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Quotes of the Day:
“You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.”
- C.S. Lewis
“Some people do not like to think. If one thinks, one must reach conclusions; and conclusions are not always pleasant.”
- Helen Keller
"Education is not the learning of facts but the training of the mind to think."
- Albert Einstein
1.N. Korea's nuclear test would be 'out of character' given call for mass production of nukes: expert |
2. Plans for Pop Concert at Korea-U.S. Summit Scrapped
3. Vice unification minister to meet Japanese nuclear envoy to discuss N. Korea
4. S. Korea, Japan in talks over launching economic security, nat'l security dialogues
5. The man blurred might be N. Korea's commander of tactical nuclear weapon unit
6. South Korea, U.S. and Japan begin naval drills to deter North's SLBMs
7. [Column] What if the North conducts its 7th nuclear test?
8. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's daughter is being indoctrinated: Experts
9. Lax patrols lead to spike in smuggling across China-North Korea border
10. China wants warmer cultural ties with South Korea, but politics seen to stand in the way
1. N. Korea's nuclear test would be 'out of character' given call for mass production of nukes: expert |
Excerpt:
"I would note that Kim Jong-un has recently talked about going into mass production of nuclear warheads. And so I think it would be very out of character for a test to be done now when they're already talking about mass production," she told a press briefing in Seoul.
Unless he wants to conduct a test to support his political warfare and blackmail diplomacy strategies.
N. Korea's nuclear test would be 'out of character' given call for mass production of nukes: expert | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 김수연 · April 3, 2023
SEOUL, April 3 (Yonhap) -- North Korea appears to be preparing for another nuclear test, but it would be "out of character" if such a test is carried out now, given its leader Kim Jong-un's call for the mass production of a nuclear arsenal, an expert at 38 North said Monday.
Jenny Town, director at the Stimson Center's 38 North, a United States website monitoring North Korea, also said there have been no "notable" movements indicating an imminent nuclear test at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site.
"I would note that Kim Jong-un has recently talked about going into mass production of nuclear warheads. And so I think it would be very out of character for a test to be done now when they're already talking about mass production," she told a press briefing in Seoul.
This photo, carried by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on March 28, 2023, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (4th from R) guiding the country's nuclear weaponization project the previous day, while calling for expanding the production of weapons-grade nuclear materials. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
At a key party meeting held last year, the North's leader ordered an "exponential" increase in its nuclear arsenal and the mass production of tactical nuclear weapons.
The secretive regime has recently released photos of what appears to be tactical nuclear warheads, spawning speculation that Pyongyang may soon conduct what would be the seventh nuclear test.
38 North said North Korea has "created the option" to carry out another nuclear test, such as opening a new entrance into the test tunnel area at the Punggye-ri site.
"(But) we have not seen any indications that they're trying to, for instance, seal off the tunnel, if they're going to do a test they would need to seal the tunnel first," Town said, adding the North could do it without being detected.
Touching on "growing activity" at the North's new experimental light water reactor in the Yongbyon nuclear complex, she said it could be more signs of testing cooling systems or pipelines in advance of putting the reactor into operation.
Meanwhile, 38 North's analysis of nighttime satellite imagery showed North Korea still remains in the dark, but Pyongyang and some industrial sites have emitted more light than in the past.
Imagery showed nighttime light was brighter in the Sadong and Hwasong districts in the capital, as the North's leader ordered the construction of 50,000 new homes.
"If we look closer, we can start to see some small changes that appear to be a result of some of Kim Jong-un's economic priorities and projects that have been going on in the country in the last five years," Martyn Williams, senior fellow at 38 North, told reporters.
As the North still suffers chronic power shortages, only a "huge investment in electric power generation" would help resolve the problem, he added.
This photo, provided by 38 North on April 3, 2023, shows a U.S. website monitoring nighttime satellite imagery of the North. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 김수연 · April 3, 2023
2. Plans for Pop Concert at Korea-U.S. Summit Scrapped
Did this really lead to theregsingation fo the ROK National Security Advisor?
Plans for Pop Concert at Korea-U.S. Summit Scrapped
https://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2023/04/03/2023040301063.html
Plans for performances by Korean and American pop stars like Blackpink and Lady Gaga for the Korea-U.S. summit later this month have been scrapped, apparently after the Korean planning team fumbled them.
The presidential office only issued a terse notice last Friday saying, "The concert that is being reported by the news media is not included in the list of official ceremonies."
The office did not say why, but national security adviser Kim Sung-han and other senior officials on the Korean summit planning team were abruptly sacked last week amid reports that they sat on U.S. proposals for the event despite repeated reminders from the American side.
A staffer at YG Entertainment, which manages Blackpink, said, "We received a proposal and looked into it, but there has been no further progress."
Blackpink
The U.S. government proposed the idea in January, feeling it would be a pleasant symbolic gesture to bring together top performers from the two global pop powerhouses. The stars were to perform at a gala dinner in Washington or even Carnegie Hall in New York.
But Kim and his office allegedly never passed the message to President Yoon Suk-yeol until early March, by which time it was too late to sign up the stars.
Kim fell on his sword last Wednesday saying, "I hope that controversy surrounding me does not pose a burden on diplomacy and government." The presidential secretaries for protocol and foreign affairs were also fired.
A source at the presidential office said, "Global stars normally need to be signed up a year in advance due to their busy schedules, and discussions between the U.S. and Korea started too late."
3. Vice unification minister to meet Japanese nuclear envoy to discuss N. Korea
A mismatch here since Japan (and the US ) has no counterpart for the unification ministry.
(LEAD) Vice unification minister to meet Japanese nuclear envoy to discuss N. Korea | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 장동우 · April 3, 2023
(ATTN: UPDATES with more details from 5th para; ADDS photo)
SEOUL, April 3 (Yonhap) -- Vice Unification Minister Kim Ki-woong will meet Japan's top nuclear envoy this week to discuss ways to boost bilateral ties amid North Korea's continued provocations, the unification ministry said Monday.
The talks between Kim and Takehiro Funakoshi, director-general for Asian and Oceanian Affairs at Tokyo's foreign ministry, will be held Thursday as a follow-up measure to the unification minister's visit to Japan last month.
During the trip, Unification Minister Kwon Young-se met with top Japanese government officials and proposed establishing a consultative channel between Seoul's unification ministry and Tokyo's foreign ministry.
Vice Unification Minister Kim Ki-woong speaks at an interagency government meeting on North Korea's human rights in Seoul, in this file photo taken Dec. 9, 2022. (Yonhap)
"Last month, the unification minister agreed to strengthen cooperation between South Korea and Japan on North Korea policies during his visit to Japan, and (this week's) meeting is a follow-up to the visit," Koo Byoung-sam, the ministry's spokesperson, told a regular press briefing.
Also, Funakoshi may hold separate meetings with his counterparts at Seoul's foreign ministry, including Kim Gunn, South Korea's special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, and Seo Min-jung, director general for Asia and Pacific affairs.
The trip will mark Funakoshi's first visit to South Korea since Seoul last month announced its plan to compensate Korean victims of Japan's wartime forced labor on its own, without asking Japan for contributions.
Kim Gunn (R), South Korea's special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, poses for a photo with Takehiro Funakoshi, head of the Japanese foreign ministry's Asian and Oceanian affairs bureau, prior to holding talks in Seoul on Dec. 19, 2022, in this file photo released by the South Korean foreign ministry. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
julesyi@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 장동우 · April 3, 2023
4. S. Korea, Japan in talks over launching economic security, nat'l security dialogues
Despite the historical issues I hope the Koreans and Japanese can sustain the momentum in coordinating national security and national prosperity efforts.
S. Korea, Japan in talks over launching economic security, nat'l security dialogues | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 이해아 · April 3, 2023
SEOUL, April 3 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and Japan are in talks about launching two dialogue channels for economic security and national security as a follow-up to last month's summit between President Yoon Suk Yeol and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, officials said Monday.
The economic security dialogue involving the two countries' national security councils is expected to launch as early as this month, before Yoon travels to the United States for a summit with President Joe Biden on April 26.
The national security dialogue involving director-general-level officials from the two countries' foreign policy and defense authorities is also expected to launch around the same time.
President Yoon Suk Yeol (L) shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the end of their joint news conference after their summit in Tokyo on March 16, 2023. (Yonhap)
"We're discussing detailed schedules with Japan for both dialogues," a senior presidential official told Yonhap News Agency.
Another official said the aim is to launch both within the month, though neither date has been fixed.
The economic security dialogue is expected to serve as a forum to discuss cooperation on supply chain issues related to semiconductors, electric vehicles and batteries, and the two countries' joint response to China's export controls and other economic pressure.
Seoul and Tokyo could also discuss their responses to the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act and Chips and Science Act amid concerns they could hurt domestic businesses.
"South Korea and Japan jointly raising the issue with the U.S. will carry a different weight than South Korea and Japan separately raising the issue with the U.S.," a presidential official said.
Meanwhile, the national security dialogue is expected to help Seoul and Tokyo coordinate their response to North Korea's nuclear and missile provocations, as well as the growing ties among North Korea, China and Russia.
These moves came as relations between the two countries have warmed significantly following the resolution of a long-running row over Japan's wartime forced labor after South Korea decided to compensate forced labor victims on its own without asking Japan for contributions.
hague@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 이해아 · April 3, 2023
5. The man blurred might be N. Korea's commander of tactical nuclear weapon unit
north Korean leadership experts, please provide your assessment.
Photo at the link: https://www.donga.com/en/home/article/all/20230403/4062919/1
The man blurred might be N. Korea's commander of tactical nuclear weapon unit
donga.com
Posted April. 03, 2023 08:00,
Updated April. 03, 2023 08:00
The man blurred in the picture of the nuclear strike simulation training attended by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on March 20 might be the commander of the country’s military unit in charge of operating tactical nuclear weapons, according to a member of the National Intelligence Service.
This was the analysis by the National Intelligence Service of the man blurred in the materials submitted by the office of Yoo Sang-beom of the People Power Party, according to Yoo’s office on Sunday. The National Intelligence Service suspected that the man might be the commander of the tactical nuclear weapon unit based on the fact that he was wearing a badge for lieutenant general, assisting Kim at close distance, and carrying a cross-body leather bag that is carried by North Korean commanders.
“He might have been blurred to prevent the risk that he could be designated as the subject for sanctions against North Korea,” said a member of the National Intelligence Service. “North Korea previously blurred the head of and other three persons related to a munitions factory producing critical weapons systems during Kim’s visit to the factory.”
dapaper@donga.com
donga.com
6. South Korea, U.S. and Japan begin naval drills to deter North's SLBMs
Every north Korean provocation makes the trilateral relationship stronger.
Notice that even though the major exercise has concluded that training continues. This is the new new normal. The ROK/US CFC and the ROK/Japan. US militaries will work to sustain readiness which requires continuous training all year around on various level.s
Monday
April 3, 2023
dictionary + A - A
South Korea, U.S. and Japan begin naval drills to deter North's SLBMs
https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2023/04/03/national/defense/South-Korea-United-States-Japan/20230403164050003.html
The USS Nimitz aircraft carrier arrives at a naval base in Busan on March 28 ahead of a joint naval exercise between South Korea and the United States. [NEWS1]
South Korea, the United States and Japan began a two-day trilateral naval exercise Monday, joined by the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz, in waters south of the Korean Peninsula to strengthen deterrence against the North's nuclear and missile threats.
Anti-submarine and search-and-rescue drills involving destroyers from the three countries' navies took place in international waters off the southern coast of Jeju Island, Seoul's Ministry of National Defense said.
The drills aim to boost the three countries' responsiveness to underwater threats, such as North Korea's recently improving submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), said the ministry.
The South Korean Navy deployed its Aegis radar-equipped destroyer Yulgok Yi I and Chungmugong Yi Sun-sin-class destroyers Choe Yeong and Dae Jo Yeong and fast combat support ship Soyang.
They joined the U.S. Navy's nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz and Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS Decatur and the USS Wayne E. Meyer, both equipped with the Aegis radars.
The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force's Asagiri-class destroyer JS Umigiri also participated in the exercise.
The anti-submarine drill will focus on enhancing the countries' capabilities to detect, track, share information and destroy any North Korean underwater threats, including training with unmanned underwater vehicles, according to the Defense Ministry.
During the search-and-rescue drill, the three countries will practice disaster response and humanitarian assistance, such as providing first-aid, transfer of patients and other emergency procedures in simulated maritime accidents.
The trilateral search-and-rescue exercise this week is the first of its kind in seven years, according to the ministry. It first commenced in 2008 but was suspended after 2017.
Seoul, Washington and Tokyo last held a trilateral anti-submarine exercise on Sept. 30 last year, joined by the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, also the first such drill in five years.
In October last year, the three countries held a missile defense exercise in international waters of the East Sea and again in February.
The trilateral maritime exercise may be taking place in waters off the southern coast of the Korean Peninsula rather than the East Sea because the previous exercises were near Korea's easternmost Dokdo islets, also claimed by Japan.
The USS Nimitz made a port call in Busan last Monday and trained bilaterally with the South Korean Navy the following day.
"This exercise will be a good opportunity to improve the maritime operational capability of Korea, the United States and Japan to respond to underwater threats such as North Korea's SLBMs, which are growing more sophisticated," said Kim In-ho, chief of the South Korean Navy's Maritime Task Force Flotilla 7.
In October 2021, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un announced the successful test-firing of a new type of small SLBM.
Last month, North Korea claimed to have tested an underwater drone capable of carrying a nuclear warhead that could create a "radioactive tsunami."
Its state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said that the "Haeil-1 type underwater nuclear attack drone" was tested on March 21 and that its test warhead was detonated on March 23.
North Korea revealed its Hwasan-31 tactical nuclear warhead last Tuesday, the same day the USS Nimitz arrived in Busan.
This week's trilateral exercise particularly highlights tightening security cooperation among the United States and its two East Asian allies following the recent thaw in bilateral relations following President Yoon Suk Yeol's summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo last month.
The two leaders agreed to normalize the General Security of Military Information Agreement, a military intelligence-sharing pact, and strengthen trilateral cooperation among South Korea, the United States and Japan to better counter North Korea's threats during the March 16 summit.
BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]
7. [Column] What if the North conducts its 7th nuclear test?
Excerpts:
Then, what will the South’s foreign affairs and security officials have to prepare? Ahead of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s state visit to the U.S. on April 26 and an upcoming summit, the disturbed atmosphere prompted by the replacement of his national security advisor must be quickly corrected. Above all, the officials must closely coordinate with their U.S. counterparts on a plan to strengthen extended deterrence and reconfirm what Washington’s “red line” is on the North Korea issues.
Another difficult issue is how Seoul will approach Beijing on the North Korea nuclear issue. The Moon Jae-in administration assumed a low profile, earnestly hoping that China would play a role, but the outcome was empty. It may be wise to give up a hasty hope since China is unlikely to pressure North Korea harshly. It is more realistic to strengthen diplomatic, security and military cooperation with the U.S. and Japan while asking China to play a responsible role as a permanent member of the Security Council. As the international order has changed, we must admit to the cold reality that our options have narrowed significantly.
Monday
April 3, 2023
dictionary + A - A
[Column] What if the North conducts its 7th nuclear test?
Chang Se-jeong
The author is an editorial writer for the JoongAng Ilbo.
While South Korea is marred with an internal split over the aftermath of the recent Korea-Japan summit, North Korea and China are making suspicious moves. Wang Yajun, named China’s ambassador to North Korea in February 2021, arrived in Pyongyang on March 27 after two years of his appointment. As the North-China border was blocked due to the Covid-19 pandemic, he was not able to travel to the North, but the ban is now largely lifted. It remains to be seen if the two will resume their suspended people-to-people exchanges and if China will give food assistance to the North to help address its famine and food shortage.
Speculations also grew that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un may visit China. Kim visited China in March, May, June 2018 and January 2019. As Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the North in June 2019, Kim’s visit to China in return is seen as an obvious move.
After Xi has completed awarding himself the third consecutive term and visited Russia, speculations are high that the next step will be the China-North summit. Some experts say Kim could visit China in April; others say it will happen around the time of the Group of 7 Summit from May 11 to 13 in Hiroshima, Japan and a Korea-Japan-U.S. summit on the sidelines of the event.
Amid such speculations, a U.S. think tank raised the possibility of a seventh nuclear test in North Korea on signs of high nuclear material production activity at the Yongbyon nuclear complex. If the North conducts the test, the United States will exert strong pressure on the North, such as deploying strategic assets. It remains to be seen what the U.S. will do to calm an ally’s doubt on its nuclear umbrella — or extended deterrence — as the two counties will celebrate the 70th anniversary of their alliance this year.
Another noteworthy point is the reaction of China and Russia if the North sends a shock wave to Northeast Asia and the international community with its nuke test. When North Korea staged a provocation by firing an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in November 2017, China and Russia backed the U.S.-led sanctions resolution 2397 at the UN Security Council. Pressured by its allies’ alarming move, North Korea had turned to appeasement and participated in the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics.
After the historic North-U.S. summit in Singapore in June 2018 and another in Vietnam in February 2019, the supremacy competition between the U.S. and China became fiercer. After Russia started a war on Ukraine in February last year, the new Cold War structure was consolidated, and the attitudes of Beijing and Moscow changed. After the North staged another ICBM launch in May last year, China and Russia used their veto powers at the UN Security Council, differently from the case in 2017. It shocked the international community.
In November last year, the Security Council could not even issue a chairman’s statement to condemn the North’s ICBM provocation due to the opposition of China and Russia. Their irresponsible attitude of abandoning the role as permanent members of the Security Council has created a split in the body, and the North is now using the rift to advance its nuclear capabilities.
Will China and Russia continue to ignore the North’s seventh nuclear test? A senior diplomatic source said China has recently spread word in the diplomatic community that ICBM and nuclear tests are different. It can be interpreted that Beijing will react if Pyongyang conducts a nuclear test. But it is unclear what China’s intention is.
Diplomats speculate that there are three possible scenarios depending on the intention of Xi, whose position was backed by Russian President Vladimir Putin. First, China and Russia will join the international sanctions like in the past or at least issue a statement to condemn North Korea.
Second, China and Russia, conscious of the NPT regime, will maintain their cooperation with North Korea, but abstain from voting, allowing the UN to pass a sanctions resolution.
Third is the worst-case scenario. Just like the case with the North’s ICBM firings, China and Russia will keep mum and nearly condone the North’s nuclear provocation.
Then, what will the South’s foreign affairs and security officials have to prepare? Ahead of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s state visit to the U.S. on April 26 and an upcoming summit, the disturbed atmosphere prompted by the replacement of his national security advisor must be quickly corrected. Above all, the officials must closely coordinate with their U.S. counterparts on a plan to strengthen extended deterrence and reconfirm what Washington’s “red line” is on the North Korea issues.
Another difficult issue is how Seoul will approach Beijing on the North Korea nuclear issue. The Moon Jae-in administration assumed a low profile, earnestly hoping that China would play a role, but the outcome was empty. It may be wise to give up a hasty hope since China is unlikely to pressure North Korea harshly. It is more realistic to strengthen diplomatic, security and military cooperation with the U.S. and Japan while asking China to play a responsible role as a permanent member of the Security Council. As the international order has changed, we must admit to the cold reality that our options have narrowed significantly.
8. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's daughter is being indoctrinated: Experts
Everyone in north Korea is "indoctrinated."
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's daughter is being indoctrinated: Experts
theprint.in · by ANI · April 1, 2023
Washington [US], April 2 (ANI): North Korea has long sought to convince its own people that the US and South Korea are its mortal enemies, leaving the nation no choice but to develop advanced weapons for self-protection. Analysts are questioning whether that closed society is giving leader Kim Jong Un’s daughter a similarly constricted view of the outside world, Voice of America, VOA reported.
Kim Ju Ae believed to be about 10, has been spotted at military events with her father about 10 times since he introduced her to the public on November 18, a little girl standing in front of a gigantic Hwasong-17 ICBM at a launch site.
Most recently, she accompanied Kim as he was overseeing simulated nuclear counterattack drills on March 18-19, the test of a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile on March 16, and artillery firing drills on March 9, according to North Korea’s state media KCNA.
The father-daughter visits to missile sites and military events are “an indoctrinating moment for her,” said Michael Madden, an expert on North Korean leadership at the Stimson Center. He said she is probably told that “the missiles guarantee … the continuity of the Kim family regime.”
The Kim regime spans three generations, with power passing from Kim Il Sung to Kim Jong Il and then to the father of the girl who represents the fourth generation, VOA reported.
Madden added that rather than being raised to see the world in shades of grey, Ju Ae is absorbing “a black-and-white way of viewing things and that South Korea and the United States are our enemies and have been our enemies for 70-plus years.”
Kim is presenting her with this worldview to raise her as an elite member of Pyongyang’s top ranks, if not as his successor who would continue the regime’s authoritarian rule, suggested Ken Gause, a North Korean leadership expert and director of International Affairs Group, a part of the Strategic Studies division of the US-based CNA Corporation, VOA reported.
“There is a part of running North Korea that is very cutthroat,” Gause said.
“The less you know about how democracies run” and “to a certain extent, the less you know about the outside world, probably the better.”
Almost all the events Ju Ae attended have involved the military, a sign that she is “being placed in the context of the Korean People’s Army,” said Madden. “This could be read as a continuation of the partisan, guerrilla legacy of her great-grandfather Kim Il Sung,” who founded the regime.
A soccer match she attended with her father in February set the Defense Ministry team against a team composed of Cabinet members, VOA reported.
Even a groundbreaking ceremony for a new street in an apartment complex in Pyongyang that she attended with Kim in February had a military twist. Members of the Youth League, which is tied to the KPA, were assigned to construct the buildings, according to Madden.
For Ju Ae to be presented with the regime’s narrative suggests she is not completely exempt from being brainwashed like the rest of the North Korean people, experts said.
North Korea is considered one of the most repressive countries in the world, denying its people freedom of information, expression and thought or opinion, according to a 2022 report by Human Rights Watch.
The regime strictly “controls virtually all information within the country” and prohibits “ordinary citizens from listening to foreign media broadcasts,” according to the State Department’s 2022 report on human rights practices in North Korea, VOA reported.
A law adopted in December 2020, designed to preserve North Korea’s socialist ideology, authorizes up to a death sentence for those caught distributing media from South Korea and the US.
On Thursday, South Korea’s Unification Ministry released a report detailing North Korean defectors’ accounts of human rights situations in the country from 2017 to 2022, including crackdowns on distributing and watching foreign media content, VOA reported.
The regime indoctrinates its people with one-sided narratives via propaganda messages at schools and workplaces, and through state-owned media tightly controlled by the Propaganda and Agitation Department of the ruling Workers’ Party, according to a report by the US State Department.
Former high-ranking officials in Pyongyang who defected to South Korea say ordinary North Koreans lack the information needed to form their own opinions of Ju Ae’s outings in high-end outerwear.
A high-profile North Korean defector, who prefers to remain anonymous to avoid attracting the regime’s attention, told the Korean Service, “North Korean residents can’t fathom how expensive the coat is because they are going hungry and don’t have enough food to eat”, VOA reported.
Chronic food shortages have plagued North Korea since a famine killed estimated hundreds of thousands of people in the mid-1990s. Although it is difficult to accurately assess current conditions, many experts believe the COVID-19 pandemic worsened food insecurity. (ANI)
This report is auto-generated from ANI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
theprint.in · by ANI · April 1, 2023
9. Lax patrols lead to spike in smuggling across China-North Korea border
Perhaps some good news for the markets and the people. And are "lax patrols" an indicator of the state of coherency of the military?
Lax patrols lead to spike in smuggling across China-North Korea border
Chinese smugglers are providing North Korea with various items, including food such as beer, cookies, ham and smoked duck
dailynk.com
A marker delineating the border between China and North Korea (Wikimedia Commons)
The intensity of patrols along the China-North Korea border has decreased over the past month, leading to a rise in smuggling operations bringing in a wide variety of goods, including minerals, medicinal herbs and even livestock.
Speaking on condition of anonymity due to security concerns, a reporting partner in North Korea told Daily NK last Friday that smuggling activities in the area along the Yalu River have spiked since the beginning of March.
North Korean and Chinese smugglers typically conduct smuggling operations at night with boats, but they sometimes conduct operations during the day in places with little human presence, he said.
North Korean smugglers are selling a great deal of mined minerals such as coal, aluminum and copper, as well as medicinal herbs, the reporting partner said.
According to him, they are also smuggling livestock into China, including goats, sheep, rabbits and chickens. In China, demand is high for North Korean livestock because they cost one-third of Chinese market prices.
“A goat goes for RMB 500 a head, but you can get RMB 1,500 for it when you resell it on the Chinese market. A sheep goes for RMB 800 a head, and a rabbit for RMB 30, but they go for RMB 2,000 and RMB 80, respectively, when you resell them,” the reporting partner said. As of Apr. 2, RMB 1 is equal to USD 0.15.
In fact, Chinese businesspeople are lining up to smuggle with North Korea since they can make decent profits given the fact that prices in North Korea are so much lower than in China, he added.
Meanwhile, Chinese smugglers are providing North Korea with various items, including food such as beer, cookies, ham and smoked duck.
LAX PATROLS ALONG BORDER
The recent spike in smuggling operations along the China-North Korea border is likely due to the decreasing intensity of patrols on both sides of the border.
Border restrictions remain in place, of course. For example, people wanting to enter the border region in North Korea are required to obtain buffer zone entry passes. Unlike the past, when people faced being shot at by military units guarding the border, few incidents of this nature are occurring, even if someone is caught smuggling.
In February 2020, just after the closure of the border, North Korean authorities sent a notice to China’s border patrol asking for cooperation in stopping Chinese people from engaging in activities in the area along the border with North Korea. In the notice, North Korea even revealed it planned to allow its border patrol to fire on Chinese nationals if such activities persisted.
In May 2020, a Chinese man in his 50s was shot dead by North Korean border guards while he was engaged in smuggling along the Yalu River in China’s Changbai County.
Recently, however, there are more and more border guards taking bribes in return for turning a blind eye to smuggling operations, the reporting partner said.
“Smuggling isn’t stopping because border guards are often directly involved in it,” he said. “As recently as last year, if Chinese police caught someone illegally trading with North Korea, they would slap them with a huge fine. These types of crackdowns have not been as frequent recently.”
North Korea still has border restrictions in place, but the decrease in the intensity of crackdowns on smuggling along the border suggests that such activities will increase going forward.
Translated by David Black. Edited by Robert Lauler.
Daily NK works with a network of reporting partners who live inside North Korea. Their identities remain anonymous due to security concerns. More information about Daily NK’s reporting partner network and information gathering activities can be found on our FAQ page here.
Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
Read in Korean
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10. China wants warmer cultural ties with South Korea, but politics seen to stand in the way
China wants warmer cultural ties with South Korea, but politics seen to stand in the way
finance.yahoo.com · by South China Morning Post April 2, 2023, 2:30 AM·4 min read
China's efforts to improve relations with South Korea on the people's level may struggle to overcome the impact of political tensions, an observer in Seoul has warned.
The head of China's ruling Communist Party body tasked with people-to-people diplomacy recently concluded a visit to South Korea, held up as an effort to "recall the start of the [bilateral] friendship" and "revitalise cooperation mechanisms".
"China and South Korea are inseparable neighbours, friends, and partners, and have become an increasingly close community of shared interest and destiny," Lin Songtian, president of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, said as he met officials, academics, and representatives of non-governmental organisations during his three-day trip.
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But whether Chinese willingness to revive civic cooperation succeeds in boosting economic and cultural ties remains in doubt, amid tensions over South Korea's links with treaty ally the United States, whose Indo-Pacific strategy is seen by Beijing to be aimed at containing China.
Lin Songtian, president of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, visited South Korea and Japan. Photo: Handout alt=Lin Songtian, president of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, visited South Korea and Japan. Photo: Handout>
Choo Jae-woo, professor of Chinese studies at Kyung Hee University in Seoul, described Lin's trip as an attempt to "break the ice".
However, economic and cultural interaction "won't show too much progress" under Chinese President Xi Jinping, said Choo, who took part in one of the events with Lin's delegation.
"People-to-people diplomacy is dictated by politics under Xi," he said. "China still effectively bans all Korean satellite TV stations ... No Korean drama, no nothing as of today."
South Korean tensions with China spiked in August over the expansion of a US-made anti-ballistic system, stationed near Seoul since 2017. China says the system's radars pose a security threat, while South Korea maintains it is meant to counter threats from North Korea.
This comes as South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, who took office last May, adopts a tougher stance on China than his predecessor. This has seen Yoon bolster security cooperation with Washington and Nato, as well as Japan - the other major US ally in East Asia.
Lin, who arrived in Seoul on March 26, also visited Japan before wrapping up his trip on Saturday.
Meanwhile, political tensions have hurt South Korean public opinion on China. A recent study by the Sinophone Borderlands project, a global online survey on attitudes towards China, found South Koreans viewed China more negatively than any other country in the region, especially on the aspects of natural environment and technology.
In an interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily on Monday, Lin admitted the existence of "undesirable" public opinion on either side.
He attributed the sentiment to the "speedy development" of China, the lack of personal exchanges during the pandemic, and the "smearing" and "misleading" efforts of "some countries outside of the region".
In a meeting the same day with South Korea's deputy foreign minister, Choi Young-sam, Lin emphasised that his visit showed how highly China valued the need to "enhance friendship and strengthen friendly exchanges and cooperation".
It also showed China's eagerness for "peaceful and friendly" relations and prosperous development with both Japan and South Korea, he said.
People-to-people relations, focused on non-governmental exchanges of the people, have always been part of China's overall diplomatic strategy.
Lin, a former Chinese ambassador, recently also became deputy head of the foreign affairs committee of the country's top political advisory body.
In talks with Incheon mayor Yoo Jeong-Bok on Tuesday, Lin remarked on the "remarkable geographical advantages" of the neighbouring capital city of Seoul, which conducted frequent exchanges with China.
Yoo pledged to deepen ties with China, saying "local-level exchange and cooperation, especially with [Chinese] sister cities, is of foremost importance, and should not be affected by official relations".
This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2023 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
Copyright (c) 2023. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
finance.yahoo.com · by South China Morning Post April 2, 2023, 2:30 AM·4 min read
De Oppresso Liber,
David Maxwell
Vice President, Center for Asia Pacific Strategy
Senior Fellow, Foundation for Defense of Democracies
Senior Fellow, Global Peace Foundation
Editor, Small Wars Journal
Twitter: @davidmaxwell161
Phone: 202-573-8647
email: david.maxwell161@gmail.com
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