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Quotes of the Day:
"A boxer derives the greatest advantage from his sparring partner – and my accuser is my sparring partner. He trains me in patience, civility and even temper."
- Marcus Aurelius
“If a country is lost to communism through propaganda and subversion it is lost to our side as irretrievably as if we had lost it in actual warfare.” The gray zone isn't new. It's cheap & effective, esp against a military-first national security mindset."
- George Gallup (1962)
"I couldn’t possibly write the variety of books I manage to do out of the knowledge I had gained in school alone. I had to keep a program of self-education in process. My library of reference books grew and I found I had to sweat over them in my constant fear that I might misunderstand a point that to someone knowledgeable in the subject would be a ludicrously simple one."
- Isaac Asimov
1. N. Korea moves toward pre-pandemic normalcy after declaring victory in COVID-19 fight
2. Korea-US inflation slows down
3. UN's Guterres uses CVID term in meeting with Yoon Suk-yeol
4. Hyundai to set up Robot AI research institute in US
5. British documents shed light on Korean liberation forces' fight against Japanese imperialist forces
6. How the North Korean Government Is Squeezing Foreign Currency Out of Its People
7. North Korea's next generation is upending the regime's propaganda strategy with waterpark tours and quarantine vlogs
8. CIA: 19% of N. Korean Population Use Mobile Phones
9. Old photos of North Korean military drill falsely shared as China 'preparing for Taiwan attack'
10. US Urges N. Korea to Accept Vaccine Support
11. The New Neighbor Is Causing a Commotion. Oh, and He’s the President of South Korea.
12. Not Enough M1 Abrams? Poland Is Buying K2 Black Panther Tanks
1. N. Korea moves toward pre-pandemic normalcy after declaring victory in COVID-19 fight
Victory at all costs for north Korea.
N. Korea moves toward pre-pandemic normalcy after declaring victory in COVID-19 fight | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 박상수 · August 13, 2022
SEOUL, Aug. 13 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has lifted a face mask mandate and eased antivirus curbs as the communist state moves toward normalcy after declaring victory in its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, state media reported Saturday.
Earlier this week, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un declared victory in his country's emergency campaign against COVID-19, three months after the nation first reported the COVID-19 outbreak.
According to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), a face mask mandate and other antivirus restrictions were lifted across the country, except "frontline areas and borderline cities and counties."
But mask-wearing is recommended in case of respiratory disease symptoms, such as the flu, according to the KCNA.
Pyongyang announced its first COVID-19 case May 12 after claiming to be coronavirus-free for over two years and implemented nationwide lockdowns.
The North's daily fever tally has remained at zero since July 29 after peaking at over 392,920 on May 15
Last month, the North claimed its coronavirus outbreak originated from alien things found near the inter-Korean border, alluding to balloon-carried materials sent by North Korean defector groups in South Korea, such as anti-Pyongyang leaflets.
The North's latest declaration comes just before South Korea and the United States kick off the Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) exercise on Aug. 22 amid concerns that Pyongyang could dial up regional tensions with military provocations.
sam@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 박상수 · August 13, 2022
2. Korea-US inflation slows down
Some good news.
Korea-US inflation slows down
donga.com
Posted August. 13, 2022 07:27,
Updated August. 13, 2022 07:27
Korea-US inflation slows down. August. 13, 2022 07:27. speakup@donga.com.
There are signs that the trend of global inflation, including Korea, is slowing down. Some analysts say that inflation has peaked, but there are also many cautious views that it is still too early to make a conclusion.
According to the Bank of Korea on Friday, the import price index for last month was 153.49, down 0.9 percent from June. Import prices continued to rise (4.4 percent) from January of this year, before briefly decreasing in April (-0.6 percent), and then continued to go up again in May and June.
The main reason for the decline in import prices despite the rise in the won-dollar exchange rate was the fall in international oil prices. The price of Dubai crude fell 8.9 percent from an average of 113.27 U.S. dollars per barrel in June to 103.14 dollars per barrel in July. Due to the drop in oil prices, raw material prices such as mining products and agricultural, forestry and fishery products fell 2.6 percent, and intermediate goods prices such as coal and petroleum products fell 0.2 percent, respectively. The decline in import prices is reflected in the overall consumer price with a time lag.
The U.S. inflation has slowed as well. The U.S. producer price index (PPI), released on Thursday (local time), fell 0.5 percent from the previous month, and it is the first time in more than two years that the PPI slid compared to the previous month since April 2020 (-1.3 percent) at the beginning of the pandemic. Compared to the same month of the previous year, the PPI rose only 9.8 percent, where the rate of increase fell below 10 percent for the first time since January of this year. The U.S. announced on the previous day that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for July fell to 8.5 percent from the previous month (9.1 percent).
If the U.S. inflation begins to slow in earnest, its central bank, the Federal Reserve, has room to slow down the pace of benchmark rate hikes. This could put the brakes on the appreciating dollar and lower Korea's import prices further. Even within the Fed, however, many are sounding the alarm that inflation monitoring should not stop.
한국어
donga.com
3. UN's Guterres uses CVID term in meeting with Yoon Suk-yeol
What is the alternative? To say you agree to allow north Korea to possess nuclear weapons?
Friday
August 12, 2022
dictionary + A - A
UN's Guterres uses CVID term in meeting with Yoon Suk-yeol
https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2022/08/12/national/diplomacy/korea-UN-Guterres/20220812165601087.html
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, left, shakes hands with President Yoon Suk-yeol at the presidential office in Seoul on Friday. [NEWS1]
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for the complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization of North Korea in Seoul Friday.
In a meeting with President Yoon Suk-yeol, Guterres thanked him for Korea’s support for protection of human rights and fighting climate change, before broaching the subject of Seoul’s northern neighbor.
The United Nations is fully behind the goal of “a complete, verifiable and irreversible” dismantling of the North Korean nuclear weapons program, Guterres told Yoon.
The complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization (CVID) of North Korea, an expression that was largely avoided during the previous administration in Seoul, was brought up again during the secretary general’s meeting with Foreign Minister Park Jin on Friday.
“I was also very impressed during our lunch with his excellency, the president, and with a very strong commitment of the Republic of Korea, to non-proliferation, to do everything for the globalization, [and to] full, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” he told Park in the meeting.
Guterres came to Seoul in the lead up to the UN General Assembly meeting in New York next month. Accompanying him were UN officials including Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs Izumi Nakamitsu and Selwin Charles Hart, special adviser to Guterres on climate action.
The delegation has been on a tour of Asia, visiting Mongolia and Japan before Seoul.
“In a time such as this when the world is seeking directions in solving many difficult problems, the work that the United Nations is doing in many parts of the world serves as an encouragement and an example for the global society,” Yoon told Guterres.
Guterres last visited Korea in 2018 to attend the opening ceremony of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.
Guterres, prime minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002, has served as secretary-general of the UN since January 2017. He succeeded South Korea’s Ban Ki-moon as the ninth person to hold the title and the first European since Kurt Waldheim of Austria in 1981.
BY ESTHER CHUNG [chung.juhee@joongang.co.kr]
4. Hyundai to set up Robot AI research institute in US
I think Korea is going to be a leader in AI.
Excerpt:
In addition to the institute, Hyundai Motor Group announced separate plans to establish a Global Software Center to lead the development of its software capabilities and technologies and to enhance its capabilities to advance the development of Software Defined Vehicles (SDVs). The center will be established on the basis of 42dot, autonomous driving software and mobility platform startup recently acquired by the Korean automotive group.
Hyundai to set up Robot AI research institute in US
The Korea Times · August 12, 2022
Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun enters with a robot dog named Spot to present the company's robotics vision at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, U.S. in January. Courtesy of Hyundai Motor Group
By Kim Hyun-bin
Hyundai Motor Group announced Friday the launch of the Boston Dynamics AI Institute with the goal of making fundamental advances in artificial intelligence (AI), robotics and intelligent machines. Hyundai and Boston Dynamics will make an initial investment of more than $400 million in the new institute, which will be led by Marc Raibert, founder of Boston Dynamics.
As a research-first organization, the institute will work on solving the most important and difficult challenges facing the creation of advanced robots. Elite talent across AI, robotics, computing, machine learning and engineering will develop technology for robots and use it to advance their capabilities and usefulness.
The institute's culture is designed to combine the best features of university research labs with those of corporate development centers, while working in four core technical areas: cognitive AI, athletic AI, organic hardware design as well as ethics and policy.
"Our mission is to create future generations of advanced robots and intelligent machines that are smarter, more agile, perceptive and safer than anything that exists today," Raibert said. "The unique structure of the institute ― top talent focused on fundamental solutions with sustained funding and excellent technical support ― will help us create robots that are easier to use, more productive, able to perform a wider variety of tasks and are safer working with people."
In addition to the institute, Hyundai Motor Group announced separate plans to establish a Global Software Center to lead the development of its software capabilities and technologies and to enhance its capabilities to advance the development of Software Defined Vehicles (SDVs). The center will be established on the basis of 42dot, autonomous driving software and mobility platform startup recently acquired by the Korean automotive group.
The Korea Times · August 12, 2022
5. British documents shed light on Korean liberation forces' fight against Japanese imperialist forces
Interesting Korean history of which I was not aware.
Do these support or debunk the Kim Il Sung myth of anti-Japanese partisan warfare. Of course Kim was serving the Soviet Union and had no connection to the British.
Excerpt:
The documents spanning more than 400 pages concern activities of the Korean National Army Liaison Unit that operated as part of the Indian Field Broadcasting Unit under Britain's Special Operations Executive from 1943-45, according to the ministry.
British documents shed light on Korean liberation forces' fight against Japanese imperialist forces
koreaherald.com · by Yonhap · August 12, 2022
By Yonhap
Published : Aug 12, 2022 - 11:09 Updated : Aug 12, 2022 - 11:09
A document from Britain's National Archives shows records on the Korean National Army Liaison Unit, in this photo released on Friday, by the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs Ministry. (Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs Ministry)
South Korea's patriots ministry on Friday unveiled part of rare documents confirming a group of Korean independence activists fought alongside British troops in a joint military campaign against Japan's imperial forces during World War II.
The documents from Britain's National Archives were revealed as the ministry is commemorating the sacrifices of those who fought against Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule, ahead of South Korea's Liberation Day that falls on Monday.
The documents spanning more than 400 pages concern activities of the Korean National Army Liaison Unit that operated as part of the Indian Field Broadcasting Unit under Britain's Special Operations Executive from 1943-45, according to the ministry.
"The discovery of these documents is evidence that our Koreans' independence movement was not just limited to the efforts to achieve independence from Japan but also linked to a history of solidarity and a joint struggle with the coalition forces for anti-imperialism," Patriots Minister Park Min-shik was quoted as saying.
He added his ministry will continue to discover records of independence fighters' activities at home and abroad to "remember and inherit their noble spirits" in pursuit of national liberation.
The ministry came to know the British archives' possession of documents at an international forum in April where a British scholar presented an academic paper on those records. The following month, it started to explore ways to collect them, the ministry said.
The ministry plans to translate and analyze the entire documents and plan to publish them next year when South Korea and Britain are to mark the 140th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations. (Yonhap)
koreaherald.com · by Yonhap · August 12, 2022
6. How the North Korean Government Is Squeezing Foreign Currency Out of Its People
Another example of th COVID paradox. KJU has exploited it to further repress the people and exert greater control over every aspect of north Korea.
Excerpts:
The change in how trade companies operate is connected to the country’s lack of foreign currency. In short, it suggests that, given international sanctions and COVID-19 remain problems, the authorities feel the need to tightly control the country’s limited foreign currency supplies. Indeed, there are signs that the state plans to focus the limited supply of foreign currency solely on the purchase of absolutely essential imports.
The North Korean government’s persistent efforts to acquire foreign currency reflects the severity of the economic crisis the country is facing due to international sanctions and the COVID-19 pandemic. For the time being, the country may be able to eke by with the foreign currency it has in reserves; however, it should be clear that the regime is creating an elaborate system of squeezing foreign currency out of its own people as part of efforts to prepare for a continuation of the current economic crisis.
How the North Korean Government Is Squeezing Foreign Currency Out of Its People
The North Korean government’s persistent efforts to acquire foreign currency reflects the severity of the economic crisis the country is facing.
thediplomat.com · by Sang Yong Lee · August 13, 2022
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In recent years, the North Korean government has intensified efforts to collect foreign currency held by its citizens. This situation not only reflects North Korea’s lack of foreign currency, but also highlights the country’s poor performing domestic currency (the Korean People’s Won, or KPW) and, more broadly, signals that the country’s economy is in dire straits.
North Korea entered one of its worst economic crises ever following the closure of the China-North Korea border in January 2020 to prevent the spread of COVID-19 into the country. By the end of 2020, North Korea’s external trade (excluding inter-Korean trade) fell to $8.6 billion, a drop of 73.4 percent compared to trade levels in 2019. The country’s foreign trade dropped again in 2021 to $7.1 billion, a decline of 17.3 percent compared to trade levels in 2020. These figures are extremely low; indeed, they have broken the record for North Korea’s lowest trade numbers ever since such data began being collected in 1990.
North Korea has long suffered a lack of foreign currency and, in 2017, the U.N. Security Council adopted four resolutions (Resolutions 2356, 2371, 2375, and 2387) that cut off most of North Korea’s sources of foreign cash. Specifically, the sanction resolutions halted most mineral exports from the country – a major source of trade between China and North Korea – and banned North Koreans from working abroad. The sanctions also stipulated a lower limit on oil imports, which seem to have decreased the amount of crude oil imports into North Korea.
The COVID-19 pandemic only worsened this already difficult situation for North Korea. When the country shut down its borders in January 2020, it essentially closed the doors to what limited trade options it had available. Facing shortages of raw materials, North Korean factories became unable to operate properly, and markets throughout the country experienced a significant degree of stagnation. Naturally, the overall economic downturn caused by the pandemic and the government’s response to it have continued to eat away at the funds needed to rule the country.
In response to the depletion of funds needed for the functioning of the state, the North Korean government began focusing on what it could do to raise funds on the domestic front. Ultimately, the state began employing various means to acquire foreign currency held by its citizens.
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A Brief History of North Korea’s Foreign Currency Acquisition Efforts
What kind of methods have North Korean authorities used to acquire foreign currency from its citizens? Before going into specifics, it is important to understand how North Korea has acquired foreign currency in the past. Typically, governments acquire foreign currency through exports, direct investment, tourism, and other official means. North Korea, however, has long taken a different tack in its efforts to acquire foreign currency.
For decades, the North Korean government earned foreign currency by secretly exporting military weapons and technology, illicit drugs, fake cigarettes, and counterfeit currency. Through the years, there has also been a large amount of foreign currency brought in by people in Japan and China.
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In the 1960s and 1970s, Koreans in Japan who decided to return to North Korea brought over Japanese yen. In the 1980s, Chongryon, a pro-North Korean organization in Japan, sent considerable amounts of money into the country as well.
From the late 1990s, Chinese renminbi entered North Korea through people who had been forcibly repatriated after defecting into China, from those who voluntarily returned after defecting into China, and through people who visited relatives in China.
With the spread of marketization in the 2000s, North Korea saw a considerable influx of foreign currency from official trade and investment conducted by the state. Of course, a great deal of foreign currency appears to have entered North Korea through smuggling operations conducted largely in the China-North Korea border region. The government appears to have acquired dollars mainly through smuggling operations led by state agencies.
The international community’s implementation of more sanctions in 2017 and the COVID-19 pandemic have led North Korea to shift to increasingly illegal means to acquire foreign currency. For example, according to a 2022 report by Chainalysis, a blockchain data platform, North Korea stole $1.5 billion worth of digital currency from 2017 to 2021.
North Korea has also ignored the ban on sending workers abroad as stipulated by a U.N. Security Council resolution in 2017.
Starting in early 2021, North Korea began recruiting people to be sent abroad for work, and grassroots reporting efforts by Daily NK suggest that North Korean workers have already been sent to China and Russia amid the pandemic. Once abroad, these workers are unable to return home and are forced to take part in foreign currency-earning activities.
Growing Sophistication in How the Government Collects Foreign Currency
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On top of these more traditional efforts to acquire foreign currency, North Korea’s government is now accelerating efforts to acquire foreign cash from its own citizens.
In one specific example from late 2021, North Korea distributed food to its people in commemoration of the September 9 anniversary of the founding of the DPRK at prices cheaper than those in local markets. Consumers were encouraged to use foreign currency, including RMB, to purchase the food from state-run shops.
The country’s authorities are also accepting “non-tax burdens” (quasi-taxes) in foreign currency rather than domestic currency. North Koreans have long supplied cash, in-kind contributions, and labor to government-led construction and maintenance projects. Recently, the authorities have forced their citizens to pay such quasi-taxes for various public capital and public services as well. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for the extermination of non-tax burdens at the Eighth Party Congress in January 2021; however, reports from inside the country suggest that these quasi-taxes continue to be levied.
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That the North Korean government is pushing for these quasi-taxes to be paid in foreign currency is very significant. Namely, it shows that the North Korean government acknowledges that its own currency is practically worthless.
In fact, North Korea’s domestic currency, the KPW, has also lost much of its value since the country’s 2009 currency reform, which was broadly aimed at exerting central government control over the country’s finances. With domestic currency lacking much in value, many North Koreans turned to using foreign currency in private business and smuggling activities, a development that has led to periodic attempts by the regime to ban the use of foreign currency in the country. Yet, North Korean authorities appear generally to have accepted the circulation of foreign currency such as dollars and RMB over the years because of its widespread use and because they can collect and place it in state coffers.
North Korea’s government is also trying to earn foreign currency through the sale of services related to cell phones, which are popular among North Koreans.
The country’s postal agency, Korean Post, imports cell phones from China at around $80 dollars each, then sells them for around $300 per device. When considering that North Korea has imported and sold a cumulative total of 6 million such devices (based on Daily NK data compiled in 2011), the government may have made around $1.32 billion just from this business.
Moreover, Korean Post branch offices are offering to install a cooking app for 25 RMB (around $3.70), while service centers charge 30 RMB (around $4.45) for the same service.
Starting last year, the authorities have also been investigating how much foreign currency people possess and are demanding that this cash be placed into banks. The financial administration departments in each region’s people’s committee (provincial government) have been reporting the amount of foreign currency held by people in their jurisdictions and forcing people to place the money in banks and use debit cards to withdraw it.
North Korea’s government experienced strong resistance to the 2009 currency reform and, perhaps with that experience in mind, the authorities have thus far conducted their current efforts to collect foreign currency in a relatively subdued manner. That being said, the state’s methods and policies regarding acquisition of foreign currency appear both extreme and coercive in nature.
Facing Dwindling Foreign Currency Reserves, North Korea Will Continue Efforts to Acquire Foreign Cash
Since March of this year, North Korea has moved to place trading companies nationwide under direct control of the Cabinet, and disband trading companies that, despite their connections with important government agencies, have failed to take part in import-export activities over the last several years.
The state has taken on these efforts to change the country’s trade-related ecosystem as part of efforts to restore the national unitary trade system. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has permitted some freedom in how companies conduct trade since gaining power in 2012; however, his government’s recent moves suggest that, going forward, only the state will have the right to manage trade activities.
The change in how trade companies operate is connected to the country’s lack of foreign currency. In short, it suggests that, given international sanctions and COVID-19 remain problems, the authorities feel the need to tightly control the country’s limited foreign currency supplies. Indeed, there are signs that the state plans to focus the limited supply of foreign currency solely on the purchase of absolutely essential imports.
The North Korean government’s persistent efforts to acquire foreign currency reflects the severity of the economic crisis the country is facing due to international sanctions and the COVID-19 pandemic. For the time being, the country may be able to eke by with the foreign currency it has in reserves; however, it should be clear that the regime is creating an elaborate system of squeezing foreign currency out of its own people as part of efforts to prepare for a continuation of the current economic crisis.
thediplomat.com · by Sang Yong Lee · August 13, 2022
7. North Korea's next generation is upending the regime's propaganda strategy with waterpark tours and quarantine vlogs
Some detailed analysis of the regime's new propaganda effort. The Propaganda and Agitation Department is adapting. I think it is a sign that they know they must compete with global social media activities and capabilities. They are threatened by social media and other information getting into the north. But they will will ever really be able to keep up -and this will not have as great an external impact as they hope except among those that are already true believers in the north or useful idiots and appeasers who will want to use this justify their pronouncements that the regime is good but just misunderstood and if only the US would lift sanctions everything would be alright.
North Korea's next generation is upending the regime's propaganda strategy with waterpark tours and quarantine vlogs
ABC.net.au · August 12, 2022
With her bookshelf crammed with Harry Potter books, her teddy bears and pigtails, Song A looks like any other little girl.
But this 11-year-old is the latest social media star to emerge from a brutal and mysterious dictatorship.
Song A made her debut on YouTube earlier this year, greeting her new audience with a big, confident smile and perfect English.
She explained that she lives in Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea.
"Pyongyang, where I live, is a very beautiful, magnificent city. Have you ever been to Pyongyang?" she asked.
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She described Pyongyang as a city full of "endless things our children could enjoy", and insisted people would be "completely surprised" if they came to visit.
Launched in January, with the first video released in April, Song A's channel has attracted more than 12,600 subscribers on YouTube.
She is also the youngest North Korean YouTuber — almost certainly backed by the regime — as its ruler, Kim Jong Un, hopes to rebrand the country for the digital age.
Who is Song A?
Song A has attracted coverage from South Korean and Chinese media, which have focused on her fluent English as well as her British accent.
Song A took her followers on a tour of a Pyongyang water park, which reportedly features 14 water slides, a rock-climbing wall, and a life-size statue of Kim Jong Il. (Supplied: YouTube)
In her introductory video, Song A — who said she is a Year 5 student — explained that her mother taught her English from an early age.
She also claimed to be a fan of British author J.K.Rowling, while holding a bilingual copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in English and Chinese.
South Korean media reported that Song A is actually the daughter of a North Korean diplomat who once worked in London.
The five videos uploaded to her channel portray a colourful and comfortable life for the girl, who vlogs her journeys to get shaved ice with friends, visit a children's hospital and have fun in a water park.
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However, there are also moments when Song A seems to be working hard to promote the narratives of the authoritarian regime.
In her second video, which was released in June, Song A vlogged about being quarantined at home with her mother while they had COVID-19.
The video was uploaded when the country was in a national lockdown due to a suspected wave of the virus that began in May.
At the time, officials at the World Health Organization raised concerns about North Korea's ability to control the outbreak, due to its vulnerable public health system and lack of COVID-19 vaccines.
However, Song A claimed "everyone is just fine" during the lockdown.
She recorded two military doctors visiting her home, giving her unspecified medicine while checking her temperature.
"At that moment, me and my mum just cried and cried like a baby," said Song A, calling the military doctors her "brothers".
Song A uploaded a vlog about her week in COVID-19 quarantine, during which she claimed military doctors brought unspecified medicine to her house. (Supplied: YouTube )
She also said she received fresh vegetables and fruits from the neighbourhood's grocery store "every two or three days".
There have been concerns that North Korea's agricultural issues in recent years might worsen daily supplies during the country's COVID-19 lockdowns.
"Everything is under control as it used to be," claimed Song A.
Last week, North Korea announced the end of its COVID-19 lockdown.
However, the number of confirmed cases in North Korea remains unknown, as the country only recorded the number of people with "fever symptoms".
The privileged girls of Pyongyang
For months, North Korea had implemented strict lockdown measures to control the spread of COVID-19. (Reuters: Kyodo)
Internet access in North Korea is heavily restricted to an elite few, and they are likely subjected to heavy surveillance.
In 2016, North Korea announced plans to block YouTube inside the country to further control outside communication.
However, even while preventing its own citizens from accessing the platform, the regime has long tried to make its presence known on the site.
Early in 2017, YouTube shut down two North Korean propaganda channels that shared state TV news clips, citing violation of its community guidelines.
It's believed the channels were operated by North Korea's supporters and the regime's propaganda department.
In 2020, a young North Korean YouTuber named Un A her English-speaking channel, "Echo of Truth", attracted international attention.
Un A, of YouTube channel Echo of Truth, has been seen as the new face of North Korea's propaganda strategy. (Supplied: Echo of Truth )
The channel initially showcased Un A's daily life in Pyongyang, from visiting her school and college to local department stores and entertainment facilities.
She called herself "an ordinary Korean girl from an ordinary family".
It later took on a more-familiar propaganda tone, with Un A starting to praise Kim Jung Un as "the great leader", while she pushed back criticism against North Korea.
An investigation by NK News found Un A's channel was run by North Korea's state media company.
The channel is now deleted on the platform, and Un A claimed that YouTube terminated her channel, citing violation of community guidelines.
Until this young generation of YouTubers came along, the only North Korean woman that most Westerners were familiar with was Ri Chun Hee.
The North Korean state TV anchor was famous for her bombastic delivery and candy pink hanbok dress.
She has been praised by Kim Jong Un as one of the "true patriots" and was given a luxurious apartment by the regime's leader.
Ri Chun Hee (second from the left) and her family met with Kim Jong Un (centre). (Reuters: Korean Central News Agency)
Eun Ah Cho — a lecturer in Korean studies at University of Sydney who followed Un A — said she was a different approach for the nation's propaganda wing.
"[Compared to Ms Ri] Un A was fresh. She was so young, and she looked very smart. So many commenters, and also the global audience, really liked her," Dr Cho said.
"They think they could finally see some natural part of North Korea, or North Korean women."
However, with both Un A and Song A residing in Pyongyang — the nation's richest city — it is worth noting that their daily life may not offer a full picture of North Korean women's living conditions, according to Dr Cho.
"It is not a secret that Pyongyang is a privileged city, even to the global audience," she said.
"And if you live there — not just working there — then that means you are from high class.
"So is this ordinary daily life? Yes, for those people in Pyongyang. But if you are talking about people in the rural areas, then you can say it's not an ordinary life."
North Korean propaganda goes virtual
Unlike his father and grandfather, Kim Jong Un has adopted a propaganda strategy tailored to the rise of internet. (Reuters: Korean Central News Agency)
For decades, the North Korean regime did not have a huge interest in initiating communication with the outside world, according to Weiqi Zhang, associate professor in political sciences at Suffolk University.
Instead, they allowed Westerners to visit the country on tightly-controlled guided tours.
Tourism has been a key economic source for North Korea. An estimate of 125,000 foreign tourists visited the country in 2018, with the majority of them coming from China.
New York, Rome and London may be among the most popular tourist hotspots in the world. Then there's Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea. One Australian tourist tells the story of his visit to one of the most talked about countries in the world.
Read more
"They are not interested in telling others about their own country, but they are more comfortable about inviting others to go to their countries to take a look," Professor Zhang said.
However, he said, the launch of these YouTube channels shows that North Korea wanted to improve its international reputation and challenge the stereotype from the rest of the world.
"Everybody has this impression that North Korea is closed, poor, very authoritarian or even totalitarian," he said.
"So what they are trying to do is probably not to completely change international perception, but to at least make people question the negative information that they receive from mainstream media."
YouTube is not the only foreign video platform that North Korea has tried to infiltrate.
On Chinese social media platforms, some North Korean vloggers — mostly young women — have posted videos to share their daily life in Pyongyang.
One of the most famous channels, NewDPRK, had around 80,000 subscribers on bilibili, a social video platform targeting Gen Z audiences in China.
One video posted by NewDPRK shows a North Korean woman ordering a burger and chips in a restaurant in Pyongyang. (Supplied: NewDPRK)
NewDPRK also appeared on YouTube and China's Twitter-like Weibo social media platform, where it had more than 750,000 followers.
An investigation by NK News shows the channel was run by North Korea's state media company, Sogwang Media Corporation.
Yet the channel also seems to collaborate with China-based media companies as its Weibo IP address indicated it was based in Jiangsu province, China.
Professor Zhang said North Korea wanted to make a good impression on the Chinese public, whose perception of the country has turned more negative than a decade before, because of North Korea's nuclear program.
"This kind of negativity in society would, potentially, affect the Chinese foreign policy on North Korea," Professor Zhang said.
"[So Pyongyang] wants to make sure that the Chinese people will not be the reason why the Chinese government will turn negative or turn their back on North Korea."
The ABC has contacted NewDPRK and YouTube for comment.
China also adopts a similar strategy
The headquarters of state media China Global Television Network (CGTN) in Beijing.(Reuters: Carlos Garcia Rawlins)
North Korea isn't the only nation trying to shape its narrative on Western social media platforms such as YouTube.
Its neighbour, China, launched a global campaign in 2016 mobilising state media to build their presence on both traditional and social media platforms in the West.
It was all part of a bid to promote tailored China stories to the world, according to a report by Freedom House.
Many Chinese individual vloggers also used YouTube — which was also blocked in China — to expand their market for more profits.
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In 2017, Chinese online influencer Li Ziqi made her debut on YouTube, and her videos about country life in China immediately attracted international attention.
She now has more than 17 million followers on YouTube.
Li's videos have been criticised for romanticising life in rural China.
However, it's the Cottagecore aesthetic of her videos that makes her as potentially appealing to a woman in Beijing as it would to a woman in Bondi, according to Shaohua Guo, associate professor in Asian studies at Carleton College.
"I think the entry point for her to establish a presence is really about the food, [farming] labour and presentation about an nostalgic view of a rural China that really wins both Chinese and non-Chinese audiences," Dr Guo said.
As YouTube becomes a platform for nations and individuals to undertake political and cultural exchanges, Dr Guo said it was important to remain open-minded.
"In a way, [Li Ziqi's videos] show the crucial role that the popular culture plays in inspiring imagination that transcends the geopolitical boundaries," Dr Guo said.
"So, I think, one thing to keep in mind is just to be open about [such] content."
With her beautiful rural property, enviable hair and soothing Cottagecore videos, Li Ziqi has more than 17 million subscribers. (Supplied: YouTube)
ABC.net.au · August 12, 2022
8. CIA: 19% of N. Korean Population Use Mobile Phones
An important data point. Those 4.5 million people can reach many more people.
CIA: 19% of N. Korean Population Use Mobile Phones
world.kbs.co.kr
Inter-Korea
Written: 2022-08-13 12:09:28 / Updated: 2022-08-13 12:52:51
Photo : Getty Images Bank
About 19 percent of North Korea's population use mobile phones, and most of them are senior government officials and diplomats, according to U.S. intelligence.
The CIA's recently updated World Factbook unveiled Saturday estimates that 19 percent of all North Koreans, about four-point-nine million people, used mobile phones as of last year, and a majority of them are ranking officials and diplomats.
This is due to strict censorship and the high cost of owning a phone in the North.
Some residents near the border are known to be using cellphones by obtaining Chinese phones and taking advantage of base stations in China, but they run the risk of hefty fines or imprisonment if they are caught.
The CIA said that North Korea exerts strong control over communications as it isolates itself from the international community in pursuit of its own ideologies.
The CIA added that the North ranks bottom in the communication services index along with Afghanistan and Turkmenistan.
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9. Old photos of North Korean military drill falsely shared as China 'preparing for Taiwan attack'
Propagandists must check their photos!
Old photos of North Korean military drill falsely shared as China 'preparing for Taiwan attack'
factcheck.afp.com · by Barbara MEDINA · August 13, 2022
Photos of a military exercise on a beach have been shared hundreds of times online alongside claims in Chinese and Spanish that they show the Chinese army preparing to attack Taiwan. The posts circulated after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's historic visit to the self-ruled island. But the photos have been shared in a false context. They were actually taken in North Korea as the country celebrated the 85th anniversary of the Korean People's Army in 2017.
"We will wait and see, thousands of years of peace will depend on this move, if you don't fight (Taiwan), it proves that you are a coward," reads the post's caption in simplified Chinese shared on Twitter on August 2.
The post -- retweeted more than 230 times -- includes two photos of a military exercise on a beach.
A third image shows a map that appears to indicate how the Chinese military might attack Taiwan.
Simplified Chinese text has been overlaid on the map which translates to English as: "Ready for battle".
A screenshot, taken on August 11, 2022, of the misleading post.
The claim circulated online as US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi landed in Taiwan, making her the highest-profile elected US official to visit the self-ruled island in 25 years.
In response, Beijing staged its largest-ever military exercises around Taiwan and repeated threats to bring the self-ruled democracy under its control, AFP reported.
Taiwan in turn has accused China of using the Pelosi visit as an excuse to kickstart drills that would allow it to rehearse for an invasion, and has staged its own live-fire drills.
The same photos were shared alongside a similar claim in Chinese on Facebook and on Taiwanese discussion forums. They were also published in a Spanish-language post on Twitter that was retweeted hundreds of times.
However, the photos were shared in a false context.
North Korean military drills
A combination of reverse image searches and keyword searches found the photos were published in a news report by North Korean official daily Rodong Sinmun on April 26, 2017.
They were included in an archive maintained by KCNA Watch, a website that monitors North Korean media.
The Korean-language text alongside the photos translates as: "Our people's army will follow in the history and tradition of the defenders of the leader and revolutionary party army and will strongly defend the socialist republic that shines and advances.
"Dear Supreme Leader Comrade Kim Jong-un oversaw the Korean People's Army's live-fire drills on the 85th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People's Army (KPA)."
The article continues: "The combined fire demonstration of the KPA services in celebration of its 85th founding anniversary was staged on the largest-ever scale since the foundation of the armed force.
"More than 300 large-calibre self-propelled guns lined up along the coast and opened fire all at once."
Below is a screenshot of the two photos published by Rodong Sinmun:
This screenshot of Rodong Sinmun on April 26, 2017 shows the same photos as they appeared in the newspaper, highlighted in red by AFP:
The same photos were also published in reports about the military drill by CNN and Yonhap News Agency in April 2017.
The CNN report's photo caption reads: "Live fire drills took place in Wonsan, North Korea, to mark the 85th anniversary of the Korean People's Army founding, according to North Korean State Media."
The Yonhap report's photo caption reads: "This composite photo, released by North Korea's party organ Rodong Sinmun on April 26, 2017, shows the country's largest-ever live-fire drill to mark the 85th founding anniversary of its armed forces the previous day."
AFP's Spanish-language team debunked false posts sharing the photos here.
AFP has also debunked other misleading claims related to China's military drills around Taiwan here and here.
factcheck.afp.com · by Barbara MEDINA · August 13, 2022
10. US Urges N. Korea to Accept Vaccine Support
I sarcastically ask why they would, since they say they have just won the COVID war. They will say, see we did ourselves and did not need your outside help. "Juche Lives." (again note sarcasm)
US Urges N. Korea to Accept Vaccine Support
world.kbs.co.kr
Inter-Korea
Written: 2022-08-13 11:10:25 / Updated: 2022-08-13 11:53:45
Photo : KBS News
The U.S. government and experts are urging North Korea to accept vaccine support from the international community, citing the risk of variants and a resurgence. This comes as the regime has declared victory in its fight against COVID-19.
According to Voice of America, the U.S. State Department's principal deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said Saturday that the U.S. is very concerned about how COVID-19 could affect the North Korean people, and it continues to support the provision of vaccines to the North.
He said the U.S. strongly supports and encourages efforts of international aid in seeking to prevent and contain the spread of the virus in North Korea and to provide other forms of humanitarian assistance to vulnerable groups in the country.
Patel said the North has refused all vaccine donations from COVAX, but if it requests vaccines, the U.S. stands ready to offer them, adding that it urges the North to work with the international community to facilitate the rapid vaccination of its population.
U.S. experts have also raised concerns over Pyongyang's latest declaration.
Johns Hopkins University professor Gilbert Burnham told Voice of America that North Korea may be entering a lull from its first encounter with COVID-19, but the virus is still likely to be around and the population will continue to encounter it or its future variants on a regular basis.
He said what immunity may have been imparted to an unknown proportion of the population by the recent outbreak may not last that long, and may have limited impact against new variations in the virus.
Georgetown University professor Lawrence Gostin said that North Korea is far more vulnerable than China because there has been no vaccinations and the country may see major outbreaks including hospitalization and deaths that potentially overwhelm its health system.
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11. The New Neighbor Is Causing a Commotion. Oh, and He’s the President of South Korea.
The Presidential move to Yongsan was a "black swan" for the US military (as a friend in Korea told me). Imagine if we still had the full US military presence in Yongsan. It would be a nightmare. Or imagine if, as I have recommended, we retained the ROK/US Combined Forces Command headquarters at Yongsan. The decision to move the ROK/US CFC to Humphreys was prescient and prevented the combined headquarters and the US side from having to deal with this 'balck swan" event.
The New Neighbor Is Causing a Commotion. Oh, and He’s the President of South Korea.
The country’s new leader is moving the official office from the secluded ‘Blue House’ into central Seoul—too close for some citizens’ comfort
https://www.wsj.com/articles/south-korea-president-office-move-blue-house-11659551596?mod=flipboard
By Hakyung KimFollow
Aug. 12, 2022 10:01 am ET
SEOUL—When South Korea’s new leader vowed to relocate the presidential office to Lee In’s central Seoul neighborhood, the 35-year-old marketing freelancer felt a tinge of excitement. Local development, he thought, could finally flourish in the sleepy Yongsan district.
The new neighbor: President Yoon Suk-yeol
Mr. Lee, whose apartment is steps from the new presidential office, underestimated the drawbacks of becoming the president’s neighbor.
“I can’t even open my windows because of the protesters yelling outside,” said Mr. Lee, who now wishes the office would go back to the old place a few miles away.
One of Yoon Suk-yeol’s first acts after becoming president in May was to move the presidential office and residence out of the incumbent “Blue House” compound, named for its roof tiles’ color.
The conservative Mr. Yoon, who eked out a March election victory, had pledged never to set foot inside the Blue House, a mountain-flanked complex used for decades that he likened to an emperor’s palace. It was too remote, he said, too detached from ordinary people.
Now he’s too close for many South Koreans’ comfort. The new office sits in the heart of Seoul at the country’s Defense Ministry complex. His new residence lies just outside the complex.
The new digs are in the riverside Yongsan neighborhood, where U.S. troops were stationed until a few years ago. The area is packed with homes, alleyway restaurants, government buildings and the Korean War museum.
The neighborhood has turned into a protest zone for people with objections ranging from the presence of a U.S. antimissile system to Legoland Korea over a tiff about building the park above cultural artifacts.
A national rally of postal delivery workers at the presidential office in Yongsan in July.
PHOTO: YONHAP NEWS/ZUMA PRESS
Oft-occurring presidential road blockages irk commuters and drivers. With crews still remodeling the residence—formerly the foreign minister’s—Mr. Yoon lives at his private home about 5 miles away, requiring him to crisscross Seoul to his office daily.
A spokesman for Mr. Yoon’s office said: “The President is engaging in utmost efforts to minimize any inconvenience that the people might face during his commute.”
Supporters of the move include Byun Gap-yeong, 70, who operates a small distribution center in Yongsan and said his business hasn’t been much affected: “Moving closer to the people and being able to meet and communicate with them is important.”
The new venue needed major upgrades to accommodate a head of state. It lacks enough space for the increased police presence, local media reported, prompting some security officers to christen their cramped resting shelter the “Vinegar Room” for its human odors.
Mr. Yoon’s spokesman, without directly commenting on the vinegar moniker, said it secured additional space “to improve the working and living conditions for the officers.”
A police officer controls traffic ahead Mr. Yoon’s motorcade toward the presidential office in May.
PHOTO: YONHAP/EPA/SHUTTERSTOCK
Some previous administrations, too, have proposed moving out of the Blue House, including that of the liberal Roh Moo-hyun in the early 2000s. Mr. Yoon’s predecessor, Moon Jae-in, said he would move the presidential office to the nearby Gwanghwamun area. But his administration scrapped the plans, saying the alternative location lacked key facilities, among other factors.
The 62-acre Blue House compound is three times the size of the White House grounds in Washington, D.C. The location, which Korean royalty had used as gardens for centuries, became the presidential complex after Korea divided.
Off-limits for decades to all but the elite, the Blue House has become a tourist draw, with more than 1.4 million visitors in recent months, government data show.
Lee Dohyun, a business manager living outside Seoul, strolled the grounds a few days after the Blue House opened to the public. “It felt amazing to see it in person,” said Mr. Lee, 32, who initially opposed the move but now approves after his Blue House visit. Still, he added, “Regardless of political orientation, I’m doubtful of whether it was a reasonable and efficient decision.”
The Blue House, the former presidential complex, has opened to the public.
PHOTO: AHN YOUNG-JOON/ASSOCIATED PRESS
One dilemma is what to name the Blue House’s successor. The Yoon administration set up a committee that asked the public for suggestions, offering a roughly $4,500 cash prize for the winner.
Approximately 30,000 entries flowed in. In June, the committee announced five finalists, including “The People’s House,” “The People’s Government Office,” “Bareunnuri” (“Righteous World”), and “Mineum Government Office,” (roughly, “Listening to the People”).
The top vote-getter was “Itaewon-ro 22,” the street address, which critics on social media panned as a knockoff of the U.K.’s 10 Downing Street. None attracted a public consensus, so the committee concluded its activities without scheduling another meeting. That left the office with the interim name “Yongsan Presidential Office.”
“Once we have a new name for the presidential office, we would use it for a long time,” said Mr. Yoon’s spokesman, so the office “decided to take more time to find a suitable name, rather than choosing hastily from the five candidate names.”
Lee Yoon-jin, a 26-year-old sales manager, called the naming snafu “ridiculous.” Most South Koreans opposed the move, he said—in a March poll, 58% disapproved—“but Yoon still forced the move without any consent. It doesn’t feel democratic at all.”
The new presidential office under construction in June.
PHOTO: YONHAP/EPA/SHUTTERSTOCK
North Korea seized on how Mr. Yoon’s preferred placeholder, “People’s House,” was in English, not Korean. A Pyongyang-controlled propaganda website proposed: “Why don’t you change your name to Joseph Yoon and put a sign in front of the office saying ‘White House 2.0?’ ”
The new office also lacks an official logo to replace the old one depicting the Blue House.
Yoon administration officials have told local media that things would have moved faster if they hadn’t minimized costs to save taxpayer dollars. The budget for the move was roughly $37 million, and Mr. Yoon’s spokesman said the office was moving desks, chairs and other furniture from the Blue House to save money.
One person not complaining is Cho Soon-ok, 80, who has staged solo protests, centered on a personal-property dispute, outside the Blue House since this past winter. She relocated her protests following Mr. Yoon’s move.
The Blue House required a long uphill walk, she said, and the new site offers better access. And with a nearby subway station, she said, “Bathrooms are also much closer now.”
Life isn't all business
From the sometimes silly to the downright bizarre, the A-Hed column captures the quirkier side of life.
SEE MORE A-HEDS
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Topless Beaches Roil Traditional Nantucket. Divisions Are Bared.
Suburbanites Fight Over New Dinner Services in Mercedes Vans
Appeared in the August 13, 2022, print edition as 'The President Next Door Ruffles Seoul'.
12. Not Enough M1 Abrams? Poland Is Buying K2 Black Panther Tanks
Poland = linchpin in Europe.
South Korea = linchpin in Asia.
So it makes sense for one linchpin to sell equipment to another linchpin.
Not Enough M1 Abrams? Poland Is Buying K2 Black Panther Tanks
19fortyfive.com · by Daniel Goure · August 12, 2022
Poland has become the linchpin of NATO’s eastern defense. Recognizing its important geostrategic position, the U.S. has deployed significant forces to that country, including a rotationally deployed Armored Brigade Combat Team (ABCT) and the prepositioned equipment for a second ABCT.
Simultaneously, Warsaw is rapidly modernizing its military, primarily by acquiring Western military hardware, thereby enhancing interoperability with its NATO allies. Included in its recent purchases are more than 360 M1 Abrams tanks, the same type used by U.S. ABCTs. But after taking this significant step, Warsaw turned to South Korea to provide it with 1,000 additional main battle tanks. This will complicate interoperability and access to spare parts.
Why is the U.S., which has additional M1s that it could provide to this important ally, letting Poland buy tanks from South Korea?
A Modernizing Military With Abrams Tanks
Poland is turning into a military powerhouse, spending well above the 2% of GDP that NATO member-states pledged to allocate to defense. With this money, it is rapidly modernizing a military hampered for decades by a continuing reliance on Soviet-era equipment. Poland has focused mostly on acquiring crucial U.S. equipment. It joined Europe’s F-35 club, signing a contract to acquire 32 Joint Strike Fighters. Poland also has purchased dozens of U.S.-built F-16 fighters, a number of Patriot air and missile defense batteries, and a substantial number of HIMARS, the rocket artillery system that the Ukrainian Army is employing to great effect.
Poland has played a central role in NATO’s efforts to support Ukraine in its defense against Russian aggression. The country has received millions of Ukrainian refugees. It is serving as the critical transshipment point for Western humanitarian aid and military assistance. At one time, Poland offered to send Ukraine its surplus MiG-29 fighters. Since February, Warsaw has provided Ukraine with domestically produced self-propelled howitzers, multiple rocket launchers, and some 200 T-72 tanks.
Even before the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, one of Poland’s most important modernization programs was its effort to replace Soviet-era main battle tanks with modern platforms. To that end, Warsaw signed an agreement with Washington in April to acquire 250 M1A2 SEPV3 main battle tanks, the same version of the Abrams that is entering service with the U.S. Army. This contract also included acquisition of 26 M88A2 HERCULES armored recovery vehicles and 17 M1074 Joint Assault Bridges.
As Poland began shipping its old T-72 tanks to Poland, it went back to the U.S. for an additional 116 used M1s in order to prevent a capability gap in this critical area. These were older variants of the Abrams that had once equipped U.S. Marine Corps heavy armor units.
With its acquisition of some 360 M1s, Poland will operate the world’s best main battle tank. Since it was introduced in 1980, the Abrams has undergone a series of improvements designated as System Enhancement Packages Versions 1-3 (SEPV1-3). The M1 SEPV3 is the latest version of the Abrams and a significant improvement over earlier variants. It is intended to respond to advances in foreign armor developments.
The SEPV3 will be more lethal and survivable than its predecessors, but at the same time easier to maintain. The new variant will be equipped with upgraded computers, sensors, radios, and power management systems. It will have an Auxiliary Power Unit that allows the Abrams to keep its sophisticated sensor systems running while the engine is off. Survivability measures include an improved Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station, a Counter Remote Controlled Improvised Explosive Device Electronic Warfare package, and reinforced armor. The SEPV3 will also be the most lethal version of the Abrams. It adds an improved Ammunition Data Link for the fire control system, and new rounds for the 120mm main gun.
An even better variant of the Abrams, the SEPV4, is in development. The SEPV4 would include advanced sensors that would improve target engagement in all weather conditions, as well as a new communications system, and new munitions to defeat advanced enemy armor at a longer range.
It’s Not Just About Poland
The acquisition of hundreds of Abrams tanks is about more than modernizing the Polish Army. It is about enhancing the interoperability and sustainment of NATO forces. Polish armored forces and the U.S. ABCTs deployed to that country will now be able to cooperate more closely. They will have pools of spare parts and munitions common to both countries’ M1s. As Poland develops the skills and local industrial base to support maintenance and repair of the M1, these assets will be able to support U.S. ABCTs.
Operating the same equipment delivers great advantages to both countries, and to the alliance as a whole. As such, it is extremely surprising that last month, Poland signed an agreement with South Korea for a massive arms acquisition deal that includes a reported 1,000 K2 main battle tanks, as well as self-propelled howitzers and light attack aircraft.
Having agreed to provide Poland with hundreds of advanced Abrams, it makes no sense that the United States would fail to meet Warsaw’s need for additional main battle tanks. This allows the advantages of operating a common platform to dissipate. Now the Polish military will have to add another supply chain to its sustainment capability and figure out how to make the K2 interoperable with its other armor systems.
K2 Black Panther. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
The Polish government claimed that the contact with South Korea helps close a capability gap created by the transfer of large amounts of equipment to Ukraine. But the U.S. Army has enough older versions of the Abrams in storage that could be upgraded to the SEPV3 standard and provided to Poland. The U.S. military has the industrial capacity to provide these upgraded Abrams to Poland on an accelerated basis while continuing to meet the U.S. Army’s demand for the SEPV3.
It will take years for Poland to bring in the K2 tanks. That gives Washington time to weigh in and get Warsaw to reconsider its decision. But the U.S. must, at a minimum, be willing to offer Poland additional Abrams SEPV3 tanks. Offering further upgrades to the SEPV4 would make even more sense.
19fortyfive.com · by Daniel Goure · August 12, 2022
De Oppresso Liber,
David Maxwell
Senior Fellow, Foundation for Defense of Democracies
Senior Fellow, Global Peace Foundation
Senior Advisor, Center for Asia Pacific Strategy
Editor, Small Wars Journal
Twitter: @davidmaxwell161
VIDEO "WHEREBY" Link: https://whereby.com/david-maxwell
Phone: 202-573-8647
email: david.maxwell161@gmail.com
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