Quotes of the Day:
"How lovely to think that no one need wait a moment, we can start now, start slowly changing the world!"
- Anne Frank
"With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts."
-Eleanor Roosevelt
"Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence."
- Helen Keller
Spirit of America, Ukraine SITREP
Spirit of America is a "not neutral" NGO.
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This is the time to "take a side" which is what being "not neutral" means. Spirit of America always takes the side of America and its allies.
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(Note: I am a member of the SOA Board of Advisors).
1. If Putin has his way, Kim Jong Un may be next
2. South Korea reports high turnout in early voting, but apologizes to coronavirus patients for a lack of preparation.
3. N.K. leadership to decide time for satellite launch: pro-N.K. paper
4. Explained: Why North Korea's satellite launches are so controversial
5. U.N. set to hold meeting on N. Korea's latest missile launch: Seoul official
6. (South Korea) Navy SEAL-turned-YouTuber claims he left for Ukraine to participate in war as volunteer
7. South Korea’s presidential candidates face balancing act amid rising anti-China sentiment
8. New Australian Deputy Commander of USARPAC visits Camp Casey
9. S. Korea to suspend transactions with Russia's central bank, sovereign funds
10. Biden's mentioning of S. Korea shows gratitude for joining sanctions on Russia: Cheong Wa Dae
11. Millennial and Gen Z views of South Korea's generation in power shape an election
12. 'Squid Game Election': South Korean campaign gets ugly
13. What South Korea’s Election Means for Biden and Democracy
14. Traveller Shocked By App That He Discovered On A North Korean Smartphone
15. ＜Absolute Secret> Documents Obtained: Kim Jong-un's security team conducted background checks on grandparents to the sixth degree of kinship.
1. If Putin has his way, Kim Jong Un may be next
Will north Korea be a spoiler in strategic competition? While Putin might like north Korea to act out,I wonder how China feels about that? Timing is important.
As I have previously written:
However, I would argue the Kim family regime is actually a global problem and one that could be a spoiler in great power competition. What is a spoiler? – The extreme type is the total spoiler which is defined as groups or individuals that will never compromise or negotiate. Although international relations theorists say this is actually extremely rare, I would argue that it applies to north Korea and that it has important implications for the US and all the powers competing in strategic competition. North Korea has the potential through words and deeds to upend cooperation and competition and this could lead to conflict. And what makes north Korea a spoiler most of all? It’s absolute unwillingness to negotiate the denuclearization of north Korea. It is its nuclear weapons that provide it with the ability to operate around the world to achieve its objectives and this can put a wrench in great power competition.
We must understand that north Korea is a self-described revolutionary power and its constitution and Workers Party of Korea charter call for it to complete the revolution to rid the peninsula of foreign influence and unify it under what I like to describe as the Guerrilla Dynasty and Gulag State to support the single vital interest – survival of the mafia-like crime family cult known as the Kim family regime. It is employing the seven decades old strategy of subversion, coercion-extortion (blackmail diplomacy), and use of force to achieve unification on its terms. It is conducting a “long con” to obtain sanctions relief while keeping its nuclear weapons and military capabilities intact. It is using blackmail diplomacy -increased tension, threats, and provocations to gain political and economic concessions. Finally, it is conducting political warfare with Juche characteristics – “Political warfare is the use of all means other than military force to compel an opponent to do one’s will. Its exercise reflects a hostile intent.” The north conducts political warfare against its own people, the ROK, Japan, the US, and dating back to the Korean War, even China and Russia. As LTG (RET) Chun In Bum has written, other adversaries in the world recognize the success of the North Korean regime and hope to emulate its success. This in turn is a new source of danger and a potential threat to the international order and the free world. It can make north Korea into a form of spoiler.
...
Yes, north Korea poses an existential threat to South Korea as it seeks to dominate the peninsula either through political warfare (Subversion) or the use of force. But the problems north Korea generates go far beyond Northeast Asia and as long as it retains its nuclear program it will be free to act to do whatever is necessary to generate the resources for the regime to survive. And this could serve as a spoiler in Asia and other parts of the world and cause even greater friction within great power competition.Yes, north Korea poses an existential threat to South Korea as it seeks to dominate the peninsula either through political warfare (subversion) or the use of force. But the problems north Korea generates go far beyond Northeast Asia and as long as it retains its nuclear program it will be free to act to do whatever is necessary to generate the resources for the regime to survive. And this could serve as a spoiler in Asia and other parts of the world and cause even greater friction within strategic competition.
If Putin has his way, Kim Jong Un may be next
That jumped out at me as, thinking of the Korean peninsula’s Russia-Ukraine parallel – two culturally and linguistically similar countries, one of which with its free and democratic ways is driving the authoritarian leader next door nuts – I was catching up with reporting by the respected Osaka-based Asia Press/Rimjingang.
I had heard North Koreans expressing that level of desperation, but not since the mid-1990s when the country was littered with the bodies of the hundreds of thousands who died during the great famine.
Defectors I interviewed back then told me that people were hoping that if the country went to war they could eat their war-reserve rice – and maybe they’d win the war and sit down for a victory feast dining on the enemy’s rice.
North Korea has experienced war during the lifetime of quite a few oldsters who are still around to testify to their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren that 1950-53 with its millions of deaths was horrible.
I figured that things on the ground now must be awful indeed if AsiaPress – which advertises that it “contacts its reporting partners in North Korea through smuggled Chinese mobile phones” – had been able to find multiple residents willing to say they can’t go on so let’s throw the dice and go to war.
Sure enough, here are a couple more of the outlet’s recent headlines:
- “Gap Between Capital and Countryside Grows as Kim Jong-un Regime Blatantly Abandons Rural Areas”
- “Minus 30 Degrees Celsius! Residents Live With Neighbors to Save on Heating as Coal is Rationed to Workplaces”
“So what?” experienced Pyongyang watchers might ask. Kim Jong Un, North Korea’s third-generation leader, wouldn’t decide on questions of war and peace on the basis of his subjects’ mood.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un provides field guidance to Farm No. 1116 under KPA Unit 810, in this undated photo released by North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang September 13, 2016. Photo: KCNA
And, anyhow, the current economic crunch is entirely Kim’s doing: He insists on threatening South Korea, Japan and the United States with nuclear annihilation, keeps testing weapons to back up his threats – and, as a result, his country is tightly squeezed by international and bilateral sanctions.
Furthermore, because he knew his public health apparatus was pitifully inadequate, he cut off trade with his only serious trading partner, China, at the outset of the Covid pandemic. Avoiding the passage of goods was his eccentric way of keeping germs out.
(Most medical authorities say the infection is mainly passed directly by humans, not so much via inanimate objects.)
Several things Oh believes to be true grabbed my attention:
- “North Korean experts in South Korea had predicted that Kim Jong Il would not take any provocative action to increase military tensions between North and South Korea ahead of the presidential election in March, as it would be detrimental to left-wing presidential candidates who are more likely to be more lenient towards North Korea. The assumption that it would not be in Kim Jong Il’s interest to have a conservative government in South Korea was a logical one – but it turned out to be wrong.”
- “At the general meeting of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea held at the end of 2021, a decision was made to complete the development of hypersonic missiles and ‘mass produce’ them for field deployment in 2022. However, successful testing and mass production for actual deployment are entirely different matters.”
- “Looking at the missile launch tests that North Korea has been conducting over the past few years, the key words ‘surprise attack’ and ‘irregularity’ come to mind. These include shortening the launch preparation time and improving the launch maneuverability and irregular flight capability of the missiles.”
- “So, will the new weapons, such as hypersonic missiles that have been tested repeatedly, be ready for field deployment immediately? In my opinion, it will not be easy. In addition to financial difficulties and power shortages, there are other unique reasons for this.”
- “Development of weapons is completed at the National Defense Academy of Sciences, before the Ministry of People’s Armed Forces submits a deployment plan to the Second Economic Commission, which is in charge of munitions production. After the committee reviews the project and offers the budget and production plan to the Central Military Commission of the Workers’ Party for approval, mass production begins to create the ‘national standard product.'”
- “As for the development of advanced weapon prototypes … above all, it was essential to secure stable electrical power…. Although there are priority power transmission measures for the military-industrial sector, the quality (frequency) is the problem. Precision machinery is sensitive to fluctuations in the frequency of electricity, and if the frequency becomes unstable even slightly, it will stop…. In my opinion, the fundamental improvement of the conditions that allow for mass production has not yet been made.”
- “In other words, the actual deployment of weapons in North Korea is not proceeding as planned. Repeated delays and the eventual scaling back of deployment, and the deployment of a significant number of dummy weapons are common occurrences. In North Korea, many projects are unsustainable, with their completion eventually left in limbo.”
Whew. So does that mean that those of us who live in targeted countries are off the hook and can relax? Not quite, if we credit Oh’s instincts. In the past few days, we have learned some things about Vladimir Putin’s unpredictability and lust for conquest.
This picture taken on March 21, 2020 and released from North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on March 22, 2020, shows a demonstration fire of tactical guided weapons at an undisclosed location in North Korea. Photo: KCNA VIA KNS / AFP / Stringer
Oh – writing just before the Ukraine mess heated up – advises watching out in that regard for Kim Jong Un (reminder: Kim had his uncle and his half-brother killed), who knows how to scare his underlings into performing:
I have seen subordinates at work whispering that the official in charge will be unlucky if he upsets the leader in the process. Since the beginning of the era of the temperamental Kim Jong-un, there has been a growing tendency to avoid being selected for high-ranking official positions where the probability of getting the wrong end of the stick is high.
It is common knowledge that it takes time for any product to go from development to market, but if we overestimate the time left before North Korea’s weapons become a full-fledged threat, we will be badly stung.
The United States is mainly responsible for taking a lax view of the current situation in North Korea. North Korea’s weapons development has sped up beyond what it was in the past. It is necessary to fundamentally rethink our strategy to see whether the threat can be controlled solely through this defensive arms development race.
And on that ominous note …
2. South Korea reports high turnout in early voting, but apologizes to coronavirus patients for a lack of preparation.
South Korea reports high turnout in early voting, but apologizes to coronavirus patients for a lack of preparation.
South Korea is experiencing a sharp spike in coronavirus cases, its worst wave of the pandemic, but is allowing infected voters to cast a ballot in the country’s contentious presidential election.
“We are very sorry for causing an inconvenience to the Covid-19 patients during the early-voting period,” the statement said.
It was unknown how many people were involved, but at least one person with Covid had to be hospitalized.
South Korea is experiencing a sharp spike in coronavirus cases, its worst wave of the pandemic. Lawmakers and health officials had agreed last month to revise election laws to allow voters infected with the virus to cast a ballot in the country’s contentious presidential election.
Under the new rules, the general public could vote early all day on Friday and Saturday, but virus patients and those in quarantine were allowed at the polls only during a limited window on Saturday. People with the virus were permitted leave home to vote starting at 5 p.m. and needed to walk, drive or take a cab to a polling station by 6 p.m. But having so many show up at the same time caused lines of over an hour at some polls, and in many cases, outside in the cold weather.
According to the election commission, the two-day early-voting period had a 36.93 percent voter turnout, which was more than a 10 percentage points higher than the early-voting turnout in the 2020 parliamentary elections.
On Wednesday, Election Day, the new rules will allow voters with Covid to leave isolation to vote from 6 to 7:30 p.m., the health authorities said. The rest of the electorate will be able to vote from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. as a safety precaution.
Reflecting upon the mishaps during the early voting weekend, the election commission said that it would “come up with measures as soon as possible so that the public can vote with confidence on Election Day.”
In other developments:
Hong Kong Post will suspend courier services and parcel deliveries on Monday to focus on essential postal services as the city faces a surge in the Omicron variant. SF Express, a popular courier service in Hong Kong, has also suspended door-to-door deliveries, resulting in long lines at self-pickup locations. As dozens of residential buildings are locked down for mass testing and increasing numbers of families self-isolate at home, delivery services are facing an increase in demand and a shortage of manpower.
Tiffany May contributed reporting.
Jin Yu Young reports on South Korea and other countries in Asia from the Seoul newsroom. She joined The Times in 2021. @Jin_charli
3. N.K. leadership to decide time for satellite launch: pro-N.K. paper
Well of course. I don't know who else would decide. BUu the question is when?
N.K. leadership to decide time for satellite launch: pro-N.K. paper | Yonhap News Agency
SEOUL, March 7 (Yonhap) -- North Korea will launch a rocket carrying satellite at a "time and place" as determined by its leadership, a pro-North Korea newspaper said Monday with regard to the secretive nation's stated development of a "reconnaissance satellite."
On Saturday, the North fired an apparent ballistic missile into the East Sea, which its state media described as "another important test" for the satellite program.
"(The satellite) will fly toward space at a time and place decided by the supreme leadership," the Japan-based Choson Sinbo said. "With satellite development in focus, the (North's) National Aerospace Development Administration has pursued the project under a timetable outlined by the supreme leadership." The supreme leadership in the communist regime apparently refers to leader Kim Jong-un.
Many observers say the North seems to be moving fast to resume its long-range missile tests in the coming weeks or months.
yunhwanchae@yna.co.kr
(END)
4. Explained: Why North Korea's satellite launches are so controversial
Conclusion:
North Korea has not test-fired an ICBM since 2017, but now officials in Washington and Seoul fear a new satellite launch could help the country further improve its ballistic missiles. "In the future, if North Korea launches intercontinental ballistic missiles under the pretext of launching a satellite, it will face stronger pressure from the international community," Yoon Suk-yeol, the main conservative candidate in Wednesday's presidential election in South Korea, said in a statement after the latest launch.
Explained: Why North Korea's satellite launches are so controversial
Since 1998 North Korea has launched five satellites, of which two appeared to have been successfully placed in orbit, including its last in 2016.
North Korea appears preparing to launch a reconnaissance satellite, a move that may prove as controversial as the nuclear-armed country's weapons test because they use the same banned ballistic missile technology, experts say.
North Korea conducted a record number of missile launches in January and has suggested it could resume testing of nuclear weapons or its longest-range intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) for the first time since 2017. After a test of satellite-related systems during a missile launch on Sunday - the second such test in a week - some experts think it is just a matter of time before North Korea attempts to put a satellite in orbit.
Here's what we know about North Korea's race for space, and why it's so controversial: HISTORY OF LAUNCHES
Since 1998 North Korea has launched five satellites, of which two appeared to have been successfully placed in orbit, including its last in 2016. International observers said the satellite appeared to be under control, but there was lingering debate over whether it had sent any transmissions.
Experts at the time of the 2016 launch said that North Korea had used a three-stage rocket booster like the Unha-3 of previous launches, but that a new launchpad was clearly built for a larger rocket. A senior official at North Korea's space agency said after the launch that it planned to put more advanced satellites into orbit by 2020 and eventually "plant the flag of (North Korea) on the moon". The country has not launched any more satellites since then, however.
During a party congress in January 2021, leader Kim Jong Un revealed a wish list that included developing military reconnaissance satellites.
The United States and its allies called North Korea's latest tests of satellite systems clear violations of United Nations Security Council resolutions, which prohibit any development of technology applicable to North Korea's ballistic missile programs. North Korea has said its space program and defense activities are its sovereign right.
At the time of the 2016 space launch, North Korea had yet to fire an ICBM. The satellite launch was condemned by governments in the United States and South Korea as a disguised test of ballistic missile technology capable of striking the continental United States. "The obvious concern is that North Korea is testing ballistic missiles and only pretending to care about satellites," the U.S.-based monitoring program 38 North said in a report at the time.
The report said the Unha-3 system would be ungainly to use as a weapon because it required a fixed launching site and a long period for preparation, and predicted that North Korea would not develop an operational road-mobile ICBM until some time after 2020. North Korea launched its first road-mobile ICBM the next year and later test-fired several more.
North Korea has not test-fired an ICBM since 2017, but now officials in Washington and Seoul fear a new satellite launch could help the country further improve its ballistic missiles. "In the future, if North Korea launches intercontinental ballistic missiles under the pretext of launching a satellite, it will face stronger pressure from the international community," Yoon Suk-yeol, the main conservative candidate in Wednesday's presidential election in South Korea, said in a statement after the latest launch.
5. U.N. set to hold meeting on N. Korea's latest missile launch: Seoul official
"Any problem can be made insoluble if enough meetings are held to discuss it."
U.N. set to hold meeting on N. Korea's latest missile launch: Seoul official | Yonhap News Agency
SEOUL, March 7 (Yonhap) -- The United Nations Security Council plans to convene a session this week in response to North Korea's latest projectile launch, a South Korean government official said Monday.
It would be the second meeting of the council in about a week in connection with such a move by the recalcitrant regime.
Regarding the North's test-launch of an apparent ballistic missile on Saturday, some members of the influential panel have requested closed-door discussions, and the meeting is scheduled to open on Monday morning (New York time), according to the foreign ministry official who requested anonymity.
"Our government is in close communication with major members of the Security Council including the United States," the official added.
The North lobbed what appears to be a medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM) into the East Sea on Saturday in its ninth show of force this year alone, the South's military said.
The following day, Pyongyang's state media reported that the nation's defense science authorities have conducted "another important test under the plan of developing a reconnaissance satellite."
lcd@yna.co.kr
(END)
6. (South Korea) Navy SEAL-turned-YouTuber claims he left for Ukraine to participate in war as volunteer
Navy SEAL-turned-YouTuber claims he left for Ukraine to participate in war as volunteer | Yonhap News Agency
SEOUL, March 7 (Yonhap) -- Rhee Keun, a former Navy special warfare officer who recently gained huge popularity through the reality show "Fake Men" on YouTube, has said he left for Ukraine to take part in the war against Russia as a volunteer soldier.
"When the Ukrainian president called for help from across the world, ROKSEAL immediately began preparing to join the war as a volunteer," he said on Instagram and his YouTube channel ROKSEAL on Sunday. "We drew up plans and prepared coordination and equipment within 48 hours.
The former lieutenant said he initially sought to leave for Ukraine through a formal procedure but gave up the plan after receiving an answer for his inquiry from the government that people can be treated as a criminal and punished by imprisonment of one year or a fine of 10 million won (US$8,210) if they enter countries banned from travel.
"But I couldn't sit idle without helping Ukraine with our technology, knowledge and expertise simply because of the punishment," he said, adding he did not share the plan with anyone except a few close aides because his team had to leave South Korea and arrive in Ukraine safely through an informal route.
"If I come back alive, I will take responsibility for everything and take whatever punishment to be given," he said. "I'll raise the status of South Korea as the country's first volunteer solider."
Rhee, a former Korean Navy Underwater Demolition Team military (UDT/SEAL) instructor also known as Ken Rhee, first gained fame after serving as a training instructor on his YouTube show "Fake Men." He later appeared on various entertainment shows on major TV networks, such as MBC and SBS.
sshim@yna.co.kr
(END)
7. South Korea’s presidential candidates face balancing act amid rising anti-China sentiment
Always the shrimp among whales.
South Korea’s presidential candidates face balancing act amid rising anti-China sentiment
With an election days away, the two leading candidates must negotiate pitfalls of a reliance on US for security and on China for trade
When Moon Jae-in, the outgoing president of South Korea, returned home from Washington in May last year, his foreign minister, Chung Eui-yong, rushed to clarify the mention of Taiwan in his joint statement with Joe Biden – a highly sensitive subject for South Korea’s biggest trading partner, China.
“The Taiwan-related expressions [in the joint statement] are ‘very general expressions’,” Chung said a day after the statement was released. As if this clarification was not enough, Chung’s deputy, Choi Jong-gun, added: “China would appreciate the fact that South Korea does not see China as an enemy.”
For South Korea, its position sandwiched between two great rival powers – the US and China – has been a notable discomfort for occupants of the presidential Blue House. The country of nearly 52 million people relies on Washington to provide security in facing North Korea’s constant provocation. China, meanwhile, is its top trading partner.
Seoul’s decade-long balancing act between Beijing and Washington may no longer be as easy, said Gi-Wook Shin, director of the Shorenstein Asia-Pacific research centre at Stanford University. “You cannot ignore China … [but] given the recent rise of anti-Chinese sentiments among Koreans on top of the ongoing US-China conflict, finding ways to reconcile this situation with the reality of China as a key economic partner is a difficult question.”
The opposition candidate, Yoon Suk-yeol from the main conservative People Power party, takes a more hawkish approach to China than Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic party. In recent weeks, Yoon’s campaign has vowed to be more vocal on human rights and bring in a new terminal high altitude area defence (Thaad) missile defence system nearer to Seoul. It prompted analysts to recall memories of an earlier diplomatic incident with China in 2017.
Lee’s view is that for a country of South Korea’s geography and economic reality, it is unwise to pick sides between the US and China – a typical dilemma of many mid-sized powers share in Asia these days. Yet Lee is also facing rising anti-China sentiment at home: 77% of South Korea’s public hold a negative view of China, according to a mid-2021 Pew survey. In 2015, it was only 37%. Ahead of the Winter Olympics last month, Shin found in a survey that more than 40% of his respondents supported the idea of South Korea engaging in a diplomatic boycott of the Games.
The shift in South Korea’s thinking on China was marked by Beijing’s economic retaliation five years ago following Seoul’s installation of the Thaad system. Seoul said the move was aimed at North Korea, but Beijing saw the ultimate target of Thaad as China itself.
After rounds of harsh economic counter measures against South Korea, Beijing finally forced Seoul to back down, but that also scarred South Korea’s public, who began to grow wary of China’s flexing its might. Months later, the then-foreign minister, Kang Kyung-wha, laid out a proposal of three “noes” in parliament. Two of them were no additional deployment of Thaad, and no forming a military alliance with the US and Japan.
“China’s worst fears in dealing with the next South Korean president are Seoul’s deployment of another Thaad system, and South Korean potential participation in the ‘free and open Indo-Pacific’ initiative, which is led by the US and Japan,” said Liu Jiangyong, a north-east Asia expert at Beijing’s Tsinghua University.
Liu said China would also pay close attention to Seoul’s approach to Pyongyang because it hoped to see stability in the Korean peninsula. “But ultimately, Beijing is wary that South Korea may be drawn to align itself with US and Japan’s current approach to Taiwan,” he added.
Ramon Pacheco Pardo, a professor of international relations at King’s College, London, said South Korea was well aware of China’s potential economic retaliation as Seoul was being integrated into the US-led coalition to counter China’s influence. “But even if China comes up with another round of economic coercion, I don’t think South Korea would be as concerned,” he said.
“This is because, first, since the last Thaad incident, South Korea has already begun to diversify its economy away from China by opening factories in Vietnam, for example; second, the public has begun to turn against China in the last few years – and in particular since the start of the Covid pandemic.”
Pacheco Pardo added: “South Korea nowadays is more willing to take action, but not by itself, but with like-minded partners, such as the United States and Europe.”
This means that whether it’s Yoon or Lee who wins the race to the Blue House on Wednesday, Seoul’s alliance with Washington will still be its top priority. Although labelled by Yoon as “pro-North, pro-China, anti-US”, Lee’s foreign policy adviser, Wi Sung-lac, said his country’s ties with the US had yet to achieve their full potential. This included potential collaboration with the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad), another US-led initiative denounced by China as an example of “the cold war mentality”.
This will pose a headache for Beijing. But Liu said his country was confident that whatever the next South Korean president’s China policy would be, Seoul still has to pay attention to its biggest trading partner. “There is no major conflict over the two countries’ core interests, after all.”
8. New Australian Deputy Commander of USARPAC visits Camp Casey
New Australian Deputy Commander of USARPAC visits Camp Casey
Maj. Gen. Smith is greeted by Capt. Samuel Jung, the Commander of Alpha Battery, 6-37th Field Artillery Regiment, 210th Field Artillery Brigade. Jung is currently assigned as the Ready Battery.
by Capt. Avery Smith
210th Field Artillery Brigade
March 7, 2022
During his familiarization tour of the Korean peninsula, Maj. Gen. Chris R. Smith, the Australian Deputy Commanding General to the U.S. Army Pacific, paid a visit to Camp Casey, South Korea where he had the opportunity to meet Brigade Commanders and their soldiers to learn about their roles in the 2nd Infantry Division.
Shortly after landing in Camp Casey and having a quick lunch at the award winning Thunder Inn Warrior Restaurant, Smith briefly toured east Casey and a motorpool belonging to the rotational Brigades. It is there that Smith had the opportunity to speak with Col. Stephen Fairless and Col. Jabari Miller, the Commanders of 1st and 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Teams (respectively) of 1st Armored Division, about their train up for and training in Korea.
Afterward, Smith visited Col. Wade Germann, the Commander of the 210th Field Artillery Brigade, and their area of operations to learn about the capabilities of the most forward deployed field artillery brigade in the U.S. Army. His first stop was with the Brigade's current Ready Battery, the MLRS Battery that has to be ready to respond to threats at all times, and their attached counterfire target acquisition radar. Smith took the opportunity to learn more about the equipment and their crews. Smith finalized his trip with a tour of the 210th Field Artillery Brigade's Emergency Operations Center before departing Camp Casey.
9. S. Korea to suspend transactions with Russia's central bank, sovereign funds
Korea stepping up.
(LEAD) S. Korea to suspend transactions with Russia's central bank, sovereign funds | Yonhap News Agency
(ATTN: RECASTS with latest info throughout)
SEOUL, March 7 (Yonhap) -- South Korea said Monday it plans to suspend transactions with Russia's central bank, sovereign wealth funds and another Russian lender as it has joined the global move to impose more financial sanctions against Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.
The government said it will end transactions with the Central Bank of the Russian Federation and two sovereign funds -- the National Wealth Fund of the Russian Federation and the Russian Direct Investment Fund -- starting Tuesday.
South Korea will also suspend transactions with Rossiya Bank, one of seven Russian banks that will be removed from the SWIFT global payment system under the EU sanctions.
But as for Russia's central bank, South Korea will apply the same standards as the U.S. when it comes transactions that will be exceptionally allowed, those connected with energy supplies.
The move came as Seoul has joined the multinational move to impose sanctions against Russia, including export control and the removal of Moscow from the SWIFT network, in which trillions of dollars change hands for cross-border payments.
Last week, South Korea said it will end transactions with seven major Russian banks and their affiliates, including Russian top lender Sberbank. It has also decided to halt investment in Russian government bonds.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
(END)
10. Biden's mentioning of S. Korea shows gratitude for joining sanctions on Russia: Cheong Wa Dae
The Korean press (and the Blue House) parses every word spoken (or not spoken) by our president and political and military leaders.
Biden's mentioning of S. Korea shows gratitude for joining sanctions on Russia: Cheong Wa Dae
US President Joe Biden's mentioning of South Korea in his State of the Union address showed his gratitude for Seoul's joining of sanctions on Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a senior official at Cheong Wa Dae said Monday.
In his first State of the Union address last week, Biden thanked South Korea, along with dozens of other countries, for condemning what he called Russia's "unjustified" and "totally unprovoked" aggression on Ukraine.
US officials have since informed the South that Biden mentioned South Korea to express his gratitude for joining sanctions on Russia, said Park Soo-hyun, senior presidential secretary for public communication, on a TBS radio.
Park rejected criticism that South Korea's lukewarm attitude about sanctions on Moscow led to the country's belated exemption from the expanded US export restrictions on Russia, saying the government had to revise related regulations due to differences in export control systems.
Last month, the US government announced the Foreign Direct Product Rule (FDPR) for all of Russia as part of its export controls to block Russia's access to global high-tech products and other foreign-produced major items, such as semiconductors, over the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The measure calls on companies to receive a license from the US for tech-related items using US technology before they can be shipped to Russia, which is feared to affect major South Korean exporters, as they use US technology and software.
South Korea had been originally excluded from a list of nations that were exempted from the FDPR rule but won an exemption last week after negotiations with the US government. (Yonhap)
11. Millennial and Gen Z views of South Korea's generation in power shape an election
The changing demographics and attitudes in South Korea.
Millennial and Gen Z views of South Korea's generation in power shape an election
Updated March 7, 2022 at 7:51 AM ET
SEOUL — Presidential elections in South Korea this Wednesday could have implications for its ties with the United States, North Korea and China. But the vote is likely to hinge on domestic issues.
In previous elections, politicians largely campaigned along ideological or geographical lines. This time, the race is playing out along generational ones.
People in their 20s and 30s make up about a third of the vote — and candidates really want to win them over.
A central issue is how these younger voters feel about the generation in power. Many of those in office are known as the "86 generation," because they were college students in the 1980s and born in the '60s.
Many of the 86ers were pro-democracy activists, who ousted a military dictatorship that ruled the nation from 1961 to 1988. The generation now commands the heights of South Korean business and politics, including the outgoing administration of President Moon Jae-in and the governing Democratic Party of Korea.
"If young voters join hands with those aged 60 and above, the opposition will win the election," predicts Park Sung-min, a Seoul-based political consultant. But "if they side once again with those in their 40s and 50s," as they did in the last presidential election five years ago, he adds, "the 86 generation of the Democratic Party will extend their reign."
Kim Min-Hee / Pool photo via AP
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Pool photo via AP
South Korea's leading presidential candidates (from left): Sim Sang-jung of the opposition Justice Party, Ahn Cheol-soo of the opposition People's Party, Yoon Suk Yeol of the main opposition People Power Party and Lee Jae-myung of the governing Democratic Party pose for a photo before a televised debate for the March 9 presidential election, in Seoul, Feb. 25.
Moon cannot seek re-election as South Korea's constitution limits the presidency to a single five-year term. Lee Jae-myung is running with the liberal Democratic Party to succeed him, facing off against Yoon Suk Yeol of the conservative People Power Party — both born in the 1960s — as well as about a dozen other candidates from smaller parties. Early voting began on Friday.
The 86ers ousted a dictatorship
Activists of the 86 generation's fight for democracy culminated in nationwide protests in 1987 known as the "June Struggle," which led to the first democratic elections in decades of military rule. The movement has inspired pro-democracy activists around the world, especially in Asia, including Myanmar and Hong Kong.
But a series of scandals during the Moon administration has led many young South Koreans to accuse the 86ers of hypocrisy, and of becoming the kind of political establishment they once fought.
Some 86ers, including Seoul-based civic activist Lee Jinsun, argue that the pro-democracy activists had difficulty living up to their professed ideals even before they entered politics.
For Lee and many others, that entrance was the 2000 parliamentary elections. Many of the activists, she says, wanted to remain independent of the main political parties. So they made a pact among themselves.
Itsuo Inouye / AP
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AP
Anti-government protesters staging a sit-down strike in the center of Seoul, June 14, 1987, scatter in panic as tear gas grenades hurled by police explode.
"We promised — with romantic idealism, in retrospect — to join whichever party would nominate us," she recalls. "And once we get elected, leave the party and convene a third party."
The plan quickly fell apart once the activists started getting funding and organizational backing from the main parties.
"People who used to be friends started attacking each other from opposite parties," she says, "within just two or three months."
There are allegations of scandals and betrayals
That betrayal seemed to foreshadow many more recent ones under the Moon administration.
Former Justice Minister Cho Kuk, for example, advocated equal opportunity, but resigned in 2019, after his wife was accused of cheating to get their daughter into an elite school.
Lee argues that activists were focused more on the goal of ending the dictatorship and less on how they went about it. Activists saw equality and diversity of opinions within their movement as luxuries and vulnerabilities when fighting a dictatorship, she explains.
"We started our activism outside the boundaries of the law, although we later became a public movement," she says. "But even after that, we never sufficiently educated ourselves about liberalism or republicanism."
The Moon administration promised to tackle one of the nation's hottest political issues: skyrocketing housing prices. But his officials were accused of speculating in real estate.
Lee Jeong-mi is an 86er and former labor activist now with the minor, left-of-center Justice Party. She says that, in their own minds, the 86ers are still fighting the old establishment, when in fact they themselves have become the new one.
"They enjoy all the privileges in areas such as their children's education, or real estate," she observes. "But they still believe they are serving the mission of fighting evil and bringing justice. So they feel like: 'Why come after us, when other people are even worse?'"
Another scandal involved Park Won-soon, a former mayor of Seoul, who killed himself in 2020 after being accused of sexually harassing his secretary.
Lee Jeong-mi says this was another sign that the 86ers never really understood gender equality.
"Activist groups were mostly led by men," she points out. "They trivialized sexual violence within their organizations, under the pretense of protecting these groups in the fight against the military dictatorship."
South Koreans call this kind of hypocrisy "naero nambul," which means that when the 86 generation does it, it's romance, when anyone else does, it's adultery.
Jean Chung / Getty Images
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Getty Images
Young South Koreans take a snapshot at the entrance of a polling site after casting a vote in the presidential election on May 9, 2017, in Seoul. In the 2022 election, candidates have been trying to win over voters in their 20s and 30s.
Lee Dongsoo, who is 33 and heads a youth policy think tank in Seoul called Policrew, acknowledges the 86 generation's contributions to South Korea's democracy. But he says that carries little weight with voters who are too young to remember the struggle for democracy, and see the 86ers as out of touch with the present.
"Current establishment politics has not been updated since the '80s or the '90s. It's still obsessed more with ideology than with the everyday life of citizens," he laments. "I think this is the main reason I and my generation have turned against the Democratic Party, and politics in general."
Lee sums up his generation's frustration at the lack of appealing political choices in the bluntly titled book, "I Don't Like the Liberals, and I Don't Like the Conservatives Either."
Lee adds that minor South Korean parties lack the organization and vision to attract young voters.
Three generations have vastly different experiences and views
Of course, it's not the only country where young voters face dwindling social mobility, feel alienated from traditional political parties or express disgust at what they see as baby boomers' hypocrisy.
But political consultant Park Sung-min says South Korea's generational divide is unique.
The 86ers' parents, he notes, survived brutal colonization by Japan and later, the Korean War. They also experienced rapid industrial and urban growth and a rising standard of living. The 86ers themselves overcame a military dictatorship. But millennials have only experienced life under an affluent democracy.
"Unlike the previous generations, this generation self-identifies as consumers and values individuals over organizations like country, people, or corporation," Park says.
In the last presidential election, young swing voters allied with the 86ers to oust the older ruling conservatives.
"But once it became obvious that the 86 generation had itself become the mainstream," Park explains, "the younger generation realized that they, too, have to be forced out."
NPR's Se Eun Gong in Seoul contributed to this report.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.
12.
It has been a knock down drag out fight.
'Squid Game Election': South Korean campaign gets ugly
AP · by HYUNG-JIN KIM · March 7, 2022
How bad is it?
“Hitler,” “beast,” and “parasite” are some of the choicer insults leveled by both camps. Some are even calling it “The Squid Game Election,” in reference to Netflix’s megahit survival drama where people are killed if they lose children’s games.
And the stakes? There’s widespread speculation that the loser will be arrested.
“It’s a dreadful presidential election when the losing contender faces prison. Please survive this dogfight in the mire!” senior opposition politician Hong Joon-pyo wrote on Facebook.
Just days before Wednesday’s election, Lee Jae-myung from the liberal governing Democratic Party and Yoon Suk Yeol from the main conservative opposition People Power Party are locked in an extremely tight race.
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Their negative campaigns are aggravating South Korea’s already severe political divide at a time when it faces a battered, pandemic-hit economy, a balancing act over competition between its main ally, Washington, and its top trading partner, China, and a raft of threats and weapons tests from rival North Korea.
Opinion surveys show that both candidates have more critics than supporters.
“Isn’t our national future too bleak with an unpleasant and bitter presidential election that calls for choosing the lesser of two evils?” the mass-circulation Dong-A Ilbo newspaper said in an editorial.
Yoon has slammed Lee over his possible ties to an allegedly corrupt land development scandal. Lee has denied any connection, and in turn has tried to link Yoon to the same scandal, while separately criticizing him for his reported ties to shamanism — an ancient, indigenous religious belief.
There have also been attacks on the candidates’ wives, both of whom have been forced to apologize over separate scandals.
Yoon described Lee’s party as “Hitler” and “Mussolini” while an associate called Lee’s purported aides “parasites.” Lee’s allies called Yoon “a beast,” “dictator” and “an empty can” and derided his wife’s alleged plastic surgery.
Their campaign teams and supporters have filed dozens of lawsuits charging libel and the spread of false information, among other issues.
“This year’s presidential election has been more overwhelmed by negative campaigning than any other previous election, and the mutual hatred won’t easily die down after the election,” said Choi Jin, director of the Seoul-based Institute of Presidential Leadership.
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Among the fault lines in the electorate are South Korean regional rivalries, views on North Korea, a conflict between generations, economic inequality and women’s rights issues.
Yoon is more popular with older voters and those in the southeastern region of Gyeongsang, where past conservative and authoritarian leaders came from. His supporters typically advocate a stronger military alliance with the United States and a tougher line on North Korea, and they credit past authoritarian rulers for quickly developing the economy after the Korean War.
Lee enjoys greater support from younger people and those from Jeolla province, Gyeongsang’s rival region in the southwest. His supporters generally want an equal footing in relations with the United States and rapprochement with North Korea while being extremely critical of past authoritarian rulers’ human rights records.
In a notable development, many surveys showed Yoon has received greater approval ratings than Lee from voters aged 18 and 29, most of whom were born after South Korea became a developed country.
“They didn’t experience poverty and dictatorships. ... They are very critical of China and North Korea, and they have rather friendly feelings toward the U.S. and Japan,” said Park Sung-min, head of Seoul-based MIN Consulting, a political consulting firm.
South Korea’s deep divisions are reflected in the troubles of the last three leaders. Their supporters say intense corruption investigations after they left office were politically motivated by their rivals.
During a corruption probe of his family, former liberal President Roh Moo-hyun jumped to his death in 2009, a year after he left office. His successor, the conservative Lee Myung-bak, and Lee’s conservative successor, Park Geun-hye, were separately convicted of a range of crimes, including corruption, and given lengthy prison terms after Roh’s friend and current President Moon Jae-in took office in 2017.
Park was pardoned in December, but Lee is still serving a 17-year prison term.
Moon’s government took a big hit with a scandal involving Moon’s former justice minister and close associate, Cho Kuk. Cho and his family members are alleged to have participated in financial crimes and the faking of credentials to help Cho’s daughter enter medical school.
Cho was seen as a reformist and potential liberal presidential hopeful. Moon’s early attempts to keep Cho in office split the public, with his critics calling for Cho’s resignation and supporters rallying to his side during large street protests.
Yoon originally served as Moon’s prosecutor general and spearheaded investigations of previous conservative governments. But he eventually left Moon’s government and joined the opposition last year after a conflict with Moon’s allies over the Cho case helped him emerge as a potential presidential contender.
“Cho’s case was a watershed in South Korean politics. It made Yoon a presidential candidate, and many in their 20s and 30s switched their support from Moon,” said Choi, the institute director.
During a recent TV debate, Yoon and Lee agreed not to launch politically motivated investigations against the other side if they win. But some question their sincerity.
In a newspaper interview last month, Yoon said that if elected, his government would investigate possible wrongdoing by the Moon government and also the land development scandal that Lee has been allegedly linked to.
When Moon’s government was conducting widespread investigations of past conservative governments, Lee said they were necessary to eradicate “deep-rooted evils and injustice.”
Cho Jinman, a professor at Seoul’s Duksung Women’s University, said a new president must exercise restraint and calm calls for political revenge by hard-line supporters.
“We now have an election race like ‘Squid Game,’ but it will be a new president’s responsibility to pull us out of it,” he said.
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Associated Press writer Kim Tong-hyung contributed to this report.
AP · by HYUNG-JIN KIM · March 7, 2022
13. What South Korea’s Election Means for Biden and Democracy
Good analysis from Dr. Duyeon Kim. There will be far reaching consequences with this election.
Conclusion:
Twists and turns are expected in the remaining few days until Korean voters head to the polls. At the last minute, conservative candidate Yoon merged with a third-party candidate Ahn Cheol-soo on the eve of early voting in hopes to secure more votes. But mergers in Korean politics have not always led to victories.
The result is highly unpredictable. One thing is clear: whoever wins will not only affect the future of South Korea, but U.S. policies in the Indo-Pacific as well.
What South Korea’s Election Means for Biden and Democracy
The election’s result will determine the state of democracy in South Korea for the next five years and the country’s place in Joe Biden’s Indo-Pacific strategy.
As the world is focused on the devastating crisis in Ukraine, South Korean attention is consumed by a dramatic, contentious presidential election, which will impact the future of South Korea’s democracy and U.S. policy in the region. In politics, it is always too soon to call the race until all votes are cast. This is especially so when the leading candidates from the ruling and opposition parties are neck-in-neck in the polls.
For the first time, this contest on March 9 is between two unconventional candidates whose victory will likely be determined largely by unprecedented young swing voters. Apart from each of the candidates’ fandoms, South Koreans say they have a choice between the “worst and second-worst candidate” from the ruling and main opposition parties. They describe this election as the gloomiest election ever since the country’s democratization began in 1987.
That is because the last five years under progressive President Moon Jae-in have been anything but hopeful for many South Koreans while the two main presidential hopefuls are both unprecedented candidates marred by scandals. Ahead of the snap presidential election in 2017 (upon the impeachment of the previous conservative president, Park Geun-hye), I pointed out that an enormous reconstruction job awaited the next president. Voters back then were tired of the glass ceiling, wide income disparities, and corruption of their political leaders. These frustrations have, on many levels, been exacerbated. Moon’s policies on jobs, real estate, and taxes have hit the youth, the middle class, and small businesses the hardest. Critics in Korea describe these policies as socialist and authoritarian control in disguise. Voters have also witnessed endless reports of corruption scandals and sexual harassment charges by Moon’s closest aides and officials despite proclaiming to be a “feminist president.”
South Korea’s democratization is a triumphant success story, yet every administration was criticized for its share of undemocratic practices. Many South Koreans and foreign scholars say that democratic backsliding gained force under the current Moon government. For the past five years, complaints about unruly governmental control and the erosion of democratic values, norms, and freedoms could be heard almost daily among the broader Korean public, including its media—usually in private whispers for fear of employment termination and government retribution. Instead of consolidating South Korea’s democracy and correcting the undemocratic practices of the previous conservative administration, political sociologist Gi-wook Shin points out that the progressive Moon government “went the other way, exacerbating polarization, eroding democratic norms, and appealing to chauvinistic nationalism.”
South Korean politics is a blood sport. The main focus of this election is twofold for the political elite. First, lawmakers in the progressive and conservative parties are looking mainly at the past. Retribution is the name of the game for the winning party. They are seeking revenge for the tragedies of their respective former presidents and ways to root out each other’s administration’s wrongdoings. Former progressive President Roh Moo-hyun committed suicide in 2009 after his term while being investigated for alleged bribery, and conservative Presidents Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak were put behind bars. Second, this election is a fight to either solidify its party as the new social mainstream and maintain control for the progressive ruling party, or to take back their mainstream position in society, restore liberal democratic values and strengthen national security for the main conservative opposition.
It is no secret that Korea has not been a top priority in U.S. foreign policy in the same way as other Asia-Pacific powers. Yet, Washington should still watch this election closely. The result will determine the state of democracy in South Korea for the next five years in a pivotal corner of the global community. It will also determine whether South Korea will remain as the weakest link in President Joe Biden’s Indo-Pacific strategy, as I warned last year; whether Washington and Seoul will finally be in lockstep to deal with North Korea; and whether South Korea will unambiguously step up to the plate to help protect the rules-based international order, democracy, and human rights around the world.
Unprecedented Voters, Unprecedented Candidates
For the first time, Korea’s upcoming presidential election is a battle among the generations—not regionalism or ideology, which were the dividing lines until now. Young voters in their twenties and thirties (born in the 1980s and 1990s) have unexpectedly emerged as a powerful force. They surprisingly voted for conservative candidates in the April 2021 mayoral by-election, feeling let down by the incumbent progressive government. The so-called 2030 Generation is seen as the swing voters. They are politically neutral or moderate and will influence South Korea’s domestic and foreign policies for the next five years.
Ruling and opposition parties and their candidates have been tailoring campaign rhetoric to appeal to young voters. The main conservative party, known for being agist, unprecedently elected Lee Joon-seok—a mid-thirties political novice yet popular among younger voters—to lead the party and help win the presidential election. Both parties recognize that they cannot change the hearts of voters in their fourties and above, especially those in their fifties and sixties who experienced South Korea’s military dictatorship or extreme poverty having been born during the Korean War (1950-1953) and Japanese colonization (1910-1945).
In contrast, the 2030 Generation is pragmatic and not ideological. They were born into wealthy Korea. As such, they are individualistic and care most about their own financial prosperity first, and national strength in the face of external threats. Many of them told me they refuse to be bound by political party, ideology, or group identities. Unlike older voters, they are not driven by regionalism or historical views either. The “gender conflict” is also hottest in this generation with both men and women feeling discriminated against each other for jobs and opportunities. Some say they are even encouraging each other to vote on election day rather than voting early to prevent any chance of election fraud.
Over time, the salience and relevance of regionalism that determined votes for decades diminished and ideology started to gain traction as the key variable voter attitudes since the 2002 presidential election. In South Korea, conservative and progressive have very different meanings than those in the United States or Europe. They are generally defined by one’s stance on North Korea, Japan, and the United States. The progressive faction in power now and the hard Left are known to be pro-North Korea, anti-Japan, anti-U.S., even pro-China, and nationalists. Conservatives are tougher toward North Korea, pro-U.S., skeptical but compartmentally cooperative toward Japan, and selectively firm toward China. While age is appears to be the key variable for this election, political ideology still matters for South Korea’s foreign policy that will have ramifications for U.S. foreign policy.
This is also the first presidential race with frontrunners who share some unusual traits. Both candidates are far outside the mainstream in their respective party politics. Neither one has legislative experience in the National Assembly. They are also tainted by alleged scandals—from corruption to abuse of power and forgeries—involving their wives and children. Their alleged personal life practices have raised questions about presidential fit, but voters with clear political and party preferences say they are squarely focused on ensuring that the other unfavorable candidate does not win. For now, both candidates have also skirted being subjected to thorough investigations themselves for their alleged scandals because of the election campaign period.
Lee Jae-myung—a former governor and mayor—is the maverick on the outermost fringe of the ruling progressive party. In the 2017 presidential election, his supporters called him “Korea’s Donald Trump” and is known to have a foul mouth. He has been criticized for serving as legal counsel in defense of his nephew, who brutally killed two women. Yet political insiders and analysts say the Democratic Party chose a candidate with the highest chance of winning, mainly to avoid retribution by conservatives if they lose this election. Lee rides on populism and his key claim to fame is providing cash handouts.
Yoon Suk-yeol is called the “ultimate outsider.” He was appointed prosecutor general by incumbent progressive President Moon, with whom he later had a falling out. Yoon chose to run as candidate for the conservative People’s Power Party at the last minute. Yoon was iconic in leading Moon’s campaign to “eradicate deep-rooted evils” from the previous conservative administration. He gained political prominence while investigating Moon’s own inner circle without falling under political pressures from the ruling party to show leniency. The conservative party’s primary motivation to accept such an outsider was evidently retribution—expecting Yoon as president to investigate Moon and his cronies with the same severity in which he investigated former conservative presidents who ended up behind bars. Yoon has his own skeletons in the closet, including his wife claiming on tape that MeToo scandals occurred in the ruling party because victims were not paid off while she is being accused of lying on her resume.
Divergent Foreign Policies
It is not surprising that both Lee and Yoon’s vision for their foreign policies published in Foreign Affairs share more similarities than differences. Their essay drafters are apparently mindful of their American audience and the footprints of former career diplomats advising both candidates are reflected in the nexus of their similarities. Lee and Yoon’s effort to differentiate themselves from the incumbent government is also noticeable as they outline either a more moderate approach than usual (Lee) or a tougher line toward North Korea (Yoon) while both are pledging greater contributions to regional and global affairs.
Yet, a closer look at their rhetoric in Korean and respective rosters of policy advisors reveal stark contrasts in their foreign policy approaches. Lee’s key advisors, internal campaign politics, support base, and the candidate’s own style portend either uncertainty ahead or clear breaks from his English essay. If so, some turbulence with Washington can be expected. South Korea’s progressive governments have traditionally taken a parochial approach to their foreign policy by prioritizing inter-Korean relations and autonomy from the United States over all issues. This could spell discord with Washington in North Korea policies while cooperation on Biden’s and Europe’s Indo-Pacific strategies could be placed on the back burner.
Lee’s unpredictable personality is the main wild card in delivering on his foreign policy vision, which he has pinned on the catchphrase “self-reliant diplomacy centered on national interest.” Despite his self-proclaimed pragmatism, Lee is known for playing to his base and flip-flopping stances on policy issues, often going off script. The test will be whether Lee will walk the talk of a pragmatist and which faction of advisors will have the president’s ear. Reports of schisms have already surfaced between his advisors: Lee Jong-seok (former unification minister and deputy head of the National Security Council) in charge of Korean Peninsula policy whose team is known as the “[U.S.] independence and autonomy faction” versus Wi Sung-lac [a former career diplomat] heading his foreign policy team that is known as the “[U.S.] alliance faction.”
It will be difficult for candidate Lee to completely ignore the hard left that harbors anti-Japan and anti-U.S. sentiments while being sympathetic toward North Korea and China. It was no coincidence that Lee blamed the United States for “consenting” to Japan’s colonization of Korea (1910-1945) and for Korea’s division after the War during a meeting with visiting Senator Jon Ossoff (D-GA) last November. Lee also said last August, “There is no reason to narrow the scope of your own destiny by choosing one or the other [country]. Competent diplomacy means making the U.S. and China choose to cooperate with us.” At the same time, he has been trying to differentiate himself from Moon, mindful of younger voters who are critical towards China and North Korea. Still, Lee said during a recent presidential debate that "a novice politician [Zelenskyy] who only has six months of political experience became the country's leader and caused a major clash by inciting Russia with a hasty promise of Ukraine's NATO admission. This is an example of a diplomatic failure." These comments suggest he might continue the progressives’ traditional line of hedging and taking softer stances on North Korea and China.
On other hand, Yoon as president will likely revive conservative foreign policies that are centered on a strong U.S. alliance and principled engagement with North Korea. He and his advisors are also determined to be a reliable team player in Biden’s regional and global initiatives. The alliance is expected to run more smoothly. But Yoon’s administration will want a greater voice as equal partners in alliance matters, which could cause tensions. Some of their demands could be either impossible or difficult for Washington to support. For example, some of Yoon’s advisors and supporters desire the return of tactical U.S. nuclear weapons to Korea, the NATO model of “nuclear sharing” with Washington, the greenlight to instantly retaliate after North Korean kinetic provocations, and even South Korea’s own nuclear deterrent. Yoon said in a recent presidential debate, "You can only prevent war when you have the capability for preemptive strikes and have the intent to do so … I believe the case of Ukraine shows that you cannot protect national security and peace with paper and ink.” His comment reflected the importance he places on military power and strong alliances.
In his Foreign Affairs essay, Yoon pledged that South Korea will be a “global pivotal state,” which is problematic in its English translation. Not only is the full term grammatically incorrect, but pivotal states have long described developing countries with uncertain futures—a “rotten apple in a barrel” or “falling domino”—that could easily pivot or fall to communism or affect international stability. Whether one is an academic or has a native English ear, Yoon could be (mis)interpreted to mean he is placing the country lower than South Korea’s self-proclaimed “middle power” status, or signaling that South Korea could pivot to, for example, China or Russia if it was not happy with the United States. Yoon also wrote that he aims to “establish an international cyber-cooperation network to support the efforts of the UN Group of Governmental Experts”—an entity that no longer exists.
Twists and turns are expected in the remaining few days until Korean voters head to the polls. At the last minute, conservative candidate Yoon merged with a third-party candidate Ahn Cheol-soo on the eve of early voting in hopes to secure more votes. But mergers in Korean politics have not always led to victories.
The result is highly unpredictable. One thing is clear: whoever wins will not only affect the future of South Korea, but U.S. policies in the Indo-Pacific as well.
Duyeon Kim is a Seoul-based Adjunct Senior Fellow with the Center for a New American Security and a Columnist with the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. She specializes in the two Koreas, nuclear nonproliferation, East Asian relations, arms control, and security regimes.
Image: Reuters.
14. Traveller Shocked By App That He Discovered On A North Korean Smartphone
We must understand the north's communications and information environment. There are some 5 million smartphones in the north.
Traveller Shocked By App That He Discovered On A North Korean Smartphone
If you want to see what the phone contained, you can watch his video below:
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So, this was a few years back now, and it’s worth remembering that the world has changed significantly since 2015.
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Even North Korea probably has better smartphones than this one now, even though they’re obviously not going to be cutting about with the latest iPhone or – especially not – Samsung products.
Samsung devices are from South Korea, which is why that’s probably incredibly unlikely.
Anyway, in this video it appears as if a group of visitors to North Korea asked their guide if she’d mind them having a look at her smartphone to see what features it had.
After telling them that it has an ‘encyclopaedia’ function, which we must imagine isn’t going to be Wikipedia, she then reveals that it has another more fascinating feature.
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Credit: YouTube
It’s got an app that claims to repel mosquitos.
The app produces a really high-pitched and annoying noise that claims – as the animation on screen shows – to be anathema to mozzies, making them leave the mobile phone user alone without biting them.
Huge, if true.
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Of course, it would be hard to sleep through this noise, so it won’t be much use at night, but do they work at all?
The simple answer is no.
According to an ABC News article from a few years back, there have been countless apps that have claimed to stop mosquitos through sound over the years, and none have been shown to have any benefit whatsoever.
In fact, it could even be that these apps cause more mosquito bites, according to some studies.
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That’s based on both field testing and laboratory experiments.
It’s bogus, basically.
BBC News cite a 2010 review article that put the ultrasonic mosquito repellent to the test and concluded that they ‘have no effect on preventing mosquito bites’ and ‘should not be recommended or used’.
Credit: YouTube
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That review continued: "Given these findings from 10 carefully conducted studies, it would not be worthwhile to conduct further research on EMRs [electronic mosquito repellents] in preventing mosquitoes biting or in trying to prevent the acquisition of malaria."
So, there you have it.
If you find yourself in North Korea with a smartphone that claims to be effective against mosquitos, you can remember that science says it’s a load of hogwash.
Probably worth using that as a starting point for some other elements of your trip, as well.
15. ＜Absolute Secret> Documents Obtained: Kim Jong-un's security team conducted background checks on grandparents to the sixth degree of kinship.
Who does Kim fear the most: the US or the Korean people in the north? (That is rhetorical as I think everyone knows the correct answer by now).
＜Absolute Secret> Documents Obtained: Kim Jong-un's security team conducted background checks on grandparents to the sixth degree of kinship.
Cover of an internal document designated as an absolute secret. Photo obtained by ASIAPRESS.
◆ "Identify the foundation."
Internal Workers' Party documents obtained by ASIAPRESS reveal that in selecting "convoys" to protect Kim Jong-un and other top-ranking officials, the authorities are conducting a background investigation on their grandparents, extending back to the sixth degree of kinship (ISHIMARU Jiro).
◆What is a convoy?
The document we obtained was issued by the Central Party Committee of the Workers' Party, and was entitled "Proposal to Set Up a Successful Identification of Candidates for the Convoy" (the term "set up" means "made known" or "arranged"), and was issued on September 25, 2021.
The convoy is a military unit responsible for the personal security of Kim Jong-un, his brother Kim Jong-chol, sister Kim Yo-jung, aunt Kim Kyong-hui, and other members of the Kim family, as well as a small number of his closest aides. It is said to belong to Unit 963 of the General Directorate of Protection, but there are no details available.
The impression of a tall group of guards surrounding Kim Jong-un in a V-shaped line at the North-South Korean summit meeting in Panmunjom in April 2018 is strong, however, there are hospitals, cafeterias, and villas called "special pavilions" exclusively for the Kim family and other top officials in Pyongyang and provincial cities. It is the convoys that are stationed at these exclusive facilities and are in charge of guarding them. It is believed that there are numerous security guards there.
Kim Jong-un and his security guards appear at the summit meeting hall. At Panmunjom in April 2018. Photographed by the summit meeting joint press corps.
◆ "Identify the foundation."
The text begins with the words "foundation identification."
The "foundation" refers to one's status in North Korea. This means that they must trace back through generations to confirm the identities of family members and relatives.
In North Korea, which advocates socialism and considers South Korea and the United States to be its enemies, there is a strict distinction between those who are considered to have been the foundation of the regime's existence and those who are considered enemies or ambiguous.
"It is extremely important in North Korea to know what your ancestors did and what status they belonged to going back to the Japanese colonial period and the Korean War period."
A former defector, a former member of the Ministry of Security (secret police), who entered South Korea around 2010, describes it. The foundation he describes as good or bad is, for example, as follows.
Descendants of poor farmers, labourers, and anti-Japanese struggle participants during the Japanese colonial period are "good foundation," while those who were pro-Japanese, capitalists, landowners, or religious figures are "bad foundation."
Also, in terms of post-liberation, those who participated in the Korean War as soldiers of the People's Army are good foundations, while family members of those who crossed the border into South Korea, socialists of a different lineage from Kim Il-sung, including those related to the South Korean Workers' Party, North Korean returnees, and those of Chinese affiliation are bad foundations. People who have "crossed the border" because they dislike South Korea are also considered to have a bad foundation to alert.
The internal document calls for finding at least three "foundation confirmands". Photo obtained by ASIAPRESS.
◆Check up to the sixth degree of kinship by grandparents.
In the document, the detailed scope and methods of investigation were described for "foundation identification" and "background checks".
It requires that the background and current occupation be investigated up to the sixth degree of kinship for immediate (paternal) and external (maternal) grandparents, and even to the husbands and wives of ancestors.
Furthermore, it states that "At least three persons shall be prepared who can verify the foundation, but if it is difficult, one person must be made to search for the foundation."
The document calls for finding a living witness, not just a documentary confirmation, yet it is doubtful how many people are still alive after 77 years of liberation from Japanese colonial rule, although it is hoped that at least one person must be found.
In the document, the scope of the background check includes "the life history and current occupation of the immediate grandfather to the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth-degree of kinship." Photo obtained by ASIAPRESS.
◆North Korean-style status society
It seems that having a good foundation is not enough. The requirement for a detailed investigation into whether anyone has served an indoctrination (imprisonment) sentence suggests that even if a component comes from a family loyal to the Kim family regime if the person and his/her ancestors have a history of imprisonment for violating the law, the person will probably be removed from the list of candidates.
Every country would do a background check on its highest-ranking security personnel. However, what country would insist on the backgrounds of grandparents and relatives going back more than 70 years? The "foundation investigation" is a symbol of a North Korean-style status society that is as fixed and fluid as a rock.
The full translation of the internal documents obtained is as follows.
Security guards surround Kim Jong-un's limousine in a V-shape at Panmunjom in April 2018. Photographed by the summit meeting joint press corps.
◆ Internal documents designated as "absolute secrets"
Figures in () except for the year are notes by the author.
Absolute Secret.
Draft policy for making the identification of prospective members of the convoy fruitful.
Central Party Committee
Juche 110(2021) Sep. 25
Verification of the foundation (Identification Verification)
There should be at least three people who can confirm the identity of the foundation, but in case of difficulty, even one person must be found, and it must be clearly stated in the foundation confirmation literature that there are no more people who can confirm the identity of the foundation.
To prevent documents requesting the identity of the foundation from being returned again, the person who confirmed the foundation must be tracked, and a full-time executive must do the confirmation of the foundation.
Background Verification
At least three confirmers should be provided.
Make sure that the basis for the confirmation is clear, although one or more persons shall be confirmed for each background.
From the scientific and objective background checks principle, do not omit any background information and ensure a 5:5 ratio of finger stamps and seals.
To further deepen the selection project of prospective convoy members to meet the demands of the current era, the following arrangements have been made.
Scope of Identification Verification
1. Direct line (meaning paternal side) - life history and current position of grandfather up to the 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th degree
- 4th-degree cousins and cousins' husbands, 6th-degree relatives and their husbands' current jobs
- Current occupation of aunts and uncles in the 5th degree and their husbands
-Current status of grandmother's 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th-degree relatives and their wives
2. Maternal - Maternal grandfather's background information and current position up to 4th-degree cousin
- Background information and current positions of maternal cousins and their husbands
3. Collateral - Background information and current positions of aunt, her husband and 4th-degree cousins
Background information and current positions of aunts, their husbands, and 4th-degree cousins on the aunt's side
Current positions of aunt's cousins and their husbands
*Additions to the scope of checking
Background information and current positions on the step-grandfather's side up to the 4th degree of direct descent.
Background information and current positions on maternal step-grandfather's side up to 4th degree.
Background information and current positions for stepfather and stepmother up to 6th degree of direct lineage, up to cousin.
Regarding the current position investigation
As a principle, investigations shall be conducted through the relevant unit's party secretary (or senior deputy secretary). Those subject to the service confirmation letter shall receive the service confirmation letter.
※Those who are under investigation but have been indoctrinated or died while undergoing indoctrination must receive confirmation of the request from the indoctrination department of the Ministry of Social Security and for those who are under investigation but have been indoctrinated, a copy of the judgment of the prosecutor or court in the relevant area must be attached, along with a written confirmation from the current security officer or security guard.
V/R
David Maxwell
Senior Fellow
Foundation for Defense of Democracies
Phone: 202-573-8647
Twitter: @davidmaxwell161
FDD is a Washington-based nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.
