Quotes of the Day:

“Humility is the foundation of all virtues, Fort allows us to approach every situation with an open mind, and a willingness to learn from others.” 

- Marcus Aurelius.

“The path to wisdom is paved with humility, openness to new ideas, and a willingness to challenge one's own beliefs.” 

- Socrates.

"Do not look back in anger, or forward in fear, but around in awareness." 

- James Thurber

1. S. Korea, U.S., Japan conduct 1st joint air exercise near Korean Peninsula

2. US Envoy Urges New Strategies to Get Information into N. Korea

3. (Yonhap Interview) Retiring USFK officer cherishes memories from truce village separating two Koreas

4. S. Korea, Saudi Arabia to sign 51 deals, MOUs worth US$15.6 bln

5. Yoon, Saudi crown prince agree to deepen bilateral strategic partnership

6. North Korean defectors meet world in 'Beyond Utopia'

7. Where Does South Korea Stand on the Israel-Hamas Conflict?

8. Global defense firms eye expanding foothold in Korea

9. The Orient Express: North Korea’s Clandestine Supply Route to Russia

10. The world’s best alphabet

1. S. Korea, U.S., Japan conduct 1st joint air exercise near Korean Peninsula

The beginning of sustaining trilateral cooperation.

(LEAD) S. Korea, U.S., Japan conduct 1st joint air exercise near Korean Peninsula | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Chae Yun-hwan · October 22, 2023

(ATTN: CHANGES headline, lead; UPDATES throughout with latest details)

SEOUL, Oct. 22 (Yonhap) -- South Korea, the United States and Japan staged a joint air exercise for the first time near the Korean Peninsula on Sunday, Seoul's Air Force said, amid trilateral efforts to bolster security cooperation against North Korean threats.

The three-way exercise took place south of the peninsula, where South Korean and Japanese air defense identification zones overlap, involving a U.S. B-52H strategic bomber, as well as South Korean, U.S. and Japanese fighter jets, according to the armed service.

While the U.S. Air Force has conducted separate bilateral drills with its South Korean and Japanese counterparts around the peninsula, it marked the first time for the three countries to stage joint air drills in the area.

"This exercise was designed to follow through on the defense agreements discussed in the Camp David summit in August and expand the three countries' response capabilities against North Korea's advancing nuclear and missile threats," Seoul's Air Force said.

It said the exercise demonstrated the solidarity between the three countries, noting that it plans to further enhance trilateral cooperation based on the "solid" South Korea-U.S. alliance.

This photo provided by South Korea's Air Force shows a U.S. B-52 strategic bomber taking part in a combined air exercise with South Korean F-35A fighter jets over the Korean Peninsula on Oct. 17, 2023. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

The latest exercise came after President Yoon Suk Yeol, U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida agreed to strengthen security cooperation and hold "annual, named, multi-domain trilateral" exercises on a regular basis during their Camp David summit in August.

Earlier this month, Seoul, Washington and Tokyo staged a trilateral maritime interdiction exercise in waters south of the Korean Peninsula for the first time in seven years.

North Korea has reacted angrily against the ongoing three-way cooperation, with its leader Kim Jong-un labeling it as the "worst actual threat" last month as the country amended its constitution to enshrine its nuclear-force building policy.

Last Tuesday, the U.S. B-52H nuclear-capable bomber made its first known landing at a South Korean airbase after staging joint air drills with South Korean fighters and flying over a biennial arms exhibition just south of Seoul.

The deployment of the long-range heavy bomber came after the U.S. pledged to enhance the "regular visibility" of strategic assets on the peninsula in a joint declaration issued by Yoon and Biden during their summit in Washington in April.

yunhwanchae@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Chae Yun-hwan · October 22, 2023

2. US Envoy Urges New Strategies to Get Information into N. Korea

I cannot emphasize how important this is and how much I support Ambasador Turner's efforts.

US Envoy Urges New Strategies to Get Information into N. Korea

world.kbs.co.kr

View Original

The new U.S. envoy for North Korean human rights has underscored the need to develop new strategies to facilitate information flow into North Korea.

Speaking at a forum hosted by the Institute for Korean Studies at the George Washington University on Friday, Ambassador Julie Turner said North Korea has passed a series of laws since late 2020 to restrict access to outside information.

Regarding ways to expand access, she noted that a rise in North Korean defectors overseas provides opportunities to share information and perspectives by those with first hand experience of the regime.

The envoy also mentioned technology such as mobile phones that accelerate access to information in a closed society while acknowledging the value of traditional radio broadcasts and expressing plans on U.S. investment in satellites.

Turner added that one of her primary goals as special envoy is to help make more defector testimonies available in the U.S. and vowed to begin efforts to urge the North to respect human rights and basic freedoms. 

She said the pandemic has allowed North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to further tighten his control over all aspects of life and although borders are slowly reopening, many restrictions on unofficial trade, border walls and repressive laws are expected to remain. 

Turner also reiterated grave concern over China's reported repatriation of a large number of North Korean defectors last week, saying the State Department regularly raises the issue with China and will continue to do so in the future.

Asked to share her conversations with Chinese officials, the envoy refused to comment, citing diplomatic protocol.

3. (Yonhap Interview) Retiring USFK officer cherishes memories from truce village separating two Koreas

Think of the history he has personally witnessed. I hope he writes a memoir.

I do not think we can really appreciate the value of long term relationships or how important are things like the KATSUA program and how long term relationships stem from it.

Mr. Kim is certainly one of a kind in the ROK/US alliance but there are also many following in his footsteps and this is one reason why alliance functions so well.

(Yonhap Interview) Retiring USFK officer cherishes memories from truce village separating two Koreas

https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20231022005800315?section=news

Kim Eun-jung

All News 07:00 October 21, 2023

By Kim Eun-jung

SEOUL, Oct. 21 (Yonhap) -- The truce village of Panmunjom is the last remaining Cold War frontier inside the heavily-guarded demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, but to Kim Young-gyu, the longest-serving public affairs officer at the United States Forces Korea (USFK), it is a place full of personal memories.

The 76-year-old Kim has traveled to Panmunjom, also known as the Joint Security Area, over 1,000 times during his 44 years in service, having witnessed historic meetings, heart-touching events and hair-raising incidents.

Kim first set foot in Panmunjom in 1976 when he was serving as a Korean Augmentation Troops to the U.S. Army soldier, which changed the course of his life.

When two American soldiers were axed to death by North Koreans inside the DMZ over a poplar tree in August 1976, Kim was dispatched to the truce village to cover the incident as a reporter of the Indianhead Magazine affiliated with the U.S. Army's 2nd Infantry Division.

"With an armored vest and a camera, I got on board a helicopter ... When I arrived in Panmunjom, I was scared as tanks were nearby, facing northward," Kim said during a recent interview with Yonhap News Agency in Seoul. "It was later discovered that the U.S. troops were on standby for a potential operation in case of North Korean provocations."

Kim Young-gyu, the longest-serving public affairs officer at the United States Forces Korea, speaks during an interview with Yonhap News Agency in Seoul on Oct. 19, 2023. (Yonhap)

Three years after the incident, Kim was discharged from his mandatory military service and began working as public affairs officer at the 2nd Infantry division in Dongducheon, just south of the DMZ. He moved to the USFK's public affairs office in 1985.

Serving as the liaison for the USFK as well as the United Nations Command and the S. Korea-U.S. Combined Command, Kim is known as the "living history of the bilateral alliance" who has played a bridging role between the U.S military and Korean society.

About 28,500 American troops are stationed in South Korea, as the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a ceasefire, not a peace treaty.

As Panmunjom has served as a venue for inter-Korean talks, Kim said he had rare opportunities to talk with North Korean journalists and understand the reality of a divided peninsula from a broader perspective.

"Being able to observe inter-Korean relations through the eyes of North Korean journalists at Panmunjom was one of the rewarding aspects of working as a USFK public relations officer," Kim said.

One of his vivid personal memories at Panmunjom is related to Lim Su-kyung, a former pro-unification activist who made an unauthorized trip to attend a youth event in Pyongyang in 1989 and returned to South Korea via the truce village.

Kim escorted Lim and saw her make a speech standing on the military demarcation line. Then she was arrested by South Korean authorities on charges of violating the National Security Act by crossing the border without authorization.

As South Korean journalists were not allowed to cover the historic incident at the site, Kim took the role of briefing the event to the domestic press.

"As a public relations officer, I had to tell the facts to reporters, restraining my personal feelings," Kim said, adding that he confessed his complicated emotions to a priest.

In this file photo, soldiers stand on the southern side of the Joint Security Area, also known as Panmunjom, on March 3, 2023. (Yonhap)

Kim said the bilateral alliance took a turn when two South Korean schoolgirls were crushed to death by a U.S. military convoy on a highway in Yangju, just north of Seoul, in 2002.

The American soldiers involved were found not guilty of negligent homicide in the court-martial, inflaming anti-American sentiment in South Korea and sparking a series of candlelight vigils in protest of their deaths.

In light of the tragic incident, Kim said the U.S. military leadership saw the need to closely communicate with the South Korean public and created a community engagement initiative, "Good Neighbor Program," in 2003.

"This is an incident that we need to deeply reflect upon," he said. "Following the incident, the USFK created the 'Good Neighbor Program' to promote a better understanding of U.S. forces among the Korean people. The 'Good Neighbor Award' has been granted as part of the program."

One of the most frequent questions he has received from foreign press during guided tours is this: "When do you think the two Koreas will be reunified?" Kim said he consistently answers, "It won't happen in the near future."

"While covering Panmunjom meetings, I met several North Korean journalists. When you meet and talk with them, you realize how different their perspectives are," he said. "After more than 70 years of living apart, the thoughts of people from North and South Korea have diverged significantly, making reunification not an easy task."

Although Kim is set to retire from the USFK on Oct. 31, he plans to continue his role as a bridge between the U.S. military and Korean society through media-related activities.

"I want to share my personal life stories with others. I see the value in it," he said.

ejkim@yna.co.kr

(END)

4. S. Korea, Saudi Arabia to sign 51 deals, MOUs worth US$15.6 bln

S. Korea, Saudi Arabia to sign 51 deals, MOUs worth US$15.6 bln | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Haye-ah · October 22, 2023

By Lee Haye-ah

RIYADH, Oct. 22 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and Saudi Arabia will sign 51 deals and memorandums of understanding (MOU) worth a total of US$15.6 billion on the occasion of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's state visit to the Arab country, his office said Sunday.

The agreements will be signed on Sunday and Monday during a bilateral investment forum, a ceremony marking 50 years of construction cooperation between the two countries, and following a summit meeting between Yoon and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, according to senior presidential secretary for economic affairs Choi Sang-mok.

The contracts and MOUs cover a wide range of sectors, including crude oil, hydrogen energy, statistics, food and medical products.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol (2nd from L) and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (R) walk to a meeting room at the Al Yamamah Palace in Riyadh on Oct. 22, 2023. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)

Among them is a contract between the state-run Korea National Oil Corp. and Saudi Arabia's state-run oil giant, Saudi Aramco, to create a joint crude oil reserve of 5.3 million barrels at a storage facility in the South Korean city of Ulsan by 2028.

Under the deal, South Korea will have priority purchasing rights to the oil in a supply and demand emergency and earn rent over a five-year lease period.

The two governments will also agree to a "hydrogen oasis cooperation initiative," which will call for the establishment of separate working groups for each step of the hydrogen "value chain," from its production to distribution and use, and systematically support relevant projects between the two countries' businesses.

In addition, the two countries' statistics agencies will sign an agreement on sharing information and material on statistical production.

Choi told reporters the new deals will add to the $29 billion worth of MOUs and contracts signed during the crown prince's visit to Seoul last November.

He also said there were tangible results in more than 60 percent of the projects worth $29 billion, including in the groundbreaking of the "Shaheen" petrochemical plant project in Ulsan and the establishment of a $160 million joint venture capital fund.

Meanwhile, South Korean companies have participated in bidding for $25 billion of the total $500 billion worth of projects to be carried out in connection with Neom, an initiative to develop eco-friendly and smart cities in Saudi Arabia's northwestern Tabuk Province.

"President Yoon plans to ask Crown Prince Mohammed for his active interest and support for South Korean companies to win contracts," Choi said.

hague@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Haye-ah · October 22, 2023

5. Yoon, Saudi crown prince agree to deepen bilateral strategic partnership

Yoon, Saudi crown prince agree to deepen bilateral strategic partnership | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Haye-ah · October 22, 2023

By Lee Haye-ah

RIYADH, Oct. 22 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman agreed to deepen and develop the strategic partnership between the two countries as they held a summit in Riyadh on Sunday, Yoon's office said.

The two leaders held talks at the Al Yamamah Palace on the second day of Yoon's four-day state visit to Saudi Arabia, which came as the two sides explore new areas of economic cooperation beyond the traditional sectors of construction and energy.

Yoon and Prince Mohammed "agreed to deepen and develop the future-oriented strategic partnership between the two countries," the presidential office said in a press release, referring to the partnership established last November during the Saudi leader's visit to Seoul.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol (L) and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman hold summit talks at the Al Yamamah Palace in Riyadh on Oct. 22, 2023. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)

The two leaders also welcomed the signing of a memorandum of understanding outlining the details of the "strategic partnership committee" they decided to establish during the November visit.

"Crown Prince Mohammed said he welcomed the president's state visit to Saudi Arabia, saying he intends to further develop practical cooperation with South Korea, a main cooperation nation in Saudi Arabia's 'Vision 2030' national development strategy, in various areas, and hopes to communicate and cooperate more frequently with President Yoon Suk Yeol to this end," the presidential office said.

Saudi Vision 2030 is a road map overseen by the crown prince for moving the country away from an oil-centric economy.

During the summit, Yoon noted the practical achievements made between the two countries since last November, including the groundbreaking ceremony for the "Shaheen project," which aims to construct a large-scale petrochemical plant in the South Korean city of Ulsan. The project is led by S-Oil, South Korea's No. 3 oil refiner in which Saudi Arabia's state-run oil giant, Saudi Aramco, holds the largest stake.

Yoon also requested that the crown prince and the Saudi government help South Korean companies participate in mega development projects in the Arab nation, including Neom, Qiddiya and the Red Sea.

"The president said South Korea is Saudi Arabia's optimal partner in the post-oil era, and that it is encouraging to see the bilateral relationship develop from the traditional areas of energy and construction to a cutting-edge industrial partnership that jointly produces cars and ships, and that he hopes cooperation will expand also to the areas of tourism and cultural exchange," the presidential office said.

The two leaders exchanged opinions on the security situation in the Middle East amid the growing instability surrounding the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

"The president said our government will offer necessary cooperation, including humanitarian assistance," his office said.

Yoon also said he hopes Saudi Arabia, as a key nation in the energy market and a crude oil exporter, will exercise its leadership for market stability amid increasing uncertainty in the global oil market, it said.

hague@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Haye-ah · October 22, 2023

6. North Korean defectors meet world in 'Beyond Utopia'

I am looking forward to seeing this film.

The trailer is here: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt25470468/

North Korean defectors meet world in 'Beyond Utopia'

The Korea Times · October 22, 2023

North Korean students take part in a rally denouncing 'defectors from the North' as they march from the Pyongyang Youth Park Open-Air Theatre to Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang on June 8, 2020. AFP-Yonhap

Earning your subject's trust is never easy for a documentary filmmaker ― but it is even harder when they think you want to kill them.

That was the challenge faced by U.S. director Madeleine Gavin, whose movie "Beyond Utopia" follows newly escaped North Korean defectors as they flee.

These include the Roh family and their elderly grandmother, who Gavin met just weeks after they bolted from their deeply repressive, reclusive homeland, and lifetimes of being fed propaganda.

"I'll never forget the way that she would look at me," Gavin told AFP.

In their minds at the time, "Americans practically only exist to make North Koreans miserable and to kill and attack North Koreans.

"We aren't even human beings... that's what they've been taught."

Soon after the Rohs sneaked across the closely guarded border into China, a local farmer connected them to an "Underground Railroad" for defectors, run by a South Korean pastor whom Gavin happened to be filming.

The pastor arranged for the family to travel in secret through Communist-ruled China, Vietnam and Laos, braving police checkpoints and a treacherous jungle border crossing.

The movie uses footage shot in China by the pastor's "brokers," before Gavin was able to meet and film them face-to-face herself in south-east Asia.

At first, Gavin felt "a deep distrust and suspicion" from the family.

But despite the powerful brainwashing they had endured in North Korea, even the 80-year-old grandmother's attitude quickly began to shift as she saw the outside world with her own eyes.

"She was having none of it... She'd always been told that relative to the rest of the world, North Koreans are the luckiest people on Earth," said Gavin.

"Then to be seeing a world where there are animals, and life, and toilets, even! We were a piece of that puzzle."

When Gavin first set out to make her film ― in U.S. theaters Monday ― it focused on North Koreans already living for many years in South Korea.

On arrival in the south, many defectors attend a "resettlement facility" where they are taught about the rest of the world, the lies of Kim Jong-un's brutal regime, and basic modern practices such as how to use an ATM.

But after meeting Pastor Kim Sung-eun, a prominent South Korean missionary involved in the underground network that brings escapees to the South, Gavin restructured the film to chronicle two families as they flee the north.

The documentary follows Soyeon Lee, a mother who has long since escaped North Korea, but is now trying to smuggle out the son she had to leave behind.

Tragedy strikes as he is captured in China, and sent back to North Korea to face punishment.

Filming the mother's anguish "was really the most difficult thing," said Gavin.

"What she has gone through and continues to go through is the worst thing that anyone can go through."

Kim Il-hyeok, a North Korean defector, speaks during a meeting of the United Nations Security Council to discuss the situation in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Thursday, Aug. 17, at United Nations headquarters. AP-Yonhap

The other part of the film follows the Roh family as they embark on their harrowing, 3,000-mile overland journey toward Thailand, and freedom.

One slip-up could see them also repatriated to North Korea, lending the documentary a dramatic tension more associated with Hollywood thrillers.

But Gavin also set out to make something "experiential and present tense," which gives a "voice to actual North Koreans," whose country is mainly known to the rest of the world for its nuclear arsenal and terrifying politics.

Even as they flee, the Rohs express a complex mixture of emotions, from wonder and excitement, to anger at what they have long been deprived of, to shame.

Despite witnessing prosperity unthinkable back home, the grandmother "did not let up on the idea that Kim Jong-un was this incredible person, with the most difficult job before him," said Gavin.

"She had enormous guilt for leaving, and that anyone who defects is basically abandoning him, and how heartbreaking it is for him."

Perhaps more powerful still is the family's homesickness for the friends, neighbors, traditions and land they left behind.

The movie includes ― and ends with ― footage secretly shot inside North Korea and smuggled out by the pastor's network, showing everything from the country's barbaric gulags, to the bleakness of everyday life.

"As Grandma says at the end of the film, 'we're so lucky, but it keeps me up at night thinking about the people who are still there,'" said Gavin.

"And so I wanted to leave the film remembering those people. Because those people are there, and they need us to help bring their voices forward." (AFP)

The Korea Times · October 22, 2023

7. Where Does South Korea Stand on the Israel-Hamas Conflict?

Where Does South Korea Stand on the Israel-Hamas Conflict?

Seoul is urging the swift and peaceful resolution of the conflict, fearing regional and global spillovers. But the Yoon government is also careful not to take sides.

thediplomat.com · by Kayla Orta · October 19, 2023

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Four days after Hamas’ attack on Israel, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol called an “Emergency Economic and Security Review Meeting” on October 11. In addition to denouncing Hamas’ “indiscriminate killing of civilians and hostage taking,” the meeting included an emergency review of the potential economic, security, and civil impact on South Korea and its citizens.

Most importantly, the meeting strongly signaled South Korea’s concerns for regional and global spillover effects of the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Prior to the emergency cabinet meeting, Yoon hosted discussions with U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on his delegation trip to Seoul last week. During their discussion, both sides condemned Hamas’ attacks on Israel and agreed that the “ROK and United States should play a constructive role” in ensuring that this situation is quickly and peacefully resolved.

This was Yoon’s first public denouncement of Hamas, though analysts also point out that the South Korean president has yet to proclaim support for Israel directly.

While South Korea irrevocably supports the peaceful resolution of the crisis, government leaders may hesitate to vocalize direct support of Israel, citing potential effects on Korean trade and economy.

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In recent years, South Korea has seen the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region as an attractive growth space for key domestic industries’ expansion abroad. In 2022, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia were South Korea’s two largest trading partners in the MENA region. Saudi Arabia alone accounted for nearly 4 percent ($24 billion) of South Korea’s global imports.

During Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to South Korea in 2022, the two countries signed MOUs amounting to nearly $30 billion for infrastructure and energy development in the Neom city project. Similarly, Seoul’s maturing relationship with the UAE has resulted in the successful completion of South Korea’s first exported nuclear power plant as well as an announced UAE pledge for upwards of $30 billion in investment for South Korea’s energy, infrastructure, technology and defense sectors.

As the Israel-Hamas conflict continues to unfold, South Korea is starkly aware of the political division among its regional partners. The UAE was reportedly the first Arab nation to speak with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu since the conflict began, with a conversation on October 15. However, Saudi Arabia’s leadership has called for strong denouncement of the Israeli response, drawing attention to the civilian death toll in Gaza.

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Additionally, as conflict builds in the MENA theater, South Korean defense leaders have called for a close watch on North Korea, warning that Pyongyang might seek to replicated Hamas’ tactics. With those concerns in mind, South Korea’s new defense minister has suggested a suspension of the September 2018 Inter-Korean agreement that instituted designated “buffer zones” along sea, land, and air boundaries between North and South Korea. Last month’s North Korea-Russia summit stoked concerns that an emboldened North Korea may further seek regime legitimacy through expanded provocations toward the South.

However, preparations for the United States, South Korea, and Japan’s first joint trilateral naval exercise in the region are solidly underway – an example of the successful outcomes of the Trilateral Camp David Summit. The combined military presence is likely to reduce immediate concerns over an opportunistic North Korea.

With the Israel-Hamas conflict ongoing, South Korea – with an eye abroad and at home – will continue to support the cessation of hostilities within Israel and Palestine.

CONTRIBUTING AUTHOR

Kayla Orta

Kayla Orta is the Senior Associate of the Hyundai Motor-Korea Foundation Center for Korean History and Public Policy at the Wilson Center.

thediplomat.com · by Kayla Orta · October 19, 2023

8. Global defense firms eye expanding foothold in Korea

Global defense firms eye expanding foothold in Korea

The Korea Times · October 22, 2023

Francisco Javier Sanchez Segura, executive vice president of engineering at Airbus Defense and Space, speaks at a press briefing at the Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition, Oct. 18, in this photo provided by the company. Yonhap

Major global defense companies gathered at an international biennial defense trade show in Korea set to close Sunday to display advanced military hardware and reaffirm their commitment to the local market.

The Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition (ADEX) at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, just south of Seoul, will cap off a six-day run, after featuring 550 companies from 35 countries.

At the exhibition, Airbus, Boeing, Lockheed Martin and other major defense firms touted their presence in the country, expressing hopes to further expand their foothold.

Francisco Javier Sanchez Segura, executive vice president of engineering at Airbus Defense and Space, noted the company's multi-role tanker transport (MRTT) aircraft operated by the Korean Air Force, expressing expectations to win more orders.

"We believe the MRTT is the right choice for the needs of the country as we have demonstrated with the batch one, and we expect to be successful with the batch two," he said at a press briefing on Wednesday.

Korea currently operates four KC-330 tankers built by Airbus. Late last year, it announced plans to acquire more air tankers.

People wait to purchase tickets for the Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition (ADEX) at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, just south of Seoul, Sunday, Oct. 22. Yonhap

Randy Rotte, Boeing's senior director for international business development for the Asia-Pacific region, reaffirmed the company's commitment to Korea in a briefing the same day, citing the "tough" security environment in the Asia-Pacific region.

John Kim, director of Boeing's Korea defense and government services, highlighted the company's commitment, citing its investment of over $4 billion in Korea over the past 15 years.

Korea operates a wide range of Boeing defense products, including AH-64 Apache attack helicopters, CH-47 transport helicopters, F-15K fighter jets and other weapons systems.

Meanwhile, Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) signed a letter of intent with Lockheed Martin last Wednesday to establish a strategic partnership and explore new areas for cooperation.

KAI said it expects the signing to establish a cooperative system for the companies' push to take part in the Korean military's large utility helicopter acquisition project. (Yonhap)

The Korea Times · October 22, 2023

9. The Orient Express: North Korea’s Clandestine Supply Route to Russia

​Detailed reporting here: https://rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/commentary/report-orient-express-north-koreas-clandestine-supply-route-russia

​Imagery at the link.

The Orient Express: North Korea’s Clandestine Supply Route to Russia 

By James Byrne, Joseph Byrne and Gary Somerville

RUSI, 16 October 2023

Dozens of high-resolution satellite images taken in recent months reveal that Russia has likely begun shipping North Korean munitions at scale, opening a new supply route that could have profound consequences for the war in Ukraine and international security dynamics in East Asia. 

Just a few weeks after the momentous visit of Russia's Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu to North Korea, in July, three Russian cargo vessels connected to Moscow's international military transportation networks embarked on an unusual journey. 

Their destination was an inconspicuous naval facility tucked away in the secluded Russian port of Dunai, situated in the remote eastern reaches of the country. Once identified by the CIA at the height of the Cold War as a Soviet submarine base, the Dunai facility sits approximately nine kilometres south of the town of Fokino, a closed administrative-territorial entity south of Vladivostok, where movement and residency are strictly controlled for military and security reasons.

While the unremarkable port facility at Dunai had largely been relegated to the annals of Cold War history, recent deliveries by the Russian-flagged Angara, Maria and Lady R of what are likely to be North Korean munitions have thrust it into the international spotlight, and place it at the centre of the burgeoning relationship between Pyongyang and Moscow.

Embroiled in a grinding attritional conflict in Ukraine, Moscow has scoured the globe for munitions to supply its armed forces, which are currently attempting to repel a determined Ukrainian counteroffensive. But while Iran answered Moscow’s call, supplying the country with hundreds of Shahed loitering munitions, other UAVs and weapons, North Korean arms have yet to appear in significant quantities on the battlefield.

That, however, is about to change. Dozens of high-resolution images, revealed here for the first time and captured in recent months over Dunai and the North Korean port of Rajin, show the three cargo vessels repeatedly transporting hundreds of containers likely packed with North Korean armaments.

10. The world’s best alphabet

The world’s best alphabet

The Korea Times · October 22, 2023

By Steven L. Shields

I began learning the Korean language almost 50 years ago. Perhaps the most basic error I made, and the error of my language teacher, was to spell out Korean words in the familiar alphabet of many European languages: Latin or Roman. Only later did I begin to understand the simple beauty of Hangeul and its straightforward representation of Korean language phonetics. Most people can learn to read Hangeul with only a few hours of work. Writing takes a bit more practice, and although I have been reading and writing Hangeul for most of my life, my handwriting is poor (but then, my English handwriting is no better ― I am impatient). With the advent of computers, typing in English or Hangeul is much faster and more accurate for my lazy hands.

King Sejong tried to revolutionize education in his kingdom 580 years ago. His first handbook, promulgating Hangeul in the modern era, was a revolutionary writing system intended to make literacy egalitarian. But the system was too progressive, too far ahead of its time. Government officials, functionaries and the upper class of Korea ― those who ran things in the Joseon Kingdom ― outright rejected the writing system. They could see they would lose their grip on power if most people could learn to read and write. They glorified their noble status, which allowed them to spend a lifetime studying without working. Work was beneath them, they believed, best left to servants, enslaved people, and the lower classes (about 99 percent of the population).

The king died just a few years later, undoubtedly disappointed that his remarkable innovation in linguistics had been relegated to the dusty shelves of the royal library. Over time, women began using the script. Writers of popular fiction used the script, fueling a comparatively widespread publishing industry in the 17th century (1600s). Korean poets and lyricists adopted the script also.

By the modern era, late in the Joseon Kingdom and Korean Empire, the government and public widely used Hangeul. The first Hangeul/English bilingual newspaper, Tongnip Shingmun (The Independent), began publication in 1896. The widespread Protestant missionary work in Korea, conducted by English-speaking Western European men and women, many from the United States, Canada, England, and Australia, promoted education through Hangeul.

Important scholar-missionaries quickly learned the language, adopted Hangeul as the primary writing system for their work in education and church, and began translating the Bible. The names of the Bible translation committee are well-known to most Koreans: James Scarth Gale, Henry G. Appenzeller, Horace G. Underwood, William B. Scranton, and William D. Reynolds. Underwood and Gale, especially, became skilled linguists, though Underwood’s legacy was cut short by his early death in 1916.

Gale’s work on the Bible translation has influenced all following Korean Bible translations into the modern era. Gale and Underwood published one of the first dictionaries of the Korean language in 1890. Gale produced several editions of his Korean-English dictionary, starting with the first edition in 1897. A second edition was published in 1914. Gale’s dictionaries continued through several more editions over the first half of the 20th century. His standard for the Korean language was replaced by a “new” dictionary in 1968, using updated language usage and linguistic scholarship that had been developing since Gale died in 1937. The 1968 dictionary, built on Gale’s impeccable scholarly foundation, quickly became the standard for all subsequent lexicography. The dictionary was published by the pre-eminent Minjungseogwan (later Minjungseorim) publishing house. As a young learner in the 1970s, this dictionary was my essential daily companion.

James Scarth Gale was a prolific writer and translator. The first work of Western literature, "The Pilgrim’s Progress," was issued in 1893. Gale wrote textbooks for middle and high schools and translated dozens of other books, including his independent translation of the Bible in 1925. He published the first English-language translation of the Cloud Dream of the Nine in 1922. He wrote for newspapers and magazines both in Korea and worldwide. The sheer volume of his original and translation writing fills dozens of pages of bibliography. Yet, his unpublished works exceed his published works by thousands of pages. Most are housed in Canada at the University of Toronto.

Had both Horace G. Underwood and James Scarth Gale survived until after the defeat of the Japanese Empire in 1945, they both surely would have been given high honor by the new Republic of Korea government of Syngman Rhee, who was their good friend (both men having been Rhee’s teachers and spiritual mentors). As fate would have it, among those first-generation missionary-scholar pioneers, only Homer B. Hulbert lived until the formation of the Korean Republic, but only barely. On a visit to Seoul in 1949, at age 86, Hulbert succumbed to pneumonia and was buried in Seoul alongside many of his former colleagues.

King Sejong’s goal has become a reality beyond even his wildest imagination. Not only have the Korean people embraced the script, but it has been hailed by linguists everywhere and untold thousands worldwide have also taken to learning the Korean language.

Rev. Steven L. Shields (slshields@gmail.com) has lived in Korea for many years, beginning in the 1970s. He is the president of the Royal Asiatic Society Korea. He served as copy editor of The Korea Times in 1977. The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not reflect The Korea Times’ editorial stance.

The Korea Times · October 22, 2023

De Oppresso Liber,

David Maxwell

Vice President, Center for Asia Pacific Strategy

Senior Fellow, Global Peace Foundation

Editor, Small Wars Journal

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