Informal Institute for National Security Thinkers and Practitioners

Quotes of the Day:

“A ruling intelligentsia, whether in Europe, Asia or Africa, treats the masses as raw material to be experimented on, processed, and wasted at will.”

– Eric Hoffer, The Temper of Our Time

"The genius of the United States is not best or most in its executives or legislatures, nor in its ambassadors or authors or colleges, or churches, or parlors, nor even in its newspapers or inventors, but always most in the common people."

– Walt Whitman

"If you ever need a helping hand, it's at the end of your arm. As you get older, you must remember you have a second hand. The first one is to help yourself, the second one is to help others."

– Audrey Hepburn

1. ‘Whatever the party orders, we are screwed!’ (north Korea)

2. Press Statement of Vice Department Director of C.C., WPK Kim Yo Jong

3. N. Korea warns of 'highest' risk of clashes in 2024

4. S. Korea, U.S., Japan to hold 1st Indo-Pacific dialogue meeting this week: official

5. Unification ministry to dissolve foundation handling affairs of Kaesong complex

6. South Korea, US conduct week-long firing drills near North Korea border

7. In threatening shift, North Korea moves to redefine relations with South

8. Polish PM flags wrinkle in multibillion-dollar arms buy from SKorea

9. Russia Moves Forward With Plans to Buy Iranian Ballistic Missiles

10. S Korean spy agency sees Kim Jong Un’s daughter as ‘probable successor’

11. N. Korea issues orders to intensify security along border with China

12. New Year’s holiday exposes large gaps between N. Korea’s rich and poor

13. North Korea’s Kim Yo-jong blames S. Korean President for instability

14. Ex-Secretary Pompeo mentions NK while accusing Biden of 'decay of deterrence'

15. Yoon says terrorism is the enemy of liberal democracy

16. Self-reliance and Self-development Is Way to Prosperity: Rodong Sinmun

17. Unification Ministry's NK election interference warning raises concerns

1. ‘Whatever the party orders, we are screwed!’ (north Korea)

In some ways Koreans in the north are no different than many of us - they are just at higher risk when taking these kinds of actions.

I would like to see an assessment from the US military and intelligence community on the resistance potential in the north. Who is working on that?

‘Whatever the party orders, we are screwed!’

Slight alteration in propaganda slogan insults North Korean leadership, sparking big investigation.

https://www.rfa.org/english/news/korea/graffiti-01032024155455.html

By Moon Sung Hui for RFA Korean

2024.01.03

The slogan on the North Korean sign required only a slight tweak to become a major insult to the county’s leadership.

Animated gif by Amanda Weisbrod/RFA

A slogan signboard defaced with graffiti created a stir last month in North Korea, and authorities are on the hunt for the culprit.

The sign on a collective farm originally read, “Whatever the party orders, we will do!” – a widely used slogan on propaganda billboards plastered all over the country to promote patriotism, loyalty and sacrifice for the sake of national prosperity.

Using charcoal, someone added the word “fail” to the slogan, changing the meaning to something more like, “Whatever the party orders, we are screwed!”

The Dec. 19 incident in Posong-ri village was perceived as a major insult to the country’s leadership and an embarrassment for the farm in the northern province of Ryanggang, residents told Radio Free Asia.

The graffiti was first discovered by a security guard, who alerted the farm management committee, prompting them to scramble to erase the offending word before police and security officials could see it, a provincial resident said on condition of anonymity for personal safety.

“Several officials, including the management committee chairman, chief engineer, and lower-level party secretary, rushed to the scene,” he said. “Cooperative farm officials immediately erased the charcoal graffiti before anyone else could see it.”

But in the process, they inadvertently hampered the subsequent investigation by leaving so many of their own footprints at the scene and no trace of the culprit’s, he said.

Bold move

After the incident, authorities blocked the major road that connects the area around the farm with the provincial capital Hyesan, and heightened monitoring of people visiting the area from other parts of the country, the resident told RFA Korean.

News of the incident spread throughout the province, and many people were surprised that someone would be so bold as to deface the sign during the 10-day period of national mourning for the late former leader Kim Jong Il, the father of current leader Kim Jong Un, a second resident told RFA on condition of anonymity for personal safety reasons.

Since his death in 2011, the country has observed the mourning period from Dec. 17-27 each year.

A North Korean woman rides a bicycle at Migok Cooperative Farm in Sariwon, North Hwanghae province, Sept. 23, 2012. The signs read "To fight for harvesting" [left] and "To perform patriotism led by Kim Jong Il." (Vincent Yu/AP)

The slogan on the sign – “Whatever the party orders, we will do!” – first appeared during one of the bleakest times in North Korea’s history, the 1994-1998 famine that killed as many as 2 million people or about 10% of the country by some estimates.

Since then it has become one of the most widely used slogans by the ruling Korean Workers’ Party.

Major investigation

Authorities have scrutinized people from out of town, the second resident said.

“The state security department of Ryanggang Province investigated an out-of-town resident who had stayed in Posong-ri without registering his stay on the night of the 19th which was the day of the incident,” she said.

Authorities also investigated the families of people from Posong-ri who were tried publicly at the Hyesan Airfield that day.

RFA reported that the Hyesan Airfield public trial culminated with a public execution of a man who killed a woman while trying to steal some beans from her. Another 12 people, some of whom were residents of Posong-ri and worked at the farm, were given lengthy prison sentences for less serious crimes.

The culprit could not have committed his treasonous act alone, the second resident said.

“The slogan board is installed at a height much higher than that of an adult, so it is impossible to scribble [graffiti] without someone’s help,” she said. “For this reason, the state security and social security departments of Ryanggang Province are investigating, with the belief that there are at least two culprits.”

Posong-ri experienced a similar incident in 2016, when leaflets and graffiti that insulted Kim Jong Un were found at the Posong train station, the second resident said, adding that authorities never found out who was responsible.

Regarding the incident at the farm, she said that copycats would likely deface similar signs in other parts of the country because news would soon spread.

“Currently, in Posong-ri, the Nampo City Battalion, who were here constructing houses, are rushing to prepare to go home ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday,” she said.

“When they return home,” she predicted, “we will see more signs that say ‘Whatever the party orders we are screwed!’ will appear all over the place.”

Translated by Claire Shinyoung Oh Lee and Leejin J. Chung. Edited by Eugene Whong.

2. Press Statement of Vice Department Director of C.C., WPK Kim Yo Jong

I believe Kim Yo Jong is still trying to recover from Kim Jong Un's major miscalculation in September 2018 when he allowed President Moon to speak to 100,000 or so Koreans in the north in Pyongyang. President Moon's speech, while panned by conservatives in the South, was well received by the Koreans in the north who saw a smart, articulate president from the South who they thought would work with Kim Jong Jong and with whom they thought Kim Jong Un could get a deal. But this undid decades of propaganda against the South that painted the South's leaders as substanatandard and puppets of the US.

The irony of Kim Yo Jong's comments below is that she is really describing a form of political warfare by President Moon against the north. If only that were the case (and we should do that because the regime is deathly afraid of it).

Also note the lie that says the regime suspended their nuclear development because of Moon.

Most importantly, these remarks may be an indication that the real threat for the regime is internal from the Korean people. This and other statements are all about identifying the threat from the South (and the US) in order to keep the people in check and justify their suffering and sacrifice as the regime spends its resources on advanced military capabilities (nuclear and missiles) luxury goods to sustain the support of the elite.

Here is Kim Yo Jong's critique of former President Moon.

Such a world reminds me of Moon Jae In, the former master of Chongwadae.

He was a very sagacious and crafty man.

He, pretending weak-mindedness, closely clung to us, offering a package of peace in order to bind our hands, and behind laid obstacles in our efforts to bolster up the prospective military capabilities for deterring the U.S. and its war servants while inwardly meeting all his needs.

He was so good at pretending and captivating us as if he would do anything for us, talking about "same blood", "peace" and "co-prosperity" in an inarticulate way of speaking peculiar to him.

In retrospect, he was a man so difficult to deal with and a person really good at securing security.

He pleaded for the ban on nuclear and missile launch tests to us, but behind he imported dozens of U.S. F-35As, commissioned several submarines and realized the complete abolition of the missile range restriction measure, sticking to his master.

A soft answer turned away wrath.

It was a great loss that we, seized by his seeming "will for peace", lost a lot of time which we should spend for enhancing our combat efficiency.

When I think of it now, if the second Moon Jae In had taken the power, it should have been a serious trouble to us.

It is a golden opportunity to us that Yoon Suk Yeol, a "brave" man close to ignorance, has taken the presidential position.

It is because Yoon is helping us to make up for our above-said loss ten times, twenty times or more.

The tremendous military muscle we are so satisfied with and trust in may have been hard to be secured in such a short span of time without the military confrontation attitude that Yoon showed so wildly and his clamoring for "collapse" of our country and "punishment".

It may be glad to hear or thankful that anyway Yoon's pledge to complete the "ROK"-U.S. extended deterrence system by the first half of this year in his New Year address gave us again the justification and validity to further put spurs to securing more overwhelming nuclear combat capability.

We were presented with a truly "valuable gift".

Press Statement of Vice Department Director of C.C., WPK Kim Yo Jong

https://kcnawatch.org/newstream/1704235048-273775866/press-statement-of-vice-department-director-of-c-c-wpk-kim-yo-jong/?utm

Date: 02/01/2024 | Source: KCNA.kp (En) | Read original version at source

Pyongyang, January 2 (KCNA) -- Kim Yo Jong, vice department director of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, on Tuesday issued the following press statement "New Year message to the president of the Republic of Korea":

It is a ritual for people to give and take greetings and well-wishing remarks on the occasion of the New Year, so I've sent New Year greetings to many friends.

Then, I saw the so-called New Year address made by President Yoon Suk Yeol of the Republic of Korea (ROK) on January 1, and I came to realize that I was missing this "indebted person" for a moment.

And I felt an impulse to send greetings to him, who is very busy "spreading the north nuclear and missile phobia" in his utterly troublous house from the outset of the new year, saying that "they will complete the south Korea-U.S. extended deterrence system by the first half of this year to contain the nuclear and missile threats from the north" and that "they will further speed up the building up of south Korea's three-axis defence system in the face of the north's nuclear and missile threats", and "praise" him for the "feats" he has made so far.

The present security situation on the Korean peninsula is so critical that it may be not strange to see the outbreak of war at once, and the security uneasiness has become a commonplace in the ROK. This is entirely ascribable to the "merits" of President Yoon Suk Yeol.

This person, whose thinking faculty and personality had been very strange since he sought to take power, has persistently called for "peace by force" and got hell-bent on the beefing up of the extended deterrence and the south Korea-U.S. joint military exercises after coming to power, thus putting the destiny of the ROK on the last extremity. So everyone is critical of him, but I would like to "praise" him.

I don't know if others can regard my meaning as jeers, but it is from the bottom of my heart.

He turned the ROK into a "target" with the introduction of U.S. nuclear strategic assets and expanded indiscriminate joint military drills of various scales all the year round, making such rhetoric threats as "end of regime", and thus incited the anger of the DPRK, "principal enemy" of the ROK, to the utmost and made us totally slip the safety catch of "trigger" of arms targeting Seoul. Such "ability" is not what anyone can possess.

It is obvious that the accusations against President Yoon Suk Yeol who destroyed the security as a whole, will grow stronger in south Korea. But he deserves to be praised by us as the "top-class person" who made a significant "contribution" to building up the self-defensive and irresistible military muscle on the part of the DPRK.

It is much easier to deal with a stupid, honest man who has shown his hostility against the enemy than a wicked man with honey in his mouth and a sword in his heart.

Thanks to the frequent introduction of U.S. nuclear carriers, nuclear submarines and nuclear strategic bombers allegedly to frighten anyone, the DPRK could develop its military capabilities in a reasonable and effective way.

As they defined and announced the regime and the army in the north as their "principal enemy to be destroyed", we could make clear who is our true enemy and further develop our outlook on the enemy like a sharp bayonet. As they talked about "unification under the liberal democracy" like monk's chanting prayers, we could awaken our people to prevent them from falling into such illusions as "national reconciliation and unity and peaceful reunification". As they began to reconsider provisions of the September 19 north-south military agreement, the military activities of our army, which had been placed under restraint for years due to such agreement as wastepaper, came to get winged again.

How small can that "merits" be?

Such a world reminds me of Moon Jae In, the former master of Chongwadae.

He was a very sagacious and crafty man.

He, pretending weak-mindedness, closely clung to us, offering a package of peace in order to bind our hands, and behind laid obstacles in our efforts to bolster up the prospective military capabilities for deterring the U.S. and its war servants while inwardly meeting all his needs.

He was so good at pretending and captivating us as if he would do anything for us, talking about "same blood", "peace" and "co-prosperity" in an inarticulate way of speaking peculiar to him.

In retrospect, he was a man so difficult to deal with and a person really good at securing security.

He pleaded for the ban on nuclear and missile launch tests to us, but behind he imported dozens of U.S. F-35As, commissioned several submarines and realized the complete abolition of the missile range restriction measure, sticking to his master.

A soft answer turned away wrath.

It was a great loss that we, seized by his seeming "will for peace", lost a lot of time which we should spend for enhancing our combat efficiency.

When I think of it now, if the second Moon Jae In had taken the power, it should have been a serious trouble to us.

It is a golden opportunity to us that Yoon Suk Yeol, a "brave" man close to ignorance, has taken the presidential position.

It is because Yoon is helping us to make up for our above-said loss ten times, twenty times or more.

The tremendous military muscle we are so satisfied with and trust in may have been hard to be secured in such a short span of time without the military confrontation attitude that Yoon showed so wildly and his clamoring for "collapse" of our country and "punishment".

It may be glad to hear or thankful that anyway Yoon's pledge to complete the "ROK"-U.S. extended deterrence system by the first half of this year in his New Year address gave us again the justification and validity to further put spurs to securing more overwhelming nuclear combat capability.

We were presented with a truly "valuable gift".

President Yoon, indeed, deserves to be granted the title of "special class hero", as he makes steady "contributions" without asking for any reward for his efforts to bolster up the military muscle of the DPRK.

Given the maniac attitude for confrontation being posed by President Yoon from the outset of the new year with the "north wind" and "arms wind", it is obvious that, not content with his deed of putting the delicate destiny of the imperiled ROK on the dressing board last year, he is going to put it on a hot griddle this year.

Not sure to say for the ROK, but, anyway for us, it is a pretty good chance that a "brave president", who feels no anxiety even about the consequence to be entailed by his behavior and words, appeared.

I cordially welcome ROK President Yoon Suk Yeol's pledge to continuously render "distinctive services" to the rapid development of our state's military superiority in the new year, too. -0-

www.kcna.kp (Juche113.1.2.)

Date: 02/01/2024 | Source: KCNA.kp (En) | Read original version at source

It is a ritual for people to give and take greetings and well-wishing remarks on the occasion of the New Year, so I've sent New Year greetings to many friends.

Then, I saw the so-called New Year address made by President Yoon Suk Yeol of the Republic of Korea (ROK) on January 1, and I came to realize that I was missing this "indebted person" for a moment.

I don't know if others can regard my meaning as jeers, but it is from the bottom of my heart.

It is much easier to deal with a stupid, honest man who has shown his hostility against the enemy than a wicked man with honey in his mouth and a sword in his heart.

How small can that "merits" be?

Such a world reminds me of Moon Jae In, the former master of Chongwadae.

He was a very sagacious and crafty man.

He was so good at pretending and captivating us as if he would do anything for us, talking about "same blood", "peace" and "co-prosperity" in an inarticulate way of speaking peculiar to him.

In retrospect, he was a man so difficult to deal with and a person really good at securing security.

A soft answer turned away wrath.

It was a great loss that we, seized by his seeming "will for peace", lost a lot of time which we should spend for enhancing our combat efficiency.

When I think of it now, if the second Moon Jae In had taken the power, it should have been a serious trouble to us.

It is a golden opportunity to us that Yoon Suk Yeol, a "brave" man close to ignorance, has taken the presidential position.

It is because Yoon is helping us to make up for our above-said loss ten times, twenty times or more.

We were presented with a truly "valuable gift".

I cordially welcome ROK President Yoon Suk Yeol's pledge to continuously render "distinctive services" to the rapid development of our state's military superiority in the new year, too. -0-

www.kcna.kp (Juche113.1.2.)

3. N. Korea warns of 'highest' risk of clashes in 2024

The more the regime focuses on threat perception the more likely Kim is feeling threatened by internal dynamics. He must have the threat.

That said, I was speaking with a friend and colleague who is an escapee from the north, and he expressed concern that Putin is trying to push Kim into initiating conflict. Unlike his grandfather he does not think Kim is smart enough to play Xi and Putin off against each other like his grandfather did with Mao and Stalin. He fears Kim can be manipulated by both and especially Putin.

N. Korea warns of 'highest' risk of clashes in 2024 | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Soo-yeon · January 4, 2024

SEOUL, Jan. 4 (Yonhap) -- North Korea strongly denounced a series of military drills that South Korea has conducted in the new year, warning that chances of a clash between the two sides will be the highest this year.

The North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said the South began the new year with "self-destructive" acts, referring to Army artillery exercises, naval firing drills and other maneuvers that South Korea's military has recently conducted.

"There will be the highest risk of clashes this year, as invading forces, such as the United States and Japan, will crawl into the peninsula under the South Korean puppet group's plea and active cooperation and they will likely stage unprecedented provocative war moves such as a nuclear strike," the KCNA said.

The report warned that South Korean "warmongers" will only face the "most painful moments they cannot even imagine" if they continue to stage confrontational moves against North Korea.

This week, the South Korean Army carried out artillery and live-fire drills and the Navy also conducted exercises involving warships and aircraft in a bid to strengthen its defense posture against North Korea's potential provocations.

At a year-end party meeting, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un defined inter-Korean ties as relations between "two nations hostile to each other" and ordered preparations for "a great event to suppress the whole territory" of South Korea in the event of a contingency.

This photo, provided by the Army on Jan. 2, 2024, shows K9 self-propelled howitzers of the 2nd Artillery Brigade taking part in a live-fire exercise at a training ground in Hwacheon County, 89 kilometers northeast of Seoul. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

sooyeon@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Soo-yeon · January 4, 2024

4. S. Korea, U.S., Japan to hold 1st Indo-Pacific dialogue meeting this week: official

The three "allies" continue to institutionalize the agreements from Camp David and to put into place processes that will sustain the relationships beyond political changes within all three countries.

S. Korea, U.S., Japan to hold 1st Indo-Pacific dialogue meeting this week: official | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Yi Wonju · January 4, 2024

SEOUL, Jan. 4 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's deputy foreign minister is visiting Washington this week to attend the first meeting of the envisioned three-way Indo-Pacific dialogue with his U.S. and Japanese counterparts, a ministry official said Thursday.

At the landmark Camp David summit in August last year, the leaders of South Korea, the United States and Japan agreed to launch the annual trilateral Indo-Pacific dialogue focused on coordinating implementation of their respective Indo-Pacific approaches.

During their talks Friday, Deputy Foreign Minister Chung Byung-won and his U.S. and Japanese counterparts -- Daniel Kritenbrink and Yasuhiro Kobe, respectively -- will discuss ways to step up trilateral cooperation in the region with an emphasis on partnership with Southeast Asian and Pacific Island countries, according to the official.

Separately, Chung will hold bilateral consultations with Kritenbrink and meet other officials, including those at the U.S. National Security Council.

It marks Chung's first visit to the U.S. since he took office in August. Late last month, he visited Japan to discuss pending bilateral issues with Takehiro Funakoshi, Japan's senior deputy foreign minister.

(From L to R) South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pose for a photo prior to their trilateral summit meeting at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland on Aug. 18, 2023, in this file photo. (Yonhap)

julesyi@yna.co.kr

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en.yna.co.kr · by Yi Wonju · January 4, 2024

5. Unification ministry to dissolve foundation handling affairs of Kaesong complex

(LEAD) Unification ministry to dissolve foundation handling affairs of Kaesong complex | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Soo-yeon · January 4, 2024

(ATTN: UPDATES with more details throughout, photo)

SEOUL, Jan. 4 (Yonhap) -- The unification ministry said Thursday it has decided to dissolve the foundation in charge of assisting the operation of a now-shuttered joint industrial complex in North Korea's border city of Kaesong amid frosty inter-Korean ties.

The move came nearly eight years after South Korea shut down the industrial complex in the namesake city in protest of North Korea's nuclear test and its long-range missile launch.

The foundation -- set up in 2007 to support the operation of the factory park -- has almost ceased to function since the shutdown of the complex.

"As the industrial park has long been suspended, it is almost impossible for the foundation to normally carry out its basic work of developing and assisting the operation of the complex," a ministry official told reporters on condition of anonymity.

North Korea's unauthorized operation of the complex also affected the government's decision to dissolve the foundation, he said.

The ministry said last month North Korea has been running some 30 South Korean-owned factories at the complex without authorization. The number tripled from around 10 facilities in May 2023.

This file photo, taken March 13, 2023, shows the Kaesong Industrial Complex, a joint industrial park in the North's border city of Kaesong. (Yonhap)

The process to dismantle the foundation is expected to start in late March, the official said.

The government plans to transfer the foundation's remaining work to a public organization handling inter-Korean exchanges and will also carry out voluntary retirements for workers at the foundation.

The unification ministry has been mulling restructuring the foundation since conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol in July criticized the ministry as a government agency "assisting North Korea."

Since taking office in May 2022, Yoon has taken a hard-line stance against North Korea over Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs, and underscored efforts to improve North Korea's dismal human rights situation.

Relations between the two Koreas will remain sharply strained this year, as North Korean leader Kim Jong-un defined inter-Korean ties as relations between "two nations hostile to each other" at a year-end party meeting.

The factory park, once a symbol of inter-Korean reconciliation, was home to more than 120 small South Korean plants that produced garments and other labor-intensive goods by employing more than 54,300 North Korean workers.

In 2020, North Korea blew up the joint liaison office in the Kaesong complex in anger over South Korea's failure to stop North Korean defectors from sending anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the border.

This file image, captured from North Korea's Central Television on June 17, 2020, shows the North's demolition of the inter-Korean liaison office in the North's border town of Kaesong the previous day. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

sooyeon@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Soo-yeon · January 4, 2024

6. South Korea, US conduct week-long firing drills near North Korea border

The troops had an interesting New Year.

Asia Pacific

South Korea, US conduct week-long firing drills near North Korea border

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/south-korea-us-conduct-week-long-firing-drills-near-north-korea-border-2024-01-04/?utm

By Jack Kim

January 4, 20241:03 AM ESTUpdated 6 hours ago

[1/4]A South Korean army K1A2 tank takes part in a joint combat firing drill between South Korean and U.S. troops near the demilitarized zone separating two Koreas, in Pocheon, South Korea, January 2, 2024. The Defense Ministry/Handout via REUTERS Acquire Licensing Rights

SEOUL, Jan 4 (Reuters) - South Korean and U.S. troops have conducted joint combat firing drills near the border with North Korea involving heavy weapons, as Pyongyang lambasted the allies for dangerous moves pushing the region to the brink of "an inferno of nuclear war."

The exercise by a South Korean Army mechanised infantry brigade and U.S. Army armoured Stryker brigade was to test and enhance combat readiness simulating enemy aggression, South Korea said in a statement on Thursday.

The drills took place over a week starting on Dec. 29 and ended on Thursday, the South Korean Army said.

The allies have dramatically increased the scale and intensity of joint drills in the past year amid escalating tension on the Korean peninsula as Pyongyang tested both long-range ballistic missiles and tactical weapons designed to strike targets in the South and the Pacific.

The U.S. has also deployed more military assets near the Korean peninsula including a nuclear missile submarine, aircraft carriers and large bombers.

Wrapping up a major ruling party meeting, leader Kim Jong Un on Saturday lashed out at Washington for deploying large weapons and vowed to increase the North's nuclear arsenal and grow attack capabilities to "pacify the South."

The North called the joint firing drills "reckless war manoeuvres" and mocked South Korea for backing Washington's hegemonic ambitions "when it has no chance of winning or survival."

"With the instinct of confrontation deep in their bones, the puppets again marked the new year by making the aggressive choice that stokes war," the North's official KCNA news agency said in a commentary.

"2024 is the year of the highest risk of conflict," it said.

The joint drills involved more than 110 large combat weapons including South Korean army tanks, anti-aircraft artillery and combat earthmovers supported by U.S. military attack aircraft and armoured fighting vehicles, the Army said.

South Korea's navy on Wednesday conducted live firing drills and anti-submarine manoeuvres in the waters in the east, west and the south involving destroyers, frigates and corvettes, the navy said.

Reporting by Jack Kim; Editing by Lincoln Feast

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

7. In threatening shift, North Korea moves to redefine relations with South

Two points. The regime is not really redefining relations but is accurately describing regime reality - e.g., the regime is not interested in unification and never has been. It has used the idea of unification for only one objective - to pursue domination of the peninsula under the rule of the Guerrilla Dynasty and Gulag State.

Second, by ending the focus on unification, closing the office responsible for unification and raising tensions and the threat of possible war, the regime is actually setting up conditions to be able to be walked back in the future when it decides to go back to negotiations. A "concession" the regime will be willing to make ifs to re-establish its unification office.

Asia Pacific

In threatening shift, North Korea moves to redefine relations with South

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/threatening-shift-north-korea-moves-redefine-relations-with-south-2024-01-04/?utm

By Hyonhee Shin and Josh Smith

January 4, 20241:04 AM ESTUpdated 6 hours ago

[1/3]A South Korean soldier stands guard in the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, South Korea, February 7, 2023. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights

SEOUL, Jan 4 (Reuters) - North Korea is shaking up the way it handles relations with South Korea, enacting changes to policy and government organisations that would effectively treat the South as a separate, enemy state.

The moves, which break with decades of policy, could have North Korea's foreign ministry taking over relations with the South, and potentially help justify the use of nuclear weapons against Seoul in a future war, analysts said.

Since the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a stalemate, both nations have had policies that treat each other differently than other countries.

That has included relying on special agencies and ministries for inter-Korean relations rather than their foreign ministries, and embracing policies for a future peaceful reunification, usually envisioning a single state with two systems.

But in remarks to a year-end party meeting last week, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said peaceful reunification is impossible, and said the government would make a “decisive policy change” in relations with the "enemy". He also ordered the military to be prepared to pacify and occupy the South in the event of a crisis.

The changes in policy could help North Korea justify using nuclear weapons against the South, as it has increasingly threatened in recent years, said Hong Min, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification in Seoul.

"If they give up on peaceful unification and redefine South Korea as a hostile enemy country with no diplomatic relations, the contradiction of using nuclear weapons against the same people will be eliminated," Hong said.

REFLECTING REALITY

Some observers say North Korea's declarations simply reflect the reality of two countries with deep divisions and disparities.

"North Korea in recent years had suggested that it was moving toward a fundamental shift in South Korea policy, and the December 2023 Party plenum not only confirmed it, it also formalised it," said Rachel Minyoung Lee, of the U.S.-based Stimson Center.

The extent of the organisational changes is unclear, and some analysts said that because such rhetoric is more closely reflecting the status quo, there is unlikely to be a major shift in the already antagonistic relationship between the two Koreas.

Previous periods of high tensions, for example during the "fire and fury" of 2016 and 2017, have also occasionally been followed by periods of detent and diplomacy, including during the 2018 and 2019 summits between Kim and the presidents of South Korea and the United States.

"North Korea in its report on the result of the party plenary meeting said it would not consider us as a counterpart for reconciliation and unification but the truth is that it has never sincerely pushed for them," an official with the South's unification ministry, which handles relations with the North, said in a statement on Wednesday.

FOREIGN MINISTER

The United Front Department (UFD) of the Workers' Party of Korea has traditionally been tasked with relations with the South, including intelligence gathering and propaganda efforts.

But even if talks do someday resume, the announcement likely means that Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui, a seasoned diplomat, will be the one overseeing relations with the South, said Michael Madden, a North Korea leadership expert with the Stimson Center.

"I would trace her role as a substantive adviser on unification and South Korea policy to Kim's 2019 visit to the former inter-Korea resort near Mt. Kumgang. Her attendance at that event was not unprecedented but it was most unusual and portended her writ expanding to South Korean policy," Madden said.

The fact that Choe, a career diplomat who has played little role in inter-Korean affairs, led the task of “dismantling and reforming” entities linked to South Korea, as reported by state media on Monday, could mean the foreign ministry will absorb those organisations and their functions, said Yang Moo-jin, president of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.

"The United Front Department and the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, which had traditionally handled inter-Korean ties, could be disbanded altogether or at least see their roles significantly reduce," he said. North Korea could also decide to cut the South out entirely and only deal with the United States, he added.

While foreign ministry officials occasionally advised on inter-Korean issues, under Kim there has been no known crossover between foreign ministry and UFD officials, Madden said.

Whatever changes occur, key UFD intelligence official are unlikely to be sidelined and the agency is likely to retain authority over some key propaganda broadcasts and websites, he added.

Reporting by Hyonhee Shin and Josh Smith; Additional reporting by Soo-hyang Choi; Writing by Josh Smith; Editing by Lincoln Feast.

8. Polish PM flags wrinkle in multibillion-dollar arms buy from SKorea

Uh oh. Politics. Domestic politics.

Excerpts:

Tusk, who was sworn in on Dec. 13, said his government’s “intention is to maintain record spending on armament, and, of course, we very much care about spending this money efficiently.”

“I do not know who misled whom, whether it was [former National Defence Minister Mariusz] Błaszczak or whether the Koreans have pulled out,” Tusk said, according to PAP. “In the end, it turned out that there was a misunderstanding, but I don’t want to put the blame on anyone.”

Before being was ousted after Poland’s Oct. 15 parliamentary election, the government of the Law and Justice party had signed a number of deals to buy numerous weapons from South Korea. These include FA-50 light attack aircraft, K9 howitzers, K2 Black Panther tanks, and K239 Chunmoo multi-barreled missile launchers.

Błaszczak, the former defense minister, shot back on X, formerly Twitter, saying Tusk was “looking for savings,” accusing the new prime minister of “preparing soldiers and the public opinion for withdrawals from weapon contracts.”

Polish PM flags wrinkle in multibillion-dollar arms buy from SKorea

Defense News · by Jaroslaw Adamowski · January 3, 2024

WARSAW, Poland — The new government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk has unearthed what he termed a “problem” with the loan Seoul was expected to give Poland for buying South Korean weapons worth billions of dollars.

The issue came up during a review of the preceding government’s defense acquisitions, Tusk said, as quoted by local news agency PAP.

At the same time, Tusk vowed to increase defense Poland’s defense spending and complete weapons purchases initiated by the previous Cabinet.

Tusk, who was sworn in on Dec. 13, said his government’s “intention is to maintain record spending on armament, and, of course, we very much care about spending this money efficiently.”

“I do not know who misled whom, whether it was [former National Defence Minister Mariusz] Błaszczak or whether the Koreans have pulled out,” Tusk said, according to PAP. “In the end, it turned out that there was a misunderstanding, but I don’t want to put the blame on anyone.”

Before being was ousted after Poland’s Oct. 15 parliamentary election, the government of the Law and Justice party had signed a number of deals to buy numerous weapons from South Korea. These include FA-50 light attack aircraft, K9 howitzers, K2 Black Panther tanks, and K239 Chunmoo multi-barreled missile launchers.

Błaszczak, the former defense minister, shot back on X, formerly Twitter, saying Tusk was “looking for savings,” accusing the new prime minister of “preparing soldiers and the public opinion for withdrawals from weapon contracts.”

In reaction to Błaszczak’s remarks, Deputy National Defence Minister Paweł Bejda attempted to downplay similar concerns, but also hinted at the government’s plan to have more weapons produced by Poland-based factories.

“We don’t want to make a revolution. We are looking at all sorts of contracts, we will talk about increasing the [weapon] production capacities in Poland, so that at least 50 percent of armament spending stays at Polish plants,” Bejda told local news site Money.pl.

In 2024, the Polish Ministry of National Defence is to have a record budget of about PLN 118.1 billion ($29.6 billion), or an estimated 3.1 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product. Additional money for defense expenditure will be allocated from the country’s Armed Forces’ Support Fund.

About Jaroslaw Adamowski

Jaroslaw Adamowski is the Poland correspondent for Defense News.

9. Russia Moves Forward With Plans to Buy Iranian Ballistic Missiles

And in some real irony the missiles Iran may be selling could be based on designs and assistance from north Korea which developed their own weapons based on designs from Russian/Former USSR systems. But I will leave that to the missile and proliferation experts to assess.

Russia Moves Forward With Plans to Buy Iranian Ballistic Missiles

Moscow in recent weeks has also begun receiving ballistic missiles from North Korea

https://www.wsj.com/world/russia-moves-forward-with-plans-to-buy-iranian-ballistic-missiles-cf3560e4?mod=hp_lead_pos5&utm

By Michael R. Gordon

, Gordon Lubold

and Benoit Faucon

Jan. 4, 2024 5:30 am ET

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, in the military cap, viewed Iranian munitions on display in Tehran in September. PHOTO: RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY PRESS/SHUTTERSTOCK

Russia is planning to buy short-range ballistic missiles from Iran, a step that would enhance Moscow’s ability to target Ukraine’s infrastructure at a critical moment in the conflict, U.S. officials said.

Moscow’s plans have provoked deep concern within the Biden administration and come as support wanes in Congress for continued U.S. military assistance for Ukraine. Lawmakers have yet to pass a bill that would provide additional funding for Ukraine.

“The United States is concerned that Russian negotiations to acquire close-range ballistic missiles from Iran are actively advancing,” one of the U.S. officials said. “We assess that Russia intends to purchase missile systems from Iran.”

S Korean spy agency sees Kim Jong Un’s daughter as ‘probable successor’

https://www.rfa.org/english/news/korea/sk-nis-juae-01032024224911.html

Kim Ju Ae, born in 2013, gained attention in Nov 2022, following her first public appearance with her father.

By Lee Jeong-Ho for RFA

2024.01.03

Seoul, South Korea

Kim Ju Ae, daughter of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, attends a military parade to mark the 75th founding anniversary of North Korea’s army, at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea Feb. 8, 2023.

KCNA via Reuters

The nominee to be the next head of South Korea’s spy agency said Thursday that he sees North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s daughter, Ju Ae, as his “probable successor,” marking the first time the agency has officially indicated her possible succession of power.

Radio Free Asia reported in November last year that the daughter received a new official title “Morning Star of Korea” – an apparent and deliberate parallel to the country’s founding leader Kim Il Sung.

Historically, Kim Il Sung was referred to by the title during his time as a guerrilla leader fighting against Japan’s colonial rule over the Korean peninsula.

In a written response submitted to the South’s National Assembly ahead of his hearing, the National Intelligence Agency chief nominee, Cho Tae-yong, said: “A thorough analysis of Kim Ju Ae’s public engagements and the level of respect shown to her by North Korea since she came into the public eye, suggests that she is currently a probable successor.”

The daughter, born in 2013, has started making public appearances since November 2022, accompanying Kim Jong Un in North Korea’s various high-profile occasions including his visiting of missile launching sites.

The emergence of Ju Ae in these public settings was unprecedented, leading to speculation about her potential future role in the North Korean leadership.

The latest assessment reflects South Korea’s changing stance on Ju Ae. Previously in September, the agency stated it was too early to see her as a successor due to North Korea’s male-centric leadership succession culture.

Cho, however, indicated on Thursday that the succession of power to Ju Ae is not yet definitive.

“Since Kim Jong Un is still young and does not have significant health issues, and considering there are various uncertainties, we are monitoring all possibilities,” Cho said.

The ex-chief of South Korea’s National Security Office also added that North Korea’s leader has other children besides his daughter, with unknown genders, highlighting the uncertain nature of North Korea’s leadership succession.

In March 2023, South Korea’s then Unification Minister Kwon Young-se said Kim Jong Un had “either two or three children.”

Edited by Taejun Kang and Elaine Chan.

Kim Jong Un’s daughter has a new lofty title

https://www.rfa.org/english/news/korea/morning_star-11292023132941.html

Kim Ju Ae is now the ‘Morning Star of Korea’ a title once used by revered national founder Kim Il Sung.

By Hyemin Son for RFA Korean

2023.11.29

Kim Ju Ae, the daughter of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, attends a military parade celebrating the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People's Army, in Pyongyang, Feb. 8, 2023.

Credit: KCNA via KNS/AFP

The daughter of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has received a new official title – “Morning Star of Korea” – that seemingly casts her as heir apparent to succeed her father, residents in the country told Radio Free Asia.

After North Korea successfully launched a reconnaissance satellite on Nov. 21, the Organization and Guidance Department of the ruling Korean Workers’ Party organized lectures for government officials to explain the satellite’s strategic significance.

But the bigger news was how they referred to Kim Jong Un and his daughter Ju Ae, who both attended the launch.

“At the lecture … they said that the future of the space power era will thrive under the female general, the Morning Star of Korea,” a resident of the capital Pyongyang told RFA Korean on condition of anonymity for safety reasons.

“This is the first time that the child of the highest dignity was officially called the ‘Morning Star of Korea,’ [a title] which was used to promote the early revolutionary activities of [national founder] Kim Il Sung.”

North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un walks with his daughter, Kim Ju Ae, as he inspects an intercontinental ballistic missile at Pyongyang International Airport, Nov. 18, 2022. It was Kim Ju Ae’s first public appearance. Credit: KCNA via KNS/AFP

The progenitor of the Kim Dynasty is said to have been called the “Morning Star of Korea” during the time he was a guerilla leader who fought against Japanese rule of Korea before and during World War II.

The term “morning star” may have been used to describe both Kim Jong Il and Kim Jong Un, at one time or another, but never officially.

That the party is calling Kim Ju Ae as the “Morning Star of Korea,” in the exact way that Kim Il Sung is heralded, seems to suggest a deliberate effort to cast her in a similar light.

Kim Jong Un’s father and grandfather are deeply respected in North Korea even long after their deaths.

Though they may not be best known as the “Morning Star” anymore, posthumously, the birthdays of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il have been designated as holidays and named after other celestial bodies, the Day of the Sun and the Day of the Shining Star. Officially the two leaders are titled as the “Eternal President,” the “Eternal General Secretary.”

Kim Jong Un as the current leader is referred to by many titles, including “Marshall,” “Supreme Leader,” “Beloved Father,” “General,” or commonly, the “Highest Dignity.”

Evolving title

Kim Ju Ae, who is believed to be about 10 or 11, burst onto the public scene about a year ago when she attended the launch of a new intercontinental ballistic missile. She would make more and more public appearances over the next few months, and state media began referring to her as the “Beloved Child.”

This title was later upgraded to “Noble Child,” and her rapid rise to prominence caused experts to speculate that it was all an attempt to convey an image of her father as a family man, or that she was being groomed to be his heir.

That the party has conferred the Morning Star of Korea title onto Kim Ju Ae and has called her the “female general” appears to point to the latter.

At the satellite lectures in North Pyongan province, lecturers said that because of the success of the launch, the whole world would look up to the “Morning Star of Korea,” the female general, a resident there said.

“[The lecturer] emphasized that the ‘Highest Dignity’ and the ‘Morning Star of Korea’ are protecting the future of the Republic,” he said. “The expressions on the faces of some officials seemed displeased at the content of the lecture, which idolized a young child as a rising star of North Korea.”

Translated by Claire Shinyoung Oh Lee. Written in English by Eugene Whong. Edited by Malcolm Foster.

11. N. Korea issues orders to intensify security along border with China

It is all about controlling Koreans from the north and any anti-regime/anti-party activity.

N. Korea issues orders to intensify security along border with China

One lecturer warned that border patrol officers must monitor for anti-state activity in China as well

By Jong So Yong - 2024.01.04 7:00pm

dailynk.com

N. Korea issues orders to intensify security along border with China | Daily NK English

FILE PHOTO: A sentry post on the Sino-North Korean border in Sakju County, North Pyongan Province. (Daily NK)

In response to the “increasingly tense state of international affairs,” the North Korean authorities recently passed down new orders to strengthen security along the border, Daily NK has learned.

On Dec. 27, a source in North Hamgyong Province told Daily NK that “on Dec. 21, the Ministry of State Security assembled all of the border patrol unit commanders stationed along the border and issued special orders to adopt an all-time high level of alert for security along the border.”

A speaker from the Ministry of State Security lectured about recent affairs on the Korean Peninsula and emphasized the need to “pour our energy into strengthening the borders more than ever before in response to the unprecedentedly vicious machinations of the imperialists and reactionaries attempting to isolate and suffocate our republic and destroy our accomplishments.”

This phrasing suggests that the ministry is trying to justify the heightened security as a response to international tensions and place the blame on external affairs.

The Ministry of State Security appears to have used the end of the year as a catalyst to strengthen border security while simultaneously introducing plans to deploy special task forces to monitor border patrol units for abnormal activity.

The orders also leveled criticism at border patrol unit commanders and soldiers who were “going astray” by sympathizing with local residents engaged in illegal activities like smuggling and helping people defect.

Commanders and soldiers were sternly warned that if they encountered these kinds of illegal activities, they were to immediately handle the incidents in accordance with the law, regardless of the motives or identities of those involved.

In other words, if border patrol soldiers were found to be complicit in people’s “reactionary activities,” they would be swiftly discharged and branded as unqualified to serve as sentries on the border outpost line, as well as be subject to social or administrative punishments.

Additionally, the Ministry of State Security warned that if units were found to not be properly watching out for defections, smuggling, and other illicit activities, all personnel at the outpost would be rotated out. The commander in charge, political workers, and security workers attached to the unit would also all be considered guilty by association and bear the consequences.

The ministry also showed its intent to target anti-state activity inside China. The orders specifically emphasized the need for soldiers to carefully monitor such activities and report incidents in detail to their superior officers.

The orders instructed border patrol units “to deal with illegal activity committed by our people along with incidents happening in China.” Soldiers were also ordered to “observe and record the minute details – even clothing – of anyone on the Chinese side of the border who spent too long standing or looking towards North Korea, and to create a system to report these observations to the special task forces.”

The Ministry of State Security speaker told officers “that ignoring something as small as the sound of a pin dropping on the other side of the border could lead to an incredibly dangerous incident. We must not turn a blind eye to our brother nation, China.”

“The atmosphere along the border will be as frosty as the Yalu River for the time being given that the Ministry of State Security announced that special task forces will inspect the work of border patrol units,” the source predicted.

Translated by Rose Adams. Edited by Robert Lauler.

Daily NK works with a network of sources who live inside North Korea, China and elsewhere. Their identities remain anonymous due to security concerns. More information about Daily NK’s reporting partner network and information gathering activities can be found on our FAQ page here.

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

Read in Korean

Jong So Yong

Jong So Yong is one of Daily NK’s freelance reporters. Questions about her articles can be directed to dailynk@uni-media.net.

dailynk.com

12. New Year’s holiday exposes large gaps between N. Korea’s rich and poor

Haves and have nots exist. And of course Songbun is a caste system with north Korean characteristics.

I fear 2024 will be a very bad year for the vast majority of Koreans living in the north.

New Year’s holiday exposes large gaps between N. Korea’s rich and poor

These days, it is not easy for many low-income families to even eat rice on the holidays, a source told Daily NK

By Lee Chae Un -

2024.01.04 5:48pm

dailynk.com

New Year’s holiday exposes large gaps between N. Korea’s rich and poor | Daily NK English

Home Headline

In this picture from state-run media in July 2022, North Koreans are shown enjoying dog meat soup at a restaurant. (Rodong Sinmun-News1)

Sinuiju’s well-off and low-income families celebrated the New Year’s holiday in very different ways, with particularly stark differences in what kind of meals they were able to enjoy, according to a source in North Pyongan Province on Wednesday.

“Most of the well-to-do people went to restaurants on the New Year holiday and spent a lot of money on meals. The average amount they spent at restaurants was RMB 300 to 500 for four people [around USD 42 – 70],” the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons.

On the other hand, low-income people not only avoided restaurants for the holiday, but also spent about RMB 10 to 14 yuan (approximately USD 1.40 to 2.11) on their purchases of ingredients for holiday meals.

All in all, many well-ff people spent about 30 to 35 times what low-income people paid to obtain ingredients for their holiday meals.

For example, one low-income household in Sinuiju spent a total of RMB 13 (around USD 1.83) on rice, corn, pork, and tofu to prepare their New Year meal. Another low-income household had such difficulties that they could not even think of eating meat or seafood, ending up eating only tofu soup and rice instead.

“Before the coronavirus – and no matter how difficult life was – families would prepare at least two types of food for the New Year holiday, including rice cakes, dumplings, pork, and pollack. These days, however, it’s not easy for low-income families to even eat rice on the holidays,” the source said.

“Meanwhile, well-off people are making money through whatever means necessary, which has led to a deepening gap between those with and those without, with the well-off continuing to live better lives while low-income people are forced to live increasingly more difficult lives.”

The source further reported there were stark differences in how the well-off and the poor prepared their ancestral rites tables.

“Siblings in families without money pooled their cash together or the wealthier siblings paid to prepare a simple ancestral rite table themselves. However, more well-off families ordered most of the food to be placed on the ancestral rites tables from well-known food vendors.”

Edited by Robert Lauler.

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

Read in Korean

Lee Chae Un

Lee Chae Un is one of Daily NK’s full-time journalists. She can be reached at dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.

dailynk.com

13. North Korea’s Kim Yo-jong blames S. Korean President for instability

This is the key point we must understand (e.g., "Recent developments such as Kim Yong-chol returning...":

Kim Yo-jong’s speech followed Kim Jong Un’s criticism of all past South Korean governments in the previous year-end party meeting, where North Korea redefined inter-Korean relations as hostile rather than relations between compatriots. The South Korean government views these criticisms as tactical moves aimed at unsettling its foreign and security policies. A senior official noted that the apparent reduction of organizations like the United Front Department of the Workers’ Party of Korea and the National Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland is a “typical disguise tactic.” Recent developments, such as Kim Yong-chol returning as a counselor to the United Front Department, are also seen as North Korea’s determination to strengthen psychological warfare and covert operations against the South.

North Korea’s Kim Yo-jong blames S. Korean President for instability

South Korean government brushes off amid election tensions.

https://www.chosun.com/english/north-korea-en/2024/01/04/MUH5C5WAUJCR5D5TQAGYCNC76Y/

By Kim Min-seo,

Park Su-hyeon

Pubilshed 2024.01.04. 10:49

Updated 2024.01.04. 15:15

The sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Kim Yo-jong, delivered a speech on Jan. 3, responding to President Yoon Suk-yeol’s New Year’s address. She asserted that the daily reality of war threats and security instability in South Korea is solely attributable to President Yoon’s efforts. In response, the South Korean government dismissed these claims, equating them to a criminal making excuses and blaming the police.

A senior South Korean official remarked that North Korea appears to be aiming to incite ideological conflicts in South Korea ahead of the upcoming general elections. It is anticipated that North Korea will intensify various propaganda campaigns to heighten psychological warfare and foster social unrest in the South.

Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un./Korean Central Television

In her New Year’s message to the South Korean President, Kim Yo-jong addressed President Yoon’s efforts to bolster South Korea-U.S. ‘extended deterrence’—various means to prevent nuclear attacks on allied countries, including South Korea—and enhance trilateral cooperation among South Korea, the U.S., and Japan. She emphasized that this has underscored the “necessity and legitimacy to expedite efforts in securing overwhelmingly superior nuclear power.” She added, “The ability to intensify our anger to the maximum, akin to completely releasing the safety mechanism of a trigger aimed at Seoul, is not something that anyone can possess.”

Kim Yo-jong employed blunt expressions like “this person” and “stupid and dull” to refer to President Yoon. Concerning former President Moon Jae-in, she described him as “an intelligent and cunning person,” asserting that his commitment to peace hindered necessary actions for military strengthening, resulting in a significant loss of time. While criticizing former President Moon, Kim Yo-jong simultaneously portrayed him as someone who “knows how to prioritize real security,” suggesting an intent to create divisions in South Korean public opinion regarding North Korean policies.

South Korea’s Ministry of Unification labeled Kim Yo-jong’s speech as a “ploy to shift responsibility for tension in inter-Korean relations onto South Korea.” The Ministry of National Defense also denounced it as an “unsubstantiated claim by a wrongdoer trying to blame innocent citizens or the police.”

Kim Yo-jong’s speech followed Kim Jong Un’s criticism of all past South Korean governments in the previous year-end party meeting, where North Korea redefined inter-Korean relations as hostile rather than relations between compatriots. The South Korean government views these criticisms as tactical moves aimed at unsettling its foreign and security policies. A senior official noted that the apparent reduction of organizations like the United Front Department of the Workers’ Party of Korea and the National Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland is a “typical disguise tactic.” Recent developments, such as Kim Yong-chol returning as a counselor to the United Front Department, are also seen as North Korea’s determination to strengthen psychological warfare and covert operations against the South.

14. Ex-Secretary Pompeo mentions NK while accusing Biden of 'decay of deterrence'

Ex-Secretary Pompeo mentions NK while accusing Biden of 'decay of deterrence'

The Korea Times · January 4, 2024

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcoming former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, right, leading a delegation of politicians, businessmen and representatives of charitable organizations of the United States of America, in Kyiv, is seen in this April 4, 2023 file photo. AFP-Yonhap

Former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has slammed President Joe Biden for causing what he called a "decay of deterrence" as he voiced concerns over a "dangerous" security landscape marked by the authoritarian leaders of North Korea, China and Russia.

During an interview with Fox News on Tuesday, Pompeo, who served as the top U.S. diplomat under then President Donald Trump from 2018-2021, took a swipe at Biden's foreign policy as Trump is seeking a second White House term in the November election.

"President Biden has allowed such an accelerated rate of decay of our deterrence that we had built up in the four years that President Trump and I were serving," he said, stressing "dictators" and "authoritarian regimes" do not fear the United States.

"A wide open southern border (and) a North Korean leader, a Chinese leader and a Russian leader who don't think that the U.S. will stand up and defend its most sacred values. ... It's a place that is a very dangerous country here at home as well," he added.

Asked to comment on Chinese President Xi Jinping's recent remarks that his country's reunification with Taiwan was "inevitable," the former secretary stressed the need to oppose the idea of China taking the self-governing island democracy by force.

"We need to make clear ... we are not going to let him take over an independent and free Taiwan by force in the Pacific," he said. "It will be a very dangerous thing for all of us, whether that's the Hawaiian islands, Alaska, Guam and all of these places."

During his stint at the helm of the State Department, Pompeo engaged deeply in denuclearization negotiations with Pyongyang though the talks stalled following a no-deal Hanoi summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in 2019. (Yonhap)

The Korea Times · January 4, 2024

15. Yoon says terrorism is the enemy of liberal democracy

Yoon says terrorism is the enemy of liberal democracy

donga.com

Posted January. 04, 2024 07:59,

Updated January. 04, 2024 07:59

Yoon says terrorism is the enemy of liberal democracy. January. 04, 2024 07:59. by Joo-Young Jeon aimhigh@donga.com.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday condemned the stabbing attack on the main opposition Democratic Party's leader, Lee Jae-myung, as a harmful act on the victim, a suppression of human freedom, and an enemy of everyone who pursues a liberal society. Defining the recent stabbing of Lee as a terrorist act, he seemingly ordered firm action.

President Yoon made an opening statement at a New Year meeting held at Yeongbingwan, the guest hall of Cheong Wa Dae, on Wednesday morning, saying, "Lee was supposed to join us today. I am sorry that he is in hospital following the heinous attack.” The president sent his best wishes to him while recovering from surgery. "We should work together to console the victim and stay firm against such incidents.” It was reportedly as Han Oh-seop, presidential secretary for state affairs monitoring, on Tuesday reported a plan to visit Lee, President Yoon asked him to send his best wishes to Lee so that he can make a quick recovery.

"We are the party which strongly condemns any kind of violence and stands for victims regardless of political backgrounds,” the People Power Party's Emergency Committee Chairman Han Dong-hoon said on Wednesday, wishing Lee a quick recovery. President Yoon met up with Chairman Han in official settings for the first time since the latter took the helm of the party. Back in 2019, the former served as the Attorney General, and the latter was the chief prosecutor in charge of anti-corruption and violent acts. On Wednesday, they attended the same official event on behalf of the administration and the ruling party.

한국어

donga.com

16. Self-reliance and Self-development Is Way to Prosperity: Rodong Sinmun

Ideological improvement is the north Korean solution to all problems. But you cannot eat ideology.

Self-reliance and Self-development Is Way to Prosperity: Rodong Sinmun

https://kcnawatch.org/newstream/1704274880-306530447/self-reliance-and-self-development-is-way-to-prosperity-rodong-sinmun/

Date: 03/01/2024 | Source: KCNA.kp (En) | Read original version at source

Pyongyang, January 3 (KCNA) -- Rodong Sinmun Wednesday says in an article that there are countries which make efforts to tide over the difficulties and bolster up the national power by their own efforts, while some countries are keen to achieve prosperity by relying on others.

The immutable truth taught by the historical experience and lesson is that self-reliance and self-development is the way to prosperity and dependence on foreign forces is the way to national ruin, the article says and goes on:

What is important in achieving complete independence and sovereignty, prosperity and development is to have an attitude of doing everything by one's own efforts. No one can accomplish the cause of building an independent and powerful state by depending on others.

The only way of living for the countries aspiring after independence and progress is to build up their own strength and solve everything by relying on it in the spirit of regarding their own things and self-development as the best.

Only when we believe in our own strength and push forward with the lines and policies determined by us to the last with fixed principle, we can overcome manifold socio-economic difficulties and break through the imperialists’ pressure.

The history of Korean-style socialism is the history in which it has been pioneered and advanced victoriously with self-reliance and self-development. We have built a socialist state independent in politics, self-supporting in the economy and self-reliant in national defence by our own way of struggle and creation, relying on our own efforts, technology and resources, without depending on others.

It is the steadfast will and faith of the Korean people to build a prosperous socialist power on this land without fail by dint of self-reliance and self-development. -0-

www.kcna.kp (Juche113.1.3.)

17. Unification Ministry's NK election interference warning raises concerns

One line of effort of north Korea's political warfare strategy - subvert the South.

Unification Ministry's NK election interference warning raises concerns

koreaherald.com · by Ji Da-gyum · January 4, 2024

By Ji Da-gyum

Published : Jan. 4, 2024 - 16:51

A South Korean flag in the South's Daeseong-dong and a North Korean flag in the North's Kijong-dong face each other on the western border in this photo taken from the South Korean border city of Paju on Dec. 18. (Yonhap)

A statement by the Unification Ministry on Thursday has raised concerns as it urged South Korean voters to remain vigilant against North Korea's attempts to interfere in the upcoming April legislative elections.

This remark seems inappropriate for the ministry, the primary role of which is to maintain peace on the Korean Peninsula, and is supposed to maintain political neutrality, according to political commentators here.

Stressing that North Korea has consistently sought to interfere in South Korean elections, the ministry said it is "crucial for our people to clearly recognize and remain vigilant against North Korea's attempts to interfere in our elections."

"The government strongly condemns North Korea's malicious intention to sow discord in our society and make it clear that such endeavors will never succeed," it said.

Political commentator Lee Jong-hoon questioned whether such a statement by the ministry was necessary, stressing that the public here is already sufficiently familiar with North Korea's interference to not need reminding nor requiring lessons about its danger.

In South Korean political parlance, there has been the term, "North Wind," which encapsulates the substantial impact of North Korea on key political events in the South, particularly during election cycles.

"However, the current reality indicates that the impact of North Korea as a variable during elections -- whether direct or indirect -- (actually) seems less significant than in the past," Lee told The Korea Herald.

"People have become more aware through experience, and, in my view, such government or Unification Ministry-level commentary might not be necessary, since it appears to have little influence," Lee said.

Lim Eul-chul, a professor of North Korean studies at Kyungnam University in Seoul, said he understood the intent behind the Unification Ministry's statement.

The ministry also noted that Pyongyang has a track record of interfering in elections.

During the lead-up to the 2012 legislative elections, North Korea conducted various propaganda campaigns targeting South Korea. Preceding the 2016 legislative elections, North Korea jammed GPS signals. Additionally, in the context of the 2020 general elections, North Korea attempted intervention by carrying out four consecutive ballistic missile launches in March 2020.

However, Lim also emphasized that the South Korean government should be mindful that recent remarks made by the North Korean leader and his sister may have multiple objectives.

"In my personal view, actions like Kim Yo-jong's statement do not appear to solely target legislative elections or attempt to interfere in our domestic politics. While it is conceivable that (North Korea) attempts to criticize the complex and chaotic nature of South Korean domestic politics, the specific benefits of overt interference remain uncertain," Lim told The Korea Herald.

Lim referred to Kim's sarcastic response Wednesday to President Yoon Suk Yeol's New Year's Day address, in which she suggested Yoon's policies have justified the North's development of its nuclear weapons program.

"Nevertheless, it appears there is an intention to amplify security concerns among the South Korean people, aimed at fostering public sentiment of opposition to exert pressure for a shift in the Yoon Suk Yeol government's North Korea policy. Additionally, there might be an aim to bolster the legitimacy of prioritizing the enhancement of nuclear capabilities."

Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies, also highlighted the inappropriateness of the ministry's statement, emphasizing its discordance with the pivotal role the Unification Ministry plays. He underscored that the statement, by its nature, has the potential to escalate tensions on the peninsula further.

"The Unification Ministry bears the responsibility of stably managing the situation on the Korean Peninsula," Yang said. "While pointing out the potential for North Korea to interfere in our internal affairs, it is also imperative for the ministry to proactively consider fostering an environment conducive to dialogue and presenting substantive proposals for engagement."

The Unification Ministry's statement came after an escalation in bellicose rhetoric from North Korean leadership, which has been directly aimed at Yoon and his administration.

"North Korea has been attempting to escalate tensions on the Korean Peninsula and foster division in our society by issuing threats and slandering targeting us since the beginning of the year through Kim Yo-jong's statement following the year-end plenary meeting of the party," the statement read.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un defined the inter-Korean relationship as having "become completely entrenched as a hostile state-to-state relationship and two belligerents in a state of war" in his speech delivered during a five-day year-end plenary meeting. Subsequently, the leader's sister Kim Yo-jong on Wednesday issued her statement specifically vilifying Yoon and his North Korea policy.

koreaherald.com · by Ji Da-gyum · January 4, 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

De Oppresso Liber,

David Maxwell

Vice President, Center for Asia Pacific Strategy

Senior Fellow, Global Peace Foundation

Editor, Small Wars Journal

Twitter: @davidmaxwell161

email: david.maxwell161@gmail.com

If you do not read anything else in the 2017 National Security Strategy read this on page 14:

"A democracy is only as resilient as its people. An informed and engaged citizenry is the fundamental requirement for a free and resilient nation. For generations, our society has protected free press, free speech, and free thought. Today, actors such as Russia are using information tools in an attempt to undermine the legitimacy of democracies. Adversaries target media, political processes, financial networks, and personal data. The American public and private sectors must recognize this and work together to defend our way of life. No external threat can be allowed to shake our shared commitment to our values, undermine our system of government, or divide our Nation."

Access NSS HERE

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