Quotes of the Day:

"True learning is not a blind obedience to the teacher. We do not simply follow or accept things. True learning is always dialogical. It requires each, the teacher and his student, to listen not only with an open mind, but importantly, with a humble heart."

- Socrates

"Stupidity is far more dangerous than evil, for evil takes a break from time to time, stupidity does not."

- Anatole France

"The fact the majority of a community dislikes an opinion gives it no right to interfere with those who hold it. And the fact that the majority of a community wishes not to know certain facts gives it no right to imprison those who wish to know them. These propositions may seem mild and unadorned, yet, if accepted, they would absolutely revolutionize human life." 

- Bertrand Russell

Please note I will be traveling overseas so the timing of my messages will shift and I may miss a day.

1. Yoon, U.N. chief discuss N. Korea, Ukraine

2. Meet the world’s new arms dealers

3. N. Korea's Kim arrives in Pyongyang after Russia trip: state media

4. Biden condemns N. Korea's defiance of UNSC resolutions, remains committed to diplomacy

5. U.S. official voices concerns over N. Korean detainees in China at risk of repatriation

6. S. Korea observed military dealings between N. Korea, Russia months before Kim-Putin summit: official

7. North Korean escapees tell how nuclear tests ruined their health, hometown

8. [INTERVIEW] Putin uses summit with NK leader to stop Seoul from helping Ukraine: expert

9. Korea urged to adopt China exit strategy amid hegemonic war

10. NK hackers ramp up use of Russian exchanges for crypto laundering: report

11. North Korea ‘mobilizes’ students to fight yearly ‘corn battle’

12. South Korea Presidents clash over North Korea policy

13. ＜Inside N. Korea＞ People increasingly interested in Kim Jong-un’s daughter following continuous appearances in state-run media…Several people investigated for claiming that “the era of a female Supreme Leader has arrived”

14. S. Korea, US discuss potential Pyongyang-Moscow space cooperation in tabletop exercise

15. [Top Envoy] ‘Don’t look back anymore’: former envoy on S. Korea-Japan thaw

16. S. Korea, US nearing completion to revise joint deterrence strategy against NK threats

1. Yoon, U.N. chief discuss N. Korea, Ukraine

Yoon, U.N. chief discuss N. Korea, Ukraine | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Haye-ah · September 20, 2023

By Lee Haye-ah

NEW YORK/SEOUL, Sept. 20 (Yonhap) -- President Yoon Suk Yeol met with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday (local time) and expressed his wish to continue working with the global body to deter North Korea's provocations and improve its human rights conditions, his office said.

The two met on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York to discuss cooperation between South Korea and the U.N., Korean Peninsula issues and the war in Ukraine, the presidential office said in a press release.

Yoon stressed the importance of global solidarity centered on the U.N. in the current "polycrisis" era and stated South Korea's commitment to fulfilling a "responsible role" befitting its international status.

He especially expressed South Korea's commitment to actively promoting peace in the international community as a nonpermanent member of the U.N. Security Council from 2024-2025, while sharing plans to help restore peace in Ukraine.

"President Yoon said he looks forward to continued cooperation with the U.N. to prevent North Korea's provocations and practically improve North Korea's human rights situation," the presidential office said.

Guterres thanked the South Korean government for its activities and contributions at the U.N. so far, saying he looks forward to even closer communication during its term as a Security Council member to help resolve critical international issues.

He also reaffirmed the U.N.'s commitment to working together for North Korea's denuclearization and an improvement of its human rights conditions.

This was the third meeting between Yoon and Guterres.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol (L) poses for a photo with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres ahead of their talks at the United Nations headquarters in New York on Sept. 19, 2023. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)

hague@yna.co.kr

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en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Haye-ah · September 20, 2023

2. Meet the world’s new arms dealers

Graphics at the link: https://www.economist.com/international/2023/09/19/meet-the-worlds-new-arms-dealers

Meet the world’s new arms dealers

Where to buy drones, fighters and tanks on the chea

The Economist

THE SIGHT of North Korea’s chubby leader, Kim Jong Un, shaking hands with Vladimir Putin on September 13th—having travelled by train to a spaceport in Russia’s far east to discuss selling its dictator a stash of Korean weapons—was remarkable both on its own terms and for what it said about the business of selling arms. The world’s five biggest arms-sellers (America, Russia, France, China and Germany) account for more than three-quarters of exports. But up-and-coming weapons producers are giving the old guard a run for their money. They are making the most of opportunities created by shifting geopolitics. And they are benefiting from the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Mr Kim’s trip to Russia followed a visit to Pyongyang in July by Sergei Shoigu, Russia’s defence minister, who wanted to see if North Korea could provide gear that would help his country’s faltering war effort. North Korea would love to find buyers for its military kit. And few regimes are willing to sell Russia arms. China has so far been deterred from providing much more than dual-purpose chips (although it could yet channel more lethal stuff through North Korea). Only Iran has obliged, selling some 2,400 of its Shahed “kamikaze” drones.

North Korea could provide a wider range of stuff. As well as drones and missiles such as the KN-23, which is almost a replica of the Russian Iskander ballistic missile, it could offer self-propelled howitzers and multi-launch rocket systems. According to sources in American intelligence, North Korea has been delivering 152mm shells and Katyusha-type rockets to Russia for the best part of a year. Russia is shopping in Pyongyang and Tehran because both regimes are already so heavily targeted by international sanctions that they have nothing to lose and much to gain by doing business with Mr Putin’s government. They are not so much an “axis of evil” as a marketplace of pariahs.

image: The Economist

If the North Korean arms industry is being boosted by the war in Ukraine, its southern foe is doing even better. South Korea’s arms exporters were cleaning up even before the conflict. In the five years to 2022 the country rose to ninth place in a ranking of weapons-sellers compiled by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), a think-tank (see chart); the government aspires to make South Korea the world’s fourth-largest arms exporter by 2027. Last year it sold arms worth $17bn, more than twice as much as in 2021. Some $14.5bn came from sales to Poland.

The size and scope of the agreements South Korea has reached with Poland, which sees itself as a front-line country in Europe’s defence against a revanchist Russia, is jaw-dropping. The deal includes 1,000 K2 Black Panther tanks, 180 of them delivered rapidly from the army’s own inventory and 820 to be made under licence in Poland. That is more tanks than are operating in the armies of Germany, France, Britain and Italy combined. The package also includes 672 K9 Thunder self-propelled howitzers; 288 K239 Chunmoo multiple-rocket launchers; and 48 Golden Eagle FA-50s, a cut-price fourth-generation fighter jet.

South Korea’s success in the arms business is down to competitive costs, high-quality weaponry and swift delivery, says Tom Waldwyn at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, a think-tank based in London. Its prices reflect Korean manufacturing efficiency. The quality derives from Korea’s experience working with the best American weaponry, and from its own high-tech civil sector. Speedy delivery is possible because the Koreans, facing a major threat across their northern border, run hot production lines that can also ramp up quickly.

Siemon Wezeman, a researcher with SIPRI’s arms-transfer programme, says wholehearted support from government and attractive credit arrangements are also critical to South Korea’s success. Asian customers like that the fact that it has close ties to America without being America, which is often seen as an unreliable ally. This could also help South Korea clinch a $45bn deal to renew Canada’s ageing submarine fleet. Questions for the future include how far South Korea will go in transferring technology to its customers—a crucial issue for Poland, which sees itself as an exporting partner of South Korea’s, competing with Germany and France in the European market.

If South Korea is the undisputed leader among emerging arms exporters, second place goes to Turkey. Since the ruling AK party came to power in 2002 it has poured money into its defence industry. A goal of achieving near-autarky in weapons production has become more pressing in the face of American and European sanctions—the former imposed in 2019 after Turkey, a NATO member, bought Russian S-400 surface-to-air missiles.

Rocket-fuelled

SIPRI thinks that between 2018 and 2022 Turkey’s weapons exports increased by 69% compared to the previous five-year period, and that its share of the global arms market doubled. According to a report in July by a local industry body, the value of its defence and aerospace exports rose by 38% in 2022, compared with the previous year, reaching $4.4bn. The target for this year is $6bn. Pakistan is receiving modernised submarines from Turkey. And the last of four corvettes which Turkey has sold to the Pakistan navy was launched last month. More sales to other countries are likely, both because Turkey’s ships are competitively priced and because Turkey has few qualms about who it will sell to.

Yet Turkey’s export charge is led by armed drones. On July 18th Turkey signed a $3bn agreement with Saudi Arabia to supply the Akinci unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV). It was made by Baykar, which also produces the Bayraktar TB2—a drone that has been used in combat by Libya, Azerbaijan, Ethiopia and Ukraine. The TB2 was developed to hunt Kurdish militants after America refused to sell Turkey its Predator drone. More than 20 countries lined up to buy it because it was cheaper and more readily available than the American alternative, and more reliable than the Chinese UCAVs that had previously dominated the non-Western market.

The Akinci (pictured right, next to the TB2) is more powerful. It can carry lots of big weapons, including air-to-air missiles and the SOM-A, a stealthy cruise missile with a range of 250km. It will find buyers among several other Gulf countries, such as Qatar, Oman and the UAE, who are keen to hedge against souring relations with America by reducing their reliance on its weaponry. These countries have ambitions to build their own defence industries; they see Turkey as a willing partner and an example to follow.

Turkey’s ambitions are shown by what else is in the pipeline. Its new navy flagship, the Anadolu, is a 25,000-ton amphibious assault ship and light aircraft-carrier that will carry Bayraktar UCAVs. At least one Gulf country is said to be in talks to buy a similar ship. Turkey’s fifth-generation fighter jet, the KAAN, in which Pakistan and Azerbaijan are partners, should fly before the end of the year. Developed with help from Britain’s BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce, the KAAN could be seen as a response to Turkey’s ejection from the F-35 partner programme (as punishment for buying the S-400). Turkey will market the plane to anyone America will not sell F-35s to—or who balks at the conditions. Once again, Gulf countries may be first in line.

South Korea and Turkey have benefited from the woes of their main competitors. Russia’s arms exports between 2018 and 2022 were 31% lower than in the preceding four-year period, according to SIPRI. It is facing further large declines because of the strain its war of aggression is putting on its defence industries, its geopolitical isolation and the efforts of two major customers, India and China, to reduce their reliance on Russian weaponry.

India, previously Russia’s biggest customer, cut its purchases of Russian arms by 37% in the 2018-22 period. It is probably wishing it had gone further: Russia’s largely state-controlled arms industry is having to put its own army’s needs ahead of commitments to customers. Many of India’s 272 Su-30MKIs, the backbone of its air force, are kaput because Russia cannot supply parts. Some of Russia’s weapons have performed poorly in Ukraine, compared with NATO kit. And sanctions on Russia are limiting trade in things such as microchips, ball-bearings, machine tools and optical systems, which will hinder Russia’s ability to sell combat aircraft, attack helicopters and other lethal contraptions. The longer the war in Ukraine lasts, the more Russia will struggle to claw back its position in the global arms market.

Damp squibs

As for China, over half its arms exports in the 2018-22 period went to just one country, Pakistan, which it sees as an ally against India. Nearly 80% of Pakistan’s major weapons needs are met by China, according to SIPRI. These include combat aircraft, missiles, frigates and submarines. Beijing has no interest in its customers’ human-rights records, how they plan to use what China sends or whether they are under Western sanctions.

But China’s arms industry also has its problems. One challenge, says Mr Waldwyn, is that although China set out to dominate the military drone market a decade ago, its customers got fed up with poor quality and even worse support, opening a door for Turkey. A second is that, with the exception of a putative submarine deal with Thailand and a package of weapons for Myanmar, other countries in South-East Asia are tired of Chinese bullying and “won’t touch them”, says Mr Wezeman.

At least China does not have to worry about competition from India. Despite much effort, India’s growth as an arms-exporter has been glacial. The government of Narendra Modi has listed a huge range of weapons parts that must be made in India; it hopes homemade light tanks and artillery will enter service by the end of the decade. But India has relied for too long on the transfer of technology from Russia under production-licensing agreements for aircraft, tanks and warships that have failed to deliver. Investment is wastefully channelled through the state-owned bodies. Red tape suffocates initiative.

Projects such as the Tejas light combat aircraft have taken decades to reach production, and remain fraught with problems. The Dhruv light helicopter, launched in 2002, has crashed dozens of times. After decades in development, the Arjun Mk-2 tank turned out to be too heavy for deployment across the border with Pakistan. Locally made kit is often rejected by India’s own armed forces; “If they don’t want it, exporting it becomes impossible,” says Mr Wezeman. South Korea and Turkey show how countries can build lucrative arms businesses that underpin domestic security. India, for all its bombast, is a lesson in how not to do it. ■

The Economist

3. N. Korea's Kim arrives in Pyongyang after Russia trip: state media

Longest trip during his reign.

(LEAD) N. Korea's Kim arrives in Pyongyang after Russia trip: state media | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Soo-yeon · September 20, 2023

(ATTN: ADDS more details throughout; CHANGES photos)

SEOUL, Sept. 20 (Yonhap) -- A special train carrying North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has arrived in Pyongyang after traveling to Russia for his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the North's state media reported Wednesday.

Kim arrived in Pyongyang on Tuesday evening after completing "immortal external revolutionary activities" that will be recorded in the history of strengthening friendly relations between North Korea and Russia, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

Kim was welcomed by top party and government officials, including Premier Kim Tok-hun, as well as a cheering crowd at Pyongyang Railway Station before reviewing an honor guard, the KCNA said.

Kim, who left Pyongyang on his armored train on Sept. 10, held talks with Putin at the Vostochny space center in Russia's Far East last Wednesday and toured a series of key military sites amid growing concerns of a possible arms deal between the two nations.

The North's leader visited a fighter jet plant in Komsomolsk-on-Amur on Friday and inspected Russia's nuclear-capable bombers, hypersonic missiles and a warship at a military airfield near Vladivostok the next day.

Including travel time, Kim spent a total of 10 days on his trip to Russia, marking the longest overseas trip by him since taking office in late 2011.

This photo, carried by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on Sept. 20, 2023, shows the North's leader Kim Jong-un (C) welcomed by a cheering crowd and top officials at Pyongyang Railway Station after a special train carrying him arrived in Pyongyang the previous day after a trip to Russia. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

This photo, carried by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on Sept. 20, 2023, shows the North's leader Kim Jong-un (C) welcomed by a cheering crowd and top officials at Pyongyang Railway Station after a special train carrying him arrived in Pyongyang the previous day after a trip to Russia. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

sooyeon@yna.co.kr

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en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Soo-yeon · September 20, 2023

4. Biden condemns N. Korea's defiance of UNSC resolutions, remains committed to diplomacy

(2nd LD) Biden condemns N. Korea's defiance of UNSC resolutions, remains committed to diplomacy | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Song Sang-ho · September 20, 2023

(ATTN: ADDS more details in paras 5, 10)

By Song Sang-ho

WASHINGTON, Sept. 19 (Yonhap) -- U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday condemned North Korea's continued violation of U.N. Security Council (UNSC) resolutions, but reiterated his commitment to diplomacy to achieve the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

Biden made the remarks in a speech at the U.N. General Assembly as a recent summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin deepened concerns about a potential arms deal that would violate multiple UNSC resolutions.

"We condemned the DPRK's continued violation of U.N. Security Council resolution," Biden said, referring to the North by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. "But we are committed to diplomacy to bring about the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula."

Seoul and Washington have criticized the recalcitrant regime in Pyongyang for its relentless violations of UNSC resolutions through its weapons tests, including the launch of two short-range ballistic missile launches just last week.

The allies are also keeping a watchful eye on the outcome of last week's rare summit between Kim and Putin as a potential weapons deal between them could run afoul of UNSC resolutions. Kim apparently wants military technology cooperation from Russia, while Moscow is seen seeking more ammunition from the North for use in Ukraine.

In his speech, Biden touched on a wide range of foreign and security policy issues, ranging from Iran's nuclear issue to the climate crisis.

On Iran, he underscored the U.S.' commitment that "Iran must never acquire nuclear weapons."

"We are working with our partners to address Iran's destabilizing activities to threaten regional and global security," he said.

Touching on the war in Ukraine, he said that the U.N. gathering "dedicated to peaceful resolution of conflict" has been "darkened by the shadow of the war."

"Russia alone bears responsibility for this war ... Russia alone has the power to end this war immediately," he said. "Russia alone stands in the way of peace because Russia's price for peace is Ukraine's capitulation, Ukraine's territory and Ukraine's children."

On his China policy, the president said the U.S. seeks to "responsibly" manage competition with the Asian power as it looks to "derisk" the bilateral relationship rather than decoupling it.

"We also stand ready to work together with China on issues where progress hinges on a common effort," he said.

However, the U.S. will push back on "aggression and intimidation" and defend the rules of the road for freedom of navigation at sea and overflight, he added.

In this photo, taken on Aug. 18, 2023, President Joe Biden is speaking during a joint press conference with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts, Yoon Suk Yeol and Fumio Kishida, at Camp David. (Yonhap)

sshluck@yna.co.kr

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en.yna.co.kr · by Song Sang-ho · September 20, 2023

5. U.S. official voices concerns over N. Korean detainees in China at risk of repatriation

In this expert Dr. Pak succinctly lays out why we need to take a human rights up front approach. And her statements reflect talking points every ROK and US official should be using

Excerpts:

"It is the DPRK's domestic repression that allows it to devote such a large share of resources to its weapons program without comment from the population, which continues to suffer from malnutrition and other forms of deprivation," she said.

The official also noted that forced labor and labor exploitation, both domestically and overseas, help generate revenue that sustains a regime in power and enables it to pursue its armament goals.

"We support the cause of North Korean human rights, not just because it is the moral thing to do, but also because we believe it is a critical component of addressing the overall challenge posed by the DPRK," she said.

Pak took a swipe at the North's growing restrictions on the inflow of outside information, stressing Washington's commitment to help advance North Koreans' access to information.

"Access to objective information not only empowers North Koreans to better understand the outside world, but also the ways in which their government's policies have led to widespread poverty and repression," she said.

U.S. official voices concerns over N. Korean detainees in China at risk of repatriation | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Song Sang-ho · September 20, 2023

By Song Sang-ho

WASHINGTON, Sept. 19 (Yonhap) -- A U.S. diplomat expressed concerns Tuesday over North Korean detainees in China who are at the risk of torture if repatriated, calling on Beijing to comply with the international principle of non-refoulement.

Jung Pak, deputy special representative for North Korea, made the remarks during a forum on the human rights conditions of the reclusive country, which she described as one of the "most repressive, authoritarian" states in the world.

"As the DPRK gradually reopens its borders, we are particularly concerned about DPRK detainees in China, who are at risk of detention and torture if returned," the official said at the forum hosted by the non-governmental National Endowment for Democracy. DPRK stands for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

"We continue to raise this issue with PRC and urge it to uphold its non-refoulement obligations," she added, referring to China by its official name, the People's Republic of China.

Pak reiterated Washington's commitment to addressing the North's rights issues, highlighting that those issues are "deeply intertwined" with the growing security challenge posed by the recalcitrant regime.

"It is the DPRK's domestic repression that allows it to devote such a large share of resources to its weapons program without comment from the population, which continues to suffer from malnutrition and other forms of deprivation," she said.

The official also noted that forced labor and labor exploitation, both domestically and overseas, help generate revenue that sustains a regime in power and enables it to pursue its armament goals.

"We support the cause of North Korean human rights, not just because it is the moral thing to do, but also because we believe it is a critical component of addressing the overall challenge posed by the DPRK," she said.

Pak took a swipe at the North's growing restrictions on the inflow of outside information, stressing Washington's commitment to help advance North Koreans' access to information.

"Access to objective information not only empowers North Koreans to better understand the outside world, but also the ways in which their government's policies have led to widespread poverty and repression," she said.

Jung Pak, assistant secretary of state and deputy special representative for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, is seen speaking during a seminar hosted by the Brookings Institution in Washington on April 14, 2023 in this captured image. (Yonhap)

sshluck@yna.co.kr

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en.yna.co.kr · by Song Sang-ho · September 20, 2023

6.S. Korea observed military dealings between N. Korea, Russia months before Kim-Putin summit: official

As many Korea Watchers have noted, the work on possible arms agreements between Russia and north Korea have been taking place for some time and there was really no need for a summit to conclude any agreements.

S. Korea observed military dealings between N. Korea, Russia months before Kim-Putin summit: official | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Haye-ah · September 20, 2023

By Lee Haye-ah

NEW YORK/SEOUL, Sept. 20 (Yonhap) -- South Korea began observing military dealings between North Korea and Russia "several months" before the two countries' leaders met in Russia's Far East last week to discuss a suspected arms deal, a South Korean presidential official said Tuesday (U.S. time).

The rare summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin took place at the Vostochny space center last Wednesday amid concern the North could agree to supply ammunition for Russia's war in Ukraine in exchange for food aid and a transfer of weapons technology.

"Russia has said it is impossible that it carried out any illicit activity, but ... the Republic of Korea government has been constantly observing military dealings starting far before, several months before, the recent meeting between the North Korean and Russian leaders," the senior presidential official told reporters in New York, where President Yoon Suk Yeol is on a five-day visit to attend the U.N. General Assembly.

Yoon will use his keynote address to the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday to call attention to the illicit and dangerous nature of military dealings between Russia and North Korea, and urge a united response from the international community, according to his office.

"A united response could mean the united position of independent nations or the collective action of many nations, but for now, we need to sort through the lists of sanctions and strictly consider the actions we can effectively take, so we're discussing this issue with our ally and partners," the presidential official said.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (L) holds talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Vostochny Cosmodrome space launch center in the Russian Far East on Sept. 13, 2023, in this photo released by the North's official Korean Central News Agency the next day. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

hague@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Haye-ah · September 20, 2023

7. North Korean escapees tell how nuclear tests ruined their health, hometown

The human rights upfront approach. The ROK will not shy away from calling out north Korean human rights abuses. Note the linkage to the nuclear program. We should not and must not try to separate human rights from denuclearization. The north's nuclear program contributes to human rights abuses. And for decades we have avoided linking the two by making the erroneous assumption that by not linking them or not discussing human rights it will somehow cause the Kim family regime to make a deal on dencuralization.  That assumption has proven wrong. When an assumption is found to be wrong then the strategy must change. This is what the ROK is doing. It is now taking a human rights upfront approach.

Excerpts:

According to Kim Soon-bok, who lived in the county before defecting to South Korea in 2011, the number of young patients showing symptoms of tuberculosis, arthritis or dermatitis had already started to visibly increase before the third test.

"People started to call it 'ghost disease,'" she said. "Many old people as well as children suffered from arthritis."

Their testimonies came as the Ministry of Unification has been conducting radiation exposure tests on 89 defectors who hailed from areas adjacent to the test site. The government and human rights groups hope that the results of the investigation will help establish a link between the nuclear tests and their medical symptoms as well as the extent of the damage in the North.

The ministry is expected to announce its findings by the end of this year.

According to Transitional Justice Working Group, a rights group that has been studying the issue, eight cities and counties in three provinces fall within the suspected influence of the irradiated water system. This means the tests might have affected more than 1 million people.

North Korean escapees tell how nuclear tests ruined their health, hometown

The Korea Times · September 20, 2023

A North Korean escapee speaks about her experience of living near the Punggye-ri nuclear test site during an event in Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap

Residents kept in dark about facility and devastating physical effects

By Jung Min-ho

Lee Young-ran, a North Korean escapee, had been completely unaware of the nuclear test facility near her hometown in Kilju, North Hamgyong Province, until the regime conducted its third nuclear weapons test there in 2013.

When Lee finally realized what was happening less than 30 kilometers from where she lived, she had no idea about the potentially devastating health consequences of such experiments.

"After the news, many people celebrated it, with some dancing at the 'jangmadang' (local market) … I had not known about the effects of nuclear tests on health until I came to South Korea," Lee said during Wednesday's event held in Seoul for the 20th North Korea Freedom Week that is being held from Sunday to Saturday.

Now she blames radioactive contamination in groundwater from the Punggye-ri nuclear test site for the death of her son and many other young people in her village.

North Korea conducted six underground nuclear tests at Punggye-ri between 2006 and 2017. ?The regime claims that all the tests were carried out safely and no harmful materials were released. But the testimonies of three former Kilju residents suggest otherwise.

According to Kim Soon-bok, who lived in the county before defecting to South Korea in 2011, the number of young patients showing symptoms of tuberculosis, arthritis or dermatitis had already started to visibly increase before the third test.

"People started to call it 'ghost disease,'" she said. "Many old people as well as children suffered from arthritis."

Their testimonies came as the Ministry of Unification has been conducting radiation exposure tests on 89 defectors who hailed from areas adjacent to the test site. The government and human rights groups hope that the results of the investigation will help establish a link between the nuclear tests and their medical symptoms as well as the extent of the damage in the North.

The ministry is expected to announce its findings by the end of this year.

According to Transitional Justice Working Group, a rights group that has been studying the issue, eight cities and counties in three provinces fall within the suspected influence of the irradiated water system. This means the tests might have affected more than 1 million people.

North Korea's nuclear tests have also ravaged the environment, according to Nam Kyung-hoon, another speaker at the event.

"There used to be many snakes, pine mushrooms and fish in the region," he said. "At some point, it became difficult to see them."

The defectors said no one talked about the possible link between their health problems and the nuclear facility out of fear of persecution. Lee Young-ran said her ill son was not permitted to leave the area for medical treatment in a big city even if he offered money.

After North Korea's sixth nuclear test in 2017, experts have warned that another detonation of a nuclear device at Punggye-ri could destabilize the mountain and result in a massive leak of radioactive materials.

North Korea's human rights and development of nuclear weapons are closely related issues, said Lee Shin-wha, ambassador for international cooperation on North Korean human rights.

She said, in cooperation with the unification ministry, she would look more into human rights abuses connected to the regime's nuclear program.

The Korea Times · September 20, 2023

8. [INTERVIEW] Putin uses summit with NK leader to stop Seoul from helping Ukraine: expert

Interesting analysis from Dr. Lankov. I am not sure it is simply a tit-for-tat situation. That may factor into it. But from the perspective of the axis of authoritarians or threesome of convenience, what the summit has really done is to create dilemmas for the South and the US and the ROK/US alliance. I do not think it will cause what they hope will be friction in the alliance as the US asks the ROK to provide more support to Ukraine. And the possibility of advanced weapons to north Korea is intended to change the military balance (which it won't) and create alliance military problems.   

So we must recognize the strategy and the various lines of effort, understand it, EXPOSE it, and attack it with superior political warfare. This requires more than a military response (the common question from the media to the pudits is how the alliance can respond militarily and increase deterrence. A military response is necessary but not sufficient. A superior political warfare strategy against north Korea, Russia, and the entire axis of authoritarians is necessary.

Excerpt:

"I think Russia's target audience is South Korea," Andrei Lankov, a professor at Kookmin University in Seoul, told The Korea Times on Monday.

[INTERVIEW] Putin uses summit with NK leader to stop Seoul from helping Ukraine: expert

The Korea Times · by 2023-09-20 15:33 | Foreign Affairs · September 20, 2023

In this photo released by the Khabarovsky Krai region's government, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, center, looks at a military jet cockpit while visiting a Russian aircraft plant, which builds fighter jets, in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, about 6,200 kilometers east of Moscow, Russia, Friday. AP-Yonhap

Putin-Kim 'bromance' stands to counter China's influence

By Kang Hyun-kyung

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is being portrayed in South Korea's media as a "mil-deok," or a person deeply absorbed in all things that are related to the military, due to his keen interest in state-of-the-art weapons, as made evident during his recent visit to Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin took advantage of Kim's rare enthusiasm regarding nuclear-capable weapons to warn off countries like South Korea, which are siding with Ukraine in the prolonged war against Russia, according to an expert on Russia-North Korea relations.

"I think Russia's target audience is South Korea," Andrei Lankov, a professor at Kookmin University in Seoul, told The Korea Times on Monday.

Andrei Lankov / Korea Times file

Lankov claimed that Russian officials' guided tour for Kim to an aircraft plant, which is building fighter jets and warships in Russia's far east, was a politically motivated event carried out to urge other countries to stay out of the war against Ukraine, rather than an expression of its willingness to sell weapons to North Korea.

"It's sort of coercion, and Russia's message is clear," he said. "With those images and footage, taken and released by Russia's Ministry of Defense, Russia is trying to ring an alarm that South Korea will pay the price if it were to assist Ukraine with weapons. If South Korea helps Ukraine, Russia would help North Korea advance its missile and nuclear capabilities by transferring Russian technology."

Born in Russia, Lankov is one of the leading experts in Russia-North Korea relations, developing his keen insight into the two countries and their foreign policies, thanks to his lived experiences in those countries. After graduating from Leningrad State University, he studied at North Korea's Kim Il Sung University between 1984 and 1985 before he came to South Korea to teach at a university.

Kim's recent trip to Russia was filled with visits to military sites and his first-hand glimpse at Russia's strategic assets.

On Saturday, three days after a summit with Putin, Kim inspected Russia's nuclear-capable bombers, hypersonic missiles and warships. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu gave the North Korean leader a guided tour of the weapons.

Shoigu showed Kim the strategic bombers ― the Tu-160, TU-95 and TU-22 M3 ―, which are capable of carrying nuclear weapons. Shoigu also showed Kim the MiG-31 supersonic interceptor aircraft that is equipped with Kinzhal hypersonic missiles at Knevichi airfield, about 50 kilometers from the Pacific port city of Vladivostok.

The Kinzhal, or dagger, is an air-launched ballistic missile that is capable of carrying nuclear or conventional warheads with a 1,500- to 2,000-kilometer range while carrying a payload of 480 kilograms. It can travel up to 10 times the speed of sound.

In a photo released by a Russian media outlet, Kim, surrounded by Russian officials, was seen touching the front part of a MiG-31 fighter jet equipped with the Kimzhal missile.

He checked the aircraft thoroughly, displaying his keen interest in it.

Kim kept asking questions to Russian officials and sharing his knowledge about the weapons he was debriefed on at the Vostochny Cosmodrome before the summit on Wednesday. Putin praised Kim for his expertise, calling him an expert.

In this handout photograph distributed by the Russian Defense Ministry, North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un, second from left, and Russia's Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, right, visit Knevichi Aerodrome near Vladivostok on Saturday. AFP-Yonhap

The Putin-Kim summit was held weeks after North Korea's second spy military satellite launch failed to reach orbit.

Few details were made public about the hours-long summit held at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia's Far East.

United States and South Korean officials said Kim and Putin were likely to have agreed to an arms deal under which North Korea is supposed to provide artillery shells to Russia.

Moscow, however, denied this, claiming that no arms deals were signed between Putin and Kim.

It remains unknown whether the two leaders agreed on the transfer of Russian missile and nuclear technology to the North.

Lankov remained skeptical about the possibility of Russia providing technical assistance to the North.

"I doubt it because North Korea cannot afford to buy such high-priced space technology from Russia. There is not much North Korea can offer to Russia in return for technology transfer," he said.

He said it is likely that Kim and Putin would have discussed the possibility of increasing the number of North Korean laborers sent to Russia.

"Russia is grappling with shortages of labor force and demand for North Korean workers is high," he said.

According to Lankov, Kim and Putin have used the summit as a balancing act against China as North Korea can "diversify its trade partners," through a possible arms deal with Russia, if it were ever to be signed.

"The fact that Kim's first foreign destination after COVID lockdown was Russia means a lot. His choice of Russia over China as the destination for his first post-COVID summit is seen as a light level of provocation against China, because China would not feel good about it," he said.

Although North Korea heavily depends on China for trade, Lankov said that Kim is trying to prove that he is unaffected by China when making key decisions, such as which foreign leader he would meet first.

He said Russia also tries to use its relations with North Korea as a balancing factor against China.

North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un accompanied by Russia's Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and officials, inspects a Russian hypersonic Kinzhal missile on display at Knevichi Aerodrome near Vladivostok on Saturday. Reuters-Yonhap

The Korea Times · by 2023-09-20 15:33 | Foreign Affairs · September 20, 2023

9. Korea urged to adopt China exit strategy amid hegemonic war

"Hegemonic war"

Excerpt:

It is high time for Korea to reshape its export strategy and focus on other Asian markets, according to the professor, as China is unlikely to shift its political stance any time soon.

Korea urged to adopt China exit strategy amid hegemonic war

The Korea Times · September 20, 2023

Container ships dock in Korea's southeastern port city of Busan in this undated file photo. Yonhap By Lee Min-hyung

Korean companies are on track to reduce reliance on China and increase investment in other Asian markets, in attempts to minimize potential losses from the escalating hegemonic struggle between the U.S. and the world's second-largest economy.

Industry watchers and experts said Korean firms have no choice but to adopt a long-term exit strategy from China and gradually cut huge export reliance on the country, as the global hegemonic conflict is showing little sign of abating as Beijing moves toward a closed economy.

Recent data from Seoul's trade ministry also showed that the number of Korean firms that established new branches in China fell by 12.1 percent to 87 during the first half of this year from the previous year. The figure in the Japanese market soared to 118 during the same period.

This marked the first time since 1989 that the number in Japan outpaced that of China.

"China and Hong Kong account for 33 percent of Korea's total exports, which far exceeds the global average of 15 percent," said Kim Dae-jong, professor of business administration at Sejong University.

"It is natural for more Korean firms to turn to other Asian markets such as Japan and Vietnam as China's recent political gesture displays an apparent sign of its return to the closed economy. Big Korean conglomerates, including Shinsegae and Lotte, also withdrew their retail businesses there, and smaller firms also have fewer incentives to expand there."

It is high time for Korea to reshape its export strategy and focus on other Asian markets, according to the professor, as China is unlikely to shift its political stance any time soon.

Kim Moon-tae, head of an industry policy division at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said fewer Korean firms will choose to increase investment in China, as they have witnessed escalating management uncertainties in China after its COVID-19 lockdowns.

"Even after the end of the pandemic, China is moving to challenge U.S. hegemony," he said. "It's not just Korean firms adopting an exit strategy there. Other foreign firms are also taking a similar strategy and choosing other alternatives in places such as Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan."

As the U.S. introduces stricter rules against products made in China, a number of Korean big tech conglomerates cannot increase their investment there, he pointed out.

"For now, we do not have any other options but to look for other Asian markets," he said. "For instance, more Korean firms appear to be seeking new opportunities in Japan, jumping on the recent thawing of political tension between Seoul and Tokyo."

The Korea Times · September 20, 2023

10. NK hackers ramp up use of Russian exchanges for crypto laundering: report

Russia is complicit in north Korean human rights abuses and malign activities such as this.

Excerpts:

The platform reported that North Korean hackers have been using Russian exchanges for money laundering purposes since 2021.

These findings are particularly alarming in the wake of the historic meeting between Kim Jong-un and Vladimir Putin last week. There are mounting concerns that the two sides might not only engage in arms deals but deepen their collaboration through illegal online activities.

NK hackers ramp up use of Russian exchanges for crypto laundering: report

The Korea Times · September 20, 2023

North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un shakes hands with Russia's President Vladimir Putin during a meeting in Vladivostok, Russia's far eastern city, Sept. 13. AP-Yonhap

By Lee Yeon-woo

North Korea-linked hacking groups are increasingly using Russian-based exchanges to launder crypto assets, according to cryptocurrency analytics platform Chainalysis.

Recent data from Chainalysis indicates that roughly $21.9 million in cryptocurrency, stolen from the U.S.-based blockchain firm Harmony Protocol in 2022, was recently transferred to a Russia-based exchange with a reputation for facilitating unlawful transactions.

"This latest action marks a significant escalation in the partnership between the cyber underworlds of these two nations," the report said. "Russia's notoriously uncooperative stance toward international efforts by law enforcement makes the prospect of recovering stolen funds sent to Russian exchanges particularly grim."

The platform reported that North Korean hackers have been using Russian exchanges for money laundering purposes since 2021.

These findings are particularly alarming in the wake of the historic meeting between Kim Jong-un and Vladimir Putin last week. There are mounting concerns that the two sides might not only engage in arms deals but deepen their collaboration through illegal online activities.

In June, there were other indications that North Korean hacking groups were using Russian exchanges. Elliptic, another cryptocurrency analysis platform, pointed out that these groups were utilizing the Russia-based Garantex exchange to launder assets stolen from Atomic Wallet, a decentralized cryptocurrency wallet system.

"DPRK continues to be an incubator for hacking activities and remains one of the largest active threats in the cybercrime landscape," said Chainalysis. DPRK stands for North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

The platform highlighted that as of mid-September, the value of stolen cryptocurrency linked to North Korean hacking groups stands at over $340.4 million, accounting for 29.7 percent of stolen cryptocurrency.

Analysts estimate that North Korean hackers, primarily represented by the Lazarus Group, play an essential role in financing the country's arms development by illegally acquiring crypto assets.

The Korea Times · September 20, 2023

11. North Korea ‘mobilizes’ students to fight yearly ‘corn battle’

Everything in north Korea is a war or a battle. Recall the scene in "Crash Landing on You" when the village women invited the Korean woman from South to participate in the kimchi war or battle. The woman asked, "Is everything a battle or war for you?" And the response was yes.

Here the students must "sacrifice" and support the "corn battle."

North Korea ‘mobilizes’ students to fight yearly ‘corn battle’

After six hours in the fields, the students are searched to prevent theft.

By Son Hyemin for RFA Korean

2023.09.19

rfa.org

North Korea is tapping its students to serve as free labor during the corn harvest this fall and searching them after each shift to make sure they aren’t stealing from the fields, residents of the country told Radio Free Asia.

The daily searches are an indignity for the students, but the government considers them a necessity to prevent theft. The country has been suffering from chronic food shortages for decades and every kernel is precious.

“The search involves patting the students down to see if they have corn kernels in their pockets or hidden in their belts,” a resident of South Pyongan province, north of the capital Pyongyang, told RFA Korean on condition of anonymity for security reasons.

“Some students get angry and slap the hands of the patrol men lifting their clothes, saying things like ‘Why are you treating me like I’m a thief?’” the resident said.

Ears of field corn lay in piles along a roadside during the autumn corn harvest on a farm on the edge of Kaesong, North Korea in 2012. Credit: David Guttenfelder/AP

North Korean students are put to work on farms multiple times per year. The government uses militaristic terminology to describe this policy, so instead of being forced to provide free labor for the corn harvest, they are “mobilized to fight the fall corn battle.”

In the course of the year, people made to work on farms will “fight the battles” of planting, fertilizing, weeding, and harvesting.

The current corn battle began at the beginning of last week, with all middle and high school students being mobilized to work from 1-7 p.m., after finishing morning classes, the South Pyongan resident said.

“Boys mainly carry the ears of corn harvested from the field to the threshing yard on their backs,” she said. “Girls peel the outer skin of corn carried by the boys and store the peeled corn back in the warehouse.”

Corn and peppers are put to dry in a courtyard in Pyongyang in 2017. Credit: Ed Jones/AFP

At the end of the day, they must all submit themselves to the corn patrol – farmers deputized by the police – for search. In most years the corn patrol roams the streets checking adults for contraband corn, but this year their priority is to stop kids from stealing food from the farms, the South Pyongan resident said.

The searches are necessary because the North Korean government is trying to respond to shortages by ordering every farm to increase output this year and warning farming officials that they will be held responsible if they fall short, she said.

Many of the female students are uncomfortable with the daily searches at farms in Ryongchon county, in the northwestern province of North Pyongan, a farmer there told RFA on condition of anonymity to speak freely.

“A female junior high school student protested by showing her empty pockets to a patrol officer who was trying to search her body,” said the farmer. “She said, ‘I’m not a corn thief, so you’ll never hear the end of it if you touch my body.’ The female students standing behind her also raised their voices, causing the patrol to stop the body search.”

Translated by Claire Shinyoung Oh Lee. Edited by Eugene Whong.

rfa.org

12. South Korea Presidents clash over North Korea policy

The fundamental "clash" is over the assumptions about the nature, objectives, and strategy of the Kim family regime. One side's assumptions have been proven wrong. And the other side's are more likely to be true and accurate.

South Korea Presidents clash over North Korea policy

Divided stance against Pyongyang may undermine the allies’ policy to curb Pyongyang’s nuke ambition.

By Lee Jeong-Ho for RFA

2023.09.19

Seoul, South Korea

rfa.org

Five years ago, when leaders of the two Koreas exchanged a historic handshake in Pyongyang, the Korean people looked on with hope, wishing that this masterpiece of diplomacy may finally put an official end to the seven-decade-long war on the peninsula.

But as time surges forward, the once-celebrated inter-Korean agreement stands vulnerable, overshadowed by North Korea’s escalating nuclear threats, and its leader, Kim Jong Un reinforcing ties with his fellow authoritarian leader Vladimir Putin of Russia. Now, South Korea grapples with a growing divide on whether to uphold that deal.

The debate is set to intensify on the back of former South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s attendance of the commemorative event of the fifth anniversary of the September 19 Pyongyang Joint Declaration in Seoul on Tuesday.

“The [current] government and the ruling party have expressed their intentions to reconsider or possibly scrap the military agreement,” Moon said at the event. “However, it’s crucial to note that the inter-Korean military agreement has been instrumental in preventing military confrontations between the two Koreas.”

Moon’s comments are largely seen as a warning against the administration of President Yoon Suk Yeol for its hardline policy on North Korea.

“It would be irresponsible to remove the last safety pin in place,” Moon added. “As relations between the two Koreas deteriorate and military tensions escalate, it’s imperative for both sides to uphold the agreement.”

His remarks may potentially improve public opinion of South Korea’s progressives before the general election in April. Should that happen, it would conversely work against Yoon’s hardline policy on Pyongyang.

Under the 2018 inter-Korean military deal, the two Koreas agreed to “end hostility” and to “take substantial steps to make the Korean Peninsula a permanent peace zone.”

“Military accords should be honored and respected to the fullest extent to ensure dialogue continues and to prevent dire consequences,” Moon said.

The former president was supported by key officials from his administration – his foreign minister Kang Kyung-wha and unification minister Kim Yeon-chul at the event.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un with South Korean President Moon Jae-in inside the Peace House at the border village of Panmunjom in Demilitarized Zone, South Korea on April 27, 2018. (Credit: AP)

South Korea’s progressives see consistent engagement with North Korea as a potential catalyst for altering Pyongyang’s hostile behavior and its actions of violating human rights. They believe that integrating North Korea into the international stage would foster transparency, open avenues for dialogue, and gradually shift the North’s stance towards global norms and values.

Conservatives, on the other hand, have long protested against what it defined as far-fetched engagement, saying that excessive aid to North Korea despite its continued provocations would only foster its nuclear ambitions. The conversative Yoon administration is thus adopting a hawkish policy on North Korea, aimed at pressing Pyongyang to forfeit its nuclear weapons.

The ongoing debate is set to gain its momentum, as Yoon’s Defense Minister nominee Shin Won-sik has opined about his inclination to scrap the inter-Korean military deal last week.

Some analysts consider the deal invalid, with North Korea returning to its brinkmanship diplomacy after its high-stakes summit with the United States collapsed in Hanoi February 2019. For instance, in November 2019, North Korea fired coastal artillery near the maritime buffer around the border island of Changlin-do.

In May 2020, North Korea fired gunshots towards a South Korean guard post at the inter-Korean border, and in September 2020, a South Korean civilian was shot dead at the maritime border by the North and subsequently incinerated.

Further complicating matters is North Korea’s amplified nuclear and missile threats. The threats are expected to further intensify with Putin vowing to aid North Korea in developing its satellite technology.

Rocket technology can be used for both launching satellites and missiles. For that reason, the UN bans North Korea from launching a ballistic rocket, even if it claims to be a satellite launch.

South Korea’s internal disagreement surrounding its North North Korea policy could potentially undermine that of the allies. The lack of a unified stance – be it hardline or dovish policy – risks disabling Seoul and Washington to form a coherent strategy that could be implemented in the long-term.

Experts, however, noted that the main reason for this policy inconsistency is due to Kim Jong Un’s altered stance on his diplomacy after the fallout in Hanoi in 2019.

“North Korean inconsistency is what leads to South Korea having to change its policy. If Pyongyang had continued to engage post-Hanoi summit, I think that both, Moon first, and Yoon now would have probably sought to try to accommodate this. Alas, this hasn’t been the case,” said Ramon Pacheco Pardo, Professor of International Relations at King’s College London and the KF-VUB Korea Chair at the Brussels School of Governance of Vrije Universiteit Brussel.

“Likewise, I think that it was domestic instability in North Korea in the late 2000s, due to Kim Jong Il’s health condition, and then the transition process to Kim Jong Un, [being] the main reason behind the end of the inter-Korean engagement. So liberals and conservatives may not fully agree on how to approach North Korea, but I actually think that Pyongyang is the main reason why Seoul changes its policy.”

Edited by Elaine Chan and Taejun Kang.

rfa.org

13. ＜Inside N. Korea＞ People increasingly interested in Kim Jong-un’s daughter following continuous appearances in state-run media…Several people investigated for claiming that “the era of a female Supreme Leader has arrived”

No one wants to be number 2 in north Korea.

Note we have heard reports of forced name changes but this is one anecdote that counters those reports.

Excerpt:

According to multiple ASIAPRESS reporting partners, the government has not told people that Kim’s daughter is named “Ju-ae,” and they confirmed that they had never heard the name even through rumors. They also said that they had never heard of anyone already named “Ju-ae” to be forced to change their name.

＜Inside N. Korea＞ People increasingly interested in Kim Jong-un’s daughter following continuous appearances in state-run media…Several people investigated for claiming that “the era of a female Supreme Leader has arrived”

asiapress.org

Kim Jong-un’s daughter sitting at a special seat on the President’s Podium during a military parade held to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the DPRK. Taken from a Rodong Sinmun article published on September 9, 2023.

With Kim Jong-un’s daughter (Ju-ae, at least according to the South Korean government) continuing to accompany her father to major events, ordinary North Koreans have become curious about whether she will succeed her father or not. A reporting partner in North Hamgyung Province provided the following report. (KANG Ji-won)

◆ High-level cadres show respect to daughter, who is referred to in state media as the “Respected Daughter”

Recently, Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the Workers’ Party of Korea, has repeatedly published photos of Kim Jong-un being accompanied by his daughter at important events. She was seen with her father alongside high-level military officials on a visit to the country’s Naval Command on August 29, and the newspaper referred to her in respectful terms in regards to her attendance at a military parade held on September 9 to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the DPRK. Specifically, the newspaper said that the event “featured the Dear Comrade Kim Jong-un and the Respected Daughter…”

The reporting partner gave their perspective of the continuous coverage of Kim and his daughter:

“People are curious why he’s bringing his daughter to events. Rumors that she is a ‘genius’ are spreading. It would in fact be strange for his daughter to become a general, but people are curious whether [the regime] really plans to have [the daughter] become Kim’s successor.”

High-level military officers show respect to Kim Jong-un’s daughter by giving her handshakes with both hands during a visit to the country’s Naval Command. Taken from a Rodong Sinmun article published on August 29, 2023.

◆ Several people arrested for claiming that “the era of a female leader has arrived”

With Kim’s daughter increasingly making an appearance in domestic media outlets, North Koreans are more frequently talking about what it all means. In late August, an incident related to the growing coverage of Kim’s daughter occurred in Musan County, details of which were conveyed by the reporting partner:

“Members of the Youth League were carelessly talking about the daughter while having drinks, and this led several people to be called into the Ministry of State Security. The group included a former soldier, two women in their 20s, and another man, and they said, ‘Women will get stronger. We will receive consideration from a female Suryong (Supreme Leader).’ These comments caused an issue and all four were called into the Ministry of State Security and are currently under investigation.”

Pak Jong-chon, director of the Political Leadership over Military Affairs of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, is seen kneeling near Kim Jong-un’s daughter and whispering in her ear. Taken from a KCTV report published on September 9, 2023.

According to multiple ASIAPRESS reporting partners, the government has not told people that Kim’s daughter is named “Ju-ae,” and they confirmed that they had never heard the name even through rumors. They also said that they had never heard of anyone already named “Ju-ae” to be forced to change their name.

※ ASIAPRESS communicates with reporting partners through Chinese cell phones smuggled into North Korea.

Map of North Korea ( ASIAPRESS)

asiapress.org

14. S. Korea, US discuss potential Pyongyang-Moscow space cooperation in tabletop exercise

S. Korea, US discuss potential Pyongyang-Moscow space cooperation in tabletop exercise

koreaherald.com · by Yonhap · September 20, 2023

By Yonhap

Published : Sept. 20, 2023 - 19:19

Choi Byung-ok (right), head of the South Korean defense ministry's defense policy bureau, and John Hill, US deputy assistant secretary of defense for space and missile defense, shake hands as they meet for the allies' tabletop exercise on space cooperation at the ministry's office in central Seoul on Tuesday. (Yonhap)

South Korean and US defense officials discussed possible space cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow during a bilateral tabletop exercise on space this week, Seoul's defense ministry said Wednesday.

Choi Byung-ok, head of the ministry's defense policy bureau, and John Hill, US deputy assistant secretary of defense for space and missile defense, led the discussion-based exercise, as well as working-level talks, from Tuesday to Wednesday at the ministry in central Seoul.

The exercise came after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met Russian President Vladimir Putin at Russia's Vostochny space center last Wednesday, raising concerns of possible space cooperation as Pyongyang has vowed to put a military spy satellite in orbit this year.

During the exercise, the allies improved their "unified understanding" on ways to respond to and deter potential threats from space and discussed the direction of their cooperation in the domain over the mid-to-long term, it said.

"The two countries also paid attention to the recently identified possibility of space cooperation between North Korea and Russia and shared their assessments on related activities," the ministry said in a release.

After the exercise, they held a session of the allies' regular Space Cooperation Working Group and discussed ways to enhance space cooperation as set out by their defense chiefs during the Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) last year.

At the SCM, Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin pledged to explore cooperative measures to strengthen space capabilities as an alliance.

North Korea has vowed to launch a military spy satellite next month after two failed attempts in May and August. (Yonhap)

koreaherald.com · by Yonhap · September 20, 2023

​15. [Top Envoy] ‘Don’t look back anymore’: former envoy on S. Korea-Japan thaw

Put national security and national prosperity first and then manage the historical issues through diplomacy.

[Top Envoy] ‘Don’t look back anymore’: former envoy on S. Korea-Japan thaw

koreaherald.com · by Choi Si-young · September 20, 2023

Settling historical disputes needs diplomacy, not court rulings, says Shin Kak-soo

By Choi Si-young

Published : Sept. 20, 2023 - 16:45

Shin Kak-soo, South Korea’s former ambassador to Japan, speaks during an interview with The Korea Herald at law firm SHIN & KIM in central Seoul on Sept. 4. (Im Se-jun/The Korea Herald)

When Shin Kak-soo, South Korea’s former ambassador to Japan, supported efforts for a summit between the Korean and Japanese leaders in Kyoto in December 2011, the career diplomat, just seven months into the job, did not expect to wait 12 years to see the next one.

“The talks didn’t go well. Seoul was doubling down on resolving disputes involving Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule of the peninsula. Not only wasn’t Tokyo as receptive to the idea as Seoul wanted, but the dialogue fell apart,” the envoy said, recalling his two-year stint as ambassador, a post he took after serving as vice foreign minister. He left the Foreign Ministry in 2017.

In a recent interview with The Korea Herald, the 68-year-old former diplomat said judicial activism over settling the issues of colonial-era sexual slavery and forced labor had been the “start of what was to follow."

Then-President Lee Myung-bak (right) shakes hands with then-Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda at the Nucleat Security Talks in Seoul on March 27, 2012. (The Korea Herald)

Decision that changed everything

Four months before the Kyoto talks, the Constitutional Court of Korea backed an unprecedented ruling, calling out the Korean government over inaction that avoided engaging with Japan to compensate the victims of sexual slavery, known as comfort women.

Seoul and Tokyo reached a 1965 pact that normalized ties following Japan’s colonial rule. The agreement did not explicitly discuss sexual slavery but included a package of economic aid. Korea then used it to grow its economy and companies. Japan says the pact prevents Korea from raising the issue of compensation again.

At the Kyoto dialogue, then-President Lee Myung-bak demanded Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda come up with a plan that could settle the 2011 ruling by the Constitutional Court. Noda was reluctant to give a direct answer, and it was clear why, Shin said.

“Recognizing the decision meant acknowledging that the 1910-45 occupation was illegal. That’s not something the Japanese would accept,” Shin noted, adding that courts should have let officials handle the matter diplomatically.

“Diplomatic matters require room for ambiguity,” the kind of tolerance that allows parties involved in conflict to agree to disagree, Shin said. The 1965 pact is an example, Shin added. He also spoke to a later 2015 deal on the sexual slavery issue that Lee’s successor reached with Japan as another example.

The deal set up a fund financed by Japan to pay the victims, and asked then-Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to deliver an apology. The deal did not discuss whether such sexual slavery was legal or illegal. Korea later dissolved the fund, saying the agreement had not consulted the victims.

“That was a mistake because that was potentially the best deal out there. Korea had just thrown it out the window,” Shin said.

Judicial overreach again

A 2018 ruling by Korea’s Supreme Court that held Japanese companies liable for damages for forcing Koreans to labor for them during the colonial rule dealt an even bigger blow to ties, according to Shin. Judicial restraint, such as recommending reconciliation, should have taken place instead, more so on this matter than anything else, Shin said.

The former ambassador was referring to the fact that the Korean government had already officially settled the matter through the 1965 agreement, a move that was made public in 2005 and later prompted legislation in 2007 to compensate the victims, who received payments until 2015.

“The top court says that’s not right all of sudden. So where do we go from there?” Shin said. A government remedy to the problem was nowhere to be found until March this year, a year after President Yoon Suk Yeol came to power, pledging closer Seoul-Tokyo ties.

The March deal on forced laborers centered on Seoul backing a foundation financed by South Korean companies to compensate the victims, while awaiting potential apologies from the Japanese firms. The settlement is “something a leader should come up with to find the middle ground” between the 2018 ruling and 1965 agreement, according to Yoon, a conservative leader who was serious about mending ties.

In May, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida reciprocated Yoon’s trip to Tokyo two months before, with the two leaders vowing friendlier ties and officially resuming their shuttle diplomacy, a regular meeting between them. The 12-year hiatus prompted by the collapse of the Kyoto talks came to an end.

But the March resolution is still contentious, with some of the victims refusing to accept money because it is coming from Korean companies that benefited from the 1965 agreement. Steel giant Posco, for example, has already donated about $3 million to the fund. Compensation should come from Japanese firms, along with a sincere apology, according to the victims.

The March deal is also facing some resistance from the courts, as they have so far blocked the government’s legal action to press ahead with compensating the family members of victims protesting the deal. The courts cited the victims’ refusal to accept the resolution in their decisions. A separate hearing is expected to rule on the judgment. The Yoon government is determined to have courts understand its March proposal.

Taking steps forward

But the administration is facing fresh pressure on another front involving Japan. Yoon’s opposition is leading a campaign to have the government withdraw its support for the Japanese government decision to discharge more than 1.34 million tons of radioactive wastewater from the destroyed Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

The discharge into the Pacific Ocean, which began in late August after the International Atomic Energy Agency ruled its health and environmental impact “negligible,” is part of Tokyo’s plans to decommission the facility, which was hit by a 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami in 2011. Japan maintains that radioactivity levels in the released wastewater will be made safe enough by filtering and dilution processes.

Critics, however, disagree, saying that the long-term effects are unknown and still being debated. Shin does not see it that way. Shin took office in May 2011, two months after the earthquake and tsunami, and stayed in Japan for another two years. He underscored the importance of “what has transpired since then.”

“The moment the tsunami hit the Fukushima plant, there was a burst of radioactive water (and the) radioactive levels were off the charts. Two full decades have passed and we’re still okay here and there (in Japan),” Shin said, dismissing the issue and urging the Yoon government to accelerate efforts for a lasting security partnership.

In August, the Yoon government shook hands on a security pledge with the US, Korea’s biggest ally, and Japan. The unprecedented commitment followed Seoul’s pact with Washington in April that gives Korea a bigger say in the in the way the US uses its nuclear umbrella. The strategy, known as extended deterrence, is aimed at curbing North Korea’s growing nuclear threats.

The three-way cooperation capped a yearslong push by policymakers in the three nations to jointly curb North Korea’s aggression. Until then, disagreements over historical disputes had stood in the way.

“The steps and leaps Korea will be taking from now on are really important to flesh out the August agreement. Institutionalizing it is key,” Shin said of the trilateral partnership, which he called an “undisputed priority” for Seoul to not only survive but thrive.

Tension with Japan, which could flare up as the two nations work together, should be handled separately if it involves revisiting their shared history, Shin added, referring to a joint committee led by Korean and Japanese historians. The group, which published its initial findings in a report in 2005 and another in 2009, has yet to resume work on a third report.

“But don’t look back anymore,” Shin said of Yoon and his successors.

About Shin

Shin Kak-soo was a career diplomat who served as ambassador to Japan, a two-year post that capped his 37 years at the Foreign Ministry in 2013. He was previously vice foreign minister, ambassador to Israel and deputy ambassador to the UN. In the earlier years of his career, Shin was director of Japanese affairs and named director-general of overseeing treaties. He is currently a senior adviser at SHIN & KIM, a local law firm founded by a different Shin.

The Korea Herald publishes a series of interviews with former and current top diplomats who have played a pivotal role in shaping South Korea’s foreign policies amid geopolitical crises, navigating the complexities of the international order and managing the country’s historical relationships with allies and neighbors to maintain peace on the Korean Peninsula and worldwide. This is the first installment. -- Ed.

koreaherald.com · by Choi Si-young · September 20, 2023

16. S. Korea, US nearing completion to revise joint deterrence strategy against NK threats

S. Korea, US nearing completion to revise joint deterrence strategy against NK threats

koreaherald.com · by Yonhap · September 18, 2023

By Yonhap

Published : Sept. 18, 2023 - 20:35

Deputy Defense Minister for Policy Heo Tae-keun (right) and Cara Allison Marshall, acting deputy assistant secretary of defense for East Asia, pose for a photo as they attend the Korea-US Integrated Defense Dialogue at Seoul's defense ministry compound in central Seoul on Monday, in this photo provided by the ministry. (Yonhap)

South Korea and the United States are nearing completion to revise their joint deterrence strategy document against North Korea's military threats, Seoul's defense officials said Monday, as the allies held regular defense talks here.

The two sides evaluated progress in the ongoing efforts to revise the "Tailored Deterrence Strategy" (TDS) during the biannual Korea-US Integrated Defense Dialogue (KIDD) earlier in the day, officials said, with the revision set to be complete by the end of this year.

The allies have been seeking to revise the key document -- adopted in 2013 to cope with North Korea's threats -- since late 2021 to better reflect evolving threats from the recalcitrant regime.

"Under a shared understanding, South Korea and the US aim to revise the TDS within the year," a defense official said. "There has been significant progress and we are nearing completion."

In January, the two countries' defense chiefs reaffirmed efforts to complete the TDS' revision before their regular Security Consultative Meeting this year, scheduled to take place in November in Seoul.

During KIDD, the two sides also agreed to enhance the alliance's combined defense architecture by jointly developing the planning and execution of conventional-nuclear integration efforts through the bilateral Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG), according to a joint statement.

The NCG, designed to discuss nuclear and strategic planning issues, was established through the Washington Declaration issued by Presidents Yoon Suk Yeol and Joe Biden during their White House summit in April.

Meanwhile, the US side reaffirmed its "ironclad" commitment to defend South Korea, while reiterating that any nuclear attack by North Korea against the US or its allies will result in the end of its regime, the statement said.

The allies reaffirmed their joint goal for the "complete denuclearization of North Korea" and pledged to further strengthen the combined defense posture and capabilities to deter conflict on the peninsula, it added.

They also assessed that the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise between their militaries last month "significantly" improved their crisis management and all-out war execution capabilities, pledging to further strengthen combined exercises to stay "responsive" to the rapidly changing security environment on the Korean Peninsula, it read.

In addition, they discussed efforts for trilateral security cooperation with Japan, including a plan to operationalize a system to share North Korean missile warning data in real time by the end of this year, as reaffirmed by their leaders during their three-way summit at Camp David last month.

Deputy Defense Minister for Policy Heo Tae-keun led the South Korean side in the latest KIDD meeting, while Cara Allison Marshall, acting deputy assistant secretary of defense for East Asia, headed the US delegation.

Launched in 2011, KIDD is a comprehensive senior-level biannual defense meeting between the allies. The last session took place in Washington in April. (Yonhap)

koreaherald.com · by Yonhap · September 18, 2023

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