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Quotes of the Day:
"One could even ask: Are we already at war with Russia and/or China, and don’t know it? As T. E. Lawrence said: “Irregular war [is] far more intellectual than a bayonet charge.”
Irregular warfare is the armed conflict of our lifetime, and the Pentagon’s strategy to confront it is long overdue."
- Sean McFate
“It’s frightful that people who are so ignorant should have so much influence.”
- George Orwell
"Certain things catch your eye, but pursue only those that capture the heart."
- Ancient Indian Proverb
1. Statement of Julie Turner Nominee to be Special Envoy for North Korean Human Rights Issues, with the Rank of Ambassador
2. Yoon arrives in Japan for G-7 summit, meetings with Biden, Kishida
3. N. Korean family decided to cross border amid tightened COVID-19 control: spy agency
4. Yoon, Australia PM agree to increase cooperation in defense, arms
5. North Korea bristles at planned South-U.S. live-fire drills
6. NIS believes Seoul restaurant was covert Chinese police station: lawmaker
7. Defectors in China who fail to reach S. Korea complain of mental anguish
8. Mirim Horse Riding Club is for the exclusive use of N. Korea’s elite
9. Yoon harnesses G-7 debut to overcome past disputes with Japan
10. N. Korea's 1st military spy satellite launch likely be timed with key July anniv.: experts
11. U.S.-led Hostile Forces' Ceaseless War Provocations under Fire (KCNA Propaganda)
12. South Korea-US Alliance Is at a Critical Juncture for Cybersecurity Cooperation
13. North Korea Responsible for 30% of All Cryptocurrency Stolen Since 2017
14. Navy to commission new frigate named after warship torpedoed by N. Korea in 2010
15. North Korean student beaten to death by soldiers after trying to take some fuel to pay school fees
16. As US-China rivalry mounts, South Korea wants to be a ‘global pivotal state’ but it’s not as easy as it sounds
1. Statement of Julie Turner Nominee to be Special Envoy for North Korean Human Rights Issues, with the Rank of Ambassador
Ambassador Designate Julie Turner's statement for the record for her Senate confirmation hearing.
Her testimony, along with four other nominees can be viewed here: https://www.foreign.senate.gov/hearings/nominations-05-17-2023
The statement can be downloaded here but is pasted in full below. https://www.foreign.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/542fe25d-aba0-5cd2-ecdf-7c26dfd57cea/051723_Turner_Testimony.pdf
A good overview of her vision (the five points below).
Statement of Julie Turner
Nominee to be Special Envoy for North Korean Human Rights Issues, with the Rank of Ambassador
Senate Committee on Foreign Relations May 17, 2023
Chairman Van Hollen, Ranking Member Ricketts, and distinguished Members of the Committee, I am honored to appear before you today as President Biden’s nominee to serve as the Special Envoy on North Korean Human Rights Issues, with the rank of Ambassador. I am grateful for the confidence shown by the President and Secretary Blinken in nominating me.
As a Korean American adoptee, it was my childhood dream to serve the country that welcomed me, and I have been privileged to do so as a career civil service employee for 20 years. I entered the State Department in 2003 as an eager Presidential Management Fellow, finding a home in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL), and having the opportunity to work at the National Security Council as well. I have spent the last two decades promoting human rights, not just as U.S. values, but as critical interests directly tied to our national security.
One of my first assignments in DRL was to staff the first Special Envoy on North Korean Human Rights during President George W. Bush’s administration. With great humility and appreciation, I sit here today seeking your support for that same position. If confirmed, I will work closely with you and all Members to advance our nation’s interests through the promotion of human rights for North Koreans.
The human rights situation in the DPRK is one of the most protracted human rights crises in the world, and the COVID-19 pandemic has allowed Kim Jong Un to tighten his control over all aspects of life in the isolated country even more.
As the DPRK’s human rights record has deteriorated, the connection between its widespread violations and abuses and the threat it poses to international security are clear. The regime’s human rights violations and abuses are inextricably linked to its weapons programs, which are funded through the exploitation and abuse of the North Korean people. Thousands of North Koreans are exported abroad and
subjected to conditions that amount to forced labor. School children are subject to mass mobilizations, and food distribution policies favor the military, leaving millions of North Koreans food insecure. The people of North Korea have suffered far too long under these abusive policies.
If confirmed, I will focus on five key areas:
First, I will work with partners and allies, including the ROK, to reenergize international efforts to promote human rights and increase access to uncensored information in the DPRK. I will also empower and elevate the efforts of North Korean escapees, whose firsthand experiences, networks, and analysis are invaluable.
Second, I will seek to reinvigorate accountability efforts at the UN. I will prioritize efforts to resume the open briefing at the UN Security Council on the human rights situation in the DPRK and coordinate with likeminded governments to advance accountability for those responsible for human rights violations and abuses in the DPRK.
Third, I will undertake efforts to urge the DPRK to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms and provide for the needs of its people. I will call for the repeal of repressive laws, such as the Reactionary Thought and Culture Denunciation Law, and for assurances that international aid organizations will have access to provide assistance in an independent and nondiscriminatory manner, including to the most vulnerable populations.
Fourth, I will focus on the protection of North Korean refugees, including by pressing governments to uphold their respective non-refoulement obligations, to allow UNHCR access, and to ensure access to U.S. resettlement programs. I have had the honor of welcoming many North Korean escapees to the United States over the years and am proud to call many of them friends. These individuals overcame unimaginable odds in search of freedom and are now business owners, soldiers, civil service employees, and great Americans.
Fifth, I will engage with the Korean American community to identify divided families in the United States who have family members in the DPRK and advocate for the urgent reunification of these families with their immediate relatives. To
that end, I will partner closely with the Republic of Korea to advance family reunions, including for Korean abductees and their loved ones. I will also work with Japan and other partners to press for the immediate resolution of the Japanese abductees issue.
In closing, I want to thank my parents, Fred and Joan, and my siblings, Brad and Lindsey, for teaching me to have faith, to work hard, and to serve others. I also want to thank my talented and compassionate children -- Olivia, Eli, Alise, and Emma – who drive me to be a better human, along with my best friend and partner, George. I love you all. Thank you for your unwavering support and gracious understanding when humanitarian crises have kept me at work late.
Lastly, thank you to my colleagues in DRL and the State Department, who have mentored, encouraged, and inspired me.
Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member, Members of the Committee, thank you for considering my nomination. I look forward to your questions.
2. Yoon arrives in Japan for G-7 summit, meetings with Biden, Kishida
Excerpts:
"Based on the foundation of a more robust bilateral relationship between South Korea and the U.S., and between South Korea and Japan, they're expected to discuss strategic cooperation measures to upgrade South Korea-U.S.-Japan cooperation one step further in the face of North Korea's nuclear and missile threats, regional supply chain instability, the energy crisis and other common challenges," Kim said.
Chief among the agenda items will be their agreement in Cambodia to share missile warning data in real time to counter growing North Korean missile threats, though no new agreement is expected to be announced.
"I think the three leaders will be briefed on progress made so far, review it and then the three countries will each announce a coordinated outcome," a presidential official said.
Separately, Yoon and Kishida will hold a bilateral summit Sunday, their third since March.
Bilateral relations have warmed significantly following Seoul's decision in March to compensate Korean victims of Japanese wartime forced labor without asking for contributions from Japanese firms.
(2nd LD) Yoon arrives in Japan for G-7 summit, meetings with Biden, Kishida | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 이해아 · May 19, 2023
(ATTN: UPDATES with Yoon's arrival; CHANGES dateline, photo)
By Lee Haye-ah
HIROSHIMA, Japan, May 19 (Yonhap) -- President Yoon Suk Yeol arrived in Hiroshima on Friday for a Group of Seven (G-7) summit and other meetings on the sidelines, including one with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and another with Kishida and U.S. President Joe Biden.
The three-day visit comes amid a flurry of diplomacy as Yoon pushes to rebuild Seoul's relationships with Washington and Tokyo, and strengthen ties with like-minded nations that share the universal values of freedom, human rights and democracy.
Yoon will be the fourth South Korean president to attend a G-7 summit and is accompanied by first lady Kim Keon Hee. South Korea is not a member of the bloc but was invited as one of eight guest nations, along with Australia, Brazil, Comoros, the Cook Islands, India, Indonesia and Vietnam.
President Yoon Suk Yeol (L) and first lady Kim Keon Hee exit Air Force One after arriving at Hiroshima Airport in Hiroshima, Japan, on May 19, 2023. (Yonhap)
Yoon will address an expanded session of the G-7 summit and speak on issues that include food security, health, climate change and energy. The session will also include a discussion on policies for a rules-based international order and engaging with emerging countries.
"Our selection as a G-7 invited country this year will be an opportunity to confirm our status as a global partner for defending the rules-based international order and responding to global challenges," Principal Deputy National Security Adviser Kim Tae-hyo told reporters earlier.
"The trend we're seeing is a strengthening of relations with key friendly nations, such as the United States and Japan, and an expansion of the bilateral diplomacy basis, where we have built trust, to the multilateral diplomacy forum," he said.
A highlight of the trip will be a trilateral meeting among Yoon, Biden and Kishida on the margins of the G-7 summit.
This combined photo taken Nov. 13, 2022, shows South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol (L), U.S. President Joe Biden (C) and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida posing for a photo during their summit at a hotel in Phnom Penh. (Yonhap)
The meeting is likely to take place Sunday, on the last day of Yoon's visit, and will build on the three leaders' previous summit in Cambodia last November.
It will come on the heels of two summits between Yoon and Kishida, in March and May, and Yoon's state visit to Washington in April.
"Based on the foundation of a more robust bilateral relationship between South Korea and the U.S., and between South Korea and Japan, they're expected to discuss strategic cooperation measures to upgrade South Korea-U.S.-Japan cooperation one step further in the face of North Korea's nuclear and missile threats, regional supply chain instability, the energy crisis and other common challenges," Kim said.
Chief among the agenda items will be their agreement in Cambodia to share missile warning data in real time to counter growing North Korean missile threats, though no new agreement is expected to be announced.
"I think the three leaders will be briefed on progress made so far, review it and then the three countries will each announce a coordinated outcome," a presidential official said.
Separately, Yoon and Kishida will hold a bilateral summit Sunday, their third since March.
Bilateral relations have warmed significantly following Seoul's decision in March to compensate Korean victims of Japanese wartime forced labor without asking for contributions from Japanese firms.
Pictured on May 18, 2023, is the Grand Prince Hotel Hiroshima in Hiroshima on Japan's Honshu Island, the venue for the upcoming Group of 7 summit. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol will attend the meeting from May 19-21. (Yonhap)
Yoon will also hold bilateral summits with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Friday, and with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Indonesian President Joko Widodo and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Saturday.
In a symbolic move, Yoon and Kishida plan to pay a joint visit to a cenotaph for Korean victims of the 1945 Hiroshima atomic bombing at the Peace Memorial Park.
It will be the first visit to the memorial by a South Korean president and the first joint visit by the leaders of the two countries.
Through the visit, "South Korea and Japan will resolve to prepare together for a future of peace and prosperity," Kim said.
On Friday, Yoon will meet with a group of Korean victims of the atomic bombing in Hiroshima, the first South Korean president to do so, according to his office.
hague@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 이해아 · May 19, 2023
3. N. Korean family decided to cross border amid tightened COVID-19 control: spy agency
N. Korean family decided to cross border amid tightened COVID-19 control: spy agency | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 이민지 · May 19, 2023
SEOUL, May 19 (Yonhap) -- A group of North Koreans who crossed the de facto inter-Korean sea border aboard a fishing boat earlier this month fled the North to escape Pyongyang's rigid COVID-19 restrictions, they were quoted as saying by Seoul's spy agency Friday.
Military authorities found the group of nearly 10 North Koreans, presumed to be a family, on a ship approaching the Northern Limit Line in the Yellow Sea at night on May 6. The government has since been questioning them to verify whether they have an intention to defect to South Korea.
"In an interagency questioning, the defectors said they had admired our society while watching South Korean television and decided to defect as they grew exhausted of the North Korean regime amid tightened social control stemming from the pandemic," the National Intelligence Service, one of the government organizations handling the questioning, said.
The North Koreans are believed to be relatives by marriage, but the spy agency declined to further elaborate, citing risks of exposing their identities and safety concerns of their relatives in the North.
The local daily Dong-A Ilbo reported earlier that the North Koreans, known to be two families, have expressed their intention to defect. If confirmed, it would mark the first such defection case, involving a family group, since July 2017.
Once the interagency questioning wraps up and they are confirmed to be willing to defect here, they are expected to undergo a 12-week resettlement education program to adjust to life in South Korea.
In recent years, the number of North Korean defectors here dropped due largely to the reclusive state's stringent border controls put in place in the wake of COVID-19. The number, which was tallied at around 1,000 in 2019, dipped to 229 in 2020 and 63 in 2021. Last year, it stood at 67.
This June 23, 2021, file photo shows the entrance of the North Korean Refugee Protection Center in Siheung, south of Seoul. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)
mlee@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 이민지 · May 19, 2023
4. Yoon, Australia PM agree to increase cooperation in defense, arms
Always good to see cooperation among our allies.
Yoon, Australia PM agree to increase cooperation in defense, arms | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 이해아 · May 19, 2023
By Lee Haye-ah
HIROSHIMA, Japan, May 19 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese agreed Friday to increase cooperation in the defense and arms industries, the presidential office said.
Yoon and Albanese met on the sidelines of a Group of Seven (G-7) summit in Hiroshima and noted the progress the two countries have made since they upgraded their relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2021, according to presidential spokesperson Lee Do-woon.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol (R) and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese shake hands during their summit at a hotel in Hiroshima, Japan, on May 19, 2023. (Yonhap)
The two leaders called for closer cooperation in promoting regional peace, as their countries share the values of freedom.
"Based on the achievements so far, they agreed to further expand cooperation in the defense and arms sectors," Lee said in a written briefing.
Albanese said he hopes the two countries will come up with detailed measures to increase arms cooperation during his defense minister's planned visit to South Korea next week.
"He expressed hope that the two countries will increase the frequency of regional military exercises in which both countries take part," Lee said.
The two leaders also agreed to work more closely together based on the common understanding that North Korea's unprecedented provocations pose a serious threat to peace and prosperity in the region and beyond.
Yoon said he plans to strengthen strategic communication with Australia, a key like-minded nation in the region, in implementing his administration's Indo-Pacific strategy.
Albanese expressed his strong agreement, saying he notes Yoon's leadership in improving South Korea-Japan relations and promoting peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific.
They also agreed on the need for the two countries with complementary economic structures to maintain stable trade in critical minerals essential to the development of future cutting-edge industries, while continuing cooperation for global supply chain stability.
It was the second summit between Yoon and Albanese, following one on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Spain last June.
Yoon arrived in Hiroshima earlier Friday for a three-day visit and will attend the G-7 summit as well as multiple bilateral and trilateral meetings on the sidelines, including with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and U.S. President Joe Biden.
hague@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 이해아 · May 19, 2023
5. North Korea bristles at planned South-U.S. live-fire drills
Keep "bristling" Kim Jong Un. There is much more to come.
Friday
May 19, 2023
dictionary + A - A
North Korea bristles at planned South-U.S. live-fire drills
https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2023/05/19/national/northKorea/KoreaUS-ROKUS-livefire-exercise/20230519101155415.html
Korean and U.S. Air Forces stage air drills, involving a B-52H strategic bomber, F-35A fighters and F-16 fighters, over the Korean Peninsula on April 14. [MINISTRY OF NATIONAL DEFENSE]
North Korea on Friday condemned South Korea and the United States for planning to kick off their major joint live-fire drills next week, describing the drills as a "war exercise" against Pyongyang.
South Korea and the United States are set to stage the drills from May 25 to June 15 as they mark the 70th anniversary of their alliance. The drills are expected to involve advanced weapons systems, including F-35A stealth fighters, AH-64 Apache attack helicopters, K2 tanks and Chunmoo multiple rocket launchers.
The North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said that the drills are a "serial and extension of the anti-DPRK war exercises." DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, North Korea's official name.
The KCNA said such drills against a "nuclear power" are "sheer bullshit."
Pyongyang also issued a warning against South Korea and the United States, noting the "dangerous war exercises" will take place "in an area only a few kilometers away from our front."
South Korea and the United States "are bound to face corresponding responses for their madcap nuclear war racket," the KCNA said in an English-language dispatch.
It stressed that it is a "legitimate right" to "equip itself with more powerful self-defensive means in order to cope with the prevailing grave situation and prospective threats" in what appeared to be an apparent justification of its nuclear and missile developments.
Yonhap
6. NIS believes Seoul restaurant was covert Chinese police station: lawmaker
NIS believes Seoul restaurant was covert Chinese police station: lawmaker
koreaherald.com · by Kim Arin · May 19, 2023
By Kim Arin
Published : May 19, 2023 - 17:44 Updated : May 19, 2023 - 18:48
(123rf)
South Korean intelligence authorities believe a Chinese restaurant in Seoul’s central Songpa secretly served as an overseas police station for China, according to a lawmaker.
Speaking anonymously to The Korea Herald, the lawmaker who was briefed by the National Intelligence Service said the restaurant in Seoul “virtually functioned” as a secret police station for the Chinese government.
The NIS declined to comment on the lawmaker statement.
After the restaurant was pegged as a clandestine base for the Chinese overseas police in December last year, its owner held a press conference and denied the allegations.
Since then, Seoul authorities have been investigating the allegations and whether the presence of foreign police would be a violation of the immigration laws here.
According to a report by the nongovernmental organization Safeguard Defenders based in Spain, China is allegedly running more than 100 police stations overseas with the aim of forcibly repatriating Chinese nationals.
By Kim Arin (arin@heraldcorp.com)
7. Defectors in China who fail to reach S. Korea complain of mental anguish
The Korean people escaping from the north suffer multiple tragedies and hardship on the way to freedom - if they can reach freedom. China not only abuses the human rights of its own citizens, it is complicit in north Korean human rights abuses. It should be treating these Koreans as refugees and allowing them to transit to the country of their choice. We need to put pressure on China as well as north Korea as part of a human rights upfront approach.
Defectors in China who fail to reach S. Korea complain of mental anguish
“Brokers” who move people to South Korea cost much more now, with some of them even demanding money up front
By Lee Chae Un - 2023.05.19 5:00pm
dailynk.com
A marker delineating the border between China and North Korea (Wikimedia Commons)
Some North Korean defectors in China who tried and failed to reach South Korea are complaining of mental anguish, Daily NK has learned.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a reporting partner in China told Daily NK on Monday that “recently, North Korean defectors in China who returned home after failing to reach South Korea are feeling suffocated because they are living under tight 24-hour surveillance by their Chinese families.”
According to the reporting partner, a defector identified as “A” who lives in Shenyang, Liaoning Province, suffers stress from being surveilled by her Chinese family members.
“A” fled the home where she was living in January and tried to reach South Korea. However, the Chinese police arrested her, and she returned home after spending a month in prison. Afraid she might try to run off again, her Chinese family members follow her even when she goes to the bathroom.
“If defectors in China are arrested and imprisoned after trying to reach South Korea, they are freed only if their Chinese families agree to take them back and pay a fine,” the reporting partner said. “Defectors who are freed afterwards live locked-up at home, and suffer psychological and economic pain since they receive not a single cent in living expenses, supposedly because they’ll run away if they have money.”
A defector living in China told Daily NK that “I twice tried to run off to South Korea and was arrested by police both times, and I was freed after this person [her Chinese partner] paid the fine. However, now he won’t let me make phone calls and follows me everywhere to watch me, claiming I’m alive because of him. This is the worst hell possible.
“My parents and siblings left to be happier and live better, so nowadays, I don’t know what I live for. It’s getting harder and harder to go to South Korea, and the future is gloomy as I don’t know how long I’ll have to live here like this.”
COVID-19 has made matters worse
Many North Korean defectors have found it even harder to go to South Korea since the COVID-19 pandemic, the reporting partner said.
He told Daily NK that Chinese police have stepped up their crackdowns, making it difficult to move around China without identification. Additionally, “brokers” who move people to South Korea cost much more now, with some of them even demanding money up front.
“Before COVID-19, brokers needed KRW 2 million [around USD 1,500] and you paid after, but now, it’s gone up 10-fold to nearly KRW 20 million [around USD 15,000], and brokers are asking for it up front,” the reporting partner said. “And since there’s no guarantee that you won’t get caught, many defectors won’t dare trying to go to South Korea even if there’s a broker who says he or she can help out.”
Faced with this situation, defectors in China who want to go to South Korea are eagerly waiting for cheap ways they can use to get to the South.
Meanwhile, South Korea’s unification ministry said on Apr. 25 that a total of 34 North Korean defectors — five men and 29 women — entered the South in the first quarter of 2023, slightly more than the 25 who entered in the fourth quarter of last year. However, it added that it would continue to watch the direction of related trends “as there have been significant quarterly deviations over the last couple of years.”
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.
Read in Korean
dailynk.com
8. Mirim Horse Riding Club is for the exclusive use of N. Korea’s elite
Sigh.... While the vast majority of Koreans in the north suffer tragedy, Kim Jong Un has this. And anyone who would like to go to north Korea as a tourist must know that they are walking on the backs and stepping on the necks of. the majority of the Korean people (trying to make an allusion to north Korean propaganda to make the propagation comparison)
Mirim Horse Riding Club is for the exclusive use of N. Korea’s elite
A recent push to promote the club may be related to efforts to reopen the country to foreign tourism
dailynk.com
The Mirim Equestrian Horse Riding Club in 2013 (Wikimedia Commons, Uri Tours)
One of Kim Jong Un’s most well-known legacy projects, the Mirim Horse Riding Club, is being used exclusively by high-level party cadres and wealthy upper-class elites.
Covering some 650,000 square meters, the club was completed on Oct. 25, 2013, and features both indoor and outdoor equestrian training areas, a horse racing-centered entertainment room, a restaurant, photo studio, and gift shop.
A place for the crème de la crème
According to a reporting partner in North Korea on Tuesday, ordinary people have come to think of the club as reserved for the upper class.
People living in the provinces who want to visit the club first need to acquire special permission to visit Pyongyang along with a travel pass, in addition to paying for the general costs of their stay.
No ordinary person would be willing to waste that much time and money just to go ride horses at the club, the reporting partner said.
Nonetheless, Naenara, a North Korean publication for international readers, released an article on Apr. 16 that said “construction of Mirim Horse Riding Club was completed in October of 2013. The club was built in a wide-open area on the outskirts of Pyongyang with just the right environment and conditions for equestrian sports and education. Since then, a growing number of people have sought out the club.” The outlet went on to add that “these visitors include people of all ages, from toddlers in kindergarten to the elderly.”
Another publication for international readers, Kumsu Kangsan, ran the same coverage promoting Mirim Horse Riding Club in the magazine’s April issue.
But Daily NK’s reporting partner disagreed with these claims made by North Korean state-run media outlets.
“Every now and then, people working at provincial enterprises might be forced to purchase vouchers for group visits to Mirim Horse Riding Club or for tours of Pyongyang, but no one would ever intentionally go to Pyongyang to ride a horse,” the reporting partner said.
In fact, the equestrian club charges a great deal of money for the use of its facilities. Admission is USD 7 and one hour of horse-riding costs USD 50. The horse-riding fee alone (USD 50) amounts to a small fortune in North Korea, equivalent to KPW 420,000 or 76 kilograms of rice at the market.
“Cadres and donju in Pyongyang often buy season passes to go horse-riding or celebrate their children’s birthdays by taking their kids and their friends to the club. Ordinary people can’t do something so lavish for their kids and feel sorry about that,” the reporting partner said. In short, ordinary people feel a sense of deprivation when they compare themselves with people with money and power who can use the facility.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on a horse atop Mount Paektu. This image was released by North Korean state media on Oct. 16, 2019. (KCNA)
Despite the exclusionary nature of the club, North Korean propaganda continues to promote it. Some people suspect these efforts are intended to make Kim Jong Un and his family’s equestrian hobby seem like a pastime that can be enjoyed by the general public, rather than as a special privilege.
“People know that the General [Kim Jong Un] often rides horses with his children or Comrade Yo Jong [his sister],” the reporting partner said. “A fair number of people also know that the riding club was opened up to the public in order to make it look like the Kim family isn’t enjoying special privileges.”
On Feb. 8, North Korea’s KCTV broadcast coverage of the military review commemorating the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People’s Army. This coverage included scenes of the Myongye Cavalry riding in formation, with the cavalry’s commanding officer riding a horse specifically identified as the “most beloved prize horse of the beloved child [Kim Ju Ae].” This comment revealed that Kim’s young daughter, Ju Ae, owns a white horse.
Will tourists return to North Korea in the near future?
On the other hand, Pyongyang cadres reportedly believe that the recent propaganda push to advertise the club is related to efforts to reopen the country to foreign tourism following the end of COVID-19 pandemic. This is because the club was built in 2013 as a means to obtain foreign currency from tourists.
Tourist areas such as the Wonsan Kalma Coastal Tourist Area and Yangdok Onchon Tourist Area have recently been given orders to restart efforts aimed at their opening, and the regime’s increasing efforts to promote the Mirim Horse Riding Club abroad might be due to efforts to open the country back up to tourists in the near future.
That being said, the regime has simply ordered for tourist sites to prepare their facilities; it does not appear that full-scale efforts to attract foreign tourists into the country have begun.
Translated by Rose Adams. 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.
Read in Korean
dailynk.com
9. Yoon harnesses G-7 debut to overcome past disputes with Japan
Yoon harnesses G-7 debut to overcome past disputes with Japan
koreaherald.com · by Ji Da-gyum · May 19, 2023
President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife, Kim Keon Hee, greet officials while boarding the presidential plane at Seoul Airport in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, on Friday, prior to departing for Japan to attend the Group of Seven Summit in Hiroshima. (Yonhap)
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is poised to make his debut at the Group of Seven summit, which will be largely overshadowed by Russia's grinding war on Ukraine and China's growing assertiveness in the South China Sea.
But while these geopolitical challenges loom, Yoon has his own separate goal. The president seeks to use his visit to the city of Hiroshima as an opportunity to improve ties between South Korea and Japan, as well as display the two country's concerted efforts to surmount the intricate challenges stemming from bitter historical disputes.
Yoon embarked on his trip to Japan on Friday afternoon to attend the three-day G-7 summit -- which culminates on Sunday -- as an observer.
During his trip, Yoon is scheduled to meet South Korean victims of the 1945 US atomic bombing of Hiroshima, the South Korean presidential office said on Friday. It did not give details on the number of participants and the format of the meeting.
Yoon will be the first South Korean president to meet with the survivors of the Hiroshima atomic bombing, which resulted in hundreds of thousands of civilian casualties.
Koreans were among the second-largest group of victims after the Japanese, many of whom were forcibly brought to Japan to work during World War II under Japan's colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 1945.
"The meeting shows the president's determination to improve bilateral ties between South Korea and Japan while resolving historical issues," presidential spokesperson Lee Do-woon said during a press briefing.
"Although South Korea and Japan have opened the door to the future, the meeting symbolically demonstrates the unwavering determination of the two countries to never close the door to the past."
Yoon and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida have also planned to pay their respects at a memorial stone in the Peace Memorial Park dedicated to the thousands of Korean victims of the atomic bombing.
The joint visit was agreed upon during their May 7 summit in Seoul, marking the first time leaders from South Korea and Japan jointly visit a monument honoring Korean victims. Yoon will also be the first South Korean president to visit such a memorial site.
"The joint visit by the two leaders will provide solace to the Koreans who perished in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and serve as a place for South Korea and Japan to build a future of peace and prosperity together," Kim Tae-hyo, first deputy director of the National Security Office, said on Sunday.
Yoon is set to engage in a summit with Kishida on Sunday, a mere two weeks after their second one-on-one meeting in Seoul. This forthcoming round of leader-to-leader discussions marks the third encounter within a span of two months, following their initial meeting in Tokyo in mid-March, during which they committed to resuming "shuttle diplomacy."
President Yoon Suk Yeol (right) and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida shake hands during a joint news conference following their summit at the presidential office in Seoul on May 7. (Yonhap)
The trilateral summit between South Korea, the US and Japan is tentatively scheduled to take place on Sunday, marking the first in-person meeting since their encounter on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in November 2022.
The three-way meeting comes after two summits between Yoon and Kishida this year and Yoon's state visit to the US in April.
Yoon, Kishida and US President Joe Biden are expected to engage in discussions aimed at enhancing strategic cooperation and elevating trilateral collaboration to a new level, Kim said Sunday. It would help better address common challenges such as North Korea's nuclear and missile threats, regional supply chain instability and energy crises, he added.
Kim underlined that the talks will be anchored on the strengthened bilateral relationships between South Korea and the US, as well as between South Korea and Japan.
The three leaders are anticipated to discuss their trilateral security cooperation and progress that they have made to share North Korean missile warning data in real time. The three countries forged the agreement at the summit in November 2022.
In addition, Yoon is scheduled to engage in separate bilateral summits with leaders from seven countries, including Japan, on the sidelines of the G-7 summit. On Friday, he will hold summit talks with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh. The following day, Yoon will meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Indonesian President Joko Widodo and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
Lee, the presidential spokesperson, on Friday underscored that Yoon's attendance at the G-7 summit will "serve as an opportunity to solidify international solidarity in security, economy, industry and other areas, maximizing South Korea's national interests during this crucial period of evolving international order."
Lee explained that the Hiroshima G-7 summit is significant to strengthening solidarity with partner countries that have shared core values.
The G-7 is an informal grouping of advanced economies: the US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom. The seven countries meet annually to discuss issues including global economic governance, international security and energy policy.
As the host country, Japan has extended invitations to eight other nations, including South Korea, Australia, Brazil, Comoros, the Cook Islands, India, Indonesia and Vietnam. The Hiroshima summit will primarily revolve around discussions on "upholding the international order based on the rule of law" and "strengthening outreach to the Global South," encompassing regions such as Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Oceania.
Yoon is also scheduled to deliver a speech at the extended session of the multilateral forum on global issues of food security, health care, the climate crisis and energy development on Saturday. Lee said Yoon's speech will serve as a venue to reaffirm South Korea's leadership and its standing as a "global pivotal state."
By Ji Da-gyum (dagyumji@heraldcorp.com)
koreaherald.com · by Ji Da-gyum · May 19, 2023
10. N. Korea's 1st military spy satellite launch likely be timed with key July anniv.: experts
Anniversary predictions are a pretty good bet based on past history.
N. Korea's 1st military spy satellite launch likely be timed with key July anniv.: experts
The Korea Times · May 17, 2023
This image, captured from footage of North Korea's state-run TV station shows the North's leader, Kim Jong-un, inspecting the Non-permanent Satellite Launch Preparatory Committee the previous day, May 17. Yonhap
North Korea has announced the completion of preparations to mount its first military spy satellite on a rocket, but some experts predicted the North may launch it around a key anniversary in July to flex its military muscle with success.
The North's leader Kim Jong-un on Tuesday inspected the country's non-permanent committee designed to prepare for the launch of a military reconnaissance satellite and approved of its "future action plan," the Korean Central News Agency reported Wednesday.
The secretive regime said the satellite is "ready for loading" on a rocket, after undergoing the final general assembly check and space environment test, stressing an "urgent requirement" to bolster its defense capabilities.
Kim's on-site inspection came about a month after he said the country completed building the satellite and ordered final preparations for the launch "as planned" during his visit to the state aerospace development agency in April.
The development of a military spy satellite is one of the high-tech weapons projects laid out at a key party congress in January 2021, along with a solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile and a nuclear-powered submarine.
Experts said the spy satellite launch does not appear to be imminent, as Pyongyang may need "at least three or four weeks" for an actual launch, given the time needed for technical checks.
To put a satellite into an orbit, precise work should be carried out, including the transportation of a payload to a launching pad and assembly jobs on a satellite and launch vehicle.
"The North may launch the satellite in early June or mid-June at the earliest date. But the country is more likely to calibrate the timing of the launch around 'Victory Day' in July for its success after thorough preparations," Hong Min, a researcher at the state-run Korea Institute for National Unification, said.
North Korea will mark the 70th anniversary of "Victory Day" on July 27, the signing date of the armistice that halted the 1950-53 Korean War. The North calls the conflict the Great Fatherland Liberation War.
The North is likely to celebrate the upcoming anniversary with a possible military parade, in a bid to boast its military capabilities, as the country has been focusing on expanding its arsenal of nuclear weapons.
Hong said North Korea has been ramping up satellite developments under the pretext of safeguarding its "sovereignty and self-defense," apparently competing against South Korea's push for satellite launches and trying to bolster deterrence against the United States.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, 2nd from right, rear, along with his daughter Ju-ae, far right, rear, talks with members of the Non-permanent Satellite Launch Preparatory Committee in Pyongyang to inspect the country's first military reconnaissance satellite, in this photo released by the North's official Korean Central News Agency, May 16. Yonhap
Kim Dong-yub, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies, also said the North is expected to take time for the satellite launch, as its prime goal is to thoroughly achieve the goal of the defense projects laid out at the eighth congress of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) in 2021.
"After completing preparations in terms of technology, climate and other conditions, North Korea is expected to launch the spy satellite, when it feels confident at a point in a period spanning from mid-June to its other key anniversaries in September and October," Kim said.
The North also will celebrate the 70th anniversary of the regime's establishment on Sept. 9, this year and mark the 78th founding anniversary of the WPK on Oct. 10.
In December, the North carried an "important, final-stage" test for the development of a military spy satellite, and released black-and-white photos of Seoul and a nearby city, which it said were shot from its "test-piece satellite."
Analysts said the North is expected to notify international agencies, such as the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the International Telecommunication Union, of its plan for the satellite launch in a bid to show that it is pursuing "legitimate" space development projects.
The North previously notified the IMO and other international agencies of its plan for what it claimed to be a satellite launch, including the "Kwangmyongsong-4" launched in February 2016.
The North's leader Kim visited the Sohae Satellite Launching Ground, the country's satellite test site on the west coast in March last year, and called for its expansion and modernization to launch various rockets carrying multipurpose satellites, including a military spy satellite, in the future.
38 North, a U.S. website monitoring North Korea, recently said activity at the launch pad area at the Sohae facility has resumed after nearly a half-year hiatus. It said a new tower crane with a height of about 90 meters has been erected next to the existing tower. (Yonhap)
The Korea Times · May 17, 2023
11. U.S.-led Hostile Forces' Ceaseless War Provocations under Fire (KCNA Propaganda)
For your reading pleasure.
U.S.-led Hostile Forces' Ceaseless War Provocations under Fire
Date: 19/05/2023 | Source: KCNA.kp (En) | Read original version at source
https://kcnawatch.us/newstream/1684447667-506615838/u-s-led-hostile-forces-ceaseless-war-provocations-under-fire/
Pyongyang, May 19 (KCNA) -- The situation on the Korean Peninsula is closing in on the brink of explosion.
After staging the longest-ever joint military exercises Freedom Shield and the largest-ever Ssangyong combined landing drills, the U.S. imperialists and the south Korean puppet warmongers continue to stage anti-DPRK war exercises under different codenames, seriously disturbing peace and security of the Korean Peninsula and the region.
On April 3, when the Ssangyong drill was going on, the nuclear carrier Nimitz and the Aegis destroyers Decatur and Wayne E. Meyer of the U.S. navy, the destroyer Umigiri of the Japan maritime "Self-Defense Force" and warships on different missions of the south Korean puppet navy were deployed in the East Sea of Korea to stage joint naval drill for getting familiar with sonar tracking, pursuit and destroying procedures under the simulated conditions of an "attack on a north Korea's submarine".
On April 5, they magnified their war drumbeats to the tune of "actualization of strengthened extended deterrence" by flying nuclear strategic bomber B-52H stationed in Guam and F-35A and F-35B stealth fighters into the sky above puppet south Korea. On April 14, nuclear strategic bomber B-52H was again involved in a joint air drill.
The war exercises simultaneously staged in the sky and seas from April 17 to April 28 with the involvement of large strategic assets were the largest-ever ones in the first half of this year, which further aggravated the situation on the Korean Peninsula and the region.
By deploying all types of air strike means huge enough to fight a war, the U.S. imperialists and the south Korean puppet forces staged so-called "combined joint formation drill." During the period, a combined naval drill was conducted on the East Sea of Korea with the involvement of the U.S. navy, Aegis destroyers Benfold and Athogo of the Japan maritime "Self-Defense Force" and Aegis destroyers of the south Korean puppet navy.
It was followed by a special high-altitude paratroopers drill involving the U.S. special operations command and the special warfare command of south Korean puppet army, a combined ground combat drill and mobile and live-shell firing drill of the puppet army. Such ceaseless war exercises pushed the situation on the Korean Peninsula to a more critical phase.
The U.S. imperialists and south Korean puppet forces' military racket to pressurize the DPRK have assumed more undisguised and dangerous nature under the signboard of "strengthening extended deterrence", occasioned by the publication of the "Washington Declaration".
Amid the frequent joint drills under the simulated conditions of surprise "infiltration" into the DPRK and "occupation" of it such as "emergency operation drill", "maritime counter special operations exercise" and "joint high-altitude airborne infiltration drill", strategic bombers being loaded with long-range air-to-ground missiles were unprecedentedly given media coverage to escalate nuclear threat and blackmail against the DPRK.
Traitor Yoon Suk Yeol and the south Korean puppet military gangsters are bluffing under the war scenario worked out by the U.S. imperialists.
On May 11 traitor Yoon, gripped by war fever, impudently clamored for "reinforcing proactive deterrence and response capability", "possessing overwhelming power for deterring the north in advance" and "securing the capabilities for spying on the whole area of the north and ultra-precision high-power strike", talking about "nuclear and missile threats from the north" to turn black into white.
The south Korean puppet chairman of the joint chiefs of staff gadded around frontline units of the puppet army like a dog to whip up extreme confrontation hysteria, calling for "annihilating the enemy and victoriously concluding operation" and "securing the capability and posture decisively contributing to battle victory."
What should not be overlooked is that the U.S. and the south Korean puppet warmongers have announced that they will stage five rounds of the largest-ever "combined joint fire annihilation drill" in Phochon of Kyonggi Province from May 25 to June 15.
The so-called "combined joint fire annihilation drill", a typical north-targeted war rehearsal to be conducted under the war scenario, in which the combined forces of the U.S. army and the south Korean puppet army take "punitive action" against the DPRK by using the latest weaponry in case a war breaks out on the Korean Peninsula, is a serial and extension of the anti-DPRK war exercises kicked off by the forces hostile toward the DPRK at the outset of this year.
What on earth is "fire drill"? "Exercise for annihilating" a nuclear power is just sheer bullshit, isn't it?
We cannot but take a more serious note of the fact that they are going to make gunfire in such dangerous war exercises which will last for more than 20 days frantically in an area only a few kilometers away from our front.
We are closely watching every military move of the hostile forces utterly destroying and imperiling the security environment of the Korean Peninsula and the region.
The hostile forces' farce of amending the "war guidelines", a sinister design to stifle the DPRK by force of arms, is another clear proof that their hysteria for provoking a war has reached the phase that can no longer be overlooked.
Choe Ju Hyon, an international security analyst of the DPRK, in an article titled "Expansion of the U.S.-led war drills of aggression is a trigger for driving the situation on the Korean peninsula to the point of explosion" commented that each country conducts military drills exercising its right to self-defence but there is no such military drill as the U.S. and its vassal forces' anti-DPRK war drills which continue all the year round, day after day and month after month, with the involvement of huge war hardware specifically targeted on a country. Witnessing such dreary situation prevailing on the Korean Peninsula, anyone with common sense and reason can easily notice who the arch criminal escalating tensions is and what the malignant factor of bringing the fiery clouds is, the article stressed.
World situation analysts also comment that the U.S. systematically escalates its various provocative moves against the DPRK, and Washington doggedly resorting to pressure and coercive methods is the root cause of the danger of a nuclear war brought by the escalation of tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
The situation clearly shows who seriously disturbs peace and security of the Korean Peninsula and the region.
The U.S. and the south Korean puppet warmongers are bound to face corresponding responses for their madcap nuclear war racket.
It is a legitimate right of a sovereign country to equip itself with more powerful self-defensive means in order to cope with the prevailing grave situation and prospective threats. -0-
www.kcna.kp (Juche112.5.19.)
12. South Korea-US Alliance Is at a Critical Juncture for Cybersecurity Cooperation
Conclusion:
Washington and Seoul have a strong foundation upon which to build their cyber partnerships. The Biden administration’s leadership in cybersecurity and the increasingly positive South Korean public sentiments about the South Korea-U.S. security alliance are all good indicators. By implementing the bilateral Strategic Cybersecurity Cooperation Framework, Washington and Seoul can take their partnership to the next level.
South Korea-US Alliance Is at a Critical Juncture for Cybersecurity Cooperation
Washington and Seoul have a strong foundation upon which to build their cyber partnerships.
thediplomat.com · by Jiwon Ma · May 17, 2023
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Standing in the Rose Garden of the White House in late April, U.S. President Joe Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol pledged “to get the ball rolling” on expanding the Mutual Defense Treaty into cyberspace. They made a similar commitment last year, but discussions have progressed slowly. This year, things are looking more promising thanks to the two leaders’ commitment to establish a bilateral Strategic Cybersecurity Cooperation Framework.
Cyber cooperation between the United States and South Korea has been stymied over the years by bureaucratic challenges. For instance, discrepancies between how each nation organizes law enforcement to handle cybersecurity incidents, especially North Korean-related threats, create major collaboration hurdles. Furthermore, the allies do not always see eye to eye on the scale of the threat. Until recently, many Western cyber experts viewed North Korean cyber threats as less potent than the ones posed by Russia or China. Yet, defending against Pyongyang’s attacks remains one of Seoul’s major objectives. These pain points could make the collaborative efforts go awry.
Like its predecessor, this year’s joint statement outlines the two allies’ cybersecurity partnership with an emphasis on deterring adversaries, protecting critical infrastructure, combatting cybercrime, and securing digital currency and blockchain applications from adversaries. These objectives also inform the newly proposed U.S.-ROK Strategic Cybersecurity Cooperation Framework, which calls for upholding democratic values in cyberspace, specifically by encouraging responsible state behavior and defending the integrity of the free and open Internet. Furthermore, the framework aspires to achieve two mutually beneficial objectives. For South Korea, the focus is to stop North Korea’s illicit revenue-generating schemes. For the United States, it is to reduce global dependence on China for critical technology supply chains, especially semiconductors.
The joint statement also identifies an organizational structure for coordination at various levels, but should have done more to improve the South Korea-U.S. information sharing system. Addressing differences in how intelligence agencies communicate with one another would greatly facilitate information sharing.
Likewise, the two countries pledged to continue investing in cloud computing and digital infrastructure research and development in the joint statement. Nevertheless, there are ongoing efforts to preserve a free and open Indo-Pacific. For instance, both countries are taking measures to ratchet up semiconductor manufacturing at home. Similar to the CHIPS and Science Act in the United States, South Korea’s K-Chips Act seeks to spur domestic semiconductor investments. However, the CHIPS and Science Act’s strict rules for foreign investment in the U.S. chip sector had a negative impact on Korean chipmakers and stirred up negative sentiments in Seoul. While the details remain undisclosed, the two countries seem to have reached a mutually beneficial arrangement during the presidential summit.
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In response to the joint statement, Korean media is buzzing with articles that suggest South Korea’s cybersecurity policies have reached a critical juncture thanks to Yoon’s state visit. As its capabilities improve, Seoul’s cyber agencies will be able to cooperate more effectively with their U.S. counterparts. Moreover, the Biden administration has been ramping up its work with allies and partners. Among various efforts, the U.S. State Department has established a new Bureau for Cyberspace and Digital Policy with its first-ever Senate-confirmed cyber ambassador-at-large, Nathaniel Fick.
In February, Fick traveled to South Korea to meet with his counterparts at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to discuss cybersecurity cooperation. He also met with South Korea’s major telecommunications providers to discuss their work in 5G Open Radio Access Networks (ORAN). ORAN is a secure and cost-effective alternative to traditional wireless networks. ORAN’s interoperability with hardware sold by differing vendors would allow for greater diversification of regional equipment suppliers to replace hardware from companies like China’s Huawei.
Also in February, law enforcement agencies from both countries issued a joint cybersecurity advisory, a sign of improved collaboration. The advisory warned healthcare networks and other critical infrastructure owners and operators against ransomware attacks. All these joint efforts emphasize the importance of enforcing responsible norms and behaviors and building the cyber capacity of allies and partners.
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South Korea is already taking proactive steps, proposing to participate in U.S.-led multinational cyber exercises. Next, the national security advisers from both countries will meet in South Korea for the launch of a Next Generation Critical and Emerging Technologies Dialogue later this year. The agenda is to expand their partnership and discuss areas of cooperation in emerging technologies, like digital technology standards, semiconductors, quantum computing, and artificial intelligence.
Washington and Seoul have a strong foundation upon which to build their cyber partnerships. The Biden administration’s leadership in cybersecurity and the increasingly positive South Korean public sentiments about the South Korea-U.S. security alliance are all good indicators. By implementing the bilateral Strategic Cybersecurity Cooperation Framework, Washington and Seoul can take their partnership to the next level.
GUEST AUTHOR
Jiwon Ma
Jiwon Ma is a program analyst the Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation (CCTI) at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, where she contributes to the CSC 2.0 project. Follow her on Twitter @jiwonma_92.
thediplomat.com · by Jiwon Ma · May 17, 2023
13. North Korea Responsible for 30% of All Cryptocurrency Stolen Since 2017
North Korea Responsible for 30% of All Cryptocurrency Stolen Since 2017
bitdefender.com · by Silviu STAHIE
Industry News
1 min read
Silviu STAHIE
May 18, 2023
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North Korean hackers stole $2.3 billion in cryptocurrency from companies in Asia, including Japan, Vietnam and Hong Kong. The United States is also among the countries affected by these attacks.
North Korea is responsible for many of the cryptocurrency hacks and other types of attacks in the world. Threat actors like the Lazarus Group have operated from North Korea with impunity for years. Given how that totalitarian state is internally organized, the Lazarus Group likely works directly at the behest of the government.
According to a report put together by Elliptic on behalf of Nikkei, hacker groups from North Korea, or at least affiliated with it, stole $721 million in cryptocurrency from Japan since 2017, roughly 30 percent of all funds stolen by these threat actors. Needless to say, the main focus of North Korea remains Asian states.
In total, hackers have stolen $2.3 billion in cryptocurrency from companies since 2017.
“Of that, Japan accounted for the largest portion, followed by Vietnam ($540 million), the U.S. ($497 million) and Hong Kong ($281 million),” the report found.
“According to the Japan External Trade Organization, the $721 million stolen from Japan is 8.8 times greater than the value of North Korea's exports in 2021.”
Elliptic also found that hackers targeted countries in which cryptocurrency markets and services, such as crypto exchanges, have grown faster in recent years than the security measures needed to protect them, making them ideal targets.
The $2.3 billion in cryptocurrency stolen by North Korea since 2017 account for 30% of all losses worldwide, highlighting the extent of the operation.
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bitdefender.com · by Silviu STAHIE
14. Navy to commission new frigate named after warship torpedoed by N. Korea in 2010
Never forget. It is the right thing to do to honor those 46 sailors who were murdered by the Kim family regime.
Navy to commission new frigate named after warship torpedoed by N. Korea in 2010
The Korea Times · May 19, 2023
ROKS Cheonan frigate, named after a corvette torpedoed by North Korea in March 2010, is seen in this May 19 photo provided by the Korean Navy. Yonhap
The Navy was set to hold a ceremony Friday to officially introduce into service a new frigate named after a warship torpedoed by North Korea in 2010, officials said.
The commissioning ceremony for the 2,800-ton Cheonan, was scheduled to take place at a key naval base in Changwon, about 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, according to the armed service and the state arms procurement agency.
The 1,200-ton Cheonan sank near the Northern Limit Line, a de facto western inter-Korean sea border, in March 2010, after a North Korean midget submarine fired a torpedo at it, killing 46 sailors aboard.
The ceremony will be attended by former crew members of the eponymous vessel, including Choi Won-il, the captain of the corvette at the time of its sinking.
The new Cheonan is the seventh warship produced as part of Korea's plans to procure eight new frigates designed to replace the aging fleet of 1,500-ton frigates and 1,000-ton corvettes.
The warship is equipped with anti-ship and ship-to-ground missiles, anti-submarine torpedoes, as well as hull mounted and towed array sonar systems.
After undergoing further operational assessment, the frigate is expected to be deployed for operations in the Yellow Sea late this year.
"Containing the patriotism of the Cheonan's 46 fallen soldiers, the revived Cheonan will perfectly conduct operations to protect our seas as a core asset of the Republic of Korea's Navy," Vice Adm. Kim Myung-soo, commander of the ROK Navy Fleet, was quoted as saying. ROK stands for the Republic of Korea, Korea's official name. (Yonhap)
The Korea Times · May 19, 2023
15. North Korean student beaten to death by soldiers after trying to take some fuel to pay school fees
The socialist workers' paradise?
North Korean student beaten to death by soldiers after trying to take some fuel to pay school fees
- The boy, along with three others, attempted to siphon petrol from a military truck, when soldiers having lunch nearby beat the children up, sources say
- The government often orders students to pay cash, act as cheap labour, or provide materials for state projects
Business Insider
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Published: 4:57pm, 19 May, 2023
By Business Insider South China Morning Post2 min
May 19, 2023
View Original
North Korean soldiers
A middle-school student was beaten to death by soldiers in North Korea for trying to steal fuel from a military vehicle, sources told Radio Free Asia.
The unnamed sources told RFA that the incident occurred on May 4 in Tongnam village in the country’s northern territory of Ryanggang. The unnamed boy was hoping to sell the stolen fuel and use the money to pay off a mandatory school fee, RFA reported.
The North Korean government often orders students to pay cash, act as cheap labour, or provide materials for state projects, per RFA. In this case, the student was instructed to bring paints and varnish to school or donate 4,000 won – equivalent to US$4.40 – to the school.
“Where are they supposed to get paints and varnish?” one source told RFA. “The students had no way to raise money”.
The student, along with three others, attempted to siphon petrol from a military truck. But soldiers who’d stopped nearby for lunch started beating the children, the sources said.
While the other three managed to escape from the scene, the victim was beaten to death by the soldiers, the sources – who say they live in the area where the incident took place – told RFA.
“After they realised one of the students had died, they drove off without doing anything for him,” the source told RFA.
The other three students were later rounded up and arrested, per the media outlet. RFA’s sources said they were unsure if the soldiers were punished for the killing.
This is not the first time the authoritarian country has killed a civilian over something trivial. In November last year, a man was executed by a firing squad for smuggling the Netflix hit show “Squid Game” into the country and selling it, RFA reported.
A group of six senior school children who watched the show were also sentenced to five years of hard labour, and their teachers and school administrators were fired, per RFA.
Another outlandish law in North Korea is the ban on people having the same name as Kim Jong-un’s daughter, “Ju Ae.” People with that name are required to change their birth certificates, per a February report from RFA.
The identity of the deceased student could not be independently verified.
16. As US-China rivalry mounts, South Korea wants to be a ‘global pivotal state’ but it’s not as easy as it sounds
As US-China rivalry mounts, South Korea wants to be a ‘global pivotal state’ but it’s not as easy as it sounds
- President Yoon has touted his new Indo-Pacific policy and the Korean-Asean Solidarity Initiative as a key step to elevate Seoul’s strategic role in the region and become a ‘global pivotal state’
- But with South Korea not part of major groupings such as the Quad or Aukus, it lacks the diplomatic clout to attain its goal and instead focus on growing into a credible regional pivotal state
William Choong
and Joanne Lin
Published: 2:00pm, 19 May, 2023
By William Choong South China Morning Post5 min
May 19, 2023
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US President Joe Biden and his South Korean counterpart Yoon Suk-yeol
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has been on a roll. At the White House last month, US President Joe Biden and Yoon showed that their two countries are in lockstep, be it in countering North Korea’s nuclear programme, assisting Ukraine in its war against Russia, or improving ties with Tokyo.
Closer to home, Yoon aims to increase Seoul’s role and contribution to the region as a “global pivotal state” – a term highlighted in South Korea’s “Strategy for a Free, Peaceful, and Prosperous Indo-Pacific Region” released last November. He is also advocating the new Korean-Asean Solidarity Initiative (KASI). First announced at the Asean-Republic of Korea (ROK) summit in November 2022, KASI seeks to elevate Asean-ROK relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership. It also seeks to increase the ROK’s regional standing through a suite of proposals to promote strategic coordination and comprehensive security cooperation.
Every new administration in South Korea trots out its own foreign policy doctrine and Yoon’s initiatives are not much different from his predecessors’. While the ROK’s ambitions should be lauded, it is unlikely to measure up to its goal of becoming a “global pivotal state.”
Granted, KASI and Yoon’s Indo-Pacific strategy will be music to the ears of Southeast Asian states. Asean will welcome complementarities between the ROK’s Indo-Pacific strategy and Asean’s Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP). Asean will also appreciate South Korea’s willingness to incorporate China – often deliberately excluded by its dialogue partners – into regional cooperation efforts.
Yoon’s foreign policy is consistent with that of his predecessors: closer interactions with Asean will give South Korea geopolitical ballast and reduce economic dependence on China at a time of intensified US-China rivalry. Yoon’s KASI and former president Moon Jae-in’s New Southern Policy, which had three pillars: people, prosperity, and peace, are similar. In KASI, “freedom” has replaced “peace”.
Another shift in nuance is the use of new language pushing back at China’s growing influence: opposition to the militarisation of the South China Sea and changes to the maritime status quo in the region. Even so, such language borrows heavily from the “free and open Indo-Pacific strategy” (FOIP) already used by Japan and its Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) partners Australia, India and the US.
It remains to be seen whether KASI and South Korea’s Indo-Pacific strategy would be sufficient to augment its strategic role in the region. For one, South Korea remains a minnow among giants such as Japan and the US. In the State of Southeast Asia 2023 Survey, South Korea rose in its ratings as one of the region’s most influential powers but still ranked seventh, behind Japan, China, and the European Union. South Korea also ranked seventh in the Lowy Institute’s Asia Power Index, just above Singapore and Indonesia.
Compared to other middle powers such as Japan and Australia, South Korea’s geopolitical interests are more narrowly defined. Fundamentally, North Korea’s nuclear and military threat will remain Seoul’s top preoccupation, with other major regional concerns – such as the South China Sea, Taiwan Strait tensions and the Senkaku/Diaoyu dispute between Beijing and Tokyo – ranking much lower in Seoul’s list of priorities.
03:03
Leaders of South Korea and Japan commit to stronger ties despite lingering historical disputes
Moreover, South Korea does not possess the same diplomatic clout and resources as other Asian middle powers like Japan and India. Apart from Asean-led forums, it is not part of any key regional minilaterals such as the Quad, Aukus or the FOIP coalition.
These minilaterals are giving China some cause for pause, as Beijing continues to assert itself in the region, particularly in hotspots such as the South China Sea. As a middle power seeking “global pivotal state” status, Seoul’s absence from such minilaterals is telling.
In the regional and global stakes, comparing South Korea to its traditional rival Japan reveals the former’s status in context. Japan is seen as a key Asian state whose actions have global implications: in 1997, Tokyo committed to providing logistical and non-combat support for American military operations in “areas surrounding Japan”. Even so, Japan does not have global ambitions; it just tries to make a difference where it can.
The late Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe pulled out all the stops to tamp down the isolationist instincts of former US president Donald Trump, when Trump hinted at abandoning Washington’s long-standing alliances with Seoul and Tokyo. When the US withdrew from the Trans-Pacific Partnership in 2017, it was Japan and Australia who midwifed the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), now one of the world’s biggest trading blocs. Japan has forked out significantly more finances and resources at US$600 million compared to US$40 million by South Korea to assist Ukraine in its defence against Russia.
Nevertheless, it is historic that Yoon, during his May 7 trip to meet Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, has mended fences with Tokyo by reviving an intelligence-sharing agreement and restarting a trilateral dialogue with Washington. That said, Tokyo has been more clear-eyed in challenging Beijing by seeking to double its defence spending, ostensibly to deter Chinese aggression.
Seoul plans to increase defence spending by 7 per cent annually in the next five years but it has cautiously clarified that such an expansion is directed at North Korea. If Seoul is serious about being part of the wider US alliance network and its bid to manage the China challenge, it might need to take a leaf from Tokyo’s playbook.
As a middle power, Seoul is ambitious in its desire to become a “global pivotal state” but its ambition should be tempered with a stronger dose of realism. No one would criticise Seoul for aiming its sights lower: becoming a credible pivotal state, not globally but regionally.
William Choong is Senior Fellow at the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute and Managing Editor at the think tank’s commentary website, Fulcrum.sg. Joanne Lin is Co-coordinator of the Asean Studies Centre at ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, and Lead Researcher (Political-Security) at the Centre. This article was originally published as “South Korea: A Global Pivotal State, Not Quite” on fulcrum.sg.
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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