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Quotes of the Day:
“Friends and neighbors complain that taxes are indeed very heavy, and if those laid on by the government were the only ones we had to pay, we might the more easily discharge them; but we have many others, and much more grievous to some of us. We are taxed twice as much by our idleness, three times as much by our pride, and four times as much by our folly.”
– Benjamin Franklin
“I have never believed that man’s freedom consisted in doing what he wants, but rather in never doing what he does not want to do.”
– Jean-Jacques Rousseau
“The Cold War was a contest of ideas as much as it was a contest of arms, and the United States believed that by promoting freedom of expression and the open exchange of ideas, it could win hearts and minds in the struggle against totalitarianism.”
– The Free World: Art and Thought in the Cold War by Louis Menand
1. Likely to lead South Korea, Lee holds left's foreign policy views
2. 'Negotiations with North Korea in 2019 showed that Trump can quickly tire of complicated issues'
3. South Korea to Boost Aid for Chip Makers to $23 Billion, Expanding Extra Budget
4. Airport Was Repeatedly Warned on Bird Strikes Before Deadly South Korea Crash
5. North Korean hackers used fake martial law documents in mass phishing attack
6. US B-1 bomber joins air drills with South Korea on deterring North Korea
7. Russian court blocks Telegram post on North Korean soldiers captured by Ukraine
8. How China’s role in Ukraine differs from North Korea’s state-backed war effort
9. Wonsan-Kalma Beach Resort Progresses Towards Completion
10. S. Korea says 'actively' in talks with U.S. over 'sensitive country' issue after list takes effect
11. Finance minister says defense payments not under review for tariff talks with U.S.
12. N. Korea sent over 126,000 phishing emails to S. Koreans: police
13. North Korea got a drone response after months of trash-filled balloons
14. Kim Jong Un’s right-hand man has built power base threatening his rule: Report
1. Likely to lead South Korea, Lee holds left's foreign policy views
We have weathered the storm before but I fear Lee Jae Myung as president will have more severe alliance repercussions than any previous progressive president.
Likely to lead South Korea, Lee holds left's foreign policy views - Asia Times
Progressive governments tend to be relatively conciliatory toward North Korea and China, which engenders tensions with the US
asiatimes.com · by Denny Roy · April 14, 2025
In the wake of President Yoon Suk-yeol’s ouster as president of the Republic of Korea, his former opponent Lee Jae-myung is likely to win the snap presidential election scheduled for June 3. A Gallup poll released in April indicated Lee enjoys a support level of 34 percent, while his highest-rated rival languishes at 9 percent.
Yoon was a conservative, while Lee represents the progressive Democratic Party (DP). Ordinarily, a change in South Korea from a conservative to a left-of-center government would have the potential to substantially shake up international relations in Northeast Asia.
Progressive governments in Korea tend to be relatively conciliatory toward North Korea and China, which correspondingly engenders tensions with the US.
Kim Dae-jung, who was South Korea’s president in 1998-2003, opposed the hardline US approach to North Korea, instead implementing the now-infamous “Sunshine Policy” of offering economic rewards – including a secret payment of $500 million to secure a summit meeting with Kim Jong-il – in an attempt to pacify Pyongyang’s hostility toward the ROK.
Kim’s successor Roh Moo-hyun continued the Sunshine Policy, criticized the US approach of using economic sanctions to pressure North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons program and sought “equidistance” for the ROK between China and the US.
By contrast, although controversial and ultimately a failure at home, the conservative Yoon was unusually supportive of the US agenda. His “Strategy for a Free, Peaceful, and Prosperous Indo-Pacific Region” closely resembled the Biden Administration’s “Indo-Pacific Strategy” published a few months prior.
Yoon was tough on North Korea and spoke without deference about China, consistent with US positions. He promised a foreign policy anchored in the same liberal values Washington was then promoting. The US government especially welcomed Yoon’s willingness to increase strategic cooperation with Tokyo despite Korea’s historical grievances with Japan remaining unresolved.
Accordingly, many observers expect a major shift in South Korea’s foreign policy if the presidency shifts from Yoon to Lee. They see the ROK at a “crossroads,” with some concluding a Lee government would “send shockwaves through East Asia’s delicate balance of power” or even create “a nightmare scenario.”
The transition from Yoon to Lee, however, would likely be a tremor rather than an earthquake.
To be sure, Lee’s outlook differs from Yoon’s. The DP argues that Yoon excessively damaged relations with China and Russia in his effort to please Washington.
During the National Assembly elections of March 2024, Lee complained about Yoon needlessly antagonizing China, the country that buys about a quarter of South Korea’s exports. “Chinese people don’t buy South Korean products because they don’t like South Korea. Why are we bothering [Beijing]?” he asked. “Why do we care what happens to the Taiwan Strait? Shouldn’t we just take care of ourselves?”
Why do we care what happens to the Taiwan Strait? Shouldn’t we just take care of ourselves?
Lee Jae-myung
Lee opposed the diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games imposed by the US and other governments. He is also against the deployment of additional US THAAD anti-missile batteries in South Korea.
Lee is also less pro-Japan than Yoon. When the Yoon government, seeking improved relations with Tokyo, declined to press the Japanese government to compensate Korean forced laborers, Lee called Yoon “submissive and subservient.”
Lee has endorsed former President Moon Jae-in’s approach of seeking rapprochement with North Korea by offering sanctions relief, with the stipulation that sanctions could be reimposed in the absence of reciprocal DPRK concessions.
While Yoon said South Korea might provide lethal military assistance to Ukraine as a result of North Korean soldiers fighting on Russia’s side, Lee has made clear he would not.
Lee is against a trilateral military alliance that includes Japan, saying this could be “very dangerous” because of the territorial dispute between Korea and Japan over ownership of the Dokdo / Takeshima Islands.
In practical terms, however, Lee’s proposed policy toward Japan is not dramatically different from Yoon’s. Lee said during his speech announcing his candidacy for president that he believes it “important” to “strengthen trilateral cooperation with Japan” short of formally allying with Japan.
The “two-track” diplomacy that Lee favors would pursue strategic cooperation while simultaneously and separately seeking justice for Korean victims of Japan’s past misdeeds. Lee told The Economist he does not viscerally hate the Japanese. Upon visiting Japan, he said, he “was shocked by Japanese people’s diligence, sincerity and courtesy.” He concluded that the general Korean view of Japan “has ultimately been distorted by politics.”
Lee advocates speeding up giving South Korea operational control over its own armed forces during wartime, but he is not calling for the expulsion of US military bases. Although he once used the phrase “US occupying forces,” he later explained he was referring to the period immediately after the Second World War. Now, he says, “This is not an occupying force, but an ally.”
Lee wants talks with North Korea to lower tensions, but this does not put him at odds with the new Trump Administration. Trump himself says he wants to re-engage with Kim Jong-un. Lee says he is “very grateful” for this, and even seems to goad Trump in this direction, saying he might recommend Trump for the Nobel Prize that the US president covets.
Then-President Donald J. Trump shakes hands with Chairman of the Workers’ Party of Korea Kim Jong Un Sunday, June 30, 2019, as the two leaders meet at the Korean Demilitarized Zone. Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead
Lee would return to something like Roh’s equidistance policy, attempting to preserve the security relationship with the US while maintaining healthy economic engagement with China. That would prove difficult if the US-China cold war should intensify. But this would not distinguish Lee from his predecessor.
Aside from advancing trilateral cooperation including Japan, Yoon’s alignment with the US against China was arguably more rhetorical than substantive. For example, Yoon’s government refrained from criticizing China by name over its harassment of Philippine vessels near Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea, and Yoon declined to meet with US Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi the day after her visit to Taiwan in 2022.
From the standpoint of Korean conservatives and many in the US policy-making community, a left-leaning Korean government is prone to pursuing a North Korea policy that increases the South’s vulnerability to DPRK exploitation or aggression. The danger arises when Pyongyang, acting in bad faith, outmaneuvers Seoul during bargaining.
That possibility is now much reduced, however, because the North is relatively uninterested in bargaining. Its nuclear and missiles programs are permanent, reunification is off the table, Kim Jong-un is not hankering for a summit meeting and Pyongyang does not seek to re-open the Kaesong Industrial Complex.
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For the DPRK government, Seoul has mainly been useful only as an intermediary for seeking concessions from the US. But Kim seems to have largely moved on. Badly burned during the 2019 Hanoi summit with Trump, Kim has since entered into a fruitful partnership with Russia. Lee might have little opportunity to show magnanimity to Pyongyang even if he wants to.
Finally, Lee would not be more likely than Yoon to go nuclear. According to one recent poll, three out of four South Koreans want nukes. In 2023 Yoon threatened to acquire tactical nuclear weapons in response to the North Korean nuclear buildup, although he backed off after receiving US assurances as part of the Washington Declaration.
A nuclear-armed South Korea would indeed send a “shockwave” through the region. Catastrophic unintentional escalation in a DPRK-ROK conflict would become more likely. The US and South Korean governments would reconsider the necessity of the bilateral alliance. Japan would probably deploy nukes also.
The change in leadership from Yoon to Lee, however, would not increase the chances of any of this happening. The Democratic Party no longer considers nuclear weapons a taboo topic, but it currently goes no farther than favoring nuclear latency, not actual deployment.
Under a hypothetical Lee presidency, we can easily imagine that ROK-DPRK relations would remain stagnant, while modest South Korea-Japan strategic cooperation would continue. China would try to take advantage of a perceived opportunity to lure the ROK out of the US Bloc, but this campaign would bump up against limits, as South Koreans still value the US alliance. Seoul and Washington would agree in principle on working toward new talks with Pyongyang.
Thus, the region would see adjustments of South Korea’s foreign relations, but not a major reset.
Denny Roy is a senior fellow at the East-West Center in Honolulu.
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asiatimes.com · by Denny Roy · April 14, 2025
2. 'Negotiations with North Korea in 2019 showed that Trump can quickly tire of complicated issues'
A view from France in LeMonde.
'Negotiations with North Korea in 2019 showed that Trump can quickly tire of complicated issues'
Philippe Ricard
https://www.lemonde.fr/en/opinion/article/2025/04/13/negotiations-with-north-korea-in-2019-showed-that-trump-can-quickly-tire-of-complicated-issues_6740180_23.html
The fact that the 'deal' to denuclearize Pyongyang went nowhere does not reassure those who hope that Donald Trump can resolve the situations in Ukraine, Gaza, or Iran, explains Le Monde's Philippe Ricard in his column.
Published on April 13, 2025, at 6:00 pm (Paris) 4 min read Lire en français
Subscribers only
The episode left a mark, as the attempt was as bold as its impact was almost nil, if not counterproductive. During his first term in office, Donald Trump had prided himself on being able to find a compromise with the North Korean dictator, Kim Jong-un, to rid his country of nuclear weapons. The initiative resulted in a few memorable scenes: Trump stepping onto the rogue state's soil, walking in the demilitarized zone between the two Koreas, in June 2019; three summits with the ruler of Pyongyang; and the outline of an improbable and vague "deal" to denuclearize the peninsula, which went nowhere.
At the time, lacking a breakthrough on the deal's fundamentals, Trump, an amateur diplomat who is more adept at wielding rhetorical dynamite, quickly turned away from the problem. This allowed the North Korean regime to continue down its path, to the point where it is now Russia's most committed ally against Ukraine, with its troops reinforcing Russia's in the Kursk region.
Less than three months after his return to the White House, Trump seems to be the only one who has forgotten this attempt. In order to "Make America Great Again," he has stepped up his diplomatic moves, in a world where his actions now threaten to further exacerbate the disorder.
Editorial Poor countries are victims of Trump's cynicism
Trump shows little regard for multilateral institutions, such as the United Nations and its agencies. He has, for example, withdrawn the United States from the World Health Organization. He has trampled over the rules of international law, as evidenced by his proposal to empty the Gaza Strip of its population, or even to annex it and transform it into a "Riviera." Around the globe, the freezing of US aid funds has provoked chaos among US partners, governments and NGOs.
His wavering on tariffs has demonstrated this, as have the threats against Canada and Greenland. Trump takes perverse pleasure in pushing his allies around, in the name of only defending the US' interests. He favors "strongmen" who lead unabashedly forceful powers, whether it's the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman or the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Poor compromises
Facing Vladimir Putin, he has seemed to be trying to reverse the alliances that have cemented the US's power since the end of World War II, even if it means breaking Russia, which has been mired in the full-scale invasion of Ukraine for over three years now, out of its isolation. He has undermined NATO's credibility. Not to mention the culture war that his allies from the tech world, first and foremost Elon Musk, have contributed to fueling by supporting European far-right forces favorable to them.
The North Korean precedent is not reassuring – quite the contrary. During Trump's first term in office, Kim didn't even wait six months before giving up on the moratorium on nuclear and ballistic tests, which they had agreed on to facilitate the dialogue, and thereby signaled the failure of the Republican leader's strategy. The episode demonstrated that Trump can quickly tire of more complicated issues, either moving on without having resolved anything or settling for poor compromises that play into the hands of adversaries of the "Western camp" – if that concept still means anything today.
Read more Subscribers only In northeast Asia, US allies are on alert
This is, indeed, the number one concern of traditional US allies regarding Ukraine. The first signs of Trump's impatience, after he had promised a solution to the conflict within "24 hours" before he was reelected, are beginning to show, as Putin has given him a very hard time in his quest to end the conflict. Nearly two months after their first bilateral phone conversation, Trump has made multiple concessions to Putin – without having convinced the Russian president to do the same. On the contrary, Putin has set his conditions, such as lifting certain sanctions or ending Western arms deliveries to Kyiv.
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Unlike Volodymyr Zelensky, the Russian president has still not accepted the idea of an unconditional 30-day ceasefire, which Trump proposed. "I'm not happy about what's going on with the bombing because they're bombing like crazy right now," Trump said on Monday, April 7, when speaking about Russia's behavior. Will he continue his efforts, even if it means adhering to Putin's positions, or move on to something else? No one knows.
Modest diplomatic experience
Trump's haste has been put to the test just as harshly in the Middle East. While he has pushed for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, he has nonetheless supported Israel's resumption of military operations since March 18. Moreover, this unconditional support, which plays into Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hands, has further pushed back the prospect of a political resolution to the conflict, burying the two-state solution a little deeper each day.
<img src="https://img.lemde.fr/2025/03/12/0/0/5081/3392/664/0/75/0/99113f7_ftp-import-images-1-pxdxhldrbdlg-848bd9f7598740998d26ec7cda819c6f-0-4a117b37e8a14fa7ba581245f7eedb33.jpg" alt="Donald Trump and Steve Witkoff, US special envoy to the Middle East, at Mar-a-Lago, Florida, on January 7, 2025." /> Donald Trump and Steve Witkoff, US special envoy to the Middle East, at Mar-a-Lago, Florida, on January 7, 2025. EVAN VUCCI / AP The next test will concern Iran. After Ukraine and Gaza, the Republican president has chosen to tackle the nuclear issue, at a time when Tehran has enough enriched uranium to be capable of developing an atomic bomb, according to a projected timeframe that grows tighter every day. Having promoted a policy of of "maximum pressure" on the Iranian regime, Trump is now pushing it to negotiate – seven years after he tore up the hard-fought compromise Tehran agreed to with Barack Obama, the Europeans, Russia and China.
Moreover, Trump seems to want to go through Oman to initiate his "direct" talks with Tehran, rather than relying on European mediators, who have also been very eager to restart the discussions. The negotiations began on Saturday, April 12, without the Europeans. Once again, Trump has relied on his "special envoy," the indispensable Steve Witkoff, to try to convince Iran. Witkoff, a former real estate developer, is already actively involved with the Ukrainian and Gaza Strip issues. His diplomatic experience is modest. His main quality is being loyal to Trump, his old business associate – not exactly a guarantee of either credibility or success.
Read more Subscribers only As Iran nuclear talks get underway in Oman, excluded Europeans are wary
Philippe Ricard
Translation of an original article published in French on lemonde.fr; the publisher may only be liable for the French version.
3. South Korea to Boost Aid for Chip Makers to $23 Billion, Expanding Extra Budget
South Korea to Boost Aid for Chip Makers to $23 Billion, Expanding Extra Budget
The government rolled out emergency support for the auto sector last week
https://www.wsj.com/economy/south-korea-to-boost-aid-for-chip-makers-to-23-billion-expanding-extra-budget-f6ecc526
By Kwanwoo Jun
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April 15, 2025 1:51 am ET
South Korea is expected to start tariff negotiations with the U.S. as soon as possible, and will send a negotiating team led by the trade minister to Washington, acting president Han Duck-soo said. Photo: pedro pardo/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
South Korea’s government is planning to increase support for chip makers to around $23 billion, proposing a bigger-than-expected supplementary budget that will also dial up financial aid for the broader economy and wildfire disaster relief.
The proposal would boost the supplementary budget to around 12 trillion won, equivalent to $8.45 billion, or 2 trillion won more than initially planned, Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok said Tuesday.
At a meeting to lay out the budget proposal, Choi said the government will boost its aid package for the semiconductor sector to 33 trillion won–about $23.23 billion–from its previous pledge of 26 trillion won unveiled last year. That includes an additional 3 trillion won in low-interest-rate loans for the chip industry, bringing total financing to 20 trillion won over the next three years, he added.
The fiscal stimulus plan comes after South Korea last week rolled out emergency support measures for its auto sector to ease the impact of U.S. President Trump’s tariffs, which Seoul says will cause significant damage to key exports like cars, semiconductors and electronics.
The Trump administration has imposed a 25% levy on all vehicles shipped to the U.S., effective since early this month, and a duty on auto parts set to kick in later. Trump also announced a separate 25% reciprocal tariff on South Korea but has paused the measure to allow for trade negotiations.
South Korea’s acting president, Han Duck-soo, who spoke with Trump over the phone last week, said Monday that Seoul would start tariff negotiations with the U.S. as soon as possible, and will send a negotiating team led by the trade minister to Washington.
Around 4 trillion won of state investments and economic support has also been earmarked for South Korea’s commerce sector and artificial-intelligence industries, with the government planning to dedicate some of the extra spending to securing supplies of advanced graphics processing units for AI computing infrastructure.
The extra budget will also include more than 3 trillion won of aid to better respond to the forest fires that ravaged South Korea in March, killing dozens of people as well as displacing tens of thousands and destroying property.
Write to Kwanwoo Jun at Kwanwoo.Jun@wsj.com
4. Airport Was Repeatedly Warned on Bird Strikes Before Deadly South Korea Crash
The most comprehensive report I have read on this tragedy.
Airport Was Repeatedly Warned on Bird Strikes Before Deadly South Korea Crash
Operators of the airport where Jeju Air Flight 2216 crashed in December, killing 179, failed to meet both international and South Korean guidelines intended to prevent such strikes.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/15/world/asia/south-korea-plane-crash-warnings.html
A flock of birds flying near the airport at the scene of the Jeju Air plane crash in Muan International Airport in Muan, South Korea, in December.Credit...Chang W. Lee/The New York Times
By Jin Yu Young
Jin Yu Young reported from Muan International Airport. She examined thousands of pages of official documents and interviewed dozens of people.
April 15, 2025
Updated 4:33 a.m. ET
The latest warning came 10 days before the deadliest air crash in South Korea.
A dozen officials gathered inside a room at Muan International Airport for a meeting of a bird strike prevention committee, where they discussed the number of aircraft being hit by birds, with data showing a jump in incidents over the past couple of years.
One official, from one of the country’s aviation training institutes, expressed concern that planes coming in to land often encountered flocks of birds by the coastline, according to a record of the meeting obtained by a lawmaker. To what extent is it possible to keep the birds away? the official asked.
The answer wasn’t reassuring. There weren’t enough people and cars deployed at the airport to keep birds away, and sounds from loudspeakers used to broadcast noises to scare birds off weren’t strong enough to reach far enough beyond the airport, said an official from the company that managed the airport’s facilities. He noted that they “were trying their best.”
Then, on Dec. 29, the pilot of Jeju Air Flight 2216 declared “Mayday! Mayday! Mayday!” and told air traffic controllers there had been a bird strike as the plane was making its descent. After making a sharp turn, the jet landed on its belly, slid down the runway and rammed into a concrete barrier, exploding into a fireball that killed 179 of the 181 people on board.
The Muan airport is surrounded by bird habitats
Seoul
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Path of Jeju Air
plane on Dec. 29
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Sources: Korea Office of Civil Aviation; satellite image by Planet LabsBy Agnes Chang
Investigators have not identified the reasons for the crash and what role, if any, a bird strike might have played. But the country’s transport ministry said bird feathers and blood were found in both of the jet’s engines. The remains were identified as being from the Baikal teal, a migratory duck common to South Korea in winter that often flies in flocks of up to tens or even hundreds of thousands.
The Dec. 19 meeting was not the first warning airport operators had received about birds. The dangers had been flagged for decades, dating back to even before the Muan airport opened in 2007, according to a New York Times examination of thousands of pages of government documents, interviews with dozens of people, and a visit to the wetlands surrounding the airport in the country’s southwest. Environmental assessments in 1998 and 2008 also noted there were many species of birds living close to the airport.
Most starkly, in 2020, when the airport began renovations that would include the extension of its runway, South Korea’s Environmental Impact Assessment service said there was “a high risk of bird strikes during takeoff and landing.” It advised that measures were needed to reduce the risk.
The Korea Airports Corporation said in response to questions from The Times that to prevent bird strikes it had used vehicles and noise makers to disperse flocks of birds and had conducted environmental surveys to monitor the airport’s surrounding habitats. The company said more loudspeakers were installed on airport premises after the meeting on Dec. 19.
But like most smaller airports in South Korea, Muan still lacked thermal imaging cameras and bird detection radar used to alert air traffic controllers and pilots to the presence of birds, according to the government.
Image
Wetlands surrounding the Muan International Airport are home to many types of birds, including a species of duck called the Baikal teal. Credit...Chang W. Lee/The New York Times
Airports everywhere are advised to have such measures in place, according to guidelines from the International Civil Aviation Organization, a United Nations agency that sets global standards for the aviation industry.
“The regulations are there, but people have been breaking them without any repercussions,” says Dr. Nial Moores, the national director of Birds Korea, a bird conservation group. “They were warned about the risk of a bird strike,” he added. “How come nothing has changed?”
In addition to failing to follow international guidelines, the airport’s operators also breached domestic safety regulations.
On the day of the crash in Muan, only one person was on duty to watch out for birds, instead of a minimum of two that government rules require, according to lawmakers at a parliamentary committee hearing into the disaster.
That bird patroller was at the end of a 15-hour night shift, the period when the vast majority of bird strikes take place, according to a presentation by Moon Geum-joo, a lawmaker, at the committee hearing. Joo Jong-wan, the head of the transport ministry’s aviation policy, conceded that the airport’s patrol was understaffed and said all airports would meet the minimum staffing in the future.
The Korea Airports Corporation said it had adhered to government standards and was hiring more staff to prevent bird collisions. The transport ministry declined to comment.
Image
There was only one bird patroller working overnight when the crash happened. The majority of bird strikes occur between 9 p.m. and 9 a.m. Credit...Chang W. Lee/The New York Times
In addition, at least one person required to attend the meeting of the bird strike prevention committee had missed the one on Dec. 19, an official from the Korea Airports Corporation acknowledged at the parliamentary hearing. The state-owned company operates almost all of South Korea’s airports, including the one in Muan.
“It’s a shame that they have known about their shortcomings for years, but nothing has actually been done to improve,” said Kwon Hyang-Yup, an opposition lawmaker who obtained the bird safety committee report.
While airplane strikes with wildlife are not uncommon, most don’t cause planes to crash. Out of nearly 20,000 wildlife strikes in the United States in 2023, around 4 percent caused damage to the plane.
Since the crash, South Korea’s government has pledged 247 billion won (around $173 million) over three years to improve bird-strike prevention measures at all the country’s airports. Planned measures include installing bird detection devices and implementing a national radar model to alert people in control towers, patrollers on the ground and pilots to the presence of birds.
Image
The government has pledged 247 billion won (around $173 million) to boost bird-strike prevention measures at Muan and other airports, including installing bird detection devices to alert people in control towers.Credit...Chang W. Lee/The New York Times
Some experts ask whether the Muan airport should have been built at all because of the abundance of birds in the wetlands surrounding it. The airport has at least twice reported the highest number of bird strikes out of the country’s 15 airports over the past five years, with six cases in 2024, up from two the previous year.
Its rate of bird strikes was 10 times that of Incheon International Airport, the nation’s largest, according to data released by Ms. Kwon, the lawmaker. Incheon, which also lies close to bird habitats, has identified almost 100 species of birds in its vicinity. It has four thermal imaging cameras, two devices that emit bird-repelling noises, and 48 workers assigned to bird control, according to an airport representative.
Ju Yung-Ki, a researcher and conservationist who has visited the Muan area repeatedly in recent years, was working in his office on Dec. 29 when he learned about the plane crash.
“I had always thought there was a risk of a bird strike there,” said Mr. Ju, the director of the Ecoculture Institute. Mr. Ju had flown in and out of the Muan airport several times, despite his concerns.
After hearing news of the crash, he traveled around 70 miles from his home in Jeonju, northeast of Muan, to a lake near the airport and arrived around 4:30 p.m. He could see the charred tail of the plane and the wreckage at the end of the runway. “It was horrific,” he said, adding that he shed tears thinking about the people who had died.
Image
Jeju Air Flight 2216 sped down the runway and rammed into a concrete barrier, exploding into a fireball that killed 179 of the 181 people on board.Credit...Chang W. Lee/The New York Times
As that afternoon progressed, he also located flocks of up to 300,000 Baikal teals around 18 miles from the airport. They fly at least that distance to search for food, and he observed with binoculars and a telescope that the airport was in their daily flight path.
The Baikal teal isn’t particularly big, at around 16 inches long with an eight-inch wingspan. But the ducks move in large, agile flocks that can reach as many as a million in number, said Dr. Moores of Birds Korea. They breed in Siberia and arrive on the southwestern coast of South Korea in October and stay through early March.
Muan, almost 200 miles south of Seoul, lies among the marshy grasslands and reservoirs across the southwestern peninsula, where the duck and other species of birds roost in pockets of calm water. Local business owners said that flocks of birds were most often seen at a country club near the airport; around four miles away.
An enforcement regulation attached to South Korea’s Airport Facilities Act in 2017 stipulates that an airport cannot be built within eight kilometers, or about five miles, of a bird sanctuary or game reserve. But, according to the nation’s environment ministry, there is only one such sanctuary in Muan, and that lies about 12 miles from the airport.
Conservationists say the reality is different. They say the term sanctuary — classified as a collective habitat and breeding ground for endangered wildlife — ignores many of the region’s populous bird habitats. A map by the Korean Office of Civil Aviation identifies four areas surrounding the Muan airport where birds feed and roost.
Some of those spots are as close as a little over a mile from the airport. On one morning in February, hundreds of birds flew overhead at around this distance. Larger birds flew in a “V” formation, while smaller ones wove in and out in an aerial dance.
Image
Birds are often seen flying around Muan International Airport, sometimes in large flocks.Credit...Chang W. Lee/The New York Times
“It’s not a matter of whether the Muan International Airport is near a sanctuary or not,” Mr. Ju said. “The fact is that there are a lot of birds that live there.”
The decision on whether an area is a sanctuary lies with the mayor or governor, according to South Korea’s Wildlife Protection and Management Act. There are around 400 of these protected areas nationwide, according to the Ministry of Environment.
Experts say that no matter how many preventive efforts are undertaken, bird strikes cannot be totally eliminated. “The obvious thing is not to build an airport where there are a lot of birds,” said Keith Mackey, an American aviation expert and safety consultant based in Ocala, Fla.
Other methods that could be deployed to deter birds include using brightly colored paint on the runway and drones to disperse nearby flocks, Mr. Mackey said.
Muan’s airport has been closed since the Dec. 29 crash and will not resume commercial flights until April 18 at the earliest. The airport recently resumed medical and training flights.
South Korea has ambitious plans to build 10 airports over the next few decades in response to booming regional demand for increased overseas travel. Several will also be along the western coastline. One is of particular concern to conservationists: in Saemangeum, about 65 miles north of Muan.
The proposed airport, which is scheduled to open in 2029, lies within four miles of the Seocheon Tidal Flat, a UNESCO Heritage Site that is home to dozens of nationally protected wildlife species including birds, according to Kim Nahee, an activist who is protesting against the construction of the new airport.
Officials in North Jeolla Province, where Saemangeum is, said “there was no infrastructure that would disturb the flight path of birds,” citing an analysis it had received from government environmental agency’s analysis.
“They shouldn’t have built the Muan International Airport where they did,” Ms. Kim said. “This can’t happen again.”
Image
The area all around Muan Airport includes reservoirs and wetlands, attractive to the Baikal Teal and many other bird species.Credit...Chang W. Lee/The New York Times
Jin Yu Young reports on South Korea, the Asia Pacific region and global breaking news from Seoul.
5. North Korean hackers used fake martial law documents in mass phishing attack
The real threat to South Korea's democracy comes from the north.
North Korean hackers used fake martial law documents in mass phishing attack
Seoul’s cybercrime investigation unit say opportunistic campaign sent emails to more than 17K targets in South Korea
https://www.nknews.org/2025/04/north-korean-hackers-used-fake-martial-law-documents-in-mass-phishing-attack/
Joon Ha Park April 15, 2025
A North Korean man on a computer in Pyongyang. | Image: NK News (April 9, 2018)
North Korean cybercriminals used fake documents related to former President Yoon Suk-yeol’s declaration of martial law to try and steal personal data from South Koreans, according to ROK police, seeking to capitalize on the political turmoil to benefit the regime.
But while the attack highlights Pyongyang’s exploitation of cybersecurity gaps, an expert said that it did not appear to be an attempt to carry out an influence campaign.
At a press briefing on Tuesday, the National Police Agency’s cybercrime investigation unit revealed that it had traced the wide-ranging phishing email campaign to North Korea, citing digital forensics and operational patterns. In total, DPRK actors sent over 126,000 phishing emails during the campaign.
“Our investigation has confirmed that North Korea was behind the emails distributed on Dec. 11, 2024, bearing the subject line, ‘Disclosure of Defense Counterintelligence Command Martial Law Documents,’” Kim Young-woon, head of the agency’s cyber terrorism unit, announced during the press briefing.
The operation began around 1:45 p.m. KST that day, when emails falsely claiming to contain classified documents were sent en masse. However, just a day later, South Korea’s science ministry flagged suspicious activity, issuing a public advisory about mass-distributed phishing emails.
The emails encouraged recipients to download attachments that it said contained “documents prepared under the direction of Defense Counterintelligence Commander Lt. Gen. Yeo In-hyeong, which included content examining whether the president has the authority to refuse when the National Assembly demands the lifting of martial law.”
But the attachment actually included malware that compromised users’ computers. Of the 17,984 individuals targeted, Kim said 7,771 opened the emails. At least 573 clicked through to phishing sites, and 120 users entered personal information, including IDs and passwords.
All victims were notified and offered support to secure their accounts, according to Kim.
“In the past, these actors targeted individuals interested in North Korean affairs,” he explained during the briefing. “This time, they deployed 30 different promotional formats in a broad campaign.”
In addition to the fabricated military documents, other phishing emails carried subjects like “[Benefit] Check Your Refund Amount,” daily horoscopes, health newsletters and concert invites for popular singers like Lim Young-woong — all designed to lure unsuspecting recipients.
“Historically, North Korea would send hand-crafted emails impersonating analysts or experts, offering geopolitical forecasts or New Year’s speech analyses,” Kim said. “Now, they’ve automated the process, enabling mass distribution.”
Despite the varied subject matter themes, Kim noted that the attack methodology was consistent across the various lures.
Each email embedded hyperlinks that redirected users to counterfeit websites mimicking portals like Naver, Kakao and Google. The fake sites harvested login credentials using URLs engineered to look legitimate.
The police investigation revealed that the operation used 15 domestic servers with a history of DPRK affiliation, rented through overseas companies to bypass spam filters. These servers ran custom-developed email distribution software that tracked recipients’ actions in real-time — monitoring when emails were opened, whether users clicked on phishing links, and if account credentials were successfully harvested.
IP addresses involved were traced to regions between North Korea and Liaoning province in northeastern China, while targets of the emails included employees in unification, security, defense and diplomatic sectors.
Moreover, police investigators found stored documents referencing North Korean defectors and military topics. Web searches recovered from the servers revealed distinctly North Korean vocabulary, including “pogu (포구)” for port, “gidong (기동)” for operation and “peji (페지)” for page.
“These linguistic patterns align with materials from the Korea Institute for National Unification and other academic sources,” Kim explained on Tuesday.
An example of the phishing email claiming to contain martial law documents from the ROK Defense Counterintelligence Command | Image: ROK Science Ministry (Dec. 12, 2024)
NO END IN SIGHT
Yang Uk, a military analyst at the Seoul-based Asan Institute for Policy Studies, warned that North Korean cybercriminals are likely to continue exploiting South Korea’s internal vulnerabilities, particularly during moments of heightened social or political tension.
The expert said North Korean cyber actors appear to recognize that sensitive domestic issues — such as political controversies or national security concerns — create fertile ground for information operations or cyber intrusions.
“This isn’t necessarily about expanding their influence,” Yang told NK News. “It shows that they have a deep understanding of South Korea’s weak points.”
He noted that the hackers’ strategy appears calculated and opportunistic, and warned that similar cyber activities are likely to continue.
“They’ve learned to exploit public attention around major issues to extract information or sow discord.”
The incident adds to a mounting list of successful North Korean cyber operations targeting the South, attacks that have revealed systemic vulnerabilities.
In March, Seoul’s spy agency warned of a spike in DPRK attacks on software supply chains, aimed at stealing core technologies from government agencies and tech firms. In May 2024, police confirmed that DPRK cybercriminals breached the Supreme Court’s servers, stealing 1,014 gigabytes of citizen data and legal documents.
North Korean cybercriminals also used the deadly crush in Seoul’s Itaewon district as a lure in a malicious phishing campaign two days after the tragedy in Oct. 2022, seeking to exploit a zero-day vulnerability against computers running Internet Explorer.
Police on Tuesday reiterated the importance of cybersecurity practices, urging the public to avoid clicking on suspicious links, enable two-factor authentication and activate login alerts for unfamiliar IP addresses or devices.
Edited by Alannah Hill
6. US B-1 bomber joins air drills with South Korea on deterring North Korea
Show Kim the BONE.
US B-1 bomber joins air drills with South Korea on deterring North Korea
Seoul calls training a response to DPRK nuclear threats as it seeks to strengthen readiness following Yoon's ouster
https://www.nknews.org/2025/04/us-b-1-bomber-joins-air-drills-with-south-korea-on-deterring-north-korea/
Alannah Hill April 15, 2025
A joint U.S.-ROK air exercise involving a B-1 strategic bomber | Image: ROK Ministry of Defense (April 15, 2025)
South Korea and the U.S. staged a joint air exercise on Tuesday involving an American B-1 strategic bomber, training that Seoul framed as a direct response to the persistent threat posed by North Korea’s advancing weapons programs.
The drill, held in South Korean airspace, featured ROK F-35A and F-16 fighter jets and U.S. F-16 aircraft. It marked the latest in a series of visible demonstrations of the allies’ extended deterrence posture, Seoul’s defense ministry said in a press release.
“This training was conducted to showcase the integrated ROK-U.S. extended deterrence capability and strengthen the interoperability of our combined forces, in response to the continuing and sophisticated threat from North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs,” the ministry stated.
“Based on close coordination between the ROK and U.S., we will continue to scale up combined training to deter and respond to North Korean threats, further strengthening the alliance.”
A joint U.S.-ROK air exercise involving a B-1 strategic bomber | Image: ROK Ministry of Defense (April 15, 2025)
The latest drill comes after South Korea’s Acting President Han Duck-soo warned earlier this month that Pyongyang could seek to exploit the “political turmoil” after Yoon Suk-yeol’s removal from power, calling for the military to maintain readiness as the country prepares to hold another presidential election.
B-1 bomber flights over the Korean Peninsula have long been a point of controversy for North Korea, which typically denounces such drills as rehearsal for invasion.
North Korea swiftly condemned a trilateral air drill featuring a U.S. B-1 bomber in January, which was held near the Korean Peninsula in response to Pyongyang’s hypersonic missile launch.
The DPRK’s foreign ministry released a statement warning that the country would exercise its “right to self-defense” with “greater intensity” to safeguard its sovereignty and security interests following the joint maneuver involving military assets from the U.S., South Korea and Japan.
Tuesday’s drill comes as North Korea has ramped up weapons development in recent months, unveiling a range of tactical and strategic missile systems and deepening military ties with Russia.
Joon Ha Park contributed reporting to this article. Edited by Bryan Betts
7. Russian court blocks Telegram post on North Korean soldiers captured by Ukraine
Russian court blocks Telegram post on North Korean soldiers captured by Ukraine
Ruling cites violations of privacy laws to justify censorship, amid official sensitivity about DPRK support for war
https://www.nknews.org/2025/04/russian-court-blocks-telegram-post-on-north-korean-soldiers-captured-by-ukraine/
Jooheon Kim April 15, 2025
North Korean soldiers captured by the Ukrainian military in Kursk | Image: Volodymyr Zelensky via Telegram
A Russian court has ordered government censors to block a Telegram post that included personal details about North Korean soldiers captured by Ukraine, citing alleged violations of privacy laws amid official sensitivity around acknowledging the DPRK’s troop deployment.
The decision by a municipal court in the Far East city of Blagoveshchensk targets a Ukrainian-language Telegram channel named Kharkivskyi Saniok (Харківський Саньок), which published Ukrainian government images on Jan. 11 showing two North Korean soldiers taken prisoner during fighting in Russia’s Kursk region, as well as one of the soldier’s military ID.
The court ruling, issued on March 26, states that the post included names and personal data of members of the Russian Armed Forces — apparently referring to the two captured North Korean nationals. Kyiv says the soldiers’ documents falsely identify them as Russian ethnic minorities in an effort to conceal DPRK troops’ participation in the war.
The Blagoveshchensk court cited Russia’s federal information protection laws, which prohibit the dissemination of personal and operational military data without consent.
“Operators and other persons who have gained access to personal data are obliged not to disclose to third parties or distribute personal data without the consent of the subject of the personal data, unless otherwise provided by federal law,” the court noted.
The court further declared that the order was to be enforced immediately and that parties involved would have the right to appeal the ruling within one month of receiving the official decision.
The post on the Kharkivskyi Saniok Telegram channel that the Russian court ordered censored | Image: Kharkivskyi Saniok Telegram channel, edited by NK News
The independent Russian media outlet Vertska reported on Monday that the court has also issued rulings blocking posts in 15 other Telegram channels that featured images of the alleged North Korean soldiers, though rulings did not appear on the court website at time of publication.
Roskomnadzor, the Russian federal executive agency responsible for monitoring and censoring mass media, will most likely be responsible for blocking the content within the country. The agency has reportedly removed hundreds of thousands posts and channels from Telegram, citing alleged extremism and false information.
The Russian government previously blocked Telegram in the country entirely in 2018, but reported difficulties with enforcement and the app’s agreement to help with counterterrorism and extremism cases led authorities to lift the ban in 2020.
The Russian court ruling appears to reflect political sensitivities surrounding North Korea’s dispatch of thousands of troops to support the invasion of Ukraine since last October.
Both Moscow and Pyongyang have denied direct North Korean military involvement in the conflict, though they have also defended their right to cooperation under the mutual defense pact that they signed last June and ratified in November.
In January, Ukraine made headlines by capturing two North Korean soldiers, presenting them as evidence of Pyongyang’s troop deployment. The fate of the POWs has since become a focus of attention, amid concerns that they could be exchanged in a prisoner swap and forcibly repatriated to the DPRK.
One of the soldiers has reportedly indicated his desire to defect to the South, and Seoul has repeatedly emphasized its willingness to accept the soldiers, though experts say this could run afoul of international humanitarian law.
Russia and North Korea have ramped up ties in a range of areas over the war in Ukraine, with the DPRK sending large quantities of ammunition, artillery, ballistic missiles and soldiers to support Moscow’s war effort.
Anton Sokolin contributed reporting to this article. Edited by Bryan Betts
8. How China’s role in Ukraine differs from North Korea’s state-backed war effort
I still believe China believes north Korea serves as a useful "cutout" for lethal aid to Putin so it does not have to get its hands dirty.
How China’s role in Ukraine differs from North Korea’s state-backed war effort
Experts say Kyiv is using capture of Chinese mercenaries to argue Russia is aligned with both Pyongyang and Beijing
https://www.nknews.org/2025/04/how-chinas-role-in-ukraine-differs-from-north-koreas-state-backed-war-effort/
Anton Sokolin April 11, 2025
Passports belonging to two Chinese soldiers captured by the Ukrainian military in Donbas in April, 2025 | Image: Screengrab from footage by Volodymyr Zelensky via Facebook
The capture of two Chinese soldiers by Ukrainian forces in Donbas has drawn new attention to the scope and character of foreign involvement in Russia’s war, prompting Kyiv to publicly link Beijing with Pyongyang and Tehran as backers of Moscow’s military campaign.
However, the alleged presence of 150 Chinese soldiers, many reportedly self-enlisted and driven by promises of Russian citizenship, stands in stark contrast to North Korea’s involvement in the Ukraine war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was first to highlight a key factor setting Beijing and Pyongyang’s involvement apart: DPRK troops are fighting in Russia proper to repel Ukrainian forces from the region, while Chinese soldiers actually set foot in the Donetsk region that Kyiv sees as its sovereign territory.
Both the scale and nature of DPRK and Chinese troop deployments also diverge significantly as the dispatch of North Korean forces was the result of close coordination between Moscow and Pyongyang, with some 12,000 soldiers sent to Russia aboard warships starting in October. By contrast, Ukraine has reportedly assessed that Russia uses social media platforms like TikTok to recruit Chinese citizens.
However, one similarity is that both China and North Korea deny any involvement in the war against Ukraine. Beijing almost immediately refuted Zelensky’s claims of China’s involvement as “groundless,” while Pyongyang has defended its right to dispatch troops but denied doing so.
With captured Chinese citizens now in Ukrainian custody, experts told NK News that Kyiv will likely use the POWs to send a message that China is not a neutral player but part of a growing bloc of authoritarian states including North Korea that is backing Moscow.
GEOPOLITICS IN PLAY
The capture of Chinese nationals fighting for Russia in Ukraine has opened a new and potentially more delicate diplomatic front for Kyiv, one that could strain relations with Beijing in ways the earlier detention of North Korean troops did not.
“In the end it is China that will rebuild war-torn cities. Ukraine will have to tap down the controversy and not inflame Chinese nationalism,” Chris Monday, a Russia researcher at Dongseo University, told NK News.
The capture of Chinese POWs exposed a vulnerability in Beijing’s diplomatic stance on the Ukraine war, casting doubt on its claims of neutrality as it increasingly aligns with Moscow, according to Oskar Pietrewicz, an Asia-Pacific analyst at the Polish Institute of International Affairs.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian during a briefing addressing the situation with Chinese POWs captured by Ukraine on April 9, 2025 | Image: Chinese foreign ministry
“While North Korea has been unequivocal in its support for Russia from the outset, China has officially maintained a neutral position, though de facto in favor of Russia,” he said.
China’s 12-point plan formally seeking the end of the Ukraine war is rife with vague statements touting Beijing’s constructive role, and some analysts say the list is intended to show the world that China still respects the U.N. Charter and the integrity of Ukraine.
But even before the capture of the POWs, Kyiv had criticized this proposal for not being a “constructive commitment to peace but a de facto endorsement” of Russia’s position, Pietrewicz said.
And with Zelensky’s announcement, Kyiv has reasserted its position toward China despite having previously tried to maintain a conciliatory approach.
In contrast, Ukraine broke ties with North Korea after Pyongyang publicly endorsed Russia’s invasion, the expert added.
UNSUNG HEROES?
A video released by President Zelensky shows two captured Chinese nationals who say they joined Russian forces for money and citizenship, a stark contrast to North Korea’s organized, state-backed deployment of troops to the battlefield.
The Chinese POWs identify themselves as Guangjun Wang and Renbo Zhang, with the former claiming he was captured during his first combat mission.
One of them reportedly told Ukrainian forces that he had legal issues in China and paid around $3,000 to a Chinese middleman to enlist in the Russian military.
Driven by the promise of Russian citizenship, he reportedly traveled to the country as a tourist and eventually ended up at a training base with other Chinese recruits in the Luhansk region.
Ryo Hinata-Yamaguchi, an associate professor at Tokyo International University’s Institute for International Strategy, told NK News that this case differs significantly from the North Korea situation, where Pyongyang coordinated directly with Moscow and likely gave no soldiers no choice about deployment.
“Even if these captured soldiers are Chinese, it does not necessarily mean they are from the People’s Liberation Army or paramilitary organizations. They could be Chinese citizens who volunteered,” he said, urging caution in handling such reports.
Michael Dillon, a specialist on Chinese history at King’s College London, characterized the POWs as “mercenaries” as they appeared to be fighting “as individuals rather than as part of an official Chinese military unit.”
Researcher Monday agreed, calling Zelensky’s remark about large numbers of Chinese fighters an overstatement.
“There are not ‘many’ more Chinese [in the Russian army],” he said. “This is a line aimed at Trump. There are scattered mercenaries and observers at most.”
Former Chinese police officer Pang Lin received a high-level commendation for saving Russian soldiers in Ukraine; Pang Lin after sustaining an injury in combat | Images: @bolshiepushki via Telegram, edited by NK News
1
2
Some Chinese combatants served within the infamous Pyatnashka International Brigade run by Akhra Avidzba, a wanted Donbas commander active in Ukraine since 2014. Avidzba visited Pyongyang last week as part of a Russian Communist Party delegation, indicating possible talks on military cooperation.
Anthony Rinna, a senior editor with the website Sino-NK and expert on Russia-DPRK ties, suggested that while some Chinese nationals may have joined the Russian army independently, it likely happened with at least some degree of approval from Chinese authorities.
“U.S.-Russia rapprochement has likely shaken the PRC and prompted Chinese leaders to see more active involvement in Ukraine as worthwhile,” he told NK News.
Another sign of this is the flood of unfiltered military-themed videos on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, glorifying the participation of Chinese volunteers in the conflict. Some users have uploaded shots from front lines or training grounds in Russia, though others urge compatriots to stay home.
However, Oskar Pietrewicz argued that available evidence points to the absence of an “organized and state-controlled deployment of large numbers of Chinese soldiers.”
The same cannot be said for the North Korean troops. DPRK prisoners of war in Ukraine said they believed they were sent to Russia for training while Seoul recently assessed that many North Korean troops are unaware they are being deployed to the battlefield.
MESSAGE FOR THE USA
While Chinese and North Korean deployments differ, one factor links them: Ukraine’s use of POWs as propaganda aimed at grabbing U.S. attention and tapping into anti-China sentiment pushed by President Donald Trump.
Monday said Kyiv would likely use the Chinese POWs to garner public attention as it did with North Korean captives, but warned of potential backlash. The capture of DPRK prisoners coincided with Zelensky’s repeated calls on Western allies to increase financial and military support of Ukraine.
North Korean prisoners of war captured by the Ukrainian military in Kursk in Jan. 2025 | Image: Volodymyr Zelensky via Facebook, edited by NK News
“Ukraine wants to connect their fight to Trump’s anti-China agenda. Advisers such as Elbridge Coby have made clear: America will support you as long as you are part of the anti-China coalition,” he said.
But this messaging risks provoking China and alienating Trump. “The Trump team will likely see this as an attempt by Ukraine to derail backchannel talks with Russia and China,” Monday added. “Trump is focused on …. sidelining the intelligence agencies and will view the Chinese story as an effort to curb his agenda.”
Ukraine’s report on the capture of Chinese soldiers also comes as Trump himself has shown relatively little concern about North Korea’s dispatch of troops to support Russia.
“Ukraine is showing the Trump administration that it is not only Russia, North Korea and Iran that are involved in the war,” Pietrewicz said, “but also China — the country that the U.S. sees as its greatest threat and challenge.”
Edited by Alannah Hill
9. Wonsan-Kalma Beach Resort Progresses Towards Completion
Images at the link.
Build it and they will come? Who will visit? Russians? Chinese? And Kim Jong Un.
Wonsan-Kalma Beach Resort Progresses Towards Completion
https://www.38north.org/2025/04/wonsan-kalma-beach-resort-progresses-towards-completion/
Kim Jong Un’s latest deadline to open the Wonsan-Kalma Beach Resort “by May” is just a few weeks away. Commercial satellite imagery indicates construction projects at the resort are rapidly approaching completion. Originally scheduled to open in 2019 but delayed largely due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the new target was set in July last year when Kim conducted a field guidance trip to the resort.
At the time of Kim’s trip, several areas of the resort appeared unfinished and since, additional efforts have seemed focused on those projects. Several finished areas of the resort have also been substantially changed, presumably because of Kim’s instructions during his July visit.
While imagery shows construction progress, the internal progress of the thousands of hotel rooms and facilities is unknown. When Kim visited another long-delayed construction project recently, the Pyongyang General Hospital, state media images showed a finished building but no furniture or medical equipment.
Another big question yet to be answered is who the target clientele for the resort is. Will the resort cater to foreign or domestic tourists? The answer could become clear in the coming weeks and months, assuming the resort begins accepting visitors. Kim hinted at some international use in December, when he said the resort was of a quality to “host even important external, political and cultural events of the state.”
Amphitheater
Just before Kim’s visit last year, an amphitheater that sat on the beach at roughly the center of the resort was demolished. Imagery shows the amphitheater has been reconstructed approximately 325 meters to the south and a new, large rectangular building has been built in the original location. Its purpose is unclear, but the building’s location offers an unobstructed view of the sea.
Figure 1. A new building has been constructed where the original amphitheater stood. A new amphitheater has been build a short ways down the beach. Image © 2025 Planet Labs, PBC cc-by-nc-sa 4.0. For media licensing options, please contact thirtyeightnorth@gmail.com.
Water Park
The water park has sat barren for several years, but imagery reveals colorful slides were added by late March and the pool has been lined.
Figure 2. Water park has been furnished with water slides and other equipment on imagery from April 7, 2025. Image © 2025 Planet Labs, PBC cc-by-nc-sa 4.0. For media licensing options, please contact thirtyeightnorth@gmail.com.
Possible Arena
The roof of a building previously identified as a possible arena appears to be finished, although construction material in the courtyard in front of the building indicates work remains ongoing.
Figure 3. Roof on possible arena appears completed, but construction materials are observed nearby. Image © 2025 Planet Labs, PBC cc-by-nc-sa 4.0. For media licensing options, please contact thirtyeightnorth@gmail.com.
Sports Complex
Still on the to-do list is an area at the northern end of the resort that once had a football (soccer) pitch and athletics track. Both were torn up after Kim’s visit and have not been replaced. Possible building foundations are visible in the complex’s place.
Figure 4a. Sports complex prior to demolition on imagery from August 9, 2024. Image Pleiades NEO © Airbus DS 2025. For media options, please contact thirtyeightnorth@gmail.com; Figure 4b. Imagery from April 7, 2025 shows the football (soccer) pitch adn track have been demolished. Image © 2025 Planet Labs, PBC cc-by-nc-sa 4.0. For media licensing options, please contact thirtyeightnorth@gmail.com.
10. S. Korea says 'actively' in talks with U.S. over 'sensitive country' issue after list takes effect
(LEAD) S. Korea says 'actively' in talks with U.S. over 'sensitive country' issue after list takes effect | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Seung-yeon · April 15, 2025
(ATTN: RECASTS headline; UPDATES with more details in paras 8-10)
By Song Sang-ho and Kim Seung-yeon
WASHINGTON/SEOUL, April 15 (Yonhap) -- South Korea is continuing to "actively" engage in negotiations with the United States to resolve the issue of its placement on the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s Sensitive and Other Designated Countries List (SCL), the foreign ministry said Tuesday.
The ministry issued the statement as the SCL came into force Tuesday. The DOE's inclusion of South Korea in the list's lowest category has emerged as a hot button issue in bilateral relations.
"We have been actively engaging in negotiations, including working-level consultations at the director-general levels with the U.S. Department of Energy, together with relevant ministries," the ministry said, recalling that the two sides have agreed to work out the issue "promptly through due procedures."
This undated UPI file photo shows the U.S. Department of Energy. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
"However, as this matter is proceeding in accordance with the U.S. internal procedures, we expect that more time will be needed," it said.
The DOE confirmed last month that the preceding Biden administration added South Korea to the SCL in early January -- a list that includes North Korea, China and Russia.
The designation has stoked concern it could affect science and technology cooperation between the allies. The listed countries are subject to stricter scrutiny when access is requested to DOE research institutions or other facilities for technology cooperation or other purposes.
The ministry cited the DOE reaffirming that the designation "will not affect bilateral cooperation in ongoing or future research and development."
A foreign ministry official said the government and relevant research institutions are monitoring the situation to see whether any research projects or related exchanges have been affected.
"So far, we have not identified any cases that have been impacted," the official said.
A diplomatic source said that other U.S. allies had been included on the list in the past before later being removed. South Korea was designated on the list in 1981 and was taken off in July 1994, following seven months of negotiations.
Multiple sources in Washington said Seoul has not been informed of any DOE decision to reverse the listing before the designation took effect this week, signaling South Korea is now included in the SCL.
The DOE did not respond to a request for comment.
elly@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Seung-yeon · April 15, 2025
11. Finance minister says defense payments not under review for tariff talks with U.S.
Of course by saying this is not so might actually make it so.
Finance minister says defense payments not under review for tariff talks with U.S. | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Minji · April 15, 2025
SEOUL, April 15 (Yonhap) -- Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok on Tuesday said the cost for stationing the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) is not currently among the agenda issues being reviewed for tariff talks with the United States.
"Talks on defense payments are not being reviewed at the moment," Choi told a parliamentary interpellation session, when asked whether discussions are under way to adjust South Korea's share of the cost for the upkeep of the 28,500-strong USFK.
When asked whether the issue could be included in the Trump administration's proposed "package deal" on tariffs and security issues, Choi said while he is aware of public interest in the issue, it is not among the agenda items the South Korean government is currently preparing to handle.
The finance minister, meanwhile, said a liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Alaska could serve as a potential bargaining chip in the bilateral trade talks.
U.S. President Donald Trump recently highlighted the interest of South Korea and other countries in partnering with the U.S. to build a pipeline from the North Slope, a region with massive proven reserves of natural gas, to southern Alaska, where the gas would be liquefied for shipments, primarily to Asia.
Choi, however, said discussions with U.S. officials on how negotiations should proceed in the areas of LNG, shipbuilding and trade balance should come first at the current stage.
"Only national interest will be the standard for a decision," Choi said, when asked about the economic feasibility of the project, adding such concerns will be sufficiently reviewed.
Following his first phone call with South Korea's acting President Han Duck-soo, Trump said they discussed a range of issues, including South Korea's defense payments, trade surplus with the U.S., the purchase of U.S. LNG and bilateral shipbuilding cooperation.
Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok attends a parliamentary interpellation session at the National Assembly in Seoul on April 15, 2025. (Yonhap)
mlee@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Minji · April 15, 2025
12. N. Korea sent over 126,000 phishing emails to S. Koreans: police
The regime's all-purpose sword at work.
N. Korea sent over 126,000 phishing emails to S. Koreans: police | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Yoo Cheong-mo · April 15, 2025
SEOUL, April 15 (Yonhap) -- North Korea was behind a massive distribution of phishing emails to South Koreans between late last year and early this year, the Korean National Police Agency (KNPA) said Tuesday.
The agency said a North Korean hacking group sent 126,266 fake emails to 17,744 people in South Korea from last November to January to steal their personal information.
This photo provided by the Korean National Police Agency shows a phishing email sent by a North Korean hacking group, which falsely promises to offer classified documents on the Dec. 3 martial law declaration. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
The scam emails are classified into about 30 types, falsely promising to provide information on North Korean politics, concert tickets for famous singers, tax refunds, daily fortunes and health, the KNPA said.
Notably, one type of email falsely promised to reveal the Defense Counterintelligence Command's documents on former President Yoon Suk Yeol's Dec. 3 martial law declaration and was sent to 54 online users in the South, the agency noted.
The scam emails, if clicked, would direct the users to phishing sites that ask for their portal site account ID and password.
The KNPA said that the same servers used in previous cyberattacks originating from North Korea were used again this time and IP addresses used were located in areas between North Korea and China's Liaoning Province.
Email recipients included government officials, researchers and journalists in the fields of unification, security, national defense and diplomacy and 120 of them had their portal site account information, email addresses and contact information stolen after accessing the phishing sites, the agency said.
ycm@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by Yoo Cheong-mo · April 15, 2025
13. North Korea got a drone response after months of trash-filled balloons
North Korea got a drone response after months of trash-filled balloons
wecb.fm · by Sarah Jensen · April 13, 2025
In the tense world of inter-Korean relations, where every action seems to spark a new wave of controversy, a recent development has added a fresh layer of complexity to an already fragile situation. After months of South Korean balloons filled with trash drifting into North Korea, the tables were turned, and North Korea launched its own aerial retaliation with drones. The situation is not just a battle of military might; it’s a clash of psychological warfare, technological advancements, and deeply entrenched national pride.
A Longstanding History of Tension
The relationship between North and South Korea has always been marked by friction. Since the end of the Korean War in 1953, both countries have remained technically at war, separated by a heavily militarized border. While the dream of reunification has often seemed like a distant hope, tensions have escalated in recent years. Kim Jong-un, the leader of North Korea, has openly referred to South Korea as the “primary enemy,” signaling the deepening divide between the two nations.
But the tensions aren’t confined to military actions or diplomatic verbal duels. Over the past few months, an odd but significant form of retaliation has emerged—balloons filled with waste sent from the North into the South, and more recently, drones carrying politically charged messages from the South to the North.
North Korea’s Drone Response
On October 3, North Korea detected a drone hovering above Pyongyang, which was carrying anti-regime pamphlets. The pamphlets, according to North Korean authorities, were full of what they termed “incendiary rumors” and “political waste”. The situation escalated quickly as Kim Yo-jong, the sister of Kim Jong-un, issued a stern warning, threatening a “strong retaliation” and hinting at a “horrible disaster” if another drone were to cross into North Korean airspace.
In an attempt to de-escalate the situation, South Korea denied any involvement from military drones, acknowledging that South Korean citizens might have been behind the pamphlet-laden flights. However, this ambiguous response only added fuel to the fire, leaving many uncertain about how these drone incidents should be interpreted.
Trash-Filled Balloons From the North
While drones have become the latest weapon in this psychological battle, balloons filled with trash have been the North’s tool of choice for months. Since May, more than 5,500 balloons have been sent from North Korea to South Korea, carrying a mix of waste, feces, and occasionally dangerous items. These “balloons of anger”, as they’ve been dubbed, are seen as an effort by North Korea to harass and provoke South Korea both psychologically and physically.
The contents of these balloons have sparked widespread concern in the South, not only for the potential health risks but also because some of them have caused fires and damaged infrastructure. There’s growing fear that one day, these balloons could carry something much more dangerous—perhaps biological weapons. In response, South Korea has issued threats of “military action” if one of these balloons were to cause human casualties or cross a “red line.”
A Mirror Game of Provocations
This tit-for-tat tactic of sending flying objects across the border isn’t new. For years, South Korean activists have been sending balloons loaded with anti-regime pamphlets, banknotes, and even USB drives containing K-pop music into North Korea in an attempt to weaken the regime. Pyongyang has long disapproved of these efforts, and in December 2022, North Korea sent drones over Seoul, leading to a deployment of South Korean fighter jets.
The ongoing cat-and-mouse game shows how both sides are locked in a psychological war that blends propaganda, technology, and the desire to one-up each other in increasingly creative ways.
The Escalating Tension
North Korea’s recent actions, including the destruction of sections of roads linking the North and South, indicate a symbolic act of defiance. Pyongyang seems intent on cutting off any possibility of dialogue. Meanwhile, South Korea has reignited a psychological warfare tactic of its own, using loudspeakers along the border to broadcast propaganda and even K-pop songs into the North. It’s an unusual battle of hearts and minds, but one that carries serious geopolitical risks.
In this high-tech conflict, both countries are demonstrating their ability to use new technologies for not just military purposes but also for propaganda and psychological warfare. As tensions continue to simmer, the use of drones and balloons will likely evolve, as each side tests the boundaries of what can be used to provoke, influence, or retaliate.
While the world watches this unsettling dynamic unfold, one thing is certain: North and South Korea remain locked in a high-stakes game of chess, where the moves are unconventional, the stakes are high, and the future remains uncertain. The question now is not just how far these provocations will go, but how the world will respond when these technological and psychological battles cross even more dangerous thresholds.
wecb.fm · by Sarah Jensen · April 13, 2025
14. Kim Jong Un’s right-hand man has built power base threatening his rule: Report
This really bears watching.
Kim Jong Un’s right-hand man has built power base threatening his rule: Report
ROK parliamentary analysis suggests Choe Ryong Hae has formalized control over North Korea’s military and party networks
Shreyas Reddy April 14, 2025
https://www.nknews.org/2025/04/kim-jong-uns-right-hand-man-has-built-power-base-threatening-his-rule-report/?utm
Choe Ryong Hae delivering a speech at the Non-Aligned Movement Summit in 2019 | Image: NAM Azerbaijan via YouTube (Oct. 26, 2019)
A senior North Korean official has emerged as a threat to the stability of the Kim Jong Un regime by cementing his place at the top of a power structure made up of his followers, a new report from South Korea’s parliament claims.
The National Assembly Research Service (NARS) report released last week assessed that Choe Ryong Hae, the parliamentary chief who has been described as Kim’s “right-hand man,” has transformed his informal network into a formalized power base with the leader’s approval, leveraging a “single-patron system” in which he alone holds influence over officials to place several affiliates in senior positions in the military, ruling party and government.
The report’s author Lee Seung-yeol emphasized the systemic shift accompanying Choe’s consolidation of authority, claiming that his rise has coincided with a decline in purges of elite officials that have often characterized DPRK power struggles, effectively creating a more stable — albeit tightly controlled — political environment under Kim Jong Un.
While Choe has avoided the limelight after cutting down on public appearances in recent years, the report stated that his behind-the-scenes influence underscores his role as the leader’s “invisible hand.”
However, as a result of the senior official’s apparent emergence as the head of an alternate executive authority, the future of the Kim dynasty’s rule may now depend on equilibrium between the leader’s symbolic power and Choe’s institutional influence, the report suggested.
While Choe’s influence has been well documented, the new report goes a step further by positioning him as the de facto leader of an alternate power structure capable of challenging the ruling family.
Martin Weiser, an independent North Korea researcher and NK Pro contributor, said Lee is correct in highlighting the “theoretical threat” Choe’s influence poses to the leader’s power through his network in the military, party and state, noting that the talk of succession grew sharply when Kim allegedly grappled with severe health issues in 2020.
However, he stated that this remains a matter of speculation and that the close relationship between the Kim and Choe families going back decades “should prevent such a black-and-white power struggle.”
A PARALLEL LEADERSHIP
The son of former armed forces minister Choe Hyon, Choe Ryong Hae’s career took off when Jang Song Thaek, Kim Jong Un’s uncle and a key adviser to former leader Kim Jong Il, took him under his wing while they were organizing the 13th World Festival of Youth and Students in 1989, according to the NARS report.
As Jang grew in influence, those affiliated with him — including Choe — also rose within Pyongyang’s hierarchy and reportedly helped the former consolidate power in the latter years of Kim Jong Il’s reign and the start of Kim Jong Un’s tenure.
However, as Jang began exercising increasing control over North Korean policies, Choe and others in his network helped orchestrate his purge and execution in 2013, according to the report.
The NARS article suggested Choe filled the vacuum left by Jang’s removal by taking up top party and military posts, and after some ups and downs, he cemented his power in 2017 as head of the Organization and Guidance Department (OGD), which controls key personnel appointments in the ruling party and other organs of power in the DPRK.
As OGD chief until 2019, Choe directed several key appointments, increasing his power during a period when the regime was trying to cope with international sanctions, according to the report. Even after moving on to other influential posts not directly related to overseeing Pyongyang’s power structures, including head of North Korea’s rubber-stamp parliament in 2019, he seemingly maintained his influence over top-level appointments.
Such appointees reportedly included military elites like Korean People’s Army Chief of General Staff Ri Yong Gil, former General Political Bureau head Kim Su Gil and defense minister No Kwang Chol, who worked closely with Choe when he served as head of the General Political Bureau.
Other Choe affiliates who rose to top posts include key ruling party and government figures such as Premier Pak Thae Song, former Premier Kim Jae Ryong and Ri Man Gon, Choe’s successor as OGD chief.
The NARS report assessed that Choe has leveraged his informal connections to build a formal governing system with Kim Jong Un’s approval. But unlike the leader’s deceased uncle, the parliament head has been able to retain and consolidate power through his “single-patron system,” the report added, and in the process created a more stable hierarchy free of purges and factional disputes.
However, Weiser disputed this conclusion.
“We know too little to argue that it was Choe’s position as director of the OGD that allowed turning his personal connections also into a formal network of what Lee calls a ‘single-patron system,’” he stated, adding that the report mostly takes into account a brief period between 2017 and 2021, but does not consider any changes after 2023.
The DPRK leadership expert explained that past actions like the purge of Jang and his network may have already helped bring about an “end of open factional animosity” before the ruling party’s 2016 congress, and by the next congress in 2021, there may not have been much competition for leadership positions after the retirement of several aging officials.
NARS’ Lee also claimed the regime has sought to counterbalance Choe’s influence in recent years by fast-tracking the rise of the leader’s sister Kim Yo Jong and later Jo Yong Won, who rose to the positions of OGD deputy director and ruling party secretary after years of accompanying Kim Jong Un in public.
However, Choe’s strategic placement of affiliates in top positions and checks on his supposed rivals’ official powers through demotions and institutional curbs has ensured he remains at the heart of Pyongyang’s leadership structure, according to the report.
Weiser said this “all or nothing” approach to analyzing Kim and Jo’s influence does not appear to reflect other means in which they show authority. The leader’s sister continues to oversee propaganda work related to Kim Jong Un and foreign affairs, while Jo retains control over appointments through his OGD role.
“It could be argued Kim Jong Un failed to monopolize decision making through his sister and Jo Yong Won about the fate of individual cadres and the important propaganda field,” he said. “But if he strategically focused only on sections that were important, this would not have limited his eventual influence.”
Edited by Alannah Hill
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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