Quotes of the Day:
"As soon as it has come to the point that the crowd is to judge what is truth, it will not be long before decisions are made with fists."
- Soren Kierkegaard
"There is never a time in the future in which we will work out our salvation. The challenge is in the moment; the time is always now."
- James Baldwin
"The best way to predict the future is to invent it."
- Alan Kay
1. Israel-Palestine Conflict: Military Lessons for South Korea?
2. New daily cases set another record amid rise of delta variant (South Korea)
3. 16 more USFK-affiliated individuals test positive for COVID-19
4. Dozens of USFK service members donate blood amid low supplies over COVID-19
5. Korea, Japan, U.S. diplomats meet in Tokyo
6. Deputy US Secretary of State Sherman renews calls for North Korea to resume dialogue
7. Why South Korea cannot achieve denuclearization of Korean Peninsula
8. South Korea, US, Japan agree to up cooperation over NK, pandemic
9. Some North Koreans are too poor to buy rice sold by the government at below-market prices
10. North Korean soldier deserts his Haeju-based military unit while armed
11. North Korea's quarantine policies are generating discrimination against those with COVID-19 symptoms
12. Did America Start the Korean War? China Thinks So.
13. Report: U.S. mum on Mexico's public overtures to North Korea
14. North Korea highlights 'deepening friendship' with Russia on anniversary
15. America Shouldn’t Bet on a North Korean Blockade to Bring Down Kim
16. ＜Inside N. Korea＞ Authorities distribute emergency food to residents, about 5 to 7 kilograms of corn. How did the residents react?
17. North Koreans Alarmed by Starvation Deaths of Well-Off Ethnic Chinese
18. ETH developer Virgil Griffith back in jail after allegedly checking Coinbase account
19. South Korea’s soft power struggles
20. Pegasus-style surveillance is everyday life in North Korea
1. Israel-Palestine Conflict: Military Lessons for South Korea?
Excerpts:
South Korea’s defense improvement plans have the right answer with a focus on strengthening independent capabilities of reconnaissance and surveillance. They also include greater investments to acquire electromagnetic pulse bombs, SM-3 ship-launched surface-to-air missiles, more airlifters, and upgrades of F-15K sensors including anti-jamming systems among a sea of counter-drone and missile systems that rely on electronic warfare technology. These initiatives need to be fast-tracked.
The roles of these weapons and systems should be expanded beyond defense of individual vehicles. Speed and sustained effect are crucial against large swarms of cheap, lethal UAVs.
It’s also important to recognize that unlike South Korea and other liberal democracies, adversaries may have no ethical or legal concerns about using autonomous weapons. They will use these new technologies without moral constraint across a wide range of battlespace domains.
If South Korea has to fight a new kind of war, it will need to be able to attack with its own swarms — or Seoul may end up getting drawn into a battlefield with one hand tied behind its back.
Israel-Palestine Conflict: Military Lessons for South Korea?
The advent of suicide drones and cheap rockets necessitates rethinking South Korea’s defense strategy.
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The Israel-Palestine conflict has provided a sharp lesson on how future battles might be fought the world over. The Korean Peninsula is no exception to this thought experiment.
The short war, before both sides began observing a ceasefire on May 21, has been most visibly characterized by the graphic imagery of Hamas launching a volley of rockets from the Gaza Strip at Tel Aviv, Israel’s largest city, and Israeli forces using interceptors to destroy many of them in the air. If the incident were to be replicated on the Korean Peninsula, we would most likely see “kill cam” footage of North Korean drones or artillery attacking a wide array of targets ranging from armored fighting vehicles like main battle tanks to unprotected civilian zip codes of metropolitan Seoul — and they would do so with devastating effect.
It is not imagery or a notion widely understood in the West, but conflicts like this have the potential to both escalate into wider regional turmoil and redefine how state actors engage in warfare altogether, not to mention adding fuel to an already fiery and contentious geopolitical tug-of-war.
The use of rockets or armed drones isn’t new, of course. Predator and Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) armed with Hellfire missiles were used extensively in Afghanistan and elsewhere. And potential defenders are aware of the threats enemy missiles and rockets continue to pose. Commander of the United States Forces Korea Gen. Robert Abrams said in March that the United States will deploy two “specific” anti-missile defense capabilities in South Korea this year in addition to the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system that is already in place.
What’s different in the recent Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the use of low-cost loitering munition systems, along with rockets, by Hamas. Each rocket or drone costs far less than a crewed platform or a fully reusable UAV. In the future, rapid manufacturing technologies will allow aggressors like Hamas and North Korea to acquire them at an even lower cost and use them in large swarms. That’s a potential game-changer for modern warfare.
This has generated debate on whether expensive and technologically savvy systems, both offensive and defensive, can survive in future battles against masses of cheap suicide drones. Is the tank, which first emerged on the battlefields of Europe in the early 20th century, now approaching the twilight of its military utility?
Seoul is planning to spend more money on boosting its missile defense shield in response to Pyongyang’s evolving missile capability. Under last year’s midterm defense budget plan, the South Korean military had planned to spend about $240 billion, representing an annual defense budget increase of 7 percent over the 2020-2024 period. Out of this, some $85 billion would be invested on arms improvements, marking a 10.3 percent year-on-year increase over the next five years.
For South Korea and its two central missile defense systems of “Kill Chain” and the Korea Air and Missile Defense (KAMD) architecture – the first two of the “K3” suite of capabilities, which seek to protect military assets and minimize South Korean casualties – the likelihood of large numbers of low-cost drones operating over the future battlespace should be a concern for the nation’s defense planners.
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Some experts point to the ongoing development of L-SAM and KM-SAM – a locally made long-range surface-to-air missile and domestically manufactured medium-range surface-to-air missile capable of engaging a wide variety of incoming projectiles and targets, respectively – as South Korea’s next big hope.
These big projects are without a doubt important for the future capability of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces, and it would be premature to write off these systems as obsolete. But cheap drones and rockets can’t be ignored either. Decisionmakers need to ensure capability is effective even in the face of rapid technological shifts.
The suicide drone or artillery shower isn’t going to disappear from the battlespace. Given the sophistication of the systems now employed on both side of the recent Israel-Palestine conflict, it’s prudent to consider the capabilities that might be used by a major power or actor in the Indo-Pacific region.
That being said, a critical assessment of the survivability of future combat systems is instrumental to the capability development process.
The rockets launched from Gaza have tested Israel’s Iron Dome, which has proven to be an effective truck-towed, multi-mission defense system capable of intercepting close to 3,000 incoming targets with a success rate of over 90 percent.
The first lesson drawn from this incident from afar is to pursue a fast, resilient, and survivable extremely low altitude air defense capability that is also highly mobile. The system needs to be able to directly support vehicles carrying infantry and protect systems such as self-propelled artillery — but most importantly carry out all these functions while defending itself. The evidence from past conflicts across the globe suggests that drones attack battlefield air defense systems first to gain and maintain control of the low-altitude airspace before attacking ground combat systems.
Relying on traditional ground-based systems such as the Patriot Advanced Capability to counter large numbers of small, cheap lethal projectiles will quickly exhaust these expensive missiles — and there will always be more drones and projectiles on the way. With cheaper drones likely to cost around $100,000 each versus a $50 million armored vehicle, the drone wins the value-for-money contest.
South Korea’s defense improvement plans have the right answer with a focus on strengthening independent capabilities of reconnaissance and surveillance. They also include greater investments to acquire electromagnetic pulse bombs, SM-3 ship-launched surface-to-air missiles, more airlifters, and upgrades of F-15K sensors including anti-jamming systems among a sea of counter-drone and missile systems that rely on electronic warfare technology. These initiatives need to be fast-tracked.
The roles of these weapons and systems should be expanded beyond defense of individual vehicles. Speed and sustained effect are crucial against large swarms of cheap, lethal UAVs.
It’s also important to recognize that unlike South Korea and other liberal democracies, adversaries may have no ethical or legal concerns about using autonomous weapons. They will use these new technologies without moral constraint across a wide range of battlespace domains.
If South Korea has to fight a new kind of war, it will need to be able to attack with its own swarms — or Seoul may end up getting drawn into a battlefield with one hand tied behind its back.
2. New daily cases set another record amid rise of delta variant (South Korea)
(3rd LD) New daily cases set another record amid rise of delta variant | Yonhap News Agency
(ATTN: ADDS more info in paras 6-7)
SEOUL, July 21 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases hit a fresh high of over 1,700 on Wednesday as cluster infections continued to spread across the nation amid a fast rise of highly contagious delta variant cases.
The country added 1,784 COVID-19 cases, including 1,726 local infections, raising the total caseload to 182,265, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).
The latest figure was the highest ever since the country confirmed the first case in January 2020.
The daily caseload has remained above the 1,000 mark over the past two weeks due to the resurgence in the greater Seoul area, and it has been spreading across the nation despite the nation's vaccination drive.
The country added one more COVID-19 death, raising the death toll to 2,060.
Later in the day, health authorities and local governments said 1,287 new cases were confirmed from 12 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday, 155 fewer than at the same time the previous day.
But if cluster infections from the Cheonghae naval unit are included, the tally goes up to 1,557. The daily total is counted until midnight and announced the following day.
The greater Seoul area, home to half of the country's 51.3 million population, has emerged as a virus hot spot due to continued cluster infections, but new infections in the non-capital area have also risen to take up a record high of 32.9 percent of the total Tuesday.
Health authorities voiced concerns over the fast spread of the delta variant with 951 new cases reported in the previous seven days, which accounted for 76 percent of the 1,252 locally transmitted variant cases.
In response to a sharp hike in new cases in non-capital areas, health authorities tightened virus curbs to limit gatherings of more than four people across the nation, which went into effect Monday for two weeks.
As the summer holiday season nears, provincial governments began adopting stronger antivirus measures in major tourism spots to prevent virus transmission among incoming travelers.
Since last week, the Seoul metropolitan area has been under the highest level of the four-tier distancing measures, which ban gatherings of more than two people after 6 p.m. and place a 10 p.m. curfew on restaurants and cafes, as well as a ban on night clubs and bars.
"The Level 4 distancing measures have not yet flattened the virus curve, but we expect a decreasing number of new patients starting Friday," Lee Ki-il, a senior health ministry official, said during a briefing.
Authorities said they will expand the ban on large-scale performances in stadiums, parks and convention centers in non-capital areas to prevent mass infections among audience members.
The government will also prohibit new entry of foreign seasonal workers and expand more accurate PCR tests for foreign arrivals, saying it will soon announce the list of countries subject to the new rule.
A total of 16.3 million people, or 32 percent of the country's population, have received their first shots of COVID-19 vaccines and 6.6 million people have been fully vaccinated, the KDCA said.
Following the early vaccine rollout to the elderly population and priority groups, such as medical staff and social service workers, those aged between 50 and 54 can now book their vaccinations online, which will begin next week.
South Korea has confirmed a total of 647 breakthrough cases involving people who tested positive for COVID-19 even after being administered with the full-dose vaccine regimen here, the KDCA said.
Of the total, 364 were administered with Johnson & Johnson's Janssen COVID-19 vaccine followed by 145 with Pfizer's and 138 with AstraZeneca's.
Of the newly confirmed domestic cases, 599 were from Seoul, 450 from the surrounding Gyeonggi Province and 126 from the western port city of Incheon.
The southeastern port city of Busan and its surrounding South Gyeongsang Province reported 100 and 86, respectively, as more people tested positive after going to entertainment venues.
Chungcheong Province had 63 new patients, and Gangwon Province had 54 more.
Imported cases came to 58, with 11 from Uzbekistan and 10 from Indonesia.
Additional tests on the 301 members of the anti-piracy Cheonghae naval unit, who returned home from Africa on Tuesday after mass infections, discovered 23 more cases, raising the total to 270, the central disaster response team said, noting the figures will be added to the daily caseload to be announced Thursday.
Currently, 14 patients are hospitalized for treatment, with two of them showing severe symptoms in need of oxygen masks, and more than 200 others show mild or no symptoms, it said.
The total number of people released from quarantine after making full recoveries was 160,634, up 1,287 from a day earlier.
The number of patients in critical condition came to 214, up seven from the previous day.
ejkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
3. 16 more USFK-affiliated individuals test positive for COVID-19
16 more USFK-affiliated individuals test positive for COVID-19 | Yonhap News Agency
SEOUL, July 21 (Yonhap) -- Sixteen people affiliated with U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) have recently tested positive for the new coronavirus, the U.S. military said Wednesday, amid the fourth wave of the pandemic across the country.
The latest cases -- confirmed between July 15-19 -- raised the total number of infections reported among the USFK-affiliated population to 1,101.
Of the newly added cases, Camp Casey in Dongducheon, 40 kilometers north of Seoul, and Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul each reported six, while Camp Henry in Daegu confirmed two.
The USFK said those who tested positive for COVID-19 are currently isolated at its designated treatment facilities in Pyeongtaek, adding that it is conducting epidemiological investigations with South Korean health authorities.
kdon@yna.co.kr
(END)
4. Dozens of USFK service members donate blood amid low supplies over COVID-19
This is what allies do.
Dozens of USFK service members donate blood amid low supplies over COVID-19 | Yonhap News Agency
By Oh Seok-min
SEOUL, July 21 (Yonhap) -- Dozens of American service members stationed in South Korea donated blood Wednesday to help ensure stable and diverse supplies amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) said.
The U.S. military hosted a blood drive at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, some 70 kilometers south of Seoul, in partnership with the Korean National Red Cross, and more than 60 individuals donated blood, according to USFK.
"Since the onset of COVID-19, an unprecedented number of blood drives were canceled, resulting in an opportunity for Korean and U.S. Forces to work together and negate this shortage of available blood and blood products in South Korea," USFK said in a statement.
The donation is expected to help diverse blood supplies in South Korea, given that around 20 percent of the U.S. population has an Rh-negative blood type, with the comparable figure for South Korea 0.3 percent, USFK said, adding that the donated blood will be used at civilian and military hospitals throughout the country.
"USFK demonstrates deep support of our alliance in blood donation support to Korean troops and families. USFK is planning regularly scheduled blood drives to help stabilize the country's blood supply," the U.S. military said.
graceoh@yna.co.kr
(END)
5. Korea, Japan, U.S. diplomats meet in Tokyo
The administration continues to demonstrate its priority on alliances and a focus on ROK-Japan cooperation as well.
Excerpts:
In addition to highlighting renewed trilateral commitment to the denuclearization of North Korea, the State Department stressed Korea-U.S.-Japan cooperation for peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and in the Taiwan Strait – topics that have been touchy for China.
“The Deputy Secretary and the two vice foreign ministers […] affirmed the need to maintain an inclusive, free, and open Indo-Pacific; opposed any unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the East China Sea; and pledged to maintain peace and stability, lawful unimpeded commerce, and respect for international law, including freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea and beyond,” said Ned Price, spokesperson of the State Department, in a statement Wednesday. “The discussion also emphasized the importance of preserving peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.”
Wednesday
July 21, 2021
Korea, Japan, U.S. diplomats meet in Tokyo
From left, Korea's First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun, Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Takeo Mori, and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman hold a joint press conference following their meeting in Tokyo on Wednesday. [YONHAP]
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman called on North Korea to “respond positively” to America's call for engagement and dialogue after meeting with her Korean and Japanese counterparts in Tokyo on Wednesday.
“The United States has made it clear that we are ready to engage with North Korea, they know that,” she said during a joint press conference hosted with Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun and Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Takeo Mori. “We hope they'll respond positively.”
Sherman’s statement was an extension of an invitation to the North that U.S. nuclear envoy Sung Kim offered during a visit to Seoul last month.
During the visit, Kim said the U.S. government is ready to meet with the North “anywhere, anytime without preconditions.” Within the week, North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Son-gwon issued a statement saying North Korea was nowhere near considering “any contact with the U.S.”
Alluding to these exchanges, Sherman added during the conference on Wednesday, “We must exercise some patience, perhaps not too much but some.”
The deputy minister-level U.S.-Korea-Japan meeting on Wednesday was the first in four years and the eighth ever. The first was held in Washington in 2015 and hosted by Antony Blinken who was deputy secretary of state at the time. Blinken is now Secretary of State.
In addition to highlighting renewed trilateral commitment to the denuclearization of North Korea, the State Department stressed Korea-U.S.-Japan cooperation for peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and in the Taiwan Strait – topics that have been touchy for China.
“The Deputy Secretary and the two vice foreign ministers […] affirmed the need to maintain an inclusive, free, and open Indo-Pacific; opposed any unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the East China Sea; and pledged to maintain peace and stability, lawful unimpeded commerce, and respect for international law, including freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea and beyond,” said Ned Price, spokesperson of the State Department, in a statement Wednesday. “The discussion also emphasized the importance of preserving peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.”
After a statement following a summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Joe Biden on May 21 mentioned the “importance of preserving peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait,” the Chinese government protested immediately.
In a press briefing three days after the summit, Chinese Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson Zhao Lijian said, “The Taiwan question is China's internal affair,” adding that it “allows no interference by external forces” and relevant countries should “refrain from playing with fire.”
Korea’s Foreign Ministry also released a statement following the press conference on Wednesday, but apart from cooperation on North Korea, it highlighted trilateral cooperation in different areas from the ones mentioned by the U.S. government.
“The three vice ministers of Korea, the United States and Japan reaffirmed their commitment to trilateral cooperation for regional involvement under the consensus that peace, stability and prosperity in the region is the common interest of the three countries,” it said.
“The three vice ministers shared their deep concerns about the situation in Myanmar and agreed to cooperate for a prompt resolution of the situation. In addition, the three vice ministers agreed to continue to seek future-oriented and mutually beneficial cooperation methods […] in responding to global issues such as climate change and health issues.”
The trilateral meeting took place amidst icy relations between Japan and Korea. After weeks of attempts to arrange a leaders summit between South Korea and Japan, President Moon abandoned the idea Monday, following a Japanese envoy calling his efforts masturbatory.
The gaffe was protested by the Korean government and brought up again during Choi and Mori’s meeting in Tokyo on Tuesday, when Choi protested the envoy’s “rude and undiplomatic speech” and requested “appropriate action soon” from Tokyo, widely considered by local media outlets as the dismissal of Soma from his position.
"We have made our position clear to the Japanese government," a Foreign Ministry official told the Korea JoongAng Daily Tuesday. "We have requested an action from the Japanese government to ensure that such an incident is not repeated again."
Historical issues between the two nations, including the so-called “comfort women,” or Japanese wartime sexual slavery, and the forced laborer issues, were also discussed during the meeting.
The press release by Korea’s Foreign Ministry following the meeting remained mum on whether the two sides reached any understanding on the issues, simply stating that either side’s views were exchanged.
Choi during the press conference on Wednesday stressed the importance of bilateral ties.
“The trilateral cooperation amongst Korea, Japan and United States – and especially the cooperation between Korea and Japan – will move in a positive direction,” Choi said.
BY ESTHER CHUNG, JEONG JIN-WOO [chung.juhee@joongang.co.kr]
6. Deputy US Secretary of State Sherman renews calls for North Korea to resume dialogue
The ball is in Kim's court.
I think the mention of patience is a recognition that the north is undergoing very difficult internal challenges that are distracting KJU.
Excerpts:
"The United States has made it clear that we are ready to engage with North Korea. They know that. We hope they'll respond positively," Sherman said during a joint press conference with Choi and Mori. "But as my colleagues have said, we must exercise some patience, perhaps not too much but some."
Deputy US Secretary of State Sherman renews calls for North Korea to resume dialogue
Japan's Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Takeo Mori, center, Korea's Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun, left, and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman pose prior to their trilateral meeting in Tokyo, July 21. EPA-Yonhap
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman renewed calls Wednesday for North Korea to return to dialogue, stressing Washington's willingness to take "some patience" and holding out prospects of a "brighter future" for Pyongyang.
Sherman made the remarks following trilateral talks with her South Korean and Japanese counterparts, Choi Jong-kun and Takeo Mori, respectively, in Tokyo after North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Son-gwon rejected U.S.' overtures for dialogue last month.
"The United States has made it clear that we are ready to engage with North Korea. They know that. We hope they'll respond positively," Sherman said during a joint press conference with Choi and Mori. "But as my colleagues have said, we must exercise some patience, perhaps not too much but some."
The deputy secretary then recalled the memory of her accompanying former Defense Secretary William Perry to Pyongyang in the 1990s to show the U.S.' interest in dialogue with the North, noting the North responded with a proposal several months later.
"I hope it doesn't take that long this time, but we all have to understand that North Korea is also struggling with the pandemic, as is the entire world, has to live with the U.N. Security Council resolutions and the sanctions that come with it," Sherman said.
"But we do hope that they understand that a brighter future for their country comes from engaging in these discussions around denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," she added.
Despite the U.S.' offer to meet with the North "anywhere, anytime without preconditions," the North's top diplomat, Ri, said last month that his country was not considering "even the possibility of any contact" with the U.S. That dampened optimism that emerged after leader Kim Jong-un signaled openness to dialogue.
Also at the press conference, Sherman underscored the "critical" importance of trilateral cooperation among South Korea, the U.S. and Japan for the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
"That close coordination sends a very critical message to North Korea, in that we are together and shoulder to shoulder in our approach to this policy," she said.
Sherman made clear that the trilateral session touched on China's assertiveness, as she mentioned issues of the East and South China seas and the Taiwan Strait at the heart of an intensifying Sino-U.S. rivalry.
"When countries take actions that run counter to the U.S.' interests, or that threaten our partners and allies', we will not let those challenges go unanswered. We will respond by standing shoulder to shoulder with our allies and partners," she added.
In a press release, State Department spokesman Ned Price said Sherman, Choi and Mori reaffirmed their countries' commitment to trilateral cooperation.
"During the meeting, the Deputy Secretary and the two vice foreign ministers committed to deepening trilateral cooperation to address the global challenges of the 21st century, including the climate crisis, pandemic response, and economic resilience and recovery," he said in a press release.
"They also discussed the shared commitment of the United States, Japan and the Republic of Korea to work toward the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and their intent to address the threat posed by the nuclear and ballistic missile programs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea," he added, referring to the two Koreas by their official names.
Their gathering was expected to set the stage for Washington's engagement to foster reconciliation between Seoul and Tokyo, caught in a protracted row over Japan's wartime forced labor and sexual slavery, and its export curbs. Japan occupied Korea from 1910 to 1945.
To address these thorny issues, Seoul had sought to arrange a summit between President Moon Jae-in and Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on the occasion of the upcoming Tokyo Olympics. That effort fell through, as they failed to narrow differences on the issues.
On the summit issue, Choi said that Seoul and Tokyo agreed to continue efforts to address pending issues based on progress made so far at the working level.
Seoul, Washington and Tokyo have held eight such rounds of three-way vice ministerial talks, including this week's session, since the inaugural gathering in April 2015. The previous session took place in Seoul in October 2017.
Choi and Sherman plan to hold strategic dialogue in Seoul on Friday to discuss bilateral relations, Korean Peninsula issues, and regional and global issues, Seoul officials said. (Yonhap)
7. Why South Korea cannot achieve denuclearization of Korean Peninsula
Hmmm... conservative hawks. Some people know, whether hawkish or not, the true nature, objectives, and strategy of the north: The root of all problems in Korea is the existence of the most evil mafia- like crime family cult known as the Kim family regime that has the objective of dominating the Korean Peninsula under the rule of the Guerrilla Dynasty and Gulag State.
Excerpts:
The new U.S. administration did not react to Pyongyang's remarks directly but showed how it was going to deal with the North by announcing a new policy ― a practical and calibrated approach ― with regards to North Korea on April 30. Now, both parties are playing hardball, asking each other to fulfill unachievable goals first, meaning that President Moon's hands are tied as he has only months left before leaving the office.
Conservative hawks in Seoul and Washington have consistently said that the only way to denuclearize the North and topple Kim's regime is to pressure the North with devastating U.S.-led economic sanctions.
However, as the two different major parties have different ways to confront the North's advanced nuclear weapons and missile programs, South Korea cannot achieve the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula it wishes via these hard checks by Washington, Beijing and Moscow.
...
For its national interests, South Korea sometimes should be able to say "no" to the U.S. when necessary. However, in a reality where South Korea's major security functions, including wartime operational control, do not work without the U.S., South Korea always has to say "yes" to their demands and requests.
The deployment of tactical weapons is the main example that proves that the South has not yet gained authority over its military and national security from the U.S. Over 70 years after the ceasefire of the Korean War, the destiny of South Korea still depends on 28,500-strong U.S. troops stationed in South Korea, and Washington policymakers.
The U.S. saved hundreds of thousands of South Koreans in World War II from Japan and during the Korean War from North Korea. Now, South Korea's strong military and diplomatic ties with the U.S. are what the North grabs as its bargaining chip to sustain Kim's autocratic power.
Why South Korea cannot achieve denuclearization of Korean Peninsula
By Mitch Shin
The Moon Jae-in administration's "peace process" for leading the North to give up its nuclear weapons proved the limits of negotiations without the United States.
Since President Moon took office in May 2017, Seoul has reversed its hostile policies against Pyongyang, set by the previous conservative administrations, to restart dialogue. The PyeongChang Winter Olympics in 2018 created significant momentum for the two Koreas to re-engage in restoring communication channels to mollify the animosity between the countries.
As President Moon started acting as a peacemaker on the Korean Peninsula by persuading then-U.S. President Donald Trump to sit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to tackle the denuclearization of North Korea, neighboring countries supported the stance and moves of Seoul.
However, after the Hanoi summit in 2019 ended without reaching an agreement, Pyongyang stepped back from the negotiating table and made clear that it would not return to talks with the U.S. nor with South Korea unless Washington halted its unspecified hostile policies and acts.
The new U.S. administration did not react to Pyongyang's remarks directly but showed how it was going to deal with the North by announcing a new policy ― a practical and calibrated approach ― with regards to North Korea on April 30. Now, both parties are playing hardball, asking each other to fulfill unachievable goals first, meaning that President Moon's hands are tied as he has only months left before leaving the office.
Conservative hawks in Seoul and Washington have consistently said that the only way to denuclearize the North and topple Kim's regime is to pressure the North with devastating U.S.-led economic sanctions.
However, as the two different major parties have different ways to confront the North's advanced nuclear weapons and missile programs, South Korea cannot achieve the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula it wishes via these hard checks by Washington, Beijing and Moscow.
Pyongyang blew up the joint liaison office in Kaesong, North Korea, last year, which was a symbol of communications between the two Koreas. Since then, it is clear that Pyongyang no longer considers Seoul as its direct counterpart for handling common issues.
In addition, after U.S. President Joe Biden took office in January, North Korea tested multiple short-range missiles, which the U.S. considers as a "direct threat" to its territory. Kim had not acted like Moammar Gadhafi from Libya but he nonetheless wanted to show that he had lost his patience and willingness to talk with his U.S. and South Korean counterparts. He wanted to send clear messages that time is ticking and he has bombs.
The Moon administration's "peace process" for the Korean Peninsula was ambiguous and unrealistic, as it couldn't get full support from the Trump administration. It failed to persuade Washington hawks not only in the Trump administration but also in Congress and the Senate, to support its moves to attract Kim to be the first sitting North Korean leader to transform his nation into a "normal" country.
In his latest interview with Time magazine, President Moon Jae-in's description of Kim's characteristics as "honest" and "enthusiastic" brought attention from within and outside of the country, including criticism that he has a so-called "delusional" perspective on North Korea issues.
Another reason that South Korea cannot tackle the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula is its unconditional support toward Washington's moves. During the Trump administration, Seoul and Washington agreed to launch a joint working group to bolster and coordinate the sanctions against the North.
The purpose of launching that working group was based on the U.S.-ROK blood alliance tackling the denuclearization of the North together, although South Korean progressives criticized the group as a gratuitous organization that harmed the relationship between the South and the North. In effect, they believed that the working group actually obstructed the efforts of Seoul's unification ministry to cooperate with Pyongyang.
With criticism over the alliance group growing, the Biden administration is now considering dismantling the working group, which in effect was proof that Seoul could not work independently to engage in inter-Korean projects without Washington. This reality is the main reason why the North has always wanted to talk directly with Washington, not with Seoul.
For its national interests, South Korea sometimes should be able to say "no" to the U.S. when necessary. However, in a reality where South Korea's major security functions, including wartime operational control, do not work without the U.S., South Korea always has to say "yes" to their demands and requests.
The deployment of tactical weapons is the main example that proves that the South has not yet gained authority over its military and national security from the U.S. Over 70 years after the ceasefire of the Korean War, the destiny of South Korea still depends on 28,500-strong U.S. troops stationed in South Korea, and Washington policymakers.
The U.S. saved hundreds of thousands of South Koreans in World War II from Japan and during the Korean War from North Korea. Now, South Korea's strong military and diplomatic ties with the U.S. are what the North grabs as its bargaining chip to sustain Kim's autocratic power.
Mitch Shin (mitch@thediplomat.com) is chief Korea correspondent at The Diplomat, a current affairs magazine for the Asia-Pacific, with news and analysis on politics, diplomacy, security, economy, business, environment and technology.
8. South Korea, US, Japan agree to up cooperation over NK, pandemic
One piece of good news about holding "regular" trilateral meetings.
Excerpt:
He also said the three envoys agreed to hold the trilateral session on a regular basis.
Following the Japan visit, Sherman was to arrive in Seoul Wednesday for a three-day stay. While in Seoul, she will meet officials here and hold a strategic dialogue with Choi on Friday to discuss “bilateral and multilateral cooperation on shared priorities, including the climate crisis, pandemic relief and post-COVID-19 economic recovery,” according to the State Department.
South Korea, US, Japan agree to up cooperation over NK, pandemic
Published : Jul 21, 2021 - 15:23 Updated : Jul 21, 2021 - 17:16
From left are Japan’s Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Takeo Mori, Korea’s First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun and US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sharman. (Yonhap)
South Korean, US and Japanese envoys on Wednesday stressed cooperation in their approach toward the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, and other global issues, including the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change.
The three-way dialogue between First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun and his US and Japanese counterparts, Wendy Sherman and Takeo Mori, respectively, was held in Japan, despite recent flare-up of tension between the two Asian neighbors.
During their talks, the three officials underscored tighter cooperation among the allies in dealing with North Korea’s nuclear problem.
“That close coordination sends a very critical message to North Korea in that we are together and shoulder-to-shoulder in our approach to this policy,” Sherman said during a joint press conference held after the talks with Choi and Mori.
Choi described the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula as “a long game” which needs strategic coordination between the three countries.
“With Biden administration’s emphasis on diplomacy, North Korea’s response is very important,” said Choi.
Sherman said Washington was “ready” to engage with North Korea.
“The United States has made it clear that we are ready to engage with North Korea. They know that. We hope they will respond positively,” said Sherman. “But as my colleagues have said, we must exercise some patience, perhaps not too much but some.”
She raised hope that the North will understand that a “brighter future” for their country comes from engaging in discussions around denuclearization.
Washington has expressed that it is ready to meet with Pyongyang “anytime and anywhere without preconditions,” but the North has rebuffed US diplomatic overtures since President Joe Biden took office.
During the talks, the envoys also “committed to deepening trilateral cooperation to address the global challenges of the 21st century, including the climate crisis, pandemic response, and economic resilience and recovery,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a press release.
The statement said the officials also reiterated opposition to all activities that “undermine, destabilize, or threaten the rules-based international order and affirmed the need to maintain an inclusive, free and open Indo-Pacific region.
The three-way session in Tokyo marks the first vice-ministerial talks to take place between the three countries in four years. Launched in 2015, the trilateral meeting was held in the following two years, but halted during the Donald Trump administration.
The revival of the talks is seen as part of the efforts by the Biden administration to bolster three-way cooperation with its key Asian allies against China’s growing assertiveness and the nuclear-armed North Korea.
Seoul has been seeking to defuse diplomatic tensions with Tokyo, which are rooted in Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula and have morphed into an ongoing economic feud.
As part of efforts to mend ties, President Moon Jae-in was seeking to visit Tokyo for the Olympics that may have included his first summit with Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, but the plan was called off last minute.
In regards to the canceled summit, Choi said that Seoul and Tokyo agreed to continue efforts to address pending issues for a meeting to take place in the future.
He also said the three envoys agreed to hold the trilateral session on a regular basis.
Following the Japan visit, Sherman was to arrive in Seoul Wednesday for a three-day stay. While in Seoul, she will meet officials here and hold a strategic dialogue with Choi on Friday to discuss “bilateral and multilateral cooperation on shared priorities, including the climate crisis, pandemic relief and post-COVID-19 economic recovery,” according to the State Department.
9. Some North Koreans are too poor to buy rice sold by the government at below-market prices
Another indicator of just how bad things are for the Korean people in the north.
Some North Koreans are too poor to buy rice sold by the government at below-market prices
Some North Koreans have given up purchasing the rice, handing over their purchase vouchers to wealthier people in exchange for money
North Korean authorities have recently begun selling rice to citizens at prices lower than those found in markets, but some destitute families are still unable to buy rice.
According to a Daily NK source in North Korea on Monday, the authorities began selling rice at below-market prices in cities and counties throughout North Hamgyong Province, including Chongjin and Hoeryong, from July 9.
Rice had been selling for about KPW 7,000 a kilogram in those areas, but the authorities began selling the commodity for around KPW 3,500-4,000.
In Hoeryong, however, 20-40% of families in districts such as Nammun-dong, Songchon-dong, Gangan-dong, and Yuson-dong have reportedly abandoned buying the rice for lack of money.
NO MONEY, NO RICE
The source believes that this is because locals have grown even poorer due to the protracted closure of the North Korea-China border and restrictions on market activity due to COVID-19.
“They’ve restricted market activity due to the coronavirus, and in particular, the clamp down on smuggling for close to two years has had a major impact,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “Money isn’t circulating due to the border closure, so locals living day-to-day have no money to buy food.
“(The authorities) are selling food at low prices, but in fact, there are more families than you’d think who can’t buy rice because they have no money,” he added.
Various kinds of grains being sold in Yanggang Province markets. / Image: Daily NK
Despite this situation, however, North Korean authorities are not putting forth alternatives for these families. The source argued that the
“distribution” of rice is more for show, with little actual consideration for the right of financially disadvantaged people to access food.
The source said leaders are simply telling families without money to buy rice to “help one another to receive the Workers’ Party consideration.” He said this amounts to the authorities saying: “If you can’t buy food even though we’re selling it at lower-than-market prices, there’s nothing we can do, either.”
VOUCHER GIVEAWAY
As a result, some North Koreans are giving up purchasing food and handing their purchase vouchers to other families – a common practice, according to the source.
That is to say, these families are handing over their vouchers to wealthier merchants and other people in return for money to buy food.
The source said these transactions are happening because poorer residents can acquire the cash they urgently require, while merchants can store up food for when prices start to rise.
According to him, locals are complaining that “the people cannot fill their stomachs because the entire country is poor.” He also claimed that, “If the authorities had set the price lower from the very beginning, this ridiculous mess wouldn’t have happened.”
It does appear that North Korean authorities are aware of these under-the-table transactions. Political lecture materials recently obtained by Daily NK warned against “abnormal phenomena,” such as people lending others money to buy up lots of food.
Going forward, North Korean authorities may crack down on these activities, which they deem “anti-socialist” behavior.
10. North Korean soldier deserts his Haeju-based military unit while armed
Gives new meaning to a toxic work environment. And note what happens to the chain of command for the "desertion." What I want to know is how is he evading capture and from who and how much assistance is he getting?
Excerpts:
Kang enlisted in 2018 and was assigned to a 4th Corps command guard company after basic training. He was bullied relentlessly by superiors, the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Kang was often forced to work overtime during night shifts. When he protested, he was beaten for his “rebelliousness.”
...
“The command officers are expected to face serious consequences along with Kang, because the armed desertion happened during a major political event,” the source said.
“Officers under the 4th Corps as well as the division and brigade officers have been ordered to arrest Kang and ‘use deadly force if met with resistance,’” the source added.
North Korean soldier deserts his Haeju-based military unit while armed - Daily NK
Resentment against his superiors appears to be the main reason for his desertion
An armed North Korean soldier recently deserted from his unit, the 4th Corps in Haeju, South Hwanghae Province, Daily NK has learned.
According to a Daily NK source on June 27, a soldier in his 20s, surnamed Kang, deserted his post during his night shift around 1 AM on June 17, still armed with an assault rifle.
Kang enlisted in 2018 and was assigned to a 4th Corps command guard company after basic training. He was bullied relentlessly by superiors, the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Kang was often forced to work overtime during night shifts. When he protested, he was beaten for his “rebelliousness.”
Soldiers marching during the Party Foundation Day military parade on Oct. 10, 2020. / Image: KCNA
Resentment against his superiors appears to be the main reason for his desertion.
Despite the North Korean military authorities’ efforts to educate young people with ideological training that emphasizes the “sacred honor” of “protecting the motherland,” there continues to be criticism inside the military about repeated instances of abuse and lack of discipline, which includes blatant demands for bribes.
Kang’s desertion took place during the Third Plenary Meeting of the Eighth Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea (June 15-18). This shocked not only his military unit but the whole area of Haeju as well, according to the source.
“The command officers are expected to face serious consequences along with Kang, because the armed desertion happened during a major political event,” the source said.
“Officers under the 4th Corps as well as the division and brigade officers have been ordered to arrest Kang and ‘use deadly force if met with resistance,’” the source added.
*Translated by Kyungmin Kim
Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
11. North Korea's quarantine policies are generating discrimination against those with COVID-19 symptoms
I have heard from a Korea hand with contacts inside north Korea that anyone with symptoms is simply written off and isolated to prevent the spread and then upon death they are immediately cremated and their families have no remains to honor their lost loved ones. The Korea hand told me they pretty much just board up the house of anyone with COVID symptoms and write them off.
Excerpts:
There has also been a recent string of starvation deaths involving people released from quarantine facilities.
North Koreans are reportedly saying among themselves that if you enter a quarantine facility, “it’s hard to come out alive, and even if you do, you’ll eventually die of disease or starvation.”
In fact, even North Korean authorities are stressing the need to support both people in home quarantine as well as people released from quarantine. In a written directive sent to provincial, city, and county people’s committees on June 24, the authorities called on cadres to “resolve the people’s inconveniences as if they were your own problems,” manifesting the “collective spirit” in doing so.
The directive made no direct mention of people in quarantine, but lecturers reportedly told cadres to “guarantee that quarantined individuals have side dishes, medicine, and firewood.”
...
According to the source, however, cadres are passing responsibility for taking care of the quarantined, and those released from quarantine, onto the inminban (people’s units). The inminban – North Korea’s lowest administrative unit – lack the wherewithal to help their members in need, however.
That is to say, the authorities might be stressing the need to help those in and out of quarantine, but they are providing nothing in the way of substantive help.
North Korea's quarantine policies are generating discrimination against those with COVID-19 symptoms - Daily NK
North Korean authorities continue to claim the country has had no confirmed cases of COVID-19, despite daily calls for stronger quarantine measures
By Seulkee Jang - 2021.07.20 1:59p
Public perception of people quarantined with symptoms of COVID-19 is reportedly worsening in North Korea. The North Korean authorities’ quarantine policies, which have fostered an atmosphere of caution and fear, appears to be generating discrimination against the sick.
A Daily NK source in North Korea said Monday that people who go into quarantine with a fever, cough, or other symptoms of COVID-19 are “treated like traitors to the Korean people.”
“People are afraid of even passing in front of the house of a quarantined individual,” the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Moreover, because the authorities put a “Quarantined” sign in front of the homes of quarantined individuals and control who goes in and out, society stigmatizes the quarantined and their families.
People released from state quarantine facilities — as opposed to simply home quarantine — reportedly face restrictions in their economic activity, suffering ostracization at work even after their release.
There has also been a recent string of starvation deaths involving people released from quarantine facilities.
North Koreans are reportedly saying among themselves that if you enter a quarantine facility, “it’s hard to come out alive, and even if you do, you’ll eventually die of disease or starvation.”
In fact, even North Korean authorities are stressing the need to support both people in home quarantine as well as people released from quarantine. In a written directive sent to provincial, city, and county people’s committees on June 24, the authorities called on cadres to “resolve the people’s inconveniences as if they were your own problems,” manifesting the “collective spirit” in doing so.
The directive made no direct mention of people in quarantine, but lecturers reportedly told cadres to “guarantee that quarantined individuals have side dishes, medicine, and firewood.”
Disease control officials testing drivers for COVID-19 symptoms in Pyongyang’s Manggyongdae District. / Image: Rodong Sinmun
According to the source, however, cadres are passing responsibility for taking care of the quarantined, and those released from quarantine, onto the inminban (people’s units). The inminban – North Korea’s lowest administrative unit – lack the wherewithal to help their members in need, however.
That is to say, the authorities might be stressing the need to help those in and out of quarantine, but they are providing nothing in the way of substantive help.
The source said the public has not only taken a dim view of the quarantined, but fears them as well. “Because everyone is having a tough time getting by, people would stone their inminban leaders if they called for collections of money or rice to help the quarantined.”
In a phone conversation with Daily NK, a high-ranking source in North Korea recently said fear of the coronavirus is “dividing people.”
Directives issued by the authorities regarding COVID-19 — including warnings that infection brings “mass death” and calls to “absolutely disinfect things touched by the quarantined,” and “avoid even brushing up against somebody with symptoms” — have gone beyond encouraging caution and are instead generating fear. These measures are stigmatizing the quarantined and leading to discrimination, the source claimed.
In fact, North Korean authorities have toughened their quarantine standards to enable judicial punishments of people who fail to adhere to quarantine protocols, regarding such negligence as a “political crime.”
During the Third Enlarged Meeting of the Eighth Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea held last month, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said protracted emergency quarantine efforts require a prolonged spirit of “maximum vigilance” and firm adherence to regulations in state efforts to combat the pandemic.
Meanwhile, North Korean authorities continue to claim the country has had no confirmed cases of COVID-19, despite daily calls for stronger quarantine measures.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO)’s weekly report on COVID-19, North Korea reported that it conducted RT-PCR tests on 718 individuals between June 28 and July 1, but all came back negative.
North Korea also reported to the WHO that it had tested a total of 32,512 individuals for COVID-19 as of July 1, but none tested positive.
Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
12. Did America Start the Korean War? China Thinks So.
And the same in north Korea (and probably more people believe it in north Korea).
Conclusion:
This does not change a simple truth: the Korean War was the result of a deliberate and premeditated decision by North Korea and the Soviet Union to invade South Korea.
Yes, Syngman Rhee’s government in South Korea was bellicose, undemocratic and responsible for many human-rights violations—but it did not actually assemble an army for an invasion of the North, which was also quite repressive.
Yes, the United States was responsible for sending its forces across the thirty-eighth parallel and eventually waging a bombing campaign that killed many North Korean civilians.
However, the American military buildup in Korea, the advance on the Yalu River and the bombings were consequences stemming from a North Korean invasion that had been prepared for well in advance.
Did America Start the Korean War? China Thinks So.
For Western nations, the answer is uncomplicated: North Korea, backed by China and the Soviet Union, launched an unprovoked invasion of its southern neighbor in 1950.
An alternate history has been presented in Chinese textbooks, one in which the illegitimate lackeys of Western imperialists in the South attacked first, but China and the Soviet Union intervened to prevent an aggressive American invasion that threatened to sweep into China. The fact that a significant portion of North Korea’s population perished due to extensive U.S. bombing has made some sympathetic to the suffering of the small nation.
Let’s assess the persuasiveness of these competing understandings of an admittedly complicated conflict. Korea was a formerly unified state that was occupied by Japan early in the twentieth century, then divided by the Soviet Union and United States at the end of World War II under improvised circumstances. Was the government in North or South more authentic and legitimate, and thus justified in attempting to overthrow the other?
In truth, both governments had effectively been installed by their respective backers to the exclusion of ideologically inconvenient opponents. Opposing political factions were simply not permitted in the North; in the South, there was a left-wing opposition, but its leaders were mostly arrested or assassinated.
The Korean Communist Party arguably may have had stronger grassroots support at the outset of decolonization; on the other hand, the conservative administration in the South was elected by a UN-backed election in 1948. Both North and South were client states of global superpowers, but their respective autocrats were independent-minded enough that it would be wrong to call them puppets.
Who Had the Means and Intent to Start a War?
As the issue of legitimacy is inconclusive, consider the matter from another angle. Wars are sometimes sparked by over reactions and miscommunications—but more often, they happen because one side believes it has the means to overpower the other by force and decides to do so.
South Korea in 1950 had a population of over twenty million. Its president, Syngman Rhee, had spoken of his desire to reunify Korea by force and spurned offers of negotiation from the North. But a war requires more than just tough talk. It requires concrete plans to invade and an army capable of doing so.
The South Korean army numbered around a hundred thousand personnel on the eve of the Korean War, two-thirds of which are combat troops. They were equipped with surplus small arms and light vehicles given by the United States, and were receiving some training from a small American advisory group. A substantial number of these troops were engaged in a bloody counterinsurgency campaign against leftists that was winding to a close.
The Republic of Korea Army had no tanks, which are necessary for rapid offensive warfare. It had only a few battalions of 105-millimeter howitzers for artillery support. Its heaviest armored vehicles were a few dozen M8 Greyhound armored scout cars.
The ROK Air Force counted a single squadron of AT-6 Texan trainers and a dozen unarmed utility aircraft. It had no combat aircraft.
Now consider the North Korean side, which, at 9.6 million, had roughly half the population. However, the Korean People’s Army had more than twice the number of troops, at well over two hundred thousand, mostly concentrated on the border.
The KPA fielded over three hundred T-34/85 medium tanks, a capable design from late in World War II that was nearly impervious to the weak antitank weapons available to South Korea. Backing them up were two hundred artillery pieces, more than enough to smash South Korean border fortifications.
North Korea also had over a hundred Yak-9 fighters and Il-10 Shturmovik armored attack planes in its air force. Though outdated compared to the new jets entering service, they were quite effective for attacking ground troops without air cover and air-defense weapons.
Tanks and warplanes do not magically materialize in a recently decolonized state, nor do they come cheap. They were given to North Korea by the Soviet Union. Similar offensive weapons were not sold or transferred to South Korea.
Like Synghman Rhee, North Korean leader Kim Il-sung also wished to reunify Korea. In March 1949, the former Red Army officer had traveled to Moscow to request the permission for an invasion of the South. However, Stalin thought it too risky, with too many American troops close at hand to intervene.
In April 1950, Kim secretly visited Moscow again. By then, the situation had changed. The Soviets had detonated their first nuclear bomb, Mao Zedong had secured his control of mainland China and U.S. forces in Asia were drawing down.
Stalin gave his blessing for an invasion, on the condition that the Chinese stand ready to back up North Korea if necessary. In addition to the heavy weapons, the Soviets also provided veteran officers to help plan the attack. Scholars disagree as to whether Stalin hoped Kim would prevail quickly, or if he was counting on drawing the United States into a lengthy conflict at the expense of its commitments to Europe, as he claimed in a letter that August.
Either way, it is clear which party had both the intent and means to start a war.
Did South Korean Forces Fire First?
At 4 a.m. on June 25, 1950, the North Korean military juggernaut surged into motion, beginning with a combined tank-infantry assault on the isolated Ongjin Peninsula. By June 28, it had already captured the South Korean capital of Seoul. The Republic of Korea Army crumpled before an onslaught it could not possibly contain, and fled south.
Curiously, North Korea claimed that South Korean opened fire first. This could be true in a narrow sense: North and South Korean troops had engaged in no fewer than four hundred border clashes prior to the North Korean invasion. The skirmishes were initiated by both sides, and some even involved regimental formations.
One incident cited by North Korea was a South Korean propaganda report on the second day of the war, claiming that its troops had captured Haeju, a city in North Korea. Pyongyang claimed this could only have happened if South Korean troops had attacked first, inciting a counterattack.
However, a coordinated invasion is not an action that can be conjured up in response to a moment’s provocation. Suggesting that a specific skirmish, out of hundreds of similar incidents, somehow provoked and justified North Korea’s blitzkrieg is disingenuous.
Was the United States Seeking a War in Korea?
Stalin was right about one thing: the State Department had not anticipated a new conflict in East Asia, and the Pentagon lacked ready forces to fight one. In 1949, Truman had already decided not to intervene against the communists in the Chinese Civil War. He was little interested in starting a conflict over the Korean Peninsula.
However, Truman was unwilling to overlook an overt attack on a nominal, if not very close, ally. By June 28 he had determined the Soviet Union would not openly oppose U.S. forces, and decided to spearhead a United Nations “police action” against the KPA.
Back in the United States, the U.S. military had been downsizing. Pershing tanks had to be literally rolled off display stands and M4 Shermans recovered from World War II battlefields to fight in Korea. Dilapidated rifles were reissued to poorly trained recruits. Though the United States would eventually assemble a formidable war machine, it clearly had not been preparing for a ground war at the time.
While the U.S. Air Force swiftly won air superiority, the first U.S. ground troops to engage North Korean forces had only six antitank shells available to them, and were overrun by North Korean tanks in less than twenty-four hours. A fifteen-country coalition operating under UN mandate eventually assembled to repel the KPA attack, but for the first few months, it was reduced to fighting for its very survival holding a besieged perimeter around the city of Pusan.
From Defending South Korea to Invading North Korea
In September 1950, an amphibious landing behind North Korean lines at Incheon cut the KPA’s supply lines and caused their forces to rapidly unravel. United Nations troops recaptured Seoul and crossed the thirty-eighth parallel into North Korea, driving northward towards the Chinese border. Truman had authorized MacArthur to advance beyond the thirty-eighth so long as the Soviet Union and China did not indicate this would cause them to intervene.
Originally intending to protect the South from forcible reunification with the North, UN forces instead rolled forward to occupy the North and bring about its reunification with the South Korean government.
In fact, China did warn that it would intervene if the UN advance continued, but Gen. Douglas MacArthur disregarded the warning. In November 1950, hundreds of thousands of Chinese troops launched a devastating counterattack that would prolong the war for two more years.
Did the United States Intend to Invade China?
Chinese Communists had long feared Korea would serve as a springboard ground for an American invasion of China. After all, the United States had supported the Chinese Nationalists, who relocated their government to Taiwan after being driven from the mainland. Communist and Nationalist forces were still actively fighting on several fronts, including coastal islands and even the jungles bordering Myanmar. This, along with ideological sympathy for Korean communists, motivated Chinese support for the North Korean invasion of the South.
A few months later, Beijing was not reassured to see an American-led international army barreling toward its borders with Korea. Indeed, MacArthur privately voiced his support for expanding the war into China, believing he could easily defeat the People’s Liberation Army if only he were given the resources to fight them.
However, MacArthur’s views and resulting recklessness with regard to China ran contrary to his instructions from President Truman, who eventually relieved the popular general of command. However, the Chinese intervention did lead Truman to divert the U.S. Seventh Fleet to support the Chinese Nationalists, who had fled to islands off of China, solidifying their formerly precarious position from PLA amphibious assaults.
Was the Korean War Really about Japan?
A Chinese student of mine once argued in an essay that the Korean War had been a means for the United States to revitalize the Japanese economy, then under American occupation. Indeed, the United States injected $3.5 billion into the Japanese economy to supply its forces in Korea, resulting in a doubling of Japan’s economic output. By the end of the Korean War, the island nation had been restored to its pre–World War II standard of living.
While casting U.S. intervention in the Korean War as particularly bloody economic stimulus package misrepresents the diplomatic stakes in play, it does catch on to an aspect of American strategy in Asia at the time, which was to build up Japan as a bulwark against communist expansion. A more measured analysis might be that U.S. intervention in Korea was motivated by a fear it would give communist forces a secure foothold to expand into Japan.
This does not change a simple truth: the Korean War was the result of a deliberate and premeditated decision by North Korea and the Soviet Union to invade South Korea.
Yes, Syngman Rhee’s government in South Korea was bellicose, undemocratic and responsible for many human-rights violations—but it did not actually assemble an army for an invasion of the North, which was also quite repressive.
Yes, the United States was responsible for sending its forces across the thirty-eighth parallel and eventually waging a bombing campaign that killed many North Korean civilians.
However, the American military buildup in Korea, the advance on the Yalu River and the bombings were consequences stemming from a North Korean invasion that had been prepared for well in advance.
Sébastien Roblin holds a master’s degree in conflict resolution from Georgetown University and served as a university instructor for the Peace Corps in China. He has also worked in education, editing and refugee resettlement in France and the United States. He currently writes on security and military history for War Is Boring.
13. Report: U.S. mum on Mexico's public overtures to North Korea
And I think these countries also expelled north Korean diplomats due to their illicit activities.
Excerpt:
Mexico was among a handful of countries that include Peru, Kuwait, Spain and Italy that expelled North Korean ambassadors after the sixth test. Mexico did not sever diplomatic relations with Pyongyang, however, according to RFA.
Report: U.S. mum on Mexico's public overtures to North Korea
By Elizabeth Shim flip.it2 min
The United States is staying quiet after comments from Mexico’s foreign minister on improving ties with North Korea, according to a press report Tuesday. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
July 20 (UPI) -- A U.S. official at the United Nations said they had no comment after Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said Mexico is seeking to "reopen" its relationship with North Korea.
Radio Free Asia's Korean service reported Tuesday the U.S. representative declined to comment on an issue addressing the positions of other countries on North Korea.
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The report comes after Ebrard said Friday at the United Nations that Mexico wants to resume diplomacy and trade with Pyongyang.
Mexico had expelled former North Korean Ambassador Kim Hyong Gil in 2017, declaring the diplomat persona non grata after North Korea conducted its sixth nuclear test in September 2017.
"We have a position of hands-off around the world, we respect all governments, and we want to reopen the relationship with North Korea as well, like any other country," Ebrard said after a U.N. Security Council meeting in New York, according to Bloomberg.
Mexico's top diplomat also said North Korea had violated international law by conducting nuclear tests and launching missiles, the report said.
Mexico was among a handful of countries that include Peru, Kuwait, Spain and Italy that expelled North Korean ambassadors after the sixth test. Mexico did not sever diplomatic relations with Pyongyang, however, according to RFA.
North Korea and Mexico may have begun to restore ties after Andrés Manuel López Obrador assumed office. On Sept. 29, 2020, an official Mexican account confirmed the presidential office received the credentials of new North Korean Ambassador Song Sun Ryong.
Ties between Mexico and North Korea deteriorated after Mexican authorities detained the 6,700-ton Mu Du Bong in 2014.
Mexico had said the ship belonged to North Korea's Ocean Maritime Management, a firm blacklisted by the U.N.'s North Korea sanctions committee for engaging in illicit arms trades in the past.
The North Korean crew was released in 2015.
14. North Korea highlights 'deepening friendship' with Russia on anniversary
One "deep" thing they have in common is they like to send their political prisoners deep into their mines for hard labor.
North Korea highlights 'deepening friendship' with Russia on anniversary
By Elizabeth Shim
July 20 (UPI) -- North Korea said Pyongyang's friendship with Moscow "ensured regional peace and security" in a statement commemorating a joint Russia-North Korea declaration signed more than two decades ago.
North Korea's foreign ministry said in a statement published online Tuesday that the 21st anniversary of the July 19, 2000, agreement is an "important milestone in deepening friendship and cooperation to meet the demands of the new century."
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State media previously has said Russian President Vladimir Putin and former leader Kim Jong Il agreed in 2000 to strengthen military cooperation and promote exchange that advances friendly relations.
The foreign ministry said Tuesday that the joint declaration also is the "driving force behind the unchanging development of friendly and cooperative relations in the complex international environment of the 21st century."
The accord is a "historical document that has important significance in ensuring the sound development of international relations, and ensuring world peace and security.
"Based on the declaration, mutually beneficial cooperation and exchanges have been developed and strategic communication has been strengthened," North Korea's foreign ministry said.
Pyongyang also mentioned the April 2019 summit between Kim Jong Un and Putin, a "historic reunion" that ""reaffirmed the unchanging flow of history."
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Russia was one of the top destinations for North Korean forced laborers before international sanctions banned the practice. The laborers often were sent to work in labor-intensive industries to earn foreign currency for the regime.
Russia said in 2020 that the "majority" of North Korean workers were repatriated. Some workers may still be active, however.
The Washington Post reported Sunday that North Korean workers remain in Vladivostok in eastern Russia and that several Russian construction supervisors confirmed they continue to hire North Koreans.
The United States has said that the North Korean government earned more than $500 million annually from its overseas labor force before sanctions, according to the report.
15. America Shouldn’t Bet on a North Korean Blockade to Bring Down Kim
Excerpts:
In short, there’s more to blockading North Korea than ordering the fleet into action. A fair amount of politicking vis-à-vis allies, friends, and prospective antagonists would be a must.
And lastly, success is far from preordained. Sea-power historian and theorist Julian Corbett teaches that, far from settling wars in an afternoon, naval warfare can garner victory only through a process of “gradual exhaustion.” A navy chips away at a seaborne foe’s mercantile fleet, throttling the flow of goods and raw materials merchantman by merchantman rather than halting it in one decisive blow. A strategy that works bit by bit tries the patience of the government and society that set it in motion.
It also tries the patience of one’s own business interests, as well as friendly countries that might see their own seagoing commerce impeded. A blockade of North Korea, then, will demand not just naval resources but time, painstaking diplomacy, and goodwill. The latter two are in short supply in Northeast Asia just now, with the United States and China locked in a trade war and allies Japan and South Korea perennially at odds with each other.
Will blockading fleets take to Asian seas? Maybe. But if so, they will prevail through a slow grind rather than a masterstroke.
America Shouldn’t Bet on a North Korean Blockade to Bring Down Kim
Will blockading fleets take to Asian seas? Maybe. But if so, they will prevail through a slow grind rather than a masterstroke.
Here's What You Need To Remember: Overt participation would be more likely in the case of South Korea’s navy than Japan’s, considering imperial Japan’s vexed past with Korea. Images of Japanese warships lurking offshore to intercept Korean vessels might conjure up ill will in the region. Pacifist-minded Japanese might object as well.
Donald J. Trump adores splashy gestures. On the other hand, the president displays little enthusiasm for launching new military adventures. Suppose his administration decided to go big in response to a North Korean ballistic-missile test—the “Christmas gift” Kim Jong-Un’s minions have promised Pyongyang might bestow—rather than content itself with humdrum peacetime deterrence. And suppose Washington blanched at ground combat. How to satisfy both the impulses goading it into action and those urging restraint?
Well, it could impose a naval blockade to halt shipping bound to or from North Korean seaports—squeezing the hermit kingdom’s seaborne imports and exports while confining its navy to its moorings. Is the U.S. Navy up to enforcing a blockade? Yes—but Washington must not regard a maritime quarantine as a cheap, quick, or painless alternative to land warfare. Just the opposite. It would be expensive, time-consuming, and resource-intensive.
Nor would success be a sure thing.
First, the navy would incur both direct and opportunity costs—especially if allies such as the South Korean Navy and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force declined to supply ships to help squelch shipping. A squadron sufficiently numerous and powerful to apprehend blockade runners would have to linger off each North Korean seaport for the duration of the quarantine. Each squadron would need regular refueling and resupply, as well as relief by replacement ships to allow for upkeep and crew rest.
Multiply the bare number of ships required for sentry duty by two and you have some idea of the direct costs of an offshore strategy. Some 50-70 ships comprise the Japan-based U.S. Seventh Fleet, which would presumably spearhead cordon operations. Subtract submarines from that total and divide the remainder by two and the magnitude of the challenge before the Seventh Fleet becomes plain. The direct costs appear bearable but burdensome.
That leaves aside the opportunity costs. A vessel monitoring North Korean traffic is a vessel not taking a direct hand in great-power competition, the administration’s and the Pentagon’s stated strategic priority. It is not training for peer fleet-on-fleet combat or honing interoperability with allied forces. It is not transiting the Taiwan Strait to tweak China. It is not working with partners in the South China Sea or the Indian Ocean. It is a sentinel, mostly static and tethered to a minuscule patrol ground.
Second, a blockade would not be a one-on-one brawl between the United States against North Korea. A blockade is an act of war under international law, and Washington would be prosecuting that act of war in part along the Korean west coast—at Beijing’s maritime door. Chinese Communist Party leaders are acutely conscious that the Korean Peninsula overshadows the sea route into the Bohai Sea, home to one of China’s coastal economic hubs as well as the gateway from the Yellow Sea to China’s capital city.
U.S. naval operations in China’s near seas and skies always rankle with Chinese Communist prelates. In 2010, for instance, Beijing pitched a fit over planned U.S.-South Korean maneuvers in the Yellow Sea—prompting the Obama administration to relocate the exercises to less contentious waters. And those were mere peacetime maneuvers, not open war. Entanglement between a U.S.-North Korea blockade and already fraught U.S.-China relations is a sure bet.
Third, alliance diplomacy would come into play in all likelihood. Think about it. The closest American territory to the Korean Peninsula is Guam, some 2,000 miles from Korean coasts. It would verge on impossible to sustain a blockade from a base that remote from the quarantine zone. Accordingly, the U.S. Navy would be forced to stage the effort from Japanese or South Korean seaports. Hence Tokyo and Seoul would get in a say in whether or how the venture unfolded.
The allies might contribute ships. Overt participation would be more likely in the case of South Korea’s navy than Japan’s, considering imperial Japan’s vexed past with Korea. Images of Japanese warships lurking offshore to intercept Korean vessels might conjure up ill will in the region. Pacifist-minded Japanese might object as well. Both capitals could impose conditions on what U.S. flotillas based in their harbors could do, so as to avoid entrapment in potential American misadventures.
In short, there’s more to blockading North Korea than ordering the fleet into action. A fair amount of politicking vis-à-vis allies, friends, and prospective antagonists would be a must.
And lastly, success is far from preordained. Sea-power historian and theorist Julian Corbett teaches that, far from settling wars in an afternoon, naval warfare can garner victory only through a process of “gradual exhaustion.” A navy chips away at a seaborne foe’s mercantile fleet, throttling the flow of goods and raw materials merchantman by merchantman rather than halting it in one decisive blow. A strategy that works bit by bit tries the patience of the government and society that set it in motion.
It also tries the patience of one’s own business interests, as well as friendly countries that might see their own seagoing commerce impeded. A blockade of North Korea, then, will demand not just naval resources but time, painstaking diplomacy, and goodwill. The latter two are in short supply in Northeast Asia just now, with the United States and China locked in a trade war and allies Japan and South Korea perennially at odds with each other.
Will blockading fleets take to Asian seas? Maybe. But if so, they will prevail through a slow grind rather than a masterstroke.
James Holmes is J. C. Wylie Chair of Maritime Strategy at the Naval War College and the author of A Brief Guide to Maritime Strategy, out this month. The views voiced here are his alone. This article first appeared last year.
16. ＜Inside N. Korea＞ Authorities distribute emergency food to residents, about 5 to 7 kilograms of corn. How did the residents react?
A useful survey of food "distribution" in various regions in the north.
Excerpts:
In North Korea, the food prices in the market soared to around double in June, raising concerns among the residents. The authorities have begun to crack down on high food prices, but this does not seem to be working, as the newly wealthy, known as "dongchu," are buying up food, and merchants are not willing to sell at low prices.
The corn distributed this time is only enough for 5 to 7 days, and it will be eaten up soon. What are they going to do after that? The authorities are now working hard to control the market price.
"Through the People's Group, the government has informed us that we can buy food at the state-run "Food Marketing Centres" at a uniform price that is slightly lower than the market price. However, since the government does not have a lot of stock, the quantity of food for sale will not be enough, and the quality will be lower, so everyone will buy it in the market. In the first place, most people are starving because they don't have enough money to buy, so there is no point in controlling prices," said our reporting partner in Musan County.
In addition, he predicts that the severe problem of starvation will continue for the foreseeable future.
＜Inside N. Korea＞ Authorities distribute emergency food to residents, about 5 to 7 kilograms of corn. How did the residents react?
(Photo) A woman is washing clothes in the Yalu River. Now, it is strictly forbidden to approach the river in the name of stopping the inflow of coronavirus (Photographed from the Chinese side by ASIAPRESS in July 2017).
In North Korea, the Kim Jong-un regime's extreme measures against coronavirus have disrupted the economy, worsened the civilian population, and even led to starvation deaths in some parts of the country. However, the authorities have been found to have implemented emergency free food distribution in various areas. ASIAPRESS researched 3 cities in North Hamkyung Province and Ryanggang Province from July 12 to 14, asking our reporting partners within the country to assist us (Kang Ji-won / Jiro ISHIMARU).
The investigation results in each region were almost the same, and about 5 kg of corn was distributed free from the end of the second week of July to the 13th. At the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea meeting held in mid-June, Kim Jong-un acknowledged the food crisis and issued a particular order to "guarantee a stable life for the people." The latest food distribution is believed to be a measure based on that order. A small amount of corn was also distributed at the end of June.
Let's take a look at the reports of the various regions.
◆Free distribution of 750g of food per person for 1 day
In Musan county, North Hamkyung Province, 7 days’ worth of corn was provided to residents through their workplaces, including the most prominent iron mine in North Korea, the Musan Mine.
In Hyesan City in Ryanggang Province, corn was also distributed through the workplace. However, "Some differences are depending on the place of business. People in a shoe factory received a five-day supply while people in a copper mine received a seven-day supply," said a reporting partner. The same applies to Chongjin City and Hoeryong City in North Hamkyung Province.
The daily ratio in all cities was 750 grams per worker and 450 grams per person for dependents. The rations were not state rations under the system but were distributed free as a temporary distribution.
In North Korea, the general population's low-cost state food rationing system has collapsed, except in Pyongyang. Some companies provide food at their discretion in in-kind payments instead of salaries, but there was a significant disparity among companies.
Map of North Korea (Produced by ASIAPRESS)
◆How did the residents react? Where is the food coming from?
Even though it is only a 5-7 day supply, the residents are welcoming the temporary distribution. In June, the food prices in the market soared about twice as much, causing confusion, but the temporary distribution has brought the prices down a little, according to our reporting partners in various areas. In addition, it is reported that Russian flour has recently become available in the market.
So, where did the emergency distribution of food come from? There was some information that the food was meant for the military, but it is not clear. Those who have received the food have told us the following:
"In June, we were told by the authorities to be patient because we would be receiving assistance from China, but the corn we received this time was from domestic sources. It was not the white rice from Warehouse No. 2 (wartime stockpile rice) that was rumoured. It may have been diverted from 'planned rice'." (North Hamkyung Province)
※Planned rice is the food that the government systematically stockpiles for rationing to civil servants and construction workers.
"Although the authorities had explained to the residents at the end of June that they would provide the residents with 'military rice,' there was no movement at all by the agencies or companies to prepare vehicles and go to the military to receive the rice. I don't think the rice provided this time is 'military rice'." (Hyesan City)
◆Authorities Suffer from Soaring Food Prices
In North Korea, the food prices in the market soared to around double in June, raising concerns among the residents. The authorities have begun to crack down on high food prices, but this does not seem to be working, as the newly wealthy, known as "dongchu," are buying up food, and merchants are not willing to sell at low prices.
The corn distributed this time is only enough for 5 to 7 days, and it will be eaten up soon. What are they going to do after that? The authorities are now working hard to control the market price.
"Through the People's Group, the government has informed us that we can buy food at the state-run "Food Marketing Centres" at a uniform price that is slightly lower than the market price. However, since the government does not have a lot of stock, the quantity of food for sale will not be enough, and the quality will be lower, so everyone will buy it in the market. In the first place, most people are starving because they don't have enough money to buy, so there is no point in controlling prices," said our reporting partner in Musan County.
In addition, he predicts that the severe problem of starvation will continue for the foreseeable future.
※ASIAPRESS contacts its reporting partners in North Korea through smuggled Chinese mobile phones.
17. North Koreans Alarmed by Starvation Deaths of Well-Off Ethnic Chinese
An unusual but significant indicator.
Excerpts:
But just as in Wonsan, many of Chongjin’s Chinese community have given up hope of leaving because they lack funds for the application fee and the self-quarantine hotel stay, according to the second source.
“At the end of May the big news was that a Hwagyo who lived in Chongjin’s Chongam district starved to death. The Hwagyo had been delaying the submission of the application because there was no money and no relatives in China who could offer help,” the second source said.
“Prior to the coronavirus crisis, Hwagyo were legally allowed to make multiple entries into China, so they were fairly wealthy as traders of Chinese goods, and they were the object of envy. But now that even Hwagyo are dying during this crisis, the residents are expressing extreme anxiety, saying, ‘How did the economy of North Korea end up like this?’”
The several thousand Chinese residents of North Korea are not recent immigrants from the People’s Republic of China. Most entered the Korean peninsula at a time when the Republic of China (ROC) controlled the Chinese mainland or during the Chinese Civil War (1927-1949).
RFA reported last week that about 90 Hwagyo residents of North Korea arrived by bus in the Chinese border city of Dandong, just across the Yalu River from North Korea’s Sinuiju. The buses were then used to forcibly repatriate about 50 North Korean escapees who had been in the custody of Chinese authorities.
North Koreans Alarmed by Starvation Deaths of Well-Off Ethnic Chinese
The starvation deaths of three ethnic Chinese residents of North Korea, who were cut off from their economic lifeline to China by a border closure to fight the coronavirus pandemic, has shocked North Koreans by showing that the economy is failing even privileged groups, sources in the country told RFA.
Called Hwagyo in Korean, ethnic Chinese are usually among the wealthiest residents in North Korean port and border cities, because they are allowed to travel to China frequently, enabling them to run profitable import-export businesses.
Though they historically have been able to weather times of food insecurity in North Korea by traveling to China, Beijing’s and Pyongyang’s decision in January 2020 to close the border and suspend all trade due to the coronavirus has left many of them destitute.
“A Hwagyo living in Wonsan was found to have died alone of starvation in June. He had applied to travel to China in April and was scheduled for a trip in mid-July, but he died of hunger a month before his departure,” an ethnic Chinese resident of the eastern coastal city of Wonsan told RFA’s Korean Service July 15.
“As it became known that Hwagyo are among those who starved to death, the people began saying the economic crisis must be so bad that we are at rock bottom,” said the source, who requested anonymity for security reasons.
The source said the June starvation death was one of two such cases among ethnic Chinese in Wonsan since January 2021.
“Since Wonsan is a major hub for tourism and development because of its port, the standard of living here was more stable than in other areas,” the source said.
“Even when people were starving to death in other parts of the country, Wonsan was always an exception,” said the source.
The source said that people have been starving in Wonsan since the beginning of the year due to measures against COVID-19. The border closure has proved disastrous for local economies in North Korea, especially in areas near the border and port cities, whose economies depend on buying and selling goods either imported or smuggled from China.
Food prices have also skyrocketed after severe flooding and natural disasters last summer decimated harvest yields.
U.N Special Rapporteur on North Korean Human Rights Tomás Ojea Quintana warned in a report in March that the closure of the Sino-Korean border and restrictions on the movement of people could bring on a “serious food crisis.”
“Deaths by starvation have been reported, as has an increase in the number of children and elderly people who have resorted to begging as families are unable to support them,” said the report.
The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization estimated in a recent report that North Korea would be short about 860,000 tons of food this year, about two months of normal demand.
Authorities have been accepting applications for travel permission from ethnic Chinese since January, according to the source, but the steep application fee of 170 yuan (U.S. $26) and the requirement to personally pay for a two-week quarantine period in a hotel has precluded many from even applying.
“Even now, some Hwagyo are living in extreme poverty due to the coronavirus emergency. They can only helplessly wait for the lockdown to be lifted, because they don’t have the money,” the Wonsan source said.
Another Chinese resident of North Korea told RFA that members of his community always been relatively affluent compared to Korean residents of Chongjin, a port city in the country’s northeast.
“They sold Chinese goods and were envied by the people around them. However, due to the unexpected outbreak of the virus, trade was stopped, and they became among the city’s poorest residents,” the second source said.
“Authorities have accepted applications from Hwagyo to travel to China five times since January this year. Many have left for China or are preparing to leave,” said the second source.
But just as in Wonsan, many of Chongjin’s Chinese community have given up hope of leaving because they lack funds for the application fee and the self-quarantine hotel stay, according to the second source.
“At the end of May the big news was that a Hwagyo who lived in Chongjin’s Chongam district starved to death. The Hwagyo had been delaying the submission of the application because there was no money and no relatives in China who could offer help,” the second source said.
“Prior to the coronavirus crisis, Hwagyo were legally allowed to make multiple entries into China, so they were fairly wealthy as traders of Chinese goods, and they were the object of envy. But now that even Hwagyo are dying during this crisis, the residents are expressing extreme anxiety, saying, ‘How did the economy of North Korea end up like this?’”
The several thousand Chinese residents of North Korea are not recent immigrants from the People’s Republic of China. Most entered the Korean peninsula at a time when the Republic of China (ROC) controlled the Chinese mainland or during the Chinese Civil War (1927-1949).
RFA reported last week that about 90 Hwagyo residents of North Korea arrived by bus in the Chinese border city of Dandong, just across the Yalu River from North Korea’s Sinuiju. The buses were then used to forcibly repatriate about 50 North Korean escapees who had been in the custody of Chinese authorities.
Reported by Jeong Yon Park for RFA’s Korean Service. Translated by Leejin Jun. Written in English by Eugene Whong.
18. ETH developer Virgil Griffith back in jail after allegedly checking Coinbase account
This is a small step in sanctions enforcement. We need more aggressive enforcement of sanctions. We need to close down this funding line of effort for the Kim family regime.
Excerpts:
The Ethereum Foundation researcher will likely spend the next two months behind bars. He is scheduled to be tried on Sept. 21 on charges of conspiracy to violate sanctions with North Korea and faces up to 20 years in prison.
...
Federal authorities believe he assisted North Korea’s efforts to launder money using cryptocurrency to avoid U.S. sanctions after he attended a blockchain conference in Pyongyang in April 2019.
ETH developer Virgil Griffith back in jail after allegedly checking Coinbase account
Ethereum developer Virgil Griffith has violated the terms of his bail and has been taken into custody after he allegedly accessed his cryptocurrency account.
The remand order came from United States District Judge P. Kevin Castel after Griffith reportedly sought to access Ether (ETH) assets held by Coinbase in May.
The Ethereum Foundation researcher will likely spend the next two months behind bars. He is scheduled to be tried on Sept. 21 on charges of conspiracy to violate sanctions with North Korea and faces up to 20 years in prison.
According to Law360, Judge Castel’s main concern was flight risk since the assets Griffith held had jumped in value into the $1million range, which may have influenced his decision to check the wallet, the judge stated.
Prosecutors sought remand on July 9, claiming that Griffith violated bail terms that sharply restrict his internet use. He allegedly accessed Coinbase to contact the exchange to request the removal of account security functions reportedly stating, “I’m going to need the [two-factor authentication] removed as the FBI took my devices away.”
Defense lawyers claimed the attempt to access Coinbase was made after consulting his counsel, adding that it was his family in Alabama that made the attempt on his behalf.
Federal authorities believe he assisted North Korea’s efforts to launder money using cryptocurrency to avoid U.S. sanctions after he attended a blockchain conference in Pyongyang in April 2019.
19. South Korea’s soft power struggles
Excerpts:
South Korea has become a powerhouse of cultural production. Its cultural influence in global entertainment is spread across industries in various media operating at the vanguard of cultural developments around the world. South Korean policymakers claim that the ‘Korean wave’ is driven by the quality of its artists and products. Others have looked for answers in South Korea’s marketing and funding schemes.
...
The stakes are high for a country claiming ownership of the next cultural item found in different forms across the region in part because it can devalue the cultural distinctiveness of other national claimants. Soft power may not always foster dialogue and mutual understanding, but at the very least it can bring together lawyers and arbitrators from around the world.
South Korea’s soft power struggles
Author: Roald Maliangkay, ANU
South Korea has become a powerhouse of cultural production. Its cultural influence in global entertainment is spread across industries in various media operating at the vanguard of cultural developments around the world. South Korean policymakers claim that the ‘Korean wave’ is driven by the quality of its artists and products. Others have looked for answers in South Korea’s marketing and funding schemes.
Gangnam Style became the first music video to hit a billion views on YouTube and now sits in 10th place on YouTube’s list of most-viewed videos. A seemingly innocuous animated children’s song called Baby Shark currently leads YouTube views, also produced by a South Korean company. Earlier this year, actress Youn Yuh-jung won several international movie awards. Meanwhile, boy band BTS set five new world records in May 2021.
South Korea’s endless stream of creativity could derive from clever packaging and favourable market conditions, fostered by a government that has made considerable investments into the cultural industries since the late 1990s. Indeed, South Korea has provided a masterclass in strategising soft power in a way that Taiwan and the United Kingdom have considered adopting. This view might overlook the exceptional conditions that produced the Korean Wave. They include a major economic crisis, cultural and geographical proximity to two major powers, a unique script and language, a long history of being subjected to foreign imperialism, and being home to leading producers of consumer technology.
It might be expected that the Korean Wave would boost South Korea’s global soft power, allowing easier access to overseas consumer markets. Former UN secretary-general Ban Ki-Moon wrote that soft power ‘transcends borders, builds bridges, and brings the world together through dialogue and mutual understanding’. Until this is achieved, soft power is more about curbing or growing influence than embracing difference, with significant involvement from netizens.
The Korean Wave has both encountered and cultivated a considerable degree of antagonism in China. Government censorship creates obvious concerns for South Korean producers. Some of the biggest challenges have been caused by eruptions of keyboard violence between Chinese and South Korean consumers. When Chinese consumers have banned or slammed South Korean products that they claim show insensitivity to, or wilful ignorance of, history, politics or culture, South Korean netizens have retaliated. The increasing involvement of South Korean stars in Chinese marketing campaigns is likely to cause a rise in the number of such controversies.
One area where South Korea can rely on third-party moderation of disputes with China is intellectual property, including intangible heritage. The appeal of international arbitration might be why UNESCO’s List of Intangible Cultural Heritage has been the site of considerable competition, despite its mission to promote respect for ‘cultural diversity and human creativity’. Since 2009, South Korea has contended with China, Japan and North Korea for recognition of similar cultural items. A few listings that had limited life as local traditions in the past are now serving to define the successful applicant nation.
Both South Korea and UNESCO have added 21 Korean cultural items to their respective lists since 2008. The importance of the acknowledgement is demonstrated by South Korea recognising kimchi preparation, female divers in Jeju province, and the folksong Arirang only after it successfully pursued their listing by UNESCO. In 2009 South Korea was prompted to pursue the latter when China moved to recognise the song as part of its national intangible cultural heritage. It succeeded in 2012, but in 2014 the song was listed again as a North Korean repertoire.
The stakes are high for a country claiming ownership of the next cultural item found in different forms across the region in part because it can devalue the cultural distinctiveness of other national claimants. Soft power may not always foster dialogue and mutual understanding, but at the very least it can bring together lawyers and arbitrators from around the world.
Roald Maliangkay is Associate Dean of Student Experience in the School of Culture, History & Language at the Australian National University.
20. Pegasus-style surveillance is everyday life in North Korea
Martyn Williams is one of the few experts who understand the digital infrastructure in north Korea.
Pegasus-style surveillance is everyday life in North Korea
In the last couple of days, the Pegasus spyware and its targeted use on smartphones used by journalists, politicians and activists has come to light. The software, developed by Israel’s NSO Group, is said to be able to bypass the security on Android and iOS smartphones and infect them, yielding so that the attacker has unrestricted access to the compromised device’s email, messages, media files, the call log, contacts database, camera and microphone.
While this revelation is understood as a violation of privacy and infringement on human rights, North Korean smartphone users are used to this level of monitoring. Surveillance is built into all of North Korea’s telecommunications systems, but could the country be using Pegasus?
The reporting has so far identified 11 nations as possible clients of NSO: Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Hungary, India, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Morocco, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Togo, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). NSO said that it only sells the spyware to “vetted government customers” and shuts down client access should it find misuse.
If NSO vets potential customers as it claims, North Korea is unlikely to qualify due to a long list of documented human rights abuses and sanctions that present much business between the country and foreign companies.
It’s also highly unlikely because North Korean simply doesn’t need outside help in monitoring communications.
Calls on the country’s fixed line telecommunications network have been monitored for decades and surveillance was a basic requirement when North Korea first built its 3G cellular network in 2008. Documents seen by 38North in 2019 showed the government had access to voice calls, text messages, fax messages, web, file transfers and email messages.
Smartphones are tightly controlled through a modified version of the Android operating system that includes blocks on playback of unapproved media files and restrictions on messaging and other communications. Coupled with the network-level surveillance, there is little chance North Koreans can escape the ever-watching eye of the government.
21.
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.
