Quotes of the Day:

"The question isn't who is going to let me; it's who is going to stop me." 

– Ayn Rand

"These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as freedom should not be highly rated."  

– Thomas Paine

"Falsehood flies, and truth comes limping after it, so that when men come to be undeceived, it is too late; the jest is over, and the tale hath had its effect." 

– Jonathan Swift

1. INTERVIEW: Former North Korean diplomat on the drawbacks of being elite

2. Why North Korea's New M2020 Main Battle Tank Is Flashy Garbage

3. N.K. leader calls on public security officials to 'firmly defend' state unity

4. S. Korea, China in final stage of talks on FM Cho's visit to Beijing

5. Indonesia proposes cutting payment for joint fighter jet project with S. Korea to one-third

6. US election will 'never undermine bilateral business foundations' with Korea: KCCI chief

7. South Korea’s population to shrink to 39 million by 2065

8. Korean labor force to shrink by 10 million by 2044: report

9. Should we be laughing at dictators?

10. Visiting the North? Try the bibimbap, regime tells would-be tourists

11. One Of Kim Jong Un's Favorite Foods Is Simply Cheese

12. New Era In North Korea? Kim Jong Un Got Citizens To Pledge Loyalty Oath To Him For 40th Birthday

1. INTERVIEW: Former North Korean diplomat on the drawbacks of being elite

On reading this one interview the thought comes to my mind is can a "Mr. X" emerge from the elite? A Mr X being some unknown person who has access and placement who could take drastic action to create the conditions for change in north Korea?

INTERVIEW: Former North Korean diplomat on the drawbacks of being elite

https://www.rfa.org/english/news/korea/defector-diplomat-ryu-hyun-woo-05032024172621.html

‘High-ranking officials already have one foot in hell.’

By RFA Korean

2024.05.05

Ryu Hyun-woo, who served as North Korea’s acting ambassador to Kuwait in 2019, escaped from North Korea and has now settled in South Korea, in a frame grab from an interview with RFA Korean. (RFA)

 Photo: RFA

Ryu Hyun-woo was North Korea’s acting ambassador to Kuwait when he defected to South Korea in 2019. As one of the elites in North Korea, he had rights and privileges that ordinary citizens do not. But at the same time, he and others like him were under even more scrutiny than the average citizen, he says.

Ryu lived in an apartment complex in Pyongyang where all of his neighbors were high-ranking North Korean officials. In an interview with RFA Korean, Ryu explained that life as an elite is like already having “one foot in hell” because of the constant surveillance their lives are under, and how easily they are discarded if the leader needs someone to take the blame.

The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

RFA: Can you tell us a little bit about your background?

Ryu: I was born in Pyongyang. I graduated from the Pyongyang Foreign Language Institute and Pyongyang University of Foreign Studies, majoring in Arabic. I then joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and worked there for over 20 years. After working as a diplomat in Syria and Kuwait, I came to South Korea in September 2019. I have settled in and I am living well in South Korea.

RFA: When you were in North Korea, you lived in and exclusive area of Pyongyang, correct? Do all the elites live in the same area?

Ryu: The administrative district name is Uiam-dong, Taedonggang district, Pyongyang. This place is also called Eundok village, and it is the residence of many officials. There are six major buildings in the residence. The generals of the North Korean People’s Army live in four of the buildings. One building is for high-ranking officials in the Central Committee. The remaining one is where high-ranking officials of the administrative department live.

RFA: We often hear about North Korea’s chronic shortages of electricity. Did the elevators on these buildings cut out from time to time like they do for everyone else living in apartments?

Ryu: You’re right. North Korea has a poor power supply system. Because of it, the elevator sometimes stops working. However, there are times when it operates normally. For example, during commuting hours, it is guaranteed. Nevertheless, the electricity often drops even during commuting hours. 

My house was on the 4th floor. Oh Guk Ryol, the head of the operations department, lived on the 5th floor, and Director Kim Yang Gon lived on the 3rd floor. The former head of the United Front Work Department and Oh Guk Ryol came down from the floors above, and my father-in-law (Jon Il Chun, the former head Office 39, the secretive organization that manages the slush funds of the Kim family) and I would get on to the elevator. As we were going down, Kim Yang Gon got on. 

Then just as the elevator was going down to the second floor, it suddenly stopped. I was the youngest of everyone there, so I had no choice but to open the escape hatch on the ceiling of the elevator. It’s like a vent. I climbed up to the third floor and I saw something that looked like a latch that opens the elevator door. I opened the door with it, contacted the management, and rescued the other officials in the elevator. The electricity situation was so bad.

RFA: Can living in that area of Pyongyang be seen as a matter of pride for its residents?

Ryu: It can be interpreted as having a lot of trust and high loyalty. However, there are pros and cons. Once you enter this place, you are subject to wiretapping, stalking and strong surveillance. You can’t say anything inside your house. 

For example, wasn’t Chief of Staff Ri Yong Ho shot to death? It was because he was at home making slanderous remarks about Kim Jong Un with his wife. He was purged and disappeared. My mother-in-law kept pointing to her mouth whenever I tried to complain about something. She told me to be quiet and not to say anything because they listen to everything. 

To that extent, they wiretap 24 hours a day. That’s why there is a different way to share thoughts. My in-laws would wake up around 5:30 in the morning. I would wake up around 6 o’clock. Then we go for a jog or walk together. That’s the time my father-in-law would ask me questions and I would also talk to him. 

For example, while I was in Syria, I heard a South Korean refer to my father-in-law as ‘Kim Jong Il’s safekeeper,’ so I passed that on to my father-in-law.

RFA: You told your father-in-law about something that came out in the South Korean media?

Ryu: I told my father-in-law that in South Korea, he is referred to as ‘Kim Jong Il’s safekeeper.’ My father-in-law laughed. I told him those things, secret things that should not be caught by wiretapping. We exchanged stories like that while taking a walk or in a place where wiretapping does not work.

Ryu Hyun-woo (right), who served as North Korea’s acting ambassador to Kuwait in 2019, escaped from North Korea and has now settled in South Korea, in a frame grab from an interview with RFA Korea. (RFA)

RFA: Was there ever any frightful incident you witnessed while living there?

Ryu: The household we were closest to was Park Nam Ki, director of the Planning and Finance Department of the ruling party of North Korea. Do you remember the currency reform in 2009? 

(That was when North Korea introduced new versions of its paper currency, but allowed the people to exchange only a certain amount of their old currency, thereby wiping out most people’s savings.)

As a result of that incident, Park Nam Ki was shot to death in January 2010. In February of the same year, Park Nam Ki’s entire family members went to a political prison camp. I remembered it was around 1 or 2 o’clock in the morning. There was a truck from the Ministry of State Security. The big military trucks came and loaded all the luggage and the family. 

I felt like the whole town was going to wake up from the sound of women and children crying. My heart was trembling. We stayed up all night. It occurred to me that we too could face a similar fate. Would Park Nam Ki have been able to carry out currency reform at will? How could he possibly do so without Kim Jong Il’s instructions? Even though Kim Jong Il did it, he turned the condemnation and curses of the people towards Park Nam Ki.

RFA: Are retired high-ranking officials managed separately?

Ryu: If you are a person who holds a lot of secrets, for example, if you work in Office 39, you know everything about the flow of funds, Kim Jong Un’s relationship with his funds, how large the fund is, and what happened to the fund. For example, (former minister of state security) Kim Won Hong knows 100% how the director of Ministry of State Security purged the opposition, how he wiretaps, and everything else. So, we cannot guarantee that these people won’t expose what they know if they are released into society.

RFA: People like that have to keep their secrets. Do North Korean authorities treat them well so that they remain silent?

Ryu: Not at all. They only provide a house, and the house is guarded by armed guards. You can’t come and go as you please. In February 2019, my father-in-law underwent surgery for a myocardial infarction. My wife heard the news when we were in Kuwait. My father-in-law retired after that. 

My wife said she needed to go home to tend to him, so I told her to go. My wife went home for a month from July to August 2019. When she went and looked at the house my father-in-law received, there was no closet. She went to the distribution center with my mother-in-law and she received 2 kilograms of potatoes as a six-month food ration. So, together they received a total of 4 kilos for the entire six months.

If I were to live my life again, I would want to live as an ordinary person. High-ranking officials already have one foot in hell. You don’t know when you will die. Living in peace is better. 

We were constantly bugged, monitored, and followed. What kind of freedom is that? What kind of life is that? My father-in-law left work at 11:00 p.m. I once asked why officials regularly left work that late. He said he was waiting because the marshal (the sitting leader) might call. You have to be consistent in waiting all the time. He said, “When the great leader is calling you, how can you just answer that call at home?”

RFA: But aren’t there benefits and privileges to being in the elite? 

Ryu: People think that North Korea’s high-ranking elites and Kim Jong Un share a common of destiny, but that’s not true. The first people to be executed are the North Korean elite when they make a tiny mistake against Kim Jong Un. 

Hyon Yong Chol, minister of defense, was executed by firing squad for dozing off a little at a convention. Does that make sense? He was about 70 years old. After walking around and inspecting the military base, wouldn’t it be normal to doze off a bit? It doesn’t make sense to shoot someone in his 70s just because he fell asleep. I think it is a misconception to think the elites have a similar destiny as the leader.

Of course, we must strike down the main culprits (of the North Korean government’s crimes), who take the lead in executing and oppressing North Korean residents along with Kim Jong Un. But we cannot strike down all the elites all together. 

These people did not do it because they wanted to. There are some among these people who are instigators and others who reluctantly follow instructions from above. People like this are pulling more people to their side.

I think it is very important to advance unification and achieve a peaceful settlement on the Korean Peninsula after unification. In that respect, I would like to emphasize once again that the lives of officials are not very luxurious. 

Translated by Claire S. Lee. Edited by Eugene Whong.

2. Why North Korea's New M2020 Main Battle Tank Is Flashy Garbage

Excerpts:

Very few people should be concerned about the existence of the M2020. All nine tanks sported desert camo when unveiled, which wouldn't help much on the Korean peninsula. This was eventually changed to a woodland pattern but demonstrated a clear misunderstanding of modern camouflage needs. The DPRK hasn't fought a tank battle since the early 1950s, and when it did, the U.S. and British armored forces wiped the floor with them. While the DPRK has retained an armor capability, it's untested, uses outdated and mismatched equipment, and is incomparable to modern armor.

The M2020 seemingly fixes this problem for the DPRK, but it's unlikely the tank is as operational as the country claims. The nation is well-known for its duplicity, so it's more likely the M2020 is a proof of concept or an ideal tank that may one day come to fruition. While its main components all likely function, the flashier bits, the active defense system, optics, and anti-tank missiles probably do not and are there for show.

Because of this, there's not much to fear from DPRK tanks, new and flashy or otherwise. Should the DPRK drive its armor south, they'd go up against the Republic of Korea and U.S. tanks and tankers, which benefit from more than 70 years of combat experience. Add to that the fact that U.S. and ally tanks aren't outfitted for propaganda, and it's unlikely the M2020 or other DPRK armor would last long because it's little more than flashy garbage.

Why North Korea's New M2020 Main Battle Tank Is Flashy Garbage - SlashGear

slashgear.com · by Jonathan H. Kantor · May 4, 2024

Technology

Task & Purpose/YouTube

By /May 4, 2024 2:45 pm EST

In October 2020, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) unveiled a new main battle tank at the 75th anniversary celebration of the founding of the Worker's Party of Korea. North Korea's new M2020 MBT is a garish upgrade from its prior designs, and from the look of it, its influence can be seen in everything from the M1A2 Abrams Tank to the Russian T-14 Armata. It also incorporates features from other tanks, but whatever its influences, the M2020 seems to be a beast.

The tank sports what appears to be an imitation of the Soviet 2A46 125mm gun found on other DPRK tanks, but that's not all. It also houses a coaxial machine gun, an AGS-30 grenade launcher, and two Bulsae-3 anti-tank missiles located to the right of the turret. The last armament is an unusual choice, as tanks (which have too many common misconceptions surrounding them) are designed to fire anti-tank rounds capable of destroying targets without relying on missiles. This is the first clue that the M2020 has more bark than it does bite.

In the past, the DPRK modified Soviet T-62s into amalgamated tanks of its own design. Production and maintenance limitations made designing tanks in-house challenging, which is why the M2020's appearance at the parade surprised so many onlookers. Kim Jong-un declared it one "of the most powerful tanks in the world," though this has yet to be seen as the M2020 has only appeared a few times in public, making analyzing them somewhat difficult (via National Interest).

What is the M2020?

Task & Purpose/YouTube

First and foremost, M2020 is not the vehicle's designation — the DPRK hasn't revealed that information. Since its unveiling in 2020, the media dubbed it "M2020," and the name stuck. The M2020 is a new tank design, so it's not built from the chassis of a T-62, as most DPRK tanks are. This is evident in its seven-wheel track design. Additionally, the new tank incorporates offensive and defensive elements common to other nations' MBTs.

The media dubbed the M2020 "North Korea's Abrams" due to its similarities with the United States' MBT, but the comparison is only skin-deep. Specifications aren't widely known, but experts have analyzed footage and photos of M2020s since their introduction, and it's possible to draw some conclusions regarding the tank's armaments, armor, sensors, and more. One interesting fact is that the tank is only ever seen with three personnel.

This implies the existence of an autoloader for its gun, eliminating the need for a human loader. This is a step up from previous DPRK designs, potentially making the tank more useful in combat. This is speculation based on the scant footage the DPRK released, so a loader may be present inside the vehicle. Still, given the driver's location at the center of the tank just before the turret, it's likely the M2020 only requires three personnel to operate.

What are its defensive capabilities?

Task & Purpose/YouTube

One of the main points of using tanks in combat is having an offensive vehicle that destroys targets while protecting its operators. This is the balance of any tank design — trading offensive capabilities for defensive ones and vice versa. The M2020 appears to employ a relatively uncompromising balance between the two, and its armor features several distinctive characteristics found on modern Russian and Western tanks.

The M2020 features what appears to be a composite armor around the tank's main body. Additionally, it features slat armor to protect the rear engine compartment and the rear of the turret. Rubber plates and skirts protect the seven road wheels. In terms of weight, it's possibly in the 50-ton range, making it lighter than the U.S. M1A2 Abrams MBT's 68 tons. The M2020 also sports what appears to be reactive armor as well as four hard kill active protection systems (APS), which could protect it from rocket-propelled grenades and similar munitions.

The DPRK demonstrated this in a short video, but only with an RPG, so it's unclear if the M2020's APS is capable of stopping a Sabot or high explosive anti-tank rounds from an opposing tank. Also, the video may not be as realistic as it appears, seeing as the DPRK is a propaganda-generating machine. Also, the placement of these is suspect, as they are cut into the turret, potentially weakening its armor.

What are its offensive capabilities?

Task & Purpose/YouTube

The M2020 boasts numerous offensive capabilities. Its primary weapon is the aforementioned main gun, which can fire a variety of munitions. Additional armaments include a coaxial machine gun and an AGS-30 grenade launcher. While all of these are relatively standard tank weapons, the presence of two Bulsae-3 anti-tank missiles on the right side of the turret is unusual and likely only there for show.

The M2020 isn't the first tank to include such weaponry, but it's uncommon. The addition of a side-mounted missile launcher makes reloading difficult and dangerous and necessitates carrying multiple types of ammunition. This limits the already cramped space within a tank, so including the launcher is, in a word, odd. The missiles are more than capable of disabling or destroying armored targets, but again, that's what the main gun is for.

Several parts on the tank are likely mock-ups, seeing as the DPRK would have difficulty acquiring the parts necessary to install them. Because of this, it's likely the M2020s put on display by the DPRK are nothing more than that — a display of power meant to instill fear in North Korea's enemies. While the country may eventually bring the M2020 to combat and put it to the test, the nation doesn't have much experience in armored combat.

Should we be worried?

Task & Purpose/YouTube

Very few people should be concerned about the existence of the M2020. All nine tanks sported desert camo when unveiled, which wouldn't help much on the Korean peninsula. This was eventually changed to a woodland pattern but demonstrated a clear misunderstanding of modern camouflage needs. The DPRK hasn't fought a tank battle since the early 1950s, and when it did, the U.S. and British armored forces wiped the floor with them. While the DPRK has retained an armor capability, it's untested, uses outdated and mismatched equipment, and is incomparable to modern armor.

The M2020 seemingly fixes this problem for the DPRK, but it's unlikely the tank is as operational as the country claims. The nation is well-known for its duplicity, so it's more likely the M2020 is a proof of concept or an ideal tank that may one day come to fruition. While its main components all likely function, the flashier bits, the active defense system, optics, and anti-tank missiles probably do not and are there for show.

Because of this, there's not much to fear from DPRK tanks, new and flashy or otherwise. Should the DPRK drive its armor south, they'd go up against the Republic of Korea and U.S. tanks and tankers, which benefit from more than 70 years of combat experience. Add to that the fact that U.S. and ally tanks aren't outfitted for propaganda, and it's unlikely the M2020 or other DPRK armor would last long because it's little more than flashy garbage.

slashgear.com · by Jonathan H. Kantor · May 4, 2024

3. N.K. leader calls on public security officials to 'firmly defend' state unity

Another report that indicates the stress that KJU is experiencing.  

Kim is very worried.

Excerpt:

The North has been stepping up efforts to tighten social discipline and block the inflow of outside information amid deepening economic difficulties.

N.K. leader calls on public security officials to 'firmly defend' state unity | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Chae Yun-hwan · May 6, 2024

SEOUL, May 6 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has called on neighborhood police chiefs to "firmly defend" the country's unity, state media reported Monday, in an apparent effort to tighten the country's grip on social discipline.

Kim made the call as he held a photo session with participants of a national conference of the heads of branch public security stations on Sunday, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

"When all the branch public security stations of the country ... become a fortress firmly defending the single-minded unity ... our cause of building an ideal society of the people will advance more dynamically," Kim was quoted as saying by the KCNA in an English-language dispatch.

He also called on them to hold fast to revolutionary and class principles while becoming "sharp blades resolutely struggling against all the elements that encroach upon the socialist country," it said.

This photo, carried by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency on May 6, 2024, shows a photo session between the North's leader Kim Jong-un and participants of a national conference of the heads of branch public security stations the previous day. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

The session took place after the North held the gathering of the security officials for the first time in 12 years from April 30 to May 1 in Pyongyang.

The North's branch public security stations are the lowest-tier organization under the Ministry of Public Security and are tasked with maintaining public safety and protecting people's lives but are known to carry out surveillance on anti-regime activities.

The North has been stepping up efforts to tighten social discipline and block the inflow of outside information amid deepening economic difficulties.

The country has adopted laws aimed at strengthening internal control in recent years, including one enacted in 2020 to "reject the reactionary ideology and culture" and another adopted in 2023 to protect the Pyongyang dialect and culture.

The anti-reactionary ideology law calls for sentencing people who bring and distribute outside culture and information to up to 10 years of hard labor. Punishment is known to be tougher for those watching and spreading South Korean dramas, movies and music.

Last Thursday, Seoul's unification ministry said the North appeared to have held the meeting of security officials to elicit their loyalty toward Kim and tighten social control.

yunhwanchae@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Chae Yun-hwan · May 6, 2024

4. S. Korea, China in final stage of talks on FM Cho's visit to Beijing

S. Korea, China in final stage of talks on FM Cho's visit to Beijing | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by CHANG JAE SUN · May 6, 2024

BEIJING, May 6 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and China are in the final stage of talks to set up a visit to Beijing by Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul that will make him the first South Korean foreign minister to visit the Chinese capital in more than six years, an official said Monday.

The senior official at South Korea's Embassy in Beijing made the remark to South Korean correspondents, noting that Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi invited Cho to visit China when they held phone talks in February.

"The two countries are discussing the specific itinerary and agenda with regard to our foreign minister's visit to China, and the discussions are currently in the final stage of fine-tuning," the official said.

If the trip is realized, Cho will be the first South Korean foreign minister to visit Beijing since then Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha did so in November 2017 during the administration of then President Moon Jae-in.

South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul speaks by phone with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Feb. 6, 2024, in this file image provided by the foreign ministry. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by CHANG JAE SUN · May 6, 2024

5. Indonesia proposes cutting payment for joint fighter jet project with S. Korea to one-third

Indonesia proposes cutting payment for joint fighter jet project with S. Korea to one-third | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Chae Yun-hwan · May 6, 2024

SEOUL, May 6 (Yonhap) -- Indonesia has proposed reducing its payment for a joint fighter jet development project with South Korea to around one-third of its original amount, sources said Monday, amid concerns over its delayed payments.

Indonesia recently suggested paying only 600 billion won (US$442.3 million) in total for the KF-21 jet project, they said, after originally agreeing to pay about 20 percent of the 8.1 trillion-won program launched in 2015 to build the advanced supersonic fighter by 2026.

Jakarta had initially agreed to pay the sum in return for receiving one prototype model and technology transfers, and producing 48 units in Indonesia, but is said to have proposed reducing the payment amount for fewer technology transfers.

It has so far contributed around 300 billion won to the project and has failed to keep up with payment deadlines, leading to questions over its commitment.

Indonesia is known to have asked South Korea late last year to defer its payment for the project to 2034, but Seoul has maintained its stance that it should be made by the development deadline of 2026.

A government official said consultations are under way with Indonesia, adding that the government has yet to decide whether to accept the proposal.

This file photo, taken Oct. 17, 2023, shows a KF-21 prototype on display at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, just south of Seoul. (Yonhap)

yunhwanchae@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Chae Yun-hwan · May 6, 2024

6.  US election will 'never undermine bilateral business foundations' with Korea: KCCI chief

Every sector of Korea is concerned with the US election.

US election will 'never undermine bilateral business foundations' with Korea: KCCI chief

The Korea Times · May 6, 2024

Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) Chairman Chey Tae-won speaks during a press conference at a restaurant in Seoul, Thursday. Courtesy of KCCI

SK Group chairman remains cautious about outlook on chip industry

By Lee Min-hyung

Any outcome of the upcoming U.S. election will "never undermine the bilateral business foundations" between Korea and the world’s largest economy, Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) Chairman Chey Tae-won told reporters, Thursday.

“The upcoming U.S. election holds major importance, but it will not disrupt the fundamental foundation between the two countries,” Chey said during a press conference. “Even if a potential president-elect has a strong desire to implement policy changes in specific industries, it would be extremely challenging for him to do so without the support of Congress. We can also voice our concerns during this process.”

The remark came amid growing concerns over the potential reelection of former U.S. President Donald Trump, who has threatened to impose higher tariffs on non-American carmakers and reduce incentives or benefits for Korean battery firms.

But Chey underscored the importance of not being swayed by any aggressive political rhetoric from candidates there.

“We should not fluctuate between hopes and fears simply due to such rhetoric,” Chey said. “Of greater significance is to seek a longer-term partnership with the U.S. by continuously holding dialogue with the country. It is desirable for us to resolve any potential business conundrums through that approach."

Outlook on chip, battery industry

The KCCI chief also takes on a dual role as chairman of SK Group, the nation’s second-largest conglomerate by market capitalization.

He said the chip industry will continue to be on a rollercoaster ride in the future, as was shown by the earnings fluctuation at SK hynix over the past few years.

The cash-cow chipmaker of SK Group surprised the market with an operating profit of 2.88 trillion won ($205 million) in the first quarter, a major turnaround from the previous year's operating loss of 3.4 trillion won, on robust sales of high bandwidth memory (HBM) chips.

Many market insiders paint a rosy outlook ahead for the chip affiliate of SK Group on its robust position in the global HBM industry.

But Chey remained cautious over the outlook for the chip industry.

“Demand for chips soared to an excessive level during the pandemic era, but the excess demand weakened last year,” he said. “A consumption slowdown also cast a negative impact on the market circumstance during the period.

“My view, however, is that the current boom will not last long. The rollercoaster ride that we experienced in recent years will continue down the road.”

He remained optimistic about the future of the battery industry, even if the group’s battery arm was hit hard by slowed growth in the global electric vehicle (EV) market.

SK On reported the biggest operating loss of 331.5 billion won in the first quarter among three major EV battery manufacturers here.

But Chey argued the industry will overcome the difficulties eventually.

“The EV industry is entering a challenging phase, and businesses related to batteries and relevant materials are facing supply chain difficulties as a result,” he said. But this is just a transition period, so the ongoing challenges will not persist for a long period of time, according to the chairman.

“The battery industry will be able to achieve sustainable growth in the end,” Chey said.

The Korea Times · May 6, 2024

7. South Korea’s population to shrink to 39 million by 2065

Korea may be unable to sustain itself (unless perhaps there is unification). Will this be a wakeup call for Koreans?

South Korea’s population to shrink to 39 million by 2065

https://www.chosun.com/english/national-en/2024/05/06/56MHEKX2UVGXZDUGRJQJO7SKA4/

Low birth rates threaten South Korea’s future: population expected to decrease by 24% in 40 years

By Hong Da-young,

Lee Jae-eun

Published 2024.05.06. 13:35

Updated 2024.05.06. 13:47

A passerby walks past a painting of a family on a construction site in Seoul, South Korea. / News1

South Korea’s population is projected to fall from over 50 million last year to 39 million in 2065 due to low birth rates, according to a new report. The working age population, aged 15 to 64, is expected to shrink by about 10 million in 20 years. This drop will hamper economic growth as a decline in the working age population will likely diminish consumption and increase labor costs.

The Korean Peninsula Population Institute for Future predicted that Korea’s population will decrease from 51.71 million last year to 39.69 million by 2065 in its ‘2024 Population Report’ released on May 6. The working age population is projected to decline from 36.57 million last year to 27.17 million by 2044.

“The sharp fall in the working age population will lead to a collapse in the domestic market and solidify long-term low growth,” the report said.

The median age of Korea is forecasted to rise to 50.3 in 2031 from 45.5 last year, which means around half of the population will be over 50 years old. The number of 6-year-olds entering elementary school is set to plummet to 220,000 in 2033 from 430,000 last year, while 20-year-old men entering the military will drop to 190,000 in 2048 from 260,000 last year.

The report also predicted that people aged 65 and above will become the largest demographic, reaching a record high of 18.91 million in 2050 and accounting for 40% of the total population. The proportion of single-person households consisting of individuals aged 65 and above will increase from 1.99 million households, which is 9.1% of all households as of last year, to 4.65 million households in 2049, accounting for 20.2% of households.

The number of octogenarians aged 80 and above will climb from 2.29 million (4.4% of the total population) last year to 8.49 million (20.3%) in 2061. In 2060, deaths are expected to outnumber births by 4.8 times, with 746,000 deaths compared to 156,000 births.

8. Korean labor force to shrink by 10 million by 2044: report

Another shocking statistic. Are China and Japan in this much demographic trouble too?

Korean labor force to shrink by 10 million by 2044: report

koreaherald.com · by Son Ji-hyoung · May 6, 2024

Seoul-based think tank suggests deaths outnumbering births fivefold by 2060, possible domestic market collapse

By Son Ji-hyoung

Published : May 6, 2024 - 14:57

People view Namsan on a hazy day in Seoul, April 16. (Yonhap)

South Korea's working-age ppulation is projected to shrink by a quarter in the next two decades, a report wraned Monday, suggesting a grim outlook for Asia's fourth-largest economy which is struggling to find a breakthrough from its historically low birth rate.

The working-age population, which Seoul defines as economically active people aged between 15 and 64, will stand at some 27.17 million by 2044, down by 9.4 million from 36.57 million in 2023, according to a report from the Korean Peninsula Population Institute for Future, a private think tank in Seoul.

This comes as fewer South Koreans give birth and people tend to live longer. As of 2023, South Korea's birth rate fell to 0.72, from 0.78 in 2022. The life expectancy in South Korea reached 83.6 years in 2023.

The think tank's report compiled estimates from the Statistics Korea, the Labor Ministry, the Bank of Korea, the Korea Institute of Child Care and Education, among others.

It suggested the number of those admitted to elementary school is projected to cut in half to roughly 220,000 in 2033, from some 430,000 in 2023.

Those at the age of 20 who are to be enlisted annually to serve their mandatory military service will shrink to some 190,000 in 2038, down from 260,000 in 2023, in a country where all able-bodied men aged between 20 and 38 must complete military service.

On the other hand, South Korea will see a growing number of dependent elderly, the report also showed.

The population median age will jump from 45.5 in 2023 to 50.3 years old in 2031, meaning more than half of the population will be aged 50 or more.

Those aged 65 and above will take up about 40 percent of the total population, with the number rising to 18.91 million by 2050, up from 9.73 million in 2023.

Moreover, 1 in 5 South Koreans will be aged 80 or older in less than four decades, standing at 8.49 million by 2061, up nearly fourfold from 2023.

By 2047, all 228 local autonomous administrations in South Korea, including cities, counties and districts, are expected to experience a more than doubling in the number of individuals aged 65 and older, surpassing the number of women of "childbearing age," considered as between 20 and 39. These regions have been identified by South Korea as "prone to extinction."

The report also suggested that South Korea's total population will continue to shrink, falling below the 40 million mark by 2065, from 51.71 million in 2023.

Also, by 2060 mortality will far exceed fertility, with the number of deaths projected to be five times greater than the number of births. As a result, a total population of 590,000 will vanish solely in 2060.

Most South Koreans nowadays do not realize the gravity of the population crisis, while enterprises are already suffering the fallout from the problem, such as labor shortages and a possible collapse of the domestic consumer market as well as long-term stagnation, according to the KPPIF in a statement.

"Once we miss the 'golden time' and lose chances to stop the population crisis, it would take a lot of time and cost a lot to get our society back to normal," said Lee In-sill, president of the KPPIF.

Experts in KPPIF's report called for an immediate step to implement the immigration policy to embrace the foreign workforce and use them to fill a labor shortage.

Earlier in April, a Statistics Korea report estimated that 8.4 percent of the working-age population could be foreigners by 2042 in a moderate-case scenario, up from 4 percent in 2022.

"We should be ready to embrace foreigners as members of the community," Lee Hye-kyung, social science professor at Pai Chai University, was quoted as saying in the KPPIF report.

"Seoul needs to take into account various immigration policies such as the hiring of foreigners as domestic helpers, training of those applying to migrate through the skilled foreign worker visa, as well as promotion of the regional specialized residency visa," Lee also noted.

koreaherald.com · by Son Ji-hyoung · May 6, 2024

9. Should we be laughing at dictators?

A thoughtful essay from Michael Green. 

Excerpts:

But while humor has always been an important weapon for democracies to counter dictators, it has its limits like all weapons. And its risks.

Charlie Chaplin later acknowledged in 1964 that he would not have made The Great Dictator had he known at the time about the true extent of the holocaust and the murder of millions in Hitler’s concentration camps.

Similar considerations might temper the deployment of humor towards the North Korean regime. The Yodok camps in the North are a massive affront to humanity and should perhaps temper our use of humor in dealing with the regime in Pyongyang … but concerns that we might hurt the feelings of the Friendly Leader should not. 

Sunday

May 5, 2024

Published: 05 May. 2024, 19:59

Should we be laughing at dictators?

 https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2024-05-05/opinion/columns/Should-we-be-laughing-at-dictators/2040170

Michael Green

The author is CEO of the U.S. Studies Centre at the University of Sydney and Henry A. Kissinger Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

Last month North Korea released a new musical hit praising Kim Jong-un as “Friendly Father” which featured thousands of uniformed North Korean soldiers and party members bouncing up and down in unison to the sugary yet militaristic melody. On the same day Taylor Swift released her new album, though I doubt she is worried about much competition from the Friendly Father.

The whole thing was ridiculous, of course, but will anybody ridicule Kim for the idiotic levels his cult of personality has reached? Maybe they should.

Humor has long been a weapon that terrifies dictators.

North Korea has embarked on a new campaign to praise its leader Kim Jong-un, as seen in its newly released video titled “Friendly Father.”

[YOUTUBE CAPTURE]

In the 1940 comedy The Great Dictator, the actor Charlie Chaplin portrayed a laughable Adolf Hitler-like figure. This was before the United States was in the war, and the isolationist America First Movement was urging neutrality. Headlined by flying hero Charles Lindbergh, The America First Movement had drawn large crowds across the country who harboured anti-war and anti-European views but also often sympathized with Hitler and Italian dictator Benito Mussolini whose authoritarianism they admired and contrasted to the progressive agenda of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal (Trump’s supporters evoke all of this by naming their foreign policy “America First” and showing similar disdain for Europe and sympathy for Vladmir Putin). Chaplin’s movie The Great Dictator burst their bubble by making Hitler an object of ridicule rather than admiration. Among the best scenes in this hilarious movie is one portraying the Hitler character’s first meeting with an Italian dictator made to look like Mussolini. To ensure propagandists gave the German leader the spotlight, Chaplin’s character saws the legs off the Italian dictator’s chair so that he would be sitting only inches from the ground with Chaplin towering over him. The slapstick scenes that followed delighted American audiences and will still make people laugh. The film was nominated for six Academy Awards in Hollywood and remains a classic in the genre. The theme was also picked up by other comics at the time, including the Three Stooges who put out a movie mocking Mussolini and Hitler called “You Natzy Spy.”

At the time Chaplin began filming the movie, the British government of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain was pursuing the policy of appeasement towards Hitler. London announced that it would not allow the film to be shown lest it upset the Nazi regime in Berlin. This was a shameful, if forgotten, chapter in the larger disaster that was appeasement. By the time the film was released in 1940, however, Britain was at war with Germany and British audiences were treated to Chaplin’s comic roasting of their enemy. History is never kind to democracies that self-censor criticism of dictators. When comedy is censored, the governments of the day look particularly petty and small-minded. All too often progressive governments and scholars have made this same mistake with respect to the regime in Pyongyang. It is taken as an article of faith by many that one must show respect to dictators to advance diplomacy. Perhaps that is true for diplomats to some extent, but free societies should always be free to laugh at the excesses of dictators and their cults of personality. Humor is part of what makes free societies stronger. And free.

A powerful example is Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine who was a professional comedian before becoming President and leader of his country’s brave resistance against Putin’s brutal invasion. Zelensky has deployed humor with great strategic effect. When he was offered an escape from the capital of Kiev by NATO forces at the beginning of the invasion, he defiantly and humorously declared to the world, “I need ammunition … not a ride.” NATO and the other democracies gave him the ammunition and Ukrainian forces humiliated the Russian army. Zelensky constantly mocks Putin, who remains vulnerable to comic derision like all dictators. When Russian forces were routed but Putin continued to maintain that the so-called “Special Operation” was proceeding according to plan, Zelensky asked sarcastically how many dead Russian soldiers were part of that plan. His humor has been a powerful demonstration of his contemptful defiance of Moscow and has inspired the free world.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping has displayed an authoritarian leader’s typical fear of being mocked. When Chinese citizens began using the image of Winnie the Pooh — the fat bumbling cartoon bear — as a proxy online for their view of Xi and his growing cult of personality, the Chinese Communist Party banned all images of the lovable Disney character. That a widely popular character in a children’s story would so frighten the leadership in Zhongnanhai was telling.

Donald Trump reveals his own authoritarian tendencies when he attacks American comedians who mock his many mockable attributes.

Real democratic leaders do not fear humor. I remember visiting Warsaw in the 1980s as a student. Poland was still behind the Iron Curtain and the Cold War was in its final intense phase. Walking along the streets of the city, I passed the North Korean Embassy, which featured an enormous billboard praising construction of a new hydroelectric dam. Nobody passing by was interested.

Down the street, the U.S. Embassy had a slightly smaller billboard which displayed satirical illustrations by the American cartoonist Herb Block poking fun at President Ronald Reagan. A large crowd was gathered in front of that sign marvelling that in democracies you can make fun of your leaders without repercussions. Reagan never resented being mocked and often used humor as a weapon to disarm his political counterparts or to point out the moral failings of communism.

But while humor has always been an important weapon for democracies to counter dictators, it has its limits like all weapons. And its risks.

Charlie Chaplin later acknowledged in 1964 that he would not have made The Great Dictator had he known at the time about the true extent of the holocaust and the murder of millions in Hitler’s concentration camps.

Similar considerations might temper the deployment of humor towards the North Korean regime. The Yodok camps in the North are a massive affront to humanity and should perhaps temper our use of humor in dealing with the regime in Pyongyang … but concerns that we might hurt the feelings of the Friendly Leader should not. 

10. Visiting the North? Try the bibimbap, regime tells would-be tourists

The regime cannot feed its people but it will feed tourists.

Sunday

May 5, 2024

 dictionary + A - A 

Published: 05 May. 2024, 18:10

Visiting the North? Try the bibimbap, regime tells would-be tourists

https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2024-05-05/national/northKorea/Visiting-the-North-Try-the-bibimbap-regime-tells-wouldbe-tourists/2040144

A feature on the bibimbap dish being served at the Rakrang Museum in Pyongyang that was carried in the May issue of the North Korean propaganda outlet Kumsu Kangsan, which was released on Saturday. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

A North Korean propaganda outlet on Saturday ran a feature about “Pyongyang bibimbap” in what appeared to be an effort to attract tourists to the tightly controlled country.

While the North Korean capital is well known for its version of naengmyeon (cold buckwheat noodles), bibimbap (mixed rice with vegetables) is believed to have originated in the southern part of the Korean Peninsula.

But an article in the May issue of Kumsu Kangsan — a monthly magazine targeting ethnic Koreans overseas — encouraged tourists to instead try the Pyongyang version of bibimbap served at a restaurant inside Pyongyang’s Rakrang Museum, which collects and exhibits artifacts associated with the Lelang Commandery established by the Chinese Han Dynasty in northern Korea in the first century B.C.

In another explanation of Pyongyang bibimbap, the authors of an article in the North Korean outlet Naenara said that bibimbap is a “traditional dish” that “consists of steamed white rice topped with stir-fried beef, fried egg, and an aesthetically pleasing assortment of vegetables and herbs.”

An undated photo of bibimbap that was released by the North Korean outlet Naenara [SCREEN CAPTURE]

The Kumsu Kangsan author said that Pyongyang bibimbap also includes mung bean sprouts, water parsley, mushrooms, bracken, bellflowers and pine mushrooms as garnish, with a sprinkling of grilled seaweed on top.

The writer also said that bibimbap “was traditionally made after various ceremonial events, such as holidays, feast days and ancestral rites, in Pyongyang, Haeju and other provinces” and that “various kinds of bibimbap are made and eaten all across the country, with ingredients and preparation methods differing by family and locale.”

While awareness of bibimbap as a Korean dish is largely believed to have spread worldwide due to the influence of South Korean popular culture, the writer claimed Pyongyang bibimbap “is recognized as a beneficial health food that contains even amounts of nutrients from various foods and is widely distributed to various countries in Asia, Europe and America.”

In addition to calling on overseas Koreans to sample Pyongyang bibimbap at the Rakrang Museum, the article also carried a description of Hamhung nongma (potato) noodles, which it called “comparable” to Pyongan Province’s buckwheat noodle soup.

In December last year, the state-controlled Korean Central News Agency reported that Pyongyang bibimbap had been registered as part of the city’s “local material cultural heritage.”

North Korean propaganda efforts highlighting the country’s gastronomical culture have picked up since the regime opened its borders to select visitors from Russia and China in September and February.

The regime previously operated restaurants staffed by its nationals across China and Southeast Asia before the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution in 2017 requiring all UN member states to expel North Korean workers.

The restaurants are believed to have been one of several ways the North tried to earn foreign currency abroad to finance its illicit weapons program.

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]

11.One Of Kim Jong Un's Favorite Foods Is Simply Cheese

To Michael Green's questions: SHould we make fun of dictators? I do shrink the author's information is dated regarding Kim appearing to lose weight.

One Of Kim Jong Un's Favorite Foods Is Simply Cheese - Tasting Table

tastingtable.com · by Brian Udall · May 4, 2024

Culture

One Of Kim Jong Un's Favorite Foods Is Simply Cheese

Pool/Getty Images

By /May 4, 2024 2:45 pm EST

Some things in life are constant, no matter how much responsibility rests on your shoulders, and nothing is more universal than food. Kim Jong Un doesn't get a lot of love in the West but it's good to take a step back and remind ourselves that we're all human. And as human beings, a lot of us have one thing in common — an undying love for cheese. North Korea's Supreme Leader may have discovered his love for Emmental cheese while studying in Switzerland as a boy. Emmental is a semi-hard Swiss cheese that can be mild, nutty, or fruity in flavor.

While other political leaders have their own favorite foods, Kim Jong Un's love of cheese may be the most passionate. Ten years ago, the Supreme Leader's pursuit of the supreme Emmental was causing such bodily distress that he's reported to have stepped away from the public eye to resolve what appears to have been a particularly nasty case of gout. Accurate information coming out of North Korea isn't always the most readily available given how cut off the country is from the rest of the world, but Kim Jong Un's health issues were widely reported in various newspapers at the time. Although Emmental isn't the only cheese Kim Jong Un enjoys, it is at the top of his list – so much so that in 2014 he sent emissaries to France to learn how it's made. For someone with so many types of cheese available to him, it's a recommendation that's hard to ignore.

Is cheese the great unifier?

Picturepartners/Getty Images

For someone who openly criticizes the Western world as much as he does, it is somewhat ironic that he loves our food so much that it's making him ill. But if there was ever anything that would unite humanity together, cheese does feel like a good candidate for the job. It's obviously not enough to fully overcome our differences, but an optimist can hope that the Emmental is slowly melting the divide all the same.

It may seem odd to talk about the food preferences of one of the world's most infamous leaders. In a Western news source, you're more likely to hear Kim Jong Un's penchant for food framed as a modern Nero gorging on delicacies as his empire crumbles around him. Perhaps the depiction is warranted. In any case, the way to come together is to focus on our commonalities and if Kim Jong Un loves to chow down on splurge-worthy cheeses from around the world as much as we do, we think that's a good place to start.

More recently, though, Kim Jong Un may have put a stop to his cheese craze. The leader seems to have lost some weight over the past few years with some analysts speculating as to the cause. Some point to a potential health complication while others speculate he is simply taking better care of his health through diet and exercise. Maybe the gout scare he had has kicked him off his cheese habit after all.

tastingtable.com · by Brian Udall · May 4, 2024

12. New Era In North Korea? Kim Jong Un Got Citizens To Pledge Loyalty Oath To Him For 40th Birthday

It is all about control. But it is Kim's fear of the people that drives this.

This article appears to be generated from GPT4.

New Era In North Korea? Kim Jong Un Got Citizens To Pledge Loyalty Oath To Him For 40th Birthday

benzinga.com · by Benzinga Neuro

North Korea has administered loyalty oaths to its citizens on the birthday of leader Kim Jong Un, marking a shift in the country’s political landscape. This development, along with other recent actions, is seen as an effort to consolidate Kim’s authority.

What Happened: The South and North Development Institute, a Seoul-based organization, disclosed that North Koreans were required to pledge their loyalty to Kim Jong Un on his 40th birthday, Jan. 8. This is the first time such oaths have been administered since Kim took power in 2011, reported Reuters.

The SAND, which released photos of the ceremony, suggested that this move signifies a shift towards a more assertive political approach under Kim’s leadership. The institute’s president, Choi Kyong-hui, hinted that North Korea might soon declare Kim’s birthday as an official anniversary.

North Korea has never officially confirmed Kim’s birth date. Traditionally, oath ceremonies like this have occurred on the birthdays of his father and grandfather, who were the country’s previous rulers.

“Kim Jong Un’s choice to host a loyalty oath ceremony on his 40th birthday, as he begins his 13th year in power, signals a shift towards political assertiveness, departing from his predecessors’ approach,” SAND said in an analysis.

North Korea has traditionally held such ceremonies on the birthdays of Kim’s father and grandfather, the country’s previous rulers. This change, along with other recent actions, is seen as an attempt to further solidify the Kim family’s grip on power.

“We should view this as part of North Korea's effort to further bolster Kim Jong Un’s leadership propaganda campaign,” said Rachel Minyoung Lee of the Washington-based 38 North programme.

Why It Matters: This development comes amid a series of significant events in North Korea. In April, Kim Jong Un’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, pledged to build an “overwhelming” military power to safeguard the country’s sovereignty and regional peace.

This announcement followed a series of missile tests by North Korea, which had raised concerns among neighboring countries and the international community.

Additionally, a delegation from North Korea, led by the cabinet minister for international trade, visited Iran amid long-standing suspicions of covert military ties between the two nations.

This visit took place against the backdrop of efforts by the U.S. and its allies to create a new body to oversee sanctions enforcement on North Korea, following hindrances at the U.N. due to Russia’s refusal to renew the mandate for the existing panel of experts and China’s abstention from the vote.

Image Via Shutterstock

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benzinga.com · by Benzinga Neuro

De Oppresso Liber,

David Maxwell

Vice President, Center for Asia Pacific Strategy

Senior Fellow, Global Peace Foundation

Editor, Small Wars Journal

Twitter: @davidmaxwell161

Phone: 202-573-8647

email: david.maxwell161@gmail.com