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Quotes of the Day:
"You can sway a thousand me by appealing to their prejudices quicker than you can convince one many by logic."
- Robert Heinlein
"You can't separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom."
- Bob Marley
"Fearful men control, intelligent men analyze, but wise men listen with intent to understand."
-J. Mike Fields
1. Domestic Politics Threaten Hard-Won Success in East Asia
2. China, Russia and North Korea: A fearsome but weak axis
3. Japan benefits from ‘quite excellent’ relations between US and South Korea, expert says
4. Russia military can modernise North Korea forces. US must draw attention to this growing axis
5. Seoul imposes unilateral sanctions on 10 individuals, 2 institutions linked to N.K. arms dealing with Russia
6. U.S. watching closely for possible N. Korea-Russia arms trade: senior U.S. official
7. 2 U.S. lawmakers table bill on sanctions against N. Korea's support for Russia's war in Ukraine
8. S. Korea condemns Russia, seeks to mend ties with China
9. Rights experts from 17 countries demand release of North Korean escapees in China
10. Kim Jong-un’s car escorted by Hyundai van in Russia
1. Domestic Politics Threaten Hard-Won Success in East Asia
Excerpts:
Chemistry and personalities matter in diplomacy and high politics. In April, Yoon unexpectedly won the hearts of Americans when he sang “American Pie” at Biden’s state dinner and reaffirmed his country’s commitment to liberal democratic values and nuclear-weapons abstinence. Official photos from Camp David showed friendliness and solidarity between Yoon and Kishida. All three governments should seize on this moment and push ahead boldly with both current agreements and ambitious issues in the future, before presidential election cycles and common adversaries test or even strain the durability of their commitments.
Such ambition should include paving the way for tabletop exercises and military drills among all three countries in scenarios involving North Korea’s use of a nuclear weapon in Asia, a Taiwan crisis, and a contingency in the South China Sea. Washington, Seoul, and Tokyo should train for various scenarios regarding China in a savvy way, where the skills practiced in benign drills with fake targets can later be applied to a real contingency with a real target.
Such exercises would be a useful way to practice interoperability among the three countries, which could be applied to any regional or global challenge in the future. After all, it is horrifyingly conceivable that East Asia could experience a simultaneous conflict involving China and North Korea, both nuclear-armed adversaries, in which one war could expand into another.
Building effective habits of cooperation sooner rather than later could also help create pathway dependencies for sustained trilateral cooperation if they are undergirded by political leadership. Too much is at stake for a cautious, wait-and-see approach. Washington, Seoul, and Tokyo should work now to solidify a lasting, united front that can weather the storms of the future.
Domestic Politics Threaten Hard-Won Success in East Asia
The Camp David trilateral summit produced results—but they might not last.
By Duyeon Kim, a Seoul-based adjunct senior fellow with the Center for a New American Security and a visiting professor at Yonsei University’s Graduate School of International Studies.
Foreign Policy · by Duyeon Kim · September 20, 2023
On Aug. 18, the leaders of the United States, South Korea, and Japan met for their first stand-alone summit at Camp David. Simply gathering for a leaders’ meeting would have been significant enough, given the thawing of a previously frozen Seoul-Tokyo relationship. But U.S. President Joe Biden, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida went far beyond a symbolic meeting.
On Aug. 18, the leaders of the United States, South Korea, and Japan met for their first stand-alone summit at Camp David. Simply gathering for a leaders’ meeting would have been significant enough, given the thawing of a previously frozen Seoul-Tokyo relationship. But U.S. President Joe Biden, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida went far beyond a symbolic meeting.
The joint statement that resulted was impressively detailed, and the plans for new cooperation both comprehensive and wide-ranging. The Camp David summit is a testament that the convergence of political wills and political capital can transcend deep-seated historical animosity and bring countries together on shared challenges. But lasting trilateral cooperation is still an uncertain prospect: Leadership changes, innate fragility in this a trilateral grouping, and wedge-driving tactics by Pyongyang and Beijing could derail the hard work put in by the governments of today.
The bitter colonial history between Japan and South Korea has long kept them at arm’s length from each other despite their shared alliance with the United States. Washington, Seoul, and Tokyo used to have a dedicated mechanism called the Trilateral Coordination Oversight Group, which was established in 1999 because of the North Korean nuclear threat. It evolved into playing an important role in coordinating ministerial meetings, intelligence sharing, and joint military exercises. But the group dissolved after its members failed to coordinate divergent policy approaches on North Korea in the early 2000s, and animosity between Seoul and Tokyo over historical memory continued to mire the two legs of the triangle. The six-party talks then took over as the main vehicle to denuclearize North Korea.
Since then, shared interests and common threats from North Korea and China were never enough to bring the three countries together. The Camp David trilateral was made possible because of the unprecedented leadership and political courage by Yoon and Kishida to begin resetting relations despite criticism and skepticism at home, paired with Biden’s diplomatic prowess in bringing his Asian allies together.
Members of South Korea’s opposition coalition, which holds a supermajority in its National Assembly, as well as leftists in the country, have criticized Yoon’s efforts to improve relations with Tokyo as “humiliation diplomacy” and “submission diplomacy.” Kishida has faced pressure from conservative nationalist factions in his party, which he relies on for political survival in Japan. They oppose providing Seoul with any concessions on historical issues or conciliatory gestures, distrust Seoul, and are critical of South Korea. Anti-Japan sentiment and anti-Korea racism exist in both publics as well.
Yoon was able to put his conviction to mend relations with Japan into action—something his conservative predecessors were unable to do on such a sensitive and unpopular issue—because Yoon is an outsider conservative, not a party man, who does not feel the same pressures as longtime politicos. He also governs a country with an imperial presidency granted by South Korea’s constitution—especially when it comes to foreign policy, which generally doesn’t require National Assembly approval.
Kishida, for his part, was skeptical and cautious for most of the past year, especially because he was serving as Japan’s foreign minister in 2015 when Seoul and Tokyo struck the “comfort woman” agreement, only to see it erode in 2018 under a leftist Korean government. But Kishida eventually came around and has apparently bet on the latest momentum despite influential Korea-skeptic factions in his own party. Interlocutors say that it was a personal decision to work on mending ties as Japan’s prime minister after witnessing the Yoon administration’s efforts. Also, the largest faction of Korea critics in his party has not been unified since the assassination of its leader, former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Camp David was a vital opportunity to revive, upgrade, and institutionalize the three-way cooperation on shared threats and strategic interests at a pressing moment in regional stability and geopolitics. China continues to coerce its neighbors and interfere with liberal democratic values in the Indo-Pacific. North Korea aims to tip the regional balance of power in the favor of itself and other nuclear-armed authoritarian regimes. Russia seeks to rewrite the rules-based international order through aggression and revanchism.
One of the most notable deliverables on security issues at Camp David was the leaders’ commitment to consult each other and use a new three-way hotline in times of crisis involving North Korea and China. They also launched defense initiatives for annual military exercises and deeper missile defense cooperation in order to be prepared to respond to a range of contingencies. Their joint documents even mentioned Taiwan and China by name in another bold move for Seoul, which has typically chosen to take a more ambiguous stance on China policy for fear of economic retaliation.
As momentous and historic as the Camp David agreements were, this trilateral grouping is innately and structurally fragile. South Korea-Japan relations will continue to ebb and flare up in the future, impacting trilateral cooperation. Communicating through hotlines is not embedded in Northeast Asian relations, where common practice is to refuse to pick up the phone when times get tough.
Seoul would not cooperate with Japan if South Korea’s next president is a progressive—the far left is very nationalistic and harbors deep anti-Japan sentiment because of Tokyo’s colonial and wartime crimes. The same outcome could come from Japan if a far-right conservative leader becomes its next prime minister, or if conservative Japanese leaders enrage the South Korean public by further whitewashing Japan’s colonial actions. The return of Trumpism in the United States could also put a quick end to trilateral cooperation.
Although there are no guarantees, ensuring a regular summit among Washington, Seoul, and Tokyo might give trilateral cooperation a chance at lasting beyond the current leaders. Both South Korea and Japan operate in a top-down manner, in which interest and directives need to come from the president’s or prime minister’s office. Seoul and Tokyo will need to engage in active public diplomacy to raise awareness on the importance of three-way cooperation, and civil society organizations and think tanks in all three countries can help foster and support the spirit of the Camp David summit.
It is important to band together and strengthen cohesion and solidarity because security and economic security are at stake for all three countries. Their biggest advantage is shared democratic values that underpin common principles and leadership, which should transcend parochial aims in their respective countries to work toward bigger visions. Each country’s economic, technological, and military strengths and talent can come together to form a combined powerhouse that drives regional and global prosperity.
Chemistry and personalities matter in diplomacy and high politics. In April, Yoon unexpectedly won the hearts of Americans when he sang “American Pie” at Biden’s state dinner and reaffirmed his country’s commitment to liberal democratic values and nuclear-weapons abstinence. Official photos from Camp David showed friendliness and solidarity between Yoon and Kishida. All three governments should seize on this moment and push ahead boldly with both current agreements and ambitious issues in the future, before presidential election cycles and common adversaries test or even strain the durability of their commitments.
Such ambition should include paving the way for tabletop exercises and military drills among all three countries in scenarios involving North Korea’s use of a nuclear weapon in Asia, a Taiwan crisis, and a contingency in the South China Sea. Washington, Seoul, and Tokyo should train for various scenarios regarding China in a savvy way, where the skills practiced in benign drills with fake targets can later be applied to a real contingency with a real target.
Such exercises would be a useful way to practice interoperability among the three countries, which could be applied to any regional or global challenge in the future. After all, it is horrifyingly conceivable that East Asia could experience a simultaneous conflict involving China and North Korea, both nuclear-armed adversaries, in which one war could expand into another.
Building effective habits of cooperation sooner rather than later could also help create pathway dependencies for sustained trilateral cooperation if they are undergirded by political leadership. Too much is at stake for a cautious, wait-and-see approach. Washington, Seoul, and Tokyo should work now to solidify a lasting, united front that can weather the storms of the future.
Foreign Policy · by Duyeon Kim · September 20, 2023
2. China, Russia and North Korea: A fearsome but weak axis
Time for a new strategy.
Excerpts:
President Biden is continuing a record of decades-long failure to enforce sanctions on North Korea and those — primarily China, Pakistan and Russia — proliferating nuclear weapons and ballistic missile technology and materials to North Korea. What many see as the weakest nation on Earth has defied the strongest in history to develop weaponry to threaten the world. Similarly, American-led sanctions on Russia with regard to Ukraine have been less effective than necessary.
In these circumstances, Kim and Putin are openly showing disrespect for America. They met at a space launch site as an in-your-face gesture. United Nations Security Council Resolution 1718, adopted in 2006, essentially prohibits North Korea from launching objects into space because such launches employ ballistic missile technology, which the nation is not permitted to have or use.
Yet for all the expressions of friendship and solidarity, there are obstacles to a North Korea-Russia partnership. Kim Jong Un, along with his father and grandfather, long played Beijing and Moscow off against the other, and relationships have always been cold and transactional.
China, Russia and North Korea: A fearsome but weak axis
BY GORDON G. CHANG, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR - 09/20/23 8:30 AM ET
https://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/4212055-china-russia-and-north-korea-a-fearsome-but-weak-axis/
Vladimir Smirnov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via Associated Press
Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un shake hands during their meeting at the Vostochny cosmodrome outside the city of Tsiolkovsky, about 200 kilometers (125 miles) from the city of Blagoveshchensk in the far eastern Amur region, Russia, on Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023.
“The Russian army and people will certainly win a great victory in the sacred struggle for the punishment of a great evil that claims hegemony and feeds an expansionist illusion,” said North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, as he raised a glass of wine in a toast to Russian President Vladimir Putin last week.
The “great evil” Kim was referring to is the United States, which he apparently sees as fighting a proxy war in Ukraine against Russia.
As Kim’s comments show, dangerous powers believe they are locked in a do-or-die conflict with the U.S. and its partners. On the side of North Korea and Russia is the supporter of both, the People’s Republic of China. That grouping is coalescing: For the first time ever, North Korea will join Russia-China naval exercises.
Unfortunately, the U.S. and its partners do not acknowledge the existence of the struggle. The world, despite what Washington and friends think, has already divided into two camps and dangerous actors are seeking to take down the existing international system.
The meeting of the North Korean and Russian leaders at a Russian spaceport this month is a symbol of that global division.
According to the Biden administration, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, as North Korea calls itself, is planning to supply items to the Russian military for use on the Ukraine battlefield, particularly 152 mm artillery rounds. Washington has threatened new sanctions if North Korea does so.
Pyongyang and Moscow do not seem overly concerned by Washington’s words. After all, North Korea has already been supplying Russia in the Ukraine war and Washington has done nothing. Moreover, the Biden administration, despite threats to impose sanctions, has not done anything about China’s direct provision of lethal aid to Moscow — ammunition and “other high consumption rate items,” for instance — for use in the ongoing war.
President Biden is continuing a record of decades-long failure to enforce sanctions on North Korea and those — primarily China, Pakistan and Russia — proliferating nuclear weapons and ballistic missile technology and materials to North Korea. What many see as the weakest nation on Earth has defied the strongest in history to develop weaponry to threaten the world. Similarly, American-led sanctions on Russia with regard to Ukraine have been less effective than necessary.
In these circumstances, Kim and Putin are openly showing disrespect for America. They met at a space launch site as an in-your-face gesture. United Nations Security Council Resolution 1718, adopted in 2006, essentially prohibits North Korea from launching objects into space because such launches employ ballistic missile technology, which the nation is not permitted to have or use.
Yet for all the expressions of friendship and solidarity, there are obstacles to a North Korea-Russia partnership. Kim Jong Un, along with his father and grandfather, long played Beijing and Moscow off against the other, and relationships have always been cold and transactional.
Moreover, although Russia, North Korea and China can form a fearsome-looking coalition, the nature of their regimes makes the formation of durable, long-term relationships impossible. One of them — North Korea — is totalitarian, another is fast moving back to totalitarianism — China — and authoritarian Russia has always been suspicious of others. Totalitarian and suspicious societies rarely get along with other states for long, at least on an equal basis.
To make matters worse, Chinese leaders are pushing the notion that they have the right to rule tianxia — “all under heaven” — which, by definition, makes cooperation with the others only short-term. The “contradictions,” as China’s communists say, are irreconcilable.
During a conversation with David Maxwell of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, he called the trio a “threesome of convenience” and said it was weak “because their relationship is not built on trust and each serves its own interests only.”
Free societies, on the other hand, are better able to form strong alliances. Maxwell, a U.S. Army Special Forces veteran who served five tours of duty in South Korea, compares the Russia-China-North Korea combination to the grouping now called JAROKUS, composed of Japan, the Republic of Korea and the United States.
JAROKUS, he points out, “is built on a foundation of trust, with strong people-to-people relationships, mutual interests and the shared values of freedom, free-market principles, rule of law and human rights.”
There has been more than a century of historical animosity dividing Japan and Korea, however. Japan and the United States are treaty allies and South Korea and the U.S. are treaty allies, but Japan and South Korea are not allies and have often treated the other as an adversary. It has been a longstanding U.S. policy to get Tokyo and Seoul to work closely with each other.
Former President Moon Jae-in often stoked hatred of Japan, but his successor, current President Yoon Suk Yeol, has worked hard to bridge the divide. Yoon has suffered politically for his efforts to normalize relations with Tokyo, but eventually, the South Korean public will see things as Yoon does, in large part because China and North Korea are threatening South Korea
In any event, the combined military and economic power of the JAROKUS countries is greater than that of the China-led coalition. Unfortunately, the coalition of malign states is far more determined — and is in fact driving events in both North Asia and in the fields of Ukraine.
“Change is coming that hasn’t happened in 100 years,” Xi Jinping told Vladimir Putin in Moscow as the Chinese leader was bidding farewell on March 22. “And we are driving this change together.”
This month, a bold Kim Jong Un said essentially the same thing to Putin.
There is a new global struggle, and one side is not afraid of speaking about it in public.
Gordon G. Chang is the author of “The Coming Collapse of China” and the just-released “China Is Going to War.” Follow him on Twitter: @GordonGChang.
3. Japan benefits from ‘quite excellent’ relations between US and South Korea, expert says
Huh?
You would think Stars and Stripes would know Ulchi Freedom Shield is held only once per year.
Excerpts:
The U.S. and South Korea this year initiated a higher tempo of military exercises, including Ulchi Freedom Shield in August, a twice-yearly, large-scale series of field exercises that test the allies’ military capabilities against the North.
One of the most important developments of the U.S.-South Korea alliance within the past year is the “vast improvement” of the three-way relationship with Japan, Cha said.
Japan benefits from ‘quite excellent’ relations between US and South Korea, expert says
Stars and Stripes · by David Choi · September 19, 2023
President Joe Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol make a toast during at the White House, April 26, 2023. (Adam Schultz/The White House)
INCHEON, South Korea — The United States’ connection to South Korea is the “best that it’s ever been” and has led to a strengthened relationship between Seoul and Tokyo, according to a Georgetown University professor.
Following President Joe Biden’s two summits this year with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, the alliance between Washington and Seoul is “humming on all cylinders,” government professor Victor Cha said Monday at the Incheon Security Conference hosted by Kyonggi University’s Graduate School of Political Studies.
The two leaders’ meetings in April and August resulted in several military and trade agreements, including regular visits of U.S. military’s “strategic assets” to South Korea — such as the ballistic missile submarine USS Kentucky’s visit to Busan in July — and new, favorable U.S. guidance on tax credits for South Korean electric vehicles.
But the agreements have left open several questions, such as whether South Korea should obtain nuclear weapons to deter the North and allegations from South Korean lawmakers that the trade agreements unfairly benefit Washington.
Cha, who in 2004 served as the National Security Council’s director for Asian affairs, argued that despite those concerns, “the most important thing is the mindset of the two leaders and the overall direction — it’s really quite excellent right now.”
The U.S. and South Korea this year initiated a higher tempo of military exercises, including Ulchi Freedom Shield in August, a twice-yearly, large-scale series of field exercises that test the allies’ military capabilities against the North.
One of the most important developments of the U.S.-South Korea alliance within the past year is the “vast improvement” of the three-way relationship with Japan, Cha said.
Georgetown University professor Victor Cha discusses the U.S.-Japan alliance during the Incheon Security Conference in Icheon, South Korea, Sept. 18, 2023. (Christopher Green/Stars and Stripes)
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Relations between South Korea and Japan have long been frayed by historical disagreements and trade disputes, which culminated in Seoul warning it may end its military intelligence-sharing agreement with Tokyo in 2020.
South Korea’s stance toward Japan changed after Yoon took office in 2022. He pledged to thaw relations with his country’s eastern neighbor and met Aug. 18 with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at a summit hosted by Biden at Camp David in Maryland.
The three leaders agreed to “inaugurate a new era of trilateral partnership” to counter military threats from North Korea and “aggressive behavior” from China in the South China Sea, according to a joint statement at the time.
“As we embark together in this new era, our shared values will be our guide and a free and open Indo-Pacific, in which our half-billion people are safe and prosperous, will be our collective purpose,” the statement said.
Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force joined warships from the U.S. and South Korea in several military drills this year, including a ballistic missile defense exercise on Aug. 29 near Jeju Island, south of the Korean Peninsula.
The U.S., South Korea and Japan’s “institutionalization in the broader scope of cooperation really is unprecedented,” Cha said.
“It is transforming the U.S.-[South Korea] and U.S.-Japan alliances from being more than just private goods that provide exclusive benefits to allied partners, to also publicly benefit the world,” Cha added.
Stars and Stripes · by David Choi · September 19, 2023
4. Russia military can modernise North Korea forces. US must draw attention to this growing axis
Useful graphics/charts at the link: https://theprint.in/opinion/russia-military-can-modernise-north-korea-forces-us-must-draw-attention-to-this-growing-axis/1768179/
How to draw attention?
From one of my briefing slides from a lecture I gave last evening:
Information Response Template:
Attack the Strategy
•Recognize KFR strategy
•Understand the strategy
•EXPOSE the strategy – inoculate the Korean and American people and international community against KFR strategy and influence
•Attack the strategy with information through a superior political warfare campaign
Russia military can modernise North Korea forces. US must draw attention to this growing axis
A Russia-North Korea axis complicates the security picture both in Ukraine and on the Korean peninsula.
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VICTOR CHA
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ELLEN KIM
20 September, 2023 10:00 am IST
theprint.in · by Victor Cha, Ellen Kim · September 20, 2023
Last week, the National Security Council announced that the two leaders had exchanged letters pledging to increase their bilateral cooperation and that the two countries were actively advancing negotiations to assist Russia’s war in Ukraine. U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, joined by her counterparts from Japan, South Korea and the United Kingdom, condemned such negotiations as a violation of UN Security Council resolutions on North Korea (UNSC 1874 and 2270).
In January 2023, the White House released satellite imagery of arms transfers from North Korea to the Wagner paramilitary group taking place at the Tumangang–Khasan railroad crossing on November 18 and 19 of last year. This was followed by the Treasury Department’s announcement of new sanctions in mid-August against three entities allegedly connected to arms deals between North Korea and Russia.
If Kim and Putin agree to enhance their military and strategic cooperation, including joint naval exercises with China (Russia allegedly proposed during its Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu’s visit to North Korea) and potential reactivation of the former Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual Assistance, this will add a new dimension to traditional challenges presented by both foes to U.S. security both at home and abroad.
Transactional ties
Historically, North Korea’s interest in the Soviet Union/Russia was largely derivative of its policies toward China, using cooperation with Moscow as leverage in eliciting more assistance from China, or in lieu of Beijing’s assistance during certain periods in Chinese history (e.g., Great Leap Forward, Cultural Revolution). During the Sino-Soviet split, for example, North Korea played Moscow off Beijing, as Soviet leaders sought to pull the North’s allegiance away from China. North Korea also experiences acute abandonment anxieties when Moscow draws closer to Seoul or when U.S.-Russian or U.S.-China relations are stable. Russia-South Korean normalization in 1990, for example, realized the ultimate abandonment fear for the late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il as Moscow stopped providing energy assistance at discounted prices to Pyongyang. Russian interest in North Korea is equally transactional, but at the same time relatively consistent over the centuries.
Moscow has interest in warm water ports on the Korean peninsula for its Pacific Fleet and in energy and transport infrastructure projects that connect Northeast Asia to Siberia and the Eurasian land mass through the Korean peninsula.
Arms deals to support Putin’s war in Ukraine
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and the precipitous downturn in U.S.-Russian relations even before the war is the permissive condition for a tightening of relations between Putin and Kim. Russia’s arms negotiations with North Korea reflects its growing international isolation and the deplorable state of its military industrial complex that cannot meet the needs of its own armed forces. Under heavy international sanctions, North Korea also needs food and energy assistance from Russia. Each side also views opportunities in the current context that complicates the security picture for the United States and its allies. The record of quiet but substantive expanding cooperation is clear.
For example, during the emergency special session of the UN General Assembly in response to the invasion in early March 2022, North Korea expressly defended Russia’s war in Ukraine and joined Russia, Belarus, Eritrea and Syria to veto the UN resolution that condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Four months later in July, North Korea recognized the independence of the two Russian-occupied states— Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and Luhansk People’s of Republic (LPR)—in eastern Ukraine and announced its plan to send workers to Donetsk after the country reopens the border. Russia also took actions in support of DPRK leveraging its position in the Security Council to block all UN-mandated punitive action in response to DPRK ballistic missile tests in 2022 and 2023. Russia joined North Korea in condemning military exercises by the U.S., the ROK, and Japan, calling them “provocative” and attesting that “Russia stands in the same trench with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.”
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu’s visit to North Korea in July 25-27, 2023, the first by a Russian Defense Minister since 1991, reflects a significant uptick in bilateral cooperation. Shoigu was the highest-ranking foreign official to attend North Korea’s “Victory Day” celebrations to mark the 70th anniversary of the Korean war armistice in spite of the COVID lockdown in North Korea. And North Korean leader Kim Jong-un provided unusually visible VIP treatment to Shoigu, including a one-on-one meeting and a personal tour of the military exhibition, announcing to state-run media that he would expand military cooperation with Moscow. In his letter to Kim, Putin vowed to increase political, economic, and security ties with North Korea and said that North Korea’s “firm support to the special military operation against Ukraine and its solidarity with Russia on key international issues highlight [their] common interests and determination to counter the policy of the Western group.”
Shoigu’s visit, moreover, came on the heels of growing activities in railway traffic across the Russo-North Korean border. CSIS Beyond Parallel exclusive satellite imagery analysis observed an increase in the number of iron ore, petroleum and food railcars at the Tumangang–Khasan railroad crossing between late November and mid-December 2022 (see Graph 1) shortly after the DPRK arms transfer to the Wagner Group in mid November (see images 1 and 2 below).
Graph 1: Number of box cars observed at Khasan and Tumangang in late 2022 after Wagner arms transfer. Ore cars were observed at Khasan, and oil/petroleum tank cars were seen at Tumangang. (Source: Beyond Parallel)
Image 1: Close-up view of the Khasan rail facility, December 15, 2022. Ore cars and boxcars are seen at the station. (Copyright © Airbus DS 2023).
Image 2: Close-up view of the Tumangang rail facility, December 15, 2022. Oil/petroleum tank cars seen at the station. (Copyright © Airbus DS 2023).
Possible missile cooperation
The extent of this growing alignment likely extends beyond one-off arms-for-food and energy deals to more robust missile cooperation that may help to explain the latest developments in DPRK ICBM capabilities. There are a number of reasons to suspect, using only open-source materials, that claims of such cooperation are more than speculative.
First, there is a long history of bilateral missile cooperation dating back to as early as the 1960s when the Soviet Union provided the V-75 Dvina (SA-2a Guideline) surface-to-air missile to North Korea, which eventually became the latter’s first missile system. The Soviet also transferred other types of missiles, such as S-2 Sopka (SSC-2b SAMLET) coastal-defense cruise missile and P-20 (SS-N-2 STYX) anti-ship missile and also gave technical training to North Korea on assembly and maintenance.
Second, North Korea’s ballistic missile and submarine launched ballistic missile programs have benefited significantly from Soviet technology. After the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, North Korea recruited many Russian scientists and engineers who helped advance the program. Some experts contend that development of missile systems like the Hwasong-12 IRBM and Hwasong-14 ICBM is based on a modified North Korean version of the Soviet RD-250 engine.
Third, it is challenging in the least to explain recent significant improvements in DPRK ICBM technology based solely on the North’s capabilities. Some experts contend that the successful launches of the Hwasong-18 ICBM on April 13 and July 12, 2023 show a striking resemblance to the Russian Topol-M, providing DPRK with solid propellant ICBMs with countermeasure deployment canisters. Although there has been debate over this assessment, these are capabilities that are hard to fathom the North Koreans’ demonstrating or deploying, certainly over such a short period of time, without outside help.
Finally, it is not by coincidence that a week after Shoigu’s visit to DPRK, Kim Jong-un visited major munitions factories, where he expressed satisfaction with the country’s capacity for the serial production of large-caliber artillery rockets and announced a drive to mass produce other capabilities such as engines for strategic cruise missiles and armed unmanned aerial vehicles.
The implications of the growing military alignment between North Korea and Russia for the U.S. are clear. The tactical advantage that each foe gains in expanding cooperation complicates U.S. efforts in the war in Ukraine. It is noteworthy in this regard that U.S. officials in condemning DPRK munitions transfers to Russia no longer downplay the supplies as trivial. It also complicates U.S. efforts at shoring up extended deterrence on the Korean peninsula with its South Korean ally as North Korea demonstrates increasingly more capable and potentially survivable ICBMs. In this regard, Putin may be trying to demonstrate that actions taken in Europe by the U.S. will have consequences not just in that theater but also in the Indo-Pacific detrimental to U.S. interests.
All in all, Russia may be the biggest enabler of North Korea today, even more so than China. The latter has not been supportive of the denuclearization agenda and has not helped to bring Pyongyang back to the negotiating table, given the state of U.S.-China relations. But Beijing reportedly has been opposed to North Korea conducting a seventh nuclear test. This stands in contrast to potential arms and missile deals with DPRK being negotiated by Moscow, which could transfer sensitive military technology that could accelerate North Korea’s military satellite, nuclear submarine, and ICBM programs. Any Russian technical support that could help advance or modernize the Korean People’s Army’s conventional forces are also an area of concern. According to the recent National Intelligence Estimate declassified by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Kim Jong-un could fully leverage his growing WMD capabilities to employ nuclear coercion strategies using conventional capabilities, even potentially the lethal use of force.
Limited Options
There are limits to what the U.S. can do in response to the new Russia-DPRK axis. But there are some policy options that Washington could consider. First, the United States can push the envelope in terms of the deliverables from the Camp David trilateral summit in August such as multi-domain trilateral exercises and enhanced information sharing. The United States can also expand missile warning sharing data arrangements with the ROK and Japan. Second, to counter and deter further ICBM launches by North Korea, Washington could declare that the US and its allies will not rule out neutralizing missiles in flight (particularly if they are not on a lofted trajectory) or on the launchpad. Third, Washington should list Russian entities and individual involved in any DPRK arms deals and seek similar sanctions from like-minded parties. Fourth, it should warn Beijing about neither participating nor condoning the Russia-DPRK axis. Fifth, it should continue to draw attention to Russia-DPRK cooperation at upcoming forums like UN General Assembly, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations this fall by downgrading intelligence for public consumption as part of the DNI transparency program.
Victor Cha is senior vice president for Asia and Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Ellen Kim is deputy director and senior fellow at the Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Views are personal. This article was originally published on CSIS website on 6 September 2023.
theprint.in · by Victor Cha, Ellen Kim · September 20, 2023
5. Seoul imposes unilateral sanctions on 10 individuals, 2 institutions linked to N.K. arms dealing with Russia
Sanctions are important but not sufficient.
(LEAD) Seoul imposes unilateral sanctions on 10 individuals, 2 institutions linked to N.K. arms dealing with Russia | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Chang Dong-woo · September 21, 2023
(ATTN: CHANGES lead; UPDATES with more details throughout)
SEOUL, Sept. 21 (Yonhap) -- South Korea on Thursday imposed unilateral sanctions on 10 individuals and two institutions involved in North Korea's illegal weapons trade with other countries, including Russia, after a recent summit between Pyongyang and Moscow raised fresh concerns about their military cooperation.
Newly added to Seoul's unilateral sanctions list against Pyongyang were North Korean Defense Minister Kang Sun-nam and Pak Su-il, former head of the North's Korean People's Army's General Staff, according to Seoul's foreign ministry.
Kang was spotted accompanying North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on a trip to Russia last week. Kim held a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin amid speculation they could discuss a suspected ammunition supply deal and cooperation on space technology.
Also included in the sanctions were Ri Song-hak, an official overseeing the North's State Academy of Defense Sciences, and Jo Myung-chol of the Vladivostok branch of the North's Cheil Credit Bank.
The two institutions were Slovakian companies Versor SRO and Glocom.
The announcement marks Seoul's 12th unilateral sanctions measure against the North since the launch of the Yoon Suk Yeol administration in May last year.
A total of 64 individuals and 53 agencies have been added to the sanctions list since he came to office.
The ministry said it plans to take a firm and vigilant approach to address North Korea's illicit activities, including illegal nuclear and missile development, and weapons trading.
It also pledged to lead international efforts to prevent North Korea's violations and circumvention of sanctions through the continued imposition of unilateral sanctions against Pyongyang.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (L) holds talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Vostochny Cosmodrome space launch center in the Russian Far East on Sept. 13, 2023, in this photo released by the North's official Korean Central News Agency the next day. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
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en.yna.co.kr · by Chang Dong-woo · September 21, 2023
6. U.S. watching closely for possible N. Korea-Russia arms trade: senior U.S. official
Recognize, understand, EXPOSE, and attack the strategy.
U.S. watching closely for possible N. Korea-Russia arms trade: senior U.S. official | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Chae Yun-hwan · September 21, 2023
BRUSSELS, Sept. 21 (Yonhap) -- The United States is closely monitoring possible arms trade between North Korea and Russia, a senior U.S. official said Thursday, after last week's summit between their leaders raised concerns of military cooperation.
During a meeting with a group of reporters in Brussels, the official also said South Korea has expressed its willingness to actively support North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member countries that assist Ukraine in its war against Russia.
"Obviously Russia is looking for weapons and is feeling the pinch from isolation and sanctions and is shopping around," the official said on condition of anonymity. "We're watching this very closely. But to us, it's a signal that they are looking for more and the DPRK could be one possible route (for) assistance."
DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the North's official name.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Russia on Sept. 13, spawning speculation over a potential arms deal that could help Moscow's war efforts in Ukraine.
The official said it remains unknown whether such a deal will take place, noting that Pyongyang has publicly said it would not send weapons to Russia and such a move would violate U.N. Security Council resolutions.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (L) holds talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Vostochny Cosmodrome space launch center in the Russian Far East on Sept. 13, 2023, in this file photo released by the North's official Korean Central News Agency the next day. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
But the official said the two countries have engaged in arms deals in the recent past.
"We've seen cases in the fall of 2021, where they were actually purchasing missiles from the DPRK. And so no doubt they have that in the back of their minds," the official said.
Washington has warned against the possible military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow. The U.S.' top diplomat, Antony Blinken, said Wednesday the U.S. is trying to stop the North's potential arms support to Russia "wherever we can."
During the press meeting, the U.S. official welcomed South Korea's efforts to strengthen cooperation with NATO.
"We're very excited and grateful for the South Koreans for indicating that they want to move forward with this relationship," the official said. "We're very grateful for the support that they're providing not only to Poland, but other allies that are interested in backfill."
Last year, South Korean defense companies signed major deals to supply K2 battle tanks, K9 self-propelled howitzers, Chunmoo multiple rocket launchers and FA-50 light attack aircraft to Poland, as Warsaw has been boosting its arms procurement efforts after sending military aid to Ukraine.
"The South Koreans have showed up and said we can help for those of you that have provided enormous amounts of assistance to Ukraine, we've got stuff on the shelf today that we can send and deepen our relationship," the official said.
The official pointed to South Korean soldiers at a live-fire exercise in Poland last weekend as an example of the growing cooperation between NATO and South Korea.
"Standing next to South Korean soldiers at this live-fire exercise ... was quite a moment and understanding how the world is changing," the official said, without elaborating on the details of the exercise.
The official also said South Korean officials have given briefings to NATO officials on disinformation and other security topics amid efforts to strengthen ties.
"They frequently will or regularly will brief allies on how Korea grapples with disinformation or how South Korea is protecting its technological edge, grappling with hybrid tactics from China," the official said, adding that NATO members find such briefings "interesting" as they often face the same tactics from Russia.
In July, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg established a new bilateral partnership for cooperation in 11 areas ranging from antiterrorism to cyber defense on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Vilnius.
Although it is not a member of the alliance, South Korea was invited to the summit along with Australia, Japan and others.
This file photo, taken July 12, 2023, shows President Yoon Suk Yeol (C) attending the North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)
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en.yna.co.kr · by Chae Yun-hwan · September 21, 2023
7. 2 U.S. lawmakers table bill on sanctions against N. Korea's support for Russia's war in Ukraine
Again, sanctions are important but not sufficient.
2 U.S. lawmakers table bill on sanctions against N. Korea's support for Russia's war in Ukraine | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Song Sang-ho · September 21, 2023
By Song Sang-ho
WASHINGTON, Sept. 20 (Yonhap) -- Two U.S. lawmakers have introduced a bill calling for the expansion of sanctions against North Korea's support for Russia's war in Ukraine, a congressional website showed Wednesday.
On Monday, Reps. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) and Joe Wilson (R-SC) introduced the bill, entitled "To provide for the imposition of sanctions with respect to North Korea's support for Russia's illegal war in Ukraine," at the House of Representatives, according to the website.
The introduction came after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a summit at a Russian spaceport last week amid concerns about a potential arms deal, which Seoul and Washington warned would violate multiple U.N. Security Council (UNSC) resolutions.
In the bill's text, the lawmakers said that if Russia or Russia-backed entities are acquiring arms and related materiel from Pyongyang, such actions would contravene UNSC resolutions that were supported by Russia to prohibit the regime from exporting such items.
The bill calls for the U.S. president to sanction any foreign person that is responsible or facilitates the transfer or sale of arms or materiel support from North Korea to be used by Russian forces in Ukraine.
"Kim Jong-un's material support for Russia's illegal war in Ukraine will mark a dangerous partnership between two malign actors that threaten global peace," Connolly was quoted as saying on his website.
"We cannot allow this unholy partnership to go unchecked. It's time for the United States to take decisive action and thwart North Korean arms from being used in Putin's bloody war against the Ukrainian people," he added.
Connolly and Wilson co-chair the Congressional Caucus on Korea, a group of U.S. lawmakers in support of close relations with South Korea.
This image, captured from footage of North Korea's state-run Korean Central Television on Sept. 14, 2023, shows the North's leader Kim Jong-un (L) and Russian President Vladimir Putin holding a summit at Russia's Vostochny spaceport the previous day. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
sshluck@yna.co.kr
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en.yna.co.kr · by Song Sang-ho · September 21, 2023
8. S. Korea condemns Russia, seeks to mend ties with China
There is no reason why South Korea (or the alliance) cannot focus on splitting the axis as they focus on trying to drive a wedge in our alliances. Superior political warfare.
S. Korea condemns Russia, seeks to mend ties with China
The Korea Times · by 2023-09-21 16:18 | Foreign Affairs · September 21, 2023
President Yoon Suk Yeol addresses the 78th United Nations General Assembly in New York, Wednesday (local time). Reuters-Yonhap
Moscow urges Seoul not to follow US-led anti-Russian propaganda
By Lee Hyo-jin
South Korea is taking contrasting diplomatic approaches to address Russia and China as Pyongang and Moscow bolster military ties.
While condemning Russia for its potential arms deal with North Korea, Seoul is seeking to improve ties with Beijing in a move analysts view as an attempt to prevent the North Korea-Russia partnership from expanding into a trilateral bloc with China.
During his speech at the U.N. General Assembly in New York, Wednesday (local time), President Yoon Suk Yeol issued a warning against military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow, saying any arms deal between the two countries would be a "direct provocation" against South Korea.
"If North Korea acquires the information and technology necessary to enhance its Weapons of Mass Distruction (WMD) capabilities in exchange for supporting Russia with conventional weapons, the deal will be a direct provocation threatening the peace and security of not only Ukraine but also the Republic of Korea," he said.
In his speech, Yoon used the term "Russia-North Korea" instead of "North Korea-Russia," drawing attention as the latter is more frequently used by the South Korean public. His choice of words apparently reflected his administration's increasing hostility toward North Korea, possibly perceiving the relationship with North Korea more distant than that with Russia.
Later in the day, Russia expressed deep regret over Yoon's speech and warned of the "negative consequences" on biltaeral relations if South Korea continues to follow the anti-Russian propoganda initiated by the U.S.
"We call upon the government of the Republic of Korea, with which Russia has a substantial experience of mutually beneficial communication and cooperation, to base its actions on a healthy and objective assessment of the current situation," the Russian Embassy in Seoul said in a statement.
South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Russian Ambassador to Seoul Andrey Kulik, Monday, to protest Russia's military ties with North Korea. It was the first time Seoul called in the Russian envoy since July 2019, when a Russian military aircraft invaded South Korea's airspace near the Dokdo islets.
Seoul imposes unilateral sanctions on 10 individuals, 2 institutions linked to NK arms dealing with Russia
The rare official diplomatic protest, however, was brushed off by Russia.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the Russian Embassy said the ongoing speculation about potential technological and military cooperation with North Korea is a “groundless" claim being disseminated by the South Korean and U.S. media.
"The real threat to the Korean Peninsula comes from the fierce and disproportionate military activity by South Korea and United States that aims to deter Pyongyang by force," the embassy added.
Prime Minister Han Duck-soo speaks during a press conference at Government Complex Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap
Seoul seeks to break ice with Beijing
Seoul's hardline stance toward Russia appears to contrast with its active engagement with China. In recent weeks, South Korea has been trying to thaw relations with China that have chilled considerably under the incumbent administration.
Earlier this week, the government announced that a delegation led by Prime Minister Han Duck-soo will attend the opening ceremony of the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, which kicks off this Saturday.
Announcing such plans, Han said his visit will send a positive signal to China and expressed hopes of meeting Chinese President Xi Jingping, either in the form of an one-on-one meeting or a brief engagement.
Considering that South Korea's delegations to previous Asian Games were led by the culture minister, Han's envisioned visit highlights Seoul's willingness to improve ties with Beijing, according to Kang Joon-young, a professor of Chinese Studies at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies.
"China wants to improve relations with South Korea too," Kang said. "Han may be able to meet with Preimer Li Qiang, and I wouldn't rule out the possiblity of a brief meeting with Xi."
China's complex view on the deepening North Korea-Russia partnership can be a good opportunity for South Korea to restore diplomatic ties with its biggest trading partner, the professor said.
"Forging a Beijing-Moscow-Pyongyang military bloc is not something China wants right now. Beijing seems to be refraining from overtly highlighting trilateral cooperation, which makes room for South Korea to improve bilateral relations with China," he said.
The Korea Times · by 2023-09-21 16:18 | Foreign Affairs · September 21, 2023
9. Rights experts from 17 countries demand release of North Korean escapees in China
It is good to be in Seoul during north Korean freedom week. I will be participating in a panal on Saturday.
Rights experts from 17 countries demand release of North Korean escapees in China
The Korea Times · by 2023-09-18 16:50 | North Korea · September 21, 2023
A woman waves the North Korean flag during a football match between North Korea and Taiwan at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games in Jinhua, China, Tuesday. Dozens of human rights organizations and experts from 17 countries demanded Beijing release North Korean detainees and grant them refugee status in a joint letter sent Thursday to Xi Jinping, China’s top leader, ahead of the official opening of the Asian Games in Hangzhou. AFP-Yonhap
Ex-UN rapporteurs join campaign as advocates step up cooperation ahead of Asiad
By Jung Min-ho
Dozens of human rights organizations and experts from 17 countries have demanded Beijing release North Korean detainees and grant them refugee status in a joint letter to Xi Jinping, China’s top leader, ahead of the Asian Games in Hangzhou.
Influential groups such as Human Rights Watch and high-profile advocates including former U.N. special rapporteurs Tomas Ojea Quintana and Marzuki Darusman were among those calling for Beijing to permanently cease the forcible repatriation of North Koreans.
Other participants include David Alton, crossbench member of the House of Lords in Britain, Sonja Biserko, former Commission of Inquiry (COI) member on the human rights situation in North Korea, Roberta Cohen, co-chair emeritus of the Washington-based Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, Lee Yang-hee, former U.N. special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, and Suzanne Scholte, president of Defense Forum Foundation.
The release of the letter in three languages ― Korean, English and Chinese ― comes two days before the opening of the international sporting event scheduled until Oct. 8 in the eastern Chinese coastal city amid growing worries over the government’s resumption of sending back North Korean escapees. Some 2,000 such people have been detained in China over the three years of North Korea’s border closure during the pandemic, according to rights groups.
“We are writing to express our concern about the resumption of forcible returns of North Koreans detained in the People’s Republic of China to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK or North Korea),” the 54 participating organizations and seven individuals said in the letter.
“We are concerned regarding news of North Korea’s border reopening, with the registration of around 200 athletes, coaches and officials to attend the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, and your government’s resumption of forcible repatriations of reportedly 2,000 North Koreans detained in China.”
They noted any humanitarian consideration by Beijing should result in the granting of legal status for the North Korean escapees and the stopping of their deportation back to North Korea where “torture, sexual and gender-based violence, forced abortion, imprisonment in brutal labor camps and even executions await them.”
“The official slogan of the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2022 is ‘Heart to Heart, @Future.’ As Martin Luther King, Jr. said, we will not only win our freedom for ourselves, we will so appeal to your heart and conscience that we will win you in the process, and our victory will be a double victory,” the letter says.
“In this regard, we urge you to officially end the policy of forcible repatriation of North Korean escapees and to implement the procedure for the individualized determination of refugee status.”
To increase pressure on the Chinese government, rights groups plan to hold a rally in front of the Chinese Embassy in Seoul, Friday. Organizers said activists from 63 countries are expected to show up.
Meanwhile, South Korean, American and Japanese representatives of NGOs working for the improvement of North Korea’s human rights gathered Thursday in Seoul, vowing to strengthen cooperation for the common cause.
In a joint statement, they put forward Beijing’s forcible deportation as one of the four issues to focus on, along with toughening sanctions against Pyongyang, improving human rights as a precondition for humanitarian aid and developing strategies for reaching out to the North Korean people for peaceful unification.
The Korea Times · by 2023-09-18 16:50 | North Korea · September 21, 2023
The Korea Times · by 2023-09-18 16:50 | North Korea · September 21, 2023
A woman waves the North Korean flag during a football match between North Korea and Taiwan at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games in Jinhua, China, Tuesday. Dozens of human rights organizations and experts from 17 countries demanded Beijing release North Korean detainees and grant them refugee status in a joint letter sent Thursday to Xi Jinping, China’s top leader, ahead of the official opening of the Asian Games in Hangzhou. AFP-Yonhap
Ex-UN rapporteurs join campaign as advocates step up cooperation ahead of Asiad
By Jung Min-ho
Dozens of human rights organizations and experts from 17 countries have demanded Beijing release North Korean detainees and grant them refugee status in a joint letter to Xi Jinping, China’s top leader, ahead of the Asian Games in Hangzhou.
Influential groups such as Human Rights Watch and high-profile advocates including former U.N. special rapporteurs Tomas Ojea Quintana and Marzuki Darusman were among those calling for Beijing to permanently cease the forcible repatriation of North Koreans.
Other participants include David Alton, crossbench member of the House of Lords in Britain, Sonja Biserko, former Commission of Inquiry (COI) member on the human rights situation in North Korea, Roberta Cohen, co-chair emeritus of the Washington-based Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, Lee Yang-hee, former U.N. special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, and Suzanne Scholte, president of Defense Forum Foundation.
The release of the letter in three languages ― Korean, English and Chinese ― comes two days before the opening of the international sporting event scheduled until Oct. 8 in the eastern Chinese coastal city amid growing worries over the government’s resumption of sending back North Korean escapees. Some 2,000 such people have been detained in China over the three years of North Korea’s border closure during the pandemic, according to rights groups.
EXCLUSIVE'Free North Korean detainees': Activists target Hangzhou Asian Games
“We are writing to express our concern about the resumption of forcible returns of North Koreans detained in the People’s Republic of China to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK or North Korea),” the 54 participating organizations and seven individuals said in the letter.
“We are concerned regarding news of North Korea’s border reopening, with the registration of around 200 athletes, coaches and officials to attend the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, and your government’s resumption of forcible repatriations of reportedly 2,000 North Koreans detained in China.”
They noted any humanitarian consideration by Beijing should result in the granting of legal status for the North Korean escapees and the stopping of their deportation back to North Korea where “torture, sexual and gender-based violence, forced abortion, imprisonment in brutal labor camps and even executions await them.”
“The official slogan of the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2022 is ‘Heart to Heart, @Future.’ As Martin Luther King, Jr. said, we will not only win our freedom for ourselves, we will so appeal to your heart and conscience that we will win you in the process, and our victory will be a double victory,” the letter says.
“In this regard, we urge you to officially end the policy of forcible repatriation of North Korean escapees and to implement the procedure for the individualized determination of refugee status.”
To increase pressure on the Chinese government, rights groups plan to hold a rally in front of the Chinese Embassy in Seoul, Friday. Organizers said activists from 63 countries are expected to show up.
Meanwhile, South Korean, American and Japanese representatives of NGOs working for the improvement of North Korea’s human rights gathered Thursday in Seoul, vowing to strengthen cooperation for the common cause.
In a joint statement, they put forward Beijing’s forcible deportation as one of the four issues to focus on, along with toughening sanctions against Pyongyang, improving human rights as a precondition for humanitarian aid and developing strategies for reaching out to the North Korean people for peaceful unification.
The Korea Times · by 2023-09-18 16:50 | North Korea · September 21, 2023
10. Kim Jong-un’s car escorted by Hyundai van in Russia
Some official somewhere will be disciplined for this. Or was this intentional and the regime is trying to send some kind of message?
Kim Jong-un’s car escorted by Hyundai van in Russia
koreaherald.com · by Ji Da-gyum · September 21, 2023
NK's public disclosure of Hyundai logo 'unusual': S. Korean Unification Ministry
By Ji Da-gyum
Published : Sept. 21, 2023 - 14:43
An image from a documentary on Kim Jong-un's recent visit to the Russian Far East shows a convoy of vehicles escorting Kim's armored Mercedes-Benz through the streets of Vladivostok. Among the vehicles, a van bearing the Hyundai emblem can be seen, along with others resembling it. The documentary was broadcast Wednesday by the North Korean state-run Korean Central Television. (Yonhap)
North Korean state-run media on Wednesday broadcast a documentary that featured North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's motorcade in Russia, notably escorted by vans manufactured by South Korea's auto giant, Hyundai Motor.
The state-controlled Korean Central Television, which primarily targets the North's domestic audience, unveiled an hour-and-a-half-long documentary titled "A Historical Moment: Setting a New Milestone in North Korea-Russia Relations," providing a comprehensive account of Kim's 10-day overseas journey to Russia.
Kim embarked on a train journey from Pyongyang to the Russian Far East on September 10 to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin and tour cities in the region. Kim returned to Pyongyang on Tuesday night.
The documentary featured Kim's armored Mercedes-Benz vehicle decorated with the national flag of North Korea and the flag of the State Affairs Commission, accompanied by a fleet of black vans.
Of particular note, one of these vans prominently displayed Hyundai Motor's distinctive "H" emblem. The van appears to be the carmaker's Staria model. Subsequent vans in the convoy also appeared to display the logo.
The documentary consistently displayed the van bearing the Hyundai emblem from the moment Kim arrived in the far eastern city of Vladivostok on September 16, and this continued until he departed from the city the following day. The documentary went so far as to include multiple close-up shots of the van featuring the Hyundai logo.
The convoy was filmed as it escorted Kim during his journey to watch a performance of Pyotr Tchaikovsky's ballet "Sleeping Beauty" at the Primorsky stage of the Mariinsky Theater on Saturday night.
The van bearing the Hyundai logo remained present as Kim made his way to the campus of the Far Eastern Federal University on Russky Island off Vladivostok on Sunday morning, and later to the Primorsky Aquarium. After visiting the Arnika Bio-Feed Mill, the last stop in the Russian Far East, Kim's car was observed heading to the train station, still guarded by the Hyundai van.
South Korea's Unification Ministry found North Korea's decision to openly display the Hyundai logo in its unedited form unusual, particularly given the apparent editing of the video.
This stands in contrast to past instances, such as the broadcast of the 2022 Qatar World Cup matches, when North Korea's KCTV obscured Hyundai car advertisements in the stadium to the point of them being unrecognizable.
"The public display of the South Korean trademark in such a manner is not commonly observed in the documentary," said a senior official at the Unification Ministry who requested to remain anonymous during a closed-door briefing Thursday.
The official, however, said that the ministry is unable to immediately confirm North Korea's intention behind broadcasting the Hyundai logo, nor was it able to determine whether the vans were provided by Russia or brought in from North Korea.
koreaherald.com · by Ji Da-gyum · September 21, 2023
11.
12.
13.
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
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