Quotes of the Day:
"Also, as we look over the historical perspective, while World War II began in Europe, for the United States it began in the Pacific. It came from Asia. The Korean war came from Asia. The Vietnamese war came from Asia.
So, as we consider our past history, the United States involvement in war so often has been tied to our Pacific policy, or our lack of a Pacific policy, as the case might be.
As we look at Asia today, we see that the major world power which adopts a very aggressive attitude and a belligerent attitude in its foreign policy, Communist China, of course, is in Asia, and we find that the two minor world powers--minor, although they do have significant strength as we have learned--that most greatly threaten the peace of the world, that adopt the most belligerent foreign policy, are in Asia, North Korea and, of course, North Vietnam.
When we consider those factors we, I think, realize that if we are thinking down the road, down the long road--not just 4 years, 5 years, but 10, 15 or 20---that if we are going to have peace in the world, that potentially the greatest threat to that peace will be in the Pacific."
- Richard Nixon, Informal Remarks in Guam With Newsmen, July 25, 1969
“Armed conflict is a human condition, and I do not doubt we will continue to reinvent it from generation to generation.”
- Rupert Smith, The Utility of Force
“While the distribution of wealth and income need not be equal, it must be to everyone’s advantage, and at the same time, positions of authority and offices of command must be accessible to all.”
- John Rawls, A Theory of Justice
1. 6th Political Bureau Meeting of 8th C.C., WPK Held
2. U.S. lawmaker expresses support for end of war declaration, urges N. Korea to engage
3. Rep. Meeks Issues Statement on the Recent Missile Testing by North Korea
4. Analysis: Why North Korea’s Hypersonic Missile Test Is Troubling
5. South Korea pressures US military to do more to curb coronavirus infections
6. North Korea Considers Restarting Long-Range and Nuclear-Weapons Tests
7. N. Korea hints at lifting moratorium on ICBM, nuclear tests over U.S. 'hostile policy'
8. N. Korea ups ante to counter U.S.-led sanctions pressure amid internal hardships
9. South, U.S. take differing stances on North's recent launches
10. More fire and fury?
11. U.S. defines North Korea’s missile tests as ‘attacks’
12. NSC to prepare for possibility of escalating tensions as N. Korea hints at resuming major weapons tests
13. Seoul monitoring Pyongyang with 'sense of tension,' stresses need for dialogue
14. Sources: Around 200 N. Korean customs officials fully vaccinated against COVID-19
15. Signs emerge that North Korea may restart exports of certain goods
16. North Korea orders officials to prepare “largest-ever celebratory events” for upcoming leadership birthdays
1. 6th Political Bureau Meeting of 8th C.C., WPK Held
This is the source of many articles we are reading a lot of commentary among Korean watchers on social media.
This is exactly what we should expect from north Korea's political warfare strategy. Kim is doing exactly what he has told us he would do and it is in accordance with the 7 decades old Kim family regime playbook.
The Biden administration must hold firm now and be steady and resist the calls from the pundits who are now recommending appeasement in the face of these "threats."
This is political warfare. Are we going to fold in the face of it or execute our own superior form of political warfare?
6th Political Bureau Meeting of 8th C.C., WPK Held
Pyongyang, January 20 (KCNA) -- The Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) convened its 6th Meeting of the 8th Central Committee at the office building of the Party Central Committee on January 19 to discuss and decide immediate work and important policy issues of the Party and the state.
Kim Jong Un , general secretary of the WPK, was present at the meeting.
Attending the meeting were members of the Presidium of the Political Bureau of the C.C., WPK and members and alternate members of the Political Bureau of the Party Central Committee.
The respected Comrade Kim Jong Un presided over the meeting.
The meeting first discussed the issue of celebrating with splendor the 110th birth anniversary of President Kim Il Sung and the 80th birth anniversary of Chairman Kim Jong Il (the Day of the Sun and the Day of the Shining Star).
To most auspiciously and significantly celebrate the Day of the Sun and the Day of the Shining Star this significant year is the bounden duty and moral obligation of the descendents of the President and the soldiers and disciples of the Chairman and also the boundless honor and pride of our people who have struggled, remaining faithful to the cause of the President and the Chairman.
No holidays are more significant than the Day of the Sun and the Day of the Shining Star for our Party and people struggling to carry forward and accomplish the revolutionary cause of the President and the Chairman under the uplifted banner of great Kimilsungism-Kimjongilism. The very existence of our dignified Party and state is unthinkable without the immortal exploits left by the President and the Chairman in the glorious course of the Korean revolution.
The meeting called for making the Day of the Sun and the Day of the Shining Star this historic year important political occasions of further cementing the firm faith of our people to carry forward and accomplish the revolutionary cause of Juche pioneered and led by the President and the Chairman under the guidance of the Party to the end, and also of demonstrating before the world the high enthusiasm and revolutionary mettle of all the Party members and other people to glorify the decade of Juche 110 as the annals of victors bringing about the overall development of our style socialism.
The Political Bureau of the Party Central Committee gave detailed assignments to the organs of the Party and the state to celebrate with splendor the 110th birth anniversary of the President and the 80th birth anniversary of the Chairman as the great festivals of victory and glory to shine long in the annals of the country.
The meeting adopted a resolution of the Political Bureau of the WPK Central Committee "On celebrating with splendor the 110th birth anniversary of the Great Leader Comrade Kim Il Sung and the 80th birth anniversary of the Great Leader Comrade Kim Jong Il ".
The meeting heard a report analyzing the current situation around the Korean peninsula and a series of international issues and discussed the orientation for countermeasures against the U.S. for the future.
Also communicated to the participants were the U.S. recent moves of recklessly faulting for no reason the just exercise of the DPRK of its sovereignty.
In the last few years alone after the DPRK-U.S. summits the U.S. held hundreds of joint war drills which it committed itself to stop and conducted tests of all kinds of strategic weapons, while shipping ultra-modern attack means into south Korea and nuclear strategic weapons into the region around the Korean peninsula, seriously threatening the security of our state.
The U.S. viciously slurred our state and committed the foolish act of taking over 20 independent sanctions measures. Especially the present U.S. administration persists in maneuvers to deprive the DPRK of its right to self-defense.
All the facts clearly prove once again that the hostile policy towards the DPRK will exist in the future, too as long as there is the hostile entity of U.S. imperialism.
Assessing that the hostile policy and military threat by the U.S. have reached a danger line that can not be overlooked any more despite our sincere efforts for maintaining the general tide for relaxation of tension in the Korean peninsula since the DPRK-U.S. summit in Singapore, the Political Bureau of the Party Central Committee unanimously recognized that we should make more thorough preparation for a long-term confrontation with the U.S. imperialists. It concluded to take a practical action to more reliably and effectively increase our physical strength for defending dignity, sovereign rights and interests of our state.
The meeting of the Political Bureau reassigned the policy tasks for the national defence of immediately bolstering more powerful physical means which can efficiently control the hostile moves of the U.S. against the DPRK getting ever more serious day by day. It gave an instruction to a sector concerned to reconsider in an overall scale the trust-building measures that we took on our own initiative on a preferential ground and to promptly examine the issue of restarting all temporally-suspended activities.
The decision of the meeting is a timely and rightful measure for reliably guaranteeing the existence and sovereign rights of our state in view of the urgent requirements of the developing revolution under the prevailing situation.
The meeting fully demonstrated the revolutionary will and indomitable spirit of the WPK to uphold President Kim Il Sung and Chairman Kim Jong Il , the eternal suns of Juche and sacred images of socialist Korea, in high esteem forever and to build an independent and dignified powerful country on this land without fail. -0-
2. U.S. lawmaker expresses support for end of war declaration, urges N. Korea to engage
Yonhap - the semi-official news organization of South Korea gets this headline wrong from Congressman Meeks's press release. It left out the "although." However the journalist correct quotes from his statement in the fourth graph.
Although I’m supportive of an end of war declaration as part of a comprehensive process and talks, a declaration on its own is meaningless if North Korea is unwilling to engage in talks, is making no progress towards denuclearization, and is actively threatening and endangering U.S. allies and regional stability."
U.S. lawmaker expresses support for end of war declaration, urges N. Korea to engage | Yonhap News Agency
By Byun Duk-kun
WASHINGTON, Jan. 19 (Yonhap) -- Rep. Gregory Meeks, chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, on Wednesday expressed support for a South Korea-proposed declaration for the formal end to the Korean War while urging North Korea to return to dialogue.
He, however, said the proposed end of war declaration should come as part of a more "comprehensive process and talks" to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula.
"I commend the Biden and Moon Administrations for taking steps to engage North Korea and urge North Korea to return to the negotiating table," he said in a statement, referring to U.S. President Joe Biden and South Korean President Moon Jae-in.
"Although I'm supportive of an end of war declaration as part of a comprehensive process and talks, a declaration on its own is meaningless if North Korea is unwilling to engage in talks, is making no progress towards denuclearization, and is actively threatening and endangering U.S. allies and regional stability," said the statement, released by the house committee.
Seoul has been pushing to formally end the 1950-53 Korean War, insisting it could work as a catalyst to restart dialogue with North Korea.
Pyongyang has stayed away from denuclearization negotiations since late 2019. It has also ignored all U.S. overtures since the Biden administration took office a year ago on Thursday.
Meeks also condemned North Korea for its recent missile launches, which Pyongyang says included two test launches of a newly developed hypersonic missile.
"I categorically condemn North Korea's tests of two short-range ballistic missiles on Monday. This is the fourth in a series of ballistic missile launches that not only violate international law, but also destabilize the entire region," he said in his statement.
"North Korea must abandon its nuclear ambitions and immediately cease its provocative behavior, which only delays and complicates our ability to chart a path to peace on the Korean peninsula."
(END)
3. Rep. Meeks Issues Statement on the Recent Missile Testing by North Korea
Meeks Issues Statement on the Recent Missile Testing by North Korea
Washington, DC – Today, Representative Gregory W. Meeks, Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, issued the following statement regarding the recent missile testing by North Korea:
"I categorically condemn North Korea’s tests of two short-range ballistic missiles on Monday. This is the fourth in a series of ballistic missile launches that not only violate international law, but also destabilize the entire region. North Korea must abandon its nuclear ambitions and immediately cease its provocative behavior, which only delays and complicates our ability to chart a path to peace on the Korean peninsula.
“I commend the Biden and Moon Administrations for taking steps to engage North Korea and urge North Korea to return to the negotiating table. Although I’m supportive of an end of war declaration as part of a comprehensive process and talks, a declaration on its own is meaningless if North Korea is unwilling to engage in talks, is making no progress towards denuclearization, and is actively threatening and endangering U.S. allies and regional stability."
4. Analysis: Why North Korea’s Hypersonic Missile Test Is Troubling
Comments from a number of us below.
Analysis: Why North Korea’s Hypersonic Missile Test Is Troubling
January 19, 2022 11:22 PM
WASHINGTON —
Experts say North Korea’s hypersonic missile is hard to track and intercept because of its ability to maneuver, leaving South Korea vulnerable to North Korea’s missile attacks.
According to Jeffrey Lewis, a missile expert at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, the missiles’ capabilities may leave South Korea with little choice but to launch preemptive strikes on North Korea’s leadership before the regime orders the firing of missiles.
Despite the focus of attention on the missile’s speed, the real danger comes from the missile’s ability to maneuver, Lewis said.
He added that what North Korea tested earlier this month were maneuvering reentry vehicles (MaRV). A MaRV is a detachable gliding warhead that can change its course of flight.
“It’s just not right to say that this represents a shorter time of flight,” Lewis said. “What it represents is the ability to maneuver. So, the value of the maneuvering reentry vehicle is not that it would get to its target faster because it will get there slower.”
Hard to intercept
Lewis said the maneuverability of the missiles make them difficult to detect and intercept once they are in flight using missile defense systems.
He also said using preemptive strikes to destroy the missiles or launchers as they are being prepared to take off is equally difficult because locating where North Korea would fire them is hard to assess and target.
“It’s almost impossible to go out and find and destroy the launchers and so the only viable strategy South Korea has ever had has been to target the North Korean leadership before it can give the order.” Lewis said, adding, “That is extremely escalatory and dangerous in a crisis.”
North Korea said it successfully test-fired hypersonic missiles on Jan. 5 and Jan. 11.
“The test launch clearly demonstrated the control and stability of the hypersonic gliding warhead,” said North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Jan. 6, referring to the test conducted Jan. 5.
On Jan. 12, KCNA said, “The test-fire was aimed at the final verification of overall technical specifications of the developed hypersonic weapons system,” regarding the test conducted Jan. 11.
Bruce Bechtol, a former intelligence officer at the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency and now a professor at Angelo University in Texas, said the hypersonic missiles that North Korea tested appear to “have evade abilities better than anything [the regime] tested thus far,” being able to dodge “ballistic missile defense and anti-aircraft fire.”
Bechtol also said the missiles seem to have “more pinpointed accuracy than most of other” North Korean missiles.
Raising stakes
Ankit Panda, a senior fellow for the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, cautioned against South Korea using preemptive strikes.
“There’s a big risk brewing on the Korean Peninsula in that both Koreas are building large missile arsenals that they anticipate using first in a crisis,” said Panda. “The pressures to preempt are strong on both sides, and this can lead to a war that neither side intends through miscalculation.”
Bruce Bennett, a senior defense analyst at the RAND Corporation research center, said South Korea should consider destroying North Korea’s missiles before they are launched because of the risk associated with relying only on missile defense systems designed to intercept missiles during flight.
“Your missile defenses can’t do the whole job” because “missile defense systems aren’t everywhere in South Korea” leaving too many targets unprotected and because of the brief flight time from North Korea, Bennett said. “You’ve got to have capabilities to destroy these missiles as part of the Kill Chain, essentially.”
Return to brinkmanship
According to David Maxwell, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, North Korea’s recent missile tests show regime leader Kim Jong Un “is executing a political warfare strategy and developing the capabilities to fight and win a war” that “relies heavily on its blackmail diplomacy – the use of increased tension, threats and provocations to gain political and economic concessions.”
Bennett said Pyongyang’s reference to the missiles it conducted as “hypersonic” should not be taken at face value.
“They’re not what the U.S. or the Russians or the Chinese call a hypersonic missile,” Bennett said. “North Korea tends to exaggerate what it’s got.”
Following the U.S. sanctions, North Korea conducted two more tests of what it called tactical guided missiles on Jan. 14 and 17.
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman on Tuesday condemned North Korea’s missile tests during her phone conversation with Choi Jong-kun, South Korea’s first vice foreign minister, as the two discussed their efforts to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula.
5. South Korea pressures US military to do more to curb coronavirus infections
We have to be able to "fight through" the pandemic and maintain readiness.
I am not sure how providing daily case counts really helps the situation. Why does the ROKG think the troops have not received booster shots? I thought USFK had one of the highest vaccination rates in the US military.
Excerpts:
In its latest update Wednesday, USFK reported 566 infections between Jan. 11 and Monday. The command provided detailed information on its confirmed cases until late 2021, when it shifted to weekly case counts as “a matter of policy.”
South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday “entreated” the U.S. Embassy in Seoul “to urge USFK” to provide daily public updates on its COVID-19 cases and to have its “troops receive booster shots,” a ministry official said in an email Wednesday on the customary condition of anonymity.
...
Eighth Army commander Lt. Gen. Willard Burleson met with Jung on Jan. 7 to discuss his command’s pandemic response in relation to Pyeongtaek.
“All members of the Eighth Army are aware of the critical situation and are operating [within] strengthened quarantine guidelines,” Burleson said at the meeting.
The command “maintains a very aggressive approach against COVID-19,” USFK spokesman Col. Lee Peters told Stars and Stripes in an email Wednesday.
“We can reassure our USFK and South Korean communities we remain at a high level of … readiness and can fulfill our obligation to protect and defend [South Korea] against any threat or adversary,” he said.
South Korea pressures US military to do more to curb coronavirus infections
Soldiers pose in masks at Osan Air Base, South Korea, Jan. 6, 2022. (Jazzmin Spain/Stars and Stripes)
Stars and Stripes is making stories on the coronavirus pandemic available free of charge. See more stories here. Sign up for our daily coronavirus newsletter here. Please support our journalism with a subscription.
CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea — South Korean health officials are pressuring the U.S. military to increase its COVID-19 mitigation measures after weeks of record-high infection rates within U.S. Forces Korea.
USFK reported a pandemic record of 1,599 weekly cases between Jan. 4 and 10, more than twice the previous high of 682 cases the preceding week.
In its latest update Wednesday, USFK reported 566 infections between Jan. 11 and Monday. The command provided detailed information on its confirmed cases until late 2021, when it shifted to weekly case counts as “a matter of policy.”
South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday “entreated” the U.S. Embassy in Seoul “to urge USFK” to provide daily public updates on its COVID-19 cases and to have its “troops receive booster shots,” a ministry official said in an email Wednesday on the customary condition of anonymity.
The Ministry of the Interior and Safety has stepped up its efforts to provide vaccine shots and raise awareness of the pandemic to foreigners living in South Korea. A ministry official told Stars and Stripes by email Wednesday that it will inspect “major airports and harbors around USFK bases” that have reported increased caseloads until Feb. 11.
Pyeongtaek, where Camp Humphreys is located, reported that roughly 42% of the city’s COVID-19 cases between Jan. 3 and 16 stemmed from people affiliated with the U.S. military, a public health official told Stars and Stripes by phone on Wednesday.
Humphreys is the largest U.S. military base overseas and is accessed by over 32,000 people on a daily basis.
The base and Pyeongtaek are both part of Gyeonggi province, which continues to report a higher number of daily infections than any other province, including Seoul, the capital city. The province reported 2,176 infections Tuesday, about 37% of South Korea's total caseload the same day.
The rise in positive cases prompted Pyeongtaek’s government to administer mandatory COVID-19 tests for South Korean citizens who work at USFK installations in the city, as well as those working in local schools and gyms.
USFK, which is responsible for roughly 28,500 U.S. troops on the Korean Peninsula, also employs around 12,500 Koreans, according to the Korean Employees Union.
The new tests must be conducted between Jan. 17 and 26, regardless of each workers’ vaccination status, according to a Pyeongtaek City press release on Wednesday.
Violators can be fined up to roughly $2,500 and can be charged for quarantine expenses “due to the spread of infection caused by the violation against the order,” the release said.
“We implement the administrative order due to the rapid increase in the number of confirmed cases in Pyeongtaek City,” Pyeongtaek Mayor Jung Jang-seon said in an accompanying statement. “We entreat people to cooperate with us even if they feel inconvenience.”
On Jan. 8, USFK responded to the surge of new cases by elevating its health-risk level to Bravo-plus, which curtails many off-base activities, including indoor dining at restaurants and visits to shopping malls, clubs and Seoul.
Eighth Army commander Lt. Gen. Willard Burleson met with Jung on Jan. 7 to discuss his command’s pandemic response in relation to Pyeongtaek.
“All members of the Eighth Army are aware of the critical situation and are operating [within] strengthened quarantine guidelines,” Burleson said at the meeting.
The command “maintains a very aggressive approach against COVID-19,” USFK spokesman Col. Lee Peters told Stars and Stripes in an email Wednesday.
“We can reassure our USFK and South Korean communities we remain at a high level of … readiness and can fulfill our obligation to protect and defend [South Korea] against any threat or adversary,” he said.
Peters said the command’s medical experts meet routinely with their counterparts from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency in their efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19.
Stars and Stripes reporter Yoo Kyong Chang contributed to this report.
David Choi
6. North Korea Considers Restarting Long-Range and Nuclear-Weapons Tests
Yes, this is going to spin everyone up which of course is exactly what Kim wants to do. And this will contribute to driving a wedge in the ROK/US alliance because certain political factions in the ROK will blame this on the US rather than on Kim Jong-un.
Excerpt:
North Korea can make exaggerated threats in state media, though the regime is also deliberate—and often forthright—in ratcheting up pressure ahead of weapons provocations.
North Korea Considers Restarting Long-Range and Nuclear-Weapons Tests
Kim Jong Un regime needs to prepare for long-term confrontation with U.S., says Politburo, ruling Workers’ Party’s top decision-making body
WSJ · by Timothy W. Martin
At a Wednesday Politburo meeting, North Korea blasted the U.S. for maintaining hostilities against the cloistered regime, from sanctions enforcement to combined Washington-Seoul military exercises to America’s own strategic-weapons testing, according to North Korea’s state media. Mr. Kim presided over the meeting.
The Politburo, the top decision-making body for the ruling Workers’ Party, unanimously recognized the need to prepare for a long-term confrontation with the U.S., agreeing to “take a practical action” to defend the country’s dignity, state interests and sovereign rights, state media reported.
Pyongyang would reconsider at “an overall scale the trust-building measures that we took on our own initiative” after the 2018 Singapore summit and would “promptly examine the issue of restarting all temporarily suspended activities,” the report said.
South Korea’s Unification Ministry said it was watching the North’s latest moves with a “sense of tension.” Dialogue and diplomacy are the only solutions for a peaceful future, it added.
The Kim regime also appears to be making preparations for a military parade, though it remains unclear when it would occur, a South Korean military official said Thursday.
Two of North Korea’s key national holidays carry extra importance this year, with the birthdays of its two late leaders hitting key milestones: 80 years since the birth of second-generation ruler Kim Jong Il, and 110 years since founding father Kim Il Sung was born. The North’s Politburo, at its Wednesday meeting, gave detailed instructions to party organs and the state to create “great festivals of victory and glory to shine long in the annals of the country,” state media reported.
North Korea can make exaggerated threats in state media, though the regime is also deliberate—and often forthright—in ratcheting up pressure ahead of weapons provocations.
In April 2018, Mr. Kim, as a goodwill gesture for diplomacy, said he would pause any major weapons tests. Nuclear talks with the U.S. broke down the following year. Then, in a policy speech published Jan. 1, 2020, Mr. Kim said he no longer felt bound by his self-imposed weapons moratorium.
The country hasn’t returned to ICBM or nuclear tests. But Mr. Kim unveiled a mammoth-sized ICBM at an October 2020 military parade. Last year, as part of the country’s five-year strategic weapons policy, Mr. Kim mentioned developing an ICBM that could fly 15,000 kilometers (9,320 miles), or about 2,000 kilometers further than what it has previously tested.
North Korea has shown little interest in returning to talks with the U.S. The two sides haven't held formal negotiations in more than two years.
WSJ · by Timothy W. Martin
7. N. Korea hints at lifting moratorium on ICBM, nuclear tests over U.S. 'hostile policy'
We should be absolutely clear that it is Kim Jong-un who has the real hostile policy.
Don't get played again.
(3rd LD) N. Korea hints at lifting moratorium on ICBM, nuclear tests over U.S. 'hostile policy' | Yonhap News Agency
(ATTN: UPDATES with South Korea's reaction, signs of preparations for military parade, other details in paras 7-10, 13, 15)
By Choi Soo-hyang
SEOUL, Jan. 20 (Yonhap) -- North Korea held a policymaking politburo meeting of the ruling Workers' Party, chaired by leader Kim Jong-un, earlier this week and decided to consider restarting "all temporally-suspended" activities, Pyongyang's state media reported Thursday, apparently referring to its nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) tests.
The high-profile meeting was convened after the North conducted four rounds of ballistic missile tests this month alone, including two of what it claims to be a hypersonic missile. The U.S. responded to the launches by slapping new sanctions on the regime, and it is pushing for the expansion of the U.N. Security Council sanctions. A closed-door council meeting on the issue is slated for Thursday (New York time).
During the politburo session held Wednesday, Kim and other participants vowed preparations for a "long-term confrontation" with the U.S., saying the "hostile policy and military threat by the U.S. have reached a danger line that cannot be overlooked anymore," according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
"It gave an instruction to a sector concerned to reconsider in an overall scale the trust-building measures that we took on our own initiative on a preferential ground and to promptly examine the issue of restarting all temporally-suspended activities," the KCNA said.
North Korea has maintained a self-imposed moratorium on nuclear and ICBM testing since late 2017 in what South Korea's Moon Jae-in administration described as a sign Pyongyang is keeping the door open for dialogue despite a string of short-range missile launches.
"The meeting of the Political Bureau reassigned the policy tasks for the national defense of immediately bolstering more powerful physical means which can efficiently control the hostile moves of the U.S. against the DPRK getting ever more serious day by day," it said. DPRK stand for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
A South Korean military official said the North appears to be preparing to hold a military parade, though it was not yet clear when the event will be held.
South Korea's unification ministry handling inter-Korean affairs urged Pyongyang to return to dialogue, saying diplomacy is the only way to build peace on the peninsula.
"We will thoroughly prepare for a possible deterioration of the situation while closely coordinating with other countries to keep the situation on the Korean Peninsula under control," the ministry said in a statement.
The politburo meeting came as U.S. President Joe Biden marks his first year in office Thursday. Biden held a press conference on the eve of the anniversary but made no mention of North Korea.
The KCNA said, "Especially the present U.S. administration persists in maneuvers to deprive the DPRK of its right to self-defense," when it itself is continuing "hostile moves," such as the combined military exercise with South Korea and the deployment of new strategic weapons.
"In the last few years alone after the DPRK-U.S. summit meetings, the U.S. held hundreds of joint war drills ... while shipping ultra-modern attack means into South Korea and nuclear strategic weapons into the region around the Korean peninsula, seriously threatening the security of our state," the KCNA said.
The latest development is yet another setback to the Moon administration's last-ditch effort to revive the nuclear negotiations that remain stalled since the collapse of the 2019 Hanoi summit. Moon's single, five-year term ends in May, with the presidential election scheduled for early March.
Experts say the North could further ramp up pressure on the U.S. with more weapons tests, especially as it is set to mark key national holidays -- the 80th birthday of Kim's late father, Kim Jong-il, on Feb. 16 and the 110th birthday of his late grandfather, Kim Il-sung, on April 15 -- in the coming months.
Eyes are also on the upcoming springtime exercise between South Korea and the U.S. The North has long denounced the two countries' annual military drills as a rehearsal for invasion.
"The North will likely fine tune the pace and gravity of its move depending on the U.S. reaction," Yang Moo-jin, professor at the University of North Korean Studies, said. "The situation on the Korean Peninsula appears to be on the brink of returning to the vicious cycle of provocation and sanctions, like the one in 2017."
scaaet@yna.co.kr
(END)
8. N. Korea ups ante to counter U.S.-led sanctions pressure amid internal hardships
I am pleased to see Yonhap make the connection to internal hardships which could be one of the considerations for the increased tensions.
But it is not sanctions that are causing the hardships. Again we must not be duped. It is Kim Jong-un's deliberate policy decisions that are he cause of the suffering. He has chosen to prioritize nuclear and missile development, advanced military capabilities and support to the elite over the welfare of the people.
(News Focus) N. Korea ups ante to counter U.S.-led sanctions pressure amid internal hardships | Yonhap News Agency
By Song Sang-ho
SEOUL, Jan. 20 (Yonhap) -- North Korea appears to be reverting to its typical brinkmanship with back-to-back weapons tests and an apparent threat to resume nuclear and long-range missile tests, as the United States is stepping up sanctions pressure amid Pyongyang's worsening economic woes, analysts said Thursday.
The recalcitrant North decided to weigh "restarting all temporally suspended activities" during Wednesday's key ruling party session chaired by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, its state media reported, alluding to Pyongyang's self-imposed moratorium on intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and nuclear testing.
Last week, the Joe Biden administration imposed new sanctions against Pyongyang, and it is pushing for fresh U.N. Security Council (UNSC) sanctions. A closed-door council session on the matter is slated for Thursday (New York time).
"Based on its position to respond to 'power with power and good will with good will,' Pyongyang appears to be signaling that Washington should stop incrementally raising pressure on the regime," Park Won-gon, a professor of North Korea studies at Ewha Womans University, said.
He added, "In other words, the North is sending a strong warning to the U.S. against convening the planned UNSC session on the regime and against adopting additional standalone and UNSC sanctions."
The North's talk of rethinking "trust-building" measures with the U.S. came against the backdrop of what is widely viewed as a shift by Washington to sanctions from its earlier engagement formula marked by its oft-repeated yet vaguely-worded proposals to engage in dialogue "anywhere, anytime without preconditions."
The North conducted four known rounds of missile tests over the past three weeks. It fired what it called two tactical guided missiles on Monday and two other missiles by its railway-based unit last Friday into the East Sea. The launches followed two rounds of its self-proclaimed hypersonic missile tests on Jan. 5 and 11.
In response, the U.S. slapped fresh sanctions on six North Koreans involved in the North's weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs. For the North's ballistic missile tests since September, the U.S. is also pushing for new UNSC sanctions.
Aside from the UNSC session, U.S. President Biden is expected to use his virtual summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, set for Friday, to discuss joint efforts, including sanctions, to rein in the North's continued saber-rattling.
Sanctions are seen as a core pillar of what Pyongyang calls the U.S.' hostile policy toward it. Pyongyang has demanded the withdrawal of such a policy -- which Washington denies -- as a precondition for returning to dialogue.
The U.S.' focus on sanctions has apparently dealt a setback to North Korean leader Kim's struggle to address his country's economic travails further exacerbated by pandemic-driven restrictions.
"Other than the external motives for the show of force, there could be the need to address internal economic issues, such as nearing the threshold beyond which it cannot withstand under prolonged pandemic-driven restrictions," Park said. "To deflect attention from these issues, the North could spark tensions beyond its borders, perhaps through a showdown with the U.S."
The North's hard-line stance came as its presence seems to have dwindled in the priority diplomatic policy list of a Biden administration preoccupied with handling a more pressing geopolitical issue -- Russia's massing of around 100,000 troops along the border with Ukraine in what observers say could be a pincer movement for an invasion.
Its recent missile launches appeared to have paid off to some extent in that regard, with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken having mentioned the Kim regime more often in public recently.
"I think some of this is the North Korea trying to get attention," the top U.S. diplomat said in an interview with MSNBC last week, referring to the North's missile launches.
"But we are very focused with allies and partners in making sure that they and we are properly defended, and that there are repercussions, consequences for these actions by North Korea," he added.
An ICBM launch that could demonstrate the North's capability to deliver nuclear arms to the continental U.S. is a perfect recipe for drawing Washington's attention, particularly ahead of the U.S. mid-term elections slated for November.
A North Korean issue may not be a critical factor affecting the U.S. elections, but Biden might want to achieve some visible progress in major foreign policy tasks, observers noted.
The series of missile launches have stumped analysts who presumed Pyongyang might refrain from carrying out such a destabilizing show of force ahead of the upcoming Winter Games hosted by China, its key patron.
It is notable that North Korean cargo trains were spotted entering a Chinese border city this week in a sign of resumed business transactions, though three of the North's four weapons tests this month took place close to the border with China -- a reason why speculation swirled that Beijing might have turned a blind eye to Pyongyang's continued launches.
"The series of North Korean missile tests came as speculation has started to surface that there is a possibility that a ratcheting-up of tension on the Korean Peninsula could undermine the U.S. military focus particularly on the Taiwan issue critical for China," Nam Chang-hee, a professor of international politics at Inha University, said.
sshluck@yna.co.kr
(END)
9. South, U.S. take differing stances on North's recent launches
Bingo. Success for Kim Jong-un. This is exactly what Kim Jong-un wants. Of course a little more than "differing stances" but it is a start. One of the purposes of his current activities may very well be to drive a wedge in the ROK/US alliance.
For all those who advocate lifting sanctions to reduce tensions please try to answer the following questions in the affirmative and show the evidence.
1. Do we believe that Kim Jong-un has abandoned the seven decades old strategy of subversion, coercion-extortion (blackmail diplomacy), and use of force to achieve unification dominated by the Guerrilla Dynasty and Gulag State in order to ensure the survival of the mafia like crime family cult known as Kim family regime?
2. In support of that strategy do we believe that Kim Jong-un has abandoned the objective to split the ROK/US Alliance and get US forces off the peninsula? Has KJU given up his divide to conquer strategy - divide the alliance to conquer the ROK?
Thursday
January 20, 2022
South, U.S. take differing stances on North's recent launches
Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong, left, and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, during a meeting in Rome on Oct. 31, 2021. [YONHAP]
Washington and Seoul are exhibiting different responses to North Korea’s recent business-as-usual provocations.
Officials of the two allied governments have had multiple phone calls together this month, especially following the series of ballistic missile tests from the North. The special envoys on the North, Sung Kim from the United States and Noh Kyu-duk from South Korea, spoke on Jan. 5 and again on Jan. 11, the same day the North conducted a missile test which it claimed was a final test of a new hypersonic glide vehicle.
The next day South Korea's Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman talked over the phone, which was followed on Jan. 15 by a call between the South's Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Following another call between Choi and Sherman on Wednesday, the State Department said the two were working hard on “continued joint efforts to achieve the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” but a closer look at the recent statements from Seoul and Washington on North Korea shows that their stance on the recent provocations differ.
“Deputy Secretary Sherman condemned the DPRK’s recent ballistic missile launches, which were in violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions,” reads the statement from the State Department on Wednesday, using the acronym for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
In the Korean Foreign Ministry’s statement, however, there was no language condemning the tests. It emphasized instead that Sherman and Choi “reaffirmed that they are open to all measures for the stable management of the situation on the Korean Peninsula and prompt resumption of dialogue with North Korea.”
This stood in contrast with how the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield went on to call the North Korean provocations “attacks” in an interview with the Washington Post on Tuesday.
After the call between Chung and Blinken on Jan. 15, the State Department released once more a statement condemning the North’s ballistic missile launches through its spokesperson Ned Price.
The Korean Foreign Ministry’s statement following the call commented on the "importance of maintaining a firm combined defense posture based on the strong ROK [Republic of Korea]-U.S. alliance," but once more focused on dialogue with the North.
“The two discussed ways to restart the peace process on the Korean Peninsula and urged North Korea to respond as soon as possible to the ROK-U.S. efforts to resume dialogue,” it said.
There were no comments on dialogue with the North in the State Department’s statements on the recent Sherman-Choi and Blinken-Chung calls.
But when prompted, spokesperson Price affirmed the U.S. commitment to dialogue and diplomacy with the North.
“We have been very clear that we seek dialogue, we seek diplomacy to bring about lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula,” he said in a regular press briefing on Jan. 12. “We remain committed to that. We have made clear that we are willing, ready and able to engage in that diplomacy in close coordination and consultation with our allies and partners.”
Price added that the measures to put “constraints on these [weapons of mass destruction] and ballistic missile programs [of Pyongyang]” will continue nonetheless, keeping to the Biden administration’s middle-ground North Korea policy that seeks neither a grand bargain with the regime nor an all-or-nothing approach.
The Biden administration has maintained its stance on not granting the North incentives such as sanctions relief for the sake of dialogue. The administration placed fresh sanctions on the regime last week over its weapons programs.
BY PARK HYUN-JU, ESTHER CHUNG [chung.juhee@joongang.co.kr]
10. More fire and fury?
Strong criticism of the South Korean government.
Conclusion:
A bigger problem is the South Korean government. Regardless of the North’s endless provocations, the Moon Jae-in administration only repeats its mantra of arranging an end-of-war declaration for the Korean Peninsula. The government must wake up. Instead of asking the people if they really want a war with North Korea, the government must recover trust from the public and the international community. Nevertheless, a deputy foreign minister appeared on a radio program Thursday and bragged about the “accomplishments of President Moon Jae-in through his trip to three Middle East countries” without mentioning any threats from North Korea. We are dumbfounded.
Thursday
January 20, 2022
More fire and fury?
North Korea may want to turn the clock back to 2017. Following launches of hypersonic missiles earlier this month, it has hinted at the possibility of resuming nuclear tests and tests of ICBMs. After four launches of short-range missiles this year, the recalcitrant state is poised to provoke the United States again. The developments remind us of the lead-up to the “fire and fury” comments of U.S. President Donald Trump five years ago. His rage was triggered by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s provocations.
The Rodong Sinmun, the official mouthpiece of North Korea, relayed the Politburo’s order to completely review “trust-building measures we actively took” and consider a restart of “all activities we suspended for a while.” Its statement translates into a threat to end the self-imposed moratorium on nuclear tests and ICBM launches the North Korean leader has held to since 2017.
North Korea made the threat shortly before U.S. President Joe Biden’s press conference on Thursday marking his first year in office and a day before the United Nations Security Council discusses the North’s recent missile launches. The brinkmanship is obviously aimed at the Biden administration, which is engrossed with issues related to China and Ukraine. North Korea could make ratcheted-up provocations — including a test-firing of another hypersonic missile that can reach Guam or Alaska or a solid fuel-based ICBM or launching a military satellite — on Kim Jong-il’s birthday (Feb. 16) or Kim Il Sung’s birthday (Apr. 15) or around the time of Korea-U.S. joint military drills in March or April.
Such signs provoke a disturbing sense of déjà vu. North Korea fired an ICBM in 2017 — and in 2012, two weeks before the presidential election and three days before the inauguration of a conservative president in South Korea. Through similar actions, the North wants to proclaim that it is a nuclear power.
At the eight Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) in January 2021, Kim Jong-un gave five primary missions to his subordinates, including the development of smaller and lighter tactical nuclear weapons, production of supersized warheads, securing of 15,000-kilometer (9,321-miles) shooting range, as well as solid fuel-propelled ICBMs which can be fired from underwater and on the ground. The North’s level of missile advancement shows it has nearly reached its goals. But there is no country in the world that could advance to a big power after impoverishing its own people to develop nukes. If North Korea persists with the path, it will face a catastrophe.
A bigger problem is the South Korean government. Regardless of the North’s endless provocations, the Moon Jae-in administration only repeats its mantra of arranging an end-of-war declaration for the Korean Peninsula. The government must wake up. Instead of asking the people if they really want a war with North Korea, the government must recover trust from the public and the international community. Nevertheless, a deputy foreign minister appeared on a radio program Thursday and bragged about the “accomplishments of President Moon Jae-in through his trip to three Middle East countries” without mentioning any threats from North Korea. We are dumbfounded.
11. U.S. defines North Korea’s missile tests as ‘attacks’
Hmmm.... attacks? This is why it has become a problem to play fast and loose with the word "provocation." Long ago we advocated that provocation should only describe actual kinetic attacks. But now everything that the regime does is termed a provocation. And the next logical description of a provocation is an attack.
U.S. defines North Korea’s missile tests as ‘attacks’
Posted January. 20, 2022 08:07,
Updated January. 20, 2022 08:07
U.S. defines North Korea’s missile tests as ‘attacks’. January. 20, 2022 08:07.
by Jae-Dong Yu jarrett@donga.com.
The Joe Biden administration defined North Korea’s continued missile provocations as “attacks,” hinting that North Korea will face a strong response. Ten days after the last U.N. Security Council meeting, Washington convened a new meeting to discuss North Korea’s missile launches.
“We will continue to ramp up the pressure on the North Koreans,” U.S. Ambassador to the U.N.Linda Thomas-Greenfield said in a virtual talk with The Washington Post on Tuesday (local time). “Their attacks are a violation of Security Council resolutions,” she stressed. When asked during a briefing if Pentagon is underestimating North Korea’s missile tests, Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said it is taking the matter seriously and does not underestimate threats posed by North Korea.
According to diplomatic sources and the Voice of America (VOA), the U.S. called an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting on North Korea’s missiles on Thursday. The U.K., France, Ireland, Albania and Mexico also joined the call for another meeting.
North Korea has carried out four missile launches this year. It test-fired what it claimed to be hypersonic missiles on Jan. 5 and Jan. 11, and continued to launch missiles on Jan. 14 and Jan. 17. Earlier on Jan. 10, the U.N. Security Council held a meeting on how to respond to North Korea’s missile tests. Immediately before the meeting, six countries including the U.S., the U.K., and France issued a statement condemning North Korea.
After North Korea’s launch of hypersonic missiles, the U.S. added five North Korean nationals working for the State Academy of Defense Sciences of DPRK to its independent sanctions list. It will be decided on Jan. 20 whether they will be included in U.N. Security Council’s sanctions list as well. The U.S. has submitted a proposal to the U.N. to include the five North Korean nationals in the Security Council’s sanctions list. If there is no objection among the 15 permanent member countries of the U.N. Security Council including China and Russia, the five North Korean nationals will be added to the sanctions list at 3 p.m. on Thursday (local time).
12. NSC to prepare for possibility of escalating tensions as N. Korea hints at resuming major weapons tests
First and foremost the NSC (and the ROK president) must recognize the nature, objectives, and strategy of the Kim family regime and act accordingly based on that understanding. For too long the ROK has made erroneous assumption about the regime and it must now operate under new assumptions. And it must realize thatK im Jong-un is not going to act as a responsible member of the international community no matter how hard the ROK tries to engage.
NSC to prepare for possibility of escalating tensions as N. Korea hints at resuming major weapons tests | Yonhap News Agency
SEOUL, Jan. 20 (Yonhap) -- The presidential National Security Council (NSC) said Thursday it will prepare for the possibility of escalating tensions as North Korea hinted at restarting nuclear and long-range missile tests.
North Korea held a key meeting of the ruling Workers' Party earlier this week and decided to consider restarting "all temporarily-suspended" activities, the North's state media reported earlier in the day, apparently referring to its nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) tests.
The standing members of the NSC "decided to prepare for the possibility of further deterioration of the situation, while continuing efforts to stabilize the situation on the Korean Peninsula and resume dialogue with North Korea," Cheong Wa Dae said in a statement.
The North's latest threat came after it fired suspected ballistic missiles four times in a row this month, including two of what it claims to be a hypersonic missile.
The U.S. responded to the launches by slapping new sanctions on the regime, and it is pushing for the expansion of the U.N. Security Council sanctions.
North Korea has maintained a self-imposed moratorium on nuclear and ICBM testing since late 2017.
Experts said that North Korea could further ramp up pressure on the U.S. with more weapons tests, especially as it is set to mark key national holidays -- the 80th birthday of Kim's late father, Kim Jong-il, on Feb. 16 and the 110th birthday of his late grandfather, Kim Il-sung, on April 15 -- in the coming months.
kdh@yna.co.kr
(END)
13. Seoul monitoring Pyongyang with 'sense of tension,' stresses need for dialogue
Seoul monitoring Pyongyang with 'sense of tension,' stresses need for dialogue
People watch a TV at Seoul Railway Station, Jan. 20, showing a file image of a North Korean missile launch broadcast during a news program. AP-Yonhap
The government emphasized Thursday that dialogue and diplomacy are the only key to building peace on the Korean Peninsula in response to North Korea's thinly veiled threat to scrap a self-imposed moratorium on nuclear weapons and long-range missile tests.
The North held a high-profile politburo meeting of the ruling Workers' Party the previous day and decided to consider restarting "all temporally-suspended" activities to brace for a "long-term confrontation" with the United States, according to Pyongyang's state media.
"The government is closely monitoring the North's latest moves with a sense of tension," the Ministry of Unification that handles inter-Korean affairs said in a statement. "We will thoroughly prepare for possible deterioration of the situation while closely coordinating with other countries to keep the situation on the Korean Peninsula under stable control," it added.
The ministry stressed, "We believe dialogue and diplomacy are the only solution to head to the future of peace."
Regional tensions have escalated in recent weeks, especially after the North conducted four sets of ballistic missile launches, including two tests of what it claims was a hypersonic missile, this month.
The Joe Biden administration imposed new sanctions on Pyongyang last week and is pushing for additional U.N. Security Council sanctions. A closed-door council session on the matter is slated for Thursday (local time). (Yonhap)
14. Sources: Around 200 N. Korean customs officials fully vaccinated against COVID-19
Certainly a prudent and necessary step.
Excerpts:
Another high-level source in North Korea confirmed that officials from the Sinuiju and Uiju customs offices, along with the quarantine office in Nampo, have received their second dose of vaccinations.
According to this source, North Korean authorities acquired two types of vaccines (Pfizer and a Chinese vaccine) before proceeding to vaccinate customs and quarantine officials with a three to four week gap between the first and second doses.
Although the source was unable to confirm which of the two types of vaccines the customs and quarantine officials actually received, he believes that it is highly likely that the officials received the Pfizer vaccine.
Sources: Around 200 N. Korean customs officials fully vaccinated against COVID-19
North Korean authorities acquired two types of vaccines last year, including one from China, before proceeding with the inoculations
By Seulkee Jang -2022.01.20 12:55pm
North Korean authorities began preparing for the restart of China-North Korea trade from the second half of 2021, vaccinating around 200 customs officials, Daily NK has learned.
According to a Daily NK source in North Korea on Jan. 18, officials at the Sinuiju customs office in North Pyongan Province were given their second dose of COVID-19 vaccine before or during Oct. 2021.
Most of the customs officials who were vaccinated belong to the Ministry of State Security, but their co-workers from the Ministry of Defense also received their vaccinations.
In addition, officials working in the trade-related quarantine offices in Uiju and Nampo have received their second dose of vaccinations. Essentially, North Korean authorities provided the vaccines to trade-related officials as part of efforts to prepare for an expansion of trade between North Korea and China.
All in all, around 200 disease-control workers from customs and quarantine offices in Nampo, Sinuiju, and Uiju have been fully vaccinated for COVID-19.
Emergency Anti-epidemic Command doctors dispatched by the Central Committee arrived in Sinuiju and Nampo to administer these vaccinations, rather than medical staff from local province, city, or county clinics or hospitals.
Interestingly, North Korean authorities explained that the injections were “preventative jabs for immunity” instead of calling them “COVID-19 vaccines.”
All of the vaccinated workers knew that the injections were COVID-19 vaccines, however, and rumors about the vaccinations have spread through their families and friends.
A part of Rason where Chinese products are sold wholesale. / Image: Daily NK
Another high-level source in North Korea confirmed that officials from the Sinuiju and Uiju customs offices, along with the quarantine office in Nampo, have received their second dose of vaccinations.
According to this source, North Korean authorities acquired two types of vaccines (Pfizer and a Chinese vaccine) before proceeding to vaccinate customs and quarantine officials with a three to four week gap between the first and second doses.
Although the source was unable to confirm which of the two types of vaccines the customs and quarantine officials actually received, he believes that it is highly likely that the officials received the Pfizer vaccine.
Customs officials in the Rason Special Economic Zone have also been fully vaccinated.
Prior to the closure of the border, Rason was one of the main points of trade between North Korea and China, as it is near to Hunchun, Jilin Province, across the Tumen River.
Given that even Rason customs officials have been vaccinated, there is anticipation that other trade routes besides those in Nampo and Sinuiju may open.
It appears, however, that North Korean authorities plan to reopen trade in Rason only after quarantine facilities have been completed and measures are put in place to prevent smuggling.
“Although [the authorities] plan to expand trade to places other than Nampo and Sinuiju, they have not taken any specific measures in that regard yet,” the high-level source said.
Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
Seulkee Jang is one of Daily NK’s full-time journalists. Please direct any questions about her articles to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
15. Signs emerge that North Korea may restart exports of certain goods
I guess north Korea is going to compete with Special Forces at Fort Bragg for picking up pine cones.
Signs emerge that North Korea may restart exports of certain goods
Pine cones have been added to North Korea’s list of export items to China for the first time
Amid signs that North Korea has recently restarted freight train service to acquire goods from China, there is now speculation that the country is relaunching exports, too.
A source in Yanggang Province told Daily NK on Wednesday that the Ministry of External Economic Relations issued an order on Jan. 10 calling on Yanggang Province’s trade bureau to secure and prepare a large amount of items for export.
The source said provincial trading companies have begun securing export items in response to the order. Apparently, they plan to first ship items that have been held in storage.
However, the companies must send the items to a place designated by the Ministry of External Economic Relations, rather than receiving approval for export from the customs house in Hyesan. Nampo and Sinuiju are currently being discussed as options because they both have quarantine facilities.
In fact, late last year, North Korean authorities approved a plan by North Hamgyong Province to export its pine nut supply through the port of Nampo.
In the current circumstances, the most urgent issue for restarting trade is the opening of quarantine stations, the source told Daily NK.
Because no progress has been made in such efforts around Hyesan, goods have to be shipped to other regions first before making their way abroad, he added.
A ship docked at Nampo Port / Image: Wikimedia Commons
Under current conditions, the source said that trade will take place through Nampo, which has an operational quarantine facility, along with Sinuiju, where goods are now entering the country. However, he noted that people are speculating that customs houses in Yanggang Province and other areas along the China-North Korea border will open their doors once quarantine facilities are completed.
In December, Yanggang Province received final approval from the authorities to export pine nuts, red beans, mushrooms, and wild greens to China.
According to the source, the goods had just piled up without being sent across the border as neither North Korea nor China had made an official announcement about the restart of trade. The reopening of bilateral trade also looked remote at the time because of the COVID-19 situation.
Following the news that a North Korean freight train had arrived in Dandong on Jan. 16, however, anticipation has risen again about the restart of cross-border trade.
Interestingly, pine cones have been added to North Korea’s list of export items for the first time. According to the source, the president of an unnamed trading company in Yanggang Province said his company is gathering 400-500 kilograms worth of different kinds of pine cones to “test the Chinese market.” The head of this company further noted that only after the pine cones pass inspection at the Sinuiju customs office will he get a better picture of whether or not they are profitable.
On Monday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said in a regular briefing that ”[t]hrough friendly consultations between the two sides, the cross-border rail freight transport between Dandong and Sinuiju has resumed.”
Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
16. North Korea orders officials to prepare “largest-ever celebratory events” for upcoming leadership birthdays
The regime is going to party like it's 1992.. Will the events be punctuated with something explosive?
North Korea orders officials to prepare “largest-ever celebratory events” for upcoming leadership birthdays
This is the first time since 1992 that North Korean authorities have ordered two months of celebrations
North Korea recently ordered officials to prepare “the largest-ever celebratory events” for the 80th birthday of late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il on Feb. 16 and the 110th birthday of late national founder Kim Il Sung on Apr. 15.
Sources in the country told Daily NK yesterday that the authorities also ordered events focused on celebrating North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s 10th anniversary of gaining power.
All this suggests that the authorities have ordered officials to make active use of the period to emphasize the legitimacy of the current leader, even as they highlight the accomplishments of his predecessors while marking their birthdays.
A Daily NK source in Pyongyang said Wednesday that the Central Committee recently issued an order to all organizations designating the period between Feb. 16 and Apr. 25 as the “greatest celebratory period of the nation,”
Specifically, the Central Committee issued the order to make Feb. 16 to Apr. 15 the “greatest celebratory period of the nation, embodying the passion of the party, military and people,” according to a Pyongyang-based source yesterday.
Meanwhile, a Daily NK military source in the country’s Ministry of Defense also confirmed yesterday that the Central Committee’s order had been issued to the entire military by way of the military’s party committee.
Multiple sources have reported that the celebratory period will kick off with Kim Jong Il’s 80th birthday, followed by the anniversary of Kim Jong Un’s appointment as first party secretary on Apr. 11, the anniversary of his appointment as first chairperson of the Central Military Commission on Apr. 13, Kim Il Sung’s 110th birthday and, lastly, the 130th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People’s Army on Apr. 25.
Statues of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il in Pyongyang. / Image: Rodong Sinmun
This is the first time since 1992 that the authorities have ordered around two months of celebrations. That year, Kim Il Sung celebrated his 80th birthday while Kim Jong Il marked his 50th, and it was also the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People’s Army. Nineteen-ninety two was, like this year, chock full of anniversaries of multiples of ten, anniversary years that North Korea takes seriously.
North Korean authorities are also celebrating the 10th anniversary of Kim Jong Un’s appointment as the party’s first secretary because they view this as the official start of his administration.
Kim’s rule technically began when he was named the supreme commander of the North Korean military on Dec. 30, 2011, the same month his father and immediate predecessor Kim Jong Il died. However, he officially took power in April the following year, after he ascended to first secretary and first chairperson of the Central Military Commission, the highest positions in the party and state, respectively.
In fact, the Central Committee’s order called this year “deeply significant” as it marks the 10th anniversary of Kim’s elevation to the highest ranks of the party and state.
The Central Committee underlined in its order that all party, state, and military organizations will be subject reviews concerning their loyalty to the general secretary (Kim) based on how well they organize celebratory events, distribute gifts and holiday rations, and their success in preventing incidents or accidents.
Moreover, the Central Committee ordered officials to focus on “praising accomplishments and the Great Leaders” to ensure the period feels like a national festival, the “likes of which will never be seen again.”
The authorities appear intent to promote regime solidarity by mobilizing the North Korean people – already struggling with economic difficulties due to the coronavirus pandemic – for large-scale political events.
One of the sources claimed that the authorities were coercing further loyalty to the party and Kim rather than “soothing the suffering masses.” He added that the people will be “really exhausted” by all the fanfare because March and April are busy agricultural times.
Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
V/R
David Maxwell
Senior Fellow
Foundation for Defense of Democracies
Phone: 202-573-8647
Twitter: @davidmaxwell161
FDD is a Washington-based nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.
