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Quotes of the Day:
"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world."
- Nelson Mandela
"If all mankind minus one, were of one opinion, and only one person were of the contrary opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person, than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind."
- John Stuart Mill
“Information affects the very fabric of society. It could be the primary weapon in the future of war, and it could determine the future of humanity.”
- Roger Spitz
1. Pentagon's CWMD strategy document calls N. Korea 'persistent threat'
2. Nuclear envoys of S. Korea, U.S., Japan condemn N. Korea's stipulation of nuclear policy
3. To purge, or not to purge: Why Kim Jong Un forgives some North Korean officials
4. Ruling on leaflets to North Korea welcomed
5. Travis King, American G.I. Who Bolted to North Korea, Is Back in U.S. Custody After Getting a Rare Reprieve From the Communist Regime
6. North Korea Human Rights Forum Urges Trilateral Support by U.S., Japan, and ROK for a Free and United Korea
7. Yoon hosts Chuseok luncheon for Korean atomic bomb victims in Hiroshima
8. Nuclear envoys of S. Korea, U.S., Japan condemn N. Korea's stipulation of nuclear policy
9. Finalization of the Korean Peninsula's peace process
10. Mystery Russian Plane in Pyongyang Stirs Arms Deals Concerns
11. North Korea's Special Forces Are Trained Killers
12. No mooncakes allowed: North Korea seizes treats from trade officials
13. ＜Inside N. Korea＞ Unusual changes in the Army (2) Starvation spreads even in the military…Why now?
1. Pentagon's CWMD strategy document calls N. Korea 'persistent threat'
Here are the excerpts from the unclassified strategy:
While the PRC and Russia present the principal WMD challenges, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), the Islamic Republic of Iran, and Violent Extremist Organizations (VEOs) remain persistent regional threats that must also be addressed.
...
DPRK as a Persistent Threat. The DPRK has prioritized the country’s nuclear weapons arsenal and ballistic missile force. The DPRK enacted a law in 2022 reaffirming its self-proclaimed status as a nuclear power, establishing conditions for nuclear use, and rejecting denuclearization. The law articulates that the DPRK will use nuclear weapons if it perceives an impending nuclear attack; if the Kim regime, people, or the state’s existence were threatened; or as an offensive war option. Capability developments provide the DPRK with options for nuclear weapons use at any stage of conflict. The DPRK is developing and fielding mobile short-, intermediate-, and intercontinental-range nuclear capabilities that place the U.S. homeland and regional Allies and partners at risk.
The DPRK’s longstanding chemical and biological weapons capabilities remain a threat, as the DPRK may use such weapons during a conflict. The DPRK maintains up to several thousand metric tons of chemical warfare agents and the capability to produce nerve, blister, blood, and choking agents. The DPRK chemical employment methods include artillery, ballistic missiles, and unconventional forces. The DPRK has failed to provide a BWC confidence-building measure declaration since 1990.
https://media.defense.gov/2023/Sep/28/2003310413/-1/-1/1/2023_STRATEGY_FOR_COUNTERING_WEAPONS_OF_MASS_DESTRUCTION.PDF
Pentagon's CWMD strategy document calls N. Korea 'persistent threat' | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Song Sang-ho · September 29, 2023
By Song Sang-ho
WASHINGTON, Sept. 28 (Yonhap) -- The U.S. Department of Defense labeled North Korea as a "persistent" threat in an updated key security document released Thursday, warning that its military capability advancements would give the recalcitrant regime options to use nuclear arms "at any stage of conflict."
The Pentagon published the first Strategy for Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction (CWMD) since 2014, describing China as the pacing challenge, Russia as an acute threat and the North and Iran as persistent threats.
"Capability developments provide the DPRK with options for nuclear weapons use at any stage of conflict," the document read. "The DPRK is developing and fielding mobile short-, intermediate-, and intercontinental-range nuclear capabilities that place the U.S. homeland and regional Allies and partners at risk."
DPRK stands for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
This photo, captured from North Korea's Central TV on Aug. 21, 2023, shows North Korea conducting a test launch attended by leader Kim Jong-un during his visit to a naval unit. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
The document noted the North's enactment of a law last year on its nuclear armament, stressing that the country has prioritized its nuclear weapons arsenal and ballistic missile force.
"The DPRK enacted a law in 2022 reaffirming its self-proclaimed status as a nuclear power, establishing conditions for nuclear use, and rejecting denuclearization," it said.
"The law articulates that the DPRK will use nuclear weapons if it perceives an impending nuclear attack; if the Kim regime, people, or the state's existence were threatened; or as an offensive war option," it added.
The document also said that the North's chemical and biological weapons capabilities remain a threat as it may use such weapons in the event of a conflict.
"The DPRK maintains up to several thousand metric tons of chemical warfare agents and the capability to produce nerve, blister, blood, and choking agents," it said. "The DPRK chemical employment methods include artillery, ballistic missiles, and unconventional forces."
The Pentagon published the last such WMD document in 2014, which focused on counterterrorism and counterinsurgency operations and managing risks emanating from hostile, fragile, or failed states and safe havens.
"The risk of the United States or its allies and partners facing a military confrontation that includes chemical, biological, radiological, and/or nuclear weapons has increased since 2014," it assessed.
In the document, the Pentagon cast China as the "most comprehensive and urgent" challenge to the U.S.
"The PRC has expanded and modernized nearly every aspect of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), with a focus on offsetting U.S. military advantages," the document read, referring to China by its official name, the People's Republic of China.
"It is aggressively pursuing a nuclear force expansion and modernization program, including missile delivery systems designed to manage regional escalation," it added.
The department described Russia as posing the "most acute" nuclear, biological, and chemical threat in the near-term and will continue to retain WMD capabilities in the medium and long term.
sshluck@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by Song Sang-ho · September 29, 2023
2. Nuclear envoys of S. Korea, U.S., Japan condemn N. Korea's stipulation of nuclear policy
Excerpt:
South Korea's chief nuclear negotiator, Kim Gunn, and his U.S. and Japanese counterparts, Sung Kim and Hiroyuki Namazu, respectively, held a conference call to discuss the outcome of Pyongyang's key parliamentary meeting and their joint responses to its growing nuclear threat.
Nuclear envoys of S. Korea, U.S., Japan condemn N. Korea's stipulation of nuclear policy | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Eun-jung · September 28, 2023
SEOUL, Sept. 28 (Yonhap) -- The top nuclear envoys of South Korea, the United States and Japan on Thursday denounced North Korea's constitutional amendment to enshrine its policy on nuclear force, Seoul's foreign ministry said.
South Korea's chief nuclear negotiator, Kim Gunn, and his U.S. and Japanese counterparts, Sung Kim and Hiroyuki Namazu, respectively, held a conference call to discuss the outcome of Pyongyang's key parliamentary meeting and their joint responses to its growing nuclear threat.
North Korea has stipulated the policy of strengthening its nuclear force in the constitution at the 14th Supreme People's Assembly held on Tuesday and Wednesday. During the meeting, leader Kim Jong-un said trilateral security cooperation between South Korea, the U.S. and Japan poses "the worst actual threat" and vowed to bolster the country's nuclear capability.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un speaks during the ninth session of the 14th Supreme People's Assembly held on Sept. 26-27 in Pyongyang, in this captured image from Pyongyang's official Korean Central Television on Sept. 28. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
The nuclear envoys strongly condemned North Korea's continued pursuit of nuclear weapons while ignoring the crumbling livelihoods of its people.
"They strongly condemned that North Korea has more openly revealed its nuclear ambition by adopting the constitutional amendment in the Supreme People's Assembly that stipulated its nuclear force policy," the ministry said in a release.
The trio urged Pyongyang to halt its nuclear threats and other provocations, vowing to closely coordinate with the international community to make progress on its denuclearization.
The envoys also agreed to closely monitor for signs of North Korea's third attempt to launch a military spy satellite and arms trade with Russia following their bilateral summit earlier this month.
They also welcomed the return of U.S. soldier Travis King, who was expelled from North Korea earlier in the day after running across the inter-Korean border in July.
Pvt. King made an unauthorized crossing of the Military Demarcation Line into the North during a tour to the Joint Security Area in the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas on July 18.
ejkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Eun-jung · September 28, 2023
3. To purge, or not to purge: Why Kim Jong Un forgives some North Korean officials
Excerpts:
Hyun-seung Lee, a former North Korean businessperson who defected in 2014, added that Kim’s “image management” plays some part in his decisions to reinstate certain officials.
“This is primarily driven by the propaganda value of portraying himself as a compassionate leader to the North Korean populace,” he said. “However, in reality, even if these individuals are allowed to return, they are gradually distancing themselves from the center of power.”
To purge, or not to purge: Why Kim Jong Un forgives some North Korean officials
Experts say leader can be lenient toward mistakes by those he trusts, but ruthless when they cross political red lines
https://www.nknews.org/2023/09/to-purge-or-not-to-purge-why-kim-jong-un-forgives-some-north-korean-officials/
James Fretwell September 28, 2023
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Image: Rodong Sinmun (Aug. 10, 2023)
A top North Korean official who recently found himself the target of leader Kim Jong Un’s wrath emerged unscathed from a major meeting this week, despite the fact that it appeared he could be purged.
The good fortune of DPRK premier Kim Tok Hun provided the latest evidence that Kim Jong Un, a ruler who presides over a sprawling network of political prison camps, can be magnanimous toward officials who slip up.
But experts told NK News that Kim only keeps officials around if their mistakes weren’t politically motivated and he can still trust them despite their supposed shortcomings.
Enraged by the flooding of provincial rice paddies, the North Korean leader criticized premier Kim Tok Hun for all to see in the country’s ruling party daily at the end of August.
The “irresponsibility and indiscipline of officials” was “mainly attributable to the feeble work attitude and wrong viewpoint of the premier,” Kim Jong Un was quoted as saying.
He then ominously added that “it is necessary to plainly examine the irresponsible work attitude and ideological viewpoint of the premier.”
The North Korean leader doesn’t usually name names so directly, so it looked as though Kim Tok Hun would be punished for his sins, whether through demotion or reeducation or worse.
Until, that is, just a few days later.
Shortly after being publicly rebuked, he sent a congratulatory letter to Thailand’s new prime minister. He has since held talks with Chinese politburo member Liu Guozhong in Pyongyang and welcomed Kim Jong Un when he returned from his trip to Russia for talks with Vladimir Putin.
It was possible that Kim Jong Un was just waiting to demote Kim Tok Hun in proper fashion at the Supreme People’s Assembly session this week. But on Thursday, state media confirmed that he has kept his position.
Kim Jong Un said that the recent flooding was “mainly attributable to the feeble work attitude and wrong viewpoint of the premier.” | Image: Rodong Sinmun (Aug. 22, 2023)
EVERYONE MAKES MISTAKES
Kim Jong Un has rehabilitated a number of top officials after they committed blunders, suggesting that those who have won the North Korean leader’s trust can claw their way back to the top.
In June 2021, North Korea demoted Ri Pyong Chol and a number of other top military officials following what Kim described as a “grave incident” concerning the country’s COVID-19 lockdown. South Korean intelligence reportedly assessed that Kim was referring to delays in turning a military airfield near the Chinese border into a disinfection center and distributing war reserve rice.
Yet even those responsible for “a significant crisis for the country and people” appear to be only down, but not out: Kim reinstated Ri in April 2022.
“Top officials can easily be given other responsibilities or just brief demotions,” Martin Weiser, a North Korea leadership expert and NK Pro contributor, told NK News.
“At least partially, that should be due to the lack of trusted officials which Kim Jong Un seems eager to keep around even if sometimes they make mistakes,” he said.
Hyun-seung Lee, a former North Korean businessperson who defected in 2014, added that Kim’s “image management” plays some part in his decisions to reinstate certain officials.
“This is primarily driven by the propaganda value of portraying himself as a compassionate leader to the North Korean populace,” he said. “However, in reality, even if these individuals are allowed to return, they are gradually distancing themselves from the center of power.”
Kim Jong Un shed tears and said he “failed” to live up to his people’s trust three years ago. | Image: Rodong Sinmun (Oct. 10, 2020)
Kim’s cabinet members have been some of his favorite targets over the years, often chastising them for failing to improve North Korea’s economy and his people’s pitiful living conditions.
Kim is clearly scapegoating to at least some extent. While the North Korean leader has more than succeeded in developing his country’s nuclear weapons, the sanctions that followed nuclear and missile tests, COVID-19 import restrictions and a general lack of economic incentives have made it difficult for the cabinet to improve the situation.
Having said that, Kim has actually accepted a bit of responsibility for North Korea’s failings.
“Our people have placed trust, as high as sky and as deep as sea, on me, but I have failed to always live up to it satisfactorily,” Kim conceded during a tearful speech to mark the 75th anniversary of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) on Oct. 10, 2020. “I am really sorry for that.”
Of course, the North Korean leader wasn’t about to purge himself. Kim also maintained that, despite his shortcomings, his people would continue to support him — “even if it may mean suffering more.”
Jang Song Thaek (second from right), Kim Jong Un’s uncle, on trial before his execution | Image: Rodong Sinmun (Dec. 13, 2013)
CROSSING THE LINE
North Korea often rehabilitates officials, but the interim “reeducation” process is extremely harsh, according to the former businessman and defector Lee.
“During this period, North Korean officials typically have to engage in arduous labor, working as ordinary laborers in mines or rural areas,” Lee said, adding that the punishment could last from one month to 10 years.
“More severe punishment involves being permanently imprisoned in political prisoner camps, where individuals are forced to work until death, and release is nearly impossible. However, there are extremely rare cases of individuals being released and reinstated,” he said.
Although Kim is willing to forgive some officials, that benevolence doesn’t extend to those he deems as challenging his right to rule.
“There clearly are red lines like challenging the Kim family’s position that will lead to irreversible demotions, purges or executions,” Weiser said.
The prime example of this is the North Korean leader’s powerful uncle, Jang Song Thaek.
Kim had Jang executed in Dec. 2013, shortly after coming to power. In addition to “half-heartedly clapping” when Kim received a military promotion in 2010 and losing 4.6 million Euros while gambling at a foreign casino in 2009, Jang allegedly plotted a coup to overthrow the country’s leader, according to state media.
The veracity of the charges is unclear, but it does seem Jang looked down on Kim and pushed for Chinese-style economic reforms — changes that would have undermined his nephew’s grip on power.
The DPRK executed both Jang and his subordinates by anti-aircraft machine guns, according to South Korea’s intelligence service.
North Korea has also killed officials for non-political reasons, too. In 2010, Kim’s father Kim Jong Il executed the former director of the WPK planning and finance department Pak Nam Gi for the country’s disastrous currency reforms.
It’s also unclear what happened to former foreign minister Ri Yong Ho, who played a major role in North Korea’s summits with the U.S., South Korea, Russia and China in 2018 and 2019 before disappearing in 2020.
Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun reported that Pyongyang executed Ri along with other high-level foreign ministry officials in 2022, allegedly over their past work at the DPRK Embassy in the U.K. However, even South Korean intelligence has been unable to confirm this report.
Nevertheless, actions that risk undermining Kim’s rule are still considered the most heinous of all.
As the state media report on Jang’s execution concluded: “Our party, state, army and people do not know anyone except Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Il and Kim Jong Un.”
Edited by Alannah Hill
4. Ruling on leaflets to North Korea welcomed
Excerpt:
Legislation that can excessively restrict South Korean rights must not be repeated. The former government and the DP figures who pressed the bill must apologize to the people. The legislature must come up with more effective measures to ensure the safety of the residents living near the border than the ban. The government and politicians have the duty to explore the best possible way to guard public lives without infringing on the values of democracy and civilian rights.
Wednesday
September 27, 2023
dictionary + A - A
Published: 27 Sep. 2023, 18:31
Ruling on leaflets to North Korea welcomed
https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2023-09-27/opinion/editorials/Ruling-on-leaflets-to-North-Korea-welcomed/1879941
The Constitutional Court this week struck down the provision in the amended law in the Development of Inter-Korean Relations Act banning the dispatch of propaganda leaflets to North Korea on grounds that it excessively limits the South Korean constitutional right to “freedom of expression.” The ruling immediately invalidates the provision under the bill railroaded by the then-ruling Democratic Party (DP) during the previous Moon Jae-in government 33 months ago. Under the amended law, anyone who violates the provision can face a prison term of up to 3 years or a fine of 30 million won ($22,172). The law was struck down in a 7-2 vote from the top court bench.
The law banning the dispatch of anti-North Korea leaflets across the border drew criticism not just from home but also from the United States and the United Nations. The former government led by President Moon Jae-in pushed for the bill, citing concerns for the safety of residents near the border. The move came after Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, threatened to trash the military agreement reached through a summit in 2018 for Seoul’s condoning the launches of anti-Pyongyang flyers. The Moon administration had not protested the saber-rattling that restricts the rights of South Koreans and threatens the lives of residents near the border. Keeping inter-Korean relations peaceful is one thing, but surrendering to North Korea’s threat is another.
The top court also found Constitutional incongruity in the action. Four justices said the provision prohibiting the dispatch of anti-North leaflets “translated the responsibility of the North Korean provocation onto those who send flyers, which constitutes the imposition of penalty on those who do not deserve criticism.” In other words, the government must not find fault with those who send leaflets when it is Pyongyang that poses a danger to the lives of South Koreans.
But the Constitutional court has not condoned the reckless spread of anti-Pyongyang leaflets. The act can be contained through police restriction or prior notice of the act of sending leaflets, the court said. Flyer sending had also posed a headache for conservative governments. Under President Park Geun-hye in 2014, North Korea shot down balloons carrying anti-Pyongyang flyers. The conservative government ordered the police to contain the dispatch and pleaded with bodies of defectors to restrain the action.
Legislation that can excessively restrict South Korean rights must not be repeated. The former government and the DP figures who pressed the bill must apologize to the people. The legislature must come up with more effective measures to ensure the safety of the residents living near the border than the ban. The government and politicians have the duty to explore the best possible way to guard public lives without infringing on the values of democracy and civilian rights.
5. Travis King, American G.I. Who Bolted to North Korea, Is Back in U.S. Custody After Getting a Rare Reprieve From the Communist Regime
As we knew from the start, the regime could not reap any benefits from Pvt King.
Travis King, American G.I. Who Bolted to North Korea, Is Back in U.S. Custody After Getting a Rare Reprieve From the Communist Regime
Evidently, his rank as a private was too low for him to be of any practical value to Pyongyang as a source of information.
https://www.nysun.com/article/travis-king-american-g-i-who-bolted-to-north-korea-is-back-in-u-s-custody-after-getting-a-rare-reprieve-from-the-communist-regime
A portrait of American soldier Travis King. AP/Morry Gash, file
DONALD KIRK
Wednesday, September 27, 202313:24:11 pm
SEOUL — The American G.I. who bolted across the line into North Korea on July 18 just got off easy. The North Koreans, who years ago held on to American army deserters and ruthlessly beat civilians who entered the country illegally, made an exception for Private Travis King.
Now the question is whether the Americans will be so generous after the North Koreans turned him over to the Swedish ambassador to North Korea, who delivered him to the American ambassador to China, Nicholas Burns, at the Chinese border.
The Americans appeared ecstatic — and immensely relieved. President Biden’s National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan, credited “the dedication of the interagency team that worked tirelessly out of concern for Private King’s wellbeing.”
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Mr. Sullivan thanked both the Swedish ambassador, representing American interests in Pyongyang, and the Chinese government for persuading the North Koreans to bid farewell to Private King.
Whether Private King will appreciate such concern is another matter. Having been arrested and jailed in South Korea, he had been taken by military escorts to the international airport near Seoul in July and checked in for a flight that would have landed him in the arms of American military authorities pending disciplinary action. He slipped away after his military escorts had left.
Pyongyang’s Korean Central News Agency said earlier that “the relevant organ of the DPRK” – Democratic People’s Republic of Korea – “decided to expel Travis King, a soldier of the U.S. Army who illegally intruded into the territory of the DPRK.”
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Presumably the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, was ultimately the one to send him on his way.
For the North Koreans to show such mercy, Private King would have had to say what they wanted to hear after he broke away from a tour group in the Joint Security Area at Panmunjom and dashed to the North Korean side.
Private King was “disillusioned about the unequal U.S. society,” said KCNA, after suffering “inhuman maltreatment and racial discrimination within the U.S. Army.”
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The KCNA report was the first news about Private King since it confirmed in August that he was being held after having “illegally intruded into the territory of the DPRK.” By now, said the latest report, with an air of finality, the investigation into his defection is “complete.”
Thus Private King escaped the fates of the six other American army soldiers who defected between 1962 and 1982. Five crossed the line from South to North Korea while a sixth disappeared from his unit in Germany.
All of them died in North Korea with the exception of Charles Jenkins, who defected in 1965 but was permitted to leave 39 years later to join his Japanese wife, with whom he had two daughters in captivity. Kidnapped from Japan, she’d been freed in 2002 after Japan’s prime minister, Junichiro Koizumi, interceded with Kim Jong-Il, the father of Kim Jong-un.
Mr. Jenkins, freed in 2004 with his daughters, was given a dishonorable discharge by the American army, wrote a book about his experiences and died in Japan six years ago. All the other defectors before Private King died in North Korea.
Just because North Korea agreed to expel Private King, however, does not mean he’s home free. He now faces the prospect of a court martial for either going AWOL, absent without leave, or desertion, charges that could land him a lengthy sentence in a military prison and a dishonorable discharge.
But why did the North Koreans decide they didn’t need him any more, even for propaganda purposes? The overriding reason evidently was his rank as a private was too low for him to be of any practical value as a source of information.
“Most likely they could not figure out a way to effectively exploit him,” a retired American army colonel who has served five tours in South Korea, David Maxwell, told The Sun. “If he is of no use to them, then the best thing to do might be to return him.”
In which case, of course, Private King may still hope to get off easy again by telling the Americans all about how the North Koreans grilled him, who conducted the interrogations, where they held him and how in general he was treated.
DONALD KIRK
Mr. Kirk, based in Seoul and Washington, has been covering Asia for decades for newspapers and magazines and is the author of books on Korea, the Vietnam War and the Philippines.
Commenting is available to Sun Readers, Sun Members and Sun Founders only. Comments are reviewed and, in some cases, edited before posting. Chances of a comment being posted are increased if the comment is polite, accurate, grammatical, and substantive or newsworthy.
6. North Korea Human Rights Forum Urges Trilateral Support by U.S., Japan, and ROK for a Free and United Korea
From the last day of north Korean Freedom week last Saturday. Amazing offline stories and engagements with escapees from north Korea.
North Korea Human Rights Forum Urges Trilateral Support by U.S., Japan, and ROK for a Free and United Korea - Global Peace Foundation
globalpeace.org · by Eric Olsen · September 28, 2023
Human rights experts from the United States, South Korea, and Japan and prominent escapees from North Korea brought focus to ongoing human rights abuses in the DPRK at a forum in Seoul on September 23. The forum marked the seventy-fifth anniversary of UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the twentieth anniversary of North Korea Freedom Week.
Panelists Suzanne Scholte, Col. David Maxwell, Eiko Kawasaki, Masaki Ikeda, and Sora Lee listen to a video message presented by former U.S. State Department Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice Morse Tan. The panelists presented evidence of North Korean human rights abuses.
The latest convening of the International Forum on One Korea, “Trilateral Cooperation for Freedom in North Korea and Human Rights Upfront Strategy,” urged greater cooperation among the U.S., Japan, and the ROK to build global consensus for a human rights upfront strategy—targeting the “Achilles heel” of the Kim regime. Panelists urged governments and civil society watchdogs to pressure the DPRK to follow international human rights protocols and, ultimately, to advance the process of a free and unified Korea.
The forum was co-convened by the Global Peace Foundation, North Korea Freedom Coalition, Action for Korea United, One Korea Foundation, and Korea of All.
In welcoming remarks, former U.S. State Department Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice Morse Tan cited the landmark 2014 UN Report of the Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea as the most authoritative documentation of the extreme human rights violations and crimes against humanity committed by the Kim regime. The people in North Korean are “living in a state of rightlessness, victims of a criminal cult,” the ambassador said, and are “crying out for justice and accountability.”
Noting the lack international action ten years after the Commission of Inquiry report was issued, Ambassador Jung-Hoon Lee, Chair of Committee for Planning Future Unification, called for concrete steps to compel change in the DPRK. He said that President Moon failed to raise the issue of human rights in three summits with the North Korean leader. Thus, the Yoon administration should establish a commission similar to the bipartisan U.S. Commission on Human Rights in China, and a Database Center for North Korean Human Rights that would not only record the crimes against humanity committed by the Kim regime, but bring formal charges based on South Korean law.
Ambassador Jung-Hoon Lee addresses the forum.
Sending information to the North Korean people, a policy also ended by the Moon government, should be robustly implemented as a component of psychological warfare to pressure the Kim regime. Finally, the ambassador said, governments should pressure the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to protect North Korea escapees in China and support a U.S.-ROK-Japan Action plan to sanction the North Korean government.
Refugee repatriation
North Korea Freedom Coalition Chair Suzanne Scholte said the dangers facing Korea’s democracy are increasing as Kim Jong Un works with other repressive regimes to accomplish his goal of unification of the Korean peninsula under his family dictatorship. She said North Korean refugees who have fled to China are especially at risk if repatriated.
“The UN, the United States, Japan, and the Republic of Korea should announce that they will sanction any Chinese official known to be involved in the forceful repatriation of any North Korean as they are complicit in murder,” Scholte said.
“This is the time to initiate a new strategy. It should be based on three lines of effort: a human rights upfront approach, a comprehensive information and influence campaign, and the pursuit of a free and unified Korea.”
“We need to communicate to the people living in the north that they have allies in South Korea, Japan, and the United States and increase the flow of information to North Korea by land, by sea, and by air.”
Lim Cheol, a North Korean escapee and attorney at the Seoul National University Public Interest Law Center, said North Korean defectors in China do not receive any legal protection and are treated as criminals. In addition, the activities of religious and civic groups helping North Korean defectors are viewed as illegal.
“What is important is that a North Korean citizen crossed the border and fled to China is itself a violation of North Korean criminal law,” Lim said. “Life-long correctional labor punishment or even the death penalty may be imposed. What is important in refugee recognition is not the reason for leaving the country of nationality, but the reason for not being able to return.”
Lim said the Chinese Constitution legally protects the rights and interests of foreigners and those who request refuge for political reasons. It stipulates the right of foreigners to be protected (Article 32, Paragraph 1). However, foreign experts say that China is violating international treaties and customary international law, and that China is especially targeting North Korean defectors.
Human rights and nuclearization
Turning to the growing nuclear threat posed by the North Korean regime, Col. David Maxwell, a Senior Fellow of Global Peace Foundation, said that “perhaps counterintuitively it is the focus on human rights that must lead to unification and only when unification is achieved there can be denuclearization. Human rights are a moral imperative. However, they are also a national security issue because Kim Jong Un must deny the human rights of the Korean people in the north in order to remain in power.
“This is the time to initiate a new strategy. It should be based on three lines of effort: a human rights upfront approach, a comprehensive information and influence campaign, and the pursuit of a free and unified Korea.”
Panelists Kook-han Moon, Cheolhwan Kang, Cheol Lim, and Inteck Seo discuss the importance of coordinated international efforts to bring accountability to the Kim regime.
North Korea’s nuclear program both threatens global security and further impoverishes the North Korean people, noted Kook-han Moon, President of the North Korea Human Rights International Association. Moon quoted a speech by South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol at the U.S. Congress on April 27, who said, “The North Korean regime is preoccupied with developing nuclear weapons and missiles, [yet] the North Korean people are being thrown into the worst economic hardship and suffering intolerable human rights abuses.”
“There are countless cases of people being mercilessly executed by firing squad for violating COVID-19 quarantine guidelines,” the South Korean president told the Congress, “cases of being publicly executed for watching and disseminating Korean movies and dramas, and cases of people being publicly executed by firing squad simply for possessing a Bible and being religious.”
“Human rights are a moral imperative. However, they are also a national security issue because Kim Jong Un must deny the human rights of the Korean people in the north in order to remain in power.”
“At a time like this,” Moon told the forum, “the most urgent task for free people is the unification of North and South Korea and taking action to improve the human rights of North Koreans. NGOs working for the unification of North and South Korea and improving human rights in North Korea have quietly walked a lonely path. Now is the time to unite those capabilities and take a big step towards the world.”
The Seoul 2025 North-South Unification and North Korean Human Rights NGO World Expo in celebration of the eightieth anniversary of liberation from Japanese occupation in now in planning stages, he said. “This is not just an external and quantitative expo, but rather a historic exposition designed to wipe away the tears of 25 million North Korean residents.”
North Korean realities
Six North Korean escapees shared the realities of life in North Korea, the daily oppression, kidnappings, and deceit that led some Koreans living in Japan to repatriate to North Korea.
North Korean escapees Cheol-hwan Kang (top) and Sara Lee speak at the forum.
“Approximately 93,340 Koreans living in Japan and their Japanese descendants were deceived by beautiful words such as ‘paradise on earth’ and ‘humanitarianism,’ said Sora Lee, who left Japan for North Korea with her children, expecting a life of freedom and opportunity.
“I walked into North Korea, into hell, and am still in hell at this very moment,” she said. “Our NGO, Korea of All, has been subject to judicial and non-judicial actions from the first day we returned to Japan after surviving the hell of North Korea.”
Sora Lee works for Botonamu-street renewal project in Niigata, a port city in Japan and the departure point of many falsely repatriated to North Korea. Lee also praised another escapee and forum speaker, Eiko Kawasaki, who has worked to hold North Korea accountable through all means and methods, and to make human rights violations committed by North Korea within Japan visible.
Another North Korean escapee, Hyung Sung Lee, expressed concern that the division has separated countless families and hindered freedom, human rights, and democracy in North Korea, is a diminishing concern among South Korean youth.
“I think that the steps taken by our young North Korean defector leaders for human rights, freedom, and unification in North Korea are more important than those of any other young leaders. Growing up in North Korea, we experienced firsthand the oppressive regimes that dominated every aspect of our lives. Lack of basic human rights and freedoms, especially lack of information, was an everyday reality. However, living in the Republic of Korea and the free world, where basic human rights are guaranteed, I have come to realize that change for the people of North Korea is essential and that making that change is our mission on earth.”
“I am confident that young leaders who have defected from North Korea will play a pivotal role in bringing about change in North Korea. We will be the generation that represents and brings freedom, unification, and prosperity to the Korean Peninsula. We have crossed borders, witnessed the world, and tasted freedom. Therefore, we know its importance better than anyone else. Our common desire is to see a free and unified Korean Peninsula where all of our families can live without fear, censorship, and division.
“Our generation has the power to determine the fate of our country and bring about the change we dream of. We must stand together, invest in education, leverage technology, and collaborate with the world to make our vision a reality.”
Learn more about the One Korea Global Campaign.
globalpeace.org · by Eric Olsen · September 28, 2023
7. Yoon hosts Chuseok luncheon for Korean atomic bomb victims in Hiroshima
Yoon hosts Chuseok luncheon for Korean atomic bomb victims in Hiroshima
The Korea Times · September 29, 2023
President Yoon Suk Yeol hosts a luncheon meeting with Korean survivors of the 1945 atomic bombing in Hiroshima at Cheong Wa Dae's Yeongbin-gwan guesthouse, Sept. 29. Yonhap
President Yoon Suk Yeol hosted a luncheon Friday with a group of Korean victims of the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima on the occasion of the Chuseok holiday.
The meeting, held at Cheong Wa Dae's Yeongbin-gwan Guesthouse, with 42 atomic bombing victims and family members from Japan and 43 others from South Korea came about four months following his meeting with Korean survivors of the bombing during his visit to Hiroshima in May for a Group of Seven summit.
The Korean Peninsula was liberated from Japan's colonial rule just after the bombing.
"It took 78 years for the government to host you. I would like to say once again I am sorry for being too late," Yoon said in his welcome speech.
"I am well aware that the long-running difficulties in the South Korea-Japan relationship have made your lives difficult," the president said. "The government will never again turn a blind eye to your pain."
He also vowed his utmost efforts to advance the South Korea-Japan relationship into a future-oriented one and take care of Koreans residing in Japan.
"While cooperating with Japan, the closest neighbor with whom we share the universal values of freedom, human rights and rule of law, our government will proceed to advance peace and prosperity in the region and the world," the president said.
Around 50,000 Koreans fell victim to the atomic bombing, including 30,000 killed, after many were brought to Japan to work as forced laborers during its 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula, according to the Korea Atomic Bombs Victim Association. (Yonhap)
The Korea Times · September 29, 2023
8. Nuclear envoys of S. Korea, U.S., Japan condemn N. Korea's stipulation of nuclear policy
Excerpt:
South Korea's chief nuclear negotiator, Kim Gunn, and his U.S. and Japanese counterparts, Sung Kim and Hiroyuki Namazu, respectively, held a conference call to discuss the outcome of Pyongyang's key parliamentary meeting and their joint responses to its growing nuclear threat.
...
"They strongly condemned that North Korea has more openly revealed its nuclear ambition by adopting the constitutional amendment in the Supreme People's Assembly that stipulated its nuclear force policy," the ministry said in a release.
The trio urged Pyongyang to halt its nuclear threats and other provocations, vowing to closely coordinate with the international community to make progress on its denuclearization.
Nuclear envoys of S. Korea, U.S., Japan condemn N. Korea's stipulation of nuclear policy | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Eun-jung · September 28, 2023
SEOUL, Sept. 28 (Yonhap) -- The top nuclear envoys of South Korea, the United States and Japan on Thursday denounced North Korea's constitutional amendment to enshrine its policy on nuclear force, Seoul's foreign ministry said.
South Korea's chief nuclear negotiator, Kim Gunn, and his U.S. and Japanese counterparts, Sung Kim and Hiroyuki Namazu, respectively, held a conference call to discuss the outcome of Pyongyang's key parliamentary meeting and their joint responses to its growing nuclear threat.
North Korea has stipulated the policy of strengthening its nuclear force in the constitution at the 14th Supreme People's Assembly held on Tuesday and Wednesday. During the meeting, leader Kim Jong-un said trilateral security cooperation between South Korea, the U.S. and Japan poses "the worst actual threat" and vowed to bolster the country's nuclear capability.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un speaks during the ninth session of the 14th Supreme People's Assembly held on Sept. 26-27 in Pyongyang, in this captured image from Pyongyang's official Korean Central Television on Sept. 28. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
The nuclear envoys strongly condemned North Korea's continued pursuit of nuclear weapons while ignoring the crumbling livelihoods of its people.
"They strongly condemned that North Korea has more openly revealed its nuclear ambition by adopting the constitutional amendment in the Supreme People's Assembly that stipulated its nuclear force policy," the ministry said in a release.
The trio urged Pyongyang to halt its nuclear threats and other provocations, vowing to closely coordinate with the international community to make progress on its denuclearization.
The envoys also agreed to closely monitor for signs of North Korea's third attempt to launch a military spy satellite and arms trade with Russia following their bilateral summit earlier this month.
They also welcomed the return of U.S. soldier Travis King, who was expelled from North Korea earlier in the day after running across the inter-Korean border in July.
Pvt. King made an unauthorized crossing of the Military Demarcation Line into the North during a tour to the Joint Security Area in the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas on July 18.
ejkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Eun-jung · September 28, 2023
9. Finalization of the Korean Peninsula's peace process
My major disagreement with this essay is that the author fails to acknowledge the nature, objectives, and strategy of the Kim family regime.
Excerpts:
The Korean Peninsula resolution should involve the removal of major nations, particularly the U.S., China, Japan, and Russia to establish a unified Korea. Addressing security and diplomatic issues promptly and preventing outsider interference is crucial. The negotiated removal of foreign military forces is essential for long-term Korean sovereignty and stability. The Korean population should have the authority to determine their security arrangements without outside intervention.
For the long-term resolution of the conflict, the Korean Peninsula issue requires a comprehensive strategy, including inter-Korean engagement, confidence-building initiatives, and denuclearization (Kwak). This should involve global participation, ensuring disarmament, and providing North Korea with security assurances. Diplomatic pressure and support should be used to foster reform and improve human rights in North Korea while upholding South Korea's democratic institutions. Major countries should demonstrate commitment by offering security guarantees and economic incentives. Coordination is crucial when devising withdrawal strategies for large countries, especially their armed forces, to ensure a smooth transition and maintain regional security.
The Korean Peninsula issue, originating from the Cold War era, requires acknowledging past grievances, shifting governing regimes, promoting collaboration between North and South Korea, and active participation from global powers. The Korean people must have final authority to determine the peninsula's destiny, and a unified government requires major powers' withdrawal to protect sovereignty and promote peace. Despite challenges, the collective aspiration for reunification and active global involvement presents a promising prospect for resolution. This global issue is not only regional but also aimed at fostering peace and stability, requiring collaboration among all relevant parties.
Finalization of the Korean Peninsula's peace process
The Korea Times · September 27, 2023
By Simon Hutagalung
The continuing separation between North and South Korea has made the Korean Peninsula a subject of global attention for several decades. The division at hand is a consequence of a multifaceted interplay of historical, geopolitical and ideological elements, originating from the period of the Cold War. The Korean Peninsula continues to be one of the few unsolved remnants of that historical era. This essay article endeavors to explore the complex matter of the resolution of the Korean Peninsula, examining its historical backdrop, the imperative for a regime change, the engagement of the Korean governments, the participation of significant states, and the crucial element of their eventual withdrawal. In light of these complexities, this essay argues that the Korean Peninsula, a Cold War-era issue, necessitates a unified government transition. Collaborative efforts from Korean governments and major countries are crucial. Major Powers should gradually reduce their influence to establish a sustainable peace state, ensuring a unified government.
The Korean Peninsula's partition into North and South Korea was a result of the Cold War, a geopolitical conflict that led to the global separation into two ideological factions, one led by the United States and the other by the Soviet Union (Kim). Korea, previously under Japanese colonial rule, played a significant role in the competition. After World War II, Korea was liberated in 1945, but the nation was partitioned at the 38th parallel, with the Soviet Union controlling the northern region and the United States controlling the southern region. This split laid the groundwork for the ongoing conflict (Matray). In 1948, distinct governing bodies emerged in North Korea and South Korea, with Kim Il-sung and Syngman Rhee leading the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea respectively. The Korean War from 1950 to 1953 further cemented this division, resulting in the peninsula's separation by a heavily fortified demilitarized zone (Eui Gak Hwang). Although the armistice in 1953 effectively ended hostilities, the two nations remained in a state of technical warfare. This historical backdrop set the stage for the divergence of the two regimes that continue to shape the Korean Peninsula today.
The issue concerning the Korean Peninsula may be traced back to the ideological schism between North and South Korea, wherein the North has adopted an authoritarian system while the South has embraced democracy and capitalism (Gills and Rocamora). The aforementioned division not only serves to sustain ongoing tensions but also poses a significant threat to the security and overall welfare of the Korean populace. To effectively handle the situation, both regimes must experience substantial transformation. Specifically, the North regime should undergo a regime change, while the South regime should demonstrate a firm commitment to democratic values and the protection of human rights. The realization of this vision necessitates the implementation of economic and social reforms.
Consequently, the future of the Korean Peninsula should be primarily determined by the South and North Korean governments. While external parties can facilitate negotiations and provide security assurances, the responsibility for determining their future lies with the Korean government. Inter-Korean dialogue and collaboration are crucial for a peaceful conclusion. Trust-building initiatives, economic collaboration, and interpersonal interactions can cultivate confidence and facilitate reunion (Husenicová). A unified Korean government should use shared cultural heritage to reconcile divisions and foster stability and prosperity for the entire Korean population.
Moreover, the Korean Peninsula conflict requires the involvement of key global powers like the United States, China, Japan, and Russia. The U.S., a key ally of South Korea, can offer security guarantees to both North and South Korea through diplomatic engagement and negotiations (Carson). China, a key economic partner of North Korea, has significant influence over the regime in Pyongyang and can support denuclearization and stability (Nanto and Manyin). It can also facilitate economic integration between North and South Korea. Japan and Russia, although less directly involved, have a vested interest in maintaining peace within the region. Resolving Japan's historical conflicts with both Koreas requires comprehensive attention, and Russia can play a constructive role by engaging in diplomatic channels and fostering regional cooperation (Blair and Hanley).
The Korean Peninsula resolution should involve the removal of major nations, particularly the U.S., China, Japan, and Russia to establish a unified Korea. Addressing security and diplomatic issues promptly and preventing outsider interference is crucial. The negotiated removal of foreign military forces is essential for long-term Korean sovereignty and stability. The Korean population should have the authority to determine their security arrangements without outside intervention.
For the long-term resolution of the conflict, the Korean Peninsula issue requires a comprehensive strategy, including inter-Korean engagement, confidence-building initiatives, and denuclearization (Kwak). This should involve global participation, ensuring disarmament, and providing North Korea with security assurances. Diplomatic pressure and support should be used to foster reform and improve human rights in North Korea while upholding South Korea's democratic institutions. Major countries should demonstrate commitment by offering security guarantees and economic incentives. Coordination is crucial when devising withdrawal strategies for large countries, especially their armed forces, to ensure a smooth transition and maintain regional security.
The Korean Peninsula issue, originating from the Cold War era, requires acknowledging past grievances, shifting governing regimes, promoting collaboration between North and South Korea, and active participation from global powers. The Korean people must have final authority to determine the peninsula's destiny, and a unified government requires major powers' withdrawal to protect sovereignty and promote peace. Despite challenges, the collective aspiration for reunification and active global involvement presents a promising prospect for resolution. This global issue is not only regional but also aimed at fostering peace and stability, requiring collaboration among all relevant parties.
Simon Hutagalung is a graduate of the City University of New York and received his master's degree in political science and comparative politics. He is presently working at the Indonesian Foreign Ministry. The opinion and views are his own not representing the view of CUNY or the Indonesian Foreign Ministry.
The Korea Times · September 27, 2023
10. Mystery Russian Plane in Pyongyang Stirs Arms Deals Concerns
Mystery Russian Plane in Pyongyang Stirs Arms Deals Concerns
- Rare flight comes on the heels of Kim’s trip to Russia
- VIP Russian plane was on the ground for about two days
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-09-28/mystery-russian-plane-in-pyongyang-stokes-concerns-of-arms-deals?sref=hhjZtX76
By Jon Herskovitz and Danny Lee
September 28, 2023 at 2:51 AM EDT
Updated on September 28, 2023 at 7:44 PM EDT
An unscheduled Russian military VIP plane touched down in Pyongyang this week, days after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made a rare trip to his neighbor for talks the US said likely focused on arms transfers.
Tracking data from FlightRadar24 shows the Russian Air Force Ilyushin IL-62M flying from Moscow to Pyongyang, arriving on Tuesday morning. The tail number on the plane indicates it was the same aircraft Russia sent to North Korea in August, just days after Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu traveled to Pyongyang and was guided by Kim through a collection of his country’s latest weaponry.
Data from FlightRadar24 also indicates the plane returned to Russia on Thursday after having been on the ground in North Korea for about two days. North Korean state media has made no mention of the plane and the Russian Defense Ministry did not respond to a request for comment sent by email.
Data from FlightRadar24 showing the flight path of the Russian Air Force aircraft.Source: FlightRadar24
Specialist service NK News, which spotted the plane’s arrival, said the silence surrounding the flight could indicate there were military officials on board for talks on weapons or technology transfers. About a day after the plane departed Pyongyang, Russia’s official Tass news agency reported that North Korea’s Minister of External Economic Relations Yun Jong Ho had arrived in Moscow for a working visit.
North Korea has had almost no international air traffic since it closed its borders at the start of the pandemic in early 2020. The arrival of two flights in the space of less than two months highlights cooperation between the two countries, which have drawn closer as the US and its partners tried to isolate them with international sanctions.
“It seems that Russia has rediscovered the strategic value of North Korea against the backdrop of North Korea’s support in the war and the formation of the US-South Korea-Japan trilateral alliance,” said Jeh Sung-Hoon, head of the department of Russian Studies at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies.
“Since the interests of both countries are aligned, North Korea-Russia cooperation should move forward quickly,” Jeh said.
Kim spent about a week in Russia this month where he held a summit with Vladimir Putin at Russia’s Vostochny Cosmodrome space center. He received pledges from the president of assistance in building satellites and firing them off on Russian rockets.
The US for months has accused Kim of providing arms and ammunition to aid Putin’s war in Ukraine, with a Pentagon spokeswoman saying it’s a sign of desperation for the Kremlin to be turning to North Korea for help.
The US has said while weapons such as artillery shells and rockets will help Russia, they aren’t likely to alter the battlefield. The sales could also provide North Korea with a new stream of revenue for an economy isolated from much of world trade.
During his visit to Russia, Kim toured military facilities including plants that make fighter jets.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the visit highlighted an “increasingly dangerous” two-way street between Russia and North Korea. In a speech Monday in Washington, he said there’s a situation playing out with “Russia desperate to find equipment, supplies, technology for its ongoing aggression against Ukraine, but also a DPRK that is looking for help to strengthen and advance its own missile programs.”
North Korea might be looking at technology transfers of dual-use materials that could be delivered under the guise of helping its civilian space and nuclear programs in accordance with international norms. But those items could also be used to further North Korea’s ability to build missiles and nuclear bombs — in violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions.
Read: Kim Makes ‘Exponential’ Nuclear Growth Supreme Law to Defy US
The next high-level official visit between the two is expected in October, when Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is set to make a visit to Pyongyang.
There had not been any official envoys since early 2020 when North Korea shut its borders due to the pandemic until July. That’s when a delegation led by Shoigu and another from China led by Li Hongzhong, who sits on the Communist Party of China’s 24-member Politburo, traveled to North Korea to attend celebrations marking the 70th anniversary of the end of fighting in the 1950-1953 Korean War.
“To what degree Russia is willing to circumvent UN Security Council resolutions is another big question,” said Jaewoo Shin, an analyst at the Open Nuclear Network.
“Russia and North Korea’s public displays of their willingness to strengthen military ties, in particular, appear to suggest there is more to come soon, and it won’t necessarily all happen behind closed doors,” he said.
— With assistance by Sangmi Cha and James Herron
(Updates with report of North Korean minister in Moscow in paragraph four.)
11. North Korea's Special Forces Are Trained Killers
Sigh...
North Korea's Special Forces Are Trained Killers
While it is a small, underdeveloped nation by nearly every metric, it nonetheless possesses one of the largest standing armies in the world, counting 1.3 million soldiers in its ranks. Perhaps more impressive are North Korea’s special operations forces, or special forces, which experts estimate at 200,000 soldiers.
19fortyfive.com · by Maya Carlin · September 28, 2023
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), known by most of the world as North Korea, has long been a troublemaker on the global stage.
With constant threats against its Southern neighbor, general saber-rattling, and a growing nuclear program, it creates constant pressure on the U.S.-led world order.
While it is a small, underdeveloped nation by nearly every metric, it nonetheless possesses one of the largest standing armies in the world, counting 1.3 million soldiers in its ranks.
Perhaps more impressive are North Korea’s special operations forces, or special forces, which experts estimate at 200,000 soldiers. This may not seem like very many compared to the total size of its force, but consider that it means 15 percent of the country’s soldiers belong to the special forces as opposed to only 3 percent of the U.S. military.
Organization
The Special Forces moniker usually encompasses an array of specialized units and teams. For example, Special Operations Command in the U.S. military encompasses everything from Army Green Berets who specialize in unconventional warfare such as training a partner military how best to deal with an insurgency to Navy SEALs who perform high-stakes missions like hostage rescue.
North Korea’s Special Forces also encompass several different units. Their airborne forces use old Antonov An-2 aircraft to carry out infiltration and assault missions. First introduced in 1947, this venerable craft is capable of both airdropping units as well as landing on remote stretches of highway to allow infiltration. The Reconnaissance Brigades operate similarly to the Spetsnaz of the former Soviet Union, training to infiltrate South Korea and then using direct action to attack and destroy key targets across South Korea in an attempt to cripple its economy and industry and disrupt command and control in the event of war.
Light Infantry Battalions of the DPRK are a more typical version of the Reconnaissance Brigades. These lightly armed and armored troops advance ahead of conventional forces using stealth and speed to strike behind enemy lines to disrupt communication and infiltrate rear areas. Finally, the Maritime arm of the DPRK Special Forces is thought to operate somewhere in between the Light Infantry and Reconnaissance forces, infiltrating along the coast to carry out attacks behind enemy lines. North Korea’s fleet of submarines, including 24 Romeo-class diesel boats as well as at least 45 midget submarines make an ideal platform for covertly inserting these forces.
How Good Are They?
Size isn’t the only factor on the battlefield and just because the DPRK is fielding a large number of special operators does not mean they are up to snuff. While the U.S. Department of Defense has acknowledged that “North Korean SOF personnel are among the most highly trained, well equipped, best-fed, and highly motivated forces in the KPA.” Given the state of DPRK forces, this is not a high bar to clear, however, South Korean and American planners certainly are aware of the threat these forces pose.
Maya Carlin, a Senior Editor for 19FortyFive, is an analyst with the Center for Security Policy and a former Anna Sobol Levy Fellow at IDC Herzliya in Israel. She has by-lines in many publications, including The National Interest, Jerusalem Post, and Times of Israel. You can follow her on Twitter: @MayaCarlin.
From the Vault
Did Ukraine Just Win the War?
Total Massacre’: Ukraine Footage Shows Russian Cruise Missile Shipment Attacked
19fortyfive.com · by Maya Carlin · September 28, 2023
12. No mooncakes allowed: North Korea seizes treats from trade officials
No mooncakes allowed: North Korea seizes treats from trade officials
They are Chinese food, officials say, not appropriate for a key Korean holiday.
By Son Hyemin for RFA Korean
2023.09.28
rfa.org
North Korea is keeping mooncakes out of the country, saying they are an improper foreign influence during an important holiday.
Authorities seized boxes of the dessert pastry with a sweet or savory filling from the luggage of trade officials returning from China for the autumn harvest festival, sources in the region told Radio Free Asia.
“This morning, I received a call from a trading company official who returned home … saying that customs had confiscated the mooncakes he had bought in China,” a North Korean trade worker stationed in China told RFA Korean Wednesday on condition of anonymity for security reasons.
“The reason why they are preventing the inflow of Chinese mooncakes is because they are a traditional Chinese food, not a traditional food of our people,” he said.
This was the first time such steps have been taken, he said.
North Korean trade workers stationed in China’s Liaoning province began the big rush home on Wednesday to celebrate Chuseok, the autumn harvest festival, and they will spend the next 10 days at home before returning to China, a source working at a trade agency in North Korea’s North Pyongan province told RFA on condition of anonymity to speak freely.
“Many trade workers returning home are officials from trade organizations in Pyongyang and Sinuiju,” a North Korean city that lies opposite the Yalu River border from China’s Dandong, he said “Among them are officials who returned home this morning with Chinese mooncakes.”
Korean Thanksgiving
Chuseok is one of the most important holidays on the Korean peninsula and has drawn comparisons to Thanksgiving in the United States. It is the Korean version of the autumn holiday celebrated throughout Asia, falling on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, or Sept. 29 this year.
On Chuseok, Koreans travel to meet their extended family and honor their ancestors with a large feast that typically includes a jesa table heaping with meat and fish, neatly stacked piles of fruit, pickled vegetables and handmade rice cakes called songpyon.
But in the years that preceded the pandemic, mooncakes from China’s version of the holiday began making an appearance in lieu of songpyon, as food shortages made the rice cakes impractical, the trade worker stationed in China said.
He said that another reason they want to keep the mooncakes might be to try to get the people to buy more locally made snacks and breads.
As mooncakes began spreading through North Korea just prior to the pandemic, they became more and more popular, including among families living in Pyongyang, according to the North Pyongan source. Mooncakes therefore began to be seen as a typical Chuseok food there.
“Demand for mooncakes has increased, so since last week trade workers stationed in China began to ship large amounts of them [across the border] for sale in the Pyongyang markets,” he said. “The authorities finally began cracking down on it.”
Translated by Claire Shinyoung Oh Lee. Edited by Eugene Whong and Malcolm Foster.
rfa.org
13. ＜Inside N. Korea＞ Unusual changes in the Army (2) Starvation spreads even in the military…Why now?
We must be observing for instability within the nKPA. The loss of military coherence could be catastrophic.
＜Inside N. Korea＞ Unusual changes in the Army (2) Starvation spreads even in the military…Why now? Increase in soldiers sent home for malnutrition “Military bases have soldiers take afternoon naps instead of doing training”
asiapress.org
A thin looking North Korean soldier captured through a high-powered lens in China. It is unclear when the photo was taken but given that the soldier is wearing a mask and summer clothes, it appears to have been taken in the summer of 2020. Taken from a video in “Unhabyol TV.”
＜Inside N. Korea＞Unusual changes in the Army (1) In a rare move, police are tasked with cracking down on breaches of military discipline as crimes by soldiers and desertions increase
ASIAPRESS continues to receive reports from various areas of North Korea about a dramatic rise in starving soldiers due to reduced supplies of food to military bases. The source of these reports about conditions inside isolated military bases are soldiers who have been sent home due to malnutrition. ASIAPRESS conducted a survey about conditions at the bases in the northern part of the country in mid-September. (ISHIMARU Jiro / KANG Ji-won)
◆ Starving soldiers are sent back home
Recently, the government’s strong efforts to restrict interaction between soldiers and civilians have made it difficult to understand the situation inside military bases. ASIAPRESS reporting partners met with soldiers who had been sent home due to malnutrition to get a better handle on the realities of starvation inside the military.
A reporting partner (“A”) in Yanggang Province told ASIAPRESS the following:
“There’s been an increase in soldiers who have returned home due to malnutrition. Most are relatively new recruits who entered the military not more than two years ago. I talked with a young soldier who returned home to a neighbor of mine after a stint at a base in Wonsan, Kangwon Province, and he said that he ate two meals a day at the base, and on days with no lunches, the authorities skipped afternoon training and had the soldiers take afternoon naps instead.”
Another reporting partner (“B”) in North Hamgyung Province who talked with a soldier told ASIAPRESS:
“There are three young people suffering from malnutrition who were discharged for medical reasons in my inminban (neighborhood watch unit) alone. There’s probably more coming home (for medical reasons) than being dishonorably discharged.”
※ Inminban are North Korea’s lowest administrative unit and are typically made up of 20-30 households each.
※ Soldiers who are considered medically unfit to continue military service due to disease, injury or malnutrition are discharged under a system called “gamjongjaedae.” Soldiers punished for violence, criminal activity, or violating military discipline are discharged under a system called “saenghwaljaedae.”
Very thin young North Korean soldiers. It is unclear when the photo was taken but given that the soldiers are wearing masks and summer clothes, it appears to have been taken in the summer of 2020. Taken from a video in “Unhabyol TV.”
◆ Soldiers unable to take part in farm mobilizations due to malnutrition
“B” told ASIAPRESS more about what he heard from the soldier:
“The young person who I spoke to spent a year and a half at a base in Jajupo, North Hwanghae Province, and recently returned home after being discharged for medical reasons. The base’s meals were just salt and corn, not even totaling 400 grams per day. He told me that ‘there were three meals a day, but they amounted to was just one meal being divided into three meals.’ The soldier also said that he was unable to taste even one drop of (cooking) oil this past summer, and that there was such an increase in staggering soldiers that nobody could be sent to work at farms during the summer.”
In principle, the military sends soldiers suffering from malnutrition and who are in need of medical treatment to military hospitals. It is illegal for soldiers to be admitted to a local hospital for treatment upon return home. How, then, are returned soldiers’ parents providing medical care to their sons?
Another reporting partner in Yanggang Province (“C”) told ASIAPRESS the following:
“Soldiers can’t return home just because they are in need of medical treatment for a disease. Most young people who have returned have been temporarily discharged for medical reasons. Parents with some money bribe hospitals to get a document that confirms their sons need to be treated at hospitals. The hospitals then inform the military bases where the soldiers came from (about the hospital admission).”
◆ Why are soldiers starving during the harvest season?
Soldiers suffering from malnutrition in North Korea is not a new problem. Many defectors who served in the military have testified about the lack of food supplies at military bases since the early 1990s. When ISHIMARU Jiro was reporting on conditions inside North Korea in July 1993 and December 1994, starving soldiers even demanded food from him.
There are three broad sources of food supplied to the North Korean military.
1. Some of the harvests of collective farms are sent to military bases. This food is referred to as “military rice.”
2. Food imported from abroad.
3. Corn and vegetables cultivated by soldiers in fields near military bases. These fields are called “buopji.”
※ In the spring of this year, the Kim Jong-un regime ordered all military “buopji” to be combined with the fields managed by collective farms, although it is unclear how many of the military-run farm fields are actually under management of collective farms.
Most of the food supplied to the military ----. In short, the food has been acquired systematically by the government. The government, however, has failed to obtain enough to feed soldiers, which has led to chronic levels of malnutrition in the military.
Presently, the harvest of North Korea’s main staples – corn and potatoes – has finished, so why is food failing to get to the military?
Starting in around April of this year, the North Korean government failed to acquire enough white rice and corn to be sold at state-run food shops, so it turned to military stores of food to supply the shops to quickly resolve that urgent problem. The sale of food at markets was banned in January, so the government was unable to stop the sale of food at state-run food shops. The government continued to siphon off military stores of food for civilian use up until June. The impact of all this is that soldiers are suffering from starvation, which has led to a rise in crimes committed by soldiers.
ASIAPRESS was unable to uncover whether the scale of the food shortages at military bases is nationwide or not. (End of series)
※ ASIAPRESS communicates with reporting partners through Chinese cell phones smuggled into North Korea.
＜Inside N. Korea＞Unusual changes in the Army (1) In a rare move, police are tasked with cracking down on breaches of military discipline as crimes by soldiers and desertions increase
asiapress.org
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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