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Please note I will be traveling to Mongolia for the next few days and I do ont expect to be able to put out another new daily news and commentary until at least Sunday night and then it will be dependent on connectivity.. I know I will have connectivity when we are in Ulaanbaatar but when we are in the countryside we may not have it for a couple of days.
Quotes of the Day:
"Freedom is man's capacity to take a hand in his own development. It is our capacity to mold ourselves." - Rollo May
Steve Jobs died as a billionaire, with a fortune of $7 billion, at the age of 56 from pancreatic cancer, and here are some statements attributed to him as his “last words...”
"At this moment, lying on the bed, sick and remembering my whole life, I realize that all the recognition and wealth I have is meaningless in the face of imminent death.
You can hire someone to drive your car, earn money for you—but you can't hire someone to carry illness for you. As we get older we get smarter, and we slowly realize that when the watch is worth $30 or $300 – both show exactly the same time.
Whether we drive a car worth $150,000, or a car worth $2,000 - the road and distance are the same, we reach the same destination.
If we drink a $300 or $10 bottle of wine, we'll be equally drunk.
Five undeniable facts:
1. Do not educate your children to be rich. Educate them to be happy. So when they grow up they will know the value of things and not their price.
2. Eat your food as medicine, otherwise you will have to eat your medicine as food.
3. The one who loves you will never leave you, even if they have 100 reasons to give up. They will always find one reason to hold on.
4. There is a big difference between being human and being humane.
5. If you want to go fast - go alone! But if you want to go far - go together.
"When you reach the top, keep climbing."
- Zen proverb
1. S. Korean military salvages sunken N. Korean space rocket wreckage
2. U.S., S. Korea and Japan condemn N. Korea's latest missile provocation
3. U.S. imposes sanctions on two N. Korean nationals for assisting illegal weapons program
4. U.S. keeps S. Korea on Tier 2 in human trafficking report, citing insufficient efforts
5. Nat'l security advisers of S. Korea, US, Japan agree to strengthen cooperation on NK, regional security
6. China-sponsored Confucius Institutes behind ‘hostile activities’ against pro-Hong Kong rallies in Seoul: lawmaker
7. Resolution Matters: Assessing North Korea’s Spy Satellite
8. How South Korea Puts Its Food Scraps to Good Use
9. North Korea Ends Two-Month Pause on Missile Testing
10. US guided-missile submarine arrives in South Korea, a day after North Korea resumes missile tests
11. Trilateral National Security Advisors Statement on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s Missile Launches
12. S. Korean FM proposes forging comprehensive strategic partnership with ASEAN
13. S. Korean, Israeli Defense Firms Are Outpacing Competitors, Estonia Says
14. N. Korean military exempts certain soldiers from participating in summer exercises
15. N. Hamgyong Province takes measures to help wandering graduates of schools for orphans
16. Korea to get tough on industrial espionage from China
1. S. Korean military salvages sunken N. Korean space rocket wreckage
Hope we can read the assessment sometime. It seems the ROKN was able to beat the PLAN to the wreckage though no mention of China in this article.
S. Korean military salvages sunken N. Korean space rocket wreckage | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Song Sang-ho · June 16, 2023
By Song Sang-ho and Chae Yun-hwan
SEOUL, June 16 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean military has retrieved a sunken part of an ill-fated North Korean space rocket from the Yellow Sea, officials said Friday, capping a weekslong salvage operation hamstrung by poor underwater visibility, fast currents and other obstacles.
It raised the wreckage, initially thought to be the second stage of the rocket, Thursday, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, amid expectations that a probe into it could shed light on the progress of the North's long-range rocket development program.
On May 31, the North fired what it claimed to be the new "Chollima-1" rocket carrying a military reconnaissance satellite, "Malligyong-1," but it crashed into the sea due to the abnormal starting of the second-stage engine, according to its state media.
On the same day, the South Korean military identified the wreckage when it splashed into the waters some 200 kilometers west of the western island of Eocheong. But it dropped to the sea floor at a depth of 75 meters due in part to its heavy weight.
This file photo, provided by South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff on May 31, 2023, shows the wreckage from a North Korean space rocket discovered in the Yellow Sea. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
The military initially assessed that the wreckage was about 15 meters long, half the length of the entire rocket -- a reason why expectations rose that an analysis of it could help elucidate how far North Korea's rocket technology has come.
For the retrieval operation, the Navy deployed a group of specially trained divers and two salvage and rescue ships, the ROKS Tongyeong and the ROKS Gwangyang, as well as the ROKS Cheonghaejin submarine rescue ship and a P-3 maritime patrol aircraft.
The painstaking operation was fraught with a set of challenges, including inclement underwater conditions, like visibility of just 50 centimeters, as the Navy prioritized the safety of divers and other personnel, according to a JCS official.
The retrieval process proceeded in phases.
Divers first attached pieces of hauling gear to the cylinder-shaped wreckage and linked it to steel wires. Before it was lifted close to the surface, divers added additional pieces of equipment to ensure it would not fall back down. Then, they hauled it onto a military ship, using a crane.
Challenges emerged from the initial phase as divers could hardly find parts of the round-shaped wreckage's exterior where they could fix wires -- unlike the uneven exterior of the crashed helicopter salvaged last year.
The military involved experts from the state-run Agency for Defense Development and other specialists in the operation to ensure it would proceed safely without losing any crucial pieces of the wreckage, the JCS official said.
Among the hindrances were the heavy weight of the wreckage stuck in the mud flat and the possibility that it could break apart while being lifted. Concerns also arose that an explosion could occur if it contained combustible elements like a fuel storage part.
"Due to the potential dangers, we had technical advisers on board so that we could take necessary steps while observing the situation," the JCS official told reporters on condition of anonymity. "From the thickness of diving suits to other issues, we sufficiently took safety concerns into account."
Along with the salvage operation, the military has also been carrying out a separate mission to search for other rocket parts, including the third stage and a purported satellite. Their search has been proceeding at sea, underwater and in the air, the JCS said.
The salvaged part will be transported to the Navy's Second Fleet in Pyeongtaek, 60 kilometers south of Seoul.
South Korea and the United States plan to conduct a joint probe into it as agreed on during the allies' defense ministerial talks on the margins of an annual security forum in Singapore earlier this month.
This file photo, provided by South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff on May 31, 2023, shows part of a North Korean space rocket discovered in the Yellow Sea. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
sshluck@yna.co.kr
yunhwanchae@yna.co.kr
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en.yna.co.kr · by Song Sang-ho · June 16, 2023
2. U.S., S. Korea and Japan condemn N. Korea's latest missile provocation
And Kim Jong Un just keeps helping us strengthen trilateral cooperation.
U.S., S. Korea and Japan condemn N. Korea's latest missile provocation | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Duk-Kun Byun · June 16, 2023
By Byun Duk-kun
WASHINGTON, June 15 (Yonhap) -- The top national security advisers of South Korea, Japan and the United States condemned North Korea's missile launches Thursday, calling them "clear violations" of multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions.
They also vowed stepped up efforts to promote peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, according to a joint statement released by the White House.
"The United States, Japan, and the Republic of Korea condemn today's DPRK missile launches," said the released statement, referring to South Korea by its official name.
"These launches are clear violations of multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions, and demonstrate the threat the DPRK's unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs pose to the region, international peace and security, and the global non-proliferation regime," it added.
DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the North's official name.
National Security Adviser Cho Tae-yong (R), U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan (L) and Japan's National Security Secretariat Secretary General Takeo Akiba pose for a photo at their meeting in Tokyo on June 15, 2023, in this photo provided by the presidential office. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
The joint condemnation came hours after Pyongyang fired two short-range ballistic missiles, following its failed attempt to launch what it claimed to be a military reconnaissance satellite on May 31.
The security advisers stressed the need "for all countries to fully implement DPRK-related U.N. Security Council resolutions that are intended to prohibit the DPRK from acquiring the technologies and materials needed to carry out these destabilizing launches."
"The United States reaffirms unequivocally its ironclad security commitments to both Japan and the ROK," they added.
The joint statement came as U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts -- Cho Tae-yong and Takeo Akiba, respectively -- in Tokyo for trilateral talks that largely focused on the threat posed by North Korea.
Pyongyang said it will try again to launch a space launch vehicle carrying its first military spy satellite.
The country is prohibited from acquiring or using any ballistic missile technology, including space launch vehicles, under U.N. Security Council resolutions.
The national security advisers urged North Korea to engage in diplomacy, saying trilateral cooperation between South Korea, Japan and the U.S. will "not be shaken by provocations."
State Department Press Secretary Matthew Miller is seen answering questions during a daily press briefing at the department in Washington on June 15, 2023 in this captured image. (Yonhap)
Later, a state department spokesperson echoed criticism of North Korea's latest missile provocation.
"They demonstrate the threat the DPRK's unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs pose to the region, to international peace and security and to the global nonproliferation regime," department spokesperson Matthew Miller told a daily press briefing.
In a related move, the U.S. imposed sanctions on two China-based North Korean nationals earlier in the day for working to procure materials and funds for North Korea's illegal weapons development programs.
bdk@yna.co.kr
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en.yna.co.kr · by Duk-Kun Byun · June 16, 2023
3. U.S. imposes sanctions on two N. Korean nationals for assisting illegal weapons program
Excerpts:
Those designated Thursday include Choe Chol-min, who, according to the state department, has worked with North Korean officials and Chinese nationals to "procure materials used in the production of DPRK missiles."
"He has also supported Second Academy of Natural Sciences (SANS) representatives to facilitate the importation of over a thousand DPRK workers into the PRC to unlawfully generate income abroad for the DPRK regime," the released statement said.
The department also designated his wife, Choe Un-jung, who is officially assigned to the North Korean embassy in Beijing.
"Choe Un-jung is being designated for being a North Korean person who has engaged in commercial activity that generates revenue for the Government of North Korea or the Workers' Party of Korea," said Blinken.
U.S. imposes sanctions on two N. Korean nationals for assisting illegal weapons program | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Duk-Kun Byun · June 16, 2023
By Byun Duk-kun
WASHINGTON, June 15 (Yonhap) -- The United States imposed sanctions on two North Korean nationals based in China on Thursday for assisting North Korea's illegal weapons development programs, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.
The move came hours after Pyongyang fired two short-range ballistic missiles, resuming its missile provocation after a brief pause.
"Today, the United States is designating two Beijing-based Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) nationals connected to the DPRK's weapons of mass destruction (WMD) procurement," Blinken said in a released statement, referring to North Korea by its official name.
"The DPRK's development of its missile programs directly threatens regional and international security, and the United States will continue to take action to curtail activities in support of those programs," he added.
North Korea has launched some 80 ballistic missiles since the start of last year in what the state department has repeatedly called "blatant violation" of multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions.
Pyongyang fired two short-range ballistic missiles on Thursday (Korea time), about two weeks after its botched attempt to launch what it claimed to be a military spy satellite on May 31.
Those designated Thursday include Choe Chol-min, who, according to the state department, has worked with North Korean officials and Chinese nationals to "procure materials used in the production of DPRK missiles."
"He has also supported Second Academy of Natural Sciences (SANS) representatives to facilitate the importation of over a thousand DPRK workers into the PRC to unlawfully generate income abroad for the DPRK regime," the released statement said.
The department also designated his wife, Choe Un-jung, who is officially assigned to the North Korean embassy in Beijing.
"Choe Un-jung is being designated for being a North Korean person who has engaged in commercial activity that generates revenue for the Government of North Korea or the Workers' Party of Korea," said Blinken.
This photo provided by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency on June 1, 2023, shows the launch of the North's new "Chollima-1" rocket, allegedly carrying a military reconnaissance satellite, "Malligyong-1," from Tongchang-ri on the North's west coast at 6:29 a.m. the previous day. The projectile fell into waters some 200 kilometers west of the South's southwestern island of Eocheong following its flight over the waters far west of the border island of Baengnyeong. In just about 2 1/2 hours after the launch, the North confirmed its failure, citing the "abnormal starting of the second-stage engine." (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
bdk@yna.co.kr
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en.yna.co.kr · by Duk-Kun Byun · June 16, 2023
4. U.S. keeps S. Korea on Tier 2 in human trafficking report, citing insufficient efforts
(LEAD) U.S. keeps S. Korea on Tier 2 in human trafficking report, citing insufficient efforts | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Duk-Kun Byun · June 16, 2023
(ATTN: UPDATES with remarks from State Secretary Blinken in paras 7-9; ADDS photo)
By Byun Duk-kun
WASHINGTON, June 15 (Yonhap) -- The United States has placed South Korea on Tier 2 in its annual trafficking in persons report, the report showed Thursday, citing what it called "inadequate" efforts to prevent related crimes and protect victims.
The report, published by the Department of State, said the country is making "significant efforts" but failed to fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking.
South Korea was downgraded to the second-highest level last year for the first time in two decades.
"The Government of the Republic of Korea (ROK) does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so," the report said, referring to South Korea by its official name.
"The government demonstrated overall increasing efforts compared with the previous reporting period, considering the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, if any, on its anti-trafficking capacity; therefore the ROK remained on Tier 2," it added.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken is seen speaking during a ceremony marking the release of the 2023 Trafficking in Persons Report at the state department in Washington on June 15, 2023 in this captured image. (Yonhap)
The document classifies 188 nations into four tiers -- Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 2 "watchlist" and Tier 3 -- in terms of actions in preventing trafficking, protecting victims and prosecuting traffickers.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken highlighted the need to tackle trafficking in persons, insisting it "harms our societies, weakening the rule of law, corrupting supply chains, exploiting workers, fueling violence."
"Its purpose is to showcase successful efforts to prevent trafficking, to identify areas where countries are falling short and have more work to do, and ultimately, ultimately, to eliminate trafficking altogether," he told a ceremony marking the release of the 2023 report, noting the report provides a "comprehensive, objective assessment of 188 countries and territories, including the United States."
"The United States is committed to combat human trafficking because it represents an attack on human rights and freedoms, violates the universal right of every person to have autonomy over their own life and actions," he added.
The report recommended that South Korea amend the definition of trafficking under the Crimes Act to be consistent with the definition of trafficking under international treaties and protocols dealing with the issue.
"While the government maintained general statistics on victims and offenders across all subsections of the criminal code, it did not adequately distinguish trafficking cases from related crimes such as sexual assault, statutory rape, and commercial sex," the report said.
"This made it difficult to determine which law enforcement actions reported by the government involved human trafficking as defined by international law."
The annual report also advises Seoul to "increase efforts to investigate and prosecute traffickers, particularly labor traffickers, including those who use forced labor on ROK-flagged fishing vessels," and "seek adequate penalties for convicted traffickers, which should include significant prison terms."
It also highlights the need for the South Korean government to "ensure police, immigration, labor, and other officials consistently screen for trafficking victims among vulnerable populations, including individuals in commercial sex, fishermen, and migrant workers."
Cindy Dyer, ambassador-at-large to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (at podium), is seen speaking at a ceremony marking the release of the 2023 Trafficking in Persons Report at the Department of State in Washington on June 15, 2023 in this captured image. (Yonhap)
North Korea, on the other hand, was placed in the lowest category of Tier 3.
"The government did not demonstrate any efforts to address human trafficking," the report said of Pyongyang.
The report also notes a "government policy or pattern of human trafficking in prison camps as part of an established system of political repression," adding there are an estimated 80,000 to 120,000 people in North Korea's political prison camps, along with an undetermined number of people in other forms of detention facilities.
"The (North Korean) government used proceeds from state-sponsored forced labor to fund government operations," it says.
In addition, North Korea did not report any trafficking-related law enforcement efforts or efforts to protect victims, according to the report.
The report also highlighted a need to protect North Korean defectors in China, saying they are "vulnerable to sex and labor trafficking in the PRC," referring to China by its formal name, the People's Republic of China.
"Traffickers also sell DPRK women to PRC national men for forced marriages, whereby they are often subsequently forced into commercial sex, domestic service, agricultural, or other types of work," it said, adding that as many as 30,000 children that have been born to North Korean women and Chinese men have not been registered upon birth, making them "stateless and vulnerable to possible exploitation."
DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, North Korea's official name.
bdk@yna.co.kr
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en.yna.co.kr · by Duk-Kun Byun · June 16, 2023
5. Nat'l security advisers of S. Korea, US, Japan agree to strengthen cooperation on NK, regional security
High level diplomatic engagement continues. And trilateral cooperation improves with every north Korean missile test and provocation.
Nat'l security advisers of S. Korea, US, Japan agree to strengthen cooperation on NK, regional security
The Korea Times · June 15, 2023
National Security Adviser Cho Tae-yong, right, U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, left, and Japan's National Security Secretariat Secretary General Takeo Akiba pose at their meeting in Tokyo on June 15, in this photo provided by the presidential office. Yonhap
The national security advisers of South Korea, the United States and Japan agreed Thursday to strengthen practical cooperation among the three countries in responding to North Korea and other regional security issues, the presidential office said.
The agreement was reached during trilateral talks involving National Security Adviser Cho Tae-yong, U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Japan's National Security Secretariat Secretary General Takeo Akiba in Tokyo, the office said in a press release.
The three discussed North Korea, regional security issues and trilateral cooperation measures, and agreed to "further strengthen cooperation between the three countries aimed at contributing to regional peace and stability," it said.
The advisers recalled that President Yoon Suk Yeol, U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida agreed during their trilateral summit in Hiroshima, Japan, last month, to bolster deterrence against the North, and strengthen the free and open international order.
They agreed to continue cooperation for swift and effective follow-up measures, and to continue discussions to prepare for a trilateral summit proposed by the U.S.
Following the trilateral talks, Cho met separately with Sullivan, and the two discussed bilateral relations, North Korea, and regional and global cooperation.
They agreed to faithfully implement the various agreements reached during the Yoon-Biden summit in Washington in April, including the establishment of a Nuclear Consultative Group, and further develop the global comprehensive strategic alliance between the two countries.
In a bilateral meeting with Akiba on Wednesday, Cho stressed South Korea's position that the release of radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant should proceed safely in line with international laws and standards.
The two noted the three Yoon-Kishida summits held between March and May made it widely known that the bilateral relationship has fully entered the improvement phase and welcomed the active discussions that are currently under way through high-level exchanges to promote bilateral cooperation.
They also reaffirmed the need to strengthen bilateral cooperation, trilateral cooperation with the U.S., and international solidarity in order to firmly respond to North Korea's nuclear and missile provocations.
Also Thursday, the two countries held the second session of their economic security dialogue in Tokyo, led by Wang Yun-jong, presidential secretary for economic security, and his counterpart from the Japanese prime minister's office, Yasuo Takamura.
The two sides discussed such issues as critical and emerging technologies, strengthening supply chain cooperation and economic coercion, and exchanged views on technological and personnel exchanges in the semiconductor, battery and bio sectors, among other issues. (Yonhap)
The Korea Times · June 15, 2023
6. China-sponsored Confucius Institutes behind ‘hostile activities’ against pro-Hong Kong rallies in Seoul: lawmaker
It is not just the north Korean United Front Department and the Cultural Engagement Bureau that are conducting subversion in South Korea. China is as well. The Korean people in the South must understand and defend against these threats.
[Exclusive] China-sponsored Confucius Institutes behind ‘hostile activities’ against pro-Hong Kong rallies in Seoul: lawmaker
koreaherald.com · by Kim Arin · June 15, 2023
By Kim Arin
Published : Jun 15, 2023 - 23:16 Updated : Jun 16, 2023 - 10:08
(123rf)
Chinese government-run Confucius Institutes in South Korea allegedly led “hostile activities” targeting rallies in support of Hong Kong democracy movement, according to a lawmaker in Seoul.
The Institutes mobilized Chinese students here to stage counter-protests against pro-Hong Kong rallies at South Korean universities, People Power Party Rep. Choe Jae-hyeong office told The Korea Herald quoting an intelligence report.
At the instruction of the Institutes, Chinese students defaced posters expressing support for Hong Kong at universities based in Seoul, including Seoul National University, the report said.
The report found that the institutes especially focused on countering activities and events by the student body that are critical of China on issues concerning Hong Kong and Taiwan.
At one university in South Jeolla Province, the institutes rallied a union of Chinese students into successfully campaigning to get a Taiwanese flag taken down.
The institutes, the first of which was established in Seoul in 2004, have been accused of acting as a channel for Chinese propaganda and espionage under the guise of offering language and cultural exchange programs.
Last year, the UK prime minister Rishi Sunak vowed to phase out Confucius Institutes across the country as evidence emerged of their use as a vehicle for the Chinese Communist Party in promoting its values.
In 2018, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation raised concerns about the institutes housed at universities possibly spreading propaganda and gathering intelligence for Beijing.
By Kim Arin (arin@heraldcorp.com)
7. Resolution Matters: Assessing North Korea’s Spy Satellite
Imagery at the link: https://www.38north.org/2023/06/resolution-matters-assessing-north-koreas-spy-satellite/
Resolution Matters: Assessing North Korea’s Spy Satellite
North Korea’s first launch attempt of a military reconnaissance satellite on May 31 met an early demise when the Chollima-1 carrier rocket suffered a second-stage engine malfunction and plunged into the sea. Despite this setback, the country says it plans to try again as soon as possible.
While the launch was unsuccessful, it did reveal some new information about the country’s new reconnaissance satellite. The following is an assessment of what is known and still unknown in the open-source community about it and what experts will be looking for if or when a successful launch takes place.
Spatial Resolution
One of the most important aspects of an imaging satellite is its spatial resolution. This is the size of the smallest object that can be seen. For example, a spatial resolution of one meter means anything smaller than a meter won’t be discernable, and because any object a meter in size will only appear as a single pixel, it won’t be able to make out the size and shape of things that are less than several meters in size.
The European Space Agency’s Sentinel satellite has a spatial resolution of 10 meters. This was once considered “high resolution,” but today is usually classified as medium or low resolution. For imagery analysis, it is only useful in making out large objects such as roads and buildings and larger scale changes such as landslides or deforestation. The upside is that Sentinel imagery is available at no charge. Similar imagery from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Landsat imagery at 15 meters spatial resolution is also available at no charge through the US Geological Survey.
These days, however, several commercial satellite imagery providers offer high-resolution images. Planet Labs operates 150 satellites divided between its Dove fleet, which has a three-meter spatial resolution, and SkySat, which is about 70 centimeters.
Dove satellites can make out the shapes of larger buildings and see features such as trains, boats, and some trucks, but they struggle to see objects like cars and differentiate between densely-packed houses. SkySat is a big step up and allows observers to see most buildings, count train cars, and see cars and other features such as trees, parks and monuments.
Some of the sharpest commercial images currently available come from the Pléiades Neo satellites operated by France’s Airbus. They have a 30-centimeter spatial resolution and make it possible to differentiate between a dump truck and a crane truck to identify buses and measure the length of cars. In some images, individuals can also be seen, although this is usually due to their shadows. US-based Maxar also offers 30-centimeter imagery.
For example, here is the Sinpho South Shipyard captured with the four satellites detailed above. In this 10-meter Sentinel image, large buildings can be made out, as can the large concrete piers but not much else.
Figure 1. An image of the Sinpho South Shipyard secure boat basin captured at 10-meter resolution. Image from European Space Agency Copernicus Sentinel Data. Annotation by 38 North.
Going to three-meter Planet imagery provides a big jump in resolution. Suddenly, smaller buildings are discernable, as is greater detail on large buildings. Roads can be made out, and so can boats, especially if you know they are supposed to be there.
Figure 2. An image of the Sinpho South Shipyard secure boat basin captured at three-meter resolution. Image © 2023 Planet Labs, PBC cc-by-nc-sa 4.0. For media licensing options, please contact thirtyeightnorth@gmail.com.
At 70-cm resolution, you can make out features on boats and count them and easily differentiate between different trees.
Figure 3. An image of the Sinpho South Shipyard secure boat basin captured at 70-centimeter resolution. Image © 2023 Planet Labs, PBC cc-by-nc-sa 4.0. For media licensing options, please contact thirtyeightnorth@gmail.com.
At 30-cm resolution, greater detail can be discerned.
Figure 4. An image of the Sinpho South Shipyard secure boat basin captured at 30-centimeter resolution. Image Pleiades NEO © Airbus DS 2023. For media options, please contact thirtyeightnorth@gmail.com.
For a second example, let’s look at the Sohae Satellite Launching Station. With Sentinel imagery, some of the larger roads and structures can be seen, and it is easy to differentiate between forested and cleared areas, but not much more at that resolution.
Figure 5. An image of Sohae Satellite Launching Station captured at 10-meter resolution. Image from European Space Agency Copernicus Sentinel Data. Annotation by 38 North.
With the three-meter Planet image, we can zoom in a little and start to determine more detail of the road network and the launch pad.
Figure 6. An image of Sohae Satellite Launching Station captured at three-meter resolution. Image © 2023 Planet Labs, PBC cc-by-nc-sa 4.0. For media licensing options, please contact thirtyeightnorth@gmail.com.
At 70-cm resolution, this SkySat image provides significantly more detail of the launch pad, including the presence of what appear to be trucks.
Figure 7. An image of the Sohae Satellite Launching Station main launch pad captured at 70-centimeter resolution. Image © 2023 Planet Labs, PBC cc-by-nc-sa 4.0. For media licensing options, please contact thirtyeightnorth@gmail.com.
At 30-cm resolution, this Airbus Pleiades Neo image provides significantly more detail about the launch pad. Trucks and cranes can be identified, and lattice work on the large crane at the launch tower is obvious.
Figure 8. An image of the Sohae Satellite Launching Station main launch pad captured at 30-centimeter resolution Image Pleiades NEO © Airbus DS 2023. For media options, please contact thirtyeightnorth@gmail.com.
These examples provide an overview of the different spatial resolutions and highlight the importance of getting a high-resolution camera and perfect lenses for the mission of an imaging satellite. But spatial resolution is only one part of the equation.
The Orbit
The most important and crucial part of any launch is getting the satellite into the correct orbit. The orbit is decided by the objective of the satellite and determines how much of the earth it will see and how often it will see it.
For many surveillance satellites, this is a polar orbit where the satellite orbits the earth at roughly 90 degrees to the planet’s rotation, passing over or near each pole. Most imaging satellites take about 90 minutes for an orbit to be completed. As the earth is constantly rotating, each successive orbit takes them over a different slice of the planet, and eventually, over multiple orbits, the satellite will see the entire planet.
The gap between revisiting the same location is called the temporal resolution and can be anywhere from a day to about two weeks. For this reason, imaging satellite operators often have multiple satellites in the sky to enable faster revisits of desired locations.
Orbits are also typically timed so that the satellites fly over target areas at approximately the same time each day. Such “sun-synchronous” orbits usually capture images between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. because the sun is overhead and provides the best lighting with minimal shadows.
North Korea’s navigational warning to mariners revealed three drop zones and indicated a dog-leg launch that had the rocket reposition itself mid-flight. This is a more complicated launch than previous space launch attempts, but it also helps predict the final orbit. Two predictions based on the launch warning concluded North Korea’s satellite would not be placed in a sun-synchronous orbit. The reason is unclear at present, so the final orbit will be watched with interest.
When a launch is successful, however, it should not take long for that information to be known. The US Space Surveillance Network uses radar and other methods to reliably track about 47,000 satellites in orbit around the earth and should publish orbit details within about a day of a successful launch.
During previous launches, North Korean state media also published its intended orbital details. If this practice is repeated in the future, the difference between the details given and those detected by US Space Command can be used to assess how accurate the launch was at putting the satellite into the planned orbit.
A final important thing that determines revisit time is the swath width of the satellite, which is the width of each image it takes, and how much the camera can skew from side to side. For a narrow swath width and a camera with little side-to-side movement, it might take days before it can revisit a location. But a wider swath width and a moveable camera might mean daily images are possible.
There is a trade-off, as a wider swath width usually means less resolution. It is likely that North Korea went for a wider, lower resolution choice for its first military satellite as the technology is less complicated.
Should the rocket fail to put the satellite in the correct orbit, some corrections can be made in space, but the finite amount of fuel on board is usually intended for minor station keeping to maintain orbit. So, any major positioning changes can substantially reduce the useful lifetime of the satellite. This is why getting into the exact orbit is so important and why the rocket needs to follow the planned trajectory perfectly.
Spectral Resolution
While images captured in the visible part of the spectrum are those most commonly associated with surveillance, modern surveillance satellites include sensors for catching other information. For example, other wavelengths, such as near infrared, can reveal additional details about crops and weather. In this case, North Korea’s reconnaissance satellite is likely solely or mostly focused on the visible light part of the spectrum to collect conventional satellite images.
Radiometric Resolution
Radiometric resolution is the final resolution of interest with satellite imagery. It measures how finely the sensors on the satellite perceive data. It can be thought of as the different levels of greyscale. The most basic is simply black or white. Additional shades of grey make it easier to discern and analyze different features’ resolutions. In Landsat images, for example, resolutions go up to 16 bits, which is 65,536 potential shades of grey.
None of this data is known for the North Korean satellite.
The Downlink
The final piece of the puzzle is how North Korea will receive intelligence gathered by the satellite. This will be the job of one or more ground stations in the country.
Just as for imaging, the satellite will need to be within view of the downlink for it to be able to transmit a signal, but unlike imaging, the radio feed from the satellite is not focused on such a small area. It is receivable over a much wider area.
As an example, here is the footprint of the North Korean Kwangmyongsong-4 satellite as it passed over North Korea late in the evening on June 14.
Figure 9. North Korean Kwangmyongsong-4 satellite footprint and orbit. Image OrbTrack.org. Annotation by 38 North.
The satellite is not functioning, but if it were, its signal would be receivable in an area encompassing all of North Korea, South Korea and Japan, and significant portions of China, Mongolia and Russia. As North Korea first comes into reception range, the satellite signal can also be received in Taiwan and the Philippines. That gives governments and individuals in all neighboring countries the ability to possibly receive the signals as well.
We will have to wait for the launch to see the precise orbit, but the wider footprint of the radio signal means a North Korean ground station could have several opportunities to communicate with the satellite each day.
Reception could be via one of several large parabolic antennas found across North Korea, including one at the National Aerospace Development Administration (NADA) headquarters in Pyongyang. There are also several other locations in the country with a large number of satellite ground stations.
8. How South Korea Puts Its Food Scraps to Good Use
Think how this food waste could help Korean farmers in the north as animal feed. But Kim Jong Un would never accept it.
How South Korea Puts Its Food Scraps to Good Use
By John YoonPhotographs and Video by Chang W. Lee
John Yoon and Chang W. Lee spent several days in Seoul documenting how food waste makes its way from the table to the facilities where it’s transformed.
The New York Times · by John Yoon · June 14, 2023
Debris — bones, seeds, shells — is picked out by hand.
When wasted food rots in landfills, it pollutes soil and water — and warms the planet. Here’s how one country keeps that from happening.
Photographs and Video by Chang W. Lee
阅读简体中文版閱讀繁體中文版
Around the world, most of the 1.4 billion tons of food thrown away each year goes to landfills. As it rots, it pollutes water and soil and releases huge amounts of methane, one of the most potent greenhouse gases.
But not in South Korea, which banned food scraps from its landfills almost 20 years ago. Here, the vast majority of it gets turned into animal feed, fertilizer and fuel for heating homes.
Food waste is one of the biggest contributors to climate change, not only because of the methane but also because the energy and resources that went into its production and transport have been wasted, too.
The system in South Korea, which keeps about 90 percent of discarded food out of landfills and incinerators, has been studied by governments around the world. Officials from China, Denmark and elsewhere have toured South Korea’s facilities. New York City, which will require all residents to separate their food waste from other trash by next fall, has been observing the Korean system for years, a spokesman for the city’s sanitation department said.
While a number of cities have comparable programs, few if any other countries do what South Korea does on a national scale. That is because of the cost, said Paul West, a senior scientist with Project Drawdown, a research group that studies ways to reduce carbon emissions. Although individuals and businesses pay a small fee to discard food waste, the program costs South Korea about $600 million a year, according to the country’s Ministry of Environment.
Nonetheless, Mr. West and other experts say it should be emulated. “The South Korea example makes it possible to reduce emissions at a larger scale,” he said.
Unloading the food waste at a disposal facility in Seoul.Credit...Chang W. Lee/The New York Times
Food waste being separated from plastic bags at the Goyang facility.
South Korea’s culinary tradition tends to result in uneaten food. Small side dishes — sometimes a few, sometimes more than a dozen — accompany most meals. For years, practically all of those leftovers went into the ground.
But the country’s mountainous terrain limits how many landfills can be built, and how far from residential areas they can be. In 1995, the government introduced mandatory recycling of paper and plastic, but food scraps continued to be buried along with other trash.
Political support for changing that was driven by people living near landfills, who complained about the smells, said Kee-Young Yoo, a researcher at the government-run Seoul Institute who has advised cities on handling food waste. Because stews are a staple of Korean cuisine, discarded food here tends to have a high water content, which means greater volume and worse odors.
“When all of that went to waste, it emitted a terrible stench,” Mr. Yoo said.
Since 2005, it’s been illegal to send food waste to landfills. Local governments have built hundreds of facilities for processing it. Consumers, restaurant owners, truck drivers and others are part of the network that gets it collected and turned into something useful.
At Jongno Stew Village, a popular lunch spot in the Dobong district of northern Seoul, pollock stew and kimchi jjigae are the best sellers. But no matter the order, Lee Hae-yeon, the owner, serves small side dishes of kimchi, tofu, boiled bean sprouts and marinated perilla leaves.
Lee Hae-yeon cooking at his restaurant in Seoul. Leftover food is collected in a bucket all day.
At the end of the day, the food waste from Mr. Lee’s restaurant goes into a special bin. A sticker proves he has paid for the disposal.
Customers can help themselves to more, and “people are going to take more than they’re going to eat,” Mr. Lee said. “Koreans like to err on the side of abundance when it comes to food.”
Mr. Lee pays a price for that: about 2,800 won, a little over $2, for every 20 liters of food he throws out. All day, leftovers go into a bucket in the kitchen, and at closing time Mr. Lee empties it into a designated bin outside. On the lid, he attaches a sticker purchased from the district — evidence that he’s paid for the disposal.
In the morning, companies hired by the district empty those bins. Park Myung-joo and his team start rolling through the streets at 5 a.m., tearing the stickers off the bins and dumping the contents into their truck’s tank.
They work every day except Sundays. “Even waiting a day would cause huge amounts of waste to pile up,” Mr. Park said.
Around 11 a.m., they get to Dobong’s processing facility, where they unload the sludgy mess.
Debris — bones, seeds, shells — is picked out by hand. (Dobong’s plant is one of the last in the nation where this step isn’t automated.) A conveyor belt carries the waste into a grinder, which reduces it to small pieces. Anything that isn’t easily shredded, like plastic bags, is filtered out and incinerated.
Then the waste is baked and dehydrated. The moisture goes into pipes leading to a water treatment plant, where some of it is used to produce biogas. The rest is purified and discharged into a nearby stream.
What’s left of the waste at the processing plant, four hours after Mr. Park’s team dropped it off, is ground into the final product: a dry, brown powder that smells like dirt. It’s a feed supplement for chickens and ducks, rich in protein and fiber, said Sim Yoon-sik, the facility’s manager, and given away to any farm that wants it.
Food waste being processed into animal feed at a facility in the Dobong district.
Moving a load of animal feed at the Dobong facility. It’s given away to farmers.
Inside the plant, the strong odors cling to fabric and hair. But outside, they are barely noticeable. Pipes run through the building, purifying the air via a chemical process before the exhaust system expels it.
Other plants work differently. At the biogas facility in Goyang, a Seoul suburb, the food waste — nearly 70,000 tons annually — undergoes anaerobic digestion. It sits in large tanks for up to 35 days while bacteria does its work, breaking the organic matter down and creating biogas, consisting mainly of methane and carbon dioxide.
The biogas is sold to a local utility, which says it’s used to heat 3,000 homes in Goyang. What solid matter remains is mixed with wood chips to create fertilizer, which is given away.
Every ton of food waste that rots in a landfill emits greenhouse gases equivalent to 800 pounds of carbon dioxide, researchers have found. Turning it into biogas cuts that in half, said Lee Chang-gee, an engineer at the Goyang plant.
Fertilizer produced at Goyang’s biomass energy facility being delivered to a Goyang farm.
Lettuce and bok choy at the Goyang farm, growing in soil enriched by fertilizer from the energy facility.
Critics note that for all its benefits, South Korea’s program hasn’t attained one of its goals: getting people to throw away less food. The amount of discarded food nationwide has stayed more or less steady over the years, according to data from the Ministry of Environment.
The system has had other flaws. There have been scattered complaints: In Deogyang, a district of Goyang, residents of one village said the odor from a processing facility was once so bad that they couldn’t leave their windows open. That plant has been inactive since 2018 because of neighbors’ protests.
“When the plant shut down, all the problems disappeared,” said a Deogyang resident, Mo Sung Yun, 68.
But most of the plants nationwide — unlike the landfills they are essentially replacing — have drawn few if any serious complaints from neighbors. Government officials say steadily improving technology has led to cleaner and more efficient operations.
It’s also made disposal easier for many. At apartment complexes around the country, residents are issued cards to scan every time they drop food waste into a designated bin. The bin weighs what they’ve dropped in; at the end of the month they get a bill.
Mo Sung Yun in front of a shuttered food waste facility in Goyang. Residents complained about the smell and eventually got the facility to cease operations, a fight he helped lead.
Eom Jung-suk scanning her card to open the food waste bin at her Seoul apartment complex.
“The bins have gotten cleaner and less smelly,” said Eom Jung-suk, 60, who lives in one such complex.
Ms. Eom has never been charged more than a dollar for the service. In April, she paid 26 cents. But the monthly bill makes her more aware of how much she throws away.
“Just today, at breakfast, I told my daughters to take just enough to eat,” she said.
John Yoon reports from the Seoul newsroom of The Times. He previously reported for the coronavirus tracking team, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service in 2021. He joined The Times in 2020. @johnjyoon
Chang W. Lee is a staff photographer for The Times. He was a member of the staff that won two 2002 Pulitzer Prizes: one for Breaking News Photography and the other for Feature Photography. Follow him on Instagram @nytchangster.
A version of this article appears in print on , Section A, Page 4 of the New York edition with the headline: South Korea Turns Scraps From Food Into Fuel
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The New York Times · by John Yoon · June 14, 2023
9. North Korea Ends Two-Month Pause on Missile Testing
Yes they did. I am actually kind of worried when they pause. Does it mean they are planning something big?
North Korea Ends Two-Month Pause on Missile Testing
Pyongyang fires two short-range missiles on same day South Korea and U.S. conclude live-fire annihilation drills
By Timothy W. MartinFollow
Updated June 15, 2023 8:59 am ET
https://www.wsj.com/articles/north-korea-ends-two-month-pause-on-missile-testing-133456d3?mod=Searchresults_pos3&page=1
Visitors watched a South Korea-U.S. joint military drill on Thursday in Pocheon, South Korea. PHOTO: JUNG YEON-JE / POOL/ZUMA PRESS
SEOUL—North Korea broke a two-month absence of missile tests on Thursday, as Pyongyang expressed discontent over U.S. and South Korea live-fire annihilation drills that concluded on the same day.
The Kim Jong Un regime hadn’t launched a ballistic missile since April 13’s launch of its Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile. Pyongyang failed to place a military satellite into orbit last month—a launch that the United Nations said was a brazen violation of the group’s resolutions.
On Thursday, North Korea fired two short-range missiles from the Sunan area, in the outskirts of Pyongyang near the country’s international airport, Seoul’s military said. The missiles were launched between 7:25 p.m. and 7:37 p.m. local time off the country’s east coast.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol viewed military vehicles after the South Korea-U.S. joint military drill Thursday. PHOTO: POOL/REUTERS
The missiles reached an altitude of about 31 miles, with one traveling about 528 miles and the other about 560 miles, according to a Japanese assessment. At least two missiles landed inside Japan’s exclusive economic zone, which extends about 200 nautical miles from the coast. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida called the launches violations of U.N. Security Council resolutions and an outrageous act.
Around the same time of the launches, an unnamed spokesperson for North Korea’s defense ministry slammed the combined Washington and Seoul live-fire drills, calling a response inevitable. “Our armed forces will fully counter any form of demonstration moves and provocation of the enemies,” the spokesperson said.
The exercises, which South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol attended Thursday, featured more than 600 military assets including jet fighters, drones and self-propelled howitzers. More than 2,500 U.S. and South Korean troops from 71 units participated in drills that simulated a response to a Pyongyang provocation and a counterattack.
Under Yoon, South Korea has taken a more confrontational stance with the Kim Jong Un regime than his left-leaning predecessor, who gave priority to peace talks.
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North Korea has been putting a host of new weapons on display, including a tactical nuclear warhead, an underwater drone and a solid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missile. WSJ looks at how they add to Pyongyang’s growing military threat to the U.S. and its allies. Photo Composite: Emily Siu
“True peace comes from protecting national security with our own strength—not a fake peace that depends on the goodwill of the enemy,” Yoon said in an address to troops ahead of the combined drills held near the inter-Korean border.
Pyongyang has ridiculed Yoon and South Korean efforts for engagement. North Korea remains self-isolated, even more than normal, as its borders are closed to the outside world. However, the country has reported a rise in cross-border trade recently with neighboring allies Russia and China.
Kim sent a 70th birthday greeting to Chinese leader Xi Jinping noting his great success, North Korea’s state media reported Thursday. Earlier in the week, Kim sent a national-day congratulatory message to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The 39-year-old dictator said he was “holding hands firmly” with Putin.
In recent years, China and Russia, as permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, have blocked U.S.-led efforts to heap additional penalties on the Kim regime for its spree of weapons provocations.
South Korea’s foreign minister last week said the U.N. Security Council was “virtually paralyzed” from addressing North Korea’s illegal weapons provocations.
A train station in Seoul played the report of North Korea’s missile launch Thursday. PHOTO: LEE JIN-MAN/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Chieko Tsuneoka in Tokyo contributed to this article.
Write to Timothy W. Martin at Timothy.Martin@wsj.com
Copyright ©2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
Appeared in the June 16, 2023, print edition as 'North Korean Missile Tests Resume After 2-Month Lag'.
10. US guided-missile submarine arrives in South Korea, a day after North Korea resumes missile tests
US guided-missile submarine arrives in South Korea, a day after North Korea resumes missile tests
AP · by HYUNG-JIN KIM and KIM TONG-HYUNG · June 16, 2023
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The United States deployed a nuclear-powered submarine capable of carrying about 150 Tomahawk missiles to South Korea on Friday, a day after North Korea resumed missile tests in protest of the U.S.-South Korean live-fire drills.
The USS Michigan’s arrival in South Korea, the first of its kind in six years, is part of a recent bilateral agreement on enhancing “regular visibility” of U.S. strategic assets to the Korean Peninsula in response to North Korea’s advancing nuclear program, according to South Korean officials.
With the deployment of the USS Michigan, the U.S. and South Korean navies are to conduct drills on boosting their special operation capabilities and joint ability to cope with growing North Korean nuclear threats, the South Korean Defense Ministry said in a statement.
It said the U.S. submarine arrived at the southeastern port city of Busan but didn’t say how long it would stay in South Korean waters.
The USS Michigan is one of the biggest submarines in the world. The Ohio-class guided-missile submarine can be armed with 150 Tomahawk missiles with a range of about 2,500 kilometers (1,550 miles) and is capable of launching special forces missions, according to the South Korean statement.
The South Korean and U.S. militaries have been expanding their exercises in reaction to North Korea’s provocative run of missile tests since last year. North Korea has argued it was forced to ramp up testing activities to deal with its rivals’ expanded military drills that it views as an invasion rehearsal, but experts say the North ultimately aims to modernize its arsenal and increase its leverage in eventual diplomacy.
In April, after their meeting in Washington, President Joe Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol agreed that the United States would enhance the “regular visibility of strategic assets to the Korean Peninsula.” Biden also stated that any North Korean nuclear attack on the U.S. or its allies would “result in the end of whatever regime” took such action.
The two leaders also announced other steps to reinforce joint deterrence capabilities such as the docking a U.S. nuclear ballistic missile submarine in South Korea periodically; bolstering joint training exercises; and the establishment of a new nuclear consultative group. The nuclear ballistic missile submarine hasn’t come to South Korea.
Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, slammed the Biden-Yoon summit agreements, saying they revealed the two countries’ “most hostile and aggressive will of action” against the North. She threatened to further bolster her country’s nuclear forces.
On Thursday, North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast, shortly after it vowed responses to the just-ended South Korea-U.S. firing drills near the Koreas’ heavily armed border.
They were the North’s first weapons launches since it tried to put its first spy satellite into orbit in late May. The launch failed as the rocket carrying the spy satellite crashed into the waters off the Korean Peninsula’s west coast.
South Korea’s Defense Ministry said Friday that military search crews have salvaged what it believes is part of the crashed North Korean rocket. The ministry released photos of the white, metal cylinder, which some experts said would have been the rocket’s fuel tank.
___
Find more of AP’s Asia-Pacific coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/asia-pacific
AP · by HYUNG-JIN KIM and KIM TONG-HYUNG · June 16, 2023
11.Trilateral National Security Advisors Statement on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s Missile Launches
Trilateral National Security Advisors Statement on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s Missile Launches | The White House
whitehouse.gov · by The White House · June 15, 2023
The United States, Japan, and the Republic of Korea condemn today’s DPRK missile launches. These launches are clear violations of multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions, and demonstrate the threat the DPRK’s unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs pose to the region, international peace and security, and the global non-proliferation regime. This action demonstrates the need for all countries to fully implement DPRK-related UN Security Council resolutions that are intended to prohibit the DPRK from acquiring the technologies and materials needed to carry out these destabilizing launches.
The United States reaffirms unequivocally its ironclad security commitments to both Japan and the ROK. National Security Secretariat Secretary General Akiba Takeo, ROK National Security Advisor Cho Tae-yong, and U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met today in Tokyo and discussed ways to further strengthen trilateral cooperation, including through lock-step coordination in responding to the threats posed by the DPRK’s illicit nuclear and missile programs. They also affirmed that Japan-ROK-U.S. cooperation would not be shaken by provocations and shared their belief that the DPRK should take the path of diplomacy rather than continued provocations. The national security advisors stated their intent to redouble their collective efforts to uphold peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific.
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whitehouse.gov · by The White House · June 15, 2023
12. S. Korean FM proposes forging comprehensive strategic partnership with ASEAN
Excerpts:
Park made the proposal to create a new turning point for the development of bilateral ties, as next year marks the 35th anniversary of the establishment of a dialogue partnership between the two sides.
In response, Kao expressed expectations that cooperation between the regional bloc and South Korea, its key dialogue partner, will develop further, and called for close cooperation in the process of creating the strategic partnership, according to the ministry.
S. Korean FM proposes forging comprehensive strategic partnership with ASEAN | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Song Sang-ho · June 16, 2023
SEOUL, June 16 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's foreign minister on Friday proposed establishing a "comprehensive strategic partnership" with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) next year during his talks with the regional bloc's secretary general, his office said.
Foreign Minister Park Jin and ASEAN Secretary General Kao Kim Hourn met in Seoul, as South Korea has steadily focused on strengthening relations with the 10-member ASEAN, the country's crucial partner for diplomatic and economic cooperation.
Park made the proposal to create a new turning point for the development of bilateral ties, as next year marks the 35th anniversary of the establishment of a dialogue partnership between the two sides.
In response, Kao expressed expectations that cooperation between the regional bloc and South Korea, its key dialogue partner, will develop further, and called for close cooperation in the process of creating the strategic partnership, according to the ministry.
The ASEAN secretary general arrived in Seoul on Thursday for a four-day visit on his first trip here since taking office in January.
South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin (R) shakes hands with ASEAN Secretary General Kao Kim Hourn before their talks at the foreign ministry in Seoul on June 16, 2023. (Yonhap)
sshluck@yna.co.kr
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en.yna.co.kr · by Song Sang-ho · June 16, 2023
13. S. Korean, Israeli Defense Firms Are Outpacing Competitors, Estonia Says
Excerpts:
Speaking at the Defense One Tech Summit, Salm said Israeli and South Korean firms, which face some challenges their NATO competitors don’t have, have nevertheless provided weapons faster and more cheaply amid a global hunger for weapons and ammunition caused by the Ukraine war.
“If we want our defense industries to be competitive, then we need to be competitive on the market basis,” he said.
Estonia and its Baltic Sea neighbors have ratcheted up purchases of arms from Israeli and South Korean firms since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine 16 months ago.
S. Korean, Israeli Defense Firms Are Outpacing Competitors, Estonia Says
A top Defense Ministry official says the non-NATO firms have been faster to deliver as the global hunger for arms rises.
defenseone.com · by Sam Skove
Estonia’s top Defense Ministry civil servant had a blunt message for Western arms makers on Thursday: Shape up, or see Israel and South Korea replace you.
“Somehow we in the defense sector sometimes think that different rules apply to us,” said Kusti Salm, Permanent Secretary of the Estonian Ministry of Defense. “They don't.”
Speaking at the Defense One Tech Summit, Salm said Israeli and South Korean firms, which face some challenges their NATO competitors don’t have, have nevertheless provided weapons faster and more cheaply amid a global hunger for weapons and ammunition caused by the Ukraine war.
“If we want our defense industries to be competitive, then we need to be competitive on the market basis,” he said.
Estonia and its Baltic Sea neighbors have ratcheted up purchases of arms from Israeli and South Korean firms since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine 16 months ago.
Over the next decade, Estonia plans to spend a total of $14.5 billion on military modernization, a figure that will increase its defense spending to 3% of annual GDP from 2024 to 2027.
Many of these weapons come from Israel or South Korea, including self-propelled artillery, loitering munitions, and anti-tank missiles, all systems that are well-represented in the war in Ukraine.
Another $1.1 billion will be spent solely on ammunition. Estonia, like many countries, is rethinking their stockpile needs as Ukraine and Russia collectively burn through tens of thousands of artillery shells a day.
Poland in particular has gone all-in on weapons from South Korea, buying nearly 1,000 tanks, 600 pieces of artillery, and fighter jets since the start of the war in Ukraine.
“Europe didn’t have what we need,” said Poland’s Ambassador to NATO, Tomasz Szatkowski, at an interview that aired during Defense One’s Tech Summit on Wednesday. “There is an absolute shortage of spare parts for the systems we do have.”
Western firms, meanwhile, have complained of numerous obstacles to increasing production, from trouble attracting staff to remote ammunition plants to a lack of machine tools.
Salm, who previously served as head of defense acquisition in Estonia, isn’t having it. Israeli and South Korean firms are “entering into the markets of European nations with double the obstacles and somehow they can do it,” he said.
In his talk, Salm also warned of a potential increase in Russian cyberattacks on NATO targets. One main reason that Russia has been relatively restrained in such attacks has been the threat of Western sanctions in response, he said. But the West has in the past 16 months levied just about every sanction it could think of.
“There is nothing to sanction Russia against anymore.” Salm said. “So there is almost no deterrence for them to not use cyber against NATO countries, for example.”
defenseone.com · by Sam Skove
14. N. Korean military exempts certain soldiers from participating in summer exercises
If I were a South Korean frontline corps commander I would start having my reconnaissance patrols start putting bags of rice along with bags of smartphones (with pre-programmed contact lists) on the military demarcation line in the DMZ every day.
You can't eat ideology. Does this mean there are loyalty problems within the military?
Excerpt:
In the plan, the GSD stated that, unlike past summer exercises that focused on completing preparations for combat, this year’s drills must strengthen the political ideology and military techniques of frontline corps while also firming up supply lines and other logistics-related infrastructure. In fact, the plan said that efforts on supply and logistics-related issues should account for 50% of the time used for summer exercises.
N. Korean military exempts certain soldiers from participating in summer exercises
The order contains instructions that suggest frontline units suffer from supply-related issues
dailynk.com
FILE PHOTO: North Korean soldiers walking near Sinuiju, North Pyongan Province. (Daily NK)
The North Korean military’s General Staff Department (GSD) recently issued a special order to frontline corps that exempts units engaged in various military business activities — such as farming and fishing — from summer exercises.
Speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons, a source in the North Korean military told Daily NK on Monday that the GSD issued a plan on Saturday that contained instructions regarding the military’s summer exercises, which are scheduled to begin on July 1. The plan contained instructions aimed at achieving orders by the military’s party committee to bolster the combat power of frontline corps units and improve the effectiveness of training.
In the plan, the GSD stated that, unlike past summer exercises that focused on completing preparations for combat, this year’s drills must strengthen the political ideology and military techniques of frontline corps while also firming up supply lines and other logistics-related infrastructure. In fact, the plan said that efforts on supply and logistics-related issues should account for 50% of the time used for summer exercises.
“In past summer exercises, units got high marks in their reviews only if a lot of personnel participated,” the source said. “However, this year, nutritional teams, side-business teams, and work teams of frontline corps units have been excluded from training, so their activities will not be reflected in the training reviews.”
In the past, frontline corps used to withdraw their personnel employed in side businesses or outside work and include them in military drills to earn good reviews.
After learning of this situation, the GSD ordered that frontline personnel employed in side businesses or outside work be excluded from the exercises and their activities are not reflected in the reviews so that military units can concentrate on unit-to-unit supply issues.
New plan suggests that frontline units suffer from supply issues
The GSD’s plan was sent only to certain frontline military units, including the First, Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth Corps, suggesting that frontline corps suffer from supply-related issues.
The General Staff Department stressed in its plan that it is of the utmost importance to accurately classify which personnel from each frontline unit should be excluded from the exercises, and that military units should concentrate on using their remaining personnel to participate in the drills.
The source said that military units are responding positively to the plan. “Unit commanders in frontline corps focusing on preparations ahead of the start of summer training are saying the GSD took practical measures, allowing them to accelerate improvements to logistics and supply issues during the summer training period,” he said.
The GSD also issued a separate order calling on frontline corps soldiers employed in teams focused on improving nutrition, engaging in side-businesses, and participating in other kinds of work to faithfully carry out their duties during the summer exercises.
“The General Staff Department said the goal during the summer training period is for nutrition teams to improve the nutrition of soldiers, for side-business teams to carry out farming and fishing activities, and for outside work teams to complete the state-designated tasks to which their units were assigned,” he said.
Translated by David Black. Edited by Robert Lauler.
Daily NK works with a network of sources who live inside North Korea, China and elsewhere. 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.
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15. N. Hamgyong Province takes measures to help wandering graduates of schools for orphans
Excerpt:
“The provincial party committee said given how orphaned students of such secondary schools are assigned to workplaces, mines and farms when they graduate, party committees at all levels must look after them with the heart of a parent. First, however, the party organizations must find where missing graduates of secondary schools for orphans are wandering about and report their locations,” the source said.
N. Hamgyong Province takes measures to help wandering graduates of schools for orphans
Recently, several male graduates of a school for orphans were jailed after a gang fight, while another stabbed a mother and daughter to death after they caught him trying to steal a bag of rice
dailynk.com
FILE PHOTO: Onsong County, North Hamgyong Province. (Daily NK)
North Hamgyong Province’s party committee recently ordered officials to find and support wandering graduates of secondary schools for orphans, some of whom have been involved in criminal activity, Daily NK has learned.
“The party committee recently reviewed the issue of graduates of secondary schools for orphans who are unable to adjust in the places they live, and ordered party organizations to look after them and ensure they have stable living conditions,” a source in North Hamgyong Province told Daily NK on Monday, speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons.
According to the source, the provincial party committee had found earlier that some graduates of secondary schools for orphans, particularly male graduates, had unclear residences. These graduates were committing crimes after leaving their assigned places of residence to wander about at whim, which led the party committee to begin taking urgent measures to deal with the problem.
In fact, several male graduates were reportedly jailed by police after a gang fight, while another graduate stabbed a mother and daughter to death after they caught him in their home trying to steal a bag of rice.
“The provincial party committee said given how orphaned students of such secondary schools are assigned to workplaces, mines and farms when they graduate, party committees at all levels must look after them with the heart of a parent. First, however, the party organizations must find where missing graduates of secondary schools for orphans are wandering about and report their locations,” the source said.
In fact, the provincial party committee instructed party organizations to find graduates of secondary schools for orphans and ask where and how they have been living and what difficulties they experience. It also implored them not to levy criminal or administrative punishments for crimes the graduates committed while they were wandering about.
Moreover, the party committee stressed that party organizations must ensure that graduates of secondary schools for orphans can adjust, work and grow in the places they have been assigned, and ordered that the city and county party committees and other party organizations lead efforts to educate them, the source said.
Translated by David Black. Edited by Robert Lauler.
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16. Korea to get tough on industrial espionage from China
As one of my students said long ago, the Chinese R&D strategy is called "steal to leap ahead."
Friday
June 16, 2023
dictionary + A - A
Korea to get tough on industrial espionage from China
https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2023/06/16/business/tech/Korea-China-technology-theft/20230616182016080.html
Flag of China on a processor [SHUTTERSTOCK]
Korea is set to toughen criminal punishments on technology theft following a series of highly publicized data leaks, often involving Chinese businesses and employees at leading chipmakers like Samsung Electronics and SK hynix.
The Supreme Court of Korea will strengthen sentencing guidelines for crimes related to leaking information on sensitive technology overseas by upping the proposed sentence range, the court announced on June 13.
Critics have blamed weak punishments for hindering efforts to curb industrial data theft, with the average sentence for leaking trade secrets to a foreign country just 14.9 months last year, according to the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office.
The move also comes as Chinese efforts to steal trade secrets from leading Korean chipmakers and display producers grow more sophisticated and aggressive in an apparent bid to mitigate damage from the U.S. push to cut off China from American technology and expertise.
Most recently, a former Samsung Electronics executive was charged for allegedly leaking at least 300-billion-won ($232.7 million) in trade secrets to build a copycat chip factory in China. The 65-year-old suspect, surnamed Choi, illicitly acquired basic engineering data (BED) and the plant layout used in Samsung’s chip factory, classified as national core technology under the law.
Park Jin-sung, a senior prosecutor at Suwon District Prosecutors Office, announces on June12 the interim results of an investigation into a former Samsung Electronics executive who allegedly leaked trade secrets to build a chip factory in China. [YONHAP]
Choi who headed a chip company called CHJS, which was funded by Chengdu city government, attempted to build a chip factory in China just 1.5 kilometers (0.9 miles) from Samsung Electronics' manufacturing plant in Xi'an. But the project fell through due to the company's failure to secure promised funding from a Taiwanese chipmaker. He had hired 200 engineers at the Chengdu-based company, mainly from Samsung and SK hynix.
Six other accomplices were also charged, mostly workers at CHJS and Samsung’s Xi’an factory.
Despite the scheme being busted, some industry sources believe that key information could have already been leaked in China since Choi had operated CHJS since 2020.
The case alarmed the government and industry owing to its scale and orchestration.
“In the past, the most common strategy was for Chinese chip companies to lure Korean engineers to their factories in China with handsome salaries double or triple what they were previously making,” said an executive at Samsung Electronics who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
“But now they build offices in Gyeonggi in areas like Pangyo and let them work there and send critical information to them,” the executive said.
As home to household names such as Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics and Hyundai Motor, Korea has been struggling to counter an increasing number of technology thefts, with intellectual properties for advanced chips, electric vehicle batteries and displays the primary targets.
The number of confirmed leaks of so-called national core technologies totaled 93 between 2018 and 2022, with damages estimated at 25 trillion won ($20 billion), according to the National Intelligence Service.
Experts say lenient penalties in the country contributed to increasing industrial data theft.
Though a revision to the Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act upped the maximum sentence for leaking industrial information abroad to 15 years and a fine of up to 1.5 billion won in 2019, actual verdicts hardly reflected this.
One reason is that the sentencing guidelines from the country’s top court still call for sentences between one year and three years and six months.
“The sentencing guideline hasn’t changed since 2017 and lags behind the standard set by the law,” said Cho Yong-sun, an industrial security professor at Hansei University.
“And since many of the convicted are first offenders and white-collar criminals, they often get away with suspended sentences,” he said at a forum on revising the sentencing guidelines in May.
Only 10.6 percent of individuals convicted of leaking industrial information at home and abroad between 2019 and 2022 were actually sentenced to jail time, according to the Korean Intellectual Property Office.
As much as the legal system needs to improve, many still question the efficiency of it.
“There is an inherent limitation of the legal system to root out such intellectual theft cases,” said Jeong In-seong, a semiconductor specialist who authored "The Future of the Semiconductor Empire."
“A law designed to prevent the leaking of trade secrets or industrial technologies does exist, but it will inevitably conflict with the issue of privacy in tracking engineers, which makes it incapable of efficiently detecting potential theft,” he said.
BY PARK EUN-JEE [park.eunjee@joongang.co.kr]
17.
De Oppresso Liber,
David Maxwell
Vice President, Center for Asia Pacific Strategy
Senior Fellow, Global Peace Foundation
Editor, Small Wars Journal
Twitter: @davidmaxwell161
Phone: 202-573-8647
email: david.maxwell161@gmail.com
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