Informal Institute for National Security Thinkers and Practitioners

Quotes of the Day:

"Science knows no country, because knowledge belongs to humanity, and is the torch which illuminates the world. Science is the highest personification of the nation because that nation will remain the first which carries the furthest the works of thought and intelligence." 
- Louis Pasteur

"Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do."
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

"Change your life today. Don't gamble on the future, act now, without delay."
- Simone de Beauvoir



1. North Korea holds middle-of-the-night military parade
2. What’s happening inside North Korea? Since the pandemic, the window has slammed shut.
3. North Korea Holds Toned-Down Military Parade, Its First of Biden Administration
4. N. Korea holds midnight military parade without Kim's address, new weapons
5. Group of youth in Tanchon arrested after singing and dancing to South Korean music
6. Amid Food Shortage, North Korea Orders Army to Shoot Crop Thieves on Sight
7. EU's top diplomat vows support for dismantling N. Korea's nuclear program
8. How N.Korea Manipulates S.Korean Governments, Public Opinion
9. North Korean district office heads join crackdown on grasshopper merchants
10. Pyongyang's parade featured tractors, motorbikes
11. China claims ban on K-pop fan accounts not targeted at Hallyu
12. Gov’t defends N. Korea’s restart of nuclear activities
13. Screening of controversial Chinese film about Korean War canceled
14. Xi, Putin vow efforts to advance relations with North Korea
15. The US-South Korea Alliance Is A Historic Success (And Could Get Even Better)
16. Moon presents S. Korea's vision for 'overwhelming' global leader in shipbuilding sector
 




1. North Korea holds middle-of-the-night military parade
As expected by some, much ado about nothing. Still more reporting is necessary to make a better assessment but it seems this was a mostly "normal" inwardly focused event without an emphasis on external messaging (but again there may still be more messages to come so we have to wait and see). We will probably have a new iconic north Korean photo of the people marching in HAZMAT suits as part of the "emergency disease prevention unit."

Excerpt:

Down in the street, marching bands led a parade, which included laborers, research units and an "emergency disease prevention unit," it added. Images of the parade showed a large contingent of marchers dressed in orange hazmat-style suits and gas masks.

North Korea holds middle-of-the-night military parade
CNN · by Jake Kwon and Brad Lendon, CNN
Seoul, South Korea (CNN)North Korea held a midnight military parade in Pyongyang early Thursday to mark the 73rd anniversary of its founding, the country's state media reported.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un appeared on a platform in Kim Il Sung square and waved at the crowd, but there was no mention of him giving a speech, according to Rodong Sinmun.
North Korea experts noted that images of Kim appeared to show the North Korean leader has lost weight, adding support to a state media report from June that he had slimmed down.
"It's striking how much healthier Kim Jong Un is looking in these photos from yesterday," tweeted Martyn Williams, a Fellow working on the 38 North Project at the Stimson Center. "However he is doing it -- and there are theories -- he looks a lot better than he did a few months ago."
State media reports made no mention of Kim Jong Un's sister and high official Kim Yo Jong.
Read More
North Korea leader Kim Jong Un attends a military parade in Pyongyang in this undated image supplied by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency on September 9, 2021.
During the parade, planes flew above Pyongyang firing flares, and paratroopers dropped from aircraft in the night sky, Rodong Sinmun said.
Down in the street, marching bands led a parade, which included laborers, research units and an "emergency disease prevention unit," it added. Images of the parade showed a large contingent of marchers dressed in orange hazmat-style suits and gas masks.
The notoriously reclusive country severed almost all of its ties with the outside world in 2020 to prevent an influx of coronavirus cases. And to date, it seems to have worked.
North Korea has not reported a major outbreak of Covid-19, and there have been no indications one has taken place, though experts doubt Pyongyang's claim the country has not seen a single case of the virus.
Most if not all foreign diplomats and aid workers have left the country, citing shortages of goods and extreme restrictions on daily life.
In June, Kim fired several senior officials who failed to enforce North Korea's stringent Covid-19 prevention, state news agency KCNA reported. It appears some members of the upper echelons of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea were replaced, KCNA said.
North Korea leader Kim Jong Un attends a military parade held to mark the 73rd founding anniversary of North Korea in Pyongyang in this undated image supplied by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency on September 9, 2021.
Troops and tractors, but no missiles
The first photos from Thursday's parade did not show any of North Korea's missile arsenal. New or updated versions of the country's missiles are often shown at the military parades.
During a parade in January, the North Korean military revealed what analysts said was a new submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM).
Last October, North Korea unveiled what analysts believe to be one of the world's largest ballistic missiles at a military parade.
But the armaments shown in pictures from the square early Thursday were of the smaller battlefield variety -- or as mundane as tractors -- as well as legions of troops.
"The members of the parade passing the streets of the capital city heartily responded with the firm pledge to propel the strengthening of the combat capabilities and defend the rear of socialist homeland as firm as a rock," the KCNA report read.
Ri Il Hwan, member of the Political Bureau and secretary of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, made a speech at the parade, according to KCNA, saying North Korea will 'increase the People's Army, a pillar in defending the state" and will ramp up its defense industries to turn "the whole country into a fortress."
CNN's Joshua Berlinger contributed to this report.
CNN · by Jake Kwon and Brad Lendon, CNN    



2. What’s happening inside North Korea? Since the pandemic, the window has slammed shut.

If the photos do not come through please go to the link to view them (including the new iconic photo of the unit in HAZMAT suits.


I think the regime has been "rebooting" to be more isolated than it has been in the past as Ms Lee knots in her article. There is two "external threats" that Kim is most concerned with: COVID and information. These are a greater threat than the ROK/US alliance and the combined military. The regime will still likely "act out to reach out" to try to coerce sanctions relief but it appears for Kim the immediate priority of work is internal control and isolation.

What’s happening inside North Korea? Since the pandemic, the window has slammed shut.
The Washington Post · by Michelle Ye Hee LeeToday at 3:00 a.m. EDT · September 9, 2021
TOKYO — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump were sitting across a circular wooden table for a brief photo opportunity at their 2019 summit in Vietnam when a U.S. reporter asked a question of Kim.
To the world’s surprise, he responded — the first time Kim, the leader of the world’s most closed society, engaged with the foreign media.
In the 2½ years since, North Korea has basically clammed up again. It has become so opaque that Kim’s stunning exchange in Hanoi seems unimaginable in the current information vacuum.
North Korea sealed its borders shut in the pandemic, even to its major trade partner, China, a move that the U.N. human rights watchdog said exacerbated shortages of food and medical supplies. But the harsh measure has also led to a loss of firsthand insights on the country that helped policymakers connect the dots about internal pressures and trends that inform U.S. policy toward the nuclear-armed regime.
The lockdown has prompted an exodus of foreigners — diplomats, aid workers, business envoys and others — who could fact-check state media reports about the totalitarian country. Their accounts helped inform policymakers on decisions about how to negotiate and engage with North Korea to curb its ever-growing nuclear ambitions, and about how to gain a deeper understanding of the dynamics that guide the totalitarian leader’s political calculations.
“Attempting to formulate sound policy options without opportunities for direct engagement is like stumbling in the dark,” said Suzanne DiMaggio, senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and an expert in diplomatic negotiations.
“In the case of North Korea, where we’ve had a long history of very limited, first-person interactions, it’s especially dicey,” she added. “Insights gained through face-to-face conversations, particularly when sustained over time, are hard to beat.”
Pandemic paranoia
North Korea is taking the pandemic hyper-seriously, to the point of near paranoia, analysts say.
Pyongyang is so strict about its border enforcement that it has ordered any trespassers — even animals — to be shot without warning, according to an October 2020 decree obtained by NK News, an outlet that follows North Korean affairs. The previous month, North Korea shot dead a South Korean official who disappeared from a fisheries boat, later dousing the man’s body in oil and setting it on fire in an apparent anti-coronavirus measure, South Korean military officials said.
At a military parade broadcast Thursday, the first in President Biden’s term, rows of people dressed head to toe in orange coronavirus protective gear marched. The state media photos offered one of the few glimpses for analysts to pore over to gain intel and clues about life under the regime.
“They are a dark country, but these days, they are darker,” said Kim Joon-hyung, a professor of international relations at South Korea’s Handong University and a former foreign policy adviser to President Moon Jae-in.
“This covid issue, in addition to the sanctions, they’re really scared,” Kim said. “This is an existential threat, I think, to them.”
North Korea is commonly referred to as a “hermit kingdom,” but until recently there had been more information flowing in and out of the country than that moniker suggests.
Some Western journalists traveled there for stories, and the Associated Press had a Pyongyang bureau, but most foreign journalists have been shut out of North Korea recently.
Sue Mi Terry, senior fellow at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies and a former CIA analyst on East Asia, said those details can include: How severe is the food shortage? Is life getting better or worse? Are there any signs of discontent?
“It’s a police state where no one will openly criticize the supreme leader, but expert observers can pick up subtle clues about popular sentiment. That has been now lost,” Terry said. “That makes it all the harder to make informed policy decisions about North Korea.”
'Lack of engagement'
While Biden’s special envoy to North Korea has said he would meet “anywhere, anytime” with his North Korean counterparts to jump-start stalled nuclear talks, the administration has further alienated the North by renewing a North Korea travel ban and holding joint military drills with South Korea, said Frank Aum, senior expert on Northeast Asia at the U.S. Institute of Peace and a former Pentagon official.
“The biggest obstacle right now to getting the right type of information we need for policymaking is the lack of engagement with North Korea,” Aum said.
Most Western countries pulled out diplomatic staff in early 2020 because of the food and medical shortages. Diplomatic staff from a handful of other countries remain, including Russia, China, Syria and Cuba.
Even the number of defectors has plummeted. Just two North Koreans reached the South in the second quarter of 2021, the lowest quarterly count in at least 18 years — further limiting recent first-person accounts of life there.
And a crackdown on the illegal use of cellphones has created barriers for even contacts who have long circumvented state controls, said Robert Lauler, English editor at the Daily NK, a Seoul-based news service with informants inside North Korea.
“Sources in North Korea have to be able to make phone calls or connect to networks at certain times, and I think that’s probably become much more difficult because they’re having to be more watchful than perhaps in the past,” Lauler said.
The information gap is a growing concern for analysts and humanitarian groups because it comes at a time when, according to the United Nations, ordinary North Koreans are experiencing a severe food shortage. Earlier this month, North Korean leader Kim called for efforts to prevent further economic damage from natural disasters or coronavirus outbreaks, state media reported.
“My big concern is that, number one, the North Korean state security apparatus might conclude that this is a much better environment, and recommend for leadership to seriously curtail international engagement, which will have an impact on the information we can learn,” said Chad O’Carroll, founder of NK News.
There were signs that Kim was retreating from the outside world even before the pandemic hit, analysts say. Some point to the breakdown of negotiations at the February 2019 Hanoi summit, when Trump and Kim failed to reach a deal, as a turning point.
Since late 2019, state media statements about self-reliance started ramping up and detailed commentary about foreign affairs became infrequent, analysts said. The statements on foreign affairs used to give a sense of what the leadership deemed to be the most important developments around the world.
There’s also concern about the lack of information flowing into the country, particularly for the ordinary citizens who are most deprived of it.
Many defectors are unable to get in touch with their families or send remittances, affected by the crackdown on brokers who would arrange such contacts.
“The people who were in contact the most [with their families in North Korea], they don’t know what’s going on with their family,” said Sokeel Park, South Korea country director of the nongovernmental organization Liberty in North Korea, which helps North Koreans resettle in the South.
Park said he fears conditions will not improve anytime soon.
“This could be a new normal,” he said. “They were already so isolated, and it was difficult to imagine them being more isolated. But they’ve done it.”

The Washington Post · by Michelle Ye Hee LeeToday at 3:00 a.m. EDT · September 9, 2021



3. North Korea Holds Toned-Down Military Parade, Its First of Biden Administration

Yes. I concur with Timothy Martin. Absent any other reporting on this event it appears that this is a normal inwardly focused domestic event (as is normal for the September 9th parades). Sometimes it is not all about us or sending us messages. But the headline writer puts it in the US perspective - this is the first parade of the Biden Administration. Every regime action is not directed toward us as much as we like to try to think that it is.


North Korea Holds Toned-Down Military Parade, Its First of Biden Administration
Without major weapons or speech from Kim Jong Un, event appears targeted at rallying domestic audience rather than sending message to U.S. or South Korea
WSJ · by Timothy W. Martin
North Korea last held a military parade days before Mr. Biden’s inauguration in January, when the Kim regime displayed a submarine-launched ballistic missile that state media called the world’s most powerful weapon.

Kim Jong Un attended the parade but didn’t give a speech.
Photo: kcna/Reuters
Months earlier, in October 2020, North Korea unveiled an intercontinental ballistic missile that weapons experts believe is the largest ever of its kind.
For the Thursday parade, state media made no mention of showcasing new weaponry. The event seemed targeted toward rallying a domestic audience rather than designed to send a pointed message to the U.S. or South Korea.
Firetrucks rumbled by. A column of marchers wearing orange hazmat suits and gas masks represented protection of the country and people from the pandemic, state media said. Tractors hauling artillery were described as “annihilating firepower in case of emergency.” Military dogs and horses walked among the soldiers.

People wearing hazmat suits and gas masks represented protection of the country and people from the pandemic, state media said.
Photo: kcna/Reuters
North Korea’s current difficulties would be resolved through self-reliance and single-minded unity, said Ri Il Hwan, secretary of the central committee of the ruling Workers’ Party, in remarks quoted by state media.
“Neither challenge nor difficulties can ever stop the heroic advance of our state and our people,” Mr. Ri said.
The Kim regime has been dealing with home-front challenges. Its economy has suffered, as North Korea sealed off its borders to contend with Covid-19, and Mr. Kim has acknowledged food shortages. The country’s rubber-stamp parliament is set to meet this month to discuss economic issues.
South Korea’s military said it had detected signs of the military parade and was analyzing the situation with the U.S.
The Kim regime’s third military parade in under a year marked an unusually high tempo for such events in North Korea, though given the country’s internal struggles, the demonstrations show that national power and unity endure, said Ankit Panda, a senior fellow in the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
“A theme in the recent parades has been staying the course,” Mr. Panda said.
—Dasl Yoon contributed to this article.
Write to Timothy W. Martin at timothy.martin@wsj.com
WSJ · by Timothy W. Martin



4.
I do not understand why all these reporters do not assess the parade based on its past history. Comparing it to the OCtober and January parades is not useful. This parade is probably more in keeping with patterns. But everyone wants to read something into it and I think people were actually hoping to see "new" weapons so they could have "breaking news" reporting. Now they must feel let down by Kim.

Of course those who support Kim Jong-un or those who have agendas that are based on engagement and appeasement will interpret Kim as making a magnanimous gesture by not showing off new weapons. They will spin this to say Kim does not have hostile intent, the people are suffering and therefore we should lift sanctions.

(6th LD) N. Korea holds midnight military parade without Kim's address, new weapons | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 고병준 · September 9, 2021
(ATTN: ADDS more details in paras 3-5, 11)
By Koh Byung-joon and Oh Seok-min
SEOUL, Sept. 9 (Yonhap) -- North Korea held a midnight military parade to mark the 73rd anniversary of its founding, but leader Kim Jong-un did not deliver an address and no new strategic weapons were displayed, according to state media and South Korean officials.
The parade, which began at midnight Thursday, was watched closely by South Korea and others because the North could show off state-of-the-art weapons systems or leader Kim could make a speech about inter-Korean relations or nuclear talks with the United States.
But the parade at Pyongyang's Kim Il-sung Square featured artillery-carrying tractors and military search dogs rather than intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and other strategic weapons. Also seen were fire engines looking like the same model produced by German carmaker Mercedes Benz.
Leader Kim reviewed the parade, but no speech was given.
The official Korean Central News Agency said the parade was mostly led by the Worker-Peasant Red Guards (WPRG), a civilian defense organization in North Korea composed of around 5.7 million workers and farmers, rather than regular troops.
"North Korea does not appear to have presented strategic weapons this time. I think the parade was mainly for domestic audiences, rather than to convey messages to the U.S. or South Korea," a military official in Seoul said.
The parade was also conducted on a smaller scale than the previous ones held in January this year and in October last year, as it seemed to have lasted for about an hour and involved a small number of personnel and equipment, he added.
It marked the North's first military parade since U.S. President Joe Biden took office. The January event was held days before Biden's inauguration.


"The military parade of civilian and security armed forces was held at Kim Il-sung Square in Pyongyang to mark the 73rd anniversary of the republic's founding," the KCNA said. "As the welcoming music was performed at midnight on Thursday, Comrade Kim Jong-un walked up to a podium."
Photos and reports by the KCNA and the official Rodong Sinmun newspaper showed Kim dressed in a Western-style suit waving at rifle-toting, goose-stepping soldiers marching through the square.
Later in the day, state TV aired recorded footage of the parade.
Instead of leader Kim, Ri Il-hwan, a party secretary, addressed the parade.
"The government of the republic will firmly defend the dignity and the fundamental interests of our people and solve everything our own way with our own efforts on the principle of self-reliance and self-development under any circumstances," Ri was quoted as saying by the KCNA.
"We will increase the People's Army, a pillar in defending the state, in every way, put the defense industry on a higher juche and modernized basis and keep spurring the struggle for carrying out the Party's policy on putting all the people under arms and turning the whole country into a fortress to ceaselessly improve the defense capability of the country," he added.
The North last staged a military parade in January after a rare party congress and showcased a new submarine launched ballistic missile (SLBM) and other advanced ballistic missiles. In October last year, it also held a massive nighttime military parade, displaying new types of SLBM and an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).


Thursday's parade came as the North has been struggling with a worsening economy amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and international sanctions. North Korea claims to be coronavirus-free but has maintained border closures with China since early last year.
Denuclearization talks between the U.S. and North Korea have also stalled. Washington has said it is ready to hold talks with the North anywhere, at anytime, but the communist country has remained unresponsive to U.S. overtures.
Last month, the North warned of "a serious security crisis" in protest against the major combined exercise between South Korea and the U.S. Some have expected the North to carry out major weapons tests or to undertake provocations, but the JCS has said the North had not shown any unusual military moves.
North Korea last held a military parade on the occasion of the national foundation day in 2018 to celebrate the 70th anniversary. At that time, the communist country did not display ICBMs that could target the U.S., as the event took less than three months after the first summit between Kim and then-U.S. President Donald Trump.

graceoh@yna.co.kr
kokobj@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 고병준 · September 9, 2021


5. Group of youth in Tanchon arrested after singing and dancing to South Korean music
Outside information and influence: An existential threat to the regime.

But what is so terrible is the north Korea security and political system that has citizens reporting on other citizens.  

Excerpts:

Most of the people in the neighborhood felt sorry for the youth because they had gone through hardships working during the day and preparing for Youth Day at night. It was the actions of just one person who reported them that led to their arrest.
The Ministry of State Security had, in fact, monitored the house where the youth gathered every night, the source said. Following the report of South Korean music being heard, security agents immediately raided the house and arrested the young people.
The incident was immediately reported to the provincial government, the Tanchon party committee and local youth organization. The young people caught in the roundup are reportedly undergoing a preliminary examination by the Ministry of State Security.
The source said that “there is a rumor circulating that their sentences will not be light” and that “people believe that heavier sentences will be imposed as [the government] is intensely cracking down on watching South Korean movies or listening to South Korean music.”

Group of youth in Tanchon arrested after singing and dancing to South Korean music - Daily NK
By Jong So Yong - 2021.09.09 2:57pm
dailynk.com · September 9, 2021
A group of young people in Tanchon who gathered to prepare for Youth Day (Aug. 28) were arrested by the Ministry of State Security while singing and dancing to South Korean songs, Daily NK has learned.
A source in South Hamgyong Province told Daily NK on Sept. 3 that, “a group of youths at the Yangjong food facility in Tanchon were arrested in the morning by the Ministry of State Security.” According to the source, the arrest came “after [the youth had finished] working on repairs and during a nightly gathering to practice singing and dancing to prepare for the Youth Day event, which their youth organization had told them to do.”
South Korean songs and dances have been popular among North Korean youth for a long time. However, after the implementation of the “anti-reactionary thought law” last year, many young people have been arrested during intensified crackdowns on “anti-socialist activities.”
According to Daily NK’s source, after finishing recovery efforts for the day, the group of young people in Tanchon gathered at someone’s house and were singing and dancing as they prepared for the Youth Day event. However, they were arrested after a local resident heard them and reported the group to the Ministry of State Security.
North Korean university students play music at the Samjiyon construction site. / Image: Rodong Sinmun
“The youth were not frightened [about getting caught] since young people know all the South Korean songs and dances, but older people don’t know [the songs and dances],” explained the source. “They finished a short practice of the song the organization chose, and as they spent their remaining time happily singing and dancing to South Korean songs to relieve their fatigue from their hard work doing repairs, they were reported.”
Most of the people in the neighborhood felt sorry for the youth because they had gone through hardships working during the day and preparing for Youth Day at night. It was the actions of just one person who reported them that led to their arrest.
The Ministry of State Security had, in fact, monitored the house where the youth gathered every night, the source said. Following the report of South Korean music being heard, security agents immediately raided the house and arrested the young people.
The incident was immediately reported to the provincial government, the Tanchon party committee and local youth organization. The young people caught in the roundup are reportedly undergoing a preliminary examination by the Ministry of State Security.
The source said that “there is a rumor circulating that their sentences will not be light” and that “people believe that heavier sentences will be imposed as [the government] is intensely cracking down on watching South Korean movies or listening to South Korean music.”
Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
dailynk.com · September 9, 2021


6. Amid Food Shortage, North Korea Orders Army to Shoot Crop Thieves on Sight

Again, this is the most brutal and inhumane regime in the modern era.

Amid Food Shortage, North Korea Orders Army to Shoot Crop Thieves on Sight
An unprecedented medicine burglary from wartime stocks has shocked officials.
With food shortages driving hungry North Koreans to steal crops from fields, authorities have deployed military units to guard farmland during harvest season with orders to shoot crop thieves on sight, sources in the country told RFA.
The campaign to stop crop theft has unfolded amid an extensive investigation into the unprecedented theft of emergency wartime supplies of anti-biotics from a government warehouse,
Chronically short of food, North Korea has seen starvation deaths this year in the wake of the closure of the Sino-Korean border and suspension of trade with China in Jan. 2020 to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
With thievery from farms on the rise nationwide, authorities in the northeastern province of North Hamgyong have ordered the military to patrol the farms there, a military source from the area told RFA’s Korean Service Monday.
“The 9th Corps have organized groups to patrol the farms day and night because thefts are happening frequently,” said the source, who requested anonymity for security reasons.
“The General Staff Department ordered them to patrol the farms because… cooperative farm thefts are increasing all over the country,” said the source.
“If the authorities do nothing to prevent this, harvest yields will be greatly reduced,” the military source added.
The source said that the farms were tasked with unrealistic production goals at a ruling Workers Party congress at the beginning of this year, which called for a major agricultural windfall as a solution to projected shortages.
“Preventing residents’ intrusion into the farms for stealing crops is also important for the military to secure its own rations,” the source said.
The army built guard posts and formed patrol teams of about 20 soldiers that have been authorized to use deadly force, according to the source.
“Any illegal trespasser is regarded as ‘an impure element’ against the government system and is to be shot without warning, so the order is causing tension among the residents living near the farms,” the source said.
In nearby Ryanggang province, soldiers are also patrolling farms, said a resident of the provincial capital Hyesan.
“When I go to the outskirts of the city these days, it is common to see soldiers carrying weapons and patrolling the crops, so the people avoid those areas, especially at night,” said the second source, who requested anonymity to speak freely.
“The people are terrified that they could be shot without warning if they merely approach the fields,” said the second source.
The local neighborhood watch units and the probate office are pushing an anti-crop theft campaign of education sessions and propaganda, according to the second source.
“But the residents are not happy about it. The current food problem is considered to be our country’s worst since the Arduous March,” said the second source, referring to the 1994-1998 famine that killed about 10 percent of the country’s population of 23 million.
“The people are saying that they have to eat to survive, even if it means stealing food.”
Penicillin pilfered
A dramatic theft of penicillin from a warehouse inside a guarded government building last month underscored how chronic medicine shortages have also gotten worse since the pandemic and the closure of the border with China.
In South Pyongan province, north of the capital Pyongyang, police are investigating a large theft from a wartime medicinal storage facility of the antibiotic, which has recently doubled in price.
“The military drug management office’s no. 4 warehouse here in Songchon county was burglarized, so the judicial authorities are on alert,” a resident of the county in South Pyongan told RFA’s Korean Service Sept. 5.
“That warehouse stockpiles and stores various emergency medicines, including antibiotics set aside for civilians in the event of war,” said the third source, who declined to be named.
Governments in every North Korean province, city and county manage reserve warehouses. No. 2 warehouses store food, and No. 4 warehouses store medicine and other necessities. Some municipalities put the warehouses in spent mines or other unused facilities, where they are usually guarded by armed men to prevent theft.
Songchon county’s No. 4 warehouse is located inside the drug management office building, under tight security, according to the South Pyongan source.
“The thief who broke in cut the lock with some kind of tool and stole hundreds of doses of penicillin from the warehouse. This is the first time that wartime medicine has been stolen, so the military’s judicial authorities have been on high alert and are conducting an investigation, but there’s been no progress,” the third source said.
According to the third source, the price of 100 milligrams of penicillin recently jumped from 1,500 won (U.S. $0.25 to about 3,000 ($0.50) won.
Another resident from South Pyongan told RFA that the unprecedented theft triggered an all-out investigation.
“Individual retailers who have been reported to have sold even one dose of penicillin in the local market or in private are the first to be investigated,” said the source on condition of anonymity.
“Due to the coronavirus crisis, the operation of pharmaceutical factories was greatly reduced,” said the South Pyongan resident.
“Even the antibiotic supplies from China are depleted, leading to a big medicine shortage in the market. So, the police are investigating where sellers are getting their penicillin,” added the source.
Police investigated one retailer who said he bought penicillin off a merchant from another area a few months ago, according to the South Pyongan source.
“They searched the house, checked the production dates on the penicillin doses found in their homes, but not a single dose was found to be stolen from the No. 4 warehouse,” the fourth source said.
“Even if they catch the thief, the head of Songchon county’s drug management office will not avoid heavy punishment.”
Though Korean War hostilities ended in an armistice agreement in 1953, North Korea technically remains at war with the more prosperous South.
Reported by Myungchul Lee and Hyemin Son for RFA’s Korean Service. Translated by Leejin Jun and Jinha Shin. Written in English by Eugene Whong.

7. EU's top diplomat vows support for dismantling N. Korea's nuclear program

The international community wants north Korea to denuclearize.

The EU supports continued sanctions:
"On the Korean Peninsula, you can count on European Union's support for the dismantlement of North Korea's weapons of mass destruction in a verifiable and irreversible manner," he said in a video message.
"We continue to encourage the full implementation of sanctions, while at the same time, we stand ready to lend our experience in finding diplomatic and multilateral solutions," the bloc's foreign policy chief said.
Referring to the growing importance of the Indo-Pacific region for Europe, Borrell said the union aims to reinforce its "strategic focus and presence and actions" in the region.

(2nd LD) EU's top diplomat vows support for dismantling N. Korea's nuclear program | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 최수향 · September 9, 2021
(ATTN: ADDS quotes from Russian official in paras 11-12)
By Choi Soo-hyang
SEOUL, Sept. 9 (Yonhap) -- The foreign policy chief of the European Union (EU) pledged support Thursday for building peace on the Korean Peninsula, stressing the importance of implementing sanctions on North Korea in ending its nuclear program.
Josep Borrell, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, made the remarks in a congratulatory message to an opening ceremony for an annual international security forum hosted by the defense ministry in Seoul.
"On the Korean Peninsula, you can count on European Union's support for the dismantlement of North Korea's weapons of mass destruction in a verifiable and irreversible manner," he said in a video message.
"We continue to encourage the full implementation of sanctions, while at the same time, we stand ready to lend our experience in finding diplomatic and multilateral solutions," the bloc's foreign policy chief said.
Referring to the growing importance of the Indo-Pacific region for Europe, Borrell said the union aims to reinforce its "strategic focus and presence and actions" in the region.
"The European Union is your close and reliable partner, and increasingly so, also, on security and defense matters," he said.

In a keynote speech, Britain's top diplomat Dominic Raab also expressed support for Seoul's efforts to engage with North Korea.
"We must continue to work together towards complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization of the peninsula, as well as the establishment of a more positive, permanent peace," Raab said. "We hope that direct communication between the North and South can resume as soon as possible."
Baroness Goldie, Britain's minister of state at the Ministry of Defense, said sanctions will remain in place to apply pressure to the North, saying "a strong statement" is not enough.
"We are willing to back up our words with actions through the deployment of Royal Navy vessels and military personnel to enforce maritime sanctions," she said.
Yevgeny Ilyin, the first deputy chief of the Russian defense ministry's main department for international military cooperation, however, said sanctions "which oppress the lives of ordinary people" should be reconsidered.
"The use of this tool of coercion can lead to negative consequences and escalation of the situation," he said. "Humanitarian aid and support can be an effective instrument in encouraging dialogue on arms control."
While the current situation is "deeply regrettable," U.N. High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Nakamitsu Izumi said "direct diplomacy amongst key parties concerned is the only effective path forward."
"The United Nations system can provide technical and political support if requested by the parties concerned, including in the areas of verification, confidence building measures and by offering channels of communication," Nakamitsu said.
The remarks came amid a deadlock in nuclear negotiations between the United States and North Korea, with Pyongyang warning of a "serious security crisis" in protest of the South Korea-U.S. combined exercise in August.
On Thursday, North Korea staged a nighttime military parade in Pyongyang to mark the 73rd anniversary of the national founding with leader Kim Jong-un in attendance, though no new strategic weapons were displayed.
The North last staged a military parade in January after a rare party congress and showcased a new submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) and other advanced ballistic missiles.
scaaet@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 최수향 · September 9, 2021


8. How N.Korea Manipulates S.Korean Governments, Public Opinion

Excellent analysis. I agree with Ms. O. And few masters theses make the mainstream press but of course there are few written by high ranking escapee/defectors. I wonder if there will be an English translation. Based on this report it would be good for the international community to read her complete analysis. I wonder if she covers the "northern wind" during South Korean elections.

Excerpts:
"North Korea's method of criticizing South Korea differs according to the disposition of the South's government, but the content largely remains the same," she remarks. The North is of course hostile to both conservative and liberal governments here but understands that they need to be handled differently.
Pyongyang typically takes a more openly hostile approach to conservative South Korean administrations to bring liberal public opinion here on its side, but liberal governments like the current Moon Jae-in administration are more likely to be patronized and taunted.
O analyzed the top five talking points that appeared in North Korean state media from 2012 to 2020. She found that they criticized South Korea regardless of the political views of the presidential administration when it comes to reunification policies and joint military exercises with the U.S.
But when they focus on conservative groups in the South, the North loudly slams the most rightwing factions and seems to be backing the liberals here to extend the rift between them.
"North Korea's view of South Korea remains hostile even if the government here is progressive. It wants to control South Korea and seeks to create conflict within the South."
How N.Korea Manipulates S.Korean Governments, Public Opinion
O Hye-son, the wife of North Korean defector and lawmaker Thae Yong-ho, explains some of leader Kim Jong-un's manipulations in a master's thesis she wrote at Ewha Womans University.
"North Korea's method of criticizing South Korea differs according to the disposition of the South's government, but the content largely remains the same," she remarks. The North is of course hostile to both conservative and liberal governments here but understands that they need to be handled differently.
Pyongyang typically takes a more openly hostile approach to conservative South Korean administrations to bring liberal public opinion here on its side, but liberal governments like the current Moon Jae-in administration are more likely to be patronized and taunted.
O analyzed the top five talking points that appeared in North Korean state media from 2012 to 2020. She found that they criticized South Korea regardless of the political views of the presidential administration when it comes to reunification policies and joint military exercises with the U.S.
But when they focus on conservative groups in the South, the North loudly slams the most rightwing factions and seems to be backing the liberals here to extend the rift between them.
"North Korea's view of South Korea remains hostile even if the government here is progressive. It wants to control South Korea and seeks to create conflict within the South."
O herself comes from an elite family in North Korea who enjoy the best connections. Her great-uncle was O Paek-ryong, a partisan who fought against the Japanese colonialists alongside North Korea founder Kim Il-sung. He later served as director of military affairs at the Workers Party. She herself worked as an English translator in North Korea's Foreign Ministry until she defected to South Korea with her husband in July 2016.


9. North Korean district office heads join crackdown on grasshopper merchants

Kim appears to be hell bent on cracking down on and destroying all lifelines for the people to include the "grasshopper merchants" or grass roots capitalism.

North Korean district office heads join crackdown on grasshopper merchants - Daily NK
The image of district office chiefs has shifted downward as they move away from their "problem-solving" role of the past
By Lee Chae Un - 2021.09.09 3:05pm
dailynk.com · September 9, 2021
With North Korean police, inminban (people’s unit) heads and even district office chiefs recently joining a crackdown on streetside commerce, conflicts with local residents are growing, says a source.
A source in Yanggang Province told Daily NK on Tuesday that the Central Committee reissued an order on Aug. 9 calling for beefed up controls on streetside commerce. “Following the order from the Central Committee, even the district office chief has begun cracking down on streetside commerce, and fights with locals are breaking out here and there,” he said.
According to the source, a fight between grasshopper merchants and the district office chief broke out in front of a vegetable wholesaler in Hyesan on Sept. 2.
The merchants protested that the district office chief should be helping struggling people during tough times, but he was instead preventing them from “earning even enough for gruel.” The district office chief responded by saying “the country was struggling because of people like you who don’t listen.” This sparked a tussle.
Market official on patrol in Sunchon, South Pyongan Province. / Image: Daily NK
Taking issue with the district office chief’s comment about the country “struggling,” locals reported him to the local task force handling non-socialist and anti-socialist behavior. He was not punished, however, and is reportedly still cracking down on streetside commerce.
The source said with police, inminban heads and now even district office chiefs cracking down on streetside commerce, fights with locals are breaking out every day. “However, nobody upstairs is taking any measures,” he said.
In North Korea, the district office chief directly meets with local residents. They have played the role of middleman between the authorities and local residents, vividly surveying the execution of policy and administration in their jurisdictions and resolving problems in accordance with the authorities intentions.
In fact, the district office chiefs have carried out many duties in the past, including distributing holiday provisions and ration tickets. They have built up an image as “errand boys,” regularly checking in on decorated soldiers, retired officers and persons of merit to resolve difficulties they may face.
The source said the public had generally held the district office chiefs in high regard, no matter how difficult things got. “With the authorities roping in even the district office chiefs to police streetside commerce after efforts by the police and inminban chiefs failed to stick, public perception of them is turning negative,” he said.
Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
dailynk.com · September 9, 2021

10. Pyongyang's parade featured tractors, motorbikes

Not just motorbikes, but motorbikes with side cars.

But is every regim action a message for the US?? By the way, we do not impose sanctions because of parades.

“Thursday’s parade, which took on a celebratory atmosphere, can be interpreted as a tone-downed message to the Biden administration," he said, "without giving the U.S. cause to apply additional, tougher sanctions.”
 



Thursday
September 9, 2021

Pyongyang's parade featured tractors, motorbikes

Public security personnel participate in an overnight parade in Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang on Thursday during the regime's celebration of the 73rd anniversary of its founding. [YONHAP]
 
While South Korean intelligence expected North Korea to show off its latest weaponry at a parade to celebrate the 73rd anniversary of the country's founding, Pyongyang put on a much less ominous display on Thursday: of tractors and motorcycles.
 
The pre-dawn festivities in Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang on Thursday – the North’s third such nighttime parade within the past year – featured personnel in orange hazmat suits and some conventional weapons, including multiple rocket launchers. The parade also featured tractors and public security personnel on motorcycles, in addition to the usual goose-stepping soldiers.
 
The parade represented a significant anti-climax considering the expectations of South Korean intelligence sources, who earlier this week told the JoongAng Ilbo they anticipated the regime to show off new submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) and other advanced weapons.
 
The North’s state-controlled Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said jets flew above the parade, but has not yet broadcast video footage of the parade. Previous overnight parades were not broadcast live, and recorded footage was later shown to the public on state television.
 
Ballistic missiles were seen in neither photos of the parade nor mentioned in KCNA’s reports.
 
Although North Korean leader Kim Jong-un oversaw the parade from a balcony overlooking the square, he did not deliver a speech – a change from last October’s parade celebrating the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Workers’ Party. On that occasion, Kim boasted of his regime’s nuclear prowess and showed off new intercontinental ballistic missiles.
 
A photo of Kim from the official Workers’ Party newspaper Rodong Sinmun showed him wearing a grey-beige suit, waving towards assembled spectators and parade participants in the square below, which is named after his grandfather, North Korea's founding leader.
 
Some analysts said the timing of Thursday’s celebration and the fact that participants comprised fewer members of the armed forces and more civilian personnel suggested the parade was geared towards a domestic audience.
 
“This parade comes about eight months since the one held in January,” said Cha Du-hyeogn, a senior researcher at the Asan Policy Institute. "Hosting such celebratory parades so frequently can be interpreted as a sign that the North’s domestic situation is bad enough that the regime needs to bolster its internal unity.
 
"At the same time, the parade centered on non-military personnel, which seems to be aimed at emphasizing a kind of psychological readiness that includes not only the usual armed forces, but also all people," he added.
 
The choice to intentionally host a celebration that de-emphasizes the military may also reflect the regime’s recognition that it cannot easily engage in dialogue with the U.S. nor try to intensify tensions.
 
There are also signs that the parade was the North’s response to joint U.S.-South Korea autumn training exercise.
 
The regime lambasted the joint drill, with Kim Yong-chol, head of the North’s Unified Front Department – the Workers’ Party agency in charge of propaganda directed at the South – warning the allies that the country would “make [them] feel a huge security crisis.”
 
However, the North has taken no perceptible measures in response to the joint exercise except to agree to the re-establishment of direct communication lines between the two Koreas, only to stop responding on them later. 
 
“Since the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) released a report saying that the North has restarted its Yongbyon nuclear complex, the North may feel it is unwise to showcase new weaponry, such as an ICBM or another means of delivering nuclear weapons, at a time when the U.S. administration of President Joe Biden is already watching its moves,” said Nam Sung-wook, chair of the department of North Korean studies at Korea University.
 
“Thursday’s parade, which took on a celebratory atmosphere, can be interpreted as a tone-downed message to the Biden administration," he said, "without giving the U.S. cause to apply additional, tougher sanctions.”
 

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]


11. China claims ban on K-pop fan accounts not targeted at Hallyu
China doth protest too much.

China is trying to win the soft power war by coercion and "force."  


Thursday
September 9, 2021

China claims ban on K-pop fan accounts not targeted at Hallyu

A BTS Jimin fan club account on Weibo, shut down by the Chinese government [SCREEN CAPTURE]
 
The ban on dozens of K-pop fan accounts on social media platforms in China are not meant to target Korean artists or Hallyu, said the Chinese Embassy in Seoul.
 
“The problem with these 'fandoms' in China's internet space is getting bigger and bigger, and each fan club is using abusive language, slander and malicious marketing. There are cases in which fans, including minors, are encouraged to gather funds to support their stars, and some are forced to do so,” reads a statement by the embassy on Wednesday.
 
“In order to respond to the above situation, relevant ministries in China have urgently launched bans and disciplinary measures to crack down on celebrity data manipulation and unhealthy fandom consumption,” the embassy said. “It is in no way meant to influence China’s relations with other countries.”
 
Among the accounts shut down for 30 days were fan club accounts of individual NCT members, singer-songwriter IU, Seulgi of Red Velvet, Taeyeon of Girls’ Generation and Rosé and Lisa of Blackpink, according to several Chinese media reports.
 

A fan club account for BTS member Jimin received a longer 60-day suspension due to an incident in which fans raised money to fly an airplane covered with photos of the singer to celebrate his birthday.
 

A Chinese fan club account for BTS member Jimin received a 60-day suspension due to an incident in which fans raised money to fly an airplane covered with photos of the singer. [YONHAP]
 
Though the embassy denies that the Chinese government is trying to crack down on Hallyu with its recent internet regulation moves, it's not something Korean artists or K-pop groups would be surprised to see.
 
China had implemented unofficial bans on Hallyu, or the Korean wave of pop culture, following Seoul’s decision to install a U.S.-led antimissile system in Korea, or the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (Thaad) system, in 2016.
 
In addition to an unofficial order directed toward Chinese companies to stay away from Hallyu contents or working with artists from Korea, the Chinese government also delayed, for years, issuing licenses to Korean businesses including cosmetics and gaming companies to export their products to China.
 
The Korean Foreign Ministry on Thursday said the matter “must be looked into” but that it doesn’t think China is deliberately trying to crack down on Hallyu or Korean businesses.
 
“The Chinese ban on Hallyu has been something that Seoul and Beijing have repeatedly talked about, and the Korean government has repeatedly emphasized that the level of cultural exchanges between the two countries should be returned to normalcy,” the ministry’s spokesperson Choi Young-sam said in speaking with the press on Thursday. “The issue will likely be discussed at the Korea-China foreign ministers’ summit coming up. […] But the governments of Korea and China share a view that in no circumstance should the bilateral ties and exchanges be compromised.”
 
China and Korea are commemorating their 30th anniversary of diplomatic ties next year.
 
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will be in Seoul next Tuesday and Wednesday to meet with Korea’s Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong to discuss North Korea, the 30-year anniversary and a state visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

BY ESTHER CHUNG [chung.juhee@joongang.co.kr]


12. Gov’t defends N. Korea’s restart of nuclear activities
Concur. You cannot defend the restarting of the Yongbyon nuclear facility.

The joint declarations include wordings that state “both Koreas confirmed joint goals to achieve a nuclear-free peninsula via complete de-nuclearization” and “North Korea expresses intent to take actions such as permanent disposal of Yongbyon facilities if the U.S. takes corresponding measures”. A literal interpretation of the statement may argue that North Korea’s recent actions are not actual violation. However, the prerequisite for such statements was North Korea leader Kim Jung-un’s willingness to give up nuclear weapons. Reactivation of Yongbyon facilities is a clear violation of such agreement, but the government chose to remain silent and use sophistry.

Gov’t defends N. Korea’s restart of nuclear activities
Posted September. 09, 2021 07:49,
Updated September. 09, 2021 07:49
Gov’t defends N. Korea’s restart of nuclear activities. September. 09, 2021 07:49. .
In a hearing held at the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee at the National Assembly on Tuesday, Vice Minister Choi Jong-kun replied “no” in response to an assembly member of the opposition party who asked whether he thought if North Korean had restarted Yongbyon nuclear reactor would it be in violation of the Panmunjom Declaration on April 27, 2018 or the Pyongyang Joint Declaration on Sept. 19, 2018. He went on to say that “North Korea continues to carry out tangible actions based on the two declarations,” and mentioned that North Korea may scrap nuclear/missile testing facilities. “Presidential office Cheong Wa Dae aligns with Choi’s comments,” said an official with the presidential office.

Choi’s reply aligns with the government’s incomprehensible position ever since the IAEA reported of North Korea’s restarting of Yongbyon’s nuclear facilities. The government has not issued any concern or regret, let alone any warning or complaint, against North Korea. It has played down on

North Korea’s nuclear activities despite blatant violation against de-nuclearization and now it is justifying on behalf of North Korea.

The joint declarations include wordings that state “both Koreas confirmed joint goals to achieve a nuclear-free peninsula via complete de-nuclearization” and “North Korea expresses intent to take actions such as permanent disposal of Yongbyon facilities if the U.S. takes corresponding measures”. A literal interpretation of the statement may argue that North Korea’s recent actions are not actual violation. However, the prerequisite for such statements was North Korea leader Kim Jung-un’s willingness to give up nuclear weapons. Reactivation of Yongbyon facilities is a clear violation of such agreement, but the government chose to remain silent and use sophistry.



13. Screening of controversial Chinese film about Korean War canceled

Although counterintuitive, I think it should be released. It is the right thing to do to not censor in a democracy. And from a practical and strategic point of view it will blowback on China and it will be another loss in the soft power battle.

Censorship undermines democratic norms and values. We should trust the people to recognize Chinese propaganda and make the appropriate judgment. 

The Korean Veterans Association issued a statement which read, "Displaying political propaganda depicting the CPV Army as heroes is an anti-national act that undermines democratic norms and values."


Screening of controversial Chinese film about Korean War canceled
The Korea Times · by 2021-09-09 10:48 | Obituaries · September 9, 2021
A scene from the film, "The Sacrifice" / Korea Times fileBy Kwak Yeon-soo

A screening of a Chinese film about the 1950-53 Korean War has been canceled in Korea after facing an enormous backlash from Koreans. The film is accused of glorifying the Chinese troops that fought against South Korea and killed numerous Koreans and U.N. soldiers.

"The Sacrifice" revolves around the Battle of Kumsong, the final battle between the Chinese People's Volunteer (CPV) Army and the U.N. Command before the signing of the Korean Armistice Agreement in 1953. It depicts China's victory and the deaths of thousands of South Korean soldiers.

The movie drew media attention when the Korea Media Rating Board (KMRB) classified "The Sacrifice" as intended for audiences 15 and older last month. The film was aimed at the internet protocol TV (IPTV) platform, not for cinema release.
The KMRB came under fire for giving the controversial movie the green light to be broadcast here.


"Withholding or refusing classification due to the content or theme of the video is an act of pre-censorship, which is prohibited by the Constitution and is not permissible under the current law," the KMRB said in a statement.

Despite the organization's explanation, conservative filmmakers and war veterans condemned the approval and demanded the film be banned from screenings.
"Is the KMRB a South Korean organization or China's propaganda department? This is utterly shocking and humiliating," Yoo Seong-min, a presidential contender of the main opposition People Power Party, wrote on Facebook.

The Korean Veterans Association issued a statement which read, "Displaying political propaganda depicting the CPV Army as heroes is an anti-national act that undermines democratic norms and values."

When faced with an avalanche of criticism for allegedly trying to spread pro-China propaganda and distort history, the film's importer, Wisdom Film, apologized for causing great pain and disappointment and withdrew its application for the rating for "The Sacrifice." A film cannot be released without the organization's classification.

"I feel a heavy weight of responsibility, and I deeply reflect on trying to import the film without adequate consideration of the content that glorifies South Korea's wartime foe. The Korean War was a tragic conflict initiated when North Korean forces invaded South Korea and it claimed the lives of millions of people," Wisdom Film said in a statement.

Culture Minister Hwang Hee confirmed the cancellation. "It cannot be released because the importer gave up its content rating," he said during a legislative committee session held in Seoul, Wednesday.

"I understand that it is far from the public sentiment. It may baffle the MZ generation (consisting of people born between approximately 1981 and 2005) when considering their (anti-China) sentiment."


The Korea Times · by 2021-09-09 10:48 | Obituaries · September 9, 2021


14. Xi, Putin vow efforts to advance relations with North Korea
Gee, it almost looks like some kind of axis.. I wonder what we should call this? How about an Axis of Authoritarians? Or a troop of Totalitarians? Or a Den of Dictators?


Xi, Putin vow efforts to advance relations with North Korea
The Korea Times · by 2021-09-09 17:07 | Photos · September 9, 2021
Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Chinese President Xi Jinping / EPA-Yonhap

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed efforts to advance relations with North Korea in messages sent to leader Kim Jong-un to congratulate him on his country's 73rd founding anniversary Thursday, Pyongyang's state media reported.

"I and Comrade General Secretary have maintained close communication and led the bilateral relations for them to develop in a stable way and, thus steadily made good success, which further enriched the traditional bilateral friendship," Xi was quoted as saying by the Korean Central News Agency.

"I highly value the development of the China-DPRK relations and intend to develop these ties of friendship and cooperation on a long-term basis and in a stable way," he added, using the acronym of the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

The KCNA said Putin also sent a congratulatory message to Kim and expressed hope to advance their bilateral relations "based on the good traditions of friendship and mutual respect."

"Expressing belief that both countries would further develop constructive bilateral dialogue and cooperation in various aspects by their concerted efforts, the message noted it would doubtless meet the interests of the two peoples and contribute to promoting security and stability in the Korean peninsula and the whole Northeast Asian region," the KCNA said.

North Korea has strengthened relations with other socialist countries, including China and Russia, amid a prolonged stalemate in denuclearization talks with the United States and crippling global sanctions on its economy. (Yonhap)


The Korea Times · by 2021-09-09 17:07 | Photos · September 9, 2021


15. The US-South Korea Alliance Is A Historic Success (And Could Get Even Better)


I, too, am bullish on our linchpin alliance. It is not a Cold War anachronism. It continues to evolve. Although the author's do not mention this, it is useful to peruse the joint statement and the fact sheet from the May Biden-Moon summit to see how the alliance has advanced to a global one.

U.S.-ROK Leaders’ Joint Statement

FACT SHEET: United States – Republic of Korea Partnership

The US-South Korea Alliance Is A Historic Success (And Could Get Even Better)
19fortyfive.com · by ByJames Jay Carafano and Anthony Kim · September 8, 2021
Not all U.S. foreign policy ends in a debacle. The Biden administration’s precipitous, unilateral withdrawal from Afghanistan destroyed hopes of freedom and security there and has shaken our allies’ trust in Washington’s commitments to them.
But foreign policy done well has the opposite effect. Exhibit A: the enduring alliance between the United States and South Korea.
The alliance was first forged in war. Shortly after the 1953 Armistice Agreement, the United States and South Korea entered a Mutual Defense Treaty. To this day, the U.S. remains true to that security commitment to South Korea, with more than 28,500 U.S. service members stationed in Korea and close military consultation and cooperation. America’s steadfast military support has, in turn, encouraged Seoul to advance values it shares with Washington: democracy, economic freedom, respect for human rights, and much, much more.
As the years have passed, these shared values have bound the two nations closer and closer. This is not to say that relations have never been strained. For example, Washington and Seoul have often differed on the best way to deal diplomatically with North Korea. And former President Donald Trump recently roiled the relationship by demanding that Seoul pick up a significantly larger share of the cost of keeping U.S. troops in Korea. Yet despite numerous ups and downs—or perhaps thanks to them—Washington today considers the Republic of Korea a model ally.
Indeed, the bilateral relationship is one of the most successful ever built. Once a recipient of U.S. economic development assistance, South Korea now boasts one of the most resilient and competitive economies in the world.
The May 21 White House summit between Joe Biden and Moon Jae-in highlighted several areas where the two nations could work together to drive both economies forward-looking alliance. The leaders spoke of cooperative efforts in emerging tech, climate change, and space policy. That discussion marked a clear transition in U.S.–South Korea relations from that of a purely security/military alliance to a more far-ranging partnership.
Bilateral trade and investment activities have expanded over time, with the big boost coming with the implementation of the first U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement in 2012. Since that agreement, bilateral total trade flows have increased to over $170 billion, with both U.S. services exports and Korean goods exports rising by around 35 percent. Foreign direct investment has also increased markedly. Since 2012, South Korean investment in the U.S. has nearly tripled, to over $55 billion, and U.S. foreign direct investment to South Korea rose almost 50%, to over $40 billion.
Despite those impressive gains, though, much more can be achieved through innovative avenues that can capitalize on both countries’ shared strengths. For example, both the U.S. and South Korea have innovative, technologically advanced manufacturing sectors. That creates a common interest in trying to understand how technical innovation—touching everything from robotics to artificial intelligence—will affect their prosperity as well as security in the 21st Century.
To that end, Washington should work with Seoul to create a pragmatic framework of policies that can promote core 5G technologies, enabling greater and more strategic commercialization of secure telecommunications networks. Obviously, this would provide major security benefits for both nations as well.
Similarly, the need for timely and strategic bilateral cooperation on cyberspace ought to be self-evident to Washington and Seoul. The severity and complexity of mali­cious cyber-attacks in both nations have intensified over the past few months—with China and North Korea thought to be behind the vast majority of these attacks. America and South Korea ought to be joined at the hip in working to counter cyber-attacks.
None of this should be construed as suggesting that governments are smarter or more capable of meeting these challenges than the private sector. The latter remains the real generator of innovation and understanding. Governments need to figure out how to take advantage of what the private sector has to offer and then help companies and government agencies share their insights and information in ways that enhance everyone’s security while protecting intelligence sources and corporate intellectual property rights. It’s the kind of conversation forward-looking governments—especially two long-time allies—should engage in.
Next year will mark the 10th anniversary of the implementation of the first U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement. In the run-up to that milestone, Washington and Seoul should work together to reinvigorate their proven economic partnership and to move it to the next level by working together to deal proactively with emerging challenges like cyber security.
James Jay Carafano, a 1945 Contributing Editor, is a vice president of The Heritage Foundation, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. Anthony Kim is the research manager and editor of Heritage’s annual “Index of Economic Freedom.”
19fortyfive.com · by ByJames Jay Carafano and Anthony Kim · September 8, 2021

16. Moon presents S. Korea's vision for 'overwhelming' global leader in shipbuilding sector

Shipbuilding (and steel production among others) contributed to the Miracle on the Han.

Moon presents S. Korea's vision for 'overwhelming' global leader in shipbuilding sector | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 이치동 · September 9, 2021
SEOUL, Sept. 9 (Yonhap) -- President Moon Jae-in declared South Korea's vision Thursday to emerge as an "overwhelming leader" in the global shipbuilding industry during his visit to a local shipyard.
In an event there on the so-called K-shipbuilding campaign, he said that the government will "further strengthen the power of our shipbuilding industry and make it the world's overwhelming No. 1 that no one can overtake."

Moon, in particular, referred to the fourth industrial revolution and the significance of carbon neutrality.
"The wave of eco-friendly and smartization is also an irreversible trend in the shipbuilding and shipping industries," he said, delivering a speech at the shipyard of Samsung Heavy Industries on Geoje Island, South Gyeongsang Province, located about 400 kilometers southeast of Seoul.
South Korea has its strength in those fields and "I think it's an opportunity that heaven gave us," the president said.
"Our goal is clear," he added. "It is to solidify the status of the unshakable No. 1 shipbuilding powerhouse in the world by taking advantage of the strengths and simultaneously contribute to the world's carbon neutrality."

lcd@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 이치동 · September 9, 2021






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.

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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