Quotes for the Day:

“Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius – and a lot of courage – to move in the opposite direction.” 

- E.. F. Schumacher

“I happen to think that the singular evil of our time is prejudice. It is from this evil, that all other evils grow, and multiply. In almost everything I've written there is a thread of this: man's seemingly palpable need to dislike someone other than himself.” 

- Rod Serling.

"Yet somehow our society must make it right and possible for old people not to fear the young or be deserted by them, for the test of a civilization is in the way that it cares for its helpless members." 

- Pearl Buck

1. General John H. Tilelli Jr. Joins HRNK's Board of Directors 

2. The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK) Launches Report Based on Satellite Imagery of North Korea’s Political Prison Camp No. 16 and the Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Facility 

3. Russia’s foreign minister thanks North Korea for ‘unwavering’ support of its war in Ukraine

4. Evidence shows Hamas militants likely used some North Korean weapons in attack on Israel

5. Pentagon official touts robust extended deterrence to S. Korea

6. U.S. B-52 bomber unveiled at S. Korean air base in show of force against N. Korea

7. (Yonhap Interview) S. Korea mulling sanctions amid suspected N. Korea-Russia arms deal: minister

8. Russian FM hopes for 'substantial' follow-up measures to Kim-Putin summit during Pyongyang trip

9. Key N. Korea missile official heading missile bureau: Seoul

10. N. Korea's Kim family spends up to millions of dollars per year on luxury goods: Seoul

11. US, South Korea warn global companies of covert Pyongyang hackers

12. A gov’t sitting on its hands over repatriation (nk refugees in China)

13. Mass deportations of North Koreans cause tragic family separation

14.  [From the Scene] 'If we are needed, we will be here' (B-52 in Korea)

15. Businessman nabbed for aiding N. Korean restaurant in Southeast Asia

16. NATO’s security is becoming ‘increasingly connected’ to Asia, official says in Seoul

17. Russia Denounces 'Dangerous' US Military North Korea Policy

1. General John H. Tilelli Jr. Joins HRNK's Board of Directors

Great news to have my former boss and mentor join our HRNK Board. He will help us to ensure a human rights upfront approach toward north Korea.

General John H. Tilelli Jr. Joins HRNK's Board of Directors

https://www.hrnk.org/events/announcements-view.php?id=91

October 17, 2023

HRNK is delighted to announce that General John H. Tilelli, Jr., USA, Ret., has joined HRNK's Board of Directors.

General Tilelli had a long and distinguished career in the U.S. Army. He served as Vice Chief of Staff of the Army and the Army's Deputy Chief of Operations, and also commanded the 1st Cavalry Division in Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm. He concluded his career as Commander-in-Chief of the United Nations Command, Republic of Korea-United States Combined Forces Command, and U.S. Forces Korea.

Since his retirement from active duty in January 2000, he has remained deeply engaged in Korean Peninsula affairs. He served as the former Vice Chairman for the Korea Defense Veterans Association, and is currently serving on the Korea Defense Veterans Association's (KDVA) Council of Advisors.

General Tilelli's dedication to preserving the democracy, security, and prosperity of our South Korean friends, partners, and allies is unparalleled. He is a resolute advocate for bringing human rights and freedom to the people of North Korea.

General Tilelli's full biography is enclosed below. On behalf of HRNK's Board of Directors, I would like to take this opportunity to welcome General Tilelli to HRNK.

Greg Scarlatoiu

Executive Director

General John H. Tilelli, Jr. retired on January 31, 2000 from the United States Army after over 30 years of service. General Tilelli’s last active-duty assignment was Commander-in-Chief of the United Nations Command, Republic of Korea/United States Combined Forces Command, and United States Forces Korea. During his time in Korea, he commanded the largest standing joint and coalition force in the world comprising over 650,000 soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines. In addition, he led the theater’s campaign strategy and revitalized Korea’s automated command-and-control and equipment modernization.

General Tilelli’s military career includes serving as Vice Chief of Staff of the Army and the Army’s Deputy Chief of Operations, during which he led the Army’s vision of the Army of the 21st Century and implemented reforms in acquisition and procurement. He was also the commander of the 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas. He trained, deployed, and fought with the Division in Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm.

Upon his retirement from the United States Army, General Tilelli was appointed as President and Chief Executive Officer of the USO Worldwide Operations. He had responsibility for the operation of over 122 USOs around the world in support of our servicemen and women and their families. General Tilelli led and served on other senior panels related to defense issues.

Currently, General Tilelli is employed with Cypress International Inc. in Alexandria, Virginia, as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer – Emeritus. He served as the former Vice Chairman for Korea Defense Veterans Association and is currently serving on the Korea Defense Veterans Association's (KDVA) Council of Advisors.

2. The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK) Launches Report Based on Satellite Imagery of North Korea’s Political Prison Camp No. 16 and the Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Facility

Access the full report here: https://www.hrnk.org/uploads/pdfs/punggyeri_FINAL.pdf

Human rights is not only a moral imperative, it is a national security issue as well as this report illustrates.

The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK) Launches Report Based on Satellite Imagery of North Korea’s Political Prison Camp No. 16 and the Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Facility

October 17, 2023

https://www.hrnk.org/events/announcements-view.php?id=89

A 5.2 km Switchback Road Could be Used to Transfer Prison Labor from the Camp to the Nuclear Test Facility: The Switchback, Possible Hard Evidence of the North Korean Security-Human Rights Nexus

EMBARGOED UNTIL 12:01 AM U.S. EASTERN TIME, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17

THE REPORT ROLLOUT IS ON-THE-RECORD

The report, Switchback: Evidence of a Connection between Kwan-li-so No. 16 and the Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Facility? is available on HRNK’s website: https://www.hrnk.org/uploads/pdfs/punggyeri_FINAL.pdf

The report rollout will be conducted via Zoom at 10:00 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time on Tuesday, October 17. Please contact committee@hrnk.org for the Zoom link.

WASHINGTON, D.C., October 17, 2023. The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK), a non-governmental organization based in Washington, D.C., has launched a report entitled Switchback: Evidence of a Connection between Kwan-li-so No. 16 and the Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Facility?

Political Prison Camp No. 16 (a.k.a. Kwan-li-so No. 16, Hwasong) is located approximately 1.5 km east of the Punggye-ri nuclear testing area. The estimated Camp 16 prisoner population is at least 20,000. The Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Facility, North Korea’s only known nuclear test site, is located 17.2 km north of the village of Punggye-ri, North Hamgyong Province, on the southern slopes of Mant’ap-san (Mount Mant’ap).

For this report, HRNK author Jacob Bogle analyzed thirty-four high-resolution commercial satellite images, including pan-sharpened multispectral and pan-chromatic images of Camp 16 and the Punggye-ri nuclear testing area.

Raymond Ha, HRNK Director of Operations & Research and report co-author, points out: “Nearly eighty years after Allied air forces took aerial photographs of Auschwitz-Birkenau, satellite imagery plays a critical role in documenting and understanding the core of the Kim Jong-un regime's crimes against humanity: its political prison camps (kwan-li-so).”

According to Ha, “although the regime denies the existence of political prison camps, HRNK has accumulated objective, visual evidence of the continued operation of these facilities through satellite imagery analysis for two decades.”

Greg Scarlatoiu, HRNK Executive Director and report co-author, recalls: “The report is the 24th HRNK satellite imagery analysis publication and the latest step in an effort by HRNK to create a clear picture of the evolution, current state, function, economic and security utility of North Korea’s political prison camps and other detention facilities.”

HRNK is the NGO that put North Korea’s penal labor colonies on the map in 2003 by publishing world-renowned investigator David Hawk’s Hidden Gulag. Hidden Gulag was the first report ever to use satellite imagery to scrutinize North Korea’s vast system of unlawful imprisonment. Ever since, HRNK has employed a methodology combining satellite imagery analysis, North Korean escapee testimony, and open-source information.

Following up on reports by the Chosun Ilbo (June 2009) and Daily NK (January 2016), HRNK examined satellite imagery of a dirt or gravel switchback road that runs for a total length of 5.2 km from Testing Tunnel No. 1 to the perimeter of Camp 16. While the earliest available satellite imagery of Camp 16 is from 1983, the earliest available commercial satellite imagery of the switchback road dates to 2005. Construction of the nuclear testing facility began in the early 2000s.

The dirt or gravel switchback provides a much shorter alternative to using the region’s established road network to travel from Camp 16 to the nuclear testing facility, which would involve a journey of over 80 km. Thus, the likelihood that the switchback may be used for foot traffic appears to be high.

Author Jacob Bogle identifies four possible uses for the switchback: transporting prisoners from Camp 16 to the nuclear testing area for forced labor; providing shorter access to place equipment to monitor the underground nuclear tests; assessing the suitability of the area’s geology for underground nuclear tests and the drilling of tunnels, during the initial planning and construction states of the nuclear testing facility; and securing access for Punggye-ri security personnel to conduct security patrols and surveillance of the area.

Jacob Bogle points out: “Although unassuming at first, the Punggye-ri switchback presents several possibilities that rest at the nexus of human rights in North Korea and their nuclear program. Whether used for prisoner transport in forced labor projects or as part of planning and designing the underground test site, this dirt road carries the possibility to unlock a deeper understanding of two of North Korea's most challenging topics.”

Bogle further adds: “It's often easy to think of the people of North Korea in abstract terms, but this switchback, wedged between North Korea's nuclear test facility and one of its least understood prison camps, offers an opportunity to consider the realities of life faced by the very real people who may have been marched along it.”

Raymond Ha considers that the report “shows evidence of a physical connection between the Punggye-ri nuclear test site and Kwan-li-so No. 16,” thus demonstrating “that the dismantling of North Korea’s nuclear program will also require the complete, verifiable, and irreversible dismantling (CVID) of its political prison camps.”

According to Jacob Bogle, when the switchback is “placed within the context of North Korea’s nuclear program and its proximity to the Hwasong Kwan-li-so is considered, the importance of needing to understand its precise role becomes clear.”

Greg Scarlatoiu believes that “further investigation of the switchback, ideally involving sources inside North Korea, will reinforce the need for a paradigm shift in North Korea policy, that requires a deeper understanding of the security-human rights nexus.”

According to Scarlatoiu, “to develop its nuclear program, North Korea abuses and exploits its people at home and abroad.” If used for the transportation of prisoners to the nuclear testing site as slave laborers, the switchback will provide evidence of a brutally direct link between North Korea’s political detention system and its nuclear program.

While emphasizing that the North Korean regime is skilled at deploying Camouflage, Concealment and Decoys (CCD), Scarlatoiu adds that “CVID is impossible without access to the political prison camps and other detention facilities, as parts, components, and equipment can be concealed within the perimeter of these off-limits detention facilities whose existence North Korea denies.”

RELEASE DETAILS

The report rollout and presentation by Jacob Bogle will be held via Zoom virtual conference, from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST), on Tuesday, October 17. ROK Ambassador-at-Large for International Cooperation on North Korean Human Rights Shin-wha Lee will give remarks as a special guest. Report co-author and HRNK Director of Operations & Research Raymond Ha will be the discussant. Report co-author and HRNK Executive Director Greg Scarlatoiu will moderate.

If you are unable to participate, a video recording will be made available on HRNK’s YouTube channel after the event.

THE REPORT IS EMBARGOED UNTIL 12:01 AM US EASTERN TIME, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17. THE REPORT RELEASE IS ON-THE-RECORD.

For media inquiries, please contact Greg Scarlatoiu, Executive Director, at executive.director@hrnk.org (+1-202-499-7973).

HRNK was founded in 2001 as a nonprofit research organization dedicated to documenting human rights conditions in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), as North Korea is formally known. Visit www.hrnk.org to find out more.

3. Russia’s foreign minister thanks North Korea for ‘unwavering’ support of its war in Ukraine

Excerpts:

Lavrov later attended a reception where North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui said the countries were building an “unbreakable comradely relationship” under the “strategic” decisions and leadership of Kim and Putin, the North’s official Korean Central News Agency said.

Lavrov said in a speech that Russia deeply values North Korea’s “unwavering and principled support” for its war on Ukraine as well as Pyongyang’s decision to recognize the independence of Russian-backed separatist regions in eastern Ukraine, according to his comments published by Russia’s Foreign Ministry.

“We are fully aware that many countries worldwide share similar viewpoints and assessments, but only a select few, such as the DPRK, explicitly declare their solidarity with Russia and can express it openly,” Lavrov said, using the initials of North Korea’s formal name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Russia’s foreign minister thanks North Korea for ‘unwavering’ support of its war in Ukraine

NBC News · by The Associated Press

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov thanked North Korea for its support for Russia’s war on Ukraine as he arrived in Pyongyang on Wednesday, days after the United States said the North had transferred munitions to Russia to strengthen its warfighting capabilities.

Russian state television ran footage of crowds greeting Lavrov in the pouring rain in Pyongyang, the capital, alongside a welcoming party waving pompoms. Lavrov said his visit was an opportunity to discuss implementing the unspecified agreements between Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un when they met at Russia’s Vostochny Cosmodrome in September.

Lavrov later attended a reception where North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui said the countries were building an “unbreakable comradely relationship” under the “strategic” decisions and leadership of Kim and Putin, the North’s official Korean Central News Agency said.

Lavrov said in a speech that Russia deeply values North Korea’s “unwavering and principled support” for its war on Ukraine as well as Pyongyang’s decision to recognize the independence of Russian-backed separatist regions in eastern Ukraine, according to his comments published by Russia’s Foreign Ministry.

“We are fully aware that many countries worldwide share similar viewpoints and assessments, but only a select few, such as the DPRK, explicitly declare their solidarity with Russia and can express it openly,” Lavrov said, using the initials of North Korea’s formal name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Lavrov also praised North Korea for “firmly defending its sovereignty and security, remaining unfazed by any pressure of the U.S. and the West,” and that Russia fully supports the policies of Kim’s government to protect its security and economic interests, KCNA said.

Earlier in the week, Lavrov accompanied Putin on a visit to Beijing that underscored Chinese support for Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

The Sept. 13 meeting between Kim and Putin set off Western concerns about a potential arms alliance in which North Korea would supply Russia with munitions to fuel its war in Ukraine in exchange for advanced Russian technologies to strengthen Kim’s weapons program.

The White House said last Friday that North Korea had shipped more than 1,000 containers of military equipment and munitions to Russia between Sept. 7 and Oct. 1.

After arriving in Pyongyang, Lavrov hailed Putin’s meeting with Kim as historic, saying their talks demonstrated the countries’ “deep interest in the development of comprehensive cooperation.”

The recently flurry of diplomacy between Moscow and Pyongyang underscores how their interests are aligning in the face of their separate, intensifying confrontations with the United States.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu visited North Korea in July for meetings with Kim, who also invited him to a military parade in Pyongyang that showcased North Korean intercontinental ballistic missiles designed to target the United States. Kim’s visit to Russia in September was his first foreign trip since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

During his two-day visit, Lavrov is expected to meet with Choe. Putin has accepted an invitation from Kim to visit North Korea, but the timing has not been announced.

NBC News · by The Associated Press

4. Evidence shows Hamas militants likely used some North Korean weapons in attack on Israel

People are finally taking notice of north Korea's global illicit activities.

Evidence shows Hamas militants likely used some North Korean weapons in attack on Israel

AP · by JON GAMBRELL · October 19, 2023

By HYUNG-JIN KIM, KIM TONG-HYUNG and

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SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Hamas fighters likely fired North Korean weapons during their Oct. 7 assault on Israel, a militant video and weapons seized by Israel show, despite Pyongyang’s denials that it arms the militant group.

South Korean officials, two experts on North Korean arms and an Associated Press analysis of weapons captured on the battlefield by Israel point toward Hamas using Pyongyang’s F-7 rocket-propelled grenade, a shoulder-fired weapon that fighters typically use against armored vehicles.

The evidence shines a light on the murky world of the illicit arms shipments that sanction-battered North Korea uses as a way to fund its own conventional and nuclear weapons programs.

Rocket-propelled grenade launchers fire a single warhead and can be quickly reloaded, making them valuable weapons for guerrilla forces in running skirmishes with heavy vehicles. The F-7 has been documented in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, said N.R. Jenzen-Jones, a weapons expert who works as the director of the consultancy Armament Research Services.

“North Korea has long supported Palestinian militant groups, and North Korean arms have previously been documented amongst interdicted supplies,” Jenzen-Jones told the AP.

Hamas has published images of their fighters with a launcher with a rocket-propelled grenade with a distinctive red stripe across its warhead, and other design elements matching the F-7, said Matt Schroeder, a senior researcher with Small Arms Survey who wrote a guide to Pyongyang’s light weapons.

“It is not a surprise to see North Korean weapons with Hamas,” Schroeder said.

The North Korean F-7 resembles the more widely distributed Soviet-era RPG-7 rocket-propelled grenade, with a few noticeable differences. Jenzen-Jones described the F-7 rocket-propelled grenade as “intended to offer a lethal effect against personnel” given its shape and payload, rather than armored vehicles.

Weapons seized by the Israeli military and shown to journalists also included that red stripe and other design elements matching the F-7.

In a background briefing with journalists Tuesday, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff specifically identified the F-7 as one of the North Korean weapons it believed Hamas used in the attack. The Israeli military declined to answer questions from the AP about the origin and the manufacturer of those rocket-propelled grenades, saying the ongoing war with Hamas prevented it from responding.

North Korea’s mission to the United Nations did not respond to a request for comment from the AP. However, Pyongyang last week through its state-run KCNA news agency dismissed claims that Hamas used its weapons as “a groundless and false rumor” orchestrated by the United States.

Hamas propaganda videos and photos previously have shown its fighters with North Korea’s Bulsae guided anti-tank missile. Jenzen-Jones said he believed, based on imagery of the weapons wielded by Hamas fighters in the Oct. 7 attack, they also used North Korea’s Type 58 self-loading rifle, a variant of the Kalashnikov assault rifle.

“Many North Korean weapons have been provided by Iran to militant groups, and this is believed to be the primary way by which Palestinian militants have come to possess North Korean weapons,” Jenzen-Jones said.

Iran also has modeled some of its ballistic missiles after North Korean variants.

Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not respond to a request for comment. Officials in Iran long have supported Hamas and have praised their assault on Israel.

In December 2009, Thai authorities grounded a North Korean cargo plane reportedly carrying 35 tons of conventional arms, including rockets and rocket-propelled grenades, as it made a refueling stop at a Bangkok airport. Thai officials then said the weapons were headed to Iran. The United States later said in 2012 the shipments interdicted by the Thais had been bound for Hamas.

North Korea also faces Western suspicions that it supplies ammunition, artillery shells and rockets to Russia to support of its war on Ukraine. The White House said last week that North Korea recently delivered more than 1,000 containers of military equipment and munitions to Russia.

___

Gambrell reported from Jerusalem.

JON GAMBRELL

Gambrell is the news director for the Gulf and Iran for The Associated Press. He has reported from each of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, Iran and other locations across the world since joining the AP in 2006.

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AP · by JON GAMBRELL · October 19, 2023. 

5. Pentagon official touts robust extended deterrence to S. Korea

Unfortunately we want engagement more than the regime does.

Excerpts:

"I actually feel very confident in where we are right now with the ROK. I think we've never been in a better place," he said.

At the same forum, Robert Einhorn, a former U.S. State Department adviser on nonproliferation and arms controls, stressed the need to seek engagement with the North to avoid miscalculation that could lead to accidental conflict.

"We should set aside, just for the time being, this denuclearization agenda, which North Korea isn't really interested in, and instead shift to a focus on risk reduction whether bilaterally, trilaterally, six-party whatever," he said.

"But to look at various confidence-building communications ... transparency arrangements could reduce the risk of any inadvertent armed conflict," he added.

Pentagon official touts robust extended deterrence to S. Korea | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Song Sang-ho · October 19, 2023

By Song Sang-ho and Cho Joon-hyung

WASHINGTON, Oct. 18 (Yonhap) -- A U.S. defense official on Wednesday voiced confidence over the strength of America's "extended deterrence" commitment to South Korea, saying, "We've never been in a better place."

Richard Johnson, deputy assistant secretary of defense for nuclear and countering weapons of mass destruction policy, made the remarks, highlighting the allies' efforts to reinforce the credibility of the United States' deterrence commitment to using the full range of its military capabilities, including nuclear, to defend South Korea.

The efforts culminated in the Washington Declaration that Presidents Yoon Suk Yeol and Joe Biden adopted during their White House summit in April. The declaration included the launch of the Nuclear Consultative Group designed to discuss nuclear planning and strategic issues.

"I will stipulate that I don't think extended deterrence can be any stronger than it is right now with our close allies in the ROK," Johnson said during a forum hosted by the Brookings Institution, a U.S.-based think tank. ROK stands for South Korea's official name, the Republic of Korea.

"I really encourage people to read the Washington Declaration and to see the work that we are doing to implement that," he added.

This photo, captured from a Youtube video of the Brookings Institution, shows Richard Johnson, deputy assistant secretary of defense for nuclear and countering weapons of mass destruction. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

As part of U.S. deterrence endeavors for South Korea, Johnson pointed to visible efforts, namely the recent visit to the Korean Peninsula by a U.S. B-52 strategic bomber, as well as submarine deployments that he said are "by definition not visible."

"I actually feel very confident in where we are right now with the ROK. I think we've never been in a better place," he said.

At the same forum, Robert Einhorn, a former U.S. State Department adviser on nonproliferation and arms controls, stressed the need to seek engagement with the North to avoid miscalculation that could lead to accidental conflict.

"We should set aside, just for the time being, this denuclearization agenda, which North Korea isn't really interested in, and instead shift to a focus on risk reduction whether bilaterally, trilaterally, six-party whatever," he said.

"But to look at various confidence-building communications ... transparency arrangements could reduce the risk of any inadvertent armed conflict," he added.

sshluck@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Song Sang-ho · October 19, 2023

6. U.S. B-52 bomber unveiled at S. Korean air base in show of force against N. Korea

I do not care how old it is, the BUFF is one impressive aircraft.

Some trivia. Anyone can visit one at the Korean War Memorial sitting right across the street from the Yongsan Presidential Offices.

U.S. B-52 bomber unveiled at S. Korean air base in show of force against N. Korea | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Chae Yun-hwan · October 19, 2023

By Chae Yun-hwan

CHEONGJU, South Korea, Oct. 19 (Yonhap-Joint Press Corps) -- A U.S. B-52 strategic bomber stood imposingly on a South Korean airbase Thursday in its first-ever known arrival here in a show of force against North Korea's evolving nuclear and missile threats.

The nuclear-capable bomber was put on full display for a group of reporters after it arrived at the air base in Cheongju, 112 kilometers south of Seoul, on Tuesday, amid lingering tensions from Pyongyang's provocations.

The gray-colored heavy bomber, which flew over a defense trade show in the country earlier this week, stood drenched behind the flags of the United States and South Korea as heavy autumn rain pounded the runway.

"(The arrival) is part of our demonstration to the Republic of Korea ... that we stand by our allies," Maj. Rachel Buitrago, public affairs director of the U.S. 7th Air Force, told reporters, using South Korea's official name. "It shows that if we are needed, we will be here."

The deployment of the B-52 bomber is part of efforts to bolster America's extended deterrence commitment to mobilizing the full range of its military capabilities, including nuclear, to defend its ally.

Although the B-52s -- a key U.S. strategic asset -- have previously been deployed over the Korean Peninsula for joint air drills with the South Korean Air Force, it marked the first known instance the bomber landed at a South Korean airbase.

Lt. Col. Vanessa Wilcox, commander of the 96th Bomb Squadron operating the aircraft, neither confirmed nor denied the presence of a nuclear weapon on the bomber but noted it was operationally capable.

A U.S. B-52H strategic bomber is seen on a runway at an air base in Cheongju, 112 kilometers south of Seoul, on Oct. 19, 2023, in this photo provided by the Defense Daily. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

Earlier in the day, Gen. Kim Seung-kyum, chairman of South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), visited the air base with Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Jung Sang-hwa, U.S. Pacific Air Forces Commander Gen. Kenneth S. Wilsbach and U.S. 7th Air Force Commander Lt. Gen. Scott L. Pleus.

"This deployment of the B-52H is another example of the U.S.' ironclad commitment and capabilities to act on its pledge to the defense of the Korean Peninsula and to extended deterrence," Kim was quoted as saying by his office.

Kim said North Korea is making "undisguised" efforts to advance its nuclear capabilities, citing its move to revise its constitution last month to stipulate the policy of strengthening its nuclear force.

"If the enemy uses nuclear weapons, the North Korean regime will face its end," he warned.

Gen. Kim Seung-kyum (L), chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), shakes hands with U.S. troops operating a B-52H strategic bomber at an air base in Cheongju, 112 kilometers south of Seoul, on Oct. 19, 2023, in this photo provided by the JCS. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

Capt. Sabin Park, a pilot of the heavy bomber who is of Korean descent, noted the significance of the bomber's arrival in the country.

"It is really amazing to see the U.S. and Korea are working together," he said. "As other people said, it is making history in terms of cooperation."

The bomber's arrival came after the U.S. pledged to enhance the "regular visibility" of its strategic assets to the Korean Peninsula in a joint declaration issued by President Yoon Suk Yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden during their summit in Washington in April.

Since the declaration, key U.S. military assets have been deployed to the Korean Peninsula, including the USS Kentucky nuclear-capable ballistic missile submarine in July and the nuclear-powered USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier last week.

Prior to its landing Tuesday, the bomber staged joint air drills with South Korean fighter jets and a commemorative flight over the Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition at an air base just south of the capital to mark the 70th anniversary of the bilateral alliance this year.

It is expected to conduct combined air drills with South Korea and Japanese aircraft near the peninsula Sunday, according to a source, in what would be the first trilateral exercise of its kind.

U.S. officials declined to comment on the possibility of the exercise.

yunhwanchae@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Chae Yun-hwan · October 19, 2023

7. (Yonhap Interview) S. Korea mulling sanctions amid suspected N. Korea-Russia arms deal: minister

Can they be enforced?

(Yonhap Interview) S. Korea mulling sanctions amid suspected N. Korea-Russia arms deal: minister | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Soo-yeon · October 19, 2023

By Kim Soo-yeon and Lee Minji

SEOUL, Oct. 19 (Yonhap) -- South Korea has no choice but to seek "powerful" sanctions against North Korea and Russia if Moscow provides military technology to Pyongyang in return for a suspected supply of North Korean weapons to Russia, Seoul's point man on Pyongyang has said.

The United States said last week that North Korea has delivered more than 1,000 containers of military equipment and munitions to Moscow for use in its war in Ukraine amid speculation that the Sept. 13 summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin might have led to an arms deal.

In return, North Korea apparently wants Russia to transfer high-tech weapons technology, such as a military spy satellite and a nuclear-powered submarine, as it is pushing to advance its nuclear and missile programs.

South Korea believes that weapons are going to Russia from North Korea, Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho said, noting that Seoul takes military cooperation between the two nations "very seriously."

"If Russia offers military technology to North Korea, it indicates a serious threat to South Korea's security. Then, we cannot help but seek powerful sanctions against Russia and North Korea with the U.S. and other nations," Kim said in a joint interview with Yonhap News Agency and Yonhap News TV on Wednesday.

Still, Kim said South Korea is not currently considering slapping unilateral sanctions against Russia over its suspected arms deal with North Korea.

Russia, one of five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council (UNSC), had voted in the past for UNSC sanctions resolutions banning any weapons trade with North Korea.

North Korea has been under tightened U.N. sanctions, as well as separate U.S. sanctions, over its nuclear tests and its long-range rocket launches.

In September, South Korea imposed unilateral sanctions on a North Korean company and five individuals involved in illicit financing for weapons of mass destruction programs. It marked Seoul's 11th unilateral sanctions measure against North Korea since May last year.

This photo, taken Oct. 18, 2023, shows Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho speaking in an interview with Yonhap News Agency and Yonhap News TV at his office in Seoul. (Yonhap)

Touching on the issue of suspending the 2018 military tension reduction agreement with North Korea, Kim said the government could consider pausing the accord if Pyongyang stages "grave" provocations.

The agreement has received fresh attention as Hamas' surprise rocket attack on Israel renewed concerns in South Korea over Seoul's capabilities to counter a potential attack from North Korea.

The deal, signed under former liberal President Moon Jae-in, calls for setting up buffer zones along land and maritime borders, and creating no-fly zones along the border in a bid to reduce military tensions and prevent accidental clashes.

But North Korea had violated the agreement 17 times by the end of last year, and 15 violations occurred in 2022 alone, including five North Korean drones' infiltration into the South in December.

Describing the accord as an "own goal in the security field," Kim said it restricts South Korea's surveillance capabilities at a time when North Korea's military threats remain high.

"If the North stages grave provocations, we need to actively review the inter-Korean military agreement," Kim said, adding the government will judge what provocative acts are deemed grave.

In January, President Yoon Suk Yeol ordered officials to consider the suspension of the accord if North Korea violates the South's territory again.

The minister, meanwhile, voiced doubts over whether North Korea could make a third attempt to launch a military spy satellite soon, noting it had a short span of time to fix technical issues since its second failed attempt in August.

North Korea launched a military spy satellite, named the Malligyong-1, mounted on the Chollima-1 rocket in May and August, but both ended in failure. Pyongyang has announced it will make a third attempt in October.

"It is questionable that the North could have addressed technical challenges in a short span of time to enable it to make the third attempt," he said.

This photo, taken Oct. 18, 2023, shows Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho speaking in an interview with Yonhap News Agency and Yonhap News TV at his office in Seoul. (Yonhap)

Kim forecast the number of North Korean defectors coming to South Korea will likely more than double this year from the previous year amid the reclusive regime's border reopening.

The number of such North Korean defectors began to rise this year after sharply dwindling in recent years due mainly to Pyongyang's tight border shutdowns over COVID-19.

The number of the North's escapees reached 99 in the first half of the year, up nearly fivefold from 19 a year earlier. For the whole of 2022, the tally came to 67.

"If the current trend goes on, the number of incoming defectors could reach around 170 this year, rising 2.5 times from a year ago," Kim said, also taking note of an increasing trend in elite North Koreans abroad who have defected after growing critical of their home country.

Kim made clear that the latest forced repatriation of North Korean defectors in China is an "explicit violation" of the U.N. convention against torture.

China does not recognize North Korean defectors as refugees and regularly repatriates those who are caught trying to defect to the North, where they can face harsh punishment.

Last week, the unification ministry said a "large number" of defectors appeared to have been sent back to their repressive home country, following media reports that around 600 North Korean defectors detained in the Jilin and Liaoning provinces were forcibly repatriated shortly after the end of the Asian Games in Hangzhou.

sooyeon@yna.co.kr

mlee@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Soo-yeon · October 19, 2023

8. Russian FM hopes for 'substantial' follow-up measures to Kim-Putin summit during Pyongyang trip

(3rd LD) Russian FM hopes for 'substantial' follow-up measures to Kim-Putin summit during Pyongyang trip | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Minji · October 19, 2023

(ATTN: RECASTS lead; UPDATES with details on meeting with N. Korea's Kim)

SEOUL, Oct. 19 (Yonhap) -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said his visit to Pyongyang will mark an opportunity for "substantial results" for implementing agreements reached between their leaders, North Korea's state media said Thursday, the second day of his visit, which involved a meeting with the North's leader.

Lavrov arrived at Pyongyang International Airport on Wednesday at the invitation of North Korea's foreign ministry "amid the enthusiasm of friendship growing higher than ever," the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said in an English-language dispatch.

The visit is a follow-up to the rare summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sept. 13, as the two countries move to strengthen military ties amid speculation over their suspected arms deal.

North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui (R) talks with her Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, during a reception for him in Pyongyang on Oct. 18, 2023, in this photo provided by the North's Korean Central News Agency. Lavrov arrived in Pyongyang earlier in the day. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

Speaking at a reception Wednesday evening, Lavrov said his visit would serve as a "significant occasion of bringing substantial results" for the implementation of the agreement made at the recent summit, according to the KCNA.

He added that Russia "fully supports" all of North Korea's policies adopted to defend its national interests, calling North Korea a genuine independent state "unfazed by any pressure of the U.S. and the West."

Lavrov also thanked Pyongyang for supporting its "special military operation" in Ukraine, according to a transcript of his speech released by Russia's foreign ministry on its website.

North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui (R) welcomes her Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, upon his arrival at Pyongyang International Airport on Oct. 18, 2023, in this photo provided by the North's Korean Central News Agency. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui expressed expectation that the "comprehensive and constructive relations" between the two countries would be expanded on a higher level during Lavrov's visit.

Lavrov and Choe are expected to discuss ways to bolster bilateral cooperation, including preparations for Putin's possible reciprocal visit to Pyongyang.

In a separate announcement, Russia's foreign ministry said Thursday that Lavrov has met Kim in a meeting that lasted over an hour. It did not provide further details.

North Korea's state media has yet to report on their meeting.

Seoul's foreign ministry urged North Korea and Russia to cooperate toward a path that helps bring "peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula," saying it is "keeping close tabs" on the visit.

"North Korea will never be recognized as a nuclear-weapon state regardless of its actions and assertions, and the sanctions of the international community will only deepen," ministry spokesperson Lim Soo-suk said in a press briefing.

He also stressed that the North's nuclear and missile program is a clear violation of the U.N. Security Council resolutions.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov delivers a speech during a reception for him by his North Korean counterpart, Choe Son-hui, in Pyongyang on Oct. 18, 2023, in this photo provided by the North's Korean Central News Agency. Lavrov arrived in Pyongyang earlier in the day. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

julesyi@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Minji · October 19, 2023

9. Key N. Korea missile official heading missile bureau: Seoul

I look forward to assessments from Korean leadership watchers to determine the implications of this. Obviously this reinforces what we have long known , e.g., Kim's priority is on nuclear and missile development.

Key N. Korea missile official heading missile bureau: Seoul | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Soo-yeon · October 19, 2023

SEOUL, Oct. 19 (Yonhap) -- A key North Korean official in charge of Pyongyang's missile development has been leading an agency considered to be handling the country's policy of strengthening its nuclear force, South Korea's unification ministry said Thursday.

Jang Chang-ha, president of the Academy of National Defense Science, has been identified as the chief of the Missile General Bureau, as the name tag on his military uniform points to his new title, the ministry said, citing photos carried by the North's state media outlets.

"The missile bureau is presumed to be the agency in charge of North Korea's project to strengthen its nuclear force, given that the flag representing it has a symbol of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and nuclear weapons," a ministry official told reporters.

This file photo, carried by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency, shows Jang Chang-ha, president of the Academy of National Defense Science, issuing an order to launch the Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile in April. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

The existence of the bureau was first known in February, when its flag was detected at an enlarged military meeting in photos carried by the North's state news agency. North Korean observers speculate it was created in April 2016 as an entity overseeing the production and management of North Korea's nuclear weapons and missiles.

Jang, regarded as a key missile official, was promoted to a general last November for his contribution to the development of the Hwasong-17 ICBM.

He is among blacklisted North Korean officials under U.N. sanctions over Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs. He has also been on the list of unilateral sanctions by South Korea and the United States.

Meanwhile, the unification ministry said it is keeping close tabs on a possible change in the status of Ri Son-gwon, the head of the United Front Department (UFD) tasked with handling inter-Korean relations, at the ruling Workers' Party.

Ri may have been demoted from an alternate member of the party's political bureau, but there seems to be no change in his status as the UFD chief, it added.

These images, captured from footage of North Korea's state-run Korea Central Television on Feb. 15, 2023, shows the flag of the Missile General Bureau (L) and a vehicle carrying the flag rolling through Kim Il Sung Plaza during a military parade in February. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

sooyeon@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Soo-yeon · October 19, 2023

10. N. Korea's Kim family spends up to millions of dollars per year on luxury goods: Seoul

The Korean people in the north suffern and sacrifice as Kim Jong Un prioritizes nuclear and missile development and support to the elite over the welfare of the people and the nation.

N. Korea's Kim family spends up to millions of dollars per year on luxury goods: Seoul | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Yi Wonju · October 19, 2023

SEOUL, Oct. 19 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his family are growing less hesitant to show off their luxury goods, often worth up to millions of dollars a year, to a population largely suffering from chronic food shortages, Seoul's unification ministry said Thursday.

Exports of luxury goods to North Korea are banned under a 2006 U.N. Security Council sanctions resolution, but the reclusive regime has managed to bring in luxury vehicles and consumer goods, including French designer bags and watches.

"North Korea appears to be introducing luxury goods worth hundreds of millions of Korean won to billions yearly for the Kim Jong-un family," a ministry official told reporters on condition of anonymity.

He added that the "volume of imported goods shrank during the COVID-19 pandemic due to border controls but has been recovering since the latter half of last year."

The ministry made the assessment based on sources from the South Korean intelligence and North Korean defectors, the official said, citing difficulty in gaining access to exact figures and data on the Kim family.

The ruling family also seems to be "showing off their luxury goods without caring about the eyes of the public."

Photos released by state media often show Kim and his wife, Ri Sol-ju, wearing Swiss luxury watches.

In September, Kim's powerful sister, Yo-jung, was also seen holding a black leather bag, presumably from the French luxury brand Christian Dior, during the leader's visit to Russia.

The North's leader is known to use such luxury goods to keep North Korean officials loyal to him.

"Kim gives luxury cars as gifts to officials who he particularly favors or those who have made special accomplishments in the military field," the official said. "He also hands out Swiss watches like Omega or the latest electronic devices at events commemorating the birthdays of the Kim family or the party congress meeting."

Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, carries what appears to be a black leather bag (in red circle) from the French luxury brand Christian Dior during her visit to Russia, in this undated file photo released by North Korea's state-run Korea Central News Agency on Sept. 16, 2023. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

julesyi@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Yi Wonju · October 19, 2023

11. US, South Korea warn global companies of covert Pyongyang hackers

We are at war with the regime's all purpose sword.

US, South Korea warn global companies of covert Pyongyang hackers

Illicit hacking revenue supports N Korea’s development of mass weapons of destruction: State Department.

By Lee Jeong-Ho for RFA

2023.10.18

Seoul, South Korea

rfa.org

The United States and South Korea have issued an alert to the international community on North Korean hackers posing as non-North Korean job seekers, whose objectives are to undertake cyber missions that could accelerate Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions.

The authorities from the two countries issued a joint public service announcement late Wednesday that these hackers impersonate “IT workers” and non-DPRK nationals, who could potentially infiltrate global companies.

“DPRK IT workers continue to take advantage of demand for specific IT skills such as software and mobile application development while fraudulently obtaining employment contracts around the world, including in the United States. This action leads to companies unwittingly hiring DPRK IT workers,” the U.S. Department of State said in a statement, referring to the North’s formal name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

The State Department added that it was closely collaborating with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, as well as the South’s of Foreign Ministry, National Police Agency, and National Intelligence Service (NIS) to tackle the issue.

This initiative followed the similar warnings issued in May and December last year. The latest warning provided an update of clearer guidelines on how the North Korean covert hackers operate.

“Hiring or supporting DPRK IT workers – knowingly or unknowingly – poses many risks, ranging from theft of intellectual property, data, and funds, to reputational harm and legal consequences, including under U.S., ROK, and UN sanctions,” the statement said, referring to South Korea’s formal name.

The authorities noted that North Korean IT workers’ potential hacking may aid Pyongyang’s development of weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs.

On Thursday, South Korea’s foreign ministry reinforced the statement and elaborated on particular red flags associated with North Korean IT workers. The ministry said that unusual requests, such as seeking alternative payment methods instead of the usual account details for salaries or using a freight forwarder’s address instead of a personal home address for deliveries, could be key indicators of suspicious activity.

“Collaborating with North Korean IT experts not only jeopardizes a company’s reputation but also poses the threat of unauthorized access to its confidential data and potential asset theft,” the ministry warned.

The warning came amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing U.N. sanctions, which continued to push North Korea's economy downwards. The statement said hacking has turned into a major stream of revenue for North Korea. The North Korean regime has recently not only been targeting financial institutions and cryptocurrencies, but also seek to exploit vulnerabilities across various sectors, including manufacturing companies.

Earlier this month, South Korea’s spy agency, NIS, revealed that it has identified numerous instances where North Korean hacking groups targeted key shipbuilding firms in the South.

North Korea has also turned to hacking as a means of advancing its technology capabilities, seeking to bridge the gap with advanced nations. It had attempted to steal information on COVID vaccines via hacking Pfizer, the NIS told South Korean lawmakers in 2021.

Edited by Elaine Chan and Taejun Kang.

rfa.org

12. A gov’t sitting on its hands over repatriation (nk refugees in China)

​An important critique.

Wednesday

October 18, 2023

 dictionary + A - A 

Published: 18 Oct. 2023, 20:08

A gov’t sitting on its hands over repatriation

https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2023-10-18/opinion/columns/A-govt-sitting-on-its-hands-over-repatriation/1893286

Lee Ae-ran

The author, a former head of the North Korean Human Rights Union, is the president of the Center for Liberty & Reunification.

As in the case of most North Korean defectors, I also bought four tiny bags of rat poison to die by suicide — one for me, the rest for my brothers and sisters — in case we got arrested by China’s public security guards. I told my siblings to not hesitate to take the toxic powder if a contingency happens. For North Koreans, defection can cost their life at any time. Being caught by the Chinese police and being repatriated to North Korea is more dreadful and painful than death.

At the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in January 2020, North Korea shut its borders with China to prevent the spread of the virus. In the following month, Pyongyang told Beijing that it would temporarily stop sending North Korean workers to China, and proposed a suspension of the deportation back to the North. Nevertheless, North Korea’s State Political Security Department and China’s Ministry of Public Security continued a coordinated investigation of North Korean defectors illegally staying in China​.

At the time, the Chinese government installed a quarantine watch network across the country — and even activated a facial recognition system — to prevent the diffusion of the coronavirus. After the government intensified its checks on resident registration and tightened its control on people’s movement, a number of North Korean defectors unregistered in China were discovered and arrested by the security police.

In the past, most of the female defectors who had barely fled their homeland were sent to rural villages or adult entertainment facilities through human trafficking networks in China. But since such facilities were forced to close after the pandemic, the defectors lost their job. Once their identities were disclosed, they were arrested and detained by the public security agents.

According to Freedom Chosun, a website operated by North Korean defectors living in South Korea, the Chinese security guards have arrested, detained, and sent female North Korean defectors to labor camps to exploit their cheap labor since 2020.

After human exchanges resumed in July thanks to Pyongyang’s eased mitigation measures, China transferred all of them to provisional detention centers in Dandong, Yanji, and Tumen near the border. Beijing demanded Pyongyang pay the cost for the public security guards who investigated and arrested the defectors, as well as the cost of their medical care, food and lodging over the past three years. As North Korea failed to pay the money, the defectors could not be repatriated.

After the North’s security department proposed to its Chinese counterpart to resume the process of extradition, China refused — until it received payment for the cost of the repatriation. China already took gains from the exploitation of North Korean defectors and reaped more profit from additionally managing them. In the end, 250 to 300 North Korean defectors were deported back to the North in August followed by 600 more defectors after the end of the Hangzhou Asian Games earlier this month.

The Kim Jong-un regime is reportedly accommodating the deported defectors at a segregated hospital for patients infected with hepatitis and tuberculosis. The first group of the repatriated defectors was handed over to the State Political Security Department after being transferred to another isolated facility in the northernmost province of the country. The second group of 600 defectors are likely housed at segregated Covid-19 facilities.

North Korea is infamous for human rights violations. What fate will befall the repatriated is obvious. Nevertheless, China forcefully deported them to North Korea. I seriously wonder how a country that hosted many international events such the Olympics and Asian Games can do that.

The dovish Moon Jae-in administration that was engrossed in pleasing the Kim Jong-un regime can hardly avoid responsibility for this tragedy. The liberal government provoked public outrage after forcefully repatriating two young North Korean fishermen against their will by stigmatizing them as “murderers of their own people.” The liberal forces in the South steadfastly criticize Tokyo over the Japanese Imperial Army’s abuse of Korean sex slaves eight decades ago, but keep mum on the horrendous violation of human rights in the North today.

The Yoon Suk Yeol administration’s response to the latest repatriation is no less disappointing. Even though it sensed China’s decision for immediate deportation — and despite North Korean defectors’ plea for help — the conservative government sat on its hands. The Unification Ministry and Foreign Ministry must strongly protest China’s decision and urge it to stop such inhumane behavior.

Our Constitution clearly stipulates North Korean defectors as citizens of the Republic of Korea. If the government cannot stop the deportation, it is a dereliction of duty as the state. We hope the Yoon administration devises effective measures to prevent such a tragedy in the future.

Translation by the Korea JoongAng Daily staff.

​13. Mass deportations of North Koreans cause tragic family separation

Both China and north Korea are committing crimes against humanity.

Excerpts:

“This is astonishing that China sacrifices the rights of its citizens for the relations with North Korea despite its enormous influence over the state,” said Shin Hee-seok, a legal analyst at Transitional Justice Working Group, a Seoul-based rights group.

“I think the Chinese attitude demonstrates the little value of its citizens’ rights rather than the high value of its diplomatic relationship with North Korea.”

He also pointed out that North Korean women returning from China pregnant are forced to have abortions, which he thinks is not just a serious violation of international law but also the North Korean regime’s violence against would-be Chinese citizens.

“It is ironic that the Chinese authorities deport North Korean women to North Korea where forced abortion or infanticide of their babies awaits them because ‘Chinese blood’ is viewed as corrupting ‘Korean racial purity.’ I cannot think of any country other than North Korea that carries out mass abortions or infanticide on such racist grounds, nor can I think of any country other than China that would enable such mass abortions or infanticide against its own blood,’” he said.

Mass deportations of North Koreans cause tragic family separation

The Korea Times · October 19, 2023

This photo taken last year shows Kim Cheol-ok, a North Korean escapee who had lived in China for 25 years with her family before being deported by Chinese authorities on Oct. 9. Courtesy of Kim Hyuk

Kim Cheol-ok, who had lived in China for 25 years, was among hundreds of victims

By Jung Min-ho

After escaping North Korea at 14 in the midst of a catastrophic famine in 1998, Kim Cheol-ok settled down in a small town in the northeastern Chinese province of Jilin, where she married a Chinese man and gave birth to a daughter.

Kim did not want to be married, set up by a Chinese marriage broker, but she gradually came to love her family and accept her new life there while assimilating into that community. But the family fell apart on Oct. 9, when the Chinese government deported her and hundreds of other North Koreans against their will. This move came after she was arrested on April 4 for unknown reasons.

The news immediately broke the hearts of her entire family. They fear that torture, death or both may be awaiting her in a North Korean prison.

“Her husband, daughter and other members of the family desperately want her back, calling for her safety and release,” Kim Hyuk, her cousin living in South Korea, told The Korea Times on Thursday. “After living in China for more than 20 years, she barely speaks Korean, which I worry about deeply. She could be treated even more harshly than others because of that.”

Kim Hyuk speaks from experience. After being caught crossing the border in 1998, he was sent to a concentration camp where he suffered beatings and torture for three years.

“The guards beat me every time I said something they did not like or could not understand,” he said.

He added that releasing her name and picture was their last resort to keep her alive.

“It might be impossible to free her immediately at this point. But if she dies, all hopes of a reunion would die. We want to keep them alive for that possibility no matter how scant it is,” he said.

This photo shows the flags of China and North Korea during the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, Sept. 26. Reuters-Yonhap

Her repatriation suggests that any North Korean living in China could be targeted, regardless of how long he or she has been in the country and how brutal the government could be to its own citizens, experts said.

More than 70 percent of North Korean escapees are women, many of whom end up forming families, often against their will. If their children are born, they can obtain Chinese citizenship as long as they meet certain requirements.

By separating such Chinese citizens from their wives and mothers, the Chinese government violates the basic human right to family life,” said Lee Kyu-chang, a researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification, a state-funded think tank.

In a democratic country, such state violence would be met with civil resistance. But in China, there have been no public calls over the issue.

“This is astonishing that China sacrifices the rights of its citizens for the relations with North Korea despite its enormous influence over the state,” said Shin Hee-seok, a legal analyst at Transitional Justice Working Group, a Seoul-based rights group.

“I think the Chinese attitude demonstrates the little value of its citizens’ rights rather than the high value of its diplomatic relationship with North Korea.”

He also pointed out that North Korean women returning from China pregnant are forced to have abortions, which he thinks is not just a serious violation of international law but also the North Korean regime’s violence against would-be Chinese citizens.

“It is ironic that the Chinese authorities deport North Korean women to North Korea where forced abortion or infanticide of their babies awaits them because ‘Chinese blood’ is viewed as corrupting ‘Korean racial purity.’ I cannot think of any country other than North Korea that carries out mass abortions or infanticide on such racist grounds, nor can I think of any country other than China that would enable such mass abortions or infanticide against its own blood,’” he said.

The Korea Times · October 19, 2023

14. [From the Scene] 'If we are needed, we will be here' (B-52 in Korea)

Excellent photos at the link: https://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20231019000808

[From the Scene] 'If we are needed, we will be here'

koreaherald.com · by Ji Da-gyum · October 19, 2023

First B-52 bomber landing in S. Korea affirms unwavering alliance, US Air Force officials say

By Ji Da-gyum

Published : Oct. 19, 2023 - 18:10

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Kim Seung-kyum (center, front row), South Korean Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Jung Sang-hwa (fourth from left, front row) and US Pacific Air Forces Commander Kenneth Wilsbach (fourth from right, front row) pose for a photo in front of the nuclear-capable US strategic bomber B-52H that landed in Korea for the first time, at the Air Force base in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, Thursday. (Joint Chiefs of Staff)

By Ji Da-gyum and Joint Press Corps

CHEONGJU AIR BASE, North Chungcheong Province — The United States Air Force's nuclear-capable B-52 strategic bomber on Tuesday made its first-ever landing at a South Korean air base. The touchdown of the long-range heavy bomber underscores the US' unwavering commitment to the defense of its treaty ally, amid escalating missile and nuclear threats posed by North Korea, according to the US Air Force.

"It is part of our demonstration to the Republic of Korea, its people, and its government that we stand by our allies, that we have an ironclad commitment to secure the peace and stability of this region," Maj. Rachel Buitrago, public affairs director of the US 7th Air Force, said Thursday at the South Korean Air Force’s base in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province.

The B-52H Stratofortress is the key asset of demonstrating US extended deterrence, which is the US commitment to deter or respond to coercion and attacks on US allies and partners by using the full range of its military capabilities, including nuclear, conventional, missile defense and other advanced non-nuclear capabilities.

The B-52s have also effectively carried out crucial missions overseas, including in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. B-52 aircraft executed around 1,800 combat sorties against Islamic State group forces in Syria and Iraq, significantly contributing to the reduction of the jihadist group's presence in the region.

"In terms of the combat capability, we have various mission sets such as strategic attack, air interdiction, close air support, and obviously we also support the nuclear enterprise," Capt. Sabin Park, bomber commander of the 96th Bomb Squadron and a B-52 pilot, said at the air base.

"So we are very flexible, and I think the unique thing about the B-52 is the fact that we can support so many different mission sets."

A US Air Force B-52H strategic bomber rests on the tarmac, stationed at a South Korean Air Force base in the city of Cheongju, North Gyeongsang Province.(Kookbang Ilbo)

The B-52 features remarkable specifications, including a wingspan of 56.4 meters and a length of 48.5 meters, which is slightly shorter than the swimming pool used in the Olympic Games, measuring 50 meters in length. It also boasts a height of 12.4 meters and a weight of approximately 83,250 kilograms.

Lt. Col. Vanessa Wilcox, commander of the 96th Bomb Squadron in charge of flying and operating B-52 strategic bombers, said the significance of the inaugural touchdown is more than enhancing interoperability with South Korean forces.

"The best way to say it is that the opportunity to work and integrate with our ROK partners is something we cannot possibly achieve unless being here on the ground," Wilcox answered, referring to South Korea's official name, Republic of Korea, when asked by The Korea Herald.

"It really provides a totally different opportunity that we would not have if we were not here physically with them."

A B-52 strategic bomber flies during the opening ceremony of the Seoul International Aerospace & Defense Exhibition (ADEX) 2023 at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, south of Seoul, on Tuesday (Yonhap)

The historic landing took place as part of the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the South Korea-US alliance, established through the signing of a mutual defense treaty in October 1953.

The touchdown coincided with the B-52's inaugural flyover at Seoul ADEX 2023, South Korea's leading aerospace and defense exhibition. The event's primary objective is to exhibit the nation's domestically produced weaponry and military capabilities in response to the ongoing North Korean threats, reaching out to the general public.

"One of the greatest parts of being in the air show is that it shows the whole public of Korea that we were here and that we were able to fly from the United States. We can't talk about where in the United States because of security reasons, but we have that extended reach capability," Buitrago said when asked by The Korea Herald about the significance of the participation.

"At the invitation of the event organizers and the Republic of Korea, we were proud to be able to participate in that to demonstrate our commitment. It shows that if we are needed we will be here."

The B-52 Stratofortress on Tuesday conducted a flyover during the opening ceremony of Seoul, with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in attendance. The US strategic bomber is scheduled for another flyover during ADEX 23, which ends Sunday.

What's particularly noteworthy is the role of Capt. Sabin Park, who was born in Masan, South Gyeongsang Province, and then later became a US Air Force pilot. He will be piloting the B-52 strategic bomber over South Korean airspace.

“It's a lot more meaningful because I have that Korean background and tying it all together with the fact that I'm an American and being born in Korea,” Park said.

"I think it's just amazing to see that there's cooperation and an effort to really show that the US and Korea are working together."

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Kim Seung-kyum (left) encourages operational officers of a US B-52H strategic bomber at a South Korean combat squadron on Thursday. (Joint Chiefs of Staff)

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff on Thursday said the deployment of the B-52 strategic bomber to the Korean Peninsula serves the purpose of regularly demonstrating the US commitment to extended deterrence for South Korea and strengthening the viability of extended deterrence.

The landing and flyovers of the B-52 Stratofortress also followed an agreement between Yoon and US President Joe Biden to enhance the regular visibility of US strategic assets, as outlined in the historic Washington Declaration signed on April 26.

"The deployment of the B-52H strategic bomber is that case that reaffirms the United States' commitment to the ironclad defense of the Korean Peninsula and extended deterrence and capabilities to put them into action in the face of enemy's advancing nuclear threats," Gen. Kim Seung-kyum, South Korea's JCS chairman, said Thursday morning during his visit to the air base.

"The South Korea-US alliance will persist in pursuing 'peace through strength' based on overwhelming capabilities. If the enemy uses nuclear weapons, the North Korean regime will face demise."

koreaherald.com · by Ji Da-gyum · October 19, 2023

15. Businessman nabbed for aiding N. Korean restaurant in Southeast Asia

​One of many of north Korea's global illicit activities to launder and raise money.

Businessman nabbed for aiding N. Korean restaurant in Southeast Asia

The Korea Times · October 18, 2023

A South Korean businessman buys flowers to deliver to a North Korean restaurant in a Southeast Asian country, in this file photo provided by the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency. Yonhap

A local businessman has been apprehended for assisting the operation of a North Korean restaurant in a Southeast Asian country and communicating closely with a North Korean spy stationed there, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency (SMPA) said Wednesday.

The 52-year-old businessman, who runs an IT program company in South Korea, is accused of having visited the North Korean restaurant for seven years, beginning in 2016, and maintained close communications with the restaurant's vice president, who belongs to the Reconnaissance General Bureau, Pyongyang's spy agency.

He is also suspected of providing $4,800, as well as 20.7 million won ($15,338) worth of goods, including clothing, skin care products, food, masks and medicine, to the restaurant while communicating with it by phone and messenger since 2018, the SMPA said, speculating some of the U.S. dollars were sent to Pyongyang.

It also noted the medicine provided by the suspect to the restaurant included prescription and psychotropic drugs.

The SMPA said the businessman was referred to the prosecution without detention last Friday on charges of violating the National Security Act and the narcotics control and pharmaceutical laws.

The suspect reportedly told the police that he provided various conveniences to the North's restaurant because of his romantic relationship with a female employee. (Yonhap)

The Korea Times · October 18, 2023

16. NATO’s security is becoming ‘increasingly connected’ to Asia, official says in Seoul

Excerpts:

He spoke Wednesday at the 2023 Seoul Defense Dialogue, a military and foreign policy forum hosted by the South Korean Ministry of National Defense.

“I think we, in Europe and North America, absolutely see [North Korea’s] nuclear program as a threat to us and a threat to global security,” Lapsley told an audience of roughly 250 military officials, diplomats and reporters from nearly 60 countries.

North Korea has carried out six underground nuclear tests since 2006 and, according to U.S. and South Korean intelligence agencies, is preparing for a seventh. The communist regime last tested a nuclear device, which it claimed was a hydrogen bomb, on Sept. 3, 2017.

Pyongyang, which is prohibited by the U.N. Security Council from conducting ballistic missile tests, has fired 21 ballistic missiles — four of which were intercontinental ballistic missiles — in 14 separate days of testing so far this year.

NATO, traditionally focused on Russia, is grappling with the challenge posed by a rapid Chinese military buildup and the possibility of conflict in the Taiwan Strait.

NATO’s security is becoming ‘increasingly connected’ to Asia, official says in Seoul

Stars and Stripes · by David Choi · October 19, 2023

Angus Lapsley, NATO's assistant secretary general for defense policy and planning, discusses North Korea's nuclear threat during the Seoul Defense Dialogue in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023. (Christopher Green/Stars and Stripes)

SEOUL, South Korea — The North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s security is becoming more focused on Asia, particularly South Korea, due to an uptick in threats from Russia and North Korea, a senior NATO official told a defense conference this week.

The alliance’s 31 member states are “deepening our dialogue and engagement” on the Korean Peninsula because “our security is increasingly connected to security here in the Asia-Pacific region,” said Angus Lapsley, NATO’s assistant secretary general for defense policy and planning.

He spoke Wednesday at the 2023 Seoul Defense Dialogue, a military and foreign policy forum hosted by the South Korean Ministry of National Defense.

“I think we, in Europe and North America, absolutely see [North Korea’s] nuclear program as a threat to us and a threat to global security,” Lapsley told an audience of roughly 250 military officials, diplomats and reporters from nearly 60 countries.

North Korea has carried out six underground nuclear tests since 2006 and, according to U.S. and South Korean intelligence agencies, is preparing for a seventh. The communist regime last tested a nuclear device, which it claimed was a hydrogen bomb, on Sept. 3, 2017.

Pyongyang, which is prohibited by the U.N. Security Council from conducting ballistic missile tests, has fired 21 ballistic missiles — four of which were intercontinental ballistic missiles — in 14 separate days of testing so far this year.

NATO, traditionally focused on Russia, is grappling with the challenge posed by a rapid Chinese military buildup and the possibility of conflict in the Taiwan Strait.

In addition to the U.S., other NATO members such as the United Kingdom, Germany and France have sent large military contingents to train in the Indo-Pacific in the past year.

NATO may open a one-person liaison office in Tokyo next year, Japan’s Nikkei newspaper reported May 3. The office will facilitate regular consultations between NATO, Japan and partners in the region such as South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

NATO’s 2022 Strategic Concept document states that Russia is the most significant threat to Allied security.

However, among other threats it lists “China’s stated ambitions and coercive policies; cyberspace; emerging and disruptive technologies; the erosion of arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation architectures.”

“We are dealing with an increasing number of countries around the world whose regimes are becoming more autocratic, less democratic, more authoritarian and more prepared simply to challenge the rules-based order that we have largely established since 1945,” Lapsley told the conference.

The White House has formally accused North Korea of supplying Russia with munitions for its invasion of Ukraine. Pyongyang shipped Moscow more than 1,000 containers of military equipment and munitions between September and October, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters Oct. 13.

Lapsley said like-minded nations should address this type of activity by demonstrating that “our deterrence is credible” and calling out “misbehavior … and to do so consistently and coherently together.”

He called an Air Force B-52H Stratofortress’ visit to a South Korean airport on Tuesday “a powerful symbol of how strong our extended deterrence arrangements are.” The touchdown marked the first time a B-52 has landed on the peninsula in at least 30 years.

Stars and Stripes · by David Choi · October 19, 2023​

17. Russia Denounces 'Dangerous' US Military North Korea Policy

All Russia needs to do is recommend that Kim Jong Un come to the negotiating table. He is the obstacle.

Russia Denounces 'Dangerous' US Military North Korea Policy

Barron's · by AFP - Agence France Presse

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Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday criticised the US and its allies Japan and South Korea for pursuing a "dangerous" military policy towards North Korea, as he held talks with officials in Pyongyang.

"Like our North Korean friends, we are seriously worried about the intensification of military activity of the United States, Japan and South Korea in the region and by Washington's policies," he told journalists at a press conference in Pyongyang.

"We oppose this unconstructive and dangerous line," he said, adding that the US was placing "strategic infrastructure, including nuclear elements" in the region. He did not elaborate.

Lavrov said Russia backed "a regular negotiating process on security issues in the Korean peninsula", adding that Moscow, Beijing and Pyongyang were seeking to propose "constructive alternatives" to de-escalate tensions in the region.

The veteran envoy's meetings in Pyongyang are expected to lay the groundwork for a future visit by Russian leader Vladimir Putin, who was invited by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un last month at a high-profile summit in Russia's far east.

bur/ach/ssy

Barron's · by AFP - Agence France Presse

De Oppresso Liber,

David Maxwell

Vice President, Center for Asia Pacific Strategy

Senior Fellow, Global Peace Foundation

Editor, Small Wars Journal

Twitter: @davidmaxwell161

Phone: 202-573-8647

email: david.maxwell161@gmail.com