Quotes of the Day:
"It is not enough to have a good mind. The main thing is to use it well."
– Rene Descartes
"Most human beings have an almost infinite capacity for taking things for granted."
– Aldous Huxley
"The most tyrannical of governments are those which make crimes of opinions, for everyone has an inalienable right to his thoughts."
– Baruch Spinoza
Happy (Lunar) New Year.
새해 복 많이 받으세요
1. Trump will pursue complete denuclearization of N. Korea: White House
2. Kim Jong Un’s Risky Year of the Snake
3. N. Korea uses New Year holiday to boost allegiance to ruling Kim family
4. N. Korean media report on Yoon's insurrection indictment
5. N. Korea's Kim openly reprimands officials accused of irregularities in effort to tighten discipline
6. The return of the vortex in South Korea and the turbulence ahead
7. Trump orders strengthening of missile defenses by allies and overseas US troops… Attention to impact on Korean Peninsula
8. Worsening human rights situation in North Korea calls for change in mission strategy: need to face reality
9. Trump to pursue ‘complete denuclearization of North Korea,’ White House says
10. North Korean troops in Russia sent for retraining after heavy losses: Ukraine
11. North Korean leader Kim inspects nuclear facility as Pyongyang pressures Trump administration
12. Kim Jong Un visits uranium enrichment site, says clash with enemies ‘inevitable’
13. Ukraine: “Retreating North Korean Army, Analyzing Tactical Mistakes”
14. North Korea sends ‘a subtle signal’ to Trump about dialogue – via a missile test
15. How North Korea’s troop dispatch to Russia has sparked a propaganda war
16. North Korean cannons designed to flatten Seoul head to front line in Ukraine
1. Trump will pursue complete denuclearization of N. Korea: White House
No surprise. We must never give up on denuclearization. It is only a question of how to achieve it.
Here are is my twelve word recommendation for the President:
Unification first, then denuclearization; the path to unification is through human rights.
I will continue to beat this drum even though all my IR theory friends besmirch this idea.
(2nd LD) Trump will pursue complete denuclearization of N. Korea: White House | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Song Sang-ho · January 29, 2025
(ATTN: RECASTS headline; UPDATES throughout)
By Song Sang-ho
WASHINGTON, Jan. 28 (Yonhap) -- U.S. President Donald Trump will pursue the "complete denuclearization of North Korea," a White House official said Tuesday, amid questions over whether Trump's recent reference to the North as a "nuclear power" signaled any policy shift.
National Security Council spokesperson Brian Hughes made the remarks shortly after the North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited a nuclear-material production base and a nuclear weapons institute in an apparent move to highlight its military capability.
"President Trump will pursue the complete denuclearization of North Korea, just as he did in his first term," Hughes said in response to a question from Yonhap News Agency.
"President Trump had a good relationship with Kim Jong Un, and his mix of toughness and diplomacy led to the first-ever leader-level commitment to complete denuclearization," the official added.
Hughes appears to be referring to the agreement between Trump and Kim during their first summit in Singapore in 2018. Under it, the two sides agreed to work toward the "complete denuclearization" of the Korean Peninsula and setting new bilateral relations.
Earlier in the day, a U.S. government official said that there has been no change yet in the United States' policy toward North Korea.
"There has not been any change of policy regarding the DPRK," the official told Yonhap News Agency on condition of anonymity. DPRK is short for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Last week, Trump referred to the North as a nuclear power -- a term that U.S. officials have mostly refrained from using as it could be regarded as U.S. recognition of Pyongyang's nuclear weapons. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also called the North a nuclear power during his confirmation hearing earlier this month.
In what could be a move to raise its leverage ahead of potential talks with the U.S., the KCNA reported that Kim visited the sites related to the North's nuclear program, where the leader called for "overfulfilling the plan for producing weapons-grade nuclear materials and strengthening the country's nuclear shield."
During a recent Fox News interview, Trump said he will reach out to Kim again, portraying Kim a "smart guy" and "not a religious zealot" -- an expression that apparently indicates that the dynastic ruler is someone he could communicate with again for a parley.
U.S. President Donald Trump sits in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Jan. 23, 2025, as he signs executive orders, in this photo released by Reuters. (Yonhap)
sshluck@yna.co.kr
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en.yna.co.kr · by Song Sang-ho · January 29, 2025
2. Kim Jong Un’s Risky Year of the Snake
But we must not succumb to Kim Jong Un's blackmail diplomacy and political warfare and give concessions in return for only negotiations or a deal that Kim will soon or eventually back out of.
But Bill Brown's important and unique analysis should offer us some ideas for our own superior political warfare strategy against the north.
Excerpts:
Conclusion
Kim’s focus in 2025 is to reach the goals of the Five-Year Plan, which concludes at the end of this year, and he continues to promote a decentralizing investment program to reduce the income gap between Pyongyang and the hinterlands where most people live. The 2024 production targets are claimed to have been reached in 12 major industries. Notably, the weakest among such claims is arguably the most important—electric power, which is said to have exceeded its target by only 1 percent. Most interesting is Kim’s acknowledgment of the need to resolve urgent methodological problems, like improving the system and method of managing the overall economy, as well as planning and pricing to conform with the economic structure and specific conditions of the country. None of this will be easy fixes.
Kim mentioned in passing that the 2025 proposed fiscal budget was reviewed in the party meetings and that it would be decided in the upcoming Supreme People’s Assembly meetings. One cannot help but wonder what that data will look like. An optimist might think he will soon turn to the next five-year plan and institute reforms aimed at restoring a sound money system. Exports to earn dollars and save the won should be the top focus, and a deal with Trump to lessen the sanctions restricting its high-demand resources, including coal, non-ferrous metals, and rare earth minerals, must be tempting.
Kim Jong Un’s Risky Year of the Snake
Published January 27, 2025
Author: William Brown
Category: North Korea
Western media and foreign policy specialists point to a self-confident Kim Jong Un, willing to take large risks as he again contemplates dealing face-to-face with US President Donald Trump and as he works closely with Russian President Vladimir Putin to send weapons and soldiers into the war in Ukraine. Meanwhile, Kim continues to fire UN-prohibited unarmed ballistic missiles into the East Sea/Sea of Japan, showcasing an orderly and stable government, which is in sharp contrast to the political turmoil in South Korea. But this may be deceptive, aimed to fool the country’s troubled citizenry and Trump, more than it is a reality.
Source: Asia Press
North Korea’s Economic Reality
We may not be paying enough attention to economics. North Korea faces daunting money issues in 2025 if data coming out of the secretive state is any indication. One would not know this listening to Kim’s end-of-year economic wrap-up to the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea, which focused less on the economy than on the “unprecedently harsh” international situation surrounding the country. The speech had a slight mention of Russia and no mention of China. Of most interest, Kim made a short mention of the need to pay attention to the economic system, especially monetary issues and prices, giving a hint at potential trouble.
His audience—even party members—likely do not know the extent of the “international harsh” conditions, but they surely know the price problem. Since July, reports from North Korean defectors indicated the prices for staples, rice, and corn have jumped 80 percent as the value of the won has fallen by two-thirds. Imports from China, mainly consumer goods, are outpacing exports, straining the exchange rate and state finance. North Korean exports of artillery shells and missiles to Russia and payments for soldiers fighting in Ukraine should be helping offset that outflow, but there is no evidence of that yet. We do not know, and Kim does not give any hints, whether the regime is earning Russian rubles or bartering for advanced military equipment. It is likely a difficult choice as Pyongyang likely needs advanced air defense equipment after three decades of self-reliance and as South Korea progressively integrates radar-evading F-35s into its arsenal. The North Korean regime is also making money by stealing from global banks, including Chinese banks, but how easily it can exchange this cyber currency into usable dollars is not known.
Source: Asia Press
The largest North Korean note in circulation, 5,000 KPW, is now worth only 0.60 USD at the new official 8,000 won/dollar rate and only about 0.20 USD in the widely used markets, which is not enough for a cup of coffee in North Korea.
Fortunately, for anyone who can work and earn money, and to the consternation of the government, US dollars and Chinese yuan circulate freely, boosting private economic activity and offering some protection for private financial savings. The currency failure, not mentioned in his speech, would appear to spell an end to Kim’s 2015 efforts to create a reliable money and banking system. He promised reasonable interest rate returns, no inflation, and no devaluation. But now, as in the days of his father, foreign and especially US cash has again become the “store of value” for people’s savings. Asia Press, a refugee press service based in Japan, cites fear of a new “redenomination,” meaning the currency amount is devalued by two orders of magnitude, and says the won is not worth the paper it is printed on.
Nothing is known about what Kim says behind the scenes and in private. Kim is likely frustrated because his best economic achievement prior to this year was managing inflation and the currency, steading it for ten years—a feat never accomplished by his father and grandfather. The 2015 promises have probably not been forgotten, and his nod to banking reform offers a little hope. The cause of the currency crash was predictable. The won was steady because the state was careful not to print too much of it and extended credit for state sector investment. Economic growth stalled, but the country’s budget was balanced. But with static state income, state-sector wages for perhaps half the population remained at low levels compared to private wages earned in marketplaces, breeding corruption as officials needed to find a way to make ends meet. By early 2024, this gap apparently became unsustainable, and state wages were allowed to soar, even ten times in the case of teachers. The resulting inflation quickly reached consumer products, erasing income gains.
Conclusion
Kim’s focus in 2025 is to reach the goals of the Five-Year Plan, which concludes at the end of this year, and he continues to promote a decentralizing investment program to reduce the income gap between Pyongyang and the hinterlands where most people live. The 2024 production targets are claimed to have been reached in 12 major industries. Notably, the weakest among such claims is arguably the most important—electric power, which is said to have exceeded its target by only 1 percent. Most interesting is Kim’s acknowledgment of the need to resolve urgent methodological problems, like improving the system and method of managing the overall economy, as well as planning and pricing to conform with the economic structure and specific conditions of the country. None of this will be easy fixes.
Kim mentioned in passing that the 2025 proposed fiscal budget was reviewed in the party meetings and that it would be decided in the upcoming Supreme People’s Assembly meetings. One cannot help but wonder what that data will look like. An optimist might think he will soon turn to the next five-year plan and institute reforms aimed at restoring a sound money system. Exports to earn dollars and save the won should be the top focus, and a deal with Trump to lessen the sanctions restricting its high-demand resources, including coal, non-ferrous metals, and rare earth minerals, must be tempting.
William B. Brown is Distinguished Fellow at the Korea Economic Institute of America and the principal of Northeast Asia Economics and Intelligence, Advisory LLC (NAEIA.com). 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.
3. N. Korea uses New Year holiday to boost allegiance to ruling Kim family
Ideology, control, and loyalty are the keys to Kim's survival. But let's consider the Korean people in the north. Imagine having to live in a country where you must only pledge loyalty to the dear leader or face the gulag or execution. Imagine that the only way to advance and have any chance for your own survival is to demonstrate personal loyalty to the regime and the dear leader?
This is why Kim must change or be changed by the Korean people in the north.
N. Korea uses New Year holiday to boost allegiance to ruling Kim family | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Park Boram · January 29, 2025
By Park Boram
SEOUL, Jan. 29 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's New Year holiday is marked by visits to the mausoleum of its two late leaders and affirmations of allegiance to incumbent leader Kim Jong-un, in contrast to how South Koreans celebrate the traditional holiday, the unification ministry said Wednesday.
Seol, or New Year's Day, along with Chuseok -- the two biggest traditional holidays for Koreans -- was once abolished in North Korea by late founder Kim Il-sung, who viewed them as remnants of feudal society.
His son and successor, the late leader Kim Jong-il reinstated the New Year holiday in 1989 as part of his nationalistic campaigns aimed at safeguarding the country's socialist regime, with two days designated as holidays for the occasion since 2010, according to the unification ministry.
This file image, published by the Korean Central News Agency on Feb. 11, 2024, shows North Korean children celebrating the New Year holiday. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
North Korea now utilizes the traditional holiday as an occasion not only to honor families' ancestors but also to celebrate the achievements of its two late leaders and to bolster allegiance to the current leader, Kim Jong-un, according to the ministry.
It is now customary for North Koreans to visit the Kumsusan mausoleum in Pyongyang, where the bodies of the two late leaders are enshrined, or their statues across the country to lay flowers, the ministry said.
Restaurants remain open and busy with diners during the holiday season, as travel to other regions or hometowns is restricted and allowed only with permission.
North Koreans enjoy tteokguk, a meat broth soup with sliced rice cakes, on New Year's Day, just as South Koreans do, but use pheasant instead of the meat typically used in the broth.
North Koreans observe the New Year holiday on the Western calendar, while South Koreans celebrate the Lunar New Year's Day more extravagantly.
With the widespread use of mobile phones, North Koreans send New Year's messages via mobile devices and give food, stationery or cash as gifts to children who perform the New Year's bow to parents and relatives, the ministry said.
North Koreans enjoy the same traditional games during the holiday as South Koreans, such as "yutnori," Korean chess or kite flying, with major buildings displaying special lamps to light the streets and offering special music concerts or shows during the season.
This file image, published by the Korean Central News Agency on Feb. 11, 2024, shows North Koreans visiting the statues of late North Korean founder Kim Il-sung and his son and successor Kim Jong-il in Pyongyang on the occasion of the New Year holiday. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
This file image, published by the Korean Central News Agency on Feb. 11, 2024, shows a North Korean street alight with lamps set up on the occasion of the New Year holiday. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
pbr@yna.co.kr
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en.yna.co.kr · by Park Boram · January 29, 2025
4. N. Korean media report on Yoon's insurrection indictment
This must be so confusing for the Korean people in the north so see what happens in a free country. Although counterintuitive to some perhaps, it is one of the "benefits" of the political turmoil in the South. It can have an information and influence effect if we exploit it properly.
N. Korean media report on Yoon's insurrection indictment | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Park Boram · January 29, 2025
SEOUL, Jan. 29 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's state media reported Wednesday on the indictment of impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol over insurrection charges, three days after it occurred.
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) and the Rodong Sinmun, North Korea's daily newspaper for general readers, published an article covering Yoon's indictment on Sunday under physical detention by prosecutors.
The article cited Yoon's charges of masterminding insurrection, stating that his impeachment trial and criminal investigation are accelerating after he caused massive social and political chaos by declaring martial law.
The article also reported on the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials' repeated failed attempts to forcibly bring in Yoon for questioning and the subsequent referral of his case to the prosecution.
"Puppet Yoon ended up simultaneously facing an impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court and a criminal trial at the Seoul Central District Court," the article said, adding that the president will remain in detention until the first ruling in the case.
The article cited statements from the main opposition Democratic Party and other progressive civic groups, claiming that Yoon is still "instigating ultra right forces into a riot and struggling to escape the impeachment crisis."
It also cited foreign news media outlets as reporting on Yoon's "pathetic" circumstances, saying he has set the worst "dark records" as a sitting president.
Impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol attends an impeachment hearing at the Constitutional Court on Jan. 23, 2025. (Yonhap)
pbr@yna.co.kr
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en.yna.co.kr · by Park Boram · January 29, 2025
5. N. Korea's Kim openly reprimands officials accused of irregularities in effort to tighten discipline
Scapegoating? Kim needs someone to blame for his failures to the nation and the people. He is probably trying to remake his bureaucracy to be more responsive to his demands. The sad irony is that no matter how many people he reprimands or fires (or executes) he will still be a failure. There is no one to blame for the situation in north Korea other than the entire Kim family regime and its rule.
N. Korea's Kim openly reprimands officials accused of irregularities in effort to tighten discipline | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Park Boram · January 29, 2025
SEOUL, Jan. 29 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has openly reprimanded party officials for being treated to drinks and other irregularities, calling them a "mega crime," in what is seen as an effort to tighten internal discipline, according to state media.
Kim made the remarks while guiding the 30th enlarged meeting of the Secretariat of the Eighth Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, held on Monday, in connection with "serious cases ... of violating party discipline and exercising negative privileges," the Korean Central News Agency (KNCA) reported.
The meeting exposed "wrong deeds" of officials in Onchon Country, Nampho Municipality, and Usi County of Jagang Province, the KCNA said.
The report referred to the party's findings, accusing 40 officials in Onchon of poor preparations for a plenary meeting of the county party committee and being treated to drinking bouts at public service facilities in "an act of flagrant violation of party discipline."
Agricultural inspectors in Usi were also accused of "an unpardonable crime of inflicting sufferings on regional inhabitants and misappropriating their property at random by abusing the inviolable legal power."
Delivering a speech during the meeting, Kim called the irregularities "a mega crime which can never by pardoned" and "a grave crime of violating party discipline and moral and cultural order."
"It is useful for and beneficial to the revolution to boldly recognize such a grave deviation in the party and to deal with it as an especially serious case in time," he also said, stressing "the transformation of cadres" as central to the new course of party building.
The Central Committee's Secretariat decided to dissolve the party committee of the Onchon County and the agricultural inspection organ of the Usi Country, which will be replaced by a new organization to be formed.
The disciplinary action appears aimed at strengthening internal discipline as Kim pushes domestic efforts for regional development under his "Regional Development 20x10 Policy" and seeks tangible economic achievements in the year marking the 80th anniversary of the party's establishment.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un speaks during the 30th enlarged meeting of the Secretariat of the Eighth Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea on Jan. 27, 2025, in this photo published by the Korean Central News Agency on Jan. 29, 2025. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
pbr@yna.co.kr
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en.yna.co.kr · by Park Boram · January 29, 2025
6. The return of the vortex in South Korea and the turbulence ahead
I think we need to be very wary of Lee Jae Myung and his political camp.
And we must be wary of Chinese and north Korean influence despite what the experts say. The more I look into the activities of the United Front Departments of both China and north Korea, the more I see the hands of puppet masters.
Excerpts:
‘Lee’s criticism of the US in the past has contributed to crafting his anti-American populist image’, acknowledges Yonsei University’s Moon Chung-in, a close advisor to past progressive administrations. But Moon also states that Lee’s ‘top priority’ is preventing war with North Korea and that he understands the utility of the US alliance to deter such a contingency.
Former US Ambassador to South Korea Kathleen Stephens, who has long experience dealing with the progressive camp in South Korea, shares the view that Lee is more of a pragmatist than an ideologue, though he articulates the broad critique of conservative policy. Stephens argues ‘the left in Korea has always been more about Korean nationalism, rather than pro-Chinese’.
But all South Korean governments, including conservatives, know that it is essential to manage relations with China and to avoid engaging in a confrontation driven by geopoliticians in Washington.
Perhaps the most likely shift will be on the approach to Japan, to slow if not halt the movement toward trilateral security integration pushed by Yoon and promoted by the Biden administration. But even there, it may be Trump and Washington who are more likely to bring that progress to a halt.
The return of the vortex in South Korea and the turbulence ahead
Daniel Sneider
Stanford University
In Brief
South Korea faces a severe political crisis following President Yoon Suk-yeol's attempted coup on 3 December 2024, when he declared martial law and tried to arrest elected officials. Parliament thwarted this attempt and impeached him two weeks later. The crisis has exposed deep societal polarisation, with both left and right mobilising in protests. Lee Jae-myung, despite facing corruption charges, appears likely to become the next president, shifting power to the progressive Democratic Party. This political turmoil coincides with Donald Trump's return to power in Washington, raising concerns about the US-South Korea alliance, relations with North Korea, and regional security partnerships.
eastasiaforum.org · January 26, 2025
In his seminal work on South Korean politics, The Politics of the Vortex, the late Gregory Henderson concluded that ‘political incohesiveness against both internal and external threat is a theme of Korean history, chronic, endemic, extreme’.
The dramatic events of the past weeks in South Korea would seem to confirm the continued relevance of that judgement. In swift succession, a series of stunning events laid bare a deeply polarised society, with lines of division hardening with each step.
The present crisis of South Korean democracy unfolded in almost unbelievable fashion. On 3 December 2024, President Yoon Suk-yeol went on television to declare martial law, dispatching armed forces to arrest elected officials and bar the National Assembly from convening. That de facto coup attempt was thwarted by parliament only hours later, after two-thirds of the legislature voted to lift martial law. On its second try, the National Assembly impeached Yoon two weeks later on 14 December. Investigations of Yoon by law enforcement authorities for the crime of insurrection are ongoing, while the Constitutional Court considers whether to uphold his impeachment.
But while centralisation of power and intense factionalism is still a feature of South Korean political life, as Henderson’s analysis contended, there has also been a growth of civil society and a spread of political participation. That deepening of democratic institutions fuelled the resistance to Yoon’s shocking reversion to the insertion of the military into politics, something not seen since the 1980s. ‘It was a huge miscalculation, because nobody in Korea supported him in doing this’, commented eminent American political scientist Francis Fukuyama.
Yoon has now been arrested and charged with attempting insurrection. The Constitutional Court is conducting a parallel investigation which will culminate in a vote on whether to uphold the impeachment resolution. Yoon is resisting all these efforts, insisting his martial law declaration was a lawful response to political paralysis and foreign-backed election fraud.
Despite these efforts, the likelihood is that Yoon will be impeached and an election for the presidency would then take place. The conservative People Power Party (PPP) has been placed in an unenviable position, trying to separate themselves at first but now rallying behind the embattled President. The likely progressive standard bearer, Lee Jae-myung, who faced Yoon in the last election, faces multiple charges of corruption and is not widely popular. Yet he appears to be positioned to lead a shift in power in Seoul to the Democratic Party (DP) and its allies on the left.
As is visible across the country, there is mobilisation of protest politics on both the left and the right. Yoon’s followers, fed by conspiratorial ideas on right–wing YouTube channels, have framed this as a battle against North Korean and Chinese agents. The left holds equally unyielding views of the illegitimacy and criminality of their foes. The future of the rule of law in South Korea is far from clear.
The consequences of ongoing political turmoil in South Korea and a vacuum of leadership are amplified by the arrival to power in Washington of Donald Trump. South Koreans anticipate renewed pressure on Seoul on a variety of issues — trade, defence spending and host nation support for the US troop presence, moves to reduce, if not withdraw, the US military presence and perhaps even an effort to return to a diplomatic bargain with North Korea, this time without the participation and consent of South Korea. All these ideas were pursued during the first Trump administration but there are no longer forces within the Trump circle ready to resist them, as happened during his first term.
These concerns about a rift in the US—South Korea alliance also anticipate the shift to a progressive administration in Seoul, one that will likely be opposed to the construction of a trilateral security partnership with Japan and resistant to American efforts to draw South Korea into an anti-Chinese containment strategy.
‘If the government’s diplomatic tone changes to a pro-China, anti-Japan line’, wrote veteran former Foreign Ministry official Chun Young-woo in the conservative daily Chosun Ilbo, ‘Korea’s strategic value to Trump, who has set containing China as his top foreign policy goal, will disappear’. The likely ascension to power of DP leader Lee is particularly worrying given his history of criticism of Yoon’s foreign policy. But some observers reject the assumption that tension between Lee and Trump is inevitable.
‘Lee’s criticism of the US in the past has contributed to crafting his anti-American populist image’, acknowledges Yonsei University’s Moon Chung-in, a close advisor to past progressive administrations. But Moon also states that Lee’s ‘top priority’ is preventing war with North Korea and that he understands the utility of the US alliance to deter such a contingency.
Former US Ambassador to South Korea Kathleen Stephens, who has long experience dealing with the progressive camp in South Korea, shares the view that Lee is more of a pragmatist than an ideologue, though he articulates the broad critique of conservative policy. Stephens argues ‘the left in Korea has always been more about Korean nationalism, rather than pro-Chinese’.
But all South Korean governments, including conservatives, know that it is essential to manage relations with China and to avoid engaging in a confrontation driven by geopoliticians in Washington.
Perhaps the most likely shift will be on the approach to Japan, to slow if not halt the movement toward trilateral security integration pushed by Yoon and promoted by the Biden administration. But even there, it may be Trump and Washington who are more likely to bring that progress to a halt.
Daniel Sneider is Lecturer of International Policy and East Asian Studies at Stanford University and a Non-Resident Distinguished Fellow at the Korea Economic Institute.
https://doi.org/10.59425/eabc.1737885600
EAF | South Korea | The return of the vortex in South Korea and the turbulence ahead
eastasiaforum.org · January 26, 2025
7. Trump orders strengthening of missile defenses by allies and overseas US troops… Attention to impact on Korean Peninsula
This is a Google translation of a VOA report.
We should keep in mind the demands Xi made on Moon in 2017 with the "3 No's" no trilateral ROK-Japan-US alliance, no trilateral missile defense, and no new THAAD deployments. The only reason we have not deployed additional THAAD is because it is a high demand, low density system and we just do not have enough systems to station them everywhere they might be needed. But if we station additional THAAD in Korea it will surely upset Xi. And Xi will turn his United Front Department losse even further to undermine the ROK/US alliance.
Excerpts:
[Executive Order] “The United States continues to cooperate on missile defense with its allies and partners to aid in the defense of ally populations and troops and of forward-deployed United States troops. (omitted) The Secretary of Defense shall direct a review of theater missile defense posture and initiatives to identify ways in which the United States and its allies and partners can: (a) Increase bilateral and multilateral cooperation on missile defense technology development, capabilities, and operations (b) Improve theater missile defenses of forward-deployed United States troops and allied territories, troops, and populations; and(c) Increase and accelerate the provision of United States missile defense capabilities to allies and partners.”
In addition, he directed that measures be accelerated to improve theater missile defense for forward-deployed U.S. forces and allied territories, forces, and people, and to expand the provision of U.S. missile defense capabilities to allies and partners.
Accordingly, attention is being paid to the impact on the Korean Peninsula, such as whether or not to additionally deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in South Korea.
Trump orders strengthening of missile defenses by allies and overseas US troops… Attention to impact on Korean Peninsula
2025.1.29
An So-young
https://www.voakorea.com/a/7953677.html
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order urging the development of a next-generation missile defense system for the United States. In particular, attention is being paid to the impact on the Korean Peninsula, as it directs the strengthening of missile defenses by allies and forward-deployed U.S. forces. Reporter Ahn So-young reports.
On the 27th, US President Trump emphasized that “the United States will continue to cooperate with allies and partners on missile defense to support the defense of allied people and troops, and forward-deployed US forces.”
President Trump said this in the executive order he signed today, “The Iron Dome for America.”
The executive order calls for the immediate construction of Israel's missile defense system, Iron Dome, in the United States.
Attention is being paid to whether additional THAAD deployment will take place in Korea.
President Trump has directed the Secretary of Defense to conduct a review of the theater missile defense posture to identify ways in which the United States and its allies and partners can enhance bilateral and multilateral cooperation on the development and operation of missile defense technologies, capabilities, and operations.
[Executive Order] “The United States continues to cooperate on missile defense with its allies and partners to aid in the defense of ally populations and troops and of forward-deployed United States troops. (omitted) The Secretary of Defense shall direct a review of theater missile defense posture and initiatives to identify ways in which the United States and its allies and partners can: (a) Increase bilateral and multilateral cooperation on missile defense technology development, capabilities, and operations (b) Improve theater missile defenses of forward-deployed United States troops and allied territories, troops, and populations; and(c) Increase and accelerate the provision of United States missile defense capabilities to allies and partners.”
In addition, he directed that measures be accelerated to improve theater missile defense for forward-deployed U.S. forces and allied territories, forces, and people, and to expand the provision of U.S. missile defense capabilities to allies and partners.
Accordingly, attention is being paid to the impact on the Korean Peninsula, such as whether or not to additionally deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in South Korea.
“The most lethal threat facing America”
Meanwhile, President Trump noted in this executive order that “ballistic, hypersonic, cruise missiles, and other advanced air-to-air attack threats remain the most lethal threats facing the United States.”
[Executive Order]” The threat of attack by ballistic, hypersonic, and cruise missiles, and other advanced aerial attacks, remains the most catastrophic threat facing the United States. (omitted) Over the past 40 years, rather than lessening, the threat from next-generation strategic weapons has become more intense and complex with the development by peer and near-peer adversaries of next-generation delivery systems.”
He added, without naming any specific country, that “over the past 40 years, the threat from next-generation strategic weapons, including hypersonics, has not diminished; rather, it has intensified and become more complex as rogue adversaries develop next-generation launch systems of the same and near-the-same class.”
In doing so, he said, the U.S. policy is to provide a common defense for the people and the nation by deploying and maintaining a next-generation missile defense system to “achieve peace through strength.”
[Executive Order] “To further the goal of peace through strength, it is the policy of the United States that: (a) The United States will provide for the common defense of its citizens and the Nation by deploying and maintaining a next-generation missile defense shield; (b) The United States will deter — and defend its citizens and critical infrastructure against — any foreign aerial attack on the Homeland; and (c) The United States will guarantee its secure second-strike capability.”
President Trump's signing of the "Iron Dome for America" executive order requires Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to submit to the president within 60 days a proposal outlining the design, capability-based requirements, and implementation plan for a next-generation missile defense system.
This should include “accelerating the deployment of space-based sensor systems to track hypersonic and ballistic missiles,” and “developing and deploying space-based systems that can intercept missiles before launch or during the boost phase of a missile’s launch.”
“We protect other countries, but we don’t protect ourselves,” Trump said at a Republican event in Florida. “I have instructed the new Secretary of Defense to immediately begin construction of the Iron Dome missile defense system, which will be the most advanced in the world to protect the American people.”
[Recording: President Trump] “I directed our new Secretary of Defense to immediately begin the construction of a state of the art Iron Dome missile defense shield which will be able to protect Americans. We protect other countries, but we don’t protect ourselves.”
In his acceptance speech for the Republican presidential nomination in July of last year, President Trump also said that he would expand the missile defense system, including the American Iron Dome, to the United States, citing the high kill rate of the Iron Dome.
Iron Dome is a defense system developed by Israel and is designed to defend against rockets and other weapons.
This is Soyoung Ahn from VOA News.
8. Worsening human rights situation in North Korea calls for change in mission strategy: need to face reality
Another opportunity for me to say: Unification first, then denuclearization; the path to unification is through human rights.
Human rights are not only a moral imperative, they are a national security issue as well.
Worsening human rights situation in North Korea calls for change in mission strategy: need to face reality
https://www.christiandaily.com/news/worsening-human-rights-situation-in-north-korea-calls-for-change-in-mission-strategy?utm
By
CDI Staff
26 Jan, 2025 06:40 EST
A fence with razor wire is seen protecting the border on the Yalu river north of the border city of Dandong, Liaoning province, northern China across from the city of Sinuiju, North Korea in Dandong, China. Kevin Frayer/Getty Images
The Database Center for North Korean Human Rights (NKDB) announced the results of its 2024 White Paper on Religious Freedom in North Korea and a public awareness survey on North Korean human rights at the Franciscan Education Center in Seoul’s Jeong-dong on Jan. 23. Rev. Stephen Kim of the Jericho Mission, who has devoted over 30 years to improving awareness of North Korean human rights and rescuing defectors, also shared insights into the current state and direction of missions to North Korea, according to reporting by Christian Daily Korea.
The White Paper on Religious Freedom, published for the first time in four years, is based on responses and investigations of North Korean defectors who have settled in South Korea. It includes data from 15,169 accumulated responses and 2,045 cases of religious persecution. Soo-young Yang, a researcher at NKDB, presented the findings and trends.
Severe religious persecution continues in North Korea
According to the survey, 96.6% of respondents stated that religious activities are "not permitted" in North Korea. When asked if they had secretly participated in religious activities, 98.8% answered "no." Only 4.7% responded "yes" when asked if they had witnessed others engaging in secret religious activities. These secret religious practices encompass not only underground Christian churches but also other faiths, including shamanism.
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When asked if they had ever seen religious items such as the Bible, the response rate of "yes" has remained around 5% since 2008. However, in 2023, this rate unexpectedly surged to 55.6%. This dramatic increase is attributed to a smaller sample size due to the sharp decline in defectors entering South Korea after 2020.
Among the types of religious persecution, "religious activities" ranked highest at 64.1%, followed by "possession of religious items" at 17.9%. Religious persecution incidents have significantly increased since the 2000s, linked to the heightened control measures following the "Arduous March" period (1995–2000), during which North Korea faced a severe famine and system collapse.
"While there have been no major changes in the results, the consistent presence of individuals who have participated in or witnessed secret religious activities warrants continued investigation," Yang commented.
She also stressed the need for international pressure by linking discussions on human rights and religious persecution in North Korea. Additionally, measures should be sought to ensure a steady inflow of religious materials into North Korea.
Approximately 40,000 North Korean defectors in China
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Rev. Kim then talked about the current state and direction of missions in North Korea. He emphasized the worsening control over North Korean defectors in China after COVID-19, highlighting the need for a paradigm shift in North Korean missions.
"Looking at the history of Christianity's eradication in North Korea, a shift occurred before and after COVID-19. During the pandemic, North Korea achieved complete control, issuing orders to 'shoot anyone or any animal approaching the border.'"
Kim estimated that "there are about 40,000 North Korean defectors in China." He explained that China’s policy toward defectors has significantly changed. Previously, North Koreans often became marriage partners due to the rural impoverishment in China. Over time, however, as their children entered schools, social issues emerged.
With the population decline, China has been preventing defectors from returning to South Korea. Punishments for those caught attempting to go to South Korea have become harsher. Before COVID-19, 765 defectors were brought to South Korea, but now the number has dropped to 192. Costs have increased tenfold, and barriers over 4 meters high have been erected. Some defectors have been stuck in China for over 15 years, and 57 South Korean missionaries have been forcibly taken to China."
(Christian Daily International has previously reported how China is allegedly partnering with North Korea in persecuting Christians.)
Regarding North Korea, Kim explained, "In North Korea, it's now possible to order food delivery via mobile apps. However, internal control remains severe after COVID-19. People are instructed to report even those who clasp their hands or mumble in prayer. Inspection and monitoring have intensified, and the Reactionary Thought and Culture Law has been established."
"The mindset of North Korean people is fundamentally different from ours. For them, the Kim family is seen as 'God.' Just like we have the Bible, they have something akin to a 'Bible' used for regime indoctrination," he added.
On the underground church in North Korea, Kim noted, "There’s a saying that 'those who entered North Korea during the March of Suffering became the church,' but this cannot be confirmed. With data from 20-30 years ago, the existence of underground churches cannot be assured. Many videos and photos claiming to show underground churches are fabricated or false. Nonetheless, I have personally met individuals in North Korea who have faith. Letting go of outdated ideas and adopting accurate research data can usher in a new and honest era of North Korean missions. Despite the grim reality, Christians still remain in North Korea."
65% of South Koreans show interest in human rights in North Korea
Seung-pyo Park, director of the research division at Consumer Insight, announced the results of the 2024 National Perception Survey on North Korean Human Rights, which targeted 1,000 men and women aged 19 and older across the country.
65% of the public expressed interest in North Korean human rights. The most common reason, cited by 33.4% of respondents, was “sympathy for the poverty and suffering of North Korean people.” Regarding the severity of North Korean human rights issues, 96% viewed them as “serious.”
However, when it came to the possibility of improvement, 86.2% responded pessimistically, believing that improvement is "unlikely," showing a growing trend of pessimism. Awareness of the North Korean Human Rights Act, implemented in 2016, along with its achievements and effectiveness, was also evaluated negatively. Despite this, 60.2% of respondents agreed that "the South Korean government should raise the issue of North Korean human rights."
Human rights amid changing circumstances
Seung-yeop Lee, a research analyst at the NKDB, delivered a presentation titled "Evaluating and Forecasting North Korean Human Rights Amid Changing Circumstances." He highlighted the sharp decline in the number of North Korean defectors due to tightened border controls with China during the COVID-19 pandemic. This has significantly limited the ability to secure and verify cases of human rights violations in North Korea.
Additionally, Lee outlined key North Korean human rights issues for this year, including:
- The dispatch of 10,000 troops to support Russia’s war effort, leading to an increase in prisoners of war.
- Continued forced repatriation of defectors and border closures by China.
- Institutional neglect of defectors residing in China.
- Limitations of international sanctions against North Korea and the impact of former U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration.
- The forthcoming release of the 4th Universal Periodic Review (UPR) conclusions between February and April.
- Political events such as the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Workers’ Party of Korea.
Meanwhile, the Database Center for North Korean Human Rights plans to publish reports and host a seminar in September on topics including North Korean laborers and soldiers abroad, as well as those forcibly repatriated by China.
Reassessing North Korean mission strategies, exploring strategic change
During a comprehensive discussion session, Yeo-sang Yoon, director of the North Korean Human Rights Archives, emphasized the need for realistic measures to improve North Korean human rights, particularly from the perspective of the church.
"The Korean church often plans and prays about ‘where to send missions first,’ ‘how many churches to establish,’ and ‘the resources and time required.’ However, these discussions are disconnected from reality," he said.
"Right now, people are being tortured, sent to concentration camps, or publicly executed for religious persecution. This seminar was held not to discuss future missions in North Korea but to raise awareness of the current situation and focus on what we can do now."
Rev. Kim, who has been involved in North Korean missions for over 30 years, commented that "the Korean Christian community has played an undeniably important role, but the modern zeitgeist of 'unification' has been transferred to the church, where it has combined with prosperity theology and dominion theology. This has led to an overestimation of the impact and results of North Korean mission efforts."
"There are only a very small number of Christians in North Korea. The theological foundation and action plans for North Korean missions need to be re-established. Resources and attention must be directed toward defectors remaining in China," he added.
Kim also stressed the importance of engaging proactively with North Korean laborers, saying, "We must create effective points of contact with laborers in China, collaborating with institutions and companies to help transform their lives. Change will not come from the so-called 'jangmadang generation' (the market generation) alone; leadership must also evolve. We need to devise mission strategies that target the working class who act as intermediaries."
Researcher Yang emphasized the need for sustained dialogue channels with North Korea. He proposed collaboration with neutral countries like Switzerland and Sweden, stating: "There are missionaries who have been detained in North Korea for extended periods, and we are currently unable even to confirm whether they are alive. At the very least, efforts must be made to confirm their status. The highest priority should be on international cooperation to ensure their safe return to South Korea."
Original reporting by Christian Daily Korea, translated and edited by Christian Daily International staff.
9. Trump to pursue ‘complete denuclearization of North Korea,’ White House says
President Trump is not concerned with semantics or diplomatic language. I think there should be no doubt that he wants denuclearization of north Korea.
Trump to pursue ‘complete denuclearization of North Korea,’ White House says
https://www.nknews.org/2025/01/trump-to-pursue-complete-denuclearization-of-north-korea-white-house-says/
Spokesperson tells Yonhap that US will stick to long-standing policy, despite Trump describing DPRK as ‘nuclear power’
Shreyas Reddy January 29, 2025
Donald Trump during his presidential inauguration | Image: White House via X (Jan. 21, 2025)
U.S. President Donald Trump will continue to pursue the complete denuclearization of North Korea, a White House official said Tuesday, after his comments describing the DPRK as a “nuclear power” focused attention on a possible shift in Washington’s policy.
“President Trump will pursue the complete denuclearization of North Korea, just as he did in his first term,” National Security Council (NSC) spokesperson Brian Hughes told Yonhap News Agency, hours after North Korean media reported on leader Kim Jong Un’s inspection of a uranium enrichment facility.
“President Trump had a good relationship with Kim Jong Un, and his mix of toughness and diplomacy led to the first-ever leader-level commitment to complete denuclearization,” he reportedly added, referring to the two leaders’ historic first-ever U.S.-DPRK summit in Singapore in 2018.
Hughes’ statement comes after Trump referred to North Korea as a “nuclear power” following his presidential inauguration last week, seemingly signaling a departure from the long-standing U.S. focus on denuclearization. The president also said that he would reach out to Kim Jong Un again.
New defense secretary Peter Hegseth similarly referred to North Korea as a “nuclear state” during his confirmation hearing in mid-January.
However, the NSC spokesperson’s comments appear to walk back the new U.S. president and defense secretary’s remarks, potentially reflecting experts’ assessment last week that recognizing the DPRK as a nuclear state is easier said than done.
Trump pushed for the complete denuclearization of North Korea in summit talks with Kim during his first term, and he will likely stick with a “tough stance” at the start of his second, according to Sheena Chestnut Greitens, an associate professor at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin.
“Even if the Trump administration wants to make a deal with North Korea, many of the Trump team likely view pressure on Pyongyang, and statements of hardline positions, as setting the table to maximize U.S. leverage for any potential future negotiation,” she told NK News.
She added that the administration may review its North Korea policy later if the initial approach doesn’t yield results or if Trump succeeds in restarting negotiations with Pyongyang, forcing Washington to contemplate what concessions it can offer.
But Daniel Pinkston, a Seoul-based lecturer in international relations at Troy University, expressed doubt that the NSC spokesperson’s comments reflect Trump’s real intentions.
He emphasized that it doesn’t matter what lower-level bureaucrats say as long as Trump is calling the shots, given his track record of reversing U.S. agreements.
“Even if there were an agreement on the table that made both parties better off, the Trump administration has a credible commitment problem,” he said.
The U.S. president’s tendency to make drastic policy U-turns was evident in his first term, when he switched from a confrontational approach threatening to unleash “fire and fury” against the DPRK to prioritizing summits and hailing his strong relationship with the North Korean leader.
Yang Uk, a military analyst at the Seoul-based Asan Institute for Policy Studies, previously told NK News that procedural hurdles make recognizing North Korea as a nuclear state virtually impossible.
Beyond Washington’s consistent rejection of Pyongyang’s nuclear status, the DPRK’s withdrawal from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty in 2003 and subsequent acceleration of nuclear weapons development limit Trump’s options for a policy change.
North Korea may also be reluctant to return to negotiations after swearing off relations with Washington and pledging to implement its “most hardline” anti-U.S. policy at a year-end ruling party meeting.
Kim Jong Un again emphasized the need to develop nuclear weapons to deter “the most unstable and cunningly hostile countries in the world,” referring to the U.S. and its allies, during his visit to the uranium enrichment plant on Tuesday.
Edited by Bryan Betts
Updated at 4:52 p.m. KST on Jan. 29 with additional context and expert comments.
10. North Korean troops in Russia sent for retraining after heavy losses: Ukraine
As I have mentioned many times, training is more important than combat experience and effective military units must continue to train in between combat operations. And failing military organizations must train to correct the deficiencies they have identified during combat operations. You can learn all the lessons of combat but if you do not put them into an effective training regimen then all the combat experience in the world will not help your military in the future. I know this is counterintuitive for some but combat experience is not training. It does not train units. It is survival. It will be an important indicator as to the effectiveness of the nKPA to see what results from this training.
North Korean troops in Russia sent for retraining after heavy losses: Ukraine
But Kyiv says DPRK soldiers expected to continue fighting in Kursk amid reports of temporary retreat from front lines
https://www.nknews.org/2025/01/north-korean-troops-in-russia-sent-for-retraining-after-heavy-losses-ukraine/
Ifang Bremer January 29, 2025
Military gear reportedly found on North Korean soldiers, including an AK-12 assault rifle (left), and Ukrainian Special Forces posing with equipment found on a killed DPRK soldier (right) | Image: Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces
North Korean troops fighting against Ukraine are undergoing “error correction” training with Russian commanders after suffering heavy losses, according to Kyiv, amid reports that DPRK soldiers have retreated from the front lines.
Andrii Kovalenko, chief of Kyiv’s Center for Countering Disinformation under the National Security and Defense Council, said on Tuesday that the retraining is a response to the North Koreans’ struggle to counter Ukrainian drones and artillery.
But despite the setbacks, Kovalenko warned that the DPRK troops are expected to remain active participants in the war.
Ukrainian media has reported that North Korean troops have even withdrawn from combat, citing a Ukrainian special forces spokesperson.
In a separate statement on Tuesday, Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces (SSO) reported that its fighters recently eliminated two North Korean soldiers in the Kursk region and seized enemy military equipment and documents, including communication devices that may contain intelligence on Russian troop movements and plans.
Images released by the Ukrainian special forces suggest DPRK troops are well equipped.
Among the military gear allegedly carried by the dead North Korean soldiers was an AK-12 assault rife — the newer model of the standard issue AK-47 — with a 1P87 optic, a DL-5 rangefinder and a 1PN139-1 thermal imaging scope.
The 1PN139-1 is a thermal weapon scope that allows soldiers to detect heat signatures in darkness or poor visibility, helping them spot and aim at targets more effectively. Prices online range from 130,000 rubles ($1,326) to 250,000 rubles ($2,551).
Military gear reportedly found on a North Korean soldiers, including a Samsung cellphone, notes and a thermal weapon sight. | Image: Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces
The DPRK soldier was also carrying a cellphone by South Korean manufacturer Samsung, according to photos released by the SSO, and a printout with translations of Ukrainian phrases the troops can use in battle. These included “Who is the commander?” and “Raise your hands and get out of your position.”
Ukraine’s statement that DPRK troops are reassessing their tactics follows reports that North Korea will send more troops to fight for Russia, including artillery personnel, within the next two months.
Kyiv’s spy agency also stated last week that Pyongyang is set to ship 150 more ballistic missiles to Russia on top of the hundreds of artillery systems and thousands of troops it already sent last year.
Ukrainian and Western officials report that these missiles, fired from Russian territory, contain Western-made electronic components and have been used in attacks on Ukrainian cities.
Meanwhile, Kovalenko on Tuesday claimed that Moscow promised to keep secret North Korea’s involvement in the war, pointing to the capture of DPRK soldiers and rising casualty figures.
Earlier this month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky estimated that DPRK casualties in Kursk had reached 4,000, about a third of the 12,000 North Korean troops believed to be deployed.
Edited by Bryan Betts
11. North Korean leader Kim inspects nuclear facility as Pyongyang pressures Trump administration
I doubt very much the Trump administration feels pressure from Kim Jong Un.
North Korean leader Kim inspects nuclear facility as Pyongyang pressures Trump administration
AP · by HYUNG-JIN KIM · January 28, 2025
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspected a facility that produces nuclear material and called for bolstering the country’s nuclear fighting capability, state media reported Wednesday, as the North looks to increase pressure on the United States following the inauguration of President Donald Trump.
Kim’s visit suggests a continued emphasis on an expansion of North Korea’s nuclear arsenal, though Trump has said he’s willing to talk to Kim again to revive diplomacy. Many analysts view North Korean weapons moves as part of a strategy to win sanctions relief and political concessions from the United States.
The official Korean Central News Agency reported that Kim visited the nuclear-material production base and the Nuclear Weapons Institute. It didn’t say where those facilities are located, but North Korean photos of Kim’s visit indicated that he likely visited a uranium-enrichment facility that he went to last September. That visit was North Korea’s first disclosure of a uranium-enrichment facility since it showed one to visiting American scholars in 2010.
During the latest visit, Kim said North Korea reported “amazing” results in its production of nuclear material last year and underlined the need to exceed this year’s production goal to strengthen “the nuclear shield of the country,” according to KCNA.
Kim said that further boosting the country’s nuclear counteraction posture is “our invariable noble task” to cope with intensifying challenges posed by “hostile forces,” an apparent reference to the U.S. and South Korea.
The start of Trump’s second term raises prospects for the resumption of diplomacy between the United States and North Korea, as Trump met Kim three times during his first term. The Trump-Kim diplomacy in 2018-19 fell apart due to wrangling over U.S.-led economic sanctions on North Korea, and Kim has since significantly dialed up weapons testing activities.
During a Fox News interview broadcast Thursday, Trump called Kim “a smart guy” and “not a religious zealot.” Asked whether he will reach out to Kim again, Trump replied, “I will, yeah.”
North Korea hasn’t yet directly responded to Trump’s overture as it continues its belligerent rhetoric against the U.S. along with weapons testing activities. Many experts say Kim could eventually sit down for talks with Trump and would likely think he now has greater leverage than before because of his enlarged nuclear arsenal and deepening military ties with Russia.
On Sunday, North Korea said it tested a cruise missile system, its third known weapons display this year, and vowed “the toughest” response to what it called the escalation of U.S.-South Korean military drills.
North Korea views U.S. military training with South Korea as invasion rehearsals, though Washington and Seoul have repeatedly said their drills are defensive in nature. In recent years, the United States and South Korea have expanded their military exercises in response to North Korea’s advancing nuclear program.
During the September visit to the uranium-enrichment facility, Kim stressed the need to further augment the number of centrifuges to “exponentially” build more nucellar weapons.
North Korea first unveiled a uranium enrichment site at its main Yongbyon nuclear complex to a visiting delegation of American scholars in 2010. Many experts say the uranium enrichment facility disclosed in September was likely a different place from the one shown to the U.S. scholars.
Nuclear weapons can be built using either highly enriched uranium or plutonium, and North Korea has a facility at Yongbyon to produce weapons-grade plutonium as well. Estimates of how many nuclear bombs North Korea can add every year vary, ranging from six to as many as 18.
In 2018, a top South Korean official told parliament that North Korea was estimated to have already manufactured 20 to 60 nuclear weapons, but some experts say the North likely has more than 100.
___
Klug reported from Tokyo
AP · by HYUNG-JIN KIM · January 28, 2025
12. Kim Jong Un visits uranium enrichment site, says clash with enemies ‘inevitable’
With photos at the link:\.
Kim Jong Un visits uranium enrichment site, says clash with enemies ‘inevitable’
North Korean leader appears to publicly tour Yongbyon site for first time, as White House vows to eliminate DPRK nukes
https://www.nknews.org/2025/01/kim-jong-un-visits-uranium-enrichment-site-says-clash-with-enemies-inevitable/
Colin Zwirko January 29, 2025
Kim Jong Un reportedly inspected a nuclear materials production base and Nuclear Weapons Institute | Image: Rodong Sinmun (Jan. 29, 2025)
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited a uranium enrichment plant and said boosting nuclear weapons production is necessary to deter enemy attacks, according to state media on Wednesday.
“The external environment we face remains severe and that the challenges posed by hostile forces seeking to establish military superiority are becoming even more intense,” he said in the Rodong Sinmun report, using the common code word “hostile forces” to refer indirectly to the U.S., South Korea and Japan.
The apparent warning to Washington comes after newly inaugurated President Donald Trump declared North Korea a “nuclear power” and expressed interest in restarting talks with Kim multiple times in his first week in office.
Kim Jong Un visited the uranium enrichment facility on an unspecified date, likely in recent days | Image: Rodong Sinnum (Jan. 29, 2025)
1
2
3
“Long-term confrontation with the most unstable and cunningly hostile countries in the world is inevitable,” Kim stated.
He added that “the continuous strengthening of the nuclear shield, which reliably guarantees national sovereignty, interests, and the right to development, is an absolute necessity.”
But Trump’s National Security Council spokesperson Brian Hughes told Yonhap News Agency on Wednesday soon after the Kim Jong Un report was released that Trump “will pursue the complete denuclearization of North Korea, just as he did in his first term.”
Pyongyang has yet to respond positively to Trump’s overtures, while state media published a complaint from the DPRK foreign ministry over the weekend regarding recent joint U.S.-ROK military drills and the strengthening alliance in general.
Instead, Kim Jong Un has continued to emphasize nuclear weapons development and complete rejection of denuclearization. He oversaw a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile test and likely a salvo launch of short-range missiles just prior to Trump’s inauguration this month, as well as a cruise missile test on Saturday.
Wednesday’s report marks Kim’s second public visit to a uranium enrichment plant since September, when state media published photos of such a facility for the first time.
That one appeared to be the facility at Kangson near the capital. Photos published Wednesday show similar scenes of Kim surrounded by thousands of centrifuges, but the interiors appear different, suggesting it is a different location.
Images of Kim visiting the facility are compared with satellite images of three enrichment halls at Yongbyon | Images: Rodong Sinmun (Jan. 29, 2025), Airbus via Google Earth, edited by the Open Source Team at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies of the Middlebury Institute
The appearance of this room seen behind Kim, referred to by the Open Source Team as “Hall 3,” matches features of the newest addition to the Yongbyon uranium enrichment facility built in 2021 | Images: Rodong Sinmun (Jan. 29, 2025), Airbus via Google Earth, edited by the Open Source Team at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies of the Middlebury Institute
The location of the latest visit appears to be North Korea’s main nuclear complex at Yongbyon, according to Sam Lair and Michael Duitsman, analysts from the Open Source Team at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies of the Middlebury Institute.
This would mark his first confirmed public visit to the site that has served as the core of North Korea’s nuclear development for decades, though it’s possible past public inspections of warheads were also at the Yongbyon complex.
“The number of roof beams … as seen in satellite imagery during construction [at Yongbyon] is the same as the number seen there during Kim’s visit,” Lair told NK News, referring to Hall 3 in the above images.
“Also the number of enrichment halls lines up with the timeline” of construction at Yongbyon, he said, pointing to evidence of three halls in both the Kim photos and satellite imagery of Yongbyon.
Lair added that the layout of Hall 1 “matches the diagram that Siegfried Hecker drew when he visited the enrichment plant in 2010.”
Satellite imagery shows that Hall 1 was built decades ago, Hall 2 was built in 2013 and Hall 3 in 2021.
The layout of this cascade hall Kim visited this week matches a diagram of a hall at Yongbyon drawn by Sig Hecker after his visit in 2010 | Images: Rodong Sinmun (Jan. 29, 2025), edited by the Open Source Team at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies of the Middlebury Institute
Edited by Arius Derr
Updated on Jan. 29 at 8:01 a.m. KST with details from the White House and expert comment locating the plant to Yongbyon and at 10:15 a.m. with added context
13. Ukraine: “Retreating North Korean Army, Analyzing Tactical Mistakes”
They must train or they will not survive.
This is a Google translation of an RFA report.
Ukraine: “Retreating North Korean Army, Analyzing Tactical Mistakes”
https://www.rfa.org/korean/in_focus/nk_nuclear_talks/ukraine-kim-jong-un-north-korean-soldiers-captured-issues-01282025145831.html
WASHINGTON-Lee Sang-min lees@rfa.org
2025.01.28
A North Korean soldier with red tape on his leg (a North Korean military identification mark) covers his head as a Ukrainian drone flies by.
/Official Telegram account of the Ukrainian Special Operations Forces (SSO)
00:00 / 03:09
Anchor : It has been reported that North Korean troops who temporarily retreated from the front line in the Kursk region of Russia are analyzing their tactical mistakes . Reporter Lee Sang-min reports .
Andriy Kovalenko, head of the Center for Countering Disinformation under the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, said in a Telegram message on the 28th that North Korean troops in the Kursk region suffered significant losses because they had not learned how to respond to drones and artillery attacks .
Center Director Kovalenko said that the North Korean army, which temporarily retreated due to the loss of life, is currently working with Russian and North Korean military officers to analyze their tactical mistakes.
Earlier, Colonel Oleg Sadr Kindradenko, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Special Operations Forces, said on the 27th that North Korean troops had temporarily retreated from some parts of the front line in Russia's Kursk region .
Spokesperson Kindradenko explained that the retreating North Korean troops were those who had participated in the battle in the Kursk region where the 73rd Naval Special Operations Center of Ukraine was deployed, and that they had retreated with heavy casualties .
Center Director Kovalenko predicted that North Korean soldiers who temporarily retreated will likely be deployed to the front lines again.
He went on to point out that the biggest problem for North Korean General Secretary Kim Jong-un is that North Korean soldiers are being taken prisoner and that the bodies of North Korean soldiers who died in action are clearly recorded.
According to an initial agreement between North Korea and Russia, Russia was supposed to ensure that North Korean troops' participation in combat was as anonymous as possible, but it failed to do so, he said.
Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed in Telegram on the 16th of last month that Russia was burning the faces of North Korean soldiers killed in action in order to conceal the existence of North Korean troops deployed there .
President Zelensky posted a video on Telegram, which shows the face of what appears to be a corpse on fire.
However, the Ukrainian military has been releasing the bodies of North Korean soldiers killed in action and their belongings found on the bodies, and recently captured two North Korean prisoners of war, making the North Korean military's participation in the war a fact that can no longer be hidden .
Ukraine: “North Korean troops retreat from frontline with casualties”
Ukraine: “61 North Korean troops casualties” Additional footage released
In relation to this, the Ukrainian Special Forces (SSO) announced on the 28th via Telegram that two North Korean soldiers were killed in a drone attack in the Kursk region, and released photos of the bodies of the soldiers and items collected from the bodies .
Among the items seized were AK-12 assault rifles , thermal imaging sights , rangefinders , communications equipment, identification cards , documents with Russian pronunciations of certain actions written in Korean , and a New Year's message allegedly sent by General Secretary Kim Jong Un to North Korean soldiers deployed in Ukraine . ( Photo below )
The letter, presumed to be General Secretary Kim Jong-un’s New Year’s message, was identical to the letter obtained and reported by the Washington Post (WP) , a major American daily, on the 19th . In the letter, Chairman Kim said, “Comrades ! I really miss you . Please do not forget for a moment that I continue to pray and pray for your safe and healthy return . ”
Meanwhile, the British Ministry of Defense announced on the 24th , " As of mid-January this year , it is very likely that the North Korean military suffered approximately 4,000 casualties during an offensive operation against the Ukrainian military in Kursk Oblast, Russia . " This is Lee Sang-min from RFA Free Asia Broadcasting .
Editor Park Jeong-woo, Web Editor Lee Gyeong-ha
14. North Korea sends ‘a subtle signal’ to Trump about dialogue – via a missile test
Pretty subtle. So subtle perhaps what we all missed it.
It was hardly a blip on our collective radar screens. And that must surely upset Kim.
North Korea sends ‘a subtle signal’ to Trump about dialogue – via a missile test
The missile launch came on the heels of the newly inaugurated US president acknowledging Kim Jong-un’s hermit state as a nuclear power
Park Chan-kyong
Published: 8:00am, 28 Jan 2025Updated: 1:07pm, 28 Jan 2025
North Korea’s latest missile test, its first since US President Donald Trump’s inauguration, appears to be an attempt to gauge Washington’s willingness to resume dialogue while taking aim at the recent US-South Korea joint military drills, according to analysts.
The launch was conducted under the supervision of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, whom Trump had earlier said he would reach out to, calling him and the hermit kingdom he leads a “nuclear power”.
On Saturday, North Korea reportedly carried out a “strategic” sea-to-surface cruise missile test, displaying the weapon’s capability to deliver nuclear weapons.
Yang Moo-jin, head of the University of North Korean Studies, called the move a “low-key provocative act” aimed at enhancing Pyongyang’s precision-strike capabilities, in contrast to testing long-range ballistic missiles designed for mass destruction.
In a statement issued on Sunday, North Korea’s foreign ministry accused the United States of provoking tensions through a series of military exercises with Seoul this month.
“The reality stresses that the DPRK [North Korea] should counter the US with the toughest counteraction from A to Z as long as it refuses the sovereignty and security interests of the DPRK and this is the best option for dealing with the US,” the ministry said.
It also slammed a four-day joint air force exercise with the US in South Korea’s eastern city of Wonju and a recent trilateral joint air drill, also involving Japan, calling them a “grave challenge” to peace and stability on the Korean peninsula.
Aircraft from the US, South Korea and Japan fly in formation during a joint drill off the South Korean southern island of Jeju in November. Photo: US Air Force / AFP
The ministry warned that North Korea “will not permit the imbalance of strength … and will take the toughest counteraction to defend the sovereign right and security interests of the state and thoroughly ensure peace and stability in the region”.
Yang noted that the statement was issued by a senior foreign ministry official, rather than high-ranking figures such as Kim Yo-jong, the leader’s sister, as a way to “float a trial balloon”.
“North Korea is sending a subtle signal to Washington that it should stop the joint drills with the South if it is really interested in resuming dialogue,” Yang told This Week in Asia.
Hong Min, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification, said the missile test and the foreign ministry’s statement were aimed at retaliating against joint military drills while gauging the new US administration’s response.
The test also intended to further the development of submarine-launched ballistic missiles as part of North Korea’s five-year military build-up plan, set to be completed this year, he said.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff reported that Pyongyang launched “several” cruise missiles towards its western waters from an inland location at about 4pm on Saturday.
Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency cited supreme leader Kim as saying that the country’s deterrence capabilities were being “perfected more thoroughly”.
North Korea would make “strenuous efforts” to defend stability with “more powerfully developed military muscle”, Kim reportedly said.
US President Donald Trump meets North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the demilitarised zone separating the two Koreas in June 2019. Photo: Reuters
North Korea routinely condemns US military exercises with the South as invasion rehearsals, though Washington and Seoul maintain that the drills are defensive in nature.
The joint exercises have intensified as the US and South Korea seek to address North Korea’s advancing nuclear programme and its growing military cooperation with Russia amid the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Trump’s assumption of office for a non-consecutive second term raises the possibility of renewed diplomacy.
During his first term, the US president met Kim three times in 2018-19, though their summits failed to produce significant results due to disagreements over US-led sanctions on North Korea.
In a Fox News interview last Thursday, Trump referred to Kim as “a smart guy”, saying he would reach out to him again.
North Korea launches new hypersonic missile test ahead of Trump’s return to White House
Trump’s recent remarks about North Korea being “a nuclear power” during an impromptu press conference at the Oval Office have also raised eyebrows in Seoul.
The US, South Korea and Western nations have historically avoided labelling Pyongyang a nuclear state to underscore efforts to curb its nuclear ambitions.
But Kim’s expanded nuclear arsenal and deepening ties with Russia could bolster his negotiating leverage in potential talks with Trump, observers say.
Lim Eul-chul, a professor at Kyungnam University’s Institute for Far Eastern Studies, said the missile test reflected North Korea’s confrontational approach despite Trump’s remarks suggesting openness to dialogue.
“But Kim Jong-un is likely to perceive Trump’s comments as insincere as long as the US, South Korea and Japan continue their joint military exercises,” Lim said.
“The ongoing war in Ukraine is likely to play a key role in shaping the conditions for a possible reopening of talks.”
At a year-end party plenum last month, North Korea announced what it described as the “most hardline” policy against the US, accusing the trilateral alliance involving South Korea and Japan of forming “an aggressive nuclear military bloc”.
Park Chan-kyong
FOLLOW
Park Chan-kyong is a journalist covering South Korean affairs for the South China Morning Post. He previously worked at the Agence France-Presse's Seoul bureau for 35 years. He studied political science at Korea University and economics at the Yonsei University Graduate School
15. How North Korea’s troop dispatch to Russia has sparked a propaganda war
There is no need for "fake news" surrounding north Korean actions in Russia/Ukraine. Tell the story. and tell the story back in north Korea. The north Korean deployment is such an opportunity to support an effective PSYOP campaign.
A Psychological Operations Strategy for the Korean Peninsula from Lessons Learned in Ukraine
https://nationalsecurityjournal.org/a-psychological-operations-strategy-for-the-korean-peninsula-from-lessons-learned-in-ukraine/
How North Korea’s troop dispatch to Russia has sparked a propaganda war
Evolving narratives and fake news have made it difficult to separate fact from fiction around DPRK fight against Ukraine
https://www.nknews.org/2025/01/how-north-koreas-troop-dispatch-to-russia-has-sparked-a-propaganda-war/
Anton Sokolin | Shreyas Reddy January 29, 2025
Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin, with North Korean soldiers in the background | Images: Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs (April 9, 2024), Kremlin (Aug. 19, 2024) and KCNA (April 26, 2022), edited by NK News
North Korean soldiers have gone toe-to-toe with Ukrainian forces in Kursk in recent months, galvanizing global attention on the threat of the burgeoning DPRK-Russia military alliance.
But the most immediate impact of Pyongyang’s entry into European conflict may be that it sparked a shadow war.
Ukrainian officials initially ridiculed North Korean military tactics but have pivoted to emphasizing the threat of highly skilled DPRK soldiers. Russia has refused to comment on the troop deployment, even as pro-Kremlin bloggers have hailed the North Koreans’ bravery.
All the while fake posts about DPRK soldiers have proliferated on Telegram, often of uncertain origin, increasing the challenge of separating fact from fiction.
These developments have exposed the propaganda tactics that Kyiv and Moscow have used to shape narratives around Pyongyang’s entry into the war.
And as the war rages on, these narratives will likely continue to evolve, underscoring the need to interrogate the mixture of truth and falsehoods that emerge in accordance with their shifting needs.
EARLY DISINFORMATION
In the first few weeks after South Korean and Ukrainian authorities reported DPRK troop deployments, falsified posts showing alleged North Korean soldiers went viral on social media.
These have included a sham photo of a dead North Korean soldier and his military ID, a video falsely claiming to show Russian soldiers trying dog meat from their DPRK comrades and footage refuted by Ukraine that appeared to show North Koreans wounded in battle.
Pro-Russian Telegram channels shared an animated video in early November that they claimed Ukraine’s defense ministry created to encourage citizens to enlist and fight against DPRK forces. However, there was no trace of the propaganda video on official Ukrainian channels, and local media found that the ministry contact details given in the clip were incorrect.
Pro-Russian Telegram channels falsely attributed an animated propaganda video to Kyiv’s defense ministry. | Image: bear007 via Telegram (Oct. 27, 2024)
Kyiv’s Center for Strategic Communication and Information Security reported the same month that a pro-Moscow bot network comprising more than 2,600 fake profiles posted thousands of comments online to convince Russians that there were no DPRK forces in “Mother Russia.”
The government of Russia’s eastern Primorsky Krai province soon joined the act by claiming in early December that it had discovered more than 20 publications featuring “false information” about the DPRK on local social networks.
Provincial authorities did not blame any specific actors, but condemned the alleged disinformation as an act aimed at “the destabilization of society and incitement of confrontation with North Korea.”
The early wave of falsified content has given way to propaganda since Ukrainian authorities began revealing more evidence of North Korean troops’ presence.
But the fakes haven’t gone away completely: A viral video last week claimed that Pyongyang sent rocket launchers disguised as box trucks to Russia, but it turned out to be digitally manipulated.
Meanwhile, Russian officials and military commanders have become targets of deepfakes aimed at discrediting DPRK troops.
Unverified and often fake reports on North Korean soldiers murdering Russian servicemen, raping women near Kursk and indiscriminately shooting at civilians have also added to the confusion about the DPRK’s military role in the war.
UKRAINE: EVOLVING PROPAGANDA
Since the initial flurry of fake news, Ukraine and Russia have adjusted their narratives, extending their real-world combat into a war of ideas.
Kyiv’s messaging has rapidly evolved from dismissing North Korean soldiers as mere cannon fodder — left to freeze in the snow and eaten by dogs, unrespected by their Russian brothers-in-arms — to openly acknowledging their discipline, high morale and military training.
The Ukrainian military previously ridiculed DPRK tactics as reminiscent of the two World Wars, while releasing videos of drone strikes purportedly wiping out entire units in one go. It also assessed that North Korean troops were underfed and poorly prepared for combat.
This narrative peaked in December when the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU) reported that DPRK soldiers mistakenly killed members of Russia’s elite Kadyrov units and turned to alcohol amid heavy losses and declining morale.
A Ukrainian drone photo purporting to show the dead bodies of North Korean soldiers killed in action in the Kursk region in Dec. 2024 | Image: @blak93 citing @robert_magyar via Telegram
But recent Ukrainian accounts of altercations with North Korean soldiers present a different picture. Servicemen now reportedly choose death and blow themselves up rather than surrender, according to Ukrainian soldiers who captured Kyiv’s first DPRK prisoners of war.
Special Operations Forces and paratroopers have even highly praised North Koreans’ marksmanship and noted that they are adopting new, more agile tactics after previously marching in large formations.
DPRK troops are now said to deeply care for their fallen, incessantly trying to retrieve them from the battlefield, unlike Russian forces who reportedly often abandon their dead and wounded.
Ukraine has also released handwritten notes supposedly retrieved from fallen soldiers and words of encouragement reportedly sent by Kim Jong Un, although some have questioned their authenticity.
A North Korean soldier with a leg wound captured by Ukrainian forces in Russia’s Kursk region | Image: Volodymyr Zelensky via Telegram (Jan. 11, 2025)
Ryo Hinata-Yamaguchi, an associate professor at Tokyo International University Institute for International Strategy, said Kyiv’s “inconsistent” messages may not always be accurate, but suggested the recent changes could showcase a legitimate realization that it cannot afford to underestimate North Korea.
“Maybe there’s some general change in the battle performance of soldiers, that they are actually doing better than what they did before, and that is more because the North Koreans are probably adapting to the battlefield that they’re working in,” he told NK News.
Andrii Kovalenko, chief of the Center for Countering Disinformation under the National Security and Defense Council, initially led the choir of voices describing how DPRK soldiers die en masse, act surprised when they see drones and kick local Kursk residents out of their houses.
His tune has now changed and acquired a different target audience, with the messaging aimed at South Korea.
“Unfortunately, DPRK troops are learning modern warfare and how to counter first-point-of-view drones in the Kursk region,” he wrote on his Telegram channel in mid-January.
“In the future, their acquired skills will become a serious problem for South Korea and Western armies. Unfortunately, I don’t see that they fully understand this over there.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky awarding a paratrooper for capturing a North Korean prisoner of war | Image: Volodymyr Zelensky via Facebook (Jan. 17, 2025)
RUSSIA: BEING QUIET TO BE HEARD
While Moscow has not officially acknowledged the presence of DPRK military forces in Kursk, it has allowed multiple war bloggers to report on North Korean troop activities, including the delivery of weapons systems.
In early December, war-focused Telegram channels credited the takeover of the village of Plyokhovo in Kursk to the bravery of North Korean soldiers, though some claimed Russian units had carried out the bulk of the mission.
Bloggers have also reported extensively on the alleged deployment of DPRK-made artillery systems such as Koksan self-propelled guns and 240mm multiple launch rocket systems to the front lines.
An apparent M-1989 Koksan self-propelled gun being moved by train through Russia’s Krasnoyarsk | Image: @bayraktar_1love via X (Nov. 14, 2024)
And it’s not just war bloggers who have spoken highly of DPRK troops in Kursk. Russian lawmaker Andrey Kolesnik reportedly praised North Korea for its “great assistance,” while noting that DPRK servicemen obtain invaluable experience by participating in actual combat.
Even Russian ultra-nationalist philosopher Alexander Dugin called it “wonderful” that DPRK soldiers joined the Ukraine war on Russia’s side, showing “solidarity” against Western hegemony.
Kyiv’s recent capture of two North Korean soldiers has drawn the attention of high-profile Russian propagandists like Olga Skabeeva, who accused Ukraine of kidnapping them from the Kursk region to fabricate evidence of DPRK involvement in the war.
Chris Monday, a Russia researcher at Dongseo University, attributed the Kremlin’s cautious approach to a desire “to keep things vague on North Korea” without causing “any international blowback.”
“Russian intelligence perfected ways to send out fake stories so that it was always possible to say ‘we don’t know for sure’ with a straight face,” he said.
Hinata-Yamaguchi added that Russia and the DPRK will likely avoid confirming the North Korean soldiers’ participation for as long as possible.
“For Russia, this is an issue that they don’t want to get attention,” he said. “There’s probably some kind of agreement between Pyongyang and Moscow that they will keep this silent.”
RENEWED PUSH FOR SUPPORT
Ukraine’s outsized focus and changing messaging on North Korean soldiers’ presence in Russia have raised a fundamental question: Why is Kyiv so invested in this?
Monday suggested North Koreans’ entry into the war “spoiled” Kyiv’s narrative that successes in Kursk could force concessions from Vladimir Putin, and Trump’s return as U.S. president has further dampened its prospects of “victory.”
“By focusing on North Korea, Ukraine wanted to change the narrative from defeats, corruption and desertions,” he said.
Hyun-seung Lee, a North Korean defector who previously served in the DPRK military’s Combat Technique Research Institute, told NK News that Kyiv’s focus on publicly showcasing captured North Korean troops and their personal belongings could serve to “psychologically undermine” their fellow soldiers by lowering morale or encouraging surrender.
An even greater motive for Ukraine’s propaganda drive is securing greater international support by advertising the DPRK troops’ involvement, according to experts.
Lee said the small number of North Korean forces is unlikely to play a decisive role in the war, but Ukraine will nonetheless hope the renewed attention will draw support from countries such as South Korea, Japan and the U.S.
Yoon Suk-yeol and Volodymyr Zelensky | Image: Republic of Korea via Flickr (July 15, 2023)
Monday said impeached ROK President Yoon Suk-yeol would have been keen to play up the threat of the North Korean military learning tactics in Kursk that it could use to invade South Korea — if he had remained in power.
“Many right-wingers were talking about sending troops,” he said. “It’s not unimaginable that South Korea and Russia could have come into direct conflict.”
Ultimately, as the balance of the war shifts, Kyiv will likely continue to shine a spotlight on Russia’s collaboration with a rogue state, according to Lee.
“North Korea’s participation has rekindled international attention on the war, and Ukraine seems to be leveraging this development to rally greater support.”
Edited by Bryan Betts
16. North Korean cannons designed to flatten Seoul head to front line in Ukraine
North Korean cannons designed to flatten Seoul head to front line in Ukraine
Pyongyang is to double the number of artillery systems it sends to Kursk, says Kyiv military intelligence chief
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/01/28/north-korean-cannons-flatten-seoul-delivery-russia-ukraine/
Iona Cleave
Related Topics
28 January 2025 6:00am GMT
A train carrying M-1989 Koksan 170mm SPGs from North Korea to Russia Credit: @JohnH105
North Korea is preparing to send Russia more than 100 artillery systems – originally designed to flatten Seoul – to be used in its war against Ukraine.
The 170mm M1989 Koksan howitzers, among the longest-range artillery systems in the world, are known as “juche cannons”, and were built to pound the South Korean capital in the event of a conflict.
Kyrylo Budano, Ukraine’s military intelligence chief, said that Pyongyang was gearing up to double the number of artillery systems it has sent to the border region of Kursk.
A train carrying artillery travels from North Korea to Russia Credit: Tymofiy Mylovanov
The fresh deliveries come amid reports that North Korean soldiers have been withdrawn from sections of the front line to rebuild and regroup, while more troops are expected to be deployed soon.
Lt Gen Budanov said that over the past three months, Kim Jong-un had already given Moscow at least 120 North Korean-made M1989 Koksans, as well as another 120 of its M1991 multiple-launch rocket systems.
Speaking to defence outlet The Warzone, he said Pyongyang was preparing to send another tranche of at least the same amount, with open source analysts suggesting some were already on route.
The M1989 Koksan is a 40-ton self-propelled gun that first appeared during a military parade in 1989. The term “juche” is used in North Korean propaganda to describe its state ideology of freedom and self-reliance.
Using standard shells, the cannons can strike targets over 25 miles away. Gen Budanov said North Korean troops were training their Russian counterparts to use them and they had begun firing them in combat.
In late December, footage showed a train transporting a convoy of at least 10 M1989 Koksans to Russia, their 25ft-long barrels on full display, with little to no camouflage hiding them from enemy strikes.
By Jan 7, they appeared to have arrived as footage emerged of them on the battlefield in Kursk. In the video, a North Korean soldier called the artillery system a “gift” from Kim to his soldiers abroad.
Pyongyang has deep reserves of artillery systems and ammunition that have been stockpiled largely to threaten and prepare for a conflict with its rival, South Korea.
North Korea deployed 11,000 soldiers to its ally Russia in late October to help Moscow expel Kyiv’s troops from the Kursk border region after Ukraine’s surprise incursion in August.
South Korea joint chiefs of staff said on Friday that the North was preparing for an additional dispatch of troops to Russia. US officials, speaking to The New York Times, said the fresh reinforcements could arrive within two months.
Neither Moscow nor Pyongyang – which signed a “mutual military assistance” deal last June – have confirmed Kim Jong-un’s participation in the war, despite two North Korean prisoners of war being captured by Kyiv.
On Monday, Ukrainian reports emerged that North Korean soldiers appear to have temporarily withdrawn from one of the axes of the front in Kursk.
A Special Operations Forces (SOF) spokesman confirmed to the Kyiv Independent that Pyongyang’s troops had retreated from some of their positions and are probably regrouping after suffering significant losses.
The statement came after a Ukrainian commander told Sky News that North Korean troops had, for now, withdrawn from the front line in the Russian border region.
The commander, who goes by his call sign “Puls”, said they were probably trying to learn lessons from their mistakes, tending to their wounded or waiting for reinforcements.
“I think they’ll be back soon” he said, while also noting the high motivation among the foreign soldiers despite heavy losses.
Puls also described how North Korean soldiers were an easy target as they appeared to be unaware of the threats from drones and modern artillery and had been attacked on foot in large groups “like in World War II”.
His claims echo those of Ukrainian commanders and analysts who say the troops have not been trained in modern warfare and are being used by their Russian allies as cannon fodder in “human wave” attacks.
About 1,000 North Korean soldiers have been killed and 3,000 wounded while fighting in Russia’s war against Ukraine, the BBC reported last week, citing unnamed Western officials.
De Oppresso Liber,
David Maxwell
Vice President, Center for Asia Pacific Strategy
Senior Fellow, Global Peace Foundation
Editor, Small Wars Journal
Twitter: @davidmaxwell161
Phone: 202-573-8647
email: david.maxwell161@gmail.com
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