Quotes of the Day:

"To know what life is worth, you have to risk it once in a while." 

- Jean-Paul Sartre

"The television, that insidious beast, that Medusa which freezes a billion people to stone every night, staring fixedly, that Siren which called and sang and promised so much and gave, after all, so little."

- Ray Bradbury

"A player who makes a team great is better than a great player." 

- John Wooden

​1. S. Korea-U.S. alliance made 'miracle' of Korea possible: U.S. general

2. NK students take top spots in hacking contest by US firm

3. South Korea’s high court rules on case of soldier slapped repeatedly for failure to salute

4. South Korea's US-China predicament

5. Senior U.S. officials visit Korean Empire’s legation in Washington

6. South Korea ill-prepared for election cybersecurity

7. S. Korea's industry chief, U.S.' TerraPower CEO discuss small nuclear reactors

8. FM to attend annual ASEAN-hosted meetings in Jakarta next week

9. S. Korea says Fukushima water release to meet int'l standards if carried out as planned

10. Living near North Korean nuclear test site caused health problems, escapees say

​11. ​S. Korea publishes hard copies of English report on N. Korea's human rights

12. S. Korea to seek more foreign workers amid population crisis

13.  South Korea wants to be a top A.I. hub — its memory chip dominance could be an advantage

14. China's top-ranking diplomat told Japan and South Korea their people can dye their hair blonde and make their noses sharper but that they'll 'never become Westerners,'

15. How the rebellion in Russia could inspire an overthrow in North Korea

16. Gangnam style vs. squalor: Inequality in South Korea’s most famous area

17. How Do ‘Barbie’ and Blackpink Figure in a Dangerous Territorial Dispute?

1. S. Korea-U.S. alliance made 'miracle' of Korea possible: U.S. general

I think I will borrow this statement from LTG Burleson, with compliments to him (and his speechwriter). It is powerful to me.

Excerpts:

"Over 37,000 Americans died and 7,000 Americans still missing. Their blood, their bones and their sweat are part of the Korean soil, whether it's north or south," he said.

"That degree of commitment, I think, shows the strength of our ROK-U.S. alliance," the commander said, adding that the commitment to the alliance is "ironclad."

S. Korea-U.S. alliance made 'miracle' of Korea possible: U.S. general | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Seung-yeon · July 7, 2023

By Kim Seung-yeon

SEOUL, July 7 (Yonhap) -- The security alliance between South Korea and the United States built upon the sacrifices of fallen soldiers from the 1950-53 Korean War and the unwavering international commitment to peace is what helped create the "miracle" of Korea, a top U.S military officer in South Korea said Friday.

Lt. Gen. Willard M. Burleson, the commander of the Eighth U.S. Army, made the remarks at a luncheon event marking the 70th anniversary of the two countries' alliance, stressing that maintaining military readiness is vital to the stability of the region.

"Seventy-three years ago this week ... the United States sent a small number of American soldiers over here because North Korea invaded ... and the American and South Korean forces had to withdraw because they were not prepared," Burleson said during the event hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea.

"The United Nations' sending states began to send forces, equipment and material, and the tide was turned. Those American forces that came in 1950 and never left ... the organizations remained and provided that umbrella of security, which I think has allowed the Republic of Korea to create this miracle," he said, referring to South Korea by its official name.

South Korea has become one of the world's largest economies after rising from the ashes of the war.

Lt. Gen. Willard M. Burleson, the commander of the Eighth U.S. Army, delivers a speech during a luncheon event marking the 70th anniversary of the South Korea-U.S. alliance, hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea, in Seoul, on July 7, 2023. (Yonhap)

Burleson emphasized that people must remember that such a "blanket of security" was not given for free.

"Over 37,000 Americans died and 7,000 Americans still missing. Their blood, their bones and their sweat are part of the Korean soil, whether it's north or south," he said.

"That degree of commitment, I think, shows the strength of our ROK-U.S. alliance," the commander said, adding that the commitment to the alliance is "ironclad."

Burleson also highlighted the importance of military training as an "effective deterrence," calling for more public support for the military drills that take place in Korea.

"Your support and understanding, in order to have a strong military, is a determinant here," he said. "If we're not able to train, we're not able to contain the readiness. And our readiness as a deterrence is the backbone of our alliance," Burleson said.

elly@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Seung-yeon · July 7, 2023

2. NK students take top spots in hacking contest by US firm

​

​It has taken a while for this to make other media outlets. It was reported by NK News about a week or so ago.​ On some of the social media posts about this news I saw questions about whether this is a sanctions violation by the software company HackerEarth.

Think about how strong the Korean IT industry will be when there is a free and unified Korea and Korean IT operates within the rule of law, in the international rules based order (and it can turn all those hackers from the north into cyber defense experts)

NK students take top spots in hacking contest by US firm

koreaherald.com · by Kim So-hyun · July 7, 2023

North Korean university students swept top places at a hacking contest run by US-based software company HackerEarth in May, US broadcaster Radio Free Asia said on Thursday.

Students of the Kim Chaek University of Technology won first, third and fourth places with perfect scores in a coding marathon for developers called May Circuits 2023 in which some 1,700 people participated.

A student of the Kim Il Sung University won second place. Another Kim Chaek student finished 10th.

The HackerEarth website shows that the five North Korean students have been taking part in the Indian-owned company’s challenges since as early as 2016.

In the June Circuits, the Kim Il Sung University student won second place, and the Kim Chaek students came fifth, sixth and ninth.

Kim Chaek University of Technology said on its website that its students were making efforts to see greater progress in the programming competition next time, according to RFA. Access to North Korean websites is blocked in South Korea.

North Korea recruits and trains its hackers through Kim Il Sung University and Kim Chaek University of Technology where students learn computer science, and some of the best are recruited into the regime’s global hacking efforts, RFA said, citing IT experts such as Annie Fixler at the nonprofit think tank Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

The report also quoted Park Sung-soo, a researcher at Russian multinational cybersecurity and anti-virus provider Kaspersky, as saying that the performance of Korean language-based hacking groups has significantly improved recently.

The Wall Street Journal reported last month that North Korean hackers have stolen more than $3 billion over the past five years, with the US government saying a big share of that is being funneled into the country’s nuclear missile program.

According to US cybersecurity firm Recorded Future, an analysis of 273 cyberattacks linked to North Korean state-sponsored hacking groups over a 14-year period showed that information collection was the primary motivation for more than 70 percent of them.

By Kim So-hyun (sophie@heraldcorp.com)

koreaherald.com · by Kim So-hyun · July 7, 2023

3. South Korea’s high court rules on case of soldier slapped repeatedly for failure to salute

This is an unusual case to me for a number of reasons (to include the legal defense). I have never witnessed a senior officer and this kind of behavior on a US base. But I recall "challenges" with KATUSAs . When I was a company commander I awoke at about 0200 because outside my hooch (quonset hut) the senior KATUSAs were hazing the newly arrived KATUSAs. My senior KATUSA pushed back arguing that KATUSAs were in the ROK Army and subject to ROK Army discipline. While that is technically true I could not have any soldier abused like they were who were assigned to my company. Training new KATUSAs was of course appropriate, hazing them was not. I had to put a stop to that and did.

South Korea’s high court rules on case of soldier slapped repeatedly for failure to salute

Stars and Stripes · by David Choi and Yoo Kyong Chang · July 7, 2023

South Korean soldiers walk on the grounds of Camp Humphreys, South Korea, Friday, July 7, 2023. (Christopher Green/Stars and Stripes)

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SEOUL, South Korea — A former South Korean army officer cleared of assault charges after slapping a subordinate on a U.S. military base in 2018 must stand trial again after the country’s highest court reversed an appellate court’s ruling.

The officer — identified as a colonel in South Korean media reports — was convicted in a military court of assault for lightly slapping a soldier five to eight times for failing to salute, according to a June 15 decision by the Supreme Court of Korea. The conviction carried a maximum two-year prison term.

The decision sends the case to the Seoul High Court for retrial.

Both soldiers served in the same unit that supported the U.S. armed forces, according to the supreme court decision. The incident occurred at an unspecified base in Pyeongtaek, home of the U.S. Army’s Camp Humphreys and the Air Force’s Osan Air Base.

Names, ranks and other information about the soldiers were redacted in the court filing. Except in extreme cases of “cruel” crimes, South Korean law protects the identity of the accused.

An appellate court in 2019 overturned the officer’s conviction, ruling the military law did not apply because the assault took place on a foreign country's base and the victim expressed a desire for the defendant’s acquittal.

South Korean service members walk toward the operations command building at Osan Air Base, South Korea, Thursday, July 6, 2023. (Christopher Green/Stars and Stripes)

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A prosecutor must dismiss a criminal case if the victim does not wish to punish a wrongdoer, according to South Korean law.

Prosecutors in 2020 took their case to the Supreme Court of Korea, which overturned the appellate decision.

That the offense occurred on a U.S. base was irrelevant, the court ruled. A military base where South Korean troops conduct military operations “is the same as other military bases within the [South Korean] armed forces,” the decision states.

The high court also ruled that the victim’s desire not to prosecute does not apply to a crime committed on a military base.

“In military court, those involved in a case are supposed to be punished regardless of whether the victims and defendants reach an agreement,” Dongin Law Group attorney Chun Seungsoo, a retired South Korean navy judge advocate and a former prosecutor, told Stars and Stripes by phone Thursday.

Kim Hyungnam, director of the Seoul-based Center for Military Human Rights Korea, said he viewed the incident as an assault that needed to be prosecuted. Violence that was part of military life is no longer tolerated in South Korea, he said.

“Nowadays, folks disagree with assault in the armed forces,” Kim told Stars and Stripes by phone Thursday. “Many people view violence in the military as more problematic than violence outside of military life.”

Kim recalled the case of South Korean army Pfc. Yoon Seung-joo, 23, who died of asphyxiation in 2014 after six of his peers bullied and beat his chest as he was eating inside the barracks.

“Something like this was sort of normal in the South Korean military in the past; however, beatings in the military have decreased these days,” Kim said. “Something like this is a habit gaining acceptance in the military — but incidents like this must be eradicated in the armed forces.”

Stars and Stripes · by David Choi and Yoo Kyong Chang · July 7, 2023

4. South Korea's US-China predicament

A shrimp among whales. But South Korea is not long a shrimp.  

A cautionary note:

Through successful military adventurism, Kim could create a perception that the U.S. defense structure through the Indo-Pacific strategy and extended deterrence for South Korea are inherently weak. China would wholeheartedly welcome this kind of development. Yoon has already declared that if the North provokes the South, he will retaliate 100 to 1,000 times. It remains to be seen whether Yoon's actions will match his words when disastrous incidents caused by North Korea come to pass.

South Korea's US-China predicament

The Korea Times · July 6, 2023

By Park Jung-won

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's critical visit to China last month sparked a flurry of hasty analysis in South Korea concluding that U.S.-China relations were entering a thaw. This contact between the two countries is, however, not a sign of ending the conflict as such, but only shows the urgent challenge posed by military tensions between the two powers over Taiwan and the South China Sea. The U.S. policy of curbing China's rise, and Xi Jinping's "China Dream" of overtaking the U.S. by 2049, have not changed at all. The conflicting nature of U.S.-China relations is long-term and cannot be resolved by a diplomatic visit.

South Korea, caught between the two countries in its economic and security interests, is the country most affected by the U.S.-China conflict. Nevertheless, some experts in South Korean society see in this confrontation an opportunity to play off both sides to South Korea's advantage. In a recent newspaper column, Kim Yeon-chul, who served as the unification minister during the Moon Jae-in government, criticized the Yoon Suk Yeol government's diplomacy as being absurdly hostile to China, and only focusing on "values" rather than the "national interest."

He argues that flexibility is the key for a country such as South Korea to survive during this transitional period. He deeply laments that no country in the world besides South Korea gives up its national interest in the sole pursuit of values. This is an odd take, indicating that he does not quite understand the concept of national interest. Values are a key component of a country's national interest.

South Korea's advocacy of liberal democracy and emphasis on human rights reveals its identity to the international community. Sustaining and reconfirming this identity is a far greater national interest than the short-term economic benefits that might be gained from a more cooperative stance toward China.

How many other countries have like South Korea fought for decades to tear down a military dictatorship in order to create a true liberal democracy? Hasn't the history of the Korean nation been one of threats from outside major powers? As a country with liberal democracy, human rights and the rule of law at the core of its modern identity, South Korea should naturally criticize international situations that undermine such cherished values.

South Korea should therefore support the "rules-based international order." This is natural because an order that pursues liberal democracy, respect for sovereignty, free trade, the rule of law and peaceful settlement of international disputes is ideally matched with the country's identity.

Of course, South Korea's support for this order does not mean that it should always take sides unconditionally with the U.S. The U.S. has led this order, but it cannot monopolize it. As illustrated by the Joe Biden administration's Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the CHIPS and Science Act, the U.S. does not always abide by this order properly.

In these cases, South Korea, alongside Japan and other key NATO countries that share liberal values, should point out the U.S.' errant behavior. South Korea should establish firm principles on international issues with a strong basis in international law and take independent action, so that it can protect its national interest regardless of how the U.S.-China rivalry develops.

The responsibilities and costs incurred in this process are unavoidable and must be borne by South Korea. In the past, South Korea looked to the U.S. for its national security and to China for economic opportunities. This reflected a selfish desire to enjoy advantages from each side without paying for it with support in other areas. But the bill is now coming due. The rules-based international order led by the U.S. may be imperfect, but there currently exists no better alternative, so it is imperative for South Korea to make efforts to maintain this order in a sound manner.

Blinken's visit to China this time was also likely tied to domestic political factors in the U.S., not the start of a genuine detente with China. Both countries are experiencing very difficult domestic economic conditions. If they adopt an extremely confrontational stance, it will create a disadvantageous political environment for Biden ahead of next year's presidential election.

The Biden administration might have intended to temporarily improve its relations with China to avoid such a scenario. However, from South Korea's point of view, North Korea is a dangerous variable that should be managed very carefully amid all these developments. Recently, Kim Jong-un's regime brought back to power Kim Yong-chul, who was the mastermind of the sinking in 2010 of the South Korean corvette Cheonan, which killed 46 South Korean sailors. Kim will no doubt use him to pursue a hardline stance toward South Korea and the U.S. For Kim's regime, it is urgent for Donald Trump to be elected in next year's U.S. presidential election. It is known that Kim and Trump share positive personal chemistry.

In this regard, it is highly likely that Kim's regime will cause major provocative incidents, such as a localized invasion against South Korea, before next year's South Korean general elections and the U.S. presidential election to escape his domestic difficulties and change the status quo. Such attempts will surely be of great strategic value for the North in creating an environment favorable to the opposition party in South Korea and to Trump in the U.S. in their respective elections.

Through successful military adventurism, Kim could create a perception that the U.S. defense structure through the Indo-Pacific strategy and extended deterrence for South Korea are inherently weak. China would wholeheartedly welcome this kind of development. Yoon has already declared that if the North provokes the South, he will retaliate 100 to 1,000 times. It remains to be seen whether Yoon's actions will match his words when disastrous incidents caused by North Korea come to pass.

Park Jung-won (park_jungwon@hotmail.com), Ph.D. in law from the London School of Economics (LSE), is a professor of international law at Dankook University.

The Korea Times · July 6, 2023

5. Senior U.S. officials visit Korean Empire’s legation in Washington

The legation building is a beautiful tribute to Korean history. I was able to attend a few events after it reopened just before COVID hit. Hopefully there will be more events there.

Senior U.S. officials visit Korean Empire’s legation in Washington

https://www.donga.com/en/home/article/all/20230707/4273015/1

Posted July. 07, 2023 08:10,   

Updated July. 07, 2023 08:10

On Wednesday (local time), the Korean Empire’s legation building in Logan Circle, the first South Korean diplomatic mission established overseas in 1889 near the White House in Washington, D.C., welcomed senior officials from the U.S. Department of State, including Daniel Kritenbrink, the Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, and his deputy Mark Lambert.

Japan forcibly purchased the building for 5 dollars after the annexation of Korea in 1910. In 2012, it was acquired by the Cultural Heritage Administration and the Cultural Heritage Citizens' Trust and opened as a museum in 2018. This is the first visit by U.S. Department of State officials since its opening.

Assistant Secretary Kritenbrink and Deputy Assistant Secretary Lambert, guided by Ambassador Cho Hyeon-dong, toured the former office and exhibition spaces previously used by the inaugural Korean Minister to the U.S., Park Jeong-yang, and other officials. Mr. Kritenbrink wrote in the guestbook, "I am deeply touched by the long-standing history of cooperation between the United States and Korea. The strong bond between the two countries and peoples defines the current U.S.-Korea relationship."

"This museum is the only building among Washington's major structures that preserves the original form of a 19th-century diplomatic mission. It symbolizes the cherished bilateral ties between the two countries,” said the South Korean Embassy in the U.S. In commemorating the 70th anniversary of the South Korea-U.S. alliance, they also expressed their intention to continue inviting prominent U.S. figures to the legation building.

6. South Korea ill-prepared for election cybersecurity

​A potentially major vulnerability that the ROK must be prepared for.

South Korea ill-prepared for election cybersecurity

The Korea Times · July 7, 2023

A voter puts a marked ballot into a ballot box in Seoul's Jongno District during the presidential election held on March 9, 2022. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

National Election Commission says foreign meddling in elections through voter registration data is simply impossible, reveals unpreparedness for risks of cyber breach

This is the second in a two-part series highlighting elections and cyberattacks as the nation will hold National Assembly elections in April next year―ED.

By Kang Hyun-kyung

The National Intelligence Service (NIS) notified the National Election Commission (NEC) that a North Korean hacker had breached an NEC official's email account.

The warning came on March 21, 2021, two weeks before the April 7 by-elections.

In an email sent to the election board, the intelligence agency said the North Korean cyber actor penetrated an unnamed NEC official's email account and viewed it for 10 minutes before logging out. Personal details of the targeted employee, such as name, rank and email, as well as the recipient were included in the email message.

The NIS' email was disclosed in a media report in May when the election board, which was and still is reeling from nepotism allegations, snubbed the intelligence agency's repeated calls for cybersecurity checkups ahead of the 2024 National Assembly elections.

Days later, the embattled NEC accepted the call, allowing the NIS, in collaboration with the Korea Internet & Security Agency, to conduct cybersecurity checkups on the election board.

Cybersecurity expert Choi Sang-myung, also known as Simon Choi, said the NEC staffer's compromised email account suggests that the North Korean hacker had succeeded in the first necessary step to breach the NEC's computer system.

"Depending on who the victim was, the North Korean hacker's intrusion could have a devastating impact," he said. "If the victim was on the staff in charge of maintaining the NEC's server or other critical infrastructure, the breach itself could have been critically damaging."

In general, however, Choi said state-sponsored hackers like the North Korean cyber actors launch repeated attacks until they accomplish their goal.

"One possible scenario will be that they send spoofed spear-phishing emails to many other NEC officials to steal their login credentials or other critical information that can ensure their access to the NEC's system and infect their computers until they can find the most effective route to conduct cyberattacks on the election system," he said.

According to the NIS, there have been eight occasions of cyberattacks on the election board over the past two years, seven of which came from North Korean cyber actors affiliated with the country's Reconnaissance General Bureau.

The intelligence service said the most recent attacks were discovered on March 21 when North Koreans sent malware-laced emails to an unspecified number of NEC staffers. Cyber actors send spear-phishing emails to steal login credentials and gain access to their targets' computers and online accounts.

It remains unknown whether or not any of the NEC officials' computers were compromised.

Gettyimagesbank

The ruling People Power Party (PPP) has been wary of North Korea's purported intrusion as the nation is scheduled to hold National Assembly elections next year.

In a joint statement released on May 3, the PPP members of the National Assembly Public Administration and Security Committee urged the NEC to strengthen its cybersecurity measures.

"If North Korean cyber actors succeed in breaching the election infrastructure, they can steal voter registration data or manipulate election results. It could also paralyze the election system," they said in the statement.

The PPP and the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) agreed to launch a parliamentary probe into the NEC over North Korea's cyberattacks and the nepotism allegations, in which current and former NEC senior officials are accused of having exerted influence one way or another to place their children in the election board.

It remains uncertain when the bipartisan committee will be launched as the two parties have been locked in partisan politics over the release of wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear power plant.

The NEC appears to be ill-prepared for election interference.

Responding to some conservative activists' vote-rigging allegations about the 2020 National Assembly elections on its website, the NEC confidently dismissed any possibility of voter registration data being stolen.

"Is it possible to alter election outcomes with stolen electoral roll data? The answer is no," the NEC website reads.

It explains that electoral roll data is only used to check whether or not people who show up at polling stations on Election Day are eligible voters, stressing that Korea uses paper-based ballots, not electronic voting machines, and therefore it is protected from cyberattacks of all kinds.

In this image captured from the National Election Commission's website, the election board dismisses the possibility of election interference through stolen voter registration data.This statement is misleading, if not misinformation.

Cyber intrusions can be made in several different stages of the electoral process.

Paper-based voting is widely believed to be safe from cyberattacks.

But votes cast need to be counted, captured, stored and transmitted for election results, and varying degrees of technology are used in the process. This means cybersecurity risks still lurk in South Korea's election system.

Tarun Chaudhary, global cyber diplomacy specialist at the Washington D.C.-based nonprofit group International Federation for Electoral Systems (IFES), said voter registration databases are one of the biggest targets for malicious cyber actors.

"Key processes that are often targeted by threat actors (from a worldwide perspective) include voter registration information, results management systems and systems for public communication," he said in a recent email interview with The Korea Times.

He said the election board should be fully prepared for cyberattacks before, during and after elections. "Elections commissions should put into place a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy that includes measures to prevent and manage cybersecurity risks and steps to respond to cybersecurity events as they happen," he said.

Stolen electoral roll data can pose a grave threat to the integrity of elections, and this is particularly so if the malicious cyber actors are skilled hackers like North Koreans or Russians.

If cyber actors successfully access electoral roll data, there is a lot they can do to interfere in elections.

Identification theft is one of the best-known risks of stolen voter registration information.

Cyber actors can also alter, delete or manipulate the database in their favor and as a consequence can eventually cause an Election Day meltdown.

Senator Marco Rubio, the vice chairman of the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, said manipulation of voter databases is the minimum thing that malicious cyber actors can do, hinting that there is much more they can do with the stolen data.

"Among the things in the Senate Intelligence Committee preliminary report we released this week is that during the 2016 election cyber actors were in a position to, at a minimum, alter or delete voter registration data in a number of states," he wrote on Twitter on May 11, 2018.

"My biggest concern is that on Election Day you go to vote and have mass confusion because voter registration information has been deleted from the systems."

An election worker holds ballot papers in this photo taken on March 9, 2022, during the presidential election. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

Testifying to the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee over Russian intervention in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, an unnamed official of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) also addressed the danger of stolen voter registration information.

"Russia would have had the ability to potentially manipulate some of that data, but we didn't see that," the official was quoted as saying in the Senate intelligence report released in 2019. "The level of access that they gained ― they almost certainly could have done more. Why they didn't … is sort of an open-ended question."

The Russian military intelligence cyber actors successfully penetrated Illinois' voter registration database in 2016, ahead of the U.S. presidential election.

According to the U.S. Senate report, Russians accessed up to 200,000 voter registrations. The compromised data included each voter's name, address, partial social security number, date of birth and either a driver's license number or state identification number.

"The Russian cyber actors were in a position to delete or change voter data, but the committee is not aware of any evidence that they did so," the report reads.

Russia's intervention in the U.S. presidential election consisted of three stages.

Cyber actors affiliated with Russia's Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff, better known by its acronym GRU, launched the social media campaign in favor of then-Republican candidate Donald Trump, hacked then-Democratic Party candidate Hillary Clinton's campaign and leaked stolen documents to discredit Clinton. These activities were conducted by GRU's subdivision military unit 26165.

Other Russian military intelligence agents affiliated with military unit 74455,

 meanwhile, persistently and systematically attacked the election boards and related entities and individuals. Military unit 74455 is the one also responsible for the cyberattack on the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller investigated Russia's social media campaign and the cyberattacks against the Clinton campaign. Russian cyber actors' intrusions of the election boards and related entities were investigated by the FBI and DHS.

The U.S. Senate concluded that Russia's interference didn't alter the election outcome.

Contrary to the NEC's claim, there is no electoral system that is completely safe from election interference, so long as technology is involved in any stage of the electoral process.

Chuck Brooks, president of Brooks Consulting International, warned of the consequences of a purported cyber intrusion by North Korea or any other foreign state actors on Korean elections.

"There is a real possibility that a spear-phishing attack on election board officials could compromise actual voter databases or interfere with tabulations," he said in a recent email interview with The Korea Times. "There is a variety of cybersecurity procedures and tools that can help mitigate attacks and it would be prudent to assume that elections could be breached and lead to stolen votes.

Brooks advised South Korea to fix the vulnerabilities.

"Since the election is next year, there is time to fix voting systems," he said.

The Korea Times · July 7, 2023

7. S. Korea's industry chief, U.S.' TerraPower CEO discuss small nuclear reactors

South Korea is a (peaceful) nuclear power.

S. Korea's industry chief, U.S.' TerraPower CEO discuss small nuclear reactors | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Oh Seok-min · July 7, 2023

SEOUL, July 7 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's industry chief met with the head of U.S. nuclear energy company TerraPower on Friday and discussed ways of cooperation on the development of advanced small modular reactors (SMRs), the industry ministry said.

During the meeting in Seoul, TerraPower CEO Chris Levesque introduced his firm's technologies to develop a next-generation SMR and related plans, and Minister Lee Chang-yang stressed the Seoul government's commitment to supporting cooperation between South Korean and American companies on the field, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

Founded by Microsoft Corp. founder Bill Gates in 2008, TerraPower has maintained close business ties with South Korean companies, including the state-run Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. (KHNP) and SK Inc.

In April, SK, SK Innovation Co. and the KHNP signed an agreement with TerraPower to collaborate on the commercialization of an advanced reactor.

TerraPower is developing a Natrium advanced reactor, a sodium-cooled fast reactor with a molten salt-based energy storage system, with a goal to put it into operation in around 2030. The fourth-generation reactor can significantly boost the power output, experts say.

This photo, provided by South Korea's industry ministry, shows Minister Lee Chang-yang (R) shaking hands with Chris Levesque, CEO of U.S. nuclear energy company TerraPower, ahead of their meeting in Seoul on July 7, 2023. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

graceoh@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Oh Seok-min · July 7, 2023

8. FM to attend annual ASEAN-hosted meetings in Jakarta next week

FM to attend annual ASEAN-hosted meetings in Jakarta next week | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Chang Dong-woo · July 7, 2023

SEOUL, July 7 (Yonhap) -- South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin plans to attend next week's annual gatherings led by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Jakarta, Indonesia, officials said Friday.

Park is scheduled to join the South Korea-ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting and the ASEAN plus three meeting, also involving China and Japan, next Thursday, according to his ministry. The following day, he will take part in the East Asia Summit (EAS) meeting and the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF).

In between the sessions, Park could potentially hold separate bilateral talks with his Japanese and Chinese counterparts, Yoshimasa Hayashi and Qin Gang, respectively, in Jakarta.

Foreign ministers of China and Japan have typically attended the annual gatherings.

Foreign Minister Park Jin delivers a keynote address during a forum at a Seoul hotel on June 29, 2023, to discuss geopolitical situations on the Korean Peninsula. (Yonhap)

If realized, a meeting with Qin would mark the first face-to-face foreign ministerial meeting between the two countries since Qin took office last year.

In a potential South Korea-Japan foreign ministerial meeting, Hayashi could explain to Park the findings of the International Atomic Energy Agency's report on Tokyo's plan to discharge contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant.

Observers are also keeping close tabs on the possible attendance of North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui at the ARF meeting. The North is also a member of the ARF.

odissy@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Chang Dong-woo · July 7, 2023

9. S. Korea says Fukushima water release to meet int'l standards if carried out as planned

(4th LD) S. Korea says Fukushima water release to meet int'l standards if carried out as planned | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Song Sang-ho · July 7, 2023

(ATTN: UPDATES with more details, IAEA director general's remarks in paras 13-14, 20, 24-26)

By Kim Han-joo

SEOUL, July 7 (Yonhap) -- The government said Friday that Japan's plan to release contaminated water from its crippled Fukushima plant would meet international standards, including those set by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), if carried out as planned.

The government announced its own scientific analysis of the discharge plan, based on the findings of an on-site inspection of the plant completed in late May and other related data, as well as an analysis of the IAEA safety review.

"After a review of the treatment plan of contaminated water presented by Japan so far, the total concentration level of radioactive materials of Japan's plan would meet the standards for a release into the ocean," Government Policy Coordination Minister Bang Moon-kyu told a daily briefing.

Bang said, therefore, the plan has been confirmed to meet international standards, including those of the IAEA.

According to a simulation based on an emission standard set by Tokyo Electric Power Co., the operator of the plant, the radiation impact on South Korean shores is estimated to be about one-100,000th of the average level.

Government Policy Coordination Minister Bang Moon-kyu (2nd from L) speaks during a daily briefing on the Fukushima issue at the government complex in Seoul on July 7, 2023. (Yonhap)

The government further said that the technology of the plant's custom purification system, known as ALPS, has gradually improved and stabilized, resulting in radionuclide levels within permissible limits since mid-2019.

"The result of the simulation shows it would take around four to five years and up to 10 years in order for the contaminated water to reach our seawater and have an effect," Bang said, adding it would "not have any meaningful impact."

Previously, the Seoul government had reported that six types of radionuclides were detected at levels exceeding permissible limits even after treatment through ALPS, but most of these cases occurred before 2019.

As ocean currents disperse the contaminated water, radioactive materials would become nearly undetectable on South Korean shores, the government said, emphasizing that the concentration level would remain within the acceptable limit.

Notably, the concentration level of tritium, a hydrogen radioisotope known to still be detected after treatment through ALPS, would also be within the limit as the seawater would dilute it sufficiently.

"The review was carried out under the premise that Tokyo Electric Power's discharge plan is carried out as planned," Bang said.

The government would conduct a further review if there were a change in the plan, Bang said.

It deferred its final decision on whether to endorse Japan's water release plan.

"After checking how Japan will finalize the discharge plan, its propriety and implementability, we will be able to deliver a final judgment," Bang said. "The government's final position will be announced at the stage where Japan's discharge plan is finalized and announced."

In its assessment, the government has also decided to advise Japan on several concerning issues.

"We have reached a conclusion to advise Japan to shorten the interval of the inspections and strengthen the ALPS' cross-flow filter, as breakdowns have occurred several times," said Nuclear Safety and Security Commission Chairperson Yoo Geun-hee.

Despite the conclusion, Bang said the government will not lift the import ban on seafood from the Fukushima region.

"I once again emphasize that the current import ban will remain in place," Bang said, adding that Japan should prove the safety of its seafood.

South Korea banned all seafood imports from eight Japanese prefectures near Fukushima in 2013 on concerns over their radiation levels in the wake of the meltdown incident in 2011.

In an apparent move to reassure the public, the government plans to add eight spots in international waters close to Japan to a radiation monitoring list.

The government also emphasized its respect for the outcome of the IAEA's safety review of Japan's plan.

On Tuesday, the U.N. nuclear watchdog announced that its two-year review found Japan's plan to release water from the plant into the sea to be consistent with its safety standards. The agency also stated that the treated water would have a negligible radiological impact on both people and the environment.

This announcement coincides with IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi's visit to South Korea later in the day for a three-day trip, following his ongoing four-day trip to Japan.

Before heading to Seoul, Grossi said he has been "very attentive" to South Korean people's worries about Japan's water discharge plan, while unveiling a plan to meet with opposition lawmakers here to discuss the "difficult points."

"I have been very attentive to South Koreans' views and concerns, and I accepted their invitation to come again to engage, as I am doing here with the press, with the public and with parliamentarians," he told a press conference earlier in the day.

"I have an invitation to address some parliamentarians that have a very strong opposition to the plan so I can do what I am doing here ... try to explain and illuminate the difficult points so that they can understand that," he added.

In response to heightened public concern, Seoul launched a daily press briefing last month to keep the public updated on the planned release of contaminated water from the plant.

Despite the findings, the plan is still being heatedly debated by political parties.

The main opposition Democratic Party (DP), which has argued the release will have health and environmental consequences, again questioned the credibility of this week's IAEA report, saying too much belief in the report would be harmful.

All 167 DP lawmakers held an overnight sit-in at the National Assembly on Thursday to protest Japan's release plan and denounce the South Korean government's response to it. On Friday, the DP lawmakers held a party meeting, demanding IAEA Director General Grossi hold a public debate on the issue.

The ruling People Power Party (PPP) has accused the DP of inciting fears among the people with unscientific claims in an attempt to take advantage of the issue for political gains ahead of next year's general elections.

The PPP further criticized the discrediting of the IAEA, an internationally recognized agency, as it only makes a mockery of South Korea in international society.

khj@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Song Sang-ho · July 7, 2023

10. Living near North Korean nuclear test site caused health problems, escapees say

What we really need to see is reporting on all the health issues around the Yongbyon nuclear facilities. I understand there is an extremely high rate of birth defects and other radiation exposure problems.

Living near North Korean nuclear test site caused health problems, escapees say

Body aches and mysterious illnesses plagued family members, they say.

By Chin Min Jai, Jung Young, and Mok Yongjae for RFA Korean

2023.07.06

rfa.org

Unexplained body aches. Mysterious illnesses. Puncturing a hole in your dying son’s side to drain fluid so he could breathe.

Such were the health issues that plagued two North Korean escapees who lived near the Punggye-ri site where Pyongyang conducted six underground nuclear tests between 2006 and 2017, and have since fled to South Korea.

One escapee who lived 27 kilometers (17 miles) from the test site in the northeastern part of the country said she lost her only child to a mysterious respiratory condition. Like other children in the area, he was diagnosed with tuberculosis, but now she believes it was a result of radiation.

It appeared like his lungs had melted, said the woman, asking to be identified by the pseudonym Lee Mi-young for security reasons.

“We pierced his side to drain the fluid three times a day. Pus came out and at the end he died,” said Lee. “He had eight friends, but one or two started to get sick and were diagnosed with tuberculosis. All of them died within four years. My son was diagnosed the same way.”

The North Korean doctors became frustrated when they could not determine how the children contracted tuberculosis, she said.

“The tuberculosis department doctor said that he didn't know why there were so many young people with tuberculosis in the hospital,” said Lee. “They didn't know that it was because of the nuclear experiment.”

It wasn’t until she arrived in South Korea in 2016 that Lee learned that the nuclear tests she once celebrated were almost certainly what killed her son and threatened her own life.

“When the third nuclear test was conducted [in 2013], people cheered excitedly after watching the broadcast,” she said. “I was proud that North Korea had developed nuclear weapons to ‘immobilize the Americans.’ I had no idea that it would have such a negative impact on the people.”

Radiation testing

In February, the South Korean Ministry of Unification announced that in May it would start testing 881 people who once lived near Punggye-ri before they escaped North Korea.

This year’s tests follow a first and second round of testing of about 40 people in 2017 and 2018.

Lee was among those tested in 2017, and her results showed a dosage of 270 millisieverts, far above the minimum level indicating radiation exposure. People are usually exposed to a natural radiation dose of 2-3 millisieverts per year.

The first and second rounds of testing detected exposure in nine of the tested subjects, one as dangerously high as 1,386 millisieverts.

Large doses of radiation can damage the body’s central nervous system and red and white blood cells, leaving the immune system unable to fight infections, but a spokesperson from the ministry told RFA that “no diseases related to radiation exposure were identified, and full-scale testing of North Korean escapees from the vicinity of the nuclear test site is underway as planned.”

Despite the lack of any identifiable disease, Lee said her head and body still ache, and she feels as if her bones “are soft.”

“People in North Korea didn’t know that the symptoms of the sickness are caused by radiation exposure,” she said. “They don’t know how bad nuclear radiation is for the human body.”

A guard stands at the doors of the west tunnel at North Korea's nuclear test site at Punggye-ri, North Hamgyong province, May 24, 2018. Credit: APTN via AP

Back in North Korea, Lee said she could hardly worry about it because she was preoccupied with trying to make a living and simply survive.

She recalls now that at the time she lived near Punggye-ri, there were so many patients of severe disease living in Kilju county.

“Kilju County has the highest number of gastric, pancreatic, liver, tuberculosis, and lung cancer patients nationwide,” said Lee. “When cancer patients are diagnosed, they die within three months.”

When her son fell ill, she took him to Pyongyang hoping that the better doctors there could treat him. Travel to Pyongyang is all but illegal for ordinary citizens, and access to services reserved for North Korea’s elite is all but impossible.

“[We were] trying to go from the hospital [where he was being treated] to a hospital in Pyongyang. But the hospital told us that all tuberculosis and hepatitis patients in Kilju County cannot enter Pyongyang,” said Lee. “I couldn’t get the permit or certificate, so my son died without even the chance to be seen in the hospital in Pyongyang.”

Lee said that she felt sorry for the other residents of Kilju, who are like she was, unaware of the dangers of radiation exposure, with only the propaganda of North Korean authorities informing them that nuclear development will elevate the quality of their lives.

“All the citizens of Kilju county suffered [radiation] damage and they cannot come here [to the South],” she said. “All of them will die there like that. It is nonsense that nuclear development makes the citizens of Kilju county incredibly prosperous.”

She is convinced that the North Korean authorities must have already known that the tens of thousands of residents living near Punggye-ri are constantly exposed to radiation.

“Why wouldn’t they know?” she said. “The government knowingly neglects people…what kind of country is that?”

Tainted water

Another escapee, going by the pseudonym Kim Hwa-young, believes that she was exposed to radiation through drinking water before she escaped from North Korea in 2014. She had relied on water sources in Kilju county all her life, she said.

The streams in the area that fill the water reservoir for residents come from in Punggye-ri, she said. “All tap water comes from Punggye-ri.”

Satellite imagery of the area shows that at Namsok Reservoir a facility presumed to be an intake tower is noticeable on the southern side of the reservoir. It is therefore reasonable to presume that the Punggye-ri nuclear test site, situated on Mt. Mantap and located upstream, could be a source of drinking water and tap water for residents in and around Kilju county.

Lee, the first escapee, recalled changes in the water supply downstream from Punggye-ri – specifically the Namdae stream – after the nuclear tests began.

“Namdae stream was once clean and nice. Trout that lived in the stream were also good,” said Lee. “They were sent as a special product reserved for [former leader] Kim Il Sung, but at some point, no trout was seen in that stream, and pine mushrooms stopped growing there too.”

A compromised water source is a likely avenue for exposure and illness for many people who use it, Suh Kune Yull, a nuclear engineering professor at Seoul National University, told RFA.

“If these North Korean escapees were exposed to radiation, it can be predicted that the main route was the water source itself and agricultural products and livestock grown there,” said Suh, “The specifics can be known only after careful epidemiological investigations.”

Kim, the second escapee, recalled some of the symptoms she suffered while living in Kilju county.

“The headaches were all so bad. Almost all the Kilju people who came here with me still have headaches,” she said. “They don’t get better even if I use all kinds of different medicines. There is no diagnosis even if I go to the hospital.”

Upon her first health checkup in South Korea, Kim was diagnosed with a low white blood cell count, just like the others who escaped with her.

“I was told that I had hepatitis C and a low white blood cell count,” she said.

But when she was living in North Korea she witnessed people dying of diseases far worse than hers, she said.

“There were several people I knew who died from leukopenia,” said Kim, referring to a condition that prevents the body’s immune system from fighting disease. “There were very many cancer patients, including some who also had tuberculosis at the same time.”

“My next-door neighbor, his gums bled, and he died. This poor 4-year-old kid’s body was bruised all over as if it was pinched. And later he was diagnosed with leukopenia and died. His gums wouldn’t stop bleeding despite all kinds of medicine.”

People from outside the county also suffered by going there, she said.

“A man went to Kilju county to serve his 10-year mandatory service,” said Kim. “He had only a few hairs left and his whole body was weak by the time he was almost 40 years old. In the end, he couldn’t even get married.”

Kim said she and the others thought their illnesses were the result of not having enough food to eat, a common experience for many North Koreans.

“At that time everyone thought it was because … the people were not eating well,” she said. “When I lived in North Korea and was sick then, I never thought it would be because of the nuclear test. I wasn’t aware of all the risks of radiation exposure. I had no idea. It is a serious problem.”

Kim received a third radiation exposure test in May of this year and is waiting for the results.

During a previous round of testing, dangerous doses as high as 1,386 millisieverts were detected in some of the others who escaped from North Korea with Kim. Among the nine people who exhibited signs of radiation exposure in the previous rounds of testing, eight had said they drank tap or well water.

Geology

Contaminated drinking water from Punggye-ri may have been a result of the frequent earthquakes around nearby Mt. Mantap after each nuclear test, the Stimson Center’s Olli Heinonen, a former deputy director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, told RFA.

"If there are cracks, rain, water and melting water from snow gets to these cracks and then goes through this place where the explosions took place,” he said. “And then finally, sooner or later enters that river which is passing through … and then it's in the groundwater."

Lee Su-gon, a former professor of civil engineering at the University of Seoul, who is one of the leading experts in the field of Korean geology, also emphasized that leakage of radioactive materials or contamination of groundwater is geologically inevitable due to the granite characteristics of Mount Mantap, a key peak in the area.

“Mount Mantap was already broken a lot because there are a lot of vertical joints,” he said. “Due to the nuclear tests, more radioactivity is released into the air … and the groundwater has no choice but to be contaminated. This can’t be stopped.”

Professor Lee also said that nuclear testing at Punggye-ri also caused frequent landslides, putting more people at risk of exposure.

“These landslides caused by vibrations under the ground… terrible when it comes to radioactive contamination issues,” he said. “So, it is a predictable problem for residents who defected from the area to claim that they were exposed to radiation. North Korean authorities are busy developing nuclear weapons and don’t take that into account.”

Translated by Leejin. J. Chung and Claire Shinyoung Oh Lee. Written in English by Eugene Whong. Edited by Malcolm Foster.

rfa.org

11.  S. Korea publishes hard copies of English report on N. Korea's human rights

Korea is serious about a human rights upfront approach.

S. Korea publishes hard copies of English report on N. Korea's human rights | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Minji · July 7, 2023

SEOUL, July 7 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's unification ministry said Friday it has published hard copy prints of an English version of its report on North Korea's human rights situation as part of efforts to raise global awareness on the issue.

The publication is a printed version of the government's annual report on North Korea's human rights violations, which was first made public in late March in line with President Yoon Suk Yeol's hard-line policy toward the North.

Based on the testimonies of more than 500 North Korean defectors, the report highlights widespread abuses by state authorities, including murder, torture and public execution.

The report said North Koreans' right to life appears to be "seriously" threatened due to North Korean authorities' "arbitrary" use of power for human rights violations.

This photo captured from the website of the unification ministry shows the cover of the English version of the 2023 Report on North Korean Human Rights. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

"The Ministry of Unification sincerely hopes that the publication of the English version of the 2023 report on their human rights will spread the understanding of promoting human rights situation in North Korea," ministry spokesperson Koo Byoung-sam said in a rare press briefing held with English interpretation.

The ministry said it plans to distribute some 1,500 copies of the report to major institutions in and out of the country, including overseas diplomatic missions, foreign embassies in Seoul, international organizations and advocacy groups.

The ministry has been compiling the annual report since 2018 under the North Korean Human Rights Act, but the findings had not been made public in the past, apparently to avoid provoking Pyongyang.

mlee@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Minji · July 7, 2023

12. S. Korea to seek more foreign workers amid population crisis

S. Korea to seek more foreign workers amid population crisis | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Kang Yoon-seung · July 7, 2023

By Kang Yoon-seung

SEOUL, July 7 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will explore ways to accept more foreign workers to address its low birth rates and workforce shortages, the finance ministry said Friday.

"We need to work together to reach a social consensus that accepting foreign workers and rolling out immigration policies are vital for the sustainable growth of the economy," First Vice Finance Minister Bang Ki-sun said during a meeting on foreign labor policies.

The meeting came as South Korea has been exploring ways to invite more foreign workers to the country, as its working population is expected to reach 33.81 million in 2030, falling sharply from 37.63 million tallied in 2019.

"(The decline) is set to lead to a shortage of workforce in the labor market, with the economic growth expected to slow," Bang said.

The South Korean government recently decided to expand the number of skilled foreign workers eligible for the E-7 visa, granted to those with special abilities, to 30,000 in 2023, compared to 2,000 tallied in the previous year.

"We will proactively assess the potential social and economic challenges that may arise with increased immigration, while simultaneously improving settlement conditions and promoting social integration," Bang said.

South Korea's total fertility rate, the average number of children a woman bears in her lifetime, hit a record low of 0.78 in 2022, much lower than the replacement level of 2.1 that would keep South Korea's population stable at 51 million.

The government plans to unveil its blueprint for immigration policy in the second half of 2023.

Travelers arrive at Incheon International Airport in Incheon, west of Seoul, on July 2, 2023. (Yonhap)

colin@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Kang Yoon-seung · July 7, 2023

13. South Korea wants to be a top A.I. hub — its memory chip dominance could be an advantage

South Korea wants to be a top A.I. hub — its memory chip dominance could be an advantage

KEY POINTS

• “South Korea seeks to emerge as a prominent player in rapidly growing and promising areas such as AI semiconductors,” Jong-ho Lee, South Korea’s minister for science and information and communications technology, told CNBC.
• 
  
• The country’s dominance in memory chips and a robust artificial intelligence ecosystem could give it an advantage in the global AI chip race.
• 
  
• South Korea dominates the memory chip market, with domestic firms Samsung Electronics and SK hynix holding close to 70% of the overall market share.
• 
  

CNBC · by Sheila Chiang · July 6, 2023

The landmark Namsan Seoul Tower.

Jung Yeon-je | Afp | Getty Images

South Korea's dominance in the memory chip market and a robust artificial intelligence ecosystem gives it an advantage in the global AI chip race, said industry observers.

"South Korea is very strong in memory chips. AI does require a lot of memory. South Korea dominating in the memory market is definitely an advantage," said James Lim, senior research analyst at Dalton Investments.

South Korea is aiming to become one of the world's top three AI powerhouses by 2027, following closely behind the U.S. and China, according to the nation's "digital strategy."

The country's minister for science and information and communications technology, Jong-ho Lee, told CNBC the country "aims to maintain its leading position in the memory semiconductor field."

"South Korea seeks to emerge as a prominent player in rapidly growing and promising areas such as AI semiconductors," said Lee.

Large language models such as ChatGPT — which caused global AI adoption to explode in recent months — are increasingly in need of high-performance memory chips. Such chips enable generative AI models to remember details from past conversations and user preferences in order to generate humanlike responses.

watch now

VIDEO3:1603:16

Our A.I. chip is optimized exclusively for A.I. computation: Rebellions

Squawk Box Asia

Generative AI is a type of artificial intelligence that can generate content such as text, images, code and more.

"In order for the use of AI, including ultra-large language models, a significant number of semiconductor chips are required to operate, and global companies are competing fiercely to create high-performance and low-power AI semiconductors optimized for AI computation," Lee said.

Chip giants Samsung, SK Hynix

South Korean firms Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are two of the world's largest dynamic random-access memory chipmakers and have been actively investing in AI research and development to bolster their capabilities.

Samsung in March said that it plans to invest 300 trillion Korean won ($228 billion) in a new semiconductor facility in South Korea.

Samsung is "spending and spending and spending," Dylan Patel of research and consulting firm SemiAnalysis told CNBC last month. "And why is that? So they can catch up on technology, so they can continue to maintain their leadership position."

We will spare no effort to help Korea secure world-class AI semiconductor technology by leveraging our memory semiconductor capabilities to advance AI semiconductors...

Jong-ho Lee

Minister for Science and ICT

Data from research firm TrendForce showed that Samsung held a market share of 40.7% and SK Hynix held 28.8% in the same period in the fourth quarter of 2022, followed by Micron in third place at 26.4%. Memory chips are also used in computers, smartphones and tablets as storage devices.

"South Korea has a robust local AI ecosystem, capable of competing with global tech giants," said Sung Nako, executive for large scale AI development at South Korean internet giant Naver.

ChatGPT maker OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman had urged South Korea to lead AI chip production during his meeting with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol in June. Altman also expressed interest in investing in South Korean startups and partnering with major chipmakers like Samsung Electronics.

"U.S. chip giants Nvidia, Intel — they are not involved in the memory business. They don't have any exposure in the memory space," said Dalton's Lim, adding that this would give South Korea an advantage.

Samsung is the supplier of high bandwidth memory chips to Nvidia, which fit into the U.S. chipmaker's latest A100 graphics processing units that train ChatGPT.

Geoffrey Cain, author of the 2020 book "Samsung Rising," told CNBC last month that he sees Samsung "diving deeper into the logic chip segment. So, [that's] the AI chips, the future applications for semiconductor technology."

An 'upper hand'

The South Korean government is investing heavily in AI.

In 2022, the MSIT said it will be deploying 1.02 trillion won ($786 million) of funding for AI semiconductor research and development over the next five years.

"AI not only drives the growth of digital industries such as cloud computing and metaverse but also serves as a key factor in dramatically improving productivity in traditional industries such as manufacturing and logistics," Lee told CNBC.

"With AI being applied across various domains, even greater economic ripple effects can now be anticipated," he said.

South Korea will also allocate 826.2 billion won through 2030 to build high-end chips through new data centers and working with startups.

In a press release last month, the minister said that "the economic and industrial value of AI semiconductor will continue to improve and Korea has the upper hand in the memory chip [sector] and foundry."

"We will spare no effort to help Korea secure world-class AI semiconductor technology by leveraging our memory semiconductor capabilities to advance AI semiconductors in stages by 2030, developing additional to apply them to data centers, and fostering AI semiconductor experts," he said in the release.

watch now

VIDEO2:4402:44

Investors showing high interest in backing A.I. startups in South Korea: VC firm

Street Signs Asia

In a bid to challenge to U.S. chip giants, South Korean AI chip design startup Rebellions claimed its new chip surpassed performance standards, outperforming Nvidia's equivalent GPUs by more than three times.

"In terms of AI workload, we have much better energy efficiency, cost efficiency ... sometimes better performance," Rebellions co-founder and CEO Park Sung-hyun told CNBC in May.

Rebellions is reportedly racing to win government contracts as Seoul aims to bolster its local companies.

"I see a lot of — thanks to OpenAI's ChatGPT — founders starting companies in the region, and also a lot of investors, with the support from the government, showing a high interest in backing these startups," said JP Lee, CEO and managing partner at SoftBank Ventures Asia, on CNBC's "Street Signs Asia."

— CNBC's Katie Tarasov contributed to this report.

CNBC · by Sheila Chiang · July 6, 2023

14. China's top-ranking diplomat told Japan and South Korea their people can dye their hair blonde and make their noses sharper but that they'll 'never become Westerners,'

Wolf diplomacy at work? Will Koreans and Japanese be swayed by this?

China's top-ranking diplomat told Japan and South Korea their people can dye their hair blonde and make their noses sharper but that they'll 'never become Westerners,' urging them to work with Beijing instead

Business Insider · by Matthew Loh

Wang Yi speaks during the 2023 Munich Security Conference on February 18, 2023 in Munich, Germany.

Johannes Simon/Getty Images

• China's top diplomat Wang Yi reminded Japanese and South Koreans of their ethnicity.
• He said they can "never become Westerners," calling for closer cooperation between their nations.
• "We have to know where our roots are," Wang said at an annual forum on international relations.

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China's highest-ranking diplomat urged Japan and South Korea to cooperate more closely with Beijing, saying they can change their looks but will "never become Westerners."

"It doesn't matter how much you dye your hair blonde, how sharp you make your nose, you'll never become Europeans or Americans. You'll never become Westerners," Wang Yi told South Korean and Japanese guests at a conference in Qingdao on Monday.

"We have to know where our roots are," the diplomat said, according to a recording of the conversation shared by Chinese media.

Most Europeans and Americans aren't able to tell Chinese, Japanese, or Korean people apart, Wang added.

Wang, who was speaking at the annual International Forum for Trilateral Cooperation, said the three nations should raise a "clear signal" that they want to work together, adding that they should resist a "Cold War mentality" and push back against "bullying and hegemony."

The diplomat's comments come amid rocky US-China relations over Taiwan, chip restrictions, and accusations of Beijing spying on the US with a balloon. Tensions continued to sour in June as President Joe Biden called Chinese leader Xi Jinping a "dictator," as State Secretary Antony Blinken visited Beijing to ease the relationship between both nations.

South Korea and Japan, close US allies, have recently publicly aligned with Washington on several hot-button issues, releasing joint statements with the White House on Taiwan in the last two years. Both nations have also conducted high-profile military drills with the US this year.

Washington has sought to curb China's growing influence in the rest of Asia, as Beijing pursues closer ties with countries like Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar.

Business Insider · by Matthew Loh

15. How the rebellion in Russia could inspire an overthrow in North Korea

Even though there are no Wagner groups in north Korea we should be exploiting this as part of an information campaign.

However, the one thing that the Kim family regime fears the most is a  Nicolae and Elena Ceaușescu "moment." (Christmas Day 1989)

https://www.independent.co.uk/independentpremium/long-reads/ceausescu-romania-bucharest-communism-politics-history-a9234806.html

How the rebellion in Russia could inspire an overthrow in North Korea

BY DONALD KIRK, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR - 07/06/23 10:00 AM ET

The Hill · · July 6, 2023

News of an uprising against established rule must be a nightmare for North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un.

Kim’s greatest fear is that his secret enemies — there are undoubtedly some within his ruling elite — might decide the time has come to import the strategy that Yevgeny Prigozhin, commander of the Wagner Private Military Company, had dreamed would carry him to power against the entrenched regime of the failing Russian dictator-slash-president, Vladimir Putin.

It was for that reason that Pyongyang’s Korean Central News Agency put out a brief dispatch quoting North Korea’s vice foreign minister expressing his support for Putin in repressing what it called a “rebellion.” The dispatch said nothing about the nature of said rebellion, did not reveal the names of the Wagner Group or its leader and breathed not a word to suggest that Putin’s regime might still be endangered. The whole purpose of North Korea’s official comment appears to have been to solidify its relationship with Putin and its undying opposition to any threat against established rule.

For Kim Jong Un, Putin is a valuable ally. Having met Putin in Vladivostok in April 2019, Kim has rapidly broadened the relationship since Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The invasion has been good news for North Korea for two very different reasons.

First, North Korea, as the State Department in Washington has alleged, has been able to sell military weaponry, ranging from munitions to drones, to the Russians. In return, North Korea, heavily dependent on China for oil and food, can also import oil, natural gas and wheat across its 17-kilometer-long Tumen River border with Russia and by sea across a 23-kilometer-wide stretch of water that also divides Russian from North Korean territory.

The revival of Russian-North Korean trade is a reminder of the era before the fall of communist rule over the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics more than 30 years ago. North Korea until then counted on the Soviet Union as well as China, with Russia providing air support and munitions during the Korean War while the Chinese poured in their own “volunteers.”

Second, by expanding its relationship with Russia, North Korea is not quite so dependent on China as it has been throughout its history. China remains by far the dominant partner, but at least Kim does not have to labor under the humiliation of depending solely on China as his only real ally. Above all, he would love to build on fast-growing ties with Russia at a time when both are desperately in need of one another. Russia has got to replenish its military hardware amid a bloody, costly war, and North Korea needs food as it again faces poverty, hunger, famine and disease in a period of renewed hardship, while Kim wastes resources on missiles and nuclear warheads.

For North Korea, the downfall of Putin at the hands of a mercenary mob led by a gangster whom Putin had once befriended would have been a disaster. Kim would have had to form relations with the new ruler in hopes he would agree to his regime remaining a source of weapons in return for the lifeblood of oil and food.

While Kim might have managed in that case to restore the relationship to the same level as his bond with Putin, he would not have been happy about the delay. North Korea needs all the help it can get, and does not want to be at the mercy of China’s President Xi Jinping, who undoubtedly manipulates his generosity as a means of exercising remote control over a puppet leader.

Kim, however, has another equally important reason for breathing a sigh of relief over the failure of the Wagner Group to upset Putin after coming within 125 miles of Moscow. That is that he simply cannot stand the idea of the news reaching North Korea that an insurgent force should have come close to upsetting the central rule of such an important friend and neighbor.

For North Korea, the fall of communist rule over the former Soviet Union in 1991 and the demise of communism in the Soviet Union’s satellite nations was a disaster that Kim’s grandfather, Kim Il Sung, sought to hide from his people. North Koreans to this day are told nothing of the revolutions and upheavals that resulted in the downfall of all the former Soviet leaders and the rulers of satellite nations in eastern Europe and north central Asia.

Nor, of course, does the North Korean media let its viewers and readers know about the uprisings that swept across North Africa and the Middle East in the Arab Spring of more than a decade ago. That too was the kind of cataclysm that would inevitably strike terror in the Kim dynasty. The specter of armed rebel regimes revolting against their authoritarian rulers provided an example that Kim Jong Un’s father, Kim Jong Il, who succeeded his father in 1994, had to keep secret from his people.

But what could be worse than that of an entire private mercenary army gaining such power? How did the Wagner Group get involved in the war in Ukraine? How could a national leader such as Putin have encouraged the group in its early stages? And what could have ever been expected other than its rise as a force that would ultimately threaten his own rule?

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The Wagner Group appears now to have receded as a threat for now. But it is possible that the Wagner Group will rise again, or that some other group will rise in its place. Kim Jong Un must be acutely aware of the danger.

For Kim and his dynasty, the worst fear is that restive forces will decide they have had enough. They might even derive their inspiration from the record of the Wagner Group, which had the nerve to defy central rule from Moscow as no one has ever been known to do in the history of North Korea since the Russians installed Kim Il Sung as its leader in 1945.

Donald Kirk has been a journalist for more than 60 years, focusing much of his career on conflict in Asia and the Middle East, including as a correspondent for the Washington Star and Chicago Tribune. He is currently a freelance correspondent covering North and South Korea, and is the author of several books about Asian affairs.

The Hill · ​ · July 6, 2023

16. Gangnam style vs. squalor: Inequality in South Korea’s most famous area

Sadly South Korea is a modern developed country that like other modern developed industrial countries still has challenges.​

Photos at the link: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/07/06/gangnam-seoul-south-korea-rich-inequality/

Gangnam style vs. squalor: Inequality in South Korea’s most famous area

The Washington Post · by Min Joo Kim · July 6, 2023

Asia

By

July 6, 2023 at 9:00 a.m. EDT

Kim Bok-soon looks through the mail in Seoul's Guryong area, which lies in Gangnam, the city's richest district. (Hannah Yoon)

SEOUL — Kim Bok-soon has a million-dollar view from her porch in Gangnam, the upmarket district in southern Seoul that was made internationally famous through K-pop singer Psy’s megahit “Gangnam Style.”

She looks out over some of South Korea’s tallest and glitziest buildings, including high-rise apartment towers so luxurious they have their own spas and indoor golf ranges.

But this is not the lifestyle Kim leads. She is not part of the Mercedes-driving, horse-riding fashionistas of “Gangnam Style.” Her porch sits affront a shack made of plywood panels, scrap plastic and corrugated metal in Guryong, a sprawling shantytown that is technically in the Gangnam district.

The VIP lifestyle is so close, yet so far.

The 60-year-old needs to ride the bus for only two miles to get to the shiny new condo where she works as a maid. But it’s a commute across, she says, “the gulf between the rich and poor.”

“From the marble floor to air-conditioned rooms … everything there makes me feel like I am in a dream,” she said. Her floor is made from sheets of vinyl, and she has only a small fan to contend with the summer heat.

While the distance between Kim’s home and her workplace is small, the socio-economic divide is enormous.

Kim’s situation sums up the widening economic divide, a political and social issue that comes up at every election but has so far proved intractable.

This was encapsulated in 2019 through the Oscar-winning South Korean movie “Parasite,” in which a poor family endures the frustrations felt by many.

The Asian financial crisis of 1997, which triggered business failures and widespread layoffs, set in motion growing economic inequalities.

That gap hit a record last year, when South Korea’s richest 20 percent recorded 64 times the average wealth of the bottom 20 percent.

Making matters worse, many people feel it’s impossible to live out a Korean version of the American Dream.

People “born with a golden spoon” in their mouths can expect to enjoy expensive private education and land cushy jobs thanks to their well-connected families. But those without such privileges — born with “dirt spoons” — say they never have a chance of getting ahead.

Nowhere is this inequality more evident than in the microcosm of Gangnam, home to those who have flourished during South Korea’s economic transformation and those who have not.

Both have their roots in South Korea’s transition from dictatorship to democratic Asian tiger.

In preparation for the 1988 Summer Olympics, Seoul’s military leaders razed run-down neighborhoods to build stadiums, parks and transit networks.

Neighborhoods in southern Seoul — “Gangnam” means “south of the [Han] river” — benefited the most from these projects and quickly became associated with the new South Korea — and the nouveau riche.

But those who were displaced set up squatter settlements in areas like Guryong, which covers about 66 acres and comprises 1,100 households — a number that is steadily getting smaller thanks to fires, floods and other disasters. A blaze in January destroyed some 60 homes in the village.

The government has been trying to redevelop the area for years, but officials, residents and landowners can’t agree on terms.

And so the two extremes exist side by side.

Conspicuous consumers

Kim Jin-young, beautician turned property developer, 39

Kim said she climbed the “Gangnam ladder” from bottom to top: From her first home here, a cramped $450-a-month studio that she shared with her husband after they got married 15 years ago to the $3.5 million apartment they live in now.

When they got married, Kim joined her husband in the property development business. It opened her eyes to the inner workings of Gangnam’s upper class.

“I used to think the rich live in a world different from mine,” she said.

Now, she preaches that anyone can enter that world with a tireless work ethic and a proactive attitude, an important mind-set to help navigate high-risk, high-return moves like real estate development investments.

Kim and her husband own properties worth almost $13 million.

She carries a Hermes handbag and recently bought a Lamborghini. She sends her children to private tutors and recently gave her parents a luxury trip to Europe.

“People say money can’t buy happiness, but I am much happier now than when I was out of money,” Kim said.

Hong Yoon-taek, entrepreneur, 32

Hong opened his start-up company’s first office in Gangnam’s glitzy Cheongdam neighborhood, known for its streets lined with stores like Louis Vuitton and Chanel and traffic jams of Porsches.

He could not really afford the office at the time, but he knew the investment would pay off: He was strategically targeting the 1 percent.

Hong owns a modular construction company and sells prefab housing units that are perfect as vacation cabins for the affluent residents of Gangnam, he said.

The entrepreneur lives just 10 minutes from his office and spends his free time taking full advantage of everything Gangnam has to offer — from exercising along the Han river to exploring fancy local bars and restaurants, all within walking distance.

“Gangnam is the best place for young professionals to live in,” he said. “It surely is expensive but worth the price tag.”

Lee Won-jun, investment banker, 30

The securities brokerage where Lee works is one of South Korea’s best paying companies — and among its most high-pressure ones, he said.

To compensate for his long workdays, Lee likes to end the night with rare-vintage wine and single-malt whiskey. On weekends, he drives his sleek BMW to golf resorts for a day on the greens with friends, family or sometimes clients.

Born and raised in Gangnam, Lee acknowledges his comfortable upbringing. As an adult, he needs to “work much harder” to continue enjoying the things he has had in his life. This is something he constantly reminds himself of to endure hectic days at work, which leaves the 30-year-old little time to even date.

The young financier said Gangnam is “not an easy place,” adding that life here comes at a cost. “Since when I was born, Gangnam has been my home, but to keep up with my life here, I have to really hustle to make a lot more money,” he said.

Jo Yong-seok, 57, company owner

His day job is running a logistics company, but Jo describes himself as a “Gangnam dad.” After studying his way out of a southern town to a university in Seoul, Jo got married and had two kids in the city. They settled in Gangnam, Seoul’s best neighborhood for education.

Gangnam has more than 2,400 private “cram schools,” where kids study for hours after their normal day has finished.

In South Korea’s hypercompetitive academic environment, nearly 80 percent of children go to these cram schools, at an average cost of $320 per month, according to Statistics Korea.

But many Gangnam parents, including Jo, spend far more. When his son was doing college prep as a high school senior, Jo was spending $1,500 a month on tutoring.

In the shadow of luxury

Kim Jung-yeol, 76, retired

Kim might live on the “wrong” side of Gangnam, but he takes pride in his patch of real estate. Less than a mile from Jo’s pristine gated community, Kim lives in a shack that he calls “one of the best” in Guryong.

It is made from scrap materials including plywood, metal and plastic sheets. Rain leaks through the roof during the monsoon season. He uses communal toilets and baths. But after 35 years here, he said, it “does not really bother me anymore.”

“Here, I can breathe in the mountain air. I can listen to my neighbors chatting or just play with stray dogs,” the former construction worker said. “I see those matchbox apartments across the road and think about what life would be like over there,” he said, nodding at the high-rises. “I would probably end up feeling isolated and depressed.”

Kim Chong-ho, 60, missionary

Kim is bracing for this summer’s monsoon season. He did some repair work on his one-bedroom shack after it was hit by a record rainfall and typhoons last summer.

He first set foot in Guryong three decades ago, when he came to Seoul from a southern island as a penniless jobseeker. “No one wants to come here, but we [Guryong residents] ended up here because there was no other option,” he said.

Old and impoverished residents of Guryong can’t afford even the rent-controlled public housing proposed by the government as an alternative, he said.

“We are also Gangnam residents, but the district officials refuse to accommodate to us. They treat us as voiceless,” he said.

The Washington Post · by Min Joo Kim · July 6, 2023

17. How Do ‘Barbie’ and Blackpink Figure in a Dangerous Territorial Dispute?

Not only am I going to have to watch the Barbie movie, now I will have to watch K-pop's Blackpink videos to study the national security implications.

How Do ‘Barbie’ and Blackpink Figure in a Dangerous Territorial Dispute?

The New York Times · by Mike Ives · July 7, 2023

Vietnam banned the film over its apparent use of a Chinese map showing disputed territory. Blackpink concerts may be next. Here’s what the fuss is about.

Ryan Gosling and Margot Robbie in a scene from Greta Gerwig’s film, “Barbie.”Credit...Warner Bros. Pictures

By

Reporting from Seoul

July 7, 2023, 5:06 a.m. ET

Of all the things that could inflame tensions in a region that could someday be a theater of war between superpowers, the movie “Barbie” was not an obvious catalyst. Yet here we are.

The authorities in Vietnam this week banned the upcoming Greta Gerwig film over a map in “Barbie” that they said shows a Chinese map of territory in the South China Sea, where the two neighbors have competing claims.

The Philippines, another Southeast Asian country that disputes China’s territorial claims in the sea, is now deciding whether to ban the star-studded film as well. And Vietnam said on Thursday that it was investigating a South China Sea map on the website of a company promoting Blackpink, a K-pop band scheduled to perform in Hanoi this month.

Taking such stands against seemingly innocuous cultural exports may look to some like an overreaction. But Vietnam’s responses make more sense if they are viewed within historical and political contexts. Here’s a primer.

What is Vietnam’s beef with ‘Barbie’?

The head of the Vietnam Cinema Department, an agency in the one-party state, said on Monday that the Warner Bros. film would not be released domestically because of a scene that includes the so-called nine-dash line — a map that appears on official Chinese documents and encircles most of the South China Sea.

The official, Vi Kien Thanh, did not say which scene Vietnam hadn’t liked. Several commentators wondered if he meant the one showing Barbie, played by Margot Robbie, standing in front of a crudely drawn world map. Some also noted that the nine-dash line in that scene appears to lie very far from Asia.

A scene in “Barbie” with a map depicting contested territory in the South China Sea. The image may have prompted the Vietnamese government to ban the upcoming film.Credit...Warner Bros. Pictures

If that is, indeed, the offending map, “I really can’t see what the fuss is about,” said Bill Hayton, the author of books on Vietnam and the South China Sea.

“The map in the film appears to bear no relation to a real map of the world,” Mr. Hayton added. “This looks like Vietnam’s censors trying to demonstrate their patriotism and usefulness to the regime.”

Vietnam’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Neither did Warner Bros. The American movie studio told the Reuters news agency on Thursday that the “Barbie” map of the South China Sea was a “childlike” drawing with no intended significance.

Why is the South China Sea important to Vietnam?

Vietnam and China are neighbors with an extraordinarily complex relationship. On one hand, both are ruled by a Communist Party, making them ideological allies. They’re also busy trading partners that share an 800-mile border.

Yet China occupied Vietnam for a millennium and invaded it as recently as 1979. And under Xi Jinping, China’s powerful leader, Beijing has built military outposts on contested islands in the South China Sea. It also rejected an international tribunal’s landmark 2016 ruling that sided with the Philippines by saying that China’s expansive claim to sovereignty over the sea had no legal basis.

By Pablo Robles

The South China Sea, in particular, is so sensitive that Vietnam and China came dangerously close to an actual conflict there in 2014, after a Chinese company parked an oil rig in disputed waters off the Vietnamese coast.

All of that contributes to a fear among many Vietnamese that China could someday start a war in the body of water, which Vietnam calls the “East Sea.” Those concerns have helped shape Vietnam’s recent efforts to counterbalance its relationship with China by building stronger ties with the United States and other countries.

This ‘Barbie’ ban seems to fit a pattern.

Vietnamese censors have banned or altered several other movies that showed disputed areas as being under Beijing’s control. The list includes “Crazy Rich Asians” (2018), “Abominable” (2019) and “Uncharted” (2022), among others.

Why are Blackpink and the Philippines involved?

The Philippines is considering banning “Barbie” before its scheduled release there on July 19, with authorities saying this week that the movie was under review. A Philippine senator, Francis N. Tolentino, said that screening it would denigrate Philippine sovereignty.

Separately, a Vietnamese official said this week that the country’s Culture Ministry was trying to verify whether a Beijing-based Blackpink concert promoter, iMe, supports the nine-dash line. The promoter also apologized for displaying a map of the nine-dash line on its website, the Vietnamese news media reported.

Blackpink performing at Coachella in April.

The promoter’s Chinese website was inaccessible on Friday. Its Korean branch, along with Blackpink’s production company, YG Entertainment, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

As of Friday, Blackpink, a K-pop juggernaut, was still scheduled to perform two shows at the national stadium in Hanoi, Vietnam’s capital, in late July.

What’s the view in China and Vietnam?

The “Barbie” ban was widely discussed online in China this week, after the Foreign Ministry in Beijing criticized Vietnam on Tuesday for linking the South China Sea to “normal cultural exchange.” Many Chinese social media users have been dismissive of the spat, saying that Hollywood would always choose China over Vietnam.

By contrast, a few prominent Vietnamese observers said in interviews this week that their government’s “Barbie” ban was consistent with earlier efforts to protect Vietnamese sovereignty in the sea, and partly a reflection of the Communist Party’s sensitivity to domestic criticism of its China policy.

The “Barbie” ban was also successful, they added, because it got the international news media talking again about Vietnam’s territorial grievances.

Chau Doan contributed reporting from Hanoi, Vietnam. Li You contributed research from Shanghai.

Mike Ives is a general assignment reporter. More about Mike Ives

The New York Times · by Mike Ives · July 7, 2023

​

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