Quotes of the Day:
“You stand up because you believe, not because you want to win. I don't want you add more hate to this world. We have enough.”
- Dave Connis, Suggested Reading
"There is no higher honor than to serve free men and women."
- President George H.W. Bush
"Living is like tearing through a museum. Not until later do you really start absorbing what you saw, thinking about it, looking it up in a book, and remembering — because you can't take it all in at once."
- Coco Channel
1. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III and South Korean Defense Minister Suh Wook Hold a Press Conference Following the 53rd U.S.-Republic of Korea Security Consultative Meeting in Seoul
2. N. Korea to hold key party meeting as leader Kim set to mark 10 years in power
3. S.Korea, U.S. to Update War Plans Against N.Korea
4. South Korea relaunches aircraft carrier plan
5. Top Chinese official expresses support for Seoul's pursuit of end-of-war declaration: embassy
6. U.S., S.Korea eye broader Asia role while sprucing up N.Korea plans
7. With Omicron spreading, N. Korea’s coronavirus response headquarters calls for strengthened quarantine efforts
8. U.N. excludes N. Korea from humanitarian aid plans for two straight years
9. N. Korea conducts final screening of project aimed at developing military reconnaissance satellites
10. More details emerge about N. Korean defector who escaped prison in China’s Jilin Province
11. North Korean waitresses in China are made to work without masks
12. New tax hits already meager earnings of North Korea spring water sellers
13. ＜Inside N. Korea＞ For Some Reason, the Power Situation Suddenly Improves. So Why do Some Cities Get 10 Hours of Power a Day?
14. North Korean Hackers Impersonated Samsung Recruiters by Sending Fake Job Offers
15. The U.S. Wants South Korea To Help Take On The Chinese Military As Well As North Korea
16. Allies expressed concern over Washington’s revision of NPR
1. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III and South Korean Defense Minister Suh Wook Hold a Press Conference Following the 53rd U.S.-Republic of Korea Security Consultative Meeting in Seoul
Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III and South Korean Defense Minister Suh Wook Hold a Press Conference Following the 53rd U.S.-Republic of Korea Security Consultative Meeting in Seoul
DEC. 2, 2021
Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III; Suh Wook, Defense Minister, Republic Of Korea
DEFENSE MINISTER SUH WOOK (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): Through the 53rd ROK-U.S. Security Consultative Meeting, Secretary Austin and I exchanged broad, honest views on the security landscape of both the Korean Peninsula and the region, including in depth discussions on the major ROK-U.S. alliance agenda. As the first SCM to be held since the start of the Biden administration, today's meeting served as an opportunity to reaffirm once again the solidarity of the ROK-U.S. alliance, which has been maintained steadfastly over the past 68 years.
Indeed, in evaluating and reviewing the progress and achievements in major alliance agenda through consultation between both our countries since -- countries since last SCM, I assess that we prepare the framework to upgrade the ROK-U.S. alliance to a new level.
In this year's SCM, Secretary Austin and I assess the conclusion of the 11th Special Measures Agreement negotiations. The secretary and I share the view that through the successful execution of Operation Miracle, we demonstrated the value of the ROK-U.S. alliance to the entire world.
In addition, in reviewing the progress made by -- via ROK-U.S. joint efforts, including the return of the Yongsan Garrison and transition of wartime OPCON, we share the view that the ROK-U.S. alliance, based on mutual trust and shared values, is more steadfast than it had been in any other past period.
First, the secretary and I assess that the ROK-U.S. alliance maintains formidable combined effective posture based on the Mutual Defense Treaty between the United States and the Republic of Korea, and the combined command post training 21-2 -- excuse me, 21-1 and 21-2, were successfully conducted even under COVID-19. Furthermore, the secretary and I reaffirmed the U.S. commitment towards combined defense and provision of extended deterrence. Additionally, the secretary and I reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to continue maintaining the current force level of the U.S. Forces Korea.
Furthermore, the ROK and the U.S. agreed to continue cooperating in order to achieve the shared objective of complete denuclearization of and establishment of permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula based on the ROK-U.S. alliance, linchpin peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia. The ROK and the U.S. agreed that the current inter-Korean and pledged based U.S.-North Korea diplomacy and dialogue are absolutely necessary in achieving permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula, and agreed to continue backstopping the government diplomatic efforts while maintaining combined defense posture and international sanctions.
In addition, Secretary Austin and I assess that the confidence of military agreement contributes to the prevention of accidental clashes on the Korean Peninsula, and agreed to continue the related cooperation between the ROK and U.S. defense authorities while supporting inter-Korean dialogue, engagement and cooperation.
Furthermore, Secretary Austin and I share the view that through ROK-U.S. joint efforts, tremendous progress has been made to satisfy the conditions for OPCON transition and discussed the ways ahead. Considering the changed situation, the ROK and the U.S. have pushed ahead the comprehensive joint study on conditions-based OPCON transition plan capabilities, and have carried out a review to revise the annexes and appendices, evoking a change on basic text which was public -- published to swiftly proceed with COTP.
In today's meeting, we share the many progress statuses related to these two tasks and agreed to conclude them within the next year. In addition, reaffirming the conditions listed in the COTP must be sufficiently satisfied, we decided to execute the future CFC/FOC assessment in 2022. The fact that we agreed to conduct a future CFC/FOC assessment next year to focus bilateral consultation may be assessed as the ROK and the U.S. achieving another progress regarding OPCON transition discussions.
Today's meeting also included in-depth discussions on cooperation between the ROK and the U.S. and with other friendly countries for the promotion of security in the region, as well as means to enhance multilateral cooperation. In particular, the ROK and the U.S. agreed on the importance of ROK-U.S.-Japan trilateral security cooperation for responding to North Korea's nuclear and missile threats, and agreed to explore cooperation means to connect our New Southern Policy and the U.S.-Indo-Pacific strategy.
Furthermore, in consensus that space and cyber have become core domains gravely influencing national security, Secretary Austin and I agreed to strengthen cooperation in various areas in order to enhance the alliance's comprehensive response capabilities.
In addition, the ROK and the U.S. reaffirmed the position to return a significant portion of the Yongsan Garrison's land until -- by 2022, and agreed to push ahead with the terms as soon as protection measures are completed for Yongsan Garrison areas that are no longer in use. We also review the progress status of the CFC Headquarters relocation to Camp Humphreys; agreed to complete the relocation within the next year.
Above all else, I would like to express great -- great satisfaction that today's meeting proceeded under a notably friendly atmosphere based on personal trust between Secretary Austin and me initially formed when we first met in March. It was through this friendly atmosphere that particularly frank and constructive exchange of views on various topics was possible, and the secretary and I gained conviction that the ROK-U.S. alliance will further develop in a future oriented and mutually-complementary manner.
I extend my special gratitude to Secretary Austin and the U.S. delegation for traveling a long way from home for today's Security Consultative Meeting. I am convinced the ROK -- the Republic of Korea and the United States will continue developing into a global alliance jointly responding to many challenges facing us, while resolutely maintaining combined defense posture.
Thank you.
STAFF: (UNTRANSLATED)
SECRETARY OF DEFENSE LLOYD J. AUSTIN III: Well, good afternoon, everyone.
And Minister Suh, thanks for welcoming me back to Seoul, and for the second time this year. That's yet another testament to the importance of the alliance between the United States and the Republic of Korea.
Our commitment to the U.S.-ROK alliance remains ironclad, and our alliance serves as a linchpin of peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and in the Indo-Pacific.
Now today, we completed the 53rd U.S.-ROK Security Consultative Meeting, the capstone annual event for our alliance, and I'd like to give a sense of what we achieved. We discussed a wide range of topics, including our unity in the face of the threat from North Korea and our progress in our bilateral alliance, readiness and training exercises, and the ways that this alliance contributes to stability throughout the Indo-Pacific.
We also reaffirmed our shared assessment that the DPRK is continuing to advance its missile and weapons programs, which is increasingly destabilizing for regional security. The United States and the ROK remain committed to a diplomatic approach to the DPRK, and we continue to call upon the DPRK to engage in dialogue. But we also discussed measures to enhance our combined deterrence posture and to defend against the -- a full range of threats. We also approved new strategic planning guidance, an important step forward to frame forthcoming alliance planning efforts.
Minister Suh and I exchanged views on the importance of the “fight tonight” readiness of our combined force, and we explored opportunities to further enhance that readiness through new and different approaches to regional training. The minister and I also agreed to conduct a full operational capability assessment of our future Combined Forces Command during next fall's combined command post training. This represents an important task toward meeting the conditions necessary for OPCON transition.
Additionally, we discussed ways to broaden our alliance's focus to address issues of regional concern. We shared our assessments of the changing and complex regional security environment, and we emphasize our shared commitment to the rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific.
We also reaffirmed the importance of deepening trilateral security cooperation among the U.S., the Republic of Korea and Japan. And moreover, we worked to build upon the commitment made by President Biden and President Moon to align the ROK's New Southern Policy and America's Indo-Pacific strategy, and we agreed to explore ways to expand and enhance regional security cooperation and capacity building.
So it's been a very productive visit, and that's why we always look forward to being here. For more than seven decades, our alliance has stood together shoulder-to-shoulder to confront challenges to peace and security. So as we look forward to the next seven decades we remain united by our shared values and our history of shared sacrifices, and we look ahead together to new opportunities, building on our long-standing friendship and trust.
Thank you.
STAFF: We'll now take questions from the media. If you're -- if you want to ask a question, please raise your hand and introduce yourself and which agency you're from.
QUESTION: Thank you. (inaudible) for YTN, Korea's 24-hour news channel.
I have one question to Secretary of Defense Austin. First of all, welcome back to South Korea, Your Excellency. To counter pacing threats of China and North Korea, does the United States have a plan to bring back tactical nuclear weapons to South Korea and share them with South Korea like NATO, or reinforce specific capabilities of THAAD, the former USFK Commander Abrams already mentioned, or military capabilities related to ballistic missile defense in Korea?
SEC. AUSTIN: Yeah, so nothing's changed about our goal. We seek the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, and we believe the best way to achieve that goal is a calibrated and practical approach to explore diplomacy with the DPRK, and that's obviously backed up by a credible deterrent and military readiness. And so we'll continue to consult closely with the Republic of Korea and Japan and other allies and partners every step of the way.
MIN. SUH (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): Yes, the question was on the Strategic Planning Guidance. The Strategic Planning Guidance is a policy guidance -- guidance that is given to the -- our military committee in order for -- in order to develop our -- the combined OPLAN, and it's from a policy-level guidance to the military committee. While the SPG -- SPG that is signd in 2010 is still in effect, there have been changes to the threats that we face, as well as changes to our military organization per Defense Reforms 2.0, as well as changed in the combined -- combined defense structure. We share the recognition that there have been such changes, and in order for us to effectively develop a new OPLAN, we have -- we -- we have agreed to deliver a new SPG to the military committee.
And in terms of the end-of-war declaration, it is a political -- a political announcement, political declaration, so it'll be difficult to say that the end-of-war declaration and the SPG have any specific relations to each other.
STAFF: (UNTRANSLATED)
QUESTION: Hello, Minister Suh. I'm Tara Copp with Defense One.
The Republic of Korea has had an important trade relationship with China. Former Japan Prime Minister Abe suggested this week that if China attacks Taiwan, Japan would come to Taiwan's defense. Would South Korea's military also come to the -- Taiwan's defense if China attacked? And then second, if President Biden affirms a no-first-use policy for nuclear weapons, would South Korea need to develop its own?
And then Secretary Austin, should South Korea and Japan be concerned by China's hypersonic missile launch this summer? And are you concerned that China has shown the capability to launch a missile that can achieve orbit? Secondly, the U.S. has not conducted a large-scale military exercise with South Korea since 2019. Do you expect that these large-scale exercises will be reinstated under the Biden administration? And then last, how can you reassure allies, including South Korea, that the U.S. will continue to provide extended deterrence if the Nuclear Posture Review determines there will be no-first-use policy?
Thank you.
MIN. SUH (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): Today during our discussions, we mostly focused our discussions on the alliance response capabilities. The Republic of Korea and the United States are a global partnership, and we're working -- we're working closely together, cooperating to ensure the peace and stability of the entire world, and we're still -- we're always exploring different means for continued cooperation between our countries. And rather than discussing threats from a -- specific countries, we -- we are continuing to explore the cooperation areas, potential cooperation areas between our government's New Southern Policy and the U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy.
In terms of North Korea and the missile threats -- missile threats that are arising from changes in the U.S. nuclear policy, we do have -- between our countries, we do have the Deterrence Strategy Committee -- we -- where we -- where we continue to discuss -- continue to discuss to effectively deter and respond to North Korea's nuclear missile threats. DSC -- the DSC also carries out various activities, including tabletop exercises to prepare against such contingencies. And the secretary and I share the view that -- share the view that the alliance has -- alliance has sufficient preparations and efforts in future, coming forward.
And the -- and furthermore, the Republic of Korea and the United States reaffirmed that -- reaffirmed the continued maintenance of the ROK-U.S. Combined Defense Posture and the -- and the ironclad U.S. extended deterrence commitment.
SEC. AUSTIN: So regarding hypersonics, as we've said before, we -- we have concerns about the military capabilities that the PRC continues to pursue, and the pursuit of those capabilities increases tensions in the region -- region. And we know that China conducted a test of a hypersonic weapon on the 27th of July. It just underscores why we consider the PRC to be our pacing challenge. And we'll continue to maintain the capabilities to defend and deter against a range of -- of potential threats from the PRC to ourselves and to our allies.
And I would just point out that the -- the hypersonic capability is a capability, but certainly not the only capability that the PRC has the capability to develop, and my job is to focus on the broader picture and to make sure that we can defend ourselves against any and all threats.
Regarding the training, as you would expect, military readiness is a priority for Minister Suh and me. When we say we're ready to “fight tonight,” we really mean it, so training is important. I've discovered over the short 41 years that I spent in uniform that troops will fight exactly as they train, and so training is important.
I would highlight to you that any decision that we make about training events, as we -- I've always done, those decisions will be made together, and we don't have any announcements to make today.
Thanks.
STAFF: (UNTRANSLATED)
QUESTION: My name is (inaudible) from (inaudible) News Agency, and my question goes to Secretary Austin. I also would like to say welcome back to Seoul, sir.
I would ask you about the -- the AUKUS security platform and -- and White House Coordinator Kurt Campbell. He called it an open architecture, meaning that this can be sort of expanded to include more members, especially in the Indo-Pacific. So as a Pentagon chief, do you regard South Korea as a potential member of the security platform, the new security platform? And -- and -- and if so, what do you think about South Korea's role within that security platform? And have you given any thought to the idea of South Korea securing a nuclear-powered submarine? Because South Korea has been considering it for -- for quite some time.
And -- and in a related news, you have just completed the Global Posture Review and -- and we know that some -- some decision vis-a-vis the U.S. Forces Korea. That -- but other than the -- the announced decision, do you think that there is any force posture reinforcements vis-a-vis the strengthening of the U.S. Forces Korea? And -- and was there any consideration vis-a-vis the scope of the U.S. Forces Korea? For example, like, you know, to -- to -- to counter the -- the -- what you call the pacing challenge from China?
Thank you.
SEC. AUSTIN: Okay, regarding the AUKUS agreement, that agreement is specific to Australia and it answers some of Australia's pressing needs, and it's in the initial stages of -- of development there, and we're going to work very hard to -- to address requirements going forward. But it will give us capability that will be relevant to the region for some time to come.
I would just point to you that the -- our alliance with the ROK is very strong, and we talked a lot about that today, the number -- that all the things that we're doing to strengthen that alliance even -- even further, and -- and we did not discuss this capability.
Regarding the GPR, of course, I believe that what's contained in the document is pretty straightforward and clear. You see in the document a continued commitment to the defense of -- of the ROK, and we're going to do what we need to do to continue to work together, train together and be ready to -- to fight tonight. And we don't have any -- don't contemplate any -- any announcements; don't have any announcements to make regarding force posture changes today.
STAFF: (UNTRANSLATED)
QUESTION: Thank you. Jeff Seldin with Voice of America.
Minister Suh, how does the Republic of Korea see itself stepping into the larger regional role that these talks envision? Do you think that it will help when it comes to North Korea, or is there a risk it might help fuel -- fuel tensions in the region?
And Secretary Austin, what are you seeing right now from the Russian forces along the border with Ukraine? Are they continuing to grow in number? And how likely is it that they may attack Ukraine? Also, Secretary of State Blinken has spoken about sanctions against Russia. Would the U.S. or NATO response to Russia be limited to economic consequences, or does Moscow need to understand its provocations risk an international military response?
Thank you.
MIN. SUH (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): Our government's New Southern Policy is based on the principles of openness, transparency, inclusivity, as well as respect for international rules. And I -- I believe it is -- it is in line to the alliance with the U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy whose goals are to -- whose -- whose goals are to maintain a rules-based order in the region, as well as a open and free regional -- regional environment. Our government's position is that we will continue to respect and adhere to the international rules, as well as a rules-based order, and we have -- we have shared the view today through our meeting that we'll continue looking for a -- continue looking for areas of mutual cooperation. And furthermore, as a global -- global partnership that seeks to maintain peace and the entire world, we'll continue looking -- continue coordinating very much closely together, as well as continue to look for areas of -- areas of mutual cooperation. However, in terms of actual specific means, specific measures in terms of these -- this cooperation, these were not discussed in today's meeting.
SEC. AUSTIN: So as you know, there -- Russia has a substantial amount of forces in the border region, and we remain concerned about that. We also see troubling rhetoric -- rhetoric in the infospace. We've heard President Zelenskyy express concern about efforts to undermine his administration. And so we remain concerned, and we would encourage -- you've heard me encourage President Putin publicly before to be more transparent, and we would hope that he would do so.
In terms of potential responses, I don't -- I won't -- I don't care to speculate on potential responses. I would just say that, you know, we'll use -- we'll -- we'll continue to use the -- the -- the best methods to -- to address whatever the situation is that occurs. And again, whatever we do will be done as a part of an international community.
The best case, though, is that we won't see an incursion by the Soviet Union into Ukraine. And so we -- we would hope that -- that, you know, Putin would be a lot more transparent and they -- we would work to resolve issues and concerns and -- and lower the temperature in the regions.
Thanks.
STAFF: That concludes the international Korean press conference. Thank you very much.
42:03
2. N. Korea to hold key party meeting as leader Kim set to mark 10 years in power
Another meeting. Just recall the adage: Any problem can be made insoluble if enough meetings are held to discuss it. north Korea's problems are insoluble.
(2nd LD) N. Korea to hold key party meeting as leader Kim set to mark 10 years in power | Yonhap News Agency
(ATTN: ADDS Seoul's official's comments in paras 6-8; RECASTS lead, 2nd para)
By Choi Soo-hyang
SEOUL, Dec. 2 (Yonhap) -- North Korea will hold a key party meeting later this month to discuss plans for the new year, Pyongyang's state media reported Thursday, raising expectations the North could announce its key domestic and foreign policy directions.
The North made the decision during a politburo meeting of the ruling Workers' Party held the previous day, presided over by leader Kim Jong-un, where he called 2021 a year of "victory," according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
"The 4th Plenary Meeting of the 8th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea is to be convened in the last third of December to review the implementation of major Party and the state policies for 2021 and to discuss and decide on work plans for new year," the KCNA said.
North Korea could use the upcoming session as a venue to unveil key policy directions for 2022 and highlight Kim's accomplishments as the North is set to mark the 10th anniversary of his rise to power later this month.
In December 2019, Kim delivered a speech at a four-day plenary session of the party and skipped his annual New Year's Day address for the first time since taking office.
"We will closely monitor the plenary session, as the North's stance on South Korea and the United States could also be discussed," an official at Seoul's unification ministry told reporters on background.
This month's plenary session will mark the 11th held under Kim and the fourth this year alone.
"The North has been frequently holding politburo meetings and plenary sessions to decide key policy issues after Kim rose to power in an indication the party has become a core decision-making platform," the official added.
During Wednesday's meeting, Kim said North Korea should "wage a very giant struggle," as it did this year, and ordered to lay a strong foundation for the country's five-year economic plan.
"General Secretary Kim Jong-un referred to the fact that the major policy targets decided at the 8th Party Congress have been pushed forward forcefully and militantly all the year round ... though difficulties still lie in developing the country's economy," the KCNA said. "He noted that the appraisal of this year by the Party Central Committee is that it is the one of victory in general."
At the party congress in January, Kim called for achieving economic development under a new five-year plan after admitting to a failure in his previous development plan amid crippling sanctions and a protracted border closure due to COVID-19.
The last plenary session of the ruling party was held in June during which participants discussed food shortages, anti-pandemic efforts and other economic issues.
scaaet@yna.co.kr
(END)
3. S.Korea, U.S. to Update War Plans Against N.Korea
I do not think we realize how "epically" drawn-out the relocation out of Yongsan has been. When I arrived for my first (of 5) tour in Korea in 1986 at the DMZ, when we went to Seoul we were told Yongsan would be moving South. In the 1990s most all funding for maintenance and quality of life improvements at Yongsan stopped or was minimized because we expected at some future time we would be moving out of Yongsan (The commander had to go to great lengths to convince Congress to appropriate sufficient fund to sustain a basic level of quality of at Yongsan - interestingly my Air Force colleagues were told by the Air Force that assignment to Yongsan was considered substandard by Air Force standards). Then we gave up the Eighth Army golf course that was on Yongsan (to become a children's park and then later the site of the Korean National Museum). And then we have been preparing to move out of Yongsan since 2004.
But the real issue that is rarely discussed is that the move of the ROK/US Combined forces Command HQ has not been completed. This is because the decision was made prior to 2018 that the headquarters would remain in Seoul. Then after 2018 the decision was made to move it to Camp Humphreys. This turmoil must be having effect on the efficiency and effectiveness of the headquarters since there is a split with some US elements of CFC at Humphreys and some remininaingin in disperesed locations in Seoul (Yongsan) with no single headquarters location. I do not think we have ROK and US officers assigned to the ROK/US CFC working (and living) side by side 24/7 as they used to in Yongsan and they need to, to be the best combined organization we have ever been part of.
Excerpt:
They also agreed to complete the epically drawn-out relocation of Combined Forces Command from Yongsan in Seoul to Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province by next year. The final phase of relocation will begin around June so that the old site in the heart of Seoul can be returned to South Korea.
S.Korea, U.S. to Update War Plans Against N.Korea
December 03, 2021 12:52
The South Korean and U.S. militaries have agreed to update their wartime contingency plan for the first time in six years to respond to increasing nuclear and missile threat from North Korea.
The decision, which comes after North Korea launched a battery of new missiles, was made by Defense Minister Suh Wook and his U.S. counterpart Lloyd Austin during the annual Security Consultative Meeting in Seoul on Thursday.
The operational plan, or OPLAN for short, consists of various contingency scenarios based on an assessment of new North Korean threats over the next couple of years.
Washington has been calling for revising and updating the current OPLAN for several years. Since 2019, Pyongyang has tested or deployed new weapons targeting South Korea and the U.S. Forces Japan, including KN-23 Iskander missiles capable of avoiding radar detection, 600-mm super-large multiple rocket launchers, hypersonic missiles, long-range cruise missiles, and submarine-launched missiles.
Defense Minister Suh Wook (right) and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin greet each other with a fist bump in Seoul on Thursday. /Yonhap
The joint chiefs of staff of the two countries are expected to work out the new OPLAN together over the next couple of years.
The two defense chiefs also tackled the hairy issue of returning full operational control of South Korean troops in wartime to Seoul.
But they set no specific date and only agreed to conduct a full operational capability assessment during next fall's joint training. The assessment is the second part of a three-phase process to verify if a South Korean general would be capable of leading combined forces during wartime.
That means President Moon Jae-in's cherished ambition to transfer control during his tenure has been finally scuppered.
They also agreed to complete the epically drawn-out relocation of Combined Forces Command from Yongsan in Seoul to Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province by next year. The final phase of relocation will begin around June so that the old site in the heart of Seoul can be returned to South Korea.
- Copyright © Chosunilbo & Chosun.com
4. South Korea relaunches aircraft carrier plan
But I would rather they invest in this capability than a nuclear powered submarine.
Note also criticism from our good friend LTG(RET) CHun In Bum:
Even Chun, an opponent of the plan, admits the carrier will be a “prestige vessel” – a crown jewel and a technological leap for the local shipbuilding/defense sector.
“It could contribute to developing indigenous defense technologies,” he said. “I hope we get something out of it.”
Even so, the retired general added: “The logic is not convincing to me.”
Excerpts:
East Asia is engaged in an arms race with China, India, Japan and both Koreas adding multiple new capabilities. Now, on the carrier front, South Korea is catching up with the neighbors.
China already has two operational heavy carriers, Liaoning (67,000 tonnes) and Shandong (70,000 tonnes), with a third under construction and expected to launch next year. India conducted sea trials of its latest carrier, the Vikrant (45,000 tonnes) his year.
Also this year, Japan converted its so-called “helicopter destroyer” (27,000 tonnes) into a light carrier capable of operating F35B stealth fighters, with work underway on a second.
Preliminary reports of the South Korean ship’s displacement vary from 30,000-40,000 tonnes. It could field as many as 20 F35Bs.
A local aircraft carrier has been championed by President Moon Jae-in, who is pushing self-reliance in both defense and the local defense industry.
Chinese commanders of the People’s Liberation Army Navy direct J-15 fighter jets to take off from China’s aircraft carrier, The Liaoning, during a naval exercise in the western Pacific on April 20, 2018. Photo: AFP
He has also been promoting the transfer of OPCON – operational control of the South Korean armed forces – from its long-held US command to local command. However, as he is leaving office in March 2022, the build of the carrier and the eventual transfer of OPCON will be realized by his successors.
Still, Moon will certainly leave a legacy in the South Korean defense sector.
South Korea relaunches aircraft carrier plan
Seoul is a late entrant to Asia’s carrier race but questions hang over the need for such a pricey acquisition
SEOUL – South Korea’s navy looks set to get the kind of big, shiny toy that admirals lust for after the National Assembly made a big splash Friday by reversing an earlier decision and budgeting for an aircraft carrier.
The development plunges Asia’s fourth-largest economy into a regional carrier race that already boasts strong entrants from China, India and Japan. However, there are questions over whether the Republic of Korea Navy, or ROKN, needs such a vessel to project hard power – or simply wants one to project soft power.
“I think you will struggle to find two Koreans who can agree on the aircraft carrier,” a source familiar with naval affairs told Asia Times.
An apparent clash of motivations has been reflected in the budget push and pull on the project.
The National Assembly Friday agreed on a 7.2 billion won (US$6.1 million) budget for the weapon in a plenary vote, Yonhap news agency reported. That reversed a committee-level decision last month to reduce that budget to 500 million won, with members of the opposition stating that there was no national consensus on the need for the carrier.
Now, with South Korea’s National Assembly on Friday splurging on the country’s biggest annual budget ever, worth 607.7 trillion won ($516.42 billion) for 2022, an almost 9% increase over this year’s budget, the carrier project, or CVX, is back in play once more – part of a record defense budget.
Asia Times understands that the moderate amount of cash assigned in the preliminary budget is not for the vessel itself – the cost of which is likely to be many multiples of 7.2 billion won – but for the early tranches of consulting, feasibility studies and design work.
Two bids for the CVX have been made public.
The UK’s HMS Queen Elizabeth made a high-profile tour of the Indo-Pacific this year as the country seeks to project an image of ‘Global Britain.’ Photo: AFP / Adrian Dennis
British defense firm Babcock, designer of the Royal Navy’s two latest carriers, has signed a memorandum of understanding with local shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries. Italian shipbuilder Fincantiari has teamed up with Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering.
Designs circulating online show the CVX as a twin-island carrier, similar to the British Queen Elizabeth, which visited the region this year. However, there is variance in the bow design. Some versions have a take-off ramp, others do not.
There has been no bid – at least, not publicly – from the United States, which stations around 28,000 troops in Korea and which has for decades been South Korea’s key non-domestic arms supplier.
“The Americans are almost certainly circling the prize, but the US way of doing business is government-to-government offers,” said the source, who spoke to Asia Times on condition of anonymity. “Government bids can be more discrete – you can add other elements to the deal, and you can disclose as much or little as you want – so if the US is involved, I imagine it is behind closed doors.”
Asia’s crush on aircraft carriers
East Asia is engaged in an arms race with China, India, Japan and both Koreas adding multiple new capabilities. Now, on the carrier front, South Korea is catching up with the neighbors.
China already has two operational heavy carriers, Liaoning (67,000 tonnes) and Shandong (70,000 tonnes), with a third under construction and expected to launch next year. India conducted sea trials of its latest carrier, the Vikrant (45,000 tonnes) his year.
Also this year, Japan converted its so-called “helicopter destroyer” (27,000 tonnes) into a light carrier capable of operating F35B stealth fighters, with work underway on a second.
Preliminary reports of the South Korean ship’s displacement vary from 30,000-40,000 tonnes. It could field as many as 20 F35Bs.
A local aircraft carrier has been championed by President Moon Jae-in, who is pushing self-reliance in both defense and the local defense industry.
Chinese commanders of the People’s Liberation Army Navy direct J-15 fighter jets to take off from China’s aircraft carrier, The Liaoning, during a naval exercise in the western Pacific on April 20, 2018. Photo: AFP
He has also been promoting the transfer of OPCON – operational control of the South Korean armed forces – from its long-held US command to local command. However, as he is leaving office in March 2022, the build of the carrier and the eventual transfer of OPCON will be realized by his successors.
Still, Moon will certainly leave a legacy in the South Korean defense sector.
He won the lifting of a long-held cap on missile range applied by the US during his May summit with President Joe Biden. The fruits of that became clear within months, after South Korea publicly and successfully tested submarine-launched ballistic missiles.
The test launch of a satellite delivery rocket was less successful, but the height reached by the delivery vehicle suggests that Seoul now has the capability to create intermediate-range ballistic missiles.
It is not clear who these over-the-horizon assets are aimed at, given the geographical proximity of North Korea. Similar questions hang over the CVX – the future of which carrier will lie in the hands of the next president, who will take office in May, following a March election.
In a divergence from the global norm, liberal South Korean presidents tend to be more expeditionary and independent-minded on defense affairs. For example, the long-running OPCON transfer originated under Moon’s personal mentor, the late President Roh Moo-hyun, who held office from to 2003-2008.
Conservative presidents have tended to cleave closely to the country’s alliance with the US as a panacea for all defense issues. That may explain the slow pace of OPCON transfer during the two conservative administrations which fell between Roh and Moon.
Super weapon or gin palace?
There is considerable debate over how – or even whether – an aircraft carrier slots into South Korean defense doctrine.
“Those who believe in this need say we could support international operations beyond the Korean coastal areas,” Chun In-bum, a retired South Korean general, told Asia Times.
President Moon Jae-in has ambitious plans for the South Korean military. Photo: AFP
However, it is not clear what those might be. South Korea, since the Vietnam War, has taken part in multiple peace-keeping missions, including in Afghanistan, Iraq, the Red Sea and South Sudan, but has avoided entanglement in kinetic campaigns.
When it comes to humanitarian operations, the ROKN is already blue-water capable. “We have helicopter landing carriers, which looks a lot like a light aircraft carrier, to do those kinds of thing,” Chun said.
But there is another argument. The carrier’s promoters say it has a deterrent effect against North Korea, as it adds an element of offshore survivability to the national F35 fleet.
Promoters of the plan “say land-based air bases are vulnerable to a first-strike attack from North Korea, so this could be a good safe haven,” Chun said.
Yet critics of aircraft carriers argue that their huge size makes them especially vulnerable to missile and submarine threats. And North Korea, which specializes in missile technology, also fields a large, if low-tech, submarine fleet.
But beyond the hard power represented by military gear, there is also soft power. And for a nation that seeks to raise its profile on distant shores, an aircraft carrier has real applicability.
“Aircraft carriers are a sort of diplomatic tool that show off capability and global reach,” said the source familiar with naval affairs. He noted that the ability to dock in foreign ports and host cocktail parties on the flight deck at sunset was an issue in the build of the UK’s two latest carriers.
“Port visibility capability was a big factor in the British design, as a big argument for a conventional-powered ship is that a nuclear-powered ship can’t go to many places,” he said, listing as regional examples Japan, New Zealand and Australia.
(Albeit, a policy change is anticipated in the latter, which, following the AUKUS deal, will gain nuclear-powered submarines.)
Much is likely to happen in both South Korea and the wider world in the dozen years from drawing board to sea.
“A lot depends on what kind of nation Korea wants to be in 12 years’ time,” said the source.
Even Chun, an opponent of the plan, admits the carrier will be a “prestige vessel” – a crown jewel and a technological leap for the local shipbuilding/defense sector.
“It could contribute to developing indigenous defense technologies,” he said. “I hope we get something out of it.”
Even so, the retired general added: “The logic is not convincing to me.”
He said he would prefer that the money be invested on lower-profile, more everyday kit – such as logistics assets and the sustainability of military stockpiles.
5. Top Chinese official expresses support for Seoul's pursuit of end-of-war declaration: embassy
Of course they do. It is a useful tool to help try to drive a wedge in the ROK/US alliance and will contribute to their argument (along with the Kim family regime's) that US forces are no longer necessary in South Korea.
Top Chinese official expresses support for Seoul's pursuit of end-of-war declaration: embassy | Yonhap News Agency
TIANJIN, China, Dec. 3 (Joint Press Corps-Yonhap) -- A top Chinese official in charge of foreign affairs said Beijing supports Seoul's push for the declaration of a formal end to the 1950-53 Korean War, according to South Korea's embassy Friday.
Yang Jiechi, a member of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party, delivered the message during a meeting with Suh Hoon, director of national security at Cheong Wa Dae who serves as President Moon Jae-in's national security adviser, in China's eastern city of Tianjin the previous day, the embassy in Beijing said.
Yang was quoted as saying, "(We) support the push for the end-of-war declaration and believe that the end-of-war declaration will contribute to promoting peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula."
Yang, China's most senior foreign policy official, and Suh also reaffirmed the two sides will seek President Xi Jinping's visit to South Korea as soon as the situations related to the COVID-19 pandemic are "stabilized." Xi's agreed-upon trip to South Korea has been postponed due to the coronavirus.
ejkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
6. U.S., S.Korea eye broader Asia role while sprucing up N.Korea plans
"Sprucing up." We will have to add that phrase to strategic military terminology.
But planning for out of Korean theater operations will be tricky and controversial in South Korea.
U.S., S.Korea eye broader Asia role while sprucing up N.Korea plans
By Phil Stewart and Hyonhee Shin
SEOUL -The defence chiefs of the United States and South Korea said on Thursday they would review and update ways to deter North Korea, even as they emphasised a growing regional role for Seoul.
North Korea’s missile and weapons developments are increasingly destabilising for regional security, U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said after talks with his South Korean counterpart, Suh Wook, but the two sides also discussed issues beyond the Korean peninsula.
For the first time, their joint statement affirmed “the importance of preserving peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.”
It mirrored language used for the first time by South Korean President Moon Jae-in in May when he met with U.S. President Joe Biden in Washington. It’s a sensitive issue for South Korea, which has tried to balance its economic relationship with China with Washington’s push for allies to counter Beijing’s growing power.
The statement came the same day that South Korea’s national security adviser travelled to China to meet its top diplomat. It also followed remarks on Wednesday by Japan’s former prime minister, Shinzo Abe, suggesting that a Chinese invasion of Taiwan would be a danger for Japan.
Austin and senior U.S. military commanders were in Seoul for the first such annual military talks with South Korean officials since Biden took office in January, and the last before Moon leaves office in May.
North Korea has continued to rebuff U.S. entreaties for diplomacy since Biden took over from Donald Trump, who had three summits with leader Kim Jong Un.
The United States calls on the North to engage in dialogue, Austin told a news conference, saying diplomacy is the best approach to pursue with North Korea, backed up by a credible deterrent.
This week the Pentagon released a global posture review that calls for additional cooperation with allies and partners to deter “potential Chinese military aggression and threats from North Korea,” including a previously announced decision to permanently base an attack helicopter squadron and artillery division headquarters in South Korea.
The United States stations about 28,500 troops in South Korea as a legacy of the 1950-1953 Korean War, which ended in an armistice but not a peace treaty.
In a meeting with Austin on Thursday evening, Moon asked that the United States support his push for an “end of war declaration” aimed at reducing tensions with North Korea and jump-starting talks, said a spokesperson for South Korea’s presidential Blue House.
Austin responded by paying tribute to Moon’s efforts to improve relations with North Korea, the spokesperson said in a statement.
CHANGINGSECURITYENVIRONMENT
A changing security environment prompted the United States and South Korea to agree to update strategic guidance about how they plan for a potential conflict with North Korea, as well as review their combined military command, Suh said.
“The Strategic Planning Guidance from 2010 still remains effective, but we’ve shared the need for a new war plan that could reflect evolving threats from North Korea and changes from our own defence reform and a combined command structure, as well as overall strategic environment,” he said at the news conference.
U.S. and South Korean officials cautioned that the updates to the war plans are routine and not a preparation for war.
Currently, the United States would command allied troops in the event of war, but South Korea has been seeking to gain “operational control” (OPCON).
Moon’s goal of OPCON transfer by the time he leaves office could not be achieved, as a scheduled joint review was not conducted amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Suh said the two sides made progress on meeting conditions for OPCON transfer to South Korea and agreed to assess the future command’s full operational capability next year.
The United States reaffirmed its commitment to providing extended deterrence to South Korea, including using its nuclear weapons, along with convention and missile defence capabilities.
But America’s approach to nuclear deterrence could change. Biden is carrying out a review of U.S. nuclear weapons policy, with hopes for a more tailored role for nuclear arms, experts say.
It’s unclear whether Biden might break precedent by declaring a “no first use” policy, a move that critics say would weaken U.S. deterrence.
7. With Omicron spreading, N. Korea’s coronavirus response headquarters calls for strengthened quarantine efforts
"Strengthening quarantine efforts" translates into even more strict control over the population. The paradox of COVID in north Korea is that it is a death threat to the regime while at the same time a great opportunity to further oppress the people to proect the regime.
With Omicron spreading, N. Korea’s coronavirus response headquarters calls for strengthened quarantine efforts
Doctors are being "threatened with punishment" if fever patients emerge in their districts
By Lee Chae Un - 2021.12.03 2:40pm
North Korean doctors in a photo published in the Rodong Shinmun on Nov. 30, 2021. / Image: Rodong Shinmun – News 1
With the world going on alert due to the recent spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, North Korean authorities are focusing all their energy on bolstering quarantine efforts.
According to a Daily NK source in North Hamgyong Province on Thursday, the Central Emergency Anti-epidemic Headquarters issued an order to quarantine headquarters nationwide on Nov. 28 calling on them to strengthen quarantine efforts and take thorough measures to deal with the situation.
In North Hamgyong Province, the authorities responded the same day with an emergency meeting of officials ranked section chief and above from provincial and city quarantine stations, provincial and city hospitals and local clinics. The meeting ordered doctors to take thorough measures and manage their domains to prevent fever patients from emerging within their jurisdictions.
In particular, it stressed that doctors visit households in their jurisdiction twice a day from Nov. 29 — the very next day — to check for fever or other symptoms, immediately reporting their results to hospitals and quarantine stations.
The source said doctors were also threatened with punishment if fever patients emerge in their districts, or if they fail to quickly identify patients with suspicious symptoms and take appropriate measures.
Specifically, the source said they were threatened with transfers to rural hospitals or even being stripped of their credentials, depending on the severity of their mistake.
North Korea has been using the “section doctor system” – where doctors are in charge of seeing patients in a particular area – to prevent the spread of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic. However, there is reportedly considerable public discontent with the arrangement.
The section doctor system began from the Seventh Meeting of the Second Supreme People’s Assembly in February of 1960. The meeting called for “complete, general free medical treatment” throughout the country. The authorities officially declared the launch of the new system during the Fourth Party Congress in September the following year.
Later, the authorities planned even denser systems of healthcare, including a “residential system” based on places of residence and a “workplace system” based on factories and enterprises.
However, free medical treatment has existed in name only since the 1990s, as has the section doctor system.
While doctors have been visiting families in their jurisdictions in the morning and afternoon to check temperatures, they are reportedly showing little interest in treating sick patients.
The source said doctors are only taking daily temperatures, providing no medication for complaints. He ruefully added that doctors are showing exclusive interest in fevers as they face punishment for outbreaks in their areas of responsibility.
8. U.N. excludes N. Korea from humanitarian aid plans for two straight years
The other dilemma for the international community is that the Korean people in the north are desperate for help yet the regime prevents such help in the name of COVID defense but really uses that as an excuse to prevent outside contact with the population and the requirement for the regime to be somewhat transparent with how aid is distributed to those who have the greatest need.
U.N. excludes N. Korea from humanitarian aid plans for two straight years | Yonhap News Agency
SEOUL, Dec. 3 (Yonhap) -- The United Nations has excluded North Korea from its global humanitarian assistance plan for 2022, its recent report showed, apparently due to the impoverished country's prolonged border lockdown against the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Global Humanitarian Overview 2022 released by the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said, "Afghanistan, DPR Korea and Myanmar are facing acute food insecurity situations, which are likely to deteriorate further by the year's end."
But its response plans for the Asia-Pacific region only included those for Afghanistan and Myanmar. DPRK stands for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
It marked the second year in a row for the annual report to exclude North Korea from its assistance plans.
The decision comes as North Korea is maintaining a strict border lockdown to stave off the coronavirus, prompting international organization staff members necessary for on-site monitoring and assessment to leave the country.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization's December report on global crop prospects and food situation, North Korea was among 44 countries requiring external assistance for food, with a large portion of its population estimated to be suffering from low levels of food consumption.
"The persisting economic constraints, exacerbated by restrictive measures to control the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, have significantly reduced imports, including critical agricultural inputs and humanitarian goods, increasing the population's vulnerability to food insecurity," the quarterly report said.
scaaet@yna.co.kr
(END)
9. N. Korea conducts final screening of project aimed at developing military reconnaissance satellites
Perhaps with reconnaissance satellites they can reduce infiltration of SOF into South Korea to collect intelligence. Of course they are so good at it why would they stop?
N. Korea conducts final screening of project aimed at developing military reconnaissance satellites
Pyongyang recently began final screening of a project to develop military reconnaissance satellites and will soon carry out test launches, Daily NK has learned from multiple sources.
This comes as the country seeks to bolster its surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities.
However, the development is likely to spark controversy, with North Korea claiming it is peacefully developing space and the international community claiming Pyongyang is testing long-range missiles.
Satellite rockets and ICBMs differ only in their payloads, while their long-range launch technology is similar.
According to multiple Daily NK sources in North Korea on Thursday, the Central Committee’s Military Industries Department, Academy of Defence Science, General Staff Department and Ministry of Defense’s Weapons Screening Bureau began joint, comprehensive screening of simulation data of newly developed military reconnaissance satellites.
During the Eighth Party Congress in January, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un presented the development of military reconnaissance satellites, unmanned attack drones and the modernization of the country’s reconnaissance and detection capabilities as military industry tasks for the new five-year plan.
Kim’s “military reconnaissance satellites” would use scientific equipment and signals to take images and intercept communications, their roles depending on individual orbits and transmission methods.
Having long attached great importance to the modernization of national defense and electronic warfare, Kim reportedly ordered that the country’s top technology experts focus on developing the satellites. He has apparently shown continuous interest in the project straight through to the final screening, too.
Daily NK’s sources said Kim directly told research and technology officials that he intended to liberally invest party funds into developing “North Korean-style” reconnaissance satellites that could constantly watch and respond to enemy military hubs and military movements.
Kim Jong Un at the leadership podium during the Party Foundation Day military parade in Pyongyang on Oct. 10, 2020. / Image: KCNA
However, the satellites currently undergoing screening are reportedly not products of research that began early this year. Work on them apparently began from 2018, with researchers focusing this year on minute technological improvements.
The sources said the party is stressing Kim’s reported belief that among the tasks of the present age, the highest mission of “warriors of defense science” is to “conquer space.” He said the latest satellites are the result of three years of research, with the authorities believing they can no longer fire into space mere “rocks” or “scrap metal heaps” unable to communicate with the ground.
This is to say, the party has called for substantive efforts to develop space satellites, with research and development of the latest military reconnaissance satellites underway for several years. The satellites are now in the final stage before receiving approval for a test launch.
In particular, there are reportedly four kinds of small and subminiature satellites undergoing screening.
The sources said the joint screening committee is currently focusing on camera quality, device lifespan, launch altitude, transmission method for imported, cutting-edge radar and infrared tracking systems and the launch system’s solid-propellant engines.
No date has been set for the launch. The plan is for the party to approve a date for launch depending on the results of the final screening.
10. More details emerge about N. Korean defector who escaped prison in China’s Jilin Province
I know I sound like a broken record. China is complicit in north Korean human rights abuses.
This is an interesting development:
Following North Korea’s internal investigation into Chu, the Ministry of Social Security’s Bureau 8, which handles citizen registration, has been confirming the places of residence of discharged soldiers whose abodes are unclear.
The bureau also ordered an end to the practice of permitting discharged soldiers from residing in the region where they served if they do business in the area. This is because the practice has led to a growing number of discharged soldiers with unknown places of residence or who have gone completely missing.
The sources further reported that there is concern that forced repatriations from China could increase given that Kim ordered officials to actively respond to Chinese requests for ID confirmations.
More details emerge about N. Korean defector who escaped prison in China’s Jilin Province
Kim Jong Un has ordered officials to actively respond to Chinese requests for confirmation of Chu's identity, sources claim
The North Korean defector who recently escaped from a prison in China’s Jilin Province is a 39-year-old discharged soldier named Chu Hyon Kwon. North Korean authorities are reportedly carrying out a sweeping survey to ascertain where discharged soldiers live after learning that Chu’s place of residence was unknown.
According to multiple Daily NK sources in North Korea on Thursday, Chu’s hometown was somewhere in the North Korean interior, but he served as a soldier in a border region.
Chu broke out from a prison in Jilin on Oct. 18, but was caught 41 days later.
Hailing from a very poor family, he wanted to reside in the border area where he served after his discharge, running a private business, rather than return to his hometown.
According to regulations, North Korean soldiers are supposed to return to their hometowns when they are discharged. However, some hope to stay where they were stationed, running businesses based on personal connections and background built up during a decade or more of military service.
To live somewhere other than your hometown, you should bribe either the military officials who handle deployment and residency issues, or the Ministry of Social Security cadres who deal with residency matters. However, Chu did not have the financial means to pay the bribe.
Ultimately, faced with having to return to his hometown after his discharge, Chu crossed the border into China in July of 2013.
A photo of Chu Hyon Kwon / Image: Chinese social media
After defecting to China, Chu broke into a private home in Jilin Province to steal food, cash, clothing and identification documents. In the course of the break-in, he seriously wounded the owner by stabbing him. His crimes earned him an 11-year, three-month prison sentence for burglary and attempted murder.
Chinese public security officials notified North Korean authorities when they arrested Chu in 2013, requesting confirmation of his identity.
At the time, North Korean authorities told the Chinese that Chu was not a North Korean national since his name and place of residence were unclear.
However, when video of Chu’s prison escape went viral on Chinese social media and even foreign media ran detailed reports of the incident, North Korean authorities belatedly began investigating Chu’s identity.
According to Daily NK’s sources, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un received a report of the results of the investigation.
Kim reportedly said if the Chinese authorities ask for an ID check, it is almost certain the individual in question is a North Korean. He also ordered officials to find out who exactly the culprit was and actively respond to the situation. Essentially, Kim criticized his officials’ passive response of denying Chu was a North Korean national.
Following North Korea’s internal investigation into Chu, the Ministry of Social Security’s Bureau 8, which handles citizen registration, has been confirming the places of residence of discharged soldiers whose abodes are unclear.
The bureau also ordered an end to the practice of permitting discharged soldiers from residing in the region where they served if they do business in the area. This is because the practice has led to a growing number of discharged soldiers with unknown places of residence or who have gone completely missing.
The sources further reported that there is concern that forced repatriations from China could increase given that Kim ordered officials to actively respond to Chinese requests for ID confirmations.
Seulkee Jang is one of Daily NK’s full-time journalists. Please direct any questions about her articles to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
11. North Korean waitresses in China are made to work without masks
More Chinese human rights abuses. I am sure we can all guess why they want customers to be able to see the pretty faces of the "waitresses."
North Korean waitresses in China are made to work without masks
Managers want customers to be able to see the faces of their young, attractive staff, despite the virus risks.
By Hyemin Son
2021.12.02
A North Korean restaurant in China is forcing female waitstaff to work without facemasks even amid reports that the new Omicron coronavirus variant is spreading across the globe, sources in China told RFA.
North Korean restaurants are used by Pyongyang as a major source of foreign cash. The main attraction often is not the food, but the young women from Pyongyang who serve it and also dance and play musical instruments to entertain customers.
The women are usually college students with an arts background from the North Korean capital. They are sent abroad for at least a year while the lion’s share of their pay is sent to their government.
In the Chinese city of Dandong, on the border with North Korea, there are about 20 such restaurants. The waitresses/entertainers employed at at least one of them must perform barefaced because managers believe that masks would hide their beauty, a Chinese citizen of Korean descent told RFA’s Korean Service Nov. 29.
“Today I went to the Pyongyang Specialties Restaurant in downtown Dandong with my friend and I was surprised to see the ladies dancing and playing musical instruments for customers and collecting tips from them and they were not wearing masks,” said the source, who requested anonymity for security reasons.
“People in Dandong are nervous about the news that the new Omicron coronavirus variant, which was discovered in South Africa, is spreading these days. I am worried that the Pyongyang ladies who performed all day without masks could become infected,” the source said.
Pyongyang Specialties is known to employ about 40 people, including 20 young female performers.
The source said he was alarmed by the maskless women working so closely to customers, so he asked a friend who is close to the restaurant’s manager to get an explanation.
“My friend said the manager ordered them to take off their masks because they have to fully show their faces to attract customers,” the source said.
Exterior signage of the Pyongyang Specialties Restaurant. Credit: RFA
The manager is an official from Pyongyang, and he sends profits monthly to the North Korean government. Pyongyang Specialties had been a popular venue in Dandong before it closed in February 2020 due to the pandemic. Although it reopened in March this year, only a fraction of its customers has returned. Managers are trying everything they can to attract them, the source said.
“They have single-person rooms and multi-person rooms, and customers can be seated according to their requests. Then they can order food and private performances,” the source said.
“If you order a private performance, which costs a lot, the Pyongyang ladies come into your room and dance or play musical instruments,” the source said.
Customers can expect to pay 100 yuan (U.S. $15.71) per song, whether the waitress is dancing or playing an instrument, another ethnic Korean from Dandong, who visited Pyongyang Specialties the previous day, told RFA.
“We were in a two-person room and ordered a solo dance and a solo recital along with our food. The ladies danced in our room without masks until the end of the meal,” said the second source, who requested anonymity to speak freely.
“Pyongyang Specialties is not the only restaurant in Dandong offering performances by female waitstaff. They also have it every evening at the Pyongyang Koryo Restaurant and the Ryugyong Restaurant, and they don’t wear masks in front of customers there either, so I am worried that they will get infected,” the second source said.
The source said he was angry that the North Korean government seemingly does not care about the health of the young women.
“The North Korean authorities are sucking up all the foreign currency earned by these women, who are made to perform without masks as this new Omicron variant is spreading worldwide,” the source said.
Following the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 2397 in December 2017, all North Korean workers abroad were supposed to have been repatriated by the end of 2019, and host countries were forbidden from issuing new working visas.
North Korea has been able to get around this by sending workers to neighboring countries on student visas.
Pyongyang had hoped to continue doing this beyond 2019, but the coronavirus pandemic put a snag in those plans when it prompted North Korea and China to seal their border in January 2020.
According to unofficial statistics, at one time, there were 100,000 North Korean workers in China, but now there are estimated to be only about two or three thousand around Dandong, and its surrounding Liaoning Province, the second source said.
Translated by Leejin Jun. Written in English by Eugene Whong.
12. New tax hits already meager earnings of North Korea spring water sellers
I am sure government (or rather party) overreach in north Korea is on a scale that rivals the most authoritarian countries in the world.
New tax hits already meager earnings of North Korea spring water sellers
As economic crisis grips country, water traders complain of government overreach.
By Hyemin Son
2021.11.17
A new tax on spring water in North Korea is eating into the income of poor people who make their living bottling it for sale to wealthier countrymen, sources in the country told RFA.
Every North Korean is given a government-assigned job but usually must find other ways to supplement their meager pay. For some, this has meant buying goods imported or smuggled from China and selling them at a markup in local marketplaces.
But those types of businesses require money to start with. Water trading is one of the few businesses available to even the poorest and most unskilled of North Koreans. Until now.
“This is the first time that the authorities have imposed a tax on spring water,” a resident of South Pyongan province’s Songchon county, which borders the capital Pyongyang, told RFA’s Korean Service Nov. 7.
“An official of the people’s committee from the Ministry of National Territory Environment Protection is there at the spring to collect the tax in cash directly from the traders when they finish pumping out their water. The tax is 1,000 won (U.S. $0.20) for every 50 liters,” said the source, who requested anonymity to speak freely.
That means that the tax would reduce the revenue from selling a liter bottle for 800 won by 2.5%.
Traders view the tax as another example of their government’s intrusiveness and resent the fact that their small incomes are being further diminished, sources said.
The economic crisis gripping North Korea — due in part to the closure of the border with China and suspension of all trade over the past two years in response to the coronavirus pandemic — pushed more people into the business of water trading in nearby Unsan county, a resident there told RFA.
“The spring water trade can earn cash immediately and doesn’t require any seed money, so it has been a great help to many residents struggling to survive. So, people are angry that the government is taxing the tiny income of the spring water traders,” said the second source, who requested anonymity for security reasons.
The price the traders can get per liter depends on how they sell it. In November, the price was 300 won per liter when sold in large vinyl containers and 800 won per liter when sold in smaller plastic bottles. This was considerably higher than the price of water pre-pandemic, when the plastic bottled water sold for about 700 won.
To make sure that the water sellers pay their taxes, a governmental official arrives at the spring every dawn to monitor withdrawals. Only those who pay in advance are allowed to pump water, the second source said.
“It’s not that the traders won’t pay the tax, but they still complain that they are being taxed even before their first sale of the day.”
Bottled spring water has become somewhat of a status symbol in North Korea, the Seoul-based Korea Bizwire online news service reported in 2018.
The country’s poor water purification infrastructure makes tap water unsafe to drink without boiling it first. Even then, it might be unsafe to drink. Wealthier residents of North Korean cities are the only ones able to afford spring water, the report said.
The South Korea-based NK Daily newspaper reported in 2019 that severe electricity shortages and other factors prevented tap water from reaching many parts of the country. Residents of the city of Pyongsong, bordering Pyongyang, walked or drove to the Taedong River 10 km (6.2 miles) away to get water for use in their homes.
From this spread a grassroots industry of traders bottling and selling Taedong River water to Pyongsong residents. Unlike spring water, river water still required boiling to be drinkable, the report said.
Water is supplied to only 82.1 percent of North Korea because of unreliable electricity, lack of resource management, poor infrastructure, and other factors, the U.N. Population Fund reported in its 2014 Socio Economic Demographic Health Survey.
Statistics from the World Health Organization indicate that only 66% of North Korea’s drinking water in 2020 was classified as “safely managed,” compared to South Korea’s 99%.
Translated by Claire Lee. Written in English by Eugene Whong.
13. ＜Inside N. Korea＞ For Some Reason, the Power Situation Suddenly Improves. So Why do Some Cities Get 10 Hours of Power a Day?
Excerpts:
In August, even in the central cities of the provinces, the "residents' line" was only supplied for one to three hours a day. This was because the power produced was being turned over to the "industrial line" on a priority basis.
Well, what is the reason for the sudden turnaround in the electricity situation from mid-November? Our reporting partner in North Hamkyung Province says, "It is because the electricity has been concentrated on harvesting and threshing work at the cooperative farm since the beginning of September, but now it is over." It is unclear whether the machinery and parts for the power generation and transmission equipment were imported from China.
In late December, rivers will begin to freeze, and hydroelectric power plants will stop operating. From now until the latter half of March, the power situation in North Korea will be at its worst
＜Inside N. Korea＞ For Some Reason, the Power Situation Suddenly Improves. So Why do Some Cities Get 10 Hours of Power a Day?
(Photo) A woman is washing clothes in the Yalu River. The water from the river is also used for drinking. The sanitary conditions in North Korea are poor. Photographed from the Chinese side in July 2017 by ASIAPRESS.
The power supply for civilian use, known as the "residents' line," has been improving in the northern region of North Korea since mid-November.
Our reporting partner, who lives in various parts of the country, surveyed the daily electricity supply at the end of November and found that Sinuiju City in North Pyongan Province and Hyesan City in Ryanggang Province had about 10 hours of electricity supply at night. In addition, Musan County in North Hamkyung Province had about five hours of electricity supply at night.
In North Korea, electricity for production facilities and the party, government agencies, and cooperative farms is called "industrial lines." The largest iron mine of North Korea is in Musan, and "industrial lines" are coming for more than 18 hours," said our reporting partner.
◆ Concentrate electricity on farms.
This year, the power situation was worse than usual. This was due to the extreme trade restriction by closing the border with China to prevent the influx of coronavirus. As a result, even when power generation and transmission facilities failed, machinery and parts could not be imported from China, and power plant operating rates fell.
In August, even in the central cities of the provinces, the "residents' line" was only supplied for one to three hours a day. This was because the power produced was being turned over to the "industrial line" on a priority basis.
Well, what is the reason for the sudden turnaround in the electricity situation from mid-November? Our reporting partner in North Hamkyung Province says, "It is because the electricity has been concentrated on harvesting and threshing work at the cooperative farm since the beginning of September, but now it is over." It is unclear whether the machinery and parts for the power generation and transmission equipment were imported from China.
In late December, rivers will begin to freeze, and hydroelectric power plants will stop operating. From now until the latter half of March, the power situation in North Korea will be at its worst (Kang Ji-won).
※ ASIAPRESS contacts its reporting partners in North Korea through smuggled Chinese mobile phones.
14. North Korean Hackers Impersonated Samsung Recruiters by Sending Fake Job Offers
The "all purpose sword" is hard at work.
But damn I thought I was going to get the job as the VP for Samsung's American Affairs division. You mean it was not a real job offer?
North Korean Hackers Impersonated Samsung Recruiters by Sending Fake Job Offers
North Korean state-sponsored hackers disguising themselves as recruiters from Samsung sent bogus job announcements and offers to employees at security companies residing in their southern counterparts.
These organizations sell anti-malware software, and Google highlighted the situation in their first edition of its new Threat Horizons report, which is a newsletter that provides threat intelligence to those in the cloud. “The emails included a PDF allegedly claiming to be of a job description for a role at Samsung; however, the PDFs were malformed and did not open in a standard PDF reader,” Google said.
This serves as a reminder to cleared candidates to be cautious, and to cleared recruiters to make your presence well-known and upfront when reaching out to candidates, especially as we enter the holiday season where phishing scams are at an all-time high.
BEST RECRUITING PRACTICES WITH ONLINE THREATS
These five practices can help make it clear to your candidates that you are trustworthy.
- Reach out to candidates on trusted platforms like ClearanceJobs
-
Include contact information and ALL ways that candidates can reach out (name, email, phone number including available by ClearanceJobs voice, message, email, text, or call).
- Ensure you don’t have any typos in your communications – that can be a red flag with scams.
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Follow up on an unanswered email with a ClearanceJobs message or voice chat, letting them know you hope you didn’t end up in their spam!
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Share your own best practices and tips in content online if it fits in with your recruiting brand (if you’re recruiting cybersecurity professionals, for example, the content will resonate with them).
The Google Threat Analysis Group (TAG), the team that identified the malicious communications, credited the recent incident to the same North Korean hackers that targeted security researchers on social networks from late 2020 throughout this year.
Your company, and you as an individual online, should be actively working to improve your cyber hygiene while avoiding hacking attempts from groups like these. It’s unfortunate that recruiters have yet another entity to compete with in addition to other cleared recruiters: the foreign adversaries.
15. The U.S. Wants South Korea To Help Take On The Chinese Military As Well As North Korea
The U.S. Wants South Korea To Help Take On The Chinese Military As Well As North Korea
Details of the war plan have been announced this week as part of the 53rd U.S.-Republic of Korea Security Consultative Meeting, or SCM, which included today’s meeting between U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his South Korean counterpart Suh Wook. In the first such meeting since U.S. President Joe Biden took office, the two officials confirmed they would together look at new ways to deter an increasingly assertive North Korea, amid Pyongyang’s spate of new strategic weapons developments.
SIPA VIA AP
South Korean Hyunmoo-2 missiles are among the deep strike capabilities that the South Korean-U.S. alliance employs to neutralize threats and aggression against South Korea, the U.S. and other allies.
The evolving war plans for the Korean peninsula come against a backdrop of U.S. overtures toward Pyongyang with a view to resuming talks, so far without success. Defense Secretary Austin again stated that diplomacy was the best approach to dealing with North Korea but at the same time the U.S. military is reinforcing its presence in the South by stationing more units there.
“This is the right thing to do,” an unnamed senior defense official told Voice of America. “The DPRK has advanced its capabilities,” the official added. “The strategic environment has changed over the past few years.” The same source noted that there is no deadline currently set for completing the updates to the war plans.
The Pentagon had previously announced its intention to permanently base a U.S. Army AH-64 Apache attack helicopter squadron and artillery division headquarters in South Korea, while troop numbers in the country will remain stable at around 28,500. This is despite the latest defense authorization bill having removed a lower limit clause on numbers of U.S. troops on the peninsula, which had led some to predict the figure may come down.
U.S. Air Force/Staff Sgt. Tong Duong
A U.S. Army AH-64D Apache Longbow helicopter prepares to take off from Kunsan Air Base, Republic of Korea, after rearming and topping off on fuel, June 2013.
The United States has reinforced its commitment to providing extended deterrence to South Korea, including nuclear and conventional weapons as well as missile defense capabilities. However, with an upcoming review of nuclear weapons policy, it’s possible that the role of nuclear weapons in a conflict on the peninsula could be subject to change, with reports of the possible introduction of a ‘no first use’ policy in this scenario.
At the same time, there has been pressure from some hawkish elements in the United States and South Korea to reinstate U.S. tactical nuclear weapons, or nuclear sharing, in the South as a counterweight to the North’s nuclear program. The U.S. and South Korean governments have so far proven resistant to these calls, Washington ruling out the idea in September.
IMAGE CREDIT- NORTH KOREAN STATE MEDIA
Kim Jong Un inspects what was supposed to be a miniaturized nuclear weapon.
In terms of U.S.-South Korea cooperation, the two countries have agreed to update the Strategic Planning Guidance underpinning their strategy for a potential conflict on the peninsula. This was last done in 2010 when the primary threat posed by Pyongyang was its artillery and other conventional weapons.
At the same time, the combined military command is being reviewed, heralding a potentially highly significant change for South Korea. Currently, during wartime, South Korean troops would fall under U.S. command, but Seoul has been increasingly pushing for operational control (OPCON) of its own forces.
U.S. Army/Sean Kimmons
An M1 Abrams tank driver from 3rd Infantry Division’s 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, on the right, and a South Korean private, a KATUSA or Korean Augmentation to the U.S. Army, perform maintenance on a tank after an exercise at the Dagmar North Training Area, South Korea, June 2018.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in had previously stated the goal of achieving OPCON before he leaves office next year, but this three-stage program has been postponed due to both the COVID pandemic and North Korean missile developments. However, the topic of OPCON transfer feasibility will be reviewed again in 2022, with a view to declaring this concept fully operational sometime in the middle of this decade.
As well as pointing to the need for a revised military strategy to address North Korea’s capabilities, the joint statement from the two defense chiefs identified “the importance of preserving peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait,” a reference to the body of water between Taiwan and mainland China in which the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has been notably active in recent months.
TAIWANESE MINISTRY OF DEFENSE
Composition and flight paths of 52 Chinese People’s Liberation Army aircraft that entered Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone, or ADIZ, during a recent spike in activity on October 4.
This is the first time that the strategically vital Taiwan Strait has been referenced in a joint statement from the South Korean and U.S. defense chiefs, although the same topic was discussed between Biden and Korean President Moon Jae-in when they met in May.
AP Photo/Alex Brandon
U.S. President Joe Biden listens as South Korean President Moon Jae-in speaks during a joint news conference in the White House in Washington on May 27, 2021.
This is in line with the Pentagon’s Global Posture Review that makes the case for working alongside allies and partners to deter potential “military aggression from China and threats from North Korea” as part of a focus on the Asia Pacific region. Indeed, it’s been confirmed that the Pentagon consulted with South Korea as it drew up the still-classified review.
Under the revised posture, South Korea will be expected to contribute to efforts to ensure security and stability across the region as a bulwark against perceived Chinese aggression and its extensive maritime claims. This also tallies with certain developments within Seoul’s military, including plans to field true aircraft carriers, in addition to amphibious assault ships, and the recent establishment of a rotary-wing aircraft group within the ROK Marine Corps, or ROKMC, as that service develops its amphibious capabilities.
ROK MINISTRY OF NATIONAL DEFENSE
South Korean Marines during a training exercise.
“We see [South Korea] now as a net provider of security not just on the peninsula but across the region,” the unnamed senior defense official told Voice of America. This means the two countries will be “looking at ways where we can coordinate our defense cooperation in the region, and specifically capacity building throughout the region.”
“The ROK-U.S. alliance is evolving,” South Korean Minister of Defense Suh Wook said. “The strength of such a great alliance will backstop the efforts towards denuclearization of and establishment of permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula, and also contribute to a stable security environment in northeast Asia.”
U.S. Air Force/Senior Airman Brittany Y. Auld
F-16s from the U.S. Air Force and from the Republic of Korea Air Force, demonstrate an “Elephant Walk” as they taxi down a runway during an exercise at Kunsan Air Base, Republic of Korea, March 2012.
In fact, the kinds of high-end but relatively small and highly mobile forces typically fielded by South Korea could lend themselves particularly well to the new types of U.S. warfighting doctrine being prepared for a potential future conflict in the Asia Pacific. In particular, the U.S. Marine Corps recently unveiled its “stand-in forces” concept that envisages small forces that would respond to Chinese “gray zone” aggression, actions that fall below the threshold of all-out combat but which could encompass a range of activities, including cyberattacks, assassinations, or occupation by unofficial militias.
U.S. Marine Corps/Sgt. Briauna Birl
U.S. Marine Corps, Republic of Korea Marines Corps, New Zealand Army, and Australian Army conduct amphibious assault training at Doksukri Beach, South Korea, March 12, 2016, during Exercise Ssang Yong 16.
The U.S. Marine Corps describes “stand-in forces” as “low signature, mobile, relatively simple to maintain and sustain forces designed to operate across the competition continuum within a contested area as the leading edge of a maritime defense-in-depth in order to intentionally disrupt the plans of a potential or actual adversary.”
The South Korean military is already very familiar with some of the kinds of “gray zone” tactics that might be deployed by China while remaining just below the level of a full-scale conflict. For its part, Seoul has long faced the threat of North Korea’s huge special operations component that would be expected to perform unconventional warfare, including being inserted covertly into South Korean territory by An-2 biplane transports, miniature submarines and other covert watercraft, and other means.
NORTH KOREA STATE MEDIA
North Korean paratroopers jump from An-2 biplane transports during an exercise.
The U.S.-South Korean statement on China comes in the same week that Suh Hoon, director of South Korea’s National Security Office, visits China to discuss regional issues. This reflects the difficult balancing act that Seoul has traditionally played as it seeks to continue a working diplomatic relationship with Beijing while cooperating closely with the United States on defense matters. It also remains to be seen how Beijing responds to this new South Korean posture and whether it seeks to engage with Seoul.
However, the signs from today’s meeting of defense ministers, as well as the wider ramifications of the SCM, clearly point to an ambition to have South Korea play a much-expanded military role not only to face off the threat from the North but to support U.S. policy across the wider Asia Pacific.
Contact the author: thomas@thedrive.com
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16. Allies expressed concern over Washington’s revision of NPR
Excerpt:
Seoul is of the view that the “strategic ambiguity” will remain largely unshaken. But the possibility of changing the policy direction is also in the cards, given that President Biden showed its passion for a new nuclear strategy as part of his election campaign. According to the relevant officials, the atmosphere in Washington is that the “sole purpose” policy could be included in the NPR while there is no big chance for the adoption of “no first use” policy.
Allies expressed concern over Washington’s revision of NPR
Posted December. 03, 2021 07:48,
Updated December. 03, 2021 07:48
Allies expressed concern over Washington’s revision of NPR. December. 03, 2021 07:48. by Jin-Woo Shin niceshin@donga.com.
It has been confirmed that the South Korean government has communicated its message several times to the U.S. in opposition to the “no first use” and “sole purpose” policies. Washington is currently debating whether to include such nuclear policies in its Nuclear Posture Review for early next year.
According to high-level officials from the government on Thursday, early this year, Washington surveyed its allies including South Korea to sound out their opinions on a potential shift of weapons policy, and the allies shared their stance on the matter and expressed their collective skepticism over the adoption of “no first use” policy several times to the Biden administration. “We have expressed our concerns about the pivoting of nuclear policies by Washington many times through various channels of national defense and diplomacy,” said an official. “Washington is sufficiently aware of the concerns on the part of its allies.”
So far, the U.S. has stuck to a strategy so called “strategic ambiguity,”, thereby deterring the enemy’s provocation by opting not to clarify its nuclear strategy by intention. By contrast, “no first use” (not using nuclear weapons unless attacked first) or “sole purpose” (the only purpose of nuclear weapons is retaliation for America) are fueling concerns of America’s allies as they can weaken America’s nuclear umbrella and its commitment to deterrence.
Seoul is of the view that the “strategic ambiguity” will remain largely unshaken. But the possibility of changing the policy direction is also in the cards, given that President Biden showed its passion for a new nuclear strategy as part of his election campaign. According to the relevant officials, the atmosphere in Washington is that the “sole purpose” policy could be included in the NPR while there is no big chance for the adoption of “no first use” policy.
V/R
David Maxwell
Senior Fellow
Foundation for Defense of Democracies
Phone: 202-573-8647
Twitter: @davidmaxwell161
FDD is a Washington-based nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.
