Quotes of the Day:
“If a man asks me for my loyalty...I will give him my honesty. If a man asks me for my honesty...I will give him my loyalty!”
- John Boyd
“Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants. We know more about war than we know about peace, more about killing than we know about living. We have grasped the mystery of the atom and rejected the Sermon on the Mount.”
- Omar N. Bradley
“But my later experience has taught me two lessons: first, that things are seen plainer after the events have occurred; second, that the most confident critics are generally those who know the least about the matter criticised.”
- Grant, Ulysses S., Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant: All Volumes
1. Readout of President Biden’s Trilateral with President Yoon Suk Yeol of the Republic of Korea and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan
2. Leaders of U.S., South Korea and Japan agree closer cooperation over North Korea threat
3. Patiently waiting for North Korea’s next nuclear test
4. No longer ‘Groundhog Day’ in North Korea
5. Japan, South Korea, U.S. eye deeper security ties in 1st summit in 5 yrs
6. North Korea’s Military Capabilities
7. N.Korea 'Capable of Producing over 100 Nukes'
8. Beijing envoy fumes over NATO's labeling of China as 'systemic challenge'
9. N. Korea slams global anti-money laundering body over 'high-risk' blacklist
10. N. Korea continues efforts to prevent young people from watching "impure recordings"
11. S.Korea-Japan Cooperation Is Needed More Than Ever
12. Hyundai to create new American affiliate after US$10.5 bln investment pledge
13. S. Korea to increase overseas aid by 12.4 pct next year: PM
14. Yoon Suk-yeol debuts on international stage with NATO speech
15. Tough diplomatic challenges ahead (ROK)
1. Readout of President Biden’s Trilateral with President Yoon Suk Yeol of the Republic of Korea and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan
Readout of President Biden’s Trilateral with President Yoon Suk Yeol of the Republic of Korea and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan | The White House
President Biden met today with President Yoon Suk Yeol of the Republic of Korea and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan on the sidelines of the NATO Summit. This was a historic trilateral meeting in which the three Leaders discussed enhancing trilateral cooperation throughout the Indo-Pacific, particularly in regard to addressing the evolving threat posed by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs. They also followed up on their detailed and productive conversations in Seoul and Tokyo last month. President Biden underscored the United States’ unshakable commitment to the defense of both Japan and the Republic of Korea.
2. Leaders of U.S., South Korea and Japan agree closer cooperation over North Korea threat
I am cautiously optimistic about trilateral cooperation. The Biden administration does not get enough credit for working hard to cement alliances in support of US national security and mutual security with our allies.
I am glad to read this comment from the Prime Minister. "Trilateral partnership." Could we be on a path to a trilateral alliance? (albeit a slow and long one) But I do not want to get out ahead of the work to be done or jinx our hopes for such an alliance.
The three leaders agreed to explore further means to reinforce "extended deterrence" against North Korea - the ability of the U.S. military, particularly its nuclear forces, to deter attacks on U.S. allies - along with security cooperation.
"The deterrence capabilities of the Japan-U.S. and U.S.-Republic Of Korea alliances need to be upgraded as part of the essential effort to strengthen the trilateral partnership between Japan, the U.S., and ROK," Kishida said.
Leaders of U.S., South Korea and Japan agree closer cooperation over North Korea threat
MADRID, June 29 (Reuters) - The leaders of the United States, South Korea and Japan on Wednesday expressed deep concern over North Korea's missile tests and said they would cooperate more closely to address the threat posed by Pyongyang.
U.S. President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol met on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Madrid and agreed that the progress of North Korea's nuclear and missile programmes posed serious threats to not only the Korean peninsula but also East Asia and the world.
North Korea has this year been conducting missile tests at an unprecedented pace, and is believed by some to be preparing for another nuclear test.
The three leaders agreed to explore further means to reinforce "extended deterrence" against North Korea - the ability of the U.S. military, particularly its nuclear forces, to deter attacks on U.S. allies - along with security cooperation.
"The deterrence capabilities of the Japan-U.S. and U.S.-Republic Of Korea alliances need to be upgraded as part of the essential effort to strengthen the trilateral partnership between Japan, the U.S., and ROK," Kishida said.
The South Korean and Japanese leaders are attending NATO's annual summit as observers for the first time. read more
Ties between Japan and South Korea have long been strained by memories of Japan’s occupation of the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 1945.
Relations deteriorated to their worst in years under South Korea’s previous President Moon Jae-in, with spats over territory and history and the two nations calling off an intelligence sharing pact. Yoon, though, has expressed a desire to repair ties, and Kishida has also seemed to respond favourably.
Reporting by Andrea Shalal in Madrid; writing by Susan Heavey in Washington and Aislinn Laing in Madrid; Editing by Doina Chiacu and Grant McCool
3. Patiently waiting for North Korea’s next nuclear test
We should not overplay or overthink China's influence over north Korea. Yes China could severely damage north Korea if it chose to, but it is unlikely to ever put real significant pressure on the regime to change its behavior. I think it is unwilling to risk the potential instability in north Korea (or worse). Therefore, while it may not want to see a nuclear test, it is unlikely to take any substantive action (words or deeds) to prevent it. In the end Kim will make the decision to conduct a test based on his assessment of the necessity for the test, the effects it is intended to achieve, and the possible blowback.
Excerpt:
China’s influence on North Korea is not unlimited. But what leverage China has might be seen in the uptick of ties between the two countries in recent times. China would welcome the resumption of US-North Korea talks, should that occur, and North Korea’s recent decision to appoint experienced negotiators Choe Son-hui to lead the foreign ministry and Ri Son-gwon to be in charge of the Workers’ Party’s United Front Department handling ties with South Korea should prepare the country for such a scenario.
If North Korea does carry out its seventh nuclear test, the important question to ask will be whether it respected China’s voice this time?
Patiently waiting for North Korea’s next nuclear test
Is North Korea going to test a nuclear weapon, or not?
The question has reverberated since March, when the supposed hawk Yoon Suk-yeol succeeded Moon Jae-in as South Korea’s president and Pyongyang broke a four-year moratorium by launching an intercontinental ballistic missile. The probability of North Korea’s seventh nuclear test was thought to have significantly increased on the eve of US President Joe Biden’s visit to South Korea in May. US and South Korean government officials concluded that Pyongyang might seek attract attention with a major provocation. Now, weeks later, and still no test, the monitoring continues.
Such a non-event is significant in several respects.
First, several indicators suggest that Pyongyang is ramping up its provocations, ready for a long confrontation with the United States. North Korea has launched 31 ballistic missiles in the first half of 2022 alone, surpassing the 25 missiles launched in 2019. Second, the North has also apparently prepared to equip its frontline artillery units with tactical nuclear weapons. A further nuclear test would allow the regime to develop smaller nuclear warheads to fit on tactical and short-range ballistic missiles. Third, North Korea has actually been preparing for multiple nuclear tests at its Punggye-ri facility since March.
So what else is North Korea waiting for?
China may be playing a huge role in delaying North Korea’s seventh nuclear test. Beijing has long adopted a careful balancing act vis-à-vis North Korea and the United States with the ultimate goal of maintaining the status quo on the Korean peninsula. China tries to ensure the North Korean regime’s survival to prevent chaos on its border, while at the same time putting a leash on Pyongyang’s weapons programs to avoid regional tensions spiralling out of control, which the United States could use as a pretext to increase its military presence.
While it is unclear how much influence China really has over the North Korean leadership – given that North Korea has defied Beijing with past nuclear tests such as the ones in 2006 and 2017 – North Korean leaders cannot simply ignore the threat of punishment by China.
North Korea’s ongoing economic hardship will only increase its dependence on China, and that means North Korea will have to heed Chinese opinions about whether or not it should conduct a nuclear test.
Post-2018 relations between China and North Korea are significantly different from the first years of Kim Jong-un’s leadership. Having seen their moribund alliance sink to its lowest point in 2017, both sides have sought revitalize ties in the years since. Beijing was essential in engineering Kim’s détente with the United States and South Korea in 2018, and it provided much needed sanctions relief and diplomatic cover at the United Nations when the denuclearisation process stalled. Just last year, the two states extended their 1961 alliance treaty for another 20 years. When North Korea faced a Covid-19 outbreak in May, China quickly sent medical supplies in response, and it is still the only country Pyongyang has asked for help.
North Korea’s ongoing economic hardship will only increase its dependence on China, and that means North Korea will have to heed Chinese opinions about whether or not it should conduct a nuclear test. China has been firm that it is against further destabilisation on the Korean peninsula “in the interests of all parties”, which can be read that Beijing is against both North Korea’s major provocations as well as US and South Korean military responses. At the United Nations, China blamed the United States for the lack of progress in the denuclearisation process, but it also warned North Korea not to test a nuclear device. A South Korean presidential official has also attributed the delay to China, ahead of the National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party later this year.
China’s influence on North Korea is not unlimited. But what leverage China has might be seen in the uptick of ties between the two countries in recent times. China would welcome the resumption of US-North Korea talks, should that occur, and North Korea’s recent decision to appoint experienced negotiators Choe Son-hui to lead the foreign ministry and Ri Son-gwon to be in charge of the Workers’ Party’s United Front Department handling ties with South Korea should prepare the country for such a scenario.
If North Korea does carry out its seventh nuclear test, the important question to ask will be whether it respected China’s voice this time?
4. No longer ‘Groundhog Day’ in North Korea
A lot of thoughtful analysis from Robert Manning.
Excerpts:
What does all this mean? The dream of reunification was what led Kim’s grandfather to invade the South in June 1950. Fantastic as it may sound, it continues to be a long-term goal under Kim. While Kim lacks the conventional military capability to pull off such a stunt, he may view his missiles and nukes as a means of political coercion.
So where do we go from here? To some extent, we are in uncharted waters. But there are some near certainties. Twenty-five years of failed diplomacy and a constant stream of crystal-clear statements of intention from Kim strongly suggest that as long as the Kim dynasty is in power, Pyongyang will not give up its nuclear weapons. Watching the fates of those who abandoned or lacked nuclear weapons – Iraq, Libya, now Ukraine – Kim has concluded that no assurances from the U.S. offer the security blanket his nukes provide.
Not all problems have solutions. Some, like North Korea, can only be managed. In that regard the Biden administration is doing a fair job. The administration has made deepening and broadening trilateral defense and intelligence cooperation a top priority. The administration is repairing its frayed ties to Japan and seems intent on strengthening the U.S.-South Korean relationship. The tempo of military exercise consultations has increased to meet the challenge of updated extended deterrence. This trilateral process has gotten Pyongyang’s attention: It recently accused the U.S. of setting up an “Asian NATO.”
No longer ‘Groundhog Day’ in North Korea
BY ROBERT A. MANNING, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR - 06/28/22 2:00 PM ET
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY CONTRIBUTORS ARE THEIR OWN AND NOT THE VIEW OF THE HILL
Like the classic movie “Groundhog Day,” North Korea’s seemingly endless ballistic missile tests occur, a mostly inured world condemns then moves on. Passive acceptance. Rinse. Repeat. No more. With 33 missile tests already this year, preparations for a seventh nuclear test (North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un seems to love U.S. holidays, so maybe July 4) and an unusual three-day military meeting last week, Kim is opening a dangerous new chapter of the “problem from hell” story.
Overshadowed by the Ukraine war and U.S.-China tensions, Kim has altered the military balance in ways that raise new questions about his intentions. He has developed a full array of missiles — including short, medium and long-range ICBMs, tested hypersonic missiles, as well as submarine-launched missiles and solid fuel tactical nuclear missiles. Pyongyang can hit Guam and, most likely, reach the U.S. mainland.
Particularly troubling, at a multi-day Central Military Commission (CMC) strategy session, Kim decided that frontline North Korean military units should have new duties to strengthen the nation’s nuclear deterrent. There is speculation that this may mean deploying battlefield tactical nuclear weapons. What would be Kim’s takeaway if Russian President Vladimir Putin broke the nuclear taboo and used tactical nukes in Ukraine?
Even as North Korea is fighting COVID-19, a food crises and a declining economy, Kim has relentlessly pursued missile and nuclear modernization. He has attained well more than necessary for nuclear deterrence. Additional motives include domestic legitimacy – projecting strength, the sine qua non for dictators of all stripes – and rattling the cages of the U.S., South Korea and Japan.
Kim’s robust new nuclear arsenal appears to be an effort to achieve a second-strike capability. Testing submarine-launched missiles is an important step toward such a survivable nuclear triad with its estimated 20-50 nuclear weapons, altering the military balance. Moreover, North Korea’s continued cycle of tests appear to give it a new ability to evade U.S. missile defenses with cruise and hypersonic glide vehicles difficult for U.S. radars and sensors to detect. Solid fuel missiles reduce U.S. warning time.
What does all this mean? The dream of reunification was what led Kim’s grandfather to invade the South in June 1950. Fantastic as it may sound, it continues to be a long-term goal under Kim. While Kim lacks the conventional military capability to pull off such a stunt, he may view his missiles and nukes as a means of political coercion.
So where do we go from here? To some extent, we are in uncharted waters. But there are some near certainties. Twenty-five years of failed diplomacy and a constant stream of crystal-clear statements of intention from Kim strongly suggest that as long as the Kim dynasty is in power, Pyongyang will not give up its nuclear weapons. Watching the fates of those who abandoned or lacked nuclear weapons – Iraq, Libya, now Ukraine – Kim has concluded that no assurances from the U.S. offer the security blanket his nukes provide.
Not all problems have solutions. Some, like North Korea, can only be managed. In that regard the Biden administration is doing a fair job. The administration has made deepening and broadening trilateral defense and intelligence cooperation a top priority. The administration is repairing its frayed ties to Japan and seems intent on strengthening the U.S.-South Korean relationship. The tempo of military exercise consultations has increased to meet the challenge of updated extended deterrence. This trilateral process has gotten Pyongyang’s attention: It recently accused the U.S. of setting up an “Asian NATO.”
Unfortunately, Biden has been less successful in managing U.S.-China ties, which continue to be fraught with deepening distrust. China is the chief patron of North Korea, accounting for 90 percent of its trade. Beijing has hoped to avoid having a prickly nuclear weapons state on its border, and in the recent past, North Korea has been an area of U.S.-China cooperation. China hosted the “six party talks” (the U.S., China, Russia, South Korea, North Korea and Japan) in 2003, a process that came very close to a denuclearization deal. And after Pyongyang’s last nuclear test, China cooperated in the UN Security Council to apply unprecedented UN sanctions on North Korea.
But how much China will cooperate in the current political climate is unclear. As Kim’s preparations for a seventh nuclear test have become obvious, Biden officials have been consulting with China in the hope that Beijing’s leverage can dissuade Kim from testing.
A big question is how China will respond if there is a North Korean nuclear test. Beijing’s response will be a measure of what U.S.-China cooperation is possible. China has been urging the U.S. to lift sanctions on North Korea, and if Beijing resists cooperating on a strong response, it would be a shift, an indication that it prefers anything that pains and distracts the U.S. to disciplining North Korea, despite is interests.
Kim recently shook up his advisers, and appointed Choe Son Hui, Pyongyang’s leading America specialist, as foreign minister. Choe was Pyongyang’s negotiator during the six party talks and there is speculation that her appointment might signal an upcoming shift.
One plausible scenario is that after a nuclear test, as the U.S. and much of the world are angry and appalled, Kim shifts gears. As Biden would cast about for the proper punishment, Kim hints that he is willing to talk. But he would suggest not denuclearization but arms control talks, putting Biden in a bind, as Congress would be demanding a tough response.
There is a logic to this. Kim’s ultimate goal is to be accepted as a nuclear state, like Israel or Pakistan, and treated as a normal nation. This could rouse interest in freezing their nuclear and missile programs — for a price.
Pressure for action could tempt the Biden administration to explore such talks. They may be worth exploring, but Kim’s consistent refusal to provide a full declaration of his nuclear program (how can you freeze what you don’t know is there?) and to refuse necessary International Atomic Energy Agency verification and full monitoring would make a credible deal unlikely. That is the lesson of a long history of failed U.S. diplomacy, most recently former President Trump’s two failed summits with Kim.
Yet the temptation may arise. That is just one scenario for how the uncertain new realities on the Korean Peninsula may play out. Other scenarios may be more catastrophic.
Robert A. Manning is a senior fellow of the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security and its New American Engagement Initiative at the Atlantic Council. He was a senior counselor to the undersecretary of state for global affairs from 2001 to 2004, a member of the U.S. Department of State policy planning staff from 2004 to 2008 and on the National Intelligence Council strategic futures group from 2008 to 2012. Follow him on Twitter @Rmanning4.
The Hill · by Rebecca Beitsch · June 28, 2022
5. Japan, South Korea, U.S. eye deeper security ties in 1st summit in 5 yrs
Excerpts:
The last time Japanese and South Korean leaders sat down for talks was in December 2019.
Kishida told reporters on Wednesday before heading back to Japan that he called on Yoon to work to bring the "extremely severe" relationship to a "healthy" state and expressed his willingness to continue communication with the South Korean side.
Yoon's tougher stance toward Pyongyang as compared to his predecessor and his eagerness to forge closer ties with the United States and Japan appear to be helping the three countries align closer in pressuring North Korea.
Earlier in the month, the defense chiefs of Japan, South Korea and the United States agreed to hold trilateral exercises that have not been conducted since December 2017 so as to deal with ballistic missile threats.
South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin, meanwhile, has said Seoul wants to "normalize" a bilateral military intelligence-sharing pact with Japan known as GSOMIA as soon as possible. The agreement was on the brink of termination during the administration of former South Korean President Moon Jae In.
Japan, South Korea, U.S. eye deeper security ties in 1st summit in 5 yrs
Japan, South Korea and the United States agreed Wednesday to strengthen their security cooperation over North Korean nuclear and missile threats, according to the Japanese government, as leaders from the countries held the first such trilateral meeting since 2017.
The gathering took place as the change of the South Korean government in May is creating fresh impetus toward improving the soured bilateral ties between Tokyo and Seoul. It also comes amid speculation that Pyongyang's first nuclear test since 2017 could occur at any time.
At the outset of the 23-minute talks on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Madrid, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida asserted the importance of trilateral cooperation, citing his "deep concerns" over the possibility of further provocation by North Korea, including nuclear testing.
(From R) Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, U.S. President Joe Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hold talks in Madrid on June 29, 2022. (Pool photo) (Kyodo)
"The deterrence capabilities of the Japan-U.S. and U.S.-South Korea alliances need to be upgraded as part of the essential effort to strengthen the trilateral partnership," he said.
The prime minister also expressed hope that, should a nuclear test take place, the response would be at the trilateral level, including joint exercises.
U.S. President Joe Biden said trilateral cooperation is "essential" to achieve their "shared objective" of complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and a free and open Indo-Pacific, a concept seen as designed to counter China's rising clout.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said North Korea's provocations should be met with a "powerful response," but the three countries should also cooperate closely so that Pyongyang can return to dialogue toward denuclearization, according to the South Korean government.
The three leaders agreed on the importance of beefing up regional deterrence and pledged to work together to ensure the full implementation of U.N. Security Council resolutions aimed at curbing North Korea's weapons programs, the Japanese government said.
Kishida also secured cooperation from Biden and Yoon toward a resolution of the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea in the 1970s and 1980s.
North Korea's provocations, including its unprecedented pace of ballistic missile tests this year, have increased the need for trilateral cooperation even as relations between Japan and South Korea remain frosty over issues dating back to Japan's 1910-1945 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.
The White House hailed the first such three-way summit since September 2017 as "historic." The three countries also affirmed that they share the same basic values such as freedom, democracy, human rights and rule of law, according to the South Korean government.
Kishida, who took office in October last year, has yet to hold official bilateral talks with Yoon. The trilateral talks on Wednesday reflected the Biden administration's desire to see the relationship between Washington's two closest allies in Asia back on track.
Kishida and Yoon spoke briefly on Tuesday in Madrid in their first face-to-face encounter, both governments said. The two leaders have been invited to the summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization as partner countries of the trans-Atlantic alliance.
The last time Japanese and South Korean leaders sat down for talks was in December 2019.
Kishida told reporters on Wednesday before heading back to Japan that he called on Yoon to work to bring the "extremely severe" relationship to a "healthy" state and expressed his willingness to continue communication with the South Korean side.
Yoon's tougher stance toward Pyongyang as compared to his predecessor and his eagerness to forge closer ties with the United States and Japan appear to be helping the three countries align closer in pressuring North Korea.
Earlier in the month, the defense chiefs of Japan, South Korea and the United States agreed to hold trilateral exercises that have not been conducted since December 2017 so as to deal with ballistic missile threats.
South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin, meanwhile, has said Seoul wants to "normalize" a bilateral military intelligence-sharing pact with Japan known as GSOMIA as soon as possible. The agreement was on the brink of termination during the administration of former South Korean President Moon Jae In.
(Noriyuki Suzuki contributed to this article.)
6. North Korea’s Military Capabilities
Updated report from the Council on Foreign Relations.
Graphics, maps, and data at the link below.
North Korea’s Military Capabilities
North Korea has embarked on an accelerated buildup of nuclear weapons and the modernization of its already large conventional force.
Vehicles carry missiles during a military parade in Pyongyang. Sue-Lin Wong/Reuters
WRITTEN BY
CFR.org Editors
UPDATED
Last updated June 28, 2022 11:40 am (EST)
Summary
- North Korea could have the material for more than one hundred nuclear weapons, according to analysts’ estimates. It has successfully tested missiles that could strike the United States with a nuclear warhead.
- It has the world’s fourth-largest military, with more than 1.2 million personnel, and is believed to possess chemical and biological weapons.
- Despite UN Security Council sanctions and past summits involving North Korea, South Korea, and the United States on denuclearization, Pyongyang continues to test ballistic missiles.
Introduction
The United States and its Asian allies see North Korea as a grave security threat. North Korea has one of the world’s largest conventional military forces, which, combined with its missile and nuclear tests and aggressive rhetoric, has aroused concern worldwide. But world powers have been ineffective in slowing its path to acquire nuclear weapons.
While it remains among the poorest countries in the world, North Korea spends nearly a quarter of its gross domestic product (GDP) on its military, according to U.S. State Department estimates. Its brinkmanship will continue to test regional and international partnerships aimed at preserving stability and security. Negotiations on denuclearization have remained stalled since February 2019.
What are North Korea’s nuclear capabilities?
The exact size and strength of North Korea’s nuclear arsenal are unclear. However, analysts say Pyongyang has tested nuclear weapons six times and developed ballistic missiles capable of reaching the United States and its allies Japan and South Korea.
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The North Korean regime possesses the know-how to produce nuclear bombs with weapons-grade uranium or plutonium, the primary elements required for making fissile material. U.S. intelligence officials estimated in 2017 that North Korea had enough fissile material—the core component of nuclear weapons—for up to sixty weapons, and that every year it produces enough fissile material for twelve additional weapons. At that rate, in 2022, North Korea could have enough fissile material for more than one hundred nuclear weapons. Indeed, a 2021 RAND Corporation report projected that North Korea could have around two hundred nuclear weapons stockpiled by 2027. Some experts believe the current stockpile of fissile material to be smaller; the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists’ Hans M. Kristensen and Matt Korda estimated in 2021 that Pyongyang had enough material for forty to fifty nuclear weapons.
North Korea has conducted six nuclear tests, first in October 2006 and then in May 2009 under former Supreme Leader Kim Jong-il. Under Kim Jong-un, Kim Jong-il’s son who assumed power in late 2011, the nuclear program markedly accelerated. Kim has directed four nuclear tests—in February 2013, January and September 2016, and September 2017—and 160 missile tests, far exceeding the number of trials conducted under his father and grandfather, North Korea’s founder, Kim Il-sung.
With each test, North Korea’s nuclear explosions have grown in power. The first explosion in 2006 was a plutonium-fueled atomic bomb with a yield equivalent to two kilotons of TNT, an energy unit used to measure the power of an explosive blast. The 2009 test had a yield of eight kilotons; the 2013 and January 2016 tests both had yields of approximately seventeen kilotons; and the September 2016 test had a yield of thirty-five kilotons, according to data from the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a Washington, DC-based nonpartisan think tank. (For comparison, the U.S. bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945, the first atom bomb, had an estimated yield of sixteen kilotons.)
The nuclear test carried out on September 3, 2017, was significantly larger, experts say, and indicated that the country has developed much more powerful bomb-making technology. Estimates from seismic activity led observers to conclude that the explosion likely exceeded two hundred kilotons. An explosion of such a size gives credence to North Korea’s claims of having developed a hydrogen bomb.
North Korea has not conducted a nuclear test since then. In 2018, North Korea said it shut down its main nuclear-material production site, the Yongbyon reactor complex, following the country’s summits that year with the United States and South Korea. But in August 2021, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported that North Korea had again started producing fissile material at Yongbyon. By mid-2022, satellite imagery showed that construction had advanced, and the IAEA expressed concern that North Korea was preparing for a seventh nuclear test.
Some experts caution that it is only a matter of time before North Korea completes its nuclear force. “We’re going to have to learn to live with North Korea’s ability to target the United States with nuclear weapons,” said Jeffrey Lewis of the Middlebury Institute of Strategic Studies.
What missiles has North Korea tested?
North Korea has tested more than one hundred ballistic missiles with the ability to carry nuclear warheads, including short-, medium-, intermediate-, and intercontinental-range missiles and submarine-launched ones.
The regime successfully tested intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), each capable of carrying a large nuclear warhead, in July and November 2017. Pyongyang said that in its November test of the Hwasong-15 ICBM, the missile hit an altitude of 4,475 kilometers (2,780 miles), far above the International Space Station, and flew about 1,000 kilometers (590 miles) before landing in the sea off Japan’s coast. Analysts estimate the Hwasong-15 has a potential range of 13,000 kilometers (8,100 miles) and, if fired on a flatter trajectory, could reach anywhere on the U.S. mainland. American analysts and experts from other countries still debate the nuclear payload that North Korea’s ICBMs could carry, and it is still unclear whether the ICBMs have the capability to survive reentry. A confidential U.S. intelligence assessment from 2017 reportedly concluded that North Korea had developed the technology to miniaturize a nuclear warhead to fit its ballistic missiles.
Kim halted missile testing in late 2017 amid a thawing of relations with the United States and South Korea. But North Korea resumed testing in mid-2019, months after negotiations between Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump in Hanoi, Vietnam, broke down. Later that year, Pyongyang conducted an underwater launch of a ballistic missile, its first such test in three years.
Since then, North Korea has unveiled several new ballistic missiles. The first, shown during an October 2020 military parade, was an ICBM larger than the Hwasong-15. It has not been named or tested, but analysts say it could potentially carry multiple nuclear warheads or decoys to confuse missile defense systems. A new Pukkuksong-4 submarine-launched ballistic missile was also displayed in October 2020, and its successor, Pukkuksong-5, was unveiled in January 2021. Experts estimate the Pukkuksong-5 has a range of around 3,000 kilometers (1,864 miles), which would allow it to strike Guam. In March 2022, North Korea test-fired an ICBM for the first time since 2017, breaking its self-imposed moratorium on testing long-range missiles. North Korea claimed this missile was the Hwasong-17, which is the country’s biggest ICBM yet and has an estimated range of 15,000 kilometers (9,321 miles). However, the South Korean military said the missile tested was much smaller.
Pyongyang has also tested short-range ballistic missiles that are solid fueled, advancing a technology that makes missiles easier to transport and faster to launch. In addition, it tested a more maneuverable long-range cruise missile, which can frustrate missile defense systems if launched in tandem with ballistic missiles. In September, North Korea for the first time test-fired missiles from a railcar launcher, which makes them less detectable by the United States and its allies.
By mid-2022, North Korea had test-launched over thirty missiles since the start of the year, breaking its record for launches in any given year. CFR’s Scott A. Snyder says that North Korea’s ramped-up testing indicates that it has “no expectations for reengaging diplomatically with the United States.”
There remain significant unknowns surrounding the accuracy of North Korea’s ballistic missiles. Observers have said that these missiles are usually inaccurate because of their reliance on early guidance systems acquired from the Soviet Union. However, some defectors and experts say North Korea has begun using GPS guidance, similar to that of China’s navigation system, raising questions about the provenance of the system and whether North Korea’s arsenal of missiles is more accurate and reliable than previously believed.
Have other countries aided North Korea’s nuclear program?
The program is predominantly indigenous but has received external assistance over the years. Moscow, for instance, assisted Pyongyang’s nuclear development from the late 1950s to the 1980s: it helped build a nuclear research reactor and provided missile designs, light-water reactors, and some nuclear fuel. In the 1970s, China and North Korea cooperated on defense, including on the development and production of ballistic missiles [PDF]. North Korean scientists also benefited from academic exchanges with Soviet and Chinese counterparts. Though the exchanges may not have been explicitly tied to weapons development, the information learned from research sharing and visits to nuclear facilities could have been applied to a militarized nuclear program, according to Joseph S. Bermudez Jr., an analyst of North Korean defense and intelligence affairs.
Pakistan also emerged as an important military collaborator with North Korea in the 1970s. Bilateral nuclear assistance began when scientists from the two countries were both in Iran working on ballistic missiles during the Iran-Iraq War (1980–1988). In the 1990s, North Korea acquired access to Pakistani centrifuge technology and designs from scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan, who had directed the militarization of Pakistan’s nuclear program. Pyongyang also received designs for a uranium warhead that Pakistan had likely obtained from China. In exchange, Pakistan received North Korean missile technology. It remains unclear whether Khan acted directly or indirectly on the behalf of the Pakistani government. (Khan’s multinational network also illicitly sold nuclear technology and material to buyers, including Iran and Libya.) The nuclear know-how gained from Pakistan likely enabled North Korea to operate centrifuges and thereby pursue a uranium route to the bomb.
Third parties have also facilitated Pyongyang’s program through the illicit shipment of metal components needed for centrifuge construction and nuclear weaponization. North Korea has developed covert networks for the procurement of technology, materials, and designs to boost its conventional and nuclear weapons programs since the 1960s. These networks, once primarily in Europe, have shifted to Asia and Africa, and goods are often traded multiple times before reaching North Korean hands, says Bermudez.
What punitive steps has North Korea faced?
North Korea’s withdrawal from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) in 2003 and its missile tests and first nuclear test in 2006 prompted the UN Security Council to unanimously adopt resolutions that condemned North Korea’s actions and imposed sanctions against the country. The Security Council has steadily ratcheted up sanctions through subsequent resolutions in the hopes of changing Pyongyang’s behavior. These additional measures ban arms sales to North Korea, as well as any financial assistance and the sale of materials and technology that could be used for ballistic missiles or nuclear weapons. The measures also impose restrictions on select luxury goods and other foreign trade, as well as inspections of cargo bound for North Korea. While current sanctions have curtailed North Korea’s access to materials, it is difficult to regulate all international cargo deliveries. Further hurdles emerged as China and Russia vetoed a May 2022 Security Council resolution that proposed tighter sanctions, the first veto in favor of North Korea in fifteen years. The countries said that previous sanctions had done little to influence North Korea’s behavior and accused the United States of further provoking North Korea with its proposal.
Separately, North Korea has a record of missile sales and nuclear technology sharing with countries including Egypt, Iran, Libya, Myanmar, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, Vietnam, and Yemen. It has secretly transferred “nuclear-related and ballistic-missile-related equipment, know-how, and technology,” the United Nations has reported. Given North Korea’s economic constraints, fears abound that North Korea could resort to selling more nuclear material and knowledge, thereby enhancing the potential for nuclear terrorism.
timeline
North Korean Nuclear Negotiations
1985–2022
KCNA via Reuters
Does North Korea possess other weapons of mass destruction?
North Korea is believed to have an arsenal of chemical weapons, including sulfur mustard, chlorine, phosgene, sarin, and VX nerve agents. The regime reportedly has the “capability to produce [PDF] nerve, blister, blood, and choking agents” and is estimated to have stockpiled [PDF] between 2,500 and 5,000 tons of chemical weapons. These toxins can be fired using a variety of conventional shells, rockets, aircraft, and missiles. The army also manufactures its own protective suits and detection systems for chemical warfare.
North Korea is also believed to possess some biological weapons capabilities, although it became party in 1987 to the Biological Weapons Convention, a treaty banning the production, development, stockpiling, and attempts to acquire biological weapons. In 1988, it acceded to the Geneva Protocol, which prohibits the use of asphyxiating, poisonous, and other gases in warfare. North Korea allegedly has the ability to produce [PDF] pathogens including anthrax, smallpox, and pest (plague), although its ability to weaponize them is unclear.
What are North Korea’s conventional military capabilities?
North Korea’s military is the world’s fourth largest, with nearly 1.3 million active personnel, accounting for about 5 percent of the total population. More than six hundred thousand others serve as reserve soldiers. Article 86 of the North Korean constitution [PDF] states, “National defense is the supreme duty and honor of citizens,” and it requires all citizens to serve in the military.
The U.S. State Department estimates that the regime spent an average of $4 billion annually on its military from 2009 to 2019, a figure that equals nearly a quarter of North Korea’s GDP. North Korea’s neighbors and adversaries outspend it in dollar-to-dollar comparisons, and defense experts say it operates with aging equipment and technology. Yet, the regime’s forward-deployed military position and missiles aimed at Seoul ensure that Pyongyang’s conventional capabilities remain a constant threat to its southern neighbor.
North Korea has deployed munitions near and along its border with South Korea and also has conventional missiles aimed at its neighbor and Japan in a bid to deter potential attacks. According to a 2021 report by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, a United Kingdom–based think tank, the North Korean military has approximately 550 combat-capable aircraft, 290 helicopters, 400 combatant vessels, 280 amphibious vessels, 70 submarines, 4,000 tanks, 2,500 armored vehicles, and 5,500 multiple-rocket launchers.
Does it pose a cybersecurity threat?
North Korea’s cyberwarfare capabilities have advanced significantly over the years, and its hackers use increasingly sophisticated tools to target government, media, financial, and private institutions around the world. Some experts say that North Korea’s cyberwarfare capabilities now pose a more immediate threat than its military programs.
Pyongyang has invested significant labor and capital into developing its cyberattack capacity. It relied on Chinese and Soviet assistance in the 1980s and 1990s, and today, its hackers train at elite North Korean technology schools and attend top science and engineering schools in China to gain access to advanced technology unavailable in North Korea.
North Korea has demonstrated the ability to devastate critical infrastructure systems and infiltrate military, government, and intelligence networks. Cyberattacks on South Korean banks and media outlets, as well as the 2014 Sony Pictures hack, have been traced back to groups with ties to North Korea. In December 2016, South Korea accused North Korea of breaching its military’s cyber command. In 2017, the Wannacry 2.0 ransomware attack compromised aviation, railway, and health-care networks in the United States, Asia, and Europe. The U.S. Department of Justice charged a North Korean man believed to be a member of the Lazarus Group—which is suspected of being backed by North Korea and responsible for Wannacry and several other high-profile attacks—for his involvement in those incidents. Individuals, think tanks, and government agencies working in national security and foreign policy in the United States, Japan, and South Korea continue to be targeted by the North Korean cyber unit known as Kimsuky.
Pyongyang’s cyber apparatus also increasingly focuses on cybertheft as a major source of revenue for the regime and its weapons program, stealing money from financial organizations and cryptocurrency exchanges. North Korean actors targeted organizations in more than thirty countries for cryptocurrency theft in 2020, and a UN report found that North Korea had stolen more than $2 billion through cybercrime as of 2019.
What drives North Korea’s militarization?
North Korea’s guiding philosophical principles have been juche (self-reliance) and songun (military-first politics). The military plays a central role in political affairs and its position has been steadily elevated through the Kim dynasty. North Korean leadership believes that hostile external forces, including South Korea and the United States, could mount an attack. As a result, in Pyongyang’s eyes, the only way to guarantee national survival is to develop asymmetric military capabilities to thwart its perceived threats.
In the decades since the Korean War armistice, the regime in Pyongyang has grown increasingly isolated, in large part due to its ongoing nuclear pursuits and other military provocations. The North’s economy and impoverished population of twenty-five million are more and more cut off from the global economy, with limited means to acquire much-needed hard currency. Despite Pyongyang’s reputation as a pariah state, Kim Jong-un remains committed to a national strategy of building up the economy and nuclear capabilities jointly.
Because Kim has struggled to deliver on his economic promises, he seeks to consolidate his rule by demonstrating unquestioned military might. The nuclear program thus has a dual purpose: to deter external threats and to bolster the image of Kim.
Since Kim Jong-un assumed power, the country has shed the ambiguous language surrounding its nuclear and missile development, instead vowing to conduct tests whenever it sees fit. Punitive measures taken against Pyongyang seem to have only emboldened Kim’s commitment to strengthening the military. And although diplomatic engagement has in the past temporarily slowed North Korea’s rate of testing, it has not resulted in denuclearization.
7. N.Korea 'Capable of Producing over 100 Nukes'
Nuclear weapons estimates. Your mileage may vary.
N.Korea 'Capable of Producing over 100 Nukes'
June 30, 2022 12:51
The U.S. Council on Foreign Relations on Tuesday claimed North Korea has enough material to make more than 100 nuclear weapons.
"The North Korean regime possesses the know-how to produce nuclear bombs with weapons-grade uranium or plutonium," the CFR said in a report. "North Korea could have the material for more than one hundred nuclear weapons... It has successfully tested missiles that could strike the United States with a nuclear warhead."
The estimate is based on the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency's earlier analysis that the North has secured enough material to produce 12 more nuclear weapons every year.
In 2017, U.S. intelligence authorities said the North had enough material for 60 nuclear bombs, and over the past five years the regime would have secured similar amounts of nuclear weapons, the CFR speculated.
New weapons are shown during a military parade in Pyongyang on April 25, in this photo from the Rodong Sinmun the following day.
But estimates vary widely. Last year, the Rand Corporation predicted that the North will have an arsenal of 200 nuclear weapons by 2027.
"Some experts caution that it is only a matter of time before North Korea completes its nuclear force," the CFR writes. It quoted Jeffrey Lewis of the Middlebury Institute of Strategic Studies as saying, "We're going to have to learn to live with North Korea's ability to target the United States with nuclear weapons."
The North "has the world's fourth-largest military, with more than 1.2 million personnel, and is believed to possess chemical and biological weapons," it added. "The regime reportedly has the 'capability to produce nerve, blister, blood and choking agents.'"
8. Beijing envoy fumes over NATO's labeling of China as 'systemic challenge'
There will be diplomatic blowback for the ROK for its alignment with NATO. Perhaps economic warfare as well. But the "lubricant role" comment is an ominous one as the ROK could get ... I will leave it to the imagination.
This excerpt is code for they want the ROK to kowtow to China. I do not think President Yoon will give into Chinese subtle (or not so subtle) threats.
Excerpts:
The envoy also called on South Korea to play a role as a "lubricant" in relations between the United States and China -- remarks that took on geopolitical undertones as the Yoon Suk-yeol administration is moving to deepen the alliance with Washington.
"(We) hope that (South Korea) establishes desirable bilateral relations with the U.S. and China from the standpoint of constructive, long-term interests," he said.
In the lead-up to Yoon's participation in this week's NATO summit, China's foreign ministry made a thinly-veiled criticism, highlighting its opposition to any move to "bring in the military bloc to the Asia-Pacific and incite division and confrontation."
Beijing envoy fumes over NATO's labeling of China as 'systemic challenge' | Yonhap News Agency
By Kim Eun-jung and Song Sang-ho
SEOUL, June 30 (Yonhap) -- China's top envoy in South Korea bristled Thursday at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)'s labeling of his country as a "systemic challenge" and called on the military alliance to stop "provocative speech and acts."
Ambassador Xing Haiming made the remarks a day after NATO adopted its strategic concept that cited China as posing "systemic challenges to Euro-Atlantic security" in the first such public recognition of the Asian power as a major threat to the alliance.
The adoption of the concept came during a high-profile NATO summit in Madrid, where the leaders of South Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand were also present as partners in a sign of NATO's move to expand its reach to the Indo-Pacific region.
"(I) advise NATO to stop spreading false facts against China and (stop) provocative speech and acts, and to not soil Asia and the whole world," Xing said in Chinese during a forum marking the three decades since the establishment of diplomatic ties between Seoul and Beijing.
Xing added, "The NATO summit called China a systemic challenge, and (I) sternly oppose it."
Calling NATO a "byproduct of the Cold War," the ambassador accused the alliance of creating hypothetical adversaries and fomenting bloc-based confrontation.
Recalling NATO's 1999 bombing of Chinese embassy in then-Yugoslavia, Xing said the Western alliance "has yet to pay off its debt" over the incident that killed three Chinese journalists and enraged the Chinese public.
The envoy also called on South Korea to play a role as a "lubricant" in relations between the United States and China -- remarks that took on geopolitical undertones as the Yoon Suk-yeol administration is moving to deepen the alliance with Washington.
"(We) hope that (South Korea) establishes desirable bilateral relations with the U.S. and China from the standpoint of constructive, long-term interests," he said.
In the lead-up to Yoon's participation in this week's NATO summit, China's foreign ministry made a thinly-veiled criticism, highlighting its opposition to any move to "bring in the military bloc to the Asia-Pacific and incite division and confrontation."
In a swipe at U.S. foreign policy, Xing reiterated Beijing's claim that America has been trying to deter China and often interfering with "internal affairs."
"The U.S.' policy toward China is full of paranoia," he said.
ejkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
9. N. Korea slams global anti-money laundering body over 'high-risk' blacklist
We need to do more to hit the regime where it hurts.
N. Korea slams global anti-money laundering body over 'high-risk' blacklist | Yonhap News Agency
SEOUL, June 30 (Yonhap) -- North Korea lambasted an intergovernmental anti-money laundering body Thursday over its recent decision to keep the country on its list of "high-risk" jurisdictions, accusing the organization of following the U.S.' "hostile policy" against it.
During its plenary meeting in Berlin from June 14-17, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) decided to maintain North Korea and Iran on the list of "high-risk jurisdictions subject to a call for action," defined as having significant deficiencies in countering money laundering, terrorist financing and financing of proliferation.
"This is an unjust behavior of the organization overtly following the anti-DPRK policy of the U.S. which tries to disgrace the image of the DPRK," said Ri Jong-chol, section chief of the North's National Coordination Committee for Anti-money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism, in an English-language article carried by the Korean Central News Agency. DPRK stands for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
"The organization has run a racket of including the DPRK in the list of 'high-risk jurisdiction subject to a call for action' just like an annual event since it designated the DPRK as an 'extremely dangerous state threatening the international financial system' in 2011," Ri said. "I hope that the true cooperative relations with the organization will recover, and advise the FATF not to follow the U.S. hostile policy toward the DPRK."
yunhwanchae@yna.co.kr
(END)
10. N. Korea continues efforts to prevent young people from watching "impure recordings"
Remember that Kim Jong Un is more afraid of the Korean people in the north than he is of the ROK/US combined military. We must embark on a comprehensive and aggressive information and influence activities campaign. We must shape the information environment and provide the cognitive foundation for solving the "Korea question." We are wasting every day that we do not execute such a campaign.
N. Korea continues efforts to prevent young people from watching "impure recordings" - Daily NK
North Korea is demanding young people be on guard against the importation of capitalist culture, deeming its consumption akin to “treason"
Students walking to classes at Kim Il Sung University (Kim Il Sung University website)
North Korea recently distributed “explanatory materials” to the Socialist Patriotic Youth League emphasizing the struggle against watching or distributing “impure recorded materials.”
With the Fifth Expanded Meeting of the Eighth Central Committee on June 8 to 10 analyzing and reviewing the nation’s efforts to combat “anti-socialist and non-socialist behavior” and calling for an intensified struggle, the authorities are apparently bolstering their efforts to ideologically educate the youth.
According to a Daily NK source in North Hamgyong Province on Wednesday, North Korea recently distributed a set of explanatory materials entitled “Thoroughly Eliminate the Phenomenon of Watching or Distributing Impure Recorded Materials” to Socialist Patriotic Youth League organizations.
The materials called for an intensive struggle against watching or distributing “impure materials.”
In the materials, North Korean authorities claimed the failure to stop the secret viewing and distribution of “strange, decadent” recordings has been “tarnishing a healthy social atmosphere.” The materials warned that “once you get a taste, you just cannot stop and in the end, you will find yourself up to your neck in treason and betrayal, just as the nation’s enemies intended.”
In particular, North Korea called secretly watching or smuggling in and distributing impure recordings “when the imperialists’ ideological and cultural intrusion schemes are growing crueler than ever” an “act of treason fundamentally no different from pointing a gun at your fatherland and its people when they are suffering.”
The materials further said that, “If you’re still going around with hidden impure recordings of a strange and decadent nature, watching them, smuggling them or illegally selling them, we can only call this an intentional act to drag our youth into fantasies about capitalism and rotten bourgeois lifestyles.”
With young North Koreans continuing to watch and distribute videos from abroad in the face of constant crackdowns, North Korea is demanding young people be on guard against the importation of capitalist culture, deeming its consumption akin to “treason.”
The materials warned that “class enemies, including the US imperialists,” are engaged in “all sorts of dirty, cruel schemes” to “penetrate other nations’ borders and spread strange, impure recordings inside our country.”
The materials said the US imperialists and class enemies are trying even harder to weaken “our socialist system, the life and livelihood of the people from the inside.” What the enemies want is to carry out a “propaganda scheme” to paralyze the ideological consciousness of the youth and — the materials reiterated — weaken North Korea’s socialist system from the inside.
North Korea also called on young people living in border regions to be on high alert against such enemy schemes and spare no effort to continue “reflecting the pride and honor of being the heroes of a strong nation of the youth.”
By distributing these materials, North Korea is focusing on heading off possible ideological alienation of the part of the youth. Yet, inside North Korea, people say the authorities will have a tough time suppressing young people’s desire for new cultures using hackneyed ideological education.
The source said every Socialist Patriotic Youth League committee in Chongjin is holding related lectures twice a week.
“They’re even going to where young people are very busily supporting agricultural work, gathering those exhausted from the day’s work for lectures,” he said.
However, the source said young people, keenly interested in “new things,” continue to watch films and TV shows from “developed countries.”
“Young people might hide a bit if the government cracks down hard on watching and distributing foreign films, including films from South Korea, but nothing will change much,” he said.
Translated by David Black. Edited by Robert Lauler.
Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
11. S.Korea-Japan Cooperation Is Needed More Than Ever
Yes. The Chosun Ilbo editorial team gets it. As I have written many times, President Yoon and Prime Minister Kishida need to state in the strongest of all terms that they are prioritizing national security and national prosperity while pledging to work on historical issues but not allowing those issues to interfere with security and prosperity.
Conclusion:
Yoon told Kishida that Seoul and Tokyo should "resolve pending issues between [the two nations] as soon as possible," so they can "move forward in a future-oriented manner," and Kishida responded by saying the two sides should work to restore their relations to "a healthy state." The government is currently considering creating a joint fund involving businesses of both countries to resolve the issue of compensation for Korean forced laborers during World War II. Both sides must stop politicizing bilateral relations.
S.Korea-Japan Cooperation Is Needed More Than Ever
President Yoon Suk-yeol held a three-way summit on Wednesday with U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on the sidelines of the NATO Summit in Madrid, Spain. It was the first trilateral summit since September of 2017. The three leaders agreed to a combined response to North Korea's nuclear and missile provocations and also apparently discussed ways to block the flow of funds into the North's weapons programs. Three-way cooperation had weakened due to former President Moon Jae-in's failed efforts to cozy up to North Korea and populist anti-Japanese sentiment. But now there is hope that things can return to an even keel.
North Korea is preparing for its seventh nuclear test. The world order is being realigned due to the escalating conflict between the U.S. and China and Russia's invasion of Ukraine, so North Korea, China and Russia will grow ever closer. That is why trilateral cooperation between South Korea, the U.S. and Japan must be strengthened to protect South Korea's national security and economy.
Yoon told Kishida that Seoul and Tokyo should "resolve pending issues between [the two nations] as soon as possible," so they can "move forward in a future-oriented manner," and Kishida responded by saying the two sides should work to restore their relations to "a healthy state." The government is currently considering creating a joint fund involving businesses of both countries to resolve the issue of compensation for Korean forced laborers during World War II. Both sides must stop politicizing bilateral relations.
12. Hyundai to create new American affiliate after US$10.5 bln investment pledge
Hyundai to create new American affiliate after US$10.5 bln investment pledge | Yonhap News Agency
SEOUL, June 30 (Yonhap) -- Hyundai Motor Group said Thursday it is setting up a new investment affiliate in the United States, in a follow-up to its pledge to invest US$10.5 billion in the world's largest economy.
The new affiliate, tentatively named HMG Global, will be established in Delaware and funded by Hyundai's three flagship arms -- Hyundai Motor Co., Kia Corp. and Hyundai Mobis Co., according to regulatory filings posted by the companies.
"The establishment of the new affiliate will enable us to more quickly invest in companies with new technologies in the United States, home to many innovative companies, and we are expected to manage them efficiently," the group said.
Hyundai Motor and its smaller affiliate Kia will together inject a combined $578 million in the new American unit. Hyundai Motor and Hyundai Mobis, the auto parts-making affiliate, will also transfer in kind their controlling shares in Boston Dynamics, a U.S. robotics company Hyundai acquired two years ago, to the new U.S. affiliate.
Hyundai Motor will thereby own 49.5 percent in the new affiliate, with Kia owning 30.5 percent and Hyundai Mobis' share at 20.5 percent.
The new U.S. affiliate is expected to be launched around August following regulatory approval.
The move came as a follow-up to Hyundai's announcement in late May it will spend $5.5 billion to build electric vehicle and battery cell plants in Georgia. The announcement was made while U.S. President Joe Biden was visiting South Korea for a summit with President Yoon Suk-yeol.
Hyundai Motor Group Chair Euisun Chung, who met one-on-one with Biden in Seoul in May, pledged an additional $5 billion investment in the U.S. market to push for future growth engines ranging from robotics and urban air mobility to self-driving technology.
elly@yna.co.kr
(END)
13. S. Korea to increase overseas aid by 12.4 pct next year: PM
Recall that South Korea is the only nation in the world to go from a major aid recipient to a major donor nation.
S. Korea to increase overseas aid by 12.4 pct next year: PM | Yonhap News Agency
SEOUL, June 30 (Yonhap) -- South Korea plans to increase its financial aid to developing countries by 12.4 percent next year, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said Thursday.
The government set a budget for official development assistance (ODA) at 4.5 trillion won (US$3.4 billion) in 2023, a hike of 502 billion won from this year, Han told a meeting on overseas aid.
To improve aid effectiveness, Han said the government will expand the role of civilian sectors in ODA projects.
Also, the government will ease regulations to help private firms make inroads into procurement markets for the ODA, Han said.
The government "will help private companies make a foray into domestic and foreign ODA procurement markets by improving unreasonable regulations in the field of the ODA," Han said.
South Korea ranked 15th among the 29 member states of the Development Assistance Committee of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Han said the government aims to become one of top 10 donors among the OECD members under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration.
kdh@yna.co.kr
(END)
14. Yoon Suk-yeol debuts on international stage with NATO speech
Excerpts:
Yoon spoke seventh, between the British and U.S. leaders. He is the first Korean president to make an address at a NATO summit. The 30-member NATO invited four Asia-Pacific partners — South Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand — to take part in this year's summit hosted by Spain.
In his speech, Yoon said, "Today, the international community is facing complex security threats that cannot be resolved by a single country."
Yoon stressed South Korea's role in cooperating with NATO in safeguarding "universal values." He noted that South Korea and NATO have developed security cooperation after establishing a global partnership in 2006.
Yoon said he looks forward to cooperation in economic security with NATO countries, especially in emerging technological fields such as economic security, health and cybersecurity.
Yoon said, "There is a movement that denies the universal values we have protected," appearing to refer to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
"Freedom and peace are guaranteed through solidarity with the international community," he added.
Thursday
June 30, 2022
Yoon Suk-yeol debuts on international stage with NATO speech
President Yoon Suk-yeol, right, takes part in a session of the NATO Summit at the IFEMA Convention Center in Madrid Wednesday afternoon. [YONHAP]
MADRID — President Yoon Suk-yeol told NATO leaders Wednesday that the way to lead North Korea to denuclearization is by showing firm resolve.
Yoon marked his formal debut on the international stage with a three-minute address at a closed-door session of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and partner countries in Madrid.
"In order to lead North Korea down the path of denuclearization, we must clearly show that the international community's will to denuclearize the North is stronger than their reckless will to develop nuclear weapons and missiles programs," Yoon was quoted as saying by his presidential official.
Yoon stressed that the North's nuclear and missile programs are a clear violation of UN Security Council resolutions and a serious challenge to peace on the Korean Peninsula and in the world.
Yoon spoke seventh, between the British and U.S. leaders. He is the first Korean president to make an address at a NATO summit. The 30-member NATO invited four Asia-Pacific partners — South Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand — to take part in this year's summit hosted by Spain.
In his speech, Yoon said, "Today, the international community is facing complex security threats that cannot be resolved by a single country."
Yoon stressed South Korea's role in cooperating with NATO in safeguarding "universal values." He noted that South Korea and NATO have developed security cooperation after establishing a global partnership in 2006.
Yoon said he looks forward to cooperation in economic security with NATO countries, especially in emerging technological fields such as economic security, health and cybersecurity.
Yoon said, "There is a movement that denies the universal values we have protected," appearing to refer to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
"Freedom and peace are guaranteed through solidarity with the international community," he added.
During the summit, NATO leaders adopted a new strategic concept meant as a blueprint of the military alliance's priorities for the next 10 years, which targets rising threats from Russia and China. The concept states that Russia poses "the most significant and direct threat" to the alliance's security and says that China's "coercive policies" challenge its "interests, security and values."
South Korea's participation in the NATO Summit is seen as its tacit endorsement of NATO's direction regarding Russia and China.
Yoon referred to the new strategic concept and said he hopes cooperation with NATO will become a cornerstone of values-based solidarity.
Speaking to reporters ahead of the leaders' session, Yoon said, "The time has come for close mutual cooperation between the Indo-Pacific region and NATO."
Korea has pledged $100 million in humanitarian assistance to Ukraine.
When asked if there had been any discussions about "containing" China in Yoon's meetings, a senior presidential official told reporters Wednesday, "Although he did not specifically mention China, all speeches by NATO allies, including at the Korea-U.S.-Japan summit, stressed that China must play a responsible role and that all international relations should be conducted while respecting universal values and norms and agreements of the international community."
Yoon has been on a five-day trip to Spain since Monday, his first overseas trip since taking office. A series of bilateral and multilateral talks on the sidelines of the NATO gathering focused on security issues and economic cooperation.
Yoon, a former prosecutor, met with leaders of Australia, the Netherlands, Denmark, Poland, France, Britain, Canada and the Czech Republic.
On Wednesday, Yoon had a summit with Polish President Andrzej Duda that highlighted the countries' cooperation in infrastructure, energy and defense.
Yoon asked Duda to take a special interest in some 300 Korean companies in Poland. He also expressed hopes for cooperation between the two countries on the construction of a new airport in Poland.
The two leaders said they will look for ways to cooperate on nuclear power and liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers as part of efforts to achieve carbon neutrality.
In talks with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on the same day, Yoon discussed energy and environmental cooperation.
Yoon and French President Emmanuel Macron focused on promoting cooperation in the nuclear power and space industries. According to the presidential office, the two leaders recognized the importance of nuclear power generation in order to realize carbon neutrality.
Yoon, accompanied by first lady Kim Keon-hee, had a dinner with around 100 Korean residents in Spain on Wednesday evening. He was scheduled for a luncheon with businesspeople on Thursday. Yoon was set to wrap up the trip with a meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg Thursday afternoon.
Yoon was set to return to Seoul Friday.
BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]
15. Tough diplomatic challenges ahead (ROK)
Thursday
June 30, 2022
Tough diplomatic challenges ahead
President Yoon Suk-yeol returns home today after attending the NATO Summit in Madrid, Spain. The summit showed a dramatic realignment of the international order between democratic countries led by the United States and authoritarian states led by China and Russia. Strategic Concept 2022 adopted by NATO has defined China as a “structural challenge” on top of security threats from Russia. The intergovernmental military alliance designated China as a country it must check. The incorporation of Finland and Sweden into the security alliance after abandoning their neutrality also demonstrates a profound shift in the new global order.
As the tenth largest economy in the world, Korea also must tackle the breathtaking shifts aggressively. After being invited to the summit as a non-member head of state, Yoon responded by stressing the importance of “international solidarity in protecting freedom and peace.” The comment is a manifestation of his administration’s strategic decision to discontinue the strategic ambiguity the Moon Jae-in administration sought for five years.
Strengthened cooperation with NATO can offer practical benefits to Korea. If the Yoon administration strikes a global partnership with NATO as planned, Korean companies can advance into the space market in Europe more easily. The partnership will also help Korean companies with competitiveness in semiconductors and reactors, not to mention helping reduce Korea’s overreliance on China for exports and imports.
But everything has both dark and bright sides. Reinforced cooperation with NATO will surely test Korea’s diplomatic capabilities. After Yoon attended the summit, China expressed disappointment straightforwardly. Given China’s enormous share in trade — more than America, Japan and Europe combined — and China’s help with North Korean denuclearization, Seoul must closely cooperate with Beijing. It is not desirable for the government to give the impression that Korea aggressively participates in encircling China after turning its back on the neighbor.
If the Yoon administration fails to manage its relations with China wisely, it can deal a critical blow to national interest. The government needs to deal with China on an agenda basis rather than passively being drawn into a U.S.-led world order.
To China, the government must fully explain its position not to trigger unnecessary hostilities. To the U.S., it must be able to say what it must. Principled diplomacy not sacrificing national interest is the way to go. It won’t be easy. But we hope the Yoon administration will prove it can.
De Oppresso Liber,
David Maxwell
Senior Fellow, Foundation for Defense of Democracies
Senior Fellow, Global Peace Foundation
Senior Advisor, Center for Asia Pacific Strategy
Editor, Small Wars Journal
Twitter: @davidmaxwell161
Phone: 202-573-8647
