Free Asia (RFA) about the reason for the presence of the four B-1B strategic bombers in Guam, the U.S. Strategic Command responded that its units “regularly conduct training, including Bomber Task Force missions, with and in support of the Geographic Combatant Commands,” adding that “these missions help maintain global stability and security while enabling our units to become familiar with operations in different regions.”
The U.S. Strategic Command also said that a large-scale combined air force exercise between the South Korean Air Force and the U.S. Air Force, which is scheduled to take place from Oct. 31 to Nov. 1, is “designed to strengthen” the alliance and “not related to any current real-world threats or situations.”
The Strategic Command said that joint air force training exercises “are entirely defensive in nature and not intended to be threatening or provocative toward any other country.”
But whether North Korea will see such exercises in the same way remains in doubt, with the regime justifying its recent slew of missile tests and artillery barrages by pointing to joint exercises between the South Korean and U.S. militaries, which it has continuously characterized as rehearsals for an invasion.
BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]
15. Poland mulls acquiring Redback armored vehicles from Korea
Poland considers more from the newest arsenal of democracy partner.
Poland mulls acquiring Redback armored vehicles from Korea
The Korea Times · October 21, 2022
The Redback Korean infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) / Korea Times fileBy Kwon Mee-yoo
Poland is mulling the purchase of the Redback Korean infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), also known as AS-21, in addition to a series of recent military equipment deals with Korea, according to the Polish defense minister.
Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense Mariusz Blaszczak wrote on his Twitter Thursday (local time) that the Polish government is looking for ways to strengthen its mechanized troops and considering purchasing the AS-21 IFV from Korea to complement its homegrown Borsuk IFV. He attached photos of the Polish Borsuk IFV and the Korean Redback to the text.
This is the first time that a high-ranking Polish official commented about importing the Korean IFV.
Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak writes about Korean infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) Redback to complement its homegrown Borsuk IFV, Thursday (local time). Captured from Twitter
According to Blaszczak, there will be a demonstration of the Redback in Poland next week.
An official from Hanwha Defense said the demonstration will showcase the Redback's performance to Poland and will not be an official evaluation for a bid.
The AS-21 Redback is an advanced version of the K-21 IFV, which is currently used by the South Korean army. The Redback is a fifth-generation IFV featuring a variety of state-of-the-art technologies, including composite rubber tracks and the Iron Vision helmet-mounted display. It is also known to provide protection against ballistic, chemical, biological and nuclear threats.
Poland's interest in the Redback came after a series of military deals with Korea. Korea and Poland agreed to a framework agreement in July, which includes K2 main battle tanks, K9 howitzers as well as FA-50 light attack aircraft.
Blaszczak originally planned to visit Korea this week to hold a meeting with his Korean counterpart Lee Jong-sup and attend the roll-out ceremony of Korean K9 self-propelled howitzers to be exported to Poland. However, he and his delegation was not able to attend in person.
The first K9 self-propelled howitzer to be exported to Poland is showcased at a roll-out ceremony at Hanwha Defense Co. in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, Wednesday. Yonhap
Polish Army Inspector of the Land Forces Maciej Jablonski and Poland's Ambassador to Korea Piotr Ostaszewski took part in the roll-out ceremony in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, Wednesday, which featured 24 K9 howitzers to be exported to Poland as part of a 3.2 trillion won ($2.2 billion) deal.
Hanwha Defense also signed a deal with the Polish armament agency to sell 288 Chunmoo multiple rocket launchers, which is estimated to be worth about $6 billion according to Polish media.
The Korea Times · October 21, 2022
16. S. Korea considering co-sponsoring UN resolution on NK human rights: ministry
Do not consider - Just Do It! Korea needs to do this.
S. Korea considering co-sponsoring UN resolution on NK human rights: ministry
The Korea Times · October 20, 2022
This photo shows Lim Soo-suk, spokesperson for the South Korean foreign ministry, at a regular press briefing in Seoul, Oct. 13. Yonhap
South Korea is "positively" considering co-sponsoring a U.N. resolution condemning North Korea's grave human rights conditions after refraining from doing so for years under the preceding liberal administration, according to Seoul's foreign ministry Thursday.
"Our government is proactively participating in consultations on the North Korean human rights resolution being deliberated at the U.N.," Lim Soo-suk, spokesperson for the foreign ministry, said during a press briefing.
He said the government was "positively reviewing co-sponsoring" the resolution and added that a final decision will be reached after considering various circumstances.
When asked whether the move could worsen the strained inter-Korean relations, Lim said Seoul remains open for dialogue while mentioning President Yoon Suk-yeol's "audacious initiative" to help rebuild North Korea's economy in return for denuclearization steps.
The United Nations Human Rights Council has adopted a resolution condemning North Korea's human rights abuses for 20 consecutive years since 2003.
South Korea, however, has not participated as a co-sponsor of the resolution since 2019 under the liberal Moon Jae-in administration amid its efforts to avoid tensions with the North and resume inter-Korean dialogue. (Yonhap)
The Korea Times · October 20, 2022
17. At UN, S. Korea highlights human rights violations suffered by N. Koreans, defectors
Good work South Korea. Keep up the fire.
At UN, S. Korea highlights human rights violations suffered by N. Koreans, defectors
S. Korea urges China, Russia to stop forcibly repatriating North Korean defectors
koreaherald.com · by Ji Da-gyum · October 21, 2022
A wide view of the Security Council meeting on Women and peace and security. The meeting focuses on “Strengthening women’s resilience and leadership as a path to peace in regions plagued by armed groups”. The Council heard a Report of the Secretary-General on women and peace and security. (UN Photo/Rick Bajornas)
The Yoon Suk-yeol government has stepped up efforts to shed light on dire human rights situations in North Korea and speak out against the forcible repatriation of North Korean defectors by China and Russia.
South Korean Ambassador to the UN Hwang Joon-kook openly highlighted human rights violations that North Korean women defectors have faced during the UN Security Council’s open debate on Women, Peace and Security on Thursday.
In his speech, Hwang called for the international community to pay attention to multiple difficulties faced by the women defectors from North Korea, who account for 72 percent of nearly 34,000 North Korean defectors who have resettled in South Korea since the 1990s.
“It is appalling and heartbreaking that many of them only reach the ROK after years of enduring the risks of detainment, human trafficking, repatriation and subsequent reprisals, including torture and other cruel punishment,” Hwang said, referring to the Republic of Korea, the official name for South Korea.
Hwang also urged neighboring countries, likely referring to China and Russia, to stop forcibly repatriating North Korean refugees and to abide by the international human rights law forbidding refoulement.
“In this regard, we would like to remind the neighboring countries that the principle of nonrefoulement should be equally applied to the DPRK defectors,” Hwang added, referring to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the formal name for North Korea.
Hwang’s speech marks the first time that the South Korean government has raised human rights violations against North Korean women defectors at an open debate of the UN Security Council, according to South Korea’s permanent mission to the UN. An open debate involves diverse speakers including Council and non-Council members, and representatives of nongovernmental organizations among others.
In December 2017, then-South Korean Ambassador to the UN Cho Tae-yul raised the issues of human rights violations faced by North Korean defector women after being repatriated to North Korea at the UNSC meeting on the human rights situation in North Korea. But only Council members and countries concerned participated in the meeting.
Vocal about human rights issues
Hwang also expressed the Yoon government’s deep concerns over North Korean defectors detained in a third country, in his statement during the general discussion on the promotion and protection of human rights of the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly on Thursday.
Hwang highlighted that the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights “continues to document serious human rights violations upon their repatriation to the DPRK, including torture and other cruel treatment or punishment.
“In this regard, we would like to remind the member states that the principle of nonrefoulement should be equally applied to the DPRK defectors.”
At the UN general discussion, Hwang openly raised a range of key human rights issues as well as the killing of South Korean fisheries official Lee Dae-jun by North Korean soldiers two years ago.
“Furthermore, we deplore the incident in which an unarmed ROK civilian was killed by the DPRK military in the Yellow Sea in September 2020,” Hwang said. “We urge the DPRK to disclose all relevant information and ensure such events are not repeated.”
Hwang called for North Korea to have a “constructive dialogue in an urgent manner on the issue of the abductees and prisoners of war” and resume inter-Korean dialogue to facilitate reunions of separated families.
Hwang Joon-kook , Permanent Representative of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations, addresses the resumed 11th Emergency Special Session of the General Assembly on Ukraine.(UN Photo/Cia Pak)
Hold perpetrators accountable
In his speech, Hwang also underscored the Yoon government’s commitment to lending support to hold perpetrators of human rights abuses responsible, taking note that there has been “no progress in securing accountability for human rights violations” in North Korea.
“In this context, we are fully in line with the newly appointed UN special rapporteur’s scope of mandate, highlighted in her recent report to the General Assembly, particularly concerning accountability,” Hwang said.
“We will take heed of her ongoing work plan to refer the DPRK situation to the International Criminal Court and for the General Assembly to establish an ad hoc tribunal or other comparable mechanisms.”
Elizabeth Salmon, UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in North Korea newly appointed by the Human Rights Council, said that “the accountability agenda will be prioritized” in her first report released this month,
To that end, Salmon said she will engage with relevant stakeholders including governments and advocates to explore and utilize “all existing avenues such as universal jurisdiction, domestic courts and others to prosecute those who have allegedly committed serious human rights violations.”
The incumbent Yoon government has redoubled efforts to address human rights violations that North Korean people and defectors have suffered. The Yoon government has been vocal about human rights abuses executed by the Kim Jong-un regime at the UN, making a policy shift from the Moon Jae-in government which kept silence over North Korean human rights issues.
First meeting with families of detainees
In line with such efforts, South Korean Unification Minister Kwon Young-se met families of South Koreans detained in North Korea on Friday afternoon at the government complex building in Seoul. The meeting marks the first time that a unification minister has met with the families of South Korean detainees.
Kwon underscored the Yoon government’s commitment to “shooting its bolt and leaving no stone unturned” to bring the detainees back to South Korea during his meeting with the families of the detainees, including missionary Kim Jung-wook, arrested by North Korean authorities in 2013.
Six South Korean citizens -- three missionaries and three defectors -- have been trapped in North Korea since October 2013.
In addition, the Yoon government is notably expected to co-sponsor a European Union-drafted resolution addressing dire human rights situations in North Korea for the first time in four years.
South Korea co-sponsored the North Korean human rights resolution between 2008 and 2018, but the Moon Jae-in government began excluding itself from a list of co-sponsors in 2019 in light of efforts to improve inter-Korean relations.
The Yoon government appointed Lee Shin-wha, an international relations professor at Korea University, as the ambassador-at-large on North Korean human rights two months after its inauguration. The post had been vacant for the prior five years under Moon.
By Ji Da-gyum (dagyumji@heraldcorp.com)
koreaherald.com · by Ji Da-gyum · October 21, 2022
18. North Korean police told to improve security nationwide to protect leader Kim Jong Un
Is Kim paranoid?
I am reminded of Sungmin Cho's seminal work:
Anticipating and Preparing for the Potential Assassination of Kim Jong-Un
http://icks.org/n/data/ijks/1482467975_add_file_7.pdf
North Korean police told to improve security nationwide to protect leader Kim Jong Un
The orders include creating a security network for better surveillance of the people.
By Myung Chul Lee for RFA Korean
2022.10.20
rfa.org
North Korean police are working to enhance security nationwide to ensure the safety of leader Kim Jong Un amid increased tensions on the Korean peninsula, sources in the country told Radio Free Asia.
In the past two months, North Korea returned to its brinkmanship strategy of repeated provocations by introducing a law that allows for preemptive nuclear strikes, test launching a series of missiles, including one that flew over Japan, and Pyongyang is widely believed to be preparing for another nuclear test, which would be its first since 2017.
Though state media waxes poetic about the necessity of such actions to deal with threats from abroad, orders from the top say that local authorities need to get their houses in order and eliminate all potential threats to the leadership from within, a judicial source in the northeastern province of North Hamgyong told RFA’s Korean Service on Oct. 17 on condition of anonymity for security reasons.
“On October 12, the Ministry of Social Security sent down a project agenda for protecting the safety of the Chief of the Revolution,” he said, using an honorific to describe Kim Jong Un. “This is in response to the recent increase in political tensions upsetting social stability.
“Police were ordered to find and eliminate factors that could be maneuvered by impure hostiles among the residents … in their jurisdiction within this month,” said the source. Impure hostiles are people who waver in their loyalty, who might influence others to do the same.
The Ministry of Social Security ordered that the police and social safety agencies create a tight surveillance network to identify problematic people and keep tabs on them, the source said.
“They ordered that the police must remove all subjects who have illegally entered their jurisdiction and return them to their place of origin as soon as possible … and prevent problematic subjects in their jurisdiction from leaving to other areas,” he said.
In North Korea, people cannot freely move about the country and settle where they please without permission. Once they are in a new area they must also register with the local authorities. Living outside of the area one is registered is technically illegal.
“Search and patrol checks for problematic subjects should be conducted at least once each day in cooperation with security forces, special agencies, and the Worker-Peasant Red Guards,” he said. The Worker-Peasant Red Guards are a paramilitary militia, and the largest civil defense force in the country.
In addition to keeping tabs on people, police must check the performance of their personnel and review the status of their security-related equipment, a judicial source in the northwestern province of North Pyongan told RFA on condition of anonymity to speak freely.
“From Nov. 1, encrypted terms and documents must be used in the process of implementing and directing escort projects,” he said, referring to times important leaders require a security detail when visiting or moving through an area.
“[Police] must also make trips to the railways and roads by the end of this month to assess risk factors and reflect on security plans for escort projects. Authorities instructed the ministries to build an operation plan and mobilize personnel at a random time for a No. 1 escort operation drill before the 20th,” he said. No. 1 events are those that involve Kim Jong Un.
While implementing the orders, police are also supposed to take extra precaution to prevent the spread of rumors.
“They must thoroughly control and report on the trends and public sentiments of the residents under the pretext of recent political tensions,” he said.
“But these days, the officials are complaining of fatigue as they work late into the night to deal with the huge pile of orders coming from the top,” the second source said. “Some of the officials complain that the central party’s orders ignore the reality of provincial areas and they keep sending more and more.”
Translated by Claire Shinyoung Oh Lee and Leejin J. Chung. Written in English by Eugene Whong.
rfa.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
Phone: 202-573-8647
email: david.maxwell161@gmail.com
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