Quotes of the Day:

"Let us tenderly and kindly cherish, therefore, the means of knowledge. Let us dare to read, think, speak, and write."

– John Adams

 "Democracy and socialism have nothing in common but one word: equality. But notice the difference: while democracy seeks equality in liberty, socialism seeks equality in restraint and servitude.”

– Alexis deTocqueville

"The creed of our democracy is that liberty is acquired and kept by men and women who are strong and self-reliant, and possessed of such wisdom as God gives mankind – men and women who are just, and understanding, and generous to others -- men and women who are capable of disciplining themselves. For they are the rulers and they must rule themselves.”

– Franklin D. Roosevelt

1. Kim Jong Un’s New Way to Express Anger at the South: Turn the Lights Out

2. Putin and Kim Jong Un, partners in crime

3. [The other side of rescuing North Korean defectors] ① The missionary receives a pledge to ‘consent to penalty and video copyright’ in return

4. Missionary group pushed North Koreans to take faith class as condition of rescue

5. How Kim Jong Un May Have Secretly Aided the Attack on Israel

6. The Dire State of Women’s Rights in North Korea

7. Coffee in North Korea: It’s not just for capitalists anymore

8.  N. Korea removes street lamps along inter-Korean roads

9. Top military officer meets new U.S. Pacific Fleet commander

10. Uncertainties loom over Korea-China-Japan summit as tensions persist

11. Biden-Kishida summit and Korean politics

12. Most N. Korean defectors repatriated last year are still in re-education camps

1. Kim Jong Un’s New Way to Express Anger at the South: Turn the Lights Out

For Kim this is an ideological war and the ideology, the values, and the very idea of the South are a threat to him and the regime because they influence the Korean people in the north. He has to both make the South his mortal enemy and erase all knowledge of the South and its success. But too much anti-Kim or anti-regime thought has already developed in the north. The people have begun blaming Kim for their suffering. They see the broken promises from Kim (e.g., nuclear weapons have not brought peace and prosperity to the people)  The success of the South is a threat to Kim's rule.  

This is very likely to backfire. The people will not forget what they already know. We could see a tipping point in the near future. Kim cannot put the information and knowledge genie back in the bottle. This is why we need to pay attention to Robert Collins' seminal work: Pattern of Collapse in North Korea HERE.  We need to be observing for the indicators that will show the loss of central governing effectiveness (the ability of the party/regime to govern from Pyongyang) combined with the loss of coherency and support of the military. The danger of course is that when Kim observes these conditions he may believe he has only one option to try to survive: execute his campaign plan to dominate the peninsula by force.

Many discount the potential for regime instability and collapse but to consider this and observe for it will leave the ROK, Northeast Asia, and the US vulnerable. Unfortunately the conditions of instability and collapse could be the path to war.

Kim Jong Un’s New Way to Express Anger at the South: Turn the Lights Out

North Korea dismantles streetlights on some of the few inter-Korean roads, highlighting a new type of hatred

https://www.wsj.com/world/asia/kim-jong-uns-new-way-to-express-anger-at-the-south-turn-the-lights-out-ffad7ecb?mod=hp_lead_pos10

By Timothy W. Martin

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April 18, 2024 6:04 am ET

The Arch of Reunification, a monument in Pyongyang symbolizing hope for the eventual reunification of the two Koreas, before it was torn down. PHOTO: KIN CHEUNG/ASSOCIATED PRESS

SEOUL—Kim Jong Un’s expressions of wrath toward South Korea now extend to streetlights.

In recent weeks, the Kim regime removed dozens of roadside lights that had lined two rare inter-Korean roads built during more harmonious times, according to Seoul officials. 

Kim, the 40-year-old dictator, wants to scrub any—if not all—associations his country has with its southern neighbor. Early this year, he abandoned hope for peaceful reunification and pronounced South Korea the new No. 1 enemy.

Soon after, down went the Arch of Reunification in Pyongyang. Maps shown on state media darkened out the country to the south. The opening stanza of North Korea’s national anthem changed, jettisoning a lyric that referenced the geographic length of the entire Korean Peninsula.

The mass erasure of South Korea comes amid a protracted stretch of soured ties between Pyongyang and Seoul. That has left Kim with fewer novel ways to convey his displeasure.

Nearly four years ago, the Kim regime blew up an inter-Korean liaison office in the western border town of Kaesong. The two nations last fall scrapped a military accord meant to tone down hostilities. The military hotline has been severed for the past year. Pyongyang and Seoul these days are more likely to trade shell-firing drills than words.

South Korean soldiers set a barricade at a checkpoint near the Demilitarized Zone dividing the two Koreas in 2020. PHOTO: JUNG YEON-JE/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES

Pyongyang hasn’t halted its weapons tests, insults of South Korean officials or threats of violence. Last week, Kim said that if the South attacked, his military could deliver a “death blow.” Meanwhile, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hasn’t softened his tough-line stance with Pyongyang amid Kim’s rising aggression.  

The two inter-Korean roads represented key symbols of the detente between Pyongyang and Seoul at the turn of the century. One road connected to an inter-Korean industrial park in Kaesong where North Koreans worked and generated tens of millions of dollars that flowed to the Kim regime. The other shuttled busloads of South Korean travelers to the Mount Kumgang resort. Both locales have been defunct for years.

Rooting out South Korean dramas, music and even everyday expressions in the North has been a priority for Kim, even before his reversal on reunification. But it will take a significant amount of time for Kim to eliminate even the most obvious tie-ins to the South, said Park Won-gon, a professor of North Korean studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul.

“North Koreans must be quite puzzled,” Park said. “The regime has been indoctrinating people about unifying the two countries for seven decades.”

Write to Timothy W. Martin at Timothy.Martin@wsj.com

Copyright ©2024 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

2. Putin and Kim Jong Un, partners in crime

Excerpts:

How should Washington respond? America and its allies in the Indo-Pacific must band with NATO member states and other partners in the region and speak with one voice against North Korea’s illicit proliferation activities and arms transfers to Russia. South Korea, a major arms exporter, should supply artillery shells and missiles to Ukraine via the U.S. Likewise, Japan should follow suit, by sending defensive arms and equipment like gas masks to Ukraine.

Washington should also vastly revamp the Proliferation Security Initiative, an international effort it launched in 2003 aimed at stopping the spread of weapons of mass destruction and related materials. Over 100 countries have endorsed the initiative, but it needs a new boost. Like international sanctions enforcement or even domestic law enforcement, tracking arms trafficking is labor-intensive work, and governments must commit the resources to make it effective.

Moreover, Congress should consider budget increases for Voice of America and Radio Free Asia, both of which broadcast critical news and information into North Korea, the world’s largest most information-deprived country, and other autocracies. The systematic campaigns of internal and external lies, censorship and disinformation by Pyongyang and Moscow must be met with the broader transmission of factual information into both countries.

Inaction against the Putin-Kim partnership only invites greater threats. The U.S. must initiate a global campaign of concerted counter-proliferation and sustained sanctions enforcement against Putin and Kim, while steadfastly speaking the truth to their people. The more the international community imposes financial costs on both warring Russia and warmongering North Korea, the more inclined Beijing will be to take heed and temper its unabashed support for the two pariah regimes.

Putin and Kim Jong Un, partners in crime

BY SUNG-YOON LEE, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR - 04/16/24 3:30 PM ET

https://thehill.com/opinion/international/4597712-putin-and-kim-jong-un-partners-in-crime/

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un might have been miffed of late at Chinese President Xi Jinping. Beijing — Pyongyang’s biggest benefactor in the post–Cold War era — has been stingy, at least compared to warring Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin invited Kim to the Vostochny Cosmodrome last fall and — in blithe violation of multiple UN Security Resolutions banning North Korea’s ballistic missiles development that Putin himself had previously endorsed — pledged support for Pyongyang’s ballistic missile-borne satellite launch. Xi has yet to accord Kim an in-person meeting in nearly five years.

But Kim knows that his blooming bromance with Putin has Beijing’s attention.

In February, Putin sent Kim a free luxury Russian limousine, yet another violation of the UN ban on luxury goods transfer. The next month, Kim Yo Jong, the First Sister of North Korea, announced her brother had recently ridden in the limo and that its special functions were “perfect.” The gift was “clear proof,” she intoned, that the two countries’ friendship was “developing in a comprehensive way on a new high stage.”

For Putin, one automobile for millions of munitions is a good deal. According to the U.S., Kim Jong Un has sent Russia at least 10,000 containers filled with weapons, and North Korean missiles have been used multiple times in Ukraine. Putin likely has promised Kim much more, including help with highly sensitive military technology. The Russian strongman has found in Kim, some 30 years his junior, a strategic partner in waging war and making a mockery of international norms​.

Last month, Moscow even assumed the role of Pyongyang’s protector and legal defender. Russia shut down a multinational UN committee that has meticulously monitored North Korea’s manifold illicit activities and sanctions evasion over the past 15 years. By casting the sole veto within the 15-member Security Council against renewing the UN watchdog’s mandate, Russia reaffirmed its support of North Korea’s criminal behavior — and effectively muzzled future Security Council–sanctioned reports on its own illicit purchase of North Korean arms.

The rapid advance in military collusion between the two pariah states raises growing concerns in capitals around the world, including Beijing.

Historically, when the Chinese leadership grows displeased with the North Korean leader, China has been prone to rewarding Pyongyang with new and generous gift packages. And President Xi himself is not an exception.

In the wake of North Korea’s third nuclear test on Feb. 12, 2013, in the middle of Chinese New Year celebrations — Xi’s first since assuming the position of general secretary the previous November — the top Chinese leadership was very displeased. But China’s trade with North Korea for the year rose to an all-time high of $6.5 billion, with the North’s exports to China rising by 17.2 percent from the previous year to account. That total trade sum has yet to be surpassed.

Expect a Xi-Kim summit meeting in Beijing soon, bigger aid packages for Kim and China continuing to turn a blind eye to Pyongyang’s increasing violations of UN resolutions, which include limits on crude and refined oil imports, arms proliferation and exports of coal, iron, textiles, seafood and North Korean labor.

Putin’s embrace of Kim incentivizes Beijing to win Pyongyang back. China has long regarded its influence over North Korea an ace card in its long-term strategic competition with the U.S. And Beijing has not seen Pyongyang cozy up to Moscow so unabashedly since 1984, when Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Un’s grandfather and the founder of the state, made a six-week odyssey by rail to Moscow and five other Warsaw Pact nations.

But today, Moscow has clearly pulled Pyongyang into its orbit. Putin is poised to make another trip to Pyongyang soon.

How should Washington respond? America and its allies in the Indo-Pacific must band with NATO member states and other partners in the region and speak with one voice against North Korea’s illicit proliferation activities and arms transfers to Russia. South Korea, a major arms exporter, should supply artillery shells and missiles to Ukraine via the U.S. Likewise, Japan should follow suit, by sending defensive arms and equipment like gas masks to Ukraine.

Washington should also vastly revamp the Proliferation Security Initiative, an international effort it launched in 2003 aimed at stopping the spread of weapons of mass destruction and related materials. Over 100 countries have endorsed the initiative, but it needs a new boost. Like international sanctions enforcement or even domestic law enforcement, tracking arms trafficking is labor-intensive work, and governments must commit the resources to make it effective.

Moreover, Congress should consider budget increases for Voice of America and Radio Free Asia, both of which broadcast critical news and information into North Korea, the world’s largest most information-deprived country, and other autocracies. The systematic campaigns of internal and external lies, censorship and disinformation by Pyongyang and Moscow must be met with the broader transmission of factual information into both countries.

Inaction against the Putin-Kim partnership only invites greater threats. The U.S. must initiate a global campaign of concerted counter-proliferation and sustained sanctions enforcement against Putin and Kim, while steadfastly speaking the truth to their people. The more the international community imposes financial costs on both warring Russia and warmongering North Korea, the more inclined Beijing will be to take heed and temper its unabashed support for the two pariah regimes.

Sung-Yoon Lee is a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and the author of “The Sister: North Korea’s Kim Yo Jong, the Most Dangerous Woman in the World.”

3. [The other side of rescuing North Korean defectors] ① The missionary receives a pledge to ‘consent to penalty and video copyright’ in return

This is a troubling development. 

There are reputable organizations out there helping the Korean people to reach freedom. One that I strongly recommend supporting is Helping Hands Korea. Please go to their website here and check out the great work they are doing: "Helping Hands Korea: Assisting North Koreans in Crisis." https://helpinghandskorea.org/

(Note that the following is a Google translation of a Radio Free Asia report.)

[The other side of rescuing North Korean defectors] ① The missionary receives a pledge to ‘consent to penalty and video copyright’ in return

https://www.rfa.org/korean/in_focus/human_rights_defector/spdefectorrescue-04162024084958.html?

Seoul-Mokyongjae moky@rfa.org

2024.04.16

A ‘Pledge (Consent Form)’ received from a North Korean defector in exchange for rescue by a missionary group in South Korea.

 / RFA PHOTO

00:00 / 07:51

Anchor : It has been confirmed that a missionary group that has recently attracted attention for its documentaries, or documentary films, that capture the process of North Korean defectors entering South Korea received a pledge from North Korean defectors demanding some kind of penalty and consent to video copyright in exchange for rescue . Reporter Mok Yong-jae reports from Seoul .

Recently, Radio Free Asia (RFA) obtained a document called a ‘ Pledge ( Consent Form )’ that is believed to have been received by a missionary group in South Korea from a North Korean defector .

At the top of this document, the North Korean defector's name, date of birth, hometown , and date of defection are written, and below that, “ I, as a North Korean defector , request rescue from Mission A and therefore agree to comply with all of the following requirements required by Mission A. ” It clearly states, “ I pledge to do this . ”

At the bottom right of the pledge, the names and seals of the signer ( granter ) and the representative pastor of Mission A are stamped .

According to the pledge, there are two main things North Korean defectors must comply with .

‘ I will complete the training for three months with obedience, joy, and gratitude ’, ‘ I agree and confirm that the copyright of all recorded videos belongs to Mission A ’ , etc. Since the expression ' copyright ' is used here , it can be read that the intention is to use a specific video for commercial purposes .

This pledge specifies what can be seen as a kind of ' penalty ' clause, which states that if you enter Korea without completing the three- month training, you must pay a rescue fee of KRW 20 million ( approximately US$ 14,000 ) . no see . In particular, it includes provisions that violate civil and criminal liability .

Multiple legal experts in Korea analyzed to Radio Free Asia that Article 104 of the Korean Civil Code , which states that " legal acts that are significantly unfair due to the circumstances , imprudence, or inexperience of the parties, shall be null and void ," could be applied to the pledge. I did . It can be interpreted as a kind of unfair legal act .

In addition, it was pointed out that the provision requiring students to pay 20 million won if they fail to complete religious education may infringe on the freedom to choose religion, which is one of the basic rights .

A lawyer who requested anonymity told Radio Free Asia (RFA) on the 16th , “ This could be problematic because it is a case of exploiting the dire situation of North Korean defectors, ” but added , “ However, since it is in the form of a pledge made with the consent of the parties, this itself is invalid.” “The judiciary needs to decide whether it can be done, ” he said .

Su-bin Lee, a North Korean defector who recently rescued a relative living in China to South Korea through the A Mission, said in an interview with Radio Free Asia that the relative did not properly understand the contents of the pledge and was hindered, saying, “ I did as I was told and pledged in a situation where I was afraid of everything.” “It appears that he responded to this ,” he said .

Su-bin Lee, a North Korean defector who rescued a relative through a missionary organization. /RFA PHOTO

In particular, he said that the missionary group re-filmed the same scene several times in the process of producing a promotional video for rescuing North Korean defectors, raising questions about whether it was necessary to film North Korean defectors who are sensitive to filming.

North Korean defector Su-bin Lee : They said that if they didn't like a scene like studying the Bible , dancing , or singing, they kept re-filming it , re-filming it , and re-filming it . My relative was in a very sick state, and he said that he was annoyed at the end because they kept taking pictures of him . People who came back after living in North Korea for a long time or in China for a long time simply accept that they have no choice, even if it is difficult .

In particular, Mr. Lee paid KRW 16.5 million ( approximately US $ 12,000 ) to Mission A for the cost of rescuing his relatives, but was indignant when he learned that the pledge included a penalty clause . Mr. Lee said, “ I felt betrayed when I found out late that this mission was an organization famous for rescuing North Korean defectors with donations raised, ” and, “ After my relative entered South Korea, he developed a strong aversion to the religious community . ”

Some have raised criticism about the practice of receiving such pledges from North Korean defectors. It is no different from some brokers who move North Korean defectors for the purpose of profit .

Yoon Yeo -sang, a senior researcher at the North Korea Human Rights Information Center (NKDB), said, “ It cannot be seen as a kind of equal contract because the personal safety is at risk and the person is in a desperate situation where he or she must somehow go to South Korea. ” He added, “ It is receiving religious support and that support is “For an organization run through , this method is difficult to tolerate, ” he pointed out .

Peter Chung, head of the North Korean Justice Solidarity, also assessed that the pledge deviated from the general purpose of missionary work.

Peter Jeong, Representative of North Korea Justice Solidarity : I think that exploiting the ( difficult ) situation of North Korean defectors to file financial or compensation claims, or using that to force them for religious purposes is completely inconsistent with the original ( religious ) purpose. .

Some view the pledge as a kind of human rights violation. These are the words of Seo Jae-pyeong, chairman of the North Korean Defectors Association .

Seo Jae-pyeong, Chairman of the North Korean Defectors’ Association : As a North Korean defector, I was very displeased with the part where I wrote the pledge . I risked my life by escaping from North Korea without any security, and I think that taking a pledge under these circumstances is a kind of infringement on the weak . I am heartbroken, wondering if this is a violation of human rights against North Korean defectors and if we have to accept it that way .

The A Mission recently received attention for rescuing a family of North Korean defectors in a documentary or documentary film on the rescue of North Korean defectors that received attention from the international community .

On the website of this mission, “ Most brokers view North Korean defectors as a means of making money, so they are not responsible for the safety of North Korean defectors in the event of an emergency, ” and “A Mission is trying not to use brokers as much as possible when rescuing North Korean defectors and does not take responsibility for the safety of North Korean defectors.” The introductory article reads, “ We are taking responsibility as our top priority . ” It is also said that it is receiving international recognition for its work on ' Schindler's List ' .

' Schindler's List ' is a German businessman known for sacrificing all his wealth to save Jews who were suffering human rights abuses in Nazi Germany .

In a recent phone call with Radio Free Asia (RFA), the representative pastor of the A Mission asked about the reason for receiving pledges from North Korean defectors, saying, “ At a time when the cost of defecting from North Korea has risen significantly after the coronavirus, they broke their promise to study the Bible if tens of millions of won are spent to rescue them. “There are too many cases of people running away or not even knowing about it in Korea, ” he said, adding that he understands that a significant number of missionaries are also receiving pledges for this reason .

As a result of RFA's reporting , some religious organizations that rescue North Korean defectors have received a promise or memorandum from North Korean defectors that they will complete religious education for the purpose of actual missionary work . However , the prevailing opinion is that it is not common to specify provisions to guarantee economic benefits, such as ' penalties ' or ' video copyright consent ' , as in the A missionary's pledge .

Regarding the inclusion of the video copyright clause, the representative pastor of A Mission said, “ It was not done with any special intention, ” and that he was willing to modify and use the expression in the pledge .

Pastor Lee went on to explain that the penalty clause was included in a symbolic sense, saying, “ Among the North Korean defectors we recently rescued, there was one who violated the pledge, and we will not take any action, such as receiving any fees or filing a lawsuit, for this . ”

This is Mok Yong-jae from RFA Free Asia in Seoul .

Editor Seong-won Yang, Web Team Sang-il Kim

4. Missionary group pushed North Koreans to take faith class as condition of rescue

Again, this is not a good story. And again, I will offer that here are reputable organizations out there helping the Korean people to reach freedom. One that I strongly recommend supporting is Helping Hands Korea. Please go to their website here and check out the great work they are doing: "Helping Hands Korea: Assisting North Koreans in Crisis." https://helpinghandskorea.org/

Missionary group pushed North Koreans to take faith class as condition of rescue

Caleb Mission featured in film ‘Beyond Utopia’ says it asks those it helps to agree to filming and attend 3-month class

https://www.nknews.org/2024/04/missionary-group-pushed-north-koreans-to-take-faith-class-as-condition-of-rescue/

Ifang Bremer | Lina Park April 18, 2024

A scene from the film "Beyond Utopia" | Image: Ideal Partners Films

A well-known Christian missionary organization that helps North Koreans flee the country pushed would-be escapees to sign contracts agreeing to be filmed and to attend classes on Christian faith in exchange for being rescued, NK News has confirmed.

Caleb Mission has received international attention for its central role in the documentary “Beyond Utopia,” an award-winning film about the rescue of a North Korean family that featured footage of an actual defection shot in and outside of the DPRK.

Radio Free Asia (RFA) first reported on Tuesday that an unnamed missionary group has made escapees sign contracts as a condition of their rescue, stipulating that all videos taken of their defection belong to the organization and that they agree to attend a three-month religious training camp before resettling in South Korea.

Escapees who violate the terms must pay the organization US$14,000 (20 million won), according to the Washington-based outlet, which published a photo of an alleged contract showing a handwritten document signed with fingerprints.

Pastor Seungeun Kim, the founder and president of Caleb Mission, told NK News on Wednesday that the contract in the RFA article is not real, claiming his group only uses printed and not handwritten forms.

But the pastor confirmed that the content of the document is the same as consent forms that his group uses, providing NK News with a copy of a typed form with the same stipulations. 

He explained that Caleb Mission uses the forms as part of efforts to ensure escapees agree with his group’s mission.

“It may look wrong to the outside world, but the reason why we are collecting money in church and to help North Koreans escape is because we want to talk about Christianity [with the escapees],” Kim said.

For that reason, the pastor said his group “will rescue only those who are willing to study the Bible.”

“If a teacher wants to enter a Christian school, and the school requires attendance at worship services, then if that’s the rule, you should follow it if you want to enter that school, right?” Kim said. “If you don’t like it, don’t go to that school.”

However, he later clarified that he has and will help those in critical need even when they do not sign the contract.

A blank contract listing conditions for receiving help from Caleb Mission | Image: Courtesy of Pastor Seungeun Kim

Sue Mi Terry, a producer of the documentary “Beyond Utopia,” told NK News that the filmmakers “were not aware of such practices in any way whatsoever.”

She said they have since confirmed with the escapees who appear in the film “that they were not asked to sign such a form by Caleb Mission.”

The documentary follows two main stories: the Roh family’s attempt to escape, and the efforts of defector Lee Soyeon in South Korea to rescue her son from the DPRK.

The film also heavily focuses on Pastor Kim and portrays him as a heroic figure who has helped over 1,000 North Koreans escape through an “underground railroad” of brokers and activists, according to one review of the film.

The producer Terry told NK News that the filmmakers received partial consent from the subjects to begin shooting.

“However, regarding the consent to actually use the footage in the documentary, we did not ask for nor accept full, thorough, and informed consent until much later in the process,” she said.

“With the Roh family, it was not until they were well-settled in South Korea and had the ability to grapple with what such a film would look like, as well as their role in it, that we asked them to make a decision regarding their desire or not to be in the film. Regarding Soyeon, because of the sensitive nature of her son’s situation, we did not ask for, nor accept, consent until she had seen the entire film and until just two weeks before picture lock before premiering at Sundance.”

Terry explained that the film’s editor worked with two versions of the film until receiving her consent, one with Soyeon and one without. “That was a risk we had to take to tell the story of these refugees fleeing North Korea.”

“All of this further underscores the challenges and complexities that North Koreans confront in an attempt to find some degree of freedom,” she said.

Pastor Kim told NK News his group works with contracts to prevent escapees from not joining the Bible course, which is held in Thailand after they escape from North Korea.

Southeast Asian countries like Thailand and Laos are historically some of the main transit destinations for North Koreans who escape to China and wish to defect to South Korea.

“Some people arrive in Thailand and then run away because they don’t want to participate in our missionary studies,” he said. “It goes as far as, when we rescue them, the ones who arrive in South Korea first tell others just to run away when they get to Thailand, regardless of what the church says.”

North Koreans in Pyongyang in April 2010 | Image: Eric Lafforgue

Lee Subin, a defector who said her cousin came to South Korea via Caleb Mission, told NK News her relative was required to abide by the group’s contract. According to Lee, her cousin “was asked to repeat some scenes [of her escape]” for videos used for fundraising until the organization was satisfied with the shots taken.

“Being stateless in a third country, she just had to accept what she was told to do, just because she was an escapee,” Lee said. Lee’s cousin confirmed this account to NK News but requested anonymity.

But Pastor Kim said Caleb Mission did not restrict Lee’s cousin and let her go to South Korea early, without finishing the entire three-month course. “Of course, we did not actually charge the fee stipulated in the contract.”

Christian missionaries have historically been prominent in helping North Koreans escape, operating networks of brokers across China and Southeast Asia to get defectors to South Korea or other countries.

Given that churches accept money from sponsors but not escapees, Lee So-yeon, the defector featured in “Beyond Utopia,” told NK News that she believes escapees should “write pledges to gain more support” for the church.

She explained that she wrote such a pledge for her broker, but not for Pastor Kim, when she escaped to South Korea.

However, Henry Song, a North Korean human rights activist and director at One Korea Network, took issue with Caleb Mission’s approach to helping defectors.

“There are countless number of Christian pastors and missionaries who quietly, selflessly, and sacrificially serve and help North Korean refugees, in South Korea and in the field,” he said, “and this type of behavior is not only unbiblical but turns off North Koreans toward the faith and negatively impacts their views regarding the church and pastors.”

Defections directly from North Korea have become increasingly rare as the DPRK and China have introduced stronger border controls during the pandemic.

Activists have said the cost of helping North Koreans escape has soared as a result, with Pastor Kim stating ahead of the release of “Beyond Utopia” that the cost has increased from $3,000 to $20,000. 

Just under 200 escapees reached South Korea last year, far lower than the 1,047 defectors who arrived in 2019. 

Edited by Bryan Betts

5. How Kim Jong Un May Have Secretly Aided the Attack on Israel

Anyone surprised? Only those who do not pay attention to north Korean proliferation.

How Kim Jong Un May Have Secretly Aided the Attack on Israel

A FRIEND INDEED

Intelligence officials are investigating potential North Korean fingerprints in Iran’s April 13 blitz.

Shannon Vavra

National Security Reporter

Updated Apr. 17, 2024 4:52PM EDT / Published Apr. 17, 2024 3:33PM EDT 

The Daily Beast · April 17, 2024

Reuters/KCNA

South Korea’s spy agency is examining whether North Korean technology was used in the ballistic missiles that Iran used in its attack against Israel last week.

“We are keeping tabs on whether the North Korean technology was included in Iran's ballistic missiles launched against Israel, given the North and Iran's missile cooperation in the past,” the National Intelligence Service (NIS) said, according to Korea Times.

The United States has long been aware that North Korea’s Kim Jong Un has provided missiles and ballistic missile technologies to Iran. Years ago, the commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Major General Yahya Rahim-Safavi, acknowledged that Iran had purchased Scud B and Scud C missiles from “foreign countries like North Korea” in the 1980s.

Iran’s Shahab-3 is based on the North Korean Nodong, a medium-range ballistic missile. Iran, however, has worked to extend the range and effectiveness of the weapon, according to the National Air and Space Intelligence Center. Iran’s Korramshahr missile is believed to be based on North Korea’s Musudan ballistic missile, the Associated Press reported.

The State Department is “incredibly concerned” about the prospect of Iran and North Korea working together to pursue nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters Tuesday.

The concern about North Korea providing technologies for the war comes just days after Iran launched a salvo of over 300 missiles and drones against Israel in retaliation for a deadly attack on an Iranian mission in Syria earlier this month.

The United States, along with other allies, helped Israel deflect the Iranian attack. No major destruction was sustained in the attack, but concerns remain about whether the Israel-Iran conflict could erupt into an open war.

Iran’s attack on April 13 was Tehran’s first-ever direct attack on Israel.

The concerns about North Korea’s role in arming Iran come just weeks after the South Korean spy agency confirmed that Hamas, an Iran-backed proxy group, had used Korean technology in its war with Israel.

A shipment of weapons from North Korea that was seized in transit In 2009 was destined for Iran, according to a Thai government assessment.

Other North Korean clients for ballistic missiles and associated technologies through the years have included Syria, Egypt, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, and Yemen, according to the Defense Intelligence Agency.

The Daily Beast · April 17, 2024

6. The Dire State of Women’s Rights in North Korea

A human rights upfront is needed.

Excerpts:

The secretive nature of the North Korean regime and limited access to independent sources of information means that obtaining accurate and comprehensive data on women’s rights in the country can be challenging. However, there is an urgent need to conduct more surveys similar to the one conducted by Daily NK on the perceptions of North Korean women in order to gain a better understanding of the challenges they face. Moreover, we should not overlook the need to understand the perceptions of women’s rights among North Korean men, as they are a key part of improving women’s rights in the country.

Perhaps most importantly, we must increase our efforts to send information into North Korea that is tailored to North Koreans with a view to raise their awareness of their rights. This can be done through radio broadcasts or other means, such as USBs or SD cards distributed inside the country. Already, many organizations inside South Korea and abroad are involved in flooding North Korea with outside information, and these efforts can only help in changing perceptions toward women’s rights inside the country for the better. Only when the North Korean government’s information blockade collapses will women inside the country be able to gain insight into new possibilities for their lives.

The Dire State of Women’s Rights in North Korea

thediplomat.com

While the country espouses an official commitment to gender equality, the reality for women is one of discrimination and limited opportunities.

By Sang Yong Lee

April 18, 2024

Credit: Depositphotos

On International Women’s Day on March 8, North Korea held various events to celebrate the country’s women, repeating what has become more or less a national slogan, “Women Are Flowers,” and hailing the country as a “paradise” for women. State media even compared North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to a “mother” who cares deeply for her children.

The situation of North Korean women, however, is a far cry from the barrage of propaganda the regime spreads across newspapers, television, and smartphone screens for domestic and international consumption.

Up until now, information about the state of women’s rights in North Korea has largely been limited to anecdotal reports assembled from grassroots media outlets, defector testimony, and reports submitted by the North Korean government to international agencies. Recently, however, Daily NK, with the support of the Embassy of Canada to the Republic of Korea, conducted a survey of 30 North Korean women inside the country, as well as 10 North Korean defectors, to delve deeper into the state of women’s rights in North Korea.

The results were alarming: More than half of the respondents reported sexual victimization by officials in state institutions such as the national police agency and correctional centers, while a staggering 73 percent said they had encountered instances in the workplace, military, or markets where officials coerced, cajoled, or tricked them into having sex in exchange for promotions or business opportunities. The findings lend credence to reports of widespread workplace discrimination and sexual harassment in North Korea.

Equally troubling, some 70 percent of respondents had never heard of North Korea’s Women’s Rights Protection Law (a 2010 law that establishes basic protections and rights for women), and only 16.7 percent had ever received education about women’s rights.

Overall, the findings stand in stark contrast to what North Korean authorities claim in their reports to the international community about the state of women’s rights in the country. In its 2021 Voluntary National Report to the United Nations on the Sustainable Development Goals, North Korea claimed that gender equality had been “achieved a long time ago.”

North Korea’s constitution theoretically guarantees gender equality, and women have legal rights to education, employment, and participation in political life. The North Korean government claims that women have the right to participate in politics and that women hold leadership and decision-making positions in government and other institutions. The North Korean government further says it has implemented policies to promote women’s rights and gender equality. These include initiatives to increase women’s participation in the labor force, provide access to education and health care, and ensure legal protection against discrimination.

However, the survey provides further evidence that the basic rights of women in North Korea are often not fully realized in practice.

State Propaganda Defines Women’s Roles

While women in North Korea are highlighted in state propaganda as “cogs in the revolutionary wheel of society,” in reality they are expected to fulfill the role of “faithful housekeepers.” Given the patriarchal nature of North Korean society, traditional gender roles are deeply ingrained in North Korean society, with women expected to prioritize family and domestic duties over personal or professional ambitions. These cultural attitudes reinforce gender inequalities in many aspects of life.

It should come as little surprise that North Korea’s leadership and state-run media play an important role in imposing traditional roles on North Korean women. The country’s leader, Kim Jong Un, recently called on women to take the lead in raising the country’s dismal birth rate, and media outlets such as the Rodong Sinmun constantly urge women to “bear many children and raise them as supporters of the revolution.”

This situation helps explain why the survey found that women in North Korea are most likely to take on the role of “raising children” (25.6 percent) and “supporting the household economy” (22.2 percent) in order to contribute to the development of society. The survey also found that restrictions are in place that limit women to certain fields of study, such as teaching, nursing, and accounting. Indeed, the survey provides further evidence that North Korean women are often directed toward careers deemed more suitable by the state, such as teaching or healthcare, rather than fields such as science or technology.

In addition, the survey showed that women in North Korea are significantly affected by the country’s system of “non-tax burdens.” This system refers to irregular or semi-regular mandatory contributions imposed by the regime, including everything from cash to firewood. The survey found that women are asked to help pay for construction projects in Pyongyang, provide funds to build neighborhoods in their areas, and raise funds to send to the military, which is focused on advancing the country’s nuclear program.

Women who do not work (only an estimated 5-10 percent of women in North Korea remain in the workforce after having children) are also required to be members of the Social Women’s Union of Korea, one of North Korea’s oldest and most important mass organizations. The union’s local branches require women to collect items ranging from notebooks and pens for children to providing underwear, socks, and meals for soldiers.

North Korean women’s attitudes appear to have been affected by these societal pressures and a flood of propaganda that emphasizes traditional roles – not to mention a lack of information about life outside their own country (exacerbated by the fact that most North Koreans do not have access to the Internet). The survey found that 25 percent of respondents believe that women’s rights are not equal to men’s, and only a small percentage (9.4 percent) believe that women can become government or party officials.

In fact, the survey results show that women’s participation in government decision-making is limited and given their increasing role as the main earners for families, they most often have to spend time in markets selling goods to earn cash. While North Korea does have a petition system that allows women to voice complaints about their circumstances – including corruption and sex crimes – the survey found that most respondents believe the system is useless, and some even did not know where to file petitions.

Raising Awareness Among Women About Their Rights Is Key

Overall, while North Korea espouses an official commitment to gender equality, the reality for women in the country is one of discrimination, limited opportunities, and significant challenges in realizing their rights and aspirations.

The secretive nature of the North Korean regime and limited access to independent sources of information means that obtaining accurate and comprehensive data on women’s rights in the country can be challenging. However, there is an urgent need to conduct more surveys similar to the one conducted by Daily NK on the perceptions of North Korean women in order to gain a better understanding of the challenges they face. Moreover, we should not overlook the need to understand the perceptions of women’s rights among North Korean men, as they are a key part of improving women’s rights in the country.

Perhaps most importantly, we must increase our efforts to send information into North Korea that is tailored to North Koreans with a view to raise their awareness of their rights. This can be done through radio broadcasts or other means, such as USBs or SD cards distributed inside the country. Already, many organizations inside South Korea and abroad are involved in flooding North Korea with outside information, and these efforts can only help in changing perceptions toward women’s rights inside the country for the better. Only when the North Korean government’s information blockade collapses will women inside the country be able to gain insight into new possibilities for their lives.

Authors

Guest Author

Sang Yong Lee

Sang Yong Lee is the director of analysis and research at Daily NK.

thediplomat.com

7. Coffee in North Korea: It’s not just for capitalists anymore

On a lighter side perhaps north Korea is becoming more civilized (note slight sarcasm).

Coffee in North Korea: It’s not just for capitalists anymore

Spreading among the elite, coffee is replacing cigarettes as a typical bribe.

By Ahn Chang Gyu for RFA Korean

2024.04.17

rfa.org

Though coffee has long been derided as a symbol of imperialist capitalism, privileged North Koreans are developing a taste for it, residents in the country told Radio Free Asia.

“These days, drinking coffee has become a trend among local officials,” a resident in the eastern province of South Hamgyong told RFA Korean on condition of anonymity for security reasons.

“Until recently, coffee was perceived as a ‘luxury product symbolizing capitalism’ and incompatible with socialism.”

For years, coffee was only available in hotels catering to foreign tourists, but it started to appear in marketplaces in the 2010s. Now coffee shops have sprung up in Pyongyang and other cities, the resident said.

Coffee is expensive for the average North Korean, so it is drunk mostly by the wealthy elite.

But the masses are learning about coffee culture through illegal foreign movies smuggled into the country, said a resident from the northeastern province of North Hamgyong.

“Some people will drink coffee on holidays to be a little more stylish, but it’s a little too early for the public to be drinking coffee regularly,” he said.

Tea is also unusual in North Korea because the colder climate isn’t conducive to growing tea bushes. Instead, North Koreans typically consume soju, a distilled drink that tastes similar to vodka.

“In rural areas, a cup of coffee costs more than a bottle of alcohol, so ordinary residents do not dare to drink it,” the first source said. “But officials and rich people drink coffee every day.”

A North Korean serves coffee to South Korean reporters north of the truce village of Panmunjom, where the inter-Korean military talks were being held north of Seoul, May 10, 2007. (Sin Won-keon/Reuters)

A bottle of soju costs less than 3,000 won (35 US cents) while a cup of coffee is between 3,000 and 5,000 won (35 to 60 cents) – for North Koreans. Foreign tourists are charged around US$5 per cup, about 14 times the cost of soju.

Ground coffee, meanwhile, costs between 50,000 to 80,000 won ($6-10) per 200 grams (7 ounces). Adding sugar at 20,000 won ($2.35) per kilogram (2.2 pounds) makes it even more unaffordable.

Favored as a bribe

Coffee is also starting to be used as a bribe, replacing the traditional carton of cigarettes, the North Hamgyong resident said.

“Officials seem to be more interested in coffee these days because cigarettes are bad for your health,” he said.

Recently, the first resident said that he was asked by a city cadre section officer to be treated to coffee and sugar.

“Although I thought it was a waste of money, I bought it without saying anything because I might need his help at some point,” he said.

Though there are North Korean coffee processing companies, as with most products, the rich prefer coffee produced abroad, the second resident said.

“Domestic coffee containing ginseng is good, but officials prefer coffee from Brazil or South Korea,” he said, adding that he recently had bribed an official with the South American brew so that his son could get a recommendation to attend college.

When the now-shuttered inter-Korean Kaesong Industrial Complex was in operation, the South Korean companies provided individually wrapped instant coffee “stick” pouches to North Korean workers.

These proved to be very popular and would often find their way into local markets along with chocopies and other South Korean treats that the workers could sneak out of the factory breakrooms.

Translated by Claire S. Lee. Edited by Eugene Whong and Malcolm Foster.

rfa.org

8.  N. Korea removes street lamps along inter-Korean roads

They probably need the materials for other projects (military equipment?).

(2nd LD) N. Korea removes street lamps along inter-Korean roads | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Minji · April 18, 2024

(ATTN: UPDATES with remarks, details in paras 6-8)

SEOUL, April 18 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has dismantled street lamps along its side of two rare roads connecting the two Koreas, a source said Thursday, in an apparent move to completely shut down the routes once seen as symbols of inter-Korean cooperation and exchange.

The military last month detected the North removing dozens of street lamps along the Gyeongui road, which connects the South's western border city of Paju to the North's Kaesong, and the Donghae road along the east coast, according to the source.

The move comes after North Korean troops were spotted installing mines on the two roads in January as inter-Korean ties have become increasingly strained in recent months.

The South Korean military confirmed that the North has recently dismantled some structures along the roads, noting that it is closely monitoring North Korean military activities.

"(We) are analyzing the motive behind the (dismantling), and I understand it currently has no military impact," Col. Lee Sung-jun, spokesperson of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in a regular briefing.

This file photo, taken Feb. 10, 2020, shows the Gyeongui land route from the Tongil Bridge in Paju, 37 kilometers northwest of Seoul. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

The unification ministry in charge of inter-Korean affairs said the move is a violation of the spirit of inter-Korean agreement and stressed that the North has a duty to repay relevant loans.

In the 2002-2008 period, South Korea offered construction equipment and materials worth US$132.9 million in the form of loans to North Korea for the inter-Korean project.

In response to views that the North may have dismantled the street lamps to recycle material amid economic woes while also displaying its will to sever inter-Korean ties, the official said both cases could be plausible.

Last December, the North's leader called for scrapping a decadeslong policy of seeking unification with South Korea and defining their relations as those between "two states hostile to each other."

In January, Kim gave instructions for "strict" measures to block all the channels of inter-Korean communication along the border, such as cutting off the Gyeongui land route, which includes a railway, on the North's side to an "irretrievable level."

The two roads were built during a reconciliatory mood between the two Koreas in the mid-2000s but have ceased to function in recent years as ties have soured.

The Gyeongui road was last used when South Korean officials withdrew from a joint liaison office in Kaesong in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Donghae road remains unused since the 2019 no-deal Hanoi summit between then U.S. President Donald Trump and the North's leader Kim Jong-un.

yunhwanchae@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Minji · April 18, 2024

9. Top military officer meets new U.S. Pacific Fleet commander

Top military officer meets new U.S. Pacific Fleet commander | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Chae Yun-hwan · April 18, 2024

SEOUL, April 18 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's top military officer held talks with the new commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet on Thursday on ways to boost the allies' combined defense readiness, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.

JCS Chairman Adm. Kim Myung-soo met U.S. Adm. Stephen Koehler at the headquarters of the Navy's Fleet Command in Busan, 320 kilometers southeast of Seoul, according to the JCS.

The two admirals were briefed on naval operations at the unit's command center and held talks on ways to strengthen the combined defense posture, it said.

The U.S. Naval Forces Korea, which operates under the U.S. Pacific Fleet in Hawaii, is headquartered within the naval base in Busan.

Koehler, who took office earlier this month, is said to have also met Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Yang Yong-mo in Seoul on Wednesday. It marks Koehler's first visit to the country in his new role.

Separately, Kim visited the city hall of Ulsan, just north of Busan, earlier Thursday to inspect the ongoing Hwarang defense exercise, which began earlier this week.

The regular exercise between the military, local governments, police and rescue authorities is designed to boost readiness against North Korean military threats.

This year's Hwarang drills will focus on practicing management and response procedures after a North Korean nuclear or weapons of mass destruction attack for the first time.

Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) Chairman Adm. Kim Myung-soo (L) presents Adm. Stephen Koehler, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, a souvenir at the headquarters of the Navy's Fleet Command in Busan, 320 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on April 18, 2024, in this photo provided by the JCS. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

yunhwanchae@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Chae Yun-hwan · April 18, 2024

10. Uncertainties loom over Korea-China-Japan summit as tensions persist

Uncertainties loom over Korea-China-Japan summit as tensions persist

The Korea Times · April 18, 2024

gettyimagesbank

By Luna Sun

The prospects of a trilateral summit between South Korea, China and Japan, potentially to be held by the end of May, are looking rather uncertain as geopolitical tensions show no signs of abating especially between Beijing and Seoul.

Analysts ponder whether the summit, if held, will produce any meaningful results, while calling for a much-needed channel for communication between the major East Asian economies.

“From the current international geopolitical situation, the environment for a trilateral summit between China, Japan and South Korea is unfavorable — one might even say dire,” said He Jun, a senior analyst with Anbound, a Beijing-based public policy think tank.

The current relationship between China and South Korea is at its lowest point since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1992, he added.

The comments came as South Korea has been actively signaling its intent to revitalize the meeting. Still, China has been unhappy with Seoul's increasingly outspoken remarks about the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, as well as its expanding security and economic ties with the U.S. and efforts to diversify its economy away from China.

“However, even amid adversity, a trilateral summit between the leaders remains necessary. Dialogue is better than no dialogue,” he said, adding that China will not hold the summit in high regard, but that the significance lies in the contact itself between leaders from the three East Asian powers.

The three countries are in talks to hold a long-overdue high-level summit likely on May 26 or 27, according to a report by Japanese daily Yomiuri Shimbun last week.

The summit has been suspended since December 2019 when then-Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, then-South Korean President Moon Jae-in and then-Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met in the Chinese city of Chengdu.

From left, then-President Moon Jae-in, then-Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and then-Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe hold a press conference after their summit in Chengdu, China, Dec. 24, 2019. Joint Press Corps

As the host, the conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol is actively pushing for the high-level meeting, especially after experiencing a massive political setback in the general elections last week.

“It would be an opportunity for Yoon to be able to showcase his diplomatic achievements, offsetting the parliamentary election losses, but China will have to see his attitude,” said Zhang Huizhi, a professor of Northeast Asian studies at Jilin University in China's northeastern Jilin province.

However, his actions, such as Seoul's cooperation with the U.S. in restricting semiconductor-related exports to China and contemplating joining AUKUS, have strained relations further, deepening Beijing's dissatisfaction.

“If there's a new stance from Yoon recently, it might help push things forward,” Zhang added.

When asked about the trilateral summit, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs gave ambiguous comments that signaled a degree of uncertainty.

“The Chinese side attaches importance to cooperation among China, Japan and South Korea. We hope that the three parties can jointly create conditions for holding a leaders' summit,” ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said last week.

“We are also willing to maintain communication with South Korea and Japan on the preparation for the leaders' meeting.”

The subtle hints in the response indicate that an agreement has yet to be reached regarding the agenda for the meeting, according to Kang Jun-young, a Chinese studies professor at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul.

While South Korea may seek China's assistance in containing military threats from North Korea and addressing the North Korean nuclear issue, China does not seem inclined to discuss this topic, which is perceived as a matter between South Korea and the U.S., Kang said.

But before dealing with the nuclear issues, the two countries should re-establish an atmosphere of communication between themselves as well as their people. The relationship has been quite rocky following the deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in 2016 on South Korean soil.

“It's natural for problems to arise, but when they do, how can they be addressed? A resolution mechanism has been absent for over three decades — this is the biggest issue between South Korea and China,” Kang said, adding that both or all three countries should understand each other’s issues and what can be done under the current framework.

Kang said that many Chinese local governments are keen to work with South Korea, but are held back by the general atmosphere. If local-level exchanges can continue, new starting points could emerge to organically catalyze business exchanges, he said.

"This summit would mark the first gathering since the pandemic. Given the changing international landscape and supply chain dynamics, these three nations need to find better development directions," Kang said. "Topics such as industry and the economy are up for discussion while this summit should be used as an opportunity to chart a new course.”

Chinese President Xi Jinping is unlikely to attend the meeting; instead, Prime Minister Li Qiang may participate, which could be interpreted as “a subtle gesture of China’s discontent with the other two countries’ strengthening ties with the U.S. in the past few years,” said Xue Fei, senior analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit.

“We expect the upcoming trilateral high-level meeting to focus on maintaining peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, efforts to contain trade frictions and overcapacity in certain industries such as clean energy and electric vehicles, the strategic weapons program and weapons testing by North Korea, among others."

Meanwhile, China will also caution against the establishment of alliances in the region that target specific countries, he added.

Compared with its neighbors, Japan is the least invested in the meeting, experts pointed out.

“From Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's current focus and concerns, the trilateral summit is not something he prioritizes, and he is unlikely to make any serious efforts to promote it,” Anbound's He said.

Luna Sun is an economy reporter with the South China Morning Post. She is currently based in Seoul, reporting for both The Korea Times and the South China Morning Post under an exchange program.

The Korea Times · April 18, 2024

11. Biden-Kishida summit and Korean politics

Excerpts:

Since the beginning of his presidency, strong opposition from the DPK in the legislative body and a relatively low approval rating did not deter Yoon from reversing the previous government's foreign policy.

He has realized his campaign pledge to strengthen the South Korea-U.S. alliance and take a tough stand on North Korea's provocations and ensured that South Korea and the United States are in close alignment over their regional strategy.

Most importantly, Yoon has pushed forward to improve South Korea's strained relationship with Japan despite the risk of political backlash at home.

The opposition party will probably increase its criticism of Yoon's foreign policy, as DPK leader Lee Jae-myung advocated for neutrality in issues concerning the Taiwan Strait and Ukraine during the election campaign.

This position is the complete opposite of Yoon's, which has sought to enhance South Korea's global standing through enhanced support for Ukraine and promoting rules-based diplomacy.

With the new National Assembly, this strategic division will most likely deepen, even at a time when South Korea faces a clear and present danger from North Korea.

Biden-Kishida summit and Korean politics

The Korea Times · April 18, 2024

By Kim Sang-woo

Kim Sang-woo

U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held a summit in Washington on April 10. After two hours of talks, they held a joint press conference.

The Biden-Kishida summit has been characterized by Washington as a historic opportunity for the two countries to modernize their alliances as both eye regional threats from North Korea's weapons testing and burgeoning relations with Russia to China's aggression in the South China Sea and Taiwan.

Japan has long been a central partner of the United States in the Indo-Pacific, but the defense relationship has expanded under Kishida, who has raised Japan's profile in global and regional security.

He has overseen a sweeping shift in Tokyo's defense posture, veering away from the pacifist constitution imposed by the United States in the aftermath of World War II to boost defense spending to about 2 percent of its GDP by 2027 and acquire counterstrike capabilities.

Kishida also positioned Japan as a partner to the U.S. not only in Asia but also globally. He has championed the view that security in Europe and the Indo-Pacific are inextricably linked while emerging as a staunch supporter of Ukraine and closely aligning with the Group of Seven countries.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine led to a resurgence of ties between Moscow and Pyongyang that had largely elapsed after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Kim Jong-un's September 2023 trip to Russia and summit with Vladimir Putin was a breakthrough in bilateral relations and confirmed the growing military and diplomatic relationship between the two countries. Kim doubled down on his support for Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, depicting it as a fight to "punish the evil forces that ambitiously pursue hegemony and expansion."

On March 28, Russia vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution to extend the mandate of the panel of experts responsible for monitoring North Korea's violations of U.N. sanctions.

Russia's veto highlights a policy reversal in its attitude toward the United Nations. With Russia actively supporting North Korea, the U.N. will increasingly struggle to restrain North Korea's belligerence at a time when it's expanding its nuclear and missile capabilities, as demonstrated by recent tests of new missile technology.

North Korean arms enable Moscow to continue its aggression against Ukraine. If Russia remains desperate for North Korean weapons, Moscow may be willing to provide more sensitive technology for its nuclear and missile programs.

Therefore, the U.S. should make absolutely clear to its friends and foes alike that it will defend its allies by continually reaffirming its extended deterrence guarantee to use all necessary force, including nuclear weapons, in response to a North Korean attack.

The credibility of the U.S. extended deterrence guarantee requires that capabilities are effective, commitment is consistent, and both enemies and allies are convinced of America's resolve.

The Biden administration should step up its enforcement of U.S. and U.N. sanctions and work systematically with the international community to target North Korean, Russian and Chinese violators as well as banks, businesses and shipping companies that assist illicit actions.

While China and Russia will veto approval of any new U.N. resolutions, the United States and its partners can more fully implement existing measures, including the extensive sanctions imposed on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine.

The end of U.S. President Biden's Executive Order last year on "Taking Additional Steps with Respect to the Russian Federation's Harmful Activities" is a useful new tool for targeting Russia's procurement of dual-use and other critical items.

The U.S. can impose secondary sanctions, including exclusion from the U.S. financial system, on any financial institution that is supporting Russia's defense industry.

A senior Biden administration official outlined the scale of Beijing's growing support for Moscow's war effort. He said that 90 percent of the reason Russia has been able to sustain the war effort and reconstitute its economy, despite sanctions, is due to a "massive effort" by China that ranges from geospatial assistance to dual-use optics and propellants used in everything from tanks to missiles.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken sent the message to European allies in Brussels, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned officials in Beijing, and President Biden raised the issue directly to President Xi Jinping in a telephone conversation on April 2.

Meanwhile, on April 10, South Korea held general elections. The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) emerged victorious, winning a majority, with 175 seats out of 300 seats.

As a result, President Yoon Suk Yeol's domestic and foreign policy will face significant headwinds, but it is expected that foreign policy will likely stay on its current course because Yoon's foreign policy is not based on populism.

Since the beginning of his presidency, strong opposition from the DPK in the legislative body and a relatively low approval rating did not deter Yoon from reversing the previous government's foreign policy.

He has realized his campaign pledge to strengthen the South Korea-U.S. alliance and take a tough stand on North Korea's provocations and ensured that South Korea and the United States are in close alignment over their regional strategy.

Most importantly, Yoon has pushed forward to improve South Korea's strained relationship with Japan despite the risk of political backlash at home.

The opposition party will probably increase its criticism of Yoon's foreign policy, as DPK leader Lee Jae-myung advocated for neutrality in issues concerning the Taiwan Strait and Ukraine during the election campaign.

This position is the complete opposite of Yoon's, which has sought to enhance South Korea's global standing through enhanced support for Ukraine and promoting rules-based diplomacy.

With the new National Assembly, this strategic division will most likely deepen, even at a time when South Korea faces a clear and present danger from North Korea.

Kim Sang-woo (swkim54@hotmail.com), a former lawmaker, is chairman of the East Asia Cultural Project and a member of the board of directors at the Kim Dae-jung Peace Foundation.

The Korea Times · April 18, 2024

12. Most N. Korean defectors repatriated last year are still in re-education camps

Hard labor can be deadly.

China is complicit in north Korean human rights atrocities.

Excerpts:

Most defectors were taken into police custody in their places of residence before defecting, where they underwent preliminary investigations and trials before being sent to re-education camps. As of early April, fewer than 10 defectors remained in Ministry of State Security detention centers, the source said.

Police are required to come to their pre-defection residences to pick them up, but police have so far refused to take custody of the remaining defectors, citing unclear residency records.

Meanwhile, some of the defectors forcibly repatriated last year have been sent to notorious political prison camps from which few ever emerge alive.

Daily NK reported last October that about 200 North Korean defectors who had been imprisoned in China’s Liaoning and Jilin provinces were repatriated through the Chinese cities of Dandong and Tumen and detained in the Ministry of State Security’s detention centers in North Korea’s border region.

Most N. Korean defectors repatriated last year are still in re-education camps - Daily NK English

Seven of the approximately 200 repatriated defectors died in the custody of the Ministry of State Security

By Seulkee Jang - April 17, 2024

dailynk.com · by Seulkee Jang · April 17, 2024

FILE PHOTO: A view of Yanggang Province from the Chinese side of the China-North Korea border. (Daily NK)

Most of the North Korean defectors repatriated from China last October remain in re-education camps six months later. However, some have died due to severe human rights violations and malnutrition they suffered in detention.

According to several Daily NK sources in North Korea on Monday, about 200 North Korean defectors who were forcibly repatriated after spending time in Chinese prisons in Liaoning and Jilin provinces were placed in Ministry of State Security detention centers in Sinuiju, North Pyongan Province, and Onsong, North Hamgyong Province, where they underwent three-month investigations into the circumstances of their defection and their activities and crimes in China.

Local agents of the Ministry of State Security conducted high-intensity interrogations of the defectors, comparing the returnees’ testimony with materials obtained from the Chinese police. During interrogation, agents subjected detainees to serious human rights abuses, including assault, torture, forced labor, sexual harassment, and rape.

In January, a woman detained at the Ministry of State Security Detention Center in Sinuiju took her own life.

The woman, a native of Anju, South Pyongan Province, spent more time in the Sinuiju prison than other detainees because of delays in her transfer to police custody in her hometown. Unable to endure the continued torture, beatings and sexual assault at the prison, she eventually ended her life.

In December, a woman detained at the Ministry of State Security Detention Center in Onsong attempted to defect to China again by crossing the Tumen River. However, guards discovered her and beat her indiscriminately.

They also forced her to strip naked and sit on her knees in the courtyard of the prison in the middle of winter, when the temperature was 20 degrees below zero. She froze to death within five hours.

The woman’s body was cremated in a vacant lot on a hillside behind the facility, and her family was notified of her death.

Three detainees in Sinuiju and two in Onsong also died of malnutrition.

Some of the defectors languish in political prison camps

In all, seven of the approximately 200 repatriated defectors died in the custody of the Ministry of State Security.

Most defectors were taken into police custody in their places of residence before defecting, where they underwent preliminary investigations and trials before being sent to re-education camps. As of early April, fewer than 10 defectors remained in Ministry of State Security detention centers, the source said.

Police are required to come to their pre-defection residences to pick them up, but police have so far refused to take custody of the remaining defectors, citing unclear residency records.

Meanwhile, some of the defectors forcibly repatriated last year have been sent to notorious political prison camps from which few ever emerge alive.

Daily NK reported last October that about 200 North Korean defectors who had been imprisoned in China’s Liaoning and Jilin provinces were repatriated through the Chinese cities of Dandong and Tumen and detained in the Ministry of State Security’s detention centers in North Korea’s border region.

Translated by David Black. Edited by Robert Lauler.

Daily NK works with a network of sources living in North Korea, China, and elsewhere. Their identities remain anonymous for security reasons. For more information about Daily NK’s network of reporting partners and information-gathering activities, please visit our FAQ page here.

Please send any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.

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dailynk.com · by Seulkee Jang · April 17, 2024

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