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Informal Institute for National Security Thinkers and Practitioners


Quotes of the Day:



“great writers are indecent people 
they live unfairly
saving the best part for paper.

good human beings see the world
so that bastards like me can keep
creating art,
become immortal.
if you read this after I am dead 
it means I made it.”
-Charles Bukowski, The People Look Like Flowers at Last

"Strategy is, at some level, the ability to predict what’s going to happen, but it’s also about understanding the context in which it is being formulated. And then you have to be open-minded to the fact that you’re not going to get it right at the very beginning." 
–Martin Dempsey

"Unconventional warfare (UW) is the primary mission that most distinguishes SF. The inherently interagency, multinational, and widely dispersed activities of UW are conducted to enable a resistance movement or insurgency by operating through or with an underground, auxiliary, or guerrilla force in denied areas to coerce, disrupt, or overthrow oppressive regimes. UW operations are politically sensitive activities that involve a high degree of military risk and, therefore, require distinct authorities and innovative campaign design. The demands of UW missions require mature SF Soldiers who are adept at interacting with a wide range of actors and agencies capable of, and trusted with, sensitive and largely independent operations. The payoff—what makes SF UW activities worth the risk to forces in a denied area—is the subsequent weak defensive posture the enemy must take in order to defend everything and thereby defend nothing well.


Whether the mission is UW, FID, or simply direct action, SF is designed and trained to understand the balance between diplomacy and force, and which is most applicable for creating the conditions for a favorable conflict resolution. This judgment has been honed over decades of engagement with allies, coalition partners, and indigenous populations and provides the United States a discreet, low-signature, small-footprint alternative to aJTF or other large military force structure.​"​
FM 3-18, Special Forces Operations, 2014



1. Some N. Korean military units shorten training periods due to food shortages

2. S. Korea launches jets, fires shots after North flies drones

3. Suspected N. Korean drones trespass across border with S. Korea: Seoul officials

4. N. Korean economy down 0.1 pct in 2021 amid prolonged pandemic, sanctions

5. N.Korea-China Trade Grinds to Halt

6. Suspected secret Chinese police base has another branch near Seoul's National Assembly

7. N. Hamgyong Province makes moves to prepare for restart in trade next year

8. N. Korean woman sent to political prison for using Chinese mobile phone

9. [Editorial] Augmenting our response to drone provocations. (ROK)

10. Front lawn of presidential office to open to public in spring

11. S. Korea, Japan hold working-level consultations on wartime forced labor, bilateral issues

12. South Koreans Have the World’s Most Negative Views of China. Why?

13. They Traveled From South Korea. They Got Stranded Near Buffalo.

14. N. Korea urges loyalty to leader Kim ahead of children's union congress

15. The Future Of Korean Diplomacy – OpEd

16. China’s Police Stations Worldwide and a Strange Chinese Restaurant in Seoul




1. Some N. Korean military units shorten training periods due to food shortages


This could be significant and bears watching. If the regime is struggling to feed the military it could be an indicator of the future loss of coherency of the military as well as a competition for resources among military units.


Recall that we define regime collapse as the inability of the party to govern from the center. (Pyongyang) and the loss of coherency and support of the military. When those two conditions concur we can expect regime collapse.


Once the regime cannot feed all military units we. are likely to see internal "competition."  When that happens we need to be prepared for everything from regime collapse to Kim Jong Un making the decision to execute his campaign plan as the only option he has left to try to survive.


We need to review contingency plans.


Some N. Korean military units shorten training periods due to food shortages

Some units have received less than 50% of the military rice stores they were supposed to get, a source told Daily NK

By Mun Dong Hui -

2022.12.26 2:12pm

dailynk.com

Soldiers marching during the Party Foundation Day military parade on Oct. 10, 2020. (KCNA)

Some North Korean military units have shortened the period of their training exercises due to food shortages, suggesting this year’s shortages of food surpass those of previous years, Daily NK has learned.

According to a source in South Pyongan Province last Thursday, regional reserve units begun their “new academic year training” in December, but “they are unable to properly train due to food shortages.”

“New academic year training” refers to the winter military training regularly undertaken by the Korean People’s Army (KPA).

The KPA conducts two training periods, a “winter training” session from December to March and a “summer training” session from July to September.

The KPA’s regular annual training includes simultaneous ideological education and large-scale military drills in accordance with orders from the supreme commander, or Kim Jong Un.

This year’s winter training follows an order issued in the name of the supreme commander on Nov. 21 titled, “Tasks for Operational and Battle Politics Training for the 2022-2023 New Academic Year.”

During the December part of the KPA’s winter training, units ordinarily engage in small, company-strength drills in areas nearby where they are stationed.

This year, however, some of the units preparing for these drills have experienced food shortages, the source told Daily NK.

For example, one of the territorial reserve units in South Pyongan Province shortened a collective training exercise scheduled to have started on Dec. 15 by two days due to food shortages, the source said.

“Many regiment-strength units are suffering significant difficulties due to food problems,” he continued, adding, “The unit reported the problem to their superiors and asked for measures to be taken, but all they heard in return were curses and blame. Commanders simply tell you to solve the problem on your own, providing no help at all.”

North Korea has been suffering from chronic food shortages, but the problem seems to have worsened this year.

In fact, Daily NK reported last month that military units in Yanggang Province were not receiving proper rations. At the time, the source said that units around the province would be forced to make do with potatoes instead of rice through February.

BAD WEATHER, COVID-19 AND SANCTIONS TO BLAME

North Korea’s state-run media has not shied away from hiding the country’s poor food situation.

On Dec. 12, Rodong Sinmun reported that North Korea has suffered from “disastrous climate phenomena” including “droughts, flooding, hail and cold weather damage” from early spring to autumn, and that there were “far fewer sunshine days.”

In particular, it reported that farmers say the unseasonably cold weather from late August to mid-September “had a worse impact than several typhoons.”

North Korea’s food shortages are likely serious when considering not only the poor weather, but also the continued closure of its borders and international sanctions.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un might be emphasizing the resolution of food shortages as his top priority, but the outlook for an improvement in the food situation is not bright.

Daily NK’s source in South Pyongan Province said territorial reserve units have received less than 50% of the military rice stores they were supposed to get. “Food shortages this year are really serious,” he added.

Meanwhile, North Korea reportedly imported large amounts of grain from China last month.

Quoting Chinese customs statistics, Voice of America reported on Nov. 21 that China shipped 30,172 tons of rice worth USD 12.83 million to North Korea last month.

This was the largest total since North Korea closed the border due to COVID-19.

North Korea also imported 6,596 tons of wheat flour worth about USD 2.38 million. However, China’s trade with North Korea was down about 18% from October.

Basically, this means that while total trade with China fell, food imports from China significantly increased.

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

Read in Korean

dailynk.com



2. S. Korea launches jets, fires shots after North flies drones


S. Korea launches jets, fires shots after North flies drones

AP · by HYUNG-JIN KIM · December 26, 2022

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s military fired warning shots, scrambled fighter jets and flew surveillance assets across the heavily fortified border with North Korea on Monday, after North Korean drones violated its airspace for the first time in five years, officials said.

South Korea’s military detected five drones from North Korea crossing the border, and one traveled as far as the northern part of the South Korean capital region, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

The military responded by firing warning shots before launching fighter jets and attack helicopters to shoot down the North Korean drones. One of the aircraft, a KA-1 light attack plane, crashed during takeoff but its two pilots both ejected to safety, according to the Defense Ministry.

It wasn’t immediately known if the drones were shot down.

South Korea also sent surveillance assets near and across the border to photograph key military facilities in North Korea as corresponding measures against the North Korean drone flights, the Joint Chiefs said. It didn’t elaborate, but some observers say that South Korea likely flew unmanned drones inside North Korean territory.

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South Korea’s public confirmation of any reconnaissance activities inside North Korea is highly unusual and likely reflect a resolve by the conservative government led by President Yoon Suk Yeol to get tough on North Korean provocations.

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It’s the first time for North Korean drones to enter South Korean airspace since 2017, when a suspected North Korean drone was found crashed in South Korea. South Korean military officials said at the time that the drone photographed a U.S. missile defense system in South Korea.

North Korea has previously touted its drone program, and South Korean officials said the North has about 300 drones. In 2014, several suspected North Korean drones were found south of the border. Experts said they were low-tech but could be considered a potential security threat.

Last Friday, North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles toward its eastern waters, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff. The launch was seen as a protest of the South Korean-U.S. joint air drills that North Korea views as an invasion rehearsal.

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This year, North Korea has conducted an unprecedented number of missile tests in what some experts call an attempt to improve its weapons and pressure rivals to make concessions such as lifting sanctions in future negotiations. Recently, the North also claimed to have performed major tests needed to acquire its first spy satellite and a more mobile intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the U.S. mainland.

AP · by HYUNG-JIN KIM · December 26, 2022


3.Suspected N. Korean drones trespass across border with S. Korea: Seoul officials


Kim Jong Un's way of saying happy holidays to Seoul?


(3rd LD) Suspected N. Korean drones trespass across border with S. Korea: Seoul officials | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by 송상호 · December 26, 2022

(ATTN: UPDATES with more info in paras 4-5; CHANGES photo)

HOENGSEONG/SEOUL, Dec. 26 (Yonhap) -- Suspected North Korean drones crossed the inter-Korean border Monday without South Korea's permission, officials here said, prompting the deployment of fighter jets, choppers and other assets to shoot them down.

The South's military detected multiple "unidentified objects," presumed to be unmanned aerial vehicles, in border areas of Gyeonggi Province from 10:25 a.m., according to an official at the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The vehicles flew across the Military Demarcation Line separating the two Koreas, and were spotted flying in those areas in Gimpo, Ganghwa Island and Paju, leading to temporary suspensions of civilian flights.

The South issued warning messages, fired warning shots, and scrambled fighters, attack helicopters and other warplanes to remove them, while it remains unconfirmed whether the vehicles carry any weapons, the official said.

"We also identified them with our eyes," the JCS official told reporters on condition of anonymity. "An operation is still ongoing against the vehicles."

The military also deployed a KA-1 light attack aircraft, but for an unknown reason, it crashed in Hoengseong County, about 140 kilometers east of Seoul, at 11:39 a.m. Both of the pilots escaped safely.

The North's drone operations have been a source of growing security concerns here, as they could be used for spy operations, as well as potential attack missions against the South.

The South announced its discovery of North Korean drone operations south of the border in 2014 and 2017, sounding an alarm against security threats posed by those unmanned vehicles.

The latest violation of the South's territorial air raised tensions anew after the North fired two short-range ballistic missiles Friday and two medium-range ballistic missiles five days earlier.


sshluck@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by 송상호 · December 26, 2022



4. N. Korean economy down 0.1 pct in 2021 amid prolonged pandemic, sanctions


With a failed economy 0.1% could be a huge loss.


But the economy has failed because of Kim Jong Un's deliberate policy decisions, not because of sanctions.

N. Korean economy down 0.1 pct in 2021 amid prolonged pandemic, sanctions | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by 강윤승 · December 26, 2022

By Kang Yoon-seung

SEOUL, Dec. 26 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's economy retreated 0.1 percent in 2021 from a year earlier, data showed Monday, amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic coupled with international sanctions.

The reclusive country's real gross domestic product (GDP) fell for the second consecutive year, following a 4.5-percent on-year drop tallied in 2020, according to the data from Statistics Korea.

In 2021, the South Korean economy expanded 4.1 percent from the previous year.

North Korea's per capita gross national income (GNI) stood at 1.42 million won last year. That of South Korea was 28 times higher at 40.4 million won.

North Korea's trade volume tumbled 17.3 percent on-year to $710 million in 2021. Over the period, South Korea's trade advanced 28.5 percent to hit $1.2 trillion, around 1,766 times higher than the North.

China accounted for nearly all of the North's trade in 2021 at 95.6 percent, followed by Vietnam and India with 1.7 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively.

The North's output of food crops in 2021, meanwhile, reached 4.69 million tons, up 6.7 percent from a year earlier. It hovered above 4.46 million tons posted by South Korea.

North Korea's population stood at 25.48 million last year, compared with South Korea's 51.75 million.

North Korean men had a life expectancy of 67 years last year, while women were expected to live to 73.8 years. South Korean men, in comparison, were expected to live to 80.9, and female life expectancy came to 86.8.

South Korea's statistics agency has been publishing general information on North Korea since 1995 to shed light on its economic and social conditions.


colin@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by 강윤승 · December 26, 2022



5. N.Korea-China Trade Grinds to Halt


I wonder if this could be a true statement: it seems that COVID has affected China and north Korea more than anywhere else in the world?


N.Korea-China Trade Grinds to Halt

english.chosun.com

December 26, 2022 11:41

The coronavirus pandemic has brought traffic between China and North Korea to a halt, crippling cross-border trade that had continued to flourish despite sanctions from the UN Security Council and the international community since 2016.


In 2020, North Korea sealed all its borders, and while rail and highway traffic resumed intermittently this year, North Korea appears to have sealed its border again for fear of surging infections in China after lockdowns were eased there.


The leaders of Cuba, Laos, and Vietnam have visited Beijing since Chinese President Xi Jinping extended his term last October, but North Korean leader Kim Jong-un stayed at home.


Cargo transport resumed across the border in September after a hiatus of 150 days but seems to have been curtailed again since China began reporting an increase in COVID infections.


No Chinese tourists have been spotted in Pyongyang for some time. Before the pandemic, many Chinese tourists visited North Korea on boats from Dandong to Sinuiju on the Yalu or Amnok River, but now the river banks are empty.

One source who works at a bridge between North Korea and China on the river said, "The number of tourists has fallen to 1/100 of previous levels and the ticket booth is closed."


A view of a bridge over the Apnok or Yalu River between North Korea's Sinuiju and the Chinese port city of Dandong on Dec. 23


Many import-export companies that thrived along the border have closed down. One source who ran a trading company in Dandong said, "The number of products sold in open-air markets in North Korea declined by more than 80 percent. I've heard that people living along the border who made a living from trade are in financial trouble now."


North Korean traders have disappeared from Wuai market in China's Liaoning Province, 240 km from the North Korean border. At 139,000 sq.m it is the biggest clothing and merchandise market in northeastern China and was used by North Korean merchants and smugglers to buy products in bulk before the pandemic.

But a trader who runs a women's clothing shop there said, "It's been three years since I've seen a North Korean here. North Korean traders bought dozens and even hundreds of clothes at a time, but they disappeared in the pandemic, which has had a huge impact on sales."


Ethnic Koreans in China who used to work as interpreters are also out of work.

It remains to be seen if North Korea's deepening economic woes this winter will force it to open the border again.







6. Suspected secret Chinese police base has another branch near Seoul's National Assembly




Monday

December 26, 2022

 dictionary + A - A 

Suspected secret Chinese police base has another branch near Seoul's National Assembly

https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2022/12/26/national/diplomacy/korea-china-china-secret-police/20221226115529236.html


A Chinese restaurant in southern Seoul, which was suspected of being used as a base for a secret Chinese police station in Korea, in December 2020 opened another branch in a building located in front of the National Assembly building in Yeouido, western Seoul. [CHUNG YEONG-GYO]

 

A Chinese restaurant in southern Seoul suspected of being operated as a base for a secret Chinese police station in Korea was found to have opened another branch office right in front of the National Assembly building in Yeouido, western Seoul.

 

The company opened the office in a nine-story building located on a road directly in front of the National Assembly building in December 2020, according to a certificate of registry information on the restaurant’s operator obtained by the JoongAng Ilbo.

 

A total of seven businesses were in operation in the building, the JoongAng Ilbo confirmed Friday.


 

Two Chinese media-related companies were located in the building: a Chinese media-related office and the Seoul bureau office of China Central Television (CCTV) were on the ninth floor. 

 

The operator of the Chinese restaurant had explicitly detailed its major businesses as the operation of the restaurant, food and beverage services and cultural art events when the office first opened.

 

The company further expanded its business to include the operation of a Chinese culture experience facility in November 2018, and to wholesale and retail sales of drinks and cigarettes in September 2020.

 

Names of many executives of the company who are either presumed to be Chinese, naturalized citizens or Korean-Chinese were found on the list of the obtained document.

 

According to the Chinese restaurant's website, the restaurant is scheduled to go on a monthlong break for interior renovation from Jan. 1.


 

Regarding the alleged secret police station, the Korean government is taking great caution.

 

“At this point, we do not have anything significant to share,” a Foreign Ministry official told the press in Seoul last week, explaining "actual facts should be cleared out first."

 

The Foreign Ministry, however, said related counter-intelligence acts are being carried out by institutions including the National Intelligence Service.

 

China has denied the presence of the so-called secret police.

 

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said, “the so-called overseas police stations do not exist,” during a press conference last Thursday.

 

The comment also came after the nongovernmental human rights organization Safeguard Defenders announced earlier this month that China’s local-level public security bureau based in Nantong, Jiangsu Province, was running at least one police station in Korea, though it couldn’t confirm its exact location.

 

These overseas police service stations, according to Safeguard Defenders, are a form of long-arm policing by the Chinese government, to monitor its nationals. They are said to be located in at least 53 countries across five continents.

 

“The matter could critically affect the relationship between the two countries, so it is difficult to confirm any facts related to it,” a spokesperson from the Korean government told the JoongAng Ilbo on Sunday.

 

The Chinese embassy also denied the presence of the secret police, stressing that a high-level collaboration is maintained between the two countries through a “communication channel that exists between the Chinese and the Korean police and the prosecution."


BY CHUNG YEONG-GYO [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]


7. N. Hamgyong Province makes moves to prepare for restart in trade next year


Given COVID and the other recent reporting is this a bit premature?


N. Hamgyong Province makes moves to prepare for restart in trade next year

Provincial authorities have begun securing supplies of the dried pine mushrooms, salted pine mushrooms and medicinal herbs for export into China

By Jong So Yong - 2022.12.26 2:00pm

dailynk.com

FILE PHOTO: Houses in Namyang, North Hamgyong Province. (Daily NK)

North Korean authorities have recently begun efforts to expand trade with China following moves by the Chinese government to relax its “zero COVID” policy, Daily NK has learned.

According to a Daily NK source in North Hamgyong Province last Wednesday, North Korean authorities ordered all trading agencies to submit their trading plans for the first half of next year by the end of December.

The order was focused on determining which import items must enter the country first. In fact, officials have been begging provinces and trading agencies to submit well-crafted plans for “realistic exports and absolutely necessary imports,” the source said.

In the order, the authorities reportedly mentioned “Chinese COVID policies” and the “relaxing of lockdowns in China.”

However, the authorities also reportedly made clear that the order does not mean that “[the country] will immediately open the border or customs.”

This suggests the authorities plan to watch the situation for a while given the growing chaos in China, which has experienced skyrocketing numbers of infections and deaths since Beijing announced a loosening of its coronavirus prevention measures.

In fact, North Korean authorities reportedly warned in the order that if local governments, companies or trading firms “rashly” engage in trade along the border without state permission just because China is easing its lockdowns, they will face “the most harsh administrative punishments possible.”

In response to the recent order, North Hamgyong Province has begun drawing up a potential trading plan and selecting competitive export items, the source told Daily NK.

Specifically, provincial authorities ordered trading companies to prepare salted pollack, packaged crab meat and dried clams for export.

Provincial authorities have also begun securing supplies of dried pine mushrooms, salted pine mushrooms and medicinal herbs, all of which are popular among Chinese consumers.

Provincial trading agencies have also crafted plans to confirm current stores of frozen pollack, herring, sole and sandfish at their subsidiary fishing bases, and for fishing boats to begin fishing operations.

The province is also holding discussions to ensure that factories and enterprises taking part in export production preparations can produce for over 10 hours a day, with laborers working in shifts.

In short, North Hamgyong Province is taking into account infrastructure-related matters such as electricity and manufacturing equipment, and recruiting female labor needed to process seafood products.

United Nations Security Council Resolution 2371 bans North Korea from exporting seafood.

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

Read in Korean

dailynk.com



8. N. Korean woman sent to political prison for using Chinese mobile phone


One of the key ways escapees both communicate with those in north Korea and for sending relatives money.


N. Korean woman sent to political prison for using Chinese mobile phone

Investigators learned that the woman had delivered money to some 80 relatives of defectors over the past two years

By Lee Chae Un - 2022.12.26 10:00am

dailynk.com

FILE PHOTO: A border patrol checkpoint in Pungso County, Yanggang Province, can be seen in this photo, which was taken in February 2019. (Daily NK)

A North Korean woman in her 40s who was caught using an illegal Chinese mobile phone in Kimjongsuk County, Yanggang Province, was sent to a concentration camp for political prisoners in early December.

“A woman in Kimjongsuk County was sent to a [political] prison camp on Dec. 5. She was transferred there six months after being arrested by the Ministry of State Security for using a Chinese mobile phone back in June,” a source in Yanggang Province told Daily NK last Tuesday.

According to the source, the woman, surnamed Choi, had been engaged in moving goods between China and North Korea before the COVID-19 pandemic. After the North Korean authorities completely closed the border after the outbreak of the disease, Choi turned to handling remittances as a way of making a living.

Choi was caught using a Chinese mobile phone on the job and was arrested and questioned by the Ministry of State Security several times. Last year, she was brought in no fewer than three times and subjected to harsh interrogations. But each time, she gave a large bribe to secure her release and continued working as a remittance broker.

Then in June, Choi was arrested once more by the Ministry of State Security while delivering money to the families of defectors. Since it was her fourth arrest, she needed to pay an even larger bribe. But this time, she didn’t have any money and was eventually sent to a political prison camp, the source said.

“Use of Chinese mobile phones is being treated as espionage since the start of the pandemic, so the amount one needs to pay in bribes has skyrocketed. Anyone who is caught needs a bribe of at least RMB 50,000 [around USD 7,100]. The severity of the crime is now determined by how much money people can cough up,” the source said.

The incident shows that corruption at North Korea’s law enforcement organizations has been getting worse as the economic situation in the country deteriorates.

After her arrest, Choi was transferred from the county office of the Ministry of State Security to the provincial branch to be questioned about the amount and the recipients of the remittances she had handled over the past two years. She was also interrogated about whether she provided contacts outside the country with any information about North Korea.

The investigators learned that Choi had delivered money to some 80 relatives of defectors over the past two years, the source said.

The interrogation was so harsh that Choi ended up admitting to things she had not done. Under torture, she confessed to charges that she had leaked internal information to the outside world.

“As the Ministry of State Security seeks to boost its figures for the year, it’s locking people up for good — even people that agents had let off the hook in exchange for bribes in the past. They’re apparently trying to create an atmosphere of terror by showing that people who are caught using Chinese mobile phones can be sent to a concentration camp at any time,” the source said.

“The current reality today is that even when you’re conspiring with high-ranking officials, lawbreakers will ultimately be turned into scapegoats when they run out of money,” he added.

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

Read in Korean

dailynk.com



9. [Editorial] Augmenting our response to drone provocations (ROK)




Monday

December 26, 2022

 dictionary + A - A 

[Editorial] Augmenting our response to drone provocations

https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2022/12/26/opinion/editorials/North-Korea-drone-penetration/20221226195255761.html

Five drones from North Korea flew across the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) in the western region of Gyeonggi, including Ganghwa Island and Gimpo and Paju cities, on Monday morning. Our military responded to the penetration immediately. In the process, our Air Force fighter jets and Army’s attack helicopters took off to shoot down the drones. That caused a temporary suspension of air traffic at Incheon International Airport and Kimpo Airport.


North Korean drone infiltration into our space is nothing new. But such a large-scale air penetration is the first of its kind. North Korea knows well that the drones will be detected by the South Korean military, but it brazenly sent the drones.


Our military authorities linked the dispatch of drones to the need for the North to carry out aerial reconnaissance on major military facilities in the South to find their exact locations for future military operations. North Korea deployed more than 300 long-range multiple rocket launchers at the front lines around the capital region, but it first needs aerial photos on exact locations of our military facilities for precise attacks.



North Korea has sent drones to South Korea on several occasions, including in 2014 and 2017, to take aerial picture of the Blue House and the Thaad missile defense units in North Gyeongsang. Pyongyang recently threatened to launch a spy satellite after releasing a photo of downtown Seoul allegedly taken by a ballistic missile.


But our military’s ability to effectively respond to North Korean drones sounds alarms. The North possesses 300 to 400 kamikaze and spy drones. It may have learned from the Russia-Ukraine war in which the two countries bomb the enemy’s military and civilian facilities through drone attacks. North Korea could do the same with unmanned aerial vehicles or smaller drones if the need arises.


But our military’s preparedness to the threat seems to be lacking. The Ministry of National Defense introduced a radar system from Israel after the North’s drone penetration in 2014. But due to the limited deployment of the radar and the small size of drones, it is difficult to intercept them. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration plans to develop our own anti-drone jamming system dubbed “K-jammer” with a 24.4-billion-won ($19.1 million) budget.


The North’s recent drone penetration coincides with the development of ballistic missiles. That’s only possible in wartime. North Korea is expected to conduct its seventh nuclear test soon. Our military should be on alert about the North’s endless provocations. It must augment a counterattack capability with the U.S. forces. North Korea must stop such provocations immediately as they cannot ensure its survival.


10. Front lawn of presidential office to open to public in spring


Photo at the link.  https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2022/12/281_342405.html


Those who have served in Yongsan will recognize the view/perspective.


Front lawn of presidential office to open to public in spring

The Korea Times · December 26, 2022

This photo shows a section of Yongsan Park near the presidential office during its trial opening, June 9. Yonhap


The front lawn of the presidential office is expected to open to the public as early as April after the required budget passed through parliament last week, officials said Monday.


The land surrounding the presidential office was previously used as a U.S. military base and is currently in the process of being transformed into a large public park, or Yongsan Park, following its return to the Korean government.


According to the presidential office and the land ministry, the government earmarked 27.7 billion won ($21.7 million) in next year's budget to complete the construction of the park, and the National Assembly passed it without revision last week.


"Once the doors of Yongsan Park open, it will come to symbolize the Yongsan era together with Cheong Wa Dae," a government official told Yonhap News Agency.

President Yoon Suk-yeol began his term in May at the new presidential office in Yongsan, central Seoul, after relocating the office from Cheong Wa Dae to what used to be the defense ministry compound in line with a campaign pledge.

In moving the presidential office, Yoon sought to connect better with the people and open Cheong Wa Dae to the public.


During a press conference in March where he announced the relocation, Yoon said he planned to allow the general public to get close to the new presidential office and permit weddings on the front lawn.


The new park is expected to feature sports facilities, playgrounds and cafes, and give the public a view of the president's offices on the second and fifth floors of the presidential office building.


The presidential office and the land ministry are also working to ensure the returned land poses no health risks, with plans to take additional safety measures, such as paving or planting grass, if necessary. (Yonhap)



The Korea Times · December 26, 2022




11. S. Korea, Japan hold working-level consultations on wartime forced labor, bilateral issues



​A small positive step forward.


S. Korea, Japan hold working-level consultations on wartime forced labor, bilateral issues

koreaherald.com · by Yonhap · December 26, 2022

By Yonhap

Published : Dec 26, 2022 - 11:30 Updated : Dec 26, 2022 - 11:30

(123rf)

TOKYO-- South Korea and Japan held working-level diplomatic consultations Monday on their protracted row over wartime forced labor and other bilateral issues.

Seo Min-jung, director general for Asia and Pacific affairs at South Korea's foreign ministry, met with her Japanese counterpart, Takehiro Funakoshi, for discussions at the Japanese foreign ministry in Tokyo. The two previously met on Nov. 24 in Japan.

Discussions were expected to focus on the issue of resolving compensation for forced labor of Koreans during World War II.

The issue has long been a sticking point in the relations between Seoul and Tokyo, though the two neighbors have stepped up efforts to improve security cooperation against North Korea's provocations and threats.

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida agreed to seek a prompt settlement of the issue during their summit held in Cambodia last month. (Yonhap)




12. South Koreans Have the World’s Most Negative Views of China. Why?



Interesting analysis. I did not know this. Please go to the link to view the graphs and data. https://thediplomat.com/2022/12/south-koreans-have-the-worlds-most-negative-views-of-china-why/


Excerpt:


Our survey confirms the negative views of China among South Koreans, but also gives plenty of new empirical insights (both in South Korea and elsewhere), which help us explain what makes South Koreans so uniquely negative about China.


South Koreans Have the World’s Most Negative Views of China. Why?

The explanation goes well beyond the oft-mentioned THAAD dispute.

thediplomat.com · by Richard Q. Turcsanyi · December 24, 2022

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When asked about general views of China, 81 percent of South Korean respondents expressed negative or very negative sentiments. That is (substantially) more than in any of the 56 countries surveyed worldwide as part of the Sinophone Borderlands project. What makes South Koreans so negative about China? And what are the foreign policy implications?

Uniquely Negative on China

South Korea used to be known for its balancing act between its ally and security guarantor, the United States, and its leading economic partner and increasingly dominant neighbor, China. In the past, this was also visible at the public opinion level. According to Pew Research, in 2015, South Koreans were relatively positive about China, when only 37 percent of them held unfavorable views.

However, Korean attitudes toward China turned sharply negative over subsequent years. This is usually explained as a result of the tensions in bilateral relations surrounding the deployment of the U.S. anti-ballistic missile system THAAD, which was announced in 2016.

Our survey confirms the negative views of China among South Koreans, but also gives plenty of new empirical insights (both in South Korea and elsewhere), which help us explain what makes South Koreans so uniquely negative about China.

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To appreciate just how negative South Koreans are toward China, there is a whopping 10-point gap in negative views between South Korean and the second-most-negative country, Switzerland, (with 72 percent of respondents holding negative perceptions), as well as third-place Japan (with 69 percent). South Koreans also have (by far) the lowest average sentiment toward China measured on a scale of 1 (most negative) and 100 (most positive). With a mean score of 25.5, Koreans are substantially more negative toward China than respondents in Switzerland, Sweden, Japan, Canada, France, and Germany, whose means are between 32-35 .


Structure of Korean Attitudes Toward China

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What makes South Korean attitudes toward China different is not just overall negativity but also the structure of the views.

Interestingly, when asked about various aspects of China, the most negative one in South Korean public opinion is “China’s impact on the global natural environment” (the magazine SisaIn in 2021 arrived at a similar finding in their survey). In most other countries, the most negatively perceived aspect of China tends to be “China’s military power.” This goes against the assumption that as China’s immediate neighbor, South Korea would be more sensitive about China’s military as a potential threat to its national security. In reality, although Koreans are indeed very negative about China’s military, they are even more so about China’s impact on the global natural environment.


Moreover, we found that the perception of “China’s impact on the global natural environment” tends to be a much stronger predictor of the overall attitude toward China in South Korea than in other countries. Thus, one way of answering the puzzle of South Koreans’ uniquely negative attitudes toward China is the stronger – and more negative – view of China’s impact on the global natural environment.

There is a context to these findings: Transboundary air pollution has been hotly debated between South Korea and China over the past few years. In March 2018, an online petition demanding the South Korean government to hold China accountable for transboundary air pollution gained about 270,000 online signatures. In 2019, when China denied that air pollution in South Korea originated from China, conservative groups launched protests in front of the Chinese embassy in Seoul.

Another noteworthy feature of South Korean public opinion is the perception of Chinese technology. In most countries we surveyed (including in Asia, Europe, and elsewhere), Chinese technology is the most positively perceived aspect of China. In South Korea, however, Chinese technology is seen substantially more negatively than anywhere else – with “trade with China” being the most positively seen aspect (or, to be more precise, least negative, as it is still leaning toward the negative side of the spectrum). Very negative views of Chinese technology in South Korea (compared to other surveyed countries) also point to something unique regarding Korean views of China and contribute to overall negative sentiments towards China.

Finally, we also asked about how Chinese people (from the PRC) are viewed – and here, again, the South Koreans differ from respondents in other countries. In most countries, including in Europe and North America, Chinese people are seen predominantly in a positive light; respondents make a distinction between the country (China) and the people.

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In South Korea, however, the Chinese are seen almost as negatively as China, with 77 percent of respondents having negative or very negative views. This may be regarded as pointing toward a deeply negative perception of anything related to China, with little to no differentiating between the people and the country.

The Role of COVID-19

Another issue that seems to drive South Korean views of China is COVID-19. In fact, COVID-19 is the most commonly held first association of China among our respondents, followed by communism. What is noteworthy is that among the commonly held associations, those with negative sentiments clearly dominate, and one is hard-pressed to identify any positive-sounding one.

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The role of the coronavirus in driving Korean views of China is confirmed by regression analysis, which reveals that perception of how China has handled the coronavirus pandemic, and assessments of its vaccines (both seen very negatively in South Korea), are strong predictors of the general attitudes toward China.

Another interesting point that could be gleaned from the word cloud is that words directly related to the THAAD dispute were not mentioned. The THAAD dispute has often been cited as the cause of a turning point in public attitudes toward China in South Korea, leading to the sharp increase in negative sentiment after 2016. However – besides COVID-19 – general perceptions, such as communism and large populations, were common associations instead.

Also, references to “history distortion” show up, reflecting the lasting effects of public outcry over the hanbok issue evoked during the Beijing Olympics this year. Other common themes point to other negative features associated with China in South Korea: “dirty,” “counterfeits,” or “selfish.”


Divisions Within Korean Attitudes

Looking at the socio-demographic and other divisions that could tell us more about the driving forces of Korean attitudes, it can be suggested that there is no big polarization – or even diversity – when it comes to perception of China in South Korea. There are only small differences between Koreans of different genders, ages, regions, or political preferences.

South Korean outlets often suggest that younger people (in their 20s) are more antagonistic toward China than other age groups. In our survey, respondents in their 20s and 30s tend to be slightly more negative about China’s environmental impact than those in the 50s age group. Respondents in their 30s also tend to be more negative about China’s influence on democracy in other countries than respondents in their 50s. Also, respondents in their 50s were slightly more positive about trade with China than other age groups. At the same time, these differences are not very large and should not be overplayed.

However, the general expectation that social contact improves views is confirmed. Those Korean respondents who have interacted more often with the Chinese people (those from the PRC) – and those who have visited China – tend to be more positive about China than those who interact less and haven’t been to China.

One interesting finding is that Koreans who are more satisfied with their economic well-being and the economic situation in the country tend to be more positive toward China. This can be interpreted to mean that those of lower socioeconomic standing feel more threatened by China (perhaps due to its competition), while those of higher standing may see China more as an opportunity (such as in economic terms). Findings from other countries in East Asia (such as Singapore) confirm a similar trend.

Public Negativity Toward China as a Factor Influencing Korean Foreign Policy

Overall, our findings suggest that the Korean public sentiments present a factor that consecutive Korean governments will have to consider when conducting foreign affairs in general, and specifically in relation to China. Although the unique negativity toward China is a relatively new phenomenon, it has already become deeply ingrained in South Korean society. Despite the polarized view toward China that dominated the foreign policy discourse between the liberals and the conservatives in South Korea in recent years, both sides will need to consider widespread public negativity towards China in the coming years.


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For one, this negativity is unlikely to go away with government changes, since it more or less transverses through the entire social and political spectrum. Second, the structure of Korean attitudes toward various aspects of China suggests that there is, by now, deep distrust towards almost anything China-related.

This article was produced as part of the project “Coping with China: Public attitudes in South Korea and Europe as the basis for effective policy collaboration,” funded by the Korea Foundation.

thediplomat.com · by Richard Q. Turcsanyi · December 24, 2022


13. They Traveled From South Korea. They Got Stranded Near Buffalo.


A great Christmas story. The Campagna's should travel to South Korea. I guarantee they will be treated to the most wonderful trip they have ever experienced. The Koreans will be so grateful for their help in the US that they repay the kindness ten fold.


They Traveled From South Korea. They Got Stranded Near Buffalo.

A South Korean tour group’s van became stuck in the snow outside a house in Williamsville, N.Y. They spent the weekend with the residents — who luckily had a well-stocked kitchen.

nytimes.com · by Christine Chung · December 25, 2022

Alexander Campagna, a dentist, and his wife, Andrea, a nurse practitioner, hosted 10 stranded South Korean visitors who were in a tour group headed to Niagara Falls. Credit...Alexander Campagna

Alexander Campagna and his wife, Andrea, lifelong residents of Buffalo, were ready to wait the blizzard out. They had stocked the fridge and planned for a quiet holiday weekend indoors at their home in suburban Williamsville, N.Y., as long as the power stayed on.

Then, on Friday at 2 p.m., with the storm already swirling and snow rapidly piling up, making roads impassable, there was a knock at the door. Two men, part of a group of nine tourists from South Korea that was traveling to Niagara Falls, asked for shovels to dig their passenger van out of a ditch.

And so an unlikely holiday weekend began, with the Campagnas welcoming the travelers, along with their driver, as house guests. They became “accidental innkeepers,” said Mr. Campagna, a 40-year-old dentist.

Before leaving on Friday morning from Washington, D.C., the tour participants, most of them from Seoul, seemed unaware of the worrisome forecast, said Yoseb Choi, 27, who is from Pyeongtaek. He was traveling with his wife, Claire, on the tour, which they had booked for their honeymoon.

A day earlier, he had grown concerned after receiving messages from friends alerting him to the coming storm. On Friday, the van ride was slippery and windy, and the passengers had become anxious, he said.

Then, after hours of watching the weather deteriorate outside the van’s windows, they ended up stranded near the Campagna house, Mr. Choi said.

The Campagnas, well aware of the dangers the storm presented, immediately invited the travelers in, “knowing, as a Buffalonian, this is on another level, the Darth Vader of storms,” Mr. Campagna said.

The visitors — seven women and three men — filled the three-bedroom house, sleeping on couches, sleeping bags, an air mattress and in the home’s guest bedroom. The other travelers included parents with their daughter, an Indiana college student, and two college-age friends from Seoul. Three of them spoke English proficiently.

They spent the weekend swapping stories, watching the Buffalo Bills defeat the Chicago Bears on Christmas Eve and sharing delicious Korean home-cooked meals prepared by the guests, like jeyuk bokkeum, a spicy stir-fried pork dish, and dakdori tang, a chicken stew laced with fiery red pepper. To the surprise and glee of the Korean guests, Mr. Campagna and his wife, who are both fans of Korean food, had all the necessary condiments on hand: mirin, soy sauce, Korean red pepper paste, sesame oil and chili flakes. There was also kimchi and a rice cooker.

“It was kind of like fate,” Mr. Choi said, remarking on the luck of arriving at the Campagnas’ doorstep with their fully stocked kitchen and unhesitating hospitality. He said the hosts were “the kindest people I have ever met.”

One of the guests, the mother of the Indiana college student, was a fabulous cook, he said.

“We destroyed so much food,” he added.

Mr. Campagna said that the unexpected guests had been a delight.

“We have enjoyed this so much,” he said, calling it a “unique blessing,” and adding that the experience has inspired the couple to plan a visit to South Korea. “We will never forget this.”

Mr. Choi said he had spent some of his high school years learning English in Michigan and Kansas, but his wife had never been to the United States, so the tour was a chance to travel to several cities she was eager to see. The plan had been to visit New York City, Washington, Niagara Falls and Montreal.

After landing in New York City on Dec. 21 for the tour, which was operated by a South Korean company called Yellow Balloon, they visited the Empire State Building and the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, took the ferry to the Statue of Liberty, browsed the Museum of Modern Art and checked out the Oculus at the World Trade Center, all in one day. In Washington, they visited the White House, the Lincoln Memorial and one of the Smithsonian museums.

“We were tired, but it was exciting,” Mr. Choi said. Even the unexpected snow disaster contributed to the experience, he said, allowing the couple to experience a “warm welcome from real Americans.”

On Sunday, the snow was winding down and the road was plowed, but the van remained stuck. Drivers arrived to pick up the tourists, who were returning to New York City, where most of them will fly back to South Korea in the middle of the week. Mr. Choi said he and his wife will stay a bit longer to celebrate New Year’s Day in Times Square.

Had they been stranded for another night, they had been thinking bulgogi — Korean grilled beef — for Christmas dinner.

Jack Begg contributed research.

nytimes.com · by Christine Chung · December 25, 2022




14. N. Korea urges loyalty to leader Kim ahead of children's union congress


Like all despots there are only three things Kim demands: Loyalty. Loyalty. Loyalty.


(LEAD) N. Korea urges loyalty to leader Kim ahead of children's union congress | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by 이원주 · December 26, 2022

(ATTN: CHANGES headline, lead; CORRECTS info on opening of congress; UPDATES with comments from unification ministry in paras 3-4)

SEOUL, Dec. 26 (Yonhap) -- North Korea publicly called for loyalty to its leader Kim Jong-un on the occasion of a congress of a major children's group in Pyongyang opening for the first time in five years, according to its state media Monday.

The Rodong Sinmun, the North's main newspaper, said the members of the Korean Children's Union (KCU) participating in the 9th Congress received certificates of delegation Sunday. The opening of the congress seems to be imminent given that the certificates have been handed out to the members that arrived in the capital Tuesday.

South Korea's unification ministry said the North appears to be planning to open the congress "later than usual," pointing out that it previously kicked off two to four days after the members' arrival in Pyongyang.

"We expect the congress to open soon, as North Korea reported this morning that the members received their certificates for the 9th Congress," the ministry's spokesperson Cho Joong-hoon told a regular press briefing.

In another article, the paper called on children to show their loyalty to Kim, saying, "No other children in the world enjoy happiness" as much as the KCU and continue the "bloodline of the revolution."

The KCU, formed in 1946, is a youth organization composed of children aged around 7 to 13. Its members are known for wearing red neckerchiefs.

The latest KCU meeting marks the third of its kind since Kim took power in 2011. Kim took part in both the 7th Congress in 2013 and the 8th in June 2017.

Whether Kim's publicly revealed daughter, presumed to be his second child Ju-ae, will attend the event is one of the major points of attention, according to observers.

The North revealed Kim's daughter for the first time last month as it test-fired a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile on Nov. 18.


#shorts


julesyi@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by 이원주 · December 26, 2022


15. The Future Of Korean Diplomacy – OpEd


Conclusion:


Given these urgent tasks, South Korea needs a well-functioning democracy like never before. The challenge is that Koreans disagree vehemently about how to achieve it. That, of course, is the double edge of democracy. It gives people the voice to choose leaders, but it also gives them the voice to air grievances. The trick of it is to find political leadership and broadly popular policies that can generate liberty and justice for all—and not just part of the population.


The Future Of Korean Diplomacy – OpEd

eurasiareview.com · by John Feffer · December 26, 2022

The German government recently arrested 25 members of a conspiratorial right-wing group plotting to overthrow the government. One of those arrested was a member of a defunct German royal family that the group hoped to install as Germany’s new leader.


In the United States, the Republican Party did well enough in the mid-term elections to take over one chamber of Congress. The Party is still dominated by supporters of Donald Trump who believe that the 2020 presidential election was “stolen” as well as many of the congressional races that Republicans lost in 2022.

A failed coup has landed Peruvian President Pedro Castillo in jail, and the country is now convulsed with protests by his supporters who continue to believe that he is a voice of the poor and powerless.

These are just three recent examples of the challenges that democracy faces around the world. Freedom House’s Freedom in the World report released last February, ominously titled “The Global Expansion of Authoritarian Rule,” concluded that the state of democracy hasn’t been this bad in 25 years:

The present threat to democracy is the product of 16 consecutive years of decline in global freedom. A total of 60 countries suffered declines over the past year, while only 25 improved. As of today, some 38 percent of the global population live in Not Free countries, the highest proportion since 1997.

The Freedom House report came out just before Russia invaded Ukraine, which is perhaps the most frightening example of this trend away from democracy. In what was once the Soviet Union, an authoritarian state (Russia) aligned with other authoritarian countries (Belarus, North Korea) is waging war on a democratic state (Ukraine) allied with other democratic countries (Europe, the United States). There is no starker picture of the challenges that democracy faces in the world today.


South Korea is a democratic country with a vibrant civil society. Its score in the Freedom House report in 2022 is the same as it was the previous year, namely 83 (out of 100). In fact, that number has barely changed over the last five years, so there has been no backsliding according to Freedom House.

To be sure, a lot of countries score better on this democracy index than Korea, some of them perhaps surprising: Uruguay (97), Japan (96), Cyprus (93), Palau (92), Belize (87), and Mongolia (84). The problems that have lowered Korea’s score have been around for years: corruption, lack of respect for minority rights, “national security” restrictions related to views deemed to be “pro-North Korean.”

The scandals that enveloped Park Geun-Hye and her administration underscored several of these democratic defects. But her impeachment in 2017 also proved that South Korean democracy could correct itself. And, according to one poll, South Korean satisfaction with democracy actually increased from 2019 to 2021.

So, why have some analysts begun talking about “democratic decay” in South Korea? According to a recent Pew survey of 19 countries, South Koreans topped the poll in terms of public concerns over strong partisan conflict within society. This is perhaps not so surprising given how close and vitriolic the 2022 presidential election was, with Yoon Suk-yeol winning by less than one percent of the vote. In his inaugural address, Yoon spoke of a democratic “crisis” in the country, which he connected to the rise of anti-intellectual and anti-rational forces.

At one level, this democratic unease in South Korea mirrors the global trend. Globalization has increased economic inequality within countries – for instance, South Korea now has the second highest income gap among industrialized countries – and voters are increasingly unhappy with the political parties that have presided over this economic transformation. Not surprisingly, economic polarization has produced political polarization.

Technology has given new means of expressing this dissatisfaction through social media platforms that challenge narratives coming from mainstream media. Conspiracy theories have become omnipresent. Around Park’s impeachment in 2017, for instance, a flurry of fake news generated by Park supporters—tying the scandals to North Korea, announcing that Donald Trump or other politicians backed Park—flooded social media. Conspiracy theories still circulate about the Gwangju uprising, while more recent fake news involve COVID and even QAnon.

The global decline of center-left and center-right parties has been accompanied by a surge in far-right candidates as well as populists like Rodrigo Duterte in the Philippines and Nayib Bukele in El Salvador who claim to be independent. In this environment, it has become increasingly difficult to broker consensus across the political spectrum in favor of economic policy, foreign policy, or any other matter.

But the democratic crisis in Korea is also a reflection of some unique factors. Political parties in Korea are generally built around particular candidates and don’t represent the kind of ideological platform generated by a Social Democratic or Christian Democratic party. In Korea’s contentious political environment, different “tribes” have emerged that resemble the fan base of sports teams—Nosamo versus Parksamo, gae-ddal versus yideanam—which does not encourage much in the way of political compromise or independent thinking. Pre-existing social divisions—around gender or age—reinforce these “tribal” affiliations.

Korea doesn’t face the same kind of democratic crisis that has convulsed Peru or the United States. There hasn’t been a risk of a military coup for several decades. A dangerous populist leader like Donald Trump has yet to become popular in Korea.

Still, Korea’s democratic crisis is worrisome. The country needs a consensus policy on North Korea that can gain broad support in the way that Ostpolitik was embraced by the center left and center right in Germany in the 1970s. South Korea needs to implement a climate policy to shift to a fossil-fuel-free future (preferably along with North Korea). It needs an economic policy that can address rampant inequality.

Given these urgent tasks, South Korea needs a well-functioning democracy like never before. The challenge is that Koreans disagree vehemently about how to achieve it. That, of course, is the double edge of democracy. It gives people the voice to choose leaders, but it also gives them the voice to air grievances. The trick of it is to find political leadership and broadly popular policies that can generate liberty and justice for all—and not just part of the population.

*About the author: John Feffer is the director of Foreign Policy In Focus. His latest book is Right Across the World: The Global Networking of the Far-Right and the Left Response.

Source: This article was published by FPIF and originally published in Hankyoreh.

eurasiareview.com · by John Feffer · December 26, 2022




16. China’s Police Stations Worldwide and a Strange Chinese Restaurant in Seoul



China’s Police Stations Worldwide and a Strange Chinese Restaurant in Seoul


DECEMBER 24, 2022


 LAST MODIFIED DATE​ ​DECEMBER 26, 2022

https://eastasiaresearch.org/2022/12/24/chinas-police-stations-worldwide-and-a-strange-chinese-restaurant-in-seoul/

2022-12-24, Tara O

Safeguard Defenders, a Spain-based rights group, exposed China’s extraterritoriality by discovering China operating extralegal police stations in at least 50 foreign countries in a report “110 Overseas Chinese Transnational Policing Gone Wild.” 110 is the emergency number for the police in China. The operation includes the involuntary return of Chinese people, the report noted. By November 2022, 14 countries began investigating the matter, including the Netherlands and Ireland, which shut down the illegal Chinese police stations in their countries. A follow-up investigative report added South Korea to the list of additional countries found, where China’s police stations operate, but it did not have a precise location. As a result, the South Korean government has begun investigating

Source: Safeguard Defenders’ report

South Korean authorities began looking into a Chinese restaurant in Seoul as a possible base for China’s secret police stations in South Korea. The restaurant had many strange characteristics. The restaurant had a sign “We only take customers with reservations. Please understand” (예약 손님만 받습니다. 이해해주시기 바랍니다) on the door. Hoverlab (Garo Sero Yonguso) visited the restaurant in question, named Dongbang Myungjoo (동방명주), which was a huge, multi-story restaurant on the Han River in the middle of Seoul. The restaurant staff was not interested in serving food to customers, but rather stated they take reservations only, repeating the words of the sign on the front door, although the large restaurant was empty. (1:34) The staff then said they do not take reservations, contradicting the sign and their earlier and later statements. (2:38) They wanted the Youtubers to leave, and when they were out of the building, someone else from the restaurant ran up to them and wanted their business cards, so the person can “report” (bogo)—this term “bogo,” means reporting the information up to his superior, which is different than “shin-go,” which is the term used for reporting information to the police.

Chinese Restaurant Dongbang Myungjoo on the Han River, Seoul

The location of the restaurant provides a fantastic, unobstructed view of the Han River. If used for other purposes, it is in an ideal location for observation, infiltration, and exfiltration, among other possibilities.

The Chinese restaurant Dongbang Myungjoo is on the Han River with no obstructions to its view of its immediate surroundings.

The restaurant in relation to other landmarks in Seoul

The restaurant in the greater Metropolitan area of Seoul with waterways going to the West Sea

The restaurant in relation to China

The distance between the restaurant and the closest part of China’s Shandong peninsula is about 230 nautical miles by boat. 

The Han River Estuary by the West Sea has been a traditional invasion route for thousands of years. For many years, there was a dam on the Han River Estuary that prevented boats from sailing up the river and into Seoul, but it appears to have disappeared. A lack of a barrier to sailing up the Han River would make this “restaurant” an ideal location to facilitate the involuntary return of Chinese people by sea as well as an ideal intelligence collection location and observation point to support Chinese military operations on the Han River.

It turns out that the restaurant’s office opened just across the street from the National Assembly in Yoido, Seoul. The business registry shows that it opened the office in December 2020 on the 9th floor of the building, the same floor as the Seoul Bureau of China Central Television (CCTV), China’s state-run media. The restaurant appears to be already operational prior to opening the office at Yoido.

When journalists from Yonhap visited the restaurant, the restaurant worker said Dongbang Myungjoo will close at the end of the month (December 2021). Will they move to another location in Korea? Is this the only one or are there more?

Categories:ChinaLawNational SecuritySouth Korea

Tags:extraterritorialitypolice station








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

email: david.maxwell161@gmail.com


V/R
David Maxwell
Senior Fellow
Foundation for Defense of Democracies
Phone: 202-573-8647
Personal Email: david.maxwell161@gmail.com
Web Site: www.fdd.org
Twitter: @davidmaxwell161
Subscribe to FDD’s new podcastForeign Podicy
FDD is a Washington-based nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.

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

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

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