Quotes of the Day:

"All the Dachaus must remain standing. The Dachaus, the Belsens, the Buchenwalds, the Auschwitzes — all of them. They must remain standing because they are a monument to a moment in time when some men decided to turn the earth into a graveyard, into it they shoveled all of their reason, their logic, their knowledge, but worst of all their conscience. And the moment we forget this, the moment we cease to be haunted by its remembrance. Then we become the grave diggers."

~Rod Serling, from “Death’s Head Revisited” (1961)

"This is greed: desire to speak all, and listen to none."

– Democritus

"Don't worry about siding for or against the majority. Worry about taking up any of their irrational beliefs."

– Marcus Aurelius

1. US voices support for South Korean ‘balloon war’ efforts

2. The Economics of Korean Re-Unification: Thinking the Unthinkable?

3. What are Russian warships doing in the Caribbean?

4. China-Russia-Iran-North Korea axis heightens the risk of WWIII

5. China, Russia fail to stop UN meeting on North Korea rights abuses

6.  Putin's visit to N. Korea likely to pave way for deeper military cooperation: experts

7. UN Security Council debates North Korean human rights, exposing fissures again

8. Signs of military parade prep visible in Pyongyang ahead of possible Putin visit

9. UNC investigating N.K. troops' land border incursion, S. Korean loudspeaker broadcasts

10. North Korea, Japan held secret meeting in Mongolia last month: Report

11. BTS Fans Rejoice: Jin, Its Eldest Member, Completes Military Service

12. Two N. Koreans living in Russia, China speak out about trash balloons

13. N. Korean workers in Russia are getting paid less than ever before

14. UN Security Council discusses North Korean human rights

15. “Crap Attack” Against South Korea: North Korea Sends Balloons Carrying Trash Across the DMZ

1. US voices support for South Korean ‘balloon war’ efforts

We (the ROK and the ROK/US alliance) need to sustain an information campaign. We should not fear escalation. We need to do the right thing in accordance with the UN calls and because the Korean people in the north deserve access to information. And of course all Koreanss – South and north, have the right to freedom of expression.

The response to north Korea's demand to stop information should be this: "we will stop sending information to the Korean people in the north when you lift all information restrictions and allow the free flow of all information to all of the Korean people. Until that occurs we will follow the 2014 UN Commission of Inquiry and work to overcome one of your many significant human rights abuses."

The ROK and US governments, like all democracies that value freedom and free expression, are risk averse when it is considering the use of information for psychological warfare and influence campaigns. We have a saying within the US special operations community that it is easier to get permission to put a hellfire missile on the forehead of a terrorist than it is to get permission to put an idea between his ears. We are more likely to target Kim Jong Un as a legitimate military target as the Marshal of the nKPA using a JDAM than we are to try to put an idea between his ears or in the minds of the Korean people in the north. On the other hand, he is probably not smart enough to grasp any ideas we might try to put there.

Never back down. Kim Jong Un and Kim Yo Jong are telling us information is an existential threat to the regime. They are deathly afraid of the very example of South Korea and that Kim’s promises to the people in the north have failed.

And we need much more than leaflets and loud speakers though they are important and highly visible (and still effective) contributions to the information campaign.

Failed Promises. Failed Policies. Failed Strategy. Failed regime. Kim Jong Un is a failure. The Korean people in the north know that he has failed them but they do not know what to do about it. They need information to help them help themselves.

The Special Forces motto and way: De Oppresso Liber (to free the oppressed which is more appropriately stated as to help the oppressed free themselves)

US voices support for South Korean ‘balloon war’ efforts

June 13, 2024 0:42 AM

• By Christy Lee

voanews.com

Breaking News

East Asia

June 13, 2024 0:42 AM

South Korean soldiers wearing protective gear check the trash from a balloon presumably sent by North Korea, in Incheon, South Korea, June 2, 2024.

Washington —

The U.S. expressed its support for providing outside information to the people of North Korea even as attempts are made in South Korea to block leaflet campaigns aimed at sending information to the North.

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have been rising in recent weeks due to tit-for-tat exchanges between Pyongyang and Seoul over balloons they both have been sending across the inter-Korean border.

Responding to an inquiry by VOA’s Korean Service, a State Department spokesperson said on Monday that “it is critical for the people of North Korea to have access to independent information not controlled by the DPRK regime.”

“We continue to promote the free flow of information into, out of, and within the DPRK,” continued the spokesperson, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

“We continue to urge North Korea to reduce tensions and cease any actions that could increase the risk of conflict,” the spokesperson added.

North Korea, listed by Human Rights Watch among “the most repressive countries in the world,” considers outside information a threat to the ruling regime’s survival and denies its people access to information.

The government heavily controls all forms of media and cracks down on people distributing, watching or listening to any South Korean cultural content.

In what it said was a response to South Korean activists sending balloons carrying leaflets into the North, Pyongyang has floated more than 1,600 balloons filled with trash and waste into South Korea since May 28.

In response, Seoul on June 4 fully suspended an inter-Korean military deal made in 2018 and resumed loudspeaker broadcasts at the border Sunday before halting them the following day.

The South Korean balloons, sent aloft by human rights activists, have carried leaflets conveying information about the outside world and the North Korean regime. They also carried thumb drives containing K-pop songs and dramas.

But the effort has caused controversy in South Korea, where attempts are being made to halt the campaign.

A balloon believed to have been sent by North Korea, carrying various objects including what appeared to be trash and excrement, is seen over a rice field at Cheorwon, South Korea, May 29, 2024. (Yonhap via Reuters)

In September 2023, the South Korean constitutional court struck down a law banning the sending of leaflets to North Korea, saying it violated the constitutional right to freedom of expression.

Nevertheless, the opposition Democratic Party of Korea is attempting to apply other existing laws to block the campaign.

The opposition party, preferring engagement with North Korea, has been opposed to sending leaflets to North Korea. The anti-leaflet law was passed in December 2020 by the liberal party of former President Moon Jae-in six months after North Korea, expressing discontentment over leaflet activities, blew up an inter-Korean liaison office in Kaesong, a town in North Korea near the border.

On Tuesday, Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the party, called leaflet activities “illegal under the current law.”

In June 2020, Lee, the then-governor of Gyeonggi Province, declared five cities in the province as “danger zones” under the Framework Act on the Management of Disasters and Safety. Gyeonggi Province borders North Korea.

Lee then issued an administrative order banning people from entering the areas to launch balloons.

Kim Dong-yeon, from the opposition party and the current governor of Gyeonggi Province, said on Wednesday a consideration is being made to declare some areas in the province “danger zones” to “prevent the launch of propaganda leaflets in accordance with related laws.”

He said he will “immediately dispatch provincial police to potential leaflet sites to bolster patrols and surveillance,” according to South Korea’s liberal daily Hankyore.

Questions have been raised in South Korea whether the police can stop leaflet-sending activities based on the Act on the Performance of Duties by Police Officers, according to Seoul-based news agency Yonhap. The act allows police to restrain people from causing damage to property or harm other people.

Embed

North, South Korea wage psychological warfare

Yoon Hee-keun, National Police Agency commissioner, told reporters Monday that the leaflet campaigns cannot be blocked on the basis of that law.

He said this is because it is “unclear whether the trash-carrying balloons” sent by North Korea “would constitute an urgent and grave threat to the lives and bodies of the public, which is prerequisite for restricting them under the law.”

David Maxwell, vice president of the Center for Asia Pacific Strategy, told VOA on Tuesday via email that Seoul is “complying with the 2014 U.N. Commission of Inquiry that calls on people around the world to call out North Korea for its human rights abuses, one of which is the isolation of the people and the denial of all information going into the North.”

Bruce Klingner, senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, said, “The North Korean balloons are government actions and thus a violation of the armistice,” whereas balloons from the South are sent by non-government organizations.

Robert Rapson, who served as charge d’affaires and deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul in 2018-21, said while Seoul’s “decision to pause loudspeaker broadcasts” is “a positive step toward de-escalation, it should go further by also pausing balloon launches from the South.”

​

voanews.com

2.  The Economics of Korean Re-Unification: Thinking the Unthinkable?

For all those who work on Korean unification you should read this paper. Please go to the link to read the entire paper.

This is a revised version of the one he published in December.

​You can download the 26 page PDF here: https://www.aei.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Eberstadt-Working-Paper-6.11.24.pdf?x85095

The Economics of Korean Re-Unification: Thinking the Unthinkable?

By Nicholas Eberstadt

AEI Foreign and Defense Policy Working Paper Series

June 11, 2024

https://www.aei.org/research-products/working-paper/the-economics-of-korean-re-unification-thinking-the-unthinkable/?utm

Abstract

Public opinion polls indicate South Koreans today are more cautious and skeptical of the prospect of a re-unification of the Korean Peninsula than those of earlier generations, with young South Koreans today most hesitant of all. We argue here that while a peaceful re-unification stands to be an immense challenge, and will perforce require mobilization of significant financial resources, the economics of a Korean re-unification are perhaps not as dire as many think. The necessary resources—local and international—are available, and the project will be feasible if the returns on it are high enough. The task for policymakers, consequently, will be to provide a framework for “Project Re-Unification” capable of generating high returns on the heterogeneous mix of public and private investments entailed. We further argue that the economic failure of the North is due not to the failings of the people of North Korea, but instead to the “worst in class” economic policies and practices the Kim family regime has inflicted on its subjects. Re-unification is only unthinkable if we fail to think about it; postponing that challenge will only increase the gap between North and South.

Read the full working paper here.

3. What are Russian warships doing in the Caribbean?

Concerning the the new Cuba-South Korea relationship:

I worry about political warfare. Is Cuba really breaking from the axis of aggressors/dictators? Yesterday warships entered Havana harbor in Cuba, to include a nuclear powered submarine. Cuban and Russian relations seem as strong as ever and north Korean and Russian relations are at an all time high. What if the Cuban-South Korean rapprochement is part of a larger political warfare strategy being orchestrated by Russia and north Korea with Cuban support? What if Cuban relations with South Korea will be exploited over time to receive South Korean exports, particularly of high tech and dual use goods, that could then be transhipped to north Korea. 

On the geostrategic Baduk (or Chinese Go) board it appears that South Korea has captured a north Korean stone. But does this "diplomatic terrority" really benefit South Korea in the long run? Only time will tell.

What are Russian warships doing in the Caribbean?

The frigate Admiral Gorshkov and the nuclear-powered submarine Kazan arrived in Havana Wednesday fresh from exercises in the North Atlantic Ocean.

By Samantha Schmidt, Dan Lamothe and Mary Ilyushina

June 12, 2024 at 9:19 p.m. EDT

The Washington Post · by Samantha Schmidt · June 13, 2024

U.S. forces are keeping close watch on a flotilla of Russian warships that reached Cuba on Wednesday in an apparent show of force by President Vladimir Putin flexing his missiles in the Western Hemisphere.

The port call in Havana, Moscow’s longtime ally, comes less than two weeks after the Biden administration said it would allow Ukraine to use U.S.-provided weaponry against some military targets inside Russia.

The four Russian vessels arrived in Havana Harbor fresh from military exercises in the North Atlantic Ocean, Russia’s Defense Ministry said. They’re due to stay through Monday.

The ships aren’t carrying nuclear weapons, the Cuban and Russian foreign ministries have said, “so their stop in our country does not represent a threat to the region,” Havana said last week.

Here’s what you need to know.

Russia practiced launching high-precision missiles in the Atlantic after Biden said Ukraine could use U.S. weapons in Russia.

The Russian flotilla includes the frigate Admiral Gorshkov and the nuclear-powered submarine Kazan, a medium tanker and a rescue tugboat. Even without nuclear weapons, the frigate and the submarine are capable of launching Zircon hypersonic missiles, Kalibr cruise missiles and Onyx anti-ship missiles, Russia’s most highly touted modern weapons.

Several hours before entering the Havana harbor, Russian defense officials said, the flotilla completed an exercise in “the use of precision missile weapons.” Sailors used computer simulations to “hit” targets without launching actual missiles.

In Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met with his Cuban counterpart, Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla. Lavrov affirmed Russia’s “continued support for Havana in its just demand for a complete and immediate end” to Washington’s 62-year embargo on most trade with Cuba and the removal of the country from the State Department’s list of state sponsors of terrorism.

The visit came on Russia Day, when Russians mark the dissolution of the Soviet Union. State television highlighted extensive coverage of the event in the U.S. media, including clips from CNN. One Russian reporter described the visit as retaliation for Biden’s decision to allow Ukraine to strike inside Russia with American weapons.

“Last week, President Vladimir Putin made it clear that it reserves the right for a mirror response — that is, supplying long-range weapons to countries that feel the pressure of the United States,” the Russia 24 reporter said.

Cuba, mired in its worse economic crisis in years, is welcoming its longtime supporter.

Cubans lined the Havana waterfront Wednesday to see the Russian ships arrive. The Russians fired 21 salvos in honor of their hosts; the Cubans responded with an artillery salute from the San Carlos de La Cabaña Fortress.

Cuba’s foreign ministry said the visit reflects “the historical friendly relations” between Havana and Moscow, ties that go back to Soviet support for Cuba’s communist government and purchase of sugar, rum and other commodities. Cuba is currently mired in a dire economic crisis, including shortages of food, electricity and fuel, reminiscent of the so-called Special Period of the early 1990s, when the Soviet Union collapsed and support from Moscow sharply dropped.

Cuba emerged from years of deprivation with the support of Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez and improved relations with Russia under Putin. Lavrov said Wednesday that Moscow would continue to provide humanitarian support to Cuba.

The Russian foreign ministry thanked Cuba for its “principled position” on Ukraine. Rodríguez Parrilla, the Cuban foreign minister, said the country condemns “the increasingly aggressive stance of the U.S. government and NATO,” including sanctions against Russia.

Lavrov has been a frequent visitor to the region. He traveled in February to Venezuela, where he affirmed Russia’s support for the socialist government of Nicolás Maduro, Chavez’s successor. He stopped in Cuba during that trip also.

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel visited Putin in Moscow in May.

The United States doesn’t see a threat, but is monitoring the visit.

The U.S. Defense Department has been tracking the Russian visit to Cuba since it was announced June 6. U.S. Navy and Coast Guard vessels are “going to continue to monitor,” Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said Wednesday. ABC News reported that three U.S. Navy destroyers, a Coast Guard Cutter and Canadian and French frigates were keeping watch.

Singh said the Russian exercises didn’t pose a threat to the United States.

“This is not a surprise,” she said. Such “routine naval visits” by the Russians, she said, have occurred “during different administrations.”

A spokesman for U.S. Southern Command said the organization routinely monitors “activities of concern” nearby. Authorities anticipate that the Russian vessels might also visit Venezuela. Maduro’s government, also under heavy sanction by the United States, has scheduled a presidential election for July.

Retired Adm. Jim Stavridis, who headed Southern Command from 2006 to 2009, said naval deployments to the Caribbean are “long and difficult” for Russian forces, and provide “good practice for our forces, tracking and monitoring them.”

Putin is showing he ‘still has the ability to operate in the U.S. sphere of influence.’

Russian forces have made several visits to Cuba and Venezuela in recent decades. In 2018, Moscow sent two supersonic, nuclear-capable Tu-160 bombers to Venezuela for a brief stop. The next year, as the Trump administration stepped up efforts to oust Maduro, Russia dispatched 100 troops and equipment to Venezuela and signed an agreement allowing it to send ships.

Of course, the most famous Russian visit to the region came in 1962, when the U.S. discovery of Soviet missile sites in Cuba brought the world to the brink of nuclear Armageddon. President John F. Kennedy and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev resolved the two-week Cuban missile crisis peacefully with an agreement that each side would withdraw missiles deployed near the other and that they would establish direct communications — the so-called red telephone — to forestall similar crises in the future.

Videos now of a Russian submarine arriving in Cuba, political scientist Vladimir Rouvinski said, help Moscow show that “efforts by the United States to diminish their presence everywhere, in particular in Latin America, are not working.”

“We have to see that Russia is not willing to abandon Latin America,” said Rouvinski, of Icesi University in Colombia, even as its military is consumed by Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

Putin aims to signal that “he still has the ability to operate in the U.S. sphere of influence,” said Cynthia Arnson, a distinguished fellow at the Wilson Center’s Latin America Program.

The United States stages similar exercises near Russia and China.

The United States has a long history of deploying the Navy and other forces to demonstrate its range and capabilities in support of allies and against adversaries.

In May, the Destroyer USS Halsey conducted what the Navy called a “Freedom of Navigation Operation” to challenge “restrictions on innocent passage imposed by the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Taiwan, and Vietnam.”

A spokesperson for China’s Eastern Theater Command accused the United States of having “publicly hyped” the ship’s transit through the Taiwan Strait, the Associated Press reported. Chinese Navy Senior Capt. Li Xi said the command sent naval and air forces to monitor.

Last year, the destroyer USS Nitze and the amphibious command ship USS Mount Whitney made separate port calls to Istanbul on the Bosporus. That’s roughly 20 miles from the Black Sea, where Ukraine has used sea drones and missiles to attack a Russian fleet.

The Washington Post · by Samantha Schmidt · June 13, 2024

4. China-Russia-Iran-North Korea axis heightens the risk of WWIII

The axis of aggressors/dictators.

China-Russia-Iran-North Korea axis heightens the risk of WWIII

Simultaneous conflicts in Europe and Asia could become tomorrow's nightmare

HIROYUKI AKITA, Nikkei commentator

June 11, 2024 10:56 JST

https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Comment/China-Russia-Iran-North-Korea-axis-heightens-the-risk-of-WWIII?utm

TALLINN, Estonia -- The war in Ukraine has reached a critical juncture, with the Russian military sharply intensifying attacks to expand its areas of control before U.S. military aid is fully disbursed in the country.

Ukraine's increasingly desperate battle against the invading forces is not the only bad news for the world. Equally disturbing is a sign that China, North Korea and Iran are deepening ties with Moscow to help Russia's war machine.

North Korea is furnishing Russia with short-range missiles and more than a million rounds of ammunition, while Iran has offered a vast arsenal of drones. But China's quasi-military support to Russia could have a much more profound impact in the medium term.

According to U.S. sources, while China, a major military power, has not transferred lethal weapons to Russia, it is providing Moscow with drones and satellite images, as well as machine tools and semiconductors that can be used to mass-produce weapons.

The formation of an anti-Western "coalition" or "axis" by Russia, China, North Korea and Iran marks a shift in the dynamics of Russia's aggression, effectively changing it from a conflict between Ukraine and Russia to a broader confrontation that essentially pits China, Russia, North Korea and Iran against the Western bloc.

Russia's reciprocal military support to North Korea and Iran has also become more evident, creating a vicious cycle of escalating tensions in Asia and the Middle East.

Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on May 16. (Sputnik via Reuters)

With tensions mounting, senior government and military officials as well as security experts from the U.S. and various European nations gathered in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, on May 16-18 for the Lennart Meri Conference, an annual regional security forum.

The atmosphere was palpable. Participants shared a sense of urgency about the need to help Ukraine but also to block China, North Korea and Iran from extending support to Russia.

At a May 18 session titled "Who Provides Russia Weapons and Technology?" participants focused on Russia's three axis partners and their military assistance. Some argued that the U.S. should impose additional sanctions on Chinese manufacturers and banks involved in exporting dual-use products to Russia as such shipments violate current anti-Russia sanctions.

The confrontation between the Western bloc and the four-party axis is escalating at a pace that threatens to ignite other parts of Europe and further raise tensions in Asia and the Middle East.

While history might not repeat itself, it is worth recalling the lessons from both world wars, which began in Europe and quickly spread to Asia.

In 1938, Nazi Germany demanded the cession of the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia under the pretext of "protecting Germans." After Britain and France acquiesced, the Nazis invaded Poland the following year, starting World War II.

About two years later, Japan launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, bringing the U.S. into full-scale conflict with the Axis powers and expanding the scope of the war, turning it into a global conflict with the Pacific region as a major theater.

More than 80 years after Hitler's Sudetenland demand, Russian President Vladimir Putin cited the "protection of Russian residents" as a reason for invading Ukraine.

At the Lennart Meri Conference, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas and many other participants emphasized the importance of not repeating Britain and France's acquiescence.

In this context, it is crucial to monitor whether the ongoing conflict in Ukraine could escalate into a war involving NATO. Earlier this year, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius warned that Putin could attack NATO in five to eight years. His Danish counterpart, Troels Lund Poulsen, said it could happen within three to five years.

Although Russia's conventional forces are no match for NATO's, what worries the U.S. and its European allies are short surprise attacks by Russia to destabilize society.

According to defense officials in Poland and Estonia, Russia might attempt limited incursions into the Baltic region or elsewhere once it secures an advantageous cease-fire in Ukraine. In this strategy, rather than moving deeper inland, Russia would pull back quickly after inflicting a certain amount of damage. In this way, Russia would goad the U.S. and Europe into debating whether to declare war on Russia, with the end goal being to cause disarray and destroy NATO unity.

Martin Herem, commander of the Estonian Defense Forces, said that if Russia invades his country, "we will push them back immediately." But if any atrocities, such as massacres, torture and rape, are committed by the Russian military, that could trigger widespread criticism about delayed NATO action, shaking European cohesion, according to the Estonian general.

The "Russian goal will not be military victory, not taking the geographical part of our territory," Herem said. "Their goal will be to destroy our unity and trust, and to cause instability."

Facing significant losses in Ukraine, meanwhile, Moscow is racing to restore its military by increasing this year's defense budget by some 70% from the previous year.

Putin meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in the far eastern Amur region of Russia on Sept. 13. (Korean Central News Agency via Reuters)

Kusti Salm, permanent secretary of the Estonian Defense Ministry, warns of the risk of underestimating Russia's ability to rebuild its military might.

"The Russian military has already reconstituted after suffering heavy losses in Ukraine," Salm said. "According to our military analysis, its capabilities are 15% higher than they were before the invasion. Russia is increasing its production of weapons many times faster than we initially expected.

"And they are also securing their soldiers through mobilization. Military support from North Korea and other foreign countries is also significant. The Russian military's capabilities have reached a level at or near which it can engage in sneak attacks and extend aggressive actions against European countries."

The possibility of Russia intensifying its nuclear threats to destabilize the Western bloc is another concern. On May 21, Russian forces started the first stage of exercises to simulate preparation for launching tactical nuclear weapons. China and North Korea must be closely watching NATO reactions to assess the effectiveness of nuclear threats.

If NATO recoils from action for fear of fueling the conflict, that could increase the risk of a European war. As Ukraine becomes increasingly desperate, sentiment is growing in some corners of Europe to send troops to Ukraine. One former U.S. official close to NATO said that if the situation escalates, considering such an option may be unavoidable.

To nip a possible World War III in the bud, it is imperative to make sure Russia's invasion of Ukraine fails. All Western nations must remind themselves that supporting Ukraine could only enhance their own security.

5. China, Russia fail to stop UN meeting on North Korea rights abuses

​Small victories for our human rights upfront approach.

This is why information for the Korean people in the north is important.

Excerpts:

Gumhyok Kim - who grew up in an elite North Korean family - was visibly emotional as he described learning from the internet about rights abuses in his country while at university in Beijing. He had wanted to become a North Korean diplomat​.

"The country that supposedly had nothing to envy in the world was nowhere to be seen. In its place were political prison camps with death from starvation, public executions and people risking their lives to escape," he told the Security Council.

"I realized the Kim family that I had to wanted to serve were not my heroes, but dictators denying ... people's freedom just to build their own power, wealth and honor," he said.

He began working with other North Korean students on a plan to go home and share what they had learned in the hope it could drive change. But North Korean officials discovered their plans and Kim fled to South Korea from Beijing in 2011.

China, Russia fail to stop UN meeting on North Korea rights abuses

By Michelle Nichols

June 12, 20241:44 PM EDTUpdated 19 hours ago

https://www.reuters.com/world/china-russia-fail-stop-un-meeting-north-korea-rights-abuses-2024-06-12/

Flags of China and Russia are displayed in this illustration picture taken March 24, 2022. REUTERS/Florence Lo/Illustration/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

UNITED NATIONS, June 12 (Reuters) - Life for North Koreans is a "daily struggle devoid of hope," the United Nations human rights chief told a Security Council meeting on Wednesday that Russia and China unsuccessfully tried to block.

The 15-member council last met on the issue in August 2023, which was its first public discussion since 2017.

The U.N. Security Council is charged with maintaining international peace and security. China and Russia argue that the Geneva-based U.N. Human Rights Council is the appropriate venue for discussions on human rights.

"It is not possible to divorce the state of human rights in the DPRK from considerations around peace and security in the peninsula, including increasing militarization on the part of the DPRK," U.N. human rights chief Volker Turk told the council.

North Korea, formally known as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), has repeatedly rejected accusations of abuses and blames sanctions for its dire humanitarian situation.

It has been under U.N. sanctions over its ballistic missile and nuclear programs since 2006, but there are aid exemptions. Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia again called on Wednesday for a review of sanctions.

Gumhyok Kim - who grew up in an elite North Korean family - was visibly emotional as he described learning from the internet about rights abuses in his country while at university in Beijing. He had wanted to become a North Korean diplomat​.

"The country that supposedly had nothing to envy in the world was nowhere to be seen. In its place were political prison camps with death from starvation, public executions and people risking their lives to escape," he told the Security Council.

"I realized the Kim family that I had to wanted to serve were not my heroes, but dictators denying ... people's freedom just to build their own power, wealth and honor," he said.

He began working with other North Korean students on a plan to go home and share what they had learned in the hope it could drive change. But North Korean officials discovered their plans and Kim fled to South Korea from Beijing in 2011.

'AGGRAVATE CONFRONTATION'

China and Russia had tried to block the Security Council meeting by calling a procedural vote. The meeting had been requested by the United States, Japan, South Korea and Britain.

"Pushing the council to intervene in the human rights issue of the DPRK will not help to ease tensions on the Korean peninsula. On the contrary, it will intensify antagonism and aggravate confrontation," China's deputy U.N. Ambassador Geng Shuang told the council.

A minimum nine votes were needed to hold the meeting and China, Russia, the U.S., Britain and France could not wield their vetoes. Twelve members voted for the meeting on Wednesday, Russia and China voted against and Mozambique abstained.

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield said human rights abuses in North Korea were "inextricably linked" to Pyongyang's threats to international peace and security.

"The regime relies on forced labor and the exploitation of DPRK workers both domestically and overseas to develop weapons of mass destruction. What is shameful here is the obvious efforts by China and Russia to protect the DPRK," she said.

North Korea did not address the Security Council. But Venezuela's deputy U.N. Ambassador Joaquin Alberto Perez Ayestaran read a statement to reporters on behalf of a group of 18 states, including North Korea, China and Russia.

He said the Security Council should not be discussing human rights and commended North Korea for its efforts "in many fields, including on human rights, with the purpose of ensuring the wellbeing and prosperity of its people."

Between 2014 and 2017 the Security Council held annual public meetings on North Korean abuses. It held annual formal meetings behind closed doors on the issue between 2020-2022.

A landmark 2014 U.N. report concluded that North Korean security chiefs - and possibly leader Kim Jong Un himself - should face justice for overseeing a state-controlled system of Nazi-style atrocities.

Get the latest news and expert analysis about the state of the global economy with Reuters Econ World. Sign up here.

Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Deepa Babington

6.  Putin's visit to N. Korea likely to pave way for deeper military cooperation: experts

(LEAD) (News Focus) Putin's visit to N. Korea likely to pave way for deeper military cooperation: experts | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Soo-yeon · June 13, 2024

(ATTN: UPDATES with more details throughout)

By Kim Soo-yeon

SEOUL, June 13 (Yonhap) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin's impending visit to North Korea is expected to serve as an occasion to elevate the level of military cooperation between the two nations beyond arms transactions amid a new Cold War geopolitical structure, experts said Thursday.

A South Korean presidential official said that Putin is expected to visit North Korea "in a few days." Japanese broadcaster NHK reported that Putin could travel to the North "as early as next week" as part of a tour that would include a stop in Vietnam.

North Korea and Russia have yet to officially announce the details of Putin's trip. But if realized, it would be Putin's first trip to Pyongyang since 2000, when he met with then North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, the late father of the current leader.

North Korea and Russia have been bolstering military ties and expanding the scope of cooperation in various fields following the summit between the North's leader Kim Jong-un and Putin in Russia's Far East in September last year.

This file photo, carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency on Sept. 14, 2023, shows its leader Kim Jong-un (L) and Russian President Vladimir Putin holding a summit at Russia's Vostochny spaceport the previous day. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

"If Putin visits Pyongyang, there is a high possibility that North Korea and Russia could upgrade military cooperation to a new level at a time when they are maintaining close military ties," said Cheong Seong-chang, a director at the Sejong Institute.

Putin's trip comes at a delicate time when North Korea and Russia have seen their strategic needs converge amid Moscow's protracted war in Ukraine and Pyongyang's push to advance its weapons programs.

"What garners attention in regard to Putin's trip will be to what extent Russia will provide its support to North Korea's possession of nuclear weapons," said Hong Min, a senior research fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification.

"In case the two nations renew a treaty of friendship, whether it would include something beyond military cooperation -- for example, their troops' automatic intervention in emergency situations involving the other -- could also be an issue of concern," he said.

North Korea and the Soviet Union clinched a treaty of friendship and mutual assistance in 1961, when the North's national founder Kim Il-sung visited Moscow.

The treaty included a provision for the so-called automatic military intervention, under which if one side is under an armed attack, the other provides military troops and other aid without hesitation.

But the deal was scrapped in 1996 after the Soviet Union established diplomatic ties with South Korea in 1990 and collapsed the following year.

In February 2000, North Korea and Russia signed a new treaty of bilateral cooperation, but it did not contain such a provision as it centered on cooperation in the economic, science and cultural sectors.

Since the Kim-Putin summit last year, North Korea and Russia have been bolstering military cooperation amid suspicions that Pyongyang has provided weapons and munitions to Moscow for use in its war with Ukraine.

In return, North Korea appears to have received technology assistance from Russia in the development of a military spy satellite.

In late May, North Korea launched a military spy satellite, but the attempt ended in failure as a rocket carrying the satellite exploded right after liftoff.

At a year-end party meeting, Kim Jong-un vowed to launch three more satellites in 2024 after the country successfully placed its first military spy satellite into orbit in November last year.

"If North Korea and Russia announce any plans to cooperate on space development programs, it means that they have a commitment to maintaining cooperative relations on a long-term basis," Hong said.

This photo, carried by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on Sept. 14, 2023, shows the North's leader Kim Jong-un (C) and Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) meeting at Russia's Vostochny spaceport the previous day. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

Cheong at the Sejong Institute raised the possibility of North Korea asking for Russia's assistance in the North's push to build a nuclear-powered submarine.

A nuclear-powered submarine is on the list of high-tech weapons systems that North Korea has vowed to develop, but it appears there has been little progress in Pyongyang's push.

The issue of North Korea's dispatch of its workers abroad could be also discussed at the upcoming summit, experts said. The North is in a desperate need to earn foreign currency due to international sanctions, while Russia has been facing a labor shortage amid its war with Ukraine.

All member states of the U.N. were required to repatriate any North Koreans earning income in their jurisdiction by the end of 2019 under a U.N. Security Council resolution adopted in 2017.

Experts said North Korea and Russia are expected to highlight cooperation in the economic sector, as their arms transactions and deeper military cooperation constitute a violation of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions banning Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs.

In March, the UNSC failed to extend the mandate of the panel of experts monitoring the enforcement of sanctions against North Korea as Russia, a permanent member of the council, vetoed the move. The operation of the panel expired in April.

Meanwhile, Putin's trip is highly likely to coincide with South Korea's talks with China, set for early next week in Seoul. South Korea and China plan to hold a "two plus two" meeting with their senior foreign and defense officials, the first of such talks in nine years.

North Korea indirectly expressed its complaint against China by slamming a joint declaration issued after South Korea, China and Japan held a trilateral summit in May. Beijing appears to be cautious about joining Pyongyang's drive to deepen trilateral solidarity with Russia and China.

"Russia and China could show a prudent attitude in externally sending messages (in regard to North Korea)," Hong at the state-run think tank said.

sooyeon@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Soo-yeon · June 13, 2024

7. UN Security Council debates North Korean human rights, exposing fissures again

Bemoaning sounds kind of trite. I think the "experts" are united in their condemnation of the brutality of the regime's human rights abuses and their desire for a better life for the KOrean people in the north/

UN Security Council debates North Korean human rights, exposing fissures again

Experts bemoan worsening situation, as ROK spotlights issue during presidency despite Russian and Chinese opposition

https://www.nknews.org/2024/06/un-security-council-debates-north-korean-human-rights-exposing-fissures-again/

Chad O'Carroll | Ifang Bremer June 13, 2024

South Korean envoy Joonkook Hwang speaks at a UNSC meeting on North Korean human rights in New York on June 12, 2024. | Image: UN Photo/Loey Felipe

The U.N. Security Council (UNSC) held a public meeting on the human rights situation in North Korea on Tuesday, following through on South Korea’s pledge to spotlight DPRK issues during its monthlong term as president.

The meeting — requested by the U.S., U.K., South Korea and Japan but opposed by China and Russia — was the second on DPRK human rights since last year and featured briefings from U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk, special envoy for North Korean human rights Elizabeth Salmón and North Korean defector Geum-hyok Kim.

North Korea could have participated under a council rule that allows any state at the center of discussion to attend, but its representative did not join the meeting.

“Looking back at the past four years of the border closures, the human rights situation has undeniably deteriorated,” Salmón said. “We are facing probably the worst humanitarian crisis since the disastrous famine in the late 1990s.”

The special rapporteur highlighted the impact of North Korea’s prioritization of its military, nuclear, and missile programs on the country’s most vulnerable populations, such as children and women, and said it was “critical” for the UNSC to now “address the growing isolation of the DPRK, which is a driver of both human rights violations and regional instability.”

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk told council members that “the DPRK is a country sealed off from the world” in which “stifling, claustrophobic” pressures create an environment “devoid of hope.”

“Put simply, people in the DPRK are at risk of death for merely watching or sharing a foreign television series,” Turk said, referencing an ongoing crackdown on outside material under the “Law on Rejecting Reactionary Ideology and Culture” passed in 2020.

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk speaks at the UNSC meeting via video call. | Image: UN Photo/Loey Felipe

The UNSC last discussed North Korean human rights in Aug. 2023, when it held its first meeting on the topic since Nov. 2017. The UNSC held open discussions on DPRK human rights violations from 2014 to 2017 but stopped due to Chinese opposition.

After the Aug. 2023 meeting, activists lamented that Turk failed to name China as a culprit in North Korean human rights abuses — in particular, Beijing’s role in forcibly repatriating North Koreans. 

And on Wednesday, Turk again refrained from directly calling out China, only stating his office has “received troubling reports of people being deported back to the DPRK in clear violation of international law.”

“Our monitoring confirms that individuals forced back in this manner are subjected to torture, arbitrary detention or other serious human rights violations,” he added.

The defector Geum-hyok Kim, who has served as a policy adviser for the South Korean government, used the UNSC briefing opportunity to appeal directly to DPRK leader Kim Jong Un.

“Allow North Koreans to live in freedom. Allow them their basic rights so they can live full and happy lives,” Kim said. “Turn away from the nuclear weapons threat and return your country to the family of nations so all North Korean people may lead prosperous lives.”

Special envoy for North Korean human rights Elizabeth Salmón speaks at the UNSC meeting on June 12, 2024. | Image: UN Photo/Loey Felipe

1

2

MEMBERS WEIGH IN

Permanent members China and Russia voted against holding Wednesday’s meeting, while rotating member Mozambique abstained. Beijing and Moscow argued that the human rights situation in North Korea does not constitute a threat to international peace and security. 

China’s Deputy U.N. Ambassador Geng Shuang said pushing the council to intervene would intensify antagonism and aggravate confrontation on the Korean Peninsula.

Meanwhile, Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia accused the meeting’s sponsors of attempting to distort the situation and detract attention from the root causes of security issues in the region.

In response, U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said Beijing and Moscow’s effort to block the meeting was an example of the pair “emboldening” Pyongyang.

“The regime relies on forced labor and the exploitation of DPRK workers both domestically and overseas to develop weapons of mass destruction,” she said. “What is shameful here is the obvious efforts by China and Russia to protect the DPRK.”

Venezuela’s envoy, speaking on behalf of the Group of Friends in Defense of Charter of the United Nations, rejected the convening of the meeting in the UNSC and commended North Korea’s efforts to protect human rights and ensure the “well-being and prosperity” of its citizens. 

The group, which includes Russia, China, North Korea, Belarus, Iran, Cuba and Syria, called for an end to the Security Council’s practice of addressing issues beyond its mandate, such as human rights, in pursuit of political objectives.

In comments to NK News, U.N. special rapporteur Salmón maintained that human rights issues fall under the UNSC’s mandate because “human rights, peace and security are closely interlinked.”

But she said “it was evident that discussions went in parallel” at the UNSC meeting.

“It is important for states to put forward their positions and agree that human rights violations in the DPRK are continuing or probably worsening,” she added.

While discussion of North Korean human rights in the UNSC is “positive” and “meaningful,” she said, “it is time to discuss more concrete measures to address human rights violations and to ensure accountability in the DPRK.”

The UNSC meeting on North Korean human rights on June 12, 2024 | Image: UN Photo/Loey Felipe

SEOUL TAKES THE LEAD

South Korea took charge of the UNSC earlier this month, pledging to use its one-month presidency to spotlight North Korea’s human rights abuses and military escalations.

Before Wednesday’s briefing, ROK permanent representative Joonkook Hwang delivered a joint statement on behalf of 57 U.N. Member States and the EU stating that North Korea’s exploitation of its citizens, including through forced labor, generates revenue that finances its weapons programs.

Seoul is currently one of 10 non-permanent UNSC members serving a two-year term, taking up the role at the beginning of the year.

One expert told NK News that Wednesday’s meeting was likely part of a broader effort to focus on the DPRK after Russia vetoed the mandate of the U.N. Panel of Experts tasked with monitoring the implementation of North Korea sanctions earlier this year.

“Looks like the parties who called for the meeting taking opportunities beyond the reach of veto power to pressure North Korea and try to restore a measure of ‘business as usual’ after the Russian PoE veto debacle,” Christopher Green of the International Crisis Group told NK News.

Wednesday’s meeting notably came as inter-Korean tensions have grown in recent weeks due to balloon campaigns and threats to resume propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts.

Ifang Bremer contributed reporting to this article. Edited by Bryan Betts

8. Signs of military parade prep visible in Pyongyang ahead of possible Putin visit

Imagery at the link. Putin is going to be received like royalty I think. He needs to come to Pyongyang to feel respected and important. 

No one does a parade better than the Kim family regime.

Signs of military parade prep visible in Pyongyang ahead of possible Putin visit

Satellite imagery shows construction in Kim Il Sung Square consistent with a parade, despite lack of marching practice

https://www.nknews.org/pro/signs-of-military-parade-prep-visible-in-pyongyang-ahead-of-possible-putin-visit/

Colin Zwirko June 13, 2024

A military parade at Kim Il Sung Square in Feb. 2023 and a satellite image taken Thursday showing preparations consistent with a military parade | Images: KCTV (Feb. 9, 2023), Planet Labs (June 13, 2024), edited by NK Pro

New activity in Pyongyang’s Kim Il Sung Square appears directly related to preparations for a military parade or other large-scale event, according to NK Pro analysis of satellite imagery, as speculation mounts over when Russian leader Vladimir Putin will arrive for a planned summit.

Planet Labs high-resolution imagery shows a temporary square wall was installed between Tuesday and Thursday on the main road of the square. The footprint of the wall is exactly the same as ones built around the construction of orchestra tents before military parades in Jan. 2021, April 2022 and Feb. 2023.

Such activity has only appeared ahead of military parades in the past, strongly suggesting the current work is also for a military parade or similar large-scale event to be attended by leader Kim Jong Un, as soon as within the next week.

A wall, likely built to hide construction of an orchestra tent, appeared at Kim Il Sung Square between June 11 and 13. Colorful objects, likely banners for hanging up around the square, and a new structure in front of Kim’s observation. stand also appeared since June 6. | Image: Planet Labs (June 13, 2024), edited by NK Pro

A wall appeared in the same exact spot around an orchestra tent ahead of past military parades as well, but not at other times. It appears here three days before the Feb. 8, 2023 military parade. | Image: Planet Labs (Feb. 5, 2023), edited by NK Pro

A wall appeared in the same exact spot around an orchestra tent ahead of past military parades as well, but not at other times. The wall and banner-hanging efforts appear here six days before the April 25, 2022 military parade. | Image: Planet Labs (April 19, 2022), edited by NK Pro

A wall appeared in the same exact spot around an orchestra tent ahead of past military parades as well, but not at other times. The wall appears here two weeks before the Jan. 14, 2021 military parade. | Image: Planet Labs (Jan. 2, 2021), edited by NK Pro

This is what the temporary wall looks like, appearing in front of Kim Jong Un as he watches military parade practices in April 2022 | Image: KCTV (May 27, 2022)

While the orchestra tent has also been set up multiple weeks ahead of past military parades, the apparent hanging of banners around the square on Thursday also suggests the planned event will take place soon, since this has usually been done just prior to past events.

However, there are no major holidays typically celebrated with military parades until July 27.  

NK Pro reported Wednesday that signs of preparations for Putin or his advance team’s arrival in the next few days were already underway at Pyongyang International Airport.

Moscow has suggested the visit will be soon, but neither side has announced visit dates. Reuters reported earlier this week that Putin is expected to visit Vietnam from June 19 to 20 and may visit North Korea on the same trip.

It remains possible that the parade or large event will not coincide with Putin’s visit, but as Kim is likely to treat their summit with great importance, it’s also possible North Korea could put on a special event to celebrate Russian-DPRK ties at the square.

As a comparable precedent but at a different venue, Kim organized a special mass games performance for Chinese leader Xi Jinping in 2019 involving the participation of thousands of North Koreans.

Planet Labs imagery shows that in addition to the orchestra tent wall, a temporary wall was also built around a new structure directly in front of Kim Jong Un’s ornate observation building and around the banner hanging areas on either side of the main square.

These objects all first appeared at the square between June 6 and 9 and remained there on June 13.

There have not been other signs of large-scale military parade preparations, such as troops marching in formation at the Mirim parade practice complex in southeast Pyongyang, as has typically been seen before past military parades.

Putin last visited Pyongyang in July 2000 to meet then-leader Kim Jong Il, but the two did not attend any events together in Kim Il Sung Square.

Last July, Kim hosted Russia’s then-defense minister Sergei Shoigu and a top Chinese party official for a military parade in the square featuring North Korea’s newest nuclear weapons. Shoigu also joined Kim to tour a separate temporary indoor weapons exhibition.

Edited by Bryan Betts

9. UNC investigating N.K. troops' land border incursion, S. Korean loudspeaker broadcasts

Let's not commit an own goal here or shoot ourselves in the foot now that the UN Command has taken renewed respect and importance in South Korea. Does anyone think loudspeaker broadcasts are a violation of the Armistice? Does the Armistice trump freedom of expression. Do they trump helping the Korean people in the north who are denied information? I hope some wise heads prevail at the UNC. Of course if they investigate and find no violation for some of the reasons I mentioned that will be a good thing. The UNC must be fair and impartial and investigate all "incidents." (though I would not call loudspeaker broadcasts an "incident.")

(2nd LD) UNC investigating N.K. troops' land border incursion, S. Korean loudspeaker broadcasts | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Park Sang-soo · June 13, 2024

(ATTN: ADDS defense ministry's statement in para 9)

By Chae Yun-hwan

SEOUL, June 13 (Yonhap) -- The U.S.-led U.N. Command (UNC) said Thursday it is investigating a series of incidents at the inter-Korean border earlier this week, including a brief border incursion by North Korean troops and South Korea's resumption of anti-Pyongyang broadcasts.

On Sunday, some 20 North Korean soldiers crossed the Military Demarcation Line inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), separating the two Koreas, in the central section of the border before retreating northward after the South fired warning shots, according to Seoul's military.

The incursion came just hours before the South blared anti-Pyongyang broadcasts toward the North for the first time in six years in response to the North's recent launches of trash-carrying balloons.

This file photo, taken Nov. 28, 2023, from the border county of Yeoncheon, 60 kilometers north of Seoul, shows a North Korean guard post inside the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas. (Yonhap)

"We take our mission seriously at the United Nations Command and are currently investigating the recent issues with utmost diligence," the UNC said when asked about the incidents.

"Our actions are in strict accordance with the Armistice Agreement as we work towards deescalating the situation to ensure peace and stability in the region. We continue to call on the DPRK to return to dialogue using our established mechanisms."

DPRK stands for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

The UNC is an enforcer of the armistice that stopped the fighting in the 1950-53 Korean War and oversees activities inside the DMZ -- a buffer zone between the two Koreas since the three-year conflict ended without a peace treaty.

Jeon Ha-kyou, the defense ministry's spokesperson, said it would "actively support" the UNC's investigation.

The defense ministry said Seoul's recent anti-Pyongyang broadcasts through border loudspeakers do not run counter to the armistice treaty. "It is part of our self-defense right (against the North's recent launches of garbage-carrying balloons)," the ministry said.

The investigation comes amid heightened cross-border tensions set off by the North's recent trash-carrying balloon campaign.

Since May 28, the North is estimated to have launched more than 1,600 balloons in what has been called a "tit-for-tat" response to anti-Pyongyang leafleting by activists in South Korea.

The UNC is also investigating the North's garbage-loaded balloon launches and has called them a violation of the armistice.

For years, North Korean defectors in the South and conservative activists have sent leaflets to the North via balloons to help encourage North Koreans to eventually rise up against the Kim family regime.

North Korea has bristled at the propaganda campaign amid concern that an influx of outside information could pose a threat to its leader Kim Jong-un.

It has also reacted angrily to the South's border loudspeakers that have aired messages critical of the North's regime, firing artillery shots toward the South in 2015 over the broadcasts.

yunhwanchae@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Park Sang-soo · June 13, 2024

10. North Korea, Japan held secret meeting in Mongolia last month: Report

Mongolia desires to be a convening authority for regional issues and in particular north-South issues and in this case north-Korea-Japan.  

This is why we are traveling to Mongolia next month for civil society discussions from countries throughout the Asia Pacific region who seek to support Korean issues.

Thursday

June 13, 2024

 dictionary + A - A 

Published: 13 Jun. 2024, 18:01

Updated: 13 Jun. 2024, 19:28

North Korea, Japan held secret meeting in Mongolia last month: Report

https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2024-06-13/national/northKorea/North-Korea-Japan-held-secret-meeting-in-Mongolia-last-month-Report/2067980

The Japanese and North Korean flags [JOONGANG PHOTO]

North Korea and Japan held a clandestine meeting in Mongolia last month, reported the JoongAng Ilbo on Wednesday, despite Pyongyang's recent public refusal to talk with Japan.

"Officials from both countries met near Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, around mid-May," disclosed a source familiar with the matter to the JoongAng Ilbo, an affiliate of the Korea JoongAng Daily.

"The North Korean delegation reportedly included representatives from the Reconnaissance General Bureau and foreign currency sectors, while Japan sent a politician from a prominent family." 

"Both parties were set to reconvene in Inner Mongolia in the latter half of last week," added another source, though the actual occurrence of this meeting remains uncertain.

The Ulaanbaatar Dialogue on June 6 and 7 focused on Northeast Asian security, sparking speculation about potential North Korea-Japan contacts. However, no North Korean officials attended the conference.

Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has highlighted the abduction of Japanese nationals by North Korea, expressing a strong interest in high-level talks and a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi on Thursday acknowledged the report regarding Japan's meeting with North Korea but refrained from further comment.

"While Japan has been making various approaches to North Korea through various channels, I'll refrain from answering [a question about the report] due to the nature of the matter," Hayashi said during a press conference as reported by Japanese media outlets.

Hayashi reaffirmed that "there is no change" to Tokyo's commitment to pursuing high-level talks under Kishida's direct leadership to achieve a summit with North Korea.

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi [AP/YONHAP]

The top Japanese government spokesperson also declined to confirm local reports suggesting Kishida is considering a visit to Mongolia in early to mid-August to address the Japanese abductions issue.

The recent contact between North Korea and Japan is significant, given North Korea's public statement just three months ago rejecting engagement with Japan. 

Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, mentioned Kishida's proposal for a summit on March 25, only to dismiss Japan the next day.

"Japan has no courage to change history, promote regional peace and stability and take the first step for the fresh DPRK-Japan relations," Kim said, using the acronym of North Korea's official name. "The DPRK side will pay no attention to and reject any contact and negotiations with the Japanese side."

Three days later, North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui echoed the sentiment, saying that "DPRK-Japan dialogue is not a matter of concern to the DPRK."

Despite North Korea's conditioning of a summit on Japan refraining from discussing denuclearization and abductions, the recent meeting in Mongolia suggests North Korea is exploring alternative approaches to address its domestic and international challenges. 

The composition of the delegations at the secret meeting in Mongolia is also noteworthy.

North Korea's inclusion of officials from the Reconnaissance General Bureau, its primary intelligence agency directly under Kim Jong-un's command, suggests Kim's personal oversight.

Experts interpret this inclusion as signaling North Korea's reluctance to address the abduction issue, given the Bureau's involvement abroad and its connection to the abductions.

The presence of foreign currency earners in North Korea's delegation may indicate economic interests, although speculation also exists that these officials could be from the Ministry of State Security posing as businessmen.

Japan's inclusion of a prominent politician suggests a direct communication channel with the prime minister, underscoring the seriousness of Japan's intent to engage with North Korea.

"Japan fundamentally prioritizes the abduction issue and trilateral cooperation with the U.S. and South Korea, but also recognizes the need to exert independent influence on North Korea," said Lim Eul-chul, a professor at Kyungnam University's Institute for Far Eastern Studies. "From North Korea's perspective, they might seek adjustments in U.S.-South Korea-Japan military exercises or protection of Chongryon [a pro-Pyongyang association of Korean residents in Japan]."

North Korea and Japan's recent meeting in Mongolia also marks a departure from the two sides' long reliance on the Beijing channel to communicate. Experts speculate that this might demonstrate North Korea's intent to engage Japan more independently of China's influence.

This shift may relate to recent signs of strain between North Korea and China, notably China's removal of a commemorative plaque marking Kim Jong-un and President Xi Jinping's friendly stroll during Kim's 2018 visit to Dalian. 

Despite apparent interest in expedited negotiations, pessimism also exists.  

"There are numerous obstacles to improving relations between North Korea and Japan," said Hong Min, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification. "The complex interplay of U.S.-South Korea-Japan security cooperation and sanctions on North Korea creates significant structural difficulties."

"From Japan's perspective, it will be difficult to advance negotiations unless North Korea shows a more forward-looking attitude on the abduction issue," said Lee Won-deok, a professor of Japanese studies at Kookmin University.

"Contacts between Japan and North Korea should proceed in a manner that contributes to North Korea's denuclearization and peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula," Lim Soo-suk, spokesperson for South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, reiterated during a briefing on Thursday.

BY CHUNG YEONG-GYO,PARK HYUN-JU,SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr[

11. BTS Fans Rejoice: Jin, Its Eldest Member, Completes Military Service

BTS Fans Rejoice: Jin, Its Eldest Member, Completes Military Service

The New York Times · by Jin Yu Young · June 11, 2024

The K-pop group is still on hiatus until 2025, when the last of its members finish their mandatory enlistment in South Korea’s military. But the celebrating has begun.

Listen to this article · 3:41 min Learn more

Jin of BTS, now a civilian, in Yeoncheon, South Korea, on Wednesday morning. A bandmate, RM, is playing the saxophone.Credit...Yonhap News Agency, via Reuters

By

Reporting from Seoul

June 11, 2024

The K-pop juggernaut BTS is one step closer to a reunion.

The first member of the boy band to enlist in South Korea’s army, Jin, 31, was discharged on Wednesday morning, BTS’s label said. Over the next year or so, his bandmates are expected to complete their military service, which is required of nearly all South Korean men.

BTS shocked its own Army — as the seven-member group’s fervent following is collectively known — in June 2022 when they said they would go on hiatus to enlist. Jin, the group’s eldest member, whose birth name is Kim Seok-jin, began his 18-month stint in the military that December. His enlistment came after much public debate about whether BTS should get an exemption from the draft, as Olympic medalists and some classical musicians do.

Still, the group was given some leeway. Most men in South Korea have to enlist before they turn 28. Days before Jin reached that milestone, lawmakers revised the conscription law to allow pop artists who have bolstered the nation’s reputation to postpone their enlistment for two years. Researchers say BTS’s global success has contributed billions of dollars to the South Korean economy.

The group’s music also seems to have become a military asset. Earlier this week, South Korea blasted K-pop music, reportedly including the BTS hits “Dynamite” and “Butter,” into North Korea in retaliation for the hundreds of trash balloons that Pyongyang has been sending south.

South Korean soldiers setting up propaganda loudspeakers near the border with North Korea this week, in an image released by South Korea’s defense ministry. Credit...The Defense Ministry, via Reuters

In recent days, the band’s label pleaded with fans to refrain from flocking to the military site outside Seoul where Jin was to be discharged. Fans weren’t the only ones who have been waiting for this day: Jin posted a “D-100” countdown on social media in March.

Here’s what to know about BTS and South Korea’s draft.

Conscription has been getting shorter.

For decades, conscripts typically had to serve three years. By the early 2000s, that had been reduced to 24 months. In 2021, the minimum enlistment was cut to 18 months.

The length of service varies: it’s 18 months in the army or marines, 20 months in the navy or 21 months in the air force. With the exception of Suga, who is performing alternative service in social work, all of the members of BTS signed up for the army. Jin served as an assistant drill instructor for new recruits, according to local news media.

BTS fans waited to greet Jin at an army base in Yeoncheon in December 2022 as he prepared to begin his military service. Credit...Heo Ran/Reuters

The band members have kept releasing music.

The last BTS members to join the military — RM, V, Jung Kook and Jimin — started their service in December.

Band members have remained commercially active, releasing music and videos that were produced before their enlistment. Last month, the group’s leader, RM, released an album, “Right Place, Wrong Person,” that was accompanied by a series of music videos. Jung Kook, whose English-language album “Golden” hit No. 1 on the Billboard top album sales chart last year, released a new single on Friday.

A reunion isn’t imminent.

In 2022, BTS’s label said the members would reunite “around 2025.” That is still the plan, according to a spokeswoman for the label’s parent company, Hybe. Given the timing of the group’s conscription dates, fans will likely have to wait at least until mid-2025 before seeing all seven members together onstage.

Fans at a BTS pop-up store in Seoul in April.

But fans were ecstatic on Wednesday. “I can’t believe this day has come,” one posted on X. “I’m in tears.”

Jin is scheduled to make a public appearance in Seoul on Thursday. He has promised to give hugs to exactly 1,000 fans.

Jin Yu Young reports on South Korea, the Asia Pacific region and global breaking news from Seoul. More about Jin Yu Young

The New York Times · by Jin Yu Young · June 11, 2024

12. Two N. Koreans living in Russia, China speak out about trash balloons

Human feces is a precious resource in the north and the regime is wasting it.

Two N. Koreans living in Russia, China speak out about trash balloons

"I wish we wouldn’t waste manure sending it to South Korea, but use it instead to fertilize the fields so that farming goes well and we can put food on the people’s tables," one of the North Koreans told Daily NK

By Jeong Tae Joo - June 13, 2024

dailynk.com

Two N. Koreans living in Russia, China speak out about trash balloons - Daily NK English

Remnants of North Korea’s balloons filled with trash are scattered in front of the Incheon Meteorological Observatory in Jeonjeon, Jung-gu, Incheon, South Korea, on June 2, 2024. (Yonhap News)

The South Korean military has resumed loudspeaker broadcasts toward the North in response to North Korea’s launch of trash-laden balloons into the South. The level of North Korean provocations is rising, with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s powerful sister, Kim Yo Jong, threatening a new response to South Korea’s launch of leaflets into the North and loudspeaker broadcasts.

In fact, Kim said Sunday, “If the ROK simultaneously carries out the leaflet scattering and loudspeaker broadcasting provocation over the border, it will undoubtedly witness the new counteraction of the DPRK.”

Daily NK recently interviewed a 40-something male North Korean worker in Russia, A, and a 50-something female defector living in China, B, what they thought about Kim’s threats against the South, which they had learned about through various ways. They claimed that even North Koreans think Kim’s statements and the North’s actions against the South are nonsensical.

Opinions about Kim’s remarks

Daily NK: Kim Yo Jong said the South would witness a new response from the North if Seoul simultaneously launched leaflets into the North and conducted loudspeaker broadcasts. What do you think of this statement? And what do people inside North Korea think about it?

A: It’s shameful. Even Russians who are friendly to North Korea mock us (North Korean workers in Russia) and say, “North Korea is engaged in such filthy behavior that is unseen in the world, and it’s nonsense that over 20 million people are just watching what Kim Yo Jong is doing.” If people inside North Korea knew what was happening, they wouldn’t welcome it. In fact, Kim’s comments will make North Koreans feel insecure.

B: Kim Yo Jong’s comments are hardly surprising. They create a climate of fear inside North Korea by telling us that the political situation is tense. But North Koreans have long been used to it. Even the government knows that such comments are ineffective in uniting the people around the regime. 

Opinions about Kim’s threat of additional responses

Daily NK: What do you think the “new counteraction” mentioned by Kim will be?

A: I think the North is likely to start a military conflict because of its pride in being a nuclear power. For the state, an armed conflict is an optimal opportunity to maximize the wariness of the South by creating public insecurity as if a war were about to break out.

B: North Korea could use force. The situation between the two Koreas will worsen and the state will push the people to be ready for all-out public mobilization. In the end, the discontent of the people who are struggling to survive will only increase.

Opinions about launching trash-laden balloons into the South

Daily NK: Kim claimed that the North has sent about 1,400 balloons carrying 7.5 tons of wastepaper across the border. What do you think of these trash balloon launches, and what do North Koreans think of them?

A: These actions are really absurd. For a country that doesn’t have night soil, we would run out of material even if we collected it nationwide. I have heard that we have even been sending fertilizer, but when we hold fertilizer collection campaigns in North Korea at the beginning of each year, we sometimes have to buy it because we can’t meet the quotas. I wish we wouldn’t waste fertilizer by sending it to South Korea, but instead use it to fertilize the fields so that agriculture can flourish and we can put food on people’s tables.

B: When I called North Korea, I was told that now, as part of a recycling policy, people have to sell every scrap of paper or fabric to the government. But even that won’t be enough if they keep sending the stuff to South Korea. The authorities urge people to recycle every day, but if the public knew that the state was wasting their recycled resources by flying them to South Korea, they’d be angry.

Opinions about the restart of loudspeaker broadcasts

Daily NK: The South Korean military restarted loudspeaker broadcasts against the North for the first time in six years in response to the North’s trash balloon launches. How will North Koreans respond to this? What impact will the broadcasts have on North Koreans?

A: If they resume loudspeaker broadcasts, soldiers and civilians along the front will hear them and spread what they hear throughout the country. If they do, the leadership will feel very insecure. These broadcasts can awaken the people to the lies of the Workers’ Party and the state. We (overseas laborers) also felt betrayed when we learned that North Korea was lying from the first moment we set foot abroad. But I’m returning (to North Korea) because I can’t defect. My family is being held hostage at home. But even if I return to the North, I’ll continue to believe that the state’s propaganda is a lie. So the state is likely to step up controls and inspections to prevent the content of these broadcasts from spreading from the frontlines.

B: The loudspeaker broadcasts will have a pretty big impact on North Koreans. They will expose North Koreans to information from the outside world and make them distrust the state’s propaganda. The state will conduct intensive ideological indoctrination and propaganda to stop this.

Opinions about North Korea’s strategy toward the South

Daily NK: Why do you think North Korea has adopted such a hardline attitude toward the South recently? And what do you think this strategy will bring the North in the long run?

A: I think the North is taking a hard line against the South for the sake of internal cohesion. But in the long run, I think this strategy will harm the state. Launching garbage-laden balloons – a laughing stock even among friendly Russians – is going too far, and if it leads to an armed conflict, external pressure will only increase.

B: I think it’s a strategy to channel internal discontent outward. However, if North Korea continues this behavior, it will clearly harm the state. Even Chinese people call Kim Yo Jong a “louse,” and if this behavior continues, won’t the world label North Korea as a crazy country even more?

Daily NK works with a network of sources living in North Korea, China, and elsewhere. Their identities remain anonymous for security reasons. For more information about Daily NK’s network of reporting partners and information-gathering activities, please visit our FAQ page here.

Please send any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.

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Jeong Tae Joo

Jeong Tae Joo is one of Daily NK’s full-time journalists.

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13. N. Korean workers in Russia are getting paid less than ever before

N. Korean workers in Russia are getting paid less than ever before

Recently, North Korean trading companies reportedly deducted USD 500 per worker for return airfare from Vladivostok, Russia to Pyongyang

By Seulkee Jang - June 13, 2024

dailynk.com

N. Korean workers in Russia are getting paid less than ever before - Daily NK English

A large number of laborers worked on this building in Ussuriysk, Russia. / Image: Daily NK source

The officials sent to manage North Korean workers overseas are extorting workers’ wages worse than ever. North Korean overseas workers feel discouraged and oppressed as they take home no more than 40% of what they are supposed to earn.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a Daily NK source in Russia said Monday that “A,” a construction worker who was repatriated to North Korea late last month, received five years of back pay from his supervisor.

All he received just before returning to the North was USD 2,000. This was for five years of construction work in Russia since 2019, during which he did not receive a single payment.

Because he was a military construction worker serving in Russia instead of in the army, “A” expected to earn much less than civilian workers. But it was still a disappointingly small sum for five years of working day and night in terrible conditions.

North Korean workers sent abroad do not receive a monthly salary, but a lump sum payment just before or just after they return to the North. Instead, they certify how much they have earned each month by signing a monthly statement showing how much they have saved up to that point.

“A” saw that he had saved more than USD 5,000 as recently as his April statement, just before he returned to the North.

Military construction workers sent to Russia contractually earn USD 100 per month, but when it came time to settle the account, the managing official paid less than 40% of what “A” was supposed to receive.

When the workers asked why they were receiving so much less than they were promised, they were told that Socialist Patriotic Youth League fees, food and lodging costs, medical expenses, and airfare back to North Korea were deducted from their earnings.

North Korean trading companies reportedly deducted USD 500 per worker for return airfare from Vladivostok, Russia to Pyongyang.

North Korean trading companies often receive more than USD 3,000 per month per North Korean worker from Russian construction companies, but senior officials overseeing military construction workers take more than 95% of this, the source said.

“The monthly government quota per construction worker is usually USD 3,000,” the source said. “North Korean workers, especially military construction workers, are more expensive because they are stronger than ordinary workers, so they work intensively and can complete buildings quickly.”

North Korean trading companies typically receive between USD 25,000 and USD 30,000 to build a house or small commercial building in three months. Because three or four workers are assigned to such projects, if the money went entirely to the workers, they would receive at least USD 2,080 each.

However, the trading companies pay the workers only USD 100 per month and further extort them by deducting living expenses. They are also supposed to pay the government USD 250 per month.

The trading company officials who supervise the military construction workers are army field officers with the rank of major or above. These military officials steal their men’s wages. However, because military construction workers go overseas in lieu of military service, they cannot protest or complain about their meager wages.

In response, the military construction workers grumble that they are “little more than money-printing machines” and that “they would never have come if they knew they’d make so little for working almost to death,” the source said.

Meanwhile, North Korean authorities are rushing to replace the workers sent to Russia.

Unlike in the past, when North Korea sent workers to Russia in small groups using circuitous routes to avoid detection by the international sanctions regime, the North is now sending large numbers of them relatively freely on flights as Pyongyang and Moscow grow closer.

Daily NK works with a network of sources living in North Korea, China, and elsewhere. Their identities remain anonymous for security reasons. For more information about Daily NK’s network of reporting partners and information-gathering activities, please visit our FAQ page here.

Please send any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.

Read in Korean

Seulkee Jang

Seulkee Jang is one of Daily NK’s full-time reporters and covers North Korean economic and diplomatic issues, including workers dispatched abroad. Jang has a M.A. in Sociology from University of North Korean Studies and a B.A. in Sociology from Yonsei University. She can be reached at skjang(at)uni-media.net.

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14. UN Security Council discusses North Korean human rights

Excerpt:

Before the UNSC meeting, 57 U.N. member states and the delegation of the European Union issued a statement on the North’s rights, calling for all U.N. members to work together to bring “concrete” change to improve the welfare of North Koreans and contribute to a more peaceful and secure world.

UN Security Council discusses North Korean human rights

The meeting on Wednesday was the first the council has held on North Korea’s rights in 10 months.

https://www.rfa.org/english/news/korea/nk-un-rights-06132024000714.html

By Taejun Kang for RFA

2024.06.13

Taipei, Taiwan

South Korean Ambassador to the United Nations Joonkook Hwang, acting as president of the U.N. Security Council for June, chairs a meeting of the Council on North Korean human rights at U.N. headquarters in New York, June 12, 2024.

 Mike Segar/Reuters

North Korea’s human rights took center stage at a U.N. Security Council (UNSC) meeting as diplomats, experts and activists strongly condemned a deteriorating rights situation, saying North Korea is increasing the suffering of its people while pursuing its nuclear program.

The meeting was held annually from 2014 to 2017 but then went on a hiatus before resuming in August last year. The meeting on Wednesday was the first the council has held on North Korea’s rights in 10 months.

“If human rights violations stop, nuclear weapons development will also stop,” said South Korea’s ambassador to the U.N., Hwang Joon-kook, who is this month’s rotating UNSC president.

“This is why we need to look at the DPRK human rights situation from the perspective of international peace and security,” he added, referring to the North by its official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk told the meeting that repression of freedom of movement and expression had intensified in North Korea in recent years, and that socio-economic living conditions had become unbearably harsh due to food shortages.

“Accountability for these longstanding, serious and widespread violations needs to be a priority. Ten years ago, the U.N. Commission of Inquiry on human rights in the DPRK called on the Council to refer the situation to the International Criminal Court, which I endorse,” said Türk.

U.N. Special Rapporteur on human rights in North Korea Elizabeth Salmon also stressed that Pyongyang’s continued prioritization of its military, nuclear and missile programs has put a heavy burden on the people, particularly women and children. 

“Resources available for realizing human rights are reduced, exploitation of labor to finance militarization becomes rampant, and, as a result, the protection of fundamental freedoms and human rights is often overlooked,” she said.  

South Korean Ambassador to the United Nations Joonkook Hwang, acting as president of the U.N. Security Council for June, holds a vote of the Council at a meeting on North Korean human rights at U.N. headquarters in New York, June 12, 2024. (Mike Segar/Reuters)

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield reiterated that she has made it a priority to meet North Korean defectors and push the North's human rights abuses to the “top” of the UNSC agenda.

“Protecting human rights is not a distraction from safeguarding peace and security. The two are inextricably linked,” she said.

Japanese Ambassador to the U.N. Kazuyuki Yamazaki urged North Korea to take “tangible steps” to address human rights violations.

“We strongly urge it to suspend its nuclear and ballistic missile programs and return to dialogue in full compliance with Security Council resolutions,” said Yamazaki.

A young North Korean defector representing civil society also spoke, appealing to the international community to stand with the North Korean people, not the regime.

“The country that supposedly had nothing to envy in the world was nowhere to be seen,” said Kim, referring to a North Korean slogan. “In its place were political prison camps, death from starvation, public executions and people risking their lives to escape.” 

“We need to give the same level of importance to North Korea’s people’s rights as we do to nuclear weapons and missiles.” 

Russian, Chinese displeasure

Russian and Chinese representatives, who opposed a procedural vote on the adoption of the human rights agenda, voiced their displeasure at the meeting.

“While the whole world looks toward the council with hope, anticipating that it will resolve complicated global issues, it is squandering resources on a discussion of groundless and blatantly politicized matters,” said Vasily Nebenzya, Russia’s ambassador to the U.N.

Geng Shuang, China’s deputy U.N. representative, reiterated Beijing’s position that the UNSC is not the proper place to address human rights issues.

“It should not intervene in country-specific human rights issues,” he said. “We’ve always opposed the politicization of human rights issues or using human rights as a pretext to exert pressure on other countries.”

Joint statement

Before the UNSC meeting, 57 U.N. member states and the delegation of the European Union issued a statement on the North’s rights, calling for all U.N. members to work together to bring “concrete” change to improve the welfare of North Koreans and contribute to a more peaceful and secure world.

South Korean Ambassador to the United Nations Joonkook Hwang reads a joint statement as he appears with representatives of U.N. Security Council members and non-council members ahead of chairing a meeting on North Korean human rights at U.N. headquarters in New York, June 12, 2024. (Mike Segar/Reuters)

“The DPRK continues to commit systematic, widespread and gross human rights violations and abuses,” they said in a statement read out by South Korea’s Ambassador to the U.N. Hwang.

“These include restrictions on freedom of expression, freedom of movement, collective punishment, arbitrary detention, torture and other cruel, inhumane and degrading punishments, including public executions without trial and issues related to abductees, detainees and unrepatriated prisoners of war.”

Edited by RFA Staff.

​15. “Crap Attack” Against South Korea: North Korea Sends Balloons Carrying Trash Across the DMZ

Ambassador King is a little more diplomatic than me as I have used S**t show rather the "crap attack."

“Crap Attack” Against South Korea: North Korea Sends Balloons Carrying Trash Across the DMZ - Korea Economic Institute of America

keia.org · · June 11, 2024

“Crap Attack” Against South Korea: North Korea Sends Balloons Carrying Trash Across the DMZ

Published June 11, 2024

Author: Robert King

Category: South Korea

During the week from May 28 to June 2, North Korea released over 1,000 large balloons across the demilitarized zone (DMZ) into South Korea. The balloons carried payloads of manure, cigarette butts, used batteries, cloth and plastic fragments, and lots of scrap paper (including used toilet paper). One report said that even dirty diapers were included. Time Magazine has dubbed the North Korean effort a “crap attack.” Photographs released by South Korean military authorities showed inflated balloons with plastic bags attached. Other photos showed trash strewn around deflated balloons, and in one photo, “excrement” was handwritten on one of the packages.

The South Korean government’s response has been measured but cautious. Military teams trained to deal with chemical attacks and handle explosives have been sent out to check the balloons. Some of the balloons were equipped with timers, suggesting that the trash bags were designed to pop open in midair to more widely scatter their offensive contents. Government officials have urged South Koreans to exercise great caution with the balloons and the attached packages. Military officials said the balloons carried trash and manure but said no dangerous substances such as chemical, biological, or radioactive materials were found. There are, however, potential health risks from contact with excrement. South Korean officials issued warnings to avoid contact with the materials carried by the balloons.

South Korean government officials warned Pyongyang on June 2 that strong countermeasures would be taken unless the North ceased the balloon bombardment. Officials said that such actions were contrary to the 1953 armistice agreement that ended the Korean War. On that same day, the North Korean government announced that it would stop sending the trash-carrying balloons. A North Korean spokesperson called the balloons “gifts of sincerity,” and another statement said that sending “discussive” messages had been an effective countermeasure against the efforts of hostile forces.

The Continuing Squabble over Leafletting from South Korea

Based on statements from authoritative voices in the North, sending these trash-laden balloons to South Korea was principally intended to discourage the South from sending balloons with propaganda leaflets into the North. In response to the South Korean government’s statement on June 2, North Korea claimed to have scattered “15 tons of waste paper” using thousands of “devices.” A statement by Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his closest confidant and ally, said that North Korea sent the balloons to make good on its promise to “scatter mounds of wastepaper and filth” in reaction to previous campaigns by South Korean private citizens sending balloons with leaflets, US dollars, and videos into North Korea.

Private organizations and individuals from South Korea sending leaflets to the North has been taking place for some time now. In 2014, North Korea’s National Defense Commission, its highest national security body, sent messages to the Blue House in Seoul demanding the end of leaflet distributions via balloons to the North. The message said this was a precondition for holding high-level discussions with Pyongyang. At that time, the Kaesong Industrial Complex was an important and successful element of North-South cooperation, and North Korea made it clear that unless steps were taken to end the private distribution of leaflets, cooperation at Kaesong would suffer.

A decade later, leaflets continue to be a point of conflict between Pyongyang and Seoul. First, Kim Yo Jong has been a leading voice in North Korea denouncing the sending of leaflets to the North via balloon by private South Korean activists. In the summer of 2020, Kim issued a vicious denunciation of North Korean refugees now in South Korea who were responsible for sending the leaflets. She called the North Korean refugees “human scum, hardly worth their value as human beings,” “human scum little short of wild animals who betrayed their own homeland,” and “mongrel dogs as they bark where they should not.” (See The Peninsula Blog, June 2020.)

South Korean President Moon Jae-in (2017-2022) sought to improve relations with the North during his tenure. With his ruling party holding a majority in the National Assembly, legislation was adopted to prohibit the sending of balloons laden with propaganda leaflets, bible verses, and DVDs across the border into North Korea. The legislation imposed stiff fines and jail terms for violators. When a defector organization in South Korea launched leaflet balloons into the North in May 2021, the head of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency investigated, and Kim Yo Jong issued another denunciation against the Moon government for not stopping the balloon launches.

Squabble over Leafletting in the Context of Rising North-South Tensions

The intensified polemics over leafletting into the North and the “crap attack” balloons being sent to the South in response are more likely a symptom than a cause of increased inter-Korean tension. The leafletting has been happening for well over a decade, but the information leaflets reaching North Korea via balloon are not the principal source for outside information.

Balloons are a very dramatic and particularly photogenic symbol of the efforts being made to get information into the hermit kingdom. Far more important for getting information into North Korea are radios and, to a lesser extent, television broadcasts from South Korea, Radio Free Asia and Voice of America broadcasts in Korean by the United States, and Chinese government broadcasts in Korean for ethnic Koreans living in China near the border with North Korea. None of these information sources are as visually dramatic as balloons rising and being wafted along by the wind.

Recently, North Korea has strengthened ties with both Russia and China. Though Moscow and Pyongyang deny it, the North is providing ammunition and weapons to Russia for its ongoing war against Ukraine. Russian production lines are having difficulties keeping up with the demand for weapons and ammunition. North Korea uses Russian specifications for the weapons they produce, and the Russian purchases are helpful for the North Korean economy.

In March of this year, Russia exercised its right of veto in the UN Security Council to prevent extending the UN Panel of Experts an additional year to enforce UN sanctions against North Korea, which ended UN sanctions on North Korea for its development and testing of nuclear weapons. Russia had supported these UN sanctions for over a decade and a half.

In addition to more cordial and closer ties with Moscow, ties with Beijing are also positive, and China is North Korea’s largest trade partner. As China becomes more assertive internationally, relations with the North have remained cordial, while China’s relations with the United States and Europe have become strained.

While North Korean ties with Moscow and China are improving, relations between the two Koreas are becoming more difficult. This is not the result of a change in South Korea’s president. Moon Jae-in came into office in May 2017 with the intention of improving relations with the North. Despite his outreach to Pyongyang, relations did not markedly improve. In fact, it was during President Moon’s term that the Inter-Korean Liaison Office in the Kaesong Industrial Region was dramatically blown up by North Korea. Current South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has focused less on relations with the North. There has been little change in North-South relations under President Yoon.

Early this year, in a historic break with its policy on inter-Korean relations over most of the past eight decades, North Korea disbanded government organizations whose purpose was related to reunification with South Korea or that reflected a special relationship between the two Koreas. In a lengthy speech, Kim Jong Un said that the North Korean people must understand that South Korea is the “primary foe and invariable principal enemy.” Several organizations for North-South economic cooperation and reunification were disbanded by the North to reflect that change in policy.

More than anything, the trash balloons from North Korea are a gesture of contempt directed at South Korea. The balloons sent by non-government organizations from South Korea toward the North had minimal impact on the North Koreans. Although South Korean NGOs that send balloons to North Korea argue they are an important source of information for North Koreans, research suggests that balloons are of limited value in disseminating information.

Balloons as a Source of Information and Potential Risk to Trigger Violence

A RAND Corporation study completed in 2018 and based on publicly available information assessed the state of balloon and drone technology and the effect of delivering information into North Korea. The study compared efforts in Korea with early Cold War efforts using balloons to deliver information to Central European countries. Based on modeling, it concluded that balloons launched under favorable wind conditions could potentially penetrate deep into North Korea, but based on anecdotal reports, balloons do not get far beyond the border region. The study suggested that balloons are “saturating” the border area with leaflets and do not reach further into the country.

Studies conducted by US international information organizations have assessed how North Koreans are getting external information based on interviews with refugees and travelers who recently arrived from North Korea. There are limitations to information access because the North Korean government severely limits access to information about the country, but these studies represent the best available sources of information. This first study was done in 2012, and more recent information continues to suggest that balloon-delivered leaflets are not an important source of external information.

However, the balloon launch events do have value in South Korea for organizations focused on North Korean human rights. They provide valuable media attention with frequent photographs and videos of huge balloons carrying information leaflets and other information into North Korea. For such groups, the media events are useful in calling attention to their cause. While they may not be the best means of getting external information into the North, they do play an important role for the North Korean human rights community in the South.

Although the amount of information disseminated by balloon launches is modest at best, the balloons are a very visible symbol of the real contest between democratic South Korea and totalitarian North Korea. An unfortunate consequence of the confrontation between the two Koreas is that symbolic information balloons could result in the reality of much deadlier violence.

On June 4, the South Korean government suspended a previously signed military agreement with North Korea limiting actions that might lead to conflict “in order to resume front-line military activities” because of the rising tensions between the two governments over the trash balloons. In the recent past, live-fire military exercises and cross-border loudspeakers have not been used by either side. It would be unfortunate to have this current symbolic confrontation lead to serious violence.

Robert R. King is a Non-Resident Distinguished Fellow at the Korea Economic Institute of America (KEI). He is former US Special Envoy for North Korea Human Rights Issues (2009-2017). The views expressed here are the author’s alone.

Photo from Shutterstock.

KEI is registered under the FARA as an agent of the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy, a public corporation established by the government of the Republic of Korea. Additional information is available at the Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.

keia.org · by intern · June 11, 2024

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