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Quotes of the Day:
"Most of the trouble in the world is caused by people wanting to be important."
- Thomas S. Eliot
"One glance at a book and you hear the voice of another person, perhaps some dead for 1,000 years. To read is to voyage through time."
- Carl Sagan
"Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does."
- William James
1. DPRK (North Korea): Open Briefing and Closed Consultations
2. S. Korea urges 'extraordinary responsibility' from UNSC over N. Korea's nuclear provocations
3. In letter to N. Korea's Kim, China's Xi voices willingness for strong bilateral ties
4. Six Things to Know About North Korea’s Newest Missile
5. U.S. Reaper to be deployed in Korean Peninsula
6. Yoon says S. Korea-U.S. alliance can recover from conflict of interest, trouble
7. Hyundai, Kia vehicles excluded from IRA subsidy, shares sink
8. North Korean hacking group Lazarus behind cyber attack last year: Police
9. Korean presidential office revising war contingency guideline to deal with evolving threat from North
10. G7 demands N. Korea 'refrain' from nuclear tests, missile launches
11. Korea says it will work to ‘protect’ Ukraine, mum on delivery of shells to Germany
12. US military discloses photos of 'attack' drills with S. Korea amid NK threats
13. Korea-US alliance at 70: whither to go?
14. How North Korea’s Hackers Bankroll Its Quest for the Bomb
15. Hyesan mobilizes some 8,000 students to celebrate Kim Il Sung’s birthday
1. DPRK (North Korea): Open Briefing and Closed Consultations
Hopefully we will soon get a report on this meeting.
https://www.securitycouncilreport.org/whatsinblue/2023/04/dprk-north-korea-open-briefing-and-closed-consultations.php
What's In Blue Posted Mon 17 Apr 2023
DPRK (North Korea): Open Briefing and Closed Consultations
This afternoon (17 April), the Security Council will convene for an open briefing on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East, Asia, and the Pacific Mohamed Khaled Khiari is expected to brief. Albania, France, Japan, Malta, the UK, and the US requested the meeting after the DPRK tested a new type of intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on 13 April. The Republic of Korea (ROK) is expected to participate in the meeting under rule 37 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure. The open briefing will be followed by closed consultations. It appears that the US, with support from the other Council members who requested an open briefing, asked for the consultations to provide Council members with an opportunity to have a frank and constructive discussion regarding a possible Council product on the DPRK.
It seems that China opposed holding an open briefing and argued that convening only closed consultations would be more appropriate because they would allow Council members to discuss the latest developments on the Korean Peninsula in a non-politicised atmosphere. It appears that Russia, April’s Council President, expressed support for China’s position in its national capacity but indicated that it would consult with Council members in its capacity as Council President. Russia apparently then proposed holding a private meeting with the participation of the ROK. (Like consultations, a private meeting is closed to the public; unlike consultations, however, a private meeting is considered a formal meeting of the Security Council and non-Council members can participate.) It seems that this proposal did not enjoy broad support among Council members and an open briefing was scheduled in accordance with the request made by Albania, France, Japan, Malta, the UK, and the US.
At today’s meeting, Council members are expected to discuss the DPRK’s 13 April missile launch. Shortly after the launch, the ROK military said that the missile had an “intermediate or intercontinental range” and was launched on a high angle before travelling approximately 1,000 kilometres and landing in waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. The test prompted Japan to issue an emergency alert for residents in parts of the Hokkaido prefecture, which was subsequently retracted after officials determined that the missile would not land on Japanese territory. Japan and the ROK conducted separate air drills with the US following the test, including exercises involving US B-52 bombers. The test came days after DPRK leader Kim Jong-un urged DPRK officials to pursue “more practical and offensive” war deterrence measures “with increasing speed” during an 11 April meeting of the Central Military Commission of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea.
On 14 April, DPRK state media announced that the 13 April test involved a new type of ICBM, which it referred to as the Hwasong-18, and claimed that the Hwasong-18 utilised solid-fuel technology. (Solid-fuel ICBMs take less time to launch and are harder for missile defence systems to detect.) According to media reports, ROK officials later confirmed that the DPRK had tested a solid-fuel ICBM and said that the DPRK would “need more time and effort before completing its development”.
In a 13 April statement, UN Secretary-General António Guterres strongly condemned the launch and called on the DPRK to fully comply with its international obligations under all relevant Council resolutions and resume dialogue. Khiari may convey similar messages during his briefing today.
The 13 April launch is the latest in a series of weapons tests carried out by the DPRK this year, including a 16 March ICBM test that prompted the Council to convene for an open briefing on 20 March at the request of Albania, Ecuador, France, Japan, Malta, the UK, and the US. On 27 March, the DPRK fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea off its east coast, hours before a US aircraft carrier began conducting drills with ROK warships. Just over a week earlier, on 19 March, the DPRK launched a short-range ballistic missile eastward from Dongchang-ri, a missile test site on its west coast. On 20 March, DPRK state media said that this launch was designed to boost the DPRK’s “war deterrence and nuclear counterattack capability” and accused the ROK and the US of making “an explicit attempt to unleash a war” against it. The test took place while the ROK and the US were conducting joint military drills known as “Freedom Shield 23”, which involved field exercises and computer simulations and were reportedly the largest carried out by the two allies since 2017. The DPRK has also claimed that it tested underwater drones capable of carrying nuclear warheads on 24 March and 8 April and released images purporting to unveil smaller nuclear warheads on 28 March.
At today’s meeting, some members, including the P3 (France, the UK, and the US) and other like-minded states, are likely to strongly condemn the recent missile tests, say that they violate Council resolutions and destabilise the Korean peninsula, and urge the DPRK to engage in denuclearisation dialogue. Some of these members may call on member states to comply with Council resolutions, accuse the DPRK of raising tensions in the region, and criticise it for expending funds on its missile program while ignoring the humanitarian needs of its people.
China and Russia, on the other hand, might blame the US for escalating the situation and accuse it of not doing enough to incentivise the DPRK to participate in denuclearisation talks. Both members are also likely to express their support for a draft resolution circulated by China in October 2021 intended to provide sanctions relief to the DPRK and argue that adopting this resolution will encourage the DPRK to resume dialogue and help to ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
Some Council members might be critical of China and Russia for blocking Council action on the DPRK and urge the Council to show unity and respond to the DPRK’s repeated violations of Council resolutions. Despite the record number of ballistic missile tests conducted by the DPRK in 2022, a trend that has continued so far this year, the Council has to date been unable to agree on a product responding to the launches. On 26 May 2022, China and Russia vetoed a draft resolution that would have updated and strengthened the 1718 DPRK sanctions regime. The US proposed the resolution after the DPRK’s 24 March 2022 ICBM test, its first since 2018. Several US proposals for a press statement during 2022 were also unsuccessful due to opposition from China and Russia.
At a 21 November 2022 open briefing on the DPRK, Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield (US) announced that the US intended to pursue a presidential statement on the DPRK’s weapons programmes. It seems that a draft of the presidential statement was circulated by the US on 15 December 2022 and discussed by all Council members during an informal meeting on 16 December 2022. It appears that negotiations on this draft presidential statement ended after China expressed opposition to it.
During a 20 February open briefing on the DPRK—which was convened after the DPRK tested an ICBM on 18 February and requested by Albania, Ecuador, France, Japan, Malta, the UK, and the US—Thomas-Greenfield indicated that the US would pursue a further draft presidential statement on the DPRK. Since this announcement, the US has apparently engaged in bilateral discussions with China regarding the draft presidential statement. At the time of writing, it appears that these discussions are still ongoing.
Thomas-Greenfield is scheduled to deliver a joint statement on the 13 April ICBM launch on behalf of Albania, Ecuador, France, Japan, Malta, the ROK, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and the UK during a media stakeout before the beginning of today’s open briefing.
Tags: DPRK (North Korea), Insights on Asia
2. S. Korea urges 'extraordinary responsibility' from UNSC over N. Korea's nuclear provocations
China and Russia are surely not acting as responsible members of the international community.
S. Korea urges 'extraordinary responsibility' from UNSC over N. Korea's nuclear provocations | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 이원주 · April 18, 2023
NEW YORK, April 17 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's top envoy at the United Nations called Monday on permanent members of the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) to take "extraordinary responsibility" to curb North Korea's nuclear provocations.
Addressing a session of the council, Ambassador Hwang Joon-kook stressed that Pyongyang is the "first and only case" that has flouted the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) regime and openly developed nuclear weapons and delivery systems.
Hwang said the UNSC's response to the North's nuclear provocations will serve as a "litmus test on the credibility and the viability" of the council and its role in upholding the global NPT regime.
"In this regard, the five nuclear weapon states under the NPT regime, which coincide with the five permanent members of the Security Council, should show extraordinary responsibility," he said.
Under the NPT, five nations -- the United States, Russia, China, Britain, and France -- are recognized as nuclear-weapon states. Pyongyang withdrew from the NPT in 2003.
"Even as we speak now, the DPRK is buying enough time to further advance its unlawful nuclear and missile programs according to its own plan, which aims to deploy its nuclear arsenal for full-fledged operation, taking advantage of the weakened implementation of Security Council sanctions," the envoy said, referring to the North by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Since the beginning of 2022, Pyongyang has launched more than 80 ballistic missiles, including last week's test-firing of a new solid-fuel Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile.
China and Russia, both veto power-wielding permanent members of the council, have blocked UNSC meetings held since last year to impose additional sanctions on North Korea in response to its military provocations.
This photo, provided by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on April 14, 2023, shows the North's new solid-fuel Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile, test-fired the previous day under the guidance of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
julesyi@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 이원주 · April 18, 2023
3. In letter to N. Korea's Kim, China's Xi voices willingness for strong bilateral ties
I do not think this will translate to China helping resolve the nuclear issue.
In letter to N. Korea's Kim, China's Xi voices willingness for strong bilateral ties | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 김수연 · April 18, 2023
SEOUL, April 18 (Yonhap) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping has sent a letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, expressing his willingness to strengthen strategic communication with North Korea, Pyongyang's state media reported Tuesday.
Xi expressed his "heartfelt" thanks to the North's leader in a reply sent on April 12 to Kim's earlier message congratulating Xi's election as the Chinese president for a third term, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
Xi said China and the North have maintained and developed their traditional friendly relations, even though international and regional security situations are changing "seriously and in a complicated way."
The Chinese leader expressed his willingness to elevate the bilateral ties to a higher level by "strengthening the strategic communication and jointly guiding" the development of the Beijing-Pyongyang relations with the North's leader, the KCNA said in an English-language dispatch.
Kim sent a letter expressing his "warmest congratulations" to Xi on March 10, the day when he won an unprecedented third term as the Chinese president.
Prior to last week's letter, Xi delivered a similar message thanking the North's leader earlier this month via China's new ambassador to North Korea, Wang Yajun.
North Korea has been strengthening its ties with China, the North's traditional ally and economic benefactor, amid global sanctions on its nuclear and missile programs, and stalled denuclearization talks with the United States.
This undated image, captured from footage of Yonhap News TV, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Chinese President Xi Jinping. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 김수연 · April 18, 2023
4. Six Things to Know About North Korea’s Newest Missile
Excerpts:
1. Solid-fuel ICBMs are harder to detect and preempt.
2. The full capabilities of the North’s ICBMs remain unclear.
3. North Korea’s solid-fuel technology increases U.S. vulnerability to nuclear attack.
4. The solid-fuel ICBM is part of a growing North Korean threat amid an increasingly tense environment.
5. North Korea’s long-term goal is to undermine the U.S.-South Korea alliance.
6. The United States needs to boost its missile-defense and deterrence capabilities in response to the North Korean threat.
Six Things to Know About North Korea’s Newest Missile
North Korea’s latest technological breakthrough calls for better deterrence and better missile defense.
by SUE MI TERRY APRIL 17, 2023 5:30 AM
thebulwark.com · by Sue Mi Terry · April 17, 2023
North Korea successfully carried out its first-ever flight test of a Hwasong-18 solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on April 13, which it called a “miraculous success” and an improvement on its ability to mount a quick “nuclear counterattack.” This recent test follows the test of a high-thrust, solid-fuel engine in December and the display of a new solid-fuel ICBM during a military parade in February.
What does the latest test mean both operationally for North Korea’s nuclear capabilities and for U.S. policy toward North Korea? How much more of a threat does North Korea pose now than it did before developing this technology? And how should the United States respond? Here are the six things to consider about North Korea’s newest missile.
1. Solid-fuel ICBMs are harder to detect and preempt.
Most of North Korea’s ballistic missiles use liquid fuel and require hours of fueling at the launch site prior to use. This was the technology used by the previous missiles North Korea tested, including the Hwasong-14, -15 and -17. Slow fueling processes make it easier for the United States and its allies to detect the launch and conceivably—if they are convinced North Korea is about to launch an attack—to preempt it, defend against it, or if necessary, retaliate. The new, solid-fuel Hwasong-18 does not require fueling prior to launch, which means it can be hidden more readily and employed much faster, dramatically reducing the time to detect a launch and respond during a crisis. A liquid-fueled ICBM needs to be employed within a short period after fueling, whereas the solid-fuel model is much more “shelf-stable” (to borrow a term from the grocery store). It can sit in storage or a hidden silo, fully ready to go, for extended periods of time. If solid-fuel missiles are deployed, North Korea will gain a potent new weapon with which to threaten the United States, South Korea and Japan—which it views as its three principal enemies.
2. The full capabilities of the North’s ICBMs remain unclear.
North Korea has test-fired many ballistic missiles of varying ranges, and clearly has the capacity to strike the continental United States. However, it’s not clear if it has mastered the steps necessary to top a rocket with a warhead that can withstand the harsh conditions of atmospheric reentry and accurately strike targets. The Hwasong-18 is a three-stage missile and the North has successfully tested the first two stages (boost phase and midcourse phase) in the waters off its east coast, but it has not yet tested the missile’s terminal phase. Thus, the North could still face difficulties in ensuring that the missile does not break apart prior to impact.
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3. North Korea’s solid-fuel technology increases U.S. vulnerability to nuclear attack.
While the latest technical milestone of the solid-fuel ICBM may not be a game-changer, the test marks an important advance in North Korea’s goal to build a nuclear arsenal that could directly threaten the United States. What the testing of a solid-fuel technology further shows is that, over time, the country’s missiles have increased not just in quantity but also in sophistication and range. They now pose a credible threat to the continental United States despite the U.S. deployment of limited missile defense systems. A strike carried out with a relatively small number of solid-fuel ICBMs could overwhelm the U.S. Ground-based Midcourse Defense system, which has up to 64 missile interceptors capable of countering North Korean ICBMs deployed in Alaska and California. With the assumption that about four interceptors are required for a high probability of defending against each incoming missile, some 17 North Korean ICBMs could theoretically overwhelm the ground-based interceptors.
4. The solid-fuel ICBM is part of a growing North Korean threat amid an increasingly tense environment.
This test is in accordance with the five-year plan set forth in January 2021 at the Eighth Party Congress, where Pyongyang announced that it would develop not only solid-fuel ICBMs that could be launched from both land and sea but also tactical nuclear weapons, hypersonic missiles, nuclear-powered submarines, and spy satellites. North Korea has already tested an ICBM designed to carry multiple warheads; a solid-fuel rocket engine; tactical, nuclear-capable rockets; a sea-launched, nuclear-capable missile; and now a solid-fuel ICBM. After testing nearly 100 missiles in 2022—a record-breaking number—the North has fired around 30 missiles so far this year. Its next milestones are to develop reliable reentry vehicles and, after that, multiple reentry vehicles so that a single ICBM can carry multiple warheads (a technology that the United States mastered decades ago).
With large-scale U.S.-South Korea military exercises having recently concluded, regular U.S.-South Korean-Japanese exercises having just been announced, and a U.S.-South Korean summit just around the corner on April 26, the timing is ripe for a North Korean provocation designed to remind the world that it is a dangerous and disruptive force. Meanwhile, U.S.-North Korea relations are at a stalemate with little hope of any diplomatic breakthroughs. Following the failure of his high-level summits with then-President Trump, Kim Jong Un has ignored the Biden administration’s invitations to talk.
There appear to be few impediments preventing Pyongyang from proceeding down the path it as chosen. The United States and its allies can do little to stop North Korea’s missile testing campaign. Intensified U.S.-China competition and the war in Ukraine have only made the world increasingly more polarized, and North Korea is benefitting from closer cooperation with China and Russia. Both Moscow and Beijing are now unwilling to work with Washington to enforce sanctions on North Korea.
5. North Korea’s long-term goal is to undermine the U.S.-South Korea alliance.
Kim Jong Un, who reportedly oversaw the Hwasong-18 test alongside his wife and young daughter, said the test was meant to “make the enemies suffer from fear and extreme anxiety” and that the Hwasong-18 will “greatly reinforce the components of our strategic deterrent, rapidly increase the utility of the nuclear counterattack posture and innovate the practicality of the offensive military strategy.”
Over the long-term, however, North Korea’s main strategic goals remains undermining the U.S.-South Korea alliance. The Kim regime’s threats to launch a preemptive attack on Seoul in the past year suggests that it envisions a wider role for the its nuclear and missile arsenal beyond deterrence and self-defense. Using nuclear threats as a way to split the United States from South Korea is likely what Kim has in mind. He may calculate that, in the future, the United States will not be willing to “trade Seattle for Seoul” and will eventually withdraw its forces from South Korea, leaving the South vulnerable to his nuclear blackmail. In other words, by threatening the United States, Kim may be able to make it fold in its nuclear umbrella, leaving South Korea exposed.
6. The United States needs to boost its missile-defense and deterrence capabilities in response to the North Korean threat.
The first U.S. response to the growing North Korean threat should be a recommitment to missile defense. No one system offers a full-proof defense, so the United States needs to invest in both theater and homeland missile defense, employing systems that are both sea-based and land-based. It’s important to integrate the missile defense systems of the United States, South Korea, and Japan so that sensors can more reliably and quickly detect North Korean missile launches.
At the same time, the United States needs to bolster its extended deterrence capabilities to reassure South Korea and deter North Korea from employing its nuclear arsenal. This doesn’t require stationing U.S. tactical nuclear weapons in South Korea, as some South Koreans desire. (American nuclear weapons were withdrawn in 1991.) Tactical nuclear weapons on South Korean soil would be too vulnerable to a preemptive North Korea strike and their presence could prove destabilizing. Having South Korea develop and field its own nuclear weapons—a move supported by at least 70 percent of South Koreans in recent polls—could prove even more dangerous and destabilizing at this time.
Instead, the United States could enhance its deterrence by continually deploying either U.S. nuclear-capable submarines or aircraft around the Korean Peninsula. The Biden administration could also adopt a policy of “strategic ambiguity” to enhance deterrence by leaving the North Koreans guessing about which U.S. weapons systems are nuclear-armed. The Pentagon should also strengthen nuclear consultations with the South Korean military so that Korean leaders are confident that the U.S. nuclear umbrella will continue to protect them in a crisis.
North Korea’s test of a solid-fueled ICBM is just the latest in a nearly two-decade procession of technological advancements that together amount to a slow-motion nuclear crisis. It’s too late to prevent the North Koreans from developing a serious nuclear and missile program—they clearly already have it, and they have no inclination to give it up. The United States and its allies need to get ahead of the curve to prevent the situation from further deteriorating by strengthening their missile defenses and their deterrence of North Korea.
thebulwark.com · by Sue Mi Terry · April 17, 2023
5. U.S. Reaper to be deployed in Korean Peninsula
U.S. Reaper to be deployed in Korean Peninsula
donga.com
Posted April. 18, 2023 08:01,
Updated April. 18, 2023 08:01
U.S. Reaper to be deployed in Korean Peninsula. April. 18, 2023 08:01. by Kyu-Jin Shin newjin@donga.com.
With South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s state visit to the U.S. around the corner in late April, South Korea and the U.S. are reportedly pushing for the deployment of Reaper (MQ-9), an unmanned aerial vehicle known as “the assassin in the sky,” to the Korean Peninsula. Some analyze that the plan is related to efforts by South Korea and the U.S. to strengthen their joint planning and execution for the deployment of the U.S. strategic assets to the Korean Peninsula in order to provide extended deterrence against North Korea. “There has been an in-depth discussion between the two nations to deploy a wider range of U.S. strategic assets to the Korean Peninsula more often than before,” a senior government official said.
According to the reports by The Dong-A Ilbo on Monday, South Korea and the U.S. are pushing to have Reapers and other unmanned attack aircraft stationed in a Self-Defense Forces base in Kagoshima Prefecture of Kyushu, Japan, participate in the joint squadron military exercises, which are scheduled to run from Apr 17 to 28. The Reaper, which was deployed to Japan in October last year, was first deployed to the Korean Peninsula on March 3, where it conducted joint drills with B-1B strategic bombers.
한국어
donga.com
6. Yoon says S. Korea-U.S. alliance can recover from conflict of interest, trouble
Excerpts:
"South Korea and the United States are a resilient value-based alliance that can fully readjust even when their interests are in conflict or when there is trouble," Yoon was quoted as saying.
When asked whether the president was referring to the recent controversy over allegations the U.S. eavesdropped on South Korea's presidential office, a presidential official evaded a direct answer.
"Brothers can fight for various reasons, but just because they argue, isn't it so that they are not considered no longer brothers or no longer family?" the official said.
"In an alliance, not all interests can be the same ... but if they can overcome differences of opinion through dialogue and negotiation, based on trust, it can be resolved within that framework, and the South Korea-U.S. alliance is precisely such an alliance," the official added.
Yoon says S. Korea-U.S. alliance can recover from conflict of interest, trouble | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 이해아 · April 18, 2023
By Lee Haye-ah
SEOUL, April 18 (Yonhap) -- President Yoon Suk Yeol said Tuesday the South Korea-U.S. alliance is strong enough to bounce back from any conflict of interest or trouble, according to his spokesperson.
Yoon made the remark during a Cabinet meeting held days before he travels to Washington for a state visit and a summit with U.S. President Joe Biden on April 26.
"The president said the South Korea-U.S. alliance is not a relationship that meets and parts according to one's interests, but an alliance rooted in the universal values of a liberal democracy and market economy," presidential spokesperson Lee Do-woon said during a press briefing.
In this file photo, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol (L) and U.S. President Joe Biden pose for a photo during their summit at a hotel in Phnom Penh on Nov. 13, 2022. Yoon and Biden warned the two countries will respond with "overwhelming force using all available means" should North Korea use nuclear weapons. (Yonhap)
"South Korea and the United States are a resilient value-based alliance that can fully readjust even when their interests are in conflict or when there is trouble," Yoon was quoted as saying.
When asked whether the president was referring to the recent controversy over allegations the U.S. eavesdropped on South Korea's presidential office, a presidential official evaded a direct answer.
"Brothers can fight for various reasons, but just because they argue, isn't it so that they are not considered no longer brothers or no longer family?" the official said.
"In an alliance, not all interests can be the same ... but if they can overcome differences of opinion through dialogue and negotiation, based on trust, it can be resolved within that framework, and the South Korea-U.S. alliance is precisely such an alliance," the official added.
Yoon's visit to Washington comes as the countries mark 70 years since the establishment of their alliance.
During the trip, Yoon will confer the Order of Military Merit on three American veterans of the 1950-53 Korean War, according to a government official.
"Veterans issues will be one of the core keywords of this state visit," a presidential official said.
hague@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 이해아 · April 18, 2023
7. Hyundai, Kia vehicles excluded from IRA subsidy, shares sink
NIcely done Treasury. Well timed right before the State visit of the ROK President. (note sarcasm). But seriously, is this an issue that President Biden wants to have to address at the Summit?
Tuesday
April 18, 2023
dictionary + A - A
Hyundai, Kia vehicles excluded from IRA subsidy, shares sink
https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2023/04/18/business/industry/korea-hyundai-kia/20230418104109566.html
A Hyundai Motor employee works at its manufacturing plant in Montgomery, Alabama [HYUNDAI MOTOR]
Hyundai Motor and Kia shares are trading low Tuesday morning as none of their vehicles were included on a list of electric vehicles that will qualify for the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) incentives.
Hyundai is trading about 3 percent lower than its previous closing with Kia falling some 3.3 percent as of 10:30 a.m. Tuesday.
The U.S. Treasury Department on Monday released a list of 16 electric vehicles that will qualify for up to $7,500 in tax credits for vehicles assembled in the North American region, with all of them from U.S. brands.
Hyundai Motor's GV70, which was originally on the list, was excluded due to the recently-announced stricter battery rules.
Hyundai assembles the GV70 at its Alabama plant, but uses Chinese batteries.
Hyundai and Kia are currently building an electric vehicle plant in Georgia, but production won't start until 2025.
BY SARAH CHEA [chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr]
8. North Korean hacking group Lazarus behind cyber attack last year: Police
The all purpose sword (cyber) is proving to be more practical and useful than the treasured sword (nuclear). Perhaps cyber is more important than the treasured sword. Certainly the nuclear program cannot be sustained or advanced without the money cyber operations generate for the regime.
Excerpt:
The U.S. Treasury Department suspects the Lazarus Group has stolen at least $455 million last year through cyber attacks.
Tuesday
April 18, 2023
dictionary + A - A
North Korean hacking group Lazarus behind cyber attack last year: Police
https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2023/04/18/national/northKorea/korea-north-korea-hacking/20230418165722642.html
A member of the National Police Agency announces its recent findings on a cyberattack by North Korea that targeted as many as 10 million users last year, at the police precinct in Seodaemun District, western Seoul, on Tuesday. [YONHAP]
Major North Korean hacking group Lazarus was behind a cyberattack last year that targeted as many as 10 million users of a banking security app, the police announced Tuesday.
The National Police Agency confirmed that the Lazarus Group, a North Korean state-sponsored hacking organization, was behind the cyberattacks on the computers used by 61 organizations in Korea including public institutions and defense industry organizations last November.
They launched what experts call a watering hole attack, which targets a specific group of users by infecting websites that they are likely to visit.
The group was found to have hacked into Initec, a major local financial security provider, in April 2021 and tampered with one of its software products.
If a user who downloaded this banking security application onto their computer visited infected websites, which included those of some media companies, their computers would immediately be implanted with a malware, according to the police.
As many as 10 million computers across 61 organizations were estimated to have downloaded the financial security software.
Authorities said that the group, after infecting computers and seizing control over them, would have tried to expand the cyberattack using the computers’ networks.
Damage was minimal. however, because the attack was detected in its early stages, said police. The group was able to infect 207 computers.
The U.S. Treasury Department suspects the Lazarus Group has stolen at least $455 million last year through cyber attacks.
BY ESTHER CHUNG [chung.juhee@joongang.co.kr]
9. Korean presidential office revising war contingency guideline to deal with evolving threat from North
Tuesday
April 18, 2023
dictionary + A - A
Korean presidential office revising war contingency guideline to deal with evolving threat from North
https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2023/04/18/national/defense/war-guideline-contingency-guideline-north-korean-threat/20230418095328479.html
Presidential Office in Yongsan, central Seoul [JOINT PRESS CORPS]
The South Korean presidential office has begun revising the country's war contingency guideline to better deal with the evolving threat posed by North Korea's nuclear and missile programs, according to informed sources Monday.
The presidential National Security Office and the Defense Ministry have started revising the "national war guidance guideline," a subdocument of the Yoon Suk Yeol administration's national security strategy, a government source, who requested anonymity, told Yonhap News Agency over the phone.
A separate presidential office official also told Yonhap the government "plans to publish the new guideline that reflects the national security strategy of the current administration."
The official said national security strategies have been published at the start of each new government since the Roh Moo-hyun administration from 2004.
Yonhap
10. G7 demands N. Korea 'refrain' from nuclear tests, missile launches
It does seem that international support for security on the Korean peninsula is becoming more visible.
G7 demands N. Korea 'refrain' from nuclear tests, missile launches
The Korea Times · April 18, 2023
Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi speaks during the Presidency Press Conference at the G7 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Karuizawa, Japan, April 18. Reuters-Yonhap
G7 foreign ministers on Tuesday demanded North Korea "refrain" from further nuclear tests and ballistic missile launches, warning of a "robust" response after talks in Japan.
Their warning came days after Pyongyang said it had successfully tested a solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile, hailing it as a breakthrough for the country's nuclear counterattack capabilities.
Last week's launch was the latest in a string of banned weapons tests conducted by North Korea, which has already fired several of its most powerful ICBMs this year.
"We demand North Korea refrain from any other destabilizing or provocative actions, including any further nuclear tests or launches that use ballistic missile technology," the top diplomats said in a statement.
"Such actions must be met with a swift, united, and robust international response, including further significant measures to be taken by the UN Security Council (UNSC)."
Testing a more technologically advanced solid-fuel missile was one of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's goals in his military modernization campaign, announced in his New Year report.
Such missiles are easier to store and transport, more stable and quicker to prepare for launch, and thus harder to detect and destroy pre-emptively.
Clockwise from left, British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Japan's Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani and Deputy Secretary-General of the European External Action Service (EEAS) Enrique Mora pose for photographs at the start of the fifth working session of a G7 Foreign Ministers' Meeting at the Prince Karuizawa hotel in Karuizawa, Japan, April 18. AP-Yonhap
"We strongly condemn North Korea's unprecedented number of unlawful ballistic missile launches, including the April 13 launch of what North Korea claimed as a solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile," the G7 ministers said.
"Each of these launches violated multiple United Nations Security Council Resolutions," they added.
"North Korea's actions, together with increasingly escalatory and destabilizing rhetoric regarding the use of nuclear weapons, undermine regional stability and pose a grave threat to international peace and security."
At a military parade in Pyongyang in February, North Korea showed off a record number of nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missiles, including what analysts said was possibly a new solid-fuel ICBM. (AFP)
The Korea Times · April 18, 2023
11. Korea says it will work to ‘protect’ Ukraine, mum on delivery of shells to Germany
Please South Korea, become a full partner in the arsenal of democracy.
Tuesday
April 18, 2023
dictionary + A - A
Korea says it will work to ‘protect’ Ukraine, mum on delivery of shells to Germany
https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2023/04/18/national/defense/Korea-Defense-Ministry-ammunition/20230418154501548.html
Poland's military take part in drills with NATO soldiers in the Vistula Spit, Poland on Monday amid the Ukrainian crisis. [REUTERS/YONHAP]
The Ministry of National Defense neither confirmed nor denied Tuesday a Korean news report that Korea has been transporting hundreds of thousands of 155-millimeter shells to Germany.
However, it also stressed that it has been discussing ways "to protect Ukraine's freedom" with the United States.
"I can't specifically confirm the contents of the report, and it is in fact not an issue for me to confirm," said Jeon Ha-kyu, a Defense Ministry spokesman, when asked about the report in a press briefing Tuesday.
"However, the Korean and U.S. governments have been discussing support plans to protect Ukraine's freedom, and our government has also been actively pushing for things like military supplies."
Public broadcaster MBC reported Monday evening that Korea has been sending hundreds of thousands of 155-millimeter shells to Germany for quite some time.
The report, based on estimates taken from testimonies from truck drivers, said that at least 300,000 shells were shipped overseas.
This comes despite the Korean government's official position that it will not provide lethal weapons to Ukraine, though it is open to humanitarian aid.
The issue became a hot topic recently after leaked classified Pentagon documents indicated that U.S. intelligence authorities may have been spying on its allies, including on Korea's deliberations on supplying ammunition to Ukraine in its war with Russia.
One purported top secret U.S. intelligence document showed that Korean presidential aides had been "mired in concerns" that the United States would divert artillery shells purchased from Korea to Ukraine.
These senior aides had been allegedly worried that the United States would pressure Korea to change its existing policy against providing lethal aid to countries at war. They were also mulling sending ammunition to Poland for possible transfer to Ukraine.
The highly sensitive Pentagon documents that were leaked on social media — which led to the arrest last week of Jack Teixeira, a 21-year-old U.S. Air National Guardsman — led to worries in Korea that the United States has been wiretapping the Yongsan presidential office.
The Korean government has downplayed the concerns, cliaming many leaked documents as being "fabricated" without confirming which ones.
The United States has a "very good relationship" with Korea, a Pentagon spokesperson said Monday after recent allegations of possible wiretapping of Korea's presidential office by U.S. intelligence authorities.
When asked if the United States intended to apologize to Korea over the wiretapping, if true, Sabrina Singh, principal deputy spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Defense, said "this is an ongoing review," noting that the matter has been referred to the Department of Justice "as it is criminal in nature."
But she noted that U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and other U.S. officials have stressed that their "commitment is rock solid and we have a positive relationship with South Korea."
Referring to a conversation last week between Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup and Austin, who agreed that many of the Pentagon leaks had been fabricated, Singh said that U.S. authorities are still "doing a review of the documents" and are "assessing and reviewing to see if any documents were further manipulated."
She also said she was not able to confirm the "intentions of the individual" when asked if there had been any attempt to damage U.S. and Korean relations by leaking the document.
Regarding his upcoming state visit to the United States, President Yoon Suk Yeol stressed in a Cabinet meeting Tuesday that the Korea-U.S. alliance "is not a relationship swayed by interests, but one based on the universal values of a liberal democracy and market economy,” according to Lee Do-woon, the presidential spokesman, in a briefing.
Lee quoted Yoon as saying, “Korea and the United States are a resilient value-based alliance that can fully adjust even if there is a conflict of interest or a problem arises,” apparently referring to the recent U.S. wiretapping controversy.
BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]
12. US military discloses photos of 'attack' drills with S. Korea amid NK threats
The image of INDOPACOM's tweet is at the link: https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2023/04/103_349294.html
I wonder if these efforts are synchronized with the ROK/US Combined Forces Command.
US military discloses photos of 'attack' drills with S. Korea amid NK threats
The Korea Times · April 18, 2023
This file image, captured from the Twitter account of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, shows photos of South Korean and U.S. Marines engaging in combined drills at Rodriguez Live Fire Complex in Pocheon, 52 kilometers northeast of Seoul, April 5. YonhapThe U.S. military has revealed it conducted "combined attack" drills with the Korean military earlier this month, in the allies' latest Marine training to bolster deterrence against growing North Korean threats.
In a tweet Monday, the Indo-Pacific Command disclosed a series of photos showing allied troops engaging in the drills at Rodriguez Live Fire Complex in Pocheon, 52 kilometers northeast of Seoul, on April 5.
The drills, part of the Korea Marine Exercise Program (KMEP), came as the allies are stepping up security coordination amid tensions heightened by the North's continued weapons tests, such as that of a purported solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile last Thursday.
One of the photos showed a U.S. Marine firing an M240B machine gun, while another depicted a Korean soldier conducting radio communications at an outdoor training site.
The command said that the "ironclad" alliance between Korean and U.S. Marines built "lethality" with the combined attack drills.
From late last month through early this month, the allies' Marine forces carried out their first large-scale Ssangyong (double dragon) amphibious landing exercise in five years under a joint push to strengthen combined drills to enhance readiness.
The two countries' Marines engage in 15 to 25 KMEP exercises each year. (Yonhap)
The Korea Times · April 18, 2023
13. Korea-US alliance at 70: whither to go?
Two major points of friction for the alliance, but I had forgotten about the new name for the Korean War.
Excerpts:
On the morning of July 27, 2013, thousands of people gathered at the Mall near the Korean War Veterans Memorial. The ceremony lasted for more than two hours, culminating with the speech of then-President Barack Obama. In the speech, he called the Korean War the Forgotten Victory.
That new definition of the Korean War impressed me deeply and made me think. I knew for a fact that the Korean War had long been known in the U.S. as the Forgotten War. What does it mean that the President of the U.S. now calls it the Forgotten Victory? I thought that his intention was to applaud the developments that Korea had achieved as a nation over the intervening 60 years and the role that the Korea-U.S. alliance had played along the way. During the following more than four years when I worked in Washington as an ambassador, I shared the new definition and my interpretation of it with U.S. citizens.
The two alliance friction points:
Along with these issues calling for the adaptation of the alliance, the alliance is now faced with two clear and urgent challenges. One of them is the unbridled development of strategic and tactical nuclear weapons by North Korea and its repeated threat to use them preemptively against South Korea. There are increasing signs that the North's behavior is undermining South Korean citizens' confidence in the extended deterrence of the U.S.
Another challenge for the alliance is the modality through which the U.S. intends to implement U.S. laws legislated for reshoring critical industries back to the U.S. and foreclosing technological and industrial abuses by certain countries. Some of the modalities are undermining the critical interests of major industries in Korea and other allies of the U.S. I am confident that Presidents Yoon and Biden will address these two urgent challenges sufficiently as well when they meet in Washington.
Korea-US alliance at 70: whither to go?
The Korea Times · April 18, 2023
By Ahn Ho-young
This year marks the 70th anniversary of the ceasefire of the Korean War as well as the Mutual Defense Treaty between South Korea and the United States. Ten years ago, I used to be the Korean ambassador to the U.S., and worked with U.S. colleagues to organize the 60th anniversary of the ceasefire and the alliance.
On the morning of July 27, 2013, thousands of people gathered at the Mall near the Korean War Veterans Memorial. The ceremony lasted for more than two hours, culminating with the speech of then-President Barack Obama. In the speech, he called the Korean War the Forgotten Victory.
That new definition of the Korean War impressed me deeply and made me think. I knew for a fact that the Korean War had long been known in the U.S. as the Forgotten War. What does it mean that the President of the U.S. now calls it the Forgotten Victory? I thought that his intention was to applaud the developments that Korea had achieved as a nation over the intervening 60 years and the role that the Korea-U.S. alliance had played along the way. During the following more than four years when I worked in Washington as an ambassador, I shared the new definition and my interpretation of it with U.S. citizens.
Ten years passed since then. I think it has been a tumultuous and momentous 10 years in every sense. The year 2013 had not yet seen the Russian invasion of Crimea. Russia was attending the G7 summit as the eighth participant. Russia was engaged in various dialogues and cooperation with NATO. People still basked in the belief that the rules-based international order attracted former communist countries and offered the basis for globalization and the continued economic benefits, which accrue from it. After 10 years, the tenet of liberal democracy, underlying the rules-based international order, is being challenged in various corners of the world.
Even more alarming is what we observe in the U.S. and other countries where the values and institutions of liberal democracy were born and nurtured. We observe mounting challenges to democracy with the wide spread of social and racial bigotries and right-wing nationalism.
These geopolitical and political changes are taking place concurrently with dazzling developments in science and technology. Most remarkable for me are the developments being made in AI, machine learning and quantum computing. AI and machine learning are generative by nature, distinguished from any preceding breakthroughs in science and technology. When they are combined with developments in quantum computing, it can open vast areas of positive applications. At the same time, there are deeply worrying scenarios about the horrible danger humanity will face when the same breakthroughs are abused.
What do these changes over the past 10 years imply for the Korea―U.S. alliance? I have always thought that the strength of the alliance lies in its capacity to adapt itself to the changes in the environment.
As for the geopolitical challenges, Korea has already declared where it stands by announcing its participation in the U.S.' Indo-Pacific Strategy at the end of last year. Korea will work with the U.S. and other like-minded countries to defend and maintain the rules-based international order and its underlying values.
With respect to the dazzling developments in science and technology, I think it is in that area that the alliance must be meaningfully realized. It is because science and technology hold the key to tackling not only the economic and political difficulties we face in both of our countries, but also even for dealing with geopolitical challenges.
In fact, there are ample reasons to believe that both of our countries have a lot to gain from further strengthening cooperation in science and technology. For one, we share common values. For another, the U.S. excels by far in making truly meaningful breakthroughs in science and technology, while Korean industries have mastery over the application of those breakthroughs on the factory floor, something called process knowledge. That's one more reason why Presidents Yoon Suk Yeol and Joe Biden should focus intensely on science and technology when they meet later this month.
Along with these issues calling for the adaptation of the alliance, the alliance is now faced with two clear and urgent challenges. One of them is the unbridled development of strategic and tactical nuclear weapons by North Korea and its repeated threat to use them preemptively against South Korea. There are increasing signs that the North's behavior is undermining South Korean citizens' confidence in the extended deterrence of the U.S.
Another challenge for the alliance is the modality through which the U.S. intends to implement U.S. laws legislated for reshoring critical industries back to the U.S. and foreclosing technological and industrial abuses by certain countries. Some of the modalities are undermining the critical interests of major industries in Korea and other allies of the U.S. I am confident that Presidents Yoon and Biden will address these two urgent challenges sufficiently as well when they meet in Washington.
Ahn Ho-young (hyahn78@mofa.or.kr) is chair professor of North Korean studies, Kyungnam University. He also served as Korean ambassador to the U.S. and vice foreign minister.
The Korea Times · April 18, 2023
14. How North Korea’s Hackers Bankroll Its Quest for the Bomb
As I said, the regime's all purpose sword is almost equal to the treasured sword . And in today;sword the regime's treasured sword cannot exist with cyber.
How North Korea’s Hackers Bankroll Its Quest for the Bomb
Cybercrime is a windfall for Kim Jong Un’s nuclear ambitions.
By Robbie Gramer and Rishi Iyengar
FP subscribers can now receive alerts when new stories written by this author are published
Foreign Policy · by Robbie Gramer, Rishi Iyengar · April 17, 2023
For at least five years, a shadowy group of hackers has been waging a quiet campaign to harvest sensitive data from government agencies, academics, and think tanks in the United States and South Korea, all while stealing and laundering cryptocurrency on the side. That group, dubbed APT43, was outed as a likely proxy for North Korean intelligence services late last month by cybersecurity firm Mandiant, a revelation that unnerved, but didn’t surprise, policymakers in Washington and allied capitals in Asia.
For at least five years, a shadowy group of hackers has been waging a quiet campaign to harvest sensitive data from government agencies, academics, and think tanks in the United States and South Korea, all while stealing and laundering cryptocurrency on the side. That group, dubbed APT43, was outed as a likely proxy for North Korean intelligence services late last month by cybersecurity firm Mandiant, a revelation that unnerved, but didn’t surprise, policymakers in Washington and allied capitals in Asia.
APT43 and other groups like it represent the new face of North Korea in the digital age. It is at once a closed-off communist autocracy that is cash-strapped, impoverished, and more isolated than ever before, while also being tech savvy, entrepreneurial, and ruthlessly adept at trawling the web to loot, steal, and—most importantly of all—find ways to advance its nuclear weapons program.
In short, Pyongyang has deployed an army of hackers to bankroll its quest for the bomb.
“North Korea’s illicit cyberactivities are really gaining traction,” said Ellen Kim, an expert on Korea at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank. “They used to use their cyber-capabilities to attack South Korean government departments, but now they’ve really shifted their focus to international banks and infrastructure in other countries.”
The trend represents an alarming new threat for Washington and its allies in Asia as North Korea stubbornly expands its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs, even as its economy teeters on the brink of collapse after three years of a draconian, self-imposed lockdown to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“While North Korea is often viewed by many in the West as economically backward and a so-called Hermit Kingdom, its capabilities to do real harm to governments, enterprises, and even individuals through its activities in cyberspace should not be underestimated,” said Jon Condra, an expert at the cybersecurity firm Recorded Future.
The nexus of North Korea’s cybercrimes and its nuclear program add a new and dangerous layer of complexity to the Biden administration’s efforts to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula—an initiative that has sputtered and stalled for years due to North Korea’s refusal to pick up the phone. Pyongyang announced on Friday that it tested a solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile for the first time, another critical breakthrough in its quest to build a nuclear arsenal that could potentially target the continental United States. The announcement is expected to ramp up pressure on Western governments to find new ways to cut off North Korea’s illicit sources of revenue abroad, including through cybercrime, in a bid to stymie its weapons programs as much as possible.
This new trend of Pyongyang blending its cybercrime and nuclear aims poses a major headache for Washington’s national security apparatus, where nuclear policy, sanctions enforcement, and cybersecurity policies are run by different agencies with vastly different expertise that don’t naturally operate in tandem. The U.S. government has worked to thwart North Korea’s access to cryptocurrency, sanctioning cryptocurrency “mixer” firms that obscure the owners of crypto assets and directly sanctioning North Korean state-sponsored hacking groups.
Cryptocurrencies have proved to be powerful tools for evading sanctions, as transactions are exchanged through encrypted transfers and aren’t processed by commercial banks. They are also much more vulnerable to cyberattacks than traditional banking infrastructure, making cryptocurrency reserves a ripe target of opportunity for North Korean hackers.
“Coupled with the unregulated and vulnerable nature of decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols and organizations, the cryptocurrency sector is a high-value target,” Saher Naumaan, an analyst at BAE Systems Digital Intelligence who researches state-sponsored cyberoperations, wrote in a recent blog post for the Council on Foreign Relations.
Cybercrime has proved to be a windfall, at least by North Korean standards, for the regime. A U.N. report by independent sanctions monitors estimated that hackers linked to the regime stole between $630 million and over $1 billion in cryptocurrencies in 2022, amounting to record-setting figures and a comparatively large haul for a country with an estimated GDP of just $28 billion in 2016. Blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis, in a separate report, put the number even higher at $1.7 billion. And as sanctions enforcement dries up many traditional forms of generating revenue—including arms sales and limited commodity exports—Pyongyang is increasingly relying on cybercrime to fill its coffers.
North Korea is considered the most isolated country in the world, making it difficult to estimate both how much it spends (or even has to spend) on propping up its cybercriminals and just how it spends the funds that its army of hackers manages to steal. What little information that Western governments had been able to glean from North Korea has been effectively cut off for the past three years, due to a self-imposed pandemic lockdown that has blocked all Western diplomats from reentering the country and reopening their embassies there. (The United States doesn’t have an embassy in Pyongyang, but some of its European allies, including the United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden, and the Czech Republic, do.)
Still, the regime’s broad ambition to gain a credible nuclear program has been clear for years, allowing experts and Western governments to piece together the big picture of where Pyongyang’s ill-gotten gains are going.
“It is hard to say exactly where stolen funds from the compromises of cryptocurrency exchanges or banks end up being invested in North Korea, but it is a reasonable assumption that a good portion is allocated to the government’s various military initiatives, including its nuclear program,” Condra said. That program is “notoriously expensive, and given Pyongyang’s lack of economic heft and access to global markets due to sanctions, it is likely that the nuclear program is a major beneficiary of the regime’s cybercriminal activities.”
The case of APT43 sheds new light on how North Korea has deployed its army of cybercriminals to advance its national security goals and not just rake in money for the cash-strapped government. The group’s “focus on foreign policy and nuclear security issues supports North Korea’s strategic and nuclear ambitions,” according to the report from Mandiant. (The APT43 group also in 2021 focused on gathering health-related intelligence, likely in response to what is suspected to be a deadly wave of COVID infections across North Korea, showing its ability to quickly pivot to new priorities for Pyongyang.)
The group targeted government agencies and research institutes in South Korea, the United States, Japan, and Europe focused on geopolitical and nuclear policies, all while maintaining a mercenary bent of stealing money when and where it could.
“We consider cyber espionage to be the primary mission for APT43 and available data indicates that the group’s other activities are carried out to support collecting strategic intelligence,” Mandiant researchers wrote in their report. “The actors regularly update lure content and tailor it to the specific target audience, particularly around nuclear security and non-proliferation,” the report added, and all while “carrying out financially-motivated cybercrime as needed to support the regime.”
Earlier this month, the top U.S., Japanese, and South Korean envoys overseeing North Korea policy met in Seoul to discuss the growing threat from North Korea’s nuclear program. They issued a joint statement saying they were “deeply concerned” about how North Korea supports its weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs “by stealing and laundering funds as well as gathering information through malicious cyber activities.”
The flurry of diplomatic meetings and sanctions, however, is unlikely to curb North Korea’s cybercrime anytime soon. “North Korean threat actors are increasingly clever in their approaches to operations, and if tasked to pursue a particular set of targets, they are likely to have some success just based on their persistence and resourcing,” Condra said.
Foreign Policy · by Robbie Gramer, Rishi Iyengar · April 17, 2023
15. Hyesan mobilizes some 8,000 students to celebrate Kim Il Sung’s birthday
Even parades are too difficult for some people, especially with lack of nourishment.
Hyesan mobilizes some 8,000 students to celebrate Kim Il Sung’s birthday
Six students collapsed during training due to hunger, while two students were hospitalized after losing consciousness, a reporting partner told Daily NK
By Lee Chae Un - 2023.04.18 1:09pm
dailynk.com
An image of now deceased President Kim Il Sung created by thousands of participants in the Arirang Mass Games. (David Stanley, Flickr, Creative Commons)
Hyesan authorities mobilized around 8,000 students for a large-scale event to celebrate Kim Il Sung’s birthday on Apr. 15. The event was by far the largest held in Hyesan since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a reporting partner in Yanggang Province told Daily NK on Apr. 14 that preparations had recently been underway in Hyesan for nationwide Korean Children’s Union rallies to mark the late founder’s birthday.
About 8,000 students from elementary schools and other schools in Hyesan were mobilized for the Apr. 15 event. From late March to Apr. 10, they rehearsed for the event for five hours a day from 2 PM to 5 PM after completing their morning classes.
Students stopped attending classes all together from Apr. 11 to take part in dress rehearsals conducted from 8 AM to 6 PM. This is to say, they repeatedly rehearsed the event from start to finish to ensure that the Day of the Sun event went off without a hitch.
The event included not only a Korean Children’s Union admissions ceremony and an awards ceremony, but also a variety of other programs, including parades and song and dance performances to show off the students’ talents. Organizers reinforced the meaning of the Day of the Sun and elevated the holiday atmosphere by seating students in the background of the event, where they held placards with mottos pertaining to the holiday.
The event preparations were due to an order from the North Korean authorities to “hold this year’s Day of Sun events at a scale as grand as before COVID-19.”
Hyesan authorities responded to the order by mobilizing students who have been unable to attend class due to financial difficulties or health reasons.
The reporting partner said many families in Hyesan cannot send their children to school due to hardship, but with teachers visiting everyday demanding that their children must participate in the event, many parents had no choice but to have their children take part.
Students mobilized to participate in the event suffered a variety of problems during their marathon rehearsals, the reporting partner said.
For example, one student was ostricized by students and teachers because she could not keep pace during parade drills on Apr. 13 due to feet blisters that developed over several days of training. Because students have to repeat drills without rest if even one student cannot keep up, most simply endure the pain.
On Apr. 11, six students collapsed during training due to hunger, while two students in the background seats were hospitalized after losing consciousness, the reporting partner said.
“Many parents were heartbroken seeing their children collapse during training due to malnutrition and to see their kids cry at night because their feet hurt. Parents complained that they don’t know if it was necessary to mobilize children for the event. Some people felt that if this is the way the holiday is going to be, it would be best not to even celebrate it.”
Translated by David Black. Edited by Robert Lauler.
Daily NK works with a network of reporting partners who live inside North Korea and China. Their identities remain anonymous due to security concerns. More information about Daily NK’s reporting partner network and information gathering activities can be found on our FAQ page here.
Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
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16.
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
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