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Quotes of the Day:
"You are never too old to set another goal or dream a new dream."
– C.S.Lewis
"All cruelty springs from weakness."
– Seneca
"The only freedom which deserves the name is that of pursuing our own good in our own way, so long as we do not attempt to deprive others of theirs, or impede their efforts to obtain it."
– John Stuart Mill
1. S. Korea to draw up new unification vision based on liberal democracy
2. 'Seoul's new unification vision: 'Ensure freedom for every N. Korean'
3. North Korea conducts artillery firing drills in likely response to South Korea-US military training
4. ＜Inside N. Korea＞ Surveillance cameras are popping up in markets, restaurants, roadsides... "They are used to identify those responsible for increased crime and disturbances"
5. HRNK Launches Updated Report Based on Satellite Imagery of N. Korea’s Political Prison Camp No. 25
6. Women’s Day highlights North Korean women’s violation of human rights
7. North Korean women endure harsh financial hardships and pressure to give birth
8. North Korean women are now the breadwinners – and shifting this deeply patriarchal society towards a matriarchy
9. Repression, isolation getting worse in North Korea, rights watchdog says
10. Unification ministry to help North Korean defectors become lawyers, doctors
11. Images show N Korea sealing its border with China
12. N. Korea attempted to disrupt GPS signals on S. Korean border islands
13. Army special forces stage counterterrorism drills at Seoul baseball stadium
14. Wartime footage, anger with Seoul, and a gift from Vladimir Putin: Is North Korea (actually) planning to go to war?
1. S. Korea to draw up new unification vision based on liberal democracy
We are at the proverbial inflection point. Kim Jong Un has provided the ROK with a great opportunity to seize the moral high ground and develop the strategy to solve the "Korea question."
Based on reports it appears the the ROK is ready to carpe diem (seize the day).
My old thoughts:
A New Durable Acceptable Political Arrangement (“end state”) for consideration:
“A stable, secure, peaceful, economically vibrant, non-nuclear peninsula, reunified under a liberal constitutional form of government determined by the Korean people. ”
United Republic of Korea (UROK)
The only way we are going to see an end to the nuclear program and military threats as well as the human rights abuses and crimes against humanity being committed against the Korean people living in the north by the mafia-like crime family cult known as the Kim family regime is through achievement of unification and the establishment of a free and unified Korea that is secure and stable, non-nuclear, economically vibrant, and unified under a liberal constitutional form of government based on individual liberty, rule of law, and human rights as determined by the Korean people. A free and unified Korea or in short, a United Republic of Korea (UROK).
(LEAD) S. Korea to draw up new unification vision based on liberal democracy | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Soo-yeon · March 8, 2024
(ATTN: UPDATES with more details throughout; CHANGES photos)
By Kim Soo-yeon and Lee Minji
SEOUL, March 8 (Yonhap) -- The unification ministry said Friday it will draw up a new vision for unification between the two Koreas to include the principle of liberal democracy amid North Korea's vow not to seek unification with the South.
The government earlier said it plans to revise the National Community Unification Formula, South Korea's unification vision unveiled in August 1994 under the administration of late President Kim Young-sam.
In a 2024 policy briefing to President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday, the ministry said there is a need to take into account changes in the security situation and muster global support for Seoul's unification policy in drawing up a new unification vision.
Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho holds a press briefing on March 8, 2024, over the unification ministry's 2024 policy goals at the government complex building in Seoul. (Yonhap)
"In response to North Korea's policy shift into an anti-national and anti-historical stance, the year 2024 will be the most appropriate time to actively lay out our unification vision and lead the North's change," the ministry said.
The move comes as North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has defined inter-Korean ties as relations between "two states hostile to each other," and vowed not to seek unification and reconciliation with South Korea.
At a press briefing, Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho said the new unification vision will be crafted based on the principle of freedom.
"The freedom here refers to the importance of rights of individuals, and in this case, it means establishing circumstances that will enable each and every North Korean to live freely and well," Kim said.
He said details about the new unification blueprint have not been fixed, such as the format and the timing of its announcement, and his ministry will collect public opinions to draw it up.
The National Community Unification Formula is based on three principles of seeking independence, peace and democracy. The three-stage vision calls for the pursuit of reconciliation and cooperation, the creation of a Korean commonwealth and the completion of a unified country.
The Yoon government sees the existing unification formula as leaving out the philosophy of liberal democracy, raising the need to embody its vision for a "liberal democracy-based unification."
In a speech marking the 105th anniversary of the March 1 Independence Movement, Yoon said unification is precisely "what is needed to expand the universal values of freedom and human rights."
Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho told a radio program this week that the new unification blueprint will likely include the promotion of North Korean people's freedom and human rights and North Korea's denuclearization.
This photo, taken March 8, 2024, shows Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho speaking at a press briefing over the unification ministry's 2024 policy goals at the government complex building in Seoul. (Yonhap)
Meanwhile, the ministry plans to release the 2024 report on North Korea's human rights abuses in June following its first such report issued last year.
This year's paper will delve into toiling North Korean workers overseas, forced repatriations of North Korean defectors and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. It will also deal with the North's right violations related to the law banning people from distributing or watching media originating from South Korea and other countries.
The ministry also plans to strengthen support for North Korean defectors in a bid to protect such people who might be living in so-called welfare blind spots of welfare.
It will shift the goal of the resettlement policy for the North's defectors into "family-centered" support from "individual-focused" when it establishes a three-year basic support plan for them this year.
Touching on stalled inter-Korean relations, the ministry said it will maintain the stance that Seoul is open to dialogue with Pyongyang without preconditions.
The ministry will push to restore the now-suspended inter-Korean communication channels to brace for needs to deal with urgent humanitarian issues, without disclosing details.
Since April last year, North Korea has not responded to daily phone calls through an inter-Korean liaison line and military hotline, without specifying reasons.
This file photo, taken Dec. 1, 2023, shows North Korean defectors looking for information at a job fair for such refugees held at the COEX exhibition center in southern Seoul. (Yonhap)
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
mil@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Soo-yeon · March 8, 2024
2. 'Seoul's new unification vision: 'Ensure freedom for every N. Korean'
This is excellent.
My question is will the US government (State and DOD) get on board with unification? Why are there only supporting fires from President Biden (e.g., at the April and August Summits)? Why won't other senior officials and diplomats, military leaders and action officers acknowledge the necessity for solving the "Korea question" and end the unnatural division of the peninsula? I hear too many American officials trot tired old tropes on unification or quote surveys that the Korean people in the South do not want unification. I recommend that our government officials start getting acquainted with a unification strategy.
'Seoul's new unification vision: 'Ensure freedom for every N. Korean'
koreaherald.com · by Ji Da-gyum · March 8, 2024
By Ji Da-gyum
Published : March 8, 2024 - 16:5
Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho holds a press briefing on the Unification Ministry's 2024 policy goals at the Government Complex Seoul, Friday. (Yonhap)
South Korea's Unification Ministry on Friday revealed its plans to craft a fresh unification vision, with the ultimate aim of guaranteeing the freedom rights of every North Korean citizen on a unified Korean Peninsula.
The initiative is set as the ministry's primary goal for the year and marks the first revision of South Korea's official unification formula in 30 years since 1994.
Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho said that he presented plans to formulate a unification vision grounded in the "philosophy of liberalism" during his briefing to President Yoon Suk Yeol on the ministry’s plans for this year, held on Thursday.
"During yesterday's report, the president underscored that our pursuit of unification is founded upon the universal human value of freedom, and unification should be one that expands the freedom of each North Korean citizen, one by one," Kim told reporters during a televised briefing.
"When we talk about freedom, we refer to the significance of individual rights. Ultimately, what constitutes a unification based on the philosophy of liberalism is to ensure conditions, where each North Korean citizen can live freely and prosperously," Kim added.
Kim explained that the new unification vision embodies the key message of unification suggested by Yoon during his address marking the 105th March First Independence Movement Day on Sunday.
Yoon said, "Unification is precisely what is needed to expand the universal values of freedom and human rights."
The president also said the independence movement "will be made complete only upon a unification that brings freedom and abundance to everyone."
The unification minister also emphasized the importance of the Yoon government maintaining a clear stance in favor of unification in response to North Korea's rhetoric of the two countries.
Antagonistic rhetoric from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un targeting South Korea has further amplified tensions. Kim has publicly and repeatedly characterized inter-Korean relations as "hostile" and "belligerent" since the last year-end party plenum, departing from the previous description as consanguineous or homogeneous.
"North Korea has recently reiterated its stance on the concept of the two separate countries, persisting in its anti-reunification and anti-historical behavior by continuing to pose nuclear threats and hostile offensive against us, its fellow countrymen," the unification minister said.
"Especially during such times, we must steadfastly and consistently devote ourselves to the historical and constitutional obligation of achieving unification based on liberal democracy."
The minister also disclosed that the Yoon government plans to revise and supplement South Korea's National Community Unification Formula, which was unveiled in August 1994 during the administration of late President Kim Young-sam.
"There has been a consistent call for continuous revisions and supplementation (of the formula), in response to changes such as the North Korean nuclear issue, worsening human rights conditions in North Korea, and shifts in the global landscape," Kim said.
"In light of the developments, our objective is to formulate a new unification proposal that embodies the principles of freedom. We will engage in a comprehensive process of collecting opinions to build a national consensus."
Kim did not provide further details about a new unification vision during Friday's briefing, although he said a new vision "should entail the promotion of freedom and human rights for North Korean citizens and complete denuclearization of North Korea" during his interview with state-run broadcaster KBS on Monday.
According to a senior official from the presidential office on Sunday, the National Community Unification Formula, regarded as the South Korean government's official unification plan to date, is founded on three core principles: independence, peace and democracy.
"Therefore, the philosophical vision of liberalism that we are currently pursuing is missing (in the formula)," the official said. "Therefore, we intend to delve into the task of elaborating on the unification perspective and vision of the Yoon Suk Yeol government."
The official also refuted the notion that the unification formula follows "three mechanical stages of unification," beginning with reconciliation and cooperation, followed by confederation, and ultimately culminating in unification.
Speaking at the news conference on Friday, the Unification Minister reiterated another key goal: to assist North Korean residents in recognizing their human rights to steer North Korea toward positive change.
Kim underscored that the ministry will "facilitate the expansion of access to information to empower North Korean citizens to become aware of their own human rights and enhance efforts to effectively hold the North Korean authorities accountable for human rights abuses."
The ministry will also endeavor to "spread the narrative that advancements in human rights of North Korean people will lead to resolving the North Korean nuclear issue and, ultimately, to achieving unification," according to Kim.
koreaherald.com · by Ji Da-gyum · March 8, 2024
3. North Korea conducts artillery firing drills in likely response to South Korea-US military training
We should remember that the nKPA conducts its winter training cycle from November to March. The intent is to bring units of the nKPA to the highest state of readiness at the optimal attack time. That is March when the ground is still frozen and the farmers have not flooded the rice paddies in the South making it the optimal time for maneuver. This is why we have traditionally always conducted Team Spirit in March (the last one was 1993 when we unilaterally cancelled it to support diplomacy and the Agreed Framework in 1994 - how did that work out for us?) On the one hand this is routine training. But of course they want to show us this to send a message (in support of its political warfare and blackmail diplomacy strategies) and cause a reaction from the alliance. Specifically, they want to drive a wedge in the alliance and are looking for the ROK and US to generate friction within the alliance over different response courses of action.
North Korea conducts artillery firing drills in likely response to South Korea-US military training
AP · March 8, 2024
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised artillery firing drills aimed at boosting combat readiness, state media reported Friday, days after his country vowed to take corresponding military steps against the ongoing South Korean-U.S military training that it regards as an invasion rehearsal.
Thursday’s drills involved frontline artillery units, whose weapons place Seoul, the South Korean capital, in their striking range, the North’s official Korean Central News Agency said.
Kim said artillery units must “take the initiative with merciless and rapid strikes at the moment of their entry into an actual war,” KCNA said.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said later Friday that it had detected North Korea firing artillery into the waters off its west coast the previous day. It said South Korea will make a stern and overwhelming response in the event of provocations by North Korea.
North Korea’s forward-deployed long-range artillery guns pose a serious security threat to Seoul, a city with 10 million people which is about 40 to 50 kilometers (25 to 30 miles) from the border with North Korea.
North Korea’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday it would conduct unspecified “responsible military activities” in response to the annual South Korea-U.S. military drills that began on Monday. Kim visited a western operational training ground on Wednesday and called for stronger war fighting capabilities.
The 11-day South Korean-U.S. drills involve a computer-simulated command post training and 48 kinds of field exercises, twice the number conducted last year.
North Korea views South Korea-U.S. military exercises as a major security threat, calling them a preparation to launch attacks on the North. Seoul and Washington officials have said their drills are defensive in nature.
North Korea has sharply accelerated its missile testing activities since 2022 in part of efforts to develop more powerful nuclear-capable weapons targeting the U.S. mainland and South Korea. The South Korean and U.S. militaries have expanded their drills in response.
Experts say North Korea likely aims to use a modernized arsenal to win sanctions relief from the United States when diplomacy restarts. They say North Korea could increase its weapons tests and dial up warlike rhetoric this year as the United States and South Korea hold major elections.
AP · March 8, 2024
4. ＜Inside N. Korea＞ Surveillance cameras are popping up in markets, restaurants, roadsides... "They are used to identify those responsible for increased crime and disturbances"
This is another example of how much of a threat markets are to Kim Jong Un. Declining market access andecomic activity and access is going to have a huge impact on the resiliency of the Korean people in the north.
＜Inside N. Korea＞ Surveillance cameras are popping up in markets, restaurants, roadsides... "They are used to identify those responsible for increased crime and disturbances"
asiapress.org
(FILE PHOTO) A young woman (to the left) selling on the street is shouted down by a market official. The photographer says vendors sometimes voice their protest in groups. Photographed in March 2013 in Pyongsong, South Pyongan Province (ASIAPRESS)
◆ “There’s cameras almost everywhere”
North Korean cities are rapidly installing surveillance cameras amid efforts to strengthen control and surveillance of the population as social disorder and crime are on the rise due economic troubles caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. (KANG Ji-won)
"Nowadays, there are more surveillance cameras on the streets and in places where people gather"
Reports such as the above have come from reporting partners in various parts of North Korea since late last year. In late February, a reporting partner in Hyesan, Yanggang Province, reported the following:
"Almost everywhere has surveillance cameras, including state-run stores, restaurants, markets, streets, statues of (Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il), buildings of the Ministry of State Security (secret police), the Ministry of Social Security (police), and the post office, but I still see them being installed every day."
As for the reason for the surveillance cameras, the authorities say that they are there to prevent various crimes and crack down on illegal behavior. Not everyone seems to believe them. The reporting partner explained an incident that happened in Hyesan around February 20 as an example. Below is an overview of the incident.
Surveillance cameras at an army post along the border with China. Photographed by ISHIMARU Jiro from the Chinese side of the border in September 2019 across from Onsong County, North Hamgyong Province.
◆ Cameras are used to identify troublemakers and even lead to arrests
An old man selling sunflower seeds on the street near a market in Hyesan was stopped by a group of enforcers that confiscated his goods and dragged him away. Onlookers spewed insults at the enforcers, who were pressured to return the sunflower seeds and left with a warning that he should not sell in the neighborhood again.
The next day, the six people who had been shouting at the scene of the disturbance were called to the local security office. They were accused of disturbing the peace and made to write letters of self-criticism. The six people were identified from surveillance camera footage, locals said.
"I think they want to monitor everyone with cameras instead of preventing crime. If you criticize or cause a disturbance in a crowded place, the goal is to catch the ringleaders and the people who caused the disturbance."
◆ Electricity shortages are a barrier
In China, it's well known that the number of surveillance cameras on the streets has increased significantly in the past decade. North Korea, on the other hand, has been more vigilant in monitoring its citizens than China, and while there have always been cameras at key security points such as statues of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il and along the border, there hasn't been much expansion of camera coverage on the streets.
This may be partly due to the lack of funding to import the devices from China, but, more likely, it’s due to power shortages. The capital city of Pyongyang aside, in provincial cities, households only have electricity for three to five hours a day. The power situation is even worse in winter, when the hydroelectric dams are covered in ice (the statue has a grid called the “Statue Line” that provides 24-hour power).
◆ A sense of crisis due to collapsing public order following the pandemic?
"The police have a new department that specializes in managing surveillance cameras. Companies are also installing many on their own. There are so many of them nowadays that you always feel like you're being watched."
While it's hard to imagine that all of the surveillance cameras are up and running 24/7, it's clear that the authorities are rushing to install them. The reason behind this is likely due to the economic troubles following the 2020 pandemic, which has led to a spike in crime and disorderly behavior in many places. Authorities have frequently issued strong warnings to people over the past few years that they will not tolerate crime. Since last August, 11 men and women were publicly executed over the course of three separate executions in just four months in Hyesan.
※ ASIAPRESS communicates with reporting partners through Chinese cell phones smuggled into North Korea.
A map of North Korea (ASIAPRESS)
asiapress.org
5. HRNK Launches Updated Report Based on Satellite Imagery of N. Korea’s Political Prison Camp No. 25
Comments from the authors in the release.
Excerpt
The new HRNK report establishes that Camp No. 25 remains an operational prison facility. Escapee testimony and satellite imagery indicate that prisoners are involved in agricultural and light industrial production. A high-security compound in the southeastern corner of the facility, identified in previous updates on Camp No. 25, remains in place.
HRNK Launches Updated Report Based on Satellite Imagery of N. Korea’s Political Prison Camp No. 25
March 07, 2024
hrnk.org
Announcements Events HRNK Brief North Korea Human Rights Events Calendar Video Gallery Image Gallery Congressional Hearings
HRNK Launches Updated Report Based on Satellite Imagery of N. Korea’s Political Prison Camp No. 25
March 07, 2024
The report is available on Tearline at: https://www.tearline.mil/public_page/prison-camp-25.
A PDF version is available on HRNK's website at https://www.hrnk.org/uploads/pdfs/camp25_update4.pdf.
WASHINGTON, D.C., March 7, 2024. The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK), a non-governmental organization based in Washington, D.C., has launched a report entitled North Korea’s Political Prison Camp, Kwan-li-so No. 25 (Update).
This is the fourth update on this detention facility, following a baseline report in 2013 and subsequent updates published in 2014, 2016, and 2021. Political Prison Camp No. 25 (a.k.a. Kwan-li-so No. 25) is located approximately 7.5 km northwest of the center of Chongjin, a major industrial city located on the northeastern coast of North Korea.
Located on the outskirts of Chongjin, Camp No. 25, established around 1968, occupies an area of approximately 1 km2. It is unique among North Korea’s known political prison camps in that it resembles a long-term prison labor facility (kyo-hwa-so) in terms of its physical characteristics. However, testimony from North Korean escapees indicates that the facility only holds political prisoners.
HRNK is unable to confirm or deny previous reports about the size of the prison population, but our analysis suggests that Camp No. 25 could hold between 2,500 and 5,000 prisoners. As in a previous report on this facility, satellite imagery analyzed for this report shows groups of detainees working cultivated fields within the camp’s perimeter.
For this report, HRNK author and Senior Imagery Analyst Joseph S. Bermudez Jr. analyzed commercial pan-sharpened multispectral satellite images of Kwan-li-so No. 25 and its immediate environment taken in November 2023.
The report is the latest step in an effort by HRNK to create a clear picture of the evolution and current state of North Korea’s political prison camps and other detention facilities. HRNK is the NGO that put North Korea’s penal labor colonies on the map by publishing Hidden Gulag by world-renowned investigator David Hawk in 2003. Hidden Gulag was the first-ever report to use satellite imagery to scrutinize North Korea’s vast system of unlawful imprisonment.
The new HRNK report establishes that Camp No. 25 remains an operational prison facility. Escapee testimony and satellite imagery indicate that prisoners are involved in agricultural and light industrial production. A high-security compound in the southeastern corner of the facility, identified in previous updates on Camp No. 25, remains in place.
HRNK Senior Imagery Analyst and main report author Joseph S. Bermudez Jr. noted: “While Camp No. 25 remains an operational facility, moderately well maintained and in a moderate state of repair, only minor construction activity typical of what is observed at detention facilities elsewhere in the nation have been conducted between 2021 and 2023.”
Report co-author and HRNK Executive Director Greg Scarlatoiu pointed out: “the economic importance of the agricultural work, wood work and light industrial activity carried out at Camp No. 25 has been sustained, as evidenced by recent satellite imagery. Recent witness testimony will be needed in order to determine the scale of the contributions Camp No. 25 prison labor has been making to Kim Jong-un’s economy during and post-COVID.”
Report co-author and HRNK Director of Operations & Research Raymond Ha noted: “amid reports that the Kim Jong-un regime has tightened its control over markets and intensified its crackdown on the consumption of outside information, it is more critical than ever to document and assess the operation and reorganization of North Korea’s political prison camps. This report on Camp No. 25 marks the latest step in this ongoing effort.”
This report is the first HRNK satellite imagery report published on Tearline in partnership with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). Tearline is a congressionally supported publication platform that features unclassified geospatial intelligence from academic and non-profit contributors using open research and commercial imagery. More information about Tearline can be found at this link.
Content published on Tearline also syndicates to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence’s website at intelligence.gov, an effort to increase transparency around shared public-private interest in various strategic and humanitarian intelligence topics that are fit for public consumption.
For media inquiries, please contact Greg Scarlatoiu, HRNK Executive Director, at [email protected]. (+1 202-499-7973)
HRNK was founded in 2001 as a non-profit research organization dedicated to documenting human rights conditions in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), as North Korea is formally known. Visit www.hrnk.org to find out more.
6. Women’s Day highlights North Korean women’s violation of human rights
Women’s Day highlights North Korean women’s violation of human rights
https://www.chosun.com/english/2024/03/08/UCPP7Y6FOVCRLGMKOBJQULIVEE/
By Lee Jung-soo
Published 2024.03.08. 17:43
Updated 2024.03.08. 17:47
Lee Sang-yong, director of the North Korea-focused research group DailyNK. is giving a presentation at Canada Ambassy of South Korea on Mar. 8, 2024. /Lee Jung-soo
On March 8, International Women’s Day, the call to protect the human rights of women in North Korea is getting public attention. N. Korean women, especially those residing abroad, are exposed to various risks including the threat of forced repatriation, human trafficking, and sexual violence call for international attention.
The Embassy of Canada in collaboration with DailyNK, EUM, and THINK, held an event to discuss North Korean women’s human rights on Mar. 8.
Attendees included Tamara Mawhinney, the Ambassador of Canada to South Korea, Kang Jong-Suk, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Unification, and Lee Shin-wha, Ambassador-at-large for International Cooperation on North Korean Human Rights.
Ambassador Mawhinney expressed her pleasure in discussing women’s rights on International Women’s Day but emphasized the need to improve the dire situation of North Korean women, calling for sustained international attention. The Canadian Embassy will put significant effort into supporting North Korean women, she said.
Tamara Mawhinney, the Ambassador of Canada to South Korea is giving a welcome speech on Mar. 8, 2024./Lee Jung-soo
Deputy Minister Kang highlighted the importance of raising awareness about the current situation for the enhancement of N. Korean women’s rights.
According to Kang, North Korean women face many disadvantages simply for being women, including being forced to give up on higher education, and are not protected from ongoing violence by the state.
“Of the 196 North Koreans who defected last year, 80 percent were women,” Kang said, promising to help North Korean women who arrived in South Korea settle in well.
Ambassador Lee stressed the need for mechanisms to protect N. Korean women from sexual exploitation, pointing out that despite N. Korea’s public claims of gender equality, the reality is quite different. She called for more efforts from the UN and other organizations concerning North Korean women’s issues, saying that deeply ingrained male chauvinism in North Korea exacerbates gender discrimination in the region.
James Heenan, Representative from the UN OHCHR in Seoul, is having a discussion at Canada Ambassy in South Korea on Mar. 8, 2024. /Lee Jung-soo
Lee Sang-yong, director of the North Korea-focused research group DailyNK, stated that “traditionally, the lives of North Korean women are hard,” during a presentation on the status of North Korean women’s human rights. DailyNK investigates conditions inside and outside North Korea with a network of informants.
According to his survey of 30 women, either defectors or those still living in North Korea, none stated that women’s rights are well-protected within North Korea. He also mentioned that few respondents received education on the rights when in North Korea and called for international discussion on ways to improve North Korean women’s human rights.
Lee identified ‘sexual violence’ as one of the most serious issues for North Korean women, claiming they are subject to sexual exploitation in various areas of life, including work and military service. His research found that 73% of 30 North Korean women surveyed said they had been asked to provide sexual entertainment in exchange for promotions or other benefits.
Kim Eun-ju, a researcher at EUM, an institution run by North Korean women, stated that North Korea’s isolationism contribute significantly to violations of women’s rights. The lack of sex education in North Korea has led to distorted sexual norms within the country, which she said urgently needs to be addressed.
Son Moon-kyung, representative of the human rights advocacy group THINK, pointed out that the misguided sex education in North Korea has also negatively formed the sexual attitudes of North Korean men.
International community members have pledged to make significant efforts to improve the human rights of North Korean women.
James Heenan, Representative from the UN OHCHR in Seoul, noted, “Gender inequality is a global issue, but it’s particularly severe in North Korea. I hope everyone here takes an interest and works together with the UN to find solutions.”
7. North Korean women endure harsh financial hardships and pressure to give birth
North Korea
North Korean women endure harsh financial hardships and pressure to give birth
https://www.chosun.com/english/north-korea-en/2024/03/08/4NWHTAMB7VADXL3UOZSQ5TLPXU/
Testimonies from 30 N. Korean women: “My husband has no income, but the state forces me to pay for everything.”
By Kim Jin-myung,
Lee Jae-eun
Published 2024.03.08. 10:28
Updated 2024.03.08. 13:59
According to a report by Daily NK, many North Korean women struggle to make ends meet as the breadwinner of their family. / News1
In North Korea, International Women’s Day on Mar. 8. is celebrated with great fanfare, according to the state-run newspaper Rodong Sinmun. “Love and affection for our women, flowers of the nation, society, and home, is growing stronger by the day,” Rodong Sinmun reported on Mar. 7.
But the reality for North Korean women, as detailed in a report by Daily NK based on interviews with 30 North Korean women from diverse regions and age groups, presents a stark contrast to this rosy narrative. The women who currently live in North Korea spoke of financial burdens related to raising a family and the pressure to conform to state policies. Choosing not to have children is considered “reactionary.” Testimonies of ten North Korean defectors interviewed by Daily NK echoed these sentiments.
“An increasing number of women do not want children,” said one woman from South Pyongan Province. Another woman from North Hwanghae Province mentioned educational expenses, stating, “Sending our children to kindergarten or school is a burden because of all the expenses.”
North Korean authorities are implementing various measures, often coercive, to tackle low birthrates. “I was told at a People’s Party meeting that if a woman gets an abortion, [the authorities] will punish the doctors that performed the abortion,” said a woman in North Pyongan Province. Two women from Jagang Province shared that while choosing not to have a second child after the first is acceptable, not giving birth at all is viewed as reactionary by the authorities.
Even childbirth comes with hidden costs. Following the collapse of free healthcare, testimonies of having to pay bribes have surfaced. One woman said she spent 200,000 won in bribes to deliver her daughter at a hospital. A woman in North Pyongan Province recounted a case where a patient died because she could not afford a bribe and missed the surgery.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, a woman from Gangwon Province shared her struggle to procure medicine to overcome the virus. A woman in Jagang Province said she also had to pay for thermometers, medicine, and even injections.
“Building better childcare conditions is a top priority for the nation, regardless of the expense,” North Korean leader Kim Jong-un declared in 2021. North Korean women say childcare facilities have since improved. “More daycare centers and kindergartens have added more playground equipment in their playgrounds,” said a woman from North Pyongan Province.
But the burden of maintenance falls on the parents. “We pay for [the kindergarten’s] food, clothing, bedding, and other necessities,” a mother from Hwanghae Province said. “If they can’t afford rice, they don’t give our children lunch or snacks.” A North Korean defector said, “Parents cover all kindergarten expenses, from meals to heating, cooking essentials, and even firewood.”
Many North Korean women have resorted to selling goods at markets to address financial challenges. While the women interviewed typically earned between 1,500 and 2,600 won per month from their day jobs, 12 out of 30 said they earned between 300,000 and 500,000 won extra per month from selling goods at the market. All 12 of these women noted that their husbands had no income.
In addition, North Korean women are required to make monetary and material contributions to the state every month and quarter, on holidays and anniversaries. A woman from North Hwanghae mentioned she gathered items such as notebooks, books, and various tools to celebrate a satellite launch last November. Unemployed women are enlisted for various communal duties, including rice planting.
8. North Korean women are now the breadwinners – and shifting this deeply patriarchal society towards a matriarchy
Korean women in the north have long been the ones keeping families together and running the markets. They have long demonstrated the entrepreneurial spirit.
North Korean women are now the breadwinners – and shifting this deeply patriarchal society towards a matriarchy
theconversation.com · by Gemma Ware
High heels, lace and handbags. In recent decades, there’s been a huge shift in the role of North Korean women and the choices they’re able to make – including what they wear.
In this episode of The Conversation Weekly podcast, we hear about new research on how North Korean women are driving a new form of grassroots capitalism, and changing the country in the process.
“It’s a salutary lesson to all patriarchies. You shouldn’t take your eye off the women,” says Bronwen Dalton. She’s head of the department of management at the University of Technology Sydney Business School in Australia and a co-author, with her colleague Kyungja Jung, of a new book on the role of women in North Korea.
Their research was based on conversations with 52 North Korean defectors living in South Korea and China, as well as insights from three trips Dalton took to North Korea.
North Korea is a deeply patriarchal society, and women have traditionally been defined by two words: mother and wife. But when famine hit the country in the 1990s and the public food distribution system disintegrated, it was left to women to try to earn money to feed their families. And the state, obsessed with controlling the lives of men, mainly ignored what women were doing.
Many began working in markets, some of which were legal, some illegal, selling what they could to supplement the meagre wages of their husbands’ factory jobs.
With this shift, it became a whole new lexicon that was derogatory around men, because the economic power had shifted. Women are the breadwinners in a very tight economic times, and men were another mouth to feed.
Jung was fascinated when North Korean defectors she interviewed used the word matriarchy. She related one conversation with a woman in her 50s.
She stated that women often say the patriarchy has fallen in favour of the matriarchy … And if women were once under their husband’s thumbs, men are now afraid they will be kicked out of their homes by their wives.
At the same time, women’s fashion choices have shifted to become more hyper-feminine. Dalton says that North Korean women will do “anything to obtain a pair of high heels”, and they wear a lot of bling, lace and embroidered parasols.
Two sides of North Korea: fashion and loyalty to the state. Lesley Parker
Listen to The Conversation Weekly podcast to hear Bronwen Dalton and Kyungja Jung talk about their research on North Korea, plus an introduction from Justin Bergman, international affairs editor at The Conversation in Australia.
A transcript of this episode will be available shortly.
This episode of The Conversation Weekly was written and produced by Gemma Ware and Mend Mariwany, with assistance from Katie Flood. Sound design was by Eloise Stevens, and our theme music is by Neeta Sarl. Stephen Khan is our global executive editor, Alice Mason runs our social media and Soraya Nandy does our transcripts.
You can find us on Instagram at theconversationdotcom or via email. You can also subscribe to The Conversation’s free daily email here.
Listen to The Conversation Weekly via any of the apps listed above, download it directly via our RSS feed or find out how else to listen here.
theconversation.com · by Gemma Ware
9. Repression, isolation getting worse in North Korea, rights watchdog says
This is the COVID paradox. The regime had to defend against the pandemic because its poor medical system could never handle an outbreak. But Kim also viewed COVID as an opportunity to crack down on and further oppress and repress the people who he views as the main threat to the survival of the Kim family regime.
Repression, isolation getting worse in North Korea, rights watchdog says - UPI.com
By Thomas Maresca
upi.com
A Human Rights Watch report released Thursday said North Korea has grown more repressive and isolated since the COVID-19 pandemic. File Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo
SEOUL, March 7 (UPI) -- Heightened security measures and border closures imposed by North Korea over the past few years have had "devastating consequences" on the lives of ordinary citizens, a report released Thursday by Human Rights Watch said.
At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, North Korea sealed the country's borders, building hundreds of miles of new fencing and giving "shoot on sight" orders to border guards. Along with a tightening of trade and cross-border movement with China that began in 2018, North Korea -- already one of the world's most reclusive states -- has become even more isolated and repressive, according to the New York-based rights group.
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"The people of North Korea are now almost entirely cut off from the rest of the world, enduring horrific abuses and a calamitous humanitarian situation, with no end in sight," the report said.
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Interviews with almost 150 North Korean escapees highlight the impact of the government's clampdown on everything from food security to information access to the ability to leave the country.
L. Young Mi, a former herbal medicine trader, said a relative in North Korea told her in November 2022 that nobody could even get close to the border.
"My [relative] said there were no words to describe how hard life was," she told HRW. "There was no [informal] trade with China, not even to get some rice or a bag of wheat ... My [relative] said people in [her area] said there is not even an ant crossing the border."
Chronic food shortages were exacerbated during the pandemic, with the United Nations estimating in 2022 that some 41% of North Koreans were food insecure. In 2021, leader Kim Jong Un said North Korea was facing its "worst-ever situation" and called on the country to prepare for another "Arduous March," a term used for the massive famine of the 1990s.
The report's analysis of satellite imagery covering 200 miles of North Korea's northern border reveals a massive buildup of security infrastructure since the start of the pandemic, including new fencing and some 6,820 guard posts -- a 20-fold increase since 2020.
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The number of North Koreans escaping the country has seen a drastic decline over the same period. While 1,047 North Koreans arrived in South Korea in 2019, that number plunged to 229 in 2020 and just 63 in 2021, according to statistics from the South's Unification Ministry.
Pyongyang has also attempted to squelch outside information getting into the country, passing a series of laws banning the smuggling or viewing of foreign content and even outlawing using South Korean slang. Reports of public executions for violating the "anti-reactionary thought" laws have emerged.
The psychological toll has had an even greater impact than the fences and guard posts at the border, some North Koreans said.
"It is more the emotional environment and fear more [than the actual physical barriers]," L. Young Mi said. "[My relative] is scared to leave because of the creation of a social environment, a general sense of terror much stronger than a bullet or a wire fence."
The HRW report arrives some 10 years after the release of the landmark U.N. Commission of Inquiry report on human rights in North Korea. The 2014 COI report documented North Korean crimes against humanity, including torture, rape, execution, deliberate starvation and forced labor, that were "without parallel in the contemporary world."
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The situation has only gotten worse since then, according to HRW.
"Repression has increased under Kim Jong Un," the report said. "The closure of borders and drastically reduced cross-border movement and trade have violated human rights and increased the suffering of North Koreans."
upi.com
10. Unification ministry to help North Korean defectors become lawyers, doctors
Excellent initiative.
Unification ministry to help North Korean defectors become lawyers, doctors
The Korea Times · March 8, 2024
Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho speaks during a press briefing at the government complex in Seoul, Friday. Yonhap
By Kwak Yeon-soo
The Ministry of Unification is set to help North Korean defectors become lawyers and doctors in South Korea as part of its efforts toward ingegrating them into South Korean society and helping them rebuild their lives.
The announcement was made Friday as the ministry made its 2024 policy briefing to President Yoon Suk Yeol.
The ministry plans to enact a law in which the government can support law school tuition for North Korean defectors and ask the Ministry of Education to consider selecting them for the special admissions program of law schools. Currently, North Korean defectors are eligible to apply for special admissions for ethnic Koreans abroad and foreigners as part of a fixed quota system — allocated to up to 7 percent of total admissions.
There are only two North Korean defectors who became attorneys out of 34,000 defectors, according to the ministry.
A senior official at the unification ministry said that law school tuition is too expensive for North Korean defectors to pursue a law degree. Even if they are admitted to a law school, the pass rate for the bar exam is very low.
“For North Korean defectors, many of whom live in poverty and a state of uncertainty, rigorous admission standards and high tuition for law schools are a greater burden, so the government needs to lower the standards for North Korean defectors to enter law school,” a unification ministry official said.
The ministry will also expand the network of practical training institutions that can help North Korean defectors — who used to work as health professionals such as doctors, dentists or oriental medicine practitioners before resettling in South Korea — acquire relevant qualifications here.
When asked about a possible fairness issue, “I think the principle of fairness can vary depending on the situation we face and time we live in. North Korean defectors live in a reality where they cannot develop their skills because they were born in North Korea. By supporting them to acquire skills and qualifications, we can give hope to North Korean defectors and people living in North Korea,” Minister of Unification Kim Yung-ho said.
In addition, the ministry will push for mandatory unification education for teachers so that future generations will better understand liberal democratic unification and the human rights situation in North Korea.
The ministry also plans to purchase land and begin architectural design this year for the construction of a national center for North Korean human rights scheduled to open in 2026. It will begin construction of the Unification Information Resource Center as early as the end of this year and plans to open it in 2027.
The Korea Times · March 8, 2024
11. Images show N Korea sealing its border with China
Open borders are a threat to the regime - but it is the border that opens out not in. The regime must prevent an exodus of people.
Images show N Korea sealing its border with China - BBC News
BBC · by You may also be interested in:
Images show North Korea sealing its border with China
- By Michael Sheils McNamee
- BBC News
7 March 2024
Image source, Reuters
Image caption,
There has been a major ramping up of security along the border between North Korea and China. This image shows North Korea from an area near the Chinese border city of Hunchun in 2015
North Korea has used the Covid-19 pandemic to seal up its northern border with China, new images from a leading human rights group show.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) describes a situation which has seen "intensifying repression", with "drastically reduced" cross-border movement and trade.
In the research, North Koreans spoke of the increasingly restrictive measures.
UN member states should "immediately address" North Korea's isolation and humanitarian crisis, HRW stresses.
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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has reinforced a crackdown on border security in recent years, coinciding with the pandemic.
The border was only reopened a few months ago, largely to improve trade with China.
The report, entitled A Sense of Terror Stronger than a Bullet: The Closing of North Korea 2018-2023, describes the "overbroad, excessive, and unnecessary measures during the Covid-19 pandemic".
Focusing on satellite images, it shows authorities in North Korea constructing 482km (299 miles) of new fencing in the areas it investigated, and enhancing another 260km of fencing which was already in place.
Taken between 2019 and 2023 and covering about a quarter of its northern border, the images also detail things like new guard posts and the creation of buffer zones - things which further restrict life in the country.
Image caption,
In this image, we can see that in March 2019, on the east bank of the Tumen River, a primary fence is visible - but is interrupted with a large gap for the Hoeryong stream. Three years later, in April 2022, a bridge had been added, along with a secondary fence, creating a buffer zone
Along with the border infrastructure has come a more authoritarian enforcement of rules - including a shoot on sight order for border guards.
HRW noted a 20-fold increase in the number of border security facilities in the area observed, with guard posts rising from just 38 to more than 6,500.
Lina Yoon, senior Korea researcher at HRW, said North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un should "end the policies that have essentially made North Korea a giant prison, reopen its borders for trade, relax internal travel restrictions, and allow monitored international emergency assistance".
Image caption,
This image shows a primary and secondary fence which were set up along the Yalu River, with guard posts also installed. The changes took place between May 2019 and September 2022
One escapee, who spoke to her relative back home, said rice and wheat could no longer be smuggled into the country.
"Not even an ant can make it across the border now", her relative told her. This has also made it harder for North Korean escapees to send money back home to support their families, the report says, further increasing the suffering of the North Korean people.
Another person who had left the country described the situation for their relatives in late 2022, when many parts of the world were facing tough Covid-19 restrictions.
"My [relative] said now people are more worried of starving to death than of dying of Covid-19," they said.
"They are all worried of dying from simple diseases."
The crackdown has also stopped the flow of cash from people in South Korea to their relatives and contacts in the North.
HRW estimated that by the start of 2023, only about one in 10 money brokers were able to send money across, when compared to the situation pre-pandemic.
Also highlighted in the report is the toll UN sanctions, imposed on Pyongyang in 2017 following nuclear tests, have had on people.
The report calls them "broad-based", and says they have "exacted a toll on the population at large by undermining people's rights to an adequate standard of living, and thus to food and health".
"This had an especially hard impact on women, the main breadwinners in most households, by reducing the activities in the markets in which they traded."
One former trader who had been in contact with relatives in North Korea said a relative used to catch squid and crabs, and was able to live off the informal trade with China.
Because of Covid-19 and the sanctions, this trade was stopped - and his relatives had to sell for domestic consumptions for a much lower return, making it "hard to survive".
Video caption,
Myung-hui and her daughter Songmi
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12. N. Korea attempted to disrupt GPS signals on S. Korean border islands
An indicator of a prelude to a provocation or attack?
N. Korea attempted to disrupt GPS signals on S. Korean border islands
koreaherald.com · by Ji Da-gyum · March 8, 2024
By Ji Da-gyum
Published : March 8, 2024 - 20:02
This photo, provided by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on Friday, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un watching a firing drill by the North Korean Army's front-line combined artillery units "who have put the enemy's capital in their striking range" on Thursday. (Yonhap)
North Korea attempted to disrupt the reception of Global Positioning System signals on the front-line islands of South Korea in the West Sea for three consecutive days from Tuesday, coinciding with annual combined military drills between Seoul and Washington, the South Korean military confirmed on Friday.
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff detected signals sent from North Korea, which were assessed as attempts to interfere with the reception of GPS signals on the Five West Sea Islands multiple times from Tuesday noon to Thursday.
These five border islands include Baengnyeong Island, Daecheong Island, Socheong Island, Yeonpyeong Island and U Island.
The South Korean military noted that the GPS interference started on the second day of the 11-day Freedom Shield computer simulation-based command post exercise between South Korea and the US. Concurrent with FS 24, South Korea and the US are conducting 48 field training exercises in March.
North Korea's disruptions "did not affect military GPS," a military official, who requested anonymity, told The Korea Herald.
However, the official explained that the automatic navigation systems of some vessels near the front-line border islands in the West Sea were affected by GPS interruptions.
The official clarified that North Korea's GPS interruptions did not result in any damage to vessel operations.
Additionally, the official warned that the "military will take retaliatory measures" if GPS disruptions lead to any damage, whether civilian or military.
GPS signals are broadcast by GPS satellites to enable satellite navigation. GPS signals are essential because they provide accurate positioning, navigation and timing information critical for various applications, including transportation, emergency response and military operations.
Since 2010, North Korea has sporadically attempted to interfere with GPS signals, with not all instances receiving media coverage, according to the South Korean military.
A significant incident occurred in April 2016, just before South Korea's legislative election, when North Korea conducted high-power signal interference. The disruption impacted the navigation of ships and airplanes reliant on GPS.
These latest three-day GPS disturbances also occurred around one month before South Korea's legislative election scheduled for April 10.
koreaherald.com · by Ji Da-gyum · March 8, 2024
13. Army special forces stage counterterrorism drills at Seoul baseball stadium
Tuesday
March 5, 2024
dictionary + A - A
Published: 05 Mar. 2024, 19:45
Army special forces stage counterterrorism drills at Seoul baseball stadium
https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2024-03-05/national/defense/Army-special-forces-stage-counterterrorism-drills-at-Seoul-baseball-stadium/1995370
Troops from the Korean Army Special Warfare Command participate in a counterterrorism exercise at Gocheok Sky Dome in western Seoul on Tuesday. The drill, based on a scenario of armed terrorists taking hostages at the stadium, also involved personnel from the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's special operations unit. It is part of a series of on-field drills in the ongoing Freedom Shield exercise between South Korea and the United States, which began Monday for an 11-day run. It comes ahead of matches between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres, the first Major League Baseball regular season games in Korea, to be held at the dome on March 20 and 21. [YONHAP]
The Army's special operations troops held a joint counter-terrorism exercise with police personnel at a baseball stadium in Seoul on Tuesday to hone operational capabilities against any possible terror attacks in crowded facilities.
The exercise took place at Gocheok Sky Dome in southwestern Seoul, involving personnel from the Army Special Warfare Command and the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's special operations unit, according to the Army.
It proceeded under a scenario of armed terrorists taking hostages at the stadium, demanding ransom and a helicopter to escape. Participants trained on eliminating the terrorists, rescuing the hostages and disarming an explosive planted by the gunmen.
The Army said the training was planned as part of a series of on-field drills during this year's Freedom Shield exercise between South Korea and the United States, which began Monday for an 11-day run.
The counter-terrorism exercise took place ahead of two matches between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres — the first regular season games of Major League Baseball in South Korea — at Gocheok Sky Dome on March 20-21.
Yonhap
14. Wartime footage, anger with Seoul, and a gift from Vladimir Putin: Is North Korea (actually) planning to go to war?
I think not. Think political warfare and blackmail diplomacy. But he is sure trying to make us afraid. And some are falling right into his trap.
Wartime footage, anger with Seoul, and a gift from Vladimir Putin: Is North Korea (actually) planning to go to war?
ABC.net.au · by Jenny Cai with wires · March 7, 2024
Beyond firing artillery rounds into the sea and launching spy satellites, North Korea has been busy removing references and images of reunification with South Korea from its state-run websites, creating alarm among experts.
The moves are the latest concrete evidence that the country's leader, Kim Jong Un, might be implementing a pledge made in January where he called South Korea a "primary foe" and concluded that reunification was no longer possible.
Pyongyang's decision to abandon the decades-long goal of reunification — in addition to rekindled relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin — has contributed to escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula, to a degree that has some experts tabling the possibility that conflict might be imminent.
Here's a look at what's led to the current situation, how experts are interpreting the shifts in rhetoric amid the current global context, and whether or not yet another conflict might genuinely be on the brink of breaking out.
What has been going on？
North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency released photos this week showing field training exercises at an undisclosed location.(AFP: KCNA via KNS)
The initial bombshell came when Mr Kim called for a rewriting of the country's constitution to eliminate the idea of a peaceful reunification with South Korea — and to cement Seoul as an "invariable principal enemy" — in a speech to the Supreme People's Assembly earlier this year.
During his speech, Mr Kim blamed South Korea and the United States for raising tensions in the region, citing their expanded joint military exercises, deployments of US strategic military assets, and their trilateral security cooperation with Japan as turning the peninsula into a dangerous war-prone zone.
Following Mr Kim's speech, the North's assembly abolished key government agencies that have been instrumental to decades of exchanges with Seoul.
Satellite imagery of Pyongyang showed that a major monument in the capital that symbolised the goal of reconciliation with South Korea was destroyed after the speech.
Satellite imagery revealed that North Korea demolished a major monument in its capital that symbolised the goal of reconciliation with South Korea.(Reuters: Yuri Maltsev)
South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported that articles containing unification references have consistently been removed from North Korea's platforms and messaging: for example, a red-coloured logo of the Korean Peninsula has been removed from the North's official Foreign Trade site banners.
Mr Kim's remarks were made amid escalating tensions on the peninsula.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un says his country will no longer pursue reconciliation with South Korea, calling for rewriting the North’s constitution to eliminate the idea of shared statehood between the war-divided countries, according to state media.
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Since January, the North has fired hundreds of artillery shells into the sea near the disputed maritime border with the South and tested what it said was a solid-fuel missile fitted with a hypersonic warhead.
Last month, the North's state media reported that the Supreme People's Assembly had voted to scrap all agreements with its neighbour aimed at promoting economic cooperation.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol criticised this move to define his country as hostile, saying it showed Pyongyang's "anti-national and ahistorical" nature.
Seoul has also ramped up joint military exercises with Japan and the US focused on countering the North's potential use of nuclear weapons, which Mr Kim has portrayed as invasion rehearsals.
What's the significance and how are experts interpreting it?
Both North and South Korea have ramped up military exercises amid rising tensions. (AP Photo: Ahn Young-joon)
Since the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a stalemate, both Koreas have had policies that treat each other differently than other countries.
That included relying on special agencies and ministries for inter-Korean relations rather than their foreign ministries, and embracing policies for a future peaceful reunification, usually envisioning a single state with two systems.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sets economic, military and foreign policy goals for the coming year.
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Colin Alexander, a senior lecturer of political communication at Nottingham Trent University, said scrapping the rhetoric of reunification is a "strategic observation the North has made about politics in the South".
"South Korea has oscillated between being more inclined towards reunification and [then] moving really far away from it," he said.
While South Korea's former president Moon Jae-In pushed for greater dialogue with the North, the current conservative government led by Mr Yoon took a much harder stance towards its neighbour.
"My interpretation is that North Korea is interpreting this inconsistency with a lot of frustration … and what they realise is [reunification] is so unachievable within the present outlook, that they must move towards a policy which is more realistic."
Ankit Panda, an expert with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, also recently said that the North has been recalibrating its regional approach since the collapse of the 2019 Hanoi summit.
Vladimir Putin gifted Kim Jong Un a luxury Russian-made limousine — an Aurus — last month.(AP Photo: Sergei Guneyev/File)
"But now, with advanced nuclear and missile capabilities — and the support of Russia and China — Mr Kim feels confident enough to make these changes, which amount to his most consequential proclamations on external affairs since taking power in North Korea," Mr Panda said.
Russia and North Korea have forged closer ties since Mr Kim and Mr Putin met in September last year and pledged to promote exchanges in all areas as their respective international isolation has deepened over Russia's war in Ukraine and the North's ongoing nuclear weapons developments.
As a symbol of their rekindled ties, Mr Putin recently gifted Mr Kim with a Russian-made Aurus luxury limousine — the same type of car Mr Putin is often seen riding around in himself.
Could the situation lead to war?
A photo — released this week — of Kim Jong Un inspecting field training exercises. (Reuters: Korean Central News Agency)
Rising tensions between Pyongyang and Seoul have led many experts to scramble to speculate over the last few months on what sorts of scenarios may lie ahead.
In a report published on the US-based 38 North project, former State Department official Robert Carlin and nuclear scientist Siegfried Hecker said the situation on the peninsula was "more dangerous than it has been at any time since early June 1950", shortly before the start of the Korean War.
The authors added in no uncertain terms that they believe Mr Kim "has made a strategic decision to go to war" and that "the danger is already far beyond the routine warnings in Washington, Seoul and Tokyo about Pyongyang's 'provocations'".
While its northern rival has a nuclear vessel at its disposal, South Korea is relying on another strategy to scare its neighbours: an elite special forces operation unit trained to work behind enemy lines. Here's how it works.
Read more
Hong Min, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification in Seoul, added that the policy changes could be perceived as helping North Korea justify using nuclear weapons against the South, as it has increasingly threatened in recent years.
"If they give up on peaceful unification and redefine South Korea as a hostile enemy country with no diplomatic relations, the contradiction of using nuclear weapons against the same people will be eliminated," Mr Hong said.
But other analysts, as well as officials in Washington and Seoul, say they have spotted no serious signs Pyongyang intends to take imminent military action.
For example, South Korean Defence Minister Shin Won-sik wrote off the claims of increasing risk of war during a recent radio interview as "excessive exaggeration", adding that such interpretations play into the hands of North Korea's psychological warfare.
North Korea often displays its missiles in military parades. (AP: Korean Central News Agency)
Dr Alexander added that Mr Kim's war threats should also be understood in the context of the North's culture where "national prestige is built around military issues".
"Because of this propaganda concept North Korean government created domestically, it leads them to having to consistently discuss the military and its readiness [for war]."
But North Korea does not have a "rationale" to actually start a war, Dr Alexander said.
"[Because] if North Korea were to attack the South or anywhere else, there will be significant negative consequences for it."
ABC/wires
ABC.net.au · by Jenny Cai with wires · March 7, 2024
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
| 
