Informal Institute for National Security Thinkers and Practitioners


Quotes of the Day:


"If your hate could be turned into electricity, it would light up the whole world."
- Nikiola Tesla

"There will be a time when you believe everything is finished; that will be the beginning."
- Louis L'Amour

"Man cannot remake himself without suffering, for he is both the marble and the sculptor."
-Alexis Carrel




1. S. Korea, U.S. to stage annual exercise from March 13-23

2. Four Nuclear States Can Ruin Your Whole Strategy

3. Unification ministry urges lawmakers' cooperation in implementing N.K. human rights law

4. U.S. Should Roll Out Red Carpet for South Korean President

5. North Korea Suffers One of Its Worst Food Shortages in Decades

6. N. Korea's youth mobilization project seems meant for tighter state control: ministry

7. Hyesan conducts civil defense drills from late February to early March

8. National security adviser to visit Washington to discuss bilateral ties

9. N. Korea’s national police agency orders punishments for those disturbing public order

10. Freedom Shield, biggest U.S.-Korea exercise in years, to start on 13th

11. Secretary Austin vows continued efforts to counter North Korean provocation

12. US chip subsidies program to test President Yoon's diplomacy

13.  2 Koreas trade barbs at UN over Pyongyang's nuke programs

14. Gov't dismisses speculation about inter-Korean liaison office's abolishment

15. US unveils national strategy to counter cybercrimes by N. Korea, others

16. S. Korea yet to decide on sending lethal weapons to Ukraine: PM






1.  S. Korea, U.S. to stage annual exercise from March 13-23


As we prepare for north Korea's usual rhetoric we should keep in mind a few things. As Dr. Jung Pak has long reminded us, Kim Jong Un fears the Korean people in the north more than he fears the combined ROK and US military forces. He fears them especially when they are armed with information about the South and the outside world.


Although Kim will demand an end to the exercises, the fact is he needs the exercises for domestic propaganda purposes. He must sustain the perception of the external threat to justify the suffering and sacrifice of the Korean people in the north sas he prioritizes nuclear weapons, missiles, and advanced military capabilities over the welfare of the people. Although he brands the exercises as evidence of the US hostile policy, it is that itis Kim Jong Un who is executing the hostile policy:


The truth is the north’s revolutionary ideology is the real hostile policy. The regime seeks to dominate the peninsula under the rule of the Guerrilla Dynasty and Gulag State and rid it of all foreign influence The alliance must call out the regime for its actual hostile policy – an integral theme and message for a comprehensive information and influence activities campaign. In short we must recognize the regime's strategy, understand it, EXPOSE it, and attack it with a superior political warfare strategy while we sustain a foundation of deterrence and defense.


(4th LD) S. Korea, U.S. to stage annual exercise from March 13-23 | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by 채윤환 · March 3, 2023

(ATTN: UPDATES with allies' air drills in last 2 paras)

SEOUL, March 3 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and the United States plan to kick off a combined springtime military exercise later this month, the allies announced Friday, as they are striving to beef up deterrence against North Korea's evolving nuclear and missile threats.

The Freedom Shield (FS) exercise is scheduled to take place from March 13-23 without a break, marking the longest-ever edition of their joint computer-simulation command post exercise, according to the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) and the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK).

It is to proceed concurrently with the new large-scale field training exercise, called "Warrior Shield," in line with the allies' push to reinforce training programs and enhance their "realism."

Prior to the FS, the allies plan to conduct a four-day crisis management exercise.

"Freedom Shield is designed to strengthen defense and response capabilities of the Alliance by focusing within the exercise scenario on things such as the changing security environment, DPRK aggression and lessons learned from recent wars and conflicts," USFK spokesperson Col. Isaac L. Taylor told a joint press briefing.

DPRK stands for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Taylor added that the Warrior Shield stands for the alliance's "capability and resolution" to ensure a combined defense posture to defend the South.


Col. Lee Sung-jun (R), the spokesperson of South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff, and U.S. Forces Korea spokesperson Col. Isaac L. Taylor address a joint press conference on combined military drills at Seoul's defense ministry in Seoul on March 3, 2023. (Yonhap)

The Warrior Shield represents a return to the scale of the massive Foal Eagle exercise that was suspended in 2019 under the preceding Moon Jae-in administration keen on inter-Korean rapprochement, officials said.

The overall drills focus on practicing steps to deter war and defuse tensions through a joint crisis management mechanism, as well as war execution procedures, according to Seoul officials.

Seoul's defense authorities have said that the allies are set to apply to the FS "realistic" training scenarios related to the North's "high-intensity" nuclear threats, including its hardening of rhetoric against Seoul and Washington.

Participants in the FS will also include personnel from the U.N. Command and subordinate component commands under the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command, as well as representatives of the U.N. sending states, according to the USFK.

The USFK pointed out that the Freedom in the exercise's name refers to the "strong will" to protect freedom as an "immutable" value of the alliance, and the Shield symbolizes the defensive nature of the exercise.

Pyongyang has warned that Seoul and Washington would face "unprecedentedly" strong counteractions should they press ahead with this year's plans for combined drills, which it has decried as preparations for a war of aggression.

On concerns about the possibility of the North taking provocative acts in response to the drills, JCS spokesperson Col. Lee Sung-jun said the allies will respond "sternly based on the overwhelming capabilities of the alliance."

Meanwhile, the allies held combined air drills over the Yellow Sea and a central inland region on Friday, involving at least one U.S. B-1B strategic bomber and the South's F-15K and KF-16 fighters, according to Seoul's defense ministry.

"This (exercise) demonstrates the U.S.' will and capability to put into action its (commitment) of strong and credible extended deterrence against North Korea's nuclear and missile threats," it said in a release.


Youtube

https://youtu.be/xLG2RH3Cpuc


This file photo, taken Jan. 13, 2023, shows South Korean and U.S. troops engaging in combined defense drills in Paju, northwest of Seoul. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)

sshluck@yna.co.kr

yunhwanchae@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by 채윤환 · March 3, 2023



2. Four Nuclear States Can Ruin Your Whole Strategy


At least Dr. Kroenig includes north Korea. I suppose he has to since it is a rogue nuclear actor. But it seems that roo many in the national community, pundits and think tanks alike focus on CHina, Russia, and Iran and leave out north Korea, or include it as an afterthought.


Not to pick on Seth Jones but one of his recent books is a useful example, Three Dangerous Men: Russia, China, Iran and the Rise of Irregular Warfare. Why does he leave out north Korea which is a guerrilla dynasty whose regime legitimacy is based on anti-Japanese partisan warfare, one of the best examples of irregular warfare there is? north Korea is also intimately associated with the other three dangerous men and threats as well as conducting global operations through cyber, illicit activities, espionage, and proliferation. But unless it is necessary to discuss the north's nuclear threat it is usually left off the table in most other discussions. I tried to call out the north's irregular warfare threat in 2010 HERE.  Just saying.



Four Nuclear States Can Ruin Your Whole Strategy

Washington and its allies face new threats from Russia, Iran, North Korea and China—all at once.

By Matthew Kroenig

March 1, 2023 2:29 pm E


https://www.wsj.com/articles/four-nuclear-states-can-ruin-your-whole-strategy-cold-war-icbm-inspection-russia-north-korea-iran-china-uranium-32d79022


In its 2022 Nuclear Posture Review, the Biden administration promised to “reduce the role of nuclear weapons” in U.S. strategy. America’s adversaries have different ideas. In recent days, the rapidly advancing nuclear capabilities of all four of America’s nuclear-capable rivals—Russia, Iran, North Korea and China—have made international news.

Vladimir Putin announced on Feb. 21 that Moscow was suspending its participation in New Start, its last remaining arms-control treaty with the U.S. This means that for the first time since the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty of 1972, there are no negotiated limits on Russia’s nuclear forces.

America hasn’t conducted on-site inspections of Russia’s nuclear arsenal since March 2020 in any case, first because of Covid-19 and then Russian noncooperation during the war in Ukraine. That led the State Department to declare Russia “in noncompliance” with the treaty in January.

It would be prudent to assume Russia may soon expand its strategic nuclear force beyond the 1,550 warheads allowed in the treaty, if it hasn’t done so already. This is in addition to its large stockpile of battlefield and exotic nuclear weapons (such as underwater nuclear-armed drones) that the treaty doesn’t cover.

On Feb. 19, it was reported that International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors caught Iran enriching uranium to 84% purity—a hair’s breadth from the 90% needed for a bomb. Outside experts estimate that Iran’s breakout timeline—the time it would take to produce one bomb’s worth of weapons-grade uranium—is now essentially zero.

Some argue that we have more time because it would take months for Iran to fashion a functioning nuclear warhead, but in reality the game will be over as soon as the Iranians have enough material for a bomb. Like North Korea, Tehran could move the material to secret underground locations and fashion warheads undisturbed.

The Biden administration tried to negotiate limits on Iran’s nuclear program, but talks broke down in the face of Tehran’s brutal crackdown on protesters. President Biden says he is willing to use force as a last resort, but the moment of last resort is now and Mr. Biden isn’t readying military options. The 20-year international effort to keep Iran from the bomb has likely failed.

On Feb. 18, North Korea conducted a test of a nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile and demonstrated the ability to reach the continental U.S. Pyongyang is the third American adversary capable of holding the U.S. homeland at risk with the threat of nuclear war.

As the North Korea threat grows, American allies worry about the credibility of our extended deterrence, and some consider building their own nuclear arsenals. In public opinion polls, a majority of South Koreans support building an independent nuclear force.

On Feb. 7, the Pentagon notified Congress that China now has more ICBM launchers than the U.S.

What President John F. Kennedy declared in 1962 is still true: America needs to be “second to none” in nuclear weapons. Falling behind means losing a critical element of deterrence.

Instead of pursuing 1990s-era fantasies about reducing the role of nuclear weapons, Washington needs to understand that, for the first time since the Cold War, it is entering a long-term strategic-arms competition. This time will be even more dangerous because the U.S. now faces multiple nuclear-armed rivals.

America needs to strengthen its strategic forces to provide an adequate deterrent for itself and the more than 30 formal treaty allies that rely on U.S. nuclear weapons for their security.

America won the last Cold War in part because it outcompeted the Soviet Union in strategic forces. Washington should remember that lesson if it doesn’t want to lose this one.

Mr. Kroenig is senior director of the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security and a professor of government at Georgetown. He served as a senior policy adviser in the Defense Department, 2017-21.

WSJ Opinion: Ukraine Fatigue Is Not an Option

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Wonder Land: China, Russia and Iran are turning the Ukraine conflict into a test that the autocratic alliance believes the West is going to fail. Images: AP/Getty Images/Zuma Press Composite: Mark Kelly

Appeared in the March 2, 2023, print edition as 'Four Nuclear States Can Ruin Your Whole Strategy'.




3. Unification ministry urges lawmakers' cooperation in implementing N.K. human rights law




​Human rights upfront.


Unification ministry urges lawmakers' cooperation in implementing N.K. human rights law | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by 이원주 · March 3, 2023

SEOUL, March 3 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's unification ministry called Friday on the National Assembly to step up efforts in improving North Korea's human rights situation and setting up a related foundation that has been delayed for years.

Under the North Korean Human Rights Act, which passed the National Assembly unanimously in 2016, the conservative ruling People Power Party and the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) are each required to recommend five candidates for a 12-member board committee.

The launch of the foundation has been delayed as the DP, which holds a majority of seats at the parliament, has not recommended its share of members.

"The government once again urges the National Assembly to cooperate in the implementation of the North Korean Human Rights Act, keeping in mind the spirit of bipartisan consensus it showed when the law was enacted, as well as the desires of the civic societies both at home and abroad that have worked for the human rights of the North Koreans over the past 20 years," Lee Hyo-jung, deputy spokesperson of the unification ministry, said at a press briefing.

A special-purpose committee formed in line with the law to provide the government with policy assistance has also been suspended since January 2019, according to the ministry.

Friday marks the seventh anniversary of the passing of the North Korean Human Rights Act.


Lee Hyo-jung, deputy spokesperson of the unification ministry handling inter-Korean affairs, speaks during a press conference at the government complex in Seoul on Jan. 16, 2023. (Yonhap)

julesyi@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by 이원주 · March 3, 2023




4. U.S. Should Roll Out Red Carpet for South Korean President


Excellent argument from Bruce Klingner. I concur - A state visit and an address to a joint session of congress plus events to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Armistice and the Mutual Defense Treaty.


U.S. Should Roll Out Red Carpet for South Korean President

dailysignal.com · by Bruce Klingner · March 3, 2023


South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s visit to Washington in late April will provide an opportunity for the U.S. to affirm and strengthen its bilateral relationship with an important ally.

The Biden administration should receive Yoon with all the trappings of a state visit, the highest-level visit by a head of state, and Congress should invite Yoon to address a joint session.

The timing of the visit is particularly apropos, since 2023 marks the 70th anniversary of the creation of the U.S.-South Korean military alliance.

Upon his inauguration last May, Yoon energized bilateral relations with Washington and brought South Korean foreign and security policies into close alignment with those of the United States.

Yoon declared that a strong alliance with the United States would serve as the foundation for South Korea’s foreign relations with North Korea, Japan, and China. Last year, Presidents Yoon and Joe Biden upgraded the relationship to a global comprehensive strategic alliance.

Yoon adopted a pragmatic, principled policy toward North Korea, in which he offered the North extensive benefits, but conditioned them on Pyongyang’s agreement to incremental denuclearization. The approach, consistent with that of the United States and Japan, rejected calls for prematurely providing concessions in the vain hope that doing so would induce Pyongyang to resume dialogue.

Under Yoon, South Korea is now willing to respond to North Korean provocations with resolute displays of military strength. Yoon agreed to the Biden administration’s request to resume bilateral combined military exercises, which the U.S. had unilaterally curtailed since 2018.

Yoon and Biden agreed to expand the scope and scale of those combined military exercises, as well as the rotational deployment of U.S. strategic assets—bombers, aircraft carriers, and dual-capable aircraft—to the Korean Peninsula.

Yoon has sought to improve relations with Japan as a means of enhancing regional cooperation against shared security threats and regional challenges. Yoon advocates a “forward-looking partnership,” despite contentious historic issues and sovereignty disputes that strained bilateral relations.

Highlighting shared values of liberal democracy and human rights, Seoul vowed continued diplomatic efforts to restore trust.

While commemorating the 104th anniversary of the March 1st Independence Movement, Yoon boldly described Japan as having “transformed from a militaristic aggressor of the past into a partner that shares the same universal values” as South Korea.

In the past, South Korean presidents had used the event to highlight the brutality of the Japanese occupation of the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 1945

Yoon paid homage to the South Korean patriots of the past but, rather than playing to nationalist themes, he instead commendably emphasized the necessity of working with Japan to overcome current threats.

The United States has long urged its two Northeast Asian allies to overcome historic issues to enable trilateral cooperation against current challenges.

South Korea, Japan, and the U.S. resumed trilateral military exercises in 2022 after a five-year hiatus. The three countries engaged in anti-submarine and ballistic missile exercises to enhance security coordination against the common North Korean threat.

The three countries also agreed to initiate real-time exchanges of information on North Korean missile threats.

Yoon has clearly aligned South Korea with the United States and other like-minded democracies in opposing China’s coercive tactics to intimidate Asian nations. Under Yoon, South Korea is more likely to adopt a firmer approach toward countering Chinese transgressions.

Yoon has pledged that South Korea will assume a larger security role to protect freedom, democracy, human rights, and the rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific. In December, the Yoon administration released Seoul’s first Indo-Pacific strategy, delineating policies for South Korea to assume a more influential and pivotal role commensurate with its diplomatic, security, and economic strengths.

Strong alliances are in the strategic interests of the United States, augmenting the nation’s military, intelligence, and diplomatic capabilities. South Korea is a stalwart ally that has fought alongside U.S. forces in every major conflict since the Korean War.

The U.S. should use Yoon’s visit to underscore the strength of the bilateral relationship that’s based on shared values, principles, and objectives. Doing so would both reassure America’s allies and deter its adversaries.

Have an opinion about this article? To sound off, please email letters@DailySignal.com and we’ll consider publishing your edited remarks in our regular “We Hear You” feature. Remember to include the url or headline of the article plus your name and town and/or state.

dailysignal.com · by Bruce Klingner · March 3, 2023


5. North Korea Suffers One of Its Worst Food Shortages in Decades


I am very concerned about conditions in the north. As we move toward the exercise to deter and defend against attack we must also consider the contingencies that will arise due to the internal instability that could be on the horizon (near or far).  

Big 8 Contingencies
1. Provocations to gain political and economic concessions
2. nk Attack – execution of the nK campaign plan to unify the peninsula by force as last option
3. Civil War/Chaos/Anarchy
4. Refugee crisis
5. Humanitarian Assistance/Disaster relief
6. WMD, loss of control – seize and secure operations
7. Resistance to foreign intervention (e.g., insurgency)
8. How to handle the nKPA during regime collapse short of war




Kim has made things worse for the Korean people in the north because while he has tried to defend against COVID with severe restrictions, he has also exploited COVID as an opportunity to implement draconian population and resources control measures to further oppress the people to prevent resistance. The people (and the regime) do not have the safety valves/relief mechanisms they developed during the Arduous March because Kim is restricting them in order to protect himself. 



north Korea’s COVID Paradox
No reported cases for 2 years – Outbreak (May 2022) and then Over (July 2022)?
Assessment: highly unlikely
Myriad reports from inside about quarantine camps and outbreaks among military
Kim exploiting COVID to oppress, repress, and suppress
Close borders, hinder markets, seize foreign currency, stop movement, information crackdown
“Arduous March” – Great Famine of 1994-1996
Estimated possibly 3 million perished
“Saved” by ROK Sunshine policy (and $billions in aid from 1997-2007)
Development of 400+ markets – resilient women taking care of families
Comparison –a COVID outbreak could be far worse
Made worse by Kim’s policy decisions to exploit the situation to keep a stranglehold on the people to sustain power
Regime Collapse: loss of central governing effectiveness by the party combined with loss of coherency and support of the military



North Korea Suffers One of Its Worst Food Shortages in Decades

Covid-19 border restrictions and natural disasters have led to widespread hunger


https://www.wsj.com/articles/north-korea-suffers-one-of-its-worst-food-crises-in-decades-ee25aa86


By Dasl YoonFollow

Updated March 2, 2023 9:21 am ET


SEOUL—North Koreans are experiencing widespread hunger and dying of starvation as the country suffers one of the worst food crises in decades as a result of its international isolation and natural disasters that have damaged crops, reducing yields.

The North Korean regime held an urgent meeting on agriculture and the economy this week. Such a gathering is rare and indicates the seriousness of the shortages, South Korean officials said.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered officials to resolve the food-supply problems with better farming equipment and scientific methods during the four-day plenary meeting, according to a Thursday state media report. The report didn’t elaborate on the specific policies but said Mr. Kim had called for a fundamental change in agricultural production that would lead to a turning point in the country’s prosperity.


North Korea, which has a population of 26 million, has struggled for decades to produce enough food for its people due to international isolation, economic mismanagement and natural disasters. But the situation worsened in recent months as a result of its border restrictions during the Covid-19 pandemic and floods and droughts last year that hurt its harvests. Last May, North Korea reported its second-worst drought since the country began measurements in 1981, affecting the capital city of Pyongyang and nearby provinces. Over the summer, towns along the border with China flooded after heavy rainfall.   

It is unlikely the country is facing mass starvation on the scale that it experienced in the 1990s as North Korea struggled to cope with the end of support from the Soviet Union, but there are reports of deaths due to starvation, according to South Korea’s unification ministry. North Korea experts said the crisis is one of the worst since the 1990s famine and threatens to sow instability if the regime doesn’t show it is trying to address the problem.

“Food insecurity will lead to increased distrust in the regime and the plenary session is aimed at showing the government is serious about resolving the food issue,” said Kwon Tae-jin, a senior economist specializing in North Korean agriculture at the GS&J Institute, a think tank in South Korea.

In 2022, North Korea’s food production dropped by about 180,000 metric tons from the previous year, according to South Korea’s Rural Development Administration. The decline in food production was attributed to the drought and floods, as well as Russian export controls on fertilizers.


North Korea has long struggled to produce enough food for its population.

PHOTO: AHN YOUNG-JOON/ASSOCIATED PRESS

North Korea produced an estimated 4.5 million tons of grain last year, dropping 3.8% from 2021, according to the South Korean government. South Korea’s spy agency has said North Korea needs about 5.5 million tons of grain to feed its population.

More than 10 million North Koreans suffered malnourishment and hunger during the pandemic, with 41% of the population undernourished between 2019 and 2021, according to a report published last year by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. About one-fifth of North Korean children suffer from impaired growth.

The country’s Covid-19 border restrictions have reduced both official imports, including rice from China, and the flow of goods smuggled at the border, Mr. Kwon from the GS&J Institute said. Food availability in North Korea varies by region, he said, citing differences in rice and corn prices throughout the country. But on average, corn prices have doubled, suggesting more people are using it to replace rice in their diets.

Border closures have halted the delivery of international aid, and the country’s Covid-19 restrictions have prevented foreign aid workers from entering the country, making it difficult to assess the full scope of the problem. But the loss of trade and international aid have hurt a North Korean economy already weakened by U.S.-led sanctions over Pyongyang’s nuclear program

North Korea spends nearly a quarter of its gross domestic product on its military, according to U.S. State Department estimates. The Kim regime spent between $340 million and $530 million on ballistic missile launches last year, which is enough to cover costs for several months of food supplies for North Korea’s population, according to estimates by the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses, a state-run think tank in Seoul. 

Why Kim Jong Un’s Daughter Is All Over North Korean Media

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Why Kim Jong Un’s Daughter Is All Over North Korean Media

Play video: Why Kim Jong Un’s Daughter Is All Over North Korean Media

North Korean state media has started showing Kim Jong Un’s young daughter by the leader’s side, triggering speculation about the country’s succession plans. WSJ’s Dasl Yoon analyzes the significance of these appearances. Photo: KRT/KCNA

Even members of the military, who typically receive special privileges in North Korea, have been affected by the food shortages, said Lee Sang-yong, who runs the Seoul-based news website Daily NK and has a network of sources inside North Korea. Military officials didn’t receive food rations for their families during some months last year, he said. Pharmacies have only one-fifth of the medical supplies that they had before the pandemic, he said.

“The inability to provide for the military, the Kim regime’s most loyal support base, indicates that the food problem is very real,” Mr. Lee said.

North Korea has requested help from the U.N. World Food Program, South Korea’s unification minister, Kwon Young-se, told lawmakers in February. Mr. Kwon didn’t specify how much aid North Korea is seeking. The World Food Program didn’t respond to a request for comment. 

The North Korean leader has appeared at several recent events with one of his three children, daughter Kim Ju Ae, stirring speculation about why Mr. Kim might be making public appearances with her. The appearances could be aimed partly at drumming up support for the Kim regime amid the humanitarian woes, the unification minister said.

While most of North Korea’s pandemic border restrictions remain in place, recent satellite imagery showed an increase in trade between the country and Russia. North Korea has strengthened its ties with its neighbor, with Pyongyang being one of Moscow’s most outspoken supporters during the Ukraine war. The U.S. has accused North Korea of sending ammunition to Russia, which both Pyongyang and Moscow have denied. Imports of fuel and fertilizers from Russia could help Pyongyang’s agricultural sector, but the increasing trade isn’t likely to alleviate the food crisis in the short term, North Korea experts said.

Alexander Matsegora, Russia’s ambassador to North Korea, blamed international sanctions for the food shortages in North Korea, during an interview with Russian state-controlled media channel RT in February. Humanitarian aid isn’t subject to U.N. sanctions. 

North Korea has rejected humanitarian assistance from the U.S. and South Korea. Instead, the regime has urged North Koreans to become self-sufficient in the face of economic hardships. Recent articles in the state-run Rodong Sinmun newspaper said North Korea’s dignity couldn’t be replaced with millions of dollars or tons of rice.

“It is a mistake to try and revive the economy by receiving poison candy,” Rodong Sinmun said in February, referring to humanitarian aid from other countries. 

Write to Dasl Yoon at dasl.yoon@wsj.com


Appeared in the March 3, 2023, print edition as 'Pyongyang Battles Worsening Food Crisis'.




6. N. Korea's youth mobilization project seems meant for tighter state control: ministry


Yes, it is all about control of the population, not the people's health and welfare, just control over them.


N. Korea's youth mobilization project seems meant for tighter state control: ministry | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by 김수연 · March 3, 2023

SEOUL, March 3 (Yonhap) -- North Korea appears to be mobilizing the youth for a new housing project in a bid to tighten state control over the younger generation and elicit their loyalty to leader Kim Jong-un, Seoul's unification ministry said Friday.

Kim attended a groundbreaking ceremony last Saturday for new homes in the Sopho area of Pyongyang, stressing that some 100,000 youths volunteered for the construction project, according to state media.

The ministry in charge of inter-Korean affairs said with the large-scale construction project, the North seems to be tightening its control on youths and encouraging them to show patriotism and loyalty to the authorities.

"The North also appears to be pursuing an improvement in its construction technology in provincial regions through construction projects led by youths mobilized from all parts of the nation," Lee Hyo-jung, the ministry's deputy spokesperson, told a regular press briefing.

At a key party congress in 2021, the North's leader announced a plan to build 50,000 new homes in the capital by 2025 amid deepening economic hardships.


Youtube

https://youtu.be/E58PyynYQ-I


This image, captured from footage of North Korea's Korean Central Television on Feb. 26, 2023, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (2nd from R) and his daughter, Ju-ae, attending a groundbreaking ceremony to construct new homes in the Sopho area of Pyongyang. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

sooyeon@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by 김수연 · March 3, 2023


7. Hyesan conducts civil defense drills from late February to early March


Control. Keep them busy by focusing on the made up external threats.


Hyesan conducts civil defense drills from late February to early March

“People are frustrated about having to take part in these drills when there’s so little to eat that they’re reduced to sucking on their fingers," a reporting partner told Daily NK

By Lee Chae Un - 2023.03.03 6:00pm

dailynk.com

FILE PHOTO: A photo of Hyesan taken by a Daily NK reporting partner in the country. (Daily NK)

Civil defense drills were recently carried out in Hyesan, Yanggang Province, Daily NK has learned.

“Hyesan is running air raid drills and evacuation drills as part of a ‘full mobilization training period’ running from Feb. 20 to Mar. 2 that’s supposed to prepare the public for war,” a reporting partner in Yanggang Province told Daily NK on Tuesday.

According to the reporting partner, Yanggang Province announced the 10-day training period, which began on Feb. 20, in line with orders received from the central government at the beginning of the month to drill people around the country for the possibility of actual fighting.

The reporting partner said that the central government’s instructions emphasized the following point: “The American imperialists and their puppets in South Korea have been increasingly crossing the line with military exercises that threaten us, so we should prepare thoroughly to be able to respond to those [exercises].”

The city of Hyesan held repeated drills several times each day in which citizens had to take cover whenever a random siren went off. And in the evening, police officers and teams of monitors patrolled the streets and villages in each area to make sure that no light could be seen in the houses.

“These are just pro forma sweeps. Given the lack of electricity and the curfew after 6 PM, many families go to bed early, which means their houses would be dark even if they didn’t put up blackout curtains. The only point seems to be stoking tensions and shutting up starving people who would otherwise complain about the lack of food,” the reporting partner said.

A Hyesan citizen spoke to Daily NK about the drills. “Each year, they beat the war drums and run frightening propaganda as if a war were about to break out. I guess we’re so desensitized by now that we don’t have any fear or terror about war. I wish a war actually did break out so that we could have a chance to go to China, rather than living like animals over here.”

Some of the city’s residents have also been complaining about how the drills are having a serious impact on their livelihoods, the reporting partner said.

“People are frustrated about having to take part in these drills when there’s so little to eat that they’re reduced to sucking on their fingers. People who are living hand to mouth are upset that the government hasn’t offered any compensation for shutting down the markets and forcing everyone to join the drills.”

Translated by David Black. Edited by Robert Lauler.

Daily NK works with a network of reporting partners who live inside North Korea. 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.

Read in Korean

dailynk.com


8. National security adviser to visit Washington to discuss bilateral ties



National security adviser to visit Washington to discuss bilateral ties | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by 박보람 · March 3, 2023

SEOUL, March 3 (Yonhap) -- National Security Adviser Kim Sung-han will visit Washington next week to discuss a range of issues, including upgrading the bilateral relationship, the presidential office said Friday.

During the five-day trip starting Sunday, Kim plans to meet U.S. government officials and academics, and discuss issues on North Korea, regional and global security, as well as economic security, the presidential official said in a release.

The national security adviser also plans to have discussions on ways to upgrade the South Korea-U.S. relationship into a comprehensive global strategic partnership, marking the 70th anniversary of the alliance between the two nations, the office also said.

Kim's trip comes ahead of President Yoon Suk Yeol's upcoming visit to the U.S., expected for April.


In this file photo, National Security Adviser Kim Sung-han speaks to reporters at Incheon International Airport in Incheon, west of Seoul, on Aug. 31, 2022. (Yonhap)

pbr@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by 박보람 · March 3, 2023


9. N. Korea’s national police agency orders punishments for those disturbing public order


More indicators of conditions for potential internal instability. The effects of Kim's crackdowns on market activity. What alternatives do people have?


N. Korea’s national police agency orders punishments for those disturbing public order

Many people are stealing because it is hard to make a living nowadays, a reporting partner told Daily NK

By Lee Chae Un - 2023.03.03 4:00pm

dailynk.com

FILE PHOTO: A group of North Korean security officers are seen at a park in Wonsan, Kangwon Province. (Daily NK)

On Feb. 10, North Korea’s Ministry of Social Security issued an order to curb and punish “criminal activity that causes social chaos and disturbs public sentiment,” a Daily NK reporting partner in South Pyongan Province reported on Tuesday.

The national police agency’s order said that fights between neighbors and even mob violence “over trivial issues,” along with theft and burglary, have recently become commonplace within some parts of the population, and called on local police agencies to “get a firm handle on all sorts of criminal activity that generates social insecurity and disturbs public sentiment, and apply strong legal punishments.”

Following the order from the Ministry of Social Security, South Pyongan Province’s branch of the ministry held a meeting of top cadres from local city and county police agencies on Feb. 11.

At the meeting, the provincial police agency called acts that cause social insecurity “treason” and ordered local police agencies to take thorough measures to prevent criminal activity that causes insecurity.

In regards to the order, Daily NK’s reporting partner said many people are stealing because it is hard to make a living nowadays.

“Before COVID, if you got caught stealing, you hightailed it away, but now, people try everything to make off with what they’ve stolen, even if they have to beat up someone. This has led to fights and situations where people’s lives have been put at risk,” he said. “This situation has led the Ministry of Social Security to take measures to [alleviate the problem].”

The reporting partner argued, however, that people are increasingly unhappy toward the authorities because they are trying to reduce criminal acts by calling them treasonous acts and punishing them through legal means, rather than trying to properly ascertain why these crimes are occurring in the first place.

MAN IN HIS 40S DIES AFTER ASSAULT BY THIEVES

In a related story, a man in his 40s died after being assaulted by a group of youths at Sunchon Station on Feb. 12. The youths pounced on the man and killed him after he caught them in the act of stealing.

However, police in Sunchon have not only failed to apprehend the assailants, they have also failed to take any measures despite similar crimes taking place everywhere, according to the reporting partner.

“No matter how much the central government orders police to prevent crime, there’s no point to it if the local police don’t do anything,” he said.

“It’s the police’s job to ensure a safe environment, but because police officers are struggling to put food on the table, too, they take money from criminals to look the other way,” the reporting partner continued, adding, “As long as there’s no solution to help police and ordinary locals make a living, there will inevitably be plenty of criminal activity that disturbs the social order.”

Translated by David Black. Edited by Robert Lauler.

Daily NK works with a network of reporting partners who live inside North Korea. 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.

Read in Korean

dailynk.com



10. Freedom Shield, biggest U.S.-Korea exercise in years, to start on 13th


Recall tha through the 1980's until 1993, Team Spirit was conducted during this time and included a major reinforcement of US forces to the peninsula. And with the mobilization of ROK forces it was known as the largest exercise in the free world.


Friday

March 3, 2023

 dictionary + A - A 

Freedom Shield, biggest U.S.-Korea exercise in years, to start on 13th

https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2023/03/03/national/defense/korea-usfk-north-korea/20230303173503352.html


Col. Lee Sung-jun, right, spokesperson for South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, and U.S. Forces Korea spokesperson Col. Isaac L. Taylor fist-bump during a joint press conference at South Korea's Ministry of National Defense in Seoul on Friday. [YONHAP]

South Korea and the United States will commence their biggest combined military exercise in five years later this month, bringing back large-scale live field training suspended during the Moon Jae-in administration.

 

In a press release Friday, militaries of both countries said Freedom Shield will last from March 13 to 23.

 

Unlike previous combined exercises with weekend breaks, Freedom Shield will be held for 11 days straight, officials said, marking the longest combined exercise that the allies will be organizing without a pause. A South Korean official explained that this year’s nonstop exercise was meant to reflect the continuity of an actual combat situation.

 


“Freedom Shield is designed to strengthen defense and response capabilities of the alliance by focusing within the exercise scenario on things such as the changing security environment, DPRK aggression and lessons learned from recent wars and conflicts,” Yonhap quoted Col. Isaac L. Taylor, spokesperson for the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), as saying during a joint press conference held at South Korea's Ministry of National Defense in Seoul on Friday.

 

DPRK is the acronym for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, North Korea’s official name.

 

In a statement, the USFK said the exercise will integrate elements of “live exercises” with constructive simulations.

 

Large-scale live field training involving U.S. and South Korea forces have been postponed since 2019 as left-leaning Moon tried to appease Pyongyang, and due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

 

According to the USFK statement, participating units will include personnel from the South Korean military, USFK, United Nations Command and subordinate component commands under the Combined Forces Command, along with augmentees, civilian personnel and representatives of the UN sending states.

 

In addition to the Freedom Shield, the allies will carry out several combined field training exercises collectively called Warrior Shield FTX.

 

“The purpose of the training for Warrior Shield FTX, is to further enhance the ROK and U.S. militaries’ cooperation through air, land, sea, space, cyber and special operations, and improve upon tactics, techniques and procedures,” the USFK statement read, referring to South Korea by the acronym for the Republic of Korea.

 

The statement stressed that Freedom Shield is the latest example of the ironclad commitment to support and defend the South sovereignty from any “threat or adversary.”

 

North Korea has often responded sharply to combined military exercises between the allies, calling them a front to practice invasion and preemptive attack.

 

Military officials from the allies on Friday stressed the upcoming exercise was defensive in nature, adding that Pyongyang, too, carries out military drills.

 

Asked about possible military provocations by North Korea during the exercise, a South Korean official said any violations of the September 19 military agreement signed between the two Koreas in 2018 during the Moon administration will “not be forgiven” and addressed “sternly” by the allies.


BY LEE SUNG-EUN [lee.sungeun@joongang.co.kr]




11.  Secretary Austin vows continued efforts to counter North Korean provocation




Of course the SECDEF must focus on the provocations because they are so visible. I do recommend that all our leaders include information such as this from the Wall Street Journal in their talking points. This must be emphasized:


North Korea spends nearly a quarter of its gross domestic product on its military, according to U.S. State Department estimates. The Kim regime spent between $340 million and $530 million on ballistic missile launches last year, which is enough to cover costs for several months of food supplies for North Korea’s population, according to estimates by the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses, a state-run think tank in Seoul.


Also, while we are working to "counter provocations" we must be developing and executing a long term strategy that seeks to solve the "Korea question."


Friday

March 3, 2023

 dictionary + A - A 

Secretary Austin vows continued efforts to counter North Korean provocation

https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2023/03/03/national/northKorea/north-korea-secretary-austin-extended-deterrence/20230303100030549.html


Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin answers questions during a joint news conference after talks with his South Korean counterpart Seoul on Jan. 31. [YONHAP]

 

The United States will continue to counter threats posed by North Korea through close cooperation with its allies, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said Thursday.

 

In a memorandum to all defense department officials, the defense secretary named "advanced and persistent" threats posed by North Korea and Iran as one of challenges facing the country, along with what he called the "pacing challenge" from China and "acute threat" posed by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

 

"Implementing our strategy means tackling the pacing challenge from the People's Republic of China [PRC] while also confronting the acute threat of Russian aggression and managing the risk of escalation as [Vladimir] Putin's cruel war against Ukraine enters a second year," Austin wrote.


 

"We must also defend against and deter threats from Iran, North Korea, and global terrorist organizations, even while we grapple with 21st-century, transnational challenges such as climate change," he added, according to a copy of the memorandum released by the defense department.

 

North Korea conducted an unprecedented 69 ballistic missiles tests last year, marking a new annual record of ballistic missiles fired. Its previous record was at 25.

 

"We will continue to respond to North Korean provocations, coordinating closely with the Republic of Korea, Japan, and other allies and partners," said Austin, referring to South Korea by its official name.

 

Pentagon spokesperson Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder later reaffirmed U.S. commitment to defending South Korea, as well as U.S. troops stationed there.

 

"We have been very clear that we will continue to work closely with the Republic of Korea and our partners and allies in the region to safeguard not only the South Korea but our own forces, as well as our allies and our partners in the region," he told a daily press briefing.

 

The U.S. maintains some 28,500 troops stationed in South Korea.

 

Ryder's remarks come after news reports said two short-range ballistic missiles fired by North Korea last month into the East Sea flew the exact distances they would need to hit U.S. military bases in South Korea.

 

"I think we have been very clear that any type of provocative reaction or action will be dealt with appropriately, and we will stay in close consultation, again, with our allies and partners on this," he said.


Yonhap




12. US chip subsidies program to test President Yoon's diplomacy



US chip subsidies program to test President Yoon's diplomacy

The Korea Times · March 3, 2023

U.S. President Joe Biden, left, and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol shake hands during Biden's visit to Samsung Electronics' semiconductor plant in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, May 20, 2022. Courtesy of presidential office


New incentive plan could be 'poisoned chalice' for Korean chipmakers

By Nam Hyun-woo


The upcoming U.S. CHIPS for America Funding Opportunity program is becoming a new test for President Yoon Suk Yeol's diplomacy, as Washington's strings-attached incentive program is forcing Korean chipmakers, such as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, to pick a side between the U.S. and China.


Given the chipmakers' influence on the Korean economy, the Korean government said related ministries are joining efforts with the companies to explore appropriate responses, but calls are growing to address this issue through summit-level diplomacy.


"Our companies, government and the local embassy there are all joining together to respond properly to the subsidies program," an official at Korea's presidential office said. "Though the U.S. announced its incentive program, the U.S. government appears to be in the process of setting detailed guidelines, and we should see how the situation unfolds."


The program, launched on Feb. 28, is aimed at providing $50 billion in subsidies to chipmakers investing in the U.S. It is an incentive program but comes with major strings attached, as recipients will be required to enter into agreements restricting their ability to expand semiconductor manufacturing capacities in China and other countries of concern for 10 years after winning the funding. Also, chipmakers winning subsidies are required to share excess profits.


This is interpreted as the U.S.' blatant demand that Korean chipmakers make political decisions on whether they will apply for the incentive program and decouple from China to join the U.S.-centric supply chain. If they chose not to, it may give a signal to Washington that the companies are not part of the chip alliance with the U.S. and are siding with China.


In this regard, the subsidies program can be considered a "poisoned chalice" for Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, which are heavily reliant on their Chinese facilities in manufacturing memory chips. Samsung Electronics produces approximately 40 percent of its total NAND flash at its plant in Xi'an, China, while SK hynix produces 50 percent of its total DRAM in Wuxi, also in China.


Given this reliance, Kim Sun-woo, a chip analyst at Meritz Securities, said, "Samsung Electronics and SK hynix may have to consider whether they will maintain the operation of Chinese plants and what could be their exit strategies."


Despite the gloomy forecast, both Samsung and SK are cautious about making statements on the issue, reiterating they are "thoroughly reviewing the program."

 Industry officials say this is because the companies are seeing this as a matter of diplomacy, which requires a state-level strategy.


The Yoon administration is taking a clear stance in terms of economic security, as Yoon agreed with U.S. President Joe Biden last May that the two countries will elevate their relations to "a global comprehensive strategic alliance" encompassing economic and technological cooperation.


However, this came under scrutiny as the U.S. implemented the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which provides tax credits to buyers of new electric vehicles assembled in North America and with batteries made using a certain amount of critical minerals produced in the region as well. This is anticipated to have negative effects on South Korean carmakers' electric vehicle sales in the U.S. unless the carmakers dramatically increase production there.


With the IRA remaining a concern for carmakers, the pressure coming from the CHIPS program is intensifying the necessity for Yoon to make diplomatic efforts to protect Korean industries.


President Joe Biden signs the CHIPS and Science Act into law at the White House in Washington, Aug. 9, 2022. AP-Yonhap


A possible occasion for Yoon to make his diplomatic pitch is his anticipated visit to the U.S. this year.


Last month, Bloomberg reported that Yoon will likely make a state visit to the U.S. in late April. Korea's presidential office immediately denied the report, stating that it is not the official government stance, but given this year marks the 70th anniversary of the Korea-U.S. alliance, chances are high that Yoon may visit Washington in response to Biden's visit to Seoul last year.


Government officials say they are focusing on explaining to the U.S. that Korean chipmakers' Chinese plants are mostly for manufacturing memory chips, which have a slimmer chance of being weaponized and thus making them of lower strategic importance.


"South Korean companies are not investing in China with American subsidies, and the truth is that the incentives will not be enough to make up the companies' cost increases in the U.S.," said Jang Young-jin, Korea's first vice minister of trade, industry and energy. "I have explained to the U.S. that Korean companies are making money from China to finance their investments in the U.S."



The Korea Times · March 3, 2023



​13. 2 Koreas trade barbs at UN over Pyongyang's nuke programs


Good. Duke it out at the UN. Better to "jaw-jaw" than" war-war."


South Korea is executing the four key points. Recognizing the regime's strategy, understanding it, exposing it, and attacking it with information.




2 Koreas trade barbs at UN over Pyongyang's nuke programs

The Korea Times · March 3, 2023

This photo, released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on Jan. 28, shows a long-range cruise missile being launched from a transporter erector launcher on Jan. 25. YonhapBy Nam Hyun-woo


North and South Korea traded barbs over Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs at the United Nations Conference on Disarmament, Thursday (local time). While North Korea claimed that it is pursuing those programs for "self-defense," the South countered that such a claim is an "irresponsible excuse."


During the conference, Ju Yong-chol, counselor of North Korea's Permanent Mission to Geneva, said the regime will "never give up nuclear deterrence" and will not respond to any calls for negotiations that bear the prerequisite that the North should denuclearize itself first.


Ju continued that the North's measures of improving national defense are a legitimate exercise of self-defense rights in strict accordance with international laws and the United Nations Charter.


According to Ju, the U.S. and South Korea are "threatening" the North's security with all kinds of military exercises, and Western nations should denounce the two countries if they want to contribute to the peace and security of the Korean Peninsula.


In response, Kim Il-hoon, counselor at South Korea's Permanent Mission to Geneva, countered that the North has been developing "programs for weapons of mass destruction for decades under its own plans" and the logic of "blaming others for its unlawful military activities and provocations is an irresponsible excuse."


Kim said the joint defense between South Korea and the U.S. is a response to the North's military threats, and it is a duty of a responsible government. "The North should end its ignorance of its serious human rights condition and chronic shortages, and withdraw its obsession to nuclear and missile programs."


Kim added that Pyongyang should listen to the international society's voices saying that it will not gain anything from illegal provocations, and urged the regime to return to talks.



The Korea Times · March 3, 2023


14. Gov't dismisses speculation about inter-Korean liaison office's abolishment


Note the restructuring of the Ministry of Unification. My recommendation is that MOU focus all its efforts on unification planning (deep and detailed planning across the South Korean intelligence and human rights and information and influence activities in north Korea.



Gov't dismisses speculation about inter-Korean liaison office's abolishment

The Korea Times · March 3, 2023

Office to remain, but slimmer workforce will maintain communication functions


By Nam Hyun-woo

The Ministry of Unification on Thursday refuted rumors that it is considering abolishing the inter-Korean liaison office as part of the ministry's restructuring plan, saying that the liaison office is not under its authority because it was installed under an agreement between South Korea and North Korea.


The ministry's dismissal comes after media reports that said it is set to downsize the secretariat for the liaison office due to the current stalemate in inter-Korean relations and instead better serve President Yoon Suk Yeol's North Korea policy, which concentrates on human rights issues.


"The ministry is not trying to abolish the inter-Korean liaison office, which was established under the agreement of the two Koreas," an official at the ministry told reporters.


"There is no change in our stance that we will maintain the communication function between South Korea and North Korea."


However, the official said the secretariat for the liaison office was set up by the South Korean government to support the operation of the liaison office. The official did not confirm whether it will be included in its restructuring plan, but stated, "Various restructuring scenarios are under review."


The inter-Korean liaison office was established in Gaeseong, North Korea, in September 2018, following an agreement between then-President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in April of the same year. Since then, staffers from both South and North Korea have worked at the single building, but South Korean officials vacated the premises following the COVID-19 outbreak in January 2020.


In June 2020, the North blew up the building, blaming Seoul's inability to prevent defectors from flying anti-regime propaganda over the border. Then, the liaison office was relocated to Seoul and it has been maintaining contact with North Korea.


Reportedly, the unification ministry is now considering downsizing the liaison office's secretariat into a department under the Office of Inter-Korean Dialogue. Instead, the ministry is reviewing the possibility of scaling up its Humanitarian Cooperation Bureau as an office to enhance functions related to human rights in the North.


South Korean Ambassador to the U.S. Cho Tae-yong speaks during a seminar hosted by the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea in Washington D.C., Feb. 28 (local time). Yonhap


Human rights are one of the issues that Pyongyang detests, as improved human rights conditions in the state may amplify North Koreans' complaints against the Kim regime.


After Yoon took office in May last year, the South Korean government launched a pan-ministry council on North Korean human rights, and the North spouted emotional comments that the move was an insult to North Korea and "a political provocation by lunatics."


On Feb. 28 (local time), South Korean Ambassador to the U.S. Cho Tae-yong attended a seminar hosted by the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea in Washington D.C. and said, "The Korean government will increase its efforts to improve human rights in North Korea and this will be the priority of all ministries."


Cho continued that improvements in human rights conditions in the North will accelerate the goal of denuclearization and deter Pyongyang's provocations.

"If only a portion of the basic rights and freedoms that we enjoy is available for North Koreans, the North Korean regime will not be able to employ policies concentrating on nuclear and missile programs," Cho said.


The Korea Times · March 3, 2023




15. US unveils national strategy to counter cybercrimes by N. Korea, others



The all purpose sword of cyber is critical to the survival of the Kim family regime.




US unveils national strategy to counter cybercrimes by N. Korea, others

The Korea Times · March 3, 2023

U.S. President Joe Biden holds up a sign for the Frederick Douglass Tunnel as he speaks during the annual House Democrats Issues Conference at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Baltimore, Maryland, March 1. AFP-Yonhap


The United States on Thursday released a national strategy to enhance cybersecurity and mitigate illicit cyber activities by actors from countries such as North Korea.


The strategy released by the White House calls for efforts to defend the country's "critical infrastructure" and "disrupt and dismantle threat actors."


"The governments of China, Russia, Iran, North Korea and other autocratic states with revisionist intent are aggressively using advanced cyber capabilities to pursue objectives that run counter to our interests and broadly accepted international norms," says the text of the strategy released by the White House.


North Korea or the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) "conducts cyber activities to generate revenue through criminal enterprises, such as through the theft of cryptocurrency, ransomware and the deployment of surreptitious information technology (IT) workers for the purpose of fueling its nuclear ambitions," it adds.


The White House earlier said that Pyongyang secures up to 30 percent of funds for its nuclear and missile development programs through illicit cyber activities that include cryptocurrency heists and money laundering.


To disrupt illicit cyber activities by such "malicious actors," the National Cybersecurity Strategy says the U.S. will integrate federal disruption activities, enhance public-private cooperation and prevent abuse of U.S. infrastructure.

It also calls for efforts to build international partnerships and U.S. ability to assist allies and partners in responding to cyber threats. (Yonhap)



The Korea Times · March 3, 2023



16. S. Korea yet to decide on sending lethal weapons to Ukraine: PM




​Come on South Korea. Please step up to becoming a full partner in the Arsenal of Democracy.


S. Korea yet to decide on sending lethal weapons to Ukraine: PM

The Korea Times · by 2023-03-03 08:52 | World · March 3, 2023

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo speaks at the government complex in Seoul during a meeting of a government committee tasked with supporting the country's preparations for the 25th World Scout Jamboree, March 3. Yonhap


Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said Friday that South Korea has not yet decided whether to send lethal weapons to Ukraine, despite calls from Ukraine for heavy arms to support its fight against Russia.


In an interview with CNN's "Quest Means Business," Han said that South Korea has decided to increase its financial supports for Ukraine this year while seeking to support Kyiv with electricity generation facilities.

Asked whether he will consider sending lethal weapons to Ukraine, Han replied, "Not now. I think."


"But we are quite supportive of Ukraine, and this year we decided that we will increase our support in the amount of $130 million, and we are trying to sup

port them in terms of electricity generation capabilities and so on," Han said.



Whether to provide lethal aid to Ukraine is up to Korea: White House


"Whether we will go into some lethal weapons support, we are not yet decided on that issue," he said.


North Korea test-fired a record number of missiles, including intercontinental ballistic missiles, last year, prompting South Korea and the United States to step up joint military drills.


Since the government of President Yoon Suk Yeol came into power last year, Han said South Korea has "put a lot of emphasis on building our deterrence capabilities in the right way, but we are not closing the dialogue."


"As long as North Korea is abstaining from their very you know strong and ambitious nuclear ambitions, that's OK for the United States and for (South) Korea to open our dialogue, but up to now, it's quite a pity that North Korea has not responded in a quite, you know, desirable way," Han said.


He also made it clear that South Korea will not consider acquiring its own nuclear weapons in the face of the North's growing nuclear threats.


Asked whether South Korea would want its own nuclear capability or would want the United States to redeploy its nuclear capabilities here, Han replied: "I don't think it's the right way for us to do it. We should work together with the international community, including our close ally United States.


"We will put a lot of continuous pressure on North Korea to denuclearize, and we'd like to let North Korea know that developing and advancing nuclear capabilities will not guarantee the peace and prosperity in their country and also on the Korean Peninsula and globally." (Yonhap)



The Korea Times · by 2023-03-03 08:52 | World · March 3, 2023














De Oppresso Liber,

David Maxwell

Vice President, Center for Asia Pacific Strategy

Senior Fellow, Foundation for Defense of Democracies

Senior Fellow, Global Peace Foundation

Editor, Small Wars Journal

Twitter: @davidmaxwell161

Phone: 202-573-8647

email: david.maxwell161@gmail.com



De Oppresso Liber,
David Maxwell
Vice President, Center for Asia Pacific Strategy
Senior Fellow, Foundation for Defense of Democracies
Senior Fellow, Global Peace Foundation
Editor, Small Wars Journal
Twitter: @davidmaxwell161
Phone: 202-573-8647


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

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