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Quotes of the Day:
“A mind is like a parachute. It doesn’t work if it is not open.”
- Frank Zappa
“Reading is an act of civilization; it’s one of the greatest acts of civilization because it takes the free raw material of the mind and builds castles of possibilities.”
- Ben Okri
Characteristics of the American Way of War (9 of 13)
Aggressive and Offensive. Geopolitics, culture, and material endowment have combined to pull the American way of war towards an aggressive offensive style. Geopolitically viewed, the United States is effectively insular, albeit on a continental scale. Not since the War of 1812 has the country faced a serious threat in North America except, of course, from its slave-holding states in 1861-65. Because of America's geopolitical isolation, a product of geography and culture, in the 20th century the country repeatedly joined in wars that already were well underway. America had to take the initiative and move men and material across oceans. Also, it was obliged to commit to offensive operations in order to take back the gains made by enemies in Europe and Asia at the outset of their rampages of conquest. U.S. political motives may have been broadly defensive. But as was the case with Iraq's seizure of Kuwait in 1990, the principal guardian of the status quo, the United States, had no military choice other than aggressive offensive action. More often than not, an aggressor is content to take his prize and then offer an armistice and a conference to bless the crimes just committed. Prior to the creation of NATO and the subsequent U.S. commitment to maintain a substantial garrison in Europe, the American strategic role in Eurasia was notably episodic. With the exception of the nuclear-shadowed Cold War of 1947-89, a historical anomaly, when an American army is sent across an ocean its society expects it to do something important. There are many plausible explanations for the offensive preference in the American way of war; we will cite some of the more significant among them. In summary form, an aggressive offensive style:
• is required if decisive victory is to be achieved against enemies who have to be ejected from ill-gotten gains, or otherwise taught the error of their ways;
• is mandated by a domestic political context that regards American participation in war as so extraordinary an event that it has to be completed as rapidly as possible, so that a condition of peace and normalcy can be restored;
• is fitting because the United States fights only against evil regimes, and is not disposed to wage limited wars for limited political purposes, save under duress, as in Korea, 1950-53.
• is appropriate to America's strength and strengths. The United States is obliged to develop forces that are highly mobile. In a sense, the conquest of distance has been America's strategic history;
• has a record of success. It is difficult to argue with a history that appears to validate the military merits of an offensive style.
• via a succession of sometimes parallel offensive operations was the American way, briefly in 1918, and then of geopolitical necessity in 1942-45.
The American way of war can be traced back to the 18th century, if not earlier, but this monograph will content itself with noting that the illustrative apogee of that "way" occurred during World War II. America had demonstrated to observers around the globe a way of war that delivered decisive military victory. That way favored mobility, movement (not necessarily skillful maneuver), command of "the commons" (the high seas and the air), and firepower. Americans sought to take war to the enemy, as rapidly and destructively as the machines of industrial age warfare permitted. The American way was truly awesome in its ability to kill people and break things. The problem today is that if the country's strategic future is going to be plagued more and more by challenges posed by irregular enemies, America's soldiers will lack enemy targets for their traditionally preferred style of operation. As we have maintained repeatedly, COIN warfare demotes the irregular enemy to the status of a secondary objective. Aggressive offensive action against an enemy of uncertain location and identity is more likely to wreak political damage upon the COIN endeavor, a self-inflicted wound, than upon the enemy. Naturally, there is a time and place for offensive action. But, as the dominant characteristic of the official style of war, offensive action is likely to prove counterproductive against irregular enemies in many, perhaps most, circumstances. This is not to deny that irregular targets of opportunity certainly should be pursued aggressively if the enemy is foolish enough to expose himself for discrete destruction. Also, it is emphatically true that America's future strategic history is not going to be populated wholly by enemies of an irregular kind, no matter how fashionable that belief may be today.
- Colin Gray, 2006
1. North Korea really hates U.S.-South Korea military drills. Here’s why.
2. Why America Should Destroy North Korean ICBMs Fired Into the Pacific Ocean
3. S. Korea joins U.S.-led multinational anti-submarine exercise
4. S. Korea, U.S. hold joint river-crossing drills
5. Rumors circulate in Hyesan about opening of Samjang Customs House
6. ＜Inside N. Korea＞Poverty-stricken urban dwellers raid farming villages in search of food…the police are on emergency alert to deal with the rise in robberies
7. N. Korea calls on people to actively engage in springtime tree planting
8. Nuke use by North would mean end of regime: U.S.
9. North Korea says missile launches helped train for missions at any time
10. Prosecutors indict suspected spies for North Korea
11. N. Korea confirms firing of 2 ground-to-ground ballistic missiles Tuesday
12. More North Korean defectors pursue entrepreneurship for better life
13. China's 'greed' compels Korea to side with US, Japan
14. N. Korean provocation cannot stop US-S. Korea joint military drills: NSC coordinator
1. North Korea really hates U.S.-South Korea military drills. Here’s why.
My comments below.
North Korea really hates U.S.-South Korea military drills. Here’s why.
The Washington Post · by Min Joo Kim · March 15, 2023
SEOUL — North Korea is ratcheting up its missile launches over what it calls a “declaration of war” by United States and South Korea as the allies carry out major military exercises.
Kim Jong Un’s regime has warned of “unprecedented” reactions to the biggest military exercises in five years and conducted three rounds of missile tests, including launches from a submarine in protest of the 11-day military drills underway in South Korea since Monday.
This month’s U.S.-South Korea military exercises come after a record year of weapons activity by North Korea. In 2022, the nuclear-armed state fired over 70 missiles, including some with a potential of to reach mainland United States.
While most of these missiles fell into its own waters, North Korea last month threatened a possible longer-range launch into the Pacific.
“The frequency of using the Pacific Ocean as our shooting range depends on the nature of the U.S. military’s actions,” said Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of the North Korean leader.
To match growing nuclear threats from the Kim regime, Seoul and Washington have stepped up the combined training. The “Freedom Shield” drills bring together a large number of troops to train for a potential attack from nuclear-armed North Korea.
The allies are simulating amphibious assaults on North Korean beach defenses this week. The latest round of drills in South Korea also involves U.S. powerful strategic assets, such as a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.
The exercises highlight the disparities between the two rivals’ forces. North Korea’s massive ground force, whose goose-stepping soldiers are often paraded with fanfare, substantially outsizes that of the South, but the country’s Soviet-era military equipment pales in comparison to the technologically superior weapons systems of its opponents.
The recent deployment of U.S. strategic assets from nuclear submarines to bombers, appears to have especially aggravated Pyongyang, with a senior Foreign Ministry official threatening “an ultimate retribution,” ahead of the drills.
“Kim Jong Un’s biggest fears are embodied by the U.S. strategic assets, which have the destructive power to obliterate his regime at once,” said Chun Yung-woo a former South Korean nuclear negotiator with the North.
Such show of force with advanced weaponry, however, is also exploited by Pyongyang as an excuse for the regime’s military buildup, said David Maxwell, vice president of the Center for Asia Pacific Strategy.
“Kim needs to create the threat from the South and the U.S. to justify the sacrifices and suffering of the Korean people in the north as he prioritizes the development of nuclear weapons and missiles,” said Maxwell, who served in South Korea during his 30 years in the military.
North Korea’s issues with the allied military exercises helped Kim win a surprise concession on the issue from President Donald Trump in 2018.
Following the unprecedented summit between the two leaders, Trump ordered suspension of what he called a “war game” of “provocative” nature. Washington and Seoul then scaled back the combined military training to help diplomacy with Pyongyang. It was further downsized with the onset of the pandemic in 2020.
The full-scale exercises returned last year after South Korea’s conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol took office with a hardened stance against the North. Amid a prolonged stalemate in disarmament talks, Yoon vowed to closely work with the Biden administration to bolster their extended deterrence against growing nuclear threats.
“The DPRK has put us in a position to have to reinforce in tangible ways the security commitment that we have,” U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said this week, referring to North Korea by its official name.
The Washington Post · by Min Joo Kim · March 15, 2023
2. Why America Should Destroy North Korean ICBMs Fired Into the Pacific Ocean
It seems like this might be easier said than done.
Why America Should Destroy North Korean ICBMs Fired Into the Pacific Ocean
19fortyfive.com · by Bruce Bennett · March 13, 2023
North Korea’s Kim Yo-jong is at it again, making extreme threats. Two weeks ago, the U.S. Indo-Pacific commander, Adm. John Aquilino, reportedly said that the U.S. would “immediately” shoot down any intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) fired over the U.S. territory of Guam or into the Pacific region.
On March 7, Kim Yo-jong is reported to have responded, “It will be regarded as a clear declaration of war against the DPRK, in case such military response as interception takes place against our tests of strategic weapons that are conducted without being detrimental to the security of neighboring countries in the open waters and air which do not belong to the U.S. jurisdiction.”
North Korea: Translation Needed On New Threat
First, let’s be clear about what she’s saying: If North Korea lobs an ICBM in the direction of the U.S. and its territories, and the U.S. military shoots it down, that will be regarded as a U.S. act of war. Even in the realm of North Korean rhetoric, this is extreme.
Next, let’s parse her justification: North Korean missile tests into the Pacific are open game and no threat to anyone. That is patently not true. All of North Korea’s ballistic missile tests are prohibited by multiple UN Security Council Resolutions because its development of missiles does pose serious threats to its neighbors.
All this might lead one to ask why Kim Yo-jong is being so extreme?
Realistic or not, Kim Yo-jong is trying to create a situation in which North Korea can show off an ICBM without U.S. interference.
Korea Needs This Cover
But were the U.S. to intercept and destroy it, that would seriously undermine the Kim family’s efforts to demonstrate its power to both internal and external audiences. Internally, the regime likely wants to divert attention from its looming food crisis, which could approach the severity of the North’s famine in the late-1990s, when mass starvation killed perhaps as much as 10-15 percent of its population. The extreme nature of her threat suggests how badly the Kim family needs a successful distraction for its populace.
The Kim family has, however, backed itself into a corner. It has created conditions under which the United States may have little choice but to do exactly what Aquilino has promised.
The U.S. Might Cut Through Distraction
Consider a case where North Korea launches an ICBM out over the Pacific, which appears to be headed in the general direction of Hawaii. With its shorter-range missiles, North Korea has demonstrated that it has the technology to maneuver missiles in flight to hit a target. So even if that North Korean missile appears not to be headed directly towards Hawaii, it might have the maneuver capability to strike Hawaii at the last moment.
What kind of warhead, if any, does that missile carry? Could it be a nuclear weapon? The U.S. is unlikely to know for sure. If Aquilino fails to intercept and destroy that warhead, hundreds of thousands of Americans could be killed or seriously injured.
Surprise is an ingrained element of North Korean strategy, so can the United States really take that chance? Especially given the level of hostility and threats expressed by the Kim family?
Even if a North Korean ICBM appeared to be falling well short of U.S. territory, what would happen if it were carrying a nuclear warhead designed to execute an electromagnetic pulse attack on the western part of the United States? The EMP from a nuclear weapon could burn out parts of the U.S. electricity distribution system. Americans on the west coast might find themselves without electrical power for months to years.
North Korea has been carrying out missile tests, which Kim Jong-un has said simulate attacks on South Korea and beyond, one of which may well have been a simulation of an EMP attack. Electromagnetic pulses can travel many hundreds of miles such that even a missile on a trajectory to land far out to sea could potentially cause tremendous damage to U.S. territory. Can the United States just let that happen? The Kim family’s rhetoric and demonstrated capabilities appear to force a U.S. interception.
Aquilino’s comment reportedly came in response to Kim Yo-jong’s threat to use the Pacific Ocean as its “shooting range” for North Korean weapons. But even a single surprise nuclear attack could cause so much damage that the United States cannot allow it. The UN has also prohibited such North Korean missile launches, so the U.S. would only be enforcing the UN Security Council Resolutions.
Some may fear that a failed interception could undermine confidence in U.S. missile defense systems. Thus it would be important for the United States to depict these intercepts as real operational tests against real adversary targets. While successful intercepts are likely, any failures would allow the United States to improve the reliability and performance of its missile defenses.
Bruce W. Bennett is an adjunct international/defense researcher at the nonprofit, nonpartisan RAND Corporation. He works primarily on research topics such as strategy, force planning, and counterproliferation within the RAND International Security and Defense Policy Center.
19fortyfive.com · by Bruce Bennett · March 13, 2023
3. S. Korea joins U.S.-led multinational anti-submarine exercise
S. Korea joins U.S.-led multinational anti-submarine exercise | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 김보람 · March 15, 2023
SEOUL, March 15 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's Navy is participating in a U.S.-led multinational anti-submarine warfare exercise in waters off Guam, officials said Wednesday.
The Navy sent two P-3 maritime surveillance aircraft and 40 sailors to Sea Dragon 23, which began Wednesday and will last through the end of this month.
The annual exercise launched in 2014 is aimed at enhancing joint anti-submarine warfare capabilities. Five countries, including India, Canada and Japan, are participating this year.
The exercise came right after North Korea fired two strategic cruise missiles from a submarine in waters off its east coast Sunday.
It is the North's first firing of cruise missiles from a submarine, widely viewed as an apparent show of force against a major South Korea-U.S. combined military exercise.
This photo, provided by the Navy, shows sailors posing for a photo before departing for Sea Dragon 23 at the naval airbase in Pohang, some 272 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on March 13, 2023. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
brk@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 김보람 · March 15, 2023
4. S. Korea, U.S. hold joint river-crossing drills
I am pretty sure we used t esame crossing during the old Team Spirit days.
(LEAD) S. Korea, U.S. hold joint river-crossing drills | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 채윤환 · March 15, 2023
(ATTN: UPDATES with Air Force's drills in last 2 paras; ADDS photo)
SEOUL, March 15 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and the United States are conducting combined river-crossing military drills in a border county, the Army here said Wednesday, as part of the allies' ongoing springtime exercise.
The allies mobilized some 400 troops, two Apache attack helicopters and 50 pieces of equipment, such as makeshift bridges, for the 12-day drills that run through Friday in Yeoncheon, 62 kilometers north of Seoul.
The drills focused on ensuring interoperability among the allies' river-crossing assets and establishing operational methods capitalizing on their combined military equipment, according to the Army.
Participants were from the Army's 3rd Engineer Brigade and an engineer battalion under the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division/ROK-U.S. Combined Division.
The combined division was launched in 2015 as an emblem of the Seoul-Washington alliance. ROK stands for the South's official name, the Republic of Korea.
Military vehicles cross a makeshift bridge assembled by South Korean and U.S. troops during combined river-crossing drills at a training ground in the border county of Yeoncheon, 62 kilometers of Seoul, in this photo provided by the South's Army on March 15, 2023. The drills kicked off on March 6 and will run until March 17. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
During the drills, the choppers provided air cover with some personnel setting up a smoke screen to protect troops on the ground as they assembled a makeshift bridge to cross the 180-meter wide Imjin River, the armed service said.
"This exercise served as an opportunity to maximize the interoperability of the river-crossing equipment of South Korea and the United States and for the troops to experience the importance of the alliance," an Army official was quoted as saying.
The river-crossing training is proceeding alongside the allies' 11-day computer-simulated Freedom Shield exercise that began Monday.
Meanwhile, the South's Air Force conducted standalone air drills, featuring nonstop daytime and nighttime fighter jet sorties from major air bases across the country.
With a focus on reinforcing capabilities to operate continuously during wartime, the 36-hour exercise kicked off Tuesday morning. It mobilized fully armed F-35A, F-15K and KF-16 fighters.
South Korean and U.S. troops take part in combined river-crossing drills at a training ground in the border county of Yeoncheon, 62 kilometers of Seoul, in this photo provided by the South's Army on March 15, 2023. The drills kicked off on March 6 and will run until March 17. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
A South Korean KF-16 fighter jet prepares for nighttime deployment at the Air Force's 20th Fighter Wing in Seosan, 151 kilometers south of Seoul, on March 14, 2023, in this photo provided by the armed service the next day. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
yunhwanchae@yna.co.kr
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en.yna.co.kr · by 채윤환 · March 15, 2023
5. Rumors circulate in Hyesan about opening of Samjang Customs House
Will reopening trade provide sufficient relief for the Korean people in the north? Will KJU continue the other draconian population and resources control measures in place to keep his iron boat on the throats of the Korean people?
Rumors circulate in Hyesan about opening of Samjang Customs House
Trading companies in Yanggang Province are making all sorts of preparations for an expected expansion in trade, a reporting partner told Daily NK
By Lee Chae Un - 2023.03.15 3:00pm
dailynk.com
FILE PHOTO: North Korean trucks can be seen heading to the Chinese side of the border on the Sino-North Korean Friendship Bridge. (Daily NK)
Rumors are circulating in Hyesan about the opening of the Samjang Customs House, reflecting rising expectations about the restart of China-North Korea trade.
“Rumors had gone around Hyesan last month that the Samjang Customs House in Taehongdan County would open, but there have recently been new rumors circulating that the customs house will open this Wednesday [Mar. 15],” a reporting partner in Yanggang Province told Daily NK on Monday, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“Many people are earnestly hoping that the customs house will really open this time,” he added.
In short, rumors had gone around Hyesan late last month that the Samjang Customs House in Taehongdan County’s Samjang Workers District would open sometime in March. Now, rumors about the customs house are once again circulating, this time with a specific date of opening.
Daily NK reported in December that North Korea had begun preparations to expand trade through Hyesan Customs House starting in February, including granting approval for the construction of a quarantine facility.
As of early March, however, Hyesan Customs House had not begun operations. Now, there are rumors circulating in Hyesan that Taehongdan County’s Samjang Customs House will open on Mar. 15.
“People are hoping at least one of the customs houses will open, be it Hyesan or Samjang,” the reporting partner said. “That’s because people will get a boost to their livelihoods through market activity only if the customs houses open and goods begin to flow in from China.”
HOPE MIXED IN WITH SKEPTICISM
However, people who have been disappointed by previous rumors are hopeful yet skeptical of the latest rumors, wondering whether the customs houses will really open this time.
One resident of Hyesan told Daily NK that rumors that the customs house will reopen are “giving false hope to people struggling to survive.”
“People are just barely hanging on in the hope that, if the border opens, they can somehow escape their terrible situation,” she said. “But if they don’t open the border this time, I think people will have difficulties enduring things much longer.”
The reporting partner also pointed out that the customs houses have remained closed despite rumors about their opening circulating since last year. “We’ll need to wait to see if Samjang Customs House opens as the rumors going around suggest,” he said.
“The state hasn’t opened the customs houses yet because if trade restarts, people will do whatever they can to flee [across the border] or engage in smuggling activities,” the reporting partner continued, adding,”the government had eliminated these activities under the pretext of preventing the spread of infectious disease, but it is concerned that opening the customs houses will allow these activities to grow rampant again.”
Meanwhile, trading companies in Yanggang Province are making all sorts of preparations for an expected expansion in trade.
The Yanggang Province-based reporting partner said trading companies are doing everything they can to secure goods for export, and foreign currency-earning organizations in Samsu County and Kimjongsuk County are conducting inspections on the goods they have already secured for export.
Translated by David Black. Edited by Robert Lauler.
Daily NK works with a network of reporting partners who live inside North Korea. Their identities remain anonymous due to security concerns. More information about Daily NK’s reporting partner network and information gathering activities can be found on our FAQ page here.
Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
Read in Korean
dailynk.com
6. ＜Inside N. Korea＞Poverty-stricken urban dwellers raid farming villages in search of food…the police are on emergency alert to deal with the rise in robberies
I remain concerned about the internal conditions in north Korea. We need to be prepared for myriad contingencies.
Big 8 Contingencies
1. Provocations to gain political and economic concessions
2. nk Attack – execution of the nK campaign plan to reunify the peninsula by force
3. Civil War/Chaos/Anarchy
4. Refugee crisis
5. Humanitarian Assistance/Disaster relief
6. WMD, loss of control – seize and secure operations
7. Resistance to foreign intervention (e.g., insurgency)
8. How to handle the nKPA during regime collapse short of war
＜Inside N. Korea＞Poverty-stricken urban dwellers raid farming villages in search of food…the police are on emergency alert to deal with the rise in robberies
asiapress.org
(FILE PHOTO) For a long time, the poorest people in North Korea have been farmers. However, now there are urban dwellers who trek to rural villages to pick up seeds or beg. The photo shows a woman in a rural village pulling a cow. Taken by Jang Jung-gil in a rural village on the outskirts of Pyongyang in October 2008. (ASIAPRESS)
People in vulnerable classes within North Korea’s urban areas are dying of malnutrition and illness due to the country’s severe economic troubles. The government has failed to provide adequate support or assistance to people in the depths of poverty, and the increase in thefts and robberies in different areas of the country has forced the police into a state of emergency. An ASIAPRESS reporting partner in the northern part of the country recently provided insight into the current state of affairs. (KANG Ji-won)
◆ Poverty-stricken urban dwellers invade rural villages in search of food
A reporting partner living in Musan County told ASIAPRESS in late February that a husband and wife were found tied up in their house in the middle of the day in Namchon, a rural village near the Tumen River.
“Two men had come by the house and asked for water, but then threatened the couple with a knife before taking all the food and sellable items in the house. A rise in crime involving people pretending to be merchants who are going around empty houses in rural villages and stealing anything that can be sold such as livestock and food has led the police to intensify their patrols. There are a lot of thieves who want to steal livestock and rice mills from collective farms, so the police are conducting patrols every two hours.”
In Musan County, the police have banned men from conducting business in rural villages. Any men found to be conducting business are subject to having their bags searched before being thrown out of the area. The police are also emphasizing that anyone coming from other areas, even relatives, must register their presence at any places they stop by or sleep in.
◆ Chickens and dogs have disappeared from the streets
Crime is also increasing in Hoeryong. A reporting partner in the city told ASIAPRESS the following in March:
“Every morning, there are rumors that robberies took place here or there. A gang of three men, including a former soldier, was caught stealing a cow at the Obongri Farm and put in prison. In Wonsanri, a rice mill storage facility was raided on March 2, with thieves making off with more than 200 kilograms of rice in just 20 minutes. The police are investigating anyone looking suspicious as part of efforts to catch the criminals, even conducting house searches.”
The reporting partner said that chickens and dogs can no longer be seen on the streets of Hoeryong.
“Everybody is going through a tough time now. Owners (of dogs and chickens) don’t want to let their animals go outside their homes because people try to catch and eat them. There are poor people who try to steal anything they can get their hands on. They don’t have anything else to eat.”
After the COVID-19 pandemic began in January 2020, the Kim Jong-un regime closed the country’s borders with China and implemented heavy restrictions on trade. Bans on movement and business activities have led urban dwellers to lose much of their cash incomes and there has been a drastic increase in poverty-stricken people.
※ ASIAPRESS communicates with its reporting partners through Chinese cell phones smuggled into North Korea.
asiapress.org
7. N. Korea calls on people to actively engage in springtime tree planting
"When is the best time to plant a tree? 20 years ago. When is the next best time? Right now."
N. Korea calls on people to actively engage in springtime tree planting
The authorities are emphasizing the importance of tree planting for preventing natural disasters and restoring forests
dailynk.com
Kim Jong Un at a tree planting event on Mar. 2, 2022. (Rodong Sinmun - News1)
North Korea called on its people to actively take part in springtime tree planting as the country marked Tree Planting Day — North Korea’s equivalent of Arbor Day — on Tuesday.
A reporting partner in North Pyongan Province told Daily NK on Monday that the authorities issued an order for people to take part in springtime tree planting “in a responsible way based on prior organized activities such as sapling preparation” to mark Tree Planting Day.
The order emphasized the importance of tree planting for preventing natural disasters and restoring forests.
Ahead of Tree Planting Day, North Korean authorities ordered organized efforts to bring everyone “together as one” for springtime tree planting through “organic cooperation” between provincial planning, land management, urban management, construction and transportation departments, the reporting partner said.
In particular, North Korea called on officials to persuade and educate people to take part in tree planting efforts with a sense of patriotism, calling springtime tree planting an “important activity to make the nation’s mountains and fields green,” and stressed that people should contribute to national development by properly planting trees, even if they just plant one tree.
In response, North Pyongan Province authorities convened a meeting of department heads earlier this month and made a special plea to mobilize workers, housewives and even students throughout the province to ensure there is enough saplings on Tree Planting Day so that people can plant trees on that day.
Moreover, forestry officials called on people to properly plant their trees, “even if only a single sapling,” teaching them tree planting regulations such as how deep holes need to be dug and how far apart the trees should be.
Authorities in North Pyongan Province also called on people to take care of their trees after Tree Planting Day, noting the importance of ensuring the trees have good survival rates.
Daily NK’s reporting partner said officials were ordered to find out how many trees planted last year are still alive and report their findings.
North Pyongan Province authorities also said it would tabulate morning and afternoon public participation in Tree Planting Day activities and review how the planted acreage and results stack up against planned targets.
It also said it would use the opportunity to review the survival rate of trees planted last year.
The reporting partner said saplings were distributed to all agencies and enterprises in North Pyongan Province, but with saplings in short supply this year, these organizations have been ordered to secure saplings on their own.
“For the shortfall, they have to either gather money to buy saplings or go deep into the mountains and pull them out of the ground, so officials at agencies and enterprises are unhappy about the situation,” he said.
The Standing Committee of the Supreme People’s Assembly issued an ordinance on Oct. 25 of last year changing Tree Planting Day from Mar. 2 to Mar. 14.
The ordinance explained that the date is a “historic day” when Kim Il Sung handed down instructions on Mar. 14, 1952, calling for a pan-national effort to restore forests destroyed by US bombings during the Korean War, and that the date change aimed to glorify Kim’s achievement of “lighting the first signal fire of forestry restoration.”
Translated by David Black. Edited by Robert Lauler.
Daily NK works with a network of reporting partners who live inside North Korea. Their identities remain anonymous due to security concerns. More information about Daily NK’s reporting partner network and information gathering activities can be found on our FAQ page here.
Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
Read in Korean
dailynk.com
8. Nuke use by North would mean end of regime: U.S.
Pretty clear statement re-emphasizing previous statements from the SECDEF (and ROK Minister of defense)
Wednesday
March 15, 2023
dictionary + A - A
Nuke use by North would mean end of regime: U.S.
https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2023/03/15/national/northKorea/korae-north--korea-missiles/20230315160513612.html
Pentagon spokesman Air Force Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder speaks during a briefing at the Pentagon in Washington on Tuesday [AP/YONHAP]
The Pentagon reiterated that the use of nuclear weapons by North Korea would spell the end of the totalitarian regime.
“I think we’ve been very clear that were North Korea to employ a nuclear weapon it would be the end of the North Korean regime,” said Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder on Tuesday. “Our focus continues to be on working very closely with our allies and our partners in the region to deter aggression, to preserve stability and security in the region and that will continue to be our focus.”
He was speaking to the press after North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles from its western coast into the East Sea on Tuesday.
The two SRBMs were launched from Changyon, South Hwanghae Province, at 7:41 a.m. and 7:51 a.m., and landed in waters east of the Korean Peninsula, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
North Korea’s mouthpiece Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) also reported Wednesday that it launched two ground-to-ground ballistic missiles in a demonstration firing drill on Tuesday, vowing to "annihilate the enemy.”
“The missiles fired in an area around Jangyon County of South Hwanghae Province precisely hit the target, Phi Islet, in the waters off Pangjin-dong, Chongam District, Chongjin City of North Hamgyong Province, located 611.4kms away from the fired spot,” said the KCNA on Wednesday.
This photo provided by the North Korean state media KCNA shows what it says is a ballistic missile the country test-fired on Tuesday. [AP/YONHAP]
The launches took place as the South Korea-U.S. joint excercise Freedom Shield began earlier this week.
Ned Price, spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, said in a briefing in Washington D.C. on Tuesday that the launches change nothing in the ongoing joint training schedule.
“I’m not in a position today to say whether any of the exercises you refer to would be implicated as part of those practical steps,” said Price, in response to a question on whether there is a possibility that Washington and Seoul could tone down their joint exercises if North Korea decides to engage in diplomacy.
“We’re always going to have an ironclad commitment to the security of our treaty allies, including the ROK and Japan in this case,” he added. “We’re always going to remain committed to the extended deterrence that we afford to our treaty allies.”
The Freedom Shield exercise is being conducted over an 11-day period through March 23 and will integrate elements of "live exercises," according to the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK).
Participating units include elements of the South Korean military, USFK, United Nations Command and the Combined Forces Commands, which will engage in 20 field drills, including the Ssangyong amphibious exercise, for the large-scale Warrior Shield field-maneuver exercise.
The exercise will be the longest command post exercise to date and the largest joint exercise in five years.
Tuesday’s missiles marked North Korea's second launch this week and fifth ballistic missile launch of the year.
Both missiles were modified variants of the North’s Iskander-type short-range ballistic missiles, according to the South Korean military.
They are known as KN-23s by U.S. military intelligence.
BY ESTHER CHUNG [chung.juhee@joongang.co.kr]
9. North Korea says missile launches helped train for missions at any time
Missile launches can have multiple purposes, from messaging in support of blackmail diplomacy to advanced programs to crew training.
North Korea says missile launches helped train for missions at any time
Reuters · by Reuters
SEOUL, March 15 (Reuters) - North Korea's latest missile launches were a military drill designed to train crews to carry out their mission at any time and "annihilate the enemy" if necessary, the country's state media KCNA said on Wednesday.
North Korea fired the two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea off its east coast on Tuesday, South Korea's military said at the time, the latest of several weapons tests as the South and the United States conduct their largest joint military drills in years.
The launch was a "demonstration drill" and saw two surface-to-surface tactical ballistic missiles fired from near the west coast in South Hwanghae province, flying some 611 kms (380 miles) over the country before hitting a target on a small island off the east coast, the KCNA report confirmed.
"Saying that they will surely annihilate the enemy if they fight it, the commander of the unit resolved to thoroughly have the ability to fully carry out its duty of fire assault any time by further intensifying the training of every fire assault company," KCNA reported.
[1/3] View shows a missile fired by the North Korean military at an undisclosed location in this picture released by North Korea's Central News Agency (KCNA) on March 15, 2023. KCNA via REUTERS
The firing of the missiles come as the 11-day joint drills between South Korean and American forces, dubbed "Freedom Shield 23," are under way, their largest joint military drills in years.
Pyongyang condemns the drills as a rehearsal for invasion and proof of hostile policies from Seoul and Washington.
The allies say the drills are necessary to deter North Korea, which has launched a record number of missiles over the past year, and has been observed making repairs at its nuclear weapons test site, raising fears of a new nuclear detonation for the first time since 2017.
South Korea's military "strongly condemned" North Korea, calling the repeated missile launches a grave provocation threatening the region's peace and security, and a U.S. State Department spokesperson criticised the launches as violation of multiple United Nations Security Council Resolutions.
Reporting by Hyunsu Yim and Josh Smith; Editing by Leslie Adler and Stephen Cosates
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Reuters · by Reuters
10. Prosecutors indict suspected spies for North Korea
The United Front Department and the Cultural Engagement Bureau of north Korea are conducting active espionage and subversion of the ROK.
Wednesday
March 15, 2023
dictionary + A - A
Prosecutors indict suspected spies for North Korea
https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2023/03/15/national/socialAffairs/North-Korea-spy-ring-Changwon/20230315150852901.html
A civic activist suspected of spying for North Korea arrives at the Seoul Central District Court in southern Seoul to attend his arrest warrant hearing on Jan. 31. [YONHAP]
Prosecutors indicted four South Korean activists suspected of founding a pro-Pyongyang spy ring based in Changwon, South Gyeongsang, on charges of violating the National Security Law.
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office on Wednesday referred the suspects, including their 70-year-old leader Hwang, to the courts after an investigation into their alleged espionage activities.
The four suspects, who resided in Changwon, are accused of establishing an underground organization called the Self-Reliant People's Liberation Front in 2016 to foment unrest against the South Korean government and the U.S. military presence in the South.
They were arrested in late January on suspicion of establishing the Changwon spy ring in 2016 and contacting the North's intelligence agents in Cambodia and other Southeast Asian countries to receive directives and money from them. They were later transferred to the custody of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office on Feb. 17.
Prosecutors accused them of following orders by North Korean agents to criticize the South Korean government and foment public division for more than six years. They are also accused of collecting information on the domestic situation and reporting it to the North.
Members of the ring allegedly infiltrated civic groups or labor unions related to farmers and students to recruit new members.
Their alleged espionage activities were discovered after six years of internal investigation by the National Intelligence Service (NIS), including collecting overseas evidence and wiretapping.
The prosecution described the spy ring as a criminal group operating secretly with the goal of achieving North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's revolutionary strategy against South Korea, with Juche, or self-reliance, as its guiding ideology.
When contacting North Korean agents, they allegedly used methods decided upon in advance, and allegedly discussed destroying or swallowing mass storage devices such as USBs in which data was stored if discovered.
The four suspects are also members of the South Gyeongsang Progressive Alliance, which since last year has held demonstrations demanding the resignation of President Yoon Suk Yeol and the suspension of joint military exercises by South Korea and the United States.
BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]
11. N. Korea confirms firing of 2 ground-to-ground ballistic missiles Tuesday
The regime is on a roll.
We should also keep in mind the nKPA is probably concluding the Winter Training Cycle so all these events could be connected to that w as well. But of course we have to consider the messages and signalling.
(LEAD) N. Korea confirms firing of 2 ground-to-ground ballistic missiles Tuesday | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 김수연 · March 15, 2023
(ATTN: UPDATES throughout with more details)
SEOUL, March 15 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has launched two ground-to-ground ballistic missiles in a demonstration drill designed to train sub-military units, vowing to "annihilate the enemy," according to state media Wednesday.
A missile unit of the North's military launched the missiles "in a medium-range system" Tuesday in Jangyon, South Hwanghae Province, according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
South Korea's military said Tuesday the North fired two short-range ballistic missiles from the Jangyon area toward the East Sea, a day after Seoul and Washington kicked off a regular joint military exercise.
The North said the missiles hit a pre-set target on an islet off its east coast after traveling some 611 kilometers.
This photo, carried by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on March 15, 2023, shows the North firing two ground-to-ground ballistic missiles from Jangyon, South Hwanghae Province, the previous day. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
Photos carried by the North's state media showed the North firing what appears to be KN-23 missiles, its version of the Russian Iskander, from a transporter erector launcher (TEL).
The North said it will "surely annihilate the enemy" if its military fights against its enemy and vowed to "fully carry out the duty of fire assault any time" by intensifying fire assault training, according to the KCNA.
The latest launch came after the North fired what it claimed to be two "strategic cruise missiles" from a submarine Sunday and conducted a "fire assault drill" three days earlier.
Pyongyang has decried the Seoul-Washington exercises as rehearsal for an invasion against it and threatened to take "overwhelming" action against military activities by the allies.
Youtube
https://youtu.be/O3AlkSUZIWo
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 김수연 · March 15, 2023
12. More North Korean defectors pursue entrepreneurship for better life
A positive development for the future unification process as well as for support to influence operations.
But note the buried lead: the decline of escapees in recent years.
More North Korean defectors pursue entrepreneurship for better life
The Korea Times · March 15, 2023
A still of the 2017 documentary "The Jangmadang Generation" produced by the humanitarian NGO, Liberty in North Korea (LiNK). The film features young North Koreans who were born and raised after markets popped up in North Korea in the wake of the deadly famine in the mid-1990s. Courtesy of LiNKWith the arrivals of a total of 33,882 North Korean defectors to date, their assimilation into South Korean society has emerged as a key issue. From next week, The Korea Times will publish regularly a series of interviews with North Koreans living in the South to hear their stories about life here and find possible policy implications to make the country more inclusive. ―ED.
By Kang Hyun-kyung
Startups have become a buzzword among North Korean defectors living in South Korea as they mull various options to start their own business in order to escape what they perceive as discrimination at South Korean companies against people from the North.
A 2022 survey conducted by Korea Hana Foundation, which was set up to help defectors settle here, found that 17.9 percent of North Koreans living in South Korea are self-employed. The longer they've lived in the South, the higher the self-employment rate, the survey showed.
The self-employment rate for North Korean defectors is 3.3 percentage points lower than that of South Koreans. But it is still deemed high, considering that South Korea ranked eighth in terms of the self-employment rate in 2022 among the member countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The self-employment rate for people who escaped from North Korea is somewhere between that of Poland (19.7 percent) which came in 11th and the Czech Republic (15.9 percent), which stood at 12th among OECD countries in terms of the self-employed rate.
"People from North Korea find it difficult to adapt to the workplace culture in South Korea," Seo Jae-pyeong, president of the Seoul-based non-profit group, Association for North Korean Defectors, said. "Many people who were born in North Korea openly say they will start their own business, once they make enough seed money to finance their startups."
The 2022 Korea Hana Foundation survey shows North Korean escapees' growing interest in starting their own businesses. When asked what kind of policy assistance they want from the government, 21.9 percent answered financial support for employment and launching their own businesses, followed by medical assistance (18.7 percent) and housing assistance (13.3 percent).
From May 1 to June 30, 2022, Hana Foundation surveyed 2,198 North Koreans who arrived in South Korea between 1997 and 2021. Professional interviewers met them one on one to get their answers to given questions.
The self-employment rate among North Korean defectors is expected to go up further in the near future with the arrivals of a younger generation of North Koreans who are described as the "Jangmadang Generation." Jangmadang is the North Korean word for open-air markets, which sprung up in the North after the deadly famine in the mid-1990s as state rations were cut.
Korea Times graphic by Cho Sang-wonThey are the equivalent of North Korea's millennials and Generation Z, commonly known here in the South as "Generation MZ," according to Sokeel Park, the South Korea country director of the humanitarian NGO, Liberty in North Korea (LINK) in Seoul.
"They don't remember the pre-famine period," Park said. "In the post-famine period, the government was not providing (the necessities), so the people had to feed themselves. They become entrepreneurs and do market activities. The Jangmadang Generation were involved in business or market activities from their early ages, helping their parents and doing their own thing."
According to Korea Hana Foundation, North Korean escapees in their twenties and thirties account for 34.9 percent of the North Korean community in the South.
Knowing how market economies work through their hands-on experience in their homeland, the younger North Korean escapees came to develop their own business acumen. Their presence in the South may trigger a possible "startup boom" in the North Korean community.
Park said the Jangmadang Generation will also have a significant socio-economic impact on North Korea as well.
"Very importantly, this was a period when more information and media information came in from the outside world. The influx of technology and word of mouth through DVDs, USBs. Through these, young North Koreans learned about the outside world to have a different ideology, different desires and perceptions about the outside world from their parents' generation," he said, calling them the agents of change in the North.
"This generation and the next generations are very important for future economic and social and cultural change that will happen in the North."
Korea Times graphic by Cho Sang-wonThe influx of North Korean defectors in the South began in 2001.
The number of North Koreans who risked their lives by choosing the perilous journey to South Korea for freedom and better economic conditions reached its peak in 2009 when 2,914 people defected to the South. The figure has dropped from 2012 when Kim Jong-un ascended to power following the death of his father Kim Jong-il. The younger Kim tightened border controls and imposed fear politics to prevent North Koreans from escaping their homeland.
Amid the slowdown in North Korean arrivals, COVID-19 became a game changer. The number of North Koreans escaping to the South dropped sharply to 229 in 2020, 63 in 2021 and 67 last year.
According to the Ministry of Unification, a total of 33,882 North Korean defectors arrived in the South so far. The number is cumulative, meaning that it is not an actual figure of North Koreans living in South Korea. Those who died, went missing or migrated to other countries are not reflected in the figure.
North Koreans living in the South said discrimination, among others, is the most daunting challenge they face in their daily lives.
Seo said that discrimination in the workplace, in particular, is another key factor that facilitated North Korean escapees' growing interest in startups.
"Those born in North Korea complain that they are discriminated against in the workplace and this made it difficult for them to continue their careers as salaried workers. If they start their own business, many of them think they won't experience job-related discrimination."
In his 2018 memoir, "Castaway: People Who Don't Belong Anywhere in the Two Koreas," author Joo Seung-hyun likened himself and other North Koreans who found new homes in the South to "second-class citizens."
"I've met North Korean defectors who pretend to be Joseon-jok (ethnic Koreans from China) here in the South. They do so because of jobs. Their chances of getting jobs become dim once they reveal that they escaped from North Korea," Joo wrote. "Here in South Korea, people North Korean escapees are treated like the 'untouchables' and the way they are treated in the workplace is even worse than how Joseon-jok are received."
Joo claimed that discrimination has been part of his life since he arrived in the South after crossing the military demarcation line in 2002.
North Korean defectors arrive at Incheon International Airport in this 2011 file photo. The number of North Koreans who arrived in South Korea peaked in 2009 at 2,914 and dropped sharply after the outbreak of COVID-19. Korea Times file
There is a gap in the narratives of discrimination in the workplace between Southerners and Northerners. While the North Korean settlers complain about biased treatment by employers, Southerners blame the escapees for being impatient and prone to quitting.
When facing challenges in the workplace, some South Koreans say the North Koreans just quit without even trying to find solutions.
"Some employers here complain that North Korean defectors are job hoppers," said Choi Chan-hee, president of Future Forum for Women in Gangwon Province.
Over the past decade since she first met a defector through a Catholic nun, Choi has helped North Koreans living in the eastern province find jobs by using her extensive network with local business leaders and city government officials.
Choi said she personally has witnessed a meaningful progress made in North Korean escapees' assimilation into South Korean society during the past decade, noting that some defectors she helped now became very successful in their careers.
"But there are some Northerners who are still struggling. I think they are partially responsible for their job insecurity. They blame South Korea's corporate culture as a source of their problems. But I disagree with them," she said.
Kim Young-hee, a senior public relations official at Korea Hana Foundation, said job-hopping is a temporary phenomenon that many North Korean escapees experience in their early years in the South.
"It's natural that they go through trials and errors in their job search activities until they find jobs suitable for them, mainly because they came from a society very different from South Korea," she said.
According to Kim, many North Korean defectors, particularly males, find jobs in the manufacturing sector during their first year here, due to a shortage of workers and ample job openings.
"They soon realize that their work is not rewarding financially, as they believe they are less paid than construction site workers. They go for jobs that pay them better," she said.
She said their job-hopping stops once they find work that fit their aptitude and skills.
"There is one thing we need to ask ourselves about job-hopping by North Korean escapees. If they are satisfied with their current employment and feel that their jobs are rewarding, who's going to quit?" she asked. "Once they search for work during their first three to four years here, few North Korean escapees leave their jobs."
Sokeel Park, South Korea county director of Liberty in North Korea / Courtesy of Sokeel Park
The Korea Times · March 15, 2023
13. China's 'greed' compels Korea to side with US, Japan
Conclusion:
Before extending its critique to Korea's compelling, yet autonomous decision to reinforce its alliance with the U.S., China must come forward by self-reflecting on its behavior. With this monster as it is, the ROK-U.S. alliance is already overwhelmed. If China continues to evolve into a monster, it will upset the foundations of the liberal international order, bandwagoning by U.S. allies will be China's responsibility to bear.
China's 'greed' compels Korea to side with US, Japan
The Korea Times · March 15, 2023
By Choo Jae-woo
Recent news reports on South Korea's diplomatic moves are not music to the ears of China. On March 7, South Korea announced its plan to compensate wartime forced labor victims without the involvement of Japanese firms. It will seek donations from Korean companies that benefited from Japanese reparations and assistance as a result of the normalization of relations between the two countries back in 1965.
The next day, it was reported that Seoul plans to "proactively accelerate" its participation in the Quad working group. On March 9, the presidential office confirmed that President Yoon Suk Yeol's visit to Japan will take place on March 16. China sees the U.S. as being behind all these deals, and Korea succumbing to U.S. pressure.
An op-ed article in Global Times on March 9 was highly critical of Korea's plan to join the Quad working group. The plan, in the eyes of the Chinese, was the result of growing U.S. pressure on Korea. The same article further went on to argue that the Korean president, under the circumstances, had no other choice but to seek an alternative plan to the Supreme Court's ruling in 2018. The final verdict ruled in favor of the plaintiffs and ordered Japanese companies to compensate them or otherwise face the consequences of their assets in Korea being confiscated.
The following year, Japan countered Korea's court decision with some retaliatory measures, removing Korea's fast-export status, also known as the "white list." It meant Japan imposing tighter controls on exports of three materials to Korea, which are used in the chip and displays industries. Against this background, the article argued that Korea had to make a compromise in order to be part of an international organization and corresponding dialogue mechanism joined by Japan like the Quad working group.
China has long had such a concern about President Yoon's prospective political propensity to side with the U.S., and possible drive to tilt toward Japan. The Global Times on March 9, 2022, carried an editorial that had a stern warning. It read that Washington was trying to influence Seoul, either by applying pressure or by tempting it with the prospect of shared interests. The latter is intended to serve as the focal point of geopolitical conflict in Northeast Asia. South Korea's interest is not served by this, the editorial claimed.
The editorial went on to assert that the president-elect of South Korea needs to find a solution for how to balance relations with China and the U.S. while continuing to serve as a bridge rather than "taking sides." The president's political sagacity and strategic resolve will also be put to the test. It is important to note that there is more to the world than a basic "pro-U.S." or "pro-China" divide.
Geopolitically, South Korea is in a challenging, delicate and dangerous situation. To avoid having its eyesight "obstructed by floating clouds," the editorial argued, it must rise higher.
Yoon's foreign policy, however, is not about taking sides. Rather, it is about preserving a liberal international order that is buttressed by universal values. Korea as a nation that highly appreciates liberty, freedom, democracy and human rights is committed to the defense of these values in the wake of China's rise. These values, he reckoned, can only prevail if and when the institutions that they built were respected and practiced as they were originally intended. States are obliged to follow the norms and rules framed by institutions. This is where China fails to recognize these compelling factors, which affect Yoon's decision.
China's fast ascent has depleted its domestic resources and accelerated its dependency on overseas markets. China's rapid development has been outpacing the growth of its insatiable appetite for resources. China has become a 'monster' in itself for its excessive appetite. The existing laws, order, norms and rules are mere obstacles in satiating its hunger. It is why China in recent times looks as if it is more and more accustomed to ill-advised behavior with its resource procurement efforts. The problem lies in excessively revealing the gluttony of China's "monster" in the process of procuring these resources. China has become despicable in the world's resource markets, often ignoring, disrespecting, and sometimes violating and breaching existing laws and order, norms and rules.
With this gluttony, China's "monster" has no choice but to act selfishly. China's claim to the South China Sea as its territorial waters, for instance, is for reasons of resources, and out of disrespect of international maritime laws. Aiming at economic vulnerabilities in Third World resource-bearing countries, it continues to exploit them in the name of its Belt and Road Initiative.
It hardly lives up to its commitment to respect intellectual property rights and resorting to stealing to obtain high-end technologies and data has become a normal practice for the Chinese. The rapid change in food preferences of 1.4 billion Chinese people has impacted the global food supply chain. Furthermore, as China evolves into a "monster," we, mankind, cannot but worry about its threat to the global environmental ecosystem due to the waste and pollutants excreted.
Before extending its critique to Korea's compelling, yet autonomous decision to reinforce its alliance with the U.S., China must come forward by self-reflecting on its behavior. With this monster as it is, the ROK-U.S. alliance is already overwhelmed. If China continues to evolve into a monster, it will upset the foundations of the liberal international order, bandwagoning by U.S. allies will be China's responsibility to bear.
Choo Jae-woo (jwc@khu.ac.kr) is a professor of international relations at Kyung Hee University and director of the China Center at the Korea Research Institute for National Security. He was a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution.
The Korea Times · March 15, 2023
14. N. Korean provocation cannot stop US-S. Korea joint military drills: NSC coordinator
Good. We must never back down.
N. Korean provocation cannot stop US-S. Korea joint military drills: NSC coordinator
The Korea Times · by 2023-03-14 16:14 | North Korea · March 15, 2023
A "strategic cruise missile" is fired from the 8.24 Yongung submarine from Kyongpho Bay in the East Sea at dawn in this photo released by the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), March 12. YonhapNorth Korea's continued provocations will not stop the United States from conducting joint military exercises with South Korea, a spokesperson for the U.S. National Security Council (NSC) said Tuesday.
North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles on Tuesday (Korea time), marking its fifth missile launch this year.
"If they (missile launches) are designed to disrupt or delay alliance's training events, then they will fail," NSC coordinator for strategic communications John Kirby told a telephonic press briefing.
"We are going to continue to train with our ROK allies," he added, referring to South Korea by its official name, the Republic of Korea.
The North's latest missile provocation came one day after Seoul and Washington launched a joint military drill, known as Freedom Shield.
"There's not going to be any change to our training with our Korean allies," Kirby reiterated.
Tensions rise on Korean Peninsula during largest Korea-US drill in years
U.S. Indo-Pacific Command earlier said the North Korean missiles fired Tuesday did not pose an immediate threat to the U.S. or allies, but pointed out that the missile launches were in violation of multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions.
North Korea fired an unprecedented 69 ballistic missiles in 2022, each in violation of Security Council resolutions.
Pyongyang has warned of "overwhelming actions" against joint military exercises of South Korea and the U.S., accusing them of being aimed at invading the North.
State Department spokesperson Ned Price dismissed the accusation on Monday, saying the joint military drills are "routine" and "purely defensive" events.
Price said in a telephonic press briefing on Tuesday that the issue of joint military exercises can be discussed with North Korea should the reclusive country decide to engage in dialogue, noting the country has refused to do so.
"But were that to be the case, were the DPRK to take us up on this (dialogue offer), we would look to see if we could devise practical steps that could help to advance what is that longer term objective of the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," he said when asked if the U.S. may consider scaling down or even halting joint military exercises if North Korea returned to dialogue.
DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, North Korea's official name.
"I am not in a position today to say whether any of the exercises you have referred to would be implicated as part of those practical steps," added Price. "But the practical, specific steps that we may be in a position to take with the DPRK were (the DPRK) to engage, that would be the subject of dialogue and diplomacy, the very dialogue and diplomacy in which the DPRK has refused to engage."
Price emphasized that U.S. commitment to the security of its allies will remain unchanged regardless.
"We are always going to have an ironclad commitment to the security of our treaty allies, including the ROK and Japan in this case. We are always going to remain committed to the extended deterrence that we afford to our treaty allies," he said. (Yonhap)
The Korea Times · by 2023-03-14 16:14 | North Korea · March 15, 2023
De Oppresso Liber,
David Maxwell
Vice President, Center for Asia Pacific Strategy
Senior Fellow, Foundation for Defense of Democracies
Senior Fellow, Global Peace Foundation
Editor, Small Wars Journal
Twitter: @davidmaxwell161
Phone: 202-573-8647
email: david.maxwell161@gmail.com
| 
