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Quotes of the Day;
"The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows."
– Sydney J. Harris
"At least once every human should have to run for his life, to teach him that milk does not come from supermarkets, that safety does not come from policemen, that "news" is nothing that happens to other people. He might learn how his ancestors lived and that he is no different – in the crunch his life depends on agility, alertness, and personal resourcefulness."
– RObert A. Heinlein – Number of the Beast andThe Pursuit of the Pankera
"For to know a man's library is, in some measure, to know his mind."
Geraldine Brooks
1. U.S. envoy urges N. Korea to begin 'reform' process to improve human rights
2. N. Korea renews call for combat readiness on military founding anniversary
3. Yoon says ROK can build nukes but doesn’t want sanctions like North Korea
4. N. Korea scraps laws on inter-Korean economic cooperation
5. Exclusive: UN experts investigate 58 cyberattacks worth $3 bln by North Korea
6. Kim's new strategic direction
7. N. Korean leader berates officials during visit to provincial factories
8. S. Korea voices regret over Russian envoy's remarks blaming allies for possible N.K. nuclear test
9. Kim Jong-un ups ante to shift attention away from defiant millennials at home
10. S. Korea urges N. Korea to improve human rights on 10th anniv. of U.N. report
11. UN should update North Korea rights report: experts
12. Russia becomes more dangerous for North Korean escapees
13. Focus on North Korea’s economy and Russia
14. N. Korea continues 'malicious' cyber activity, IT worker dispatch to fund WMD capabilities: US report
15. The tragic story of a North Korean “defector hunter”
16. North Korea forces residents to buy photos of recent satellite rocket launch
1. U.S. envoy urges N. Korea to begin 'reform' process to improve human rights
Human rights upfront.
U.S. envoy urges N. Korea to begin 'reform' process to improve human rights | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Song Sang-ho · February 8, 2024
By Song Sang-ho
WASHINGTON, Feb. 7 (Yonhap) -- The U.S. special envoy for North Korean human rights called on Pyongyang Wednesday to launch a "reform" process to enhance its rights situation, stressing promoting respect for human dignity in the reclusive state remains a "top" priority for Washington.
Ambassador Julie Turner made the remarks as she marked the 10th anniversary of the release of a landmark U.N. Commission of Inquiry (COI) report that accused North Korean officials of "systematic, widespread and gross" human rights violations and made related recommendations.
"We call on the DPRK to initiate a reform process to implement the recommendations of the 2014 U.N. COI report and to respect human rights," she said in a video message released by the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea. DPRK stands for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Ambassador Julie Turner, U.S. special envoy for North Korean human rights, speaks in a video message from a YouTube account of the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea on Feb. 7, 2024. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
Turner also pointed out that Washington reinforced the COI recommendation to China and other countries to respect the principle of non-refoulement and abstain from forcibly repatriating anyone to the North "unless treatment there, verified by international monitors, markedly improves."
Noting that Pyongyang will undergo a universal periodic review later this year, she expressed hope that the review will serve as an opportunity to improve respect for human rights. The review is a mechanism that calls for each U.N. member state to go through a peer review of its human rights record every 4.5 years.
The ambassador also reiterated America's commitment to enhancing human rights for North Koreans.
"Promoting respect for human rights and human dignity in the DPRK remains a top priority for the U.S. government," she said.
Turner has been stressing the importance of human rights in the North as she has said that security and human rights are "inextricably" linked. Her thinking is that a repressive political climate allows the North Korean regime to divert public resources to its weapons programs without objection from its people.
"We remain committed to shining a spotlight on human rights abuses and violations, promoting accountability for those responsible for them, increasing access to information inside the DPRK and supporting civil society efforts," she said.
The ambassador also expressed her appreciation to those working for North Korean human rights.
"Thank you for continuing to speak out on behalf of the millions of North Koreans who are denied the right to speak out on their own behalf," she said. "To the North Korean people, we see you and we will continue to advocate for improved conditions and for your rights to be respected."
sshluck@yna.co.kr
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en.yna.co.kr · by Song Sang-ho · February 8, 2024
2. N. Korea renews call for combat readiness on military founding anniversary
Externalize internal threats. One of the regime's techniques is to keep all people working (to include the military) to prevent collective action and resistance. The people are given no time to coordinate and conspire. They are also worked until they are too tired to be concerned with collective action and resistance to te regime.
N. Korea renews call for combat readiness on military founding anniversary | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Minji · February 8, 2024
SEOUL, Feb. 8 (Yonhap) -- North Korea on Thursday urged its armed forces to be equipped with full combat readiness as the country marked the 76th founding anniversary of the Korean People's Army (KPA).
In an editorial, the North's main newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, claimed the KPA is well-equipped with "overwhelming" military capability to deter war schemes by imperialist powers and called on the military to further beef up its combat power against hostile forces.
In a separate article, the newspaper said the KPA is determined to "completely devastate" the base of hostile forces should it attempt to inflict the slightest damage on the dignity of North Korea and its people.
On the domestic front, the newspaper said the KPA will take part in the struggle to implement the ruling party's policy to develop the North's regional economy.
In 2023, North Korea held a nighttime military parade where it first showcased the Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile to mark the 75th founding anniversary of the armed forces.
Signs of such major events have yet to be seen this year as the North usually marks every fifth and 10th of key anniversaries with large-scale events.
North Korean workers attend an event in Pyongyang on Feb. 6, 2024, in this photo carried by the Korean Central News Agency the next day. The event was held to mark the 76th founding anniversary of the North's Korean People's Army on Feb. 8. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
mlee@yna.co.kr
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en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Minji · February 8, 2024
3. Yoon says ROK can build nukes but doesn’t want sanctions like North Korea
In my view: The ROK, as a global pivotal state, chooses to be a peaceful nuclear power, is a partner in the arsenal of democracy, and supports the rules based international order.
Yoon says ROK can build nukes but doesn’t want sanctions like North Korea
The president made remarks in pre-recorded interview during which he raised the possibility of engagement with DPRK
https://www.nknews.org/2024/02/yoon-says-rok-can-build-nukes-but-doesnt-want-sanctions-like-north-korea/
Jeongmin Kim | Lina Park February 8, 2024
President Yoon Suk-yeol participated in a special interview with state broadcaster KBS titled "Visiting the Presidential Office" on Feb. 4 | Image: ROK Presidential Office
President Yoon Suk-yeol asserted that South Korea is capable of quickly developing nuclear weapons but would refrain from doing so to avoid sanctions such as those levied on North Korea.
“Some say that, unlike North Korea, South Korea’s lack of granite layers would complicate underground nuclear testing. However, I tell you, if we set our minds to it, the process wouldn’t take as long as some might think,” Yoon said during a pre-recorded interview with state-sponsored broadcaster KBS.
However, he went on to call such a scenario “unrealistic,” given the various economic sanctions that would be levied against the country, as is the case with North Korea.
The 100-minute interview was aired Wednesday as an alternative to a traditional New Year’s press conference amid ongoing controversies regarding the First Lady and the ruling party leader.
The broadcast came just weeks after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un denounced his country’s decades-old goal of unification with the once-compatriots, defining the ROK as the country’s main enemy and a foreign belligerent state at war.
While Yoon called Kim’s decision to no longer define South Koreans as compatriots and view the neighboring countries as “two separate states” a “big change,” he also cautioned against reading too much into the hidden intention of such an announcement.
“Nothing has changed over the past seven decades when [North Korea] aimed at communizing the ROK,” he said.
He went on to cite the DPRK’s irrationality as a consideration to take into account when it comes to South Korea’s security.
“We have to build our security strongly under the premise that North Korea could come to irrational and unreasonable conclusions,” he added.
However, Yoon did not rule out future engagement. “I’m open for an inter-Korean summit regardless of whether North Korea gives up nuclear weapons,” he said, assessing past progressive presidents’ attempts to promote such meetings as having led to “no gain.”
“If North Korea shows the intention of giving up nukes, or even just make initial steps to implement that,” South Korea is still open for “audacious, strategic support” such as helping the DPRK open its market up and get investments, he said.
President Yoon Suk-yeol participated in a special interview with state broadcaster KBS titled “Visiting the Presidential Office” on Feb. 4 | Image: ROK Presidential Office
PAST REMARKS
President Yoon first brought up the topic of South Korea’s potential nuclear armament in Jan. 2023, shortly after North Korean drones crossed the border, with one making it as far as Seoul. At that time, Yoon stated in a meeting with top aides that South Korea “could” develop nuclear weapons with its advanced technology as there are public doubts about U.S. extended deterrence.
His remarks drew criticism from experts and policymakers in the U.S. and eventually led to the establishment of the Nuclear Consultative Group between Seoul and Washington and the ROK’s commitment to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
Nam Sung-wook, a professor of the Korean Unification, Diplomacy and Security department at Korea University, told NK News that Yoon’s remarks about remarks during the KBS interview were aimed at highlighting to Washington that Seoul is abiding by its nonproliferation commitments.
But Lee Choongkoo, principal research fellow at the Center for Security and Strategy of Korea Institute of Defense Analyses, told NK News that the president appeared to have aimed the comments more at the domestic public, mindful of how recent increase in inter-Korean tension may have caused unease.
Considering how Yoon framed the nuclear armament issue around the NPT and national interests, the remarks were likely aimed at “reassuring” the public, Lee interpreted.
4. N. Korea scraps laws on inter-Korean economic cooperation
The "example" of the ROK is a threat to the regime, therefore the regime cannot engage with it. Although it is now impossible, the regime continues to try to prevent the Korean people from learning about South Korea.
(LEAD) N. Korea scraps laws on inter-Korean economic cooperation | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Minji · February 8, 2024
(ATTN: ADDS Seoul unification ministry's response in paras 6-7)
By Lee Minji
SEOUL, Feb. 8 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has abolished laws on inter-Korean economic cooperation, state media said Thursday, as tensions between the two Koreas have deepened after the North declared there is no point in seeking reunification with the South.
During a year-end party meeting, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un defined inter-Korean ties as relations between "two states hostile to each other" and vowed to "suppress" South Korea's whole territory in the event of a contingency.
The decision on abolishing the law on inter-Korean economic cooperation, the law on the special zone for international tours of Mount Kumgang and regulations for its enforcement and agreements on inter-Korean economic cooperation was made at a plenary meeting of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) held Wednesday, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
The move comes less than a month after the North decided to dismantle agencies handling inter-Korean affairs, such as the National Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, an agency in charge of national economic cooperation, and an agency handling the Mount Kumgang tour project.
The law on inter-Korean economic cooperation, adopted in 2005, is considered a rudimentary framework for such cooperation, while the law on the special zone in Mount Kumgang, adopted in 2011, carries details on investments in the area by the South and overseas entities.
A plenary session of the standing committee of North Korea's Supreme People's Assembly takes place at the Mansudae Assembly Hall in Pyongyang on Feb. 7, 2024, in this photo released by the Korean Central News Agency the following day. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
South Korea's unification ministry in charge of inter-Korean affairs said the abolition of the laws was largely expected and warned the move will further isolate North Korea.
An official at the ministry told reporters that the government has no imminent plan to respond, stressing the agreements on inter-Korean economic cooperation do not become invalid with the North's unilateral decision.
At the latest parliamentary meeting, the North also discussed the issue of approving a master plan for land development in the Munphyong area and the issue of recalling and electing judges of the Central Court, the KCNA said.
The SPA is the highest organ of power under the North's constitution, but it rubber-stamps decisions by the ruling Workers' Party of Korea.
Choe Ryong-hae, chairman of the Standing Committee of the SPA, presided over this week's meeting.
mlee@yna.co.kr
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en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Minji · February 8, 2024
5. Exclusive: UN experts investigate 58 cyberattacks worth $3 bln by North Korea
The all -purpose sword. This is the kind of "economic cooperation" the regime wants - e.g., let me steal your money through cyber attacks.
But will the UN do anything about these attacks? Certainly not through the UN security Council as Kim is being protected by Xi and Putin. (and not China's illicit use of cyber capabilities as well).
Exclusive: UN experts investigate 58 cyberattacks worth $3 bln by North Korea
https://www.reuters.com/technology/cybersecurity/un-experts-investigate-58-cyberattacks-worth-3-bln-by-north-korea-2024-02-08/
By Michelle Nichols
February 8, 20244:39 AM ESTUpdated 3 hours ago
[1/2]Miniatures of people with computers are seen in front of North Korea flag in this illustration taken July 19, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
UNITED NATIONS, Feb 7 (Reuters) - United Nations sanctions monitors are investigating dozens of suspected cyberattacks by North Korea that raked in $3 billion to help it further develop its nuclear weapons program, according to excerpts of an unpublished U.N. report reviewed by Reuters.
"The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) continued to flout Security Council sanctions," a panel of independent sanctions monitors reported to a Security Council committee, using North Korea's formal name.
"It further developed nuclear weapons and produced nuclear fissile materials, although its last known nuclear test took place in 2017," wrote the monitors, who also said Pyongyang had continued ballistic missile launches, put a satellite into orbit and added a "tactical nuclear attack submarine" to its arsenal.
North Korea has long been banned from conducting nuclear tests and ballistic missile launches by the 15-member Security Council. Since 2006, it has been subject to U.N. sanctions, which the council has repeatedly strengthened to try and cut off funding for its weapons of mass destruction (WMD) development.
"The panel is investigating 58 suspected DPRK cyberattacks on cryptocurrency-related companies between 2017 and 2023, valued at approximately $3 billion, which reportedly help fund DPRK's WMD development," the monitors wrote.
North Korea's mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report by the sanctions monitors. Pyongyang has previously denied allegations of hacking or other cyberattacks.
The U.N. report is due to be released publicly later this month or early next month, diplomats said.
North Korean hacking groups subordinate to the Reconnaissance General Bureau (RGB) - Pyongyang's primary foreign intelligence agency - reportedly continued with a high number of cyber attacks, the sanctions monitors said.
"Trends include DPRK targeting of defense companies and supply chains, and increasingly sharing infrastructure and tools," according to the monitors, who report twice a year to the 15-member Security Council.
LUXURY GOODS
Any further action against North Korea by the council is unlikely as it had been deadlocked for several years on the issue. China and Russia instead want the sanctions to be eased to convince Pyongyang to return to denuclearization talks.
Moscow and Pyongyang also vowed last year to deepen military relations. The U.S. has accused North Korea of supplying weapons to Russia for its war in Ukraine, which North Korea and Russia have denied.
"The panel is investigating reports from Member States about supplies by DPRK of conventional arms and munitions in contravention of sanctions," the sanctions monitors wrote.
The isolated Asian nation imposed a strict lockdown amid the coronavirus pandemic that slashed its trade and aid access, but it slowly began to re-emerge last year.
"Trade continues to recover. The 2023 overall recorded trade volume surpassed the total for 2022, accompanied by the reappearance of a large variety of foreign consumer goods, some of which could be classified as luxury items," the sanctions monitors wrote.
The sale or transfer of luxury items to North Korea has long been banned by the Security Council. Under U.N. sanctions imposed in 2017, all countries were also required to repatriate North Koreans working abroad to stop them earning foreign currency for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's government.
"The panel investigated reports of numerous DPRK nationals working overseas earning income in violation of sanctions, including in the information technology, restaurant, and construction sectors," the sanctions monitors wrote.
They also said North Korea continues to access the international financial system and engage in illicit financial operations in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions.
Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Lincoln Feast.
6. Kim's new strategic direction
John Merrill was responsible for north Korean analysis for State at INR for decades.
Conclusion:
That makes it unlikely that Kim would seek a war at this time. Another sign is that by selling munitions to Russia, Kim is depleting his own stocks of ammunition that would otherwise be needed for an attack on South Korea.
Kim's new strategic direction
The Korea Times · February 7, 2024
By John Merrill
John Merill
In a major policy shift, Kim Jong-un's New Year's address lashed out at South Korea, calling it a "hostile enemy state," abandoning for now any hope of unification.
It can be argued that the move was no more than a simple acknowledgment of fact, but it still provoked a flood of alarmist predictions from some surprising quarters. Even usually sympathetic authors, such as Bob Carlin and Sig Hecker have raised dire warnings about North Korea's new, more hostile stance.
Kim accused South Korea of being thoroughly corrupted by malign American influence. He said Seoul had now become impossible to deal with and ordered the dissolution of all front organizations in charge of maintaining contacts with the South.
Both Koreas have now begun making moves to bring about their breakup. The North dissolved the Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland. It also has apparently torn down the gigantic unification arch depicting two Korean women coming together that dominates the highway leading to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).
The DMZ is becoming increasingly tense. Both sides are now fortifying guard posts along their sides of the border. The North has also conducted an artillery drill, lobbing hundreds of shells into the sea near the Ongjin Peninsula.
In another sign of increasingly hostile relations, the Ministry of Unification in Seoul announced the formal dissolution of companies formerly operating in the Kaesong Industrial Complex.
There could be a domestic angle to the new North Korean line on unification. The emergence of Kim's photogenic young daughter, Kim Ju-ae, who Seoul's intelligence service assesses may be being groomed as his successor, roughly coincides with the breakup between the two Koreas.
If Kim really intends to make Ju-ae his successor, he knows this will be a nearly impossible "sell" to the South Korean public. If this is so, a domestic campaign to burnish her revolutionary credentials — along with a campaign incorporating themes of dynastic succession would seem to be necessary.
Similar calculations have been behind other previous North Korean provocations. In 2010, for example, the North's sinking of the Cheonan naval ship and the bombing of Yeonpyeong Island are believed to have been linked to efforts to build public support for the planned succession of Kim Jong-un once his father, Kim Jong-il, died. It was at this time that he was anointed as "General" Kim Jong-un despite his lack of military experience.
With unification being downgraded as a regime priority, the North's foreign ministry under Choe Son-hui seems to be increasingly in the ascendancy. She has extensive experience in dealing with Americans in many unofficial settings. Her recent visit to Moscow to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov represents a new high-water mark in Russian-North Korean relations. Both sides are now portraying her visit as a prelude to a Putin trip to North Korea later this year.
With Washington focused on conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, it is arguably not paying as much attention as it should to the increasingly fraught situation in Korea. Pyongyang seems to be trying to keep attention focused on the peninsula with high-profile announcements of new weapons tests, including hypersonic missiles and an undersea nuclear drone.
Both the Russian and North Korean sides have said that they want to improve their relations across the board. A Putin visit would be a chance to flesh out the new relationship. Strangely enough, Russia may actually turn out to be an unexpected factor for stability on the peninsula. Moscow knows that any conflict there will inevitably involve the United States and so the logic of deterrence will come into play.
North Korea has shipped more than a million artillery shells, tactical ballistic missiles and anti-tank missiles to Moscow for use in the war in Ukraine. Though not often noted, this mirrors Seoul's own three-way trade of howitzers, artillery and other munitions to Poland, which then ships its own older Soviet-era weapons to Ukraine.
The North Korean military supplies to Russia are aiding its own economy since they are likely bringing in much-needed cash for Pyongyang. Some analysts forecast that the Russian arms sales and the resumption of trade with China after the COVID lockdown means that North Korea could have its fastest growth rate in nearly a decade.
That makes it unlikely that Kim would seek a war at this time. Another sign is that by selling munitions to Russia, Kim is depleting his own stocks of ammunition that would otherwise be needed for an attack on South Korea.
John Merrill (jmerrill05@gmail.com) is a visiting scholar at the Institute of Korean Studies at George Washington University.
The Korea Times · February 7, 2024
7. N. Korean leader berates officials during visit to provincial factories
Blame everyone but himself. The Korean people suffer and the economy has failed due to the deliberate policy decision of Kim Jong Un. Specifically his decision to prioritize the development of nuclear weapons and missiles over the welfare of the economy, the natio, and the people.
N. Korean leader berates officials during visit to provincial factories | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Minji · February 8, 2024
SEOUL, Feb. 8 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un reprimanded officials over "shortcomings" in regional factories, state media said Thursday, during a visit that came as part of his push on developing the economy in the North's backward provinces.
Kim made the remarks as he gave a "field guidance" to factories that produce foodstuffs, daily necessities and paper in Kimwha County in the North's Kangwon Province on Wednesday, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
While noting that the factories are contributing to improving the people's lives by providing products of high quality, Kim pointed out that there are "shortcomings in the design and layout of the production process," the KCNA said.
Kim went on to rebuke officials for failing to spot and fix such problems and pointed out that "to mechanically copy the regional industrial factories in Kimhwa County" shows the "wrong attitude" of officials in carrying out the party's regional development policy.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (C) visits a factory in Kimwha County in the North's Kangwon Province on Feb. 7, 2024, in this photo released by the Korean Central News Agency the following day. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
His remarks were seen as warning officials in charge of economic affairs to refrain from simply following the industrial factories in Kimwha County, which has often been praised as a model case of modernizing industrial factories outside of Pyongyang.
North Korea has been stressing the importance of developing the economy in backward provinces by building modernized factories in 20 counties over the next decade to raise the "basic material and cultural living standards of the people."
During a meeting of the political bureau of the Workers' Party in January, Kim said the overall regional economy is in a "terrible situation" and defined the insufficient provision of basic living necessities in provincial areas as a "serious political issue."
Kim Yo-jong, the influential sister of the North Korean leader, and Jo Yong-won, secretary for organizational affairs in the ruling Workers' Party who was recently tapped to lead a committee on regional economic development, were among the officials that accompanied Kim, according to the KCNA.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (L) visits a factory in Kimwha County in the North's Kangwon Province on Feb. 7, 2024, in this photo released by the Korean Central News Agency the following day. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
mlee@yna.co.kr
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en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Minji · February 8, 2024
8. S. Korea voices regret over Russian envoy's remarks blaming allies for possible N.K. nuclear test
There should be no doubt that Russia is providing "diplomatic protection or cover for Kim Jong Un.
S. Korea voices regret over Russian envoy's remarks blaming allies for possible N.K. nuclear test | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Seung-yeon · February 8, 2024
By Kim Seung-yeon
SEOUL, Feb. 8 (Yonhap) -- South Korea expressed strong regret Thursday over the remarks by Russia's top envoy to North Korea that the likelihood of another nuclear test by Pyongyang will depend on how far Seoul and Washington will go in taking their deterrence measures against the North.
Russian Ambassador to North Korea Alexander Matsegora said in an interview with the TASS news agency the previous day that North Korea may decide to conduct its seventh nuclear test if Washington continues to take "provocative steps" on and around the Korean Peninsula.
Matsegora almost derided the United States and its allies for "speculating" about whether and when the North will carry out another nuclear test, saying his host country will likely do so for its own defense if Washington keeps "flying strategic bombers over the peninsula."
"We think it's very regrettable that the Russian ambassador to North Korea made comments that shift the blame on South Korea and the United States for North Korea's provocations and justify the North's nuclear development," foreign ministry spokesperson Lim Soo-suk said in a briefing.
Lim said firming up the security posture is a natural measure to protect the lives of the South Korean people and ensure their safety.
"The need for the trilateral security cooperation among South Korea, the U.S. and Japan will increase as the military threats from Russia and North Korea continue," Lim added.
In this file photo, foreign ministry spokesperson Lim Soo-suk speaks during a regular press briefing in Seoul on Jan. 16, 2024. (Yonhap)
elly@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Seung-yeon · February 8, 2024
9. Kim Jong-un ups ante to shift attention away from defiant millennials at home
Oh those darn millennials.
But seriously, this excerpt illustrates what I am most concerned about. Internal threats can lead to decisions to externalizing the problem. And If faced with an existential internal threat we could see execution of the campaign plan. That is why we must be just as observant for internal instability as we are observant for indicators of attack.
Excerpts;
Others argue that the primary driver behind North Korea's increasing saber-rattling is not just a food shortage but a more fundamental concern. According to this perspective, Kim Jong-un is deeply troubled by South Korea's cultural influence, which has become widespread, especially among teenagers and millennials in their 20s and 30s. This group, often referred to as the "Jangmadang Generation," grew up experiencing elements of capitalism through their parents' involvement in markets to make ends meet. They believe that if not adequately controlled, this cultural influence could pose a serious threat to the regime.
“If the North prepares for war, there should be signs, and the South would be able to detect some of those signs, either through signal or human intelligence,” Retired Navy Capt. Park Bum-jin told The Korea Times. “But currently, there have been no such signs.”
Park, also an adjunct professor at Kyung Hee University's Graduate School of Business, said fear-driven barking explains Kim’s highly provocative statements.
“Kim became outrageous because South Korea’s pop culture has been gaining traction among the North Korean youth,” he said, adding that video footage recently released by a Seoul-based non-profit group called South and North Korea Democracy (SAND) illustrates the hysteria of the North Korean regime.
Kim Jong-un ups ante to shift attention away from defiant millennials at home
The Korea Times · February 7, 2024
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un / Korea Times file
Fear mongering could be real motive behind N. Korean leader's war rhetoric
By Kang Hyun-kyung
There's a saying that goes, "A barking dog never bites."
Some North Korea analysts argue that this proverb better elucidates North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's motives behind his recent increase in hostile remarks against South Korea, including threats of nuclear destruction.
Just as dogs may bite out of fear, some argue that Kim's increasingly provocative rhetoric reflects his own anxieties rather than signaling a genuine willingness to go to war with South Korea, as some U.S. analysts have claimed in a recent article.
The group of people who believe fear-driven barking is more convincing than the war scenario highlights North Korea's internal factors as a source of Kim's belligerent behavior. They argue that such behavior serves to deflect attention from domestic issues and challenges. Inside this school of thought, views are divided. Some argue that economic frustration is a key driver of North Korea's escalating saber-rattling.
Others argue that the primary driver behind North Korea's increasing saber-rattling is not just a food shortage but a more fundamental concern. According to this perspective, Kim Jong-un is deeply troubled by South Korea's cultural influence, which has become widespread, especially among teenagers and millennials in their 20s and 30s. This group, often referred to as the "Jangmadang Generation," grew up experiencing elements of capitalism through their parents' involvement in markets to make ends meet. They believe that if not adequately controlled, this cultural influence could pose a serious threat to the regime.
“If the North prepares for war, there should be signs, and the South would be able to detect some of those signs, either through signal or human intelligence,” Retired Navy Capt. Park Bum-jin told The Korea Times. “But currently, there have been no such signs.”
Park, also an adjunct professor at Kyung Hee University's Graduate School of Business, said fear-driven barking explains Kim’s highly provocative statements.
“Kim became outrageous because South Korea’s pop culture has been gaining traction among the North Korean youth,” he said, adding that video footage recently released by a Seoul-based non-profit group called South and North Korea Democracy (SAND) illustrates the hysteria of the North Korean regime.
The footage depicts North Korean authorities publicly sentencing two North Korean teenagers to 12 years of hard labor for watching South Korean TV dramas and movies. The 16-year-olds are shown handcuffed and dressed in prison uniforms during the public trial.
North Korea has been vigilant against what it perceives as South Korea's cultural invasion. In an effort to curb its influence on residents, North Korea has implemented a series of measures prohibiting North Koreans from watching or distributing South Korean dramas, movies, and pop music. Since 2020, North Korea has imposed fines or imprisonment on individuals caught owning or distributing foreign cultural products or speaking in a manner resembling South Koreans.
Park said Kim’s paranoia reached a peak as South Korean pop culture greatly impacted the younger generation.
“Kim appears to feel a sense of crisis because the influence of South Korean pop culture in the North could make him lose control over the residents,” he said. “Whenever he feels pressure, he ratcheted up provocations like the ones we’ve seen recently.”
Park noted that the North Korean leader is attempting to convey the message that the North is capable of defending itself, citing its possession of nuclear weapons and missiles.
Defense Minister Shin Won-sik echoed a similar sentiment regarding the North Korean leader's recent provocative statements. He suggested that Kim's primary audience is North Korean residents, particularly due to the North's internal challenges. Shin argued that Kim aims to consolidate support from residents by instilling fear and creating a sense of urgency about the possibility of war, thereby urging them to be prepared.
During his speech at the 9th Enlarged Plenum of the 8th Workers Party of Korea Central Committee meeting held from Dec. 26-30, Kim declared an end to "eight decades" of inter-Korean relations, labeling South Korea as the North's primary enemy. Subsequently, he acted on his words.
In January, the North removed the arc of reunification, Monument to the Three-Point Charter for National Reunification in Pyongyang, which had symbolized reunification since its establishment in 2001. This action came shortly after Kim referred to it as an "eyesore" during a speech to the Supreme People's Assembly on Jan. 15. Additionally, North Korea announced the complete destruction of the North Korean segment of the inter-Korean railway, which connected Seoul to Sinuiju via Pyongyang, rendering it inoperable for future service.
Through this course of action, Kim abruptly disregarded the legacies of his father and grandfather. This indicates a sense of urgency on his part to push for fundamental changes.
There has been significant interest in understanding what prompted the North Korean leader to become so agitated about inter-Korean relations, to the extent of rejecting the Kim dynasty's decades-old legacy of pursuing a unified Korea. It is worth noting that North Korea's vision of unification, with two distinct systems coexisting within a single country, differs significantly from South Korea's pursuit of a free and democratic Korea.
Soo Kim, a former analyst of the Central Intelligence Agency, speaks during a Korea Times forum held in October, 2022, in Seoul. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul
Analysts rushed to interpret the intention behind his provocative behavior.
Some analysts interpreted Kim's increasingly provocative remarks and North Korea's subsequent actions as indicative of an impending war. They emphasize external factors such as the protracted war in Ukraine and the escalation of conflicts in the Middle East, suggesting that these circumstances could lead to North Korea's miscalculation, especially as the U.S. may struggle to simultaneously sustain multiple war fronts. Others suggest that Kim's confidence and outspokenness may have been bolstered after North Korea signed a military pact to send artillery and munitions to Russia, leading Kim to believe that Russia is providing backing and support.
However, some analysts interpret the situation differently, asserting that there have been no indications of war thus far.
Soo Kim, a former analyst for the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), cautioned against making definitive statements about whether Kim is or is not preparing for war. She warned that either assertion creates a simplistic view of the North Korean leader's intentions.
“What we do know is that North Korea has stepped up its provocative behavior — the increased frequency and variations of weapons testing, hostile statements toward the U.S. and South Korea, and the recent decision to make it clear that Seoul was Pyongyang’s Number 1 enemy,” she said. “Kim’s most recent decision to remove unification as the goal gives him greater justification and wriggle room to intensify his belligerent activities that could help him better prepare for pitched tensions with the South.”
Park Jae-wan, a retired major and adjunct professor at Kookmin University Graduate School of Politics and Leadership, suggested that Kim's greatest fear at present could be the instability of his regime due to the repercussions of cultural invasion.
“North Korea is a country where collective action or any form of protest against the regime is nearly impossible because its system was built like that,” he said. “Thus, what can happen in case younger North Koreans are exposed to South Korean culture will be that they can refuse to accept the system and choose to defect to a free country like South Korea. This is the fear Kim is dealing with.”
He said he agrees that fear-driven barking could be an accurate description of Kim’s provocative remarks. Park said the North Korean leader's remarks about war do not align with the other actions he has taken since December.
“There are discrepancies between his words and deeds,” he said.
If he is seriously considering war as an option, Park said, Kim is not supposed to export artillery shells, rockets and munitions to Russia.
“If a country is preparing for war, it’s supposed to gather weapons, not sell them,” he said.
Park added that it is possible the North Korean leader may have been quoted out of context in his speeches during the two recent events, first in December and then in early January.
“In those speeches, Kim himself made it clear that he had no intention of waging war against the South, but he also said that he would not back down in the event of the outbreak of a war and that he would destroy South Korea with nuclear bombs.”
Park pointed to North Korea's recently announced development plan to build 200 manufacturing factories in provincial cities and counties as another indicator showing that Kim has no plans to wage war against the South.
Kim announced that North Korea would construct 20 factories in cities outside of Pyongyang every year for 10 years, and those factories will produce necessary goods for the residents. The plan was proposed to address the significant development disparity between North Korea's capital and its other cities and counties.
"Kim said North Korean soldiers would be mobilized to build those factories,” said Park. “I took this seriously because if North Korea is preparing for war, it would not allow its soldiers to work on construction sites. North Korea’s plan to build factories also signals that it has no intention of waging war, simply because if a war breaks out, these factories would be destroyed.”
North Korean teens are seen in this undated photo. Korea Times file
The Korea Times · February 7, 2024
10. S. Korea urges N. Korea to improve human rights on 10th anniv. of U.N. report
The COI is the gold standard for UN reports and not only on human rights.
S. Korea urges N. Korea to improve human rights on 10th anniv. of U.N. report | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Yi Wonju · February 8, 2024
SEOUL, Feb. 8 (Yonhap) -- The foreign ministry on Thursday called on North Korea to cease all provocations and work on improving the basic human rights of its people as this year marks the 10th anniversary of the U.N. Commission of Inquiry (COI) report.
"The government expresses deep regret over the continued violations of human rights in North Korea despite the recommendations of the report," foreign ministry spokesperson Lim Soo-suk told a regular press briefing.
Denouncing the North for prioritizing its unlawful nuclear and missile program, Lim urged Pyongyang to "immediately cease" all provocations and focus on protecting the basic rights of its people.
The government believes the report has contributed in raising awareness among the international community of the seriousness of the human rights situation in the North, he added.
The COI on Human Rights in North Korea was established in March 2013 to investigate the widespread human rights violations in the North.
In February 2014, the COI released its landmark report that accused North Korean officials of systematic, widespread and gross human rights violations and made related recommendations.
In this file photo, foreign ministry spokesperson Lim Soo-suk speaks during a press briefing in Seoul on Jan. 16, 2024. (Yonhap)
julesyi@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by Yi Wonju · February 8, 2024
11. UN should update North Korea rights report: experts
This was an excellent event yesterday at theCommittee for Human Rights in North Korea.
UN should update North Korea rights report: experts
Momentum was quickly lost after the release of a landmark UN report a decade ago, according to its chief author.
By Alex Willemyns for RFA
2024.02.07
Washington
rfa.org
The United Nations should update its landmark 2014 report about human rights abuses taking place in North Korea to account for the reign of Kim Jong Un, according to a panel of experts speaking on the 10-year anniversary of the report’s release on Wednesday.
The speakers, which included Australian jurist Michael Kirby, the chair of the Commission of Inquiry, or COI, on Human Rights in North Korea that wrote the 372-page report a decade ago, said the document remained the most exhaustive account of abuses in North Korea.
But they noted the report – which documented evidence of widespread abuses including murder, starvation and torture – was released less than three years into the rule of Kim Jong Un.
A North Korean commuter rides a tram in Pyongyang on June 19, 2019. (Ed Jones/AFP)
Kim succeeded his father in 2011 and “does not appear to have carried out the recommendations” of the report, said Roberta Cohen, a former deputy assistant secretary of state for human rights and co-chair emeritus of the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea.
That demands that the United Nations sit to evaluate the impact of the report on the rights situation in North Korea after 10 years.
“The U.N. should also consider an update to the COI report that is based on the COI report but that looks at the impact that Kim Jong Un has had on human rights,” Cohen said. “Kim Jong Un has largely consolidated his power after the publication of the COI report.”
“Any update would have to look at the purges and executions, including of family members, that solidified his rule,” she said, speaking at an anniversary event hosted by the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea at DACOR Bacon House in Washington.
“It would also look at the virtual lockdown of the country he authorized in response to the pandemic, which according to the U.N. badly affected the right to food, health care, movement and livelihood in the country.”
Falling on deaf ears
Based on interviews with regime survivors, the 2014 report found comprehensive evidence of widespread crimes against humanity being committed by Pyongyang and highlighted that some of the worst abuses are taking place in the country’s hard-labor penal camps.
It also documented the deliberate use of torture, starvation, abductions, executions and arbitrary detention as methods of control.
South Korean Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho, right, shakes hands with U.S. special envoy on North Korean human rights issues Julie Turner, prior their meeting at the Integrated Government Building in Seoul, Oct. 17, 2023. (Jeon Heon-kyun/Pool Photo via AP)
Cohen said the only area where North Korea had possibly improved since 2014 was in its treatment of disabled people, and otherwise remained one of the world’s worst offenders against human rights.
In many areas, though, things have in fact gotten worse, she said, with the government having gotten more better since the COVID-19 pandemic at preventing escapes out of the country, both by renewing shoot-to-kill orders and punishing family members of escapees.
“Only 67 North Koreans were able to escape in 2020 [and] 196 in 2023, compared to some 2,900 in 2009,” Cohen said, adding that the latest figures include officials “defecting from outside the country.”
In a pre-recorded message, Kirby, a former member of Australia’s High Court, said he was proud of the document his team produced a decade ago but was disappointed little had changed in the years since.
“Our report, unlike many reports of the United Nations, was extremely readable,” Kirby said. “But getting a report is only the first step. It’s then necessary to take steps to ensure that the report is implemented.”
North Korean schoolchildren make their way home from the elementary school in October 1991 in Pyongyang. (Pierre Bessard/AFP)
He lamented that key suggestions in the report had been ignored, even after progress was made when the report was referred from the U.N. General Assembly for consideration by the U.N. Security Council.
“We recommended that there should be a referral of the matter by the Security Council to the International Criminal Court,” Kirby said. But key North Korean allies China and Russia, who both wield veto power on the U.N. Security Council, opposed the report, he noted.
Few dividends
A change of power in Seoul in 2017 also did not help in implementing the report’s recommendations, Kirby said, with a then-new government seeking a change in relations with Pyongyang by seeking to work together instead of heaping pressure on its northern neighbor.
“Momentum towards action on the report of the Commission of Inquiry was slowed by the hope of the government of President Moon Jae-in that the North Korean administration could – by cooperation and efforts to reestablish friendly relations – lead to real progress,” he said.
“Sadly, it did not,” Kirby said, labeling Moon’s five-year project a failure. “I don't think they were any real dividends from that policy.”
Moon was succeeded in 2022 by the conservative President Yoon Suk-yeol, who has since returned to Seoul’s traditional policies of trying to deter aggression from Pyongyang and criticizing its rights abuses.
Robert King, who was the U.S. special envoy for North Korean human rights issues between 2009 and 2017, said that a similar dynamic took place in the United States, with former President Donald Trump’s time in office defined by his tripartite diplomacy with Kim and Moon.
In fact, over those four years, King had no successor in his role. In 2023, Julie Turner, then an official in the State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, was appointed to the role.
North Koreans walk past posters reading, from left to right, "Forward to the ultimate victory under the leadership of the great party!" "Not with words but with arms," and "Higher, faster," March 19, 2013, on a street in Phyongchon District in Pyongyang, North Korea. (Jon Chol Jin/AP)
King said the 2014 report had a “significant impact in raising the profile” of the human rights abuses taking place in North Korea, and allowed the Obama administration to pursue the issue more vigorously.
“We then ran to a change in administrations in Washington, which didn't support the discussion on North Korea human rights issues,” King said, referring to Trump. “We've been able to resume that.”
The retired diplomat called for the United Nations to pick back up the mantle of securing rights for the people of North Korea, which he said may seem like a longshot but should not be viewed as impossible.
“This is not something that, you know, you do something once and it's done,” King said. “This is going to require continued work.”
Edited by Malcolm Foster.
rfa.org
12. Russia becomes more dangerous for North Korean escapees
Even before the recent warming of Russia-north Korea relations, it was hard. I spoke with an escapee who escaped through Russia from a north Korean logging camp and it took him 6 months to get to South Korea.
Russia becomes more dangerous for North Korean escapees
The Korea Times · February 7, 2024
This November 2015 file photo shows North Korean laborers in Vladivostok, Russia. One of the three countries bordering North Korea, Russia has become more dangerous for North Korean escapees amid Putin's war in Ukraine and growing cooperation with the Kim regime, experts say. Korea Times photo by Bae Woo-han
Stronger Moscow-Pyongyang ties make route for freedom-seekers more perilous: experts
By Jung Min-ho
The refugee policies of Russia, one of the three countries bordering North Korea, along with China and South Korea, have never been sympathetic to North Korean escapees.
Yet compared with the U.N. refugee agency and human rights activists based in China, those in Russia operated more normally without extreme state repression. But this may no longer be the case after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
As Moscow strengthens relations with Pyongyang as part of its effort to back up the Russian forces on the battlefield, concerning signs are emerging that the route to freedom for North Korean freedom-seekers through Russia has become more perilous, according to experts.
“I was told by people in Russia that things have become far more dangerous since the war,” Kim Dong-jae (not his real name), a former North Korean construction worker in Russia, told The Korea Times. “When I was in Russia for several years before my escape in 2022, the U.N. refugee agency had been functioning properly. After sending signals for help to the agency, I was able to receive its support and protection.”
But ever since, Kim said he heard that “the process of reaching the agency” has become far more challenging as Russian and North Korean authorities “collaborate more closely” in taking measures to catch those attempting to flee.
Looking back, he said the timing was nerve-racking. “The war broke out while I was waiting in Russia to be sent to South Korea. I was prepared for the worst,” he noted.
According to data from the U.N. refugee agency, there were 31 North Koreans recognized as refugees in Russia in 2023, the lowest figure in more than 10 years. The number has steadily decreased since 2016, when 79 North Koreans were recognized as refugees and 11 others as asylum-seekers. Experts said it is expected to continue to decline as long as the Russian war keeps Moscow and Pyongyang close.
“It is likely that the Kremlin agreed to cooperate with North Korea on handling the issue of North Korean escapees in Russia during recent meetings between the two sides,” said Cho Han-bum, a senior analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification (KINU), a state-funded think tank.
Cho said he was also told by his sources in Russia that monitoring of North Korean workers in Russia has be increased over the past two years.
“Before the war, North Korean workers who wanted to escape could do so by contacting the rights activists who could help them reach the U.N. agency in Moscow. Once they manage to get there, they could receive support from the South Korean Embassy,” he said. “Now, it seems like such North Koreans can no longer find help from activists as Russian authorities appear to have stepped up efforts to suppress such rescue efforts.”
According to a report published by the KINU in 2017, 30,000 North Koreans were estimated to be working in Russia. Experts said the number will likely continue to swell as Russia views North Korea as a key partner not just for the Ukraine war but also for its reconstruction efforts after the end of the conflict.
Fences are installed along a hill on the North Korea border with Russia and China, seen from Fangchuan, Jilin province, China, in this Sept. 11, 2023, file photo. AP-Yonhap
Crossing North Korea-Russia border is ‘full of risks’
North Korean refugees in Russia fall under two categories: those initially sent by the regime in Pyongyang to earn hard currency and those who cross the border on their own.
A vast majority of North Korean refugees in Russia belong to the first group, as few choose to cross the North Korea-Russia border on foot. Many would rather take the China route. Experts said there are good reasons for their reluctance.
“North Koreans know the Russia border area is heavily mined as there are few people living near there on both sides, unlike its China border. Many fear that they might end up being killed by one of those landmines,” Kim said. “Moreover, that border is much shorter (about 18 kilometers), and it is covered with surveillance cameras. With few people around the region, the escapee could be spotted easily. The harsh weather is another reason for some. But it is not a critical one as they can choose to cross the border during summer.”
A lack of established networks through which they can seek help is another factor.
“Unlike China, where North Korean escapees can easily find brokers who can take them to third countries such as Thailand en route to their eventual destination of South Korea, it is much more difficult for them to find such brokers in Russia,” Cho said. “With the Kremlin stepping up efforts to deter them from helping the escapees, it must be even more challenging now.”
The Korea Times · February 7, 2024
13. Focus on North Korea’s economy and Russia
Excerpts:
Stolen cryptocurrency has also played a role in reviving the North Korean economy. During the pandemic, it was the primary source of revenue for the regime, and it remains an important source of hard currency. The blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis attributed a record 20 cryptocurrency hacks to North Korea last year worth an estimated $1 billion. While down from the estimated $1.7 billion stolen by North Korea in 2022, stolen cryptocurrency remains an important source of revenue for the regime.
The most significant shift for North Korea, however, is in its partnership with Russia. Moscow has demonstrated a willingness to countenance sanctions evasion in exchange for North Korean armaments. While Moscow has always allowed some sanctions evasion, its willingness to break sanctions by providing military and economic aid to North Korea will make it easier for other countries to ignore sanctions. How China responds will be critical to maintaining sanctions or seeing them continue to erode in 2024.
The potential for North Korea to attack South Korea is something that Seoul and Washington must always take seriously, but in the absence of tangible signs that North Korea is preparing to attack it, takes the focus off the changing North Korean economy and the real challenges presented by Russia. Pyongyang has always found ways to do more with less and an improving economy will only help the regime expand its military capabilities. A Russia willing to assist only makes the regime more dangerous.
Focus on North Korea’s economy and Russia
The Korea Times · February 7, 2024
By Troy Stangarone
Troy Stangarone
In recent weeks, there has been significant discussion of whether North Korea has made the fundamental decision to go to war with South Korea. But focusing exclusively on whether Pyongyang has made a strategic decision to go to war in the absence of evidence of an imminent attack takes the focus off other important developments, especially North Korea’s economy and its growing ties to Russia.
After the failure of the Hanoi Summit, North Korea began to move away from engagement with South Korea and the United States. Kim Jong-un likely realized that there was no path to the normalization of relations with the United States that did not entail the significant dismantling of the regime’s nuclear weapons program. If Donald Trump would not give him the deal he wanted, it would be unlikely that any future U.S. president would.
Instead, the pandemic, U.S. tensions with China, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine altered the geopolitical dynamics around the Korean Peninsula. Kim seized the opportunity presented by these shifts to redirect his strategy towards self-reliance, strengthening the regime’s control domestically, and developing closer relations with Russia and China.
While these shifts provide Pyongyang with room to maneuver internationally, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is informative in considering whether North Korea’s strategic shift includes plans to go to war. In preparing for war, Russia used a pre-planned military exercise with Belarus to relocate critical military units prior to the invasion. It also spent years modernizing its military.
There have been no signs that North Korea has made changes to its military exercises that would suggest that it is preparing to invade, nor has it undertaken preparatory troop movements. While North Korea is working to modernize its military equipment, this is an ongoing process. If Pyongyang had made the strategic decision to attack South Korea soon, it would be retaining its weapons stockpiles rather than selling them to Russia.
Russia’s struggles against Ukraine are also likely to weigh on any North Korean decision to attack South Korea. While Putin has threatened the use of nuclear weapons, he has advantages Kim lacks. With a population almost four times the size of Ukraine, Russia can grind down Ukraine over time without using nuclear weapons, especially if the United States and its allies lessen their support. North Korea’s military lacks the training, supplies, and weapons of the Russian military and South Korea would be a powerful adversary.
North Korea, however, has made economic progress. After declining for three straight years, North Korea’s economy likely returned to growth in 2023. Exports to China grew by 118 percent to $291.9 million, exceeding all previous levels since U.N. sanctions were fully implemented in 2018. Imports from China were up 140 percent and surpassed $2 billion for the first time since 2019.
Food production is estimated to have grown by 6 percent last year, along with growth in the imports of rice (120 percent), flour (nearly 90 percent), and cooking oils such as soy oil and palm oil (150 percent or more). Concerns about food insecurity in North Korea should be lessening.
The economy has also been changing. The regime utilized the pandemic years to assert greater state control over markets and has taken steps to centralize more of North Korea’s economic activity. One example is the opening of state-run food shops designed to push market purchases of food to a secondary role. Instead of rationing food through the public distribution system, the state-run stores have moved towards undercutting the price of rice and other foods in markets.
Stolen cryptocurrency has also played a role in reviving the North Korean economy. During the pandemic, it was the primary source of revenue for the regime, and it remains an important source of hard currency. The blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis attributed a record 20 cryptocurrency hacks to North Korea last year worth an estimated $1 billion. While down from the estimated $1.7 billion stolen by North Korea in 2022, stolen cryptocurrency remains an important source of revenue for the regime.
The most significant shift for North Korea, however, is in its partnership with Russia. Moscow has demonstrated a willingness to countenance sanctions evasion in exchange for North Korean armaments. While Moscow has always allowed some sanctions evasion, its willingness to break sanctions by providing military and economic aid to North Korea will make it easier for other countries to ignore sanctions. How China responds will be critical to maintaining sanctions or seeing them continue to erode in 2024.
The potential for North Korea to attack South Korea is something that Seoul and Washington must always take seriously, but in the absence of tangible signs that North Korea is preparing to attack it, takes the focus off the changing North Korean economy and the real challenges presented by Russia. Pyongyang has always found ways to do more with less and an improving economy will only help the regime expand its military capabilities. A Russia willing to assist only makes the regime more dangerous.Troy Stangarone (ts@keia.org) is the senior director of congressional affairs and trade at the Korea Economic Institute. He is also a guest editorial writer for The Korea Times.
The Korea Times · February 7, 2024
14. N. Korea continues 'malicious' cyber activity, IT worker dispatch to fund WMD capabilities: US report
N. Korea continues 'malicious' cyber activity, IT worker dispatch to fund WMD capabilities: US report
The Korea Times · February 8, 2024
The 2024 National Proliferation Financing Risk Assessment is seen in this undated file photo captured from a Treasury Department document. Yonhap
North Korea has continued to engage in "malicious" cyber activities and mobilize information technology (IT) workers to bankroll its weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs, a U.S. Treasury Department report said Wednesday, calling the North and Russia "highest-risk threat actors."
The department made the evaluation in its 2024 National Proliferation Financing Risk Assessment that it released along with separate assessments on money laundering and terrorist financing risks.
"The DPRK continued to conduct malicious cyber activity and deploy information technology workers to, at least in part, fund its WMD capabilities," the department said in the report
"This activity included efforts to illicitly raise revenue in fiat currency and virtual assets, including hacking of VASPs and, to a lesser extent, ransomware attacks," it added. VASP stands for the virtual assets service provider.
While the 2018 and 2022 editions of the report noted how the North used, stole and laundered virtual assets to fund its weapons programs, that activity has accelerated in the latest assessment cycle, according to the department.
Citing the 2023 Director of National Intelligence Annual Threat Assessment, the department noted the North will increase its use of methods like cyber theft and illicit trade to raise revenue to support its strategic priorities, including its WMD program.
It also called attention to a report by the U.N. panel of experts, which said the North attempted to steal as much as $2 billion between 2015 and 2019 through cyber means.
Based on a review of data since 2022, the department highlighted the North and Russia as "highest-risk threat actors" due to the "scope and sophistication of their illicit procurement and revenue-generation efforts."
"Two states in particular, Russia and the DPRK, presented a significantly higher threat," it said in the report's conclusion. "Russia's ongoing illegal war in Ukraine has accelerated that country's illicit procurement, including components produced in the United States."
In its latest assessment on money laundering, the department said that cybercrime groups linked to or receiving safe haven from Russia and North Korea have been responsible for an "overwhelming" share of recently identified ransomware-related incidents and openly attacked U.S. organizations. (Yonhap)
The Korea Times · February 8, 2024
15. The tragic story of a North Korean “defector hunter”
The dangers for escapees. They still try to escape knowing the risks. And some still get through to freedom.
Excerpts:
One spy assists in the kidnapping of 40 people in six months
The star student, Kim Hye Song (pseudonym), was assigned to spy for the ministry and voluntarily went undercover through human traffickers to the home of a Chinese man in Changbai. She worked as an agent in China for eight years, observing and reporting on defectors in China.
Working directly with the ministry, she helped lure and kidnap 40 defectors in just six months in 2019. Considered the country’s top spy, she received a third-class medal and a commendation from the provincial branch of the MSS.
Posing as an ordinary defector, she made connections with other North Korean defectors she knew in person or through the WeChat messaging app and reported the personal details and movements of defectors in the region to the provincial branch of the MSS. She also tipped off defectors who tried to go to South Korea or were in constant contact with people in South Korea and helped the ministry kidnap them when ordered.
The tragic story of a North Korean “defector hunter”
The Ministry of State Security set a goal of zero defections early in Kim Jong Un's reign and ruthlessly trained spies to hunt down and kidnap defectors in China
By Kim Jeong Yoon - 2024.02.07 3:00pm
dailynk.com
The tragic story of a North Korean “defector hunter” - Daily NK English
A marker delineating the border between China and North Korea (Wikimedia Commons)
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Korean in November 2021.
In early November 2012, North Korea’s Ministry of State Security (MSS) made it a top priority to completely stop illegal border crossings and defections during the reign of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. In response, the counterintelligence departments of the ministry’s local branches along the North Korea-China border made it their foremost goal to reduce the number of defectors to “zero” by using all means and methods.
The MSS ordered its branches along the border to set up a system to control defectors in China and even in South Korea by finding ways to infiltrate new spies among them. The ministry’s provincial branch in Yanggang Province responded by ordering the counterintelligence teams of its city and county branches to recruit spies who could control and report on defectors.
Officials at the Yanggang Province branch of the MSS, who had to regularly report the results of its spy infiltration efforts during its quarterly and annual reviews, felt tremendous pressure due to the order. Training new spies and sending them to China was difficult, as was approaching and turning defectors already in China.
The Yanggang Province branch of the MSS took advantage of the fact that 90% of defectors living in China were women. It recruited female spies, believing that women – who only had to marry Chinese or Chinese-Korean men to settle down – would have an easier time assimilating into Chinese society.
But it could not train ordinary women who had no plans to go to China as spies and send them off to marry random Chinese men. That is because it would bring national shame for the state security agency to openly sell North Korean women to China through human traffickers.
As a result, officials examined the identities of repatriated defectors detained in holding pens, waiting rooms, and collection points. They then drew up a list of about 20 women who came from family environments or backgrounds that indicated potential loyalty to the state and the party, or who had spy potential with just a little training.
The women on the list were immediately released from detention after being designated as “special management subjects” of the ministry. They then underwent a year of one-on-one tutoring and training in various areas of the province. The Yanggang Province branch of the MSS ordered that the women be “prepared as active spies to go in and out of China, the No. 1 foxhole in the hidden front line of the class war.”
The women underwent training on interviewing methods to determine a person’s tendencies and ideology, ways to communicate with superiors, and surveillance, management, and reporting systems for attempts by defectors in China to reach South Korea. They also underwent Chinese language training at various locations and took an exam to complete their training.
One spy assists in the kidnapping of 40 people in six months
The star student, Kim Hye Song (pseudonym), was assigned to spy for the ministry and voluntarily went undercover through human traffickers to the home of a Chinese man in Changbai. She worked as an agent in China for eight years, observing and reporting on defectors in China.
Working directly with the ministry, she helped lure and kidnap 40 defectors in just six months in 2019. Considered the country’s top spy, she received a third-class medal and a commendation from the provincial branch of the MSS.
Posing as an ordinary defector, she made connections with other North Korean defectors she knew in person or through the WeChat messaging app and reported the personal details and movements of defectors in the region to the provincial branch of the MSS. She also tipped off defectors who tried to go to South Korea or were in constant contact with people in South Korea and helped the ministry kidnap them when ordered.
FILE PHOTO: Officers with China’s Ministry of Public Security inspecting a car in Dandong. (Daily NK)
When she completed her mission in one area, she would disappear from the village and move to another area, where she would continue spying while living with another Chinese man. In this way, Kim operated throughout the provinces of Jilin, Liaoning, Heilongjiang, and Inner Mongolia. However, she generally chose to live in places with relatively large numbers of female defectors.
After moving five times in eight years, and living with different Chinese men in each place, she finally settled down in one area. She ratted out defectors to the ministry by approaching them online through apps such as QQ and TikTok with lines like, “I can’t live like this without [Chinese] citizenship” and “I’d like to go to South Korea. Introduce me to a way or people who can help if you know them.”
A tragic end
After sacrificing her youth and life to help authorities arrest defectors, Kim returned to the North under the guise of voluntary repatriation after being recalled due to deteriorating health. What happened to this woman, the country’s top spy, after she went back to the DPRK?
Upon her return, she was treated in a secret location affiliated with the provincial branch of the MSS. Then, later in the year, the ministry sent her to psychiatric hospitals deep in the mountains of Yangdok and Maengsan after judging her mentally ill. Officials ended up completely isolating her from society because she knew too much about the ministry’s secret activities. She was sent to mental hospitals because officials knew they could not send someone with her record to a political prison.
Locked away in psychiatric hospitals, she cried out, “Return me to society! “Let me live with my family!” and “I have done so much for you and the nation!”
Security officials who knew about her background simply said they “felt sorry for such an intelligent girl.” On the other hand, the relatives of repatriated defectors who were locked up in political prison camps after she blew the whistle on them said that her “roosters had come home to roost” and she “got what she deserved.”
The MSS set a goal of zero defections early in Kim Jong Un’s reign, but more than 10 years later it still hasn’t achieved that goal. The ministry tried to stop defections altogether, turning spies like Kim into sacrificial lambs after stealing their youth and ultimately their lives. However, people like Kim, who showed complete loyalty to their fatherland as spies, could not solve the defection problem and the authorities were unable to stop the procession of people trying to flee the country.
Translated by David Black. Edited by Robert Lauler.
Daily NK works with a network of sources who live in North Korea, China, and elsewhere. Their identities remain anonymous due to security concerns. More information about Daily NK’s reporting partner network and information-gathering activities can be found on our FAQ page here.
Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
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Kim Jeong Yoon
Kim is a journalist who writes the series “North Korea’s Secret Stories” for Daily NK.
dailynk.com
16. North Korea forces residents to buy photos of recent satellite rocket launch
North Korea forces residents to buy photos of recent satellite rocket launch
The people say both the photos and missiles are a waste. They want food instead.
By Kim Jieun for RFA Korean
2024.02.07
rfa.org
North Korea is forcing its citizens to buy large decorative photos depicting a recent rocket launch to display in their homes as a sign of patriotism. But the people are pushing back, saying the launches and the photos themselves are a waste of money that could be better spent on feeding the people, residents in the country told Radio Free Asia.
“On Jan. 28, each neighborhood-watch unit distributed decorative photos to each household which show scenes from the satellite launch,” a resident of the northeastern province of North Hamgyong, who requested anonymity for personal safety, told RFA Korean. “Residents who refused to receive the photo were forced to take them, saying it was an order from the Party.”
The vinyl-coated photo placards depict the night-time rocket launch of the country’s first military reconnaissance satellite, the Manrikyong-1, which was successfully launched into orbit in November, after failed launches in May and August, said a resident of the northeastern province of Ryanggang.
It’s rather large for a photo, 29 centimeters (11 inches) long and 19 centimeters (7.5 inches) wide, and is being sold for 1,500 won (18 US cents), a resident from the northern province of Ryanggang said. In the past, the government gave away more items for free to its people, but now it is struggling financially.
This is the first time that the government is distributing photos of satellite and missile launches.
The North Hamgyong resident said that people are complaining that they have seen enough news about the satellite in state-run TV and newspapers, and that posting them in their homes seems excessive.
“But the head of the neighborhood watch unit threatened the residents, saying ‘If the Party orders you to post them at home, you will follow the order at all costs,’” he said.
The war-like images on the placards also rubbed some residents the wrong way, the resident said.
“They dislike seeing missile launches because they believe that every time a missile or satellite is launched, several years’ worth of food for the people is thrown into the sky,” he said. “Launching missiles or satellites is an action that increases hunger among residents.”
For some of the poorer residents, the photos are expensive,” the North Hamgyong resident said.
“People would refuse them even if they were offered money to take the placards, but the authorities are going door to door asking us to pay for them,” he said. “Poor residents do not have even 1,000 won (12 cents). Some people are explicitly saying that they would rather receive food than satellite launch photos.”
People are not thinking about rockets, though, the Ryanggang resident said.
“For residents who urgently need to make a living, the military situation between North and South Korea must take a backseat,” he said.“No matter how much the Party emphasizes the military standoff and instills a warlike atmosphere, most people show no response or interest.”
Translated by Claire S. Lee. Edited by Eugene Whong.
rfa.org
De Oppresso Liber,
David Maxwell
Vice President, Center for Asia Pacific Strategy
Senior Fellow, Global Peace Foundation
Editor, Small Wars Journal
Twitter: @davidmaxwell161
Phone: 202-573-8647
email: david.maxwell161@gmail.com
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