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Quotes of the Day:
"Wise men make more opportunities than they find."
- Francis Bacon
“Justice is benefiting friends and harming enemies.”
- Polemarchus, Plato’s Republic
"If an opinion contrary to your own makes you angry, that is a sign that you are subconsciously aware of having no good reason for thinking as you do. If some one maintains that two and two are five, or that Iceland is on the equator, you should feel pity rather than anger, unless you know so little of arithmetic or geography that his opinion shakes your own contrary conviction.
The most savage controversies are those about matters as to which there is no good evidence either way. Persecution is used in theology, not in arithmetic, because in arithmetic there is knowledge, but in theology there is only opinion. So whenever you find yourself getting angry about a difference of opinion, be on your guard; you will probably find, on examination, that your belief is going beyond what the evidence warrants."
- Bertrand Russell, An Outline of Intellectual Rubbish (1943)
1. North Korea Wants Dollars. It’s a Sign of Trouble.
2. Crypto Hitting ‘Mother Of All Economic Crises’ Threatens North Korea
3. North Korea’s Tactical Nuclear Threshold Is Frighteningly Low
4. On South Korean border island Baekryeong, tanks, guns and ‘dragon’s teeth’ guard front line
5. Kim Jong-un's ban on foreign media defied as USBs in bottles sent into North Korea
6. North Korean tech freelancers' earnings fund nukes, missiles
7. The North Korean Threat: A Thorn In Seoul’s Side – Analysis
8. Top nuclear envoy leaves for Indonesia for meetings with U.S., Japanese counterparts
9. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Kritenbrink to visit Seoul this week
10. 18 foreign residents receive honorary Seoul citizenship
11. North Korea forces youth to join grueling pilgrimage to sacred Paektu mountain
1. North Korea Wants Dollars. It’s a Sign of Trouble.
Please go to the link to view the video and graphics.
The latter half of this article provides a good picture of the "economic challenge" and what Kim is doing.
Tough times are ahead but will they result in internal instability? This bears watching.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/12/09/world/asia/north-korea-promises.html?
Excerpts:
To keep his promises, Mr. Kim needs cash urgently. He told Parliament in September that the government’s most important task was to solve the problem of the people’s living standards. Missile tests this year alone cost North Korea hundreds of millions of dollars, according to estimates by South Korean and American researchers.
His options are dwindling. The country’s combined trade deficit — the gap between the goods and services it imports and how much it exports — amounted to an estimated $8.3 billion between 2017 and 2021. Even factoring smuggling coal, selling fishing rights, stealing cryptocurrency and other illicit activities, the trade deficit may still amount to at least $1.9 billion, according to researchers at the Institute for National Security Strategy, a think tank affiliated with South Korea’s National Intelligence Service.
Mr. Kim’s regime is now trying aggressively to absorb as much foreign currency as possible from the public, especially from North Koreans who have accumulated such savings by smuggling goods from China.
North Korea Wants Dollars. It’s a Sign of Trouble.
nytimes.com · by Pablo Robles · December 9, 2022
What you just saw is technically an illegal transaction, but it is also a sign of the desperation of North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un.
SEOUL — When Kim Jong-un, the leader of North Korea, ascended to power more than a decade ago, he repeated two promises that his family has made since founding the country in 1948: to strengthen the military and to improve the economy.
On the military front, Mr. Kim, 38, has delivered more than his father and grandfather who ruled before him, accelerating the country’s nuclear and missile programs.
On the economic front, he has struggled, an already isolated country made more so by years of international sanctions over his nuclear program and border closures since the coronavirus pandemic.
Its trade with the outside world devastated, North Korea is scrambling for American dollars and other hard currency, not just to feed its people, but also to finance Mr. Kim’s military and economic ambitions. It is smuggling coal and stealing cryptocurrency. It is also trying to squeeze every bit of cash from the public, selling smartphones and other imported goods to the monied class, as well as collecting “loyalty” donations in exchange for political favors.
State-run stores like the one in the capital of Pyongyang are a critical piece. Customers can use American dollars to pay for international brands of instant noodles, deodorant, diapers and shampoo, while change is returned in North Korean won.
Such transactions, and other illicit activities, have allowed Mr. Kim to keep American dollars flowing into his coffers. It has given him the means to expand the country’s arsenal and capabilities, including testing a new intercontinental ballistic missile last month.
North Korea is now firing missiles at a rapid, sometimes daily clip. Washington, Seoul and Tokyo have all warned that Mr. Kim may soon conduct a nuclear test, its first since 2017.
On April 15, 2012, Mr. Kim gathered a massive crowd in Pyongyang to deliver his first public speech as the leader of North Korea. He said he would guide the country through any obstacle or challenge toward prosperity, yet he made clear that his first priority would be to “strengthen the People’s Army in every way.”
As he has pursued his dual goals, he has used a blend of propaganda and terror, purging or executing anyone standing in his way, while presenting himself as a “people-loving” leader in state-run media. He has made the government relatively less opaque, delivering frequent speeches and making decisions through broad party meetings. Mr. Kim even apologized for his shortcomings, tossing aside the myth of a faultless, godlike leader.
But Mr. Kim also knew that a real breakthrough for his country could be achieved only through negotiations with the United States, which led the push for international sanctions. When he met Donald J. Trump in 2018, he became the first North Korean leader to hold a summit with an American president.
While North Korea has spent decades developing its weapons, Mr. Kim can take credit for the bulk of the advances. During his rule, the country became the first U.S. adversary since the Cold War to test both an intercontinental ballistic missile and what he said was a hydrogen bomb. Four of the country’s six underground nuclear tests happened under his watch.
In 2017, North Korea conducted its first successful test-launch of an ICBM, the Hwasong-15, which Mr. Kim said was capable of attacking the United States with a large nuclear warhead. Since his diplomacy with Mr. Trump collapsed, he has focused on making his arsenal more diverse and sophisticated, unveiling and then testing a host of new weapons, from a next-generation ICBM, the Hwasong-17, to nuclear-capable short-range missiles.
At a party congress in January 2021, Mr. Kim ordered his government to build both “super-large nuclear warheads” and make “nuclear weapons smaller, lighter and tactical.” He has called for the development of hypersonic missiles, submarine-launched ICBMs, nuclear-powered submarines and spy satellites. In April, he vowed to expand his nuclear forces “at the fastest possible speed.”
Though some recent ICBM tests have failed, North Korea is believed to have enough plutonium and enriched uranium to produce 45 to 55 nuclear weapons and may have already assembled 20 to 30 warheads, according to an estimate from the Nuclear Information Project with the Federation of American Scientists.
During a congressional hearing this summer, John F. Plumb, the Pentagon’s assistant secretary of defense for space policy, confirmed that most of North Korea’s ballistic missiles had a “capacity to carry nuclear payloads.”
The country has tested a dizzying number of weapons in recent months, one of which flew farther and higher than its earlier ICBMs. But North Korea has never launched a missile on a full ICBM range of 6,000 to 9,300 miles, raising doubts that it has fully functioning nuclear warheads that can survive the violent “re-entry” into the Earth’s atmosphere and hit targets across an ocean.
So far, it has launched all its ICBMs at deliberately lofted angles, the missiles soaring high into space. Their thrust was powerful enough that if launched at normal angles, they could theoretically reach parts or the whole of the United States, according to missile experts.
Mr. Kim delivered a message to Washington in 2018: “The United States needs to be clearly aware that this is not merely a threat but a reality,” he said. “The nuclear button is on my office desk all the time.”
His arsenal is not only a war deterrent to secure his regime’s safety from foreign invasion but also diplomatic leverage to win economic and other concessions. As part of his diplomacy with Mr. Trump, Mr. Kim halted nuclear and ICBM tests. But when it failed, he tried to strengthen his bargaining power by doubling down on expanding his weapons program.
Mr. Kim seems to have reached the conclusion that delivering on his promise of military strength is his best hope for economic gains, by exchanging part of his arsenal for sanctions relief. The recent torrent of missile tests, analysts say, was part of his attempt to flaunt his growing threat and bring Washington back to the negotiating table.
When he made that first speech in 2012, Mr. Kim also said he would ensure that his people would “not tighten their belts again,” a promise his father and grandfather made but failed to fulfill.
He introduced reforms that gave factories and farms more autonomy while keeping them under state ownership. He opened up more markets to supplement North Korea’s fragile ration system, which collapsed in the 1990s and contributed to a devastating famine. He vowed to weed out corruption and favoritism. He announced plans to open a host of free economic zones to attract foreign investors.
The extent of Mr. Kim’s economic drive is most clearly on display in Pyongyang, home to the loyal elite. The city has become brighter, its supermarket shelves more full of imports and domestically produced goods. Its skyline has also become dotted with tall, newly built apartment towers. Much of the change is cosmetic, many decrepit buildings coated with pastel-color paints.
While other cities remain far behind, Mr. Kim has concentrated his resources on the capital, positioning Pyongyang as a model of urban development. Under Mr. Kim, North Korea has opened a new terminal at the city’s international airport, renovated subway stations and opened new amusement parks.
Last year, Mr. Kim created several new residential districts on the outskirts of the city. He said there would be 50,000 new homes by 2025, the 80th anniversary of the party, to help alleviate housing shortages and replace the city’s older homes. Many are high-end apartments to be doled out to the elites in the hopes of maintaining their loyalty.
These reforms have done little to improve the country’s economic prospects.
North Korea crawled out of the catastrophic impact of the famine of the 1990s, growing an average 1.2 percent annually between 2012 and 2016, according to the South Korean statistical agency. But that was before sanctions and the pandemic.
The economy began contracting again in 2017. None of Mr. Kim’s planned economic zones have been built.
Resort towns that were being built to attract foreign tourists remain half finished or empty.
Last year, Mr. Kim warned of a potential food crisis and urged his people to prepare for tough times ahead. He has also told them to be ready to “tighten our belts” again.
To keep his promises, Mr. Kim needs cash urgently. He told Parliament in September that the government’s most important task was to solve the problem of the people’s living standards. Missile tests this year alone cost North Korea hundreds of millions of dollars, according to estimates by South Korean and American researchers.
His options are dwindling. The country’s combined trade deficit — the gap between the goods and services it imports and how much it exports — amounted to an estimated $8.3 billion between 2017 and 2021. Even factoring smuggling coal, selling fishing rights, stealing cryptocurrency and other illicit activities, the trade deficit may still amount to at least $1.9 billion, according to researchers at the Institute for National Security Strategy, a think tank affiliated with South Korea’s National Intelligence Service.
Mr. Kim’s regime is now trying aggressively to absorb as much foreign currency as possible from the public, especially from North Koreans who have accumulated such savings by smuggling goods from China.
The country has cracked down on the use of the American dollars in non-state markets, to force people to convert them into local currency. An unlicensed money-exchanger was executed for disrupting currency rates, according to South Korean intelligence officials. The government has encouraged people to deposit their dollar savings in banks, to place them under state monitoring.
To attract spenders with foreign savings, department stores are filled with imported goods, including Rolex and Tissot wristwatches, Sony and Canon digital cameras, as well as Dior and Lancôme cosmetics — all luxury items banned under U.N. sanctions.
Selling cellphones and airtime has also become a lucrative business for Mr. Kim’s regime. More than one in every five North Koreans are believed to have cellphones.
An array of cellphones, assembled in North Korea with components imported from China, is on sale and advertised on state TV. They carry pre-installed dictionaries and state propaganda but also offer apps for traffic navigation and games, including Super Mario and Angry Birds rip-offs, and even an app that promises to repel mosquitoes with sound.
nytimes.com · by Pablo Robles · December 9, 2022
2. Crypto Hitting ‘Mother Of All Economic Crises’ Threatens North Korea
Interesting analysis here. There should be no doubt that Kim is hurt by the crypto crisis.
Excerpts:
To this maddening list of imponderables, global markets must add renewed provocations from nuclear-armed North Korea as it reverts to the geopolitical blackmail business. Neither Biden nor Japanese Prime Prime Fumio Kishida’s party has had to worry much about Kim’s these last two years.
One big reason: Donald Trump gave Kim more political gifts than North Korean officialdom ever thought possible: summits, priceless photo opportunities and a cringeworthy amount of public affection from the former U.S. leader. That gave Kim cover to accelerate the development of his nuclear program on Trump’s watch.
Pyongyang also had less reason to shake the development aid cup while the crypto hacking game was so spectacularly lucrative.
Not anymore. The recent collapse of FTX.com seems to vindicate Roubini’s long-standing contempt for cryptocurrencies. Just late last month, Roubini argued that “Crypto is corrupt gambling where the house always and systematically front runs the retail suckers” that sustain the big losses.
This latest scandal is sure to hinder the ability of North Korea’s hackers to help the Kim family pay its bills, argues Troy Stangarone, senior director at the Korea Economic Institute of America.
Crypto Hitting ‘Mother Of All Economic Crises’ Threatens North Korea
Forbes · by William Pesek · December 9, 2022
North Korea's hacker army netted at least $840 million stealing cryptoassets from exchanges around the globe, reports blockchain research firm Chainalysis.
getty
As the globe confronts the “mother of all economic crises,” cryptocurrency boosters are having a stark realization of their own: this means you, too.
It’s quite the irony that a financial universe created to replace the real one is getting dragged down by old-economy dynamics it planned to ignore.
Bitcoin and other such curiosities have been falling on their own, of course, as crypto exchanges descend into scandal and farce. Now, as economist Nouriel Roubini warns of the above-mentioned crisis, crypto enthusiasts are, too, scrambling for cover as values nosedive for more conventional reasons.
Yet this gets at another irony: the crypto super fan with the most to lose may be North Korea’s Kim Jong-un.
The most opaque nuclear power used to stay afloat counterfeiting $100 bills, pirating pharmaceuticals and blackmailing neighbors for cash, oil and food via missile launches and nuclear threats.
Not so much now as hacking crypto exchanges becomes not just Pyongyang’s top industry but a growing one. In the first five months of 2022 alone, Kim’s hacker army netted at least $840 million stealing cryptoassets from exchanges around the globe, reports blockchain research firm Chainalysis. That’s $200 million-plus more than Kim’s hackers are thought to have plundered in all of 2021.
Odds are, it’s way more than that. One thing we’ve learned these last several years it’s that, crypto scene opacity being what it is, the full extent of these hacking episodes is really disclosed.
Kim, of course, has a huge headache on his hands as the value of the assets on which he’s basing his economic future—and the very legitimacy of his family dynasty—disappears. Why bother stealing coins, non-fungible tokens, what have you, if the spoils are both dropping in value and harder to unload to others?
All this means that an increasingly cash-poor Kim in 2023 is likely to be a more desperate one. And at a moment when the global economy is stumbling into as uncertain a year as the Group of Seven nations have ever experienced.
Kim Jong-un has a huge headache on his hands as the value of his crypto assets are both dropping in value and getting harder to sell.
KOREA SUMMIT PRESS POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Is China’s exit from President Xi Jinping’s “zero Covid” disaster for real or mere happy talk? Investors can only hope. Might the Federal Reserve throttle back on tightening moves? It’s anyone’s guess.
Is the Japanese yen going to plunge to 150 to the dollar or rally toward 100? Whither Europe’s inflation and debt troubles? Might Vladimir Putin’s Russia throttle back on its Ukraine war or expand it? Could Xi and U.S. President Joe Biden come to bigger trade policy blows? What might OPEC do with production levels over the next 12 months?
New York University’s Roubini fears the worst. “Dr. Doom,” as he’s known, thinks the world economy “is lurching toward an unprecedented confluence of economic, financial, and debt crises, following the explosion of deficits, borrowing, and leverage in recent decades.”
Not least of them is “the mother of all stagflationary debt crises” as elevated prices collide with slowing growth. This outcome, Roubini concludes, “can be postponed, not avoided.”
To this maddening list of imponderables, global markets must add renewed provocations from nuclear-armed North Korea as it reverts to the geopolitical blackmail business. Neither Biden nor Japanese Prime Prime Fumio Kishida’s party has had to worry much about Kim’s these last two years.
One big reason: Donald Trump gave Kim more political gifts than North Korean officialdom ever thought possible: summits, priceless photo opportunities and a cringeworthy amount of public affection from the former U.S. leader. That gave Kim cover to accelerate the development of his nuclear program on Trump’s watch.
Pyongyang also had less reason to shake the development aid cup while the crypto hacking game was so spectacularly lucrative.
Not anymore. The recent collapse of FTX.com seems to vindicate Roubini’s long-standing contempt for cryptocurrencies. Just late last month, Roubini argued that “Crypto is corrupt gambling where the house always and systematically front runs the retail suckers” that sustain the big losses.
This latest scandal is sure to hinder the ability of North Korea’s hackers to help the Kim family pay its bills, argues Troy Stangarone, senior director at the Korea Economic Institute of America.
In an op-ed for online magazine The Diplomat, he writes that the collapse of FTX will complicate North Korea’s hacking program as other exchanges tighten security and regulators pounce with new oversight parameters. As crypto values slide, stealing digital coins and tokens also becomes less profitable.
“All of these changes will likely take time, and the vulnerabilities in open-source software may be a permanent feature of the industry, but the scale of the FTX collapse will likely result in the types of corporate and regulatory changes that will make crypto less useful for North Korea,” Stangarone says. “For a regime that has become as dependent on crypto to avoid sanctions and steal hard currency, FTX’s collapse couldn’t be more ill-timed.”
The same with the epic tantrums sure to come out of Pyongyang as Kim realizes his hacking syndicate is out of business. The return of “rocket man” Kim, as Trump called him, is the last thing Asian markets need in the year ahead.
Nouriel Roubini thinks the world economy “is lurching toward an unprecedented confluence of economic, financial, and debt crises, following the explosion of deficits, borrowing, and leverage in recent decades.”
Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call
Forbes · by William Pesek · December 9, 2022
3. North Korea’s Tactical Nuclear Threshold Is Frighteningly Low
We should have no doubt that Kim Jong Un intends to use nuclear weapons to fight a war to achieve domination of the Korean peninsula in addition to their use for deterrence (less necessary) and in support of political warfare and blackmail diplomacy.
North Korea’s Tactical Nuclear Threshold Is Frighteningly Low
Pyongyang imagines it could win a limited conflict.
https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/12/08/north-korea-tactical-nuclear-threat/
By Adam Mount, a senior fellow and the director of the Defense Posture Project at the Federation of American Scientists, and Jungsup Kim, a vice president of the Sejong Institute and former deputy minister for planning and coordination at the South Korean Ministry of National Defense.
A TV broadcasts footage of a North Korean missile test.
A station employee cleans near a television showing a news broadcast with file footage of a North Korean missile test at a railway station in Seoul on Oct. 13. ANTHONY WALLACE/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
DECEMBER 8, 2022, 12:29 PM
This year, the threat from North Korea’s nuclear arsenal entered an alarming new phase. By mid-November, the regime had fired 63 ballistic missiles, more than double its previous annual record. The year’s tests included a record eight intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launches, and U.S. and South Korean officials warn that the regime has completed preparations for a seventh nuclear test that waits on North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s order.
However, 2022’s most alarming development is not about what North Korea could use to deliver a nuclear warhead, but when and why it plans to do it. In recent months, North Korean leaders have articulated a dangerous new doctrine for its expanding tactical nuclear arsenal. Unlike its strategic intercontinental missiles, which are probably a last resort to prevent regime change, the Kim family said its tactical weapons could be used at the outset of conflict to fight and win a limited war on the Korean Peninsula.
In 2021, Kim declared that the regime had undertaken a successful program to “miniaturize, lighten and standardize nuclear weapons and to make them tactical ones” and that North Korea would continue to “make nuclear weapons smaller and lighter for more tactical uses.” A return to nuclear tests could see tests of these new smaller warhead designs.
Why might North Korea use a nuclear weapon? Most experts fall into two camps. The first theory warns that the regime could use nuclear weapons to retaliate against the U.S. homeland if it believed it was facing an existential attack, either from an allied invasion or an attack on Kim. The second theory is that North Korea might issue nuclear threats as part of an attack to forcibly reunify the peninsula, trying to blackmail South Korea into surrendering. In either case, the United States and South Korea would move to destroy North Korea’s nuclear forces and leadership before they can be launched and end the regime.
In recent months, North Korea has signaled that it is pursuing a third doctrine. In April, Kim said his nuclear forces will “never be confined to the single mission of war deterrent.” His sister and possible successor wrote, “[A]t the outset of war, completely dampen the enemy’s war spirits, prevent protracted hostilities and preserve one’s own military muscle.”
In other words, Pyongyang now envisions its nuclear weapons as useful not only for retaliation against an attack but for winning a limited conflict. This concept doesn’t require North Korea or its allies to launch a deliberate all-out attack, but it could guide the regime’s plans for any conflict, including wars that start by accident or that escalate from small crises. In short, the new doctrine might lead to nuclear use in a much wider set of circumstances—and much earlier in conflict.
Their mission is to prevent Washington and Seoul from bringing their superior forces to bear. The regime mistakenly hopes that early nuclear strikes could protect its inferior conventional forces and its leadership, allowing it to win a war it would otherwise lose. The targets could include strikes on stealth aircraft before they can leave the ground; units before they can be mobilized; and, as Kim said in October, strikes on his “enemies’ main military command facilities” and its main ports. It is a strategy that says nuclear weapons are not only for preventing war but also for waging one.
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A television is seen in a ferry cabin with file footage of a North Korean missile test, in the waters off South Korea's island of Ulleungdo (top back), on Nov. 4.
Washington and Seoul need to be careful not to accidentally trigger war.
ARGUMENT | JAMES M. ACTON, ANKIT PANDA
His sister’s comments also imply that the regime could try to win a hopeless conflict by coercing one or both of its allies to back down rather than risk a wider nuclear exchange. This mission is founded on several delusions: that North Korean nuclear use would help the regime control a conflict, that it would weaken rather than strengthen the alliance’s resolve, and that U.S. and South Korean defense chiefs would not follow through with their promise that “any nuclear attack” would result in the “end of [the] Kim Jong Un regime.” In other words, North Korea believes that nuclear use might end a conflict on its terms rather than end the regime.
The idea that a tactical nuclear weapon could help a country control escalation in a crisis is not new. At different times, Russia, France, Pakistan, and the United States have all relied on this dangerous theory when they believed that their conventional forces were too weak to deter a conflict. Why has Pyongyang adopted this logic now? It may be that North Korea has reached the point where it is capable of producing sufficiently miniaturized warheads and sophisticated ballistic missiles to deliver them. In countries building new nuclear arsenals, strategists often follow engineers.
The regime characterizes its new doctrine as part of its deterrence posture. It says North Korea can only deter an allied attack if it can win the conflict, and the only way it can win one might be early nuclear use. But Washington and Seoul will worry that the doctrine, with its emphasis on coercion and war termination, is designed to help Pyongyang win conflicts that it starts.
To deter North Korea from using its tactical nuclear arsenal, Washington and Seoul will have to adapt their posture and plans. The alliance cannot trust that existing concepts or the U.S. strategic arsenal can manage the escalation risks posed by Pyongyang’s new doctrine. The most important capabilities are the conventional forces that defend South Korea from attack and the political cohesion that signals that the regime cannot divide the alliance. Although the alliance will maintain its nuclear deterrent, only its conventional forces can deny North Korea from seizing its objectives in a conflict and respond to tactical nuclear use without legitimating the regime’s attack. The more Washington and Seoul emphasize preemptive attacks or attacks on the regime’s leadership, the more pressure the regime will feel to delegate authority to use tactical nuclear weapons to field commanders, which would further raise the risk of a nuclear accident or miscalculation.
These dangerous developments should also shape how allies approach diplomacy with North Korea. Although most American proposals have started with intercontinental missiles, allies should first focus on eliminating North Korea’s tactical weapons. Tactical nuclear weapons are not essential to the regime’s survival. The new doctrine is delusional. An arms control approach that allows the regime a sense of security in exchange for its tactical nuclear weapons stands a chance of succeeding and improving the security of both allies.
Washington and Seoul cannot afford to trust that their existing posture will deter North Korea’s new nuclear doctrine. As alarming as North Korea’s ICBMs are, its tactical nuclear weapons are now tasked with not only retaliation but a variety of missions to level the balance of power on the peninsula, which has been tipping against Pyongyang for decades. For these reasons, they are the likeliest of any nuclear weapons in the world to be used in war.
Adam Mount is a senior fellow and the director of the Defense Posture Project at the Federation of American Scientists. He holds a Ph.D. in government from Georgetown University. Twitter: @ajmount
Jungsup Kim is a vice president of the Sejong Institute and former deputy minister for planning and coordination at the South Korean Ministry of National Defense.
4. On South Korean border island Baekryeong, tanks, guns and ‘dragon’s teeth’ guard front line
This is a fascinating island with very strong people. I had the honor of visiting the island when I was assigned to the ROK/US CFC. The ROK Navy was nice enough to take us out there on one of the frigates and then we transferred to a patrol boat to land on the island. And the Korean people there love the ROK Marine Corps - on the seawall along the beach next to the small harbor is painted in gold letters on a red background - 해병대를 사랑 We love the Marines.
The slang also is a part of special operations history as it was one of a number of islands (and probably the largest) that was used for infiltration into the north. In addition to maritime infiltration there was a landing strip on the beach. The land across from it (Changsong Got I believe it was called) was never pacified by the nKPA during the Korean War because it was logistically supported from this island.
On South Korean border island Baekryeong, tanks, guns and ‘dragon’s teeth’ guard front line
- Baekryeong has 5,000 residents, outnumbered by soldiers on high alert, but it’s strategically important; you can see North Korea from most of its fortified beaches
- ‘Sometimes I have dreams about the North Koreans invading’, says a resident about this potential military flashpoint that helps determine control over vital shipping lanes
Agence France-Presse
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Published: 11:00am, 10 Dec, 2022
https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3202786/south-korean-border-island-baekryeong-tanks-guns-and-dragons-teeth-guard-front-line?utm_source=rss_feed
It is South Korea’s westernmost territory, soldiers outnumber residents, and you can see North Korea from almost every barbed wire-lined beach: welcome to Baekryeong Island, a community on the front line.
Far closer to the North Korean mainland than it is to the South, Baekryeong is a fortress: tanks are parked at the sides of roads, there are guard posts on every hill, and the picturesque beaches are covered in dragon’s teeth – concrete pyramid-shaped fortifications – to deter invasion.
Seoul was awarded control over the approximately 45-square-km (17-square-mile) island at the end of Korean war hostilities in the 1950s, but its 5,000 or so residents – plus an even higher number of soldiers – live under constant low-level threat.
The island has long been a potential military flashpoint: North Korea’s Kim claimed in 2013 that he could “rain down a sea of fire” on Baekryeong, and then staged amphibious mock invasion drills in 2017.
“Sometimes I have dreams about the North Koreans invading, especially with what is happening in the news,” said 64-year-old Baekryeong native Kim Keum-sook, referring to the record-breaking blitz of missile launches by Kim this year.
The island is of immense strategic importance for Seoul, as it helps determine control over vital Yellow Sea shipping lanes, without which its Incheon harbour would be cut off from the world.
Barbed wire fencing on Baekryeong Island, just 14 kilometres from the North Korean mainland. Photo: AFP
When she was growing up on Baekryeong, located two kilometres from the de facto maritime border and just 14 kilometres from the North Korean mainland, Kim was regularly evacuated during periods of high tension.
“I’m still afraid,” she said, although her husband, Choi Won-mo, 65, also an island native, said that they were “as well defended as can be”.
South Korea’s “marines, air force, navy and army are all in Baekryeong, always on high alert”, Choi said.
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The flashpoint maritime border has seen intermittent skirmishes, including an exchange of warning shots in the waters around Baekryeong in October after a North Korean vessel crossed the Northern Limit Line.
Choi said such events were a “common occurrence” but after 70 years in limbo people have learnt to live with constant tension – the Korean war ended with an armistice, leaving the two sides technically still at war.
A memorial on Baekryeong Island for an incident in 2010 when a South Korean warship was sunk by what Seoul said was a North Korean torpedo, killing the 46 seamen on board. Photo: AFP
The worst such incident came in March 2010 just off the island when a South Korean warship was sunk by what Seoul said was a North Korean torpedo, killing the 46 seamen on board.
Now, South Korean troops conduct regular artillery exercises on the beach.
“Just look at all the troops and weapons here, the government is committed to defending Baekryeong island at all costs,” said Lee Chung-dong, a 71-year-old fisherman who has lived there for half a century. “It’s because they know that if Baekryeong falls, so will Incheon.”
Despite the dangers – the ferry to the island takes a roundabout route to make it less vulnerable to North Korean attack – Baekryeong is a niche tourist destination.
Hundreds of mostly domestic tourists visit each week, drawn by both the proximity to the North and the beauty of the location.
Visitors walk up a ramp from a ferry to Baekryeong Island, a popular South Korean tourist site. Photo: AFP
One of its most jarring attractions is a cliff formation known as Dumujin, described in the writings of one Joseon Dynasty scholar as “the last masterpiece of an old god”.
Another is Sagot beach with its hard quartz-sand floor making it a natural airstrip, a purpose it fulfilled during the Korean war.
“Baekryeong’s beauty lies in its natural landscape,” said Kim Yong-sung, 50, who was visiting with some colleagues. “I do sense some danger being so close to the border, but since this has always been the case, it’s not going to stop me from enjoying the beauty here.”
Is Kim Jong-un’s daughter next in line to be North Korean leader?
The island’s ancient geological features hold a lesson for those worried about its frontline position, said Kim Chang-hee, 75, a park guide.
“This island is over 10 million years old – older than the dinosaurs,” she said. “Korea has only been divided for 70 years. One day, this too will be a distant memory.”
5. Kim Jong-un's ban on foreign media defied as USBs in bottles sent into North Korea
And yes th4 South's anti-leaflet law should be found unconstitutional and struck down.
And regarding the argument that we create a moral hazard by sending information into the north because it puts the Korean people in the north at risk of punishment (to include execution). in discussions with escapees they all say the Korean people know the risk and are willing to accept it in return for information about the outside world. Unlike the regime, we are not forcing information on the Korean people in the north. We are providing them with the choice to seek information from other than the regime's Propaganda and Agitation Department.
Kim Jong-un's ban on foreign media defied as USBs in bottles sent into North Korea
According to the Human Rights Foundation (HRF), a US nonprofit loaded scores of USB memory sticks and SD cards to the Asian country over the course of the year
Mirror · by Alice Peacock · December 6, 2022
Activists are thwarting Kim Jong-un’s crackdown on foreign media by sending thousands of movies and television shows on flash drivers over the border to North Korea.
According to the Human Rights Foundation (HRF), a U.S. nonprofit loaded scores of USB flash drives and SD cards to the Asian country over the course of the year.
An image provided to local news outlet NK News showed a flash drive packaged into a tightly-stoppered glass bottle, sitting atop a pebbly beach, which had supposedly been floated into the waters bordering North Korea.
News of the dissidence comes after the news that two teens were slaughtered in North Korea for watching South Korean movies.
The two boys, who were aged between 16 and 17, were executed in-front of horrified locals on an airfield in Hyesan.
North Korean officials typically use executions to terrify people into behaving in a certain way (
Image:
KCNA VIA KNS/AFP via Getty Image)
The residents of Hyesan, which sits on the Chinese border, said they were told: "Those who watch or distribute South Korean movies and dramas, and those who disrupt social order by murdering other people, will not be forgiven and will be sentenced to the maximum penalty–death."
Officials typically use executions to terrify people into behaving in a certain way.
About a week before the slaughter, public meetings were held where locals were told about a crackdown on crimes involving foreign media.
In particular, they were warned about watching or listening to movies or music from the more prosperous South Korea.
But the HRF told NK News it had sent 2,000 USB flash drives and SD cards to the North in 2022, as part of a programme called Flashdrives for Freedom.
As well as movies and series, some of the files on the drives included “educational content” on entrepreneurship and human rights reports from the United Nations.
Two teens were recently slaughtered in North Korea for watching South Korean movies (
Image:
KCNA VIA KNS/AFP via Getty Image)
Seongmin Lee, a North Korean defector who led the programme, said that each drive could be viewed by as many as 10 North Koreans inside the country.
“This translates to disseminating outside information to 20,000 North Koreans this year alone,” he said.
Lee did not specify how HRF disseminated the USD drives into the country, claiming this was “sensitive” campaign information.
However, he claimed the group had sent some 130,000 flash drives into North Korea since 2016.
The flash drives sent this year included content ranging from Hollywood classics like Top Gun and Titanic to South Korean TV series and films such as Descendants of the Sun.
A controversial 2020 law in South Korea banned private groups from sending materials into North Korea without prior approval.
Pyongyang has called out defector activists in particular, for sending potentially subversive information into the country.
Another law introduced in 2020 by the DPRK, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, worsened the punishment for consuming foreign media, including the death penalty for distributing or selling South Korean content.
Lee said the organisation took measures to “mitigate dangers” associated with consuming the information they send.
“As someone who was born and grew up in North Korea, I’d like to emphasize the importance of empowering the North Korean people with factual information about the outside world,” he said.
“Outside information may not bring about revolution overnight, but empowering North Koreans with factual information is a necessary first step for North Korea to move toward a normalized, freer society.”
The “anti-leaflet” law was being reviewed by South Korea’s Constitutional Court and could be struck down.
Mirror · by Alice Peacock · December 6, 2022
6. North Korean tech freelancers' earnings fund nukes, missiles
I am going to start using this new description for those who work for the mafia like crime family cult known as the Kim family regime:
'Agent of vile murderous autocracy'
North Korean tech freelancers' earnings fund nukes, missiles
You won't see 'Agent of vile murderous autocracy' on their CVs. Or their faces on vid chats
theregister.com · by Simon Sharwood Fri 9 Dec 2022 // 03:35 UTC
North Korean IT pros are using freelancing platforms to earn money that the nation's authoritarian government uses to fund the development of missiles and nuclear weapons, according to South Korea's government. Seoul therefore wants gig platforms to impose stricter checks to restrict its enemy's activities.
South Korea's intelligence services, national police, and five ministries yesterday published a warning about the North's (DPRK) tactics that opens as follows:
"DPRK IT workers are located all around the world, obfuscating their nationality and identities. They earn hundreds of millions of dollars a year by engaging in a wide range of IT development work, including freelance work platforms (websites/applications) and cryptocurrency development."
Those workers' real job, the warning asserts, is "earning foreign currency and financing nuclear and missile programs for the regime."
To hide their origins and purpose, North Korean IT workers forge fake identities.
"They illicitly collect foreigners' driver's licenses and identification cards and replace the photos on identification documents with their own using Photoshop," the advisory states.
They also use the services of third parties, who create and maintain accounts on freelance work platforms. DPRK agents put those identities to work as proxies to hide their true identities.
Telltale signs you might be dealing with a North Korean freelancer start in job interviews. Such bogus candidates often prefer to meet prospective employers in chat sessions rather than video meetings. If you insist on video, they may claim technical issues make that impossible, but voice-only conversation remains an option.
Employers that insist on video interviews may see the proxy who created the account on the freelance platform, not the candidate.
"Sometimes, even when companies are conducting a real video interview, DPRK IT workers will remotely access the computer of proxy account's owner and demonstrate programming themselves," the warning explains.
South Korea is not happy with freelance platforms: the document published yesterday calls on them to "take tightened measures to verify identity of programmers, such as adding one more authentication step using video call for newly created accounts and requiring client companies to conduct a video interview before signing contracts with freelance programmers."
The South has spotted other characteristic behaviors of North Korean freelancers, among them multiple logins into one account from various IP addresses in a relatively short period of time, and new developer accounts on freelance platforms using the same or similar documents employed by existing accounts.
Seoul wants the freelance platforms to watch out for that sort of thing, and act to prevent abuse.
But this is not just the platforms' problem: South Korea's warning points out that "a significant percentage of DPRK IT workers" are employed by entities sanctioned by the United Nations.
"Therefore, the act of offering employment to DPRK IT workers and paying for their work accompanies reputational risks and potential legal consequences [and] the possibility of violating relevant UN Security Council resolutions."
South Korea warns that Northern techies offer their services for "the development of decentralized applications, smart contracts and digital tokens, as well as mobile and web-based applications that span a range of fields and sectors, including business, health and fitness, social networking, sports, entertainment, and lifestyle."
If you're using freelancers for any of the above, beware! North Korea's government is a murderous authoritarian regime that abuses human rights horribly and regularly conducts cyber ops to further its aims – even exploiting tragedy to spread malware.
South Korea's warning concludes by expressing hope the document "will prove to be helpful in establishing a more secure and reliable online freelance work system and also contribute towards cutting off DPRK's illicit foreign currency revenues which are used for its nuclear and missile development." ®
theregister.com · by Simon Sharwood Fri 9 Dec 2022 // 03:35 UTC
7. The North Korean Threat: A Thorn In Seoul’s Side – Analysis
See the table correctly formatted at the link: https://www.eurasiareview.com/07122022-the-north-korean-threat-a-thorn-in-seouls-side-analysis/
Conclusion:
There is no doubt that Kim chose not to be in the same situation as Iraq and Libya. Simultaneously, these missile launches are also raising questions about the US’s extended deterrence. Currently, nobody is able to manage the crisis on the Korean Peninsula. The essence of a crisis is not the particular circumstances that led to it but the lack of suitable player to manage it. The problem is not the nuclear war but the possibility of a limited clash, as we have seen multiple times in the case of India and Pakistan. Any miscalculation could lead to a disaster, especially when dealing with leaders such as Kim. There is a need for Agreed Framework 2.0, where dialogues between North Korea, all nuclear states, and ASEAN members should happen while lifting certain economic sanctions imposed on North Korea. Kim will not completely cease his nuclear programme, thus, the framework should have common points with a memorandum for peace. It is high time that peace is restored in the Korean Peninsula.
The North Korean Threat: A Thorn In Seoul’s Side – Analysis
eurasiareview.com · by Observer Research Foundation · December 6, 2022
By Abhishek Kumar Singh
Amidst the Russia-Ukraine war, another crisis seems to be looming on the horizon as North Korea continues its missile barrage. The tension flared up on the 2nd of November 2022 when Pyongyang fired more than a dozen missiles towards Seoul in the morning, one of which landed in South Korean territory for the first time since the Korean War (1950-53).
The missiles resulted in the South Korean government issuing an air-raid warning for the island of Ulleungdo. This prompted Seoul to respond by launching three air-to-surface missiles towards the eastern sea border of North Korea. Furthermore, the recent test-firing of North Korea’s Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) on 18 November, Hwasong-17, created another furore in South Korea. Citing the North Korean government, the missile rose to a level of 6,040.9 km, flew a total distance of 999.2 km in approximately 69 minutes, and landed in the East Sea. However, according to the analysts, the missile is capable of reaching the United States (US), flying up to 15,000 km if fired in the normal orbit.
Table 1: Successful missiles tested by North Korea in 2022
DateMissile NameMissile Type10-1-2022Hwasong-8 MARVMedium Range Ballistic Missile14-1-2022Rail-Mobile KN-23Short Range Ballistic Missiles16-1-2022KN-24Short Range Ballistic Missiles26-1-2022KN-23Short Range Ballistic Missiles29-1-2022Hwasong-12Intermediate Range Ballistic Missiles27-2-2022UnknownUnknown24-3-2022Hwasong-17Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles16-4-2022Unnamed Small Solid Propellant SRBMShort Range Ballistic Missiles24-5-2022UnknownShort Range Ballistic Missiles25-9-2022Navalized KN-23Short Range Ballistic Missiles28-9-2022Unnamed Large Solid Propellant SRBM (KN-23 Mod)Short Range Ballistic Missiles29-9-2022KN-25Short Range Ballistic Missiles4-10-2022New IRBMIntermediate Range Ballistic Missiles6-10-2022KN-23Short Range Ballistic Missiles9-10-2022KN-25Short Range Ballistic Missiles
Source: NTI (The table does not include the missiles fired along the coast of Japan or South Korea but only includes, the successful missile test)
Though North Korea claimed that this continuous missile blitzkrieg was a response to the US-ROK military drills, South Korea maintained that these drills have always been a part of their relations and were interrupted by the pandemic and former President Moon Jae-in’s attempts to reinstate diplomatic talks. North Korea had previously stated that it would use nuclear missiles if necessary, including preemptive strikes, and fired missiles soon after, as mentioned above. Now, it is threatening to keep the US from providing a nuclear umbrella for South Korea by demonstrating its nuclear missile attack capability against the US. As the nuclear threat posed by North Korea becomes increasingly real, South Korea is inching closer to an “all-out nuclear response”. Because the Korean Peninsula isn’t a bilateral issue between the South and the North or even Japan and North Korea, other parties, especially the US and China, play an extremely important role in determining the fate of the Peninsula.
During the G20 Summit that was held in Bali, Indonesia, the Chinese, American, and South Korean counterparts met each other on the sidelines. South Korea attended the summit in the hope of reaching a favorable outcome with the help of the US amidst the recent onslaught of North Korean missile launches. However, the difference of opinion during the first in-person summit between US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping over Taiwan and North Korea nuclear issue was clearly visible. The nuclear issue of North Korea was also the main source of disagreements between Xi and South Korean President Yoon Suk-Yeol. Both South Korea and the US wanted China to play an active role in resolving the North Korean nuclear issue. However, China responded by highlighting Pyongyang’s “legitimate concerns,” emphasising that they must stop the deployment of the US’s strategic weapons and joint military drills. With China in its corner, after the conclusion of the G20 Summit, North Korea tested Hwasong-17. Kim Jong-Un again reiterated that the North would “react to nukes with nuclear weapons and total confrontation with all-out confrontation.”
The changing world order
First was the diplomatic blunder by South Korea. It remained overly dependent on the US in tackling the North Korean threat. During the Cold War, the US deployed nuclear missiles in South Korea to curb any threat from its communist neighbour. However, once the Cold War ended, missiles were withdrawn which hastened the acquisition of nuclear weapons in North Korea. Simultaneously, it engaged with China economically in the hope that diplomatic and economic diversification could help bring peace to Korean Peninsula. However, be it bandwagoning with the US or balancing between the US and China, both didn’t bear fruit.
Second, the deception strategy was adopted by North Korea in the early 1990s. There has been a complete switchin their nuclear doctrine since then. From expressing zero intention of developing nuclear weapons to only restricting it for electricity purposes to finally admitting the possession of nuclear weapons had helped them to bide their time. While indulging in the denuclearisation talks with former US President Donald Trump and former South Korean President Moon Jae-In, Kim was able to test the ICBMs. This signifies how the deception strategy along with no hardline steps by the US and South Korea helped Kim in fulfilling his dream of becoming a nuclear state.
Conclusion
There is no doubt that Kim chose not to be in the same situation as Iraq and Libya. Simultaneously, these missile launches are also raising questions about the US’s extended deterrence. Currently, nobody is able to manage the crisis on the Korean Peninsula. The essence of a crisis is not the particular circumstances that led to it but the lack of suitable player to manage it. The problem is not the nuclear war but the possibility of a limited clash, as we have seen multiple times in the case of India and Pakistan. Any miscalculation could lead to a disaster, especially when dealing with leaders such as Kim. There is a need for Agreed Framework 2.0, where dialogues between North Korea, all nuclear states, and ASEAN members should happen while lifting certain economic sanctions imposed on North Korea. Kim will not completely cease his nuclear programme, thus, the framework should have common points with a memorandum for peace. It is high time that peace is restored in the Korean Peninsula.
eurasiareview.com · by Observer Research Foundation · December 6, 2022
8. Top nuclear envoy leaves for Indonesia for meetings with U.S., Japanese counterparts
It is convenient to have Ambasador Kim in the region. We should consider that as we organize for national security for the future.
Top nuclear envoy leaves for Indonesia for meetings with U.S., Japanese counterparts | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 박보람 · December 11, 2022
SEOUL, Dec. 11 (Yonhap) -- Kim Gunn, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, left for Indonesia on Sunday for meetings on North Korean nuclear issues with his counterparts from the United States and Japan.
In Jakarta, Kim is scheduled to meet with Sung Kim, U.S. special representative for North Korea, on Monday, and a meeting with his Japanese counterpart, Takehiro Funakoshi, the next day, according to officials. The three will also hold a trilateral meeting Tuesday.
It marks the first gathering of the three top nuclear envoys since their last meeting in Tokyo in September.
They are expected to share their assessments on regional tensions attributable to North Korea's evolving missile provocations and discuss ways to respond to the country's military provocations through trilateral and global collaboration.
pbr@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 박보람 · December 11, 2022
9. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Kritenbrink to visit Seoul this week
Sustained high level engagement.
(LEAD) U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Kritenbrink to visit Seoul this week | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 장재순 · December 11, 2022
(ATTN: UPDATES with details of Seoul visit)
SEOUL/WASHINGTON, Dec. 11 (Yonhap) -- U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink will visit South Korea this week for consultations on a range of regional and bilateral issues, the State Department said.
Kritenbrink will travel together with National Security Council Senior Director for China and Taiwan Laura Rosenberger on the three-nation trip from Sunday to Wednesday that also includes stops in China and Japan, the department said in a press release.
"In the Republic of Korea and Japan, they will hold consultations on a range of regional and bilateral issues," the department said without providing further details. The Republic of Korea is South Korea's official name.
According to officials in Seoul, Kritenbrink is scheduled to arrive here Monday afternoon and hold talks with Deputy Foreign Minister Choi Young-sam the following day. He is scheduled to fly out of South Korea on Wednesday morning.
North Korea is expected to be a key topic in their discussions in Seoul in the wake of a series of missile launches and other provocations. Also expected to be on the agenda is South Korea's concerns over the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
The IRA, signed into law by U.S. President Joe Biden in August, gives up to US$7,500 in tax credits to buyers of electric vehicles (EVs) assembled only in North America, sparking concerns that Hyundai Motor and Kia Corp. could lose ground in the U.S. market, as the two South Korean carmakers assemble their EVs at domestic plants for export to the U.S.
In China, Kritenbrink will follow up on U.S. President Joe Biden's meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Bali last month to "continue responsibly managing the competition between our two countries and to explore potential areas of cooperation," the department said.
He will also prepare for Secretary of State Antony Blinken's early 2023 visit to China, it said.
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 장재순 · December 11, 2022
10. 18 foreign residents receive honorary Seoul citizenship
Excerpt:
One of the awardees was Casey Lartigue, co-founder of Freedom Speakers International (FSI), who has helped North Korean defectors learn English and communicate with the global society in the past decade since its foundation.
18 foreign residents receive honorary Seoul citizenship | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 최경애 · December 11, 2022
SEOUL, Dec. 11 (Yonhap) -- The Seoul city government said Sunday that 18 outstanding foreign residents of Seoul have become honorary citizens of South Korea's capital city.
At this year's honorary citizenship ceremony, the Seoul metropolitan government handed medals and certificates to those who volunteered to help North Korean defectors and multicultural families, businessmen who helped attract foreign direct investments and others.
One of the awardees was Casey Lartigue, co-founder of Freedom Speakers International (FSI), who has helped North Korean defectors learn English and communicate with the global society in the past decade since its foundation.
Abhishek Gupta, who uses the stage name of Lucky and is called the "Indian Uncle" here in Korea, received the honor for his efforts to promote Korea through his YouTube channel 354 and other platforms. He donated some of his earnings from the YouTube channel operations to help runaway teenagers and neglected children.
Others included Francis Van Parys in charge of the Asia-Pacific operations of the U.S. life science company Cytiva; Tony Garrett, chairman of the New Zealand Chamber of Commerce in Korea; and Dirk Lukat, chairperson of the European Chamber of Commerce in Korea.
The Seoul citizenship dates back to 1958, when the city government delivered the certificate to foreign residents who helped rebuild the war-torn capital city after the 1950-53 Korean War.
As of Nov. 30, a total of 895 foreigners from 100 countries had received Seoul citizenship.
kyongae.choi@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 최경애 · December 11, 2022
11. North Korea forces youth to join grueling pilgrimage to sacred Paektu mountain
Forced "fun" for the youth? And they have to pay for the honor to suffer?
North Korea forces youth to join grueling pilgrimage to sacred Paektu mountain
americanmilitarynews.com · by Radio Free Asia · December 10, 2022
This article was originally published by Radio Free Asia and is reprinted with permission.
In years past, North Korea would reward particularly patriotic youth by inviting them to join a grueling pilgrimage up Mt. Paektu, the tallest mountain on the Korean Peninsula and a sacred peak in the lore about the ruling Kim family.
It was considered an honor to climb to near the top of the mountain, which borders China and offers a stunning vista of a piercing blue lake below.
But these days, young people don’t want to go on this arduous journey, which is traditionally made not only in the summer, but also in the winter, when temperatures on the 9,003-foot (2,744-meter) mountain drop to minus 30 degrees Celsius (-22 degrees Fahrenheit), sources in the country tell Radio Free Asia.
Plus, since 2019 young people selected for the honor need to cover the cost for supplies and equipment, which comes to around $50 a person – a huge sum for most North Koreans.
“They gripe, ‘Why should I have to pay so much money to go suffer in the freezing cold?’” a resident of South Pyongan province told RFA’s Korean Service on condition of anonymity to speak freely.
So authorities are resorting to coercing young people to go on the trek, or targeting richer families who are more likely to be able to cover the cost. “Authorities are forcing young people who have wealthy parents to explore Mt. Paektu,” he said.
Prior to 2019, the national budget paid for the trip, but after the coronavirus pandemic froze trade and business and largely erased the government’s revenue income, the individuals must pay their own way.
“Young people without money are not selected in the first place,” the source said. Some youth get out of it by paying bribes to the authorities, he added.
The entire journey around the various sites around the sacred mountain takes about 10 days, a source from the northwestern province of North Pyongan told RFA on condition of anonymity to speak freely.
Legendary mountain
Mt. Paektu has been an important location in Korean culture for millennia. It is said to be the birthplace of Dangun, the mythical first Korean, and North Korean propaganda claims it is also the birthplace of Kim Jong Il, current leader Kim Jong Un’s father. Members of the Kim family are described as part of the “Paektu Line.”
One key site along the route is the Paektu Milyong home, the house Kim Jong Il is said to have been born in, now preserved as a museum.
According to propaganda, on the day of Kim Jong Il’s birth, said to be in 1942, two rainbows appeared above the house, and a new star shone in the sky that night, heralding the coming of the future Dear Leader. At that time his father, national founder Kim Il Sung, is said to have been leading an army of guerrillas who fought against Japanese colonial rule, based at a “secret camp” on the mountain.
Soviet records, however, say that Kim Jong Il was born Yuri Iresenovich Kim a year earlier, while his father was leading soldiers in the Russian far east, nowhere near Mt. Paektu. NJack McCain: Congress should keep our promises to our allies by passing the Afghan Adjustment Actevertheless, a site said to be the secret camp is on the Paektu climb itinerary.
This winter, a total of 1,500 youth were selected from all over the country, the sources said. They included about 200 youth from the city of Sinuiju, which borders China, and 300 from South Pyongan province.
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americanmilitarynews.com · by Radio Free Asia · December 10, 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
| 
